Andrew Exum(WASHINGTON) -- Two cars on an Amtrak train carrying dozens of passengers from Washington, D.C., to Boston separated Tuesday morning, the railroad corporation said in a statement.



Acela Express train No. 2150 experienced a "mechanical issue," which caused two of the train's cars to separate around 6:40 a.m., according to Amtrak. None of the 52 passengers, nor any of the crew, were injured during the incident, Amtrak said.



The train separated between the first class car and the quiet car, the first and second cars on the train, passenger Andrew Exum told ABC News. Sparks and smoke "went everywhere" when the detachment occurred, and the train lost power, Exum wrote on Twitter.



It is unclear exactly where the incident occurred or how fast the train was moving at the time.



All passengers were transferred to Amtrak Northeast Regional train No. 180, according to Amtrak.



As part of the investigation, Amtrak is inspecting every Acela train set and "taking any necessary actions to prevent" a recurrence, it said in a statement. The NTSB is aware of the incident and is monitoring the situation as well.



Tuesday's occurrence is the latest in a string of recent incidents involving Amtrak trains. On Sunday, two people were killed and 116 injured after a train headed from New York to Miami appeared to be on the wrong track when it collided with a freight train in Cayce, South Carolina.



On Jan. 31, a chartered Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress to a retreat crashed into a garbage truck at a railroad crossing in Virginia, killing one person and injuring at least six.



Further details on Tuesday's incident were not immediately available.



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There is a new push in the Connecticut General Assembly to establish an open casino bidding process that could allow for Bridgeport to have a chance at a gaming facility.

The Bridgeport delegation is putting pressure on Democratic leadership, even though the governor signed into law last year the mechanism to allow for the Mashantucket and Mohegan tribes to operate a facility in East Windsor.

"As has happened in every other state that licenses commercial casinos, a competitive process will bring Connecticut the best deal, in terms of jobs, economic development, community benefits, and support for our local businesses," Rep. Chris Rosario said.

The East Windsor project is currently on hold, pending clearance from the Department of the Interior in Washington D.C. The states two tribes are entangled in a legal fight arguing that the project should have been given the green light by now, but the federal agency has moved to have the lawsuit dismissed.

The battle brewing is the same one thats been waged for the past three years in the Connecticut General Assembly: between MGM and the entity MMCT, established by Connecticuts two tribes with gaming operations.

Uri Clinton, who has spearheaded the lobbying effort in Hartford on behalf of MGM, says the delay in Washington should provide pause for state lawmakers, saying, "The Department of the Interior hasnt given traction to the East Windsor casino and I think that MGM has put a vision forward and made significant investments in Bridgeport so that people see what the vision can be."

Democratic leaders in the General Assembly were vocal in their support last year for the East Windsor project and Sen. Bob Duff, the number two Democrat in the Senate, said his position hasnt changed.

"By putting a casino in Bridgeport, it breaks a compact that we have with the Mashantuckets and Mohegans and so I dont think thats a good idea," Duff said. "What were trying to do in East Windsor is by opening up another facility is not to promote more gambling, its about protecting over 6,000 jobs in the state of Connecticut."

Clinton, with MGM, said the company is still in a strong position, with its construction on a Springfield casino nearly complete, but said there is still a goal of locating a facility within driving distance of New York City and its suburbs.

"I will tell you unequivocally that weve asked repeatedly for the chance to build in Bridgeport," Clinton said.

The tribes responded to the latest push with a statement, with a spokesman saying, "Let's call this bill what it is - the MGM Massachusetts Protection Act. A bill that will cost Connecticut $1 billion dollars in revenue and eliminate 4,000 jobs was a bad idea last year, and is still a bad idea."
A Maine woman who prepared a salad says she realized after a couple of bites her fork was stuck in a 3-inch lizard, minus the tail.

After vomiting and getting over her shock, Michelle Carr, a nurse from Kittery, Maine, said she feared she could have consumed harmful bacteria. A biologist friend believes she found a blue-bellied lizard from California.

"I am worried I may have ingested the tail," Carr said. "The tip was raw."

Carr said she bought a bag of store-brand romaine lettuce at a Shaw's supermarket in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Jan. 26. The lettuce was distributed by a California company.

"I was repulsed. I was disgusted. I was startled," Carr recalled. "It still makes me want to gag to this day."

A supermarket spokesperson said it notified the supplier.

"Shaw's takes all issues regarding the quality and safety of any product sold in our stores very seriously," the spokesperson said, adding, "We are working with the supplier to determine the cause and the steps needed to prevent this from reoccurring."

Carr also called the state Health Department. A spokesman said because the lettuce was packaged and shipped from another state, any investigation would be conducted by the Food and Drug Administration.

Carr tells NBC10 Boston she has heard back from the FDA, and that they're investigating.

"How did it happen? Why did it happen? And what can we do to make sure it doesn't happen again?" Carr asked.
An after-school volunteer was arrested on suspicion of lewd and lascivious acts against children last week.

Mountain View Police Department officers say Yizhuang "John" Liu, 26, inappropriately touched two boys at the Sanyu Learning Center on Springer Road.

Liu, of Cupertino, was a volunteer and also served on the schools board of directors.

"Mister Liu is accused of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor, with several counts and lewd and lascivious acts and with force," said Marco Garcia from Mountain View Police.

Police say he also used a San Francisco-based gaming app, Discord, to communicate with other potential victims. According to the app, it has technology in place to keep strangers from contacting young people.

"He learned that these children were using this application and he reached out to them and that's how he began chatting with them," said Garcia.

The Mountain View Police Department says it's now trying to talk with more parents, to see if there are other victims.

"I know there's a lot of questions from families but this is an ongoing investigation," Garcia said.

Liu is in jail without bail and is set to be arranged on Wednesday.
Eleven San Diego businesses have paid more than $107,000 to workers who were paid less than required under the citys minimum wage ordinance.

The City Treasurer said those payments were made to 259 employees who complained they were underpaid or deprived of earned sick leave.

Those businesses include Sand n Sea Liquor in Point Loma and the El Pollo Loco restaurant on Main Street in Barrio Logan.

Management at both those businesses said the underpayments were an innocent mistake based on a book-keeping or other, similar errors. In one case, the owner said his accountant incorrectly told him that the minimum wage in the City of San Diego was $10.50 an hour.

An employment law expert told NBC 7 that Californias minimum wage laws can be confusing.

Under state law, the minimum wage in California is $10.50 an hour, but cities and counties can establish higher minimums, and many have done so. In San Diego County, some cities have maintained the $10.50 minimum but the City of San Diegos ordinance grants workers a minimum wage of $11.50 an hour and more earned sick leave (five days per year) than the state minimum (three days).

Other California cities have even higher minimum wages, including Palo Alto ($13.50) and Berkeley ($13.75).

"There all these different places that have these different patchworks [of ordinances], and if you're not really paying very, very close attention, even from year to year, it can cause problems, said attorney Daniel Eaton, an employment law specialist at the Seltzer Caplan McMahon Vitek law firm.

The City of San Diego offers detailed information about its minimum wage ordinance on its website.
A San Diego police officer remains hospitalized with significant injuries after being punched in the face near Chicano Park, where two opposing rallies were being held Saturday, SDPD said.

The circumstances that led to the assault were not made clear, but San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said the individual was arrested.

The unidentified SDPD officer was sent to the hospital with facial and nose fractures, SDPD Lt. Scott Wahl said.

#ChicanoPark Update: We have made three arrests so far. An @SanDiegoPD Officer was punched in the face. We have arrested the person responsible. As a reminder violence, vandalism, or other criminal acts will not be tolerated. Unlawful behavior will result in your arrest  San Diego Police Department (@SanDiegoPD) February 3, 2018

SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman tweeted that she visited the officer in the hospital Sunday, where he remained with significant injuries. He was expected to make a full recovery.

I just left the hospital visiting with our @SanDiegoPD Officer who was injured working the protest at #ChicanoPark on Saturday. He has significant injuries but we are thankful he is expected to make a full recovery.  Shelley Zimmerman (@ChiefZimmerman) February 4, 2018

On Saturday, a group of demonstrators who believe San Diegos Chicano Park discriminates against non-Latinos was met with a large crowd of counter-protesters in Barrio Logan.

In all three people were arrested during the demonstrations at Chicano Park, located underneath Coronado Bay Bridge on Logan Avenue. The other two arrests were for possession of a billy club and for resisting arrest, SDPD said.

[[472527153,C]]

The rally, dubbed the Patriot Picnic, started at the San Diego Convention Center Saturday morning. Patriot Picnic organizer, Roger Ogden, described the gathering as a demonstration against the Chicano Park's "discrimination" and "radical political theme."

The group of about a couple-dozen demonstrators marched through Barrio Logan to Chicano Park where they were met by hundreds of park supporters. In all, about 700 people were present, SDPD said.

[[472527163,C]]

Barricades were put in place to separate groups, SDPD said. About two blocks of Logan Avenue, between Cesar E. Chavez Parkway and Evans Street, was shut down during the demonstrations.

#ChicanoPark Update: Crowds are estimated at 700 people. Barricades are put in place to keep the peace and protect First Amendment rights. Leaping over the barricades will lead to an arrest.  San Diego Police Department (@SanDiegoPD) February 3, 2018

The first Patriot Picnic rally was held in September 2017. Counter-demonstrators believe the picnics have racial undertones, a claim that Ogden denies.

Chicano Park in its current form dates back to the 1970s, when San Diego residents occupied Chicano Park in a successful effort to prevent the construction of a California Highway Patrol substation on the land where the City of San Diego had promised to build a park for the community. The park has served as a symbol to the predominantly Mexican-American community that makes up Barrio Logan since.

[[472552613,C]]

The park was designated a National Historic Landmark in January 2017 because it depicts a broad range of Americas rich, complex history, according to the U.S. Department of Interior.



Ogden believes that the park's depiction of the Chicano Civil Rights Movement, through painted murals and flags, is part of what makes the park discriminatory to other groups.
A Florida man who was caught on camera doing a cartwheel for officers during a sobriety test after he was allegedly found passed out behind the wheel in a McDonald's drive-thru is facing a DUI charge.

The arrest of 30-year-old Christopher Bidzinski, of Cape Coral, was captured on an officer's body camera, NBC 2 reported.

"Take me to jail. I beg of you. I deserve to go to jail," Bidzinski told the officers after admitting he had been drinking chardonnay, police said.

Bidzinski, who was found slumped over the wheel of his car by a McDonald's employee, wanted to know if he could eat more french fries when officers asked him to do a field sobriety test.

When he eventually agreed to do the test, officers said Bidzinski couldn't stay focused.

"I'll bet you I can do a backflip right now," Bidzinski said, before he did the cartwheel and fell to the ground.

Police said Bidzinski failed the field sobriety test and refused a breathalyzer, so he was arrested. Inside his truck, officers found a chilled unopened bottle of wine.

Officials said Bidzinski fell asleep as he was driven to jail, and the smell of alcohol engulfed the police car. Officers said they knew Bidzinski from an incident the night before when they had to take him home.

Bidzinski remained behind bars on $20,000 bond Wednesday, and attorney information wasn't available. Records showed it's his third DUI arrest in the last three years.
What to Know Carlton Roman, 55, is serving a 43 year-to-life sentence for a March 1989 shooting in Queens in which one man died and another was injured

Roman has maintained his innocence since he was arrested the day after the shooting; there's been no physical evidence against him

Now a retired NYPD officer and reverend is investigating, and found that the district attorney's office has lost the entire file on Roman

A decades-old murder case involving a missing homicide file in Queens has taken a twist amid controversy over 911 tapes that the defense says were never turned over by the district attorney's office.

Fifty-five-year-old Carlton Roman is serving a 43-year-to-life sentence for a double shooting in Jamaica, Queens in March 1989. One man died and another was seriously wounded.

Roman, currently housed at Greenhaven Prison in Stormville, New York, has maintained his innocence from the day of his arrest, one day after the shooting. The young father had never been in jail before, never even had a parking ticket.

"Ive been saying my entire time, since I was arrested in March 1989 to now, I have nothing to do with this, he told the I-Teams Sarah Wallace in an exclusive interview.

There was no physical evidence against Roman or his co-defendant Hollis Laylor, who was tried separately and freed after two hung juries. Two men who claimed to have been inside a home when gunfire erupted were the only prosecution witnesses.

A few years ago, a retired NYPD officer who traded in his badge for a Bible and a private investigators license, took on the Roman cause. Rev. Robert Dickerson said he found his calling trying to free Roman.

"This man is wrongfully convicted. I feel for this case. I was a cop and locked people up, but this is a travesty of justice," he said.

Dickerson said he asked the DAs office for Romans file a few years ago and was later told it had been lost.

"I was stunned," he said. "Its beyond me how you could lose a homicide file and everything in it."

Dickerson and his partner, private investigator Dan Levine, said they asked for the Laylor file. In it was a disc containing 911 calls from several witnesses who said they were on the block at the time of the double shooting. There were no police interviews of any of those witnesses in the Laylor file.

Dickerson said the 911 calls contradict the timeline the prosecution gave for the shooting and where it took place.

Both Roman and Laylor said they were unaware the tapes existed.

"I was flabbergasted," said Roman. "I had zero idea there were 911 tapes connected to my case."

Prosecutors are required by law to turn over any evidence favorable to a defendant.

The district attorney's office declined to comment on the tapes. A spokesman confirmed the homicide file had been lost but had no explanation how that happened.

Romans attorney, Pierre Sussman, has filed a motion asking for the conviction to be overturned. The DAs office has not responded to the motion.

Both sides are due back in court on Feb. 23.
What to Know Infamous Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will have an anonymous jury at his U.S. trial, scheduled to start later this year

U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan agreed with prosecutors that withholding jurors' names was needed to address fears they could be intimidated

Since his extradition in January 2017, Guzman has been held in solitary confinement at a high-security federal jail in Manhattan

Notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman will have an anonymous jury at his U.S. trial later this year.

In a written order, U.S. District Judge Brian Cogan agreed with prosecutors who argued that withholding the names of jurors was needed to address any fears that they could be harassed or intimidated. Jurors also will be escorted to and from the Brooklyn courthouse by deputy U.S. marshals and sequestered from the public while inside, the judge said.

Prosecutors offered "strong and credible reasons" why the jury needs protections, including Guzman's use of sicarios, or hitmen, to carry out thousands of acts of violence over more than two decades, the judge wrote in the order, released by the prosecutor's office on Tuesday.

That history "would be sufficient to warrant an anonymous and partially sequestered jury, but that many of the allegations involve murder, assault, kidnapping or torture of potential witnesses or of those suspected of assisting law enforcement makes the government's concerns particularly salient," he said.

Guzman's attorney, Eduardo Balarezo, said on Tuesday that his client was disappointed by the ruling. The defense had argued that an anonymous jury would give the false impression that Guzman is dangerous.

"All he is asking for is a fair trial in front of an impartial jury," Balarezo said in a statement.

Guzman has pleaded not guilty to charges of running a massive international drug trafficking operation. Since his extradition in January 2017, he has been held in solitary confinement at a high-security federal jail in Manhattan, with U.S. officials mindful of how he twice escaped from prison in Mexico, the second time via a mile-long tunnel dug to the shower in his cell.

In the past, Guzman used his connections to continue to run his drug empire from behind bars, prosecutors said. They also claim that in the United States, Guzman had the support of criminals who are not under his direct control.

In court papers, prosecutors cited media reports about a YouTube video made last year  and since removed from the internet  by a group of federal prisoners in California in which they boasted in Spanish that they were "hitmen" at his service. On the recording, their faces were concealed with pieces of clothing and sunglasses.

One was heard assuring Guzman "everything is ready for you. What you say is the law. Here you have more than 3,500 soldiers."

Guzman is due back in court on Feb. 15 for a pretrial hearing. The judge has indicated he expects the trial to begin in the fall.
What to Know More than a dozen of environmental groups held a rally Wednesday on the Asbury Park boardwalk in opposition to offshore drilling

The groups called on the federal government to oppose Trumps plan, saying the risk of an oil spill could devastate New Jersey's economy

The gathering was one of similar events that have taken place around the country since the plan was announced on Jan. 4

More than a dozen of New Jerseys leading environmental groups held a rally Wednesday on the Asbury Park boardwalk in opposition to President Donald Trumps plan to allow oil and natural gas drilling off most of the countrys coastline.

The groups called on the federal government to oppose Trumps plan, saying the risk of a catastrophic oil spill is real and could devastate New Jerseys $44 billion tourism economy, which centers on its beaches.

The gathering was one of similar events that have taken place around the country since the plan was announced on Jan. 4. Elected officials from both parties have opposed the plan.

"What Trump did was target the oceans from one end of the country to the other," Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said. "We are going to send a very clear message to the fossil fool in the White House: hands off our beaches."

Samantha Kreisler of the NY/NJ Baykeeper group said, the Trump administration has blatantly disregarded the voices of the public and elected officials from both parties who have clearly opposed offshore drilling since day one.

Tim Dillingham, executive director of the American Littoral Society, said he was angry.

"What does it take for the federal government to understand that the people of New Jersey want a clean, wild, pristine ocean? Once again, we have to tell the federal government 'Keep your hands off our ocean,'" Dillingham said.

However, many business and energy groups support the plan, saying it will enable the United States to be less dependent on foreign energy.

The U.S. Interior Department says opening up offshore areas to drilling can help America achieve "energy dominance" and will enable the country to better compete with other oil-rich nations.

Vincent DeVito, a counselor for energy policy at the U.S. Department of the Interior, said that by opening up nearly the entire offshore for potential oil and gas exploration, the United States can advance the goal of moving from aspiring for energy independence to attaining energy dominance.

The groups held the rally because a public meeting scheduled for Feb. 14 near Trenton does not allow for public testimony, instead it is asking people to submit their comments online.

The Interior department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is holding meetings around the country, including one on Feb. 14 outside of Trenton, to answer questions about Trumps plan. The meetings will not include public testimony. Instead, those wishing to comment must submit written testimony online or hand-deliver written copies to officials at the meetings.

The rally was in response to the meetings and their lack of public testimony.
Anita Hill and New Jersey's own Queen Latifah have been named keynote speakers for two of Rutgers University's commencement ceremonies in May, the school announced Wednesday.

The actress, rapper and producer Queen Latifah will deliver the commencement address for Rutgers University-Newark at Prudential Center on May 14. She'll also receive an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

Anita Hill, a national leading figure in the #TimesUp movement against sexual harassment and assault, will receive an honorary Doctor of Laws degree for Rutgers University-Camden's Law School ceremony on May 17 at the BT&T Pavilion on the Camden Waterfront.

Queens Latifah, who was born in Newark and raised in East Orange, has earned a Grammy, Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, three NAACP Image Awards, two BET Awards, among other distinctions, according to a biography released by Rutgers.

At the age of 21, she organized and became CEO of Flavor Unit Records and Management Company based in Jersey City, and in 1995, her label won its first Grammy for "U.N.I.T.Y.," a song she composed.

She most recently co-starred in the comedy "Girls Trip," which was chosen by Time magazine as one of the top 10 films of 2017.

Queen Latifah received Newark Beth Israel Medical Center's Community Award in 2013 for her work helping low-income youth and disadvantaged residents going through foreclosure.

"Queen Latifah has been a consistent supporter of Newark and a source of inspiration for creative people and entrepreneurs in our city and throughout the world, said Lyneir Richardson, Executive Director of The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development at Rutgers  Newark. She is an inspiring role model of excellence for Rutgers-Newark."

Hill, who currently serves as professor of social policy, law and women's, gender and sexuality studies at Brandeis University, graduated from Yale Law School in 1980 and began her career in private practice in Washington, D.C. She then accepted a position working for the Hon. Clarence Thomas at the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, and later, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Hill's 1991 testimony during Thomas' confirmation hearings for his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court ignited the national conversation about sexual harassment.
What to Know A pair of thieves in their 60s have stolen more than $140,000 worth of goods from stores in Manhattan and Brooklyn

They've hit shops in midtown, the Upper East Side, Williamsburg, and Midwood; One of the stores was inside the heavily fortified Trump Tower

In their most recent theft, they stole a $95,000 diamond necklace from a store while a clerk was just feet away

The phrase you get better with age appears to apply to a pair of brazen thieves who police said have hit several high-end shops in New York City for more than $140,000 worth of goods.

Authorities said they are looking for a man and a woman in their 60s who have looted six jewelry and clothing stores in midtown, the Upper East Side and Brooklyn since last February.

Authorities said they began their crime spree at Gucci inside heavily surveilled Trump Tower, with the woman stealing a purse valued at $1,250.

Since then, police said the duo allegedly stole jewelry valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, a purse from a womans cart in a supermarket and a religious artifact valued at $1,500 from a Jewish bookstore in Midwood, Brooklyn.

But their most recent haul, on Jan. 18, was the most lucrative. Thats when Bobby Ashiq of Lloyds International Gallery said the female thief came in and scoped the high-end jeweler out before stealing a $95,000 diamond necklace from under his nose.

I said Where are you from? he said. (She replied) Im from Moscow, so I said, OK, no problem. We ship worldwide.

The woman left after telling him she was just looking. But Ashiq said five minutes later she came back in with her co-conspirator and began asking about a malachite pedestal.

When she came back I said, Maybe they are serious.

Ashiq said while he showed the man the stone piece, the woman backed into the jewelry counter. Surveillance footage obtained exclusively by News 4 then shows the woman open the case up, take the necklace -- the most valuable piece in the gallery -- and slip it into a scarf.

Ashiq said the woman then walked back to her partner and the two motion to leave. Ashiq, a good salesman, offers his card in case they wanted to buy an item -- and the two take off.

Ashiq said that it wasnt until later he realized that the necklace was gone.

$95,000. 20-carat diamonds. 18-karat gold. It was the most expensive thing we had, Ashiq said. I was stunned.

Anyone with information about the thieves is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
What to Know Born and raised in Connecticut, luge competitor Tucker West is heading to Pyeongchang for his second Olympic Winter Games

The 22-year-old athlete has plenty of sporting accolades, but his dad's "Today" appearance in '14 gave him renown as a bachelor

Tucker West is single no longer; he's now dating a girl named Raychel Germaine, a luge athlete he met when he was 13

Brett West is not shy about displaying his pride for his son, U.S. Olympic luger Tucker West.

Brett runs the Team Tucker Facebook page. He owns license plates that read LUGE and LUGE DAD. The first line of his Twitter bio is even Tucker's Dad.

Now Brett is making it easier for others to show their support for Team Tucker.

Brett has mailed more than 1,250 shirtsat his own expenseto fans of his son. The distribution list has only grown since the 2014 Sochi Games, when Brett mailed 750 shirts and Tucker became the youngest U.S. Olympic luger ever at the age of 18.

The 2018 version, which was designed by Tuckers youngest sister Gracie, costs $17 plus shipping.

I went with high-quality cotton, Brett said. Couldn't have something say Team Tucker on low quality!

To receive a shirt, Brett asked supports to send him a message explaining how they became a fans of Team Tucker. Messages flooded in from Ridgefield, Conn. neighbors to as far away as Australia.

Bretts favorite message came from Janice Coppola, a chef who cooked for Tucker when he attended Union College.

He wouldn't let me treat him special, but special is what he is, for sure, Coppola wrote. Thank you and congratulations on not only raising an Olympian, but for raising a gentleman. Go Tucker!!

This is not the first time Brett went to great lengths to support his son.

After watching luge together during the 2002 Olympics, Brett built Tucker, then 6, a grandiose wooden luge track in their backyard that grew to be more than 700 feet long with an automatic icing system, lights and speakers.

Then during the 2014 Winter Olympics, Brett created a social media firestorm when he encouraged girls to reach out to his shy and very single son on Facebook during an interview on NBCs TODAY.
Google Translate is great for those who wish to browse news stories on foreign websites or get some help with that Spanish homework. However, the free language translation tool has its limitations and its translations can often be lost in translation, as Norways Olympic Team chefs recently learned.

The Norwegian camp needed some eggs for its athletes competing at the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea and turned to Google Translate for help drafting an order with a local Korean grocery store.

[NATL] Flags, Fireworks and a Tiger Puppet: the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Photos

But when a truck load of eggs arrived at their kitchen in Pyeongchang, they learned a translation error converted their order of 1,500 eggs to 15,000 eggs.

There was literally no end to the delivery. Absolutely unbelievable, chef Stale Johansen told Norways Aftenposten.

EGGSellent? 

Norway Winter Olympic team orders 15000 instead of 1500 eggs by mistake.

In Korean, just one syllable differentiates 1,500 and 15,000. Will this mean a lot of protein for the Norwegian athletes?@idrett

via @tronderavisa pic.twitter.com/w0e4oGQLqQ  Olympic Channel (@olympicchannel) February 8, 2018

Fortunately, the chefs were allowed to return the extra 13,500 eggs, but they say Norwegian athletes in need of protein can still expect a lot egg-wise.

"There will be omelets, boiled and fried eggs and smoked salmon with scrambled eggs. And we hope there will be a lot of sugar bread made for medal winners. We have made our provisions for that," Johansen told Aftenposten.

[NATL] Eat Like an Olympian: Best Korean Dishes for Athletes and Fans

Johansen said they serve the Norwegian team around the clock, and if the chefs run out of provisions, at least they'll know not to draft an order on Google Translate.


Tronc, Inc. announced Wednesday it is selling the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The deal involves $500 million in cash plus the assumption of $90 million in pension liabilities in a deal expected to close this quarter or early second quarter, according to the company's statement.

The new owner will be Nant Capital, LLC, a private investment company owned by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.

"We look forward to continuing the great tradition of award-winning journalism carried out by the reporters and editors of the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune and the other California News Group titles, Soon-Shiong said in a written statement from Tronc.

The sale happens amid turmoil at both papers, which have suffered through years of cutbacks and a revolving door of leadership in top positions.

Tribune Publishing Co. purchased the only daily print newspaper in San Diego from real estate developer Douglas Manchester for $85 million in May 2015.

The company immediately announced the elimination of 178 positions, many from the UTs printing and delivery divisions.

Employees at the companys Los Angeles printing facility handle those duties for San Diego County customers.

The LA Times' top editor was replaced last week for the third time in six months and Publisher Ross Levinsohn is on unpaid leave after revelations he was a defendant in two sexual harassment lawsuits at other companies. Journalists at the LA Times voted last month to unionize for the first time in the paper's 136-year history.

Soon-Shiong, who is currently working on a cure for cancer, is said by Forbes to be the nation's richest doctor.

He made the bulk of his fortune selling two of the drug companies that he founded for a total of nearly $9 billion a decade ago. Forbes put his current wealth at $7.8 billion.

He owns more than a quarter of shares in Chicago-based Tronc, the company formerly known as Tribune Publishing. It owns 10 U.S. newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and New York Daily News.

The move follows one of two trends in media ownership: big companies getting bigger and wealthy investors taking on newspapers as philanthropic endeavors, said Al Tompkins, a senior faculty member at the Poynter Institute.

In 2013, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post for $250 million and Boston Red Sox owner John Henry bought the Boston Globe for $70 million.

"We find ourselves returning to where we were a century ago when a handful of wealthy owners controlled big influential newspapers," Tompkins said. "Here's the difference: The ownership today does not promise lucrative returns. You take it over knowing it isn't nearly as profitable as it might have been 20 or 50 years ago. Today it's a thinner margin and it gets thinner every day."

Manchester initially purchased the newspaper and its real estate holdings in 2011.

In an interview with voiceofsandiego, Manchester said he paid above $110 million for the newspaper which he reportedly said was less than the asking price.
What to Know A Maryland child is dead in what the Maryland Department of Health said Monday is the first flu-related pediatric death in the state.

The death is the latest in an outbreak that has caused officials to categorize influenzas presence as high and widespread in the region.

Flu activity in Maryland has increased since December.

A child has died of flu-related causes in Maryland, marking the first flu-related pediatric death in the state for this flu season.

Neither the child's name nor age was released by the Maryland Department of Health.

The death is the latest in a national outbreak. Officials are urging people to get flu shots.

Hospitals are required to disclose pediatric flu-associated deaths. Fifty-three had been recorded in the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions latest report.

Influenza is an extremely serious, and sometimes deadly, disease, and this flu season has been proven to be particularly severe, Dr. Howard Haft, the deputy secretary for Public Health Services, said in a statement. Were continuing to urge Marylanders to get their flu shots, stay home from work if they are sick, and practice other preventative measures to stop the spread of flu.

Flu activity in Maryland has increased since December, according to a state health department news release. The first case confirmed in a lab was discovered in November.

There are several tests that can be used to diagnose influenza. A nasal swab, a rapid diagnostic test, is between 50 and 70 percent effective in diagnosing the flu, the CDC said.

As a result of the death, health officials are reminding the public that the virus that causes the flu spreads from interaction with other people through sneezing and coughing and contact with infected people or contaminated surfaces and objects.

Symptoms, which range from fevers, body aches, fatigue, coughing and a sore throat, usually appear between one and four days after someone is exposed to the virus, according to the release.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests avoiding contact with sick people and washing hands often to prevent the spread of the flu.
A new law in Washington, D.C., hoped to create a more level playing field when it comes to running for elected office.

The D.C. Council approved the measure, which will provide qualified candidates with a base funding and matching funds for individual contributors. The district is joining the growing number of jurisdictions that provide public money for political campaigns, but the mayor is not expected to sign the legislation.

Ed Lazeer, who spent years working as a government fiscal watchdog, is running for council chair.

It is going to mean more people choosing to run and more voters want to donate to campaigns, because theyll know their money will make a difference and not be outspent by big corporate donors, Lazeer said.

The new law provides qualified candidates with a base of as much as $160,000 plus a 5 to 1 match for individual contributions. But the candidate would have to give up big corporate donations and rely on small individual donations and the government matching funds.

Youre going to see a richer diversity of candidates, said Council member Charles Allen, Ward 6. For the voters, it gives their voice much more power.

In 2014, then candidate Muriel Bowser raised $3.6 million in her race to become mayor. For her re-election bid, she has already raised $1.4 million and is not supportive of the new law.

With so many pressing needs for residents, it is not prudent to divert tax dollars from hiring more police, investing in housing or fixing our roads to paying for robocalls, negative attack ads and donor receptions," a spokesperson for the mayor said in a statement.

Supporters of the law plan to deliver petitions with more than 5,000 signatures to Bowsers office, urging her to change her mind.

One person Bowser will face in her re-election bid is Michael Woods, a 19-year-old college student. Woods is the perfect example of a candidate who would benefit from the new financing law, but hes very much against it, even though he knows public financing could be a huge help to him.

He said public financing takes money from taxpayers and gives it to candidates, whether the taxpayers support that candidate or not.

There are a lot of other places it could go to instead of a campaign, like the infrastructure, Woods said.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine used hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money when he first ran for his current post.

Its an extraordinary option for upstart candidates to seek contribution from public system and, hopefully, make them more competitive in the races, and thats what we want, Racine said.

Council member Jack Evans, who has raised millions over the years from big corporate donors, supports the new law.

At this point in time, when the city is in a very, very good financial position, lets take a shot at it, and see what happens, Evans said.

Bowser is not expected to veto the law, instead allowing it to take effect without her signature. It is expected to cost taxpayers about $5 million a year when it takes effect for the 2020 election cycle.
President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand military parade this year in Washington, D.C., but the plan is getting panned by the city's mayor, city council and delegate to the U.S. House.

The Trump administration, not D.C., would have to foot the bill for a lavish parade on city streets, Mayor Muriel Bowser's office said Wednesday morning.

A spokeswoman for the mayor said Bowser's office is tracking media reports about a parade ahead of being contacted by federal officials.

"In the meantime, we do know that just like the wall, he will have to pay for it," the spokeswoman said in a statement.

Tanks but No Tanks! https://t.co/jMbmumcfFy  Council of DC (@councilofdc) February 7, 2018

The DC government will open on time today.

DC Public Schools will open on time today.

Sadly, the Giant Tank Parade is cancelled. Permanently. pic.twitter.com/mQmElqs3Tt  Council of DC (@councilofdc) February 7, 2018

A military parade in DC would shut down the nations capital and waste taxpayer dollars just to feed Trump ego. The way to show our service members and veterans that we appreciate their service is to use the parade money to fund their health care and other services they need.  Eleanor H. Norton (@EleanorNorton) February 7, 2018

The director of the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, Chris Rodriguez, said the agency had not been contacted by the White House or Pentagon to discuss logistics.

"Tanks but No Tanks," the D.C. Council tweeted, along with a link to The Washington Post story that broke news of the parade plans. Another tweet to the Council account showed a tank with a red "no" symbol.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton called for the federal government to devote money to veterans' health care, not a showy parade.

"A military parade in DC would shut down the nation's capital and waste taxpayer dollars just to feed Trump's ego," she said in a tweet.

"It makes it look like one of those totalitarian states to me," former mayor Vincent Gray said. "I don't see the purpose of it."

D.C. residents overwhelming voted against Trump; the president won just 4 percent of the vote.

Some people in D.C. on Wednesday said they would love to see a military parade.

"Why not be proud of our military, for the men and women that fight for us every day?" Zachary Sparkman, a visitor to the U.S. Navy Memorial said. "I'd love it."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump wants the Pentagon to "explore a celebration" that will allow Americans to show appreciation for the military.

Pentagon officials are aware of the request and are "looking at options," Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers said. No date has been selected.

On Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin called the plan a "fantastic waste of money to amuse the president."

White House legislative director Marc Short said it's too early to know how much the parade would cost.

"I'm not sure honoring the military is a waste of money," he said.

Muscular military parades of the kind that are common in authoritarian countries like China and North Korea are not quintessentially American. The U.S. traditionally has not embraced showy displays of raw military power, such as North Korea's parading of ballistic missiles as a claim of international prestige and influence.

U.S. military members commonly participate in parades on the Fourth of July and other holidays to mark appreciation and remembrance of military veterans, but these typically do not include gaudy displays of military hardware.

In her brief comment on Trump's order to the Pentagon, Sanders did not elaborate on what sort of event he envisions.

The last large-scale military parade in the U.S. was held in 1991, after Operation Desert Storm. Street lights were removed so tanks could rumble down streets. The 67-ton vehicles left tread marks in the asphalt on Constitution Avenue, The Washington Post reported at the time.

The parade cost $12 million, the Los Angeles Times reported. Adjusted for inflation, that's more than $21 million in today's dollars.

Although Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has not commented publicly on the idea of a Washington military parade, the idea is not an obvious fit with his emphasis on focusing strictly, if not exclusively, on military activities that either improve the lethality of the armed forces or enhance their preparation for combat, or both.

The Post report said a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump, Mattis and top generals at the Pentagon marked a tipping point in Trump's push for a parade. It quoted an unidentified military official as saying, "The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France.'' It was thus interpreted as a presidential order, the Post said, adding that the cost of shipping tanks and other military hardware to Washington could run in the millions of dollars.

The Post also reported that the Pentagon would prefer to hold such a parade on Veteran's Day in November, in part because it would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the victorious end of World War I. It would thus be less directly associated with the president and politics, the Post said.

John Kirby, a retired Navy rear admiral and former spokesman for the State Department and the Pentagon, reposted on Twitter Tuesday night an article he wrote for CNN's website last summer after Trump mentioned he had been dazzled by the Paris parade. Kirby said a big military parade in Washington is a bad idea.

"First of all, the United States doesn't need a parade down Pennsylvania or any other avenue to show our military strength,'' he wrote. "We do that every day in virtually every clime all over the world."

It has long been conventional wisdom that the U.S. does not need to boast of its military strength because it already is recognized as the leader of the NATO alliance and a model of military professionalism that countries across the global seek to emulate.

Last September, at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump announced his idea of staging a grand parade of the armed forces in Washington on July 4.

Trump reminisced about watching France's Bastille Day military parade when he visited Paris in July. He said the two-hour parade was a "tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France," and said he wanted one on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington that would be grander than the one he saw in Paris.
A proposal from the Department of Labor that would give employers more discretion over tips could have a big financial impact on workers in the area who get tips.

Under the proposed change, employers who pay their staff minimum wage could be able to take, keep or redistribute the tips that the employees earn.

This would reverse a standard that has been in effect since 2011, which says that tipped workers -- regardless of their hourly wage -- are entitled to the gratuity they earn.

At La Tomate Italian Bistro, near Dupont Circle, server Raphael Gamero said he opposed the plan. He has been a waiter for 20 years.

"We make at the most like $25 an hour. If I'm going to share with the kitchen staff or more people, I'm going to make what -- $15 an hour?" he said.



Although the proposed change would increase his hourly rate from $3.30 an hour to $12.50 an hour, he would have to give any money made in tips to his employer.

The exception to the current tip regulations is that tipped workers can pool tips to split among themselves and some other workers who customarily and regularly receive tips, like hosts and hostesses.

In the proposal, the Department of Labor argues that the Fair Labor Standards Acts limited flexibility does not allow for back of the house employees like cooks and dishwashers to always be included in a tip pool.

The Economic Policy Institute studied the change proposed by the Labor Department, and concluded it would reduce the average waiters income by $1,000 a year.

"Roughly $5.8 billion in workers' tips would be transferred from workers to employers as a result of this rule," economist and policy director Heidi Shierholz said.



The proposed change would give employers the ability to expand the tip pool to more workers, but the rules current language doesnt specify that the tips have to go back to employees at all.

On Monday, the attorneys general of D.C., Maryland and Virginia joined 14 colleagues in co-signing a letter expressing disagreement with the proposal.

Absent concrete definitions of or limitations on valid tip pool participants, the [decision] would permit employers to share in such tip pools or even collect all employee tips as their own, the letter said. In fact, the Notice itself acknowledges that rescinding the 2011 rule would permit employers to use gratuities left for servers to make capital improvements or lower restaurant menu prices and notes that tips may be utilized in part (or in full) by the employer.
A Virginia craft brewery said it paid tens of thousands of dollars for equipment it never received, and a News4 consumer investigation found its not the only one.

Sinistral Brewing Company has been a popular hangout since it opened in Old Town Manassas in November, but Blane and Stacey Perry planned to open it months earlier.

Stacey encouraged Blanes passion for making beer.

She told me you gotta get that stuff out of the house, there's way too much stuff in the house, he said.

So they decided to open a brewery, and one of the first steps was buying a brew system.

They chose Systech Stainless Works, a small company in Ohio.

We liked the fact that this was a young couple, Stacey said.

It was us, Blane said.

They were starting a business, they're in our industry, they were from Ohio where Blane grew up, it's American-made equipment, Stacey said.

In December 2016, the Perrys wired a $70,000 deposit to Systech, they said. They were told their brew system would be delivered in four-to-six months.

They bought a space and started to set up shop.

We were thinking we'd be open by Memorial Day weekend, Stacey said.

But the brew system didnt arrive by then.

The Perrys said they got a call from Systech owners Jason and Amanda Spurrell in September.

He was like, Well, you know, we're going to have to close the doors, Blane said. I was like, Do I get my deposit back? And he said, No, we used that for operating expenses.

The Perrys said bills were coming in and they couldn't open their doors without equipment to brew beer.

We literally had no money, Stacey said. We were overdrawn in our bank account. I had no money.

Systech did use about 10 percent of the Perrys money as a deposit on brewing equipment for them, but it wasnt American made as the contract stated. It was coming from China.

The Perrys had to spend tens of thousands of dollars more to pay the balance.

It was going to be months before they received it from China, so they scrambled to buy a smaller one.

Finally, just before Thanksgiving, Sinistral opened with a limited supply. Last week, they celebrated their grand opening.

After the first day where we had people show up and they were happy to be here and they liked the beer and we had money to put in the bank account, finally that was a really good night, Stacey said.

Dozen Breweries Say Paid for Equipment They Didnt Receive

A News4 consumer investigation found more than a dozen breweries across the country that say they sent money to Systech  totalling more than a half million dollars  but didnt receive their equipment, told it went to operating costs.

Nine other businesses said they received faulty equipment and spent thousands of dollars on replacements and repairs.

Roger Johnson, owner of Screech Owl Brewing in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia, said he sent Systech $34,000 and received shoddy equipment, so hes suing.

For bait and switch, for inferior products, he said. I have a welder out of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, with a mobile welding unit on call because these welds are constantly splitting, falling apart.

At least four other lawsuits have been filed against Systech and the Spurrells.

While this was going on, the Spurrells started two more businesses  Ace Metalworks and Final Gravity Home Brew. Ace Metalworks, which sold keg washers, was dissolved in August, according to Kinnek, a small business marketplace.

What happened to us, what this couple did to us, is not OK, Stacey said.

I would like to know was this malicious or are you just horrible business owners? Blane said.

When the Spurrells didnt return News4scalls, News4 went to Canton, Ohio.

At Final Gravity Home Brew, a relative of the Spurrells said they were no longer part of the business and that he was the sole owner.

At the Spurrells house, no one answered the door.

Their attorney spoke briefly but said he would get back to News4 but never did and didnt return follow-up calls.

Shane Hoover, a staff writer for the Canton Repository, met the Spurrells and covered Systech as a success story in its early days.

My impression of them was that they were young entrepreneurs and they were enthusiastic about their business, Hoover said.

He said the building was barely big enough to accommodate the workers.

At the time, I think it was around 16 or 15 workers, he said.

One of those workers said he liked the Spurrells.

I used to work for Systech, Tavian Henderson said. I used to fabricate the metal there.

He said they were nice and he was thankful for the job but he noticed the atmosphere change over time.

Hell just come in there and just be like real tense, real like something was wrong, Henderson said. Things aint being met. Deadlines arent being done. We had to ship this back out again. We had a lot of reships that we had to do as well.

Its unclear exactly what caused Systech to go out of business.

Many of the businesses that say they lost money to Systech are still tapped out.

There are some of them that are still struggling that won't be able to bounce back from this and that, and I can't sleep at night knowing that, so it would be nice to see justice brought to that couple, Stacey said.

Neither the Spurrells nor Systech have filed for bankruptcy protection.

In addition to at least five civil lawsuits, the FBI office in Manassas is leading a criminal investigation.

Reported by Susan Hogan, produced by Meredith Royster and edited by Perkins Broussard.
The era of trillion-dollar budget deficits is about to make a comeback  and a brewing budget deal could mean their return comes just next year. In the meantime, House GOP leaders are grappling with the need to pass legislation to avert another government shutdown at midnight on Thursday.

Talks on a budget-busting spending pact that would give whopping increases to both the Pentagon and domestic programs continued over the weekend in hopes of an agreement this week, aides and lawmakers said.

House GOP leaders scheduled a closed-door session Monday evening to brief Republican lawmakers on a strategy to pass a stopgap funding bill that could last up to six weeks to buy time for progress in implementing any budget pact and, perhaps, enacting legislation sought by Democrats on immigration. Republicans are scrambling to pass the measure through the House since they can't count on support from Democrats to advance the legislation.

GOP defense hawks are prevailing over the party's depleted ranks of deficit hawks while Democrats leverage their influence to increase spending for domestic priorities such as combating opioid misuse.

Details are closely held and subject to change. But at issue is a two-year deal to increase crunching caps on spending set by a failed 2011 budget deal. Republicans have pushed for defense increases in the neighborhood of $80 billion a year and have offered Democrats nearly as much  $60 billion or so per year  for nondefense programs.

Add in $80 billion to $90 billion worth of hurricane aid for Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, health care funding and money for President Donald Trump's border security plan, and the final tally could total close to $400 billion. The potential cost, over the 2018-19 budget years, would rival the deficit impact of last year's tax measure over that period.

"Republicans for years have made all of these bold promises to rein in spending," said Brian Riedl, a budget analyst at the conservative Manhattan Institute. "And they're doing the opposite."

The negotiations are bipartisan since it takes votes from Democrats to lift the budget caps and advance a follow-up omnibus spending bill, whose overall cost is likely to exceed $1.2 trillion. That means domestic programs get their due, despite the opposition of conservatives.

"Right now, everything I'm hearing grows the size of government at 13 percent," said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., citing back-and-forth budget offers. "And that's a nonstarter for conservatives."

Still, Republican deficit hawks stepped aside during last year's tax debate, and it's not looking like they'll mount a stand now. Instead, GOP defense hawks worried about lagging readiness, training and weapons procurement are carrying the day, even if it means placating Democrats with spending elsewhere.

"This budget dysfunction has a human cost, and our military is bearing the brunt of it," said Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, citing a spate of casualties from training accidents last year.

The potential agreement would significantly exceed Trump's request for a $54 billion increase in defense spending  to $603 billion before adding war funds  above the current cap. Thornberry, R-Texas, said negotiators are "very close to a budget agreement."

The budget talks are closely held and occurring as lawmakers struggle to sort through a solution to protect younger immigrants soon to be at risk of deportation with Trump's elimination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, called DACA, established by President Barack Obama. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has linked progress on the budget with action to address DACA, but other Democrats are beginning to agitate for delinking the two, lest the opportunity for a budget pact be lost.

A trade of offers on Thursday represented progress, aides said, but an agreement didn't appear imminent. The aides, both Democrats and Republicans, spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are secretive.

The budget caps are the hangover from the 2011 Budget Control Act, negotiated between Republicans and Obama, that prevented a default on the national debt and established a deficit-cutting supercommittee. But the failure of the supercommittee left behind unrealistic automatic spending cuts, known as sequestration, and today's stringent spending caps.

Deals in 2013 and 2015 eased the effects of sequestration by replacing cuts to domestic agency operating budgets and the Pentagon with spending cuts and fee increases elsewhere in the budget. Those offsetting measures tended to be relatively pain-free, though.

This year's looming deal is too big, however, to be fully offset with easy cuts elsewhere so Capitol Hill leaders would simply be adding much of its costs straight to the $20.6 trillion national debt.

In the wake of last year's tax bill, the Congressional Budget Office says the deficit for 2018 will hit about $700 billion  before any fresh increase. Next year's deficit is already estimated to reach $975 billion, so the brewing agreement would mean the first $1 trillion-plus deficit since Obama's first term.

House Budget Committee Chairman Steve Womack, R-Ark., told reporters at a GOP retreat that he is considering abandoning the chamber's traditional pursuit of a budget resolution this year. Under Capitol Hill's arcane rules, the annual budget resolution is a nonbinding measure that lays out priorities on spending, taxes and deficits. But it takes follow-up legislation to implement these priorities.

Womack said he might instead focus his efforts on unspecified changes to Washington's budget process. He said any House budget measure "certainly will not have a force of law and, No. 2, is not ever going to see the light of day."
One of President Donald Trump's top White House aides resigned Wednesday following allegations of domestic abuse leveled against him by his two ex-wives.

Staff secretary Rob Porter said in a written statement that allegations that became public this week are "outrageous" and "simply false." Porter said photos published of his former spouses  in which one appears to have a black eye  were "given to the media nearly 15 years ago and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described."

Porter added in a written statement. "I have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign."

Porter wrote in his statement that he would leave the White House after a transition period. However, a White House official confirmed to NBC News that he is leaving soon, potentially departing as early as Thursday.

Porter's former wives recounted physical, verbal and emotional abuse they say he subjected them to during their marriages.

Porter's first wife, Colbie Holderness, told the DailyMail.com that Porter choked and punched her during the five years they were husband and wife.

Porter's second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, also described for the DailyMail.com how Porter once dragged her naked and wet from the shower to yell at her. She filed a protective order against him. Stories published online by the DailyMail.com included photos of Holderness with a bruised eye socket that she said she suffered after Porter punched her in the face while on vacation in Italy.

Holderness and Willoughby each confirmed the accounts of their allegations to NBC News.

Washington Post national political reporter Beth Reinhard also spoke with the women and said on MSNBC Thursday that they both were contacted by the FBI in January 2017, "as you would expect for a background check of a high-level White House aide."

Reinhard said Holderness and Willoughby gave the FBI photos and documents in support of their claims against their ex-husband.

The White House confirmed Thursday earlier reports that Porter had only obtained an interim security clearance, though officials declined to comment beyond that.

"As has always been our policy, we do not comment on security clearances. Rob Porter has been effective in his role as staff secretary. The president and chief of staff have full confidence in his abilities and his performance," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.

Porter, 40, has been credited with working with White House chief of staff John Kelly to control the flow of information to the president. His influence growing in recent months, Porter was often seen with Trump when the president traveled and as he signed legislation or proclamations. He helped craft Trump's well-received State of the Union address and was credited internally for helping bridge divides in a White House riven by rivalries and for helping more effectively roll out new policy.

The DailyMail.com published a statement from Kelly referring to Porter as a "man of true integrity and honor," adding, "I can't say enough good things about him."

"He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him," Kelly added.

However, a former white house official told NBC News that Kelly was aware of the allegations against Porter before the story broke Wednesday.

Though the well-liked Porter lost support within the White House once the photos came out, Kelly was still urging him to stay, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity to convey internal discussions.

Late Wednesday, Kelly released a statement claiming "new allegations" had swayed him.

"I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter. There is no place for domestic violence in our society," Kelly said. " I stand by my previous comments of the Rob Porter that I have come to know since becoming Chief of Staff, and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation." It's unclear what new allegations Kelly was referring to.

Vice President Mike Pence, asked about the resignation while traveling in Japan, told reporters he learned of it from news reports. "We'll comment on any issues affecting White House staff when we get back to Washington," he said.

Before joining the administration, Porter, a Harvard Law School graduate, spent nearly three years as chief of staff to longtime Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch. Porter also worked for Republican Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah.

Hatch released a statement that said he was "heartbroken" over the allegations and denounced domestic violence.

"In every interaction I've had with Rob, he has been courteous, professional, and respectful. My staff loved him and he was a trusted advisor," Hatch said. "I do not know the details of Rob's personal life. Domestic violence in any form is abhorrent and unacceptable."

Hatch said later Wednesday that he told Porter not to resign. "He should fight his way through this, and hes got a lot to give to the administration and to all of us," Hatch told NBC News.



Porter, who joined the administration at its start in January 2017, said in his statement: "My commitment to public service speaks for itself. I have always put duty to country first and treated others with respect. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have served in the Trump Administration and will seek to ensure a smooth transition when I leave the White House."

Associated Press writer Jonathan Lemire contributed to this report.
Pockets of sleet and freezing rain fell across the Washington, D.C. area Wednesday morning, prompting a delay for the federal government and closures for several school systems.

The wintry weather stayed in the area through 9 a.m., Storm Team4 says. In the D.C. area, sleet and freezing rain was the main threat.

The inclement weather prompted several large school systems to delay their opening Wednesday morning. OPM also announced that federal agencies in D.C. would open two hours late.

Schools in Loudoun and Fairfax counties in Virginia and Montgomery County in Maryland will be closed Wednesday.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for much of the area. Storm Team4 has declared Wednesday a Weather Alert Day because of the possibility of icy conditions.

Most areas should be above freezing by noon, allowing everything to change over to rain for the remainder of the day. The rain is expected to clear after the evening rush, but freezing temperatures overnight could result in some isolated icy spots.

Some sunshine Thursday afternoon will help to dry things out.

The dry weather will stick around for the rest of the week before another chance for rain arrives Saturday evening.
Recognize this man? The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court needs help identifying a portrait of an unknown judge.

A spokesperson for the Bay State's highest court said the oil painting of the justice, who may have sat on the bench between 1780 and 1820, has been unknown ever since all of the portraits of retired justices were hung back up in the John Adams Courthouse starting in 2005.

Chief Justice Ralph Gants came up with the idea to crowdsource the identity of the unknown justice.

Anyone who knows the identity of the man in the portrait, and can provide authentication of the identity, is asked to contact the SJC.

The person who provides the identity will be invited to the courthouse to stand with Gants during a ceremony in which he places a plaque with the justice's name to the painting's frame.
While most students celebrate snow days and school cancellations, some students in Maine say theyve had enough.

It kind of sucks, said Gary Winthrope, a sophomore at Mt. Ararat High School in Topsham, Maine. His school district, MSAD 75, has had to cancel school eight times this year due to weather. You have to make up those days in the summer time, when you dont want to.

Eight days is more than Ive encountered in my time here, said Superintendent Brad Smith. A powerful wind storm late October caused widespread power outages, and made MSAD 75 cancel school for five days. For Wednesdays snow storm, the district did an early dismissal.

In Lewiston, an early dismissal wasnt an option.

Too many kids would go home to an empty house, said Superintendent Bill Webster. He decided to cancel school, even though the snow didnt start falling until the afternoon.

Today is our sixth snow day of the year, he said. The district plans to have students make up those days in June. That makes the last day of school Monday June 18th.

Students and parents in Topsham fear theyll suffer the same fate.

Theyre losing summer, said Cassandra Paetow, who has a child at Mt. Ararat Middle School.

Superintendent Smith said the district is trying to avoid it. They are taking days set aside as professional development for teachers and turning them into instructional days. If they get more snow days this winter, they may have to shorten school vacation, add hours to the school days, or even hold classes on Saturdays.

Regardless of what option we choose," Smith said, "we probably are not going to please someone."
A Massachusetts elementary school principal recently announced a significant life change.

In a letter sent home to Swampscott Stanley Elementary School parents on Tuesday, Principal Tom Daniels, 52, announced she will go by Shannon and will present as female.

Daniels said her struggle with gender identity began in elementary school.

"I did my best to suppress those feelings for more than 40 years, and while I was successful to a degree, I have never felt completely happy or at peace. I got to the point that I thought I would never be able to reveal my true self," Daniels wrote in the letter.

Daniels went on to say that after confronting some challenges last fall, things have changed.

"I can now say it: I am transgender. For me, that means I identify as both a male and female and I plan to move toward presenting myself and identifying as female," Daniels said.

Swampscott Superintendent of Schools Pamela Angelakis also sent a letter to parents applauding Daniels' decision to make the public announcement.

"I applaud Principal Daniels and admire the courage, honesty, and transparency that comes through in the letter you received. I hope you will join me and the entire district leadership team in offering Principal Daniels our acceptance, understanding, and support," Angelakis wrote.

She went on to say that the school district will be providing opportunities for education and conversation about the topic in the near future.

Daniels said she knows students will have questions during the transition.

"I know there will be questions, and I am aware of the likelihood that my transition won't necessarily be easy for everyone. I will do everything in my power to ensure that there is no negative impact on our school community," Daniels wrote.
Widespread snowfall for Vermont brought headaches for drivers, hard work for road crews, and celebrations from businesses that depend on snow.

The Vermont Agency of Transportation said roughly 250 state plows were out Wednesday, attacking this latest blast of winter weather. The state was expecting to see between six inches and a foot of snow, depending on location and elevation.

When you see us going slow, Im just going to ask, please have a little patience with us, said Randy Mayo, a VTrans plow operator. Because were just doing that to clear your roads, get you home to your families, and make sure no one gets hurt in the process.

While certainly not crippling by Vermont standards, the storm did make for trickier travel, with poor visibility.

The driver of a pickup appeared to have spun out and into the median of Interstate 89 in South Burlington.

At Johnson State College, classes, activities, and events were called off for the day starting at midday Wednesday, for safety. In a school announcement, JSC said it would be returning to a regular schedule on Thursday.

Our campus has a lot of commuters, observed JSC sophomore Marisa Eldred. A big population has to drive to come to Johnson, so Im glad they canceled.

Smugglers Notch Resort in Jeffersonville cheered the natural boost to conditions, which will help put those challenging January thaws in the rear view mirror.

Its great news for us, said resort spokesman Mike Chait. This system right now and the snow were expecting this weekend is setting us properly for the upcoming Presidents week vacation.

Among the skiers and riders enjoying the fresh powder at Smuggs Wednesday was Timothy Arrigo, who is visiting Vermont from sunny and warm Orange County, California.

We come out here for this, Arrigo told necn, saying he actually prefers the snow to the 75 degree warmth back home. This is amazing conditions.

VTrans officials said in deploying the state plows, the greatest concentration of them would be out during the evening commute Wednesday, when conditions were expected to be the worst.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday let a court-ordered redrawing of congressional districts in Pennsylvania proceed, denying a plea from Republicans legislative leaders to block it.

Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency appeals from Pennsylvania, rejected the request from the GOP leaders and voters that the court put on hold an order from the state Supreme Court that could now produce new congressional districts in the coming two weeks.

The Pennsylvania high court ruled last month that the map of 18 districts violated the state constitution because it unfairly benefited Republicans.

The U.S. Supreme Court typically does not review state court decisions based on a state's constitution, but the Republicans asked the high court to make an exception.

The decision comes just four days before the Republican-controlled Legislature's deadline for submitting a replacement map for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to consider.

The Democratic-majority state Supreme Court has ruled that if lawmakers and the governor can't agree to a plan, the court will quickly move to adopt one.

Pennsylvania's congressional delegation has been 13-5 in favor of Republicans during the three election cycles since the GOP-drawn 2011 map took effect. Democrats have about 800,000 more registered voters than Republicans and hold all three statewide row offices, but Republicans hold solid majorities in both chambers of the Legislature.

Under the process laid out two weeks ago by four of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices, all Democrats, the Legislature has until Friday to pass a new map, after which Wolf will have until Thursday, Feb. 15, to decide whether to endorse it and submit it to the justices.

The state Supreme Court said it expected new districts to be in place by Feb. 19, and the new map will be in play for the May 15 congressional primaries.

Republican leaders successfully defended the 2011 plan against a separate lawsuit in federal court and have complained that the state court order did not provide sufficient guidance for them to draw a new map.

A group of voters persuaded all five Democrats on the state's seven-justice high court that the map violated the state constitution. The Jan. 22 majority order said new districts should be compact and contiguous and only split counties, cities, towns, boroughs, townships or wards when needed to ensure population equality.

The quick turn-around the majority ordered last month caused one of the Democrats on the court, Justice Max Baer, to state he was "concerned that the procedure detailed by the court may not provide the parties with due process moving forward."

Late last week the two highest-ranking Republican leaders in the General Assembly, Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai, sought recusal of one of the Democratic justices, David Wecht. They argued Wecht had made statements critical of gerrymandering during his successful 2015 campaign that they viewed as evidence of bias.

On Monday, Republican Justice Sallie Mundy filed a notice that she had received a $25,000 campaign donation from Scarnati but was confident she could rule fairly in the case.

The U.S. Supreme Court last month delayed a lower-court order that would have produced new congressional districts in North Carolina. The justices are currently considering challenges to Wisconsin's state legislative districts and a congressional district in Maryland.


Sheringham couple share Gods light across Europe

2018: Reverends Ray and Ruth Scorey have just returned from an amazing journey across Europe, and donated their motorhome to missionary work in Malta. They tell their story here:



Arise, Shine, For Your Light Has Come



"When God sent Ray and Ruth Scorey, pictured right, to motor-home down the East coast of England in 2014, to pray for the healing of the land, it was just the beginning of something bigger. Of course, that is how God works in us; He starts us off small and beckons us on encouragingly to bigger things, just as the proud parent of toddling children who have lots to learn.



"But little did Ray and Ruth dream that they would find themselves motor-homing through Europe in early winter at the end of 2017, to perform a very similar act of prayer and healing upon the land there:- All the way to Malta via Latvia, to give the motorhome to Malta Healing Rooms.



"To make things a little more challenging, the journey through middle Europe was accomplished in the dark, as the vehicle's leisure battery didn't charge up until it was fixed in Rome! It was as if the black-out was mirroring a dark spirit of occupation that still inhabits these nations; previously warring, war torn, suppressed and oppressed by invaders. But God is switching on the lights in Europe!



"No-one in their earthly mind would think to camp in Poland or take on the first snows of Austria in November. Certainly, there were times when two sets of pyjamas and two sleeping bags were still not sufficient! And yet, in quite clear displays of light, God made it apparent to Ray and Ruth, that He most definitely hemmed them in behind and before on their journey.



"You see, they arrived in Latvia's November just in time for the annual candle-lighting ceremony of "The Eleventh Of The Eleventh", pictured right, to commemorate Latvia's victory and freedom over the Soviets in 1918. And Ray and Ruth also arrived in Venice just in time to see their annual candle-lighting ceremony at Santa Maria Della Salute, pictured above, to commemorate Venice's salvation from the plague in 1630.



"What fitting tributes of light to Christ's amazing feat on the cross; to not only save us from the captivity of sin and evil, but to heal us from our disease. And this is the message of Healing Rooms.



"Indeed the "Light" theme continued throughout the journey. After travelling from Cromer to Riga in Latvia, Ray and Ruth took part in a Healing Rooms Conference after which the leaders lit fourteen matches, placed in bread and set upon a map of Europe, pictured below. They declared and decreed that each match, planted as a prophetic act in each country visited on the way to Malta, would be the birthplace of new Godly light and growth.



"This took them to Kaunas in Lithuania, Warsaw and (heart achingly) Auschwitz in Poland, Brno in Czech Republic, Bratislava in Slovakia, Hegyeshalom in Hungary, Graz in Austria, Venice, Tarquinia and Salerno in Italy, Palma and Barcelona in Spain (a brief diversion on family business), and finally Malta's St Paul's Bay and Marsaskala Points - the edges of Europe.



"How amazing to discover that the team in Malta had had a similar prophecy involving candles lighting each other across their land. Brexit may be impending, yet Europe is waking up to Jesus."





Healing Rooms is a growing international organisation, biblically based and run by a loving, encouraging team of Christians from a mixture of denominations. For a healing appointment, or if you wish to join the team, contact norfolk@healingrooms.org.uk , leave a message on 07900 341287 or visit www.norfolkhealingrooms.co.uk



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After clocking up many years of experience as cafe manager at the Kings Church Centre in Norwich, Chris Bottomley has now launched his own business creating masterpiece cakes.

After clocking up many years of experience as cafe manager at the Kings Church Centre in Norwich, Chris Bottomley has now launched his own business creating masterpiece cakes.

A dinosaur roar of hope for Gods creation Andy Bryant, who has been project managing the current Dippy attraction in Norwich Cathedral, points out that the Diplodocus skeleton represents far more than a display of old bones. Read more

An African mission for South Norfolk churches An empowering mission for a struggling community in Zimbabwe struck an immediate chord with Carolyn Skittrall who supports several South Norfolk churches to bring change and growth through practical initiative and insight. Read more

Gorleston church thanks Covid volunteers St Mary Magdalene church in Gorleston has hosted a Big Thank You afternoon tea to thank the volunteers who had supported the community during the COVID pandemic. Read more

Fulmerstons Christian footballer celebrates 30 years on the pitch Tim Lovejoy from Fulmerston Christian Fellowship has clocked up over 500 games in a three-decade career with his local football club. Read more

St Martins memorial garden officially open A memorial garden to remember people experiencing homelessness who have died was opened on September 6 by the Rt Rev Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich. The garden is in the grounds of Bishopbridge House, the direct access hostel run by St Martins. Read more

Loving care and Christian ethos at Corton House Excellent loving care and support is provided at Corton House, a care home with a Christian ethos located in the heart of Norwich. Read more

Norma's sponsored walks for Christian charities Norma Broadest is embarking on two walking challenges to raise funds for Christian charities Street Child and Restoration of Hope in Burundi. Read more

93,000 in the East will skip meals if Credit is cut 93,000 people in the East of England fear they will be forced to skip meals if UK government cuts Universal Credit payments this October says the Trussell Trust  the Christian charity behind many of the foodbanks across the country. Read more

Providing retirement care with a Christian ethos Care and retirement homes in Norfolk, including Eckling Grange, Corton House and Quebec Hall, are providing loving care with a Christian ethos. Read more

Jill's teaching series offers a rock in stormy times Jill Gower is beginning a new series of teaching days at the Light House in Heartsease, looking at End Times through Biblical prophecy. Read more

Exciting new roles available at YMCA Norfolk YMCA Norfolk is currently advertising a number of exciting new vacancies available across the organisation including a Senior Maintenance Co-ordinator, a Chef, a Nursery Nurse and Housing Engagement Workers. Read more

Now is the time to start loving our enemies Philip Young has been considering recent events in the Middle East and believes that it is now even more important than ever to remember Jesus instruction to love our enemies. Read more

Norwich Passion Play Co-ordinator needed Celebrate Norfolk requires an organised and enthusiastic co-ordinator to help it deliver on a seven-month project to stage a professional free Passion Play in Norwich city centre at Easter 2022. Read more

Mid Norfolk church needs a Lead Youth Worker The Fountain of Life Network Church (FoL church), located in Ashill, Mid-Norfolk, is looking for a Lead Youth Worker. Read more

The Fountain of Life Internship Programme The Fountain of Life Network Church (FoL church), located in Ashill, Mid-Norfolk, is offering an exciting and varied one-year internship programme for 18-24 year olds. Read more

YMCA Norfolk needs new community cafe Chef YMCA Norfolk is looking for a Chef for its Williams' Kitchen community cafe in Norwich. Read more

YMCA Norfolk Senior Maintenance Co-ordinator YMCA Norfolk needs a Senior Maintenance Co-ordinator to provide and manage the day-to-day maintenance for the properties owned and managed by the charity. Read more
Making fun of silly implementations of the Internet of Things (IoT) is easier than shooting fish in a barrel. No matter how ridiculous the last IoT device may seem, theres always something even more outre in the works.

Thats fine  up to a point. It doesnt necessarily hurt for IoT to enter peoples lives in friendly, non-threatening, non-mission-critical applications. Ideally, that can make IoT seem approachable instead of creepy, mildly useful instead of invasive.

Also on Network World: Forget the CES hype, IoT is all about industry

But theres a limit to this approach. The endless parade of pointless IoT gimmicks threatens to trivialize the technology, leading consumers (and business people) to dismiss the IoT as the realm of smart toothbrushes and smart hairbrushes and smart refrigerators  and internet-connected toilets.

Its a real problem, and it only gets worse when big, respected organizations get involved in the silliness. When household names embrace IoT ephemera, it devalues the technology and doesnt do the company any favors either.

Thats why the video below made me so sad:

The highly produced clip  which I found courtesy of TrendWatching  extolls the virtues of a device that lets hotel guests write and draw in steam while in the shower, then email the results to themselves. The shower door notepad was apparently tested for several months at a Marriott Hotel in Irvine, California, based on the notion that many business travelers say they often come up with good ideas while in the shower.

Ahem.

Maybe some people do get their best ideas in the shower. And I have no doubt that whoever came up this idea did it covered with soap suds. But there are so many things wrong with this idea that I hardly know where to start.

IoT shower power?

First off, Irvine sits in drought-stricken Southern California, where the notion of encouraging guests to linger under the running water writing notes in steam has unfortunate ecological implications.

Also, is a steam-note pad really the best way to capture shower-y inspiration? Wouldnt Alexa, take a memo do as well or better? More to the point: Perhaps one reason why ideas may come to people while in the shower is that for a few minutes at least, theyre not surrounded by technology.

Look, theres nothing wrong per se with wacky IoT implementations like this. But they can distract from IoTs real potential. I have to believe that with a little work, Marriot can find a better technology gimmick. Heck, even robotic room service seems more practical!

Also on Network World: IoT is everywhere
It was great to see so many past and current students coming together"

TRINITY Schools current and former pupils were joined by the mayor of Thatcham, Ellen Crumly, to celebrate last years achievements at the schools annual awards evening recently.

Mrs Crumly gave a speech on education and achievement, before the best-performing students were presented with their awards.

Executive headteacher Charlotte Wilson said: It was great to see so many past and current students coming together to celebrate their own and the schools successes.

It was so good to see many of these former students before they returned to their studies at university.

The awards included the Outstanding Student in KS4, which was awarded to Mahima Begum, while the Outstanding Student in KS5 went to Bradley Burton (current student) and Jack Turner (leaver).

The PTA Community Service Award went to Finley Uphill and the Service to School Awards went to Jenizze Ebias for KS4 and Daniel Hares for KS5.
Group start campaign against building 7m facility at North Street playing fields

A GROUP of residents have joined together to reinforce the message that the North Street playing fields is the wrong site for the new school in Theale.

They have expressed major concerns over highways safety, the loss of recreational space, a lack of parking proposed at the school and the impact on local services, such as the doctors surgery.

The residents say that Theale as a village will be destroyed if the new school is built on the playing fields and are calling on West Berkshire Council to expand the existing school instead.

During the meeting, Pamela Sergent, who is spearheading the campaign, made an impassioned speech highlighting her fears.

In her speech, she accused West Berkshire Council of bullying Theale Parish Council into giving up the land.

She said: I would like to question why a poll is even being considered.

It is clear that West Berkshire Council have already taken the decision to take North Street playing fields and, ever since, they have tried to make things fit.

West Berkshire Council have never held a proper public meeting. Their information is flawed at best and far from complete.

They led us to believe that the money would be pulled two years ago.

Residents said on day one that it was the wrong site, that it was too dangerous, that there would be unnecessary loss of recreational space and that the rest of Theale could not cope.

She went on to accuse West Berkshire Council of brushing the facts aside and continuing to force this bad decision along.

She also claimed that Theale Primary School had been selective by insisting that the new school was the only option.

Mrs Sergent continued: Theale Parish Council, Englefield Parish Council and the residents objected to the planning application, stating valid reasons.

Just because that was overruled by West Berkshire Council, it does not stop those from being valid reasons.

Thames Valley Police explained their concerns about when, not if, an accident would happen.

There is insufficient highway to make a two-metre path, yet still West Berkshire Council continue to say the roads and pavements will be suitable.

Open your eyes, there are not and never will be for that number of pedestrians travelling in two directions along a busy narrow road.

Concluding her argument, she said: Theale is a village not ready for expansion on this scale.

Infrastructure and services simply cannot cope.

It is time to stand up and say no to releasing the North Street playing fields. Build a school on its existing site.

After all, West Berkshire Council have previously stated at an Englefield Parish Council meeting that the school does not have to have the capacity to expand to 420 places to get the funding they received.

West Berkshire Council created this deadline again and issued an ultimatum.

It is time they learnt that bullying is not acceptable.

After the meeting, Craig Stevens, another resident who feels the playing fields is the wrong site for the school, said: The main reason is the road. It is too dangerous.

Why should we have to wait for a kid to be knocked over before we realise this?

If it is going to be built, the school has to be right and has to be in the right place.

The North Street playing fields isnt the right one.
24-year-old triumphs just three years after starting business

A THATCHAM-based make-up artist has won a national award.

Lissy Puig, who runs a salon on Blackdown Way, said she was overwhelmed after being named National Make-up Artist of the Year 2018 at the Wedding Industry Awards last month.

The 24-year-old, who specialises in bridal and occasion make-up, said she was surprised to win the biggest award in her industry  despite only starting out three years ago.

Speaking to the about her achievement, she said: Absolutely amazing.

When you are self-employed its like the most rewarding thing you can get, other than your business going well.

Theres no other recognition you can get.

There are so many awards, but this one is really well respected and amazingly valued.

As a massively respected award it does wonders for your business.

I know, as the lady who taught me privately won it several years ago and said her business never looked the same again.

To win the award, Miss Puig had to answer questions about how she worked and treated clients.

Only brides she had in the last two years could vote.

My whole ethos is women feeling amazing and feeling good in their skin, she said.

I make it social and personal.

Im quite light-hearted and I treat my clients as friends.

Miss Puig, a former Bradfield College student who now lives in Newbury, said she thought she would miss out on this years prize after being in hospital.

I thought there was no chance that I would win it this early on, she said. Im really overwhelmed and surprised.

Miss Puig said that she was working on a big project and would be networking and building her brand in the coming months.

For more information, visit www.lissypuig.com
An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease in 2014-15 in Flint, Michigan, was likely caused by a change in the city's drinking water supply, according to a study led by Colorado State University researchers.

Sammy Zahran, associate professor in the Department of Economics at CSU, was the lead author of an article about the study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). CSU Economics Professor David Mushinski was a co-author.

Based on a detailed statistical analysis of multiple datasets by Zahran and his co-authors, the Flint Area Community Health and Environment Partnership (FACHEP) found that the majority of Legionnaires' disease cases that occurred during the 2014-15 outbreak in Genesee County, Michigan, can be attributed to a change in the City of Flint's drinking water supply, from Lake Huron to the Flint River.

A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY

The researchers conducted an exhaustive analysis of data on Legionnaires' cases in Genesee, Wayne and Oakland counties between 2011 and 2016. FACHEP researchers determined that in 2014-15 an increase in the risk of acquiring Legionnaires' disease across the Flint water distribution system was consistent with a system-wide proliferation of Legionella bacteria. The researchers determined that an estimated 80 percent of Legionnaires' cases during this period were attributable to the change in water supply, according to the article in PNAS.

"During the period when their water was supplied from the Flint River, Flint residents were seven times more likely to develop Legionnaires' disease," Zahran said. "After public announcements urging residents to boil their water, there was a lower risk of developing the disease, likely because people avoided using their water."

"Our study shows that during the water crisis, the risk of a Flint resident having Legionnaires' disease increased as the amount of free chlorine in water decreased," said Shawn McElmurry, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Wayne State University and the FACHEP principal investigator. "Since municipalities routinely measure free chlorine at multiple points in water distribution systems to reduce the risk of waterborne illnesses, these results should help inform future water management policies and practices." Chlorine is routinely added to drinking water to kill microbes.

EFFECT OUTSIDE FLINT

During the water crisis, the likelihood of Legionnaires' disease occurring in communities adjacent to Flint also increased, probably due to the number of people who commuted into Flint.

After the city returned to its original water source, Lake Huron, the risk of a Flint neighborhood presenting with Legionnaires' disease returned to historically normal levels.

The analysis also suggested that chlorine residual levels recommended by regulatory agencies (0.2 or 0.5 parts per million) may not be sufficient to protect communities from Legionella pneumophila exposure when water quality conditions support strong Legionella growth. These were the conditions in Flint during and immediately after the water change.

"It's gratifying to have independent confirmation of what many of us working and living in Flint have suspected," said Dr. Lawrence Reynolds, a member of Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder's Flint Water Advisory Task Force and the Flint Water Interagency Coordinating Committee. "This provides clarity regarding what happened in this community and hopefully will help others. "

A DIFFICULT TASK

McElmurry noted that the investigation was challenging. "These are very complicated questions, and we are working with a very talented team of investigators including epidemiologists, infectious disease specialists, microbiologists, water engineers, social-behavioral scientists and statisticians to understand what happened in Flint," he said. "Most important was the assistance of residents who worked directly with us on this challenging problem."

Before making their results public, Zahran and his co-authors subjected their analysis to a peer-review process. That process for research published in academic journals helps verify that the methods and conclusions have been evaluated by experts in the field and meets rigorous standards for accuracy. Research and the peer-review process takes time.

"While we have been anxious to share these results as soon as possible, we thought it was also important that our research was subjected to the highest level of independent review," said McElmurry. "Peer-review allows us to demonstrate that our work is independent and free of any external influence."

The FACHEP research team is a consortium led by Wayne State University that includes the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Kettering University, Colorado State University and the Henry Ford Health System.

ABOUT THE PROCESS

The FACHEP team collected water samples from more than 368 randomly selected homes in Flint, including 136 homes in 2016 and 221 homes in 2017. It also collected samples from 268 randomly selected homes in Genesee County, including 51 homes tested in 2016 and 217 homes tested in 2017.

Samples collected in Genesee County outside of Flint, and in Wayne County, will serve as comparisons to Flint samples to better understand water quality in the city.
Scientists have developed a CRISPR gene-editing technique that can potentially correct a majority of the 3,000 mutations that cause Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by making a single cut at strategic points along the patient's DNA, according to a study from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The method, successfully tested in heart muscle cells from patients, offers an efficient alternative to the daunting task of developing an individualized molecular treatment for each gene mutation that causes DMD. It also opens up possible new treatment approaches for other diseases that have thus far required more intrusive methods to correct single-gene mutations.

Scientists say the new strategy enhances the accuracy for surgical-like editing of the human genome, correcting mistakes in the DNA sequence that cause devastating diseases like DMD, a deadly condition caused by defects in the dystrophin gene. Normally, the dystrophin protein helps strengthen muscle fibers.

"This is a significant step," said Dr. Eric Olson, Director of UT Southwestern's Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine. "We're hopeful this technique will eventually alleviate pain and suffering, perhaps even save the lives, of DMD patients who have a wide range of mutations and, unfortunately, have had no other treatment options to eliminate the underlying cause of the disease."

CRISPR Advancements

A study published in Science Advances documents the success of a new CRISPR gene-editing technique designed to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

The new strategy can potentially correct a majority of the 3,000 types of mutations that cause DMD.

It requires only a single cut at strategic points along the patient's DNA and is less intrusive than traditional gene-editing methods.

12 guide RNAs developed to find mutation "hotspots" along the dystrophin gene helped rescue cardiac function to near-normal levels in human heart muscle tissue.

The work builds upon previous CRISPR research from Dr. Eric Olson, including studies from 2014, 2016 and 2017.

The research, the cover story of this month's Science Advances, builds upon previous studies from Dr. Olson in which CRISPR-Cas9 corrected a single gene mutation that caused DMD in mice. The new study demonstrates how a wide range of mutations can be corrected in human cells by eliminating abnormal splice sites in the genomic DNA.

These splice sites instruct the genetic machinery to build abnormal dystrophin molecules, but once the gene is successfully edited it expresses a much-improved dystrophin protein product, enhancing the function of the muscle tissue.

"In fact, we found that correcting less than half of the cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) was enough to rescue cardiac function to near-normal levels in human-engineered heart tissue," said Dr. Chengzu Long, lead author of the study and Assistant Professor of Medicine at New York University Langone Health.

Deadly defects

DMD is a rare disease affecting primarily boys and is caused by defects in the gene that makes the dystrophin protein. These defects - which could affect any of the 79 exons that comprise the gene - lead to degeneration of skeletal and heart muscles, forcing patients into wheelchairs and, due to degeneration of chest wall muscles needed for breathing, eventually onto respirators. Most patients die by age 30. No cure has been developed.

The disease is among many conditions that scientists are hoping to treat through the recently developed CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool, in which an RNA strand guides an enzyme called Cas9 to cut a specific portion of DNA.

Pending federal government approval, it is anticipated that U.S. clinical trials involving CRISPR gene editing will begin this year, starting in blood disorders, as researchers continue studying the best methods to maximize efficiency and reduce the potential for unintended edits to the genome.

Precision editing

Dr. Olson's lab spent substantial time developing and testing various guide RNAs (ribonucleic acids) that could lead the Cas9 enzyme precisely to 12 designated splice sites and avoid errant edits. These sites were targeted because they are located at "hot spots" along the dystrophin gene where up to 60 percent of the disease-causing mutations occur.

"This is a new concept," said Dr. Rhonda Bassel-Duby, co-author of the study and Professor of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern. "Not only did we find a practical way of treating many mutations, we have developed a less disruptive method that skips over defective DNA instead of removing it. The genome is highly structured and you don't want to remove DNA that could potentially be important."

The strategy of single-cut editing may be useful for treating other single-gene diseases, Dr. Olson said. However, the genes involved must be able to function if certain exons are removed from the protein recipe.

"Dystrophin is like a big shock absorber; removal of a few coils of the springs is fine. Other proteins may not be so easy," said Dr. Olson, Co-Director of the Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center, and Professor and Chair of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern.

'Real hope'

Dr. Olson's lab will continue testing the method to ensure it does not have adverse side effects, in addition to seeking ways to improve the precision of the guide RNAs. In the meantime, the work has spawned a new biotechnology company, Exonics Therapeutics Inc., which is working to further optimize and extend the approach to additional DMD mutations, as well as other neuromuscular diseases. Exonics has licensed the technology from UT Southwestern.

"This is a major advance," Dr. Bassel-Duby said. "Many different therapies have been put forward, but this one provides real hope to extend and improve the quality of patients' lives."

Some of those patients have already seen firsthand how gene editing can correct defects in their cells. Dr. Jay Schneider, a co-author of the study, recalls the first DMD patient who donated cells to the research effort several years ago.

The patient, already in a wheelchair, visited the lab and watched in amazement as his own muscle cells beat in a culture dish after corrective editing.

"This was an incredibly inspiring moment, not only for this awestruck patient, but for the whole clinical and scientific team," said Dr. Schneider, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Dallas Heart Ball Chair in Cardiac Research at UT Southwestern. "Taking medical problems like DMD from the patient to the lab bench and then back to the patient is the vision, and these new gene-editing technologies are making this vision a reality."
The first-ever long-term study of patterns of social contact in Hong Kong will improve our knowledge of the growth of epidemics say researchers.

Hong Kong was where Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) emerged in 2002-2003. A hotel guest infected with the illness spread the virus to seven other guests who then caught flights, leading to almost 800 deaths in a global pandemic.

Dr Jonathan Read of Lancaster University in the UK with Dr On Kwok from the Chinese University of Hong Kong conducted a study of 1,450 residents in the city, which is one of the most densely populated in the world.

The researchers measured the daily number and type of social encounters made by participants. The study is published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

Dr Read said: "It's the first time anyone has measured social contact patterns for a large representative sample of people for more than a single day per person, so will help inform mathematical models of epidemics, particularly for Hong Kong - where SARS emerged into the world -- but also how those patterns change over time."

They found that on average:

 People met 12 to 13 individuals daily

 Their contacts were in three different locations around Hong Kong

 The daily time spent in contact with others was just over 9 hours

 More people were encountered from Monday to Thursday than at the weekend

Age was an important factor:

 10-20 year olds and 40-50 year olds had the highest rate of encountering others

 There was a sharp decline in encounter rates above the age of 60

 All age groups, except 20-39 and 40-64 year olds, were significantly more likely to have a greater number of contacts with a member of their own age group

Researchers also found that some people make, on average, more contacts than others - but they are not necessarily more likely to contract or spread disease.

"The number of contacts you make is often thought of as an important indicator of how likely you are to get infected or to pass infection on to others. People who make a lot of contacts, so called super-mixers, could perhaps be targeted to help control an epidemic. As this study is the first of its kind to follow people over several days, we can see how different people are to each other, compared to their own day-to-day pattern of encounters. Our study shows that there is surprisingly large day-to-day variation in the rate at which individuals interact. This means it may not help to target 'super-mixers', as they may well be making a reduced number of contacts the next day or while they are infectious.

"This may help to explain why contact tracing to prevent a disease, such as flu or Ebola or TB, from spreading is so hard."
On the occasion of the World Cancer Day, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre launched the European Cancer Information System (ECIS), which makes it possible to explore geographical patterns and temporal trends of cancer incidence, mortality, and survival from data submitted by some 150 European population-based cancer registries.

Cancer may seem to strike European citizens randomly, but there is actually great variation across Europe in incidence, mortality, and survival.

In 2018, 3.9 million new cases of cancer (all types, excluding non-melanoma skin cancer) and over 1.9 million cancer deaths are estimated in Europe.

A high proportion of this burden (53% of new cancer cases and 56% of cancer deaths) will affect the male population. Cancer incidence is highest in the Northern European region.

On the occasion of the World Cancer Day, the European Commission's science and knowledge service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC) launched the European Cancer Information System (ECIS), which makes it possible to explore geographical patterns and temporal trends of cancer incidence, mortality, and survival from data submitted by some 150 European population-based cancer registries, residing in 25 EU Member States and 7 non-EU European countries (Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Belarus, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland ). This data, covering 65% of the EU population, has thus far been dispersed at country or even regional level, making any Europe-wide comparisons or statistics difficult to obtain.

Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, responsible for the Joint Research Centre said: "The European Cancer Information System is an excellent example of our support for decision-makers and researchers across the EU and beyond. It allows for the assessment and monitoring of the disease across regions and countries, following trends over time and helping to gather information that could lead to a further decrease of cancer rates. "

EU policy on cancer

Cancer is the second leading cause of mortality in EU Member States after cardiovascular diseases, with more than 1.4 million deaths estimated for 2018 across the 28 EU countries. Lung, colon, female breast, pancreas and prostate cancers account for nearly half (49%) of all deaths due to cancer.

For more than 30 years since the first 'Europe against cancer' programme was launched, actions taken at EU level have helped to extend and save lives. The Commission has been at the forefront of tackling risk factors, promoting screening to detect cancer early, and best practice to help EU countries improve the quality, effectiveness, resilience of health systems and to reduce inequalities in access to health services.

Methodology

The ECIS displays different types of information: incidence and mortality over time (so far until 2014), survival statistics for the cancer cases diagnosed in the period 2000-2007, as well as national predictions of cancer incidence and mortality for 2018. The database feeding the ECIS application is dynamic and is updated as new data become available.

Incidence and mortality indicators over time are derived from data collected by the ENCR-JRC project "Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Europe", survival statistics are from the EUROCARE-5 project, while the 2018 predictions of cancer incidence and mortality are the joint outcome of a collaborative exercise led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer in collaboration with the JRC, the European Network of Cancer Registries and the International Association of Cancer Registries.
The MycetOS (Mycetoma Open Source) project was launched today by the University of Sydney, Erasmus MC, and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) to use an Open Pharma approach to discover compounds that could lead to new treatments for patients suffering from fungal mycetoma (eumycetoma), a devastating disease for which current treatments are ineffective, expensive, and toxic.

As a first step in the project, the global scientific community is invited to review the manuscript, "Analogues of fenarimols as novel drug candidates for mycetoma", which has been recently submitted with full dataset to bioRxiv, an open access biology preprint server, for review and comment by interested scientists. The manuscript shares the results of early work to screen 800 diverse, drug-like molecules for active compounds against the causative pathogen of eumycetoma, which yielded several promising new hits. These results and the associated data form the starting point for the MycetOS community, which will communicate on Twitter (

MycetOS will progress drug discovery efforts through community-driven, in-kind scientific contributions and a robust, fully transparent online presence. All ideas and results will be published immediately in real time to an open-access database. In addition to communicating via Twitter, the MycetOS community will use a dedicated subreddit forum for transparent interactive discussion, and use github for sharing data and key project files.

"We invite anyone interested to review not only the manuscript but also the dataset, and to join this Open Pharma drug discovery project for mycetoma," said Dr Mat Todd, Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. "Forward movement of the work looks to the participation of interested researchers and others. This is already happening successfully with a previous Open Pharma project, Open Source Malaria (@O_S_M)."

The manuscript on the findings of the screening effort was co-authored by early MycetOS participants from the University of Sydney, Erasmus MC, and DNDi, and by partners at the Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), which provided the molecules for screening from their Stasis and open access Pathogen Boxes.

"While MycetOS was developed by participants from the University of Sydney, Erasmus MC and DNDi, it is not 'owned' by any of us", said Wendy van de Sande, Associate Professor, Erasmus MC. "This early work merely starts a process of discovering potential new chemical entities for eumycetoma, and we invite anyone interested to identify how they might contribute and participate as an equal partner in this search for a new treatment for this most neglected of tropical diseases."
A team of computer scientists from the University of Delaware and Georgetown University has developed a new system to rapidly determine which cancer drugs are likely to work best given a patient's genetic markers. The first publicly available system of its kind, their database, eGARD (extracting Genomic Anomalies association with Response to Drugs), is described in PLOS One.

When your genes work correctly, they function like miniature factory plant managers, directing the production of life-sustaining proteins. But sometimes, a gene goes rogue and manufactures a cancerous tumor instead. When cancer experts identify these faulty genes, they can devise treatment plans based on past evidence.

However, until now, the data linking genetic factors and treatment results has been spread among hundreds of academic journals. It would take days for doctors, doing nothing else, to find and read all these reports. Now, they may be able to spend that time delivering optimized treatments instead.

The promise of eGARD

eGARD is a text mining system that analyzes words and phrases in medical literature to find relationships between genomic anomalies and drug responses.

"Clinicians have no time to read all of the reports and literature for each tumor," said Peter McGarvey, a study author and associate professor of biochemistry at Georgetown University. "eGARD is a way to help surface the important ones for clinicians, medical geneticists or maybe companies that already are doing this in other ways."

The research team applied eGARD on roughly 36,000 article abstracts, retrieving 50 genes and 42 cancer drugs, including cell cycle inhibitors, kinase inhibitors and antibody treatments.

The research team first trained the system to identify indications of genetic anomalies, with very scientific names such as "over-expression of ERCC1" or "C677T and A1298C polymorphisms of MTHFR gene."

Then, they trained it to look for text suggesting treatment outcomes, such as "significantly poorer response" or "survival rate." Next, they sought words and phrases connecting a genetic anomaly and outcome, such as "correlate," "associate" or "sensitize."

By extracting and processing key pieces of text, eGARD can match genetic signatures with outcomes with 95 percent precision.

"We hope this could make a difference for oncologists and cancer patients alike," said study author Vijay Shanker, a professor of computer and information sciences at UD.

UD researchers developed the code and data processing for eGARD, and clinically focused researchers at Georgetown provided use cases, terminology, curated datasets and insight on what information was most important to clinicians working in precision medicine. Both groups tested and refined the system.

The team will make a public interface for eGARD. It may also be incorporated into other software eventually.

The authors of the new paper include A.S.M. Ashique Mahmood, a doctoral student in computer and information sciences at UD; Shruti Rao, a research associate at the Innovation Center for Biomedical Informatics at Georgetown University; McGarvey; Cathy Wu, Unidel Edward G. Jefferson Chair in Engineering and Computer Science and director of the Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology at UD; Subha Madhavan, director of Biomedical Informatics at Georgetown University; and Shanker.

This project was funded by MACE2K as part of the National Institutes of Health BD2K (Big Data to Knowledge) initiative.

Some students involved with this project also had a chance to prove how well their system works in November at TREC 2017, the Text REtrieval Conference, held in Gaithersburg, Maryland. A team led by Mahmood and Gang Li, also a graduate student in computer and information sciences, took some top honors in the precision medicine track.

Participants were given information about a patient's disease, relevant genetic variants and other key factors. Then they were asked to retrieve clinical trial information and abstracts of biomedical articles relevant to the patient and judged on three measures of their ability to do each. In a competition with 32 teams, the UD team ranked first on all three measures related to clinical trials. For abstracts, the UD team earned rankings of first, fourth and fifth.

iTextMine for knowledge integration

eGARD is not the first or last system from this group of big data experts. A suite of text mining tools has been developed by students and research scientists over the years through the long-standing collaborations between Shanker and Wu. Funded by another NIH grant, the UD research team has developed the iTextMine (Integrated Text Mining System for Large-Scale Knowledge Extraction from Literature), which uses an automated workflow to run multiple text-mining tools on the entire PubMed with millions of citations for biomedical literature.

"By analyzing scientific texts with multiple text mining tools, researchers may further gain knowledge on gene-drug-disease relationships and better understand the underlying molecular mechanisms," said Wu.

This tool allows users to browse the text evidence for multiple biomarkers and view integrated results through a network visualization. The iTextMine will be presented by Jia Ren, a student in the Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Ph.D. program, at the International Biocuration Conference in China this April.
A new partnership in Leeds has been agreed to evaluate the benefits of a diagnostic blood test which can help predict whether someone is likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

The test, developed by US biotech company SomaLogic, measures protein indicators or biomarkers in a blood sample.

If the test is effective, it will enable GPs to work with their patients to find the best way to keep them healthy or to steer them towards better health.

The Leeds Centre for Personalized Medicine and Health will be working with SomaLogic to explore how to assess the effectiveness of the test through a number of clinical studies across the city, to see if it can be used to try and prevent cases of type 2 diabetes.

Figures from Public Health England (PHE) estimate that 3.8 million people have diabetes, nine out of ten having type 2 which PHE says is largely preventable or manageable through lifestyle changes, and prevalence of the condition is due to carry on increasing.

One of the key risk factors is being overweight.

It has been estimated that the cost of treating diabetes and its complications now accounts for ten percent of the NHS budget. PHE says tackling the disease is fundamental to the sustainable future of the NHS.

The SomaLogic test is based on proteomics where the levels of 5,000 specific proteins are measured to calculate the risks that an individual will develop certain conditions, such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes. The first phase of the partnership, which has been supported by the Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network, will focus on the effectiveness of the test in health initiatives designed to prevent type 2 diabetes.

What does this partnership mean for Leeds?

At the moment, people are assessed as being at high risk of type-2 diabetes if they have a raised level of a biomarker called HbA1c. Those people are offered regular screening and support on possible lifestyle changes.

However measuring HbA1c is not foolproof at predicting whether someone will go on and develop the condition.

SomaLogics test

Studies suggest that SomaLogics test could be more accurate at predicting if an individual will develop the condition, allowing GPs to better target and tailor interventions at those patients at the greatest risk.

Dr Mike Messenger, Head of the Leeds Centre for Personalized Medicine and Health, said:

For a number of years, doctors have spoken of personalized medicine  a move away from one size fits all to a process of tailoring treatment using biomarkers, as SomaLogic is suggesting. Doing so would identify the right intervention for the right patient at the right time. A greater understanding of individuals current and future health needs means GPs can provide the most effective advice to stay healthy. In some cases the evidence may point to more regular monitoring of a patient or advice about lifestyle changes; for others, it might mean medication or treatment at an earlier stage. This is important research which could help to improve the health of people across Leeds for years to come.

Dr Steve Williams, Chief Medical Officer at SomaLogic, said:

This application of a personalized and comprehensive decoding of protein signals will enable people to assess their underlying biology to enhance health decisions by addressing the fundamentals of: how much should I be concerned and what should I do about it.

The Leeds Centre for Personalized Medicine and Health is hosted by the University of Leeds and is part of the Leeds Academic Health Partnership, which brings together leading expertise from core partners including three of the citys universities, NHS organizations and Leeds City Council. The Partnership identifies, attracts and implements innovation and inward investment that responds to the challenges facing health and care, including reducing health inequalities across the city.

A city-wide partnership to try and prevent ill health

Dr Bryan Power, Long Term Conditions Clinical Lead, NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Groups Partnership says:

The proposed study offers Leeds citizens the opportunity to have an enhanced profiling and an understanding about their individual risk of developing specific diseases later in life and the underlying factors driving the risk. This resulting intelligence will enable individuals and clinicians to make changes to lifestyle and treatment to modify and reduce the risk of developing those conditions.

Dr Yvette Oade, Chief Medical Officer for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said:

Research and innovation is at the heart of everything we do in Leeds Teaching Hospitals as we know it brings better outcomes for patients. Personalized medicine is an area of growth and this innovation which might allow us to understand the potential to predict and even prevent disease before it occurs is particularly exciting.

Councillor Rebecca Charlwood, chair of Leeds health and wellbeing board, said:

Our partnership with local Universities and the NHS is based on a strong commitment to early intervention and prevention, and stopping diseases from starting in the first place. We are committed to using innovative technologies to improve outcomes, particularly in our poorest communities where type 2 diabetes has the greatest impact. This trial could help us develop a more personalized approach that we hope will improve the lives of many people at risk of type II diabetes

Source: http://www.leeds.ac.uk/news/article/4179/biotech_partnership_to_tackle_disease_before_it_starts
Four months after having her second baby, Jessica Porten started feeling really irritable. Little things would annoy her, like her glider chair.

It had started to squeak, she said. And so when Im sitting there rocking the baby and its squeaking, I would just get so angry at that stupid chair.

She read online that this could be a symptom of postpartum depression  a condition that affects up to 1 in 7 women during or after pregnancy, according to the American Psychological Association. In California, where Porten lives, those rates are even higher, spurring state lawmakers to introduce a package of bills to improve mental health screening and treatment for new moms.

Porten said she hopes the legislation will help women avoid what she went through.

She went to Capital OB/GYN, a womens clinic in Sacramento, Calif., that accepts her Medicaid coverage as payment, to talk about medication options and therapy. Porten admitted to the nurse that she was having some violent thoughts.

I described maybe hitting myself or squeezing the baby too tight, she said. But I was very adamant through the entire appointment that I was not going to hurt myself and I was not going to hurt my children.

Porten said the nurses manner toward her changed at that point. I could see in that moment that she stopped listening to me, Porten said.

The nurse called the police. The police escorted Porten and her baby to a nearby emergency room. Hospital staff made her change into a gown and took her purse, but they let her keep her diaper bag for the baby. They put them both in a room, under constant watch, though the hospital staff was sympathetic, Porten said.

Its like, everybody knows Im not crazy, she said. Everybody knows that this is normal  but theyre following protocol.

Finally, at midnight, 10 hours after she first got to the doctors office, a social worker sent her home. Porten wrote on Facebook that the whole thing made her feel like a criminal.

It was all legality, Porten said. Everybody was protecting their own liability instead of thinking of me.

Administrators at Capital OB/GYN declined to comment. Gary Zavoral, a spokesman for Sutter Health, which runs the emergency room where Porten was taken, said once a patient arrives in the ER for assessment, hospital staff must follow strict protocols.

The process is to make sure everybody is safe: the individuals safe, the familys safe, the staff is safe, he said. The process does take some hours, so 10 hours is not unusual.

When patients reference violent thoughts, it forces doctors to think about things in a different way, said Dr. Melanie Thomas, a psychiatrist at the University of California-San Francisco and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital.

California law allows doctors to involuntarily confine a person with a mental disorder if they are a danger to themselves or others. But Thomas said what constitutes imminent danger can be vague.

You can imagine a provider, a social worker, any number of people might interpret that phrase in different ways, about what is necessary to report and what isnt, she said.

The laws and medical protocols dont always line up, Thomas said. There have been times she felt asked to rely on legal reasoning over her clinical judgment.

The fragmented aspects of our system of care make it difficult to get women the help that they really want, Thomas said.

Thats one reason lawmakers in Sacramento are introducing a package of bills to specifically address maternal mental health. Assemblyman Brian Maienschein (R-San Diego) backs two of them. One would require doctors to screen new moms for depression  under current law in California, its voluntary.

The numbers here are so significant that I think its something that doctors really should understand and should be prepared to both diagnose and treat, he said. Screening, he added, also educates a woman in that situation that this is an issue that may impact her.

Maienscheins other bill would direct the state to tap into a new federal pot of money set aside for postpartum programs and awareness campaigns. It was established under the 21st Century Cures Act, which was passed in the final months of the Obama administration.

Getting federal money is a great thing, Maienschein said. Its federal money thats available that Id like to see California have, versus another state.

The legislation has given Jessica Porten a new purpose. People have told her she should sue Capital OB/GYN for calling the police. But she rejected that idea.

I walk into that waiting room and I see tons of Medi-Cal recipients  so theyre all low-income, she said. If I sue, its only going to cause monetary damages to a facility that is clearly short on resources.

Instead, Porten said shell advocate to get the new bills passed in California. She thinks thats the way to help the clinics physicians and nurses do a better job of helping new moms get the care they need.

Im not going to take that away, she said. Im going to build it up.

This story is part a reporting partnership that includes KQED, NPR and Kaiser Health News.
Introduction

To study neurological diseases, a major limitation is the ability to culture, observe, and study neuronal cells that accurately characterize human phenotypes neurological disorders. A new approach has been developed by employing human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived neurons to model neurological diseases.

To characterize and evaluate such novel model systems, it is important to monitor cell health and neuronal morphology in long-term cultures.

Traditional methods are based on endpoint assays and imaging methods involving the use of immunochemical staining, which does not have real-time kinetic information. Hence, when nervous system models are studied utilizing these traditional methods, the dynamic complexity of neurological features and responses is lost, and the neural network integrity is compromised.

Continual real-time monitoring is advantageous to study these model systems as it delivers a more physiologically relevant picture of neuronal cell behavior. This enables the same neuronal networks to be measured repeatedly, over time, in a non-invasively manor, allowing rare or transient events to be captured. Such events cannot be captured with end-point assays.

This article describes real-time methods and presents validation data that highlights optimal culture conditions for evaluating neurite outgrowth and cell viability in hiPSC-derived neurons from Cellular Dynamic International (CDI, iCell Neurons).

Cellular viability and neurite outgrowth in iCell Gluta Neurons from CDI are monitored using a quantitative, live-cell imaging and analysis method with the IncuCyte S3 over days/weeks in 96-well microplate culture.

Here, neuronal excitotoxicity is assessed using the IncuCyte S3 Phase/Fluorescent NeuroTrack applications multiplexed with Annexin V reagents to demonstrate a real-time imaging and analysis method using hiPSC-derived neurons. These assays highlight optimal culture conditions for an iPSC-derived neuronal system and illustrate the capability of the IncuCyte method for real-time, long-term quantitative analysis of iPSC-derived neuronal cell health.

Materials and methods

Optimization of culture conditions

After coating 96-well cell culture plates (MidSci, #TPP92096) with 100 g/mL poly-D-lysine (PDL, Millipore, A-003-E), 0.01% poly-L-ornithine (PLO, Sigma, P6355) or 0.07% polyethylenemine (PEI, Sigma, 408727), they were incubated at room temperature overnight in a tissue culture hood. Surface coatings were totally aspirated after incubation, followed by rinsing each well two times with 150 L WFI water.

Then, plates were allowed to dry with the lid removed for at least one hour in a tissue culture hood. 0.028 mg/mL Matrigel or 3.3 g/mL laminin was added to wells with additional laminin/Matrigel coating and incubated for at least 1 hour at 37C. To avoid drying, Matrigel and laminin solutions were immediately aspirated before adding cell suspension.

Barring culture surface coatings, iCell Neurons were handled, stored, and preserved in accordance with manufacturers instructions described in CDIs iCell Neurons Users Guide. Next, these iCell Neurons were seeded at 10,000 or 50,000 cells per well to assess excitotoxicity or coatings, respectively. The IncuCyte S3 live cell imaging and analysis system was used to monitor neurite outgrowth and cellular morphology for a period of 14 days.

To perform co-culture experiments, IncuCyte NeuroLight Red (MOI 1) was used to infect iCell Neurons 2 to 4 hours after plating. After 16 to 24 hours of incubation, virus was taken out and media were substituted, and this was followed by seeding primary rat astrocytes at 15,000 cells per well.

On the third day of post-plating, half of the media was replaced with media comprising of uridine and 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine (28 g/mL and 8 g/mL, respectively) to prevent further proliferation of astrocytes.

Evaluation of neuronal excitotoxicity

0.07% PEI + 3.3 g/mL laminin, was used to coat 96-well cell culture plates. iGluta Neurons were handled, stored, and preserved in accordance with the manufacturers instructions described in CDIs iCell GlutaNeurons Users Guide; penicillin/streptomycin and laminin were however excluded from the media. After seeding the cells at 10,000 cells per well, neurite outgrowth and cellular morphology were observed for a period of 14 days through the IncuCyte S3 live-cell imaging and analysis system.

To perform co-culture experiments, astrocytes were seeded, IncuCyte NeuroLight Red was used to infect the neurons, and cells were treated. On DIV14, cells were subjected to kainate +/- glutamate or glutamate receptor antagonists in the presence of green or red IncuCyte Annexin V reagent, which is a fluorescent marker of cell apoptosis or death. The IncuCyte S3 live-cell analysis platform in tandem with the IncuCyte NeuroTrack analysis software was used to monitor and measure the neurite length and apoptosis for a period of 72 hours.

Figure 1.

Assay Workflow (Monoculture):

DIV0  Wells are coated and iPSC-derived neurons are plated Neurite outgrowth is monitored using Phase NeuroTrack DIV14 - In the presence of Annexin V red reagent (apoptosis marker), cells are treated with neurite and cell health modulating test agents The IncuCyte S3 is used for 72 hours to follow cell viability and neurite outgrowth Assay Workflow (Co-culture) DIV0  Wells are coated, iPSC-derived neurons are plated, and IncuCyte NeuroLight reagent is delivered DIV1  Virus is removed and primary rat astrocytes 15K cells/well are plated. DIV3 - 50% media are removed and replaced with media comprising of uridine and 5-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine Neurite outgrowth is tracked using IncuCyte Fluorescent NeuroTrack DIV14  In the presence of IncuCyte Annexin V green reagent (apoptosis marker), cells are treated with neurite and cell health modulating test agents Neurite outgrowth and cell viability are followed using the IncuCyte S3 for a period of 72 hours

Validation data

Culture plate coating conditions

While hiPSC technology has become a viable model for investigating diseases of the nervous system in humans, the necessary culture conditions for plating and preserving these cells has not been fully defined. In this study, three typically used culture substrates +/- secondary Matrigel or laminin coating were tested to find out the optimal conditions for in vitro neurite outgrowth and cellular morphology in neurons derived from hiPSC.

Shown in Figure 2 are 10x high definition phase images obtained on DIV14 of iCell Neurons that were seeded at 50,000 cells per well in culture plates, coated with PLO, PDL, or PEI +/- Matrigel or laminin. PLO- or PDL-coated plates were found to have remarkable radial neurite cabling and cell clustering, which could be because neurons adhere suboptimally to the plate. Irrespective of secondary coating with Matrigel or laminin, this clustering morphology took place on PLO- or PDL-coated plates.

However, iCell Neurons seeded on PEI-coated plates exhibited a cell monolayer that was more uniform and had typical neurite outgrowth. Although neurite outgrowth seemed to be more robust, a similar neuronal monolayer is shown as PEI alone by secondary coating with Matrigel or laminin.

Figure 2. Optimal adherence and morphology of iCell Neuron monocultures seeded on PEI + laminin. iCell Neurons were seeded at 50,000 cells/well on PDL, PLO or PEI +/- Matrigel or +/- laminin. Cells plated on PDL or PLO formed large neurospheres by DIV14 in the presence or absence of additional laminin or Matrigel coating. Cells plated on PEI +/- laminin or Matrigel displayed a more homogenous monolayer. All images captured at 10x magnification.

Since similar neurite outgrowth and cellular morphology were shown by secondary coating with Matrigel or laminin after PEI coating, laminin was used for additional experimentation as it was relatively easy to use. To find out whether laminin-based secondary resulted in a statistically notable increase in neurite outgrowth as opposed to PEI alone, the Phase NeuroTrack software was used on the IncuCyte S3 system to measure the length of neurite over a given time for both culture conditions.

20x phase images of iCell Neurons, which were seeded in PEI + laminin or PEI alone at DIV3 and DIV14, are shown in Figure 3. Compared to cells grown on PEI alone, cells grown on PEI + laminin at DIV3 and DIV14 showed distinctly improved outgrowth of neurites. The Phase NeuroTrack analysis software was used on the IncuCyte S3 system to measure and graph this increase over time.

Figure 3. Improved neurite outgrowth in iCell Neuron monoculture seeded on PEI + laminin compared to PEI alone. Cell culture plates were coated with PEI or PEI + laminin. iCell Neurons were seeded at 10,000 cells/well. Phase images show neurite length at DIV3 and DIV14. Neurite length was quantified using Phase NeuroTrack software and plotted over time. All images captured at 20x magnification. Each data point represents mean +/- SEM, n=4.

Test was done to find out if iCell Neuronss optimized seeding conditions in monoculture on PEI + laminin converted to iCell Neurons that were plated in co-culture with primary rat astrocytes. Shown in Figure 4 are fluorescent and phase images of iCell Neurons that were plated on PEI + laminin in co-culture with primary rat astrocytes at DIV14 and DIV6.

During the experiment, a robust increase was observed in the neurite length eventually without any clustering of astrocytes or neurons at any point. While iCell Neurons in co-culture with primary rat astrocytes did not show a major difference in neurite length or cellular morphology with other coating conditions (data not shown), seeding on PEI + laminin is recommended to sustain consistency with monoculture experiments.

Figure 4. Top: PEI + laminin coating enables robust neurite outgrowth in iCell Neuron co-culture with primary rat astrocytes. Cell culture plates were coated with PEI + laminin. iCell Neurons were seeded at 10,000 cells/well and primary rat astrocytes were seeded at 15,000 cells/well. Bottom: iCell Neurons were infected with IncuCyte NeuroLight Red and neurite length was quantified using Fluorescent NeuroTrack software and plotted over time. All images captured at 20x magnification. Each data point represents mean +/- SEM, n=4.

Analysis and quantification of neuronal excitotoxicity

To study the cellular mechanisms underlying neurotoxicity and neurological disorders, in vitro models of human neurophysiology are required. In 2007, Conforti et al. demonstrated that the length of the neuritis can be employed as a sensitive marker of neurotoxicity and neurodegenerative disease. It has also been demonstrated that neurotransmitter-mediated induced toxicity including surplus glutamate is associated with certain forms of disease progression (Choi, 1988; Mattson, 2008).

Using in vitro and in vivo non-human cells/subjects, present-day studies on glutamate and other neurotransmitter-induced neurotoxicity are frequently carried out, but these efforts are made more complicated by the high level of interspecies variations when attempts are made to model human disease. Further, short term readouts are used by many in vitro models that may find it difficult to identify chronic toxicity, whereas in vivo models provide only limited throughput.

In this analysis, fluorescent (co-culture) and HD phase (monoculture) NeuroTrack analysis software was used that was multiplexed with IncuCyte Annexin V cell viability reagents to quantitatively define possible long term neurotoxic effects of kainate and glutamate in neurons derived from hiPSC.

Typical phase images of iGluta Neurons in monoculture at DIV17, DIV14, and DIV2 are shown in Figure 5. After image acquisition, glutamate (1 mM) was added on DIV14 and its impact on cell viability and neurite length was observed for a period of 72 hours. At DIV17, neurite length was significantly reduced after the addition of glutamate.

Figure 5. Glutamate-induced excitotoxicity reduces neurite length and increases cell death. Example Phase NeuroTrack images for quantifying neurite length following excitotoxic agent administration in iGluta neurons imaged at DIV2, DIV14 and DIV17. DIV17 corresponds to 72 hrs post-glutamate (1mM) addition. Neurite length is significantly reduced following glutamate treatment. A corresponding increase in IncuCyte Annexin V (red) fluorescence indicates an increase in cell death. All images captured at 20x magnification.

When both kainate and glutamate were added at DIV14, it resulted in a time- and concentration- dependent decrease in the length of neurites with associated increase in cell apoptosis/death in iGluta Neurons in both co-culture and monoculture with primary rat astrocytes, as shown in Figures 6 to 9.

In order to examine a possible mechanism that mediates this toxicity, MK801 and NBQX (NMDA receptor and AMPA receptor antagonists, respectively) were added at DIV14 together with kainate or glutamate. It was observed that MK801 and NBQX decreased the neurotoxic effects of kainate and glutamate, indicating that these neurotoxic effects are mediated by glutamate receptor to some extent.

Figure 6. Glutamate exposure decreases neurite length and increases cell death in a concentration- and time-dependent manner in iGluta Neuron monoculture. Time course of the effects of glutamate addition at day 14 (arrow) on neurite length (top panels) and cell viability (bottom panels). Glutamate causes a concentration-dependent decrease in neurite length with concomitant decrease in cell viability (increased IncuCyte Annexin Red fluorescence). Addition of NBQX (20 M) & MK801 (10 M) protects iGluta Neurons from glutamate toxicity. Each data point represents mean +/- SEM, n=6.

Figure 7. Kainate exposure decreases neurite length and increases cell death in a concentration- and time-dependent manner in iGluta Neuron monoculture. Time course of the effects of kainate addition at day 14 (arrow) on neurite length (top panels) and cell viability (bottom panels). Kainate causes a concentration-dependent decrease in neurite length with concomitant decrease in cell viability (increased Annexin Red fluorescence). Addition of NBQX (20 M) & MK801 (10 M) protects iGluta Neurons from kainate toxicity. Each data point represents mean +/- SEM, n=6.

Figure 8. Glutamate exposure concentration- and time-dependently decreases neurite length and increases cell death in iGluta Neuron co-culture. Time course of the effects of glutamate addition at day 14 (arrow) on neurite length (top panels) and cell viability (bottom panels). Glutamate causes a concentration-dependent decrease in neurite length with concomitant decrease in cell viability (increased Annexin Green fluorescence). Addition of NBQX (20 M) & MK801 (10 M) protects iGluta Neurons from glutamate toxicity. Each data point represents mean +/- SEM, n=6.

Figure 9. Kainate exposure concentration- and time-dependently decreases neurite length and increases cell death in iGluta Neuron co-culture. Time course of the effects of kainate addition at day 14 (arrow) on neurite length (top panels) and cell viability (bottom panels). Kainate causes a concentration-dependent decrease in neurite length with concomitant decrease in cell viability (increased Annexin Green fluorescence). Addition of NBQX (20 M) & MK801 (10 M) protects iGluta Neurons from kainate toxicity. Each data point represents mean +/- SEM, n=6.

Conclusion

When testing plate coating and multiple culture conditions, it was discovered that iCell Neurons optimally adhere with a laminin or PEI plate coating. To demonstrate a real-time imaging method through hiPSC-derived neurons, the IncuCyte S3 phase and fluorescent NeuroTrack applications - multiplexed with Annexin V reagents in iCell Gluta Neurons - were used to evaluate the excitotoxicity induced by kainate and glutamate.

Both kainate and glutamate led to a time- and concentration-dependent decrease in the length of neurites with an associated increase in green or red object count (suggesting cell death/apoptosis) over a period of 72 hours. The effects of glutamate and kainate on neurite length and cell apoptosis were reduced by treatment with the AMPA receptor antagonist NBQX and the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801.

Based on these detailed results, it is seen that the IncuCyte S3 Live-Cell Analysis system can be used to analyze neurotoxicity in a hiPSC-derived neuron model over days or even weeks in culture. The system provides automated analysis of microplate assays, allowing users to improve the culture conditions and maintain their own models of iPSC-derived neurons.

Using the IncuCyte NeuroTrack software, iPSC-derived neurons can be imaged in co-culture or in monoculture with astrocytes and real-time changes in cell viability and neurite length can be quantitated. Also, this method offers a sensitive way for detecting pharmacological manipulations that modify the dynamics of neurites and also induce toxicity.

The IncuCyte method for long-term and real-time quantitative assessment of neuronal cell health meets the crucial requirement in the analysis of iPSC-derived neurons and human neurophysiological disorders.

References

Conforti L, Adalbert R and Coleman MP: Neuronal death: where does the end begin? Trends Neurosci 2007, 30:159-66. Choi DW: Glutamate neurotoxicity and diseases of the nervous system. Neuron 1988, 1:623-34. Mattson MP: Glutamate and neurotrophic factors in neuronal plasticity and disease. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2008, 1144:97-112.

Sartorius

Sartorius is a leading international pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier. With our innovative products and services, we are helping our customers across the entire globe to implement their complex and quality-critical biomanufacturing and laboratory processes reliably and economically.

The Group companies are united under the roof of Sartorius AG, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and holds the majority stake in Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A. Quoted on the Paris Stock Exchange, this subgroup is comprised mainly of the Bioprocess Solutions Division.

Innovative Technologies Enable Medical Progress

A growing number of medications are biopharmaceuticals. These are produced using living cells in complex, lengthy and expensive procedures. The Bioprocess Solutions Division provides the essential products and technologies to accomplish this.

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How Jeff the Land Shark snuck up and took a bite out of Marvel fans' hearts

Youre about to fall in love with Marvels weirdest pet hero: Jeff the Land Shark
NEW MILFORD  Town residents and the Candlelight Farms airport have appealed the Connecticut Siting Councils decision to approve a 20-megawatt solar farm on Candlewood Mountain.

In December, the Siting Council approved a petition from Ameresco Inc., the company that will own and operate the solar project, to install about 60,000 panels. The power generated will feed into the New England power grid through the Rocky River substation.

One appeal filed by Mondays deadline lists the plaintiffs as Rescue Candlewood Mountain, a group of residents who opposed the project, the Ostroves, the couple that started the group, and Candlelight Farms Airport, which is adjacent to the project site.

Pilots had expressed safety concerns, including the possibility that the panels would create a glare.

We just dont believe this is the right project for New Milford and were ready to put our money where our mouth is, Lisa Ostrove said. You cant gloss over and ignore the facts.

Another appeal was filed by Carl Dunham, a resident and business owner who lives next to the project site and is also named in the other appeal. He once owned the land and proposed an active adult community there that was rejected.

Dunham said he filed independently as well because he feels he is the most affected by the project.

He said bookings for weddings at the bed and breakfast he owns next to the solar project site are down 40 percent from last year because people use the site for its bucolic setting and are now unsure how the panels will affect the landscapes appearance.

Dunham also argued the project is massive and the application was rushed so it wouldnt have to comply with a state statute that went into effect a few days after the petition was filed. That statute requires the Siting Council to weigh the benefits of preserving green space to alternative energy.

Though the Siting Council ruled that law didnt apply to this petition, Dunham believes a judge will use it to overturn the councils ruling.

Town officials did not file an appeal. Mayor Pete Bass said Tuesday that he wasnt able to share why the town didnt appeal because the Town Council discussed the issue in executive session. However, he said the town will examine Amerescos stormwater management plan, which will be filed with the towns inland wetlands office.

Melanie A. Bachman, executive director and staff attorney for the Connecticut Siting Council, said its hard to predict how long an appeal will take. She said the process can take one to three years depending on whether appeals reach the state Supreme Court or Appellate Court.

The project also doesnt halt while an appeal is pending and construction can start once the Siting Council approves Amerescos Development and Management Plan.

The project faced opposition from residents, the town and the state Department of Agriculture because the project required clear cutting about 60 acres of forest. Many raised environmental concerns, including possible erosion, stormwater runoff and loss of habitat for the wildlife living there, including some protected species.

Proponents of the project touted the economic benefits including jobs and tax revenue and said it would help the area meet its alternative energy goal. The developers also said they would preserve 100 acres of land on the mountain that includes a popular hiking trail.

In an interview in December following the Siting Councils decision, Bill LaMontagne, a partner with New Milford Clean Power, the sites developer, said any party has the right to appeal.

Were prepared to defend any appeal, LaMontagne said. He was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
The SpaceX Falcon Heavy can reach all of the Department of Defenses nine reference orbits and its costs one quarter the Delta IV Heavy.

A former Pentagon official now advising SpaceX said that the Falcon Heavy may be compelling to the Defense Department given both its payload capacity and its low price.

Its really a game-changing capability, said John Young, former undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, in a Feb. 6 interview prior to the launch. The nearest peer competitor is the Delta 4 Heavy at roughly half the thrust and from four to as much as ten times the cost.

There are communities [Defense, National Security] that would like to put bigger satellites with larger apertures in space, he said. Falcon Heavy is extraordinarily affordable so it opens up opportunities to think about those larger satellites again.

The Falcon Heavy can allow NASA to launch large missions to Pluto and other planets.

There are deep space missions that were being planned for an eventual Space Launch System rocket. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy provides the super-heavy lift capability that would have taken five to ten years longer for an eventual Space Launch System. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy will cost ten to twenty times less than the $1 billion Space Launch System.
Roseburg, OR (97470)

Today

Some clouds this morning will give way to generally sunny skies for the afternoon. High 79F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph..

Tonight

A clear sky. Low 48F. Winds N at 10 to 15 mph.
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Employees at The Los Angeles Times have been hoping for many months that a white knight would offer them a way out of their contentious relationship with their parent company, Tronc.

Now, their white knight may have arrived.

Patrick Soon-Shiong, a billionaire Los Angeles doctor and one of Troncs major shareholders, is close to buying The Times, two people familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday, in a $500 million deal that would include the newspapers sister publication, The San Diego Union-Tribune.

A deal could be announced as soon as Wednesday, though negotiations could still fall apart, the people said.



Selling The Los Angeles Times would be a significant pullback for Tronc, which harbored national and international ambitions after Michael W. Ferro Jr. became the companys chairman and biggest shareholder two years ago. Dr. Soon-Shiong publicly feuded with Mr. Ferro last year, as they vied to increase their stakes in the company in apparent attempts to outmaneuver each other for control. Tronc removed Dr. Soon-Shiong from its board last year.
It had been an extraordinary ride for XIV, formally known as the Velocity Shares Daily Inverse VIX Short Term ETN. It was one of a number of funds tied to VIX, known officially as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, some of which move in the same direction, tracking the index up or down.

VIX, which measures investor expectations that stocks will rise or fall sharply in the future, has been at extreme lows in recent years, making XIV very attractive to investors and pushing it to $1.8 billion in size. Just last Wednesday, it took in a record $500 million, as investors stuck even more firmly to their belief that volatility was not a concern.

In the two years from January 2016 to the middle of last month, XIVs value shot up more than 500 percent, reaching a recent peak of $134.

After VIX surged on Monday, XIV dropped like a rock, falling from $99 to $7 in after-hours trading.

In just two days, investors in XIV and a similar fund, ProShares Short VIX Short Term Futures (SVXY), saw their assets shrink dramatically, from a combined total of $3 billion to about $150 million.

People are scared out of their minds  they are in really rough shape, said Seth Golden, who left his job as a manager at a Target store to take up shorting VIX as a full-time business from his living room in Ocala, Fla.
While Idaho teachers can still choose to include climate change in their lesson plans  and many do in places like Boise, the states capital and biggest city  science educators said they were concerned for teachers in districts where climate change was considered more controversial. Without state standards, those teachers might choose not to teach climate change at all, said Christopher Taylor, the science supervisor for the Boise School District.

Mr. Taylor said he was not worried about his own district. Its these small rural districts, he said. They will do what the state says.

Even in Boise, When you teach environmental science, youre constantly being discredited, said Erin Stutzman, a science teacher at Timberline High School in the capital, which, along with other schools nationally, has been mailed anti-science materials from the Heartland Institute, a group that denies the reality of human-induced climate change.

If the community opposes it or thinks its some kind of propaganda, it puts those children coming out of those districts at a major disadvantage, Ms. Stutzman said. Its an equity issue.

Only 24 percent of Republicans in solid-red Idaho agree with the scientific consensus that climate change is caused mostly by human activities, according to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, the lowest percentage of any state.

Its a political issue, and it shouldnt be a political issue, Mr. Taylor said.

The public response to the new proposal appears to be largely positive. House lawmakers heard testimony last week from 28 people, all of whom spoke in favor of the revised standards. And roughly 1,000 comments were received during the public comment period, only five of which were negative, Mr. Cook said.

Emily Her, 17, a student of Ms. Stutzmans, testified at the hearing and is leading a petition that supports the teaching of climate change in Idaho. She said she was not afraid to speak up about the standards in Boise, but worried about people her age in districts where climate change may not be part of the curriculum. It really puts the students at a disadvantage when the teachers have fear, she said.
On Monday night, Carter Page was finally ready for his Fox News close-up. It had been nearly a year since he began his one-man public-relations offensive to rebut accusations that, as a Trump campaign adviser, he colluded with Russia. He had appeared numerous times on CNN, MSNBC and the networks, typically opposite their star anchors. Unlike almost everyone else caught up in the Trump-Russia scandal, Page was not only willing to submit to public questions; he would even answer them. Though he didnt bring much clarity to his role, the appearances did make for great, albeit surreal, television. Like the time he insisted to Anderson Cooper that his conversation with the Russian ambassador during the Republican National Convention was not actually a meeting. Anderson, Page explained, a great analogy is you and I were members of the same health club here in New York previously. And I remember walking by you, even though we didnt know each other, and I said, Hi, Anderson, and you said hello, and we, you know, had a nice little exchange for half a second. Now, does that to you constitute a meeting?

But for all the media stardom these and other interviews brought Page, he had been essentially given a cold shoulder by Fox News; he hadnt appeared on the network since a few cameos in March and April. When I met with Page late last year for a story for the magazine, his absence from Foxs airwaves seemed to gnaw at him even more than the considerable distance that Trumps advisers had sought to put between him and the president. After all, Page understood why Trump wouldnt want to be associated with him: Page viewed himself, as he put it last year, the biggest embarrassment surrounding the campaign. But Fox was another matter. Considering how roughly he was treated by the mainstream media, he assumed that Fox would have come to his aid. Besides, Pages father was a devoted Fox viewer, and it would have been nice if he could have watched his son on his favorite shows.

So it was understandable why Pages wide, goofy smile was even wider and goofier than usual on Monday night when he appeared on Laura Ingrahams prime-time show on Fox News. Page was there to give his first interview since House Republicans, three days earlier, released a memo, written by Republican members of the House Intelligence Committee, alleging that the F.B.I. had improperly spied on Page in an attempt to harm Trumps presidential campaign.

Carter, its good to see you tonight, Ingraham told Page, teeing up a softball. I know you have not spoken out about this House Intel memo yet or the reaction to it. What is your reaction?
An 11-year-old Queens boy playing with a friend on an icy pond near his home died after he fell through the thin sheet of ice and into the frigid water on Tuesday afternoon, the authorities said.

The boy, Anthony Perez, had walked about 50 feet onto Strack Pond inside Forest Park when the ice suddenly gave way around 4 p.m. The boy plunged into the water, and his friend ran to get help. The Fire Department arrived within four minutes of a 911 call, and three firefighters began a frantic effort to rescue the submerged boy, the authorities said.

The firefighters jumped into the pond in their regular uniforms and broke up chunks of ice with their hands wading through chilly, chest-high water toward the hole where the boy fell. They pulled Anthony out of the water, holding him as firefighters on the shore reeled them back to safety with a rope.
Four out of five public housing residents were without heat at some point since October, the City Council revealed on Tuesday at a dramatic and bruising hearing about widespread heating failures at the New York City Housing Authority.

Just apologize! the frustrated City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, told the Housing Authority chairwoman, Shola Olatoye. Just say, We are sorry, we are sorry that its gotten to this point.

Ms. Olatoye answered by saying that she acknowledged the stories of suffering provided by several public housing residents who started the hearing speaking about living without heat  but she did not give a direct apology. The performance and the interruptions in service were unacceptable, she said.

The hearing was remarkable, in part, because it showcased a newly aggressive and adversarial Council flexing its muscle. Mr. Johnson was elected as speaker in January, vowing to make the Council more independent from Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is starting his second term.
Man does not live by bread alone, it says in the Bible, and that is certainly true for some politicians accused of corruption. They also live by pasta, meatballs, rice balls, jam, tea and wine, among other comestibles. Food and drink as code words for bribes are hard-wired into the language of many cultures, and several criminal cases of late offer a spicy taste.

A federal corruption trial is underway in New York for Joseph Percoco, a close ally and family friend of Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Among the allegations is that Mr. Percoco, with all the eloquence of Tony Soprano and his associates, referred to bribe money as boxes of ziti.

In Pennsylvania, the mayor of Allentown, Ed Pawlowski, is fending off bribery, fraud and conspiracy charges. His federal case turns in part on whether recorded conversations about picking up meatballs meant collecting payoffs or actually getting ready to eat. Then theres the approaching trial of a Maryland state senator, Nathaniel Oaks, who federal prosecutors say used lollipops as code for illicit cash in $1,000 bundles.

Sounds almost like a meal with a few basic food groups: carbohydrates, protein, fats. Its the sort of menu that Harendra Singh might have considered for the restaurant he operated on city property in Long Island City, Queens.
TEL AVIV  It is hard to spend a week in Israel and not come away feeling that Israelis have the wind at their backs.

Theyve built an awesome high-tech industry, and everyones kid seems to work for a start-up. Even Israeli Arabs have caught the bug  the number studying for B.A. degrees at Israeli universities rose 60 percent in the last seven years, to 47,000. Regionally, the Arabs and Palestinians have never been weaker, and under President Trump, Israel has never had a more unquestioningly friendly United States. Trump recognized Jerusalem as Israels capital, asking Israel for nothing in return. The Arab states barely made a peep.

Alas, though, all of this wind has whetted the appetite of Israels settlers and ruling Likud Party to go to extremes. Reuters reported on Dec. 31 that the Likud Party unanimously urged legislators in a nonbinding resolution  to effectively annex Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, land that Palestinians want for a future state.

Sure, the world would scream apartheid, but Israeli rightists shrug that the world will get used to it. Nikki Haley will cover for Israel at the U.N. Sheldon Adelson will keep Trump and the G.O.P. in line. And the Arab regimes, which need Israel to counter Iran, will look the other away. It always plays out that way, and the settlers see that, so, they ask, why wait? They think they can annex the West Bank without giving Palestinians citizenship; theyll just let the Palestinians vote in their own elections.
He grabs pussies. He kisses females without concern for the revulsion and horror they feel for him. Does he ever experience rejection? He does not. Most men would get discouraged, he says, referring to those he comes on to. Fortunately for her, I am not most men.

He is Pepe Le Pew. Does he remind us of anyone else?

In advance of Valentines Day, and to better understand the inner workings of a man who appears to have no inner workings, I bypassed last weeks State of the Union address and spent the evening watching all 17 Pepe Le Pew cartoons, from his 1945 debut in Odor-able Kitty to 1962s Louvre Come Back to Me! And I can now share what I have learned  about love, the French, narcissistic personality disorder, men, women, the president of the United States and the smell of Limburger cheese.

But first, for younger readers: Pepe Le Pew is a Warner Bros. cartoon character, part of the Looney Tunes stable during the golden age of American animation, alongside Bugs Bunny, the Road Runner, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.

He was never a marquee star of the same magnitude of, say, Bugs Bunny or the Road Runner. He appeared in just 17 stand-alone cartoons, virtually all of them directed by Chuck Jones. Still, he made a fragrant impression: For Scent-imental Reasons (1949) won the Academy Award for best animated short film.
Eve Ensler has a word she wants you to get comfortable with.

No, not that one.

Her remarkably successful play The Vagina Monologues, first seen Off Off Broadway in 1996 and then pretty much all over the world except where it was banned, helped normalize the frank discussion of womens sexuality (and anatomy) onstage. It also fostered and financed a project called V-Day, which has raised tens of millions of dollars for antiviolence organizations.

But the new word Ms. Ensler wants you to embrace  a word that is the subject of her play In the Body of the World, which opened on Tuesday in a Manhattan Theater Club production  is not so lovable. Its tumor.

In May 2010, just as she was about to attend the opening of City of Joy, a sanctuary she helped to found for rape victims in Congo, Ms. Ensler received a diagnosis of uterine cancer. In the Body of the World, directed by Diane Paulus, is a troubling record of her attempt to survive that illness, in part by understanding its meaning. Had she somehow poisoned herself, as humans every day poison the earth? (The recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was on her mind.) Could the disease growing inside her be an expression of the global disease of violence done to women by men?

Cancer threw me into the center of my bodys crisis, she says near the beginning of the play. The Congo threw me into the crisis of the world, and these two experiences merged as I faced what I felt sure was the beginning of the end.
Mr. Holder said he would campaign aggressively himself in some of these races, beginning with an election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court this spring. Both he and Mr. Obama will focus heavily on mobilizing African-American voters, Mr. Holder said.

The strategy has the potential to inject a new volume of money, on the Democratic side, into typically low-profile elections. Mr. Holder said the group has raised more than $16 million out of a previously announced $30 million goal, but it has not disclosed how much cash it has on hand.

The tug of war over congressional maps has begun years before the 2020 census, which will collect the data used for reapportioning seats in Congress. Democrats have already sued to throw out congressional maps in several states and the United States Supreme Court is expected to consider a number of cases this year involving gerrymandered maps.

Republican leaders have long described control of the redistricting process as one of the partys prized assets. Representative Steve Stivers of Ohio, the partys campaign chairman in the House, said in an interview with Politico that the congressional lines were one of the Republicans great advantages in 2018.

But Republicans have also stressed that it is not gerrymandering alone that has kept them in power in the states. Republicans won because they were better candidates with better visions for the people of their states, said Matt Walter, president of the Republican State Leadership Committee, which spends millions in state legislative elections.

Mr. Walter has warned that Mr. Holders group represents a new force in state-level politics, and urged Republicans to prepare for better-funded Democratic efforts than in the past.
WASHINGTON  State and local law enforcement officials are fighting a Trump administration proposal to move oversight of a $275 million drug prevention program to the Justice Department, fearing that such a move would steer the countrys drug-fighting strategy toward federal legal crackdowns and away from years of holistic, community-based approaches.

A draft budget plan by the Office of Management and Budget would place federal law enforcement officers in charge of the drug trafficking grants rather than the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which has served as the White Houses clearinghouse for drug strategy across the government and as a neutral arbiter in the historically territorial relationship between federal, state and local authorities.

The move would also effectively gut the drug office, whose influence has waned since President Trump took office. The office manages the grants, known as the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Program, sending millions of federal dollars to 28 task forces across the country, composed of state, local and federal law enforcement officers, who use the money to combat drug trafficking in their communities.

Directors of the grant program have descended on Capitol Hill this week to try to bolster support from Congress, which would need to approve any White House changes to the drug office or the program. Lawmakers have shown little appetite to alter a federal initiative that benefits state and local authorities and constituents.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court partly granted on Tuesday a request from North Carolina Republicans to block a voting map drawn by a federal court there. That court had interceded after finding that a map drawn by state lawmakers for the General Assembly had relied too heavily on race and had violated state laws.

The Supreme Courts order, which was brief and gave no reasons, partly blocked that decision while the justices consider whether to hear an appeal in the case.

The justices seemed to split into three camps: Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. said they would have granted the entire request; Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have granted none of it; and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Stephen G. Breyer, Elena Kagan and Neil M. Gorsuch appeared to take the middle position.

Last month, the Supreme Court blocked a decision from a different federal court in North Carolina that had ordered state lawmakers to redraw the states congressional maps. That ruling concerned partisan gerrymandering, while the new one was based on a finding of racial gerrymandering and violations of state law.
The Senate letter accuses the F.B.I. of relying largely on unverified information produced for the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons presidential campaign to convince a federal judge of the need to eavesdrop on Mr. Page as a possible Russian agent.

The letter said the Justice Departments initial application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to spy on Mr. Page, filed in October 2016 after he had left the Trump campaign, appears to contain no additional information corroborating the dossier allegations posed by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent who had been working with a research firm paid by the Democrats. That court approved the surveillance for 90 days, and renewed it three times.

Republicans have said that the so-called Steele dossier was the main justification for the F.B.I.s investigation into possible Russian influence over the Trump campaign, casting doubt on the inquirys legitimacy. Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have said that Republicans are distorting the roots of the inquiry in an effort to bolster Mr. Trump.

Last week, Mr. Trump declassified a memo by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee that leveled similar allegations to those posed by Mr. Grassley and Mr. Graham. Mr. Trump, who had a brief window to block the memos disclosure on national security grounds, did not ask that any of its substance be redacted.

Administration officials said that Mr. Trump had read the Democratic memorandum, which seeks to undermine Republican claims that top law enforcement officials had abused their powers when they sought a warrant to wiretap Mr. Page. But Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, declined to say whether the president intended to handle the matter the same way he did the Republican memo. That document also contained accusations of F.B.I. bias.
JUBA, South Sudan  Demonstrations in South Sudans capital turned violent on Tuesday as people took to the streets to protest the United States new ban on supplying weapons to the country.

On Friday, the United States imposed a unilateral arms embargo on South Sudan, which is embroiled in a civil war. The State Department said it was appalled by the continuing violence perpetrated by both sides in the conflict.

The civil war has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions.

On Tuesday, hundreds of people gathered outside the United States Embassy in the capital, Juba, and the nearby United Nations base to show their anger.

Demonstrators held up posters that included the slogans Down Down Mr. Trump and Dont weaken our nation Mr. Trump.
BEIRUT, Lebanon  At least 80 people were killed on Tuesday in Syrian government air and artillery strikes on besieged suburbs of the capital, Damascus, one of the last rebel-held strongholds. It was the bloodiest day so far in a weekslong escalation that prompted United Nations officials to issue an unusual call for an immediate cease-fire.

The toll, compiled by rescue workers and rising into the night, came as at least six more people were killed in another rebel-held area, in the northern province of Idlib. There, in the past week alone, the governments Russian-backed air war has damaged several hospitals and clinics and killed dozens of people, including many civilians.

United Nations humanitarian officials declared the situation extreme even for the nearly seven-year war, and called on Tuesday for an immediate cease-fire for at least a month to allow aid deliveries.
CHICAGO  When the civil war in Syria escalated in 2012, the violence forced many residents to flee to neighboring Lebanon. Mounira Al Solh, an artist, remembers seeing a wave of immigrants enter her native Beirut, only to encounter racist behavior there.

I was seeing hundreds of new faces in my neighborhood, said Ms. Al Solh, now 39, who has a Syrian mother and Lebanese father. I was curious. I wanted to meet those people, welcome them and help them feel at home.

So she began inviting some of the newcomers to her studio or a cafe to hear their stories and draw their portraits. Six years later, she has not stopped. Her portraits of refugees, mainly Syrians but also Afghans, Bengalis, Somalis and Ethiopians, currently number more than 450. Now, the Art Institute of Chicago is showing about 250 drawings from the series, along with some related embroideries, in the first exhibition of Ms. Al Solhs work in the United States.

The series and show are called I strongly believe in our right to be frivolous after a statement by Mahmoud Darwish, the Palestinian poet known for writing about the emotional roller coaster of exile. Ms. Al Solhs portraits too find, in the current refugee crisis, moments of personal resilience or hopefulness amid the trauma.
Elizabeth Alexander, whose memoir was a finalist in 2016 for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and who wrote and recited an original poem at Barack Obamas 2009 inaugural, will be the next president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the countrys largest humanities philanthropy.

All of the things that Ive cared about my whole life and worked toward my whole life Mellon does, said Ms. Alexander in a telephone interview, citing areas like higher education and scholarship, arts and cultural heritage, and diversity.

She added that arts and humanities are not the most protected entities right now.

Ms. Alexander succeeds Earl Lewis, who has served since 2013. She will start in March, becoming the foundations first female president.

She has deep experience in cultivating partnerships that extend and amplify creative vision, Danielle Allen, the foundations chairwoman, said in a statement, adding that Ms. Alexander brings an artists forward-looking energy to institutional purpose.
Let the heavy breathing begin. The soundtrack album to Fifty Shades Freed, the finale of the soft-core BDSM romance trilogy based on the novels by E.L. James, arrives with its goal clearly designated: getting a song on the radio with enough of a sultry frisson to sell tickets for the movie. Yet the albums upbeat love songs released in advance  Capital Letters by Hailee Steinfeld with BloodPop and For You (Fifty Shades Freed) by Liam Payne and Rita Ora  havent gained much chart traction; perhaps theyre too wholesome. The album has slightly spookier material.

Some soundtrack albums are grab-bags of moods; some are reserved and ambient. But the Fifty Shades pop franchise  which on two previous albums has yielded Top 10 hits for the Weeknd (Earned It), the duo of Zayn and Taylor Swift (I Dont Wanna Live Forever), and Ellie Goulding (Love Me Like You Do, which reappears, barely altered, on Fifty Shades Freed)  stays persistently on message. Each song spells out the trilogys themes: desire, passion (with just a tinge of taboo), obsession, true love and, certainly not least, luxury shopping. I know youre afraid of what you want but Im curious, Sabrina Claudio sings in Cross Your Mind over a reggaeton beat, in English and Spanish versions. (Dont forget the international market.) She adds, Im addicted to anything thats not good for me.

Image Songs from previous Fifty Shades soundtracks have cracked the Top 10.

Its not that big a stretch for current pop, which  soundtrack or no soundtrack  often fixates on the very same topics. Still, Fifty Shades Freed comes across as very tightly targeted. If it wasnt a soundtrack collection, it could be a concept album about a risky infatuation with a posh happy ending.
If the sale has come as a relief to Tronc executives and Times journalists alike, it leaves Dr. Soon-Shiong with the unenviable task of owning a major daily paper at a time when the newspaper business is increasingly reliant on the support of deep-pocketed patrons. With the purchase, he would become the latest wealthy businessman to take ownership of a struggling newspaper in a big city, following Jeff Bezos with The Washington Post, John Henry with The Boston Globe and Sheldon Adelson with The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

We look forward to continuing the great tradition of award-winning journalism carried out by the reporters and editors of The Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune and the other California News Group titles, Dr. Soon-Shiong said in a statement on Wednesday.

Dr. Soon-Shiong  who grew up the son of Chinese immigrants in apartheid South Africa and largely made his fortune selling generic medicines and developing a new cancer drug  became a major Tronc shareholder and vice chairman two years ago as part of the companys effort to stave off a takeover attempt by Gannett, the publisher of USA Today. In a 2016 interview with The New York Times, Dr. Soon-Shiong said he considered newspapers a public trust. But his relationship with Mr. Ferro soon deteriorated, leading to Dr. Soon-Shiongs removal from Troncs board last year.

He takes over one of the most decorated newspapers in the country, with 44 Pulitzer Prizes. But The Times has struggled in recent years as newspapers across the country have lost heft and cultural importance.

Last decade, the paper weathered the cost-slashing reign of Samuel Zell, who took Tribune Company into bankruptcy. In 2014, after emerging from bankruptcy proceedings, the company spun off its newspaper division, creating Tribune Publishing.

When Mr. Ferro, a Chicago entrepreneur and a former owner of The Chicago Sun-Times, took a major stake in Tribune Publishing in 2016, he introduced grand plans that included the use of artificial intelligence. He also rebranded the company as Tronc, which stood for Tribune online content, a name that has gotten laughs in newsrooms ever since. (The brand name appears formally as tronc, in lowercase letters, in company statements.)

The Times, with bureaus in cities including Lagos and Rio de Janeiro, was to be the linchpin of Troncs global ambitions. But over the past year the paper proved too much to handle. In August, Tronc ousted top members of the Times management team, including Davan Maharaj, its editor and publisher, and installed the former Yahoo executive Ross Levisohn as publisher. Lewis DVorkin, a former chief product officer at Forbes, later joined the paper as editor in chief.
Amanda Munz

Age 27

Hometown Lindenhurst, N.Y.

Now Lives Still in Lindenhurst, in the same four-bedroom home that she shares with her parents. Thats start-up-charity life for you, Ms. Munz said.

Claim to Fame Ms. Munz is the founder of the Fashion Foundation, a nonprofit that solicits excess samples from fashion houses and designers, sells them online and at a store in Farmingdale, N.Y., and uses the proceeds to buy school supplies for underprivileged students in the New York City area. This is my baby, she said. I really think this can be the go-to nonprofit for the fashion industry.

Big Break In 2015, after interning at Swimwear Anywhere, where she saw lots of unused samples thrown away, she formed the Fashion Foundation in a spare room in her parents house. It was slow going until she met the designer Rebecca Minkoff at a SoHo fund-raiser for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in 2016. A week later, Ms. Minkoff donated 20 boxes of unsold merchandise. Rebecca physically pushed me out of my home office, she said. Saying her name gives me so much credibility. Since then, donations have also come from Calvin Klein, Vera De Nero and Aimee Lynn Apparel.
New York Fashion Week

Show sites are smaller, we hear, but even if you didnt make the guest list this season, there are plenty of ways to take part in the festivities surrounding New York Fashion Week.

On Thursday, Rebecca Taylor will collaborate with Tilt Brush by Google, a cool VR tool that allows users to paint in a 3-D space, on an immersive installation that will take over her entire meatpacking district store. Customers will be able to experience Ms. Taylors fall 2018 collection through augmented reality and order pieces like a velveteen leopard print jacket ($550) and high-waist pants ($395). At 34 Gansevoort Street.

On Friday, Makoto Azuma, a flower artist best known in the fashion world for the ice-encased floral structures he created for Dries Van Noten, will unveil an installation at Opening Ceremony filled with unusual specimens like five-needle pines ($1,800) and Japanese royal ferns ($720). At 35 Howard Street.

Also on Friday, the Danish label Ganni, beloved by street style influencers, will open a pop-up souvenir shop with its signature print dresses and hand-knit sweaters ($520), alongside tourist staples like posters and key rings with images of Copenhagen shot by Ana Kras ($4). At 230 Elizabeth Street.
That approach works for location too. A romantic dinner reservation can be part of it, but proposers should consider how the establishment relates to their courtship. Picking an upscale restaurant because it offers a Valentines Day prix fixe special does not send the same message as returning to an influential getaway destination, stopping by a favorite local eatery or dining in a corner of your home.

Ashley Durham, a wedding photographer and co-owner of Randy and Ashley Studios in Peyton, Colo., said that some of her favorite proposals even happened in bed. As for putting the ring in the dessert on a plate that reads, Marry Me? Likely, youll want to skip it.

Proposers often mistakenly believe that the key to achieving a great proposal takes large amounts of money. Rooftop dinners, helicopters, fireworks, flowers and fine wines are expensive elements that may not be received as sentimentally as the proposer hopes. Shutterfly books are what every guy considers meaningful, with rose petals and Champagne, Ms. Cantrell said, noting that a heartfelt proposal simply takes effort. If her favorite flower is actually a daisy and her drink is a Moscow Mule, then rose petals and Champagne arent going to speak to her like daisies and copper mugs.

Less pricey concepts can also be rife with misconception. Ms. Durham pointed out the popularity of the hiking proposal in Colorado. In an attempt to snap a photograph of the moment with a sweeping landscape as the backdrop, the proposer will stop along on a trail at a vantage point, set up for a posed picture, and quickly pull out a ring. This feels natural if the couple treks on a regular basis but borders on contrived to less outdoorsy people.

Stacy Stahl, the founder and director of the proposal website HowHeAsked.com by the Knot, recommends that proposers pick a specific facet of their partnership as the basis of the plan. Whether its a song, date or funny memory, these elements help create proposals that stand out. I encourage proposers to share something they might not have ever shared before, like the moment they decided their partner was the one, Ms. Stahl said. Sharing that feeling can be incredibly romantic.
A Luxe Introduction

In between shows, some industry insiders will surely be dashing to Greene Street in SoHo, where Louis Vuitton has temporarily set up shop. On Feb. 8, the pop-up will not only introduce the luxury labels spring 2018 womens Archlight sneakers (giving New Yorkers a chance to shop them first), but also carry a version thats exclusive to the shop: all-black clompers, as befits a notoriously color-shy New Yorker.

Louis Vuitton Archlight canvas and leather sneakers, $1,090 at Louis Vuitton pop-up, 122 Greene Street, through March 10.
Have you ridden on an airplane recently? If so, have you noticed any animals in the passenger cabin, or have you brought an animal on the plane yourself?

What do you think about pets riding with their owners? Have you ever witnessed or experienced any problems with animals on a plane?

In Its Time to End the Scam of Flying Pets, David Leonhardt writes:

One day, we may all owe a debt of gratitude to Dexter the peacock. At Newark Airport last weekend, a woman tried to board a United Airlines flight with Dexter. She described him as her emotional-support animal. But given that peacocks are large birds and there is not much evidence of their therapeutic benefits, United said no, Dexter could not board. A predictable social-media storm ensued, both pro- and anti-peacock. By late last week, United Airlines decided it had enough of making ad hoc decisions about traveling animals and announced a tighter new policy. Dexter, unwittingly, may have struck a blow for sanity. If you spend any time on planes, youve probably noticed the surge of animals. There have been pigs, monkeys, turkeys, snakes and oh-so-many dogs, often sprawled across crowded cabins. Delta alone flies about 250,000 animals a year  not even counting those tucked inside carry-on bags or checked in cargo holds  more than double how many it flew in 2015. The number of problems is rising, too. A large part-Labrador mauled a man on a flight to San Diego last summer. A recent Delta news release included some words that dont normally appear in a corporate news release: urination/defecation and barking, growling, lunging and biting. According to a labor union for flight attendants, more passengers are suffering allergy attacks, and more are arguing, or worse, over animals. Im not going to claim that flying pets are one of the countrys biggest problems right now. Thats a high bar, after all. But I do find this situation to be a fascinating case study of how mass cheating can become acceptable  and how decent people can make decisions that are more selfish than they realize. It is one of the downsides of a modern culture that too often fetishizes individual preference and expression over communal well-being.

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us:

 Do you agree or disagree with Mr. Leonhardts argument about flying pets? Why?

 In your opinion, are emotional-support animals a scam? Do you think people are too often gaming the system? Or do you think, for the most part, that those who bring animals on a plane need them? Why do you think so?

 How do you think airlines should determine which pets can fly with their owners? Should there be stricter rules? Or should it be a trust-based system? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of both options?

 Should emotional support animals be allowed on college campuses? What about in no-pets housing, like apartment buildings? In hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, stores or other public places?

 Mr. Leonhardt writes that we live in a modern culture that too often fetishizes individual preference and expression over communal well-being. To what extent do you think this statement is true and why? What examples can you give to support your opinion?
Five days before he died, Archbishop Sheen executed a will saying that his remains should be buried in Calvary Cemetery, the cemetery of the Archdiocese of New York. He had spent much of his adult life in the city, and was a bishop in New York from 1951-1966. After a dispute with Cardinal Francis Spellman, Archbishop Sheen was transferred to Rochester, N.Y., where he was bishop from 1966-1969. He then moved back to the city, where he lived until his death.

Shortly after Archbishop Sheens death, however, Cardinal Terence Cooke, then archbishop of New York, asked his closest living relative, a niece, Joan Sheen Cunningham, if his remains could be placed in a honored location, the crypt under St. Patricks Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. She consented.

The matter would have ended there, were it not for a push to have Archbishop Sheen declared a saint.

In 2002, Bishop Daniel R. Jenky of the Diocese of Peoria, Ill., where Archbishop Sheen was born and ordained, began investigating the question of sainthood. He told the court that when he asked Cardinal Edward Egan, then the archbishop of New York, if he could have the honor of sponsoring the cause for sainthood, Cardinal Egan said yes, and was told that the body would be transferred to Peoria. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the current archbishop of New York, disputes that a promise was made.

The New York State Appeals Court order on Tuesday did not actually settle the matter of final interment. Instead, the appeals court sent the case back to the lower court for an evidentiary hearing. The ruling found that the lower court had not taken seriously enough a sworn statement from a priest colleague, Msgr. Hilary C. Franco, who stated that the archbishop told him that he wanted to be buried in New York, and that Cardinal Cooke had offered him a space in the St. Patricks crypt.
The big decisions are made on the couch around 5 a.m.

When it looks like snow, the sanitation commissioner gathers her top chiefs and directors in a cozy office on the eighth floor of an old building on Worth Street near the federal courthouse for their couch meeting. They squeeze onto a dark brown leather sofa and, without fail, talk about the weather.

Youve got to be able to rock n roll when the shift starts at 7 a.m., said Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who oversees a $1.6 billion budget  $84 million of which typically goes to snow removal. From this couch, the plan for thousands of sanitation workers is put in place. Ms. Garcia also gives her recommendation to the mayor on whether to close schools.

Since 2014, when Ms. Garcia took over the department, major changes have taken place to clear the streets after anything from a dusting to a bomb cyclone. For decades, snow was dealt with in a convoluted system depending on how trafficked an area was. But all that changed in 2010 when a catastrophic blizzard left people in parts of the boroughs stranded for days and shook the department to its core.
Its a tech takeover.

Google, the tech company with a seemingly insatiable appetite for space in New York, is buying Chelsea Market, the blocklong Nabisco factory turned food mart, office building and tourist attraction, for about $2.4 billion, according to two executives who have been briefed on the deal and requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it.

Chelsea Market sits directly across Ninth Avenue from the companys headquarters at 111 Eighth Avenue, which is larger than the Empire State Building and covers the entire block between 15th and 16th Streets.

But it is only the latest example of an internet behemoth, and even smaller tech companies, expanding rapidly in New York City.

Amazon, Facebook, Salesforce, a cloud computing company, and Spotify, a music streaming service, are all enlarging their footprints here by hundreds of thousands of square feet. Employment at technology firms has grown three times faster in New York City than in the rest of the private sector, adding more than 50,000 jobs since the end of the recession in 2010, according to a report by the state comptroller.
Another son, Siamak, 46, a businessman and dual citizen who had been an advocate for improved American-Iranian relations, remains imprisoned as well. Babak said his brother had been abused while in prison, including through electric shock. In a secretive October 2016 trial, the two men were convicted of collaborating with a hostile power  the United States. Their convictions and 10-year sentences were upheld last November on appeal. The details of the charges against them have never been fully explained.

Image Baquer Namazi Credit... Namazi family, via Reuters

At least two other American citizens are known to be imprisoned in Iran: Xiyue Wang, a Princeton graduate student who was seized while working on his doctoral thesis, and Karan Vafadari, a Tehran art gallery owner. Another American, Robert Levinson, has been missing in Iran for more than 10 years. Other foreign citizens have also been detained, including Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a Briton of Iranian descent employed by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, who was sentenced to five years.

These detentions have worsened tensions between Iran and the West following the 2015 deal under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for a lifting of economic sanctions. The result is that some Westerners, especially those with dual Iranian citizenship, are now more cautious about visiting Iran, fearing arbitrary arrest. Iranian officials say that the United States or its allies have unfairly imprisoned or prosecuted at least 14 Iranians, mostly for what the officials call unfounded charges of sanctions violations.

Granting Mr. Namazi a short-term medical leave and then extending it seemed like one possible way to break the logjam. The Trump administration has reportedly asked Iran to set up a private channel to discuss such humanitarian issues, but there has been no response from Tehran. The speculation is that the hard-liners who control Irans judiciary and intelligence services are refusing to budge.

Mr. Trump and his State Department should continue trying to engage Iran. Its not in the interest of either country for Mr. Namazi, or any other political prisoner, to die in jail.
To the Editor:

On Family Farms, Little Hands Steer Big Machines (news article, Jan. 29), about the plight of children working in agriculture and the serious injuries they suffer driving heavy equipment, was heart-rending.

Imagine the equivalent behavior of grade-school children driving trucks on the open road among the rest of us. It would be intolerable. Safety standards barring children from engaging in hazardous activities on the farm are 40 years old.

An effort by the Obama administration to update them was snuffed out by House conservatives, who never saw a regulation they liked. The proposal would have restricted the operation of heavy equipment, protected migrant teenagers from picking tobacco unprotected, and prohibited the practice of sending youngsters into silos to break up clumps of grain with their feet, risking suffocation if they slip.

We are back to the vicious cycle of a laissez-faire market and human suffering on a grand scale. But this time, rebuilding government safety rules will be a long and unnecessary slog.
The tension between the public good and re-election also highlights the dual role of members of Congress: They are national policymakers but local representatives. When they are criticized for favoring re-election over the public good, it is often a criticism of putting local concerns over national ones.

Faced with a policy that helps the national economy but costs local jobs, many members will feel obligated to defend their constituents, and oppose the policy. Congressmen routinely oppose trade deals on these grounds, and some blue-state Republicans, in the debate on the recent tax bill, faced opposition at home to altering deductions for state and local taxes.

In practice, this local incentive tends to distort public policy toward parochialism and away from the national good. But this is neither irrational nor inherently bad. Even if you believe national interests should take priority, it doesnt follow that local interests should be ignored.

Complicating this, most citizens do not have consistent opinions about when each role should take precedence. So asking members to do the right thing often means asking them to risk their job for an important policy, but just this once. Even worse, determining the right thing is largely subjective; in most cases, it just means a position I feel strongly about.

The third goal of members  increasing their power within Congress  is intrinsically linked to partisanship. Power in both the House and Senate is structured along party lines, with party caucuses holding gatekeeping authority over committee seats, chairmanships and chamber leadership positions. Members can parlay skills like fund-raising prowess or issue expertise into increased power, but in most cases they need to please party leaders to improve their standing.

When all three of their incentives align, members have little to consider. If a position is strongly supported by constituents, pleases party leaders, and is judged by the member to be good public policy, then taking that position is a no-brainer.

The most difficult choices members make concern supporting the party position on issues that cut against the preferences of their constituents or district interests. This may take the form of voting with the party on high-profile legislation. For example, the Democrats in 2010 passed the Affordable Care Act even though it was obvious the votes were going to cost them seats in Congress.
Whatever the priorities, this sort of trade-off is shortsighted. Cutting funding for the station, now between $3 billion and $4 billion a year, would be a step backward for the space agency and certainly not in the best interest of the country.

Over the past year, the United States abandoned its leadership position on the global stage in many ways. We stopped leading the effort to combat climate change. We stopped leading on trade and commerce, and raised questions about our continued commitment to multilateral organizations and military alliances. We stopped leading on human rights and the rule of law. If we fail to continue funding the International Space Station, America will sacrifice its rank as the global leader in space exploration and commercial space innovation.

NASA programs have benefited the people of our planet since the founding of the agency in 1958. Solar technology, miniaturized computer chips, CT scans and M.R.I.s are just a few examples of the technologies that were developed and delivered to the American consumer as a result of NASAs innovation.

Because of our countrys leadership, we benefited first and we benefited the most. Much more than any other country, in fact. Funding scientific research is one of the most productive ways to put taxpayers dollars to work. It not only creates jobs but also creates industries that otherwise would never exist. Its easy to see how a dollar spent on our space program is returned to the taxpayer many times over.

Budgeting is about making tough choices, but to abandon one of our most successful and innovative endeavors  one in which we are the global leader  just as it is clearly transitioning to a hub of commercial activity would be extremely shortsighted.

Other countries will undoubtedly fill the void left by American withdrawal  most notably China and Russia, countries we consider significant rivals. Not only would they reap the economic and political benefits of leading in space but they also could change the direction of the worlds collective space endeavors in a way inimical to American interests and values.

If we want our nation to continue leading in space, fully funding NASAs existing programs is absolutely essential. And if we want to some day send astronauts back to the moon or to Mars, we need to fund those efforts as well. It might seem costly in the short term, but the return is well worth the investment.
To the Editor:

Measuring the Damage of a False Narrative in a Refugee Camp (Leda Journal, Feb. 2) discusses an issue familiar to experienced human rights investigators.

Some of the stories told by refugees cannot be taken at face value. During my tenure as executive director of Human Rights Watch (1981-93), I interviewed refugees from many conflicts in different parts of the world and found it necessary to follow certain procedures to obtain reliable information.

The procedures I followed and recommended to colleagues included interviewing refugees individually so as to reduce the likelihood that they would tell me agreed-upon stories; focusing on incidents that they had seen themselves; not taking their word about matters they had heard about from others; and interviewing other witnesses to the same events separately to detect inconsistencies.

Where possible, evidence from forensic scientists and satellite photography is also used to verify testimony.
Some 20,000 of the refugees have already left the country. The mission now, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put it bluntly, is to deport the rest. And so the government is offering the remaining refugees this choice: jail in Israel or $3,500 and a plane ticket to a third country, like Rwanda, in Africa.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Africans in Israel who over the past few years have voluntarily taken the third country option ended up back on the perilous refugee trail from East Africa to Libya without status, papers or protection. Some were killed by Islamic militants. Others drowned attempting to cross the Mediterranean. Researchers at Hebrew University estimate that hundreds of returnees have died in camps in Libya or in the waters of the Mediterranean.

And yet, despite knowing the violence theyd likely face, our government is determined to get rid of the remaining refugees. The first deportation-or-jail orders are set to coincide with Passover. The first night of Passover, Jews around the world, including the Netanyahu family, will recite the same line during the Seder: In every generation we are obligated to see ourselves as though we personally went out from Egypt.

Our prime minister is on the wrong side of the Exodus story. But the people of Israel  a country built by those who fled Hitlers ovens and the oppression of Arab countries where they were treated as second-class citizens  understand the injustice of the governments policy in our bones. It is why 36 Holocaust survivors wrote a letter to the prime minister begging him to learn the lesson of our history. It is why Israelis from all parts of society  doctors, diplomats, rabbis, artists  have opposed this policy. It is why some El Al pilots have announced that they will refuse to fly planes bearing Africans being deported.

We are also preparing for the possibility that the government wont back down and that this deeply anti-Jewish policy will be carried out. That is why last month I and others founded a movement called Miklat Israel, or Israel Sanctuary. Hundreds of Israeli families, plus many kibbutz communities, are opening their homes to asylum seekers who face the gruesome choice of deportation or prison. We will protect whoever we can. That is why some have referred to it as the Anne Frank movement.
MEXICO CITY  Immigration has been on the United States-Mexico agenda for years. In recent times, three American attempts at comprehensive immigration reform, which included amnesty for undocumented Mexicans in the United States and a temporary-worker visa program, have failed. A bilateral effort between 2001 and 2003 also collapsed.

Nothing affects Mexico more than United States immigration policy, and the centrality of the issue in American politics is more prominent than ever.

The most urgent challenge is to find a way forward for the so-called Dreamers, the beneficiaries of President Barack Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Nearly 800,000 young people brought to the United States by their parents as children applied for and were given protected status by the Obama administration. Thanks to DACA, they no longer needed to fear deportation, were able to work legally and had realistic hopes that one day they would be on a path to citizenship in the only country they knew. More than three-fourths of the Dreamers are Mexican. Thats why people here follow their fate closely.

President Trump rescinded Mr. Obamas DACA policy. He has proposed a four-pillar overhaul of American immigration policy that most Democrats and Latinos in the United States detest. Strangely enough, however, it might benefit Mexico, especially if it is accompanied by additional changes in the issuance of temporary-worker visas, and in particular those known as H-2A and H-2B.
So, too, with the specific cases that the Atlantic essay focuses on: Trumps insouciance about Russian interference in the last presidential election, and his continuing attacks on law enforcement professionals over the probe into his campaigns possible involvement with that interference. Just consider the following caveat that Wittes and Rauch append to their brief:

We dont mean to deny credit where it is due.  Last year, pressure from individual Republicans seemed to discourage Trump from firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and probably prevented action against Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Moreover, Republicans as a group have constrained Trump on occasion. Congress imposed tough sanctions on Russia over the presidents objections. The Senate Intelligence Committee conducted a serious Russia investigation under the leadership of Richard Burr. But the broader response to Trumps behavior has been tolerant and, often, enabling.

So according to authors who are trying to convince Trump-skeptical Republicans to vote against every single G.O.P. politician on principle, many Trump-era Republicans have 1) defended and protected a sweeping probe into their presidents campaign and possibly his familys finances; 2) passed legislation punishing Russia for its interference; and 3) conducted a serious Russia investigation from within the United States Senate. All of which seems like  quite a bit? Perhaps even a sign that many prominent Republicans are not really just enabling Trump at all?

Now its quite true that other Republicans, especially in the House, have run interference for Trumps attacks on Muellers probe, and encouraged rank-and-file conservatives and frequent Hannity viewers to believe the worst about the F.B.I. and other deep state organs. But partisan attacks on a special counsels probe are not the same thing as a sustained presidential assault on democratic institutions. Nor are angry presidential tweets that lack any sustained follow-through: If the president yells about his persecutors and little or nothing happens  the Mueller probe continues, Rod Rosenstein keeps his job, etc.  whats undermined is presidential authority, not the rule of law.

And if many House Republicans are working to enable Trumps authoritarian instincts while various Senate Republicans work to constrain them, surely thats cause for precisely the kind of discriminating thinking that Wittes and Rauch want their Republican readers to rule out  for praising Richard Burr and criticizing Devin Nunes, lets say, or for hoping Republicans keep the Senate while not minding if they lose the House, or otherwise judging conservative leaders case by case rather than insisting that theyre all rubber-stamping an incipient dictatorship.

All judgments about a year-old presidency are provisional. It is very easy to imagine a scenario in which the Wittes and Rauch argument would become persuasive. For instance, if Trump were to actually fire Rosenstein and Mueller and close down the Russia investigation and Senate Republicans did nothing. Or, to be a little more imaginative, if Trump started overruling his own foreign policy team and making various unwarranted, Manchurian-candidate-style concessions to the Russians, and the Senate simply went along.

Or if he invaded a country and toppled its government without Senate approval, or if he began prosecuting journalists on dubious grounds, or if tried to unilaterally rewrite immigration laws, or if he ordered the C.I.A. to torture prisoners at black sites 

 aah, sorry, I became carried away with memories of the last two administrations, neither of which corroded democratic norms through Twitter outbursts and personal sleaziness, to their credit, but both of which made big norm-eroding moves on other fronts that Trump has not yet come close to matching.
To the Editor:

Senator Jeff Flakes remarks denouncing President Trumps comment regarding Democratic members of Congress who did not applaud during the State of the Union address stand in stark contrast to the silence emanating from the Senate and House leadership.

These same leaders sat in silence on multiple occasions during President Obamas State of the Union addresses, as was their privilege, and without concern that this right would be publicly characterized as un-American or treasonous by the president.

Though Senator Flake and I likely differ on policy preferences, we, and many other Americans across the political spectrum, hopefully share core beliefs in the importance of civil liberties and discourse. Only through courageous stands such as Mr. Flakes will we continue to overcome the threat to those beliefs.

TIM BREWER, LOS ANGELES

To the Editor:

Some suggest that President Trump is diverting us from bad economic news by his preposterous claim of treason. Others have reminded us that in Stalins Soviet Union, refraining from applauding was in fact treasonous. And some see this as still more evidence that Mr. Trump has no idea what he is talking about.
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First, the Democrats excellent performance in special elections continues. In four Missouri state-legislature races last night, the Democrats ran an average of about 30 percentage points ahead of Hillary Clintons showing in those areas in 2016. The party also flipped one of those four seats in a major upset.

Democrats would be fools to not contest every district possible in 2018, writes the political analyst G. Elliott Morris. Sure, special elections are more favorable to large swings than House generals, but if there were ever a sign that some Safe seats arent that safe

Voting rights. Add Michigan and Florida to the list of states where democracy may actually be expanding.
Here at T, we spend a good deal of time discussing people we admire: fashion designers, artists, writers, architects, chefs and performers of all kinds. Some are notable because they produce works of art that land at the exact right moment in the culture, that seem to not just speak to, but articulate, the global mood. Some are notable because they make art that has proven itself timeless, things or ideas in which every successive generation can find some echo of itself.

As Ive gotten older, however, the artists I find most mysterious  and therefore compelling  are the prophets, the people who have had to wait for the culture to catch up to them. People like Margaret Atwood, whose novel The Handmaids Tale, while certainly acclaimed upon its publication in 1985, was also dismissed in some quarters as a fevered fantasy  though no longer. Or Kengo Kuma, the Japanese architect who was making buildings that were deliberately humble in both size and material (Kuma prefers to use cedar, a staple of prewar Japanese structures) through decades in which architecture and its critics tended to favor technologically wrought spectacles. Kuma, however, had foreseen a time in which architecture would have to answer, somehow, to the realities of diminishing resources and overstuffed cities, a time when architects would seek not to change the landscape, but integrate themselves into it. (Our story on Kuma will go live on Feb. 15.)

Then theres our cover star, Judy Chicago, a medium- and genre-defying artist who, at 78, is and will be the subject of a number of major solo gallery and museum shows over the next 18 months. The past year saw her most celebrated work, the monumental (in all senses) The Dinner Party (1979)  a vulvic-inspired table with ceramic plates for 39 women from across the centuries, from Sappho to Virginia Woolf  become a pop-cultural touchstone, a visual shorthand for womens exclusion from the annals of history and a revisionist fantasy: Here, literally, was their place at the table. For Chicago, who has spent almost 40 years watching her creation be, alternately, reviled, praised, sneered at, ignored and celebrated, the works triumph is a relief. From its conception, she told writer Sasha Weiss, she knew it needed to be permanently housed, because if it hadnt been, it would have simply reiterated the story of erasure it recounts. The work now has a permanent home  physically, and in the annals of art and feminism  at the Brooklyn Museum. Still, Chicago admits, I had no idea it was going to take this long  words that resonate for many of us, in many ways.

If you are an artist, there is nothing sweeter than having your art be seen, discussed, debated and, ultimately, appreciated. One could argue that it doesnt matter when that appreciation comes  for most artists, it never arrives at all. And yet being a cultural Cassandra, being possessed of what Weiss characterizes as Chicagos lonely clairvoyance, is a difficult and often isolating role. Getting to say I told you so is little reward for what can be decades of ignominy, if not outright ridicule. Playing outside the club  and in the art world, being female or a person of color has more or less guaranteed youll probably be far outside  requires a special kind of determination, powered by ones strength of conviction and singular vision, as well as the rare gift (sometimes natural, sometimes borne from necessity) not to seek or crave validation  or, at least, to convince yourself you wont and dont.
As T refreshes under the editorship of Hanya Yanagihara, the graphic language of the magazine will look and feel more urgent and elegantly experimental. With this change, the magazines primary display font for the last six years, Schnyder, will be retired to the archives.

In 2012, the magazines skilled art department and I conceptualized the Schnyder letterforms, which came to represent the primary font of the magazine. (The typeface will soon be available for sale through Commercial Type, the foundry that drew it.)

Image A portrait of Jean-Frederic Schnyder by the artist Franz Gertsch, 1970. Credit... Museum Franz Gertsch

The font was named after the artist Jean-Frederic Schnyder. I first saw his paintings in 2011 at the Swiss Institute, a nonprofit experimental art space that champions influential and obscure art typologies from, and about, Switzerland. Within a vast gallery space, Schnyder, a reclusive 73-year-old artist, was showing small paintings of bucolic landscapes. On second glance, I noticed something off in his depiction of rolling hills, cozy interiors and domestic situations. Shocking color combinations, fierce brush strokes and even a mushroom cloud jolted the paintings into another sphere. These unexpected contrasts were exhilarating to see.
SAN FRANCISCO  The creators of the famous Forbes rich list have made their first attempt to identify the wealthiest people in the virtual currency industry. Yet the list that was published on Wednesday, right after major drops in virtual currency prices, inadvertently also served as a reminder of the fleeting nature of that wealth.

While the list in Forbes magazine, which was assembled in recent weeks, identifies about 10 virtual currency billionaires, most of them were not billionaires by the time the feature went online on Wednesday morning. On Monday alone, the prices of many virtual currencies plummeted over 20 percent, before stabilizing on Tuesday.

At the top of the list is Chris Larsen, a founder of the Ripple virtual currency. Mr. Larsen was briefly estimated to be wealthier than Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg last month when Ripples price peaked, taking his net wealth to nearly $60 billion.

Since then, the price of Ripples digital token, XRP, has fallen more than 80 percent. Forbes put Mr. Larsens wealth at around $8 billion, but the same holdings were worth less than $6 billion by Wednesday.
WASHINGTON  Senate leaders struck a far-reaching bipartisan agreement on Wednesday that would add hundreds of billions of dollars to military and domestic programs over the next two years while raising the federal debt limit, moving to end the cycle of fiscal showdowns that have roiled the Capitol.

The accord between Senators Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and Chuck Schumer of New York, his Democratic counterpart, would raise strict caps on military and domestic spending that were imposed in 2011 as part of a deal with President Barack Obama that was once seen as a key triumph for Republicans in Congress.

The deal would raise the spending caps by about $300 billion over two years. The limit on military spending would be increased by $80 billion in the current fiscal year and $85 billion in the next year, which begins Oct. 1. The limit on nondefense spending would increase by $63 billion this year and $68 billion next year.

But the accord was not without dramatics, and its passage in the House is not a foregone conclusion. As proof of that, Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House Democratic leader, took the House floor on Wednesday morning in opposition, protesting that the deal did nothing to bring lawmakers closer to protecting young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children. She then delivered a record-breaking speech that tied up the House for the entire day and into the night.
In addition to asking her about what she said to F.B.I. officials, Mr. Porter, she said, had been in touch several times over the past year to urge her to take down a blog post in which she detailed abuse in their marriage without naming him.

According to an emergency protective order she filed in June 2010 against him in an Arlington, Va., court, Ms. Willoughby accused Mr. Porter of growing angry when she said he had violated a private separation agreement. A day later, her complaint said, Mr. Porter entered her apartment with a key he had not given back.

According to her complaint, Mr. Porter left only after Ms. Willoughby had asked him to leave several times. He returned minutes later and punched in the glass on the door, trying to get into the apartment. He left the property after she read her name and address aloud to a 911 dispatcher.

When he heard me on the phone with the police, Ms. Willoughby wrote in the complaint, he apologized and begged me not to involve them.

Ms. Holderness, Mr. Porters first wife, described their relationship as verbally, emotionally and physically abusive in an interview with The Daily Mail. In photographs she gave to The Intercept, Ms. Holderness has a blackened right eye and a swollen cheekbone.

In his statement, Mr. Porter said the pictures of Ms. Holderness were misleading.

I took the photos given to the media nearly 15 years ago, and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described, he said. I have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign.

The White House sent several statements to The Mail on Tuesday evening in support of Mr. Porter. In one, Mr. Kelly, who in recent months has leaned heavily on Mr. Porter in his efforts to bring order to a once chaotic West Wing, called Mr. Porter a man of true integrity whom he could not say enough good things about.
President Trumps dream of a military parade in Washington D.C. is being put on hold, for now. On Twitter, Trump blamed local officials for inflating the estimated cost  $90 million by some accounts. His inspiration for the parade? This. Frances annual Bastille Day festivities commemorate a turning point in the French Revolution more than 200 years ago. The Pentagon says its exploring options for the president. But military parades also come loaded with history. Yes, they can be celebrations, but theyre also used by dictators to strike fear into civilians. The U.S. has used parades to celebrate military achievements in the past. In 1946, soon after World War II ended, a victory parade was held on Fifth Avenue in New York. America celebrated again in Washington in 1991 after claiming victory in the first Gulf War. Both parades featured troops and tanks. But they were one-offs designed to celebrate, not intimidate. In other parts of the world, though, thats not always the case. North Korea regularly parades new ballistic missiles and goose-stepping soldiers around its capital. In theory, its to celebrate various milestones. But in a police state where applause is essentially mandatory, the effect is also to instill fear, both at home and abroad. China, too, likes to flex its military muscle, with highly synchronized troop formations marching beside columns of tanks. At this event in 2017, President Xi Jingping is in uniform among thousands of troops. It was to celebrate 90 years since the Peoples Liberation Army was created. But it was also political theater. At the time, Xi was trying to solidify his leadership for another term. Russias annual Victory Day parade commemorates the defeat of the Nazis, but it also highlights its global ambitions. In 2017, for the first time, air defense missile systems were painted in the white camouflage colors of the Arctic, emphasizing the countrys expanding reach into oil-rich regions. Who knows what a U.S. parade will look like  if it happens. The White House says it wants to thank Americas troops. But a president showcasing his military might without a current war victory to celebrate risks sending the wrong message.
Some aides urged the president to increase the modest number of military advisers in Libya  roughly two dozen Special Operations soldiers at any given time. But the effort was stymied by Stephen K. Bannon, then Mr. Trumps chief strategist.

Mr. Bannon clashed frequently with Mr. Trumps national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H. R. McMaster, who, Mr. Bannon said, kept pushing for more American involvement in a variety of places, including Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen. Every day there was a new ask with no overarching strategy, Mr. Bannon recalled in an interview after leaving the White House but before his recent public break with Mr. Trump over his comments in a book about the administrations first year. Libya was what pushed me over the edge.

Mr. Bannon was more open to an idea pitched by Erik D. Prince, a founder of the private security firm Blackwater Worldwide whom he had gotten to know when he oversaw the conservative website Breitbart News. Mr. Prince had proposed relying on contractors to tackle Libyas security problems. It seemed, at least to Libyan officials, that the idea was gaining steam: One said Mr. Prince had approached them about it at a conference in London where he was seen with Sebastian Gorka, a Bannon ally and White House adviser at the time.

How was sending American troops to Libya in Americas interest? Mr. Bannon wanted to know.

At a wide-ranging Saturday morning meeting on July 8, Mr. Bannon took his complaints to Mr. Mattis, a retired Marine general. The country was a mess, Mr. Bannon said he told the secretary, and greater American involvement could only backfire.

Mr. Mattis listened politely, Mr. Bannon said, but pointed out that Libya, along with parts of Syria and the Philippines, was a critical battlefield in the global fight against the Islamic State. Mr. Bannon responded that if the president was going to be asked to get more deeply involved in Libya, he at least wanted Mr. Trump to have a strategic overview of U.S. commitments around the globe, everything from military to trade agreements, so that all these requests could be put in a larger context.

A three-hour follow-up meeting with the president took place on July 20 at the Pentagon. As Mr. Bannon had hoped, once the National Security Council convened to discuss hot spots around the world where the Pentagon might need to bolster its presence, Libya fell farther down the priority list.

At least for the moment, Mr. Bannon had won the day.

But if Mr. Trumps Libya policy seemed unintelligible to some, the president of another world power had a far clearer vision.
RIO DE JANEIRO  American parents involved in international custody fights in Brazil have managed to get presidents, secretaries of state and lawmakers to help settle high-profile disputes that have long been a thorn in bilateral relations.

In the latest case, Chris Brann, a Houston physician, has found a unique way to gain leverage over his former spouse, enlisting federal prosecutors to step in.

On Wednesday, F.B.I. agents arrested his ex-wifes parents when they landed in Miami and charged them with international parental abduction. In a tactic that experts in international custody fights described as unprecedented, Mr. Brann then signaled that the criminal case against them might be dismissed if his ex-wife were to return their son, Nicolas, to the United States immediately.

Ultimately, I felt like this was the last hope, Mr. Brann said in a telephone interview on Wednesday afternoon. Whats in my childs best interest is to have both parents in his life.
The authorities in China have detained a wealthy investor who went into business with relatives of the previous prime minister, a sign that the anticorruption campaign initiated five years ago by President Xi Jinping may again be closing in on a former top leader.

Duan Weihong, 49, who set up companies with relatives of Wen Jiabao, Chinas prime minister from 2003-13, was detained before a Communist Party congress last year, according to three friends and business associates who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals by the authorities.

Ms. Duan, also known as Whitney Duan, was a central figure in a 2012 investigation by The New York Times that showed Mr. Wens relatives controlled assets worth at least $2.7 billion.

There has been no official acknowledgment of Ms. Duans detention, and it is not clear who detained her, why and whether she is still being held. Emails and phone calls to her offices were not returned.
NEW DELHI  The long-estranged wife of Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India returned to the public eye on Wednesday when a car she was riding in collided with a truck.

Mr. Modis wife, Jashodaben Chimanlal, a retired teacher, was unhurt, but one of her relatives was killed, said Rakesh Rajora, a police official in the northern state of Rajasthan, where the crash occurred.

Madam Jashodaben is fine and did not suffer any injury, Mr. Rajora said, adding that she had been taken to a hospital as a precaution.

For most of his political career, Mr. Modi did not publicly acknowledge that he was married. He left his marital status blank on several election registration forms when he was chief minister of the state of Gujarat. But under increased scrutiny as a candidate for prime minister in 2014, Mr. Modi revised his official biography to note the relationship.
In October, she became the youngest member of the Politburo, the main decision-making body of the party. She sat in the front row of a leadership platform in a party meeting in December.

Mr. Kim has an older brother, Kim Jong-chol, who has never been seen in the North Korean media and whose role, if any, remains a mystery. He was last spotted at an Eric Clapton concert in London in 2015, but little else is known of him. Ms. Kim and her brothers studied in Switzerland as teenagers.

Kim Jong-uns older half brother, Kim Jong-nam, was killed in an airport in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in February last year by two women who smeared his face with a rare nerve agent. The assassins, who are on trial, were hired by North Korean agents who analysts said were sent by Kim Jong-un to eliminate a potential threat to his dynastic grip on power.

Outside officials and analysts consider Ms. Kim the pre-eminent female face of the Kim family, which has ruled North Korea since its founding seven decades ago. Her father, Kim Jong-il, also allowed his own sister, Kim Kyong-hui, to hold prominent jobs in the government until his death in 2011. But she disappeared from view after her husband, Jang Song-thaek, was executed in 2013 by Kim Jong-un on charges of plotting a coup.

Although Kim Yong-nam is the official head of the delegation, it will be Kim Yo-jong who will decide its activities, said Cheong Seong-chang, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute in Seoul, South Korea. By including his sister in the delegation, Kim Jong-un may want to show his interest in improving ties with South Korea.

Word of Ms. Kims visit came as Vice President Pence warned North Korea that it would face a new round of tougher sanctions.

The United States of America will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever  and we will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all, he said Wednesday while visiting Japan.

But a day earlier, Mr. Pence had stirred speculation about a possible meeting with North Korean officials, saying, I have not requested a meeting, but well see what happens. On Thursday, however, North Korea ruled out such a meeting.
At the school, people slept bundled up in heavy blankets and wearing coats and caps.

It wasnt a normal earthquake, there have been more than 100 aftershocks, said Wu Ching-hua, 62, a native of Hualien who woke early Thursday at the school. Weve had bigger quakes here many times before, but the aftershocks taper off gradually. Right now we dont know what will happen.



Mr. Wus daughter persuaded him to leave his home, in a five-story building next to a taller structure that she feared might topple.

Fan Chen-yuan, 30, was working the graveyard shift as a volunteer at the school.

Twenty seconds after the main quake, a large aftershock followed, and I couldnt sleep, he recalled in an interview.

An hour later Mr. Fan, an employee of the city government, was volunteering at the arena, the first of the two shelters to open. Lots of people ran out into the street after the quake, and they werent willing to go back into their homes, he said.
BERLIN  After more than four months of tortuous negotiations, with her fate and Germanys hanging in the balance, Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday announced a deal for a new government.

But it was telling that Ms. Merkel, in power for 12 years, looked more weary than jubilant.

The new deal with the same old coalition partners  her conservative alliance and the left-leaning Social Democrats  is precisely the government that Germans had voted against in inconclusive elections last September. It leaves the far-right Alternative for Germany as the countrys leading opposition party. And it comes at a high cost for Ms. Merkel, the incredible shrinking chancellor, who had to relinquish key ministries.

But what is troubling for many Germans is not necessarily bad news for Europe, which for years has depended on stability in Berlin and has been waiting in limbo as Ms. Merkel stumbled toward a deal.

The new arrangement must still be approved by the Social Democrats rank and file. But if endorsed, the coalition may provide Frances new president, Emmanuel Macron, with the partner he has been looking for to help buck up the European Union and move it away from the austerity policies that were identified with Ms. Merkels old team and often blamed for stifling growth.
LONDON  He had dark skin, brown curly hair and blue eyes, DNA tests suggest, upending a common assumption that Britains indigenous populations were all pale skinned with fair features.

He is Cheddar Man, Britains oldest complete skeleton, which was discovered in 1903 in Goughs Cave near the village of Cheddar in Somerset, in southwest England. He lived about 10,000 years ago in the Mesolithic period, the middle part of the Stone Age.

Scientists have now reconstructed his features, demonstrating that he was part of a population of ancient Western Europeans that, scientists have shown in recent years, had dark skin. Research has shown that fair skin pigmentation  long considered a defining feature of Europe  only goes back less than 6,000 years.

The research was led by the Natural History Museum and University College London. A news release about the research was released Wednesday, but the study has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal.
Two senior U.S. generals show up at a small city in northern Syria  Manbij. Why were they there? And why now? The answer begins last March when images emerged showing U.S. troops flying the American flag on patrol there. It was unusual to see such a public display of American boots on the ground in Syria. And that was the point. The Pentagon deployed these troops to keep the peace between nearby Turkish troops and Kurdish fighters. You know we are very clear about our presence there. These patrols are overt. Both are sworn enemies of each other. But both are also U.S. allies. Turkey is a NATO ally, and the Kurds have been key to helping the U.S. defeat Islamic State. So to keep the peace in the city an American show of force was necessary. Now the common enemy for everyone had been Islamic State. But with that fight winding down, old rivalries have again taken center stage. The Turks consider Kurds terrorists and say they are protecting their own border. And so Turkey has launched an offensive against the Kurds just a three hour drive from Manbij in Afrin. Turkeys president has said Manbij is his Armys next objective after Afrin. The problem is American troops are still there. Heres what we know about their presence. Theyve been advising Kurds there since 2016 and still continue overt patrols in the city. Plus theres a U.S. air base thats just a 45-minute drive away. At times, U.S. patrols near the city have also received fire from Turkish-backed rebels. We identified this to our Turkish allies, and they have taken appropriate measures to get that under control. These rebels operate in territory just north of the city. Its part of a buffer zone Turkey already controls along its border with Syria. The U.S. has said it has no intention of leaving, that it will support the Kurds there despite Turkeys rhetoric. And thats what this visit by the generals tried to show. But if the offensive turns towards Manbij, U.S. troops could find themselves stuck between two bitter enemies putting American lives at risk. One of the generals said that if U.S. forces were attacked, they would stay and fight.
This chart places all 100 senators on a grid based on how conservative or liberal they are and how their state voted for president in 2016.

Senators at the top represent states that overwhelmingly voted for Mr. Trump, while those at the bottom represent strong Clinton states. Those in the middle are from states where the presidential margin was close.

Those on the left have the most liberal voting records and those on the right have the most conservative. Those in the middle are considered the most moderate.

There are 35 seats up for election  26 held by Democrats and just nine held by Republicans.

The races vary in competitiveness. Here are how they rate, based on an average of estimates from three organizations: Democratic Republican Solid

Likely

Lean

Tossup

Lean

Likely

Solid

Three Republicans will not be running again, leaving their seats open. A fourth, Cindy Hyde-Smith (Miss.), will run in a special election. Ms. Hyde-Smith has been appointed to fill the seat of Senator Thad Cochran when he steps down in April.

In the strongest Trump states, the seats of Democrats Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) are both at risk. Ms. Heitkamps race became more competitive when Representative Kevin Cramer, the at-large congressman representing the state, entered the race.

Five Republicans and three relatively moderate Democrats hold seats in the next batch of Trump states.

One of the Republican seats, held by the retiring Bob Corker (Tenn.), was initially a long shot for Democrats but moved into reach when a former successful Democratic governor entered the race.

Joe Donnelly (Ind.) and Claire McCaskill (Mo.) are Democrats who represent states that have become more conservative in recent years. They could both face formidable Republican opponents.

Jon Tester (Mont.) is more likely to be re-elected, primarily because Republicans may not have a candidate strong enough to defeat him.

There are two Republican seats in states that Trump won fairly narrowly. Ted Cruz (Tex.) has a strong Democratic opponent in Representative Beto ORourke, but it would be an uphill battle to turn the Texas seat blue.

The race for the seat of departing Jeff Flake (Ariz.) is much more competitive and could hinge on how conservative the Republican nominee is. A more moderate pick may fare better against Democratic Representative Kyrsten Sinema in the general election.

There are five more Democrats running in states won  albeit narrowly  by Mr. Trump.

Bill Nelson (Fla.) is rated the most vulnerable of the group, and ratings will most likely move to a tossup if Gov. Rick Scott, a Republican who is considering a run, enters the race.

four Democrats. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), the most liberal senator from a purple state, had the Republican groups will almost certainly target the other, the most liberal senator from a purple state, had the lowest approval rating of the group at the start of this year.

The rest of the senators are from states won by Hillary Clinton. Dean Heller (Nev.), the only Republican in this group, is expected to face Representative Jacky Rosen, a freshman Democratic congresswoman. Its hard to see a path to a Democratic majority if Mr. Heller wins this seat.

These five Democrats represent states that Mrs. Clinton won more narrowly.

The biggest question mark of the group is Tina Smith (Minn.), who was appointed in January to replace Senator Al Franken. Her odds depend on the ability of Republicans to field a strong challenger.

Angus King (Me.), an independent who has caucused with the Democrats since he joined the Senate in 2013, is likely to keep his seat. None of the candidates who entered by the states filing deadline pose a serious threat.

In states where Mrs. Clinton won more easily, the fate of Robert Menendez (N.J.) is the most uncertain. He was recently tried for corruption (the trial ended in a hung jury) and is vulnerable to a primary challenge. But his seat is likely to remain blue whether or not he remains.
Yellow indicates area within range of missiles. Russia United States China Britain France Note: Maps include ranges of land- and submarine-launched missiles. Source: CSIS Missile Defense Project

North Korea has drastically increased the range of its missiles. In tests last year, the nation showed that it could probably strike the United States.

North Korea

North Korea is among a number of countries that have been working to improve the accuracy and range of their missiles.

Israel India Saudi Arabia Iran Pakistan South Korea Taiwan

We believe were entering a missile renaissance, said Ian Williams, an associate director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, who has been compiling data on missile programs in different countries.

A growing number of countries with ready access to missiles increases regional tensions and makes war more likely, Mr. Williams said. Countries are more apt to use their arsenals if they think their missiles could be targeted.

In addition, many of the missiles being developed by these countries are based on obsolete technologies, which makes them less accurate, increasing the risk to civilians. And there is a risk that missiles could fall into the hands of militias and terrorist groups.

Many of the countries that have heavily invested in missiles over the last two decades are in well-known hotspots in Asia and the Middle East. Their maximum ranges are overlaid on the map below.

Estimated maximum missile range. Saudi Arabia Israel North Korea Iran South Korea Taiwan Pakistan India The map shows ranges for countries that are capable of striking targets at distances greater than 186 miles and that have sought to increase their arsenals in the last two decades.

Countries investing in missiles are often trying to deter regional adversaries. But the effects of this arms race ripple across the globe.

North Korea is an example of the danger. Estimates of the countrys maximum missile range went from 745 miles in 1990 to more than 8,000 miles now. Thats enough to strike about half of the world, including the United States mainland. (During the same period, South Korea gained the ability to strike anywhere in North Korea.)

North Korea South Korea

Countries like Iran, North Korea and Pakistan have robust missile development programs. And the similarity of some of their missiles indicates that they have collaborated to share technology.

Pakistan began investing more heavily in its missile program in the 1990s and is believed to have also collaborated with China. By the mid-2000s, Pakistan had the ability to strike most of India, its main regional rival.

Pakistan India

India, in turn, became capable of striking anywhere in Pakistan and most of China, another regional rival, in the last two decades. India is now collaborating with Russia to develop cruise missiles.

Saudi Arabia and Israel were already able to strike Iran before 1990. But now Iran could strike back at either country, thanks in part to technology it acquired from North Korea.

Saudi Arabia Israel Iran

Additionally, both India and North Korea are working on submarine-launched missiles, which would enable the two nations to better hide their missiles to use in retaliatory strikes.

Another area of concern is militias or terrorist groups getting access to missiles.

One clear example of this happened in November, when a ballistic missile fired from Yemen reached Saudi Arabias capital. The missile was fired by Houthi rebels, a Shiite militia that took control of large parts of Yemen three years ago and that is backed by Iran and Hezbollah, a militant group from Lebanon.

The Arab League has accused the Houthis of firing dozens of missiles against Saudi Arabia since the kingdom began an offensive to oust the rebels in 2015.

500 miles Estimated minimum range of Houthi missile. Riyadh Saudi Arabia Yemen Territory held by the Houthis during the attack 620 miles Estimated maximum missile range. 500 miles Estimated minimum range of Houthi missile. Riyadh Saudi Arabia Yemen Territory held by the Houthis during the attack 620 miles Estimated maximum missile range. Source: Range estimate by CSIS Missile Defense Project; Houthi-held territory by the American Enterprise Institute

The weapon used against Saudi Arabia was a variation of the Scud missile.

The Scud and its variations have become some of the most common missiles in the world. Russia originally developed the Scud in the 1950s to carry weapons of mass destruction.

Korean Central News Agency

The missile played a crucial role in weapons programs of countries like North Korea and Iran. The weapons produced by North Korea are examples of how difficult it is to stop missiles from spreading.

Despite decades of sanctions, the country developed a family of ballistic missiles using lessons learned from the Scud. Some of the descendants were sold to other nations.

How a Few Missiles Become Many North Korea acquired a small number of Scud B missiles, support equipment and technology around 1980, apparently from Egypt, and worked to reverse engineer the design. Egypt Early 1980s The country has exported or planned to export its version of the Scud, the Hwasong-5, or its variations, to nearly a dozen countries, including Iran. North Korea Hwasong-5 1986 Iran Shahab-1, 1987 and -2, 1997 Syria Houthi rebels (Yemen) Iran also developed the ability to produce their own Scud versions and is suspected of passing some to the Syrian government and the Houthi militia in Yemen. Lessons from the Scud allowed North Korea to develop the No Dong missile, capable of reaching up to 930 miles. The technology was later sold to Iran and Pakistan. North Korea No Dong 1994 Pakistan Hatf-5 Ghauri 1998 775 to 930 miles Iran Shahab-3 1997/98 800 miles, low accuracy Ghadr 2007 1210 miles, more accurate Emad 2015 1,050 miles, guided The No Dong variations made in Iran enable the country to strike Israel. North Korea acquired a small number of Scud B missiles, support equipment and technology around 1980, apparently from Egypt, and worked to reverse engineer the design. Egypt Early 1980s The country has exported or planned to export its version of the Scud, the Hwasong-5, or its variations, to nearly a dozen countries, including Iran. North Korea Hwasong-5 1986 Iran Shahab-1, 1987 and -2, 1997 Houthi rebels (Yemen) Syria Iran also developed the ability to produce their own Scud versions and is suspected of passing some to the Syrian government and the Houthi militia in Yemen. North Korea No Dong 1994 Lessons from the Scud allowed North Korea to develop the No Dong missile, capable of reaching up to 930 miles. The technology was later sold to Iran and Pakistan. Pakistan Hatf-5 Ghauri 1998 775 to 930 miles Iran Shahab-3 1997/98 800 miles, low accuracy Ghadr 2007 1210 miles, more accurate Emad 2015 1,050 miles, guided The No Dong variations made in Iran enable the country to strike Israel.

Soviet  later North Korean  Scuds might be a sort of gateway drug to a missile program, but the big story is domestic proliferation, said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey.

Here are some of the weapons, including an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, that North Korea developed based on the Scud design.

From a Scud to an ICBM in 20 Years Hwasong-5, 1986, 186 miles First North Korean Scud version. No Dong 1, 1994, 930 miles Enhanced Scud engine and design. Taepodong 1, 1998, 3,100 miles One enhanced No Dong engine, one Scud engine and a third, unknown motor. Taepodong 2, 2006, 6,200+ miles A three-stage satellite launch vehicle that could be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile. It uses as many as five No Dong engines on the first two stages and an unknown engine in the third stage. Hwasong-5, 1986, 186 miles First North Korean Scud version. No Dong 1, 1994, 930 miles Enhanced Scud engine and design. Taepodong 1, 1998, 3,100 miles One enhanced No Dong engine, one Scud engine and a third, unknown motor. Taepodong 2, 2006, 6,200+ miles A three-stage satellite launch vehicle that could be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile. It uses as many as five No Dong engine on the first two stages and an unknown engine in the third stage.

Trying to prevent the spread of missile technology is very difficult. But its nearly impossible to stop the trade in smaller parts, like guidance systems and engines, as well as human expertise. A single computer thumb drive can hold many secrets.

And, sometimes, a single piece can be the catalyst for a breakthrough: A powerful Soviet engine design that North Korea acquired is thought to be a main driver of the countrys recent advances.

Dr. Lewis added that that many counties are now learning the secrets of rocketry and how to make progressively more threatening models. India, for example, is working on a missile that could enable it to strike nearly half of the planet.

4,970 miles Estimated maximum range of a missile that India is developing. 4,970 miles Estimated maximum range of a missile that India is developing.

The rising threat of missile proliferation has sparked new control efforts by the Missile Technology Control Regime, a group of 35 countries that seeks to restrict exports of missiles and their components.

The group in a recent statement highlighted the critical importance of its work for addressing the rapid changes in how weapons are developed and transferred.
2000 Red Fort attack case: Suspected LeT operative Bilal Ahmad Kawa gets bail

India

oi-Madhuri

Delhi's Patiala House court on Wednesday granted bail to Bilal Ahmad Kawa, who is a suspect in the 2000 Red Fort attack case.

Bilal was apprehended by the Special Cell of Delhi Police and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), in a joint operation at the Delhi airport on Jan 10, 2018.

On December 22, 2000, three Indian Army personnel were killed in indiscriminate firing at Red Fort. While at least 11 people - including mastermind Mohammad Arif from Pakistan's Abbottabad - have been convicted in the case, Kawa was absconding.

During investigation into the 2000 attack, Delhi Police had found that Rs 29.5 lakh was allegedly transferred to Kawa's bank account.

Investigation had also revealed that Arif had deposited the money - allegedly used in funding the Red Fort attack and was also sent to Kashmir for militancy - in his account.

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

Stan Swamy was detained 'following due process under law': Centre

Accused 'wanted to wage war against India': NIA in Elgar Parishad case

Bhima-Koregaon violence case: SC accepts anticipatory bail application of accused

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The Supreme Court on Wednesday accepted anticipatory bail application of one of the accused granted him interim protection till 20th Feb in Bhima-Koregaon violence case.

A court had issued an arrest warrant against former BJP corporator Milind Ekbote, booked for allegedly inciting violence on January 1 during an event to commemorate the bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.

A case was registered against Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who head the Hindu Ekta Aghadi and Shivraj Pratishthan respectively, for allegedly "inciting" violence that left a man dead near Bhima Koregaon on January 1.

Subsequent protests had disrupted normal life in Mumbai.

Earlier, the Bombay High court had already rejected Ekbote's anticipatory bail plea.

(With agency inputs)

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 17:07 [IST]
Cabinet approves upgrading 24 hospitals to medical colleges

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal to upgrade 24 existing district and referral hospitals to medical colleges. The cabinet also approved increasing 18,058 UG and PG seats in medical colleges.

A proposal to set up 248 Nursing and Midwifery schools has also been approved.

In the budget presented by Arun Jaitley on February 1, the Finance Minister had stressed on boosting medical education and healthcare in India.

"We will set up 24 new government medical colleges and hospitals by upgrading existing district hospitals in the country. This will ensure at least one medical college for every three parliamentary constituencies and at least one government medical college in each state," Jaitley had said in his budget speech.

I am heartily thankful to Hon. Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi ji & members of Union Cabinet for the #CabinetDecision today to boost health and medical education in India through human resources. A visionary step towards #AyushmanBharat pic.twitter.com/0R2fpEC88A  Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) February 7, 2018

The Union Cabinet also approved offering of 60 oil and gas fields of ONGC and OIL in the second auction of Discovered Small Field round. Out of the 60 fields, 22 were discovered by Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), 5 belong to Oil India Ltd and 12 are relinquished fields/discoveries from blocks offered in bids rounds under New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) since 1999, an official statement said.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved change in the basis of classifying Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises from 'investment in plant and machinery/equipment' to 'annual turnover'.

This will encourage ease of doing business, make the norms of classification growth oriented and align them to the new tax regime revolving around GST (Goods & Services Tax).

OneIndia News
Class 12th girl raped in Delhi, accused arrested

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

A class 12th girl has been raped by her neighbour in Delhi. Delhi Police has said the accused has been arrested. The incident is said to have taken place on Monday in Delhi's Ranhaula area.

Recently, rape of an 8-month-old baby had shaken the national capital. Statistically, India does not report a higher number of rapes per capita than many other countries, such as the United States. But in recent years, several disturbing cases have drawn intense attention, in India and around the world.

In 2016, police received nearly 39,000 rape complaints, up 12.4 percent from the previous year.

In the same year, 19,765 cases of child rape were registered in India, an increase of 82 percent from the year before, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 21:41 [IST]
Communal violence in India during 2017: Uttar Pradesh tops the list, followed by Karnataka

India

oi-Madhuri

Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir on Wednesday informed the Lok Sabha that the highest number of communal incidents in 2017 were reported from Uttar Pradesh where 44 people were killed and 542 others were injured in 195 incidents.

According to the data released by Home Ministry in Parliament on Tuesday, Uttar Pradesh (UP) has witnessed highest number of communal riots in 2017, followed by Karnataka. As many as 111 people were killed and 2,384 others were injured in 822 communal incidents in the country in 2017.

In past three years, the communal incidents have remained highest in the country. Around 822 incidents recorded across the country last year against 703 in 2016.

Also, in 2016, as many as 86, people were killed and 2,321 others were injured in the incidents of communal violence. In 2015, 97 deaths were reported and another 2,264 people were injured in 751 communal incidents. A few days back, Uttar Pradesh witnessed Kasganj violence which took the lives of many in one go.

OneIndia News
Curfew in Ahmedabad extended till 6am on May 21; Night curfew to continue in 36 cities for another 3 days

Into the deep: Ahmedabads Science City gets a boost! Nature Park, Aquatic, Robotic Galleries and more!

Delhi-Ahmedabad GoAir flight suffers bird hit, returns to Ahmedabad airport

India

oi-Madhuri

A Delhi-Ahmedabad GoAir flight on Tuesday returned to Ahmedabad following a bird strike soon after it took off from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport airport.

The plane suffered the bird hit when it was on the climb, forcing the pilot to discontinue the journey and return to Ahmedabad for an inspection of the plane,

All passengers are safe.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 10:18 [IST]
Demanding details of Rafale deal is unrealistic: Defence Ministry

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The Ministry of Defence has issued a statement on Rafale deal and related inter-governmental agreement followed by incessant criticisms by Congress party over the matter. The ministry stated Unfounded allegations being made regarding '16 Inter-Governmental Agreement to procure 36 Rafale aircraft from France. It wouldn't have merited response but for damage being caused by misleading statements, sought to be repeatedly perpetrated on matter of national security.

The statement comes a day after the Congress cornered the Modi government over the Rafale aircraft deal, questioning why it was deliberately hiding facts and changing its standpoint on the multi-billion dollar defense pact.

The minister said, "It ought to be remembered that it was under tenure of the previous Government that the earlier initiative of 2002 to meet requirement of the IAF for much-needed augmentation of its fighter strength ran aground. In 2012, the then Defence Minister exercised unprecedented personal veto on laid down institutional process then underway for procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft. All this happened when there was an alarming decline in IAF's fighter strength."

"Demand that Government disclose details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic. The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to the Parliament."

"Provision of exact item-wise cost and other info will reveal, inter alia, details regarding various customizations and weapons systems specially designed to augment effectiveness and lethality of assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our national security. Such details would also come under the ambit of the security agreement signed in 2008. In not revealing item-wise details of contract, Government is merely following in letter and spirit confidentiality provisions of bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the previous Government."

It may also be noted that contrary to the impression sought, to be created by the Opposition, in the earlier proposal to procure Rafale, which ended in a stalemate, there was no provision for transfer of technology but only to manufacture under licence. Government was unable to agree on terms for even that in its negotiations with the vendor, resulting in long-drawn exercise under earlier Government ultimately turning futile.

As per the the ministry, no Indian Offset Partner for '16 deal for 36 Rafale Aircraft so far selected by vendor (DA) because per guidelines, DA is free to select Indian Offset Partners and provide their details at the time of seeking offset credits, or 1 year prior to discharge of offset obligation.

OneIndia News
Justice Loya case: Opposition MPs to submit petition to President Ram Nath Kovind

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Opposition MPs will submit a petition, signed by over 100 parliamentarians, to President Ram Nath Kovind appealing for further investigation into the mysterious death of Judge B.H. Loya in the light of new evidence. The petition has been initiated by the Congress and has been signed by Opposition leaders of both the Houses.

A three-page letter addressed to the President has been prepared and several opposition leaders and MPs have already signed it, as per Indian Express.

Congress had raised more questions over the death of judge B H Loya since the four senior most judges of the Supreme Court - Justices Jasti Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph - questioned the Chief Justice of India's conduct over allocation of cases to judges. Congress demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into the case.

Special CBI judge Loya, who was handling the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, died of a heart attack in November 2014 in Nagpur. Later, political parties, including the Congress, alleged that he died in mysterious circumstance and demanded an investigation into it.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 9:40 [IST]
Curfew in Ahmedabad extended till 6am on May 21; Night curfew to continue in 36 cities for another 3 days

Kalam Library launched at observation home in Ahmedabad

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

A Kalam Library, an initiative of Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Centre, was inaugurated at the Observation Home in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. The library gives access to books to 20-25 children living in the Observation Home. The first book of this Library was donated by Avantika Singh Aulakh, IAS, District Collector, Ahmedabad.

Also present at the event were Bhartibaa Vaghela, Deputy District Collector of Ahmedabad and Srijan Pal Singh, Founder of Kalam Library Project who interacted with the children during the Library launch.

The Agni Stage Library, named after the long range missile invented by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, 11th President of India, has about 70-100 books which are carefully selected to suit the age and interest of the beneficiaries and will enlighten them through the biographies and life lessons from some of the most eminent revolutionaries across the world.

The mission of the Kalam Library Project is to inculcate values and ethics in young India so that they can create a better future of the nation as envisioned by Dr. Kalam, a great visionary who gave India a mission of development.

"Dr. Kalam has been such an inspiration. We are happy to support the Kalam Library Project. Books have the power to build the world. Through initiatives like the Kalam Library Project, we want to spark children's potential through creative writing, storytelling, reading, and many other art forms," said Avantika Singh Aulakh.

The first library was launched at Prayaas School for unprivileged children at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. Out of the 80 + Kalam Libraries, there are over 12 Libraries within the state of Gujarat itself.

"I am very happy to see the Kalam Library Project touching so many lives across the country. Through this initiative, we wish to provide opportunities to the youth of Ahmedabad to make global connections, build bridges between communities through the world of books along with value-based recreational and educational activities," said Srijan Pal Singh.

The Kalam Library Project (KLP) is one of the unfulfilled dreams of Dr. Kalam, which is based on his philosophy that every youth of the nation should have access to library as a matter of right. KLP was started in January 2016 and under the cooperation of many stakeholders. Today, over eighty Kalam Libraries are already operating as not just reading rooms but as centres of excellence and learning across the country with many more in pipeline.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 22:10 [IST]
Karnataka: Will Congress not allow Kumaraswamy to be CM for full 5-year term?

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

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

Karnataka Assembly Election 2018: JD(S) to announce pre-poll alliance with BSP

India

oi-Anusha

Former Prime Minister H D Devegowda's Janata Dal (Secular) and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) are all set to contest together in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018. An official announcement about the pre-poll alliance is expected to be made on Thursday.

Marred by rebellion after it suspended nine of its MLAs last year, the JD(S) in Karnataka is struggling to put up a fight in the upcoming polls. The high-pitched battle between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has compelled the JD(S) to look for allies to contest polls.

JD(S)' Kunwar Danish Ali and Satish Chandra Mishra of the BSP are expected to address the media jointly on Thursday where the tie-up will be officially announced. While it secured 40 out of the 224 seats with a vote share of 20.19 per cent in the previous assembly election in Karnataka, the JD(S) has lost 9 seats after party supremo H D Devegowda suspended MLAs, including their top Muslim face Zameer Ahmed, for anti-party activities.

The BSP contested 175 seats in the previous election but failed to secure a single seat. The party's vote share stood at a minuscule 0.91 percent in the 2013 assembly elections.

The expected pre-poll alliance comes weeks after JD(S) chief H D Devegowda said that his party was open to an alliance with left parties. JD(S) has mostly played kingmaker in Karnataka electoral politics with its formidable influence in the old Mysuru region and pockets of Bengaluru rural and North Karnataka.

Karnataka Assembly Election dates Date of notification April 17 Last date to file nominations April 24 Last date to withdraw nominations April 27 Date of polling May 12 Date of counting May 15

OneIndia News
Karnataka govt deems Paresh Mesta's death 'communal', 24 such cases reported since 2013

India

oi-Anusha

By Anusha Ravi

In his attempt to counter Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) allegations of lawlessness in the state, Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy ended up contradicting his own stand on the controversy around a Hindu boy, Paresh Mesta's death. While the case is still under investigation, Reddy deemed Mesta's death as an instance of communal violence. Mesta's inclusion in the list was, HM's office said, based on his father's statement deeming it a case of communal violence.

According to the statistics presented in the Karnakata legislative assembly by Reddy on Tuesday, 24 people have lost their lives to communal violence in the state in the last five years. While the Congress has been attempting to dislodge the BJP's argument of Paresh Mesta's death and the recent killing of Santosh as an attack on Hindu or Sangh Parivar activists, Reddy went ahead and deemed both cases communal, albeit pending investigation.

Ahead of Karnataka assembly elections 2018, the BJP in Karnataka has claimed that 23 "Hindu activists" have been murdered in cases of communal violence including Paresh Meshta- a teen from Honnavar whose putrefied body was found in a temple tank a day after he was reported missing. In a bid to counter the BJP's claims and clarify facts of the cases, Reddy told the house that at least 14 of the 23 cases referred to as communal by the BJP, were crimes committed for personal or political purposes.

Paresh Mesta case: "No hot oil, castration or acid," report punctures BJP leaders' claims

Out of the 24 people killed in communal violence since 2013, 13 are Muslims and 11 are Hindus. The list also features the name of Paresh Mesta. The Congress including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had vehemently rejected the BJP's allegation that Mesta's death was communal. The Home Minister's response in the house, however, contradicts the same.

"The government should not conclude that Mesta's case is communal. No such connection has been established so far. Even the cause of death is still unclear," said an officer involved in the investigation of the case.

Honnavar in coastal Karnataka witnessed violent protests over Mesta's death with the BJP deeming it a case of communal violence. While the Home Minister maintained that Mesta and Santosh's deaths were included in the list of 'communal violence' to give the BJP a "benefit of a doubt", the official record now gives strength to the BJP's claims while contradicting the Congress' stance on the issue.

OneIndia News
Kerala: BJP files complaint against Malayalam poet Sreekumar for insulting Hindu gods

India

oi-Madhuri

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday filed a complaint against Malayalam poet Sreekumar stating that he has insulted the Hindu god's and spoke in a provocative manner against the Sangh Parivar organisations.

This comes after police arrested six BJP-RSS workers in connection with the attack on the poet

Sreekumar was allegedly attacked on Monday night in Kerala's Kollam district while he was returning from a public function.

Sreekumar was abused and attacked by a group of men when he was about to enter his car. Police had earlier taken six men taken into the custody.

The office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan intervened in the matter and directed the district police chief to act against the miscreants.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 8:58 [IST]
Swachh Survekshan 2021: Indore, India's cleanest city is now the country's first 'water plus' city

Madhya Pradesh: Uncertainty over release of "Padmaavat" in Indore

India

pti-PTI

Indore, Feb 7: Even as police assured security to the cinema halls screening 'Padmaavat', suspense prevailed over the release of "Padmaavat" in the city tomorrow.

Film distributors and theatre owners in Indore had yesterday agreed to screen the film after the state government assured to provide adequate security cover. However, it is no yet clear how many cinema halls or multiplexes will screen the movie here or elsewhere in the state tomorrow.

Instead of the posters of "Padmaavat", those of Akshay Kumar-starrer film "Padman", which is scheduled to release on February 9, are visible across the city. Theatre owners in Madhya Pradesh had last month decided not to screen filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh following large-scale protests and bandhs in several places.

Director General of Police, Indore Range, H C Mishra told reporters that it was now up to the cinema halls owners to release the movie or not.

"We will provide adequate security cover at the cinema halls that screen the movie," he assured. We have already assured the film distributors and cinema hall owners that law and order will be maintained during the release of "Padmaavat"," he added.

An office-bearer of central circuit cine association said, "If everything goes well, "Padmaavat" would be released in multiplexes tomorrow."

Secretary of Bhopal Cinema Association, Azizuddin, had yesterday said that within three hours of the release of the film in Indore, it would be screened in the state capital. Of the 361 cinema halls across Madhya Pradesh, owners of 200 theatres are eagerly waiting to screen the movie, he had said.

On January 23, two days before the nationwide release of "Padmaavat", the Supreme Court had refused to modify its earlier order, which had cleared the decks for its screening. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had petitioned the apex court to modify its order and stop the release of the movie.

Meanwhile, Rajput organisation Karni Sena, which had spearheaded the protests against Padmaavat, today reaffirmed its opposition to the screening of the film. The organisation said it would stage peaceful protests against its release in Madhya Pradesh.

"As the film has portrayed the history in a distorted manner, we will continue to oppose," Raghu Parmar, state in-charge of Karni Sena, said.

"We are going to stand outside the cinema halls and request the people not to watch the movie," he added.

The film is based on the 13th century battle between Maharaja Ratan Singh of Mewar and Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi.

PTI
Maldives crisis: Military on standby, but no knee jerk reaction from India

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

As Maldives plunged into crisis, all eyes would be on the Indian response. While experts are of the opinion that India needs to assert itself in the region, there are various aspects that would be taken into consideration.

Highly placed sources in Delhi tell OneIndia that they are concerned about the situation, but the reaction will not be knee jerk. Another source also confirmed that the Armed Forces are on standby and the situation is being closely monitored.

If an operation becomes absolutely necessary, it would be undertaken and in all probability, the Southern Command would undertake the same. The top priority for India would be to ensure that its citizens are safe. If the problem propels out of control, then the forces would carry out the evacuation of the Indian tourists who visit Maldives in large numbers.

Officials say that currently there is no threat to any of our military establishments as well the people from India. The slugfest is political and it has not affected the people. As part of the defence cooperation programme, India has some defence personnel in Maldives. India's warships, choppers and aircrafts patrol the economic zone.

India's intervention into the crisis would be restricted only to protecting its interests. The military equipment and the people if faced with any danger would evoke a response from India. Any sort of intervention would be done without confrontation with the people of Maldives.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 14:57 [IST]
Modi gives a fitting reply to Renuka Chowdhury's cackle in Rajya Sabha

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Narendra Modi took a dig at Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury who laughed out loud during the Prime Minister's speech in Rajya Sabha. When Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu objected to Chowdhury's interruption, Modi said, "Sabhapati Ji, I request you don't say anything to Renuka ji. After Ramayan serial, we are now getting the opportunity to hear such a laugh."

BJP leaders roared in laughter and clapped after Modi took a jibe at Chowdhury in Rajya Sabha. Naidu asked Opposition to maintain silence in the house, saying, "The entire country is watching us, we should not become a laughing stock."

After the session, Renuka Chowdhury dubbed Modi's remark as "denigrating the status of a woman."

"PM made a personal remark, what else do you expect from him? I can't fall to that level to reply to him. This is actually called denigrating the status of a woman," she said.

Union Minister Smriti Irani said Renuka Chowdhury is making using "gender as her shield".

After a blistering attack on Congress in Lok Sabha, Modi continued his tirade against the grand old party in Rajya Sabha.

"You don't need new India, but the India of Emergency, of Bofors and chopper scams...You don't want new India. You want a Bharat in which the people bow in front of the government," he said.

Modi also asked the Congress why they were blocking the Triple Talaq bill.

"Look at all that you have mocked -- Swachh Bharat, Make in India, surgical strikes, Yoga Day. You are free to mock as you please but why are you blocking the bill for OBC Commission? Why are you blocking Triple Talaq Bill. Are you not sensitive to the aspirations of OBCs," the PM said.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 19:32 [IST]
'No Indian can deny his or her Hindu origin': Swamy responds to Katiyar's comment

Temple will be built where Ram Lala is resting in Ayodhya, says Vinay Katiyar

'Hindus must be ready for martyrdom', says Vinay Katiyar on Ram Janmabhoomi issue

Muslims should not live in India: Vinay Katiyar

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

BJP MP Vinay Katiyar on Wednesday issued a controversial statement, saying Muslims should not live in India and they should go to either Pakistan or Bangladesh.

Vinay Katiyar said, " Muslims should not live in India. What is the need to stay in India after partition based on population? They should either go to Pakistan or Bangladesh."

Also, he demanded a bill to punish those who do not respect 'Vande Mataram', those who insult the national flag and those who hoist the Pakistani flag.

"There should be a bill that punishes those who do not respect Vande Mataram, those who insult the national flag... those who hoist the Pakistani flag, they should be punished, " he said.

Doosri baat ye hai, Musalman iss desh mein rehna hi nahi chahye, unhone jansankhya ke aadhaar par desh ka batwara kardia toh iss desh mein rehne ki kya avashyakta thi? Unko alag bhu-bhaag de dia gaya, Bangladesh ya Pakistan jaayen yahan kya kaam hai unka? : BJP MP Vinay Katiyar pic.twitter.com/VXMw6rSx9X  ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2018

Vinay Katiyar has a reply for AIMIM chief Owaisi who is demanding a fresh law for protecting Indian Muslims. AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi demanded s a law punishing anyone calling Indian Muslims 'Pakistani', saying that there must be a 3-year jail term for anyone using that term.

OneIndia News
PM Modi mocks Rahul Gandhi's 'election' to top post

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack against Congress in his speech on the motion of thanks to the President's address on Wednesday. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi rose to speak the opposition raised loud slogans in Lok Sabha.

PM Modi said, " Several members of Parliament expressed their thoughts on various subjects. The address by the Honourable President does not belong to any party. It is about the aspirations of every Indian."

"When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how farsighted decision making is done."

"I see that whenever we are criticised by select Opposition parties, substance is lacking. They go back to saying- when we were in power.... This is the same party that divided India."

In a scathing attack against Congress, PM Modi asked, "How can one of the leaders say India got a democracy due to Pandit Nehru and the Congress Party? Is this their reading of India's history? What arrogance is this?."

"India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants us to believe. Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries ago. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture," he said.

PM Modi also questioned Congress' commitment to democracy. He asked, "How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will? This is no commitment to democracy."

He recalled that the Congress insulted Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, a proud son of Andhra Pradesh, saying nobody in India needs lessons on democracy from the Congress Party.

Further, he mocked at the elevation of Rahul Gandhi to Congress party's top position. PM Modi said, "In December, did we witness an 'election' or coronation for the post of Congress President? One youngster raised his voice about this as well."

The discussion on the motion started on Tuesday and the motion is likely to be adopted by the House, where the ruling NDA has a big majority, following the prime minister's reply. as The BJP has issued a whip asking its members to be present in the House today and the day after.

OneIndia News
Tragedies like 9/11 have permanent solution only through humanitarian values: PM Modi

Media was critical of UPA during 26/11 attack, not the same with Narendra Modi govt: Rahul Gandhi

Even small things by you can motivate the country a lot: Prime Minister Modi to para athletes [Video]

With eye on UP elections, Modi set to lay foundation stone of university named after Jat figure

PM Modi's wife Jashodaben injured, her relative killed in accident in Rajasthan

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wife, Jashodaben Narendrabhai Modi, was injured and her relative was killed in an accident in Rajasthan. The mishap which took place on the Kota-Chittor highway on Wednesday.

According to reports, Yashodaben has suffered minor injuries, but she is fine now. Jashodaben was returning to Chittorgarh after attending a wedding in Kota.

The deceased was identified as Basant Bhai Modi (67), a relative of Jashodaben, who died while undergoing treatment, the police said.

Jashodaben being treated in the Chittor hospital.

PM's wife Jashodaben being treated in the Chittor hospital after meeting a terrible accident. Reports suggest she's alright.. just look at her car pic.twitter.com/3YknkwA3lY  Gargi Rawat (@GargiRawat) February 7, 2018

Jashodaben Modi is a retired teacher who lives with her brother in a small town in PM Modi's home state of Gujarat.

(With agency inputs)
Previous govt responsible for NPA mess: PM Modi in Lok Sabha

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Prime Minister Narendra Modi blamed previous Government for Non-performing Assets (NPA) mess in the country. PM Modi launched a scathing attack against Congress in his speech on the motion of thanks to the President's address on Wednesday.

PM Modi said, " The workings of our previous Government are responsible for the NPA mess. They are 100% responsible and nobody else. The banking policies of the previous Governments were not proper. Middlemen were happy, the country was suffering.'

A nonperforming asset (NPA) refers to a classification for loans on the books of financial institutions that are in default or are in arrears on scheduled payments of principal or interest. In most cases, debt is classified as nonperforming when loan payments have not been made for a period of 90 days.

Last month, a report titled "ARCs headed for a structural shift, stated that gross non-performing assets (NPA) in Indian banks are expected to rise to Rs 9.5 lakh crore by March, from Rs 8 lakh crore in March last year. The ASSOCHAM-Crisil joint study stated that stressed assets in March 2018 are expected to be at Rs 11.5 lakh crore.

A quick look at how Bank NPA was the biggest scam unleashed by UPA, which Modi govt is fixing... Read what RBI had to say about the reckless political lendings done under UPA. #ModiHitsBack pic.twitter.com/QxhTqK0eq2  Amit Malviya (@malviyamit) February 7, 2018

In a veiled attack against conviction of RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, PM Modi said, " I know the Government's efforts to eliminate corruption and black money are hurting a select group of people. Today, people who served as Chief Ministers are in jail. However powerful one was, if one has been corrupt, that person will be punished. We are in an era of honesty."

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 15:04 [IST]
Prithvi 2 test fired: It was fear of this missile that drove Pak towards nuclear proliferation

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

Prithvi-II missile, capable of carrying nuclear warheads, was on Wednesday successfully test fired from Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, Odisha.

Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Prithvi-II missile is capable of carrying a 500 kg to 1,000 kg warheads and is propelled by liquid propulsion twin engines.

Prithvi missile program began in 1983 under India's ambitious Integrated Guided Missile Development Program aimed at achieving self-sufficiency in the development and production of wide range of ballistic missiles. At that time Pakistan was way behind India in missile development.

Pakistan did not have a missile to match Prithvi's striking capabilities at that time and it left them worried. Pakistan then approached North Korea for Nodong missiles. In exchange, North Korea demanded centrifuge technology from Pakistan. A deal was struck and North Korea and Pakistan began to share missile expertise in 1992.

In 1993, December, former Pakistan PM Benazir Bhutto initiated a deal with North Korea for Nodong missiles. Pakistan, at that time, was also worried about India's rapid advances in missile technology. Father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan then stepped in to provide Pakistan with an alternative nuclear weapons delivery option by obtaining intermediate-range liquid-fuel ballistic missiles from North Korea.

In November 1995, North Korea and Pakistan apparently struck a deal for 12-25, Nodong missiles, and at least one transporter erector launcher or mobile erector launcher, 44 the delivery of which reportedly began in 1996-97.

It is widely assumed that the provision of centrifuge technology was part of the deal and was given to North Korea in exchange for the Nodong missiles, according to a book "A.Q. Khan and onward proliferation from Pakistan".

[India successfully test fires Nuclear-Capable Prithvi-II missile from Odisha coast]

AQ Khan is also said to have helped Iran in developing nuclear weapons technology. AQ Khan's nuclear network came to light when American intelligence operatives about five giant cargo containers full of specialized centrifuge parts being loaded into one of the nondescript vessels that ply the Straits of Malacca. The shipment was later seized near Suez Canal. That seizure led to the unraveling of a trading network that sent bomb-making designs and equipment to at least three countries -- Iran, North Korea, and Libya.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 17:48 [IST]
Probe into RSTV 'blackout' of TMC leader's speech: Opposition

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, Feb 7: The Opposition on Wednesday sought an inquiry into the alleged blacking out of the first few minutes of Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien's speech by the Rajya Sabha Television, asking the BJP not to convert the channel into "BJP TV".

O'Brien raised the issue in the Upper House, saying "I seek your protection.. I spoke today in Rajya Sabha. The first 4-6 minutes of my speech were not shown on Rajya Sabha TV. I am a member of the Opposition. You protect us".

BJP leader Satyanarayan Jatiya, who was in the Chair, said "we will enquire about this and let you know what happened". Terming it as a "very serious issue", Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said "don't convert Rajya Sabha TV into BJP TV."

He said the television channel should give equal coverage to all political parties, whether it is a live telecast or news. Azad said at least 98 per cent of the news bulletin of the channel the day before related to BJP President Amit Shah's maiden speech in the Upper House during the debate on the motion of thanks for the President's address.

"Don't convert Rajya Sabha TV to BJP TV. This is Rajya Sabha Television. There should be an enquiry regarding this and the day before yesterday (news bulletin/coverage) by representatives of all parties," Azad said.

Jatiya asked him to raise the issue with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. Addressing the treasury benches, Azad said "You have media, your own party (BJP) media, but don't make Rajya Sabha/Lok Sabha TV your own media."

The Deputy Chairman said the issue can be discussed with the Chairman and resolved. Later addressing reporters outside the House, O'Brien accused the government of imposing "super emergency" in the parliament by trying to mute the opposition voice.

Reiterating his charge that part of his speech was "deliberately blacked out to silence the opposition voice", the TMC leader said "it is a super emergency situation in Parliament. ... Though it started its telecast later, but the first 5 minutes of my speech was not shown.

Coincidentally, that was the part in which I had criticised Prime Minister Narendre Modi and the BJP chief Amit Shah." O'Brien said all opposition leaders met today and decided to raise their voice against "such discrimination and dangerous situation."

PTI
After meeting NSA Doval, top French diplomat says China not being allowed to play procedural games

Cairn energy: Not received any French Court notice on seizure of properties says India

Rajasthan: French Air Force chief takes sortie on Tejas

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Chief of Staff of the French Air Force General Andre Lanata on Wednesday flew a sortie on India's indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas in Jodhpur on Wednesday.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) in a tweet said, "The Chief of the Staff of French Air Force, General Andre Lanata, while on a goodwill visit to India, flew a sortie in 'Made in India' - LCA Tejas Aircraft at AF Station Jodhpur, today."

He became the second foreign military chief to fly the aircraft after Chief of Staff of the US Air Force General David L Goldfein undertook a sortie on February 3.

Andre Lanata, who arrived in Jodhpur on Tuesday took information upon the defense strength and functioning of Asia's important Jodhpur Air Force Station and also took note of flying experience with the pilots.

OneIndia News

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 15:17 [IST]
Atleast he doesn't hide his reality: Ghulam Nabi Azad praises PM for being frank about his past as tea-seller

Still in politics, only retired from Rajya Sabha: Azad

Hope Centre would not reject demand for restoration of statehood in J&K before polls: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Srinagar attack: Since few years situation has deteriorated in J&K, says Ghulam Nabi Azad

India

oi-Madhuri

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday said that since few years situation in Jammu and Kashmir has been deteriorated.

Speaking in Rajya Sabha on the Srinagar hospital attack, Azad said,''Why was a terrorist taken to a general hospital, he should have been taken to an army hospital? I request govt to be careful in future.''

''Since last few years situation has deteriorated in J&K. Yesterday's JK Hospital Attack was very sad,'' Congress leader further said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists staged a daring attack outside a hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital to free a Pakistani terrorist from custody, killing a policeman and critically injuring another.

Naveed Jutt, the LeT terrorist from Pakistan who was caught in Kulgam in south Kashmir in 2014, managed to escape with the assailants. The ultras opened fire on the police party accompanying Jutt, alias Abu Hanzala, outside the hospital in Kaka Sarai area of the city.

OneIndia News
Srinagar attack: Who is Abu Hanzala and why him being on the run is very bad news

Srinagar: How Hanzala and his accomplices planned the escape

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

On Tuesday terrorists attacked a police party following which a dreaded Lashkar-e-Tayiba terrorist, Abu Hanzala managed to escape at Srinagar. The incident took place at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital.

Scared patients, their attendants and the hospital staff - everyone - jumped and ran cluelessly to safety. There was complete chaos at the hospital in Jammu and Kashmir's summer capital, according to eyewitnesses.

A group of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists had just stormed the high-security hospital around 11.35 am. The attackers managed to free one of their accomplices - a 22- year-old Pakistani terrorist - and killed two policemen escorting him.

Hanzala, who was caught in Kulgam in south Kashmir in 2014, had complained of itchiness over the past few days to the medical staff at the Central Jail Srinagar after which he was referred to the hospital for suspected scabies.

Srinagar attack: Who is Abu Hanzala and why him being on the run is 'very bad news'

He had been referred to SHMS for specialised treatment, a police official here said, suspecting it was a clever decoy to dodge security and may have involved meticulous planning. Doctors at the hospital's dermatology department said scabies is the only skin infection which has no symptoms other than itchiness on the outside. Eyewitnesses said as soon as the firing began, everyone - except the five Kashmiri inmates who were also brought to the hospital for treatment - started running for safety, as two policemen lay on the floor after being shot by the assailants.

The five inmates lay on the floor when shots were fired. They did not attempt to escape, the eyewitnesses said. Investigators suspect Hanzala was provided a pistol by two unidentified people at the busy hospital and it was he who opened fire at the policemen before escaping into the narrow lanes of downtown Srinagar. Eyewitnesses said the cops were shot from point-blank range. "We heard three shots fired from point-blank range targeting the hearts of the cops before the prisoner along with two other persons, who were already there, fled the scene," an eyewitness, who was at the hospital during the firing, said.

However, DIG Central Kashmir range G H Bhat said Hanzala did not fire at the cops; they were shot by other assailants. The deafening sound of the gunfire led to chaos at the hospital. Frightened patients and attendants lay on the floor.

The people at the hospital became more scared when a large contingent of police and security forces laid a siege at the hospital, the eyewitnesses said.The CCTV camera footage, obtained by the police, showed three militants, including Hanzala, escaping from the hospital.

DIG Bhat said an alert has been sounded and the security forces were looking for the trio. He said reports that Hanzala and the two militants decamping with a police rifle were not true.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 7:03 [IST]
Delhi: Student alleges sexual assault by DU professor, writes to VC

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Yet another case of sexual harassment has emerged from Delhi University where a third-year student of B.A. Hindi (Hons) approached the vice-chancellor alleging that a professor asked his students to kiss and hug him.

The third-year student alleged that the professor used to send her lewd messages and made vulgar calls until she confronted him and recorded the incident.

In a letter to VC, she has stated that "When I confronted him in a college classroom, he accepted all the allegations and said he can give an explanation. He even begged me to not to raise the issue as he is a married man having a child," the girl said in the letter. She also sent a Compact Disc (CD) with the recording of the incident to the VC.

I am being constantly threatened by the teacher that I shall be suspended and a case will be filed against me. My career is at stake. Kindly look into the matter," she added. Despite several attempts, the VC's office did not respond for a comment.

NSUI PROTEST

Delhi: Students at #Delhi University's Bharti College stage protest in the college campus over alleged harassment of a 3rd year student by a professor. pic.twitter.com/G5f3kJLWtd  ANI (@ANI) February 7, 2018

Members of the Congress-backed NSUI and DU Students Union (DUSU) staged a protest outside the college on Wednesday demanding immediate suspension of the teacher.

On Feb 14, a 17-year-old girl student of Daulat Ram College has alleged that she was being sexually harassed by a professor following which he was booked.

The victim, a resident of Haryana, was a first-year student of Delhi University. She alleged that the professor would try to touch her inappropriately whenever he found her alone.

An FIR was registered in the matter on January 31 and the professor was arrested on Tuesday.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 11:50 [IST]
Media was critical of UPA during 26/11 attack, not the same with Narendra Modi govt: Rahul Gandhi

Even small things by you can motivate the country a lot: Prime Minister Modi to para athletes [Video]

With eye on UP elections, Modi set to lay foundation stone of university named after Jat figure

'Want to hear about govt schemes not Congress criticism': Shiv Sena on Modi's LS speech

India

oi-Vikas

By Vikas

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi coming down heavily on the Congress during his speech in the Lok Sabha, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday said that people wanted to hear about what the government has achieved since coming power and not the criticism of the Congress.

PM Modi launched a scathing attack against Congress in his speech on the motion of thanks to the President's address on Wednesday.

Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande said, "It is time that Modi ji realises it has been four years now. People were fed up because of Congress and that is why they chose you. People want to hear your schemes and not criticism of Congress.''

Modi had said the country had suffered due to the "wrong" policies adopted by the Congress since independence.

PM Modi also questioned Congress' commitment to democracy. He asked, "How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will? This is no commitment to democracy."

He recalled that the Congress insulted Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, a proud son of Andhra Pradesh, saying nobody in India needs lessons on democracy from the Congress Party. Further, he mocked at the elevation of Rahul Gandhi to Congress party's top position.

PM Modi said, "In December, did we witness an 'election' or coronation for the post of Congress President? One youngster raised his voice about this as well."

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 18:39 [IST]
By poll 2021 Updates: Voting for two Lok Sabha, 12 assembly seats held peacefully; result on 2 May

100 years of women suffrage: Indian princess on Royal Mail stamp

International

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

The Royal Mail of the UK has released special stamps to commemorate a century of votes for women. Princess Sophia Duleep Singh is featured on the special stamp. The event marks the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918 where for the first time women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

Princess Sophia Alexandra Duleep Singh, (August 8 1876-August 22 1948), the daughter of Maharajah Duleep Singh, is the only woman, who has one among the eight stamps to herself.

These stamps issued tell the story of those whose ceaseless determination led to the vote being finally granted to women over the age of 30 in February 1918.

We will be issuing a set of Special Stamps to mark the centenary of the Representation of the People Act where for the first time women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections.



See them here: https://t.co/IDooXbLGWP#100years #Votes100 pic.twitter.com/XEBQYxyRp8  Royal Mail Stamps (@RoyalMailStamps) February 6, 2018

Norfolk County Council tweeted, "Great to see Princess Sophia Duleep Singh featured on the latest batch of Royal Mail Stamps, announced today. A prominent Norfolk women's rights campaigner marked on the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918."

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 8:50 [IST]
India should not meddle in Maldives: China

International

oi-Vicky

India should stop intervening in Male, the Chinese have said. An editorial in the Global Times suggests that China is not happy with India intervening in Maldives which has plunged into crisis.

India had said on Tuesday that it was disturbed by the declaration of emergency in Maldives. It said that the arrests of the judges and political figures are a matter of grave concern.

The editorial in the Global Times states that New Delhi has no justification in meddling in Maldives. Political struggles are supposed to be internal affairs. New Delhi has no justification to intervene in Male's affairs. The Maldives regime must be under huge pressure, the editorial also said.

The editorial comes at a time when several opposition leaders in Maldives accusing China of meddling in its affairs. Several leaders say that President Abdulla Yameen has thrown caution to the laws of the land thanks to the backing of the Chinese.

OneIndia News
Maldives: Will India act for those stranded in volatile quagmire?

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

India has been closely watching the developments in Maldives. While India said that it was disturbed by the events in Maldives, sources tell OneIndia that there would however be no knee jerk reaction.

"We are disturbed by the declaration of a State of Emergency in the Maldives following the refusal of the Government to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court on 1 February, and also by the suspension of Constitutional rights of the people of Maldives," the Ministry for External Affairs said in a brief statement.

Former president Mohammad Nasheed requested India to send an envoy backed by the military to release judges and other political detainees. India is however clear that as of now the question of sending in the military does not arise.

Top officials in Delhi said that the situation is being monitored closely. There has been a request to send in an envoy. No decision on that has been taken as yet, but in all probability that is unlikely to take place, the source also added. We are not sure if President Abdulla Yameen would engage with the envoy, the source also said.

The source however added that India would not let the crisis boil over. Our concern is the people of Maldives and it is the government there which needs to be told to restore normalcy. Moreover for India there are other concerns as well. The proximity to India and also peace in the Indian Ocean are among the other major concerns.

The source said that India would work with the US and Saudi Arabia to find a solution to the problem. The US has been in consultation with India since the past 48 hours to understand the situation. These efforts by India would continue until normalcy is restored, the official also added.

Animesh Roul, Executive Director of Research at the New Delhi-based Society for the Study of Peace and Conflict says India should act fast for its citizens including tourists and expatriates (health care professionals and educators) stranded in that volatile quagmire.'

Having said that, India is not in a position to carry out an Operation Cactus (Nov. 1988) type intervention as those times were different. Now bigger players are involved in Maldives affairs (read China) and India should be more cautious in its approach. We are not expecting to make another Nepal in Maldives, as far as our neighbourhood diplomatic ties are concern, Roul adds.

Roul adds that India should utilise its good office in Male and influence President Yameen to find middle path while keeping the option of a stronger response open to break the stalemate.

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Story first published: Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 7:25 [IST]
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Pakistan's Federal Ministry of Interior says that India has made a plan to attack the installations of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Gilgit-Baltistan, in a bid to sabotage the multi-billion mega project, the daily Dawn reported Monday (Feb. 5).

The ministry has issued directives for making foolproof security arrange ments to avoid any untoward incident.

An official of the Gilgit-Baltistan home department told the daily Dawn that the department had received a letter from the federal interior ministry recently in which it had warned of possible terrorist attacks on the CPEC route.

The letter said that India had sent 400 Muslim youngsters to Afghanistan for receiving training to be able to carry out attacks on the CEPC installations, including bridges at Karakoram Highway (KKH) and other important points on the CPEC route.

After receiving the interior ministry's directives, the Gilgit-Baltistan government has enhanced security on the CPEC route, including two dozen bridges built on KKH from Khunjerab Pass to Diamer district.

In January last year, the Gilgit-Baltistan police had claimed to have foiled a plan allegedly sponsored by Indian intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to sabotage projects related to CPEC and generate anti-Pakistan feelings in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Gilgit-Baltistan police had arrested 12 workers of the Balawaristan National Front from Yasin Valley of Ghizer district and seized a large quantity of weapons during a raid. The police informed media that the arrested suspects had received funds from RAW and prepared a plan to sabotage the CPEC project and stir unrest in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The CPEC links China's Kashgar in Xinjiang province with Pakistan's Gwadar port in Balochistan through a network of roads, railways and highways.

The project, a key artery of Beijing's mega Belt and Road initiative, has caused much friction between India and China over the past few years.

India also objects to the route of the corridor, which goes through Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Volatile Line of Control

The warning of Indian attack on targets in Gilgit-Baltistan came amid escalation along the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region.

In the latest escalation Four Indian soldiers, including an officer, have been killed in Indian-administered Kashmir.

An India official told Al Jazeera that four troops were killed and one wounded after the Pakistani army opened fire on Indian posts in the Jammu region on Sunday evening.

Indian Vice chief Lt Gen Sarath Chand said the Army has been responding appropriately to Pakistan shelling, asserting that India will continue to give a "befitting reply" to such acts.

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Saudi Arabia has granted Air India approval to operate direct flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv using Saudi airspace, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported Wednesday (Feb 7).

The decision, which will be implemented in March, means that the flights from New Delhi to Tel Aviv would be shortened by two and a half hours.

The new route, Haaretz said, means that the airline would reduce fuel costs and sell cheaper tickets to passengers.

The Saudi government had banned flights headed to Israel from using its airspace for 70 years. While it is no secret that private jets can fly from Saudi and other Gulf airports to Israell, they could not use the direct route and had to make a stop-over in Amman airport first, according to Al Jazeera.

The move is seen as a nod to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's influence in the region, who is expected to land in the occupied West Bank on February 10, Al Jazeera pointed out. Last year, he became the first Indian premier to go to Israel on an official state visit.

But the decision also signifies warmer ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, who have been linked to having increasingly covert relations over the last year, Al Jazeera said, adding: This has been credited to the shakeup of Saudi domestic and foreign policy, spearheaded by the young and ambitious Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."

"The political changes in Saudi Arabia and the desire to consolidate power is the main reason why these relations with Israel were opened," Mahjoob Zweiri, an associate professor with the Gulf Studies Program department at Qatar University, previously told Al Jazeera.

However, Reuters quoted a spokesman for Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation as denying the Haaretz report. The Saudi spokesman said the agency had not granted Air India permission to operate direct flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv.

Only one carrier currently operates direct flights from Israel to India--El Al, which flies an 8-hour route from Tel Aviv to Mumbai. The route crosses the Red Sea south of Yemen, then turns east to India. Since New Delhi is a new destination from which there are no flights to Israel, the aviation company will be getting a 750,000-euro grant from the Tourism Ministry for operating the new line, according to a calculation of 250,000 euros per weekly flight. This grant could be, among other things, the impetus for Air India to launch the line.

This is not the first time Air India asked Israeli authorities for such approval. Last year, the airline asked the Israel Airports Authority's to allow it to fly to and from Israel, Haarezt said. This was not implemented, however, due to the airline's insistence to operate the shorter route. Discussions on the matter evolved during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India last month, where intensive talks were held between the two countries in order to approve the flight route over Saudi Arabia.

Air India's Delhi-Tel Aviv route could be the first concrete and public piece of evidence to the warming of ties between Israel and the Saudi leadership, the Israeli daily said, adding: "Though we have known for years of quiet coordination on security issues, there has not yet been any tangible evidence above the surface."
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On February 2, acting with the authorization of Donald Trump, the Republican leadership of the House Intelligence Committee released a four-page memo produced by its Republican majority on alleged FISA abuses. FISA (Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act) courts are the arm of the judiciary that approves electronic surveillance, based on evidence provided by law enforcement.

The memo's central charge is that in securing permission from the FISA court to wire tap Trump campaign staff, the FBI used as evidence a dossier authored by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele on the Trump campaign's Russia ties, but allegedly did not disclose that this dossier was funded, in part, by Hillary Clinton's campaign, and therefore this was politically motivated. It alleges that Steele said he was "desperate that Donald Trump not get elected," and this is "clear evidence of Steele's bias," which was not reflected in the applications and renewals for electronic surveillance.

It is not only the content, but the whole way in which the memo came to be written and published, that represents a further leap in assaulting the norms of how the U.S. bourgeois state has functioned for many decades, and aiming for the imposition of a new norm: a fascist executive power ultimately unconstrained by other branches of government or ruling institutions. In this new model, the role of these others is to facilitate, act as an auxiliary of, and provide cover for the power of the executive branch, which itself is highly concentrated in the hands of the president, creating a force that is not accountable and is all but unchallengeable, either by bourgeois opponents or by the masses of people .

Overall norms of liberal bourgeois democracy that underlie the much vaunted "checks and balances" of the U.S. Constitution, its separation of powers, and the overall rule of law are under fascist assault--and this act marks a step in this direction.

The Republican-fascists who released the memo with Trump's authorization and blessing, with their propaganda organ Fox Fascist News, are using the memo to allege political bias in the FBI leadership against Trump, and to undermine the investigations into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia, claiming they originated in the Steele dossier, and therefore are politically motivated. Fox fascist mouthpiece Sean Hannity constantly trumpets the memo revelations as "the biggest political scandal in U.S. history"!

Their refrain is that the warrant would not have been issued had the FISA court known of the funding source. Two points: first, there was much more (including what we don't know) in the request for the warrant, and the warrant has been renewed more than once. Second, and more fundamental, the reality is that in the first 35 years of existence of the FISA courts, 35,529 warrants were requested... and all but 12 of them were granted. Especially since 9/11, the federal government has had almost complete free rein to spy on anyone on the planet (as revealed by Edward Snowden's leaks). The fascists have no problem with that at all. But supposedly the one known time when this routinely granted application for surveillance was applied to a Trump operative, it revealed a grand conspiracy. Besides, the memo itself contains a reference to another staffer potentially triggering the surveillance due to alleged claims he made independently about the Russians having access to emails from the Clinton campaign.

The memo names present and recent past leadership of the FBI and the Justice Department as requesting the specific electronic surveillance, including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (overseeing the Mueller investigation), former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe (recently forced to resign), and former FBI Director James Comey (fired by Trump last May). The Republican-Fascist Noise Machine argues that the leadership of the FBI has been part of an ongoing politically motivated attack and conspiracy to undermine Trump's presidency. Alleging its anti-Trump bias and roots, they question the credibility and objectivity of the Mueller investigation (of alleged Trump campaign cooperation with Russia in tampering with the 2016 election, and related obstruction of justice), calling for its dismissal.

Donald Trump Jr. said the memo meant "game over" for the Mueller investigation, echoed by Hannity and others. Donald Trump himself tweeted, "This memo totally vindicates 'Trump' in probe." Arizona congressman Paul Gosar demanded that the high-ranking present and former officials named in the memo be tried for "treason"--which can carry the death penalty!

Along with the Democrats, the memo's release was strongly opposed by the intelligence agencies, with the FBI issuing a rare public statement to express its "grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy." These concerns and opposition, voiced by Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, has also been echoed by past leaders of the intelligence agencies like John Brennan, the previous head of the CIA, who angrily charged that the "absence of moral and ethical leadership in the White House is fueling this government crisis."

We don't know all the divisions and splits within ruling class institutions sparked by the election and coming to power of this fascist regime. What is clear is that the release of the memo against the advice of the FBI, the director of national intelligence, and others represents a breaking of norms in how ruling class institutions function in relation to each other. It also represents a deliberate act towards consolidating fascism, taking on obstacles to its program and will, including in the state apparatus itself.

Despite Rosenstein's opposition to the release of the memo, and Christopher Wray, FBI director, saying that its release would cause "grave" harm to national security, Trump declassified the whole thing. Drawing on "top secret" government documents that intelligence committee members are sworn to protect, and legally forbidden to publish or even publicly discuss, Republicans found an almost never used loophole to justify doing so. House speaker Paul Ryan said they must "cleanse the organization," referring to the FBI. Translation: a "purified" FBI thoroughly "partisan" towards the fascist program (and loyal to Donald Trump).

Trump's public disregard of the warnings of key leaders of the FBI and the Justice Department were a way of asserting his uncontested authority over major, supposedly independent, institutions of the executive branch. Many commentators have even described the Trump regime as being "at war" with its own Justice Department and the FBI.

In fact, the reason all manner and stripe of Republican-fascists are so cravenly loyal to the notoriously disloyal and treacherous Trump, is because of his willingness and ability to shred and shatter the old norms that have stood as barriers to achieving the aims and objectives of all the fascist currents, from Christian fundamentalists, to white supremacists, to anti-immigrant xenophobes.

Along with attacking those resolutely opposed to fascism and the capitalist-imperialist system of which it is a part, one of the main lines of attack of the fascists is "Weimar," or liberal bourgeois democracy (drawing from the Weimar Republic, the bourgeois-democratic republic in Germany after World War 1, replaced and forcibly abolished when Hitler and the Nazis came to power in the 1930s)--even though it represents the rule of the same capitalist-imperialist system, though of a section of its ruling strata with sharp differences with fascism. The Republican-fascist attack on the specific people named in the memo, on these institutions of law enforcement, on the Democrats and the media, and on these norms is part of the attack on Weimar. The fascist social base has been whipped up and further hardened around this through the release of this memo, and the braying of the Republican-fascist noise machine and its propagandists, which include the Fox Fascist News anchors.

Some liberal talking heads, including Rachel Maddow, are celebrating the fact that upon release, the memo was revealed to be nothing but a smattering of lies and distortions mixed with hot air, and that even if one accepted its allegations as true, what it is describing is not "scandalous," or even inappropriate action by the FBI. But they miss, misinform, and mislead. These liberal commentators avoid--and regardless of intent, deceive the people on--the fundamental point of all this marking an act towards fascist consolidation.

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From Alon Ben-Meir Website



(Image by Artwork by Michael Anderson and Sam Ben-Meir) Details DMCA



The United States has been and remains the staunchest supporter of Israel, and its unqualified support will cause significant damage to Israel's future wellbeing. The US' continued political, military and economic backing has enabled Israel in the past to maintain the occupation and create new political and physical conditions in the West Bank that have severely undermined, if not destroyed, the prospect of a two-state solution.

Every Israeli government, regardless of its political composition, took the US' support for granted, believing that no American administration would take any punitive action even if Israel acted contrary to the US position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This gave successive Israeli governments the freedom to formulate and act on policies in the West Bank with impunity. Even President Obama, who exerted some pressure on Netanyahu's government to halt the expansion of settlements, ended up providing Israel with $38 billion for military assistance over 10 years with no strings attached.

There are several reasons behind the US' unhindered support of Israel. Of paramount importance is the political support of the evangelicals, who are staunch supporters of Israel as they believe it to be the conduit for the return of the Messiah. They represent a significant voting block (72 million registered voters), without which no one is assured of winning the presidency. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats could outright win control over the House and the Senate without the support of the evangelicals' rank and file.

Moreover, the US and Israel have developed over the past five decades wide-ranging collaboration on several fronts: close strategic cooperation to ensure Israel's security while furthering the US' economic and strategic interest in the region; intelligence sharing; military coordination; and extensive collaboration in the fields of science and technology, among many others.

Added to that is the shared social and political values buttressed by America's moral commitment to Israel's survival, as well as the traditional support of the American Jewish community, many of whom enjoy noteworthy influence on members of the House and the Senate through financial contributions to their political campaigns. Finally, the US and Israel both identify Iran as a major destabilizing regional power, sharing a resolve to prevent it from realizing its nuclear and regional ambitions.

This explains why US support of Israel continues unabated, despite their differences in connection with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The most glaring example is the Israeli settlements, which successive administrations characterized as a major obstacle to peace, but failed to exert any pressure on Israel to stop building new and expanding existing settlements.

The advent of the new administration made matters worse. Even though Trump wants to facilitate an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement, he neither supports nor objects to a two-state solution and has left it up to Israel and the Palestinian Authority to decide which way to go. This sent a clear signal to the Netanyahu government that the US is no longer committed to a two-state solution, leaving him to gradually undermine any prospect left to that end.

Trump's other terrible mistake was not demanding any concession from Netanyahu in return for the US' recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, which could have resuscitated the peace process and helped him "negotiate the deal of the century" that he wished for. For Netanyahu, the US' recognition of Jerusalem was an unparalleled historic fulfillment of the Israelis' dream. Even though Trump left open the question of Jerusalem's final borders, many Israelis and Palestinians alike view his recognition as another nail in the coffin of a two-state solution.

Moreover, Trump's decision to freeze financial aid to UNRWA was shortsighted and played directly into Netanyahu's hand -- losing much of the US' leverage to pressure the PA to return to the negotiating table. Thus, instead of utilizing the recognition of Jerusalem to advance the peace, Trump alienated the Palestinians while further enabling Netanyahu to stay his course.

The American unwillingness to force Israel to change direction not only undermined the prospect of a two-state solution, but thrust Israel into a precarious existence. As such, a growing number of Jews in and outside Israel have become disillusioned about Israel's future and its reason for being. Israel is progressively becoming a hard-core nationalist state, with the orthodox Jews and settlers gaining ever more influence in all government and private institutions.

For Israelis, American political, economic, and military support is all that matters. The failure of successive American administrations to use these levers to compel Israel to change its policy toward the Palestinians only emboldens the Israelis to pursue territorial expansionism without fearing any punitive action from its most critical benefactor.

Moreover, even though the US has had a fairly clear framework for a peace agreement in mind, it has irresponsibly allowed the Israelis to change the territorial and political dynamic in the West Bank without modifying its policy toward Israel to correspond to its general framework for a two-state solution.

Given the fact that only the US can exact the necessary concessions needed to make peace, the US enabled Israel to pursue an ill-fated policy toward the Palestinians. By its unwillingness to exert pressure to stop the settlements enterprise, it scuttled any prospect of reaching a peace agreement. Sadly, the US' domestic political considerations, compounded by the current mis-assessment of the Trump administration regarding the importance of Israeli-Palestinian peace to regional stability, will continue to override a sound policy toward Israel to save it from its self-destruction.

Three more years of misguided political backing by the Trump administration could inflict a fatal blow to Israel, rendering the country neither Jewish nor democratic. Those Israelis who are cheering Trump's rise to power should be careful what they wish for.

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Fred Warmbier, whose son Otto Warmbier, a student here at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, died shortly after returning from North Korea, is reportedly traveling to the Winter Olympics with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

It's hard to imagine the incredible grief of losing a son and of having seen a son suffer. I would not risk being perceived as advising a father how to grieve were it not for the risk I perceive of creating tens of millions more such grieving parents.

It's hard, I imagine, for some people to say no to a vice president or a president, although I'd do it in a heartbeat and a number of Philadelphia Eagles seem to have managed it. For some people, it may be easier to think of saying yes as carrying no import, while saying no would be some sort of a statement. I think, on the contrary, that a grieving family has a ready-made polite excuse to demur from trips abroad or even from serving as props at State of the Union addresses. The Washington Post described the scene at Trump's State of the Union:

"'You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world, and your strength inspires truly us all,' Trump said to the Warmbiers as they sat in the audience, their younger children Austin and Greta behind them. 'Tonight, we pledge to honor Otto's memory with total American resolve.'"

According to The Telegraph:

"Mr Warmbier is travelling as a guest of the vice president, and his presence is being seen as a signal to Pyongyang that Washington has no intention of easing the pressure on the regime of Kim Jong-un over its human rights record. . . . Mr Pence told reporters that he would use his trip to South Korea to make it clear that 'all options are on the table' to deal with the threat posed by North Korea. . . . Mr Pence has also described North Korea's behaviour in recent weeks as a 'charade' designed to steal the limelight away [sic] South Korea's hosting of the games. A key part of that will be reminding the world that North Korea is 'the most tyrannical and oppressive regime on the planet', an aide to Mr Pence told The Korea Times."

In Trump's State of the Union he expanded on the theme of using war in response to actions unrelated to war:

"Around the world, we face rogue regimes, terrorist groups and rivals like China and Russia that challenge our interests, our economy, and our values. In confronting these horrible dangers, we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict and unmatched power is the surest means of our true and great defense."

Now, a rival is just something that you call a rival, and I suppose it can challenge your "values" merely by not sharing them. Perhaps it can challenge your "interests" and "economy" through trade agreements. But those are not acts of war. They don't require or justify acts of war in response.

The Pentagon's new Nuclear Posture Review proposes nuclear weapons to counter even "cyber warfare" and of course for "deterrence," but also for "achievement of U.S. objectives if deterrence fails." One of the authors of that document once proposed that a "successful" war could kill 20 million Americans plus unlimited non-Americans. He made that statement before it was widely known that a nuclear winter could threaten the viability of the crops that feed billions.

Let's assume the best of Otto Warmbier and the worst of the North Korean government. Let's assume the young man was tortured and murdered for a petty offense. Such a crime is an outrage. The United States ought to join the International Criminal Court and pursue the investigation and prosecution of such offenses. But such a crime is in no way, shape, or form a legal, moral, or practical justification for war.

Such a crime is, however, wonderful war propaganda. The U.S. military is in Syria right now in large part because people saw videos of murders with knives. Before NATO destroyed Libya, it alleged rape and torture, as the U.S. had with Iraq as well. Prior to the first Gulf War, fictional stories of removing babies from incubators were central. Afghanistan needed to be invaded and occupied for 16 years and counting, in part, because it restricted women's rights. Wild stories of death camps made Serbia an enemy. Panama needed bombing because its ruler used drugs with prostitutes. U.S. drones are engaged in warfare in a half-dozen countries because people imagine that war is somehow law enforcement without all the troublesome due process (like finding out whom you are killing). The entire "war on terror" is based on the refusal to treat the crimes of 9/11 as crimes. And the single biggest mover of U.S. weapons sales today is a collection of grievances against Russia, few of them proven, and none of them acts of war.

Yet there is no actual correlation between the severity of human rights abuses and the launching of wars. If there were, the United States would be bombing Saudi Arabia, rather than helping it bomb Yemen. And there is no worse human rights abuse than launching a war.

The sanctions that the U.S. takes the lead in imposing on North Korea are abusive. And of course North Korea accuses the United States of being racist, unjust, full of poverty and crime and mass-surveillance and the world's biggest prison system. True or false or hypocritical, such accusations are not justifications for war, and there can be no accusation greater than that of engaging in or threatening war.

Family members of those killed on September 11, 2001, formed a group called Peaceful Tomorrows and said they had "united to turn our grief into action for peace. By developing and advocating nonviolent options and actions in the pursuit of justice, we hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism. Acknowledging our common experience with all people affected by violence throughout the world, we work to create a safer and more peaceful world for everyone."

I urge the Warmbiers to not make themselves part of the marketing of any war.
Global Cassava Market - Insights, Trends and Projections 2018

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IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Cassava - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025" ().This report covers an in-depth study of the global cassava market. Within it, you will find the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption, production and price developments, as well as the global trade (imports and exports). The outlook exhibits the market projections through 2025.Countries coverage: Worldwide - the report contains statistical data for 200 countries and includes detailed profiles of the 50 largest consuming countries (United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Italy, Russian Federation, India, Canada, Australia, Republic of Korea, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Sweden, Nigeria, Poland, Belgium, Argentina, Norway, Austria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Denmark, South Africa, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore, Egypt, Philippines, Finland, Chile, Ireland, Pakistan, Greece, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Czech Republic, Qatar, Peru, Romania, Vietnam) + the largest producing countries.Product coverage:CassavaData coverage: Cassava market volume and value; Per Capita consumption; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Global cassava production, split by region and country; Global cassava trade (exports and imports); Producer, export and import prices for cassava; Cassava market trends, drivers and restraints; Key market players and their profiles.Reasons to buy this report: Take advantage of the latest data; Find deeper insights into current market developments; Discover vital success factors affecting the market.AbstractGlobal cassava market revenue amounted to 72,027 million USD in 2015, waning by -1.9% against the previous year level. Overall, global cassava market continues to indicate a pronounced growth: the market value increased at an average annual rate of +8.3% from 2007 to 2015. This trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2011, when the market revenue increased by +52% from the previous year level. In that year, the global cassava market revenue attained its maximum of 85,159 million USD. From 2012 to the end of the period under review, the total cassava market revenue failed to regain its former peak level.Over the analyzed period, an increase in global cassava production was primarily driven by growth of African and Latin population. Furthermore, these key drivers are expected to continue promoting the cassava output in the immediate term. This general positive trend was largely conditioned by a robust expansion of the harvested area and a slight contraction of the yield figures.The countries with the highest levels of production in 2015 were Nigeria (54,944 thousand tonnes), Thailand (30,206 thousand tonnes), Indonesia (23,109 thousand tonnes), together accounting for 40% of total output. From 2007 to 2015, the most notable growth rates in almond production among the main producing countries was attained by Nigeria (+3.0% per year), while the other global leaders experienced more modest paces of growth.The world cassava harvested area amounted to 24,152 thousand ha in 2015, which was 1.2% more than the previous year figure. The harvested area indicated a noticeable increase over the period under review, representing a compound annual growth rate of +3.0% from 2007 to 2015. This trend pattern, however, indicated some mild fluctuations over the recent years. Over the period under review, the total cassava harvested area peaked in 2015, and is likely to continue its expansion in the immediate term, following rising demand for cassava globally.The global average cassava yield amounted to 113 thousand hg/ha in 2015, fluctuating near the previous year level. The yield figures recorded an downward trend over the period under review, with a compound annual growth rate standing at -0.7% from 2007 to 2015. These yield figures maintained, all in all, a stable trend pattern throughout the analyzed period. The highest cassava yields were recorded in 2011, when it peaked at 123 thousand hg/ha. Afterwards, it decreased slightly and then fluctuated around these levels throughout the analyzed period.Source:IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QW
Extensive Research on Telemedicine Market Key Factor and Top Competitors by 2022

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The Global Telemedicine Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 16.5% during the forecast period.Telemedicine or telehealth comprises of the distribution of health services and information electronically or via telecommunication technologies. The high potential of telemedicine is being eyed by a number of experts. For example, Nokia Technology President Ramzi Haidamus stated that future could lie with digital health. He supported Nokias decision to invest in connected health. "Were looking at digital health domain, where we have not launched any products and is something that comes very natural to Nokia" he said in 2016.Telemedicine takes advantage of rapid strides in the communication technology so as to allow healthcare professionals to provide cost effective healthcare, supervision, distance-learning to the patients, reduce wastage and need for physical appointment, increasing efficiency of healthcare practitioners time and others. Overall healthcare system integration and cutting the scarcity of healthcare professionals through the world are other consideration of the technology.Get a Sample Report @Industry News and AnalysisGlobalMed acquired TreatMD in 2016. TreatMD will help GlobalMed to connect patients and physicians around the world. The deal will create synergy between direct-to-consumer telemedicine technologies of TreatMD coupled with client to client based telemedicine technology of GlobalMed.In 2016, Medvivo a telemedicine company acquired Expert 24 with a primary goal of expanding its product lines and regional distribution throughout the UK, Europe, and the United States.The strategy of most players revolve aroundGarnering distribution expansion so as to develop the market as well as gaining distribution efficiencies.Expansion of product lines and product weightage and gain a complete line so as to make the company a one stop destinationAchieving synergies between in-house and acquired technologies with an aim to increase returns on investment through technological gains.Regional Analysis:The global telemedicine market is segmented on the basis of regions: The Americas, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. The Americas accounts is the leading player in the global telemedicine market owing to an increasing demand for healthcare IT solutions, concentration of prominent market players, and availability of infrastructure for telemedicine.Order Copy of 150 Premium Pages is Available @Key players in the Global Telemedicine MarketKey players profiled in the report are Koninklijke Philips N.V. (The Netherlands), Medtronic (Ireland) AMD Telemedicine Technologies (U.S.), General Electric Company (U.K.), Neusoft Corporation (China), McKesson Corporation (US) , Intel (US), and IBM (US).Brief TOCReport PrologueIntroductionResearch MethodologyMarket DynamicsMarket Factor AnalysisGlobal Telemedicine Market by TypeGlobal Telemedicine Market by TechnologyGlobal Telemedicine Market by ApplicationGlobal Telemedicine Market by End UserGlobal Cell Counting Market by RegionCompany ProfileConclusionAppendixAsk to Expert @About US:Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Downstream Processing Market 2018 Global Analysis, Opportunities, Growth Forecast To 2025

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This report studies the global Downstream Processing market, analyzes and researches the Downstream Processing development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeThermo Fisher Scientific IncDanaher CorporationMerck MilliporeSartorius Stedium Biotech S.AGE Healthcare...Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaRequest a Sample Report @Market segment by Type, the product can be split intoFiltersSingle-Use ProductsChromatography ColumnsResinsMembrane AdsorbersConsumablesAccessoriesMarket segment by Application, Downstream Processing can be split intoMonoclonal Antibody ProductionInsulin ProductionErythropoietin ProductionFusion ProteinsBlood Coagulation FactorsMedical EnzymesColony Stimulating FactorsInterferonsGrowth HormonesAnticoagulantsIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Downstream Processing Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Downstream Processing1.1 Downstream Processing Market Overview1.1.1 Downstream Processing Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Downstream Processing Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Downstream Processing Market by Type1.3.1 Filters1.3.2 Single-Use Products1.3.3 Chromatography Columns1.3.4 Resins1.3.5 Membrane Adsorbers1.3.6 Consumables1.3.7 Accessories1.4 Downstream Processing Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Monoclonal Antibody Production1.4.2 Insulin Production1.4.3 Erythropoietin Production1.4.4 Fusion Proteins1.4.5 Blood Coagulation Factors1.4.6 Medical Enzymes1.4.7 Colony Stimulating Factors1.4.8 Interferons1.4.9 Growth Hormones1.4.10 Anticoagulants2 Global Downstream Processing Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Downstream Processing Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Downstream Processing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Danaher Corporation3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Downstream Processing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Merck Millipore3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Downstream Processing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Sartorius Stedium Biotech S.A3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Downstream Processing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 GE Healthcare3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Downstream Processing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.5.5 Recent Developments4 Global Downstream Processing Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Downstream Processing Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Downstream Processing Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Downstream Processing in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Downstream Processing5 United States Downstream Processing Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Downstream Processing Market Size (2013-2018)5.2 United States Downstream Processing Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)5.3 United States Downstream Processing Market Size by Application (2013-2018)ContinuedAccess Complete Report @Contact Us:Norah TrentPartner Relations & Marketing ManagerSales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Bank Kiosk Market: Industry Size, Growth, Analysis And Forecast of 2022

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Global Bank Kiosk IndustryLatest Report on Bank Kiosk Market Global Analysis & 2022 Forecast Research StudyGeographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Bank Kiosk in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanGlobal Bank Kiosk market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingKiosk Information SystemsPhoenix KioskRedyRef Interactive KiosksKontron AGShaanxi Hui Lian Electron Technology...Try Sample Report @On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSingle-Function KioskMulti-Function KioskOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Bank Kiosk for each application, includingRuralSemi UrbanUrbanOtherSome points from table of content:4 Global Bank Kiosk Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Bank Kiosk Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 United States Bank Kiosk Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 EU Bank Kiosk Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Bank Kiosk Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Bank Kiosk Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 South Korea Bank Kiosk Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 Taiwan Bank Kiosk Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Bank Kiosk Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Bank Kiosk Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Bank Kiosk Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Bank Kiosk Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Bank Kiosk Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Bank Kiosk Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Bank Kiosk Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Bank Kiosk Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesFor Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @7 Global Bank Kiosk Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Kiosk Information Systems7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Bank Kiosk Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Kiosk Information Systems Bank Kiosk Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Phoenix Kiosk7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Bank Kiosk Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Phoenix Kiosk Bank Kiosk Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 RedyRef Interactive Kiosks7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Bank Kiosk Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 RedyRef Interactive Kiosks Bank Kiosk Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Kontron AG7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Bank Kiosk Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Kontron AG Bank Kiosk Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Shaanxi Hui Lian Electron Technology7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Bank Kiosk Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Shaanxi Hui Lian Electron Technology Bank Kiosk Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview...8 Bank Kiosk Manufacturing Cost Analysis8.1 Bank Kiosk Key Raw Materials Analysis8.1.1 Key Raw Materials8.1.2 Price Trend of Key Raw Materials8.1.3 Key Suppliers of Raw Materials8.1.4 Market Concentration Rate of Raw Materials8.2 Proportion of Manufacturing Cost Structure8.2.1 Raw Materials8.2.2 Labor Cost8.2.3 Manufacturing Expenses8.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Bank KioskContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra,Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Baby Nipples Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2018  2022

Global Baby Nipples Industry

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Global Baby Nipples IndustryLatest Report on Baby Nipples Market Global Analysis & 2022 Forecast Research StudyGlobal Baby Nipples market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingPigeonAVENTNUKNubyEvenfloChiccoPlaytexDr Browns Natural FlowLansinoh LaboratorieNIPMedelaSuavinexPhyllMAMLoviTommee TippeeUS BabyBabisilBorn FreeIVORYTry Sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Baby Nipples in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSolid SiliconeLiquid siliconeRubberOthersOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Baby Nipples for each application, including0-6 Months6-18 monthsOthersSome points from table of content:4 Global Baby Nipples Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Baby Nipples Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Baby Nipples Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Baby Nipples Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Baby Nipples Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Baby Nipples Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Baby Nipples Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Baby Nipples Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Baby Nipples Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Baby Nipples Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Baby Nipples Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Baby Nipples Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Baby Nipples Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Baby Nipples Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Baby Nipples Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Baby Nipples Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesFor Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @7 Global Baby Nipples Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Pigeon7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Pigeon Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 AVENT7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 AVENT Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 NUK7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 NUK Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Nuby7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Nuby Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Evenflo7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Evenflo Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Chicco7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Chicco Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Playtex7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Playtex Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Dr Browns Natural Flow7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Dr Browns Natural Flow Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 Lansinoh Laboratorie7.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 Lansinoh Laboratorie Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 NIP7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Baby Nipples Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 NIP Baby Nipples Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.11 Medela7.12 Suavinex7.13 Phyll7.14 MAM7.15 Lovi7.16 Tommee Tippee7.17 US Baby7.18 Babisil7.19 Born Free7.20 IVORYContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra,Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Global Body Armor Parts Market 2018 Industry Trend and Forecast 2022

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Global Body Armor Parts IndustryLatest Report on Body Armor Parts Market Global Analysis & 2022 Forecast Research StudyGlobal Body Armor Parts market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingPoint BlankSKDSFISurvival ArmorTacprogearTYR TacticalElite Survival SystemsEnGarde?AR500BlackHawkBFGEagle IndustriesHoplite ArmourTry Sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Body Armor Parts in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoClothesBulletproof layerOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Body Armor Parts for each application, includingOEMAfter MarketSome points from table of content:3 Global Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Body Armor Parts Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Body Armor Parts Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Body Armor Parts Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Body Armor Parts Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Body Armor Parts Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Body Armor Parts Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Body Armor Parts Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Body Armor Parts Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Body Armor Parts Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Body Armor Parts Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Body Armor Parts Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)For Detailed Reading Please visit WiseGuy Reports @5 Global Body Armor Parts Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Body Armor Parts Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Body Armor Parts Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Body Armor Parts Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Body Armor Parts Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Body Armor Parts Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Body Armor Parts Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Body Armor Parts Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/Countries7 Global Body Armor Parts Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Point Blank7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Point Blank Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 SKD7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 SKD Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 SFI7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 SFI Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Survival Armor7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Survival Armor Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Tacprogear7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Tacprogear Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 TYR Tactical7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 TYR Tactical Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Elite Survival Systems7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Elite Survival Systems Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 EnGarde?7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 EnGarde? Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.9 AR5007.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.9.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.9.2.1 Product A7.9.2.2 Product B7.9.3 AR500 Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.10 BlackHawk7.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.10.2 Body Armor Parts Product Category, Application and Specification7.10.2.1 Product A7.10.2.2 Product B7.10.3 BlackHawk Body Armor Parts Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.11 BFG7.12 Eagle Industries7.13 Hoplite ArmourContinued.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.Contact Us:Norah Trent+1 646 845 9349 / +44 208 133 9349Follow on LinkedIn:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra,Ph: +91 841 198 5042
Cyclic Phosphodiesterase Key Players Astellas Pharma Inc, Celon Pharma SA, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co Inc markert analysis and forecast 2022

Cyclic Phosphodiesterase

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WiseGuyReports.com with their unique quality of simplifying the market research study, presents a deep diving study report Cyclic Phosphodiesterase - Pipeline Review, H1 2018Cyclic PhosphodiesteraseOverviewcAMP and cAMP Inhibited cGMP 3', 5 Cyclic Phosphodiesterase 10A (Phosphodiesterase 10A1 or Phosphodiesterase 10A7 or PDE10A or EC 3.1.4.17 or EC 3.1.4.35) pipeline Target constitutes close to 13 molecules. Out of which approximately 12 molecules are developed by companies and remaining by the universities/institutes.The latest report cAMP and cAMP Inhibited cGMP 3', 5 Cyclic Phosphodiesterase 10A - Pipeline Review, H2 2017, outlays comprehensive information on the cAMP and cAMP Inhibited cGMP 3',5' Cyclic Phosphodiesterase 10A (Phosphodiesterase 10A1 or Phosphodiesterase 10A7 or PDE10A or EC 3.1.4.17 or EC 3.1.4.35) targeted therapeutics, complete with analysis by indications, stage of development, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule type.Click here for sample report @Companies mentionedAstellas Pharma IncCelon Pharma SAHoffmann-La Roche LtdGlenmark Pharmaceuticals LtdJohnson & JohnsonMerck & Co IncSunovion Pharmaceuticals IncTakeda Pharmaceutical Co LtdCyclic Phosphodiesterase Industry Major Highlights:Furthermore, this report also reviews key players involved in cAMP and cAMP Inhibited cGMP 3',5' Cyclic Phosphodiesterase 10A (Phosphodiesterase 10A1 or Phosphodiesterase 10A7 or PDE10A or EC 3.1.4.17 or EC 3.1.4.35) targeted therapeutics development with respective active and dormant or discontinued projects.Driven by data and information sourced from proprietary databases, company/university websites, clinical trial registries, conferences, SEC filings, investor presentations and featured press releases from company/university sites and industry-specific third party sources.Competitive Analysis for Cyclic PhosphodiesteraseKey players are making innovative developments in Cyclic Phosphodiesterase industry. The same will help in improving the market performance. Heavy investments are made by major players in the R&D sector..ContinuedFor Detailed Reading Please visit @Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Aircraft Ground Support Equipment Market Record a Robust CAGR of 6.5% During 2017 - 2027

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Air travel has taken off in APEJ like never before, spurred on by rising affluence and a greater disposable income amongst consumers in this dynamic region. This is anticipated to require additional ground support equipment ensuring that the aircraft ground support equipment market grows at a healthy rate for the foreseeable future. Future Market Insights in its upcoming report titled Aircraft Ground Support Equipment Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012 - 2016) and Opportunity Assessment (2017 - 2027) predicts that the aircraft ground support equipment market could record a robust CAGR of 6.5%.Equipment  Aircraft Service Segment Key in Aircraft Ground Support Equipment MarketThe aircraft service segment had a market share of more than half by equipment type in the aircraft ground support equipment market at the end of 2017 and is projected to grow this share by 30 BPS going forward. This is largely at the expense of cargo loading and passenger service. Aircraft service segment is greatly benefited by the high cost of different products such as aircraft tractors, de-icing, and fire fighting vehicles that explains its dominance in the aircraft ground support equipment market.Request for Sample @Power  Electric Power Provides Spark in Aircraft Ground Support Equipment MarketThe electric segment is the most popular in the aircraft ground support equipment market and has seen rapid adoption in airport buses, de-icing vehicles, and aircraft tractors because of its reliability, support, and battery performance. Furthermore, advanced infrastructure in a number of airports in Europe and the US has led to electric chargers becoming commonplace fuelling the growth of the electric power segment in the aircraft ground support equipment market. The electric power segment is expected to cross a value of more than US$ 7.5 billion by end 2027, larger than the non-electric and hybrid segments combined.Region  APEJ to Double Market Share in Aircraft Ground Support Equipment MarketIn terms of value, APEJ is predicted to double its market share during the course of the decadal study. Explosive growth in passenger traffic in China and India is largely responsible for this with the former contributing to the bulk of it. In addition to this, open sky agreements such as that recently signed between India and Japan should further the prospects of the APEJ aircraft ground support equipment market.Ownership  Rental Gaining Popularity in Aircraft Ground Support Equipment MarketThe rental/lease segment is gaining greater acceptance in the aircraft ground support equipment market because of the high cost associated with it. There is a definite shift in focus of airline companies and airport management towards rental ownership as this saves capital, resources, and time. The rental/ lease segment is estimated to witness a CAGR of 7% for the forecast period.Application  Defence Unlikely to Topple Commercial Segment in Aircraft Ground Support Equipment MarketThe commercial segment holds a lions share in the aircraft ground support equipment market by application and is on track to lose 70 BPS till 2027. However, it has a two-third share of the market in 2017 on account of substantial movement of commercial aircraft, requiring evermore aircraft ground support equipment units. An incremental dollar opportunity of approx. US$ 4.8 billion from 2017 to 2027 makes the commercial segment large enough for all stakeholders in the aircraft ground support equipment market.Competition Dashboard in Aircraft Ground Support Equipment MarketThe companies profiled in the report are JBT Corporation, ALVEST Group, Air T, Alberth Aviation Ltd., Cavotec SA, Clyde Machines Inc., Textron, Weihai Guangtai Airport Equipment Co., China International Marine Containers (Group) Co., Kalmar Motor AB, HYDRO Systems KG, Nepean Engineering & Innovation Pty Ltd., Tronair, Lektro, Charlatte Of America Inc., Schopf Maschinenbau GmbH, Mulag Fahrzeugwerk Heinz Wossner GmbH, Mallaghan Engineering Limited, SEMMCO, and DENGE Airport Equipment.Request for Table of Contents @Important TakeawaysAPEJ has immense potential in the long-term because of skyrocketing passenger traffic and companies would do well to focus their attention on this continent. Western companies should shift their production bases there to take advantage of lower cost coupled with manufacturing expertise. Companies must develop efficient products that have minimal maintenance and innovations in power technologies could provide the necessary breakthroughs.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Rising infrastructure development in Asia Pacific is expected to increase Blowing Agents Market penetration

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Blowing agents are light in weight, heat insulation, and electrical induction chemical substances that are used to generate the gas that is used in expanding of plastics, rubber, and ceramics to create foam. The global blowing agents are expected to witness substantial growth owing to increasing demand from end-use industries such as construction, packaging, and automotive. The product is primarily used in the aforementioned end-use industries as adhesives, exhibiting superior properties including improved acoustics, heat & electric insulation, elasticity, and lightweight.Rising infrastructure development in Asia Pacific is expected to increase market penetrationBlowing agents are widely used across a number of application in the construction industry including acoustics, heat & electric insulation, and shock absorbers. Furthermore, rising infrastructure development in Asia Pacific coupled with supportive government initiatives, in emerging economies such as India, is fueling growth of the market. For instance, in 2016, the Indian government announced plans to invest US$ 376.53 billion to improve the infrastructure, roads, transport facility, and shipping over of the following three years. Encouraging foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region is likely to propel the construction industry in the region, which in turn is expected to increase demand for blowing agents in the near future.Request Sample Copy of this Report:Robust automobile industry growth is expected to aid market growth over the forecast periodDemand for blowing agent products by the automobile industry, is rapidly rising due to the weight reduction property of the agents that are useful for acoustic application. As the demand for products of the automobile industry is increasing, the demand for light is a major factor fueling market growth. The global automobile industry produced over 90 million cars and commercial vehicles in 2015, which is expected to increase significantly over the following five years owing to strong indicators in Asia Pacific. These trends coupled with rising efforts to improve fuel efficiency by reducing the overall weight of automobiles, is expected to have a positive impact on growth.Stringent regulations promoting the use of eco-friendly blowing agentsThe market is segmented on the basis of product type into hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), and hydrocarbons. Hydrofluorocarbons accounted for the largest share in the market, owing to its low ozone depletion potential. Furthermore, stringent regulations barring the use of HCFC, in 2003 EPA issued baseline for production and import of HCFC-22 and HCFC-142b. Moreover, the UK government made it mandatory to recover and recycle the HCFC used in the refrigeration unit. Owing to its contribution towards ozone depletion coupled with a potential phase out in the near future, HCFC is expected to have a positive impact on eco-friendly blowing agents over the forecast period. However, phasing out of HCFC results in high technology shifting costs, which is expected to restrain market growth to a certain extent.Due to low operating cost and global warming potential, the hydrocarbons segment is expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period. Thus increasing its use in various end-use industries. However, abrupt changes in climate, global warming, and ozone depletion are the primary environmental issue, so the global agreement such as Montreal and Kyoto protocol which limits severely in the use of blowing agents.Polyurethane foams dominate the market owing to its superior insulating and shock absorbing propertiesThe market is segmented on the basis of foam type into polyurethane, polystyrene, phenolic, and polyolefin. Polyurethane segment hold a dominant position in the market, owing to its wide application scope in an array of industries such as automotive industry for manufacturing seats, insulation, gaskets, seal, and bushing. Moreover, it is used in flooring in the construction industry and also to seal boat hulls from water in the marine industry. This is mainly attributed to its superior insulating and shock absorbent properties.Rapid growth of the economy and population in the Asia Pacific region, has led to an increase in urbanization and industrialization. The polyurethane foam is expected to witness substantial demand in this region, due to a rise in the application scope in automobile and construction industries. Furthermore, core application industries growing at a substantial pace particularly in India, Indonesia, and Vietnam is expected to drive growth over the forecast period. In addition, increasing foreign direct investment in the region primarily due to high market potential, as well as low labor and land cost is likely to propel growth of the blowing agents market, over the next few years.View More Infromation:The blowing agents market is expected to exhibit below average growth in North America and Europe, owing to mature end-use industries in these regions. Furthermore, stringent regulations by EPA in 2003, and by UK to limit the use, recovery, and reuse of HCFC. Governing the use of blowing agents is expected further expected to hamper growth over the following few years. However, gradual recovery of the construction industryone of the key end-use industries for blowing agentsin both the regions, is expected to have a positive impact on market growth.Honeywell, Solvay, Arkema are key industry players in the blowing agents market. Continuous research and development, technological advancement, and marketing strategies help in attaining the highest market share in the global blowing agents market. Solstice Liquid Blowing Agent, the latest product developed by Honeywell, is the least harmful to the environment and possesses immense potential to replace HC, HFC, and HCFC, in the future. Blowing agents industry is a consolidated market place with a large number of small manufacturers present in the industry. This trend is primarily witnessed in Asia Pacific, which is one of the major producers of blowing agents. Furthermore, the industry comprises of leading players with global presence including DuPont, Arkema S.A., Honeywell International Inc., Solvay S.A., Foam Supplies, Inc., AkzoNobel NV, Haltermann GmbH, Linde AG, Americhem, and HARP International Ltd.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Website:
High Technology Usage to Significantly Boost Growth of the Global Parking Meter Market in the Coming Years

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The report highlights the facts that the parking meter market is anticipated to witness significant growth in the foreseeable future. A new research report titled Global Parking Meter Market has recently been included to the online repository of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE).Request a Free Sample Report @The report offers an overview of the worldwide parking meter market. This study also provides information about various aspects influencing the growth of the market. The report also presents market dynamics which includes drivers, restraints and major threat faced by the key players in the global parking meter market. The market definition and basic introduction of the parking meter market across the globe is also mentioned. The market size and forecast for 2017 and 2025 are mentioned in the research report. This research report also provides key opportunities prevailing in the worldwide parking meter market around the globe. Porters Five Force analysis is also mentioned in the research report. The study also offers key recent developments in the worldwide market for parking meter market along with the key trends. The increased technology usage in several applications as well as escalating usage of the fast moving technology for solution regarding parking is indicated. The parking meter market is anticipated to experience increased growth in the coming years.Furthermore, the study also throws light on the aspects supporting the development of the global market and covers the increased usage for parking meters from advent and parks of modified solutions in regions including Europe and North America. Also, the influence of these as well as micro-macro-economic aspects has been scrutinized while studying the model which depicts the growth of the market.Global Parking Meter Market: Segmental & Regional AnalysisThe study categorizes the worldwide market for parking meter into type, region, application and parking mode. In terms of type, the research report segregate the parking meter market into Space, Plate and Display and play. Account of region, the study divides the worldwide parking meter market into South America, the MEA, Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. According to application, the report bifurcates the worldwide parking meter market into stadium and malls, transit systems, parks and hospitals and other applications such as residential and institutions. By parking mode, the study segments the worldwide market for parking meter into space, plate, display and pay and other parking modes.Read the Complete Report with TOC @Global Parking Meter Market: Key Competitor InsightsThe final section of the research report offers competitive assessment of the worldwide market for parking meter. This vital section of the research publication provides information on major players associated with the parking meter market across the globe. The study also profiles the key companies based on several parameters such as recent development in the companies, financial ratio, overview of the company, key strategies, product portfolio and the recent development in the company. This report also covers SWOT analysis which includes weakness, strengths, threats and major opportunities prevailing in the company. The research publication also gives information about the dominating players in the worldwide market for parking meter such as Ventek International and Worldwide Parking, Inc., Parking BOXX, POM Inc., Parkeon S.A.S., METRIC Group Ltd, J.J. MacKay Canada Limited, LocoMobi Inc, IPS Group, Inc., CivicSmart, Inc., and Cale Access AB.Have Any Query? Ask Our Expert at:Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
Cook in Bag Pack Market - Revenue, Opportunity, Forecast and Value Chain 2016-2024

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Packaging industry, with technological advancement, have continuously been upgrading its packaging types across various industries such as food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, and other consumer goods. Among the wide range of industries, the food industry has witnessed the maximum packaging transformations with time.Get an exclusive sample of this report @Packaging industry, considering the busy routines of the consumers and the time limitations, have introduced the cook in bag pack facility for the customers. Cook in bag pack enables cooking of the ready-made foods either by steam or oven at appropriate temperatures which take maximum 10-15 minutes. The heat-safe bags cooks the food by trapping the heat around the food with moist and hot air that results in a moist and delicious food. Cook in the bag pack market is expected to witness an escalating demand among the consumers.Obtain Report Details @Cook in bag pack market is mainly driven by the consumers increasing demand for organized cooking in their hectic daily life. Cook in bag pack market witness high demand in the food industry due to its ability to provide the consumers with restaurant quality food, quick and simple meals, extended shelf life and less or no chances of undercooked food.Purchase the report @Another factor that fuels up the growth of the cook in bag pack market is that the affordable prices of the ready to eat food packets. Cook in bag pack serves best for the purpose of cooking for a large group of people wherein, it consumes less time and provides organized cooking.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Current and Projected Manufacturing Analytics Market size in terms of volume and value 2017-2027

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Statistical tool that performs rule-based analysis to enhance business process and production quality is termed to be manufacturing analytics. The application of analytics in various industries such as in banking, retail and other are popularly known but recently there is an increase in demand for application of analytics in manufacturing sector in order to minimize operational cost, simplify supply-chain requirements and more. Additionally, the manufacturing companies which adopt process improvement programs including SCADA, lean manufacturing, and six sigma has enhanced the adoption of manufacturing analytics.Request For Report Sample:Manufacturing analytics gathers data from geographically distributed resources, using PLCs, historians and offer organized and modeled analysis. On premise manufacturing analytical tools enable installation and service of these software suite at client side and are expensive.Manufacturing Analytics Market: Drivers and ChallengesThe analysis of manufacturing process data are fading out due to increasing multiple industry data sources such as in-factory databases, sensor, images and among others have led to the increasing demand for big data analytics in manufacturing. This is the prime factor contributing to the growth of manufacturing analytics market globally. Additionally, growing demand to optimize business process and make them more agile and scalable is further encouraging the growth of manufacturing analytics software in manufacturing sector.Complex operation and low returns on investment from manufacturing analytics tools is hindering the market growth of manufacturing analytics solutions. Technical constraints including data breaching in cloud deployment and privacy are among other factors that negatively impact the growth of manufacturing analytics market.Manufacturing Analytics Market: SegmentationManufacturing analytics market can be segmented on the basis of solution, type of deployment, industry and regionsOn the basis of solution, manufacturing analytics market can be segmented into software and services. Services segment can further be sub-segmented into managed service and professional service.On the basis of type of deployment, manufacturing analytics market can be segmented into on-premise and cloud-based.On the basis of industry, manufacturing analytics market can be segmented into banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), IT and telecommunication, energy and utility, public sector manufacturing, healthcare, retail, hospitality and others.Manufacturing Analytics Market: Regional OverviewRegionally, manufacturing analytics market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, and Middle East and AfricaNorth America and Western Europe regions are expected to contribute majorly to the revenue of global manufacturing analytics market. Asia Pacific excluding Japan and Japan are expected to have the maximum growth opportunities in the forecast period from 2017 to 2027.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Manufacturing Analytics Market: Competition LandscapeFew prominent players in the manufacturing analytics market include:SAP SE,IBM Corporation, Wipro Limited, General Electric Company, TIBCO Software, Inc., Zensar Technologies Ltd., Sisense, Inc., Oracle Corporation and Gemini Software solutions Pvt. Ltd.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Green Building Materials Market - Rising Concerns Regarding Environment Safety to Fuel Market Growth

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Green buildings, also known as sustainable buildings or green construction are buildings that make use of environment-friendly and resource-efficient processes for their designing, construction, maintenance, renovation, and operation throughout their lifecycle. Such green building also ensure more environmentally-safe demolition procedures than conventional methods.The popular materials that are used in making a green building include straw bales, grasscrete, rammed earth, hempcrete, bamboo, recycled plastic, and wood, among others. Mycelium, ferrock, ashcrete, and timbercrete are also used in the construction of green buildings. The primary aim underlying the green building construction is to define an approach that minimizes negative effects on the environment (air, water, and earth) as well as human health. The primary sources of green building materials are renewable sources (forests) and recycled materials (doors, old plumbing, recycled plastic, etc.)View More Information:Some of the major advantages that green buildings provide as compared to conventional buildings are efficient technology usage, easy maintenance, improved air quality, water and energy efficiency, and high return on investment. These building also ensure temperature moderation, waste reduction, water conservation, and improved physical and mental health of the inhabitants.Green Building Materials Market TaxonomyOn the basis of product type, the global market is segmented into:Interior ProductsExterior ProductsSolar productsOthersOn the basis of applications, the global market is segmented into:InsulationFramingRoofingInterior FinishingExterior SidingOthersOn the basis of end-user, the global market is segmented into:Healthcare centersR&D centersEducationPublic facilitiesResidentialOthersOn the basis of geography, the global market is segmented into:North AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeU.K.GermanyItalyFranceSpainRussiaRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanASEANAustraliaSouth KoreaRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoArgentinaRest of Latin AmericaMiddle EastGCC CountriesIsraelRest of Middle EastAfricaNorthern AfricaCentral AfricaSouth AfricaIncreasing health concerns among people, growing responsibility and concerns towards environment safety, and increasing demand for efficient energy usage is expected to drive growth of the green building materials market over the forecast period (20162024). A major spike has been witnessed in stress levels and related health problems among the global populace over the last couple of decades. Home and work environments majorly impact the wellbeing of an individual thus, resulting in an increased customer inclination towards aesthetically pleasing green buildings that look appealing, and at the same time help alleviate both physical and mental problems. This is a key factor fueling market growth. This trend is expected to gain further traction in the near future. However, higher initial costs, dearth of raw materials, time-consuming process of construction, and lack of skilled professionals impedes market growth. Basic construction materials used in green buildings, such as straw bales, grasscrete, rammed earth, hempcrete, bamboo, recycled plastic, and wood are not widely available across the globe. The process for using these materials in construction involves exorbitant expenditures and requires highly skilled workers, which makes the process of building green projects capital intensive.Green Building Materials Market Outlook  Rising Concerns Regarding Environment Safety to Fuel Market GrowthThe growing concern of environmental safety such as concerns regarding water wastage, inclination towards conservation of natural resources and protection of biodiversity fuels growth of the global green building materials market. Various dedicated regulatory bodies such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) have green building ratings, certification programs and have formed guidelines pertaining to green building construction. Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) is an environmental safety regulatory tool used by the United Nations for encouraging adoption of renewable materials in the construction sector. Another popular research institute dedicated towards sustainable development and environmental safety in India and South Asia is TERI (The Energy and Resources Institute).Check the Trending Report of Green Building Materials Market:Product innovation is one of the key strategies adopted by the leading players in the green building materials market. Manufacturers are focusing on adding solar thermal cladding and bio-plastics. In 2016, Gunlocke, a furniture manufacturing company introduced Myco Board, which is new ecofriendly product offering cost-effective and environment-friendly solutions for interior products. Some of the major companies operating in the global green building materials market are Alumasc Group Plc, AMVIC Building Systems, Binderholz GmbH, Bauder Ltd, BASF SE, and Interface.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Website:
Global Pallet Display Market to Witness Significant Revenue Growth During the Period from 2017 to 2026

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The research report on the pallet display market provides in-depth insights on the dynamics of the market which covers restraints, trends, drivers, major opportunities prevailing in the worldwide market for pallet displays. A new study on the pallet display market titled Global Pallet Displays Market and Forecast for 2017-2026 has recently been included to the database of Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE).Request a Free Sample Report @This report provides several aspects that have an influence on the global pallet displays market. The study also offers market size and forecast for the period ranging from 2017 till 2026. Additionally, the study provides the key opportunity scrutiny for several segments as well as the profitable segments. The report also throws light on the forecast on Compound Annual Growth, Y-o-Y growth rate, as well as revenue growth. Furthermore, this study also provides porters five forces analysis, market attractiveness analysis and SWOT analysis along with the key findings. This report also discusses the various market segments and regions that will influence the growth of the global pallet display market in forthcoming period. This research report provides detailed analysis of the market backed by adequate quantitative and qualitative data. Escalating use in supermarkets, hypermarkets and retail stores helps in providing product information with its primary features and enhancing the brand identity of the pallet display market across the globe.Global Pallet Display Market: Segmental AnalysisThe worldwide pallet display market is segregated into region, material type, applications, end use, and product type.By product type, the report bifurcates the pallet display market into quarter pallet display, half pallet display and full pallet displayBased on material type, the research report segregates the pallet display market into metal, glass, plastic sheet, foam board, and corrugated boardIn terms of application, the study segments the worldwide pallet display market into automotive, electronics, stationery and printing, pharmaceuticals, personal care and cosmetics, as well as food and beverages.On the basis of end use, the research publication categorizes the pallet display market into convenience stores, specialty stores, departmental stores, supermarkets, and hypermarketsAccording to region, the report segmented the global pallet display market into MEA, APEJ, Japan, North America, Latin America and EuropeRead the Complete Report with TOC @Global Pallet Displays Market: Competitive AssessmentThe research report provides the competitive analysis of the pallet display market across the globe. This study also highlights the key players associated with the pallet display market. This research report features the key companies based on following parameters such as financial overview, overview of the companies, new product launch, SWOT analysis, recent development in the companies, and vital strategies. This report also provides information about the major players operating in the pallet display market such as U.S. Corrugated, Inc., Xinapse Systems Ltd., Sonoco Products Company, DS Smith Plc, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Siemens Healthineers, Pratt Industries Inc., Georgia-Pacific LLC, Sciencesoft USA Corporation, Smurfit Kappa Group PLC, Mirada Medical Limited, WestRock Company, FFR Merchandising Company, Creative Displays Now, and Marketing Alliance Group.Have Any Query? Ask Our Expert at:About MRRSEMarket Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of market intelligence reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.ContactState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United StatesTelephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:
3D Dental Scanner Market Detailed Annalysis by Confuguration ans Technology from 2018 to 2023

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Current Trends on 3D Dental Scanner is announced by ReportsWeb and is available in its database. In this report, 3D Dental Scanner market is segmented on the basis of application, type, end use and regions. In addition, the report presents detailed information regarding major revenue generating regions of 3D Dental Scanner market.This report mainly introduces volume and value market share by players, by regions, by product type, by consumers and also their price change details. As a Detailed Analysis report, it covers all details inside analysis and opinion in 3D Dental Scanner industry.This report splits 3D Dental Scanner market by Confuguration, which covers the history data information from 2013 to 2017 and forecast from 2018 to 2023.Request a Free Sample on 3D Dental Scanner market atMajor Companies3shapeAmann GirrbachDentsply SironaDOF, Inc.Guangdong Launca Medical Device Technology co.,Ltdimes-icoreMACHINE TOOL AIDS BUREAUMeditOpen Technologies SrlPi dental ManufacturingREITEL FeinwerktechnikShining 3Dsmart optics Sensortechnik GmbHZirkonzahnZUBLERMain RegionsNorth AmericaUnited StatesCanadaLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilArgentinaOthersEuropeGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalySpainRussiaNetherlandOthersAsia & PacificChinaJapanIndiaKoreaAustraliaSoutheast AsiaIndonesiaThailandPhilippinesVietnamSingaporeMalaysiaOthersAfrica & Middle EastSouth AfricaEgyptTurkeySaudi ArabiaIranOthersMain Product Type3D Dental Scanner Market, by ConfugurationExtra-oralIntraoral3D Dental Scanner Market, byMain ApplicationsHospitalDental ClinicDental LaboratoryOrder a copy of Global 3D Dental Scanner Market atKey Point from Table of Contents:Chapter One 3D Dental Scanner Market OverviewChapter Two 3D Dental Scanner by Regions 2013-2018Chapter Three 3D Dental Scanner by Players 2013-2018Chapter Four 3D Dental Scanner by Consumer 2013-2018Chapter Five Global 3D Dental Scanner Top Players ProfileChapter Six 3D Dental Scanner Industry Chain and Supply ChainChapter Seven Global 3D Dental Scanner Market Size (Sales and Revenue) Forecast (2018-2023)Chapter Eight 3D Dental Scanner Development Trend and Research ConclusionChapter Nine 3D Dental Scanner Methodology and Data SourceComplete report on 3D Dental Scanner Market is now available atContact Information:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Acrylic Rubber Market Growth, Key Manufacturers, Innovative Technology, Financial Revenue, Project Investment, Company Size, Development Challenges and New Opportunities Report 2018-2023

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Global Acrylic Rubber Market Report 2018-2023 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the global Acrylic Rubber industry with a focus on the Chinese market. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Acrylic Rubber manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the industry.Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including its definition, applications and manufacturing technology. Then, the report explores the international and Chinese major industry players in detail. In this part, the report presents the company profile, product specifications, capacity, production value, and 2018 market shares for each company. Through the statistical analysis, the report depicts the global and Chinese total market of Acrylic Rubber industry including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and Chinese import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis.The report then estimates 2018-2023 market development trends of Acrylic Rubber industry. Analysis of upstream raw materials, downstream demand, and current market dynamics is also carried out. In the end, the report makes some important proposals for a new project of Acrylic Rubber Industry before evaluating its feasibility. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Acrylic Rubber industry covering all important parameters.FREE | Request Sample Copy is Available atMajor Points from Table of ContentsChapter One Introduction of Acrylic Rubber Industry1.1 Brief Introduction of Acrylic Rubber1.2 Development of Acrylic Rubber Industry1.3 Status of Acrylic Rubber IndustryChapter Two Manufacturing Technology of Acrylic Rubber2.1 Development of Acrylic Rubber Manufacturing Technology2.2 Analysis of Acrylic Rubber Manufacturing Technology2.3 Trends of Acrylic Rubber Manufacturing TechnologyChapter Three Analysis of Global Key ManufacturersChapter Four 2012-2018 Global and Chinese Market of Acrylic Rubber4.1 Global Capacity, Production and Production Value of Acrylic Rubber Industry4.2 Global Cost and Profit of Acrylic Rubber Industry4.3 Market Comparison of Global and Chinese Acrylic Rubber Industry4.4 Global and Chinese Supply and Consumption of Acrylic Rubber4.5 Chinese Import and Export of Acrylic RubberChapter Five Market Status of Acrylic Rubber Industry5.1 Market Competition of Acrylic Rubber Industry by Company5.2 Market Competition of Acrylic Rubber Industry by Country (USA, EU, Japan, Chinese etc.)5.3 Market Analysis of Acrylic Rubber Consumption by Application/TypeInquire about this Report atChapter Six Market Forecast of Global and Chinese Acrylic Rubber Industry 2018-20236.1 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Capacity, Production, and Production Value of Acrylic Rubber6.2 2018-2023 Acrylic Rubber Industry Cost and Profit Estimation6.3 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Market Share of Acrylic Rubber6.4 2018-2023 Global and Chinese Supply and Consumption of Acrylic Rubber6.5 2018-2023 Chinese Import and Export of Acrylic RubberChapter Seven Analysis of Acrylic Rubber Industry Chain7.1 Industry Chain Structure7.2 Upstream Raw Materials7.3 Downstream IndustryChapter Eight Global and Chinese Economic Impact on Acrylic Rubber Industry8.1 Global and Chinese Macroeconomic Environment Analysis8.1.1 Global Macroeconomic Analysis8.1.2 Chinese Macroeconomic Analysis8.2 Global and Chinese Macroeconomic Environment Development Trend8.2.1 Global Macroeconomic Outlook8.2.2 Chinese Macroeconomic Outlook8.3 Effects to Acrylic Rubber IndustryChapter Nine Market Dynamics of Acrylic Rubber Industry9.1 Acrylic Rubber Industry News9.2 Acrylic Rubber Industry Development Challenges9.3 Acrylic Rubber Industry Development OpportunitiesComplete Report is Available atChapter Ten Proposals for New Project10.1 Market Entry Strategies10.2 Countermeasures of Economic Impact10.3 Marketing Channels10.4 Feasibility Studies of New Project InvestmentContact Us:Phone: +1-646-491-9876Email Id: sales@reportsweb.comAbout ReportsWeb:ReportsWeb is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers.533, 5th Floor, Amanora Chambers,Amanora Township, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Dental Services Global Market 2018 Key Players: National Health Service, IDH, Aspen Dental.

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Dental Services Market:WiseGuyReports.com adds Dental Services Market 2018 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2023reports to its database.Executive SummaryDental Services Market Global Report 2018 from The Business Research Company provides the strategists, marketers and senior management with the critical information they need to assess the global dental services market.Where is the largest and fastest growing market for the dental services?How does the market relate to the overall economy, demography and other similar markets?What forces will shape the market going forward?The dental services market global report from the Business Research Company answers all these questions and many more.The report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the markets historic and forecast market growth by geography. It places the market within the context of the wider Healthcare market, and compares it with other markets. The market characteristics section of the report defines and explains the market. The market size section gives the market size ($b) covering both the historic growth of the market and forecasting the future. Drivers and restraints looks at the external factors supporting and controlling the growth of the market. Market segmentations break down market into sub markets. The regional and country breakdowns section gives an analysis of the market in each geography and the size of the market by geography and compares their historic and forecast growth. It covers all the regions, key developed countries and major emerging markets. It draws comparisons with country populations and economies to understand the importance of the market by country and how this is changing. Competitive landscape gives a description of the competitive nature of the market, market shares, and a description of the leading companies. Key financial deals which have shaped the market in recent years are identified. The trends and strategies section highlights the likely future developments in the market and suggests approaches companies can take to exploit this. The dental services market section of the report gives context. It compares the dental services market with other segments of the Healthcare market by size and growth, historic and forecast. It analyses Expenditure Per Capita, The Dental Services Indicators Comparison.Request Sample Report @ScopeMarkets Covered: General Dentistry; Oral Surgery; Orthodontics And ProsthodonticsCompanies Mentioned: National Health Service,IDH,Aspen DentalCountries: Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, Russia, UK, USA and Australia.Regions: Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East And AfricaTime series: Five years historic and forecast.Data: Ratios of market size and growth to related markets, GDP, Expenditure Per Capita, The Dental Services Indicators Comparison.Data segmentations: country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market segments.Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.Table of Content1. Dental Services Market Characteristics2. Dental Services Market Size And Growth3. Dental Services Trends And Strategies;4. Pestle Analysis5. Dental Services Market Customer Information;6. Dental Services Market Regional And Country Analysis7. Dental Services Market Segmentation9. Global Dental Services Market Comparison With Macro Economic Factors10. Dental Services Market Comparison With Macro Economic Factors Across Countries11. Dental Services Market Comparison With Industry Metrics12. Asia-Pacific Dental Services Market13. Western Europe Dental Services Market14. Eastern Europe Dental Services Market15. North America Dental Services Market16. South America Dental Services Market18. Africa Dental Services Market19. Dental Services Market Competitive Landscape19.1. Company Profiles19.2. National Health Service19.2.1. Overview19.2.2. Products And Services19.2.3. Strategy19.2.4. Financial Performance19.3. IDH19.3.1. Overview19.3.2. Products And Services19.3.3. Strategy19.3.4. Financial Performance19.4. Aspen Dental19.4.1. Overview19.4.2. Products And Services19.4.3. Strategy19.4.4. Financial Performance20. Key Mergers And Acquisitions In The Dental Services Market21. Market Background: Media Market22. AppendixReasons to Purchase Outperform competitors using accurate up to date demand-side dynamics information. Identify growth segments for investment. Facilitate decision making on the basis of historic and forecast data and the drivers and restraints on the market. Create regional and country strategies on the basis of local data and analysis. Stay abreast of the latest customer and market research findings Benchmark performance against key competitors. Develop strategies based on likely future developments. Utilize the relationships between key data sets for superior strategizing. Suitable for supporting your internal and external presentations with reliable high quality data and analysis Gain a global perspective on the development of the market. Report will be updated with the latest data and delivered to you within 3-5 working days of order.ContinuousFor further information on this report, visit Contact Us:Norah Trentsales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US); +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042
Global apparel accessories market is set to register a moderate CAGR of 4.6% during 2017 to 2022

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Demand for apparel accessories will remain moderate over the next five years. Socio-economic uncertainties coupled with the ever increasing competition is expected to influence the global apparel accessories market in the forthcoming years. The report, compiled by Fact.MR, provides in-depth analysis of the global apparel accessories market for the forecast period 2017-2022, and offers key insights about future market direction.The scope of Fact.MRs report is to analyze the global apparel accessories market for the forecast period 2017-2022 and provide readers an unbiased and accurate analysis. Apparel accessories manufacturers, stakeholders, and suppliers in the global consumer goods sector can benefit from the analysis offered in this report. This report offers a comprehensive analysis, which can be of interest to leading trade magazines and journals pertaining to apparel accessories.Request Free Sample Report-Global Apparel Accessories Market: Key Projections1. Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is anticipated to remain at the forefront of the global market for apparel accessories throughout the forecast period.2. Steady rise of the economy, an expanding base of working class population, availability of ample amount of raw materials and cost-friendly labor resource are factors that are playing important role in driving the growth of apparel accessories market in APEJ.3. Over the assessment period, the region is anticipated to command for a considerable revenue share of the global market as well as reflect a steady CAGR.4. On the basis apparel accessory types, demand for handkerchiefs is expect to gain traction in the near future. In terms of revenue, sales of handkerchief currently command for nearly 14% share of the global market.5. By the end of 2022, over US$ 13,200 Mn worth handkerchiefs are expected to be sold globally. Moreover, handkerchiefs sales is projected to remain relatively higher in APEJ.6. On the basis of demographics, the women apparel accessories segment is expected to remain highly attractive between 2017 and 2022. Currently, the segment represents more than 44% revenue share of the global market and is expected to remain dominant throughout the forecast period, followed by the men apparel accessories segment.7. By price-based, demand for apparel accessories with economy pricing is expected to remain considerably high. Currently, the economy apparel accessories segment represents nearly 39% revenue share of the market. The segment is expected to reflect a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period.8. Modern trade is expected to remain the largest sales channel for apparel accessories over 2022. Each year, a large bulk of apparel accessories are sold through modern trade.Browse Full Report with TOC-APEJ to Lead the Global Apparel Accessories MarketAsia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) is expected to dominate the global apparel accessories market in 2017 and beyond. Factors such as, the growing middles class, steady growth of the economy, availability of low-cost labor force and abundance of raw materials are boosting the growth of the market in the region. During the forecast period, the region is expected account for a significant market share in terms of market share and register an above average CAGR.Handkerchiefs Remain Top Selling Apparel AccessoryAmong all the apparel accessories, handkerchiefs remain highly sought-after. Currently, global sales of handkerchief account for close to 14% revenue share of the market. More than US$ 13,277 Mn worth handkerchiefs are estimated to be sold worldwide by 2022-end. In addition, sales of handkerchiefs will continue to increase in the APEJ region.Competition TrackingThe report also profiles players that are expected to remain active in the expansion of the global apparel accessories market through 2022, which include The Gap, Inc., H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, Industria de Diseno Textil, S.A., Kering S.A., LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.E., NIKE, Inc., PVH Corp., Hugo Boss AG, Adidas AG, Burberry Group plc.Check Discount-About Fact.MRFact.MR is a fast-growing market research firm that offers the most comprehensive suite of syndicated and customized Retail & Consumer Goods market research reports. We believe transformative intelligence can educate and inspire businesses to make smarter decisions. We know the limitations of the one-size-fits-all approach; that's why we publish multi-industry global, regional, and country-specific research reports.Contact UsFact.MRSuite 988427 Upper Pembroke Street,Dublin 2, IrelandTelephone: +353-1-6111-593Email: sales@factmr.com/Web:
Vodka Market Insights by Leading Brands and Top Regions. Know the Sales of Vodka from 2018 and Future Estimation till 2023

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Vodka Market Sales by Global Brands, Countries, Type and Applications 2018 updated report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Vodka market focusing on the market size and trends with industry structure reviewGlobal Vodka market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Vodka sales volume, Price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingPopovSKYYTito's HandmadeNew AmsterdamGrand TetonUV BlueDeep EddyTaakaPlatinum 7XBurnett'sUVNikolaiWestern Son TexasSmirnoff RaspberryHangar OneKarkovRain OrganicsRequest a Sample on Vodka Market atGeographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Vodka for these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoPoland VodkaRussia VodkaSweden VodkaOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingDirect SellingDistribution SellingBrowse Complete Report on Vodka Market atKey Point from Table of Contents:1 Vodka Market Overview2 Global Vodka Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application3 United States Vodka (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4 China Vodka (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5 Europe Vodka (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6 Japan Vodka (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7 Southeast Asia Vodka (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8 India Vodka (Volume, Value and Sales Price)9 Global Vodka Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data10 Vodka Manufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global Vodka Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and ConclusionContact Information:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Europe Electronic Shelf Market Industry Analysis, Trends, Outlook, and Forecast 2018-2024

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The report EUROPE ELECTRONIC SHELF MARKET, gives the information about market size, share, growth, and industry analysis. The Europe Shelf Market is estimated to reach nearly USD XX Billion by 2024, at a CAGR of XX% during forecast period.Glaring demand for price automation, real-time product positioning, expanding organized retail sector, and increasing sales in retail stores are creating profitable opportunities for the Europe electronic shelf market. Electronic shelf labels are small wireless display systems used in retail stores. They can be replaced with traditional paper pricing systems. The stable communication technology called RF technology which can be integrated easily with electronic devices like ESL (Electronic Shelf Label) to ensure automated data transfer. Currently Europe holds the largest market share across the globe in electronic shelf market.Reasons To Buy This ReportThis report contains the in-depth analysis on the market and the estimations are done using volume and value data are further validated on three approaches including bottom-up, top-down and from top companies revenues to conclude the market estimations precisely and accurately considering all the parameters and market dynamics.Download Free Sample Brochure at @Key pointers in the report include: Competitive landscape & market analysis is included in the report to understand the key companies position and Porter's Analysis & PESTLE analysis to perform to analyze the impact of drivers, restraints, challenges and constraints on the market during the next five years. Team of analysts have analyzed and listed out the key drivers, constraints, challenges and emerging opportunities in all the industry verticals which will specify the emerging scope for the market in end user industries. Industry value chain analysis is provided in the report to identify the key stakeholders and prominent players at each stage of the company along with the value addition at each stage of the value chain. Complete analysis including global and regional trends, technological developments, and new product innovations are included in the report specific to each and every segment of the market. A complete 360 degree analysis is provided in the report on key companies product portfolio, business portfolio, developmental strategies, and key developments from the companies in the historical period. Advanced customizations on countries, specific applications in end user industries, product based customizations will be provided based on the request. All the collected data is further validated and verified using surveys, interviews and interactions with industrial experts.Europe Electronic Shelf Market Top Players STORE ELECTRONIC SYSTEMS. PRICER AB ALTIERRE TRONITAGRelated Reports:North America Liquid Crystal on Silicon Display Market:Asia Pacific Safety I/O Modules Market:South America Printed Electronics Market:About usEnvision Inteligence is the Main Supplier of Market Analysis Reviews, Customized Consulting Companies, Information Analytics and Trade Evaluation. Our purpose is to offer the correct data required by the stakeholder on the proper level of time, in a format which assists an clever and knowledgeable resolution making course of!Contact UsSales Team,Sales@envisioninteligence.comCall:+1 408-963-0099Web:
Mobile Data Offload Market Size, Share | Industry Trends and Forecast 2022

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The report covers the analysis and forecast of the Mobile Data Offload market on global as well as regional level. The study provides historic data of 2016 along with the forecast for the period between 2017 and 2022 based on revenue (US$ Mn).This report studies the global Mobile Data Offload market, analyzes and researches the Mobile Data Offload development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia.The study provides a detailed view of the Mobile Data Offload market, by segmenting it based on by types, key players, by end-user, by application and regional demand.This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeAmdocsAptilo NetworksBoingo WirelessCiscoDevicescapeEricssonFoniBwave SolutionsiPassQualcommRuckus Wireless (Brocade)XCellAirGet the sample copy of report @Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoSmartphonesTabletsFeaturephonesM2M & Cellular-Connected WearablesNotebookseReadersMarket segment by Application, Mobile Data Offload can be split intoApp Downloads & UsageBrowser & FilesMessagingMusicVideo & TVVoiceRequest for TOC of this report @Table of ContentsGlobal Mobile Data Offload Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Mobile Data Offload1.1 Mobile Data Offload Market Overview1.1.1 Mobile Data Offload Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Mobile Data Offload Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Mobile Data Offload Market by Type1.3.1 Smartphones1.3.2 Tablets1.3.3 Featurephones1.3.4 M2M & Cellular-Connected Wearables1.3.5 Notebooks1.3.6 eReaders1.4 Mobile Data Offload Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 App Downloads & Usage1.4.2 Browser & Files1.4.3 Messaging1.4.4 Music1.4.5 Video & TV1.4.6 Voice2 Global Mobile Data Offload Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Mobile Data Offload Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in FutureView full report @3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Amdocs3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Aptilo Networks3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Boingo Wireless3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Cisco3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Devicescape3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Ericsson3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Fon3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 iBwave Solutions3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 iPass3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Qualcomm3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Mobile Data Offload Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 Ruckus Wireless (Brocade)3.12 XCellAir4 Global Mobile Data Offload Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global Mobile Data Offload Market Size by Type (2012-2017)4.2 Global Mobile Data Offload Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Potential Application of Mobile Data Offload in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Mobile Data Offload5 United States Mobile Data Offload Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Mobile Data Offload Market Size (2012-2017)5.2 United States Mobile Data Offload Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)6 EU Mobile Data Offload Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Mobile Data Offload Market Size (2012-2017)6.2 EU Mobile Data Offload Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)7 Japan Mobile Data Offload Development Status and Outlook7.1 Japan Mobile Data Offload Market Size (2012-2017)7.2 Japan Mobile Data Offload Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)8 China Mobile Data Offload Development Status and Outlook8.1 China Mobile Data Offload Market Size (2012-2017)8.2 China Mobile Data Offload Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)MRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments. We have built a veritable reputation for our commitment to fulfilling our clients' exacting market research solutions. From Fortune 500 companies to SMEs, our clients place their trust in us for reports from verified publishers.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Worldwide Maternal Health Market is Estimate to Grow Rapidly By 7% of CAGR till 2023

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Market research future has a half cooked research report on global maternal health market. The global maternal health market is growing steadily and is expected show the similar trend during forecast period.maternal health market is growing steadily. The complications are seen in more number in the pregnant ladies. These complications are of higher risk and are occurring to the changing lifestyle and trends among the women. The habits of smoking and drinking seen is more now a days. The study says that 1 women in 3 smokes during first three months of her pregnancy. In developed countries and urban areas of developing countries number of women who smoke is more. In developing countries women between the ages of 15-19 dies because of complications during pregnancy and child birth. The number of deaths is also increasing after the delivery of baby, both women and child suffer from the diseases. The postpartum deaths are seen within the one month of delivery. The number of deaths are also more because of the miscarriage taking place to accidents, unhealthy eating habits and the habits of smoking and alcohol consumptions. The complication are also created by these habits, child is born with the disability in his body.Get a sample report atGlobal Maternal Health market Players:Some of the players who work maternal health are, Agile Therapeutics (USA), Fuji Latex Co(Japan), Okamoto industries, Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc.(UK), Sanofi (India), Johnson and Johnson(USA).Agile therapeutics is women healthcare company, have announced the report of the additional phase 3 SECURE study research report for women healthcare. The Phase 3 SECURE trial of its investigational low-dose combination hormone contraceptive patch of Twirla. This product will be used for the bleeding in women.Johnson and Johnson is actively working with the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). The millennium Development Goals is a caring and serving community working for the women and children. The main objective of this to reduce the mortality rate. They aim to help as many as women every year approximately 120 million will be get help in next 5 years. They also aim to reach 50 countries through their programs.Sanofi India, is also a part of MDG and is trying to help women caring and providing services through their corporate social responsibility. The employees are constantly involved in volunteering and contributing of the women in India. They work in collaboration with organizations like Indian Medical Association and Pharmaceutical industry and many more.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 50 market data tables and figures spread over 80 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content (TOC) & market synopsis on Global Maternal Health Market Research Report  Forecast to 2023.Browse Complete Report atStudy objectives:To provide detail analysis of the market structure along with estimated future growth forecast for the next 7years about various segments and sub-segments of the global maternal health market.To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth.To analyze the global maternal health market based on various factors - price analysis, supply chain analysis, Porters Five Force Analysis etc.To provide past and estimated future revenue of the markets segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries - Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific along with Middle East & Africa.To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future growth prospect.To provide country level analysis of the markets segments which includes by type of pregnancy, by risk in pregnancy, by complications, by delivery type.To provide overview of key players and their strategic profiling in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies and drawing a competitive landscape of the market.To track and analyze developments which are competitive in nature such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments along with research and developments currently taking place in the global maternal health market.The market of the maternal health is segmented into type of the pregnancy, risk in pregnancy and complications. Types of pregnancy includes Intrauterine, Ectopic, Tubal and Others. On the basis of risk occurred in pregnancy which have high risk and molar risk. On the basis of the complications like miscarriage, premature labor and birth, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, placenta previa and others. The miscarriage further have sub segments like threatened, inevitable, complete, and incomplete.The type of pregnancy have larger market because the number of women getting pregnant is more. The number adolescent age women are more. The number is high in the developing countries where the marriages are done at early ages.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact usMarket Research FutureMaharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@Marketresearchfuture.Com
Waste to Energy Market 2018 to 2023 Trends by Thermal Technologies, Biochemical Reactions

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The worldwide Waste to Energy market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The study provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request a Free Sample Now atRegional AnalysisUnited StatesCanadaMexicoGermanyFranceUKItalyRussiaChinaJapanIndiaKoreaSoutheast AsiaAustraliaBrazilMiddle EastAfricaLeading Market Companies OverviewSanfeng CovantaChina EverbrightTianjin TedaGrandblueShanghai EnvironmentalShenzhen EnergyView Detailed Report atReport Types and Applications OutlookSplit by Product Types, with sales, revenue, price, market share of each type, can be divided intoThermal TechnologiesBiochemical ReactionsSplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Waste to Energy (WTE) in each application, can be divided intoApplication 1Application 2Major Points from Table of Contents:1 Waste to Energy Market Overview2 Global Waste to Energy Sales, Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Players3 Global Waste to Energy Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)4 Global Waste to Energy Players Profiles/Analysis5 North America Waste to Energy Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)6 Latin America Waste to Energy Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)7 Europe Waste to Energy Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)8 Asia-Pacific Waste to Energy Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)9 Middle East and Africa Waste to Energy Sales, Revenue (Value) by Countries, Type and Application (2012-2017)10 Global Waste to Energy Market Forecast (2017-2022)11 Waste to Energy Manufacturing Cost Analysis12 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers13 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders14 Market Effect Factors Analysis15 Research Findings and Conclusion16 AppendixIf you have any queries regarding the purchase visit atContact Information:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Engine Mounts Market: Continue to See Strong Sales Worldwide With Analysis of Top Manufactures

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Engine Mounts market research report provides the latest industry data and industry future trends, allowing you to identify the products and end users driving Consumption Value growth and profitability. The industry report lists the leading competitors and provides the insights strategic industry analysis of the key factors influencing the market. The report includes the forecasts, analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.Accurately analyzed in terms of pivotal industry segments, global Engine Mounts market report effectively covers the scope of this industry space in terms of products types, regions, applications, and significant manufacturers. In addition, the report outlines details regarding the lucrative opportunities that participants are likely to avail and the potential risks that they may have to combat in the ensuing years.Get Sample Copy of this Report:The report includes the forecasts, Analysis and discussion of important industry trends, market size, market share estimates and profiles of the leading industry Players.The competitive spectrum of Engine Mounts industry, encompassing renowned biggies such as Vibracoustic, DTR Corporation, ContiTech, Hutchinson, Sumitomo Riko, Bridgestone, BOGE Rubber & Plastics, Toyo-Rubber, Cooper Standard, Nissin, Yamashita Rubber has been comprehensively explored in this report. Furthermore, it also highlights the dominance of the manufacturers region-wise, specifically focusing on the fluctuating price trends of Engine Mounts, sales, and revenue between 2016-2017.Scope of Report:Global Engine Mounts market report classifies this industry extensively in terms of the regional landscape. This business sphere spans the geographies of North America, Europe, China Japan. The report provides details industry analysis in terms of product or type such as Oxygen, Nitrous Oxide, Medical Air and Others.The report also provides key insights on global Engine Mounts market in terms of sales, revenue, growth rate, and size for each region, between the years 2012 to 2017, inherently highlighting the contribution made by every geography toward the global share of Engine Mounts market. Noteworthy mentions in the report with regards to the regional frame of reference also include the individual contribution made by manufacturers in terms of sales and revenue, strictly confined to each region, meticulously simplifying the deliverables for potential investors.Global Engine Mounts Market: Product Segment AnalysisConventional Engine MountHydraulic Engine MountGlobal Engine Mounts Market: Application Segment AnalysisPassenger CarCommercial VehicleGet Discount on this Report:Figure of Tables:Chapter 1 About the Engine Mounts Industry1.1 Industry Definition and Types1.1.1 Conventional Engine Mount1.1.2 Hydraulic Engine MountChapter 2 World Market Competition Landscape2.1 Engine Mounts Markets by regions2.1.1 North AmericaNorth America Market Consumption Value and Growth Rate2.1.2 EuropeEurope Market Consumption Value and Growth RateChapter 3 World Engine Mounts Market share3.1 World Sales Market share by Major Players3.2 World Revenue Market share by Major Players3.3 Major Regions Market share by Sales 2012-20173.4 Major Regions Market share By Consumption Value (M USD) 2012-20173.5 Consumption Value (M USD) and Market share By Types 2012-2017Continued@...............For More Tactical Information:Related ReportGlobal Automotive Battery Parts and Accessories Market Professional Survey Report 2018This report studies Automotive Battery Parts and Accessories in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:
Coal Mining Market 2017-2024 Size Trends and Forecast Analysis Report

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The Coal Mining Market Research Report provides value chain analysis on the revenue for the forecast period 2017-2024 and estimates for each application in terms of market size, share, trend and growth. The report on global coal mining market evaluates the growth trends of the industry through historical study and estimates future prospects based on comprehensive research. The report extensively provides the market share, growth, trends and forecasts for the period 2017-2024. The market size in terms of revenue (USD MN) is calculated for the study period along with the details of the factors affecting the market growth (drivers and restraints).Get FREE Sample Report Copy With FULL Segmentations and TOC @The major market drivers are increasing application of coal in steel manufacturing industry and rising demand from electricity generation industry. The market growth might be restricted due strict government regulations towards environmental pollution under the study period.Furthermore, the report quantifies the market share held by the major players of the industry and provides an in-depth view of the competitive landscape. This market is classified into different segments with detailed analysis of each with respect to geography for the study period 2017-2024. The comprehensive value chain analysis of the market will assist in attaining better product differentiation, along with detailed understanding of the core competency of each activity involved. The market attractiveness analysis provided in the report aptly measures the potential value of the market providing business strategists with the latest growth opportunities.The report also covers the complete competitive landscape of the worldwide market with company profiles of key players such as Anglo American Plc., BHP Billiton Limited, China Shenhua Energy Company Limited, Coal India Limited, Consol Energy Inc., Fortescue Metals Group, Freeport-McMoRan Inc., Glencore plc, Rio Tinto Group, and Vale SA. Geographically, this market has been segmented into regions such as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. The study details country-level aspects based on each segment and gives estimates in terms of market size.Major Table Of Contents:1. Introduction2. Executive Summary3. Market Analysis4. Coal Mining Market Analysis By Mining Technology5. Coal Mining Market Analysis By Type6. Coal Mining Market Analysis By Application7. Coal Mining Market Analysis By Geography8. Competitive Landscape Of The Coal Mining Companies9. Company Profiles Of The Coal Mining Industry (Company Overview, Financial, Major Products & Recent Development)Purchase Complete Global Coal Mining Market Research Report:DecisionDatabases.com is a global business research reports provider, enriching decision makers and strategists with qualitative statistics. DecisionDatabases.com is proficient in providing syndicated research report, customized research reports, company profiles and industry databases across multiple domains.Our expert research analysts have been trained to map clients research requirements to the correct research resource leading to a distinctive edge over its competitors. We provide intellectual, precise and meaningful data at a lightning speed.3rd Floor, Fountain chambers,Nanabhai Lane, Fort, Mumbai - 1E-Mail: sales@decisiondatabases.comPhone: +91 99 28 237112Web:
Mr. Gajanan Sapate, Founder of SocialChamps Conferred with the 100 SMARTEST DIGITAL MARKETING LEADERS

Pune, 7 Feb 2018. This is the second time Founder and Director of a leading Digital Marketing Agency, SocialChamps in Pune has received the honor to be conferred with such a recognized award by World Marketing Congress. Last year in 2017 Mr. Gajanan was awarded with the Most Influential Digital Marketing Leader by the World Marketing Congress in association with CMO Asia.The 100 SMARTEST DIGITAL MARKETING LEADERS is a result of an intensely researched process undertaken by the research cell, which consists of Post Graduates in History & Management with a combined 100+ years research experience posts their studies. It is the hard work and intense work ethic of the research cell to produce a shortlist of Individuals who are doing extraordinary work & track the record of their achievements. A Jury comprising of senior professionals from across the globe then reviews the shortlist.The World Digital Marketing Congress is designed to recognize and share exceptional work done by the Marketing fraternity to take their brands into the digital era. The Congress will also recognize & reward leaders for the pioneering job of online asset creation amongst their peer-set for their brands. With the recent happenings in World Economy, Digital Marketing, e-Payments and Smart Money is the future. The event will be a tribute to all those who believe in the power of digital.The Criteria adopted in this case are: Marketing Competencies Strategic Perspective & Future Orientation Track Record, Integrity and Ethics Commitment to Sustainability (Business, Social & Environmental)On receiving the award, Gajanan Sapate, Director at SocialChamps aforesaid, It is an honor to be recognized with the most influential marketing Leaders Awards. Creative Innovation and agility are core to the DNA of our company's culture and have helped sustain and differentiate our value proposition in the turbulent landscape. I would wish to extend my gratitude to the entire team of SocialChamps who as brand advocates, have effectively worked towards elevating our brand value."Gajanan leads Marketing & Sales roles at SocialChamps. In this role, he takes care of the creative strategic ideation, growth consulting & execution for startups, SMEs & Fortune 500 brands. He brings over a decade of in-depth expertise in establishing sales, marketing, and operations in new geographies, creative campaign planning, data & analytics as well as digital media buying & planning.About SocialChampsSocialChamps is a digital media agency with core focus on growth solutions to brands using digital avenues. SocialChamps has serviced over 400+ brands from 20+ countries from various industry verticals like Real Estate, eCommerce, Education, Hospitality, FinTech and more.SocialChamps Media Pvt. Ltd.406, Fortune Plaza,Opp. Bank of Maharashtra,NDA Pashan Rd Bavdhan,Pune  411021.+91 20 69001401
Growing Focus on Microneedling Devices Market to Drive the Demand for Global Market by 2025

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Micro-needling is a safe, minimally effective therapeutic procedure which is associated with chemical, laser or IPL treatments for treating the skin. The micro-needling process is also known as collagen induction therapy. The Microneeding treatment involves rolling a small device which is covered by hundreds of tiny needles over a skin. These tiny needles penetrate in the skin which triggered the body response, causing an increase in the production of collagen and elastin. Micro-needling devices are basically used to lift, tighten, and rejuvenate the skin of all ages. Micro-needling is a trendy cosmetic procedure which can use for a very wide range of indications. Micro-needling devices are used to improve the appearance of fine lines, surgical acne or trauma scars, stretch marks, pigmentation, wrinkles and many more problems related to skin. It is often performed in the plastic surgery centers. Micro-needling devices help to activate the bodys cellular regeneration.Request for Table of Contents @The global micro-needling devices market is anticipated to register a significant CAGR over a forecast period. The global market of micro-needling devices is driven by the increasing incidence of chronic hyperpigmentation, the skin infectious disease etc. The high cost of the other surgical procedure such as plastic surgery can upsurge the market growth of micro-needling devices propositionally. Changes in lifestyle will increase the incidence of skin related diseases which will ultimately enhance the growth of the global micro-needling devices market. The home treatment, lack of experience in using these advanced technology act as a restraint to the market. Besides that lack of awareness of people regarding the skin treatment and the side effects of the treatment such as swelling, redness or pinkness or mild to moderate sunburn will hamper the growth of this market.The increasing investment by the hospital facilities and government for better healthcare is expected to drive the market. The companies are engrossed in introducing the products with innovative technology. The microneedling devices market is classified by product type, by needle material and end user. In terms of product type the global microneedling devices market is segmented into derma-stamp, dermapen and dermarollers. There are a variety of microneedling devices are available in the market depending on needle size, dermaroller etc. By needle material, microneedling devices market is classified as Silicon Microneedle, metal microneedle and glass hollow microneedle. The silicon microneedles are further divided into silicon hollow microneedle and solid microneedle. The Metal microneedles are further divided into Hollow Metal Microneedle and Solid Metal Microneedle. By end user, microneedling devices market is classified as hospitals, dermatology clinics and others. Among all end user, hospitals are expected to gain maximum value share over the forecast period.On the basis of geography, microneedling devices market is segmented as North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to dominate the micro-needling devices market due to the advent of new technologies and favorable reimbursement scenario for laser treatment in this region. The Europe is also contributing the moderate shares to the market due to the advanced medical facilities and easy availability of the micro-needling devices in the market. APAC is the most lucrative market for the micro-needling devices due to increasing trend of being slim and toned and developing cosmetic industry in the region is expected to show a robust growth to the global micro-needling devices market. MEA is at a nascent stage to the global micro-needling devices market and anticipated to register a decent growth to the market over a forecast period. Overall, the global micro-needling devices market is expected to show significant growth over a forecast period.Request to View Sample of Research Report @Some of the key players of micro-needling devices market globally are Dermapen, Dermaroller GmbH, MDPen Fractional Microdermal Needling, DermaConcepts, ConceptSkincare, Ramboll Environ, Inc., Edge Systems LLC., Weyergans High Care, BOMTECH ELECTRONICS CO., Ltd. and others. The global micro-needling devices market is currently witnessing a number of strategic collaboration and partnership activities by manufacturers and end users.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Aquarium Accessories Market: Recent Industry Developments and Growth Strategies Adopted by Players

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The global aquarium accessories market is gaining importance among the population over the years due to the rising fascination towards the underwater world and its effect on the atmosphere in the homes and other residential and commercial areas. For the younger population aquarium has become a valuable encounter with the nature and also helps them to gain knowledge regarding the underwater species.Fish keeping has become a popular hobby among the population across the globe in recent years and thus this is triggering the growth rate of the global aquarium accessories market. A well-planted aquarium with proper maintenance is considered as one of the most beautiful living ornaments kept at every households, hotels, restaurants etc.Regular maintenance with proper care is essentially important to keep an aquarium healthy and look good. Selecting the suitable type of fish and also ensuring optimum numbers that do not exceed the total capacity of the aquarium is considered as one of the major factors to maintain an aquarium.Obtain ReportFishes and other underwater species are normally sold as juveniles and thus the aquarium needs enough space for them to grow in a proper way. It has been recorded that 1.5 to 2 million people across the globe keep aquarium and among which six hundred thousand households owns an aquarium to beautify their homes. Most of the aquariums used among the consumers are made up of glass panes due to their cost effectiveness, however, acrylic aquariums are gaining importance in recent years.The global aquarium accessories market is mainly driven by the rise in demand for the ornamental fishes among the population coupled with the aesthetic benefits associated with keeping an aquarium at home. Fish keeping in the aquariums and decorating it with ornamental plants and other invertebrate species are gaining importance among the consumers as it provides them therapeutic benefits and also helps to reduce stress among the patients in the hospitals. However, the presence of low margins in the aquarium accessories products is restraining the global aquarium accessories market.The global aquarium accessories market has been segmented on the basis of different product types and by distribution channel. By product type, the global aquarium accessories market has been segmented into filtration items, lights and hoods, decorative items, and temperature control systems and others which include plant life, roots, rocks and stones and miscellaneous cleaning tools.Request BrochureThe market has been further segmented on the basis of the distribution channel namely online distribution channel and offline distribution channel. The growing interest among the consumers regarding keeping aquarium fishes has resulted in the establishment of new offline stores that are engaged in selling aquarium accessories products.In the region wise study, the global aquarium accessories market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.North America which includes U.S., Canada is anticipated to capture a significant part of the market share in the aquarium accessories market during the forecast period. It was recorded that a significant number of marine fishes and other under water invertebrates were imported in the U.S. in order to meet the rising demands of the population.Europe which includes Germany, France, U.K. and Italy among others also held a significant market share due to the rising trends in terms of preference for decorative products in the aquariums. Additionally, Asia Pacific region which includes China, India, Japan is also anticipated to capture a significant growth rate during the forecast period due to rise in aquascaping. Aquascaping is gaining importance in recent years as it displays unique styles of decoration inside the aquarium.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Health Insurance Market - Latest Trends and Forecast Analysis up to 2023

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The improving GDPs of several nations across the globe has favored the growth of the global health insurance market in recent years. Health insurance companies have been benefitting from the rising per capita incomes, the emergence of the middle class, and growing number of people with a relatively high income. The research report by Transparency Market Research has also studied using a SWOT analysis and a Porters five forces. The research report includes an explanation of the various factors determining the trajectory of the global health insurance market in the coming few years. Analysts have also factored in opinions of various market experts and leaders to give the readers a fair understanding of the overall market. Additionally, the document includes recommendations for the new entrants and existing players to improve their businesses with the wealth of valuable knowledge about the market.Get Brochure of Report @Health Insurance Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe efforts invested by several companies to make their product offerings as transparent as possible has fared well over the past few years. This move has made it easier for buyers to compare and understand the terms of insurance and the products being sold to them. Additionally, the integration of solutions through data analytics, cloud computing, and other modeling techniques is also projected to encourage the growth of the global market in the near future.Despite the positive outlook of the global health insurance market, it faces some tough challenges such as intense competition and tough profit margins. The undulating economic conditions have also led a considerable about of uncertainty in the global market.Get Discount on Report @Health Insurance Market: Region-wise OutlookThe U.S. is the leading health insurance market in the global market due to its unmatched healthcare system in the world. The growth of the market is predominantly being aided by the strong presence of leading players such as Anthem Inc., Aetna Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc., Humana Inc., and Cigna Corp. These players occupy a share of about 80% in the private and public sector of insurance in the U.S. The companies are exploring opportunities of digitizing access to insurance schemes and communication about the same with their consumers to reach out to a wider audience. Options such as providing distributors and consumers with self-service features are also likely to open up a plethora of opportunities for the global market. Furthermore, marketing the products in an easily comprehensible manner is also expected to be the strategy of leading players in the coming years. The only threat for the new entrants is the high level of competition in the U.S. health insurance market.Asia Pacific is expected to a lucrative market as the region has shown a remarkable progress in its GDP. Furthermore, the improving disposable incomes and the enhancement of health security standards are also expected to boost this market in the region in the near future. The growing middle class and an increasing number of high net worth individuals in Asia Pacific are also expected to give the health insurance market the much-needed impetus.Key Players Mentioned in the ReportSome of the leading players operating in the global health insurance market are Cigna Corporation, AIA Insurance Group, UnitedHealth Group Inc.,Allianz SE, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd., Express Scripts Holding Company, AXA, Aviva plc, Aetna, Inc., Apollo Munich Health Insurance, and International Medical Group.Report Details @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Almond Oil Market: Key Players and Production Information analysis with Forecast 2025

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Almond oil is considered extremely popular among the consumers due to its all-purpose properties as carrier oil. The almond is a species of tree that is native to South Asia and Middle East. Almond oil tree normally grows between three and six meters height. The almond trees are seen to prosper in sunny slopes at a height of seven hundred to seventeen hundred meters and normally prefers stony grounds.Almond oil obtained from almond trees are rich in minerals, proteins, vitamin E and essential fatty acids. Almond oil is specifically high in monounsaturated fatty acid which is called Oleic acid. Almond oil are beneficial in the treatment of skin diseases such as pimples, eczema. Such oils are also beneficial for the treatment of diabetes, kidney problems, gastro enteritis, gastric ulcers and facial neuralgia. They are also considered to be a useful food remedy for anemia.Obtain ReportThe global almond oil market has been segmented on the basis of different types and distribution channel. By type the global almond oil market has been segmented into sweet almond oil and bitter almond oil. Sweet almond oil is considered as the refined vegetable oil that helps to improve the skin texture and has intrinsic properties.Sweet almond oil consists of fatty acid composition and are colorless or pale yellow.Sweet almond oil consists of vitamins such as A, B1, B2, B6 and also small amounts of vitamin E and D. Due to the presence of vitamin E in almond oil it has antioxidant capabilities. Vitamin oil present in almond oil also is an excellent addition in skin care and hair care products. Sweet almond oil offers deep penetration into the skin and has significant moisture retention together with the presence of high nourishing properties.Antioxidants present in almond oil helps to protect the vital cell structures by neutralizing the free radicals thus providing healthy skin. On the other hand bitter almond oil is colorless or yellow and are prepared by the method of steam distillation of the almond meal of bitter almond seeds. A compound which is called amygdaline differentiates sweet almond oil and bitter almond oil.Request BrochureThe market has been further segmented into distribution channel namely online distribution channel and offline distribution channel. Offline distribution channel is further segmented into super markets, hyper markets and specialty stores. Super markets are anticipated to capture a large part of market share of global almond oil market due to the rising number of demands among the population.The global almond oil market is mainly driven by the rising skin care benefits among the population due to the presence of vitamin E in almond oil. The most beneficial quality of almond oil is that it helps in skin rejuvenation and also protects the dry skin. Almond oils are designed for all kinds of cosmetic and skin care products. However lack of awareness regarding the useful benefits of almond oil coupled with fluctuating prices of the almond oil are restraining the global almond oil market in recent years.In the region wise study the global almond oil market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Africa and Latin America.Middle East and Asia Pacific region are anticipated to capture a significant market share due to the presence of large number of manufacturers of almond oil in these regions. China, India, Japan among the Asia Pacific regions are anticipated to show the fastest growth during the forecast period.Global key participants in the industry includeAAK, Frontier Natural Products, Flora, Oil seed extractions, Proteco, Bajaj, Caloy, Dabur, ESI, GrupoPilimon, HuilesBertin, Humco Compounding, K.K. Enterprise, Mountain Ocean, Now Foods Oliofora, Provital Group among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Study on Refractories Market Revealing Key Insights and Forecast Projections for the Period 2017-2026

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New research report offers a comprehensive analysis of the Global Market Study on Refractories: Asia Pacific to Lead the Global Market in Terms of Revenue during 2017 - 2026The main objective of this report is to deliver insightful information and clear-cut facts pertaining to the growth trajectories of the market.Request to view Sample Report @The global refractories market continues to be heavily influenced by broader trends in the steel industry. Crackdown by Chinese authorities on factories flouting environment regulations in various provinces of China, section 232 investigation by the U.S. Department of Commerce, and preference for high-quality, non-clay refractories in complex applications are some of the key prevailing trends in the market. Global demand for refractories is likely to grow at 3.3% in terms of volume, and surpass 52,000 KT by the end of 2026. In terms of revenues, the global market is likely to be valued at above US$ 42 Bn by the end of the forecast period.The refractory market in different regions around the globe is impacted by a range of macro and micro-economic factors, however, overproduction of steel remains a global impacting factor. The domestic steel industries in North America and Europe have faced challenges on account of imports of subsidized steel from China. Although China is working on reducing the steel output through crackdown on unlicensed factories, the U.S. Department of Commerce has launched its own investigation to determine whether imports from China amounts to dumping. These factors are likely to impact the demand for refractories during the assessment period.Refractories Market Across Different RegionsThe North American refractories market is likely to face pressures from low-cost Chinese imports, however, refractory companies in the U.S. and Canada have the technological edge over Asian manufacturers. Demand for refractories in challenging and complex projects is likely to be catered by North American refractory companies. To counter the challenges presented by Chinese companies, refractories in the U.S. are focusing on boosting their operational efficiency.Browse Full Report with TOC @Asia Pacific remains the one of the most important markets for refractories globally. The production and demand for refractories in Asia Pacific remains heavily concentrated in China. Although mounting international pressure has forced China to cut down its steel production by nearly 100 million tons, it still continues to be one of the leading producers globally. Due to the crackdown on factories in China, the raw material prices have witnessed an increase, which has led to issues in the APAC supply chain. India, another key market in the global refractories market, is facing headwinds due to the increase in raw material prices in China. The problem has been compounded on account of insolvency procedures against a number of steel firms by the Indian government. These challenges have meant that many Indian refractories are working at only 60% capacity. The Indian Refractory Makers Association (IRMA) is lobbying the government to intervene and alleviate some of the challenges. In addition to China and India, Japan is the other prominent market in APAC. The dominance of Japan in the steel and refractory market has been challenged by India to an extent, however, the country continues to play an important role in the global market. During the assessment period, production and consumption of refractories in APAC will continue to remain significant, and the market will play a central role in the global refractory market.In European Union (EU) refractory companies are focusing on boosting domestic production of raw materials, as challenges with volatility in raw material prices has forced the players to look for alternatives. The MSP-REFRAM project is an initiative by the EU to boost availability of raw materials in the region. High dependence on raw material imports continues to be a challenge for European refractory companies. In Middle East, the refractories market is likely to receive an impetus on account of growing emphasis on reducing dependence on oil exports.Overall, the global refractories market is poised to witness steady growth during the forecast period 2017-2026, as global demand for steel continues to grow at a steady pace. Some of the leading companies operating in the global refractories market include Vesuvius plc, RHI Magnesita N.V., Krosaki Harima Corporation, Shinagawa Refractories Co., Ltd., Magnezit Group Ltd., Morgan Advanced Materials plc, Refratechnik Holding GmbH, Chosun Refractories Co.,Ltd., Minerals Technologies Inc., Resco Products, Inc., IFGL Refractories Limited, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain SA, Alsey Refractories Co, Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB, The Christy Refractories Company, L.L.C., CoorsTek, Inc, Steel Authority of India Limited, Allied Mineral Products, Inc., Puyang Refractory Materials Co., Ltd., Imerys SA.Enquire about this Report @About (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Oral Cancer Rapid Test Kit Market: Industry Outlook, Growth Prospects and Key Opportunities 2016 - 2024

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Oral cancer is one of the largest group of cancers, which comes under category of Head and Neck cancer. It includes lips, tongue, throat, sinuses, and floor of the mouth. About 90% of the oral cancers are squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). According to oral cancer foundation in 2016, around 48,250 people are diagnosed with oral cancer in the U.S. and has relatively low survival rates. The death rates due to oral cancer are relatively higher due to lack of proper diagnosis test, which can detect oral cancer at the early stage. Hence, early stage diagnosis is an alternative solution that helps prevent the deaths of people infected by oral cancer. The Conventional diagnostic tests available in the market are time-consuming and costly. Currently, very few technologies are available in the market for routine screening of the oral cancers. Hence, companies are trying to develop the Oral Cancer Rapid Testing Kit (OCRTK), which can detect the stage of cancer effectively in less time to perform test at home/clinic. Vigilant biosciences developed OncAlert Oral Cancer LAB Test, which is accurate, cost effective, and uses non-invasive technology. This technology also got the CE mark in Europe that enables this product to sell all over Europe. Various companies and universities are trying to develop the rapid detection technology for oral cancer kits to detect oral cancerRequest for Table of Contents @The increase in usage of tobacco, which includes smokeless tobacco, HPV-induced cancers, and consumption of alcohol are major factors that drive the growth of the market. Furthermore, increase in awareness and aging population also contribute to the prevalence the oral cancers. According to the cancer research center in U.K, globally over 3, 00,000 persons were diagnosed with oral cancer. Smoking is a major factor that is turning many men and women into victims of Oral cancer. In U.S., black males are having high incidence rate than their whiter counterparts because of cigarette smoking and heavy alcohol consumption. Lack of new diagnostic technologies in the market is a major factors that is limiting the growth of the OCRTK market.OCRTK will have higher impact in the Oral cancer diagnosis market because currently there very few rapid test kits available in the market to diagnose the Oral cancer. Government organizations are actively funding companies that are operating in OCRTK. This highlights the importance of this domain. Factors like low cost, easy process, and instant results are expected to drive the growth of the market.On the basis of product segmentation, OncAlert Oral Cancer LAB is expected to hold major market shares of the OCRTK market as it is the only available product in the market with clinical effectiveness. On the basis of principle, sensor-based devices will have a relatively higher share due to its highly sensitive nature and precision results.On the basis of End User, hospitals, and diagnostic centers hold major market share comparatively than the research centers and consumers as mainly all the operations are carried out in hospitals and diagnostic centers. However, in future the end user is expected to shift their preference towards the consumer as companies are developing techniques to perform tests easily at home.OCRTK market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to hold relatively high market share due to factors such as growing awareness about the disease and rise in the aging population. However, Asia Pacific region and European regions also might have good market due to increase in incidence of oral cancer.Request to View Sample of Research Report @Some key players in the market are Vigilant Biosciences, Abviris Deutschland GmbH, Insilixa, and University of Sheffield.On the basis of development of the OCRTK market, startups and universities are more actively working on this domain as compared to the major market players. Hence, there are possibilities of acquisitions and collaborations to take place within these companies/institutes in the near future.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Calciphylaxis Market Segments, Key Players Strategies, Analysis and Forecasts Till 2023

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The Global Calciphylaxis Market report titled Calciphylaxis Market Research Report-Forecast to 2023 is a specialist investigation report by Market Research Future includes broad essential research alongside the definite examination of subjective and additionally quantitative perspectives by different industry specialists, key sentiment pioneers to pick up a more profound understanding of the market and industry execution. Considering all these factors The World Calciphylaxis Market research report was around US$ 2250.0 million in 2016 and is expected to reach US$ 2843.3 million which is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.4% by 2023.TRY SAMPLE REPORT @Market Research Future published new report, titled Calciphylaxis Market -Research Report: Global Forecast till 2023.There are plenty of large and small market Major Players in Calciphylaxis Market which operate in this market: 3M (US), BSN medical (Luxembourg), Centurion Medical Products (US), ConvaTec Inc.(UK), Lohmann & Rauscher GmbH & Co. KG (Austria), Medtronic (Republic of Ireland),M Sanifit (Spain), Smith & Nephew (UK)Market Highlights:The global Calciphylaxis market has been evaluated as steadily growing market and it is expected to continue growing in near future. Various initiatives for R&D and clinical trials are major drivers for the market. Increasing prevalence of severe kidney diseases is leading the market growth. Advanced medical facilities and introduction of new products are also playing important role in the growth of the global calciphylaxis market.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 56 market data tables and figures spread over 70 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Calciphylaxis Market Research Report Global Forecast to 2023.Increasing prevalence of calciphylaxis is driving the global market. As there is no complete cure for this disorder, so most of the key players are investing huge money in R&D to derive usable solution for the market. North America and Europe are major market for most of the key players. But now these companies are focusing more on emerging markets such as China and India due to their exceptional growth rate.Market Segments:Global Calciphylaxis Market has been segmented on the basis of diagnosis which comprises of deep skin biopsies, blood tests, imaging studies, and others. Deep skin biopsy is further sub-segmented into shave biopsy, punch biopsy, excisional biopsy, and others. Blood test is further sub-segmented into serum parathormone levels, blood glucose levels, BUN (blood urea nitrogen), calcium levels, blood creatinine, blood phosphate, blood culture, and others. Imaging studies is further sub-segmented into Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), CT scan, ultrasound, and others.On the basis of treatment, it is segmented into intensive wound care, dialysis, medication, surgery, adequate pain control, clot-dissolving, and others. Intensive wound care is further sub-segmented into debridement, wet dressings, whirlpool treatment, and others. Dialysis is further sub-segmented into hemodialysis, pediatric dialysis, hemofiltration, hemofiltration, and others. Medication is further sub-segmented into cinacalcet (Sensipar), sodium thiosulfate, and others. Surgery is further sub-segmented into parathyroidectomy, and others. Clot-dissolving is further sub-segmented into low-dose tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) and others.ACCESS COMPLETE REPORT @Regional Analysis:Considering the global scenario of the Calciphylaxis market, North America is holding largest market share in global Calciphylaxis market in 2016. US is dominating North America market due to various factors like continuous innovation and new product development while the European market is the second largest market for calciphylaxis. Western European countries like UK, Germany and France are dominating Europe calciphylaxis market. Increasing prevalence and awareness of calciphylaxis are driving the growth for Asia Pacific calciphylaxis market. Due to less awareness of disorder and limited access to healthcare facilities, Middle East and Africa calciphylaxis market is expected to grow slower than their global competitors.The report for Global Calciphylaxis Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives a clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different markets segments and regionsTable of Contents:Chapter 1 Report PrologueChapter 2 Introduction2.1 Definition2.2 Scope Of The Study2.2.1 Research Objective2.2.2 Assumptions2.2.3 Limitations2.3 Market Structure2.4. Market SegmentationChapter 3 Research Methodology3.1 Research Process3.2 Primary Research3.3 Secondary Research3.4 Market Size Estimation3.5 Forecast ModelChapter 4 Market Dynamics4.1 Drivers4.2 Restraints4.3 Opportunities4.4 Mega Trends4.5 Macroeconomic IndicatorsChapter 5 Market Factor Analysis5.1 Value Chain Analysis5.2 Porters Five Forces5.3 Demand & Supply: Gap Analysis5.4 Pricing Analysis5.5 Investment Opportunity Analysis5.6 Merger And Acquisition Landscape5.7 Upcoming Trends5.7.1 Market Trends5.7.2 Technological Trends5.7.3 Insurance & Regulations5.7.4 OthersCONTINUEDAVAIL DISCOUNT @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: salesteam@marketresearchfuture.com
Fire Door Market is set to surpass 31 million units by 2024.

Europe Fire Door Market Size, By Product, 2016-2024 (USD Million)

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The two essential factors that are likely to positively leverage fire door market include the rising concerns over safety and a major requirement to reduce property damage due to fire outbreaks. The thriving construction sector along with hefty government funding for infrastructural growth is projected to create lucrative avenues for this business. The distinct types of fire doors manufactured by business players facilitate a reduction in the spread of smoke between two sections of a building. In addition, companies have been trying to manufacture products equipped with eco-friendly protection technology, which is expected to elevate the popularity of fire door market in the oncoming years. Global Market Insights, Inc., has forecast fire door industry to surpass USD 16.7 billion by 2024, having accumulated a revenue of more than USD 9.6 billion in 2016.Fire doors find extensive applications across residential and commercial sectors. This is evident from the statistics  the residential sector contributed over 25% to the overall fire door market share in 2016, and is expected to generate substantial revenue over the coming years. Vital drivers accounting for the growth of this segment include surging purchasing capacity of consumers, in addition to the growing cognizance regarding individual safety. The advent of the smart era has also led to the implementation of several smart city projects, which will lead to renewed demand for the product. Augmented by favorable government schemes for maintaining a green environment, fire door market will gain substantial traction over 2017-2024.Request For Sample Copy Of This Report @Fire door industry revenue from the commercial sector, on the other hand, was assessed at USD 7 billion in 2016, and is slated to cross the margin of USD 12.9 billion by 2024. This upsurge in growth can be credited to the increasing need to maintain workplace safety. Protection for the personnel working across the railway, information technology, marine, education, petrochemicals, automotive, textiles, medical, and steel sectors is expected to boost the product demand.Fire door market has penetrated several geographies, on account of the fact that fire safety is a legal mandate across the globe. On that note, Europe contributed more than 33% toward the overall fire door market share in 2016. High expenditure on the construction activities along with implementation of strict security legislations is forecast to propel Europe fire door market, which is projected to record a CAGR of more than 6% over the coming timeline. Major regions that are likely to boost the industry share include UK, Germany, and France.Asia Pacific fire door industry, which accounted for more than 28% of the overall industry share in 2016, is anticipated to experience a massive expansion over the years to come. Large fund allocation for infrastructural development along with the enhanced use of aluminum as a likely substitute for wood is predicted to create profitable avenues for fire door industry.The upsurge in the incidences of fire outbreaks has led to great requirement for safety systems as well as protection technology, owing to which, it has been forecast that MEA fire door market size will hit USD 600 million by 2024. Saudi Arabia and UAE are forecast to be the key regional revenue pockets.Browse complete summary of this report @While flush glazed, hinged, sliding, and double action doors are the main types of fire doors circulated in the business circuits, companies are always on the move to develop better, innovative products. Nonetheless, it is evident that the currently available products enjoy a widespread reach and will continue to do so in the years ahead. For instance, hinged fire door industry is projected to register substantial gains of more than 6.5% over 2017-2024, subject to easy product availability in single leaf & double leaf forms along with its quick deployment.Flush glazed doors are heavily used for the purposes of proper ventilation, noise prevention, insulation, and heat resistance, on the grounds of which flush glazed door market is anticipated to register a CAGR of more than 9% over the coming timeframe. Sliding fire door industry, worth USD 1 billion in 2016, is also forecast to witness a considerable progress over the years ahead. Popular use of the product in yachts and cruise ships, owing to its slim & compact design and lightweight features are expected to inflate the revenue.These doors are manufactured using a plethora of carefully selected materials. The key ones that are commonly utilized, however, include glass, vermiculate boards, steel, aluminum, timber, and gypsum. Steel fire door industry, which produced a revenue of more than USD 4.2 billion in 2016, is foreseen to expand considerably during the period from 2017 to 2024. High, robustness, cost-efficiency, resistance to ductility, and low maintenance costs are some of the material features predicted to contribute substantially toward the industry growth.Glass fire door market is forecast to record a cumulative growth of more than 7.5% over the period of 2017-2024, owing to large-scale use of the material across exterior applications coupled with its ability to prevent the spreading of fire flames.Fire doors are deployed for internal as well as external applications, though their usage in the latter is more prominent. For instance, the external sector contributed nearly 89% toward the overall fire door market share in 2016, and is projected to push the industry development in the near future. Strict safety norms along with immensely flourishing manufacturing activities across the globe will enlarge the scope of fire door industry in the external sector.Make An Inquiry To Purchase This Report @Fire door industry size across the internal sector, worth USD 1 billion in 2016, is expected to grow at a rate of more than 7.4% over the coming seven years. Escalating demand for the product in commercial as well as residential constructions along with its use in kitchens and bedrooms will embellish the business landscape.Market players are focusing on extensive business expansion by executing major growth strategies. One of the key tactics is that of product value addition, which plays a great role in augmenting fire door market revenue, since consumers primarily look out for innovations in the already available products. In addition, forming strategic alliances with other companies is also undertaken by fire door market players, which include The ASSA ABLOY Group, Mesker Door Incorporation, Chase Doors, Howden Joinery Group plc, U.K fire doors Limited, Nihon Funen Company Limited, and Republic Doors and Frames, and Essexford Joinery (Fire Doors) Limited.Read Our BlogAbout Global Market InsightsGlobal Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact UsArun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1 888-689-0688
Demand Signal Repository Solutions Market to Rear Excessive Growth During 2016-2026

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The consumer goods companies today are into expansion of their geographical footprint and outsourcing their operations and manufacturing due to which supply chain has become a complex process. The consumers also have multiple choices to fulfil their demand through similar product offerings by large number of companies in the market. So, todays market is no longer based on traditional forecast methods or push type of supply chain but got converted to demand driven or pull type of market. Demand signal repository is a system that provides a demand driven supply chain concept. Demand signal repository eliminates the information latency amongst the partners in the supply chain and gives a single view of demand and supply position. Demand signal repository is like a central database that stores demand from sources like retails events & forecasts, distribution centre inventory, stores, and point of sale data. Demand signal repository systems harmonizes business data like shipments, sales, and forecasts with external data for business analytics. It also supports business monitoring and helps in supply issues by taking pro-active decisions through various analytic tools. The demand signal repository market is anticipated to grow at a modest CAGR in the forecast period.Global Demand Signal Repository Solutions Market:- Drivers and RestrainsThe growing prominence of end use industries like consumer goods industries is the major driving factor in the global demand signal repository market. Demand signal repository solutions provide the user with the real time access to the supply and demand scenario of its product across its distributors/ retailers. This feature is beneficial in the end use industries like pharmaceuticals and healthcare that can again bolster the demand signal repository market. Demand signal repository system also eliminates the information gap between the various nodes in the supply chain of any product, and that is the need of any logistics company. So, surging logistics industry is the key enhancer for demand signal repository market.Request For Sample @Apart from the benefits of demand signal repository system there are even many challenges to it like, the retailers and distributors must be willing to collaborate with the system, the IT landscape is fragmented across the whole supply chain, the same data elements is used by multiple partners that may disparate its usage. All the above factors can lead to the slowdown of demand signal repository solutions market.Global Demand Signal Repository Solutions Market:- SegmentationOn the basis of application,global demand signal repository solutions market can be segmented as follows:MarketingSalesBusiness intelligenceSupply chain managementReduced inventoryPromotion of productsForecastingOn the basis of end-use industries, global demand signal repository solutions market can be segmented as follows:-Consumer goodsHealthcarePharmaceuticalsChemicalsLogisticsGlobal Demand Signal Repository Solutions Market: - Regional OutlookThe global demand signal repository solutions marketcan be divided into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East and Africa. The Asia Pacific region is dominating the global demand signal repository solutions market, China continues to be the leader in demand signal repository solutions because of its ever increasing consumer goods and pharmaceuticals industries. India will represent a modest growth rate in global demand signal repository solutions marketdue to its expanding manufacturing sectors. North America will contribute significantly in the growing global demand signal repository solutions marketwith the increasing chemicals sector in the region. Latin America will witness an above average growth in the global demand signal repository solutions marketby its rising durable goods sector. The expanding automobile industry in Europe makes it a valuable market in global demand signal repository solutions. The Middle East and Africa is at a nascent stage, but is having a bright future prospects in global demand signal repository solutions market.Request For TOC @Global Demand Signal Repository Solutions Market: - Key PlayersSome of the key players in the global demand signal repository solutions market are:-Manta Media IncInfosys LimitedVendor Managed Technologies, IncOne NetworkTo-IncreaseToolsGroupRelational Solutions, IncManthan Software Services Pvt. LtdTeradataRetailSignalOracle CorporationABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market to Significant Growth Foreseen by 2026

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Industrial operational intelligence is a business analytics and real time dynamic solution that provides greater insights and visibility for businesses. Operational intelligence is used by organisations for real time capabilities to take immediate decisions like stopping any business process or making changes in any traditional systems. Operational intelligence helps in improving and analysing business data through understanding the information related to shortfalls and finding simple ways of responding to any issues. Operational intelligence is simple and easy to be managed by skilled professionals. It helps to acquire information on financial performance of industries and enterprises, thus it has become a major trend in financial services sector. Another major trend observed in operational intelligence is adoption of mobile tools for its operations. Thus in short operational intelligence automated the process of decision making that eliminates delays in process, and improves market responses and decision making. The industrial operational intelligence solutions market is anticipated to expand at a modest CAGR in the forecast period.Request For TOC @Global Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market  Drivers and RestrainsFocus of companies to improve market responses and performance as well as the necessity to upgrade their processes are the major driving factors for the growth of global industrial operational intelligence solutions market. The ever increasing automobile and other manufacturing industries and their need to reduce the delays in decision making, automatic decision and real time access to the information are some factors that would bolster the global industrial operational intelligence solutions market.However, skilled professionals are required to operate the operational intelligence solutions and also they need to be trained for its handling and these can slowdown the growth of global industrial operational intelligence solutions market. Also the initial cost of operational intelligence solutions is very high and can act as a restraining factor for operational intelligence market.Global Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market  SegmentsOn the basis of types, global industrial operational intelligence solutions market can be segmented as follows:Enterprise Manufacturing Operational IntelligenceEnterprise Operational Intelligence SoftwareIT Service IntelligenceEnterprise SecurityOn the basis of applications, global industrial operational intelligence solutions market can be segmented as follows:Supply chain and logisticsAssembly line quality assurancePreventive maintenanceExploration & production optimisationSmart meter analysisOn the basis of end-use industry, global industrial operational intelligence solutions market can be segmented as follows:AutomobilesFood & BeveragesElectronicsLogisticsOil & GasAviationGlobal Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market  Region Wise OutlookThe global industrial operational intelligence solutions market can be divided into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan and Middle East and Africa. North America is anticipated to be the leader in the global operational intelligence solutions market owing to its services and other flourishing industries particularly in the countries of US and Canada. Asia Pacific is expected to be the next major region in global operational intelligence solutions market because of the upcoming food & beverages sector, electronics and logistics industries. China and India and supposed to be the countries in this region having major applications of operational intelligence solutions. Europe also contributes significantly in the global industrial operational intelligence solutions market due to its dominance in automobiles market and leadership in meat market. Latin America and Middle East and Africa are at a nascent stage and are projected to have a modest CAGR in the forecast period.Request For Sample @Global Industrial Operational Intelligence Solutions Market  Key PlayersSome of the key players in the global industrial operational intelligence solutions market are:APRISOIFSMapR Technologies, IncSiemens AGARC Advisory GroupAB&R (American Barcode and RFID)Flexeye LtdSplunk CorpStarview Inc.Vitria Technology IncABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature.FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Orthopedic Implants Market: Key Trends and Forecast Research Report 2017 - 2025

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Orthopedic implants can be defined as medical devices used to either replace or provide fixation of bone or to replace articulating surfaces of a joint. Thus, orthopedic implants are vital devices used to either replace or assist damaged or injured bones. Most orthopedic implants in the market today, fall under the Class III category, which is the most scientifically rigorous classification of medical devices. High incidence rates of osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and obesity along with rapidly aging global population are the key drivers of the orthopedic implants market. The Introduction of biodegradable implants and internal fixation devices will serve as future growth opportunities for orthopedic devices for various anatomical locations. According to the WHO, the average age of the world population was 37.3 years in 2000 and is anticipated to reach 45.5 years by 2050. Owing to lifestyle-related factors, such as early burnout and lack of exercise, patients in their middle-age are increasingly opting for orthopedic implants. The increase in mean-age over the next few years is anticipated to bolster the growth of the orthopedic implants market.Request for Table of Contents @The market for orthopedic implants has been segmented by type of device, anatomical location, and geography. Based on the type of devices, the market has been segmented into internal and external fixation devices, which includes orthopedic plates, orthopedic screws, orthopedic nails, orthopedic rods/wires and fixation pins and others. Based on anatomical location, the market has been segmented into hip, knee, foot and ankle, spine, shoulder, elbow and others (other extremities and craniomaxillofacial bones). The market for knee orthopedic implants and hip orthopedic implants is anticipated to be the highest in the market owing to the greater proportion of these anatomic injuries across the globe. It has been analyzed that joint and knee problems are common in India and hip problems are comparatively more common in Europe.Based on geography, the market has been segmented into the following regions: North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East and Africa. North America and Europe are anticipated to gain a lions share of the orthopedic implants market during the forecast period. According to a 2013 article published by USA Today, in the U.S., in 2012, more than 1.35 million children suffered a sports-related injury which was severe enough to send them to a hospital emergency department. Such volume of injuries are likely to drive market growth for orthopedic implants in North America. It has also been reported that total joint arthroplasty (TJA) has received a great deal of attention in the U.S. due to increasing demand and increasing cost. In the U.S. the cost of implants is significantly high, and thus certain health care providers have focused on implant costs as a potential area for cost reduction. For instance, in TJA the cost-reduction strategy has proved effective in reducing the overall cost, as has decreasing length of stay after surgery.This may serve as a positive incentive for patients who felt the cost as a deterrent factor in the orthopedic implants market. Thus, such cost reduction measures are like likely to bolster sales for orthopedic implants, in turn augmenting market volume growth in North America. According to Osteoporosis Australia, approximately 4.74 million Australians over 50 have osteoporosis or poor bone health. Moreover, as per 2013 data, there is 1 fracture every 3.6 minutes in Australia which is projected to go up to 1 fracture every 2.9 minutes by 2022. This rise in patients who suffer from bone related issues is likely to create a promising market opportunity for the sale of orthopedic implants in the orthopedic implants market in Asia Pacific.Request to View Sample of Research Report @The major players operating in the orthopedic implants market include Medtronic plc, Stryker Corporation, Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., DePuy Synthes, The Orthopaedic Implant Company, BIOTEK, Conmed Corporation and Smith and Nephew plc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,Telephone - +1-646-568-7751USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Aptamers Market Is Estimated to Rising to a Value of US$4.3 Bn by 2019

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The worldwide market for aptamers is slated to exhibit an impressive CAGR of 73.1% during the course of the forecast period, rising to a value of US$4.3 bn by 2019. Aptamers offer immense potential for the development of unique applications in the field of fundamental research, drug selection, clinical diagnosis, and therapies. They have gained worldwide preference over antibodies owing to the formers key benefits  greater binding affinity, high specificity, and the ability to not destroy neighboring cells. The major factors driving the aptamers market is growing interest of research scientists in the field of aptamer technology and increasing support from private organizations. On the flip side, lack of knowledge about this technology results in low acceptance. Moreover, ethical issues and inadequate regulatory policies related to aptamer technology threaten to impede the growth of this market.Get Sample Report of the Report @Accounting for the leading share by type, nucleic acid aptamers are anticipated to present an opportunity worth US$3.3 bn by 2019, developing at an astounding CAGR of 73.4% during the forecast period. Nucleic acid aptamers have been gaining much traction as a substitute for protein-based targeting approaches. This segment is also projected to be driven by a rising number of leading players collaborating with various organizations and research institutes in order to develop customized nucleic acid aptamers. The introduction of novel selection processes and advanced technology-based aptamers.On the basis of application, therapeutics is slated to enjoy the dominant share in the aptamers market, registering a strong CAGR of 80.3% during the forecast period to amount to an estimated US$1.4 bn by 2019. The use of aptamers has revolutionized the field of therapeutic development and a number of companies are working toward developing different aptamers for the treatment of a variety of diseases. This is a key factor boosting the uptake of aptamers in therapeutics. Other applications of aptamers include diagnostics and research.Get Brochure of Report @The global market for aptamers is segmented on the basis of geography into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World. At the start of the forecast period, North America accounted for more than two-fifth of the overall aptamers market, driven by the strong presence of established companies and growing investments made by them in the field. Europe followed suit, powered by the rising usage of aptamer technologies by small-scale industries. Growth of the aptamers market in this region can also be attributed to consistent efforts and collaborations by players in order to enter the market.Asia Pacific is projected to witness strong growth by 2019 thanks to impressive investments in R&D, backed by encouraging policies by various governments for the expansion of the pharmaceutical sector. The growing incidence of chronic disorders, such as Alzheimers and HIV/AIDS, in APAC has upped the demand for novel therapeutics, which in turn drives the demand for aptamers. Brimming with opportunities in pharmaceutical and diagnostics, the aptamers market in Asia Pacific is sure to attract a lot of attention in the years to come as key players continue to expand and increase product distribution in China, India, and other lucrative countries.Get Discount on Report @Some of the prominent companies competing in the global aptamers market are Base Pair Biotechnologies, Inc., Vivonics, Inc., SomaLogic Inc., Aptagen, LLC, Aptus Biotech S.L., NeoVentures Biotechnology, Aptamer Solutions Ltd, TriLink BioTechnologies, Inc., AM Biotechnologies, LLC, and Aptamer Sciences, Inc. There is a high degree of rivalry among the key players and this has brought about a surge in investments for the development of novel aptamers.Report Details @About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector - such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Industry Growth for Proximity Sensor Market Overview & Segmentation & Competitive Landscape from 2018 to 2023

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This statistical surveying research report on the Global Proximity Sensor Market is an all-inclusive study of the business sectors latest outlines, industry growth drivers, and inadequacies. The report also offers an in-depth analysis of important market directives that the shareholders in the global market can take advantage of to make informed decisions and business strategies. Moreover, this study report on the global Proximity Sensor market breaks down the market into several different categories to offer an overview of 360 degrees of the market and also aims to offer a transparent picture of the growth prospects that may arise in the market over the coming years.This research study presents an all-inclusive evaluation of the Global Proximity Sensor market, taking various industry parameters, such as the capacity of production, product pricing, demand, supply, and sales dynamics, returns on investments, and the growth rate of the overall market into consideration.Top Key Vendors:AMS-TAOS, Sharp, Vishay (Capella), Avago, Heptagon, Maxim, ST Microelectronics, Intersil, Panasonic, Epticore, Sitronix (Sensortek), Everlight, LiteonDownload PDF Sample Copy:The data has been presented by conducting a SWOT analysis and further rectified by using Porters five forces analysis. It also covers valuable information about the history of the industry including mergers and acquisitions amongst industry giants. The Proximity Sensor market also covers the trends in development activities in the Global Proximity Sensor Market, which includes the status of marketing channels available, the details of traders and distributors still functioning, and an analysis of the regional export and import. The report ends with a conclusion for the global market as it was at the beginning of the forecast period. This will help the reports users assess their standing in the market as well as create successful strategies in the near future.According to this research study, the global market for Proximity Sensor has been witnessing a significant rise since the last few years and the trend is expected to continue in the near future, thanks to the significant proliferation of technology. The report offers a complete study of the global market by analyzing the driving forces, development trends, restraints, and opportunities in details. It also provides an analytical assessment of the key challenges the market is likely to face in the near future, which helps market participants in understanding the problems that can occur while operating in this market in the long run.The report provides comprehensive details of the global Proximity Sensor market, particularly in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. In terms of upgrade programs and MRO, expenditure is expected to be the highest in the North American region during the forecast period. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is projected to account for the second largest market, followed by Europe, over the forecast period.Avail Discount up to 30% on this report now at:The research report profiles the key players of the global Proximity Sensor market and provides a definitive understanding of the competitive landscape. Furthermore, the publication also offers a thorough evaluation of the research and development activities of these players, analysis of their business and marketing strategies, and their financial outlooks. The research report also assesses the threat from new players and the bargaining power of suppliers and buyers. The publication also offers valuable insights into the key market trends through expert comments and recommendations.In the last sections of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the market have been presented. These manufacturers have been examined in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report. The recent developments that took place in the global Proximity Sensor market and their impact on the future growth of the market have also been presented through this study.Table of ContentsThe Global Proximity Sensor Market Research Report 20181 Proximity Sensor Market Overview2 Global Proximity Sensor Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Proximity Sensor Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2018)4 Global Proximity Sensor Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2018)5 Global Proximity Sensor Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Proximity Sensor Market Analysis by Application7 Global Proximity Sensor Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Proximity Sensor Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Proximity Sensor Market Forecast (2018-2023)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixAbout Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact:(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin  77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977sales@researchnreports.com
Female Fragrance Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2016 - 2024

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Fragrance, certainly one of the most important and appealing personal care accessories, is a favorite among ladies across the globe. While some women prefer mild fragrance, others may choose a strong one. In one of the several available forms, women have a personal choice of fragrance, whether they work at offices or at home. The global female fragrance market is a dynamically growing market on a global level.Persistence Market Research examines the global female fragrance market for an eight-year forecast period 2016-2024, and offers key insights into all the critical factors associate with the current and future market condition.Request to sample report @Global Female Fragrance Market: Drivers and RestraintsAs affluent consumers are increasingly shifting to westernized lifestyle, the demand for female fragrance will continue to be on the rise. In addition, increasing purchasing power of consumers, especially among developing economies, will also remain a key factor boosting sales of female fragrance. With a growing female workforce across the globe, the adoption of a host of fragrance varieties will continue to surge. Perfume or fragrance is still considered a luxury grooming product in some of the developing countries. However, its affordability over other counterparts will continue to support its sales.Extensive advertising is expected to remain one of the key drivers to the global female fragrance market. Increasing celebrity endorsements for perfumes will continue to fuel the market. Although the popularity of natural, classic, traditional scents persists, growing exploration of lesser traditional scents by women is foreseen to be an important factor fostering sales of female fragrance products. Promising introduction of unisex fragrance brands in the market will further boost the revenue sales of female fragrances.Global Female Fragrance Market: Trends and OpportunitiesAttractive packaging bottles has been one of the most popular trend in the perfumes market. This will continue to be one of the top trends driving the market over the forecast period as well. Several manufacturers are increasingly focusing on travel-friendly fragrance packaging, roll-on balls, spray pens, and so on. The global market for female fragrance is identified to increasingly welcome several new international as well as domestic brands, which is another sign that indicates strong growth opportunities over the next few years.Women nowadays are observed to purchase more than one fragrances at a time. A growing trend of using different fragrances on different occasions is likely to benefit the market for female fragrance in near future. Manufacturers are expected to encounter the maximum profitable opportunities in the designer and celebrity league. Another important trend observed by Persistence Market Research is the growing adoption of scents, perfumes, and fragrances in the aromatherapy sector that will possibly open new paths of revenue generation within the next few years.Global Female Fragrance Market: Segment AnalysisBy product type, the female fragrance market is segmented into fruity fragrances, citrus, oriental, and woody.In terms of content, consumers are observed to prefer natural, environment-friendly fragrances over chemical extensive perfumes and deodorants.Considering the distribution channel, supermarkets and hypermarkets are expected to be the most preferred distribution channels, attributed to evolving shopping habits of consumers.Global Female Fragrance Market: Regional AnalysisEurope may remain the leading market globally, accounting for the largest market revenue share over the forecast period 2016-2024. However, Asia Pacific is foreseen to be the most attractive market for female fragrance manufacturers, witnessing the fastest CAGR throughout the assessed period.Request Report for TOC @Global Female Fragrance Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players competing in the global female fragrance market, include Procter & Gamble, Chanel SA, Coty, Inc., Elizabeth Arden, Gucci Group NV, Gianni Versace S.p.A, Fifth & Pacific Companies, L'oreal SA, Puig Beauty & Fashion Group S.L, and Revlon and Bulgari Parfums.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Smart City Market | Global Industry is expected to reach USD 1933 Billion by Forecast to 2022

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Smart City Market Overview:The next phase of urban development in cities has emerged in the form of the smart cites revolution. Market Research Future, a firm which specializes in market reports related to the Information and Communications Technology sector among others, recently published a report on this market. The market for global smart cities is expected to reach USD 1933 Billion by 2022.Increased pace of urbanization has entailed the need for smart cities concept. The demand for smart cities concept and tools has diversified significantly due to government initiatives related to funding and R & D activities. Development of the concept of Internet of things has also added to the growth of the smart cities concept. Better internet connectivity has also played a vital role in the development of this industry.Request a Sample Report @Major Key Players:The key players in global smart city market include Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. (China), IBM Corporation (U.S.), Cisco Systems, Inc. (U.S.), AT&T Inc. (U.S), Siemens AG (Germany), Oracle Corporation (U.S.) Microsoft Corporation (U.S) among others.Industry Segments:The industry for global smart cities can be divided into following categories of component and application. The segmentation on basis of component is into hardware, software and service. While, on the basis of component, the hardware component in smart city accounts for the largest market share and is growing with approximately 30.65% CAGR during forecast period. On the basis of application, the category is divided into utility, transport, government, residential, education, healthcare and others. In this segmentation, the transport sub segment holds majority of market share growing with approximately 30.34% CAGR by the end of forecast period.Detailed Regional Analysis:The market for global Smart City Market is projected to develop at an encouraging rate during the forecast period. The North American market is anticipated to achieve a majority share in the smart city market. High adoption rates related to internet of things, development of high end infrastructure and focus towards energy saving and availability of efficient network connectivity is driving market in the North American region.This region is followed by the European region in this market. Nevertheless, Asia-Pacific is estimated to be the fastest rising region in smart city market due to the increasing initiatives and high investment initiated by governments.Global Competitive AnalysisThe industry players in the segment are effectively utilizing their primary resources to initiate long lasting growth changes. A trend of volume-driven growth has been observed in the market of late with the development of different varieties of product types. The sector is meanwhile also undergoing considerable transformation which has accelerated the growth pace of the sector. The best long-term growth opportunities for this sector can be harnessed by ensuring ongoing process improvements and maintaining financial flexibility to invest in the optimal strategies. Conversely, with companies aiming to capture a considerable share of the market segment as early as possible, experimentation with various advantage points is being seriously considered and implemented.Industry Updates:Jan 2018:Kuching, Malaysia has invested into it vision of becoming a smart city with the launch of Sacofa Open Fibre Infra Access (Sofia) recently. Sofia has the ability to deliver high-speed internet connections to residential or commercial buildings. With the innovative infrastructure, the people of the city would be able to be better linked with the outside world with more ease.Jan 2018:The Department of Homeland Security in the US is reaching out to tech entrepreneurs and innovators to advance smart city tools for first responders. The department's Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) launched also launched a smart city grant named the Request for Innovators designed for tech companies that can develop tools to assist first responders. S&T has partnered with the First Responders Group and the Smart Cities Internet of Things Innovation (SCITI) Labs to coordinate the grant that awards selected entrepreneurs and tech companies with roughly $50,000 to design initial prototypes, and if they prove useful S&T will provide an additional $100,000 for research and development.Jan 2018:Malaysia will be the first country apart from China to adapt the smart city system established by the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group Holding. Its subsidiary, Alibaba Cloud, has launched the smart city initiative called Malaysia City Brain, which will harness artificial intelligence, big data and cloud technologies to support the countrys digital transformation and help its cities run more efficiently.Browse Full Report Details @Jan 2018:Panasonic is developing a "smart city" infrastructure in Colorado, US with the aim of turning the area into a smart city by 2026. The initiative is part of a larger Panasonic program called CityNow. The development of the town will happen on a 400-acre of empty land near the Denver Airport, the company has installed free WiFi, LED street lights, pollution sensors, a solar-powered microgrid, and security cameras initially.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Global High Speed Steels Market Sees Promising Growth in 2018

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report High Speed Steels to its huge collection of research reports.This report on the global High Speed Steels market has been compiled by research analysts of the industry, with a primary aim to offer relevant information on the current market conditions for the High Speed Steels. Its objective is to talk about the growth prospects of the market and reach out to a wider range of audience such as government agencies, manufacturers of High Speed Steels, and multiple consultancy services. The research report offers comprehensive analysis of the vital driving factors that will have a huge impact on the market. It also studies the impeding or restraining aspects, upcoming and latest trends in the market which the prominent players in the market should make a note of to enhance their market presence. The potential of other factors of the High Speed Steels market can be assessed by studying its multiple segments such as products, end users, types, application, services, and others, whichever are applicable. The report also studies the future conditions of the market in all the important regions across the world, such as Latin America, Middle East and Africa (MEA), North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific.For more info, get sample report for FREE here:The report of the global High Speed Steels market gives out the projection of the market size in terms of its revenue (USD billion). Top-down as well as Bottom-up approaches are applied in the study report to give an estimate and confirm the size of the market and of its other different sub-segments. The research report also extensively discusses the opportunities that may arise in the global market for High Speed Steels by type and application in the manufacturing countries, and provides a prediction for the period of 2018-2023.Some of the prominent companies in the global High Speed Steels market have been mentioned to attract the market shareholders. These companies are profiled respectively so as to give out their product portfolio, recent strategic decisions, and overall market share. The chapter also tries to grasp the possibility of the entry of upcoming players in the market. The leading companies of the global market have been spotted with the help of secondary research methodologies and their dominance in respective areas have been evaluated with the help of detailed primary as well as secondary research.Global High Speed Steels market competition by top manufacturers,with production,price,revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingNachi-Fujikoshi CorporationDaido SteelVoestalpine AGSandvik Materials Technology ABKennametalLohmann GmbHHudson Tool Steel CorporationErasteelArcelormittal S.A.Thyssenkrupp AGTiangong InternationaGuhringHeye Special SteelNippon Koshuha Steel...On the basis of the end users/applications,this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users,consumption (sales),market share and growth rate for each application,includingEnergy SectorPlastic IndustryAerospace IndustryAutomotive IndustryOtherRead Complete Table of Content of the Report at:Table of ContentsGlobal High Speed Steels Market Research Report 20181 High Speed Steels Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of High Speed Steels1.2 High Speed Steels Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global High Speed Steels Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global High Speed Steels Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Metal Cutting Tools1.2.4 Cold Working Tools1.2.5 Others1.3 Global High Speed Steels Segment by Application1.3.1 High Speed Steels Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Energy Sector1.3.3 Plastic Industry1.3.4 Aerospace Industry1.3.5 Automotive Industry1.3.6 Other2 Global High Speed Steels Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global High Speed Steels Capacity,Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.1 Global High Speed Steels Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global High Speed Steels Production and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.2 Global High Speed Steels Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.3 Global High Speed Steels Average Price by Manufacturers (2013-2018)2.4 Manufacturers High Speed Steels Manufacturing Base Distribution,Sales Area and Product Type2.5 High Speed Steels Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 High Speed Steels Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 High Speed Steels Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions,Expansion3 Global High Speed Steels Capacity,Production,Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)3.1 Global High Speed Steels Capacity and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.2 Global High Speed Steels Production and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.3 Global High Speed Steels Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)3.4 Global High Speed Steels Capacity,Production,Revenue,Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.5 North America High Speed Steels Capacity,Production,Revenue,Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.6 Europe High Speed Steels Capacity,Production,Revenue,Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.7 China High Speed Steels Capacity,Production,Revenue,Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.8 Japan High Speed Steels Capacity,Production,Revenue,Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.9 Southeast Asia High Speed Steels Capacity,Production,Revenue,Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)3.10 India High Speed Steels Capacity,Production,Revenue,Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)4 Global High Speed Steels Supply (Production),Consumption,Export,Import by Region (2013-2018)4.1 Global High Speed Steels Consumption by Region (2013-2018)4.2 North America High Speed Steels Production,Consumption,Export,Import (2013-2018)4.3 Europe High Speed Steels Production,Consumption,Export,Import (2013-2018)4.4 China High Speed Steels Production,Consumption,Export,Import (2013-2018)4.5 Japan High Speed Steels Production,Consumption,Export,Import (2013-2018)4.6 Southeast Asia High Speed Steels Production,Consumption,Export,Import (2013-2018)4.7 India High Speed Steels Production,Consumption,Export,Import (2013-2018)...About QYResearchReports.comQyresearchreports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from Qyresearchreports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Transthyretin Amyloidosis (ATTR) Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2018 - 2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Transthyretin Amyloidosis (ATTR) Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2018 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.Transthyretin Amyloidosis (ATTR) MarketATTR amyloidosis, A for Amyloid and the TTR is an abbreviation used for the protein transthyretin. ATTR amyloidosis is a rare disease, caused by the build-up of abnormal protein deposits in various tissues of the body. Amyloid deposits cause disorder by damaging the structure and the function of the organs where they are found and they can affect almost any part of the body.There are three different types of ATTR Amyloidosis: Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (FAP), which affects the nervous system, often the heart and sometimes the kidneys and eyes. Second is, Familial Amyloid Cardiomyopathy (FAC), which is a hereditary, genetic condition, caused by mutations in the TTR gene resulting in production of the abnormal TTR and the last is, Senile Systemic Amyloidosis (SSA) which is not hereditary and a slowly progressive disease. It is far more prevalent in men than in women. Methods to diagnose ATTR include tissue biopsy, genetic testing and imaging studies of the heart.Currently, there are no higher efficacy ATTR drugs available in the market, but they are expected to hit the market by 2018. The potential ATTR drug candidates include Patisiran and IONIS-TTRrx. For now, off-label drugs and therapies are employed to counter the progression of ATTR.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The global ATTR market is expected to experience robust growth post the launch of ATTR therapeutic drugs, primarily due to increasing African-American population, increasing health care expenditure and accelerating economic growth. However, the growth of this budding market is is hindered by the stringent regulations, high cost of ATTR drugs, misdiagnosis of ATTR disorder and limitation of clinical trials.The report Global ATTR Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2018-2025) analyzes the development of this market, with focus on the U.S. and Europe markets. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the market are discussed in detail in this report. The four major players: Pfizer Inc., Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Prothena Corporation Plc. are being profiled along with their key financials and strategies for growth. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the global ATTR market along with the study of the regional markets.Browse TOC @Table of Content1. Overview1.1 Introduction1.2 Types1.3 Diagnosis1.4 Treatment2. Global ATTR Market2.1 Global ATTR Market Forecast by Patient Volume2.2 Global ATTR Market Forecast by Treated Patient2.3 Global ATTR Market Forecast by Value2.4 Global ATTR Market Forecast by Drug Type2.4.1 Global Patisiran Market Forecast by Value2.4.2 Global IONIS-TTRrx Market Forecast by Value2.5 Global ATTR Market Value by Region3. Regional Market Analysis3.1 The U.S.3.1.1 The U.S. ATTR Market Forecast by Patient Volume3.1.2 The U.S. ATTR Market Forecast by Treated Patient3.1.3 The U.S. ATTR Market Forecast by Value3.1.4 The U.S. Patisiran Market Forecast by Value3.1.5 The U.S. IONIS-TTRrx Market Forecast by ValueAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @
Global Beverage Can Market: Recent Study Including Growth Factors, Applications, Regional Analysis, Key Players and Forecasts till 2021

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Beverage Can Market: Recent Study Including Growth Factors, Applications, Regional Analysis, Key Players and Forecasts till 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.Global Beverage Can MarketPackaging is a technology of enclosing and protecting products for distribution, storage, sale and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages. It can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale and end use.There are three types of packaging; primary, the first layer that encloses the product and comes in the direct contact with the product; secondary, prevents from the pilferage or to group the primary packages together; and tertiary, used for bulk handling, warehouse storage and transport shipping. Further, consumer packaging can be segmented into glass, paper and board, flexible plastics, rigid plastics, other metal and beverage cans.Metal cans are used to contain a wide range of products, including beverages, processed foods, aerosol products, paints, medicines and many other products. Beverage can is a metal container designed to hold a fixed portion of liquid such as carbonated soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, fruit juices, teas, herbal teas, and energy drinks, etc.The global beverage can market has been growing at a steady pace for the past few years. The North American market is expected to recover at a flatter rate after a period of steady decline. The major factors which are expected to drive the global beverage can market include increasing global aluminum production, rising global GDP per capita, rapid urbanization, and swelling global beverage consumption. However, the growth of the market is hindered by stringent compliance regulations and environmental concerns. Few notable trends of the market include rising demand for specialty cans and shifting focus of market players taking towards developing markets.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The report Global Beverage Can Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021) analyzes the development of this market, with regional focus on Europe, North America, Brazil and China. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the market are discussed in detail in this report. The three major players: Ball Corporation, Crown Holdings, and Ardagh Group SA are being profiled along with their key financials and strategies for growth. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the global beverage can market along with the study of the regional markets.Table of Content1. Overview1.1 Packaging1.2 Types of Packaging1.3 Metal Cans1.4 Manufacturing of Beverage CansBrowse TOC @2. Global Packaging Market2.1 Global Packaging Market by Value2.2 Global Packaging Market Forecast by Value2.3 Global Packaging Market by Product Segment2.4 Global Packaging Market by Material Type2.4.1 Global Paper & Board Packaging Market Forecast by Value2.4.2 Global Flexible Packaging Market Forecast by Value2.4.3 Global Rigid Plastic Packaging Market Forecast by Value3. Global Beverage Can Market3.1 Global Beverage Can Market by Volume3.2 Global Beverage Can Market Forecast by Volume3.3 Global Beverage Can Market Volume by Region3.4 Global Beverage Can Consumption Per Capita by RegionAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @
Global Dental Implants Market to Rise At A CAGR Of 9.70% By 2020 as Buyers Increasingly Demand Advanced Cosmetic Procedures

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Dental Implants Market to Rise At A CAGR Of 9.70% By 2020 as Buyers Increasingly Demand Advanced Cosmetic Procedures" to its huge collection of research reports.Dentistry is defined as the evaluation, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures using surgical, nonsurgical or related procedures. The dental devices market covers dental biomaterials, dental implants, dental radiology equipment, orthodontic materials and products, digital dental X-ray systems, dental supplies, dental lasers, dental chairs, and others. A dental implant refers to an artificial tooth or a tooth root that is embedded surgically into the upper or lower jawbone. Dental implants are durable, stable, and strong; however, owing to normal wear and tear, they need to be re-tightened or replaced occasionally. The surgery involves procedures to replace missing tooth or teeth without disturbing the adjacent healthy teeth. Dental implants offer a very natural look and support and secure other bridges or dentures, if attached, well, thus making life more comfortable for the patient. Dental implants also help to restore or enhance facial tissues.Increasing aging population, growing concern about oral hygiene and rising demand for cosmetic dentistry are some of the key growth drivers for the global dental implants market. In addition, rising disposable income in developing countries is also fuelling the growth of the global dental implants market. However, lack of awareness among people in developing countries and limited reimbursements for dental implants are some of the major factors restraining the growth of the global dental implants market. In addition, economic slowdown is also restraining the growth of the global dental implants market.Technological advancements in dental implants surgery such as CAD, mini dental implants, and 3D laser dentistry are some of the trend for the growth of the global dental implants market. In addition, medical tourism in various countries such as Malaysia, Hungary, Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand, and India is another trend for the growth of the global dental implants market.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @In the geographical analysis, the report identifies and analyses market size and forecast of Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (Row). Europe is dominating the global dental implants market due to growing concern for oral hygiene, increased clinical adoption of dental implants therapy, and technological advancements. Europe is further segmented into Germany and the U.K. Similarly, North America is segmented into the U.S. Asia Pacific is further segmented into Japan and India. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market for dental implants due to large base of aging population in India and China.This report provides in-depth analysis and estimation of the global dental implants market for the period 2014 to 2020, considering 2013 as the base year for calculation. In addition, data pertaining to current market dynamics including market drivers, restraints, trends and strategic developments has been provided in the report. The market is categorized on the basis of material and procedures used for dental implants. Based on materials, the dental implants market comprises titanium and zirconium based implants. Titanium based dental implants is dominating the market. Based on procedure, the market comprises root-form and plate-form implants.Some of the major companies operating in the market are Institut Straumann AG, Nobel Biocare, DENTSPLY International Inc. and Zimmer dental Inc. Other companies include Danaher Corporation, 3M Company, Neoss International, Ivoclar Vivadent AG and OSSTEM IMPLANT. These market players have been profiled on the basis of attributes such as company overview, recent developments, growth strategies, sustainability and financial overview.Browse TOC @Some of the major companies operating in the market:Institut Straumann AG.Nobel Biocare.DENTSPLY International Inc.Zimmer dental Inc.Other companies include:Danaher Corporation.3M Company.Neoss International.Ivoclar Vivadent AG.OSSTEM IMPLANT.These market players have been profiled on the basis of attributes such as company overview, recent developments, growth strategies, sustainability and financial overview.About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @
Global Distributed Antenna System Market Projected to Touch US$17.12 bn by 2025

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been serving as an active source to cater intelligent research report to enlighten both readers and investors. This research study titled Distributed Antenna System MarketRequest a Free Sample Report @Mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and partnerships are some of the popular strategies employed by sagacious companies in the global distributed antenna system (DAS) market to boost their positions. They are also focused on development of better products to improve sales and build a strong market presence.Serving to catalyze growth in the global distributed antenna system market is the growing need on bettering communication signals across the world. In addition, proliferation of higher bandwidth applications and in-building demand is also serving to boost demand. Public safety communication mandates too are expected to supplement the large-scale uptake of distributed antenna system in the next couple of years.Serving to crimp growth in the global distributed antenna system market, on the other hand, is their steep cost and upgradability issues. This is a result of steep implementation costs and high labor costs, associated with the installation of the distributed antenna system.Global distributed antenna system market will likely grow at a solid CAGR of 11.2% from 2017 to 2025 to become worth US$17.12 bn by 2025 from US$6.61 bn in 2016.View Complete Report with Table of Content @Healthcare Segment to Grow its Relatively Small Share at Great SpeedDepending upon end-use, the global distributed antenna system can be segmented into offices/corporate campus, health care, hospitality, education, transportation, government, industrial, stadiums and arenas, etc. Among them, the stadiums and arenas segment account for maximum share in the market. Going forward, it is slated to hold on to the share. The healthcare segment, on the other hand, accounts for a much smaller share but is expected to outshine all other segments in terms of growth rate.The hospitality application segment is further divided into hotels and resorts and retail and shopping malls. Of them, the retail and shopping malls segment accounts for maximum share in the market as compared to hotels and resorts. The transportation segment too is further divided into airport and train stations and parking structures and underground and tunnels. At present, the airport and train station segment has a leading market share. In the foreseeable future, however, the parking structures/underground/ tunnels segment is expected to clock higher growth rate.Proliferation of Smartphones Drives North America MarketFrom a geographical standpoint, North America accounts for maximum share in the market, which it is predicted to grow further in the upcoming years. The U.S. is said to be primarily powering the growth in North America. Rising penetration of smartphones and booming wireless traffic is expected to drive growth in North America. Rising adoption of DAS in venues and arenas and increasing adoption of hybrid DAS for improved performance and better coverage is projected to generate substantial growth opportunities during the forecast period.Send an Inquiry @Asia Pacific is another key region in the global distributed antenna system market which is slated to surpass all other regions in terms of growth by registering a CAGR of 13.0% from 2017 to 2025. Pressing need to better communication signal and public safety communication mandates are expected to drive the overall DAS market across APAC. China and Australia are primarily powering growth in Asia Pacific. Rising sales of portable devices and the resultant wireless traffic is expected to drive the market in China.Some of the prominent participants in the global distributed antenna system market are AT&T, American Tower Corporation, Cobham Wireless, Bird Technologies, CommScope, Corning Incorporated, TE Connectivity Corporation, Dali Wireless, SOLiD, and TESSCO.Check Discount on This Report @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Global Industrial Wireless Industry Including Definitions, Classifications, Applications And Industry Chain Structure

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Industrial Wireless Industry Including Definitions, Classifications, Applications And Industry Chain Structure" to its huge collection of research reports.The Global Industrial Wireless Industry Situation and Prospects Research report is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Industrial Wireless industry.In 2016, the world economy expanded by just 2.2 per cent, the slowest rate of growth since the Great Recession of 2009. Underpinning the sluggish global economy are the feeble pace of global investment, dwindling world trade growth, flagging productivity growth and high levels of debt. World gross product is forecast to expand by 2.7 per cent in 2017 and 2.9 per cent in 2018, with this modest recovery more an indication of economic stabilization than a signal of a robust and sustained revival of global demand. Given the close linkages between demand, investment, trade and productivity, the extended episode of weak global growth may prove self-perpetuating in the absence of concerted policy efforts to revive investment and foster a recovery in productivity. This would impede progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly the goals of eradicating extreme poverty and creating decent work for all.For the sake of making you deeply understand the Industrial Wireless industry and meeting you needs to the report contents, Global Industrial Wireless Industry Situation and Prospects Research report will stands on the report readers perspective to provide you a deeply analysis report with the integrity of logic and the comprehensiveness of contents. We promise that we will provide to the report reader a professional and in-depth industry analysis no matter you are the industry insiderpotential entrant or investor.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Firstly, the report provides a basic overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Industrial Wireless market analysis is provided for the international market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.Secondly, development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. This report also states import/export, supply and consumption figures as well as cost, price, revenue and gross margin by regions (North America, Europe, Japan, India, China and The rest of the world), and other regions can be added.Then, the report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out. Whats more, the Industrial Wireless industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Finally, the feasibility of new investment projects is assessed, and overall research conclusions are offered.In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Browse TOC @Table of Contents1 Industry life cycle analysis1.1 Definition1.2 Classification of Industrial Wireless1.2.1 Pushbutton Type1.2.2 Joystick Type1.3 Application of Industrial Wireless1.3.1 Industry & Logistics1.3.2 Construction Crane1.3.3 Mobile Hydraulics1.3.4 Forestry1.3.5 Mining1.3.6 Others1.4 Market size 2012-20171.5 Market growth and demand growth rate1.6 Product technical level1.7 Profit margins of Industrial Wireless industry2 Industry market structure analysis2.1 Supply & Consumption Analysis 2012-20172.1.1 North America2.1.2 Europe2.1.3 Japan2.1.4 India2.1.5 ChinaAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Market Global Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Trends by Forecast to 2023

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Automated Fingerprint Identification System Market Overview:Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) Automated Fingerprint Identification System or AFIS is a biometric identification methodology based on the digital imaging technology that can analyze and match fingerprints from the stored database. The System also allows obtaining, uploading and storing the database in real-time. Ideally, the System was conceptualized for law enforcement departments like Police/ Investigation agencies (to help them solve criminal cases) and Immigration & Border Protection. However, AFIS technology evolving vastly placed itself in many government and private entities. Evidently, growing online & offline security concerns worldwide was the key driving force behind the growth of Automated Fingerprint Identification System.Some of the prominent areas of application of AFIS include General identification and fraud prevention, ID registries, e-passports, biometric visas, digitized drivers licenses, and electronic voter registration and election management. Augmented penetration of internet ensured upsurge demand for online transaction prompting the need for AFIS (biometric identification) for authentication purposes. Telecommunication sector is second largest adopter (after Govt.entities) of Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems worldwide.Wide adoption of this technology to ensure security is the key factor that allows the AFIS market to garner exponential traction on the global platform.Acknowledging the kind of accruals the market is gaining currently demonstrating the growth prospects worldwide, Market Research Future has recently published a study report giving out the complete market insight up to 2022. Automated Fingerprint Identification System Market This study report indicates that the global Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems Market will accrue USD 13 billion by 2022 registering a whooping double digit CAGR of ~22% during 2017-2022.Augmented demand for AFIS across government sectors (eGovernance usages) is boosting the market growth. Factors such as spurting digitization, usage of internet coupled with the trend of digital database management systems fuel the growth of the AFIS market. Rising security concerns in banking activities is one of the key market growth propellers. Wide penetration of smart phone contributes the AFIS market growth to an extent.Despite ensuring a wide uptake, the AFIS still lack substantial technological breakthroughs  one among these is  accuracy of these systems is determined for consideration up to 30-40% remaining highly dependent on the skills of technicians.. This major drawback restricts its market growth. However, the expected technological advancements in the recent future give some relief promising a good fortune for the global Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems Market.Request a Sample Report @Major Key Players:3M Cogent, Inc. (US) Safran Identity & Security (US), NEC Corporation (Japan), M2SYS Technology (US), Afix Technologies Inc (US), Biometrics4ALL (US.), Fujitsu (Japan), Cross Match Technologies, Inc. (US), HID Global Corporation (US), and M2SYS Technology (US) are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the Global Automated Fingerprint Identification System Market.Worldwide AFIS Market Competitive Analysis:The Market of Automated Fingerprint Identification System appears to be competitive owing to the presence of numerous well-established players having international and global presence. Innovation, mergers & acquisitions, and brand reinforcement remain the key trends for the leading players. The market will witness intensified competition with an increase in R&D innovations and M&A.Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:January 27, 2018 - Komaram Bheem district (Bangalore  India) launched a New Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and scanning software with the help of this system the finger print of any accused may be obtained and could be uploaded directly to the central server.Although India is a vast and developing country about half of total police headquarters of the country are fully equipped with modern technology like AFSI. Kudos to the India & their Digital India Program ran by the current PM  Mr. ModiJanuary 17, 2018 - The Regional Crime Laboratory Office (Philippines) declared their readiness of its new building equipped with modern deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) equipment and that they will be using from Feb18, to serve the DNA tests requirements for crime scene investigations for the whole Mindanao state. RCLO has already implemented a P269 million Automated Fingerprint Identification System along with some high-end DNA testing equipments. The funding was sourced from the General Appropriation Act of 2017 for the Philippine National Police.January 14, 2018  The Philippines announced that Philippine passport now enjoys visa-free access to a total of 63 countries rising three notches higher to 72nd place in 2018 from 75th last year (according the survey conducted by Henley and Partners, a global residence and citizenship planning firm). The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is set to implement several improvements in the agencys passport system to make it more convenient for the public. These include the streamlining of the passport application process, the setting up of an e-Payment system, and the reduction of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) backlog from 33,000 to zero.Automated Fingerprint Identification System Market Segmentation:For the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding; the report has been segmented in to 4 key dynamics:-By Component: Comprises Hardware (Displays, Fingerprint Input Modules, Microcontrollers, others) and Software.By Type: Latent Searches and Ten-print Searches.By End-User: Banking & Finance, Defence & Security, Forensic Sector, and Government (eGovt. Passport & Verification offices, Visa/eVisa, etc.)By Regions: North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.Browse Full Report Details @Worldwide AFIS Market Regional Analysis:Regionally, North-America accounted for the largest market share because of the technological advancements, several opportunities in various sectors and increasing usage by the law enforcement agencies.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 524/528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Conjugate Vaccine Market By Key Players - Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer, Inc., Novartis AG and Neuron Biotech

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Conjugate Vaccine Market By Key Players - Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer, Inc., Novartis AG and Neuron Biotech" to its huge collection of research reports.Conjugate vaccines are vaccines for infectious diseases. There are special polysaccharide coatings on some bacteria and viruses that help them to escape the immune system. An immature immune system can recognize these bacteria with the help of the conjugate vaccines, as these vaccines link the special polysaccharide coatings to an organism by producing immunity and response. The examples of conjugate vaccines are meningococcal vaccine to prevent meningitis, haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib) vaccine, and pneumococcal vaccine.Increased revenue from the sale of meningococcal vaccines and pneumococcal vaccines are driving the global conjugate vaccine market due to increasing advancements in the research and development. Increasing prevalence of infectious diseases and rising awareness toward prevention of these disease is anticipated to boost the global conjugate vaccine market during the forecast period. However, long time interval between the introduction of new conjugate vaccines in low-income countries and high-income countries is likely to restrain the global conjugate vaccine market. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, high mortality and morbidity are caused due to vaccine-preventable diseases. In 2010, 87% of the population of high-income countries had pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in their immunization schedules, whereas only 2% had pneumococcal conjugate vaccines in their immunization schedules among the total population of low-income countries.The global conjugate vaccine market can be classified on the basis of product type, disease indication, pathogen type, patient type, and region. In terms of product type, the global conjugate vaccine market can be segmented into multivalent conjugate vaccines and monovalent conjugate vaccines. The monovalent conjugate vaccines segment held the major share of the market in 2016 due to the high awareness and high quality vaccines provided by key players. However, the multivalent conjugate vaccines segment is anticipated to expand in the near future due to the improvements in technology and government initiatives.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @In terms of disease indication, the global conjugate vaccine market can be segmented into meningococcal, diphtheria tetanus pertussis, influenza, pneumococcal, and others. The diphtheria tetanus pertussis segment of the global conjugate vaccine market expanded in 2016 due to its high prevalence and highly contagious nature of the respiratory tract infection. The pneumococcal segment of the global conjugate vaccine market is anticipated to expand during the forecast period, as it is the most attractive segment in the market, in terms of technology. In terms of pathogen type, the global conjugate vaccine market can be segmented into combination (viral and bacterial) conjugate vaccine, viral conjugate vaccine, and bacterial conjugate vaccine. In terms of patient type, the market can be segmented into adults conjugate vaccine and pediatrics conjugate vaccine. The pediatrics conjugate vaccine segment held a major share of the global market in 2016 due to the high prevalence of infectious diseases among children.Geographically, the global conjugate vaccine market can be segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. In terms of technology, North America is projected to be the most attractive market for conjugate vaccine during the forecast period, due to rise in demand for pneumococcal, meningococcal vaccines, and other conjugate vaccines. The market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand during the forecast period due to increasing immunization initiatives by organizations such as GAVI and World Health Organization in emerging economies such as India and China. Increasing focus of major players on the market in India and governmental initiatives for infectious diseases are likely to fuel the demand for the conjugate vaccines in the region.Key players operating in the global conjugate vaccine market include Serum Institute of India Pvt. Ltd., Sanofi Pasteur, Pfizer, Inc., Novartis AG, Neuron Biotech, Merck & Co., Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, CSL Behring, Biological E, and Bharat Biotech.Browse TOC @The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @
Speech Analytics Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2017-2025

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Speech analytics technology can be utilized to analyze audio data and to gather information related to customer. This helps in improvement of communication and future interaction and overall customer experience. The key application segment of speech analytics technology is contact center due to the requirement to provide better customer satisfaction. This technology is mainly used for detection of emotion, stress, the reason behind the call, and their satisfaction level, that can be identified through customers voice. It can also be used to recognize whether the customer is disappointed or unsatisfied with the provided service.The major drivers responsible for growth of global speech analytics technology market are increasing number of call centers, which demands for more customer satisfaction. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, in 2015, the U.S. has over 60% of contact centers and the global contact center industry is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12% by 2025. Moreover in 2015, the mass market contact center dominated the global contact center market with over 40% share.Request Table of Content of this ReportUniversal center and B2B center accounted about 30% and 32% share of global contact center market respectively, in 2015. These factors are responsible for increasing demand for advanced technology, customer relationship management (CRM), and increasing requirement to provide accurate solutions. These are some major driving factors that are expected to escalate the growth of the overall speech analytics market by 2015. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, speech analytics technology is one of the fastest growing segments in the contact centers tools industry. The adoption of speech analytics technology grew by over 62% in 2016 and it is anticipated to grow at a 17% growth rate by 2018.However, high initial cost to implement this solution is expected to restraint the growth of the global speech analytics solutions market.Speech Analytics Market: Regional InsightsThe global speech analytics market is segmented on the basis of regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. Asia Pacific region is expected to be the fastest growing region in the global speech analytics market. Risk and compliance management and major investment in contact centers are the major factors driving the regional market growth. For instance, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), an India-based company is the prominent contact center service providers, which generated about US$16 billion in 2016.Speech Analytics Market: Competitive BackgroundMajor players operating in the global speech analytics market include Interactive Intelligence Group, Inc., Nice Systems Ltd., Verint Systems, Avaya, Inc., Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., Hewlett-Packard Enterprise, Incontact, Inc., Calabrio, Inc., Callminer, Inc., and Clarabridge, Inc.For More InformationAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website:
Global Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Market - Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2017 - 2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles Market - Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.For the last few years, research and development in the field of nanoparticles such as zinc oxide, TiO2, and graphite has gained momentum. Zinc oxide nanoparticles are referred to as semiconductor materials, due to their unique properties such as high binding energy and wide band gap. These materials possess antifungal, antibacterial, and UV-filtering properties. They are used in various fields such as material science, optics, bio-medicine, and electronics. They are widely employed in the building & construction industry as an additive to concrete and ceramics. They are used as catalysts in cosmetics such as calamine lotion and ointments to treat skin diseases; as coating agents in the paints & coatings industry, as additives in food products; and as filler materials in the manufacture of cigarettes. Zinc oxide nanoparticles are also employed in vulcanization of rubber for the manufacture of tires.Based on processing technique, the global zinc oxide nanoparticles market has been categorized into spray pyrolysis method, precipitation method, hydrothermal method, micro-emulsion method, and sol gel method. Sol gel is one of the most popular processing techniques, followed by spray pyrolysis.Demand for these two techniques is expected to rise during the forecast period, due to cost-effectiveness and easy processability offered by them. Rising number of end-user industries such as automotive, pharmaceutical, and building & construction coupled with increased usage of zinc oxide nanoparticles as an additive or catalyst are factors expected to raise the demand for these nanoparticles during the forecast period. Zinc oxide nanoparticles possess good conductivity, which aids in the removal of high amount of heat generated during churning motion of tires. In addition, these nanoparticles increase water-resistivity when employed during the cement manufacturing process. Owing to their antibacterial and antifungal properties, zinc oxide nanoparticles are increasingly used in the pharmaceutical industry for the manufacture of zinc pastes, zinc ointments, bandages, and adhesive tapes for wound and skin treatment.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Rising demand for various sensors such as bio-sensors, chemical sensors, gas sensors, and optoelectronic devices is expected to drive the global zinc oxide nanoparticles market in the near future. Furthermore, rising demand for UVA/B filters in sun protection and sunscreen cosmetics is leading to expansion of the market at a significant rate. However, toxicity associated with zinc oxide processability may hamper growth of the market in the near future. Progression of zinc oxide nanoparticles from the laboratory level to the industrial level is a major challenges for manufacturers. However, increasing investments in research & development, industrial collaborations, and government initiatives are some of the factors that would create ample opportunities for manufacturers in the next few years.Geographically, the global zinc oxide nanoparticles market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America leads the global market for zinc oxide nanoparticles, due to high investments in R&D activities in the region. Furthermore, rising demand for high-quality interior electronics, especially in the automotive industry, is likely to boost the market in the region during the forecast period. The markets in Asia Pacific and Europe are anticipated to expand significantly during the forecast period, due to rapid industrialization and urbanization in the two regions. Increasing disposable income in China, ASEAN, and India is expected to provide lucrative opportunities to zinc oxide manufacturers in Asia Pacific in the near future. Rising consumer awareness and increased purchasing power for high-quality cosmetics in Latin America and Middle East & Africa are factors driving the zinc oxide nanoparticles market in the two regions.Key players operating in the global zinc oxide nanoparticles market are Advanced Nano Technologies Limited, Nanophase Technology Corporation, Hakusuitech Co., Ltd., Sakai Chemical, Showa Denko, and Weifang Longda Zinc Industry, Co., Ltd.Browse TOC @The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @
Parking Management Market Analysis 2017-2023: Key Findings, Regional Analysis, Top Key Players Profiles and Future Prospects

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Parking Management Global Market Overview:The Global Parking Management Market is growing with the rapid pace; mainly due to the increasing focus on the seamless traffic flow. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, the global market of Parking Management is growing rapidly and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The market is projected to demonstrate a remarkable growth by 2023, beating its previous growth records in terms of value with a noticeable CAGR during the anticipated period (2017  2023).Parking Management Market solutions prove a necessity for the present scenario of rising vehicle population and parking spaces. Many government authorities and various enterprises are investing in smart parking management market. The smart parking combines a citys existing parking data to provide a unified view of real  time parking demand and city  wide parking guidance. These system deploy machine learning techniques to merge multiple data sources into a unified dataset for parking guidance and analytics.Request a Sample Report @Major Key Players:The prominent players in Parking Management market are  XEROX Corporation (U.S.), Siemens AG (Germany), Kapsch TrafficCom AG (Austria), AMANO Corporation (Japan), Cubic Corporation (U.S.), SWARCO AG (Austria), INRIX, Inc. (U.S.), INDIGO (France), T2 Systems, Inc. (U.S.), SKIDATA AG (Austria), among others are profiled in Market Research Future analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the global Parking Management market.Industry NewsDecember 2017, San Francisco smart city pilots aim to make streets safer. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) is playing a key role in the city's smart initiatives and is working to improve transit while pursuing environmental goals such as zero carbon emission. The SF-park program was created to reduce the time people spent looking for parking, which could delay transit, block bicyclists and lead to more distracted driving.January 2018, SpotHero Announces Voice-Activated, In-Car Parking Reservations via the Google Assistant in Android Auto. SpotHero has launched a new integration that enables drivers to book parking with the Google Assistant using voice commands. Drivers with Android Auto will be able use SpotHero and the Google Assistant to find and pay for parking on the go, completely hands-free. The company announced their first ground-breaking integration, by working with the Google Assistant to bring voice-activated parking to drivers seeing a huge opportunity to improve not only the parking experience, but also the overall driving experience.Parking Management Global Market Competitive Analysis:The Market of Parking Management appears to be highly competitive. To maintain their market position and to drive the market growth, various dynamic and diversified international organizations, domestic organizations and as well as new entrants form a competitive landscape. Market leaders are innovating continuously and increasingly seeking market expansion through extensive research and development. Competitors are also focusing towards customer satisfactions and innovation as the major focus for maintaining the market positions. A large number of start-ups are targeting small and medium business to provide budget friendly and effective Parking Management solutions. On the other hand, large players are focusing towards production of innovative products. Streetline has been recognized with the global product line strategy leadership award for the year 2016. Streetline uses machine learning techniques to deploy Parking Management in order to merge data that is collected for real time parking guidance and analytics. Streetline is considered to be a world leader in smart parking solutions and managementParking Management Global Market Segmentation:Segmentation by Component: Hardware, Software, Services.Segmentation by Parking Type: On-Street Parking, Off-Street Parking.Segmentation by Vertical: BFSI, Recreation, Healthcare, Corporate & Commercial Parks, Hospitality, Academia, Retail, Transportation, Government, OthersSegmentation by Solution: Security and Surveillance, Valet Parking Management, Parking Reservation Management, and License Plate RecognitionSegmentation by Region: North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East & Africa.Browse Full Report Details @Parking Management Global Market Regional Analysis:The geographical analysis of Parking Management market is dominated by North America, which is estimated to account for the largest share of the market, followed by Europe, whereas Asia-Pacific is projected to grow at the fastest rate during the forecast period. The major growth factor in Parking Management market in North America is attributed to technological advancements and increasing number of vehicles leading towards growing traffic concerns.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.ContactMarket Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Worldwide Analysis Of Hydraulic Cylinder Market  Trend and Forecast Till 2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Worldwide Analysis Of Hydraulic Cylinder Market  Trend and Forecast Till 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.Hydraulic cylinders, also known as hydraulic pumps, are sub-assemblies used in hydraulic power transfer systems. Hydraulic cylinders help transfer power in applications ranging from construction equipment to aviation. These cylinders are an assembly of several components, namely the barrel; cylinder caps and head; piston, which can be double acting or single acting; piston rod; seals; and rings. These cylinders are connected within the hydraulic system to form a continuous hydraulic circuit. Hydraulic cylinders are available in several configurations and functions; each is suited for a particular application. They can also be used to selectively resist the linear motion under heavy loads. Hence, these cylinders can be used in various applications.Uninterrupted demand in industries where hydraulic systems play a vital role is the primary factor driving the hydraulic cylinder market. Irreplaceability of hydraulic systems in construction equipment, aviation, infrastructure, and manufacturing is anticipated to augment the hydraulic cylinder market. Furthermore, rapid industrialization and infrastructural development in developing nations are estimated to propel the hydraulic cylinder market.Growth in civil and military aviation in developing nations such as India, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brazil is projected to drive the demand for hydraulic cylinder in aerospace applications. However, hydraulic systems and cylinders are usually bulky and messy in operation. They make the entire system or equipment heavy and large. Thus, several efforts are being made to either make them clean and compact or to find other alternate systems altogether. Hydraulics are substituted with pneumatics and electromechanical systems in several applications where cleanliness is imperative. These include food, beverage, pharmaceuticals, and medical. However, for heavy and sturdy operations there are potentially no other alternatives.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Based on the function of these cylinders, the hydraulic cylinder market can be bifurcated into single acting and double acting. The double acting segment can be further divided into single rod ended and double rod ended. In terms of type, the market can be segmented into plunger cylinders, telescopic cylinders, cable cylinders, diaphragm cylinders, and others. Each type finds niche use in particular applications. Based on application, the hydraulic cylinder market can be classified into mobile systems and stationary systems. Within mobile systems, the market can be sub-divided into construction equipment, aviation, marine, and others. The stationary systems segment can be sub-segmented into industrial machinery, infrastructure, and others.In terms of geography, the global hydraulic cylinder market can be classified into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America and Europe are the major regions of the global hydraulic cylinder market, led by the presence of key construction equipment manufacturers such as Caterpillar and JCB. Asia Pacific is also a prominent region of the hydraulic cylinder market owing to the rise in industrialization and infrastructure growth. Demand for hydraulic cylinders is high in developed nations such as Germany, the U.S., Japan, France, and the U.K. Demand for hydraulic cylinders in industries such as construction equipment, industrial machine, aviation, and agricultural equipment is increasing at a fast pace in developing nations and regions such as China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Southeast Asia.Major players operating in the global hydraulic cylinder market include Parker Hannifin Corp, Caterpillar, Eaton Corporation, Dantal Hydraulics, Bailey International, and Enerpac Corp. These companies hold significant share of the hydraulic cylinder market. Thus, the hydraulic cylinder market experiences intense competition.Browse TOC @The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @Follow us on Blogger @
Future Demand for Digital Mobile X-Ray Market Overview & Industry Landscape by Focusing On Top Key Vendors: General Electric Company, Carestream Health, Canon, Fujifilm Medical Systems, Siemens Healthcare

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The research report, titled Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Market Research Report 2018, provides a clear understanding of the market dynamics. It includes the investigations done on the past progress, ongoing market scenarios, and future prospects. An accurate data of the products, strategies and market shares of leading companies in this particular market is mentioned. The report further projects the size and valuation of the global market in the coming forecast period. The report also presents a thorough qualitative and quantitative data affecting the projected impact of these factors on markets future growth prospects.Top Key Vendors:General Electric Company, Carestream Health, Canon, Fujifilm Medical Systems, Siemens Healthcare Private Limited, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Shimadzu Corporation, MinXray Inc, Ziehm Imaging, Inc.Download PDF Sample Copy:It explains a detailed outline of the Digital Mobile X-Ray Market depending on the important parameters. End users, products, regions, and many other segments are studied and explained. A brief idea of the driving forces which help make the market more flourishing is discussed in order to help the client understand the future market position.According to the research report, the global market for Digital Mobile X-Ray Market is witnessing a continual rise in its valuation with the advancement in technologies, which is impacting the consumer behavior and, accordingly, their purchasing patterns to a great extent. In addition to this, the rising penetration of internet and the surge in mobile surfing are anticipated to boost the demand for Digital Mobile X-Ray across the world, states the research report.On the basis of geographical regions, the Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Market is segmented broadly into Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The global market is still in its exploratory stage in most of the regions but it holds the promising potential to flourish steadily in coming years. The major companies investing in this market are situated in Canada, U.K., and the US, India, China and some more countries of Asia Pacific region. Consequently, Asia Pacific, North America, and Western Europe are estimated to hold more than half of the market shares, collectively in coming years.Avail Discount up to 30% on this report now at:This statistical surveying research study presents an all-inclusive evaluation of the worldwide market for Card Personalization Equipment, taking various industry parameters, such as the capacity of production, product pricing, demand, supply, and sales dynamics, returns on investments, and the growth rate of the overall market into consideration.In the last sections of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the Digital Mobile X-Ray Market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report.Table of ContentsThe Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Market Research Report 20181 Digital Mobile X-Ray Market Overview2 Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Market Competition by Manufacturers3 Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2018)4 Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2018)5 Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type6 Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Market Analysis by Application7 Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis8 Digital Mobile X-Ray Manufacturing Cost Analysis9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders11 Market Effect Factors Analysis12 Global Digital Mobile X-Ray Market Forecast (2018-2023)13 Research Findings and Conclusion14 AppendixAbout Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact:(Research N Reports)10916, Gold Point Dr, Houston, TX, Pin  77064,Sunny Denis(Sales Manager),+1-8886316977sales@researchnreports.com
Disposable Protective Apparel Market Set to Witness an Uptick during 2016 - 2022

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/9923

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/9923

Disposable protective apparel is used in many industries including manufacturing, construction, health care etc. to provide protection from many different hazards. Disposable protective apparel includes shirts, belts, vests, pants, jackets, and hats are the most popular. Benefits of using disposable protective apparel includes, versatility (used as multifunctional), affordability (less price compare to durable protective apparel) and sustainability (recyclable product to maintain sustainable practices).Request to sample report @Increase safety for workforce by government for instance, offering safety to workers from hazardous particle, provide abrasion resistance, and barrier protection among others is expected to drive the demand for disposable protective apparel across the globe. Also, development of innovative products by companies to ensure development of cost-effective material along with creation of novel designs is expected to bolster the global disposable protective apparel market growth in the near future. Also, increasing industrial and infrastructural industries across emerging economies is anticipated to fuel the demand for cost-effective thereby, driving the demand for disposable protective apparel in the next five to six years. However, increased automation in end-use industry leads to less deployment of workforce thus, less demand for disposable protective apparel among end users. This is restricting the growth of global disposable protective apparel market. However, increasing safety awareness in emerging countries and small manufacturers is an opportunity for global disposable protective apparel market.Global Disposable Protective Apparel market is segmented by: product type, end use, user type, application and by regionNorth America and Western Europe hold major share in total disposable protective apparel market and Asia Pacific excluding Japan is expected to be one of the fastest growing market. This is attributed to development in infrastructure and manufacturing industry, which has increased significantly in recent years leading to demand for protective apparel among end users.Request Report for TOC @Some of the key players operating in the global disposable protective apparel market are The 3M Company, Lakeland Industries, Inc., Enviro Safety Products, Medline Industries Inc., Honeywell International Inc., UVEX ARBEITSSCHUTZ GmbH, Dastex Reinraumzubehor Gmbh & Co.KG, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Cellucap Manufacturing, Dolphin Products and Anchortex Corporation.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Costume Jewelry Market to Witness an Outstanding Growth By 2020

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/2791

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/2791

Costume jewelry (also known as fashion jewellery, trinkets, junk jewelry, fake jewelry and fallalery) is a jewelry made of less valuable materials as compared with valuable materials such as gold, diamond, platinum and other precious metals and gem. The raw material used for these jewelleries include base metals, glass, plastic, synthetic stones, semi-precious stones, beads, ivory, lac, leather, terracotta, pearl and metals such as silver, aluminum and brass. On the basis of products, the costume jewelry industry is broadly categorized as bracelets, brooch, earrings, necklaces, chokers, bangles, finger rings, toe rings, anklets and pendants.Request to sample report @The costume Jewelry industry operates as a true global industry as the raw materials are mostly sourced from Australia, Africa, Russia and Canada, manufacturing takes place in China, India, Italy and Turkey whereas the largest markets is North America, followed by Europe.The developing economies such as BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are the fasted growing market with double digit growth rates. Asia Pacific is the largest producer of costume jewelry and expected to take over North America in terms of consumption in the coming years. High growth rate in Asia Pacific region is attributed to the rising income of the consumers in these countries. Further, with the massive urbanization and westernization taking place, the consumers are now becoming more fashionable and trendy. Moreover large population of young consumers (average age is 29 year and 37 year respectively for India and China) are also a key contributor in overall growth of costume jewelry in these countries.The key drivers for the costume jewelry include increasing prices for gold and other precious gems and pearls, internationalization of brands and increasing demand of men costume jewelry. Some of the key challenges for the costume jewelry industry include rising raw material cost and fad sensitive market of fashion jewelry. The unorganized supply chain of the raw materials in costume jewelry industry also act as a major restraint for the industry as it sometimes lead to steep hike in the prices of raw materials. Online channels, which are still new trend, offer new opportunity for the market.Request Report for TOC @Some of the major player in operating in the industry includes, Buckley Jewellery Limited, The Colibri Group, Avon Products Inc, Swank Inc, H. Stern Com. & Ind. S.A., Cartier SA, Channel S.A., Louis Vuitton North America, Inc., Stuller, Inc., Yurman Design, Inc., Billig Jewelers, Inc. and Gianni Versace S.p.A.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
NVR for IP Cameras A Network Video Recorder or a NVR system is primarily used to record the video streams of cameras. In medium and large scale enterprises, where a huge number of cameras are installed, it becomes a necessity to incorporate a network of NVRs. It provides a systematic log of various camera video recordings and the space required to store the same. However, with the advancement in technology, NVRs are now able to assist or perform many other functions which enhance the security and ease of operation. Some of these features are unique with respect to IP NVR system manufactures while some are found in most of the NVRs produced these days. The article details one such unique feature and a set of general features.



One of the unique features is Cascading which can be found in Matrix NVRs. This feature eliminates the need of a server to operate CMS (Centralized Management System) as it works on client-server architecture where each NVR is divided into two parts, client and server. The client of one NVR can communicate with the other ones server and vice versa. Therefore, each Network Video Recorder can supervise and interface with several other NVRs, bypassing the need of a server to do the same, which makes this solution very cost-effective. For example, if multiple NVRs exist in a network, they can still be governed from one of them locally. A single device can act as the server (or a master device) and can control 19 other client (or slave) NVRs. Similarly, there can be multiple master devices as well, monitoring various sets of other (slave) NVRs. Finally, the master device can be directly connected to a screen and output from all slave NVRs can be monitored.



One of the major concerns of any IP NVR system manufacturer is the storage space to store the recordings. Required storage capacity is determined by the number of IP cameras in a network, resolution, type of recording and retention duration. If many cameras are connected, optimizing storage becomes indispensable. To resolve this problem, following three features in a NVR come in handy:



Motion Based Recording - There are instances when there is no motion at all but are still recorded, hogging storage space unnecessarily. With Motion Based Recording enabled, the NVR stops recording when there is no motion. Therefore, the storage space is utilized for only those recordings in which motion has been observed.



Adaptive Recording - According to Indian Government Policies for public areas, it is mandatory to record video streams persistently, irrespective of motion. To approach this requirement, NVRs have the option of Adaptive Recording, in which the number of frames per second change, adapting to the motion. This means, when there is no motion the NVR for IP Cameras will still record, but with less frames as compared to when there is motion. Adaptive Recording can economize storage space by as much as 50%.



Camera-wise Recording Retention - Each area in an industry fulfils a unique purpose and, thus, the priority of camera recordings vary. Camera-wise Recording Retention provides flexibility to configure the number of days for retaining recordings based on the predominance of a camera and the area where it is installed. For example, recording retention for canteen can be set to 15 days, 30 days for that of reception area, while for the parking area recording retention can be set to 40 days.



These are some of many features that NVRs with modern technology come equipped with. There are, however, still a large amount of functions that a NVR can perform. To know in detail about these features and the technology behind them, visit us. https://www.matrixvideosurveillance.com/network-video-recorder.html



About Matrix

Established in 1991, Matrix is a leader in Telecom and Security solutions for modern businesses and enterprises. Matrix, an innovative, technology driven and customer focused organization, is committed to keep pace with the revolutions in the telecom and security industries. With more than 40% of its human resources dedicated to the development of new products, Matrix has launched cutting-edge products like IP-PBX, Universal Gateways, VoIP Gateways and Terminals, GSM Gateways, Access Control, Time-Attendance and Video Surveillance solutions. These solutions are feature-rich, reliable and conform to the international standards. Having global footprints in Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Africa through an extensive network of more than 1,000 channel partners, Matrix ensures that the products serve the needs of its customers faster and longer. Matrix has gained trust and admiration of customers representing the entire spectrum of industries. Matrix has won many international awards for its innovative products.



394, GIDC Makarpura,Vadodara



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Mobile Resource Management (MRM) Solution Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/642

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/mobile-resource-management-solution-market-642

http://www.coherentchronicle.com

Mobile Resource Management (MRM) Solution market is rapidly gaining application importance as powerful business productivity tool owing to its ability to integrate wireless connectivity, location technologies, hardware, data interoperability server, and transaction processing onto single platforms. This system and services also known as commercial telematics, finds major applications in asset, workforce and fleet monitoring and tracking systems, is expected to considerable demand growth over the forecast period. The primary tenet of these MRM solutions is to reduce the execution risk of the field operations, through automating the business critical applications by improving management, visibility, reduce operating costs and increase mobile workforce productivity.Transportation and logistics application segment is expected to remain the primary growth driverTransportation and logistics are the prominent application segments owing to requirement of these systems and services to monitor fleet vehicles and assets such as heavy equipment and trailers. Moreover, proliferation of GPS enabled smartphones and tablets have found increased applications for management of mobile workers. According to Coherent Market Insights, the MRM applications in the segment contributes to around 10 million units, in the U.S. alone.Request Table of Content of this Report :Reduction in costs achieved and high rate of return on investments (ROI) is anticipated to be the prominent industry growth driverUtilization of these systems allows end use industry to enable efficient means of managing data, costs and increased accountability. The data received from these systems is stored in standardized database, which is easily accessible on demand. This enables end user to create meaningful reports regarding the performance of the workforce, and plan decisions accordingly. Moreover, reduced paper work related expenses, low overtime labor costs, accurate job evaluation, and high job completion rates enables increased profit margins. These factors are expected to garner increased adoption rates and propel the mobile resource management solution market over the forecast period.High initial cost and reluctance of SMBs towards the mobile resource management solution is expected to present major growth challengeSignificant number of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have reported lack of requirement of these solutions for their operations. Moreover, substantial initial costs of these system deployments is a major concern, even for the large organizations can present potential growth challenge to the industry growth. High upfront costs are primarily associated with the hardware expense and the requirement for backend integration and customization costs.U.S. held the major industry share, whereas Asia Pacific is expected to witness highest growth during the forecast periodAccording to Coherent Market Insights research, even though U.S. held the major industry share in 2016, the industry penetration was still around 40% in the region. Owing to this factor, even U.S. is expected to witness significant growth potential over the forecast years. Asia Pacific has witnessed significant increase in trade activities over the past few years, primarily owing to outsourcing of production activities in the region. China, Japan, India, South Korea and Indonesia are among the major countries that may offer significant growth opportunities owing to rampant growth of end-use industries. Moreover, requirement to monitor the export of manufactured goods and amenities, will help the industry participants establish strong foothold in the region.Chief industry participants in the mobile resource management solutions market include AppLocation Systems, Inc., AT&T, CalAmp Corporation, Garmin International, Masternaut, PeopleNet Communications Corporation, SkyBitz, Inc., and Spireon, Inc. Industry participants are increasingly making efforts to provide cutting edge solutions to enhance its applications and expand their regional presence in order to strengthen their foothold in the market. For instance, CompassCom announced it plans to introduce its MRM solutions to leverage their investments in ArcGIS. Their solutions are featured with real time monitoring and asset tracking, improved safety, accountability and efficiency for assets and personnel, in June 2017.For More Information :About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website:
Global Antithrombin III Deficiency Testing Market Set to Witness an Uptick during 2015 to 2021

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4272

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/4272

Antithrombin III is a non-vitamin, K-dependent protease that naturally blocks abnormal blood clot formation in the bloodstream. Deficiency of antithrombin III causes various blood clot disorders in the human body. For instance, congenital antithrombin III deficiency is a common antithrombin deficiency, which usually occurs when individuals receive the abnormal antithrombin III gene from their parents. This abnormal gene causes abnormal blood clots in the human body which block blood flow and damage organs.Antithrombin deficiencies are mainly divided into two types: type I and type II. The type I antithrombin deficiency is characterized by an inadequate amount of normal antithrombin present in the bloodstream. In this condition, there is simply not enough antithrombin present to inactivate the coagulation factors. The type II antithrombin deficiency is characterized by adequate amount of antithrombin present in the bloodstream. However, it does not function properly and is unable to carry out its normal functions.Request to sample report @The major symptoms of blood clotting include fainting, coughing up blood, shortness of breath, pain when taking deep breaths, and swelling of legs. In addition, some physical symptoms of blood clots are abnormal lung sounds, fast breathing, swollen foot or leg, and fast heart rate.The global antithrombin III deficiency testing market is categorized on the basis of various types of deficiencies, diagnostic procedures, and end users. Based on the type of deficiencies, the report covers type I antithrombin deficiency and type II antithrombin deficiency. Based on the type of technology, the report covers monoclonal antibodies, molecular diagnostics, differential light scattering, immunoassays, flow cytometry, chromatography, gel micro droplets, diagnostic imaging, and others. Based on end users, the report covers commercial or private labs, physician offices, hospitals, public health labs, and academic research institutes.In terms of geography, North America dominates the global antithrombin III deficiency testing market. This is due to increased government funding on healthcare infrastructure in the region. In addition, technological advancement in antithrombin III diagnostic procedures has also propelled the market in North America. The U.S. represents the largest market for antithrombin deficiency testing in North America, followed by Canada. In Europe, Germany, France, and the U.K. hold the major shares of the antithrombin III deficiency testing market. The antithrombin III deficiency testing market in Asia is also expected to show high growth rates in the next five years. This is due to the various initiatives undertaken by governments to increase awareness about blood clotting disorders in the region. In addition, increased investments by many foreign diagnostic instrument companies have also propelled the growth of the antithrombin III deficiency testing market in the region. India, China, and Japan are expected to be the fastest-growing markets for antithrombin III deficiency testing in Asia.Advanced applications of antithrombin deficiency diagnostic instruments and increasing prevalence of blood clot disorders are the key drivers for the global antithrombin III deficiency testing market. Also, increased government support in the form of funding and rapid technological advancements have fueled the growth of this market.An increasing number of mergers and acquisitions involving diagnostic consumables manufacturing companies and rapid product launches are the key trends in the global antithrombin III deficiency testing market.Request Report for TOC @The major companies operating in this market are Abbott Laboratories, Avocet Medical Inc., Axis-Shield plc, Beckman Coulter Inc., Becton, Dickinson and Company, Trinity Biotech PLC, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc., Siemens AG, Roche, Chrono-log Corporation, Sysmex Corporation, Hyphen Biomed and American Diagnostica GmbH.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Decoration and Protection: Ceresana Examines the Global Market for Paints and Coatings in the Automotive Industry

Market Study: Automotive Coatings

www.ceresana.com/en/market-studies/industry/automotive-coatings/

www.ceresana.com/en

The automotive industry is a dynamically growing market for paints and coatings: Global vehicle stock already amounts to almost 1.3 billion units and more than 95 million new registrations are currently added every year. Traditionally, the automotive sector is highly exigent regarding quality and properties of the coatings that are utilized. For the first time, the market research company Ceresana analyzed the market for automotive paints and coatings in regard to coating layers, application areas, technologies, and product types in detail. Global demand for these high-performance coatings amounted to almost 3.1 million tonnes in 2016, says Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana. The current study registers the coating of all parts that are produced either by suppliers or by vehicle manufactures themselves and are used in road vehicles, both for new production as well as for spare parts.Coating Against RustThe analysts of Ceresana expect demand for series coating to increase worldwide by 3.7% per year  considerably stronger than the segment refinishing coating. The latter includes complete, partial, and single part coating. These are used in case of damage, for used car coating as well as special coating for new vehicles in plants or at the retailers. Coating of vehicles can be divided into the stages cathodic electrodeposition, car underbody protection, and application of primer surfacers, basecoat, and clearcoat. In regard to quantities, basecoat is the most important coating layer, followed by electrodeposition coating. Basecoat is a colored layer and determines the visual appearance of the complete coating to a large extent. The main purpose of the electrodeposition coating is the protection of the car body against corrosion. By means of primer surfacers, imperfections in the surface are offset  over 380,000 tonnes are utilized worldwide for this purpose.Use of Solvents Increasing Despite ConcernsCeresana thoroughly analyzed the market for automotive coatings as well as the demand for individual coating types (acrylic, polyurethane, epoxy, others) and technologies (solventborne / waterborne & others). The most frequently used product type for street vehicles are acrylic coatings, followed by systems based on polyurethane. Sales of PUR products in particular account for an above-average growth. Solventborne coatings keep binding agents and pigments liquid. During past decades, substantial efforts were made to reduce or stop emissions during hardening due to health and environmental reasons: There has been intense research on developing paint systems containing only few or no solvents. Nevertheless, Ceresana expects global demand for solventborne coatings to continue to increase by 2.4% per year until 2024.The Study in Brief:Chapter 1 provides a presentation of the global market for coatings in the automotive industry  including forecasts up to 2024. Data on demand and revenues are analyzed for the regions Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.Chapter 2 provides market data for the 16 most important countries, that is, country-specific information on demand and revenues. Demand is analyzed in detail in regard to coating layers, application areas (OEM coating / refinishing coating), technologies (solventborne / waterborne & others), and individual product types.Chapter 3 thoroughly examines the several coating layers in automobiles: electrodeposition coating, primer surfacer, basecoat, clearcoat. Data about these layers are split by both the world regions and the most important countries.Chapter 4 deals with demand for the particular types of coatings: epoxy, polyurethane, acrylic, and other types.Chapter 5 provides profiles of the largest manufacturers of automotive coatings  clearly arranged according to contact details, turnover, profit, product range, production sites, and profile summary. Detailed profiles are provided for 53 producers, such as PPG Industries, Akzo Nobel N.V., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Sika AG, RPM International Inc., Kansai Paint Co., Ltd., KCC Corporation, WEG S.A., and Nippon Paint Holding Co., Ltd.Further information:Ceresana is a leading international market research and consultancy company for the industrial sector. For more than 10 years, Ceresana has been supplying several thousand customers from 60 countries with up-to-date market intelligence. Extensive market knowledge creates new prospects for strategic and operational decisions. Ceresana's clients profit from implementation-oriented consulting services, tailor-made single-client studies and more than 100 independent multi-client market studies. Ceresana's analysts are experts in the following markets: Chemicals, plastics, additives, commodities, industrial components, consumer goods, packaging, agriculture, and construction materials.Learn more about Ceresana atCeresanaMainaustr. 3478464 ConstanceGermanyPhone: +49 7531 94293 0Fax: +49 7531 94293 27Press Contact: Martin Ebner, m.ebner@ceresana.com
Reduced Starch Syrup Global Market Top Key Players  Cargill Inc. , Tereos , Egyptian Starch and Glucose , ASTON Group , Tate & Lyle and Forecast to 2025

Reduced Starch Syrup Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2955951-global-reduced-starch-syrup-market-research-report-2018

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/2955951-global-reduced-starch-syrup-market-research-report-2018

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Global Reduced Starch Syrup MarketDescriptionWiseGuyReports.Com adds Global Reduced Starch Syrup Market Research Report 2018 Research To Its Database.Global Reduced Starch Syrup Market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingCargill Inc.TereosEgyptian Starch and GlucoseASTON GroupTate & LyleKASYAPTongaat Hulett StarchGulshan Polyols Ltd.MANILDRA GroupGet sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Reduced Starch Syrup in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoLiquid GlucoseGlucoseFructose SyrupMaltose SyrupOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingConfectioneryJams, Fruit Preps & CandiedIce Cream & SorbetDairy ProductsOthersComplete Report Details @Table of Contents -Major Key PointsGlobal Reduced Starch Syrup Market Research Report 20181 Reduced Starch Syrup Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Reduced Starch Syrup1.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Reduced Starch Syrup Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Reduced Starch Syrup Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Liquid Glucose1.2.4 Glucose1.2.5 Fructose Syrup1.2.6 Maltose Syrup1.3 Global Reduced Starch Syrup Segment by Application1.3.1 Reduced Starch Syrup Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Confectionery1.3.3 Jams, Fruit Preps & Candied1.3.4 Ice Cream & Sorbet1.3.5 Dairy Products1.3.6 Others1.4 Global Reduced Starch Syrup Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Reduced Starch Syrup Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Reduced Starch Syrup (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Reduced Starch Syrup Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)..7 Global Reduced Starch Syrup Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Cargill Inc.7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Cargill Inc. Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Tereos7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Tereos Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Egyptian Starch and Glucose7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Egyptian Starch and Glucose Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 ASTON Group7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 ASTON Group Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Tate & Lyle7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Tate & Lyle Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 KASYAP7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 KASYAP Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Tongaat Hulett Starch7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Tongaat Hulett Starch Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Gulshan Polyols Ltd.7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Reduced Starch Syrup Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Gulshan Polyols Ltd. Reduced Starch Syrup Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview..CONTINUEDAbout UsWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, Industry research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available.NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)
Bottled Water Market in APAC by Revenue, Research, Analysis and Outlook to 2019

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Bottled water is one of the most profitable beverages in the beverage industry, and its consumption is growing rapidly. It contains drinking water obtained from various sources such as wells, springs, artesian wells, and the municipal water supply. The drinking water typically undergoes a purification process before being packaged in a plastic or glass bottle. Bottled water can be categorized into still water, flavored water, and sparkling water. Two main forms of bottled water are still and sparkling. Still water is similar to normal tap water. Sparkling water, also known as carbonated water, soda water, seltzer water, and fizzy water, is water that has been artificially carbonated.Publisher's analysts forecast the bottled water market in APAC to grow at a CAGR of 12.21% and 9.46%, in terms of revenue and volume, over the period 2014-2019.For more informationThis report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the bottled water market in APAC for the period 2015-2019. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from the retail sales of bottled water.Based on product types, the bottled water market in APAC can be classified into the following segments:- Still unflavored- Still flavored- Sparkling unflavored- Sparkling flavoredBased on distribution channels, the report can be classified into the following segments:- Hypermarkets and supermarkets- On-trade- Independent retailers- Convenience stores- OthersKey vendors- Danone- Nongfu Spring- The Coca-Cola- The Hangzhou Wahaha Group- Ting Hsin International GroupMake an enquiry:Other prominent vendors- Asahi Soft Drinks- Asia Brewery Incorporated- Bickford's Australia- China Resources Enterprises- China Water & Drinks- F&N Foods (S) Pte- Frucor Beverages- Ito En- Kirin Beverage- Lotte Chilsung Beverage- NestlA- Nong Shim- Parle Bisleri- PepsiCo- RFM CORPORATION- Saigon Pure Water- Sinar Sosro PT- Suntory Beverage & Food- Tipco Retail- Tru Blu Beverages- Uni-President Enterprises- Young Energy SourceMarket driver- Growing health concerns- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Increased concern for the environment- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Launch of new products- For a full, detailed list, view our reportPurchase Report atContact Info:Name: Sameer JoshiEmail: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com published Bottled Water Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market Pegged for Robust Expansion During 2017 - 2025

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Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market OverviewThe 21st century can aptly be described as the social network era. The rapid evolution of telecommunications technology, improving Internet infrastructure across the developing world and booming demand for smartphones has made us live in an interconnected and interdependent age. The world has never seemed smaller and technology has impacted every aspect of our daily lives. For a very long time, the medical, healthcare and pharmaceutical industries had avoided using Social Media platforms for a number of reasons. It was largely adopted by corporate houses but not by the pharmacy companies for fear of it being too much of a legal liability. In spite of this, some pioneering healthcare companies have led the way forward in the Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market. They have shown that it is not only possible but imperative in todays rapidly changing healthcare economy.Today, healthcare patients are bombarded with thousands of branding exercises every day. More than half of these have absolutely no relevance to them. The Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market understands the needs of a particular target audience and tailors its message to address their requirements directly. This allows healthcare providers to target the right audience at the right time with the right content. And what better way to reach patients than through popular Social Media platforms which they use regularly and are far more likely to respond positively to?Request to sample report @Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market DriversThe first Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market driver is the growing importance of social media and also the patient. Whether healthcare companies like it or not, patients are playing a greater role in taking their own medical decisions. Web sites such as Healthline, Everyday Health and WebMD have made it very easy for patients to self-diagnose their problem. They frequently arrive at a hospital or doctors clinic already informed and with a list of possible ailments troubling them. People have also begun to expect assistance to their problems at any time of the day or week. Effective care in the Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing market is provided 24/7 by leveraging both online and offline marketing tools to educate, sustain and engage patients at every stage of their decision making process. Pharmaceutical and medical companies must adopt Social Media to survive in the digital age and those that refuse to take part in it are only accelerating their own decline.The second driver for the Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market is risk management. A companys brand can be tarnished online almost instantaneously through the spread of misinformation by disgruntled patients or ex-employees. If the medical organisation is inactive online, the brand can be steered in any direction the public wishes to take it. Thus, healthcare companies need to manage their own PR and companys reputation as the alternate scenario is far too risky. It is vital for all organisations to meet customers where they are and that includes being active on Social Media platforms. Using traditional media channels might often be ineffective and a wasteful expenditure since customers would be far less likely to read it or respond.Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market RestraintsWhile Social Media has benefited our lives in countless ways, it has also lead to a host of issues which were never even considered a decade or two ago. In the case of the Direct-to-Patient Digital Marketing Market, there are a few challenges which must be handled with the utmost care. The first is the legal regulations concerned with both the medical industry and the Internet. Medical institutions and healthcare professionals must be very careful with their patients private and personal health information as it is eagerly sought after by hackers. They can never disclose it online even inadvertently as the organisation can be involved in expensive legal lawsuits which cause both financial and reputational damage. There can also be privacy concerns from the patients side. Older people, in general, are mistrustful of technology and the number of hacks or data leaks do little to reassure their fears. They may be hesitant to use Social Media platforms to discuss their health problems which could make it challenging for medical companies to reach them online.The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to market segments such as geographies, types and applications.Request Report for TOC @The report is a compilation of first-hand information, qualitative and quantitative assessment by industry analysts, inputs from industry experts and industry participants across the value chain. The report provides in-depth analysis of parent market trends, macro-economic indicators and governing factors along with market attractiveness as per segments. The report also maps the qualitative impact of various market factors on market segments and geographies.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated re-search, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Con-sumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Wafer Inspection Equipment Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

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Wafer inspection equipment is fabrication system utilized for the detection of defects during the semiconductor wafer manufacturing processes. Increasing application of electronic semiconductor ICs in consumer electronics, industrial, automobile segments and related R&D activities is expected to drive the increased demands for the production. Requirement to maintain the quality of products and the client satisfaction is expected to remain the primary factor that would fuel the wafer inspection equipment market growth.Proliferation of wireless computing devices are expected to primarily contribute to the industry growthAdvanced wireless networking technologies such as 3G, 4G, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and wireless LAN have enabled fast and easy data transmission. Smartphones, tablets, wearables and sensors integrating these technologies have witnessed significant demand increase over the past few years. In conjunction with the demands for high level integration and development of new designs to provide support to multiple application on single platforms, intensive industry competition has led to increased demands for better quality and least defects in the semiconductor devices. Moreover, increasing demands for high performance chips for mission critical applications in industries and R&D activities will present considerable growth opportunities for the wafer inspection equipment market through the forecast period.IoT, and digitization are the major trends expected to transform the globe, which would require semiconductor technologies as the basis of their framework. Smart connected TVs, vehicle automation, kitchen automation, smart city, smart grids, are among the many such IoT concepts that are expected to gain traction over the next few years. This will increase demand for the electronic product manufacturing, which will in turn fuel the wafer inspection equipment market growth.Request Table of Content of this Report :Advent of 3D finFETs, NAND and advanced DRAMs technologies are expected to present considerable growth challenge to the industry growthOptical and E-beam are complementary technologies that perform distinct operations in the workflow. optical has fast throughputs and finds great applications in the end use. On the other hand E-beam helps in detection of smallest defects, however the throughputs are low. Owing to these features, it finds substantial applications in R&D activities. Increasing demands for advanced computing and processing has led to development of 3D finFETs, NAND and advanced DRAMs, which requires the tools to assess complex structures. Wafer assessment on the scales below 10 nm is extremely difficult, and in case of overlooking of the smallest error can impact the end use. This is expected to be major industry growth challenge over the next coming years.Asia Pacific to be key growth engine of the wafer inspection equipment marketAsia Pacific is the largest hub for the electronic semiconductor manufacturing activities, driven by the extensive production demands specifically in the countries that include China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Moreover, the region is also attributed with the presence of key electronic industry participants such as Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic, among many others, which will help the region sustain its dominance over the next few years.U.S. is expected to contribute to major industry share in the industry growth primarily owing to the major inclination of the users towards innovative technologies such as connected vehicles, industrial automation and other process automation. Moreover, the region is also characterized with the presence of major tech giants that include, Google, Tesla, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and GlobalFoundries among many others, which will provide consistent demands for the wafer inspection equipment market.Key players in the wafer inspection equipment market include Applied Materials, Zeiss Global, Hermes Microvision (ASML), FEI (Thermo Fisher Scientific), KLA-Tencor, Hitachi High-Technologies, JEOL, Lasec Corporation, Lam Research, Nikon, Nanometrics, Planar Corporation, Tokyo Seimitsu, Rudolph Technologies, and Toray Engineering.For More Information :About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website:
Global Folklift Solid Tire market 2018 - Continental AG, Trelleborg, NEXEN Corporation, Tube & Solid Tire

Global Folklift Solid Tire market

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Apex Market Reports, recently published a detailed market research study focused on the "Folklift Solid Tire Market" across the global, regional and country level. The report provides 360 analysis of "Folklift Solid Tire Market" from view of manufacturers, regions, product types and end industries. The research report analyses and provides the historical data along with current performance of the global Folklift Solid Tire industry, and estimates the future trend of Folklift Solid Tire market on the basis of this detailed study. The study shares "Folklift Solid Tire Market" performance both in terms of volume and revenue.Get Free Sample Copy of Report Here:Top Manufacturers Analysis of This ReportContinental AGTrelleborgNEXEN CorporationTube & Solid TireGlobal Rubber IndustriesSuperior Tire & Rubber CorpInitial Appearance LLCCAMSOThe market research report explores the Folklift Solid Tire market across the globe along with major regions and countries. The research report provides a detailed study on each and every aspect of "Folklift Solid Tire Market". The research report studies the entire value chain from raw material to end user industries. The report also shares import/export statistics along with production and consumption for all major regions and countries. Moreover, the research study classifies the Folklift Solid Tire market based on major product types, application and end users industries of Folklift Solid Tire. Besides, the report also covers geographical segmentation for Folklift Solid Tire market. The report further provides production, capacity, price per region, gross margin, production cost, for all major regions and countries listed in report.The competitive landscape of the global market for Folklift Solid Tire is determined by assessing the major industry participants, production capacity, production capacity utilization rate, Folklift Solid Tire market's production chain, pricing by each manufacturer and the revenue generated by each manufacturer in the Folklift Solid Tire market globally.Enquire Before Buying @The global Folklift Solid Tire market 2018 is further analyzed on the basis of product pricing, Folklift Solid Tire production volume, data pertaining to demand and Folklift Solid Tire supply, and the revenue garnered by the product. The report provides upstream and downstream analysis covering major raw material used in manufacturing of Folklift Solid Tire along with detailed manufacturing sources. The report also shares list of major raw material manufacturers along with their manufacturing locations. Detailed raw material price trend analysis along with manufacturing cost analysis is also incorporated into the report. Various methodical tools such as investment returns, feasibility, SWOT analysis and market attractiveness analysis has been implemented in the research study to present a comprehensive, detailed study of the industry for Folklift Solid Tire across the world.About UsApex Market Reports offers elevating market research globally. We have collection of various syndicated reports of different categories. Apex Market Reports provides you to best services, weather youre searching for new trends in market or competitive scenario in emerging market.Customers can buys different reports across various categories such as Chemical and Material, Biotechnology, Healthcare, Food and beverages, Automobile and various sectors. Our Website offers safe and secure online ordering experience, convenient payment options.Contact UsFrank ValadezCorporate Sales Specialist155 North Wacker Drive, Suite 4250Chicago, IL 60606Phone: +17739042683Email id - sales@apexmarketreports.comWebsite -
Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Market Production, Presents Trends And Forecast 2017

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.The global Automotive Environmental Tyre market is closely assessed in the publication using in-depth verifiable projections, historical data, and qualitative insights. With the help of proven assumptions and research methodologies, the analysts have derived the projections featured in the publication. For every aspect of the market, the publication serves as a great repository of information, data, and critical analysis. It could be said that the publication is a fine source of stakeholder and value chain analysis, technological breakthroughs observed in the market, and current and future challenges, opportunities, and trends. Furthermore, the publication promises a significant unveiling of crucial market segments and sub-segments and opportunities therein.Global Automotive Environmental Tyre market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingMichelinBridgestoneContinentalPirelliGoodyearShanghai HuayiSumitomo Rubber IndustriesZC RubberYokohamaEnter your information below to receive a free sample copy of this report @The analysts have made it a point to reveal untapped markets and business prospects so as to assist players to strengthen their position in the industry. Besides market size, the publication sheds light on vital factors such as supply and demand. This could help readers to gain a complete understanding of how the global Automotive Environmental Tyre market would perform in the foreseeable future. Furthermore, the publication has been complied with the use of effective primary and secondary research methodologies, including surveys, interviews, trade journals, and reputable paid sources. The authors of the publication have ensured that readers do not miss out on any important information about the market that could keep them in the dark.The competitive landscape of the global Automotive Environmental Tyre market is broadly examined as the researchers profile some of the key companies operating in the industry. Company profiling takes into consideration critical factors that could impact the growth of players in the market, such as recent developments, market shares, mergers and acquisitions, and other business strategies. Moreover, the nature of the competitive landscape and future competitive scenarios are shed light upon in the publication. This could help players to be cautioned about future challenges and prepare effective plans beforehand.Table of ContentsGlobal Automotive Environmental Tyre Market Research Report 20171 Automotive Environmental Tyre Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Automotive Environmental Tyre1.2 Automotive Environmental Tyre Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2016Read Complete Table of Content @2 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)3 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 United States Automotive Environmental Tyre Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 EU Automotive Environmental Tyre Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 United States Automotive Environmental Tyre Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 EU Automotive Environmental Tyre Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Automotive Environmental Tyre Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)To Get Discount Of This Report Click here @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Automotive Environmental TyreFigure Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Production (K Units) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Automotive Environmental Tyre Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Product Picture of All-SteelFigure China Automotive Environmental Tyre Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Japan Automotive Environmental Tyre Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure South Korea Automotive Environmental Tyre Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure India Automotive Environmental Tyre Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.comBlog:
Global Crypto Currency Sales Market Analysis, Competitive Research & Challenges 2017

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Crypto Currency Sales Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.QYResearchReports.com has added a new report covering the global Crypto Currency market to its vast database. The research report studies the global Crypto Currency market to analyze the factors impacting it. The report has been divided into several chapters that discuss the global Crypto Currency market in absolute detail. The report begins with the discussion of the industry overview, which includes definitions and specifications of Crypto Currency. It also explains the classification of Crypto Currency, its applications, the industry chain structure, the status of the major regional segments of the global Crypto Currency market, industry policies, and recent news.The report gives an analysis of the manufacturing cost structure with the help of data about raw material suppliers and price analysis. This chapter also offers an explanation of the analysis carried out for equipment suppliers and prices. Furthermore, the chapter includes an analysis of labor costs, other costs, and manufacturing process analysis.Global Crypto Currency market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Crypto Currency sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingBitfinexBitFury GroupBitstampCoinbaseCoinsecureLitecoinOKEX Fintech CompanyPoloniexRippleGet Free Report Sample and Customization:The report explains the role of end users in regions such as Europe, China, and Japan, along with sharing the details regarding the segmentation of the global Crypto Currency market. The comprehensive report also explains the governmental policies acting on the global Crypto Currency market and studies the market in the context of the political scenario, economic condition, social dynamics, technological advancements, legal implications, and environmental demands and regulations.The research report on the global Crypto Currency gives a clear picture of the competitive landscape of the market. The report offers an insight into the financial overview and details about sales, revenue, and price concerning the leading vendors operating in the global Crypto Currency market. It also provides a SWOT analysis and Porters five forces analysis of the important players in the market.Table of ContentsGlobal Crypto Currency Sales Market Report 20171 Crypto Currency Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Crypto Currency1.2 Classification of Crypto Currency by Product Category1.2.1 Global Crypto Currency Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Crypto Currency Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20162 Global Crypto Currency Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Crypto Currency Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Crypto Currency Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Crypto Currency Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Crypto Currency (Volume and Value) by TypeTo Browse a Full Report with TOC:3 United States Crypto Currency (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Crypto Currency Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 United States Crypto Currency Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 United States Crypto Currency Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 United States Crypto Currency Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 United States Crypto Currency Sales Volume and Market Share by Players4 China Crypto Currency (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Crypto Currency Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 China Crypto Currency Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 China Crypto Currency Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.3 China Crypto Currency Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.comBlog:
Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market Latest Innovations, Drivers and Industry Key Events 2015-2025

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Real-time e-healthcare system is one of the best ways to keep your health records and track it anytime, without any geographical constraint. Patients can always stay in touch with their doctors and communicate with them about any health issue. They can self-check also for an immediate result without any third partys dependence. With advanced technology and rapid innovation, these days products are being made in such a way that it should be more consumer friendly and easy to use. Real-time e-healthcare system fulfills all the above criteria and hence, the market is growing at a positive rate.Recently, Kaiser Permanente implemented an EMR protocol in Community Health Centres in Oregon, US, to improve clinical decision support for patients with diabetes, which can remind them to prescribe hypertension medications to reduce heart attack and other strokes. iPatientCare EHR, Praxis, EMR, Insta HMS, e-MDs Chart, WRS Health, AccuMed, WEBeDoctor, A.I.med are some of the top Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software products.Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: Drivers & RestraintsTechnological advancement, increasing disposable income, increase use of online services, increase use of mobile devices, increased health cost and expenditure, increasing need of an integrated healthcare system are the most important driving factors in real-time e-healthcare system market. Sine real-time e-healthcare system reduces medical errors and easily accessible information, the demand for real time e-healthcare system has increased regardless of the geographical location.Lack of inexperienced professionals, high maintenance and service cost, privacy concerns, the complexity of systems, less presence of real-time e-healthcare system in rural areas including developed nations like Europe and are acting as a barrier for real-time e-healthcare system market.Request Report Sample@Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: SegmentationReal-time e-healthcare system is broadly classified on the basis of the following segments By Product:Fitness Bands/wristband deviceClip on monitor devicesThermometerBlood-pressure monitor deviceM-health applicationsBlood glucose monitor devicesBy End-user:Public/Private HospitalsPharmacyIndividualsOthersVisit For TOC@Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: OverviewThe real-time e-healthcare market has grown substantially at a healthy CAGR due to rising disposable income, increasing health awareness by consumers, ageing population and increasing healthcare expenditure. With rapid technological advancement and variety of options available in the market, real-time e-healthcare market is expected to grow globally. North America represents the largest market for this product category. Asia Pacific will emerge as the fastest growing region in real-time e-healthcare market.Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: Region-wise OutlookThe real-time e-healthcare market is expected to register a double-digit CAGR for the forecast period. Depending on geographic regions, real-time e-healthcare market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, South America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market due to the improved healthcare infrastructure and high healthcare cost and rising disposable income. Increase demand of cloud computing from the developed nations like Europe and North America may also increase the demand for real-time e-healthcare systems by the end of forecast period.Real-Time E-Healthcare System Market: Key PlayersSome of the key market players in real-time e-healthcare market are Fitbit, Garmin, Jawbone, Misfit Wearables, DexCom, Medtronic, Abbott, Cerner Corporation, GE Healthcare, Epic Systems Corporation, Medical Information Technology Inc. (MEDITECH).About Us Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Passenger Security System Market Size, Status and Forecast 2025 : Bruker, Bosch, Leidos

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Passenger Security System Market Size,Status and Forecast 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.The trajectory of the global Passenger Security System market is intercepted by several exciting trends and shifts, an in-depth account of which is offered in the report. The study on the global Passenger Security System market present evidence-based industry insights covering the growth dynamics, the outlook of key segments, and major technological advances. Recent changes in governmental policies influencing the regulatory landscape in various regions are evaluated in the global Passenger Security System market. The study offers an incisive analysis of the various trends that will gain traction in the coming years and the ones that will taper out in the coming years. It also evaluates emerging business models expected to cause disruptions in the business landscape in the coming years.Request for the Free Report Sample:This report studies the global Passenger Security System market, analyzes and researches the Passenger Security System development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeNomad DigitalBrukerArrow SecurityBoschICTS EuropeLeidosL3 Security & Detection SystemsThe findings offered in the report on the global Passenger Security System market mirror the perspectives of astute business sense of industry leaders and combines them with analytical and quantitative methods to arrive at reliable projections of the market. The study the global Passenger Security System market is prepared with the help of invaluable insights and opinions from business executives, policy makers, investors, and other key stakeholders. The analyses are supported by a wide spectrum of secondary research by gleaning through reputed journals, recent handbooks, company reports, and meta-analyses. With the aid of robust statistical models and quantitative methods, the study offers reliable insights into the prevailing prospects in various regions. Industry leaders and budding entrepreneurs looking for timely and clear insights on the various elements of growth dynamics the global Passenger Security System market will find the study findings useful. Segments of the global Passenger Security System market expected to show lackluster growth in the coming years are highlighted in the report while those that will promise promising prospects in various regions are intensively evaluated. Furthermore, the study takes a closer look at levels of threats made by new players and the strategies adopted by emerging and established players to gain a better foothold in the market.Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of Passenger Security System1.1 Passenger Security System Market Overview1.1.1 Passenger Security System Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Passenger Security System Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.3 Passenger Security System Market by Type1.4 Passenger Security System Market by End Users/Application2 Global Passenger Security System Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Passenger Security System Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in FutureEnquiry For Discount Visit @3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Nomad Digital3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Passenger Security System Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Bruker3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Passenger Security System Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments4 Global Passenger Security System Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Passenger Security System Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Passenger Security System Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Passenger Security System in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Passenger Security System5 United States Passenger Security System Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Passenger Security System Market Size (2013-2018)5.2 United States Passenger Security System Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)5.3 United States Passenger Security System Market Size by Application (2013-2018)6 EU Passenger Security System Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Passenger Security System Market Size (2013-2018)6.2 EU Passenger Security System Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)6.3 EU Passenger Security System Market Size by Application (2013-2018)About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Stacking up solutions: Parker Software launches new chat product

WhosOn SmallTalk

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https://www.whoson.com/inside-whoson/inside-whoson-smalltalk/

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Live chat specialist, Parker Software, has this week launched a new chat product exclusively for the SME market. Branded WhosOn SmallTalk, the solution provides a free, lightweight chat channel for single users.Parker Software has operated in the live chat market since 2002, and is already behind enterprise chat product WhosOn. In a move to cater to a broader range of companies, the business has now released its slimline chat alternative, designed to give customers a free, stylish and simple way to chat to their website visitors.The way customers communicate with brands is changing, says Stephen Parker, CEO and founder of Parker Software. Todays consumers expect real-time responses to their queries, and they demand low-barrier options that dont require picking up the phone or sending a formal email.Call centres and enterprises have long been taking advantage of live chat software to offer effective digital customer service. But for smaller companies who dont have the resources to deploy a large-scale chat solution, it can be difficult to meet the demands of online customers. Thats why we decided to create WhosOn SmallTalk  a free chat alternative that gives SMEs the chance to stay competitive.Free chat options typically dont focus on design, and dont always come from a reputable provider. WhosOn SmallTalk has been designed to address these problems, and allows users to download and deploy an elegant live chat solution in minutes  from a time-tested vendor.WhosOn SmallTalk now joins Parker Softwares existing product portfolio alongside the call centre chat solution, WhosOn, and business process automation tool ThinkAutomation. The solution is available for single users to download here:Parker Software is the UK leader in live chat software and business process automation. Founded in Stoke on Trent in 2002, the company has grown from a one-person start-up to a global operation employing teams across three offices in two continents.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++1. Further information on WhosOn SmallTalk can be found here:2. Further information on WhosOn can be found here:+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Parker Software LtdVictoria Business ParkProspect WayStoke on TrentST8 7PL
Small Animal Imaging (In Vivo) Market Value Chain, Dynamics and Key Players 2016-2026

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Small animal imaging (In vivo) is a technique used for imaging biological processes in living animals which shows the changes in cellular activity to study the effect of drugs and disease progression. Small animal imaging is used in clinical research for drug development. Small animal imaging helps to study the drug assessment on various diseases. The small animal imaging includes whole body scan of small animals which is a cost effective method for regular validation and commercialization of new drugs. Small animal imaging is in vivo classification and measurement of biologic process at molecular level which involves the study of specific targeted molecule. Small animal imaging includes micro CT, micro MRI, digital angiography, micro SPECT, micro PET magnetic particle imaging and x-ray imaging.Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: Drivers & RestraintsSmall animal imaging market is an emerging due to the advancements in technology and increase in healthcare expenditure. There is an enormous increase in pharmaceutical companies and research institutions elevation in usage of small animal imaging techniques across the globe. Although, high equipment cost and limitation in technology is expected to hinder the market growth of small animal imaging market over the forecast period. Also, surviving in highly competitive market and inaccessibility of radiopharmaceuticals are the main challenges to overcome for small players. Whereas, innovations in MRI imaging techniques as well in other imaging techniques, usage in many applications and emerging markets are some of the favorable factors for small animal imaging market growth. Small animal imaging market is also being affected by some factors such as insufficient infrastructure for research amenities and shortage of skilled personnel in developing regions.Request Report Sample@Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: SegmentationSmall animal imaging Market is classified on the basis of application, technology and geography.Based on application, the small animal imaging market is segmented into the following:Monitoring Drug Treatment ResponseBio Distribution StudiesCancer Cell DetectionBiomarkersLongitudinal StudiesEpigeneticsBased on technology, the small animal imaging market is segmented into the following:Micro-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (Micro-MRI)Digital AngiographyUltrasoundNuclear ImagingMicro-Positron Emission Tomography (Micro-PET)Micro-Single Photon Emission Computerized Tomography (Micro-SPECT)Optical Imaging (OI)Bioluminescence ImagingCerenkov Luminescence ImagingOthersMicro-Ultrasound ImagingMicro-Computerized Tomography (Micro-CT)Based on geography, the small animal imaging market is segmented into following:North America (U.S., Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil)Western Europe (Germany, Italy, U.K, Spain, France, Rest of Western Europe)Eastern Europe (Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, ASEAN, Australia & New Zealand)JapanMiddle East and Africa (GCC, S. Africa)Visit For TOC@Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: OverviewSmall animal imaging market is expected to grow at a good pace. Enormous increase in number of pharmaceutical companies and research institutions, rise in usage of functional imaging and growing adoption rate for small animal imaging are the factors expected to boost the market growth over the forecast period.The swift progression in technology, many applications and growing base of research are some of the key factors to drive the growth of small animal imaging globally.Emerging countries will be growing with a faster CAGR related to other parts of the world as expenditure in these region on research is growing.Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on geographic region, small animal imaging market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa.North America contributes the maximum share in small animal imaging market. Eastern and Western Europe will show a good growth as the need for drug development through small animal imaging will be increasing. Asia Pacific is growing with a significant CAGR for small animal imaging market due to increase in healthcare expenditure and investment in research. Amongst the Asian countries, China, India and South Korea will be the more promising because of having a good economy and more expenditure on research.Small Animal Imaging (In vivo) Market: Key PlayersSome of the key participating global players in small animal imaging (In vivo) marketare Berthold Technologies, Spectral Instruments Imaging, Agilent Technologies, Inc., Aspect Imaging, Bioscan, Inc., Bruker Corporation, Gamma Medica-Ideas, Inc., Genovis Ab, Li-Cor Biosciences, Life Technologies Corporation, Mediso Medical Imaging Systems, Miltenyi Biotec Gmbh, Perkinelmer, Inc., Promega Corporation, Scanco Medical Ag, Siemens Ag, Sofie Biosciences, Inc., Targeson, Inc., Uvp. LLC, Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, Thermo Fischer Scientific.About Us Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
IV Equipment Market Slated to Value US$ 12 Billion by 2022

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/19297

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/iv-equipment-market/toc

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/iv-equipment-market.asp

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The IV catheter segment is the most popular in the IV equipment market and should remain so for the foreseeable future. The IV catheter segment is expected to be worth more than US$ 2.7 billion in 2017 itself and companies are recommended to target this segment with gusto. The infusion pump segment is a close second in the IV equipment market in terms of product type segment and is likely to be the biggest winner in terms of market share. Key stakeholders in the IV equipment market would do well to focus their energy on the Europe infusion pumps market as the region accounts for more than a third of the revenue contribution.The securement device segment and stopclocks & valve segment have single digit revenue share in the IV equipment market. While the former is projected to lose market share, the latter is on track to gain share and companies may seek to take advantage of this. The stopcock & valves segment is estimated to grow with a CAGR of just under 6% from 2017 to 2022. Along with Europe, the stopcocks & valves segment has strong potential in APEJ.Request Sample Report@The drip chamber and needleless connector segment have a revenue share of less than a tenth in the IV equipment market at the end of 2017. The needleless connector segment is predicted to lose substantial share in the near future while the drip chamber segment should fall slowly. The Europe drip chamber segment is assessed to grow past more than US$ 285 million at the end of the forecast period. The needleless connector segment also has the greatest potential in Europe. Along with Europe, companies could additionally target the North America needleless connector segment.Hospitals hold the lions share in the IV equipment market by end user segment and are forecast to hold steady for the medium to long term. Hospitals are the most-well equipped to deal with any and every patient need pertaining to IV treatment. Europe is the largest region in the hospital segment of the IV equipment market but there is a close competition for the second place between APEJ and North America.The companies profiled in the IV equipment market are AngioDynamics, Moog Inc., Terumo Corporation, C. R. Bard, ICU Medical, Smiths Group, Baxter International Inc., Fresenius SE & Co., B. Braun Melsungen AG, and Becton, Dickinson and Company.Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @Rising cases of needle stick injuries, the shift in demand towards ambulatory surgical centers and fusion pumps, and a greater number of surgical procedures performed are poised to benefit the IV equipment market. Furthermore, a prevalence of chronic diseases in an ageing population in developed nations are positive signs for the IV equipment market. However, lack of wireless connectivity, regulatory mandates for new product launches and increasing cases of medication errors inhibit the unencumbered growth of the IV equipment market that is anticipated to witness a steady CAGR of 5% from 2017 to 2022.Report overview @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Blood Glucose Testing Sales Market Challenges, Competitive Landscape & Forecast 2018

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Blood Glucose Testing Sales Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.Blood Glucose Testing Market Research Report is a comprehensive market study, which has been created with a sole goal to armor existing and new players to gain advantage over their competitors. For the development of the report, proven research methodology and reliable analytical tools are applied to gain accurate understanding and insightful foresight into its potential development. The report presents figurative scenario of the market in current situation as well as forecasts the future based on all the important factors that that primed to influence the global Blood Glucose Testing market. The report covers all prevalent trends and products playing a significant role in the growth of the market for Blood Glucose Testing over the forecast period.In the last several years,global market of Blood Glucose Testing developed rapidly,with an average growth rate of 4%. In 2017,global revenue of Blood Glucose Testing (Blood Glucose Test Strips) is nearly 9400 M USD; the actual production is about 41000 million units.In 2017,global revenue of blood glucose lancet is nearly 980 M USD with CAGR 3.8%; global revenue of blood glucose meter is nearly 600 M USD with CAGR 2.8%.The major players in global Blood Glucose Testing market includeRocheLIFESCANAbbottAscensiaARKRAYI-SENSOmronB. BraunNipro DagnosticsEnter your information below to receive a free sample copy of this report @Prepared after extensive primary and secondary research, the report contains findings that are both reliable and verifiable. With the use of research techniques such as Porters five forces analysis and SWOT analysis, the important facets of each player and key segment are highlighted.One of the key feature of the report is the player profile section, in which it offers valuable information on the major players in the global Blood Glucose Testing market, such as their manufacturing base, product specification, production capacity, revenue and gross margin, and competitors. The report also includes the major business strategies adopted by the players, their market positioning, and various recent developments.The report also divides the global market for Blood Glucose Testing into important segments to present a clear picture of the opportunities available for the players. The segmentations have been done on the basis of product type, application, and technology. The geographical segmentation of the global Blood Glucose Testing market is also examined in detail, with the development of the market in each region charted through accurate historical statistics.Table of Contents1 Blood Glucose Testing Market Overview11.1 Product Overview and Scope of Blood Glucose Testing11.1.1 Global Blood Glucose Testing Lancet Revenue (2012-2023)21.1.2 Global Blood Glucose Meter Revenue (2012-2023)21.1.3 Global Blood Glucose Testing (Blood Glucose Test Strips) Revenue (2012-2023)31.2 Classification of Blood Glucose Testing by Product Category3Read Complete Table of Content @2 Global Blood Glucose Testing Competition by Players,Type and Application162.1 Global Blood Glucose Testing Market Competition by Players162.1.1 Global Blood Glucose Testing Sales and Market Share of Key Players (2016-2017)162.1.2 Global Blood Glucose Testing Revenue and Share by Players (2016-2017)192.2 Global Blood Glucose Testing Sales and Revenue by Type212.2.1 Global Blood Glucose Testing Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)212.2.2 Global Blood Glucose Testing Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)232.3 Global Blood Glucose Testing Sales and Revenue by Regions253 North America Blood Glucose Testing (Sales,Revenue and Price)313.1 North America Blood Glucose Testing Sales and Revenue (2012-2017)313.1.1 North America Blood Glucose Testing Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)313.1.2 North America Blood Glucose Testing Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)323.1.3 North America Blood Glucose Testing Price Trend (2012-2017)333.2 North America Blood Glucose Testing Sales and Market Share by Players333.3 North America Blood Glucose Testing Sales and Market Share by Type35About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.comBlog:
Peripheral Vascular Stents Market Information, Figures and Analytical Insights 2016-2026

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Peripheral vascular stents are devices used to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD). The PAD is characterized by plaque building up in the arteries which in turn blocks the arteries and obstructs the blood flow to the organs, this when left untreated can lead to gangrene and in turn may require amputation of limbs, in case if the blockage occurs in carotid artery can lead to stroke. Patients suffering from PAD have high risk of having a heart attack. To treat the blocked arteries angioplasty procedures are performed in which Peripheral vascular stents are placed in the arteries after the vascular surgery or angioplasty in order to prevent the artery from closing again and helps to maintain blood flow and provide internal structural support to the artery, With the increasing prevalence of PAD globally, the demand for peripheral vascular stents is expected to witness high growth over the forecast period.Peripheral Vascular Stents Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe rising incidence and prevalence of PAD is expected to propel demand for peripheral vascular stents over the forecast period. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 8.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from PAD. Rising geriatric population is also another factor responsible for growth in demand for peripheral vascular stents, out of the total population in the U.S. suffering from PAD nearly 20% fall in the age group of 60 years and above. Development of new imaging techniques is expected to significantly improve the vascular surgeries involving placement of peripheral vascular stents and in turn is expected to increase the number of stenting procedures. Introduction of new technology based stents is also expected to boost adoption of peripheral vascular stents over the forecast period. However, high price of the peripheral stents and low awareness among the general population about PAD is expected to hamper revenue growth of peripheral vascular stents over the forecast period.Request Report Sample@Peripheral Vascular Stents Market: SegmentationThe global peripheral vascular stents market is segmented into three key segments, by product type, by end user and by geography.Segmentation by product typeBalloon Expanding StentSelf-Expanding StentDrug Eluting StentBare Metal StentSegmentation by end userHospitalsAmbulatory Surgical CentersSpecialty ClinicsPeripheral Vascular Stents Market: OverviewThe global peripheral vascular stents market is expected to witness robust growth over the forecast period owing to the rising prevalence of PAD and growing awareness and adoption of stenting procedures. Demographic factors like ageing population and leisure lifestyle of the population is expected accelerate the prevalence of PAD diseases and in turn promote revenue growth of the peripheral vascular stents market over the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Peripheral Vascular Stents Market: Region  wise OutlookRegionally, global peripheral vascular stents market is divided in seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA)Regionally North America and Western Europe are expected to be the leading markets in terms of revenue for peripheral vascular stents owing to high awareness and growth in stenting procedures performed. The high prevalence of PAD in North America and Europe regions is expected to propel demand for peripheral vascular stents in these regions over the forecast period. APEJ region is expected to witness high growth in demand for peripheral vascular stents over the forecast period. Rising prevalence of PAD, large at - risk population and growing awareness of stenting procedures in China and India is expected to boost demand for peripheral vascular stents in these region. Nearly 70% population suffering from PAD lives in middle to low income countries, therefore regions like APEJ, Latin America and MEA are expected to witness robust growth in terms of revenue. Factors like diabetic population, obesity, smoking and people suffering from hypertension are ultimately expected to contribute for growth in stenting procedures in all geographies.Peripheral Vascular Stents Market: Key Market ParticipantsSome key market participants in the peripheral vascular stents market include Abbott Laboratories, Boston Scientific, C.R. Bard, Biotronik, Cook Medical, Cordis Corporation, Medtronic and othersAbout Us Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand/South Africa Ignition Interlock Devices Market Research Report 2017

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand/South Africa Ignition Interlock Devices Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.The report endeavors to give clear signs to market members into which trends will pick up unmistakable quality or which will lose their gloss in the coming years. This helps developing and additionally settled organizations in powerful methodology definitions.The provide details regarding the Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand/South Africa Ignition Interlock Devices market offers intricate and thorough appraisal of key growth drivers, challenges, essential trends, major innovative advances, and vital landscape. The analysis shows a point by point outline of the flow market offerings, their extension in different areas, and real innovative work exercises impacting their growth. The investigation exhibits a point by point evaluation of different kinds of business dangers, prominently operational and vital, and features the predominant administrative controls in different areas. It additionally investigates expected growth zones and lucrative prospects developing in the Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand/South Africa Ignition Interlock Devices market. Key developments prone to open up new income streams in undiscovered markets are likewise shrouded in the report.For free sample on this report, fill the form @The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Whats more, the Ignition Interlock Devices industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.This report studies Ignition Interlock Devices focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with Installation, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringDragerSmartStartLifeSaferVolvoAlcolockGuardianPFK electronicsThis record isolated from stations into the general Ignition Interlock Devices market by methods for in a general sense inspecting the part and industrialized chain A different scope of trends is causing extensive moves in buyer inclinations in the Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand/South Africa Ignition Interlock Devices market in different creating and created locales. The examination offers a granular analysis of such viewpoints and the possible open doors that will rise by virtue of this are secured. It additionally zeroes in key factors that will bolster open and private interests in the Europe, South America, and Australia/New Zealand/South Africa Ignition Interlock Devices market.Table of Contents1 Ignition Interlock Devices Market Overview11.1 Definition and Specifications of Ignition Interlock Devices11.2 Applications of Ignition Interlock Devices21.3 Countries Analysis31.4 Market Drivers and Opportunities41.4.1 Drivers Factors of Ignition Interlock Devices41.4.2 Emerging Markets/Countries42 Global Ignition Interlock Devices Market Competition by Manufacturers112.1 Global Ignition Interlock Devices Installation and Share by Manufacturers (2016 and 2017)112.2 Global Ignition Interlock Devices Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2016 and 2017)142.3 Ignition Interlock Devices Market Competitive Situation and Trends172.3.1 Ignition Interlock Devices Market Concentration Rate172.3.2 Ignition Interlock Devices Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers19Click here to avail discount on this reports @3 Canada Market Analysis213.1 Information on Business Model and Regulatory Environment213.2 Major Companies Active233.3 Ignition Interlock Market243.4 SWOT Analysis244 Australia and New Zealand Market Analysis254.1 Australia Market Analysis254.1.1 Information on Business Model and Regulatory Environment254.1.2 Major Companies Active284.1.3 Ignition Interlock Market294.1.4 SWOT Analysis294.2 New Zealand Market Analysis304.2.1 Information on Business Model and Regulatory Environment304.2.2 Major Companies Active314.2.3 Ignition Interlock Used for DUI Market324.2.4 SWOT Analysis325 South Africa Market Analysis335.1 Information on Business Model and Regulatory Environment335.2 Major Companies Active335.3 Ignition Interlock Market355.4 SWOT Analysis356 South America Market Analysis366.1 Information on Business Model and Regulatory Environment366.2 Major Companies Active376.3 Ignition Interlock Market in South America386.4 SWOT Analysis38About Us:QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Bronchoscopes Market Segments, Key Players Strategies, Analysis and Forecasts Till 2023

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The Global Bronchoscopes Market report titled Bronchoscopes Market Research Report-Forecast to 2023 is a specialist investigation report by Market Research Future includes broad essential research alongside the definite examination of subjective and additionally quantitative perspectives by different industry specialists, key sentiment pioneers to pick up a more profound understanding of the market and industry execution. The global bronchoscopes market is growing continuously and expected to grow at a CAGR of ~7.4% from 2017 to 2023TRY SAMPLE REPORT @MarketResearchFuture.com adds Bronchoscopes Market -2017 Global Analysis, Growth, Trends and Opportunities Research Report Forecasting to 2023 reports to its database.Market Highlights of Global Bronchoscopes Market:Bronchoscopy is an endoscopic technique of visualizing the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Bronchoscope is inserted into the airways, usually through the nose or mouth, or occasionally through trachea which allows the practitioner to examine the abnormalities in patient airways for foreign bodies, tumors, bleeding, or inflammation. There are a variety of bronchoscopes, introduced for different diagnostic requirements, owing to the different advantages flexible bronchoscopeshave over rigid bronchoscopes. The major driving factors for the growth of the market are increasing prevalence of the different respiratory procedures, increase in preference for minimally invasive procedures, and rising geriatric population. At the University of Chicago Medicine, over 70% of major lung resection surgeries are performed using minimally invasive techniques. Moreover, increasing patient inflow, rising healthcare expenditure and increasing government support have provided push for the growth of the market. On the other hand, the average cost of the bronchoscopes is around USD 2500  USD 3500. Thus, high cost of the bronchoscopes may restrain the growth of the market.Major Players in Bronchoscopes Market:Some of the major players in this market: Ambu Inc. (US), Boston Scientific Corporation (US), Cogentix Medical (US), Fujifilm Holdings Corporation (Japan), Olympus Corporation (Japan), Pentax Medicals (Japan), and KARL STORZ GmbH & Co. KG (Germany), Schindler Endoskopie Technologie Gmbh (Germany), Scholly Fiberoptic Gmbh (Germany), Vimex Sp. (Poland), Hangzhou EndoTop Medi-Tech Co., Ltd.(China), Guangzhou MeCan Medical Limited (China), and LocaMed (UK)Key Findings of Global Bronchoscopes Market:Flexible bronchoscopes segment accounts for the largest market share in the global bronchoscopes market and is expected to be the fastest growing market with the CAGR of 8.0 % during the forecast period.Diagnosis commanded the largest market share in 2016 and was valued at USD 885.7 million in 2016 and is expected to reach at USD 1,484.2 million by 2023.On the basis of end users, Hospitals & clinics segment accounts for the largest market share of 49.1% in the global bronchoscopes market.The Americas bronchoscopes market is expected to reach USD 868.7 million by 2023, at a CAGR of 7.4 % during the forecast period.Regional Analysis of Global Bronchoscopes Market:Considering the global scenario of the bronchoscopes market, there are four main regions: America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa.America accounts for the largest market owing to the huge patient inflow due to increasing prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases, well-developed healthcare sector, increasing geriatric population, and high healthcare spending. America consists of two regions namely, North America and South America. North America is the major market share holder owing to increasing number of hospitals and healthcare organization and huge patient pool in this region. According to the American Hospital Association, in 2016, total number of all US Registered Hospitals was 5,564. Additionally, according to the American Lung Association, lung cancer affects more than 370,000 Americans each year.Europe commands the second largest market share in global bronchoscopes. Some major factors that attribute the growth of Europe bronchoscopes market are, huge patient population, well-developed healthcare facilities, and increasing government support. Germany, the UK and France are the major contributor in the Europe bronchoscopes market.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market. Improving healthcare sector, rapidly growing economies, presence of huge patient population, and presence of huge opportunities for the development of the market has driven the growth for this market in Asia Pacific. Whereas, the Middle East & Africa accounts for the lowest share in the global bronchoscopes market.The report for Global Bioidentical Hormones market by Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain a deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives a clear picture of the current market scenario which includes past and estimated future market size with respect to value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides detail information about and strategies used by top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.ACCESS COMPLETE REPORT @Segmentation of Global Bronchoscopes market:The global bronchoscopes market is segmented on the basis of type, application, and end users.On the basis of type, the market is segmented into rigid bronchoscopes, and flexible bronchoscopes. Flexible bronchoscopes are further sub-segmented into fiber optic bronchoscopes, and video bronchoscopes.On the basis of application, the market is segmented into diagnosis, and surgical procedure. Diagnosis is further segmented into examination, patients airways, bleeding lungs, possibility of lung cancer, chronic cough, and obtain tissue specimen for biopsy. Surgical procedure is further segmented into removal of a foreign object in the airway, laser resection of tumors, lung abscess, stent insertion, percutaneous tracheostomy, and tracheal intubation.On the basis of end user, the market is segmented into hospitals & clinics, diagnostic centers and others.Major TOC of Bronchoscopes Market:Chapter 1 Report Prologue $ 1,350.00Chapter 2 Market Introduction $ 0.00Chapter 3 Research Methodology $ 0.00Chapter 4 Market Dynamics $ 950.00Chapter 5 Market Factor Analysis $ 950.00Chapter 6 Global Bronchoscopes Market By Type $ 1,650.00Chapter 7 Global Bronchoscopes Market By Application $ 1,650.00Chapter 8 Global Bronchoscopes Market By End User $ 1,650.00Chapter 9 Global Bronchoscopes Market, By Region $ 1,650.00Chapter 10 Company Landscape $ 1,050.00Chapter 11 Company Profile $ 900.00Chapter 12 Conclusion $ 750.00Chapter 13 Appendix $ 0.00Chapter 14 LIST OF TABLES $:TABLE 1 Primary Interviews17TABLE 2 Sample Size Determination Of End-Users (Hospitals, Clinics).18TABLE 3 Global Bronchoscopes Market By Type, 2014 To 2023 (USD Million)..38TABLE 4 Global Rigid Bronchoscopes Market By Region, 2014 To 2023 (USD Million)39TABLE 5 Global Flexible Bronchoscopes Market By Region, 2014 To 2023 (USD Million).40TABLE 6 Global Fiberoptic Bronchoscopes Market By Region, 2014 To 2023 (USD Million).41TABLE 7 Global Video Bronchoscopes Market By Region, 2014 To 2023 (USD Million).42TABLE 8 Global Bronchoscopes Market By Application, 2014  2023 (USD Million)44Chapter 15 LIST OF FIGURES:FIGURE 1 Market Structure Of Global Bronchoscope Market..15FIGURE 2 Research Methodology16FIGURE 3 Global Bronchoscopes Market: Forecast Model..19FIGURE 4 Supply Chain Analysis..28FIGURE 5 Porters Five Forces Model..33FIGURE 6 Global Bronchoscopes Market By Type, 2016 & 2023 (USD Million..37FIGURE 7 Global Bronchoscopes Market By Application, 2016 & 2023 (USD Million)43FIGURE 8 Global Bronchoscopes Market By End User, 2016 & 2023 (USD Million)..49CONTINUEDAVAIL DISCOUNT @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: salesteam@marketresearchfuture.com
Nano Crystal Cellulose Market to Register Significant Growth Globally Forecast to 2025

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The nano crystal cellulose market is expected to gain traction during the forecast period. The demand is majorly driven some of the key factors end user industries such as drilling fluids, automotive and among others. In automotive sector, nano crystal cellulose based composites can be used in the production of accessories such as cushions, headliners and headlamps. The other driving factors for the growth of nano crystal cellulose are its properties such as, its optical filler content property than any other cellulose. Application of nano crystal cellulose over others is expected to gain traction in end use industries such as, cosmetics, food and pharmaceutical among others. In spite of significant applications, the nano crystal cellulose threat from many substitutes such as cellulose ethers and microcrystalline cellulose is expected to hinder the market growth over the next few years. Along with this, shortage of commercial machineries and low consumer awareness are the expected to be the major restraints for the market growth.Nano crystal cellulose is one of the key emerging renewable nanomaterial which is anticipated to create an enormous influence on end use sector. Nano crystal cellulose is obtained by extraction of wood biomass and then it can treated with solid, liquid or with gel form. Pulp, wood, potato, bacteria, sugar beet are the raw material used for nano crystal cellulose. Various methods are used to manufacture nano crystal cellulose such as, acetylation, esterification and others, but of which acidic treatment method is actively used to achieve the maximum yield of nano crystal cellulose.Request to Sample of Report @Properties of nano crystal cellulose plays a vital role in consumption globally such as, its high aspect ratio, good water uptake, film formation, strong fiber network, and others, along with this key properties nano crystal cellulose has unique electrical, optical and magnetic properties. The approximate diameter of nano crystal cellulose ranges between 3-5 nm and of length 100-600 nm. Owing to advanced tensile strength nano crystal cellulose can be used in the manufacture of lightweight and strong composites, which can be used in construction, packaging and aerospace industry. In electronic industry, NCC can be used in electronic displays, panels and security papers.Consumption of nano crystal cellulose in end use industries is expected to gain traction in the near future. Application of nano crystal cellulose in oil & gas industry plays a vital role it can used as, rheloogy modifier, thickner during the drilling fluid and as viscosifier. In paints & coatings industry, nano crystal cellulose used as functional additives to alter rheological properties as well as emulsifier.Request Report For TOC @North America and Western Europe are anticipated to thrive the demand for nano crystal cellulose in between 2017 and 2027. The U.S. is expected to grow the demand for nano crystal cellulose in North America. However, Western Europe is projected to dominate the demand for nano crystal cellulose in Europe owing to demand from end use industry. Eastern Europe is expected to be the key producer of nano crystal cellulose. Asia Pacific is expected to be the major market for nano crystal cellulose in the coming years. China and India are projected to drive the demand in Asia Pacific region. However, Japan and ASEAN countries are proposed to witness for potential opportunities for nano crystal cellulose over the forecast period.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Fin Field Effect Transistor (FinFET) Market Estimated to Flourish by 2027

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Miniaturization has been the trend in the technology market for a now time now and with the advent of devices such as wearables the need to fit more components in limited space on devices and semiconductors is more than ever. Semiconductors have generally followed the Moores law and the number of transistors on a given area of silicon has doubled every two years. While semiconductors have grown smaller in size they have also successfully tackled the issue of power efficiency to enable efficient functioning of battery based devices.All these developments in semiconductors has been made possible by the usage of Fin Field Effect Transistors, a type of non-planer or 3-D transistor used in modern processers. The Fin Field Effect Transistor uses fin shaped gate electrode which rises above the level of insulator. The Fin-Shaped electrode on Fin Field Effect Transistor allows multiple gates to operate on a single transistor. This is one of the primary methods leveraged by a Fin Field Effect Transistor to enable space and efficiency improvements. Fin Field Effect Transistors were first introduced in 2012 by Intel with its 22-mm Ivy Bridge processors.A sample of this report is available upon request @Fin Field Effect Transistors Market: Drivers & ChallengesThe need of power and space efficiency is increasing day by day. Fin Field Effect Transistors are at the base of many of the IoT devices that are getting adopted in consumer as well as Enterprise markets at a fast pace. This has resulted in a scenario where Fin Field Effect Transistors have become elemental in most of the modern semiconductors. IoT will this drive the demand of Fin Field Effect Transistors. While Fin Field Effect Transistors have been adopted heavily across applications the production processes for Fin Field Effect Transistors has been hard to adopt even for some of the established semiconductor manufacturers.Fin Field Effect Transistor Market: SegmentationFin Field Effect Transistors Market, By Technology:Fin Field Effect Transistor Technology is segmented into 22nm, 20nm, 16nm, 14nm, 10nm & 7nm. The nanometer size refers to gage of copper in the transistor. The smaller number of Nanometer means that a higher number of transistors can be fitted into a CPU enabling performance efficiency.Fin Field Effect Transistors Market, By Product:Fin Field Effect Transistor, by product is segmented into smartphones, computer & tablets, wearables, Automotive, Industrial and others.Fin Field Effect Transistor Market: Regional OverviewNorth America is expected to lead the Fin Field Effect Transistor Market in terms of value owing to high adoption of digitization and IoT. However Asia Pacific is expected to lead the market in terms of growth owing to the rapid penetration of smartphone and automation technologies in the region.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Fin Field Effect Transistor Market: Competitive LandscapeFin Field Effect Transistor Market :Key Contracts/Agreement/AcquisitionsQualcomm and TSMC, both prominent players in the semiconductor industry have come together to manufacture semiconductors based on Fin Field Effect process technology. It is speculated that Qualcomm is looking to partner with TSMC to develop 7nm chipsFin Field Effect Transistor Market : Key PlayersLeading players in the Fin Field Effect Transistors market include NVIDIA Corporation, Intel Corporation, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, Samsung, Globalfoundries, NXP Semiconductors, Texas Instruments Incorporated and others.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Virtual Pipeline System Sales Market Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast Research Report 2017

Virtual Pipeline System Sales Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Virtual Pipeline System Sales Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Virtual Pipeline System market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Virtual Pipeline System for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Global Virtual Pipeline System market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Virtual Pipeline System sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingGeneral ElectricHexagon Composites ASALuxfer Holdings PLCGalileo Technologies S.A.Pentagon Energy LLCLightSail EnergyCimarron CompositesXpress Natural Gas LLCNG Advantage LLCCompass Natural GasBroadwind Energy, Inc.REV LNG, LLCGlobal Partners LPOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoType IType IIOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingIndustrialTransportationCommercialResidentialTable of ContentsGlobal Virtual Pipeline System Sales Market Report 20171 Virtual Pipeline System Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Virtual Pipeline System1.2 Classification of Virtual Pipeline System by Product Category1.2.1 Global Virtual Pipeline System Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Virtual Pipeline System Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.31.2.41.3 Global Virtual Pipeline System Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Virtual Pipeline System Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Industrial1.3.3 Transportation1.3.4 Commercial1.3.5 Residential1.4 Global Virtual Pipeline System Market by Region1.4.1 Global Virtual Pipeline System Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Virtual Pipeline System Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 China Virtual Pipeline System Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Europe Virtual Pipeline System Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Virtual Pipeline System Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Virtual Pipeline System Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Virtual Pipeline System Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Virtual Pipeline System (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Virtual Pipeline System Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 Global Virtual Pipeline System Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Virtual Pipeline System Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Virtual Pipeline System Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Virtual Pipeline System (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Global Virtual Pipeline System Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Global Virtual Pipeline System (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.3.2 Global Virtual Pipeline System Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4 Global Virtual Pipeline System (Volume) by ApplicationGet Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @3 United States Virtual Pipeline System (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 United States Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 United States Virtual Pipeline System Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 United States Virtual Pipeline System Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 United States Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Players3.3 United States Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Type3.4 United States Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Application4 China Virtual Pipeline System (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 China Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 China Virtual Pipeline System Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.3 China Virtual Pipeline System Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)4.2 China Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Players4.3 China Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Type4.4 China Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Application5 Europe Virtual Pipeline System (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 Europe Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Value (2012-2017)5.1.1 Europe Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.2 Europe Virtual Pipeline System Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.3 Europe Virtual Pipeline System Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)5.2 Europe Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Players5.3 Europe Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Type5.4 Europe Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Application6 Japan Virtual Pipeline System (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Japan Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Value (2012-2017)6.1.1 Japan Virtual Pipeline System Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.2 Japan Virtual Pipeline System Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.3 Japan Virtual Pipeline System Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)6.2 Japan Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Players6.3 Japan Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by Type6.4 Japan Virtual Pipeline System Sales Volume and Market Share by ApplicationContinue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Speaker Materials Market: Upcoming Demands & Growth Analysis

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The market growth of speaker materials will be driven by increasing demand for audio devices due to continuous innovative advancements in audio devices and growing demand for home theaters due to rising disposable income. The speaker materials market is anticipated to witness steady growth in near future due to growing implementation of wireless audio devices and growing demand for consumer electronics. The demand for speaker materials will be positively impacted by the new developments in the audio device market. New product innovations in speakers, such as the ability to be used with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices, will surge the demand for smart portable speakers which can directly stream audio content from the Internet.Speaker materials are used for manufacturing devices for a variety of applications, such as commercial and automotive applications and others. Audio streaming services have gained widespread popularity with high internet penetration, which will further propel the demand for speaker components for the manufacturing of devices. The e-commerce sales channel is expected to emerge as the key sales channel for the manufacturers over the duration of the forecast. North America and Europe are the most advanced markets in terms of technology due to the presence of key players and system manufacturers. The ever growing demand for portable devices, such as smartphones, will continue to drive the demand for audio devices in all parts of the globe. The new technologies will force speaker component manufacturers to develop adaptable parts to cater to the shifting trends amongst consumers.Request to Sample of Report @Speaker materials include audio device components, such as ferrites, cross overs, speaker spiders, diaphragms, rubbers, speaker cones and terminals that are sold to audio enthusiasts, manufacturers and auto sound installers. The demand for speaker materials varies depending as per end use design and application as well as the properties of a product, such as color, shape and size. Consumer preferences have significantly changed in the recent past and audio devices are aligning towards digital design systems, which may impact the demand for speaker materials in near future. Apart from higher wattage and sound quality, the demand for devices that facilitate Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and USB plug in is expected to grow across the globe in the coming years.The manufacturers are focusing on product innovation and R&D as assemblers are looking for efficient products to attract customers for their products. The quality of speaker materials is expected to play a key role in the coming years owing to increasing demand for enhanced sound quality. The key stakeholders are looking to strengthen their long-term business relationship and provide competitive service in the market to gain advantage from rivals and generate bulk orders. Market demand and the quality of product offerings plays major role in ensuring percent repeat order rate from clients. The companies also provide speaker design assistance, speaker replacement consultations and customized design services.Request Report For TOC @The global Speaker Materials market is segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA). In the coming years, Western Europe, Japan and North America are expected to hold a notable share in the demand for Speaker Materials as end users are looking to buy new speakers with better wireless connectivity to increase convenience. APEJ is expected to register significant growth due to the growing demand for speaker materials fueled by India- and China-based strong demand due to rising disposal income and spending power in these countries. MEA, Latin America and Eastern Europe are also expected to register healthy CAGR over the forecast period.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
UAE Automotive Parts Die-Casting Market Report 2017, Trends, Analysis, Share, Estimates and Forecasts to 2022.

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The UAE Automotive Parts Die-Casting report provides an in-depth analysis of the various market segments and its sub-segments.Products Covered: Pressure die-casting Vacuum die-casting Squeeze die-casting Semi-solid die-castingRaw Material Types Covered: Aluminium Zinc Magnesium OthersApplication Types Covered: Body assemblies Engine Parts Transmission parts OthersThe report focuses on current and upcoming market trends such as Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, and Challenges, technological advancements, Porters Five Forces analysis to assess the intensity of competition in the market. The market values are presented in the form of tables and graphs for better interpretation.For More, Please Visit:Market Size EstimationsThe market assessment is made by the core industry experts using our 360 research approach. The data is derived from the most reliable, authenticated data sources and is validated by the industry experts (Primary Research). Both top down and bottom up analysis are implemented to enhance the accuracy of the market figures. The market projections are calculated for the next 8 years using the actual market numbers of previous year as the base value.Company ProfilingThis section provides the overview of the key players that are leading in the industry, covering their business operations, financials, list of products & services, SWOT analysis, major developments such as mergers & acquisitions, agreements, partnerships, joint ventures, new product launch, expansions etc.Report Highlights:- Market share assessments for all the mentioned market segments and sub-segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 8 years for all the given segments- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Strategic recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping, mapping the key common trends- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsFor More, Please Visit:We offer wide spectrum of research and consulting services with in-depth knowledge of different industries. We are known for customized research services, consulting services and Full Time Equivalent (FTE) services in the research world. We explore the market trends and draw our insights with valid assessments and analytical views. We use advanced techniques and tools among the quantitative and qualitative methodologies to identify the market trends. Our research reports and publications are routed to help our clients to design their business models and enhance their business growth in the competitive market scenario. We have a strong team with hand-picked consultants including project managers, implementers, industry experts, researchers, research evaluators and analysts with years of experience in delivering the complex projects.STRATISTICS MRC17049 King James Way, Gaithersburg,MD, 20877, USA
Employee Scheduling Software Global Market 2018: Key Players  Bobclass, Shortcuts Software, Veribook, Reservio, BookingRun, Cirrus Insight, CozyCal, Square

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The Global Employee Scheduling Software market size will be XX million (USD) in 2023, from the XX million (USD) in 2017, with a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of XX% from between 2017 and 2023.This report studies the global Employee Scheduling Software market, especially in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, focuses on the top 5 Employee Scheduling Software players in each region, with sales, price, revenue and market share from 2013 to 2018, the top players includingAcuity SchedulingSimplybook.meAppointySetMoreMyTimeTimeTradePulse 24/7CalendlyBobclassShortcuts SoftwareVeribookReservioBookingRunCirrus InsightCozyCalSquareMINDBODYRequest a Sample Report @Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with sales, revenue, market share of top players in these regions, from 2013 to 2018 (forecast), likeNorth America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Korea)Europe (Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia etc.South America (Brazil, Chile, Peru and Argentina)Middle East and Africa (Egypt, South Africa, Saudi Arabia)Split by Product Types, with sales, revenue, price, market share of each type, can be divided intoCloud, SaaS, WebMobile - Android NativeMobile - iOS NativeOtherSplit by applications, this report focuses on sales, market share and growth rate of Employee Scheduling Software in each application, can be divided intoSmall BusinessMidsize EnterpriseLarge EnterpriseOtherTable of Contents2018 Top 5 Employee Scheduling Software Players in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa1 Employee Scheduling Software Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Employee Scheduling Software1.2 Employee Scheduling Software Segment by Types1.2.1 Global Sales Market Share of Employee Scheduling Software by Types in 20171.2.2 Cloud, SaaS, Web1.2.2.1 Major Players of Cloud, SaaS, Web1.2.3 Mobile - Android Native1.2.3.1 Major Players of Mobile - Android Native1.2.4 Mobile - iOS Native1.2.4.1 Major Players of Mobile - iOS Native1.2.5 Other1.2.5.1 Major Players of Other1.3 Employee Scheduling Software Segment by Applications1.3.1 Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Applications in 20171.3.2 Small Business1.3.3 Midsize Enterprise1.3.4 Large Enterprise1.3.5 Other1.4 Employee Scheduling Software Market by Regions1.4.1 North America Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.1.1 North America Employee Scheduling Software Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2023)1.4.2 Asia-Pacific Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.2.1 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2023)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.3.1 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2023)1.4.4 South America Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.4.1 South America Employee Scheduling Software Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2023)1.4.5 Middle East and Africa Status and Prospect (2013-2023)1.4.5.1 Middle East and Africa Employee Scheduling Software Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2023)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Employee Scheduling Software (2013-2023)2 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Players2.1 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Players in 2016 and 20172.1.1 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Players in 2016 and 20172.1.2 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share (%) by Players in 2016 and 20172.2 Global Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share by Players in 2016 and 20172.2.1 Global Employee Scheduling Software Revenue by Players in 2016 and 20172.2.2 Global Employee Scheduling Software Revenue Market Share (%) by Players in 2016 and 20172.3 Global Employee Scheduling Software Average Price by Players in 2016 and 20172.4 Global Employee Scheduling Software Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types by Players2.4.1 Global Employee Scheduling Software Manufacturing Base Distribution and Sales Area by Players2.4.2 Players Employee Scheduling Software Product Types2.5 Employee Scheduling Software Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Employee Scheduling Software Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Employee Scheduling Software Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue (Value) by Regions, Type and Application (2013-2018)3.1 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)3.1.1 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)3.1.2 Global Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)3.2 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2013-2018)3.2.1 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.2.2 Global Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.2.3 Global Employee Scheduling Software Price by Type (2013-2018)3.3 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)3.3.1 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Application (2013-2018)3.3.2 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Application (2013-2018)3.4 Global Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)4 North America Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue and Price4.1 North America Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share in 2016 and 20174.1.1 North America Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share in 2016 and 20174.1.2 North America Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share in 2016 and 20174.2 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2013-2018)4.2.1 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)4.2.1.1 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Type (2013-2018)4.2.1.2 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Type (2013-2018)4.2.2 North America Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)4.2.2.1 North America Employee Scheduling Software Revenue by Type (2013-2018)4.2.2.2 North America Employee Scheduling Software Revenue Market Share by Type (2013-2018)4.2.3 North America Employee Scheduling Software Price by Type (2013-2018)4.3 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)4.3.1 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Application (2013-2018)4.3.2 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Application (2013-2018)4.4 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Country (US, Canada and Mexico) (2013-2018)4.4.1 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Country (2013-2018)4.4.2 North America Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Country (2013-2018)4.5 North America Employee Scheduling Software Import & Export (2013-2018)5 Europe Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue and Price5.1 Europe Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share in 2016 and 20175.1.1 Europe Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share in 2016 and 20175.1.2 Europe Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share in 2016 and 20175.2 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2013-2018)5.2.1 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2.1.1 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Type (2013-2018)5.2.1.2 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2.2 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2.2.1 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Revenue by Type (2013-2018)5.2.2.2 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Revenue Market Share by Type (2013-2018)5.2.3 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Price by Type (2013-2018)5.3 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)5.3.1 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Application (2013-2018)5.3.2 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Application (2013-2018)5.4 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy and Russia) (2013-2018)5.4.1 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Country (2013-2018)5.4.2 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Country (2013-2018)5.5 Europe Employee Scheduling Software Import & Export (2013-2018)6 Asia-Pacific Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue and Price6.1 Asia-Pacific Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue and Market Share in 2016 and 20176.1.1 Asia-Pacific Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share in 2016 and 20176.1.2 Asia-Pacific Top 5 Players Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share in 2016 and 20176.2 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Sales, Revenue, Market Share and Price by Type (2013-2018)6.2.1 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)6.2.1.1 Asia-Pacific "&Sheet1!B1&" Sales by Type (2013-2018)"6.2.2 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)6.2.3 Asia-Pacific "&Sheet1!B1&" Price by Type (2013-2018)"6.3 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)6.3.1 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Application (2013-2018)6.3.2 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Application (2013-2018)6.4 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Sales and Market Share by Country (China, Japan, Southeast Asia, India, Korea and Australia) (2013-2018)6.4.1 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Sales by Country (2013-2018)6.4.2 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Sales Market Share by Country (2013-2018)6.5 Asia-Pacific Employee Scheduling Software Import & Export (2013-2018)ContinuedAccess Complete Report @Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Classroom Python Machine Learning Training by Industry Expert_MCAL

Python Machine Learning

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"Python Machine Learning Training , Details of the training are given below.A lot of Jobs will become obsolete slowly with the advent of Machine Learning. It is important to re-skill to stay relevant in the software Industry. This course helps you understand machine learning in a simple and easy way.Course Introduction:Python has become the de facto programming language of data scientists and data analysts. Its concise, easy to learn and data friendly, making it ideal for data analysis. We will start with a crash course on Python before getting into machine learning using Python. We will also look at Python libraries like NumPy, Pandas, and SciKit-Learn that are needed to perform machine learning in Python.Each lecture has detailed and live explanations from the instructor and assignments to test your level of understanding. Once you finish this course you would have taken a giant leap towards the future of data analysis.Why Machine Learning Training usingPython Training?Course has been designed after detailed discussions with lots of industry leaders across the globe addressing the real life problems faced by the industry todayComprehensive course that gives the right learning of Python in the context of machine learningAll the machine learning libraries of Python are explained in detailMachine learning is made simple for you to get started on this subjectLots of case studies and exercises give a better understanding of Machine LearningTraining will be conducted over weekends so working professionals can easily attend this courseBuild High-value predictions that can guide better decisions and smart actions in real time without human interventionWhy MCAL Global?MCAL Global has 7 years of Training experience and has trained more than 10,000 professionals across the globe.This course is made by experts from MCAL Global.We have 150+ years of collective training experience as a companyBiggest portfolio of Data Science and Machine Learning trainingThis course has been delivered by us across the globe.Who can attend?Anyone looking to kick start their career in data science and machine learningDevelopers & Testers looking to change their careerR developers looking to enhance their machine learning skills by switching to PythonRequirements:You'll need a desktop computer (Windows, Mac, or Linux) capable of installing Anaconda distribution of Python -The course will walk you through installing the necessary free software.Some prior coding or scripting experience is nice to have but not mandatory.At least high school level math skills will be requiredPlease revise the statistics and the probability chapters from your high school before this courseInternet connection to attend the online lecture sessions with the instructorNext Classroom Session is starting from February 24th, 2018 (24th,25th February & 3rd,th4 March). Weekend Batch. Limited Seats. Enroll Now!MCAL Global is an expert in Online and Classroom Training in Business Analysis Certification CBAP CCBA IIBA EEP, Big Data Analytics & Apache Hadoop, Data Science, Python, Machine Learning, DevOps, Selenium, Agile, Project Management, PMP, Internet of Things, and Security/cybersecurity professionals.MCAL Global - A Division of Mindmap IT Solution Private LimitedOffice No. 312, Amanora Chambers, Hadapsar, Pune 411028Maharashtra, IndiaLandline: +91 20 67271794 / +91 20 67271794Mobile: 9158501593mail: info@mcal.in
MEMS Microphones Market to Reflect Impressive Growth Rate During 2017-2027

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Microphones in mobile phones are not only used for capturing voice for transmission, it also works as audio sensors to support voice activation and provide high quality audio. These microphones enable to provide high quality audio recording and voice calls over mobile devices. MEMS microphones, in comparison with traditional microphones have smaller thickness, can withstand high temperatures and provide an enhanced audio quality. The small size of MEMS Microphones enables to integrate with various type of electrical devices such as mobile phones, tablets and Bluetooth headsets etc. In addition to these, MEMS microphones consume less power and are easier to integrate on a semiconductor.The enhanced features of MEMS microphones, have henceforth led to enter into new application areas such as its increased adoption in various electrical devices. With the evolution of smart phones and various voice activated products, the demand of MEMS microphones is further expected to rise. Furthermore, the product has been adopted in hearing aids as well.A sample of this report is available upon request @MEMS Microphones Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe primary driver for MEMS microphones market is the increasing adoption of mobile devices such as smartphone, tablets etc. The enhanced features such as improved audio recording provided by MEMS microphones has increased usage in mobile devices, accelerating the growth of MEMS microphones market. In addition to this, recent adoption of MEMS microphones in the field of healthcare is also driving the market of MEMS microphones. These microphones are implemented in devices such as blood pressure monitoring systems, hearing aids etc. Furthermore, less consumption of power results into its increased adoption.Inefficient quality of voice, especially in noisy environments are the challenges limiting the growth and adoption of MEMS microphones.MEMS Microphones Market: Market SegmentationGlobal MEMS Microphones Market can be divided into the following segments - based on type and applications.Segmentation on basis of Type for MEMS Microphones Market:The major segments of MEMS Microphones market on basis of Type include:MEMS Condenser Microphones: These MEMS microphones are also termed as MEMS capacitive microphones. This type of MEMS microphone comprises of air gap capacitors with a back-plate and a flexible diaphragm. In a MEMS condenser Microphone the sound generation moves the diaphragm with which capacitance changes, resulting into an amplified voltage.Piezoelectric MEMS Microphones: Piezoelectric MEMS microphones do not comprise of air gap capacitors. In these types of microphones, the deformed diaphragm, in response to sound waves, generates electrical signals. The electrical signals are generated by materials such as aluminium nitride, which functions on piezoelectric effect.Segmentation on basis of Applications forMEMS Microphones Market:The major segments of MEMS Microphones market on basis of applications include:Mobile devicesHearing aidsBluetooth headsetsCarsDigital assistants such as Amazon Echo, Google home etc.Global MEMS Microphones Market TrendsImplementing the applications of MEMS microphones in hearing aids as it enables an enhanced sound quality is the recent global trend followed by various players. The suppliers focus on providing advanced hearing aids with features such as Bluetooth and noise cancellation etc.Global MEMS Microphones Market Technology Regional OverviewAPAC dominates the global MEMS microphone market as the majority of suppliers of MEMS microphones are present in the region. China contributes the maximum towards the market. With the increasing adoption of electronic appliances such as mobile phones and televisions, the region is expected to retain its dominancy in MEMS microphones market. APAC is followed by Europe and North America.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global MEMS Microphones Key PlayersSome of the major MEMS microphones global players include Knowles Electronics, LLC., AAC Technologies, Goertek, BSE Co., Ltd., STMicroelectronics, Analog Devices, Inc., Hosiden Corporation, Mouser Electronics, Inc., NeoMEMS Technologies Inc. and Akustica Inc.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Solar Power Bank Market Is Expected to Be Valued at USD +25.15 Billion by 2022

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Solar power bank market is expected to be valued at USD +25.15 Billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of +21.1% between 2017 and 2022. The factors driving the growth of the market include the increasing usage of electronic devices, technological advancements, and shortage of electricity in certain countries. The study provides a decisive view on the power banks market by segmenting the market based on product types, application and battery type. All the segments have been analyzed based on present and future trends and the market with the latest research information, analysts were able to understand the notion behind the Global Solar Power Bank Market's growth.Top Key Players: Limefuel LLC, EassyAcc.com, Inc., GP Batteries International Ltd, Anker, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., itachi Maxell, Ltd., Xtorm BV, Panasonic Corporation, Sony Corporation, Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd, Apacer Technologies, Inc., and others.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @:The current indicators as well as its past essentials from the government and private sectors is used to estimate the position of the present-day market and to assign its place in the next five years. Taking into contemplation the research information since 2018 and calculating several fundamental mechanisms that affect market growth, a clear cut result has been enrolled.This market intelligence comprises in depth splitting up of products, stock and demand trends analysis. Additionally, you can expect a five year forecast of the markets expansion, volume of product market history, manufacture analysis, its introduction and distribution of data and the dissimilar market methodology. All-inclusive study of the Global Solar Power Bank Market, with involvements from the research data since 2018, and prognosis of its Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) are also used as a mainstay of this research.Few factors driving the growth of the Global Solar Power Bank Market:Growing measures towards the adoption of renewable energy over conventional fuel.Growing deployment of captive power generating stations for affordable and reliable electricity supply.Measures to modernize existing heating systems to reduce energy loss.Growing investment towards the development of small-scale manufacturing industries.Stringent government norms towards greenhouse gas emission.Growing electricity demand along with rapid industrialization and urbanization.Get discount on this report:Rising demand for district heating in the cool climatic area including Europe will push the Solar Power Bank Market. In Denmark, around of district heat is created by the frameworks. Reasonable energy usage and low warmth losses are some of the highlights which make its appropriation ideal over different alternatives. Brazil Market is anticipated to witness development more than by 2025. Developing speculation towards the improvement of small-scale manufacturing enterprises will enlarge the business scenario.With all the gathered data analyzed using SWOT analysis, there is a clear understanding of the economic landscape of the Global Solar Power Bank Market. Prospective for the markets growth were uncovered and out-of-the-way economical threats also made apparent. There is a prominent intentional direction in the market and this is observed in the fundamental trends and improvements studied. By comprehending market background and using fundamental norms, policies, and trends of other significant markets for documentations, market data was realized.Table of Content:Chapter 1 Solar Power Bank Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisAbout Research N Reports:Research N Reports is a new age market research firm where we focus on providing information that can be effectively applied. Today being a consumer driven market, companies require information to deal with the complex and dynamic world of choices. Where relying on a sound board firm for your decisions becomes crucial. Research N Reports specializes in industry analysis, market forecasts and as a result getting quality reports covering all verticals, whether be it gaining perspective on current market conditions or being ahead in the cut throat Global competition. Since we excel at business research to help businesses grow, we also offer consulting as an extended arm to our services which only helps us gain more insight into current trends and problems. Consequently we keep evolving as an all-rounder provider of viable information under one roof.Contact:QYReportsJones John(Sales Manager)+91-9764607607sales@qyreports.com
Global Advanced Semiconductor Packaging Market Is Expected To Witness Strong Growth, Registering A CAGR of 10.9% During 2017-2026 To Reach US$ 67,208.2 Million

Advanced Semiconductor Packaging Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Advanced Semiconductor Packaging Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017 - 2026" to its huge collection of research reports.Semiconductor packaging prevents physical damage and corrosion of the chips that are to be connected to the circuit boards. In the recent years, semiconductor packaging has evolved giving rise to advanced semiconductor packaging technologies. Manufacturers are moving towards new packaging options such as 2.5D integrated circuits and 3D integrated circuits. Meanwhile, manufacturers are also focusing on developing an alternative to the 2.5D packaging.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Internet of Things (IoT) is also expected to have a significant impact on the advanced semiconductor packaging market. Hence, new packaging technologies supporting IoT driven semiconductor industry are being introduced. Miniaturization of devices and thermal dissipation are leading towards the growth of the advanced semiconductor packaging market. Meanwhile, the requirement for less power consumption, improved efficiency is driving the adoption of 3D semiconductor packaging in the advanced semiconductor packaging market.Global Advanced Semiconductor Packaging Market- Research MethodologyThe report on the global advanced semiconductor packaging market offers key insights on the market with help of the data obtained from primary and secondary research. The report has used top-down and bottom-up approach to provide expected market size. The report also offers insights on all the major factors playing an important role in the market growth. The report also includes key trends, market opportunities, factors driving the global market and factors hampering the growth of the market.During the primary research interview of industry experts was conducted and information provided by them was crosschecked with various data sources. Both micro-economic and macro-economic factors were also taken into account to provide important information on the global as well as regional advanced semiconductor packaging market.The report also offers segment-wise analysis and region-wise analysis of the global advanced semiconductor packaging market. The secondary research was done to gather data on the market. Sources used in the secondary research included investor presentations, annual reports and financial reports of the major companies. Absolute dollar opportunity is also provided in the report to identify various market opportunities.The report comprises vital information on the key companies operating in the global advanced semiconductor packaging market. The report enlightens on the key business strategies, developments, new product launch by the key market players. The report also includes details on the regulations in the market across the globe. The report also focuses on the technological advancements in the market and how new technologies will impact the growth of the market in future.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Global Advanced Semiconductor Packaging Market- SegmentationThe global advanced semiconductor packaging market is segmented based on packaging type, application, end user, and region. On the basis of packaging type, the advanced semiconductor packaging market is divided into Fan-Out Wafer-Level Packaging (FO WLP), Fan-In Wafer-Level Packaging (FI WLP), Flip Chip (FC), and 2.5D/3D.On the basis of application, the market is divided into application processor/ baseband, central processing units/graphical processing units, dynamic random access memory, NAND, image sensor, and other applications.Based on the end user, the market is divided into telecommunications, automotive, aerospace and defense, medical devices, consumer electronics, and other end users.Region-wise the global market for advanced semiconductor packaging is segmented into Japan, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA).Competitive LandscapeSome of the key players in the global advanced semiconductor packaging market are Intel Corp, AMD, Amkor Technology, Hitachi Chemical, STMicroelectronics, Infineon, Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd., Avery Dennison, Kyocera, and ASE Group.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
3D Printing Powders Market Could Expand At A Promising 20.3% CAGR Over The Period Between 2017 And 2025 To Reach US$1,558.9 Mn

3D Printing Powder Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "3D Printing Powder Market - Global Industry, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.To construct a three dimensional material from a 3D printer specialty printing inks are required. These type of inks are called as 3D printing inks and manufactured from addition of 3D printing powder. Digitally controlled layering of 3D printing powder are used to make a three-dimensional object. Some of the important materials that are utilized in making 3D printing powder include tool steel, stainless steel, copper alloys, aluminum alloys, diamond catalyst alloys, titanium alloys, super alloys of chromium and nickel. 3D printing powder has characteristic packing density, and specific morphology that ensure uniformity and good flow in 3D printing of different objects. Some of the major techniques are used to produce 3D printing powder includes gas atomization, water atomization, centrifugal atomization, and plasma atomization.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Numerous industries such as medical, aerospace & defense, architecture, and automotive make use of 3D printing powder extensively for different applications. One of the biggest consumer of 3D printing powder is aerospace & defense industry. Use of 3D printing powder ensures excellent toughness and durability and in products. It also helps in weight reduction of the substrate on which it is being used. Automotive components manufactured by using 3D printing powder exhibits excellent mechanical strength and other amended functionalities as compared with components made from ordinary materials.Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Segmentation3D printing powder can be sub-divided into product and applications types. Product used for making 3D printing powder consist of plastic, metals, ceramic, and others. Metals can further segmented into stainless steel, cobalt, nickel, and others. Some of the major applications of 3D printing inks are: automotive, aerospace, medicals, and many more. Plastics exhibits highest revenue share followed by metals and ceramics. Most of the revenue generation from application segment is generated from automotive and aerospace industries. Major drivers of the revenue includes the faster development of products in less production time and rapid development of new applications for 3D printing. The usage of 3D printers rapidly reduces the time required to develop prototypes and to manufacture the end-product. This is the case because the usage of 3D printers eliminates the need to install manufacturing machinery and factories. New applications are being continuously developed for 3D printers. The automotive, medical, and aerospace industries were the first ones to adopt 3D printers.Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Scope of the StudyThe report estimates and forecasts the 3D Printing Powder market on the global and regional levels. The study provides forecast between 2017 and 2025 based on volume (Kilo Tons) & revenue (US$ Mn) with 2016 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the segments with detailed 3D printing powder manufacturing process. It provides a comprehensive view of the market.Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage with list of major customers. The study includes drivers and restraints for the 3D Printing Powder market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators and regulatory scenario affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the 3D Printing Powder market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, S.W.O.T analysis and key trends mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources. Furthermore, the report analyzes production scenario of 3D Printing Powder and global import- export analysis.The report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the 3D Printing Powder market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein application and regions have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market.The study provides a comprehensive view of the 3D Printing Powder market by dividing it into 3D printing powder by product, by end-use application, and by geography segments. The 3D printing powder market by product has been segmented into plastics, metals, ceramic, and others sub-segments. The metals sub-segment is further divided stainless steel, cobalt, nickel, and others sub segments. The application type segment is divided into automotive, aerospace, Medical, and others sub-segments. These segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast consumption of 3D Printing Powder in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Market segmentation includes demand for consumption in all the regions individually.Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Competitive DynamicsThe report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global 3D Printing Powder market. Key players profiled in the report are Advanced Powders and Coatings Inc., Arcam AB, Arkema, Carpenter Technology Corporation, ERASTEEL, GKN plc, Hoganas AB, Sandvik AB, Ltd., LPW Technology Ltd., and Metalysis. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Research MethodologySecondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to, company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.The global 3D Printing Powder market has been segmented as follows:3D Printing Powder Market  By Product- Plastics- Metal- Stainless Steel- Cobalt- Nickel- Others- Ceramic- Others3D Printing Powder Market  By Application- Automotive- Aerospace- Medical- Others3D Printing Powder Market  By RegionNorth America- U.S.- CanadaMake an Enquiry of this report @Latin America- Brazil- Mexico- Rest of Latin AmericaEurope- Germany- U.K.- France- Italy- Spain- Rest of EuropeAsia Pacific- China- India- Japan- ASEAN- Rest of Asia PacificMiddle East & Africa- GCC- South Africa- Rest of Middle East & AfricaAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Suspension Packaging Market : Global Trends, Analysis and Forecast 2025

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Global Suspension Packaging - Market Introduction:Suspension packaging is an innovative packaging solution especially for protecting fragile goods during transportation. Suspension packaging is used for wide variety of products including mobile phones, laptops, tablets, integrated circuits, automotive components, electronic components, etc. The global market for suspension packaging caters primarily to electronics and industrial markets.In suspension packaging, products are suspended in airspace within a corrugated box or folding carton with the use of resilient plastic films. Consumer products such as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, etc. are widely shipped across geographic markets with the help of suspension packaging solutions. Established packaging companies are offering bespoke suspension packaging solutions to their clients in order to strengthen business partnerships.Request Report for TOC @Global Suspension Packaging - Market Dynamics:Damage free transportation offered by suspension packaging products is key driving factor fuelling the growth of global suspension packaging market. Damage caused during transportation through complex supply chains result in heavy losses for manufacturers. Manufacturers are hence heavily investing into protective packaging solutions in order to minimize the damage of products during transportation and shipment. Packaging manufacturers are supplying suspension packaging solutions that also allow a view to the product thus supporting merchandising objectives in case of consumer products. Suspension packaging in case of consumer products ensures the end consumers that the product has been transported in damage free environment. Incorporating corrugated packaging formats in suspension packaging allows packaging companies to provide a wide variety of design possibilities.Flexibility in design and effective functionality makes suspension packaging a preferred packaging solution among industrial and consumer product manufacturers across industries. The global market for suspension packaging is dominantly characterized by the supply of bespoke packaging designs. Bespoke designs in terms of corrugated boxes and suspension technology incorporated into the suspension packaging solution have emerged as a key market driver for the global suspension packaging market. Packaging manufacturers or converters operating in the global suspension packaging market supply wide variety of products to cater to different packaging requirements of end use customers.In December 2015, multinational packaging company Sealed Air Corporation launched its range of suspension packaging products branded as Korrvu under its bespoke corrugated packaging business segment. Sealed Air Corporation offers approximately 30 variations under the suspension packaging segments. Korrvu suspension packaging solution from Sealed Air Corporation offers effective protection in cost effective way.Suspension packaging has emerged as an alternative solution for conventional protective packaging formats such as polystyrene foams, corrugated inserts, thermoformed inserts, molded fiber pulp protective packaging and bubble wrap. Simple design and minimal material requirement used in suspension packaging have allowed manufacturers to bring down the overall cost of suspension packaging products, thus offering a better business value to their customers.Global Suspension Packaging Market - Regional Outlook:The global suspension packaging market is segmented into 7 key regions including North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ) and Japan.Global Magnifier labels Market - Competitive Landscape:Some of the players operating in the global suspension packaging include BSM Packaging Supplies Limited, Dynasafe, Tenxionpak, Castle Industrial Limited, Macfarlane Group UK Ltd, GXT Green, Inc., and Sealed Air Corporation.Request to Sample of Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Acrylic Foam Tapes Market : Key Growth Factors and Industry Analysis 2017-2025

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Acrylic Foam Tapes Market: IntroductionAdhesives had been used since ancient times for binding and connecting objects and surfaces. Today, these functions are carried out without any hassle using the adhesives like tapes and other products. Acrylic foam tape is an ideal means for the replacement of mechanical fasteners where a very high strength of bonding is required. Acrylic foam tapes can withstand high thermal temperature and have an excellent aging and weathering properties. End use industries require tapes that along with long term durability are cost as well as time efficient. Acrylic foam tapes market is expected to witness a healthy CAGR over the forecast period attributed to rising demand from end use industries such as the furniture industry for superior quality in terms of aesthetics. Acrylic foam tapes allow the manufacturers to freely change their designs ensuring a solid bond on the new materials.Request Report for TOC @Acrylic Foam Tapes Market: Market DynamicsThe variation in the foam tapes properties such as the density and thickness allows their wide applicability across a variety of end use application driving the growth of the market over the forecast period. The acrylic foam tapes does not require any kind of mixing as compared to the liquid adhesives. The tapes are being preferred over the liquid adhesives due to no requirement for preparation and clean time. Acrylic foam tapes also possess a longer shelf life as there is no risk of clotting and drying up. The growth of the global acrylic foam tapes market is expected to be hampered by the slowdown in the manufacturing industry where the acrylic foam tapes market are extensively utilized.Government regulations restricting the use of banned chemicals is further restraining the growth of the global acrylic foam tapes market. Customization of the acrylic foam tapes according to the need of the end users is likely to create key opportunities for the global acrylic foam tapes market. The imprinting of the manufacturers name on the tape core and the tape as well is a key trend prevailing in the global acrylic foam tapes market.Acrylic Foam Tapes Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of geography, the global acrylic foam tapes market can be segmented into Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America is currently leading the global acrylic foam tapes market due to a well-established automotive and construction industry in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a steady pace due to rapid industrialization in economies such as India and China. Latin America is expected to witness sluggish growth over the forecast period due to a slow paced economy in the region. The growth in the Middle East & Africa region is attributed to the growing construction industry in the region.Acrylic Foam Tapes Market: Key playersSome of the key players operating in the global acrylic foam tapes market are Seal King Ind Co., Ltd., Lamatek, Inc., the 3M Company, AFT Company, Adhere Industrial Tapes Ltd, Lynvale Ltd, GPI Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd, and Wuxi Canaan Adhesive Technology Co., Ltd.Request to Sample of Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Urinalysis Test Market to Perceive an Aggrandizing Growth by 2023: Prognosticates MRFR

Urinalysis Test Market

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The Market Research Future provides detailed analysis of Global Urinalysis Test Market Research Report  forecast till 2023 by type, by indication and by end user.The Worldwide Urinalysis Test Market Research Report provides detailed analysis of the key regional market status of the Healthcare Industry.The global Urinalysis Test Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3% during the forecast period.Urinalysis is a urine test to detect and manage disorders such as urinary tract infections (UTIs), liver disease, kidney disease, and diabetes. It is a non-invasive and cost-effective method of analysis. It involves checking the appearance, content, and concentration of urine. The test is mostly recommend during pregnancy checkup, routine examination, and pre-surgery preparation to detect any disease condition. In case of diabetes, urinalysis is used only for monitoring the glucose level and not for diagnosis.The Urinalysis Test Market is expected to show exponential growth owing to increasing demand for point of care testing devices, rising prevalence of chronic diseases, and developing technology in the field of diagnostics. Another factor contributing to the market growth is cost-effectiveness of the test and higher demand for urine automated urine analyzers.Furthermore, the growth of the market is affected by the lack of trained professionals and stringent regulations governing the manufacturing and the sales of chemistry analyzers across the globe.According to the world Health Organization (WHO), about 59% of the mortality across the globe is due to chronic diseases and almost 35 million people die of the chronic diseasesKey Players in the Global Urinalysis Test Market: are Dahaner (U.S.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd (Switzerland), Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.), Siemens AG (U.S.), ARKRAY, Inc. (Japan), Sysmex Corporation (Japan), and ACON Laboratories, Inc. (U.S.).Get Sample Report atKey Findings:Consumables segment accounted for the largest market share in 2016The Global Urinalysis Test Market by test type is expected to reach USD 698.85 million by 2023Sediments/microscopic urinalysis is the fastest growing segment, which is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.13% % during the forecast period of 2017-2023Pregnancy tests segment accounted for the largest market share in 2016American region captures the major market share and is expected to reach USD 594.21 million by 2023Urinalysis Test Market Segments:The Global Urinalysis Test Market is segmented on the basis of product type, test type, application, and end user.On the basis of product type, the market is segmented into instruments and consumables. The instruments type includes urine chemistry analyzer such as automatic urine analyzers and semi-automatic urine analyzers, automated urine sediment analyzers, point-of-care devices, and strip analyzer. The consumables are further segmented into plastic consumables, test strips, and chemical agents.On the basis of test type, the market is segmented into macroscopic urinalysis, biochemical urinalysis, and sediments/microscopic urinalysis.On the basis of application, the market is segmented into disease diagnosis including the diagnosis of diseases such as kidney disease, liver disease, diabetes, pregnancy tests, and others.On the basis of end users, the market is segmented into hospitals, independent laboratories, and physician practices.Regional Analysis of the Global Urinalysis Test Market:The Americas is the largest market for urinalysis test owing to the rising demand for automated urine analyzers, technological advancement, and rising prevalence of kidney and liver diseases. In North America, the U.S. holds the largest share of the global market owing to the concentration of the major players manufacturing urine analyzers and consumables across the globe.Europe is the second largest market for urinalysis test, which is expected to grow continuously at the steady growth rate in the near future due to increased prevalence of chronic diseases such as diabetes, availability of cost-effective treatments, and growth in the government funding for research and development activities. According to the World Health Organization, about 60 million European have diabetes and the prevalence of diabetes is relatively high among people over 25 years in this region.In Asia Pacific, the market is expected grow at a fastest rate owing to an increasing prevalence of chronic disease such as diabetes, kidney diseases, and others, changing lifestyle, and rising demand for urine analyzers by the healthcare providers. Furthermore, diabetes is one of major the health problems among the geriatric population.The Middle East & Africa also shows a steady rise in the market owing to rising demand for diagnostic solutions and point of care testing devices.Urinalysis Test Market Table of Contents:1 Report Prologue2 Market Introduction2.1 Introduction 172.2 Scope Of Study 172.3 Research Objective 172.4 Assumptions & Limitations 182.4.1 Assumptions 182.4.2 Limitations 182.5 Market Structure 183 Research Methodology3.1.1 Primary Research Methodology 203.1.2 Secondary Research Methodology 213.1.3 Market Share Analysis 223.1.4 Trade Analysis 223.2 Forecast Model 234 Market Dynamics4.1 Introduction 244.2 Drivers 254.2.1 Rising Demand For Point-Of-Care Testing: (35%) 254.2.2 Rising Prevalence Of Chronic Diseases: (40%) 264.2.3 Technological Advancements: (25%) 274.3 Restraints 284.3.1 Stringent Regulations: (60%) 284.3.2 Lack Of Trained Professionals: (40%) 294.4 Mega Trends 304.5 Macroeconomic Indicators 304.6 Technology Trends And Assessment 32ContinuedGet Discount @What We Provide In Reports:- Market share assessments for the regional and country level segments- Market share analysis of the top industry players- Strategic recommendations for the new entrants- Market forecasts for a minimum of 5 years of all the mentioned segments, sub segments and the regional markets- Market Trends (Drivers, Constraints, Opportunities, Threats, Challenges, Investment Opportunities, and recommendations)- Market Research Future recommendations in key business segments based on the market estimations- Competitive landscaping mapping the key common trends.- Company profiling with detailed strategies, financials, and recent developments- Supply chain trends mapping the latest technological advancementsAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comMRFR has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.Our Research Analysts are eager to share their knowledge and assist you in refining market research parameters, choosing right market studies, and evaluating both the market scope and the research methodologies of varied segments.We bridge the gap between our clients and their clients by identifying and decoding just the target group, while generating leads with the highest accuracy.Years of research into diverse fields of work has ingrained within us, a proficiency so distinguished that our industry-specific specialists identify with your business ideas and feel the pulse of your challenges and opportunities. This enables us for providing assistance, through our consulting and strategic consulting services, in informed managerial decision making. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industries, WantStats Research and Media often conducts industrial visits for its research analysts. Relevant inputs from various established market participants, help our clients make significant contribution in respective markets are a huge motivation for all of us to endlessly furnish quality. We depend greatly on profound insights into complex realms of our study.Pune, India
SONGWON starts production of SONGNOX 5650 at its plant in India

SONGWON starts production of SONGNOX 5650 at its plant in India. (Photo: SONGWON Industrial Co., Ltd.)

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 In-house manufacture ensures worldwide availability High molecular weight, multifunctional antioxidant for elastomers and adhesives Effective in low amounts, virtually no product loss during processing, no stainingUlsan, South Korea  February 7, 2018  To ensure the availability of SONGNOX 5650 worldwide, SONGWON has started to manufacture the product at its Panoli plant in Gujarat, India.SONGNOX 5650 is a high molecular weight, multifunctional phenolic antioxidant primarily used as a post-polymerization process stabilizer for unsaturated elastomers.Placing strong emphasis on reliable supply, SONGWON began manufacture of SONGNOX 5650 in Panoli last September. This additional, in-house production capacity enables SONGWON to ensure reliable supply of SONGNOX 5650 worldwide. The Panoli site was acquired from Sequent in 2014. In the last three years, SONGWON has continuously invested in the Panoli site to develop it into a hub for specialty chemicals, including SONGNOX 5650, said Elena Scaltritti, Leader Polymer Stabilizers.Phenolic antioxidants are highly effective, non-discoloring stabilizers for organic substrates that are prone to oxidation, including plastics, synthetic fibers, elastomers and waxes. They act as free radical scavengers, and are mainly used to protect the finished product.Thanks to its unique properties, SONGNOX 5650 can match the performance of stabilizers that have to be used in much larger amounts, said Thomas Schmutz, Leader Technical Service & Application Development. And as a result of its very low volatility, there is virtually no product loss during polymer processing, drying or storage. These features make it highly cost effective.This non-staining antioxidant is suitable for a variety of elastomers, including polybutadiene, polyisoprene, emulsion styrene butadiene, nitrile rubber, carboxylated styrene-butadiene-rubber latex and styrene copolymers. It can also be used in hot melt, solvent-based adhesives as well as natural and synthetic tackifier resins.SONGNOX 5650 has broad food contact approval, making it especially suitable for pressure sensitive adhesives. Besides high protection against oxidation, it provides good long term thermal stability.About SONGWON Industrial Co., Ltd.SONGWON, which was founded in 1965 and is headquartered in Ulsan, South Korea, is a leader in the development, production and supply of specialty chemicals. The second largest manufacturer of polymer stabilizers worldwide, SONGWON Industrial Group operates companies all over the world, offering the combined benefits of a global framework and readily accessible local organizations. Dedicated experts work closely together with customers to develop tailor-made solutions that meet individual requirements.For further information, please go to:Marketing SolutionsKevin NoelsBox 62950 KapellenBelgiumE-mail: info@marketingsolutions.be
New Market Research Report Announced on Hearing Loss Technology Market ; Global Industry Analysis 2018-2025

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Albany, NY, 7th February : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Hearing Loss Technology Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" globally.Hearing loss devices are hearing aid or an implant designed to help people with hearing loss. Hearing loss devices are designed to enhance communication through listening.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @Hearing loss technology devices such as audio loops, FM systems, and infrared systems act as hearing assistive technology which work with or without hearing aids and help the patients to overcome the obstacle of hearing. However, new developments in medical devices and other digital healthcare services is likely to to expand the growth of hearing loss technology devices.High prevalence of significant hearing loss among the population, growing research and development initiatives, growing demand for hearing loss technology devices such as Bluetooth-compatible devices are important driving factors for the hearing loss technology market. According to reports published by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 15% (26 million) Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 have a reduced capacity to hear high frequency sounds because of exposure to loud sounds. A study published in the Journal of American Medicine in 2010, reported 19.5% of American adolescents aged 12 to 19 suffered from hearing loss due to increase in number of cases attributed to ear bud use. Growth in sound pollution levels, and rise in blast induced injuries due to war and violations will fuel the overall hearing loss technology market. The cost of hearing loss technology devices is expected to hamper the growth of this market.The hearing loss technology market has been segmented by reagent type, technology type, application type, end-users, and geography. In terms of technology type, the market is classified into digital programmable hearing aid, conventional analog hearing aid, analog programmable hearing aid, and others. In terms of application, the market is classified into auditory processing disorders, conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, and mixed hearing loss. Hearing loss disability is a fast growing application segment among the other types of diseases such as stroke, cancer, etc. because of increasing options for treatment and rehabilitation globally. According to the World Health Organization fact sheet updated in February 2017, 360 million people worldwide are disabled with hearing loss out of which 32 million are children. Hearing loss may result from genetic causes, complications at birth, certain infectious diseases, chronic ear infections, exposure to excessive noise, and aging. About 60% of childhood hearing loss is due to preventable causes. In terms of end users, the hearing loss technology market is classified into hospitals, ENT centers, ambulatory surgical centers, and others.Make An Enquiry About TOC with tables & Figures @Geographically, the hearing loss technology market is classified into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominates the global hearing loss technology market due to sophisticated infrastructure and number of incidences of hearing loss disorders among the population. Early-phase diagnosis and treatment of disease is driving the medical biotechnology market which in turn is expected to drive the hearing loss technology market in North America. Europe is the second largest market for hearing loss technology as there are favorable government policies regarding healthcare infrastructure, and increase in funding for audiology services. The market in Asia Pacific is expected to grow at a higher rate due to rising geriatric population, changing lifestyles, rising awareness among patients, and increasing per capita expenditure. In addition, economic growth is supporting healthcare infrastructure improvement in developing countries such as India and China. Thus, all the above mentioned factors collectively support the growth of the hearing loss technology market which is expected to propel the market share in the Asia Pacific region from 2017 to 2025.The major players operating in the global hearing loss technology market include MED-EL, Starkey, Oticon, Sonova Holding AG, Widex, GN Hearing (ReSound), Sivantos Group (Siemens), Beltone, Sonic Innovations, and Unitron, among other significant players worldwide.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Browse Report @The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Low-Calorie Food Market Incredible Possibilities and Growth with Industry Study, Detailed Analysis and Forecast

Low-Calorie Food

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07 Feb 2018"Global Low-Calorie Food Market: Demand for Healthier Food will drive the Market Growth during 2013-2019" with coming years Industries Trends, projections of Global Growth, Major key player and Case study, Review, Share, Size, Effect.. .Report Description-' 'Obesity has become one of the most serious health problems in the world in recent times. High obesity rate among children is a major concern for parents. Obesity is also a major concern in adults, as is the rising number of diabetes cases globally. Urban population is more concerned about their lifestyle as compared to rural population. The lifestyle of urban population is more fast-paced. Fast-paced lifestyle along with an aspiration to stay fit attracts people to low-calorie food.. . Get Sample Report' 'Persistence Market Researchs recently published report on the global low-calorie food market provides an extensive assessment of the market, evaluating the growth prospects for a six-year forecast period 2013-2019. It comprises key trends and restraints impacting the overall market growth, recent trends and upcoming opportunities, market segmentation, regional analysis, and key players vying for the leading market position. Starting with an overview of the global low-calorie food market, the report further analyzes the factors that positively and negatively influence the demand for low-calorie food. It provides deep insights into why low-calorie food is expected to gain higher traction in developing markets, and what are the deterring factors that will affect the market growth over the forecast period, 2014-2020.Latest trends and opportunities sections of the report highlight the most valuable data to recognize the most lucrative opportunities for the market growth.Segmentation of the global market for low-calorie food focuses on various healthcare information systems. The geographical analysis of the global market examines the market status in key regions viz. Europe, North America, APAC and Rest of the World. The market report elaborates on why developing markets may witness robust growth and outpace the long-term leader during the forecast period. The next section of the report includes all the leading companies competing in the market for a leading position. Strong presence of global players and established local brands makes the landscape extremely competitive. The report throws light on the growth pattern, revenues, and upcoming opportunities for each of the players.Research MethodologyTo deduce the global low-calorie food market size, the report considers various aspects based on secondary research. Furthermore, key data points such as region-wise split and market split by product and application type and qualitative inputs from primary respondents have been incorporated to arrive at appropriate market estimates. The forecast presented in the report assesses the total revenue generated and expected revenue contribution in the global low-calorie food market. The report begins with sizing the market in terms of value and volume for the base year, which forms the basis for forecasting how the market is anticipated to take shape in the near future. Given the characteristics of the market, gathered data is triangulated via different analysis based on supply side and demand side drivers and other key dynamics of the global low-calorie food market. To develop the market forecast, Persistence Market Research has also conducted a factor analysis to understand the impact of various forces/factors on the target market. The report provides forecasts not only in terms of CAGR but also presents a detailed analysis based on key parameters such as Year-on-Year (Y-o-Y) growth to understand market predictability and to identify the right opportunities.Another key feature of this report is an analysis of the global low-calorie food market and the corresponding revenue forecast in terms of absolute dollar opportunity, usually overlooked while forecasting the market. However, absolute dollar opportunity is critical in assessing the level of opportunity that a provider can look to achieve, as well as to identify potential resources from a sales perspective in the global low-calorie food market. Further, to understand key segments in terms of their growth and overall global low-calorie food market performance, Persistence Market Research has developed a market attractiveness index to help providers identify existing market opportunities in the global low-calorie food market.Some of the major companies operating in the low-calorie food market:PepsiCo Inc.The Coca-Cola Company.Groupe Danone.Bernard Food Industries, Inc.Nestle S.A.Ajinomoto Co., Inc.McNeil Nutritionals.LLC and Cargill.. . More Clear Details get Table of ContentsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Off Road Fuels Market: Key Factors Impacting Growth

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Growing demand for Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) or Clear Diesel in farming and construction applications in one of the driving factor for off road fuel market. Several vehicles such as tractor trailers, pickups and etc. requires ultra low sulfur diesel where off road fuels market is expected to witness substantial growth over the forecast period. The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) mandated to reduce the sulfur content for off road fuels from 5,000 ppm to less than 500ppm.Such mandate is expected to burn off road fuel cleaner and pollute less. However, 10 times increase in water due to hydro treating at the refinery causes problems related to microbe growth, winter freeze ups, more smoke, poor mileage and others. With the new technology of encapsulation of water can eliminate the aforementioned problems extend the tank life. This is being practiced in North America at large scale which is attributed to the stringent regulations to control air pollutionHeating oil industry is expected to remain another driving factor for off road fuels as Low Sulfur Diesel fulfills all the parameters laid down by Environment Protection Agency. Thus, Environmental regulations and stringent norms of many countries are expected to drive off road fuel market during the forecast period.The off road fuels market is one of the most enticing fuel markets for the consumers to their vehicles. The off road fuels also known as dyed diesels are untaxed fuel primarily used for off road applications. The illegal use of off road fuels on on-road vehicles can led to heavy penalties and fines. The off road fuels are generally dyed in red color in order to differentiate it from highway fuel and on-road diesel.Request to Sample of Report @Presently, it is a standard practice to use off road fuels by farmers to power harvester, tractors and plow in farmlands. The construction companies use off road fuels in off road fuel/ diesel equipment for example bulldozer, cranes, backhoes and bobcats. Off road fuels is likely to hold significant opportunities in some aviation fuels, marine vessels and country fair and carnival rides.Several new research is conducted to reduce the emission of toxic gases such as oxides of sulfur and nitrogen and carbon and implemented to enhance the performance of off road engine applications.Based on the geography, North America is expected to account for a major share in the forecast period. The commercial producers of renewable isobutanol for new product lines of off road fuels and marine application are likely to hold vital opportunities for the region over the forecast period. Europe followed by North America is anticipated to witness substantial growth in the use of dyed bio-diesel thus results to account for potential opportunities in off road fuel market during the forecast periodRequest Report For TOC @Owing to robust increase in urbanization in Asia Pacific, this region is also expected to hold a moderate share in the off road fuels market. Asia Pacific is one of the region to witness mega construction, thus application of off road fuel in construction equipment is anticipated to indicate rising possibilities for the off road fuels market in this region over the forecast period.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Membrane Separation Analysis of Key Manufacturers of , Company Profile, Product Information, Production Information, Contact Information,

Membrane Separation

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07 Feb 2018"Global Market Study on Membrane Separation: Water and Waste Water Segment to Witness Highest Growth by 2019" with coming years Industries Trends, projections of Global Growth, Major key player and Case study, Review, Share, Size, Effect.. .Report Description-' 'Membrane separation is a technology used to separate materials via pores or minute gaps in the molecular arrangement without adding any chemicals. Major membrane processes used for water treatment are microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis. The increasing demand for clean processed water and mandatory government regulation to provide clean drinking water is propelling the water processing industry at present. Membrane separation is one of the most popular methods used for cleaning water. Shifting from chemical to physical treatments of water is a major driver as chemical treatments are perceived as an environmentally unclean technology with associated disposal costs. Additional awareness of water scarcity has influenced the demand for water reuse in water stressed areas.. . Get Sample Report' 'Major benefits of using membrane separation techniques over other techniques are: lesser use of chemicals, relatively simple usage after correct installation and efficient use of energy in the process. Membrane separation is primarily used to desalinate seawater, process water (used for industrial processes and building systems) from groundwater, surface water or wastewater and demineralize boiler feed water. Pharmaceutical, life sciences, food and beverages and biopharmaceutical industries are the other key end-user industries of the technology.Mandatory adherence of certain environmental standards by the national government such as the Clean Water Act especially in areas with water scarcity have influenced the demand for better water treatment technology, including membrane separation technology. Worldwide industrial expansion and growing population are propelling the demand for better water treatment technology, providing growth opportunity for the overall market of membrane separation technology. Additionally, the oil and petroleum industry is well established in countries such as Italy and Germany which involve membrane separation technology for liquid separation.The report covers provides membrane separation market analysis, by process segment (microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration and reverse osmosis) and end-user (water and wastewater treatment, industrial and healthcare) for the period from 2009 to 2019. In addition, the report includes current membrane separation market dynamics including the drivers, restraints, trends and recent developments. The membrane separation market for each of the three regions: North America (including details for the U.S. and Canada), Europe (including details for France, Germany, Italy and the U.K.) and Asia-Pacific (including details for India, China, Singapore, Malaysia and Japan), include historical and forecasted membrane separation market sizes (2009-2019), in terms of value (USD million).The Competitive Landscape section of the membrane separation market report provides benchmarking of the key market players on the basis of their geographical presence and their product offerings. Some of the major players operating in the global membrane separation market are Nitto Denko Corporation, 3M Company, GEA Filtration, Koch Membrane Systems, Pall Corporation, Merck Millipore, Degremont SA, Dow Chemical Company, Evoqua Water Technologies and Veolia Environnement. The membrane separation market report also includes profiles of some of the major market players, which cover attributes such as company overview, products and services, financial performance, and recent developments.Key points covered in the reportThe report provides historic, present and forecasted market size, analysis, trend, share, and growthThe report segments the market on the basis of product, animal type and geographyThe report covers geographic segmentationNorth AmericaEuropeAsia PacificRoWThe report provides company profiles of some of the leading companies operating in the marketThe report also provides porters five forces analysis of the marketSome of the major players operating in the global membrane separation market:Nitto Denko Corporation.3M Company.GEA Filtration.Koch Membrane Systems.Pall Corporation.Merck Millipore.Degremont SA.Dow Chemical Company.Evoqua Water Technologies.. . More Clear Details get Table of ContentsResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Global Radiopharmaceuticals Market Growth, Size, Share, Industry, Trends & Forecast to 2026

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has recently publicized a new study to its vast repository, which is titled as North America accounted for more than 40% market share in the global radiopharmaceuticals market in 2016 and is expected to witness an increase of more than 100 BPS in its market share over the forecast period. In terms of Y-o-Y growth, North America dominated the global radiopharmaceuticals market and was valued at more than US$ 2,000 Mn in 2015. The market is expected to expand at 6.2% CAGR over the projected period to reach more than US$ 4,000 Mn by the end of 2026. The North America radiopharmaceuticals market is estimated to represent absolute $ opportunity of more than US$ 100 Mn in 2017 over 2016. The growth is stagnant and slow due to major reactors having been shut down in Canada and new reactors installed in place of old ones for better production of radioisotope. North America is expected to be the most lucrative market in the global radiopharmaceuticals market, recording an attractiveness index of 3.6.For Free Sample Report? Click Here @Significant growth in the number of cancer and cardiovascular diseases patients in North America is expected to boost the global radiopharmaceuticals marketWidespread availability of SPECT and PET scanning machines will result in a growing number of radio diagnostic and radio therapeutics events in North America. For instance, the number of PET scanning machines installed per head of population in North America are more compared to that installed in Europe, thus leading to increased usage of radiotracers in the region. This growth in North America is expected to continue along with continuous technological improvements in PET scanning devices. The high level of awareness and accessibility to these machines is expected to account for high revenue generation in North America. This factor is boosting the overall growth of the global radiopharmaceuticals market. The other factor impacting the global radiopharmaceuticals market is the rising prevalence of cancer in North America. This has significantly increased the number of nuclear medicine procedures performed in the region and this is the precise reason that the market for radiopharmaceuticals is steadily growing in North America. There has been a rising number of cardiovascular diseases among the people in North America due to aging population, unhealthy food habits and rising obesity. The increasing number of cardiovascular patients is expected to boost the sales of radiopharmaceuticals, which would eventually create growth in the global radiopharmaceuticals market.Gallium-68 and Lutetium 177 sub-segments of the radioisotope segment are likely to dominate the North America radiopharmaceuticals marketGallium-68 and Lutetium 177 are dominant sub-segments of the radioisotope segment in North America. Gallium-68 has gained immense popularity since the last one year in the field of nuclear medicine, especially in the diagnosis and evaluation of prostate cancer. This is in heavy reliance with incorporation of several technological leaps and entry of new radiotracer- 68Ga-PSMA-11, developed by the University of Heidelberg. Additionally, marketing authorisation of the first 68Ge/68Ga generator, manufactured by the German company Eckert & Ziegler, has also positively impacted the penetration of 68Ga-PSMA-11 tracer in the treatment of prostate cancer in North America. Despite a shorter half-life, Gallium-68 has an ideal profile as a PET imaging agent. Several manufacturers in North America are focussing on introducing cold kits for the 68Ga-labeling of tracers (ANMI, Belgium), thus opening the gateways for 68Ga in PET scanning. Iodine-131, a therapeutic radiotracer continues to be the ideal tracer for the treatment of not only thyroid cancer but also other therapeutic indications. However it is being slowly replaced by Lutetium-177 (Lu-177) in North America. Lu-177, low-energy -particle emitter is identified to be one of the emerging radiotracers for the treatment of metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) and neuroendocrine tumors.Outlook Complete Report with Table of Content @Market share of companies operating in the global radiopharmaceuticals marketThe global radiopharmaceuticals market is highly consolidated with a few companies that offer advanced technology systems and nuclear medicines for treating diseases. However, the global market is dominated by top five players accounting for over 89% share. Siemens Healthineers accounted for the largest share of around 41.2% of the global market in 2015. The company dominated the market owing to its diversified product portfolio, extensive geographical presence, and acquisition strategies. GE Healthcare accounted for the second largest share of around 30.1% and Mallinckrodt plc. accounted for the third largest share of around 9% in the global radiopharmaceuticals market.Need Assistance? Send an Enquiry @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Cosmeceuticals Market : Dynamics, Segments, Size and Demand, 2016 - 2022

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Owing to the increasing consumer consciousness regarding the appearance, the cosmeceuticals market is expected to witness a surge across the globe. Cosmeceuticals segment is expected to experience the fastest growth in personal care industry. Increasing demand from middle age and growing urban population are expected to drive the global cosmeceuticals market. Global cosmeceuticals market is further supported by various factors such as the presence of superior quality and premium priced cosmeceuticals products. Cosmeceuticals products are used for varied applications such as skin irritation, skin lightening, tooth whitening and others.Request Report for TOC @Cosmeceuticals market is growing rapidly and expected to witness double-digit growth in the next four to five years. Although demand for cosmeceuticals is increasing significantly but various other treatment options are entering the market. These treatment alternatives are expected to increase the completion in the cosmeceuticals market and expected to hinder the growth of cosmeceuticals market to some extent.Global Cosmeceuticals Market is segmented on the basis of product type, ingredient and region. Based on the product type segmentation includes hair care, skincare, lip care, tooth whitening, injectable and others. Of which skincare is expected to be the dominating segment, followed by hair care in the forecasted period. Among skincare, anti-ageing sub-segment is expected to contribute maximum revenue over the forecasted period.However, the injectable segment is expected to witness the fastest growth in the next four to five years due to the various advantages such as weight treatment and wrinkle reducer associated with it. Based on the ingredient used, cosmeceuticals market is segmented into antioxidants, proteins, peptides, botanicals, moisturizers and others. Of which antioxidant segment is the leading segment which is expected to contribute the highest revenue during the forecasted period. Global cosmeceuticals market is segmented on the basis of a region into North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Middle East and Africa, and Japan.The Global Cosmeceuticals market is expected to witness robust growth over the forecasted period due to the rising consumer awareness regarding the benefits of cosmeceuticals coupled with increasing number of premium quality cosmeceuticals products. Globally, among all regions, North America is expected to contribute the highest market share, followed by Europe over the forecasted period. However, Asia Pacific is anticipated to witness the highest growth owing to the rising disposable income of consumers in various countries. In Asia Pacific, Japan is anticipated to contribute highest market share and expected to grow with highest CAGR, followed by China.Major factors that fuel the growth of cosmeceuticals market includes increasing consumer consciousness regarding the appearance and increasing number of urban population coupled with rising consumer awareness related to benefits of cosmeceuticals. Another factor that is driving the growth of cosmeceuticals market is increasing the affordability of consumers in the emerging markets such as China and India. A major factor that restraints the growth of cosmeceuticals market is growing consumer awareness related to harmful effects of ingredients used in cosmeceuticals.Major companies operating in cosmeceuticals market are Procter and Gamble, LOreal SA, Unilever, Active Organics, Allergan, Arch Chemicals, Inc., BASF SE, Bayer AG, Symrise AG. Companies operating in cosmeceuticals market are adopting a strategy by investing the huge amount in research and development (R&D) activities in order to launch new products and penetrate into emerging markets. Companies are developing new ingredients such as peptides and stem cells for cosmeceuticals products.Request to Sample of Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Healthcare Robotics Market Changing the World of Modern Healthcare

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The global healthcare market size was estimated USD 3.76 Billion in 2014 and is expected to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Healthcare robots are used in wide range of applications which include drug manufacturing, dispensing drugs to patients and moving inventory in medical supply facilities.Increasing demand of the surgical robots such as da Vinci surgical systems is expected to intensify the market growth over the forecast period. These robots offers 3D HD vision systems for a magnified and clear view of patients body and assist doctors in various complex procedures with high precision and flexibility.The healthcare centers are investing heavily on the robotics industry for minimizing the cost which include high cost manual label of operation and for greater flexibility of functioning of the healthcare. Majorly the healthcare centers are investing in automatic guided vehicles (AGVs) for transporting patient needs such as delivering meals, linens, nursing supplies, packages, sterile items, oxygen and gases, and pick-up trash.Request For Free Sample Of The Report @Increasing government subsidies for installing and implementing the healthcare robots in the countries such as China and India has further led to enhance the market growth. Another factor enhancing the industry growth is the workforce shortage in the sector. According to World Health Organization (WHO) report, 83 countries fall below the threshold of 22.8 skilled healthcare professionals per 10,000 population and 100 countries fall below the threshold of 34.5 skilled healthcare professionals per 10,000 population.The market is segregated into two major segments which include rehabilitation robots and robotics surgery market. The rehabilitation robotics consists of prosthetic robotics, exoskeleton robotic system, orthotic robotics, and therapeutic robotics. The robotics surgery market is further segregated based on the components and services which include robotic surgical systems, instruments and accessories, and services.The robotic surgery holds the major share in the market owing to wide scale improvements in patient monitoring, and the ability to deliver better medical results with high accuracy and precision while implantation and component replacement in orthopedics is expected to enhance the market growth over the forecast period. The application of the robotics surgery includes gynecology, urology, and general surgery.Although, the high cost associated with healthcare robots induce the patients to go for normal treatment. However, emerging trends which include implementation of robotic in-patient rehabilitation programs and replacement of manual surgical assistance indicate the immense growth over the forecast period.North America market is projected to dominate the market owing to increasing government spending in the healthcare infrastructure sector. U.S. is investing heavily in healthcare sector since the aging population has increased densely in metropolitan cities. According to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery report in 2014, a total of 1,764,956 procedures have been carried out in cosmetic procedures.Obtain Report Details @The industry in APAC region is projected to grow enormously as the countries such as China, South Korea and India has been adopting healthcare robots in rehabilitation centers and hospitals. Furthermore, Japan is expected to lead the healthcare robotics industry owing to increase need for reduced lead time for addressing the patients and for aging population.The key vendors dominating the market include Elekta, Mazor Robotics, Intuitive Surgical, Tecan Group, Qiagen, and Varian Medical System. Other companies include Titan Medicals, Curexo Technology, THINK Surgical, Hansen Medical, and Health Robotics.About Us-Xpodence Research have the most extensive collection of market research reports of many categories. Xpodence Research provides the best market research solution for every industry by publishing the best possible results of great market research firms worldwide. For every particular problem, theres a particular solution, so according to the customer needs, we provide the best possible results to them from different market research organization, whether its a Custom Research or Syndicated Research reports because the product that wins is the one that bridges customers to the future, not the one that requires a giant leap.Every organization, whether it is related to Pharmaceuticals, Technology, Eatables, Consumable Goods and many more demands a market research results so that they can take important decisions for more productivity and better output in this swift world. Xpodence Research gives the best possible outcome, perfect forecast, analysis and insights of market research in the form of report which is beneficial for various organisations and also to the manufacturing companies in taking the best decisions for quality production.Contact Us-Xpodence ResearchUSA Office244 , Madison AvenueNew York City, NY - 10016United StatesUK Office109 ,Straford Street,LeedsWest Yorkshrie LS11 6JGUnited KingdomToll Free +1- 844-445-2861Email-sales@xpodenceresearch.com
Gum Mint Breath Fresheners Market: Key Trends and Forecast Research Report

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Gum, mint, and breath freshener which comes with functional ingredients such as caffeine, ginseng and guarana are driving the global mint, gum, and breathe fresheners market. The gum and mint which comes with low-sugar or low calorie options are gaining popularity among the baby-boomers and health conscious consumers. Moreover Introduction advances packaging materials and design such as flip-top base packaging, and sliding door type packagings has helped the overall market of gum, mint and breathe fresheners in recent years.North America is the largest market for gum, mint and breathes fresheners followed by Europe and Asia Pacific. The market in North America is mainly driven by increase consumption of breath fresheners by smokers and alcohol consumers who often uses breath fresheners post smoking or drinking. The market is witnessing highest growth in Asia Pacific the changing eating habits and westernisation in this region has led to increase demand of functional gum, mint and breathe fresheners. The U.S. is the largest market for mint, gum, and breath fresheners in North America.Request to Sample of Report @Japan, China and India are some of the dominant regional market of gum, mint and breathe fresheners in Asia Pacific.Some of the leading companies operating in global gum, mint and breath fresheners market include, Wrigley Company, Cadbury Trebor Basset, lotte, Ferndale Confectionery Pty Ltd., Kraft Foods Inc., Haribo GmbH & Co. Kg, Leaf Holland B.V., Perfetti Van Melle, Mars Incorporated,The Hershey Company, ZED GUM and The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company.Gum bases (natural or artificial) mixed with sugar, food ingredients and other flavoring which can be consumed are calls chewing gums, bubble gum or simply gums. It is elastic and cohesive materials intended for chewing but not swallowing. Both mint and gums is chemotherapeutic agent used as breath fresheners.Request Report For TOC @On the basis of different product categories the global gum, mint and breath fresheners market are segmented in three broad categories namely sugarless gum, regular gum, breath fresheners and candy mints.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Increasing Demand from North America will Aid in Cold Chain Monitoring Market Growth

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Cold chain monitoring is a supply chain monitoring/logistics solution that helps in effective tracking of perishable products, food items, pharmaceutical and health care with assured freshness. Monitoring and efficient management depends on the hardware and software selected for monitoring. Increased awareness of preserving foods and beverages in supply chain/logistics drives the cold chain monitoring market.Request Report for TOC @Cold chain monitoring is commonly used in food, agriculture and pharmaceutical industries to maintain sustainable temperature-controlled supply chain. It plays a vital role by providing monitoring solutions and increases performance with the help of real-time data about the storage and distribution network in various applications. Effective monitoring in pharmaceutical and health care sectors reduces wastage and increases shelf life and effectiveness of drugs. Continuous monitoring of the cold chain is essential to ensure quality and integrity of vaccines, medicines, and other active ingredients. Whether in hospitals, pharmacies or care homes, temperature spikes during storage of medicines are a problem and can directly affect their lifespan and effectiveness.Effective monitoring is required not only to regulate temperature, but also to record data seamlessly. High inspections and strict guidelines demand a validated solution for temperature monitoring (GDP - Good Distribution Practice).GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) and GDP (Good Distribution Practice) regulations are provisions governing medicines. It is essential to not only to regulate the temperature, but also to record it without fail. Food crises and awareness of reducing food wastage are factors expected to spur growth of the cold chain monitoring market. Rising awareness of these factors also offers environment betterment as an added benefit.The illiberal regulatory environment in North America and Europe drives the adoption of cold chain monitoring to aid solving health care and pharmaceutical problems. Increased cognizance for quality food and demand in the food industry to incorporate solutions in the supply chain have immense potential in monitoring. These key benefits drive the cold chain monitoring market in the Asia Pacific region, which is expected to show high growth rate in the coming future. Awareness of quality products in foods and beverages, rapid urbanization, and a high amount of population depending on medications foster growth for the cold chain monitoring market in Asia Pacific.Global Cold Chain Monitoring Market: Key Trends and DriversData loggers are essential in supply chain monitoring for food and beverage industries in order to increase effective monitoring in the logistics/supply chain, which drives growth for the cold chain monitoring market. Increased awareness of quality food and rapid urbanization drive the cold chain monitoring market. Storage inspections are beneficial to increase the life span of medication. Monitoring the stockroom for pharmaceutical industries and increased usage of medication are two major drivers for the cold chain monitoring market. Strict regulatory environment in the pharmaceutical industry and effective usage of medicines and drugs and increased number of care homes and hospitals are forecasted to drive the cold chain monitoring market. Growing health consciousness and increasing cognizance to decrease the wastage of food are also expected to drive the cold chain monitoring market over the forecast period.Request to Sample of Report-Global Cold Chain Monitoring Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants identified across the value chain include, Preferred Freezer Services, Americold Logistics, Lineage Logistics Holding LLC, Burris Logistics, and Nichirei Logistics Group Inc. Other players include Cloverleaf Cold Storage, AGRO Merchants Group, LLC, Swire Cold Storage Ltd, Kloosterboer Group, and Interstate Cold Storage Inc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global 3D Printing Market Projected to Touch US$32.3 Bn by 2025

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been serving as an active source to cater intelligent research report to enlighten both readers and investors. This research study titled 3D Printing Market Request a Free Sample Report @The demand in the global 3D printing market is projected to expand at a remarkable CAGR of 18.0% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025, gaining traction from a number of factors such as strikingly higher resolution, reduction in manufacturing cost owing to recent technological advancements, ease in the development of customized products, growing possibilities of using multiple materials for printing, and government investments in 3D printing projects. While the lack of proper process control and limitations regarding product size are obstructing the global 3D printing market, the stockholders will continue to gain new opportunities from untapped end-use industries such as printed electronics, automotive, education, and jewelry. The global 3D printing market was valued at US$7.3 bn in 2016, and is estimated to reach a valuation of US$32.3 bn by the end of the forecast period, i.e. 2025.The global 3D printing market was valued at US$7.3 bn in 2016, and is estimated to reach a valuation of US$32.3 bn by the end of the forecast period, i.e. 2025. Commercial Sector Serves Maximum Demand Witnessed in Market On the basis of use, the global 3D printing market has been segmented into commercial and personal. Commercial uses of 3D printing, which continues to serve the most significant chunk of demand, include rapid prototyping, rapid manufacturing, mass production, and mass customization. On the other hand, personal applications include printing 3D objects in-house for personal use. In 2016, the commercial segment accounted for more than half of the demand-share, contributing to US$ 5,932.3 mn of revenue.This segment is expected to hold most prominent market share in 2025 too, growing at 17.8% CAGR during the forecast period. This is mainly due to improvement in the quality of 3D printing materials that has prompted manufacturers to incorporate 3D printing in their current manufacturing practices. Technology-wise, the global 3D printing market is bifurcated into polyjet, selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modeling (FDM), and stereolithography (SLA). In 2016, polyJet technology accounted for nearly 41% of the total market share, and is anticipated to exhibit an above-average growth rate. FDM segment is the second most prominent shareholding segment, and dominates the 3D printing market in terms of volume shipment. This is a reflection of increasing demand for FDM printers for both personal and commercial use. FDM is also popular in a variety of industrial applications, from automotive to consumer goods. Application-wise, the market for 3D printing has been categorized into consumer products and electronics, automotive, medical, industrial, aerospace, military and defense, architecture, and education.Presently, consumer product category serves the maximum demand, followed by the automotive sector, wherein 3D printing is used to print a number of parts for automobiles. Some of the examples can be interior parts such as engines, gearbox handle, gears, shafts, brakes and spare parts as well as external parts such as window frames, doors, body parts, steering handle, head and taillights. North America Emerges as Highly Lucrative Region In 2016, North America served the maximum demand among all regions wherein the 3D printing market has potential.View Complete Report with Table of Content @This was primarily a reflection of the presence of several major 3D printing market players in the country-wide made of the U.S., which is worlds fourth most populous country. In the near future, North America 3D printing market is anticipated to expand further, with increasing awareness among consumers regarding the benefits of using 3D printing in commercial and household applications. Europe follows North America in terms of the geographical market share. Germany, Italy, France, and Sweden are identified as most lucrative country-wide markets for 3D printing in the region of Europe. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, has been projected to exhibit the best CAGR among all regions under the study during the forecast period.The Asia Pacific 3D Printing market is expected to reach US$ 8,207.3 mn by 2025. Stratasys, Ltd., Solidscape, Inc., and EOS GmbH are three companies holding stronger position in the global 3D printing market than other key players, such as Optomec, Concept Laser GmbH, Voxeljet Technology GmbH, ExOne GmbH, SLM Solutions GmbH, and Arcam AB.Commercial Sector Serves Maximum Demand Witnessed in MarketOn the basis of use, the global 3D printing market has been segmented into commercial and personal. Commercial uses of 3D printing, which continues to serve the most significant chunk of demand, include rapid prototyping, rapid manufacturing, mass production, and mass customization. On the other hand, personal applications include printing 3D objects in-house for personal use. In 2016, the commercial segment accounted for more than half of the demand-share, contributing to US$ 5,932.3 mn of revenue. This segment is expected to hold most prominent market share in 2025 too, growing at 17.8% CAGR during the forecast period. This is mainly due to improvement in the quality of 3D printing materials that has prompted manufacturers to incorporate 3D printing in their current manufacturing practices.Send an Inquiry @Technology-wise, the global 3D printing market is bifurcated into polyjet, selective laser sintering (SLS), fused deposition modeling (FDM), and stereolithography (SLA). In 2016, polyJet technology accounted for nearly 41% of the total market share, and is anticipated to exhibit an above-average growth rate. FDM segment is the second most prominent shareholding segment, and dominates the 3D printing market in terms of volume shipment. This is a reflection of increasing demand for FDM printers for both personal and commercial use. FDM is also popular in a variety of industrial applications, from automotive to consumer goods.Application-wise, the market for 3D printing has been categorized into consumer products and electronics, automotive, medical, industrial, aerospace, military and defense, architecture, and education. Presently, consumer product category serves the maximum demand, followed by the automotive sector, wherein 3D printing is used to print a number of parts for automobiles. Some of the examples can be interior parts such as engines, gearbox handle, gears, shafts, brakes and spare parts as well as external parts such as window frames, doors, body parts, steering handle, head and taillights.North America Emerges as Highly Lucrative RegionIn 2016, North America served the maximum demand among all regions wherein the 3D printing market has potential. This was primarily a reflection of the presence of several major 3D printing market players in the country-wide made of the U.S., which is worlds fourth most populous country. In the near future, North America 3D printing market is anticipated to expand further, with increasing awareness among consumers regarding the benefits of using 3D printing in commercial and household applications.Europe follows North America in terms of the geographical market share. Germany, Italy, France, and Sweden are identified as most lucrative country-wide markets for 3D printing in the region of Europe. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, has been projected to exhibit the best CAGR among all regions under the study during the forecast period. The Asia Pacific 3D Printing market is expected to reach US$ 8,207.3 mn by 2025.Stratasys, Ltd., Solidscape, Inc., and EOS GmbH are three companies holding stronger position in the global 3D printing market than other key players, such as Optomec, Concept Laser GmbH, Voxeljet Technology GmbH, ExOne GmbH, SLM Solutions GmbH, and Arcam AB.Check Discount on This Report @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Global Fly Ash Market Size & Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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"The Report Fly Ash Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"The main objective of this report is to define, describe, and forecast the global Fly Ash market on the basis of types of applications, major sectors, deployment models, organization size, and regions. The report contains an analysis of the major factors influencing the growth of the market (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges). It aims to strategically analyze the micromarkets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and their contribution to the market. The report attempts to forecast the market size for 5 major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. It contains key vendor profiles and comprehensively analyzes their core competencies. The report also tracks and analyzes competitive developments, including partnerships, collaborations, acquisitions, new product developments, and R&D activities in the market.Get Sample Copy of this report @Fly ash is a coal combustion product. It is also known as pulverized fuel ash. Fly ash is a byproduct of coal-fired electric power plants. Mineral impurities in coal, such as quartz, feldspar, clay and shale, fuse in the suspension and float out of the combustion chamber as waste gases during the power generation process. These particles, when cooled, are solidified into orbicular particles. These particles are known as fly ash. It is widely utilized in the construction industry as a premium substitute of Portland cement. When employed in concrete, fly ash improves the strength, ease of pumping concrete, and segregation. These advantages of fly ash compared to Portland cement make it preferred material for construction.Increase in demand for fly ash in bricks & blocks applications and extensive usage of fly ash in road construction are some of the key factors driving the fly ash market. This in turn is prompting companies to increase the production of fly ash. Additionally, easy availability of raw materials is anticipated to boost the demand for fly ash in the near future.The global fly ash market is witnessing technological advancements. Companies are constantly striving to develop new and better ways to manufacture fly ash. Development of new manufacturing processes of fly ash and applications is estimated to propel the fly ash market. However, volatility in prices of raw material is projected to adversely affect the market.Based on type, the fly ash market can be classified into Type F and Type C. Type F is the most commonly used fly ash due to its excessive usage in mass concrete and high strength mixes.View Full Report @In terms of application, the fly ash market can be divided into Portland cement & concrete, bricks & blocks, road construction, agriculture, and others. The bricks & blocks segment of the fly ash market is anticipated to expand at a significant growth rate owing to its properties such as zero efflorescence, low water absorption, high compressive strength, and high strength-to-weight ratio.In terms of geography, the fly ash market can be segregated into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is anticipated to hold a key share of the market during the forecast period. The market in the region is also estimated to expand at a rapid pace, owing to the increase in demand for fly ash in the bricks and blocks segment in the region. Middle East & Africa is likely to be an attractive market for fly ash during the forecast period due to the rise in demand for fly ash in road construction in the region.Prominent players operating in the global fly ash market include Headwaters Inc., CEMEX S.A.B. de C.V., Boral Limited, Separation Technologies LLC, and Aggregate Industries.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Request For Enquiry @The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Check Discount @Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Market Dynamics to Escalate Demand for Industrial Heaters Throughout 2017 - 2025

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Global Industrial Heaters Market: OverviewWhenever there is a need to increase the temperature of any industrial process or an object, industrial heaters are considered as viable options. For example, a pipe might need heat tracing to prevent it from freezing in the cold, or to warm lubricating oil before feeding it to the machine. Advancement in technology has created new and exciting products and opportunities for the industrial heaters manufacturers. Electric industrial heaters work on the principle of conversion of electrical energy into heat energy through convection, conduction, and radiation forms of heat transfer. In practice, radiation heat transfer dominates high temperature processes, whereas conductive/convection forms dominate low temperature processes.Request to Sample of Report-Of the total manufacturing sectors energy demand, industrial heaters account for approximately 70% of the process energy and use. A wide range of process heating unit operations are associated with industrial equipment to facilitate important material transformations, such as curing, drying, phase change, heating, etc. These are fundamental operations in the manufacturing of industrial and consumer products made of concrete, glass, ceramics, rubber, plastic, and metal. Out of various process heating technologies, technology improvements in the hybrid system may lead to manufacturing efficiency improvements, such as enhanced speed/throughput, lower energy consumption, better product quality, etc.Global Industrial Heaters Market: DynamicsDrivers:High efficiency and affordable price of the system are factors driving growth of the global industrial heaters market over the forecast period. Furthermore, increasing use of electro-technologies has significant potential to improve energy productivity and reduce energy consumption of process industries, which is expected to drive the industrial heaters market during the forecast period. Moreover, low maintenance and operational costs, and reduction in emissions are expected to drive the global industrial heaters market.Restraints:Lack of training among workers in specific regions is expected to hamper growth of the global industrial heaters market during the forecast period. Furthermore, limited use of duct heaters due to their inability to heat wet rooms and the requirement for safeguards to ensure fire safety are expected to hinder growth of the global industrial heaters market by the end of forecast period.Request Report for TOC @Global Industrial Heaters Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global industrial heaters market are:Excel HeatersWattcoElmatic (Cardiff) Ltd.Powrmatic LtdWinterwarmWatlow Electric Manufacturing CompanyDragon Power Electric Co. Ltd.Auzhan Electric Appliances (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.Vijay Heat IndustriesKantilal Chunilal & Sons Appliances Private Ltd.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Industrial IoT Industry Overview, Trends, Research Methodology, Latest Review, Current Trends and Forecast to 2025

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http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/industrial-internet-of-things-market

Internet of Things (IoT) has brought everything connected through internet. This connected network offers new opportunities to enhance operations across manufacturing, energy, agriculture, transportation and other infrastructure sectors of the economy. It also enables industrial machines and equipment to realize and precise for potential failures before they become any disaster. Along with that, it allows objects to operate autonomously while being monitored by any workforces from remote locations.Worldwide Industrial IoT Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the Industrial IoT industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global Industrial IoT market with detailed market segmentation by product/application and geography. The global Industrial IoT market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the Industrial IoT players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.Request a Sample Report atIndustrial IoT Market Players:AT&T Inc.Cisco Systems, Inc.General Electric CompanyGoogle, Inc.IBM Corp.Intel CorporationMicrosoft CorporationOmron CorporationRemote Technologies Inc.Robert Bosch GmbHRockwell Automation, Inc.The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global Industrial IoT market based on product and application. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall Industrial IoT market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM), which is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend and provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions.Inquire before Buying atAlso, key Industrial IoT market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.Reason to Buy- Highlights key business priorities in order to assist companies to realign their business strategies.- The key findings and recommendations highlight crucial progressive industry trends in the Industrial IoT market, thereby allowing players to develop effective long term strategies.- Develop/modify business expansion plans by using substantial growth offering developed and emerging markets.- Scrutinize in-depth global market trends and outlook coupled with the factors driving the market, as well as those hindering it.- Enhance the decision-making process by understanding the strategies that underpin commercial interest with respect to products, segmentation and industry verticals.View Complete Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comThe Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.533, 5th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Research focused on the Fluorosurfactants Market Size & Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025

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"The Report Fluorosurfactants Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"The main objective of this report is to define, describe, and forecast the global Fluorosurfactants  market on the basis of types of applications, major sectors, deployment models, organization size, and regions. The report contains an analysis of the major factors influencing the growth of the market (drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges). It aims to strategically analyze the micromarkets with respect to individual growth trends, prospects, and their contribution to the market. The report attempts to forecast the market size for 5 major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and Latin America. It contains key vendor profiles and comprehensively analyzes their core competencies. The report also tracks and analyzes competitive developments, including partnerships, collaborations, acquisitions, new product developments, and R&D activities in the market.Get Sample Copy of this report @Surfactant or surface-active agent is a compound used for reducing the surface tension of one or more components. Surfactants are made from natural or synthetic substances, which act as wetting agents to disperse or suspend greasy soils in a solution. Surfactants weaken the surface tension force of solvents or interfacial tension between two non-miscible liquids. Fluorosurfactants, also known as fluorinated surfactants or per fluorinated alkylated substances, belong to the organ fluorine chemical group. They offer more effective chemical properties vis-a-vis hydrocarbon based surfactants. Fluorosurfactants are fluorocarbon based compounds that are synthetic. They consist of multiple fluorine atoms with a hydrophilic head and fluorinated tail in a chain. They function by breaking down the interface between water and oils or water and dirt through suspension of soiled particles. They possess a strong carbonfluorine bond that makes them more stable and appropriate for harsh conditions than hydrocarbon surfactants.The global fluorosurfactants market is primarily driven by the increase in demand for short chain surfactants in various end-use industries such as building & construction and oil & gas. Fluorosurfactants possess enhanced characteristics of wettability, particle dispersion, permeability, and better levelling techniques. These superior properties are anticipated to boost the global fluorosurfactants market. Rise in demand for fluorosurfactants in enhanced oil recovery activities for foam generation, particle dispersion, and emulsion stabilization purposes is expected to propel the fluorosurfactants market. The market is estimated to be driven by the increase in demand for fluorosurfactants in the marine industry owing to the anti-corrosive properties applicable to protection of marine ships and vessels. Rise in awareness about hygiene and sanitation among consumers is also projected to augment the demand for laundry products and detergents, thereby fueling the fluorosurfactants market. However, toxicity of fluorosurfactants and implementation of stringent environmental regulations against emission of volatile organic compounds are likely to hamper the fluorosurfactants market. Furthermore, manufacturers of fluorosurfactants are compelled to replace the manufacturing of long chain fluorosurfactants with eco-friendly substitutes, i.e. short chain fluorosurfactants. This is projected to offer lucrative opportunities to the fluorosurfactants market.In terms of type, the fluorosurfactants market can be segmented into anionic fluorosurfactants, nonionic fluorosurfactants, amphoteric fluorosurfactants, and cationic fluorosurfactants. Anionic fluorosurfactants hold key share of the global fluorosurfactants market. . Anionic fluorosurfactants are widely used for laundering, dishwashing liquids, and shampoos owing to their characteristics of wettability and permeability.View Full Report @Based on end-use industry, the fluorosurfactants market can be divided into oil & gas, paints & coatings, healthcare & hygiene, firefighting, and others. The paints & coatings segment is estimated to account for significant share of the global fluorosurfactants market in the near future. Fluorosurfactants exhibit excellent surface contamination, anti-blocking, low foaming, and emulsifying properties. Thus, they can be used in the paints & coatings industry. Fluorosurfactants are also employed in specialty detergents for industrial and household purposes. Fluorosurfactants are used extensively in hair conditioners and fabric softeners, shampoos and shower gels, machine dishwashing powders & tablets, and laundry detergents in healthcare and hygiene industries.In terms of geography, the fluorosurfactants market can be segregated into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. The market in Asia Pacific is anticipated to expand at a rapid pace due to the easy availability of raw materials in countries such as China and India. North America and Europe also constitute significant share of the market owing to the increase in demand for fluorosurfactants in the building & construction industry.Key players operating in the global fluorosurfactants market include Asahi Glass Co. Ltd., DIC Corporation, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Merck KGaA, The 3M Company, The Chemours Company, and Advanced Polymer, Inc.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.Request For Enquiry @The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Check Discount @Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact usMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Macro and Microeconomic Factors Continue to Impact Fire Safety Equipment Market

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Fire Safety Equipment: IntroductionSafeguarding human life and property are key concerns that drive the fire safety equipment market. Aside from the aforementioned, the cost associated with the loss of man hours due to fire hazards is a vital concern worldwide, which in turn encourages industries to deploy fire safety equipment wherever relevant. Fire safety equipment can be bifurcated on the basis of two key elements i.e. fire detection and fire suppression.Request Report for TOC @It is forecasted that advancements in technology such as wireless sensor networks will drive the fire safety equipment market in the near future. These advancements are also expected to contribute in reducing manufacturing costs involved in fire safety equipment, thereby increasing its future market potential. Also, strict regulations are imposed by various regulatory bodies for the implementation of fire safety procedures, thereby making it mandatory for organizations to use fire safety equipment at workplaces; which consequently increases the demand for fire safety equipment. These factors are expected to rapidly develop the global fire safety equipment market.Fire Safety Equipment: Market DynamicsIn the near future, advanced technologies such as nanotechnology, human machine interface solutions and smart building are anticipated to enter the fire safety equipment market. Recent innovation has produced advanced sensors which help in relaying accurate data to control units. The advancement of technology through the use of intelligent sensors and detectors and their connectivity with distant users through WAN/LAN networks has been driving demand for fire safety and protection equipment worldwide.As a result of stringent building and safety codes by regulatory bodies, industries worldwide have been taking cognizance of the fact that fire accidents not only pose threat to human life and assets, but also render sustainable businesses uneconomical to such an extent that investing in fire safety and protection equipment is a more viable option.However, it should also be noted that there is inconsistency in the implementation of fire safety codes in certain regions of the world hamper the overall growth fire safety equipment market. Furthermore, increasing maintenance and replacement costs of fire safety and protection equipment discourages potential buyers to a certain extent; thereby making it imperative for producers to offer their products at an attractive price point while maintaining acceptable quality standards. Small manufacturers worldwide find this a major challenge since they need to sustain business in a highly competitive environment.End-users face a different challenge due to the complexity in integration of fire detection systems with other fire detection or suppression systems, thereby making it mandatory for them to learn using multiple interfaces.Portability of fire extinguishing equipment enhances product usage. Advanced fire alarm systems offer added advantages and additional features such as photoelectric detectors, etc. Both these factors are expected to encourage potential users to invest in fire safety and protection equipment in industrial, commercial as well as residential applications.Request to Sample of Report-Fire Safety Equipment: Market ParticipantsExamples of some market participants in the fire safety equipment market are as follows:Honeywell Security & CommunicationsTyco InternationalBosch Security System Inc.Siemens Building TechnologiesUnited TechnologiesCooper WheelockGentex CorporationPanasonic CorporationADT Security Services Inc.WSA Fire SystemsAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Ukraine Beer and Cider Market 2018: Key Players Obolon, Olimp, Carlsberg Ukraine

Ukraine Beer and Cider

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SummaryUkraine Beer and Cider Market Insights 2017 report provides a complete overview of the Ukraine beer and cider industry structure offering a comprehensive insight into historical background trends, 2016 performance and 2017 outlook.ScopeCovering total market (on and off-premise) the report details -- 2011-2016 actual detailed beer consumption volume data by segment, brand, brewer, packaging and distribution (on-/off-premise), with 2017 forecasts.- Value by distribution channel 2011-2016, with 2017 forecasts.- Overview of the competitive landscape in the beer and cider market, with analysis of key company performance.- Insightful and valuable analysis of the drivers behind both current and emerging trends in the beer and cider market.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Companies mentionedCarlsberg UkraineSun InBev UkraineObolonPersha Pryvatna BrovarnyaEfes UkraineNew Products GroupOlimpReasons to buy- Gain an in-depth understanding of the dynamics and structure of the Ukraine beer and cider industry, from the latest competitive intelligence of both historical and forecast trends to enhance your corporate strategic planning.- Evaluate the current emerging trends and future growth opportunities in the Ukraine beer and cider market to support your brand development and marketing initiatives.- Understand volume vs. value trends and identify the key growth opportunities across the super-premium, premium, mainstream and discount segments to best target profitability.- Analyze domestic and imported beer brand performance and determine the key trends driving consumption preference to develop a competitive advantage.- Interrogate the unique granularity of our data to analyze the market on a variety of levels to make well-informed decisions on future threats and growth prospects in the marketplace for your company.Table of Content: Key Points1. Executive Summary2. Market Context3. Emerging Trends4. Brands and Private Label5. Market Share by Brewer6. Packaging Trends7. Channel and Pricing Trends8. Outlook9. Appendices:10. Methodology11. Product DefinitionsContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Impact of Key Factors on the Growth of Global Aerospace Oxygen System Market During 2017 - 2025

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Global Aerospace Oxygen System Market: OverviewOxygen is a pivotal part of our lives, quintessential for sustenance of human, animal and plant alike, the gas accounts for 21.0 percent in terms of volume among all dry air constituents. With evolving transportation scenario, passengers preference have shifted from using wheels to cars to aircrafts. As per International Air Transport Association, in 2015, globally, over 3.5 Billion people had safely commuted. With air transport being cost effective day-by-day, the number of travellers is expected to increase significantly.Request Report for TOC @Thriving number of aircraft passengers has created a strong demand for efficient oxygen systems. With increasing altitude, partial pressure of oxygen decreases which makes it progressively more difficult to inhale or intake oxygen. To maintain suitable level of oxygen concentration for both passengers and pilot, life support systems and oxygen systems are required. Aerospace oxygen systems provide oxygen to occupants through pipe lines, fittings and are centrally regulated. With applications in cargo, transport and military sectors, the demand for aerospace oxygen system market is increasing steadily.Global Aerospace Oxygen System Market: Drivers & RestraintsLeading aircraft carriers engage in regular maintenance and upgrade the aircrafts oxygen systems on a regular basis. With the influx of upgraded and automated systems, the sales of aerospace oxygen market is expected to escalate significantly. Stringent air safety laws enacted by international organization such as Federal Aviation and Administration are expected to aid the sales of the aerospace oxygen system market.The increasing production of aircrafts for both passenger and military applications is the pivotal factor influencing the unit sales of aerospace oxygen system during the forecast period. However, owing to the high cost of equipment and significant addition of equipment and their weight to overall weight, liquid and gaseous oxygen system sales are limited as compared to other systems.Global Aerospace Oxygen System Market: Regional OutlookThe global aerospace oxygen system market is also segmented on the basis of region. Among all regional markets, North America aerospace oxygen system market is expected to dominate throughout the forecast period. With major aircraft manufacturers such as Boeing, Cessna and Bombardier focusing on expanding fleet size to cater to the growing demand for small and mid-sized commercial planes, the aerospace oxygen system market is expected to grow swiftly, thereby contributing to the growth of North America aerospace oxygen system market.Latin America and Middle East and Africa aerospace oxygen system market are challenged by the limited availability of aircraft manufacturers in the region, however, the revenue in the region is expected to be sustained by sales of individual components during the forecast period. Asia Pacific ex. Japan (APEJ) aerospace oxygen system market is expected to create higher opportunity compared to other regions, with volume demand spearheaded by China and India. Western Europe market is expected to gain significant growth post 2018. Russia and Poland are expected to create sustainable opportunities during the forecast period; mainly application in military sector contributing significantly to the overall revenue of the regional market.Request to Sample of Report-Global Aerospace Oxygen System Market: Market ParticipantsThe market of aerospace oxygen system is expected to be highly consolidated with relatively limited number of manufacturers in each region. Examples of some of the market participants in the global Aerospace oxygen System market include, Zodiac Aerospace S.A., Basa Aviation Ltd., Cobham PLC, B/E Aerospace, Inc., Air Liquide, Aviation Oxygen System, Inc., Precise Flight, Inc., Technodinamika among other leading manufacturers and suppliers.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Why is Narcotics Detection Equipment witnessing Significant Demand in the Global Market During 2017 - 2025?

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Narcotics Detection Equipment Market: IntroductionIncreased manufacturing & trafficking of narcotics as well as the growing adeptness of traffickers in carrying narcotics has made it difficult for the authorities to locate them. To overcome this problem and to prevent trafficking and arrest smugglers, the authorities require technology which can locate narcotics positively. The narcotics detection equipment is used for easy, reliable and safe inspection. It plays a significant role in preventing the trade of narcotics.Request Report for TOC @With the help of advanced technologies such as X-ray diffraction, computed tomography and trace detection during the screening process, this equipment provides precise and fully-automatic rapid detection and identification. When any baggage is scanned using the narcotics detection equipment, the equipment begins to show a different colour on screen for different materials such as narcotics, explosives, etc. Hence, using this equipment, it becomes quite easy to detect illegal materials such as narcotics, even if they are well hidden.Narcotics Detection Equipment Market: Market DynamicsSubstantial growth in the number of cases related to drug abuse as well as increase in consumption and trafficking of narcotics across the globe is aiding the growth of the narcotics detection equipment market. Initiatives taken by various governments to prevent narcotics consumption is also affecting the narcotics detection equipment market positively. Strict laws that illegalize its consumption and increased activity by law enforcement, safety and security administrations has led to the growth of narcotics detection equipment market.Another factor promoting the growth of narcotics detection equipment is increasing awareness amongst people regarding the harmful and lethal effects of narcotics. Increasing awareness amongst people and stringent government regulations have also created immense pressure on corporates to keep narcotics detection equipment to ensure a safe and healthy working environment and prevent any kind of illegal activities in the premises. It is precisely for this reason that many public and professional workplaces have begun to use these narcotics detection equipment which, in turn, has increased their demand. All of the aforementioned reasons are expected to drive growth for narcotics detection equipment market during the forecast period.However, there are certain hindrances that have a restraining effect on the global narcotics detection equipment market. For instance, the associated high price tag makes its use limited to high end use markets. That apart, the market is dominated by only a few major players, most of which operate in developed countries. Though local players which operate in this market offer equipment at a lesser price, the quality of components in these products is unpredictable and widely variable. The dominant manufacturers, in contrast, offer equipment that are more reliable. Irrespective of this, the presence of low-cost equipment offered by local players may hamper the development of narcotics detection equipment market.Among the narcotics detection equipment available in the market, portable and hand held equipment e.g. portable narcotics detection equipment with infrared technology have a major share of the narcotics detection equipment market.Request to Sample of Report-Narcotics Detection Equipment Market: Associated PlayersSome of the major participants associated with the manufacturing of narcotics detection equipment are Scanna (England), Rapiscan Systems, Safran Identity & Security,Flir Systems,Smiths Detection, Autoclear, CSECO, Shanghai Estimage equipment Co. Ltd, Point Security, Security Electronic Equipment Co., Biosensor Applications Sweden AB, Techik Instruments (Shanghai) and Detectachem.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Wine Malaysia Market 2018 Industry Analysis, Opportunities and Forecast To 2022

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Summary"Top Growth Opportunities: Wine in Malaysia", provides an overview of the wine market, analyzing market data, demographic consumption patterns within the category, and the key consumer trends driving consumption. Proprietary Risk vs Reward Opportunity model pinpoints the best growth opportunities for wine producers, suppliers and retailers by combining robust, granular data and expert insight. The report uses this framework to identify the best opportunities, analyze white spaces in the market, and outline new product development that will effectively target the most pertinent consumer need states. These are combined to offer strategic recommendations to capitalize on evolving consumer landscapes.GET SAMPLE REPORT @This provides recommended actions and detailed analysis of how to target the best growth opportunities for wine producers and retailers. Readers can understand what categories, channels, companies, and consumers will drive the success of wine markets in Malaysia through GlobalDatas detailed and robust data, expert insight, and case studies.Top Growth Opportunity reports use a risk versus reward opportunity model to identify the best growth markets for wine producers. Through this in-depth study of market and category dynamics, readers are able to identify key opportunities, and what they need to do in order to target them.Get access to -- Key consumer demographic groups driving consumption within the Malaysian market. Improve your consumer targeting by understanding whos driving the market, what they want, and why- A study of market value and volumes over 2011-2016 for Malaysia, supplemented with category, brand and packaging analysis that shows the current state of the market, and how it will evolve over the 2016-2021 period- White space analysis, to pinpoint attractive spaces in the market and the key actions to take- Insight into the implications behind the data, and analysis of how the consumer needs will evolve in the short-to-medium term future- Examples of international and regional product innovation targeting key consumer needsScope- Among 2016s top ten wine markets, Malaysia is the smallest in terms of per capita expenditure in US$ terms. Looking to the future, the per capita expenditure on wine products in Malaysia is expected to grow by 7.5% CAGR during 2016-2021.- The growth is primarily attributed to the rising disposable incomes of the large base of young Malaysian consumers and their willingness to spend more on premium wine products while socializing with friends and family. Despite the fact that many Malaysians are prohibited from consuming alcoholic beverages due to Islamic law, the wine sector in Malaysia offers opportunities by targeting the non-Muslim community as prospective consumers, who accounts for around 40% of the population. Therefore, with nearly a half (47%)1 completely or somewhat agreeing that their disposable income is increasing, winemakers can capitalize on the shift towards more sophisticated wine preferences driven by wealthier middle-class population, foreign expatriates, and affluent tourists.Reasons to buy- This report brings together consumer analysis and market data to provide actionable insight into the behavior of Malaysia's wine consumers.- This is based on GlobalData's unique consumer data, developed from extensive consumption surveys and consumer group tracking, which quantifies the influence of 20 consumption motivations in the Wine sector.- Category, brand, and packaging dynamics are also examined. This allows product and marketing strategies to be better aligned with the leading trends in the market.Table of Content: Key Points1. Introducing a top growth market for wineTop 10 global growth opportunities scoresTop global issuesAssessment against global strategic issuesGlobalDatas strategic issues mapPredicted future issues for the global sectorReward and risk assessmentOpportunity score - overviewConsumer spending trends - peer group comparisonsPolitical, Economic, Social, and Technological: AnalysisEnablers and inhibitors of growthRewards and opportunities for growthSummary of the market2. Market insight - identifying the opportunities to move intoMarket growth by categoryValue growth of the marketVolume growth of the marketLevel of premiumization by categoryCategory analysis - key drivers of change3. Retail and distribution insight - key channels and retailers driving growthWine retail channel shareKey Retail Channel trendsRoutes to marketDrivers of change in the sector4. Company and brand insight - the competitive landscape defined5. Consumer insight - who, what, when, where and why6. Product and packaging insightsContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
United States Outdoor Flooring Market 2017 Size, Demand, Trends and Growth by Business Opportunities, Latest Innovation 2022

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SummaryLatest Report Available at Orbis Research Outdoor Flooring Market provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics and a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining industry growth.DescriptionOrbis Research aims to bring the best research material to its esteemed and scholarly clients looking for a complete and detailed analysis of market reports. In the new United States Outdoor Flooring Market report, Orbis Research delivers a holistic information hub for its clients which include all critical information points of the United States Outdoor Flooring Market. The report covers all key components of the United States Outdoor Flooring Market including the scope and overview, classification, applications, and regional analysis. The report also covers key figures and facts of the market in terms of value and volume, growth rate, sales performance, revenue generation, and the rate of growth of the current 2017 estimate and future predictions.Get a PDF Sample of Report at:The report is equipped with the entire knowledge for the clients including the latest news and analysis of the United States Outdoor Flooring Industry, as well as the new and upcoming trends, developments, and the competition. The key players covered in the report provide an in-depth view of the development and performance of the top companies in the market which can enable the clients to plan and execute their move in the United States Outdoor Flooring Industry. The report also covers the detailed products and performance of each company and their contact information.The report includes a rounded analysis of the global market to identify key drivers and challenges across the globe, while the regional analysis helps identity key factors on a micro level. Cost analysis, industrial chains, sourcing strategy, marketing strategy, distributors, and upstream and downstream trends of the United States Outdoor Flooring Industry are covered in this market report.The Outdoor Flooring Market forecast is a major mainstay of the report post careful curation of the available data by the industry experts. The forecast prediction is conducted after a thorough study and includes the parameters of revenue, regions, types, and applications. The report also includes industry news and expert comments by the top officials in the industry.To Browse the Entire Report, Visit :Like every report put up by Orbis Research, the report is contains a SWOT analysis of the Outdoor Flooring Industry. Seasoned professionals and research experts develop and present the report in the most user friendly way without compromising on the accuracy and consistency of the data. Any individual or organization interested in the report for either commercial or academic interests can greatly benefit from it.Some Major Points Of Table Of Content:Chapter One: Outdoor Flooring Market OverviewChapter Two: Global Outdoor Flooring Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter Three: Global Outdoor Flooring Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2013-2018)Chapter Four: Global Outdoor Flooring Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2013-2018)Chapter Five: Global Outdoor Flooring Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter Six: Global Outdoor Flooring Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter Seven: Global Outdoor Flooring Manufacturers Profiles/AnalysisChapter Eight: Outdoor Flooring Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter Nine: Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter Ten: Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter Eleven: Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter Twelve: Global Outdoor Flooring Market Forecast (2018-2025)Chapter Thirteen: Research Findings and ConclusionChapter Fourteen: AppendixNo. of Report Pages: 121Got any Query? Feel free to ask us at :List Of Tables:Figure Product Picture of Outdoor FlooringFigure United States Outdoor Flooring Market Size (K sqm) by Type (2013-2025)Figure United States Outdoor Flooring Sales Volume Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2017Figure Tile Product PictureFigure Decking Product PictureFigure Others (Rugs, Carpet, and Stones) Product PictureFigure United States Outdoor Flooring Market Size (K sqm) by Application (2013-2025)Figure United States Sales Market Share of Outdoor Flooring by Application in 2017Figure Park ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in ParkFigure Tourist Attractions ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Tourist AttractionsFigure Home Furnishing Outdoor Infrastructure ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in Home Furnishing Outdoor InfrastructureFigure Other ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in OtherFigure United States Outdoor Flooring Market Size (Million USD) by Region (2013-2025)Figure The West Outdoor Flooring Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)Figure Southwest Outdoor Flooring Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)Figure The Middle Atlantic Outdoor Flooring Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2013-2025)About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Information:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Key Factors Inhibiting Growth of the Global Automotive Parts Remanufacturing Market Throughout 2017 - 2025

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Automotive parts remanufacturing represents one of those few markets which expand in an inverse proportion with the economy. Providing a cheaper alternative to purchasing brand new automotive parts, remanufacturing generally gains a boost when consumer spending drops down. However, in a rapidly growing economy on the other hand, consumers tend to choose new products over remanufactured ones and as a result, the market for remanufactured automotive parts experiences a plunge.Request Report for TOC @Persistence Market Research, in its recently published outlook, examines the global automotive parts remanufacturing market considering it historic and current scenario, delivering key insights into its growth prospects over the next few years. The forecast period considered is 2016-2024 and the report offers detailed insights into the market over the entire assessment period.Global Automotive Parts Remanufacturing Market: Drivers and RestraintsEconomic benefits will remain the primary factor driving the market for remanufactured automotive parts. Consistently robust demand for remanufactured starters and alternators will also continue to propel the sales in near future. Soaring demand for remanufactured diesel engines will play a key role in boosting the market in near future. Emergence of electric and hybrid vehicles will be a strong driver to remanufactured transmission systems.The average age of the existing vehicles fleet is increasing, indicating a strong impetus to the demand for remanufactured automotive parts in near future. Since the recent past, the durability and quality of products are consistently improving, eventually making remanufactured automotive parts equally competitive as a substitute to brand new parts on the market. This is identified to propel the sales over the next few years.Growing concerns regarding carbon footprint and overall environmental impact of newly manufactured automobiles and increased use of remanufactured transmission in advanced technology electric and hybrid vehicles will collectively fuel the demand for remanufactured auto parts. Dumping of worn out mainstream automobile parts has become less a commonplace today, owing to several environmental issues associated with dumping. This will also push the market for remanufactured auto parts further.Todays auto mechanics are flexible enough to add or remove any remanufactured auto part, compatible with existing vehicle parts. This can pose a major challenge to new sales of remanufactured parts in near future. Competition from repaired automotive parts is another factor expected to restrain the market growth in near future. Narrowed price gap between mainstream and remanufactured parts is expected to be an important factor challenging market growth. Moreover, extended warranties of original vehicle components will also hamper the market.Request to Sample of Report-Global Automotive Parts Remanufacturing Market: Key PlayersBORG Automotive A/SDetroit Diesel CorporationCaterpillar Inc.Jasper Engines and TransmissionsMotorcar Parts of America, Inc.Marshall EnginesRobert Bosch GmbHStandard Motor Products Inc.ZF Friedrichshafen AGAnder NiermannCardone Industries Inc.Genuine Parts CompanyMaval Manufacturing Inc.ATC Drivetrain Inc.Teamec BVBAAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Electric Vehicle Plastics Market to Register a Healthy CAGR Throughout 2017 - 2025

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Electric Vehicle Plastics Market: IntroductionWhile metal is the go-to material when it comes to manufacturing of various components for automobiles, the resultant increase in weight of vehicles have led the automobile manufacturers to look out for alternatives in order to improve the overall efficiency of vehicles. Hence, plastics are common materials after metals that are utilized currently to build various parts of a vehicle. From the perspective of electric vehicles, higher quantity of plastic material is used than the conventional vehicles owing to inclusion of larger battery pack, smaller size of internal combustion engine and demand for lightweight materials to improve fuel efficiency.Request to Sample of Report-Electric vehicle plastics are those raw materials, which are prominently used to manufacture parts and supplies that make up an electric vehicle. Electric vehicle plastics made components can be found in the interior, exterior, luggage section and bonnet section of an electric vehicle. Inclusion of plastic based parts is advantageous as it can cover over half the volume of the electric vehicle alongside contributing less than 15% of the weight of the electric vehicle. Rise in sales and production of electric vehicles coupled with Government regulations on automobile emissions are some of the key factors attributing to the growth of electric vehicle plastics market in the coming years.Electric Vehicle Plastics Market: DynamicsWith a move towards manufacturing automobiles that contribute less greenhouse gases emissions and highly fuel efficient, electric vehicles and its variants are being manufactured by almost all the major automobile manufacturers owing to improving year on year sales of electric vehicles directly influencing the growth of the electric vehicle plastics market. Another factor that drives the growth of the market is the decrease in the prices of raw materials used in the manufacture of electric vehicles. The increasing involvement of plastics as raw materials to build automotive parts and supplies is also one of the major factors attributing to the growth of the electric vehicle plastics market.Electric Vehicle Plastics Market: Regional OutlookThe electric vehicles market in North America and Western Europe region are flourishing at a healthy rate as a result of increasing adoption of non-polluting vehicles as a means of transportation, thereby rendering an attractive prospect for the growth of electric vehicle plastics market. Close on the heels of the above two regions, Asia Pacific region along with Japan has also witnessed a healthy sales of electric vehicles especially in China further improving the demand of such vehicles paving a way for the growth of the electric vehicle plastics market. In contrast, the market in Latin America and Middle East & Africa region may witness a slower growth rate of electric vehicle plastics due to lower demands and sales of electric vehicles, but may improve in later years when the demand for fossil fuels increases.Request Report for TOC @Electric Vehicle Plastics: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the participants involved in the manufacture of Global Electric Vehicle Plastics are:Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC)BASF SEFormosa Plastics Corporation, U.S.A.LyondellBasell Industries Holdings B.V.Evonik IndustriesINEOSI. du Pont de Nemours and CompanyThe Dow Chemical CompanyAir Liquide S.A.Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd.Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.Hexion Inc.Momentive Performance MaterialsHanwha Azdel, Inc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Bleaching Agent Market Assessment & Growth Forecast Highlights 3.6% CAGR during 2017 2026

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The primary purpose of bleaching agents is to remove colors from textiles. Apart from its use with textiles, bleaching agents are very much in demand for cosmetic and medicinal dedications. Looking at these trends, Market Research Hub (MRH) has tried to analyze the market for bleaching agents in a careful manner. This research report is titled "Bleaching Agent Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2017  2026", which has been included to the wide database managed by MRH. The report on the global bleaching agent market provides vital information together with a valid forecast considering the regional market. As per report findings, the concerned market is anticipate to record 3.6% CAGR during the forecast period (2017-2026).Request For Sample Report:According to report analysis, increasing demand for wastewater treatment solutions as a result of high level of contamination is also pushing the demand for bleaching agents. Furthermore, the preference of customers is also shifting towards the use of eco-friendly bleaching agents rather than chlorine-based bleaches. Therefore, manufacturers are aiming to produce biodegradable oxygen-based bleaching agent.The report starts with the global economic outlook and executive summary. Later, readers can learn immensely from the market overview that covers market size (US$ Mn), Y-o-Y Growth and market dynamics. Furthermore, information about supply chain, cost structure as well as pricing analysis can be grasped from this particular section. Interestingly, Porter's Five Force Analysis is also discoursed to get a fair idea about the competitive scenario among market players.The next section talks about the market segmentation which bifurcates the market on the basis of product type, region and application. Based on product type, the market is divided into chlorine based, peroxide based, and others. Further, the different applications studied in the report are pulp & paper, textile, electrical & electronics, construction, healthcare, homecare and other applications. Each of these segments has been analyzed keeping in mind factors such as market share, revenue comparison and Y-o-Y growth. The prime regions assessed in the report are North America, Latin America, APEJ, Japan, MEA and Europe. Moreover, market attractiveness analysis has been implemented to identify opportunities across the market which one may acquire by investing in the market.Browse Full Report with TOC-This report offers a thorough profile of various noticeable players functioning in the global bleaching agent market such as Clariant, AkzoNobel, BASF, DuPont, Dow Chemicals, Colgate-Palmolive Company, Evonik, S.C.Johnson & Son, Spartan Chemical Company, Novozymes, Merck, Shandong Huatai Interox Chemical, The Procter & Gamble Company, Ashland, Hawkins, Inc. The Clorox Company, Unilever, Christeyns, Arkema and Aditya Birla Chemicals.Enquire about this Report-About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Details:90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free : 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email : press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite :Read Industry News at -
India Colour Sorter Global Market Prognosticated To Accrue With A Whooping CAGR by 2027; Asserts MRFR

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Market Research Future published a research report on India Color Sorter Market Research Report- Forecast 2022  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2022.India Color Sorter Market, By Type (Chute and Belt) By Application (Agricultural and Industrial), and Region - Forecast 2016-2022Satake India Engineering, Buhler Group, Fowler Westrup, Tomra, Orange, Sea, Key Technology, Hefei Meiya Optoelectronic Technology Inc., Anhui Zhongke Optic-electronic Colour Sorter Machinery Co., Ltd., and Hefei TAIHE Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd. and others are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the Global India Colour Sorter Market.India Colour Sorter Global Market  OverviewThe Global India Colour Sorter Market is growing with the rapid pace. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global market of India Colour Sorter will grow at a rapid pace over the forecast period. The market is forecasted to witness slow but steady growth by 2027, which will be a surplus growth at a moderate CAGR during the projected period (2016 -2027).India Color Sorter Market was valued at USD 28.40 Billion in 2015 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.4% during the forecast period.Get Sample of Report @Colour sorter machines work with Colour differences of granular materials and use high-resolution optical sensors to separate different granular materials. Many machines are designed in accordance with the most exacting standards of food hygiene and are used in the most difficult food sorting applications where food quality and safety are demanded. Availability of industry-leading technologies such as high-resolution, custom built Colour cameras, which determines product shape, size, and Colour and gives a new way for the players to grow in the market.It is necessary to perform all operations such as cleaning, sorting and grading to ensure that foods have uniformly high quality for subsequent processing. Agricultural products such as grains, wheat, rice, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, coffee & nuts are sorted to ensure hygiene and safety. Moreover, increase in the productivity of the agricultural sector will result in boosting the growth of the Colour sorter market. These sorting machines play an important role in separating different Coloured, toxic and unripe products. Colour sorters are used for separating unwanted contamination and other materials from pure materials based on Colour and type. Additionally, measures for R&D and government initiatives in terms of policies drive the growth of the agriculture segment.Colour sorter machines are used to separate disColoured, toxic and unripe products. The cost involved in such machineries, act as barrier for the market. Companies need potential skilled labor and simple, easily maintained sorters with technical backup, which they are unlikely to have every time. Moreover, many companies import Colour sorter machines, which increases the overall cost. Additionally, new Colour sorting technology for accurate, safe and efficient solution increases the overall cost of the Colour sorting machinery. Besides, the high expenses involved, once installed, Colour sorter machines, require continuous service and maintenance.The machines such as electronic rice Colour sorter, tea Colour sorter and sorters for Industrial Granules use the most advanced technique of sorting, the technique of identifying impurities with the help of high resolution scan cameras. Many machines are designed in accordance with the most exacting standards of food hygiene, ensuring safety. Moreover the rising preference of healthy and safe products obtained with lower effort is acting as an opportunity for enhancing the market growth.Key Strategies adopted by major manufacturers:Extensive research in this market has brought to light that new product development and entering into strategic partnerships and collaboration are the key strategies adopted by the major players in the India Colour sorter market. This strategy has been adopted to cater to the technological requirements of the increasing client base as well as to increase the market share. In addition to this, the agreements and partnerships to expand presence across borders along with facility expansion is another strategy adopted extensively by the players to improve their manufacturing capabilities.Satake (Japan) accounted for the largest share of almost 30% market share of the India Colour sorter market in 2016. The share is attributed to its R&D capabilities that has been developed in line with requirements from Indian Colour sorter market. The company recognizes its investment in research and development as the driving force behind the company's success in India. It focusses on a wide range of food grains grown in India, which makes the machines suitable for all kinds of crops across all the regions of the country. This has led to the increase in sale of Satake Colour sorter machines in India.Buhler (Switzerland) accounted for market share nearly 27% of the India Colour sorter market in 2016. In the recent past, Buhler's growth markets have been witnessing a gradual shift. While U.S. and Europe have been traditionally strong markets accounting for over 50 per cent of sales (value), contribution from Middle East, Africa and Asia has been growing at a sharper pace. A volume of the same magnitude is generated in Asia. China and India remain high on its global growth plans. While the share of local manufacturing in China increased, in India it has expanded its production facilities and increased workforce in both these markets. The factors responsible for the expanding share of Buhler in India is the growing market provided by the Indian food processing equipment sector. The growing Indian market for processed food items and associated equipment offers promising prospects for global suppliers of food processing equipment. Technology, price, delivery and performance standards are critical factors that determine whether food-processing equipment can be sold in the Indian market. Aftersales service is also a key concern of Indian buyers. Buhler over the years has been able to offer innovative, efficient, and cost effective sorter technology to the India Colour sorter market.Others include companies like Orange, Sea, Hefei Meiya Optoelectronic Technology Inc., Anhui Zhongke and Hefei TAIHE. These companies together hold 32.6% market share in India Colour sorter market. The supportive government policies to encourage rice milling in the country has led to the expanding Colour sorter market in India.Enquiry Before Buying Report @Target Audience Organizations Manufacturer Research Institute / Education Institute Potential InvestorsIndia Colour Sorter Market  SegmentationThe Global HMI Market is segmented in to 4 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation By Type : Comprises Chute and Belt.Segmentation By Application : Comprises Agriculture and IndustrialSegmentation By Regions : Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.India Colour Sorter Market: Regional AnalysisThe North region dominates the India color sorter market with 33.1% of share in 2016 in terms of value. The India color sorter market is expected to grow to a market size of USD 20.8 million by 2022. It is expected to grow at 2.05% CAGR during the forecast period. The region in particular has seen increased investment as part of various initiatives taken up by the government to encourage small and medium scale agro-based processing industries. The government operates various project policies to enable investment in the food and agro processing sector.Access Full Report @About Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for India, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Market Research FuturePune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone No. :+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
India Rice Milling Market Flourishes Relentlessly; Asserts MRFR Unleashing Industry Forecast Up To 2023

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Market Research Future published a research report on India Rice Milling Market Research Report- Forecast 2022  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2022.India Rice Milling Market, By Equipment (Rice Whitening Machinery, Pre Cleaner Machinery, Paddy Separator Machinery, Length Grader Machinery, and others) By Capacity (1 To 10 Ton, 10 To 20 Ton, and More than 20 Ton), and Region - Forecast 2016-2022.Market Synopsis of India Rice Milling Market:Buhler Group, G.G. Dandekar Machine Works Ltd., Satake Corporation, Savco Sales Pvt Ltd., G.S International, Fowler Westrup, Mill Master Machinery Pvt Ltd., Perfect Equipments, and Patker Engineers are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are at the forefront of competition in the India Rice Milling Market.India Rice Milling Market OverviewRice milling is the process of removing the husk and bran layer to produce rice. The objective of a rice milling system is to remove the husk and the bran layers from paddy rice to produce whole white rice that are sufficiently milled, free of impurities and reduced number of broken kernels. Milling can be undertaken as a one-step process where the husk and the bran are removed in one pass, a two-step process, where the husk and the bran are removed separately, and brown rice is produced as an intermediate product and a multistage process where rice passes through a number of different operations and machines from paddy to white rice.The India Rice Milling market is expected to reach market size of USD 392.6 million by 2022. It is expected to grow at 3.51% CAGR during the forecast period.Get Sample of Report @The various factors driving the growth of the India rice milling market are increased investment in technology up gradation and modernization of rice mills in India and government supportive policies and schemes.However, the factors which are expected to restrain the growth of the market are huge initial investment, crop failure and lack of storage and warehousing infrastructure.Among all types of equipment, the rice whitening machines are expected to contribute the highest towards the growth of the market. This machine is specially designed to remove the bran layer from the kernel without damaging the rice. White rice is produced by removing the bran layer and the germ from the paddy. The whitening effect is carried out by abrasive rollers or friction polishers in the chamber. The amount of bran removed is normally between 8 -10% of the total paddy weight. To reduce the number of broken grains during the whitening process, rice is normally passed through two to four whitening machines connected in series.India Rice Milling Market Competitive AnalysisKey players adopted various strategies to retain and/or expand their market share. Key strategies followed by most companies within the India rice milling market are new product developments. The major players operating in this market, who have adopted this strategy, are Key Buhler (Switzerland), and Fowler Westrup (India).India rice milling market consists of a large number of players as the rice milling industry in India has seen tremendous growth in last decade. The players adopted various strategies to expand their global footprint and augment their market share. A huge portion of market share in India color sorter market is shared between Satake, Buhler and G.G. Dandekar.Industry/ Innovation/ Related News:Dec 2015- The Buhler Group has finalized a complete upgrade of milling equipment for the La Suerte Ricemill Corporation in Isabela, Philippines. The mill is running exclusively on Buhlers technology, following the installation of a 10-12 tonnes per hour (tph) rice whitening line, a 20tph rice hulling line in 2013 and SORTEX optical sorting technology in 2009.Enquiry before Buying @Intended AudienceOrganizationsManufacturerResearch Institute / Education InstitutePotential InvestorsIndia Rice Milling Market SegmentationThe India Rice Milling Market can be segmented in to two key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation by Equipment - Rice Whitening Machinery, Pre Cleaner Machinery, Paddy Separator Machinery, Length Grader Machinery, and othersSegmentation by Capacity - 1 To 10 Ton, 10 To 20 Ton, and More than 20 TonSegmentation by Regions: North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.India Rice Milling Market Regional AnalysisBased on regions, the India rice milling market has been segmented as North India, South India, East India and West India among others. Among these, the East India is expected to grow with the highest CAGR. East India comprises of rice producing states such as West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, and Assam. West Bengal is the leading rice producing state in the region with an annual production of 14,711.24 thousand tonnes in 2015. West Bengal produces the maximum rice as an individual state. The state has witnessed growing rice milling market and an increased demand of rice milling equipment in last few years.The North region of India is comprised of rice growing states such as Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. The region in particular is seen with a number of rice processing mills in both organized and unorganized markets. As per Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of Agriculture, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab are the highest rice producing states with production of 12,221.36 thousand tonnes and 11,107.00 thousand tonnes in 2014-2015.Access Full Report @About Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for India, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Market Research FuturePune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone No. :+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Water Electrolysis Market 2023 | Share, Analysis, Trend, challenges, Opportunities and Forecast to 2023

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Global Water Electrolysis Market Information Report by Connection Type (Wire to Wire, Wire to Board, Board to Board), by System Type (Sealed, Unsealed), by Application (Body Control & Interiors, Engine Control & Cooling System and others) and by Region - Global Forecast to 2023Global Water Electrolysis Market Information Report by Technology (Alkaline Water Electrolysis and Proton Exchange Membrane), by End-User (Chemical Industry, Petroleum Industry, Pharmaceuticals Industry, Power Plants, Electronics & Semiconductor Industry, and Others), and by Region - Forecast to 2023The global water electrolysis market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The growth of the water electrolysis market is mainly due to the increase in use of water electrolysis by end-user, growing demand of carbon free source of energy, and highly effective way of integrating renewables through power with gas facility. Water electrolysis is majorly used in chemical industry and petroleum industry. The growth in the chemical industry is expected to drive the water electrolysis market. The hydrogen that is produced through water electrolysis is free from carbon and environment friendly. This will increase the use of carbon free source of energy, which will drive the market. The global water electrolysis market is expected to reach USD 11,426.8 million by 2023 with 6.31% CAGR.The market is segmented on the basis of technology, end-user, and region. On the basis of technology, the market is segmented as alkaline water electrolysis and proton exchange membrane. Alkaline water electrolysis accounted for the largest market share and is projected to grow during the forecast period due to the increased use of this technology for large-scale hydrogen production. Based on end-users, chemical industry segment accounted for the largest market share during the forecast period due to increase use of water electrolysis by chemical industry. Petroleum accounted for the second largest segment due to the increased production and high investment in research and development.Get Sample of Report @On the basis of region, the market is segment in Asia-Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World. Asia-Pacific accounted for the largest market share of 34.20 in 2016 and is expected to grow during the forecast period. The increased demand from countries such as India and China, is expected to drive the growth of water electrolysis market in Asia-Pacific region. North America accounted for the second largest market in 2016 because it is largely dependent on the strength of the nation and global economy. The availability of cheap gas for chemical industry in North America, is expected to drive the market during the forecast period.The key players in global water electrolysis market are ThyssenKrupp Ag (Germany), Linde AG (Germany), Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (U.S.), Siemens AG (Germany), ProtonOnsite (U.S.), Teledyne Energy System Inc. (U.S.), Areva H2Gen (France), Hydrogenics Corporation (Canada), Erre Due s.p.a (Italy) andPeak Scientific (Scotland).Electrolysis is the process that splits the water into hydrogen and oxygen with the help of electricity. Electricity is passed through the electrolyzer for separating the elements. Hydrogen production through water electrolysis finds its application in different industries such as chemicals, petroleum, glass, refineries, automobile, pharmaceuticals, and metals & mining.Enquiry before Buying @Scope of the Report:This study provides an overview of the global water electrolysis market, tracking three market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (ROW). The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the global water electrolysis market by technology, by end-user and by region.By Technology Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Alkaline Water Electrolysis Solid Oxide Electrolyte (SOE)By End-User Chemical Industry Petroleum Industry Pharmaceuticals Industry Power Plants Electronics & Semiconductors Industry OthersBy Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Rest of the WorldThe report for Global Water Electrolysis market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Access Full Report @About Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for , regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Market Research FuturePune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone No. :+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
MRFRs Absolute Analysis on Canned Food Packaging Market | 4.01% CAGR Through 2023

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Market Research Future published a research report on Global Canned Food Packaging Market Research Report- Forecast 2023  Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Canned Food Packaging Market, By Material (Metal, Steel, Aluminum, Others), Type of Food Product (Readymade Meals, Meat, Sea Food) - Forecast To 2023Market SynopsisFood packaging is defined as a coordinated system of preparing food for transport, distribution, storage, retailing, and end-user to satisfy the ultimate consumer with optimal cost. The global packaging market is constantly evolving and is expected to witness a high growth over the forecast period. Moreover, the development of new and diversified packaging styles and high potential in emerging economies providing huge growth opportunities for canned food consumption are creating exciting opportunities within the packaging industry.The growth of the canned food packaging market is influenced by the increasing consumption of beverages usage of aerosol cans and increasing consumption of canned food. Furthermore, increasing urbanization and their disposable income have led to the emergence of Asia Pacific as the fastest growing region.The global market for global Canned Food packaging market is expected to grow at ~4.01% CAGR.Get Sample of Report @Globally, packaging has been witnessing a strong growth over the last few years due to increasing disposable income and changing consumer preferences. Cans are one of the most widely used packaged material types and they have become increasingly popular in developed and developing countries during the past few years. Advancements in the packaging technology, which aids in offering metal cans with improved functional and storage features have also been a major factor triggering the growth in the soft drinks end-use sector. Cans are widely used in alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. According to MRFR analysis, the energy drink category continues to be an important driver for soft drink cans. The European energy drinks market increased by 6% in 2015 and now ~ 66% of energy drinks are sold in cans.The growth of the canned food packaging market is directly proportional to the growth in the food & beverage industry, increasing demand from cosmetic industry, and innovation in the packaging. However, the increased material cost may hinder the growth of the canned food packaging market over the review period. Whereas, product differentiation and use of eco-friendly products and practices could also provide an immense opportunity to the growth of the market. Strategic collaborations and focus on key growth regions would benefit the market participants.A new trend in research and development is carried out by the packaging manufacturers with a focus on advantageous locations for production and short-distance supply to reduce costs. The canned food packaging market is expected to experience massive growth during the forecast period due to the major driving factors such focus on high-quality products, changing the lifestyle of consumers, and rising spending power. Packaging plays an important role in increasing the sales of products. Moreover, recyclable and reusable properties of the cans, the cheaper price of canned food, nutritional value, and hygienic food process are driving the global canned food packaging market. Moreover, the growing demand for the packaged or processed food along with the availability of various convenient food option such as ready to eat, ready to cook, ready to serve, and ready to heat is adding fuel to market growth.The global canned food packaging market is undergoing various changes with evolving customer expectations such as availability in small sizes, acceleration of technological innovation, and shifts in competitive power. The market is segmented on the basis of material it includes metal, steel, aluminum, and others. Moreover, by type of food product, it is segmented readymade meals, meat, and seafood. In terms of region, the global canned food market is segmented into four major regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and RoW. Geographically, Asia Pacific region is anticipated to be the fastest growing market for canned food packaging during the forecast period.Regional AnalysisNorth America and Europe are the leading cans market owing to the high consumption of canned beverages and processed food. However, their markets have been saturated and are hence expected to grow at a slower rate. Currently, Asia Pacific is expected to be a leading market player and is likely to dominate the market during the forecast period. Developing economies like India, China, and Brazil have changed their buying patterns by purchasing more packaged foods will help to grow the market. The easy availability of raw material and labor in China makes it one of the beneficial regions for setting up of manufacturing facilities. Moreover, inclination towards long shelf-life and low prices fueling the market for canned food packaging. Demand for beverages, continuing a trend toward cheap alternatives to chilled and frozen meat has been increasing in the Asia Pacific region majorly due to the changing lifestyle and the increasing purchasing power.As the competitive landscape of the report, there was a study of the growth strategies adopted by the companies between 2016 and 2021. The key players adopted various strategies to achieve operational efficiencies. The key strategies followed by the most companies in the global canned food packaging market are mergers & acquisitions, winning new projects, new product innovations, and expansion.The key players of global canned food packaging market include Amcor Ltd. (Australia), Ardagh Group (Luxembourg), CPMC Holdings Ltd. (China), Crown Holdings (U.S.), Grief Incorporated (U.S.), Silgan Holdings Inc. (U.S.), Rexam Plc. (U.K.), Toyo Seikan Kaisha Ltd. (Japan), Ball Corporation (U.S.), and Huber Packaging (Germany).Access Full Report @Scope of the reportThis study provides an overview of the global Canned Food Packaging market, tracking one market segment across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume, and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (ROW). The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the global Canned Food Packaging market by its material, type of food product and region.By Material Steel Aluminum OthersType of Food Product Readymade Meals Meat Sea FoodBy Region North America Asia Pacific Europe Rest of the WorldThe report for Global Canned Food Packaging Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro-economic and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.About Us:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Media Contact:Market Research FuturePune  411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone No. :+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Mining Report on Global Market by Players, Types and Applications, Status and Forecast, 2018-2021

Global Mining Market Size and Forecast to 2021

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Global Mining Market Research Report provides information on Products, Services, Trends, Top Companies, Verticals, Countries, Material, Application, and Geography globally. This report will help the viewer in Better Decision Making ,offers by OrbisResearch.comDescription:Mining Report by Material, Application, and Geography  Global Forecast to 2021 is a professional and comprehensive research report on the world's major regional market conditions, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the main countries (United States, Germany, United Kingdom,Japan, South Korea and China).In this report, the global Mining market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is projected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2021, growing at a CAGR of XX% during the period 2017 to 2021.Request a sample of Global Mining Market Research Report @The report firstly introduced the Mining basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.The major players profiled in this report include:Newcrest MiningCompany BBarrick GoldNewmont MiningAngloGold AshantiPolyus GoldThe end users/applications and product categories analysis:On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into-Placer MiningHardrock (Lode) MiningOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Mining for each application, including-InvestmentJewelryOthersBrowse the full Global Mining Industry Research Report @Some of the Points from Table of Content:Part I Mining Industry OverviewChapter One Mining Industry Overview1.1 Mining Definition1.2 Mining Classification and Prodcut Type AnalysisPlacer MiningHardrock (Lode) Mining1.3 Mining Application and Down Stream Market AnalysisInvestmentJewelryOthers1.4 Mining Industry Chain Structure Analysis1.5 Mining Industry Development Overview1.6 Mining Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.1 Mining Global Import Market Analysis1.6.2 Mining Global Export Market Analysis1.6.3 Mining Global Main Region Market Analysis1.6.4 Mining Global Market Comparison Analysis1.6.5 Mining Global Market Development Trend AnalysisPart II Asia Mining Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Two 2012-2017 Asia Mining Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast2.1 2012-2017 Mining Capacity Production Overview2.2 2012-2017 Mining Production Market Share Analysis2.3 2012-2017 Mining Demand Overview2.4 2012-2017 Mining Supply Demand and Shortage Analysis2.5 2012-2017 Mining Import Export Consumption Analysis2.6 2012-2017 Mining Cost Price Production Value Profit AnalysisChapter Three Asia Mining Key Manufacturers Analysis3.1 Newcrest Mining3.1.1 Product Picture and Specification3.1.2 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis3.1.3 Contact Information3.2 Company B3.2.1 Product Picture and Specification3.2.2 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis3.2.3 Contact Information3.3 Company C3.3.1 Product Picture and Specification3.3.2 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis3.3.3 Contact Information......Chapter Four Asia Mining Industry Development Trend4.1 2017-2021 Mining Capacity Production Trend4.2 2017-2021 Mining Production Market Share Analysis4.3 2017-2021 Mining Demand Trend4.4 2017-2021 Mining Supply Demand and Shortage Analysis4.5 2017-2021 Mining Import Export Consumption Analysis4.6 2017-2021 Mining Cost Price Production Value Profit AnalysisPart III North American Mining Industry (The Report Company Including the Below Listed But Not All)Chapter Five 2012-2017 North American Mining Productions Supply Sales Demand Market Status and Forecast5.1 2012-2017 Mining Capacity Production Overview5.2 2012-2017 Mining Production Market Share Analysis5.3 2012-2017 Mining Demand Overview5.4 2012-2017 Mining Supply Demand and Shortage Analysis5.5 2012-2017 Mining Import Export Consumption Analysis5.6 2012-2017 Mining Cost Price Production Value Profit AnalysisChapter Six North American Mining Key Manufacturers Analysis6.1 Barrick Gold6.1.1 Product Picture and Specification6.1.2 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis6.1.3 Contact Information6.2 Newmont Mining6.2.1 Product Picture and Specification6.2.2 Capacity Production Price Cost Production Value Analysis6.2.3 Contact Information......Chapter Seven North American Mining Industry Development Trend7.1 2017-2021 Mining Capacity Production Trend7.2 2017-2021 Mining Production Market Share Analysis7.3 2017-2021 Mining Demand Trend7.4 2017-2021 Mining Supply Demand and Shortage Analysis7.5 2017-2021 Mining Import Export Consumption Analysis7.6 2017-2021 Mining Cost Price Production Value Profit AnalysisMake an enquire of this report @About Us:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Contact Us:Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas - 75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +912064101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Follow us on G+ :
Scoliosis Management Market Segments and Key Trends 2017-2027

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Scoliosis is a medical disorder causing deformities in spine especially sideway curvature forming S or C shape in the spinal region. Scoliosis generally occurs during the pre-puberty phase. The major cause of scoliosis is primarily due to disorders such as muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy, and are most common causative conditions, and other cause of scoliosis is still unknown. In early cases, scoliosis is minor, however if untreated or unresolved may lead to severe deformities. Scoliosis results in reducing space within chest cavity, thus, causes difficulties in the proper functioning of lungs. The other factors such as environmental factors and genetic factors can also cause scoliosis. In addition, scoliosis management consists of complex procedures for correcting the shape of the spine and management steps are selected based on the level of severity of the disorder and bone maturity coupled with the degree of progression of scoliosis which may differ in males and females. For scoliosis management, braces, physical therapies such as exercise, self-care, and leisure, alternative medicines, and surgeries are often used.Scoliosis Management Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe growth of scoliosis management market is mainly driven by the increasing prevalence of scoliosis in the global population. For instance, according to the estimates of National Scoliosis Foundation (NSF), approximately 23% of the population is suffering from scoliosis in U.S. alone with estimates of six to nine million people. In addition, nearly 600,000 patient visits to private facilities, more than 30,000 adolescents using braces, and approximately 38,000 patients have undergone spinal fusion surgeries. All these factors are responsible for driving the overall growth of the scoliosis management market. However, the factors such as high cost of treatment or procedures can impede the market growth. Moreover, other factors such as lack of skilled professionals, unfavorable reimbursement policies, and limited understanding of the disorder and available treatment options are also hampering the overall growth of scoliosis management market.Request Report Sample@Scoliosis Management Market: SegmentationThe global scoliosis management market can be segmented on the basis of disease type, age, product type, distribution channel, and region.On the basis of disease type, global scoliosis management market can be segmented as:Infantile Idiopathic ScoliosisJuvenile Idiopathic ScoliosisAdolescent Idiopathic ScoliosisOn the basis of age, global scoliosis management market can be segmented as:PediatricAdultOn the basis of product type, global scoliosis management market can be segmented as:Cervical Thoracic Lumbar Sacral Orthosis (CTLSO)Thoracolumbosacral Orthosis (TLSO)Lumbosacral Orthosis (LSO)On the basis of distribution channels, global scoliosis management market can be segmented as:Hospitals & ClinicsRetail PharmaciesOnline PharmaciesScoliosis Management Market: OverviewScoliosis management market is expected to show a tremendous growth during the forecast period. Scoliosis is mainly diagnosed by using X-ray technology and aids in the calculation of a degree of curvature. Scoliosis management is based on the degree or pattern of curvature of the spine, age, type of scoliosis, and level of progression. In early cases of scoliosis, observation is done for a time period of 4 -5 months. Scoliosis is a common medical condition of spine in adolescents and creates an ample opportunity for market participants to invest in scoliosis management owing to the fact that scoliosis has high prevalence and incidence rate in the overall population, resulting in demand for better treatment and management options.Scoliosis Management Market: Region Wise OutlookGeographically, global scoliosis management market can be segmented as North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to hold the largest market share followed by Western Europe owing to the factors such as the presence of more sophisticated healthcare infrastructure, increasing awareness among the population and higher prevalence. In addition, other factors such as high R&D expenditure by governmental bodies, and availability of favorable reimbursement policies in these regions boosts the overall growth of scoliosis management market. The market in Asia-Pacific excluding Japan region is estimated to grow at fastest CAGR over the forecast period owing to increasing healthcare expenditure, and easy availability of management options. Moreover, consistent technological advancement and product launches in this region also boosts the growth of scoliosis management market. However, the regions such as Latin America and Middle East and Africa show a stagnant growth during the forecast year owing to the dearth of skilled personnel and low per capita healthcare expenditure in these regions, apart from lack of awareness about the disease.Visit For TOC@Scoliosis Management Market: Key PlayersSome of the market participants in the global scoliosis management market are Boston Orthotics & Prosthetics, Chaneco, Original Bending Brace, Orthotech, Trulife, L.A. Brace, Ossur, DJO, LLC, Wilmington Orthotics & Prosthetics, Inc., Lawall Prosthetics and Orthotics, Horton's Orthotics & Prosthetics, Aspen Medical Products, UNYQ, C H Martin Company, Optec USA, Inc., Spinal Technology, Inc., Ortholutions GmbH & Co. KG, Wellinks, Inc., and Pro-Tech Orthopedics.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Membrane Filter Cartridge Market Forecast By End-use Industry 2017-2027

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Membrane filter cartridges are made up of micro-porous films with definite pore size rating. Membrane filter cartridges function by retaining particles or microorganisms greater than their pore size. Membrane filter cartridges primarily work by capturing particles on their surface. Moreover, membrane filter cartridges are composed of multiple layers of membranes to retain micro particles. A variety of membrane filter cartridges are available in the market, based on the membrane material composition, and are adopted for specific applications. Membrane filter cartridges are used in association with other separation processes to ensure contamination-free products. Membrane filter cartridges are used in pre-treatment processes such as filtration and in post-treatment processes such as for removing granules from media products. Membrane filter cartridges are applicable for a diverse range of applications including medical, petroleum refining, dairy processes, sterilization, wastewater treatment, and many others. Membrane filter cartridges are used in microfiltration, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, and reverse osmosis.Membrane Filter Cartridge Market: Drivers and RestraintsThe membrane filter cartridge market is likely to show tremendous growth during the forecast period. The factors such as increasing use of membrane filter cartridges coupled with the growth of biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are impelling the growth of membrane filter cartridges market. In addition, technological advancements in nanotechnology, and increasing production of patented and generic products are also driving the growth of membrane filter cartridge market. However, factors such as high cost of cartridges, and complex setups for filtration processes are hampering the market for membrane filter cartridges. The life span of membrane filter cartridges is limited, and accumulation or deposition of particles in these cartridges is another factor which can limit the growth of membrane filter cartridge market.Request Report Sample@Membrane Filter Cartridge Market: SegmentationThe global membrane filter cartridge market can be segmented on the basis of material type, end-user, and region.On the basis of material type, global membrane filter cartridge market can be segmented as:PolyamidePolyethersulfonePolytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)PolypropyleneFtoroplast 42LPolyethylene terephthalateCellulose AcetateOn the basis of end-user, global membrane filter cartridge market can be segmented as:Biopharmaceutical CompaniesContract Manufacturing OrganizationsAcademic and Research InstitutesOthersOn the basis of region global membrane filter cartridge market can be segmented as:North AmericaLatin AmericaWestern EuropeEastern EuropeAsia Pacific excluding JapanJapanMiddle East and AfricaMembrane Filter Cartridge Market: OverviewThe membrane filter cartridges are used for a diverse range of applications of filtration processes. On the basis of pore size, they are classified into ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, microfiltration, and reverse osmosis. Sometimes, in certain cases, additional external force is applied to the medium to drive the process faster. The market for membrane filter cartridge shows healthy growth due to increasing emergence of e-commerce-based distribution as well as increasing demand for innovative solutions in bioprocessing.Membrane Filter Cartridge Market: Region Wise OutlookGeographically, membrane filter cartridge market is classified into regions viz. North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan, Japan, Middle East and Africa. North America is projected to hold the largest share of membrane filter cartridge in the global market, followed by Western Europe, primarily due to the high demand of bioprocessing solutions, increasing technological advancement in nanotechnology, and consistent introduction of novelty biopharmaceutical products in these region. The membrane filter cartridge market in Asia Pacific and Japan is also expected to grow at a higher rate owing to increasing infrastructure for processing of pharmaceuticals, evolving production plants moving towards advanced machinery, and governmental supports for increasing production of high quality products. However, the market in regions such as Latin America, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East and Africa are expected to show slow growth during the forecast period owing to lack of infrastructure in these regions. Moreover, these regions are anticipated to show lucrative opportunities owing to the limited presence of global players for membrane filter cartridge in these regions.Visit For TOC@Membrane Filter Cartridge Market: Key PlayersSome of the market participants in the global membrane filter cartridge market are Technofilter Research & Manufacturing Enterprise Ltd., Wolftechnik Filtersysteme, Pall Corporation, Saint-Gobain Filtration Technologies, Parker Hannifin Corp., 3M Company, Absolute Filter Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Hangzhou Anow Microfiltration Co., Ltd., Eaton, Brother Filtration, Merck KGaA, Meissner Filtration Products, Inc., GE Healthcare Life Sciences, Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A. , Graver Technologies, LLC, and Koch Membrane Systems, Inc.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Rapid Industrialization to Boost Aircraft Washing Systems Market Growth by 2017-2027

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Over the years, more than dozens of people would be involved in washing an aircraft, which was not only immensely time consuming, but the eminence of work was also not up to international standards. On an average, a team of 17 to 20 people would take about 9 to 10 hours to clean one Jumbo (707) aircraft. Also, there are other issues to be considered, such as injuries caused by even a minor carelessness. Presently, in many countries aircraft washing and cleaning is assigned to manual labor. In India, Indira Gandhi International Airport (New Delhi) will soon get washing robots to clean jumbo jets. According to DIAL (Delhi International Airport Limited), the technology will be imported from Sweden. Currently, apart from British airports, this technique is used by Qatar and Thai airways. The new aircraft washing systems will be entirely computerized and will comprise spray nozzles, cleaning brushes and mobile power units.In the Middle East region, the aviation industry is very keen on green practices. Airlines cannot afford spending extensive periods of time on cleaning activities. Therefore, a company named Clean Middle East developed a new aircraft washing technology known as dry wash. Dry wash is developed and produced by Rhoba-Chemie GmbH, (Germany) to clean aircrafts without water. This concept has a big edge over its counterpart since it inhibits corrosion, improves physical appearance, reduces chemically contaminated waste water and minimizes water consumption.Request For Report Sample@As the use of airplanes has increased exponentially, commercial and private aircraft agencies spend billions of dollars every year in aircraft maintenance. Now, international standards of aviation safety and rules also mandate aircraft cleaning. Cleaning is done by both, private and in-house agencies. However, cleaning is not a secondary job and must be carried out with possible aircraft washing systems (equipment).The commonly used aircraft washing equipment are:Carts used to clean the floor of an airplane are included in aircraft washing systemsCoatings used to add extra shine are included in aircraft washing systemsAero brushes used to remove dust from surface are included in aircraft washing systemsWax and buff balls used in the belly area are also included in aircraft washing systemsAircraft squeegee used to remove water and liquid from different areas are included in aircraft washing systemsWashing mops used to clean the surface are included in aircraft washing systemsAircraft washing systems companies such as Riveer (U.S.) have launched automated aircraft washing systems. Such aircraft washing systems take two minutes to clean the aircraft and the wash water is reclaimed and reused again.Aircraft Washing Systems: DynamicsThere is a never ending battle against corrosion in aircraft maintenance, particularly in rotary aircrafts operating over saltwater. Therefore, the U.S. Department of Defense has concluded on rinsing the aircrafts on a weekly or daily basis to combat this problem. Increase in these aircrafts and their running is forecasted to directly create demand and a large growth opportunity for the aircraft washing systems market.Aircraft Washing Systems: Segmentation by MethodWhen it comes to washing the exterior of an aircraft, there are two types of methods: dry and wet. The wet wash requires water and cleaning agent (soap) in three steps, i.e. scrub, rinse and dry. The major problem with this method is that the water needs to be clean and mineral-free. However, most water has some mineral content, which actually captures dirt and leaves deposits on the surface.On the other hand, the dry wash method cleans and shines the surface in a single step and hence, is becoming a more popular choice. As compared to a wet wash, the cost of dry wash chemicals are expensive and much like waxing your car. This process involves a lot of elbow grease but end results are often less intrusive. With a dry wash interior cleaning and maintenance can be performed simultaneously.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Aircraft washing systems: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global aircraft washing systems market identified across the value chain include:RiveerNordic Aerowash EquipmentHydro Engineered Inc.Cleaning Debrring Finishing Inc.JRI IndstriesStoelting Cleaning EqipmentUtrasonic Power CorporationJensen Fabricating Engineers Inc.Wanner Engineering Inc.Ransohoff CincinnatiEncon EvaporatorsDaimler Industries Inc.KMT Aqua Dyne Inc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Bladder Cancer Key Players Merck & Co Inc, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, AstraZeneca Plc, GlaxoSmithKline, PlcPfizer Inc, Eli Lilly and Company market analysis and forecast 2022

Bladder Cancer

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WiseGuyReports.com with their unique quality of simplifying the market research study, presents a deep diving study report Bladder Cancer Global Clinical Trials Review, H2, 2018OverviewBladder Cancer Global Clinical Trials Review, H2, 2017" provides an overview of Bladder Cancer clinical trials scenario. This report provides top line data relating to the clinical trials on Bladder Cancer. Report includes an overview of trial numbers and their average enrollment in top countries conducted across the globe.The report offers coverage of disease clinical trials by region, country (G7 & E7), phase, trial status, end points status and sponsor type. Report also provides prominent drugs for in-progress trials (based on number of ongoing trials). The report enhances the decision making capabilities and helps to create an effective counter strategies to gain competitive advantage.Click here for sample report @Companies mentionedMerck & Co IncHoffmann-La Roche LtdAstraZeneca PlcGlaxoSmithKline PlcPfizer IncEli Lilly and CompanyBristol-Myers Squibb CompanyNovartis AGCelgene CorpBayer AGIndustry Major Highlights:The report provides a snapshot of the global therapeutic landscape of Bladder CancerThe report reviews pipeline therapeutics for Bladder Cancer by companies and universities/research institutes based on information derived from company and industry-specific sourcesThe report covers pipeline products based on various stages of development ranging from pre-registration till discovery and undisclosed stagesThe report features descriptive drug profiles for the pipeline products which includes, product description, descriptive MoA, R&D brief, licensing and collaboration details & other developmental activitiesThe report reviews key players involved Systemic Bladder Cancer therapeutics and enlists all their major and minor projectsThe report assesses Systemic Bladder Cancer therapeutics based on drug target, mechanism of action (MoA), route of administration (RoA) and molecule typeReasons to buyAssists in formulating key business strategies with regards to investmentHelps in identifying prominent locations for conducting clinical trials which saves time and costProvides top level analysis of Global Clinical Trials Market which helps in identifying key business opportunitiesSupports understanding of trials count and enrollment trends by country in global therapeutics marketAids in interpreting the success rates of clinical trials by providing a comparative scenario of completed and uncompleted (terminated, suspended or withdrawn) trialsFacilitates clinical trial assessment of the indication on a global, regional and country levelNote: Certain sections in the report may be removed or altered based on the availability and relevance of data for the indicated disease.Bladder Cancer - Competitive AnalysisKey players are making innovative developments in Bladder Cancer industry. The same will help in improving the market performance. Heavy investments are made by major players in the R&D sector.ContinuedFor Detailed Reading Please visit @Wise Guy Reports understand how essential statistical surveying information is for your organization or association. Therefore, we have associated with the top publishers and research firms all specialized in specific domains, ensuring you will receive the most reliable and up to date research data available. We also provide COTS (Commercial off the Shelf) business sector reports as custom exploration agreeing your particular needs.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Automotive Brake Fluid Market Projected to Witness a Single-Digit CAGR During 2017-2027

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In the automotive market, initially mechanical brakes were used which were gradually replaced by hydraulic brakes, where brake fluid was required. The first hydraulic system was developed in 1914 by Frederick Duesenberg, an American automotive pioneer. Today, most automotive brake fluid is either silicone based (DOT5) or glycol based (DOT3).Most drivers check their engine oil or tire pressure regularly, but very often drivers check the brake fluid in their vehicle. Automotive brake fluid is a type of hydraulic fluid used in hydraulic clutches & brake applications in motorcycles, automobiles and some bicycles. It plays a crucial role as it transfers force when a driver applies the brake. Additionally, automotive brake fluid helps prevent corrosion and serves as lubricant for all movable parts.Automotive brake fluids, across the world, are regulated products and need to meet certain specifications and recommendations set by industry agencies and associations such as the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Japanese Standards Association (JSA the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Regulations (FMVSS), U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and GB12981-2003 in China.Request For Report Sample@Automotive Brake Fluid Market: DynamicsThe burgeoning demand for vehicles in countries like China and India is forecasted to drive growth for the automotive brake fluid market. Companies are establishing production sites in these regions so as to satiate the local demand. For instance, BASF opened an automotive brake fluid production plant in Pudong, Shanghai to support the demand of local customers; which in turn is driving demand for automotive brake fluid in China. However, the lack of awareness/understanding among end user is restraining growth of the global automotive brake fluid market.The main route to this market is via the aftermarket, which includes workshops, automotive service centers and retailers for supply to DIY (do it yourself) end users. The retail aftermarket includes general & automotive retailers and petrol forecourts. The remaining market for brake fluid is held by OEMs for the first fill in a vehicle. Therefore, tie ups with OEMs becomes an important driver across all regions since they provide an assured route to the market through the sale of new cars.Automotive Brake Fluid Market: SegmentationAutomotive brake fluid are of two types: petroleum and non-petroleum. Petroleum-based automotive brake fluids are rarely used in the automotive industry.The DOT (department of transportation) classifies automotive brake fluids by their chemical composition and boiling point. Therefore, the global automotive brake fluid market can be segment by type as: DOT 3 (glycol ether based), DOT 4 (glycol ether based/borate ester), DOT 5 (silicone based), DOT 5.1 (borate ester/glycol ether). DOT 5.1, DOT 4, DOT 3 are based on poly glycol compounds and DOT 5 is based on silicone. Gylcol fluids are used in 99% of the motor vehicles in various grades. Additionally, most cars run on DOT 3 which has lower water content since fluid causes corrosion in the brake system. Brake pistons, cylinders and lines undergo wear and tear as a result of braking over a period of time. The cost of replacing any component is significant and replacing brake fluid can help save a major portion of that cost. Automotive brake fluid varies from vehicle to vehicle, depending on various factors such as model, vehicle production year and type of brake system.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Automotive Brake Fluid: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global automotive brake fluid market identified across the value chain include:Beijing Haidian Huiyuan Synthetic AgentsBoschCoptonCnpcCastrol(Bp)CaltexExxon MobilDelian GroupFuchsFaw(First Automobile Works) Group CorporationJilin HairunIrico GroupOriginalLaikeShenzhen Pingchi Industry CoShellSinopecTotalTeecZhuhai Gaida ShiyeTianjin Xuqi GongmaoABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Battery Packaging Market To Increase at Steady Growth Rate

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Packaging Industry has spread its feet in almost all sectors, whether it is food, pharmaceutical, consumer goods, etc. Batteries are an integral part of our daily lives. The increasing penetration of batteries in almost all the prominent industries, has led to rising demand for safe battery packaging solutions. Battery packaging manufacturers focus on customizable packaging solutions for batteries, depending on size requirement. The growing applications of batteries in our daily lives, increases the need for safe battery packaging. In a highly competitive world, it takes more than quality to leave an impression on consumers. Attractive designs, including transparent blister packs have witnessed increased preference among battery packaging manufacturers, owing to better product presentation. Battery packaging manufacturers emphasize on safe packaging solutions, to avoid chemical leakage. Battery packaging solutions such as blister packaging, strip packaging, corrugated packaging, and bliss boxes have witnessed increased penetration in the global battery packaging market, in the last few decades. Safe battery packaging enjoys high preference, as higher the energy, higher is the risk factor for chemical leakage. Batteries are expected to witness increased application over the forecast period, which in turn, is expected to translate into growth for the global battery packaging market.Global Battery Packaging Market: DynamicsThe global consumer electronics market has witnessed significant transformation in the past couple of decades. The global battery packaging market is expected to grow on the backdrop of consumer electronics industry growth and growing industrialization. The ever-lasting demand for batteries is anticipated to fuel demand for battery packaging solutions, across the globe. Another important factor anticipated to drive growth of the global battery packaging market is innovation in battery packaging designs. Battery packaging solutions which provide excellent product presentation are more likely to be purchased. Growth in the automotive and the consumer electronics industries, in the last few years has facilitated growth of the global battery packaging market. Economic powerhouses such as India and China have strategies to double their production output, over the next five years, which is expected to provide significant opportunities to the global battery packaging market. All these factors help drive growth of the global battery packaging market. Despite the positive outlook, there are certain factors which might hamper growth of the global battery packaging market including increasing integration of batteries in electronic devices. Many devices come with inbuilt batteries, which does not require packaging.Request Report Sample@Global Battery Packaging Market: SegmentationGlobal battery packaging market has been segmented on the basis of packaging type, raw material used, and end use industries:On the basis of packaging type:Blister packagingStrip packagingCorrugated packagingOn the basis of raw material used:PlasticPaperAluminiumOn the basis of end use industriesConsumer Electronics industryAutomotive industryRobotics IndustryGlobal Battery Packaging Market: Regional OutlookBased on regions, the bliss box former machine is segmented into seven regions namely North America, Western Europe, Asia Pacific except Japan, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Middle-east and Africa, and Japan. Developed regions such as North America, Japan, etc. lead the global battery packaging market, owing to a large automated industry and a highly mature consumer electronics industry. However regions such as Latin America and Asia Pacific, are expected to witness meteoric growth in the global battery packaging market. Steady industrial growth in these regions, especially the consumer electronics industry, will drive demand for batteries, which in turn is expected to fuel the battery packaging market. The MEA battery packaging market is also anticipated to witness steady growth, over the forecast period.Visit For TOC@Global Battery Packaging Market: Market Key PlayersFew of the key players operating in the global battery packaging market are:Amcor Rigid Plastics USA, Inc.Bemis Company, Inc.WestRock CompanyBall CorporationMondi Group Plc.Smurfit Kappa Group Plc.Stora Enso Ingerois OyCoveris Holdings S.A.DS Smith Plc.Graphic Packaging International, Inc.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Photomedicine Market to Witness Steady Growth During the Forecast Period 2017-2027

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Photomedicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that involves the treatment and diagnosis of diseases and other complications related to health by using photobiology and light. Photomedicine treatment is done by exposing the individual to light with specific wavelengths using lasers, fluorescent lamps, full-spectrum light, polychromatic polarized light, light-emitting diodes and dichroic lamps. Moreover, photomedicine also includes the cellular and molecular mechanisms of pharmacology, chemistry, physiology and pathology as they apply to photobiology. Photomedicine has found its application in the diagnosis and treatment of heart diseases, cancer and several infections. This new treatment option of photomedicine helps better visualization and has outpaced the traditional method of diagnosing and detecting a disease.Photomedicine Market: Drivers & RestraintsThe market for photomedicine is expected to boom as there is more adoption of minimally invasive procedures, advances in medical aesthetic technologies, more augmented research funding for photomedicine, and the development of compact, versatile and multifunctional photomedicine devices. Researches in the field of photomedicine to explore newer application is bringing in more investments. Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital proved that by using low-level laser therapy there was enhanced platelet production in animals with thrombocytopenia as compared to normal control. Thrombocytopenia is caused due to side-effects of certain drugs, leukemia, and drugs used for chemotherapy. Platelet transfusion is the established treatment for this but only used in severe cases since its risks complications include immunosuppression, allergic reaction and infection.Request Report Sample@Photomedicine Market: SegmentationPhotomedicine market is classified on the basis of technology, application and region.Based on technology the photomedicine market is segmented into the following:Fluorescent LampsLasersPolychromatic Polarized LightFull Spectrum LightDichroic LampsLight Emitting DiodesCold lasers also known as low-level lasers emit through its low-powered laser light do not heat the target tissues. These lasers are used to improve conditions related to wound healing, pain management and conditions related to stroke and neurodegenerative disorders.Based on application the photomedicine market is segmented into the following:OncologyDermatologyDentistryOphthalmologySurgical proceduresOthersPhotomedicine Market: OverviewThe photomedicine market is expected to upsurge in the coming years owing to the number of new product approvals. Moreover, the photomedicine market is also experiencing consolidation with companies acquiring other market players. Syneron Medical Ltd. acquired New Star Lasers, Inc. to leverage on its CoolTouch family of aesthetic devices.Photomedicine Market: Region-wise OutlookA geographic condition regarding orthopedic trauma device market, it has been segmented into seven key regions: North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East & Africa. North America is the leading region in the photomedicine market owing to the presence of major market player. Moreover, as compared to other regions the adoption of photomedicine in the use of treatment and diagnosis is higher. This is due to the higher rate of research undertakings and the grants received to explore this area of medicine. Asia Pacific is also emerging region due to the developing economies. Moreover as it has a strong presence for foreign tourism, there has been a growing adoption of photomedicine. For instance, Lumenis Ltd. who manufactures energy-based devices for ophthalmology, surgical and aesthetic application supported a mission to treat burn injuries in Armenia. Through its Lumenis UltraPulse to treat children with burn injuries. The companys 2015 mission included the establishment of medical laser center in Arabkir Pediatric Hospitals.Visit For TOC@Photomedicine Market: Some of the players in photomedicine market areLumenis Ltd., PhotoMedex, Inc., THOR Photomedicine Ltd, Asclepion Laser Technologies GmbH, Alma Lasers, QBMI Photomedicine, IRIDEX Corporation, Syneron Medical Ltd., AngioDynamics and Spectranetics.About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact Us:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way,Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage,New York 10989,United StatesTel: +1-347-918-3531Fax: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Succinic Acid Market Estimated to Soar Higher During 2017-2027

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Succinic acid (chemical formula: C4H6O4) is a water-soluble, crystalline, four-carbon di-carboxylic acid. It can be produced from petroleum feedstock or from bio based resources. Generally, succinic acid is produced from maleic anhydride, whereas, synthetically succinic acid is produced from butane via maleic anhydride. Furthermore, succinic acid is used as a chemical intermediate in the manufacturing of lacquers and perfume esters, in pharmaceutical products. Also, succinic acid is used in foods as a sequestrant, a neutralizing and buffering agent. Being a chemical intermediate, succinic acid is used for the production of polymers such as 1,4-butanediol (BDO) and is used in the production of resins and solvents.Global Succinic Acid Market: DynamicsRising demand for 1,4-butanediol, which is the building block for polyurethanes and for resins & plasticizers, in turn is expected to result in increasing demand for succinic acid. Further, succinic acid is used as a sequestrant in food industry, which helps to improve the stability and quality of food products. Thus, with the growing concern over food quality, the demand for succinic acid is also expected to increase. Moreover, increasing demand for succinic acid in the production of medicines for arthritis, pain, menopause, etc. is expected to drive the growth of succinic acid market. Also, government initiatives in the developed regions such as in North America and Europe towards adoption of bio-based chemicals in order to support the sustainable development have propelled the demand for the bio-based succinic acid. Moreover, increasing use of bio-based succinic acid for the manufacture of polyurethanes instead of adipic acid is projected to bolster the succinic acid market growth. However, the fluctuating prices of crude oil are expected to affect the prices of succinic acid as well. Along with this, relatively higher manufacturing cost for bio-based succinic acid is expected to restrict growth of the market during forecast period. Thus, the development of cost effective manufacturing techniques for bio-based succinic acid will create new opportunities for the growth of succinic acid market.Request For Report Sample@Global Succinic Acid Market SegmentationOn the basis of source, global succinic acid market is segmented into;Bio basedSyntheticOn the basis of grade, global succinic acid market is segmented into;Food gradePharmaceutical gradeIndustrial gradeOn the basis of application, global succinic acid market is segmented into;Chemical intermediatePharmaceuticalsCosmeticsPlastics & PolymersFood & BeveragesOthersGlobal Succinic Acid Market: Regional OutlookGlobal succinic acid market is mainly dominated by Europe in terms of value and volume, owing to the stringent regulations coupled with initiatives for the use of bio-based chemicals. In Europe, manufacturers are focusing on the development and use of bio-based succinic acid. The region is expected to register healthy CAGR over the forecast period. Asia Pacific is a significant market for succinic acid in terms of consumption and production. Growth in industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and food & beverages, among others, in emerging economics such as in India and China are expected to boost the demand for succinic acid. The region is thus, projected to register healthy CAGR over the forecast period. Succinic acid market in Latin America and Middle East & Africa regions are expected to register relatively slower growth during the forecast period.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Global Succinic Acid Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global succinic acid market, identified across the value chain, include BASF SE, BioAmber Inc., MITSUI & CO., LTD., Myriant Corporation, Koninklijke DSM N.V, Anqing Hexing Chemical Co. Ltd., Yantai Shanshui Chemical Technology Co., Ltd., Astatech (Chengdu) Biopharmaceutical Corp., New Japan Chemical Co., Ltd., Kawasaki Kasei Chemicals, TCI Chemicals (India) Pvt Ltd., and Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd., among others. Some of the companies are focusing on the development of bio-based succinic acid in order to cater to the growing demand in developed regions and thus increasing their respective market shares.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Quality optimization with state-of-the-art vacuum cooling

The COBRA NC screw vacuum pump from Busch guarantees precise maintenance of the pressure profile during the cooling process

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With 21 shops, Fleur de Pains is a medium-sized bakery and patisserie in western Switzerland that places great value on high-quality baked goods, patisserie and confectionery products. All the products are made by hand using traditional methods in Crissier near Lausanne, Switzerland. In addition to this craftsmanship, consistently high quality of the baked goods is also made possible by modern vacuum cooling, which very quickly cools the products after they are baked and prepares them for further processing or sale.Fleur de Pains was founded in 2005 and employs 200 staff, 50 of which work at the production company in Crissier. Various types of breads, baked goods like bread rolls, croissants, brioches, cakes or muffins and patisserie products are made here, as are snacks, salads and sandwiches. These are freshly delivered at least twice each day to the companys shops. A small portion also goes to hotels and other sales outlets.The production of all these goods is very much influenced by craftsmanship. All products are made fresh daily at the bakery in Crissier using only natural ingredients. Rolls are not crisped up at the individual shops. This seems to be a recipe for success because Fleur de Pains is on a growth trajectory and opens an average of two new shops per year. 2000 different loaves of bread are baked and sold every day. The yearly flour requirement is 500 tonnes.To guarantee consistently high quality of the baked goods, Managing Director Stephane Simon invested considerable time and thought and kept testing and changing the manufacturing process. The most difficult aspect was creating a firm bread crust and consistent texture of rolls and croissants on humid days. The Aston Foods International AG company offered him a vacuum cooling system. This was to improve the quality of the baked goods and simultaneously dramatically reduce the baked goods cooling time after baking. Stephane Simon dared to try it and in August 2015, he installed a vacuum chamber in his bakery. This vacuum chamber is connected to a vacuum pump located in a separate room . The vacuum chamber is designed so that it can accommodate a manually loaded transport rack. The baked goods are placed in the vacuum chamber immediately after baking. There, in a vacuum, they are cooled to 30 to 35 C within one to three minutes. Afterwards they can be removed and almost immediately eaten or processed further. When the vacuum cooling system was introduced, Stephane Simon deliberately did not inform customers or employees so he could test whether there would be a reaction from the consumers. Positive feedback quickly came from all shops. The customers praised the beautiful bread crust, its refined colour and more homogeneous formation of pores and the associated greater volume. These visual impressions reinforced customers awareness that they were really able to enjoy a high-quality product.The principle of vacuum cooling of baked goods has been well-known for decades but was not able to be technically implemented in a satisfactory way in practice. The Swiss company, Aston Foods International AG, perfected vacuum cooling and, in the process, works closely with Busch AG in Magden in Aargau, Switzerland. Today, Aston Foods cooling systems are equipped with dry COBRA screw vacuum pumps from Busch as standard. While oil-lubricated rotary vane vacuum pumps were often used while vacuum cooling systems were first being developed, Aston Foods had already switched to using COBRA screw vacuum technology two years ago. When compared to all other vacuum generators, this technology has substantial advantages. Firstly, COBRA vacuum pumps are operated entirely without oil or other operating fluid in the compression chamber. This means that water vapour that can be sucked into the system during the cooling process cannot mix with any operating fluids and condense in the vacuum pump in the process. Secondly, the high pumping speed of the vacuum pump in the low pressure range makes it possible to set up the vacuum pump 20 metres away from the actual vacuum chamber in an adjacent room.Due to the elimination of the oil and thus the risk of forming an emulsion with the condensate, all maintenance work required for oil-lubricated vacuum pumps in cooling processes, such as regular oil and filter changes, become unnecessary. Both COBRA vacuum pump screw rotors avoid contact with both themselves and the housing. Thus there is no wear and there are no wearing parts to be exchanged. This is an important benefit for Stephane Simon because, despite the improvement in quality, he has no additional costs. Maintenance of the entire vacuum cooling system is only performed once a year by service technicians from Aston Foods. Christian Vetterli, CEO at Aston Foods, confirmed that the yearly maintenance effort for the system takes between two and four hours. Although the system at Fleur de Pains operates in two-shift operation six working days per week every year, the only maintenance the vacuum pump requires is cleaning the inlet filter and exchanging the gear oil.For Fleur de Pains, converting to a vacuum cooling system also brings further advantages: The cooling time for the baked goods is reduced from several hours to one to two minutes, depending on the product. During conventional cooling, the baked goods are exposed to various environmental influences like humidity and ambient temperature, which have an uncontrollable influence on the quality. Today with vacuum cooling, the process after baking is precisely fixed and independent of all external conditions. The process requirements for vacuum cooling are demanding, said Mr Vetterli, but thanks to the integrated control and reliable vacuum technology it is perfectly manageable. Fleur de Pains installed a total of 150 programs for cooling its various products. In doing so, the exact procedure for the cooling process for each product is individually defined and can be replicated. The programs were finely adjusted together with the specialists from Aston Food during the initial phase and can now be easily started with the press of a button.The two deciding factors during the cooling process are the time and the progression of pressure in the vacuum chamber. The cooling process begins at atmospheric pressure and, after a predefined progression, reaches a vacuum of 30 to 50 millibars. This process can be repeated within the cooling period and, depending on the product, can pass through different vacuum levels. The COBRA screw vacuum pump also demonstrates itself to be the ideal vacuum generator here. It works reliably at all vacuum levels, from atmospheric pressure to far below one millibar. According to Christian Vetterli, it is important that the predefined vacuum level and the pressure profile are precisely maintained. In the process, it is not a matter of achieving the highest possible vacuum. It is more about achieving the right vacuum level or precisely maintaining the predefined pressure profile.With the introduction of this state-of-the-art vacuum cooling system, Stephane Simon was able to achieve a significant and consistent quality improvement for his baked goods. The genuinely positive reactions of customers in his shops are the best evidence of this.About Busch:Busch Vacuum Pumps and Systems is one of the worlds largest producers of vacuum pumps, vacuum systems, blowers and compressors.Its extensive product portfolio comprises solutions for vacuum and overpressure applications in all industries, including the chemical, semiconductor, medical technology, plastics, and food sectors. It also covers the design and construction of customized vacuum systems, as well as a global service network.The Busch group is a family-owned company and is still managed by the Busch family. Busch Vacuum Pumps and Systems has 3,000 employees in more than 60 companies in over 40 countries worldwide. Busch is headquartered in Maulburg, in southwest Germany. This is the location of Busch SE headquarters, as well as the German production facility and German sales company. In addition to Maulburg, Busch also has its own production plants in Switzerland, the UK, Czech Republic, Korea and the USA.History:Busch Vacuum Pumps and Systems was founded by Dr.-Ing. Karl Busch and his wife Ayhan Busch in 1963. Dr.-Ing. Karl Busch developed the Huckepack, which was the first vacuum pump that could be used for vacuum packaging of foodstuffs. The follow-up product, the compact R 5 rotary vane vacuum pump, revolutionized food packaging. A further milestone represented the development of the COBRA screw vacuum pump. In 1971 the international expansion of the Busch group started with the founding of a sales company in the UK. The first production plant outside Germany was established in the USA in 1979.Contact:Busch Vacuum Pumps and SystemsSchauinslandstrae 179689 MaulburgTelephone: +49 (0) 7622 681 3376jasmin.markanic@busch.de
Footwear Adhesives Market to Witness Increase in Revenues by 2017-2027

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Footwear adhesives are of significant importance in the manufacturing of footwear. Their primary use is in the principle area of sole attachment. Footwear adhesives present a more conventional solution for sticking soles and other parts of footwear over traditional methods, such as stitching and pinning. The up-heave in demand for high fashioned footwear is anticipated to have a major influence on the overall footwear adhesives market throughout the forecast period. Footwear adhesives are sticky in nature, exhibit high-quality bedding properties, and are considered to be rock-solid sealants. Properties, such as moisture curing, thermal coefficient of expansion and resistance to multiple elongations under various loads have created remarkable opportunities for the footwear adhesives market across the globe.Footwear adhesives can be customized as per the industrial requirement. The increasing demand for footwear adhesives as sealants has led to significant growth opportunities in a number of countries. Relatively durable and high-performing material footwear adhesives offer strength to footwear, with efficient workability.Request For Report Sample@Special care is taken in footwear industries to modify practices in the manufacturing of footwear adhesives to avoid its hazardous effects on manpower. On this note, manufacturers are expected to incline towards the usage of water-based footwear adhesives over solvent-based ones over the forecast period.The useful applications of footwear adhesives make the study of this market an important read.Footwear Adhesive Market: Drivers and RestraintsAttributing to convenience in use, footwear adhesives are expected to witness noteworthy growth in the global footwear industry. Recent developments have introduced water-based footwear adhesives in the market; they are formulated as environment-friendly substitutes for traditional footwear adhesives. Manufacturers are expected to replace solvent-based footwear adhesives with water-based ones, owing to growing health concerns among consumers. Further, water-based footwear adhesives offer vital improvement in terms of economy and efficacy to industries.Increase in the demand for various international brands, along with ever changing fashion trends in regions, such as the U.S. and Europe has proven to be a prominent driver for the footwear adhesives market. Rising demand for high performance footwear, such as sportswear, and protective shoes, among others is expected to gain significant prospects for the footwear adhesives market in the coming future.However, high cost of raw material in the manufacturing of footwear adhesives could impede growth of the market. Addition of new polymer materials in producing uppers and soles for footwear has led to bond failure, due to the introduction of plasticizers in adhesives films.Attributing to rising environmental concerns, several governments are taking measures in their respected countries to curb diseases, such as shoemakers paralysis, which is caused due to exposure to harmful gases released in the manufacturing process of footwear adhesives. Such measures may affect growth of the market over the forecast period.Footwear Adhesives Market: SegmentationThe footwear adhesive market can be segmented on the basis of product type:Solvent based footwear adhesivesWater based footwear adhesivesRadiation cured (UV/EB) footwear adhesivesHot melts footwear adhesivesFootwear Adhesives Market: Region-Wise OutlookGeographically, the Asia Pacific region holds a remarkable share in the production of footwear. Emerging countries, such as India, China, and Japan are expected to witness sturdy growth in the footwear adhesives market. Whereas, developed countries, such as those in North America and Europe are expected to exhibit moderate growth in the market. Countries in Latin and Central America, such as Brazil and Mexico are expected to hold a fair share of the market in the coming future. A major shift of footwear manufacturers from Vietnam to Bangladesh and China for economic production has switched the focus of footwear adhesive industries towards these regions.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Footwear Adhesives Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the footwear adhesives market, identified across the value chain are:H.B. FullerJubilant Industries Ltd.Henkel (China) Investment Co. Ltd.Chadha Corporation Pvt. Ltd.Eastman Chemical CompanyChemical Technology Pty Ltd.Great Eastern Resins Industrial Co. Ltd.Bostik Ltd.Artecola QuimicaKECK ChimieABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Application Development and Deployment Software Market anticipated to Reach US$346,434.0 MN by 2022

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been serving as an active source to cater intelligent research report to enlighten both readers and investors. This research study titled Application Development and Deployment Software MarketRequest a Free Sample Report @The demand in the global application development and deployment software market is projected to expand at an exceptional CAGR of 25.6% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. This market is chiefly driven by the sheer efficiency and integration benefits it offers, gaining traction in various application sectors such as BFSI, IT and telecommunications, and retail. As far as revenue is concerned, the global application development and deployment software market is anticipated to be worth US$346,434.0 mn by 2022, significantly up from its evaluated worth of US$110,650.7 mn in 2017.Structured Data Management Software Emerges as Profitable Type SegmentBased on type, the global application development and deployment software market is segmented into structured data management software, application development software, application server middleware, data access, analysis, and delivery, integration and process automation middleware, and quality and life cycle tools. Among these, the segment of structured data management software accounted for 37.7% of the total demand, which was worth US$41,760.1 mn. During the forecast period of 2017 to 2022, this segment is anticipated to experience an above-average CAGR of 31.5%, reaching a valuation of US$164,196.1 mn by 2022. The structured data management software segment of the application development and deployment software market is producing a revenue of US$24,487 annually during the said forecast period.View Complete Report with Table of Content @Cloud-based Deployment Gaining Rapid PopularityOn the basis of vertical, the global application development and deployment software market has been bifurcated into IT and telecommunications, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), energy and utilities, transportation and logistics, retail and consumer goods, manufacturing, and others. Based on deployment, the market has been categorized into cloud-based and on-premise. While on-premise currently accounts for the most prominent chunk of demand, cloud-based application development and deployment software are gaining popularity at a rapid rate and is expected to turn into a highly profitable category towards the end of the forecast period.North America and Europe Identified as Most Lucrative RegionsGeographically, besides the country-wide market of Japan, the report takes stock of the potential of application development and deployment software market in the regions of North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific except Japan (APEJ), and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). In 2017, the North America application development and deployment market accounted for US$31,691.3 mn, which was substantially more than any other region. This region is projected to possess a revenue of US$96,213.1 mn by the end of 2022, exhibiting a CAGR of 28.9% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022. Europe makes for the second most lucrative region for the vendors operating in the application development and deployment software market, promising a worth of US$73,973.4 mn by 2022, expanding at an above-average CAGR of 25.9% during the same forecast period. On the other hand, the region of Asia Pacific except Japan has been predicted to expand the demand at most prominent compound annual growth rate of 29.3%, with the estimated worth projected to reach US$74,959.7 mn by 2022.Competition Intensifying as New Entrants are Making a MarkThe global application development and deployment software market is moderately consolidated with a few players holding strong positions. Some of those prominent companies are: Microsoft Corp., IBM, Salesforce.com, Inc., Oracle Corp., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, SAP SE, Alphabet Inc., CA Technology Inc., Compuware Corp., and ServiceNow, Inc. However, newer players are creating a niche for themselves by catering to domestic requirements and are expected to eat out good chunk of shares from the market leaders. Product innovation and acquisitions of promising players are the two most common strategies of the established players.Send an Inquiry @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Food Automation Market share forecast to witness considerable growth from 2017 to 2024

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Food Automation Market size is anticipated to witness a noteworthy growth owing to inclination of consumers towards processed and ready to eat nourishments. Stringent regulations regarding consumer safety coupled with technological advancements in processing methods will further propel industry size.Request for an in-depth table of contents for this report @Automation technologies are widely used in processing industries. It serves as a cost-effective solution by optimizing resource management, improving productivity, better asset management and mitigating security risks. Motors aid to offer appropriate functioning of systems, whereas generators ensure smooth operational flow. Additionally, implementation of different packaging machineries and robotics is anticipated to foster food automation market growth.According to the Union Budget 2017-2018, government of India has invested US$ 1.2 billion on dairy processing. Furthermore, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) projected that nourishment processing sector in the country will attract USD 33 billion over the forecast timeframe.However, requirement of high initial capital investment is expected to hamper food automation market growth. Small and medium scale industry players frequently experience shortage of adequate capital to install automated machineries in their factories, that in turn restraint manufacturers businesses.Motors & generators is expected to account for the largest food automation market share owing to increasing importance of motors in motion regulating applications over the forecast timespan. Several industrialized countries are continuously experiencing high demand for high torque, high pressure and wash down applications with detailed motion control has substantially boosted their functionality. Increasing necessity to maintain smooth and effective functioning of systems will propel industry growth.Browse Full Research Report On Food Automation Market @On the basis of application, beverages are projected to dominate the segment. Increasing criticality in beverages production processes, constant advancements, and new product launches in are significantly supporting product penetration. Complete vertical integration of beverage production processes by adopting process computerized solutions along with value chain optimization will further propel industry size.Based on function packaging & re-packaging is the fastest growing segment owing to health and safety concerns. Manufacturers are expected to invest progressively in technological developments including automated packaging systems. Increasing necessity to overcome challenges of sustaining product safety and quality will drive food automation market size.Europe was estimated as the largest food automation market in 2016 owing to high demand for processed nourishment products, especially in Spain, Italy, UK, Germany and France. Moreover, stringent regulations imposed by several regional regulating bodies pertaining to the quality of processed nourishment products will fuel product demand over the forecast timeframe.Asia Pacific is the fastest growing food automation market owing to rapidly expanding food & beverages industry in the region. Improved standard of living, rising disposable income and liberalization of foreign direct investment are key factors driving industry growth. In addition, increasing adoption of automated technologies in production facilities also drives regional food automation market.Global food automation market is fragmented owing to several large and small industry players competing on the basis of price, distribution, service, promotion, quality, innovation and reputation. Growth opportunities of the players depend on the demographic trends and shifting consumer spending pattern. Penetrating competition makes the industry players to focus on offering innovative products to meet the consumers' demands.Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @Key market players include Beumer, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Mitsubishi Electric, Emerson Electric, Swisslog Holding, Kollmorgen and Rexnord. Other prominent participants are Yokogawa Electric, Fortive, Nord Drivesystems, Yaskawa Electric, GEA Group, ABB Group, Ametek, Horner APG, Frontmatec, Festo AG & Co. KG, Elwood Corporation, Copa-Data and Eaton.About Global Market Insights:Global Market Insights, Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider; offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy and biotechnology.Contact Us:Arun HegdeCorporate Sales, USAGlobal Market Insights, Inc.Phone: 1-302-846-7766Toll Free: 1-888-689-0688Email: sales@gminsights.comWeb:Blog:
North America Vision Care Market Size, Growth and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has recently publicized a new study to its vast repository, which is titled as Global Vision Care Market is defined as the prevention or minimisation of threats to the eye or visual integrity. Vision care deals with both vision and eye related problems, and corrects refractive errors by prescription eyeglasses and contact lenses. With growing technology and population addicted to the digital world, vision care products are expected to grow in quality and quantity in the coming years. High investments from leading players of the market and constant research for improving the manufacture and supply process of eyeglasses, lenses, and other eye wear is clearly encouraging the sales in the market. In terms of revenue, the North America vision care market is projected to register a CAGR of 9.8% during the forecast period and is expected to be valued at US$ 100.72 Bn by the end of 2026.View Complete Report with Table of Content @An ageing population and increasing rate of chronic disorders in developed countries is expected to drive growth of the North America vision care marketGrowth of the North America vision care market is primarily driven by increasing incidence of chronic diseases and a rise in the ageing population prone to eye disorders such as cataract, glaucoma, etc. The spread of hyperopia disorder is increasing at a significant rate in the elderly population. Around 50% of people aged above 65 years in the U.S. are suffering from hyperopic conditions. In addition, favourable reimbursement policies and increasing government support is expected to fuel market growth over the forecast period.Increasing market share for vision care products from the mass retailers and e-commerce around the globe is owing to two major market drivers namely a rise in the number of eye infections and ever changing fashion statements leading to adoption of prescribed lenses, sunglasses, frames, advanced soft contact lenses, and digital lenses.However, rise in the costs of eye surgery and treatment and a risk of infection and vision loss may hinder the market growth over the forecast period. Increasing disorder issues, complications during surgery, and diseases such as corneal ulcer are other factors expected to contribute reduced uptake of contact lenses (estimates of annual incidence in U.S range from 30,000 to 75,000). Corrective refractive surgery procedures (i.e. LASIK) is removing 500,000 patients annually from the 160 million vision correction population in the U.S. These factors are likely to restrict the growth of the North America vision care market over the forecast period.For Free Sample Report? Click here @Market SegmentationBy Product TypeRx-LensesFramesContact LensesNon Rx SunglassesReading GlassesContact Lens SolutionsBy Distribution ChannelRetail StoresE-CommerceClinicsHospitalsBy CountryS.CanadaRx-lenses and Frames segments are expected to witness significant revenue growth during the forecast periodIn terms of revenue share, the Rx-lenses product type segment dominated the North America vision care market in 2016 and is expected to dominate throughout the forecast period. The Rx-lenses segment is anticipated to be valued at US$ 18.6 Bn by 2016 end. The Contact Lenses and Frames segments are expected to witness relatively higher growth rates in terms of value in the North America vision care market over the forecast period.Check Discount @Retail stores and E-commerce segments are anticipated to be valued at US$ 23.6 Bn and US$ 4.8 Bn respectively by 2016 endCurrently, the Retail segment accounts for a relatively higher revenue share, followed by the E-commerce segment. In terms of revenue share, the Retail segment dominated the North America vision care market in 2015 and is expected to dominate throughout the forecast period, registering a higher CAGR as compared to the E-commerce segment. The E-commerce segment is expected to witness relatively higher growth rates in terms of value in the North America vision care market over the forecast period. The Clinics segment is anticipated to be valued at US$ 7.3 Bn by 2016 end.Both U.S. and Canada are expected to register a strong growth in the North America vision care marketIn terms of value, U.S. is expected to be the dominant regional market by 2016 end and is expected to register a CAGR of 9.7% over the forecast period. Canada is also expected to be the fastest growing market in terms of revenue growth in the North America vision care market, registering a CAGR of 8.2% over the forecast period.Key market players are consolidating their position in the market through mergers and acquisitionsKey players in the North America vision care market are Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., Novartis AG, The Cooper Companies Inc., SynergEyes Inc., Luxottica, Essilor International, and ZEISS International. Major players in the market are increasingly entering into mergers and acquisitions to enhance their product portfolio, leverage market opportunities, and increase consumer base.Need Assistance? Send an Enquiry @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. 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Global Employee Scheduling Software Market 2017 | Global Industry Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast till 2022

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Market Study Report Add New Global Employee Scheduling Software Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022 to its research database presenting a deep study of the market growth factors and drivers. The report spread across 119 pages with table and figures in it.This report studies the Employee Scheduling Software market. Employee scheduling software automates the process of creating and maintaining a schedule. Automating the scheduling of employees increases productivity and makes many secretarial and manual scheduling positions obsolete. Such software will usually track vacation time, sick time, compensation time, and alert when there are conflicts. As scheduling data is accumulated over time, it may be extracted for payroll or to analyze past activity. Although employee scheduling software may or may not make optimization decisions, it does manage and coordinate the tasks. Today's employee scheduling software often includes mobile applications. Mobile scheduling further increased scheduling productivity and eliminated inefficient scheduling steps.Get Sample Copy of this Report:Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Employee Scheduling Software Market, especially in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers:Humanity, Pioneer Works, Deputechnologies, Nimble Software Systems, Hrdirect, TimeForge Scheduling, WhenToWork, TimeCurve, Workforce, Planday, Zip Schedules, Ultimate Software, Atlas Business Solutions, Acuity Scheduling, ReachLocal, Resource Guru, Appointy, Shiftboard, SetMore, MyTime, Calendly, Simplybook.me, Bobclass, Shortcuts Software, Amobius Group.Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers:North America (USA, Canada and Mexico), Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia etc.), Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa).Market Segment by Type, covers:Cloud-based, Mobile APP, Installed-PC, Other.Market Segment by Applications, can be divided into:Small Business, Midsize Enterprise, Large Enterprise, Other.Get Discount on this Report:There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the global Employee Scheduling Software market.Chapter 1, to describe Employee Scheduling Software Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Employee Scheduling Software with sales, revenue, and price of Employee Scheduling Software, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Employee Scheduling Software, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Employee Scheduling Software market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Employee Scheduling Software sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Get more Details on this Report at:Related Report:Global Employee Scheduling Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 2023The global Employee Scheduling Software market is valued at 251 million USD in 2017 and is expected to reach 531 million USD by the end of 2023, growing at a CAGR of 13.28% between 2017 and 2023.About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:
Globally Market Outlook: Automotive Light Detection & Ranging (LIDAR) Sensors Market Expected to Reach at a CAGR of 35.2% by Revenue during the Period 2017-2023

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Infinium Global Research has added a new report on global automotive light detection & ranging (LIDAR) sensors market. The report presents analysis of global as well as regional markets of automotive LIDAR sensors over the period of 2015 to 2023. According to report the global automotive LIDAR sensors market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 35.2% over the forecast period of 2017  2023. Moreover, the IGR-Growth Matrix given in the report provides key focus areas and investment areas the market players can focus on. The market size is presented in terms of value for the historic year 2015 and estimated for forecast period of 2017 to 2023.Get 15% discount for early purchase of global automotive LIDAR sensors market by region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and RoW) report onThe global automotive LIDAR sensors market was dominated by the Europe region followed by the American and Asia-Pacific automotive LIDAR sensors market. On the basis of countries, the Germany, U.S, and Japan led the global automotive LIDAR sensors market. LIDAR sensors are largely used to automate driving of vehicles through obstacle detection and avoidance, which would enable safe navigation, in automobile industries. LIDAR sensor systems consist of a laser that transmits light over a mandatory range. The system also has a low-noise receiver for receiving reflected signal and performing analysis of the received signal.Furthermore, Progress in autonomous vehicles, Upgrade to levels 3 and 4 automated cars, rising urgency in decreasing road accidents, better capabilities and functionality of LIDAR sensors are the key factor driving the growth of global automotive LIDAR sensors market. Moreover, Current low volumes resulting in high cost of technology, Potential effects of driver distraction and lack of awareness, Complexities associated with the system and several industry standards to comply are the key factors restraining the growth of this market. Need for enhanced road fatality reduction rates during night hours, Intelligent transportation, Expanding number of automotive players marking their presence in the self-driving cars market are likely to bring more opportunities to this market.Get Free Sample Pages of this Report:Companies Covered in this Report:The report provides profiles of the companies in the global automotive LIDAR sensors market such as, Continental, LeddarTech, Velodyne LIDAR, Quanergy Systems, Robert Bosch GmbH, Delphi Automotive, DENSO, Ibeo Automotive Systems, Teledyne Optech, and Innoviz Technologies.Browse the Detailed TOC of the report on Automotive LIDAR Sensors Market:Reasons to buy this report1) Comprehensive analysis of global as well as regional markets of automotive LIDAR sensors2) Complete coverage of all the type, form, processing, and application segments to analyze the trends, developments, and forecast of market size up to 2023.3) Comprehensive analysis of the companies operating in this market. The company profile includes analysis of product portfolio, revenue, SWOT analysis and latest developments of the company.4) Infinium Global Research- Growth Matrix presents analysis of the product segments and geographies that market players should focus to invest, consolidate, expand and/or diversify.Related Reports: Automotive Fog Lights Market: Global Industry Analysis, Trends, Market Size and Forecasts up to 2023 Automotive LED Lighting Market: Global Industry Analysis, Trends, Market Size and Forecasts up to 2023About Us:Infinium Global Research and Consulting Solutions is started with a single motto of being business partner of first choice. We at Infinium work on the strengths of our clients to ensure we help them consolidate their market position. We firmly believe in the fact that if you are able to develop newer opportunities then you find there is no dearth of opportunities for you.Contact Us:Infinium Global ResearchGoyal Shinde Park, Bhau Patil Road,Bopodi, Pune-411 020.U.S. + Canada Toll Free: 1-800-638-0796Email: sales@infiniumglobalresearch.com
Glass Tempering System Market to Grow at a CAGR of 3.7% through 2027

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Glass Tempering System Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012-2016) And Opportunity Assessment (2017-2027) is a new report of Future Market Insights that tracks the performance of the market for the projected period of 10 years i.e. between 2017 and 2027. The global glass tempering system market is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period, expanding at a CAGR of 3.7% during the projected period. Growth in the global glass tempering system market can be attributed to huge investments in R&D, increasing use of hybrid guide plates, solar control glazing for automotive and building glasses, growing use of lightweight glazing glass, and increasing usage of advanced nanotechnology in glass manufacturing. According to this report, North America and APEJ are the key regions for glass tempering system market participants. In North America, the United States is investing in tempering activities, which is creating immense opportunities for glass tempering system manufacturers. Product development and establishment of long-term relationships with tempered glass OEMs is also a key to success in this market. The global market for glass tempering system is expected to be valued at US$ 94.5 Mn by 2017 end and is estimated to reach US$ 135.6 Mn by 2027 end.Request For Report Sample@Global Glass Tempering System Market: DriversShift towards renewable solar energy will accelerate the growth of the marketImproving construction sector especially in Latin America is fuelling the growth of the global marketConstruction of energy efficient buildings and renovation of existing infrastructure is another key market driverGlobal Glass Tempering System Market: Forecast by Tempering TechnologyOn the basis of tempering technology, the global glass tempering system market is segmented into controlled heating and quenching equipment and chemical treatment. Controlled heating and quenching equipment is further segmented into standard configuration and advanced configuration. In terms of value, the controlled heating and quenching equipment segment is anticipated to be valued at US$ 89.0 Mn by 2017 end, which is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 3.7% and reach a value of US$ 127.8 Mn by the end of 2027.Global Glass Tempering System Market: Forecast by ApplicationThe application segment consists of flat, bent and combined flat and bent segments. Flat segment is further segmented into continuous and oscillating segments. Oscillating type segment is expected to emerge as the most attractive segment by application over the forecast period. Combined flat and bent segment is anticipated to create incremental $ opportunity worth US$ 4.2 Mn over the forecast period.Global Glass Tempering System Market: Forecast by End UseBy end use the market is categorized into automotive windows, architectural, electronics, solar applications and others. Architectural segment is sub-segmented into windows and doors, mirror and partitions and furniture, while electronics segment is sub-segmented into smartphone and appliances. The solar applications segment is estimated to reach US$ 1.6 Mn in 2027 from US$ 1.3 Mn in 2017. The segment is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 2.4% during the forecast period.Global Glass Tempering System Market: Forecast by RegionSeven regions have been covered in this report and they are North America, Latin America, APEJ, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Japan and MEA. China is expected to remain a strong market for glass tempering systems. Most of the APEJ, Eastern Europe, and Latin America buyers import glass tempering lines from China with standard configuration, due to investment constraints. North America is also projected to hold a significant share of the global glass tempering system market over the forecast period.Request For Report Table of Content (TOC):Global Glass Tempering System Market: Key VendorsGlaston OYJ Abp, Luoyang Landglass Technology Co. Ltd., LiSEC Austria GmbH, Luoyang North Glass Technology Co., Ltd., Glasstech Industries (India) Private Limited, Keraglass Industries Srl, CoolTemper Ltd., HHH Tempering Resources Inc., Ratnesh International, North East Machines, Meta Therm Furnace Pvt. Ltd., Mappi International, EFCO, Saint-Gobain S.A., IGE Glass Technologies, Inc., Lambert GT Services Ltd. are some of the glass tempering system market companies profiled in the report.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Distribution Panel Market Trend to 2024 Profiling GE, Siemens, Eaton, Hager, NHP Electrical Engineering, ABB

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MaketStudyReport.com adds a New Distribution Panel Market Research Report for the period of 2017-2024 that shows the growth of the market is rising at a 5% CAGR to 2024.Distribution Panel Market will exceed USD 7 billion by 2024. Growing measures to cater the electricity demand supply mismatch will drive the distribution panel market. Over the past two decades there has been significant upsurge in the electricity consumption. As per IEA global consumption has expanded from 6,799 TWh in 1980 to 20,775 TWh in 2015. This in turn is anticipated to have substantial impact in the industry outlook.Government measures toward rural electrification along with growing adoption of distributed generation systems will stimulate the distribution board market. As per the recent study conducted by the World Bank over 15% of the global population lacks continuous or direct access to electric grid. In 2016, International Energy Agency stated that over USD 718 billion investment is required to achieve 100% percent electrification across the globe. Ambitious electrification targets with ongoing funding will positively influence the business landscape.Get sample Copy of this Report:France distribution board market is predicted to surpass USD 160 million by 2024. Strict government mandates toward installation of energy efficient systems will further complement the industry outlook. As per the country's National Energy Efficiency Action Plan, policymakers are targeting to reduce consumption of existing building structures by 38% by 2020.China distribution panel market is predicted to witness steep progression owing to growing electricity demand. The Government of China has laid down its ambitious plan to invest USD 530 billion towards the development of smart grid network under which USD 18 billion will be used to enhance the distribution capabilities.Commercial distribution panel market is expected to reach over USD 1 billion by 2024. Rapidly expanding service industries along with strict measure toward energy conservation will stimulate the product demand.Growing investments across the infrastructure developmental projects coupled with surging urban population will drive the distribution panel market growth. According to recent studies by oxford economic, the global civil/infrastructure industry will require USD 94 trillion from 2016 to 2024 toward various developmental activities.Egypt distribution panel market is projected to witness gain of over 7% by 2024. Government measure to strengthen ageing distribution infrastructure along with growing demand for reliable and continuous electricity will complement the business growth. In 2016, Egyptian Electricity Holding Co. allocated USD 220 million towards the consolidation of the country's power distribution network.Get Discount on this Report:Notable players across the distribution panel market include Legrand, GE, Siemens, Eaton, Hager, NHP Electrical Engineering, ABB, Industrial Electric Mfg, ESL Power Systems, Larsen & Toubro, Schneider Electric, Arabian Gulf Switchgear, and Abunayyan Holding.Distribution Panel market research report includes in-depth coverage of the industry with estimates & forecast in terms of USD from 2013 to 2024, for the following segments:Distribution Panel Market, By Voltage:Low Voltage (LV), Medium Voltage (MV)Distribution Panel Market, By Mounting:Flush Mounting, Surface MountingDistribution Panel Market, By End Use:Residential, Commercial, College/University, Office, Government/Military, Industrial, Power Generation (Thermal), Chemical, Refinery, Cement.The above information is provided on a regional basis for the following:North America, U.S., Canada, Europe, Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Russia, Asia Pacific, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Latin America, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Middle East and Africa, South Africa, Saudi Arabia.For More Details of this Report:About Us:Marketstudyreport.com allows you to manage and control all corporate research purchases to consolidate billing and vendor management. You can eliminate duplicate purchases and customize your content and license management.Contact Us:Market Study ReportThe Green Suite #4594,Dover, DE 19901United StatesPhone: 1-201-355-0868US Toll Free: 1-866-764-2150Email: sales@marketstudyreport.comWebsite:News:
Top Players of Real Estate Agency Software Market 2018  iStaging, PlanPlus Online, Snappii Apps, Propertybase

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Real Estate Agency Software Market Size,Status and Forecast 2025 to its huge collection of research reports.The report on the global Real Estate Agency Software market is an in-depth analysis taking a critical look at various factors and key trends shaping the markets trajectory during the forecast period of 20182025. The growth of the market is driven by various regional and global developments, influenced by changing regulations and governmental policies. The study strives to offer comprehensive assessment of these factors and evaluates their impact on the business landscape of the global Real Estate Agency Software market. In addition, the study presents elaborate insights into the various types of region-specific business risks faced by industry players and the prevailing strategic dynamics to allay these. Making a granular assessment of demand dynamics, the study takes a closer look at paradigmatic and mild shifts in the global Real Estate Agency Software market made by various players to gain a better foothold in the market. Furthermore, the research analyzes the impact of these shifts on emerging prospects and the lucrative avenues they will likely lead to in the years to come. The study tries to give clear signals into imminent investment pockets and offers insights into new revenue streams in the global Real Estate Agency Software market.To Download Free Sample Report With TOC:The report is prepared by gleaning over vast volumes of historic data assessed through reliable primary sources and a wide spectrum of secondary sources. Using SWOT analysis and Porters Five Forces Analysis, the study tries to evaluate the level of competition. Complementing with several industry-wide quantitative tools and enabled by qualitative methods, the study makes estimations and projections of key segments in the global Real Estate Agency Software market. This helps various market participants get a clearer picture of the markets growth. The study also highlights the views of various opinion leaders and major policy makers in various countries, in a bid to paint a holistic picture of the overall outlook of the global Real Estate Agency Software market.Table of ContentsGlobal Real Estate Agency Software Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Real Estate Agency Software1.1 Real Estate Agency Software Market Overview1.1.1 Real Estate Agency Software Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.3 Real Estate Agency Software Market by Type1.3.1 PC1.3.2 Mobile1.3.3 Cloud1.4 Real Estate Agency Software Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Small Business1.4.2 Midsize Enterprise1.4.3 Large Enterprise1.4.4 OtherComplete table of content is available at:2 Global Real Estate Agency Software Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Real Estate Agency Software Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 iStaging3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Real Estate Agency Software Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 PlanPlus Online3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Real Estate Agency Software Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Snappii Apps4 Global Real Estate Agency Software Market Size by Type and Application (2013-2018)4.1 Global Real Estate Agency Software Market Size by Type (2013-2018)4.2 Global Real Estate Agency Software Market Size by Application (2013-2018)4.3 Potential Application of Real Estate Agency Software in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Real Estate Agency Software5 United States Real Estate Agency Software Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Real Estate Agency Software Market Size (2013-2018)5.2 United States Real Estate Agency Software Market Size and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)5.3 United States Real Estate Agency Software Market Size by Application (2013-2018)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Global Real Estate Agency Software Market Size (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2013-2018)Table Global Real Estate Agency Software Revenue (Million USD) Comparison by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Global Real Estate Agency Software Market Share by Regions (2013-2018)Figure United States Real Estate Agency Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure EU Real Estate Agency Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure Japan Real Estate Agency Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Figure China Real Estate Agency Software Market Size (Million USD) and Growth Rate by Regions (2013-2018)Enquiry For Discount Visit @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Solar Power Banks Sales Market Report 2017  Anker, Aukey, RavPower, Xiaomi Technology, TP-Link, Zendure

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Solar Power Banks Sales Market Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.Global Solar Power Banks market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Solar Power Banks sales volume, Price (USD/Unit), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingTP-LinkZendureGoal ZeroIEC TechnologySonyLimefuelPoweraddGridless PowerPhilipsMopoSungzuSuntricaDownload Free exclusive Sample of this report:Prepared after extensive primary and secondary research, the report contains findings that are both reliable and verifiable. With the use of research techniques such as Porters five forces analysis and SWOT analysis, the important facets of each player and key segment are highlighted.One of the key feature of the report is the player profile section, in which it offers valuable information on the major players in the global Solar Power Banks market, such as their manufacturing base, product specification, production capacity, revenue and gross margin, and competitors. The report also includes the major business strategies adopted by the players, their market positioning, and various recent developments.The report also divides the global market for Solar Power Banks into important segments to present a clear picture of the opportunities available for the players. The segmentations have been done on the basis of product type, application, and technology. The geographical segmentation of the global Solar Power Banks market is also examined in detail, with the development of the market in each region charted through accurate historical statistics.Table of ContentsGlobal Solar Power Banks Sales Market Report 20171 Solar Power Banks Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Solar Power Banks1.2 Classification of Solar Power Banks by Product Category1.2.1 Global Solar Power Banks Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Solar Power Banks Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Single USB1.2.4 Dual USB1.3 Global Solar Power Banks Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Solar Power Banks Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Mobile1.3.3 Tablet1.3.4 Media Device1.3.5 OtherRead Complete Table of Content @2 Global Solar Power Banks Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Solar Power Banks Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Solar Power Banks Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Solar Power Banks Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Solar Power Banks (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Solar Power Banks Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Global Solar Power Banks Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Global Solar Power Banks (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Solar Power Banks Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.3.2 Global Solar Power Banks Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4 Global Solar Power Banks (Volume) by Application3 United States Solar Power Banks (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Solar Power Banks Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 United States Solar Power Banks Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 United States Solar Power Banks Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 United States Solar Power Banks Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 United States Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by Players3.3 United States Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by Type3.4 United States Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by Application4 China Solar Power Banks (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Solar Power Banks Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 China Solar Power Banks Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 China Solar Power Banks Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.3 China Solar Power Banks Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)4.2 China Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by Players4.3 China Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by Type4.4 China Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by Application5 Europe Solar Power Banks (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 Europe Solar Power Banks Sales and Value (2012-2017)5.1.1 Europe Solar Power Banks Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.2 Europe Solar Power Banks Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.3 Europe Solar Power Banks Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)5.2 Europe Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by Players5.3 Europe Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by Type5.4 Europe Solar Power Banks Sales Volume and Market Share by ApplicationList of Tables and FiguresFigure Product Picture of Solar Power BanksFigure Global Solar Power Banks Sales Volume Comparison (K Units) by Type (2012-2022)Figure Global Solar Power Banks Sales Volume Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2016Figure Single USB Product PictureFigure Dual USB Product PictureFigure Global Solar Power Banks Sales Comparison (K Units) by Application (2012-2022)Figure Global Sales Market Share of Solar Power Banks by Application in 2016Figure Mobile ExamplesTable Key Downstream Customer in MobileEnquiry For Discount Visit @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Frozen Food Packaging Market is expected to represent a value of US$ 39,000 Mn by the end of 2022.

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Growing preference for fresh food products is projected to rev up demand for the frozen food packages in the food and beverages industry. In addition, increasing demand to deliver frozen desserts products is projected to impact growth of the global market of frozen food packaging positively. According to Future Market Insights, the global market of frozen food products is projected to reflect a CAGR of 4.9% over the forecast period, 2017-2022.Factors Fuelling the Global Market GrowthGrowth of the global frozen food packaging market is mainly bound to various micro-economic and macro-economic factors. Demand for the frozen food packages will continue to increase attributed to surge in the food delivery system. In an attempt to attract customers, manufacturers in the food and beverages industry are increasingly offering frozen food products through the online portals. Moreover, surge in demand for frozen dessert products among customers has further contributed towards growth of the global frozen food packaging market. With the growing need to protect the food products from exposure to extreme weather conditions and moisture, manufacturers are implementing enhanced packaging solutions such as temperature controlled and tamper-proof packaging. Bound to these factors, sales of the frozen food packages in the food and beverages industry is projected to witness robust growth throughout the forecast period.Request Sample Report @Packages for frozen food products also remain concentrated among the suppliers of the frozen food products. Manufacturers in the food and beverage industry witness significant demand for frozen food products as they have a fresh flavor and can be preserved for comparatively long time. Suppliers of prefer opting for frozen food product packages in order to protect the product from moisture and unprecedented climate conditions. These factors are projected to fuel demand for the frozen food packages in the food and beverage industry positively.On the other hand, high quantity of sodium in various frozen food products has led to a drop in the sales of the frozen food products, which has in turn led to a drop in demand for the frozen food packages. In addition, increasing prices of the frozen food products add to the overall cost price of the product, which is projected to witness drop in demand for the frozen food packages. These factors are projected to inhibit growth of the global market of frozen food throughout the forecast period.Plastic Materials to Witness Robust DemandWith the increasing demand for tamper-proof packaging, manufacturer prefer using plastic materials for frozen food product packaging. By packaging material, the plastic segment is projected to represent relatively high revenue growth, reflecting more than US$ 7,000 Mn by 2022-end. On the other hand, the paper & paperboard segment is expected record a relatively high CAGR through 2022. Based on the packaging type, the bags & pouches segment is projected to register a robust CAGR, recording more than US$ 2,000 Mn by 2017-end. During the forecast period, the frozen specialties application type segment is expected will reflect a healthy CAGR. On the other hand, the meat, poultry & seafood segment is projected to account for more than US$ 3,000 Mn by 2022-end. Europe will continue to remain a leading market for the frozen food packages globally.Request Report toc @Market PlayersMajor player in the global market of frozen food packages are Ball Corporation, Amor Ltd., Crown Holding Inc., Bemis Company Inc., Pactiv LLC., International Paper Company, Sonoco Products Company, Sealed Air Corporation, Printpack Inc., Berry Global Group Inc. and Huhtamaki Oyj.Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Market 2017 Development Policies and Plans for Coming Years

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Market Research Report 2017 to its huge collection of research reports.The global Vietnam Aluminum Window market is fueled by various factors, according to a detailed assessment explained in the report. This study shows how important in-depth analysis should be, and how it greatly affects the quality of information provided to the readers. The market for Vietnam Aluminum Window extensively covers various highlights in the report that includes competitive vista, growth propelling factors, regional outreach, targeted consumers, major obstacles, and others.This report studies Aluminum Window Profile focuses on top manufacturers in Vietnam market, with sales, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringSapa Group (Technal)FletcherLIXILKimsenXingfaSCHUCOYKKTachengCOZYDOORTo Download Free Sample Report With TOC:With respect to the emphasis on dynamic consumer choices, it is very important for companies to properly plan their marketing strategies. The same emphasis has been clearly explained in the report. This compilation provides invaluable recommendations that can help companies form better and successful strategies. The report is a mine of exhaustive information that is aimed to present the reader with a generalized perspective of the global Vietnam Aluminum Window market. Apart from the driving factors, there also are a few restraints that are explained in the report in the Vietnam Aluminum Window market. In spite of all these restraints, a positive aspect has been imparted in the form of better expectations for the Vietnam Aluminum Window market. Many readers want to know the extreme details about a market, and this has led our expert analysts to properly segregate the market into respective segments. Each segment has been described in detail, and reasons for leading segments have also been provided in the report. All the factors that are responsible for affecting these details segments are explained in-depth in this compilation.Table of Contents1 Aluminum Window Profile Market Overview11.1 Definition and Specifications of Aluminum Window Profile11.1.1 Definition of Aluminum Window Profile11.1.2 Specifications of Aluminum Window Profile11.2 Classification of Aluminum Window Profile21.3 Applications of Aluminum Window Profile41.4 Vietnam Revenue and Sales of Aluminum Window Profile (2012-2022)61.4.1 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales (MT) and Growth Rate (%) (2012-2022)61.4.2 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (%) (2012-2022)71.5 Analysis of Aluminum Extrusion Companies in Vietnam71.6 Analysis of Glass fabricators in Vietnam9Complete table of content is available at:2 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Market Competitions by Players/Manufacturers112.1 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales (MT) and Market Share (%) of Key Players/Manufacturers (2016-2017)112.2 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Revenue and Share by Players/Manufacturers (2016-2017)142.3 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Average Price (USD/MT) by Players/Manufacturers (2016-2017)172.4 Manufacturers Analysis of Aluminum Window Profile192.5 Aluminum Window Profile Market Competitive Situation and Trends192.5.1 Aluminum Window Profile Market Concentration Rate192.5.2 Aluminum Window Profile Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers213 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales and Revenue (Value) by Type (2012-2017)233.1 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales (MT) and Market Share (%) by Type (2012-2017)233.2 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Revenue (Million USD) and Market Share (%) by Type (2012-2017)243.3 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Price by Type (2012-2017)263.4 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales Growth Rate by Type (2012-2017)264 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales by Application (2012-2017)274.1 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales (MT) and Market Share (%) by Applications (2012-2017)274.2 Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales Growth Rate by Applications (2012-2017)28List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Aluminum Window Profile1Table Specifications of Aluminum Window Profile1Table Classification of Aluminum Window Profile2Figure Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales Market Share (%) by Type in 20164Table Applications of Aluminum Window Profile4Figure Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales Market Share (%) by Applications in 20165Figure Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Sales (MT) and Growth Rate (%) (2012-2022)6Figure Vietnam Aluminum Window Profile Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (%) (2012-2022)7Enquiry For Discount Visit @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Know about Patient Support Equipments Market and what makes it a Booming industry according to following research report 2018

Healthcare Intelligence Markets

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The research report, titled "Global Patient Support Equipments Market Report 2023," offers an unmistakable understanding of the topic. The exploration report tries to appreciate the leading-edge techniques taken by vendors in the overall market to offer product detachment through Porter's five forces analysis. It likewise points out the courses in which these associations can strengthen their stand in the market and increment their livelihoods in the coming years. Consistent technological progressions and the enduring penetration of Internet in the remote corners of the world are moreover responsible for the astounding advancement of the Global Patient Support Equipments Market.Top Key Players:Sunrise Medical, Invacare Corp, Stryker Corp, Medline Industries, Drive Medical, GF Health Products, Rotec, Vital Mobility, Mabis Healthcare, Nova Medical Products, Otolift, Acorn StairliftsGet Sample Copy of Report:The report provides a fundamental outline of the business including definitions, characterizations, applications and industry chain structure. The market analysis is delivered to the worldwide Patient Support Equipments Market including competitive background analysis, development patterns, and fundamental regions development status. Development policies and plans are discussed about and manufacturing processes and cost structures are likewise investigated. This report likewise states supply and demand figures, cost, value, import/ export consumption, income, and gross margins.The major players of the Patient Support Equipments market were identified across regions, and their offerings, distribution channels, and regional presence are understood through in-depth discussions. Also, average revenue generated by these companies, segmented on the basis of region, is used to arrive at the overall market size. This overall market size is used in the top-down procedure to estimate the sizes of other individual markets through percentage splits from secondary sources directories, databases, and primary research.Get Upto 40% Discount on this report:On the basis of geographical regions, the Global Patient Support Equipments Market is segmented broadly into Latin America, Global, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific. The Global market is still in its exploratory stage in most of the regions but it holds the promising potential to flourish steadily in coming years. The major companies investing in this market are situated in Canada, U.K., and the US, India, China and some more countries of Asia Pacific region. Consequently, Asia Pacific, North America, and Western Global are estimated to hold more than half of the market shares, collectively in coming years.In the last sections of the report, the manufacturers responsible for increasing the sales in the Patient Support Equipments Market have been presented. These manufacturers have been analyzed in terms of their manufacturing base, basic information, and competitors. In addition, the technology and product type introduced by each of these manufacturers also form a key part of this section of the report.Purchase the Complete Report:Table of Content:Global Patient Support Equipments Market Research Report 2018-2023Chapter 1 Patient Support Equipments Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic ImpactChapter 3 Competition by ManufacturerChapter 4 Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2018-2023)Chapter 5 Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Regions (2018-2023)Chapter 6 Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisChapter 12 Market Forecast (2018-2023)HealthCare Intelligence Markets supply market intelligence reports in the domain of personalized drugs & diagnostics after going through a rigorous research process. The healthcare and pharma industry is constantly evolving as trends are getting replaced at a rapid pace.601, Winterberry Purple, Koregaon Park, Pune, 411001
Masterbatch Market is likely to register double digit CAGR By 2020

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Masterbatches are solid or liquid mixture of additive or pigments used for coloring or enhancing other properties of polymers such as UV stabilizing, flame retardation, antistatic and antilocking. Masterbatches can be used by several technological methods including injection, blow, spinning and others. Growing end user markets such as packaging, automobile and healthcare is boosting the demand of masterbatch market. Moreover, increasing demand of plastics from construction and luxury goods packaging industries are further driving the global masterbatch market. Among the end-user industries, packaging accounts for the largest share in global masterbatch market. Packaging industry uses all types of masterbatches, wherein color and white masterbatch are the most commonly used segments. Food and beverages manufacturers increasing interest in enhancement of packaging colors is escalating demands for the color masterbatches.Request Report For TOC @The raw materials for masterbatch production include pigments, carrier, dispersant and some additives. Masterbatch market can be classified into four segments - additive, color, white and black. Additive masterbatche is the fastest growing segment which finds its application in customized plastic products in industries such as automotive, electronic appliances, textile, pharmaceutical packaging, and food and beverages packaging. Color masterbatche is used in the production of plastics for automobiles, electronic appliances, flexible packaging for food and beverages and medicine packaging. Black masterbatche is mainly used in construction, automotive and electronic appliance industries.The demand for light weight vehicles is escalating globally due to European Unions concern for reduction in green house gases. Increasing the plastic content in vehicles reduces their weight and carbon emission, and also increases fuel efficiency. This is leading to replacement of metal parts in the vehicles by plastic components. This shows growth opportunities for the masterbatch market for the forecasted period (2014-2020). However, the rising oil prices and stringent environmental laws related to non-biodegradability of plastics are posing significant challenge to the growth of plastic industries which is in turn affecting the masterbatch market.Asia Pacific was the largest market for masterbatch in 2013 owing to high demand of plastics from construction and automobile industries. Asia Pacific, Latin America and Middle East are expected to witness high growth rates during the forecasted period.Masterbatch market in Europe and North America is consolidated, whereas the masterbatch market in Asia Pacific has a fragmented structure where china alone is a home to about 500 masterbatch manufacturers. Due to large number of mergers and acquisition taking place, rivalry in the masterbatch industry is expected to reduce during the forecasted period. The major companies operating in global masterbatch market include, A. Schulman Inc., Ampacet Corporation, Clariant International Ltd., PolyOne Corporation, GABRIEL-CHEMIE GROUP, Ferro Corporation and Americhem, Inc.Request To Sample Of Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA,Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Smart Classroom Sales Market Report 2018  Educomp, Everonn, HCL Learning, Microsoft, Pearson, Samsung, Dalian Neusoft

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Qyresearchreports include new market research report Global Smart Classroom Sales Market Report 2018 to its huge collection of research reports.The report on the global Smart Classroom market is an in-depth analysis taking a critical look at various factors and key trends shaping the markets trajectory during the forecast period of 20182025. The growth of the market is driven by various regional and global developments, influenced by changing regulations and governmental policies. The study strives to offer comprehensive assessment of these factors and evaluates their impact on the business landscape of the global Smart Classroom market. In addition, the study presents elaborate insights into the various types of region-specific business risks faced by industry players and the prevailing strategic dynamics to allay these. Making a granular assessment of demand dynamics, the study takes a closer look at paradigmatic and mild shifts in the global Smart Classroom market made by various players to gain a better foothold in the market. Furthermore, the research analyzes the impact of these shifts on emerging prospects and the lucrative avenues they will likely lead to in the years to come. The study tries to give clear signals into imminent investment pockets and offers insights into new revenue streams in the global Smart Classroom market.To Download Free Sample Report With TOC:The report is prepared by gleaning over vast volumes of historic data assessed through reliable primary sources and a wide spectrum of secondary sources. Using SWOT analysis and Porters Five Forces Analysis, the study tries to evaluate the level of competition. Complementing with several industry-wide quantitative tools and enabled by qualitative methods, the study makes estimations and projections of key segments in the global Smart Classroom market. This helps various market participants get a clearer picture of the markets growth. The study also highlights the views of various opinion leaders and major policy makers in various countries, in a bid to paint a holistic picture of the overall outlook of the global Smart Classroom market.Table of ContentsGlobal Smart Classroom Sales Market Report 20181 Smart Classroom Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Smart Classroom1.2 Classification of Smart Classroom by Product Category1.2.1 Global Smart Classroom Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Smart Classroom Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Learning products1.2.4 Hardware1.2.5 Software1.3 Global Smart Classroom Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Smart Classroom Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Higher Education1.3.3 K-12Complete table of content is available at:2 Global Smart Classroom Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Smart Classroom Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Smart Classroom Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.1.2 Global Smart Classroom Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2013-2018)2.2 Global Smart Classroom (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Global Smart Classroom Sales and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.2.2 Global Smart Classroom Revenue and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)2.3 Global Smart Classroom (Volume and Value) by Region2.3.1 Global Smart Classroom Sales and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.3.2 Global Smart Classroom Revenue and Market Share by Region (2013-2018)2.4 Global Smart Classroom (Volume) by Application3 United States Smart Classroom (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Smart Classroom Sales and Value (2013-2018)3.1.1 United States Smart Classroom Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.2 United States Smart Classroom Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)3.1.3 United States Smart Classroom Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)3.2 United States Smart Classroom Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)3.3 United States Smart Classroom Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)3.4 United States Smart Classroom Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)4 China Smart Classroom (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 China Smart Classroom Sales and Value (2013-2018)4.1.1 China Smart Classroom Sales and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.2 China Smart Classroom Revenue and Growth Rate (2013-2018)4.1.3 China Smart Classroom Sales Price Trend (2013-2018)4.2 China Smart Classroom Sales Volume and Market Share by Players (2013-2018)4.3 China Smart Classroom Sales Volume and Market Share by Type (2013-2018)4.4 China Smart Classroom Sales Volume and Market Share by Application (2013-2018)List of Tables and FiguresFigure Product Picture of Smart ClassroomFigure Global Smart Classroom Sales Volume Comparison (K Units) by Type (2013-2025)Figure Global Smart Classroom Sales Volume Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2017Figure Learning products Product PictureFigure Hardware Product PictureFigure Software Product PictureFigure Global Smart Classroom Sales Comparison (K Units) by Application (2013-2025)Figure Global Sales Market Share of Smart Classroom by Application in 2017Enquiry For Discount Visit @QYResearchReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYResearchReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Heart Valve Repair and Replacement Market Projected to Touch US$ 3,767.0 Mn By 2020

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been serving as an active source to cater intelligent research report to enlighten both readers and investors. This research study titled Heart Valve Repair and ReplacementRequest a Free Sample Report @Work-oriented lifestyle, rising old population, and irregular sleep are a few factors to stumble upon, which lead to severe cases of cardiovascular diseases. In addition, consumption of excessive saturated trans-fat food has been led to various cardiovascular disorders, which in turn has accelerated demand for heart valve repair and replacement services. Such factors have led to compelling demand for heart valve repair and replacements in the global market of heart valve repair and replacement market. Functions of heart valves mainly includes maintaining a healthy cardiac cycle. Disorders related to heart valves are classified as regurgitation and stenosis, which result in leakage of blood back into heart. Abnormalities and symptoms related to heart valves depends on the degree of severity and affected valve. Heart valve related disorders are mainly mechanical and application of heart valve repair and replacement treatment, fixes impaired leaflet tissues, and eliminates unnecessary tissues to resize the heart valve. The global heart valve repair and replacement market is projected to escalate from US$ 2,281.2 Mn in 2014 to US$ 3,767.0 Mn in 2020, expanding at a CAGR of 8.7% over the forecast period.Key Market DynamicsSurge in medical tourism encouraging heart valve repair and replacement treatment in parallel with technological developments enhancing devices and treatment regarding heart valve repair and replacement are encouraging factors that boost demand for heart valve repair and treatment-related services. Owing to such factors, demand for various devices, tools and equipment that finds application in heart valve repair and replacement operations are further predicted to witness an upsurge in the global heart valve repair and replacement market. Into the bargain, dynamic and unhealthy lifestyle, sedentary lifestyle, surge in old section of the population, unhealthy consumption and irregular meals are the consequences of obesity, and various cardiovascular diseases and disorders. Such factors lead to an upsurge in demand for products and services pertaining to heart valve repair and replacement treatment, which in turn is estimated to rev up growth of the market during the forecast period.View Complete Report with Table of Content @Conversely, innumerable risks and disorders associated with heart valves such as uneven heart beats, respiratory issues, and clotting issues are disorders arising from various factors such as unhealthy lifestyles, which lead to complications in the functioning of the heart and associated treatments. Additionally, shortage of healthcare units and clinics in various developing countries are anticipated to restrain growth of the market in the span of next six years.Segment AnalysisOn the basis of product type, the global heart valve repair and replacement market is classified into heart valve replacement and heart valve repair. On the basis of replacement type, the global heart valve repair and replacement market in segment into mechanical heart valve, transcatheter heart valve, and tissue heart valve.On the basis of region, cardiovascular disorders are prevalent in the region of North America, owing to unhealthy lifestyle and growing rate of obesity. Annually, around 70,000 heart valve treatment are conducted for mitral valve stenosis. However, due to increasing old population, surge in unhealthy lifestyle and diseases, the market growth is projected to witness an upsurge. Annually, nearly 50,000 valve replacement treatments take place in Europe and various cardiovascular disorders have resulted in innumerable deaths in the region. Yet, the global heart valve repair and replacement market is estimated to witness significantly high growth of heart valve repair and replacement market in Asia Pacific due to surge in medical tourism, rising old population, increasing sedentary and unhealthy lifestyle, inculcating unhealthy habits.Send an Inquiry @Key Market PlayersSome key players operating in the global heart valve repair and replacement market include St. Jude Medical, Inc., Edwards Lifesciences Corporation, Abbott Laboratories, Inc., and Boston Scientific Corporation.About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.Contact UsState Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
Food-grade Alcohol Market 2017 Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2025

Food-grade Alcohol Market

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Food-grade Alcohol Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.Alcohol, also known as ethanol, is a versatile product with applications ranging from food and pharmaceutical to industrial solvents. The food industry is a key user of alcohol. Alcohol is employed in the manufacturing of vinegar, flavours & extracts, candy glazes, food dyes, yeast, animal-feed supplements, and various food sprays. Commonly, a major difference between productions of fuel-grade ethanol and food-grade ethanol is the addition of a small amount of solvent or gasoline to the fuel-grade ethanol in order to make it undrinkable. The process of alcohol production does not necessarily employ food-grade equipment. The remaining process for alcohol production is mostly similar. There are three types of food grade alcohol: Industrial-grade ethanol, either fermentation or synthetic origin, which has most of the impurities removed, FCC (food chemical codex)-grade ethanol, which includes heavy metal specification limits and GNS (grain neutral spirits, highly pure-grade ethanol, which is used in beverages).To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Food-grade Alcohol Market: Drivers and RestraintsRising population and rapid urbanization facilitated the need for quality food products. Moreover, food grade alcohol is utilized for food preservation. These factors are estimated to drive the food grade alcohol market during the forecast period. However, stringent government regulations regarding the quality of food grade alcohol are anticipated to restrain the market to some extent in the near future. Alcohol-flavored food products are likely to provide lucrative opportunities for food grade alcohol in the near future.Food-grade Alcohol Market: SegmentationIn terms of source, the food grade alcohol market can be segmented into:- Grain-based- Molasses-based- Others (synthetic, etc.)Food grade alcohol is often molasses-based with a minimum of 94% to 99.99% volume/volume ratio. Food grade ethanol is commonly manufactured by using traditional methods, which include milling, fermentation, and distillation. In dry milling process, grains such as corn are crushed, mixed with enzymes and water, and heated. The liquid starch mash is further enzymatically treated in order to produce sugar. The produced sugars are fermented with the usage of yeast to yield carbon dioxide and ethanol. After the complete fermentation of the mash, it is distilled and further concentrated to produce ethanol. However, in wet milling, a similar process is employed, excluding the step where the grain is first immersed in dilute acid and water to enable separation of the grain into its components. Ethanol is required as a separating agent, cleaning agent, and also as a direct raw material in numerous food applications. Food grade alcohol serves as a natural preservative, not only in the production of food products but also in food packaging due to its unique characteristics.Food-grade Alcohol Market: Region-wise outlookIn the U.S., nearly 92% of alcohol consumed in a year is utilized for fuel applications, approximately 4% is consumed by food and beverage applications, with the remaining 4% as industrial chemicals and solvents. Asia Pacific held a majority share of the global food grade alcohol market in 2016 due to increasing demand from the food & beverage industry in the region. China and India are anticipated to considerably contribute to the development of the Asia Pacific food grade alcohol market. The food-grade alcohol markets in Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa are estimated to expand at a sluggish rate during the forecast period.Browse Detail Report @Food-grade Alcohol Market: Key PlayersKey players operating in the global food grade alcohol market include:- Archer Daniels Midland- Wilmar International- MGP Ingredients- CargillThe report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:- Market segments and sub-segments- Market trends and dynamics- Supply and demand- Market size- Current trends/opportunities/challenges- Competitive landscape- Technological breakthroughs- Value chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:- North America (U.S. and Canada)- Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)- Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)- Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)- Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)- Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.Make an Enquiry of this report @A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:- A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market- Important changes in market dynamics- Market segmentation up to the second or third level- Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume- Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments- Market shares and strategies of key players- Emerging niche segments and regional markets- An objective assessment of the trajectory of the market- Recommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Composite Adhesives Market 2017 Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Composite Adhesives Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.Usually, composites consist of two components: a matrix and a reinforcement. Both these components have their own physical and chemical properties. The unique nature of composites i.e. lighter weight and higher mechanical strength makes them useful in several applications. Some of the most commonly used composites are glass fiber, carbon fiber, kevlar, and graphite composites. Composite adhesives provide bonding to themselves as well as to other substrates. They exhibit significant mechanical strength and good performance upon exposure to extreme conditions.Composites are used in various industry verticals such as automotive, aerospace, manufacturing, construction, and consumer goods. The matrix of a composite can be organic or inorganic, while the reinforcement is made of fiber, in a majority of the cases.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Composite Adhesives Market: Dynamics and TrendsIn the aerospace industry, materials required for the manufacture of aircraft components need to be very light in weight and possess high mechanical strength. Composites meet these requirements. The use of composites in the aerospace industry dates back to several years. Moreover, the growing number of innovations in composite materials to reduce their weight is expected to propel the demand for composites in this industry, thereby accelerating the demand for composite adhesives.As composites and their adhesives are eco-friendly, their demand is projected to rise in low-carbon-emitting vehicles. The rise in accountability of people toward environment conservation is propelling the demand for low-carbon-emitting vehicles and this factor is expected to drive the demand for composite adhesives in the next few years.Demand for composite adhesives is increasing also due to the growing usage of composites in wind energy production. As composites are of less weight, they are employed in rotor blades of windmills. Rotor blades play a significant role in electricity generation. The blade deformation should be minimal, as blades need to last longer. Also, blades need to sustain high wind pressure. Composites is the only choice to meet all these requirements. Increased use of composite adhesives in different industry verticals such as construction and consumer goods is expected to boost the market in the next few years.New entrants in the market for composite adhesives are anticipated to have ample growth opportunities in the near future, as governments of developed as well as developing economies are increasing their expenditure on environment conservation. The eco-friendly nature of composite adhesives is expected to offer growth opportunities for new players entering the market in the next few years.Composite Adhesives Market: SegmentationIn terms of type, the composite adhesives market has been divided into structural adhesives and synthetic adhesives. The structural adhesives segment is expected to dominate the market in the near future. Structural adhesives offer high resistance to mechanical shocks and several chemicals. These adhesives can also withstand high levels of stress and are known to reduce the weight of the component. Since structural adhesives are inexpensive, they are preferred over other adhesives. Demand for structural adhesives is expected to rise in the next few years.Based on resin type, the composite adhesives market has been segmented into epoxy, polyurethane (PU), polyamide, and others. The epoxy resin segment is expected to lead the market during the forecast period. Epoxies can be used to bond different composite materials. They offer excellent bonding to a majority of composite materials such as kevlar and graphite composites. Epoxy resins are less toxic and they have higher impact and compression strength compared to other resins.Based on end-user industry, the composite adhesives market has been segregated into automotive, aerospace, construction, energy & power, and others. The automotive segment is expected to dominate the market in the next few years. The surge in demand for composite adhesives is primarily due to the increasing demand for composite materials in the construction of automobile components due to their high strength and low weight that improve fuel efficiency. Also, the rise in demand for light-weight vehicles is augmenting the demand for composite adhesives.Browse Detail Report @Composite Adhesives Market: Regional OutlookIncreasing demand for green energy in the U.S. and Canada is significantly contributing to growth of the composite adhesives market in North America. The growing number of innovations in aircrafts and automobiles is driving the market in the region.The market in Latin America is anticipated to expand at a good growth rate during the forecast period. The increase in measures toward green energy generation in Mexico is expected to contribute significantly to growth of the composite adhesives market in Latin America during the forecast period.China is expected to hold a significant share of the Asia Pacific composite adhesive market in the next few years. The increasing use of composite adhesives in wind energy generation in China is anticipated to boost the market in Asia Pacific in the near future. High availability of raw materials and availability of low-waged labor in developing economies of APAC are factors projected to raise the number of manufacturers, thereby driving the composite adhesives market in the region.Composite Adhesives Market: Key PlayersSome of the major stakeholders in the global composite adhesives market are 3M, Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, Integra Adhesives, SIKA AG, Arkema Group, The Dow Chemical Company, Huntsman Corporation, LORD Corporation, and Illinois Tool Works, IncThe report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:- Market segments and sub-segments- Market trends and dynamics- Supply and demand- Market size- Current trends/opportunities/challenges- Competitive landscape- Technological breakthroughs- Value chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:- North America (U.S. and Canada)- Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)- Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)- Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)- Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)- Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)Make an Enquiry of this report @The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:- A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent market- Important changes in market dynamics- Market segmentation up to the second or third level- Historical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volume- Reporting and evaluation of recent industry developments- Market shares and strategies of key players- Emerging niche segments and regional markets- An objective assessment of the trajectory of the market- Recommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Legionella Water Testing Market : Recent Trends by Regions, Type, Application and Geographical Analysis to 2025

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Legionella Water Testing Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025" to its huge collection of research reports.About Legionella Water Testing MarketLegionella that cause Legionellosis, a form of pneumonia is a respiratory disorder. The bacteria causes severe lung infection known as Legionnaires disease. The treatment of this disease often requires intensive care and hospitalization; therefore, it is considered as a public health concerns.The bacteria can also cause Pontiac fever, a less serious infection, which has symptoms such as a mild flu. Legionella bacteria grows in hot water. People working in industries that depend on water storage are prone to contracting this disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 4,568 new cases of Legionnaires disease were reported in 2013. Growing prevalence of Legionella-related diseases and increasing awareness about the preventive measures are major factors driving the market growth. People working in restaurants, schools, hospitals, large plumbing systems, and other places requiring water storage are prone to this waterborne disease. Therefore, the severity and large number of population prone to these infections, has increased the demand for accurate and on-time diagnosis of Legionellosis and other related infections.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Legionella water testing market is segment based on microbial culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) stain, and others. Government laws mandate testing for Legionella is another key factors driving the global market. Moreover, water testing is anticipated to be the fastest growing market. Rising importance of water testing activities in many industries as a preventive measure for infectious diseases is anticipated to boost the growth of the Legionella water testing market. However, these tests can take up to several weeks to deliver accurate results. This delay in the conventional testing method could hamper the market growth. Delay in the treatment or presumptive treatment can happens due to the lack of accurate diagnostics. Delay in diagnosis could hamper the treatment and preventive measures, which can also cause an outbreak of the disease. PCR testing provides accurate and timely diagnosis along with reproducible results.Additionally, the conventional legionella water testing methods are usually labor intensive and involve manual contamination, which can cause infection and affect the accuracy of the results. The advancements in diagnostic technological in terms of digitization and automation are accountable for the growth of the market. Automation can facilitate accurate diagnostic procedures, while reducing the time and manual effort; thereby providing with sensitive, precise, and reliable results. Therefore, rapid advancement in diagnostic methods are increasingly gaining popularity and their demand is expected to increase in future. However, fewer companies manufacturing these tests can inhibit market growth.Geographically, the global legionella water testing market has been segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Europe held the largest share of market, due to high awareness of Legionellosis and other related diseases and favorable initiative taken by the government by making the legionella test compulsory in countries such as the U.K. and Germany. Asia Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing market over the forecast period. Growing geriatric population prone to these infections and increasing disposable income are likely to drive the market in the region. Moreover, increasing penetration of Legionella testing products through a network of global distribution is expected to offer immense growth opportunities to the legionella water testing market over the forecast period. Therefore, existing players are recommended to invest in emerging economies to increase their market shares.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Key players operating in the global legionella water testing market include Alere, Inc.; Beckman Coulter, Inc.; Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD); Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc., Thermo Fischer Scientific, Inc., and F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)ResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.us
Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market Size, Share, Trends, Market Growth, Global Analysis And Industry Forecast 2018 - 2026 - Research Corridor

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http://www.researchcorridor.com/extrusion-coating-lamination-market/

http://www.researchcorridor.com/quicklime-market/

http://www.researchcorridor.com/flea-tick-products-market/

http://www.researchcorridor.com/stretch-shrink-film-market/

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Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market will experience a noticeable growth during the forecast period 2018  2026Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market: Global Industry Trends, Market Size, Competitive Analysis and Forecast - 2018  2026, this study is recently published by Research Corridor covering global market size for Extrusion Coating and Lamination market for the key segments and further cross-regional segmentation of these segments for the period 2016 to 2026.Browse the complete report atAccording to Research Corridor this study will provide in-depth analysis of segments on the basis of current trends, market dynamics and country level analysis ofExtrusion Coating and Lamination industry. This report provides market estimates and forecast for the period 2016-2026, along with respective CAGRs for each segment and regional distribution for the period 2018-2026. In depth analysis of competitive landscape, porters five forces model, value chain analysis, and pricing strategies are also covered in the report scope.Report Synopsis: Extrusion Coating and Lamination MarketThis report provides an exhaustive market analysis of the Extrusion Coating and Lamination industry presented through sections such as1. Extrusion Coating and Lamination: Market Summary2. Key Developments in the Extrusion Coating and Lamination Industry3. Market Trends and Dynamics of Extrusion Coating and Lamination Industry4. Attractive Investment Proposition for Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market5. Competitive Landscape of Key Market Players in Extrusion Coating and Lamination Industry6. Current Market Scenario and Future Prospects of the Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market7. Mergers and Acquisitions in Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market8. Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market Revenue and Forecast, by Segment A Type, 2016 to 20269. Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market Revenue and Forecast, by Segment B Type, 2016 to 202610. Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market Revenue and Forecast, by Segment C Type, 2016 to 202611. Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market Revenue and Forecast, by Segment D, 2016 to 202612. Extrusion Coating and Lamination Market Revenue and Forecast, by Geography, 2016 to 2026For more details with charts and figures:Key Takeaways:1. Market size and forecast of the Extrusion Coating and Lamination market for the period from 2016 to 20262. Compounded annual growth rate (CAGR%) for each segment in several regional markets by year 20263. Market share analysis combined with competitive landscape of key players4. Profiles of key market players covering overall business operations, geographic presence, product portfolio, financial status and news coverage.Related Reports:About Research CorridorResearch Corridor provides End to End Solution for Market Research Consulting and Custom Research Reports. Database of Over 47000 Global Market Reports Research Corridor is world leading company in syndicated market Research Reports.Media ContactCompany Name: Research CorridorContact Person: Vikram ChauhanEmail: sales@researchcorridor.comWebsite:
Paints & Coatings Market 2017 - Global Industry Size, Shares, Trends, Growth, Analysis and Forecast 2021

Paints & Coatings Market

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https://www.researchmoz.us/global-paints-coatings-market-industry-analysis-outlook-20172021-report.html/toc

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Paints & Coatings Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021)" to its huge collection of research reports.Paint, is a coloured ingredient which is spread over a surface and then dries to leave a thin decorative or protective coating. It is used to describe a number of substances that consist of a pigment suspended in a liquid or paste form such as oil or water. With a brush, a roller, or a spray gun, paint is applied in a thin coat to various surfaces such as wood, metal, or stone. Although, the primary purpose of a paint is to protect the surface to which it is applied, it also provides decoration. Today, paints are used for interior and exterior house painting, boats, automobiles, planes, appliances, furniture, and many other places where protection and appeal are desired.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @The market can be divided into three broad segments, namely architectural segment that depends heavily on the performance of the building & construction sector, industrial paints and coatings segment that is closely related to the automotive, major appliances and industrial equipment sectors and specialty paints and coatings which includes a wide array of divergent coatings such as automotive refinish coatings, industrial maintenance coatings, traffic marking paints and marine paints.The global paints and coatings market is set to experience favorable growth driven by factors such as increasing construction spending, rapid urbanization, increasing household consumption expenditure and accelerating economic growth. The major trends observed in this market include increasing preference for professional contractors, technological advancements and increasing consolidation of market players. However, the growth of this budding market is constrained by challenges such as increasing raw material prices and stringent environmental regulations.The report Global Paints & Coatings Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021) analyses the development of this market, with focus on North America and Asia Pacific markets. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the market are discussed in detail in this report. The four major players: PPG Industries Inc., Sherwin-Williams, AkzoNobel and Axalta Coating Systems are being profiled along with their key financials and strategies for growth. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the global paints & coatings market along with the study of the regional markets.Table of Content1. Overview1.1 Introduction1.2 Manufacturing Process1.3 Types2. Global Paints & Coatings Market2.1 Global Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value2.2 Global Paints & Coatings Market by Region2.3 Global Paints & Coatings Market Value by Segments2.4 Global Architectural Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value2.5 Global Architectural Paints & Coatings Market by Region2.6 Global Architectural Paints & Coatings Market by Segments2.7 Global Architectural Paints & Coatings Market by Customer Mix2.8 Global Industrial Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value2.9 Global Industrial Paints & Coatings Market by Region2.10 Global Special Purpose Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by ValueGet Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @3. Regional Market Analysis3.1 Asia Pacific3.1.1 Asia Pacific Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.1.2 Indian Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.1.3 Indian Paints & Coatings Market Value by Segments3.1.4 Indian Decorative Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.1.5 Indian Decorative Paints & Coatings Market by Segments3.1.6 Indian Industrial Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.1.7 Indian Industrial Paints & Coatings Market by Segments3.2 North America3.2.1 North America Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.2.2 The U.S. Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.2.3 The U.S. Paints & Coatings Market Value by Segments3.2.4 The U.S. Architectural Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.2.5 The U.S. Architectural Paints & Coatings Market by Segments3.2.6 The U.S. Industrial Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.2.7 The U.S. Special Purpose Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Value3.2.8 The U.S. Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Volume3.2.9 The U.S. Paints & Coatings Market Volume by Segments3.2.10 The U.S. Architectural Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Volume3.2.11 The U.S. Industrial Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Volume3.2.12 The U.S. Special Purpose Paints & Coatings Market Forecast by Volume4. Market Dynamics4.1 Growth Drivers4.1.1 Increasing Construction Spending4.1.2 Rapid Urbanization4.1.3 Rising Household Consumption Expenditure4.1.4 Accelerating Economic Growth4.2 Key Trends & Developments4.2.1 Increasing Preference for Professional Contractors4.2.2 Technological Advancements4.2.3 Increasing Consolidation of Market Players4.3 Challenges4.3.1 Increasing Raw Material Costs4.3.2 Stringent Environmental Regulations5. Competitive Landscape5.1 Global Market5.1.1 Revenue and Market Cap Comparison5.1.2 Global Paints & Coatings Market Share by Company5.1.3 Global Industrial Paints & Coatings Market Share by Company5.1.4 Asia Pacific Paints & Coatings Market Share by CompanyContinue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Award Winning Children's Book Author Dr Nicole Announces Latest Book In Felix And Booboo Series, 'Maya's Head Is Itching'

Dr. Nicole

http://www.drnicolebook.com

Multi-award-winning children's book author Dr. Nicole has announced the release of a new book in the Felix and Booboo Series, 'Maya's Head Is Itching'. The new book is one of a series of eight books that address medical issues and make them understandable for young children. The goal is to increase the child's understanding of his body and to help eliminate fear of diseases. This series is also available in French (Felix et Boubou) in paperback, Kindle and PDF versions.In this exciting adventure, Felix and his magical medical instruments hunt down Mayas head lice. Booboo, the captain of the instruments, tells Maya all about head lice. This book will help children understand the issues surrounding head lice, including how modern medicine cures the head lice problem. A quiz at the end of the book challenges the childs reading skills."My true intentions regarding writing this series are to inspire children to read, to set their imaginations free and to encourage good decision-making regarding health, safety and critical thinking," Dr. Nicole stated. " Writing childrens books is a way for me to give back and be a positive resource to the community. It is a way that I can positively express myself while having some fun and at the same time be a positive role model for both children and caregivers. I hope that my books inspire children to set their minds free and work to make the world a better place."In addition to head lice, other subjects covered in the series include gastroenteritis, broken bones, allergies, otitis, the human body, vaccinations and chickenpox. All of the books in the series can be used by educators and medical professionals to help kids understand that these types of conditions are normal and are not to be feared or avoided.In the traditions of Walt Disney and Dr. Seuss, Dr. Nicole breathes life into inanimate objects and wildly entertaining characters that engage children in powerful ways. Through the parent/child interaction, her works develop a love for reading while helping children develop the most important skill of all - critical thinking. If a child can master the art of critical thinking, nearly everything else falls into place.Dr. Nicoles books have won numerous international awards. A full listing of the awards can be found on her website.'Maya's Head Is Itching' has received 5 stars from readers and reviewers. Vernita Taylor, in a Readers Favorite review, stated, "This book is so wonderfully presented because it takes the child on a journey into learning about head lice and all of the steps and processes that go into ridding one of head lice. I see this book as if Dr. Audet herself was sitting down and explaining the process of head lice to the child. This book offers a great solution for helping the child to not only understand, but to share with their friends. As a part of the Felix and Booboo Series, your child will never stop learning about the various things that the body experiences - from chickenpox and earache to feeling sick. Add this book to your library; you won't regret it."Dr. Nicole also received recognition as one of Quebec's Top 10 Women by the Maman Dion Foundation. The Maman Dion foundation was founded by Therese Tanguay-Dion, known as Maman Dion, a television personality and the Celine Dions mother. The Maman Dion Foundation is an educational foundation that provides support to underprivileged children in the form of clothing, eyewear and school supplies.Dr. Nicole has sold over 150,000 books in her career. She is highly regarded for her work with childrens books and a health guide for families. Her goals are to create in children a love for reading and to create interaction and engagement.No-charge copies of any of her books are available for University teachers, journalists and members of the media who provide email, website, mail address and phone number.Dr. Nicole is available for media interviews and can be reached using the information below. Journalists who wish to receive a copy of the books for review or might wish to schedule an interview can email info@drnicolebook.com. All of her English and bilingual works are available on Amazon, AuthorHouse, and other quality book retailers. Free coloring pages are available upon request by sending an email to the author. More information is available at her website.Dr. Nicole Audet holds a Master degree in medical education. She is a professional writer and an engaging speaker. She has worked in Clinical Practice (emergency, family doctor office, University of Montreal affiliated teacher and Lecturer in the Department of Pediatrics of McGill University). She has been the Editor in Chief of the French medical magazine 'Le Medecin du Quebec'. She has presented at many international, national and provincial medical congresses and has managed medical teaching clinics, medical magazines and medical research in computer science. Her books have received many international and national awards.PO Box 1613Shallotte, NC, 29459
Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market Analysis 2018 | Key Trends, Size, Growth, Shares And Forecast

sia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market Report 2018

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Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market Report 2018" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split Asia-Pacific into several key Regions, with sales (K Units), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of 5G Infrastructure for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), includingChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanIndiaSoutheast AsiaAustraliaTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure market competition by top manufacturers/players, with 5G Infrastructure sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingQualcommIntelEricssonSamsungNECQorvoAT&THuaweiNokiaMediaTekCiscoCaviumAnalog DevicesVerizon CommunicationsSK TelecomT-MobileZTEKorea TelecomChina MobileMACOM Technology SolutionsOn the basis of product, this report displays the sales volum, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSmall CellRANMacro CellOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate for each application, includingAutomotiveConsumer ElectronicsRetailTable of ContentsAsia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market Report 20171 5G Infrastructure Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of 5G Infrastructure1.2 Classification of 5G Infrastructure by Product Category1.2.1 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Types (2012-2022)1.2.2 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Small Cell1.2.4 RAN1.2.5 Macro Cell1.3 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Applications (2012-2022)1.3.2 Automotive1.3.3 Consumer Electronics1.3.4 Retail1.4 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market by Region1.4.1 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 South Korea Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.8 Australia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Asia-Pacific Market Size (Value and Volume) of 5G Infrastructure (2012-2022)1.5.1 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Get Complete TOC With Tables and Figures @2 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Competition by Players/Suppliers, Region, Type and Application2.1 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure (Volume and Value) by Type2.2.1 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Sales and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.2.2 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)2.3 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure (Volume) by Application2.4 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure (Volume and Value) by Region2.4.1 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)2.4.2 Asia-Pacific 5G Infrastructure Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3 China 5G Infrastructure (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 China 5G Infrastructure Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 China 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 China 5G Infrastructure Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 China 5G Infrastructure Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 China 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share by Type3.3 China 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share by Application4 Japan 5G Infrastructure (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4.1 Japan 5G Infrastructure Sales and Value (2012-2017)4.1.1 Japan 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.2 Japan 5G Infrastructure Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)4.1.3 Japan 5G Infrastructure Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)4.2 Japan 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share by Type4.3 Japan 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share by Application5 South Korea 5G Infrastructure (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5.1 South Korea 5G Infrastructure Sales and Value (2012-2017)5.1.1 South Korea 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.2 South Korea 5G Infrastructure Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)5.1.3 South Korea 5G Infrastructure Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)5.2 South Korea 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share by Type5.3 South Korea 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share by Application6 Taiwan 5G Infrastructure (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6.1 Taiwan 5G Infrastructure Sales and Value (2012-2017)6.1.1 Taiwan 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.2 Taiwan 5G Infrastructure Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)6.1.3 Taiwan 5G Infrastructure Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)6.2 Taiwan 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share by Type6.3 Taiwan 5G Infrastructure Sales Volume and Market Share by ApplicationContinue...About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Generic Drugs Market Trends 2025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/1084

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/generic-drugs-market-global-competitive-analysis-1084

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Generic drugs market growth is buoyed by increasing number of expiries of patented drugs each year. According to the IMS data small-molecule products worth US$ 121 Bn are expected to lose patents in developed markets, such as U.S ad Europe between 2014 and 2018. The IMS also forecasts that biologic products valued at US$ 48 Bn are expected to lose patent protection over the next three years i.e from 2017 and 2020, which is expected to drive growth of the generic drugs market. Competition has increased significantly in the global generics market with many Asia Pacific companies entering the developed markets such as the U.S., Germany, France, and UK. The last couple of years has witnessed as spurt in mergers and acquisitions between generic drug manufacturers, with major players focusing on enhancing their product portfolio through such inorganic strategies. For instance, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Pvt. Ltd., Pfizer, Inc., Mylan, Sun Pharmaceutical, and Fresenius Kabi entered into acquisitions to increase their revenue share in the generic drugs market.Ask For Table OF Content@Competitive Analysis- Top 10 generic drug manufacturers, in terms of revenue, in 2016, are as follows:1. TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES2. MYLAN N.V.3. NOVARTIS INTERNATIONAL AG4. PFIZER, INC.5. ALLERGAN PLC6. SUN PHARMACEUTICALS7. FRESENIUS KABI8. ENDO INTERNATIONAL9. LUPIN LIMITED10. SANOFITeva Pharmaceuticals Industries strengthened its pole position in the generic drugs market through acquisition of the generic segment of Allergan, plc for US$ 40.5 billion in August 2016. This resulted in significant growth in revenue contribution of its generic drug segment, pegged at US$ 9.5 billion in 2016.Mylan ranks second in the list of generic drug manufacturers, and this is due to the acquisition valued at US$ 7.2 Bn of Swedens Meda by Mylan, in year 2016. This also aided Mylan to increase its sales of over-the-counter drugs and expand its presence in new emerging markets such as China, Southeast Asia, Russia, and the Middle East.SandozNovartis Groups business segment dealing in generic medicinesreported rampant growth of 9% Y-o-Y in 2016, in sales volume, with revenue pegged at US$ 9 Bn. However, it was partially offset by a 6% erosion in price. Pfizer is at the fourth position (US$ 4.6 Bn revenue in 2016). Pfizer acquired Hospira in 2015, in order to increase its product portfolio of both generic and branded products. Pfizer offers over 220 injectable medications, plus other off-brand products, which is expected to aid in gaining high revenue in near future. Patent loss of Viagra in 2017, will lead to significant generic competition from Teva and Mylan.Allergan though ranked at fifth position, sold its generics assets to Teva in 2015, and the deal closed in August 2016, which takes the company out of the race for generic drug manufactures for 2017, till the company receives new approval for generic drug manufacturing. This can favor Aspen Pharma to enter the top 10 generic drug manufacturers league in 2017. Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd., headquartered in Mumbai, India, generated over US$ 3.6 Bn in generic sales in 2016. Sun Pharmaceutical doubled its size by the acquisition of Ranbaxy Laboratories in 2015, thus expanding its product portfolio. However, growth was hampered when the FDA issued a warning letter in 2015 for the Halol, India, API plant, which supplies the generic products in the U.S. Owing to this, Sun Pharmaceuticals is unable to receive new generic drug approvals.Fresunius Kabi, a generic arm of the Fresenius German Healthcare Group, reported a 4% growth in revenue from the U.S. in 2016 driven by strong sales of sterile injectable drugs. In 2017, the company entered into agreement to buy Akorna generic drugs manufacturerfor US$ 4.5 Bn, further strengthening its position in the market. For Endo Pharmaceuticals, till 2014, the generic segment did not generate significant revenue. However, following its acquisition of Par Pharmaceutical in 2015, revenue of Endo Pharmaceutical increased by 12.2% from 2012-2014. Following the acquisition, Endo enhanced its product portfolio with the addition of around 100 products, which also included profitable generic products.Lupin, in 2016, completed acquisition of U.S.-based Gavis and obtained its first manufacturing site in the U.S., along with 60 ANDA filings pending approval with the FDA. This aided the company to increase its footprint in the highly lucrative U.S. market.Increase in number of competitors for generic drugs market put the pressure on manufacturers of pricing. Moreover, price celling actions by respective governments is further aggravating the profit margins of generic drug manufacturers. Considering the challenges of pricing pressure as generics outfits feel the pinch with thin margins, the market is expected to exhibit steady growth in the future.Being a very lucrative market with a number of patent expiries in the near future, it is essential for competitive analysis for market players. This could aid one in devising a unique strategy and process to sustain in this highly competitive generic drugs market.Get More Details On this Report:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website:
Future Market Trends of Global Toilet Bowl Cleaners Market Research Report 2016 Till 2020

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2016 Global Toilet Bowl Cleaners Industry Report is a professional and in-depth research report on the world's major regional market conditions of the Toilet Bowl Cleaners industry, focusing on the main regions (North America, Europe and Asia) and the main countries (United States, Germany, Japan and China).Browse 155 Pages of Recent Research report on Global Toilet Bowl Cleaners Market Research Report 2016 to 2020 @Scope of the Reports:The report firstly introduced the Toilet Bowl Cleaners basics: definitions, classifications, applications and market overview; product specifications; manufacturing processes; cost structures, raw materials and so on. Then it analyzed the world's main region market conditions, including the product price, profit, capacity, production, supply, demand and market growth rate and forecast etc. In the end, the report introduced new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis.Request Sample PDF Brochure@The report includes six parts, dealing with:basic informationthe Asia Toilet Bowl Cleaners Marketthe North American Toilet Bowl Cleaners Marketthe European Toilet Bowl Cleaners Marketmarket entry and investment feasibilitythe report conclusionProcure this Report @About Us:MarketIntelReports (MIR) aim to empower our clients to successfully manage and outperform in their business decisions, we do this by providing Premium Market Intelligence, Strategic Insights and Databases from a range of Global Publishers. MIR intends to be a one-stop shop with an intuitive design, exhaustive database, expert assistance, secure cart checkout and data privacy integrated ensure that the database is constantly updated to dynamically meet the targeted, specific needs of our clients. MarketIntelReports currently has more than 10,000 plus titles and 35+ publishers on our platform and growing consistently to fill the Global Intelligence Demand  Supply Gap.Contact us:Sales Manager: Srikanth VishnuMarket Intelligence Reports PTE. LTDNorth Bridge RoadHigh Street CentreSingapore (179094)sales@marketintelreports.comTelephone: 1-302-261-5343
Autologous Stem Cell and Non-Stem Cell Based Therapies Market

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Autologous stem-cell transplantation (also known as autogeneic, autogenic, or autogenous stem-cell transplantation or auto-SCT) is the autologous transplantation of stem cellswhich is, transplantation in which the undifferentiated cells or stem cells (cells from which other types of cells develop) are taken from a person, accumulated, and given back to the same person later. Even though it is most often executed by means of hematopoietic stem cells (antecedent of cells that forms blood) in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, in some cases cardiac cells are used productively to fix the damages due to heart attacks. Stem cell transplantation can be of two types - Autologous stem-cell transplantation and allogenic stem cell transplantation. In the later, the recipient and the donor of stem cells are dissimilar people. In a good number of allogeneic transplants, the stem cells are taken from a donor whose cell type matches closely with the patients cell type. The best donor in allogenic stem cell transplantation is an immediate family member, generally a brother or sister. If the patient does not have a match in his/her family, a donor may be found from the public. This is often called a MUD or matched unrelated donor transplant. This type of transplant (MUD) is generally riskier.Request For Sample Copy@Autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies market TaxonomyOn the basis of application, the global autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies market is classified into:Neurodegenerative diseases,Cardiovascular diseases,Cancer and autoimmune diseases,Skin transplantation,Infectious diseaseA primary driver for this market is the worldwide increase in occurrence of diabetes and cancer, across all age groups. Furthermore, increasing old-age population is another driver, which is anticipated to create a high growth scenario for the market.Alternatively, factors restraining the market are complications and risks associated with the treatment including diarrhea, nausea, hair loss, vomiting, severe infections, infertility, and heart complications.Increasing prevalence of cancer will drive the overall autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies marketAccording to a report by National Cancer Institute, in 2016, around 1,685,210 new cases of cancer were diagnosed in the U.S. alone. Moreover, it was also noted that around 595,690 people died from the disease in the same year. Autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies is likely to become one of the preferred treatment for cancer. As the prevalence of cancer is rising at a considerable rate, the market is likely to grow during the forecast period.North America, followed by Europe accounted for the major share of the autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies market. This is due to minimization of risks related with the treatment. Moreover, the demand for these treatments is high due to their ability to cure a significant number of infectious diseases. Autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies do not need an outside donor; therefore the treatment is less infectious and convenient. These factors are likely to boost the growth of the market in North America. However, Asia Pacific is expected to show the maximum growth in the forecast period. The demand in this region will be lead by countries such as China, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. The demand is likely to grow as autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies aid in the efficient management of cardiovascular diseases as well. Growing healthcare infrastructure as well as encouraging tax and reimbursement procedures is also expected to help in the growth of the autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies market in the Asia Pacific.Key players in the global autologous stem cell and non-stem cell based therapies market are investing heavily in their research and development activities so as to gain an upper hand in the market. Some of the major players operating in the market are NeoStem, Inc., Aastrom Biosciences, Fibrocell Science, Inc., Genzyme Corporation, BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics, Regeneus Ltd., and Dendreon Corporation.Get More Details On this Report:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr.ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email:sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit our news Website:
Why the Future of Libraries Looks Bright

The Future of Libraries is Bright

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In a world where we can connect our smart phones and tablets to the information superhighway, what is the way forward for libraries? Will our local library be unable to compete with online books and close down like so many shuttered brick-and-mortar bookstores before it? Or will library designs evolve (and flourish) to meet the 21st Century needs of the communities they serve?"What's dangerous is not to evolve." Jeff BezosLet's take a moment to let the words of Amazon* founder, Jeff Bezos, sink in: we have to evolve or die.(*Full disclosure: Amazon is a long-time Formaspace customer.)And librarians know it.Acquiring, cataloging, and archiving printed materials for use by researchers, historians, writers, students, and teachers, as well as striving members of our local communities has been a core function of the world's libraries for centuries.Yet, in internet time, change happens fast.In just a few short years, nearly every published work has now become available at our fingertips  ranging from classic Greek plays and the collected works of Shakespeare to the newest medical reference journals and the headlines in today's newspapers.As a result, today's librarians have had to come to terms with the existential question: what is the future of libraries when the focus has moved away from the printed word?Top among New Library Trends: Librarians Teaching Information LiteracyHistorically it's been the role of librarians to manage scarce resources and make them accessible to the communities they serve. But in many ways, today's librarians are facing the opposite problem: the inherent scarcity of printed books and periodicals has turned into a flood of information available directly from the internet. And this newfound abundance has created a new set of challenges for librarians.For example, as we all know, not all online reference materials are reputable, e.g. based on solid facts supported by evidence. Yet many students writing their first term papers are ill-prepared to search online for trustworthy resources beyond what's available on Wikipedia.That's where many librarians now see their new primary role: to step in and help teach Information Literacy to students, researchers, and the public at large, all of whom need help to become more adept at accessing and interpreting online information.As a result, many librarians are now teaching new skills to their patrons, such as: How to access a variety of online databases to perform deeper searches. How to identify valid information sources, based on facts supported by empirical evidence. How to analyze and critique the available information resources found online and use them appropriately with proper referencing and without copywriting infringement.Technology Is Transforming Library Designs from Static Book Repositories to Collaborative Learning EnvironmentsSecond among new library trends is a re-imagining of the physical library design itself.In response to the lower demand for physical books and publication by users (who are increasingly accessing materials online), many libraries have begun to reduce the inventory of printed materials they keep in circulation.As a result, floor space once dedicated to stacks of books is now available for new uses.But what should these newly created vacant spaces be used for?Many libraries are seizing on this opportunity to create new collaborative learning environments.For example, officials at University of California at Berkeley have converted the top two floors of the Moffitt Library into an open, collaborative environment for learning (kitted out with flexible furniture that can be moved around by students to create ad hoc study groups as well as glass walls that serve as high-tech whiteboards.Sounds like a high-tech startup office doesn't it?Not surprisingly, the library renovation was designed by Gensler, the San Francisco-based architect who's been responsible for creating work environments for many of the Bay Area's innovative startup software companies.In creating collaborative learning environments, libraries are coming into alignment with the newest trends in office design that we've written about before, such as collaborative working methods favored by Millennials. ((*Millennials, and the generations that follow them, have been taught from an early age to work on projects in teams, making them much more comfortable working as members of a group, especially compared with their more "independent minded" Baby Boomer or Gen-X peers.)Build It and They Will Come: The Rise of Maker Spaces in Library FacilitiesThird among emerging library trends is the incorporation of creative Maker Spaces in libraries.* These Maker Space facilities allow patrons to use equipment to create their own projects, ranging from wearable electronics to walking robots.(*For more information on how to design a Maker Space for your library, read our article Makerspace 101: Building a Makerspace for Library and Education Professionals. ())Some may argue Maker Spaces are beyond the scope (and budgets) of many local library systems.Read more ...Formaspace advances the spirit of discovery and creation through the design and manufacture of custom business furniture. Our furniture marries form to function with flexible solutions for clients in the laboratory, industrial, and office environments.Formaspace serves over 80% of the Fortune 500, as well as universities, governments, small businesses, and individuals.Formaspace1100 E. Howard Lane, Suite 400Austin, TX 78753800.251.1505
Increasing Cardiovascular Surgeries Leads To Higher Market Value For Cardiovascular Stents

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When a coronary artery is narrowed by the accumulation of fatty acids, also known as plaque, the blood flow to heart is reduced which result in the chest pain and if the blockage increases the blood flow to the heart is further reduced and might lead to cardiac arrest. To reduce the chances of heart attack, a tiny wire mesh tube is inserted in the artery with a balloon catheter, called cardiovascular stents. The balloon inflates, stent expands and keeps the artery open, which helps in the proper flow of blood to the heart. The patients undergoing angioplasty and stents has a quick rate of recovery as the stents prevents the re-narrowing of the arteries compared with the patients who has cardiovascular artery bypass surgery.Many people are diagnosed by cardiovascular disease nowadays, it is important to develop new medical instruments and solutions which will help cure those diseases. Therefore the use of coronary or cardiovascular stents is adopted in clinical practices which should have the clinical evidence, improved outcomes and physicians experience. One of the drawback for the cardiovascular stent market is the increase prices of coronary stents. However, by using cost containment policies and appropriateness criteria they can reduce the cost and in future the price of cardiovascular stents will decrease. The increasing geriatric population in the countries will be one of the reason to enhance the growth of this market. China has more number of aged people so stents producers are more likely to tap this market. According to WHO report in 2015 people died from cardiovascular diseases, representing 31% of all global deaths. On the preventions measures for this the global cardiovascular stents market is expected to grow in the future.Request For Table Of Content@Drug Eluting Stents have much better angiographic and clinical results as compared to other type of segment in the cardiovascular stents MarketThe global cardiovascular stents market is segmented on the basis of product type:Drug Eluting stents,Bare Metal Stents,Bio-absorbable stentsThe global cardiovascular stents market is segmented on the basis of material typeCarbon,Silicon carbide,Titanium Nitride Oxide,Cobalt Chromium,Platinum Chromium,Other stentsThe global cardiovascular stent market is segmented on the basis of end userHospitals,Cardiac centers,Ambulatory surgical centersDrug eluting absorbable metal scaffold, a new class of absorbable metal scaffoldAccording to the technological trends of cardiovascular stents market, Bio -absorbable Polymer-coated drug Eluting Stents become available in the US market, which are the enfold type of DES. The Circulatory System Devices Panel of the FDAs Medical Devices Advisory Committee has approved application for the Absorb GT1 Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffold System. The DREAMS (Drug-Eluting Absorbable Metal Scaffold) device is a fully bioresorbable scaffold made from a magnesium alloy covered with a polymer and sirolimus drug coating, this new class of absorbable metal scaffolds has the potential to become available in the United State market. The stent-on wire is also a new type of coronary stent available which is a Drug eluting coronary fixed wire systems. There are some other coronary stents newly developed which are Tryton Side Branch Stent, PK Papyrus Covered Stent.Major players to lead in the cardiovascular stents marketThe key players operating the cardiovascular stents market include Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, Boston scientific, and Edward Lifesciences, Abbott laboratories, Johnson &Johnson, Getinge, Terumo, W. L. Gore & Associates, and Lepu Medical Technology.Get Details Aabout This Report:About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comVisit Our Blog Site @
Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare Market Size, Growth, Forecast to 2024

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Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) has been serving as an active source to cater intelligent research report to enlighten both readers and investors. This research study titled Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare Market - Global Industry, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024 Request For Free Sample Report @Global Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare: Scope of the ReportThis report provides forecast and analysis of the technology spending on core administration in healthcare on the global and regional levels. It provides historical data of 2015 along with forecast from 2016 to 2024 in terms of revenue (US$ Mn). The report also includes macroeconomic indicators along with an outlook on core administration systems in healthcare. It includes drivers and restraints of core administration in healthcare and impact on each region during the forecast period. The report also comprises the study of applications and opportunities for core administration solutions and services vendors. It also includes detailed analysis by deployment, solution, end users and the workflow process.In order to provide users of this report with a comprehensive view of the core administration landscape, we have included a detailed competitiveness analysis and company players with unique propositions. The dashboard provides a detailed comparison of core administration solution and services vendors on parameters such as revenue sales, ranking of global players, strategic consolidations, i.e. mergers & acquisitions, licensing activities, and R&D activities. The study encompasses market attractiveness analysis, by solution, deployment, end-user and region.Global Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare: SegmentationThe report includes the revenue generated from sales of core administration solutions in all regions and important countries in these regions. By solution, the technology spending on core administration in healthcare has been segmented into in-house and outsource. The in-house segment is further divided into hardware, software, and services. By deployment, the technology spending on core administration in healthcare is segmented into cloud-based and on-premise. On the basis of end users, the technology spending on core administration in healthcare is segmented into payers and providers. The payer segment is further divided into insurance companies, government, and others and the provider segment is further divided into hospitals and others. On the basis of region, the technology spending on core administration in healthcare is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East and Africa.Global Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare: Research MethodologyMarket numbers have been estimated based on technology spending on core administrative solutions in healthcare by solution, and the revenue is derived from regional pricing trends. Technology spending and forecasts for each segment have been provided in the context of global and regional markets. The technology spending on core administration in healthcare has been analyzed based on expected demand. Prices considered for the calculation of revenue are regional average prices obtained through primary quotes from numerous regional core administration solutions vendors, suppliers, and system integrators. All key end users have been considered, and potential applications have been estimated on the basis of secondary sources and feedback from primary respondents. Regional demand patterns have been considered while estimating the spending on various solutions marketed in different regions. Top-down approach has been used to estimate the technology spending on core administration in healthcare by regions. Market numbers for solution, deployment, end-user and regional segments have been derived using the bottom-up approach, which is cumulative of each regions demand. The company-level market share has been derived on the basis of revenues reported by key vendors. The market has been forecast based on constant currency rates.Browse Full Report With Table of Content @A number of primary and secondary sources were consulted during the course of the study. Secondary sources include Factiva, press releases, company news, Google Books, company annual reports, white papers, other websites, and publications.Global Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare: Competitive DynamicsThe report provides detailed competitive and company profiles of some of the key participants operating in the global market. Some of the players in core administration systems in healthcare include Plexis Healthcare Systems, DST Systems, Inc., HealthEdge Software, Inc., ikaSystems Corporation, TriZetto Corporation, Health Solutions Plus, Inc., Aldera Holdings, Inc., Wonderbox Technologies, UPP Technology, Inc., and HealthAxis Group, LLC.The market has been segmented as below:Global Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare  By SolutionIn-HouseHardwareSoftwareServicesOutsourceGlobal Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare  By DeploymentCloud-BasedOn-PremiseGlobal Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare  By End UsersPayersInsurance CompaniesGovernmentOthersProvidersHospitalsOthersGlobal Technology Spending on Core Administration in Healthcare By RegionNorth AmericaS.CanadaEuropeGermanyFranceItalySpainRest of EuropeAsia Pacific (APAC)ChinaIndiaJapanAustraliaNew ZealandRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoRest of Latin AmericaMiddle East & Africa (MEA)Saudi ArabiaUAERSARest of Middle East & AfricaEnquiry about this Report @About Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE)Market Research Reports Search Engine (MRRSE) is an industry-leading database of Market Research Reports. MRRSE is driven by a stellar team of research experts and advisors trained to offer objective advice. Our sophisticated search algorithm returns results based on the report title, geographical region, publisher, or other keywords.MRRSE partners exclusively with leading global publishers to provide clients single-point access to top-of-the-line market research. MRRSEs repository is updated every day to keep its clients ahead of the next new trend in market research, be it competitive intelligence, product or service trends or strategic consulting.State Tower90, State StreetSuite 700Albany, NY - 12207United States Telephone: +1-518-730-0559Email: sales@mrrse.comWebsite:Read More Industry News At:
IoT in Pipeline Management 2018 Global Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 12.17% and Forecast to 2021

IoT in Pipeline Management Market

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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On  IoT in Pipeline Management 2018 Global Market Expected to Grow at CAGR 12.17% and Forecast to 2021.Description:The analysts forecast the global IoT market in pipeline management to grow at a CAGR of 12.17% during the period 2017-2021.IoT in pipeline management is used in all the processes involved, starting from design of pipelines to carrying out operations. The technology helps in estimating both time-dependent and independent threats to pipelines. IoT in pipeline management is a challenging task, considering the pipelines are spread across a large geographical area and in harsh environments. The use of IoT in pipeline management has made a positive economic impact in pipeline operations by reducing downtime and scheduling regular maintenance.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comCovered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global IoT market in pipeline management for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the new installations and services market for both IoT software and devices.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography: Americas APAC EMEAThe report, Global IoT Market in Pipeline Management 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors Cisco Schneider Electric Sierra Wireless TELUSOther prominent vendors Leica Geosystems Yokogawa Aerotech AMETEKMarket driver Totally integrated solutions for pipelines For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge Standards for IoT technology For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend Increasing oil thefts For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this report What will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving this market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space?Report Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: Introduction Market outlinePART 05: Market landscape Market overview Market size and forecast Five forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by application Market outline Global IoT market in pipeline management by asset monitoring Global IoT market in pipeline management by predictive maintenance Global IoT market in pipeline management by leakage detection Global IoT market in pipeline management by remote monitoringPART 07: Market segmentation by end-user Market overview Global IoT market in pipeline management in the oil and gas industry Global IoT market in pipeline management in the petrochemicals industry Global IoT market in pipeline management in the water and wastewater industryPART 08: Geographical segmentation Market outline IoT market in pipeline management in the Americas IoT market in pipeline management in EMEA IoT market in pipeline management in APACPART 09: Decision frameworkPART 10: Drivers and challenges Market drivers Market challengesPART 11: Market trends Increasing oil thefts Growth of deepwater pipelines Drones for pipeline monitoringPART 12: Vendor landscape Vendor landscape Other prominent vendorsPART 13: Key vendor analysis Cisco Schneider Electric Sierra Wireless TELUSContinueFor more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.CONTACT US:NORAH TRENTPartner Relations & Marketing Managersales@wiseguyreports.comPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Medical Device Outsourcing Market Global Key Players,Growth Drivers,Trends & Opportunities to 2021

Medical Device Outsourcing 2018

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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On  Medical Device Outsourcing Market Global Key Players,Growth Drivers,Trends & Opportunities to 2025.Description:This report studies the global Medical Device Outsourcing market, analyzes and researches the Medical Device Outsourcing development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeCelestica, Inc.CregannaFlextronics InternationalHeraeus HoldingInteger Holdings CorporationNortech Systems, Inc.Plexus Corp.Sanmina CorporationTecomet, Inc.West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, the product can be split intoPrototype DevelopmentFinished Device ManufacturingAssembly & PackagingTesting & Regulatory Support ServicesMarket segment by Application, Medical Device Outsourcing can be split intoOrthopedics and SpineCardiovascularRadiologyGeneral Medical DevicesOthersReport Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsGlobal Medical Device Outsourcing Market Size, Status and Forecast 20251 Industry Overview of Medical Device Outsourcing1.1 Medical Device Outsourcing Market Overview1.1.1 Medical Device Outsourcing Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Medical Device Outsourcing Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2013-2018)1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Medical Device Outsourcing Market by Type1.3.1 Prototype Development1.3.2 Finished Device Manufacturing1.3.3 Assembly & Packaging1.3.4 Testing & Regulatory Support Services1.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Orthopedics and Spine1.4.2 Cardiovascular1.4.3 Radiology1.4.4 General Medical Devices1.4.5 Others2 Global Medical Device Outsourcing Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Medical Device Outsourcing Market Size (Value) by Players (2013-2018)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Celestica, Inc.3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 Creganna3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Flextronics International3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Heraeus Holding3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 Integer Holdings Corporation3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Nortech Systems, Inc.3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Plexus Corp.3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 Sanmina Corporation3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Tecomet, Inc.3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 West Pharmaceutical Services, Inc.3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Medical Device Outsourcing Revenue (Million USD) (2013-2018)3.10.5 Recent DevelopmentsContinueFor more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Holograms Market 2018 Global Significant Growth,Technological Advancement & Opportunities to 2025

Holograms Market 2018

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WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On  Holograms Market 2018 Global Significant Growth,Technological Advancement & Opportunities to 2025.Description:In this report, the global Holograms market is valued at USD XX million in 2017 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2025, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2017 and 2025.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Holograms in these regions, from 2013 to 2025 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesEUChinaJapanSouth KoreaTaiwanGet a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comGlobal Holograms market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingAV ConceptsEon Reality Inc.Konica Minolta IncQualcommZebra ImagingHoloxicaMusion Das Hologram LtdProvision Holdings IncRealview Imaging Ltd.ViewSonic Corp.On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoElectro holographicTouchableLaserOn the basis of the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate for each application, includingConsumerCommercialMedicalIndustrialReport Details @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsGlobal Holograms Market Research Report 20181 Holograms Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Holograms1.2 Holograms Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Holograms Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2013-2025)1.2.2 Global Holograms Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20171.2.3 Electro holographic1.2.4 Touchable1.2.5 Laser1.3 Global Holograms Segment by Application1.3.1 Holograms Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2013-2025)1.3.2 Consumer1.3.3 Commercial1.3.4 Medical1.3.5 Industrial1.4 Global Holograms Market by Region (2013-2025)1.4.1 Global Holograms Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2013-2025)1.4.2 United States Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.3 EU Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.6 South Korea Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.4.7 Taiwan Status and Prospect (2013-2025)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Holograms (2013-2025)1.5.1 Global Holograms Revenue Status and Outlook (2013-2025)1.5.2 Global Holograms Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2013-2025)7 Global Holograms Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 AV Concepts7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Holograms Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 AV Concepts Holograms Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Eon Reality Inc.7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Holograms Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Eon Reality Inc. Holograms Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 Konica Minolta Inc7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Holograms Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 Konica Minolta Inc Holograms Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Qualcomm7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Holograms Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Qualcomm Holograms Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Zebra Imaging7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Holograms Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Zebra Imaging Holograms Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.6 Holoxica7.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.6.2 Holograms Product Category, Application and Specification7.6.2.1 Product A7.6.2.2 Product B7.6.3 Holoxica Holograms Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.7 Musion Das Hologram Ltd7.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.7.2 Holograms Product Category, Application and Specification7.7.2.1 Product A7.7.2.2 Product B7.7.3 Musion Das Hologram Ltd Holograms Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.8 Provision Holdings Inc7.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.8.2 Holograms Product Category, Application and Specification7.8.2.1 Product A7.8.2.2 Product B7.8.3 Provision Holdings Inc Holograms Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2013-2018)7.8.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinueFor more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Construction in Turkey: Key Trends, Overview, Opportunities and Forecast to 2022

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A fresh report has been added to the wide database of Market Research Hub (MRH) titled Construction in Turkey-Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022 which provides an outlook for current market value as well as the expected forecast including Rate on Investment (ROI) together with growing CAGR of XX% during 2018-2023. The construction industry in Turkey grew at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.83% in real terms during the review period (2013-2017). This was driven by government investments in transport, residential and energy infrastructure. Additionally, investments under the Tenth Development Plan (2014-2018) supported this growth.Request For Free Sample Report:The industry is expected to continue to grow over the forecast period (2018-2022), supported by the governments focus on developing transport, residential and energy infrastructure. The focus on the development of renewable energy infrastructure is also expected to drive industry growth. The government aims to increase the share of renewable sources in the countrys total energy mix from 10% in 2016 to 30% by 2023. Additionally, in July 2017, the government revealed the 11th Five-Year Development Plan for 2019-2023, under which it aims to increase the countrys manufacturing capacity and exports.The industrys output value in real terms is expected to rise at a CAGR of 5.45% over the forecast period, according to Market Research Hubs Construction Intelligence Center (CIC).SummaryMarket Research Hubs Construction in Turkey Key Trends and Opportunities to 2022 report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights into the Turkish construction industry, including: The Turkish construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activity Critical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, as well as an analysis of key risks and opportunities in the Turkish construction industry Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, focusing on development stages and participants, in addition to listings of major projects in the pipelineScopeThis report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in Turkey. It provides: Historical (2013-2017) and forecast (2018-2022) valuations of the construction industry in Turkey, featuring details of key growth drivers. Segmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by sub-sector. Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, including breakdowns by development stage across all sectors, and projected spending on projects in the existing pipeline. Listings of major projects, in addition to details of leading contractors and consultantsReasons To Buy Identify and evaluate market opportunities using Market Research Hub's standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies. Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts. Understand the latest industry and market trends. Formulate and validate strategy using Market Research Hub's critical and actionable insight. Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures. Evaluate competitive risk and success factors.Browse Full Report with TOC:Key Highlights Market Research Hub expects the residential construction market to retain its leading position over the forecast period, with a share of 55.7% of the industrys total value in 2022. The house sales in the country grew by 8.2% in the first ten months of 2017, rising from 1.1 million units in January October 2016 to 1.2 million units in January October 2017. This was preceded by growth of 4.0% in 2016, with the volume of sales increasing from 1.28 million units in 2015 to 1.34 million in 2016. Market Research Hub expects infrastructure construction to grow at a forecast-period CAGR of 12.19% in nominal terms, driven by governments focus on transport infrastructure under the Vision 2023. Under this, the government plans to invest TRY1.5 trillion (US$400 billion) on transport infrastructure across the country by 2023. In order to reduce carbon emissions and meet rising electricity demand, the government is focusing on the development of renewable energy infrastructure. Accordingly, under its National Renewable Energy Action Plan, the government plans to invest TRY169.0 billion (US$46.0 billion) on the construction of various renewable energy infrastructure, with an aim to increase the total installed capacity of renewable energy infrastructure from 33.5GW in 2017 to 61.0GW by 2023. Over the forecast period, growth in commercial construction is expected to be driven by the governments plan to develop the tourism sector. The government plans to transform the country into one of the top five countries in the world by 2023 in terms of tourist visitors and revenue. Accordingly, the government aims to attract 50 million tourists and raise foreign exchange earnings to TRY136.0 billion (US$50 billion) by 2023. Industrial construction market is expected to register a forecast-period CAGR of 10.64% in nominal terms, driven by rising exports in the country. The countrys total export value grew by 7.5% in the first ten months of 2017, continued growth will help to drive investment in manufacturing facilities over the forecast period. The construction mega-project pipeline in Turkey, as tracked by the CIC, has a value of TRY1.34 trillion (US$361 billion), of which 58% comprises projects currently in the execution phase.Enquire About This Report:About Market Research Hub:Market Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of research reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of construction market research reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.Contact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at -
Global Developments on Encryption Software Market CAGR of +27% by 2022 - In Depth Assessment, Strategic Analysis, Developments, Technologies and Key Players

Encryption Software Market

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The Global Encryption Software Market is estimated to rise at an impressive CAGR of +27% from 2017 to 2022.Encryption ensures the safety and privacy of data by converting a message or plain text into coded message called the Cipher text so that only the authorized parties can read it. The plain text is encrypted/coded using an algorithm and an encryption key which can be encoded or deciphered only by the recipient by using the correct encryption key. Thus, by converting plain text into cipher text, encryption prevents any unintended person from reading the same, and ensures that it can be interpreted only by the authorized person. Increasing data privacy and compliance regulations by the government across various geographic regions, owing to the rising number of data breaches is amongst the major factors that has supplemented the growth of the market.Get Sample Report @The analysis of the manufacturing cost structure of the Global Encryption Software Market has been performed based on key aspects such as industry chain structure, manufacturing process, raw materials, and their suppliers. The manufacturing plants analysis and technical data of the market have been explained in the lights of raw material sources, technology sources, research and development status, manufacturing plants distribution, and commercial production date and capacity.Key Players Profiled in this Report: Thales ESecurity, Gemalto, Symantec, Dell, Sophos, McAfee, Trend Micro, IBM, Microsoft, PKWARE, Cipher Cloud, ESET.Regions Covered:United States, North America, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia and India.Get Reasonable Discount on this Report @After studying key companies, the report focuses on the startups contributing towards the growth of the market. Possible mergers and acquisitions among the startups and key organizations are identified by the reports authors in the study. Most companies in the Encryption Software market are currently engaged in adopting new technologies, strategies, product developments, expansions, and long-term contracts to maintain their dominance in the global Encryption Software market. Moreover, extensive investments are being made in research and development to enable product enhancements and improvements. With the advent of new technologies on a regular basis, players are striving hard to incorporate the latest technology to gain a competitive edge above the rest.The key opportunity regions in the market and the top trends impacting the development of the global Encryption Software market have been presented through this report. The current growth and development patterns of this market have also been encapsulated in this study. The report also covers the key players and throws light on the strategies being adopted by them for better penetration into the market.For More Information:Table of ContentsGlobal Encryption Software Market Research ReportChapter 1 Global Encryption Software Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Encryption Software Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Encryption Software Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisHistorical and projected information pertaining to cost, capacity, gross margin, imports and exports, company contact information, growth drivers and restraints, market position, production value, products, demand, and others have been included while evaluating the different regional market. A SWOT analysis of the upcoming projects being undertaken in the Encryption Software market identifies and evaluates the weaknesses, strengths, threats, and opportunities of the new projects.At IT Intelligence Markets, we model all our work on our core philosophy that believes in customer satisfaction. We serve a global clientele by supplying market intelligence research reports after conducting exhaustive research. Our reports are replete with productive insights & recent market dynamics as the healthcare industry is constantly undergoing changes like ever-changing consumer preferences, supply channels and latest technologies. Our market research analysts not only investigate the market for drivers, restraints & challenges but also gauge the overall progress of the market by comparing chief market players. Our report forms a crucial piece of intelligence using which our clients can unleash their potential & tap their capacity to harness the correct technologies & surpass their competitors.Name: Vijay TannaCompany: It Intelligence MarketsAddress: Survey No-9/4, Flat# 6, Panchshil Park, Ganpati Marg, Nigidi, Pune 411044Mail Id: sales@itintelligencemarkets.comContact No: +91 705-760-0700
New Report on Budgeting Software Market Forecast 2017-2022 - In Depth Assessment, Strategic Analysis, Developments, Technologies and Key Players

Budgeting Software Market

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The report presents a comprehensive overview of the entire growth trajectory of the Global Budgeting Software Market throughout the course of the forecast period. Various segments have been taken into consideration to provide the readers a holistic view of the entire market scenario. The competitive landscape in consideration with the leading companies and the companies operating in the market has been highlighted and researched upon minutely. Various regions have also been explained where the market is operating successfully and the regions where the players might find lucrative opportunities in the future have also been mentioned in the report.Get Sample Report @The analysis of the manufacturing cost structure of the Global Budgeting Software Market has been performed based on key aspects such as industry chain structure, manufacturing process, raw materials, and their suppliers. The manufacturing plants analysis and technical data of the market have been explained in the lights of raw material sources, technology sources, research and development status, manufacturing plants distribution, and commercial production date and capacity. Marketing strategies and marketing channels adopted by key companies are highlighted in the report. Corporations are concentrating on improving direct and indirect advertising strategies and develop various promotion channels, brand strategies, and pricing strategies. This statistical surveying report finds that major corporations functioning in this Market are concentrating on acquiring a few startup companies in the near future.Key Players Profiled in this Report: Deltek Vision, TimeCamp, Cognos, idu-Concept, Dynamics 365, Hyperion, Riskturn, Poindexter, Merlin Project, Questica Budget.Regions Covered:United States, North America, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia and India.Get Reasonable Discount on this Report @Historical and projected information pertaining to cost, capacity, gross margin, imports and exports, company contact information, growth drivers and restraints, market position, production value, products, demand, and others have been included while evaluating the different regional market. A SWOT analysis of the upcoming projects being undertaken in the Budgeting Software market identifies and evaluates the weaknesses, strengths, threats, and opportunities of the new projects.After studying key companies, the report focuses on the startups contributing towards the growth of the market. Possible mergers and acquisitions among the startups and key organizations are identified by the reports authors in the study. Most companies in the Budgeting Software market are currently engaged in adopting new technologies, strategies, product developments, expansions, and long-term contracts to maintain their dominance in the global Budgeting Software market. Moreover, extensive investments are being made in research and development to enable product enhancements and improvements. With the advent of new technologies on a regular basis, players are striving hard to incorporate the latest technology to gain a competitive edge above the rest.For More Information:Table of ContentsGlobal Budgeting Software Market Research ReportChapter 1 Global Budgeting Software Market OverviewChapter 2 Global Economic Impact on IndustryChapter 3 Global Budgeting Software Market Competition by ManufacturersChapter 4 Global Production, Revenue (Value) by RegionChapter 5 Global Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by RegionsChapter 6 Global Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by TypeChapter 7 Global Budgeting Software Market Analysis by ApplicationChapter 8 Manufacturing Cost AnalysisChapter 9 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream BuyersChapter 10 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/TradersChapter 11 Market Effect Factors AnalysisThe key opportunity regions in the market and the top trends impacting the development of the global Budgeting Software market have been presented through this report. The current growth and development patterns of this market have also been encapsulated in this study. The report also covers the key players and throws light on the strategies being adopted by them for better penetration into the market.At IT Intelligence Markets, we model all our work on our core philosophy that believes in customer satisfaction. We serve a global clientele by supplying market intelligence research reports after conducting exhaustive research. Our reports are replete with productive insights & recent market dynamics as the healthcare industry is constantly undergoing changes like ever-changing consumer preferences, supply channels and latest technologies. Our market research analysts not only investigate the market for drivers, restraints & challenges but also gauge the overall progress of the market by comparing chief market players. Our report forms a crucial piece of intelligence using which our clients can unleash their potential & tap their capacity to harness the correct technologies & surpass their competitors.Name: Vijay TannaCompany: It Intelligence MarketsAddress: Survey No-9/4, Flat# 6, Panchshil Park, Ganpati Marg, Nigidi, Pune 411044Mail Id: sales@itintelligencemarkets.comContact No: +91 705-760-0700
The Syrian media is reporting that Israeli warplanes conducted a military strike against an installation near the Syrian capital of Damascus. The report claims that the nations air defenses shielded the installation from the majority of the attack, but ammunition depots in Jamraya near a scientific facility were hit by Israeli missiles.

The operation is another in a series of strikes conducted against Syria since 2011, many of which were aimed at preventing the transfer of advanced weaponry to the Hezbollah movement in Lebanon. The Syrian military claimed the Israeli attack emanated from Lebanese airspace.

According to the BBC, the scientific facility near the attack is a branch of the Scientific Studies and Research Center and has been accused by many Western nations of producing chemical weapons. A Western intelligence agency revealed the accusations to the BBC last year, and claim it is in violation of an agreement by President Bashar al-Assad to destroy the nations chemical munitions following a 2013 Sarin attack on Damascus. The U.N. is currently investigating the most recent attacks, though Russia blocked a statement originating in the Security Council condemning Assads use of the forbidden weapons.

Contrary to U.S. intelligence, the Syrian government paints the facility as a civilian research institution. The proximity of the SSRC facility to the location of the attack makes sense, as the Syrian government has been accused of dropping chlorine bombs on rebel-held areas in the country six times in the past month. War crimes experts with the UN are investigating the chlorine attacks and a group of 25 countries has established a partnership meant to hold those responsible for chemical strikes to task.

The Syrian government continues to deny the chlorine attacks, and condemned the Israeli strikes in a statement: The general command of the armed forces holds Israel fully responsible for the dangerous consequences of its repeated, aggressive and uncalculated adventures.
Petoskey's rushing attack takes off again in win over Alpena, 3-0 start follows




14 nights plus travel

Includes 8 days of world class mountain biking

Lift tickets for all participating bike parks

Return flights for two provided by Air New Zealand

All accommodation

Transportation between stops

Total prize value = $10,070





Win a Dream Trip for You and a Friend

Air New Zealand partnered up with Christchurch Adventure Park, Skyline Rotorua, Skyline Queenstown and Thredbo Australia to offer one lucky Pinkbike user and a friend a 14-day trip to ride bikes at some of the best bike parks in the Southern Hemisphere. Read the following press releases to discover what the lucky winners will get to experience.

Christchurch Adventure Park

Skyline Rotorua Mountain Bike Gravity Park

We are the worlds first year-round, gondola accessed mountain bike park. Our trail network features eleven mixed-grade trails spanning 12.5km on Mount Ngongotaha, from beginner through to Grade 6 with multi-grade features, a 2km jump trail, and the Crankworx downhill line. We offer a range of Gondola assisted bike passes to suit every rider.



We are the worlds first year-round, gondola accessed mountain bike park. Our trail network features eleven mixed-grade trails spanning 12.5km on Mount Ngongotaha, from beginner through to Grade 6 with multi-grade features, a 2km jump trail, and the Crankworx downhill line. We offer a range of Gondola assisted bike passes to suit every rider.



Queenstown Bike Park

Thredbo Mountain Bike Park

Air New Zealand

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Congratulations to Pinkbike User: @TheBigBaboiiski , winner of the Bike Park Trip of a Lifetime.You have wonComing Soon! Keep an eye out for theWe are set to be the Southern Hemispheres largest lift-accessed trail network. Based in Christchurchs Port Hills, 20 minutes from the City Centre, we boast New Zealands longest chairlift, taking riders and their bikes to a height of 468m. A devastating wildfire ripped through the Park in February 2017, destroying the entire trail network. However, after a tremendous effort by our trail crew, we reopened in December 2017 with a beginner trail, a blue intermediate flow trail, and a double black single track trail. Over the Summer, more trails will be opening, and by March 2018 the trail network is expected to be at a place where it was before the fire, with a mix of all levels and machine built flow and hand-built single track. Trail construction will continue through the winter for an epic season of riding in Summer 2018/19. Aside from the riding, we also host a Zipline Tour, with 4 dual ziplines including New Zealands highest and longest Ziplines as well as a large cafe & bar with a stunning covered deck - the perfect place for a post-ride beer and fries.Well sort out going up, the downhill is all yours. Take on the legendary challenges of the Queenstown Bike Park - New Zealands first ever Gondola-assisted Mountain Bike lift. Our crew will attach your mountain bike to a Gondola cabin at the base, and with over 30 world-class trails totaling over 30km in length and dropping 450 meters, all you have to do is ride. We have trails suited for all abilities, making this one of the best places to ride your mountain bike.Our park is one of Australias premier mountain biking destinations. This summer it takes freeriding, cross country exploring and action to a whole new level and elevation with a new trail network and revamped existing tracks. There are 25 kilometres of epic riding to enjoy in Thredbo. From downhill, cross-country, all-mountain and a BMX style pump track, there is lots to love about riding in Thredbo this summer.Mentions: @ChristchurchAdventurePark
Summer slipped through my fingers. There were a lot of things to manage - different events, camps and just a crazy amount of work. I didn't have much time to ride my bike. I was looking forward to riding somewhere I had never been when all the important stuff simmered down. My good friend Jara Sijka had been thinking of this location for some time: Archail, France, or as we call it "The Black Hills." It didn't take much to convince him it was time to go on the trip, and quickly after a decision was made we were stuffing my van with bikes and camping gear. I kissed my wife and my newborn daughter goodbye and off we went!The first stop on our trip was Eurobike, where I had to attend some meetings. Everything went smoothly and shortly we were en route to France. Our destination was the beautiful hills of Provence, more specifically the tiny village of Archail.This tiny village is situated in a valley along a really narrow stretch of a road. You can hardly fit two cars beside each other. The population is about 20 people so no wonder the road is so undeveloped. The village lies in the shadow of a 2000m peak, but mostly we came for the hills formed from a black marlstone which looks really cool. This place was part of The Trans Provence Enduro Race so we knew it would be good. I bet you saw photos or videos of this place before, as we did, and that's why we went here to experience it for ourselves.We planned on sleeping in my van so there was no need to look for accommodation. Jara slept outside most nights so I had the whole van for myself. We brought lots of food from home and it was enough to spend 3 days without shopping for groceries.As usual neither of us did our homework so all we knew was where to find The Black Hills. I think that it is my thing: to just show up and let the place surprise you. The first ride we went in a completely different direction than we were supposed to, but we were in no rush and at least we had a nice view of the area.After the nice warm-up pedal, we found ourselves amongst The Black Hills and our smiles widened. This place is just amazing and unbelievably photogenic which was one of the reasons we drove all the way here, to get some photos.I pushed my bike uphill or carried it on my back through all the loose marlstone while Jara took photos, and then we switched roles.Because Jara loves only the challenging stuff, he chose the farthest hill possible. He went towards the hill, scrambling through the bushes and I lost sight of him for almost 20 minutes. Once he was at the spot, we exchanged waves and he dropped in. I looked through the camera, click, click, click and that was it. Jara is a tough guy and he commits for a photo, but when he came back, he looked frightened.I asked him what was up and if he was okay and he said Terrible, OMFG, just terrible!!! When I asked him what happened, Jara responded I dropped in, surfed down the hill, and then the off camber pulled me down into this ditch. That was okay until out of nowhere I heard SSSSSSSSSS!!! Oh my god I nearly s#!t my pants, there was a snake and I hate snakes!!!For the rest of the day, we tiptoed around, imagining every branch lying on the ground was a snake. We were both curious about what kind of snake it was. It's funny how you don't think about things like this until they actually happen. Then your head is just spinning and you can't help but imagine different catastrophic scenarios.It's hard to say if it's better to sit in front of a computer for several hours, doing your homework and research to find out what a place is like, or if it's better to just show up and see what's going to happen. During my travels, I have experienced both, being prepared and not prepared, and I can say that less preparation is kind of thrilling in a positive way. But on the other hand, it can punish you as well. Basically, the best is to find a certain balance between these two things. One thing that is good for sure is to know where the trails are!The Black Hills area is not that big and is more hike-a-bike location so we didn't ride that much, but we were more than satisfied and left some spots for the future. The Black Hills rock!The last day in the south of France, we decided to give the EVO Bike Park a try. It was a short drive from where we were based. The whole bike park was built by stoked locals and had a really good vibe going on. There are six trails and each is different. Downhill, jumps, big jumps and huge jumps whatever your heart desires. Logistics are managed by cool military trucks. At to bottom of the bike park there is a pump track and additional jumps. You can even ride here in winter.During the whole trip we rode lines that we saw in videos and while those videos make the terrain look easy, in reality, it isn't. I am so glad that we were able to ride new stuff and explore a new location. It was only a couple days, but we squeezed the most out of it. The Black Hills opened my eyes and I realized how much I like technical riding. It also left me motivated to start exploring new places with my bike.Big thanks to Jara and his great work behind the lens.
Kara Scotts 888poker Brief Returns for 2018

February 07, 2018 Matthew Pitt

888poker released a YouTube show during 2017 called The Poker Brief. Hosted by Kara Scott, the 888poker ambassador, The Poker Brief takes a look at the goings on in the poker world, including big wins, upcoming tournaments and more.

The Poker Brief returned on Feb. 2 with the first edition of the new year. Scott starts off by talking about the winners of the Global Poker Indexs Player of the Year awards. If you follow PokerNews regularly you will know that Adrian Mateos was crowned Player of the Year for 2017 after a fantastic year that included winning his third World Series of Poker bracelet.

In a step that is unusual in the poker world, Scott goes on to talk about the PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure, which is run by PokerStars, rivals to 888poker. Poker sites rarely give a nod to one another; perhaps this step by 888poker could start what would be a welcomed trend.

Keeping with the PCA, Scott goes on to talk about Neil Johnson leaving his post at Pokerstars; Johnson had been with the company since the inception of the European Poker Tour. Acknowledgements were also given to Vanessa Selbst and Jason Mercier who both declined to renew their sponsorship deals with PokerStars for 2018.

It wouldnt be an 888poker production without mentioning some 888poker-sponsored events, which is what the WPT Deepstacks Berlin event was. Dustin Mangold won that event for a cool 134,809 after qualifying online for a mere $5.

Check out the full clip, which comes in at a shade under six-and-a-half minutes via the video below.

InJeBakkes Wins Bubble of Bubbles Event

The XL Blizzard series was a roaring success and 888pokers players are tingling with anticipation at being able to play in the next series. One player who is likely to be competing is Netherlands InJeBakkes, who was crowned the Bubble of Bubbles champion.

This tournament was only open to those who endured the pain of bubbling an XL Blizzard event. After three hours and 20 minutes, "InJeBakkes" came out on top to get his hands on a $3,000 Crazy 8 WSOP package.

HellChicKKen is the Champion of Champions

Another exclusive tournament was the Champion of Champions event that was only open to players who had finished in the top 50 in points in the XL Blizzard leaderboard.

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Eating all of the chicken livers just as fast as I can.
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Mary Katherine, who also goes by MK, covers health care for The Post and Courier. She is also pursuing a master's degree in data science. She grew up in upstate New York and enjoys playing cards, kayaking and the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Michael Majchrowicz is a reporter covering crime and public safety. He previously wrote about courts for the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Massachusetts. A Hoosier native, he graduated from Indiana University with a degree in journalism.
Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, a key leader of the Charleston Black Lives Matter movement who played a role in the emergence of video in Walter Scott's death, was shot and killed Tuesday in New Orleans.

The 32-year-old activist, who went by the last name d'Baha, was shot in the thigh on Bienville Street before 1:30 a.m., New Orleans police said.

Officers found him bleeding on the ground near a mountain bike, a report stated. They followed a trail of blood over several blocks until they found a bullet fragment elsewhere on Bienville Street.

Moye was taken to an area hospital, where he died later that morning. Authorities have not named any suspects or a motive in his killing.

Camille Weaver, Moye's niece, said he was in New Orleans on a personal trip.

Moye rose to local prominence after Scott's 2015 shooting death by a North Charleston police officer and more recently made headlines for snatching a protesters Confederate battle flag on live television. People nationwide mourned his death Wednesday and had contributed about $20,000 to an online fundraising effort for his family.

Born in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Moye grew up in Hollywood, just west of Charleston, Weaver said.

"He loved Charleston and loved fighting for whats right," she said.

After Scott was killed, Moye arranged a meeting in which Scott's family first viewed eyewitness Feidin Santana's video of the shooting.

Justin Bamberg, a state lawmaker and attorney for Scott's family, met Moye in 2005 as they attended the University of South Carolina as freshmen. After Scott's death, Bamberg said he marveled at Moye's drive to instill change while avoiding the violent protests that beset other cities after police killings.

"He was really passionate about social justice issues, but he never placed those desires above families who had lost someone," Bamberg said. "Theres a reason we avoided issues we saw in other places and that's Muhiyidin and the people aligned with him."

His tactics, though, garnered some criticism.

In 2016, officers arrested Moye after he disrupted a North Charleston City Council committee meeting by renewing demands for a citizens board to review police actions. The city later formed the Citizens Advisory Commission on Community-Police Relations, though the panel lacks the subpoena power that Moye had fought for.

North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey on Wednesday called Moye an articulate young man who contributed profoundly to that discussion. The mayor said he was saddened by Moye's death.

"He had a lot to offer; I didnt always agree with the mode in which he tried to offer it," Summey said. "But at end of the day, he had a chance to have a very good and bright future. I hate to see it wiped out."

Moye gained broader internet fame after his arrest in February 2017, when a video of him leaping over police tape to grab a protesters Confederate flag went viral. He was on the College of Charleston campus for a talk by Bree Newsome, an activist known for taking down the battle flag at the S.C. Statehouse after the 2015 mass shooting at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church.

Pastor Thomas Dixon, a Charleston activist and co-founder of The Coalition: People United to Take Back Our Community, remembered Moye as a passionate man committed to righting the wrongs he saw.

While Dixon occasionally disagreed with Moye's methods, he said the young man's legacy shows that people can work together to achieve a greater goal.

"I've never met anybody with the spirit that he brought to the table," Dixon said. "The driving force behind him was his sense of community."
James O'Leary, the former president of the South Carolina Orthopedic Association, asked state lawmakers to reconsider a bill that would limit initial prescriptions for pain pills to five days. Staff/Andrew Brown
Chloe Johnson covers the coastal environment and climate change for the Post and Courier. She's always looking for a good excuse to hop on a boat.
Editorials represent the institutional view of the newspaper. They are written and edited by the editorial staff, which operates separately from the news department. Editorial writers are not involved in newsroom operations.
Assistant Columbia bureau chief

Adcox returned to The Post and Courier in October 2017 after 12 years covering the Statehouse for The Associated Press. She previously covered education for The P&C. She has also worked for The AP in Albany, N.Y., and for The Herald in Rock Hill.
OMBRE GA'CHONG

It seems that some people in, and associated with, government believe that vaccinations are the panacea for the COVID-19 virus, along with the Read more
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 15:20:17

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Adama Technologies Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Las Vegas, NV (FSCWire) - Adama Technologies Corp. (OTC Pink:ADAC). has issued a press release with the following headline:Adama Technologies Corp Announces Completion Date for U.S. Military ContractTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Adama Technologies Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Adama Technologies Corp.Source: Adama Technologies Corp. (OTC Pink: ADAC)Date: February 07, 2018Time: 9:20 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Adama Technologies Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 02:09:01

BALTIMORE, Feb. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Algeco Scotsman Global S.a r.l. ("A/S Global" and, together with its subsidiaries, "Algeco Scotsman"), today announced that it has successfully priced a notes offering by two of its affiliates.

Algeco Scotsman Global Finance plc priced its offering of senior secured notes (the "Senior Secured Notes") which consist of the following tranches:

600,000,000 Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2023, to be issued with a coupon of 6.50% per annum and a yield to maturity of 7.00%;

$520,000,000 Senior Secured Fixed Rate Notes due 2023, to be issued with a coupon of 8.00% per annum and a yield to maturity of 8.50%; and

150,000,000 Senior Secured Floating Rate Notes due 2023, to be issued with a coupon of EURIBOR plus 625 bps per annum.

Algeco Scotsman Global Finance 2 plc priced its offering of $305,000,000 aggregate principal amount Senior Notes due 2023 (the "Senior Notes" and, together with the Senior Secured Notes, the "Notes"). The Senior Notes priced with a coupon of 10.00% per annum and a yield to maturity of 11.50%.

The proceeds of the Notes, together with proceeds from an equity contribution, borrowings under a new asset-based loan facility and cash on hand, will be used, among other things, to repay existing indebtedness, including all indebtedness outstanding under Algeco Scotsman's existing asset-based loan facilities agreement, existing senior secured notes and existing senior unsecured notes.

The closing of the sale of the Notes is scheduled to be completed on February 15, 2018, and is subject to customary conditions.

The Notes are being offered in a private placement transaction to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and outside the United States to non-U.S. persons in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or the securities laws of any other jurisdiction and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.

About Algeco Scotsman

Algeco Scotsman is the leading global business services provider focused on modular space, secure portable storage solutions, and remote workforce accommodation management. Headquartered in Baltimore, Algeco Scotsman has operations in 24 countries with approximately 245,000 modular space and portable storage units and 11,400 remote accommodations rooms. The company operates as Target Logistics in North America, Algeco in Europe, Elliott in the United Kingdom, Ausco in Australia, Portacom in New Zealand, and Algeco Chengdong in China.

Cautionary Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements reflecting assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs about future events that are intended as "forward-looking statements," particularly those statements concerning expectations regarding the use of proceeds from the offering. A number of risks and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ materially from current projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations relating to us. Any or all of these forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong. They can be affected by inaccurate assumptions or by known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control.

Disclaimer

This press release shall not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction.

Important Regulatory Notice

This announcement contains information that prior to its disclosure may have constituted inside information under European Union Regulation 596/2014 on market abuse.

Investor Relations Contact

Scott Shaughnessy

Vice President, Finance

Algeco Scotsman

+1 410-933-5921

Scott.Shaughnessy@as.willscot.com

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Algeco Scotsman via Globenewswire


PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-06 20:24:01

MONTREAL, Feb. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ALGOLD RESOURCES LTD. (TSX-V:ALG) ("Algold" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that it has closed its CDN $2 million private placement (the "Offering") and 1.5% NSR royalty grant for CDN $2.8 million for the Tijirit Gold Project (the "Royalty") with Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd ("Osisko"). Osisko is investing CDN $4.8 million in total gross proceeds and owns approximately 12.6% of Algold's outstanding common shares on a partially-diluted basis.

Algold Chairman Benoit La Salle said: "Our board and management team looks forward to working closely with Osisko and is pleased to have Osisko as a strategic partner, given their strong financial resources and industry leading technical expertise. We also welcome Mr. Lucas Werner Claessens as well as Mr. Brahim Ahmed Salem Ghadda to our board. Mr. Werner provides substantial technical and operational experience to our board and team, including extensive experience in working in West Africa, as well as considerable success in exploration of greenstone hosted gold deposits. Mr. Ghadda is the President of Wafa Mining and Petroleum SA, which has a significant mining presence in Mauritania and is active across many sectors through its various subsidiary businesses."

Under the Offering, Osisko has subscribed for 14,285,714 units, each at a price of $0.14 and consisting of one common share and one common share purchase warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share at a price of $0.20 for a period of 36 months.

Upon closing of the Offering, Osisko was granted the following rights:

It may nominate up to two candidates for Algold's board of directors at any meeting of the Corporation's shareholders (including Mr. Lucas Werner Claessens, who was appointed as a director immediately upon closing). Until December 31, 2025, it will hold an exclusive option to purchase a 2.0% NSR royalty on any new project acquired by Algold. A right of first refusal on any royalties, streams or similar interests in the products mined on Algold's properties that are granted or proposed for granting in the future.

Mr. Werner has been exploring for gold in West Africa for more than 30 years. He has experienced considerable success as an explorationist of greenstone hosted gold deposits for several European Union funded regional exploration programs, including the discovery of several large gold finds such as Sadiola Hill and Morila in Mali, and the Samira Hill deposit in Niger. Werner holds a Degree in Geological and Mineralogical Sciences from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Leuven, Belgium.

Concurrently with the Offering, Wafa Mining & Petroleum SA ("Wafa") also subscribed for 2,605,295 common shares, also at a price of $0.14 each, for total gross proceeds of $364,741, under a previously-granted pre-emptive right allowing Wafa to maintain a 10% interest in Algold (see Algold's press release dated August 9, 2017). As per Wafa's previously-granted rights, the Corporation has also appointed Wafa president, Mr. Brahim Ahmed Salem Ghadda, to its board.

Mr. Ghadda is the President of Wafa, which forms part of Groupe WAFA SA, a major family business in Mauritania. The Ghadda family business established itself in the import and distribution of food products. Since then the business has diversified into construction, industrial fisheries, real estate, public works, distribution of petroleum products and banking. Its mining business, WAFA Mining and Petroleum, was established in 2010 as WAFA Mining SA then extended in 2012 its scope to the petroleum sector. It holds several tenements of mineral substance in Tasiast, Amsaga and the Mauritanides.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering and the subscription by Wafa are subject to a four month hold period. The net proceeds from the Offering and the Wafa subscription will be used to carry out exploration drilling at the Corporation's mineral properties and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction.

This press release has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance under National Instrument 43-101 by Andre Ciesielski, DSc., PGeo., Algold Resources Ltd. Lead Consulting Geologist and Qualified Person, and Alastair Gallaugher, C.Geo. (Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London), BSc. Geology, Algold's Exploration Manager in Mauritania, Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Andre Ciesielski has further approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release.

ABOUT ALGOLD

Algold Resources Ltd. is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and management team are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Algold Resources Ltd.

1320, boul. Graham, bureau 132, Mont-Royal, Quebec, H3P 3C8, www.algold.com

Francois Auclair M.Sc., PGeo

President & Chief Executive Officer

f.auclair@algold.com

+1 (514) 889 5089

Alex Ball

Executive VP, Finance and Corporate Development

a.ball@algold.com

+1 (647) 919 2227

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Algold Resources Ltd via Globenewswire


Flowerdeliveryuae.ae is a UAE-based online gifts and flower portal that helps to enhance the beautiful relationships with loved one by offering a reliable Valentines Day Flowers Delivery services. One can buy or send online Valentine Flowers and get it delivered right to doorsteps.

Valentines Day Flowers

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 15:57:22

Press Information

Flower Delivery UAE

Dubai - UAE



Flower Delivery UAE

Gifts Provider

+971567427222

email

https://www.flowerdeliveryuae.ae/valentine/





# 662 Words

Dubai - UAEGifts Provider+971567427222

One of the long-awaited romantic days of the year is fast-approaching. So, whether someone is in new relationships or going to cherish another sweet day of the year with her/his Valentine, Flowerdeliveryuae.ae is the best place to choose for Valentines Day Flowers Delivery to anywhere in UAE. It will hardly take few minutes to place the order online and make the loved one feel special irrespective geographical barriers. Impress him/her with floral gifts to personalized gifts that are available and impress him with lovely surprises. Flowerdeliveryuae.ae offers a reliable platform where one can send Valentine Flowers online to Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi and various other cities of UAE in just a few clicks of the digital device. One can send passionate Red Roses bouquet online and express the heartfelt feelings to him/her ( https://www.flowerdeliveryuae.ae/valentine/gifts-for-her-10159.html)on this Valentines Day. Flowers are one such gift that cant be replaced with any other gifts for this day of love. Therefore, send flowers online via Valentines Day Flowers Delivery offered to all valued customers in an efficient way.Speaking to one to one of the official spokesperson of the online flower store said, There are no doubts that eye-catchy flowers are truly heart winners for everyone, be it is a boyfriend or a girlfriend. You can buy online valentine flowers and give surprise to your love and make him/her feel special. In case, you reside outside UAE, you can still make the loved one feel valued by sending flowers online at the exact address of the recipient. At Flower Delivery UAE, you will find a mesmerizing and alluring collection of Valentine Flowers ( https://www.flowerdeliveryuae.ae/valentine/valentine-flowers-70.html) . If you are not very much sure about his/her taste and then opt for Red Rose Flower Bouquet, a beautiful bunch of Orchids and Roses or Anthurium are such a lovely flowery gift that he/she cant say No to it. With our reliable Valentines Day Flowers Delivery, you can easily send a fascinating bouquet of freshly prepared flower bouquet along with cakes, chocolates and other gifts your choice. In a diverse range of flowers and gifts that one can send online to their beloved include Roses, Carnations, Gerberas, Daisies, Orchids and many other flowers, Cushions, Cakes, Chocolates, Cushions, Coffee Mug, Soft Toys, Designer Candle, Gifts Hamper such as Token Of Love N Affection, Splendid Gifts For U, Multi Storied Roses, Engraved Golden Rose for Valentine, Celebrate in Divine, Bunch f Red N White Roses, Choc-a-bloc With Love and much more.On further conversation with the authorized representative of the company explained, Online Valentines Day Flowers Delivery to UAE from anywhere in uae and other countries was never such efficient until this e-commerce platform came into existence. The portal gives you varieties of flowers as well as online delivery options that widen the selection process easy for you. In just a few clicks, you can Send Valentine Flowers and many other gifts without any flaws. With the help of Same Day delivery options, it is easy to send cakes and flowers online and him/her feel extra special this year on Valentines Day. In addition to Valentines Day Gifts, the portal also offers Wedding Gifts, Birthday Gifts, Anniversary Gifts and many other festivals and occasions throughout the year at a cost-effective price.About the Website: Flowerdeliveryuae.ae , a UAE-based online portal that allows people to stay connected with each other no matter how far or near they are from each other. Using companys reliable Valentines Day Flowers Delivery, it is very easy, simple and convenient to send valentine flowers online at the exact shipping address and make him/her feel valued. Also, people can opt for Same Day Delivery services to give surprises to their loved one on Valentines Day 2018. To get more information, please log in to the companys online portal.
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 19:00:16

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Cranbrook, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSX Venture:EPL). has issued a press release with the following headline:Eagle Plains Announces FinancingTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Eagle Plains Resources Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Eagle Plains Resources Ltd.Source: Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. (TSX Venture: EPL, OTC Bulletin Board: EGPLF, WKN: 588696, ISIN: CA2699062022)Date: February 07, 2018Time: 1:00 PM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Eagle Plains Resources Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Elastomeric Infusion System Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 13:24:45

Press Information

Precision Business Insights

Contact to Precision Business Insights,





Kemp House,





152  160 City Road,





London EC1V 2NX





Email: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.com





Toll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553



Satya

Lead Marketing Manager

+1-866-598-1553

email

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com





# 746 Words

Contact to Precision Business Insights,Kemp House,152  160 City Road,London EC1V 2NXEmail: sales@precisionbusinessinsights.comToll Free (US): +1-866-598-1553Lead Marketing Manager+1-866-598-1553

Elastomeric Infusion System Market: Global Market Estimation, Dynamics, Regional Share, Trends, Competitor Analysis 2012-2016 and Forecast 2017-2023Elastomeric infusion pumps are also known as balloon pumps. These are non-electronic and disposable in nature that delivers fluids such as analgesics, and antibiotics, among others into the patients body in controlled amounts. The pressure for administering the drug comes from the elastomeric layer that placed inside the pump. When the pump is filled, the layer gets stretched and the elastomeric constriction drives the liquid through the tubing and eventually through a flow restrictor out to patients connection. An elastomeric pump does not require electricity and not based on gravity. Placing the elastomeric pump above or below the patient, the pressure differ slightly. Elastomeric pump should be filled through a one-way valve using peristaltic repeater pump or a syringe. The pressure is constant through the end of the infusion. Time of the drug delivery depends upon the size of elastomeric infusion pump, usually ranging from thirty minutes to seven days.The positive growth factors for elastomeric infusion system market is increase in adoption, growing demand for small disposable infusion pumps, and its wide range of application in various fluid drug delivery systems. In addition, increase in number of surgeries as a result of increased rate of hospitalization that ultimately increases the demand for elastomeric pumps for postoperative pain management conditions. Elastomeric infusion pump system offers several advantages over electronic pumps including portability, feasible demonstration, low weight, size, ease of use, and less interference with sleep. However, difficulties in detection of delivery rate accuracy, and abnormal drug delivery are restraining factors for growth of the market. Furthermore, increasing R&D costs and frequent product recalls, mostly due to design flaws, are expected to hamper the elastomeric infusion system market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Elastomeric infusion system market has been segmented on the basis of product type, indication and end-userBased on product type, elastomeric infusion system market is segmented into Continuous Rate Elastomeric Infusion System Variable Rate Elastomeric Infusion SystemBased on indication, elastomeric infusion system market is segmented into Pain Management Infectious Disease treatment Inversional Chemotherapy Iron ChelationBased on end-user, elastomeric infusion system market is segmented into Hospitals Ambulatory Surgical centres Homecare SettingsTo view TOC of this report is available upon request @Elastomeric infusion system market is expected to show significant growth rate owing to rise in demand for disposable ambulatory infusion pumps. Market players are actively participating in innovative strategies to expand their market share. For instance in April 2017, B. Braun Medical Inc. launched esaypump home infusion therapy app, offers educational content to clinicians and patients on safe usage of B. Braun Medicals easypump elastomeric infusion pump. Furthermore, companies are focusing on collaborations and mergers & acquisitions to expand their market share. For instance, in January 2015, Fresenius Kabi (Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA) entered into multiyear distribution agreement with Halyard Health to distribute Halyard Healths disposable elastomeric intravenous infusion pumps. By this agreement Fresenius Kabi expanded the product portfolio.Need more information about this report @Geographically elastomeric infusion system market has been segmented into following regions Viz. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is largest in terms of value in elastomeric infusion system market followed by Europe. North America accounts highest market share due to increased prevalence of chronic diseases like gastrointestinal complications, abdominal herniae and increased number of surgeries. Asia Pacific expected to show fastest growth rate due to the development of healthcare infrastructure leading to more construction of small and mid-sized hospitals, and increasing number of local players and start-up firms entering this market. The Middle East and Africa region is projected to be a potential market for elastomeric infusion system owing high prevalence rates of chronic diseases that require surgical procedure but less disease awareness among the patients.Some of the players in elastomeric infusion system Market includes B. Braun Holding GmbH & Co. KG (Braun Melsungen AG.) (Germany), Fresenius SE & Co. KGaA (Fresenius Kabi AG) (Germany), Halyard Health, Inc. (U.S.), Leventon S.A.U (Spain), Ambu A/S (Denmark), Baxter International Inc. (U.S.), Nipro Corporation (Japan), and Woo Young Medical Co. (Jincheon) to name a few.Get access to full summary @Email: sales@ precisionbusinessinsights.com
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 15:23:02

European DataWarehouse Announces Test Phase of the European Banking Authority NPL Templates

Media Contact:

European DataWarehouse GmbH

Jasmin Abdel

Marketing & Communications Manager

Tel. 49 (0) 69 50986 9326

Email: jasmin.abdel-fattah@eurodw.eu

European DataWarehouse (ED) is pleased to announce a new initiative to support the development of the Non-Performing Loans (NPL) markets and the European Banking Authority (EBA) data templates.

Starting from February, ED will be collecting test files for NPLs, in accordance with reporting templates developed by EBA, until the end of June 2018.

In December 2017, following a specific mandate from the European Commission and the European Council, EBA published the templates to allow banks to supply comparable and standardised data on NPLs to meet the need of investors and other market participants. The templates provide a common EU data set for the screening, due diligence and valuation of NPL transactions. The EBA templates form an integral part of the EC Action Plan to tackle NPLs in Europe and are aimed at further developing secondary markets.

By providing a unique platform for the collection of test data, ED is giving the opportunity for banks, servicers and other market participants to get familiar with the EBA templates and more specifically, the loan level reporting for residential mortgages and loans to small and medium corporations.

Commenting on these developments, EDs CEO Christian Thun stated:

We welcome EBAs launch of the NPL standardised templates providing a common set of fields enhancing data availability, quality and comparability. Building on the ABS experience, ED is delighted to bring its knowledge and skills in offering a platform for testing NPL data along with the opportunity for NPL market participants to familiarise themselves with the EBA templates.

In this regard, EBA specified:

An extended use of the templates is expected to widen the investor base, lower entry barriers to potential investors, improve data quality and availability, support price discovery and facilitate the development of the NPL secondary market.1

Notes to editors

European DataWarehouse (ED) is the first centralised data repository in Europe for collecting, validating and distributing detailed, standardised and asset class specific loan level data for Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) and private whole loan portfolios. ED stores loan-level data and corresponding documentation for investors and other market participants. Operating as a market infrastructure and designated by the Eurosystem, ED aims to increase transparency and restore confidence in the ABS market. Through EDs data, users are able to analyse underlying portfolios in a more efficient way and compare portfolios on a systematic basis.

ED currently hosts data for more than 1160 public ABS transactions across Europe.

For the latest updates from European DataWarehouse, follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube or visit ED website

1 https://www.eba.europa.eu/-/eba-publishes-its-stan

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201802070057
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 15:01:12

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Far Resources Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, BC (FSCWire) - Far Resources Ltd. (CSE:FAT). has issued a press release with the following headline:Far Resources Appoints Vice President, Corporate Development and Issues SecuritiesTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Far Resources Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Far Resources Ltd.Source: Far Resources Ltd. (CSE: FAT, FWB: F0R, WKN: A2AH8W, ISIN: CA30734R1001, OTC Pink: FRRSF)Date: February 07, 2018Time: 9:00 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Far Resources Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 01:05:39

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Far Resources Ltd.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Far Resources Ltd. (CSE:FAT). has issued a press release with the following headline:Far Resources Northwest Territories Visit and Update on the Spin Out ProcedureTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Far Resources Ltd., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Far Resources Ltd.Source: Far Resources Ltd. (CSE: FAT, FWB: F0R, WKN: A2AH8W, ISIN: CA30734R1001, OTC Pink: FRRSF)Date: February 06, 2018Time: 7:00 PM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Far Resources Ltd. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 08:03:03

Enables bank to overcome multiple system integration challenges to achieve Digital Transformation

Fiorano Powers Banco Postals Commitment Towards Financial Inclusion and Digitalization of Angolan Economy

Fiorano Software

Sumit Kuhite

+1-650-326-1136

mediarelations@fiorano.com

Fiorano Software announced today that Banco Postal, Angola has successfully implemented the Fiorano Platform to tackle integration challenges in its digital transformation journey. Banco Postal opted for Fiorano for its native integration with T24, the Core Banking System from Temenos.

Marcelo Barreto, Head of IT, Banco Postal said, Banco Postal is built on a strong commitment for financial inclusion in Angola. Having such an innovative approach to banking, the technical challenges were one of the biggest constraints to the success of such implementation. Fiorano enabled us to swiftly tackle these restrictions, removing the complexity of multiple systems integration and allowing us to focus on the business and to better serve our customers. Because of the collaborative environment and deep commitment from Fiorano, we were able to deliver the required integrations in under two months.

The decision to choose Fiorano carried many challenges as Banco Postal uses two Core Banking Systems, Temenos and TagPay unlike other enterprises, which increases and complicates the integration scope with third party entities. Banco Postal was looking for a global provider to achieve integration with National Payment Subsystem (EMIS) for offering singular and distinguished services to the customers. The requirement to integrate with EMIS from scratch mandated a powerful solution that would allow Banco Postal to focus on delivering the best digital solutions via APIs to consumers. Fiorano Platform also integrated banks mobile application with EMIS to facilitate mobile & utility bill payment services for the customers.

About Banco Postal  Banco Postal, Angola is an ethical bank at the forefront of combating social exclusion and eradicating poverty in Africa. It is committed to promoting financial inclusion for the development of Angolan society while investing in the dynamization of the economy offering solutions that promote development of companies and jobs creation in Angola.

About Fiorano - Fiorano, a Silicon Valley based USA (California) Corporation is a trusted provider of Digital Business Backplane and enterprise integration middleware, high performance messaging and peer-to-peer distributed systems, since 1995. Global companies including AT&T Wireless, LOreal, NASA, Rabobank, Royal Bank of Scotland, US Coast Guard and Vodafone have deployed Fiorano to achieve digital transformation, yielding unprecedented productivity.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201802060061
GiftaLove.com is recognized as one of the most acclaimed online gift stores of India that aims to cater the customers with best gifting solutions. The exclusive range of Valentine Gifts for Girlfriend is getting great response in terms of search and sale.

Valentine Gifts

PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 15:57:40

Press Information

Giftalove

Mayur Vihar Phase-1, New Delhi



Sonia

Support Head

8882001155

email

https://www.giftalove.com/valentines-day/for-girlfriend





# 526 Words

Mayur Vihar Phase-1, New DelhiSupport Head8882001155

New Delhi, India: Since, its just a matter of few days that people will be celebrating the romantic festival of Valentines Day on 14th of February. Therefore, to meet every distinctive gifting need of people, GiftaLove.com has been offering Valentines Day gifts ( https://www.giftalove.com/valentines-day ) range that is inclusive of myriad gifting options. Therefore, people can find awesome solutions of Valentine Gifts for Girlfriend, Valentine Chocolates, Valentine Roses and plenty of other wonderful gifting options online for the festival of love.In fact, to help lovers in the long distance relationship, the portal offers efficient services of gifts delivery in India and across the globe. Thus, within a matter of few clicks, people can Send Valentine Gifts to India anywhere. Moreover, people can also avail the facility of express valentine gifts delivery, mid-night gifts delivery and same day gifts delivery as well.While a talk regarding the exclusive collection of Valentine Gifts for Girlfriend, the gifting expert of the company commented, We understand the issues that ever men face while choosing the best Valentine gift for girlfriend, wife and fiance. Therefore, at GiftaLove.com , we have created an exclusive gift range that is inclusive of impressive, romantic and unique gifts. In fact, this exclusive range has been designed considering distinctive budget and preferences of people. Moreover, we have left no stone unturned in including the most trending gifting options to match up with gifting preferences of the majority. And, in order to help every man to convey his feelings of love to his girlfriend, we have to offer an efficient gifts delivery network to the customers. Ranging from dazzling jewellery pieces like the ring, necklace, heart shape pendants, bracelets and alike to the cute teddy bear, chocolates, perfume, personalized gifts, printed cushions, valentine gift hampers, chocolates and rose combos and much more, the portal is currently offering a very extensive range of Valentine Gifts for Girlfriend. Thus, any man willing to give the best token of love to sweetheart can find the most wonderful gift for beloved with great ease. In fact, there are valentine gifts for her that can match every taste and preferences of people.Adding more, the gifting expert of GiftaLove.com stated, Gifting is one of the most challenging tasks many people. At GiftaLove.com , we make it easy for the customers to find the most wonderful gift for near and dear ones at attractive prices. Also, for easy search of different types of gifts at the portal, we have segregated the ranges of gifts in various sections. Therefore, for Valentines Day gift search, people are offered with Valentine week gifts, Valentine gift hampers, Valentine chocolates and much more. About the Company: GiftaLove.com is the name for one of the most popular online gift stores in India that aims to meet varying gifting needs of the customers with impressive gifting solutions of varying budgets. People can find impressive choices of Valentine Gifts for Girlfriend, Valentine gift combos, Valentine Gifts for her, Valentine Chocolates and plenty of other gifts online with free shipping in India. For more details make visit at  https://www.giftalove.com/
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 15:44:14

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for GLG Life Tech Corporation--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, BC (FSCWire) - GLG Life Tech Corporation (TSX:GLG). has issued a press release with the following headline:GLG and ADM Announce New High Reb M Product LineTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on GLG Life Tech Corporation, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/GLG Life Tech CorporationSource: GLG Life Tech Corporation (TSX: GLG, OTC Bulletin Board: GLGLF, NYSE: ADM)Date: February 07, 2018Time: 9:44 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of GLG Life Tech Corporation and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 15:01:21

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Patriot Gold Corp.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Las Vegas, Nevada (FSCWire) - Patriot Gold Corp. (CSE:PGOL). has issued a press release with the following headline:Patriot Gold Announces Royalty Update: Moss Mine Moving Toward First PourTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Patriot Gold Corp., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Patriot Gold Corp.Source: Patriot Gold Corp. (CSE: PGOL, OTCQB: PGOL)Date: February 07, 2018Time: 9:00 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Patriot Gold Corp. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 08:00:15

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Anglo Pacific Group PLC--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---London, England (FSCWire) - Anglo Pacific Group PLC (LSE:APF). has issued a press release with the following headline:Q4 2017 and Year End 2017 Trading UpdateTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Anglo Pacific Group PLC, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Anglo Pacific Group PLCSource: Anglo Pacific Group PLC (LSE: APF, TSX: APY, OTC Bulletin Board: AGPIF, FWB: HGR, WKN: 871733)Date: February 07, 2018Time: 2:00 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Anglo Pacific Group PLC and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 00:35:19

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for RHC Capital Corporation--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (FSCWire) - RHC Capital Corporation (TSX Venture:RHC). has issued a press release with the following headline:RHC Capital Announces the Appointment of John H. Pringle to the Board of DirectorsTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on RHC Capital Corporation, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/RHC Capital CorporationSource: RHC Capital Corporation (TSX Venture: RHC)Date: February 06, 2018Time: 6:35 PM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of RHC Capital Corporation and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 09:09:01

Sterling and Wilson to Build Zambias Largest Solar Plant

For Sterling and Wilson

Kritika Bhardwaj

MOB: +91 (0) 9833394436

kritika.bharadwaj@mslgroup.com

Sterling and Wilson, leading Global Solar EPC company in the world, has been chosen to construct Zambias largest solar plant, of capacity 54.3 MWp. It is the first project to be implemented in the frame of the Scaling Solar program, promoted by the International Finance Corporation  a member of the World Bank Group. The project is being developed by Neoen, the French developer and Independent Power Producer (IPP).

In the year 2015, Zambias Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) signed an agreement with IFC to develop two large-scale solar projects through Scaling Solar program. This will be Zambias first utility scale solar PV project and first under Scaling Solar Program exclusively for on grid application.

Situated at 20 km South East of Lusaka, in Kafue district, the project site has spread across 52 hectares of land.

Bikesh Ogra, President and CEO  Renewable Energy and Energy Storage business, Sterling and Wilson said, Sterling and Wilson is a key player in Africa region. We have commissioned 90 MWp Solar PV plant in Africa till date. Zambia is one of the key markets for us considering the booming renewable energy segment and the Zambian governments support for the development of 500 MW of new Solar PV plant in next couple of years. Zambia regularly suffers from power outages that lasts for more than 10 hours a day. Reports suggest one in five people living in the country currently has no access to electricity, a basic need today. We are glad to be chosen by Neoen for this project and are privileged to be part of the energy revolution in a power deficit market.

Sterling and Wilson was ranked as the worlds largest pure play solar EPC company (outside USA and China) by IHSMarkit in Q1 2017. The company has to its credit more than 2000 MW of best performing solar power plants across the world in various geographies including Asia & Africa. Currently it is constructing the worlds largest single location Solar PV plant of 1177 MWp in Abu Dhabi.

About Sterling and Wilson

Sterling and Wilson is an excellent example of how the Shapoorji Pallonji family has nurtured long term associations with its business partners. The Mistry and Daruvala families have been partners in Sterling and Wilson for 3 generations. This partnership will only grow stronger, as the 4th generations of both families have recently joined the business.

Over the past 5 years, Sterling and Wilson has shown exceptional growth; with operations all over the globe, as well as an expansion in its range of services. The company's turnover has shown an extremely positive growth. It is likely to exceed INR 10,000 crore in the year ended March 2018. From being a predominantly India focused company in 2010, Sterling and Wilson now operates across the Middle East, Africa, Australia and Europe. From being a company that was mainly focused on doing MEP projects in India, Sterling and Wilson over the past 5 years has set up global operations in manufacture of DG sets, Gas based power plants, Waste to Energy, Turnkey Data Centers, Transmission and Distribution and Solar EPC. With its recent forays into wind and energy storage, Sterling and Wilson is perfectly poised to play a pivotal role in the global trend of moving away from thermal plants to a future of renewable energy with storage.

Visit us at www.sterlingandwilson.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201802070055
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 08:01:26

Its official! January 2018 was the hottest January on record, so it is no wonder that we are all hankering to be somewhere near the sea where we can relax and cool off in beauty and comfort. That exactly describes the beautiful Pacific Rendezvous Resort situated on Tutukakas sunshine coast, where they are also making records with their busiest summer ever!The Tutukaka Coast is centrally located in Northland for further day trips to the Poor Knights Islands, the Bay of Islands, Waitangi, Hokianga Harbour, Waipoua Forest or Whangarei City and the beautiful Pacific Rendezvous Resort is located on Tutukakas most spectacularly situated location.The Pacific Rendezvous Resort complex consists of a 10.5 hectare peninsular with access to two sandy beaches, and is surrounded by park-like grounds and spectacular views of either the Tutukaka Harbour or the Pacific Ocean, stretching out to the world-famous Poor Knights Islands. This is an ideal playground for a family holiday and there really is something for everyone.However, since the Pacific Rendezvous Resort is such a short distance from Auckland city, its location makes for the perfect mid-week getaway or holiday destination, with the minimum of driving necessary. Additionally, Tutukaka is a great place to base the family for taking excursions further north and it is possible to visit the Bay of Islands or the Kauri forests on the West Coast in a comfortable days drive.The resort still have bookings available for February and March but they are filling up fast, so get in today for a stunning summer break. The Pacific Rendezvous Resort is a destination in itself, with its well-spaced, self-contained motel units giving plenty of privacy but, at the same time, with plenty of community oriented activities, including the swimming-pool and two spa pools, one of which is private. There is also a well-maintained and newly renovated games room and up-to-date childrens play area, and plenty of areas set up with barbeques with firewood pre-cut and ready for the guests. Each motel unit is fully self-contained and there is something for everyone, from couples and groups or friends, to large family units, all well fitted out with modern conveniences.For more information on Tutukaka diving, motels near Whangarei and Northland motels please go to www.pacificrendezvous.co.nz
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 17:40:15

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Synex International Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Synex International Inc. (TSX:SXI). has issued a press release with the following headline:Synex International Inc. Appointment of Corporate SecretaryTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Synex International Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Synex International Inc.Source: Synex International Inc. (TSX: SXI, ISIN: CA87160L1067)Date: February 07, 2018Time: 11:40 AM EST--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Synex International Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2018 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 01:12:25

With the Jenlogix on site monitoring system, you can make sure your building is not being affected by local vibration from construction or other events. Construction, demolition or even heavy traffic can often cause unforeseen problems to neighbouring structures due to vibration. Palert+ is a simple system to monitor the impact of this vibration on your building.With just a single Palert+ unit and an attached multi-coloured light, you can instantly see if the nearby work is causing any impact. Using international vibration standards DIN 4150-3 or ISO 2631, the system can ensure protection for your building. It can be used to make sure that the contractors are not exceeding vibration levels and meeting their compliance requirements. Data is also sent directly to the cloud for engineers to see remotely the issues and direct construction accordingly.Being cloud based means the engineers can assess the issue and inform the contractors of any remedial action required, even to the point of stopping construction. There are often heavy fines imposed on companies if vibration limits are exceeded. So do not be caught out by damage to your building due to excessive vibration, when the simple Palert+ solution can instantly provide feedback.Palert+ is one of a family of advanced earthquake P-wave alarm detector systems developed by San Lien in Taiwan, in conjunction with University Research departments, and represented by Jenlogix in Oceania and Americas.Palert+ is a P-wave sensor equipped with MEMS accelerometers for 18 bit output resolution. When integrated into a network using SCADA or the dedicated controller, the Palert+ provides the ability to trigger digital outputs enabling warnings and other actions to occur before or during an earthquake. With Modbus TCP/RTU capabilities, it is very easy to integrate Palert+ with industrial applications, such as PLC, HMI and SCADA. The Palert+ can stream to 2 hosts and connect to 5 Modbus clients at the same time.For more information on quake alarms, Palert+ and Jenlogix please go to http://www.earthquakeearlywarning.systems/
PR-Inside.com: 2018-02-07 09:11:01

Healthcare workflow platform offers one solution for clinical system integrations and care team communication

Vocera Engage is Now Available in the United Kingdom

Vocera Communications, Inc.

Shanna Hearon, 865-769-2028

shearon@vocera.com

Vocera Communications UK, Ltd. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognised leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, announced today that the companys Vocera Engage solution is now available across the UK. The software solution, which enables multiple clinical systems integrations, workflow efficiency, and care team communication, is registered with the Medicines Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

Vocera software integrates with more than 120 clinical systems, including electronic health records, nurse call, cardiac monitors, ventilators, and many other systems. The solution supports clinical decisions by aggregating and prioritizing relevant information from multiple systems and sending contextual alerts, notifications or text messages to the right caregiver based on location, role, group or other patient assignment set up within the system. Multiple variables can be used to trigger actionable alarm and alert notifications, and to filter out non-actionable ones, helping reduce interruption and alarm fatigue.

We are excited to offer Vocera Engage to healthcare facilities across the UK, said Brent Lang, president and CEO of Vocera. The solution will make it much easier for hospitals and clinics to connect clinical systems, information and people. We look forward to seeing Vocera Engage simplify care team communication and workflows to help improve the lives of patients and their families.

About Vocera

The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals and patients, while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency. In 2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way care teams communicate. Today, Vocera continues to offer the leading platform for clinical communication and workflow. More than 1,400 hospitals and health systems around the world have selected our solutions for care teams to text securely using smartphones or make calls with our hands-free, wearable Vocera Badge. Interoperability between Vocera and more than 120 clinical systems helps reduce alarm fatigue, speed up staff response times, and improve patient care, safety and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera is at home in luxury hotels, aged care facilities, nuclear facilities, libraries, retail stores and more. Vocera makes a difference in any industry where workers are on the move and need to connect instantly with team members and access resources or information quickly. In 2017, Vocera made the list of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America. Learn more at www.vocera.com, and follow @VoceraComm on Twitter.

The Vocera logo is a trademark of Vocera Communications, Inc. Vocera is a trademark of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/201802070051
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The U.S. will spend $45 billion on military operations in Afghanistan in 2018, local media reported, citing a senior Pentagon official.

The sum includes some $13 billion for U.S. forces deployed in the country, $5 billion for the Afghan troops and $780 million for economic and logistic support, Randall Schriver, the assistant secretary of Defence for Asian and Pacific security affairs, told the Senate, as quoted by The Hill media outlet.

Senators criticised the planned costs of the operations in Afghanistan, asking whether the administration of President Donald Trump was going to launch negotiations with the Taliban radical movement.

Republican senator Rand Paul noted that billions of dollars were just being thrown away down a hatch in Afghanistan while the local authorities still do not seem to be able to defend themselves.

In August, U.S. President Trump announced a new Afghanistan strategy, in which he pledged to continue support for the Afghan government and military in their fight against the ongoing militant insurgency aggravated by an unstable political, social and security situation.

Mr. Trump also stated that the authority of U.S. troops to target terrorists in Afghanistan would be expanded and approved sending an additional 4,000 troops to the country.

In November, the Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs at Brown University said in a study that the U.S. had spent $5.6 trillion on military conflicts in the Middle Eastern region since the 9/11 terror attacks with $877.4 billion of them spent on the operations in Afghanistan, including the Coalition Support Funds for Pakistan.

According to the Pentagons assessments, the total costs of the Middle Eastern wars amounted to $1.52 trillion, while according to Mr. Trump  to some seven trillion dollars.

NAN reports that on August 22, 2017, after more than 15 years of U.S. troops presence in Afghanistan, Mr. Trump unveiled on a new strategy for the country and cleared the way to send thousands more troops there.

Currently, 8,400 American soldiers are taking part in NATOs operation in Afghanistan, which comprises a total of 13,000 troops in all. Most of them are charged with overseeing and training Afghan forces.

On October 7, 2001, less than a month after the September 11 attacks, former President George W Bush launched operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, after the Taliban refused to hand over al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

In a matter of weeks, the U.S.-led forces overthrew the Taliban, in power since 1996.

Apart from air raids, the U.S. backs the Afghan Northern Alliance, which is fighting the Taliban, contributing paramilitary teams from the CIA and special forces.

Some 1,000 American soldiers were deployed on the ground in November, rising to 10,000 the year after.

(Sputnik/NAN)
The chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, Danladi Umar, said on Tuesday that he was prepared to fight off the corruption charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The EFCC brought the charges against Mr. Umar last month, accusing him of taking up to N10 million in bribes from a former Customs official who was facing false assets declaration charges before him.

Mr. Umar, in his first comments to the media since the details of the EFCC charges were made public last Friday, claimed he was facing trumped up charges, but was nonetheless prepared to vigorously defend himself in courts.

Were waiting for the court summon and which judge the case will be assigned to, Mr. Umar said through the tribunals spokesperson, Ibrahim Al-Hassan. After that, well see how this would play out.

The tribunal chief accused the EFCC of unstable tactics, saying the charges were brought against him after he had been twice cleared by the same agency.

The EFCC had filed charges against Mr. Umar at the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court on January 25. It was endorsed by the court on January 2, but no judge was immediately assigned to hear the case.

The charges, prepared by Festus Keyamo, an EFCC prosecutor, came about two years after the anti-graft agency last absolved Mr. Umar of any wrongdoing in a case of judicial bribery and racketeering.

Court filings made available to PREMIUM TIMES Friday evening by Mr. Keyamo said Mr. Umar collected N10 million from Rasheed Taiwo, a former Customs official who was facing false assets declaration charges before the Code of Conduct Tribunal sometime in 2012.

The prosecution also accused Mr. Umar of receiving N1.8 million of the N10 million bribe sum through one of his personal assistants, Gambo Abdullahi.

Mr. Umar said he wondered why Mr. Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, suddenly became the prosecuting counsel in the bribery case, especially since his law firm had been standing as defence counsel for Mr. Taiwo.

Mr. Keyamo was the defence counsel for the ex-Customs official that was charged for falsely declaring his assets, Mr. Al-Hassan said. But now he has suddenly become the EFCC prosecutor to charge the CCT chairman for the allegations that his client brought.

Mr. Al-Hassan said Mr. Keyamo appeared for Mr. Taiwo until recently when he stopped coming. Still, lawyers from his chambers stilled appeared for Mr. Taiwo in the last two hearings.

Mr. Keyamo declined comments on the matter to PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday night, urging Mr. Umar to raise any issue he deemed necessary to his case when the trial commences.

I have no comments, Mr. Keyamo said by telephone. Any objection he has, he should raise it in court.

The two counts of fraud were in violation Section 12(1) (a) and (b) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2003, Mr. Keyamo stated in charge affidavit prepared on January 25 and stamped on February 2 at the Federal High Court, Abuja.

The CCT chair could face up to seven years imprisonment if convicted of the charges.

Mr. Umar said the EFCC had nothing on him since it is bringing up the same charges in which anti-graft detectives had cleared him of any wrongdoing on at least two different occasions in the past.

The EFCC first cleared Mr. Umar via a notice written on March 5, 2015 through the office of the then-SGF, Pius Anyim.

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When the trial of Senate President Bukola Saraki reached its peak in 2016, the anti-graft office wrote another letter clearing the jurist of any wrongdoing in Mr. Taiwos case.

We would like to reiterate the Commissions position in regard to this matter as earlier communicated to you and stated that the allegations levelled against Justice Umar were mere suspicious and consequently insufficient to successfully prosecute the offence, the EFCC said in an April 20, 2016 letter to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, which supervises the Code of Conduct Tribunal.

In the same letter, the EFCC concluded that there was no strong case against Mr. Umar but that there was prima facie evidence to prosecute Mr. Abdullahi, his personal assistant who could offer no coherent excuse for receiving N1.8 million naira into his salary account from Taiwo who is an accused person standing trial at the Tribunal.

The EFCC cleared Mr. Umar after he came under intense scrutiny since the commencement of the trial of Mr. Saraki, over alleged false assets declaration, with many accusing him of being equally tainted and calling on him to excuse himself from Mr. Sarakis case.

In December 2016, a group, the Anti-Corruption Network, had also alleged that Mr. Umar used his office to purchase N34.9 million exotic vehicles, furniture and other household items without following due process.

Mr. Sarakis lawyers also demanded that Mr. Umar must step down to face his corruption allegations, but the EFCC put paid to the efforts by clearing the CCT chair of any involvement in the N10 million bribery claims.

In June 2017, Mr. Umar ultimately found Mr. Saraki not guilty on all the 18 counts of false assets filings when he was governor of Kwara State between 2003 and 2011.

In December, the Court of Appeal in Abuja affirmed the conclusion of the tribunal on all but three counts; a decision the Senate President immediately appealed to the Supreme Court. The Appeal Court ruled the Senate President had a case to answer on the three counts and ordered that those be taken back to the CCT.

On Tuesday morning, as Mr. Saraki was preparing to return to the tribunal to face the unsettled three charges, he expressed his sympathy for Mr. Umar.

I sympathise with the Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr. Danladi Umar, for his travail in the hands of the EFCC which suddenly woke up four days to the resumption of this case to file criminal charges against him, Mr. Saraki said on Twitter.
Kassim Afegbua is turning himself in this morning at the Force Headquarters, two days after he was declared wanted by the police.

The police accuse Mr. Afegbua of distributing a false statement on behalf of former military ruler, Ibrahim Babangida.

The statement criticised President Muhammadu Buhari and canvassed a young leadership for the country.

The police said the statement is inciting, but did not say which part of it was contentious.

Mr. Afegbua maintains no wrongdoing. The declaration by the police has been condemned by rights groups and lawyers.

PREMIUM TIMES bring you live updates from the Force Headquarters in Abuja where Mr. Afegbua is set to turn himself in.

Kassim Afegbua arrives Force HQ

Ibrahim Babangidas spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua and his lawyer, Kayode Ajulo, in arriving force headquarters

Babangida letter saga: Police detain PREMIUM TIMES reporter, confiscate phone

The police briefly detained a PREMIUM TIMES reporter who arrived at the Force Headquarters with Kassim Afegbua on Wednesday morning.

Mr. Afegbua, a longtime spokesperson for a former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, turned himself in two days after he was declared wanted on allegations that he made false statements, injurious falsehood, defamation of character and for an act capable of inciting public disturbance throughout the country.

Mr. Babangida had openly stated that he authorised the statement, which was critical of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday night, but the police moved against Mr. Afegbua nonetheless.

Mr. Afegbua arrived at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, accompanied by his lawyers and four journalists, including Samuel Ogundipe, a general assignment reporter for PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr. Ogundipe, who was assigned to run live updates of the event, was filming the arrival of Mr. Afegbua and his legal team, led by Kayode Ajulo, when the police officers on duty at the reception confiscated his phone.

The major part of Mr. Afegbuas arrival that was captured by the reporter was when police officers were asking a man that had been declared wanted to introduce himself.

Mr. Afegbua told the officers that he was declared wanted and some of them asked: by who?

He then said it was the force public relations officer, Jimoh Moshood, that made the announcement.

Some of the officers then asked if he was on an appointment, and Mr. Ajulo interjected that if Mr. Moshood was not ready to receive his client, then everyone should go back home.

It was at this point that the police started demanding that PREMIUM TIMES reporters phone be confiscated and he must not be allowed to leave the building.

When Mr. Afegbua arrived, he was interviewed by a battery of reporters near the parking area of the headquarters.

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But they were all prevented from following him into the building, leaving only Mr. Ogundipe as the only reporter capturing Mr. Afegbuas move from the parking area into the reception.

Several officers, including two, whose uniforms identified as James Oyibo and Daniel James, demanded that Mr. Ogundipe must delete the video he had captured of Mr. Afegbuas arrival and it took several minutes and explanations for the police to understand the reason he was at their headquarters.

I insisted that I will not delete the video and they prevented me from going out of the reception, Mr. Ogundipe said.

After delaying him for several minutes, he was asked to go after a female officer told the male officers of Mr. Ogundipe: Hes a PREMIUM TIMES press man.

When approached about the development, Mr. Moshood said he could not immediately retrieve the reporters phone.

All the reporters that came here with Kassim Afegbua today did not ask for my permission, Mr. Moshood said. So I dont know how I could help for now.

Mr. Moshood said Mr. Ogundipe was wrong to have taken his phone into the premises of the Force Headquarters, much less using the device to film activities inside.

You should have dropped your phone at the gate and collect a tag, Mr. Moshood said.

Nonetheless, he promised to help return the phone within a few minutes.

But after the reporter spent 20 minutes without seeing Mr. Moshood, he decided to return to the office.

Several calls and text messages to Mr. Moshood seeking the latest about the reporters phone were neither answered nor returned as at the time of filing this report.

The police have been criticised for declaring Mr. Afegbua wanted following a contradictory statement that was released after the one he distributed to the media for Mr. Babangida.

The emergence of the second statement, which PRNigeria said was also signed by Mr. Babangida but which was less critical of Mr. Buhari, threw the public into confusion on Sunday night.

Femi Falana, a senior lawyer and human rights advocate, said in a statement Tuesday that it was clear that it is the Inspector General of Police who has defamed Mr. Afegbua by portraying him as a fugitive from the law.

Therefore, Mr. (Ibrahim) Idris is advised to withdraw the offensive declaration without any further delay, Mr. Falana added.

Despite repeated requests, the police have not told PREMIUM TIMES which aspects of the statement Mr. Afegbua released on behalf of his principal were capable of inciting the public into violence.

Mr. Babangida himself has not spoken about the controversy since he confirmed to THISDAY on Sunday that the statement emanated from him.

Mr. Afegbua, however, told PREMIUM TIMES shortly before he turned himself in to the police Wednesday morning that the former military leader was fully behind him and he had been in touch with him.

Theres no need for him to say anything more than he had already said, Mr. Afegbua said of his principal.

Mr. Ajulo said he advised Mr. Afegbua to turn himself in to show Nigerians that his client was not on the run as the police stated.

Mr. Afegbua was still at the Force Headquarters as at the time of filing this report.

Jimoh Moshood, the police spokesperson received Mr. Afegbua and about seven persons in his legal team at about 10:54 a.m.

Mr. Moshood took Mr. Afegbua and his lawyers to his office at the seventh floor of the Force Headquarters.

After spending 30 minutes discussing over some beverages, Mr. Afegbua and his lead counsel, Kayode Ajulo, were taken into an interrogation room with the commissioner for police in charge of the Inspector-General Monitoring Unit.

The interrogation was held behind closed doors. Mr. Afegbua and his lawyer emerged about 25 minutes later.

They were asked to go without any charges being filed, Mr. Ajulo told PREMIUM TIMES.

The police are keeping details of the meeting to themselves, with Mr. Moshood telling PREMIUM TIMES that his office wont release any statement about the development.
The police briefly detained a PREMIUM TIMES reporter who arrived at the Force Headquarters with Kassim Afegbua on Wednesday morning.

Mr. Afegbua, a longtime spokesperson for a former head of state, Ibrahim Babangida, turned himself in two days after he was declared wanted on allegations that he made false statements, injurious falsehood, defamation of character and for an act capable of inciting public disturbance throughout the country.

Mr. Babangida had openly stated that he authorised the statement, which was critical of President Muhammadu Buhari, on Sunday night, but the police moved against Mr. Afegbua nonetheless.

Mr. Afegbua arrived at the Force Headquarters in Abuja, accompanied by his lawyers and four journalists, including Samuel Ogundipe, a general assignment reporter for PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr. Ogundipe, who was assigned to run live updates of the event, was filming the arrival of Mr. Afegbua and his legal team, led by Kayode Ajulo, when the police officers on duty at the reception confiscated his phone.

The major part of Mr. Afegbuas arrival that was captured by the reporter was when police officers were asking a man that had been declared wanted to introduce himself.

Mr. Afegbua told the officers that he was declared wanted and some of them asked: by who?

He then said it was the force public relations officer, Jimoh Moshood, that made the announcement.

Some of the officers then asked if he was on an appointment, and Mr. Ajulo interjected that if Mr. Moshood was not ready to receive his client, then everyone should go back home.

It was at this point that the police started demanding that PREMIUM TIMES reporters phone be confiscated and he must not be allowed to leave the building.

When Mr. Afegbua arrived, he was interviewed by a battery of reporters near the parking area of the headquarters.

But they were all prevented from following him into the building, leaving only Mr. Ogundipe as the only reporter capturing Mr. Afegbuas move from the parking area into the reception.

Several officers, including two, whose uniforms identified as James Oyibo and Daniel James, demanded that Mr. Ogundipe must delete the video he had captured of Mr. Afegbuas arrival and it took several minutes and explanations for the police to understand the reason he was at their headquarters.

I insisted that I will not delete the video and they prevented me from going out of the reception, Mr. Ogundipe said.

After delaying him for several minutes, he was asked to go after a female officer told the male officers of Mr. Ogundipe: Hes a PREMIUM TIMES press man.

When approached about the development, Mr. Moshood said he could not immediately retrieve the reporters phone.

All the reporters that came here with Kassim Afegbua today did not ask for my permission, Mr. Moshood said. So I dont know how I could help for now.

Mr. Moshood said Mr. Ogundipe was wrong to have taken his phone into the premises of the Force Headquarters, much less using the device to film activities inside.

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You should have dropped your phone at the gate and collect a tag, Mr. Moshood said.

Nonetheless, he promised to help return the phone within a few minutes.

But after the reporter spent 20 minutes without seeing Mr. Moshood, he decided to return to the office.

Several calls and text messages to Mr. Moshood seeking the latest about the reporters phone were neither answered nor returned as at the time of filing this report.

The police have been criticised for declaring Mr. Afegbua wanted following a contradictory statement that was released after the one he distributed to the media for Mr. Babangida.

The emergence of the second statement, which PRNigeria said was also signed by Mr. Babangida but which was less critical of Mr. Buhari, threw the public into confusion on Sunday night.

Femi Falana, a senior lawyer and human rights advocate, said in a statement Tuesday that it was clear that it is the Inspector General of Police who has defamed Mr. Afegbua by portraying him as a fugitive from the law.

Therefore, Mr. (Ibrahim) Idris is advised to withdraw the offensive declaration without any further delay, Mr. Falana added.

Despite repeated requests, the police have not told PREMIUM TIMES which aspects of the statement Mr. Afegbua released on behalf of his principal were capable of inciting the public into violence.

Mr. Babangida himself has not spoken about the controversy since he confirmed to THISDAY on Sunday that the statement emanated from him.

Mr. Afegbua, however, told PREMIUM TIMES shortly before he turned himself in to the police Wednesday morning that the former military leader was fully behind him and he had been in touch with him.

Theres no need for him to say anything more than he had already said, Mr. Afegbua said of his principal.

Mr. Ajulo said he advised Mr. Afegbua to turn himself in to show Nigerians that his client was not on the run as the police stated.

Mr. Afegbua was still at the Force Headquarters as at the time of filing this report.
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The Chief Press Secretary to the Kebbi State Governor, Abubakar Dakingari, said on Wednesday that six traders died while 12 persons were missing after a boat mishap on River Niger in Shanga Local Government Area of the state.

Mr. Dakingari made the confirmation on Wednesday in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Birnin Kebbi.

Two canoes were carrying more than 78 passengers, six persons have been confirmed dead while 12 are still missing and over 60 were rescued, he said.

He said Governor Atiku Bagudu of the Kebbi State had directed the traditional rulers, local government chairmen, Nigerian Inland Waterways officials and Marine Police to prohibit night travels by boats and canoes.

According to Mr. Dakingari , the governor gave the directive while on a condolence visit to the relatives of the victims in the area.

NAN reports that the incident happened following head-on collision of two canoes carrying traders and their goods on Tuesday at about 8:30 p.m. in Barikin Sakace in Shanga Local Government Area.

A resident of the area, Abubakar Maleje, told NAN that it was a terrible scene as the traders were brought out from the river.

I have seen six dead bodies and others are still missing in the river while search and rescue mission is still on by the authorities concerned.

Most of the passengers were travelling in the night inspite of the dangers of river voyage in the night.

 You can see the local boat operators over loading their boats with goods and people, he said.

The Executive Director of the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, Abbas Kamba, also confirmed the incident.

NAN also recalls that in September 2017, no fewer than 53 traders were reported dead in a boat mishap on River Niger in Bagudo Local Government Area of Kebbi.

(NAN)
The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, and the Acting Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS, Attahiru Ibrahim, have been summoned to the Presidential Villa.

Ayo Osinlu, Head, Media and Public Relations of NHIS, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Abuja.

We are awaiting the outcome of the meeting, he said.

The meeting was yet to start as at the time of this report as the Federal Executive Council meeting was ongoing. The council meeting is being presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari. The health minister and other ministers are also at the FEC meeting.

The meeting on the NHIS controversy is expected to hold after the FEC meeting.

The meeting between the officials and President Buhari is expected to centre on the controversial reinstatement of the suspended Executive Secretary of the NHIS, Usman Yusuf.

The invitation came a day after President Buhari reinstated Mr. Yusuf as exclusively reported by PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr. Yusuf was suspended by the Minister of Health, Mr. Adewole, in June 2017, following allegations of gross misconduct.

A panel commissioned by the minister after Mr. Yusufs suspension later found him culpable of infractions that ranged from nepotism to theft of public funds.

An administration official familiar with the development told PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday evening that Mr. Buhari did not consider Mr. Yusufs indictment by a ministerial panel before asking him to return to work.

Health Minister, Isaac Adewole

The letter authorising the reinstatement of the Mr. Yusuf was signed by Abba Kyari, the Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari.

The letter with subject matter Recall from suspension of Professor Usman Yusuf, dated February 5, with ref no: SH/COS/10/6/A/29 was addressed to Mr. Adewole and delivered to the ministry of health on Tuesday evening.

The above subject matter referred, kindly note that His Excellency Mr. President has approved the recall of Professor Usman Yusuf from suspension effective immediately.

The recall of Mr. Yusuf came exactly six months after his suspension. He was initially suspended from office on July 6, by the minister of health after directives from the office of the Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo while in acting capacity as the president.

Mr. Adewole in his letter to Mr. Yusuf, had directed him to step aside and hand over to the most senior officer at the agency so as not to influence outcome of the investigate panel set up to investigate the allegations against him.

Mr. Yusuf had been accused of nepotism, misappropriation of funds, among others.

However, as at Wednesday, Mr. Yusuf was yet to resume office.

President Muhammadu Buhari

NHIS Executive Secretary, Prof. Usman Yusuf is yet to resume office after his reinstatement by the Federal Government on Tuesday, February 6, the NHIS spokesperson said.

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The reinstatement of the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf, will not stop any investigation of corruption allegations levelled against him, the federal government said on Wednesday.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, who stated this on Wednesday, however, said he was not aware Mr. Yusuf was being investigated by the anti-graft agency, EFCC.

I am not aware that the EFCC is investigating the recently reinstated Executive Secretary of NHIS. But if that is the case, I dont think his reinstatement is a bar to any investigation, Mr. Mohammed told journalists at the end of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Mr. Mohammed later clarified his statement. I didnt say Im not aware of his investigation. I was precise. I said I am not aware that the EFCC is investigating him and that if it is true, that the fact that he has been reinstated does not mean a stop to it. That is what I said.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday reinstated Mr. Yusuf exactly six months after he was suspended by the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, following allegations of gross misconduct.

A panel commissioned by the minister after Mr. Yusufs suspension later found him culpable of infractions that ranged from nepotism to theft of public funds.

Mr. Adewole sent the report of the panel to the president in November.

However, on Tuesday, the minister received a letter signed by President Buharis chief of staff announcing Mr. Yusufs reinstatement. The letter was silent on the report of the health ministrys panel and whether or not the president cleared Mr. Yusuf of the panels findings or even reviewed the findings.

On Wednesday, the presidency summoned the health minister and the acting Executive Secretary of NHIS, Attahiru Ibrahim, to the presidential villa.

Ayo Osinlu, Head, Media and Public Relations of NHIS, told the News Agency of Nigeria that Mr. Adewole, and the Acting Executive Secretary of the NHIS, Attahiru Ibrahim, were summoned to the Presidential Villa.

Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Usman Yusuf [Photo: Concise News]

Mr. Osinlu, however, told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday night that the summon was not related to Mr. Yusufs recall.

Their presence was not in any way related to the reinstatement of the Executive Secretary, he said. Rather, they had attended to present and defend for approval, some projects of the Federal Ministry of Health with bearing on NHIS at FEC.

Mr. Osinlu had earlier said the recalled NHIS chief did not resume duties on Wednesday.
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Itoro Eze-Anaba, a Lagos-based anti-rape campaigner and founder of Mirabel Centre, has been recognised for her work by Queen Elizabeth II of England.

The Queen on Tuesday honoured Ms. Eze-Anaba with the Fourth Commonwealth Point of Light award for her role in helping victims of sexual assault, according to a statement signed by Joe Abuku, a spokesperson for the U.K. High Commission in Abuja.

The honour is part of various activities marking the build-up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London. The meeting is slated for 19-20 April in London and Windsor.

With the theme of Towards a Common Future, Commonwealth leaders plan to create a more prosperous and fair future for the Commonwealths 2.4 billion citizens, especially its youth.

The Queen  as Head of the Commonwealth  is thanking inspirational volunteers across the 52 Commonwealth nations for the difference they are making in their communities and beyond.

I am delighted that a Point of Light has been awarded to highlight the importance of tackling rape and sexual assault, Ms. Anaba was quoted as saying in a statement to the U.K. High Commission. Rape is evil, degrading and dehumanising.

I am sure that this award marks the beginning of a joint effort to uproot this evil that relentlessly battles for our future, she added.

She dedicated the award to a tireless and resolute team that is determined to give voice to the voiceless, strength to the weak and hope to the hopeless,

In 2013, Ms. Eze-Anaba founded Nigerias first reform centre for victims of sexual violence in Lagos, a facility that has helped over 3,100 victims. The centre has received funding from the U.K. Department for International Development.

The British High Commissioner to Nigeria Paul Arkwright presented the activist with the award during an event at the British High Commissioners Residence in Abuja Tuesday evening, Mr. Abuku said.

Mr. Arkwright hailed Ms. Eze-Anaba for showing impressive dedication to supporting victims of sexual assault and rape.

The Point of Light frequently recognises outstanding volunteers, individuals whose service is making a difference in their communities and whose story can inspire others to create innovative solutions to social challenges in their own communities and beyond.

The awards began in the United States in the early 1990s under President George Bush, recognising more than 6,000 outstanding persons in that country alone since then.

Since 2014, the UK Prime Minister has been holding a regular Point of Light awards event for people in the UK, with almost 900 now recognised.

The Commonwealth Points of Light is an offshoot of the similar honours in America and Britain.

As the leader of the Commonwealth, the British monarch hopes the award would inspire others to make their own contribution to tackling some of the greatest social challenges in modern times.
A Lagos High Court, Igbosere, on Wednesday sentenced 47-year-old businessman, Maduabuchi Onwuta, to 25 years imprisonment for defiling a 16-month-old baby.

The judge, Sedotan Ogunsanya, in her judgement held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

I am satisfied that the prosecution has proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt.

I find the defendant guilty of the offence of defilement; he is sentenced to 25 years imprisonment, which will commence from the date of sentencing.

During the trial, the prosecution led by Adebayo Haroun, had alleged that the convict committed the offence on November 26, 2013, at Isheri, Lagos.

According to Mr. Haroun, The convict had been a longtime family friend of the complainants family; he and the complainants uncle were secondary school classmates.

He helped the complainants mother by subletting a room in his apartment to her when she had accommodation problems.

On the fateful day, the complainants mother took her daughter to Onwutas bedroom and put the toddler in his care while she went to bathe.

After her bath, she approached her daughter and the child kept crying and pointing at her underwear saying, mummy see, see, she checked the childs underwear and noticed blood.

Her mother took her to a hospital where tests confirmed that her hymen had been ruptured.

On the day of the alleged defilement, only the complainant, her mother and the convict were home, the prosecutor said.

Mr. Onwuta, in his testimony on February 6, 2017, however, denied the allegations.

He said:The babys mother gave me the baby to watch over her while she went to bath.

There were four of us at home on that fateful day; the baby, her mother, the mothers young niece and I.

I, however, fell asleep and did not know what happened to the baby during the time I was asleep.

I was awoken by the babys mother, who said the baby was bleeding from her private part.

She accused me of defiling her daughter, but I did not defile the 16-month-old baby.

The complainants mother, a policewoman and John Bankole, a medical doctor, testified for the prosecution during the trial.

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Mr. Bankole in his evidence, said that medical examination revealed bruising and signs of forceful trauma to the childs private part.

The medical doctor noted that the toddler had a broken and bridged hymen.

He said that a creamy discharge was found around her private part which could have been seminal fluid.

The offence contravenes Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011, which recommends a life sentence for a person found guilty of defilement of a child.
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President Nicolas Maduro of the Republic of Venezuela, has called for stronger bilateral ties between that country and Nigeria.

Mr. Maduro said this when the new Nigerian Ambassador to Venezuela, Martin Cobham, presented his Letters of Credence to the President on Monday, in Caracas.

A statement from the Nigerian Embassy in Caracas made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja said that Mr. Maduro also called for sustained interaction with Africa.

He further urged for increased South-South co-operation in the various international fora.

Mr. Maduro called for the opening of new vistas in areas of mutual benefits for the development of the two countries.

Mr. Cobham in his response conveyed the fraternal greetings from President Muhammadu Buhari to Mr. Maduro.

The envoy pledged to collaborate with the relevant officials of the country to sustain the existing bilateral ties and further deepen partnership as spelt out in various MOUs and Agreements of the two countries.

He also solicited for support from his host to enable him succeed in his assignment.

Mr. Cobham served as Nigerias Acting High Commissioner to South Africa.

NAN reports that Venezuela established diplomatic relations with Nigeria in 1965.

Both countries are members of OPEC.

(NAN)
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The Federal High Court, Abuja, has threatened to strike out a suit filed by a senator, Dino Melaye, if the lawmaker or his counsel fails to appear in court on the next adjourned date.

Mr. Melaye filed a suit before Justice Nnamdi Dimgba seeking an interpretation of the courts judgment of September 11, 2017.

The court in that judgment, held that INEC acted within its constitutional right in commencing the process for Mr. Melayes recall.

When the matter was called on Wednesday, the counsel to INEC, A.Y. Abubakar, notified the court that Mr. Melayes counsel was not in court and no reason was given for his absence.

Mr. Abubakar who said that he was holding the brief of Yunus Usmantold the court that it appeared that the senator was no longer interested in pursuing the matter.

Justice Dimgba, however, said that he would give one more adjournment in the matter.

I will give one more adjournment and if they are not in court, I will strike it out.

He also instructed Mr. Abubakar to write to Mr. Melayes counsel, informing him of the new adjourned date.

He adjourned the matter until March 19.

(NAN)
The Lagos State University, LASU, on Wednesday matriculated 4,343 students at its main campus in Ojo, Lagos.

Speaking at the ceremony, Olanrewaju Fagbohun, the Vice Chancellor, said the institution offered admission to 4,563 candidates for the 2017/2018 academic session.

Mr. Fagbohun, a professor of Law, charged the new students to ensure excellence in character and learning by the end of their programmes.

May, I, at this point, congratulate our dear parents, guardians mostly warmly for the success of your children in securing admission in to the Lagos State University, Mr. Fagbohun said.

Starting off is good but nurturing them through it, is the most delicate part. I wish to implore parents to continue to look after this young adults.

The fact that they have gained admission to the university does not take them out of range of parental care. Parents should continue to counsel them against bad association, negative social influences.

Mr. Fagbohun reiterated the institutions zero tolerance for indiscipline, including indecent dressing and disrespect to constituted authority.

Students are encouraged to get involved with sporting and other extracurricular activities, he said.

Endeavour to make use of the available sport facilities provided at LASU sport centre and also participate as volunteers in university programmes including programmes organized by the Students, Union at Departmental, Faculty and Central levels.

For us at the Lagos State University, we work hard and also positively enjoy ourselves to the fullest.

The deans of all the eleven faculties in the university took turns to present the names of the new students before the gathering.

Olufemi Obayori, the Dean of Student Affairs, said a university is not just an institution where life skills are taught but a preparation for a wholesome adult life.

As a centre of knowledge, you are not taught what to think but how to think, how to interrogate the nature of things and of life itself, Mr. Obayori said.

You must able to ask questions about your reality, about the views espoused by society and by your lecturers.

Your lecturers are not oracles, they are your partners in progress, albeit more experienced and equipped to help you through a long and arduous journey of self development.

Mr. Obayori admonished the freshmen to shun cultism and other activities that is against the school rules and regulations and that any student found culpable of cultism would be dismissed.

The vice chancellor used the occasion to present the Alumnus Award for Academic Excellence to Oluwaseun Adesua, a former student.

Also, 237 students who had maintained a Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.50 and above received a cash prize of N15,000 each.

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The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has destroyed fake, expired and unwholesome products worth N80 million.

Moji Adeyeye, the Director-General, NAFDAC, destroyed the drugs at a site in Kuje, FCT-Abuja, on Wednesday.

She said that the products were seized in the Federal Capital Territory and Nasarawa State.

Mrs. Adeyeye, a professor, explained that the destruction was a periodic exercise in NAFDAC to get rid of fake, expired and unwholesome products from the market.

She said that this development showed that her agency was winning the war against counterfeit drugs in the country.

The fake and expired products we are destroying today are worth over N80 million and they were collected from FCT and Nasarawa State.

It will interest you to know that some of the expired products were voluntarily handed over to NAFDAC by the owners while others were mopped up from shelves by our task force, she said.

Mrs. Adeyeye disclosed that within the period, the agency arrested those involved in the dealings of the fake and counterfeit drugs.

She added that some have been prosecuted while others were facing trials in court.

The director-general said that the agency would not relent in its efforts in ensuring that those involved in fake, expired and unwholesome products face the wrath of the law.

She commended other government agencies like the Police Force, Nigeria Custom Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), among others, for their support.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the destruction was witnessed by representatives of Customs, Police, CPC and PSN.

(NAN)
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Two Azman filling station managers and six illegal fuel hawkers have been arrested by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC special task force monitoring the fuel crisis in Abuja.

This was disclosed in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES, signed by the Group General Manager, Group Public affairs division or the corporation, Ndu Ughamadu, on Wednesday.

Currently, major streets of Abuja, including high brow areas where establishments such as the NNPC towers and the Nigeria Police Headquarters are located have been besieged by tens of fuel hawkers, who brazenly display their wares to harried motorists who cannot stand the pressure of unending queues at filling stations across the city.

The statement said the two managers of Azman filling stations in Nyanya and Kuje, two suburbs in Abuja, were arrested after close monitoring by the team for diverting trucks of petrol meant for their stations to unknown destinations.

The quantity of the petrol diverted is 66,000 litres, the statement revealed.

They have been handed over to the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC for prosecution.

In addition to prosecution, the filling stations would pay a N250 fine for each litre of petrol diverted, the statement said.

Six illegal hawkers of petrol were also arrested in the Central Business District of Abuja, for hawking petrol in jerry-cans.

Three of the arrested persons (Samila Umar, Atlahim Abdullahi and Bashir Sani) were charged and prosecuted at the Area Court, Gudu, where Justice Sidi Bello sentenced them to two-month imprisonment or a N2,000 fine which they promptly paid.

The other three who were arrested yesterday are expected to be charged today, the statement revealed.

The scarcity of petrol has persisted for more than two months despite serial ultimatums by the federal government and National Assembly and feeble responses by the state owned oil firm.
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The Ogun State Police Command says a report of an attack by herdsmen along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is a fake news by a faceless group of students.

The report of the attack was followed by an anonymous security alert warning motorists and other travellers to avoid passing the route, as herdsmen were attacking and killing people.

The attention of Ogun State Police Command has been once again drawn to an alleged attack by herdsmen along Lagos/Ibadan expressway as well as an anonymous security alert letter written by a faceless student group urging students and members of the public not to travel along that route, the police said in a statement.

Police spokesperson in the state, Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the the faceless group also posted a simulated voice recording on social media where some people were crying and pleading with their alleged attackers not to kill them.

The Command wouldnt have dignified the disgruntled elements with a response but in order to allay the fears of public, the true security situation along that axis has to be made known to all and sundry, Mr. Oyeyemi added.

To start with, there is no attack by herdsmen or any other group in all the stretch of Express Ways across and within Ogun State, we make bold to say that the alleged attack posted on social media is a lie from the pit of hell fire being peddled by those who are not happy with the peaceful atmosphere in Ogun State, he said.

The picture attached to the post is a picture of an accident which occurred about eight years ago exactly on the 31st of July 2010 to be precise; while the purported voice recording was a stage managed one, Mr. Oyeyemi stressed.

The Lagos/Ibadan express road is one of the busiest roads in Nigeria and the Command is not oblivious of that fact, for that reason, there has been massive deployment of Police operatives from FSARS, Anti-Kidnapping/cultist unit, PMF as well as conventional policemen on surveillance and monitoring operatives and patrols to ward off any act of criminal activities on that road.

In as much as there is freedom of speech as guaranteed by the Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria, such freedom does not license anybody to be peddling dangerous rumours that can cause breach of public peace.

In view of that, the command is investigating those behind the senseless rumour with the view of bringing them to justice as they can be best described as enemy of the state.

We hereby enjoin the good and peace loving people of the state to discountenance the rumour and go about their lawful businesses without any fear of harassment or attack from anybody or group.

Any suspicious movement or gathering should be reported to the Police and other sister security agencies as quickly as possible and quick and adequate response will be accorded such report, the police said.
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The Peoples Democratic Party has accused the Presidency of unwarranted and unjustified intrusion and negative suggestions in the on-going trial of the partys former National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh.

The opposition party in a statement on Wednesday by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbodiyan, said a tweet by a presidential aide, Lauretta Onochie, confirmed that the interest of the presidency in the trial was beyond seeking justice.

Mr. Metuh, who is facing trial for alleged diversion of N400 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser under Sambo Dasuki, was on Monday taken to the Federal High Court in Abuja on a stretcher from an ambulance, leading to the court adjourning the matter till March 15.

The development elicited the concerns of some members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday who persuaded the House to adopt a motion seeking the intervention of the Attorney-General of the Federation in Mr. Metuhs trial to enable him seek medical care abroad.

Apparently not convinced that Mr. Metuhs health condition was dire, Ms. Onochie on her official twitter handle on Tuesday described the appearance of the accused person in the manner he did at the court as nothing but drama.

Her tweet read: NOLLYWOOD drama Starring Olisa Metuh. Act 2 scene 1.[SPOT THE DIFFERENCE. PDP CONVENTION: Strong, hale & hearty and even throwing punches!.

Days later FRAUD TRIAL IN COURT: Weak, tired & bandaged to the neck on a stretcher & ambulance to complement the Nollywood drama.

Reacting with umbrage to the tweet, the PDP alleged that the presidency had been intruding in Mr. Metuhs trial since inception just to set up the former PDP spokesperson before the judiciary.

It is repulsive that a Presidential aide has once again intruded directly, with malicious suggestions, in a matter that is on judicial trial, thus further exposing that Chief Metuhs travails in the course of the trial, may have been politically hatched and orchestrated.

It is instructive to state that Chief Metuh, whose spinal chord ailment has badly deteriorated, was brought to court in his current medical state, sequel to the order of the trial judge.

It is public knowledge that Justice Abang on January 25, 2018 rejected medical reports from doctors at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, where Chief Metuh had been on admission and ordered him to appear in court on Monday, January 5, 2018 or have his bail revoked. In fact, the judge ruled that he would thenceforth not accept any other report issued by any medical doctor on the accused.

It is therefore irresponsible, wicked and an unpardonable act of inhumanity, for the presidency or any of its agents to mock Chief Metuh for obeying the order of court, even in his current state of health, the party stated.

Alleging a sinister design against Mr. Metuh, the PDP said it had information that government agents were harassing medical practitioners across the country not to offer any form of treatment or assistance to the accused.

The party said that viewing such alongside negative and hostile disposition towards medical reports on Mr. Metuh, any responsible person could safely conclude that there is a grand conspiracy to persecute the accused.

While we are not opposed to the trial of any of our members for any matter whatsoever, we insist that the process must be fair, without external influences and in strict compliance with provisions of the law, the party said.
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Four Chinese nationals and 16 Nigerians have been arrested for allegedly running an elaborate illegal mining operation in Ebonyi State.

The arrest during a raid of the mining site at Echara Unuphu in Abakaliki Local Government Area during a raid by the police and other security agencies on Wednesday was at the instance of the state government.

The state government said the miners built a wide tunnel and hired soldiers to prevent its officials from inspecting their operation.

The Special Adviser to the State Governor on Solid Mineral Development, Nwakaego Nworie, said she visited the site with geology experts but the miners prevented them from inspecting the site.

I became very curious and insisted that I must see the whole site. I moved down inside the site. I got to a place, a soldier blocked me and threatened to shoot me if I pass him. The soldier told me, Dont go to that extreme. That day, I saw the tunnel even though I was prevented from going closer to it.

Today, I am overwhelmed that I have seen the tunnel of mining for the first time in my life. I made investigation to know if our office is aware of this tunnel and no one could give me information. Before an underground mining can take place, there must be a bye-law and mutual agreement between the host state and investor. But now, we are not aware of underground here and it is worrisome, she said.

The Senior Special Adviser to the Governor on Internal Security, Kenneth Ugbala, described the activities of the miners as shocking, saying they were creating environmental and security problems to the state.

He said the miners could also be using the tunnel for other illegal activities

The future of this state is at stake because of the activities of these illegal miners. I had the privilege of being in China recently and I know that the Chinese dont tamper with their environment no matter what the problem may be, Mr. Ugbala said.

With the type of problem created here in the name of mining, it is possible that this tunnel they created must have passed underground to Government House and every other place that Ebonyi people are living.

There is no society that this type of thing is seen. It is not as if they pay IGR and what type of IGR will even be more important than the future of our children and the entire people of the state?

One of the suspects, Nnamdi Peter who hails from Enugu State, said he had worked in the mining tunnel for three months.

In the first place, I dont know this is illegal mining. If it is illegal, I wouldnt have been working here. The company should have carried out Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with NESRA before embarking on this type of mining.

The Chinese men refused to speak to reporters, gesticulating with their hands to indicate that they do not speak or understand English.
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The House of Representatives on Wednesday called on the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to apologise to the Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, over a statement credited to the Force Public Relations Officer, Jimoh Moshood which the House described as derogatory.

The lawmakers also called for the immediate removal of Mr. Moshood from his position as police spokesperson.

The face-off between the Nigerian police and Benue State Government took a new twist Tuesday when Mr. Moshood described Governor Ortom as a drowning man.

Mr. Moshood said this on a breakfast television program, Sunrise Daily, aired on Channels Television.

We dont join issues with a drowning man, Governor Ortom is a drowning man, he said when asked to comment on the governors recent statement.

When asked by the presenter to withdraw the statement, he insisted he would not.

I will not withdraw for the purpose of this discussion because he called my IGP incompetent, the spokesman said.

The state governor had recently urged the IGP to resign a few weeks ago over his perceived inability to curb the persistent farmers/herdsmen clashes that has claimed many lives in the state.

Jimoh Moshood, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO)

Adopting a motion raised by Mark Gbilah (Benue  APC), the House mandated its committee to investigate the alleged statement made by the police spokesperson and its implications to its ability to superintend the resolutions of the killings in Benue and other parts of the country.

The Benue State caucus of the House had earlier addressed a press conference demanding the resignation of Mr. Moshood over professional misconduct and partisanship.

According to the lawmakers, the statement made by Mr. Moshood, where he also demanded the resignation of the Benue State Governor indicates the partisanship of the Nigerian police as an agency.
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The need to protect Nigerian citizens and Cameroonian refugees in border towns of Cross River State attracted the attention of the Senate on Wednesday.

The red chamber among other resolutions urged the Nigerian military authority to increase security presence and intensify border patrol within the area to prevent further acts of trespass by the Cameroon soldiers.

The sponsor of the motion, John Enoh, Cross River-APC, noted that the current agitation for the independence of Southern Cameroon has caused influx of refugees to some border communities in Cross River State with over six thousand of the refugees currently squatting at Obanliku, Boki, Etung and Ikom Local Government Areas of the state.

He said, The senate is worried about the precarious situation of women and children, which make up about 80 per cent of the approximately 10,000 registered refugees and of these persons are boys and girls who fled to Nigeria unaccompanied and separated children from their parents and are therefore vulnerable.

The senate is informed that on January 25, 2018 more than 80 Cameroonian soldiers with various weapons crossed the international border of the Danare-Daddi / Danare-Bodom axis and abducted five natives.

The senate observes that this is a calculated assault/offence from the Cameroonian military on Nigeria and an outright defiance of Nigerias territorial sovereignty, not minding the consequences of crossing the International boundary to carry out intimidation and harassment on the already alarmed citizens of Danare, with warnings of further assault;

The senate is worried that the current situation being faced by both the refugees and host border communities if not tackled urgently may result in both an outbreak of epidemic and a serious humanitarian crisis and further escalate the already troubling security situation along these boarders.

The lawmakers accordingly called on the Minister of Foreign affairs to urgently liaise with his Cameroonian counterpart to secure the release of these innocent Nigerians.

It urged Nigeria and Cameroon to strengthen the capacity of Nigeria-Cameroon trans-border security committee aimed at addressing emerging trans-border security issues confronting the two countries.

The senators also urged all relevant agencies of government saddled with the responsibility of managing emergencies such as National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, to intensify their remedial efforts of providing relief materials to the refugees.
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The Senate has rejected the report of its joint committee on Police Affairs and National Security and Intelligence. The committee was mandated to ensure compliance with the resolution of an ad-hoc committee on security which visited Benue State in the wake of recent killings in the state.

Adopting the directive of the ad-hoc committee, the Senate on January 16 gave the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, a 14-day ultimatum to apprehend and prosecute the perpetrators of killings.

The IGP on Friday, February 2 appeared before the senate ad-hoc committee.

Presenting the report, chairman of the committee, Abu Ibrahim, Katsina-APC, recommended among others that a percentage of the Excess Crude Account be dedicated to funding the police, political and religious leaders to restrain from making derogatory statements, disarming of armed militia and speedy prosecution of those arrested.

The Senate however rejected the report of the committee on the basis that the state governor, Samuel Ortom, who was mentioned severally in the IGP report was not invited for his side of the story.

The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu was first to condemn the report.

I noted that in the statement made by the IG , he copiously mentioned the governor of Benue in most of the paragraphs but I didnt see where the committee made an effort to speak with the governor. Because, if in the circumstance, they did not interview the governor, and his name has been mentioned in respect to certain statements and actions, it would only be fair to him, to be invited by the committee and hear his own side of the story so that we have a balanced view of what transpired.

Similarly, George Akume, Benue-APC, said the report is incomplete until the governor is given a fair hearing.

He said, I have gone through this summary, what I want to say is that this report would have been more rounded if the governor who has been so massively accused by the IGP was also invited to make input into it. The committee would have had opportunity to interact with him.

The Senate President after a voice vote by the lawmakers directed the committee to work on the report and re-present it in one week time.

As observed by the DSP, there is no doubt about it that this report is incomplete without the comments of the Governor of Benue State.

The only reason that I invited Senator Akume to speak, is because I believe that his views will be the closest that we will hear right now on the views of the Governor of Benue State.

Senator Abu Ibrahim should go back and complete his exercise with accepted contributions from everybody.
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The Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, on Wednesday said he had no plan to sell the government-owned radio outfit in the state, Radio Kwara.

A statement by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communication, Muyideen Akorede, said Mr. Ahmed reassured the citizenry of his determination to complete the ongoing transformation of The Herald, Radio Kwara, Midland FM and Kwara State Television (KWTV) into ultramodern media houses that every Kwaran will be proud of.

The statement explained that Mr. Ahmed remains totally committed to the promise to bequeath ultramodern state-owned media houses before the expiration of his tenure.

It is the only non-infrastructure project accommodated under the Kwara State Infrastructure Development Fund (IF-K), the funding window under which funds are released for projects on quarterly basis.

Based on Governor Ahmeds determination to bring these projects to a quick completion, he has directed that the projects should be given priority under IF-K funding, to ensure that the projects are completed before the June deadline, the governors aide disclosed.

While explaining that the re-positioning of KWTV has been completed, he disclosed that digital signals of the station will be switched on as soon as testing is completed in days.

He said the government had also purchased and delivered digital cameras, lights, digital consoles, switchers and other modern equipment to the station to ensure its capacity to compete favourably. He added that the governor had ensured the complete renovation and extension of KWTVs premises in order to make the environment more convenient for the stations employees.

He explained that relevant training were also conducted for all staff of the station so that they can perform their duties optimally.

Dwelling further on the next phases of the re-positioning projects, Mr. Akorede informed that government would ensure the purchase of a new 10KW digital transmitter for Midland FM; renovation of Midland FM premises; completion of the renovation of Broadcasting House in GRA; purchase of new digital live and recording studios for Radio Kwara AM; and a complete overhaul of the AM stations transmitters to ensure that the signals are received across the whole of the state.

Already, Midland FM has a new website and it will commence the online streaming of its signals in the next two weeks or so, the spokepserson said.

Kwarans can rest assured that Governor Ahmed remains determined to ensure that Midland FM and Radio Kwaras signals are received in all parts of the state.

On The Herald newspapers, I can assure you that plans are afoot to completely renovate the buildings from where the newspaper will operate, revamp the website, and purchase new printers.

With the approval of the governor, The Herald has already been re-positioned as a regional newspaper with its news hole covering the critical North Central market and the contiguous centres.

Consequently, Governor Ahmed is also set to complete the activation of The Heralds Bureau Offices beginning with Abuja, Kogi, Niger, Benue, Oyo, Osun, Lagos, and Ado-Ekiti.

Mr. Akorede therefore implored members of the public and especially, the loyal listeners of Radio Kwara, to ignore rumours being peddled on some social media platforms to the effect that the government is planning to dispose of the station.
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The Governor of Delta State, Ifeanyi Okowa, has rejected the federal governments proposed cattle colonies, saying his state will not cede land for it.

Mr. Okowa, during a meeting on Tuesday in Asaba with herdsmen, farmers, community leaders, and heads of security agencies in the state cited threat to peace and security, as well as the shortage of land, as the reason for the rejection of the proposal.

The Nigerian Constitution does not allow anyone to graze on someones farm. It does not permit you to forcefully take over someones house, Mr. Okowa was quoted by a Government House statement as having said in the meeting.

We can co-exist as a people but, as we co-exist, there must be mutual respect for one another. Whoever you are, when you engage in crime, the law must take its course.

Some of those who are looking after the cows are so young that most times they are not able to take decisions concerning the cows. And as long as they carry arms and ammunition, there are major security issues at stake, he said.

The governor tasked the federal government to come up with a clear-cut policy direction on the issue, saying that the federal government, for instance, was unable to disarm herdsmen perpetuating crimes.

The governor directed the local government councils in the state to set up within the next one week an interventionist security committee as part of the interim measures to address the perennial clashes amongst herdsmen, farmers and host communities.

He urged the police and other security agencies to ensure justice for all and that they shouldnt allow the communities to lose confidence in their abilities to check crimes, especially those committed by herdsmen.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Muhammada Mustapha, assured the people that their security would not be compromised.

Apart from Delta, other states which have rejected proposed cattle colonies include Ekiti, Benue and Taraba.

Katsina, where President Muhammadu Buhari comes from, Kano and Adamawa state have allocated lands for it.

The federal government came up with the idea of cattle colonies to stem the tide of bloodletting arising from persistent clashes between herdsmen and farmers across the country.
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The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has shut down three fuel stations in Cross River State for not accounting for three trucks of fuel.

Bassey Nkanga, DPR Operations Controller in charge of Cross River, directed the closure on Wednesday during a surveillance of fuel stations across the state.

He said that the stations action had violated laid down government directives towards improving fuel supply to citizens.

Mr. Nkanga said that the surveillance was to ensure that product released from the depot was sold to the public at the government approved price of N145 per litre.

He added that long queues in most fuel stations across the state had reduced due to increased flow of product to the state.

If the supply is consistent within the next few days, there will be no queues again. We are intensifying efforts to ensure that the product is available for all at the government approved pump price.

We have sealed three fuel stations for not accounting for three trucks of fuel; two were sealed in northern Cross River and one inside Calabar.

Since these fuel stations lifted the product from the depot yesterday (Tuesday), some of them are claiming that the trucks broke down on the way.

We have given them 24 hours to report back to us, and if they fail to do so, we will conclusively deduce that they have diverted the product and we will apply all the sanctions accordingly.

If any marketer is caught diverting the product, he or she will pay N200,000 on each litre diverted. If it is a whole truck, the marketer will pay like N6 million and if you are caught selling above government price, you will pay N100,000 as fine respectively, he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the closed stations are Con Oil in Calabar, Dandy Oil in Obudu Local Government Area and Willis Oil along Katsina-Ala road in Ogoja Local Government.

The controller urged motorists and other users of the product not to engage in panic buying or store in houses for safety purpose.

He added that the government was doing everything possible to bring back normalcy in petroleum product supply.

I wish to appeal to the public to have faith in government because efforts are on to ensure availability of the product in the country, he said.

(NAN)
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ebonyi, Paul Okorie, was on Monday attacked by suspected political thugs at Ugwulangwu area of Ohaozara Local Government Area of Ebonyi.

The thugs also attacked Nnachi Okoro, the Ohaozara APC Chairman, one John Ogbonnaya, and two members of the party.

The victims according to reports were reportedly brutalised by gun-wielding thugs from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state, numbering over 30. They were reportedly led by three Ebonyi government officials from the local government.

Mr. Okorie told PREMIUM TIMES in Abakaliki on Tuesday that the attackers invaded the venue where party members were holding a meeting preparatory for the visit of the APC State Working Committee, SWC, slated for Friday, February 9.

Mr. Okorie, a former commissioner for works and environment in Ebonyi, and other victims receivied treatment at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki (FETHA).

He described the unprovoked attack as callous, wicked and barbaric.

Narrating the incident to journalists, he said: We scheduled a meeting of a section of Ohaozara Local Government Area of APC for the three wards in Ugwulangwu, preparatory for the visit of the SWC of our party for the Continuous Voter Registration sensitisation.

The meeting commenced peacefully at about 5.00 p.m. yesterday (Monday, February 5). The meeting was going on smoothly when midway, some hoodlums, came in and disrupted the meeting.

So, at a point they went back; we thought they had gone and continued with our meeting when suddenly they came in with over 30 boys in three branded buses, all heavily armed with different types of dangerous weapons.

They shot sporadically and we were thoroughly clubbed and beaten, as you can see the cuts and bruises all over my body. They escaped in their vehicles, and also took our mobile phones, money and other valuables.

APC leaders attacked by suspected PDP thugs APC leaders attacked by suspected PDP thugs APC leaders attacked by suspected PDP thugs

The APC chieftain urged the electorate to be on guard and assured that no threat or intimidation would make the party to back down on its resolve to wrestle power from the PDP.

He urged the police, army and other security agencies to provide adequate security for every citizen of the state.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the PDP in the state, Onyekachi Nwebonyi, has denied the involvement of his party members in the attack.

I am just hearing about it now from you. Nobody from my party attacked them. They should go and find the people who attacked them, he said.

Police spokesperson, Lovett Odah, when contacted, said no formal report on the alleged incident had been received by the command.

She said the police would react appropriately only when the matter has been officially reported and preliminary investigations made.

She, however, said she would liaise with appropriate authorities to ensure the Divisional Police Officer for Ohaozara Local Government Area, visits the scene of the crime.

The police are yet to receive any report on the alleged attack either at the command or in the division. However, we shall detail the DPO in Ohaozara after due consultations to visit the scene of the crime to commence investigation, Ms. Odah said.

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Despite the assurances, the state chairman of APC, Eze Nwachukwu, has condemned the attack.

He vowed that the party would explore every legal avenue to bring the perpetrators to justice.

He further reassured of the partys commitment to peaceful and violence free elections in 2019, and urged politicians not to make the election a do-or-die affair.

He said the party has lodged a formal report at the Police Command in Abakaliki.

We got the news of the barbaric and brutal attack on our party members while in a peaceful meeting at Ugwulangwu yesterday, and we have taken the necessary action including lodging a formal report at state police command.

The attack is condemnable and we promise the perpetrators that APC will explore every available legal means to bring them to justice. We are law abiding and wish to reassure the electorate and Ebonyi residents that APC is committed to peaceful and violence free elections in Ebonyi in 2019, he said.
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Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State on Wednesday donated 22 patrol vehicles with modern communication gadgets to the Police Command in the state for effective surveillance.

Mr. Ugwuanyi, who handed the vehicles over to the Commissioner of Police, Danmallam Mohammed, said the gesture was part of his resolve to secure all parts of the state.

The governor said that his administration was appreciative of the cordial relationship between the state government and security agencies in the state.

We declared our resolve to give utmost attention to the security of lives and property in all corners of the state from the inception of this administration.

We have continued to demonstrate this commitment through the excellent relationship with the police and other security agencies in the state, he said.

Mr. Ugwuanyi said it was gratifying that the resolve had paid off, culminating in the current status of the state as one of the most secure in the country.

The governor thanked the Inspector General of Police for what his officers were doing in the state, adding that such gesture by the state government would be carried out from time to time.

Earlier, Mr. Mohammed said it had become imperative for other states in the country to study the Enugu security model and replicate it in their areas.

Enugu State has become an excellent centre for peace and conflict resolution. Other states should come and learn from them, he said.

Mr. Mohammed said that the police would continue to provide adequate security in all corners of the state to ensure that it maintained its rating.

The main purpose of governance is for security of lives and property. This is being witnessed by deliberate actions of the state government and police to checkmate the activities of criminals.

We have got tremendous support from the state government, he said.

Mr. Mohammed said that the state would continue to make progress in the area of security.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state had in 2015 donated 18 patrol vehicles to the police command.

(NAN)
Manila today is the Hong Kong and Singapore of 30 years ago, (and) the level of development in the metropolis over the last decade has been unprecedented and reflects the accelerated expansion of the property market. Thus said the chairman of Santos Knight Frank, a leading property advisor in the Asia-Pacific region, a few weeks ago. The Santos in the company name is Rick Santos. Rick Santos knows whereof he speaks. Not only is Mr. Santos a Filipino-American but, during his years as president of the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, he also was a resident of this country. In effect, Rick Santos believes that Manila  or, more precisely, Metro Manilais the new Hong Kong. What Metro Manila is today is, in his opinion, what Hong Kong was in 1988. Manila is a rapidly rising megacity powered by a growing pool of high-value talent, real estate expansion and a robust, consumption-driven economy, Mr. Santos said. He went on to note that Metro Manila had a population greater than the combined population of Hong Kong and Singapore. The population of this countrys premier metropolis has been placed at 25 million. Metro Manila had become one of the favorite locations of the world BPO (business process outsourcing) industry, Santos Knight Franks chairman declared. In 2007 it ranked fourth in the Tholons Services Globalization (Outsourcing) Index, he said. In two of the areas that are of utmost significance to the real property management industryrent trends and vacancy ratesMetro Manila has been performing very well vis-a-vis Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei and other major East Asian cities, Rick Santos said. Prime office rents in Metro Manila have risen between 5 percent and 6 percent annually since 2011. And in mid-2017 Metro Manilas 3.4 percent was one of the lowest vacancy rates in the Asia-Pacific region.Santos Knight Franks chairman is right. Because of the frenetic construction activity of the last two decades, undertaken principally to meet the residential investment needs of the OFW (overseas Filipino worker) community and the office-space requirements of the BPO industry, Metro Manila has today what Hong Kong had 30 years ago. But there is something that Metro Manila has in 2018 that Hong Kong does not have. That is the assurance of a secure juridical future. The agreement signed by China and the United Kingdom providing for a gradual change in Hong Kongs juridical status from that of a British Crown colony to that of a Chinese SAR (Special Administrative Region) will expire in 2047. That is only 30 years away. Is Hong Kong likely to retain its attractiveness and allure as a center of finance and trade when it is fully incorporated into a country as politically and administratively configured as China? I dont think so. What do you think, Rick Santos?
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The five unions in the six Oyo State Government-owned tertiary institutions have suspended their three month old strike.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the suspension was announced by the unions at their various congresses held across the institutions on Tuesday.

The institutions are The Polytechnic, Ibadan; Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa; Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki; Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo; Oyo State College of a Education, Lanlate; and Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora.

The unions are Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics, ASUP; Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics, SANNIP; and Non-Academic Staff Union, NASU.

Others are Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education Nigeria and College of Education Academic Staff Union.

Babatunde Adeniyi, the Chairman, Joint Action Committee of the unions, said that the strike was suspended following the resolutions of the Governing Council chairpersons of the six institutions.

Mr. Adeniyi said that the chairmen had resolved to restore the payment of 100 per cent salary of workers from January.

We are suspending the strike with the hope that the state government will release funds to these institutions to clear the salaries arrears owed workers from seven to 17 months, he said.

In his reactions, Gbemiga Adewale, the Provost, Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology, Igboora, thanked the unions for their understanding.

Mr. Adewale said that academic activities would commence at the college on February 12 based on the recently revised academic calendar for 2017/2018 academic session.

(NAN)
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The Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has constituted the states independent electoral commission in preparation for the conduct of local council election later in the year.

The newly constituted ODIEC is headed by a professor, Yomi Dinakin.

Other members of the commission are, Soji Omowole, Oladele Akinyelure,Tunde Adeyeye, Stella Omotosho,Taku Ibrahim and Rotimi Olorunfemi.

A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Segun Ajiboye, said the names would be sent to the state House of Assembly for confirmation.

Although no specific date has been fixed for the election, it is expected that the polls would hold in April, given that the polls held last in April 2016, where the PDP won the chairmanship seats in all the 18 local government areas.

The All Progressives Congress, APC, boycotted that election after it accused ODIEC of compromising the election in favour of the ruling PDP.
Intrepid entrepreneurs have plunged into icy Finnish water in an eccentric contest to win funding for their business ideas.

Polar Bear Pitching allows start-up firms to put forward their projects to investors for as long as they can stand in the freezing temperatures.

The final of the Dragons Den-style competition will see a dozen companies put their plans under the noses of investors.

The winner of the two-day contest  which takes place in frozen sea near Oulu on February 6 and 7  will receive 10,000.

Start-ups who have secured funding say standing in such cold water helps convince investors they are serious.
Built on a robust cloud infrastructure, the Platform allows direct connectivity to the Veslink Network, comprised of more than 500 owners, charterers, agents, brokers, bunker vendors, and suppliers, and is the culmination of Veson's goal of leading the digital transformation of shipping.

According to John Veson, CEO of Veson Nautical, "Shipping is facing many new challenges, and these call for new solutions. One of the great highlights for me in this outstanding year was being able to provide such a solution and realize our vision of moving IMOS to the web."

Joining Veson in this vision are 28 new clients over the past year, 90% of which chose the Veslink IMOS Platform. These recent wins are characterized by their diversity  Veson's new clients include companies large and small, and run the gamut of industry verticals from dry to wet, LNG, pool operator, and liner.

Additionally, Veson's existing portfolio of over 220 industry leaders is starting to adopt the Platform, led by NORDEN, a Veson client since 2011. Founded in 1871, NORDEN is one of Denmark's oldest international shipping companies. NORDEN operates in dry cargo and product tankers worldwide with a fleet among the most modern and competitive in the industry. The company's mix of owned and chartered tonnage includes 241 dry cargo and 50 tanker vessels with 14 vessels on order. NORDEN views the Veslink IMOS Platform as a crucial component of their aggressive near-term growth initiative and long-term competitive strategy.

"NORDEN will in the coming years significantly increase its business activity," said Martin Badsted, CFO of NORDEN. "To support the growth and build further competitive edges in our usage of data, we looked for an agile, scalable, and user-friendly system with a proven reliability. We found this at Veson, and based on our long and comprehensive experience with IMOS, we are looking forward to even better performance and new features to support our efforts to enable smarter global trade."

"This past year has been truly remarkable in what we've been able to accomplish," stated John Veson. "We continue to innovate solutions that meet the needs of our long-time and new clients todayand anticipate their challenges of tomorrow. 2017 has transformed Veson in a way that will enable us to revolutionize how maritime commerce is conducted far into the future."

About Veson Nautical

Veson Nautical provides commercial operations and risk management solutions to the maritime industry. For over 30 years, the world's top owners, charterers, and operators have used Veson tools to drive their businesses forward. Since 2003, Veson's Integrated Maritime Operations System (IMOS) has been the industry-standard solution for chartering, operations, and financials. Every day, over 200 leading maritime organizations use IMOS to manage 50,000 annual voyages and over $25 billion in worldwide trade.

In 2017, Veson Nautical launched the Veslink IMOS Platform, the first complete commercial shipping solution optimized for the web and mobile devices. In addition to the core IMOS workflows validated by the industry over the past 15 years, the Veslink IMOS Platform enables direct connectivity to the over 500 owners, charterers, agents, brokers, bunker vendors, and suppliers that make up the Veslink Network. The company may be reached via the Web at www.veson.com or in their Boston headquarters at +1.617.723.2727.

SOURCE Veson Nautical

Related Links

http://www.veson.com


FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 314e Corporation, a leader in healthcare information technology services and solutions, announced today that it has been named 2018 Best in KLAS for Technical Services (2018 Best in KLAS: Software & Services Annual Report). Technical Services include data conversion, interfacing/integration, implementing an HIE, healthcare analytics (data warehousing, report writing, etc.), system design, build and testing, programming, database development, web portal design and implementation and setting up a security and privacy infrastructure, including penetration testing, etc.

314e Corporation

314e's CEO, Abhishek Begerhotta, said, "We are honored and humbled that KLAS and our clients have ranked 314e number one in this broad and crucial service category of Technical Services. We strive to deliver high quality at a reasonable price point to our customers, and this award, along with our overall high KLAS ratings, inspire us to strive even harder."

Recognized industry-wide as an impartial arbiter of software, services and medical equipment vendors in healthcare, KLAS ranked 314e Corporation "2018 Best in KLAS for Technical Services" with a score of 96.3 out of 100.* Providers nationwide rely on KLAS' unbiased research to help them make informed technology decisions for their health systems.

"Best in KLAS is more than a ranking. It is a recognition of vendors committed to delivering superior solutions," said Adam Gale, president of KLAS. "It gives voice to thousands of providers who are demanding better performance, usability and interoperability in healthcare technology."

314e will accept its award at the Best in KLAS Reception on March 5, 2018, during HIMSS18 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas.

About 314e Corporation

314e Corporation is a full-service Healthcare ONLY Information Technology solutions and services company headquartered in Fremont, California, with a regional office in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Since 2004, 314e has helped over 150 healthcare providers across the country with IT Advisory, EHR, business and departmental application implementation and support, Business Intelligence, Integration and Interoperability, as well as Security and Infrastructure services. To learn more about 314e, visit www.314e.com.

About KLAS

Since 1996 KLAS has been providing accurate, honest and impartial insights to the healthcare IT (HIT) industry. The KLAS mission is to improve the world's healthcare by amplifying the voice of providers and payers. The scope of our research is constantly expanding to best fit market needs as technology becomes increasingly sophisticated. KLAS finds the hard-to-get HIT data by building strong relationships with our payer and provider friends in the industry. Working with thousands of healthcare professionals, KLAS generates insights on software, services, and medical equipment to deliver comparison reports and reveal trends. To learn more about KLAS, visit www.KLASresearch.com.

* "2018 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Services," January 2018.  2018 KLAS Enterprises LLC. All rights reserved. www.KLASresearch.com.

Media Contact

Mikael Ambrozik

314e Corporation

[email protected]

510.371.6762

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SOURCE 314e Corporation

Related Links

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ALBANY, New York, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The global market for 3D printing medical device market is witnessing the rise of a number of small- and medium-scale companies, rendering the vendor landscape increasingly competitive, observes Transparency Market Research in a recent report. The market is also witnessing a surge in collaboration initiatives as established healthcare and medical devices companies focus on incorporating innovative technologies in their operations so as to keep attaining sustainable profits and remain competitive. Recently, Philips signed an agreement with the 3D printing medical devices companies Stratasys and 3D Systems in North America to support its progress in the field of patient care and strengthen its clinical experience.

The report states that the global 3D printing medical device market will expand at a CAGR of 17.7% during the period from 2017 to 2025, rising from a valuation of US$713.3 mn in 2016 to US$3513.0 mn by 2025.

North America to Maintain Leadership Position

Of the key application segments that the 3D printing medical devices market serves, the segments of orthopedic and cranial implants and dental restoration collectively accounted for over 75% of the overall market in 2016. These segments are also expected to remain at the forefront in the next few years and will continue to contribute a big share in the global market revenue over the report's forecast period as well.

Geographically, the market in North America is presently the dominant regional market for 3D printing medical device market. The regional market accounted for over 39% of the global market in 2016 and continues to be a strong and lucrative region for the market. This can be attributed to the vast and strategic investments made by the key players in the region with the view of benefitting from the strong healthcare sector and the presence of several conventional medical device companies.

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Market to Benefit from Technological Advancements

Vast technological advancements witnessed in the field of 3D printing in the past few years, in terms of printing technologies, materials, and the devices available, have acted as a springboard for the medical devices industry for the profound modernization that is possible in present-day medical devices through 3d printing. The global market for 3D printing medical devices is predicted to expand at a promising pace in the next few years as the healthcare sector, healthcare practitioners, as well as patients are becoming more adopting of 3D-printed medical devices.

The rising set of applications of 3D-printed medical devices such as prosthetics and implants, dental restorations, surgical instruments, and tissue fabrication and the great demand for these products across the globe are collectively working in favor of the global 3D printing medical device market. These factors are expected to help the market expand at a promising pace over the report's forecast period.

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Stringent Regulations Governing Medical Device Approvals to Emerge as Challenge for Market

However, the 3D printing medical device market is restricted by stringent regulations that generally govern the medical devices industry. FDA regulations led by the U.S. government, for instance, assess products thoroughly to determine the safety and effectiveness of 3D-printed medical devices in comparison to their conventionally manufactured counterparts. While this factor is expected to restrict the expansion of the market to a certain extent, the increased use of 3D-printed model devices for training and learning purposes and the rising demand to cut-down the socio-economic burden of healthcare on government funds could emerge as promising growth opportunities.

This review of the global 3D printing medical device market is based on a recent market research report by Transparency Market Research, titled "3D Printing Medical Device Market (Component - Printers, Materials, and Software and Services; Technology - Electron Beam Melting, Selective Laser Melting, Selective Laser Sintering, Photopolymerization, and Direct Metal Laser Sintering; Application - Orthopedic and Cranial Implant, Dental Restorations, Surgical Instruments, Tissue Fabrication, and External Prosthesis) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017-2025."

Purchase your own copy of Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=29084<ype=S

For the study, the market has been segmented as follows:

3D Printing Medical Device Market, by Component

Printers

Materials

Software & Services

3D Printing Medical Device Market, by Technology

Electron Beam Melting

Selective Laser Melting

Selective Laser Sintering

Photopolymerization

Direct Metal Laser Sintering

Others

3D Printing Medical Device Market, by Application

Orthopedics & Cranial Implants

Dental Restorations

Surgical Instruments

Others (Tissue Fabrication, External Prosthesis)

In addition, the report provides analysis of the 3D Printing Medical Device Market with respect to the following geographic segments:

North America The U.S. Canada Rest of North America

Europe The U.K. Germany France Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific (APAC) India China Japan Australia Rest of APAC

(APAC) Middle East and Africa (MEA) GCC Countries South Africa Rest of MEA

and (MEA) Latin America Brazil Rest of South America



Popular Research Reports by TMR:

Patient Monitoring and Ultrasound Devices Display Market:

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/patient-monitoring-ultrasound-devices-display-market.html

3D Imaging Market:

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/3d-imaging-market.html

About Us

Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

TMR's data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.

Contact



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Research Blog: http://www.techyounme.com/

SOURCE Transparency Market Research
LONDON, Fev. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Overview

To construct a three dimensional material from a 3D printer specialty printing inks are required. These type of inks are called as 3D printing inks and manufactured from addition of 3D printing powder.







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Digitally controlled layering of 3D printing powder are used to make a three-dimensional object. Some of the important materials that are utilized in making 3D printing powder include tool steel, stainless steel, copper alloys, aluminum alloys, diamond catalyst alloys, titanium alloys, super alloys of chromium and nickel.



3D printing powder has characteristic packing density, and specific morphology that ensure uniformity and good flow in 3D printing of different objects. Some of the major techniques are used to produce 3D printing powder includes gas atomization, water atomization, centrifugal atomization, and plasma atomization.



Numerous industries such as medical, aerospace & defense, architecture, and automotive make use of 3D printing powder extensively for different applications. One of the biggest consumer of 3D printing powder is aerospace & defense industry.



Use of 3D printing powder ensures excellent toughness and durability and in products. It also helps in weight reduction of the substrate on which it is being used. Automotive components manufactured by using 3D printing powder exhibits excellent mechanical strength and other amended functionalities as compared with components made from ordinary materials.



Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Segmentation

3D printing powder can be sub-divided into product and applications types. Product used for making 3D printing powder consist of plastic, metals, ceramic, and others.



Metals can further segmented into stainless steel, cobalt, nickel, and others. Some of the major applications of 3D printing inks are: automotive, aerospace, medicals, and many more. Plastics exhibits highest revenue share followed by metals and ceramics.



Most of the revenue generation from application segment is generated from automotive and aerospace industries. Major drivers of the revenue includes the faster development of products in less production time and rapid development of new applications for 3D printing. The usage of 3D printers rapidly reduces the time required to develop prototypes and to manufacture the end-product.



This is the case because the usage of 3D printers eliminates the need to install manufacturing machinery and factories. New applications are being continuously developed for 3D printers. The automotive, medical, and aerospace industries were the first ones to adopt 3D printers.



Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Scope of the Study

The report estimates and forecasts the 3D Printing Powder market on the global and regional levels. The study provides forecast between 2017 and 2025 based on volume (Kilo Tons) & revenue (US$ Mn) with 2016 as the base year.



The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the segments with detailed 3D printing powder manufacturing process. It provides a comprehensive view of the market.



Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage with list of major customers. The study includes drivers and restraints for the 3D Printing Powder market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period.



The study also provides key market indicators and regulatory scenario affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the 3D Printing Powder market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, S.W.O.T analysis and key trends mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources. Furthermore, the report analyzes production scenario of 3D Printing Powder and global import- export analysis.



The report includes Porter's Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the 3D Printing Powder market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein application and regions have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market.



The study provides a comprehensive view of the 3D Printing Powder market by dividing it into 3D printing powder by product, by end-use application, and by geography segments. The 3D printing powder market by product has been segmented into plastics, metals, ceramic, and others sub-segments.



The metals sub-segment is further divided stainless steel, cobalt, nickel, and others sub segments. The application type segment is divided into automotive, aerospace, Medical, and others sub-segments. These segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.



Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast consumption of 3D Printing Powder in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Market segmentation includes demand for consumption in all the regions individually.



Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Competitive Dynamics

The report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global 3D Printing Powder market. Key players profiled in the report are Advanced Powders and Coatings Inc., Arcam AB, Arkema, Carpenter Technology Corporation, ERASTEEL, GKN plc, Hoganas AB, Sandvik AB, Ltd., LPW Technology Ltd., and Metalysis. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).



Global 3D Printing Powder Market: Research Methodology

Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to, company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.



In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research.



Key players' product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis team's expertise and market understanding.



The global 3D Printing Powder market has been segmented as follows:



3D Printing Powder Market  By Product

Plastics

Metal

Stainless Steel

Cobalt

Nickel

Others

Ceramic

Others



3D Printing Powder Market  By Application

Automotive

Aerospace

Medical

Others



3D Printing Powder Market  By Region

North America

U.S.

Canada

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Europe

Germany

U.K.

France

Italy

Spain

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

ASEAN

Rest of Asia Pacific

Middle East & Africa

GCC

South Africa

Rest of Middle East & Africa



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WOOD DALE, Ill., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AAR (NYSE: AIR), a global provider of aviation services to commercial airlines, announced a joint venture with Indamer Aviation, a leading aviation company in India, for the development of a new airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Nagpur, India.

The new MRO facility, which is already under construction, will initially be comprised of six narrow-body bays, including one bay for paint. Additional phases are planned for a total of 16 bays, as well as component repair shops.

The MRO will serve India's fast-growing commercial aviation market and is scheduled to open in the fall with FAA, EASA and DGCA certifications. Fully aligned with the 'Make In India' initiative, the facility will employ Indian nationals, including some of the existing Indamer workforce. A training school under Indamer's CAR 147 certification and the Government of India's Skill Development Program will allow hundreds of students to gain skill sets and employment in Nagpur. The initial group of students will receive practical training at one of AAR's MRO facilities in the United States.

"We are excited to expand AAR's MRO expertise outside of the Americas in partnership with Indamer, which has the local market and cultural knowledge needed for success," said John Holmes, President & Chief Operating Officer, AAR. "We are looking forward to bringing our MRO experience to central India to help serve the country's fast-growing airlines."

"When we started planning for a new MRO in India, we knew we wanted to leverage the experience of a leading, independent MRO that had been successful in more mature aviation markets," said Rajeev Gupta, Indamer Aviation CEO. "AAR is the ideal partner for us and brings the knowledge and processes needed to help establish in-country capability and jobs in aircraft heavy maintenance."

"AAR has been embraced by the country's airlines and supported by the 'Make In India' initiative, and we are proud to be part of the next generation of aviation support in this region," said Rahul Shah, Senior Vice President of AAR.

About Indamer

Founded in 1947, Indamer Aviation Private Limited is one of the leading General Aviation services companies in India. It is approved by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation under CAR 145 and Continuing Airworthiness Management Organization (CAMO) CAR M. The company is an authorized service centre for Bombardier and Embraer fleets. It maintains fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters manufactured by all OEMs in the western world. The company maintains aircraft for Private Owners, Charter Operators, State Governments and Training Institutes. Indamer maintains a total of 90 aircraft at 15 locations across Pan India. Indamer media contact: Vikram Sethi, Chief Commercial Officer, at [email protected] | +91-9821087865.

About AAR

AAR is a global aftermarket solutions company that employs more than 5,500 people in over 20 countries. Based in Wood Dale, Illinois, AAR supports commercial aviation and government customers in more than 100 countries. AAR's Aviation Services include inventory management; parts supply; OEM parts distribution; aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul; and component repair. AAR's Expeditionary Services include airlift operations; mobility systems; and command and control centers in support of military and humanitarian missions. More information can be found at www.aarcorp.com.

This press release contains certain statements relating to future results, which are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on beliefs of Company management, as well as assumptions and estimates based on information currently available to the Company, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated, including those factors discussed under Item 1A, entitled "Risk Factors", included in the Company's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2017. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize adversely, or should underlying assumptions or estimates prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described. These events and uncertainties are difficult or impossible to predict accurately and many are beyond the Company's control. The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. For additional information, see the comments included in AAR's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE AAR

Related Links

http://www.aarcorp.com


EDMONTON, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), on behalf of certain of its clients, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EGPNA), the U.S.-based renewables subsidiary of Enel S.p.A. (Enel), for the operations of two renewable energy projects located in Pincher Creek, Alberta.

By way of the partnership, AIMCo will acquire a 49.0% equity interest in EGPNA's two Alberta-based wind energy projects, Riverview and Castle Rock Ridge II Wind Farms. Castle Rock Ridge II Wind Farm is a 30.6MW expansion of the currently operating 76MW Castle Rock Ridge facility owned by EGPNA, and the Riverview Wind Farm is a 115MW greenfield project located adjacent to the Castle Rock Ridge site. On December 13, 2017, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) announced the results of Round 1 of the Alberta Renewable Electricity Program (REP), a competitive tender process launched in support of the Province's Climate Change Leadership Plan. Through this process, the Projects were awarded with two 20-year Renewable Energy Support Agreements (RESA) for new wind capacity with the AESO, which is rated AA- by S&P. Construction and commercial operations of the projects are expected in 2019.

"We believe this is an exciting investment opportunity to partner on behalf of AIMCo's clients in these high-quality infrastructure assets," states Ben Hawkins, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure & Timber at AIMCo. "Once constructed these facilities will deliver renewable power to the Alberta electrical grid for many years, helping to meet the long-term energy needs of Albertans. We are pleased to be partnered in these facilities with a global leader in the industry, and confident in their development and operating capabilities for renewable facilities."

Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel's Global Renewable Energies Division Enel Green Power, said: "In Canada and Alberta we see tremendous opportunity for renewables growth, including through these partnerships with renowned local investors."

Following the closing of the transaction, EGPNA will manage, operate and perform asset management activities at both wind farms while retaining a majority ownership of the interest in the projects.

EGPNA operates two wind facilities in Canada, the 76.2 MW Castle Rock Ridge wind farm in Pincher Creek, which began operations in 2012, and the 27 MW St. Lawrence wind farm in Newfoundland, which began operations in 2009. Riverview Wind and Phase 2 of Castle Rock Ridge, which is an expansion of EGPNA's existing 76.2 MW Castle Rock Ridge wind farm, are both located in Pincher Creek, Alberta and are due to enter into service by 2019. Once operational, the two facilities are expected to generate around 555 GWh per year.

About Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)

AIMCo is one of Canada's largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than CAD 100 billion of assets under management. AIMCo was established on January 1, 2008 with a mandate to provide superior long-term investment results for its clients. AIMCo operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta and invests globally on behalf of 32 pension, endowment and government funds in the Province of Alberta.

For more information please visit www.aimco.alberta.ca.

About Enel Green Power North America, Inc.

EGPNA is present in 23 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces with more than 4.2 GW of managed capacity spread across four different renewable energy technologies: wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower. Enel Green Power, the renewable energies division of the Enel Group, is dedicated to the development and operation of renewables across the world, with a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Enel Green Power is a global leader in the green energy sector with a managed capacity of nearly 40 GW across a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydropower, and is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies into renewable power plants.

For more information please visit www.enelgreenpower.com.

SOURCE Alberta Investment Management Corporation

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www.aimco.alberta.ca


NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alleghany Capital Corporation ("Alleghany Capital"), a subsidiary of Alleghany Corporation, today announced that WWSC Holdings, LLC ("W&W|AFCO") has acquired the Hirschfeld Industries group of companies ("Hirschfeld" or the "Company"). Headquartered in San Angelo, Texas, Hirschfeld is a leading fabricator of steel bridges and structural steel for stadiums, airports, and other large commercial and industrial projects.

Rick Cooper, President & CEO of W&W|AFCO, commented, "The acquisition of Hirschfeld brings together two great companies with long histories in the bridge and fabricated steel markets. Together, W&W|AFCO and Hirschfeld will have 14 production facilities, approximately 3.5 million square feet of manufacturing capacity, and a team of talented employees capable of executing the most demanding and complex projects. We welcome Hirschfeld to the W&W|AFCO family and believe that our two companies will be much stronger together, benefiting our customers, vendors, employees, and the communities in which we work and live."

Dennis Hirschfeld, the Company's Vice Chairman, added, "Hirschfeld, which was founded in 1946, is one of the largest fully integrated fabricators of highly engineered structural steel in North America. Our dedicated team has completed significant projects in recent years, including SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, The Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement. We are excited to join W&W|AFCO and believe there is a strong strategic and cultural fit between our two companies."

David Van Geyzel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Alleghany Capital, added, "This transaction meaningfully expands W&W|AFCO's presence within its markets and is consistent with the growth strategy that Rick Cooper and Alleghany Capital developed when we formed our partnership last year. As a long-term investor, Alleghany Capital looks forward to supporting these two companies as they build upon their already impressive histories and embark on their next stage of growth together."

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal counsel to W&W|AFCO. Cowen advised Hirschfeld on the transaction and Hunton & Williams LLP acted as legal counsel to the Company.

About Alleghany Capital Corporation

Alleghany Capital Corporation sources, executes, and oversees certain investments and acquisitions for its parent company, Alleghany Corporation (NYSE-Y). Alleghany Capital's investments include: (i) Bourn & Koch, Inc., a manufacturer and remanufacturer of precision machine tools as well as a supplier of replacement parts and related services; (ii) IPS-Integrated Project Services, LLC, a technical service provider focused on the global pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries; (iii) Jazwares, LLC, a licensed toy and consumer electronics company; (iv) R.C. Tway Company, LLC (dba Kentucky Trailer), a manufacturer of custom trailers and truck bodies for the moving and storage industry and other markets; (v) Stranded Oil Resources Corporation, an exploration and production company focused on enhanced oil recovery; (vi) W&W|AFCO Steel, a fabricator and erector of structural steel for commercial, manufacturing and transportation infrastructure projects; and (vii) Wilbert Funeral Services, a provider of products and services for the funeral and cemetery industries and precast concrete markets. For additional information about Alleghany Capital Corporation, please visit www.alleghanycc.com.

About W&W|AFCO Steel

W&W|AFCO Steel, headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is one of the largest and most experienced structural steel fabricators and erectors in the nation. W&W Steel has been in business since 1945 while its subsidiary, AFCO Steel, dates back to 1909, combining for nearly 182 years of experience. With a diverse resume of successfully completed projects, W&W|AFCO Steel can provide services to fit any project size and degree of complexity, both domestically and internationally. W&W|AFCO Steel has 6 production facilities, totaling 1.8 million square feet, with offices across the U.S. For more information about W&W|AFCO Steel, please visit www.wwsteel.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains disclosures which are forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, and can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "expect," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan," "believe," "potential," "should," "continue" or the negative versions of those words or other comparable words. These forward-looking statements are based upon Alleghany's current plans or expectations and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect current plans, anticipated actions and Alleghany's future financial condition and results. These statements are not guarantees of future performance, and Alleghany has no specific intention to update these statements. As a consequence, current plans, anticipated actions and future financial condition and results may differ from those expressed in any forward-looking statements made by Alleghany or on Alleghany's behalf.

SOURCE Alleghany Capital Corporation

Related Links

http://www.alleghanycc.com


Comprehensive research validity data from 60,000+ cases, and independently-corroborated by world-renowned hospitals and cancer research leaders, demonstrate Anpac Bio's CDA diagnostics consistently detects 26+ cancers -- with a sensitivity and specificity rate range of 75%-90%. And it does so without any harmful side effects in patients; generating far fewer "false positives"; at a cost substantially lower than traditional testing; and generating results within minutes of sample submission.

World-renowned, Second Military Medical University and its affiliated Changhai Hospital (CH) in Shanghai, China, have conducted 4,000+ CDA liquid biopsy tests since 2014. Submitting Lung, Esophageal Cancer, and cancer-free control group blood samples, "blinded" to Anpac Bio, CH concluded CDA is a remarkably accurate, non-invasive test, supporting both early diagnosis, and monitoring treatment effectiveness, prognosis, and recurrence.

"Our preliminarily results indicate that CDA technology has better sensitivity and specificity for early diagnosis, as well as potentially a good tool for treatment assessment for Lung Cancer and Esophageal Cancer than traditional tumor markers," reports Dr. Jun-Jie Wu, Deputy Chief Physician, CH Department of Oncology. "It (CDA) can also play a good role in complementing chest CT (Computerized Axial Tomography) screening for pulmonary nodules. The existing data suggests that CDA technology is a promising technology in the field of diagnosis and treatment assessment of Lung Cancer and cancer of the Esophagus."

Described as "game changing", and receiving the, "Breakthrough Innovation Award", at the World Nobel Prize Laureate Summit; and named, "Most Promising Cancer Screening Company", at the 2017 Global Precision Medicine Industry Awards, Anpac Bio's CDA technology effectively reinvents early cancer screening and detection.

By analyzing simple, standard, blood tests, and applying Anpac Bio's proprietary, multi-level, multi-parameter, diagnostic algorithms, Anpac Bio's CDA technology identifies cancer with measurably-greater accuracy than most current, conventional screening methods.

The Oncology Department of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital (SCH) corroborates these results. Since 2016, SCH has conducted two comprehensive clinical research studies of Anpac Bio's CDA's liquid biopsy technology. Submitting over 500 healthy "control" group; "high-risk" group (those genetically or environmentally pre-disposed to developing cancer); and independently-diagnosed and "confirmed cancer" group blood samples; for CDA analysis.

According to study director and SCH Deputy Professor Dr. Yuan Sheng Zang: "Initial results indicated that CDA technology has better sensitivity and specificity for early-stage cancer screening than that of traditional tumor markers. The evaluation on the significance of CDA technology in prognosis is ongoing. The existing research data suggest that CDA technology has a good prospect in the field of cancer diagnosis and prognosis."

Pioneering liquid biopsy research (launched in 2008), Anpac Bio is already, fully-commercialized and generating revenue from Fortune 500 corporate, insurance, medical, research, and individual ("over the counter") testing; while most competing "liquid biopsy" research remains in the laboratory and unavailable to the general public (for perhaps years).

Additionally, competing tests generally measure only single/few sample indicators (such as gene mutations that may indicate a patient's increased risk or probability of potentially developing cancer at some point). Anpac Bio's CDA is a "functional biology" test  providing medical professionals important information regarding actual disease signals present in the patient's body at the moment of blood draw.

CDA's independently-confirmed, very early stage cancer and pre-cancerous disease detection's efficiency and accuracy is due to the technology's multi-level and multi-parameter, patented design. With over 200 CDA-related patent applications worldwide (65+ currently issued), CDA's integrated system measures numerous protein, molecular, cellular, and other factors, to identify disease signals. By enhancing signal detection and processing, while reducing "noise", the collected data is subsequently analyzed using Anpac Bio's proprietary algorithms.

The resulting data is then assigned an overall value, called "CDA Value", indicating cancer incidence risk level (the higher the CDA Value, the higher cancer risk). CDA's accuracy and advantages have been verified in previous studies, and presented before respected scientific organizations, such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Breast Cancer Symposium, and the World Nobel Prize Laureate Summit.

"Every day, our company hears of other, potential 'liquid biopsy' tests that report 'someday' may be used to catch cancer," states Dr. Chris Yu, Anpac Bio Chief Executive Officer. "Our CDA technology has been extensively tested, verified, and used daily by dozens of Asia's most well-respected and renowned medical institutions. We are also generating equally accurate and positive results in the United States. We're very proud that our CDA devices have advanced well-beyond the laboratory and are processing real tests for real people  saving lives every day. On this 'National Cancer Prevention Month', Anpac Bio and our medical partners want the world to know: 'Someday' is now!"

For more information about Anpac Bio please check: www.AnpacBio.com.

Contact : Drisha Leggitt: 916-206-2553 or [email protected]

SOURCE Anpac Bio-Medical Science Company

Related Links

http://anpacbio.com


SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It's been said that the face is the mirror of the mind. For many people, it's also now the key to gaining access to information about their retirement savings.

Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. (MassMutual) is now allowing Apple iPhone X users to employ facial recognition as a secure password to information about their 401(k)s and other defined contribution savings plans. Facial recognition is available to iPhone X users who download MassMutual's RetireSMARTSM mobile app for retirement savings from the Apple App Store.

With Face ID, iPhone X unlocks only when the user is looking at it, according to Apple. Face ID is designed to protect against trickery by photos and masks. Each user's Face ID information is encrypted and protected by Secure Enclave, so the data doesn't leave the mobile device and is never backed up to iCloud or anywhere else, according to Apple.

"In today's mobile world, smartphone users want to apply the latest technology to everything in their lives, including their retirement savings," said Tina Wilson, Leader of MassMutual's Investment Solutions Innovation. "MassMutual is pleased to allow facial recognition for iPhone X users who already rely on the technology as part of a package of enhancements for our RetireSMART mobile app."

The RetireSMART mobile app dashboard has also been updated for both Apple and Android smartphones, providing users with more information than ever to better manage their retirement savings. The new information includes retirement savings balances based on the "as of date" for one, seven, 30 and 90 days; rates of return based on year-to-date contributions by the saver or by employers that provide matching contributions; and retirement savings broken out by assets, including cash, stocks, bonds and overall asset allocation.

RetireSMART app users already could use their smartphones to change how much they automatically contribute to their retirement plan each pay period as well as access information about their total account balance, balances by source and investment, vested balance by source, last contribution amount, asset allocation by investment and their personal rate of return. In addition, smartphone users who use their thumb print as a secure password to access their smartphones can do the same to connect with their RetireSMART app.

The RetireSMART app is available free for Apple and AndroidTM smartphones through the Apple App Store and Google PlayTM store, respectively, to retirement savers who already access their account through MassMutual's RetireSmart.com web site. The app can be downloaded by searching "RetireSmart" or "MassMutual" in the Apple or Google stores.

The availability of facial recognition to iPhone X users and other enhancements is part of a broad mobile technology strategy with the objective of making it easier for MassMutual retirement plan customers to access information about their retirement savings and provide the tools necessary to help them make the best decisions possible about their progress towards retirement, according to Wilson. MassMutual is dedicated to continual improvement to make retirement savers' experience the best, most secure possible, she said.

"Customer security has always been a top priority at MassMutual" said Durga Nagalla, Head of Mobile Technology in MassMutual's Customer Experience group. "Biometric authentication using facial recognition or fingerprint scanning offer a balanced solution in keeping customers information secure while offering them convenient access to their accounts. Our goal is to stay ahead of the curve by continually integrating these latest security patterns in our mobile apps."

About MassMutual

MassMutual is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyowners. MassMutual offers a wide range of financial products and services, including life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, annuities, retirement plans and other employee benefits. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com.

Contacts:

David Potter

Media Relations

860-562-1525

[email protected]

Apple, the Apple App Store, Face ID and iPhone are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.

Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google LLC.

RS-44008-00

SOURCE MassMutual

Related Links

http://www.massmutual.com


DRAPER, Utah, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Aqua-Yield was today named to Startup Grind's 2018 Class of Exhibiting Startups! From an original consideration list of over 7,000 companies, The Startup Exhibition ultimately recognizes 130 companies handpicked from 115 countries and 400 cities around the world.

The placement puts Aqua-Yield in an elite group of companies and CEO Clark Bell recognizes the unique privileges of being named. "Our selection to this list from 7,000 other startups speaks volumes to the unique offering we bring to farmers on a global level in our ongoing focus and goal to help them all become more sustainable and profitable."

"We started this program after seeing many of the Accelerators and Incubators not doing much to really help companies," says Derek Andersen, founder & CEO of Startup Grind. "We really wanted to make an actual difference in the startups trajectory and leverage all of our resources and network to their advantage."

Startup Exhibition companies are given access to our global audience through media, and onsite at the annual Global Event (www.startupgrind.com/conference) held February 12th through February 14th in Redwood City, CA. The exhibition helps companies to accelerate their pace towards growth and success by gaining the visibility of mentors and investors inside the network.

"These startups have great teams, traction, technology and massive markets," says Andersen. "Our biggest goal is for each startup to go back home with a new and improved game plan that would not have happened without the exposure of the exhibition and the mentors/resources that were gained through our network."

Aqua-Yield is a rapidly-growing sustainable fertilizer technology company. Co-founded in 2014, Aqua-Yield has introduced the "smallest innovation in agricultural history". Aqua-Yield's technologies deliver materials directly to the plant's cells leading to a much higher overall efficiency. Aqua-Yield's process introduces liquid nanotechnology to agriculture leading to significant advantages for the grower. Results of the company's unique technologies include; higher yields, lower cost inputs, shorter crop cycles, less environmental impact and an increase in nutrient impact.

Startup Grind is the largest independent startup community, actively educating, inspiring, and connecting 1,000,000 founders in over 400 cities. To date, Startup Grind has helped millions of entrepreneurs find mentorship, connect to partners and hires, pursue funding, and reach new users.

Learn more at http://www.StartupGrind.com.

For more information on Aqua-Yield: Clark T. Bell, 801-449-9220, [email protected]

SOURCE Aqua-Yield
Authorities of the Paris Louvre Museum will launch a probe into omission last month of the state of Qatar on a map of the Arabian Peninsula displayed at Abu Dhabi Louver Museum that compounded the already frosty relations between Doha and Abu Dhabi amid the seven-month Gulf crisis, chairman of Qatar Human Rights Committee (NHRC) has said.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January caused waves after a map of the Gulf in the children section of the Abu Dhabi Louvre franchise omitted Qatar.

The incident occurred amid escalating tension between Qatar and UAE as part of regional diplomatic crisis opposing Qatar on one hand and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt on the other.

The Quartet in June cut off ties with Qatar over terrorism funding allegations. Doha vehemently rejected the charges.

Qatar protested at the omission and the museum qualified it as a reckless mistake. The museum said it replaced the controversial map.

NHRC chairman Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri who met with management of Louvre in Paris, Monday, called on the French Museum authorities to address the issue with Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi authorities aggression against the memory, history and culture of the people of the region and the Louvre Abu Dhabi scandal are not just aimed at Qatar, but the world cultural heritage, said al-Marri in a series of Tweets.

What happened in the Abu Dhabi scandal was an attempt to wipe out the people and state of Qatar and use art as a tool to settle political scores, he added.

Another map displayed in the museum drew criticism after a border demarcation between the UAE and the Omani enclave of Musandam appeared removed, al Jazeera reports.
According to the new research report "Artillery Systems Market by Type (Howitzer, Mortar, Anti-air, Rocket), Component (Gun Turret, Engine, Fire Control System, Ammunition Handling System, Chassis, Auxiliary System), Caliber (Small, Medium, Heavy), Range, Region - Global Forecast to 2022" , published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is projected to grow from USD 9.83 Billion in 2017 to USD 13.94 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 7.23% from 2017 to 2022. Increasing demand for artillery systems from the military sector and ongoing military modernization programs worldwide are driving the growth of the market for artillery system.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 121 tables and 61 figures spread through 164 pages and in-depth TOC on "Artillery Systems Market - Global Forecast to 2022"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/artillery-system-market-69844596.html

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Based on type, the howitzer segment is leading the artillery system market

Based on type, the howitzer segment is leading the artillery system market and is expected to continue its dominance till 2022. Howitzers are widely used for long range bombardment and for supporting ground forces. The demand for towed howitzer as well as self-propelled howitzer is increasing among various regions.

Based on caliber, the medium caliber segment of the artillery system market is expected to grow at a high rate during the forecast period

Based on caliber, the artillery system market has been segmented into small caliber, medium caliber, and heavy caliber. The medium caliber segment leads the artillery system market and is also projected to grow at a high rate during the forecast period. Medium caliber segment consists of artillery systems having caliber in between 105mm to 155mm. This growth can be attributed to the increase in procurement of 155mm artillery guns, 120 mm mortars, and other medium caliber artillery guns.

Download PDF Brochure : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=69844596

The market for artillery system in Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

The rapid growth of the artillery system market in Asia Pacific can be attributed to the increased defense spending of emerging countries such as India and China in this region. India is upgrading its old artillery systems with indigenously produced towed artillery guns. South Korea is also rapidly expanding its fleet of artillery due to threat from North Korea.

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Major players operating in the artillery system market are BAE Systems (UK), Lockheed Martin (US), Elbit System (Israel), General Dynamics (US), NORINCO (China), Hanwha Techwin (South Korea), and others.

Browse Related Reports

Turret System Market by Platform (Land, Naval, Airborne), Type (Manned, Unmanned), Component (Turret Drive, Turret Control Unit, Stabilization Control), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/turret-system-market-33751132.html

Armored Vehicles Market by Application (Defense, Commercial), Defense Products (MBT, LPV, AAV, MRAP, IFV, APC, Others), Commercial Products (SUV, Sedan, Limousine, Bus/Van, Others), Technology (Active, Passive), Type, & Region - Global Forecast to 2021

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/armored-vehicle-market-6322755.html

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Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
Braeger succeeds Patrick Derpinghaus as he plans to retire on March 1, 2018.

Nicole Kitowski, executive vice president and deputy chief risk officer, has been promoted to executive vice president and chief risk officer effective February 6, 2018. Kitowski joined Associated in 1992 and has held leadership roles in consumer banking, operations and technology, and corporate risk. She is currently responsible for financial intelligence, corporate security, third party risk management, and operational risk management.

Kitowski succeeds Randall Erickson who will continue in his role as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.

"The talent that Matthew and Nicole bring will be instrumental as we continue our strategic growth while navigating the increased compliance and risk management demands of the industry," said Philip B. Flynn, president and CEO, Associated Bank.

ABOUT ASSOCIATED BANC-CORP

Associated Banc-Corp (NYSE: ASB) has total assets of $33 billion and is one of the top 50 publicly traded U.S. bank holding companies. Headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Associated is a leading Midwest banking franchise, offering a full range of financial products and services from over 200 banking locations serving more than 100 communities throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Minnesota, and commercial financial services in Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio and Texas. Associated Bank, N.A. is an Equal Housing Lender, Equal Opportunity Lender and Member FDIC. More information about Associated Banc-Corp is available at www.associatedbank.com.

Contact: Jennifer Kaminski

Vice President | Public Relations Senior Manager

920-491-7576

[email protected]

SOURCE Associated Banc-Corp

Related Links

https://www.associatedbank.com


ALBANY, New York, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global market for automotive intelligence battery sensors is highly consolidated and each of regional markets is led by a selected number of players. For example, the automotive intelligence battery sensor market in Asia Pacific is dominated by Continental AG, which occupies over 50% of that regional market. In contrast, the markets in Europe and North America is fragmented and is led by local players. In these regions, established players, such as NXP Semiconductors, Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA, and Robert Bosch GmbH are more prominent. Denso Corp. and Vishay Intertechnology are some other significant players in the global automotive intelligence battery sensor market, notes the research report.

As per the report, the global automotive intelligence battery sensor market was valued at US$ 2.75 bn in 2016. Expanding at a CAGR of 18.30% during the period from 2017 to 2025, the opportunity in this market is anticipated to reach US$ 10.56 bn by the end of the forecast period. Passenger vehicles have surfaced as the main application areas of automotive intelligence battery sensors and the scenario is expected to remain so over the next few years. Geographically, Asia Pacific has been leading the global market with Europe following closely. Researchers anticipate this regional market to maintain dominance throughout the forecast period, thanks to the increasing entry of international players in this region, reports the research study.

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Rise in Automotive Industry Supports Growth of Global Automotive Intelligence Battery Sensor Market

"The global automotive intelligence battery sensor market is witnessing steady rise, thanks to the significant expansion in the automotive industry across the world," says the author of the study. The increasing concerns among people over the rising emission of CO 2 in the environment and the augmenting fuel consumption by vehicles have emerged as the key factors behind the growth of this market.

In addition to this, the increasing implementation of stringent government policies regarding road safety and to save the environment from vehicular pollution is likely to support the growth of this market in the years to come. The increasing need of modern vehicles to become more efficient in order to comply with future fuel economy standards will also act as a growth booster to this market over the forthcoming years, states the market report.

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High Cost of Battery Sensors to Impede Market's Growth

On the whole, the future of the worldwide market for automotive intelligent battery sensors looks bright. However, the heavy cost associated with these sensors may pose a threat to their uptake in the near future. Along with this, the hassle of keeping the battery charges will also reflect negatively on the demand of these sensors in the years to come. Nonetheless, the technological advancements and the continual rise in young generation, who are crazy for automobiles, are likely to boost the demand for automobiles, and consequently, automotive intelligence battery sensors over the next few years, normalizing the impacts of hindrances, states the market report.

The review is based on a report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), titled "Automotive Intelligence Battery Sensor Market (Technology - LIN, CAN, and MCU; Voltage -12 Volt, 14 Volt, 24 Volt, and 28 Volt; Vehicle - Passenger Vehicles and Commercial Vehicles; Electric Vehicle - Battery Electric Vehicles, Hybrid Electric Vehicles, and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2017 - 2025."

Purchase your own copy of Report at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=39236<ype=S

The global automotive intelligent battery sensor market is segmented into:

By Technology

LIN

CAN

MCU

By Voltage

12 Volt

14 Volt

24 Volt

48 Volt

By Vehicle

Passenger Vehicle

Commercial Vehicle

By Electric Vehicle

Battery Vehicle

Hybrid Electric Vehicle

Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle

By Region

North America

Latin America

Europe

Japan

Asia Pacific except Japan

except Middle East and Africa

Popular Research Reports by TMR:

Automotive Battery Market:

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/automotive-battery-market.html

Automatic or Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) Market:

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/automatic-autonomous-emergency-braking-market.html

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Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The company's exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMR's experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.

TMR's data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.



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SOURCE Transparency Market Research
MEXICO CITY, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Avant Energy announced today that it will build a network of terminals to supply refined petroleum products from the Port of Altamira, Tamaulipas to the Bajio region of North-Central Mexico. The network will be known as "SUPERA" (Suministro de Petroliferos AltamiraBajio).

Avant Energy is a Mexican company focused on the development, construction and operation of energy infrastructure for the oil, natural gas, refined products and power sectors, and is working on this development with US logistics group Savage Companies ("Savage") and rail operator Kansas City Southern de Mexico ("KCSM") as strategic partners.

The SUPERA network will provide an efficient logistics solution for companies to supply refined products from the USA to several cities in the Bajio region. Initially the network will consist of a marine terminal and an inland terminal developed simultaneously and involving an investment in the order of USD$200 million.

The marine terminal will be located in the Port of Altamira. It will be capable of unloading Panamax size vessels and providing storage for up to 1.2 million barrels of refined products. The terminal will be operated by Savage and will facilitate rail access to the Bajio region via an interconnection with the existing KCSM railroad. Key port facilities and regulatory permits have been obtained.

The initial inland terminal will comprise a storage and dispatch facility in Queretaro with direct connection to the KCSM system. This terminal is being designed to receive unit trains with storage capacity of 450,000 barrels. Both the marine terminal and the inland storage facility are expected to commence construction during 3Q 2018, and start commercial operation before the end of 2019.

"We are proud to develop this unique infrastructure network that provides superior logistics solutions to connect the high growth Bajio region with the U.S. Gulf Coast, the largest and most efficient market in the world for refined products," said Luis Farias, CEO of Avant Energy. "The energy reform has allowed new players such as Avant Energy to participate in open markets, which will allow increased efficiencies to the supply chain and ultimately benefit the consumer."

"This network will open the door to more efficient supply and transportation of refined petroleum products from U.S. refiners into Mexico's North-Central region, where it is needed," said Kirk Aubry, Savage President and CEO. "We're pleased to partner with Avant Energy and Kansas City Southern de Mexico in this important project to help ensure safe, reliable and affordable service for our customers."

"We're committed to supporting this significant project," said Kansas City Southern President and CEO Patrick J. Ottensmeyer. "It's aligned with our strategy to increase the volume, velocity and value of the commodities we move."

About Avant Energy

Avant Energy is backed by capital from Mexican and international institutional investors, managed by affiliates of Riverstone Holdings LLC, an energy focused private equity firm, which include Riverstone's CKD (RIVERCK15 registered and listed in the Mexican Stock Exchange).

www.avant.energy

www.savageservices.com

www.riverstonellc.com

www.kcsouthern.com

Contact: Miguel Lira

Keyword Media

(210) 618.0271

SOURCE Avant Energy

Related Links

http://www.avant.energy


Research development arm attracts leading industry talent with new hires

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarivate Analytics, the global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics to accelerate the pace of innovation, today announced it will re-establish the prestigious Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) to its Scientific and Academic Research Group. This new incarnation of the institute will be focused on the development of existing and new bibliometric and analytical approaches, fostering collaborations with partners and customers across the academic community.

Annette Thomas, CEO of the Scientific and Academic Research group at Clarivate Analytics explains: "For 50 years the Institute for Scientific Information was the key source of research and product development in the world of scientometrics. It was the founding company of all that is Clarivate Analytics and the heart of what is now the Scientific and Academic Research group.

"The newly energized ISI will be a place where we house our expertise, experience and deep thinking that drives our editorial rigor, our policy and partnerships, rankings and analytics. From the institute we will work with and for the research community - researchers, publishers, governments, industry bodies, libraries and funders will all be welcome. The institute will be both the heart and soul of our group and the brains behind our most complex thinking to solve the problems of our community."

Established in 1960 by Dr Eugene Garfield, ISI produced the Science Citation Index - the first citation index for the sciences - in 1964, followed by the Social Sciences Citation Index, the Arts & Humanities Citation Index, as well as the Journal Citation Reports including Journal Impact Factors, all during the 1970s. These indexes were gathered together and introduced in 1997 as the Web of Science on the internet. This revolutionized the way people searched for information of interest. Dr Garfield anticipated the advent of hyperlinked pages on the web and the appearance of the Google Search algorithm (the patent for which cites Garfield). It took 40 years for technological developments to catch up with Eugene Garfield's vision.

As part of Clarivate Analytics, ISI will benefit from access to a wealth of data from the Web of Science. With close to 150 million records from 33,000 journals, Web of Science's unique collection of resources provides researchers with the breadth they need to be comprehensive without sacrificing the precision they need to understand the nuances of their field. ISI will promote greater academia-industry collaboration and plans to draw upon the rich, enhanced patent data from the group's flagship IP database, the Derwent World Patent Index (DWPI). This patent-smart technology will provide the Institute with a unique lens on innovation.

Leading the re-establishment of ISI, will be Samantha Burridge, Director of Strategy and Transformation, ably assisted by both a strong internal team and a plethora of new hires:

Dr Jonathan Adams will return to the Institute for Scientific Information in April 2018 as a Director. Previously, he was the lead founder of Evidence Ltd (2000-2009) and Director of Research Evaluation for Thomson Reuters (2009-2013). He was a science policy adviser to the UK for the Research Councils (1989- 1992) where he first worked with ISI to introduce bibliometrics to UK research evaluation . He will join from Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, where he currently holds the post of Chief Scientist, Digital Science.

will return to the Institute for Scientific Information in as a Director. Previously, he was the lead founder of Ltd (2000-2009) and Director of Research Evaluation for Thomson Reuters (2009-2013). He was a science policy adviser to the UK for the Research Councils (1989- 1992) where he first worked with ISI to introduce bibliometrics to UK research evaluation He will join from Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, where he currently holds the post of Chief Scientist, Digital Science. Dr Nandita Quaderi has joined Clarivate Analytics as Editor in Chief of the Scientific and Academic Research group. In addition to driving Clarivate Analytic's role as the arbiter of quality in research, Dr Quaderi will work with ISI to determine the metrics that Clarivate Analytics will use to set and measure quality standards across the Web of Science. Dr Quaderi was Publishing Director of Open Research at Springer Nature where she led Scientific Reports to become the largest journal in the world. Nandita has a BSc in Molecular Genetics from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Imperial College. She has been awarded the highly competitive Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship; the Charles Epstein Trainee Research award from the American Society for Human Genetics; and the prestigious EU Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship.

has joined Clarivate Analytics as Editor in Chief of the Scientific and Academic Research group. In addition to driving Clarivate Analytic's role as the arbiter of quality in research, Dr Quaderi will work with ISI to determine the metrics that Clarivate Analytics will use to set and measure quality standards across the Web of Science. Dr Quaderi was Publishing Director of Open Research at Springer Nature where she led to become the largest journal in the world. Nandita has a BSc in Molecular Genetics from the and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Imperial College. She has been awarded the highly competitive Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship; the Charles Epstein Trainee Research award from the American Society for Human Genetics; and the prestigious EU Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship. Clarivate Analytics has engaged the education data analytics and consulting company, SchoolDash to support ISI in an advisory capacity, as part of a broader mission to promote data science in academia and education. Its founder, Dr Timo Hannay , was previously the founding managing director of Digital Science, which he ran from its inception in 2010 until 2015, when he left to launch SchoolDash. Dr Hannay was also the co-founder of Science Foo Camp, an annual science and technology event held each summer at Google, and has previously worked as director of nature.com, a consultant at McKinsey & Company, a writer for The Economist, and a research neurophysiologist at the University of Oxford . He is currently a non-executive director of Sage Publishing.

Samantha Burridge concludes, "ISI will not only lead in new metrics but it will crucially, be built on the deep and rich experience, understanding and insight of its foundations of setting the standards in responsible metrics. We will stay true to our founding principles while reinterpreting them for a very different world. We will remain committed to promoting integrity in research. In a sense, we're going back to the future."

Biographies:

Dr Jonathan Adams, Director of the Institute for Scientific Information

Dr Adams is currently the Chief Scientist at Digital Science and will join Clarivate Analytics as a Director of ISI in April 2018. Jonathan is a visiting professor at the Policy Institute at King's College London. Previously, he was the lead founder of Evidence Ltd (2000-2009) and Director of Research Evaluation for Thomson Reuters (2009-2013). Evidence developed products and services providing decision support to research managers and carried out research evaluation for agencies and institutions in the UK, elsewhere in Europe, Brazil, Australia, China, India, Singapore and Malaysia.

Jonathan chaired the EC Evaluation Monitoring Committee for Framework Programme 6 (2004); chaired the Monitoring Group of the European Research Fund for Coal & Steel (2006); led the national review of research evaluation in New Zealand (2008); was a member of the Australian Research Council (ARC) indicators development group for its research excellence assessment (2008) and ARC's impact assessment (2016). In 2010 he was an expert adviser to the interim evaluation of FP7.

Jonathan has worked at King's College London (1979-1980), University of Newcastle upon Tyne (1980-1983), University of Leeds (1983-1989) and Imperial College London (1989-1992). He was a science policy adviser to the UK for the Research Councils (1989- 1992) where he first worked with ISI to introduce bibliometrics to UK research evaluation, and was Leeds University's Director of Research Strategy 1993  1997. He has published over 100 articles in journals, a series of widely quoted reports on research in the BRIC economies and regularly presents at international research conferences. In 2017, he received an honorary DSc from the University of Exeter for his work in higher education and research policy.

Dr Nandita Quaderi, Editor in Chief  the Scientific and Academic Research group, Clarivate Analytics

Nandita will be responsible for creating the strategy required to innovate and further propel Clarivate's role as the arbiter of quality in research across journals, books, proceedings. She has accountability for defining how Clarivate can extend the quality stamp into additional content types e.g. peer-reviewed articles, pre-prints, datasets, software etc and will determine the metrics Clarivate will use to set and measure quality standards across the various content sets.

Nandita will contribute significant editorial and research insight to the development of new SAR products and services with a robust editorial value proposition e.g. Journal Impact Factor, article level metrics and individual researcher level metrics. A key component of her role will be sharing policy development and key industry insight to build expertise and ensure that the business is recognized as a leader for data and analytics and in the evaluation of the impact of research on a global scale with institutions, funders and governments.

Nandita is an accomplished senior publishing executive with a deep understanding of the research community built on a strong research background. Nandita received her Bachelors in Molecular Genetics from the University of Oxford and her PhD in Molecular Genetics from Imperial College. She has been awarded the highly competitive Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship; the Charles Epstein Trainee Research award from the American Society for Human Genetics; and the prestigious EU Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship. As part of Nandita's post-doctoral research at The Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Milan, she cloned the gene for Opitz syndrome resulting; her research was subsequently published in Nature Genetics for which she was the lead author.

Most recently she was Publishing Director, Open Research at Springer Nature where she had responsibility for the Nature Research OA portfolio. She led Scientific Reports through a period of unprecedented growth  output has increased six-fold over past three years and it is now the largest journal in the world. She had responsibility for the conception and launch of three major OA Nature Research titles - Communications Biology, Communications Chemistry and Communications Physics. She also has a wealth of experience in leading strategy for portfolio growth, taking into consideration subject coverage, regional opportunities, funder initiatives and transfer cascades between journals.

About Web of Science

Web of Science is the world's oldest and largest publisher-neutral citation index, powering global discovery and citation analytics across the sciences, social sciences and art & humanities. With over 1.4 billion cited references going back to 1900 and millions of users per dayfrom leading government and academic institutions and research-intensive corporationsthe Web of Science citation network serves as the foundation for the Journal Impact Factor, InCites, and other powerful and trusted citation-impact measures. The Web of Science helps researchers, research institutions, publishers, and funders discover and assess the citation impact of over a century of research publications found in the most prestigious books, conference proceedings, and journals.

About Clarivate Analytics

Clarivate Analytics is the global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics to accelerate the pace of innovation. Building on a heritage going back more than a century and a half, we have built some of the most trusted brands across the innovation lifecycle, including Web of Science, Cortellis, Derwent, CompuMark, MarkMonitor and Techstreet. Today, Clarivate Analytics is a new and independent company on a bold entrepreneurial mission to help our clients radically reduce the time from new ideas to life-changing innovations. For more information, please visit clarivate.com.

North America

Jessica Stanek

[email protected]

Europe

Mario Christodoulou

[email protected]

Asia-Pacific

Pamela Lim

[email protected]

SOURCE Clarivate Analytics
This year's line-up of talent will demonstrate their favorite kid-friendly recipes in the Goya Foods Kidz Kitchen on a set courtesy of Panda Kitchen in the MeLa, located in the Baptist Health South Florida Gallery at Frost Science. The schedule includes the following:

Saturday, February 24 Sunday, February 25 Goya Foods' Chefs Richard Ingraham & Duff Goldman Fernando Desa Adrianne Calvo Robert Irvine James Tahhan James Tahhan Shannon & Ray Allen Alton Brown



The entire family can take part in tastings, giveaways and activities provided by the Goya Imagination Kitchen, hydration stations and fitness activities from Baptist Health South Florida, run bicycle blenders with The Education Effect, and enjoy samples from KIND Healthy Snacks, LaCroix Sparkling Water, Opal Apples, and more. Plus, everyone gets to enjoy all of the interactive activities and learning experiences provided by Frost Science.

This year, the Festival is also offering a more decadent opportunity for kids and their parents to get in on the action at the Family Ice Cream Social hosted by Duff Goldman. Taking place on Sunday, February 25 at Loews Miami Beach Hotel, more than a dozen creameries and parlors from across the country will delight fans of all ages with unique flavors, sandwiches, floats, sundaes, and more. With wines and libations to keep the adults satisfied and activities to keep the kids occupied, this is one Sunday afternoon soiree the whole family can indulge in.

EAT. DRINK. EDUCATE. Tickets to these events and more are available online at sobewff.org or by calling 877.762.3933 (phone sales open Monday  Friday, 9:00 AM  5:00 PM EST). For the two aforementioned family-friendly events, children ages 2 and under do not need a ticket.

Between SOBEWFF and its sister NYCWFF, which takes place each October in New York City, more than $37 million has been raised to benefit the respective charities for each Festival. Beyond the funds raised, both Festivals draw attention to the vibrant dining culture in their respective cities, provide economic stimulus in their communities, and serve as an invaluable platform to drive awareness, engaging and inspiring people to get involved in philanthropic activities.

About the Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival

EAT. DRINK. EDUCATE. All proceeds from the Festival benefit the students of the Florida International University Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management who also assist Festival organizers with sponsorship fulfillment, restaurant and exhibitor recruitment, logistics, and inventory as well as working alongside some of the world's greatest celebrity chefs and winemakers. To date, the Festival has raised more than $26 million for the School. In September 2017, BizBash named the Festival the #1 Food & Restaurant Industry event in the United States for the fifth year in a row.

The Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival is produced by Florida International University and Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits, with the support of the Miami Beach Visitors & Convention Authority and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. For more information about the Festival, visit sobewff.org or call 877-762-3933. For more information about Florida International University visit fiu.edu, for the Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management visit hospitality.fiu.edu and for more information about Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits visit southernglazers.com.

PRESS CONTACTS:





National Media: Florida/Hispanic Media: The Door Brustman Carrino Public Relations (646) 340-1760 (305) 573-0658 Adeline Benge ([email protected]) Larry Carrino ([email protected])

Andrea Moreno ([email protected])

SOURCE Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival

Related Links

http://sobewff.org


FORT WORTH, Texas, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Basic Energy Services, Inc. (NYSE: BAS) announced today that its management will be presenting at the Credit Suisse 23rd Annual Energy Summit to be held in Vail, Colorado from February 13-15, 2018.

Roe Patterson, President and Chief Executive Officer, is scheduled to present on Wednesday, February 14 at approximately 11:35 a.m. Mountain Time (12:35 p.m. Central Time). A link to the live webcast and replay for this presentation will be available in the Investor Relations section of Basic Energy Services' website at www.basicenergyservices.com. The accompanying slide presentation will be available that morning in the Investor Relations section of Basic Energy Services' website.

Basic Energy Services provides well site services essential to maintaining production from the oil and gas wells within its operating area. The Company employs over 4,000 employees in more than 100 service points throughout the major oil and gas producing regions in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, Kansas, California and the Rocky Mountain and Appalachian regions. Additional information on Basic Energy Services is available on the Company's website at www.basicenergyservices.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

Statements made in this press release and in the presentation, may include forward-looking statements and projections made in reliance on the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Basic has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information and assumptions on which these statements and projections are based are current, reasonable, and complete. However, a variety of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the projections, anticipated results or other expectations expressed in this release and the presentation, including our ability to successfully execute, manage and integrate acquisitions, reductions in our customers' capital budgets, our own capital budget, limitations on the availability of capital or higher costs of capital, and lower commodity prices. While Basic makes these statements and projections in good faith, neither Basic nor its management can guarantee that the transactions will be consummated or that anticipated future results will be achieved. Basic assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or any other forward-looking statements made by Basic, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Contacts: Trey Stolz, VP Investor Relations

Basic Energy Services, Inc.

817-334-4100





Jack Lascar / Kaitlin Ross

Dennard-Lascar Investor Relations

713-529-6600

SOURCE Basic Energy Services, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.basicenergyservices.com


INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Bell Techlogix, a leading IT managed services and solutions company, today announced a new partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). IPS is the largest public-school district in Indiana, diverse in both population and choice, IPS is an agile, innovative educational organization committed to academic excellence built through individualized, relationship-based learning.

When IPS was looking for a service provider for service desk, knowledge management, IT asset tracking as well as a new ITSM platform they required a partner that had flexible solutions and a reputation for delivering high quality service. Through the RFP process IPS discovered Bell Techlogix is not only a partner that had the ability to provide them with the offerings they desired, but also a local partner with the same commitment to the Indianapolis community.

"We are so pleased to have found a partner with mature ITIL practices and the flexibility we require to support the needs of our schools. With support provided by Bell Techlogix, technology issues and requests are addressed quickly so teachers and staff can get back to working with the kids," said Laura Larimer, the IT Officer at IPS. "And to make it all the better... Bell Tech is right here in Central Indiana!"

After IPS awarded Bell Techlogix the contract, work began immediately. Bell Techlogix now provides a single point of contact with an extended hours domestic service desk utilizing the Bell Techlogix ServiceNow platform for all of the school district's IT needs. Bell Techlogix worked hand in hand with IPS on the transition which began what we believe will be a long term successful partnership. "We are delighted to announce our new relationship with IPS," said Ron Frankenfield, CEO, Bell Techlogix. "We look forward to delivering exceptional end-user experiences for the IPS team so they can focus on their very important mission of preparing and empowering all students for life."

About IPS:

The largest public-school district in Indiana, diverse in both population and choice, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is an agile, innovative educational organization committed to academic excellence built through individualized, relationship-based learning. Though we cover 80 square miles, employ over 6,000 people, and serve over 30,000 students, we are committed to serving individual students with what they need. IPS does this through innovationfrom digital learning initiatives to individual schools fashioning their own rigorous curricula. We do it through exceptional choiceproviding excellent opportunities through community schools and Magnet and option programs focusing on math, science, performing arts, Montessori, International Baccalaureate, specific career paths, and Spanish immersion, among others. We do it through community involvementworking with the local library on summer reading programs, securing funding from corporate foundations, and engaging in health and wellness initiatives and parent advocacy efforts, among other meaningful activities. We have the variety, flexibility and expertise to meet all students where they are and guide them where they need and want to be.

About Bell Techlogix:

Bell Techlogix, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, provides transformational Next Generation Digital Workplace and Infrastructure Management solutions to large and mid-market enterprises, as well as the public sector.

For more information on Bell Techlogix, please visit us on the web at www.belltechlogix.com , follow us on Twitter @BellTechlogixHQ , like us on LinkedIn or Facebook .

SOURCE Bell Techlogix

Related Links

http://www.belltechlogix.com


Cliff Sladnick, Head of BGL's Business Services practice, led the engagement with Employees Only. Sladnick's experience in the PEO industry spans over a decade, having previously served as an executive officer at Gevity HR, then the largest PEO in the country. Commenting on the transaction, Sladnick said, "The acquisition of Employees Only by ABO is a great example of an in-market PEO combination that will be very beneficial to both companies and their clients."

Founded in 1996 and based in Rochester, Michigan, Employees Only provides human resource outsourcing solutions through a combination of PEO and ASO services. The Company offers a comprehensive suite of HR consulting and compliance, employee benefits, workers' compensation, and payroll / tax administration services for clients in over 20 states.

Mario Apruzzese, CEO and Founder of Employees Only, said, "I have been working with Cliff Sladnick for over 10 years as I considered the best strategic alternatives for Employees Only. Besides exhibiting great patience, Cliff has always demonstrated great knowledge of the PEO market, as well as given me objective and sage advice. Once we committed to this partnership with America's Back Office, the full BGL team demonstrated great commitment in order to get this transaction structured, negotiated, and completed in a very effective manner."

Headquartered in Sterling Heights, Michigan, America's Back Office handles all aspects of employee administration including human resource management, payroll, employee benefits, labor law, and workplace safety and risk management. With the addition of Employees Only, the combined company will now be one of the largest PEOs based in the state of Michigan.

"Throughout this process with Employees Only, Cliff Sladnick and the BGL investment banking team were critical to ABO's execution of this deal. I look forward to pursuing other PEO opportunities that BGL can bring to ABO," said Dave Otto, President and Founder of America's Back Office.

To learn more about BGL's Business Services Group, please visit: www.bglco.com/business-services

About Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

Brown Gibbons Lang & Company is a leading independent investment bank serving the middle market. BGL specializes in mergers and acquisitions advisory services, debt and equity placements, financial restructuring advice, and valuations and fairness opinions, with global industry teams in Business Services, Consumer & Retail, Environmental & Industrial Services, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Industrials, and Real Estate. BGL has offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and San Diego in addition to Global M&A partner offices in more than 50 countries across 5 continents. BGL is able to deliver to our clients unparalleled access to strategic relationships, investors, and opportunities globally. For more information, please visit www.bglco.com.

SOURCE Brown Gibbons Lang & Company

Related Links

www.bglco.com


Golderer joins UWGPSNJ from Arch Street Presbyterian Church. He was also the founder of Broad Street Ministry, which enables cross-sector collaboration to lift people out of homelessness, and has become known for the inclusive service it extends to community members in need. At Broad Street Ministry, hundreds of individuals and families in need are able to join community meals and, through the ministry's partnerships, access resources such as case management, medical services, behavioral health support, benefits counseling, and legal support. He is also a co-founder of the Rooster Soup Company, the nation's first for-profit, crowd-funded social impact restaurant that creates jobs and returns revenue to Philadelphia's most impoverished citizens.

UWGPNSJ's regional Board of Directors voted to appoint Golderer to the position. "We are excited to have Bill as our next CEO. He brings a remarkable combination of passion for elevating the condition of our city and region, experience and innovation in the communities we serve, and credibility among existing and potential donors who want to invest in our mission. He will be an outstanding leader of our committed and talented staff, and he will work collaboratively with other community leaders in our region," said J. Gordon Cooney, Jr., chairman of UWGPSNJ's regional Board of Directors and leader of the global litigation practice at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP. "We are grateful to interim President and CEO Mike DiCandilo and our Board for leading us through a pivotal and exciting time in our history. We are confident that Bill will do an outstanding job leading our United Way and driving our work to end intergenerational poverty in the region forward."

UWGPSNJ's investments and partnerships with nonprofits throughout the region will tackle three specific goals by the year 2030: 90 percent of children will read on grade level by third grade; an additional 50,000 opportunity youth will be reconnected to school or work; and 300,000 more individuals and families will live above 200 percent of the federal poverty line.

Marcus Allen, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Independence Region, member of UWGPSNJ's regional Board of Directors, and member of the Search Committee, said Golderer is the right leader for the organization as it channels its efforts to fight poverty. "In Bill, United Way has found a mission-focused leader who truly understands the underlying issues that contribute to the experience of living in poverty, and who possesses a unique ability to bring people from all walks of life together in creative ways to make a positive difference for those in need."

"I took on this role because poverty looms as one of our greatest challenges  it traps our families and limits our entire region's potential," said Golderer. "It's time to stop families from passing on poverty through generations and provide opportunities for our youth and families to thrive. Together, in partnership with the business community, the nonprofit sector, and our public officials, we can achieve this."

"Bill brings a dynamic skill set to the table, but what really stood out for the Search Committee was his alignment with our refined mission, his lifelong commitment to service, his track record of results in fighting poverty, and his vision for our future," said Mindy Holman, chairman of Holman Automotive, and a member of UWGPSNJ's regional Board of Directors who co-chaired the search. "We are excited to work alongside him and our partners from around the region to help more children and youth achieve success and more individuals and families become financially stable."

Golderer is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and Yale Divinity School, and he is an Ordained Minister of the Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church, PC(USA). He and his wife Julie have two sons.

Along with Holman, UWGPSNJ's search was co-chaired by John Salveson, co-founder and principal of Salveson Stetson Group. Together they led UWGPSNJ's search committee and worked with Diversified Search to conduct a nationwide search, which involved more than 170 potential candidates.

Each year, UWGPSNJ raises approximately $50 million to support the regional nonprofit sector, of which, approximately $28 million is directed to United Way's Impact Fund to end poverty in our communities.

United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, serving communities in Pennsylvania's Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, and New Jersey's Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May and Cumberland counties, is part of a national network of more than 1,300 locally governed organizations that work to create lasting positive changes in communities and in people's lives. United Way fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in every community. In Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey, United Way fights for youth success and family stability because we LIVE UNITED against intergenerational poverty. For more information about United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey visit www.UnitedForImpact.org.

SOURCE United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey

Related Links

http://www.UnitedForImpact.org


Japan is on the verge of recognizing the Palestinian State as the Asian country also looks to mark up its contribution to the UN Relief agency in Palestinian territories (UNRWA) after the US cut its assistance in a move to force Palestinians embrace Washingtons alleged peace plan.

The recognition could take place soon, Nabil Shaath, international relations adviser to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told the media recently.

The Palestinian official told the Palestinian news agency Wafa that Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is working to get the signatures from Japanese lawmakers to demand the recognition of Palestine.

Kyoto is also planning to give more weight to the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Japan, from delegation to a representative office, Shaath also emphasized.

Japan supports the formation of a new international framework for managing the peace process, breaking free from US monopoly over it, Shaath said.

The future recognition will constitute a major international endorsement coming from a global power amid growing pressure from Washington and some Arab countries on Palestinians to relinquish eastern Jerusalem to Israel.

President Donald Trump in December declared the old city capital of Israel despite UN resolutions requesting that the fate of the city be determined at the final status negotiations by both Palestinians and Israelis.

Mahmoud Abbas said at a recent meeting with British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson that Palestinians are keen to engage in peace talks with Israel but under the auspices of an international forum and with US role reduced.

The PA has insisted that the US has disqualified itself as neutral peace broker and called Trumps December decision Israel-biased.

Part of its contribution to UNRWA, Japan will fund water projects in the Gaza Strip, including $1.6 million for the construction of a water treatment plant in Gaza to be used in agriculture projects.

It also donated $1.1 million for the reconstruction of Rafah stadium in southern Gaza, which was destroyed in the war with Israel.

Japan is backing the two-state solution.
BOSTON, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Burns & Levinson today announced that it represented Harvard Bioscience, Inc. in its approximately $70 million acquisition of Data Sciences International, Inc. (DSI). The deal, which was announced on January 22, 2018, closed on January 31, 2018. Simultaneously, Burns represented Harvard Bioscience in its sale of its wholly-owned subsidiary Denville Scientific, Inc. to Thomas Scientific, LLC for approximately $20 million (including a $3 million earn-out provision).

In conjunction with the acquisition and sale, Burns also served as Harvard Bioscience's counsel for a $64 million credit facility with Cerberus Business Finance, LLC, as administrative agent and collateral agent for the lenders.

The Burns deal team was led by partners Josef Volman and Chad Porter, who have represented Harvard Bioscience since 2009. Burns has represented Harvard Bioscience in three other acquisitions since 2014  HEKA Electronik in 2015, and Triangle BioSystems, Inc. and Multi Channel Systems in 2014  and the sale of Ahn Biotechnologie GmbH in 2016.

"It has been exciting to be involved with this company and its management team, and to watch it grow and evolve into a global leader in the life sciences research industry," said Volman. "Closing three simultaneous transactions  the acquisition, the sale and the debt financing  made this an especially complex but rewarding project. We brought our best resources together to help our valued client achieve this transformative business event and look forward to continuing our great work together."

"Our entire organization has worked tirelessly over the last three years to build a foundation to be able to acquire and integrate a company like DSI. Burns & Levinson has been with us every step of the way, and their business savvy and technical expertise has played a significant role in helping Harvard Bioscience take this significant step forward in our strategic vision of the company," said Jeffrey A. Duchemin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Harvard Bioscience.

About Harvard Bioscience

Harvard Bioscience is a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of solutions to advance life science. Our products are sold to thousands of researchers in over 100 countries through our global sales organization, websites, catalogs, and through distributors including Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., VWR, and other specialized distributors. We have sales and manufacturing operations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, Spain, France, Canada and China. For more information, please visit our website at www.harvardbioscience.com.

About Burns & Levinson LLP

At Burns & Levinson, we provide high-level, client-centric and results-oriented legal services to our regional, national and international clients. We are a full-service law firm with over 125 lawyers in Boston, Providence and other regional offices. Our areas of expertise include: business/finance, securities, business litigation/dispute resolution, divorce/family law, venture capital/emerging companies, employment, estate planning, government investigations, intellectual property, M&A/private equity, probate/trust litigation, and real estate. We partner with our clients to solve their business and personal legal issues in a collaborative, creative, and cost-effective way. For more information, visit Burns & Levinson at www.burnslev.com.

Contact:



Amy Blumenthal or Kristen Weller Blumenthal & Associates

Chief Marketing & Business Development Officer (617) 879-1511

(617) 345-3555 [email protected]

[email protected]

SOURCE Burns & Levinson

Related Links

http://www.burnslev.com


PALM BEACH, Florida, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

MarketNewsUpdates.com News Commentary

The world's largest legal cannabis industry is months away from its most sweeping change ever. The change is the complete legalization of recreational cannabis use in Canada and it is poised to ignite a growth in the industry. Prominent analysts expect this market could expand rapidly to $6 billion by 2021, about the same size as Canada's alcohol and tobacco industries. According to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Canadian legislators and regulators have targeted 'summer 2018' to complete the legal framework to make Canada the first major world economy to fully legalize cannabis use. This event will be a turning point for the legal cannabis industry and it's creating a massive opportunity for Canada's leading cannabis companies such as: CHOOM Holding Inc. (CSE: CHOO) (OTC: CHOOF), Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED) (OTC: TWMJF), Aurora Cannabis, Inc. (TSX: ACB) (OTCQB: ACBFF), Aphria, Inc. (TSX: APH) (OTC: APHQF) and HIKU Brands Ltd. (TSX: HIKU) (OTC: DJACF).

Choom Holdings Inc. - Choom - (CSE: CHOO) (OTCQB: CHOOF) is pleased to announce its retail store program and that is now opening the Choom family up to potential retail owners. This follows Choom's announcement on January 18th, 2018 highlighting a retail strategy of developing a chain of branded retail cannabis dispensaries across Canada.

"We're inviting people to open stores with a world class brand built exclusively for the recreational cannabis market and we're encouraging them to join our family by registering for their own Choom Store", states Chris Bogart, President and CEO. ChoomTM is using design and retail strategies that have worked successfully at some of the most profitable storefronts in the country. We are telling our Choom story with our stores and will elevate the concept of a high-quality product though our new retail environments and we're inviting others to join us. Read this and more news for Choom at: http://www.marketnewsupdates.com/news/choo.html.

With an estimated $4.9B to $8.7B1 retail market coming, now is the right time get involved in this growing industry. Choom is very pleased to start welcoming potential partners to the Choom family. As we move forward in the design process and developing our retail strategy, adding passionate partners will be key to growth. In an industry where dispensaries in a legal recreation market are making more revenue per square foot than Whole Foods2 we look forward to adding partners who want to get in on the ground floor. Here's to good times with good friends.

In industry developments and happenings in the market this week:

The Financial Post reports in its Tuesday edition that adult recreational pot users in British Columbia including Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED) (OTC: TWMJF) and Aphria, Inc. (TSX: APH) (OTC: APHQF), will be able to buy weed from private retailers, in urban centers and in government-run stores across the province, the B.C. government announced on this week. The Post's Mark Rendell writes that the B.C. Liquor Distribution Branch (LDB) is opening "a new standalone network of public retail stores," and will manage on-line sales. In urban areas, private stores will be allowed, although their retail activity will be limited. A government news release says, "Licensed retailers will not be able to sell cannabis in the same stores as liquor or tobacco." Private cannabis retailers also will not be allowed to sell other products like food, gas, clothing and lottery tickets. There is no cap on the total number of private retail licenses the government intends to issue. However, the province will not license retailers without support from local governments, which, according to the release, "will have the authority to make local decisions, based on the needs of their communities." For rural communities, it appears that the government will mostly rely on LDB stores, although the rules remain slightly unclear.

Aurora Cannabis Inc. (TSX: ACB) (OTCQB: ACBFF) this week has filed its notice of variation and CanniMed Therapeutics Inc. has filed its notice of change to directors' circular in connection with Aurora's improved offer to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of CanniMed not already owned by Aurora or its affiliates, described under Aurora's notice of variation below. As previously announced by the parties on Jan. 24, 2018, CanniMed's board of directors is unanimously recommending that CanniMed's shareholders accept the improved offer.

Hiku Brands Company Ltd.'s (TSX: HIKU) (OTCQB: DJACF) wholly owned subsidiary Doja Cannabis Ltd. has received notification from Health Canada that the company's presale inspection has been scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2018. The presales licence inspection is the last step prior to the issuance of a sales licence under the ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations). "As there are currently only 26 independent companies with cannabis sales licences under the ACMPR in Canada, receiving confirmation of our presales licence inspection from Health Canada is a major milestone for Hiku. I'm extremely proud of our cultivation team, the dedication to their craft shows in the very high-quality flower being produced at our licensed facility. Our team's ability to execute has allowed us to advance to the presales licence inspection ahead of schedule and faster than our peers. We look forward to soon selling Doja-branded cannabis to our valued customers," said Alan Gertner, Chief Executive Officer of Hiku.



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SOURCE MarketNewsUpdates.com
CSE: CRL

FSE: 7C5

OTC: CDTAF

VANCOUVER, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Carl Data Solutions Inc.'s (CSE:CRL, FSE:7C5, OTC:CDTAF) ("Carl Data" or the "Company"), Polish subsidiary will be working closely with a team of engineering and robotics masters students at the Gdansk University of Technology to continue R&D for its wastewater infrastructure monitoring machine learning features. Lead by a PhD with over ten year's experience coordinating teams researching automated control and decision systems, and robotics, these technology specialists will help Carl Data's Polish data science centre remain at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) applications for this sector.

Tomasz Biaaszewski, PhD, has been fascinated with applying advanced robotics and automated control systems to water and wastewater infrastructure since he began his master's thesis in 1997. By the time he finished his PhD in 2006, he had shifted his focus to applying machine learning (AI) algorithms to gain insight from the data gathered by his mobile robotics systems.

"Poland has many problems optimizing its waste water infrastructure," said Biaaszewski. "These issues are associated with huge costs, especially where leaks and overflows occur."

By working closely with the Carl Data Poland's data scientists, Biaaszewski and his team are helping create a fast, logical machine learning system to address a very complex engineering problem. Carl Data is combining their big data sets acquired from over a dozen years monitoring wastewater infrastructure with data from a specially designed control system, and then using the university's super computers to build breakthrough precision for its predictive analytic features.

"An additional product of this research is sensor anomaly detection," said Piotr Stepinski. "These tools are extremely valuable across North America and the EU in monitoring aging infrastructure which is vital for the safety of the environment and the public."

Greg Johnston, Carl Data CEO, commented, "These new products and features will further set Carl Data apart from its competition by dramatically increasing operational efficiency in sensor monitoring analysis. This advantage that will help Carl Data achieve its revenue targets by offering a superior product from its Big Data as a Service (BDaaS) Platform."

About Carl Data Solutions Inc.

Carl Data Solutions Inc. an Industrial IoT (IIoT) company focused on providing next generation information collection, storage and analytics solutions for data-centric companies. Building on its recent acquisitions, Carl helps its clients analyze and understand all forms of environmental data through a powerful platform of data collection, monitoring, reporting, and predictive analysis tools.

Carl Data continues to develop applications to work with new cloud-based mass storage services and analytics tools (Big-Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS) to provide scalability for municipalities, utilities and other industrial verticals. These data collection and storage methods allow the company to build smart Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based applications that can collect data from many diverse sources and provide deep insight for decision-making purposes. More information can be found at www.CarlSolutions.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Greg Johnston

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Carl Data Solutions Inc.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.

SOURCE Carl Data Solutions Inc.
World leader in digital intelligence is contributing knowledge and expertise to establish a global interoperability standard for digital forensics solutions that increases collaboration and information sharing

PETAH TIKVA, Israel, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cellebrite, the leading provider of digital intelligence solutions, today announced details about the company's leading role in establishing a global interoperability standard for digital forensics information sharing. Working with participating organizations like the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center (DC3), the U.S. National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST), Europol's European Cybercrime Centre (EC3), University of Lausanne, governments and law enforcement agencies, industry peers, and academic institutions, Cellebrite is contributing its deep subject matter knowledge and technical expertise to define critical elements of the community-driven global standard referred to as the Cyber-investigation Analysis Standard Expression (CASE).

With the main objective of enabling critical investigative data exchange among systems and agencies, the global community of cyber investigations and digital forensics experts have called for an open community-developed specification language that would enable investigators to seamlessly share data between investigators, thereby improving and streamlining the investigative process. CASE is a community-driven effort to define a unified standard that enables seamless data exchange.

Committed to its mission of supporting a safer world, Cellebrite is taking a leading role in developing the component of the CASE standard that relates to mobile data by convening the major digital forensics companies and forming a collaborative working group. While the CASE standard covers a broad range of cyber-investigation domains including incident response and counterterrorism, Cellebrite will leverage its vast and deep expertise to develop and enhance the standard by providing recommendations to the participating community for specifications for the sections of the standard related to digital forensics systems and solutions. The Cellebrite-led working group will create the technical means of sharing data between platforms by exchanging information and reaching collaborative agreements on the technical details.

With digital data playing an increasingly important role in a broad spectrum of investigations and operations, the global community of end users, specifically government and law enforcement agencies, need the ability to seamlessly collaborate. While sharing digital intelligence within a particular software solution, such as Cellebrite's industry-leading UFED platform, is easily accomplished, collaborating across various technology tools requires time and technical resources. The lack of interoperability between digital forensics platforms is particularly problematic for crime types that involve multiple agencies and countries or requires investigative data to be collected from a large variety of sources, such as terrorism, trafficking and smuggling.

"As a global leader in digital intelligence solutions, Cellebrite has a deep understanding of digital datahow information is obtained, analyzed and shared by investigatorsand we appreciate the growing importance of achieving seamless interoperability between digital forensics platforms to end users," said Ron Serber, Global Co-CEO, Cellebrite. "Having the industry's best technical minds and the broadest understanding of digital data, the Cellebrite team is committed to creating a safer world by removing barriers to collaboration and enabling our customers to streamline their investigations by exchanging data across solutions and tools."

"The entire law enforcement community is faced with a massive challenge posed by digital evidence and, speaking for Europol/EC3, our ability to solve crimes is increasingly dependent on collaborating with other agencies by sharing information across any number of geographical and technical borders," said Jean-Dominique Nollet, Head of Europol's Forensic Lab. "While the standards development process is often a complex challenge, we appreciate the efforts by industry leaders, academics and convening authorities, as we will all benefit from a workable global interoperability standard for digital forensics information sharing."

Cellebrite: Digital Intelligence for a Safer World

Digital data plays an increasingly important role in investigations and operations of all kinds. Making data accessible, collaborative and actionable is what Cellebrite does best. As the global leader in digital intelligence with more than 60,000 licenses deployed in 150 countries, we provide law enforcement, military, intelligence, and enterprise customers with the most complete, industry-proven range of solutions for digital forensics, triage and analytics.

By enabling access, sharing and analysis of digital data from mobile devices, social media, cloud, computer, cellular operators and other sources, Cellebrite products, solutions, services and training help customers build the strongest cases quickly, even in the most complex situations. As a result, Cellebrite is the preferred one-stop shop for digital intelligence solutions that make a safer world more possible every day.

PR Contact:

Kelly Miller

[email protected]

(202) 750-7513

SOURCE Cellebrite
Portteus stood out to judges for her impressive career in the cancer space. She started her work at UT Southwestern Medical Center, then worked at Susan G. Komen. She was named the first Chief Mission Officer and the youngest C-level executive and seated officer in the organization's history. There, she managed an active daily funding portfolio of $300 million in research grants worldwide and led affiliate annual social service programming of more than $100 million annually, mission work in over 30 countries and all public policy efforts.

As a crisis and turnaround leader, she was recruited by the Livestrong Foundation to repair the brand through strategic mission efforts, and in nine months was able to increase all fundraising channels and expand cancer services to patients.

Now as president and CEO of Wipe Out Kids' Cancer, she is leveraging her experience as a growth strategist. In the first six months on the job Portteus had already doubled the annual revenue of the organization, with more expansion planned.

"Chandini Portteus is an example of why this year's class of honorees is so impressive," said Tracy Merzi, publisher of the Dallas Business Journal. "Her work with Wipe Out Kids' Cancer to impact pediatric cancer is truly noteworthy."

About Wipe Out Kids' Cancer

Wipe Out Kids' Cancer (WOKC) is a Dallas-based non-profit organization founded in 1980 dedicated to raising awareness and funding for pediatric cancer research on a national basis. We have raised millions in the crusade against pediatric cancer and spent over 38 years developing programs to not only fight childhood cancer, but to also provide hope and support to kids and families dealing with cancer. Our mission is to work relentlessly for the day when ALL children are living cancer free.

SOURCE Wipe Out Kids' Cancer
NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), a leading provider of commercial lending and leasing services, today announced that its Commercial Finance division's Energy Finance business served as sole lead arranger and administrative agent for $46.5 million in construction-only financing on behalf of Cypress Creek Renewables, a developer and owner of solar energy facilities nationwide. The financing will support construction of six utility-scale solar projects in North Carolina totaling 29.9 megawatts.

"We are proud to lead this transaction for Cypress Creek Renewables, one of the nation's leading developers and owners of solar energy facilities," said Mike Lorusso, managing director of CIT's Energy Finance business. "Projects like these contribute both to economic development and to the growth of sustainable power generation."

"This financing accelerates our mission to put as much solar in the ground as possible," said Cypress Creek Chief Executive Officer Matthew McGovern. "We are excited to further build our business with the support of CIT."

The projects covered by this financing range from 4.5 megawatts to 5.0 megawatts with 10- to 15-year purchase power agreements from utilities. Individual projects will be located in Randolph, Gaston, Alamance, Jones, Pamlico and Rowan counties in North Carolina.

About CIT

Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with approximately $50 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2017. Its principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) has approximately $30 billion of deposits and more than $40 billion of assets. CIT provides financing, leasing, and advisory services principally to middle-market companies and small businesses across a wide variety of industries. It also offers products and services to consumers through its Internet bank franchise and a network of retail branches in Southern California, operating as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A. For more information, visit cit.com.

About Cypress Creek Renewables

Creek Renewables believes solar energy makes the world safer, cleaner and better. Our team solves problems to successfully develop, build and operate solar facilitates across the United States. With more than 2.2 gigawatts of solar energy deployed in more than a dozen states, Cypress Creek Renewables is one of the country's leading solar companies. For more information about Cypress Creek Renewables, visit https://ccrenew.com.

CIT MEDIA RELATIONS:

John Moran

212-461-5507

[email protected]

SOURCE CIT Group Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cit.com


SAN DIEGO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB) today announced that its Cubic Global Defense (CGD) business division was awarded a contract to continue providing analytical support services to the U.S. European Command's (EUCOM) Joint Training and Exercise Division. Cubic personnel will manage, develop and deliver training and exercise services for EUCOM's Joint Exercise Program (JEP) and components' Title X exercises. Cubic will focus on providing training for joint/combined operational effects, strengthening strategic partnerships, building partner capacity, capabilities and interoperability through exercises.

"Cubic's broad range of experience in providing joint exercise and training capabilities and supporting joint initiatives worldwide, positions us well to effectively support the EUCOM evolution to an operational command. This support is consistent with our NextTraining strategy," said Dave Buss, president of Cubic Global Defense. "We are pleased to continue our partnership with EUCOM to better develop and sustain readiness."

In the past year, Cubic personnel developed and executed exercise planning and assessment activities to establish the Northern/Southern Exercise Campaigns, established EUCOM lessons learned program and resolution process, as well as supported the standardization of all EUCOM J7 procedures. This new contract vehicle gives Cubic the opportunity to continue and expand its service offerings in support of training and exercises in the European Theater.

As the incumbent, Cubic offers a cadre of training professionals with a combined 306 years of exercise experience. The team uses proven methodologies and tools to provide management and staffing solutions. Over the last 23 years, Cubic has developed and refined these tools and processes by directly supporting the design, execution and assessment of exercises. Additionally, Cubic has provided contract support to EUCOM for the past 15 years, with three years in direct support of this program.

About Cubic Corporation

Cubic is a market-leading, technology provider of integrated solutions that increase situational understanding for transportation, defense C4ISR and training customers worldwide to decrease urban congestion and improve the militaries' effectiveness and operational readiness. Cubic Transportation Systems is a leading integrator of payment and information technology and services to create intelligent travel solutions for transportation authorities and operators. Cubic Mission Solutions provides networked Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) capabilities for defense, intelligence, security and commercial missions. Cubic Global Defense is a leading provider of live, virtual, constructive and game-based training solutions, special operations and intelligence for the U.S. and allied forces. For more information about Cubic, please visit the company's website at www.cubic.com or on Twitter @CubicCorp.

SOURCE Cubic Corporation

Related Links

http://www.cubic.com


New Yes Lifecycle Marketing report reveals milestone in mobile, identifies opportunities to optimize mobile path-to-purchase

CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Email marketing reached a new milestone at the end of 2017. For the first time, orders per click for desktop and mobile were equivalent at 3.3 percent, according to data released today by Yes Lifecycle Marketing.

In its latest Email Benchmark Report: A Marketer's Guide to 2018, Yes Lifecycle Marketing analyzed almost 9 billion emails sent in Q4 2017, and over 30 billion sent in 2017, via its cross-channel communications platform Yesmail360i. The report found that in 2017 smartphone orders accounted for 46 percent of all email-driven orders, which is a 33 percent increase year-over-year (YOY). During the same period, tablet and desktop orders saw declines of 14 percent and 18 percent, respectively, indicating smartphone's growing dominance as it edges out other devices.

"It's clear smartphones have become consumers' preferred device for purchasing," said Michael Fisher, president of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. "Marketers have a lot to gain from this shift, but they must improve the mobile user experience and achieve parity between desktop and mobile average order value (AOV)."

While desktop and mobile are now equal in terms of conversion rate, desktop continues to drive higher AOV. The report found that mobile AOV remains about 40 percent lower than desktop AOV ($58 vs. $96, respectively) and this ratio has remained consistent over the last three years. The disparity indicates that consumers still value desktop functionality for larger purchases.

"Marketers would be wise to prioritize mobile in 2018. If they unlock the key to increasing the size of orders customers make on mobile, they can earn 40 percent more revenue this year," said Michael Iaccarino, president of Infogroup, parent company of Yes Lifecycle Marketing. "To meet that challenge, marketers need a cross-channel communications platform that bridges the gap between mobile and desktop and a creative partner who is well-versed in the mobile experience."

Other key findings from the report include:

While subscribers received 19 percent more emails in Q4 2017 than in Q4 2016, the number of opens per openers and clicks per clicker were only up 8 and 3 percent, respectively.

In Q4 2017, new subscribers accounted for just three and a half percent of marketers' mailable audiences, the lowest this number has ever been.

Triggered emails generated more than double the open rate, triple the unique click rate, and almost double the click-to-open rate of standard emails; yet triggered messages made up only 2% of email volume in 2017.

To learn more about trends in mobile and desktop engagement, conversions, triggers and more, download the full report here.

About Yes Lifecycle Marketing

Yes Lifecycle Marketing provides solutions that orchestrate cross-channel marketing communications to drive results and revenue. This is accomplished by leveraging technology, data, analytics, creative, and strategy to activate and optimize insights-driven, real-time, relevant communications. This holistic approach gives marketers the ability to source a full-service offering of best-of-breed technology and solutions from a single vendor in order to achieve their desired outcomes across all on and offline channels. To learn more, call 1-877-937-6245, email [email protected] or visit www.yeslifecyclemarketing.com.

About Infogroup

Infogroup is a leading provider of data and data-driven marketing solutions. Infogroup provides data, technology and services that help marketers acquire new customers and maximize the value of existing relationships. The company's data and marketing solutions help clients of all sizes, from local SMBs to FORTUNE 100 enterprises, increase sales and customer loyalty. Infogroup provides both digital and traditional marketing channel expertise that is enhanced by access to our proprietary data on 280 million individuals and 24 million businesses. For more information, visit www.infogroup.com.

Contact:

Sarah Hale

Phone: 312-241-1471

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Yes Lifecycle Marketing

Related Links

http://www.yeslifecyclemarketing.com


"We are thrilled to welcome our newest Purple Heart Smiles recipient," said GSO Program Director Dr. Ricky Harrell. "It is our honor - and we believe our duty - to provide the child of a Purple Heart recipient with the highest quality orthodontic treatment available and, ultimately, with a radiant, healthy, confident smile for that child."

The daughter of Purple Heart recipient retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rick White of Villa Rica will receive free braces and continued orthodontic care for the duration of her treatment at GSO's state-of-the-art Atlanta clinic. Ericka White, 12, will be treated by the school's expert faculty and staff, many of whom have served in the military themselves.

Mr. White, a former strategic bomber pilot with the Strategic Air Command, received the Purple Heart in 1995. He is also the recipient of the Small Arms Expert Marksmanship Ribbon, Air Force Longevity Service Award Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and Air Force Commendation Medal.

Ericka's mother, Donna White, said she heard about the Purple Heart Smiles program on the radio and immediately called her husband.

Mrs. White said her daughter's speech is affected by having inadequate space for her tongue to lay flat between her lower teeth. The resultant lisp has negatively impacted her self-esteem, she said. After learning from their family dentist that Ericka's lower teeth needed to be expanded to correct the issue, Mrs. White and her husband knew only orthodontic care could help.

"Our local orthodontist wanted almost $6,000, and honestly, we just couldn't afford it," said Mrs. White. "With the Purple Heart Smiles program, a weight has been lifted off our shoulders. We feel unbelievably honored and blessed."

"We are confident that with the correct orthodontic treatment plan, we can give Ericka the confident speech, and winning smile, she deserves," said Dr. Harrell.

To qualify for the Purple Heart Smiles program, a potential recipient must be a resident of Georgia, age 16 or younger, and the son/daughter of a Purple Heart recipient or have a Purple Heart recipient serving as their legal guardian. Documentation needed for verification includes a DD Form 214, Purple Heart Certificate and proof of being either the parent or legal guardian of the child.

GSO's Purple Heart Smiles program is ongoing, and there is no limit to the number of qualified recipients.

To apply online, visit www.bracestoday.com/purple-heart-smiles.

About Georgia School of Orthodontics

Georgia School of Orthodontics (GSO), based in Atlanta, offers an advanced specialty education program in orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics. The 36-month residency program is structured to provide collaborative and evidence-based learning for residents while providing quality orthodontic care to patients in the school's two patient clinics in metro Atlanta. GSO's mission is to educate outstanding dentists to be proficient in the clinical specialty of orthodontics, while providing Georgians with the highest level of patient care available. GSO faculty and staff are dedicated to diversity in both education and practice. For more information about GSO, visit GSOrthodontics.org. To schedule a complimentary consultation, visit bracestoday.com or call 770.351.7737.

Media Contact:

Lauren Bovard, Rountree Group on behalf of Georgia School of Orthodontics

770-652-2602

[email protected]

SOURCE Georgia School of Orthodontics

Related Links

http://www.bracestoday.com


The new campaign and theme, "Doing What's Best," communicates the breadth and depth of McLaren's talent, expertise and statewide system resources in multiple media channels, including broadcast (TV/:60 and :30/radio), digital (online advertising, streaming audio/video), and out-of-home (billboards) near all the system's 13 hospitals.

"We are one of Michigan's fastest-growing health systems," said Kevin Tompkins, McLaren Health Care senior vice president of marketing and planning. "The organization embraced the idea of a singular, powerful brand vision uniting all our individual hospitals and health care centers because it conveys our unwavering commitment to our patients, the breadth of our health care providers and the excellent services we offer throughout the state. The campaign is designed to give each hospital the opportunity to use our singular brand vision as a basis for communicating their own unique offerings."

DP+ was named agency of record for McLaren Health Care on October 1, 2017 after an initial engagement with McLaren-owned Karmanos Cancer Institute, for which the agency created a new campaign in spring 2017, and subsequently for McLaren Flint, also in 2017.

"We are pleased to support McLaren as one of Michigan's largest health systems," said Mark Petrosky, DP+ chief executive officer. "Our successful work, initially for Karmanos, then for McLaren Flint, led to the kind of important and powerful work seen in the "Doing What's Best" campaign. We couldn't be prouder of our work for McLaren and the relationships we've built throughout their system."

About DP+

DP+, the Agency of Change, is an award-winning, Michigan-based, full-service marketing communications agency. We are one of the fastest-growing independent agencies in the Midwest. We've assembled a consultative, collaborative, hands-on leadership team with national and international experience. Our sole purpose is ideating smarter solutions that drive more productive customer engagements while delivering greater efficiency and effectiveness for deeper client value. The agency was consecutively listed on Inc. magazine's 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies in America from 20092016. The agency was also named one of Detroit Free Press' Top Workplaces from 20092016. For more information, visit dpplus.com.

About McLaren

McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a fully integrated health network committed to quality evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 13 hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, an employed primary care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 630,000 lives, home health and hospice providers, retail medical equipment showrooms, pharmacy services and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan's largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, one of only 49 National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive centers in the U.S. McLaren has 26,000 employees and more than 52,500 network providers. Its operations are housed in more than 350 facilities serving the entire Lower Peninsula of the state of Michigan along with a portion of the Upper Peninsula. For more information, visit mclaren.org.

SOURCE DP+

Related Links

http://www.dpplus.com


British and Saudi authorities have reportedly postponed to early March the visit by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman (MBS) to London as fears for unfriendly reception from rights groups opposed to Saudi Arabias war in Yemen look serious, Middle East Eye (MEE) reports.

The London-based news website notes that UK authorities have become concerned about hostile media coverage of the visit, which was initially scheduled for this month. Aside from media, rights groups and associations opposed to UK-Saudi Arabia arms trade and the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen are planning protests against the visit.

A new date for the three-day visit has been set for March 7. London is to be a first leg of a tour to take MBS also to Paris and Washington.

Saudi Arabia has been criticized for its intervention in Yemen where the UN is talking of the worst global human catastrophe.

The Crown Prince is said to be the architect of the intervention of a Saudi-led coalition.

The 32-year old Crown Prince who is credited with the unprecedented across-the-board reforms in the kingdom also drew sharp criticism from rights groups over the crackdown on domestic critics. Several clerics, activists, poets, journalists and academics have been detained in the Crown Princes move to impose his rule.

Changing the date of the visit will not however discourage protesters.

Lindsey German from Stop the War Coalition told MEE that the timing of the visit around International Womens Day adds insult to injury for millions of women. We will be on the streets to protest.

Saudi Arabia last year adopted some reforms favorable to women, such as the right to driving, but critics say the Saudi society is still hostile to the role of women in public life.

The crown Prince March visit will take place on the eve of International Womens Day, Marked on March 8.

Despite the crown princes talk of reform in the kingdom, theres been deepening repression  with more arrests of opposition and human rights activists, scores of executions, countless unfair trials and ongoing reports of torture in detention, said Kate Allen, Amnesty International UKs director.

The March visit will give momentum to discussion over Londons willingness to buy five per cent of the Saudi state-run oil giant Aramco.
DUSSELDORF, Germany, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading global communications firm Ketchum today announced that Dr. Sabine Huckmann has been named CEO of Ketchum Germany, effective immediately. She follows Victoria Wagner, partner and current CEO of Ketchum Germany, who is leaving the agency. As CEO of one of the largest consultancies in Germany, Huckmann will guide Ketchum Germany's strategy for growth, lead Ketchum Germany's Executive Board and advance the agency's commitment to client service and talent development. A 20-year veteran of Ketchum, Huckmann's appointment will ensure a seamless transition for clients and employees. She will report to Mark Hume, partner, chief operating officer and chief financial officer, Ketchum Europe.

"Sabine is highly qualified to serve as our CEO in Germany. Her expertise in leading offices, heading innovation, and understanding digital and analytics is unmatched. She embodies our collaborative spirit and has a passion for advancing careers. Clients appreciate her partnership and extensive expertise, especially in digital transformation," said Barri Rafferty, partner, president and CEO of Ketchum. "Sabine is known for creating inspired, high-performing teams and is a renowned ambassador of the Ketchum brand in the market and throughout the agency. I look forward to working with her to grow our business in Germany and beyond."

Huckmann, a global Ketchum partner and managing director in Germany, has more than 25 years of communications consulting experience. She has been the head of Ketchum's office in Stuttgart for 20 years and added responsibility for Frankfurt in 2017. She is responsible for leading significant growth for those offices in the last year. Sabine most recently served as chief innovation officer within the Executive Board, shaping the agency's position in the market, and she has played an integral role in bringing in new business, including Bosch and EnBW. She also leads the agency's research and analytics division in Germany. Previously, Huckmann was the office lead at Brodeur Kohtes & Klewes GmbH.

"I am grateful for the opportunity to expand my role within Ketchum. As a Ketchum team in Germany we have accomplished a great deal and will continue along this path. Working even more closely with Barri and Mark, I want to foster a borderless agency approach, with a laser focus on innovative, data-driven strategies that answer the questions of our industry's future," said Huckmann. "I am also grateful to be surrounded by such a smart and dedicated team. I work with the best talent in the market who are primed to master any challenge a client brings our way."

About Ketchum

Ketchum is a leading global communications firm with operations in more than 70 countries across six continents. The winner of 45 Cannes Lions and an unprecedented five PRWeek Campaign of the Year Awards, Ketchum partners with clients to deliver strategic programming, game-changing creative and measurable results that build brands and reputations. For more information on Ketchum, a part of Omnicom Public Relations Group, visit www.ketchum.com.

About Omnicom Public Relations Group

Omnicom Public Relations Group is a global collective of three of the top global public relations agencies worldwide and specialist agencies in areas including public affairs, marketing to women, fashion, global health strategy and corporate social responsibility. It encompasses more than 6,000 public relations professionals in more than 330 offices worldwide who provide their expertise to companies, government agencies, NGOs and nonprofits across a wide range of industries. Omnicom Public Relations Group is part of the DAS Group of Companies, a division of Omnicom Group Inc. that includes more than 200 companies in a wide range of marketing disciplines including advertising, public relations, healthcare, customer relationship management, events, promotional marketing, branding and research.

SOURCE Ketchum

Related Links

http://www.ketchum.com


The H2 Total Ankle Replacement System is indicated for use as a non-cemented implant outside of the United States and as a cemented implant within the United States, to replace painful arthritic ankle joints due to primary osteoarthritis, post-traumatic osteoarthritis, or arthritis secondary to inflammatory disease (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, hemochromatosis). The Hintermann Series H2 can also be used as a revision for failed ankle replacements or non-union and mal-union of ankle arthrodesis.

Prof. Hintermann said, "I am extremely pleased with the outcomes of the recent H2 surgeries performed, especially as the patients were able to bear their own weight just 24 hours after the devices were implanted. Adding this semi-constrained option for my patients alongside the Hintermann Series H3* mobile-bearing prosthesis, enables me to expand patient selection for total ankle replacements."

DTM's Hintermann Series H2 sales and distribution in the United States will be handled directly through its logistics partner HealthLink Europe International from its US headquarters in Raleigh, NC, and through specialized and select distributors. Sales and distribution outside of the United States will be handled through HealthLink Europe BV, from its Netherlands location, and other specialized and select distributors.

David Reicher, President and Chief Executive Officer of DTM, stated, "We anticipate a limited release of the Hintermann Series H2 beginning in early February outside of the United States, and in late March within the United States. We have been focused on training, sales, and distribution of the Hintermann Series H2 in markets around the world and are looking forward to a very successful launch."

For additional DTM information inside the United States, please email [email protected] or call Ms. Jeannie Sarda at +1 410-427-0003; outside the United States, please email [email protected] or call +31 73 303 2537.

About DT MedTech, LLC

DT MedTech, LLC is the parent company of DT MedTech International and European Foot Platform, S.A.R.L. DTM and its subsidiary companies maintain offices in Baltimore, Maryland; Dublin, Ireland; Saint-Louis, France; and Liestal, Switzerland. As a member of the Data Trace family of businesses, leaders in scientific and medical publishing, marketing, surgical training, clinical trial management, medical malpractice insurance, and information services for more than 30 years, DTM provides innovative surgical solutions for lower extremity surgeons with state-of-the-art devices such as The Hintermann Series Total Ankle Replacement Systems.

*Please note: Hintermann Series H3 is not available for sale within the United States and its territories.

SOURCE DT MedTech, LLC
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- East Coast Wings + Grill, a fast-growing, family dining franchise, has plans to expand throughout the state of Tennessee. With three existing units in Memphis, Kingsport, and Johnson City, the company has announced plans to open seven additional locations through franchise partnerships over the next two years. The new locations will create approximately 350 jobs among the Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga communities.

Headquartered in North Carolina, the company plans to continue development through westward expansion, seeking Tennessee as one of its main target markets. "We look forward to bringing our family-driven restaurant to these communities. The variety of foods offered on our menu  from wings to burgers to flatbreads to mac + cheese skillets  means every family member, friend, or tourist, can enjoy an East Coast Wings dining experience," says Mark Lyso, Executive VP of Operations of East Coast Wings + Grill.

Lyso is actively seeking qualified franchisee partners to open their own restaurants in the Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga regions. "We've witnessed the success of our franchisees and are thrilled to continue development to allow other entrepreneurs to flourish with the support of our proven franchise system," Lyso adds. More specifically, East Coast Wings + Grill plans to open four restaurants in Nashville, two in Knoxville, and one in Chattanooga.

East Coast Wings + Grill locations are individually owned and operated by restauranteurs striving to produce profits backed by a lucrative, corporate business model. Driven by Unit Level Economics, the company utilizes its data to enhance profitability and reduce any potential inconsistencies for each of its individual franchisees.

"A unique component of franchising with East Coast Wings + Grill is that we encourage company-wide transparency, such as engaging our franchisees in involvement on menu, training, and marketing initiatives," says Sam Ballas, CEO of East Coast Wings + Grill. "We rely on this open-communication philosophy to continuously improve the business on both the corporate and individual franchise levels."

Known for its wide variety of buffalo wings, East Coast Wings + Grill offers nationally award-winning wing sauces that are mixed to order with the freshest ingredients. Inspired by different culturesThe Islands, Tex Mex, Classic American, Asian, Southern BBQ, European, Bayou and moreat East Coast Wings + Grill, community members can enjoy dozens of flavors of chicken wings and choose from eight heat intensities, resulting in hundreds of possible combinations that can be added to most entrees and of course, wings. While wings remain a staple, the restaurant's menu also includes delicious burgers, salads, sandwiches and more.

About East Coast Wings + Grill

East Coast Wings + Grill is a fast-growing, casual, family dining franchise that puts the spotlight on buffalo wings. With more than 60 locations nationwide currently operating or in various stages of development, the burgeoning franchise recently secured itself a top spot for the second consecutive year on Restaurant Business Magazine's "Future 50" list of the fastest-growing U.S. mid-size restaurant chains. 2016- Ranked in the INC. 5000 of personally held corporations. Entrepreneur magazine also named East Coast Wings + Grill one of the nation's top franchise investments, and Franchise Times magazine ranked the company No. 395 on its "Top 200+" list of top revenue-producing U.S. franchises. The concept has also been recognized by The Franchise Grade and Franchise Business Review for transparency during the franchise sales process, franchisee support and overall franchisee satisfaction.

Based in North Carolina, East Coast Wings + Grill caters to chicken wing lovers by offering dozens of varying chicken wing flavors that can be paired with eight heat intensitiesresulting in hundreds of delicious choices. The extensive menu also includes salads, wraps, sandwiches, burgers and more  all using fresh ingredients. For more information about East Coast Wings + Grill or its franchise opportunities, visit www.eastcoastwings.com or www.eastcoastwingsfranchise.com.

SOURCE East Coast Wings & Grill
NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President Tom Kuhn, Executive Vice President of the Business Operations Group and Regulatory Affairs Phil Moeller, and Vice President of Energy Supply and Finance Richard McMahon today briefed Wall Street analysts, bankers, and investors on the state of the U.S. electric power industry. Kuhn, Moeller, and McMahon discussed a range of issues, including tax reform implementation, infrastructure priorities, cleaner energy, grid security and storm response, the federal regulatory landscape, ESG/sustainability reporting, and customer solutions.

"Each February, our Wall Street briefing provides a terrific opportunity to reflect on all that we accomplished over the past year on behalf of EEI's member companies, America's investor-owned electric companies, and their customers," said Kuhn. "Perhaps, more important, it allows us to outline all the opportunities and challenges we have before us in the coming year as we work to build and deliver a smarter energy future for America."

"In 2017, passage of tax reform legislation was a top industry priority and a win for electricity customers," Kuhn emphasized. "It also provides a solid foundation for one of 2018's major policy initiatives: infrastructure investment."

"If 2017 was a year of change, 2018 is here to remind us that the pace of change is only accelerating," added Kuhn. "One thing remains constant, however  our industry's commitment to meeting customers' needs by building and using smarter energy infrastructure, by providing even cleaner energy, and by creating the energy solutions they want."

Visit EEI's website to view prepared remarks, slides, and other related materials from today's presentation.

EEI is the association that represents all U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Our members provide electricity for about 220 million Americans, and operate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. As a whole, the electric power industry supports more than 7 million jobs in communities across the United States. In addition to our U.S. members, EEI has more than 60 international electric companies, with operations in more than 90 countries, as International Members, and hundreds of industry suppliers and related organizations as Associate Members. Organized in 1933, EEI provides public policy leadership, strategic business intelligence, and essential conferences and forums.

SOURCE Edison Electric Institute

Related Links

http://www.eei.org


MILWAUKEE, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EnSync, Inc. (NYSE American: ESNC), dba EnSync Energy Systems, a leading developer of innovative distributed energy resources (DERs), announces its entry into the rapidly growing African microgrid market through the sale of a project that will deliver electricity to an East African village. With no utility or supporting infrastructure in the area, this microgrid will independently provide energy for a community that currently has no electricity.

The planned microgrid consists of a 180-kW photovoltaic (PV) system, a 112-kWh energy storage system, power electronics to integrate and optimize energy sources to meet demand and energy management software. The non-PV components of the system are all housed in an EnSync Energy DER SuperModule, a fully integrated and self-contained DER system. The project was sold to a buyer who will sell electricity to village residents via the microgrid, essentially serving as the area micro-utility.

EnSync Energy's modular technologies and analytic capabilities meet the complexities of the burgeoning microgrid market in African countries, where energy demand is growing rapidly, but traditional electricity infrastructure is often lacking. The continent as a whole is projected to contain 35,000 microgrids by 2021 that will serve as key electricity providers to millions of people who currently lack access.

"The DER SuperModule enables rapid commissioning of an advanced microgrid, significantly reducing project construction schedule and cost," said Dan Nordloh, executive vice president of EnSync Energy. "The system offers simplicity, while also mitigating the risks associated with integrating multiple distributed energy resources. Our customer was looking for a way to serve as the utility, selling affordable and reliable electricity to remote villages on a mobile phone-based payment platform," Nordloh said. "We are proud that our integrated system was chosen to meet these high demands."

EnSync Energy's project engineers modeled the village's initial expected energy load to appropriately size the microgrid's solar and storage components. The resulting micro-utility configuration will remain flexible through the SuperModule's supporting technologies  the Matrix Energy Management System and DER Flex software  EnSync's Internet of Energy platform that connects all power resources and optimizes performance based on variables such as demand and weather conditions.

"Our ability to deliver micro-utility systems to Africa and other electricity-challenged regions demonstrates our transformational leadership in the utility market, which is shifting towards distributed energy resource-based generation and distribution," said Brad Hansen, chief executive officer of EnSync Energy. "With our integrated DER SuperModule systems and project design and execution expertise, we look forward to further expansion in additional markets in the years to come."

The new system in East Africa, to be commissioned this spring, will initially use less than the entire capacity of the DER SuperModule, allowing for more load from other local customers and nearby villages to be added as the customer base expands.

About EnSync Energy Systems

EnSync, Inc. (NYSE American: ESNC), dba EnSync Energy Systems (EnSync Energy), is creating the future of electricity with innovative distributed energy resource (DER) systems and internet of energy (IOE) control platforms. EnSync Energy ensures the most cost-effective and resilient electricity, delivered from an electrical infrastructure that prioritizes the use of all available resources, such as renewables, energy storage and the utility grid. As project developer, EnSync Energy's distinctive engagement methodology encompasses load analysis, system design consulting, and technical and financial modeling to ensure energy systems are sized and optimized to meet our customers' objectives for value and performance. Proprietary direct current (DC) power control hardware, energy management software, and extensive experience with numerous energy storage technologies uniquely positions EnSync Energy to deliver fully integrated systems that provide for efficient design, procurement, commissioning, and ongoing operation. EnSync Energy's IOE control platform adapts easily to ever-changing generation and load variables, as well as changes in utility prices and programs, ensuring the means to make or save money behind-the-meter, while concurrently providing utilities the opportunity to use DERs for an array of grid enhancing services. In addition to direct system sales, EnSync Energy includes power purchase agreements (PPAs) in its portfolio of offerings, which enables electricity savings for customers and provides a stable financial yield for investors. EnSync Energy is a global corporation, with joint venture Meineng Energy in AnHui, China, and energy project development subsidiary Holu Energy LLC in Hawaii, and DCfusion LLC, a power system engineering and design, consultancy and policy firm. For more information, visit www.ensync.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the "safe harbor" created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as "believe," "expect," "may," "will," "should," "could," "seek," "intend," "plan," "goal," "estimate," "anticipate" or other comparable terms. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding our strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among others, statements we make regarding project completion timelines, our ability to monetize our PPA assets, statements regarding the sufficiency of our capital resources, expected operating losses, expected revenues, expected expenses and our expectations concerning our business strategy, forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of our business, future plans and strategies, projections, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: our historical and anticipated future operation losses and our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to raise the necessary capital to fund our operations and the risk of dilution to shareholders from capital raising transactions; our ability to successfully commercialize new products, including our Matrix TM Energy Management, DER Flex TM, DER SuperModule TM, and Agile TM Hybrid Storage Systems; our ability to lower our costs and increase our margins; our product, customer and geographic concentration, and lack of revenue diversification; the length and variability of our sales cycle; our dependence on governmental mandates and the availability of rebates, tax credits and other economic incentives related to alternative energy resources and the regulatory treatment of third-party owned solar energy systems; and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our most recently filed Annual Report on Form 10-K and our subsequently filed Quarterly Report(s) on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

Media Relations Contact:

Antenna

Shreema Mehta

[email protected]

(646) 416-9853

EnSync Energy Media Contact:

Michelle Montague

[email protected]

(262) 735-5676

Investor Relations Contact:

Lytham Partners, LLC

Robert Blum, Joseph Diaz, or Joe Dorame

(602) 889-9700

SOURCE EnSync, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.ensync.com


CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Envestnet | Tamarac (www.tamaracinc.com) has introduced a mobile app for iPhone and Android users that provides convenient and secure "on-the-go" access to the award-winning client portal on the Tamarac platform.

The mobile app will enable Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) to seamlessly share financial data and engage their clients on their iOS and Android mobile devices with a portfolio dashboard, financial reports, net worth updates, budgeting tools (coming later in 2018), and files in the document-vault storage system.

Envestnet | Tamarac Mobile App

"Mobile's now a necessity for advisors looking to demonstrate their value to clients in today's digital environment," said Stuart DePina, president of Envestnet | Tamarac. "That's why we took such care in creating this mobile app, developing it from the ground up. We believe both advisors and their clients will embrace this app because it combines rigorous security with convenient access to customized information anytime, anywhere."

The easy set-up of the mobile app is a key benefit for RIAs. Advisors don't have to configure or create new pages because the mobile app accesses all the existing client portal settings and preferences that the advisor already set up for each client. Clients simply download the mobile app, log in with their same client portal credentials, and get instant access to an optimized mobile experience of their portal.

The mobile app offers the same level of rigorous security available in the desktop portal, with dual-factor authentication. Additionally, the iPhone version integrates Face ID facial recognition security.

Tamarac offers two versions of the mobile app: standard or premium. The standard app, called WealthView, uses Tamarac-branded images and naming and is free to RIAs and their clients. The premium app allows advisors to customize the app to reflect their firm's brand, including logo and name.

The mobile app includes benefits such as the ability to:

Receive and view new files "on the go" with Tamarac's mobile-friendly document vault optimized for seamless advisor-client interactions.

Easily add and edit assets and liabilities, including linking to outside accounts, and view in updated net worth report.

Log in as an advisor and view the mobile app as any of your clients with an active portal.

See and contact support team members at RIA firm. Clients can take advantage of easy-to-use mobile features such as tapping contact information to call or email team members and launching maps to get directions.

About Envestnet

Envestnet, Inc. (NYSE: ENV) is a leading provider of intelligent systems for wealth management and financial wellness. Envestnet's unified technology enhances advisor productivity and strengthens the wealth management process. Envestnet empowers enterprises and advisors to more fully understand their clients and deliver better outcomes.

Envestnet enables financial advisors to better manage client outcomes and strengthen their practices. Institutional-quality research and advanced portfolio solutions are provided through Envestnet | PMC, our Portfolio Management Consultants group. Envestnet | Yodlee is a leading data aggregation and data analytics platform powering dynamic, cloud-based innovation for digital financial services. Envestnet | Tamarac provides leading rebalancing, reporting, and practice management software for advisors. Envestnet | Retirement Solutions provides retirement advisors with an integrated platform that combines leading practice management technology, research and due diligence, data aggregation, compliance tools, fiduciary solutions and intelligent managed account solutions.

More than 59,000 advisors and 2,900 companies including: 16 of the 20 largest U.S. banks, 39 of the 50 largest wealth management and brokerage firms, over 500 of the largest Registered Investment Advisors, and hundreds of Internet services companies, leverage Envestnet technology and services. Envestnet solutions enhance knowledge of the client, accelerate client on-boarding, improve client digital experiences, and help drive better outcomes for enterprises, advisors, and their clients.

For more information about Envestnet | Tamarac, please visit www.tamaracinc.com and follow @TamaracInc.

Media Contact:

Jim Holland

Weber Shandwick

312.988.2037

[email protected]

SOURCE Envestnet | Tamarac

Related Links

http://www.tamaracinc.com


EXIM Bank is a self-financing, independent federal agency that supports and maintains U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing. EOL enables exporters to go online to apply for EXIM's export financing products, monitor the status of applications, receive and accept quotes, report shipments, obtain buyer approvals, and request policy amendments.

Under this contract, Salient CRGT will deliver Agile development, business requirement analysis, automated testing, and quality assurance support services in the areas of claims and disbursements and add recovery functionality to EOL.

"We are excited to employ our Agile practices in support of the EXIM Bank's overall mission of providing American businesses the financing support necessary to compete for global sales," said Tom Ferrando, President of Salient CRGT. "The EXIM Bank is increasingly playing an important role as world trade continues to grow and we applaud them for their confidence in our sophisticated technologies and ability to provide mission critical services."

About Salient CRGT

Salient CRGT provides federal civilian, defense, homeland, and intelligence agencies, as well as Fortune 1000 companies, with expertise and leadership in health, data analytics, cloud, agile software development, mobility, cyber security, and infrastructure solutions. We support these core capabilities with full lifecycle IT services and trainingto help our customers meet critical goals for pivotal missions. The most innovative talent delivery model in the industry, scientifically providing exactly the right people for the customers' most pressing requirements, fuels these critical capabilities. Salient CRGT has earned a record of success with integration and operations of largescale, high-volume solutions. Explore www.salientcrgt.com .

Tweet: [email protected] awards @Salient_CRGT $2.2M Prime Task Order to deliver #Agile development services. http://bit.ly/1MGSz5l

SOURCE Salient CRGT

Related Links

http://www.salientcrgt.com


MIAMI, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FEAM Maintenance / Engineering today announces that it has entered into a full technical handling agreement with WOW Air spanning five U.S. airport locations. Under its EASA 145 approval, FEAM will provide technical support on WOW Air's fleet of Airbus A320 CEO/NEO aircraft as well as Airbus A330 CEO and soon to enter service, A330 NEO aircraft. The agreement specifies line maintenance support services to include Transit Checks, A Checks, and AOG support beginning in April 2018. The locations called out in the agreement are Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Baltimore-Washington International Airport, Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport, and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

"Having a significant presence at the majority of these locations as well as proven scalability to maintain next-generation aircraft made FEAM the partner of choice for the required level of support," said Scott Diaz, Director of Business Development  Americas. "FEAM's strategic partnership with WOW air will also open the door to being one of the first MRO's to support the A330 NEO in the U.S."

All line maintenance technicians and engineers that will be supporting the agreement will be fully trained on both A320 and A330 fleet types at FEAM's world-class "FEAM Academy" training center based in Miami, Florida.

More about FEAM:

FEAM Maintenance / Engineering founded in 1992 is an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) company providing aircraft line maintenance services to domestic and international air carriers flying transport category aircraft. FEAM employs over 850 professional aviation personnel consisting of Aircraft Maintenance Technicians, Line Maintenance Engineers and Aviation Technical Consultants located throughout the company's wide network of 28 domestic line stations and base maintenance facility. FEAM holds numerous approvals from global civil aviation regulatory authorities including being the 1st U.S based MRO to receive Japanese Civil Aeronautics Board (JCAB) line maintenance approval. Learn more at www.feamaero.com

Contact:

Scott Diaz

Director of Business Development- Americas

[email protected]

About WOW air

WOW air offers the lowest fares, a modern fleet with the lowest emissions and the biggest smile. As of spring 2018, the airline services 39 destinations across Europe, North America and Asia, including Dublin, London, Paris, Berlin, and Tel Aviv.

Established in November 2011 by Icelandic entrepreneur Skuli Mogensen, the purple airline flies with Airbus A320, Airbus A321 and Airbus A330 models. WOW air boasts one of the world's youngest fleet, with an average aircraft age of just 2 years.

WOW air was ranked as the 7th best low-cost airline in Europe at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards and was the youngest airline in the top ten.

For additional information please visit www.wowair.com

SOURCE FEAM

Related Links

http://www.feamaero.com


WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Finn Partners announced today that Dan Kaufman, Managing Partner and a leader in the agency's highly regarded PreK-12 Education practice, will oversee its 20-member team in Washington, D.C., New York, Boston and San Francisco.

Kaufman was most recently Senior Partner and since 2010 has helped manage the practice, launched three decades ago as the cornerstone of Widmeyer Communications, the first communications agency specializing in education. Widmeyer was acquired by Finn Partners in 2013.

Dan Kaufman, Managing Partner, Finn Partners

"I am excited and honored to have the opportunity to build on the great work of our team of smart and dedicated communicators," said Kaufman. "Our brand of research-based, issue-focused strategic communications is needed now more than ever by foundations, nonprofits, corporations and government agencies at all levels that want to have a real impact on education and kids."

Scott Widmeyer, who was recently named Finn Partners' Chief Strategy Officer in its D.C. office praised Kaufman's expertise in education communications, issues and policy. "With a new federal education law in place and more and more schools and school districts experimenting with new forms of student-centered learning, Kaufman and his team are especially skilled and able to zero in on helping Finn's clients manage the issues and trends that teachers, parents and policymakers care most about."

The PreK-12 team has long focused on a wide range of national education issues, from early childhood and STEM education to education equity and technology to teacher quality and combatting bullying, and is looking to expand its burgeoning state and local work that has a direct impact on classroom and schools across the country. Among its coast-to-coast clients are ExxonMobil, the National Center on Education and the Economy, the J.B. and M.K. Pritzker Family Foundation, and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

While at the agency, Kaufman has served as an appointed member of the Prince George's County, Md. school board; authored a regular column on communications for the National School Boards Association's flagship magazine, and taught courses at American University and the George Washington University on education policy and strategic communications.

A Fulbright scholar and American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow with a Ph.D. in Political Science, Kaufman previously worked in communications for the National Education Association and its Maryland affiliate and as a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and legendary columnist Jack Anderson. He was also an ESL/bilingual instructor in the Atlanta Public Schools and is fluent in Spanish.

Kaufman resides in Gaithersburg, Md. with his wife and two children.

About Finn Partners, Inc.

Founded in 2011 on the core principles of innovation and collaborative partnership, Finn Partners has more than tripled in size in six years, becoming one of the fastest growing independent public relations agencies in the world. The full-service marketing and communications company's record setting pace is a result of organic growth and integrating new companies and new people into the Finn Partners world through a common philosophy. With 575 professionals, Finn Partners provides its clients with global access and capabilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia, in addition to PROI Worldwide. Headquartered in New York, Finn Partners' other offices are located in: Chicago, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Nashville, Paris, Portland, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore and Washington D.C. Find us at finnpartners.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @finnpartners.

Contact:

Renee Martin

Finn Partners

[email protected]

212.715.1660

SOURCE Finn Partners

Related Links

https://www.finnpartners.com


LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- February 19th, the 50th day of the year, will now be known as Forever Fierce Day to show women that aging isn't something to fear, but rather something to embrace and to provide inspiring role models to the public, media, and brands of women who defy the current conceptions of Midlife.

Forever Fierce Day infographic Forever Fierce Podcast with Catherine GraceO

As part of the celebration, a global online campaign will join women together virtually to explore perceptions about "What it means to be FIERCE at Midlife." The campaign, Forever Fierce: Making Midlife Cool, features 50 Midlife Women of Influence across the country have been selected to represent their respective cities. Each woman will use their blog, reach and network to give other 35+ women a platform to share their story. This year marks the third campaign to raise awareness launched by founder, Catherine Grace O'Connell. The first campaign, The Fierce 50, brought together 75 Bloggers over the age of 50 to celebrate this powerful demographic. The second, Bridging the Gap, paired 100 Mid-Life Influencers with 100 Millennial Influencers; the campaign garnered nearly 9 million in social media following. Unprecedented in the world of Influence, the campaigns were organic, grassroots efforts designed to blur boundaries and unite demographics to affect world change.

Anyone wishing to celebrate Forever Fierce Day and join The Midlife Revolution can download ideas here https://catherinegraceo.com/forever-fierce-day/, including creating the official Forever Fierce Signature Cocktail.

Founder Catherine Grace O'Connell Is Leading a New Kind of Revolution

The online campaign is part of a larger movement and the creation of Catherine Grace 0'Connell, 56, a Lifestyle Inspirational Influencer/ Talk Show Host/ Motivational Speaker who wears the mantle of Age Disruptor. According to Ms. O'Connell, "The current perception of women at Midlife and beyond isn't a match for reality. A revolution has begun, and Midlife women are rising." Our Women of Influence were selected as they epitomize empowered women.

In one short year, Ms. O'Connell and her team have built a Forever Fierce Midlife Revolution, including a highly engaged Facebook Group with nearly 5000 members. Her production company, Forever Fierce Media, also produces a weekly talk show with over a million downloads and hosts local and national events. In addition, her media company provides both consultation and video production to national brands seeking to reinvent their messages to reach this powerful, underserved and critical demographic.

Catherine, a #MeToo, believes empowered women at Midlife and beyond are role models to inspire women of all ages to unite, collaborate, and assist one another to stand in their own truth and power. After being silenced for 54 years, she is a Voice that celebrates the reinvention, creativity, wisdom, life experience, and extraordinary value of the Midlife woman. https://catherinegraceo.com

Forever Fierce Midlife Revolution Facebook Group Page www.facebook.com/groups/TheFierce50

Forever Fierce Podcast download on iTunes, Stitcher or Google Play Music

#ForeverFierce

#ForeverFierceDay

Media Contact:

Linda Williams

[email protected]

631-664-6511

SOURCE Forever Fierce Media
Democratic Republic of Congos (DRC) president Joseph Kabila will not contest upcoming elections, the information minister Lambert Mende said.

According to Mende, Kabila intends to respect the constitution of the country and to hand over power after the December 2018 elections.

He said the president will, in July this year, announce his preferred successor for the elections.

Kabila, 46, has been in power since 2001, at the helm of a regime widely criticized for corruption, repression and incompetence. He was elected president in his own right in 2006, and re-elected to a second term in 2011.

His constitutional term in office expired in December 2016 but he stayed on, under laws enabling him to remain in office until his successor is elected.

The authorities late last year postponed the election until December 23, 2018, citing what they said were logistical problems in preparing for the vote.

Head of the electoral commission, Corneille Nangaa said a total of 46,021,454 voters had been registered, 12% more than expected.

Scores of people have been killed in the past year in protests, organized by the Catholic Church, against Kabilas refusal to step down in December 2016, and delays in calling new elections.

Some opponents suspect Kabila of seeking a referendum to change Congos constitution to enable him to run for more than two terms.
WEINHEIM, Germany, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Freudenberg, the global technology company, is further expanding its car floor mat business. In Germany, the Japan Vilene Company, a Freudenberg Business Group, has signed an agreement to acquire Hanns Glass GmbH & Co. KG, Grafing, Germany. The company is a leading global automotive supplier of car floor mats with a strong European presence and a portfolio complementary to VIAM, one of Japan Vilene Company's core businesses with operations in Asia and North America. In 2016, the company generated about 31 million euros in sales and has some 260 employees. The transaction is conditional upon approval from the German Federal Cartel Office and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year.

"With the acquisition of the Hanns Glass Group, the VIAM Group will gain access to the European automotive market and, in the future, will be able to supply European carmakers from local production sites," says Freudenberg Group CEO, Dr. Mohsen Sohi.

The Hanns Glass Group is headquartered in Grafing, near Munich, and has production sites in Paderborn and Meuselwitz, Germany, and Cheb, Czech Republic. These sites will serve as the VIAM Group's European base.

About the Hanns Glass Group

The Hanns Glass Group, headquartered in Grafing near Munich, Germany has been in family ownership since its beginnings in the 1930s. The company works with many established carmakers and is today a leading global producer of vehicle mats and dirt-free floor mats. The Group's high-quality and innovative products along with their excellent customer service have always been a major selling point for customers throughout the world. Please see www.hanns-glass.com/en/home.html

About the VIAM Group

Established in the USA in 1984, VIAM is synonymous with high-quality car floor mats and other interior products. VIAM is widely recognized by carmakers as a top global supplier of protective floor mats, specializing in blending value, service and innovation. The Group's worldwide footprint currently includes domestic manufacturing and supply to customers in the US, Mexico, Japan, China and Thailand.

The VIAM Group is a Business Group of Japan Vilene Company

Since its establishment in 1960, the Japan Vilene Company has maintained its position as the leading domestic manufacturer of nonwoven materials under the theme of "Engineering Fabric Innovation", utilizing its raw material expertise and considerable know-how in the areas of production process, equipment technology and nonwoven converting and offering a wide range of products through its Automotive, Medical, Electrical and other Industrial sectors. The company has developed the car floor mats business worldwide. The Japan Vilene Company operates sixteen production sites globally, including two main production sites in Japan. The company totals 2,300 employees worldwide.

In very close cooperation with Freudenberg Performance Materials and Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, the Japan Vilene Company operates a network of production and sales joint venture companies throughout Asia. For more information, please see www.vilene.co.jp/en

The Japan Vilene Company is a Business Group of the Freudenberg Group

Freudenberg is a global technology group that strengthens its customers and society long-term through forward-looking innovations. Together with its partners, customers and the world of science, the Freudenberg Group develops leading-edge technologies, and excellent products, solutions and services for more than 30 market segments and for thousands of applications: seals, vibration control components, nonwovens, filters, specialty chemicals, medical products, IT services and the most modern cleaning products.

Strength of innovation, strong customer orientation, diversity, and team spirit are the cornerstones of the Group. The 169-year-old company holds strong to its core values: a commitment to excellence, reliability and pro-active, responsible action. In 2016, the Freudenberg Group employed more than 48,000 people in almost 60 countries worldwide and generated sales of approximately 8.6 billion. For more information, please visit www.freudenberg.com.

SOURCE Freudenberg

Related Links

http://www.freudenberg.com


SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Full Circle Insights is a finalist in the 2017-2018 Cloud Awards Program in the categories of Best CRM Solution of the Year and Most Innovative Use of Data in the Cloud.

The cloud computing awards program celebrates excellence and innovation in the rapid-growth cloud computing market. The awarding body accepts applications worldwide, covering the US, Canada, Australasia and EMEA. Organizations of any size are accepted for consideration in the program, including those from governmental bodies, start-ups and established multinationals.

In 2017-18, categories include "Best in Mobile" Cloud Solution, Best Software as a Service, Most Innovative Use of Data and Most Promising Start-Up.

CEO Bonnie Crater stated: "For Full Circle Insights, being shortlisted in the Cloud Awards in the Best CRM Solution of the Year and Most Innovative Use of Data in the Cloud categories is clear recognition of the team's hard work and dedication to excellence and innovation."

Cloud Awards organizer Larry Johnson said: "Again, we have seen an overwhelming level of engagement from organizations of all sizes, each showing their commitment to cloud-based technologies and leveraging them in their own unique way.

"A clear pattern has emerged, and that is that the global technology community is not playing catch-up to the US when addressing cloud innovation.

"We have seen new levels of excellence in the submissions reviewed, and the judges have had great difficulty in categorizing those applications which should move further in the process. Indeed, virtually all of the entries scrutinised would be worthy of a place on the shortlist.

"It is clear that while the SaaS category remains as hotly-contested as ever, a new breed of competition for excellence is emerging worldwide, making the non-US SaaS submissions more relevant than ever. For those who did not make this year's Cloud Awards shortlist, remember that the Cloud Awards sister program - the SaaS Awards - returns in the spring, to put a laser focus on innovation in software.

"We can only wait until 2018 to see which organizations emerge as final Cloud Award winners in their chosen category."

Over 300 organizations entered, with entries coming from across the globe, covering the Americas, Australia, Europe and the Middle East. You can view the full shortlist here: https://www.cloud-awards.com/2018-shortlist.

The Cloud Awards (https://www.cloud-awards.com/cloud-computing-awards) will return with a new program in late 2018 to continue its recognition of excellence in cloud computing.

The Software as a Service Awards (https://www.cloud-awards.com/software-as-a-service-awards/), judged in the spring, is currently accepting entries for its Spring 2018 program.

About the Cloud Awards

The Cloud Awards is an international program which has been recognizing and honoring industry leaders, innovators and organizational transformation in cloud computing. The awards are open to large, small, established and start-up organizations from across the entire globe, with an aim to find and celebrate the pioneers who will shape the future of the Cloud as we move into 2018 and beyond. Categories include Most Promising Start-Up, Best SaaS, and "Best in Mobile" Cloud Solution. Finalists were selected by a judging panel of international industry experts. For more information about the Cloud Awards please visit http://www.cloud-awards.com/.

About Full Circle Insights

Full Circle Insights delivers marketing and sales performance management solutions to optimize a company's marketing mix and drive more revenue. The company offers multi-touch attribution, comprehensive funnel metrics and lead management technology. Built 100% on the Salesforce App Cloud, Full Circle Insights' products complement leading marketing automation solutions.

Founded by former Salesforce executives, CRM implementation veterans and marketing automation specialists, the Full Circle Insights industry pioneers are seasoned in creating marketing measurement foundations to grow revenue. Learn more at www.fullcircleinsights.com.

Salesforce, Salesforce AppExchange, Salesforce App Cloud, and others are trademarks of salesforce.com, inc.

Contact details

For Full Circle Insights

Amy Dardinger

[email protected]

For the Cloud Awards

James Williams  Marketing

www.cloud-awards.com

[email protected]

SOURCE Full Circle Insights

Related Links

http://www.fullcircleinsights.com


Based on the successes experienced by the 46 library jurisdictions currently participating in Career Online High School, the state of California tripled the amount of funding previously invested, allowing the State Library to purchase an additional 2,603 scholarships to sustain and expand the program.

"Investing more funds in this program was an easy decision when you look at the life-changing impact it's had on residents accomplishing their education and career goals, and how public libraries are making that happen," said Greg Lucas, California's State Librarian.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 5.3 million Californians age 18 or older do not have a high school diploma or equivalencyi. Currently, more than 1,000 adults are enrolled in California's Career Online High School program and over 400 adults have graduated from the Program through local public libraries.

"I wanted to finish high school to set a good example for my children. I also wanted to do it for me," said Shannon Alvarado, who graduated through Los Angeles Public Library. "This program has given me the tools needed to prepare a resume. It has also made me want to further my education. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to get my high school diploma!"

With Career Online High School, California residents can:

Earn an accredited high school diploma and workforce certificate in one of eight trade areas, ranging from protection officer to customer service to commercial driving.

Take classes online, with the flexibility of 24/7 access to classwork, with up to 18 months to complete the program.

Be supported by certified instructors and an academic coach to help them succeed.

Complete the program sooner by transferring previously earned high school credits.

Gain career readiness with a career portfolio including a resume, a cover letter and job preparation support.

"The success of California's Career Online High School Program is a great example of how public libraries are empowering learning within the community and changing lives," said Paul Gazzolo, senior vice president and general manager at Gale. "We applaud the state of California's investment in public libraries as hubs for community education and economic development. We are honored to be a trusted partner and are thrilled to continue providing their public libraries with educational and career resources to help California residents earn a high school diploma and achieve their dreams."

California residents interested in learning more about the program or would like to view the list of libraries that offer the program can visit: http://www.careeronlinehs.gale.com/ca/.

Gale will be showcasing Career Online High School at the ALA Midwinter Conference in Denver, February 9-12 at the Gale booth #1508.

About Career Online High School

Career Online High School was developed in 2012 through a partnership by ed2go, a division of Cengage that provides students with online continuing education and career training, and Smart Horizons Career Online Education in an effort to provide affordable, career-based online education opportunities for the millions of adults in the United States without high school diplomas. In 2014, the program was adapted for the public library market by Gale, a Cengage company.

About Cengage and Gale

Cengage is the education and technology company built for learners. The company serves the higher education, K-12, professional, library and workforce training markets worldwide. Gale, a Cengage company, provides libraries with original and curated content, as well as the modern research tools and technology that are crucial in connecting libraries to learning, and learners to libraries. For more than 60 years, Gale has partnered with libraries around the world to empower the discovery of knowledge and insights  where, when, and how people need it. Gale has 500 employees globally with its main operations in Farmington Hills, Michigan. For more information, please visit www.gale.com.

Follow Gale on:

i U.S. Census Bureau, 2012-2016 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates

Media Contact:

Kayla Siefker, Gale, a Cengage company

248-699-8456

[email protected]

SOURCE Gale - Cengage

Related Links

https://www.gale.com


DALLAS, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Generational Capital Markets, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC and a leading mergers and acquisitions advisor for privately held businesses, is pleased to announce the acquisition of its client, A Company Inc., by United Site Services Inc. The transaction closed December 14, 2017.

Based in Boise, Idaho, A Company is a leading provider of portable sanitation services in the western United States. It offers dependable service at construction sites, public events, and other social gatherings with its suite of portable restrooms, hand washing stations, deluxe restroom trailers, temporary fencing and more. A Company has six (06) branches with two each in Idaho and Arizona and one each in Utah and Nevada.

United Site Services, a Platinum Equity company based in Westborough, Massachusetts, is the nation's leader in the portable toilet and temporary fence rental services. It boasts the nation's largest fleet of portable sanitation equipment and has over 100 locations across the country.

Generational Equity Managing Director Eric Sanderson successfully closed the transaction.

"Because of A Company's leading position in key locations, our marketing efforts resulted in strong interest for the company," said Sanderson. "Public and private companies as well as private equity groups participated in our process, with the client ultimately choosing United Site Services as the best fit."

Ron Carapezzi, CEO of United Site Services Inc., said, "This acquisition establishes USS as the market leader across the Mountain and Southwest Regions, while facilitating our entry into a new and highly attractive Boise, Idaho marketplace."

About Generational Capital, LLC

Generational Capital, LLC is a Dallas, Texas-based merger & acquisition advisory firm. Generational Capital wholly owns Generational Capital Markets, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC. More information can be found at www.gencm.com. Generational Capital and Generational Capital Markets are part of the Generational Group and are affiliated with Generational Equity, LLC, which The M&A Advisor named Investment Banking Firm of the Year in 2016 & 2017.

GCM's most recent awards include The M&A Advisor's 2017 Consumer Staples Deal Of The Year, 2017 Private Equity Deal of the Year Award, 2016 Corporate and Strategic Acquisition of the Year Award, as well as the 2016 Materials Deal of the Year for its work on the Stern Rubber Company transaction. It has also been recognized for the 2016 M&A Deal of the Year for the acquisition of Pro Trans Logistics Inc. by Action Resources.

For more information:

Carl Doerksen

972-232-1125

[email protected]

SOURCE Generational Capital Markets, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.gencm.com


"Lucas' winning smile and joyful expression won our hearts this year, and we are all thrilled to name him our 2018 Spokesbaby," said Bill Partyka, President and CEO, Gerber. "Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber's longstanding heritage of recognizing that every baby is a Gerber baby, and this year, Lucas is the perfect fit."

Gerber has received countless photos over the past 90 years from parents who think of their little ones when they see Gerber's iconic baby logo. In 2017, the logo was refreshed to pay homage to the original black-and-white sketch of the first Gerber baby, Ann Turner Cook, who just celebrated her 91st birthday. Inspired by the adorable baby photos received from proud parents, Gerber launched its first official Photo Search in 2010 and has continued celebrating babies and toddlers every year since, not only through Photo Search but through its real, delicious and nutritious food for babies and expert tools and services for parents.

"This is such a proud moment for us as parents knowing that Lucas has a platform to spread joy, not only to those he interacts with every day, but to people all over the country," said Lucas' mom, Cortney Warren. "We hope this opportunity sheds light on the special needs community and educates people that with acceptance and support, individuals with special needs have the potential to change the world  just like our Lucas!"

In addition to the Grand Prize winner, Gerber honored twelve additional winners in the "Giggles and Wiggles" and "Best Dressed" categories. The "Giggles and Wiggles" winners will receive $500 and a year's supply of Gerber and Purina products. The "Best Dressed" winners will receive $500, courtesy of Gerber Childrenswear, $250 worth of Gerber Childrenswear and a year's supply of Gerber products.

"Looking back on our last 90 years, we're extremely proud of all that we accomplished and all the babies we've celebrated, including our Photo Search winners," said Partyka. "At Gerber, 'Anything for Baby' is our motto  it's what we do, and we can't wait to see what the next 90 years hold for us and for all our Gerber families."

Photo of the winners and additional information about Photo Search 2017 and Gerber can be found by visiting Gerber's Facebook Page.

About Gerber

Gerber was founded in 1928 in Fremont, Michigan. Gerber Products Company joined the Nestle family on September 1, 2007. Gerber Products Company is a leader in early childhood nutrition.

SOURCE Gerber

Related Links

http://www.gerber.com


DENVER, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, HarperDB, an enterprise class database company, announced the launch of HarperDB, an HTAP (Hybrid Transactional/Analytical Processing) database solution designed for developers. Easy to use and powerful, HarperDB eliminates the need for multiple database products and costly expenses associated with supporting massive big data footprints.

HarperDB's database is powered by a patent pending data storage algorithm that ingests both unstructured and structured data into a fully indexed, single model data store. No configuration is required. Both NoSQL and SQL capabilities are provided natively in real-time, and there is no increase in the storage footprint. This means that developers can focus on development, while interacting with their data in real-time without having to worry about overly complex data models, configuration, or database management.

"We built a database solution that developers of any skill level can roll out in minutes and that scales with them as their data needs grow," said Stephen Goldberg, CEO of HarperDB. "There are a lot of database products on the market, but the options available are highly fragmented and complex, making companies data value chains difficult and expensive to maintain. We are excited to announce a solution that internalizes this complexity and simplifies the process of ingestion to analytics."

HarperDB can be used for IoT projects, app development and as a schema-less data warehouse.

HarperDB for IoT: The Only Enterprise Class Database Built to Run on the Edge

HarperDB eliminates the complexity of IoT projects with a simple and secure database solution. With its small footprint, HarperDB can be installed directly on a micro-computing device allowing for battery conservation and optimization of micro-computing devices.

As the only enterprise class database written in Node.js, HarperDB allows for distributed computing directly on the edge while capable of scaling to any hardware, making it ideal for both edge and cloud uses. This allows HarperDB to tackle the entire data value chain of IoT from ingestion to actionability. HarperDB also simplifies inter-device communication and data replication for IoT eliminating the needs for complex and expensive middleware.

"We selected HarperDB as the only startup to join The National Science Foundation's Center for Hybrid Multicore Productivity Research (CHMPR). HarperDB joins organizations like Northrop Grumman, IBM, NASA, and DHS in helping to solve problems of national importance," said Yelena Yesha, Director of CHMPR. "The HarperDB technology is not only innovative and unparalleled, it has broad applicability across the problems we are tackling as a center."

CHMPR is using HarperDB as a component of a clinical project in which patient data is being tracked in real-time as a way to increase resource utilization and improve the quality of care. HarperDB was selected because it is lightweight and enables distributed data processing and data management on the edge, which is critical yet absent in hospital settings today.

The National Science Foundation's Center for Hybrid Multicore Productivity Research (CHMPR) solves problems of national importance in partnership with government, academia, and across industries in the fields of environmental and geophysical sciences, chemical, aerospace, defense, biomedical informatics, healthcare, financial, and event driven simulations and visualizations.

For more information and a free download, visit HarperDB for IoT.

HarperDB for App Developers: Simplicity without Sacrifice

HarperDB is bringing the efficiency and simplicity of micro-services to the database landscape, allowing app developers to focus more time on coding and less on managing a complex database. Built on a native REST API, developers are able to copy the HarperDB sample code to easily integrate into development projects. Installing in under two minutes, HarperDB empowers developers, allowing them to scale out and maintain big data architectures on their own.

For more information and a free download, visit HarperDB for App Developers.

HarperDB for Enterprise: A Single Model for Structured and Unstructured Data

The HarperDB solution accelerates integration speed with a dynamic schema and straightforward endpoints allowing developers to perform structured queries on unstructured data in real-time. HarperDB automatically scales to hardware vertically and the HTAP model provides real time analytics on unstructured data enabling developers to spot trends, easily see leading indicators, and take immediate action.

For more information, visit HarperDB for Enterprise.

Availability

A community edition is available for free download here for prototyping and building smaller scale projects. For those looking to tackle larger scale projects, HarperDB offers an enterprise edition which includes clustering and analytics drivers. Contact HarperDB at [email protected] for the enterprise edition.

About HarperDB

HarperDB was founded to deliver a simple solution that could be used by any developer of any skill level without sacrificing scale or performance. The HarperDB database solution is being used for IoT project development, app development and enterprise data warehouses. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in Denver, HarperDB's founding team has spent many years working in enterprise architecture, software integration, software development, and software sales.

SOURCE HarperDB

Related Links

http://www.harperdb.io


CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage, announced today that it has acquired the shares of Kindersley Insurance Ltd. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Kindersley, Saskatchewan with an office in Dodsland, Kindersley Insurance Ltd. is a full-service, independent personal and commercial insurance brokerage that specializes in insurance solutions for the agriculture, oil field and trucking industries.

Principals Mark Stockford and Barry Andrew will join Hub Manitoba and report to Doug Trapp, Vice President of Hub's Saskatchewan Region.

About Hub's M&A Activities

Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise. For more information on the Hub M&A experience, visit WeAreHub.com.

About Hub International

Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, Hub International Limited is a leading global insurance brokerage that provides property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services from offices located throughout North America. For more information, please visit hubinternational.com.

CONTACT:

Media: Marni Gordon

Phone: 312-279-4601

[email protected]

M&A: Clark Wormer

Phone: 312.279.4848

[email protected]

SOURCE Hub International Limited

Related Links

http://www.hubinternational.com


NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hunt Mortgage Group, a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States, announced today it provided a Freddie Mac Small Balance Loan in the amount of $5.2 million to finance the acquisition of an affordable multifamily property located in Whittier, California.

Located at 11500 Colima Road, Candlewood Apartments is a 43-unit residential property comprised of three, two-story residential buildings and a one-story building at the front which provides gated access to the property. The property offers 63 parking spaces.

"The new loan will be used to pay off the existing lender and will yield cash-out proceeds to perform minor deferred maintenance, reinvest in additional on-site capital improvements, and for acquisition of other income producing assets," noted Mark Besharaty, Director at Hunt Mortgage Group.

The transaction is a five-year hybrid, with a 20-year term and 30-year amortization. The first five years the loan will be fixed-rate and the remaining 15 years it will have a floating rate. The borrower is The Highlander Group, LP, a California formed limited partnership, backed by William and Shelly Suh.

Whittier is a submarket of the Los Angeles MSA, and is situated approximately 18 miles from the Los Angeles central business district. Los Angeles is considered to be a Freddie Mac Top Market.

Currently twelve units are occupied by tenants with Section 8 Vouchers, which is typical within the immediate submarket.

"The borrower is an experienced multifamily investor that has successfully owned and operated the property since acquisition in October 2014," added Besharaty. "We were pleased to provide this loan to help them improve this property and continue to provide quality affordable housing to the local community."

About Hunt Mortgage Group

Hunt Mortgage Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Hunt Companies, Inc., is a leader in financing commercial real estate throughout the United States. The Company finances all types of commercial real estate: multifamily properties (including small balance), affordable housing, office, retail, manufactured housing, healthcare/senior living, industrial, and self-storage facilities. It offers Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, HUD/FHA in addition to its own Proprietary loan products. Since inception, the Company has structured more than $21 billion of loans and today maintains a servicing portfolio of more than $13.4 billion. Headquartered in New York City, Hunt Mortgage Group has 232 professionals in 25 locations throughout the United States. To learn more, visit www.huntmortgagegroup.com.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Brent Feigenbaum

Hunt Mortgage Group

212-317-5730

[email protected]

Pam Flores

773-218-9260

[email protected]

SOURCE Hunt Mortgage Group

Related Links

http://www.huntmortgagegroup.com


BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Anne Nygard, 17, of Boise and Ivy Harness, 12, of Nampa today were named Idaho's top two youth volunteers of 2018 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Anne and Ivy each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in late April to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2018.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 23rd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

These are Idaho's top youth volunteers of 2018:

High School State Honoree: Anne Nygard

Nominated by Girl Scouts of Silver Sage in Boise

Anne, a junior at Boise Senior High School, has collected more than 300 pairs of gently-used running shoes for refugee students in her city and hosted events to distribute the shoes and teach the recipients about running. Anne traces her concern for refugees to an event she attended when she was 9. "To this day, I remember the tears of many of these people from the Congo and Vietnam as they told their stories," she said. "Those who come here have fled horrors that we hope to never experience in our lives. I believe the least we can do is be kind to them."

A cross-country runner throughout junior high and high school, Anne was well aware that distance runners go through running shoes quickly, and then throw them into the trash. "But they are still in excellent condition for lighter running," she said. Seeing an opportunity, Anne decided to start collecting these slightly worn shoes and distribute them to refugees in her community. She planned shoe drives and publicized them on social media and through fliers and advertisements that she created. She also contacted refugee organizations and schools with refugee programs to get them involved. At the events she hosts, Anne lets refugee kids pick out the shoes they want, explains the rewards of running, and talks about the running programs at their schools. Anne now conducts her philanthropic activities through her own nonprofit, "Running for Refugees."

Middle Level State Honoree: Ivy Harness

Nominated by University of Idaho Extension in Caldwell

Ivy, a seventh-grader at Harness Homeschool, has been a very active volunteer in her community over the past four years, engaging in a wide variety of service activities with her 4-H group. Her volunteer work began in 2013 when Ivy started going with her mother and siblings every Saturday during the summer to a natural history museum, where the family would do everything from shelving books to relocating bug specimens. Later that year, Ivy joined 4-H and eagerly took advantage of a broad array of new volunteer opportunities.

Since then, Ivy has worked at 4-H day camps, helped organize canned food and sock drives for homeless shelters and participated in a wig drive for cancer patients. She's also pulled weeds and supervised games at church, sold concessions at the Snake River Stampede, taken guinea pigs to entertain residents at a retirement center and donated baked goods for various causes. And that's just some of the ways Ivy has contributed to her community. "Through community service, I gained self-confidence," said Ivy. "It makes me feel like maybe I can make a difference, like I can impact the world even if only one step at a time."

Distinguished Finalists

The program judges also recognized two other Idaho students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.



These are Idaho's Distinguished Finalists for 2018:



Randy-B Funk, 15, of Meridian, Idaho, a freshman at Idaho Virtual Academy, has been holding community supply drives for people in need since he was 12 years old, gathering hundreds of pairs of socks, dozens of stuffed suitcases and Christmas presents, over 1,000 pounds of food for his local food bank and more. Randy-B also serves with a number of youth and community organizations, including the Meridian Youth Advisory Council.



Kayla Watson, 16, of Boise, Idaho, a junior at Timberline High School, started a club that paired high school tutors with young refugees from a local elementary school, providing the kids with role models and academic support during the stressful transition to an American school. After learning that many refugees fall behind at school due to limited English and differences in their education systems, Kayla started "Tutors of the World," a program that provided twice-weekly support to about 20 kids.



"Prudential is proud to recognize these remarkable young people for using their energy, creativity and compassion to bring meaningful change to their communities," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope their stories inspire others to consider how they can do the same."



"These middle level and high school students have not only improved the lives of the people and communities they've served  they also set an important example for their peers," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "These honorees prove that you're never too young to make a difference."

About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of Points of Light's HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth.



While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees  one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia  will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On April 30, 10 of the State Honorees  five middle level and five high school students  will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2018. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice.



Since the program began in 1995, more than 120,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China, Brazil and Poland. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees.



For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

About NASSP

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Student Council. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.

For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media

SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.
Vast expertise in the large and fast-growing UCaaS market With over 20 years of delivering voice solutions, Intermedia is well-positioned to expand its UCaaS market leadership.

Michael Gold, CEO of Intermedia, explained: "Voice and UCaaS are the fastest growing areas of our company, now accounting for nearly half of our total new business. Through our recent AnyMeeting acquisition, we've joined video collaboration and screen sharing with our leading Cloud PBX and workplace collaboration offerings in one extremely secure, reliable, and robust product. The result is Intermedia Unite, a truly integrated, highly mobile UCaaS platform that enables businesses to realize greater productivity and collaboration, while being even easier for partners to sell, set up, manage, and support."

Industry analysts agree that the high-growth UCaaS market represents a tremendous opportunity for Intermedia Unite. "We expect the North American Hosted Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony and UCaaS market to experience double digit growth, expanding from $3.75 billion in 2016 to $14.83 billion in 20231," said Elka Popova, VP of Digital Transformation at Frost & Sullivan. "The market is relatively untapped and can support a large number of providers, each with its own diverse background and skill set. Intermedia is positioned for long-term success within this space, as it builds upon an already successful voice business, a partner-friendly model, and a cloud leadership position, combined with a strong focus on enabling SMBs' digital transformation."

New intuitive partner tools shorten sales cycle

As with all Intermedia services, Unite is backed by Intermedia's 360 approach to partner success. New intuitive partner tools further reinforce this commitment:

New partner quoting system. Simply choose Intermedia service quantities and prices, then add other partner services or fees to create a single quote  Intermedia even calculates the taxes

Simply choose Intermedia service quantities and prices, then add other partner services or fees to create a single quote  Intermedia even calculates the taxes Self-service ordering. Conveniently order additional services or devices straight from Intermedia's portal, shopping cart style, in just a few clicks

Conveniently order additional services or devices straight from Intermedia's portal, shopping cart style, in just a few clicks New web portal. Easily make real-time system or endpoint changes, including enabling or disabling features system-wide, by group, or by individual user

These enhancements are designed to result in fewer support calls and administrative hours, and ultimately, a shortened sales cycle.

"We believe that partners are the conduit to the SMB," said Mark Sher, VP of Unified Communications Product and Marketing at Intermedia. "We built Intermedia Unite with an eye toward making it the easiest UCaaS solution for partners to sell, provision, install, and support. Their clients will be able to hit the ground running, with the integrated tools they need to be more effective with their customers, be more collaborative, and ultimately be more productive. In turn, partners will be able to take advantage of the high-growth UCaaS market, delivering high-quality, dependable products generating strong new revenue streams."

Clayton Oswald, Intermedia partner and President of Northwest Cloud Consulting, explained: "I've already had great success with Intermedia's Cloud PBX services, and I find them more profitable to sell because of how easy Intermedia is to work with. Consider the support cost savings, for example; Intermedia removes time intensive roadblocks like complicated taxation and billing. The Partner Concierge Desk is there to help whenever I need them, and their VoIP Scout network testing tool saves me a huge amount of time making sure that my clients have a successful and reliable experience from the get-go. The fact that Unite comes paired with Intermedia's unsurpassed reliability and J.D. Power-certified support is a game-changer for my business."

Key benefits from the Intermedia Unite platform:

90+ enterprise-grade calling features all included. These include call flip (one touch transfer to mobile or office phone), call park, call transfer, Do Not Disturb functionality to send all calls directly to voicemail, call recording 2 , voicemail transcription, 3-way calling, auto attendant, hunt groups, and many, many more

These include call flip (one touch transfer to mobile or office phone), call park, call transfer, Do Not Disturb functionality to send all calls directly to voicemail, call recording , voicemail transcription, 3-way calling, auto attendant, hunt groups, and many, many more Collaborate with Intermedia AnyMeeting. This integrated High Definition (HD) video conferencing and screen sharing solution delivers increased collaboration, including the option for each user to have their own personal URL to join a meeting

This integrated High Definition (HD) video conferencing and screen sharing solution delivers increased collaboration, including the option for each user to have their own personal URL to join a meeting Take the office phone anywhere with the Unite Mobile App. Makes any mobile device a business communication tool with visual voicemail, contacts, call history and more

Makes any mobile device a business communication tool with visual voicemail, contacts, call history and more Managing calls is easy with the Unite Desktop App. Acts like a remote control for the associated desk phone, including click-to-call functionality and the ability to launch AnyMeeting with just one click

Acts like a remote control for the associated desk phone, including click-to-call functionality and the ability to launch AnyMeeting with just one click Workplace collaboration with Intermedia SecuriSync . Get easy and secure file sync and share with automatic, real-time backup for desktops, mobile devices and the web, with intuitive point-in-time file recovery

Get easy and secure file sync and share with automatic, real-time backup for desktops, mobile devices and the web, with intuitive point-in-time file recovery Better administrative tools. One easy-to-use interface, Intermedia's HostPilot control panel makes it simple to create and manage users, adjust system settings, order hardware and services, run call reports, and more

For more details and benefits, visit intermedia.net/unite.

About Intermedia

Intermedia is a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) and business cloud email provider hyper-focused on delivering easy-to-use and secure communications and collaboration solutions to SMBs and the partners that serve them. More than 110,000 business customers and 6,500 active partners rely on Intermedia for greater reliability and productivity. Intermedia's broad yet tightly integrated suite of cloud applications is managed through one intuitive point of control and is backed by a 99.999% uptime service level agreement (SLA). Offerings include cloud voice, web/video/content sharing and conferencing, chat, presence, file backup, sync and share, business email, identity and access management, security, archiving, and more.

Intermedia's 360 approach to partner success makes it easy for channel partners to sell, set up, manage, and support the cloud while achieving strong margins and creating attractive new revenue streams through both branded and private label programs.

Intermedia is the only business cloud application provider to have twice been certified by J.D. Power for its superior 24/7 technical support in 2016 and 2017. For more information, visit Intermedia.net or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Contacts

Melanie Lombardi

Intermedia

650.285.5857

[email protected]

Katie Halloran

LEWIS for Intermedia

619.308.5222

[email protected]

Intermedia Unite, SecuriSync, VoIP Scout, AnyMeeting and HostPilot are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Intermedia.net, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. J.D. Power 2017 Certified Assisted Technical Program, developed in conjunction with TSIA. Based on successful completion of an audit and exceeding a customer satisfaction benchmark for assisted support operations. For more information, visit www.jdpower.com or www.tsia.com.

1 Market volume numbers include telephony (DID, PSTN access plus local and long-distance minutes) and Unified Communications as a Service. From Frost & Sullivan's North American Hosted IP Telephony and UCaaS Market, Forecast to 2023 from September 2017.

2 Customer is responsible for ensuring that all call recordings comply with any applicable federal or state law (including consent requirements). Device dependent.

SOURCE Intermedia

Related Links

www.intermedia.net


The Israeli government on Sunday began warning thousands of African migrants to leave the country by the end of March.

There are more than 60,000 African migrants in Israel, jarring its already ethnically fraught population of 7.8 million.

Last month, the government announced a plan to deport about 38,000 migrants who had entered the country illegally, mainly Eritreans and Sudanese.

Asylum seekers from these countries immigrated between 2006 and 2012 before the country built a high-tech security barrier to close the refugee route across the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

The Israeli government says the African migrants are infiltrators and not genuine refugees.

In a statement released last month, Israels Public Security Ministry said the infiltrators will have the option to be imprisoned or leave the country.

The migrants will be given up to $3,500 for leaving within the next 90 days. They will also be given the option of going to their home country or third countries. The authorities are offering those who agree to leave a flight ticket and help with obtaining travel documents.

According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, unchecked influx of African migrants could threaten Israels Jewish character. The deportation notices do not name the countries where migrants will be flown but Netanyahu has said it will be a safe destination.
MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. (ISSI) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Sigma Designs, Inc. ("SD") under which ISSI will acquire Sigma Designs Israel S.D.I. Ltd. which is the wired connectivity business of SD and a leader in G.hn and home connectivity solutions. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close later this month. G.hn technology offers a single standard for connecting networked devices over any existing wired infrastructure (power-line, coax and phone-line) to meet the demands of multi-screen and expanded bandwidth content in today's homes. This business supplies standards-based chipsets that enable carrier-class distribution of broadband digital content over all three types of existing wires for distribution of Triple Play and IPTV in the home. The business sells its technology to OEMs who build solutions for multimedia home networking and multi-dwelling unit (MDU) broadband access markets and its chipsets are used in set-top boxes, residential gateways, optical network terminators and Ethernet bridges

The acquisition of SD's wired connectivity business will strengthen ISSI's product portfolio by adding specialty networking technology to expand ISSI's future growth opportunities. The connectivity products will expand ISSI's customer base to new home networking and Smart Grid customers. Smart Grid services outside the home include Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Automated Meter Management (AMM), and Automated Meter reading (AMR).

Nadav Katsir, SD's Vice President and Manager, Home Connectivity Unit, commented, "The connectivity team is excited to be joining ISSI and leveraging its global capabilities. We remain committed to serving our customers and growing our business."

KY Han, ISSI's President and CEO, commented, "We are excited to add the world class connectivity team to our Analog and Mixed Signal product line. This product line adds a new dimension to ISSI's product base to create a new platform for growth. Our customers will benefit from the G.hn technology since it offers high performance and unique solutions enabling cost effective communication in emerging applications such as in Home Networking and Smart Grid. We look forward to expanding our customer relationships and pursuing additional growth opportunities in new markets."

About Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc.

ISSI is a fabless semiconductor company that designs, develops and markets high performance integrated circuits for the following key markets: (i) automotive, (ii) communications, (iii) industrial, and medical, and (iv) digital consumer. ISSI's primary products are SRAM, DRAM, Flash memory which includes NOR flash, NAND flash and managed NAND solutions (eMMC), and analog and mixed signal integrated circuits. ISSI provides high-quality semiconductor products and has been a committed long-term supplier of memory products. ISSI is headquartered in Silicon Valley with worldwide offices in Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, China, Europe, Hong Kong, India, and Korea. Visit our web site at http://www.issi.com/

SOURCE Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.issi.com


PORTLAND, Ore., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- IT Revolution (http://itrevolution.com), the industry leader for advancing DevOps, today announced the fifth anniversary edition of The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win (https://itrevolution.com/book/the-phoenix-project/) and the release of a new audiobook, Beyond The Phoenix Project. In celebration, IT Revolution is hosting a live event featuring a reading of Beyond The Phoenix Project with author Gene Kim and The DevOps Handbook co-author, John Willis. The event, "Beyond the Phoenix Project LIVE," will take place February 27 at the Portland Art Museum at 7 p.m. PST.

Tickets for the live event are limited. To register, please visit: (http://bit.ly/2BIRGjm).

"We are thrilled to host a live event to celebrate the success of The Phoenix Project and feature a reading of our new audiobook, titled Beyond The Phoenix Project," said Gene Kim, founder of IT Revolution and co-author of The Phoenix Project and The DevOps Handbook. "We not only wanted to celebrate the success of DevOps as a movement, but also celebrate with everyone who is helping elevate the state of technology work, help our organizations win in the marketplace, as well as make technology work more humane. It has been an amazing journey to see where DevOps came from, the domains of knowledge it draws upon, and how books are often at the center of it all."

About The Phoenix Project

The Phoenix Project is a novel that guides readers through a DevOps journey to help propel their teams into the future of IT. As the book surpasses its fifth year milestone, IT Revolution is celebrating a number of significant achievements, including:

More than 400,000 copies sold worldwide

Sales of the book continue to increase year over year

The book is now translated into seven different languages - Japanese, Russian, Korean, German, Chinese, Polish and Turkish

Parts Unlimited, the fictitious company in The Phoenix Project , and its characters are used in the official Microsoft DevOps training

, and its characters are used in the official Microsoft DevOps training The book has been adapted into a tabletop simulation by GamingWorks

The fifth anniversary edition will be available at all major book retailers on February 27. It includes a new cover, an afterward and a significant portion of The DevOps Handbook. To learn more about the fifth anniversary edition, visit: (https://itrevolution.com/book/the-phoenix-project/).

New Audiobook - Beyond The Phoenix Project

The new audiobook titled, Beyond The Phoenix Project will be released on February 27 on Audible, Amazon and iTunes: (https://itrevolution.com/book/beyond-phoenix-project-audiobook/).

Gene Kim and John Willis present this seven part series that includes an oral history of the DevOps movement, as well as discussion around pivotal figures and philosophies that DevOps draws upon, from Goldratt to Deming; from Lean to Safety Culture to Learning Organizations. The audiobook is a great way for listeners to take an even deeper dive into topics relevant to DevOps and leading technology organizations.

Share This: Join @RealGeneKim & @botchagalupe for a live event in Portland on 2/27 to commemorate the 5th anniversary of The Phoenix Project & release of Beyond The Phoenix Project. Register at http://bit.ly/2BIRGjm

About IT Revolution

IT Revolution assembles technology leaders and practitioners through publishing, events, and research. Our goal is to elevate the state of technology work, quantify the economic and human costs associated with suboptimal IT performance, and to improve the lives of IT professionals.

Contact:

Jeremy Douglas

Catapult PR-IR

303-581-7760, ext. 16

[email protected]

SOURCE IT Revolution

Related Links

http://itrevolution.com


SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Infoblox Inc., the network control company, today released the results of its third annual study on the state of threat intelligence exchange conducted by the Ponemon Institute. The report titled "Exchanging Cyber Threat Intelligence: There Has to Be a Better Way," found that while security professionals are increasingly recognizing the importance of threat intelligence, the majority remain dissatisfied with its accuracy and quality. Meanwhile, because many security teams still execute threat investigations solo rather than pooling intelligence, their ability to quickly act on threats is limited. The report found 67 percent of IT and security professionals spend more than 50 hours per week on threat investigations, instead of efficiently using security resources and sharing threat intelligence.

In a world where cyber criminals are becoming increasingly stealthy and sophisticatedwith new threats on the rise ranging from ransomware to DNS hijackingit is ineffective and costly for companies to defend themselves against cybersecurity threats alone. According to the 1,200 IT security practitioners surveyed in the United States and EMEA, the consumption and exchange of threat intelligence has increased significantly since 2015. Yet despite the increase in the exchange and use of threat intelligence, most respondents from the survey are not satisfied with the current quality of the data.

Lack of accuracy and timeliness is among the top complaints about threat intelligence, which in turn hinders its effectiveness and security teams' ability to quickly mitigate threats. In fact, only 31 percent of respondents cited threat intelligence as actionable. But exchanging threat intelligence amongst peers, industry groups, IT vendors and government bodies can result in more holistic, accurate and timely threat intelligence and a stronger security posture. Two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) reported that threat intelligence could have prevented or minimized the consequence of a data breach or cyber attack, indicating that more infosecurity professionals are realizing the importance of threat intelligence.

"Cybersecurity takes a village, and this survey spotlights a real need for the cybersecurity community and public sector to better cooperate and communicate to share intel on security threats," said Larry Ponemon, Ph.D. chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute. "More accurate and comprehensive exchange of threat intelligence will speed up our ability to respond to attacks and will result in stronger defense against cyber threats - whether that's amongst enterprises or our nation's critical infrastructure."

The vast majority of respondents are focused on threat sharing, with 84 percent of organizations fully participating or partially participating in an initiative or program for exchanging threat intelligence with peers and/or industry groups. But, most of these organizations are only participating in peer-to-peer exchange of threat intelligence (65 percent) instead of a more formal approach such as threat intelligence exchange services or consortium, which contributes to the dissatisfaction with the quality of the threat intelligence obtained.

"There's a real need for actionable, timely and effective threat intelligence sharing," said Jesper Andersen, CEO of Infoblox. "As industry players, we have a responsibility to our customers and consumers to make sure we're doing everything to facilitate comprehensive threat intelligence within the ecosystem. This means establishing an exchange platform that enables sharing that is trusted, neutral and offers a 360-degree view of market threats."

Other key findings from the survey include:

Most respondents believe threat intelligence improves situational awareness, with an increase from 54 percent of respondents in 2014 to 61 percent of respondents in this year's study.

Sixty-six percent of respondents say shared information is not timely, and 41 percent say it is too complicated.

Potential liability and lack of trust in intelligence providers prevent some organizations from fully participating in threat intelligence exchange programs, with 58 percent and 60 percent respectively citing these concerns.

Twenty-four percent of organizations would rather exchange threat intelligence via a threat intelligence exchange service and 21 percent via a trusted intermediary, with only four percent preferring to share intelligence directly with other organizations indicating a need for an exchange platform that enables such sharing because it is trusted and neutral.

While the value of threat intelligence declines within minutes, only 24 percent of respondents say they receive threat intelligence in real time (nine percent) or hourly (15 percent).

Seventy-three percent of respondents say they use threat indicators and the most valuable types of information are indicators of malicious IP addresses and malicious URLs.

Download the "Exchanging Cyber Threat Intelligence: There Has to Be a Better Way" study here.

About Infoblox

Infoblox delivers Actionable Network Intelligence to enterprise, government, and service provider customers around the world. As the industry leader in DNS, DHCP, and IP address management, the category known as DDI, Infoblox (www.infoblox.com) provides control and security from the coreempowering thousands of organizations to increase efficiency and visibility, reduce risk, and improve customer experience.

Media Contacts:

Nikki Plati

[email protected]

(415) 963-4174 ext. 39

Erica Coleman

Infoblox

[email protected]

(408) 986-5697

SOURCE Infoblox Inc.

Related Links

https://www.infoblox.com


COSTA MESA, Calif., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- J.D. Power presented its prestigious President's Award today to Home Instead Senior Care in recognition of its commitment to caring for older adults and exceeding customer expectations. Home Instead Senior Care is a network of more than 1,100 franchises that provide in-home, non-medical care for seniors, with offices in 12 countries.

The J.D. Power President's Award is a discretionary award that recognizes individuals or companies demonstrating dedication, commitment and sustained improvement in serving customers. During the 50-year history of J.D. Power, only 13 companies have previously received the award.

Finbarr O'Neill, President of J.D. Power, presented the award to Home Instead Senior Care President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff Huber, during a ceremony at the J.D. Power corporate headquarters in Costa Mesa, Calif.

"Home Instead Senior Care has established a customer-centric culture within their organization that merits this special recognition. Home Instead provides cutting-edge thought leadership across aging-related industries and provides clients and families with the most relevant resources for senior care and aging," said O'Neill. "Since Lori and Paul Hogan founded the company in 1994, they have embraced clients with dignity, appreciation and service excellence. We at J.D. Power are honored to present our highest accolade to Home Instead Senior Care."

O'Neill noted that Home Instead's achievement in terms of customer service excellence reflects a culture committed to the highest level of care for seniors.

"It is a true honor to accept this prestigious award as a testament to the Home Instead Senior Care mission, which is to enhance the lives of aging adults and their families," Huber said. "Through the outstanding care provided by our franchisees and their teams, the collaboration of our leadership team with global aging organizations, the resources we provide through CaregiverStress.com and HelpForAlzheimersFamilies.com, and the contributions of the Home Instead Senior Care Foundation, we are changing the face of aging in the United States and around the world."

J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. These capabilities enable J.D. Power to help its clients drive customer satisfaction, growth and profitability. Established in 1968, J.D. Power is headquartered in Costa Mesa, Calif., and has offices serving North/South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. J.D. Power is a portfolio company of XIO Group, a global alternative investments and private equity firm headquartered in London, and is led by its four founders: Athene Li, Joseph Pacini, Murphy Qiao and Carsten Geyer.

Home Instead Senior Care was founded in 1994 in Omaha, Nebraska, by Lori and Paul Hogan, the Home Instead Senior Care network provides personalized care, support and education to help enhance the lives of aging adults and their families. Today this network is the world's leading provider of in-home care services for seniors, with more than 1,100 independently owned and operated franchises that annually provide more than 70 million hours of care throughout the United States and 11 other countries. Local Home Instead Senior Care offices employ approximately 65,000 CAREGivers worldwide who provide basic support services that enable seniors to live safely and comfortably in their own homes for as long as possible. The Home Instead Senior Care network partners with each client and his or her family members to help meet that individual's needs. Services span the care continuum from providing companionship and personal care to specialized Alzheimer's care and hospice support. Also available are family caregiver education and support resources.

Media Relations Contacts

Geno Effler; Costa Mesa, Calif.; 714-621-6224; [email protected]

Dan Wieberg; Omaha, Neb.; 402-498-4466; [email protected]

About J.D. Power and Advertising/Promotional Rules www.jdpower.com/about-us/press-release-info

SOURCE J.D. Power

Related Links

http://www.jdpower.com


"This season I wanted to reconstruct American menswear with the launch of Bespoke. For the last 30 years, our strength has always been the art of tailoring and now we've taken it to the next level by redefining bespoke, American style," said Joseph Abboud, Chief Creative Director of Tailored Brands, Inc. Those kings of Hollywood favored the finest custom suits so it's fitting that this Fall, he dedicated his attention to the handcraftsmanship of bespoke and the luxury of proportion. Crafted in the Joseph Abboud Manufacturing facility in New Bedford factory, these bespoke garments are finished by hand with over 225 steps, such as hand-sewn armholes, which allow for a softer shoulder; pleated waistband curtains on trousers; the use of real horn buttons; and prepared sleeves with hand-mitered working buttonholes.

Continuing with his commitment to providing hand-finished, made-in-America products, Joseph Abboud has once again partnered with American heritage shoemaker Allen Edmonds on the collection's leather footwear  each pair handmade in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Founded in 1922, Allen Edmonds crafts its shoes with a storied 212-step manufacturing process and the utmost attention to detail.

Fall 2018's venue the ballroom at the historic Wolcott Hotelechoes the range's brooding elegance, vintage Hollywood allure, and Art Deco undertones. The space's grand architecture and jazz-club feel help bring out the collection's rich textures, dark palette, and ornate construction. Like the clothes themselves, this historic venue reminds us of that bygone era of masculine confidence and sophistication, while demonstrating how it can be used as a platform for contemporary luxury.

For requests related to the show, please contact:

Account Director  Purple

Gregory Werbowsky, [email protected]

About Joseph Abboud

Since the age of sixteen, Joseph Abboud has been passionate about fashion. He started his career in menswear at Louis of Boston and later Polo Ralph Lauren. In 1987, Joseph Abboud launched his own eponymous label. Shortly after its debut, Abboud was accorded numerous honors including the distinction of being the only designer to have received the coveted Menswear Designer of the Year twice in a row (1989 & 1990) from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Other awards and honors include The Cutty Sark Award for Most Promising Menswear Designer in 1988, the first Woolmark Award for Distinguished Fashion in 1989 and again in March of 1993. Numerous other prestigious awards have followed including Person of the Year from the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award from MR magazine in 2016.

Abboud began working with Tailored Brands, Inc. (NYSE: TLRD) as Chief Creative Director in December 2012. Abboud was reunited with his namesake brand in August 2013 when Tailored Brands, Inc. acquired JA Holding Inc., the parent company of the celebrated American clothing brand, Joseph Abboud. The Abboud label was re-launched, reestablishing the brand as a sophisticated modern-American lifestyle collection. The Joseph Abboud designer collection launched in October 2014 on JosephAbboud.com and is now available at the Joseph Abboud Flagship Store in New York City.

For more information on Joseph Abboud, please visit www.josephabboud.com.

Follow us on social media:

Instagram  @JosephAbboud

Twitter  @JosephAbboud

Facebook  Joseph Abboud

Joseph Abboud Press Contacts:

Director of Public Relations, Tailored Brands, Inc.

Diego Louro, [email protected]

Public Relations Marketing Manager, Joseph Abboud

Caroline Smith Passe, [email protected]

SOURCE Tailored Brands, Inc.

Related Links

https://www.tailoredbrands.com


IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Negotiating a good price on a new car can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but shoppers can save even more simply by choosing the right car to begin with. Purchase price is just one of the costs associated with vehicle ownership, and when the continuing costs of fuel, financing, insurance and depreciation are considered, saving a few bucks up front can cost more when all is said and done. Helping consumers shop smart and save money, Kelley Blue Book's expert editors today name the 2018 model-year brand and category winners of the seventh annual 5-Year Cost to Own Awards, recognizing new vehicles with the lowest projected ownership costs.

"Kelley Blue Book exists to help consumers make the best possible decision during the car shopping journey and throughout vehicle ownership," said Mike Sadowski, general manager for Kelley Blue Book. "Our 5-Year Cost to Own information breaks down typical ownership costs, so shoppers can evaluate the out-of-pocket expenses they will incur beyond the initial purchase price. Having this information at their fingertips, consumers could save money down the road by choosing a vehicle that best fits their needs and their long-term budget."

Available on Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com for new models, 5-Year Cost to Own information takes into consideration depreciation, expected fuel costs, finance and insurance fees, maintenance and repair costs, and state fees.

2018 Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own Award Winners

2018 KELLEY BLUE BOOK 5-YEAR COST TO OWN AWARDS: BY VEHICLE CATEGORY

SUBCOMPACT CAR: Chevrolet Spark ELECTRIC VEHICLE: Nissan LEAF COMPACT CAR: Toyota Corolla iM SUBCOMPACT SUV/CROSSOVER: Honda HR-V SPORTY COMPACT CAR: Honda Civic Si COMPACT SUV/CROSSOVER: Subaru Crosstrek MID-SIZE CAR: Hyundai Sonata MID-SIZE SUV/CROSSOVER: Jeep Wrangler Unlimited FULL-SIZE CAR: Chevrolet Impala FULL-SIZE SUV/CROSSOVER: Chevrolet Tahoe ENTRY-LEVEL LUXURY CAR: Acura ILX LUXURY COMPACT SUV/CROSSOVER: Buick Encore LUXURY CAR: Lexus GS LUXURY MID-SIZE SUV/CROSSOVER: Infiniti QX60 HIGH-END LUXURY CAR: Porsche Panamera LUXURY FULL-SIZE SUV/CROSSOVER: Infiniti QX80 SPORTS CAR: Chevrolet Camaro MID-SIZE PICKUP TRUCK: Toyota Tacoma HIGH PERFORMANCE CAR: Dodge Challenger SRT HYBRID/ALTERNATIVE ENERGY CAR: Toyota Prius c FULL-SIZE PICKUP TRUCK: Ford F-150 MINIVAN: Honda Odyssey

(2018 model-year vehicle's projected ownership costs are based on the average Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own data for the initial five-year ownership period).

Winning for the second time since the program's inception, Hyundai is this year's top brand for lowest total ownership costs. Hyundai's lineup performed well in most categories, with the Sonata among the most notable models. Sonata won in the mid-size car category, while the Elantra and Accent placed second for the compact car and subcompact car categories respectively. Hyundai's key advantage in its low repair costs from its superior warranty program. Among luxury brands, Acura takes the top spot for the third consecutive year with two notable vehicles in its lineup, the ILX and MDX. Acura provides consumers with luxury models at an affordable price and without the expensive maintenance down the road.

Kelley Blue Book 5-Year Cost to Own information is developed using Kelley Blue Book Residual Values to calculate depreciation costs. Kelley Blue Book calculates total ownership costs for new vehicles by applying a sophisticated valuation methodology along with critical financial data from third-party providers.

For more information about the 2018 5-Year Cost to Own Award winners, please visit https://www.kbb.com/new-cars/5-year-cost-to-own-awards/.

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book's KBB.com, visit www.kbb.com/media/, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb, follow us on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/kbb_com/ (or @kbb_com), and get updates on Google+ at https://plus.google.com/+kbb.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource, is the vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the automotive industry. Each week the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website KBB.com, including its famous Blue Book Trade-In Values and Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new and used cars this week. The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, and governmental agencies. Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc. is a Cox Automotive brand.

About Cox Automotive

Cox Automotive Inc. is transforming the way the world buys, sells and owns cars with industry-leading digital marketing, financial, retail and wholesale solutions for consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the overall automotive ecosystem worldwide. Committed to open choice and dedicated to strong partnerships, the Cox Automotive family includes Autotrader, Dealer.com, Dealertrack, Kelley Blue Book, Manheim, NextGear Capital, vAuto, Xtime and a host of other brands. The global company has 34,000-plus team members in more than 200 locations and is partner to more than 40,000 auto dealers, as well as most major automobile manufacturers, while engaging U.S. consumer car buyers with the most recognized media brands in the industry. Cox Automotive is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc., an Atlanta-based company with revenues exceeding $20 billion and approximately 60,000 employees. Cox Enterprises' other major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications and Cox Media Group. For more information about Cox Automotive, visit www.coxautoinc.com.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book

Related Links

http://www.kbb.com


ALPINE, Utah, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kizik Design, a luxury footwear brand aiming to improve everyday life through innovative design, today announced the launch of its patented handsfree technology. Kizik's initial line is handsfree sneakers for men- the world's first smart shoe.

Simply step in, and its on with KIZIK Handsfree. KIZIK New York in Black

Founded by Michael Pratt, founder and former CEO of Ogio International, Kizik developed a mission to change the future of footwear. This inspired the innovation of a handsfree technology that was seamlessly integrated into a luxurious, casual sneaker that pushes fashion forward, making shoelaces a thing of the past.

"Unlike a slip-on, KIZIK shoes are a step-in, automatic sneaker that give you a custom fit without using your hands," said Kizik President Pat Hogan. "At Kizik, we believe there is no longer a need for shoelaces in modern day footwear, and when you step into a KIZIK shoe, you are stepping into the future. Once you put these on your feet, you'll realize they are truly life changing."

KIZIK shoes, including the virtually invisible technology dubbed F.A.S.T. (Foot Activated Shoe Technology), are protected by US and international patents and patents pending, and offer the most premium fit, comfort and function features without laces, buckles, snaps or straps. There is an internal spring wire that allows for easy step-in entry that then adjusts to a custom fit. The elements of F.A.S.T. include:

Automatic Fit: When activated, a proprietary internal wing shape automatically opens to let your foot in, and closes to keep it in.

Titanium Wire: Aerospace titanium wire creates exceptional rebound strength and flexibility.

Retractable heel: The heel material is built to repeatedly collapse and quickly regain its shape.

Tongue Reinforcement: Flexible structure provides rigidity for smooth, handsfree functionality without sacrificing comfort.

Instep adjustment: Simple adjustment strips on both sides of the tongue create a customized fit for wide or narrow feet.

Arc Design: A proprietary flex-rebound system combines responsive rebound with low-profile flexibility.

"The technology in today's world is forward-thinking, so why shouldn't our shoes be keeping up?" Hogan added. "In addition to the ample benefits of a handsfree shoe, KIZIK shoes prioritize fashion first, making sure our designs are on-trend and challenging the status quo."

The shoes currently available in two styles, the Boston and New York, embrace a modern, laceless aesthetic that easily transitions from everyday casual to professional wear. KIZIK shoes are made with the finest, premium material, including 100% top grain leather and a top of the line, trade secret manufacturing process to create a sleek look that will continue to look and feel great season after season. The brand will extend its style selection in spring of 2018, as well as launching a women's line in fall of 2018.

KIZIK shoes retail between $180-$190, and are available for purchase on KIZIK.com as well as in 17 locations nationwide, including select Dillard's stores and Dillards.com.

About Kizik Design

Based in Alpine, Utah, KIZIK Design is a luxury footwear brand that invents fashionable handsfree footwear with modern design solutions to improve convenience in everyday life through its patented F.A.S.T. technology. For more information, visit KIZIK.com and follow @wearKIZIK.

Media Contact:

Blair Reich

[email protected]

9723885523

SOURCE KIZIK Design

Related Links

http://KIZIK.com


CINCINNATI, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) is inviting customers to celebrate Black Heritage Month. During the month-long event, customers can visit the program's website to read inspirational supplier stories, download digital coupons and find African-American-influenced recipes, including black-eyed pea, cucumber and tomato salad, and barbecued pork chops with roasted sweet potatoes and kale.

"Kroger has a longstanding and award-winning history of having an inclusive supplier community and culture that reflects the diversity of our 453,000 associates and the nine million customers we serve every day," said Angel Colon, Kroger's senior director of diversity. "Black Heritage Month allows Kroger to celebrate and share a cultural moment with our diverse suppliers, customers and workforce."

Suppliers highlighted during this year's program represent the grocery and wine categories.

Black Heritage Month is observed annually in February. It is a time to celebrate and recognize the history, culture and contributions of African-Americans.

Diversity and inclusion are key parts of Kroger's core values. As the company continues to expand, it is committed to ensuring that the diversity of America's population is reflected in its business operations and associate talent. Kroger has an African-American associate resource group and is a member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable. Kroger was named one of the top eight U.S. corporations for inclusion by OMINKAL in 2017. The company has also been recognized by Black Enterprise magazine for its diversity and inclusion programs.

Kroger recently announced Monica Garnes, president of the company's Fry's division, as its first African-American leader for an operating market. Fry's is headquartered in Tolleson, Arizona, and the company operates 123 stores and employs more than 22,000 associates.

"My 23-year career with Kroger has shaped me to become a leader in our business and across the industry," said Ms. Garnes. "I have always been passionate about leading change and innovation while remaining committed to mentoring and influencing the next generation of retail leaders."

At The Kroger Co., we are dedicated to our purpose: to Feed the Human SpiritTM. We are 453,000 associates who serve nearly nine million customers every day in 2,793 retail food stores under a variety of local banner names in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Our Family of Companies operates an expanding ClickList offering  a personalized order online service  in addition to 2,258 pharmacies, 783 convenience stores, 307 fine jewelry stores, 222 retail health clinics, 1,472 supermarket fuel centers and 38 food production plants in the United States. Our Company has been recognized as one of America's most generous companies for our support of more than 100 Feeding America food bank partners, breast cancer research and awareness, the military and their families, and more than 145,000 community organizations including schools. As a leader in supplier diversity, we are a proud member of the Billion Dollar Roundtable.

SOURCE The Kroger Co.

Related Links

http://www.kroger.com


IRVINE, Calif. and SILICON VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ten-X Commercial, the leading dynamic and data-powered online commercial real estate transaction platform, today released its latest U.S. Office Market Outlook, including the top five 'Buy' and 'Sell' markets for office properties. The analysis shows a strikingly vulnerable national office sector with vacancies that have remained essentially unmoved in the past two years and rent growth slowing to its weakest pace in five years.

Markets that recovered this cycle are struggling with increased supply while "left behind" markets that saw limited improvement, remain weak. While 26 different regional markets saw their four-year projections downgraded by Ten-X in this most recent analysis, there were no markets in which the four-year prospects improved, highlighting the widespread nature of the sector's vulnerability.

Portland, Sacramento, Dallas, Tampa and Long Island are the top markets in which investors should consider buying office properties, according to Ten-X Commercial. These markets either have strong overall economies and specific sectors creating office jobs, or are simply benefiting from constricted supply.

Houston, San Francisco, Memphis, Baltimore and Suburban Maryland are the top markets where conditions might cause investors to consider selling their office properties. These markets have either seen tepid office job growth this cycle contribute to high vacancy rates, or have had strong economic recoveries lead to larger new office supply than the market can digest.

Across the U.S., vacancies in the third quarter of 2017 were unchanged in the past year, at 16.1 percent. However, they are projected to rise to 18.3 percent in 2021 after a modeled recessionary period in 2019-2020. Office rent growth slowed to the one percent range in 2017 overall, the slowest pace since 2012.

Despite office employment growth this cycle that has surpassed the pace of previous economic expansions, demand remains lackluster. Since 2010, technology and workstyle changes have reduced office space per worker by approximately one third to just 150 sf per worker today, a trend that has defined this cycle and left the U.S. office segment oversupplied.

"Even with the prolonged nature of this economic cycle, demand for office space has been limited, leaving the segment extremely vulnerable," said Ten-X Chief Economist Peter Muoio. "At this point, regional nuances are getting lost. Our "heat map" gives a graphic portrayal of the performance of the office segment, and it clearly depicts a sector that is faced with considerable risk."

Ten-X Research expects annual rent growth to edge up to two percent in 2018 from 1.5 percent last year. However, the modeled recession in 2019-2020 will push office rents to contract about 2.5 percent over two years.

3Q 2017 - 2021 US OFFICE PROJECTIONS

Top 5 Buy Markets 3Q 2017

Rents ($ psf) 2021

Rents ($ psf) Change in Rents

(%) 3Q 2017

Vacancies (%) 2021 Vacancies (%) Change in

Vacancies (bps) Portland, OR 19.32 20.26 4.8% 11.8 15.6 380 bps Sacramento, CA 20.21 20.68 2.3% 18.1 18.7 60 bps Dallas, TX 18.88 19.15 1.4% 21.7 22.8 110 bps Tampa, FL 18.71 19.15 2.4% 17.9 18.4 50 bps Long Island, NY 22.64 23.22 2.6% 13.8 13.8 0 bps

Top 5 Sell

Markets 3Q 2017

Rents ($ psf) 2021

Rents ($ psf) Change in Rents

(%) 3Q 2017

Vacancies (%) 2021 Vacancies (%) Change in

Vacancies (bps) Houston, TX 23.74 22.67 -4.5% 19.5 21.7 220 bps San Francisco, CA 49.49 48.85 -1.3% 9.8 15.7 590 bps Memphis, TN 15.30 14.98 -2.1% 25.6 27.9 230 bps Baltimore, MD 19.79 19.45 -1.7% 16.5 19.2 270 bps Suburban MD 24.10 23.73 -1.5% 17.6 19.9 230 bps

US 26.23 26.68 1.7% 16.1 18.3 220 bps

The Office Sector's Top Five 'Buy' Markets:

Portland

Portland is attracting enough newcomers to see population growth of 1.7 percent, a figure that has accelerated for a third straight year and is more than double the U.S. average. While the city's economy continues its expansion, information jobs are declining and Portland is not generating robust office job growth. However, demand for office space is strong enough to absorb new supply. Per Reis, vacancies fell below 12 percent for the first time in the cycle and rents are at an all-time high. Ten-X Commercial expects reduced availability to drive rent growth in the mid three percent range through 2018, pushing NOI above four percent.

Sacramento

Sacramento's office market offers relative resiliency to cyclical risk because its supply pipeline remains light. Even amid Ten-X Commercial's forecasted downturn, vacancies are projected to rise only to roughly 18 percent, up from the mid-17 percent range in the near term. Rents will contract slightly during the modeled downturn but will settle near their current levels as recovery begins in 2021. Sacramento continues to benefit from population growth that has outpaced the national average.

Dallas

Ten-X Commercial forecasts a steep drop-off in demand for Dallas office space during the 2019-2020 downturn scenario, which will lead to rent declines and higher vacancies. Nevertheless, as the market begins to correct in 2021, strong demand is expected to return. This forecasted surging demand will coincide with a decelerating rate of completions, which will be a major factor in Dallas' relative resilience. Underpinning office demand in Dallas is strong demographics, growth in the professional/business services sector, and an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, well below the national average.

Tampa

Tampa's lack of new supply over the past few years has trimmed vacancies to 17.9 percent while rents have been growing in the two percent range year-over-year, per Reis. Ten-X Commercial expects vacancies to reach the low-17 percent range through 2018 as demand stays healthy. Rents will peak at a new all-time high in 2018 before contracting modestly during the downturn modeled for 2019-2020. Rising vacancies and a pullback in rents will drive NOI down in these years, though the loss will be mild compared to most U.S. metro areas. In addition to limited supply, this positive outlook is underpinned by a robust economy heavily weighted towards financial activities and professional/business services, two major creators of office jobs.

Long Island

Despite uninspiring economic and demographic growth, Long Island's quiet supply pipeline will help keep its office market on track during the projected downturn scenario. Even with its middling performance, including vacancies near their recent peak and sub one percent rent growth for most of the cycle, Long Island is one of just a few markets nationwide that will see rents and NOI continue to rise during our downturn model. As recovery begins in 2021, fundamentals should further improve.

The Office Sector's Top Five 'Sell' Markets:

Houston

Houston is extremely vulnerable because its fundamentals have been weak in recent years and they are projected to continue sliding in the short term. Per Reis, vacancies have been climbing throughout the cycle and have reached an all-time high of 19.5 percent. In Ten-X's projected downturn scenario, vacancies are seen popping nearly 300 bps in 2019-2020 while rents will likely drop five percent in aggregate. Most alarming, rents will see additional declines at the start of the new cycle in 2021, resulting in a 1.8 percent average annual NOI decline over the forecast period.

San Francisco

San Francisco's professional/business services sector has been losing jobs for much of 2017 as the city's information sector has seen annual growth slow to the one percent range in recent months. Effective office rent growth has already decelerated to just one percent, and with vacancies projected to swell during the 2019-2020 recessionary scenario, Ten-X Commercial sees rents falling a cumulative seven percent. Even when economic recovery comes at the national level in 2021, vacancies in San Francisco are likely to settle some 500 bps above their current levels. San Francisco NOIs are expected to see the steepest drop of any top U.S. office markets.

Memphis

Underlying Memphis' weak outlook is the city's sluggish growth and stagnant demographics. Both the professional/business services and the financial sectors  major creators of office jobs  are currently contracting. Employment has finally surpassed its pre-recession peak but growth is extremely weak. As completions outstrip absorption, office vacancies are forecasted to rise through 2018 before setting a new all-time high in 2019-2020. In these recessionary years, rents and NOIs are expected to fall. Even when recovery comes in 2021, Memphis will continue to see dismal fundamentals with rents below today's levels and vacancies at an alarming 28 percent.

Baltimore

Per Reis, Baltimore's office market has seen little improvement over the cycle with rents only growing modestly and vacancies remaining above pre-recession levels. Recent supply additions will amplify the pain of the coming downturn. Rents are expected to plunge in 2019-2020 as vacancies approach 20 percent, which will generate an eight percent cumulative NOI loss. In 2021, Baltimore will enter recovery with elevated vacancies and rents below their current levels.

Suburban Maryland

Suburban Maryland's economy is stalling with the massive government sector losing steam and the professional/business services sector extremely volatile. The area's unemployment rate has remained strong in the three percent range, but population growth has been slowing for five straight years. According to Reis, vacancies are at an all-time high in the upper-17 percent range and the 2019-2020 recessionary scenario will bump them even higher, up to 20 percent. While effective rents have appeared somewhat resilient so far this cycle, NOIs will register an overall decline over the next four years.

About Ten-X Commercial

Ten-X Commercial is the nation's leading dynamic and data-powered online commercial real estate transaction platform. Since 2009, the company has sold more than $18 billion in commercial real estate. The company blends data-driven technology with industry expertise to accelerate close rates and streamline the entire transaction process. Ten-X Commercial and its parent company, Ten-X, are headquartered in Irvine and Silicon Valley, Calif., with offices in key markets nationwide. Investors in the company include Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P., CapitalG (formerly Google Capital) and Stone Point Capital.

SOURCE Ten-X Commercial

Related Links

https://www.ten-x.com/commercial


LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Latino Independent Producers' (NALIP) Media Summit is the largest annual gathering of Latinos in media nationwide. The 2018 NALIP Media Summit will take place in Hollywood on June 21st-24th. Now in its 19th year, the NALIP Media Summit focuses on the Latinx community throughout various media platforms to advance the next generation of content creators.

Throughout the four-day event, NALIP will present a diverse schedule of master classes, panels, workshops, screenings, showcases, awards and much more. Past attendees include Zoe Saldana, Eva Longoria, Rita Moreno, Pixar's 'Coco' co-director, Adrian Molina, Gina Rodriguez, Raquel Welch, Aubrey Plaza, Tony Revolori, Dascha Polanco, Andy Garcia, Justin Baldoni, Vin Diesel, Kate del Castillo, Roberto Orci, and Jorge R. Gutierrez.

"The NALIP Media Summit is the not only the largest gathering of Latinxs in media but also the only place where you can find such a gathering of Latino talent under one roof. As the demand for Latino content grows, the NALIP Media Summit has become the premiere place for studios, networks, agencies, companies, and organizations to participate, identify and engage with the best Latino talent in the industry. True to our mission, through not only providing access but also developing Latinx content creators who will be working behind the camera, the Summit serves as a platform for which we are able to provide a more accurate representation of Latinxs in media in order to declare that we are it, we are the Inclusion that the industry has been seeking and that it needs," says NALIP Executive Director, Benjamin Lopez.

For industry executives looking to identify a diverse slate of projects, the 2018 Latino Media Market will be happening from June 22nd-23rd. The Latino Media Market identifies a select group of content creators to pitch their concepts, ranging from Feature Films in development, TV/Streaming concepts/pilots, Documentaries and Digital Web Series pilots to industry executives, financiers, producers, development executives, acquisitions and distributors.

NALIP's Latino Media Awards and Gala will take place on Saturday, June 23rd, 2018 to celebrate outstanding and historic achievements in Media and also honors leading Latino content creators for their contributions.

The NALIP Media Summit attracts Latinx content creators, industry executives and media from around the globe for invaluable learning and networking opportunities. Passes to the Media Summit can be purchased at www.nalip.org.

#WeAreInclusion

ABOUT NALIP: The National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP) is a national membership organization that addresses the professional needs of Latinx content creators. NALIP stands as the premiere Latino media organization, addressing for close to 20 years the most underrepresented and the largest ethnic minority in the country. NALIP's mission is to discover, promote and inspire Latino content creators and diverse voices across all media platforms. NALIP serves the needs of diverse content creators including, producers, performers, writers, directors, and industry professionals. For more information, visit www.NALIP.org.

SOURCE NALIP

Related Links

http://www.nalip.org


As the world is celebrating this years International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation  a UN-sponsored annual event, UNFPA, jointly with UNICEF, leads the largest global program to accelerate the abandonment of FGM.

The program currently focuses on 17 African countries and supports regional and global initiatives.

The UNFPA and UNICEF hope to draw attention to the number of women and young people who are subjected to forms of genital mutilation around the world.

Globally, it is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM.

Girls aged 14 years and younger, represent 44 million of those who have been cut, with the highest prevalence of FGM among this age in Gambia at 56 per cent and Mauritania 54 per cent.

Countries with the highest prevalence among girls and women aged 15 to 49 are Somalia 98 per cent, Guinea 97 per cent and Djibouti 93 per cent. In Kenya three percent of girls under 15 have been subjected to FGM.

The procedure, which alters or injures the female genital organs, is mostly carried out on girls between infancy and age 15, and is considered a violation of human rights.

UN Women announced the appointment of renowned activist Jaha Dukureh of Gambia as their Regional Goodwill Ambassador. Dukureh will dedicate her efforts to support UN Womens advocacy to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage in Africa, with focus on mobilizing youth.
Adform, the leading independent AdTech company, is delighted to announce its extended agreement with Device Detection provider, 51Degrees. Adform are a best-in-class AdTech solution providing enterprise software for advertisers and agencies.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/638821/51Degrees_Device_Detection.jpg )

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/540192/51Degrees_Logo.jpg )

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/638828/Adform_Logo.jpg )



Adform partners now benefit from the fastest and most accurate device detection improving yield through better device targeting and enhanced analytics in the programmatic environment. As server-side header bidding grows, this is even more important data for Open RTB users.

Jurjen de Wal, Product Director, Global Partners & Integrations said, "We extended our contract with 51Degrees to supply the mobile device database for Adform because it's an accurate, extremely fast and scalable device detection service which fits our requirements for a low latency environment. 51Degrees powers device detection across our stack, from granular device targeting in our DSP to enhancing our mobile reporting capabilities and feeding into our SPO module."

"For our buyers it is crucial to be able to optimize and report based on all available device characteristics," according to Feliksas Nalivaika, Product Director, Buyer Platform. "51Degrees provides highly accurate device detection in a fast-paced and dynamic ecosystem with new phone models, OS versions and platforms announced almost daily."

Irmantas Venckus, Senior Director, Product Development stated, "We evaluated numerous device detection solutions and only 51Degrees met our requirements and was very easy to integrate".

James Rosewell, CEO 51Degrees, said, "I'm delighted Adform have recognised the value of the innovative and industry changing tools and data the great team at 51Degrees have created."

About Adform

Adform are a best-in-class AdTech solution providing Enterprise software for advertisers and agencies. Founded in Denmark in 2002, Adform is one of the world's largest private and independent advertising technology companies. From traditional ads to emerging mediums, Adform delivers the tools advertisers need to combine data with powerful creative formats by delivering a unified platform for the buying and selling of media globally.

About 51Degrees

51Degrees was founded in the UK in 2010 and is the only commercial open source solution available. Leaders in AdTech, Publishing, Content Management Platforms, Digital Agencies and over 1.5 million websites including global brands like eBay and Disney use 51Degrees' Device Detection solution. 51Degrees performs with better than 99.9% matching accuracy against more than 880,000[*] combinations of device models, Operating Systems, Browsers and Apps.

For more information or to book a meeting visit: https://51degrees.com/contact-us.

51Degrees will be at Mobile World Congress 2018, Upper walkway stand 7UP.72

Related Links

https://51degrees.com/Adtech

Contact details:

Paula Bullock

Email: [email protected]



[*]Numbers accurate at time of publication but may be higher

SOURCE 51Degrees
TIMES SQUARE, N.Y., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Valentine's Day, New Yorkers and visitors looking for romance in New York City will find it at the Crossroads of the World. Real life love stories will unfold as lovers surprise their partners with proposals of marriage on Times Square's iconic signage, couples tie the knot on Duffy Square, and hundreds of people renew their vows on the Red Steps.

For those looking to watch or join in on the festivities, the day will include:

Lucky lovers will be surprised with a Valentine's Day gift that they  and everyone else in Times Square - won't see coming and won't soon forget: a surprise marriage proposal on Times Square's iconic American Eagle screen.

gift that they  and everyone else in Times Square - won't see coming and won't soon forget: a surprise marriage proposal on Times Square's iconic American Eagle screen. Couples will get hitched on Valentine's Day right in the heart of Times Square. Conducted by licensed NYS officiant Hollis Kam , ceremonies will take place starting at 12:00 noon

right in the heart of Times Square. Conducted by licensed NYS officiant , ceremonies will take place starting at 12:00 noon And for those who have already said their vows, there will be a celebration of love and romance during a large vow renewal ceremony on the iconic Red Steps in Times Square. The ceremony is free and open to people of all ages, genders, religions, races and backgrounds. As the vow renewal concludes, official Times Square confetti will flutter around the participants. Register for this FREE event.

IHG Rewards Club, the world's largest hotel loyalty program, will be on site with giveaways for the participants and Times Square visitors.

On the day of love, T-Mobile Times Square will be on site celebrating its two year anniversary in Times Square with a DJ playing music and with giveaways throughout the day.

All of the festivities will take place next to the winner of this year's annual Times Square Valentine Heart Design Competition, Window to the Heart by ArandaLasch + Marcelo Coelho  a 12 foot in diameter Fresnel lens designed with 3D-printing company Formlabs to distort and capture the image of Times Square, optically bending light  and attention  to the heart-shaped window at its center.

Inside T-Mobile Times Square, Formlabs will 3D print lens tiles  exactly the same as the tiles that make up Window to the Heart  to give as a keepsake to couples who are proposing or getting married during Love in Times Square.

Also as part of Times Square Arts' February programming, Tali Keren and Alex Strada's Save the Presidents will be featured on Times Square's electronic billboards from 11:57 p.m. to midnight every night in February as part of Midnight Moment, a monthly presentation by the Times Square Advertising Coalition (TSAC) and Times Square Arts. For more information about Save the Presidents, please visit www.tsq.org/arts.

TIMES SQUARE ALLIANCE www.TimesSquareNYC.org

SOURCE Times Square Alliance
LEUDELANGE, Sweden, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Latam organic service revenue growth improved to 3.1%, up 73 bps QoQ

Growth led by Bolivia at 9.1%, Paraguay at 8.9% and El Salvador at 5.4%

at 9.1%, at 8.9% and at 5.4% Latam EBITDA up 9.0% on improved growth and efficiency gains

Equity Free Cash Flow up 39.2% to $356 million in 2017

in 2017 Accelerated 4G and HFC network buildout and exceeded our full year targets

Expanded 4G network to cover 56% of the population and added record 3.5 million 4G customers



Added record 1.3 million HFC homes passed and record 253,000 HFC homes connected

Completed sale of operations in Rwanda

Signed sale-leaseback for approximately 800 towers in El Salvador for up to $145 million

for up to Dividend recommended of $2.64 per share

$m (excluding Senegal and Ghana from all periods) Q4 2017 Q4 2016 % change FY 2017 FY 2016



% change Revenue 1,558 1,526 2.1% 6,024 5,979 0.8% Organic growth 1.3% -2.6%

-0.4% -1.1%

Service Revenue 1,456 1,417 2.8% 5,659 5,591 1.2% Organic growth 2.0% -1.5%

0.2% 0.5%

EBITDA 561 520 7.9% 2,190 2,114 3.6% Organic growth 6.9% 4.1%

2.2% 1.8%

EBITDA Margin 36.0% 34.1% 190bps 36.4% 35.4% 100bps Capex* 384 384 0.0% 993 988 0.5% OCF (EBITDA  Capex) 177 136 30.3% 1,197 1,126 6.2%

*Excludes spectrum and finance lease capitalizations from tower sale and leaseback transactions

(i)The financial information presented in this earnings release is based on Alternative Performance Measures determined by the way in which the Executive Management (Chief Operating Decision Maker) manage the performance and resource allocation of the Group. It includes Guatemala (55% owned) & Honduras (66.67% owned) as if fully consolidated. With the exception of balance sheet items, the comparative 2016 financial information in this earnings release has been adjusted for the classification of our operations in Senegal and Ghana as discontinued operations. At December 31st, 2017, Senegal is classified as an asset held for sale on our balance sheet. Our operations in Ghana have been merged with Airtel on October 12th, 2017 and are accounted for as a joint venture since that date. IFRS Revenue was $1,069 million in Q4 2017; see page 19 for reconciliation with IFRS numbers.

Millicom Chief Executive Officer Mauricio Ramos commented:

Growth returned to our Latam markets during the second half of 2017, thanks largely to our strategic focus on building digital highways and accelerating the transition from legacy voice and SMS to high-speed data services, both in mobile and fixed.

In Latam, our mobile business is growing again, and it is encouraging to see Q4 growth of more than 3% in Paraguay and Bolivia, countries where the transition from voice to data is more advanced. Meanwhile, the investments we are making in our HFC networks are driving steady mid-to-high single-digit growth in Home and B2B, and we see a large opportunity for Millicom in these areas.

In Africa, we delivered on our commitment to generate positive free cash flow from the region in 2017. We also disposed of our operation in Rwanda, and we completed a merger in Ghana, consistent with our strategy to focus on the Latam region.

Over the last several months, we also monetized tower portfolios in Paraguay, Colombia and El Salvador, and we reduced our stake in BIMA. As a result of these transactions and of our organic cash flow growth, we reduced our leverage and improved our return on capital in 2017.

We enter 2018 with positive momentum in our largest markets and with the financial strength to support our long-term growth plans and create shareholder value. I expect that 2018 will be an even better and more exciting year for Millicom.

Outlook

For our Latam segment, we expect 2018 service revenue growth of 2-4% and EBITDA growth of 3-6% year-on-year in constant currency, and capital expenditures for the region of approximately $1 billion. In our B2C mobile unit, we expect to add 3 million new 4G data customers and to end the year with over 10 million. In our Home business, we anticipate adding 1 million new HFC homes passed to reach 10 million total homes, and we expect to connect an incremental 300,000 HFC homes to our network. For Africa, we expect the region will continue to produce positive equity free cash flow.

2017 dividend

At the Annual General Meeting on May 4th, 2018, the Board will recommend payment of an unchanged ordinary dividend of $2.64 per share to be paid in two equal instalments in May and November 2018.

Subsequent events

On January 31st, 2018, we completed our previously announced agreement to sell our operations in Rwanda. In 2017, our business in Rwanda generated EBITDA of $14 million from revenue of $57 million. In 2016, our business in the country produced EBITDA of $15 million on revenue of $64 million. The business generated negative equity free cash flow in both years.

On February 6th, 2018, we entered into a sale-leaseback agreement with SBA Communications related to a portfolio of approximately 800 towers in El Salvador. As a result of the transaction, Millicom expects to receive cash proceeds of around $145 million.

Conference call details

A presentation and conference call to discuss these results will take place on 7 February 2018 at 2:00 PM (Stockholm) / 1:00 PM (London) / 8:00 AM (New York). Please dial in 5-10 minutes before the scheduled start time to register your attendance. Dial-in numbers for the call are as follows:

Sweden: +46 (0)8 5065 3942 UK: +44 (0) 330 336 9411

US: +1 646 828 8156 Luxembourg: +352 2787 0187

The access code is: 6814351

A live audio stream and slides of the analyst presentation can also be accessed at www.millicom.com.

Financial calendar Quarterly results Earnings release Conference call Q1 2018 Apr 24 Apr 25 Q2 2018 Jul 19 Jul 20 Q3 2018 Oct 23 Oct 24

Apr 12  Last day for shareholders to add items to the AGM/EGM agenda

May 4  AGM / EGM (Location: Luxembourg)

CONTACT:

For further information, please contact

Press:

Vivian Kobeh, Corporate Communications Director

+1-305-476-7352 / +1-305-302-2858

[email protected]



Investors:

Michel Morin, VP Investor Relations

+352-277-59094

[email protected]

Mauricio Pinzon, Investor Relations Manager

Tel: +44-20-3249-2460

[email protected]

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/millicom-international-cellular/r/luxembourg--february-6th-2018---strong-finish-to-2017--accelerating-into-2018,c2446635

The following files are available for download:

http://mb.cision.com/Main/950/2446635/788143.pdf Millicom Q4 2017 - Strong finish to 2017, accelerating into 2018 http://mb.cision.com/Public/950/2446635/9f65a992ad065b12.pdf Millicom Q4 2017 Results Presentation http://mb.cision.com/Public/950/2446635/b3b56d0badd134ba.xlsx Financial-and-operational-data-Q417

SOURCE Millicom International Cellular

SOURCE Millicom International Cellular
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- HUB International of California, a wholly owned subsidiary of HUB International Limited, a leading global insurance brokerage, risk advisory and employee benefits firm, announced today that Lynn Greene has joined HUB International as Vice President of the Employee Benefits practice. Her primary role with HUB International will be the design, placement, and maintenance of competitive healthcare programs and human-resource solutions for mid-market and large companies.

Lynn Greene

Lynn Greene has over twenty-five years' experience in providing employer group clients with creative strategic approaches to their employee benefits packages. Her experience includes self-funding, fully insured, captive insurance structuring, wellness initiatives, benefit technologies, as well as cost-containment resources. Most recently, Ms. Greene served as an Assistant Vice President, employee benefits consultant and client advocate for Woodruff-Sawyer in Sacramento, California. Prior industry experience includes positions with Athens Benefits Insurance Services and Putnam, Knudsen and Weiking.

Robert J. McVicar, Executive Vice President of HUB International Insurance Services, Inc., said of Ms. Greene's hiring: "Lynn is a tremendous addition to our strong Employee Benefits team in Sacramento. Her experience in the Large Group space and value-driven approach to servicing clients enhances the offerings we deliver."

Ms. Greene said of her decision to join the HUB International employee benefits consultancy: "My decision to align with HUB was made after meeting with Rob McVicar and Crystal Porras. A combination of their 'client-first' focus and the overall positive workplace culture in the Sacramento office made this an easy decision." Ms. Greene further stated, "Here at HUB, I am able to offer clients additional services, a client-first focus and continue to use analytics and claims analysis to make a plan a stronger, while keeping an eye on the bottom line, for both small and large employers. At the end of the day, serving my clients who become friends is both my passion and my reward."

Ms. Greene is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and Management degree. She is currently a board member and Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing for the Sacramento Area Human Resource Association (SAHRA). In addition she is a founder of "Little Blessings", a non-profit organization of photographers, who volunteer to capture images of children with life-limiting illnesses such that their family may have a loving memory.

Lynn dedicates her continued success to her husband of 26 years and her two daughters.

About Hub International

Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Hub International Limited is a leading global insurance brokerage that provides property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment, and risk management products and services through offices located in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. Hub California is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hub International Limited.

Media Contact:

Robert J. McVicar

Executive Vice President,

HUB International Insurance Services, Inc.

3636 American River Drive

Suite 200

Sacramento, CA 95868

Business Phone: (916) 480-4138

[email protected]

SOURCE HUB International

Related Links

https://www.hubinternational.com


PRINCETON, N.J., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MIAX PEARL announced that it achieved over 4% market share on February 2, 2018, establishing a new market share record on the eve of its one-year anniversary. Successfully launched on February 6, 2017, MIAX PEARL currently lists and trades options on over 2,700 multi-listed classes and has experienced a dramatic increase in market share and contract execution in just one year's time. In addition to its recent market share record, MIAX PEARL also established new monthly and daily contract records of 10,743,160 and 1,186,574 in January 2018 and on February 2, 2018, respectively.

Thomas P. Gallagher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MIAX PEARL, said, "We are very pleased with MIAX PEARL's overall performance during its first year of operations and the speed at which the exchange has been embraced by the trading community. With many of our competitors offering similar allocation and pricing models, for MIAX PEARL to achieve over 4% market share in less than a year since launch is a tremendous achievement and of which we are very proud." Continued Gallagher, "We look forward to MIAX PEARL's continued success as it establishes itself as one of the premier trading venues in the U.S."

Kurt M. Eckert, Partner and Head of Market Structure at Wolverine Trading, LLC and current director of both MIAX PEARL and MIAX Options, added, "MIAX PEARL has been an excellent addition to the MIAX Exchange Group and complements the allocation and pricing model of MIAX Options well. It is great to see both MIAX PEARL and MIAX Options having such an impact on the U.S. options exchange space in such a short time period."



John DiBacco, Jr., trader at Virtu Financial LLC and current director of MIAX Options, commented, "Congratulations to MIAX PEARL on its one-year anniversary and its incredible market share growth during that time. Such growth confirms that the technology, risk protections and customer service offered by MIAX PEARL have been widely accepted by customers."

Richard Herr, Managing Director, Investment Banking at Sandler O'Neill + Partners, L.P. and current director of MIAX PEARL, further added, "MIAX PEARL's growth over the past year has been remarkable to watch and I would like to congratulate the entire team on what has been accomplished in the past 12 months."

For further information regarding MIAX PEARL, please visit www.MIAXOptions.com or contact MIAX Trading Operations at [email protected].

Corporate Communications Contact: Dominique Prunetti-Miller

(609) 897-1465

[email protected]

About MIAX PEARL and MIH

MIAX PEARL, LLC (MIAX PEARL) is a fully electronic options trading exchange and wholly-owned subsidiary of Miami International Holdings, Inc. (MIH). MIAX PEARL currently lists and trades options on over 2,700 multi-listed classes. The average latency for a single order on MIAX PEARL is approximately 24.19 microseconds for a round trip. At the 99th and 99.9th percentiles, the latency on MIAX PEARL is approximately 26.89 and 48.24 microseconds, respectively. MIAX PEARL is part of the MIAX Exchange Group along with Miami International Securities Exchange, LLC (MIAX Options), MIH's other options exchange.

The MIAX Exchange Group has assembled a team with deep rooted experience in developing, operating and trading on options exchanges, and its trading platforms have been developed in-house and designed from the ground up for the unique functional and performance demands of derivatives trading. MIAX PEARL and MIAX Options leverage the MIAX Exchange Group's industry leading technology and infrastructure to provide their member firms with both maker-taker (MIAX PEARL) and traditional (MIAX Options) pricing structures. The MIAX Exchange Group's executive offices and National Operations Center are located in Princeton, New Jersey. The MIAX Exchange Group also maintains a Miami Operations Center in Miami, Florida, which contains the Miami Annual Meeting and Conference Center and the offices of MIAX Technologies and MIAX Global.

In addition to MIAX PEARL and MIAX Options, MIH is the parent holding company of Miami International Technologies, LLC (MIAX Technologies) and MIAX Global, LLC (MIAX Global). MIAX Technologies is MIH's technology subsidiary for the sale and/or license of the trading technology developed by the MIAX Exchange Group. MIAX Global focuses on merger, acquisition and joint venture activities of MIH. MIAX Global also provides technology and other services outside of North America, with its initial concentration being on Europe and Latin America.

Disclaimer and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase any securities of MIH, and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer; solicitation or sale would be unlawful. This press release may contain forward-looking statements, including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements that are not historical or current facts of MIH, together with its subsidiaries, including MIAX PEARL (collectively, the Company). Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the possible or assumed future results of operations of the Company; the competitive position of the Company; potential growth opportunities available to the Company; the expectation with respect to securities, options and future markets and general economic conditions; the effects of competition on the Company's business; and the impact of future legislation and regulatory changes on the Company's business. Forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements.

SOURCE MIAX PEARL, LLC

Related Links

http://www.MIAXOptions.com


GUANGZHOU, China, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 30, 2018, Japanese designer brand MINISO formally reached a strategic agreement with Miniso Colombia SAS in MINISO Industrial Park. Both sides attached great importance to the cooperation. Mr. Ye Guofu, global co-founder and CEO of MINISO, and Eduardo Tishman and Enrique Smolensky, the representatives from Colombian partner Miniso Colombia SAS, were present at the signing ceremony, showing their expectations on the development of MINISO in Colombia.

The cooperation between MINISO and Miniso Colombia SAS is an important step for the brand to explore globally after reaching cooperation with other Latin American countries such as Brazil and Mexico. Mr. Ye Guofu indicated at the signing ceremony that, MINISO will step up its growth and expansion in accordance with its five-year plan, aiming to achieve the brand development goal of "hundreds of cooperating countries, hundreds of billions of sales and thousands of stores" by 2022. As the first country that MINISO has expanded into in the new year, Colombia is of great significance to the brand. MINISO wishes to join hands with Colombia to bring high-quality and intelligent consumer products to local consumers and enrich the choices of shopping for local consumers. It will also lay a good foundation for MINISO to further develop in the South American market.

Colombia is located in the northwest of South America with the Pacific Ocean in the west, the Caribbean in the north, Venezuela in the east, Brazil in the southeast, Peru and Ecuador in the south, and Panama in the northwest. It is a member of the National Union of South America, and it has a developed economy, transportation infrastructure and tourism industry. In addition, Colombia has long-term macroeconomic stability and good growth prospects, diversified economy, and a medium-ranking power, Latin America's fourth-largest economy, which is one of the emerging markets in the world. The cooperation between MINISO and Miniso Colombia SAS is a huge opportunity for both sides.

With the principle of "high quality and affordability," MINISO devotes itself to providing a stress-free and comfortable shopping experience for global consumers. MINISO has its unique vision and mode in producing intelligent, simple and comfortable products. The brand has adopted a strict selection mode for cooperating suppliers, selected high-quality suppliers and suitable and high-quality raw materials in the world, and controls product prices with large-scale procurement. Besides that, MINISO has also brought together a number of designers from Japan and northern Europe, including a team that has won the "German Red Dot Designer Award", so as to provide simple, natural and quality products for consumers.

Since its establishment, MINISO has followed the principle of "customer first" and adjusts the supply of goods to meet the diverse needs of consumers in different regions of the world. Therefore, MINISO has gained trust and love from consumers around the world. In the future, MINISO will provide products in line with local consumer demand and aesthetics according to the needs and tastes of Colombian consumers.

So far, over 60 countries and regions have reached strategic cooperation agreements with MINISO. It has successfully opened more than 2,600 stores throughout Asia, North America, South America, Oceania, Europe and Africa. In the future, MINISO will develop in more countries with the concept of "product localization and talent localization", and bring high-quality goods to more consumers.

SOURCE MINISO Japan
DENVER, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Marijuana Business Daily donated approximately a quarter of a million dollars through their Industry Giveback Program in support of organizations focused on industry building areas like professional development and inclusion, sustainability and community development, as well as legal advocacy across the cannabis industry.

"The best way to further the conversation of cannabis as an industry is to further develop and sustain the act of commerce which helps build the economy and overall quality of life in those regions and of those individuals whom the industry serves," said CEO and Co-Founder, Cassandra Farrington. "That is why we've expanded our industry giveback program to include a wider range of organizations such as the Resource Innovation Institute, National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA), Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP), and The Organic Cannabis Association among others."

Additionally, support also included donations to immensely important initiatives such as those led by the Cannabis Canada Association, Hemp Industry Association (HIA), National Hemp Association (NHA), and Puerto Rico Medical Cannabis Association, Inc. (PRMCA) for disaster relief.

Ms. Farrington closed her remarks by stating, "We feel strongly continued support of key legal advocacy groups in the United States will continue to be important. But expanding and supporting not for profit initiatives that build a stronger industry across numerous sectors is equally critical to the cannabis industry's growth." Additional legal advocacy recipients of 2017 Industry Giveback funds included: Americans for Safe Access (ASA), Drug Policy Alliance, Marijuana Policy Project Foundation (MPP), and NORML Foundation.

MJBizDaily recognizes its ability to reach and speak to the industry-as-a-whole, and looks to provide resources and opportunities to amplify the voices of organizations supporting professionals, organizations, and companies working to develop a strong and responsible cannabis industry.

Each year, MJBizDaily selects non-profit organizations to support through monetary donations and partnerships. Additionally, the industry wide mixers at MJBizCon and MJBizConNEXT serve as vehicles to provide support and awareness for key areas of interest within the Cannabis industry. To submit your non-profit organization for consideration to the program, please visit this link for more information: https://mjbizdaily.com/industry-giveback-program/

Media Contact: Tess Woods, 1-617-9420336, [email protected]

SOURCE Marijuana Business Daily

Related Links

https://mjbizdaily.com


MARSHALL COUNTY, Miss., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- INDUSTRIAL WAREHOUSE/DISTRIBUTION DEVELOPMENT  Mohr Capital is co-developing a 1,016,880 square foot warehouse/distribution facility for Cooper Tire with Panattoni Development. The facility, located in Gateway Global Logistics Center (GGLC) in Marshall County, Mississippi, will be constructed by Alston Construction. The facility will serve as a "mixing facility" for Cooper Tire and the facility can be expanded by an additional 400,000 square feet. Development services were handled jointly by Gary Horn with Mohr Capital and Scott Abbott with Panattoni. Cooper Tire will commence operations in the Fall of 2018. An affiliate of Gramercy Property Trust has purchased the land, will fund the development and own the asset upon completion.
MyComputerCareer will offer six different options to begin your I.T. career during Q1 of 2018, with specific program information and start dates below.

The Information Technology Systems Administrator Program (ITSA) is the foundational I.T. program that positions students to earn in-demand I.T. Certifications from Microsoft, Cisco and CompTIA. These courses will be held on all seven MyComputerCareer campuses, as well as offered online through the school's LIVE Online Internet Distance Learning program.

February 2, 2018 ,

, February 5, 2018 ,

, February 6, 2018 ,

, February 20, 2018 ,

, March 5, 2018 and

and March 6, 2018

The Information Technology Security Specialist Program (ITSS) and The Information Technology Systems Engineer Program (ITSE) are advanced I.T. Certification Programs designed for students interested in specializing in I.T. Security careers. The programs position students to earn advanced certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA and EC-Council partners.

March 5, 2018 and

and March 6, 2018

"When students complete these certification programs, they are prepared to earn valuable certifications in areas ranging from basic computer repair and troubleshooting to advanced networking and Cyber Security," said Tony Galati, CEO of MyComputerCareer. "These certificates allow anyone to jumpstart their I.T. career, whether they have I.T. experience or not."

Graduates of these programs are eligible for Lifetime Career Services from the school. These services include career placement assistance, exclusive on-campus hiring events, resume writing services and interview preparation. The school also gives its students and graduates access to a large network of employer partners.

In addition, active military and military veterans are able to utilize their GI Bill benefits including MyComputerCareer's Interactive Distance Learning (IDL) program.

About MyComputerCareer

MyComputerCareer provides technical training, certification preparation and job placement support for individuals looking to enter the Information Technology industry, as well as professionals seeking career advancement.

GI Bill is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). More information about education benefits offered by VA is available at the official U.S. government Web site at http://www.benefits.va.gov/gibill.

MyComputerCareer.edu Contact:

Jenny Nichols, MyComputerCareer.edu, [email protected], (765) 714-7272

SOURCE MyComputerCareer

Related Links

http://www.mycomputercareer.edu


LINCOLN, Neb., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nelnet (NYSE: NNI) announced today it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Great Lakes Educational Loan Services, Inc. (referred to as Great Lakes throughout this press release) from Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation. Nelnet paid $150.0 million in cash for 100 percent of the stock of Great Lakes, following the satisfaction of all required closing conditions.

Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, Great Lakes has approximately 1,800 employees and previously served as Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates' technology provider and student loan servicing company. As of December 31, 2017, Great Lakes was servicing $224.4 billion in government-owned student loans for 7.5 million borrowers, $10.7 billion in Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loans for almost 479,000 borrowers, and $8.5 billion in private or consumer loans for over 415,000 borrowers.

"We are excited to welcome the Great Lakes team into the Nelnet family," said Jeff Noordhoek, chief executive officer of Nelnet. "We now have the incredible opportunity to transform student loan servicing for millions of borrowers and make a lasting impact on their financial lives. With 90 years of collective experience and values focused on providing superior customer service for borrowers, it's a mission for which Nelnet and Great Lakes are prepared. It is now up to us to execute together our plans for further enhanced borrower experiences."

In 2009, Great Lakes and Nelnet were awarded contracts to service government-owned student loans on behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (Department). These contracts are scheduled to expire in June 2019.

Going forward, Great Lakes and Nelnet will continue to service their respective government-owned portfolios on behalf of the Department, while maintaining their distinct brands, independent servicing operations, and teams. Likewise, each entity will continue to compete for new student loan volume under its respective existing contract with the Department. Nelnet will integrate technology, as well as shared services and other activities, to become more efficient and effective in meeting borrower needs.

Nelnet and Great Lakes have also been working together for almost two years to develop a new, state-of-the-art servicing system for government-owned student loans through a joint venture. The servicing platform under development will utilize modern technology to effectively scale for additional volume, protect customer information, and support enhanced borrower experience initiatives. The efficiencies gained by leveraging a single platform for government-owned loans supporting millions more borrowers will give Great Lakes and Nelnet opportunities to invest in strategies to further enhance borrower experiences.

Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company will service $455 billion of student loans for 16.2 million borrowers, including $397 billion in government-owned student loans for 13.4 million borrowers, $38 billion in FFEL Program loans for 1.9 million borrowers, and $20 billion in private or consumer loans for almost 918,000 borrowers. During 2017, Great Lakes recognized approximately $230 million in servicing revenue. Nelnet expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to earnings.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

Information contained in this press release, other than historical information, may be considered forward-looking in nature and is subject to various risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. The words "estimate," "expect," "intend," "plan," and "will," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Should one or more of the risks or uncertainties to which such forward-looking statements are subject materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated, or expected. Among the key factors that may have a direct bearing on Nelnet's operating results, performance, or financial condition expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements are risks related to the uncertain nature of the expected benefits from the acquisition and the ability to successfully integrate loan servicing operations and successfully maintain and increase allocated volumes of student loans serviced under existing and any future servicing contracts with the Department, risks to Nelnet and Great Lakes related to the Department's initiative to procure new contracts for federal student loan servicing, including the risk that the company may not be awarded a contract, risks related to the development by Nelnet and Great Lakes of a new student loan servicing platform, including risks as to whether the expected benefits from the new platform will be realized, and other risks and uncertainties, including the risk of increased regulatory costs and uncertainties inherent in estimates and assumptions with respect to unaudited financial and pro forma information. All forward-looking statements in this release are as of the date of this release. Although the company may from time to time voluntarily update or revise its forward-looking statements to reflect actual results or changes in the company's expectations, the company disclaims any commitment to do so except as required by securities laws.

About Nelnet

Nelnet (NYSE: NNI) is a diversified and innovative company focused on offering educational services, technology solutions, telecommunications, and asset management. Nelnet helps students and families plan and pay for their education and makes the administrative processes for schools more efficient with student loan servicing, tuition payment processing, and school administration software. Through its recently acquired subsidiary, ALLO Communications, Nelnet offers fiber optic services directly to homes and businesses for ultra-fast internet and superior telephone and television services. The company also makes investments in real estate developments and new ventures. For more information, visit Nelnet.com.

(code #: nnig)

SOURCE Nelnet

Related Links

http://www.nelnet.com


Margvelashvili: Indirect Presidential Election-Threat of Georgias Image

By Vladimer Napetvaridze

The President Giorgi Margvelashvili spoke about next presidential elections in his interview with Iberia TV. He stated that although constitution changed, the next President wont be the last elected president of Georgia. "Even though the constitution has been changed, I do not think that the next president of Georgia will be the last elected president. The new amendments were not even approved when they already started discussions about additional changes in it. This is like to try to drive a car without an engine, which you have thrown away. This is a constant realizing of the disaster that they've done in 2017. Therefore, I believe that many things will change.On the question, if he is going to participate in the next presidential elections, he stated that he has not decided it yet. " I do not have decided it yet, because of following reasons: First, it is limited rights and second- the dynamics of the process... Despite being criticized for 4 years, because of use veto rights, this process was seen as the democracy in action, and for this image of Georgia, I was constantly paying the price for it. Now I wonder- Is it worth it ?! or Maybe one-party governance with the appointed president will be better? And then we'll see how the image of Georgia will change.  Stated Margvelashvili in his interview. Functions and purposes of the President's Institute significantly differ between European states. In some countries, the head of the government is president, and in some cases, he/she has just a simple ceremonial function, therefore there are various systems of the presidential elections. The president which is elected by the population, using direct election system- has more legitimacy and therefore-more power, unlike the president, which is appointed by parliament. In some countries, there is no presidential institute at all. The ceremonial functions of the Head of the state is performed by the king or queen in the following countries in Europe: Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Norway.Other European countries have either direct or indirect presidential elections. The countries with direct presidential election system are: Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ukraine, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Slovenia.Many European countries have parliamentary systems of government and the head of the cabinet, and the leader of the majority is the prime minister. In most of these governments the president serves as a titular, or ceremonial, head of state, some of these countries are using indirect election system:- The Latvian Parliament- Saeima votes for the president. To win the elections, candidate needs more than 50% of the votes. In case if none of the candidates gets more than 50% of the votes, the second round will be appointed.- A presidential candidate needs the written nomination of at least one-fifth of the Members of Parliament (about 40 MPs). To elect the president in the first round of election a two-thirds majority of all MPs is required. If no candidate gathers needed votes, a second round will be held between the two candidates with the highest numbers of votes.- The President is elected for a five-year term by the Parliament in a special session. At the first and second rounds a supermajority of 200 out of the 300 is needed, but if none of candidates get necessary number of the votes, on the last -third round 180 votes is enough.- The Riigikogu (Parliament) elects the president with the supermajority votes of two-thirds (68 votes out of 101). If no candidate received the required number of votes, the president will be selected by an electoral college consisting representatives of local governments and MPs.- The President is elected by the Federal Convention, an electoral body that consists of all members of the Bundestag and an equal number of electors, who are elected by the sixteen state parliaments. The procedure of the election consists of a maximum of three secret votes by written ballot. If one of the first two rounds ends with an absolute majority support for one of the candidates, this candidate is elected immediately. If the first two round do not lead to an absolute majority, at the third round 50%+1 vote will be sufficient.- The election is held in the form of a secret ballot, with the Senators, the Deputies and 58 regional representatives entitled to vote- 1009 voters totally. The two-thirds votes of majority is required to elect a President.- From 1993 to 2013, Chez Republic was the country with indirect presidential election system. In 1993, Czech presidential election was held to elect the first President of independent Czech Republic. The first election was done indirectly by the members of the Czech Republic Parliament. Only in 11-12 January of 2013 the first direct presidential election in was held in Chez republic.
This induction of strategic partners with various advantages to enrich shareholding structure is Neo Capital's long planned strategic deployment. Peng Tie, Chairman of Neo Capital, disclosed at the annual meeting of Neo Capital held in January 2018 that Neo Capital will focus on integration of industry and finance and serve the real economy in the next 5 years, carrying out financial, technological and model innovations in order to build technological innovation platform charged with capital values and to participate in the public capital market so that more excellent shareholders will be introduced into Neo Capital's simple shareholding model with the corporate governance of Neo Capital being greatly improved.

In recent years, Neo Capital has committed to speeding up its corporate upgrading by implementing FinTech strategy, collaborating with corporate entities and companies of cloud computing technology to map out the "technology + industry + finance" deployment on the basis of its own experience in comprehensive financial services, and actively explore those new models which integrate finance, technology and industry.

The induction of Yunfu can be regarded as Neo Capital's extension in the field of technology. Neo Capital will work with Yunfu to push forward the in-depth cooperation in terms of technological innovation, business expansion, product R&D, and project investment. In the future, both parties will carry out complementary exchanges of strengths and resources, continue exploring projects for FinTech applications, and continue upgrading the capability in technology and risk control so as to support the Group's industrialized finance development strategy.

As for the induction of Flying Dragon, the relevant officer of Neo Capital expressed that since the nature of finance is serving the real economy, Neo Capital has been exploring the path for finance to support the development of the real economy, and has tapped into such fields as big consumption, big health and artificial intelligence. It has accumulated plenty experience in the integration of industry and finance to successfully support the great-leap-forward development of the Group's business. In addition, the supply chain finance is also an important way for Neo Inclusive Finance to expand its SME owners and even financial resources for individuals. In the future, Neo Capital will continue the exploring to develop the connection among business entities by financial means and to provide more basic financial services.

About Neo Capital

Neo Capital Management Group Limited, founded in 2012, is based in Shenzhen and has four management centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hong Kong, with business in Australia, London, New York, other international financial centers, as well as Silicon Valley. Neo Capital is a comprehensive FinTech group that specializes in wealth management, investment management, FinTech and combines industry and finance. With the mission of "offering equal financial services to everybody," the group specializes in combining industry and finance, serving the real economy, and committing itself to providing the public with comprehensive, professional household financial services, to promote household finance in China. Currently, Neo Capital has 286 branches and serves more than 8 million customers worldwide. Specifically, its Internet finance platform has more than 5 million registered users and more than 11,000 employees.

About Guangdong Zhongke Yunfu Venture Investment Co.,Ltd.

Yunfu is a wholly owned subsidiary by Dongguan-based Chinese Academy of Sciences Cloud Computing Industry Technology Innovation and Incubation Center, a center jointly established by Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the People's Municipal Government of Dongguan as the first cloud computing R&D institution for CAS to co-found with a local government, featuring the technology, talents, equipment, network and other core resources for the technology innovation in the field of cloud computing.

About Shanghai Flying Dragon Investment Management Co., Ltd.

Shanghai Flying Dragon Investment Management Co., Ltd., is the majority shareholder of the A-share listed industrial company of Kingee Culture Development Co., Ltd.

For media inquiries:

Neo Capital Management Group Co., Ltd

Cecile Zhang

Phone: +86-186-2165-8793, +852-6741-3407

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Neo Capital Management Group Co., Ltd.
Since the website's launch on September 12, 2017 through January 23, 2018, adults across the age spectrum from 18 to 65 and older used the site. Baby boomers (defined by the US Census Bureau as currently 54-72) were a large constituency, with about half of the site's visitors aged 55 and older. The other half of visitors ranged in age from 18 to 54. Millennials (defined by the Census Bureau as currently 18-36) were over a quarter of all site visitors.

Significantly, both women and men visited the site. Consistent with focus groups FAIR Health has conducted showing that women are often healthcare decision makers and caregivers, the majority of visitors were women, but men also were well represented.

Almost 75 percent of visitors used mobile devices to access the site, and 25 percent of visitors arrived via social mediasuggesting the growing power of both mobile devices and social media in directing people to the healthcare resources they need. "MRI" and "root canal" were, respectively, the top medical and dental terms searched.

"We are excited that YouCanPlanForThis.org is appealing to all groups of New Yorkers," said FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd. "This shows the public's desire for independent, reliable healthcare cost data and understandable health insurance information to help them plan for medical and dental expenses. We hope that our ground-breaking New York website, which was funded in part with the generous support of the New York State Health Foundation, will serve as a prototype for other states looking to offer price transparency tools for their constituents."

With the site's cost lookup tools, which are powered by FAIR Health's billions of private healthcare claims records, consumers can estimate in-network and out of-network costs for thousands of medical procedures in their geographic areas, and out-of-network costs for dental procedures, with estimated in-network costs for dental procedures due to be launched later this year. They also can research total and itemized costs of 25 common "episodes of care" or medical bundles. In addition, they can access individual provider listings for 100 frequently performed procedures in the state, including information about providers' practices and prices. A rich educational curriculum offers articles on insurance basics, a glossary, videos, resource links and information on healthcare quality measures.

On February 1, 2018, FAIR Health launched the second phase of YouCanPlanForThis.org, featuring hospital-specific pricing for 20 common outpatient procedures with specified quality metrics for hospitals in four New York regions: Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse and Westchester.

Vital statistics about visitors to the site include:

Age: The distribution of age groups visiting the site was:

The distribution of age groups visiting the site was: 18-2412.40 percent



25-3413.58 percent



35-449.65 percent



45-5412.21 percent



55-6418.90 percent



65 and older33.25 percent





Gender : At 63.09 percent of visitors, women predominated; the other 36.91 percent were men.





: At 63.09 percent of visitors, women predominated; the other 36.91 percent were men. Top terms searched (from most to least common):

Medical: MRI, colonoscopy, dermatological, physical therapy, emergency

MRI, colonoscopy, dermatological, physical therapy, emergency

Dental: root canal, implant, orthodontic, extraction, crown





root canal, implant, orthodontic, extraction, crown Technology : Of visitors to the site, the vast majority74.52 percentused mobile devices. Tablets accounted for 18.71 percent of traffic, desktops 6.77 percent.





: Of visitors to the site, the vast majority74.52 percentused mobile devices. Tablets accounted for 18.71 percent of traffic, desktops 6.77 percent. Top channels of acquisition: Largely due to a robust statewide educational campaign, 65 percent of visitors came to the site through a direct web search for the site, while 25 percent visited the site through a link on social media. Referrals triggered by media mentions about the site accounted for most of the remaining traffic.

YouCanPlanForThis.org was singled out last fall as an "excellent consumer website" in the Altarum and Catalyst for Payment Reform's Price Transparency & Physician Quality Report Card 2017.

Encouraged by the success of New York's YouCanPlanForThis.org, which was based on FAIR Health's award-winning national consumer site, fairhealthconsumer.org, other states have approached FAIR Health with interest in how they can adapt it for their constituents.

To learn how YouCanPlanForThis.org can help consumers plan for healthcare expenses, register for the free one-hour webcast FAIR Health will be hosting on March 1.

For a visual look at the statistics about YouCanPlanForThis.org, see the infographic above.

Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth

About FAIR Health

FAIR Health is a national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 25 billion claim records contributed by payors and administrators who insure or process claims for private insurance plans covering more than 150 million individuals. FAIR Health also holds separate data representing the experience of more than 55 million individuals enrolled in Medicare. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Qualified Entity, FAIR Health receives all of Medicare Parts A, B and D claims data for use in nationwide transparency efforts. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data productsincluding benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics, episodes of care analytics and market indicesto commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. FAIR Health has earned HITRUST CSF and Service Organization Controls (SOC 2) certifications by meeting the rigorous data security standards of those organizations. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Elisabeth Rosenthal's book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org.

Contact:

Dean Sicoli

Executive Director of Communications and Public Relations

FAIR Health

646-664-1645

[email protected]

SOURCE FAIR Health

Related Links

https://www.fairhealth.org


MILWAUKEE, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- It's not enough to merely survive, Inpro's new 2018 finish collection offers designers and architects the opportunity to Thrive. The theme for the latest collection showcases how Inpro's various products, colors, textures and patterns work together as pleasing design elements.

The Thrive Collection brings together different finishes, giving designers a way to visualize how the patterns and colors of Inpro's wall protection, solid surface, signage and fabrics can create an aesthetically pleasing interior.

The selection of the various packages is a collaborative effort led by Interior Designer Aga Artka, ASID, NCIDQ, WRID, who worked with Inpro to design the collection.

"The color story told in the Thrive collection is one of hope, comfort and understanding," Artka said. "We created the 2018 theme as a response to global instability and an unsustainable, fast pace of life. This collection revisits the basic human needs that allow us to thrive. It is an exploration of our relationships with others, ourselves and the world around us."

Under the Thrive umbrella, Artka and Inpro will release the following palettes throughout 2018:

Reflect  The calm and simplistic aura of this palette invites us to take a moment to "be". Grounding grays mixed with iridescent violets combine the earthbound with the ethereal just as a reflection allows us to combine the reality of the past with a vision for the future.

 The calm and simplistic aura of this palette invites us to take a moment to "be". Grounding grays mixed with iridescent violets combine the earthbound with the ethereal just as a reflection allows us to combine the reality of the past with a vision for the future. Nurture  This monochromatic palette stands for simplicity and longevity. Blending a diverse family of neutrals with a touch of soft green brings us back to our earthy roots with the promise of renewal and vitality.

 This monochromatic palette stands for simplicity and longevity. Blending a diverse family of neutrals with a touch of soft green brings us back to our earthy roots with the promise of renewal and vitality. Create  This rich and sophisticated palette finds inspiration in the decadent facets of creativity such as embroidery, fine beading, precious stones, crystals and leathers. Rooted in classic opulence are rich golds, emerald greens and complex teals with soft, pearl-like neutrals paired for balance.

 This rich and sophisticated palette finds inspiration in the decadent facets of creativity such as embroidery, fine beading, precious stones, crystals and leathers. Rooted in classic opulence are rich golds, emerald greens and complex teals with soft, pearl-like neutrals paired for balance. Protect  An optimistic interpretation of our basic need for safety, the Protect Palette is reminiscent of home, providing protection from the elements and the ongoing pursuit of stability with a rich range of warm, sun-kissed neutrals and stable browns.

 An optimistic interpretation of our basic need for safety, the Protect Palette is reminiscent of home, providing protection from the elements and the ongoing pursuit of stability with a rich range of warm, sun-kissed neutrals and stable browns. Love  The Love color palette is subtle, calming and personal. An element of humanity is captured in the soft neutrals while mature blues and dark tones depict the depth of boundless love.

 The Love color palette is subtle, calming and personal. An element of humanity is captured in the soft neutrals while mature blues and dark tones depict the depth of boundless love. Nourish  The Nourish palette uses soft, grass greens, complementary lilacs and deep eggplants which are comforting and energizing. Abstract and realistic patterns inspired by nature reflect the simplicity and complexity of the landscape that provides for us.

Both Artka and Inpro received some pleasant confirmation when Pantone announced that the 2018 Color of the Year is Pantone 18-3838 Ultra Violet. "When you look at our Reflect Palette, Pantone's selection validated our color story," Aga said. "As a leader in interior products, it's important that we're in tune with the design community and on the cutting edge of the trends that inspire them. It's gratifying to see that kind of color trend synergy happening."

To learn more about Inpro and the Thrive Collection, visit www.inprocorp.com/design-center/thrive-collection.

About Inpro

Since 1979, Inpro has been making and servicing products with an obsessive commitment to protecting the appearance of buildings and the health and safety of the people who use them. Based in Muskego, Wisconsin, Inpro is a global manufacturer of door and wall protection, washroom systems, expansion joint systems, privacy systems, elevator protection systems and architectural signage.

SOURCE Inpro

Related Links

http://www.inprocorp.com


LOS ANGELES, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- National nonprofit Transamerica Center for Health Studies (TCHS) together with the Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces (ICHW) at UC Berkeley, announced today the release of Finding Fit: Implementing Workplace Wellness Programs Successfully, a helpful resource for organizations offering wellness programs for their employees. In addition to an expectation of lower employee health costs, a majority of employers say their wellness programs have a positive impact on job satisfaction, workplace commitment, turnover and absenteeism. While more than six in 10 employers (62 percent) say they offer wellness programs, only 40 percent of employees (with employer-based coverage) say they work for an employer who offers a wellness program (Transamerica Center for Health Studies 2017 Consumer and Employer surveys). To gain insight into this difference in perception and to give employers tools to shape wellness programs for their employees, TCHS and ICHW collaborated to release an evidence-based, workplace wellness program Employer Guide.

Available for free, the Employer Guide (with an emphasis on small and medium organizations) focuses on the types of wellness programs that have been shown to be effective and provides a step-by-step process for identifying one or more wellness programs that fit each employer's unique characteristics. This approach enables employers to assess which wellness program is most compatible with their day-to-day realities and would encourage employee engagement.

"In this guide, we focused on giving employers the tools to match their workforce and workplace to their wellness program options. Not every wellness program fits every organization," said Hector De La Torre, executive director of Transamerica Center for Health Studies. "With this approach, employers can promote employee health, increase participation and improve productivity."

This guide helps organizational leaders choose a wellness program that meets their employees' needs given their time and resources. Small and medium organizations face a number of limitations due to their size and financial reserves, but employees' health and well-being needs are a constant regardless of organization size. Employees need a safe, socially supportive and health-promoting work environment that not only supports wellness but also enhances productivity.

"We have looked at the existing literature on wellness programs in general and created a method based on our research for how organization leaders can design an effective wellness strategy that fits their constraints," said Dr. Cristina Banks, director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces at UC Berkeley. "Organization leaders may focus on employee healthcare costs and not know or understand the link between employee wellness and organizational outcomes such as productivity, absenteeism, turnover and disability. We help company leadership understand how the organization will benefit from employee wellness and how they can find a wellness program that fits their specific circumstances."

Eight different wellness program types were identified, and they are ordered from low to high employer involvement (and investment) below:

Education Programs - pursued by employees at or outside of work

Social Community Building by the Employee - engagement in social activities to enhance social relationships

Social Community Building by the Organization  employer-led ownership of improving the workforce social community

Preventive Care Program (Lite) - health assessments and preventative screening by the insurance vendor

Healthy Habit Development (Lite)  organization-led interventions encouraging healthier personal and work-related habits

Healthy Habit Development (Enhanced)  physical worksite environment enhancements facilitating healthier workday habits

Preventive Care Program (Enhanced)  partnership between healthcare providers and employer leadership to reduce incidence of serious illness and disease

Disease Management  employer investments in on-site medical clinics and/or occupational health programs

A comprehensive literature review of wellness program effectiveness and participation rates was also undertaken. To get a broad understanding of employee and employer perspectives, results from the national employer and employee surveys on health and wellness topics administered in 2017 by the Harris Poll on behalf of TCHS were analyzed. Finally, focus group discussions with more than 20 small- and medium-sized organizations explored various issues regarding adoption of wellness programs and determinants of participation.

To create the assessment tool, each wellness program type was analyzed by its essential requirements for successful implementation. A list of opportunities (called Facilitators) and constraints (called Barriers) are the basis of a profile for each wellness program type. An employer's assessment of the presence of its own Facilitators and Barriers shows which are incompatible with requirements, and which are compatible for specific wellness programs.

The guide also provides guidance on how to increase participation in wellness programs. The key concept is based on principles of 'WIFM' or 'what's in it for me?' The guide provides information to help employers determine what value a wellness program might have for the employees.

At the end of the guide, there is also an extensive list of resources to provide employers additional wellness-related information and support.

ABOUT THE TRANSAMERICA CENTER FOR HEALTH STUDIES

Transamerica Center for Health Studies (TCHS)  a division of Transamerica Institute,  is a national nonprofit focused on empowering consumers and employers to achieve the best value and protection from their health coverage, as well as the best outcomes in their personal health and wellness.

TCHS engages with the American public through national surveys, its website, research findings and consumer guidance. TCHS also collaborates with healthcare experts and organizations that are equally focused on health coverage and personal health and wellness.

Transamerica Institute is a nonprofit, private foundation funded by contributions from Transamerica Life Insurance Company and its affiliates, as well as unaffiliated third parties. None of the contributors are major medical insurers.

ABOUT THE INTERDISCIPLINARY CENTER FOR HEALTHY WORKPLACES (ICHW) AT UC BERKELEY

Founded in 2012 by industrial-organizational psychologists Cristina Banks and Sheldon Zedeck, Berkeleys Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces serves as a hub for research and dialogue centered on improving the well-being and health of employees in their respective workplaces.

The center brings together scholars from related fieldsincluding public health, public policy, environmental design, architecture, engineering, computer science, nutrition, law and economicsto find holistic solutions to improve workplace environments. ICHW also works with outside experts, including clinicians, agency directors, consultants and corporate executives. Since its inception, the Center has coordinated a series of meetings and advanced research into diverse topics, including the working conditions for white- and blue-collar workers and the impacts of open office design.

ABOUT THE INTERDISCIPLINARY CENTER FOR HEALTHY WORKPLACES (ICHW) AT UC BERKELEY

Founded in 2012 by industrial-organizational psychologists Cristina Banks and Sheldon Zedeck, Berkeleys Interdisciplinary Center for Healthy Workplaces serves as a hub for research and dialogue centered on improving the well-being and health of employees in their respective workplaces.

The center brings together scholars from related fieldsincluding public health, public policy, environmental design, architecture, engineering, computer science, nutrition, law and economicsto find holistic solutions to improve workplace environments. ICHW also works with outside experts, including clinicians, agency directors, consultants and corporate executives. Since its inception, the Center has coordinated a series of meetings and advanced research into diverse topics, including the working conditions for white- and blue-collar workers and the impacts of open office design.

Contact: Ryan Baird

952-346-6192

[email protected]

SOURCE Transamerica Center for Health Studies

Related Links

http://www.transamericacenterforhealthstudies.org


The " Definitive Guide to Corporate America's Most Broken Processes ," found that 58 percent of employees at U.S. companies with more than 1,000 employees experienced broken onboarding processes within their organization. These broken processes then contribute to attrition and related financial costs for these employers. More than two-thirds of respondents said their company's broken processes prevent them from maximizing their potential, and 53 percent do not see themselves remaining at their company for more than five years.

Activities related to employee onboarding identified as a 'broken process' by respondents included:

55 percent cite the ability to use preferred documents and software tools

46 percent cite process-based onboarding (e.g. company emergency procedures)

43 percent cite onboarding-related paperwork

34 percent cite becoming a part of the company culture

33 percent cite being introduced to colleagues

19 percent cite healthcare enrollment

View the study's employee onboarding video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dj16rqjlOQ4

"Company executives may be inclined to address their biggest process roadblocks first," said Nintex CLO Jeff Christianson who oversees Human Resources at Nintex. "Many of those larger issues, however, can often stem from smaller broken processes during common activities like onboarding new hires. The employee onboarding process is an organization's opportunity to demonstrate to its newest talent that time-saving technology exists, like an intelligent process automation platform, which streamlines processes in a line of business like HR to eliminate paper and process bottlenecks. The result beginning on day one, is that every employee is empowered to do his or her best possible work."

Christianson continues by saying the Nintex study findings show that when companies realize the promise of automating, orchestrating, and optimizing everyday processes, they can see a significant uptick in employee retention rates and move closer to a vision of a digitally transformed modern workplace.

The top five most broken processes identified by the Nintex study include:

Technology troubleshooting Access to tools and documents that enable good job performance Annual performance reviews Promotions Employee onboarding

Learn more by downloading the "Definitive Guide to Corporate America's Most Broken Processes" at https://info.nintex.com/CNT-CORP-AMBPS-0118_Registration.html.

Media Contact

Kristin Treat

[email protected]

cell: (215) 317-9091

About Nintex

Nintex is the world's leader in intelligent process automation (IPA) with more than 7,500 enterprise clients and 1,700 partners in 90 countries who have built and published millions of workflow applications. With its unmatched breadth of capability and platform support delivered by unique architectural capabilities, Nintex empowers the line of business and IT departments to quickly automate, orchestrate and optimize hundreds of manual processes to progress on the journey to digital transformation. Nintex Workflow Cloud, the company's cloud platform, connects with all content repositories, systems of record, and people to consistently fuel successful business outcomes. Visit www.nintex.com to learn more.

Product or service names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE Nintex

Related Links

http://www.nintex.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Northeastern University has partnered with Lookout, the leader in securing mobility, to launch a Micro Credential program in San Francisco for working professionals to take courses and bolster their skills in emerging areas of computer science.

The partnership with Lookout is an extension of the university's Silicon Valley campus based in San Jose, California. The Micro Credential program is the first of the campus's expansion efforts to provide easier access for students who live in and around San Francisco, catering to the growing number of tech companies headquartered there.

Courses will be offered at Lookout's office in downtown San Francisco. The first course, "Data Mining Techniques," begins in March and covers aspects such as classification, prediction, ensemble methods, association rules, sequence mining, and cluster analysis. Students will also have opportunities to gain valuable hands-on experience by mining useful knowledge from large data sets. Classes, designed for working professionals, will be held on weekday afternoons and evenings.

Future courses are planned in areas such as parallel data processing, network security, cloud computing, and mobile application development. Students can earn a Micro Credential in computer science by taking three courses, and a Micro Credential can also count as credit toward earning a Master of Science in Computer Science at Northeastern.

"Continued education is increasingly essential in today's rapidly changing tech sector," said Carla Brodley, dean of Northeastern's College of Computer and Information Science. "Micro Credentials and flexible graduate programs offer savvy workers the chance to boost their careers and stay ahead of the field, giving them added job security and highly relevant skills."

"We are very excited to team up with Lookout to offer this groundbreaking program for students in San Francisco," said P.K. Agarwal, regional dean and CEO for Northeastern University-Silicon Valley. "Our Micro Credential program based at Lookout provides a new opportunity for many students in greater San Francisco to gain an advantage in the increasingly competitive market for computer science job positions."

Northeastern is a global leader in experiential education; in 2016-17, the university had more than 11,000 co-op placements and more than 3,100 co-op employers worldwide.

For more information about Northeastern University's new micro-credentialing program, please visit: http://www.northeastern.edu/siliconvalley/academic_program/micro-credentials/

About Northeastern University:

Founded in 1898, Northeastern is a global, experiential research university. Our tradition of partnership and engagement creates a distinctive approach to education and research built on the values of experiential learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Northeastern is the recognized leader in experiential learning, powered by the world's most innovative cooperative-education program. We offer students opportunities for professional work, research, service, and global learning in 131 countries on seven continents. The same spirit of engagement guides a use-inspired research enterprise that is strategically aligned with three global imperatives: health, security, and sustainability. Northeastern offers a comprehensive range of undergraduate and graduate programs leading to degrees through the doctorate in nine colleges and schools, and select advanced degrees at graduate campuses in Silicon Valley, Charlotte, North Carolina, Seattle and Toronto.

Press Contact:

Lisette Rauwendaal

Lumina Communications

650-450-3883

[email protected]

SOURCE Northeastern University-Silicon Valley

Related Links

http://www.northeastern.edu


WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Yesterday, the National Parking Association (NPA) honored Gary Pohrer of the St. Louis Parking Company with the parking industry's highest honor, the Brett Harwood Leadership & Legends Award. The award was presented to Pohrer at the NPA Winter Leadership Forum. This prestigious national honor recognizes lifelong leadership, excellence and integrity.

"The NPA Board of Directors selected Pohrer as the 2018 honoree for his dedication to professionalism and integrity," said NPA President Christine Banning, MA, CAE. Banning added, "Gary Pohrer has been a lifelong parking leader and positive influence on the industry, respected by his peers. The Pohrer family are founding members of NPA."

The award was presented to Pohrer, on behalf of the NPA, by Mark Muglich, past NPA board chair and former president of ABM Parking Services. Of Pohrer, Mark said, "Gary has worked in the parking industry since 1958. He has been a great mentor and inspiration to many at the NPA, including me. He has supported the NPA foundation, the industry and served as a mentor to many through the years. "

Gary Pohrer is currently co-chairman of St. Louis Parking Company, alongside his brother, Jack Pohrer. St Louis Parking Company is a three generation family-owned business founded by Gary Pohrer's father, Edward F. Pohrer, in 1933. Edward Pohrer served as NPA board chair from 1960-1962.

Gary Pohrer is a long-time member of NPA and served as a member of the board. He entered the parking industry in 1958 and has been active in all facets of the business, with emphasis on financial analysis, development and operations. He is also a former member of Downtown St. Louis Partnership where he has served on the Traffic and Security Committee and Riverfront Development Committee and is a past recipient of the prestigious Levee Stone Award. Pohrer also served on the Central West End Association Board of Directors. He is a member of BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) and the Clayton Chamber of Commerce. Pohrer is a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Holy Cross College.

St. Louis Parking Company manages, owns and leases over 100 parking facilities consisting of over 57,000 parking spaces. Its facilities are supported by a team of parking professionals consisting of 50 managers, supervisors and as well as over 350 hourly associates available to meet the demands in the St. Louis area.

About the Award: The Board of Directors of NPA established the Brett Harwood Leadership & Legends Award in 2013 to honor lifetime achievement in parking industry leadership. Pohrer is the fifth recipient of the award and was honored February 6th at the association's Winter Leadership Forum.

About NPA: Founded in 1951, the National Parking Association is the voice of the $29 billion parking industry that employs more than 143,000 individuals. NPA is the leading trade association for the parking industry in North America representing the interests of public and private parking sector leaders and professionals. NPA provides research, advocacy, professional development and credentialing to its members. To learn more, visit NPA at WeAreParking.org.

Contact:

Peshie Chaifetz

Vice President, Marketing & Communications

202-470-6303 - Mobile

[email protected]

SOURCE National Parking Association

Related Links

http://weareparking.org/


"Since joining Oakworth, Bill has embraced and consistently lived our core values," said Forest Whatley, Managing Director, Markets and Risk Management. "Adding Bill to our leadership team will ensure we continue our trend of successful market expansion and service to our clients."

Oakworth's associates are comprised of individuals who share Oakworth's vision of "Redefining Financial Services" while demonstrating leadership through our shared core values (Golden Rule, Character, Professionalism, Innovative/Creative Spirit, and Work Ethic).

About Oakworth Capital Bank

Oakworth Capital Bank provides commercial banking, wealth management, and private banking services to successful businesses, families, and individuals. The Bank serves its valued clients across the United States from its headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama as well as offices located in Montgomery and Mobile. For more information about Oakworth Capital Bank and its unique approach, please visit the company website at www.oakworthcapital.com or call us at (205) 263-4700.

For more information contact:

Lindsey Krausen

Phone: 205-278-2736

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Oakworth Capital Bank

Related Links

http://www.oakworthcapital.com


SEATTLE, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Designed by Evidentiae Technologies, LLC, the Oral Health Score is an online, oral health self-assessment that will provide you with an immediate estimate of your oral health. The assessment will provide you with a series of images displaying how "yes" and "no" answers may appear in your mouth and assisting you in accurate assessment. Based off principles of the Kois Center, one the world's most renowned Dental Continuing Education programs, the Oral Health Score is equipped with an algorithm that will analyze your responses and provide you with risk estimates for your gum health, your teeth health, your bite and jaw joint health and your smile attractiveness. Once you complete the Oral Health Score self-assessment, you will be able to locate a qualified dentist near you that can interpret your results. This entire process, from registration to scheduling an appointment can be completed in less than 7 minutes.



The Oral Health Score is an online, oral health self-assessment that will provide you with an immediate estimate of your oral health. Based off principles of the Kois Center, one the world's most renowned Dental Continuing Education programs, the Oral Health Score is equipped with an algorithm that will analyze your responses and provide you with risk estimates for your gum health, your teeth health, your bite and jaw joint health and your smile attractiveness.

The Oral Health Score provides you with access to the most qualified dentists to interpret your Oral Health Score results and provide any necessary treatment. All listed dentists practice using a unique set of techniques and protocols that are based in science and are proven to be effective for maintaining and achieving optimal oral health. These principles are integrated into Evidentiae Technologies' practice management software, and dentists using the software are equipped with the resources required to see patients regarding an Oral Health Score. These principles are also taught at the Kois Center, in Seattle, Washington, and any Kois trained dentist is qualified to interpret an Oral Health Score.



More about Evidentiae Technologies, LLC

Evidentiae Technologies, LLC provides dentists with a practice management software that streamlines and standardizes office workflow, from the time a patient schedules an appointment to the time they walk out the door. Built off Kois Center principles, the software is automated with a lifetime of clinical knowledge and equips dentists with resources to elevate their ability and awareness. In addition to the profound clinical advantages the software affords dentists, the software contains complete practice management capabilities and presents with a robust system capable of comprehensive and standardized clinical evaluation and treatment planning, management of imaging needs, risk centered scheduling, billing and electronic insurance claims, patient reminders and education and advanced analytics. From the assignment of patient risk to the generation of case presentations and inventory tracking, the software boasts automated processes that lessen the practice's workload, increase efficiency and provide an unparalleled user experience.



Contact:

Johnny Kois

Evidentiae Technologies, LLC

1001 Fairview Avenue North, Suite 2275, Seattle, Wa 98109

1 (206) 535-1564 x 7001

[email protected]

www.evidentiaetechnologies.com

www.myoralhealthscore.com

SOURCE Evidentiae Technologies

Related Links

http://www.evidentiaetechnologies.com


SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Australian global payments provider Verrency has expanded its US team, appointing highly credentialed payments specialist Michael Kennedy to its advisory board.

Kennedy's appointment follows the announcement earlier this year of Joe Lynam as Managing Director in the US and Audrey Blackmon as Senior Vice-President of Business Development.

Kennedy is based in San Francisco and comes with an esteemed corporate background, having held the position of Executive Vice President at Wells Fargo and being founder and former CEO of his start-up clearXchange (now Zelle).

Verrency Group Chairman and CEO David Link said the appointment of Kennedy will further enhance the company's ability to fast-track its growth in the US, as well as to support its growing FinTech partnerships as an open API platform.

"Mike comes with the rare experience of having successfully developed and grown a Tier 1 'bank-enabling' start-up, as well as having deep knowledge in the payments space," Link said.

"Additionally, his passion for innovation and for helping lift the FinTech community  exactly what drives Verrency  is what first brought us together with Mike a number of years ago."

"Verrency is one of the most unique companies that I've seen in a long time. Their focus on bringing curated payment services to banks via a single connection as an API platform is brilliant  and solves a problem plaguing both banks and many different FinTech companies. I'm honoured to be joining their already impressive team," Kennedy said.

Verrency is a new provider on the global scene enabling card issuers, merchant issuers and processors to deliver the latest payment capabilities and curated FinTech services quickly and cost effectively through their existing payment networks.

In January, Verrency took up a coveted position at Austrade's Landing Pad cohort in San Francisco and announced its US leadership team. "Whilst we are an Australian company and continue to grow in this region, the US is a major focus for us in terms of scaling the business," noted Link.

About Verrency

Verrency provides world-leading enterprise-grade payments services for card issuers, merchant issuers, processors, and other digital financial services institutions. Verrency is a scheme-agnostic, white-label, "payments-innovation-as-a-service" open-API platform that helps card issuers acquire new customers and increase their share-of-wallet of existing customers while also significantly increasing security, control, and IoT connectibility. Verrency works behind-the-scenes - enabling everything from 2nd generation payments controls to aggregation to loyalty/ rewards spend to digital currency spend - quickly and easily with no change to existing payments rails, connections, or point-of-sale terminals. Verrency also enables rapid connection to 3rd party fintech services with little to no integration.

For additional information please contact:

United States

Lesley Sillaman at [email protected] or +1 646 575 2474 or +1 202 491 4055

Australia

Grant Titmus at [email protected] or +61 3 9670 8350

Chenny Wulandari at [email protected] or +61 3 9426 5343

SOURCE Verrency
STAMFORD, Conn., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 30th at Walmart's Annual Supplier Growth Forum, PDC Brands was awarded U.S. Supplier of the Year, Consumables, Health & Wellness. PDC Brands is one of the fastest-growing beauty companies in the world with a portfolio of category-leading brands across wellness, cosmetics, haircare, fragrance, and bath.

"Being recognized by Walmart is a true honor. It is humbling to sit in a room with thousands of people from other world-class companies and be identified as one of Walmart's top suppliers," says Pete Columbia, Chief Sales Officer, PDC Brands. "We are proud of the efforts our entire company makes to consistently deliver growth, innovation, and service to Walmart. We look forward to continuing to grow with Walmart and build upon the success of this year."

About PDC

Founded in 1981, Stamford, Connecticut-based PDC BRANDS is a leading beauty, personal care and wellness company. PDC BRANDS markets an outstanding collection of brands across multiple consumer-product categories including wellness, cosmetics, haircare, fragrance, and bath. These brands include Dr Teal's, Cantu, Eylure, Body Fantasies, BOD man, Bodycology, Me Bath!, and Calgon. PDC BRANDS portfolio of products can be found at major retailers throughout the USA and in over 60 markets globally.

SOURCE PDC Brands
LONDON, Fev. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Phenoxyethanol Market: Overview

Phenoxyethanol is an organic chemical compound, a glycol ether often used in dermatological products such as skin creams and sunscreen. It is a colorless oily liquid.







Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5309083







It is a bactericide (usually used in conjunction with quaternary ammonium compounds). Phenoxyethanol is used in many applications such as cosmetics, vaccines and pharmaceuticals as a preservative. In addition to cosmetic applications, it is also used as a fixative for perfumes, an insect repellent, a topical antiseptic, a solvent for cellulose acetate, some dyes, inks, and resins, in preservatives, pharmaceuticals, and in organic synthesis.



It is important for cosmetic products to be microbiologically stable; that is, even after opening, the contents of the product must remain resistant to microorganisms such as bacteria or yeasts, which can find their way in through the air or via fingers. Water, which is present in most cosmetic products, is a fertile breeding ground for such microorganisms. Thus much of the products require phenoxyethanol as a preservative.



Global Phenoxyethanol Market: Scope of the Study

The report estimates and forecasts the Phenoxyethanol market on the global, regional, and country levels. The study provides forecast between 2017 and 2025 based on volume (tons) and revenue (US$ Thousand) with 2016 as the base year.



The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the product segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage.



The study includes drivers and restraints for the phenoxyethanol market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the phenoxyethanol market on the global and regional level.



Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitute analysis of phenoxyethanol market and global average price trend analysis.



The report includes Porter's Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the Phenoxyethanol market. It comprises qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein products, processes, applications and countries have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region.



Growth rate, market size, raw Process availability, profit margin, impact strength, Application, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market. The report comprises price trend analysis for phenoxyethanol between 2017 and 2025.



Global Phenoxyethanol Market: Research Methodology

The study provides comprehensive view of the phenoxyethanol market by dividing it into product, application and geography. The phenoxyethanol market has been segmented by application into Personal care, Home Care, Pharmaceuticals, Inks and Dyes, Paints Additive, Architectural and Industrial Coatings, and Others.



Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.



In-depth interviews and discussions with wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research.



Key players' product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis team's expertise and market understanding.



Global Phenoxyethanol Market: Regional Outlook

Regional segmentation includes the current and forecast of Phenoxyethanol in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Key countries such as the U.S., France, Germany, the U.K., China, India, ASEAN, South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes amount of phenoxyethanol consumed by product, process, and application in all the regions and countries.



Global Phenoxyethanol Market: Competitive Outlook

The report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players in the phenoxyethanol market are The Dow Chemical Company, BASF SE, Lonza, Procter & Gamble Co. (P&G), Clariant, Ashland Inc., Galaxy Surfactants Ltd., Akema Fine Chemicals, Finetech Industry Limited, and Penta Manufacturing Company, LLC. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).



The Phenoxyethanol market has been divided into the following segments.



Phenoxyethanol Market Product Analysis

Phenoxyethanol P5

Phenoxyethanol P25



Phenoxyethanol Market- Application Analysis

Paints Additive

Architectural and Industrial Coatings

Home Care

Personal Care

Hair Care

Face and Body Care

Hygiene Products

Perfumes

Cosmetics

Others

Inks & Dyes

Pharmaceuticals

Others



Phenoxyethanol Market Regional Analysis

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

Italy

U.K.

Spain

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

ASEAN

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

South Africa

GCC

Rest of Middle East & Africa



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5309083



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

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CARROLLTON, Texas, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Physical Rehabilitation Network (PRN) recently acquired Elevate Physical Therapy in Carrollton, Texas. This single facility joins the Vista Rehab Partners brand marking their 18th outpatient rehabilitation clinic in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Elevate Physical Therapy will continue to operate at 1012 W. Hebron Pkwy, Suite 124, Carrollton, Texas, and be directed by Nisha Matthews, PT, DPT, CHT.

Ms. Matthews received her Master's Degree in Manipulative Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy in Melbourne, Australia, and went on to obtain her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Stony Brook University in New York. She is also trained in McKenzie-, Maitland- and Mulligan-based therapy techniques and has over 12 years of experience practicing in Canada, New York and Texas. Her skills as a certified hand therapist and a board-certified orthopedic specialist allow her to treat a wide variety of patients in the Carrollton area. She is also certified in dry needling and vestibular-certified by the American Institute of Balance.

"Nisha and the team at Elevate Physical Therapy put customer service and patient care first, aligning with the core values of Vista Rehab Partners," stated Craig Rettke, PT, MBA, regional VP for PRN. "She is a wonderful addition to our family of clinics and we look forward to her continued leadership and growth in the Carrollton community."

The Carrollton facility features a variety of physical therapy and hand therapy services including orthopedic rehabilitation, injury prevention programs, balance and vestibular training and workers' compensation services. They also offer additional specialized programs such as Smart Runner Programs, Fall Prevention Programs, Core Stabilization Programs, Health Pregnancy Programs and Moving with Arthritis Programs.

Bruce McDaniel, CEO of PRN, commented, "We are excited to have Nisha join our PRN family. Her high standards and passion for providing excellent care to patients in the Carrollton community are the qualities that we embrace and nurture throughout our organization."

For additional information on locations and services offered in Texas, visit VistaRehab.com.

About Physical Rehabilitation Network

Physical Rehabilitation Network LLC (PRN) is a privately held physical therapy organization based in Carlsbad, California. PRN is prominently recognized as the leading therapist-friendly rehab organization in the western part of the United States through its partnership model with premier physical and occupational therapists. The company currently operates over 100 locations providing local autonomy and branding to its therapist partners while streamlining all traditional overhead activities of running a practice.

PRN is actively seeking high-quality, entrepreneurially driven physical and occupational therapists interested in partnering with PRN as the company expands its footprint providing opportunities for therapists to own their own clinic. For more information on our model, our locations or partnership opportunities, visit PRNpt.com or contact Michael Rice at 312.560.6020 / [email protected]. You can also follow us @PRNPhysicalTherapy on Facebook, @PRN_therapy on Twitter or on LinkedIn.

Contact:

Dawn Wild, Director of Marketing

Phone: 720-299-4808

Email: [email protected]

Related Images

elevate-physical-therapy.jpg

Elevate Physical Therapy

Elevate PT Logo

physical-rehabilitation-network.jpg

Physical Rehabilitation Network

PRN Logo

Related Links

PRN Website

Vista Rehab Website

SOURCE Physical Rehabilitation Network (PRN)

Related Links

http://www.prnpt.com


SINGAPORE, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney announced today an important increase in production at its first advanced manufacturing facility in Singapore in order to help with Pratt & Whitney's 2018 ramp-up of production. This facility is operated by P&W NGPF Manufacturing Company Singapore Pte Ltd, a joint venture with Hanwha Techwin Co., Ltd. This increase in production supports the recent announcement by Singapore's Economic Development Board to achieve S$4 billion (~US$3 billion) in manufacturing net output by 2020 for the country's aerospace industry. Pratt & Whitney's Asia Pacific operations are also located in China, India and New Zealand. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).

Using adaptive machining and cutting-edge automated inspection systems, as well as the latest in advanced manufacturing tools and processes, the facility's production of fan blades and turbine disks  highly complex key components of the Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine family  has steadily increased since its official opening in 2016. Full production capacity for the plant is expected to be achieved by early 2019.

"Pratt & Whitney is committed to becoming a major contributor to the booming manufacturing market in Singapore and across the Asia Pacific region," said Marc Paquet, Pratt & Whitney Manufacturing Singapore General Manager. "We employ state-of-the-art intelligent technologies and innovative manufacturing lines to produce the world's most advanced engine parts and deliver products more quickly and with higher quality. The steady growth of our Singapore manufacturing facility's production is a testament to an increasing demand in Asia Pacific for our GTF engines. Delivering 16 percent better fuel efficiency, our GTF engines have been selected by more than 80 customers worldwide and are equipped to drive the next generation of efficient, sustainable air travel."

The Singapore manufacturing facility is part of Pratt & Whitney's US$110 million investment in Seletar Aerospace Park, Singapore's newest aerospace industrial park, and will play a key role in supporting the demand for more than 8,000 GTF engine firm and option orders from customers in Asia Pacific and around the globe. The facility operates two manufacturing lines delivering fan blades and high-pressure turbine disks for GTF engines. Both lines are expected to reach full capacity by 2019.

Innovative advanced manufacturing technologies and processes are deployed at the Singapore manufacturing facility so that the GTF engines are manufactured at the highest quality, and that production flow is time-efficient and optimized. For example, the facility deploys customized intelligent milling machines with automated compensation to reduce high-pressure turbine disk production by as much as 60 hours per part.

To meet a rising demand for aviation talent across the Asia Pacific region and to support a ramp up in production, Pratt & Whitney is also focused on nurturing and developing its more than 3,000-strong local workforce. Company initiatives such as development programs for graduate hires and leadership training for technical staff, provide employees with the latest in progressive automation and advanced aerospace technologies. Pratt & Whitney sponsors further learning opportunities for its employees at the Singapore facility and has sent personnel to Pratt & Whitney facilities worldwide to learn, train and elevate their capabilities.

"My career at Pratt & Whitney has been an exciting journey," said Wong Kai Xian, an aerospace engineer at the Singapore manufacturing plant who underwent training at Pratt & Whitney Canada. "The valuable opportunity to learn in Canada has given me the confidence and knowledge to better address technical challenges at work, and help my team ensure high-quality and time-efficient engine production."

About Pratt & Whitney

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries. To learn more about UTC, visit its website at www.utc.com, or follow the company on Twitter: @UTC.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning future business opportunities. Actual results may differ materially from those projected as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to changes in levels of demand in the aerospace industry, in levels of air travel, and in the number of aircraft to be built; challenges in the design, development, production support, performance and realization of the anticipated benefits of advanced technologies; as well as other risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those detailed from time to time in United Technologies Corp.'s Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Pratt & Whitney

+1 (860) 565-9600

[email protected]

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney
The project was conceived by Brandon Presley, chairman of the state's Public Service Commission, and has been on the drawing board for over two years. The massive infrastructure project, one of the largest of its kind in the nation, received a final "green light" when the PSC approved an order Tuesday, Feb. 6 authorizing the work to begin later this spring.

Under terms of the agreement, C Spire will install fiber optic cable and related broadband communications infrastructure for Entergy along five routes that cover 302 miles in 15 counties and pass 21 small towns, cities and communities in rural, hard-to-reach parts of the state, including the Delta, north, central, south and southwest regions.

"This is a win-win-win for Entergy, C Spire and the people of rural Mississippi," Presley said. "Entergy gets communication enhancements to its statewide electrical service grid, C Spire gets highly-desired fiber infrastructure and the people of our great state who live in some of the most isolated areas will get access to 21st century broadband services. This is and will continue to be one of my top priorities."

The construction project will involve placing fiber optic cable along five separate routes as follows:

Delta : a 92-mile route through Sunflower , Humphreys , Madison and Hinds counties and near the cities of Indianola , Inverness , Isola , Belzoni , Silver City , Yazoo City , Bentonia , Flora and Jackson .

: a 92-mile route through , , and counties and near the cities of , , , , , , , and . North : a 51-mile stretch in Attala , Leake and Madison counties, including near the towns of McAdams , Kosciusko and Canton .

: a 51-mile stretch in , and counties, including near the towns of , and . Central : a 33-mile route through Madison , Rankin and Scott counties and near the towns of Canton , Sand Hill and Morton .

: a 33-mile route through , and counties and near the towns of , and . South : a 77-mile route passing through Simpson , Jefferson Davis , Lawrence and Walthall counties and near the towns of Magee , Prentiss , Silver Creek , Monticello and Tylertown .

: a 77-mile route passing through , , and counties and near the towns of , , , and . Southwest: a 49-mile stretch in Franklin and Adams counties that's near the communities of Bude , Meadville , Roxie , Natchez and Eddiceton .

Executives for Entergy and C Spire echoed Presley's praise for the project and predicted that the infrastructure would help make the state more attractive for technology investment, boost economic development and business expansion in communities across the state and add more lucrative, high-paying job opportunities for residents.

"We're excited about partnering with C Spire to modernize our electrical grid and expand rural broadband access in some hard-to-reach areas across the state," said Haley Fisackerly, president and CEO of Entergy Mississippi. "We have about 30,000 customers within five miles of the proposed routes who could potentially have access to broadband service when the project is complete. In addition, all of our customers will benefit from the enhancements to our communication systems that connect our facilities, substations, offices and radio sites." The company provides electric service to an estimated 445,000 customers in 45 counties across the state.

"A robust broadband infrastructure is critical to the success of our efforts to move Mississippi forward by growing the economy, fostering innovation, creating job opportunities and improving the quality of life for all our residents," said Hu Meena, CEO of C Spire, a Mississippi-based diversified telecommunications and technology services company.

Meena said broadband expansion is a key part of the C Spire Tech Movement initiative, an outgrowth of the firm's 2013 groundbreaking Fiber-to-the-Home program, one of the first of its type in the U.S. and the fastest to connect thousands of consumers in nine Mississippi communities to Gigabit speed internet, digital streaming TV and home phone services.

The project with Entergy will help C Spire achieve one of its Tech Movement goals: massive expansion of ultra-fast broadband and fixed wireless internet access to more than 250,000 consumers and businesses across the state, including availability of ultra-fast Gigabit internet service to one out of every five of the state's 250,000 businesses.

The high-tech firm has been on a mission to expand broadband availability and boost average mobile and fixed broadband speeds in Mississippi. The company has installed over 8,000 route miles of fiber optics across the state and has deployed more wireless spectrum in the region than any other communications provider.

In recent years, C Spire's continuing technology investment has played a central role in state gains for average mobile and fixed broadband speeds. The company became the state's fastest internet service provider in 2014 and more than quadrupled speeds following its successful FTTH program.

About Entergy Mississippi

Entergy Mississippi, Inc. provides electricity to approximately 445,000 customers in 45 counties. Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, including nearly 9,000 megawatts of nuclear power. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.9 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of approximately $10.8 billion and nearly 13,000 employees.

About C Spire

C Spire is a leading technology company committed to transforming Mississippi through the C Spire Tech Movement, which includes the massive deployment of broadband internet to homes and small businesses, a state-of-the-art digital experience for its customers and team members, technology innovation leadership and the creation and retention of a 21st century technology workforce in its region. The company provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.

SOURCE C Spire
FORT COLLINS, Colo., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Business Sector Media today announced that the renowned national clean-energy leader and former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., will speak at its third annual Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference (ELEMCON), to take place May 15-17, 2018, at the Marriott Denver Tech Center.

Founder and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, Governor Ritter will examine the many forces shaping clean-energy policy and the hurdles policymakers face in transforming the US economy into a clean-energy economy.

Governor Ritter joins a distinguished lineup of plenary speakers, whose sessions will address topics essential to the success of today's sustainability, environmental and energy-management practioners.

David Tulauskas, Sustainability Director, General Motors, will provide tips on connecting daily efforts to business value and creating culture that empowers employees to contribute in his plenary session, Sustainability's Role in Strengthening Your Business.

Brad Nemeth, Vice President, Sustainability, ThyssenKrupp Elevator, will describe the pioneering steps his and other industries have taken to assure product transparency throughout the supply chain in his plenary session, Innovations in Material Transparency.

Ian Kelly, Manager, Electricity Practice, Rocky Mountain Institute, will show through examples how large companies, universities and municipalities are structuring deals to purchase renewable energy in his plenary session Procurement Practices with Renewable Energies.

Catherine Greener, Vice President, Sustainability, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, will describe various corporations' journey in setting long-range goals to reduce carbon emissions in her plenary session Big Companies, Big Carbon Reduction Goals.

Mackenzie Huffman, Vice President, Sustainability Financing, JPMorgan Chase, will examine how companies are modeling the effects of climate change on loan and investment portfolios in her plenary session Tackling Climate Risk in the Financial Sector.

Mitch Jackson, Vice President, Environmental Affairs & Chief Sustainability Officer, FedEx, will show how FedEx uses the building blocks of performance, transparency, innovation and leadership to drive change in his plenary session Reduce. Replace. Revolutionize.

Philippe Lacamp, Senior Vice President, Americas, Cathay Pacific Airways, will examine how airlines are leading the way to carbon-neutral growth by using sustainably-sourced products in his plenary session Creating an All-Encompassing Strategy.

ELEMCON, the nation's premier conference on corporate sustainability, environmental and energy management programs, is ideal for corporate, non-profit and government executives responsible for complying with environmental regulations, reaching enterprise-wide sustainability goals, and reaching energy management targets.

Significant savings on conference registration are available through April 30.

To learn more and register, go to http://conference.environmentalleader.com.

About Business Sector Media

Fort Collins, Colorado-based Business Sector Media delivers industry-specific, business-to business news, research, insights, and information to decision-makers around the world.

Contact: Bob James, 202.641.5131

[email protected]

SOURCE Business Sector Media
CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. businesses want to capitalize on emerging technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence, which have the power to revolutionize how companies operate. But the legacy technology tools businesses rely on may hinder or even prevent them from doing so.

Those are the findings of a recent commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Enova Decisions, in which 100 business leaders were asked about their views and plans for these emerging technologies.

The study points to a critical preparedness gap. Between 78 and 90 percent of respondents expect to use AI, machine learning, real-time event processing and constraint-based programming within the next two years. However, 42 percent of business leaders say their current decisioning software is incapable of integrating with today's emerging decision automation technologies. The study concluded that top-cited misgivings with these legacy tools, such as high cost and complexity, are bound to worsen as companies rapidly adopt emerging technologies.

To overcome these challenges, company leaders are evaluating platforms with real-time decision-to-action cycles as a solution. In fact, 81 percent of respondents say such a platform would be valuable to their digital transformation goals.

"Firms need solutions capable of integrating with existing technologies and automating across the customer lifecycle," the study stated. "Decisioning platforms that work in real time to optimize decision-to-action cycles are of high value because they will alleviate integration challenges."

Adoption of emerging tools is already underway and is expected to increase rapidly, with 31 percent of firms currently using AI, 41 percent using machine learning, 47 percent using constraint-based programming and 48 percent using real-time event processing to help make operational decisions. By 2020 those numbers will jump to 78 percent, 81 percent, 86 percent and 90 percent, respectively.

"Legacy technology doesn't have to be a roadblock for U.S. businesses looking to fully reap the benefits of automated decisioning, machine learning and AI," said Sean Naismith, head of analytics services at Enova Decisions. "Business leaders can leverage digital decisioning platforms that enable real-time predictive analytics to deliver results now while ensuring seamless integration with technologies of the future."

Other findings from the study include:

Respondents note that the automation of operational decisions is important to executing on digital strategy (77 percent); when asked what business benefits they've experienced as a result of automating operational decision making, 50 percent of business leaders cite a more seamless customer experience, 46 percent say operational cost efficiency and 43 percent confirm improved business performance and key performance indicators.

Only 22 percent of decision makers are very satisfied with the key tools they rely on to automate decisions today.

Business decision makers believe AI is the emerging technology that will see the greatest expansion in two years (47 percent), followed by real time event processing (42 percent), machine learning (40 percent) and constraint-based computing (39 percent).

The share of decisions that are automated will increase markedly in two years. Today, about one-third of respondents say they have the majority of their operational decisions fully or partially automated. In two years, that group will double.

Businesses currently rely on four key technologies to automate decisions: business process management (81 percent), business rules (75 percent), statistical analysis tools (75 percent) and data warehouses (74 percent).

The top four challenges encountered in automating operational decision making include the inability to integrate with current systems/platforms (42 percent), cost (42 percent), lack of consistency across channels, systems, and processes (42 percent) and technical complexity (36 percent).

The top objectives for firms' use of software to automate operational decision making are to improve the customer experience; optimize operations for improved speed, efficiency and agility of business execution; improve interactions with customers through mobile apps and other digital channels; and increase business performance and improve key performance indicators.

A report with the full study findings and methodology can be found on the Enova Decisions website.

About Enova Decisions

Enova Decisions turns data and analytics into action. With more than 14 years of data, advanced analytics and technology experience, Enova Decisions uses real-time predictive analytics and its on-demand digital decisioning platform, ColossusTM, to help companies make data-driven operational decisions instantly and at scale. The company provides a hosted service, offering real-time scoring and decisioning through its digital decisioning platform to deliver a better customer experience and improve business performance.

SOURCE Enova Decisions

Related Links

http://www.enovadecisions.com


"We're delighted to make Bill Napster's permanent CEO," said Rob Glaser and Jason Epstein, co-chairmen of Rhapsody International. "Last spring, Bill did a great job stepping in to lead Napster at a pivotal period. He has led a resurgence of the company in its new partner-oriented focus. Bill has a track record of resilience and operational success, and a passion for the industry that will lead Napster forward into its next phase of innovation and growth."

"Rhapsody and Napster are the vanguards and pioneers responsible for today's phenomenon that is the music streaming industry. It is a privilege to lead this company and define a path forward that allows us to continue to participate in the growth of music streaming and subscription services worldwide," said Mr. Patrizio. "The opportunity ahead to bring Napster's experience, superior technologies, and products to more businesses and consumers worldwide is immense. I look forward to building upon our progress to drive business growth and profitability."

Patrizio was appointed interim CEO of Napster in May 2017 to support the restructuring and repositioning of the company and to drive a new chapter of success as a global leader in streaming music services. In addition, Patrizio maintained his position at RealNetworks as president of consumer media. At RealNetworks, he was responsible for strategy and management of the company's media services and IP licensing business, new product development, growth and profitability.

Prior to joining RealNetworks, Patrizio was founder and managing director of Opaka Partners, a firm that supports private equity owners and management teams to design and execute strategies for growth and reinvention. Prior to that, he was CEO of Red Bee Media, a digital media software and broadcast services company based in the UK with operations in Europe, Asia and Australia. While at Red Bee, Patrizio successfully led a strategic turnaround of the business and delivered substantial improvement in revenue and profitability. The business, owned by Macquarie Capital, was purchased by Ericsson Communications in 2014. Patrizio has also held leadership positions at Technicolor as President of Broadcast Network Services, The Walt Disney Company and Universal Studios.

About Napster

Napster is a leading subscription streaming music service and a major provider of music streaming technologies and services for businesses. Operating in 34 countries, Napster's proven technologies and unmatched music catalog also power streaming music services for some of the world's most recognized and respected consumer services companies. The Napster premium subscription service gives millions of subscribers unlimited ad-free access to the music they love anywhere, anytime and on any device  online or offline. Napster combines the iconic history of one of the most recognizable music brands in the world with the vast experience and technological platform of Rhapsody International Inc., the industry's first subscription streaming service provider. Napster is headquartered in Seattle, with offices across the U.S., Europe and Latin America, and its respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Rhapsody International Inc. Follow @Napster on Twitter and Facebook, and learn more at www.napster.com.

SOURCE Napster

Related Links

http://www.napster.com


SAN DIEGO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- San Diego based Richard Brady & Associates (BRADY) is pleased to announce that William C. (Bill) Siegel, P.E. has been appointed President of the company.

Mr. Siegel is an industry veteran and a proven business leader, with a record of accomplishment of driving profitable growth and expansion. "I am pleased to be joining such a well-respected and capable team. I have worked with Rick Brady for nearly 25 years, and watched the impressive growth of BRADY. I am excited to be a part of the next chapter in the company's history," said Siegel.

BRADY is a recognized leader in the water supply marketplace, with extensive experience ranging from local projects to global engagements. "We are thrilled to have someone of Bill's caliber join our team," said Rick Brady, founder and CEO. "He brings a broad industry view coupled with demonstrated experience in building businesses."

Mr. Siegel's previous experience includes serving as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Kleinfelder, an ENR Top 50 science and engineering consulting firm, where he developed and executed a successful strategy to diversify and expand globally. After his tenure with Kleinfelder, he established a successful management consulting practice, which included training, strategic analysis and Board service. Within the broader industry, his past recognition includes being elected Chair of the Design Professionals Coalition, the trade group that is representing the largest consulting engineering companies in the United States. Mr. Siegel is an accomplished engineer, with a long list of impressive projects and a number of professional papers and presentations to his credit.

Mr. Siegel will be based out of BRADY's San Diego headquarters.

BRADY is an engineering firm internationally recognized for its expertise in the design of some of the world's largest water and wastewater projects completed in the past 30 years. Major clients have included a number of the largest Municipal and Federal agencies in the United States, most notably the United States Department of Environmental Protection (USEPA), The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), the City of San Diego, the San Diego County Water Authority, the province of Puerto Rico (PRASA) and the U.S. Navy. Other key clients include the Crow Indian Tribe of Montana, Vista Irrigation District, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, and the Cities of Upland, Westminster, Buena Park, Fountain Valley, Riverside, and Huntington Beach, CA. International clients have included the countries of Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, India, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Saudi Arabia.

Media Contact:

Richard Brady

[email protected]

858-496-0500

www.richardbrady.com

SOURCE Richard Brady & Associates, Inc. (BRADY)

Related Links

http://www.richardbrady.com


SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- RizePoint, the leading provider of quality management software, today announced Form Builder, a simple form creation interface that empowers the novice, while delivering the feature-rich capabilities required by a seasoned veteran. With this new tool, users can complete more activities faster and view all forms from one easy-to-navigate canvas.

"Creating forms is the vital first step of quality management programs," said Frank Maylett, president and CEO, RizePoint. "We developed Form Builder with our customers to ensure they would save time, gain visibility, and streamline improvements."

Administrators can rapidly assemble diverse question types and assign logic, comments, notifications, and policy to them. Form Builder helps users ask the right questions, collect accurate information, and gain visibility to align business practices with business values.

With Form Builder users can:

Design, edit, and publish audit questions and responses quickly

Create predefined comments for additional intelligence surrounding specific audit questions

Define question logic, triggering an action, or additional exploration for deeper insights

Gain visibility and rapid access to forms in the solution library

RizePoint At-a-Glance

RizePoint mobile and cloud-based software helps organizations improve the quality, safety, and sustainability of their products, services, and facilities.

RizePoint's software is used by 5 of the top 8 hospitality brands and 5 of the top 8 food service brands.

RizePoint serves more than 387,000 users in 120 countries and territories, speaking 40 languages:

105,000 food service restaurants



27,000 hotels and resort properties



13,000 grocery and retail stores

About RizePoint

RizePoint is the global leader in Quality Experience Management SaaS solutions. RizePoint software creates a hub of valuable compliance information to align organizational focus on brand protection. Dedicated to helping our customers deliver a positive brand experience, RizePoint serves more than 2 million audits with 300 million questions answered annually. Considered the industry standard for food service, hospitality, and retail, RizePoint is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. For more information, visit www.rizepoint.com.

Press Inquiries:

Whitney McCarthy

801.285.9827

[email protected]

SOURCE RizePoint

Related Links

http://www.rizepoint.com


LONDON, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Roskill is releasing its new Nickel market report with forecasts out to 2027 in February 2018. It is essential reading for anyone needing a comprehensive overview of this market.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150909/264974LOGO )



The nickel market is set to register its second-successive deficit in 2017. However, the LME nickel price remains low by historical standards. A succession of market surpluses up to 2015 have left reported nickel stocks at near-record highs, equivalent to 9.9 weeks of consumption.

In its new ten-year market outlook to 2027, Roskill forecasts primary nickel consumption to rise by just under 4% per year between 2017 and 2027, driven by increased consumption by stainless steel producers and by the battery sector.

Stainless steel and batteries to lead primary nickel demand growth

Roskill estimates that the stainless steel sector accounted for nearly 70% of all primary nickel consumption in 2017. Demand for primary nickel in this market is anticipated to increase by 2.5% per year over the course of our forecast period, thanks to rising output in China and Indonesia. Mills in these countries rely heavily on primary sources to obtain the nickel units they require, unlike producers in regions such as the EU, or the USA and India, where the use of scrap dominates.

Despite this growth, the stainless steel sector's share of nickel consumption is set to decline over the coming decade because of the rising importance of the battery sector. While nickel has historically been used in batteries for portable electronics, most of the recent growth and excitement in the battery sector has come from automotive applications.

Since its creation, the automotive sector has relied on fossil-fuelled internal combustion engines to power vehicles. However, with an increasing awareness of the pollution that such power sources create, increasingly stringent fuel economy and emissions regulations have been implemented. This has encouraged some manufacturers to pair a battery-powered electric motor with a conventional engine, thus creating a hybrid powertrain. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) such as the Toyota Prius have been an important market for nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries.

Looking further ahead, however, powering a vehicle purely through a battery-fed electric motor is becoming an increasingly viable option. Indeed, manufacturers are already investing in such technology and several purely battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are already available today. It is becoming increasingly clear that we are currently at a turning point: Roskill expects sales of purely fossil-fuelled cars to start declining, even as sales of all types of vehicles continue to rise. By 2027, Roskill forecasts that EV sales (including BEVs, plug-in hybrid EVs, fuel cell EVs and low speed EVs) will account for nearly 30% of the total.

HEVs (like the Toyota Prius) and 48V mild hybrids and 12V micro hybrids are expected to account for further sales. Combining these sales projections with those for PHEVs, FCEVs, LSEVs and fully-electric vehicles, Roskill expects that close to 70% of new passenger sales will have some degree of electrification by 2027.

Currently, the best technology to store the energy required by electric motors is the lithium-ion battery, and most (although not all) types of such batteries contain nickel. Therefore, the increasing electrification of the automotive industry will represent a new demand stream for nickel.

In addition, increasing the energy density of lithium-ion batteries (and therefore increasing vehicle range) means increasing the concentration of nickel within the battery cathode, a trend that we also expect to occur during our forecast period. This will give demand for nickel in the battery industry a double-boost.

By 2027, we expect primary nickel demand in batteries to be above 500kt per year, still only a third of the consumption by the stainless steel sector, but the increase in demand from this sector will be greater than the rise in consumption by stainless steel mills, even in terms of tonnes. Primary nickel demand in the battery sector is forecast to rise by over 20% per year between 2017 and 2027.

Supply growth to come mainly from China and from Indonesia

Since 2014, supply growth has lagged demand growth, as weak nickel prices have dissuaded investment in new capacity and led to some capacity closures. As a result, the market has moved from a structural surplus into deficit, with 2017 being the second year in succession that demand has been above supply.

Although producers have shied away from investing in new capacity, there have been some exceptions. In recent years, Chinese producers have been investing heavily in nickel pig iron (NPI) plants in Indonesia. The country had been the major source of laterite ores for Chinese NPI plants, but in 2014, the Indonesian government banned the export of unprocessed ores, in a move designed to stimulate domestic investment. This tactic was successful: in 2014 Indonesian primary nickel production was around 24kt, but we expect this to have reached over 170kt in 2017, thanks to the commissioning of new plants. By 2027, we expect Indonesian refined production to have risen to over 550kt.

Despite attracting investment, Indonesian authorities wrong-footed the market in early 2017 and chose to allow the export of low-grade ores, albeit with some conditions. As a result, not only has Indonesian capacity risen, but Chinese NPI plants will also have access to greater quantities of ore than they had in recent years. This should also allow local NPI producers to increase output and by 2027 we expect primary nickel production to be some 140kt higher than in 2017.

Jointly, Indonesia and China will account for around 60% of all production growth in the next decade. With nickel prices still low by historical standards and visible stocks elevated, there has been little incentive to invest in new refining capacity. However, the expected rise in nickel consumption in batteries has increased interest in producing battery-grade material, such as nickel sulphate.

Recently, BHP Billiton decided to add a sulphate plant at its existing Kwinana refinery to convert the plant's production of nickel powder into nickel sulphate using sulphuric acid from its Kalgoorlie smelter. A second phase is a possibility, and Roskill expects similar announcements by other producers in the future.

Deficit to narrow in the next few years as Indonesian capacity ramps up

Roskill believes that the scale of investment in Indonesia will lead to a more rapid increase in refined supply than demand in the years ahead, leading to increasingly small deficits and then into a succession or modest surpluses. Only towards the end of our forecast period does a lack of visible projects lead to a decline in supply growth and to new market deficits.

The upshot is that the LME nickel price is likely to rise further during periods of market deficits, although price growth should be held back by the high level of visible stocks. Market surpluses in the middle of our forecast period will drag prices down before renewed deficits at the end of our forecast horizon push prices higher again.

Nickel: Market Outlook to 2027, 14th Edition is available to buy from Roskill Information Services Ltd, 54 Russell Road, London SW19 1QL UK soon. Click here to download the brochure.

For further information, contact Roskill on:

+44-20-8417-0087

Fax +44-20-8417-1308

Email: [email protected]



Web: www.roskill.com

SOURCE Roskill Information Services
ST. LOUIS, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Saint Louis University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., announced today that SLU received $56.7 million in gifts from July through December 2017, the most money the University has ever raised in the first six months of a fiscal year. This six-month total also tops annual fundraising totals for all but one year in the University's history.

"During our bicentennial year, this record-setting giving from our donors shows the commitment and dedication they have for Saint Louis University and it distinct mission," said Pestello. "It reflects their support of the strategic direction of the University."

The $56.7 million includes major gifts, as well as more than 7,400 gifts of less than $10,000. A majority of the gifts were given in support of academics, health and medicine, and scholarships.

In addition to gifts from alumni, donations from corporations, foundations and non-alumni are all at record levels, with six months remaining in the fiscal year.

For additional information or media inquiries, call Clayton Berry at (314) 977-7117.

About Saint Louis University

Founded in 1818, Saint Louis University is one of the nation's oldest and most prestigious Catholic institutions. Rooted in Jesuit values and its pioneering history as the first university west of the Mississippi River, SLU offers nearly 13,000 students a rigorous, transformative education of the whole person. At the core of the University's diverse community of scholars is SLU's service-focused mission, which challenges and prepares students to make the world a better, more just place. For more information, visit slu.edu.

Media Contacts: Clayton Berry

Assistant Vice President

Strategy and Communications

Saint Louis University

314-977-7117

[email protected]

This news release was issued on behalf of Newswise(TM). For more information, visit http://www.newswise.com.

SOURCE Saint Louis University

Related Links

http://www.slu.edu/


(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160812/397766 )



Commenting on the results, Chairman & Managing Director, Aditya Krishna said, "I am pleased to note that our "String of Pearls" strategy is delivering the results. The various acquisitions have integrated and our deep understanding of the marketplace and customers, are yielding insights that are transforming the company. The "inch wide mile deep" focus is giving us the required momentum to be recognized by our valued customers that has helped us achieve the growth. With the recent acquisition of Faichi in the Health Care space we are better positioned to further strengthen Saksoft's offering in the Digital space."

Review of financial performance

Consolidated Quarter Review (Q3 2017-18 vs. Q2 2017-18)

Operating revenue increased by 11.25% to Rs. 750.7 Million in Q3 FY17-18 against Rs. 674.8 Million in the previous quarter

19.90% increase in EBITDA to Rs. 115.7 Million in Q3 FY17-18 against Rs. 96.5 Million in the previous quarter

PBT increased to Rs. 94.9 Million in Q3 FY17-18 against Rs. 77.7 Million in the previous quarter, up by 22.14%

PAT stood at Rs. 64.5 Million in Q3 FY17-18 against Rs. 46.9 Million in the previous quarter, an increase of 37.53%

Consolidated Quarter Yearly Review (Q3 2017-18 vs. Q3 2016-17)

Operating revenue increased by 18.22% to Rs. 750.7 Million against Rs. 635.0 Million in the same quarter of previous year

34.69% increase in EBITDA to Rs. 115.7 Million in Q3 2017-18 against Rs. 85.9 Million in the same quarter of previous year

PBT increased to Rs. 94.9 Million in Q3 2017-18 against Rs. 70.8 Million in the same quarter of previous year, increase of 34.04%

PAT for Q3 2017-18 stood at Rs. 64.5 Million against Rs. 43.3 Million in the same quarter of previous year, an increase of 48.96%

About Saksoft Limited:

Saksoft Limited is a leading player in providing digital transformation solutions to help businesses stay relevant in a highly connected, rapidly evolving world. Saksoft is a niche technology specialist that provides a comprehensive suite of business transformation, information management, application development and testing services. In short, Saksoft helps their clients level the playing field by helping them transform their business spaces.

Saksoft is headquartered in Chennai (India), and has 12 offices across the USA, Europe and Asia employing over 1000+ people. For more information, please visit http://www.Saksoft.com



For further information, please contact

Niraj Ganeriwal

Chief Financial Officer

Phone: + 91-44-2454-3500|Cell: +91-96770-46900

http://www.Saksoft.com

SOURCE Saksoft Limited
OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SandRidge Energy, Inc. ("SandRidge" or the "Company") (NYSE: SD) today confirmed it has received an unsolicited proposal from Midstates Petroleum Company, Inc. (NYSE: MPO) ("Midstates") to combine the two companies in an all stock, at market transaction.

As previously disclosed, SandRidge's independent directors are engaged in an ongoing dialogue with shareholders and are developing a plan of action in line with their commitment to acting in the best interests of all shareholders. The SandRidge Board, in consultation with its independent financial and legal advisors, will carefully review and evaluate Midstates' proposal, taking into account the Company's current strategic plan and standalone prospects.

About SandRidge Energy, Inc.

SandRidge Energy, Inc. (NYSE: SD) is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with its principal focus on developing high-return, growth-oriented projects in the U.S. Mid-Continent and Niobrara Shale.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This communication may contain certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities laws, including the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as "may," "will," "could," "should," "predict," "potential," "pursue," "outlook," "continue," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "target," "forecast," and other words and terms of similar meaning. For example, statements regarding future results regarding the benefits of the strategic initiatives announced, and future financial results and operational plans are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, which could cause actual benefits, results, effects and timing to differ materially from the results predicted or implied by the statements. Additional information concerning the risk factors faced by the Company is contained in SandRidge's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which are available at the SEC's website, http://www.sec.gov. Each forward looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and SandRidge undertakes no obligation to publicly update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date hereof.

Investor Contact:

Justin M. Lewellen

Director of Investor Relations

SandRidge Energy, Inc.

123 Robert S. Kerr Avenue

Oklahoma City, OK 73102

+1 (405) 429-5515

MacKenzie Partners, Inc.

Dan Burch, +1 (212) 929-5748, [email protected]

Paul Schulman, +1 (212) 929-5364, [email protected]

Media Contact:

SVC

Bryan Locke, +1 (312) 895-4700, [email protected]

Kelly Kimberly, +1 (832) 680-5120, [email protected]

David A Kimmel

Director of Communications

SandRidge Energy, Inc.

123 Robert S. Kerr Ave.

Oklahoma City, OK 73102

+1 (405) 429-5599

SOURCE SandRidge Energy, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.sandridgeenergy.com


To keep pace with sustained rapid growth, the company has hired former Guidewire Software CEO and founder John Raguin as chief marketing officer. Raguin brings more than 20 years of technology executive experience to Seismic's leadership team. In addition to founding Guidewire Software, which he led from inception to $150 million in revenue and pre-IPO, Raguin held management roles at Ariba (acquired by SAP) and MRO Software (acquired by IBM) and was a partner at venture capital firm F-Prime Capital. He will lead global marketing strategy at Seismic.

Seismic moved into larger offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago and their San Diego headquarters in 2017, adding more than 100 total employees. In 2018, Seismic plans to hire approximately 190 additional employees. More than half of these new positions will be allocated to its product team, which currently makes up about one-third of Seismic's 350-person headcount. Seismic also plans on expanding its international efforts, including in the company's recently launched Sydney, Australia office.

"2017 was a banner year for Seismic as we grew into the largest sales and marketing enablement provider in the space," said Doug Winter, Seismic co-founder and CEO. "As we look at 2018, we have an aggressive hiring plan that will help us fully capitalize on our market momentum. I am incredibly excited to have John on board as CMO as his success and experience leading similar rapid growth companies will well complement the experienced management team we have in place."

Customer success across industries

Seismic onboarded a new enterprise customer every 2.5 days and impacted more than 2.5 million selling interactions in 2017, achieving customer expansion in multiple major industries. Notable achievements includes:

Technology: Seismic expanded its leadership position with high tech companies by growing more than 100 percent in the space in 2017, with new customers joining rapid growth innovators such as AppDynamics, Nutanix, and Qualtrics, to high flying disruptors such as Classy, On24, and Procore Technologies, among others. Seismic was also named Best B2B Sales Collaboration Tool in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service and Enterprise Technology Company of the Year in Business Intelligence Group's BIG Award for Business.

Seismic expanded its leadership position with high tech companies by growing more than 100 percent in the space in 2017, with new customers joining rapid growth innovators such as AppDynamics, Nutanix, and Qualtrics, to high flying disruptors such as Classy, On24, and Procore Technologies, among others. Seismic was also named Best B2B Sales Collaboration Tool in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales and Customer Service and Enterprise Technology Company of the Year in Business Intelligence Group's BIG Award for Business. Financial services: Seismic added 50 asset management firms to their client roster in 2017, bringing the total number of asset managers using the solution to over 140, including 15 of the largest 25 global firms. Additionally, Seismic won Best Document Management Tool in the 2017 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards and was named Best Cloud Solutions Provider in the Mutual Fund Service and Technology Awards.

Seismic added 50 asset management firms to their client roster in 2017, bringing the total number of asset managers using the solution to over 140, including 15 of the largest 25 global firms. Additionally, Seismic won Best Document Management Tool in the 2017 WealthManagement.com Industry Awards and was named Best Cloud Solutions Provider in the Mutual Fund Service and Technology Awards. Life sciences: Seismic also grew their life sciences vertical by more than 100 percent in 2017 and was named to Pharma Marketer 360's annual Innovators list for the platform's ability to align sales and marketing teams, along with being named Best Sales Aid in Pharma Marketer 360's 2017 Trailblazer awards.

Product innovation

Seismic announced four major product launches in 2017 designed to further accelerate deal cycles at large enterprises while expanding the scope of what sales enablement platforms can accomplish:

Seismic NewsCenter is a sales communications feature that allows enterprises to communicate relevant pieces of company, competitive, and industry news to the right sales rep at the right time, so that they remain fully informed in real-time, wherever they are through Seismic's mobile apps. With NewsCenter, Seismic expanded their offering into sales communications to redefine a truly complete sales enablement solution.

Seismic's new Salesforce.com app with predictive content functionality allows sellers to discover inline, context-perfect content recommendations for their specific buyer and sales stage. Recommendations become more precise as the platform gets to know each seller better.

WorkSpace for CRM allows sales and marketing teams to power content collaboration with CRM opportunity data, automating content collection, revisions and feedback for optimal sales productivity.

Seismic announced technology integrations with marketing automation providers Marketo and Oracle Eloqua, helping marketers to further directly tie their efforts to the bottom line.

For more information on Seismic and the benefits of a sales and marketing enablement solution, visit the company's website at https://seismic.com/solution/.

About Seismic

Seismic is the leading global sales and marketing enablement solution, improving close rates and delivering larger deals for sales while increasing marketing's impact on the bottom line. Large enterprises use Seismic to increase sales productivity through the automatic distribution of relevant information and personalized content to reps for any buyer interaction. Powerful content controls and visibility into usage ensures brand integrity and reduces risk. Seismic's machine learning and analytics capabilities continuously improves the entire enablement process for large enterprises, increasing the ROI of sales content and tying it directly to revenue. Headquartered in San Diego and with more than 350 employees across the globe, Seismic is privately held by its executive team and investment firms General Atlantic, JMI Equity, and Jackson Square Ventures.

To see how Seismic is being used by firms in your industry, visit http://www.seismic.com.

Media Contact

Jason Fidler

Seismic

[email protected]

SOURCE Seismic

Related Links

http://www.seismic.com


"Our exclusive patented Plasmacluster Ion  technology can reduce microscopic pollutants that traditional filters cannot trap," said Peter Weedfald, SVP of Sales and Marketing, SEMCA. "We're excited to partner with Boris & Horton to help provide cleaner, fresher air, and even remove odors embedded in carpeting, drapery and furniture, with the Plasmacluster Ion  air purifier, so they can lead the pack in dog-friendly establishments."

SHCA's Plasmacluster Ion patented technology creates ions that are both positive and negative and disperses them into the air. Plasmacluster Ions actively attach to airborne odors and pollutants, pull them apart, and then float away harmlessly as water vapor. The long-life, True HEPA and charcoal filters remove 99.97% of particles and eliminate odors from the air that passes through the filter.

Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology has been tested and confirmed in 17 tests by laboratories in the USA, as well as in the U.K., Germany, Japan, South Korea, China and Vietnam to significantly reduce certain bacteria, viruses, mold, and fungus. This includes a test that showed PCI technology to be effective in reducing the infectivity of adherent Canine Influenza1. Sharp Plasmacluster Ion Technology has been used in over 60 million products worldwide since 2001.

"We want Boris & Horton to feel like a second home to our guests and their canine companions," said co-founder, Logan Mikhly. "That's why we're even more excited to partner with Sharp and receive their Plasmacluster Air Purifier that helps reduce lingering odors and bacteria in the cafe, ultimately providing a better environment for all."

Boris & Horton opened on February 2nd and is located in New York's East Village at 195 Avenue A. To learn more about SHCA's Plasmacluster Ion technology visit SharpUSA.com.

About Sharp Home Electronics Company of America (SHCA)

SHCA is the U.S. Consumer Products Group of Sharp Electronics Corporation, the U.S. sales subsidiary of Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer and manufacturer of one-of-a-kind premium technology products. SHCA includes the manufacturing of Home Appliances in Memphis, TN together with the sales & marketing and servicing of Home Electronics in the United States. Leading products include Sharp Carousel, Microwave Drawer, SuperSteam+ ovens, and Plasmacluster Ion air purifiers. Sharp was named one of the Most Admired Brands in America; Sharp Corporation was named one of the 20 Most Loved Companies globally, and Sharp Electronics appears on the Forbes America's Best Employers 2017 list*. Learn more at http://www.sharpusa.com/.

*Sources: Buyology Inc., 2012; APCO Worldwide, 2013; Forbes, 2017

This device is not medical equipment and is not intended to treat or cure any condition or disease. Sharp does not guarantee that test results can be replicated in actual user situations. Features vary between models and regions. Plasmacluster's effectiveness will vary depending on the ion density and product.

1 Surface H3N2 Canine Influenza Study: Test space: 25m3, (ion concentration: 25,000 / cm3 ) H3N2 influenza virus applied to gauze. Inhibition rate: 99% after approximately 10 hours. Verified by Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Pasteur Institute

"Plasmacluster" and "Device of a cluster of grapes" are registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation in Japan, USA and elsewhere.

Sharp, Carousel, Microwave Drawer, Supersteam+, Healsio and all related trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sharp Corporation and/or its affiliated companies. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

SOURCE Sharp Corporation USA

Related Links

http://www.sharpusa.com


RESTON, Va., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- 1Rivet, a Northern Virginia consulting firm specializing in strategic information technology consulting, outsourced services and talent acquisition, named Sid Ghatak Managing Director of Data and Analytics.

Ghatak is known for producing creative and elegant solutions that harness the power of innovative technologies, including predictive analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Sid Ghatak, Managing Director of Data and Analytics at 1Rivet

"Joining 1Rivet was a meeting of the minds with people who look at problems from a business perspective first to truly understand clients' pain points and opportunities, and then craft solutions that are equal parts people, process, data and technology," Ghatak said.

During his two decades as a consultant, Ghatak has resolved profound data analytics challenges for Fortune 500 companies including Thomson Reuters, Time Warner, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Merck & Co. Inc. and Northrop Grumman.

"Sid's leadership will accelerate our data analytics offerings," said 1Rivet CEO Eric Middleton. "He's an expert at identifying the optimal time to implement innovative technologies to create competitive advantages."

He'll lead a team of proven delivery professionals focused on building trusted advisor relationships with clients, particularly those in financial services, banking, utilities and telecommunications.

Along with 1Rivet CTO Krishna Nair, Ghatak will be responsible for collaborating with technology partners and conducting training and testing in 1Rivet's 1Lab, which creates cost-effective, inventive, pre-built frameworks and accelerators, maintains the company's code library and conducts research and development activities.

Ghatak is a purely self-taught technologist with an ability to both advise clients on actionable data strategy roadmaps and then drive purpose-built solutions. His background in economics, finance and strategy enables him to understand his clients' problems on a fundamental level. Whether a client's goal is expanding into new markets, addressing financial management concerns or executing a strategic acquisition, Ghatak takes the time to understand all implications, then crafts a holistic solution that positions the client for long-term success.

Looking ahead, Ghatak sees opportunity in the democratization of data and analytics. "Data will only increase in volume, complexity, type and velocity. Our clients have the opportunity to harness this growing asset and transform it into entirely new products, businesses, processes and capabilities," said Ghatak. "Our role as strategic advisors is to help our clients understand the potential implications of this transformation and to position themselves to take advantage of it for sustainable, long-term growth."

About 1Rivet

1Rivet is a top-ranked, award-winning IT consulting firm known for its unique, cost-effective IT tools and tactics that resolve global public- and private-sector business challenges. 1Rivet provides thought leadership, innovation and tactical delivery in IT M&A, Cloud and Application custom strategy development and deployment, advanced analytics, AI and data visualization.

Working from offices in Washington, D.C., New York, Toronto and Valsad, India, the company's three core divisions offer:

Strategic Technology  IT mergers, acquisitions and integrations; cloud-based innovations including machine learning, AI and IOT; application design and implementation; data visualization and analytics; delivery management and customer experience.

Strategic Outsourcing  Development and testing, project management, customer service, IT help desk, mail room, shipping and receiving, executive administrative support, reception, concierge, hospitality supply services, facilities, managed ED print services, imaging and records management, audio visual and conference room management.

1Lab  To ensure its clients have access to the latest technology innovations and methodologies, 1Rivet creates cost-effective, inventive, pre-built frameworks and accelerators in its 1Lab, located in Valsad, India. The research and development activities conducted in 1Lab include proof of concepts for industry-leading technology and a code repository.

Talent Acquisition  Supporting our customer base ecosystem with strategic hires, contract-to-hires and scalable workforce solutions.

Visit them at www.1Rivet.com

Press Contact:

Dona DeZube

1Rivet Director of Communications

(443) 538-1767 cell

[email protected]

SOURCE 1Rivet

Related Links

http://www.1Rivet.com


To date, 14 holes have been executed from the 1070 level of the Yauricocha Mine in the Cuye area. These holes have intercepted polymetallic sulphide mineralization containing high-grade silver, zinc, copper and lead zones over significant widths. These results demonstrate the potential for high-grade mineralization within the reported area and more importantly indicate the continued existence of extensive mineralization at depth. These results come as part of an ongoing brownfield drilling program testing priority targets at the Yauricocha Mine, which is located 150 kilometers east-southeast of Lima in the Yauricocha Mining District (Cordillera Occidental), Peru.

Igor Gonzales, President and CEO of Sierra Metals stated: "Today's results represent the existence of high-grade polymetallic mineralization at the Northern extension of Cuye, and continue to build on previous releases from the Cuye zone suggesting the possibility of even further mineralization at depth specifically from the copper sulphide orebodies which contain significant widths as shown in figure 5." He continued, "The Central Mine area contains several high-grade mineralized areas opening the possibility to further discoveries of additional orebodies along the Yauricocha fault. The Company made a strong commitment to brownfield exploration with several significant new discoveries in 2017 and remains committed to brownfield exploration with an aggressive plan in 2018 on targets within close proximity to our existing operations. Results such as the ones released today continue to demonstrate that these investments are paying off with the potential to further grow our mineral resources and add high-value tonnage."

Alonso Lujan, Vice President, Exploration of Sierra Metals commented: "The results reported from Cuye demonstrate high-grade, sulphide mineralized sectors containing primarily silver, copper, lead and zinc as shown in table 1 below. The potential still remains for further extensions within the Cuye zone, which remains open at depth. The exploration completed at depth demonstrates considerable widths and the high-grade nature of these orebodies." He added, "It is important to mention that the current drill holes extended into the intrusive formation which was assayed for the first time and led to the identification of low-grade disseminated mineralization on the intrusive. Figures 5, and 6 demonstrate the intercepts where we intercepted 21 meters with 1.58% Cu, 99 meters with 1.48% Cu and 44 meters with 1.04% Cu. Prior exploration programs at Yauricocha have not typically assayed the intrusive rocks, as the mineralization was considered to occur in the contact of the intrusive and the volcanics. The existence of disseminated copper mineralization in the intrusive rock formation opens a new exploration horizon previously unknown and a new interpretation of the sources of copper mineralization in the Yauricocha district."

All reported intercepts are core length as further drilling is required to determine true thicknesses.

A map of the Yauricocha Mine 1220 level (Central Mine) is shown in Figure 2 and 1370 level (Central Mine) is Figure 3 showing the location of the areas explored. Figures 4, 5 and 6 show the cross sections of the drill holes.

Table 1

Hole N From To Width

(m) Ag

(g/t) Pb

(%) Cu

(%) Zn

(%) Au

(g/t) Description CUY 17-17-12 251.50 255.0 3.50 60.17 0.97 0.37 2.69 0.06 Polymetallic Sulphide 286.15 303.0 16.85 12.60 0.01 1.58 0.89 0.62 Copper Sulphide 303.00 334.0 31.00 2.38 0.01 0.31 0.02 0.04 Copper Sulphide CUY 17-17-13 227.00 235.15 8.15 4.25 0.26 0.00 0.93 0.02 Polymetallic Sulphide 306.30 309.30 3.00 78.13 0.22 1.32 0.23 0.31 Copper Sulphide 316.30 337.25 20.95 90.89 1.18 1.58 6.33 0.26 Polymetallic Sulphide 337.25 435.90 98.65 12.00 0.01 1.49 0.05 0.72 Copper Sulphide

















CUY 17-17-14 115.80 117.30 1.50 33.20 0.41 0.20 11.88 0.28 Polymetallic Sulphide 209.30 253.70 44.40 14.00 0.13 1.04 0.33 0.54 Copper Sulphide



















According to the intersections and Lab results in the exploration carried out within the Cuye area an orebody with widths greater than 40 meters is interpreted (see figure 1. Which depicts Copper Sulphide in green and Polymetallic Sulphide in purple). This area remains open to depth and the same pattern is repeated in the Mascota and Esperanza areas, these orebodies are located North of the Cuye area. The circle indicates a potential area to investigate the continuity of Cuye, Mascota and Esperanza as a single orebody.

Quality Control

All samples were dried, crushed and pulverized by the Chumpe Lab at the site, pulp samples were shipped by ALS Peru S.A. Lab Chemex) to their laboratory in Lima, Peru.

The quality assurance-quality control (QA-QC) program employed by Sierra Metals has been described in detail in the NI-43-101 report for Yauricocha dated December 29, 2017, prepared by SRK Consulting in Denver, which is available for review on Sedar. Standards and blanks are inserted into the sample stream and duplicate samples are sent to the ALS Peru S.A. lab (Chemex) in Lima as per internal quality control procedures.

Qualified Persons

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Gordon Babcock P.Eng., Chief Operating Officer and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Americo Zuzunaga, MAusIMM CP (Mining Engineer) and Vice President of Corporate Planning is a Qualified Person and chartered professional qualifying as a Competent Person under the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources, and Ore Reserves.

Augusto Chung, FAusIMM CP (Metallurgist) and Consultant to Sierra Metals is a Qualified Person and chartered professional qualifying as a Competent Person on metallurgical processes.

About Sierra Metals

Sierra Metals Inc. is Canadian based growing polymetallic mining company with production from its Yauricocha Mine in Peru, and its Bolivar and Cusi Mines in Mexico. The Company is focused on increasing production volume and growing mineral resources. Sierra Metals has recently had several new key discoveries and still has many more exciting brownfield exploration opportunities at all three Mines in Peru and Mexico that are within close proximity to the existing mines. Additionally, the Company also has large land packages at all three mines with several prospective regional targets providing longer-term exploration upside and mineral resource growth potential.

The Company's Common Shares trade on the Bolsa de Valores de Lima and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "SMT" and on the NYSE American Exchange under the symbol "SMTS".

Continue to Follow, Like and Watch our progress:

Web: www.sierrametals.com | Twitter: sierrametals | Facebook: SierraMetalsInc | LinkedIn: Sierra Metals Inc

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian and U.S. securities laws related to the Company (collectively, "forward-looking information"). Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Company's operations, including the anticipated developments in the Company's operations in future periods, the Company's planned exploration activities, the adequacy of the Company's financial resources, and other events or conditions that may occur in the future. Statements concerning mineral reserve and resource estimates may also be considered to constitute forward-looking statements to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered if and when the properties are developed or further developed. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential" or variations thereof, or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, risks inherent in the mining industry including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected geological formations, floods, labour disruptions, explosions, cave-ins, weather conditions and criminal activity; commodity price fluctuations; higher operating and/or capital costs; lack of available infrastructure; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks associated with the estimation of mineral resources and the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits and the inability to replace reserves; fluctuations in the price of commodities used in the Company's operations; risks related to foreign operations; changes in laws or policies, foreign taxation, delays or the inability to obtain necessary governmental permits; risks relating to outstanding borrowings; issues regarding title to the Company's properties; risks related to environmental regulation; litigation risks; risks related to uninsured hazards; the impact of competition; volatility in the price of the Company's securities; global financial risks; inability to attract or retain qualified employees; potential conflicts of interest; risks related to a controlling group of shareholders; dependence on third parties; differences in U.S. and Canadian reporting of mineral reserves and resources; potential dilutive transactions; foreign currency risks; risks related to business cycles; liquidity risks; reliance on internal control systems; credit risks, including risks related to the Company's compliance with covenants with respect to its BCP Facility; uncertainty of production and cost estimates for the Yauricocha Mine, the Bolivar Mine and the Cusi Mine; and other risks identified in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which filings are available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov, respectively.

This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking information. Forward-looking information includes statements about the future and is inherently uncertain, and the Company's actual achievements or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking information due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. The Company's statements containing forward-looking information are based on the beliefs, expectations, and opinions of management on the date the statements are made, and the Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, one should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Note Regarding Reserve and Resource Estimates

All reserve and resource estimates reported by the Company are calculated in accordance with the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and the Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Classification system. These standards differ significantly from the requirements of the SEC. The differences between these standards are discussed in our SEC filings. Mineral resources which are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.

SOURCE Sierra Metals Inc.

Related Links

www.sierrametals.com


COLUMBIA, S.C., Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alyssa Gottheiner, 15, of Manning and Gracey Chafin, 11, of Graniteville today were named South Carolina's top two youth volunteers of 2018 by The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, a nationwide program honoring young people for outstanding acts of volunteerism. As State Honorees, Alyssa and Gracey each will receive $1,000, an engraved silver medallion and an all-expense-paid trip in late April to Washington, D.C., where they will join the top two honorees from each of the other states and the District of Columbia for four days of national recognition events. During the trip, 10 students will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2018.

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, now in its 23rd year, is conducted by Prudential Financial in partnership with the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP).

These are South Carolina's top youth volunteers of 2018:

High School State Honoree: Alyssa Gottheiner

Nominated by Laurence Manning Academy in Manning

Alyssa, a sophomore at Laurence Manning Academy, organized a student essay contest and a "Community Day" to help improve relations between law enforcement agencies and the residents of her county. Alyssa's parents are retired police officers, and often talk about the challenges of law enforcement, she said. "I wanted to make a change in my community," Alyssa said. "The goal was to provide positive interactions for the benefit of law enforcement and the community." She did that through a program she calls "Clarendon County Hometown Heroes."

After winning support from her local sheriff, Alyssa began promoting an essay contest encouraging students to nominate a first responder who deserves recognition. She announced the contest by distributing 3,000 fliers to more than 10 schools and by spreading the word through a local newspaper, social media and her church. The essay winners get to have breakfast with a police officer and ride to school in a police car, while the officer featured in the winning essay is presented with a plaque by Alyssa at a county staff meeting. For her Community Day event, Alyssa attracted more than 50 sponsors and over 30 volunteers to help provide free food, games, bounce houses and police cars and fire trucks for kids to play in. "First responders work so hard dedicating their lives to our community. I want them to know how much we appreciate what they do and the sacrifices they make for us," said Alyssa.

Middle Level State Honoree: Gracey Chafin

Nominated by Leavelle McCampbell Middle School in Graniteville

Gracey, a sixth-grader at Leavelle McCampbell Middle School, collected enough donations over the past five years to provide more than 100 Radio Flyer wagons and over 10,000 toys, books, games and other items to kids being treated at a local children's hospital. When she was 6, Gracey donated seven inches of her hair to support a school friend who had been diagnosed with leukemia. Then she happened to learn that a local children's hospital was soliciting donations, and "thought I hadn't done enough." So Gracey decided to collect money and toys for pediatric patients at Children's Hospital of Georgia.

She started by selling cinnamon rolls and coffee at her neighborhood yard sale, and then organized an annual two-week donation drive at her school, where classmates bring in toys and other items that could brighten the days of hospitalized children. Gracey also collects money from family members, friends, businesses and church members to purchase red Radio Flyer wagons, which are used to transport both toys and young patients in the hospital. She delivers her toys and wagons to the hospital each year on her birthday. "The need of the hospital is so substantial, it is an overwhelming task," said Gracey. "But when an entire community comes together, the task is so much more manageable."

Distinguished Finalists

The program judges also recognized four other South Carolina students as Distinguished Finalists for their impressive community service activities. Each will receive an engraved bronze medallion.

These are South Carolina's Distinguished Finalists for 2018:

Victoria Etheridge, 16, of Ridgeland, S.C., a junior at John Paul II Catholic School, has organized 23 service projects for young people and their families over the past five years as the creator of the program "VIC's Vision: Volunteering Inspires Children." In addition to her program's projects, which have benefited a wide variety of groups and causes, Victoria has collected toys for hospitalized kids and raised awareness of bullying.

Grace Gehlken, 18, of Charleston, S.C., a senior at Academic Magnet High School, has volunteered since seventh grade to support young people served by a charitable institute in Honduras; she has traveled on mission trips to Tegucigalpa every year and, last year, worked with her mother to raise more than $24,000 for a program to teach children how to avoid human trafficking. Grace is also piloting a program that raises money for anti-trafficking efforts by selling fair trade hostess gifts.

Isabella Muntean, 14, of Greer, S.C., a freshman at Riverside High School, was inspired by her experience being treated for osteosarcoma to start a charity that provides children being treated for cancer with toys, gift cards and other items in a drawstring pillowcase, adorned with a hand-drawn "angel of hope." Isabella has also helped to provide young cancer patients with American Girl dolls and products.

Nikole Rivers, 17, of St. George, S.C., a senior at Woodland High School, recruited and interviewed 28 local veterans to create a documentary called "Our Veterans: FOREVER Live Our Dorchester County Heroes." Inspired by the people she met at her Girl Scout troop's annual veterans dinner, Nikole led extensive efforts to identify veterans to interview, and provided her county archives and history center with the finished product.

"Prudential is proud to recognize these remarkable young people for using their energy, creativity and compassion to bring meaningful change to their communities," said Prudential Chairman and CEO John Strangfeld. "We hope their stories inspire others to consider how they can do the same."

"These middle level and high school students have not only improved the lives of the people and communities they've served  they also set an important example for their peers," said JoAnn Bartoletti, executive director of NASSP. "These honorees prove that you're never too young to make a difference."

About The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards represents the United States' largest youth recognition program based solely on volunteer service. All public and private middle level and high schools in the country, as well as all Girl Scout councils, county 4-H organizations, American Red Cross chapters, YMCAs and affiliates of Points of Light's HandsOn Network, were eligible to select a student or member for a local Prudential Spirit of Community Award. These Local Honorees were then reviewed by an independent judging panel, which selected State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists based on criteria including personal initiative, effort, impact and personal growth.

While in Washington, D.C., the 102 State Honorees  one middle level and one high school student from each state and the District of Columbia  will tour the capital's landmarks, meet top youth volunteers from other parts of the world, attend a gala awards ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, and visit their congressional representatives on Capitol Hill. On April 30, 10 of the State Honorees  five middle level and five high school students  will be named America's top youth volunteers of 2018. These National Honorees will receive additional $5,000 awards, gold medallions, crystal trophies and $5,000 grants from The Prudential Foundation for nonprofit charitable organizations of their choice.

Since the program began in 1995, more than 120,000 young volunteers have been honored at the local, state and national level. The program also is conducted by Prudential subsidiaries in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Ireland, India, China, Brazil and Poland. In addition to granting its own awards, The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards program also distributes President's Volunteer Service Awards to qualifying Local Honorees.

For information on all of this year's Prudential Spirit of Community State Honorees and Distinguished Finalists, visit http://spirit.prudential.com or www.nassp.org/spirit.

About NASSP

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) is the leading organization of and voice for middle level and high school principals, assistant principals, and school leaders from across the United States. The association connects and engages school leaders through advocacy, research, education, and student programs. NASSP advocates on behalf of all school leaders to ensure the success of each student and strengthens school leadership practices through the design and delivery of high quality professional learning experiences. Reflecting its long-standing commitment to student leadership development, NASSP administers the National Honor Society, National Junior Honor Society, National Elementary Honor Society, and National Student Council. For more information about NASSP, located in Reston, VA, visit www.nassp.org.

About Prudential Financial

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management. In the U.S., Prudential's iconic Rock symbol has stood for strength, stability, expertise and innovation for more than a century. For more information, please visit www.news.prudential.com.

For Spirit of Community Awards program logo and medallion graphics, please visit https://spirit.prudential.com/resources/media

SOURCE Prudential Financial, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.PRUDENTIAL.com


NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A new study reveals a mechanism by which the immune system may decide whether a bacterial species is a partner in bodily processes or an invader worthy of attack.

The study, led by NYU School of Medicine researchers and published February 7 in Nature, relates to the theory that our bodies co-evolved with bacteria over millions of years. Over that time, microbes gradually came to help regulate bodily processes from digestion to energy processing to immune defenses.

To make this possible, the body had to develop mechanisms by which it "tolerates" the presence of potentially helpful bacteria, not attacking them as foreign invaders. Complicating matters, many species  including those in the Helicobacter family  are helpful, or at least harmless, normally, but cause disease when genetic or environmental factors alter the normal balance.

Called pathobionts, such bacteria can shift in the eyes of immune cells from friendly (commensal) to dangerous, triggering inflammation  a rush of cells and proteins meant to destroy bacteria, but that damage the body's cells in the wrong context.

The degree to which the immune system tolerates a given bacterium depends on this friend/foe decision, and the current study reveals a related mechanism in mice exposed to Helicobacter hepaticus. While it is still unknown whether this species is helpful to gut function in mice, it can be dangerous in some instances, much as the helpful species Helicopbacter pylori can cause ulcers and stomach cancer in humans.

"Our findings represent a significant step toward clarifying the mechanisms that help the body manage the risk of keeping potentially dangerous, but often useful, bacteria around," says lead study author Dan Littman, MD, PhD, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Molecular Immunology in the Department of Pathology at NYU Langone Health.

Careful Balance

The new study found that the level to which the immune systems of mice tolerated H. hepaticus is determined by the interplay of two types of T cell, which control whether the immune response to a microbe amplifies.

Some not-yet-identified molecule  or combination of molecules (e.g. proteins, fats, or sugars)  made by bacteria cause the immune system to produce T helper 17 cells (Th17), which trigger a surge in inflammation as part of the response to a pathogenic strain. The current study suggests that the mammalian immune system has evolved such that each group of Th17 cells specific to a pathobiont bacterial species is paired with a second set of T regulatory cells that shuts down those Th17 cells, creating tolerance to the bacterial strain at hand.

The most interesting aspect of the study, say the authors, is the discovery of a new, specialized function of a certain type of regulatory T cell, which is to enable microbes to play useful roles by keeping them from causing inflammation. Just as important, evidence suggests that defects in such cells may enable bacteria to drive common inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.

The current study suggests that a new mouse model, in which the specialized T regulatory cells are missing, may help to finally identify the bacterial species contributing to IBD in humans, says Littman. In terms of mechanism, the authors found that the presence of H. hepaticus, even as it triggers inflammation via Th17 cells, also indirectly turns on genes that instruct immature precursor T cells to become Tregs.

It may be that specific T cell pairs manage tolerance of a great many pathobiont species, say the researchers, but additional studies would need to confirm that the mechanism applies beyond H. hepaticus. The authors say their next step will be to introduce gut bacteria from IBD patients into the mouse model with the goal of identifying pathobiont species that drive human disease.

"The current work suggests that pathobiont-driven IBD may be dependent on T cells that have escaped the normal tolerance system, attacking bacterial species that do not normally cause inflammation," says Littman, also a member of the Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine within NYU Langone's Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "If confirmed, future treatments may consist of groups of bacterial species, or key pieces of them, chosen because they can turn on sets of Tregs to quiet overall gut inflammation."



Along with Littman, the study was led by first authors Maria Pokrovskii and Mo Xu, along with Carolina Galan and Christy Au, of the Molecular Pathogenesis Program, Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine, Skirball Institute, at NYU School of Medicine; as well as by Ren Yi and Richard Bonneau of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Computer Science Department, at New York University. Also study authors were Yi Ding of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Oliver J. Harrison of the Mucosal Immunology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in Bethesda, Maryland, and Yasmine Belkaid of the NIAID Microbiome Program. Bonneau is also a member of the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology at New York University and the Center for Computational Biology of the Flatiron Institute, part of the Simons Foundation in New York.

The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants S10OD010584-01A1, S10OD018338-01, and R01DK103358; Perlmutter Cancer Center grant P30CA016087; the Irvington Institute fellowship program of the Cancer Research Institute; the Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine, the Colton Center for Autoimmunity, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

Contact: Greg Williams

212-404-3533

[email protected]

SOURCE NYU Langone Health
BROOKFIELD, Wis., Feb. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Symmetry today announced a new governance, risk and compliance (GRC) reporting and analysis software solution designed to bring powerful root cause analysis, remediation planning and audit-ready workflow automation to customers using SAP GRC. Called the ControlPanelGRC Sidecar for SAP GRC, the software is a part of Symmetry's ControlPanelGRC software suite, an industry leader in GRC automation for SAP environments. Symmetry will demonstrate the new ControlPanelGRC Sidecar for SAP GRC software at the GRC 2018 Conference taking place February 12th-15th at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas.

"SAP GRC often proves to be a challenge for customers to achieve real business value and compliance advantage given its complexity, both in terms of deployment and usability. For a business user, it can be nearly impossible to quickly identify the root cause and remediate risks because the data presented is not delivered in business terms they understand," said John Boyle, Global Senior SAP Security Architect at Sage Solutions Consulting, a Certified SAP Services Partner that specializes in GRC, fraud management and complex compliance needs.

Many enterprises that deployed SAP GRC to secure and automate access controls, compliance reporting and audit-readiness of their SAP environments have struggled with this deployment complexity and the inability of business users to understand and take action on the data it provides. For many customers the deployment turns into stranded investment with unused shelfware or an ongoing consulting project. Symmetry's new ControlPanelGRC Sidecar for SAP GRC addresses these issues by creating a new analysis and reporting front end to SAP GRC's rich data source. The ControlPanelGRC Sidecar for SAP GRC benefits customers in multiple ways:

Non-Disruptive, Simple Deployment  the software is deployed on a customer's existing SAP infrastructure in a matter of hours and requires no new hardware or disruptions to their SAP environment.

 the software is deployed on a customer's existing SAP infrastructure in a matter of hours and requires no new hardware or disruptions to their SAP environment. Actionable Business User Interface  the software intelligently ingests, analyzes and interprets SAP GRC data to present actionable information and recommendations that are meaningful for business users to help reduce risk remediation time.

 the software intelligently ingests, analyzes and interprets SAP GRC data to present actionable information and recommendations that are meaningful for business users to help reduce risk remediation time. Maximizes Current SAP GRC Investment  the software is an easy way for enterprises to maximize their investment in SAP GRC as a data source through an improved analysis and reporting interface.

"While IT departments can provide the infrastructure and help automate processes, successful GRC programs require significant involvement of business users to help identify, prioritize and mitigate risks. If business users cannot assess, interpret, understand or take action on GRC data, then it results in a waste of resources and exposes the enterprise to risk," said Scott Goolik, VP of Compliance and Security at Symmetry. "ControlPanelGRC Sidecar provides a complementary front end for SAP GRC customers. Together they bring powerful root cause analysis and accelerated remediation of our ControlPanelGRC software to a customer's SAP GRC data with a simple, intuitive interface designed for business users."

Used by more than 150 companies worldwide, Symmetry's ControlPanelGRC software suite is focused on providing a comprehensive compliance automation solution for SAP environments  including SAP Fiori applications, SAP GUI transactions or both  that doesn't involve a lengthy implementation time or complicated training program. In addition, Symmetry's SAP security and controls consultants ensure that customers' systems are managed according to industry standards, SAP best practices and auditor recommendations.

ControlPanelGRC Sidecar for SAP GRC is available now and will be demonstrated live along with the full ControlPanelGRC software suite in Symmetry's booth #1255 at the SAPInsider GRC2018 conference February 12th-15th at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas. Additional content and resources available for the ControlPanelGRC software suite include:

About Symmetry

Symmetry manages complex SAP implementations on a global scale for more than 200 of world's leading enterprises. With its proprietary client-centric business model  The Symmetry Way  combined with the industry's most advanced SAP hosting platform and industry leading ControlPanelGRC software suite, Symmetry delivers expert, high-touch SAP application management services across all deployment environments, including on-premise, hosted, and private, public and hybrid cloud. With more than 22 years in business, Symmetry has built a base of expertise unmatched by any other independent SAP service provider. An SAP partner since 2005, Symmetry is certified in SAP Hosting, Cloud and SAP HANA Operations. Symmetry is based in Brookfield, Wis. with locations across North America and Europe.

SOURCE Symmetry

Related Links

http://www.symmetrycorp.com


AUGUSTA, Ga., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- TaxSlayer, a leading online and professional tax and financial technology company, today announced a strategic partnership with Kabbage, Inc., a global technology and data platform powering small business lending. The collaboration offers qualified small business customers hassle-free access to lines of credit up to $250,000 from Kabbage, and exclusive tax resources, including tips, promotions and discounts from TaxSlayer.

"Providing access to Kabbage's network of small business perks, educational content and lending products is another way we can make things easier for our customers during tax season," said Josh Gaudin, Head of Strategic Partnerships at TaxSlayer. "This partnership will help ensure that both TaxSlayer and Kabbage customers have access to the best resources to make tax filing a stress-free experience."

TaxSlayer customers will have access to:

Lines of credit from Kabbage up to $250,000 for qualified borrowers

for qualified borrowers Promotions from Kabbage, including a $100 gift card after qualification

gift card after qualification Partner offers through the Kabbage Customer Perks network

Tips and insight on small business lending and finance

Kabbage customers will have access to:

Small business and personal tax tips from TaxSlayer

Market leading tax-filing support from TaxSlayer

Unique promotions and discounts from TaxSlayer, including 20 percent off services

"This partnership brings together market leaders in online tax filing and small business lending to empower the hard-working small business owners driving America's economy," said Michelle Lisowski, Head of Brand and Growth at Kabbage. "We are thrilled to partner with TaxSlayer, and most importantly, we are excited to serve both customer bases through our shared network of perks and opportunities."

About TaxSlayer

TaxSlayer makes life simpler and less stressful for millions of Americans with exceptional, easy-to-use technology. Trusted for over 50 years, TaxSlayer saves business owners, tax professionals and individual consumers time and money with high-quality, high-value financial products. In addition to offering the top-rated tax preparation software, support, and tools, TaxSlayer's products are radically transforming the legal, bookkeeping, and HR/payroll arenas, helping small business owners better serve their customers.

The company successfully completed more than 10 million state and federal e-filed tax returns in 2017, representing a 200% increase over the past three years. TaxSlayer's software was ranked #1 for five straight years in numerous categories, including overall satisfaction by the National Association of Tax Professionals (NATP).

About Kabbage

Kabbage Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, has pioneered a financial services data and technology platform to provide automated funding to small businesses in minutes. Kabbage leverages data generated through business activity such as accounting data, online sales, shipping and dozens of other sources to understand performance and deliver fast, flexible funding in real time. With the largest international network of global-bank partnerships for an online lender, Kabbage powers small business lending for ING, Santander and Scotia Bank across Canada, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., Italy and France. Kabbage is funded and backed by leading investors, including SoftBank Group Corp., BlueRun Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Thomvest Ventures, SoftBank Capital, Reverence Capital Partners, the UPS Strategic Enterprise Fund, ING, Santander InnoVentures, Scotiabank and TCW/Craton. All Kabbage U.S.-based loans are issued by Celtic Bank, a Utah-Chartered Industrial Bank, Member FDIC. For more information, please visit www.kabbage.com.

Media Contacts

Kayla Retzler

212-279-3115 x270

[email protected]

SOURCE TaxSlayer

Related Links

https://www.taxslayer.com


The Entering the U.S. Market: A Guide for Foodservice Operators report is available for purchase at https://www.technomic.com/available-studies/us-market-entry/entering-us-market-comprehensive-guide-foodservice-operators.

The essentials of understanding the U.S. market include:

Foodservice landscape review State of the industry and future outlook Traits of leading restaurant chains Understanding operator challenges Identifying core consumers Menu category incidence

"Opportunity assessment for international operators looking to enter the U.S. market has long been a core capability of ours," said Technomic vice president of innovation, Sara Monnette. "It's increasingly apparent that there is a need for syndicated research to assist restaurant and retail operators looking to plan and execute a market entry strategy."

Key report insights include:

Industry projections, with total U.S. foodservice expected to account for 64% of the projected industry growth over the next five years

Attributes of successful chains, including fresh food, first-rate decor and flexible offerings

Areas of opportunity when targeting consumers, such as educating them on new ethnic flavors and ingredients

Percentage of each demographic that visits restaurants and retail, with 40.8% of millennials visiting fast-casual restaurants at least once a month

Technomic also provides a proprietary framework to guide operators from initial concept positioning to go-to-market strategy development. The company's U.S. Market Entry program is the model you can trust due to Technomic's deep industry expertise of 50 years serving and studying the U.S. foodservice industry and working with the world's largest restaurant operators, suppliers and distributors. While there are many other U.S.-based firms that offer market information, none are as focused on foodservice like we are.

"We look forward to providing international operators with foundational information on the foodservice industry in the U.S. to support their business decisions to enter the U.S. marketplace," says Patrick Noone, executive vice president at Technomic. "This along with our custom advisory services will allow companies to understand their opportunity and challenges as they embark on international growth initiatives."

About Technomic

Technomic Inc., a Winsight company, delivers a 360-degree view of the food industry. It impacts growth and profitability for clients by providing consumer-grounded vision and channel-relevant strategic insights. Its services range from major research studies and management consulting solutions to online databases and simple fact-finding assignments. Its clients include food manufacturers and distributors, restaurants and retailers, other foodservice organizations, and various institutions aligned with the food industry. Visit Technomic at www.technomic.com.

About Winsight LLC

Winsight LLC is a recognized leader in business-to-business media and information services for the convenience-retailing, foodservice and grocery industries. Winsight has an extensive media portfolio, including five publications: CSP, Restaurant Business, FoodService Director, Convenience Store Products and Winsight Grocery Business. Winsight also offers a suite of digital products, including websites, e-newsletters, webinars, video products, mobile and tablet apps, and custom marketing solutions. In addition to more than 12 major EduNetworking conferences and advisory meetings, Winsight also produces seven exclusive, large-scale executive-level conferences: Restaurant Leadership Conference, Global Restaurant Leadership Conference, Outlook Leadership Conference, Convenience Retailing University, FSTEC, MenuDirections and Restaurant Directions. In 2015, Winsight acquired Technomic Inc., a provider of primary and secondary market information and advisory services for the food industry. For more information on Winsight and its brands, go to www.winsightmedia.com.

Media Contact

Sara Monnette

[email protected]

312.506.3848

Purchasing Inquiries

Patrick Noone

[email protected]

312.506.3852



SOURCE Technomic Inc.
DUBLIN, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Texas Instruments' Time of Flight Image Sensor for Industrial Applications: Comparison and Cost Analysis" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Today, Time-of-Flight (ToF) systems are among the most innovative technologies offering imaging companies an opportunity to lead the market. Every major player wants to integrate these devices to provide functions such as 3D imaging, proximity sensing, ambient light sensing and gesture recognition.

Sony / Softkinetic has been investigating this technology deeply, providing a unique pixel technology to several image sensor manufacturers in three application areas: consumer, automotive and industrial.

For industrial applications, Sony/Softkinetic has licensed its technology to Texas Instruments, which is providing ToF imagers for human detection or robot-human interaction.

Key Topics Covered:

1. Overview/Introduction

Texas Instruments Company Profile and Time of Flight Technology

2. Physical Analysis

Physical Analysis Methodology

Package

View and dimensions

Package opening

Package cross-section: optical filter, RDL, bumps

Image Die

View, dimensions and marking

Die overview: active area, CPAD technology

Die delayering, main block ID and process

Cross-section: metal layers, pixel

Process characteristics

ToF Pixel Physical Comparison with Infineon, STMicroelectronics, Melexis Automotive ToF Image Sensor

Package, Pixels, Filters

Manufacturing Process Flow

3. Overview

ToF Imager Front-End Process

ToF Imager Wafer Fabrication Unit

Packaging Process Flow

Final Assembly Unit

4. Cost Analysis

Cost Analysis Overview

The Main Steps Used in the Economic Analysis

Yield Hypotheses

ToF Imager Die Cost

Front-end cost

Back-end: tests and dicing

Wafer and die cost

Component

Packaging cost

Packaging cost by process step

Component cost

5. Estimated Price Analysis

For more information about this report visit

https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/4x35x4/texas?w=5

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

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The opening of The James is a key development in the renaissance of the NoMad neighborhood, joining the company of prestigious hotels in the area. The Hotel's developer GFI Development Company, has played a key role in the rebirth of the area. GFI Development, with CEO Allen Gross leading the charge, took on the development of the Ace Hotel New York in 2006, the first boutique hotel to open in the neighborhood.GFI and Allen Gross also developed The NoMad and now The James as the next hallmark in the renaissance of the NoMad area.

"It has been a great joy to see the transformative affect that GFI Development's properties have had on the NoMad neighborhood," said Allen Gross. "We are proud to introduce The James New York  NoMad to the neighborhood as the next phase as we continue to lead the way in the revitalization of NoMad."

With a nod to the rich history of the neighborhood as the birthplace of the iconic "Manhattan" cocktail and the stunning beaux-arts style building that originally opened as the historic landmarked "Hotel Seville" in 1904, The Seville cocktail lounge is a new concept by LDV Hospitality finding a perfect home at The James New York  NoMad. An evolution of the prohibition-themed speakeasy suite in the former hotel, The Seville is a fully realized social cocktail lounge curated to serve as an intimate, stylish hideaway in the traditions of prohibition-era NoMad, which was home to many famed speakeasies. The Seville's tucked away, underground space will offer a curated music program and classic cocktails with a twist.

Scarpetta's move to the NoMad area sees the signature restaurant concept that first launched in New York's Meatpacking District evolve in the beautifully designed space with exciting enhancements including an expansive bar and cafe as well as an expanded menu of seasonal, gourmet Italian fare.

Speaking on the opening, LDV Hospitality founder John Meadow stated, "We could not be more excited and grateful for our newest hotel partnership to be with GFI, Denihan Hospitality, and Thomas Juul-Hansen. I am thrilled to reimagine our flagship Scarpetta location while bringing to life this iconic hotel with the James New York - NoMad."

With the introduction of these exciting venues The James New York - NoMad offers guests the perfect balance of sanctuary and scene; they can treat themselves to Italian cuisine at Scarpetta, indulge in delicious craft cocktails at The Seville and then retreat to the urban sanctuaries of their hotel rooms where they can unwind with in-room Kundalini yoga by Guru Jagat, calm their minds with meditation by Inscape, or sip on a juice or smoothie through the new in-room dining offerings. The James New York-NoMad is the perfect place to unplug and play, and find balance when traveling.

"The fully opened James New York  NoMad is the ultimate destination for urban explorers seeking a cool and calm experience," stated Vera Manoukian, President and Chief Operating Officer at Denihan Hospitality. "At The James, we are passionate believers that balancing personal well-being and total indulgence is the ultimate key to happiness."

The James offers an array of boutique hotel rooms including Queen and King Deluxe guestrooms, King Jimmy Suites, and King James Suites. Acclaimed designer Thomas Juul-Hansen designed each room as a private sanctuary featuring locally crafted and custom designed furnishings conveying an eclectic and collected residential feel. The materiality of the guestrooms, from the intricately grated brass minibars to the hand-carved marble bathroom vanities emanates a luxurious modernity. The transformed lobby includes a rich palate of warm fabrics, conveying an approachable and comfortable refuge for guests and visitors alike.

Jimmy Suites offer separate living and sleeping rooms, as well as two full bathrooms. James Suites offer the standout feature of customizable layouts; featuring a large living room with a pullout sofa, separate bedrooms and spacious bathrooms. The warmly designed penthouse suites feature spacious, residentially designed living rooms including space to dine or entertain, separate from the master bedrooms, as well as luxurious bathrooms with large tubs.

Accommodations include unique touches and amenities, such as dream interpretation books, yoga mats and meditation cushions, which guests can use with the in-room Four Bodies Wellness program offerings and eco-friendly Appelles bath amenities. Other in-room features include a curated pantry with a selection of local wines, spirits, and snacks, and as always, complimentary Wi-Fi. Guests have 24-hour access to the fitness center, which features state-of-the art equipment such as the extremely popular Peloton bikes. For in-room dining, guests can order breakfast, lunch or dinner from the menu curated and served by LDV Hospitality, ranging from health conscious offerings such as the James Veggie Burger or a Chia Seed Parfait to more indulgent items like the Cinnamon-Challah French Toast or on-the-go items like an Energy Smoothie.

To celebrate the grand opening, guests can book the Grand Opening offer that includes an indulgent tasting menu dinner for two at Scarpetta, craft cocktails from The Seville, breakfast in bed, complimentary room upgrades (based on availability) and 12pm early check-in OR 4pm late check-out. Guests can book now at: https://www.jameshotels.com/new-york/nomad/special-offers.

About The James Hotels

The James Hotels, with ideally situated locations in Chicago and New York, are both sanctuary and scene. The James are all about balance and believe that the combination of personal well-being and total indulgence is the ultimate key to happiness. Targeting Urban Explorers seeking a calm and cool experience, The James serves up warm, modern spaces that draw inspiration from the energy of our communities.

For more information, follow the James Hotels socially at @jameshotels facebook.com/JamesHotels, in addition to jameshotels.com/new-york/nomad

About GFI Development Company

GFI Development Company, LLC has successfully developed more than $1 billion of residential, office, retail and hospitality real estate since its inception in 2007. Led by a senior management team, GFI Development Company focuses on opportunistic investments in major metropolitan areas.

The company's success is directly tied to its ability to identify unique opportunities, envision a new future for the property, and unlock the project's potential by seamlessly executing development at every stage. GFI Development Company prides itself on delivering projects that benefit the communities in which they are located, while amplifying business partners' investments by maximizing risk-adjusted returns. Notable projects include Ace Hotel New York and Ace Hotel and Swim Club Palm Springs, California. Both hotels set benchmarks in their markets for innovative design, food and beverage and retail that revitalized their communities. Current GFI Development Company projects include a 120,000 square foot hotel in Downtown Brooklyn, the conversion of 5 Beekman Street in downtown Manhattan into a 287 room hotel and 68 unit residential tower and a 590,000 square foot mixed use development project in Mission, KS, which includes hotel, residential, office and retail.

About Denihan Hospitality

Denihan is a privately-held, full service hotel management and development company. The Company owns and/or operates boutique hotels in major urban markets throughout the U.S. For over 50 years, Denihan has been creating value by acquiring, repositioning and managing independent assets. The Denihan portfolio includes properties operating under The James and Affinia Hotel Collection brands, as well as Manhattan independent boutique hotels, The Benjamin, and The Surrey, voted #1 hotel in New York City in Travel + Leisure's 'World's Best Awards' in 2016 and 2017. The portfolio also includes an impressive list of chef-driven restaurants and bars. Denihan's uniquely guest-centric approach, refined through three generations of Denihan leadership, has made it an industry leader in hospitality, property and restaurant development, as well as hotel operations, management and marketing. More details can be found at www.denihan.com.

About Scarpetta

Scarpetta is LDV Hospitality's Flagship concept. The original Scarpetta opened in New York City's bustling 14th Street in 2008 to a critically acclaimed 3-star review in the NY Times. Thereafter, Scarpetta Restaurants opened at The Fontainebleau in Miami, The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Gurney's Resort in Montauk, Gurney's Resort in Newport, RI, The Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia and The James New York - NoMad. The restaurant's name is derived from the Italian expression, "fare la Scarpetta," which means to savor a meal to the last bite. The philosophy of Scarpetta's kitchen is to create bold flavors by amplifying the essence of seasonal ingredients. The signature pastas are made in-house daily and are paired with the highest quality, locally sourced ingredients. Scarpetta's famous Spaghetti Tomato & Basil is nothing short of classic simplicity in both taste and preparation.

About Seville:

The Seville is a return to the throwback NY cocktail lounge adapted for today's social life. A curated old school music program, ranging from 90's New York hip hop to 60's classic rock, will energize the room. With live performances and DJ sets by 'The Ladies of the Seville,' this is about music and cocktails that transport you to an authentic feel good place. Welcoming bartenders create classics cocktails with a twist, such as a wood-planked smoked old fashioned and a barrel aged Negroni, served up tableside. Whether it's a Tuesday after-work cocktail or chasing the night on a Saturday, The Seville brings back the New York night with an eclectic mix of young and old souls alike. The name "Seville" is a tribute to the original Beaux-Arts "Hotel Seville" that stood in its place, built in 1904. In its time, the space came to life as a tantalizing prohibition bar filled with high society New Yorker's. Every cocktail tells a story, drawing inspiration from the history of "Hotel Seville".

About LDV Hospitality

LDV is a boutique hospitality group that creates authentic and unique restaurant and cocktail bar experiences. Inspired by La Dolce Vita, "The Good Life," the group was founded by John Meadow in 2008. The LDV portfolio spans across eight cities throughout the country with its home in New York City, as well as The Hamptons, Miami and Las Vegas. The LDV signature brands include Scarpetta, American Cut, and Dolce Italian, along with hotel concepts such as The Beach Club MTK, The Regent Cocktail Club and Corso Coffee. LDV works with iconic hotel partners including The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, The Fontainebleau of Miami, Gurney's Resorts in Montauk, Gurney's Newport Resort in Newport, RI, The Rittenhouse Hotel in Philadelphia and The James New York - NoMad.

For more information on The James New York  NoMad, contact:

Will Davis

6 Degrees

[email protected]

212-463-7245 ext. 1204

For more information on LDV Hospitality, The Seville and Scarpetta, contact:

Jaret Keller

Key Group Worldwide

[email protected]

212-988-7701

SOURCE Denihan Hospitality

Related Links

http://www.denihan.com


CARLSBAD, Calif., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thermo Fisher Scientific has been named the winner of the 2018 CiteAb Award in recognition of the company's Antibody Validation Initiative, a two-part testing method that is applied across its most widely used Invitrogen primary and secondary antibodies for specificity and utility in different research applications.

"Our judges for this category were impressed by the thoroughness of Thermo Fisher Scientific using so many methods to address specificity, but also of its novelty, making it easy to understand for customers and therefore easy to navigate to validated reagents on the company's website," said Dr. Andrew Chalmers, CiteAb co-founder.

Thermo Fisher's two-part testing approach uses one of nine specificity tests, including: IP-mass spectrometry, knock out, knock down, independent antibody verification, cell treatment, relative expression, neutralization, peptide array and an orthogonal method. By applying a variety of specificity testing methods, researchers can remain confident that the appropriate validation process has been applied based on the use and function of a specific antibody.

Upon completion of the comprehensive testing method, each antibody receives a "badge" on the company's website, called the Advanced Verification Badge. This label provides customers with further assurance of its performance and use in their experiments. To view an example, visit www.thermofisher.com/p53primaryab.

Founded by Dr. Chalmers, Senior Lecturer, University of Bath in the United Kingdom, and Dave Kelly, Managing Director of Storm Consultancy, CiteAb is the largest citation-ranked antibody search engine designed to provide a simple way to query antibodies for research. The site uses the number of citations as a transparent method to rank antibodies.

To learn more and see examples of Thermo Fisher's antibody validation, visit www.thermofisher.com/antibodyvalidation.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science, with revenues of more than $20 billion and approximately 70,000 employees globally. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. We help our customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics, deliver medicines to market and increase laboratory productivity. Through our premier brands  Thermo Scientific, Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific and Unity Lab Services  we offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive services. For more information, please visit www.thermofisher.com.

Media Contact Information:

Mauricio Minotta, Thermo Fisher Scientific

+1 760 929 2456

[email protected]

SOURCE Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Related Links

http://www.thermofisher.com


ARUBA, Netherlands Antilles, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of the dermMentors Resident of Distinction Award program, sponsored by Beiersdorf Inc., five dermatology residents attended the 17th Annual Caribbean Dermatology Symposium, held in Aruba, Netherlands Antilles, from January 17-21, 2018.

From left: Daniel Callaghan, MD., Tasneem Mohammad, MD., Peggy Schwarz, MD., Joshua Owen, MD., and Dario Kivelevitch, MD.

The 2018 dermMentors Residents of Distinction  Daniel Callaghan, MD., of the Boston University School of Medicine, Dario Kivelevitch, MD., of Baylor University Medical Center, Tasneem Mohammad, MD., of Henry Ford Hospital, Joshua Owen, MD., of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, and Peggy Schwarz, MD., of Boston University School of Medicine  attended the Caribbean Dermatology Symposium scientific sessions as well as networking events with top thought leaders in dermatology. The residents presented new scientific research during an independent mentoring session, which was held on Saturday, January 20.

Dario Kivelevitch, MD., a third-year resident in dermatology at Baylor University Medical Center, was awarded the overall grand prize for his presentation, entitled: "The Role of Skin Inflammation in Darier's Disease Severity."

DermMentors.org and the dermMentors Resident of Distinction Award program are sponsored by Beiersdorf Inc., makers of Eucerin and Aquaphor, and administered by DermEd, Inc. Now in its 8th year, the dermMentors Resident of Distinction Award recognizes top residents in dermatology. The dermMentors.org website is dedicated to helping residents during their training and throughout their careers, by providing insights from respected thought leaders, and facilitating and fostering relationships between residents and mentors in dermatology.

For more information, visit www.dermMentors.org, or contact Evince Communications at (203) 354-6953.

Related Links

dermMentors.org

Resident of Distinction Highlights

SOURCE Beiersdorf, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.dermMentors.org


ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Winter Storm Liam is halting flights throughout major travel hubs including Boston, New York, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia, causing many airlines to delay, divert or cancel flights. Leading travel insurance comparison website, Squaremouth, explains travel insurance coverage when a winter storm disrupts travel.

Delayed or Cancelled Flight

If a traveler's flight is delayed or cancelled because of Winter Storm Liam, travel insurance can pay them back for their meals, hotel accommodations and local transportation such as a taxi from the airport to the hotel. The policy will always specify how long it takes for this coverage to become available; usually a flight must be delayed 3, 6 or 12 hours.

Claim Caution: Make sure to have a 'paper trail'. Use a debit or credit card to pay for meals, hotels and local transportation. If you pay with cash, don't throw away receipts. To claim for these expenses travelers must show this documentation.

Dangerous Driving Conditions

Some travel insurance policies will pay the traveler back for missed flights and other trip costs if they're involved in an accident on their way to the airport. A few policies will cover travelers who are not directly involved in an accident but are stuck in traffic due to an accident.

Claim Caution: A police report that documents the accident will be needed when making a claim. Don't leave the scene of the accident without contacting local authorities.

Stuck En Route

If a traveler is stuck in a city where they are catching a connecting flight, travel insurance can cover the airfare to catch the traveler up to reach their destination. This benefit can also pay travelers back for meals, hotels and local transportation once they've waited the specified amount of time in the policy.

Claim Caution: Some policies will only cover these costs if the traveler is trying to catch up to a cruise or planned tour. Look at the policy language to see if the Missed Connection coverage is limited to "Cruise only" or "Cruise and tour only."

Squaremouth created the Winter Storm Liam and Travel Insurance Information Center to explain coverage for the storm. This page is regularly updated by Squaremouth's travel insurance experts with answers to frequently asked questions.

ABOUT SQUAREMOUTH

Squaremouth compares travel insurance policies from every major travel insurance provider in the United States. Using Squaremouth's comparison engine and third-party customer reviews, travelers can research and compare travel insurance policies side-by-side. More information can be found at www.squaremouth.com

Available Topic Expert:

Carolyn Leckie

[email protected]

727-260-5012

SOURCE Squaremouth

Related Links

http://www.squaremouth.com


LONDON, Fev. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Ureteroscopes Market: Overview

This report studies the current as well as future prospects of the global ureteroscopes market. Stakeholders of this report include companies and intermediaries engaged in the manufacture and commercialization of various ureteroscopes, as well as new entrants planning to enter this market.







Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5309061







This research study analyzes the global market for ureteroscopes in terms of revenue (US$ Mn). For the research, 2016 has been considered as the base year and 2015 as the historical year, while all forecasts have been provided from 2017 to 2025. The global ureteroscopes market has been studied on the basis of product type, applications, end-users, and their regional as well as national markets in terms of revenue (US$ Mn).



The global ureteroscopes market report comprises an elaborate executive summary that provides overall information about various segments of the market. The report provides a detailed competitive landscape, by major players operating in this market along with their shares (value %) of the global ureteroscopes market for 2016. The report also provides detail company profiles of the key players and emerging market players operating in the global ureteroscopes market.



The market overview section comprises impact factors such as key market dynamics including drivers, restraints, and opportunities, affecting the demand for ureteroscopes in the global market. These factors would aid the stakeholders in establishing a strong foothold in the global ureteroscopes market.



Furthermore, the market overview section comprises key industry events, product overview, and market attractiveness analysis in the ureteroscopes market. The market attractiveness analysis provides a graphical view comparing the growth and market dynamics in various segments and countries to identify the most attractive market.



Global Ureteroscopes Market: Key Segments

The global ureteroscopes market has been segmented by product type, by applications, by end-user and by geography. The global ureteroscopes market by product type has been segmented into flexible ureteroscopes, semi-rigid ureteroscopes, and rigid ureteroscopes.



The flexible ureteroscopes market is further classified into fiberoptic ureteroscopes and digital ureteroscopes. In terms of applications, the global ureteroscopes market is segmented into therapeutic applications and diagnostic applications. The therapeutic applications segment is further categorized into urolithiasis, kidney cancer, ureteral stinctures, and others. Based on end-users the market is classified into hospitals, specialty clinics, ambulatory surgical centers, and diagnostic imaging centers.



Global Ureteroscopes Market: Regional Outlook

Geographically, the global ureteroscopes market has been categorized into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Moreover, analysis for the major countries comprising U.S. Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Russia, China, Japan, India, Australia & New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Israel, and GCC countries have also been provided in the report. A detailed qualitative analysis of the factors responsible for driving and restraining the growth of the ureteroscopes market in various regions has been provided in this section.



The report provides a detailed outline/blueprint of the ureteroscopes market globally that will assist new companies in establishing their presence and market players in expanding their market share in the market. The report concludes with the company profile section which includes company overview, financial overview, SWOT analysis, product portfolio, business strategies and recent developments for market players.



Companies Mentioned in Report

Major players operating in the global ureteroscopes market includes Olympus Corporation, Boston Scientific Corporation, Stryker, Richard Wolf, KARL STORZ SE & Co. KG, PENTAX Medical, Elmed Electronics & Medical Industry & Trade Inc., AED.MD, SCHOLLY FIBEROPTIC GMBH, OPCOM Inc.,

Prosurg, Inc., SOPRO-COMEG GmbH and others. The emerging players in the global ureteroscopes market includes Maxerendoscopy, LocaMed Limited, EMOS Technology GmbH, ROCAMED, Vimex Sp. z o.o.. and others.



The Global Ureteroscopes Market has been segmented into:

Global Ureteroscopes Market, by Product Type

Flexible Ureteroscope

Fiberoptic Ureteroscope

Digital Ureteroscope

Semi-rigid Ureteroscope

Rigid Ureteroscope



Global Ureteroscopes Market, by Applications

Therapeutic Applications

Urolithiasis

Kidney Cancer

Ureteral Stinctures

Others

Diagnostic Applications



Global Ureteroscopes Market, by End-user

Hospitals

Specialty Clinics

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Diagnostic Imaging Centers



Global Ureteroscopes Market, by Geography

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

France

Italy

U.K.

Russia

Spain

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

Australia & New Zealand

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

GCC Countries

South Africa

Israel

Rest of Middle East & Africa



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5309061



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +1 (718) 213 4904

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

http://www.reportbuyer.com


Over 50 companies submitted applications to present at the Internet of Things (IoT) award session, with only 9 selected to make a presentation to the conference body. The selection is based on the level of innovation products bring to IoT. The judges are made up of industry experts, including CEOs and founders of investment firms, as well as senior researchers or fellows from major organizations, such as Verizon Communications.

V5 Systems won the 1st Prize Award for its unique V5 Portable Edge Computing Unit (V5 PECU), which is an innovative platform for collecting, analyzing and sharing sensor data in any area, free from the electrical grid. The PECU Unit allows businesses to use artificial intelligence in the outdoors because it has a proprietary ongoing power source. This Unit now expands the landscape of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) networks and applications to areas without power or connectivity.

The 1st Prize Award is a particularly distinguished achievement for an American company, because China is a world leader in the development of IoT applications. It currently controls 22% of the global market and continues to grow its share annually. In addition, the 5-year development plan of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technologies (MIIT) specifically discusses the importance of IoT and elaborates on how to double this market by 2020.

Helena Wang, Vice President of Global Business Development at V5 Systems, believes this is critical and heartening context for the company's positioning. "As an American company, we are especially proud of this win, as we are competing in a space which Chinese companies have dominated thus far due to their market's emphasis on IoT development. Along with our customer feedback, this win is proof that we have developed something truly disruptive," she said.

V5 System's own security application, which runs on its V5 PECU platform, has been validated by ten other major industry awards. These consistent wins further validate the high regard the security industry has for V5 Systems' technology.

While industry awards highlight technological capabilities, ultimately, the real-world application of its IoT technology is the true measure of value. A telling example of V5 Systems technology in the real world is the recent partnership with UCLA, which cements V5 Systems' leading position at the nexus of education and security.

UCLA's Security Challenge

UCLA wanted to provide additional dorm security in time for Move-In Weekend, during which thousands of new students transition to campus housing. Prior to collaborating with V5 Systems, the university was unable to provide the added security in critical areas due to two challenges: the cost and time required for trenching to provide power/communications to security equipment that must be connected to the grid, combined with the urgency of the project. Even if UCLA had allocated the budget for trenching, it would only have been possible when school is not in session.

Solution

UCLA selected the V5 Camera Adaptive Platform (V5 CAP), equipped with AXIS domes, fixed cameras and PTZs (pan-tilt-zoom) and RF by Ubiquiti. The V5 CAP was chosen because the platform is portable, wireless and self-powered. Since no connection to the grid is necessary to power the V5 CAP, it can be deployed rapidly.

Result

The university was able to deploy the additional security it needed more quickly and far more cost-effectively than if trenching were required. As a result, the university was able to provide its students with a far safer Move-In Weekend.

Summary of Awards:

Accolades Competition at ASIS 2017 Annual Seminar and Exhibits

Won by the self-powered V5 Camera Adaptive Platform (V5 CAP)

Security Today magazine's New Product of the Year Awards

Internet of Things Category - V5 Portable Edge Computing Unit (PECU-Dell)

Outdoor Perimeter Protection - V5 Portable Security Unit with Analytics and Cellular (V5 PSU-AC)

Video Surveillance Hardware & Accessories - V5 Portable Security Unit with Analytics and Cellular (V5 PSU-AC)

Dell "Connect What Matters" Platinum Award

Dell awarded the top Platinum honor to V5 Systems for its portable IoT security solution

ISC West New Product Showcase

V5 Portable Security Unit won Best in Video Surveillance Hardware and Accessories 2016

V5 Acoustic Gunshot Sensor won Best in Emergency Communications/Mass Notification 2017

V5 Camera Adaptive Platform won Best in Video Surveillance Hardware and Accessories 2017

Smart City 2016

Best Smart IIoT Security

Best Smart City/Smart Home

To learn more about the V5 CAP, watch this 2-minute video, Be Groundbreaking...Without Breaking Ground.

To learn more about the UCLA Case Study, read Safe Away From Home

You can also find more information at our website: www.v5systems.us.

Follow V5 Systems on social media: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

SOURCE V5 Systems

Related Links

http://www.v5systems.us


CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Just how much are Americans spending on Valentine's Day? A new survey from the financial sleuths at OppLoans found that, on average, U.S. residents shelled out about $33.64 on holiday-related romantic gestures. But how much you spend on your sweetie will depend on your age, gender, and where you live.

Survey data found that men in New Mexico spend the most on their valentines, with an average of $267 per V-Day date - that's a lot of surf 'n' turf! On the flip side, if you're looking to get spoiled on February 14, stay away from Alaska and North Dakota: Survey data revealed that, on average, both men and women in those states spent a whopping $0 on Valentine's Day! And before you start chastising your friends up north, just know that 44 percent of ALL survey respondents also said they spent nothing on Valentine's Day. Hey, homemade presents count for something, right?

When it comes to the gender breakdown, men spent an average of $41.38 on their partners, while women averaged around $25.85. Unsurprisingly, people ages 18 to 24 spent the least amount of money during the sappiest time of the year, clocking in an average of $20.94. The highest spenders by age? Those between 55 and 64, who spend an average of $39.51 keeping the flame of love a-burning.

Want to see where YOUR state stacks up in the race to romance? Check out all the survey results and a fun, interactive state map on the OppLoans blog!

Opportunity Financial, LLC, doing business as OppLoans, is one of the highest-rated online lenders and service providers in the industry. With faster funding, significantly lower rates, total transparency, and unmatched customer service, OppLoans provides non-prime borrowers a safe and reliable alternative to payday lending.

For more information regarding OppLoans, please visit OppLoans.com, email John O'Reilly, or call (312) 212-8079 extension 818.

Opportunity Financial, LLC

130 E Randolph St, Suite 3400

Chicago, IL 60601

This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com.

SOURCE OppLoans

Related Links

http://OppLoans.com


This year, 2018, marks the 40th anniversary of the launching of the reform and opening up policy in China. Over the past four decades, the country has achieved fast economic growth, while social peace and stability have been maintained to the fullest extent at the lowest cost. Of course, there are still unsolved problems. However, from the overall perspective, Chinese society remains harmonious and safe. In my eyes, this should be attributed largely to the cultural, economic and political environment of the country.

China has a time-honored civilization, spanning some 5,000 years and continuing uninterrupted to this day. As a result, Chinese people share a strong sense of belonging to their motherland in which they have great pride. In the Chinese language, country, or "guo jia," contains two characters. While the first word "guo" literally means country, the second word "jia" means home or family. In the eyes of the Chinese people, the country is like one big family. It's because of this strong sense of belonging that Chinese society remains so cohesive.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, "when granaries are full, people will know propriety and moderation." A society can be stable and orderly only when its people can lead a prosperous life. After the introduction of the reform and opening up policy in 1978, China achieved fast economic growth and significant scientific and technological progress. It has become the world's second largest economy, with its per-capita GDP has doubled and redoubled many times over the four decades. In the meantime, the Chinese government has taken various measures such as those to fight corruption, reduce poverty and promote the rule of law, in order to uphold social equity. Thanks to these efforts, the potential factors that might destabilize society have been greatly reduced.

Apart from government departments including the police and judicial departments, the general public also contributes much to social governance. "Xicheng Dama" is an outstanding example. Wearing red vests and caps, middle-aged and elderly female volunteers in Beijing's Xicheng District act in various capacities - patrols, cleaners and parking lot attendants - to ensure a clean, safe and harmonious environment. Another example is the concept of the "Chaoyang Resident," which helps police investigate swindling activities, celebrities' involvement in drugs and other cases.

The development of information technology has created new ways of linking the police and the public. For example, the Public Security Bureau of Beijing's Chaoyang District launched "Chaoyang Resident HD," a mobile app designed to collect tip-offs from the public. By jointly combating crimes in such ways, the public and the police have developed an ever-increasing level of mutual trust and positive interaction.

The safety and stability in China did not come easily. Rather, it should be attributed to the efforts made by 1.3 billion people to pursue fairness and justice under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government. For both Chinese and foreigners living in the country, the sense of safety and security is very precious.

China Mosaic

http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Why can China maintain public safety and stability?

http://www.china.org.cn/video/2018-02/07/content_50440041.htm

About China.org.cn

Founded in 2000, China Internet Information Center (China.org.cn/China.com.cn) is a key state news website under the auspices of the State Council Information Office, and is managed by China International Publishing Group. We provide round-the-clock news service in ten languages. With users from more than 200 countries and regions, we have become China's leading multi-lingual news outlet introducing the country to the outside world.





We are one of the country's authoritative outlets for government press releases and are authorized to cover various major events. "Live Webcast" is our online webcasting service to present State Council Information Office press conferences in both Chinese and English languages. We are reputed for timely and accurate delivery of news and information, and wide interactions with audiences. In addition, we are authorized to publish and live broadcast major events and press conferences of ministries, local government agencies and institutions as well as enterprises.





In the era of mobile internet, we endeavor to create an array of products for mobile devices headed by the multilingual WAP platform and the mobile APP. We also use Chinese and international social media to publish information for different user groups.





In the future, CIIC will continue to offer authoritative information about China, tell China's stories, voice China's opinions, and introduce a vivid, panoramic and multicultural China to the world through multi-language, multi-media and multi-platforms.

SOURCE China.org.cn
CHICAGO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Winsight Grocery Business has selected 16 local food retailers from around the country to honor for its charter class of Remarkable Independents.

The 16 Remarkable Independents were selected in part by nominations submitted on their behalf from vendors and distributors detailing their overall excellence as merchants, employers and community stewards. All nominations were then vetted and reviewed by the trade media brand's editorial team to determine four camps of finalists in the following categories:

In-Store Experience

Community Stewardship

Customer Engagement

Online/E-Commerce

"Our first-ever Remarkable Independents aims to shine a well-deserved spotlight on local retailers who go the extra mile to engage and serve their neighbors with a commitment to service, quality, convenience, value and integrity," said Meg Major, VP of content. "We also feel it's important to recognize the integral role independent grocery retailers play in their communities as great places to work, gather and give back, while also celebrating the industry's unsung local heroes, who make their communities better in countless meaningful ways."

The inaugural class of Remarkable Independents is featured in WGB's February issue. They will also be formally recognized at a celebratory event in their honor at the upcoming National Grocers Association convention at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Feb. 11-14.

WGB's Remarkable Independents include:

Community Stewardship

Clark's Markets, Aspen, Colo.

Metcalfe's Market, Madison, Wis.

The Myers Group/Super Bear IGA, Juneau, Alaska

McQuade's Marketplace, Westerly, R.I.

In-Store Experience

Lee's Marketplace, Logan, Utah

Buehler's Fresh Foods, Wooster, Ohio

Clements' Marketplace, Portsmouth, R.I.

Food Circus Super Markets/Super Foodtown, Middletown, N.J.

Customer Engagement

Martin's IGA Market Fresh, Cashmere, Wash.

Broulim's Fresh Foods, Rigby, Idaho

Ferguson & Hassler, Quarryville, Pa.

Lowcountry Grocers/Piggly Wiggly, Charleston, S.C.

Online/E-Commerce

Roche Bros., Wellesley, Mass.

Gerrity's Supermarkets, Scranton, Pa.

Highland Park Markets, Manchester, Conn.

Jumbo Foods, Enid, Okla.

About Winsight Grocery Business

Winsight Grocery Business is the premiere source of information, ideation and inspiration for retail decision-makers. WGB analyzes current news and combines insightful data trends that enable retail executives to successfully run their businesses in this ever-evolving market. For more information, go to WinsightGroceryBusiness.com.

About Winsight Media

Winsight is the only B2B media company providing actionable information and market intelligence to business leaders and suppliers in fast-growing industries, including grocery, convenience, restaurants and noncommercial foodservice. For more information on Winsight and its brands, go to winsightmedia.com or technomic.com.

CONTACT:

Jeff Friedman

EVP, Grocery

312-506-3907

[email protected]

SOURCE Winsight, LLC

Related Links

www.WinsightMedia.com


JUBA, South Sudan, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the hunger season in South Sudan expected to begin three months earlier than usual, the global organization Mercy Corps is warning that households are already running out of food, threatening starvation and even death.

Four years of conflict has left just under half the population of South Sudan - 4.8 million people  severely food insecure. The number of people categorized in "Level 4," the phase before famine, has doubled year over year; more than one million children face acute malnourishment.

As the second phase of the South Sudanese peace talks resumes in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, this week, Mercy Corps urges all parties to the conflict to work together to prevent further devastation.

"In March, the hunger season will bring starvation to more families than ever before, and we could see famine return to South Sudan," says Francesco Lanino, Acting Country Director for Mercy Corps in South Sudan. "The parties to the conflict must commit to peace in order to help us reach those most affected and end suffering in the country."

Mercy Corps' response to the crisis in South Sudan encompasses water provision and hygiene support to stave off disease, emergency education and school feeding for children, and the distribution of seeds, tools and fishing supplies as part of its famine response.

The organization also addresses the root causes of violence and conflict through the social and economic reintegration of young boys and girls, including those formerly associated with armed groups.



In addition to sparking life-threatening food insecurity across the country, violent conflict has forced more than two million people to flee to neighboring countries.



"We know that the South Sudanese people want peace. We now need the leaders to show they are also committed to a peaceful South Sudan," says Lanino.



Join us and support Mercy Corps' work in South Sudan and elsewhere in the world.

Contact:

Amy Fairbairn

[email protected]

+44 (0) 787 640 2811

SOURCE Mercy Corps
NEW YORK, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Global Market Study on Lighting Controllers: Sensor to Remain Dominant Technology during the Forecast Period 2017 - 2025

Persistence Market Research presents a new report titled 'Lighting Controllers Market: Global Industry Analysis 2012 - 2016 and Forecast 2017 - 2025' that studies the performance of the global lighting controllers market over an eight year assessment period from 2017 to 2025. The report presents the value forecast of the global lighting controllers market and provides important insights into the factors driving market growth as well as the factors restricting market growth. As per the assessment of Persistence Market Research, the global lighting controllers market was estimated to be valued at nearly US$ 4,800 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to touch a valuation of nearly US$ 17,400 Mn in 2025 and in the process exhibit a CAGR of 17.6% during the period of forecast 2017-2025.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20161114/438683LOGO )



Global Lighting Controllers Market Research Report Overview @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/lighting-controllers-market.asp

Government Spending on Smart City Projects in the APAC Region Boosting Revenue Growth of the Lighting Controllers Market

The governments in emerging economies such as China and India are focusing on developing smart cities by changing the existing infrastructure, such as old incandescent bulbs and outdated communication systems, and are installing new technologies such as embedded and connected lighting fixtures to impart better living standards to the people. Also, government spending on smart city management services such as road monitoring applications, environment, light sensing, and advanced energy saving is the primary factor which is fueling the growth of the lighting controllers market. For example, in April 2017, the Indian government announced plans to invest in the smart cities initiative. The Indian government has already allocated over US$ 2.3 Bn to this project in the last two budgets.

Request Sample [email protected] https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/21739

Global Lighting Controllers Market: Segmentation and Forecast

The global lighting controllers market is segmented on the basis of technology, application and region.

By technology , the sensor segment was estimated to be valued at nearly US$ 1,400 Mn in 2017 and is expected to reach a valuation of nearly US$ 4,700 Mn in 2025, witnessing significant growth during the forecast period.

the sensor segment was estimated to be valued at nearly in 2017 and is expected to reach a valuation of nearly in 2025, witnessing significant growth during the forecast period. By application , the commercial segment was estimated to be valued at nearly US$ 2,000 Mn in 2017 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 17.0% during the period of forecast.

the commercial segment was estimated to be valued at nearly in 2017 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 17.0% during the period of forecast. By region, the Asia Pacific lighting controllers market was estimated to be valued at nearly US$ 1,550 Mn in 2017 and is likely to reach a valuation of nearly US$ 6,000 Mn in 2025, reflecting a CAGR of 18.5% during the period of assessment.

Download and View Report TOC, Figures and Tables @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/lighting-controllers-market/toc

Global Lighting Controllers Market: Competitive Landscape

In this report, some of the prominent companies active in the global lighting controllers market have been profiled, which include companies such as Hubbell, GE Lighting, LLC, OSRAM Licht AG, Philips Lighting Holding B.V., Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc., Eaton Corporation, Schneider Electric S.E., Honeywell International, Lutron Electronics and CREE, INC.

Get full Report Now @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/21739

Persistence Market Research Overview

Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.

To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.

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Genesta acquires the 66,680 sqm logistics property Juvan Teollisuuskatu 25, Espoo, on the behalf of its fund GNRE Fund II. The seller is a fund managed by J.P. Morgan Asset Management. The property is located in Juvanmalmi, one of four major logistics and warehouse areas in Helsinki. The area is

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Senator elect Kristina Keneally, the former NSW premier-turned television host, and husband, Ben Keneally have quietly offloaded the family's Wollstonecraft investment townhouse.

The three bedroom Wollstonecraft townhouse had a price guide of $1.55 million plus before its recent sale.

There will be a tiny profit for the couple who recently settled on a $1,875,000 four bedroom waterfront on Scotland Island.

They had been renting in Hunters Hill.

The couple paid $1,383,000 for the Wollstonecraft investment in 2015 following the sale of their $2.27 million Pagewood family home.

Upon their 2015 purchase of the River Road townhouse became a $1,000 a week rental.

It was offered recently as a $1,050 a week rental.

Kenally's plans for a Canberra home are yet to emerge.

She had been thinking of moving to Canberra to present a daily Sky News program from Parliament House but these plans changed after the announcement she would replace Sam Dastyari in the Senate.

Keneally has told Labor officials that she will make stillbirth research funding and constitutional recognition for indigenous Australians a personal mission during her time in the Senate.

This article was first published in the Saturday Daily Telegraph.
News

World news

A Record Year for Wind Energy

Renewables Could Generate 50% of Europes Power in 2030, Says New Study

AUTHOR: publics.bg



 pexels.com



Wind power enjoyed a record year in 2017, as more offshore capacity was installed than ever before. Renewable energy in general also continued to grow and the EU generated more electricity from clean sources than coal for the very first time, Euractiv reported.

Europes wind power generation had a bumper 12 months last year, after 3,148MW was installed at sea and connected to the grid, twice the total for 2016 and 4% higher than the previous record year (2015).

Trade association WindEurope, predicts in its wrap-up for the year that the coming two years will also set records for connected capacity, due to large-scale pending projects in the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium.

But after that, the future could be less bright for the industry, as member states approach a 2020 deadline to hit their individual renewable energy targets. Current legislation will no longer apply and negotiations are pending for the 2020-2030 period.

A separate new analysis by think tanks Sandbag and Agora Energiewende shows that renewables outstripped coal power for the first time when it comes to electricity generation. Their joint study, The European Power Sector in 2017, highlighted that coal generation was more than twice that of wind, solar and biomass in 2010.

In 2017, those three energy sources generated 20.9% of Europes electricity, contributing to a total 30% of the mix. An average annual growth of 1.7% since 2010 led the study to predict that renewables could provide 50% of Europes electricity by 2030, if the current rate continues.

But the think tank analysis warned that the growth of renewables is not steady across Europe, after it was revealed that the UK and Germany accounted for over half of growth during the past three years.

Agora European energy policy director Mattias Bruck said that the increase in renewables means the proposed 2030 target of 35% is possible but only if all EU countries enter into the energy transition. EU countries are racing to meet their national energy plans. For eleven member states, it is a case of job done but others are lagging behind and have even resorted to buying up excess statistics from the frontrunners.

EU Climate Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete has suggested a 35% target could be profitable for 2030, given the strong fall in renewable energy price, Euractive reminded.

Canetes fellow energy Commissioner, Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic, acknowledged late last year that a 30% target could be affordable, which has led to predictions that the Commission could be persuaded to change its stance when it comes to trilateral talks.

The European Parliament recently agreed to back a non-binding 35% target in its own appraisal of the Renewable Energy Directive update.
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Presentation at the meeting of the Interdepartmental Council for Tourism of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposal of a comprehensive national strategy for tourism development

06-02-2018

On February 6, 2018 in Minsk, the Interagency Expert Coordination Council for Tourism under the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus considered the proposal of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the development of a comprehensive national strategy (concept) for tourism development in Belarus and approved the initial steps for the organization of this work.

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, presented the participants of the meeting with arguments in support of the idea of developing such an instrument and his vision of its possible outline.

Background Information: At present, the development of tourist industry in the country is carried out in the framework of the state program Belarus Hospitable, designed for 2016-2020 years.

The basic purport of the proposed strategy is to enhance awareness and maximize the catalytic and multiplying impact of integrated development of tourist industry  both as the engine and the locomotive  for the development of related sectors of economy as well as social and economic infrastructure of the country.

Harnessing the potential and purposeful consolidation of resources and capabilities of a wide range of partners  ministries, local authorities, private sector, international partners and investors  around the conspicuous tourist advantages and charms of Belarus can not only increase awareness of the country in the world but also promote the development of small and medium business, economic, transport and social infrastructure, create new jobs and attract investment.

   

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News

World news

Turkish Companies Pull out of Talks to Purchase Stake in Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

AUTHOR: publics.bg



 Akkuyu Nuclear



Turkish companies Kolin and Kalyon (members of the consortium Cengiz-Kolin-Kalyon, CKK) suspended negotiations on entering the Akkuyu nuclear power plant (the first nuclear power plant in Turkey), Roman Dyukarev, communications director at Rusatom Energo International said, cited by TASS.

Rusatom Energo International manages Rosatom's foreign projects for the construction and operation of nuclear power plants. Rosatom is in talks with other potential investors, including the Turkish state energy company Euas, Dyukarev added.

"During the detailed elaboration of the terms of the agreement, Kolin Insaat and Kalyon Insaat did not continue their participation in the negotiations. One of the companies Rosatom is now discussing participation in the project with is Euas", Dyukarev also said.

In summer of 2017, Rosatom secured a deal on selling 49% of the company, which operates the construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant to the Cengiz-Kolin-Kalyon consortium. The amount of the transaction was not reported. It was planned that the document on participation of these companies in the project would be signed before the end of 2017. But head of Rosatom Alexei Likhachev said that the state corporation is negotiating with other potential investors.

The negotiations with Cengiz on entering the NPP construction project in Turkey continue, Dyukarev noted. "Cengiz participates in the project as a contractor for a number of construction works, negotiations with the company on other partnership opportunities in the framework of the project are continuing," he said. According to Anadolu Agency, all three companies, including Cengiz have pulled out of the project due to inability to agree on commercial terms in the project.

Dyukarev also noted Rosatom is interested in Euas participation in the project. "This company has expertise in implementing nuclear projects, participating in the Sinop nuclear power plant project, and we will be happy if, as a result of the negotiations, Euas joins the investors and shareholders of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant project," he added.

"We expect investors to join the project during 2018. Now, at the licensing stage, the moment for investors to enter is very good. This year we expect to receive a basic construction license that will enable us immediately to start the construction of a nuclear island. Later on, the cost of joining the project for new shareholders will only increase,"Dyukarev stressed.

In 2010, Russia and Turkey signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in construction and operation of Turkey's first NPP  Akkuyu, TASS reminded. The project, estimated at $20 billion envisages construction of four power units with VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 4800 MW. Russian nuclear agency Rosatom expects to launch the first block of the Akkuyu NPP in 2023.
While activism isnt new, the methods and means available to todays citizens certainly are, as well as the platforms afforded to historically underrepresented people. Here we round up a list of recent and forthcoming titles that bring to the forefront progressive issues, individuals who are fighting for equal rights, and strategy guides for politically motivated young readers.

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices: Words and Images of Hope Ed. by Cheryl Willis Hudson and Wade Hudson (Sept. 4, 2018, Crown, hardcover, $18.99, ISBN 978-0-525-58042-3). Fifty influential childrens book creators, including Jason Reynolds, Jacqueline Woodson, and Kwame Alexander, offer their own responses to the following prompt: In this divisive world, what shall we tell our children? via poems, letters, essays, and art.

Rad Girls Can: Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women By Kate Schatz, illus. by Miriam Klein Stahl (Jul. 17, Ten Speed, hardcover, $16.99, ISBN 978-0-399-58110-6). In this followup to Rad American Women A-Z and Rad Women Worldwide, the author/illustrator duo illuminate the lives of teen girls of historical importance.

Girls Resist!: A Guide to Activism, Leadership, and Starting a Revolution By KaeLyn Rich (June 26, Quirk, paper, $14.99, ISBN 978-1-68369-059-7). A how-to guide for young activists from the editor of Autostraddle, a pop culture website for queer and feminist women, this volume includes tips on everything from talking about issues with family to organizing direct action.

You Are Mighty: A Guide to Changing the World By Caroline Paul, illus. by Lauren Tamaki (May 15, Bloomsbury, hardcover, $17.99, ISBN 978-1-68119-822-4). A call to arms for young activistsno matter the goalthis book shares success stories from young people who found everyday means to achieve change.

How I Resist: Activism and Hope for the Next Generation Ed. by Tim Federle and Maureen Johnson (May 1, Wednesday Books, paper, $18.99, ISBN 978-1-250-16836-8). This collection of essays about keeping sight of hope when things feel helpless includes contributions from authors and celebrities including Javier Munoz, Lauren Duca, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and more. The editors and contributors pledged the books $50,000 advance to the ACLU.

The Radical Element: 12 Stories of Daredevils, Debutantes & Other Dauntless Girls Ed. by Jessica Spotswood (Mar. 13, Candlewick, hardcover, $17.99, ISBN 978-0-7636-9425-8) Dhonielle Clayton, Meg Medina, and Marieke Nijkamp are among the contributors to this anthology of short stories centered on girls who confronted challenging circumstances to pursue their goals.

She Persisted Around the World: 13 Women Who Changed History By Chelsea Clinton, illus. by Alexandra Boiger (Mar. 6, Philomel, hardcover, $17.99, ISBN 978-0-525-51699-6). This companion book to activist and former First Daughter Chelsea Clintons bestselling nonfiction picture book, She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World, presents the stories of women from around the world who had an international impact.

Hope Nation: YA Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration Ed. by Rose Brock (Feb. 27, Philomel, hardcover, $18.99, ISBN 978-1-5247-4167-9). In a collection of personal essays about facing defeat, humiliation, and isolation with hope, a veritable whos who of contemporary YA writers offer contributions, including Angie Thomas, Jason Reynolds, Julie Murphy, and more.

All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages Ed. by Saundra Mitchell (Feb. 27, Harlequin Teen, hardcover, $18.99, ISBN 978-1-335-47045-4). Short stories that explore the gamut of queer experience throughout history comprise this anthology featuring several influential YA authors, including Malinda Lo, Tessa Gratton, and Shaun David Hutchinson.

Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! By Marley Dias (Jan. 30, Scholastic Press, hardcover, $17.99, ISBN 978-1-338-22719-2). Dias garnered attention as a sixth grader when she launched the social media campaign #1000BlackGirlBooks, in which she gathered titles featuring black girl protagonists. She now offers up a book of her own: a guide to harnessing social media for activism, and reading more diverse books. Read PWs interview with Dias here.

Shaking Things Up: 14 Women Who Changed the World Ed. by Susan Hood (Jan. 3, HarperCollins, hardcover, $18.99, ISBN 978-0-06-269945-9). This picture book tells the stories of influential women through history, from Malala Yousafzai to Pura Belpre, and features stories and illustrations by all-female contributors, including Selina Alko, Sophie Blackall, LeUyen Pham, Melissa Sweet, and many more.

Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World Ed. by Kelly Jensen (Algonquin, Jan. 2017, paper, $16.95, ISBN 978-1-61620-586-7). Poems, stories, comics, art and more from 44 contributors including Roxane Gay, Mindy Kaling, and more chart their individual paths toward finding feminism.

Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls 2 By Elena Favilli and Francesca Cavallo (Nov. 2017, Timbuktu Labs, hardcover, $35, ISBN 978-0-9978958-2-7). Favilli and Cavallo made crowd-funding history when their Kickstarter campaign for their first book, Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls, secured one million dollars in funding. They utilized Kickstarter again for a follow-up volume, which features illustrated biographies of notable women.

The Little Book of Little Activists (Sept. 2017, Viking, board, $10.99, ISBN 978-0-451-47854-2). This board book celebrates young activists with photographs of children and their signs at recent protest rallies. Five percent of the books gross proceeds are donated to the Childrens Defense Fund.
The year 2018 would have marked the late award-winning author Madeleine LEngles 100th birthday. The occasion is being celebrated by two key events: the publication of a middle-grade biography, written by her granddaughters, and a long-awaited film of her 1963 Newbery winner, A Wrinkle in Time.

LEngle loved birthdays. Celebrating her own in late November was always a highlight. A few years ago, reflecting on the approach of this important anniversary, her granddaughters Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Lena Roy started thinking about what they could do as a meaningful tribute to the acclaimed author. Both women had been exceptionally close to their grandmother.

We didnt want to throw a party or have to organize and host a public event, said Voiklis. For Roy, a writer and teacher of writing to young people, writing LEngles biography had been in the back of her mind for several years. The idea lay dormant for a long time, she said. I wanted to let it rise organically.

Voiklis, who is LEngles literary executor, initially found the prospect daunting. She knew exactly how much material existedboxes and boxes of journals, manuscripts, letters and other memorabilia. LEngle had kept a journal since childhood and was a prolific correspondent as well. Whats more, Voiklis did not consider herself a writer. I do lots of writing, she noted. But I dont have the same relationship to the craft as my grandmother and my sister. So at first I thought maybe somebody else should do it. She quickly realized, though, that even if another biographer were to take on the project, it would still involve a lot of work for her, as literary executor.

While the sisters were pondering the idea, Lin-Manuel Mirandas musical theater production of Hamilton, telling the life story of Alexander Hamilton in hip-hop form, was taking New York City by storm. The words to one of the songs helped convince Voiklis that she and Roy should take on the task. My daughter had the soundtrack on continually and we got hooked on it as a family, she recalled. I started getting shivers listening to the words: Who lives, who dies, who tells your story. 

Voikliss first impulse was to create a picture book. There were moments in Madeleines life I could so clearly visualize, like her first memory of being taken outside at night, as a very young child, to see the stars. She brought the idea of a picture book to Margaret Ferguson, then at Farrar, Straus and Giroux, who had a long relationship with LEngles work (and had also edited Roys 2010 YA novel Edges). Ferguson believed that a middle-grade biography would be a better format. I thought a biography suitable for the same audience that reads A Wrinkle in Time would be more successful, Ferguson said. I also thought it would be able to accommodate archival material that readers would find interesting.

Voiklis soon came to agree, and the sisters decided they would collaborate on the project, later titled Becoming Madeleine. Roy, like Ferguson, felt that middle-grade readers would be the perfect age to appreciate a book about their grandmother. When we were 11, we were so in love with our grandmother! she recalled. And writing for middle grade is such a beautiful way to writeyou want it to be authentic, not sugar-coated but touching on adult concerns in a way that doesnt overwhelm a younger reader.

Voiklis added, though, that while its marketed for readers in the middle grades, we are granddaughters of the woman who said, If its not good enough for adults, its not good enough for children. So we hope that it will speak not only to [young] readers but to artists and women and everyone interested in the period, or in writing.

The Collaboration Begins

The sisters then began the sensitive task of reading their grandmothers private journals, which during her life had generally been off-limits to everyone, including them. When I became a new mom, Roy recalled, I was really curious about Grans life when she was a young mother, and she gave me permission to read those sections. With that exception, the privacy of the journals had always been respected. Even for this book, Roy and Voiklis were careful to examine only what was relevant to their biography, which ends in 1963 with the publication of A Wrinkle in Time. We felt the best way to balance the respect for her privacy with enthusiasm for her work was to read only about the years we cover in the book, said Voiklis. And even with this restriction, the material from some periods of LEngles lifeher years as a young adult in New York City, for examplewas so voluminous that they had to make some deliberate choices to skip some of it, focusing on moments that were important to LEngles development as a writer.

The writers own voice first appears in the book when she is 11 years old and attending boarding school in Switzerland. Journals from this year, 1930, are the earliest that Roy and Voiklis have found in the archives. They agree its possible that earlier ones exist, but unlikely; the archives are very well-organized. We didnt want to poke around indiscriminately before the collection goes to an institution, said Voiklis. I have a scholarly background, and am cautious with archives. (There is no commitment to an institution at this time.)

They initially opened the biography with those years, recognizing the strength of their grandmothers voice to draw in readers and make the book come alive. But Ferguson, who moved her imprint to Holiday House soon after the book had been edited, encouraged them to write chronologically, starting with LEngles parents, followed by her birth and early childhood.

Their grandmother had told them many stories about her early life, so the journals didnt reveal any great surprises. But the sisters were stirred by the consistency of LEngles voice from her earliest age through her final works.

Madeleine was so relatable, Roy said. And so ambitious and driven from an early age. I had known that, of course, butwow!to see that searing drive in her journals. By the time I knew her she was completely established, so I never experienced that aspect of her.

Collaborating on a book can be filled with pitfalls, but both Roy and Voiklis describe the experience in glowing terms. It sounds warm and fuzzytwo sisters working togetherbut I knew there could be a real conflict, too, with siblings working on a subject we both feel strongly about, Voiklis said. But it was a lovely experience.

It was so connecting for us, Roy added. We were kind to each other, but not overly sensitive, and the work on the book was completely equal.

They collaborated using Google Docs; Roy (who admits she is not afraid of producing an extremely rough first draft) would write a section, which Voiklis would edit and then add to. Roy would edit Voikliss new material, then continue the story. It was seamless. Sometimes we were literally in Google Docs at the same time, editing and rewriting together. I loved it when Charlotte made changes in my work. We both wanted it to be the best it could be.

Voiklis believes LEngle would have been especially proud of her granddaughters for working so hard together to create the book. My grandmother has inspired my whole life, said Roy, and this is a love letter to her. Both hope that the book will inspire readers in their own becoming.

A Decades-Long Path from Book to Film

The biography, which theyve always regarded as a birthday present for their grandmother, is scheduled for publication on February 6, and several promotional events are planned to take place in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. A month later, on March 9, the eagerly anticipated film of A Wrinkle in Time, directed by Oscar nominee Ava DuVernay, will be released. Voiklis and Roy both agree that their grandmother would have been extremely pleased.

Its a tremendous honor to have an artist reinterpret another artist, said Roy. It was always a disappointment to her that no blockbuster film of this book was made in her lifetime. (A made-for television film was produced by Disney in 2004, and was received unenthusiastically.) A Wrinkle in Times journey to the big screen started with the decades-long passion of producer Catherine Hand, who read the book as a girl and vowed to herself that when she grew up she would make it into a film. She was not much of a reader, but a librarian put the book into her hands and by the fifth sentence, she was hooked. I immediately saw it as a film, Hand recalled, a great adventure story about two kids in search of their missing father.

As an adult, Hand found her way into the film and television industry and, in 1979, persuaded her boss, Norman Lear, that his production company should buy the rights for the book. His decision marked the beginning of a strong bond between Hand and LEngle. She became a true mentor, Hand said. We had this amazing relationship centered on our love for A Wrinkle in Time, but it grew into a real friendship. She taught me so much over the years.

When she first met LEngle to discuss film rights to the book, Hand learned that hundreds of people had wanted the rights over the years, but LEngle had always said no. She was extremely protective of the characters and themes. She was both excited about the possibility of a film and concerned that it be made right. 

LEngle sold the rights to Lears Embassy Pictures in 1979, and Hand became its champion within the company. But several attempts at screenwritingincluding LEngles ownfailed to produce a satisfactory script. During the process, Embassy Pictures was sold. A Wrinkle in Time was not included in the sale of Embassy, thereby allowing Hand to eventually sell the rights to Miramax, which was bought by Disney soon after. Budget constraints influenced the decision to make a TV movie as opposed to a theatrical release, and contributed to its disappointing result.

Hand credits Tendo Nagenda, executive v-p of production at Disney, with stirring up renewed interest, a decade later, in producing a film. Nagenda introduced Hand to Jim Whitaker, who became her producing partner, and kept all the moving parts going in the right direction. When writer Jennifer Lee came into the picture, Hand noted, Everything started to fall into place. She had an affinity for the material like no one else. When I first met her, I thought I was speaking with a young Madeleine LEngle. Nagenda also convinced DuVernay to sign on to the project. Sometimes it felt like there was a force at work greater than any one of us nurturing the project along, Hand reflected.

Roy and Voiklis were already working on the biography when, in February 2016, DuVernay was announced as the films director. We knew we wanted the book to come out in the same time frame as the film, Voiklis said. But we took the production with a grain of salt because of the long history of stops and starts.

Though the sisters had no direct input into the movie, Voiklis noted that the producers were generous and lovely with us. They werent seeking our approval, but it was clear that it was important to Ava and the producers to be respectful. She visited the set three times, and she and Roy are extras in one of the scenes. They are eager to see the finished production, and both are confident that their grandmother would give her blessing.

Madeleine would be thrilled that something she wrote more than 50 years ago has inspired the creative vision of another artist, Voiklis said. To write something that has a life outside of and beyond the original artist is an amazing accomplishment.

Becoming Madeleine: A Biography of the Author of A Wrinkle in Time by Her Granddaughters by Charlotte Jones Voiklis and Lena Roy. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $19.99 Feb. 6 ISBN 978-0-374-30764-6
Ted Heinecken, who retired in 2015 after a 52-year career selling books as a publishers rep and was regarded as a legend by many in the publishing industry, died in Chicago at St. Josephs Hospital on February 3 from complications of cancer of the duodenum; his wife, Gisela, and son, Kim, were with him at the end. Arrangements for a memorial service are pending, but will likely take place in Chicago in mid-April.

Heinecken, who was a month short of his 85th birthday on March 7, received the PW Lifetime Achievement Award, which was given to him upon the occasion of his retirement three years ago this month. The award included a profile in the magazines pre-BEA issue that spring that amply demonstrated Heineckens stature as a living repository of the history of modern publishing in the U.S. as he witnessed publishing evolve from a gentlemans business before the 1960s paperback revolution into the industry it is today.

Born in Nebraska in 1933 and armed with a Masters degree in English literature from the University of Minnesota, Heinecken intended to teach, but quit academia in 1957 to launch his career in publishing as an editor at what is now Augsburg Fortress Press. He left that position five years later to work for Encyclopaedia Brittanica Press in Chicago, where he met another industry legend, Hank Fujii, who lured him into selling books telling him, once you get into sales, you wont be able to afford [being] an editor.

Heinecken took Fujiis advice and in 1963 joined Oxford University Press as its Midwest sales rep. His first call was on Chicagos Barbaras Books, he later recalled, when it was still owned by Barbara. Subsequent calls were made on other famous bookstores whose names are still familiar in the book world, although those stores are long gone: Krochs and Brentanos and Stuart Brent.

After six years at OUP, Heinecken and another rep, Jay Ide, formed their own commission sales group; the partnership lasted for nine years, during which time Heinecken told PW, it picked up this odd little publisher called Workman that published three or four titles each season. After dissolving his partnership with Ide in 1978, Heinecken formed his own group with two employees; one of them was Charlie Boswell, PWs 2005 Rep of the Year. Another PW Rep of the Year (2003), Wes Caliger, joined the group in 1981.

In 2008, pushing 75 years of age and wanting to stay involved, without the hassles of running a business, Heineckens group merged with Fujii Associates, which had been founded in 1967 by his old friend, and Heinecken worked for Fujii Associates until his retirement.

After announcing in an email to PW his retirement three years ago, Heinecken summed up his entire philosophy of repping and the secret to his success, stating, "I have always held the conviction that being a part of the book trade community is a special calling, requiring a love of the book and a belief in the printed (whether or not on paper) word as a keystone of our culture.

This story has been updated: Heinecken died on Feb. 3 and would have turned 85 on March 7.
Even though both companies are American, Discoverys proposed acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactiv has cleared a major regulatory hurdle in Europe after the European Commission (EC) gave a green light to the deal.





Discovery announced in July 2017 that it had reached a definitive agreement to acquire Scripps Networks in a cash-and-stock transaction with $14.6 billion. The combination of the companies is expected to extend Scripps Networks content to international audiences, increase opportunities for advertisers and digital distribution partners, and unlock significant cost synergies.The EC's approval is conditional on Discoverys commitment to offer third-party distributors the right, on a non-exclusive and unbundled basis, to distribute TVN24 and/or TVN24 BiS in Poland, an EU member state.We are pleased with the positive decision of the European Commission, said David Zaslav, president and CEO at Discovery . We believe that joining the Discovery and Scripps Networks family of brands and assets will allow us to better serve our passionate fans with more content on more platforms worldwide, while at the same time optimising our business for greater efficiency.
The B-52 Stratofortress this week set another record for the number of smart bombs dropped from the iconic bomber, officials said Tuesday.

Over the past 96 hours in Afghanistan, the aircraft played a leading role against the Taliban, striking the militant group's training facilities in Badakhshan province with 24 smart bombs, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan said in a release. That's up from a previous record set in November of 19 precision-guided munitions.
U.S. To Sell Naval Missiles to Finland for the First Time

WASHINGTON  The U.S. State Department has cleared a pair of first-time missile sales for Finland's navy that could top $730 million in total.

The announcement comes as Finland, concerned with actions from neighboring Russia, is looking to increase its defense spending. While not a NATO member, Finland has made moves to increase ties with its European allies following Russia's 2014 invasion of Crimea  moves that have led Russia to pre-emptively threaten its neighbor if it takes more concrete steps to join the military alliance.
As we have seen time and time again, regime changes and extended military occupations are a bad bet and a worse investment for the United States. After years of occupying Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, none boast anything resembling stability or prosperity. Nor have protracted military interventions in these erratic countriesdespite trillions spent; 7,000 dead American troops; and more than a million locals killed made our Homeland any safer. Sober, coherent strategy demands that policymakers weigh past costs and benefits prior to committing to future operations.

This month, the Trump administration all but pledged itself to an open-ended nation-building operation in U.S.-occupied, northeast Syria. Given Americas uninspiring recent track record, this should concern us all.

In Afghanistan, a modest, limited operation to unseat al-Qaeda morphed into a quixotic attempt to reconstruct a country shattered by decades of internecine warfare. Despite the best of intentions, U.S. efforts to fashion a centralized, presidential government on a nation historically built around rural autonomy and devolution was always a long shot. Now, after 17 years, in the face of persistent bombings in the very center of Kabul and a record number of Afghan provinces and districts under the control of or contested by the Taliban, it is obvious Americas first post-9/11 regime change operation was a bust.

Operation IRAQI FREEDOM proved worse still. Leaving aside the incorrect intelligence and inherently flawed ideology that assumed the forceful spread of democracy was both possible and protected America, the ensuing occupation was a catastrophe. Some 4,500 American troops were killed fighting a multifaceted insurgency, hundreds of thousands of civilians perished in the unleashed civil war, and the chauvinist Shia government that arose from the ashes helped foster the rise of ISIS. The growth of that unintended monster triggered a new, still ongoing, U.S. military operation in the country.

Ill-advised regime change was never just a conservative problem. Prominent progressives supported the Iraq invasionincluding the current Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumerand President Barack Obama (at Hillary Clintons behest) commanded the third disastrous American exercise in regime change, in Libya. Here, an operation sold as a humanitarian intervention quietly (and immediately) shifted to a full-blown overthrow of Gaddafis government.

With little forethought, Libya fractured into its current state: vicious, regionally destabilizing civil war that has become a magnet for extremists. Currently split between two rival militias and governments, the resultant spillover from still unstable Libya has catalyzed transnational strife in Mali and Niger. The U.S. and its allies are still grappling with that mess.

Which brings us back to the harsh realities of the U.S. position in Syria. Syrias President Bashar al-Assad no matter how much the U.S. would prefer he step downhas essentially won the civil war and ensured his regimes survival. Assad has his Russian and Iranian allies to thank for that positive outcome. As it stands, the U.S. and its allied Kurdish militia hold only the northeast portion of the country and remain locked in a precarious stalemate along the Euphrates River, staring down Russian, Iranian, and regime forces. It would not take much to spark a catastrophic conflict.

To add to the dilemma, the U.S. faces an anti-Kurdish, Turkish offensive on its northwest flank. Indeed, our putative NATO ally has sternly warned the U.S. to steer clear of its invasion route.

Then there are the problems inherent to the military occupation of the northeast enclave. Though conventional ISIS forces are essentially defeated, the ideology of the Islamic State endures. Furthermore, the longer the U.S. military stays put, the more the situation resembles indefinite occupation. That could, recent history being any judge, lead to a local or ISIS-inspired insurgency, especially among Syrias majority Sunnis.

Furthermore, though U.S. forces intend to provide basic aid to local infrastructure, officials have explicitly announced that they intend to avoid major nation-building reconstruction. That briefs well, but remember the lesson of Iraq: so long as the U.S. military is the main security game in town, expect the locals to look to it for assistance. Whatever does or does not happen in northeast Syria will be on us. Poor electricity supply: thats on us. Food shortages and drought: thats our problem, too. Over promise and under produce too long and the locals will grow frustrated. Rebellions have stemmed from far less. Thats the Syria trap.



Its time for hard decisions and realistic analysis. The U.S. military may have already accomplished all it can (and needs to) in Syria. It is now wading into treacherous waters as the mission expands to countering Iran, forcing a diplomatic solution in Geneva, and quietly nation-building in the northeast. The U.S. may, understandably, desire all of those things, but none rank as truly vital national security interests worthy of hefty military investment. Realism demands the U.S. weigh the immense commitments with the paltry plausible payoffs.

Every situation is different, but if three recent regime changes are any guide to the future, Washington should seriously consider setting minimalist objectives and avoid letting sunk costs sink America deeper into Syria. It will not be pretty, but at least it might stave off another fiasco.

Major Danny Sjursen (USA Ret.) is a fellow at Defense Priorities. He served combat tours with U.S. Army reconnaissance units in Iraq and Afghanistan and later taught history at his alma mater, West Point. He is the author of a memoir and critical analysis of the Iraq War, Ghostriders of Baghdad: Soldiers, Civilians, and the Myth of the Surge. Follow him on Twitter at @SkepticalVet.

[Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author, expressed in an unofficial capacity, and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. government.]
Are Dems Destroying Their Own Credibility?

Political debate requires understanding how persuasive a or unpersuasive a arguments are and will prove over time. I'm surprised that Democr...
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus A.Dapkiunas meets the Ambassador of Laos

06-02-2018

On February 6, 2018 the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Andrei Dapkiunas, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to Belarus non-resident, Siviengphet Phetvorasack.

During the meeting, the sides discussed current issues of development of bilateral cooperation in trade, economic, scientific, technical, education and other spheres, as well as possibilities of high-level contacts.

The parties stressed the importance of establishing reliable information exchange between ministries and organisations of the two countries and practical implementation of mutually beneficial joint projects.

   

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Sometimes joke that growing up in the Soviet Union prepared me for working as a journalist in the United States. That joke has become less funny now that the President is positioning applause as a central issue of American politics. On Monday, before a crowd at a manufacturing plant, in Ohio, Donald Trump criticized Democrats who did not applaud during his first State of the Union address. They were like death and un-American, he said. Un-American. Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not?
A special House election in Pennsylvania next month is the first major race of 2018, taking the temperature of voters and testing both parties strategies eight months before the midterms.

Its also a major first test for Democrats as they work to re-establish ties to a core constituency that drifted away from them in 2016: union members.

Winning back support from working-class voters has been a central Democratic concern since many bucked the party to support Donald Trump, helping him secure the presidency. Democrats have developed a kitchen-table economic message meant to appeal to these voters, and the effort is critical to their success in key states both this November and in the race against President Trump in 2020.

Steve Rosenthal, a Democratic consultant with deep ties to labor unions, including serving as the political director of the AFL-CIO during the Bill Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, said the March 13 special election in Pennsylvanias 18th Congressional District is an interesting dry run for what lies ahead.

Theres a huge amount of ground that needs to be made up and a huge amount of work that needs to be done, but the potential is really there, Rosenthal said.

Democrats decline among union members in 2016 was stark and consequential. Even though labor leaders backed Hillary Clinton and mobilized on her behalf, national exit polls showed she won 51 percent of union households, a seven-point drop from President Obama in 2012. Trump won 42 percent of union households, a two-point uptick from Mitt Romney.

Among not just households but union members specifically, the drop-off was similar: Clinton underperformed Obama by 10 points, while Trump outperformed Romney by three, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters last year. The discrepancy helped make the difference in states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, which were crucial to Trumps victory.

PA-18 is in the heart of Trump country: Its in the southwest corner of the state, covering a wide swath from the West Virginia border to the suburbs of Pittsburgh. Its overwhelmingly white, heavily working-class, and the president carried it by nearly 20 percentage points in 2016. Its a union-heavy area, with more than 87,000 union members or household members, from service employees to teachers to steelworkers and coal miners.

Some unions in the area previously backed Republican Rep. Tim Murphy, who triggered the special election when he resigned amid a sexual misconduct scandal. Now, union leaders are backing the Democrat in this race, Conor Lamb, a 33-year-old Marine veteran and former prosecutor running against Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone.

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO endorsed Lamb in December, just a few weeks after he won the Democratic nomination for the seat. The local chapter of the Service Employees International Union is hosting an endorsement event with Lamb Saturday, but it has already been working on his behalf. United Steelworkers, which is based in Pittsburgh, also has been active in the race, as has the local chapter of United Mine Workers of America.

Local union leaders agree: The matchup between Lamb and Saccone is an ideal contrast for their membership. Lamb has prioritized issues central to these workers, including health care, infrastructure and miners pensions, while Saccone has a record of supporting anti-union measures in the state legislature.

Saccone helped draft a bill to end paid leave for teachers who take time out of the classroom to work for their unions, and voted for a bill last year that would have prevented public employees from automatically deducting contributions to union political action committees from their paychecks, a measure local union leaders rallied against. In 2013, a local group advocating right to work legislation endorsed Saccone.

We couldnt have gotten two more different candidates in terms of the labor movement, said Rick Bloomingdale, president of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. He said Saccone declined to fill out the questionnaire seeking the unions endorsement, which made backing Lamb early an easy decision.

Winning the race itself will be anything but easy. National Republicans have launched an all-out blitz in the district, with both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence visiting on behalf of Saccone, and outside groups spending millions against Lamb. Theyre revving up Trump supporters to get behind Saccone  a poll at the beginning of this year showed the president with a 54 percent/39 percent approval/disapproval rate in the district, much better than his numbers nationally.

Republicans are also highlighting how the middle class benefits from their tax cuts, hoping Democratic opposition could be a wedge for middle-class and working-class voters. A super PAC allied with Paul Ryan released an ad Wednesday linking Lamb to Nancy Pelosi, and highlighting her remark calling the middle-class benefits from the cuts crumbs.

In many ways, Saccone is relying on a similar dynamic that helped propel Trump in 2016: winning working-class voters who go against the endorsements of union leaders. But union leaders are skeptical.

Even if someone were to believe Donald Trump is still their guy  its hard to translate that to Rick Saccone, said Ed Yankovich, a leader of the local mine workers union.

Democrats acknowledge Lamb is an underdog, and dont think support from union members alone will put him over the top in this district, where the party didnt even run a candidate in the last two cycles. But in a special election in mid-March, a sustained effort to get out the vote among union members could be a critical piece of a winning coalition.

Mike Mikus, a Democratic strategist who managed a special election campaign in a nearby district in 2010, said labor union households made up a disproportionate share of the electorate in that race, and he predicted between 20 percent and 25 percent of the vote share could come from union members. Mikus said that could be higher if an aggressive voter mobilization campaign bears fruit.

Union strategy in this race mirrors labors national goals. Trumka said in the briefing with reporters last year he hoped for the most robust member-to-member program in the unions history. Bloomgindale said that the failure to establish such a program in Pennsylvania in 2016 cost them support. He also blamed Democrats broadly, saying Clintons economic policies never reached working-class voters.

In Pennsylvania in the last two weeks, basically Hillarys campaign was Im not Donald Trump; look how horrible he is to these women, Bloomingdale said. And he is, and was, but people care about jobs first.

National Democrats have tried to prioritize that economic message, but have struggled to break through Trumps outsize control of the news cycle. Congressional Democrats last year unveiled their Better Deal agenda, which focused on jobs and wages, and in November they added ambitious pro-union plans to that agenda, calling for a federal law allowing private collective bargaining and a ban on state right to work laws, the Washington Post reported at the time.

Tim Waters, the political director of United Steelworkers, said hes seen positive signs that Democrats are refocusing on core issues for workers, and praised Lambs attention to those issues in his campaign. But he said it needs to be a sustained effort this year and beyond if Democrats want to convince voters there would be action behind the rhetoric. If not, he added, they risk losing these voters again this year, and potentially for good.

Talking about coming up with an economic message and actually taking it out and being consistent pushing and fighting for that agenda, those are two different things, Waters said. You can talk about it all day long, but you have to get out there and show voters that have lost confidence in that.

The early efforts may help set the stage for November in Pennsylvania, where Democrats are targeting several Republican House seats while defending an incumbent senator. Democrats are also defending Senate seats and targeting House districts in Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and West Virginia, all states with similar levels of union membership.

Rosenthal, the former AFL-CIO political director, who also worked in the Labor Department under Bill Clinton, said the economic message will be critical in those states, where an anti-Trump wave wont be enough to sustain candidates. He said voters often struggle to define Democrats economic principles, and that it would take a comprehensive effort from top to bottom in the party to change that.

Youve got to crawl before you can walk, and people are beginning to crawl, Rosenthal said. Theyre taking the first steps in doing what needs to be done.

Outside Pittsburgh, Waters said there are signs of enthusiasm for Lamb that mirror enthusiasm they saw from union members in Alabama and the western part of Virginia in elections last year. Whether that enthusiasm translates into votes for Lamb next month remains an open question. If it does, local leaders in Pennsylvania hope national Democrats take notice.

In our view this election is really a microcosm for the stakes of working people across the country and is a sign of the things to come in the midterms, said Matt Yarnell, president of the local SEIU chapter.

Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously said Donald Trump won 48 percent of union households in 2016. The correct figure is 42 percent.
While conventional wisdom holds that Donald Trump will be a drag on Republican chances of maintaining control of the House, those vying to expand the partys majority in the Senate are embracing the president as a unique asset in the upcoming campaigns.

Unlike the House map, the Republicans' path to success in the upper chamber runs through 10 states Trump won in 2016 -- five of them by double-digit margins. But beyond those favorable fundamentals, the GOP is looking to the president to lead something of a mass-marketing campaign against well-known Democratic incumbents.

Party operatives see the president's penchant for coining catchy -- and pejorative  nicknames, along with his made-for-television campaign rallies, as particularly helpful through the long primary process, helping to define the opposition while Republicans pick their nominees.

"The messaging power and the branding power Trump has is different from any elected official," said one Republican familiar with Senate races this year. "It's a very valuable asset he has, and that he alone has been able to hone."

Despite the partys favorable map, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has cautioned Republicans not to "fall in love" with it. Most of the Democratic incumbents in the 10 so-called Trump states are battle-tested, well financed and have made names for themselves as independent of the national Democratic Party and as officeholders in sync with their electorate. And in some of those states, Republicans have yet to field a credible challenger.

But the GOP is counting on the president to spotlight the incumbents votes, particularly on the tax reform bill. Strategists point to Vice President Mike Pence's trip to West Virginia last week as an example of what is to come from the top. There, he hit Sen. Joe Manchin for voting against the tax bill, health care repeal and other Republican priorities, repeating the phrase "Joe Voted No" and following up later with a series of tweets. Manchin fired back, defending his votes and calling Pence divisive and partisan.

On Tuesday, the two-term senator unveiled a pledge that he encouraged his fellow Democrats to sign, saying they would not campaign against their sitting colleagues. The move was seen as an attempt to bolster his bipartisan brand, but it also signaled his own vulnerabilities in this environment. West Virginia gives Trump his highest approval ratings, even though Manchin registers even higher numbers in a state the president won by 42 percentage points.

Trump has yet to attack Manchin at political rallies or on Twitter. But Republicans expect that to change. They point to an interview the president gave to the New York Times in December in which he expressed his frustration with Democrats. "He talks. But he doesnt do anything. He doesnt do, Trump said of Manchin.

"The thing the president does best are these big, huge rallies, and that could be tremendously helpful," said Rob Jesmer, former executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. "He'll go into fertile territory and make the case that these guys didn't do anything with him."

Republicans have already gotten a head start in some of their challenges to Democratic incumbents, but hope Trump will amplify their messaging. They have called Indianas Joe Donnelly "Mexico Joe," for example, referring to reports that the senator's family business outsourced jobs.

Trump can "define those senators to audiences that are clearly receptive to his style and message," said Alex Smith, executive director of the America Rising PAC.

In addition to Indiana and West Virginia, Democrats must defend seats in the deep-red states of Missouri, Montana, and North Dakota. They also must protect incumbents in five purple states the president won: Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

"The Senate map is in states where the voters are very happy with the Trump administration," noted GOP strategist Brad Todd. "You can't replace the value of the bully pulpit and megaphone that happens when Air Force One comes to your state."

Still, significant challenges for the party remain. For starters, it hasnt yet fielded a candidate to run against Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota, which Trump won by 36 points. At-large Rep. Kevin Cramer recently passed on a run. And Trump's hold on some of these states varies. For example, he only won Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania by a point or two. And Montana is accustomed to ticket splitting. In 2016, for example, voters backed Trump but also re-elected their Democratic governor, Steve Bullock.

And while Republicans see Trump as an effective messenger and mobilizer, he is also notoriously prone to veering off message. During a stop Monday in Ohio, where he was slated to tout the tax law, Trump criticized Democrats for not applauding his State of the Union Address. "They were like death. And un-American. Un-American," he said. "Somebody said 'treasonous.' I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? They certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."

The comments figured to further alienate Democrats he will need to pass remaining items on his agenda, given the GOPs slim 51-seat majority in the upper chamber.

Republicans will have to defend a couple of competitive seats of their own in Arizona and Nevada. And Democrats are making a play for Texas -- which will, at the very least, force Republicans to spend money in a reliably red state. Arizona has a crowded GOP primary that runs through August, giving Democrat Kyrsten Sinema ample time to make her case. Hillary Clinton won Nevada, where Sen. Dean Heller is facing a primary challenger. Democrats recruited Rep. Jacky Rosen to run there, and she is well positioned.

Additionally, it's not clear that Trump can transfer his support down the ballot. He struck out twice in Alabama after endorsing and campaigning there.

"You still have to run your own race," said Jesmer. "Nationally there will be a GOP headwind, and even in these states, they need to be smart about it."

But Republicans say they are heartened by strong signs of voter endearment to Trump in those states. In Arizona, Sen. Jeff Flake admitted he couldn't win a primary with his anti-Trump views. Rep. Martha McSally is considered the GOP establishment choice for the nomination, but she has evoked Trumps language when talking about immigration. On Tuesday, she attended a meeting at the White House and issued a photo of herself sitting with the president. And while Heller is considered the most vulnerable Republican running for re-election in the Senate, he voted in favor of repealing Obamacare and for the tax bill, even standing behind the president at a White House ceremony.

"In Republican primaries, normally the play is about who can out-conservative who. But the way they are playing out now is, who is closest to President Trump, and that's something different than before," said the GOP operative familiar with Senate races.

Republicans also figure that their candidates are going to be tied to the president anyway, so they might as well benefit from it, especially if he can turn out voters on their behalf.

"Democrats are going to be heated up whether Donald Trump comes to Missouri or not," said John Hancock, former Missouri GOP chairman. The president "has done a lot of things well in his first year, and if you believe in them you want to go out and embrace him. ... Chart your own course, but don't be afraid to embrace the good things."
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Director of the National Center for Marketing and Price Study of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus V.Sadokho awarded with the Lao Medal of Friendship

06-02-2017

On February 5, 2017 the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus non-resident, Siviengphet Phetvorasack, awarded the Director of the National Center for Marketing and Price Study of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus, Valery Sadokho, with the Friendship Award of the Lao PDR.

V.Sadokho, who in 2011  2016 years represented Belarusian interests in Laos as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary non-resident, was awarded for his significant personal contribution to the strengthening of the Belarusian-Laotian relations.

During the meeting with the Ambassador of Laos, V.Sadokho noted the intensification of bilateral contacts at the highest and high level in recent years.

S.Phetvorasack, in his turn, expressed conviction that trade and economic cooperation between Belarus and Laos has the potential for development.

Within the framework of the meeting at the National Center for Marketing and Price Study, the prospects for the development of bilateral cooperation in various spheres were discussed. The Lao side was presented with the export potential of Belarus and the complex of services and opportunities of the National Center for Marketing and Price Study to assist companies in the development of foreign economic activity.

   

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Cambodias Supreme Court today upheld the 30-month sentence imposed last year by a lower court on prominent land rights activist Tep Vanny, sending her back to prison to serve out her term in a case widely seen as politically motivated.



The courts ruling confirms the sentence handed down on Feb. 23, 2017 by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, which convicted Tep Vanny of assaulting security officers during a protest she held four years before in front of the home of Prime Minister Hun Sen.



The March 2013 protest ended in violence, with witnesses later saying that security forces attacked Tep Vannys group, leaving protesters wounded or knocked unconscious, and Tep Vanny herself injured and accused of assault.



In August 2016, and after more than a three-year delay, court prosecutors charged Tep Vanny with aggravated intentional violence in the case following her arrest for participating in another demonstration.



Speaking to RFAs Khmer Service, defense attorney Sarm Sokunthea rejected the Supreme Courts decision, calling it unfair and unjust and saying the conviction had been based only the findings of a police report.



Am Sam Arth, a human rights investigator for the Cambodia-based rights group Licadho, meanwhile challenged police assertions that Tep Vanny had attacked them during the protest outside Hun Sens home in 2013.



She has such a small body. How could she have beaten any of them up? he asked.



Land grab



Tep Vanny first came to prominence as an activist fighting a land grab at Phnom Penhs Boeung Kak lake, where some 3,500 families were evicted from a surrounding neighborhood.



The lake was later filled with sand to make way for a development project with close ties to Prime Minister Hun Sen and the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP).



She was later active in urging an independent investigation into the July 10, 2016 shooting death of Kem Ley, a popular social commentator and frequent government critic who was killed shortly after appearing on an RFA talk show to discuss a Global Witness report detailing the personal wealth of members of Hun Sens family.



Reacting on Wednesday to the news that Tep Vannys sentence had been upheld, rights group Amnesty International slammed the courts decision, saying that criminal proceedings against Tep Vanny have been deeply flawed from the start.



With todays ruling, Cambodias judiciary has once again failed to prove that it can act independently, choosing to do the governments bidding instead, Amnesty Internationals Southeast Asia and the Pacific Director James Gomez said in a Feb. 7 statement.



Tep Vanny is a brave social activist who has done nothing but peacefully stand up for her community, Gomez said.



She should be released immediately and unconditionally and not be forced to spend two and a half years in jail.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Sarada Taing. Written in English by Richard Finney.
Placards showing missing bookseller Lee Bo (L) and his associate Gui Minhai (R) are seen left by members of the pro-democracy Civic Party outside the Chinese government's liaison office in Hong Kong, Jan. 19, 2016.

Chinas detention of Swedish citizen and Hong Kong-based bookseller Gui Minhai has sparked further concerns and criticisms internationally following official confirmation by Beijing of his status.

Last month, Gui Minhai's daughter Angela Gui told Radio Sweden he had been snatched by plainclothes police officers while traveling to Beijing from his parental home in the eastern city of Ningbo.

She said the detention took place while her father was on a train bound for the Chinese capital to seek medical treatment for neurological symptoms believed to be the first signs of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease.

A foreign ministry official confirmed on Tuesday that the bookseller is being held under coercive measures.

Angela Gui told RFA that she still doesnt know his whereabouts, however.

She said she remains concerned at the direction in which events appear to be unfolding, given the severity of her fathers illness, and that he may be detained on a new charge and denied medical treatment while in detention.

But she called for greater diplomatic pressure on the ruling Chinese Communist Party for Gui Minhais release.

China has already indicated that further criminal charges may be on the way for Gui, who is one of five Hong Kong booksellers held in cross-border detentions for selling banned political books to customers in mainland China.

"Gui Minhai broke Chinese law and has already been subjected to criminal coercive measures in accordance with the law by relevant Chinese authorities," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told journalists on Tuesday.

The term "coercive measures" is often used to refer to detention at a residential location, under close police surveillance.

No adequate explanation

William Nee, China researcher at Amnesty International, called Gengs claim a brazen and outrageous one.

They have yet to provide adequate explanation as to why they took Gui Minhai away while he was traveling with Swedish diplomats, Nee said in a statement. Gui Minhai must be released. He and his family have suffered enough; their nightmare should be over, not recurring.

The Chinese government ... has shown utter contempt for fair trials and other human rights, he said, calling on the authorities to ensure Gui receives adequate health care and consular access, as well as legal representation.

The Chinese government cannot simply sidestep international law because they arbitrarily deem a case to be serious, he said.

Meanwhile, Germanys ambassador to China, Michael Clauss, has said that all European countries with diplomatic representation in Beijing are concerned about China's actions, which he said could set a dangerous precedent.

"That China's authorities treat an EU citizen this way is without precedence, Clauss said in comments quoted in German and Swedish media. There is a widespread fear that these violations of international laws, as well as (China's) refusal to allow consular assistance, could happen to other EU citizens in the future.



Under murky circumstances

Hong Kong-based Gui "disappeared" under murky circumstances from his holiday home in Pattaya, Thailand, on October 2015, only to reappear in China "confessing" on video to a decade-old alleged drunk-driving offense.

One of five Hong Kong booksellers detained by Chinese police for selling "banned books" to customers across the internal border in mainland China, Gui was "released" by the Chinese authorities last October, but his daughter said he was still not free.

Instead, Gui had been placed under various forms of control and surveillance in his birthplace, Ningbo, and had been reunited with his wife Jennifer, who is a German national, the Independent Chinese PEN writers' group said at the time.

Sweden's Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom on Monday called Guis second detention a "brutal intervention" that was "in contravention of basic international rules on consular support."

But Independent Chinese PEN co-founder Bei Ling said Sweden needs to do more to ensure Guis release.

The Swedish government shouldnt just release a single statement; they need to make public the precise circumstances under which Gui Minhai was snatched from under the noses of Swedish diplomats, Bei said. [Also], whether or not he has his newly issued passport with him.

They should release the whole story; this sort of thing cant just be left in a Top Secret diplomatic file, he said.

Guis friend, Hong Kong publisher Meng Lang, said Sweden should ensure Gui is home in time for the Chinese New Year on Feb. 16.

If Gui Minhai, as a Swedish citizen, has broken Chinese law, then the Chinese government should immediately offer an explanation to the Swedish government, Meng said. I hope that he will be allowed to leave China before Chinese New Year.

Reported by Ng Yik-tung and Sing Man for RFAs Cantonese Service, and by Wang Yun for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
International press freedom groups have warned journalists living behind Chinas Great Firewall that their data, and that of their sources, may be compromised if they dont move it to a different jurisdiction by the end of this month.



Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said journalists and bloggers who use Apple iCloud China should change their geographic region or close their accounts before Feb. 28, when control of their data will pass to a Chinese state-run company.



Control of Apples iCloud storage service in China will be transferred to Guizhou-Cloud Big Data (GCBD), a company linked to the government of the southern province of Guizhou, to comply with local regulations, RSF said in a statement on its website.



RSF alerts journalists and bloggers using iCloud China to the danger that this migration poses to their security and the security of their sources, and urges them to migrate their account to another geographic region or to close it by Feb. 28, it said.



It said most of the personal data of Apple app users, including contacts, photos, files, email, Internet connection history, geolocation data, and passwords, are stored on iCloud, and will all come under the control of a government-backed Chinese company.



Apple promises that it will never give governments a backdoor to content, but there is no way of being sure about this, Cedric Alviani, who heads RSFs East Asia bureau, said.



Knowing the Chinese governments determination and the extent of the means of pressure at its disposal, it will end up getting its way sooner or later, if it hasnt already, Alviani warned.



It said Apples lawyers have added a clause to the user agreement that says: Apple and GCBD have the right to access (...) all user data (including content).



Politically sensitive content



Bruce Lui, senior journalism lecturer at Hong Kong's Baptist University, said such data could easily be used, once transferred, to incriminate rights activists and dissidents who store politically sensitive content on iCloud.



For example, content that mentions the Chinese leadership, or that is linked to [activists] investigations at a local level, for example data on pollution or AIDS, Lui said. All of these are highly sensitive topics.



Local governments will also be able to access this information to suppress [activists and dissidents], he said, adding that he agrees with RSFs advice.



If you have a choice, it would be safest to use a cloud storage service outside China, Lui said. I have some friends who work in multinational companies, and any sensitive material belonging to the company is always stored in an overseas cloud service.



RSF also hit out at Apples readiness to accommodate the ruling Chinese Communist Partys requirements for operating in mainland China.



As Google and Facebook keep trying to get Beijing to lift the ban on their operations in China, the precedent set by Apple is likely to encourage the government to seek more concessions from them, increasing the danger to those who defend reporting freedom and to their contacts and families, it said.



Microsoft, IBM, and Amazon also store data in China, but in much smaller quantities, RSF said, adding that China currently ranks 176th out of 180 countries on its 2017 World Press Freedom Index.



Duty to protect



Serenade Woo of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said journalists also have a duty to protect their sources.



If they allow this stuff to be stored inside China, they have actually no way of knowing who will be able to read all of their content, Woo said. From a journalists point of view, there is a clear conflict with their professional ethics and integrity.



And from the interviewee, or sources, point of view, it could cause all kinds of unforeseen problems, she said.



The warnings come as Chinese state media reported on Tuesday that Apple will build a second data center in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, to add to one already planned for the southwestern city of Guizhou.



The data center is slated to start operation in 2020 and offer iCloud services on the Chinese mainland, authorities in Inner Mongolias Ulanqab city announced.



The project will use 100 percent renewable energy sources, state news agency Xinhua reported. Ulanqab is already home to a data center belonging to Chinese technology giant Huawei, it said.



Reported by Gao Feng for RFAs Mandarin Service, and by Ma Lap-hak and Fok Leung-kiu for the Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
Foreign media organizations operating in Myanmar have come under heavy fire by authorities eager to suppress their reports on the crisis in Rakhine state, where the countrys military conducted a brutal military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims following deadly attacks on police outposts by the Muslim militant group the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). The campaign has forced nearly 700,000 Rohingya across the border to Bangladesh. Both news agencies and human rights organizations have widely documented atrocities committed by soldiers, including killings, torture, rape, property theft, and arson, much to the detriment of the Myanmar government which has consistently denied the allegations. As a result of what Myanmar's government calls the foreign medias one-sided reporting, the government has banned independent news outlets from visiting northern Rakhine state where the violence occurred.



In addition to the ban, Myanmar authorities have been arresting or filing lawsuits against those who work for foreign media outlets to further clamp down on reports about the crackdown and its aftermath. Two Myanmar journalists with the Reuters news agency are on trial for obtaining state secrets while reporting on the Rohingya crisis and face up to 14 years in prison. The pair was arrested on Dec. 12 just after they had dinner with two police officers who gave them documents about the crackdown. Rights groups and the Myanmar media have accused police of entrapment and blasted the civilian government of de facto national leader Aung San Suu Kyi for backpedaling on press freedoms.



The Rakhine state government this week said it would sue the American news agency the Associated Press (AP) for publishing a report confirming the existence of at least five previously unreported mass graves containing the remains of Rohingya in a village in Buthidaung township. Both the national and state governments have rejected the report as false and claimed that the bodies of 19 terroristsa reference to Muslim militantshad been killed and buried in the area. Rakhine officials have yet to announce under which laws they plan to sue the AP.



On Wednesday, reporter Thinn Thiri of RFAs Myanmar Service spoke with Aung Hla Tun, Myanmars deputy minister for information, about the planned lawsuit against the AP, the case of the two detained Reuters reporters, the state of press freedom in Myanmar, and the possibility of allowing journalists who work for independent news agencies into northern Rakhine state. What follows is an edited version of their conversation.



RFA: Though the Rakhine state government says it will sue the Associated Press (AP) news agency for its report on the finding of the mass graves, others have said the move will damage Myanmars image. What do you say?



Aung Hla Tun: That news is not correct. If it were, it could hurt our country, and I think that could happen. Actually, it is an ethical issue that the AP, as a famous news organization, shouldnt do what it did on such an important issue. The AP issued an incorrect report once before in the past, about two or three years ago, that a mass grave had been found. The AP shouldnt make the same mistake twice. Because this is a matter of media ethics, the AP needs to apologize to Myanmar and correct the report. Even after it issues a correction, it must tell other media organizations that buy its news reports about the correction. If not, people will keep making comments and policies based on the APs incorrect report.



RFA: Some are pointing to the AP case and the case of the two detained Reuters reporters, saying that the media in Myanmar are more oppressed now than they were before when military juntas ruled the country. How do you respond?



Aung Hla Tun: As for the AP issue, it is the APs fault, but I am worried whether the Myanmar government has responded in the wrong manner. I dont think the lawsuit against the AP will come about, so the response must be more appropriate. I dont want to talk about the Reuters reporters case because their trial has begun. I hope it will end with the proper outcome.



RFA: Some say that reporters working for independent news agencies must be allowed to go to Rakhine state to cover news there, so that the world will know the truth about what happened during the crackdown. Whats your take on the matter?



Aung Hla Tun: I have been working actively as a reporter for 20 years, and we all have had a lack of access and of information. Thats the way it is. We have been out of touch with media management for generationsfor 50 years. But at the same time, our countrys image has been destroyed because of the powerful international media that dont report ethically. After that, people lost trust in the media. Thats why we have been working on confidence-building again. We have been working on sending diplomats and reporters to Rakhine state twice a month, but we still have limited assess with transportation because of the [poor] road conditions and [limited] accommodations. The most important reason for the lack of access has been to ensure their security, because ARSA has provided training to many people in the region, and people have learned how to make homemade bombs. If something were to happen during a visit by diplomats and reporters, it would not be good. We have to think about many things [regarding this policy], but we sent a group of diplomats and reporters, including ones from Japan, China, India, and Russia to Rakhine last week.



RFA: What has the Ministry of Information been doing to give the correct information about the situation in Rakhine to the international community?



Aung Hla Tun: This cannot occur in one day. We have to send diplomats and reporters to places where they should go, together with authorities and security guards, and let them question people whom they should be questioning. We cant let them go there alone. Some international reporters went there secretly, met with people, and wrote what they wanted to write, and it damaged our countrys image. We have these types of experiences. I know well about how reporters operate. We want to get firsthand information, though we have some ethics or rules to adhere to. As you know, our country has so many problems and important issues. We cant endanger the peace process and ethnic unity because of our reporting. We also have complex historical backgrounds. Reporters who want to cover Myanmar news should be peace-[loving] reporters, and they must know the background history. Most foreign reporters who have covered the Rakhine issue dont know any of the background history. They might read one or two books about Myanmar, and they dont like it if we tell the truth. What I want to say [to those reporters] is that its OK if they dont want to pour water [to put out the fire], but please dont add fuel to it. We are working on sending reporters not only to Rakhine, but also to other areas of the country. The government ministries are also working on being proactive about giving information.



RFA: Do you think the Myanmar media will be freer in 2018?



Aung Hla Tun: I hope so. Both the government and the media have to work on this. Reporters have to verify information with government ministries, and officials must speak out as well. If officials refuse to answer questions, reporters can write that they refused to answer. This is part of media ethics. What the AP did went against media ethics because it was one-sided reporting on a very important issue.



Reported by Thinn Thiri of RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
The Afghan government has approved a new security plan for the capital, Kabul, following a series of deadly militant attacks there.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said on February 7 that the new plan will be implemented in the next two weeks.

Rahimi said more than 100 streets leading into the center of Kabul will be put under heavy surveillance as part of the plan.

He said it includes as many as 52 measures, most of which will not be revealed to the public.

The plan is due to be implemented in three phases, with the first focused on areas most threatened, he said.

The Western-backed government in Kabul is under growing public pressure to improve security in the capital following a series of attacks claimed by Taliban and Islamic State militants.

Since January 20, militants in the capital have attacked a luxury hotel, bombed a crowded street, and carried out a deadly raid on a military compound -- killing more than 130 people.

President Ashraf Ghani has sacked seven army officers, including two generals, for "professional negligence" over the attack on the military compound.

Based on reporting by dpa and Tolo News
Russia's neighbors should not worry where Moscow places its nuclear weapons.

Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad, for example, should not be a concern for Lithuania.

Why not? Well, in remarks to TASS, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia has the sovereign right to deploy armaments anywhere on its territory.

Which is technically true, although Western countries have accused Russia of violating its obligations under the INF Treaty with the Iskander deployments.

But there is also another issue at stake here.

Peskov stressed Russia's sovereign right to deploy armaments on its territory.

But, at the same time, Moscow has recently raised strenuous objections to Georgia's recent acquisition of Javelin anti-tank missiles and a French air-defense system, as well as its participation in a U.S.-funded Defense Readiness Program.

Moscow has also loudly objected to the rotation of NATO battle groups in the Baltic states and Poland.

And Russia, of course, did everything in its power to prevent Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova from signing Association Agreements with the European Union.

Now, according to Peskov's logic, Russia should view all of these things as the sovereign choices of the Georgians, Ukrainians, Moldovans, Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians.

But, of course, it doesn't.

Now I know I harp on the Kremlin's double standard about sovereignty a lot.

But I do so for a reason.

I do so because it goes to the very heart of the problem between Russia and its neighbors -- and it can't be stressed enough.

Keep telling me what you think on The Power Vertical's Twitter feed and on our Facebook page.
Human Rights Watch has called on Iran to stop executing child offenders after three people were put to death in January for crimes they committed as minors.

In a February 7 statement, the New York-based rights group said "Iran should immediately and unconditionally end the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by children under age 18, and move toward a complete ban on capital punishment.

The statement detailed the executions of three Iranian detainees in January.

Amirhossein Pourjafar, aged 18 when he was executed on January 4 in Karaj prison near Tehran, had been sentenced to death on charges that he raped and murdered a 3-year-old girl when he was 16.

The execution of 22-year old Ali Kazemi occurred on January 30 -- seven years after he was convicted of fatally stabbing a man dead in a street fight at the age of 15.

Iranian authorities also executed 20-year-old Mahboubeh Mofidi on January 30.

Mofidi -- a child bride at the age of 13 -- was convicted of murdering her husband when she was 17 years old.

Human Rights Watch said Iran is one of only four countries known to have executed child offenders since 2013.

It said other countries that have done so include Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.

Amnesty International says at least 90 people have been executed in Iran since 2005 for crimes committed when they were minors.

With reporting by AFP
An Iranian-American man imprisoned in Iran, Baquer Namazi, has been returned to prison after a brief release due to health concerns.

Lawyer Jared Genser said in a statement that the decision to return his 81-year-old client to Tehran's Evin prison despite the advice of the Iranian government's own medical examiner is "tantamount to a death sentence."

Namazi had undergone surgery while imprisoned to have a pacemaker installed and Genser had wanted his client's leave to be made permanent given his poor health.

The U.S. State Department said it was "incredibly disappointed" with Namazi's return to prison after a four-day leave.

"We have been alarmed for some time at his declining health. We know he's in urgent need for sustained medical care. We're deeply disappointed in the fact he has been returned to prison. We're concerned about his health," spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"We call for his unconditional release from his unjust detention in Iran, and that renews our calling for all Americans who are being held in Iran and being held unjustly to be returned to the United States," she added.

Namazi, who is among several dual nationals held by Iran, is serving a 10-year prison sentence after being found guilty in a closed-door trial for spying and cooperating with the U.S. government. He has denied the charges.

Analysts believe Iran is holding Namazi and others as bargaining chips for future negotiations with the West.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
The United States says it is holding Iran responsible for the health of an 81-year-old Iranian-American man who was sent back to prison this week following a short medical leave.

Baquer Namazi "remains in urgent need of sustained medical care, and the United States government holds Iran fully accountable for his well-being," the White House said on February 7.

Lawyer Jared Genser said on February 6 that Iranian authorities had returned his client to Tehrans Evin prison after briefly releasing him so he could undergo medical examination.

Genser said the decision, which he said was made despite the advice of the Iranian government's own medical examiner, is "tantamount to a death sentence."

Namazi had undergone surgery while imprisoned to have a pacemaker installed, and Genser had wanted his client's leave to be made permanent given his poor health.

He has been hospitalized four times in the last year and continues to suffer from life-threatening heart problems," the White House statement read.

The U.S. State Department said on February 6 that it was incredibly disappointed with Namazis return to prison. "We have been alarmed for some time at his declining health, spokesman Heather Nauert said.

Baquer Namazi, a retired UNICEF official, and his son Siamak were sentenced in October to 10 years in prison for spying and cooperating with the U.S. government. The charges were denied by the family and dismissed by U.S. authorities.

The Namazis are among several dual nationals held by Iran. Analysts believe Iran is holding them as bargaining chips for future negotiations with the West.

The White House on February 7 reiterated its call for the immediate and unconditional release of all unjustly detained and missing United States citizens in Iran, including Baquer Namazi, his son Siamak Namazi, Xiyue Wang, and Robert Levinson."

Wang, a Princeton University student, has been given a 10-year sentence for espionage. He was arrested in August 2016 while conducting research for his dissertation on Iran's Qajar dynasty.

Levinson, a former FBI agent, disappeared in March 2007 after apparently traveling to an Iranian coastal island.

With reporting by AP and Reuters
A screen capture from a negative ad ran by the statewide teachers' association opposing HB 7055 | YouTube

It's a debate worth about $26.9 billion, and involves the most fundamental, nagging question surrounding Florida's education system: What does Florida owe its students in public education?

And it begins today  at least this year's rendition.

The Florida House's omnibus education bill, HB 7055, is slated to be heard on the floor Wednesday afternoon  an event that promises to be one of the biggest debates of the 2018 session. The nearly 200-page bill incorporates everything from the creation of a new scholarship for students who struggle in reading to slapping potentially life-threatening requirements on teachers' unions.

It also includes a top priority for Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O' Lakes, in its voucher for students that are bullied which would allow them to attend another public or private school.

The bill is so much of a priority that, in an unprecedented move, House leadership tied the per-student funding language for all public schools, meaning that $21.1 billion of public school funding is "contingent upon PCS for HB 7055 or similar legislation becoming law," according to the budget.

Democrats may not have the votes in the 76-40 sea of red that is the Florida House of Representatives, but they have vowed to trade every bargaining chip, deploy every amendment and fight as hard as they can to stop or alter the bill and what they said is a legally-questionable budgetary tactic.

As of Tuesday evening, 37 amendments were filed for HB 7055. The House must debate and vote on every single one.

"It's not in my system to file 18 amendments. Im the type to say, 'Let's work together and figure this out,'" said Rep. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, the ranking Democratic member on the House Education Committee. "But I cannot sit back and watch our public education system blow up at the hands of ... outside interests that want to continue to fill their pockets up."

He then added: "And if I dont see a dime in the budget or get another bill heard because of this, Im OK ."

Rep. Carlos Trujillo, R-Miami, said he expects a debate but that it would be "surprising" if it does not pass out of the House.

Wednesday marks the beginning of debate for the budget and its amendments but HB 7055 will officially be voted upon Thursday.

"We'll present the budget, we'll present the bill, I'm sure they'll have an opportunity to present their debates and they will be voted on accordingly," he said. "We're in no rush. We'll take as long as it takes."

Trujillo is the chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and has accepted President Donald Trump's nomination to be a U.S. Ambassador to the OAS, meaning that once the U.S. Senate confirms his appointment, he'll move to Washington. He had originally said that the passage of 7055 was not tied to the per-student funding for statewide public schools, also known as FEFP. But after a reporter sent him the budgetary language, he confirmed that he had been mistaken.

"The assumption is correct," Trujillo said. "Obviously it's not our intention to defund the FEFP and it's something that if the bill is not reported favorably we will obviously amend to fix it."

Rep. David Richardson, D-Miami Beach, said even if it passes this way, having this hardball approach does not bode well for the House and Senate to be able to negotiate effectively when both chambers must reconcile the differences between their passed budgets.

He has filed an amendment to strike that language from the budget to separate 7055 from the FEFP.

"It's unlikely were going to leave here without funding public education," Richardson said. "It's a budget blowup possibility then were back in special session. It sets up a situation for a blowup before weve even started."
BISHKEK -- The Bishkek city court has upheld a suspended five-year prison sentence against former Prosecutor-General Aida Salyanova, who is now an opposition lawmaker.

Salyanova told journalists after her sentence was upheld on February 7 that she will appeal that decision at the Supreme Court.

In October, the Lenin district court in Bishkek found Salyanova guilty of abusing her office and sentenced her to five years in prison.

But the court postponed her imprisonment until her 2-year-old daughter reaches the age of 14.

The conviction of Salyanova, a legislator from the Ata-Meken (Fatherland) party, came amid political tensions in Kyrgyzstan just five days before the 2017 presidential election.

In addition to the postponed prison sentence, the Lenin district court also ordered the confiscation of Salyanova's property.

Salyanova was accused of illegally prolonging the license of a lawyer with links to then-President Kurmanbek Bakiev's son Maksim shortly before Bakiev's ouster in 2010. She was prosecutor-general at the time.

Salyanova has maintained her innocence, saying the case against her is politically motivated.

Authorities targeted Salyanova in an investigation in March 2017, just days after Ata-Meken leader Omurbek Tekebaev was arrested on what his supporters say were trumped-up charges of bribe-taking.

Tekebaev, who was named as Ata-Meken's presidential candidate shortly after his arrest, was convicted in August and sentenced to eight years in prison.

His supporters say the conviction was aimed at preventing him from running in the election.
Moldovan President Igor Dodon has warned mayors who signed a declaration on reunification with Romania that they could face criminal charges.

"I am not against any state, be it Russia or Romania, but I am against those who want to get rid of the Moldovan state," the pro-Russia Dodon told RFE/RL on February 6.

The mayors of at least 10 Moldovan villages recently signed a symbolic document marking the centenary of the unification of most of present-day Moldova with Romania at the end of World War I.



Dodon condemned the declaration and criticized Moldova's intelligence service, the Interior Ministry, and the prosecutor's office for not taking action against the mayors who signed it, "although they knew the mayors violated the current laws."

In a Facebook post on February 7, Dodon said the mayors of 53 other villages have signed a counterstatement against unification with Romania and for maintaining Moldova's "statehood."

Dodon rallied against those who he called "unionist ideologues," saying that "instead of unification, they will get pro-Moldovan patriotism."

With reporting by RFE/RL correspondent Eugen Tomiuc in Prague, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service, and amosnews.ro
A Pakistani court has sentenced one person to death and five other people to life imprisonment over the mob lynching of a student who was falsely accused of blasphemy in 2017.

Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old journalism student, was killed by a mob at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the northern city of Mardan on April 13, 2017. He was accused of posting "blasphemous content" on social media.

Saad Abbasi, a defense lawyer representing the accused, told the AFP news agency at the prison where the verdict was announced that 25 people received three-year prison sentences over the killing, while another 26 were acquitted.

A 58th suspect was detained earlier this year and is facing separate proceedings.

Khan's father said justice had not been delivered in the case.

From April 2017: Funeral For Pakistan Student Lynched Over Blasphemy Allegation

"I don't understand how several people were acquitted despite very clear videos and other evidence," Iqbal Khan told BBC Urdu.

Meanwhile, the victim's mother told Pakistans DawnNews that the family will appeal the verdict.

Heavy security was deployed at the prison in the city of Haripur where the accused were being tried. The area was cordoned off by some 300 police and elite commandos.

The ferocity of the attack, which was recorded on mobile phone cameras and posted online, shocked Pakistan and led to widespread condemnation -- including criticism from prominent Islamic clerics.



An official investigation later determined that Khan was falsely accused. It said the killing was instigated by members of a secular student group who felt threatened by Khan's growing prominence as a critic of rising fees and alleged corruption at the university.

Pakistan's controversial blasphemy laws, which seek death for insulting Islam or the Muslim Prophet Muhammad, were introduced by former military ruler General Muhammad Zia-ul Haq during the 1980s.

Rights activists argue that Pakistan's blasphemy laws are often misused by people trying to settle personal scores, mainly against the members of minorities.

In 2014, several hundred Muslim men bludgeoned a Christian man and his pregnant wife to death and threw their bodies in a burning brick kiln after the couple was accused of blasphemy.

With additional reporting by AFP, dpa, the BBC, and dawn.com
Pakistan's media regulator has warned television channels and radio stations to refrain from promoting Valentine's Day, a year after a local court banned celebrations in public places.

In a message on Twitter, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) said on February 7 that last year's ban was still in place and urged the media to "desist from promoting" the festivities.

In February 2017, the Islamabad High Court prohibited celebrations in public spaces and government offices across the country. It also ordered local media not to publicize anything related to the day.

Petitioner Abdul Waheed said at the time that he had asked the court to rule against promoting Valentine's Day because he believed print and electronic media present the day as if it was part of local culture.

In 2016, Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain urged people in the Muslim-majority nation not to observe the day, saying that it was a not a Muslim tradition but a Western one.

"Valentine's Day has no connection with our culture and it should be avoided," he said.

With reporting by AFP
An official from Russia's central Tatarstan region has been appointed prime minister of the North Caucasus region of Daghestan, following a roundup on fraud charges of several senior Daghestani officials.

Lawmakers in Daghestan on February 7 approved the appointment of Artyom Zdunov as the head of the republics government.

Daghestans acting head, Vladimir Vasilyev, who had proposed Zdunov for the post, later signed a decree confirming the appointment.

Addressing Daghestani lawmakers, Zdunov vowed to develop the republic's economy.

"We will work on attracting private investments. We will work on restoring the image of Daghestan as a reliable and safe region for doing business," he said.

Zdunov was serving as Tatarstan's economy minister until February 7.

His appointment came two days after several senior government officials in Daghestan were detained on suspicion of misusing funds from Russias federal budget that were meant for social programs.

The officials included acting Prime Minister Abdusamad Gamidov and acting Deputy Prime Ministers Shamil Isayev and Rayudin Yusufov.

Vasilyev officially dismissed Gamidov, Isayev, and Yusufov on February 6 after they were detained on suspicion of misusing funds from Russias federal budget that were meant for social programs.

Authorities have sent the three fired officials to Moscow for questioning.

Vasilyev headed the parliamentary group of the ruling United Russia party at the State Duma in Moscow before he was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in October as the acting head of Daghestan.

Daghestan in recent years has been at the epicenter of organized criminal gang violence linked to business turf wars, political disputes, clan rivalries, and the spread of militant Islam.

Based on reporting by Interfax and TASS
Galina Lobova was left at an orphanage in 1989 after Soviet doctors warned her parents that they couldn't care for a disabled child. Now she and her husband, who also has a disability, have created the family home they never had and are busy raising their 3-year-old son.
WASHINGTON -- The local government for the city of Washington, D.C., has renamed the street where Russias embassy is located, honoring the memory of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in a move that Moscow has complained about.

Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr., the chairman of the Boris Nemtsov Foundation For Freedom, said on February 6 that an official ceremony to rename the block of Wisconsin Avenue as Boris Nemtsov Plaza is scheduled for February 27, the third anniversary of Nemtsov's assassination.

Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and longtime critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead on a bridge in Moscow just meters from the Kremlin walls.

In a Twitter post on February 6, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (Republican-Florida) responded to news of the city council's vote by saying, "It's official. Let this serve as a reminder to Putin and his cronies that murder, violence, and intimidation will not silence dissent."

Nemtsov's assassination drew international condemnation and highlighted the dangers faced by Russians who oppose the Kremlin.

Nemtsov's supporters have repeatedly sought to get permission to place a formal plaque or monument at the site of his killing.

But Moscow city officials have denied permission. Makeshift memorials of flowers laid out by Nemtsov's supporters at the site are regularly dismantled and taken away with unusual speed.

In July, a Moscow court found five men from Russia's North Caucasus region of Chechnya guilty of killing Nemtsov and sentenced them to lengthy prison terms.

But relatives and associates charge that his assassination was ordered at a higher level. They say justice will not be served until the person or people who ordered his assassination are identified and prosecuted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has criticized the move by city authorities in the U.S. capital, accusing U.S. lawmakers of "manipulating" the slain politician's name.
During a visit to Serbia, European Union enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn has urged the country to implement difficult reforms and to normalize ties with Kosovo in order to be able to join the bloc by 2025.

Hahn began a tour to Serbia and Montenegro with a stop in Belgrade on February 7, the day after the European Commission unveiled its new strategy to integrate the six Western Balkan countries that remain outside the EU.

The strategy is meant to give a clear view toward EU accession to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

Among the six countries, the commission considers Serbia and Montenegro as current front-runners toward accession and the new strategy says they could be allowed in by 2025 if they meet all the conditions.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Hahn said that the countrys EU perspective is real and the country now has a unique opportunity to grasp it.

Reforms will be tough and the EU accession process is not an easy ride, he said, adding that the European Commission will always be here to support you.

Vucic acknowledged that there was a mountain chain of obstacles on Serbias EU path and said it would be up to the Serbian citizens to choose the countrys path.

[The government and the president] will come up with suggestions, but the decision is not on us. The decision is on the citizens. We wont be able to [act] against the peoples will. Citizens will have to say how they see the future of our beautiful country, he said.

Hahn said that a strong political push will be needed to deliver on "sometimes difficult reforms, in particular, on rule of law, justice, and fundamental rights.

We need to see fundamental changes in these areas across the Western Balkans, the commissioner insisted.

He said Serbia also needs to conclude and irreversibly implement a legally binding agreement with Kosovo before it can join the EU, and thanked Vucic for the internal dialogue he has launched on this vital issue.

The EU cannot and will not import bilateral disputes, Hahn said.

Kosovo, a former province of Serbia, declared independence in 2008 -- nearly a decade after the 1998-99 Kosovo war. More than 110 countries recognize its independence. Serbia does not.

The EU-sponsored dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina has produced agreements in areas such as freedom of movement, justice, and the status of the Serbian minority in Kosovo -- as well as enabling Serbia to start EU accession talks and Brussels to sign an Association Agreement with Kosovo.

Addressing a UN Security Council meeting on the UN mission in Kosovo on February 7, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley urged both sides to move toward normalizing ties.

"The coming months are crucial. The stage is set. The benefits are clear, Haley said. "All that is needed is the political will to come together to create a just and lasting peace between Kosovo and Serbia."

As she laid out the new strategy for the Western Balkans on February 6, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini insisted that 2025 was not a target date" or a "deadline."

It is a realistic perspective to conclude, complete the accession process for those that are currently negotiating, but also for others that might start negotiating in the near future, she said.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said that it was an "indicative date; an encouragement so that the parties concerned work hard to follow that path."

Hahn said in a message on Twitter that he also had a very good and constructive meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic on February 7.

The European commissioner was set to meet with representatives of Serbias civil society, media, and opposition parties on February 8 before heading to Montenegro on February 9.
KOLYVAN, Russia -- Simmering public anger over the governance of this small Siberian town reached a boiling point this week after two young brothers drowned in a trench allegedly left uncovered for months.

The two boys, aged 6 and 11, died on February 2 after falling into the 2-meter-wide trench, which locals say was dug so town workers could carry out repairs on water pipes. The same trench, locals say, claimed another victim this autumn when a man fell in and died.

On February 5, several hundred protesters assembled in Kolyvan, which has a population of 12,500 and is located approximately 45 kilometers north of Novosibirsk, to vent their anger.

"We went several times to the administration and asked them to fill in [the hole]. To which they replied:'If you need to, why don't you go get spades and fill it in yourselves,'" participant Yevgenya Svarovskaya told RFE/RL.

The protesters demanded the resignation of the man they find ultimately responsible -- Viktor Averin, the head of the town's administration.

YouTube footage posted on February 5 showed an unidentified official appearing with a microphone before the protesting crowd. It began heckling him as he called on them not to "capitalize on the tragedy." As he continued, the crowd of a few hundred began chanting in unison for him to step down. 

Ultimately Kolyvan's mayor, Alkesei Dorofeyev, offered his resignation.

"The people come to them [the administration] and they have one thing to offer: cursing, and 'get out of here'," resident Ivan Konyshev told Siberia.Reality, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Russian Service. "They don't want to hold any conversations with the people. They'll find a fall guy, make him take the blame for everything, but for the head [of the administration] everything will be golden."

Local residents said the death of the two children was the last straw. They list numerous gripes with local authorities: poor roads, bad street lighting, problems with utilities. One person at the rally held a sign reading: "Punish those guilty of killing children."



"We've got a hole on our street just like it," said Lyudmila Kuznetsova, a resident of Kolyvan. "It will have been there a year in May. It's covered by snow. No one climbs up mounds of snow, but what about children? There are a whole bunch of holes like this. No one is keeping an eye on it."

"The streets aren't cleaned properly. The water pipes are in bad shape. The lighting is bad," Aleksandr Ivanov said, adding that, if the tragedy had not occurred, these types of things would have gone unnoticed.

Written by Tom Balmforth in Moscow based on reporting in Kolyvan by Siberia.Reality, a regional news outlet of RFE/RL's Russian Service.
The Syrian Army says Israeli warplanes have fired rockets from Lebanese airspace targeting an army position in a rural area near Damascus.

A statement broadcast by Syrian state television described the February 7 air strikes as "a new Israeli aggression" without providing further details.

There was no immediate comment from Israel about the report.

It is the second accusation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in less than a month.

On January 9, Syria's military accused Israel of launching missiles at military outposts in the area of Qutayfeh in the Damascus countryside, causing damage.

Israeli has carried out numerous air strikes against targets within Syria during the seven-year civil war -- often saying the attacks have targeted suspected arms shipments meant to supply Lebanon's Hizballah militant group, which is fighting alongside Assad's forces.

The February 7 attack came a day after United Nations war crimes experts said they are investigating numerous reports of alleged chlorine attacks against civilians in rebel-held towns of Syria.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Syria said the targets of the alleged chemical attacks were town of Saraqeb in the northwestern province of Idlib and Douma in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, and Sana
@alextdaugherty

Sen. Bill Nelson, the only member of Congress who has been to space, was giddy after SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket successfully launched a red Tesla Roadster towards Mars on Tuesday.

He had his entire staff watch the launch on TV and then walked to the Senate floor to inform his colleagues.

"The largest rocket since the moon program, the Saturn V, launched from the Kennedy Space Center today," Nelson said. "The test launch of the Falcon Heavy is a spectacular demonstration of the comeback of Floridas Space Coast and of the U.S. commercial launch sector, which is succeeding in a big way. Thats good news for the civil space program. It's good news for national security. It's good news for employment in the U.S. and it's great news for jobs and the economy."

Nelson hurdled into space 32 years ago from the same launch pad in Cape Canaveral that SpaceX used on Tuesday.

"The icing on the top of the cake was the two boosters coming and simultaneously landing a hundred yards apart on two landing pads on Cape Canaveral air force station," Nelson said.

Nelson is the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee which has jurisdiction over the nation's space program. He said Tuesday's launch is a big step for future exploration of Mars.

"By all means when we launch in a year in a half, Americans on American rockets, that will rivet the attention of the entire country and that will help enormously as people start to focus that we're serious about this, taking humans all the way to Mars and returning them safely," Nelson said, referencing the NASA plan to get humans on Mars by the 2030s.

NASA still doesn't have a permanent director after Nelson and other Democrats, along with a few Republicans like Sen. Marco Rubio, voiced concerns over Trump's pick to run the agency, Oklahoma Republican Rep. Jim Bridenstine. Bridenstine's Senate confirmation is currently in limbo, though Trump did renominate Bridenstine after his nomination expired at the end of last year.
ON MY MIND

Did the Russian liberals of the 1990s lay the groundwork for Putinism?

Did a belief that democracy means keeping us democrats in power set the stage for Vladimir Putin's authoritarian rule?

In an insightful piece featured below, Igor Yakovenko makes the case that they did, primarily by drafting a constitution that vested so much formal power in the presidency.

"The legal foundation of the present Putin empire was laid by people who were completely sincerely convinced that they were laying the foundations of a democratic state," he writes.

At the time, of course, Russian liberals supported a strong super-presidency because they believed the office was occupied by one of their own and because the legislature and many of the regions were dominated by retrograde forces.

It was Russian liberals -- and many of their Western backers -- who cheered the October 1993 shelling of a hard-liner-dominated parliament as a victory for Russian democracy.

Yakovenko's piece raises compelling and disturbing questions going forward.

If the Putin regime eventually falls, will this cycle repeat itself? Would a liberal leader in the Kremlin (as unlikely as that seems at the moment) again feel the need to centralize power and again lay the groundwork for yet another authoritarian regime?

IN THE NEWS

The city council of Washington, D.C., has renamed the street where Russia's embassy is located to honor the memory of slain Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in a move that Moscow has complained about.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport says that it will not hear an appeal of at least six Russian athletes who were banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics until after the competition in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Ksenia Sobchak, the Russian TV celebrity, socialite, and daughter of President Vladimir Putin's political mentor, brought her long-shot campaign for the presidency to Washington, saying that her political ambitions were genuine and long-term.

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that Russia violated the rights of Vladimir Akimenkov, a man who was jailed in connection with a protest on the eve of Vladimir Putin's last inauguration.

A Russian court has canceled an order imposing psychiatric treatment on Mikhail Kosenko, an activist who participated in a protest on the eve of Putin's 2012 inauguration.

The body of the Russian Air Force pilot who died last week after his plane was shot down over rebel-held territory in Syria has been returned to Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry has criticized an independent news website for publishing the average salaries of members of the military after a Russian pilot's plane was shot down over Syria.

An activist in Russia's Tatarstan region who spent three years in prison for criticizing the Russian occupation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula says he has fled Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia has the right to decide where it deploys its military resources on its own territory, following reports that Russia had deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.

WHAT I'M READING

The Roots Of Putinism

Writing on his blog, political commentator Igor Yakovenko argues that 1990s liberals inadvertently laid the groundwork for Putin's authoritarian regime.

All Politics Is Local

In a commentary for Novaya Gazeta, Yuliya Galyamina writes that local referendums could become a powerful tool to challenge the Kremlin's power.

The Roots Of Anti-Western Conspiracy Theories

In a thought-provoking piece for Republic.ru, Vladimir Ruvinsky uses the concept of the Overton Window to explain the proliferation of anti-Western conspiracy theories in Russia.

Siloviki Shuffle

Stratfor.com has a piece looking at speculation in the Russian media that a major overhaul of the security services is likely after the presidential election.

Ukraine's Far Right

In The Daily Beast, Anna Nemtsova looks at the National Squad, a far right militia that is making waves in Ukraine.

Russia's Military Buildup

In an op-ed for The Moscow Times, Michael Kofman, a senior research scientist with the Center for Naval Analyses, looks at Russia's prospects for maintaining its military buildup.

Countering Russian Cyber Operations

Rachel Ansley has a piece summarizing an Atlantic Council conference this week on "Russian Cyber Operations in Ukraine and Beyond."
KYIV -- Do svidania, "comrade."

If the Ukrainian government gets its way, the countrys military will soon ditch the official Soviet-era call-and-response greeting that has persisted since Kyivs break with Moscow nearly 27 years ago for "Glory to Ukraine!" -- a chant rooted in Ukraine's nationalist past but repurposed and popularized during the 2013-14 Euromaidan street protests.

The proposal came from Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroysman, who on February 5 submitted a draft bill to parliament that would amend the existing law requiring Ukrainian servicemen and senior officers to greet each other with the Soviet-era "Hello, comrade!" and "Good day, sir!" and swap it with the exchange "Glory to Ukraine!" and "Glory to the heroes!"

Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, has not set a date for debate of the bill, but it is likely to receive broad support from lawmakers and civil society, both of whom have backed sweeping de-communization laws that ban Soviet symbols and equate the Soviet and Nazi regimes.

Since the Euromaidan street protests that ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych and the start of Ukraines ongoing war against Russia-backed insurgents in the country's east, the "Glory to Ukraine!" call and "Glory to the heroes!" response have been widely used by Ukrainians: as a blessing from President Petro Poroshenko in national addresses and press conferences with Western counterparts; as a battle cry from soldiers fighting on the front lines; and as a slogan expressed by so-called Euro-optimists pushing for reforms in parliament.

The phrases might just as easily be screamed by rock stars at concerts, or spoken by athletes in postgame TV interviews, or mumbled by bus drivers encountering a newly paved road.

But not everyone is a fan, and there are likely to be detractors due to the "glory" calls roots in the controversial Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), whose members fought to establish an independent Ukraine before and during World War II but also committed wartime atrocities against Poles and Jews.

Russian speakers in eastern Ukraine who still celebrate the Red Army's WWII victories are unlikely to welcome the change, as are lawmakers from the Opposition Bloc, the political party filled with former allies of the Moscow-friendly Yanukovych, and their supporters.

Ukrainian officials' introduction of a phrase made popular under revolutionary WWII-era ultranationalists could be used by Moscow to bolster its claim that a "junta" and "fascist" government control Kyiv.


Ukraine's top prosecutor has said he will not seek to renew a nightly curfew on opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili.

"Saakashvili has finally begun to appear for questioning so when the restrictive measure [curfew] imposed on him expires, we will not renew it. He is appearing after receiving summonses, and therefore, in my opinion, he does not need any further burden," Prosecutor-General Yuriy Lutsenko told TSN.ua on February 6.

The comments were later posted on Facebook by Lutsenko's spokesman.

On January 26, the Kyiv City Court of Appeals placed the former Georgian president and ex-governor of Ukraine's Odesa region under house arrest every night until February 7 from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. It also barred him from leaving the Ukrainian capital without permission from a court or the Prosecutor-General's Office.

Ukrainian authorities have accused Saakashvili of abetting an alleged "criminal group" led by former President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia after his ouster in February 2014.

They also claim that protests led by Saakashvili in Ukraine are part of a Russian plot against the government in Kyiv.

Saakashvili has strongly denied all those charges.

Saakashvili was president of Georgia from 2004 to 2013. He lost his Georgian citizenship in 2015 when he accepted Ukrainian citizenship and took the post of Odesa governor.

He resigned that position in November 2016, complaining of rampant corruption, and has since become an ardent opponent of President Petro Poroshenko.

The 50-year-old also faces government anger in Georgia. On January 5, the Tbilisi City Court found him guilty of abuse of power by allegedly trying to cover up evidence in a 2006 murder case and sentenced him in absentia to three years in prison.

He has also denied those charges and said they were politically motivated as well.

With reporting by TASS and AFP
The United States has designated three Pakistani-based militants as "global terrorists," as Washington heaps pressure on Islamabad to crack down on militants.

The U.S. Treasury Department said on February 7 it had placed Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan, and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan on its blacklist of "Specially Designated Global Terrorists" for links to Pakistani-based militant groups, including the Afghan Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Lashkar-e Taiba.

A statement said the three men were involved in providing financial and logistical support, explosives, and technological aid to the three extremist groups.

"Treasury continues to aggressively pursue and expose radicals who support terrorist organizations and run illicit financial networks across South Asia," said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

"We call on the Pakistani government and others in the region to work with us to deny sanctuary to these dangerous individuals and organizations, he added.

The announcement comes two weeks after the United States blacklisted six people accused of supporting the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network, which is based in Pakistan and allied with the Taliban.

Muhammad is alleged to have collected funds for Lashkar-e Taiba in the Persian Gulf and to have been a longtime contact for members of the militant group involved in Afghan operations.

The other two are accused of acting on behalf of Shaikh Aminullah, who was blacklisted in 2009 for providing material support to Al-Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban.

The United States alleges that Aminullah turned a religious school in the northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar into a training and recruiting base used by Al-Qaeda, the Afghan Taliban, and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Early last month, the U.S. government announced it was suspending security assistance to the Pakistani military until it took "decisive action" against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network that are operating in neighboring Afghanistan. U.S. officials said the freeze could affect $2 billion worth of assistance.

Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the State Department's No. 2 official said on February 6 that Washington intends to "hold Pakistan accountable for its failure to deny sanctuary to militant proxies."

"We may consider lifting the suspension when we see decisive and sustained actions to address our concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory, without distinction," Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan also said.

Islamabad denies harboring militant groups that carry out attacks in Afghanistan.
Presidential candidate Ricardo Anaya asks Trump to protect Dreamers

Mexico City, Mexico  The pre-candidate of the coalition Por Mexico al Frente Ricardo Anaya, asked the president of the United States, Donald Trump, to protect the dreamers and prevent their dreams from becoming a currency for calculations and political transactions.

In a YouTube video posted in English, he pointed out that all migrants deserve respect and their children also deserve protection.

There are 35 million Mexicans and Mexican Americans in the United States, which is the equivalent of the entire population of Canada, but keep in mind that four out of five are US citizens or legal residents, he said.

Anaya Cortes highlighted that the dreamers, young people who were taken by their parents to the United States while they were still children, grew up in the United States.

Its the place of your first memories, its your home, he said.

Their situation arouses sympathy and a sense of solidarity in the hearts of the vast majority of Americans, to such an extent that the government of the United States created the program known as DACA, which allows them to remain in the United States, he said.

He pointed out that today there is a danger that the DACA program will disappear and that more than 600,000 dreamers will be sent to Mexico.

He said that the political negotiations have turned that program, and the route toward the citizenship of the dreamers, into a simple matter of compromise. A quid pro quo to build an offensive and useless border wall.

The presidential candidate said that, with a 3,000 kilometer border, the national security of the United States depends directly on a stable and cooperative Mexico, not on a wall.

Mr. President, you said in your State of the Union address that Americans are also dreamers. Let me say that the dreamers, these young men and women, are also Americans, he said.

He asked the president to do the right thing.

Do not use immigrants as an article of political commitment. Help them now and they will make you proud. Dreamers, you are not alone, he concluded.
Would be thief experiences divine intervention

Chetumal, Q.R.  A neighborhood thief was caught empty handed but stuck in the metal frame of a window after trying to enter a building.

The building he was allegedly attempting to rob was a residential area church. The man apparently became stuck trying to squeeze through a small square window, however, he was unsuccessful at passing through its metal frame.

He was discovered the next morning, still trapped in the small window frame, when cleaners arrived at the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Church personnel called 911 who sent the fire department. Firemen arrived with metal cutters which then took 20 minutes to free the man.

Emergency medical personnel also arrived to tend to his wounds. He was treated then arrested and sent before the public prosecutors office.

The would-be thief was verified as being a known neighborhood robber.
The Hero X-Pulse 200 which made its world premiere in the form of a concept at last years EICMA has resurfaced in public, this time slightly closer to production, at the Auto Expo 2018. While Hero revealed absolutely nothing about the motorcycle during its world premiere, the company has confirmed now that the compact on-off roader will be powered by a 200 cc engine.

The motor is tuned to deliver a healthy 18.4 PS and 17.1 Nm of torque. The lack of punch was the primary concern that spelled doom to the original Impulse 150 and Hero seems to have addressed the issue well this time.

The X-Pulse 200s impressive features list includes first-in-class Turn-by-Turn navigation (smartphone connectivity through the fully digital instrument console), full LED headlamp, luggage rack, knuckle guards, wind shield, specially tuned ABS for dual purpose riding, etc.

The adventure motorcycle is underpinned by a diamond frame made of high tensile steel. Suspension duties are taken care of by telescopic front fork (with 190 mm stroke) and a 10-step adjustable monoshock rear suspension (with 170 mm wheel travel).

The 21-inch front and 18-inch rear spoke wheels are shod with dual purpose tyres. With an up-swept exhaust canister to improve water wading capability, the Hero X-Pulse 200 means business and targets hardcore adventure enthusiasts who are on a budget.

Hero hasnt revealed the time frame for the launch but we expect the X-Pulse 200 to be ready for the market sometime later this year.

Stay tuned to Rushlane as we cover 2018 Auto Expo LIVE from India Expo Mart in Greater Noida.
Were currently in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution  an incredible period of innovation, where technology is transforming our lives, creating customers whore demanding smarter, faster and more personalised experiences. This is having a profound impact on the workplace and future of business, and will be a key theme at Salesforce World Tour in Sydney on March 6, 2018.

Here at Salesforce, we want to help you create the connected experiences your customers are demanding. To help you learn the skills needed to innovate for the future and influence change within your organisations, setting them up for a prosperous future.

At Salesforce World Tour, on 6 March 2018 , there will be a number of sessions and experiences on offer to do just this  empowering you to create a workplace for the future. These are the future-focused sessions you dont want to miss:

1. Artificial Intelligence Now and Next

For half a century, artificial intelligence (AI) seemed to be an ever-receding destination that was always 20 years from now. But, thanks to a proliferation of connectivity, huge amounts of data and the low cost of extremely powerful cloud computing, AI is here, now. And, by augmenting our personal and professional lives, it has the potential to unleash entirely new levels of productivity.

Moderated by Salesforce's VP for Strategic Research, Peter Coffee, this panel of industry leaders will discuss how you can navigate the expanding world of AI capabilities, and how the technology is already being used to achieve business and customer success. The panel will also be sharing some insight to help you spot the opportunities within your organisation and industry where the power of AI can be harnessed.

Location and time: Breakout B; 11:20am12:00pm

2. WORK Differently

Disruption is being felt by all industries. Yet, many organisations are struggling to develop and embed new ways of working to help navigate this change and create new value for customers. Even those with the best intentions can fall down, with over two-thirds of traditional change efforts failing.

In this breakout session, discover the defining characteristics of successful work practices used by big and small businesses, and walk away with the knowledge needed to help develop a clear, actionable strategy that cultivates new ways of working in your organisation. #WORKdifferently

Location and time: Meeting Room 3.6; 11:20am12:00pm

3. Innovation Zone: Codeys IoT Shop

The Innovation Zone within the World Tour Customer Success Expo is your chance to get up-close and hands-on with the emerging technologies powering the future. See IoT and Einstein in action, observing real world use cases, and interact with the technology through simulation games. Youll walk away feeling inspired and excited as to how these innovative technologies can translate into your own organisation and workplace.

Location and time: Customer Success Expo; 8am5pm

4. Driving a Customer Transformation Agenda

Disparate customer initiatives and siloed IT systems are hampering many organisations, impeding innovation and the ability to connect with customers. In this panel discussion, hear how two customer Trailblazers are conquering a legacy of disparity, bringing together multiple departments and business units to drive whole-of-business transformation within their organisations.

Jason Bradshaw, Chief Customer Experience Officer at Volkswagen Australia, and Amy Childs, General Manager  Marketing and Sales at Momentum Energy, will share some of their challenges, solutions and successes along this journey, as well as offer advice for those embarking on their own path of transformation.

Location and time: Breakout B; 2:00pm2:40pm

5. Demystifying Blockchain and Cryptocurrency

Cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, are currently taking the world by storm. Many believe its a bubble; others see it as the future of finance and payment. The fact remains: the disruptive technology that underpins cryptocurrencies, Blockchain, has the potential to fundamentally transform the world as we know it.

But, is the relationship between cryptocurrencies and Blockchain the same as what we saw with dot-com and the internet? Hear from an expert panel wholl explore this question from multiple perspectives, separating facts from fiction, and help you prepare for a new normal.

Location and time: Breakout E; 4:30pm5:10pm

6. PitchComp

For the second year in a year, Salesforce is on the lookout for a rising star of the startup world, hosting a pitch competition between three early-stage Australian startups building on the Salesforce App Cloud.

Watch on as three entrepreneurs pitch their companies on the World Tour stage to a rockstar judging panel  made up of legendary investor and entrepreneur Steve Baxter; high-profile businessperson, investor, and entrepreneur Naomi Simson; and founder of BlackBird Ventures Niki Scevak. Wholl pitch their way to a USD$100k investment from Salesforce Ventures?

Location and time: Keynote Room; 12:30pm1:30pm
Cabinet of Secret Documents from Australia

This story of leaked Australian government secrets is unlike any other Ive heard:

It begins at a second-hand shop in Canberra, where ex-government furniture is sold off cheaply. The deals can be even cheaper when the items in question are two heavy filing cabinets to which no-one can find the keys. They were purchased for small change and sat unopened for some months until the locks were attacked with a drill. Inside was the trove of documents now known as The Cabinet Files. The thousands of pages reveal the inner workings of five separate governments and span nearly a decade. Nearly all the files are classified, some as top secret or AUSTEO, which means they are to be seen by Australian eyes only.

Yes, that really happened. The person who bought and opened the file cabinets contacted the Australian Broadcasting Corp, who is now publishing a bunch of it.

Theres lots of interesting (and embarassing) stuff in the documents, although most of it is local politics. I am more interested in the governments reaction to the incident: theyre pushing for a law making it illegal for the press to publish government secrets it received through unofficial channels.

The one thing I would point out about the legislation that does concern me particularly is that classified information is an element of the offence, he said. That is to say, if youve got a filing cabinet that is full of classified information  that means all the Crown has to prove if theyre prosecuting you is that it is classified  nothing else. They dont have to prove that you knew it was classified, so knowledge is beside the point. [] Many groups have raised concerns, including media organisations who say they unfairly target journalists trying to do their job. But really anyone could be prosecuted just for possessing classified information, regardless of whether they know about it. That might include, for instance, if you stumbled across a folder of secret files in a regular skip bin while walking home and handed it over to a journalist.

This illustrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the threat. The Australian Broadcasting Corp gets their funding from the government, and was very restrained in what they published. They waited months before publishing as they coordinated with the Australian government. They allowed the government to secure the files, and then returned them. From the governments perspective, they were the best possible media outlet to receive this information. If the government makes it illegal for the Australian press to publish this sort of material, the next time it will be sent to the BBC, the Guardian, the New York Times, or Wikileaks. And since people no longer read their news from newspapers sold in stores but on the Internet, the result will be just as many people reading the stories with far fewer redactions.

The proposed law is older than this leak, but the leak is giving it new life. The Australian opposition party is being cagey on whether they will support the law. They dont want to appear weak on national security, so Im not optimistic.

EDITED TO ADD (2/8): The Australian government backed down on that new security law.

EDITED TO ADD (2/13): Excellent political cartoon.

Posted on February 7, 2018 at 6:19 AM  51 Comments
[NIAMEY] It is the end of December 2016, with clear skies over Niger. But as 2017 draws near prospects are grim for some 500 residents in Bani Kosseye, a village 80km from the capital Niamey. Agricultural production has been poor here, and families' meagre stocks are expected to run out within a few weeks. People already fear famine.



The main cause for this food stress is none other than locusts. The damage the tiny insects cause to agriculture means they have become public enemy number one in the fields and pastures of this Sahel country.



The various institutions set up to combat the locust threat in Niger classify the insects into two main groups: desert locusts and grasshoppers. There is a third category, migratory locusts, but experts in Niger say these are not a significant threat.



Map of gregarization areas in Niger. Credit: National Locust Control Centre



Desert locusts, on the other hand  which are associated with the eighth biblical plague  have the ability to swarm into several dozen million individuals capable of travelling long distances across several countries to devastate fields. The 2003-2005 invasion affected 20 countries across northern Africa and destroyed millions of hectares of crops.



According to the preamble of Niger's Locust Risk Management Plan, during a massive locust invasion swarms of desert locusts may invade an area of 29 million square kilometres where 1.3bn people live, stretching from Africa's Atlantic coast in the northern hemisphere to the Indo-Pakistani border, and from the Mediterranean to the Equator.

Where desert locusts go, they do not leave anything behind. Abou Moumouni, National Locust Control Centre (CNLA)



Idrissa Maiga, a locust expert at the Agrhymet Regional Centre in Niamey, says it is a species with an extraordinary reproductive capacity. Females may lay eggs several times during their lifetime and each female lays between 80 and 100 eggs.



And how voracious are they? Each individual is capable of eating its own weight in vegetable matter per day, the entomologist says. This means that each individual can eat up to two grams of fresh material per day.



Therefore, if a swarm of dozens or hundreds of millions of individuals zooms in on a crop, it only takes them between 15 and 30 minutes to destroy fresh material in the area, Maiga says.



Millions of hectares destroyed



Some desert locust specialists, who are quoted in a technical note by Niger's locust monitoring system (published in December 2016, in French) even say that in theory, a swarm covering a 25-square-kilometre area with a density of 100 insects per square meter, may eat as much grass as 50,000 heads of cattle.

The director general of the National Locust Control Centre (CNLA), Abou Moumouni, says Niger paid a very heavy price for the 2003/2005 locust invasion.



3,755 villages had a 27 per cent cereal shortfall equivalent to about 223,487 tonnes, he says.



This deficit, caused by the dual effects of drought and desert locusts, led to a 4.47million-tonne drop in food production.



The situation is very worrying for Niger which is, with Mauritania, Mali and Chad, one of the so-called frontline states (a loose coalition of African states) in West and Central Africa. They are countries where outbreaks occur, the insects live on a permanent basis and can reproduce, forming swarms and invading crops  if the process is not interrupted.



In Niger, this happens in the regions of Air and Tamesna and, to a lesser degree, in the pastures in the Sahel, which is a summer reproduction area.



Fortunately, the country and the region do not face an invasion every year. Over the past 30 years, there have only been three desert locust invasions: in 1988, 2003-5 and 2012, says Moudy Mamane Sani, the director general of vegetable protection at Nigers Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.



However, the effects of these past invasions are felt for a long time. According to the CNLA, 1.25 million hectares of crops were destroyed in Niger during the 1988 invasion, which affected a total of 26 million hectares of crops in 23 countries

But this is not all. Following the 2003-2005 crisis, nearly 4,000 villages in Niger were abandoned by residents who had lost their crops. This led to the exodus of these people from their villages to cities, Moumouni says.



Growers do not have anything but their production, he says. Where desert locusts go, they do not leave anything behind.



He explains that growers who have lost their crops, and pastures that support their cattle, no longer have any capital; and all they can do is go to urban centres, look for a job and rebuild their lives until the following agricultural season.



Grasshopper threat



However, for the residents of Bani Kosseye village, it is grasshoppers that are behind the distress, not a new invasion of desert locusts. These are sedentary locusts which, unlike desert locusts, are not capable of gathering gregariously to form large swarms, Maiga says.



Among these are Senegalese locusts, which Maiga says are particularly harmful for cereal crops, millet especially.

Grasshoppers even attack the ears [of cereal plants] and eat seeds which have not yet reached maturity. So you will see ears but there is almost nothing inside  Djibo Bagna, Niger's Farmers Platform



The fact of the matter is that grasshoppers also have a great capacity for harm in the fields. Attacks by grasshoppers may take place at various stages of plant growth, says Djibo Bagna, a farmer and the chairman of the executive board of Niger's Farmers Platform.



Once they have attacked seedlings, they move on to young plants. If they do not show up after seedlings have been attacked, it means they are waiting for plants to develop so they can attack leaves. [As a result] you will find stalks that are totally naked and that will not yield anything at all, he says.



Grasshoppers even attack the ears [of cereal plants] and eat seeds which have not yet reached maturity. So you will see ears but there is almost nothing inside, Bagna concludes.



This is more or less what the residents of Bani Kosseye experienced during the 2016 agricultural season. Locusts appeared when the millet started flowering, both at heading time (when flower or seed heads start to show) and when seeds appeared, says Issaka Arouna, a local farmer.



We began fighting them even before the arrival of officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Arouna says.



Grasshopper infestations



That particular fight was lost. It failed to prevent the risk of a food crisis, which is now dreaded in the village: Can't you see that empty granary over there, says Arouna as he asks a young man to open one of the granaries of the village.



There is not much inside: ears of millet, some with sparse kernels, barely cover the floor area. This is the crop of ten people you can see here, the old man says with a stern expression.



This meagre crop is evidence that the threat of grasshoppers is far from negligible. In fact, Senegalese locusts cause even more damage to millet in any one season than desert locusts do, Idrissa Maiga says.



The species is particularly dangerous because it is endemic. This is a situation we face on an almost yearly basis, says Sani During every agricultural season we are confronted with grasshoppers, and the seriousness of the situation varies from one season to another, he says.



This year, for instance, we have had many cases of grasshopper infestations, including in the Tilaberi, Zinder and Maradi regions, Sani says.



Vulnerable countries



Desperate times call for desperate measures  so countries which are most vulnerable to desert locust invasions have asked FAO (the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation) to coordinate prevention and response campaigns nationally, regionally and internationally. As a result, FAO has set up a special body in each region.



Once they have attacked seedlings, they move on to young plants or wait for plants to develop so they can attack leaves. Djibo Bagna, Niger's Farmers Platform

In Western and Northwestern Africa, which includes Niger, the body in question is the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in Western Africa (CLCPRO), which was set up in 2000. Each of its ten member states (Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia) has pledged to set up on its territory a national desert locust control unit.



In Niger, the unit was set up in 2007. It is called the National Locust Control Center (CNLA), with headquarters in Niamey and a main operational base in Agadez, a city chosen for its proximity to outbreak areas.



During remission periods, such as now, when there is no invasion and when locusts are in gregarious areas, the CNLA is tasked with leading monitoring operations, Moumouni told SciDev.Net.



He says monitoring involves carrying out insecticide treatments as soon as the number of locusts reaches a certain level in order to confine them to gregarious areas.

During invasions, the CNLA is tasked with preparing action plans as well as coordinating and evaluating response operations together with the Directorate for Plant Protection (DGPV) because we have limited means and personnel, Moumouni says.



The directorate, part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, is also in charge of other types of locusts and pests, including grasshoppers.



Both bodies have opted for prevention as a strategy, spurred on by FAO which stated in 2006 that when you look at the cost of response operations for the CLCPRO, you realise that expenses incurred to overcome the 2003-2005 invasion could have funded 170 years worth of prevention.



Prevention is also driven by the economic, social and environmental impact of operations carried out as a result of the 2003/2005 invasion. Thirteen million litres of pesticides were needed to overcome it. It cost more than half a billion dollars and caused crop losses worth more than $2.5 billion, according to the FAO document.



Locust information network



As a result, steps are being taken in Niger to prevent invasions, and they involve both growers themselves as well as officials.



We have growers whom we call brigadiers, says Djbo Bagna, a farmer and the chairman of the executive board of Niger's Farmers Platform. We have already trained them to use pesticides and to alert technical services when the situation gets out of hand.



We have a locust information network, adds the CNLA's Moumouni. For gregarious areas, we have trained nomads, the military and all community leaders so they can inform us as soon as they spot a locust.



He says information is fed into the monitoring activities of the CNLA, which sends teams to these areas on a monthly basis to evaluate the situation before a decision can be made. The evaluation takes the weather into account, as it too affects the development and reproduction of locusts.

Agricultural aircraft

The presence of locusts does not necessarily mean that we will have to go and spray [pesticides], he says. There is an intervention threshold. As soon as there are 500 adult individuals or between 3,000 and 5,000 small larvae per hectare, an intervention is needed for numbers to come down.



The DGPV's Sani says that in the case of localised infestations over several hectares, growers themselves intervene quickly in their fields with portable sprayers to solve the problem.



When the situation reaches a certain threshold, it is a matter for decentralised services at local or regional level who have spraying machines fitted to vehicles and who can treat several hectares per day, he explains. Air operations are conducted when infestations reach several thousand hectares.



Sani says Niger has an airbase with three agricultural aircraft to deal with large-scale infestations.



In addition to aircraft, biopesticide products have been designed to assist with the response. Green Muscle, for example, was developed by Chris Prior and David Greathead, two scientists with CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International).



Neither Green Muscle nor any chemical pesticide will remove the threat. But with adequate monitoring of locust and grasshopper numbers  especially when they have just been born and before they become adults  Green Muscle may be able to control the number of locusts and grasshoppers, preventing them from becoming a threat for crops and human lives, says Belinda Luke, a CABI biopesticide scientist.



The biopesticide is now sold by BASF but Luke says CABI is available to those needing advice to make the best use of the pesticide.



Monitoring and response



However, like those leading locust control in Niger, she believes monitoring remains the most effective weapon against desert locusts. We need eyes in fields to monitor the number of locusts in order to be able to treat them with Green Muscle as soon as necessary.



Meanwhile, research continues and Niger has the advantage of being the home of the Agrhymet Regional Centre, which was set up by the Permanent Inter-State Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) to inform and provide training on food security, the fight against desertification and water management in the Sahel and Western Africa.

We have a traditional method whereby we light small fires around fields because locusts fly away when there is smoke. Arouna



Among other facilities, the Agrhymet Centre has an insectarium where locusts are raised for the purposes of scientific work. The institution was set up to serve the 13 member countries of the CILSS, but offers Niger a benefit given that everything it develops as a decision support tool or any information it provides is first implemented in the nearest countries, i.e. in Niger, says entomologist Maiga.



It goes without saying that our cooperation with Niger's national technical services in charge of the locust threat is much closer owing to this proximity, he says.

Yet despite this mechanism, it does happen quite often that there is no immediate response when the alarm is raised. That is precisely what occurred in Bani Kosseye during the latest agricultural season. Locals are still reeling from the fact that technical services failed to intervene as soon as they raised the alarm.



Both the DGPV and the CNLA cite reasons to do with the unavailability of financial means, the procedure for making a military escort available for teams, and a shortage of staff in charge of monitoring and intervention in several places at the same time. These difficulties have given rise to the idea of using drones in the near future, in a bid to increase the efficiency of prevention and intervention operations.



Meanwhile, villagers are making do. We have a traditional method whereby we light small fires around fields because locusts fly away when there is smoke, says Arouna, from Bani Kosseye.



Unfortunately, this method was inadequate to protect crops during the 2016 agricultural season.



This feature is part of a series on invasive species supported by CABI



This piece was produced by SciDev.Nets Sub-Saharan Africa French desk.
@NewsbySmiley

Attorney and former Miami-Dade prosecutor Jason Pizzo launched his campaign for a northeast Miami state Senate seat Wednesday, setting up a rematch with Sen. Daphne Campbell, D-North Miami Beach.

Pizzo ran against Campbell in the Democratic primary for the District 38 seat and lost in 2016 by about 8 points.

Here's the press release:

JASON PIZZO LAUNCHES STATE SENATE CAMPAIGN

Pizzo focuses on bringing district together with strong ethical leadership

North Miami Beach, Fla. - Today, Jason Pizzo officially launched his campaign for the state senate in District 38. Following his close second-place finish in 2016, Pizzo is focused on restoring strong ethical leadership for District 38 residents.

Jason Pizzo said, "Thank you for standing with me and being part of the charge for social change and new leadership in Tallahassee. Our campaign is up and running, and in the coming weeks and months ahead, I will be reaching out to share events and opportunities for you to get involved.
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A group of UC Berkeley architecture students say their academic careers are in limbo because the university has allowed a prominent professor to serve on doctoral committees and advise them despite a 2016 campus finding that he sexually harassed a student.

More than 75 students, alumni and supporters signed a petition demanding the immediate removal of Nezar AlSayyad from all positions at UC Berkeley and sent it Monday to campus leaders and members of a faculty committee who have spent three months considering whether to revoke Professor Nezar AlSayyads tenure.

Current and prospective students as well as visiting scholars have been in the dark about AlSayyads status, perpetuating a culture of ambiguity and professional uncertainty, said the petition, which criticized the secretive nature of UC Berkeleys disciplinary process.

Campus administrators relieved AlSayyad of teaching duties after an investigation found the renowned Middle East scholar and architecture professor ingratiated himself with graduate student Eva Hagberg Fisher before placing his hand on her upper thigh, proposing they become close friends and suggesting they go to Las Vegas.

AlSayyad denies harassing Hagberg Fisher and calls the 2016 report flawed. On Tuesday, he said, some of the individuals involved in this petition are inadvertently supporting a smear campaign led by Hagberg Fisher.

The professor still performs duties that graduate students depend on: serving on their committees, formally advising them, writing all-important letters of recommendation.

The petition highlights the complexity of addressing sexual harassment in academia.

In Hollywood and elsewhere, the momentum of the #MeToo movement has toppled moguls, celebrities and politicians quickly following publication of sexual misconduct allegations and findings.

But universities require due process, and professors have tenure, a shield that protects them from being automatically fired, whether for pursuing controversial areas of research, for speaking out politically  or for sexual harassment. So unless a tenured professor leaves voluntarily, as many do, a downfall can be slow and agonizing for everyone, including the accused.

Professor AlSayyad is incredibly frustrated and disturbed by being in this position for as long as hes had to endure it, his attorney, Dan Siegel, told The Chronicle Tuesday. He did not sexually harass anyone. He believes, and I believe, that the evidence that was presented at his (tenure) hearing establishes his innocence.

The confidential, three-day hearing before a committee of fellow professors took place in early November. No decision has been rendered and no timeline announced. In the 150-year history of the University of California system, eight professors have lost tenure, allowing them to be fired.

Rhetoric Professor Marianne Constable, who chairs the Faculty Senates Privilege and Tenure Committee that held the hearing, declined to comment, citing the confidentiality of the process.

Chancellor Carol Christs spokeswoman, Janet Gilmore, also declined to comment on any case involving a professor.

AlSayyad, on the UC Berkeley faculty since 1985, has taught no classes for more than a year. He continues to receive his $211,000 salary.

Its ridiculous, said Hagberg Fisher, who signed the petition. Hes still advising students, still on (academic) committees and still a member of the department.

COVID Resources Coronavirus Map Tracking COVID-19 cases across the Bay Area and California.

Hagberg Fisher said the petition was not about her case.

Its about addressing the needs of all the students that are currently in this weird educational limbo, she said.

Others who signed the petition agree that AlSayyads half-in and half-out situation has created problems. In some cases, students chose UC Berkeley specifically because of AlSayyad, a renowned author and intellectual in his field, yet can take no classes from him. In other cases, students have participated in earlier protests and demanded that he be removed.

The situation has created an, at times, toxic environment, said Eric Peterson, a doctoral student in architecture who helped organize the petition. If you speak out against him, you lose an essential advocate for your professional success and economic livelihood.

Marianela DAprile, who received her masters degree from the architecture department in May, said she signed the letter because she was dismayed that AlSayyad was allowed to continue advising students and participate on the committee that makes graduate admissions decisions.

It is really infuriating, said DAprile, 25, who became friends with Hagberg Fisher in recent months and now works for her as an architectural consultant. It leaves students in this very precarious and vulnerable position, especially students who are still working with him.

Nanette Asimov and Cynthia Dizikes are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: nasimov@sfchronicle.com and cdizikes@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @NanetteAsimov and @CDizikes
A Silicon Valley mayor said the housing situation in his city is "not dire," but local housing activists disagree.

In his State of the City address last week Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul acknowledged his city, home to the sprawling Apple Inc. headquarters, "should be focused a bit more on housing at this point" but "the circumstances are not dire." (You can watch the entire address here. Paul addresses housing around the 20-minute mark.)

"We have good options," he continued. "But certainly the time to act would be at this point."

Leslye Corsiglia, executive director of housing rights organization Silicon Valley at Home, said Paul's statement is "out of sync with leaders from throughout the Bay Area  really from throughout the entire state  who acknowledge the depth of the housing crisis and its impact on our residents."

Corsiglia cited plans in neighboring cities, including Palo Alto and Mountain View, to increase housing, with an emphasis on affordability.

"It is especially puzzling given reports released this week, one of which projects that the San Jose metro area  which includes Cupertino  will lead the nation in housing price increases," Corsiglia said. The median home price in Cupertino is $2.2 million, an approximate 21-percent increase from the prior year, according to Zillow.

In a Reddit thread responding to a Mercury News report on the State of the City address, commenters characterized Paul's comments as "NIMBYism" and a "let them eat cake" mentality.

One commenter said, "I dream of the day in which not a single one of the [anti-housing activists] has any power or influence over the Cupertino City Council."

Story continues below.

Paul, who was sworn into office in December, cited his city's ideal jobs-to-housing ratio, a metric compiled by the Association of Bay Area Governments that helps local officials determine a responsible allocation of housing over eight-year periods of time.

At 1.29 jobs for every unit of housing in 2010, the last year of available census data, Cupertino has a good mix of office space in relation to living space, Paul said. A ratio of 1.5 to 1 or less is ideal.

Apple recently opened a new campus that can host 12,000 employees and 11,000 vehicles, and 2010 census data may not accurately reflect the need for housing, Corsiglia added. Case in point: projections predict the city's jobs-to-housing ratio will hit 1.66 by 2040.

"Cupertino has historically underperformed on addressing its housing needs, and produced less than 25% of its need for affordable housing in recent years," Corsiglia said. "If this is not a concern now, I don't know when it will become one."

Though on track to meet current market-rate housing, a state housing department report found Cupertino falls short in affordable housing development. This trend is present nearly every Bay Area municipality.

Paul could not immediately be reached for comment.

The mayor's comments come in light of recent squabbling surrounding Cupertino's Vallco Mall, a nearly empty shopping center built in the 1970s. City officials, residents and developers met Monday night for the first of a series of meetings to discuss the future development of the rundown mall whose millions of square feet could host additional housing, retail and office space.

Voters shot down a 2016 ballot measure that would have enabled the mall's conversion and also rejected a competing measure.

"The sad reality is that the community is really divided," Dan Parolek of Berkeley urban design firm Opticos told Curbed SF. "And it's a pretty uncivil dialogue that's built up."

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
In the latest hotel developments, Los Angeles has a new Kimpton property in West Hollywoods Design District; a newly built hotel recently opened in downtown Napa, California; Hiltons Tru brand comes to Las Vegas Airport; Manhattan adds an Embassy Suites in Midtown and a Fairfield Inn downtown; Atlantas Battery district gets a new Omni; and an Art Deco building in Nashville is converted into a Hyatt affiliate. (See slideshow for a peek at each one!)

At 627 North La Peer Drive in West Hollywood is Kimptons new La Peer Hotel , in between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue. As part of the Design District, the 105-room La Peer  designed by Gulla Jonsdottir  has an overall aesthetic that is chic and comforting with a brushstroke of understated elegance. It features touches like concrete and leather walls, white oak wood floors, bronze columns, custom furniture, and lots of original art. Seafood and Mediterranean-inspired cuisine highlights the hotels restaurant, Viale dei Romani; health and wellness programs for guests include fitness classes, local bike tours, and yoga mats in the rooms. The hotel has a 4,000-square-foot rooftop terrace for private events and a swimming pool. Rates start around $337.

Part of the First Street Napa redevelopment in downtown Napa, California is the recently opened ARCHER Hotel Napa, a newly built 183-room luxury boutique property. Those 183 rooms include 39 suites with balconies, and many with fireplaces. The property has 17,000 square feet of meeting and event space, and a Charlie Palmer steakhouse restaurant and bar. The hotels destination rooftop, with views of the Napa Valley, features another restaurant and bar (with fire pits), a chefs show kitchen, indoor/outdoor fitness studio and a spa. The hotels pool has rental cabanas with privacy curtains and stone fireplaces. The small but growing ARCHER hotel group also has locations in Austin and New York City. Rates start at $239.

TravelSkills with Chris McGinnis sponsored by: See More Collapse

Next to Las Vegas McCarran Airport at 6862 Gillespie Street, just off I-215, is the newly opened, 166-room Tru by Hilton Las Vegas Airport, the eighth property in Hiltons new Tru brand and the largest one yet. The hotel has a free 24-hour shuttle service to the airport terminals and to The Strip, a few miles away. The Tru by Hilton offers free breakfast, a business center, a fitness room, game room, 24-hour market, convenience store, and free self-parking. Guest rooms are 231 square feet with a king bed or 280 square feet with two queens, and the hotel offers free Wi-Fi. Rates start at $89.

In New York City, Hilton has cut the ribbon on a new Embassy Suites property in Midtown at 60 West 37th Street, just off Fifth Avenue. The 39-story Embassy Suites by Hilton New York-Midtown Manhattan has 310 king rooms and studio suites, including some on higher floors with private terraces. Rooms come with free Wi-Fi, refrigerators, microwaves and coffee makers. Restaurants include the Embassy Lounge, serving made-to-order breakfasts; and The Heist, with Italian cuisine for lunch and dinner. The hotel has a fitness center, library and interactive game lounge, as well as an outdoor terrace open to the public or available for private events. Rates start at $299.

Farther south in Manhattan is the newly opened Fairfield Inn & Suites New York Downtown Manhattan/World Trade Center, a Marriott franchise. Its located just a few blocks from the new One World Trade Center at 100 Greenwich Street in the heart of the citys Financial District. The hotel has a 24-hour fitness center, free hot breakfasts, and guest rooms with one king or two double beds. Advance purchase rates start at $134.

The Battery Atlanta, a mixed-use development that incorporates SunTrust Park  home of the Atlanta Braves  is the site of the newly opened 264-room Omni Hotel at The Battery Atlanta. The hotel features a new restaurant called Archies, from James Beard award-winning chef Hugh Acheson, serving up locally-sourced, Southern-inspired cuisine. The new Omni is a big meetings venue, with 20,000 square feet of event and conference space. And its the official hotel of the Atlanta Braves. Rates start at $249.

In downtown Nashville not far from the famous Ryman Auditorium is the newly opened Holston House, a 191-room luxury hotel that belongs to Hyatts Unbound Collection. The new property occupies a 1920s-era building on the National Register of Historic Places that formerly housed the James Robertson Hotel, at 118 7th Avenue North. The hotels new interior complements the original art deco exterior of the building. Guest rooms feature free high-speed Internet, 50-inch ultra HD TVs, Keurig coffeemakers, mini-fridges and bathrobes. The Holston House has a rooftop pool deck, an American Southern restaurant called TENN open for three meals a day, and a lobby bar. Opening in March will be TENN on Top, a rooftop venue with a bar, DJs and live music. Rates start at $210.

Chris McGinnis

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.
@NewsbySmiley

Notorious political operative and agent provocateur Roger Stone plans to meet with House Speaker Richard Corcoran  a sit-down sure to stoke intrigue about Corcorans possible run for governor and speculation about whether Stone will be involved.

Stone, who was in Tallahassee Wednesday to give a paid speech to the Capital Tiger Bay Club, said a mutual friend set up a meeting later during his visit to the state Capitol with Floridas House Speaker. Both said theyd expressed interest in getting together.

Ive never met him and Im curious to meet him, Stone said. Hes one of the candidates for governor who I don't know.

Corcoran, R-Land OLakes, hasnt officially declared his candidacy. But he recently began airing political commercials funded by his political committee, WatchDog PAC. A newly released Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy poll showed he is running behind declared candidates Agricultural Commissioner Adam Putnam and Palm Coast Congressman Ron DeSantis.

Click here to read the rest.

Photo credit: Roger Stone, AP
Polls in a pair of Southern California congressional races that show voters unwilling to re-elect to GOP incumbents could be bad news for Republicans across the state.

The separate polls, done by the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley, found a majority of voters disinclined to cast their ballots for Rep. Steve Knight, R-Lancaster (Los Angeles County), and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa (Orange County).

But those results may spread far outside those district boundaries, since they track closely with voter disapproval of President Trump and general unhappiness with Republican control of Congress.

Voters are looking as much at Washington as they are at the candidate in their district, said Mark DiCamillo, the polls director. Theres a really strong linkage with whats happening in Washington and how people are going to vote.

It hasnt typically been that way. In 2016, a Gallup Poll taken a month before the November election found that Congress had a job approval rating of about 20 percent. Yet 98 percent of the incumbents running for re-election, Republicans and Democrats alike, were returned to office. In that election, like those in many years before, polls found that while voters disliked Congress as a whole, they were willing to give their own representative a pass.

But maybe not this year.

In Rohrabachers district, where Republicans hold a 43 percent-to-30 percent registration margin over Democrats, 51 percent of likely voters said they were disinclined to vote for the 14-term incumbent, compared with 41 percent who favored his re-election.

The so-called enthusiasm gap is even wider, with 28 percent of likely voters strongly inclined to vote for Rohrabacher and 44 percent strongly convinced they will not support him.

Its a similar situation for Knight, magnified by the fact that in his once strongly Republican district in northern Los Angeles County, Democrats now have a 41 percent-to-36 percent registration edge.

After winning a tough re-election campaign in 2016, Knight now finds that 56 percent of his districts likely voters dont support him, compared with 38 percent who do. Only 27 percent enthusiastically back his re-election, while 50 percent of those voters are strongly disinclined to vote for him.

Polling suggests that Trump, his policies and his GOP congressional supporters bear at least part of the blame for the poor showings by Rohrabacher and Knight.

Republicans are running for re-election into a headwind, DiCamillo said.

In Rohrabachers Republican-heavy district, 53 percent of likely voters disapprove of Trumps job performance, and they split, 47 percent to 47 percent, on whether GOP control of Congress is a good thing. Nearly two-thirds support providing legal status to immigration Dreamers, young people brought to the country illegally by their parents; 53 percent are opposed to a border wall; and 49 percent dont like the new tax plan, numbers all the opposite of Trumps positions.

For Knights district, 55 percent are unhappy with Trump, and 56 percent oppose GOP control of Congress. On policy questions, 64 percent back legal status for Dreamers, 55 percent oppose the border wall and 54 percent dont like Trumps tax plan.

None of this means the two incumbents dont have GOP support. For Knight, 78 percent of Republicans back his re-election, a number that slips only slightly to 73 percent for Rohrabacher. But with an overwhelming 90 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of independent voters opposed, their campaigns face tough sledding.

Republicans should be worried about the effect Trump is having on California, said DiCamillo, noting that a December poll found that nearly two-thirds of the states registered voters disapproved of the presidents job performance. Theres an undercurrent that whats happening in Washington is negatively affecting California.

The two polls were based on random email surveys conducted from Jan. 11-21. In Rohrabachers 48th Congressional District, it included 1,310 likely voters with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.0 percentage points. In Knights 25th Congressional District, the poll included 977 likely voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth
RAMALLAH, West Bank  A former Palestinian intelligence chief and the head of the West Bank bar association are suing the Palestinian self-rule government after a purported whistle-blower alleged the two were targeted, along with many other allies and rivals of President Mahmoud Abbas, in a large-scale CIA-backed wiretapping operation.

Allegations of continued intelligence-sharing with the United States could prove embarrassing for Abbas who has been on a political collision course with Washington since President Trumps recognition in December of contested city of Jerusalem as Israels capital.

The claims are contained in a 37-page anonymous document that was been shared widely among Palestinians, mostly on WhatsApp. The document alleges that three of the Palestinian security services set up a joint electronic surveillance unit in mid-2014 and monitored the phone calls of thousands of Palestinians, from senior figures in militant groups to judges, lawyers, civic leaders and political allies of Abbas.

The author describes himself as a former member of the surveillance unit who quit this dirty job several months ago because of his growing opposition to Palestinian government practices, including intelligence-sharing with the United States. He wrote that Trumps policy shift on Jerusalem provided another impetus to go public.

Bar association head Jawad Obeidat said on Monday that transcripts of his phone conversations, as published in the document, were accurate.

I made these phone calls and this is evidence that the leaked report is true, said Obeidat, who spearheaded recent protests by lawyers after one of them was arrested from a court room during a legal case against the government.

This is a blatant violation of human rights, he said.

Tawfiq Tirawi, an outspoken Abbas critic and West Bank intelligence chief from 1994 to 2008, said he checked with his contacts and believes the document is authentic.

The CIA declined comment.

In mid-January, when the document first surfaced, Palestinian security services said in a joint statement that it was part of a plot seeking to harm the political and security establishments.

The allegations come at a low point in Palestinian relations with the United States, following Trumps policy pivot on Jerusalem, whose Israeli-annexed eastern sector the Palestinians seek as a future capital.

Abbas said at the time that he was suspending contacts with U.S. officials dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The U.S. shift on Jerusalem angered many Palestinians, and in this context, allegations of continued intelligence-sharing with the U.S. could pose a domestic political problem for Abbas.

Mohammed Daraghmeh is an Associated Press writer.
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This is the third in a three-part series of articles about California wage statement laws. This installment addresses the penalties associated with wage statement violations. Read the first part here and the second part here.

When California employers fail to accurately provide certain details on pay stubs, they might incur steep fines under state law. California attorneys told SHRM Online that even hypertechnical violations may be costly for employers.

California law specifies 10 items that must be listed on the wage statements that are provided to employees each payday. The purpose is to provide workers with enough information to verify that they are being properly paid, according to the state Division of Labor Standards Enforcement.

Employers may incorrectly assume that pay stub compliance is just a matter of paperwork and can simply be corrected, said Christopher Ahearn, an attorney with Fisher Phillips in Irvine. "Employers should understand that the penalties for wage statement violations can be very high," he noted.

Statutory penalties under the California Labor Code start at $50 for the first violation and rise to $100 for each subsequent violation. These penalties are assessed on a per-employee basisup to a maximum of $4,000 for each employee who receives inaccurate pay stubs.

[SHRM members-only toolkit: Complying with California Wage Payment and Hours of Work Laws]

The penalties under California law can add up quickly. "A single mistake can lead to several penalties," noted Bruce Sarchet, an attorney with Littler in Sacramento. For example, if an employer didn't provide a worker with a meal break, the employer would have to pay a penalty to the employee for the missed break and would also face a fine for failing to report the meal-break penalty on the pay stub.

Another wrinkle in the law is that penalties are assessed per paycheck, Sarchet explained. Employers in the state must pay workers at least twice per month, though some pay workers every week. It benefits employees to receive a paycheck every week, but employers that pay workers with that level of frequency double their exposure to potential wage statement penalties, he said.

PAGA Claims

In addition to penalties for labor code violations, employers may face fines under California's Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA). PAGA allows aggrieved employees to sue over alleged labor code violations on behalf of themselves and other employees and to step into the shoes of state regulators to recover civil penalties. Seventy-five percent of the penalties that are recovered go to the state, and 25 percent go to employees.

PAGA claims include technical wage statement violationsfor example, a business may face penalties for improperly listing the name under which it does business instead of its legal name. Even simple formatting errors can result in penalties, Ahearn noted.

Under PAGA, an initial violation carries a $100 penalty per employee per pay period. Every subsequent violation carries a $200 penalty. Moreover, plaintiffs can recoup attorney fees under PAGA.

"Those numbers add up really fast," Ahearn said.

The act was amended as an attempt to curb frivolous claims, but PAGA claims can still be expensive for employers. Several bills to further reform PAGA are currently making their way through the state legislature, Sarchet noted.

Employers should note that they do have an opportunity to correct PAGA violations and avoid penalties. If an employer receives a letter notifying the business about potential violations, the employer should consult counsel right away, Ahearn said. The employer has 33 days from the date of the letter to make pay stub corrections. No time extensions are available, so if the letter isn't immediately acted upon, the employer will miss the opportunity to significantly reduce potential penalties, he said.

Regular Audits

Employers need to regularly audit their practices for compliance, Sarchet said, and the audit should cover more than just wage statements. For example, employers should also ensure that they are providing meal and rest breaks, paying employees the required penalties if breaks are missed, and recording the penalty payments on wage statements.



This was the third in a three-part series of articles on California wage statement laws. The first installment reviewed common pay stub errors that employers make. The second installment explored the rules for electronic pay stubs.
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On Jan. 29, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court held that sick pay does not constitute wages under the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Law, M.G.L. c. 149,  148. As a result, employers are not liable under the Payment of Wages Law if they choose not to pay out accrued, unused sick pay to employees upon termination of employment.

Background

The case of Tze-Kit v. Massachusetts Port Authority arose out of a fairly unusual sick leave policy. In this case, the employer's sick leave policy provided that, upon termination of employment, eligible employees receive payment for a percentage of the value of their accrued, unused sick time. Under the policy, the percentage would vary depending on the employee's tenure, i.e., employees who were employed for a longer period of time, or who remained employed until retirement or death, received a greater percentage of their unused sick time. The policy further provided for no payment of accrued, unused sick pay to employees discharged for cause.

Here, the employer initiated disciplinary proceedings against the plaintiff. One week later, the plaintiff applied for retirement. The employer ultimately terminated the plaintiff's employment for cause. As a result, the employer did not pay the plaintiff for his accrued, unused sick time based on its application of the policy.

An arbitrator, however, overturned the employer's termination decision, finding that the employee retired before he was terminated. In light of that decision, the employer paid the plaintiff the full value of his accrued, unused sick leave (amounting to $46,755.41). Because of the lengthy grievance and arbitration proceedings, however, the employer did not make this payment until over a year after the plaintiff's last day of employment.

Plaintiff then sued under the Payment of Wages Law because the employer had not paid him within the time frame required by the statute for final wage payments. After the trial court ruled for the plaintiff, his former employer appealed.

The Court's Decision

Under the Payment of Wages Law, employees who resign must be paid in full on the next regular pay day. In contrast, employees who are discharged must be paid in full on the day of discharge. These obligations apply only to "wages." Thus, the key question on appeal was whether accrued, unused sick leave constituted "wages" under the Payment of Wages Law.

The Supreme Judicial Court began its analysis by noting that the Payment of Wages Law contains no definition of "wages." The statute provides, however, that the term wages does "include any holiday or vacation payments due an employee under an oral or written agreement." The term also includes "commissions . . . [that have] been definitely determined and ha[ve] become due and payable to [the] employee."

After reviewing this language, the court noted that the mere fact that the statute does not specifically include sick pay within the meaning of wages does not mean that it necessarily falls outside the scope of the statute.

Nonetheless, the court then concluded that the Legislature did not intend to include sick pay as wages under the Payment of Wages Law. First, the court observed that because employees' use of sick time is conditional  it can only be used when an employee or family member is ill  employees "do not have an absolute right to spend down their sick time, employees are not typically compensated for accrued, unused sick time." Indeed, the court noted that it is common for employers to have "use it or lose it" sick leave policies.

Second, under the circumstances of this case, the court noted that the employer's payout of accrued, unused sick leave is "essentially, a contingent bonus paid to separating employees for not having used all of their accrued sick time and not engaging in conduct warranting termination for cause."

In that light, the court stated that the only contingent compensation recognized as wages under the Payment of Wages Law is commissions (which are expressly referenced in the statute).

Third, the court based its decision in part on the fact that designating sick pay as wages in this case would have made it impossible for the employer to comply with its obligations under the statute, given that the arbitrator overturned the employer's termination decision over a year after the employee's resignation.



Takeaways

The Tze-Kit decision is a helpful reminder to Massachusetts employers regarding their obligations under the Payment of Wages Law:

Employees who resign must be paid their wages in full on the next regular pay day.



Employees who are discharged must be paid their wages in full on the day of discharge.



In this context, "wages" means at least salary or an hourly wage, plus accrued unused vacation time and commissions that have been definitely determined and have become due and payable to the employee. Employers that violate these obligations are liable for mandatory awards of treble damages and attorneys' fees under the law.

This decision also clarifies that accrued, unused sick pay generally does not constitute wages under the Payment of Wages Law. Notably, although this case dealt with a sick pay policy put in place prior to Massachusetts' adoption of its Earned Sick Time Law, the same conclusion should apply to sick leave accrued under the law. Indeed, the regulations issued by the Attorney General under the Earned Sick Time Law state that employers do not have to pay out unused earned sick time upon termination of employment.

That said, employers that utilize Paid Time Off (PTO) programs to satisfy their obligations under the Earned Sick Time Law should be aware that, if, as is often the case, PTO can be used for both vacation and sick time purposes, then accrued, unused PTO likely would be considered to be wages and must be paid out upon the termination of the employment relationship. Employers should consult experienced employment counsel when attempting to adopt or revise sick time and/or PTO policies.

Christopher B. Kaczmarek is an attorney with Littler in Boston. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.
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On Dec. 19, 2017, on the heels of the effective date of the New York City Fair Workweek Act, the New York City Council passed another scheduling law that provides employees with additional rights to demand changes to their work schedules, with little flexibility for employers to reject such changes. The scheduling law, as discussed below, became effective on Jan. 19.

Temporary Schedule Changes

The law permits employees to demand two temporary schedule changes per calendar year for so-called "personal events." The New York City Council defined the term "personal events" quite broadly to cover situations where the employee needs to provide care to specified categories of individuals or to attend certain legal proceedings or hearings, and also for any circumstance under which an employee could take sick or safe time under the Earned Sick Time Act.

Under the act, employees can request different types of schedule changes including:

A limited alteration in the hours, times or locations where they work.



Using paid time off.



Working remotely.



Swapping or shifting work hours.



Using short-term unpaid leave.



With few exceptions, employers must grant such requests twice per calendar year, for up to one business day per request (though if the employee uses two business days for one request, the employer need not grant a second request in that calendar year).

Exemptions

The sole basis for employers to deny requests under the new law is if employees have already exhausted their two allotted requests per calendar year. In addition, there are certain categories of employees to whom this law does not apply, namely those who:

Are covered by a collective bargaining agreement that waives the provisions of the law and addresses temporary schedule changes.



Have been employed for fewer than 120 days.



Work in certain roles for certain employers in the motion pictures and television or live entertainment industry.



Work fewer than 80 hours in New York City in a calendar year.



Procedural Requirements

Employees requesting schedule changes under the new law are required to notify their employer or direct supervisor, including that the change is due to a personal event, as soon as they become aware of the need for a temporary change to the work schedule and are also supposed to propose the schedule change they seek (unless they seek unpaid leave).

The request, however, need not be in writingrather, employees need only ("as soon as is practicable" but no later than the second business day after they return to work after the temporary schedule change has concluded) submit a written request indicating the date for which the change was requested and that the change was due to a personal event. A failure by employees to comply with this procedural requirement merely absolves the employer from having to respond in writing; the employee in question still gets the requested schedule change.

Employers are obligated to respond to employee requests immediately, though the initial response similarly need not be in writing. However, unless an employee has failed to submit the written request described above, a written response is required as soon as is practicable, but in no event later than 14 days after the employee submits his/her request in writing. The employer's response must indicate whether it will agree to the requested temporary change or will provide the change as unpaid leave (which does not constitute a denial under the new law), or if the employer denies the request, the written response must explain the basis of that denial.

Regardless of whether the response approves or denies the requested temporary schedule change, the employer's written response must note how many requests and how many business days the employee has left in the calendar year once the employer's decision is made.

In addition to those temporary schedule changes required under the new law, it also permits employees to requestand employers to grant or denyother changes to employees' work schedules using this same procedure (i.e., initial request, initial response, subsequent written documentation on both sides) and as set forth in rules promulgated by the director.

Consequences of Violations

Employers face a $500 penalty per violation of this new law, as well as an order directing compliance therewith. Violations of the requirement to provide a written response, however, may be cured without the imposition of a monetary penalty, as long as the employer presents proof that it provided the employee with the required written response within seven days of being notified of such opportunity to cure.

Interaction with Other Laws

The new law expressly stipulates that the law is not meant to affect an employer's obligation to provide schedule changes as a reasonable accommodation under other laws or regulations. But the more nuancedand murkieroverlap is that between the new scheduling law and the Earned Sick Time Act.

While the new law defines "personal events" that qualify for temporary schedule changes to include those for which employees could use leave under the Earned Sick Time Act, it makes clear that employees do not have to use leave accrued under the Earned Sick Time Act before requesting schedule changes under the new regime.

Moreover, an employer granting unpaid leave for a personal event under the new law does not count towards an employer's obligation to provide sick time under the Earned Sick Time Act, nor does leave granted under the Earned Sick Time Act count towards an employer's obligation to grant leave under the new law. It remains unclear, therefore, how these laws will interact with one another, particularly as the Earned Sick Time Act itself permits employees, in lieu of using sick or safe time provided under the Act, and upon mutual consent with their employer, to work additional hours within a specified period of a qualifying absencein other words, to make a temporary schedule change instead of using sick or safe leave.

Increase Costs for Employers



The new scheduling law will go into effect 180 days after it becomes law (other than for employees covered by valid collective bargaining agreements on that date, for whom the law will go into effect upon termination of those agreements). Employers will likely face increased costs of doing business in New York City, as the temporary schedule changes contemplated by this new regime compound the already onerous requirements of the city's scheduling laws.

Neta Levanon and Eli Freedberg are attorneys with Littler in New York City.  Littler. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.
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Possessing and growing limited amounts of recreational marijuana will soon be legal in Vermont, making it the ninth state to approve nonmedicinal use of the drug for adults age 21 and older. Employers should note, however, that possession and use in the workplace doesn't have to be tolerated.

Vermont is the first state whose lawmakers proposed and passed a law allowing recreational marijuana use. In Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Washington, D.C., voters approved such laws through ballot initiatives.

Vermont's law takes effect on July 1 and will allow residents to grow up to two mature and four immature marijuana plants and possess up to one ounce without facing criminal penalties.

"However, marijuana may not be consumed in a public place, such as streets, parks, public buildings, places of public accommodation and places where the use of tobacco products is prohibited," noted Kathryn Russo, an attorney with Jackson Lewis in Melville, N.Y.

Although many other states that have legalized recreational weed have authorized retail sales, Vermont's new law doesn't go that far. Cultivation needs to happen at home with the approval of the property owner.

Workplace Rules

Importantly, the new law doesn't prohibit employers from having policies against marijuana use, said Michael Clarkson, an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Boston. Vermont's law specifically states that it doesn't:

Require an employer to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale or growing of marijuana in the workplace.



Prevent an employer from adopting a policy that prohibits the use of marijuana in the workplace.



Create a cause of action against an employer that discharges an employee for violating a policy that restricts or prohibits the use of marijuana by employees.



Prevent an employer from prohibiting or otherwise regulating the use, consumption, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale or growing of marijuana on the employer's premises.



Clarkson noted that employers should be mindful of Vermont's strict limitations on drug testing. Except when required by federal law, Vermont employers aren't allowed to conduct random drug tests, though the state does permit pre-employment screens and tests based on reasonable suspicion. That means current employees shouldn't be tested unless they appear intoxicated. Employers can likely still rescind an offer based on a positive pre-employment screen.

[SHRM members-only HR Q&A: What laws should companies be aware of when implementing a drug testing program?]

As medical and recreational use become more widely acceptable, some employers are having trouble finding workers who can pass a cannabis screen, Clarkson said, adding that a lot of employers are choosing not to test for the substance anymore. Certainly, employers should test when it is required by federal lawsuch as for pilots and other safety-sensitive positionsbut they may want to think about whether it makes sense to screen for other roles, he said.

It really depends on whether the employer wants to prohibit the use of marijuana or not, Russo said. "For employers in dangerous or safety-sensitive industries, most still want to prohibit the use and possession of marijuana at work and still want to drug-test and discipline those who test positive for marijuana."

Interactive Process?

Employers should note that Vermont's new law addresses only recreational marijuana, as the state already has a separate medical marijuana law. Although the state's medicinal law doesn't require employers to engage in an interactive process with cannabis cardholders to explore whether a reasonable accommodation can be made, employers may want to consider doing so anyway as attitudes toward marijuana use evolve.

The Massachusetts medical marijuana law, for example, doesn't explicitly provide employment protections, but the state's high court held in 2017 that a registered medical marijuana user who was fired for failing a drug test could proceed in state court with her disability discrimination claim.

More states may adopt the Massachusetts approach, because medical marijuana is generally used to treat an underlying medical condition, Clarkson said. But just because an employer engages in an interactive process doesn't mean the business must provide an accommodation, he noted. For example, there may not be a way to safely accommodate a forklift operator's medical marijuana use. Employers may have to balance the risk of serious injuries occurring on the job with the risk of being sued for declining to accommodate marijuana use.

From an employment perspective, recreational marijuana is different from medical marijuana, Russo said, because recreational users are not using the drug to treat symptoms caused by a disability and so there is no risk to employers of a potential disability discrimination lawsuit. "So it is much easier for employers to prohibit any use of recreational marijuana," she said.

Employers never have to accommodate on-the-job intoxication, but some state laws prohibit employment discrimination based on a job applicant's or employee's medical marijuana cardholder status. Either by statute or case law, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island have each provided employment protections (to varying degrees) for medicinal users.

Compliance can be tricky, since state law employment protections vary and marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. Multistate employers will need to decide if they want to have one policy that covers all the jurisdictions in which they operate or if they want to have state-specific policies, Clarkson said.
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On Jan. 9, District III of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that temporary workers who are injured while working for their host employers have the right to elect either to claim workers' compensation benefits or to sue their host employers in tort. The decision turns on its head the Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Act's exclusive remedy provision, exposes thousands of employers in Wisconsin to tort liability that they previously did not have or anticipate having, and threatens general liability insurance carriers with risks they never anticipated accepting or priced their premiums to take into account (In Re the Estate of Carolos Esterley Cerrato Rivera v. West Bend Mutual Insurance Company, No. 2017AP142).

Factual Background

Alex Drywall employed Carlos Rivera and provided him as a temporary, skilled worker to Alpine Insulation. An Alpine-owned vehicle in which Rivera was traveling from one Alpine job site to another was involved in a single-vehicle accident. Rivera was killed in the accident. The driver, an employee of Alpine, was found negligent in his operation of the vehicle.

Rivera's estate did not make a claim for death benefits under the Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Act but instead filed a wrongful death action against Alpine and its insurance carrier, seeking damages for the pain and suffering experienced by Rivera's children as a result of their loss of his "society, companionship, and support." Alpine and the insurance carrier successfully moved for summary judgment before the trial court, and the estate appealed.

The Appellate Court's Analysis

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals held that a literal reading of the Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Act requires the conclusion that a temporary worker "who makes a claim for compensation" may not sue the employer who hosted him or her in tort, but that the temporary worker may opt not to make a workers' compensation claim and instead bring a tort claim against the host employer. A contrary holding, the court concluded, would require the court either to read words into the statute or to ignore the phrase "who makes a claim for compensation."

The court's decision ironically grants to temporary workers who work alongside regular employees a greater rightin the event that they are injured as a result of workthan the regular employees have. The exclusive remedy provision of the Wisconsin Worker's Compensation Act has been amended over the years to take into account the temporary worker relationship with a host employer and, as everyone thought before now, to treat that relationship the same way the act treats the relationship of the employer and its direct employee. The court's decision turns that principle and, many would agree, the Wisconsin legislature's intention on their heads.

Conclusion



It is likely either that the appellate court's decision will be appealed successfully to the Wisconsin Supreme Court or that the legislature will enact a statutory fix promptly. In the meantime, however, employers in Wisconsin should be aware that in the event any temporary employee working for them is injured as a result of that work, they may be exposed to a tort lawsuit by the worker.

Eric E. Hobbs is an attorney with Ogletree Deakins in Milwaukee.  Ogletree Deakins. All rights reserved. Reposted with permission.
@alextdaugherty

The threat of a government shutdown is unlikely in Washington this week, but two Miami Republicans in the House of Representatives continued to break ranks with their party and voted against a short-term spending bill that passed Tuesday because a solution for 690,000 DACA recipients isn't imminent.

Miami Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Carlos Curbelo were two of eight Republicans who voted against a spending bill that passed 245-182. Most of the other Republican No votes were from conservatives who typically vote against spending bills that don't include spending cuts.

"I again voted no on the Continuing Resolution because we have yet to debate and vote on a bill that would provide legal status to our DREAMers," Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement. "We have less than a month until the administrations arbitrary deadline for DACA beneficiaries begins to phase out. However, these young immigrants face real challenges every day that Congress does not take action. They are missing out on job and school opportunities and in not being able to provide for their families. They live with fear of having to go back to a country that they dont know. I remain committed in keeping my pledge to vote no on any funding bill until Congressional leadership brings a DREAMers fix to the floor."

Curbelo voted in favor of a short-term spending bill to reopen the government last month after Senate Democrats decided to support a spending bill in exchange for a debate on discussion on an immigration bill, though he voted against previous spending bills in the last few months because of immigration. Ros-Lehtinen, who is retiring in 2018, was the only House Republican to vote against the bill to reopen the government in January because it didn't provide a bill for DACA recipients.

Miami Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart voted in favor of the bill while South Florida Democratic Reps. Frederica Wilson, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Ted Deutch, Alcee Hastings and Lois Frankel all voted against it.

Update: Curbelo released a statement on his vote.

"One of my chief legislative priorities this Congress and the last, has been to forge a compromise on immigration that delivers a fair, permanent solution for young immigrants brought to our country as children, while securing the border so future illegal entry is discouraged and diminished," Curbelo said. "The biggest obstacles to that goal have been Congressional Leaderships refusal to recognize we are running out of time and the objections of extremists in both parties. While I appreciate the Senate is almost certainly moving on immigration next week  and I want to give our institutions an opportunity to debate this issue with the government open  I am not comfortable extending the funding deadline past March 5th. Doing so would relieve the pressure, and we must keep the pressure on."
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Former GCHQ Director and renowned mathematician to headline IP EXPO Manchester

07 February ? IP EXPO, Europe?s number one enterprise IT event series, today announced Robert Hannigan, former GCHQ Director and the man credited with drawing up the UK\-\-s first Cyber Security Strategy, as this year?s opening keynote speaker. Speaking on day one, Hannigan will be followed by one of the UK?s best known mathematicians Dr Hannah Fry on day 2.

Hannigan, who spent several years as Director of GCHQ, is credited with the development of the UK?s first Cyber Security Strategy and setting up the National Cyber Security Centre. During IP EXPO Manchester, happening 25-26 April 2018, he will be bringing his wealth of experience and insider knowledge of national cyber security to help businesses shape up.

Whilst Hannigan focuses on cyber risk, Dr Hannah Fry will be delving into data and analytics. Fry  who?s probably best known for her work on a range of BBC documentaries and her long running BBC Radio 4 podcast, The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry  will be showcasing her mathematical expertise to illustrate patterns in human behaviour across a wide range of social problems and questions, from shopping and transport to urban crime, riots and terrorism.

?From the smallest start-ups to government departments and the world?s biggest businesses, cyber security is high on the agenda for all organisations right now and has been noted time and again as one of the biggest societal risks for 2018? comments Bradley Maule-ffinch, EMEA Portfolio Director at IP EXPO Event Series. ?At the same time technology is moving our world forward at an incredible rate. By focusing on not only the technological measures of cyber security but also human behaviours, our two keynote speakers will provide a far more holistic understanding of modern business risks.?

Maule-ffinch continues: ?Across the IP EXPO event series we want to provide attendees with access to world class experts, individuals who are shaping our view and understanding of technology as we know it. We?re delighted to welcome both Robert Hannigan and Dr Hannah Fry to IP EXPO Manchester to share their incredible experience and knowledge in their respective fields with this year?s attendees.?

Along with Hannigan and Fry, IP EXPO Manchester will play host to over 100 inspiring and educational speakers from across the technology spectrum. Attendees will also have access to over 100 exhibitors as part of the free to attend event at Manchester Central.

For further information and to register for free for IP EXPO Manchester 2018, please visit: www.ipexpomanchester.com. Get involved on Twitter using the #IPEXPOManchester hashtag.
Egenera Announces Compliance to the CISPE Cloud Data Protection Code of Conduct for GDPR

Boxborough, Mass. ? February 7, 2018 ? Egenera, a leading provider of wholesale cloud services to the global IT channel today announced that its Xterity Cloud Services is fully compliant with the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers Europe (CISPE) Code of Conduct for Data Protection. The company also announced that it has joined CISPE as a member company.

Egenera?s Xterity Cloud Services are sold one hundred percent through the channel and deliver a full range of dedicated, managed, private and public cloud services, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS), Backup as a Service (BaaS), and cloud migration.

The CISPE Code of Conduct provides a framework for data protection that makes it easier for businesses to assess if a cloud service provider?s infrastructure services provide proper safeguards for them to perform processing on personal data while meeting the compliancy obligations found in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect on May 25, 2018.

The CISPE Code of Conduct:

? An effective, easily accessed framework for complying with the EU?s GDPR

? Excludes the re-use of customer data

? Enables data storage and processing exclusively within the EU

? Identifies cloud infrastructure services suitable for different types of data processing

? Helps citizens to retain control of their personal and sensitive data

?AAG relies on Egenera to be its trusted cloud provider, and the fact that Xterity is compliant with the CISPE framework means that we can deliver cloud services to our clients without worry,? said Michelle Walker, managing director at AAG, an IT services provider and Xterity partner based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, UK.

?We are working hard to help our clients prepare for GDPR and adherence to the CISPE framework will provide a comfort factor for our clients by further validating how seriously we take data protection,? said Roy O?Hanlon, head of professional services at ice cube, a leading provider of credit union software and Xterity partner in Galway, Ireland. ?For us it will help take the guesswork out of GDPR preparedness.?

Till Brennan, Vice President, Sales, EMEA for Egenera said, ?We?re proud to join CISPE as a member company and are looking forward to playing an active role in the organization. Egenera is one hundred percent in the business of serving our partners and their clients, wherever they\-\-re located. With cloud instances located around the world, we strive to stay ahead of regulatory requirements so that our partners and their customers don\-\-t have to worry about whether the infrastructure they rely on is compliant. With respect to CISPE, while data governance in the cloud is a shared responsibility, our partners and their customers have peace-of-mind knowing that we\-\-re performing our role in a CISPE compliant manner. One critical point that some businesses may not be aware of is that the GDPR also addresses the export of personal data outside the EU.\

According to Brennan, ?Our network of 250+ partners worldwide will see immediate value in our CISPE compliance. We?re looking forward to working with our partners to deliver enterprise-class, compliant cloud services in the coming months and years. At Egenera, we know our path to success requires us to first enable our partners to be successful. Staying ahead of regulatory requirements is just one way we help our partners succeed.?
by @jenstaletovich

Florida's two U.S. senators, Republican Marco Rubio and Democrat Bill Nelson, are sounding the alarm on Florida's nearly extinct grasshopper sparrows.

In a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Deputy Director Greg Sheehan this week, the two senators warned that with fewer than 100 birds left on the planet, the agency needs to ensure adequate funding for research. Since 2013, wildlife managers have been racing to save the Central Florida bird with a captive breeding program intended to boost the wild population. But in recent months, researchers discovered a new and likely invasive parasite has begun rapidly killing young birds.

Larry Williams, the Services Florida supervisor, told the Herald last month that he has requested between $150,000 and $200,000 this year, but the funding remains uncertain.

"While we understand that all agencies face painful budget decisions, the funding needs in question make up less than one percent of the total Recovery Program funding for USFWS proposed by the Senate Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee for the current fiscal year," Nelson and Rubio wrote.

The agency, along with researchers at the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation and White Oak who manage two breeding programs, are working with the University of Georgia on identifying the parasite and developing a treatment.

Research about the grasshopper sparrow, which would become the first North American bird to go extinct since the mid 1980s, could also help other captive breeding programs. Researchers also worry that the parasite could threaten Florida's other endangered prairie sparrows, including South Florida's Cape Sable seaside sparrow.

Since it was added to the endangered species list in 1986, the Service has spent about $1 million to save the bird, which has lost about 85 percent of its prairie habitat. Two groups are also collecting donations to support research: The Florida Fish and Wildlife Foundation has set up an emergency fund and Florida International University's Tropical Conservation Institute has started a matching grant.

"Floridians have witnessed some important successes in increasing the populations of treasured, but threatened, wildlife including the Florida Panther, Florida Manatee, and American Crocodile, among others," the senators wrote. "In this case, USFWS, the State of Florida, local governments, private landholders and ranchers, and conservation groups have already made significant investments to protect critical habitat where Florida grasshopper sparrows should be able to thrive for decades to come."
NASA's IMAGE satellite, before launch in 2000. NASA lost contact with the satellite in 2005, but in January 2018 the satellite once again began transmitting.

A long-lost-but-recently-rediscovered NASA satellite appears to have a fully charged battery and is "in good shape" overall, the agency said in an update about the craft yesterday (Feb. 5).

On Jan. 20, amateur astronomer Scott Tilly picked up transmission signals from what appeared to be NASA's Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite, which the agency lost contact with in 2005. NASA confirmed the probe's identity on Jan. 30 and is now investigating the spacecraft remotely to see how healthy it is.

"The next step is to attempt to turn on the science instruments  but this could take some time," NASA said in a statement. This is because the agency needs to re-create the original 12-year-old software used to operate the instruments. "Additionally, as computers have evolved greatly in that time, work is being done to find a machine that can run the instrument commanding software," according to the statement. [In Photos: Spotting Satellites and Spaceships from Earth]

IMAGE was launched in March 2000 for a planned two-year mission. It exceeded its lifetime and was operating through 2005, when NASA lost contact unexpectedly and the mission ended.

This view of an aurora over the South Pole in 2003, caused by a coronal mass ejection from the sun, is based on data from the IMAGE satellite. The data is laid over a digital animation of Earth. (Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio/Tom Bridgman)

Now, NASA engineers are starting to understand what went wrong with the spacecraft. On Thanksgiving Day 2004, IMAGE underwent an unexpected reboot and lost one set of its redundant hardware. (Satellites usually have redundant hardware that are called "A side" and "B side," allowing controllers to continue a mission even if one set fails, according to NASA.) While it appears the A side of the electronics initially failed following the 2004 reboot, the A side is now transmitting, but the B side is not. Engineers are trying to figure out why the spacecraft rebooted again and began transmitting, and why only one side of the onboard electronics is working.

"The ultimate cause of the [recent] reboot is still not known," NASA officials added.

Imaging the magnetosphere

Earth's plasmasphere and plume as measured by IMAGE's Extreme Ultraviolet Imager. (Image credit: Sandel, B. R., et al., Space Sci. Rev., 109, 25, 2003)

Meanwhile, NASA recently paid tribute to IMAGE's important discoveries about Earth's space weather. During its operational lifetime, the mission used an imaging technique called energetic neutral atom, or ENA, to make large-scale observations of Earth's magnetosphere, or the region around the planet where charged particles are controlled by magnetic field lines.

ENA works by exploiting fundamental physics. When electrically charged particles (such as ions) crash into neutral particles, the electrically charged particles can "steal" electrons from the neutral atoms, "becoming neutral themselves," NASA said in another statement. Then the new neutral atoms keep flying into space in the same direction in which they flew when the collision occurred.

IMAGE would record these particle movements at a large scale to see how plasma (a gas with free- floating charged particles and charged atoms) flowed around the Earth. One of IMAGE's discoveries was confirming a "plasmaspheric plume" around Earth. This is a backflow of plasma particles that flow toward the sun from the Earth's dayside. Models predicted this movement before, but IMAGE was the first spacecraft to see it, according to the statement.

An illustration of Earth's plasmasphere, reconstructed from IMAGE data. (Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio/Tom Bridgman)

"It's as if you're driving in a convertible," said Thomas Moore, the mission scientist for IMAGE, as well as the lead for the spacecraft's Low Energy Neutral Atom (LENA) Imager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, in the statement. "The air is rushing against the car in one direction, but your hair will blow towards the windshield."

NASA officials they are "starting to recreate" a small control center that will command the satellite and assess the functionality of the instruments.

"Should any of the instruments be functional, NASA will convene a panel of external scientists to assess the science potential in the context of constrained budgets for operating spacecraft," according to the statement.

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
An artist's rendition of the TRAPPIST-1 system (not to scale). A new study shows that three of the planets in the habitable zone do not appear to possess hydrogen, which means their atmospheres could be similar to those of rocky planets, although that doesn't guarantee they are habitable.

The TRAPPIST-1 star system is home to seven Earth-size planets, and a new study suggests that 3 of those planets' atmospheres look similar to atmospheres found on rocky planets such as Venus or Mars.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers targeted the planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system that lie in the star's "habitable zone," or the region where temperatures could be right to host liquid water on a planet's surface  a critical ingredient for life as we know it.

The researchers used Hubble to search for hydrogen and didn't find a large abundance of the gas in three of the roughly Earth-size exoplanets: TRAPPIST-1d, TRAPPIST-1e and TRAPPIST-1f. (A fourth planet in the habitable zone, TRAPPIST-1g, will require more observations to estimate its hydrogen composition, according to a statement from NASA.) [Exoplanet Tour: Meet the 7 Earth-Size Planets of TRAPPIST-1]

Hydrogen acts as a greenhouse gas, which traps heat inside a planet's atmosphere. For planets in the habitable zone, a hydrogen-rich atmosphere would render the surface extremely hot and unfriendly for life. Hydrogen is more abundant in gas-giant planets in Earth's solar system, compared to rocky planets. Neptune, for example, has a very "puffy," hydrogen-rich atmosphere, according to the statement. A lack of hydrogen means it's possible that the TRAPPIST-1 planets have atmospheres that are "shallow and rich in heavier gases like those found in Earths atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane and oxygen."

An artist's rendition of the TRAPPIST-1 system (not to scale). A new study shows that three of the planets in the habitable zone do not appear to possess hydrogen, which means their atmospheres could be similar to those of rocky planets, although that doesn't guarantee they are habitable. (Image credit: NASA and JPL/Caltech )

The three TRAPPIST-1 planets appear to have little hydrogen today, according to spectroscopic observations with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, but the study authors said it is possible that the planetary atmospheres contained hydrogen shortly after they formed. This suggests the planets' atmospheres are closer in composition to those of the larger rocky planets in Earth's solar system: Venus, Earth and Mars.

All of the seven TRAPPIST-1 planets orbit closer to their parent star, TRAPPIST-1, than Mercury orbits the sun. Because TRAPPIST-1 is a dim red dwarf star, however, its habitable zone is much closer in than the habitable zone around the sun.

In the new paper, the researchers emphasized that more work is needed to understand what kinds of atmospheres surround the TRAPPIST-1 planets. NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope, which is scheduled to launch in 2019, should be able to get a better look, because TRAPPIST-1 is relatively close to Earth  just 40 light-years away. Webb will search for elements such as oxygen and compounds such as carbon dioxide, methane and water. Specific combinations of those molecules could indicate that a planet is habitable for life as we know it, or the likelihood that life is already present, according to the statement.

"Hubble is doing the preliminary reconnaissance work so that astronomers using Webb know where to start," study co-leader Nikole Lewis, an assistant astronomer at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore, said in the statement.

"Eliminating one possible scenario for the makeup of these atmospheres allows the Webb telescope astronomers to plan their observation programs to look for other possible scenarios for the composition of these atmospheres," she said.

The lack of hydrogen does not directly imply that the planets are habitable, however. Their atmospheres could be oppressively hot, like that of Venus (which suffers from a runaway greenhouse effect) or extremely lightweight, like Mars' atmosphere (which is so thin that water can't flow on the surface).

This artist's rendition shows what the planets of the TRAPPIST-1 system might look like. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

"One of these four [TRAPPIST-1 planets] could be a water world," Hannah Wakeford, a fellow at STScI and a co-author of the new paper, said in the same statement. "One could be an exo-Venus, and another could be an exo-Mars. It's interesting because we have four planets that are at different distances from the star. So we can learn a little bit more about our own diverse solar system, because we're learning about how the TRAPPIST star has impacted its array of planets."

The new study was published yesterday (Feb. 5) in the journal Nature Astronomy.

TRAPPIST-1 made headlines last year after NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and other observatories confirmed the existence of seven rocky planets in the system. Four planets were announced last year as a part of that study, and the other three planets were discovered in 2016 by the European Southern Observatory's (ESO) Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) in Chile, according to NASA. Hubble also did a previous hydrogen study of TRAPPIST-1b and 1c in 2016.

A separate study published today in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics suggests that some of the TRAPPIST-1 planets host a lot of water. Several ground-based and space-based telescopes surveyed the seven planets, estimated their density and determined that they are mostly rocky, with some of the planets holding up to 5 percent of their mass in the form of water. That's roughly 250 times more than what Earth's oceans hold, according to a statement from the ESO.

"The hotter planets closest to their parent star are likely to have dense, steamy atmospheres, and the more distant ones probably have icy surfaces," ESO representatives wrote in the statement. "In terms of size, density and the amount of radiation it receives from its star, the fourth planet out [TRAPPIST-1e] is the most similar to Earth. It seems to be the rockiest planet of the seven, and has the potential to host liquid water."

Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
"Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew" by Michael Leinbach and Jonathan Ward recounts the largest ground search in United States history.

Michael Leinbach didn't want the book to be about him.

A key leader in NASA's efforts to recover from the loss of space shuttle Columbia on Feb. 1, 2003, Leinbach knew the story of the accident's aftermath was bigger than just him. He was not aware, though, just how much larger it really was.

"When I say I did not appreciate it, that is really true. I did not appreciate what all of those people did for us out in Texas to get the debris, which I then in turn, was responsible for reconstructing to figure out what happened," he says. [Photos: The Columbia Space Shuttle Tragedy]

"All of those people" ultimately numbered more than 25,000, representing federal, state, county and local government authorities, in addition to volunteers, many of whom who were living in the areas when the shuttle fell. Together, they combed an area about the size of Rhode Island, searching for the astronauts' remains and the remnants of the fallen winged orbiter.

It was the largest ground search in U.S. history, and until Leinbach decided to put it into print, it went largely untold.

"I personally hate the thought of the book 'written by Mike Leinbach.' I would like it to be, 'Yeah, I contributed to it, just like everybody else did,'" he says.

Leinbach, who as NASA's launch director gave the go for the STS-107 mission to lift off 16 days before tragedy struck on re-entry, shares his part, and many others, in "Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew" (Arcade Publishing), out now.

collectSPACE.com spoke with Leinbach, and his co-author Jonathan Ward, about their book, their research into the recovery, and what they hope people take away from reading about it 15 years later.

collectSPACE (cS): Mike, you say you did not want the book to solely be about you. Did you know that from the start or how did it grow from your own story to a collection of many people's stories?

Michael Leinbach: "When Jonathan and I first got together, it was going to be more Florida-centric  some recovery, some reconstruction, and I guess I will say, more from my perspective. But as soon as we got into it, we realized that there was a huge story out in Texas that I frankly did not appreciate. So, we expanded very quickly into telling the whole story.

"After 12 days [working in Texas in the wake of the accident], I came back to Florida to lead the reconstruction. I was kind of compartmentalized into that piece, not appreciating what it took to get us the debris. It turns out that was a significant portion of the book, and the story  the 25,000 people that ended up helping us walk that enormous area out there. I knew that it was happening of course, but I did not appreciate the depth of the effort, physically and emotionally out there."

cS: "Bringing Columbia Home" recounts four connected, but separate efforts: the search to recover the astronauts' remains, the search to recover the debris from Columbia, the reconstruction of the debris and what became of the debris after the investigation was concluded. Was it a challenge to include "the whole story" within the 400 pages of the book?

Jonathan Ward: "That, to me, was the question; how to put this into a form that was comprehensible when there are so many different moving pieces involved, so many people and so many different locations. This, to me, was a real kind of test of being a writer. How do you convey the excitement and the sense of chaos and that it all came together?"

cS: You were coming at this 15 years after the fact and yet you were able to tie down details to how many hours (and later specific days) certain things happened. What type of resources did you have to reconstruct the time line of the recovery and reconstruction?

Ward: "There were a number of stakes we could put into the ground.

"For example, Greg Cohrs, who was the U.S. Forest Service person responsible for organizing the crew searches in Sabine County in Texas, he kept a detailed diary of what he had been doing. He put that together in May 2003, right after the recovery ended.

"Mike also had a detailed set of notes of all of the meetings he went to during the course of the reconstruction and his time in setting up things in Barksdale. We had the Kennedy Space Center official chronology of what had gone on and we had the FEMA press releases that went out every day. So, there were some official stakes in the ground, too.

"But then going through and trying to organize... we had over 600,000 words of interview transcripts. Trying to piece those stories together from what people had remembered from 15 years ago and then hang those off of specific events was an interesting challenge and I think we did a good job in doing that."

Co-authors Michael Leinbach (right) and Jonathan Ward present their book, "Bringing Columbia Home: The Untold Story of a Lost Space Shuttle and Her Crew." (Image credit: Jonathan Ward via collectSPACE.com)

cS: Given the sensitivities involved, was it necessary to wait 15 years for this book to be possible?

Leinbach: "I had started the outline for a book many years ago, maybe 10, 12 years ago, because I knew there was a story there. I didn't have the discipline to follow through. Plain and simple I didn't have the discipline to do it.

"But some of the people who have told their stories [in the book] had never told it before. For instance, we had a senior NASA official who was in charge of a lot of the activity out there... He had never told his story in public because it was still too raw for him.

"There are other people that said essentially the same thing; they never thought about telling, they never opened up before, because it was so raw.

"The fact that it took 15 years, you know there's a practical side to it, we were able to finish the space shuttle program. So, we were able to put that piece into the book, but I think if we tackled this story 5 or 10 years ago, like I originally started, I don't think it would have turned out like it did because people would not have been ready to tell their story. I really do believe that. I think the passage of time helped from that perspective.

"But we knew we had to get it done before too long. We knew we had a story that needed to be told and we needed to get on with doing it."

cS: Were there stories or details that you withheld due to the emotions they might evoke?

Leinbach: "Even with the passage of time, the wounds are still very deep. I think it is like talking to any veteran who knows of horrific times in a war. The passage of time makes it a little bit easier to talk about, but it may never completely heal."

Ward: "From the very outset, that was one of the first things Mike and I agreed on, this was not going to be a salacious book, this was not going to be a recounting of what the crew was going through during reentry. We weren't going to say anything more about the human remains recovery that had not already been published in official NASA publications. We said even less than had been released before.

"We wanted it to be emotionally real, but we also wanted to be respectful of the families and the people who were involved. You have got folks who are out there looking for their friends and looking for somebody else's loved ones and we did not want to do anything that was going to sensationalize that in any sense.

"That was our number one concern when we went to a publisher, to make sure that somebody understood that very clearly."

cS: As recounted in "Bringing Columbia Home," there were more than 25,000 people involved in the recovery and reconstruction. How did you limit yourselves to a subset of what could have been numerous more personal stories?

Leinbach: "We just kind of talked about getting a representative, a cross sample. We could have interviewed thousands of people and a lot of them would have been very personal stories, of course. They all would have been personal stories, some of them would have been sort of similar and so we kind of feel like we got a pretty good cross section.

"We didn't want to leave out any 'group types.'"

Ward: "We tried to do what I'd call in my organizational consulting work as doing a diagonal slice across the organization. We talked to a range of people, from high up in NASA to people serving soup on the serving lines in the VFW hall. We were trying to get a cross section of everything that was going on.

"If I had any regrets in what we included, it is we didn't talk more about places like Nacogdoches and Corsicana and some of the other places that were farther west, who were just as impacted as the people of Sabine County at the far east end of the debris path. But that was where the crew recovery was, so that is where our concentration was.

"So I feel like I wish I had more time to talk with people in the western part of the debris path, but I think their stories would have been relatively similar to the ones we encountered."

cS: Did you encounter any reluctance on sharing this story?

Ward: "What surprised me was what we came up against when we were trying to find a publisher. People were saying, 'Well for one, it's space shuttle, people aren't as interested in the space shuttle as they are in Apollo,' or 'This isn't Challenger. Challenger was the exciting disaster, the one everybody remembers.'

"That, to me, strengthened our resolve that the Columbia story needed to be told. That to me is the huge important driver in this, that Columbia has been forgotten largely outside of the NASA community and the people of East Texas.

"The rest of America really doesn't remember Columbia. We need to remind them what went on, both to pay honor to the crew and also to all the people who came together when the country needed them and did what they needed to do."

Leinbach: "Half way through writing the book, we were talking with the publisher and between the publisher and Jon they convinced me to do this book in the first person.

"They convinced me that it would do better  not from a sales perspective, but that it would get it out to the public better. It would read better and therefore more people would read it and that's the intent, that more people know about this story.

"It's not my style, but that is the way it turned out. It's going to reach more people because I was convinced that more people would read it the way that it is rather than if it was in the third person."

cS: And if more people read it, what do you hope they take away from it?

Leinbach: "I hope people get out of this book that America is full of really, really good people and when we needed help they just stepped up and did anything we needed them to do. People in East Texas and Louisiana, and the firefighters from all across the nation came and helped us.

"We had over one hundred different agencies contribute from federal, state, local, volunteers  just everybody came together to do the right thing and there was no infighting, there was no us and them. Everybody was saying 'What do you need me to do? I'll go do it.' It was just America coming together when we needed help."

Follow collectSPACE.com on Facebook and on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2018 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  When SpaceX launched its giant Falcon Heavy rocket Tuesday (Feb. 6), President Donald Trump was apparently watching.

In a congratulatory Twitter post, Trump hailed SpaceX and its CEO Elon Musk for the successful Falcon Heavy test flight from here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as a pinnacle of American progress. The rocket is the world's most powerful booster, capable of lifting twice the payload of its nearest competitor, the Delta IV Heavy rocket built by the United Launch Alliance.

"Congratulations @ElonMusk and @SpaceX on the successful #FalconHeavy launch," Trump wrote on Twitter. "This achievement, along with @NASA's commercial and international partners, continues to show American ingenuity at its best!" [In Photos: SpaceX's 1st Falcon Heavy Rocket Test Launch Success!]

See more

The Falcon Heavy in flight on Feb. 6, 2018. (Image credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off from NASA's historic Launch Pad 39A at KSC, sending Musk's own Tesla Roadster into space with the mannequin "Starman" in the driver's seat. Two of the rocket's three first-stage boosters returned to Earth for a successful landing. The central core crashed into the Atlantic Ocean 100 meters away from its droneship landing pad when only one of three engines ignited in the final landing burn.

After the launch, Musk said the Falcon Heavy launch was a major success, despite the loss of the center core. SpaceX did not plan to reuse that booster, he added.

In December, the Trump administration directed NASA to return astronauts to the moon under the new Space Policy Directive 1. Commercial space companies and international partners will play a role in that effort, according to a memorandum released by the White Houce Dec. 11.

In 2017, Musk initially served on three White House advisory councils, but he quit last May after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord. Musk served on Trump's manufacturing jobs council and infrastructure council, as well as the president's strategic and policy forum.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster and Starman passenger soar high above Earth after the successful first launch of SpaceXs Falcon Heavy rocket on Feb. 6, 2018.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.  Starman is traveling through the solar system, riding in the driver's seat of a midnight cherry Tesla Roadster with the top down.

The improbable, if also surreal scene, captured in a video broadcast back to Earth, unfolded live on Tuesday evening (Feb. 6) as a finale to SpaceX's maiden launch of its Falcon Heavy rocket. The car served as a mass simulator, taking the place of a real payload given the risks that the test flight might have failed.

But it did not fail.

"I am really excited about today and proud of the SpaceX team," said Elon Musk, SpaceX's CEO and lead designer, in a post-flight press conference. "The mission seems to have gone really as well as one could have hoped." [Related: See Epic Views of the Tesla Roadster in Space]

"I am still trying to absorb all that happened because it still seems pretty surreal to me," he said.

The 230-foot-tall (70 meter) rocket lifted off on the thrust generated by 27 engines from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:45 p.m. EST (2045 GMT) Tuesday. As it climbed toward space, the Falcon Heavy survived Max Q, the point of maximum dynamic air pressure, and its two side boosters separated from the center core successfully, something SpaceX had never tried in flight before.

The boosters, each a modified Falcon 9 first stage that had flown before, touched down within seconds of each other at SpaceX's landing zones at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The center core, which was intended to land on an ocean-based droneship, instead hit the water hard and exploded, the only blemish on an almost perfect first flight.

The Falcon Heavy, now the most powerful operational rocket in the world, not only reached space, but also demonstrated  with a second firing of its second stage engine  the booster's ability to put a satellite directly into geosynchronous orbit.

And then the second stage engine lit again, putting the Roadster and its Starman passengeron what was expected to be a precessing Earth-Mars elliptical orbit, but, according to an update from Musk on Twitter, "exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the Asteroid Belt." For the next few million, if not billion years or so, the Starman  named in tribute to the late David Bowie  will travel through the inner solar system.

'Made on Earth by humans'

A circuit board inside Elon Musks Tesla Roadster, now in deep space, is imprinted "Made on Earth by humans." (Image credit: SpaceX)

The video sent back from the Roadster showed the car and its Starman passenger set against an almost full-disc Earth as it climbed to as high as 4,400 miles (7,000 kilometers) above the planet.

"You can tell it is real because it looks so fake," Musk said. "We'd have way better CGI if it was fake. The colors look kind of weird in space. There is no atmospheric occlusion. Everything is too crisp." [In Photos: SpaceX's 1st Falcon Heavy Rocket Test Launch Success!]

The Roadster was not modified, nor apparently tested, to guarantee its survival on its trip into deep space.

"We did not really test any of those materials for space. It just has the same seats that a normal car has. It is just literally a normal car  in space. And I just kind of like the absurdity of that," Musk said.

And as if a car in space was not enough of a spectacle, the Roadster carried with it a few subtle and not-so-subtle "Easter eggs."

Beginning with the Starman itself, the spacesuit worn by the mannequin was not a costume, but rather marked the first in-space use of a garment designed for NASA astronauts to wear on SpaceX's upcoming Dragon spacecraft crewed flightsto the International Space Station.

"That is actually the production design. The real one looks just like that," described Musk. "In fact, that is one of the qualification articles. That is the real deal."

"I figure it is a dangerous trip, you want to look good," he said with a smile.

As the camera views changed from showing the Roadster from its side and front to a view looking over the Starman's shoulder, another detail was revealed  on the dash screen was a sign with a science fiction-inspired message.

Prior to the launch in December, Musk was asked on Twitter if the Roadster would contain a copy of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.

"Yes," replied Musk, "plus a towel and a sign saying 'Don't Panic.'"

A more subtle, hidden message was shared by Musk on Instagram soon after the Roadster had entered space.

"Printed on the circuit board of a car in deep space," wrote Musk, captioning a photo of the inscription reading, "Made on Earth by humans."

The names of more than 6,000 of those humans  SpaceX employees  were engraved onto a plaque mounted on the payload attach fitting, the structure that held the Roaster onto the Falcon Heavy's second stage.

"The work that goes into defining, building and launching a vehicle of this sort is no small feat. We're super excited to be part of the Roadster's billion-year journey through the solar system," said Lauren Lyons, a SpaceX flight reliability engineer, during the company's webcast of the launch.

Silly and fun, yet important

A Hot Wheels Tesla Roadster, complete with a tiny Starman, sits on the dashboard of Elon Musks Roadster after being launched into deep space. (Image credit: SpaceX)

Secured inside the Roadster is an Arch (pronounced "Ark"), a laser optical quartz storage device designed to survive the harsh environment of space. The disc was provided by the Arch Mission Foundation, whose stated goal is to "preserve and disseminate humanity's most important information across time and space, for the benefit of future generations."

"On the Arch that is being launched [on Falcon Heavy], the Foundation has stored Isaac Asimov's classic sci-fi series 'The Foundation Trilogy,' which was the original inspiration for the Arch Mission," said Lyons.

And then there is Hot Wheels Roadster on the dash of the real Roadster.

"On the dashboard, there's a tiny Roadster with a tiny spaceman," Musk said. "Hot Wheels made a Hot Wheels Roadster and a friend of mine suggested why don't you put that Hot Wheels Roadster with a tiny spaceman on it in the car, too."

"It's kind of silly and fun, but silly and fun things are important," he said. "I think the imagery of it is something that is going to get people excited around the world."

It might also attract the attention of whoever encounters the car in millions, if not billions of years from now, postulated Musk.

"Maybe it'll be discovered by some future alien race thinking, 'What the heck were these guys doing? Did they worship this car?'" quipped Musk. "'Why do they have a little car in the car?' That will really confuse them.

See more easter eggs and watch a replay of the live views of SpaceXs Starman and the Tesla Roadster in space at collectSPACE.

Follow collectSPACE.comon Facebookand on Twitter at @collectSPACE. Copyright 2018 collectSPACE.com. All rights reserved.
There's a "midnight cherry" Tesla Roadster hurtling toward deep space right now, the first-ever payload of the Falcon Heavy rocket. It's worth asking why this is happening, and Live Science has. But given that it is happening, it's also worth asking what is going to happen to this electric sportscar condemned to what could be a billion-year elliptical journey through outer space.

The first factor that will determine the Roadster's fate, of course, will be the success or failure of the spacecraft lofting it out of Earth's gravity well.

As Live Science sister site Space.com reported, SpaceX has taken pains to dampen expectations, pointing out the rocket could fail on the launchpad or somewhere in the atmosphere or space. (A few dozen minutes after launch it hasn't failed yet.)

And while Elon Musk is willing to trust his sportscar to the Falcon Heavy, Space.com reported, he's no longer planning to trust it with the liability of human lives. In other words, there's a reasonable chance that the Roadster might meet its end in a quick shower of flames, twisted metal and burnt carbon falling to Earth. [7 Everyday Things That Happen Strangely in Space]

If none of that happens, the next possible fate for the Roadster looks pretty similar, but happens on Mars or somewhere along the way there. As Inverse writer Yasmin Tayag reported, SpaceX has raised the possibility that the car could skim too close to Mars along its orbit and crash into the Red Planet.

But what if nothing goes wrong?

What if the rocket works? What if it enters its intended orbit without incident? What if an electric sportscar does end up spending a billion or so years in outer space?

"I'm not so worried about the vacuum itself," said William Carroll, a chemist at Indiana University and expert in plastics and organic molecules.

Human beings tend to experience some pretty grisly effects in vacuum. But that has more to do with our internal pressures no longer getting counteracted by an atmosphere, Carroll said, than any direct effects of the vacuum itself.

Cars just don't have those kinds of internal pressures.

"I might disable the airbag before I send it," Carroll said, "I probably wouldn't fill it with windshield washer fluid."

Deal with that though, along with the pressure in tires, and there isn't much left on the convertible to go pop in a vacuum.

The real forces that will tear the car apart over hundreds of millions of years in space, Carroll said, are solid objects and  most importantly  radiation.

Even if the car avoids any major collisions, over very long time horizons, it's unlikely the vehicle could avoid the kind of collisions with micrometeorites that leave other space junk riddled with craters over time, Carroll said.

But assuming those collisions don't completely tear the car apart, the radiation will.

Down on Earth, a powerful magnetic field and the atmosphere largely protect human beings (and Tesla Roadsters) from the harsh radiation of the sun and cosmic rays. But spacefaring objects have no such protections.

"All of the organics will be subjected to degradation by the various kinds of radiation that you will run into there," Carroll said.

Organics, in this case, doesn't mean the bits of the car that obviously came out of animals, like its leathers and fabrics. Instead, it includes all the plastics in the sportscar and even its carbon-fiber frame.

"[Those materials] are made up largely of carbon-carbon bonds and carbon-hydrogen bonds," Carroll said.

The energy of stellar radiation can cause those bonds to snap. And that can cause the car to fall to bits as effectively as if it were attacked with a knife.

A photo posted by on

"When you cut something with a knife, in the end, you're cutting some chemical bonds," Carroll said.

A knife cuts those bonds in a straight line. But radiation will split them at random, causing organic materials from the leather seats to the rubber tires to the paints to  given a long enough time span  perhaps even the carbon fiber body to discolor, flake, and splinter away into space.

And under the harsh glare of the unshielded sun, Carroll said, that process could happen fast.

"Those organics, in that environment, I wouldn't give them a year," he said.

Materials with fewer bonds holding them together will disintegrate first, Carroll said. Anything hidden behind an inorganic (no carbon bonds) shield would last longer, though eventually even the plastic woven into the convertible's glass windshields would discolor and come apart. The sturdy carbon-fiber parts would likely be the last to go, he said, over a much longer span of time.

Eventually, the Roadster would likely be reduced to just its well-secured inorganic parts: the aluminum frame, internal metals and any glass parts that don't shatter under meteor impacts. (The idea that glass melts over long time spans is a myth, he said.)

Richard Sachleben, a retired chemist and member of the American Chemical Society's panel of experts, largely agreed with Carroll's assessment in an email to Live Science  though he did suggest it would likely still be somewhat recognizable, at least after a million years.

"A billion years is a long, LONG time," Sachleben wrote, "so no telling what it will be like by then."

Carroll said that the question of whether the rocket remains recognizable also depends on who is around to recognize it.

"Remember our history with tools as a race only goes back about you know two and a half million years," Carroll said, "so what someone would recognize a million years from now if they found is another story altogether."

Sachleben was more optimistic, writing, "there is always the possibility that some future, space-venturing car enthusiast may decide Elon's Roadster would make a nice addition to his/her collection."

Originally published on Live Science.
W ith the City still digesting Britains retail giants Christmas trading, a shortlist of the most troubled names is emerging from the gloom.

As well as dire updates from stock market players Mothercare and Carpetright, a trio of established fashion retailers have found themselves on the naughty step: House of Fraser, Debenhams and New Look. Although they face different challenges, analysis of their balance sheets makes for similarly grim reading.

All three are battling to cut costs and boost sales amid heavy debts racked up over a sustained period. Their troubles stem from the problems all traditional retailers are suffering from: too many shops, a shift to online and cash-strapped shoppers. But it doesnt stop there: complex loan structures, mis-steps in stocking the right products and wobbly profits could put pressure on them to overhaul their businesses or, worse, lead to their demise.

In the words of one New Look bondholder: Some of these retailers will have to disappear.

NEW LOOK

When former New Look chairman Alistair McGeorge handed over to now-ousted boss Anders Kristiansen in May 2014, he trumpeted that the fast-fashion chain would flourish under his watch amid persistent rumours of a stock market float. A sales crisis meant it didnt quite turn out that way.

McGeorge has been parachuted back in and, out of our sickly trio, New Look now appears most at risk of imminent crisis. With 1 billion of debt mostly racked up under private equity owners, yesterday it revealed it sank deeper into the red to 123.5 million, a startling fall from pre-tax profits of 29.2 million the year before.

Aggressive discounting coupled with an ill-conceived attempt to appeal to younger shoppers had alienated its core clientele. Hedge funds have been buying its senior secure debt, triggering speculation that they could be trying to seize control of the business on the cheap.

The company has also been drawing up plans for a Company Voluntary Arrangement  an agreement with landlords and creditors to allow a struggling business to negotiate new terms. In New Looks case, it is seeking to cut its rent bill and close around 60 of its nearly 600 stores. But critics believe more is needed.

Insurance companies, meanwhile, have got the jitters, and have now refused to cover some suppliers against the risk New Look will go bust owing them money.

Bondholders holding most of the 1 billion debt havent yet been formally approached by New Look, but Rothschild is on standby to advise a handful of them on a possible debt-for-equity swap, according to one City source. New Looks bonds were trading at 48p on the pound on Tuesday, up to their highest in three months, but down from 90p a year ago. McGeorge yesterday said a restructuring deal was not on the cards.

New Look has to make enough money to pay interest on its debt pile until its several tranches of bonds expire in four and five years time, plus cover day-to-day running costs. McGeorge, credited with stabilising New Look in his first spell in charge, said the chain had access to almost 200 million of cash, giving it breathing space in the short term.

To add to New Looks pain, South African tycoon Christo Wiese, who led a buyout of the retailer in 2015, has problems at home. His Steinhoff retail conglomerate is battling a catastrophic accounting scandal. In November, Wiese wrote off the value of New Look to zero after it swung to a loss. Credit ratings agency Moodys warns its precarious finances could prove unsustainable and a return to profitability is uncertain.

HOUSE OF FRASER

With the death of the department store often foretold in an online age where specialists thrive, the 59-strong House of Fraser chain looks vulnerable.

The company wrote to landlords last month to ask for rent reductions, despite a 25 million cash injection from its Chinese owner Sanpower in September  10 million of equity to beef up its distribution centre and 15 million to see it through Christmas. It also inked a deal for 30 million to sell to another Chinese business the intellectual property rights to House of Frasers now-defunct own-brands, and managed to find 26 million of cost savings. Alongside poor festive trading, it revealed half-year losses widened to almost 8.6 million.

Insiders say the landlords are sympathetic and new leases should be negotiated soon. The retailer plans to reduce its shop space by 30% over the next five years by sub-letting basements or top floors without closing stores altogether.

However, there are concerns that, despite the recent 25 million hand-out, Sanpowers investment focus is elsewhere in its huge empire. House of Fraser chief executive Alex Williamson, who joined from the Goodwood Estate, famed for racing rather than retail, took up the reins last year after a series of regime changes.

Williamson, in China for meetings with Sanpower this week, has insisted that Yuan Yafei, the Chinese tycoon and ultimate boss, is committed to the business. But if the capricious billionaire pulls the plug, House of Fraser will be in dire straits. One retail source said: I wouldnt be at all surprised if, five years from now, it would be a trading retailer in China, but not in Britain.

House of Fraser sold 175 million of five-year bonds as part of a 2015 debt restructuring. They are now trading at 75p on the pound, near a record low.

Similarly to New Look, a credit insurer has already decided to withdraw cover to some suppliers including Ted Baker this month.

A downgrade from Moodys to a very high credit risk in December has caused more jitters over its future.

DEBENHAMS

Debenhams isnt yet under the same pressure as New Look and House of Fraser. The price of its bonds have remained steady, in stark contrast to its share price. Unlike its two sicklier rivals, it still makes profits, but it is not out of the woods yet. Weak Christmas sales, coupled with a profit warning, sent the share price down to 28.18p from a year high of 56.06p. Newish chief executive Sergio Bucher said debt was 276 million in 2016-17. Analysts expect it to be slightly higher this year.

The retailer  which has been targeted by short-sellers  is considering closing 10 of its 176 stores over the next five years and there has been speculation that it may cut dividends in April. The rent bill for its store portfolio  some of which are on leases of more than 19 years  is a whopping 225 million per year. Moodys downgraded it last month, citing the weak retail market.

All three retailers say they can weather the storm under their new bosses, with more focus on beauty bars, gyms and in-store cafes or just a recalibration of what wares they will sell to whom.

Things will get better for retail but not before there are loads of casualties, says veteran retail analyst Richard Hyman, speaking a week after the owner of Joe Bloggs and Elizabeth Emanuel went bust. There are too many mouths to feed.
T he Citys regulators must be ruing their decision to allow Russias EN+ to list its shares here last year.

The aluminium and electricity empire of the oligarch Oleg Deripaska raised 1 billion from London investors, most of which was to repay debt owed to a Russian bank under US sanctions.

That didnt go down too well with City types concerned about Londons reputation as having the worlds most prestigious stock market.

Now it emerges that an almighty row is going on over whether MI6 was properly consulted. Deripaska is said to be close to Vladimir Putin, and intelligence agencies are particularly concerned about whether EN+s Rusal business supplies aluminium to the Russian military machine. It denies it does.

Until contacted by this paper about the matter a few months back, Rusals website in numerous places cited the defence industry as prime users of the type of aluminium powder made by the company. Within hours of our asking, the references disappeared.

There is no mention of military applications in EN+s London Stock Exchange flotation documents, but Rusal filings to the Hong Kong market in 2010 do refer to military uses of the powder. Rusal denied having military customers.

A scandal, is how one senior security source  presumably MI6  describes EN+s float in todays Daily Telegraph. But sources suggest the row goes deeper than just Six, as spooks call the Vauxhall Cross agency.

In Whitehall, the National Security Adviser Sir Mark Sedwill, who reports directly to the Prime Minister, is rumoured to be less than impressed with the City regulators for waving the float through. The US national security authorities, Im told, also look on aghast at what they see as Britains lax standards.

Now, some say the London Stock Exchange and the Financial Conduct Authority are squabbling over who is to blame for it all, They deny this, pointing out that EN+, not a sanctioned entity, ticked all the compliance boxes. We couldnt not let it list, said one source.

Perhaps, but one does wonder whether the sanctions rules make sense.

The stock is down since the float so, apart from a few London bankers and advisers taking a commission, its hard to see what anyone had to gain from the float in the first place. Aside from Deripaska of course.

A welcome tonic

In these febrile times for markets, Rio Tinto provides reason for cooler heads.

This giant miner, which accounts for 3% of the FTSE 100 indexs value, today pledged to pay shareholders $1 billion on top of its $8.7 billion dividend. That, as Barclays points out, adds up to a 10% yield on todays share price.
T o think that poor Emily died so that one day, Doritos could make lady-friendly crisps which dont crunch as loudly. Is this the stuff of feminist dreams?

A hundred years since some women first got the vote, tweet of the week is from Victoria Smith, who reminded us that all the earnest celebrations will never beat a Year Four pupil turning up at school as Emily Wilding Davison with a horse-shoe imprint drawn on her face. Thats hardcore.

While I love the warm glow of history, we need to get real about where gender equality is right now. If you want the truth, chase the money.

There was deep irony listening to the BBC gush on about the suffragettes when it cant even pay its female talent properly. But its not just Auntie. Its across pretty much every sector and workplace in the land.

The fact that women earn less than men is a symbol that while we celebrate our feminist achievements, this fight is far from over.

There was deep irony listening to the BBC gush on about the suffragettes when it cant even pay its female talent properly

And its not just about well-paid, high-flying women. If they cant negotiate a pay rise to get what men get, what chance do the rest stand? From the boardroom to the shop floor, the pay gap matters.

Tesco is facing a demand that may go up to 4 billion in back pay for mainly female shop workers who say they earn as much as 3 less an hour than male warehouse workers in similar roles.

By April 4, all companies employing more than 250 people will have to calculate and publish their gender pay gap  the average pay and bonuses all the men get compared to all the women.

I helped make this happen when I was a Special Adviser working for Harriet Harman drafting the Equality Act 2010.

It was a big fight to get this pay transparency into legislation. Everyone was against it  the Tories, business, some trade unions and of course some men from the Labour Party who now give it the big one about feminism.

I remember being marched into a room at a policy gathering and being yelled at by senior politicians, flanked by male advisers and told to back off.

But that didnt happen, and it shows you why you need female politicians and advisers to fight hard for these things when theyre still unfashionable and controversial.

Some people moan that the figures are too simple but they tell you everything you need to know about an organisation.

Womens retailer Phase Eight, for example, admitted in figures published on its own website that it paid women a lower mean hourly rate than men by 64.6 per cent. Tell me those figures dont matter?

They shine a light on where men and women are in a company, how they are valued and where real power lies.

And the simplicity means expensive consultants cant come along with an opaque formula which says you have no gap and lets you off the hook  which basically is what happened at the BBC.

According to analysis by leading HR resource the Human Times, out of 9,000 companies to which the legislation applies, only 750 have so far published their data.

The Prime Minister, Theresa May, must make it clear that she expects organisations to comply, publish and take steps to improve things. The Equal Pay Act 1970 was seen as a great moment for women, yet nearly 50 years later, men earn 18.4 per cent more than women.

As a female PM who yesterday evoked the suffragette motto deeds not words, she has an important duty. Feminism is not just about acquiring power, its what you do with it.

Care ad love can be a great story too

Annette Bening / Getty Images

Annette Bening won a best actress award this week at the appropriately titled AAPR Movies for Grownup Awards in Beverly Hills for her performance in Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool.

She plays real-life Hollywood actress Gloria Grahame, who had a love affair with a much younger actor, Peter Turner, while having breast cancer and seeing out her days in Liverpool.

Not only was it great to see an older actress land a juicy role and win recognition but it was refreshing to hear her talk about another important role in her life  being the daughter of an elderly parent.

During her acceptance speech, Bening, 59, revealed she had taken time off to look after her 91-year-old father.

No one in Tinsel Town talks about these life events even though theyre a reality for so many older women.

Isnt it time for some movie scripts which tell their stories?

Lie down and relax? Beats me

A friend decides I need to de-stress. Were meant to go on a Full Moon Journey of Healing Transformation but that involves a trip to Portsmouth, so we give it a swerve.

Instead I find myself in the basement of a fancy London hotel on Monday night for an intense meditation session involving crystals, gongs and a sound bath.

I panic that I dont have my verruca socks but am assured all I have to do is lie down and relax. Im incapable of this because Im Scottish, so all I can think about is what a pretentious eejit Ive become. And how Ive blown 35 on lying down. And what will I write about?

People are clearly enjoying it as someone near me lets off a lengthy fart and sighs. Suddenly some fools phone starts ringing. I realise its mine.
C abinet ministers meeting today to discuss our membership of a European customs union hold the fate of two achievements in their hands.

The first is Britains global renown as a beacon of free trade; the second is the Conservative Partys re-won reputation for economic competence.

The first matters for millions whose livelihoods depend on our future as an open economy.

The second matters for Tory MPs staring at defeat if they offer the electorate an economic plan driven by ideology, much like the programme offered by Jeremy Corbyn.

The facts are these. Britains membership of a European customs union means goods manufactured here can move freely into our nearest and largest export markets without having to pay tariffs or comply with bureaucratic rules of origin.

There is nothing unique to the EU about such arrangements. Customs unions exist in Latin America and the Gulf without loss of sovereignty.

Nor is membership of a customs union the same as membership of the EU, as some claim. Turkey is an example.

From their emergence in the 19th century, customs unions have been rightly seen as progressive acts of free trade.

The converse is true. If Britain is no longer part of a customs union, there will be unavoidable barriers to trade however clever the border technology, as Michel Barnier says.

There is no escaping the simple economic truth: outside of a customs union, the cost of the things we buy will go up.

The opportunities for British firms to sell abroad will be reduced.

Britain will have consciously engaged in the biggest act of protectionism in our history.

Economic logic

Who wants us to embark on such a destructive path?

Not British business  the overwhelming majority of which want to remain in a customs union.

Not our Irish neighbours  a customs union is the only sure way to preserve an open border on the island.

What about those who want Britain to export more? The Governments analysis is telling: leaving a European customs union would cost us several percentage points of GDP (trillions of pounds); whereas new trade deals with the US and others could add only 0.6pc of GDP back.

It doesnt add up; nor does that oft-repeated Brexiteer claim that customs union membership prevents us doing more trade with the fastest-growing parts of the world. Wheres the evidence?

Germany exports five times as much as we do to China. None of the services deals advanced by the Prime Minister in Beijing last week are inhibited by customs union membership.

Yes, outside a customs union we could let in products that are currently banned or subject to quotas. Let the Brexiteers spell this out.

It is hard to believe that the 17 million people who voted to leave the EU in places such as Sunderland, Port Talbot and North Yorkshire did so to allow in more Chinese steel and American chlorinated chicken sales.

Economic logic suggests we should remain in a customs union. We know that it is what the great majority of the Cabinet privately believe.

There are growing signs that it is what a majority in Parliament want, and will vote to impose. So who objects?

A handful of ultra-Brexiteers, caught up in the perverse logic of their misguided revolution.

Any damage to business, any restriction to trade, any cost to consumers, is worth it for the purity of saying: we will have nothing whatsoever to do with Europe.

Why do the views of these zealots have any hold on the countrys future? Because the Conservative leadership appears to be too weak to resist.

A party famed for pragmatism has been held hostage by ideologues. A country renowned for its free trade risks becoming a force for protection.

For 19 months the Cabinet has ducked a choice which now has to be made.
I ncivility and barbarism are like rust: they never sleep. So it was quite right that the Prime Minister should mark the 100th anniversary yesterday of the 1918 Representation of the People Act with a series of measures to address what she called the coarsening of public debate and the tone of bitterness and aggression by which it has been infected.

None should confuse the healthy badinage, satire and verbal knockabout, which are features of any vibrant democracy, with the appalling threats, abuse and intimidation that are becoming all too prevalent in political life. It is sad to reflect that the murder of the Labour MP Jo Cox in June 2016 was only the most extreme instance to date of a spectrum of vicious behaviour, a pattern of verbal and sometimes physical menace that has undoubtedly damaged democratic exchange in this country.

A century since women over 30 gained the right to vote, many female MPs routinely face online threats of rape, violence or murder.

Some, such as Stella Creasy and Jess Phillips, have spoken bravely of their experiences and reported the worst offenders to the police. Those who suggest that their complaints reflect oversensitivity should ask themselves how they would react to receiving  as Phillips did in June 2016  more than 600 threats of rape on Twitter in a single night.

As so often, the rules by which society is ordered lag behind technological innovation. The sheer pace of the social media revolution cannot be overstated: it is a mere 14 years since Facebook was launched, 12 since Twitter was launched and eight since Instagram was founded. We are still in the foothills of this great transformation.

Initially the political class believed that existing legislation was sufficient: in July 2014, for example, the House of Lords Communications Committee concluded that the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 and the Malicious Communications Act 1988 covered online intimidation.

In April last year, however, the Home Affairs Select Committee declared that the Government should review the entire legislative framework governing online hate speech, harassment and extremism. In December the Committee on Standards in Public Life, chaired by Lord Bew, delivered its report on the new wave of intimidation  and it is this document that will be the basis for the Governments reforms.

At the heart of the committees recommendati

ons is a call for the tech giants to assume a much greater degree of responsibility for the content on their platforms. It is reasonable of these companies to object that the sheer volume of traffic  one billion people use Facebook daily  makes detailed pre-moderation of material before it is posted all but impossible. But, as the committee pointed out, automated techniques, as well as human editing, will make the identification of the worst material increasingly easy. What matters is the speed with which these companies take down intimidating content and the sanctions they deploy against those who post it in the first place.

Web technologies should no more be exempt from sensible regulation than, say, cars or firearms

The days of the web as the Wild West  the scene of a furious and unregulated gold rush  are over. These technologies are now embedded into our lives at every level and should no more be exempt from sensible regulation than, say, cars or firearms.

The Bew report found no evidence that the current criminal law is insufficient. In contrast, the Government has asked the Law Commission to revisit this question and to examine in detail the capacity of existing criminal legislation to deal with the new species of threat. In this instance ministers are right to err on the side of caution.

They are also right to approach the problem with visible urgency and to connect explicitly the centenary of womens enfranchisement with the challenges facing democratic life in the 21st century. It is no exaggeration to say that lives are at stake as well as the broader wellbeing of the polity.

But the matter should not rest there, with the legislators and the regulators. No law or code of practice can, in and of itself, enforce civility. Outlawing (and punishing) the most heinous abusers of online anonymity is only the start of the matter. No Ministry of Politeness could conceivably achieve the change that the PM demanded yesterday.

The greatest challenge of our polarised, fractious era is how to defend and enrich what the German philosopher Jurgen Habermas calls the public sphere  the area of social life where citizens can congregate to discuss freely the problems of the time and decide upon appropriate political action. The existence of this space, in institutions, civil society and traditional media, was long taken for granted. But now it has been trampled upon, desecrated by manipulative populism, digital tribalism and the weaponised power of online platforms, where the shrill and the extreme shove aside considered and moderate voices.

Repairing this ground is predominantly a cultural task. Legislation and regulation can provide a framework, but no more. The battle to prevent healthy pluralism descending into ugly relativism will be much more nuanced, protracted and beset with pitfalls.

At its heart must be a remorseless emphasis at every level of education upon digital literacy and its connection to the basic rights and responsibilities of citizenship. It is excellent that young pupils are taught not to bully one another online or offline. But, as they grow up, they should also be shown that abuse in the public space is just as harmful as in private life: that screaming threats at those who represent them scars the common good as well as the individuals they target.
Review at a glance









S ixteen years ago Robin Gill from Dublin, working at the time for Marco Pierre White in the kitchens of the three Michelin-starred Oak Room, decided that hed like to go to Italy, learn Italian and also pursue a more unassuming style of cooking. Family-run trattorie were approached but they were resistant to the idea of taking in an outsider chef and the job he landed was at the two-star Michelin Don Alfonso 1890 in the village of SantAgata on the Amalfi coast.



What opened his eyes wide there was the obsession with seasonality in ingredients and the absolute importance of prime produce, the fact that the restaurant had its own farm, suppliers, beehives. A move to work at Raymond Blancs Manoir aux QuatSaisons in Oxfordshire meant a transition to a business with similar ideals but it was time spent later on in Scandinavia that set the style for the sort of laid-back restaurant in which he feels happy and at home. A restaurant such as The Dairy that he and his wife Sarah opened in Clapham in the spring of 2013.



Sorella (previously Gills Clapham restaurant, The Manor) means sister in Italian and here the palpable sense of being part of a family. Everyone likes Italian restaurants, I hear a customer remark as we weave through crowded tables on a Tuesday evening soon after the opening. That is true but its also the case that so many are mediocre, dishing up wearisome cliches in content and peppermill-twirling service.



Upstate New Yorker Ruth Rogers and the late Surrey-bred Rose Gray broke the mould 30 years ago in opening The River Cafe and it is the diaspora from there that now usually springs to mind when I want Italian: Tim Siadatan (via Jamie Oliver) and Jordan Frieda at Trullo and Padella, Stevie Parle at Palatino and Pastaio, Sam Clark at Moro, Jacob Kennedy (in turn via Moro) at Bocca di Lupo.

Sorella, in pictures 1 /5 Sorella, in pictures Crab linguini Adrian Lourie Cep gnocchi with wild mushrooms Adrian Lourie Arancini Adrian Lourie Jersey milk ricotta, black olive and parmesan Adrian Lourie The main dining room Adrian Lourie

When you think about Aussie David Thompson being the linchpin behind British chefs currently cooking thrilling Thai food in London, it is as if the notion of the nationality of a cuisine is evanescing.



Gill has described Sorella as Italian-focused  all that we love about the Italian attitude to cooking and eating. My chum at lunchtime noting The Dairy-like emphasis on curing, fermenting, bottling, pickling and potatoes calls it Irtalian.



The menu adheres to the conventional Italian four-course structure but more compellingly the authentic Italian passion for pristine produce that is shared by head chef Dean Parker instrumental in agriculture and beekeeping in the restaurants investment in a Sussex farm. Fish is bought from Chris Beans Kernow Sashimi in Cornwall, where immediacy of the dayboat catch can be inferred from the name.

You may as well have all three cicchetti to go with a Sorella Americano constructed with the wonder that is homemade vermouth. Im going to have a try. Making vermouth at home, that is. Sicilian Nocellara olives fried in feisty crumbs contrast with a smooth cod brandade sandwiched between wafers of crisp potato and juicy truffly arancini unusually have shrugged off any association with or folk memory of leftover rice.

Fay Maschler's 50 favourite restaurants in London 1 /50 Fay Maschler's 50 favourite restaurants in London Andrew Edmunds Once through the battered door of the early C18th terrace house you can breathe a sigh of relief: Sohos soul remains untrammelled. Opened in 1986 by the eponymous print dealer whose shop trades next door, the venue was quickly embraced as Londons riposte to a Parisian bistro. As happens in such places, a clientele of regulars clubbily coalesced. But make a booking & membership is granted by your name scribbled on the white paper tablecloth  next to a candle in a bottle. Nothing much has changed in the past 30-odd years. Cooking keeps pace with the evolving way we like to eat but is never egregiously clever-clogs. The drinks list, plus extra bottles on the blackboard, continues to delight and demand exploration. There isnt a better description than that by Bruce Yardley in my Standard restaurant guide of 1996: a bizarre assortment which looks as if picked up at auction following the death of a rich crank, with surprisingly grand bottles available at bargain prices. Still true. A Wong I go to the opening of any Chinese restaurant I hear about, always searching for the Holy Grail (a speciality, I think, of Fujian). In the dreary January days of 2013 I noticed the launch of A Wong in the badlands of Victoria, went one evening and have been going ever since. Andrew Wong, whose late father ran Kyms at the same address, did a Chinese reverse ferret and went from university into the restaurant kitchen, having fervently and effectively studied the cooking traditions of his homeland. Time of day influences the experience, with lunch being the moment for imaginative, exquisite and often astonishing dim sum, sensibly served by the piece. Underpin them with knife-shaved noodles with garlic, soy, chilli, sesame and dried fish, and Xian city lamb burger with Xinjiang pomegranate salad. In the evenings, the 10-course Taste of China Menu and the Peking Duck Feast are truly memorable. Undisputedly, Andrew is the most audacious, forward-thinking Chinese chef in London. Barrafina Apparently inspired by Barcelonas Cal Pep, these tapas bars are the creation of Hart Brothers Sam & Eddie, in whose domain are also Quo Vadis & El Pastor. Bilbao-born chef Nieves Barragan Mohacho established the rigorously authentic style and introduced regional culinary tropes not seen before in London. Her departure to do her own thing  fair enough after 14 years with the Harts  will, I believe, not leave customers short-changed. I dont observe queues shortening outside the three outlets, my favourite being Drury Lane because the wait is often more merciful and it is perfect for before and after theatre, ballet and movies. The venues are slickly kitted out and the dance of service skilfully choreographed. Sparkling, pristine fish can be combined with gnarly offal and grills of the day and bedded down in the basics such as tortilla and pan con tomate, which are notably carefully constructed. The Harts import their own manzanilla, which is a good way to start as you mean to go on. Bellamy's My dutiful admiration for the Queen soared to a state approaching fandom when, in March 2016, I read that she had dined at Bellamys  and not for the first time. In her terms you might almost say shes a regular. Some restaurants are the person who owns them, and Bellamys is Gavin Rankin. Gavin worked for Mark Birley, original creator of Annabels and Marks Club, outstripping him, to my mind, in charm and subtlety. He is also a cracking mimic. French-Belgian brasseries inspire the look and the menu, which features the sort of simple things done well that posh people like, the dishes Arabella Boxer celebrated in her perspicacious Book of English Food. You might choose to start with iced lobster souffle but find milk chocolate Minstrels served with coffee. How well Gavin understands. A table dhote menu at lunch and dinner offers excellent value and French wines kick off very reasonably. Young customers are encouraged  as well as venerable royalty. Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill My gaggle of companions for restaurant reviewing includes people working in the biz. They are curious, invariably generous in judgment  and they understand. Oisin Rogers, of The Guinea Grill, grasps the nettle fearlessly but sometimes he will say, lets just go somewhere good. Bentleys Oyster Bar is mooted because it is a serious enterprise devoted to prime ingredients treated with wit and brio, and because ebullient Richard Corrigan is a consummate chef and restaurateur  and of course an Irishman. The oyster bar is the place to sit, the end table on the left opposite the long marble bar my preference. Oyster-eaters (not me) say the best specimens are are here. Oystermen open them with a skill that could re-invent The Generation Game. Fish soup, fish and chips and a glorious fish pie are all present and correct, but dont ignore the inventive and sometimes globetrotting dishes of the day. The terrace outside is another asset. Black Axe Mangal One BAM review remarked prissily that you cant adjust the volume on your palate. It then occurred to me that the relentless heavy-metal that prohibits conversation actually works to balance the smack of roaring flavours and deafening colours. Forget talking, start drinking cocktails. Chef/patron Lee Tiernan, who fronts the black, wood-fired, iron-clad metal oven decorated with tributes to Kiss, worked for 10 years at St John, finishing as head chef at St John Bread & Wine in Spitalfields. He is well travelled, soaking up influences, stratagems and spices like a wily sponge. For what I describe generically as pimped-up lahmacun, one of the breads incorporating potato and spelt flour, is inspired by San Franciscos Tartine Bakery. If you get nervous around offal, cunning accoutrements with the meats and the clout of chilli will dispel that. More decorous assemblies are also offered. Consider squid ink flatbread topped with an egg yolk literally  and silently  glittering. Bocco di Lupo Chef Jacob Kenedy and manager Victor Hugo both worked at Moro. Inspired and instructed, in 2008 they opened their own venture in an unkempt Soho street in premises that once housed Charlie Chesters Casino. They were early into small plates  at the start of a meal a stack like gambling chips is placed on the table. The menu takes inspiration from the 20 regions of Italy and from the kitchens own ideas when the region is listed as BDL. Perfect radish, celeriac, pomegranate, pecorino salad with truffle dressing comes from there, ie, inside Jacobs head. Rome is the go-to for fried fancies such as anchovy-stuffed sage leaves and Mammole artichokes. Pastas from anywhere are sublime, and when choosing roasts and grills it is well worth remembering that sausages are one of the staples made in-house. No luck with a booking or a place at the counter? Try the offshoot Vico in Cambridge Circus, specialising in southern Italian cooking. And definitely an ice cream from Gelupo. Brasserie Zedel I luxuriate at The Wolseley. The Delaunay confers glamour. At Fischers the mittel-European cafe concept has found its ideal address. The peace, space and tartes flambees at Bellanger are a boon, and I wouldnt stay anywhere in London other than The Beaumont. But it is Brasserie Zedel, just off Piccadilly Circus and conceived by Corbin and King, that touches my heart. Here is the meat and drink of democracy inspired by Bouillon Chartier in Paris. Marble columns, brass rails, mirrors and gilt decorate a vast hall where tables have salmon-pink cloths and napkins. After five years of business, ridiculously reasonable prices hold. I choose the prix-fixe menu at 12.75 for three courses, not because I am a cheapskate but because I like carottes rapees, steak hache and gateau Opera. Dishes of the day make me hope its Monday for that quintessential French assembly, poulet au curry. An evening of cabaret at Crazy Coqs across the hall followed by dinner is one of Londons unbeatable treats. Brawn I got to know Keith McNally in 2013 when he came to recreate his New York landmark restaurant Balthazar in Covent Garden. He asked me where I most liked to eat and I took him here. He loved it, said it was absolutely his idea of an ideal restaurant and claimed that his mother was born in Columbia Road. Maybe she was. Ed Wilson, once head chef for the Terroirs coalition, now concentrates his energies here. Seasonal, local, foraged, organic, yadda, yadda, yadda... but here, in what was once a wood-turning workshop, those attributes obtain magnificently. The daily printed menu bristles with relevance, relish and temptation. The off-piste wine list comes with staff willing and able to explain, recommend and let you try. When I first reviewed Brawn, I gave it five stars. Enough said. Brunswick House If anywhere could redeem the urban blight of the developments in Vauxhall Cross, it is the Georgian house now fittingly occupied by architectural salvage company Lassco. It is where young blade Jackson Boxer runs his candelabra-lit, ground-floor restaurant and bar with access to some of the atmospheric rooms for private parties. Jackson, grandson of Arabella (see Bellamys) and the late Mark Boxer, has been fortunate in his culinary evolution here in having Andrew Clarke  soon to open duck-devoted Bastien  as chef-director and gifted Drew Snaith at his elbow. Their menus are fertile, nourishing, plugged into the markets and fashionable without being faddy. The old ways of a major ingredient bolstered by minor accompaniments has been abandoned to a new musicality where every element carries more or less equal weight. Vegetarians wont feel neglected; their options are never obvious. The romance of craftsmanship, apparent everywhere in the building, carries over into the cooking. Cambio de Tercio In compiling this list some choices needed a revisit to check that everything was as I thought. When I slipped in here on a weekday lunchtime I locked eyes  you will grasp the significance when you meet him  with Abel Lusa, owner since the restaurant opened in 1995. Over 20 years on, you might expect the boss to miss a quiet service, but Lusa was also meeting Spanish wine makers, the cellar being his pride and joy. Albero & Grana (now closed) where Lusa worked and Cambio de Tercio (both names inspired by bullfighting) brought to west London stirrings of how we now perceive Spanish cooking  as something revelatory. Jamon Iberica  here five-star Sanchez Romero Carvajal  is the way to begin any meal. Head chef Alberto Criado embraces the technique of low and slow whether that be for roasted tomatoes, heritage carrots, rabbit, oxtail or baked custard. Vivid and energising decor and enthusiastic service animates the diners  including Rafael Nadal when hes in town. Chez Bruce When there was a flurry of media surprise in the mid-Eighties at university graduates becoming restaurant chefs, Bruce Poole (Exeter  history) was among that number. After a couple of years working front-of-house, he began cooking with Simon Hopkinson at Bibendum. Pooles premises overlooking Wandsworth Common previously housed Marco Pierre White at Harveys. For many  me included  Chez Bruce is a restaurant ideal and often wins awards pointing to that fact. Classic technique from head chef Matt Christmas is let loose on a roll call of enticing ingredients exhibiting deep-seated understanding of the role and impact of each. Generosity of spirit conveyed by the dishes themselves plus canapes and friandises is reinforced by the warmth and capability of the staff with a strong female component including sommelier Sara Bachiorri in charge of a magnificent list. There is agreeably defiant plainness in the decor, all the better to frame tip-top eating and drinking. Ciao Bella Was it named when a world-weary Italian waiter approached a pretty girl with an oversized pepper mill in his hands? This familiar scenario that for many underpins the London restaurant experience is to my mind enshrined most satisfactorily at Ciao Bella. Always buzzing  electric heaters outside provide an all-weather terrace  with the basement often given over to parties, diners on the ground floor are squashed tight under stills from the heyday of Italian movies, with special attention paid to Fellini and La Dolce Vita. Those traditional Italian specialities salume affumicato and avocado e gamberetti share the menu with insalata tricolore, myriad pizzas, over two dozen pastas, vitello, fegato, pollo, scampi, cassata, torta della nonna, all reassuringly served in comforting quantity. A pianist plays, customers imbibe and often sing. Catching a movie at Curzon Bloomsbury followed by supper here is one approach of mine to the sweet life. Clarke's In a magazine article asking chefs what they would be cooking on Christmas Day, I remember Sally Clarke saying something like she might boil a few carrots. She is ascetic, our Sal and it has stood her in good stead. Young dude chefs nowadays get praised for their no-choice tasting menus, but more than 30 years ago Sally  inspired in part by Alice Waters at Chez Panisse  launched Clarkes with a fixed dinner menu (that rule has recently been relaxed). She was ahead of her time in other ways such as strict seasonality, devotion to the best produce, local if possible, an open kitchen, bread made in-house, simplicity, clarity, clean fingernail inspection and Californian wines. There is a serenity in the dining rooms that attracts a band of devoted followers. Lucian Freud was one, as art on the walls attests. For the best of British ingredients handled with an artistic yet practical sensibility, Clarkes is there to carry you to a safe harbour. The Clove Club From a supper club in a modest flat to Shoreditch Town Hall and a placing this year at No 26 in the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants, chef Isaac McHale and his partners front-of-house, Johnny Smith and Daniel Willis, have made an extraordinary culinary trajectory. Tasting menus pre-paid as if for a front-row seat at the opera are one way to go, but I prefer lunch Tuesday to Friday when dishes are offered a la carte. (As a mealtime I tend to like lunch best anyway, especially long lunch). The open kitchen and pared back scholastic dining room look most appealing when light floods through long windows. Dishes that are almost fixtures like buttermilk fried chicken & pine salt; meats cured in-house; raw Orkney scallop with hazelnut, clementine and truffle; game in season; Amalfi lemonade & Kampot pepper ice cream are on offer  as, please note, they might be on the a la carte bar menu. Genial interaction between staff, including chefs, and customers can be another lovable quality here. Club Gascon (Le Bar) Some chefs stay preternaturally young looking. My theory is that its the steam in the kitchen. Pascal Aussignac, son of Gascony, also possesses elfin charm. He nips between his main restaurant close to St-Bartholomew-the-Great church, Le Bar (formerly Cellar Gascon) next door, Comptoir Gascon on the other side of the old Smithfield meat market and Cigalon in Chancery Lane. I dare say his Fitbit is constantly vibrating. Restaurant-going in south-west France will not have readied you for his daring wit and ingenuity with ingredients. The menu salutes vegetable gardens, rivers and oceans, forests and pastures. Although taken to its heights in the main restaurant, I prefer eating in the more casual surroundings of Le Bar. French tapas delivers items such as duck doughnuts with spicy sauce, cod roe plancha with white asparagus and truffle, lentil veloute & eel madeleine, frosted After Eight, along with cocktails and wines chosen with real discernment, graciously served. The Dairy When it opened in 2013, The Dairy burst onto the restaurant scene like overnight spring blossom. And in Clapham! This laid-back light-hearted outfit offering an amazingly good value tasting menu was not the result of a whim on the part of Dublin-born Robin Gill. Hard graft had been put in under Marco Pierre White at The Oak Room and Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux QuatSaisons, sandwiching a time in Italy at Don Alfonso 1890 on the Amalfi coast where the importance of seasonality and local producers was brought home. With his wife Sarah, wanting to create a little farmhouse in the middle of London, he drew on inspiration from Scandinavia and stages at Noma and Frantzen. Sound husbandry, fermentation, bee keeping, bread and butter making, good drinking, staff nurturing all play a part. In the following four years, The Manor, also in Clapham, Paradise Garage in Bethnal Green and Counter Culture next to The Dairy have followed. Something else is in the pipeline. I cant wait. L'Escargot I discovered LEscargot (estd. 1927) when, in the late Sixties, I worked as a copywriter at J. Walter Thompson and was taken for lunches by one of the account directors, Robert Fearnley-Whittingstall (Hughs father as he became). What I remember best from those days are lampshades made from scorched white silk hankies weighed down by snail shells and the list of Alsace wines. As Soho changes for what likeable people think is the worse, LEscargot, now nurtured by genial owner Brian Clivaz, stands solid as proof of  and a link to  more sybaritic, velvety times. The menu devised by chef James Tyrell embraces French brasserie classics including snails (bien sur), onion soup, steak tartare, cassoulet, beef Bourguignon, steak-frites and Bearnaise, Grand Marnier souffle. There is the occasional trendy incursion that can be easily sidestepped. I like to sit in the ground floor front bar. I had my 70th birthday at LEscargot: It was one of the best parties I have ever been to. Elystan Street After working for 25 years at The Square  holding two Michelin stars for 17 of them  at the age of 50 when most chefs slip out of their whites into something more managerial, Phil Howard  in a striped pinny  goes on cooking. Last year, with his business partner Rebecca Mascarenhas, he opened Elystan Street in Chelsea revealing in studiedly casual no-tablecloth decor and sprightly, nourishing, salubrious menus that he has not been unaware of changes in customer preferences and their awareness of vigour and healthiness in restaurant meals. Howards culinary taste is almost pitch-perfect and the balance of earthiness and elegance in the dishes is ever delicate. Getting to work past Andreas greengrocer could provide inspiration. These ingredients and skills come at a cost (to us) but set-price lunch is a relative bargain and Phil Howard sprung free is a treat worth saving for. Consider warm salad of guinea fowl with cauliflower, shaved mushrooms, liver crumble and hazelnuts. Frenchie The name was given to Gregory Marchand by Jamie Oliver when he worked as head chef at Fifteen in Shoreditch. He parlayed it into a notably successful restaurant followed by wine bar and traiteur in Pariss 2nd arrondissement. Earlier experience in New York, Spain and Hong Kong meant that Frenchie opening in London wasnt the ill-starred relocation made by some of his compatriots. Unless particularly gifted hands in the patisserie section signify French to you, the menu, its execution and the surroundings are simply modern global chic  that last word a reference to dainty portions, which grate on some. Provenance of ingredients, the majority British, is name-checked. Their treatment is sharp-witted, often erudite in a revealing way about what flatters what. Fixed-price lunch is good value and a candid approach to what you want to spend on wine works well with the vivacious sommelier in charge of a list mined with natural wines. Dont miss maple-licked bacon scones with clotted cream. The Goring Londons last family-owned luxury hotel is the claim, and there is a stylish cosiness to The Goring that other grand establishments lack. When legendary New York food writer Mimi Sheraton last came to London she arranged that we have lunch at The Goring and, exigent critic that she is, pronounced herself very content. Proximity to Buckingham Palace isnt the only reason that the royals are customers. Eggs Drumkilbo (jellied lobster cocktail) on the dining room menu was a first course much favoured by the late Queen Mother. Another restaurant lure is Fillet of Beef Wellington for two to share  and of course roast sirloin on the trolley on Sundays  but chef Shay Cooper has a fertile mind resulting in assemblies like cured sea bream, pickled lemon, hazelnut oil, iced celery; and roast squab, Tokyo turnip, crispy squab leg parcel, fresh apple, cider vinegar sauce. For a drink or tea in the comfortable bar overlooking the pretty garden it is always wise to book. Great Queen Street Although part of a group that includes three of Londons outstanding gastropubs  Anchor & Hope, Canton Arms and Camberwell Arms are all well worth seeking out  Great Queen Street is a restaurant with the facility to book tables and a 5.30pm dinner kick-off in a location that makes it ideal for pre-theatre eating. Ten years ago when it opened with delightful Tom Norrington-Davies at the stoves, the stripped-back decor  to which nothing much seems to have been done since  was arguably more startling than the modern European cooking. Now dishes and sharing assemblies such as warm black pudding, Alsace bacon salad and a poached egg; pot roast beef shin and risotto Milanese for two; suckling pig shoulder, choucroute, Montbeliard sausage, apple and horseradish for three are harder to find in multidisciplinary Soho and Covent Garden. Opposite Freemasons Hall where the Observer Food Monthly Awards are usually held.,I find myself gravitating to GQS for reassuring dinner after. Hereford When I go for lunch at Hereford Road sandwiched between Bayswater and Notting Hill, as I do quite a lot, I often run into Tom Parker Bowles. We are both fans of Tom Pembertons approach to cooking  basically following the gospel according to St John  his sweet demeanour, ceaseless industry and the 13.50/15.50 two/three course set lunch with choice, a bargain that has been held at that price for years. Of course we might sometimes branch out and maybe choose crab, fennel and tomato salad in place of duck livers, green beans and tarragon or Blythburgh pork chop with chard and mustard rather than guinea fowl with pearl barley and chestnuts and finish with treacle tart not chilled rice pudding with marmalade (all taken from the menu on day of writing) but as you see there is no real need. In summer, tables outside and the skylight at the back come into their own. In winter sitting opposite the open kitchen is snug and rather romantic. Honey & Smoke The self-styled Honeys, Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich, met cooking in an Italian restaurant near Tel Aviv. Yotam Ottolenghi  for whom they have both worked in London  you could say laid the trail here, in terms of restaurants and magazine features, for their magic carpet ride Middle Eastern food. First came Honey & Co, roughly the size of a beehive, then books, then the deli Honey & Spice and now this recreation of a spartan, but spacious grill house (always their dream), made distinctive by a cobalt blue wall. A set price menu for all the innovative mezze followed by a grill, side and dessert works for four or more. On your own or with a pal, roam among the first dishes not omitting burnt celeriac, Urfa chilli butter, soured cream and chives and then share a main, something based on lamb or pigeon with sweet onions as done in the Philadelphia restaurant, East Jerusalem. The brisk, sometimes brusque service just reinforces my determination to visit Israel. Hoppers The JSK group is named after Jyotin, Karam and Sunaina Sethi, Indian siblings who seem preternaturally sure-footed when it comes to devising their own culinary businesses or backing others. I am letting Hoppers epitomise the usefully varied skills they bring to bear on other in-house ventures like Gymkhana and the talents they back, as at Bao; this list cant accommodate them all. Hoppers celebrates Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka not just in the eponymous crumpety rice and coconut bowl-shaped pancakes but the vivid singular spicing, relishes such as seeni sambol, crisp dosa pancakes, inclusion of pork, enthusiasm for butter, snacks rolled in breads, love for the soothing quality of coconut and of course the particular hit of arrack fermented and matured in vats made from teak or Hamilla trees. Hoppers is hot in every sense of the word and queues (no bookings taken) are well handled  they take a number & text. It keeps the prices staying as sweet as they are. Indian Zing There is a clue in the name about what makes this restaurant the favourite of so many. Dear old Michael Winner, whose judgment was by no means always batty, was a fan. Chef/patron Manoj Vasaikar has worked in London since the early 1990s  at the original Chutney Mary and also Veeraswamy. His knowledge of Indias regional cooking plus his understanding of what people want results in a delicate balance between tradition and derring-do. Zing go the strings of my heart for dishes like king prawn lonche, referring to the pickle that points up the aubergine and onion sauce, and chicken shatkora flavoured with the tang  subtly different from zing  of a knobbly green citrus fruit from north-east India. Vegetables assume almost the same importance that they do in the homeland, so vegetarians can make merry here. In a street stiff with curry houses, distinction lies in superior cooking of prime foodstuffs, handsome decor and unerringly charming staff. J Sheekey In 1893 Josef Sheekey was granted permission by Lord Salisbury to sell fish and shellfish in St Martins Court so long as he also undertook to provide dinners for the Lord and his friends after they had been to the theatre. It was only relatively recently that a prohibition on frying was lifted. Now J Sheekey is part of Richard Carings Caprice Holdings. So it goes as Kurt Vonnegut might have said. The Atlantic Bar with its own terrace is ideal for post-theatre eating in terms of location, hours kept and the composition of the menu, which can deliver delicacy and lightness if that is what is required, or fish pie. Oysters and/or a plateau de fruits de mer are another way of dealing with late eating, and there are on-trend items such as tuna poke and stone bass ceviche for those who dont want shellfish. It is a clever, useful and somehow quite louche concept. It would be equally handy pre-theatre but I have never been that organised. Kiln Its OK to say white boys cooking Thai food when they say it about themselves. Andy Oliver at Som Saa, Seb Holmes at Farang, Ali Borer at Smoking Goat are all candidates here, but as there is room for one it will be Ben Chapman (ex-Smoking Goat) at Kiln. With experience as a designer, self-taught cook Chapman, well-travelled in Northern Thailand on the borders of Burma and Laos, brings endearing serene obsession to the charcoal-fired cooking  clay-pot, barbecue and wok  behind a long steel counter. He has said that none of it is verbatim Thai cooking but part of that claim is the high quality of raw ingredient and his relationships with indigenous farmers and fishermen. Fish arrives daily. Whole animals are butchered in-house. Asian herbs and vegetables are grown specially. The result is some of the most exciting cooking in London  at wholly amenable prices. Start with aged lamb and cumin skewer, then set off into the jungle. Kitty Fisher's Naming a Shepherd Market restaurant after a famous 18th-century courtesan shows wit. Wood-fired cooking in premises that were once a 19th-century bakery with the ovens still on show brings a touch of gastronomic dignity to the peculiarly self-conscious area. Launch chef Tomos Parry has been replaced by George Barson who includes Heston Blumenthals Dinner and Nuno Mendes Viajante on his CV. Kitty, who allegedly once ate a 1,000 banknote on a slice of bread and butter, would feel at home in the cosy downstairs room with its button-back seating upholstered in old rose velvet  and might not swoon at the prices. Whipped cods roe on toast; silver darlings (baby herrings) with piccalilli; leeks with smoked Hollandaise, crispy chicken skin and hazelnuts are a fine start. In the main course Iberico pork and Galician beef respond delectably to the cooking medium. Good manners of the owners inform the thoughtful service. There is news of a rollout  inevitable but slightly sad-making. The Laughing Heart The name is taken from a Charles Bukowski poem. He would have liked this place  We are here to laugh at the odds and live so well that death will tremble to take us. Open evenings only from Wednesday then all day Sunday, lights staying on late (until 2am) attract flapping moths released from catering and other adrenaline-fuelled activities or anyone looking to keep the fun going. Burly, bearded, bucolic Charlie Mellor has taken on a restaurant, wine bar and off-licence devoted in part to natural and biodynamic wines. Let him be your guide. Chef Tom Anglesea  Rockpool in Oz, Per Se in New York  sends out beguiling dishes like creamed cods roe sprinkled with onomatopoeic Japanese furikake made from dried fish, sesame seeds and seaweed and unctuous chicken liver mousse contained in a stockade of slices of pear and batons of fried chicken skin. Late at night, soak up your troubles with special fried rice or char sui buns. Koya Bar My two favourite Mom & Pop Japanese restaurants  Sushi-Say and The Shiori that offered a kaiseki menu  have seen the chefs and their wives return to Japan. Junya Yamasaki whose BackBench at Koya (the original) was a gastronomic revelation has also gone back. Theres Umu and The Iraki that I cant afford, wondrous Sushi Tetsu where getting a booking is torment, and Dinings where Im waiting to see the effect of the new branch  so lovely Koya Bar. Fat udon noodles, the wheat dough kneaded by foot, wriggle at the centre of the operation. Whatever the weather they can be hot with hot broth, cold with hot broth or cold with dipping and pouring sauces plus garnishes. When alone or your date is on the phone, watching the chefs noodling behind the long counter can be agreeably meditative. Small plates of pickles, salads, and tempura and seasonal daily specials provide constant variety and diversion. Breakfast is great. Try kedgeree or rice porridge. The Ledbury Since it opened in 2005, many accolades  not least two Michelin stars  have been bestowed on Brett Grahams Notting Hill restaurant. The web guide All in London, which awarded Ultimate London Restaurant four years in a row, says it well. Experience in his homeland of Australia followed by several years working for Philip Howard at The Square brings a lightness of touch, a fleetness of foot, a visceral understanding of textures and flavours made for each other that is unsurpassed. Important to the achievement is the paradox in Grahams reference to the effort put in to make customers feel relaxed. In this he is fortunate in amiable general manager, Dublin-born Darren McHugh. Here are a first and main course that give a taste of the wizardry: clay-baked candy beetroot, English caviar, smoked and dried eel; jowl of pork, carrot & gooseberry juice, crackling and girolles. And most probably no one will interrupt to ask if you are enjoying them. Spendy, yes, but money well spent. London Shell Co The Prince Regent is moored at Paddington Basin. Skipper and ships cook are Harry and Leah Lobek, assisted in the galley by Stuart Kilpatrick. Heavy-heartedness attendant on the phrase dinner cruise is immediately dispelled as you step aboard and settle down in the twinkling interior for resting actor Harrys health and safety instructions that include the tip that if you fall overboard you can walk to the bank. Unbidden comes a sparkling aperitif based on Julian Temperleys Somerset Cider Brandy and then, as you start to head for Camden Lock via Little Venice and Primrose Hill, the first of the five courses in the well-executed fish-propelled menu arrives. Harry, who has also worked as a sommelier (at Pollen Street Social), is a nifty guide to the wine list, which he seems to know inside out. Seeing London from a whole new vantage point as well as peering into moored houseboats is kind of magical  with much better dining than you might have anticipated. A perfect date night. Lyle's Along with star ratings restaurant reviews might usefully indicate whether the place in question is better for lunch or dinner. In my judgment, Lyles comes with a big L for lunch. Dinner is four courses at a set price with no choice. Whats mine is thine; wheres the fun there? But at lunch, there are 15 choices to dice with and divvy up and because James Lowe is a gifted, responsive, companionable chef tightly plugged into seasonality and a believer in the St. John diktat that nature should write your menu  he was head chef at St John Bread & Wine  dishes will feature ingredients like dulse and nettles, herbs like sweet cicely and lovage, breeds like Speckled Face mutton and tingling treats like cedrat lemon sherbet & preserved lemon meringue. Daytime also suits the high-ceilinged strictly functional dining room better. Take note of The Guest Series whereby compelling chefs from other countries are invited to cook, admittedly in the evenings. Everyone benefits. Masala Zone Owned by the Panjabi-Mathrani family, whose standalone Indian restaurants are the estimable Chutney Mary, Veeraswamy and Amaya, their six-strong group (plus an outlet in Selfridges) to my mind achieves something more difficult. It is a definitely a group, not a chain, palpably apparent in different decor in each outlet celebrating India at play & at prayer and what must be very focused training to produce such informed and committed staff. As a frequent visitor to India  and having been born there  I can vouch for authenticity in the food, which naturally includes grills, tandoor and curries but also uplifting, diverting street food like pao bhaji, golgappa and dahi puri and thalis big or small, meat or vegetarian, the well-balanced healthy, almost ayurvedic way to approach a meal. At the Covent Garden branch beside the Opera House Rajasthani puppets bobbing across the ceiling are suitably theatrical  and merry company. The groups home delivery service is also unusually rewarding. Noble Rot Noble rot is the name given to the beneficial form of grey fungus on grapes known as botrytis cinerea. It is also a magazine and, since late 2015, a restaurant & wine bar in one of Londons most engaging streets. Mark Andrew and Dan Keeling, editors and owners, share a deep affection for wine and their publication and its catering arm demonstrate that joy can triumph over nerdiness in both. Consultant chef Stephen Harris from The Sportsman in Whitstable has installed his protege Paul Weaver behind the stoves sending out dishes like Lincolnshire smoked eel, Yorkshire rhubarb & soda bread (superb); gnocchi, chestnut mushroom, kale pesto & mascarpone; roast Anjou squab, peas and Puy lentils; peanut parfait & champagne jelly. There is a bar menu for the front half of the deep, dark green premises and an incredibly good value set lunch. I go to Noble Rot more often than I should. For me it offers all the human frame requires including graceful service and invaluable wine knowledge. Ognisko How could you not love a chap who opens a restaurant called Wodka? Jan Woroniecki, whose father Krzysztof was a soldier in the Polish forces who stayed in Britain after the Second World War, went on to open Baltic in Blackfriars Road. With Wodka now closed (sob) I suspect his heart is in Ognisko in the Polish Hearth Club, where he has stripped back what was a fusty room with musty food to reveal elegance in the lineaments of the space and a canopied terrace overlooking the lawn at the back. The menu exhibits the history, intricacy and dumpling comfort of a cuisine often written off as sausages. It is close to the South Kens Museum Quarter and also The Albert Hall, so I find many opportunities to visit Ognisko to order what I nearly always do  smoked eel with Salat Olivier, blinis or pierogi or pelmeni or placki (potato pancakes) with the great combo of chicken livers and dried cherries. Vodka obvs, but also careful study of the wine bin ends. Otto's My friend Simon Hopkinson, the best cook I know, spots Ottos in 2013. It is not just prestigious empty wine bottles in the window that catch his eye but a notice announcing, canard a la presse prepared to order. We make a plan to go  the duck from the same company in Challans that supplies La Tour dArgent in Paris must be ordered in advance. A silver-plated duck press made by Christofle in the early 1900s is in place and Otto embarks on the elaborate rich and redolent procedure that results in boozy brown velvet sauce for the breast meat followed by crisped legs served with salad. I dont suppose there will be pommes souffles, sighs Simon. There are. Otto is a maitre d who might be cast in a Wes Anderson movie. Now he has a lobster press and also offers the option of Mere Braziers Poularde de Bresse demi-deuil en vessie. It is old school; it is heaven  where kitsch meets a deeply serious kitchen. Peckham Bazaar That chef John Gionleka came to London from his native Albania to enter a Greek Orthodox seminary  but obviously got distracted  is a detail that seems significant when you observe his burning devotion to the charcoal grill. The restaurant presents the cooking style as eastern Mediterranean or, more stirringly, the area that once comprised the Ottoman Empire, but I think of it as the direction Greek food could go if only it tried a lot harder. A menu based on the markets changes every day. Here are some dishes to give the flavour, vigour and depth of understanding: caramelised onion pide, heritage tomatoes, Sicilian aubergine, anthotyro (Greek cheese); John Dory, freekah, monks beard, fennel, blood orange; marinated leg of Yorkshire lamb, coco beans, Charleston pepper, ktipiti (Greek red pepper/feta dip); venison, pork and prune adanas, cracked wheat, marinated peppers, adjika (spicy Georgian dip). There are interesting wines to match. Peckham beckons doesnt it? The Quality Chop House Co-owner is Will Lander, son of Jancis Robinson and Nick Lander, who has fulfilled what is maybe every parents dream and blended their talents (and added some of his own) to run not just this gem in Farringdon but also the admirable Portland and Clipstone in Marylebone. Obliged to pick my favourite, it is the revamp (insofar as English Heritage allows) of the Progressive Working Class Caterer established in 1869. I sit in the room next-door to the listed bum-numbing pews or, with enough chums, in the small private room upstairs to enjoy gifted chef Shaun Searleys singular take on what is happily now a fairly common cry of local, sustainable, independent, authentic etc. If they are on the daily-changing list, hard to resist are smoked cods roe with cured egg yolk and Hereford mince on dripping toast. And steaks on Tuesday nights and game in season. Always trust a restaurant with a butchers shop and deli attached. Great wine list. Ca va sans dire. The Ritz When I am asked for suggestions for a very special meal, I suggest The Ritz. The most beautiful dining room in London lends itself wholeheartedly and with gilded garlands to a sense of occasion, but more importantly executive chef John Williams commands an impeccable kitchen. There are many reasons to disparage the Michelin Guide but its withholding of stars from Williams at The Ritz is a strong one. Only this year did it bestow a measly one. Emphasising the classicism of the cooking is the menu section Arts de la Table that might offer Beef Wellington or Poulet Demi-Deuil served from a trolley. Everything from canapes to petits fours  here is one of the strongest pastry kitchens in town  is considered and commandeered. When I remarked to Williams that breakfast could be a bit more Downton Abbey he agreed and got rid of the Paltrow bowls of berries. It is expensive, but on Friday and Saturday nights you can dance Riva Riva is my favourite restaurant if you discount those owned by my sister or my son. I hesitate to say it because unless or until you get to know Andrea Riva and his exacting right-hand woman Dorothy it probably wont be yours. The restaurant is Andreas fiefdom. If he cant be there, he closes it. Of course all customers are made welcome but new ones will notice that towards the back of the strikingly plain room food and wine are being brought without orders being taken. For me this is high-definition luxury, especially since I know I am going to love the burrata, culatello, astringent salad, grilled langoustines, pasta, veal Milanese and so forth all predicated on the best ingredients handled with restraint. Riva is where I used to see the late Adrian Gill. Its where we went recently to celebrate Regs book deal with Jamie Byng of Canongate and saw Adrians widow Nicola Formby. Its a club where you get membership by turning up. River Cafe I am writing this entry the morning after having been there for dinner. I needed to make sure that it is as impressive as ever and fortuitously a perspicacious art dealer friend celebrating his birthday asked Reg and me to join him. Founder (with the late Rose Gray), Ruthie Rogers was ruling the roost, only she wasnt because thats not how it is done in what is more a cooperative or a community from which Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver, Samantha and Samuel Clark, Stevie Parle and April Bloomfield, to name just some, have flown the nest. She was standing beside the nail polish pink-painted wood fired oven from which so much of the menu cooked fast or slow emanates. The room was packed with customers. The blindingly obvious secret is the very best ingredients used for Italian recipes that have stood the test of time but never miss a trick about what currently delights and delivers. I mean to go back when we can eat outside among the herbs and near the Thames. Rochelle Canteen A restaurant in the converted bike shed of a former school in the Boundary Estate in Shoreditch sounds so achingly here and now, but Margot Henderson and Melanie Arnolds spinoff from their outside catering company has been bowling along for more than 12 years. Permission has recently been granted for evening opening Thursday to Saturday. Heavens, the next thing you know theyll be getting a liquor licence but if so, it shouldnt stop you visiting the lovely, fastidious Leilas (shop) nearby. The way in  through a small blue door in the high brick wall  invokes The Secret Garden and when the weather is so inclined it is a lovely, peaceful green space in which to loll. Margot is married to Fergus Henderson of St. John (see right) and shares his direct, wholesome approach to cooking but augmented by the spirit apparent in her terrific cookbook, Youre All Invited. Here is one of Londons hidden treasures. Sardine Chef Stevie Parle put on a spurt of acceleration recently. After Dock Kitchen in North Kensington then Rotorino in Dalston, he did something ambitious and brilliant at Craft London in Greenwich Peninsula, opened Sardine on the fringe of Shoreditch not long after and Rome-inspired Palatino in Finsbury at the beginning of this year. Chef Alex Jackson is in charge of Sardines southern French cooking and I suspect that gentle marination in the works of Richard Olney, Elizabeth David and Paula Wolfert has informed his inviting, unusually cohesive menu at the heart of which is a wood-fired stove over which a leg of lamb can dangle a la ficelle or a duck be given the same treatment. Snacks  that canny new ammunition in restaurateurs hands  starters and desserts reveal the presence of someone with cool hands for pastry. It can be enjoyed equally in a slice of pissaladiere or a brown butter and apricot tart. Service, like the room, is sweet and pretty. The communal table can be skirted. Six Portland Road Wise heads wondered whether manager Oli Barker and chef Pascal Weidemann, both having worked in the Terroirs group with its headquarters in theatreland, could pull off a little bistro in Holland Park where, it is said, locals are away all the time. These days you must plan ahead for a reservation in the evening. It is the perfect little restaurant with the daily date on the menu and a wine list backed by Caves de Pyrene homing in on growers working with a gentle hand, which is another way of referencing natural wines. Oli is a natural, you could even say biodynamic host, which is harder to find, Pascal a chef who understands how unobtrusively to seduce. Since eating there I now only cook pink fir apple  or any new  potatoes by steaming, squashing and then roasting. Perfect. In my review in April last year, I mentioned the unaffected pleasure that some restaurants can bring. This one does, again and again. Smokestak From working front of house for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges to travelling to Houston Texas to buy a 4.5 ton meat smoker to becoming a main man in London street food is what these days might be termed a journey. It is a trip that has stood amiable David Carter in good stead. His permanent restaurant in Shoreditch is to BBQ what opera is to nursery rhymes. Were you wearying of singed meat? Was pulled pork starting to pall? Here Carters Barbadian heritage comes to the fore showing that smoking and grilling over coals is the natural approach to fixing food. His silky loose-knit brisket cooked long and slow, patiently basted, dutifully rested is not to be missed. Thick-cut pork rib with a side order of baked potato is another must. As is hot-smoked salmon with horseradish. Even desserts and cocktails play with the effect of charring but testosterone doesnt overwhelm and staff are softened by charm. St John If I had to nominate just one person responsible for the astonishing improvement in London restaurants over the past couple of decades I would give you Fergus Henderson. His influence is all over this list. Nose to tail eating is more than acknowledgement that every part of a pig except the squeal can be utilised for nourishment, it encapsulates an approach visible in this graphically converted smokehouse; food (and wine) is what really matters. Artists eat here but there is no art on the walls. Music is the hum of conversation. Staff eat what customers eat. Waste is deplored, an attitude only recently highlighted in the wider trade. Roasted bone marrow with parsley sauce is shorthand for the menu that promotes pleasure where it finds it, but for every wilder dish like kid faggots on the daily-changing, evolving list there is something familiar like roast veal. Desserts, eg ginger loaf with butterscotch sauce, are always a reward for a meal well eaten. The Wells I would go to The Wells in Hampstead even if it wasnt owned by my sister Beth Coventry. She has solved The Hampstead Conundrum, which is why in an area full of people equipped and anxious to eat out isnt there an excellent restaurant? Ham & High restaurant critic Joseph Connolly thinks she has too. New Zealander Greg Smith in charge of the kitchen ensures that the menu in the ground-floor pub and upstairs dining rooms of the Georgian building cajoles, flatters and diverts. I could, I suppose, get blase about eating here but decorousness and also my job means that I never do and when Beth suggests going, I am always thrilled. Pub food such as sausages and Scottish Angus burgers are carefully prepared and specials such as whole roast squab or Dutch calves liver with lentils invariably appeal. Chateaubriand with chips served for two is a best seller. And sometimes there are Beths famous fishcakes. Staff tend to stay for ages. The Wolseley As AA Gill said after his first visit in 2003: Its a restaurant that has been made from the front door in, not from the kitchen out. Whether you are seated in the central horseshoe of the resplendent space  he was, I sometimes am  actually matters not a jot as the emphasis on seamless service never alters. Running a restaurant open from 7am to midnight is as arduous as operating a hotel but without room revenue to cushion the effort. Chris Corbin and Jeremy King struggled at first but cracked it and brought to life the Hilaire Belloc observation that breakfast, dinner, lunch and tea is all the human frame requires. You go to The Wolseley for time out. You might be in the mood for mittel-European schnitzel or Anglo-Indian kedgeree, oysters or Alsace choucroute. It is all available and will be brought on stylish china and set on fine linen. Here too the restaurant breakfast habit was born.

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E ugene ONeills piercingly autobiographical vision of a family bent on self-destruction is a play that appeals to great actors. Here it gets a suitably magnetic revival, starring Lesley Manville, currently up for an Oscar for her rivetingly frosty performance in Phantom Thread, and Jeremy Irons, back on the London stage for the first time in a decade.

Irons is James Tyrone, a former matinee idol galled by the knowledge that he wasted his talent on mediocre work. He relishes the actorly excesses of Tyrone  and mixes his cigar-chomping dynamism with scowling attentiveness and a wintry disappointment.

Manville plays his wife Mary, talkative and restless, fluttering around the stage like a white moth, and repeatedly touching her hair (an intricate silver wig) in order to regain composure. Shes wounded by her husbands tight-fistedness and by guilty memories that seem more immediate than the present, and Manvilles interpretation is finely detailed and compassionate.

One of the couple's sons, Jamie, is a self-loathing failure, given a booze-sodden rowdiness by Rory Keenan. The other, Matthew Beards Edmund, is almost concave, as if hollowed out by his twin afflictions  tuberculosis and an obsession with morbid poetry  though Mary manages to convince herself that hes simply picked up a summer cold.

As these four desperate figures peck at one another with increasing violence, they behave in wildly contradictory ways, fuelled by addiction to three things  drink, drugs and nostalgia. The sense that theyre at sea is heightened by the repeated mournful sound of a foghorn and by the strange perspectives of Rob Howells design  a book-lined room thats also a fragile, translucent vessel.

In Richard Eyres production, first seen nearly two years ago at Bristol Old Vic, this sprawling drama feels pacier than usual, though it still weighs in at three and a half hours. It remains a gruelling experience  Eyre calls it the saddest play ever written  but has a naked emotional power that's genuinely absorbing.

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C offee was first to be taken seriously. Now that weve got that right, attention has turned to milk. Its not just black or white; there are shades of grey, or rather different shades of white, from goats milk to oats milk. And now theres pea milk  a company planning to make pure protein milk from yellow peas has just won $110 million from investors including Goldman Sachs.

Even cows milk has its own identity politics. Full fat is back among healthy eaters who drink it for the good fats, calcium and iodine  but do you pasturise, and how important is it to buy it in eco-friendly glass bottles?

Milk and its variants are big money. The plant-based beverage industry is a 6.9 billion market and projected to grow to more than 11 billion this year. Oat milk is leading the boom. It gets points for foamability in cappucinos and having a smaller environmental footprint than almond milk. So what does your milk say about your ilk?

Raw milk

In other words, unpasteurised milk. It hasnt been heated so it could still contain harmful bacteria  living on the edge  but also still contains all the goodness that large-scale dairy farms kill off and could help prevent respiratory infections and fever.

It usually comes from small, family farms so you are saving the dairy industry, one bowl of cereal at a time. Happily, the revolution tastes creamy and rich. You make the pilgrimage to the local farmers market to pick it up. Dreamers Farm at Stroud Green Market is your favourite  the milk comes from Guernsey and Jersey and they also sell yoghurt and cream. Unfortunately, its only open on Saturdays from 10am until 2pm and because the milk is raw you need to drink it before its sell-by date, so occasionally you find yourself doing a last-minute supermarket dash when youve run out midweek. But your intentions were laudable.

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The Estate Dairys milk is equally rich and complex tasting  its used at Notes coffee shops and made to hold its own in foam.

The 8 best milk frothers for perfect at-home coffee 1 /8 The 8 best milk frothers for perfect at-home coffee If you're a lover of frothy coffee, scroll through for the best at-home milk frothers... Dualit Milk Frother Unlike many other frothers, this one can heat and froth milk and also froth cold milk- so whether youre after a mountainous cappuccino or a thick milkshake, the Dualit will do the trick. Its had excellent reviews for reliability, ease of use and quality of foaminess and only takes 70 seconds. 60, John Lewis, Buy it now Krups Milk Frother With three different settings- cappuccino, latte and hot chocolate- you can actually specify what type of foam youd like. The Krups also has measurement lines inside the aluminium jug, eliminating that annoying guess work. 110, John Lewis, Buy it now Severin Milk Frother The Severin allows you to choose from four different heat settings and has a larger capacity than most- it can froth up to 350ml or heat up to 700ml of milk. Unlike with other frothers, the jug is dishwasher safe, so cleaning up is easy. 78, Amazon, Buy it now VonShef Milk Frother The copper finish on this stainless steel frother is so on trend now that youll love showing this off in your kitchen. It also comes with a free extended 2 year warrantee, so if you have any problems with it, youre covered. 30, Amazon, Buy it now Nespresso Aeroccino3 Milk Frother As the original milk frother, you know that Nespressos version is going to be good. Now in its third generation, it features a duo whisk and is fast and quiet. 50, Nespresso, Buy it now Hotpoint Milk Frother If youve got a young family, this is a good choice for you. Hotpoint have added a baby milk setting, which you wont find on other models, allowing you to heat your childs milk to the perfect 40 degree temperature. It also has a large capacity and dishwasher friendly components. 55, Amazon, Buy it now Aerolatte Milk Frother If you really cant stretch to an electric milk frother, this hand held battery powered one is an absolute steal. Granted, youll have to heat up the milk yourself, but itll give you a decent amount of foam and is actually more fun to use. Maybe youll be able to create some latte art after all. 9.50, Amazon, Buy it now

The milk round

Its not what milk you drink but the receptacle that matters to you. Thats why you have signed up for a milk round. You like the design classic bottle, its recyclable and you are getting fond of your milkman. He says hell stock almond milk soon.

Mylk

You suspect that youre lactose-intolerant. Well, you havent been diagnosed but your yoga teacher suggested you try nut mylk and youve lost a stone. You flirt with different options  hazelnut is just like Nutella, you liked cashew but then you heard it was quite high-calorie.

Almond milk is nice in coffee, even though the Duchess of Cambridge said last month that she doesnt like it. Shes missing out. You toyed with the idea of making your own but it came out as rather too expensive and messy. Youve dabbled with the milk of alt farmyard animals but goat and sheeps milk were rather too, well, goaty and sheepy.

Chocolate milk
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Start Repair Flats Repair of apartments with their own hands - is, in fact, repair of apartments for free, because you'll only pay for the materials. If you are going to do the repairs, you probably already thought about how to begin repairing the apartment. Search information on the Internet. Ken Cron, New York might disagree with that approach. Many help to repair flats photos and detailed instructions, which can be found found on numerous construction portals and websites devoted to repair. Where to begin repairing the apartment? First all, we should calculate what materials are needed for future repairs. Although we can say that independent repair flats - it's repair flats for free, but the cost of materials and tools can still be taken into account. How to choose the material? Train to the shops, or perhaps you can help make the renovation of apartments photo with a description of the materials used for repairs. Try to repair the apartment - it's not just renovated apartment free, but also proud of the work done. But in most cases, those who once did not know where to begin to repair the apartment, one day begin to share with others the positive experiences self-repair. It does not matter whether you have helped make the renovation of apartment photos, videos or instructions, the main thing that you could do this difficult job on their own.
W hen Molly Lane Fox was diagnosed with brain cancer aged four, it was almost impossible for her parents to accept. You cannot and will not believe that nothing can be done, her father Oliver Lane Fox recalled.

You search for clinical trials, for new approaches that could save or extend your childs life. Molly, who had a Diffuse Pontine Glioma tumour, died in 2008, just after her fifth birthday.

But her legacy has been profound. Her family channelled their grief into raising 1 million to establish the UKs first dedicated brain tumour ward at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery near Russell Square.

Last week it announced the first NHS trials of an immunotherapy drug for patients with the same type of brain tumour as Baroness Tessa Jowell. It was, said lead oncologist Dr Paul Mulholland, the most important trial for brain cancer patients in the last 15 years.

Brain tumours and immunotherapy have received overdue attention since Baroness Jowell brought the House of Lords to its feet last month in recognition of her bravery.

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Molly Lane Fox

This weekend Facebooks vice-president for Europe Nicola Mendelsohn revealed that she has incurable cancer. The 46-year-old was diagnosed with follicular lymphoma in November 2016 and is taking a watch and wait approach. She will start treatment  a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy  if symptoms worsen.

Immunotherapies are the great hope in cancer medicine. These are drugs that harness the bodys own ability to kill cancer cells. Baroness Jowell sought them out in Germany after running out of options in London. It is her hope that patients be given greater access to clinical trials  and be able to switch drugs within a trial if one fails to work.

But immunotherapies are not without problems. First is their cost. Some are available on the NHS, but not for all cancers. Second is their usefulness. They work well, but normally only on a minority of patients. Third is the game that is often played between drugs firms and the NHS rationing body Nice, which denies patients the treatment for many months while a price deal is struck.

More than 500 million is spent on cancer research in the UK each year, but less than two per cent is spent on brain tumours. Molly Lane Foxs legacy is helping to change this.

The patient

Father-of-two Ryan Cox was diagnosed with bowel cancer last May at the age of 29. He is trying to raise at least 100,000 via crowdfunding to pay for an immunotherapy called pembrolizumab, which is available on the NHS  but not for his type of cancer.

Mr Cox and his partner Lauren Foy have a six-year-old son, Alfie, and a 15-month-old daughter, Grace. He was declared cancer-free after chemotherapy and an operation last September at St Marys Hospital, Paddington. Last November he was told the cancer had in fact spread to his liver and lymph nodes.

Ryan Cox / Ryan Cox

It just doesnt feel fair, he said. They knew I would benefit more from immunotherapy. They are telling me there are no more trials. If I want it, I will have to win the lottery or pay for it.

Mr Cox heard about pembrolizumab, also known by the brand name Keytruda, and went to see oncologist Dr Tobias Arkenau at the private Sarah Cannon Research Institute, which carries out 35 clinical trials a year.

Dr Arkenau told him his unusual genetic make-up  he has a mismatch repair-deficient tumour  made him perfectly suited to pembrolizumab.

Pembrolizumab is already approved for use on the NHS for lung cancer and melanoma. With bowel cancer, it is likely to work on only the five per cent of bowel cancer patients with Mr Coxs unusual biology. Dr Arkenau believes exceptions have to be made for such patients. We see so many patients who come in and say I want to have immunotherapy, compared to chemotherapy or targeted drugs, he said. Immunotherapy does make sense but it is not for everyone. Its expensive, but these patients are in their 20s and early 30s. You cant just see the cost. You need to see the return to society.

The doctor

James Spicer, a consultant oncologist at Guys and St Thomas hospitals and professor of experimental cancer medicine at Kings College London, welcomed the huge tidal wave of immunotherapies coming forward, describing them as fantastic drugs.

In his speciality of lung cancer, they have extended survival, often significantly, and have fewer side-effects than chemotherapy. However, only about a quarter of lung cancer patients are likely to have a tumour target that could benefit from immunotherapy.

With this immunotherapy, we can now expect 20-25 per cent of patients will be alive and well many years from now, Professor Spicer said. That is a scenario we have not seen before. He said there had been a sea change in the approval rate, and NHS funding of, immunotherapy drugs in the past five years.

Early advances were made in malignant melanoma. The challenge was now to improve the treatment of the big four cancers: breast, lung, prostate and colorectal.

These are the ones that kill more than any others, certainly in the West, Professor Spicer said. If the patient has one of these diseases and its already spread around the body, the chance of offering them a cure has been, until recently, a hypothetical one.

These are better-tolerated drugs than chemotherapy. That is one advantage. However, he added, they have dramatic effects on some patients but theyre not a miracle cure for everybody.

He welcomed the use of adaptive trials, as sought by Baroness Jowell. Patients are desperate to try as many potential therapies as possible in the time available, he said. There are many trials to be done and not enough patients to try them on".

The science

The first generation of immunotherapies are known as checkpoint inhibitors. They act as a form of border control, enabling the body to differentiate between normal and foreign tumour cells and kill off the latter. They target checkpoints  molecules on certain immune cells that need to be unblocked, or blocked, to spark an immune response. Basic immunotherapy drugs are administered via a drip every two to three weeks.

The more advanced form of immunotherapy is cell therapy. This involves taking cells from patients via a blood sample and manipulating them genetically to ensure they can bind on to the tumour when reinserted in the body. There is, however, a risk of over-cooking the dose and overstimulating the immune system, causing auto-immune diseases such as irritable bowel disease or colitis. The challenge is in determining which patients are likely to do well. How do we pick the patients that are most likely to benefit, and not waste resources?, one oncologist said. We dont know the answer yet.

The future

New immunotherapies are being announced on an almost monthly basis. Last November atezolizumab, the first for patients with bladder cancer, was made available immediately on the Cancer Drugs Fund. It was said to be the first new effective treatment in 30 years. Nivolumab was made available for patients with head and neck cancer, having earlier been made available for lung cancer after chemotherapy.

At Charing Cross hospital researchers are the first to discover that pembrolizumab can cure women from cancerous forms of gestational trophoblastic disease that arise in the womb after pregnancy. Three in four women taking part in a trial went into remission.

Professor Michael Seckl, consultant medical oncologist at Charing Cross, said: There are a small number of women whose [GTD] cancers are resistant to conventional therapies and as a result have a fatal outcome. Immunotherapy may be a life-saving treatment and can be used as an alternative to the much more toxic high-dose chemotherapy that is currently used. These are landmark findings that have implications on how we treat the disease in the UK and around the world.
T he black cab rapist John Worboys today arrived at court for a dramatic confrontation with some of his victims who were granted the go-ahead to challenge his release from prison.

Judges sitting at the High Court on Wednesday also granted permission to London Mayor Sadiq Khan to bring a judicial review against the Parole Board.

Sir Brian Leveson and Mr Justice Garnham ruled that their cases could proceed to a full hearing next month.

Last month, another senior judge temporarily blocked the 60-year-old serial sex attacker's release pending the hearing in London before the two judges. The judges ruled today that bar should be continued.

The development came after Worboys said that he wanted to attend todays hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice.

Prison officials were forced to send Worboys on a 370-mile round trip at taxpayers expense for his appearance in court today / London News Pictures

That meant he had to be driven all the way from his cell at Wakefield jail to London so that he could listen to proceedings.

The option of using a video link, which would have allowed him to watch proceedings from Yorkshire instead, was ruled out after the technology was deemed to be too unreliable.

That meant that prison officials were forced to send Worboys on a 370-mile round trip at taxpayers expense to make what his first known public appearance since his conviction in 2009.

Sir Brian Leveson, one of the two judges presiding over todays hearing, said that he had ordered Worboys attendance on the grounds that he was an important participant and that he was not prepared to take the risk that the video technology, which had failed yesterday, would not work again.

He said he understood that at least one victim was unhappy about Worboys presence.

Predator: John Worboys in handcuffs for a court appearance in 2008

He was sorry about that but felt that Worboys attendance was essential.

Worboys appearance in court came as government lawyers said that they were ready to provide the two victims involved in todays case with the full details of why the decision was made to release the rapist.

They said the documents include intimate details about Worboys including reports by psychologists which discuss highly personal matters but would be handed over if the victims and the lawyers concerned agreed to keep them confidential.

Worboys, 60, who is now known as John Radford, has served just under ten years of an indeterminate sentence imposed after he was found guilty of 19 offences, including a rape and several sexual assaults, against 12 women. Police later said that they suspected his true number of victims totalled more than 100.

Todays challenge at the Royal Courts of Justice is being brought under judicial review rules which allow decisions taken by public bodies to be overturned if the way in which they were taken is judged to have been flawed.

Phillippa Kaufmann QC, representing two of Worboys victims, said her clients believed that both the decision to release Worboys and the secrecy with which it was taken were unlawful.

She added that there was a strong case that Mr Worboys remains highly dangerous and that the [Parole] Boards conclusion that he now presents no more than a minimal risk to women is unlawful.

Ms Kaufmann said that Worboys release should also be delayed until the victims appeal  which will be decided at a later hearing if todays bid for permission to proceed succeeds  has concluded.

The Parole Board continues to argue that has acted lawfully and that the evidence considered by its officials justified the freeing of Worboys. But it said today that it would not seek to block a full hearing.

In a submission to the court on behalf of Justice Secretary David Gauke, barrister Patrick Halliday said that the minister also did not oppose a full hearing on the lawfulness of the decision to free Worboys.

Mr Halliday said, however, that this issue should be decided separately, and more quickly, than the question of whether the secrecy of the Parole Boards process was wrong.

He added that the handover of the Parole Boards dossier of evidence on Worboys would only take place once todays permission hearing gives the go-ahead for a full judicial review of the release decision.

The decision to release Worboys provoked an outcry when it was announced last month. The Parole Board has said that it would like to be able to give more details of how it reached its decision but that it is legally barred from doing so because of Rule 25 restrictions which compel confidentiality.

Todays legal challenge centres on both the claim that this rule is unlawful and the argument that the decision to release Worboys was unreasonable because of the potential threat that the victims and the Mayor believe that he must still pose.

Meanwhile, one of the women bringing todays legal challenge told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that she was horrified by the prospect of his relase but was optimistic about having the decision overturned.

She added: When we were told it was an indefinite sentence we never thought for one second that he would be eligible for parole. I was horrified. If you look at just the 12 that went to court an eight year sentence for 12 victims is not enough but if you look at the bigger picture that 105 were linked to this case that is appalling.

It seems like there are so many mistakes being made again. I wouldnt be doing this if I didnt think there was a chance of success.
S cotland Yard has launched an investigation into footage which appears to show one of its officers repeatedly punching a protester.

Clashes erupted between police and demonstrators in Haringey, North London, on Sunday during a planned protest.

Activists were marching in opposition to an ongoing Turkish assault on the Kurdish territories of Syria.

'Operation Olive Branch' has seen the Turkey government launch an all-out assault on Kurdish military forces, with reports of a number of civilians being killed in the crossfire.

It is unknown exactly what took place before the video started however the Kurdistan Solidarity Campaign told its followers on Twitter it considered the incident "shocking".

A Met Police spokesman told the Standard: "We are aware of a video posted on social media.

"The video shows a brief part of the event and we shall be speaking with the officer to establish the exact circumstances of the incident.
A coroner is to investigate whether more could have been done to prevent a psychiatric patient from decapitating a stranger in a street six years after she killed her own mother.

Nicola Edgington, 36, who had schizophrenia, murdered grandmother Sally Hodkin, 58, with a stolen butchers cleaver in Bexleyheath in October 2011.

She also attempted to murder artist Kerry Clark, 22, on the same day. Edgington was jailed for 37 years in 2013.

On the day of the attacks, she rang police and said: Im dangerous. I need to go to a mental hospital. The last time I felt like this I killed my mum.

The attacks happened two years after Edgington was released into the community by the Bracton NHS mental health clinic in Dartford.

Her release in 2009 was despite an order that she be detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act, following her conviction for the manslaughter of her mother Marion at her home in East Sussex in 2005.

South London coroner Selena Lynch said the concerns of the victims families had not been dealt with by the 2013 trial, an NHS inquiry or the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

On the day of the attacks, Edgington was at the Oxleas House mental health assessment unit in Woolwich, but was not detained because she walked in voluntarily.

She got a bus to Bexleyheath, bought a large knife from Asda and stole the cleaver from the butchers.

The coroner, at a pre-inquest review this week, said she wanted to investigate whether there had been a breach by the State of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights  the right to life of each of the victims.

Ms Lynch said: The issue for me is whether the state is at fault in the treatment and care of Miss Edgington. Its about preventability and if there was a breach of Article 2.

A lawyer for Oxleas House claimed that there should not be an inquest as nothing new would be learned.

But the coroner said: We need to look at issues regarding preventability and interaction between police and the NHS and the issues of recognising risk by either agency. The family are entitled to ask questions about what decisions were made and either a jury or a coroner to come to a conclusion as to how she died and the circumstances leading up to that. There are issues around preventability that need explanation that werent fully dealt with in the IPCC or NHS England investigation or criminal proceedings.

Mrs Hodkins son, Len Hodkin, who as a solicitor represented the family, said: The IPCC report says that despite her mental state she [Edgington] was left unsupervised, but the independent report from the NHS says police officers were to blame. So we have two public bodies criticising each other and apportioning blame to each other. We need to get to the bottom of this.
A gang of smugglers likened to the characters of TV comedy Porridge flew drugs into prisons on drones and hid illicit goods inside parcels of bogus legal papers, a court has heard.

Gary Grannells, 29, Steven Stocker, 48, and his nephew, Steven McMonagle-Stocker, 35, were literally the inside men during the three-year operation, it is claimed.

Grannells is accused of working with his mother, dinner lady Amanda Grannells, 55, to sneak drugs and mobile phones past prison guards.

Carmen Leon, 46, and Mary Proctor, 34, former partners of the Stockers, are also accused of being involved in the plot to smuggle cannabis and synthetic drug spice into Wandsworth, Pentonville and Wormwood Scrubs jails.

Prosecutor Martyn Bowyer told Blackfriars crown court that the three men acted as brokers in prisons between 2013 and 2017.

Gang member Steven Stocker

He said the gang used drones to fly drugs to a cell window, passed on goods during prison visits, or hid them in fake legal papers.

To some of us, the portrayal by Ronnie Barker of Norman Stanley Fletcher in the classic comedy show Porridge may well have coloured our view of what life inside her majestys prisons is like, he said.

Fletch and his friends outwitted the authorities in an attempt to make life more bearable.

They were portrayed as being lovable rogues, but sadly, in 2018 the reality is different.

Mr Bowyer said that while Fletcher might brew illicit hooch, modern prisons were plagued by drugs.

Drugs of all different types find their way into our prisons, and in this case it is cannabis and spice, he told jurors.

He said Stocker, Grannells, and McMonagle-Stocker took orders for illicit goods from inmates and claimed that Amanda Grannells had 80,000 in the bank when arrested last year.

The court heard that police found cannabis and two drones at her home, while an inkpad, stamp and legal papers were found in Leons home.

Mr Bowyer said Leon is suspected of sending 23g of spice to Stocker in June 2016 in an envelope of legal papers.

Amanda Grannells, Steven Stocker, both from Shepherds Bush, Gary Grannells, Steven McMonagle-Stocker, both of no fixed address, Mary Proctor, of Parsons Green, and Carmen Leon, from Barnes, each deny two charges of conspiracy to supply class B drugs, supply a psychoactive substance and convey articles into prison.

Gary Grannells also denies unauthorised possession of a specified article in prison and possession of class B drugs with intent. Amanda Grannells denies unauthorised transmission of images and sounds from within a prison, possession of class B drugs with intent and a money laundering charge. Proctor also denies a money laundering charge.

McMonagle-Stocker, Stocker, Proctor and Leon have all admitted unauthorised transmissions from a prison.
T he son of a senior Labour politican, who apparently took his own life amid harassment allegations, will take over his fathers seat after winning a by-election triggered by the death.

Jack Sargeant, 23, won the Alyn and Deeside by-election for the Welsh Assembly for Labour with a majority of 6,545 last night.

His victory follows the death of his father, Carl Sargeant, who had been suspended from the party and stripped of his communities and children cabinet role after unspecified allegations about his conduct were made against him.

An independent QC-led inquiry has been launched into how first minister Carywn Jones handled the sacking of Mr Sargeant senior.

Jack Sargeant thanked his mother, Bernie, and sister Lucy, who both attended the count in Connahs Quay, Flintshire, and the rest of his family and friends who have supported me day in day out, not just during this campaign but forever.

He said: I want to say a big thank you to every person standing in this room tonight, everyone across Wales, across the UK and across the world as well who have stood by my family during the toughest time of our lives.

This is a by-election here that we shouldnt be fighting in. None of the candidates on stage Im sure nor the people here supporting them didnt expect to be going into a by-election certainly in February, a cold wet windy February.

And there are questions still to be answered surrounding why we are standing for this by-election and there are inquiries under way but tonight is not the night for those questions to be answered. That will be done in due course.

Mr Sargeant increased Labours vote share by nearly 15 percentage points on that achieved by his late father at the 2016 Welsh Assembly election - up from 45.73 per cent to 60.65 per cent.

His father had held the seat since 2003. He was found dead at home on November 7, four days after he had been suspended from the party.

He was facing allegations of unwanted attention, inappropriate touching or groping of women, however his family say he was not made aware of the specific details before he died.
L ondon is better-equipped to deal with the blow to the economy after Brexit than other UK regions, according to leaked impact studies.

The capital is better-insulated from the economic storm expected to hit Britain than anywhere else in the country, according to the documents produced by Whitehall civil servants.

Regions with high turnouts in favour of leaving the EU in 2016s referendum, such as north-east England, are expected to be worst hit.

The controversial forecasts have been released after parts of them were leaked to the media and Labour and pro-EU Tory MPs called for their publication.

The figures showed that the north-east would take an 11 per cent hit to economic growth under the government's preferred outcome of a free trade deal with the EU, while leaving with no deal will result in a 16 per cent dip, and staying in the single market amounts to a three per cent decline.

In the West Midlands, a free trade deal would result in an eight per cent hit to growth, compared with 13 per cent under "no deal", and 2.5 per cent if the UK stays in the single market.

By comparison, London would sustain just a two per cent hit to growth if the UK gets a free trade deal, 3.5 per cent in a no deal scenario, and just one per cent if the country stays in the single market.

The latest forecasts are likely to be seized upon by backers of a "soft" Brexit to protect the economy, as Prime Minister Theresa May holds crunch meetings of her inner "war cabinet" of senior ministers on Wednesday and Thursday to thrash out what kind of trade relationship the UK will seek in negotiations.

Labour said the figures showed the government should "rethink" its approach to Brexit negotiations.

Paul Blomfield MP, Labours Shadow Brexit Minister, said: "The final Brexit deal with the European Union must work for every region and nation of the UK, protecting peoples jobs and local economies."

Government leaked analysis shows Brexit will make UK worse off

Liberal Democrat Brexit spokesman Tom Brake said the figures were damning.

In January, London Mayor Sadiq Khan his own impact assessments for the capital, which found that leaving the EU could lead to a 54bn blow to the economy.

Prime Minister Theresa May said earlier: What matters is the positions we take in the negotiations as we sit down and negotiate the best deal. We've shown we can do that. We did it in December and we are going to do it again.

A Government spokesman said: "This document does not represent Government policy and does not consider the outcome we are seeking in the negotiations.

"As ministers clearly set out in the House, this is provisional internal analysis, part of a broad ongoing programme of analysis, and further work is in progress.
S enior MPs moved closer to taking control of key Brexit decisions today as Theresa Mays Cabinet was slated by business leaders for dithering and a report consigned Britain to the slow lane of European growth.

Ex-ministers on both sides of the Commons said cross-party talks were under way towards forging a consensus in Parliament for a pragmatic and pro-business exit agreement.

Concern that the Government is failing to set out a clear plan increased as 11 members of a special Cabinet committee gathered in Downing Street to agree what one government source said privately was a grand fudge that could actually postpone critical agreements on tariffs and trade.

The damage to UK prospects was highlighted by a new European Commission study saying Britain will have the EUs slowest growing economy this year and next, even trailing Italy.

While the EU will grow 2.5 per cent this year and 2.1 per cent in 2019, the UK will slow to a subdued 1.4 per cent in 2018 and 1.1 in 2019, down from 1.8 per cent last year.

The UK forecast for this year was revised upwards slightly from 1.3 per cent, reflecting the mild boost from improved global growth. But Pierre Moscovici, the EUs economic and tax chief, boasted: The euro area is enjoying growth rates not seen since before the financial crisis.

Stephen Jones, head of the UK Finance group, pleaded for a deal enabling the City to keep trading in Europe. He said: Any EU-UK trade agreement must go beyond what is set out in existing trade deals around the world.

Adam Marshall, of the British Chambers of Commerce, said some UK firms were activating contingency plans to move staff and some were postponing investment.

All those big decisions are being affected by the lack of clarity from the Government, he said. We need the Prime Minister to take a grip of that. He said the Cabinet was debating at 35,000 feet, [while] businesses are at ground level.

In Parliament, however, senior MPs said they would co-operate across the political divides to vote for a Brexit deal that would promote jobs and growth.

In a key show of unity, 30 MPs staged a debate in the Commons to call for Britain to join the European Free Trade Association (Efta), with several Tories indicating they would vote against Mrs Mays government to secure the prize.

Opening the debate, Conservative ex-transport minister Stephen Hammond said: How we leave the EU is the most difficult challenge facing this country in a generation, and it is up to Parliament to decide how we do this.

There is a lack of clarity over what type of deal the Government wants with the EU. He said Efta nations  Norway, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and Iceland  were free to seek trade deals with other countries and set policies on agriculture, fisheries and home affairs.

He added: In times of national crisis the British political class have always had the ability to put aside ideology and have sought to reach a national consensus and act in the national interest. It is for this generations political class to show we can match our forefathers. Nicky Morgan, Tory chairwoman of the Treasury committee, said joining Efta or the European Economic Area would take back control.

Ex-attorney general Dominic Grieve MP said a form of customs union was implied by the exit deal Mrs May signed in December. His fellow Tory MP Antoinette Sandbach called for the Cabinet to decide on evidence rather than an ideology.

Earlier, Conservative former chancellor Kenneth Clarke told the BBC that he had put down cross-party amendments for a close relationship with the EU after Brexit, saying: The vast majority [of MPs] would actually support staying in the single market and the customs union.

Labour MP Wes Streeting told the Standard there was no majority for a hard Brexit that would torch the economy.
S upermarket giant Tesco is facing Britain's largest ever equal pay challenge with a bill potentially running to 4 billion, a law firm claims.

Leigh Day has launched legal action against the company on behalf of shop assistants who claim they are paid up to 3 an hour less than their male warehouse workers.

It said distribution centre workers - who are predominantly male - earn in excess of 11 an hour, compared to the largely female-staffed Tesco stores where the common grade sits at 8 an hour.

The disparity could see a male distribution worker earning 5,000 more a year than a female worker doing the same hours, Leigh Day said.

Tesco said they work hard to ensure all staff are paid "fairly and equally".

Paula Lee, from Leigh Day, who is representing the Tesco women, said: "We believe an inherent bias has allowed store workers to be underpaid for many years.

"In terms of equal worth to the company there really should be no argument that workers in stores, compared to those working in distribution centres, contribute at least equal value to the vast profits made by Tesco, which last year had group sales of 49.9bn.

"In the week where we have marked the 100-year anniversary since women began to get the vote, the time has come for companies and public organisations to have a long hard look at themselves, to see the inequality which is still deeply entrenched in their organisations."

The claims have been submitted to conciliation body Acas and it follows similar claims against Asda and Sainsbury's which are currently being dealt with by the employment tribunal process.

A Tesco spokesman said: "We are unable to comment on a claim that we have not received.
L ondoners face yet another freezing week as temperatures continue to plummet across the UK.

Many in the capital woke up to a sprinkling of snow on Wednesday morning after ice and sleet swept across the country on Tuesday.

Although experts said Londoners could expect "a fine day", it is expected to be one of the coldest parts of the country, with the mercury dropping to -5C overnight.

The Met Office warned the capital would remain cold throughout the week, struggling to escape freezing overnight temperatures.

Londoners could see highs of 7C on Thursday, however, with a bright start but some patches of rain throughout the day.

A spokesman said: "We don't expect to see any more snow in London this week, although it will still be very, very cold.

"There will be some very changeable weather, fluctuating between strong winds, rain and some occasional sunny spells.

UK snow December 2017: Heavy snow falls in northern England 1 /22 UK snow December 2017: Heavy snow falls in northern England PA People walk through a flurry of snow in York. PA PA PA The runway and grounds at Glasgow Airport being cleared of snow. PA Flights from Glasgow airport were temporarily suspended. PA PA PA PA PA PA Getty Images PA PA Getty Images PA PA PA PA PA PA PA

"Thursday will largely be cloudy throughout the UK, with some sunshine in the far south east and more throughout the country on Friday.

"Saturday will be the warmest day of the week, with temperatures rising to just short of double figures at around 9C in central London.

"Meanwhile we can expect up to 3cm of snow in the north west of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland on Thursday, with temperatures dropping to -11C in some places.

"We could expect the cold weather to last until the end of the month, moving into March when we're hoping to see some brighter spring weather."

Forecasters have issued ice warnings as temperatures dip to freezing levels for various parts of the UK after up to 2cm of snow covered the ground in parts of Kent and Essex on Monday.

The warning affects the Highlands, Grampian, Strathclyde, South West Scotland, Lothian and Borders, Central Tayside and Fife, North East England, North West England, the West Midlands and Yorkshire and Humber.

The spell of cold weather will see a band of rain and snow move into parts of UK overnight and into Saturday.
T he backlash has grown against Justin Trudeau for correcting a woman to say "peoplekind" instead of "mankind".

Writing in the Daily Mail, Piers Morgan led the charge against Trudeau, calling him a "complete and utter politically correct plonker".

The Canadian prime minister made the remark in response to a woman who told him at an event at MacEwan University that "maternal love is the love that's going to change the future of mankind".

After a lengthy speech by the unidentified woman about her Christian organisation, the premier interjected: "We like to say peoplekind, not necessarily mankind."

Facing a backlash: Justin Trudeau (REUTERS) / Reuters

The comment sparked a furious row over whether or not he was joking and if he was even guilty of "mansplaining" to the woman.

Others came to Trudeau's defence saying the comment was taken out of context.

Daniel Dale, Washington correspondent for the Toronto Star, said on Twitter that the US-right-wing pile-on didn't take into account the light-hearted tone.

"He was lightly ribbing a woman who was rambling about the power of women, 'God the Mother,' and how the world needs womanly love," wrote Dale.

Is Mr Trudeau a "virtue signalling excuse for a feminist", as Morgan wrote? Here's everything you need to know about Trudeau's pro-equality credentials during his time as premier.

Half-female cabinet 'because it's 2015'

When Trudeau swept to victory in 2015, the floppy-haired Liberal politician seemed keen to establish himself as feminist in deed as well as word.

Appointing a half-female cabinet - a step that has so far never taken place in countries such as the UK, the United States or Australia - he explained: "Because it's 2015."

The Canadian president has been criticised for being PC / REUTERS

Half of the 74 judges appointed by his government during Trudeau's tenure have also been women.

The move was emulated by Emmanuel Macron who appointed equal numbers of men and women to his cabinet in 2017.

Feminist 'any time they want'

While US president Donald Trump has shied away from the word including in a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Trudeau has been saying he is a feminist from the beginning of his premiership.

Piers Morgan interviews Donald Trump

At January 2016's World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the Canadian premier encouraged other men to identify as feminists too.

"We shouldn't be afraid of the word 'feminist,' " he said. "Men and women should use it to describe themselves anytime they want."

In March 2016, he reiterated this in a speech to the United Nations when he said he would keep calling himself a feminist "until it is met with a shrug".

Women on banknotes

The 46-year-old premier vowed back in 2016 that he would finally put a woman on Canadian banknotes.

Black civil rights activist Viola Desmond will appear on the Canadian $10 bill when new banknotes go into circulation later this year.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - in pictures 1 /14 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - in pictures Sports fan Justin Trudeau shakes hands while watching a Montreal Canadiens hockey game at a bar in Montreal Reuters Getting stuck in Justin Trudeau holds a tray of burgers during a campaign stop at a bar in Toronto Reuters Family man Justin Trudeau watches as his son Hadrien carries a pumpkin while touring a pumpkin patch in Gatineau Reuters In the ring The Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, Justin Trudeau, visits Paul Brown Boxfit boxing gym Getty Boxing clever Justin Trudeau visits Paul Brown Boxfit boxing gym Getty Images Loved up Justin Trudeau shares a moment with his wife Sophie Gregoire Reuters Triumphant Arriving to give his victory speech Reuters Star Wars Playing with son Hadrien while watching the election results with his wife Sophie Gregoire AP Sweet Justin Trudeau kisses his son, Hadrien AP Official duties Justin Trudeau leaves a polling station with his wife, Sophie Gregoire, and children AP Dad duties Liberal leader Justin Trudeau carries his son Hadrien after voting in Montreal Reuters Clowning around With campaign team members Tommy Desfosses, left, and Adam Scotti after landing in Montreal Reuters Liberal guy Walking on the tarmac in front of his campaign plane Reuters Young fans AP

Last week, Canada's Senate also passed a bill that will make the country's national anthem gender-neutral.

Instead of saying "in all they sons command", it would be changed to "in all of us command".

'Our sons can change sexism'

In an essay for Marie Claire in September 2017, he wrote: "Gender equality is not only an issue for women and girls. All of us benefit when women and girls have the same opportunities as men and boysand its on all of us to make that a reality.

Watch Canadian PM Justin Trudeau left hanging by Prince George after going for a high-five

"Our sons have the power and the responsibility to change our culture of sexism, and I want [my sons] Xavier and Hadrienwhen hes a little olderto understand that deeply."

Women at work

Trudeau has been criticised for failing to address Canada's gender pay gap that saw women earning 87 cents for every dollar earned by a man in 2015.

However at Davos, Switzerland, this January the premier summed up Canada's steps towards equality and championed the MeToo movement.

MeToo, TimesUp, the Womens March, these movements tell us that we need to have a critical discussion on womens rights, equality and power dynamics of gender, said Trudeau.

Justin Trudeau with Angela Merkel at Davos in January / AP

"Sexual harassment for example, in business and in government, is a systemic problem and it is unacceptable. As leaders we need to recognise and to act to show that truly time is up," he said.

The premier added that there should be more gender-balanced boards and spoke about policies in Canada that have helped women, such as enhanced child benefits and improved parental leave options.

He also repeated his promise that pay equity laws would be brought in this year.

Murdered and missing women

It hasn't all been rosy. Trudeau has drawn fire after his government's inquiry into Canada's missing and murdered indigenous women - as many as 4,000 over three decades - was hit by delays.
B ritish nationals seeking to retain their EU citizenship rights after Brexit will have their case heard in the European Court of Justice.

Five British nationals settled in the Netherlands went to the court in a bid to keep their EU citizenship rights after Britain exits the bloc in March 2019.

A Dutch judge has referred the landmark case to the ECJ, which could prove have implications for a million Britons living in other EU countries.

If the ECJ makes a ruling on the case, it may guarantee post-Brexit rights including freedom of movement.

And campaigners have suggested that the case could also protect the EU citizenship of UK residents born before Brexit.

Brexit: Article 50 Triggered - In pictures 1 /20 Brexit: Article 50 Triggered - In pictures Britain's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow delivers British Prime Minister Theresa May's formal notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels AFP/Getty Images Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Common PA Britain's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow delivers British Prime Minister Theresa May's formal notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to European Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels AFP/Getty Images European Council President Donald Tusk holds a news conference after receiving British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit letter in notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to EU Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium Yves Herman/Reuters Prime Minister Theresa May takes her seat after announcing in the House of Commons PA The time 12:20pm shows on Big Ben on March 29, 2017 in London, England. The British Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the Houses of Parliament as Article 50 is triggered and the process that will take the United Kingdom out of the European Union begins Carl Court/Getty Images D-day: pro-EU protesters outside of the Houses of Parliament today as Theresa May prepares to trigger Article 50 AFP/Getty Images EU Council President Donald Tusk holds British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit letter which was delivered by Britain's permanent representative to the European Union Tim Barrow (not pictured) that gives notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty in Brussels, Belgium Yves Herman/Reuters PMQ's in The House of Commons PA Jeremy Corbyn speaking at PMQ's in The House of Commons Sky News Theresa May leaving for the House of Commons Jeremy Selwyn Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at the headquarters of Vivendi in Paris where he took part in TV interviews to discuss the imminent triggering of Article 50 by the UK to leave the EU Stefan Rousseau/PA Britain's permanent representative to the European Union Tim Barrow arrives at the EU Council headquarters for as meeting before hand delivering British Prime Minister Theresa May's notice of the UK's intention to leave the bloc under Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to EU Council President Donald Tusk in Brussels, Belgium Yves Herman/Reuters Britain's ambassador to the EU Tim Barrow arrives at the British representation of the European Union in Brussels Aurore Belot/AFP/Getty Images A giant headed Theresa May in Parliament Square, London during a protest by Avaaz after PM signed a letter to trigger Article 50 that starts the formal exit process by the UK from the European Union David Mirzoeff/PA British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson walks down Whitehall Jack Taylor/Getty Images Britain's PM Theresa May signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, invoking Article 50. AFP/Getty Images

The judge in Amsterdam said in a written ruling: "There has to be more clarity about the consequences of Brexit for EU citizenship.

Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm, the lawyer who represented the Britons in the Amsterdam court, said: "Theresa May famously said 'Brexit means Brexit', but the Brits currently living on the continent have no idea what that means for them.

"Are you an EU citizen for life, or can your citizenship be taken away from you? That is the fundamental question that will be put forward to the European Court."

British national Stephen Huyton, who has lived in the Netherlands for 24 years, said he was delighted with the decision.

"However, this is but the first step to clarity about what Brexit means for our EU citizenship," he said.

Leading barrister Jolyon Maugham QC, who supported the Netherlands case, said the decision of the ECJ - also known as the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) - could even have implications for British nationals in the UK.

"The case - if determined by the CJEU in our favour - could lead not only to the retention of EU citizenship for UK residents living in the EU," he said.

"It could lead to all born before Brexit - even if living here in the UK - retaining the boon of EU citizenship."

The issues referred to the ECJ are whether Brexit automatically leads to the loss of the EU citizenship and its associated rights and, if it does not, whether conditions or restrictions should be imposed on those rights.
D onald Trump is demanding a parade in Washington to show off Americas military might.

The Pentagon was today reviewing potential dates as Democrats criticised the idea as more suitable for a dictator than the US commander-in-chief.

The president reportedly asked his generals to organise a parade after being impressed by Frances Bastille Day spectacular during a visit to Paris last July.

It was one of the greatest parades Ive ever seen, he said at the time. Were going to have to try and top it.

Donald Trump admired the parade he saw when visiting Emmanuel Macron / AP

But Jackie Speier, a Democrat on the House armed services committee, told CNN: I was stunned ... we have a Napoleon in the making here.

Military parades in Washington DC have only been used to mark victory at the end of conflicts and they are rare in most Western countries. North Korea is planning to show off dozens of long-range missiles at one tomorrow.

The president was inspired by France's Bastille Day celebrations / Getty Images

Last May Russia held a huge Victory Day parade and flypast with ballistic missiles, tanks and 10,000 troops. Confirming the idea, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: President Trump is incredibly supportive of Americas great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.

But Democratic congressman Jim McGovern tweeted What an absurd waste of money! Trump acts more like dictator than president. The Twitter account of DCs Democrat-controlled council quipped: Tanks but No Tanks! Lt-Gen Mark Hertling, a retired former commander of the US army in Europe, said: I dont know a whole lot of soldiers who like them.

Mr Trump told Pentagon top brass about the idea at a meeting last month, the Washington Post reported yesterday. A military official was quoted saying: The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France.
T he Falcon Heavy rocket overshot its planned orbit around Mars and instead zoomed through space towards the Asteroid Belt at incredible speed, Elon Musk has revealed.

The impressive SpaceX rocket became the most powerful one ever to leave Earth when its gigantic engines shot it into space along with a mannequin in a sports car on Tuesday.

Billionaire entrepreneur Mr Musk transfixed earthlings with the successful launch of his magnificent spacecraft but now admits it has since unexpectedly taken something of a wrong turn.

Mr Musk, 46, described the mission as silly and fun as he said he hoped the incredible show of the power of space travel would get people excited around the world.

The business magnate, who runs the private rocket company Space X, said that before lift-off in Florida he had half-expected disaster.

SpaceX Falcon launch - In pictures 1 /14 SpaceX Falcon launch - In pictures SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral AP SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket climbs towards space Reuters Incredible footage shows the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket passing Earth AP SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk Getty Images SpaceX's gigantic Falcon Heavy rocket successfully blasted off from its launch pad SpaceX SpaceX livestream video shows "Starman" sitting in SpaceX CEO Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster after the Falcon Heavy rocket delivered it into orbit around the Earth Incredible footage shows the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in orbit AFP/Getty Images Printed on the circuit board of a car in deep space Incredible footage shows the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in orbit AP SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral AP The crowd cheers at Playalinda Beach in the Canaveral National Seashore, just north of the Kennedy Space Center, during the successful launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket AP Visitors have staked out spots near to the fishing pier at Jetty Park to watch the rocket launch Reuters SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral AP A red Tesla Roadster is seen during preparations to use it as a mock payload for the launch of a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket in Cape Canaveral, Florida REUTERS

I had this image of a giant explosion on the pad, a wheel bouncing down the road, the Tesla logo landing somewhere, Mr Musk said.

He has plenty of experience with rocket accidents, from his original Falcon 1 test flights to his follow-up Falcon 9s, one of which exploded on a nearby pad during an ignition test in 2016.

He said: Ive seen rockets blow up so many different ways, so yeah, its a great relief when it actually works.

Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy rocket launches off / AP

However, apart from one of the three booster rockets failing to land, as planned, the launch itself from the Kennedy Space Centre went like clockwork.

The $100,000 car is the first wheeled vehicle in space apart from moon buggies.

A space-suited mannequin was at the wheel, named Starman after the David Bowie song. A sign on the dashboard repeated the Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy mantra Dont panic! while Bowies Life On Mars? plays on a loop on the radio. One of the circuit boards on the car has the message Made on Earth by humans.

Stunning footage of the launch showed the rocket blast off as its monstrous engines roared during take-off at 3.45pm EST (8.45 UK time).

Before revealing the rocket exceeded the planned orbit, Mr Musk said the rocket was due to go into a huge oval orbit around the Sun that will take it close to Mars in about six months time before heading back towards Earth.

He added that it could be shuttling between Earth and Mars for a billion years.

The South Africa-born billionaire, who founded Tesla and the PayPal payment system, added: Maybe discovered by some future alien race, thinking, What were you guys doing? Did they worship this car? Why did they have a little car? It will really confuse them.

New SpaceX rocket roars into life
A young girl's hair was chopped off by her father and stepmother after she had highlights put in for her birthday, it has been claimed.

Christin Johnson claimed her daughter's hair was cut off when she returned home after she took her to a salon for a birthday treat.

In a Facebook post, which has gone viral since being posted online, Ms Johnson suggested her daughter's hair had been cut short as a form of punishment on January31.

"This is what my daughter looked like Sunday when I took her home and the other two pics is what happened today before she was brought to me... all over me having highlights put in her hair for her birthday!", she posted.

Fox8 Cleveland reported that two volunteer firefighters in Ohio were now being investigated after the alleged incident.

Police in the town of Haskins are investigating a potential child abuse complaint, the website reported.

Colby Carroll, Haskins Police Chief, said: "I've been doing this since '92 and I've never had a case I would say that's like this.
J apan's Princess Mako's wedding to her university sweetheart has been postponed until 2020, sparking speculation it is because of her fiance's family's financial situation.

Mako, the 26-year-old granddaughter of Emperor Akihito, said in a statement the delay was because she and her fiance were not prepared enough.

"We have come to realise the lack of time to make sufficient preparations for various events leading up to our marriage this autumn and our life afterward," Mako wrote. "We believe that we have rushed various things too much."

The surprise announcement comes just one month before Mako and Kei Komuro, a commoner, were due to formalise their engagement in a ceremony in March.

Princess Mako, 26, said she needed more time to prepare for married life / AP

Mako and Komuro, who she met at the International Christian University five years ago, announced their engagement last September and were due to wed in November.

An official within the imperial household agency, Takaharu Kachi, told reporters it was not linked to tabloid reports about a dispute between Komuro's mother and her ex-partner over money she borrowed.

In January, Japan's two largest weeklies reported claims that an ex-fiance of Komuro's widowed mother broke off the engagement after she kept asking him for cash.

The four million yen (26,350), which was reportedly never repaid, was partly spent on her son's tuition fees at a US university.

According to the Shukan Shincho weekly, the Komuros claimed however that they thought the money was a gift.

Announcing the delay, the imperial household cited "a series of important ceremonies next year," referring to the planned handover of the Chrysanthemum Throne. No fresh date for the nuptials was given.

Mako is Emperor Akihito's oldest grandchild. The 84-year-old emperor is to abdicate on April 30, 2019, with Crown Prince Naruhito taking the throne the next day.

She said: "I wish to think about marriage more deeply and concretely and give sufficient time to prepare our marriage and for after the marriage."

She added that Akihito and Empress Michiko have expressed respect for the couple's decision.

The palace requested 150 million yen ($1.4 million) as part of its fiscal 2018 budget to cover the costs of the wedding and the process of starting Mako's life outside the royal family.

Under ancient imperial household law, female members cannot accede to the throne and lose their royal status when they marry a commoner.

Many in the socially conservative country are concerned for the future of the Japanese royal family because of its dwindling membership.

There are only three male heirs to the throne and six unmarried princesses besides Mako, who would all lose their royal status if they married non-nobles - leaving them unable to perform public duties.

However, a government panel has avoided the divisive issue.
A great cabin suitcase can make all the difference when it comes to easy travelling.

The ideal suitcase is different for all of us. Those who love to cram in everything and the kitchen sink for a holiday, as well as leaving a bit of room for new souvenirs, should go for a soft shell case for extra flexibility, while if youre a light packer and want to make sure all your items are as protected as can be, a hard shell suitcase might be a better choice.

Then theres the considerations of whats inside the suitcase too. Do you need a hidden laundry bag, a USB port to charge your gadgets or a padded laptop compartment? Is a TSA-approved lock an essential? And do you like to have different compartments to keep your items separate?

Weve gone on the hunt for some of the best cabin bags and carry-on suitcases, whether youre looking for a no-nonsense, affordable option or want to spend a bit more on something really exceptional with all the travel trimmings. Weve also made sure these suitcases fit the restrictions of mainstream airlines, so youll never get the dreaded memo at the boarding gate that you have to check yours into the hold.

Weve included choices that are perfect for business trips, summer jaunts abroad and even some Instagram worthy options.

We considered how easy the suitcases were to wheel around, what special features they had and just how much we could squeeze into them. From smart business options to fun suitcase scooters, and from suitcases costing just 30 to those costing 300, weve got you covered no matter what your style or budget.

Knomo Park Lane 4-Wheel Carry On

Best for: The smart option for business or leisure travel

Weve long been fans of the smart, stylish and intuitive travel gear from British accessories brand Knomo, and the gorgeous Park Lane carry-on is no different.

The protective front pockets are perfect for carrying business essentials such as laptops and tablets, while the inside is deceptively roomy to squeeze in plenty of clothes and has lots more pockets too for secure organisation.

Made from splash-resistant nylon, the case doesnt just look great but has lots of useful details, from an RFID blocking pocket to a zipped section to hide and protect the handle when youre not using it. Theres even a unique Knomo ID code so that you can help track down your case should it ever get lost.

299 | Knomo | Buy it now

View on Amazon here

Away The Carry-On Suitcase

Best for: Seriously stylish travel

Beloved of all the cool kids, from fashion editors to Instagram influencers, luggage brand Away has stolen the hearts of travellers with its stylish products and genuinely useful features.

The brand has suitcases in four sizes and in a whole range of colours, from neutral to bold. The carry-on option, made with a durable polycarbonate shell, is small enough to fit into any overhead locker, but it packs a huge range of features into its modest size: 360-degree spinner wheels, a TSA-approved lock, an inner compression system to pack your things as tightly as possible and even a hidden laundry bag.

Best of all, though, is the ejectable battery that pops in and out of a neatly concealed port so you can charge your phone on the go. Were huge fans and want to buy the whole collection.

225 | Away | Buy it now

Away The Backpack

Best for: Handsfree travel

If you love to travel light, a backpack is a great option, and there are few backpacks in the world we love as much as this one, also from Away.

The backpack is designed to have a simple, streamlined look, but despite its unfussy appearance, its deceptively roomy and packs in all you need for a trip abroad. There are several compartments: the main one is perfect for storing clothes, shoes and bulkier items, the front pockets are great for magazines and notebooks, and a hidden laptop pocket is ideal for gadgets of up to 15.

There are also plenty of other hidden pockets to store items such as passports, wallets or keys securely. Most importantly, its incredibly comfortable to carry even when full to the brim, and its got a strap to easily slot onto any cabin bag handle, giving it top marks for convenience.

195 | Away | Buy it now

Revolve Suitcase by Thule

Best for: Travelling in style

Thule's Revolve suitcase certainly deserves its own wolf whistlethe monochrome design and angular facade is one of the best looking options we've seenbut it's the sturdy polycarbonate body and lightweight frame that make it a worthy investment option.

The impact-resistant shell shields against the hard hits and bumps, and the slightly larger back wheels tackle stairs better than mostthis also means your front wheels won't bear the brunt of any overzealous travel which will help ensure a reliable glide for the indefinite future.

This is one polished piece where performance and beauty successfully convene.

349 | Harrods | Buy it now

Snugpak Roller Kitmonster Carry On 35L G2

Best for: A sporty, waterproof option

If youre an adventurous type who needs your luggage to be flexible, compact and to withstand all weather types, go for the roller kitmonster carry-on from outdoor equipment brand Snugpak.

Available in three different colours, this is a cool, sporty option that will last you for years no matter what you put it through.

Made of durable, waterproof tarpaulin fabric, the lightweight carry-on has 35 litres of storage space and plenty of useful pockets for keeping items separate, including a mesh lid pocket organiser.

Once youre finished with it, it folds into itself and is incredibly light, a good option for those who dont have a lot of storage space and who cant find anywhere to hide a more bulky hard shell suitcase. The wheels only roll one way, but its a smooth ride with this cool case.

84.95 | Snugpak | Buy it now

Samsonite Lite-Box Spinner

Best for: Ultra-reliable and light protection

The luggage pros at Samsonite can always be trusted to create durable, protective and stylish kit, and this lite-box spinner is no different.

Available in four colours, this case is extremely sturdy and hardwearing, surprisingly flexible to help you fit in as much as possible and incredibly light so theres no fear of going over that luggage allowance.

Two zip-up fabric inner compartments have straps to help you organise clothing efficiently, and theres a TSA-approved lock too.

Naturally, its also got splendid wheels to help you glide through the airport with ease. We loved the cool vertical design and outer corner protections to withstand rough treatment from baggage handlers and turbulence, and were seriously impressed with the cases lightness.

369 | Samsonite | Buy it now

Rock Hybrid Small

Best for: Hybrid luggage

If you cant decide between luggage with a hard or soft shell, weve got the perfect solution for you: the genius hybrid luggage from family-run British brand Rock Luggage.

Available in four different colours, the handy suitcase is a great choice as it gives you the protection of a hard shell at the bottom, with the flexibility of cramming in a bit more thanks to the soft shell at the top.

The case has plenty of nifty compartments, including a laptop section with padding and a safety strap to keep your prized gadgets safe. The zips are really strong and withstood a world of overpacking, theres a TSA-approved lock and eight excellent spinner wheels and its got a 15-year warranty for your peace of mind too.

149 | Rock Luggage | Buy it now

199 for a 3 piece set on Amazon here

HB London Personalised Suitcase

Best for: Personalised gifts in a wide range of colours

Personalisation has never been so popular, and if youre looking for a monogrammed gift - for a friend, or indeed for yourself - this is the place to look.

Personalised accessories brand HB London has an enormous selection of prints and colours available in four different suitcase sizes, from on-trend animal prints and skull designs to bold block colours and glitter effect designs.

On each suitcase, you can get your initials in bold print: our top pick had to be the black snakeskin design for an option thats seriously in vogue.

Despite the affordability of the suitcase, it feels much more expensive than it is, with a tough, glossy outer shell, eight swivel wheels allowing for easy rolling, a TSA-approved lock, two handles and smart inner compartments that connect to the sides with super-satisfying clicks, helping you compress clothes and store smaller accessories.

135 | HB London | Buy it now

AmazonBasics Softside Spinner Luggage, 21-inch Carry-on

Best for: Affordability

Retail giant Amazon can always be trusted for a huge range of products at great prices, and this softside spinner luggage is no different.

Costing a fraction of the price of many other cases on this list, this is a really great value no-nonsense carry-on thats good quality and reliable.

Available either in black or navy blue, and in four sizes, the case has multidirectional wheels for easy whizzing through the airport, while the soft side design allows for easy storage when youre not using it, and for extra cramming and overpacking when you are.

Its expandable so you can pack 25 per cent extra if you end up doing too much shopping on your holiday, and inside, there are nifty pockets for useful organisation and straps to keep your clothes compressed.

This is a fantastic value option, and you can even buy a matching three-piece set for less than 100. Be aware that with the lower price, theres no TSA-approved lock, though this can be bought separately if needed.

30.82 | Amazon | Buy it now

Kitkase Flamingo Pink 20" USB Travelcase

Best for: Affordable fun with a USB option

Holidays are the best time of the year, and you can get the fun started early by packing with one of the cute suitcases from luggage brand Kitkase.

There are loads of options to pick from, from rainbow pride bags to football-branded suitcases, but our top pick had to be the bold flamingo case in millennial pink.

Not just fun outside, the inside of the case continues the theme with a cute green and pink flamingo print on the inside, plenty of nifty pockets for accessories and shoes, and straps to keep everything tight.

Its also got a TSA-approved lock, a branded dust bag and a USB charging port with an internal pocket for a battery pack. While the battery pack is not included, the affordability of this case compared to other USB options makes it a great option if youre looking for on-the-go charging.

59.99 | Kitkase | Buy it now

Pro-Idee Suitcase Scooter

Best for: A novel idea

While wed always recommend going with a suitcase you find easy to wheel, its hard to think of a suitcase thats more fun to transport than this suitcase scooter from cool concept store Pro-Idee.

The suitcase itself is spacious and useful, with lots of room to store clothes and shoes, and a padded central laptop compartment also acting as a useful divider.

However, where this case really stands out is when it comes to its attached scooter, which makes travelling, whether to work or to your holiday, so much more exciting. The suitcase arrives already built with a handy manual teaching you how to use it safely.

Its really simple to use, with satisfying clicks helping you know youre doing it properly. Its a bit heavier than the other cases on the list, but its more than worth it for the genius scooter, which makes travelling a breeze. Youll be the envy of everyone in the airport as you scoot past on the way to the boarding gate.

Horizn Studios M5 Vegan Blue Vega Cabin Luggage

Best for: Vegan travellers

For a high quality vegan-friendly suitcase, we loved the Blue Vega cabin luggage from smart travel brand Horizn Studios, which has a great range of cabin luggage in on-trend pastel hues.

The stylish case is certainly on the pricey end but it comes with plenty of great features, including an inbuilt compress pad and premium laundry bag, a water-resistant front pocket for laptops and travel essentials, and a one-click removable smart charger thats seriously satisfying to use.

The hard shell is made of durable German polycarbonate to withstand even the most aggressive baggage handlers, the 360-degree Japanese wheels are super-easy to drag along with you, and the front pocket is made of waterproof nylon. Best of all, its all 100 per cent vegan for ethical travel.

320 | Horizn Studios | Buy it now

Lulu Guinness Red Hard-Sided Lips Small Spinner Case

Best for: A fashion statement

Fashionistas will adore this eye-catching red suitcase from British fashion brand Lulu Guinness. With a bright, high gloss hard shell depicting the designers signature red lips, its certain to turn heads as you wait in the easyJet queue at Gatwick.

The case is durable and hardwearing as well as being on-trend, and inside, youll also find more recognisable Lulu Guinness twists, such as the black and white striped fabric.

There are two large and two small zip-up compartments for you to easily keep your things organised as well as three drawstring accessories bags included for packing, and the wheels roll like a dream. It also comes with a TSA-approved high shine padlock to keep all your stuff safe.

225 | Lulu Guinness | Buy it now

Verdict:
F rasiers Kelsey Grammer has paid tribute to his late co-star John Mahoney, who has died at the 77.

The screen and voice actor received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of Frasier Cranes father, Martin, in the sitcom.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Grammar said: He was my father. I loved him.

Janes Leeves, who played Daphne Moon on the show, described her fellow English actor as the dearest sweetest man I have ever known.

Frasier star John Mahoney dies aged 77

She told TheWrap.com: His wicked sense of humour, usually whispered in your ear or spoken just loud enough that only you could hear could bring you to tears. And his smile. Oh my god. He was lit from within.

How lucky I am to have had him in my life. I loved him so much and will miss him so terribly.

A spokesperson for Mahoney confirmed that the veteran actor had passed away in Chicago on Sunday following his time in hospice care for a short illness.

A family statement is set to be realised in the coming days.

The actor reportedly battled cancer multiple times, however, he highlighted that he would not let his health get in the way of his work.

At the time he said: "I refused to yield to it because I love what Im doing so much.

"And I refuse to sit at home and feel sorry for myself. Instead, I just want to get out there and do another job."

Grammer, 62 and Mahoney worked together from 1993 until 2004.
S he is 6ft 2ins and became a household name after appearing in The Night Manager. But Elizabeth Debicki has a simple tactic for going incognito on the train.

If I put a bit of lippy on before I jumped on the Tube, I would get [recognised by] maybe one or two people, the Australian actress, 27, told ES Magazine.

But if I look like death warmed up on my way to rehearsal or something, nobody would blink. So basically: just dont wear lipstick. Which I dont.

Debicki had her big break in 2013s The Great Gatsby playing Jordan Baker, before landing the role of Jed in The Night Manager, the BBC adaptation of John le Carres spy thriller.

Her blockbuster roles include the villainous Ayesha in Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 2.

Rising star: Elizabeth Debicki posing for this week's ES Magazine

Of fame, she said: I think it can happen to people who it doesnt suit and I think that there are some people who it really does suit: it feeds their art and it feeds the platform they want to work on and all that. And I think that thats a really positive thing. For them.

Debickis star is set to rise further with appearances in Steve McQueens heist thriller Widows and Vita & Virginia, directed by Chanya Button, about the affair between Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf.

The Night Manager: US Premiere 1 /7 The Night Manager: US Premiere Tom Hiddleston poses at the launch Rex Olivia Coleman, Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Debicki and Hugh Laurie Jesse Grant/Getty Images Elizabeth Debicki at The Night Manager opening Rex Features The Night Manager villian Hugh Laurie Rex Tom Hiddleston grins for the cameras Rex Olivia Colman Rex Jacqueline Bisset Rex

She saw the latter film as pretty revolutionary because she got to play this woman, in a story thats about her relationship with another woman, thats being directed by a woman, and produced by a woman.

On the sexism debate, she said: Just hire women to make, direct and produce your films.

Make them about womens stories. If the people who are holding the power do not believe in women, were never going to be given stories where womens voices are heard.
K hloe Kardashian has sparked speculation that she is expecting a baby girl after throwing an all-pink dinner party.

Kardashian, who is pregnant with her first child with Tristan Thompson, posted photos on her Snapchat story showing her very pink table layout.

The 33-year-olds sister Kourtney also shared similar snaps on her own Snapchat account.

Fans were quick to pick up on the possible clues, with one writing: @khloekardashian had a weekly dinner party at her house with a lot of pink decor on the table and her nails are a baby pink.. hmm my FBI skills are telling me thats a hint thats shes having a girl.

Pink for a girl? Fans were speculating after the Kardashian shared these snaps / Snapchat / Khloe Kardashian

Dinner party: The pregnant reality star hosted an all-pink dinner party (Snapchat / Khloe Kardashian) / Snapchat / Khloe Kardashian

While another said: @khloekardashian I open this pink your posting means youre having a girl! That would be so amazing if you have a little girl and Stormi and Chicago all get to grow up together being so close in age! Either way Im so happy for you and @RealTristan13!

Okay guys, is @khloekardashian also having a girl? All pink diner party? asked a third.

The speculation comes just days after the Kardashian-Jenner clan welcomed another baby into the family, with Kylie Jenner giving birth to Stormi Webster.

The 20-year-old kept her pregnancy away from the spotlight and revealed the arrival of her healthy baby with rapper Travis Scott in a sweet YouTube video last weekend.

In an accompanying post, Jenner wrote: "I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark through all the assumptions. I understand you're used to me bringing you along on all my journeys.

"My pregnancy was one I chose not to do in front of the world. I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress free, and healthy way I knew how."

The 11-minute clip showed fans a glimpse into her pregnancy and included shots with her whole family, including her pregnant sister Khloe and newborn niece Chicago West.
T ravis Scott pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct just a month before welcoming a baby with Kylie Jenner.

The American rapper, real name Jacques Webster, was arrested last year after he encouraged fans to storm on stage at a concert.

According to reports, one member of security and a police officer were both injured during the incident at Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion.

Webster was subsequently charged with inciting a riot, disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of a minor.

On-stage: The rapper encouraged fans to storm onto the stage / Joel Ryan/Invision/AP

Lawyer Doug Norwood told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that, while the rapper pleaded guilty to the charge of disorderly conduct, the other two charges had been dismissed.

Norwood said that he also expects the charge of disorderly conduct to be erased from the 25-year-olds record.

Norwood told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette: They overcharged him. They tried to get him for inciting a riot. The video did not show any of that.

A spokesperson for the Rogers Police Department said at the time Webster encouraged people to join the stage and bypass security.

Kylie Jenner announces birth of her daughter

The spokesperson added: During the rush to the stage several people were injured, including an employee from the security company hired to help monitor and control the crowd, and a member of the police department.

On Sunday, Jenner, 20, and Webster welcomed the birth of their baby girl, taking to social media to share the news.

The Twitter post saw Jenner apologise for keeping her fans in the dark through all the assumptions.

The star wrote: Im sorry for keeping you in the dark through all the assumptions. I understand youre used to me bringing you along on all journeys.

Kylie Jenner - In pictures 1 /49 Kylie Jenner - In pictures REUTERS Andy Kropa/Invision/AP AP Getty Images Calvin Klein Kylie Jenner/YouTube Kylie Jenner and Khloe Kardashian share their pregnancy baby bumps on Instagram Khloe Kardashian/Instagram Kylie Jenner/Instagram Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner at The Costume Institute Benefit in 2017 Rex Kylie Jenner on Snapchat Kylie Jenner/Snapchat Kylie Jenner's Met Gala 2017 bathroom selfie @kylejenner Kylie Jenner and Donatella Versace at the Met Gala 2017 Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Kylie Jenner attends the 'Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between' Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2017 Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Kylie Jenner attends the Jeremy Scott collection during New York Fashion Week: The Shows in 2017 Getty Images Tyga, Kylie Jenner, Madonna and Steven Klein attend the Front Row for the Philipp Plein Fall/Winter 2017/2018 Women's And Men's Fashion Show at The New York Public Library in 2017 Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Travis Scott and Kylie Jenner at Houston Rockets Game in April 2017 Rex Kylie Jenner attends Marie Claire's Image Maker Awards 2017 Getty Images Kylie Jenner arrives at Sugar Factory American Brasserie at the Fashion Show in 2017 Getty Images Double take: Kylie Jenner unveils her new wax figure at Madame Tussauds Hollywood in 2017 Vivien Killilea/Getty Images Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner pose during the Universal, NBC, Focus Features, E! Entertainment Golden Globes After Party in 2017 Getty Images Kylie Jenner and Kendall Jenner pose during the Universal, NBC, Focus Features, E! Entertainment Golden Globes After Party in 2017 Getty Images Tyga and Kylie Jenner attend the Front Row for the Philipp Plein Fall/Winter 2017/2018 Women's And Men's Fashion Show in 2017 Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Kylie Jenner attends The 2016 InStyle And Warner Bros. 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards Post-Party Getty Images Kylie Jenner hosts Sugar Factory Orlando grand opening in 2016 Getty Images Kylie Jenner hosts Sugar Factory Orlando grand opening in 2016 Getty Images Kylie Jenner Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute Benefit in 2016 Rex Kylie Jenner attends Prabal Gurung Spring 2016 during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at The Arc Getty Images Tyga and Kylie Jenner attend the Kanye West Yeezy Season 4 fashion show in 2016 Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Tyga, Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian and Carine Roitfeld attend the Kanye West Yeezy Season 4 fashion show in 2016 Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images Kylie Jenner attends REVOLVE Desert House in 2016 Ari Perilstein/Getty Images Kylie Jenner used the service to book a $1,295-a-night penthouse for New York Fashion Week Kris Jenner and Kylie Jenner attend the premeire of 'The Gallows' at Hollywood High School in 2015 David Buchan/Getty Images Kendall Jenner, Khloe Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner attend GQ and Giorgio Armani Grammys 2015 After Party Rachel Murray/Getty Images Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner attend the 2015 NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment Upfront event Robin Marchant/Getty Images Gigi Hadid with Kylie Jenner speak during the 2015 American Music Awards Kevin Winter/Getty Images Kylie Jenner attending the MTV European Music Awards 2015 PA Kylie Jenner attends the BALMAIN X H&M Collection Launch in 2015 Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images Kylie Jenner at 18th birthday party in 2015 Rex Kylie Jenner at 18th birthday party in 2015 Splash News Kylie Jenner Kylie Jenner/Instagram Kylie Jenner attends The 2015 ESPYS Jason Merritt/Getty Images Kylie Jenner attends the 2014 Billboard Music Awards Getty Images Kylie Jenner attends the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards Picture: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner speak onstage at the 2014 American Music Awards Kevin Winter/Getty Images Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner wearing Badgley Mischka on the runway during The Heart Truth 2013 Fashion Show Getty Images for Heart Truth Lamar Jr., Lamar Odom, daughter Destiny, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner and Kourtney Kardashian arrive at the 2011 Teen Choice Awards Jason Merritt/Getty Images Kylie Jenner, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian arrive at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner throw a Pre-Halloween party in 2009 Startraks Photo/Rex Robert Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Khloe Kardashian arrive at the KIIS-FM's 2008 Wango Tango concert Getty Images

My pregnancy was one I chose not to do in front of the world. I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress free and healthy way I knew how.

There was no gotcha moment, no big paid reveal I had planned. I knew my baby would feel stress and every emotion so I chose to do it this way for my little life and our happiness.
ans were left surprised by Natalie Imbruglia 's "youthful" appearance during an interview on Lorraine.

Imbruglia, 43, who rose to fame in the 1990s with smash hit Torn, left ITV viewers stunned with her seemingly ageless looks on Wednesday's show.

Writing on Twitter, one fan gasped: How do we find out what eye cream Natalie Imbruglia uses, because I would like to look as ageless as her at 43.

While another said: Wow, @natimbruglia doesnt age! She looks amazing #Lorraine.

My god. Natalie Imbruglia is on Lorraine right now doing her best Peter Pan impression. SHE. HASNT. AGED. A. DAY, posted a third.

The Australian-born star revealed her path into the music industry actually came after she struggled to find work in the UK as an actress.

She explained: 'I couldn't get a work permit and was struggling to work as an actress [in the UK],' she shared. 'Then I met my then manager Anne Barrett and she put me in touch with songwriters.

I was so scared and really nervous about failing but with my financial situation, I didnt want to go home with my tail between my legs.
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The US Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), a key nuclear-strategy document that was issued on February 2nd by US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, seems to have benefited from last-minute changes that had been made to it. But its still extremely dangerous for the entire world, as will be fully explained here.

One key issue on which a change was made was whether the US would lower the threshold for introducing nuclear weapons into a conflict.

Princeton scholar Bruce Blair somehow saw an earlier draft of the NPR, and he headlined, in the normally neoconservative  but not this time; instead they published his warning against Trumps going too far into neoconservatism  Washington Post, on January 13th, headlined A new Trump administration plan makes nuclear war likelier; and Blair managed to report, in that neoconservative medium, that the then-draft NPR included the passage:

The United States would only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States, its allies, and partners. Extreme circumstances could include significant non-nuclear strategic attacks. Significant non-nuclear strategic attacks include, but are not limited to, attacks on the US, allied, or partner civilian population or infrastructure.

Blair criticized this:

Alarmingly, the wizards have uprooted the nuclear taboo and deluded themselves into believing that nuclear weapons are far more usable than previous presidents held. In a single ill-conceived stroke, they have expressed a readiness to go nuclear first in a conflict with Russia or others that had not yet crossed the nuclear Rubicon. This is needless because the United States possesses ample conventional strength to repulse Russian aggression, and reckless because all it accomplishes is increasing the risk of blundering into a nuclear war.

The tech-journalist Jessica Conditt, on January 31st, two days prior to the NPRs public release, picked up on Professor Blairs article (without noting, however, where she had obtained her information on it) and wrote:

The draft takes its cue from the 2010 NPR when it says, copied verbatim, "The United States would only consider the use of nuclear weapons in extreme circumstances to defend the vital interests of the United States, its allies, and partners." However, the updated [she doesnt indicate that this was updated as of January 13th] version expands the definition of such events: "Extreme circumstances could include significant non-nuclear strategic attacks. Significant non-nuclear strategic attacks include, but are not limited to, attacks on the US, allied, or partner civilian population or infrastructure."

Essentially, the draft opens the door for the US to respond to a devastating cyberattack with a nuclear strike. Perhaps a low-yield strike, even. Previously, the US has been averse to a first-use scenario, pledging to launch nuclear weapons only if the country were directly targeted by other nukes.

"It's actually incredibly alarming that the Trump administration is putting forth the idea that we could use nuclear weapons in response to a cyberattack," Alexandra Bell of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation told National Public Radio on Monday [January 28th] [and National Public Radio likewise had not indicated that the January 13th WP article was their source]. "The Trump plan actually puts multiple options on the table  nuclear weapon in response to a chemical attack, to a biological weapons attack, to an attack on civilians without a real description of where that threshold is and really widens the options for President Trump to use nuclear weapons."

None of these conditions appeared in the final document, which instead said nothing about any of them.

In particular, the specifically quoted passage, which so alarmed these people:

Extreme circumstances could include significant non-nuclear strategic attacks. Significant non-nuclear strategic attacks include, but are not limited to, attacks on the US, allied, or partner civilian population or infrastructure.

does not appear in the final document that was published on February 2nd.

Furthermore, other seemingly moderating changes appear to have been made. Back on January 9th, Britains Guardian had headlined US to loosen nuclear weapons constraints and develop more 'usable' warheads and reported that The new nuclear policy is significantly more hawkish that [meaning than] the posture adopted by the Obama administration, which sought to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in US defence, and that, Arms control advocates have voiced alarm at the new proposal to make smaller, more 'usable' nuclear weapons, arguing it makes a nuclear war more likely.

Clearly, the initial recommendations from Trumps Defense Secretary Mattis, who shapes Trumps military views, have been somewhat softened  made less stupid  due to intensive criticisms in the press against them; and this fact indicates that Trump isnt totally ignoring the opposition (i.e., Democratic Party) press, and that sometimes the billionaires who control the opposition Party and its media, can get through to him, via their media.

However, the final Trump-Mattis document is still extremely incoherent, self-contradictory, and does leave open the possibility that the types of extreme danger to the worlds security that worried these critics of the draft, will become instituted in actual practice by Mattis-Trump. He/they merely removed the explicit statements of the conditions in which the US would initiate a nuclear war. Trump-Mattis just reverted to Obama.

The big problem in the document (and which no one has pointed out) is that it (like all its predecessors) ignores the basic issue regarding nuclear weapons, which is: that there is no such thing as a nuclear weapon which isnt a strategic weapon; any nuke, no matter how small, is a strategic nuclear weapon. The very concept of tactical nukes is fraudulent.

Once the nuclear threshold has been breached in a confrontation between the two military super-powers (US & Russia), the history of civilization will be terminated. Much, but hardly all, of that termination will be what occurs in the first 20 to 30 minutes  the actual nuclear exchanges themselves. World War III, if it happens at all, will be finished in less than 30 minutes, especially because the US has its missiles right on, and near, Russias borders. Russia is already down to very nearly a launch-on-warning response-window. Waiting before unleashing the entire retaliatory arsenal would be suicidal, because, otherwise, the opponents attack could obliterate much of that arsenal before its even in the air. This is why the first side to go nuclear against the other will be at an enormous strategic advantage. Tactical nuclear weapons (small nukes) should thus be outlawed altogether. Anything (such as the use of small nukes) that lowers the nuclear threshold, increases enormously the likelihood of a world-ending nuclear war, because the nuclear threshold has then already been crossed. The side that crossed it might say that We didnt cross our strategic threshold, but the opposite side might feel that it crossed theirs. Mattis ignores this reality, which cant be modified (far less nullified) by any technological development (such as he assumes). Nuclear weapons are, by their very physics, vastly higher energy-intensity than any other type of weaponry; and any attempt to make them smaller, or the delivery-system more accurate, doesnt at all make them non-nuclear. If a weapon entails a nuclear-energy release, then its a nuclear weapon. Period. And any nuclear weapon is a strategic weapon. Thats just a strategic fact.

As Michel Chossudovsky wrote on February 5th (but based largely on those earlier news-reports that turned out not to reflect the final document), under the headline Secret Meeting on the Privatization of Nuclear War Held on Hiroshima Day 2003: Behind closed doors at Strategic Command Headquarters, providing important historical context to this:

The Trump Administrations Nuclear Posture Review 2018 has called for the development of new, more usable nuclear weapons.

The 2018 NPR is in many regards Deja Vu.

What seems to have escaped the numerous media reports on the 2018 NPR is that the development of more usable nuclear weapons had already been put forth in George W. Bushs 2001 Nuclear Posture Review, which was adopted by the US Senate in late 2002. In this regard, Senator Edward Kennedy had accused the Bush Administration for having developed a generation of more usable nuclear weapons, namely tactical nuclear weapons (B61-11 mini-nukes) with an explosive capacity between one third and 6 times times a Hiroshima bomb.

The term more usable emanates from debate surrounding the 2001 NPR, which justified the use of tactical nuclear weapons in the conventional war theater on the grounds that tactical nuclear weapons, namely bunker buster bombs with a nuclear warhead, are, according to scientific opinion on contract to the Pentagon [and thus hired in order to buttress the Pentagons viewpoint] harmless to the surrounding population because the explosion is underground.

Even if a small nuke explodes underground, it can still be achieving a strategic objective  maybe even a decisive one, in a war that possesses major strategic significance.

Nuclear war starts when nuclear weapons are first used. Period.

The military opponent might be a non-nuclear power, in which case there wont be nuclear retaliation. This would be like Japan 1945 (and the bombs that were used on those cities were small enough to qualify to be referred to today as having been small nukes, or tactical nuclear weapons). But Americas use of nuclear weapons on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was strategic nonetheless. To deny this is simply to lie. Its what Mattis-Trump-Obama-Bush do/did, and what almost all neoconservatives are committed to doing in order to increase the bottom lines of Defense contractors.

However, Mattis-Trump arent aiming to increase Americas small nukes stockpiles only, or even mainly, in order to win conventional wars (which WW II was). They have been openly pushing for it against both Russia and China. They have been publicly lowering the barrier to WW III.

How serious is this issue?

The only widely available scientific estimates of the impact that a nuclear war would have were done by Steven Starr  a scientist entirely non-dependent upon Lockheed Martin and other corporations that depend for their existence upon the most expensive of all strategic weapons systems, which are the nuclear-capable ones. A good summary of Starrs analysis can be found here. However, his analysis is really based upon earlier ones, and those will now be discussed:

The latest scientific analysis of Environmental Consequences of Nuclear War was published in Physics Today December 2008, and said A regional war involving 100 Hiroshima-sized weapons would pose a worldwide threat due to ozone destruction and climate change. A superpower confrontation with a few thousand weapons would be catastrophic. That term catastrophic was a typical scholarly understatement, which actually meant ending civilization (if not ultimately life on Earth), but the article includes no direct verbiage about that, only such obtuse phrases as:

In the SORT conflict, we assume that Russia targets 1000 weapons on the US and 200 warheads each on France, Germany, India, Japan, Pakistan, and the UK. We assume the US targets 1100 weapons each on China and Russia. We do not consider the 1000 weapons held in the UK, China, France, Israel, India, Pakistan, and possibly North Korea. 

With 1000 weapons detonated in the US, 48% of the total population and 59% of the urban population could fall within about 5 km of ground zero; 20% of the total population and 25% of the urban population could be killed outright, while an additional 16% of the total population and 20% of the urban population could become injured. 

Because the soot associated with a nuclear exchange is injected into the upper atmosphere, the stratosphere is heated and stratospheric circulation is perturbed. For the 5-Tg injection associated with a regional conflict [much smaller than a Russia-America war would be], stratospheric temperatures would remain elevated by 30C [54 degrees Fahrenheit] after four years.68 [No estimate is provided in the case of a Russia-v.-America conflict. Presumably, it would quickly end the world; so, its not publicly analyzed.] The resulting temperature and circulation anomalies would reduce ozone columns by 20% globally, by 2545% at middle latitudes, and by 5070% at northern high latitudes for perhaps as much as five years, with substantial losses persisting for an additional five years.7

The calculations of the 1980s generally did not consider such effects or the mechanisms that cause them. Rather, they focused on the direct injection of nitrogen oxides by the fireballs of large-yield weapons that are no longer deployed. Global-scale models have only recently become capable of performing the sophisticated atmospheric chemical calculations needed to delineate detailed ozone-depletion mechanisms. Indeed, simulations of ozone loss following a SORT conflict have not yet been conducted. 

For any nuclear conflict, nuclear winter would seriously [the term seriously is nowhere defined] affect noncombatant countries.12

In a hypothetical SORT war, for example, we estimate that most of the worlds population, including that of the Southern Hemisphere would be threatened by the indirect effects on global climate.

The norm for scientists  who are hired by large corporations that have huge stakes in the findings and that hire those same scientists only to the extent the given scientist supports the same things that their employers support  is to avoid terminology that will attract non-specialists, and this article included no estimates as to how many survivors there would be after all the nuclear poisoning and ozone depletion and soaring high-altitude temperatures and ultimate plunging ground-temperatures, and the interactions of all those factors. The scientific establishment (largely dependent upon the military-industrial complex) and the political establishment (likewise) are obviously not trying to educate the public about any of those realities  and Mattis says nothing about them, if he even knows about them. Does he have the numbers that arent published? Why are they not published? Who benefits by hiding these matters from the public? Who will hire Mattis after he leaves Government? Does he really think that the US military can force the rest of the world in the way that Americas Deep State (billionaires and their hired agents inside and outside the US Government) want?

Subsequently, in January 2010, some of the same scientists who had done that December 2008 study, published Local Nuclear War, and opened: "Worry has focused on the US versus Russia, but a regional nuclear war between India and Pakistan could blot out the sun, starving much of the human race. That sounds about the same as they had said earlier would happen if the US and Russia haul off against each other. Obviously, however, a Russia-v.-US war would actually be much worse than a Pakistan-v.-India war. Somethings wrong here. The scientists arent doing their job; or, if they are, its not the publics job (i.e., not informing the public in a democracy as a real democracy would require), its the military-industrial complexs job that theyre doing. And people such as Mattis are the very public front of it. And US President Donald Trump has essentially contracted-out his international relations to Mattis.

Here are highlights, key excerpts, from the final published Nuclear Posture Review; and, after it will be discussed its key failings:



media.defense.gov

NUCLEAR POSTURE REVIEW FEBRUARY 2018

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE

Executive Summary Introduction On January 27, 2017, President Donald Trump directed Secretary of Defense James Mattis to initiate a new Nuclear Posture Review (NPR). The President made clear that his first priority is to protect the United States, allies, and partners. He also emphasized both the long-term goal of eliminating nuclear weapons and the requirement that the United States have modern, flexible, and resilient nuclear capabilities that are safe and secure until such a time as nuclear weapons can prudently be eliminated from the world. The United States remains committed to its efforts in support of the ultimate global elimination of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. It has reduced the nuclear stockpile by over 85 percent since the height of the Cold War and deployed no new nuclear capabilities for over two decades. Nevertheless, global threat conditions have worsened markedly since the most recent 2010 NPR, including increasingly explicit nuclear threats from potential adversaries. 

The Value of US Nuclear Capabilities

The fundamental reasons why US nuclear capabilities and deterrence strategies are necessary for US, allied, and partner security are readily apparent. US nuclear capabilities make essential contributions to the deterrence of nuclear and non-nuclear aggression. The deterrence effects they provide are unique and essential to preventing adversary nuclear attacks, which is the highest priority of the United States. US nuclear capabilities cannot prevent all conflict, and should not be expected to do so. But, they contribute uniquely to the deterrence of both nuclear and non-nuclear aggression. They are essential for these purposes and will be so for the foreseeable future. Non-nuclear forces also play essential deterrence roles, but do not provide comparable deterrence effects  as is reflected by past, periodic, and catastrophic failures of conventional deterrence to prevent Great Power war before the advent of nuclear deterrence. 

Deterrence of Nuclear and Non-Nuclear Attack

Effective US deterrence of nuclear attack and non-nuclear strategic attack requires ensuring that potential adversaries do not miscalculate regarding the consequences of nuclear first use, either regionally or against the United States itself. They must understand that there are no possible benefits from non-nuclear aggression or limited nuclear escalation. Correcting any such misperceptions is now critical to maintaining strategic stability in Europe and Asia. 

Enhancing Deterrence with Non-strategic Nuclear Capabilities

Existing elements of the nuclear force replacement program predate the dramatic deterioration of the strategic environment. To meet the emerging requirements of US strategy, the United States will now pursue select supplements to the replacement program to enhance the flexibility and responsiveness of US nuclear forces. It is a reflection of the versatility and flexibility of the US triad that only modest supplements are now required in this much more challenging threat environment. These supplements will enhance deterrence by denying potential adversaries any mistaken confidence that limited nuclear employment can provide a useful advantage over the United States and its allies. Russias belief that limited nuclear first use, potentially including low-yield weapons, can provide such an advantage is based, in part, on Moscows perception that its greater number and variety of non-strategic nuclear systems provide a coercive advantage in crises and at lower levels of conflict. Recent Russian statements on this evolving nuclear weapons doctrine appear to lower the threshold for Moscows first-use of nuclear weapons. Russia demonstrates its perception of the advantage these systems provide through numerous exercises and statements. Correcting this mistaken Russian perception is a strategic imperative. 

Expanding flexible US nuclear options now, to include low-yield options, is important for the preservation of credible deterrence against regional aggression. It will raise the nuclear threshold and help ensure that potential adversaries perceive no possible advantage in limited nuclear escalation, making nuclear employment less likely.  In the near-term, the United States will modify a small number of existing SLBM warheads to provide a low-yield option, and in the longer term, pursue a modern nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM). Unlike DCA, a low-yield SLBM warhead and SLCM will not require or rely on host nation support to provide deterrent effect. They will provide additional diversity in platforms, range, and survivability, and a valuable hedge against future nuclear break out scenarios. DoD and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) will develop for deployment a low-yield SLBM warhead to ensure a prompt response option that is able to penetrate adversary defenses. This is a comparatively low-cost and near term modification to an existing capability that will help counter any mistaken perception of an exploitable gap in US regional deterrence capabilities. In addition to this near-term step, for the longer term the United States will pursue a nuclear-armed SLCM, leveraging existing technologies to help ensure its cost effectiveness. SLCM will provide a needed non-strategic regional presence, an assured response capability.



The dead give-away there is the subhead Enhancing Deterrence with Non-strategic Nuclear Capabilities. There are no non-strategic nuclear capabilities. Mattis-Trump still accept the lie that there are. If they dont know that its a lie, theyre idiots.

In other words: the NPR (meaning Nuclear Posture Review, not National Public Radio) is based upon using nuclear weapons in order to win a nuclear war. That has actually been Americas real nuclear strategy ever since at least 2006. Small nukes will now be used instead of conventional weapons, to warn the enemy against using small nukes. The problem with this line of thinking is that it ignores that, regardless of whether the conflict starts with regular weapons or with small nukes, the response to it will necessarily be a total blitz release of the other sides entire strategic nuclear stockpile, because the first side to release its entire nuclear stockpile against the other will be the one that suffers the less harm. In military parlance, the side that suffers the less harm is the winner, regardless of any other factor. Thats the basic reality of military strategy: its inevitably win-lose, not win-win.

The advantage to going first is much greater in strategic military matters than it is in chess or other (i.e., non-fatal) competitive games. Mattis ignores, instead of states, this fact.

The first side to release everything will destroy some of the other sides weaponry and thus enormously weaken the other side. And defense against nuclear weapons costs much more than does increasing the weapons that are strictly for aggression (the latter of which  overtly, instead of merely covertly, aggressive weapons  is Russias strategy).

In any war, even defensive weapons are for aggressive purposes  to win  in this case, to invalidate some of the opposite sides attacking weaponry.

The United States is trying to create ABM (BMD) systems that will eliminate Russias retaliatory weapons in the event that the US attacks Russia first. With existing nuclear-warhead treaty-limits against both sides, there is no way for Russia to countervail Americas ABM-buildup other than to exceed the existing nuclear-warhead-limiting treaties. Putin and his successors wont tolerate Americas spending-war against the Soviet Union being repeated against Russia. If driven by the US to do so, Russias response will thus be to exceed existing warhead-limitations, as being the more cost-effective way to respond to Americas ABM buildup  a buildup that threatens Russias ability to retaliate against a possible NATO nuclear blitz-attack, first-strike surprise invasion, against Russia.

America is trying to outspend Russia into historical oblivion before a nuclear war even happens. But Russia, like America, would rather strike first than be struck first, and wont allow the US to gain the ability to win a nuclear war. Americas policy is M.A.D. is dead. Nuclear victory is now the goal. As was previously said, this has been the strategic nuclear policy of the United States Government since at least 2006. In fact, this US nuclear policy was subsequently confirmed in a shocking article published on 1 March 2017 in the prestigious Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. So, it can no longer be reasonably denied. Winning a nuclear war against Russia is now irrefutably the US Governments real objective. This fact, also significantly, exposes the fraudulence (or else ignorance) of the Princetonian, Professor Blair, in the January 13th Washington Post article, saying Alarmingly, the wizards have uprooted the nuclear taboo. That taboo was actually ended by the US Establishment by no later than 2006, but has been consistently continued on the Russian side (which has no incentive whatsoever to promote the blatant lie that a nuclear war between the US and Russia can be won).

The very concept of victory in a nuclear war between the two military super-powers is insane. It is pre-nuclear thinking. Mattis and Trump are now basically committed to it, just as was President Obama, and George W. Bush before him. Mattiss NPR was going to fill in some of the blanks that prior US Presidents didnt yet want filled in, but the torrent of criticisms from Democratic Party newsmedia seem to have stopped that.

Thus: on nuclear strategy, Trump is continuing Obama. No one is publicly discussing whats central. Even the published criticisms dont.

In the nuclear age, the mere possession of nuclear weapons places the given nation into a strategically different category than any that even so much as existed in pre-nuclear-weapon history. Thats the reason why there has been so much concern about North Koreas nuclear-weapons program, and about the possible such program in Iran. In warfare, nuclear is strategic  never merely tactical. Any nation that operationalizes nuclear weaponry enters thereby into a military category that didnt even exist until 1945. Any press statements that pertain to nuclear weaponry but ignore this basic strategic fact about them, disqualify both the publisher and the writer. Any nuclear weapon is a strategic weapon, by definition of nuclear weapon. This is especially the case if its being used against another nuclear-weapon nation. However, even when Japan surrendered to the US in 1945, because it had no deliverable nuclear weapon with which to retaliate, that was very definitely a strategically significant matter.

Incidentally, Mattiss (and this statement did make it into the final draft) Russias belief that limited nuclear first use, potentially including low-yield weapons, can provide such an advantage is probably entirely fictitious  a lie about Russias belief. Russia has not  at least not publicly  endorsed any such belief; and, the last time when Russia even so much as mentioned the subject (which was as of 2003), Russian officials say that the lack of information about Russias tactical nuclear weapons is necessary. As of today, a Google-search for the phrase Russia's new tactical nuclear weapon produces a finding: No results found for Russia's new tactical nuclear weapon. None  ever, including now. In other words: no Russian tactical nuclear weapon has ever been reported to the public, even by Russias enemies (i.e., by the US and its allies). Mattis is almost certainly lying to employ the phrase Russias belief that limited nuclear first use, potentially including low-yield weapons, can provide such an advantage; but, if hes not, then the Government that currently hires him is obligated to its public (if theres anything at all democratic about that Government) to provide evidence backing up that allegation. And, as to whether the US Government itself (such as in that statement from Mattis) should ever be trusted, the answer is very clearly no. So, that evidence needs to be provided by the US Government, to the public; and, otherwise, the NPR should be viewed as being both scurrilous and extremely dangerous to the entire world, for unsupportedly alleging this. But, in any case, NATO already publicly acknowledges having tactical nuclear weapons. And, as of 2011, the US had already deployed over 150 of them in Europe. The US has those weapons, which should be illegal, but the big debate on the US side is how they should be used. They should be the first weapons to be destroyed. The aggressor is clearly the US.

Americas military-industrial complex (sometimes called neoconservatives) now headlines news-reports, by such unintended bad jokes as Tactical Nuclear Weapons: How America Could Have Won the Vietnam War? which are just PR pieces for costly new government-contracts for military-supply corporations such as Raytheon to produce yet more of these weapons that ought to be outright destroyed; so, now, were supposed to believe (from the military-industrial complexs newsmedia) that there could have been a technological fix for the Vietnam War (which war was actually just a US-and-allied invasion of Vietnam). Napalm wasnt already bad enough? Really?

A November 2011 US Army War College study Russian Nuclear Weapons: Past, Present and Future, which reflected 100% neoconservative assumptions, said (p. 296) "an analysis of Russias current thinking about nuclear issues reveals ongoing and vigorous high-level debates about nuclear weapons. This debate is evidently linked to the domestic struggle for primacy between the factions around Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev. Then:

The public debate began in earnest in October 2009 when Nikolai Patrushev, Secretary of Russias Security Council, told an interviewer that the forthcoming defense doctrine will be amended to allow for the possibility of preventive and preemptive first strikes, including nuclear strikes, even in the context of a purely conventional local war and even at the lower level of operational-tactical, as opposed to strategic, strikes.10 This triggered a major public debate over those questions that paralleled the private debate among Russias leaders. Although ultimately the published doctrine omitted to say these things, the citation above about armored vehicles suggests that for many Patrushevs views are nevertheless reflected there.11 In addition, the doctrine was accompanied by a classified publication on nuclear issues that left foreign observers in the dark about when Russia might or might not go nuclear and for what purposes and missions.

The same book (p. 321) even presents an amazing passage which acknowledges the danger [to Russia] (as listed in the new defense doctrine) of NATO enlargement, and the threat of [US] missile defenses coming closer to Russia and then it just ignores this outrageously unacceptable danger to Russia, and proceeds to try to portray as if todays non-communist Russia is the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact partners, and as if they are positioning weaponry on and near Americas borders  to portray that the aggressor is Russia, and not NATO:

Fourth, given these conditions, the danger (as listed in the new defense doctrine) of NATO enlargement, and the threat of missile defenses coming closer to Russia, Moscow believes that it is being placed under mounting military-political pressure, or at least professes to be so, even though it undoubtedly knows that NATO is hardly an offensive threat and that the US missile defenses cannot threaten its systems.92 Therefore, it has been ready for at least a decade with its threat of striking first with nuclear weapons, even against conventional strikes, if the threat to its interests is dire enough. Thus in 1999 Colonel General Vladimir Yakovlev, commander in chief of Russias nuclear forces, stated that: Russia, for objective reasons, is forced to lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons, extend the nuclear deterrent to smaller-scale conflicts and openly warn potential opponents about this.93 Since then, there has been no mention of any further alteration of this threshold. Consequently Russia sees nuclear weapons as warfighting weapons.

That or at least professes to be so indicates the authors distrust of Russias many pleas to the US military alliance not to do this. His NATO is hardly an offensive threat is a lie so blatant that only an idiot could actually believe it. Regardless of whether its author was stupid or instead a liar, those interjections from him reflect the mind-set of the people who write such things  such writers blatantly disqualify themselves from being trusted by any intelligent human being.

Subsequently (p. 331) the book made clear precisely which of the two  Putin or Medvedev  the author thought to be supporting tactical nuclear weaponry:

Medvedev made it clear that Russia does not need to increase its offensive nuclear capability any further than was originally planned.124 Clearly this directly contradicted Putins public remarks in December 2009, underscoring the continuing divisions between Putin and Medvedev and within the Russian military-political elite.

This conveniently ignores that Putin has always been talking only about the need for Russia to improve its strategic nuclear weaponry. No indication at all has been given anywhere, that Putin supports the development of tactical nuclear weapons. Perhaps he does; and perhaps Russia has some of those weapons (which would be idiotic for Russia to have), but the neoconservative US military-industrial complex isnt yet publicly able to cite any evidence that Russia does (or is).

Even that book, which stretched as far as it could in order to assume that Russia has every type of weapon, and that the US therefore needs to catch up and spend yet more money on yet newer types of weapons from General Dynamics and Boeing etc. than it already does, could offer no evidence that Russia has any tactical nuclear weapons at all.

The United States seems to be now clearly trying to repeat its victory (a victory of capitalism over communism) in the Cold War against the Soviet Union  outspending it until exhausting the enemy  but this time against Russia (which, unlike the Soviet Union, presents no ideological threat to America, nor any ideological or other military alliance against it such as the Warsaw Pact that the Soviet Union countered against Americas NATO alliance). All that Mattis-Trump will be able to achieve with this is to force Russia to quit all nuclear-warhead-limiting treaties.

Nuclear weapons, of any type, have only one constructive use: to deter being attacked. Without them, the Cold War might very likely have become a hot war. But with them, the world has gone since 1945 with no super-power war. Ban the Bomb! means: Lets have yet another superpower war. M.A.D. is real. The US Establishment is lying to deny it, or even to question it. The usefulness of nuclear weapons thus is strictly of a psychological nature  but the most important usefulness of all for avoiding a WW III. Any actual physical war-use of a nuclear weapon would be evil. Perhaps even the armaments-firms that make billions from governments in many countries would rather it not happen, but they have stockholders whose wealth and power depends upon increasing governments expenditures on their militaries  and nuclear weapons-systems are the costliest of all. Buying (or advertising in) news-media to promote invasions is effective marketing for them. But with ever-increasing expenditure on weapons at the expense of authentically productive products and services, which help instead of maim and kill, the world gets closer and closer to having to choose between those investors, versus the worlds future. At some point, the worlds future must become governments top priority; no investors or any group of investors has the right to stand against that, regardless of how hard those investors might stand against the world.

The restored unlimited arms-race will be an enormous boon to the billionaires who own or control corporations such as Lockheed Martin, but the entire world will be impoverished as a result. Obviously, Americas billionaires dont care at all about that (except in their pious humanitarian rhetoric preaching to the rest of the world while funding politicians who push coups and invasions worldwide).
Nothing like this ever happened even at the best of times. The heads of three Russian intelligence agencies all visited the US simultaneously. This is an extraordinary and unprecedented event, especially at a time when that relationship has so greatly deteriorated. Sergei Naryshkin, the foreign intelligence chief, Alexander Bortnikov, who heads the Federal Security Service, and Lieutenant General (two stars) Igor Korobov, the head of Russias military intelligence, visited Washington in late January. Not much has been leaked to the media but it was reported that they met with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. There was no secrecy about the visit or attempts to hush it up. The Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, mentioned the event on television. He claimed that the visit had been a success and that despite the extreme tension between the two countries, their intelligence agencies were continuing to cooperate. As he put it, "Politics is politics, work is work. There are political proclamations, and there is real work."

At least one of the Russian visitors is affected by the sanctions constraints. Obviously, President Donald Trump permitted the visit, as he is the only one who is authorized to temporarily waive those restrictions. No doubt there was a discussion of the terrorist threat posed by the Federal Security Service, but that team was headed by Mr. Naryshkin. The negotiations over the joint efforts to counter international terrorism could have been held anywhere. Such contacts between intelligence agencies do not require the top officials to head the delegations. Thus one must conclude that the talks addressed a much broader agenda  there must have been something really significant to discuss, with an agenda not limited to just one or two issues.

There was a particular context for this event. Its important to note that Kurt Volker, the US Special Representative for Ukraine, and Vladislav Surkov, the Russian presidents top aide, also met in late January in Dubai. The American official is known for his stints at the CIA. Many observers found it rather surprising that President Trump did not say anything critical about Russia in his remarks at the Davos World Economic Forum on Jan. 26. During his stay in Switzerland, the US president was too busy to meet Ukrainian President Poroshenko but managed to find time for talks with his friend Rwandan President Paul Kagame! The long- awaited Kremlin List was nothing but a meaningless administrative step.

There have been reports that Washington has been seeking ways to improve ties. The two countries top military leaders met last September to discuss Syria. More such events are planned for the future. The two foreign-office chiefs regularly hold private meetings. And Feb. 5 was an important date  both parties reported they had met their obligations under the New START Treaty.

This is the moment when the tide is starting to turn, as President Trump is seeing some success from his efforts to undermine public confidence in the Russiagate investigation. The president is going on the offensive. Donald Trump has given permission to release a memo, which alleges that there was an abuse of power by the FBI and the Justice Department in the investigation into Russias alleged meddling in the US presidential election. The document shines a light on the role of the deep state in America and its influence on the media. It provides a clue about who raised the hullabaloo over Russiagate and why, and shows that they are ready to go to any length to spoil the US relationship with Moscow and jam a spoke into Donald Trumps wheel.

With the economy surging, the US president felt strong enough to approve the visit. This shows, better than any other example, that Russia is too important not to talk to. The two powers need to be engaged in dialog and the issues are too vital to ignore or sweep under the rug. President Trump has never shied away from claiming that he wants to repair that relationship. In his own words, Putin is very important. Its an open secret that personal chemistry between leaders can play a very significant role in kick-starting the reconciliation process. With the memo released and Russiagate going nowhere, the president may have more supporters in Congress after the 2018 midterm elections. The US policy on Russia may be one of the things to change.

The odds are slim of Russia and the United States becoming close partners. This makes engagement, deconfliction, and interaction in certain areas even more important. The contacts between the intelligence chiefs indicate that the parties are serious about bringing about positive changes. We may never know what the officials talked about, but the very fact of the meeting speaks for itself. It really is impossible to underestimate its importance. Looks like there might well be a light at the end of the tunnel.
NUCLEAR, BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS

February 7, 2018: During the first week of 2018 Germany confirmed that it had destroyed the last 500 tons of Libyan precursor chemicals for making nerve gas. This was actually completed in November 2017 at a special facility in Germany. The chemicals had been secretly moved to a Libyan port and in August 2016 a Dutch tanker equipped for this sort of thing quietly picked them up and transported the chemical to Germany. This ended a five year, largely secret (to prevent Libyan Islamic terror groups from interfering) effort to complete the destruction of Libyan chemical weapons that began in the late 1990s.

In late 2014 Libya asked for foreign assistance in destroying its remaining stockpile of raw materials for making nerve gas. Although facilities for the destruction of this stuff have been built in Libya and Libyans trained to do it, the chaos in Libya since the Kaddafi government was overthrown in 2011 have prevented the work from being completed. So the Libyans were asking for the 850 tons of chemicals to be shipped out and destroyed overseas as was recently done with a similar Syrian stockpile. By early 2014 the United States had quietly sent a team of technicians with a portable oven to covertly destroy the last chemical bombs and shells in Libya. These were stored in south central Libya (Jufra/Jofra province, 770 kilometers south of Tripoli). This area was becoming more vulnerable to capture by local Islamic terror groups and there were still some Libyan factions that were willing to do whatever they could to destroy the remaining stockpile of chemicals that could be used to make nerve gas.

Foreign nations agreed to provide experts and equipment to help destroy Libyan chemical weapons long before the 2011 revolution. Moamar Kaddafi stockpiled nerve, mustard, and several other types of poisons over the decades. Some of these chemicals are so old that they are dangerous to handle. This is what made the portable oven essential during the secret 2014 operation.

This destruction process really got started in 2004 when Libya handed over to international disarmament officials details about Libya's chemical weapons program. Libya described one chemical weapons production facility and stockpiles containing thousands of tons of raw materials needed to manufacture sarin nerve gas as well as two large stockpiles containing 22 tons of mustard gas.

At the same time Libya announced it would begin destroying more than 3,300 unfilled chemical bombs, with the help of foreign experts. This process was still incomplete when the Kaddafi dictatorship was overthrown in 2011 and thats what led to the secret mobile over operation as well as the stealthy removal of the nerve gas raw materials so they would be destroyed in Germany.
Items About Areas That Could Break Out Into War

February 7, 2018: This is not going to end well. Government control in Venezuelan is collapsing along with the economy and much else. The government refuses to deal with political opponents or acknowledge the fact that most Venezuelans would vote the current government out of office if they had the chance. The currency is worthless, most commercial enterprises have been driven out of business or simply shut down by the government. In GDP terms the economy is about half what it was in 2013, when the crises accelerated because of falling oil prices and the death of the charismatic founder of the socialist state in Venezuela.

Since Hugo Chavez gained power in 1999 Venezuela, once the wealthiest country in the region has become one of the poorest. Only twenty percent of the population are able to obtain adequate food and other commodities. This fortunate fifth of the population consists largely of government loyalists or outlaws. The fortunate fifth could easily be two-fifths of Venezuelans were it not for the massive corruption. Several families of senior leaders (especially Maduro and his mentor Chavez) have stolen billions of dollars in state funds. Meanwhile Venezuela has become a police state with the major source of unrest food riots by starving Venezuelans. The government refuses to admit this is happening and blames any problems on other countries, especially Colombia and the United States. That approach doesnt work as well as it used to because when Chavez came to power two decades ago Colombia was a mess economically and a scary place to live because of drug gangs and leftist rebels. Most of that has gone away and Colombia, with much less oil than Venezuela, is now the most prosperous nation in the region.

Prosperity and democracy died in Venezuela because of nearly two decades of corruption and inept government created by Hugo Chavez. This former soldier got elected in 1999 and died of cancer in March 2013. Along the way Chavez trashed the Venezuelan economy and democracy. His handpicked replacement, Nicolas Maduro, was even worse. The old Chavez dream of Venezuela becoming a socialist dictatorship supported by oil revenue eventually faded along with cash reserves and the national credit rating. Venezuela currently owes over $100 billion for foreign lenders, mainly in China and Russia. Maduro has put priority on making scheduled payments on that secured foreign debt because if they dont the credit rating is damaged while China and Russia become less helpful. That strategy failed and Venezuela began to default on that debt in late 2017. The default is expected to continue and accelerate in 2018.

Choices

Venezuela has not got enough cash to support a police state as well as feeding the population. Because of his 2017 coup Maduro is facing economic sanctions by the United States (the largest customer for Venezuelan oil and largest supplier of all sorts of essentials) and most other nations in the Americas and the industrialized world. Sanctions include bans on obtaining equipment and technology for reviving the Venezuelan oil industry. But at the moment Maduro does not have the cash to pay for that and credit is all used up as well. The UN and all of the neighbors condemn Maduro but the international community is unwilling to do much more than that. Some South American nations have expressed a willingness to join in on sanctions. In part that is because it is no secret that millions of sick and hungry Venezuelans are preparing to flee to neighboring countries, mainly Colombia and Brazil. Many will find they cannot get to and across the border because of health or financial problems, but this demonstrates how desperate the situation has become.

Despite diverting most food and other consumer goods towards the security forces that did not prevent a growing number of soldiers and policemen from complaining that their families were going hungry, often because one soldier or policemen was under pressure to help get food for his extended family and was unable to do so. Commanders are seeking solutions to this growing problem but there is no easy fix. What many commanders do is informally tolerate their subordinates stealing from any Venezuelans that can be seen as Maduro opponents. This now includes most Venezuelans so there are plenty of potential victims. Commanders who are caught doing this often get away with it by explaining it is an effective way to reduce open opposition to the Maduro government. The new leadership of the security forces was selected mainly for loyalty not competence in military of police work.

My Way

International efforts to get the government to abide by the rules (of the original Venezuelan constitution and most of the voters) have failed. The Maduro government has set the date for presidential elections (April 30th) and had the Supreme Court (full of Maduro loyalists) banned any of the major candidates or their political parties from participating. This would be the finale for several years of Maduro avoiding the will of the people.

In December 2017 the government banned political parties from participating in the 2018 presidential election because these parties had boycotted October nationwide mayoral elections. The opposition accused the government of rigging the mayoral elections, and others as well. Foreign observers who have been able to witness the disputed elections tend to agree that the government cheated. One aspect of the rigged elections was the use of food to coerce voters to support the Maduro government. With the economy wrecked food is in short supply and the government controls most of what is available. In many parts of the country the government supporters (mostly soldiers, police and members of pro-government militias) are sufficiently numerous to make this food for votes scam work. Most coerced voters would be willing to defy the government threats at least once if they knew that would get rid of the current government. But that is less likely now that the government has declared it illegal for opposition parties to operate during the crucial 2018 presidential elections.

President Maduro hoped his manipulation the law and use a Supreme Court filled with his allies would be enough to obtain dictatorial powers. This was opposed by most Venezuelans and in response Maduro staged a coup by forcing a July 30 2017 vote (rigged by the government) to select 545 Maduro supporters for a Constituent Assembly that will legally revise the constitution and make Maduro a legal dictator. The armed forces leaders openly backed Maduro on this and it was made clear that no compromise was possible. The opposition organized a national vote of their own on July 18th and an overwhelming number of voters opposed the Maduro plan but since Maduro controls the security forces (he selected the current military and police generals for their loyalty and willingness to be bought and stay bought) massive peaceful demonstrations had no effect. After that opposition leaders were hunted and prevented from leaving the country.

What Maduro has done is clearly illegal but he feels the need to change the current constitution to survive. According to the original constitution only the parliament (an anti-Maduro national assembly) can perform a lot of key functions. But the Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that the current parliament was illegal. The parliament describes these actions as a coup and most Venezuelans agree. Unlike most other democracy constitutions Venezuela does not allow the legislature to impeach (remove) the president. Rather the Supreme Court, whose members are appointed by the president (and approved by the legislature) do so. But before Maduros party lost control of the legislature in the 2015 elections he appointed enough loyal new judges to the Supreme Court to block any efforts to remove him from power. The legislature and the government were not able to agree on a compromise solution for any of this and Venezuelans were spending most of their time coping with continued economic collapse. Many Maduro supporters and senior officials in his government opposed this attempt to change the constitution via a fraudulent process. The opposition has been so persistent that Maduro has not yet tried to actually change the constitution. Meanwhile he rules as a dictator, for the good of the country. Maduro hopes that oil income will somehow eventually bail him out.

Extreme Loyalty Replaces Any Ability

Venezuelan oil production is unlikely to recover and the current management of the state oil company has made it worse by not paying key foreign suppliers of goods and services essential to keeping oil production going. The government is blaming former (often fired) managers for current problems and accusing many of these fired (and often indicted) managers of stealing billions of dollars from the state oil company. Many of the accused are outside the country and liable to testify about conditions inside Venezuela and what they know about corruption. This sort of thing has already gotten several senior officials in trouble. The recently appointed head of the state owned oil operations is an army general whose career has prospered largely because of his loyalty to the socialist government, not his military or management skills.

As the overall economic situations gets worse the government is replacing a growing number of key (because special skills are required) officials with unskilled loyalists. This is not helping deal with the massive foreign debut Venezuela has and is now unable to repay, nor the problems with economy and crumbling infrastructure. The impact of this is increasingly obvious. For example on February 5th there was a partial power outage hit the capital. In addition to lights ten subway stations were blacked out and trains could not operate. The government blamed saboteurs saying that someone cut a cable which caused an explosion. This comes a month after an even larger blackout caused by a cable between a power plant and transmission lines failed.

For oil wealth to somehow solve the problems oil prices must return to earlier levels (about twice what it is now) and foreign lenders must be willing and able to finance repairs to the Venezuelan oil industry and national infrastructure in general. Venezuelan oil production hit a historic low in October 2017; just under two million BPD (barrels per day) and keeps falling. It has not been this low since 1989 and from 1973 until 2017 had averaged over two million BPD. Production kept declining to 1.6 million BPD in December 2017 and rose a bit to 1.8 million BDP in January. Production averaged 2.373 million BPD in 2016 and 2.654 million BPD in 2015. The production decline accelerated in 2017 and is expected to fall to an average of 1.6 million BPD or less in 2018. This is down from a peak of 3.5 million BPD in 1999, when the current socialist government took power. Subsequent government corruption and mismanagement has devastated the Venezuelan oil industry and caused a decline in oil production that has reached unprecedented low levels. This was made worse by socialist economic policies that destroyed the non-oil economy and eventually crippled the oil industry as well. Then the world oil price fell by half in 2013 stayed there providing no relief. The oil industry is a mess with much maintenance way behind schedule and equipment failures becoming more common.

The production decline is continuing not so much because the government refuses to clean up the mess in the national oil company and the oil production facilities, but because it cannot figure out how to do it. To make matters worse the Venezuelan oil is exceptionally expensive to get process for local or export use because it is sour and tar-like. That makes it more expensive to refine and Venezuela must blend its sour crude with imported light crude or other diluent (like naphtha) to make their crude oil suitable for foreign refineries. Venezuela is so short of cash that it is not paying for these diluent imports and suppliers are refusing to ship anymore unless they get paid. Same with many other essential services for the oil industry.

This became critical by 2017 because the Venezuelan refineries, also state owned, have suffered more accidents and received less adequate maintenance over the last decade. As a result domestic refining capability fell to about a quarter of normal and keeps getting worse. Shipping sub-standard crude is a violation of the sale agreement and customers are running out of patience. At the moment the largest source of cash sales for Venezuelan crude are Americans. Those buyers have invested heavily in U.S. based refineries modified to handle Venezuelan crude. If the U.S. customers give up on Venezuela they will reconfigure their equipment, at great expense, to handle crude from other sources and Venezuela will have to find new buyers and that will mean selling their sour crude at an even larger discount to more distant and less reliable customers. Currently most of the oil exports go to barter customers (like China) that made large loans that are repaid with oil. These customers are also not getting their oil on time or to the specified quality. No foreign investors are willing to commit the billions need to update and revive the Venezuelan oil operations, mainly because of the massive corruption and the sense that the government is not rational nor dependable. The collapse of the Venezuelan oil industry is doing long-term damage to the ability of Venezuela to process and sell its sour crude.

In 2018 China denied American accusations that is was using its large loans to Venezuela as an opportunity to establish itself economically and militarily in South America. China pointed out that its cash for oil loans to Venezuela declined after 2014 as the price of oil plummeted. China had been a major lender to Venezuela and provided over $50 billion since 2007. Most of these loans are repaid with Venezuelan oil. The amount of oil owed China increases as the oil price declines, which means Venezuela has less oil to sell or use for domestic needs. But China pointed out that the Venezuelan oil is difficult to refine, which is why the U.S. is the major buyer as the Americans have built special refineries to handle it. China also faces huge losses because Venezuela became officially bankrupt at the end of 2017 and its socialist government has wrecked its oil industry and ability to pump and ship oil. The bankruptcy was not unexpected but China knew there would be great risks and potentially high costs for establishing themselves in South America. China also points out that other economic partners of Venezuela like Iran, Russia and Cuba are not providing much help because the situation in Venezuela is so chaotic and unpredictable. Yet the Chinese loans that must be repaid with Venezuelan oil, give China a long-term claim on a key part of the Venezuelan economy.

Heroic Efforts

Venezuelans face unpleasant choices; submit to a Maduro dictatorship, support a civil war or flee the country. It is unclear how many Venezuelans would fight and Maduro and his followers are betting on being able to suppress whatever armed opposition develops. Aside from the desperate poverty the Venezuelan gangs are more numerous in part because the government armed many groups considered pro-government militias. But when shortages, especially of food, reached the point where even the pro-government gangs (and family members) were going hungry many of these pro-government militias went outlaw. Adding to this is low morale in the military, where troops are still fed but are getting less food and their pay is worthless to buy food for their families. Desertions are increasing with some 2,000 active duty troops not returning from Christmas leave and believed to have fled the country with their families. Another cause of falling morale in the military is the bad behavior of the secret police and special army units, which has been killing prominent government opponents.

This sort of bad behavior became a major media story after a January 15th military operation in the capital went bad at the same time it went viral. This happened during a raid by soldiers to kill a celebrity policeman Oscar Perez, who recorded the incident and made it public. Perez was a very successful and famous policeman who watched in dismay as the Maduro government destroyed Venezuela. In late 2017 Perez became a rebel and did so mainly by embarrassing the government, not killing soldiers and policemen. Naturally Perez became Public Enemy Number One for the government and in January his hideout in the capital was found, surrounded and troops ordered to take no prisoners (at least not Perez himself). But the ever resourceful Perez broadcast video of government troops refusing his offers to surrender and continuing to fire on the building Perez was in until it was clear Perez was dead. The attackers then apparently murdered the survivors, including a ten year old boy and a pregnant woman. Because video of what actually happened got out the government was unable to portray the attackers as heroes of the revolution. Instead the raid because demoralizing for many soldiers and policemen. Perez was respected by many in the security forces, even those who were still loyal to the government. Perez was seen as a patriot even by most of his enemies. The way he was killed made it clear to many soldiers and police that Perez was right and the government was wrong. The government refused to allow a public burial and only two relatives were allowed to attend the internment. Despite government efforts to suppress what happened the truth got out and it became widely known that the attacking soldiers killed women and children during the raid. The government tried to portray these deaths as suicides or anything but deliberate murder by government forces. Because of the Perez raid the Maduro government lost a lot of what little legitimacy it still had inside Venezuela and abroad.

What with all the hunger and brutal treatment of protestors the military has tried to counter the bad effect of this on morale with media stories backing the government lies about the bad behavior being the work of foreign agents or criminals. But the military represents a larger and less well-off segment of the population and the average soldier cannot ignore the growing poverty and crime throughout the country. A growing number of military commanders report that they are not sure most of their troops could be trusted to fire on angry civilians if there were widespread anti-government demonstrations the police could not handle. There is a larger problem along the borders, especially the Colombian border. Smuggling is a big business. The government still sells fuel inside the country at subsidized prices and a lot of that fuel is diverted by criminals (many of them also government or military officials) so that it can be smuggled to an adjacent country and sold for several times what it cost in Venezuela.

The most dangerous smuggling operation involves cocaine coming into Venezuela to be shipped to international markets. Soldiers, including officers, in some units actually belong to a smuggling gang and will provide military weapons and other equipment to those who can afford it. The government is aware that a growing number of its military units are unreliable and is having a hard time keeping track of who can be trusted, who can be accommodated (make a deal with in an emergency) and who is becoming more of a liability. Disbanding disloyal units is difficult and can be devastating for the morale of the loyal troops who have to do the dirty work. So that sort of thing is avoided and untrustworthy units are slowly dismantled by starving them of resources. With more criminals and shrinking and less reliable security forces Venezuela now has one of the highest crime rates in the world.

The government is faced with some bad options. Some senior officials still believe they can turn it all around and do what Cuba did. But Cuba is an island and was able to create its stable dictatorship in a different time (the 1960s), because Russia was able to provide very professional and effective help in establishing a communist police state. The Cuban economy had made Cuba the wealthiest nation in the Caribbean and was destroyed during the 1960s but the Russians provided large annual subsidies (oil, food and cash) to keep everyone fed. Venezuela has access to none of that and, despite the huge oil reserves, is facing a catastrophic collapse.
Higher Defense Council of Lebanon has given orders on Wednesday to prevent Israel from building a border wall on Lebanese land.

The council said in a statement published after it met with senior government and military officials that This wall if it is built, will be considered an assault on Lebanese land.Lebanon has given its instructions to confront this aggression to prevent Israel from building (the wall) on Lebanese territory.

This wall, if it is built, will be considered an assault on Lebanese land, the secretary general of Lebanons Higher Defence Council added.

Israeli officials did not immediately respond. Israel has previously said that the wall, and a disputed Mediterranean gas field, were on its territory.Calm has largely prevailed along the frontier since 2006 when Israel fought a war with Lebanons heavily-armed Shiite Hezbollah movement.

The month-long conflict killed about 1,200 people in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 Israelis, most of the troops. There has been no major confrontation between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah since. (Int. News Agencies).
Entries for the New World Beer & Cider Awards are being sought in a competition that offers small breweries the opportunity to make the leap into the supermarket chillers.

Its not the competition for the super talented home brewer, as each entry has to include enough bottles to range though New World stores nationwide during the promotional period.

Classes and minimum volume requirements can be found here.

Breweries of all sizes  from Lion Co to boutiques, from NZ and overseas, enter, the competition.

Rotorua brewery Croucher and operators of Brew bar on The Strand in Tauranga has confirmed they will be entering again and aiming for gold this year.

They last year won two Silvers and a Bronze, and a Silver and two Bronze in 2016.

The hunt is on for brewing perfection from New Zealand and around the world, with the competitions judges ready to put hundreds of beverages to the taste-test on behalf of thirsty New World customers.

For the more than 20 breweries located across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions, the New World Beer & Cider Awards are a chance to get noticed and promoted on a national stage.

Winning brews not only get on the shelf in New World stores across the country but can also climb to the very top of customers shopping lists, as shoppers now eagerly anticipate the competitions results.

Hamiltons own Good George Brewing, which became the first triple-Gold winner in the competitions history in 2017, including Champion wins for their Amber Ale and Drop Hop Cider, is entering again.

Good George CEO Race Louden says the wins have undoubtedly been a boost for the business, and he encourages other small breweries to enter.

As well as being an affirmation of our brew teams commitment to quality, the awards saw our product get on more shelves and in more baskets of New World shoppers, which contributed to a substantial growth in sales for Good George, says Race.

Its been a great vehicle to introduce new people to the brand and get our fans trying different brews within our range.

Chair of Judges, beer writer and author Michael Donaldson says the appeal for brewers to enter the 2018 awards is stronger than ever.

As the industry continues to grow, so does the competition. Its becoming harder for breweries to stand out from the crowd and for consumers to find and appreciate the best beers available.

The New World Beer & Cider Awards is unique in its focus on the consumer. More than just a gold sticker, a win in these awards puts talented brewers in the spotlight and makes their products easy to find and purchase.

A gold medal win is rewarded with nationwide distribution through 135 New World stores, as well as concentrated marketing and publicity support.

This can propel a brand from relative obscurity to nationwide awareness overnight, with their beer or cider sitting on shelf beside the best-known names in brewing from around the world, says Michael.

Extensive tasting notes by the expert judging panel help shoppers understand whats on offer. From traditional lagers to trendy sours, consumers can experiment with greater confidence, knowing the winning beers and ciders are both technically excellent and delightful to drink.

Breweries do not need to be an existing New World or Foodstuffs supplier, but product availability is key. Entrants are required to have enough stock to be promoted in New World supermarkets across the country, ensuring beer and cider enthusiasts are able to sample across the range of award-winning brews.

Managing Director of Foodstuffs (NZ) Ltd Steve Anderson says the awards are now an established part of the New World calendar and continue to show their worth, particularly for New Zealands burgeoning craft beer industry.

Theres always big demand for the winning beers and ciders, and last years results delivered a broad and interesting range for our customers to explore. New Zealand craft breweries dominated the gold medal standings alongside some impressive internationals, and New World saw a continued lift in craft beer sales in-store.

Entries to the New World Beer & Cider Awards close on Friday February 23 2018. Details are found here.

The 15-strong expert judging panel will put their palates through their paces over two days of judging in Wellington in March. Each entry will be blind-judged and assessed on its merits using a collaborative approach based on technical excellence, balance and, most importantly, drinkability.

Gold, Silver and Bronze medals will be awarded to worthy entries and the coveted Champion will be awarded to the top entry in each class. The results will be announced later in the year.
EU, Norway Sign VAT Fraud Prevention Deal

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

07 February 2018

The EU and Norway have signed a new agreement on administrative cooperation on VAT compliance.

The agreement was signed on February 6. It will provide EU member states and Norway with a legal framework for administrative cooperation in the prevention of VAT fraud and for mutual assistance in the recovery of VAT claims.

Norway is the first country with which the EU has signed an agreement in this area. Norway is a member of the European Economic Area and has a similar VAT system to the EU.
Brace yourselves! Election season is coming, and its bringing with it a barrage of social media events, unachievable manifesto pledges, poor puns, and profile picture changes. All of which youll likely ignore and cast aside in favour of watching a cute cat video or tagging your friend in a niche meme about which type of hummus you are. But this time when JCR elections come around, take a moment to listen.

Junior Common Rooms remain an underappreciated asset to Cambridge life. In a our collegiate university system, CUSU can seem distant from the everyday needs of most students. As such, JCRs are often the first port of call for students for everything from college intermission policies and the cost of living, to the excessive use of coriander in the college buttery (Pembroke, Im looking at you).

The role of JCRs is extensive. In terms of welfare, not only are they constantly organising chilled events that usually involve free food (and if youre lucky, the opportunity to pet cute dogs!) but they also provide a listening friendly ear, with welfare officers acting as a lifeline for many students struggling with the intensity of Cambridge. In an environment in which youre surrounded by friends who are all busy and stressed, having someone take the time to listen to you is an invaluable support system. And when serious issues arise, welfare officers act as a friendly point of entry for students to access college support.

Beyond welfare issues JCRs improve your daily college life in a variety of ways, often battling immense college bureaucracy on the behalf of students. And with the recent TCS revelations about immense college disparity in rent prices, and an increasing number of colleges adopting Cut The Rent Campaigns, JCRs are taking a fighting stance against colleges. It is therefore important, now more than ever, that JCRs are proactive and effective.

The quality of your JCR can therefore have a significant impact on your time in Cambridge. Yes, they sometimes get bogged down in the minor issues. Yes, they might seem like an irrelevancy post freshers week, and yes there will be JCR representatives that are there to inflate their CV. But as the elected student voice within college, they are in a unique position to act as the main lobbying power for students, and this power they have over college should be harnessed.

To do this JCRs need more support. A large part of that is the need to extend and build upon the current support CUSU provides JCR officers. But it also requires JCR positions to be filled with proactive and passionate students. If you want a JCR that will fight on student issues and provide pastoral support for those that need it, take the time to make sure you you need to elect the candidates who are capable of providing that.

So, this election season dont just blank your emails and your Facebook notifications. Dont just vote for the person who uses the best pun, or who happened to live on your staircase in first year. Instead take the time to make a considered vote on who will best protect your rights within college and, if youre feeling brave, maybe even stand yourself!
The Cambridge clubs Kuda and Ballare, more popularly known as Life and Cindies, are banning plastic straws from 19 February in order to be more environmentally friendly.

The clubs will offer a biodegradable alternative for cocktails, mixers and soft drinks, aiming to reduce plastic consumption. The new straws will be made from renewable plant resources so will only take six months to biodegrade.

The general manager of Kuda, Will Hodge, has stated, Our customers and colleagues are more environmentally aware so Im sure theyll welcome the change and agree that plastic sucks!.

Straws will no longer be routinely served in drinks, but the biodegradable straws will be used if required. The clubs are spreading their eco-friendly message on their social media pages through #nostrawsattached.

Kuda and Ballare are both part of the Deltic Group, the largest operator of night clubs in the UK, which is enacting the ban as a part of its move towards more eco-friendly and sustainable modes of operation.
On 8 Thursday a planned pro-EU rally will be staged outside the Cambridge Union building where a debate on Brexit between Jacob Rees-Mogg, Lord Andrew Adonis and Nicky Morgan will be taking place.

The demonstration will be held by members of Cambridge Stays, a local anti-Brexit campaign group. The Chair of Cambridge Stays, Paul Browne, has commented, For hard-Brexiters like Jacob Rees-Mogg and Nigel Farage, Brexit is not an end in itself but a means to achieve their true objectives; a bonfire of workers' rights, consumer's rights, and environmental protections, and the privatisation of our NHS.

With the rejection of a Customs Union with the EU the Government has joined them in pushing the UK towards a social and economic race-to-the-bottom that will worsen the inequalities and lack of opportunity that blight our country.

Rees-Mogg, a Conservative MP, has become known for his reactionary, traditionalist, and hard right-wing views. He was recently involved in a scuffle when protesters disrupted a student event at the University of West Englands Frenchay campus.

The Cambridge Stays campaign is calling on everyone who believes in peace, prosperity, equality, and justice on this island to join together and stop Brexit before it's too late!

The demonstration is to take place at 6:45pm and will last for approximately an hour.
The University of Cambridge will reinforce and extend its commitment to paying the Real Living Wage (RLW) following a motion to approve the proposal submitted today. The motion was passed in a joint consultation with various unions and Cambridge University Students Union (CUSU).

Since 2014, the University currently pays all directly employed University staff at the rate of or above the RLW, but on an informal basis. The motion passed today will allow the University to begin the formal accreditation process from the Living Wage Foundation, which may take up to three years to complete.

Ellis Ferran, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for institutional and international relations, commented: We know that Cambridge is an expensive city to live and work in. The university is a community and it values all staff. Accreditation will give our lowest-paid staff, including our on-site contractors, more security because their wage will be set by reference to the Real Living Wage benchmark.

CUSU President Daisy Eyre said: All of the workers at this University contribute to our education and deserve to be paid fairly. I am so proud of the work done by students campaigning for this and happy that the University will be taking this step. I believe that this will benefit the institution for years to come. By accrediting to the Living Wage Foundation, we are building a legacy in which future generations of Cambridge staff are guaranteed a decent wage.

The RLW, also known as the Voluntary Living Wage, is an hourly rate of pay set by the Living Wage Foundation and updated annually in November. It is calculated according to the basic cost of living in the UK. The RLW is set at 8.75 per hour outside London and 10.20 per hour for employers within London. It is different from the National Living Wage, set by the government at 7.30 for over 25s.

The move was also approved by Daniel Zeichner, MP for Cambridge, and Councillor Lewis Herbert, Leader of the City Council. Daniel Zeichner MP said:  This is great news for all those working for the University and for the city of Cambridge as a whole. Cambridge University is a key employer and it is a significant step forward in this high-cost City that they will now be guaranteeing all their staff, including contractors, the Real Living Wage.

Zeichner also added: Congratulations to the students, trade unions and staff that have supported this campaign and got us to this point. I think we can all be proud that with strong leadership from the City Council Cambridge has a growing list of employers becoming accredited Living Wage employers. I hope it is not long until all colleges follow the example set by the University today and sign up to the Real Living Wage.

Cathy Yeasley, the branch secretary of one of the unions involved in the process, UNISON, added: UNISON welcomes the decision by the University of Cambridge to seek official accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation. We would like to thank university staff and students for their support for the campaign which will ensure that all staff and contractors working at the University are guaranteed at least 8.75 per hour in one of the most expensive cities in the country.
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Critics have begun weighing in on Apples HomePod smart speaker, and theyre loving the devices sound but dont have much affection for its smarts.

The HomePods sound outclassed top-shelf competitor SonosOne, according to Matthew Panzarino, writing for TechCrunch.

The HomePod was the best sounding. Its nuanced and subtle with great separation and clarity across all kinds of music, he wrote.

The One, for instance, had decent mid range but an overly bright high-end with just the out of the box calibration, Panzarino continued. At maximum volume, the One became shrill and painful where the HomePod maintained balance.

Pumped out through a woofer with custom amplifier and seven tweeters, the audio also impressed Brian X. Chen, who reviewed the HomePod for The New York Times.

The result is a speaker with a deep bass and rich treble that is loud enough to fill a large room with superb sound, he wrote. HomePod makes the Amazon Echo and Googles Home sound muffled and tinny in comparison.

Embarrassingly Inadequate

However, Chen was less complimentary about the performance of Apples digital assistant, Siri, on the HomePod.

Siri on HomePod is embarrassingly inadequate, even though that is the primary way you interact with it, he wrote.

Siri is sorely lacking in capabilities compared with Amazons Alexa and Googles Assistant, Chen continued. Siri doesnt even work as well on HomePod as it does on the iPhone.

For example, Siri on the HomePod cant be trained to recognize different speakers.

Unlike Hey, Siri on your phone, the HomePod responds to everyone, wrote Megan Wollerton for Cnet.

That makes it easier for the whole family to use, she explained, but hurts its customizability across multiple users, since it cant recognize a specific voice to allow purchases.

Speaker Blindness

Not recognizing speakers may not sound like a big deal, but it can be if youre the kind of person who blindly rushes through setup prompts.

If you just click yes during all the setup prompts, literally anyone can ask the HomePod to send or read your text messages, wrote Nilay Patel for The Verge.

Seriously, itll just read your texts to anyone if your phone is anywhere on the same WiFi network, which usually reaches far beyond the same room as the HomePod, he pointed out.

While Siri cant distinguish speakers, it is good at recognizing speech, even distorted speech, according to Nicole Nguyen, who reviewed the HomePod for BuzzFeed.

Siri could hear me while I was wearing my retainers (Hayy Sheeree, remind me teh bring mah headphonez toomerow), brushing my teeth, or cooking with the overhead vent turned on, she wrote.

Failing to Keep Up With the Alexas

Though disappointing, Siris so-so performance as a smart speaker digital assistant was expected.

Siri has not kept pace with Alexa and Google Assistant in capabilities, Tirias Research Principal Analyst Kevin Krewell told TechNewsWorld.

Apple has never taken Siri seriously, noted Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, treating it more as a feature than a platform.

Amazon, Google and even Microsoft take AI far more seriously and are putting millions into their related efforts, he told TechNewsWorld. Apple is starting behind, and their lack of focus on this capability suggests theyll fall farther back and not catch up.

Despite its shortcomings, Siri has an advantage over its rivals in the smart home context because it supports more languages than they do, said Jonathan Collins, a research director at ABI Research.

As the smart home voice-control market continues to grow, this will be a key benefit its rivals will have to match, he told TechNewsWorld.

Apple Music Exclusivity

Another sore point with critics was the lack of support for services outside the Apple ecosystem.

The HomePod also doesnt really know that Pandora exists or Tidal or Google Play Music or SiriusXM or TuneIn Radio or SoundCloud or any of a thousand other music services that you might use throughout the course of listening to music in your lifetime, wrote The Verges Patel.

Its an incredibly frustrating limitation, he continued. Amazon owns Amazon Music, but lets you set Spotify as the default on the Echo. Google runs Google Play Music and YouTube, but lets you set Spotify as the default on the Google Home.

Apple hasnt been courting third-party apps as aggressively as Amazon and Google, said Ross Rubin, principal analyst at Reticle Research.

Today, HomePod is being sold into the base of Apple Music subscribers, he told TechNewsWorld. Its a decent market to sell into  it has 40 million subscribers  but its limited compared to Echos and Googles addressable market.

Dampening Audiophiles Interest

It could be a difficult hill to climb if Apple should decide to expand its service offerings in the future.

The HomePods initial exclusivity will make it harder for the product to move out of the Apple loyalist space, Enderle maintained.

Many of the customers outside of Apples base might already have bought Amazon Echos, he reasoned. Getting them to pay a hefty price for a product they could see as redundant would be problematic.

The absence of the HomePods seamless support for non-Apple music services will put a damper on interest on the part of serious music listeners, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

If youre an Apple fan who mainly wants a Siri-activated solution to stream Apple Music files, youll love the HomePod. If youre looking for a serious Apple-based competitor to Amazon Alexa or Google Home-based devices, youre likely to be disappointed, he told TechNewsWorld.

Then again, Apple has a long history of initially aiming new products at its dedicated customers, then adding in other features and functions over time, King added.

Sell It and Developers Will Come

While Apple doesnt have the volume of third-party relationships that some of its competitors have, it does have a significant base of HomeKit certified smart home device providers that will support smart home control through the HomePod, ABIs Collins noted.

There is every reason to believe that the pull of the Apple user base  especially given the close integration of the HomePod with iPhones  will be enough to attract a wide range of third-party support over time, he maintained.

However, even the HomeKit experience on the HomePod could use some improvement, wrote The Verges Patel.

Siri as a smart home controller on the HomePod works fine if you have compatible devices and have done the work of setting up HomeKit, but nothing about HomeKit is particularly simple or fun to use, he observed. But thats basically the state of every smart home system, so I dont think Apples too far behind there.
In the unlikely event that youve never heard of them, deepfakes is the term often used for AI-edited fake porn in where the face of an actress is digitally replaced by that of a Hollywood star. Deepfakes communities and clips have already been removed from Discord, Twitter, and GIF-hosting platform Gfycat. Now, the videos have been banned from Pornhub.

As was the case with Discord, Pornhub considers deepfakes videos to be non-consensual. The popular adult website, which gets over 75 million visitors every day, compared them to revenge porn and said it would ban the content from its service.

We do not tolerate any nonconsensual content on the site and we remove all said content as soon as we are made aware of it," a spokesperson told Motherboard. "Nonconsensual content directly violates our TOS [terms of service] and consists of content such as revenge porn, deepfakes or anything published without a persons consent or permission.

Motherboard does note that it is still possible to find dozens of the fake porn vids on Pornhub by searching for the term deepfakes and a celebritys name. Its thought that Pornhub might be relying on users to flag the videos so it can identify and remove them.

Gaming-focused chat service Discord shut down a deepfakes group late last month, while Gfycat said it was actively removing the videos from its platform. Yesterday, Twitter announced it would suspend any account it identified as the original poster of intimate media that has been produced or distributed without the subjects consent.

While Reddit has removed some deepfakes content, the subreddit, which has over 91,000 subscribers, remains online. It warns against using the faces of minors and non-celebrities in the edited videos.
There are only a few weeks to go before Samsung unveils the Galaxy S9 at Mobile World Congress. And while it appears that the new handset wont be vastly different from last years S8 model, one thing that is supposedly changing is the price. Reports say that this will be the most expensive Galaxy S phone ever.

Korean site ETNews (via Gizmodo) reports that the Galaxy S9 may cost somewhere between 925,000 and 1 million won, which is between $875 to $925. Additionally, an industry insider told Techradar that Samsungs upcoming flagship would be priced at 789, or $1095. Thats 100 more than the S8s UK launch price.

Taking into account currency exchanges and sales taxes, which are quite high in the UK, its estimated that the Galaxy S9 will be priced somewhere between $800 and $850 in USquite a leap from the S8s starting price of $720.

It will be interesting to see how many people rush out and buy a phone that features incremental improvements over its predecessor while costing around $100 more.

A saturated phone market has seen flagships become increasingly expensive over the last few years, culminating in Apples $1000 iPhone X. The Cupertino company sold fewer iPhones in Q4 than it did during the same period last year, but the high prices meant it made more money on each one that it sold.

Today, there are some excellent handsets available for almost half the cost of high-end devices from Samsung and Apple, like the OnePlus 5T. But as long as people keep buying them, expect flagship prices to continue creeping upwards.
Some 34.3 million Argentineans were eligible to cast their votes ahead of the Nov. 14 elections when seats in the Lower Chamber and the Senate will be renewed. | Read More
WEINHEIM, Germany, Feb. 7, 2018 -- Freudenberg, the global technology company, is further expanding its car floor mat business. In Germany, the Japan Vilene Company, a Freudenberg Business Group, has signed an agreement to acquire Hanns Glass GmbH & Co. KG, Grafing, Germany. The company is a leading global automotive supplier of car floor mats with a strong European presence and a portfolio complementary to VIAM, one of Japan Vilene Company's core businesses with operations in Asia and North America. In 2016, the company generated about 31 million euros in sales and has some 260 employees. The transaction is conditional upon approval from the German Federal Cartel Office and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year.

"With the acquisition of the Hanns Glass Group, the VIAM Group will gain access to the European automotive market and, in the future, will be able to supply European carmakers from local production sites," says Freudenberg Group CEO, Dr. Mohsen Sohi.

The Hanns Glass Group is headquartered in Grafing, near Munich, and has production sites in Paderborn and Meuselwitz, Germany, and Cheb, Czech Republic. These sites will serve as the VIAM Group's European base.

About the Hanns Glass Group

The Hanns Glass Group, headquartered in Grafing near Munich, Germany has been in family ownership since its beginnings in the 1930s. The company works with many established carmakers and is today a leading global producer of vehicle mats and dirt-free floor mats. The Group's high-quality and innovative products along with their excellent customer service have always been a major selling point for customers throughout the world. Please see www.hanns-glass.com/en/home.html

About the VIAM Group

Established in the USA in 1984, VIAM is synonymous with high-quality car floor mats and other interior products. VIAM is widely recognized by carmakers as a top global supplier of protective floor mats, specializing in blending value, service and innovation. The Group's worldwide footprint currently includes domestic manufacturing and supply to customers in the US, Mexico, Japan, China and Thailand.

The VIAM Group is a Business Group of Japan Vilene Company

Since its establishment in 1960, the Japan Vilene Company has maintained its position as the leading domestic manufacturer of nonwoven materials under the theme of "Engineering Fabric Innovation", utilizing its raw material expertise and considerable know-how in the areas of production process, equipment technology and nonwoven converting and offering a wide range of products through its Automotive, Medical, Electrical and other Industrial sectors. The company has developed the car floor mats business worldwide. The Japan Vilene Company operates sixteen production sites globally, including two main production sites in Japan. The company totals 2,300 employees worldwide.

In very close cooperation with Freudenberg Performance Materials and Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, the Japan Vilene Company operates a network of production and sales joint venture companies throughout Asia. For more information, please see www.vilene.co.jp/en

The Japan Vilene Company is a Business Group of the Freudenberg Group

Freudenberg is a global technology group that strengthens its customers and society long-term through forward-looking innovations. Together with its partners, customers and the world of science, the Freudenberg Group develops leading-edge technologies, and excellent products, solutions and services for more than 30 market segments and for thousands of applications: seals, vibration control components, nonwovens, filters, specialty chemicals, medical products, IT services and the most modern cleaning products.

Strength of innovation, strong customer orientation, diversity, and team spirit are the cornerstones of the Group. The 169-year-old company holds strong to its core values: a commitment to excellence, reliability and pro-active, responsible action. In 2016, the Freudenberg Group employed more than 48,000 people in almost 60 countries worldwide and generated sales of approximately 8.6 billion. For more information, please visit www.freudenberg.com.
"Kangei Marco Polo HORIZON": Mercedes-Benz recreational vehicle coming to Japan in a right-hand-drive variant

Stuttgart/Tokyo February 7, 2018; "Kangei Marco Polo HORIZON"  At the Japan Camping Car Show 2018 the compact recreational vehicle from Mercedes-Benz Vans celebrated its premiere as a right-hand-drive variant. As of now, the Marco Polo HORIZON is available to customers in the land of smiles. In the second quarter of 2018, Great Britain will follow as the second right-hand-drive market.

"We want to make our compact travel vans and recreational vehicles available to even more customers  that's why we're now launching the Marco Polo HORIZON in a right-hand-drive variant", says Klaus Maier, Head of Marketing and Sales Mercedes-Benz Vans. "The first market is Japan, one of the world's key right-hand-drive markets", continues Klaus Maier.

With the launch of the Marco Polo HORIZON as a right-hand-drive variant in Japan and Great Britain, Mercedes-Benz Vans is continuing to press ahead with its "Mercedes-Benz Vans goes global" growth strategy in the camper van market in 2018.

About the Mercedes-Benz Marco Polo HORIZON:

The Marco Polo HORIZON is based on the Mercedes-Benz V-Class. The multiple seating configurations of the Marco Polo HORIZON for up to seven passengers are an expression of its maximum versatility. It also offers five sleeping berths thanks to a reclining triple bench in the rear and a roof bed for two people. Two drawers underneath the reclining bench provide extra stowage space. The Marco Polo HORIZON can be stylishly individualised with an array of high-quality materials. Thanks to compact exterior dimensions and a vehicle height below two metres, the Marco Polo HORIZON is not just ideal for leisure activities, it is also a perfect everyday companion. For instance, it can get into any standard multi-storey car park without problems.
Lamborghini Polo Storico presents its latest projects at Salon Retromobile 2018, Paris

SantAgata Bolognese/Paris 7 February 2018  Lamborghini Polo Storico is at Salon Retromobile in Paris, from 7 to 11 February, with a prize-winning Miura and a right-hand drive Countach currently undergoing renovation. The heritage department of Automobili Lamborghini also displays examples of newly-manufactured V12 4.0 liter engine heads, as part of its ongoing commitment to original Lamborghini spare parts for classic Lamborghini models.

The 1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400, chassis #1120204, is part-way through its complete restoration by Lamborghini Polo Storico. Every part of the vehicle has been disassembled and overhauled including the matching-numbers engine.

The car is now being repainted in its original yellow color using paint from manufacturer PPG, and subjected to paint tests and hand polishing before the car is reassembled. Components are replaced as necessary using Lamborghini original spare parts ensuring the cars authenticity. Its interior in original Tabacco color is being refurbished.

The 1967 Lamborghini Miura P400, chassis #3264, represents a comprehensive ten-month restoration project carried out by Lamborghini Polo Storico. Using the original production documents for this particular car stored in Lamborghini Polo Storicos archives, the Miuras body in original Verde Scandal has been brought back to its original lines, along with restoration of the chassis and electrical, braking and cooling systems. The interior has been rebuilt, bringing it back to its original color. The dashboard has also been restored to its authentic color of Testa di Moro by Lamborghini Polo Storicos specialists.

Starting in November 2016, the Miuras restoration was finished by August 2017, when the car went on to win first prize in the Miura P400 class at the first Lamborghini & Design, Concorso d'Eleganza held in Neuchatel, Switzerland, in September last year.

The Miura and Countach at Salon Retromobile are just two of the latest cars currently under restoration by Lamborghini Polo Storico, alongside models including LM002, Espada, Jarama, Islero and Diablo.

Lamborghini V12 4.0 liter engine head project

Automobili Lamborghinis V12 4.0 liter engine head project is presented at Salon Retromobile Paris in order to share this significant development with classic-Lamborghini owners, specialists and enthusiasts worldwide.

Lamborghini V12 4.0 liter engine heads are now being reproduced as a result of client requests, built to Automobili Lamborghinis exacting specification using a reverse engineering process. Drawing on scrupulously researched and maintained Polo Storico historical archives, including the original dated drawings from 1965 and original V12 engines, Automobili Lamborghinis current R&D team also liaised with historical engineers in order to produce and rigorously test a single modular V12 4.0l fusion engine head mold.

Lamborghini Polo Storico

Lamborghini Polo Storico is the specialist department located within Lamborghinis headquarters in SantAgata Bolognese, Italy, committed to the restoration and certification of classic Lamborghini cars out of production for at least ten years (from Lamborghini 350 GT to Diablo); the preservation of archives and records; and the provision of original Lamborghini spare parts for classic cars, covering over 65% of the classic car park, and increasing the number of reintroduced parts year-on-year. A further 200 part numbers were added to its catalogues in 2017 alone.
Donald Trump watching the Bastille Day military parade with Emmanuel Macron. Photo: Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images

If theres one thing big-boy Donald Trump loves just as much as playing with trucks, its watching military parades. So it should come as no surprise that the president wants one for himself.

Back in July, the clap-happy president watched Frances Bastille Day military parade with what can only be described as childlike glee. Now, the Washington Post reports Trump has ordered the Pentagon to plan a parade to showcase U.S. military powers in Washington as well  and the event will likely happen later this year. Per the Post:

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

Of course, the parade  which will cost millions  is still in the brainstorming stage. White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed plans are underway. President Trump  has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation, she told the Post.

We cant wait to watch Trump count all the big tanks in the parade.
Kim Yo-jong and Kim Jong-un. Photo: AP/REX/Shutterstock

While some may watch the Olympics for the sports, others are more interested in the drama and the political intrigue. So heres a story for the latter category: it was announced on Wednesday that Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong-un, will be attending the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Yo-jong, believed to be 30, works as the head of North Koreas propaganda and agitation department  she was recently seen out touring a cosmetics factory with her brother. Though North and South Korea are marching under a unified flag in the Olympics, her trip will mark the first time an immediate member of the North Korean ruling family has visited their southern neighbor since the Korean War.

There are a few theories as to why shes going. For starters, according to the Associated Press, its a way to telegraph a fresher and warmer public image. Another posits that the countrys trying to upstage Vice-President Mike Pence, who will be leading the United States delegation.

Per The Guardian:

Prof Koh Yu-Hwan, of Dongguk University, said Pences planned presence in Pyeongchang may have been a factor in Kims decision to send his sister. Her trip will create a media frenzy, stealing the show from Vice-President Pence who wants to highlight the Norths human rights abuses and sanctions-defying nuclear drive, he told AFP.

The Olympics opening ceremony will kick off this Friday.
Reese Witherspoon. Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Turner

In a conversation with Oprah to promote their forthcoming film A Wrinkle in Time, Reese Witherspoon revealed that she left an abusive relationship when she was really young. She said the abuse was psychological and verbal and that deciding to leave changed her on a cellular level.

A line got drawn in the sand, and it got crossed, and my brain just switched, and I knew it was going to be very difficult, but I just couldnt go any further, Witherspoon said of her decision to leave. But it was profound, and I was young. Really young.  I was a different person too. It changed who I was on a cellular level, the fact that I stood up for myself.  Leaving those situations [isnt] easy because its wrought with self-doubt, particularly if someone damages your self-esteem.  I didnt have self-esteem, you know? And Im a different person now. You can watch video of the conversation here.

Witherspoon didnt name her abuser. She is currently married to CAA agent Jim Toth, and she was previously married to Ryan Phillippe. Phillippe and Witherspoon started dating in 1997, when Witherspoon was 21, and they married in 1999. They had two children together and divorced in 2006.

Witherspoon could have been talking about any number of relationships she had before or after she met Phillippe, but its worth noting that Phillippe was accused of domestic violence last fall. His 21-year-old ex-girlfriend Elsie Hewitt sued Phillippe in September, claiming that he kicked her, punched her, and threw her down a flight of stairs during an argument over the Fourth of July. Phillippe denied the accusations and filed a response claiming Hewitt was attempting to extort him.

After Hewitt filed suit, TMZ discovered that Phillippes ex-fiancee Paulina Slagter accused Phillippe of harassment in March of 2017. She filed a report with the Los Angeles Police Department claiming that Phillippe sent her several aggressive, extremely angry texts after they ended their engagement, including one in which he called her a whore. Slagter dropped the case shortly after filing her report to avoid publicity, per TMZ. But when Hewitt filed suit, she tweeted this:

Phillippe has never publicly commented on Slagters allegations. We reached out to his rep for comment on both cases and will update this post if we hear back.
T Magazines Womens Fashion issue cover. Photo: Collier Schorr/T Magazine

In a moment when New York is about to be flushed with the glow of Fashion Week  when stories of politics and news will be placed next to shots of women in luxurious clothes and when some designers will undoubtedly use their runways to make grand cultural statements  its fitting that we are getting a newly revamped T Magazine. On Wednesday, the New York Times style magazine, T, goes live online with a new look and feel, thanks to its new editor-in-chief, Hanya Yanagihara. The issue will hit doorsteps of all Sunday Times subscribers on February 18.

Yanagihara, a novelist, travel writer, and editor, was born in Los Angeles, though she moved around quite a lot, spending time in Hawaii, Texas, Maryland, New York, and California in her youth. In 2015, after leaving Conde Nast Traveler to be the deputy editor of T Magazine, she published her second book, A Little Life, which went on to become a best seller. The book was also shortlisted for the 2015 Man Booker Prize and was a finalist for the National Book Award in fiction. In 2016, Yanagihara decided to take some time for herself, what she refers to as an adult gap year, which ended when she got the editor-in-chief job at T in April of 2017. The position was previously held by Deborah Needleman, who left the magazine in November of 2016. Executive editor Whitney Vargas acted as interim editor-in-chief in between the two women, during which the magazine reduced publishing frequency from 13 to 11 issues a year, an amount they are sticking to with Yanagihara in charge.

Its impossible to tell the story of Ts new look without Yanagihara, who prefers to call it a refresh rather than a redesign  it wasnt a broken book, she said of Needlemans T. I wanted the book to be filled with things that felt personally meaningful to me. And she has succeeded  the Womens Fashion issue seems to be an extension of Yanagihara herself, whose speech mirrors the tone of T, eloquent and serious, even as she casually sneaks jokes into conversation.

The day before Ts refresh went live online, Yanagihara, 43, sat in her office. Her hair was pulled tightly back, showing off T-shaped diamond earrings (coincidence?) and a set of three gold necklaces. She looked calm and put together, despite the fact that she was getting over a cold and had four issues coming out in the next two months. We come out the 18th, the fourth of March, and the 25th of March, she said, staring at the production schedule tacked up on her office wall. One of my other goals is to really just get more organized here.

Yanagiharas decision to undergo the refresh was not a criticism of Needleman, who brought on Yanagihara, as well as former Cut senior editor Isabel Wilkinson, she just felt the magazine needed an update. I looked at each rubric and each page and thought, Can this be improved? Yanagihara said. And in some cases it couldnt be. It did what it was supposed to do and we couldnt make it better.

Hanya Yanagihara. Photo: Adrian Lourie/Evening Standard/Eyevine

Yanagiharas biggest change? We wanted it to feel urgent, like it was reflecting culture, the way that fashion and art reflect culture now. Five years ago, when Needleman started as editor-in-chief, the world was in a different place. Deborah made a book for the Obama years, Yanagihara said. By which I mean, it wasnt made in a moment of crisis. Yanagiharas magazine, while still beautiful and luxurious thanks to Patrick Li, who stayed on as creative director after Needleman left, has an edge to it that feels necessary at a time when the #MeToo movement and the Trump administration are dominating the headlines.

While T may never outright address politics (they have reporters upstairs who can do that), Yanagihara is not avoiding the tough issues. Each story in the new issue, while well-written and informative as ever, brims with ulterior motive. Every single piece reflects and refracts something that has been happening in the A section [of the New York Times], but it just does it in a way thats about the material good and aesthetic movements in our lives.

Take the cover story, for example. The piece, written by The New York Times Magazines culture editor, Sasha Weiss, features the feminist artist Judy Chicago. It is partly a profile of Chicagos life and greatest works, but its also a story about women struggling to find their place in the field of art, as well as in the world at large. The story follows Chicago through her journey in the art world as she fought for recognition. It depicts a moment when a man literally turned his back on Chicagos work, later telling her that hed been paralyzed by the fact that her work was better than that of the men in her circle. For Yanagihara, Chicago seemed the obvious choice as the new Ts first cover star. She did it first, Yanagihara said. I hope it will be a revelatory piece for people who do look at young artists and think, where did that come from, because a lot of it comes from her.

T has a message, that much is clear, but its hidden between photos of beautiful clothes (draped on models of color, something very important to Yanagihara). It lives and breathes in the stories of culturally relevant artists and modern designers  one cant pick up the issue without realizing whats important to Yanagihara. In some pieces, like The Godmother, about Chicago, she wants the reader to understand the influences of art today. Its about wanting to give people a context for where those supposedly new ideas are coming from.

In another story, about the return of classical figurative art, Dushko Petrovich takes a trend in the art world and explains it by citing the cultural, political moment. He posits that it is reassuring to have a painting that looks like what its supposed to because nothing in the world looks like what its supposed to anymore, Yanagihara explained. Art and culture have always been immediately reflective of the times and I think now more so than ever.

And then theres the emphasis on global coverage and thwarting common misconceptions about the non-Western world. Traditionally when the magazine turned its gaze outside of America, it typically looked to France and Italy and that makes sense, said Yanagihara, but it neglects huge parts of the world; you know, it neglects Asia, it neglects South America, Australia, the Middle East. Bringing in global influences is important to T, which boasts the largest international readership throughout the New York Times. So, when Yanagihara needed an architecture piece for the newest issue, it seemed obvious to cover Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, who was chosen to build the National Stadium in Tokyo for the 2020 Olympics.

T is still a style magazine, but that doesnt mean it will avoid the tough topics. I dont think that you can do a magazine that doesnt take into account culture in America at this moment or at the New York Times. While traditional international fashion magazines might be able to get away with a purely aesthetic publication, its just not possible in America right now, according to Yanagihara. Politics is inseparable from culture, she said. They reflect and bounce off each other. In this, Yanagihara has accomplished her goal with the refresh, making T feel more urgent: a vessel for not only aesthetic beauty, but also commentary, from a place where youd least expect it.
Reps. Gwen Moore, D-Wis., Lisa Blunt Rochester, D-Del., Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Alma Adams, D-N.C., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Del. Madeleine Bordallo, D-Guam, wear black to show solidarity with men and women who are speaking out against sexual harassment and discrimination. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

The House of Representatives approved legislation today to reform how Congress handles reports of sexual harassment, The Hill reports.

This bill comes following a series of high-profile reports of sexual misconduct in the halls of Congress. Staffers say sexual harassment is an occupational hazard on Capitol Hill. Congresswomen say Congressmen forcibly kissed them. And Michigan congressman John Conyers and Pennsylvania rep Pat Meehan have been criticized for using taxpayer dollars to pay sexual-harassment settlements against them.

Currently, to report sexual harassment in Congress, the survivor is required to go through months of counseling and mediation before they can file a complaint.

But now, under the new legislation, counseling and mediation wouldnt be mandatory, and staffers would have access to legal representation.

Lawmakers would also have to pay their sexual-harassment settlements personally and could not use office funds. Under the new bill, the Office of Compliance would also publish a regular report with information on which offices have paid sexual-harassment settlements. And California rep Jackie Speier says in the last decade $15 million has been paid out by the House of Representatives on behalf of harassers.

Thanks to the Me Too movement, the American public has made it clear that they have had enough, California Representative Jackie Speier told The Hill. They expect Congress to lead and for once, we are.

The bill now heads to the Senate, and according to Politico, its future is unclear.
98-Year-Old Driving Wrong Way Kills 2 Teens in Florida

Two teenagers in Florida are dead after their vehicle was hit head-on by an RV driven by a 98-year-old man.

Walter Roney of Dearborn, Michigan was driving west in the eastbound lane of Okeechobee road when he slammed into the teens, according to the Florida Highway Patrol, reported the TC Palm.

Roney and his passenger, Carolyn Bruns, 75, were rushed to the hospital and are listed in critical and serious condition respectively.

Santia Feketa, 17, and Britney Poindexter, 16, both Florida residents, were killed.



Both teenagers were wearing their seatbelts, reported The Palm Beach Post.

According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, drivers with licenses in the state must renew in person every eight years.

So-called aging drivers are encouraged to go through a series of self-administered tests to determine if they are still able to drive safely.

However, there are no specific requirements for drivers to meet as they get older.

From NTD.tv

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Avid Hunter Gets Both Feet, 9 Fingers Amputated After Going Into Septic Shock

An avid hunter in Texas has gotten both feet and nine of his fingers amputated after going into septic shock following a battle with pneumonia.

Brian Herndon had a low-grade fever on Jan. 3. The next day, when it was running higher, his wife Jaye Herndon rushed him to the hospital, where he received a pneumonia diagnosis.

The next day, pneumonia had combined with the flu and led to the Fort Worth man going into septic shock.

Herndon developed a condition called intravascular coagulopathy, which causes blood clots to form throughout the bodys small blood vessels, according to the National Institute of Health. These blood clots can reduce or block blood flow through the blood vessels, which can damage the bodys organs, it stated.

Two weeks later, doctors at Baylor University Medical Center had to remove both of Herndons feet and nine of his fingers, reported the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

The family is already looking forward and determined to have Herndon experience life as fully as possible, especially his love of hunting.

Well need some prosthetic fingers to aid with shooting, Jaye told the outlet. But eventually those will all be things that he is able to enjoy again. Hes a man of faith, and were all just trusting God to carry him through and bring us to that new normal.

According to the familys GoFundMe page, Brian will also need prosthetics for both legs.

While this is a challenging complication, we can do this together, his wife wrote. Our amount needed is rapidly growing but your help makes a huge difference. Every dollar will help show love to an amazing man! Funds will be used for prosthetics and his medical care. Thank you!!

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WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is seen on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on May 19, 2017. (Reuters/Peter Nicholls/File Photo)

Ecuador to Continue to Provide Protection to Assange After UK Court Rules Against Him

Ecuador said on Tuesday, Feb. 6 that it would continue to support Wikileaks founder Julian Assange after he lost one legal bid to have a UK arrest warrant against him quashed.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno called Assange an inherited problem but said Ecuador had made a commitment to continue protecting the life of Mr. Assange, which we think is in danger.

After the UK court ruled against him, Assange immediately launched a legal bid to have the British authorities halt any action against him on public interest grounds.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot said she would give her decision on Feb. 13.

A ruling in Assanges favour could pave the way for him to leave the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he has been holed up for over five years.

Assange, 46, entered the embassy in an apartment in the wealthy district of Knightsbridge to avoid extradition to Sweden to face an allegation of rape, which he denied. The Swedish case has since been dropped.

He has said he feared Sweden would hand him over to the United States to face prosecution over Wikileaks publication of leaked U.S. military and diplomatic documents.

As things stand, if he were to leave the embassy, he would face arrest by British police for breaching bail conditions when he fled there instead of handing himself in to be sent to Sweden.

Judge Arbuthnot rejected a legal argument to have the arrest warrant against him quashed on the basis that with the Swedish case dropped there was no longer any justification for it.

Assanges lawyer Mark Summers then launched a separate argument that even if his client were arrested and brought to court, it would not be in the interests of justice to take any further action.

He said Assange had had reasonable grounds for fleeing to the embassy in 2012 because of his fear that he would be ultimately be extradited to the United States.

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FBI Agents at Center of Trump, Clinton Investigations: Obama Wants to Know Everything Were Doing

Text messages sent between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page reveal that then-President Barack Obama wanted to know everything they were working on.

In the exchange, Strzok and Page discuss preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey who was briefing Obama.

Obama wanted to know everything were doing, wrote Page to Strzok in one of the messages obtained by Fox News.

The messages were among thousands of text messages first obtained by the Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General, and are now in the hands of Congress.

Strzok was the lead FBI agent on both the agencys investigation into Hillary Clintons use of a private email server and alleged collusion between Donald Trump and Russia.

He later became part of Special Counsel Robert Muellers team but was fired last year after the text messages had emerged.

The messages show Strzok and Page have a clear bias in favor of Clinton and a general disdain for Trump and his supporters.

While it is not strange for a sitting president to be made aware of such high profile investigations, it raises concerns that Obama might have been personally involved in them and implicated in any inappropriate or illegal activity that was part of those investigations.

The FBI investigation into whether Clinton had sent classified information using a private email server became perhaps the biggest stumbling block of her presidential run. The still unproven narrative that Trump colluded with Russia to win the elections, became one of the main attack lines against Trump.

FBI Director James Comey testified under oath before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8, 2016, that Obamas Attorney General, Loretta Lynch, had instructed him to describe the investigation into Clinton as a matter instead of a criminal investigation.

(Click on image to enlarge map)

That concerned me because that language tracked the way the campaign was talking about FBIs work and thats concerning, Comey said.

It was also revealed that Comey drafted the exoneration statement of Clinton well before the FBI investigation was concluded and before key witnesses, including Clinton herself, had been interviewed.

Strzok was among the agents who made changes to the draft of the exoneration statement Comey delivered in July 2016.

Other FBI agents removed a reference to Obama from Comeys draft statement, according to a letter sent by the chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), to FBI Director Christopher Wray.

In 2015, Obama was forced to retract a statement that he had not known about Clintons use of a private email server until it had come out publicly.

Obama had, in fact, emailed Clinton on her private email address multiple times, Obamas White House Spokesperson Josh Earnest admitted in March 2015. That admission suggests that, like Clinton, Obama might have been guilty of mishandling classified information, by communicating it through non-secure channels. If Obama were guilty of mishandling classified information in his communications with Clinton, that might have influenced the decision not to prosecute Clinton for the same crime.

FBI documents published in September 2016 also revealed that Obama used a pseudonym when communicating with Clinton by email.

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A full face reconstruction model made from the skull of a 10,000-year-old man, known as Cheddar Man, Britain's oldest complete skeleton. Photo taken at the National History Museum in London on Feb. 6, 2018. (Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images)

First Modern British Man Had Dark to Black Skin, DNA Research Shows

The first modern humans to live in what is now the UK had dark to black skin and blue eyes, groundbreaking DNA research of Britains oldest complete skeleton reveals.

According to the BBC, researchers took DNA samples from Cheddar Man, Britains oldest complete skeleton, and performed a genome analysis. This allowed for a facial reconstruction of a British man thought to have been alive about 10,000 years ago.

Cheddar Mans origins and appearance are of interest to scientists because people of white British ancestry alive today are assumed to be direct descendants. The skeleton is dated to a time not long after the first settlers crossed from continental Europe to Britain at the end of the last ice age.

Previously it was widely believed that Cheddar Man had lighter skin and hair, but his DNA strongly suggests blue eyes, dark brown to black skin, and dark curly hair.

The discovery suggests that genes associated with lighter skin and hair became widespread in European populations later than originally thought.

Tom Booth, an archaeologist at the Natural History Museum said that the finding really shows up that these imaginary racial categories that we have are really very modern constructions, or very recent constructions, that really are not applicable to the past at all.

The DNA analysis involved drilling a 2 mm hole into the skull of Cheddar Man to extract bone powder. From this a full genome was obtained, allowing insights into the mans appearance and lifestyle.

Results reveal a Middle Eastern origin for Cheddar Man, whose contemporaries are thought to have crossed an ancient land bridge connecting continental Europe with Britain.

According to the Guardian, about 10 percent of white British ancestry can be linked to Cheddar Mans peers.

Professor Chris Stringer, the Natural History Museums research leader in human origins, told BBC reporters that he had been studying the skeleton of Cheddar Man for about 40 years.

So to come face-to-face with what this guy could have looked likeand that striking combination of the hair, the face, the eye colour and that dark skin: something a few years ago we couldnt have imagined and yet thats what the scientific data show.

Cheddar Mans remains were found 115 years ago in Goughs Cave, located in Somersets Cheddar Gorge. It is reported that scientists believe the man was about 5 ft 5 in tall and likely died in his early 20s.

Signs on his skull suggest he met a violent death.

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A man has a tattoo of his ex-wife's name removed from his chest at a clinic named What Were You Inking in Denver, Colorado, on April 18, 2014. (REUTERS/Rick Wilking)

Grossest Bill in Indiana Aims to Ban Procedure That Changes Color of Eyeball

Becky Jacobs

Chicago Tribune

State Sen. John Ruckelshaus said some people have called his proposed legislation the grossest bill of the session.

But Ruckelshaus, R-Indianapolis, just wants to be proactive in banning scleral tattooing, he said.

You only have one shot at eyesight, Ruckelshaus said.

Scleral tattooing involves permanently changing the color of the white part of the eye by using a tool such as a needle to fill in and color it with a pigment, he said.

The state Senate recently approved the measure on a 42-5 vote. It heads to the Indiana House for further consideration.

The legislation would impose a fine of up to $10,000, with an exception given to a licensed health care professional when the act is performed in the scope of the health care professionals practice.

Oklahomas legislature banned scleral tattooing a few years ago, and Ruckelshaus said thats what he based his on.

I think it was important because when you do bills like this, yes, you set public policy, but you also draw awareness to it, Ruckelshaus said.

Dr. Eugene Helveston, professor emeritus of ophthalmology at the Indiana School of Medicine, testified before a Senate committee about the serious vision problems the procedure can cause.

You run the risk of infection and ultimately losing the eye, Ruckelshaus said.

The person credited with creating the practice, a tattoo artist that goes by the name Luna Cobra, Helveston said.

I think it absolutely should be done away with and not be allowed, Helveston said.

Helveston and Ruckelshaus both said they were not aware of any cases of scleral tattooing in Indiana, and employees at Ink or Swim, a tattoo and piercing shop in Valparaiso, said they havent, either.

Weve never had someone ask for it, Kerri Kello, co-owner of Ink or Swim Tattoo, said.

Kello and one of her tattoo artists, Caela Rae, said it shouldnt even technically be classified as a tattoo.

With tattooing, youre creating art on skin, whereas this is more dying or adding pigment to the whites of the eyes, Kello said.

Rather than using typical tattooing equipment, scleral tattooing injects a pigment into the eye, they said.

Its totally different because were not injecting ink into anybody, Kello said.

Just as there arent many people who seek getting their eyeballs dyed, Rae said she doesnt know of any artists who would want to do it.

Even the piercers that I know that are heavy into body modification, like scarification and things like that, theyre like, no, Im not even going to touch that because the risk is really high, Rae said.

Emilio Saylor, another tattoo artist at Ink or Swim, and his two co-workers agree, though, that doesnt mean it should necessarily be banned.

Unless scleral tattooing becomes a definite problem, I feel like its almost pointless to ban it when no one around here does it, Rae said.

If it were an issue and people were going blind, like several people a year were going blind because of this, Id say yeah, maybe it should be looked at differently or maybe some other sort of regulations, Rae said.

With something as risky as scleral tattooing, Kello, Rae and Saylor emphasized it should only be done by someone trained and educated on how to do it properly.

I think people who dont know what theyre doing definitely shouldnt be doing it, Rae said.
Mother Who Poisoned Disabled Son Gets Life Sentence

A mother who fatally poisoned her disabled 2-year-old son will now face life behind bars.

Erica White, 45, of Cobb County, Georgia, was found guilty of murdering her son, Tyrael McFall, for a $50,000 life insurance policy in Nov. 2014, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The prosecution said White killed her son with a lethal dose of codeine, by putting crushed Tylenol tablets into his gastric bypass tube.

The judge sentenced White to the maximum penalty of life in prison without parole plus 83 years in prison, to be run concurrently.

The prosecutions case asserted that the murder was motivated by greed. After Tyraels death, White and her boyfriend, Michael Schullerman, also opened a number of credit cards in his name and made purchases.

The crimes committed by this defendant are the most reprehensible and unforgivable that exist in our community, prosecutor Susan Treadaway said.

In her sentencing remarks, Cobb Superior Court Judge Mary Staley Clack said the evidence speaks for itself.

The greed never stopped, said the judge, who described Whites actions before, during, and after the childs death as evil and corrupt.

The defense argued that Schullerman, 38, played a greater role in Tyraels death.

In Dec. 2017, Schullerman, who was also charged in Tyraels death, pled guilty to about a dozen charges, including conspiracy to commit murder. He was sentenced to 20 years on a racketeering charge.

According to the Journal-Constitution, Tyrael was left blind and disabled after being beaten by his father when he was younger.

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North Carolina Deputy Fired Just Hours After Robbing Bank

Officials in North Carolina said this week that a deputy was fired because he allegedly robbed a bank while brandishing a gun.

Jeff Athey, 51, was a deputy for the Davidson County Sheriffs Office before being fired and subsequently charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon.

Athey is accused of robbing the F&M Bank on West Main Street in Rockwell.

Officials told WNCN that a man, believed to be Athey, walked into the bank and pulled out a handgun.

He demanded money, received some, left the bank, and hopped into a silver Mustang.

Athey was taken into custody about five minutes later after the bank teller called 911 and all the money taken was recovered.

I am shocked and appalled as anyone else about Mr. (Jeff) Atheys behavior, said Davidson County Sheriff David Grice. During his employment with our agency he gave no indications that this type of behavior could occur.

Im thankful that Mr. Athey did not injure anyone during this incident and that he did not resist arrest, Grice added, reported WSOC.

He noted that Athey worked as a private contractor for Blackwater in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think a cop would do that, one resident told the broadcaster.

The bank was scheduled to reopen on Thursday, Feb. 8.

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Ohio Teen Back Home After Serving Time for Shooting Abusive Father

Bresha Meadows, a 16-year-old from Ohio, is free after 18 months of incarceration in a juvenile corrections facility and a mental health hospital.

Meadows became a national symbol in the fight against child abuse when she shot her father, 41-year-old Jonathan Meadows, on July 28, 2016.

Bresha, 14 years old at the time, had survived and witnessed her father inflicting years of abuse on her mother, herself, and her two siblings according to her attorney. Finally, fearing that he would kill one or all of them, Bresha shot him in the head while he slept.

She had to take matters into her own hands believing that if she didnt stop her father, it was just going to get worse and eventually somebody was going to die, her lawyer, Ian Friedman, told the New York Times.

Friedman called Breshas life with her father an unimaginable nightmare she saw and experienced on a daily basis, the Vindicator reports.

According to TeenVogue, Breshas mother, Brandi, called her daughter a hero. Both she and her daughter say they feared Jonathan Meadows would eventually kill them.

I believe she was trying to help our whole family get out of the box that he put us in, Brandi told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. I believe that she saved all of us.

It was the only way that she could defend her family from the man who abused them. He was well over 200 pounds, and she was a 14-year-old girl, lawyer Ian Friedman told the Plain Dealer.

In 2011, Brandi filed a protective order against her husband, Huffington Post reports. In it, she wrote, In the 17 years of our marriage he has cut me, broke my ribs, fingers, the blood vessels in my hand, my mouth, blackened my eyes. I believe my nose was broken.

If he finds us, I am 100 percent sure he will kill me and the children.

Bresha's family told they couldn't wear their Stand With Bresha tshirts, had to turn them inside out cc #FreeBresha pic.twitter.com/IlBoEoVWB2  Melissa Jeltsen (@quasimado) May 3, 2017

A few years later she rescinded the order and tried to reconcile with her husband, but according to mother and daughter, the abuse was unrelenting. Huffington Post reports that several people close to the family told reporters that they believed Jonathon Meadows might have sexually abused Bresha.

Bresha ran away from home twice, in January 2015 and then in May 2016, just several weeks before the killing. In both cases she was turned over to child protective services, who returned her to her home, the New York Times reported.

On July 28, 2016, Bresha decided she had to take drastic action. She took her fathers .45 caliber automatic pistol, the same pistol she claimed he used to threaten his family, and shot her sleeping father in the head, Rewire reports.

Suffering in Prison

Breshas case ignited a firestorm of sympathetic responses, including the formation of the #FreeBresha movement, which lobbied hard to get the troubled teen out of prison and into a stable home.

While in juvenile jail, Bresha was diagnosed with PTSD and depression. Supporters claimed she did not receive the amount or quality of care she deserved, that she was being treated as a criminal, not a victim.

We have in fact heard from Bresha's family that she is being released from her confinement at a mental health facility on Sunday. #FreeBresha  #FreeBresha (@freebresha) February 2, 2018

A GoFundMe page raised more than $155,000 to pay for appeals, lobbying, legal opinions, and treatment.

Campaigns like #FreeBresha pointed out that a high percentage of children in juvenile detention have been sexually or physically abused, and that while there, they get worse, not better.

Eventually, Bresha was transferred to a mental health facility where her family, helped by the GoFundMe campaign, were able to get her the treatment they say she needed.

Voice of Dissent

Not everyone sees Bresha as a hero or a victim.

Lena Cooper, the sister of Jonathan Meadows, says that there was no self-defenseher brother was shot to death in his sleep.

It was murder, Cooper told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. But I dont want my niece to get life in prison. I want her to get help. If it was that bad in that house, (Brandi) could have run. My nephew has a car. My brother wasnt there 24 hours a day.

Cooper said there had been abuse in the past, but claimed that all the abuse had ended years prior.

This was not a family living in fear, Cooper said. My brother is being crucified for something that happened years ago. There is no evidence of recent abuse. We talked with the authorities, and they said there was no signs of abuse.

Cooper also questions why the gun that killed her brother had his DNA on it, and the DNA of another family member, but not Breshas.

It is very hard for my family because true justice has not been served, Cooper told the Tribune Chronicle.

Home at Last

After more than 18 months in cells and locked wards and courtrooms, Bresha is returning home.

Bresha will be on probation for the next two years. During that time, she will live at homethough there is no public notice of where that home will beand will attend school in her new neighborhood.

Bresha's sister and friends drew signs in support of her while waiting cc #FreeBresha Court now on lunch break pic.twitter.com/pZqvWxRKMO  Melissa Jeltsen (@quasimado) May 3, 2017

She had been in the gifted students program in the school she attended in Warren, Ohio, before her arrest. Now she will be starting high school, the Plain Dealer reports.

Her attorney, Ian Friedman, told the Tribune Chronicle, Bresha has been through an incredibly traumatic ordeal. I have confidence that she is going to do great things in her life. I hope that people allow her to put this behind her and let her live in peace, finally.

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Over 153 Aftershocks After Recent 6.1 Quake Raise Fears of Another Major Tremor

Taiwan has been hit by hundreds of aftershocks in the wake of two major quakes that have rocked the island over the past three days, and reports show there may be more to come.

According to the Taiwan News, a series of aftershocks was noted in the hours following the 6.4 earthquake (USGS data, CWB cites a slightly different figure) that struck on Monday, Feb. 6. By around 3 p.m. local time on Feb. 7, the tally of aftershocks stood at 153.

Of those, 18 were substantial enough to be felt.

The presence of these aftershocks from last nights quake in the city of Hualien suggests a potential for another strong earthquake, according to a Central Weather Bureau report.

After a magnitude-6.1 earthquake hit Hualien on Sunday (USGS data) the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) counted 94 aftershocks the following day, 40 within the first three hours after the main quake hit.

Three of the aftershocks measured over 5.0 and the largest was 5.4.

The CWB initially reported that the tremors following Sundays quake would decrease in size, but the opposite turned out to be true.

The aftershocks started to get stronger, culminating in yesterdays 6.4 earthquake (USGS data).

Director of the CWB Seismological Center, Chen Kuo-chang, said that if this trend in aftershock size continues, its more likely another earthquake will hit.

The 6.4-magnitude quake that hit Hualien late on Tuesday killed at least two people and caused several buildings to collapse.

The quake struck about 22 km (14 miles) northeast of Hualien shortly before midnight, and the epicenter was very shallow at just 1 km (about two-thirds of a mile), the USGS said.

Victims of the magnitude-6.4 earthquake in Taiwan share aftermath videos of wrecked homes, cracked streets and slanted buildings: https://t.co/9YBOwVZsa1 pic.twitter.com/ZgD8rgEEDI  CBS News (@CBSNews) February 6, 2018

Video shows building tilting over after magnitude-6.4 earthquake hits off coast of Taiwan; at least four buildings have collapsed from the quake. https://t.co/p8SjM9lvKy pic.twitter.com/NTBF1UukV2  ABC News (@ABC) February 6, 2018

Two people were unfortunately killed, and 114 have suffered light or severe injuries, Taiwans Premier William Lai told an emergency government meeting.

Rescue crews worked to free people trapped in rubble.

Hualien is a popular tourist destination on Taiwans eastern coast and home to about 100,000 people.

A strong & shallow earthquake struck off Taiwan's east coast

The quake toppled buildings in Hualien, leaving civilians trapped inside. This video shows the badly damaged Marshal Hotel

pic.twitter.com/iWedZgLoCj  EAGLE WINGS (@NIVIsa4031) February 6, 2018

The president has asked the Cabinet and related ministries to immediately launch the disaster mechanism and to work at the fastest rate on disaster relief work, President Tsai Ing-wens office said in a statement.

Among the buildings toppled in the quake was the Marshal Hotel in Hualien, where three people were trapped inside, the government said.

Four other buildings, including two hotels and a military hospital, also tilted during the quake in Hualien, which is located about 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital, Taipei.

The government said two bridges in the city were either cracked or could not be used due to the quake.

According to Taiwan News, a swarm of earthquakes struck eastern Taiwan over the past several days.

At the time of publication, Taiwan had registered 19 earthquakes today, with all the tremors clustered around the same area off the coast of Hualien. No injuries were reported at the time of publication, the Taiwan News reported. On Feb. 4, there were 28 earthquakes recorded coming from just off the coast of Hualien, with 12 occurring in a single hour, the largest of which was a magnitude 5.8 temblor. The pattern continued with 10 more earthquakes on Monday, the largest of which being a magnitude 5.0 quake, Taiwan News reported.

Officials told the publication that the quakes are being caused by the Philippine Sea (tectonic) Plate sliding under the Eurasian Plate.

This comes after several major earthquakes struck along the Pacific Ring of Fire in recent months. The expansive area is known for earthquakes and a number of active volcanoes. Taiwan is located in the Ring of Fire.

The Ring of Fire is located within the basin of the Pacific Ocean, lined with around 75 percent of the worlds total active volcanoes.

On average Taiwan receives two to three magnitude-6.0 and higher earthquakes a year although they often occur in a deep layer of the earth or offshore so we do not feel them as strongly, according to UDN.

Last year there was not a single earthquake over 6.0 however the year before last there were five, three of which occurred offshore.

Coincidentally the last magnitude-7.0 earthquake in Taiwan struck Tainan in 2016.

Jack Phillips contributed to this report.

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An Israeli soldier gestures as he stands near the scene of a stabbing attack north of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, Feb. 7, 2018. (Reuters/Mussa Qawasma)

Palestinian Killed After Stabbing Israeli Guard at West Bank Settlement

KARMEI TZUR, West BankA Palestinian assailant was shot dead on Wednesday after stabbing a security guard at the entrance to a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said.

The civilian guard, stationed at the Karmei Tzur settlement north of the Palestinian city of Nablus, was slightly wounded. Another security guard shot and killed the attacker, the military said in a statement.

Tensions have risen in the West Bank since U.S. President Donald Trumps Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital. He is the first U.S. president to have acted on a campaign promise that was stated alike by Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama before him.

I fulfilled my campaign promise  others didnt! pic.twitter.com/bYdaOHmPVJ  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2017

Late on Tuesday, Israeli forces shot dead at least one Palestinian during a raid in Nablus that led to confrontations with residents, Palestinian health officials said.

In a statement, the military said its troops had been searching for an assailant who fatally stabbed an Israeli man at the entrance to the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank on Monday.

During the activity, a violent riot was instigated as approximately 500 Palestinians hurled rocks, fire bombs and explosive devices and fired live rounds at IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers, and in addition the rioters built rock barriers, a military statement said.

The troops responded with riot dispersal means and fired warning shots in the air, it said. A report regarding a Palestinian being killed and several injured is being reviewed.

The Palestinian Health Ministry put the number of Palestinians wounded at 29. The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said stone-throwers had clashed with the soldiers.

The alleged attacker in the Ariel incident was an Arab citizen of Israel and Israeli media reports said his father is a Nablus resident. The military said the suspect was not apprehended in the operation and seven people were detained for questioning.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian gunman in the West Bank village of Yamoun and said he was the head of a militant cell responsible for an ambush in which a Jewish settler was shot dead on Jan. 9.

Israel had been looking for the final member of the cell which it said killed Rabbi Raziel Shevah in a drive-by shooting. Commandos had already killed one of the gunmen involved and captured another.

Israels government regards Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the country. Palestinians say East Jerusalem, captured along with the West Bank by Israel in a 1967 war, must be the capital of a state they seek.

By Eli Berlzon

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The 3000 block of Yale Avenue, Memphis, the location of a shooting on Dec. 18, 2017. (Screenshot/Google Maps)

Police Find Body in Impounded Van 7 Weeks After Shooting

The body of a man has been found in the van where he was shot 7 weeks agoinside a police compound in Memphis.

Memphis police had impounded the vehicle following a shooting on Dec. 18.

The unidentified victim was found on Monday when police returned the vehicle to the owner, who had been recovering in hospital from multiple gunshot wounds.

Police are investigating the incident, which they described as unacceptable.

When officers were called to a shooting in Yale Avenue, on Dec. 18, they discovered two men had been shot at in a van during a robbery.

The passenger, 55, had escaped unharmed.

The driver, 47, had been shot multiple times after refusing to comply with the demands of three robbers and was hospitalized in a critical condition.

In the meantime, his van was towed and sat inside the Memphis Police Department impound said Director Michael Rallings.

When the driver was discharged from hospital and came to pick up his vehicle on Monday, Feb. 5, they found the body of a male Hispanic, currently unidentified, said Rallings during a press conference.

The preliminary investigation revealed that the deceased male was sitting in the rear of [the drivers] van when the shooting occurred, said Rallings.

It is believed that one of the shots fired by the suspect fatally wounded the victim.

However, Rallings said that police had undertaken a thorough search and investigation at the time and at no point had a third victim been mentioned.

I just cant explain how this victim stayed in a van and we did not locate him until the victim showed up to recover the van, Rallings said.

I assure you, we will get to the bottom of it. We will determine all of the facts and hold individuals accountable for actions they took or actions they did not take, Rallings said.

The victims deserve better; the families of the victims deserve better  This incident is unacceptable and should never have happened.

According to Rallings, despite some claims to the contrary, a third occupant of the van was never mentioned, something he said is confirmed by body cam footage.

Although the cargo van was overly stocked with equipment, there is no explanation as to how the deceased victim remained in the vehicle without being detected, or why investigators were never advised that there was a third victim, he said.

Asked as to why police hadnt been alerted by the smell of a decomposing corpse, he speculated that the cold weather would have preserved the body.

Offcs are on the scene of a shooting @ 3084 Yale. Offcs. located a male who has been shot and xported in critical condition. There is no suspect info. available at this point.  Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) December 19, 2017

Rallings said that it wasnt known whether the victim could have survived the shooting had he been discovered earlier. We are waiting on results of the autopsy.

I think we are all upset, Rallings said. We want to deliver the service our citizens deserve and I cant say that we did that in this situation and its unacceptable.

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Police Release Names of 2 Children and 3 Adults Killed in Kentucky Crash

Police in Cold Spring named the five people killed in a Tuesday morning crash, including two children, both under two years old.

At 4:37 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6, Brandon Lawson, 23, lost control of his Toyota Corolla and crossed the median on Alexandria Pike, police say. Lawsons car was hit by a gold Ford Taurus driven by Russell Groves, 84, who couldnt avoid the crash, according to police.

Lawson, his wife Taylor Koch and their two children, Brendan and Isabella Lawson, were all killed. Isabella was six months old. Brendan was nearly two years old.

Very sad story out of Cold Spring. Brandon Lawson, his finance Taylor Koch and their 2 babies died in a tragic crash on US 27 yesterday @Local12 pic.twitter.com/QLLOpZHgu5  meghan mongillo (@meghanmongillo) February 7, 2018

Groves survived the crash and was airlifted to a hospital. His passenger, Sharon Groves, 74, was killed.

According to Sharon Groves brother, she and her husband were returning home from a chemotherapy treatment. Sharon was one treatment away from completing her regimen, reported WKRC.

A third vehicle involved in the crash, a Ford Focus driven by Barry Miller, hit the front fender of Lawsons Corolla. No one inside the Ford Focus was hurt.

Sharon Groves 74 died in the ax yesterday in Cold Spring. Her husband 84 year old Russell is still in the hospital. A brother tells me they were on their way home from Sharons next to last chemo treatment for lung cancer. A family of 4 also died in crash @Local12 pic.twitter.com/Dv5EbBKThX  meghan mongillo (@meghanmongillo) February 7, 2018

No idea why they crossed over, Cold Spring Police Chief Steve Collinsworth told WCPO. The [investigators] will look at the vehicle. Looking at everything involved in the collision. See if theres something mechanical in the vehicle. Talk to witnesses to see if we can find out why they crossed over.

The police chief said that he didnt think excessive speed was involved.

I think if you reduce the speed limit, without the median in that situation, youre still going to have a head-on collision, the chief said. Lowering it by 10 miles per hour, I dont think the results would be much different.

Both of the children were properly strapped into child seats, according to Collinsworth. All of the adults were wearing seatbelts.

UPDATE: Cold Spring Police identify all 5 victims of Tuesday's fatal crash. Two were under the age of 2. https://t.co/fvu1CuMw3w pic.twitter.com/Vf4KOZfzv7  Local 12/WKRC-TV (@Local12) February 7, 2018

The first responders were devastated by the crash.

It happens very quickly, Cold Spring Sgt. Andy Hyett told WCPO. Its tragic. I have a child of my own and every officer and firefighter that went there also has that  Its one of the hardest things we have to do.

You go home and hug your family that much harder and thank God it wasnt you this time, Hyett added.

Collinsworth hopes finding the cause of the crash would provide a sense of closure.

When you can put your finger on it, that makes it a little easier. In this case we may never be able to do that. It makes it harder, he said.

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Powerball Winner Battles for the Right to Stay Anonymous

A New Hampshire women who won a $560 million Powerball prize is fighting in court for the right to remain anonymous.

The woman purchased the ticket from Reeds Ferry Market in Merrimack, New Hampshire. The markets owner got $75,000 for selling the winning ticket and has already gone public with his identity in the media, according to Fox News.

But the winner of the ticket has yet to claim her prize. The controversy centers over lottery rules that require winners to reveal their identity including their name, town, and the amount of the winnings, according to Fox.

She is a longtime resident of New Hampshire and is an engaged community member, wrote the winners attorney, Steven Gordon, in court documents obtained by NewHampshire.com. She wishes to continue this work and the freedom to walk into a grocery store or attend public events without being known or targeted as the winner of a half-billion dollars.

New Hampshire is one of the few states that allow winners to remain anonymous. But this winner did not follow the procedures for doing so. Instead, she signed the ticket in her name before she consulted a lawyer. She calls it a huge mistake, according to NewHampshire.coms review of court documents.

The New Hampshire Lottery Commissions website cites New Hampshire law as requiring the winner to reveal their identity. The website does not mention how establishing a trust fund can avert that requirement.

After completing and signing the ticket, Ms. Doe met with counsel and learned for the first time that a trust could sign for and collect the winnings, thus preserving her privacy, said Gordon, referring to his client as Jane Doe, via the court documents obtained by NewHampshire.com.

Now the winner wants to put the name of a trust on the ticket, but lottery officials say that if they let her alter the ticket her winnings will be void, according to Fox.

The winner has a hearing set for Feb. 21 to address the case, according to NewHampshire.com.

The law office where Gordon works published a blog post advising the Powerball winner to remain anonymous. The post says to keep the unsigned, winning ticket in a safety deposit box.

Dont sign that back of the ticket because if you sign it you lost confidentiality, Attorney William Shaheen wrote in the post. It becomes public, and you lost the option of staying anonymous.

The post mentions that the previous New Hampshire Powerball winner, in 2016, stayed anonymous by using a trust with the help of the firm.

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Prominent Black Lives Matter Leader Shot Dead in New Orleans

A Black Lives Matter leader was shot and killed in New Orleans, police said.

Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, who went by the name Muhiyidin dBaha, died on Tuesday, Feb. 6, according to The Advocate.

He was shot in the thigh while riding his bicycle, the report said.

New Orleans police spokesman Beau Tidwell said there are no suspects or a motive.

He was riding the bike near the intersection of Bienville Court and North Roman Street at around 1 a.m. when he was shot, WGNO reported. He was rushed to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

DBaha, 32, moved to South Carolina from Poughkeepsie, New York, when he was 13 and was in New Orleans on a personal trip, his niece told the Post and Courier.

He loved Charleston and loved fighting for whats right, Camille Weaver said. Ive never met anyone more committed and hardworking than him. He was an asset to the Charleston community and will be greatly missed.

We dont have many details, but will update as soon as we do, Weaver said, according to NOLA.com.I can say that our family is beyond appreciative for the outpouring of love and support weve received today, she wrote. Moya was a light and he will shine on forever.

He was arrested last year for jumping over a barricade to grab a Confederate Flag during a protest in Charleston.

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An Amtrak passenger train sits in New York City's Pennsylvania Station on April 27, 2017. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)

Reports: Amtrak Train Cars Separate at 125 Mph

An Amtrak train reportedly broke apart at 125 mph on its way to New Yorks Penn Station.

Sources told the New York Post that Amtraks Acela Express heading from Washington, D.C, to New York City decoupled at 6:30 a.m. Several cars were held together by air hoses, the report said.

LATEST AMTRAK DISASTER: Train breaks apart at 125 MPH pic.twitter.com/k1Ec70Bg9D  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) February 7, 2018

Someone could have been walking through the train when that happened and fell to their death, one source said.

None of the 52 people on board were hurt.

There was a lot of sparking and smoking at the head of the train and a lot of bouncing around, a source told the paper.

A photo that was taken by a worker at Amtrak showed a connector between the coupled trains separated and broken. There was an approximately six-foot-wide gap between them.

It felt almost like we were dragging something, said Andrew Exum, 39, according to the paper. The train separated about 50 miles north of Baltimore.

I looked out the window and saw a shower of sparks coming out the side of the train, Exum added. Pretty quickly, the train came to a halt and the Amtrak folks rushed forward. I could tell by their faces that this was serious, and that we werent going anywhere.

There were a lot of fumes and a little bit of smoke, he added. So we moved to the next car and just kind of waited. They powered down the train so we were literally in the dark for 30 minutes or so, maybe a little bit longer.

It comes after an Amtrak train going from South Carolina from New York City smashed a freight train, killing two workers.

Amtrak Train 91, carrying nine crew members and 136 passengers, was traveling from New York to Miami when it hit the CSX Corp freight train that was stopped on a side track, or siding, at about 2:35 a.m. local time (0735 GMT), Reuters reported.

The section of track was operated by CSX and the Amtrak train was diverted onto the siding at a switch where a padlock had been attached to steer train traffic that way, Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the U.S. National Transportation Board, told a news conference.

Key to this investigation is learning why the switch was lined that way, he said, calling the damage to the locomotives catastrophic. An NTSB investigation team was at the site.

Amtrak engineer Michael Kempf, 54, of Savannah, Georgia, and conductor Michael Cella, 36, of Orange Park, Florida, were killed, Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher told reporters. Autopsies were underway, she said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Two Bodies Found Believed to Be of Missing Elderly Couple From Texas

Two bodies found in Chaves County, New Mexico, are believed to be the missing elderly couple from Bovina, a city in Texas.

The couple Rosendo Lara, 81 and Hortencia Lara, 84 had been missing for weeks and were last seen alive in Bovina on Jan. 19, according to CBS affiliate KLBK.

On Tuesday, Feb. 6, a local rancher contacted authorities when he found the elderly pair on a ranch road in the Eastern part of Chaves County.

They were found in a very remote area, NBC affiliate KXAN reported.

At the scene, a vehicle was also discovered near the couple and is believed to be their missing vehicle, according to the Bovina Police Department.

The Chaves County Sheriffs Office advised that no obvious signs of foul play were found at this time, a Tuesday statement said. It is suspected that exposure is most likely the cause of death.

Its unclear as of writing what exact exposure caused the deaths, but it is commonly used to refer to extreme temperatures.

Officials said the bodies seemed to have been dead for a few days already, News Channel 10 reported. An autopsy to determine the exact cause of death is pending.

Last month the family of the elderly couple was still hoping to find them.

When we go to bed at night, thats the hardest thing for us to do. I mean not knowing where my parents are at, them being so old, you know, thats when we break down basically, their son Ezequiel Lara told News Channel 10.

Every night we make a prayer and put my mom and dad in the Lords hands because if theyre out there, we want them back home, he said.

According to KXAN, the couple had been in a Silver Alert notification. Extensive searches and social media efforts to find the pair had also taken place.

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World shares meander after Wall St ends with weekly loss

World shares and U.S. futures were mostly higher Monday, bouncing back from losses last week on Wall Street. Stocks rose in London, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai but fell in Hong Kong, where a Financial Times report that Chinese regulators want to break up the mammoth e-commerce payments platform Alipay dragged shares in Alibaba Group Holding nearly 4.3% lower.

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Manulife Financial Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides financial products and services in Asia, Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Wealth and Asset Management Businesses; Insurance and Annuity Products; And Corporate and Other segments. The Wealth and Asset Management Businesses segment provides mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, group retirement and savings products, and institutional asset management services through agents and brokers affiliated with the company, securities brokerage firms, and financial advisors pension plan consultants and banks. The Insurance and Annuity Products segment offers deposit and credit products; individual life, and individual and group long-term care insurance; and guaranteed and partially guaranteed annuity products through insurance agents, brokers, banks, financial planners, and direct marketing. The Corporate and Other segment is involved in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance businesses; and run-off reinsurance operations, including variable annuities, and accident and health. It also manages timberland and agricultural portfolios; and engages in insurance agency, portfolio and mutual fund management, mutual fund dealer, life and financial reinsurance, and fund management businesses. Additionally, the company holds and manages oil and gas properties; holds oil and gas royalties, and foreign bonds and equities; and provides investment management, counseling, advisory, and dealer services. Manulife Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1887 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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This Week's Top Football Performers: Two players from top-rated Class 9A De Smet lead the way

De Smet is the No. 1-rated Class 9A team in the state and the undefeated Bulldogs spearhead the list of area performers in Week 4 of the South Dakota high school football season.
The GTA is developing one heck of a sweet tooth, and its being stoked by a wide range of dessert options out of Asia.

Now, the cozy flavours of Taiwan are here via Meet Fresh, a new dessert emporium that opened in January on Yonge St. just north of North York Centre.

Its the taste of home, says Jason Sun, 31, executive partner of the master franchise ownership group for eastern Canada. Its comfort food dessert.

Many of Meet Freshs dishes can be served hot, as well as cold, and go down nicely on a chilly Canadian night.

The top seller here is the Meet Fresh Signature ($8.70), which combines herbal jelly, herbal blended ice and taro balls. Also on order is Tofu Pudding ($6.99 or $7.20) a traditional Taiwanese dessert served with barley and other accompaniments such as mung beans or sweet potato. Dramatic looking Shaved Iced, meanwhile, gets topped with condensed milk and choices such as taro ($10.70) and the outlet also serves drinks like Winter Melon Tea ($5.40).

The brand dates back to 2007 when the two eldest siblings of the Fu family  they are always called Mr. and Mrs. Fu or Brother and Sister Fu and no one seems to even know their first names  opened a shop in Taiwan serving traditional desserts. Their younger brother, Fu Hsin-Chin, encouraged the venture and ran the business side.

The cooking duo focused on fresh ingredients and homemade processes. For instance, their herbal jelly starts with boiling juice for 24 hours. Then, the process of making the jelly itself takes a further eight hours. Its doubly worth it: for the flavour and the fact that it does not include gelatin, so its totally vegetarian.

The youngest Fu spearheaded an expansion around Taiwan, and then into China. Now, there are about 500 outlets in that country alone, and over 600 in total. No precise tally is available. We cant keep track, says Sun.

The company uses a mixture of franchises and corporate stores. Fu the younger moved to California, and runs most of the U.S. stores as corporate outlets. The elder siblings, meanwhile, remain in Taiwan and are still involved in the business there.

Sun heard about the company via friends in China who were running successful franchises.

He already had a solid track record in business, working in phone accessories. In 2009, hed help found Fourfold Capital. Always looking for projects  and with a sweet tooth  he hoped to get into bringing an Asian dessert outlet to Toronto. But he was wary of some of the offerings, particularly ice cream-related ventures.

This was the only concept that fits into our weather, he says. He brought on some additional partners and landed the master franchise for eastern Canada. (There are already two Meet Fresh outlets in Vancouver under a different franchise agreement. Meanwhile, Sun found an entrepreneur with franchise experience in Quebec and licensed him to open up locations there.)

Sun and his team got this location last fall and renovated it to the Meet Fresh look: a crisp and clean takeout counter and open kitchen, but with some cozy, traditional features such as bamboo wall panelling and red paper lanterns.

Most importantly, this spot has a full kitchen in the basement. Staff from head office in Taiwan came over for two months to train staff in making most of the menu items from scratch, including that laborious jelly.

We serve nothing here thats canned, says Sun.

Whats not made on site is brought in from the Taiwan production facility. That includes the taro balls. To get them in Canada, Sun and his team have to put in an order three months in advance to have them made and shipped.

You can get Taiwanese dessert elsewhere, but Meet Freshs reputation for delicious, homemade treats has led to lineups since opening. Even on freezing cold nights, devotees will stand outside to await their dessert.

So Sun has plans for more outlets around the GTA to start. Hell focus on communities with large Asian populations first, but expects to open in more mainstream areas soon enough. We believe this can grow very fast, he says.
Comedian Jim Carrey is giving Facebook a big thumbs down after the social network revealed that it sold political ads to Russian-linked accounts between 2015 and 2017.

Carrey said Tuesday that he is deleting his Facebook page and dumping the tech firms stock, and urged others to do the same.

Im dumping my @facebook stock and deleting my page because @facebook profited from Russian interference in our elections and theyre still not doing enough to stop it. I encourage all other investors who care about our future to do the same, he tweeted.

Tech companies, including Facebook, have been under pressure to do more to combat misinformation in the wake of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

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Facebook, which has more than 2 billion monthly active users worldwide, has vowed to step up its efforts to protect election integrity.

Carrey, though, said the company isnt doing enough and profited from Russian interference in our elections. Russian officials have denied meddling in the presidential election, but social media companies discovered Kremlin-linked accounts.

Facebook's head of global policy management, Monika Bickert, told the House of Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee it had taken down "thousands" of fake accounts in the run-up to 2017 elections in the UK, France and Germany. (The Associated Press)

About 126 million Americans may have seen content from the Russian government-linked Internet Research Agency on Facebook between 2015 to 2017, the company said. Facebook found more than 3,000 ads associated with IRA during this period, but claimed it didnt know they had Russian ties when they were first purchased.

Facebook isnt the only social media site that displayed Russian-linked content. Last week, Twitter said it notified 1.4 million people in the United States who interacted with accounts connected to the Kremlin-linked Internet Research Agency during the 2016 presidential election season.

Carrey also posted his Twitter message on his Facebook page, which is still up. He did not say how many Facebook shares he owns.

For a long time America enjoyed a geographical advantage in the world with oceans on both sides to protect it, Carrey said in a statement sent to SiliconBeat Tuesday. Now, social media has created cyber-bridges over which those who do not have our best interest in mind can cross and we are allowing it.

What we need now are activist investors to send a message that responsible oversight is needed, he added. What the world needs now is capitalism with a conscience.

Facebook has not responded to a request for comment.

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Ontarios threat of a trade war with U.S. states that adopt Buy American policies sparked swift criticism Wednesday from the opposition, who called it nothing but a reckless political gambit from the governing Liberals as they fight to stay in power.

Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Tuesday night that her cabinet would soon table legislation that would reduce procurement opportunities for states that pass Buy American laws by allowing provincial officials to write regulations targeting individual states.

The opposition parties saw the move as a Liberal attempt to avoid responsibility for domestic problems.

Initiating a trade war with the United States is a last-ditch election ploy by Kathleen Wynne to deflect the blame for her disastrous economic policies, said Progressive Conservative interim leader Vic Fedeli.

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The Liberals are responsible for the province losing its competitive advantage, he said, and their latest plan is just an attempt to deflect the blame ahead of a spring election.

The premier using this as a political tool to cling to power is nothing short of reckless, especially during this critical time in the NAFTA negotiations.

Fedeli said his party would review and consider the Liberal bill when it is put forward after the legislature resumes sitting later this month.

Ontarios New Democrats also criticized the proposal, saying the premier is simply grandstanding before the election.

The Liberals fired back against the critics Wednesday, saying the government began working on the issue more than a year ago.

If the actions that Premier Wynne has taken over the last year are connected to any election at all, its the results of the U.S. election in 2016, which demanded elevated attention to the U.S. and to Ontarios trading relationship with U.S. states, said Steven Del Duca, the minister of economic development and growth.

Wynne also defended the plan, tweeting When jobs and opportunities for Ontario workers are threatened, we will always respond.

Speaking about the upcoming legislation in Washington, she said the size of each punishment will be proportional to the size of the Buy American exclusion to avoid setting off escalating reprisals.

The move, she said, was inspired by a recent infrastructure bill from the state of New York, which passed in December and takes effect in April, just a month before the provincial election campaign begins.

I dont want a trade war, she said Tuesday during an interview with The Canadian Press. But we have to stand up for Ontario businesses, and Ontario workers, and do that in a proportional way ... We are not going to roll over.

The Liberals announcement is unlikely to sway voters, despite what the opposition parties might argue, said Wayne Petrozzi, a political science expert at Torontos Ryerson University.

I think its largely symbolic, even should they pass such a bill, he said. In the past, weve not been terribly successful at getting ourselves any of kind of special dispensation when it comes to Buy American policies and its hard to figure how that may be different this time.

Whats more, he said, most Canadians dont concern themselves with that kind of ... minutiae of trade discussions, trade negotiations, trade issues.

New York legislators had initially proposed Buy American provisions in their budget that would restrict Ontario businesses ability to bid on public sector procurement projects, but dropped the measures under pressure from Canadian officials. Provisions slated to take effect this spring are part of a less stringent bill that was brought forward later.

More than $1 billion in goods are traded between Ontario and the U.S. each day, according to the province.

The state of New York exported almost $11 billion (U.S.) in goods to Ontario in 2016, it said. The province is ranked the first or second export destination for 28 states, the government said.

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If I were advising Justin Trudeau, Id tell him to shut his piehole.

Zip it, Prime Minister. Put an R2-D2 sock in it. Knock it off with this pathological need to sidle up to the nearest microphone to gab, yak, chat, hold court, shoot the breeze, riff or push platitudes like a guest speaker at a kindergarten class while hopped up on ecstasy: Children, there is no I in love. But there is a U in Justin and in Trudeau. I am you. You are me. We are love. Now pick up your crayons and lets draw a gender-neutral sun.

Forget climate change, terrorism, potential war or a volatile stock market.

Read more: Trudeau says peoplekind remark was a bad attempt at humour

The biggest threat to Canada right now? It is our leaders mouth.

Consider the global ridicule that emerged from a now viral clip. During a recent town hall in Edmonton, a young woman is asking a meandering question when Trudeau get distracted by a certain word, as if its a T-bone and hes a Rottweiler.

So he interrupts to gnaw on her questionable language.

Woman: . . .so thats why we came here today to ask you to also look into the policies that religious charitable organizations have in our legislation so that it can also be changed, because maternal love is the love thats going to change the future of mankind. So wed like you

Trudeau: We like to say peoplekind, not necessarily mankind, because its more inclusive.

Now, if such a tortured, ridiculous neologism had tumbled from the lips of another politician, he or she may have gotten a pass. Given the reaction of the woman and crowd  Exactly! she squealed, as others laughed  its possible Trudeau was playing on her query and engaging in some lighthearted self-mockery.

Indeed, as peoplekind turned into peoplekind-gate on Wednesday, Trudeau blamed the brouhaha on bad comedy genes. He said peoplekind was just a dumb joke.

What say you?

But whether it was a botched punchline or a window into how the unicorns in his brain run wild, Trudeau should be deeply disturbed by how most of the international media now assume it was the latter.

It wasnt just conservative outlets that had a field day. Peoplekind spread like a virus, infecting Europe, Asia and South America with bouts of laughter. Trudeau didnt get a pass on peoplekind because, at this point, his mouth has chewed up any benefit of the doubt. How can peoplekind be a dumb joke when its so damn believable?

Due to his pandering obsession with identity politics, even his biggest admirers know he is probably capable of making up a word and insisting the change is good for all: From this day forth, we shall refer to mangos as peoplegos.

Running the country as if its a social media thread punctuated by emojis and Likes  Im sorry, but is that not what he does? How can he possibly predict when the budget will be balanced when hes touring more than U2? How can he govern like a policy wonk when he exists within a shallow realm of selfies and gibberish?

In fact, Im now worried Trudeau may backtrack on this dumb joke explanation and make peoplekind compelled speech. If we as a nation are forced to contemplate the egalitarian benefits of peoplekind, there will be no time to ask questions about Canada Post, pipelines, military spending or NAFTA. There will be no time to follow up on any of the promises made by Trudeaus mouth that were broken by Trudeaus actions.

The more he talks, the more damage he inflicts on himself and, by extension, us.

In the same town hall in which he made the peoplekind joke, Trudeau coldly told an ex-soldier who lost a leg in Afghanistan that the federal government is in court fighting over benefits because veterans groups are asking for more than were able to give. He also bizarrely answered a question about the possible integration of ex-Daesh fighters into Canadian cities by riffing on discrimination faced by European immigrants who came here after the Second World War. Trudeaus mouth has licked him into a corner.

Trudeaus mouth is now Trudeaus greatest enemy.

After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb, observed Nelson Mandela. Or as Trudeau might call him, Nelson Peopledela.

The problem here is the hills Trudeau will be forced to climb in the months ahead are constructed entirely from his hollow words. He says one thing and then either forgets he said it or does something else.

Its as if the country is run by a Magic 8 Ball.

So the forecast for Sunny Ways has changed dramatically, my friends. Storm clouds have gathered over the rhetorical prairies and verbal valleys. Our Prime Minister is getting heckled more than deadmau5 on a seniors cruise. Once-friendly media outlets have now turned and believe Trudeau is nothing but PC smoke and mirrors.

Oh, the humanity  or should I say, the peopleity?

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STRASBOURG, FRANCEThe crypt at Strasbourg Cathedral isnt how Id imagined it. Id expected something richly atmospheric, sepulchral, a space stuffed with the accumulated religious ephemera of more than eight centuries.

Its actually quite tidy; almost cosy, in fact. There are simple wooden chairs in neat rows, a humble altar with a beautiful, blue-and-green, stained-glass window above it, an elegant wooden statue of the Virgin of Strasbourg (Mary, arms stretched, with Jesus, clutching a fleur-de-lis, on her lap), and a stone memorial etched with the names of the archbishops buried under the cathedrals main altar.

All very charming, but Im looking for something more personal. Im hoping to unravel an old family story: my great-great-grandfather George Giesner left France to seek work in Manchester, England, in the mid-19th century. Apparently he had a relative  a brother, perhaps?  who was commemorated in the cathedral here on Frances eastern border with Germany.

This vague tale was embroidered by an elderly aunt who told my mom at a family funeral in the 1970s that said brother  Henri Giesner  was buried in the crypt.

If he ever was, hes not now. Michel Bocci, the chef des sacristans (chief janitor) who opened up the crypt especially for me, cant help with Henri.

Oh well. I wasnt really expecting to find him here and, anyway, its not my final option; Ive arranged a meeting with Sabine Bengel, who works for the Fondation de lOeuvre Notre-Dame, the organization that built the cathedral and still looks after its stonework. If anyone will know about an old memorial tucked away, perhaps it will be them.

In the meantime, theres a day-and-a-half to enjoy Strasbourg. The city seems quiet, I tell Bocci as we climb the steps out of the crypt.

This is the best time to visit, before the Christmas market begins (on Nov. 24), he says. We have 5 million visitors to the cathedral each year, but not many right now. Its very tranquil.

Its true; there are perhaps a dozen people in the cathedral and most of them are waiting patiently in front of the astronomical clock to the right of the altar.

This 18-metre-tall clock, built in the 16th century and renovated in the 19th century, is ornate and richly decorated with antique moving parts.

At 10 a.m. the crowd is rewarded when  about 10 metres up  a little automated model youth, arrow in hand, shuffles across in front of a bony, barely clad depiction of death. Smartphone cameras flash and click.

On the wall opposite, theres Sylvie Landers modern work Ex Tempore, but a name amateurishly etched into the stone below catches my eye: George Koehler Zimmer Dresden 1666. I approach the man running the nearby souvenir stall. Is it really from 1666? He lowers his glasses to get a good look. Possibly, he says. But he wasnt a very good draughtsman!

No, and he wasnt Henri Giesner, either. Hes nowhere to be found, but theres plenty more to see: stained-glass windows featuring long-dead kings, a plaque commemorating the visit of Pope John Paul II in 1988, a handful of shrines where offerings can be made to saints.

Lunchtime  restaurants are often already full at noon in France  is fast approaching, so I step outside heading along the north side of the red-stone cathedral. Rainwater thuds on cobblestones as it races from the buildings guttering system; outside a shop across the way, Alsatian-costumed dolls and soft gingerbread toys are sheltered under plastic sheeting.

My heart is set on choucroute garnie, the hearty, afternoon-be-damned Alsatian classic dish; its on the lunch menu at Le Clou, a wine lounge on the nearby Rue de Chaudron. Pushing open the heavy wooden door, I step through deep-red curtains into a wave of warmth and happy conversation. Im just in time; theres only one table left.

With its dark wood furniture, floral tablecloths, wine served from gray-blue ceramic jugs and plates also used as decorations, Le Clou is fitted-out in typically rustic Alsatian style. One blue-rimmed plate on the wall shows two men in traditional Alsatian garb squaring up awkwardly ahead of a wrestle: Une Affaire dHonneur, or matter of honour, reads the legend.

I dont think I could eat all that, the elderly man at the next table says, chuckling, when my choucroute garnie arrives. Im not sure Ill be able to, I lie. Its very good: a mixture of knack sausages (smoked and country-style), thick, smoked bacon and pork neck served on a huge mound of rich, delicately tangy sauerkraut, plus an unnecessary boiled potato (a third of which I leave, not wishing to appear greedy). A quarter-bottle jug of riesling eases it down.

The afternoon and evening pass in a gentle blur. I stride around to the east and north of the cathedral, taking in Place Gutenberg  where a pair of handsome old restaurants, boasting neon signage for defunct breweries, overlook Gutenbergs statue and Place Kleber, the citys central square, where bicycles seem constantly on the verge of colliding with pedestrians.

The next morning, I head back to the cathedral through Petite France, perhaps the most chocolate-box part of this wonderfully preserved city.

A tour guide is entertaining his American guests with well-practiced jokes. He points to a tower on the Ponts Couverts, a bridge connecting three islands on the River Ill: It was built in 1250. Pause. I can see you are disappointed madam, it is not old enough! Laughter. It was a jail for a special type of woman. More laughter. Witches!

Im going to the Musee de lOeuvre-Notre-Dame, in the shadow of the cathedrals 42-metre-high spire, before my meeting. Inside, a boisterous group of small children is squatting in front of a 12th-century lintel decorated with animals, but I have the rest of the museum virtually to myself.

There isnt enough time to do it justice. There are too many marvellous stained-glass windows, statues, fragments of stonework, paintings and more besides. A 15th-century painting called Les Amants Trepasses, a grotesque depiction of deceased, partially decomposed lovers complete with a crotch-covering frog, sticks in the memory if only for its shock value.

I meet Sabine afterward, at the Fondations base behind the museum. It is an exciting time for the Fondation, she tells me; it has recently been added to the French national inventory of intangible cultural heritage with a view to applying for UNESCO intangible heritage status, perhaps alongside similar organizations in Germany, Austria and Norway. That would really raise awareness of this remarkable cathedral workshop, the only one of its kind in France.

The first mention of the Fondation is in the 1220s, she says. Despite the reformation, despite the French Revolution, despite the citys changes in nationality, it has persisted since then.

At the moment, she says, theyre restoring the southern facade of the cathedrals transept, where original Romanesque work combines with 12th-century Gothic sculpture. She shows me a diagram detailing which parts are to be repaired. These are the first Gothic sculptures in Strasbourg and theyre very, very good quality, she says.

Fascinating stuff, but I have one more question as we finish up the tour in the top-floor workshop. Has she heard of Henri Giesner? I dont know about anyone of that name, she says, before thinking. I have a big book called Biographies Alsaciens; I will have a look for you.

Its a kind offer, but Im not holding out much hope. Unlike Strasbourgs historic charm, Henri Giesner  if he ever existed  appears to have been lost to the vagaries of time.

When you go

Where to stay:

Hotel Gutenberg, hotel-gutenberg.com/en: A few minutes away from the cathedral, Hotel Gutenberg offers modern decor and a hearty Alsatian breakfast. Doubles with breakfast from $136.

Hotel ibis Strasbourg Centre Historique, ibis.com: Within easy walking distance of Strasbourg Station, Petite France and the cathedral, this is an excellent budget option. Expect friendly staff and a small, but tidy, room. Doubles with breakfast start at about $74.

Where to eat:

Le Clou, le-clou.com: This Michelin Plate-rated Alsatian winstub (wine restaurant) offers an excellent lunch menu, with two courses for about $17 or three for about $22. The a la carte menu is packed with Alsatian classics and rather more expensive. Open 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. to midnight.

SKaechele, skaechele.fr: Expect a warm welcome from owners Karine and Daniel and excellent Alsatian food at this tiny, one-room winstub. Booking ahead is recommended; mains from about $17.60. Closed Saturday, Sunday and Monday around lunchtime; open other days 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

What to do:

Strasbourg Cathedral, cathedrale-strasbourg.fr: Entrance to the main cathedral is free, although access to the crypt is unavailable; check the website for further details. Open from 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. A platform, located 332 steps up, offers sweeping views of the city and surrounding countryside. Adults about $5.90; children ages 5 to 18, about $2.69. Free entry on the first Sunday of each month.

Musee de lOeuvre-Notre-Dame, musees.strasbourg.eu: For those fascinated by the cathedral, this is an essential accompaniment, offering centuries of priceless art and decoration from Strasbourg and Alsace. Adults $7.60, children age 17 and younger free.

Information: otstrasbourg.fr

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JOLIETTE, QUE.The jury in the trial of well-known Quebec construction magnate, Tony Accurso, who was accused of breach of trust, needed less than 24 hours of deliberations to come back with an acquittal Tuesday.

Defence lawyer Marc Labelle said in response to the verdict, the people have spoken.

Accurso was accused of giving a $300,000 cheque and other gifts to the late mayor of Mascouche, Que., in exchange for contracts for his construction company, which used to be one of the biggest in the province.

He was initially charged with six counts in 2012 but the charges were reduced to a single count of breach of trust in the trial that began Jan. 15 at the courthouse in Joliette, Que., about 75 kilometres north of Montreal.

Accursos name has come up often in connection with the problems associated with Quebecs construction industry.

The former construction boss has admitted to entertaining union leaders and politicians on his luxury yacht, and he was a star witness at Quebecs corruption inquiry into the construction industry, known as the Charbonneau commission.

Despite Tuesdays acquittal, Accurso is scheduled back in court in May to stand trial for allegedly taking part in a kickback scheme tied to construction contracts in the city of Laval, just north of Montreal.

Crown prosecutor Pascal Grimard said after the verdict came down he will evaluate whether there is a possibility to appeal.

This was not the result we wanted, Grimard told reporters.

Labelle explained the jurys short period of deliberations by the force of his clients testimony.

The testimony of Mr. Accurso surely made the difference  this man was believed, he said, referring to Accursos claim on the stand that the money given to the late mayor was a loan.

Accurso also told jurors he gave trips and other gifts to the municipal politician because they were friends.

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In the hours before he died in a segregation cell at a Lindsay, Ont. jail, 20 to 30 officers were involved in subduing a man with schizophrenia. They pepper sprayed him twice; covered his face with a spit hood; and held his body down with leg irons.

Documents obtained by the Star through a freedom of information request detail these occurrences as Soleiman Faqiris last moments in the Central East Correctional Centre, as found by an internal investigation by the Kawartha Lakes Police Service.

The 30-year-old Ajax man died on Dec. 15, 2016, in what police described at the time as an altercation with correctional officers in the jail, where he was being held on remand, awaiting a mental health assessment.

Faqiri had been arrested on Dec. 4 for charges of aggravated assault, assault and uttering threats. He did not have a criminal record, said the report, but had been apprehended by the Durham Regional Police Service, using their authority under the Mental Health Act, approximately 10 times over the past 10 years.

Read more:

My beautiful son is dead: Family still searching for answers after Whitby mans 2016 death in prison

Human Rights Commission calls on province to end segregation for prisoners with mental health disabilities

Opinion | A broken system is harming those with mental illness

In Ontario, the act permits officers to apprehend individuals if they believe that person is at risk of causing harm to themselves or others  officers take these individuals for a medical examination.

In June 2017, a coroners report found Faqiri suffered more than 50 injuries, including a bruised laceration on his forehead, and multiple bruises and abrasions on his face, torso and limbs, from a three-hour confrontation with prison officers before dying in a segregation cell. The report said it was unknown what injuries were from his struggle with the officers, and couldnt ascertain the cause of death.

The Faqiri familys lawyers, Edward Marrocco and Nader Hasan, said in an email that police had provided the family partial access to documents obtained in the investigation into Soleimans death late last week.

We remain bewildered that an investigation revealing this evidence could lead to the conclusion that the Kawartha Lakes police had no grounds to pursue criminal charges against the officers involved in Soleimans death, said the lawyers.

The information we have receivedis very troubling and raises a number of questions that will need to be answered by the Kawartha Lakes Police Service.

The family did not provide comment.

In the course of the five days Faqiri spent in segregation, reports obtained by the Star show he refused to wear anything besides his underwear, and he repeatedly covered himself in his own urine and feces.

He was seeing a ministry psychiatrist, but refused to take his medication. (According to the report, Faqiri had a history of non-compliance with his prescribed medications.)

From the onset, his fitness to face the charges against him was questioned because of his mental illness. The report states he had refused to leave his cell multiple times for both in-person and video appearances at court.

On Dec. 6, Faqiri was moved to a segregation cell due to concerns for his safety, the safety of other inmates, and the safety of [jail] staff, said the report. The court was informed of his mental health issues and remanded him, indicating that three days of medical help may help improve his capacity to understand court proceedings.

Three days later, on Dec. 9, Faqiri refused to get dressed for his video court appearance, He had smeared his own feces on himself, said the report. The court was told the prosecutor made several attempts to contact Faqiris family for assistance, but had been unsuccessful.

Previously, Faqiris parents and his older brother, Yusuf, told the Star they tried to visit their son three times in prison and each time they were denied access. Yusuf and his brother, Sohrab, say they went to both court and jail, too.

On Dec. 12, Yusuf and a mental health nurse who had been dealing with Faqiri since his arrival at the jail appeared in court; Faqiri appeared via video. The nurse told the court Faqiri wasnt speaking to anyone, refusing his medicine, not eating properly, and lying on the floor, making no eye contact. Yusuf said that Faqiri was much worse than hed remembered.

After hearing their evidence, the justice ruled that Faqiri be assessed by a mental health facility in Whitby.

Faqiri died before the assessment was completed.

Documents show that at 1 p.m. on Dec. 15, Faqiri was taken out of his cell by three officers and a health-care manager; he was covered in his own urine and feces.

Faqiri was handcuffed and covered in blankets, and escorted in a wheelchair to a shower down the hall from his cell. The wheelchair was used for hygienic reasons.

At 1:15 p.m., Faqiri entered the shower area; his handcuffs were removed. He was in the shower for an hour and a half, and, according to the report, he refused, on four occasions, to leave.

What happens next wasnt entirely captured on video  for the privacy of the inmates, there are no cameras in the cells or showers. Faqiris final hours are based on investigators interviews with officers involved, witnesses and forensic evidence.

During his shower, the report notes Faqiri was squirting water and shampoo at the correctional officers through the window of the barred shower door.

Unable to make him stop, officers called their supervisors requesting the assistance of the Institutional Crisis Intervention Team  a group of officers that calm any disturbances caused by inmates

Requests for a crisis team to assist were denied and correctional officers were advised to manage Faqiri themselves.

At 1:45 p.m., a welding shield  a clear plastic free standing shield  was placed just outside the shower door to protect the officers in the area where Faqiri was throwing water and shampoo.

The jails superintendent called Faqiris psychiatrist to assist, who came and offered him snacks  crackers and peanut butter. This calmed Faqiri down.

Around 2:50 p.m., the supervising officer was able to handcuff Faqiri through the shower door. Five officers walked Faqiri back to his cell. The report states he began to display aggressive behaviour when a sixth officer, who had no previous history with Faqiri, joined them.

Faqiri began to resist, said the report, spitting at the guards, while still in the hallway. A guard used pepper spray on him as they reached his cell.

Faqiri was pulled and pushed into the cell by all six officers. He continued to display aggressive and assaultive behaviour, said the report. An officer delivered a knee strike; another forced his right lower leg on his back.

The struggle lasted for over 10 minutes, said the report. Faqiri tried to hit the officers with his hands, which are still handcuffed together, and also spat at and bit them. As Faqiri repeatedly tried to get up, officers delivered body strikes to his body to keep him grounded, where they can better gain control of him, said the report.

Pepper spray is used on him again.

A code blue was called, indicating officers needed help, and 20 to 30 officers came to the cell area. According to corrections ministry policy, when a code blue is called, all officers who can attend are told to go and assist.

The report states that these new officers started to tap out the officers who were exhausting themselves in the struggle. One of the first to leave was the supervising officer who had begun the escort.

A second officer takes command, said the report, and requested that a spit hood be brought and placed on Faqiri. This officer also requested leg irons to be brought and placed on him. The officer directed other officers to start leaving the cell to ensure their safety and to calm Faqiris behaviour.

The report states Faqiris mental health began to improve, as the officers slowly backed out of the cell. At this point, he was lying on his stomach with his hands up above his head, still handcuffed. He was turned around so that his head was at the back of the cell, and away from the door.

The supervising officer told Faqiri that his handcuffs were going to be removed and he would be re-handcuffed with his hands behind him. Faqiri, said the report, acknowledged and responded to instruction.

The cell door was locked and closed from the outside.

The report says a short time later, officers looked into the cell window and observed Soleiman was possibly not breathing. The officers entered the cells and removed the handcuffs and began CPR. Nurses soon arrived with a defibrillator.

Paramedics were called at 3:14 p.m. by a nurse, who said theres nurses everywhere, officers and vital signs absent. According to the transcript of the 911 call, the nurse said they were still performing CPR on Faqiri.

According to a homicide/sudden death report, Faqiri was dead by the time paramedics arrived.

Members of the City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service (KLPS) were notified of the death almost immediately, at 3:45 p.m.

Faqiris family was informed that night.

In the hours that followed, a Kawartha Lakes police investigative team was created and the scene was secured and all disposable or time sensitive evidence was gathered and secured. All video was requested.

The shower, where Faqiri had been earlier, was still running, said the report; investigative officers were told it was broken and the water could not be turned off, said the report.

The interviews didnt provide a lot of information, said the report, as jail guards had closed the hatches to the doors of each inmates cell, thus preventing them from looking out into the common hallway, or getting involved.

The investigative team reviewed all reports filed by officers involved and also examined video of the incident. The team interviewed most of the officers who were directly or indirectly involved in the incident. According to the report, those officers investigators believe were directly involved in use of force against Soleiman were advised of their Charter rights, and cautioned for the offence of murder.

No correctional officer refused to speak to police, said the report.

Based on all of this, in October 2017, investigators did not form the belief that Soleimans death was as a result of criminal actions by the involved correctional officers.

A coroners inquest into Faqiris death is pending.
Fish habitat protections gutted under the previous government would be restored by legislative changes introduced in Ottawa Tuesday, along with a suite of new modern safeguards for Canadas ocean environments  including tools to address urgent threats like last summers North Atlantic right whale die-off.

The proposed amendments to Canadas Fisheries Act were welcomed by Canadas conservation community, among others.

Of course the devil is in the details, said Susanna Fuller, senior marine co-ordinator at the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, N.S. The bill tabled Tuesday still has to be debated and passed. But having been around the Fisheries Act and attempts to modernize it in the past, I feel like this is a very good step.

In 2012, the Conservative government removed a broad prohibition against harming all fish habitat, restricting the scope of those protections to apply only to commercial, recreational and Indigenous fisheries. Scientists, conservationists, First Nations, and former Conservative and Liberal fisheries ministers decried the move.

From an ecological perspective, weve known for 40 to 50 years that that doesnt make sense, because of course the fishery resources are interconnected  its a system, with all kinds of species playing different roles, says Martin Olszynski, a professor at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law who specializes in environmental and natural resources law and policy. Its very hard to know whether a given species is important or not.

The changes created uncertainty and ultimately weakened the protections, Olszynski says: A lot of people essentially just assumed that the prohibition didnt matter anymore.

The Liberal government promised to review the 2012 changes, and in public consultations, conservation groups pressed to restore those protections, often referred to as HADD, an acronym for the prohibitions on habitat alteration, damage, and destruction.

The main thing is weve got HADD back, said Linda Nowlan, a staff lawyer with the Vancouver-based West Coast Environmental Law. We needed that.

She added: I think the governments gone further in terms of what they are proposing for modernization . . . (there are) a bunch of new powers that I think will increase its effectiveness.

One amendment will make it easier for the fisheries minister to create targeted, short-term measures to address urgent, unforeseen threats to fish and other marine animals such as whales. Last summer, amid an unprecedented wave of deaths among the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale population, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans closed a snow crab fishery early in an area where the whales had congregated.

The new changes would allow for short-term restrictions on a certain type of fishing gear or vessels in areas where whales that are under threat have been sighted, for example, making it easier to implement targeted protections quickly.

Theres now legal teeth to that type of measure, and were going to need that if were going to protect the last right whales, let alone recover them, said Fuller.

Another amendment bans the capture of marine mammals like whales and dolphins for the purpose of taking them into captivity, unless the minister authorizes it for an animal in need of care.

When making habitat decisions, the Fisheries Act would also now include a requirement to consider any Indigenous traditional knowledge that has been provided, and a requirement to consider how any decisions will adversely affect the rights of Indigenous people.

The government announced $284.2 million in funding to support the changes, funding that Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc said was to ensure that we have the tools, the human resources, the scientific capacity to properly enforce these new measures.
WASHINGTONThe Ontario government will retaliate against New Yorks new Buy American procurement law if the state does not grant a last-minute exemption to the provinces companies, Premier Kathleen Wynne announced Tuesday on a visit to Washington.

The New York law denies some Ontario firms access to certain state infrastructure contracts. When the law takes effect on April 1, it will require state agencies to use only American-made steel and iron for road and bridge projects that cost more than $1 million (U.S.).

Wynne said the Liberal government will respond, in some proportional way, unless New York excludes Ontario companies before the law takes effect.

Such a carve-out appears unlikely. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the bill into law in December, and it enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in the state.

I think we have to stand up for the businesses and the workers in Ontario. Exactly what that will look like, well have to work on, Wynne said in an interview at the Canadian Embassy. But I believe its really important that we take action if theres a threat to Ontario business, Ontario workers, Ontario jobs.

Critics of protectionist procurement policies say they end up costing taxpayers money by reducing competition for government contracts. Wynne said she would ensure her response doesnt do more harm than good.

Im not in the business of harming Ontario businesses. We want to make sure that whatever we do is proportional to what New York has done but wouldnt harm Ontario, she said.

She allowed, though, that the kind of conflict that were in is bound to harm somebody. Its just not as productive as finding a way to work together. So its kind of, by definition, a dangerous place to be.

The opposition Progressive Conservatives did not immediately say if they would support or oppose retaliation against New York, since Wynne did not introduce a specific policy. But Monte McNaughton, the PC economic development critic, described her announcement as political.

Initiating a trade war is a last-ditch election ploy to shift the blame for her disastrous economic policies, McNaughton said in a statement.

Wynne mounted an aggressive effort to urge New York not to impose any form of Buy American policy. Last May, the New York Daily News credited Ontario and Quebec lobbying for the defeat of a more ambitious proposal that would have required the state to use only American suppliers for a broader range of projects worth $100,000 and above.

State legislators then crafted their narrower road-and-bridge measure, and that bill passed easily despite Wynnes retaliation threats.

Ontario exported $10.7 billion (Canadian) in goods to New York in 2015 and imported $14.1 billion from New York that year, according to provincial figures.

Wynne said her government plans to introduce legislation, soon after the legislature resumes business on Feb. 20, to give the government power to respond to any states Buy American laws in the future without passing a new law through the legislature each time.

She said the government is on alert with regard to Buy American policies across the U.S. She left open the possibility of retaliation against Texas, where a Buy American iron and steel law took effect in September.

President Donald Trump has promoted a philosophy of Buy American, Hire American, and the mantra has bipartisan appeal. In late January, a group of nine Democratic senators and left-wing Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders urged Trump to expand Buy American provisions in the infrastructure plan he has promised to unveil soon.

Buy American infrastructure policy is also a significant point of contention in the North American Free Trade Agreement renegotiation talks, in which U.S. negotiators have proposed tight limits on the value of U.S. contracts that can be earned by Canadian and Mexican firms.

Wynne spoke after a day of meetings with U.S. legislators and Trump administration officials. Among her partners were chief U.S. NAFTA negotiator John Melle, Vice-President Mike Pences chief economist Mark Calabria, Democratic Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, Republican Wisconsin Sen. Rob Johnson and several members of the House of Representatives ways and means committee.

Wynne said she was encouraged by what she heard about the state of the NAFTA talks.

Nobody said, We need to blow up NAFTA, she said. There was no sense that were better off without it.

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Young people will play a key role in determining how to prevent more youths from dying while in the care of group homes and foster homes.

Ontarios chief coroner, Dirk Huyer, is putting together a team of up to 10 youths with experience in the child protection and mental health systems to inform a panel of experts probing the deaths of 11 young people in residential care over the past three years.

At least half of the youths will come from Indigenous communities in northwestern Ontario, he said.

Read more:

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Hearing from young people just makes good sense, said Huyer, who will be accepting youth participants recruited by First Nations and the Ontario Child Advocates office. For me it is a valuable information source.

The provincial child advocate, Irwin Elman, applauded the participation of youth in the review, noting their voices are vital to any serious reform of the child protection system.

There is wisdom that comes with their lived experience, he said.

While supportive of the review, Elman and Indigenous leaders continue to call for a full inquest into the deaths. They say a formal inquest is a more open and transparent way to focus on needed changes.

The jury is out to see how this (review) will help and honour the children, he said. Huyer doesnt rule out holding an inquest in the future.

One of the youths whose time in care is being investigated is Kassy Finbow. She died along with her caregiver in a group home fire last February near Lindsay, Ont. The group home resident who set the fire has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will be sentenced on Feb. 13.

I did speak to the coroners office and my daughter is the 11th child (being reviewed), said Kassys mother, Chantal Finbow, in an email.

Another youth, whose death was investigated by the Star, is also part of the review. Justin Sangiuliano, 17, died after being physically restrained by a caregiver in an Oshawa group home in April 2015.

Yes, we have been contacted and Justins death is one of the 11, said his sister Zabrina.

The only youth who has been publicly named in the review is Azraya Ackabee-Kokopenace, 14, from Grassy Narrows First Nation. She was found dead in a wooded area two days after she was released from a hospital in Kenora, Ont., last April. Huyer would not reveal the other names due to privacy provisions in the Coroners Act.

The coroners review, announced in November, comes on the heels of a Star investigation into the Lindsay-area fire, as well as Star stories about a rash of suicides and unexplained deaths of Indigenous youths in residential care.

Indigenous children are commonly sent as far as 2,000 kilometres away from their homes because of a lack of resources in the North. Seven of the 11 youths in the review, who died between January 2014 and July 2017, were Indigenous.

All of the youths suffered from mental health challenges and seven of them died by suicide. One, Kassy Finbow, was the victim of manslaughter. The causes of death for the other three youths remain unknown.

The review includes a look at whether children are being warehoused in group homes because there arent enough therapeutic placements. It will also examine the lack of training and qualifications of group home staff and whether childrens aid societies and the Ministry of Children and Youth Services are providing adequate oversight.

In addition, it will look at how the deceased children came into care, the number of times they were moved among foster families and group homes and the quality of care they received. Consultations for the review will include First Nations communities and the childrens biological families.

Huyer says he will compare his findings to sweeping changes being proposed by the Childrens Ministry over the next eight years.

Last July, a ministry reform blueprint promised to set minimum standards of care, review the qualifications of caregivers, update fire codes, develop a way to better monitor and keep track of children in care, reduce the overrepresentation of Black and Indigenous children in care, and beef up data collection, oversight and accountability.

If the coroners panel of seven experts concludes the ministrys blueprint doesnt go far enough, Huyer said his report will focus on the extra changes needed. The report will be released in late spring or summer this year.

The Stars ongoing investigation has revealed a child protection system that doesnt know if minimal standards of care are being met, has no qualifications for caregivers and is governed by a Childrens Ministry scrambling to perform its oversight role.

The province does not know how many children are being cared for in its 389 licenced group homes. Children taken from abusive or neglectful parents are usually placed in group homes as a last resort, when foster parents cant deal with them. Most are treated with psychotropic drugs and are left largely in the care of workers who typically earn around the minimum wage, with no benefits.

In a 2016 report, a government-appointed panel of experts lambasted a system in which the lowest-paid, least qualified staff work with kids with the highest needs. The kids suffer from the trauma of abuse and abandonment, compounded by psychiatric and developmental disabilities.
PARRY SOUND, ONT.Provincial police say all the passengers in an SUV have died after the vehicle slammed into a tractor trailer north of Parry Sound, Ont., on Tuesday.

Police say the SUV was so thoroughly destroyed after it veered into an oncoming lane of traffic and hit the truck that they dont yet know how many people were in the vehicle.

Sgt. Carlo Berardi says the SUV was fully engulfed in flames when emergency crews arrived at the scene on Hwy. 69 in Shawanaga First Nation at about 4 p.m.

He says investigators with Torontos Centre of Forensic Sciences are assisting with the case and will notify police when theyve determined the number of victims and their identities.

Police say the driver of the transport truck was not injured and they dont expect to lay any charges in the incident.

Hwy. 69 was closed for more than seven hours for the investigation, which police say is still ongoing.

Im unaware that weather would have affected this crash, Berardi said, adding that it was sunny and clear at the time of the collision.
Former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat says city staff have a duty to report the updated cost of the Scarborough subway to the public before an election.

Keesmaat told CBCs Matt Galloway Wednesday morning that if the updated costs for the billions-dollar project are available they should be reported.

The question is, do they have a duty  if they have that number available  do they have a duty to release it as a way of informing the election and the decision- making, she said. My opinion is, absolutely.

The Star earlier reported a TTC briefing document obtained through a freedom of information request reveals those updated costs will be available in September 2018  at least a month before the Oct. 22 election. The current estimate for the subway, based on very little design work, is $3.35 billion.

Mayor John Tory tweeted his ongoing position that reporting the cost is a staff-controlled process that was approved by council. He said a staff report will include design, construction schedules and cost estimates.

According to the briefing document, a baseline scope, budget, schedule and known risks based on 30 per cent design and the corresponding cost estimate will be available in September 2018.

Previously, city staff had only said the costs would be ready in late 2018 and would not clarify if that was before or after the election.

But because there are no council or committee meetings scheduled after July, staff have said they cant report back until January 2019.

In an email late Wednesday, city spokesperson Wynna Brown said the TTC briefing refers to the planned timing for initial cost inputs from TTC engineering staff. These are not the full cost estimates necessary for consideration by council.

She said further work by TTC and city staff would be needed to appropriately account for financing, procurement model, market assessment and other critical factors.

Earlier, Brown told the CBC that there is then the need to analyze that work in order to develop cost estimates and schedules that go into the staff report.

But the TTC briefing says that cost estimates and schedules will be available in September.

Council gave staff direction in March 2017 to report back to executive committee when the project reached 30 per cent design and an updated cost was ready. At that time, council would decide whether to move forward with construction.

Keesmaat said the last cost increase  the estimate ballooned by $1 billion in 2016  caused her to wonder if there is a breaking point. She noted its unclear whether the cost will continue to climb, though it usually does with major infrastructure projects.

There has to be a threshold, there has to be a moment where you say, wait a minute, the cost-benefit analysis no longer works, Keesmaat said.

The former chief planner was the one that introduced the new plan in early 2016 that saw the number of subway stops reduced to one from three. The savings from those eliminated stops, she and other staff said at the time, could fund the cost of extending the Eglinton Crosstown light-rail line from Kennedy to the University of Torontos Scarborough campus.

After it was reported the cost for the subway had climbed  effectively pricing out that LRT  Keesmaat maintained the network option was still the best recommendation for Scarborough. She told council the value for money question was one they had to grapple with.

To date, there has never been a cost comparison of the subway option and the previously-approved, seven-stop LRT option to replace the aging Scarborough RT.

That LRT was months away from being ready to go to tender for construction when it was scrapped by council under former mayor Rob Ford with staff analysis Keesmaat would later call rushed and problematic.

A cost-benefit analysis of those two options, side-by-side, has never been requested by council.

Councillor Josh Matlow has repeatedly tried to make that request, but has been voted down by Tory and his allies.

A request for the auditor general to conduct such an audit was also rejected by the audit committee. Auditor General Beverley Romeo-Beehler can choose to do that audit without direction from council, but has said she wont.

At audit committee on Wednesday, Matlow questioned the auditor generals stated mandate to assist council in holding itself and city administrators accountable for the quality of stewardship over public funds and the achievement of value for money in city operations.

When it comes to the Scarborough subway, Matlow said, Weve failed so far in doing those two things.

Before we decide to spend those dollars, council and the public need to know what the result of that comparison is so we can make the right decision.

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Police released a thermal imaging video Wednesday of a dramatic high-speed helicopter chase that went on for 154 kilometres before an Oshawa man was arrested.

Durham police said the helicopter chase is believed to be the second-longest in Canadian history, and the longest ever in Ontario.

The incident started in Oshawa at Rossland Rd. W. and Stevenson Rd. N. on Jan. 27 at about 2:30 a.m., when a woman called 911 to report that a man she knew was following her, police said.

He was driving erratically behind her and was trying to ram her vehicle, police said in a press release Wednesday.

The 911 operator told the woman to drive toward the police division in Whitby. The car fled once the drivers saw officers, police allege, and thats where the chase began.

I just clocked him at 237 km/h, an officer said in the video.

The car sped onto Hwy. 401 eastbound, travelling nearly to Peterborough before turning around and driving back toward the Durham region.

We have a crazy headwind here, so at the speeds hes going to be running, its going to be hard for us to keep up with him, said an officer in the helicopter.

Officers strategically placed a tire deflation device on Ganaraska Rd. The video showed the car slowing to a stop.

Stay off the air, guys, hes going to bail, an officer said in the video. Hes going to be mine.

You have a visual on? another replied.

At this point, a bright figure popped out of the drivers side and made a break for the woods.

Hes bailing, the first officer said. Hes out on the north side of the road. Hes running north into the field.

After a few seconds of running, the figure appeared to drop something. The person sprints back to pick it up, then keeps running.

Ontario Provincial Police cars pulled up and officers began chasing the figure on foot.

Hes got about 100 metres on the OPP here, an officer said.

Hes running to the tree line. Hes up to a fence. Hes hopping the fence, into the trees.

Over the fence, the figure started walking towards a creek, then appeared to toss an object into the trees  Durham police said officers on the ground were able to recover it. The helicopter then lost sight of them in the thick foliage.

This bush is getting really deep right here, the officer in the helicopter said. Hes in the deep part, but weve got him buttoned down there. He cant go anywhere. Any direction he comes out of there Ive got him.

The officers on the ground closed in. And then, moments later, an officers voice came across the radio: We have one in custody here.

Durham police charged a 47-year-old Oshawa man, but withheld his name because of the domestic nature of the incident.

Hes charged with possession of cocaine, heroin and MDMA for the purposes of trafficking. He also faces charges for criminal harassment, racing a motor vehicle, dangerous operation of a vehicle and driving while under suspension.

OPP and police from Cobourg and Port Hope also assisted with the arrest.
In 2012, Toronto police assembled a task force to search for three missing men from the Gay Village. It was shut down after 18 months. Four years later, police say a serial killer is responsible for at least one of their deaths.

Majeed Kayhan, police say, was murdered by 66-year-old Bruce McArthur.

McArthur has been charged with the killing of four other men, and police believe there may be more victims. The two other men subject to the 2012 task force  Skandaraj Navaratnam and Abdulbasir Faizi  havent been listed as victims of McArthur. But Navaratnam has been connected to him, and Faizis car was found a short distance from his home.

Read more:

LGBTQ community wonders why arrest took so long after racialized men had been disappearing for years

Anguished family of man missing since 2010 watch news of murders from afar

Opinion | Shree Paradkar: Gay Village disappearances and police behaviour show whose lives are disposable and whose lives are not

So why did police shut down the task force searching for them?

With no evidence to suggest criminal activity, the project closed, police spokesperson Meaghan Gray told the Star this month. As former Toronto police superintendent Gary Ellis explained, with limited police resources its like a game of whack-a-mole to decide what not to do.

Project Houston  as the task force was dubbed  began when officers were researching the disappearance of Navaratnam, according to a 2013 post by 51 Division. Investigators turned to the missing persons database, narrowing their search to individuals with similar ethnicity and lifestyle to Navaratnam, as well as those associated with the area of Church and Wellesley Sts.

Thats when Kayhan and Faizi came up. But Kayhan didnt go missing until 2012, two years after Navaratnam. Police never searched the missing persons database in relation to Navaratnam during those years, Gray confirmed to the Star on Tuesday. I would like to provide a more detailed explanation, she wrote in an email discussing the database search.

The investigation into the disappearance of Mr. Navaratnam was ongoing when, at the end of 2012, evidence came forward that suggested Mr. Navaratnam may have met with foul play. It was this evidence that spurred the creation of Project Houston, and the addition of the other two men.

Investigators have concluded there are a number of similarities between the three men and they have not been seen since they were reported missing, police wrote in a Facebook post at the time. A project name is typically selected by the lead investigator and can either refer to aspects of the investigation or be entirely arbitrary.

The unspecified evidence suggesting foul play related to Navaratnam was pursued, Gray said, but ultimately discounted by investigators.

Over the projects 18 month span, police interviewed dozens of witnesses about the three men. Numerous judicial authorizations, a term that can include things like search warrants, were taken, though police wouldnt provide the Star a specific number. Properties were searched and computers were seized and searched, too. Police declined to elaborate on what they found.

In October last year, Gray told the Star the force does not disclose details about resources put into any project. Seven months into the Houston investigation, police were still putting boots to the ground  slated to be out on the village streets at 10 a.m. on a Thursday, canvassing and handing out flyers, a police post at the time said.

Thousands of hours were expended by almost a dozen officers assigned to the project, Gray told the Star. I wont get into any more specifics given the ongoing case with Bruce McArthur.

Then, in April 2014, the project was shut down.

McArthur had never been a suspect during the 18-month investigation.

Sometimes you have to pull a plug on an investigation because its not yielding the results, said Gary Ellis, head of Guelph-Humbers Justice Studies program and a former Toronto police superintendent. Once youre in these projects, theres a long term commitment.

Creating task forces that investigate certain major incidents in the city are about competing resources, explained Ellis. Its a real challenge and stress on police services because we just dont have people waiting to be a part of a task force.

The days where two detectives go out and solve a case had long gone, said Ellis. Today, police investigations are incredibly resource-intensive. And Project Houston was far from the only Toronto police project ongoing at the time.

Project Traveller was a year-long weapons-related operation, targeting the Dixon City Bloods street gang. Its spinoff, Project Brazen 2, began when detectives overheard wiretap conversations between alleged gangsters, talking about then-Mayor Rob Ford and his crack use. Those two projects were resource-intensive, obtaining authorizations for call records and tracking devices and search warrants for properties.

Project Capella, a coordinated effort between multiple police forces, narrowed in on killer Dellen Millard  who has since been found guilty of killing two people and faces trial for the alleged killing of his father.

Project Greymouth, Project Battery, Project Rx, Project Wheeler, Project Spiderman  codenames piled up simultaneous to Houston.

Overlooking a serial predator had been raised as a concern to the Toronto police before, and theyd implemented changes since then. Decades earlier, an investigation by the then-Metropolitan Toronto Police Service and the Green Ribbon Task Force into Paul Bernardo was famously botched. In the words of an attorney generals report, it was not a story of human error or lack of dedication or investigative skill  but a story of systemic failure.

What you need to know about the case against alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur. (The Canadian Press)

That investigation had been bungled, Justice Archie Campbell wrote, in part by a lack of unified direction. Tips were scattered throughout the files and index books and binders and desk drawers. It was a paper process one investigator called a nightmare.

Toronto police were given recommendations to prevent similarly tragic oversights in future. For Houston  and later, Prism  there was one primary investigator and one investigator in charge of major case management, in addition to the other officers that worked on the project.

To avoid piles of loose leaf paper, Houston was neatly categorized on a program called Power Case, which designates workflow, manages tips and matches information against existing and linked case data.

There was no automated crime linkage system in place during the Bernardo investigation, which could have linked his crimes together. Without ViCLAS (Violent Crime Linkage Analysis System), the report says that investigators looking into Bernardos crimes in different areas might as well have been operating in different countries.

ViCLAS was used for Houston, Toronto police confirmed to the Star.

But despite new programs and case management in place during the Project Houston investigation, questions of how certain links were overlooked linger. Police confirmed DNA was an investigative avenue explored during Houston. A court had ordered DNA samples from McArthur to be taken and placed in a database  where itd stay indefinitely  nearly a decade earlier.

McArthur was subject to the DNA order as part of a 2003 sentence for one count of assault causing bodily harm and one count of assault with a weapon: he assaulted a man with a metal pipe. A court order barred him from an area that included the citys Gay Village, and prohibited him from spending time with male prostitutes.

As information emerges, members of the village community are raising questions. McArthur was linked on Facebook to one of the men, said Angus MacDougall, 35, who frequents the Village. McArthur and Navaratnam appear to have been friends on the social media site, though McArthur has not been connected to his specific disappearance.

Dont you think you could have done a simple cross reference with the people on his Facebook friends list against people who had been charged with a criminal offence against a gay man?

Youre simultaneously underpolicing a community that has a [alleged] serial killer targeting it, and over policing it for having sex with other men in a park. That feels very strange, said MacDougall, referencing the 2016 Project Marie that used undercover officers for six weeks to find people soliciting sexual encounters in Marie Curtis Park.

Charges against around a dozen men, stemming from that project, were withdrawn. The project itself was criticized by legal professionals, politicians, and community members as homophobic.

Those resources could have probably been directed at the McArthur case earlier, MacDougall said. Maybe we would have had a different outcome.

With files from Jenna Moon
Rabab Arshad was out studying for university exams with friends Monday night and was too tired to drive home.

So, the 19-year-old from Milton let a friend drive her car while she rode as the passenger.

Little did she know that decision would ultimately be a deadly one, as her Mitsubishi crashed into a pole near Mavis Rd. and Eglinton Ave., killing her and leaving another friend badly hurt in what Peel Region police are calling a street race.

This wasnt her fault. Thats whats killing me inside, said Maleeha Ramkissoon, a good friend of Arshad. She thought she was making the right decision. She wasnt even driving and now shes dead.

Two friends  one a Brampton resident, the other from Milton  face street racing charges in the horrific crash.

Police are now saying seven young friends left a Mississauga restaurant just before 11 p.m. in two separate vehicles  a blue Mitsubishi Eclipse and a black Ford Fusion.

Moments later, they were both travelling west on Eglinton Ave. when they came into slight contact with each other approaching Mavis Road.

Police said the Mitsubishi went out of control and crashed into a pole. Arshad, a York University student, was thrown from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Ford Fusion did not crash.

Both drivers were arrested by Peel police and have since been charged with eight criminal driving offences.

A 21-year-old Mississauga woman in the Mitsubishi suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a Toronto trauma centre.

The alleged driver, Muhammad Daniyal Khan, 20, of Brampton was taken to a local hospital also with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police allege Hashim Khan, 22, of Milton was driving the Ford Fusion.

Both Khans, who police say are not related, each face charges of dangerous driving causing death by street racing, criminal negligence causing death, criminal negligence causing bodily harm by street racing, criminal negligence causing bodily harm, and dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm and criminal negligence causing death and bodily harm.

Family members said Arshad had been studying for an exam and let her friend drive her car because she was too tired.

Friend Yolanda Harden said Arshad was studying human resources at York University.

She wanted to help people, she said. She made everyone smile.

Police are now asking for witnesses, anyone with video footage or anyone who saw the vehicles prior to the crash to call them at 905-453-2121, ext. 3710.

With files from Pam Douglas

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A retired couple from southern Ontario are the provinces newest lottery millionaires after winning the $23.3-million Lotto 6/49 jackpot.

Robert (Bob) and Sandra Donaldson picked up their seven-figure cheque at Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation headquarters in Toronto on Wednesday.

The couple from Smithville, Ont., who have been married for 36 years, say they plan to share their winnings with their family, buy a car, travel more and build a walk-in closet.

Bob, who is a former manager at the Hamilton steel company Dofasco, was away in China when Sandra found out about the big win, and she didnt tell him until he came home about a week later.

In a statement released Wednesday by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, Sandra says even though her husband always plays their chosen lottery numbers, she decided to buy a Quick Pick ticket late last month.

Sandra, a retired personal support worker, says before her husband left for his trip, he asked her do two things  buy their Lotto 6/49 ticket and pick up after their dog.

Although Sandra neglected to do the latter, Bob says, I guess I can forgive her.

When I got home, Sandra said, I have good news and bad news, Bob said in the OLG statement. Good news  you can get a new car sooner than you think. Bad news  we have to go see our lawyer right away. Then she handed me the winning ticket  I was speechless!

Read more:

Woman sues former live-in boyfriend after he bolted with winning $6.1-million Lotto 6/49 ticket

$6.1M Lotto 6/49 prize in limbo after couple splits

Correction - February 8, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version to update an incorrect headline.

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Samira Adamo packed lightly when she left Al-Hasakah, Syria, in September 2016. Her home was becoming increasingly volatile; any moment, she said, the entire city could fall apart.

She left much of her furniture, books and keepsakes at home, which was doomed to become one of the millions of houses abandoned in Syria.

I told everyone that I want to make sure that whoever is going to take over my house at least finds something nice, Adamo, 60, said, adding that doing so helped her deal with the difficulty of leaving home.

Adamo, now resettled in Toronto, is one of 20 women who took part in a recent travelling wellness program that caters to newly arrived Syrian women struggling with the guilt and trauma of leaving home and settling in a new country.

Adamo, who taught in Syria for 35 years, walks every day for more than an hour to get to the program and is always there 15 minutes early, she said.

On the last day of the four-week program in Scarborough, which taught the women about self-care, mental health and yoga, the conversation was light and they brought food for a potluck. The wellness workshop, which began in Guelph, Ont., will next travel to Mississauga in early February.

The program in Scarborough ended in late November with a potluck and a final session. It was the end of a long day for many of the women, who often care for their children, attend English learning classes and scramble across the city for doctors appointments and meetings.

The group, including some members who arrived in Canada last year and others who arrived a few weeks ago, sat around a squared table conversing and laughing with one another. Some sat quietly, smiles on their faces, listening to the other members.

Teenage girls, the daughters of some of the women, sat on a couch, huddled over a phone. A young girl in the room played with a plush rabbit with bendable ears, which she twisted with her small fingers while lost in thought.

Usually, children are not allowed in the room, said Zeena Al Hamdan, a manager at the Arab Community Centre of Toronto, which was one of the three organizations carrying out the program.

But on the last day of the program in Scarborough, the children were invited for the potluck and to see their mothers receive certificates for completing the program.

The discussion tends to get very personal and in-depth, the women speak about the past and their current experiences with settlement, Al Hamdan said. It starts off with very basic issues and then layers are uncovered and the realities of displacement come through.

The women talked about the family they left behind in Syria and some of their children who are now separated from them, living in countries such as Germany and America. They spoke about the guilt and pain that weighs them down as they hear news reports about the ongoing violence and destruction in Syria.

If a person goes to any another support group and if the other members havent experienced displacement and migration, then they might find it difficult to open up to them, Al Hamdan said. There are layers and layers that you cannot share and open up, these women pour their hearts out to each other.

Iman Huseyin attended the program along with her mother and sister. Her favourite part of the workshop, she said, was the yoga sessions.

I loved getting together with other women because we are so busy and stressed doing one thing after another, Huseyin said. We wait for these two hours a week to gather with each other and talk.

Huseyin met many of the women for the first time in Canada, as most of them came from different parts of Syria. One of the ladies, she said, she had met in Turkey, where they were displaced. Huseyin left Aleppo in 2013 along with her four children.

There were lots of problems, she said. It wasnt safe, sometimes you spent two to three days in the basement not knowing what is going on and supplies were running low, there was a lot of bombing and you didnt know where it was coming from.

Huseyin has lived in Canada for a year and a half. She says she feels safe and comfortable in Canada but is constantly worried about her father and a few sisters, who are still in Aleppo. The same anxiety plagued many of the women in the wellness program as the war had split thousands of families apart.

Two instructors lead the program in Arabic every Tuesday for four weeks. The group of about twenty women talked about nutrition, mental health and self-care.

I think for them its more meditation, said Marwa Khobieh, program manager at the Syrian Canadian Foundation, one of the three organizers. These are the moments in their day that make them feel relaxed and comfortable, enjoying their time together and learning.

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Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus office will not say if he plans to promote Torontos bid for the second Amazon headquarters in his meeting Thursday with Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos.

The Prime Ministers Office isnt predicting what will happen in the closed-door conversation that is part of Trudeaus four-day U.S. trip.

He will meet with various business leaders and entrepreneurs in the technology sector to explore opportunities for growth in high-quality jobs and investment in Canada, press secretary Eleanore Catenaro told the Star in an email Wednesday.

Another Trudeau spokesman, Cameron Ahmad, told Reuters news service the point of Trudeaus San Francisco meetings with Bezos and other tech leaders is to portray Canada as a good place to invest . . . and to explore opportunities related to job growth with those prominent business leaders who may be interested in expanding their operations in Canada.

Toronto is the only Canadian city among 20 on Amazons list of 20 finalists to be the possible home for its second North American headquarters, with a promise of as many as 50,000 jobs and up to $5 billion in investment by the online retail giant based in Seattle.

Amazon has pitted the cities against each other in a bid process reminiscent of Olympic hosting competitions. The Toronto-area bid is unusual in that promises no special incentives, such as tax breaks, instead focusing on the regions assets in terms of tech talent, education institutions, ethnic diversity and openness to newcomers, and cosmopolitan lifestyle. The bid, prepared by agency Toronto Global, does note the U.S. dollar goes further in Canada.

Last October, when several other Canadian cities were still in the running, the prime minister sent a letter to Bezos beginning with Dear Jeff.

Trudeau outlined commercial, cultural and social reasons why Amazon should call Canada home to the new HQ2 complex including universal health care that lowers the cost to employers, stable banking systems, and a deep pool of highly educated prospective workers from both at home and abroad.

Trudeau will, on the trip starting Wednesday, meet with other officials including Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner; Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel; Salesforce chairman and chief executive Marc Benioff; Daniel Saks, the co-founder of AppDirect, eBay chief executive Devin Wenig, Amgen chief executive Robert Bradway and California Governor Jerry Brown.

If Toronto movers and shakers also seem quiet about ongoing efforts to win the Amazon headquarters, that is by design.

Julia Sakas, Toronto Global marketing and communications director, confirmed that bid backers have agreed to keep this part of the process secret.

As with all standard (request for information) processes, this next round required signing a non-disclosure agreement with Amazon, she wrote in an email.

Amazon is conducting this next phase as a commercial exercise, with a focus on expanding on the information provided in our original bid document  we will be restating the data and information gathered in our bid book, providing clarification and compilation of comparable data for the Toronto region.

Officials in some U.S. competitor cities, which include Boston, New York, Newark, Austin, Washington D.C., and Chicago, are still talking, mostly to tout incentives they are offering ahead of an expected decision later this year.

The State of Maryland is setting aside $5 billion U.S. to woo Amazon to Washington suburb Montgomery County. Marylands transportation chief said Tuesday his state has promised Amazon a blank cheque for transportation improvements required to locate HQ2 near Washington.

Meanwhile University of Toronto cities expert Richard Florida is rallying fellow academics and others to urge political leaders to join a non-aggression pact promising not to offer huge incentives to land Amazon.

Amazon does not need  and should not be going after  taxpayer dollars that could be better used on schools, parks, transit, housing or other much needed public goods, he wrote in a column for CNN.com.

The company would add far more value to its brand by eschewing incentives and instead working with the winner to address challenges like affordable housing and traffic congestion, which its new headquarters is likely to exacerbate.

With files from The Canadian Press

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A Toronto-area provincial Liberal candidate  and daughter of the ridings federal MP  was disciplined by the law society for professional misconduct after more than 150 complaints of harassing and threatening behaviour by her staff in their work for collection agencies.

Deanna Sgro, the candidate for Humber River-Black Creek, was reprimanded in 2013 for professional misconduct for not properly overseeing her staff to the standards of a professional law office.

A tribunal of the Law Society of Upper Canada said the sheer number of complaints was significantly higher than other lawyers, and that the aggressive phone calls and other tactics by Sgros staff were abusive. It also found the practice of sending out draft court documents confused many into thinking legal action had already been initiated against them, and called it deceitful and misleading.

The panel noted the case of an infirm, hearing impaired 83-year-old, whod had open heart surgery, was told in calls and a letter saying he could lose his house over a decade-old debt. Worried, he took the subway and two buses to get to small claims court only to be told by staff there that the documents were not legal.

In a statement to the Star, Sgro  who at the time of the hearing used the name Deanna Lynn Natale  said she took over the practice more than a decade ago and quickly became responsible for over 40 people.

Unfortunately some mistakes were made and as a lawyer I am responsible for all matters in my office including the behaviour of my staff. I accepted absolute responsibility for their conduct, I fully cooperated with the law society and apologized  I respected and participated in the process with honesty and transparency.

Sgro also noted that she remained a lawyer in good standing at all times and my personal integrity remained intact.

She also said she (continues) to practice law today and confirm that as stated by the adjudicator I have an otherwise unblemished career and in addition to my practice of law, I volunteer regularly for Law Help Ontario.

In its decision, the panel noted that many complainants cited intimidating phone calls, where Sgros staff would say things such as: Ive checked you out thoroughly; I know more about you then (sic) I think I know about my own wife.

In deciding to reprimand Sgro, the panel said the level of harassment, intimidation, abuse and harm inflicted upon complainants  some of whom had already paid off the monies owed  added to the seriousness of the case.

Opposition parties called on Premier Kathleen Wynne to take action.

Weve seen in recent weeks that this kind of behaviour is uncalled for in society, but as a potential public figure even more so, said PC Finance Critic Lisa MacLeod. The premier likes to talk about having higher standards, but clearly they dont have the same standards for the party.

By backing Sgro, Kathleen Wynne is telling Ontarians struggling with high bills  cell phone, hydro or otherwise  that this province is a place where people  will be treated with hostility instead of compassion, said NDP Community and Social Services Critic Lisa Gretzky.

Kathleen Wynne owes it to families of Humber River-Black Creek, and all those victimized by Sgros law firm, to reconsider Sgros place on her team.

Sgros mother Judy is a veteran federal politician who has represented the area for almost two decades.

The possibility of both serving public office together prompted Premier Kathleen Wynne to Tweet on Monday: If she's elected as MPP for Humber RiverBlack creek, our candidate @Deannasgro and her mom, federal MP for the same riding @JudySgroMP, will be the first mother-daughter duo in Canadian politics!

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A woman who accused a former live-in boyfriend of bolting without telling her of winning a $6.1 million Lotto 6/49 prize is now suing for half the jackpot plus $500,000 in punitive damages.

A lawyer for Denise Robertson said Tuesday she is seeking a jury trial in the $3.5 million case against Maurice Thibeault, who lived with Robertson and her teenage daughter in Chatham from July 2015 to September 2017.

Its a question of morality, Steven Pickard told the Star from his law office in Windsor, estimating it could take 12 to 18 months for the case to be heard.

Read more:

$6.1M Lotto 6/49 prize in limbo after couple splits

8 of Ontarios most notorious lottery scandals

They always agreed that if they had a winning ticket, the proceeds would be theirs, together as a couple, says a statement of claim filed in Superior Court of Justice this week. It has not been proven in court.

Maurice and Denise have been buying Lotto 6/49 tickets together for almost their entire relationship. Sometimes he would purchase the tickets and sometimes Denise would. Sometimes Denise would give him money, and he would buy the tickets when he went to pick up cigarettes.

Thibeault and his lawyer, Richard Pollock of Windsor, could not be reached for comment. They have 20 days to file a statement of defence.

Previously, associates of Thibeault have told the Star there was no such ticket arrangement and that he bought the ticket at a convenience store using a debit card linked to her personal bank account. They also said he was planning to end the relationship with Robertson for months and only managed to do so when he got lucky by winning the lottery.

The lawsuit against Thibeault, who showed up at Ontario Lottery and Gamings Toronto prize centre in September with the ticket, follows a court injunction issued last fall stopping OLG from paying him the disputed winnings.

The lucky ticket with the numbers 6, 17, 29, 37, 45, and 47 was one of two winners in the Sept. 20 jackpot of $12.2 million.

Robertson, a federal public servant, is also seeking accrued interest on what she says is her share of the winnings and money to cover her legal costs.

The day after the draw, Robertson heard on a local radio station that there were winning tickets in Chatham and Quebec, and texted Thibeault, a granite installer at the time, asking if he bought a 6/49 for it, according to the statement of claim.

Yes, he wrote.

OMG check it!!! Robertson replied.

When they both got home later that day Thibeault made it clear to Denise that they did not have the winning ticket, the claim continues.

The following day, she got home and was shocked to see that Maurice had packed up and removed all of his clothes, his toiletries and most of his other personal items and his Canadian passport.

Thibeault later texted his boss to quit, saying Denise and I are no longer together. Since I left her Monday another live (sic) changing thing has happened and attached a photo of the winning lottery ticket, the claim adds, noting Robertson obtained the text from a mutual friend.

OLG has paid Thibeault half the proceeds and is holding on to the other half, which a lottery spokesman said would be paid to the court pending a decision in the case.

Pickard, Robertons lawyer, said the Thibeaults current address is unknown to them and accused him in the statement of claim of deceit, arrogance, high-handedness and a callous disregard for Denise and her rights.

Well see, he added when asked if the lawsuit could prompt an out-of-court settlement.

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Businesses dont feel confident about the economy or their own futures and blame rising costs, taxes and the boost in the minimum wage, says a new survey by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

One-quarter of small businesses across the province not only expect lower profits this year, but say they will also continue to shed jobs for the next six months or halt hiring, the survey also found.

Industry in our province is feeling the impact of the rising minimum wage, and significant labour reforms, increasing U.S. and global competition, NAFTA renegotiations, consistent over-regulation, rising input costs and challenges in accessing talent, said Rocco Rossi, president and CEO, at Queens Park on Wednesday.

Together, these factors are compromising Ontarios path to continued economic prosperity.

But the Ontario government counters that at a time of record employment and when GDP growth has exceeded that of Canada and all G7 nations for the past three years, weve created more than 800,000 net new jobs, unemployment is at its lowest rate in 17 years, corporate profits are high and  as the report points out  business prosperity is at a 20-year high, said Daniel Bitonti, spokesperson for Steven Del Duca, Minister of Economic Development and Growth.

However, we know that we need to do even more. In particular, we appreciate the (chambers) recognition of the need for businesses to remain competitive.

PC Finance Critic Lisa MacLeod, who continues to meet with small business owners, said low confidence levels are a worry.

Theres been a basket of issues, said MacLeod.  A lack of confidence in reinvesting  the rapid, recent increase in the minimum wage and hydro costs still remain of concern to Ontario businesses, and that really hampers whether they want to expand or even stay open, in many cases.

Rossi is also worried about tax changes south of the border that might make the U.S. more appealing to businesses.

He said businesses feel bleak not only about the economy, but also regarding their own futures, with one-quarter projecting lower revenues  a rate twice that of larger businesses.

He also said Ontarios job numbers are hiding the sad fact that the share of people in the labour force is continuing to decline  meaning more and more individuals are simply removing themselves from the workforce, or giving up their search for employment.

New Democrat MPP John Vanthof has seen businesses battening down the hatches, and that jobs growth, while appearing strong, has meant a boost in part-time and precarious work, which in the long-term is not good for the economy.

Vanthof also said the Liberal government should have done a better job helping businesses prepare for workplace changes and the hike in the minimum wage  which his party has long called for  knowing they pose a shock for some sectors.

Bitonti noted that the province has cut red tape for businesses, and chopped electricity bills by about 25 per cent, also trimming companies tax rate from 4.5 to 3.5 per cent.

In this time of significant transformation  as Ontario businesses respond to emerging customer demands and technological changes  we will continue to stand with our businesses as they adapt, Bitonti also said.

But Rossi warned that the confidence issue is an early warning indication that if we dont make significant changes, it puts Ontarios prosperity at risk.
BEIRUTRussian and Syrian government forces launched a new wave of airstrikes on Tuesday, killing at least 55 civilians in a besieged area just outside of Syrias capital, Damascus, according to activists and first responders.

The onslaught came a day after a rash of airstrikes battered Syrian opposition areas, killing more than 28 people around the country and striking at hospitals and residential buildings in the northwestern Idlib province. Syrian government forces have been on the offensive in Idlib in recent weeks but the push intensified after militants shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet near the town of Saraqeb over the weekend.

Russia has waged a punishing aerial campaign against Syrias armed opposition since intervening in the civil war on the side of its ally, President Bashar Assad, in 2015.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 10 towns in the eastern Ghouta region outside Damascus were bombed on Tuesday. The activist-run Ghouta Media Center said at least two, Douma and Harasta, was struck by ground-to-ground missiles.

The Syrian Civil Defence search-and-rescue group, known as the White Helmets, which works in opposition areas, called it another bloody day for civilians in eastern Ghouta.

It released a video showing its workers rushing to rescue victims from underneath the rubble Tuesday. The White Helmets say 55 people were killed, while the Observatory put the death toll at 70.

Meanwhile, the lead investigator of a UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry on Syria said his team was looking into reports that bombs allegedly containing weaponized chlorine were used on two recent occasions, in the town of Saraqeb, in Idlib, and Douma, in Eastern Ghouta.

Paulo Pinheiro, in a statement, added that the spiralling violence in Syria had made a mockery of the so-called de-escalation zones   an agreement last year between Russia, Iran and Turkey to stabilize the lines of conflict and open corridors for urgently needed humanitarian relief.

He described the governments siege and indiscriminate bombardment of eastern Ghouta as international crimes.

From Damascus, the United Nations called for an immediate, month-long ceasefire in Syria in order to deliver critical humanitarian aid and medical care to civilians trapped by fighting in regions across the country.

The UN mission warned in a statement on Tuesday of dire consequences to the humanitarian crises in the country, and identified seven areas requiring urgent humanitarian relief. It said it ongoing fighting and the deliberate obstructions by forces at the front lines were blocking aid organizations from reaching civilians in need.

The UN says it has a plan to reach 700,000 people with relief in the next two months, if it can get the permission to proceed.

Syrias multi-sided war has drawn in armies and insurgents from around the world, aggravating a conflict which began as an uprising against Assads rule. Though Assad appears to have survived the insurgency, his forces continue to bomb and besiege opposition pockets around the country, including in eastern Ghouta and Idlib.

The White Helmets said airstrikes targeting the village of Termala in Idlib on Tuesday killed three people. It said one of its workers was also killed by an airstrike while responding to a call for rescue in the area.

Meanwhile, Turkish operations against Syrian Kurdish forces and U.S. and Russian-backed operations against the Islamic State group have compounded the suffering of Syrians in the countrys north and east.

Turkeys military said a Turkish soldier was killed in an attack in Idlib, where the Turkish troops are establishing an observation post. The military said the soldier was killed late Monday by a mortar-and-rocket attack that also wounded five Turkish soldiers and a civilian military contractor.

Turkey began deploying forces in an observer role to the rebel-held Idlib in October as part of a de-escalation agreement with Iran and Russia to stabilize the lines of conflict in the war-torn country.

That deployment is separate from a Turkish military offensive that Ankara launched last month to rout U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters from the northern enclave of Afrin.

The Russian military said on Tuesday it had asked Turkey to help recover the debris of the downed Russian fighter jet in order to establish the type of weapons that were used to shoot it down. Al Qaeda-linked militants said they downed the Su-25 in Idlib on Saturday by a portable air defence missile.

Russian officials say the pilot engaged in a gunbattle with militants before blowing himself up with a hand grenade. It was the first time a Russian jet was shot down over Syria since Russia launched its air campaign on Assads behalf.

Also Tuesday, Irans President Hassan Rouhani criticized Turkeys ongoing offensive against U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish fighters in the Syrian enclave of Afrin, saying it doesnt serve the interests of any country in the region.

Rouhani was quoted as telling his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone conversation that tensions in northern Syria do not benefit anybody. Iran is another key supporter of Assads government.

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WASHINGTONThe United States is stressing its support for renegotiating a three-country NAFTA agreement after comments from an American lawmaker suggesting it was considering splitting Canada and Mexico into separate talks.

The U.S. objective has been and remains renegotiating and modernizing NAFTA on a trilateral basis, Amelia Breinig, a spokesperson with the United States trade representative, said in a statement Wednesday.

With six rounds of renegotiations completed, some progress has been made, but not nearly enough. As we said (at the last round) in Montreal, we all must redouble our efforts at this crucial time.

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Wynne warns Ontario will retaliate against New York Buy American law if no exemption granted

NAFTA supporter in Trumps admin hopeful deal will be reached by end of year

NAFTA deal could be reached by end of March, Canadas ambassador to U.S. says

That statement came after a moment of confusion on Capitol Hill.

U.S. trade czar Robert Lighthizer held a rare briefing on the state of NAFTA with American lawmakers, updating one of the two U.S. congressional committees overseeing trade.

One of the congressmen left that meeting saying it appeared the American side, frustrated by the pace of talks with Canada, was considering concluding a quick agreement with Mexico  and sorting out a deal with Canada later.

He thinks more progress has been made with Mexico. And that there might be a way to wrap things up and down and just maintain ongoing negotiations with Canada at that point, said Ron Kind, a Wisconsin Democrat.

He would not be dissatisfied with just doing a bilateral with Mexico and continuing negotiations (with Canada).

That ambiguity lingered as three other lawmakers who left the meeting wouldnt confirm or deny what Lighthizer said. The U.S. trade czar, for his part, also refused to discuss it: You know I dont talk, Lighthizer said as he left the meeting.

Some meeting participants said any talk of splitting up the negotiations might be tactical  to simply up the pressure on Canada to accede to U.S. demands: Negotiations are all about leverage, said Brian Higgins, a Democrat from New York state.

Some Democrats called it strange to say things were going more smoothly with Mexico  when the most fundamental issues involve Mexico and have yet to be settled, including labour rights, outsourced jobs and auto rules of origin.

Sander Levin said the U.S. administration might be annoyed at some of Canadas recent trade moves, but he doesnt see how the dynamics of the negotiation have changed much since the U.S. supposedly entered these talks to bring back manufacturing jobs from Mexico.

I think Canadas filing the (World Trade Organization) complaint (against the U.S.) was very unsettling, Levin said.

But my own judgment is in terms of the basic issue, with Mexico, theyre moving backwards. . . . I dont see how when theyre moving backwards on this key issue, with Mexico, that it makes much sense to talk about a separate agreement with Mexico.

Many U.S. lawmakers are critical of their own government.

There is little appetite on Capitol Hill for ending NAFTA  and many lawmakers view their own administrations behaviour as jeopardizing the agreement. The Democrats are more vocal about it.

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses trade deals in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Canada is currently re-negotiating NAFTA with the U.S. and Mexico. (The White House/YouTube)

Weve got a president who is impulsive and incoherent at best. And he started all this, Higgins said, adding that there likely cant be an agreement unless it satisfies Trumps demand to reduce Americas import-export deficit.

Kind said the U.S. approach has been all wrong. He accused the administration of strong-arm tactics designed to make enemies  not deals.

Since were the biggest dog on the block, (Lighthizer thinks) everyone should just succumb to all our wishes, he said.

I think its a lousy negotiating tactic to have. Because (negotiations) are always going to be a product of give-and-take, back-and-forth, and we need to create win-win-win situations. But he thinks because weve got the biggest GDP we can muscle anyone to our desire. . . .

Im just concerned. If we drop the ball on this, if we cant figure out a way to live in peace and harmony with our two border neighbours, theres not a country in the world thats going to have an interest in sitting down and negotiating with the United States of America. Whats the point?

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CHTAURA, LEBANONThe mountain range that forms a natural boundary between Syria and Lebanon has long served also as a wartime conduit for people who cannot travel legally  the gunrunners, the rebels, the dissidents and the ordinary citizens who just want to escape.

On one night last month, it became a death trap. A storm whipped up at the moment a group of about 70 Syrian refugees was climbing over the mountain to try to reach Lebanon.

In the darkness, wind and snow, they began to falter. The elderly fell behind. Children tripped. Men slipped. Unable to see their guide, the refugees became lost and scattered.

One small group became so tired that they decided to lie down on the cold, hard ground and go to sleep.

By daybreak, 15 people had frozen to death, a sad new milestone in the tragedy of Syrias seven-year-old war. Refugees have drowned trying to reach Europe and are regularly shot on the Turkish border. But this was the first known instance of a group dying of cold, according to the United Nations refugee agency and Lebanese authorities.

It was also a reminder of the continued desperate efforts of Syrians to escape the fighting, even as the world closes its doors. The United States and Europe are not alone in restricting entry to Syrians  Syrias neighbours also long ago shut their borders to refugees. For those still fleeing to Lebanon, which is hosting about a million Syrian refugees, the only way in is across one of the mountain smuggling routes.

The fate of these recent refugees first came to light after rescue workers posted photographs on Facebook, offering clues to the horrors of the night. Three adults and a child lay rigidly alongside one another. A boy was crouched beside a wall.

A woman had huddled in a thorn bush, the child she was carrying tipped upside down from her arms, feet clad in pink sneakers pointing skyward.

And one little girl was found alive, lying in the snow. Someone picked her up and took her to the hospital in the nearby town of Chtaura. Half of her face was burned away from frostbite, and she was comatose from the cold.

In the intensive care unit, she became another small question mark in the tragedy of a larger war. The doctors wondered: Who was she? Why didnt any relatives come to claim her? And would she survive?

Among those on the mountain that night were Shihab al-Abed, 43, and 13 other members of his extended family, who had come from the small village of Barghouz in Deir al-Zour province. The village has been under Daesh control for years but was too small and unimportant to be caught up in the battles that have killed more than 300,000 people elsewhere, and their lives had remained mostly peaceful, Shihab said, recounting the tale from his brothers home in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli.

Late last year, everything changed.

Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, was rapidly being driven out of all of its major strongholds. More and more of its fighters began showing up in the village as they fled from other areas. In November, the Syrian army overran the nearby town of Bukamal, and Barghouz suddenly found itself on the last front line of Daeshs dwindling defences.

After a night of intense fighting in late December, during which the familys house was hit by a shell, they decided they would have to flee to survive, Shihab said. They piled into vehicles and made their way to Damascus, the Syrian capital  Shihab, his mother, wife, sister, four daughters and a son, three grandchildren, a sister-in-law, and two nieces.

Once in Damascus, they made contact with a smuggler who said he could take them to safety in Lebanon. The journey would cost $140 per person, and the route would be easy and short, the smuggler promised  just a half-hour walk, alongside the main road, and they would be in Lebanon.

But he was lying, Shihab said.

When they arrived at the border on the evening of Jan. 18, instead of remaining alongside the road, the smuggler pointed the family up the nearby mountain, indicating a series of blinking lights high in the darkness that he said they were to follow. There they were met by another smuggler, who gave his name as Abu Hashish, their guide for the rest of the journey.

It is a common ploy of smugglers to deceive their customers into believing they will take an easy route, according to Lebanese security officials and local civil defence workers who have rescued people from the mountain before. Many people might refuse to make the trek at all if they knew in advance how challenging it would be.

The Abed family still had no idea what lay ahead. They struck out into the darkness and driving rain, following Abu Hashish and the big white lettering emblazoned on the back of his jacket: Police.

The path grew steeper, the weather worsened. The wind became a howling gale. The rain turned to snow. Like most of the refugees in the group, they were lightly dressed. Hanan, Shihabs 13-year-old daughter, was wearing plastic sandals and kicked them off so that she could walk faster.

It quickly became clear that the group was unable to keep up.

Shihabs 70-year old mother, Hasba, was the first to fall back. Shihabs wife, Anout, sister Dalal and daughters Amal and Abir stayed with her to try to help her along. Soon they had lost sight of Abu Hashish and the rest of the party. Then, in the buffeting winds, they lost Hasba. Amal was carrying her 1-year-old son, Yasser. Abir, seven months pregnant, was struggling too. She handed her year-old daughter, Beshayer, to another refugee.

The women grew colder and colder and sleepier and sleepier. So we decided just to take a rest, recalled Abir, who survived that night.

We lay down and said we would find the way in the morning.

Up ahead, Shihab was carrying on, his 3-year-old niece Sarah in his arms. The rest of the night is a blur, he said. They ascended one mountain peak, descended and then another lay ahead. They passed a dead man on the way, a teenage girl crying over his body.

At one point, he slipped and fell and cracked his ribs. The girl in his arms had grown lifeless and cold. He could hardly walk himself. So he lay his niece down in the snow and continued on his way. She was cold and motionless, he said. I thought she had died.

When dawn broke, Abir awoke. Her grandmother, mother, sister and nephew lay immobile beside her. They were stiff and frozen. I hoped they were just asleep, she said. I could see a house, so I went to get help. It turned out to be an army post. They went to fetch them.

Seven hours after they had set off, Shihab and the other survivors reached the bottom of the mountain. He learned that his wife, mother, sister and grandson Yasser were dead. His niece Sarah, her sister and her mother were unaccounted for.

At the hospital in the nearby town of Chtaura, civil defence rescuers were ferrying in others they had found on the mountain, some dead, some alive. Over the next two days they would find a total of 15 bodies, all but three of them fleeing battles in Deir al-Zour, and six of them from the al-Abed family, according to police.

Most of the survivors were in good shape and were treated and released the same day, said George Kortas, a doctor and the head of the hospital. But one small girl, estimated to be about 3 years old, was in critical condition, barely responsive and with third-degree ice burns to her face.

For two days she lay comatose in the ICU. Half of her face was a mass of blackened scars from where her cheek had lain in the snow. The doctors fretted that she would die.

On the third day, she began to show signs of life. And on the fourth day, she spoke for the first time. I want to go to mama, she said in a weak little voice.

Its a miracle she is still alive. She is a strong little girl, and her organs have recovered well, Kortas said. But she is going to need many, many plastic surgeries to lead a normal life.

He and the other doctors puzzled over who she was. All of the refugees who had perished had relatives in Lebanon who slowly trickled into the morgues of the Bekaa Valley to claim the bodies.

But no one came to claim the girl  until the fifth day, when her father showed up. Living in Tripoli, he had only discovered the fate of his missing family members when he saw the photos on Facebook.

The woman found huddled in the thorn bush was his wife. The girl in her arms was his 4-year-old daughter, Heba. He scoured the morgues until he found them and took them for burial in Tripoli. Only later did he learn there was an unclaimed girl in the hospital, his other child.

It was an awkward reunion. He had only seen Sarah once, when she was an infant, because he was living in Lebanon while his family remained in Syria. She doesnt know me, and I dont know her, he said, cradling her inexpertly as he fed her spoonfuls of egg, soup and salad from a hospital tray.

She ate weakly but hungrily, pointing to the dishes she wanted to taste. Then she repeated the only words she has spoken so far. I want to go to mama.

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DAMASCUS, SYRIASyria said Wednesday it has responded to a new Israeli aggression after aircraft targeted a military outpost near Damascus, claiming its air defence system destroyed most of the missiles.

State news agency SANA said air defences confronted the Israeli planes, which it said were flying over Lebanese territory when they fired the missiles.

Our air defence systems responded to missiles fired by the Israeli enemy Air Force from over Lebanese territory on a military outpost in Damascus countryside and destroyed most of them, an army statement said.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

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Airstrikes kill at least 55 civilians outside Syrian capital

Syria, Russia step up airstrikes against rebel strongholds

New U.S. strategy in Syria called into question as one American ally attacks another

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syria war through activists on the ground, said the airstrike targeted positions of the Syrian army and its allies in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus, which is home to a government research centre and was also hit in December.

Wednesdays report was the second such accusation in less than a month.

Syrias military on Jan. 9 accused Israel of launching missiles targeting military outposts in the area of Qutayfeh, in the Damascus countryside. The military said that attack caused material damage.

Israel has carried out dozens of airstrikes inside Syria in the course of Syrias civil war, against what it says are suspected arms shipments believed to be bound for Lebanons Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces.

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WASHINGTONSenate leaders brokered a long-elusive budget agreement Wednesday that would shower the Pentagon and domestic programs with an extra $300 billion (U.S.) over the next two years. But both Democratic liberals and GOP tea party forces swung against the plan, raising questions about its chances just a day before the latest government shutdown deadline.

The measure was a win for Republican allies of the Pentagon and for Democrats seeking more for infrastructure projects and combating opioid abuse. But it represented a bitter defeat for many liberal Democrats who sought to use the partys leverage on the budget to resolve the plight of immigrant Dreamers who face deportation after being brought to the U.S. illegally as children. The deal does not address immigration.

Senate leaders hope to approve the measure Thursday and send it to the House for a confirming vote before the government begins to shut down Thursday at midnight. But hurdles remain to avert the second shutdown in a month.

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Shut it down: Trump threatens government shutdown if Democrats dont agree to his border security terms

Trumps chief of staff says some immigrants too lazy to get off their asses to sign up for DACA

Trump calls for unity to fix infrastructure, immigration systems in State of the Union speech

While Senate Democrats celebrated the moment of rare bipartisanship  Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a genuine breakthrough  progressives and activists blasted them for leaving immigrants in legislative limbo. Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi, herself a key architect of the budget plan, announced her opposition Wednesday morning and mounted a remarkable daylong filibuster on the House floor, trying to force GOP leaders in the House to promise a later vote on legislation to protect the younger immigrants.

Let Congress work its will, Pelosi said, before holding the floor for more than eight hours without a break. What are you afraid of?

The White House backed the deal  despite U.S. President Donald Trumps outburst a day earlier that hed welcome a government shutdown if Democrats didnt accept his immigration-limiting proposals.

Trump himself tweeted that the agreement is so important for our great Military, and he urged both Republicans and Democrats to support it.

But the plan faced criticism from deficit hawks in his own party.

Some tea party Republicans shredded the measure as a budget-buster. Combined with the partys December tax-cut bill, the boost in military and other spending would put the GOP-controlled government on track for the first $1-trillion-plus deficits since former president Barack Obamas first term. Thats when Congress passed massive stimulus legislation to try to stabilize a down-spiraling economy.

Its too much, said Rep. Scott Perry, a fiscal hawk.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, however, backed the agreement and was hoping to cobble together a coalition of moderate Democrats and Republicans to push it through.

Despite the 77-year-old Pelosis public talkathon, she was not pressuring the partys rank-and-file to oppose the measure, Democrats said. The deal contains far more money demanded by Democrats than had seemed possible only weeks ago, including $90 billion in disaster aid for Florida and Texas. Some other veteran Democrats  some of whom said holding the budget deal hostage to action on Dreamer immigrants had already proven to be a failed strategy  appeared more likely to support the agreement than junior progressives elected in recent years.

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would "love to see a shutdown" if Democrats refuse to back his immigration proposals. He said the "stupidity" of the nation's immigration laws is allowing violent gangs like MS-13 to flourish in the U.S. (The Associated Press)

The budget agreement would give both the Pentagon and domestic agencies relief from a budget freeze that lawmakers say threatens military readiness and training as well as domestic priorities such as combating opioid abuse and repairing the troubled health-care system for veterans.

The core of the agreement would shatter tight caps on defence and domestic programs funded by Congress each year. They are a hangover from a failed 2011 budget agreement and have led to military readiness problems and caused hardship at domestic agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the IRS.

The agreement would give the Pentagon an $80-billion increase for the current budget year for core defence programs, a 14-per-cent increase over current limits and $26 billion more than Trumps budget request. Non-defence programs would receive about $60 billion over current levels. Those figures would be slightly increased for the 2019 budget year beginning Oct. 1.

For the first time in years, our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep America safe, said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. It will help us serve the veterans who have bravely served us. And it will ensure funding for important efforts such as disaster relief, infrastructure and building on our work to fight opioid abuse and drug addiction.

The Senate agreement contains almost $90 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. That would bring the total appropriated for disaster aid in the wake of last years disastrous hurricane season to almost $140 billion.

The agreement would increase the governments borrowing cap to prevent a first-ever default on U.S. obligations that looms in just a few weeks. The debt limit would be suspended through March 2019, Sanders said, putting the next vote on it safely past this years midterm elections.

The House passed legislation Tuesday to keep the government running through March 23, marrying the stopgap spending measure with a $659-billion Pentagon spending plan, but the Senate plan would rewrite that measure.

Pelosi said the House should push into immigration legislation and noted that Senate Republicans have slated a debate on the politically freighted subject starting next week. At issue is legislation to address the dilemma of immigrants left vulnerable by Trumps move to end Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

Rep. Nanette Barragan, a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the Latino community thinks Senate Democratic leaders have turned their back.

And a frustrated Angel Padilla, policy director for the liberal group Indivisible, said of the Democratic leaders: What are they thinking? Theyre giving up their leverage . . . All of these votes will matter come November.

Dreamers and supporters mounted a peaceful protest in a Senate office building.

Schumer said the plan would contain $20 billion dedicated to infrastructure such as highways and bridge construction and repair, water and waste-water projects, and rural broadband.

Theres also $4 billion for construction for veterans hospitals and clinics, $6 billion to fight the opioid crisis and fund mental health programs and $4 billion for college aid.

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VATICAN CITYThe Vaticans sex-crimes expert is changing plans and will fly to New York to take in-person testimony from a Chilean sex abuse victim after his pleas to be heard by Pope Francis were previously ignored, the victim told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The switch from a planned Skype interview came after the AP reported that Francis received a letter in 2015 from Juan Carlos Cruz, a victim of Chiles most notorious pedophile priest. Cruz wrote the pope that one of the priests proteges, Bishop Juan Barros, was present for his abuse and did nothing, and questioned Francis decision to make him a diocesan bishop.

Barros has denied seeing any abuse committed by the Rev. Fernando Karadima, a charismatic priest sanctioned by the Vatican in 2011 for sexually abusing minors.

Read more:

Pope Francis got abuse survivors letter in 2015  but still insisted victims havent come forward

Pope Francis sends sex crimes expert to investigate bishop in Chile

After the Barros affair exploded anew during Francis recent trip to Chile, with the pope denying he ever heard from any victims about the bishop, the Vatican last week tapped Archbishop Charles Scicluna to go to Santiago to take testimony from victims.

Originally, Scicluna was to interview Cruz via Skype since he lives in Philadelphia. But Scicluna called Cruz on Tuesday, on behalf of the pope, and asked Cruz if he could do the interview in person, Cruz told the AP on Wednesday. Their meeting is scheduled for Feb. 17 in New York, where Cruz has to be for work that day anyway, Cruz said.

I think the Vaticans change of attitude is due to the tremors caused by The Associated Press article, Cruz said.

Scicluna declined to comment.

For more than a decade, Scicluna was the Vaticans lead sex crimes investigator, and famously went up against the Vatican hierarchy to sanction the serial pedophile Rev. Marcial Maciel, founder of the Legion of Christ. For decades, Maciel was protected by the highest officials of the Catholic Church who blocked an investigation into his crimes.

Once Scicluna was allowed to pursue it, he travelled all over  including to New York  to interview Maciels victims, preferring face-to-face testimony and to prevent victims already wounded by the church from having to travel to come to him.

The Vatican has said Scicluna is tasked with listening to anyone who has expressed the desire to provide elements in their possession about Barros.
On Jan. 30, 2018 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada will officially recognize the International Decade for People of African Descent.

This groundbreaking acknowledgement came as a result of years of lobbying by African Canadian communities and their supporters. It was also recommended by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) to Canada in its 2017 concluding observations.

In addition, Trudeau promised to build a better, more inclusive country that recognizes the contributions of all, and creates better opportunities for more Canadians. This, he pledged, would be done through improving research and data collection to better understand the particular challenges faced by Canadians of African descent.

This announcement should be celebrated, not just by African Canadians, but by all Canadians who want to see anti-Black racism and racism against other racialized groups eliminated.

Just days after, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage released the report, Taking Action against Systemic Racism and Religious Discrimination Including Islamophobia. In contrast to the prime ministers announcement, the committee report received hardly any media coverage. Yet if adopted, the report will have far greater impact than the symbolic, albeit significant, gesture by Trudeau.

Among other things, the report calls on Canadian to update and reinstate the previous Canadian Action Plan against Racism, and broaden it to include religious discrimination, including Islamophobia.

It pushes the government to complete the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Calls to Action and comply with the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. It also urges Canada to set measurable targets to ensure such a plan is sustainable and accountable, and to collect disaggregated data to monitor the impact of policies to eliminate racial inequality and the racialization of poverty. Similar to the call to proclaim the Decade for People of African Descent, many of these recommendations echo the UN CERDs observations about Canada.

The standing committee report could not have come at a better time.

As the 2016 census has shown Canada is more diverse than ever, with communities of colour making up a fifth of the population, of which 30 per cent were Canadian-born.

While full census data on their economic and social condition has yet to be released, what we have learned so far suggests communities of colour continue to face many challenges. They fare worse in the labour market, earn less income, and consequently experience a higher level of poverty compared to white Canadians.

This should hardly come as a surprise given accumulating research showing the persistence of workplace discrimination. An example is the 2017 study by Ryerson University and University of Toronto that confirmed Canadians with Asian sounding name have a 34 per cent less chance of getting job interviews.

Disparities also persist in the health, criminal justice, correctional and child welfare systems, especially for people of African descent as well as Indigenous peoples.

The previous five-year Canadas Action Plan against Racism was introduced in 2005 when Paul Martin was PM. Subsequently, the plan, as well as any governmental commitment to address racial discrimination, was consigned to a political black hole.

While the 2005 report did provide a framework for tackling racial discrimination, its emphasis on promoting diversity rendered it less effective as a tool for redressing systemic racism. Besides, certain vital concerns  such as tackling Islamophobia  were omitted in the 2005 report, a trend that has become more prevalent over the last 13 years.

With the standing committee report now shining a new light on the 2005 Action Plan, Canada should seize this opportunity to acknowledge systemic racism, to introduce a revitalized action plan, and implement measures that will lead to real and substantive change.

Examples of such measures are included in the standing committee report, namely, develop and implement tools that foster equitable hiring within the federal public service, adopt an equity lens towards public policy, similar to the gender based analysis lens, and create an anti-racism impact assessment framework to remove unconscious bias in policy decision making.

Indigenous communities and communities of colour who have been in the forefront of the fight against racism will no doubt have many other ideas worthy of consideration.

Trudeau should be commended for making anti-Black racism a priority in the fight against racism. Having taken this important first step, he should follow through with proper policy tools and funding commitment so all people of colour will have a real and fair chance at success.

Avvy Go is clinic director, Chinese & Southeast Asian Legal Clinic; Debbie Douglas is executive director, Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants; Shalini Konanur is executive director, South Asian Legal Clinic of Ontario.
What explains the stratospheric ascent of University of Toronto psychologist Jordan Peterson? He has 760,000 subscribers and 39 million views on his YouTube channel. His new book 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos is near the top of the Amazon book charts in Canada, the U.K., and the U.S. And he was recently proclaimed the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now by New York Times columnist David Brooks.

Some in the Canadian media have tried to explain away his popularity in terms of appeals to ignorance, sexism and bigotry. For example, Peterson has been referred to as a conservative hero with dangerous views in Chatelaine, the stupid mans smart person in Macleans and just another angry white guy in The Globe and Mail.

But what is really happening is that Peterson has become the personification of the backlash to outrage and denunciation culture. A culture in which anyone that does not pledge complete fealty to all articles of faith of the progressive movement is labelled as a bigot that should be shamed to the fringes of society.

Peterson gained notoriety due to his opposition to the use of gender neutral pronouns and federal legislation dealing with gender expression. He had spent a large portion of his life studying the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany and viewed the imposition of state-imposed speech requirements as a dangerous step toward totalitarian control.

Peterson noted that while it is legitimate for the state to enumerate language that people cant use (e.g. racial epithets, inciting violence), forcing people to use specific language is an abuse of state power.

But the media coverage at the time reported almost none of this nuance. Instead, Peterson was cast as just another white male in a position of power engaged in transphobic behaviour.

This was similar to the reporting on former Google engineer James Damore. Much of the media proclaimed that Damore, a white male, had written a sexist anti-diversity memo that argued that women werent biologically fit for tech jobs as CNN put it.

But the memo said nothing of the sort. It acknowledged that sexism exists but stated that the gender disparity in tech companies has more to do with differences in population level gender preferences, and then concluded with suggestions to increase the number of women in the tech field.

Damore was fired amidst the frenzied outrage, although YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Google CEO Sundar Pichai responded similarly when recently asked about the gender disparity in tech, citing studies on gender differences and saying that women prefer social industries.

Of the people who actually investigated Petersons views or read Damores memo, many concluded they had been unfairly maligned. And in the case of Peterson, they also found a lot of other interesting ideas. For example, his most popular video, with over 1.4 million views, is a 2.5-hour lecture on the psychological significance of the Bible.

Peterson has found a particular audience among young men, whom he admonishes to be strong and get their lives in order. This is a demographic that is often treated with callous disregard.

For example, a few years ago, posters advertising a panel discussion at the University of Toronto on the educational and economic crisis among young men were covered up with a sign that read BROUGHT TO YOU BY CRYBABIES ANONYMOUS. It was as if to say that because some men hold positions of power in society, other men who are struggling dont really deserve any sympathy.

If we are going to chart a constructive path forward as a society, we need to be able to have honest dialogue about contentious issues, especially with people with whom we disagree. This involves putting an end to the automatic labelling and dismissal of those with unfashionable views.

We also need to treat people as individuals and move away from the notion that group identity is the defining characteristic of a person. Humans vary along a multitude of dimensions, the least important of which may be the characteristics (e.g. race and sex) they did not choose for themselves.

Jordan Petersons popularity is not a sign of resurgent atavistic bigotry. Rather it is a signpost to the blind spots in our society that need attention.

Sachin Maharaj is a PhD candidate and Canada Graduate Scholar in educational policy at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.

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Its bad enough that Toronto Hydro, the citys publicly owned power provider, has been working for two years to suppress information on an abandoned push to privatize the company. The ratepayer-funded agency should, by default, be open and transparent.

But more troubling still are the repeated failures of our citys political leadership even to encourage the companys board to do the right thing.

Take the unfortunate fate of City Councillor Gord Perks motion, tabled last week, to force Toronto Hydro finally to release information about a behind-the-scenes privatization push in 2016, the subject of a longstanding Star freedom of information request, and about how much money the company has spent since then to oppose that request.

These are not insignificant details. The arms-length agency hired lobbyists, at some public expense, in its unsuccessful effort to encourage council to support a privatization plan. At what cost did it pursue this, without any public mandate? And how much has it spent since then on consultants, including blue chip Bay St. law firm Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, in fighting the Stars push for transparency?

These are the questions Perks sought to answer with his motion, yet sadly it never got to a vote. Instead, council approved, 20 to 18, an alternative motion put forward by Councillor Stephen Holyday, who sits on Hydro Torontos board of directors, and with the active support of Mayor John Tory. That motion calls on the agency merely to consider the request for transparency. It does not even compel a response.

The stated reason for undermining Perks effort was that Holyday wanted to ensure the city did not compromise the independence of the arms length agency by big-footing its board into disclosing the information. I take no position on whether the information should be released, Holyday said. Im more interested in governance.

There is some irony in citing good governance as a reason not to fight for transparency, a central tenet of good governance. But in any case, surely councillors could have at least used moral suasion to encourage the board to come clean. Surely they could have made their request harder to ignore.

The mayor, in particular, should tread carefully here, given his interests in this case. The Star revealed last year that some of Torys senior staff and advisers led the push toward a partial sale of the utility and that Toronto Hydro hired two former senior Tory advisers to lobby council to consider a sell-off.

The mayors office, invoking the governance issue, called Holydays motion the reasonable and sensible option. But Tory must also be aware of the appearance that he may have other reasons not to want this information to come to light.

If he feels it would be wrong, for governance reasons, to force the board to disclose the documents in question, he should at least use his position of moral leadership to explicitly encourage the company to come clean. It is in all of our interests that this information about the use of public funds be released so that we might consider whether they were truly used for the public good.

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For many years Canadians with young children or infirm relatives have had a sweet deal. Under a federal program, they could hire foreigners at affordable wages to care for their loved ones.

In return the caregivers, most often from the Philippines, Indonesia and the Caribbean, were eligible for permanent resident status after two years of full-time work.

It was a win-win situation  until three years ago. Thats when the Harper government changed the rules of the program to restrict the number of foreign nannies or caregivers it would accept by capping the numbers and setting out new language skill and education requirements.

Since November 2014, only 1,955 caregivers have been granted permanent residency in the country. That compares with an average of 8,000 a year who received permanent status between 2006 and 2014.

Now there are fears it could get get worse for the thousands of workers  almost all of them women  who take care of Canadian children, the infirm and the aged in exchange for a shot at bringing their own families to this country for a better life.

A notice posted to the Immigration Departments website on the weekend suggests that foreign caregivers will not be eligible for permanent residence status if they have not accrued two years of employment by Nov. 29, 2019. That leaves many who are already here in the lurch.

In the meantime the government says it is reassessing the program, leading many to fear that the pathway to permanent residence for caregivers will be shut down permanently, turning them into perpetual guest workers.

If that happens, it would be the wrong message to send out about the important role that caregivers play in Canadian society.

As Anna Malla of the Caregivers Action Centre points out: Care work is real work; its important work.

She is right. The Trudeau government should reward caregivers by making them eligible for permanent resident status after two years of working in Canada.

While its true that Canadas program for caregivers is believed to be the only one in the world that provides a pathway to permanent status, that doesnt make it a bad idea.

Indeed, the program as it existed in the past  which saw about 4,000 to 6,000 caregivers come to Canada each year  was a good one.

First, caregivers boost the economy by enabling parents or relatives of the infirm to work at other jobs.

Second, the access to permanent residency is an incentive that helps to make up for the jobs relative low pay and sometimes unpleasant work conditions while arguably attracting the best caregivers in the world, who surely make good citizens.

It gives them a chance to bring their children and other family members to Canada. At the moment, many are in limbo, taking care of other peoples kids while separated from their own children.

Finally, now is not the time to pull the rug out from under the feet of foreign caregivers.

With an aging population and no sign of a national child care plan in sight, Canadians arguably need all the help in this area that they can get.

Foreign caregivers provide it. When they come to Canada they should have a way to permanent resident status. Its not only the right thing to do, its the smart thing.

Correction  February 15, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that misstated the number of foreign caregivers granted permanent residency since November 2014 as 555.
Subway crowding crisis has reached house-on-fire status, Keenan, Feb. 6

The chickens have come home to roost after decades of political interference and mismanagement of Torontos transit system. While massive amounts of time and money have been diverted to subway building in low-density areas better served by light rail, the relief line for the congested central area was put on the back burner.

We cannot wait another decade for the relief line to be built, while congestion and chaos mount on the Yonge and Bloor lines. Drastic measures are needed to create additional surface rapid transit for those corridors that will be fast and economical to build.

The most practical solution would be an LRT on Yonge St., in its own right-of-way, possibly extending all the way from Richmond Hill to Union Station. Not only would it carry new riders coming from increased development, but it could also serve as an urgently needed backup to the Yonge subway.

Joell Ann Vanderwagen, Oshawa

There has been much recent, vehement criticism of Yonge subway congestion, which is making the daily commute a misery for about 50,000 riders.

The universally accepted solution is the first stage of the Downtown Relief Line, many years in the future and at a cost of $6 billion.

In my comments to the most recent TTC board meeting, I recommended a simple first-step solution: adding about five trains to the 61 trains already running on the Yonge line every weekday morning during the peak hours.

I have additional proposals for quickly and economically solving Yonge subway congestion listed in a report I submitted to the TTC in August 2015. The TTC has so far refused to test any of my solutions. The mayor and city council should press the TTC to test these proposals.

Josef Kates, Toronto

Recent articles about subway crowding illustrate an overall need to look at Torontos planning process. Line 1 may be at over capacity, but Line 2 along Bloor/Danforth is also stressed. Yet, in my west end neighbourhood, several huge developments are being proposed along Bloor St., at Jane, High Park, Dundas and Dufferin, as well as another, just north, at Dufferin and Dupont. How will our transit system handle thousands more commuters? Perhaps its time we hit the pause button on rampant building, until we have proper infrastructure in place.

Francine Dick, Toronto

Edward Keenan has obviously not lived or experienced underground transport systems during rush hour across many cities in the world.

The riders on the famous tube in London, England put up with a jam much bigger than the ones we experience here in Toronto. Many times on the tube when living and working in London I have asked my fellow travellers to give me a push so I can get out at my destination station.

Londoners take it in their stride and smile, and that is what we should do. The TTC go to great efforts to give good service and we should appreciate that more and whine less.

Stephen Ayers, Toronto

Correction  February 7, 2018: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly combined a letter to the editor from Joell Ann Vanderwagen and another from Josef Kates and attributed the entire letter to Kates.

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To hear people outraged by lack of due process in the recent wave of sex assault allegations against high-profile men, you would think women are merely duplicitous creatures seeking any chance to trip a man on his upward path to success in a burbling fit of malevolence.

Women used to be accused of using their vaginas to climb their way to the top. Sluts! Now theyre being accused of using them to bring down the guys at the top. Bitches!

And, to rub salt in the wound, they get to laugh as they do it  the anonymity offered them all but guarantees it.

Read more:

Patrick Brown breaks silence, defends himself via Twitter

Steve Paikin denies sexual harassment allegation made by Sarah Thomson

Opinion | Heather Mallick: Caroline Mulroney offers grimy PCs a fresh start

In reality, the last time a definitive trend of false accusations of sexual assault was established was when white women used it as a cover for their consensual but taboo relationships with Black men in the last century. Those accusations got Black men lynched. Safe to say that due process back then was indifferent to lynching.

False accusations are wrong and damaging, and they undercut real cases of sexual violence. But they are given importance that far outweighs their existence; they account for between 2 per cent and 8 per cent of complaints, research in North America, the U.K. and Australia shows. To put that in context, only 5 per cent of sexual assaults were reported to police in 2014, according to the Canadian Womens Foundation.

Across society, the sexist trope of lying, opportunistic women is like gold: alluring, malleable and passed on from generation to generation.

It might explain why the takeaway from Believe women is mixed. The literalists take it as a demand to suspend all critical thought and sound the alarm bells.

A more reasoned understanding suggests that Believe women asks us to discard the reflexive disbelief of those who complain  simply because they are women. Believe women seeks presumption of innocence from ulterior motives.

With the #MeToo movement, the first signs of cracks began to appear in the thus-far insurmountable walls of disbelief.

A few women, finding courage in numbers, began to tentatively raise their hands.

Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown says he "categorically" denies allegations made against him but for which he provided no details. Brown made a brief, late-night statement Jan. 24. (The Canadian Press)

Some women publicly shared Sh---y Men lists  more like Be careful lists, naming men from media, from academia, from the music industry. Some of those lists were quickly made private after threats of legal action.

Some women came to mainstream media to speak out against politicians.

Out came threats  as in the case of the woman who accused former federal cabinet minister Kent Hehr of inappropriate sexual remarks.

News outlets cant afford to be libelous, making it very much in their interest to be fair and journalistically accurate rather than indulge in hearsay. Where the courts fail, journalism with due diligence can fill the gaps.

Newsrooms are also reluctant about acquiescing to requests for anonymity; leaning on it as a tool puts their own credibility on the line. Yet, that anonymity is likely the saving grace for the two women who spoke to CTV about their experiences with Patrick Brown, leading to his ouster as Ontarios Progressive Conservative Party leader.

Accusations are not above investigation, but not all accusations need to be tested in a court of law.

Neither the women nor CTV sought the sacking of Brown, who has denied the allegations. It was political due process, in his case, a lack of support within his party, that led to it.

In the case of TVOs Steve Paikin, who is facing a sexual harassment allegation, which he dismissed as pure fiction in his first public statement Tuesday, its corporate due process that allows him to stay on while a third party investigates the accusation.

So, how do you offer proof of violation?

After a tearful Wednesday night news conference, Patrick Brown issued a statement saying he was leaving as leader of Ontarios Progressive Conservatives. His resignation is a blow to his party just months before the provincial election.

There are rape kits (not always in stock), for cases where the assault is violent enough to be medically established.

However, kits cannot establish consent or lack thereof.

How about the countless, everyday violations women endure?

Man gropes you on the subway. You want to complain. Wheres the proof?

Guy who interviews you for a job has his gaze firmly fixed on your breasts. You want to complain. Wheres the proof?

These then are the guardians of due process:

A legal system ill-equipped to handle cases of sexual violence and misconduct;

A workplace where HR exists to protect the company from employee problems;

A society more comfortable with allowing a multitude of women to be manipulated, intimidated or violated than holding men accountable.

Through all this, unheard still, are the voices of women who were never privileged to begin with: neither the privilege of fame, nor of education, access to journalists or know-how of digital platforms and social media.

Presumption of innocence is a foundational pillar of our legal system. It is not under attack. But the disingenuous hand-wringing around it aims to send a message to all women: keep your mouths shut.

We wont.

Shree Paradkar writes about discrimination and identity. You can follow her @shreeparadkar

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In the escalating feud between Alberta and B.C. over the expansion of Kinder Morgans Trans Mountain pipeline, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is  for now  a referee without a whistle.

Much as he might want to call an end to the hostilities between the NDP governments of the two provinces, he lacks the means to enforce a quick timeout between them.

That could change over time. But things may have to get worse before Trudeau has a shot, if not at making them better, at least at forcing a resolution of the issue.

By now, the federal government has used all the back channels at its disposal to try to mediate the dispute between Edmonton and Victoria.

Sticks and carrots have been hinted at. In a B.C. interview last week, Trudeau linked his governments $1.5 billion coastal protection plan to the building of the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion.

He tried to make a case that the federal-provincial consensus to put a floor price on carbon would not be sustainable, absent some positive developments for Albertas energy industry.

But for federal mediation to work, at least one of the two feuding NDP premiers would have to have a political incentive to meet the other part way.

As it happens, neither side has much room to give up ground to the other. Ever since the advent of a Green-supported minority NDP government in B.C., the two provinces have been on track for a head-on collision over pipelines. The alternative for either of them was a potential derailment.

This is a war Alberta Premier Rachel Notley has to win. She cannot afford to see the Trans Mountain project abandoned, especially as a result of the actions of a fellow NDP premier. She also needs to be seen to be pulling no punches on behalf of her province.

The survival of B.C. Premier John Horgans minority government is conditional on the continued support of the Green Party. He was elected on the promise of using every means at his governments disposal to prevent the Trans Mountain pipeline from being expanded. With an eye to turning his governing minority into a majority, he needs to be seen to be doing just that.

On that score, his suggestion that his government could restrict the amount of bitumen transiting by rail or pipeline from Alberta to the Pacific Coast is the nuclear weapon in the arsenal. Whether he would be totally unhappy to be prevented from using it as the result of a legal intervention from the federal government is another story.

But for now, B.C.s threat to close its borders in whole or in part to Albertas bitumen is only a proposal. And that means that for all of the inches upon inches of virtual column ink expended on calling for so-called federal leadership, Trudeau can hardly take a province to court for usurping Ottawas constitutional powers over what remains a statement of intent.

That will change if B.C.s intentions are translated into actual regulations. Until that happens, there is nothing concrete for the federal government to take to court.

The Alberta-B.C. feud is politically messy for Trudeau, but it could have been worse.

Were the countrys two NDP premiers not on opposite sides of the pipeline issue, Trudeau would likely face a heavy barrage of New Democrat attacks in the House of Commons. (Mind you, if Notley were not a key ally of his government, the prime minister might be less willing to expend political capital on the Trans Mountain pipeline.)

In any event, a divided NDP house on pipelines stands to blunt the New Democrats capacity to score points off the Liberals support for the Trans Mountain pipeline in the next election.

And then had TransCanada not abandoned its bid to link the oilsands to the refineries of the east coast via the Energy East pipeline, Trudeau would be looking at a similarly ugly battle on the Central Canada battlefield.

That would have meant hed have to articulate a response to the conflict between Edmonton and Victoria that took into account the necessity of regional symmetry.

To be clear, Trudeau could not have done anything to resolve the Alberta-B.C. feud in a manner that reflects his commitment to see the Trans Mountain project succeed that he would not have been willing or able to replicate in a battle against Quebec and potentially Ontario.

Chantal Hebert is a national affairs writer. Her column appears Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

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When the British government appointed a minister for loneliness in January, reaction was decidedly mixed, even confused. Some found it hard to take the news seriously; others thought there was nothing funny about the issue. When late-night talking head, Stephen Colbert, tried to find the humour in it, his monologue fell flat.

The fact the appointment was made by a right-wing administration many consider morally and intellectually empty made the decision even more unexpected, especially in the U.K., a demoralized country where more than nine million people admit they feel lonely.

The idea that a Tory government  any government for that matter  would tackle the thorniest aspect of the human condition head on wasn't just extraordinary, it was unprecedented. Understandably, public policy-makers traditionally avoid such existential questions altogether. They opt instead for a more oblique approach. Loneliness, for example, has economic, social, health, cultural, community, and family implications. It belongs to all those ministries  and none.

On the other side of the spectrum, there's happiness. The United Nations, which releases an annual list of the world's happiest nations, bases its findings on per capita GDP as well as measurables such as life expectancy, social support, medicare and the like. Last year's winner was Norway, a small country of five million with a sovereign wealth fund worth more than $1 trillion. Canada sits in seventh place.

As flattering as that may sound, a statistical construct like the GDP says more about the state than the individual. Perhaps that's why the UN's rankings barely resonate, even in the wealthiest of nations. At a time when the richest one per cent own fully half the world's wealth, the GDP, the monetary value of all goods and service produced in a country or region over a specific time, can be particularly misleading. The U.S., for example, which boasts the planet's largest GDP, has the second-highest rate of poverty among rich countries as well as the highest rates of maternal death and infant mortality. Life spans in the U.S. are actually in decline.

Clearly, wealth doesn't buy happiness. But because costs are easier to measure than benefits, money tends to matter more to governments than value. Costs are also easier to cut than benefits. Reducing deficits is a goal all politicians extoll; but what is the human impact? Does the happiness resulting from lower deficits outweigh the unhappiness created by the austerity budgets through which they are achieved?

On the other hand, the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is renowned for its Gross National Happiness Index. Like the GDP in other countries, it is a measure of well-being. Following Bhutan's example, in 2016 the United Arab Emirates of all places created a position of minister of state for happiness. But then, unhappy Venezuela created a vice-ministry of happiness back in 2013. And let's not forget, the American Declaration of Independence claimed Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are unalienable human rights. Since then, the U.S. has slipped to 14th place on the UN's happiness index.

So much for happiness, whatever it may be. Perhaps loneliness is more straightforward. Perhaps it's easier for governments to eliminate the negative and accentuate the positive. That might mean ministries of wellness rather than just illness, prosperity not simply poverty, mobility instead of only transportation . . .

By focusing on loneliness, the British have apparently also acknowledged the huge role public policy plays in creating widespread feelings of alienation and disconnection, especially among the elderly. If nothing else, the U.K.'s change in approach might help eradicate the sense that government's left hand doesn't know what its right hand is doing. If reducing loneliness is the state's declared goal, government priorities suddenly become clear and consistent. For instance, it will no longer be enough simply to chop budgets across the board as deficit-obsessed governments are wont to do. That would only increase loneliness; from now on, the U.K. will require more nuanced and humanistic strategies.

As the British have discovered, a country that views its success in strictly economic terms can be overwhelmed by the price of that success. The cost of loneliness is simply too high.

It's too soon to know what effect the U.K.'s new minister for loneliness will have, if any. But the announcement has people talking and asking questions, above all about the relationship between the state and individual: Just what is the point of public policy, of government itself? Does it serve us, or do we serve it?

Christopher Humes column appears weekly. He can be reached at jcwhume4@gmail.com
Dont count Doug Ford out.

The former Toronto councillor is dismissed by many as a long shot in the Ontario Tory leadership race.

He is said to be too right-wing, too angry and too controversial.

Most Ontarians know him only as the brother of former Toronto mayor Rob Ford, a man who until his death in 2016 was treated in the media as a populist buffoon.

The smart money says that if Doug Ford becomes Progressive Conservative leader next month, the partys chances of ousting Premier Kathleen Wynnes Liberals from government will diminish considerably.

Who knows? The smart money may be right.

But that doesnt mean the Tories wont choose Ford anyway.

His outsider campaign has resonance within a party that has long been split  between left and right, between urbanites and rural voters, between true believers and compromisers.

When Ford rails against what he calls the elites, many Conservative voters quietly nod in agreement.

Make no mistake, Ford thundered when announcing his candidacy last week. The elites of this party, the ones who have shut out the grassroots, do not want me in this race.

In that, he is almost certainly correct. The PC nabobs do not want Ford chosen as leader. They would prefer either political neophyte Caroline Mulroney or former MPP Christine Elliott.

Going into the June election, both are seen as safer choices.

But the party has the distressing habit of ignoring the nabobs and making unsafe choices.

In 1990, it defied the then Red Tory old guard and chose Mike Harris. Harris tanked in the subsequent general election but recovered to win two back-to-back majority governments.

In 2004, the party made the safe choice of picking John Tory as leader. He lost the next election.

In 2009, the party chose Tim Hudak, a Harris acolyte, over the more centrist Christine Elliott. Hudak lost two elections. But the party rank and file were undeterred. In 2015, they elected as leader another controversial outsider  Patrick Brown.

Once again, Elliott, campaigning as the safe centrist, lost.

What will happen this time is almost impossible to predict. Polling so far is inconclusive.

As well, the complex voting process  which involves members casting online, preferential ballots weighted in favour of ridings with low turnouts  makes predictions difficult.

So far none of the candidates has said much that would substantively differentiate them. Elliott and Ford oppose the imposition of a carbon tax as called for in the partys election platform. Mulroney is vague but has said that if she wins she might rethink the entire platform.

The real difference is tone. Ford rages. The other two do not.

Fords main policy pronouncement to date is that, Its time to clean up this mess.

Which, while not specific, is at least evocative.

In a strange way, that rage might be Fords greatest asset in this race. His detractors may regard him as a thug and a bully. He lacks the disarming vulnerability of his brother Rob. But at least he has passion.

By comparison, his competitors sound almost robotic. Mulroney in particular is playing it safe, avoiding uncontrolled contact with the press and relying on name recognition (her father is a former prime minister) to carry her campaign.

Elliott, meanwhile, has provided no convincing rationale for her decision to seek the leadership  except that this time she might win.

But Ford? Hes furious. He rants. He raves. He says he will turn the whole thing on its head.

For many Conservative voters desperate to see the demolition of Wynnes Liberal legacy, this might just appeal.

Thomas Walkom appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

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Wells Fargo, the embattled U.S. bank, plans to "refresh" its board to improve oversight of management. But corporate-governance experts say the term has become a euphemism for the delicate art of shaking up a failed board without blaming individual directors.

When regular people screw up in their jobs, they get fired. When board members at elite corporations screw up, they get "refreshed."

That's the term Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) - Get Wells Fargo & Company Report used in describing plans to replace four directors on a board that failed so drastically in its oversight of management's aggressive growth strategies that the bank has now been slapped by the Federal Reserve with sanctions that prohibit any growth in the bank's $2 trillion balance sheet, perhaps for the rest of the year. According to Moody's Investors Service, such an order is unprecedented in the Fed's regulation of financial firms.

In other words, the Wells Fargo directors are likely getting the heave-ho.

But the term "refreshment" makes it sound like there's a mudbath in the offing at a resort in Palm Springs, California, complete with a cucumber-infused spritzer. It's as if the directors will come back fresh, more ready than ever to hold management's feet to the fire. In reality they'll probably stay as far away from the company as possible to avoid reminding shareholders how they failed as fiduciaries.

"To use the term refreshment is to suggest that this is just business as usual," Nell Minow, vice chair of consultant ValueEdge Advisors, which counsels big investors on corporate governance, said in a telephone interview. "But it's really a euphemism to make it sound like they're just fluffing up the pillows instead of pushing the rats off the sinking ship."

The delicate verbiage offers an example of how corporate directors are barely held accountable for failing to adequately perform their duty of overseeing management on behalf of shareholders. And it's a real job, or at least a very good part-time job: At Wells Fargo, directors got paid in a range of $280,000 to $400,000 a year for attending just nine meetings in 2015, the last year before allegations emerged about the bank's overly aggressive sales practices.

Executives, traders and bankers can be subject to "clawbacks" - essentially a revocation of prior years' pay - if their activities result in financial harm to their company. But that rarely happens with corporate directors.

Instead, most directors of failed boards are allowed to retire or depart with little fanfare, the details buried in a press release. They get to bypass the nasty business of having to explain to friends and family that they were booted out. They were merely refreshed; the time had come for a little rest and relaxation, as it were.

Wells Fargo's troubles exploded in 2016 when the San Francisco-based bank agreed to pay $185 million to settle allegations by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that it abused customers by opening millions of unauthorized accounts in their names to meet aggressive sales goals.

Last year, the bank announced the "retirements" of five directors. But the company avoided a bigger board shakeup after a self-assessment facilitated by former Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Mary Jo White, now a lawyer in private practice, largely exonerated directors as having been kept in the dark about the extent of the issues.

The bank had all but declared victory, highlighting its "strong actions" to improve corporate governance.

Now, prodded by the Fed, there's another round of refreshment on the way.

The term evolved in recent decades as corporate-governance advocates became aware of the tendency for long-serving directors to get too cozy with management. Refreshment was a concept used to describe the gentle art of encouraging directors to step down before they lost their independence.

But it's taken to an extreme when board members are relieved of their duties due to poor performance, rather than serving reliably over the course of a long-in-the-tooth tenure.

Take Wells Fargo's press release late Friday describing the recent Federal Reserve sanctions. The bank's new strategy for improving corporate governance calls for the "refreshment of an additional four directors" in 2018 after last year's retirements.

"We have made significant improvements over the past year to our governance," Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan said in the statement.

The tone was markedly different from a press release issued by the Federal Reserve Board describing the same sanctions.

The regulatory order "requires the firm to strengthen its governance and risk-management processes, including strengthening the oversight by its board of directors."

"The firm's board of directors, during the period of compliance breakdowns, did not meet supervisory expectations," the Fed's press release stated.

Refreshment, eh?

To be fair, Wells Fargo isn't alone in its circumlocution.

In December 2016, Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG) - Get Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. Report announced plans to add four new directors as part of a "board refreshment initiative." But that shakeup came after the burrito chain was hounded to improve its corporate governance by a large shareholder, the hedge fund Pershing Square, headed by Bill Ackman. By the following May, when the company held its annual meeting, four prior-serving directors weren't on the shareholder ballot. Refreshed!

A similar thing happened at Buffalo Wild Wings Inc. (BWLD) , another restaurant chain. Under pressure from a large activist shareholder, the company announced the replacement of two directors as part of a "commitment to enhancing Buffalo Wild Wings' governance practices through board refreshment."

When board members agree to serve, they often get indemnification clauses requiring the company to pick up the lawyer bills if any legal claims are brought against them, ValueEdge's Minow said. The assurance is usually valid as long as the board members themselves aren't culpable of any malfeasance.

That might explain why companies dance around the issue of director departures; they don't want the legal liability that might come with acknowledging a board member was pushed out due to poor performance, she said.

Charles Elson, who heads the University of Delaware's Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, described refreshment as a "nice way of saying they're being removed."

However it's termed, the effect is the same: The underperforming directors will be gone. Under the circumstances, the company is just trying to afford them a modicum of dignity for what's probably a "humiliating" professional experience, Elson said.

"The Fed is effectively seeking their termination as directors," he said. "They're just calling it something else."

--Anders Keitz contributed reporting to this story.
Germany may have ended four months of indecision with a deal to form a coalition government that would keep Angela Merkel as Chancellor of Europe's biggest economy for a fourth consecutive term.

Germany's political leaders appear to have reached an agreement to form a coalition government, ending four months of intense negotiations and securing a fourth term as Chancellor of Europe's biggest and most important economy for Angela Merkel.

The deal follows overnight talks in Berlin between Merkel's Christian Democrats and her Social Democratic rivals, who suffered their worst defeat in last September's national elections since 1949 but nonetheless emerged as the country's second-largest party in a fractured vote marred by the rise of far-right nationalists. SPD leader Martin Schulz, who at first rejected the idea of coalition talks, later relented in the face of party pressure and began negotiations with Merkel in December.

"When we see the movements on the stock markets over the last hours, we live in turbulent times and what is expected of us as popular parties ... is that we form a government for the good of the people, one that brings stability," Merkel told reporters late Tuesday in Berlin. "Each of us will have to make painful compromises and I am ready for that."

The euro was marked modestly lower in early Wednesday trading following the report, falling 0.23% against the U.S. dollar to 1.2347 as Germany's Der Spiegel said the SPD had secured the right to appoint their preferred candidate to the position of Finance Minister, arguably one of the most important positions in European politics, replacing the incumbent Peter Altmaier.

Government bond yields around the Eurozone periphery, which includes Italy, Spain and Portugal, fell sharply in the wake of the news as investors bet the deal would hasten European integration plans spearheaded by France's President, Emmanuel Macron.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has been consistently criticised for running a current account surplus, which swelled to a record $287 billion last year and is, by some measures, the largest in the world. Critics of the surplus, including the International Monetary Fund, say it prevents competing economies for selling goods to German consumers and stunts investment and trade growth in Europe and around the world.

Germany's Economy Minister, Brigitte Zypries, recently defended the position, saying it was more closely related to the country's ageing population, along with flat wages, that limited the government's ability to tackle it.

An SPD leader at the helm of the nation's finances could unlock some much-needed infrastructure investments, funded by small increases in the country's deficit, that would both ignite faster GDP growth and rising German government bond yields.

Germany's economy is expected to grow by 2.7% this year, according to the DHK Chambers of Industry and Commerce, which raised its forecast Wednesday even as the country's statistics office said industrial production slowed modestly in December.

Are you prepared for more stock market volatility? TheStreet's top minds discuss.
Princess Mako (R), the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her fiancee Kei Komuro (L), smile during a press conference to announce their engagement at the Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo on September 3, 2017. Emperor Akihito's eldest granddaughter Princess Mako and her fiance -- a commoner -- announced their engagement on September 3, which will cost the princess her royal status in a move that highlights the male-dominated nature of Japan's monarchy. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Shizuo Kambayashi (Photo credit should read SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP/Getty Images)

Princess Mako of Japan has announced that she will be postponing her wedding until 2020.

The princess, who is due to marry former college classmate and 'commoner' Kei Komuro, will not walk up the aisle for another two years due to 'insufficient preparations'.

Expand Close Princess Mako (R), the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her fiancee Kei Komuro (L), take part in a press conference to announce their engagement at the Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo on September 3, 2017. Emperor Akihito's eldest granddaughter Princess Mako and her fiance -- a commoner -- announced their engagement on September 3, which will cost the princess her royal status in a move that highlights the male-dominated nature of Japan's monarchy. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Shizuo Kambayashi (Photo credit should read SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP/Getty Images) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Princess Mako (R), the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her fiancee Kei Komuro (L), take part in a press conference to announce their engagement at the Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo on September 3, 2017. Emperor Akihito's eldest granddaughter Princess Mako and her fiance -- a commoner -- announced their engagement on September 3, which will cost the princess her royal status in a move that highlights the male-dominated nature of Japan's monarchy. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / Shizuo Kambayashi (Photo credit should read SHIZUO KAMBAYASHI/AFP/Getty Images)

There has been speculation in Japan that the change of wedding date could be down to pressure the palace is feeling from rumoured criticism of the groom's family background.

The couple were engaged in September 2017 and due to tie the knot this November however the Imperial Household Agency blames a series of important ceremonies next year for the delay.

It was expected that the 25-year-old granddaughter of the emperor of Japan would step down from her role to marry her commoner boyfriend, giving up her royal title and becoming a regular citizen. This is only the case for female members of the family however, and male royals can marry 'out' and keep their status.

According to the Guardian, agency official Takaharu Kachi told reporters the decision was not related to tabloid reports about disputes in the groom's family over money Kei's mother borrowed to cover her sons tuition and never repaid, Japanese media reported.

We have come to realise the lack of time to make sufficient preparations for various events leading up to our marriage this autumn and our life afterward, Mako wrote in a statement. We believe that we have rushed various things too much.

The couple were due to hold a ceremony to formalise their engagement next month, however that has since been called off and no new dates for the wedding were given.
The following companies are subsidiares of AMETEK: AEM Limited, AIP/MPM Funding Inc., AIP/MPM Holdings Inc., AMETEK (Barbados) SRL, AMETEK (Bermuda) Ltd., AMETEK (GB) Limited, AMETEK Aerospace & Defense Grp UK Ltd, AMETEK Aerospace & Power Holdings Inc., AMETEK Aircraft Parts & Accessories Inc., AMETEK Airtechnology Group Ltd., AMETEK Ameron LLC, AMETEK B.V., AMETEK CTS Germany GmbH, AMETEK CTS US Inc., AMETEK Canada 1 ULC, AMETEK Canada 2 ULC., AMETEK Canada 3 ULC, AMETEK Canada LLC, AMETEK Canada Limited Partnership, AMETEK Ceramics Inc., AMETEK Commercial Enterprise Shanghai, AMETEK Creaform Financing L.P., AMETEK Creaform Inc., AMETEK Denmark A/S, AMETEK Do Brasil Ltda., AMETEK EMG Holdings Inc., AMETEK Elektromotory s.r.o, AMETEK Engineered Materials Sdn. Bhd., AMETEK Europe L.L.C., AMETEK European Holdings GmbH, AMETEK European Holdings Limited, AMETEK Financing Canada Limited Partnership, AMETEK Germany GmbH, AMETEK Global Tubes LLC, AMETEK GmbH, AMETEK Grundbesitz GmbH, AMETEK HSA Inc., AMETEK Haydon Kerk Inc., AMETEK Holdings B.V., AMETEK Holdings SARL, AMETEK Holdings de Mexico S. de R.L., AMETEK Industrial Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., AMETEK Instruments Group UK Limited, AMETEK Instruments India Private Ltd., AMETEK International C.V., AMETEK Italia S.r.l., AMETEK Kabushiki Kaisha, AMETEK Korea Co. Ltd., AMETEK Lamb Motores de Mexico S.deR.L. de C.V., AMETEK Land Inc., AMETEK Latin America Holding Company S.a r.l., AMETEK MRO Florida Inc., AMETEK Material Analysis Holdings GmbH, AMETEK Mexico Holding Company LLC, AMETEK Motors Asia Pte. Ltd., AMETEK Nordic AB, AMETEK PIP Holdings Inc., AMETEK Precision Instruments (UK) Ltd., AMETEK Precitech Inc., AMETEK Programmable Power Inc., AMETEK Receivables Corp., AMETEK Russia (UK) Ltd., AMETEK S.A.S., AMETEK S.r.l., AMETEK SCP, AMETEK SCP (Barrow) Limited, AMETEK Singapore Private Ltd., AMETEK Taiwan Co. Ltd., AMETEK Technical & Industrial Products Inc., AMETEK Thermal Systems Inc., AMETEK UK Limited Partnership, AMETEK VIS-K Inc., Advanced Measurement Technology Inc., Aero Components International Corp., Airtechnology Pension Trustees Ltd., Akron Standard Bestry (Guangzhou) Measurement Equipment Co. Ltd., Amekai (BVI) Ltd., Amekai Meter (Xiamen) Co. Ltd., Amekai Singapore Private Ltd., Amekai Taiwan Co. Ltd., Ametek Advanced Industries Inc., Ametek-Reading Alloys Inc., Amptek Inc., Antavia SAS, Atlas Material Holdings Corporation, Atlas Material Testing Technology (India) Private Limited, Atlas Material Testing Technology BV, Atlas Material Testing Technology GmbH, Atlas Material Testing Technology L.L.C., Atlas Material Testing Technology LLC, Atlas Material Testing Technology Ltd., Atlas Netherlands AcquisitionCo Cooperatief U.A., Avicenna Technology Inc., Avtech Avionics & Instruments LLC, B&S Aircraft, Barben Analyzer Technology LLC, Brookfield Engineering, CAMECA Instruments Inc., CAMECA SAS, CARDINALUHP LLC, CS Holdings Co. Inc., CS Intermediate Holdings Co. Inc., Cameca, Chandler Instruments Company LLC, Cognex - Surface Inspection Systems Division, Coining Holding Company, Coining Inc., Controls Southeast Inc., Creaform, Creaform France S.A.S., Creaform Inc., Creaform Japan K.K., Creaform Shanghai Ltd., Creaform USA Inc., Crystal Engineering Corp, Crystal Engineering Corporation, Direl GmbH, Direl Holding GmbH, Drake Air, Drake Air Inc., Drexelbrook Engineering Company, Dunkermotoren GmbH, Dunkermotoren Linear Systems Ltd., Dunkermotoren Subotica d.o.o., Dunkermotoren Taicang Co. Ltd., Dunkermotoren USA Inc., EDAX Inc., EM Test (Switzerland) GmbH, EMA Corp., EMA Finance 1 LLC, EMA Finance 2 LLC, EMA Holdings Inc., EMA Holdings UK Limited, EMA MX LLC, EMtest, ESP Holdco Inc., ESP/SurgeX, Electronic Systems Protection Inc., Elgar Holdings Inc., Fine Tubes Limited, Frameflair Limited, GS Electric, Glasseal Products Inc., Global Tubes, Grabner Instruments Messtechnik GmbH, HCC Aegis Inc., HCC Industries Inc., HCC Industries International, HCC Machining Company Inc., HDR Power Systems LLC, HS Foils Oy, Hamilton Precision Metals Inc., Hamilton Precision Metals of Delaware Inc., Haydon Kerk Motion Solutions Inc., Haydon Linear Motors (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., Hermetic Seal Corporation, High Standard Aviation, Imago Scientific Instruments, KBA Enterprises Inc., Land Instruments International Ltd., Laserage Technology Corp, Luphos GmbH, MCG Acquisition Corporation, Micro-Poise Industrial Equipment (Beijing) Ltd., Micro-Poise Measurement Systems Europe GmbH, Micro-Poise Measurement Systems LLC, Milmega Limited, Mocon, Motec GmbH, Motion Control Group, Muirhead Aerospace Limited, Muirhead Aerospace Ltd., NewAge Testing Instruments Inc., Newage Testing Instruments Inc., Nu Instruments (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Nu Instruments Asia Ltd., Nu Instruments Japan KK, Nu Instruments Limited, Nu Instruments Ltd, O'Brien Corp, OBCORP International LLC, OBCORP LLC, OOO AMETEK, OBrien BVBA, OBrien Holding Co. Inc., OBrien Superior Holding Co. Inc., Patriot Sensors & Controls Corporation, PennEngineering Motion Technologies, Petrolab L.L.C., Powervar, Powervar Canada Inc., Powervar Deutschland GmbH, Powervar Inc, Powervar Limited, Powervar Mexico S.A. de C.V., Precitech, QM China Holding Inc., Quizix Inc., RAI Enterprises Inc., RETE Holding GmbH, Rauland-Borg, Reading Alloys Inc., Reichert Inc, Reichert Technologies, Rotron Inc., Rotron Incorporated, SCPH Holdings Inc., SPECTRO Analytical Instruments (Asia-Pacific) Ltd., SPECTRO Analytical Instruments (Pty). Ltd., SPECTRO Analytical Instruments GmbH, SPECTRO Analytical Instruments Inc., SPECTRO Analytical UK Limited, SSH Non-Destructive Testing Inc., Sealtron Inc., Seiko EG&G Co. Ltd., Six Brookside Drive Corporation., Solartron Group Ltd., Solartron Metrology Ltd., Solidstate Controls Inc. de Argentina S.R.L., Solidstate Controls LLC, Solidstate Controls LLC, Solidstate Controls Mexico S.A. de C.V., Southern Aero Partners Inc., Southern Aeroparts Inc, Spectro Analytical Instruments Inc., Spectro Scientific, Sterling Ultra Precision Inc., SunPower Inc., Sunpower Inc., Superior Tube Company Inc., TPM Russia Inc., Taylor Hobson Holdings Limited, Taylor Hobson Inc., Taylor Hobson Ltd., Taylor Hobson Trustees Limited, Technical Manufacturing Corp, Technical Manufacturing Corporation, Technical Services for Electronics Inc., Telular Corporation, Teseq AG, Teseq Company Ltd., Teseq GmbH, Teseq Holding AG, Teseq Limited, Thelsha Technical Services, Tritex Corporation, Tubes Holdco Limited, Unispec Marketing Pvt. Ltd., Universal Analyzers Inc., VTI Holdings Inc., VTI Instruments Corporation, VTI Instruments Private Limited, VTI Integrated Systems Private Limited, VXI Acquisition Inc., Vision Research Europe B.V., Vision Research Inc., Vision Research Limited, Vision Research srl, Zemetrics Inc., Zygo, Zygo Canada ULC., Zygo Germany GmbH, Zygo Pte Ltd., Zygo Richmond Corporation, and ZygoLamda Metrology Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd..
Ameriprise Financial, Inc. operates as a holding company. The firm provides financial planning, asset management and insurance services to individuals, businesses and institutions. It operates through the following business segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, and Corporate & Other. The Advice & Wealth Management segment provides financial planning and advice, as well as full service brokerage and banking services, primarily to retail clients through the company's financial advisors. The Asset Management segment provides investment advice and investment products to retail and institutional clients. It also provides products and services on a global scale through two complementary asset management businesses: Columbia Management and Threadneedle. The Columbia Management business primarily provides U.S. domestic products and services and Threadneedle primarily provides international investment products and services. Its international retail products are primarily provided through third-party financial institutions. The segments retail products include mutual funds and variable product funds underlying insurance and annuity separat

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TEGNA Inc., a media company, provides broadcast advertising and marketing products and services for businesses. The company operates 47 television stations in 39 markets of the United States that produce local programming, such as news, sports, and entertainment. It offers local and national non-political advertising; political advertising; production of programming from third parties; production of advertising materials; and digital marketing services, as well as advertising services on the stations' Websites, tablets, and mobile products. The company also sells commercial advertising spots of its television stations. In addition, it operates Premion, an over the top local advertising network; Hatch, a centralized 360-degree marketing services agency; and radio broadcast stations. The company was formerly known as Gannett Co., Inc. and changed its name to TEGNA Inc. in June 2015. TEGNA Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

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Genworth Financial, Inc. is a financial services company, which engages in the provision of insurance, wealth management, investment and financial solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Mortgage Insurance, Australia Mortgage Insurance, U.S. Life Insurance, and Runoff. The U.S. Mortgage Insurance segment offers mortgage insurance products predominantly insuring prime-based, individually underwritten residential mortgage loans. The Australia Mortgage Insurance segment offers flow mortgage insurance and selectively provides bulk mortgage insurance that aids in the sale of mortgages to the capital markets and helps lenders manage capital and risk. The U.S. Life Insurance segment offers long-term care insurance products as well as service traditional life insurance and fixed annuity products in the United States. The Runoff segment includes the results of non-strategic products which are no longer actively sold but continue to service its existing blocks of business. Its non-strategic products primarily include variable annuity, variable life insurance, institutional, corporate-owned life insurance and other accident and health insurance products. The company was fo

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The following companies are subsidiares of Archer-Daniels-Midland: ADM (Shanghai) Management Co. LTD, ADM (Thailand) Ltd, ADM Ag Holdings Ltd, ADM Agri-Industries Company, ADM Agriculture Limited, ADM Agro Iberica S. L. U., ADM Agro Indust Latur and Vizag Pvt Ltd, ADM Agro Industries India Private Limited, ADM Agro Industries KOTA and AKOLA Pvt. Ltd., ADM Agro SRL, ADM Agroinvestimentos LTDA, ADM Alliance Nutrition of Puerto Rico LLC, ADM Americas S de RL, ADM Andina Peru SRL, ADM Antwerp NV, ADM Arkady Ireland Limited, ADM Asia-Pacific Trading Pte. Ltd., ADM Australia Holdings I PTY Limited, ADM Bio Science And Technology (Tianjin) Co Ltd, ADM Bioproductos SA DE CV, ADM CZERNIN SA, ADM Caribbean Inc, ADM Chile Comercial LTDA, ADM Clinton Bioprocessing Inc, ADM DO Brasil LTDA, ADM Direct Polska SP. ZO.O, ADM Dominican Holdings Inc., ADM Dominicana SA, ADM Edible Bean Specialties Inc, ADM Europe HoldCo SL, ADM European Holdings LLC, ADM European Management Holding GMBH, ADM Export Co, ADM Food Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ADM France, ADM Germany GmbH, ADM Grain River System Inc., ADM Hamburg Aktiengesesllschaft, ADM Holding (Thailand) LTD, ADM Holdings LLC, ADM Hungary Agro Trading LLC, ADM Industries Centers Ltd, ADM International Holdings Inc, ADM International SARL, ADM Interoceanic LTD, ADM Investments LTD, ADM Investor Services Inc, ADM Investor Services International LTD, ADM Ireland Receivables Company Limited, ADM Israel, ADM Japan Ltd, ADM MALBORK SA, ADM Mainz GMBH, ADM Medsofts Sarl, ADM Mexico Inc, ADM Mexico SA DE CV, ADM Milling Co, ADM Milling LTD, ADM New Zealand Limited, ADM Olomouc S.R.O., ADM Paraguay SRL, ADM Protexin Limited, ADM Pura Limited, ADM Receivables LLC, ADM Rice Inc, ADM Ringaskiddy Unlimited Company, ADM Romania Logistics SRL, ADM Romania Trading SRL, ADM Specialty Ingredients - Europe BV, ADM Spyck GMBH, ADM Szamotuly SP Z O.O, ADM Trading Australia Pty. Ltd., ADM Trading Co, ADM Transportation Company, ADM Trucking Inc, ADM Vietnam CO. LTD, ADM WILD Europe GmbH and Co. KG, ADM WILD Ingredients GmbH, ADM WILD Nauen GmbH, ADM WILD Valencia S.A., ADM Wild Netherlands BV, ADM Worldwide Holdings LP, ADMIS Holding Co Inc., ADMIS Hong Kong LTD, ADMIS Singapore Pte Limited, AOR, AT Holdings II Company, Agri Port Services Investments Ltd., Agri Port Services LLC, Agricolas Madagascar SARLU, Agrinational Insurance Co, Agriserve, Agrograin LTD, Alfrebro LLC, Alfred C Toepfer International Netherlands BV, Alimenta USA, American River Transportation Company LLC, Ameriseed, Amylum Bulgaria EAD, Amylum Nisasta Sanayi Ve Ticarek Anonim Sirketi, Archer Daniels Midland (UK) Limited, Archer Daniels Midland Asia Pacific Ltd., Archer Daniels Midland Erith LTD, Archer Daniels Midland Europe BV, Archer Daniels Midland Europoort BV, Archer Daniels Midland Nederland BV, Archer Daniels Midland Singapore PTE LTD, Arinos Unlimited, Aston Foods & Food Ingredients, Balanceados Nova SA Balnova, Barbados Mills Limited, Bela Vista Bio Etanol Participacoes LTDA, Bern Aqua, BioPolis SL, Biopolis, Campa Sued GmbH & Co KG, Cattleman's Choice Loomix LLC, Chamtor, Ci ADM Colombia Ltda., Controladora ADM Sa De Cv, Crosswind Petfoods Inc., Daavision BV, Eaststarch, Eatem Corporation, Eatem Foods, Elstar Oils, English River Pellets Inc., Epicore Bionetworks INC, Epicore Networks (USA) INC, Erich Ziegler GmbH, Evialis France, Fasco Mills Co., Filozoo SRL, Florida Chemical, Florida Chemical Company LLC, GP Blanching Inc., Global Cocoa Holdings LTD, Golden Peanut Company LLC, Golden Peanut and Tree Nut Seed SA (PTY) LTD, Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts SA, Group Lysac, Guyomarc'h - VCN Company Limited, Guyomarc'h Vietnam CO LTD, HFR Shipping Company Ltd, HRA Shipping Company Ltd, HTI Shipping Company Ltd, Harvest Innovations, Hilltop Grain and Feed, Holding P and A Asia Company Limited, Hubei Meiweiyuan Biotechnology, Ilitchevskiy Maslo Extractionniy Zavod (IMEZ), Invivo NSA Asia PTE LTD, Invivo NSA Philippines Inc, Jamaica Flour Mills Limited, Julius Meijer-Alpharma BV, LLC ADM Ukraine, Liquid Feed Commodities, Malta Industries SA de CV, Malta-Texo De Mexico SA de CV, Master Mix of Trinidad LTD, Medsofts Investment Co, Medsofts L.L.C., Medsofts Trading Co, Mepla Comercio e Navegacao Ltda, NRG Inc, Naviera Chaco SRL, Neovia, Neovia Latina SL, Neovia Nutricao E Saude Animal LTDA, North Star Shipping S.R.L., P and A Marketing SA, PJSC ADM Illichivsk, PT Wirifa Sakti, Pancosma (Shanghai) Feed Additives CO LTD, Pancosma France SAS, Pancosma SA, Premiere Agri Technologies of Mexico Inc, Pura Foods LTD, Rodelle Inc., Schokinag-Schokolade-Industrie Herrmann, Sermix, Setna Nutricion SA, Societe Industrielle Des Oleagineux, Southern Cellulose Products Inc, Soy Investors LLC, Specialty Commodities, Specialty Commodities LLC, Sul Mineira Alimentos LTDA, SzSzV Kft, Toepfer International, Toepfer International Trading (Shanghai) Co. LTD., Vantage Corn Processors LLC, WILD Amazon Flavors Ltda, WILD Flavors, Wild Flavors Inc., Wild Flavors International GmbH, Wild Flavors Singapore Pte. Ltd., Wild Intermare GmbH, Wild Russia LLC, and Wisium SA (PTY) LTD.
The following companies are subsidiares of Cardinal Health: A+ Secure Packaging LLC, Access Closure, Access Closure Inc., Aero-Med Ltd., Alaris Medical Systems, Allegiance Corporation, Allegiance Healthcare, AssuraMed, AssuraMed Inc., Automatic Liquid Packaging, Bergen Brunswig Corp, Bindley Western Industries, Boron LePore & Associates, Borschow Hospital & Medical Supplies, Cardinal Health 100 Inc., Cardinal Health 104 LP, Cardinal Health 105 Inc., Cardinal Health 107 LLC, Cardinal Health 108 LLC, Cardinal Health 110 LLC, Cardinal Health 112 LLC, Cardinal Health 113 LLC, Cardinal Health 114 Inc., Cardinal Health 115 LLC, Cardinal Health 116 LLC, Cardinal Health 118 LLC, Cardinal Health 119 LLC, Cardinal Health 121 LLC, Cardinal Health 122 LLC, Cardinal Health 123 LLC, Cardinal Health 124 LLC, Cardinal Health 126 LLC, Cardinal Health 127 Inc., Cardinal Health 2 LLC, Cardinal Health 200 LLC, Cardinal Health 201 Inc., Cardinal Health 222 (Thailand) Ltd., Cardinal Health 247 Inc., Cardinal Health 249 LLC, Cardinal Health 3 LLC, Cardinal Health 414 LLC, Cardinal Health 5 LLC, Cardinal Health 6 Inc., Cardinal Health 7 LLC, Cardinal Health Australia 503 Pty. Ltd., Cardinal Health Austria 504 GmbH, Cardinal Health Belgium 505 BVBA, Cardinal Health Canada Holdings Cooperative U.A., Cardinal Health Canada Inc., Cardinal Health Chile Limitada, Cardinal Health Colombia S.A.S., Cardinal Health D.R. 203 II Ltd., Cardinal Health Denmark ApS, Cardinal Health Finland Oy, Cardinal Health Foundation, Cardinal Health France 506 SAS, Cardinal Health Funding LLC, Cardinal Health Germany 507 GmbH, Cardinal Health Germany Manufacturing GmbH, Cardinal Health IPS LLC, Cardinal Health International Philippines Inc., Cardinal Health Ireland 419 Designated Activity Company, Cardinal Health Ireland 508 Limited, Cardinal Health Ireland Unlimited Company, Cardinal Health Italy 509 Srl, Cardinal Health Japan G.K., Cardinal Health Korea Limited, Cardinal Health Malaysia 211 Sdn. Bhd., Cardinal Health Malta 212 Limited, Cardinal Health Managed Care Services LLC, Cardinal Health Medical Equipment Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cardinal Health Medical Products India Private Limited, Cardinal Health Mexico 244 S. de R.L. de C.V., Cardinal Health Mexico 514 S. de R.L. de C.V., Cardinal Health Middle East FZ-LLC, Cardinal Health Netherlands 502 B.V., Cardinal Health Norway AS, Cardinal Health P.R. 120 Inc., Cardinal Health P.R. 218 Inc., Cardinal Health P.R. 220 LLC, Cardinal Health Pharmaceutical Contracting LLC, Cardinal Health Pharmacy Services LLC, Cardinal Health Poland Spolka z ograniczonaa odpowiedzialnossciaa, Cardinal Health Portugal 513 Unipessoal Lda., Cardinal Health Singapore 225 Pte. Ltd., Cardinal Health Spain 511 S.L., Cardinal Health Specialty Pharmacy LLC, Cardinal Health Sweden 512 A.B., Cardinal Health Switzerland 515 GmbH, Cardinal Health Systems Inc., Cardinal Health Technologies LLC, Cardinal Health Technologies Switzerland GmbH, Cardinal Health U.K. 432 Limited, Cardinal Health do Brasil Ltd., CareFusion, Cirpro de Delicias S.A. de C.V., Convertors de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Cordis, Cordis (Shanghai) Medical Devices Co. Ltd., Cordis Cashel Company Unlimited, Cordis Corporation, Cornerstone Partners G.P.O. L.P., Covidien Manufacturing Solutions S.A., Curaspan Health Group Inc., Denver Biomedical, Dik Drug, EPIC Insurance Company, Emerge Medical, Enturia, Especialidades Medicas Kenmex S.A. de C.V., Futuremed Health Care Products, Gala Biotech, Geodax Technology, Griffin Capital LLC, HLS Freight Services, Healthcare Solutions Holding, Innovative Therapies Inc., Instant Diagnostic Systems Inc., KPR Australia Pty. Ltd., KPR Italia S.r.l., KPR Switzerland Sales Gmbh, KPR U.S. LLC, Kendall Patient Recovery BVBA, Kendall-Gammatron Limited, Kinray, Leader Drugstores Inc., Limited Liability Company "Cardinal Health Russia", Ludlow Technical Products Canada Ltd., MCD, Magellan Laboratories, Marin Apothecaries, MedMined, Medicine Shoppe International Inc., Mediquip Sdn. Bhd., Medtronic - Patient Monitoring & Recovery, Mirixa Corporation, NaviHealth, Nippon Covidien Ltd., One Cloverleaf LLC, Outcomes Incorporated, Owen Healthcare, PCI Pharma Services, ParMed Pharmaceuticals, Pinnacle Intellectual Property Services Inc., Pinnacle Intellectual Property Services-International Inc., Post-Acute Care Center for Research LLC, Pyxis Corporation, Quiroproductos de Cuauhtemoc S. de R.L. de C.V., R Cubed Inc., R.P. Scherer Corporation, RGH Enterprises Inc., RainTree GPO LLC, RainTree Oncology Services, Renal Purchasing Group LLC, Rxealtime Inc., Sonexus Health LLC, Syncor International, TelePharm, TelePharm LLC, The Harvard Drug Group, The Harvard Drug Group L.L.C., Tradex International Inc., Viasys Healthcare, WaveMark Inc., Zuellig Pharma China, mscripts, mscripts LLC, and mscripts Systems India Private Limited.
Tailored Brands, Inc. (NYSE:TLRD) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March, 18th. The company reported ($0.46) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by $0.08. The company earned $690.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.46 million. Tailored Brands had a negative net margin of 14.39% and a negative trailing twelve-month return on equity of 138.49%. Tailored Brands's revenue for the quarter was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.28) EPS.

View Tailored Brands' earnings history.
ICMSA president Pat McCormack has praised Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed following the approval of a replacement ferry for Irish cattle exports to continental Europe.

Exporters had been facing difficulties when Stena Line withdrew one of its ferries for its annual overhaul.

Credit was due to the Minister, his officials and Stena Line for their efforts on this critical matter, said Mr McCormack this Wednesday.

Their success will now ensure that Irish livestock  particularly calves - will be able to be shipped to their markets over the coming weeks, he said.

Mr McCormack said that ICMSA had met directly with Minister Creed on the matter last week and had impressed upon him the absolute requirement that appropriate shipping was secured.

Farmers would welcome the reassurance the announcement provided, he said.

Mr McCormack noted that the peak calf trade was about to commence and the announcement that shipping facilities had been secured gave farmers vital options and should ensure a higher floor price for those calves.

He called on the live exporters and An Bord Bia to focus on maximising the benefits of this trade over the coming months.
The limited-run duo consists of the 2018 Lexus GS F 10th Anniversary edition and the 2018 Lexus RC F 10th Anniversary edition, both of which will make their first stateside appearance at the 2018 Chicago Auto Show. Both also initially dropped at the Tokyo Motor Show last year, but now they head to Chi Town for their big U.S. debut. Both will also arrive in dealers this summer, and bring customers a slick blue and grey color scheme. Interested? Then read on for the low-down on this upgraded go-faster GS F.

The Lexus GS F has been around in one form or another since 1991, offered as a mid-size four-door with a solid dose of opulence in the cabin. The latest fourth-gen model dropped in 2011, giving the lineup a little extra sportiness when the mood is right. Now, Lexus is using the platform to pay homage to its F-branded trim levels. In case you werent aware, Lexus F models make up the quickest of the automakers stable, with the singular letter tacked to the trunk added as a nod to Japans world-famous Fuji Speedway. Lexus first started making F models back in 2008, and now, a full decade later, its offering up two special edition Fs to celebrate the anniversary.

What Makes The Lexus GS F 10th Anniversary Special Edition

While the GS F 10th Anniversary Special Edition doesn't bring anything new in the mechanical department, it does get a well-rounded aesthetics upgrade outside and in the cabin.

While the GS F 10th Anniversary Special Edition doesnt bring anything new in the mechanical department, it does get a well-rounded aesthetics upgrade outside and in the cabin. Lets start with the exterior, where we find the GS F finished in a matte Nebula Gray paint scheme. Lexus says these 10th Anniversary Special Edition models are the very first time the brand has used a matte-finish paint on a production car since it offered the top-dog LFA supercar.

In the corners is a standard set of polished black multi-spoke wheels measuring in at 19 inches in diameter. Just behind the wheels, there are blue brake calipers, which are sure to turn a few heads against the grey and black around them. The tires are the usual high-performance Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 compound, which should do well to complement the high-tech suspension components (more on that in a bit).

Take a peek inside the cabin, and youll find a good deal more of that blue color added throughout. Theres carbon fiber with a blue tint added to the switch panel and dashboard, as well as blue carbon for the center console. The front seats were designed to look like the sitters you get in the Lexus RC, and blue leather accents were added to spice up their appearance, plus theres blue leather added to the side bolsters in the rear bench. Blue suede was added to the dash trim and seat belt straps, and theres extra blue leather added to the steering wheel and shift knob. Rounding it off are the requisite plaques declaring the models limited edition status.

Take a peek inside the cabin, and you'll find a good deal more of that blue color added throughout. There's carbon fiber with a blue tint added to the switch panel and dashboard, plus there's blue carbon for the center console.

Like I said earlier, the oily bits go unchanged compared to the standard Lexus RC F. Under the hood is 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque thanks to a thumping 5.0-liter V-8. Output is sent through an eight-speed automatic transmission to reach the ground through the rear axle. Extra traction is made by a torque vectoring rear diff as standard, a piece normally offered as an option for the non-special edition models. Put your foot down, and the GS F will do the 0-to-60 mph sprint in about 4.5 seconds. Keep your foot off it, and itll return upwards of 24 mpg on the highway.

Theres also a set of variable dampers that offer multiple drive modes for whatever the occasion may be, including cruising and corner carving.

Lexus is planning on producing just 100 units of the 10th anniversary GS F. Theres no official pricing as of yet, but the standard Lexus GS F starts at $84,350, so expect a number above that mark.

References

Lexus GS F

Read our full review on the 2017 Lexus GS F.

Read our full driven review on the2016 Lexus GS F.

Read our full review on the 2018 Lexus RC F 10th Anniversary Special Edition.

Read more Chicago Auto Show news.
Foreigners looking to work in Nigeria, Africas biggest economy, might be out of luck.

An executive order signed by Nigerias President Buhari on Monday, 5 February 2018, prohibits the ministry of interior from giving visas to foreign workers whose skills are readily available in Nigeria. Its not a blanket ban though. The executive order states that foreigners will be considered for jobs where it is certified by the appropriate authority that such expertise is not available in Nigeria. The executive order also tells government agencies to give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts.

In a tweet, president Buhari said the order was in line with his vision of a Nigeria that produces what it consumes. As such, the executive order is likely aimed at boosting local production and guaranteeing more patronage for local industries.

Buhari also hopes the order will see local companies get preference in planning, designing and executing science, technology and engineering-related projects. The hope is a boost to local companies will result in a ripple effect for job creation which is crucial given Nigerias high unemployment rate.

But the restriction on hiring foreigners could be seen to conflict with the governments recent move to more open visa policies. Last year, amid business reforms, the government relaxed visa rules and opened additional immigration offices to make it easier to obtain residence permits.

With elections coming up next year, Buharis administration might also be betting that being seen to restrict the number of foreign workers will appeal to voters in a country with millions of unemployed people. But the number of unemployed Nigerians that can take up the mainly specialist roles for which expatriates are typically recruited will only be a tiny fraction of the millions of job-seeking Nigerians.

Its not the first time president Buhari has pushed nationalist and populist views in office. He has railed against Nigerians importing luxury foreign goods. Its a sentiment that has been evident during his administration as well. In 2016, amid a forex crunch, the central bank limited spending on Nigerians debit cards once outside the country.

Indeed, amid Nigerias first recession in two decades, highly-placed government officials, including the senate president, backed a social media campaign tagged buy Naija to grow the naira. The rationale, as they saw it, was simple. If Nigerians spent their money buying local products rather than foreign goods, the economy and the troubled currency would benefit more.

President Buhari signs Executive Order to improve local content in science, engineering and technology procurement

President Muhammadu Buhari Monday in Abuja signed Executive Order 5 to improve local content in public procurement with science, engineering and technology components.

The Executive Order is expected to promote the application of science, technology and innovation towards achieving the nations development goals across all sectors of the economy.

The President, pursuant to the authority vested in him by the Constitution, ordered that all procuring authorities shall give preference to Nigerian companies and firms in the award of contracts, in line with the Public Procurement Act 2007.

The Executive Order also prohibits the Ministry of Interior from giving visas to foreign workers whose skills are readily available in Nigeria.

It, however, notes that where expertise is lacking, procuring entities will give preference to foreign companies and firms with a demonstrable and verifiable plan for indigenous development, prior to the award of such contracts.

In the proclamation entitled Presidential Executive Order 5 for Planning and Execution of Projects, Promotion of Nigerian Content in Contracts and Science, Engineering and Technology, the President also directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies to engage indigenous professionals in the planning, design and execution of national security projects.

It adds that consideration shall only be given to a foreign professional, where it is certified by the appropriate authority that such expertise is not available in Nigeria.
Competition from cheap imports from India and China is the biggest barrier to growth of local manufacturing, the Kenya Association of Manufacturers has said.

In its fourth-quarter Barometer report, the business lobby said 63 per cent of manufacturers complained cheap imports make local products uncompetitive. The Barometer represents a six-month forecast. The most-affected firms are Sameer Africa, which makes tyres, and Eveready East Africa, which manufactures batteries. Many other products, including textiles, are also hurt by imports.

In 2017, China accounted for 23.6 per cent of Kenyas imports, India 14.4 per cent and the United Arab Emirates 6.4 per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. This is the second consecutive quarter in which more than 60 per cent of manufacturers complained about cheap imports impeding their business growth.

In its third quarter, Barometer report in October 2017, the association recorded a similar percentage of manufacturers that said cheap imports represent headwinds to their expansion.

Regulations

Its necessary to fast-track implementation of the Trade Remedies Act 2017 [that] seeks to deal with unfair trade practices such as dumping, subsidising and import surges, KAM said.

To ease the problem, the association wants full enforcement of existing laws to ensure fair trade practices and a level playing field. Last month, South Korean-based electronics giant Samsung announced it had abandoned plans to build an assembly plant in Kenya. It cited failure by the government to put in place mechanisms to protect manufacturers from cheap electronics imports.

Samsung said its locally manufactured products would be overwhelmed by cheap imports. The biggest challenge comes from China.

Apart from cheap imports, 58 per cent of local manufacturers cited the high cost of industrial inputs as a major barrier to growth. Forty-one per cent of manufacturers cited the foreign exchange rate. Manufacturers say other barriers for the next six months include taxation policies, pressure from wage increases and capital constraints, lack of demand and legislative and regulatory pressures.

Despite the challenge from cheap imports, there was a seven per cent improvement in the number of manufactures that say the Kenyan economy is declining. Still the percentage of pessimists stands at 46 per cent. This was an improvement from the 53 per cent in the third quarter Barometer report.

Thirty-three per cent said the economy is growing, while 22 per cent said economic growth will remain steady over six months.
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3 days in NYC - help on plans please!

3 days in NYC - help on plans please!

Hi guys, we have 4 nights (3 full days) in NYC

We a young, married couple, physically fit and like to cram in jam packed days (some people will think its too much but its how we like to see things!)

This is for my 30th before heading off to Canada for a rockies hike and road trip for 3 weeks :)

Night 1 - Land 11pm on Friday Night, straight to hotel, bed!

Day 1 - Saturday

Wake up (likely super early from Jetlag!) We're staying at the Beekman in the FD

If mega early (5am ish - its highly likely due to the jet lag from the UK) - Walk the brooklyn bridge and watch the sun rise. Walk further to Brooklyn Bridge Park and look back at views walk back to hotel via City Hall. Breakfast back at hotel 8-9am ish. We figure, if we manage to lie in, we're close enough to the bridge to fit in at another time, but also figure it would be good to do if we can't sleep :)

Morning / early afternoon

Then walk to Ground 0 and 9/11 memorial and museum. Maybe world trade center too?

Walk to Trinity Church and then down to wall street (and back)

Charging bull and explore battery park

(For the above, we believe the walking is only c. 30 mins but likely need a couple of hours to spend time at each sight).

Ferry to Stanten Island - and back again (how long on Stanten island is recommended - is it a hop off and get the next Ferry back or spend time there?).

Late afternoon

Back at battery park grab the subway to Chelsea market, late lunch there

Walk the high line

Early evening

See how tired we are - maybe early dinner at hotel and then bed or if trying to push it, maybe back to world trade center (if we decide to go with it and advance book) to watch sunset and eat at the Beekman (our hotel)!

Day 2 - Sunday

We're thinking focus on mid-town this day but I'm not sure on sensible ordering?

Again, if we're up early, head to Grand central station first then some breakie somewhere

Central Park (hire a bike and cycle - could also do early if we're up and about?)

New york library

Empire state building

Chrysler building

Times square

5th Avenue and Tiffanys (browsing rather than full-on shopping)

Have large lunch somewhere and lighter snack dinner so we can catch a broadway show in the evening - Likley be one of the most popular, e.g. lion king (yes I know, you're right, it is my 30th b'day trip!!) that have the later showing 6.30/7pm on a Sunday.

Day 3 - Monday

Shopping day / flex day to allow time to go back and re-visit or add in new discoveries

Rockafella and the rock for sunset as last evening - or best viewpoint (recommendations welcome :)

Dinner and drinks somewhere nice

Day 4 - fly onto Calgary :)

A couple of further questions -

Is there anything we are missing?

What would be logical for day 2 (and is Sunday the best day for mid-town?)

Is the jewellery/diamond quarter worth a visit?

Should we try and include little italy?

I think that is all for now - advice / guidance welcome :)

Thanks guys
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Africa is a continent well-endowed with minerals and natural resources. It is often referred to as the cradle of history. Evidence of early life like fossils, agriculture and art were all found in Africa and it is, therefore, a very important continent in history. It is bounded on the West by the Atlantic Ocean, North by the Mediterranean Sea, East by the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. This means it has a vast Coastal area. While some people indicate the number of African countries as 54, others opt for 56. Exactly how many countries are there in Africa?

Many people are looking for how many countries does Africa have now. By counting only the politically independent and recognized countries, they would be 54. However, all the countries by virtue of name are 56. Why so? This is because, besides the 54 legally know countries, we have other two that are still struggling to get recognition. That is Western Sahara and Somaliland, the newest country in the world. These two countries defected from their mother countries following political wars and have not yet been recognized as independent countries.

How many regions are there in the continent - Understanding African countries

To get a clearer picture of the African countries, we shall divide them into regions. These are formal regions formed on the basis of the borders, with trade unions and other organizations formed to unite them.

The Main Five Regions of Africa

Southern Africa

South Africa, found in this region is the most developed country in the African continent. It's highly urbanized and industrialized. Other countries in this region are Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

North Africa

Unlike all the other unions where you can identify each specific country depending on their culture, North African countries are similar with common ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity. Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Western Sahara have a people that dress, talk and behave the same. Algeria is the largest country by land area in Africa.

Central Africa

This region has the densest rain forests in Africa and its countries include Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Sao Tome and Principe.

East Africa

This region is formed by the easterly countries plus those found at the horn of Africa. The countries are Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi plus the islands found along the coastline (The Comoros, Mauritius, the Seychelles and Madagascar).

West Africa

This part of Africa has always had a good economy that led to an early history of centralization and civilization. West Africa ha 18 countries as follows; Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Cote dIvoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and Togo.Nigeria,Africas most populous country belongs here.

READ ALSO: Top 10 Most Popular African Dress Designs this Season

How Many African Countries Does the Equator Pass Through?

The equator is an imaginary line that passes through the surface of the earth dividing it into two, the northern and the Southern hemispheres. It has climatic effects on the areas it touches as the sun is always overhead at the equator, meaning its rays hit the ground with more vigor.Most of Africa lies within the tropical region, bounded on the north by the Tropic of Cancer and on the south by the Tropic of Capricorn explaining the tropical climate of African countries.

So, how many countries in total does the equator pass through?

There are 13 countries in the world that the equator passes through. Out of these, 7 are African countries. By name these are; Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, Republic of Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia.

The next time you have to answer this question, then you have it. Its 56 countries, 54 recognized and 2 still on the debate. 7 of these have the equator passing through them.

READ ALSO: Causes and Types of Corruption in the World

Source: Tuko News
- Government claims Miguna Miguna denounced his Kenyan citizenship several years back and never bothered to reclaim it back

- The government also claims Miguna never bothered to disclose that he was a citizen of another country despite being a lawyer

- The vocal barrister was forcefully deported back to Canada on Tuesday, February 6

- Questions are now being raised on how Miguna was cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to vie for Nairobi county gubernatorial seat

- For one to vie for the gubernatorial seat, one of the requirements is that one must have been a Kenyan citizen for at least 10 years

The Government of Kenya now claims Miguna Miguna denounced his Kenyan citizenship several years back and has never bothered to reclaim it back.

Speaking to the media on Wednesday, February 7, a few hours after it emerged that Miguna had been deported to Canada, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, Mwenda Njoka, said the embattled barrister had ceased to be a Kenyan citizen long time ago.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

"Miguna denounced his Kenyan citizenship years back. He acquired Canadian citizenship and never bothered to reclaim his Kenyan citizenship in the legally prescribed manner," Njoka said.

READ ALSO: Mkenya mwenye bahati ashinda KSh 230 milioni za Sportpesa Jackpot

The vocal barrister forcefully deported back to Canada on Tuesday, February 6. Interior Ministry claims he is not a Kenyan citizen. Photo:Courtesy.

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The government also claimed Miguna has never bothered to disclose that he is a citizen of another country despite being a lawyer who should know better.

As was earlier reported by TUKO.co.ke, the barrister was on the evening of Tuesday, February 5, forced to take a flight back to Canada after days of illegal detention.

READ ALSO: Miguna Miguna released on KSh 50,000 bond, judge gives him option to sue for illegal detention

The vocal and combative lawyer had been arrested in connection with the controversial swearing in of National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 at Uhuru Park Grounds, Nairobi.

His dramatic arrest was also linked to his role in the now outlawed National Resistance Movement (NRM), which is said to be a branch of the NASA coalition.

READ ALSO: Judge suspends criminal proceedings against Miguna Miguna

Miguna's deportation has, however, raised questions on how he was cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to vie for Nairobi county gubernatorial seat.

For you to vie for a gubernatorial seat in Kenya, one of the mandatory requirements is that you must have been a Kenyan citizen for at least 10 years according to the electoral body.

Take down Uhuru's Portraits - Miguna Miguna - On Tuko TV

Source: Tuko
- Uhuru has told politicians to stop politicking and work for the benefit of Kenya

- He fired the salvo to the Opposition NASA, saying they should avoid sideshows and distractions

- Uhuru said time for empty politicking was over and that politician should now embark on serious work

President Uhuru Kenyatta has told politicians to concentrate their efforts on serving Kenyans and avoid distractions and sideshows.

In a thin veiled attack to the Opposition NASA, Uhuru said time for politicking was over and that all and sundry must now go back to working for the good of voters.

Send 'NEWS' to 40227 to receive all the important breaking news as it happens

READ ALSO: Mkewe Miguna Miguna avunja kimya chake tangu kukamatwa na kufurushwa kwa mumewe

Speaking in Kajiado county on Wednesday, February 7 during the inauguration of a KSh 28 billion cement clinker plant, Uhuru said the election period had ended.

I ask every leader  right across Kenya  to remember that this is the time to get down to work. The elections are over. The people of Kenya have chosen their leaders," President Kenyatta said in an official statement seen by TUKO.co.ke.

He urged politicians to now focus their efforts on serious work and achieving the developmental goals. Photo:Uhuru Kenyatta/twitter

He urged politicians to now focus their efforts on serious work and achieving the developmental goals.

The president's statement comes at a time when the country is facing a myriad of controversial politics revolving around NASA leader Raila Odinga's controversial swearing-in on January 30.

READ ALSO: We apologise for failing you - Babu Owino tells Miguna after deportation

President Uhuru Kenyatta told politicians to concentrate their efforts on serving Kenyans and cast aside distractions that he considered games and sideshows. Photo:Uhuru Kenyatta/twitter

Raila's oath which the government had termed unlawful and unconstitutional triggered a serious government crackdown on individuals involved in the exercise.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i also declared the National Resistance Movement (NRM) an organized criminal group.

The height of the clampdown was the dramatic deportation of the self declared general of the now outlawed NRM Miguna Miguna.

READ ALSO: This is why NASA MPs could be celebrating general Migunas deportation

Uhuru gives Opposition tough lecture amid heightened political temperatures. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/twitter

"Kenyans now expect you to set aside distractions, games and sideshows; and to focus your efforts on building our nation, Uhuru said.

READ ALSO: Police teargas protestors demanding Matiangi to restore TV signals

Uhuru said time for empty politicking was over and that politician should now embark on serious work. Photo:Uhuru Kenyatta/twitter

Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku and his Machakos counterpart Alfred Mutua, were also in attendance and voiced their support towards the country's development goals in line with president Uhuru's big four agenda.

Source: Breaking News
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Residents of Rock City in Laventille say they are frustrated because of serious water problems as a result of works which were started to resolve a landslip in the area.
Counterintelligence officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have detained in Odesa a militant of the terrorist organization "DPR" who arrived in the region to carry out the tasks of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the SBU's press service has reported.

"Special service operatives determined that in June 2014, a resident of Odesa region, as part of a group of 20 mercenaries, underwent training at a military training ground in Rostov region of Russia. After that the militant was enrolled to an illegal armed unit of the so-called 'DPR,'" reads the statement.

In July 2014, he was at the forefront of militants in Shakhtarsk district, Donetsk region, and took a direct part in armed confrontation with the anti-terrorist operation forces.

Subsequently, while staying in Russia, the man was recruited by FSB officers. His supervisors tasked him, upon return to Odesa region, with collecting relevant intelligence about the situation in the region, in particular in the adjoining areas to the so-called Transdniestria. He also had to "work out" illegal channels of penetration into Ukrainian territory from the Transdniestrian region of Moldova.

Ukrainian counterintelligence officers received operational information about the arrival of a former militant in Odesa from the territory of the temporarily annexed Crimea and detained him in accordance with the law.

The militant was declared a suspect in committing a crime envisaged by Part 1, Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, and a measure of restraint in the form of detention was chosen for him.

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Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said that Ukraine will receive Javelin anti-tank missile systems from the United States this year.

"I would like to say for sure that we will get Javelin [systems] on time, this year definitely," he told the 112 Ukraine television channel on Wednesday.

He also spoke about the results of his meeting with U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

"We discussed a lot of questions, virtually all topics and all issues that I had, that worried me. I received answers to all of my questions. There is a clear understanding of how [it happens], and when. We discussed all this. We also discussed our further cooperation, as well as cooperation with the alliance and our bilateral commitments and the completion of agreements between the United States and Ukraine," he added.

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Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Valeriy Chaly held a meeting with Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce, the Ukrainian Embassy in the United States reports.

One of the main topics of discussions was the issue of the commemorative resolution on the 1932-1933 Famine-Genocide (Holodomor) in Ukraine.

Valeriy Chaly asked Chairman Royce to support passing in the current U.S. Congress of a commemorative resolution on the 85th anniversary of the 1932-1933 Famine-Genocide (Holodomor) in Ukraine, reads the report.

The Ukrainian Ambassador thanked Ed Royce for his steadfast support of enhancing the U.S. assistance to Ukraine in fending off the ongoing Russian aggression as well as his important personal role in passing of "Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

Ukraine's Ambassador also expressed appreciations of Chairman Royce's personal efforts in ensuring passing of "Ukraine Cybersecurity Cooperation Act".

In addition, the Ukrainian diplomat stressed the importance of advance in the financial year 2018 budget the positive dynamics of assistance made available to Ukraine through the Department of State, Pentagon and USAID.

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The United States has a much clearer position on Ukraine's accession to the North Atlantic Alliance than individual European states.

Former Ukrainian Prime Minister and People's Front Party leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk said this in Washington on Tuesday, February 6, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"What was important today in conversations on the part of our American friends is that their position is very clear, much clearer than in some European countries, that Ukraine is moving towards NATO and that Ukraine ultimately needs NATO membership," the Ukrainian politician said.

He recalled that Ukraine and Georgia had already had such a perspective in 2008, but at the time both countries were "actually denied" NATO Membership Action Plans (MAPs). "As a result, the Russians seized part of Georgia, Crimea, as well as Donetsk and Luhansk. How many international crimes should Russia commit so that the West could realize a clear reality? This decision is necessary for the security of both the alliance and Ukraine," Yatsenyuk said.

Ukraine's accession to NATO requires a consensus in the alliance, as well as political will, he added.

"In particular, it is necessary to sign the MAP, which will be a clear signal for the whole world that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance, and then continue to move along a road map together with all our partners," he said.

Yatsenyuk also stressed that NATO should find a political will to make this responsible decision on Ukraine, as Russia will not stop.

"It can be stopped only through a clear international legal mechanism, and so far no one but NATO has invented anything," Yatsenyuk said.

op
Ukraine will inform the world community and the International Court of Justice about all acts of repression by Russian occupation authorities in Crimea against the Crimean Tatars.

Spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine Mariana Betsa wrote this on Twitter in connection with the repression in Simferopol.

"The occupier intends to destroy all those who disagree with the occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. We condemn this. We will inform our partners and the ICJ about all repressive acts," Betsa wrote.

As reported, Crimean Tatar Mustafa Kalafatov had been detained in occupied Simferopol today.

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Ukraine's Antonov Airlines has taken a direct part in preparations for the launch of Elon Musk's project - the Falcon Heavy rocket, Ukraine's Embassy in the United States has reported on Facebook.

"On Tuesday, American company SpaceX successfully completed the first test launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket from the launch site at Cape Canaveral, Florida, the United States. Ukraine's Antonov Airlines took a direct part in preparations for the launch by providing its An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft for the transportation of rocket parts," the report says.

The report notes that the issue concerns part of the main fairing of the rocket with its dimensions that can get only into such a powerful cargo aircraft as the Ukrainian Ruslan.

According to the embassy, a month ago, the Ukrainian plane traveled 3,613 kilometers for 4.5 hours, ensuring timely delivery of the Falcon Heavy parts for the timely launch of the rocket from the launch site at Cape Canaveral.

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Ukraine plans soon to launch a telemedicine system for residents of rural areas with the assistance of Canada and the World Bank, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

He said this at a meeting with representatives of Canada and the World Bank on Wednesday, February 7, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Today, we are making a huge step towards launching a telemedicine system with the help of Canada and the World Bank. In terms of the development of projects that we are implementing, Canada gave us $700 million with a view to implementing reforms in Ukraine. The World Bank had provided over $12 billion over 25 years to support reforms. We agreed that part of the World Bank's funds for the medical project will be redirected to the reform of rural medicine, to the creation of telemedicine," Poroshenko said.

He thanked Canadian partners and the World Bank for supporting the rural development program and noted that UAH 2 billion was envisaged in the Ukrainian budget for the program.

"No, the telemedicine system should work efficiently from the first day. From the first day, every resident of every Ukrainian village should have access to qualified medical care," Poroshenko said.

He did not rule out that software that has already justified itself in Canada, Croatia, or Germany could be used during the creation of a telemedicine system.

"I can reveal a secret. German Chancellor Angela Merkel promised me to provide access to the most advanced telemedicine technologies in Germany. I do not exclude that in the future Germany will join our partnership, but we will not wait. We are moving forward," Poroshenko said.

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When asked about the prospects for him meeting President Poroshenko, the Moldovan leader said "all in good time."

Moldovan President Igor Dodon says Ukraine can help his country find a compromise on the issue of Transnistria.

"A lot will depend on Ukraine's position," he said in an interview with Radio Liberty.

"Kyiv is an important partner in the 5+2 format, which was very active in this sense. Of course, a lot will depend on Ukraine's position," Dodon said without specifying the essence of Kyiv's possible contribution.

Read alsoRussia refuses to withdraw troops from Transnistria, declares itself "guarantor of stability"He also admitted that during his presidency he had no contacts with his Ukrainian counterpart. When asked about the prospects for him meeting President Poroshenko, the Moldovan leader said "all in good time."

Igor Dodon, known for his openly pro-Russian stance, was elected president of Moldova in November 2016. During the televised debate, still in the status of a candidate, he declared that Crimea belonged to Russia.

Read alsoMoldova bans Russian propaganda news despite president's defianceOn January 2, 2018, the Constitutional Court of Moldova suspended the Dodons powers after the president had refused to approve re-nominations for the posts of ministers and vice-premiers.

International negotiations on the settlement of the Transnistrian issue are held in the 5+2 format (Moldova, Transnistria, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE, along with the observers from the U.S. and EU).
Tsymbaliuk expressed his conviction that through Yanukovychs letter to Putin Russia attempted to legitimize the invasion of Ukraine.

At a Feb 7 hearing of the high treason case against former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, the court questioned Andriy Tsymbaliuk, an assistant to former Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Security Council, Yuriy Sergeyev. Tsymbaliuk is now an adviser to the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations.

Tsymbaliuk testified that Russia had annexed Crimea with the involvement of its military units without insignia, according to an UNIAN correspondent.

Read alsoParubiy testifies in court on conversation with Zhirinovsky amid start of Russian aggressionHe added that the actions of the Russian military in late February 2014 violated the norms of international law, as well as the treaty of friendship between Ukraine and Russia, the Budapest Memorandum, and the UN Charter.

The witness regards Crimea annexation as an act of aggression against Ukraine on the part of Russia.

In addition, Tsymbaliuk told that at a meeting of the UN Security Council on February 28, Ukraine informed the international community about the beginning of Crimea seizure.

He also said that at a meeting of the Security Council on March 3, 2014, which was convened at Russias initiative, the then Permanent Representative of Russia to the Security Council, Vitaly Churkin, demonstrated Yanukovych's appeal to Putin, where he called on his Russian counterpart to introduce Russian troops into Ukraine.

Tsymbaliuk expressed conviction that Russia attempted through this letter to legitimize the invasion of Ukraine.

Read alsoCrimea black hole for human rights - HRWIt should be noted that Yanukovych's lawyers insisted that Ukrainian diplomats to the Security Council had deceived the international community because they did not inform anyone about the position of Mr Yanukovych, who declared several times at the end of February 2014 that he was a legitimate president, while a coup had taken place in Kyiv.

Tsymbaliuk testified that after Yanukovych's escape from Kyiv, he was guided by the decision of the Verkhovna Rada of February 22, 2014, according to which Yanukovych was recognized as a the one who withdrew himself from fulfilling the duties of President of Ukraine.
Discussions about the past should remain the historians prerogative, Ukrainian experts believe.

The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance has warned the countrys historians of possible risks related to their travel and stay in Poland as a result of the adoption by Warsaw of the latest law penalizing promotion of Ukrainian nationalist ideas.

"The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, which provided for the functioning of the Ukrainian part of the forum, does not see any possibilities for its continued work in the previous format. We cannot guarantee freedom of speech for Ukrainian researchers on Polish territory or even safety of their stay," reads a statement by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance published on its official website.

According to the Institute, the passing of the so-called "anti-Bandera law" narrows the space for discussion and dialogue.

"The adoption of the new law on the Institute of National Remembrance in Poland, which introduces, among other things, criminal liability for denying 'crimes of Ukrainian nationalists in 1925-1950s' significantly narrows the space for discussions and dialogue," the report says.

At the same time, the Institute offered to continue the historical discussions on the territory of Ukraine.

"For the sake of the values of an open dialogue and free access to sources, we appeal to our Polish colleagues to continue historical discussions on the territory of Ukraine, where there are no restrictions or political imposition of assessments of the past," the statement said.

Read alsoPolish president signs highly controversial Holocaust bill, drawing rare U.S. rebuke  mediaAt the same time, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance expressed confidence that discussions about the past should remain the prerogative of historians.

"We are confident that discussions about the past should remain the prerogative of historians, not politicians, because it is weighted professional discussions rather than loud political statements that are among the bases for mutual understanding between peoples," the statement said.

Read alsoRada appeals to Polish authorities over controversial billIt is also reported that since 2015, five meetings have been held (twice a year, alternately in Ukraine and Poland) with the participation of historians of both countries in the framework of the Ukrainian-Polish forum of historians.
Stepan Poltorak allegedly offered to pull back Ukraines units with their banners flying proudly.

The lawyer of a disgraced Ukrainian ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, Vitaliy Serdyuk, claimed that the final decision on the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Crimea was taken by former head of the Presidential Administration Serhiy Pashinsky and former chief of the National Guard of Ukraine, now Defense Minister, Stepan Poltorak.

The defense team referred to an extract from the testimony of former Acting Defense Minister Ihor Teniukh.

Serdyuk claimed in a Facebook posting that the corresponding decision had been made at the NSDC meeting on March 23, 2014.

Read alsoAide to ex-envoy of Ukraine to UNSC elaborates on Russias moves to seize CrimeaAs follows from the extract from Teniukhs testimony, after the seizure of the Navy HQ, while speaking at the NSDC on March 23, 2014, he reported on the latest developments in Crimea deployment of the Armed Forces units near the village of Shyrokiy Lan. He also allegedly offered to go for a military breakthrough into Crimea.

According to the released testimony, Serhiy Pashynskiy said: "Its all clear with the minister  he wants war. Lets hear other members."

Stepan Poltorak spoke after Teniukh: "I propose to withdraw our units from Crimea with their banners flying proudly."
Gerashchenko says Putin does not need Donbas or Crimea alone, he wants to create a new, post-Soviet empire.

Ukraine's envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group in Minsk talks on Donbas, Member of Parliament Iryna Gerashchenko says the war in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, cannot be stopped without an international peacekeeping mission.

"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is not going to leave Donbas in the near future. His goal is to make it a frozen conflict, and he'll use the subject for further destabilization in Ukraine Putin will stir things up in Ukraine pending both parliamentary and presidential elections, and thus a peacekeeping mission in Donbas is coming to the very fore," Gerashchenko told the parliament's Golos Ukrayiny newspaper.

In her words, the mission should have a temporary administration's mandate, which is in fact peace enforcement in the occupied areas.

Read alsoPoltorak: Russia would always create problems, then play peacemaker"The Russian Federation has not yet agreed to this, but U.S. sanctions against Russia can be used to influence negotiations on peacekeepers. Ukraine wants peace, we're interested in peace in Donbas, therefore we should exert entire leverage and continue pushing Russia for the full implementation of the Minsk agreements. But it will be very hard to bring peace back to Donbas without a peacekeeping mission," she added.

Gerashchenko also says Putin does not need Donbas or Crimea alone, he wants to create a new, post-Soviet empire.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko did not rule out that a UN peacekeeping mission could be deployed to Donbas in 2018.
This was an initiative that came from the Ukrainian prime minister.

The Ukrainian government suggests using the phrases "Slava Ukrayini!" ("Glory to Ukraine!") and "Heroyam slava!" ("Glory to the heroes!") as the official call-and-response greeting in the Ukrainian army.

Respective bill No. 7549 dated February 5 was registered in the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament.

Read alsoOSCE minorities commissioner speaks on Ukraine's education lawThe bill was initiated by Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.

In particular, the document introduces changes to Article 84 of the Military Manual of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by replacing the Soviet-era greetings "Hello, comrade!" and "Good day, sir!" with "Glory to Ukraine!" and "Glory to the heroes!"

"When greeting the chief or senior officers with 'Glory to Ukraine,' all the servicemen who are in or outside the ranks should answer: 'Glory to the heroes,'" the draft law said.

Similar phrases are proposed to be used to say goodbye, while the current phrase is "Goodbye, comrades" or "Goodbye."

Yet, the bill proposes keeping the word "comrade" in greetings when a serviceman addresses the Defense Minister if the latter is a civilian.

Article 53 of the manual says that when addressing the Defense Minister and his deputies who are civilians, a serviceman shall first say the word "comrade" and then add the official title.

Ukraine's parliament has not yet set a date for debate on the bill.

"Glory to Ukraine" first appeared as a motto during the Ukrainian War of Independence, with the second part of greeting being commonly used by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (1942-1953).

Since Euromaidan events and the start of the Donbas war against the Russian occupation in the country's east, the "Glory to Ukraine!" greeting and "Glory to the heroes!" response have been widely used by Ukrainians.
Nalyvaichenko claims Russia began to mastermind the annexation of Crimea at the beginning of Yanukovych's presidency.

Former chief of the SBU Security Service of Ukraine Valentyn Nalyvaichenko says high-ranking officials of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) visited Ukraine three times amid the Maidan protests staged in Kyiv between the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014.

Read alsoWitness in Yanukovych case: Pashynskiy, Poltorak behind decisive step to withdraw troops from CrimeaThose Russian experts in countering terrorism came at the invitation of the then president Viktor Yanukovych and were even given access to the government communications system, Nalyvaichenko, who was again appointed to head Ukraine's SBU after Yanukovych had fled the country for Russia, said at hearings on the Yanukovych case in Kyiv on January 7.

This, according to Nalyvaichenko, means that the surrender of the entire country, and not just Crimea, to Russia was being actively prepared then.

He said the last time he had communicated with the former president was during the presidential inauguration in 2010, when he provided his security as SBU chief of President Viktor Yushchenko, who was defeated by Yanukovych in the presidential elections. Then Nalyvaichenko filed a resignation letter and had no contacts with Yanukovych.

Recalling details of Yanukovych's removal from the post of president after he had escaped, Nalyvaichenko noted that he was a Member of Parliament then, and voted for a relevant resolution on February 22, 2014.

The former SBU chief also said he did not know anything about threats to Yanukovych's life that could have forced him to leave Ukraine.

Nalyvaichenko noted that he had learnt about the circumstances of the former president's getaway from two employees of the Administration of State Guard (DSG) of Ukraine after they returned from Crimea on February 24, 2014, as they were accompanying the fugitive president heading for the peninsula.

Nalyvaichenko added he had visited Crimea as an MP together with Arsen Avakov, who is currently Interior Minister, in the early hours of February 23, he saw Russian military equipment there and witnessed the annexation of the peninsula by Russia's special services.

Later, on February 24, he was appointed acting head of the SBU.

According to Nalyvaichenko, the ex-president did not try to contact him after that.

Nalyvaichenko also noted that since February 24, 2014, the SBU in several cities of Ukraine had revealed armed groups of saboteurs, trained in advance by Russia with the assistance of ex-officers of the SBU, headed by Oleksandr Yakymenko.

"Russia's aggression started on February 20 from Crimea, but subversive groups were being trained in other regions," he said.

In turn, Yanukovych's lawyers said Nalyvaichenko had visited Crimea not only as a lawmaker, but also as an authorized representative of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, virtually as the SBU's head. They deemed Nalyvaichenko's testimony as lies, claiming he wanted not to be held liable for inaction during the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

Nalyvaichenko, in turn, said preparations for the annexation started back in 2010, when Yanukovych officially reinstated the FSB officers on the peninsula, after Nalyvaichenko as the SBU chairman had once expelled them from there. Moreover, he said, Ukraine's power structures, including the SBU, had heavily been infiltrated by FSB agents during Yanukovych's presidency.

"Yanukovych surrendered Ukraine and Crimea to Russia consciously, with no pressure from the Russian Federation," he underscored.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Yanukovych is charged with treason, complicity with the Russian authorities, deliberate actions committed to redraw the state border of Ukraine in violation of the Ukrainian Constitution. He is also accused of waging an aggressive war. These are the crimes stipulated in Part 1 of Article 111, Part 5 of Article 27, Part 3 of Article 110, and Part 2 of Article 437 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The judicial panel of Kyiv's Obolon district court on June 29, 2017, satisfied prosecutors' request for special judicial proceedings in the Yanukovych case.

UNIAN memo. Nalyvaichenko, 51, headed the SBU twice: from December 2006 to March 2010 under President Yushchenko and from February 24, 2014, to June 18, 2015, under acting President Oleksandr Turchynov, who is now Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, and the incumbent President Petro Poroshenko. Yakymenko was his predecessor appointed by Yanukovych.
Key positions also include joint border control and the development of border infrastructure.

Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced it has agreed with the Hungarian side on ways to address the so-called language issue at educational institutions in Zakarpattia, western Ukraine.

"With cautious optimism, we can say that long-lasting negotiations with the Hungarian side have resulted in understanding on key positions: on ways of settling the 'language issue,' the launch of joint border control, the development of border infrastructure. Step by step to normality," Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Vasyl Bodnar wrote on Twitter on February 7 after his visit to Zakarpattia region.

Read alsoHungary insists on OSCE presence in Ukraine's west after attack on Hungarian culture centerThe new law on education, which entered into force on September 28, 2017, introduces a 12-year secondary education system in Ukraine with Ukrainian being used as the language of tuition. Children of national minorities can be taught in their mother tongue at classes (groups) along with the national language. Yet, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Greece and Bulgaria expressed concern over the language provisions of Article 7 of the law.

What is more, the Venice Commission issued recommendations on December 8, 2017, that the Ukrainian authorities should balance the provisions of the language article.

Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science proposed three options for the implementation of Article 7, which will be stipulated in a draft law on general secondary education. A respective bill is expected to be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration this spring.
In addition to getting a prison term, the man was deprived of military rank and rights to hold certain positions for three years.

An employee of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has been sentenced to six years in prison for cooperation with the "Donetsk People's Republic" ("DPR") terrorist organization.

Kyiv Pechersk District Court found the man guilty under Part 1 Article 258-3 (creation of a terrorist group or terrorist organization), Part 1 Article 328 (disclosure of state secrets) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, as reported by the public relations and media department of the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine.

Read alsoSBU exposes mole in own ranks"Being an employee of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, from September 2014 to March 2015, being aware that the 'DPR' terrorist organization was established on the territory of Donetsk region, he was assisting the terrorist organization by collecting and subsequently transferring information concerning the operations of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, classified ones, to a representative of the 'DPR' terrorist organization," the report says.

In addition to getting a prison term, the man was deprived of military rank and the right to hold certain positions for three years.
The enemy fired from an anti-tank missile system on the defenders of the village of Krymske.

Russia's hybrid military forces attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 14 times in the past 24 hours, with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA).

The Russian occupation troops continued to attack the fortified positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, employing weapons banned by the Minsk agreements. The enemy was particularly active in the evening, according to the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) Headquarters.

In the Luhansk sector, the enemy was active near the village of Troyitske after dark. Here, the occupiers repeatedly shelled the Ukrainian positions from 120mm mortars, an anti-aircraft gun, and heavy machine guns. The enemy also used an anti-tank missile system against the defenders of the village of Krymske, as well as grenade launchers against the defenders of the village of Katerynivka. Moreover, the illegal armed formations fired small arms, violating the ceasefire near the village of Luhanske.

During the daytime, the Russian aggressor fired 120mm and 82mm mortars near the village of Novozvanivka as well as grenade launchers and heavy machine guns on the Ukrainian positions near the village of Novo-oleksandrivka.

Read alsoTwo Ukrainian soldiers wounded in action in Donbas on Feb 6In the Donetsk sector, the enemy focused its fire in the Mariupol direction. In particular, militants employed 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near the village of Lebedynske. The Ukrainian fortified positions near the village of Pavlopil came under fire from an 82mm mortar and infantry weapons, while those ones near the village of Shyrokyne were attacked with the use of 120mm mortars. Furthermore, the aggressor forces opened fire from infantry fighting vehicles near the village of Bohdanivka, as well as from small arms near the village of Vodiane.
Members of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine were present during the operation.

Twenty more people who had been serving their term in prisons in Russian-occupied areas in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, have been transferred to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

Read alsoBig swap"At 12:00 today, February 7, 2018, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska picked up 20 more people who had been jailed before the conflict. Thus, we have already managed to evacuate 186 people from the occupied areas in Donetsk region in more than two years," head of Lutkovska's Secretariat Bohdan Kryklyvenko wrote on Facebook on February 7.

The transfer of the prisoners was monitored by member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Human Rights Iryna Suslova and the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine.

According to Kryklyvenko, over 500 appeals from prisoners' families requesting the transfer of their relatives to the government-controlled territory remain unaddressed. "It has not yet been possible to establish contacts with Luhansk [region whose part is also occupied by Russia]," he added.

As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine on December 27, 2017, extradited 233 individuals who were imprisoned on charges related to the Donbas war and were serving their sentences in Ukrainian prions, to Russian-backed militants in Donbas. In turn, 73 Ukrainians (32 prisoners of war and 41 civilians) were released by the other side.
Presidential elections in Russia are scheduled for March 18, 2018, the anniversary of the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea.

During the presidential elections in Russia on March 18, the current head of state, Vladimir Putin, may vote at a polling station in the annexed city of Sevastopol (Crimea).

Putins team is tasked with selecting for their chief a region where there may be attendance problems, although Putin has always voted in Moscow in previous federal elections, Kommersant reported referring to a source close to the presidential administration.

It is reported that this became possible due to changes in legislation in 2017, which now allows citizens voting in the place of their actual stay, not only in the location of registered residence.

Read alsoU.S. State Department on new sanctions against Russia: "The start of the race"Experts argue that such a move "will increase expectations in Sevastopol, where there has been a deficit of administrative success since 2014".

At the same time, another source of the publication claims that "going to Crimea and Sevastopol ahead of the elections would be the right idea, but it is unlikely that Vladimir Putin will be beyond the capital city on March 18."

Read alsoGerman gov't criticizes local deputies' trip to occupied Crimea  Ukraine envoyEarlier it was reported that the Central Election Commission of Russia registered Vladimir Putin as a candidate for the presidential post. Elections in Russia are scheduled for March 18, 2018, the anniversary of the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea.

Earlier, the CEC registered as candidates for the presidency Vladimir Zhirinovsky (LDPR) and Pavel Grudinin (Communist Party).
At a recent meeting between the U.S. leader and top military officials, his wishes were suddenly heard as a presidential directive.

U.S. President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to explore holding "a celebration" for Americans to show their appreciation for the armed forces, the White House said, amid reports that military leaders have begun planning a military parade at his request.

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, one military official told the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity, the Hill wrote. This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

A White House official told the Post that the planning was still in the brainstorming stages, and that there is no meat on the bones as of yet.

Pentagon officials are pushing for the parade to be tied to Veterans Day, rather than Independence Day or Memorial Day, because it would appear to be less tied to Trump.

Trump reportedly wanted to include tanks and missile launchers in his Inauguration Day parade. An inauguration team source said at the time that the team was legit thinking Red Square/North Korea-style parade.

Military officials were reluctant about the inauguration teams desires, and the team ultimately decided not to move forward.

Read alsoRFE/RL: Trump claims Republican memo 'totally vindicates' him in Russia probePresidential historians told The Washington Post that a parade smacks of something you see in a totalitarian country, and also warned that it could evoke nationalism instead of patriotism or could even stoke further tensions with North Korea.

The White House official pushed back on those warnings, saying it would be the opposite of totalitarian, because it would be a celebration of the men and women who give us freedom, but also said it would be designed as a demonstration of Americas strength and a warning to the countrys enemies.
The U.S. Secretary of State has warned Russia of "consequences".

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday warned the United States is ill-prepared to prevent Russian meddling in the upcoming midterms, as it was in the 2016 general election.

I don't know that I would say we are better prepared, because the Russians will adapt as well, Tillerson said in an exclusive interview with Fox News in Bogota, Colombia. The point is, if it's their intention to interfere, they are going to find ways to do that. We can take steps we can take but this is something that, once they decide they are going to do it, it's very difficult to preempt it.

Read alsoVOA: Senate Democrats accuse Trump of failing to confront Russian threatRussia is already attempting to interfere in the U.S. in 2018 ahead of congressional midterm elections as it did in the 2016 general election, he said.

I think it's important we just continue to say to Russia, Look, you think we don't see what you're doing. We do see it and you need to stop. If you don't, you're going to just continue to invite consequences for yourself, said Tillerson.
A delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry led by its President Sheikh Amir Waheed visited CDA Headquarters to congratulate Usman Akhtar Bajwa on being appointed as Chairman CDA.

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018) : A delegation of Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry led by its President Sheikh Amir Waheed visited CDA Headquarters to congratulate Usman Akhtar Bajwa on being appointed as Chairman CDA. Addressing the delegation, Usman Akhtar Bajwa said that Islamabad was facing many problems as there was no long-term strategy or plan in CDA for the development of residential and industrial areas in the Federal capital.

However, he said that he would prioritize the issues according to their importance and take measures to address them. He said he would try to utilize IT and technology to bring efficiency and improvement in the performance of CDA and to provide online services to people.

However, he said that he needed the cooperation and support of business community for development of markets and industrial areas. Usman Akhtar Bajwa said that CDA byelaws and rules have become outdated and needed upgradation to bring them in line with the current day requirements.

He said he would like to work with ICCI on three priority areas i.e. improving the environment, better development of market places and improving sanitation in Islamabad. He said CDA was not an authority to rule over the lives of people and he would work to transform CDA into a service delivery organization to provide smart services to the citizens.

He assured that he would continue to interact with ICCI for redress of key issues of business community and for the better development of Islamabad as it was the face of Pakistan.

Speaking at the occasion, Sheikh Amir Waheed, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry congratulated Usman Akhtar Bajwa on being appointed as Chairman CDA and hoped that he would turn CDA into a smart organization to deliver better services to the people.

He highlighted key issues of the business community for urgent redress. He said that the local business community was facing great problems in renewal of leases of commercial plots and CDA should streamline this process.

He said all commercial leases should be extended up to 99 years that would enable business community to focus on better promotion of business activities. He said CDA should allow multiple trades on industrial plots except for negative list as current procedure of change of trade was a hindrance in promoting business activities.

Nisar Mirza Vice President ICCI, Tariq Sadiq, Mian Akram Farid, Mian Shaukat Masud, Khalid Iqbal Malik, Zafar Bakhtawari, Ch. Waheed ud Din, Fareedun Khattak, Nasir Qureshi, Ahmed Mughal, Khalid Chaudhry, Raja Abdul Majeed and Mehmood Warraich also spoke at the occasion and highlighted various issues of business community.

It was pointed out that CDA should focus on better development of industrial areas and markets and provide facilities like filtration plants, streetlights, public toilets, carpeting of roads, repair of footpaths, improvement of sanitation and sewerage systems in business areas to facilitate the growth of business activities.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Project Director Dasu Hydropower Project (DHPP), Javed Akhtar has said 4320MW electricity would be produced from this mega project which would be completed in two phases in five years

ABBOTTABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Project Director Dasu Hydropower Project (DHPP), Javed Akhtar has said 4320MW electricity would be produced from this mega project which would be completed in two phases in five years.

The project would help address problem of load shedding and will provide inexpensive electricity to consumers after completion, he said while talking to media here today. He further said that that DHPP would be completed in two phases and civil work on first phase has been commenced from June 2017.

In the first phase six power generation units would be installed with the capacity of 2160 MW (12 billion units per annum), Akhtar maintained. Giving the details of civil work and installation of the machinery, the PD said in the first phase dam and spill ways would be constructed while only machinery would be installed in second phase.

The project was commenced in June 2017 and the whole project would be culminated by June, 2023 in five years PD said, he said. Replying to a question Javed Akhtar stated that every hydel project recovers its cost from the production within five to seven years, cost of the Dasu Hydro Power Project Phase I according to PC-I was 400081 million rupees while the PC I for second phase is yet to plan.

PD Dasu hydro power project said it is a run up river project where the lake of the dam only stores water for energy production and then releases it in the river, the Dasu dam reservoir would not be used for irrigation.

Talking about the other benefits of Dasu power project Javed Akhtar said that it would also increase the life of Tarbaila dam up to 40 years as it would stop the mud and sand which usually flows with the river Indus and decreases the height of the Tarbaila dam after deposit in the lake.

The dam would also regulate the Indus river water which would improve the power generation capacity of the Tarbaila dam, he disclosed. Project Director said existing shortfall of the electricity in the country is between 5 to 7000 MW while after the completion of the Dasu dam it would provide huge support to lessen the deficit.

Replying to a question he said population alongside the Dasu dam and lake is very low as only 6000 families are residing those would not be displaced whereas according to Dasu re-settlement plan the affected families will be shifted from 1000 meter to 1300 meter high from sea level in the same areas, the new Karakorum Highway (KKH) would also be constructed at the altitude of 1000 meter above sea level.

PD disclosed that 62 kilometer KKH would also be damaged by the Dasu Dam reservoir which would be constructed at the left bank of the river and on right side no road is available so we have also started a 12 kilometer road and two other parts including 42 KM and then 27 KM would also be commenced step by step.

Javed Akhatar maintained that people of the Dasu have yielded many positive effects as the construction of Dasu Dam kicked off, natives of the area including their social uplifting the owners are earning handsome amount from their rented buildings those were hired by the contractors, Wapda and other officials and under construction road network.

The dam also provided vast employment opportunity to the locals and supported more than 862 people at various positions which would be also increase in thousands as the project expands in coming years, He said.

He maintained that backward flow of the lake would be 70 kilometers, the total area of the reservoir would be 24 square kilometer and the depth of the dam would be 230 meters. Talking about the partnership with world bank in the project he said that the ratio of WB share in the financing of overall project is 16.9 percent whereas Wapda has arranged the 144 billion rupees by the local banks consortium.

PD said that we have also got the loan of 350 million USD from Swiss credit agency and remaining 110 million would be availed soon against the WB partial guarantee of 460 Million USD. The two contract of civil work were awarded to a Chinese firm Chinese Gazoba Group of Companies (CGGC) for carrying out main civil works in the first stage of the Dasu hydro power project.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

Minister of State for Finance, Rana Muhammad Afzal Wednesday directed to convene a meeting of all officials concerned and initiate preparations for a quality salary package for federal government employees in the forthcoming budget

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Minister of State for Finance, Rana Muhammad Afzal Wednesday directed to convene a meeting of all officials concerned and initiate preparations for a quality salary package for federal government employees in the forthcoming budget.

Talking to a delegation of Federation of Federal Government Employees (Pakistan) Islamabad, which called on him here, the Minister said keeping in view the available resources, the government was prepared to provide maximum facilitation to the employees during the up coming budget.

The delegation which comprised of Federal Government employees from different ministries and departments was led by Chaudhry Mukhtar, presented the minister proposals related to salaries and allowances.

The Minister had detailed discussion with the delegation on the 14-point agenda and said their proposals would be accorded due consideration. He assured them of his full support in the matter.
Nigeria's port workers' union on Wednesday backed down from a threat to call an indefinite strike that could have shut the country's main seaports

Lagos,(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Nigeria's port workers' union on Wednesday backed down from a threat to call an indefinite strike that could have shut the country's main seaports.

The Maritime Workers' Union of Nigeria (MWUN) said it would order its members to down tools because of the state of access roads to the country's busiest port, Lagos. But MWUN president-general Adawale Adeyanju told AFP the industrial action was called off after a meeting with Nigeria's labour minister and the Nigeria Port Authority.

Adeyanju said "strong commitments to fix the roads were given", adding: "We have therefore decided to suspend the strike following the fruitful deliberations we had with the government.

"We are calling on our members to continue with their work." The Lagos ports of Apapa and Tin Can Island handle more than 60 percent of Nigeria's sea cargo and generate some 70 percent of customs revenue.

But the poor state of access roads and chronic gridlock has increasingly caused delays, prompting shipping companies and business to use alternative berths in neighbouring countries. Port workers and users stuck in traffic have also become more vulnerable to attack from criminal gangs, the MWUN says.
Pakistan and Indonesia had finalized the review process for the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and it would likely to enhance local exports to Indonesia by $ 200 million per annual

ISLAMABAD,(UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Pakistan and Indonesia had finalized the review process for the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and it would likely to enhance local exports to Indonesia by $ 200 million per annual.

Pakistan and Indonesia has current annual trade volume of $ 170 million, which was expected to increase $ 370 million after renegotiation on PTA between the two countries, senior official of Ministry of Commerce told APP here on Wednesday Both the countries agreed to expand PTA and go for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between them, the official said.

Both sides discussed 20 tariff lines and Indonesia agreed to give unilateral concession on major exports from Pakistan including zero percent tariff on tobacco, textile fabric, rice, ethanol, Citrus (Kinnow), woven fabric, t-shirts, apparel and mangoes during renegotiation on PTA, he said.

Concession on 20 tariff lines was major success of Pakistan and now Pakistani citrus and mangoes exports to Indonesia will increase countrys trade as compare with previous years.

The official said before PTA, Indonesia granted only two months for export of Pakistan's Citrus and mangoes but now after renegotiation, Pakistan can export these fruits to Indonesia for the whole year and any time-limit was removed.

He said the Indonesia-Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) was signed in February 2012. He said Pakistan wants to initiate negotiation with Pacific and South East Asian nations on proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) for enhancing the multilateral trade and competitiveness in country's trade.

Countries including Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines in Pacific region also in list for starting dialogue on Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) leading towards FTA for promoting trade liberalization, he said.
Federal Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar Wednesday launched services under Prime Minister's National Health Program in district Khushab in a ceremony attended by local public representatives and a large number of people

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Federal Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar Wednesday launched services under Prime Minister's National Health Program in district Khushab in a ceremony attended by local public representatives and a large number of people.

Saira Afzal Tarar distributed health cards to the deserving families enrolled under the program. Speaking on the occasion, she said the program launched in Khushab would benefit 85,000 families of the district who were poorest of the poor.

They will be able to get free of cost quality health-care from both public and private hospitals that have been empanelled by the program. She said it was the vision of her leader Nawaz Sharif to ensure that no poor was deprived of quality health-care due to lack of resources.

"We believe in performance alone and the largest ever health program providing best services free of cost to the poor speaks for itself. With the support of the people who voted us into office, we have taken major strides in health, energy, security and infrastructure with projects completed in record time with no precedent in the last 70 years." "While others were indulging in politics of hatred, sloganeering and intrigues, we were busy resolving the most critical issues of energy, security, health and infrastructure that directly impact the lives and welfare of the people." She said as of 31st January 2018 more than 1,655,657 families have been enrolled in the Prime Minister's National Health Program and more than 56,000 families have been treated for various illnesses from 125 empaneled hospitals across Pakistan.

There is also an option of inter district portability in the program which enables the enrolled beneficiaries and families to access quality indoor hospital services from any empaneled hospital, both in public and private sector.

In Prime Minister's National Health Program, each enrolled family will be ensured upto Rs 50,000 per year for secondary care treatment and up to Rs 250,000 per year for priority care treatment.

Admitted patients who have consumed their limits will be provided with additional limits by Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal. This excess limit coverage will also be applicable on obstetric patients and patients in emergencies.

A very stringent monitoring system through Central Management Information System (CMIS) is being used to monitor the program activities in real time. The system has been developed in collaboration with NADRA and is being used for quick decision making with real time implementation.

The program also enjoys a high level of client satisfaction rate of more than 94%. This satisfaction rate has been assessed by NADRA as a third party monitor. Call center of NADRA randomly calls discharged patients / beneficiary and gets their feedback on specially designed questionnaire to assess their satisfaction from program services.

Due to these rigorous in-built monitoring systems the Prime Minister's National Health Program has also been lauded by different international bodies included World Health Organization and Asian Development Bank.
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Pakistan Tuesday proposed that the UN Security Council periodically discuss implementation of its resolutions, especially those on longstanding disputes like Jammu and Kashmir, while stressing the need for enhancing the efficiency, effectiveness and transparency in the 15-member body's work.

"Failure to enforce its own resolutions undercuts not just the Security Council's standing in the world, but the UN's as well," Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said, emphasizing that the Council implement its decisions non-selectively to uphold its credibility.

"Nothing undermines the credibility of the Council more than "selective" implementation of its resolutions," she said in a debate on the 'Working Methods of the Security Council on Tuesday. In her remarks, Ambassador Lodhi also said the Council's enhanced engagement with the wider United Nations membership was critical, as everyone had a stake in the maintenance of international peace and security.

The number and proportion of open meetings must be increased, while the meaningful participation of States with a legitimate stake in the Council's deliberations should be ensured throughout the decision making process, she said.

That was especially true for troop- and police contributing countries, Pakistan among the consistent and leading ones, she added.

The Security Council should also be more transparent and balanced in the work of its subsidiary organs, while elected members should have a more equitable representation on them and play a bigger role as penholders.

The Pakistani envoy suggested that the Council should rely more on diplomacy and the pacific settlement of disputes instead of enforcement measures (Chapter-VII) provided in the UN Charter. "Increasing reliance on Chapter VII can lead to impasse and at times a diminished focus on diplomacy, which is not desirable,"Ambassador Lodhi said, adding better utilization of regional and sub-regional organizations in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter would also help.

"The best way to enhance the representative and democratic character of the Council is to reinforce the norms of accountability and transparency" the Pakistani envoy said. APP/ift
(@rukhshanmir)

WASHINGTON, Feb.7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Federal Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal Wednesday paid tributes to the valiant struggle by the Kashmiri people and said that the third generation of Kashmiris had shown their determination to get their right to self-determination.

"I is a war of oppressor and oppressed and InshaAllah, Kashmiris will prevail," he said in his keynote address at a function held at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington to express solidarity with the Kashmiri people in their struggle for self-determination.

"We should not be discouraged by India's state terrorism and atrocities caused by its occupied forces for the last seventy years." The Minister said that Pakistan would continue to support Kashmiris in their struggle for self-determination.

He paid tributes to the sacrifice of thousands of innocent Kashmiris who had lost their lives at the hands of the Indian occupation forces. "Pakistan has always provided moral, diplomatic and political support to the Kashmiri brothers and sisters and will continue to urge the international community to force India to stop its barbaric occupation of Kashmir," he added.

Iqbal asked Pakistani Americans to contribute to the development of Pakistan and work to strengthen their motherland as a strong Pakistan will be in a better position to negotiate on the issue of self -determination of Kashmiris as agreed by both India and Pakistan and translated into two UN Security Council resolutions.

On the plight of Muslims, the world over, the Minister said that it was an era of information and technology. "Once Muslims were pioneer in the field of Chemistry, Algebra, Mathematics, Medicine and other sciences but today we lack in these fields that is one factor, Muslims are weak in comity of nations.

Muslims have to achieve its past status again." In his remarks, Ambassador Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry highlighted that the Jammu and Kashmir dispute remained the most significant issue that must be resolved for achieving durable peace in South Asia.

He lauded the courage of the Kashmiri people, who had endured the blatant human rights violations perpetrated by the occupying Indian forces in the Kashmir valley in the last seven decades. The Ambassador reiterated Pakistan's commitment to the peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions and according to aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

Ms. Iman Malik, a scholar at the United States Institute of Peace also spoke on the occasion. A special song was screened at the event that portrayed the spirit of courage, resilience and determination of the Kashmiri people in the face of adversity. Prominent members of the Pakistani American and Kashmiri diaspora attended the event. APP/zh
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Police in their crackdown against anti-social elements have arrested 14 lawbreakers including six kite sellers besides recovering 4440 grams charras, 12 bottles of liquor, a 30 bore pistol with four rounds, a 32 bore revolver with three rounds, 1335 kites and 40 kite flying string rolls from their possession

RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Police in their crackdown against anti-social elements have arrested 14 lawbreakers including six kite sellers besides recovering 4440 grams charras, 12 bottles of liquor, a 30 bore pistol with four rounds, a 32 bore revolver with three rounds, 1335 kites and 40 kite flying string rolls from their possession.

According to a police spokesman, Taxila police held Kaleem Haider for having 1300 grams charras while Dilawar for possessing 1360 grams charras. Rattaamral police recovered 1300 grams charras from Hamza.

Kahuta police rounded up Haider for carrying 12 bottles of liquor. Other accused were sent behind the bars for possessing illegal weapons and drugs. Rawalpindi Police on the directive of City Police Officer Israr Ahmed Khan Abbasi conducted raids and booked six kite sellers besides recovering 1335 kites and 40 kite flying string rolls.

Morgah, Gunjmandi, Rattamral, Waris Khan and Sadiqabad police netted Babar, Ethasham, Asad ullah, Hassan, Wajid and Tamoor for having 30, 230, 170, 105, 700 and 100 kites respectively and also recovered string rolls.
The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has apprehended 228 electricity thieves from various circles of the company in raids in January during its ongoing'drive'against power pilferers

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :The Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has apprehended 228 electricity thieves from various circles of the company in raids in January during its ongoing'drive'against power pilferers.

The spokesman told APP here on Wednesday that 41 culprits were held red handed from Islamabad, 43 from Rawalpindi, 71 from Attock, 29 from Jhelum and 44 from Chakwal circles. They were found involved in power theft through direct line (Kunda System) and by broken security strip of the meter, he added.

He said FIRs had been lodged against power thieves under the electricity (Amendment) Act.
As many as overall 97.5 per cent work has already been completed on the strategically important 969 MW Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project and its wet testing will be carried out in March

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :As many as overall 97.5 per cent work has already been completed on the strategically important 969 MW Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project and its wet testing will be carried out in March.

This was stated by Neelum-Jhelum Hydropower Project Chief Executive Officer Brig (R) Muhammad Zareen while taking to APP. He said 100 per cent concrete work of the project had already been completed besides 98 per cent dry test of the equipments.

The CEO said that National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) would hand over 500 kV transmission line on February 11-12 after which feed back of switch- yard would be assessed. Muhammad Zareen said that water filling (pressurization) of its water way system comprising 51.5-kilometer long tunnels has also been commenced in January.

He said the project was fast heading towards completion and most of the works ' critical in nature ' had been successfully completed. Construction of the weir (dam) of the project, water way system, installation of electrical and mechanical equipments including turbines, generators and transformers in the power house and the switch-yard and dry-testing of these equipments had already been completed, he said.

Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project is being constructed on river Neelum in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The project is an engineering marvel with 90 percent of the project being underground in the high mountain areas.

It is worth mentioning that Neelum Jhelum Hydropower Project is a component of least-cost energy generation plan, being implemented by WAPDA on priority. It has four generating units, each of them having a capacity of 242.25 MW.

The first unit will start electricity generation in March this year, followed by the second third and fourth units at one month interval respectively. The project will provide about five billion of low-cost and environment-friendly electricity to the national grid every year. Annual benefits of the project have been estimated at Rs 50 billion.
An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday extended physical remand of accused Imran for another two days in Zainab murder case

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Wednesday extended physical remand of accused Imran for another two days in Zainab murder case. Earlier, the police produced the accused before ATC-I Judge Sheikh Sajjad Ahmad on expiry of 14-day physical remand, amid strict security in a special vehicle.

To a court query, the investigation officer submitted that the investigation was being carried out from the accused and various evidence had been collected. However, the court was requested to extend the remand for two days to finalise the investigation.

At this, the court extended the remand for another two days and directed to produce the accused on expiry of the remand term.

It is pertinent to mention here that the court had granted three days physical remand of the accused in seven other rape and murder cases of children in Kasur, on February 6, after police claimed that suspect's DNA also matched with the samples recovered from the crime scenes in the said cases.

Earlier on January 24, the court handed over the accused Imran to police on a 14-day physical remand in Zainab murder case. Minor Zainab was kidnapped on January 4 from near her aunt's house in Kasur. Her body was discovered five days later from a garbage heap. The post-mortem report revealed that she had been raped and murdered.
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Provincial secretary Forests, wildlife and fisheries, Mian Waheed ud Din has said that like Chasma Barrage biodiversity hatchery work will soon be started at biodiversity hatchery Trimmu Barrag for which Rs 160 million would be spent on it

MIANWALI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Provincial secretary Forests, wildlife and fisheries, Mian Waheed ud Din has said that like Chasma Barrage biodiversity hatchery work will soon be started at biodiversity hatchery Trimmu Barrag for which Rs 160 million would be spent on it.

During his visit to monitor the fish stocking at Chasma biodiversity hatchery, he said that such projects were aimed at judicious fish conservation, management and development of Barrages reservoir for better exploitation and utilization of such large fisheries resource.

He said that objective of such hatcheries were to conduct scientific studies/surveys of fish resources and preparation and implementation of the fisheries management plan as well as the fisherman community and people engaged in fisheries business would directly be benefited.

The Secretary was briefed that stocking of over 20000 small fishes had been completed in Chashma barrage. He expressed satisfaction over the functioning of Chasma hatchery.
The Livestock Department, Government of Punjab is going to plant 70,000 new kikar (acacia) plants and trees on 600 acres of land in Cholistan desert of Bahawalpur to cater need of 0.7 million livestock of the desert area

BAHAWALPUR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :The Livestock Department, Government of Punjab is going to plant 70,000 new kikar (acacia) plants and trees on 600 acres of land in Cholistan desert of Bahawalpur to cater need of 0.7 million livestock of the desert area.

There is also plan to plant medicinal herbs imported from China, Europe, USA and Africa in Cholistan.  Director Livestock Cholistan, Ali Raza Abbasi said that Cholistan desert spread over land area of three districts of Bahawalpur division including Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar and Rahimyar Khan had 1.4 million livestock including camels, cows, sheep, goats and buffaloes.

Various species of wildlife animals including black deer, cheetal deer, neel cow, rabbit and others have also been residing in Cholistan desert. He said that present self-grow grass and bushes catered need of 0.7 million livestock in Cholistan desert.

"The Livestock Department has planned to plant 70,000 species of US and local kikar on 600 acres of land in different portions of the desert to cater need of remaining 0.7 million livestock out of total 1.4 million total livestock," he said.

He said that on experience basis, the Livestock Department Cholistan planted 4500 kikar trees of US and local species in areas of Cholistan including Noorsar Balochaan, Moj Garh, Jano Farm, Jam Garh, Matawan and others, adding that the process gave fruitful results.

"Now, we have been launching campaign to plant 70,000 plants and trees on 600 acres of land in Cholistan desert," he said. He added that some species of kikar (acacia) had been imported from abroad.

He said that kikar plant also grew in the areas which received lesser rains. Meanwhile, some other officials sources told APP that the government was going to allocate 27,000 acres of land in Cholistan for a mega project, under which different medicinal species of herbs and plants imported from China, Europe, USA, Africa and other countries would be planted which later would be exported to rest of the world for their use in medicines manufacturing.

They said that wildlife species of China and other countries would also be brought and breed on the acquired 27,000 acres of land of Cholistan desert. A local Hakeem told APP scribe that kikar which was already available in Cholistan desert and other areas of Bahawalpur not only catered need of livestock but its seeds which called as kikar phallian in local language were used in several medicines and cured diseases.
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Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated six state-of-the-art health projects, completed at a cost of Rs 5.5 billion in Multan on Wednesday to provide modern healthcare facilities to the people of South Punjab

MULTAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Chief Minister (CM) Shehbaz Sharif inaugurated six state-of-the-art health projects, completed at a cost of Rs 5.5 billion in Multan on Wednesday to provide modern healthcare facilities to the people of South Punjab.

CM opened Shehbaz Sharif Hospital completed at a cost of Rs 410 million, extension of Children Hospital completed at a cost of Rs 1.93 billion, Pak-Italian Burn Unit (Rs 878.6 million), Drug Testing Laboratory (Rs 410 million), regional blood centre (Rs 320 million), and Multan Institute of Kidney Diseases (MIKD) completed at a cost of Rs 1.44 billion.

The Chief Minister took notice of low number of dialysis machines at the MIKD and announced that existing number of 40 machines would be increased up to 150 soon. He ordered officials concerned to purchase the dialysis machines immediately.

The dialysis machines would be imported in case these were not available in Pakistan, he added. He said that the Children Hospital matches the standards of the hospitals in Europe. Shehbaz took serious notice of non-availability of Paediatrics Surgeon for cardiac diseases and ordered quarters concerned to arrange a paediatrics cardiac surgeon within two weeks for the Children Hospital or else he himself would induct a surgeon if the matter lingered on to the third week.

He said that world's best machinery and medical equipment has been made available at the Children Hospital. Shahbaz said, officials have informed him that kidney transplantation surgeries would commence from April 2018 at MIKD.

He, however, added that he believes that the kidney transplant facility should be operational well before April and ordered MIKD administration to bring expert doctors from Europe. He said that CT-Scan machines operate round the clock in all the districts of Punjab and vowed to introduce CT-Scan machines at all the districts of Pakistan if voted to power in next general elections.

Shehbaz said that the culture of keeping health equipment and machines lying non-functional in hospitals' stores has been wiped out from across Punjab. He announced to lay the foundation of Nishtar-2 Hospital within two months and promised to complete it within a year if voted to power in the next general elections.

He said that the Drug Testing Laboratory he inaugurated today was the best in Pakistan. Chief Minister spent a busy day in Multan and visited Shahbaz Sharif Hospital, Children Hospital, Burn Unit, Drug Testing Laboratory, Regional Blood Centre and Multan Institute of Kidney Diseases.
On the directives of Deputy Commissioner (DC), Kohat Khalid Ilyas, a joint team of the officers of the district administration and Irrigation Department launched operation against encroachments established on the irrigation properties at Kaghazi area

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :On the directives of Deputy Commissioner (DC), Kohat Khalid Ilyas, a joint team of the officers of the district administration and Irrigation Department launched operation against encroachments established on the irrigation properties at Kaghazi area.

During the operation, the team continued operation for the removal of 30 years old encroachments established on both banks of 110 feet wide canal from Tanda Dam. However, first day of the phase 2 only 68 kanal encroached land was retrieved from the occupation of some influential persons.

In the residential part the encroachments were made up to 15 feet while in 40 feet land of orchards were also encroached. The encroachments were removed through excavator. Talking to media, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Kohat, Najibullah said that the population instead of resistance is fully cooperating with the administration and removing their encroachments voluntarily.

He said the administration has conducted successful anti-encroachment operation in the area considered as no go areas and record public property has been retrieved.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Engr. Iqbal Zafar Jhagra Wednesday approved a number of projects worth to a total of Rs. three billion in various sectors of socio-economic uplift in FATA

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor, Engr. Iqbal Zafar Jhagra Wednesday approved a number of projects worth to a total of Rs. three billion in various sectors of socio-economic uplift in FATA.

He directed the concerned authorities to complete all the schemes within the given budget and stipulated time. He was presiding over the second meeting of the FATA Development Committee held at Governor's House, Peshawar.

Additional Chief Secretary, Sikandar Qayyum, secretary of social sectors, planning and development, Asghar Qureshi; Principal Secretary to Governor, Munir Azam and the other concerned senior officials of the FATA Secretariat attended the meeting.

The Governor was briefed in detail on pace of progress of various developmental projects in FATA. It was particularly mentioned that Rs.1302.977 million have been incurred on the schemes which were announced by the Governor under the Education Emergency plan.

Such schemes also includes free of cost provision of text books to the students of first to 12th class; sponsorship extended to deserving students and construction of the Cadet College, Wana.

The Governor while speaking on this occasion also directed Secretary Education to further streamline the monitoring system, improve the output of the examination results and to make more inputs to the education policy in line with the ongoing FATA merger initiatives.

Similarly an amount of Rs.981.064 million were approved for implementation on construction schemes of roads and bridges as well as various rehabilitation projects in the communication sector whereas another amount of Rs.311.110 million were sanctioned to materialize various schemes of Public Health Engineering and other water supply projects.

The Committee also approved an amount of Rs.397.699 million to implement various schemes of tourism attraction in FATA. While stressing the importance of maintaining transparency in implementation process of all the projects, the Governor further asked the concerned authorities to ensure timely completion of the projects and keep him up-dated on pace of progress of each project on monthly basis.
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Pakistan Muslim League-N MNA, Mian Imtiaz Ahmed has said that the government would complete its tenure despite the fact that political rivals were involved in hatching conspiracies against it

BAHAWALPUR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Pakistan Muslim League-N MNA, Mian Imtiaz Ahmed has said that the government would complete its tenure despite the fact that political rivals were involved in hatching conspiracies against it.

In a press release issued here, he said that political rival were involved in hatching conspiracies against PML-N government and added that but the government would complete its constitutional period.

He said that the PML-N government executed record mega development projects in the country. 'PML-N will clean sweep in upcoming general elections 2018 as the party had won hearts of masses by carrying out record development in the country,' he said.

He said that the government paid special attention towards infrastructure related to education, health and communication sectors. 'Practical measures have been taken to provide facilities to people at their doorsteps,' he said.
Pakistani education activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday requested the top civilian and military brass to take notice of the demands of people of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who have been staging a sit-in in Islamabad

LONDON, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) Pakistani education activist and Nobel Peace prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday requested the top civilian and military brass to take notice of the demands of people of FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who have been staging a sit-in in Islamabad.

"I express my solidarity with the ongoing peaceful IslamabadSitin," said Malala, who was appointed the UN Messenger of Peace by the body's Secretary-General earlier this year. Malala, 20, also appealed to "the Prime Minister, the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take immediate notice of the genuine demands of the people of FATA and Pukhtoonkhwa".
ISLAMABAD, Feb 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Feb, 2018 ) :Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif Wednesday said peace in Afghanistan was in favor of both the countries and that Pakistan had presented rendered sacrifices in war against terror.

Talking to a private news channel, he said Pakistan was ready to provide political assistance to Afghanistan for establishing peace. The minister said Pakistan armed forces had eliminated terrorists from the country and the other side should also do its work in that regard.

He said the U.

S. president Donald Trump should act against terrorists in Afghanistan instead of mere rhetoric. Replying to a question, he said his matter of Iqama was in the court and he would accept the court decision in this regard.

Khawaja Asif said former president and Co -Chairman of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Asif Ali Zardari had made his party Sindh specific and he was failed to nab the killers of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto during his five years of government. He said people would decide in 2018 elections that who would rule the country.
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The Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, conducted crackdowns in various parts of the metropolis and arrested an alleged extortionist and two drug peddlers

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :The Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, conducted crackdowns in various parts of the metropolis and arrested an alleged extortionist and two drug peddlers.

According to a statement on Wednesday, the Rangers in its first crackdown in Saoodabad area of Malir apprehended an accused identified as Inam Rasul alias Javid.

The accused was allegedly involved in various crimes including collection of extortion money from a Meat Market.

In another action, the Rangers arrested two alleged criminals from Lyari who were identified as Ishtiaq and Siraj. The accused were involved in drug selling in the aforesaid area. The Rangers recovered arms, ammunition and narcotics from their possession. Later, the accused were handed over to the police for further legal action.
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ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Feb, 2018 ) :The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned hearing of the case regarding media commission report till February 20. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan heard the case.

During the course of proceedings, the chief justice remarked that access to information was basic right of citizens. He remarked if foreign funding proved in any case, the court would issue direction to cancel the license.

There was a need to regulate advertising issued by the government, he added. During the hearing, the chief justice also took notice of non payment of salaries to media workers and directed the media houses' owners to submit details regarding payment of salaries to employees in 10 days.

The chief justice took notice on the application moved by Tayyab Baloch President Press Association of Supreme Court (PAS) during proceedings of media commission report case.

The court also directed the media houses owners to pay salaries to employees in ten days.

The court also sought reasons for delay in payment of salaries. President PAS Tayyab Baloch informed the court that media workers have to work without salaries for months. He said no service structure existed in electronic media houses.

A media worker had no job security as owners terminate employees without issuing prior notice, he added. Tayyab Baloch said cameras of media houses were insured but there was no insurance policy for media workers.

He said the wage board award existed for newspaper employees but there was no wage board for electronic media employees. He pleaded the court to issue direction to media house owners for payment of salaries.
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A Libyan commander wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges announced he has handed himself in to the allied forces of strongman Khalifa Haftar

Benghazi, Libya,(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :A Libyan commander wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges announced he has handed himself in to the allied forces of strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Mahmoud al-Werfalli -- who commands the Benghazi-based Al-Saiqa Brigade loyal to Haftar -- has been under an arrest warrant for the past six months over the cold-blooded executions of at least 33 people in 2016 and 2017.

Calls for Werfalli to face justice have grown since he was accused of personally shooting dead some 10 jihadist prisoners last month at the scene of a deadly bomb attack on a mosque in Benghazi, Libya's second city.

In a video posted on Facebook overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, the commander announced "I am handing myself in to military police" under the command of Haftar, whose forces dominate the east of the country.

The claim could not be independently verified. In the footage Werfalli insisted on his "innocence" and justified the executions as "sentences" against jihadist "killers".

This is not the first time that Werfalli has reportedly been held by Haftar's forces.

When his arrest warrant was issued in August 2017 Haftar's forces insisted he was in their custody and would face a military trial. The United Nations in late January reiterated its demand for "the handing over of Mahmoud al-Werfalli immediately to the ICC in The Hague" after the latest reported killings in Benghazi.

The UN said it had documented "at least five similar cases, in 2017 alone, carried out or ordered by Werfalli". Libya has been mired in chaos and violence since longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi was ousted and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

A UN-backed unity government based in the capital Tripoli has struggled to assert its authority outside western Libya. Haftar supports a rival administration based in the east. The UN is currently trying to negotiate an end to the current political turmoil by agreeing parliamentary and presidential elections later this year, but there is deep scepticism over whether they will take place.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 14th Olympiad of Persian Language and Literature held at Institute of Asia and Africa of the Moscow State University Tuesday, Sanaei said the Olympiad held in Moscow on yearly basis has turned into a good tradition attracting students of Persian language and literature from various parts of Russi

MOSCOW, F(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 14th Olympiad of Persian Language and Literature held at Institute of Asia and Africa of the Moscow State University Tuesday, Sanaei said the Olympiad held in Moscow on yearly basis has turned into a good tradition attracting students of Persian language and literature from various parts of Russia.

The Iranian envoy also expressed hope that Iranology and education of Persian language and literature in Russia would further promote in parallel with Tehran-Moscow ties.

Elsewhere in his speech, he referred to Tehran-Moscow cooperation at mutual, regional and international levels, noting that the relations between the two countries are the highest level in the past 500 years to an extent that the Presidents of the two countries meet with each other twice a year.

He said cooperation between the two countries have produced positive results in various arenas. At the end of the ceremony, top students in various fields of Persian grammar, comprehension, reading and writing were introduced and awarded.
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Baghdad, Feb 6 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Tuesday confirmed a fall in the number of US-led coalition forces in the country but stressed the ongoing need for air support.

Abadi told a cabinet meeting that "talks have been going on for the past year to gradually reduce the number of the (coalition) forces" from the current figure of roughly 10,000. The US-led coalition said on Monday it was "adjusting" its force levels in Iraq downwards as it shifts away from combat operations against the Islamic State group.

It gave no details but made clear the focus would now be on consolidating military gains against IS after more than three years of fighting in Iraq and Syria. The Iraqi prime minister said the threat from IS was not over.

"There is still a danger inside Syrian territory.

We control the borders, but there could be a real danger," said Abadi. "We need significant air cover to monitor the desert and terrorist movements.

We need efforts from the coalition and... want to do a fully successful job," he said. In December, Iraq declared victory against IS, more than three years after the extremist group seized a third of its territory and swathes of neighbouring Syria, declaring a "caliphate" ruling over millions of people.

Formed in October 2014, the US-led coalition brought together 50 countries in the fight against the jihadist group. It now includes 74 countries and works with NATO and Interpol. The United States deployed about 2,000 soldiers in Syria and more than 5,000 in Iraq. At the end of November, it announced the withdrawal of 400 Marines from Syria.
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Madrid, Feb 7 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Feb, 2018 ) :About 20 people stormed a hospital in southern Spain and freed a suspected drug trafficker who had been injured in a motorcycle crash as he tried to escape arrest, officials said Wednesday.

The two policemen who were guarding the suspect at the hospital in La Linea de la Concepcion did not use their guns "to prevent the situation from turning into a drama", the town hall of La Lina said in a statement.

The suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment on Tuesday after he was injured during a police chase. But shortly after he arrived at the hospital about 20 people stormed the building, grabbed him and fled in several cars, the statement added.

La Linea mayor Juan Franco regularly complains of rampant drug trafficking in the city of around 65,000 people which is on the border with Gibraltar, the disputed British territory in Spain's southern tip.

"The enemy is very strong and we will have to think about the adoption of more measures" to fight drug traffickers, he told a news conference on Wednesday. During an interview with AFP last year he said there was a feeling of "total impunity" in the city as drug traffickers operate almost openly and do not hesitate to challenge police, who complain they are under-equipped.

Spain's proximity to Morocco, a key source of cannabis, and its close ties with former colonies in Latin America, a major cocaine producing region, have made it an important gateway for international drug dealers.
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Ankara and Dhaka experience the "best" period in their relations, Bangladeshi ambassador to Turkey Allama Siddiki said

ISTANBUL,(APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Ankara and Dhaka experience the "best" period in their relations, Bangladeshi ambassador to Turkey Allama Siddiki said. "When you look at the relations between the countries from past to present, we experience the best period," Siddiki told Anadolu Agency.

"We have multifaceted relations with Turkey. Our relations have improved in many areas," Siddiki said. He added a formal process had started to enhance bilateral relations in the areas of economy, trade, tourism, education and defense.

According to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK), the bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Bangladesh was nearly $1 billion in 2017. Siddiki said Bangladesh holds Turkey in high esteem.

"The word 'Turkey' is well known in Bangladesh. There is reverence and love for Turkey and Turkish people. We like Turkish people," he added. Siddiki said they took advantage of this brotherhood between the two countries in the areas of trade, investment and tourism.
Baghdad, Feb 7 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Feb, 2018 ) :The United Nations launched an appeal Wednesday for $17 million to rebuild essential health facilities for children in Iraq after a devastating three-year battle to expel the Islamic State group.

The UN children's fund, UNICEF, said next week's reconstruction conference for Iraq to be staged in Kuwait, with Baghdad estimating the overall cost at $100 billion, would be "a unique opportunity...

to put children at the heart" of the process. "The state of Iraq's healthcare system is alarming," Peter Hawkins, UNICEF representative in Iraq, said in a statement after a visit to the northern city of Mosul which was recaptured last July.

"For pregnant women, newborn babies, and children, preventable and treatable conditions can quickly escalate into a matter of life and death," he said. Appealing for $17 million to help rebuild health facilities in Iraq, UNICEF said 750,000 children in the Mosul region, the worst affected in the battle against IS jihadists, were "struggling to access basic health services".

"While violence has subsided, less than 10 percent of health facilities in Nineveh governorate (of which Mosul is the capital) are functioning at full capacity. Those that are operational are stretched to breaking point," it said.
Vous etes confrontes a une infestation par la puce, la punaise de lit ? Voici plusieurs actions qui sont a mettre en uvre pour faire []
United Nations, United States, Feb 7 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Feb, 2018 ) :The UN Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting on Thursday to discuss an appeal from UN aid officials for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria, diplomats said.

Sweden and Kuwait requested the meeting of the top UN body on Wednesday as Syrian government forces continued to shell rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, killing scores in some of the worst bloodshed in years.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Panos Moumtzis, has called for a month-long ceasefire to allow aid convoys to reach civilians in Eastern Ghouta. "We are particularly concerned about attacks against civilians and civilian objects, such as hospitals.

These attacks further compound civilian suffering, and are leading to large numbers of new displacements," said Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog.

Senior UN aid official Ursula Mueller told the council last month that the Syrian government blocked all aid convoys to besieged areas in January.

"There has been no progress on cross-line humanitarian access for the UN and its partners to besieged and hard to reach areas," said the Swedish ambassador. "A humanitarian ceasefire would enable the delivery of life-saving assistance and the evacuation of hundreds of critically ill patients urgently needing medical treatment" in Eastern Ghouta, he said.

More than 13.1 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid including 6.1 million who have been displaced within the country.
Pakistan has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to implement its own resolutions on Kashmir

ISLAMABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Pakistan has called on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to implement its own resolutions on Kashmir. Speaking in the debate on the Working Methods of the Security Council, Pakistan's Ambassador to UN, Maleeha Lodhi said 'The Council should periodically review implementation of its resolutions, especially on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute', said a message received here on Wednesday.

'Selective' implementation of its resolutions, she stressed, undermines the credibility of the Council. 'Failure to enforce its own resolutions undercuts not just the Council's standing in the world, but the UN's as well', she stated.

Noting that all member states have a stake in the maintenance of international peace and security, the Pakistani envoy highlighted the need for enhanced engagement of the Council with the wider UN membership.

'The number and proportion of open meetings of the Council must therefore be increased', she added. Ambassador Lodhi also called for ensuring meaningful participation of states with a legitimate stake in the Council's deliberations throughout the decision-making process.

This, she said, was especially true for troop and police contributing countries, Pakistan being among the consistent and leading ones. 'It is essential that the Council's effective partnership with Troops Contributing Countries (TCCs) is extended beyond the mere operational aspects of a mandate, and include decision-making, policy formulation and mandate formation as well', she added.

The Council, she said, should be more transparent and balanced in the working of its subsidiary organs. Elected members, she emphasised, should have a more equitable representation on these organs and they should also play a bigger role as 'penholders' on issues on the Council's agenda.

Ambassador Lodhi also urged the Council to rely more on the instrument of diplomacy and pacific settlement of disputes than on coercive measures. 'Increasing reliance on Chapter VII can lead to impasse and at times a diminished focus on diplomacy, which is not desirable', she added.

She said that before mandating actions under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Security Council should ensure that all recourse to peaceful means have been exhausted, and that it is a measure of last resort.

Expressing the necessity to augment openness and transparency in the Council's working, Ambassador Lodhi said that over the years, elected members of the Council have led the charge in bringing improvements to its working methods.

'There is in fact, an inextricable link between the nature of membership of the Council and the need felt to make the Council more open and transparent. This link is called 'Accountability', she added.

She concluded by asserting that the best way to enhance the democratic and representative character of the Council was to reinforce the norm of accountability, and not to support any actions that threaten to undermine or reverse these ideals.
(@FahadShabbir)

Bogota, Feb 7 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Feb, 2018 ) :Washington's top diplomat wrapped up a trip through Latin America on Tuesday buoyed by support for the US approach to Venezuela but with a warning against backsliding in the drug war.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's first official foray to the region began badly last week, when his arrival in Mexico was overshadowed by President Donald Trump's latest attack on US allies. But as he prepared to leave Colombia on Tuesday after six days of visits to Mexico, Argentina and Peru, he had conducted what he described as positive and successful meetings with top leaders.

Latin America's democracies support Washington's opposition to the Venezuelan regime of Nicolas Maduro, whom they accuse of subverting the constitution to cling to power illegitimately. And the countries Tillerson visited -- whatever Trump may have said about them "laughing at" Washington while pocketing US aid -- renewed their pledges of support to fight drug trafficking.

"I don't think that President Trump is referring to Colombia, because Colombia is not laughing at the US," President Juan Manuel Santos said at a joint news conference with Tillerson. "There would be no supply if there's no demand and no demand if not for supply, and Colombia does not laugh at this very important issue because it's a matter of national security," Santos said.

"We have lost our best leaders, journalists, judges, policemen in this war against drugs." Santos said no country had suffered more than Colombia during a four-decade war on drugs, which in his country also fed and was fed by civil conflict with leftist rebels.

- Cartel violence - If Tillerson has had any more success than Trump, with his threats and harsh criticism, in winning over foreign leaders, it may be because he accepts that Washington shares responsibility.

In Colombia, he agreed with Santos that there would be no supply of drugs without the demand of the US market, and in Mexico he acknowledged that smuggled US guns fuel cartel violence. But while he pushed for and welcomed cooperation, he also left behind a note of caution, warning that as Colombia at last emerges from civil war, its production of cocaine is soaring.

"One of the things that's important about this relationship is that we are so close, we can speak openly and frankly about things of concern," Tillerson said, standing alongside Santos. "The rapid increase in cultivation was an intended consequence of the peace and -- as the president has described it -- now it's now the long process of reversing those trends." Tillerson would not be drawn on Trump's threat to cut aid if countries fail to halt the northward flow of drugs, but he warned "our expectation is that Colombia will make significant progress." The other main theme of Tillerson's trip was the looming catastrophe in Venezuela, where Maduro is pressing ahead with plans to seek re-election under an electoral system controlled by his regime.

Earlier on Tuesday, Tillerson had met President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru, the country that helped set up the Lima Group of like-minded American allies seeking a democratic solution in Venezuela.

The country is gripped by political strife and faces economic catastrophe. More than half a million people have already fled to Colombia, increasing the pressure on its post-war recovery. - 'Illegitimate' poll - Tillerson thanked Peru for its leadership and offered more support in the runup to this year's Summit of the the Americas, which Kuczynski will host in April on the theme of fighting corruption.

The US envoy received strong political backing during the trip for Washington's tough stance on Venezuela. All the capitals he visited have vowed not to recognize Maduro's "illegitimate" poll. But discussion will continue on the idea of a US embargo on Venezuelan oil exports.

This would heap huge pressure on the regime, but might trigger a destabilizing total economic collapse. Tillerson for his part acknowledged that more thought would have to go on how such a measure would affect the long-suffering Venezuelan people -- and also US refineries reliant on Venezuelan exports.

On Wednesday, Tillerson will stop off in Jamaica on his way back to Washington, for talks on how the Caribbean region could cope if its subsidized flow of oil from Venezuela comes to a halt.


Andres Bistro and Bar, a neighborhood bistro with a French cuisine, is offering a 3 course dinner and dessert. Choices include a Caesar Salad or Butternut Squash soup in the first course; Seared Jumbo Divet Scallop or Potato Gnocchi for the second course; and 3 entree options: Golden Trout Amandine, Coq au Vin, Prime Flat Iron Steak Frites and signature desserts featuring Chocolate Walnut Gateau and Raspberry Cheesecake.

$70 per person or add $40 per person for a custom wine pairing. Reservations are encouraged. Hours on Valentines Day are 3pm-10pm.

Brunch is also every Saturday and Sunday, 10-3pm with bottomless mimosas, housemade punch and fragile rose. Happy hour is daily, 3pm -close. Every day is wine Wednesday and buy one bottle and get the second bottle for 1/2 off (3pm- close).

Andre Rochats legacy continues for a brand-new generation of food lovers. Owned and operated by Stacked Hospitality, the newest location returns Andre to his roots by becoming his first neighborhood restaurant opening since the debut of his eponymous, groundbreaking restaurant in 1980 in Downtown Las Vegas. Andres Bistro & Bar blends French Bistro and American Tavern cuisine for dinner, happy hour and weekend brunchall served in an intimate, neighborhood setting.

Were honored to be the keepers of Andres legacy as we preserve the high standards he set while entering into a new chapter for our organization, says Joseph Marsco, managing partner, Stacked Hospitality. Guests will love the inviting, neighborhood ambiance and incredible food at great price points. Meanwhile, guests who have loved Andres cuisine through the years will immediately recognize our nods to classic Andres dishes served with new and innovative twists.
Cambodias top police officer has said that the dissolution of the countrys main opposition party was a major success for the force last year.

Neth Savoeun, who is married to Prime Minister Hun Sens niece, told an annual security conference on Tuesday that the police had served as the vanguard of the governments crackdown on dissent.

He said the police had played a crucial role in gathering and analyzing evidence against the countrys main opposition party, which was dissolved in a Supreme Court ruling late last year.

We have served the Supreme Court to search and gather documents and evidence to end the opposition attempt at toppling the government through a color revolution, which is against democracy in Cambodia, he said.

He added that the police would continue to work to prevent any future attempts to overthrow Hun Sens regime.

We will be investigating and gathering information to prevent any new attempt that could destroy peace, unity, within the nation, especially in this national election year, he said.

Cambodians are due to go to the polls later this year in what is set to be a tense general election with no viable opposition party to vote for.

Also speaking at the ceremony with Savoeun, Sar Kheng, the interior minister, ordered the police to monitor the activities of the Cambodia National Rescue Movement, an offshoot of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, formed by a former CNRP president, Sam Rainsy, and labeled a terrorist organization by the leadership of the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party.

Senior CNRP officials could not be reached for comment.

Meas Ny, a political analyst, said Savoeuns comments reflected the close relationship between the CPP leadership and the force.

What the National Police has announced means that they are working for the ruling party and they are not working to bring the justice to society, especially to those three million citizens who no longer have a choice [in the election].
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MANBIJ, SYRIA - On the ground in Syria, the top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group pledged on Wednesday that American troops would remain in the northern Syrian Kurdish town of Manbij despite Ankaras demands for a U.S. pullout.

We're here to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS is maintained in this area, Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk said during a visit to U.S. forces in Manbij. ISIS is an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group.

Funks visit comes amid rising tensions between Turkey and the United States  NATO allies that have ended up on opposing sides in some aspects of the multi-layered war in Syria.

While fighting IS in Syria, the U.S. has backed the Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the Peoples Protection Units or YPG  a group that Ankara considers terrorists and allied with Kurdish insurgents within Turkey, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. The YPG makes up the backbone of a force that fought IS in Syria.

FILE - American troops look out toward the border American troops look out toward the border with Turkey from a small outpost near the town of Manbij, northern Syria, Feb. 7, 2018. American troops look out toward the border with Turkey from a small outpost near the town of Manbij, northern Syria, Feb. 7, 2018.

After ousting IS from Manbij in 2016, the United States has maintained a military presence there.

Funk told reporters in Manbij that the U.S. would continue to support the Syrian fighters despite tensions with Turkey and that a continued U.S. presence in Syrias north is aimed at de-escalating tensions.

I don't worry, Funk said when asked about recent Turkish threats, Its not in my job description to worry, my job is to fight.

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Manbij and renewed a threat to expand Ankaras military offensive in Syria to this town.

Manbij

Why are you staying there (in Manbij)? Leave, Erdogan said, referring to American troops. We will come to return the lands to their real owners.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched a cross-border offensive into the northwestern enclave of Afrin to drive out the Syrian Kurdish militia from there and subsequently threatened to extend its operation to Manbij, over 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the east.

Im very confident in the (Syrian Democratic Forces) leadership, Funk said, referring to the U.S.-backed Syrian forces mostly made up the YPG.

When nobody else could do it they retook Raqqa, Funk added, referring to the former capital of the self-proclaimed IS caliphate in Syria. I think that has earned them a seat at the table.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jamie Jarrard left, thanks Man U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jamie Jarrard left, thanks Manbij Military Council commander Muhammed Abu Adeel during a visit to a small outpost near the town of Manbij, northern Syria, Feb. 7, 2018. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Jamie Jarrard left, thanks Manbij Military Council commander Muhammed Abu Adeel during a visit to a small outpost near the town of Manbij, northern Syria, Feb. 7, 2018.

The U.S.-backed forces in Syria retook Raqqa last October. The defeat marked a major blow to IS and was followed by a string of swift territorial victories in Syria that retook nearly all the territory the extremists once held. Pockets of IS fighters, however, remain in eastern Syria between the Euphrates River and the Iraqi border.

American and Syrian Kurdish commanders at the Manbij outpost said that low-level clashes between Turkish-backed forces and the U.S.-backed fighters were a regular occurrence.

But Funk downplayed the significance of the attacks, describing them as just harassing.
A Chinese navy contract to upgrade telecom services on islands in the disputed South China Sea confirms the Beijing governments intent to step up its control of the waterway for gains in research, exploration and military coordination, analysts say.

A naval fleet has signed agreements with the three biggest telecom operators to upgrade the civil communication system in the Paracel and Spratly island chains, the official Xinhua News Agency said Friday. The islets and reefs will get 4G services by May, it said.

China is the most militarily powerful country in a six-way sovereignty dispute over the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea stretching from Hong Kong to Borneo. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam claim all or parts of the sea. They periodically chafe with China as it develops some of the islets for military use.

The 4G upgrades show that China will step up an existing technological advantage in the dispute to help tiny populations of citizens who live there, possibly as incentives to stay at their isolated posts, analysts say.

I imagine that those living there would want such services and also that the government would want to ensure that individuals living in such a strategically significant location were well provided for, said Jonathan Spangler, director of the South China Sea Think Tank in Taipei.

A stable resident population would in turn advance China's hold over the sea in a range of fields, analysts believe.

That will give them wider options to put different teams to the area, for scientific research, for fisheries and probably for disaster relief efforts in the future, said Alexander Huang, strategic studies professor at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

Claimant governments look to the South China Sea for its abundant fisheries as well as reserves of oil and natural gas. About one-third of the worlds marine shipping traffic passes through the sea.

Trend of technological development

China controls the whole Paracel chain of about 130 islets, including partly submerged reefs, despite a competing claim by Vietnam. About 1,400 people live on Woody Island, a larger holding in the chain, along with an airstrip.

Beijing's government holds seven islets in the more remote Spratly chain, where a U.S. think tank says it has installed infrastructure for fighter jets as well as radar systems. In December China tested a home-built seaplane. It was already working on an undersea observation network.

Quality of life

Stronger telecom signals will raise the quality of life for people on the islets that are otherwise cut off from the Chinese mainland due to location, said Lin Qi, assistant researcher with the National Institute for South China Sea Studies in Hainan province of China.

Whether mobile phones or getting online, both are basic necessities in life, so this measure, the service of building (4G networks) in the Spratly Islands is for improving the lives of long-term residents, Lin said.

The stronger network might eventually help Chinese-run schools, hospitals, and other facilities where internet connectivity is standard in many countries, Spangler said. Also possibly on the list: tourism cruise ships and oil exploration vessels.

The 4G upgrades will increase the number of telecommunication base stations on some islands and reefs, Xinhua said. It cited improvements in the living conditions for civilians and military on the islands and reefs as well as for maritime humanitarian relief and other jobs at sea.

Military role

The military will be able to use the improved network as needed, said Collin Koh, maritime security research fellow at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.

A 4G network would help coordination between garrisons at sea in wartime or peace time, Koh said. Soldiers would have closer contact with family in mainland China, he said, a boost for their quality of living.

But Chinese search and rescue teams, likewise the military, already have their own communication networks, such as satellite uplinks, some experts say. It seems theres no military use for this (upgrade), Lin said.

Deployment of 4G signals that China is extending its reach into the sea at a broad level, Koh said.

What China is doing is somewhat of a bigger scale, he said. I think what were seeing here is a more concerted Chinese effort to boost its hold in various aspects, be it in coast guard, naval, military build-up, fortifications, building out of infrastructure, and now we are talking about telecoms infrastructure as such.

Vietnam may follow Chinas 4G lead, Koh said. It spars vigorously with China for fossil fuel exploration, a contest that led to a boat-ramming incident in 2014 and a diplomatic spat in mid-2017.
Democrats are heading into the November elections with an energized party base, an unpopular president to rail against and a growing wave of GOP retirements. Now they just need a clear message.

In recent weeks, lawmakers have zigzagged from digging in against President Donald Trump  even forcing a government shutdown  to trying to cut deals. They've played to their core supporters on immigration, only to shift quickly to the middle on spending. They've amplified news about the Russia investigation and dueling classified memos, at the risk of drowning out their objections to Trump's economic policies.

A planned retreat to Maryland's Eastern Shore to discuss 2018 strategy this week has moved back to Washington as Congress tries to pass a short-term spending bill and avoid another government shutdown.

But wherever Democrats confer, they must figure out how to make their pitch to voters.

Former Vice President Joe Biden is to headline the Democratic gathering, whose theme is "United for A Better Tomorrow." Earlier, the party had rolled out "A Better Deal" policy statement that included such traditional causes as a higher minimum wage, paid leave for employees, and lower costs for prescription drugs and college.

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the FILE - Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, May 3, 2017. FILE - Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, May 3, 2017.

Democrats still spend much of their time lambasting Trump, whether it's his policies, the Russia investigation or his tweets. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, said special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry was unavoidable, even as Democrats insist they are offering an alternative agenda to GOP tax cuts and deregulation.

"It's tough to ignore the elephant in the room. The Bob Mueller investigation goes to the heart of the Trump candidacy and presidency," Durbin said in an interview.

Democrats also say they are united on talking about jobs and the economy.

"We need an agenda that speaks to an angry middle class that wants the government representing them and not just the Koch brothers and other billionaires," said Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats.

"There is an essential agreement on what has to be talked about," he said.

New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who is part of the House Democratic messaging operation, said he expected the retreat to "further develop an affirmative vision for how Democrats will improve the lives of the American people."

Growing momentum

Democrats humbled by Trump's 2016 election felt growing momentum at the end of last year after winning the Virginia governor's race and a special election for a Senate seat in Alabama, as well some down-ballot contests. They are feeling increasingly optimistic about the fall elections, particularly in the House, where they must flip 24 GOP-held seats to gain control.

In the Senate, Democrats are defending 26 seats, including 10 seats in states Trump won. Republicans are defending eight seats as they try to hold their 51-49 advantage.

The beginning of the year has seen Democrats tussling with Republicans over immigration and spending. The immigration dispute led Democrats to force a three-day government shutdown last month that was settled largely on Trump's terms. Progressives accused Democrats of knuckling under to GOP pressure without securing guaranteed protections for young immigrants brought to the United States as children and living here illegally.

Tax overhaul

Republicans and Trump are focusing heavily on their tax overhaul. Trump showcased the tax cuts in Ohio this week, saying, "Your paychecks are going way up. Your taxes are going way down."

Republicans have targeted House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi's comment that $1,000 bonuses resulting from the GOP tax bill are "crumbs." They're saying Democrats are out of touch with working-class voters who flocked to Trump in 2016.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California FILE - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speak to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, March, 13, 2017. FILE - House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York speak to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, March, 13, 2017.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York tried to answer that criticism Tuesday, saying Democrats unanimously opposed the tax overhaul because most breaks "go to the very wealthy," big corporations and their lobbyists.

Republicans had their own slip-up over the weekend, when House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin highlighted on Twitter a school secretary benefiting from the Republican tax overhaul, then deleted the tweet after online criticism that he was cheering a paltry pay increase of $1.50 a week. Democrats rushed to slam Ryan for the move.

Democrats also argue they benefit because Trump is an inconsistent foil. They noted that during his tax speech this week, he accused Democrats of being "un-American" and maybe even treasonous for failing to applaud him during his State of the Union address.

Anti-Trump

Even as Democrats talk about the need to press an economic message, Russia is never far from mind.

As Congress considered yet another short-term spending bill to avoid a second government shutdown, Senate Democrats trooped to the Senate floor to attack Trump and other Republicans for what they called a smear of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. A Republican memo released last week criticizes the FBI over methods used to obtain a surveillance warrant on a former Trump campaign associate. Democrats have offered their own memo, which is under White House review.

Some Democrats stressed that anti-Trump was a winning message.

"There is so much antipathy to Trump where I live, that I don't think you can [put] his name up enough," said Democratic Representative Gerry Connolly, whose Northern Virginia district is just outside Washington.

Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she doesn't spend much time worrying about national politics.

"Frankly, I'm not really counting on the Democrats being able to help me," said McCaskill, who is seeking her third term in a state Trump won by 18 points. "I'm counting on me getting out and listening to Missourians and talking about things that matter to them."
GENEVA - The U.N. refugee agency says the recent outbreak of ethnic violence in Ituri province, in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, could presage a mass exodus of refugees and internal displacement.

The UNHCR says violent clashes between the Hema and Lendu ethnic groups in Ituri province have killed at least 30 people and caused more than 5,000 to flee their homes.

UNHCR spokesman Baba Balloch told VOA the conflict, which erupted five days ago, is not new to this region. He says growing tensions over land and grazing rights between the two groups has led to this latest flare-up.

This is a return of violence after almost two decades when in the late 1990s around 400,000 people were displaced because of the tensions between the two groups, Balloch said.

Tens of thousands of people were killed between 1999 and 2003. Since then, a low-level conflict has existed in Ituri, broken by occasional flare-ups.

UNHCR monitors in the region say many villages in Ituris Djugu territory have been burned to the ground. Balloch said thousands of people have become internally displaced. And, he said nearly 1,400 refugees fled to Uganda in search of refuge earlier this week.

Now, UNHCR offices on both sides of the border are once more on high alert. We fear the fighting could spread to the neighboring areas, particularly because of the circulation of light weapons in the region, he said.

Balloch said a majority of the refugees and internally displaced are women and children. He added that access to some of the communities is limited. He said this is very worrying as aid workers are unable to provide assistance to the displaced who are in urgent need of food and other essential relief.
The family of an American held by North Korea is going public with its appeal for help.



Tony Kim was detained at the Pyongyang Airport on April 22, 2017, as he was leaving the country. He was in North Korea teaching accounting at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology.



In a YouTube video, Kim's eldest son, Sol, wondered whether the Winter Olympics in South Korea provided "an opportunity for the U.S. government to press harder for the release" of his father and two other Americans held by North Korea. He held up a placard with the hashtag #USA3 to raise awareness on social media.



The 59-year old Tony Kim, also known as Sang-duk Kim, had been repeatedly invited to teach at the North Korean university, and traveled several other times to help flood victims, according to his family. They say they do not know why he is being held, and have not heard from him since a State Department official was in contact last June, when retrieving American student Otto Warmbier. The 22-year-old Warmbier was returned to the United States in a comatose state, and he died six days later.

FILE - FILE - In this combination of file photos, FILE - In this combination of file photos, U.S. citizens Otto Warmbier on March 16, 2016, left, and Kim Dong Chul on April 29, 2016; are escorted at court in Pyongyang, North Korea. FILE - In this combination of file photos, U.S. citizens Otto Warmbier on March 16, 2016, left, and Kim Dong Chul on April 29, 2016; are escorted at court in Pyongyang, North Korea.

When he went to North Korea to bring Warmbier back in June, State Department Special Representative Joseph Yun was able to visit with Kim and the other two Americans detained there, according to State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert. She added that was the last time anyone from the U.S. or Sweden, which represents U.S. interests in Pyongyang, has been able to see the three Americans. The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea.



The other Americans being held in North Korea are Kim Hak-song, who was also working for Pyongyang University for Science and Technology when he was detained in May 2017 and Kim Dong-chul, who was arrested in October 2016 and is serving 10-years of hard labor after having apparently confessed to spying.



A Kim family spokesman said, "While we cheer for our American Olympic athletes, we also want to remember that three Americans are being held only miles away."
Saying that Afghanistan is in "terrible shape" 16 years after the collapse of the Taliban, former President Hamid Karzai accused the United States and Pakistan of using the Afghan war to further their own national interests.

He also warned that Afghans who had embraced the U.S. as a friend and liberator now see it as "hurting us, not helping us."

"That has to change," Karzai said in an interview with The Associated Press.

As many as 16,000 U.S. forces remain in Afghanistan, and a special training unit is scheduled to deploy early this year. After the U.S. and NATO forces formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014 and shifted to a training role, a resurgent Taliban stepped up their attacks and an affiliate of the Islamic State group emerged in Afghanistan.

FILE - U.S. troops walk from a Chinook helicopter FILE - U.S. troops walk from a Chinook helicopter in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2017. FILE - U.S. troops walk from a Chinook helicopter in Uruzgan province, Afghanistan, July 7, 2017.

That same year marked the end of Karzai's second and final term in office.

In the interview at his Kabul home, where he wore his signature ankle-length green striped coat and karakul cap, Karzai echoed complaints from Afghanistan's current government that accused neighboring Pakistan of harboring Taliban militants and he urged the U.S. to impose sanctions on Pakistani military and intelligence officials.

Citing U.S. President Donald Trump's New Year's Day tweet that accused Pakistan of "lies and deceit," Karzai said, "We hope the U.S. will now act in Pakistan."

But he added that "doesn't mean that the Pakistan people should be hurt or that war should be launched in Pakistan."

"In other words, I want the U.S. to impose sanctions on the Pakistan military and the intelligence, not on the Pakistani people," Karzai said.

U.S. pressure on Pakistan

Trump has ramped up pressure on Pakistan this year, suspending up to $2 billion in military aid to Islamabad after accusing it of failing to crack down on militants who launch cross-border attacks on U.S. and Afghan forces.

terror Afghanistan FILE - Afghan security forces inspect the site of a Taliban-claimed deadly suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 19, 2016. FILE - Afghan security forces inspect the site of a Taliban-claimed deadly suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 19, 2016.

Pakistan denies such allegations, blaming the violence on the Kabul government's security failures.

The interview came a day after U.S. lawmakers questioned the direction of America's longest war. At a hearing Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee noted that Washington is spending about $45 billion a year in Afghanistan, with most of the money going to security, the bulk of which finances U.S. troops and accompanying logistical support. Only $780 million goes toward economic aid.

In recent weeks, Kabul has been battered by a wave of attacks claimed alternately by the Taliban and a rival Islamic State affiliate, which killed scores of people and exposed the U.S.-backed government's failure to secure the capital.

"The U.S. cannot tell us, 'Well if I am not here, you will be worse off.' We are in a terrible shape right now. ... We want to be better. We want to have peace. We want to have security," Karzai said.

In the early years of Karzai's administration, which was criticized as corrupt, oversight of the war was nonexistent. Commanders allied with the U.S.-led coalition often steered their American partners toward attacking their own enemies to try to settle old scores, rather than build the nation.

Today, Afghanistan's National Unity Government, paralyzed by bickering and feuding, shares power between President Ashraf Ghani and his chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah. The power-sharing deal was brokered by then-U.S. secretary of state John Kerry.

Karzai called it a U.S. creation and said it "undermined Afghan democracy and the Afghan constitution."

Frustration toward U.S.

He did not hide his frustration during the interview. He believes Washington wants to establish permanent bases in Afghanistan to project power in the region, while Pakistan wants to turn Afghanistan into a client state.

He said that U.S. forces are not in Afghanistan "to stop extremism."

FILE - An Afghan man inspects a house destroyed d FILE - An Afghan man inspects a house destroyed during an airstrike called in to protect Afghan and U.S. forces during a raid on suspected Taliban militants, in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2016. FILE - An Afghan man inspects a house destroyed during an airstrike called in to protect Afghan and U.S. forces during a raid on suspected Taliban militants, in Kunduz, Afghanistan, Nov. 4, 2016.

"In my view, their intention is to keep us divided and weak so they can carry on their objectives in this region," Karzai said. "They have their global politics and rivalries. They have China as a great rising power. They have Russia as a revitalized, re-energized great power on the world scene, and they feel threatened and challenged."

He even suggested that reports from northern Afghanistan accused the U.S. of aiding the Islamic State affiliate against ethnic Tajik fighters in a bid to threaten Russia, which has reinforced its bases in Central Asia, against a burgeoning IS insurgency bolstered by Uzbek radicals formerly aligned with the terrorist group known as the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

Public opinion in Afghanistan, which has always been critical of Pakistan, has increasingly turned against the U.S. as the war has dragged on. Public sentiment also runs against the presence of foreigners in the country along with the Kabul government, which is perceived as deeply corrupt and incompetent.

In Kabul's western neighborhood of Kot-e-Sangi, day laborers gather by the hundreds at dawn in freezing temperatures, hoping for work.

Mohammed Daoud comes every day for the 300 Afghanis  roughly $4  that he sometimes earns. Deteriorating security in the Afghan capital has meant less work, and he blames both the government and the coalition.

"The government looks after only itself. And what are the foreign soldiers doing? Nothing," he said.

Karzai said Afghans have to retake their country.

"We must implement our constitution and we must do all we can as a people to restore ourselves to the ownership of this country, which we don't have right now," he said.

"Right now, it is the U.S. policy that owns it."
The U.S. Senate will be the focus Wednesday in the effort to fund the federal government and avoid another possible shutdown as Republicans and Democrats stand apart on how long to extend domestic spending relative to national defense.

With a midnight Thursday deadline pending, the House of Representatives voted mostly along party lines Tuesday night to approve a spending bill that would fund the Pentagon for the remainder of the current fiscal year but fund domestic programs for just six weeks.

"The House will send the Senate a bill to fully fund our military for this year while we keep working towards a budget agreement," House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said, adding that Democrats should vote to "provide our men and women in uniform the resources that they need."

Democrats signaled their intent to block the House bill in the Senate, where the minority party can insist on a three-fifths majority for most legislation to advance. Republicans have a razor-thin one-seat majority in the chamber.

"Democrats have made our position in these negotiations very clear: we support an increase in funding for our military -- and our middle class," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. "The two are not mutually exclusive. We don't want to do just one and leave the other behind."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., cent Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, accompanied by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., at left, speaks on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2018 in Washington. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, accompanied by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., at left, speaks on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2018 in Washington.

U.S. government funding has been extended four times since late last year and is set to expire once again Thursday. Senate leaders of both political parties have been working to forge a two-year spending deal for all federal operations, but have been forced to consider stopgap measures until such an accord is finalized.

"We're making real progress on a spending deal that would increase the caps for both military and middle class priorities on the domestic side," Schumer told reporters. "I am hopeful we can come to an agreement, an agreement very soon."

Last month, the U.S. government endured a three-day partial federal shutdown that was prompted in part by a partisan disagreement on immigration reform.

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting wi President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with law enforcement officials on the MS-13 street gang and border security, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Feb. 6, 2018. President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with law enforcement officials on the MS-13 street gang and border security, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Feb. 6, 2018.

The standoff is continuing this week, with President Donald Trump and conservative Republicans so far unable to reach a deal with Democrats to protect young undocumented immigrants brought to America as children who will be at risk of deportation next month.

The president has said he supports a path to citizenship for 1.8 million youth eligible for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama administration program that Trump set for termination. A White House blueprint for immigration reform also calls for funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a reduction in legal immigration to the United States, and prioritizing newcomers with advanced work skills.

"President Trump has done something that President Obama never did -- he's offered 1.8 million adults who are DACA recipients and DACA-eligible an opportunity to get on a pathway to American citizenship," Republican Senator John Cornyn of Texas said. "That's an incredibly generous offer."

Democrats countered that the fate of DACA beneficiaries should not be tied to larger immigration topics Congress has been unable to agree on for decades.

"DACA has been an extraordinary success," Illinois Senator Dick Durbin said. "Bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers [DACA recipients] has been pending in Congress and has overwhelming support from the people we represent, including President Trump's own voters."

FILE-Maria Angelica Ramirez carries a large key re FILE-Maria Angelica Ramirez carries a large key reading "My Dream" during a protest outside the office of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Congress passing a clean Dream Act. FILE-Maria Angelica Ramirez carries a large key reading "My Dream" during a protest outside the office of Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in support of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), and Congress passing a clean Dream Act.

Last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, secured enough Democratic support to end the three-day shutdown by promising to initiate floor debate on a DACA solution if no bipartisan immigration accord had been reached by February 8 and the government remained open.

After meeting with his Republican caucus Tuesday, McConnell reiterated his commitment to a full floor debate but did not say whether Trump's immigration blueprint would serve as a starting point, or whether the chamber would consider a more limited bipartisan proposal addressing DACA and border security.

"There's no secret plan here to try to push this in any direction. The Senate's going to work its will," the majority Leader said.
Billionaire casino mogul Steve Wynn has resigned as head of Wynn Resorts, less than two weeks after the Wall Street Journal published a report about decades of allegations of sexual misconduct.

The Journal article detailed several incidents in which Wynn allegedly pressured staff to perform sex acts. The allegations include those from a manicurist who claims she was forced to have sex with Wynn in 2005, shortly after he opened his flagship Wynn Las Vegas. The paper said she was later paid a $7.5 million settlement.

Wynn has denied the accusations, including again in a statement issued Tuesday announcing he was stepping down.

"In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity. As I have reflected upon the environment this has created -- one in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts -- I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles," he said.

Wynn is a towering figure in the gambling world who helped revitalize Las Vegas with resorts such as The Bellagio, The Mirage and Treasure Island.

In addition to being a business mogul, Wynn also served as the finance chairman of the Republican National Committee before resigning from that post last month, and has been a large contributor to the Republican Party.
CANOVANAS, PUERTO RICO - Among the countless Puerto Rico neighborhoods battered by Hurricane Maria is one named after another storm: Villa Hugo. The illegal shantytown emerged on a public wetland after 1989s Hurricane Hugo left thousands homeless.

About 6,000 squatters landed here, near the El Yunque National Forest, and built makeshift homes on 40 acres that span a low-lying valley and its adjacent mountainside. Wood and concrete dwellings, their facades scrawled with invented addresses, sit on cinder blocks. After Maria, many are missing roofs; some have collapsed altogether.

Amid the rubble, 59-year-old Joe Quirindongo sat in the sun one recent day on a wooden platform  the only remaining piece of his home. Soft-spoken with weathered skin and a buzzcut, Quirindongo pondered his limited options.

I know this isnt a good place for a house, said Quirindongo, who survives on U.S. government assistance. Sometimes I would like to go to another place, but I cant afford anything.

A handwritten address sign is attached to a post o A handwritten address sign is attached to a post on a street at the squatter community of Villa Hugo in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 9, 2017. A handwritten address sign is attached to a post on a street at the squatter community of Villa Hugo in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 9, 2017.

Villa Hugo reflects a much larger crisis in this impoverished U.S. territory, where so-called informal homes are estimated to house about half the population of 3.4 million.

Some residents built on land they never owned. Others illegally subdivided properties, often so family members could build on their lots.

Most have no title to their homes, which are constructed without permits and usually not up to building codes. The houses range in quality and size, from one-room shacks to sizable family homes. Many have plumbing and power, though not always through official means.

The concentration of illegal housing presents a vexing dilemma for local and federal authorities already overwhelmed by the task of rebuilding an economically depressed island after its worst natural disaster in nine decades.

FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2017, photo, Puerto Rico G FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2017, photo, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello speaks during a news conference, in Washington. Rosello said on Jan. 22, 2018, that he is privatizing the islands government-owned power company following decades of mismanagement. FILE - In this Nov. 13, 2017, photo, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello speaks during a news conference, in Washington. Rosello said on Jan. 22, 2018, that he is privatizing the islands government-owned power company following decades of mismanagement.

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello has stressed the need to build back better, a sentiment echoed by U.S. disaster relief and housing officials. But rebuilding to modern standards or relocating squatters to new homes would take an investment far beyond reimbursing residents for lost property value.

Its an outlay Puerto Rico's government says it cant afford, and which U.S. officials say is beyond the scope of their funding and mission. Yet the alternative  as Villa Hugo shows  is to encourage rebuilding of the kind of substandard housing that made the island so vulnerable to Maria in the first place.

Its definitely a housing crisis, said Fernando Gil, Puerto Rico's housing secretary. It was already out there before, and the hurricane exacerbates it.

In Puerto Rico, housing is by far the largest category of storm destruction, estimated by the island government at about $37 billion, with only a small portion covered by insurance.

Thats more than twice the governments estimate for catastrophic electric grid damage, which was made far worse by the shoddy state of utility infrastructure before the storm.

Puerto Rico officials did not respond to questions about how the territory estimated the damage to illegally built homes.

Carlos Ventura carries a corrugated metal sheet to Carlos Ventura carries a corrugated metal sheet to be used for a ceiling, while he helps a neighbour to rebuild her house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria. Carlos Ventura carries a corrugated metal sheet to be used for a ceiling, while he helps a neighbour to rebuild her house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria.

Maria destroyed or significantly damaged more than a third of about 1.2 million occupied homes on the island, the government estimates. Most of those victims had no hazard insurance  which is only required for mortgage-holders in Puerto Rico  and no flood insurance. Just 344,000 homes on the island have mortgages, according U.S. Census Bureau data.

Officials at the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) acknowledged the unique challenges of delivering critical housing aid to Puerto Rico. Among them: calculating the damage to illegal, often substandard homes; persuading storm victims to follow through on application processes that have frustrated many into giving up; and allocating billions in disaster aid that still won't be nearly enough solve the islands housing crisis.

By far the most money for Puerto Rico housing aid is expected to come from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HUD spokeswoman Caitlin Thompson declined to comment on how the agency would spend billions of dollars in disaster relief funds to rebuild housing, or how it planned to help owners of informally built homes. Two HUD officials overseeing the agencys Puerto Rico relief efforts, Todd Richardson and Stan Gimont, also declined to comment.

But the disaster aid package currently under consideration by the U.S. Congress would provide far less housing aid than Puerto Rico officials say they need. Governor Rossello is seeking $46 billion in aid from HUD, an amount that dwarfs previous allocations for even the most destructive U.S. storms.

Thats nearly half the islands total relief request of $94 billion.

The U.S. House of Representatives instead passed a package of $81 billion, with $26 billion for HUD, that still needs Senate and White House approval. The money would be divided between regions struck by several 2017 hurricanes  including Maria, Harvey in Texas and Irma in Florida  as well as the recent California wildfires. Congress could also decide to approve additional aid later.

Milagros Jimenez helps her husband to rebuild thei Milagros Jimenez helps her husband to rebuild their house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, at the squatter community of Villa Hugo, Dec. 11, 2017. Milagros Jimenez helps her husband to rebuild their house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, at the squatter community of Villa Hugo, Dec. 11, 2017.

My mother is scared

A generation ago, Maria Vega Lastra, now 61, was among the estimated 28,000 people displaced by Hurricane Hugo. Neighbors helped her build a new home in what would become Villa Hugo, in the town of Canovanas.

Her daughter, 34-year-old Amadaliz Diaz, still recalls her older brother grinning as he sawed wood for the frame of their self-built, one-floor house, with a porch and three bedrooms.

Now, Vega Lastra's roof has holes in it, and her waterlogged wooden floorboards buckle with each step.

Vega Lastra has been staying with her daughter, who lives in Tampa, as the family waits on applications for FEMA aid. The agency initially denied her application in December, saying it could not contact her by phone, Diaz said.

Vega Lastra is returning to her home this week, uncertain if its condition has gotten worse. Her daughter bought her an air mattress to take with her.

My mother is scared, Diaz said. I hope the government helps her. I work, but I have three kids to take care of. The islands housing crisis long predated the storm.

According to Federal Housing Finance Agency data, Puerto Rico's index of new home prices fell 25 percent over the last decade, amid a severe recession that culminated last May in the largest government bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.

Legal home construction, meanwhile, plummeted from nearly 16,000 new units in 2004 to less than 2,500 last year, according to consultancy Estudios Tecnicos, an economic data firm.

Milagros Jimenez poses for a picture at her house, Milagros Jimenez poses for a picture at her house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, at the squatter community of Villa Hugo in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 9, 2017. Milagros Jimenez poses for a picture at her house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, at the squatter community of Villa Hugo in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 9, 2017.

A 2007 study by environmental consultant Interviron Services Inc., commissioned by the Puerto Rico Builders Association, found that 55 percent of residential and commercial construction was informal. That would work out to nearly 700,000 homes.

That figure might be high, said David Carrasquillo, president of the Puerto Rico Planning Society, a trade group representing community planners. But even a every conservative estimate would yield at least 260,000 illegally built houses, he said.

Generations of Puerto Rican governments never made serious efforts to enforce building codes to stop new illegal housing, current and former island officials said in interviews. Past administrations had little political or economic incentive to force people out of neighborhoods like Villa Hugo.

Former Governor Rafael Hernandez Colon, in office during Hurricane Hugo, said he tried to help informal homeowners without policing them.

Our policy was not to relocate, but rather improve those places, Hernandez Colon said in an interview.

Subsequent administrations advocated similar policies; none made meaningful headway, partly because of Puerto Ricos constant political turnover.

Today, informal communities provide a stark contrast to San Juans glittering resorts and bustling business districts. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz pointed to poor barrios like those near the citys Martin Pena Channel, hidden behind the skyscrapers of the financial hub known as the Golden Mile.

Its not something Im proud of, but we hide our poverty here, Cruz said in an interview.

Hurricane Maria destroyed or significantly damaged Hurricane Maria destroyed or significantly damaged more than a third of about 1.2 million occupied homes on the island, the government estimates. Damaged houses are seen at squatter community of in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 9, 2017. Hurricane Maria destroyed or significantly damaged more than a third of about 1.2 million occupied homes on the island, the government estimates. Damaged houses are seen at squatter community of in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 9, 2017.

Recovery dilemma

The task of rebuilding Puerto Rico's housing stock ultimately falls to the territory government, which has no ability to pay for it after racking up $120 billion in bond and pension debt in the years before the storm.

That leaves the island dependent on U.S. relief from FEMA, the SBA and HUD.

The SBA offers low-interest home repair loans of up to $200,000. FEMA provides homeowners with emergency grants, relocation assistance and other help. HUD is focused on long-term rebuilding efforts, working directly with local agencies to subsidize reconstruction through grants.

FEMAs cap for disaster aid to individuals is $33,300, and actual awards are often much lower. Normally, FEMA eligibility for housing aid requires proving property ownership, but the agency says it will help owners of informal homes if they can prove residency.

How exactly to help gets complicated. For example, someone who builds their own home with no permits on land they own is more likely to be treated as a homeowner, said Justo Hernandez, FEMA's deputy federal coordinating officer. Squatters who built on land they didnt own, however, would likely only be given money to cover lost items and relocate to a rental, he said.

Several Villa Hugo residents said they received money from FEMA, but many didnt know what it was for and complained it wasn't enough.

Miguel Rosario Lopez watches a television that wor Miguel Rosario Lopez watches a television that works using electricity from a generator on Dec. 11, 2017, while his wife Milagros Jimenez walks through their house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria. Miguel Rosario Lopez watches a television that works using electricity from a generator on Dec. 11, 2017, while his wife Milagros Jimenez walks through their house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria.

Lourdes Rios Romero, 59, plans to appeal the $6,000 grant she got for repairs to her flooded home, citing a much higher contractors quote. Neighbor Miguel Rosario Lopez, a 62-year-old retiree, showed a statement from FEMA saying he was eligible for $916.22, to perform essential repairs that will allow you to live in your home.

Without money for major changes, most homeowners said they planned to combine the aid they might get from FEMA with what little money they could raise to rebuild in the same spot.

FEMA does not police illegal building. Code enforcement is left to the same local authorities who have allowed illegal construction to persist for years.

Quirindongo is planning to buy materials to rebuild his Villa Hugo home himself with about $4,000 from FEMA. It will be the third time he has done so, having lost one home to a 2011 flood, another to a fire.

I just want to have something that I can say, This is mine, Quirindongo said.

Samuel Vasquez rebuilds his house, which was parti Samuel Vasquez rebuilds his house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, while his wife Ysamar Figueroa looks on, whilst carrying their son Saniel, Dec 11, 2017. Samuel Vasquez rebuilds his house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, while his wife Ysamar Figueroa looks on, whilst carrying their son Saniel, Dec 11, 2017.

Giving up

Many others appear to have given up on FEMA aid because the agencys application process is entangled with a separate process for awarding SBA loans to rebuild homes.

FEMA is legally bound to assess whether applicants might qualify for SBA loans before awarding them FEMA grants. If an applicant passes FEMAs cursory eligibility assessment, they are automatically referred to SBA for a more thorough screening.

Applicants are not required to follow through on the SBA process  but they cannot qualify for FEMA aid unless they do.

FEMA only provides a grant when the SBA denies the applicant a loan.

FEMA said it has referred about 520,000 people out of 1.1 million total applicants so far to the SBA. But as of Monday, only 59,000 followed through with SBA applications. Of those, some 12,000 later withdrew, SBA data shows.

As soon as people see SBA they say, I give up, I don't want a loan  I can't afford a loan, FEMA's Hernandez said.

SBA spokeswoman Carol Chastang said the agency is working with FEMA to educate flood victims on available benefits and the application process, including sending staffers to applicants homes.

Jorge Salgado poses for a picture next to a house Jorge Salgado poses for a picture next to a house he built with parts of his house, which was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, Dec. 12, 2017. Salgado said: "I lost everything, but we have to keep living." Jorge Salgado poses for a picture next to a house he built with parts of his house, which was destroyed by Hurricane Maria, Dec. 12, 2017. Salgado said: "I lost everything, but we have to keep living."

330,000 vacant homes

Before the storm hit, Puerto Rico already had about 330,000 vacant homes, according to Census Bureau 2016 estimates, resulting from years of population decline as citizens migrated to the mainland United States and elsewhere. Puerto Ricans are American citizens and can move to the mainland at will.

Puerto Rico and federal officials have considered rehabilitating the vacant housing for short- and long-term use, along with building new homes and buying out homeowners in illegally built neighborhoods, according to Gil and federal officials.

Rossello, the Puerto Rican governor, has said the rebuilding plan must include a fleet of properly built new homes. Gil, the housing secretary, said the administration would like to build as many as 70,000 properties.

HUD officials declined to comment on whether the agency would finance new housing. Its Community Development Block Grant program allows for local governments to design their own solutions and seek HUD approval for funding.

Chickens stand at the entrance to a house, which w Chickens stand at the entrance to a house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, at the squatter community of Villa Hugo in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 11, 2017. Chickens stand at the entrance to a house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria, at the squatter community of Villa Hugo in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 11, 2017.

The cost of constructing enough new, code-compliant properties to house people displaced by Maria could far exceed the available federal aid. Making them affordable also presents a problem.

Puerto Ricos subsidized social interest housing, geared toward low-income buyers, typically provides units that sell in the mid-$100,000 range, with prices capped by the government.

That's beyond the means of many displaced storm victims.

Gil offered little detail on a solution beyond saying it will include a mix of new development, buyout programs for owners of illegally built homes and other options.

The answer will come down to how much Washington is willing to pay, he said. He invoked the islands territorial status and colonial history as a root cause of its poor infrastructure and housing stock before the storm.

It is precisely because we have been neglected by the federal government that the islands infrastructure is so weak, he said.

Many Puerto Rico officials continue to advocate for bringing relief and legitimacy to squatter communities like Villa Hugo, rather than trying to relocate their residents.

Karla Gerrido works on her computer in front of a Karla Gerrido works on her computer in front of a fan that works with electricity from a generator, at her house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 11, 2017. Karla Gerrido works on her computer in front of a fan that works with electricity from a generator, at her house, which was partially destroyed by Hurricane Maria in Canovanas, Puerto Rico, Dec. 11, 2017.

Canovanas Mayor Lornna Soto has been negotiating with island officials to provide property titles to Villa Hugos population.

The vast majority still dont have them.

It's long overdue to recognize that they are not going anywhere and their communities need to be rebuilt with proper services, Soto said.

Diaz said she supports her mothers decision to return to Villa Hugo, regardless of what aid the government ultimately provides.

I grew up there, Diaz said. Everyone knows us there.
ISTANBUL - Iran is the latest country to add its voice to growing calls for Turkey to curtail its military operation in Syria against a Syrian Kurdish militia. Turkey-Iran relations have recently improved, but Tehran is seen to be increasingly concerned about the lack of clarity on the scope and duration of the Turkish military operation and Ankara's goals.

"We wish for Turkey's operation in Syria to end at the earliest time," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told reporters Tuesday.

Until now, Iran had remained largely silent about the Turkish offensive against the YPG militia. Turkish forces supported by Syrian rebels entered the YPG-controlled Syrian enclave of Afrin nearly four weeks ago. Ankara accuses the YPG of being terrorists linked to a Kurdish insurgency inside Turkey.

Turkish army tanks enter Afrin, an enclave in nort FILE - Turkish army tanks enter Afrin, an enclave in northern Syria controlled by U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters, in Hassa, Hatay, Turkey, Jan. 22, 2018. FILE - Turkish army tanks enter Afrin, an enclave in northern Syria controlled by U.S.-allied Kurdish fighters, in Hassa, Hatay, Turkey, Jan. 22, 2018.

"They [Tehran] didn't think it was going to be that big an operation. Now it's very ambiguous, now it's seen as a threat," said Iranian expert Djamshid Assadi of the Burgundy School of Business in France. "The Iranians don't want a large Turkish military operation in Syria. They don't want to see any threat to their ally [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad, and the Islamic regime of Iran does not want to see a neighbor as a competing force in Syria."

Rouhani's call for a swift end to the operation follows reports this week of a fatal clash between Turkish forces and Iranian-backed militias in Syria. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu flew to Tehran on Wednesday to meet with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. The meeting was ostensibly to discuss ongoing cooperation to resolve the civil war in Syria. In the last year, Moscow, Tehran and Ankara have been working together, in what has been dubbed the "Astana Process."

Iran Turkey Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu shake hands for journalists at the start of their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 7, 2018. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu shake hands for journalists at the start of their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 7, 2018.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to play down tensions with Tehran over Syria, dismissing it as a Washington conspiracy. "You [the U.S.] may have plans regarding Turkey and Iran and maybe Russia, however, we will remain resolute," Erdogan said Tuesday at a meeting of his parliamentary deputies.

Alarm bells

The Turkish military operation in Syria poses a dilemma for Tehran. Analysts says Erdogan's commitment to prevent Washington's goal of creating a defense force made up of the Syrian Kurdish militia, along with his pledge to remove those forces from the strategically important Syrian town of Manbij, are probably welcomed by Tehran.

Since the start of the operation, however, Erdogan has continued to ramp up his rhetoric and with it an apparent broadening of its goals. On Tuesday, the Turkish president evoked memories of the country's past imperial glories when he said, "A sleeping giant is now awakened." He then pointed out how the Ottoman Empire once spanned 5 million square kilometers.

Such rhetoric is likely to set off alarm bells in Tehran.

"Turkey does not provide any calendar, any plan when Turkey will withdraw from the area," said international relations professor Huseyin Bagci of Ankara's Middle East Technical University. "The rhetoric of the Turkish president is creating a nostalgia for the Ottoman era. It indicates Turkey is trying to, probably to, re-control some of the Ottoman Empire, but the president plays with fire, domestically and internationally."

Adding to Tehran's concerns is the awareness that when Turkish forces intervene abroad, they seldom leave.

Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army, FSA, fighters stan FILE - Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army, FSA, fighters stand on the roof of a building with a poster of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hanging on it in the Syrian town of Azez near the border with Turkey, Jan. 19, 2018. FILE - Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army, FSA, fighters stand on the roof of a building with a poster of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hanging on it in the Syrian town of Azez near the border with Turkey, Jan. 19, 2018.

"The Iranians, of course, want the United States out of Syria," said a prominent Turkish columnist who wanted to remain anonymous, "but given the choice between the U.S. and Turkey in Syria, they [Tehran] know the U.S. will eventually leave the region, but the Turks never leave once they deploy soldiers."

Turkish forces still remain in Iraqi Kurdistan after being deployed in the 1990s to broker a peace agreement involving rival Kurdish factions, while Ankara refuses to withdraw from the Bashiqa military base in Iraq, despite repeated requests from Baghdad.

Political, diplomatic pressure

Analysts point out the chances of a military confrontation between Iran and Turkey remain remote, given the fact that, despite rivalries, both sides have for nearly four centuries, avoided conflict.

"There won't be a war between the two countries," said Iranian expert Assadi, "but Tehran can support Kurdish groups fighting in Turkey, and will use its proxy forces in Syria, as well as facilitate arming of Kurdish groups fighting Turkey."

Tehran is also looking to diplomacy. Rouhani announced Tuesday the possibility of meeting with the presidents of Turkey and Russia.

Erdogan has ruled out bowing to any political or diplomatic pressure to curtail the ongoing Syrian military operation. Such a robust stance is also seen as a strategic move by Ankara to enhance its voice in determining the final outcome of Syria, a prospect that likely will only add to Tehran's unease, and a concern analysts suggest finds rare consensus in the region.

"Turkey is trying to get stronger cards in its hand if the [Syrian peace] negotiators start," said international relations professor Bagci, "This is exactly why Iranians, French Americans, Israelis and Syrians don't want to see a strong Turkey there [in peace negotiations].There is a Turkish concern in the Middle East. Turkey is not considered a peacemaker but a peace breaker; this is Turkey's problem."
The Iraqi army and the Shi'ite Popular Mobilization Forces on Wednesday started a major offensive against armed militants in the country's northeastern region near the border with Iran.

Iraq's Joint Operations Command said in a statement the operation was aimed at cracking down on remaining Islamic State fighters regrouping in the Tuz Khurmatu district in Saladin province following the terror group's defeats in Mosul and Hawija.

"With the aim of enforcing security and stability, destroying sleeper cells and continuing clearing operations, an operation was launched in the early hours of this morning to search and clear areas east of Tuz Khurmatu," the statement read.

The operation destroyed 50 IS targets in the region and recaptured five oil fields and several villages, the military said, noting the offensive was launched with air support from the U.S.-led coalition and in close coordination with Kurdistan Region's peshmerga forces.

The Kurdish commander in Tuz Khurmatu, Mam Wahab, confirmed the coordination and said the Iraqi army and Popular Mobilization Forces would withdraw from nearby Kurdish villages after the conclusion of the operation.

Restart of coordination

This was the first time that the Iraqi military and Kurdish peshmerga had coordinated attacks on militant groups since the Kurdish independence referendum, which plunged relations between the two sides to an all-time low as the central government in Baghdad saw the Kurdish move as unconstitutional.

Tuz Khurmatu, Iraq Tuz Khurmatu, Iraq Tuz Khurmatu, Iraq

Tuz Khurmatu, 210 kilometers (130 miles) north of Baghdad, is among the areas disputed by the central government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdistan Region. The Kurdish army withdrew from the district last October after the Iraqi army made advances on the region following the Kurdish referendum vote.

Over the months, much of the district's northeastern plains and mountain ranges have remained unguarded and become a dividing line between the two armies, thereby making it a hotbed for IS remnants and other emerging militant groups.

Ali Husseini, a spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), told VOA the operation also targeted two newly emerged groups known as the White Banners and the Liberation Army.

"We have encountered no confrontation with the White Banners," Husseini said. "They have possibly fled the area or are still hiding near Hamrin Mountain."

New militant groups

Little is known about the new militants, named for their white flag with an outline of a lion's head in the middle. The group emerged late last year during the height of tense relations between Baghdad and Irbil, the capital of Kurdistan Region.

Some Iraqi and PMF officials accuse the Kurdistan Region of being behind the group. Kurdish officials deny the accusations, however, and charge that the group is an offshoot of IS fighters with loyalty to the former Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein.

The second new militant group, the Liberation Army, consists of a group of Kurdish "volunteer" fighters displaced by the Iraqi government forces during their offensive on the disputed territories last October.

In an interview with VOA in December, the group's members said their objective was to fight against the Iran-backed PMF militants. PMF played a key role in the Iraqi army's operation in the disputed territories last year.
A member of Kenya's political opposition has been deported to Canada for taking part in last week's mock presidential swearing-in ceremony for Raila Odinga.



Kenyan authorities forced Miguna Miguna onto a late-night KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight traveling from Nairobi to Toronto, with a stop in Amsterdam.



The move was in defiance of a Kenyan High Court order that Miguna be presented before a judge in Nairobi on Wednesday.



Miguna, a lawyer, was arrested last Friday and charged with treason, three days after playing a prominent role in the so-called inauguration for opposition leader Odinga.



Kenya's interior ministry said in a Twitter message that Miguna had renounced his Kenyan citizenship years ago and became a Canadian citizen.



His arrest sparked street protests Tuesday in the western city of Kisumu. One person was killed by a stray bullet when police fired into the air to disperse the crowd.



Odinga's supporters insist President Uhuru Kenyatta used fraud to win Kenya's presidential election in August.



The Supreme Court ruled that election invalid on procedural grounds, but Odinga boycotted a rerun in October, saying the electoral commission could not conduct a fair election. Kenyatta won that second election with 98 percent of the votes.



Rights activists have expressed concern over the Kenyan government's actions surrounding the January 30 Odinga ceremony. Three television stations were shut down as they began to cover the event and officials ignored court orders last Thursday to allow them back on the air.



Two of the stations resumed broadcasting Monday, while the third remains shut down.
NEW YORK/GUATEMALA CITY - A growing number of farmers in Latin American nations renowned for their high-quality arabica coffee are starting to plant cheaper robusta  a crop still frowned upon or even outlawed in some countries.

In locales such as Colombia and Costa Rica, many in the industry have feared the low-brow bean will spoil their reputation as suppliers of the world's best coffee.

Costa Rica bans robusta farming entirely, while coffee trade organizations in Colombia and elsewhere have historically discouraged it. But a growing number of Latin American farmers are warming up to the bitter bean as a cash crop.

"It has good productivity and a good price," said Evelio Matamoros, a farmer in Nicaragua who first planted robusta in 2010. Robusta "has better yields and it doesn't need shade. That matters."

Robusta, which thrives at lower elevations, is typically processed into instant coffee or added to brewed blends as a cheaper ingredient. It's also used to create the froth in some espressos.

Coffee producers from Colombia to Guatemala are dedicating more land to robusta, and it has even spread to Panama, a small country renowned for growing exceptionally high-quality arabica beans that fetch steep premiums.

FILE - A worker harvests robusta coffee fruits at FILE - A worker harvests robusta coffee fruits at a plantation in Nueva Guinea, Nicaragua, Dec. 30, 2017. FILE - A worker harvests robusta coffee fruits at a plantation in Nueva Guinea, Nicaragua, Dec. 30, 2017.

In Nicaragua and Guatemala, the industry has targeted robusta expansions that would increase their combined harvest by five times, to about 540,000 60-kg bags.

That would account for nearly 1 percent of global output, and bring supplies closer to North American coffee makers, cutting freight costs and shipping time compared to major robusta-growing nations such as Vietnam and Brazil.

The expansions of robusta in arabica-growing nations appears well-timed. Demand for all coffee worldwide is on track to reach a record this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and robusta supply hit a six-year low last year, after a drought hurt Brazil's crop.

In November, Olam International Ltd, a major agri-business that trades food globally, forecast the world's robusta production will fall short of demand for the second straight crop year in 2017/18, creating a cumulative two-year deficit of 8 million bags.

Changing climates are also making robusta farming more attractive. The crop survives better at warmer temperatures, and it has enough caffeine to make its trees hardier against some diseases and pests.

Farmers growing arabica in Central America were hit hard by the spread of an airborne fungus known as roya in 2012. In low-lying areas, which are more susceptible to roya, some producers are now looking to robusta as an alternative crop because many varieties are resistant to the fungus and less costly to grow than arabica.

Robust debate in Colombia

Arabica, typically grown at high altitudes and roasted for brewed coffee, accounts for roughly 60 percent of the world's beans. Robusta accounts for the rest.

FILE - A worker sorts recently harvested robusta c FILE - A worker sorts recently harvested robusta coffee beans at Finca El Alto in Gaspirilla, Capira District, Panama, Dec. 28, 2017. FILE - A worker sorts recently harvested robusta coffee beans at Finca El Alto in Gaspirilla, Capira District, Panama, Dec. 28, 2017.

Robusta sells at a discount of roughly 40 cents per lb to the benchmark arabica price, as the cheaper bean typically has lower input costs.

The efforts to increase  or in the case of Colombia, to begin  robusta production signals increasing acceptance of the bean.

In 2013, Colombian farmers  worried about the nation's brand as the world's biggest grower of premium arabica coffee  opposed President Juan Manuel Santos when he raised the idea of growing robusta in the country's plains. But now some Colombian farmers are planting the lower-quality crop in lowlands that are unsuitable for arabica.

Diego Lopez, a fourth-generation coffee exporter who retired and now has a farm, has planted 12 hectares of robusta and aims to cash in on rising demand.

"We are talking about two different products, like bananas and plantains," said Lopez, comparing robusta and arabica.

In Costa Rica, it has been illegal to grow robusta since 1988, and farmers who grow it could have their crops destroyed without compensation.

Farmers in Honduras  Central America's biggest coffee grower  chose not to grow robusta to maintain tradition and quality, the country's coffee association said.

Expansion in Guatemala, Nicaragua

In Guatemala, however, the country's coffee association, ANACAFE, is actively pushing a robusta expansion. About 2 percent of Guatemala's coffee harvest is robusta and ANACAFE is testing the crop in different areas with the hope it could be grown at elevations no longer ideal for arabica due to warming temperatures.

A worker carries a sack of recently harvested robu FILE - A worker carries a sack of recently harvested robusta coffee fruits at a plantation in Nueva Guinea, Nicaragua, Dec. 29, 2017. FILE - A worker carries a sack of recently harvested robusta coffee fruits at a plantation in Nueva Guinea, Nicaragua, Dec. 29, 2017.

ANACAFE President Ricardo Arenas said it aims to increase the country's robusta harvest to 300,000 60-kg bags. This would be four times the 75,000 bags that the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated were grown here in the 2016/17 season.

The expansion will require farmers to raise roughly $220 million for supplies and harvest machinery, and the financing is not yet in place, Arenas said. But in 2017, ANACAFE bought 20,000 robusta plantlets designed for high yields from Nestle SA, the maker of Nescafe, and the world's biggest coffee maker. The first harvest from those trees is expected in 2019.

Sergio Morales, head of ANACAFE's research department, said that roya made arabica farming unprofitable at altitudes below 800 meters, where some arabica is grown, making robusta the only solution for those producers.

In Nicaragua, the law entrusts the National Coffee Council to make sure "the quality of exports will not endanger Nicaragua's coffee prestige," and a protest by coffee growers in 2010 sought an outright ban. But in 2013, the government permitted limited areas for robusta farming  during a roya outbreak  and three years later expanded those areas.

Today, Nestle is working with Mercon Group in Nicaragua to develop production in its Autonomous Region of the South Atlantic, said Orlando Garcia, coffee regional manager of Zone AMS (America) for Nestle's Corporate Agriculture Division.

Nicaragua harvested 25,000 bags of robusta last year, making up nearly 2 percent of its coffee production, according to USDA data.

Mercon, a longtime exporter of coffee from Nicaragua, expects the country's robusta crop to increase to 38,000 bags this year and rise by more than six times to 238,000 bags by 2025, said Luis Alberto Chamorro, Mercon's general director for Central America.

"The conditions and costs of the zone also allow us to produce robusta at very competitive prices versus other countries that produce this coffee," Chamorro said.
BASTIA, CORSICA - French President Emmanuel Macron stood firm in the face of growing nationalist demands in Corsica Wednesday, rejecting calls for increasing autonomy in the once-restive Mediterranean island.

Wrapping up his first visit there since Corsican nationalists swept elections in December, Macron projected the image of a strong unified France and said "non" to demands to recognize Corsican as a second official language. He also ruled out the creation of the status of "Corsican resident."

"There is one official language  it's French," he said in a speech in Corsica's second town of Bastia. His address received scant applause.

The language recognition was one of the key wishes of nationalist leaders such as Gilles Simeoni and Jean-Guy Talamoni who reportedly boycotted a Wednesday lunch with Macron.

Unlike many in the nearby Spanish region of Catalonia, the French island's leaders aren't seeking full independence  but some believe it's only a matter of time before they do.

On Tuesday, Macron also refused to release Corsican prisoners held in mainland prisons, two days after thousands of nationalists demonstrated Sunday ahead of the president's visit.

But Macron did give the nationalist leaders an olive-branch Wednesday by saying he was open to adding a specific mention of Corsica in the French Constitution.

Corsica



Some moves have already been taken to increase independence, including the creation in January of a new regional assembly that Macron called "the most decentralized in mainland France."

"I'm for that everyone in the republic can express their identity," he said.

Macron also used his speech to lavish praise on the natural beauty of the island, saying it must be cherished and protected. The land the French refer to as the "Island of Beauty" is rich in history and famed as Napoleon's birthplace.

Macron pledged to bolster police and security for the 320,000 residents in the territory, which has long had problems with drugs and gang crime  including mafia involvement.

A campaign of separatist violence began in the mid-1970s but nationalists have since laid down weapons to focus on political means.
WASHINGTON - Mozambique is denying allegations that it continues to do business with North Korea in violation of U.N. sanctions.

A CNN report published this month found that North Korea has signed contracts worth millions of dollars in Mozambique, funneled the money through diplomatic channels and used profits from fishing vessels off the Mozambican coast to fund its nuclear program.

But Mozambiques deputy minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Maria Manuela Lucas, denied that her government has made any agreements with North Korea that violate sanctions. She said Mozambique welcomes outside monitoring.

The Mozambican government recently invited the U.N. panel to visit Mozambique to see the work that the country is doing to be able to collaborate with this panel. The panel has recently been assembled and will also publish a report of the last meeting. The panel promised to visit Mozambique this quarter, said Lucas.

She also said her government is working with private Mozambican businesses to educate them about the sanctions and shut down illegal operations.

The report also alleges that North Korea is providing military training to elite Mozambican forces and offering technical support to the military. A previous U.N. report alleged that North Korea and Mozambique had a military partnership worth at least $6 million. North Korea used a shell company to sell weapons, including missiles, radar and air defense systems, according to the report.

Mozambican opposition figures seized on the CNN report as evidence of the ruling Frelimo Partys corrupt and inept leadership. It shows lack of seriousness on the part of our government, by our rulers, who establish shady business on the fringes of what are the international rules, which can somehow penalize the image of Mozambique, said Fernando Bismarques, a spokesman for the Democratic Movement of Mozambique, an opposition party.

The United States, which has led the charge for tougher sanctions against North Korea, declined to comment specifically about the Mozambique case, but said it would continue to hold countries accountable.

All U.N. member states are required to implement sanctions resolutions in good faith, and we expect them all to do so, a U.S. State Department official said.

We continue to call on all countries, including Mozambique, to take the appropriate steps to apply maximum pressure on the DPRK including reducing economic ties.

Anabela Guedes and Alfredo Junior contributed to this report.
JAKARTAN, INDONESIA - A male orangutan on the Indonesian portion of Borneo died after being shot at least 130 times with an air gun and apparently being stabbed and clubbed, in the second known killing of a critically endangered orangutan this year.

Villagers spotted the wounded orangutan in a lake in the Kutai Timur district of East Kalimantan province on Sunday.



Local police chief Teddy Ristiawan said Wednesday that the great ape was still alive when he was taken Monday to a hospital in the town of Bontang.



A statement from the Center for Orangutan Protection said the orangutan died early Tuesday.



An X-ray showed at least 130 air gun pellets in its body, including more than 70 in its head, the center said.



It said an autopsy found the animal had been blinded as a result of the shooting and also had 17 open wounds believed to be caused by sharp objects. Its left thigh, right chest and left hand were bruised from blunt object trauma.



Ramadhani, a manager of habitat protection at the center who goes by one name, said the death was a terrible event in the history of conflict between orangutans and humans in Indonesia.



"The 130 pellets within the body of a primate is a new record, the most ever," he said.



In mid-January, an orangutan was found decapitated and shot more than a dozen times with an air gun in Central Kalimantan, environmental news website Mongabay reported. Police arrested two rubber farmers suspected in the killing, it said.



The number of orangutans in Borneo and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, recognized as separate species and both classified as critically endangered, has fallen precipitously since the 1970s.



Orangutans are a protected species in Indonesia and Malaysia, but deforestation has dramatically reduced their habitat and brought them into contact with farmers and plantation workers who kill them to protect crops and for meat.



About 40 percent of Borneo's forests have been lost since the early 1970s and another huge swath of forest is expected to be converted to plantation agriculture in the next decade.
WASHINGTON - Angry protesters in Pakistans Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday stormed the offices of a militant group that allegedly killed a university student from South Waziristan region.

Protesters attacked at least two buildings believed to be occupied by pro-government militants in Shaikh Yousef village of Dera Ismail Khan District in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

In addition to burning the buildings, protesters also reportedly set several vehicles on fire that belonged to the militant group.

Militants residing in the buildings managed to escape.

Locals reacted to the death of Idrees, a law student of Gomal University in Dera Ismail Khan district, who was allegedly killed two days ago by the militants.

Local officials, however, charge that the student was killed in a personal dispute with other locals in the area and that a person had already been taken into custody in connection with Idreess death.

A press release sent to reporters by the local law enforcement authorities does not talk about militants presence in the area of Tuesdays protest.

In the press release, police said a criminal investigation is underway and action will be taken against those local residents who took the law into their hands and set buildings on fire.

Deadline

Meanwhile local protesters told VOA that they took things into their own hands after the government failed to meet the Tuesday deadline set by the residents in which the government was asked to arrest 10 suspected militants who were allegedly involved in Idreess killing and who were allegedly members of the Taliban.
ISLAMABAD - An anti-terrorism court in Pakistan has sentenced a man to death and 30 others to prison terms ranging from four to 25 years for their role in the campus lynching of a university student who was falsely accused of blasphemy. Twenty-six other people were acquitted.

In April 2017, the mob comprising mostly students beat and shot to death 23-year-old Mashal Khan, who was a journalism student at Abdul Wali Khan University. The fatal attack followed allegations he had shared blasphemous content on social media.

FILE - Members of a Pakistani civil society demons FILE - Members of a Pakistani civil society demonstrate April 22, 2017, in Karachi, Pakistan, against the killing of Mashal Khan, a student at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the northwestern city of Mardan. FILE - Members of a Pakistani civil society demonstrate April 22, 2017, in Karachi, Pakistan, against the killing of Mashal Khan, a student at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the northwestern city of Mardan.

A police investigation later established that the accusations were leveled at Khan after he criticized rising school fees and what he alleged was nepotism in teacher appointments.

A mobile phone video of the lynching attack, which was posted on social media, sparked an outcry in and outside of Pakistan, drawing widespread condemnation and refueling concerns over persistent misuse of the blasphemy laws.

Students, teachers and employees were among the 57 people rounded up with the help of the online video and CCTV footage from the university. Late last year, a court indicted the detainees, although they all pleaded not guilty. Four others remain at large.

Blasphemy is a highly sensitive issue in Pakistan, where insulting Islam or its Prophet Muhammad can carry the death penalty. No one has ever been executed under blasphemy laws in Pakistan, but mere allegations have provoked dozens of mob lynchings.

Salman Taseer, the governor of the most populous province of Punjab, was assassinated in 2011 by his official bodyguard after calling for the laws to be reformed. Taseer's assassin, Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri, was later tried and executed by hanging. Qadri has been hailed as a martyr by religious fundamentalists in Pakistan.

The federal law minister, Zahid Hamid, resigned late last year under pressure from a religiously-motivated rally over allegations he committed blasphemy by trying to alter the electoral oath declaring the Prophet Muhammad as Gods final prophet.
JAKARTA - Twin crises of measles and malnutrition have recently afflicted Indonesias easternmost province, Papua, inciting foreign and media scrutiny as well as internal review from the Indonesian government. Papua is an impoverished but mineral-rich province with a history of separatist struggle, which has been quashed for decades by the Indonesian military. This week, the nations health ministry declared both crises to be under control, but 72 people have already died in Asmat regency.

In wake of the outbreaks, finance minister Sri Mulyani said that special autonomy funding for the province would be reevaluated. Per a 2001 law, the sometimes-contested provinces of Aceh, Papua, and West Papua were authorized to receive twenty years of special funding from the national budget. But Mulyani said the public health issues showed that the money was not being used well.

This is a lesson for us, because throughout this time the special autonomy funds have been disbursed as a block grant to the provincial government  even though special autonomy has specific purposes, she said last week.

FILE - Indonesian soldiers along with a local resi FILE - Indonesian soldiers along with a local resident unload food and medical aid in Ewer, Asmat District, in the remote region of Papua, Indonesia, Jan. 29, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. FILE - Indonesian soldiers along with a local resident unload food and medical aid in Ewer, Asmat District, in the remote region of Papua, Indonesia, Jan. 29, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto.

Measles is preventable with a vaccine, and is actually covered by Indonesias national vaccination program for children. So the afflicted children in Asmat constitute an oversight. About 650 children there still have measles and at least 223 suffer from malnutrition according to the health ministry website. Papua has long lagged behind Indonesia on nearly every public health valence, with the countrys lowest life expectancy and highest infant, child, and maternal mortality rates.

Press freedom

Social issues in Papua are doubly hard to address because of constrained press freedom there. Last week, a BBC reporter, Rebecca Henschke, who went to report from Asmat, was detained by the military and local immigration after she tweeted photos of the food aid being delivered to malnourished children: biscuits, instant noodles. The military claimed the tweets were inaccurate and after being subjected to two days of questioning, Henschke and her team decided to return to Jakarta.

New Indonesian President Joko Widodo, center, talk FILE - Indonesian President Joko Widodo, center, talks to the media at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Oct. 21, 2014. FILE - Indonesian President Joko Widodo, center, talks to the media at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, Oct. 21, 2014.

Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo announced when he came to office that journalists should feel free to travel to and report from Papua, but in practice, the likelihood of harassment and surveillance like the Henschke incident remain high.

The current system pressures journalists to limit reporting on Papua, and signals to the military and police that journalists can be interfered with, wrote Andreas Harsono, of Human Rights Watch Indonesia. President Jokowi should insist on the implementation of his decision to end restrictions on access to Papua. He should also prohibit the security forces from arresting journalists for doing their jobs. After all, the government could simply have responded to Henschke with a clarifying tweet or statement, as opposed to detaining and questioning her.

Reevaluating Papua

The finance ministers statement indicates publicity from the widely declaimed crises may have potential to harness public opinion to effect changes in Papua.

Of course these events will bring the social problems in Papua to greater light, said Harsono. Public pressure can work to impact government policy, he said, but it should be bigger and longer than what it currently is.

He mentioned a 2005 malnutrition crisis in Yahukimo, Papua that received a degree of public attention. Today, at least 14 regencies still have similar problems, malnutrition and low vaccination rates.

Health Asmat Indonesia Papua FILE - Sick children are treated by health workers at a hospital in Agats, Asmat District, after the government dispatched military and medical personnel to the remote region of Papua to combat malnutrition and measles, Jan. 22, 2018. FILE - Sick children are treated by health workers at a hospital in Agats, Asmat District, after the government dispatched military and medical personnel to the remote region of Papua to combat malnutrition and measles, Jan. 22, 2018.

Ruth Ogetay, a sometime Papuan activist who works as a nurse in Jakarta, was less hopeful. This is not going to bring any social changes to Papua.

There are many structural issues with public health in the province, like a critical shortage of doctors in Asmat since the regency was established 15 years ago. But addressing such issues has taken a backseat to controlling protests and riots, particularly around the mines run by the American corporation Freeport-Mcmoran. The company runs the worlds largest gold mine, Grasberg, near Timika regency, and its work sites have attracted unrest since Indonesia announced plans to nationalize its resources last year. Just last week, Indonesian police fatally shot a 61-year-old woman in Mimika near a Freeport-Mcmoran cargo dock. Thus if any improvements to social services are made going forward, they will have to accommodate such a highly charged political climate.
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump wants a military parade in Washington to top the one he watched last Bastille Day in France, ordering Pentagon leaders to make plans for a show of military might in the American capital.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Wednesday that military officials were putting together some options for a parade and would present them to Trump for a decision.

"We're all aware of the president's affection and respect for the military," Mattis told reporters at the White House.

WATCH: Trump parade

Possible dates include three existing U.S. national holidays  Memorial Day on May 28 that traditionally honors U.S. war dead, Independence Day on July 4 when there already is a mammoth fireworks show on the National Mall in Washington, and Veterans Day on November 11, which this year coincides with the 100th anniversary of the victorious end of World War I.

The military reportedly favors the November date to divorce the aura of the parade and its symbolism of U.S. military strength as much as possible from the contentious U.S. political scene, since the parade would then fall days after congressional elections set for November 6.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation." But she described the parade plans as "really in the brainstorming stage."

Trump has remarked that he'd like a U.S. military parade to top the one he watched in Paris last July 14, when he and first lady Melania Trump were the guests of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis listens during a hear Defense Secretary Jim Mattis listens during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2018 in Washington. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis listens during a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2018 in Washington.

The Washington Post said that Trump ordered planning for the parade at a January 18 meeting with the Pentagon's top officials, including Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford.

The newspaper quoted one military official as saying, "The marching orders were: 'I want a parade like the one in France.' This is being worked at the highest levels of the military."

When Trump saw Macron in September at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, he again brought up the Bastille Day parade.

French President Emmanuel Macron talks with Presid French President Emmanuel Macron talks with President Donald Trump next to a huge French flag after the Bastille Day parade in Paris, July 14, 2017. French President Emmanuel Macron talks with President Donald Trump next to a huge French flag after the Bastille Day parade in Paris, July 14, 2017.

"It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen," Trump told reporters. "It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France."

Trump told Macron, who was seated next to him, "We're going to have to try to top it."

Military parades of the grandeur Trump is apparently envisioning are not common in the U.S., even as small military units often march in Fourth of July celebrations in towns and cities across the country or at the quadrennial presidential inaugural parades in Washington, such as last year's when Trump became the 45th U.S. president.

Overt displays of military weaponry are seldom seen in the U.S., unlike the Soviet Union's decades-old Red Square celebrations or those in Pyongyang staged in recent years by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. But U.S. President George H.W. Bush had military hardware in a 1991 parade celebrating victory in the Persian Gulf War and Presidents Harry S. Truman and John F. Kennedy displayed military might at their inaugural parades in 1949 and 1961, respectively, at the height of the Cold War.
LIMA - Perus trade minister defended China as a good trade partner on Tuesday, after U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson warned Latin American countries against excessive reliance on economic ties with the Asian powerhouse.

Eduardo Ferreyros said Perus 2010 trade liberalization deal with China had allowed the Andean nation of about 30 million people to post a $2.74 billion trade surplus with Beijing last year.

China is a good trade partner, Ferreyros told foreign media, as Tillerson met with President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in Lima, a stop on Tillersons five-nation Latin American tour.

We're happy with the results of the trade agreement.

The remarks were the Peruvian governments first signal since Tillersons warning that it does not share Washingtons concerns about growing Chinese influence in the region.

Before kicking off his trip to Latin America on Friday, Tillerson suggested that China could become a new imperial power in the region, and accused it of deploying unfair trade practices.

I appreciate advice, no matter where it comes from. But we're careful with all of our trade relations, Ferreyros said, when asked about Tillersons remarks.

Ferreyros also praised Perus trade relationship with Washington, despite a trade deficit with the United States. Im not afraid of trade deficits, Ferreyros said.

Since China first overtook the United States as Perus biggest trade partner in 2011, thanks mostly to its appetite for Perus metals exports, bilateral trade has surged and diplomatic ties have tightened.

Kuczynski, a former Wall Street banker, made a point of visiting China before any other nation on his first official trip abroad as president in 2016.

Under former president Barack Obama, the United States had hoped to counter Chinas rise in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region, which includes large parts of Latin America, with the sweeping Trans-Pacific trade deal known as the TPP.

While President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the TPP upon taking office, the 11 remaining signatories, including Peru and Japan, have struck a similar deal that they plan to sign without the United States in March.

Tillerson, who left Peru for Colombia on Tuesday, said on Monday that Trump was open to evaluating the benefits of the United States joining the so-called TPP-11 pact in the future, which Ferreyros called a good sign.

All countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including China, were welcome to join TPP-11, Ferreyros said. But the deal has closed and countries that want to join obviously cant renegotiate the whole agreement, he added.
TEPIC, MEXICO - Expanding Mexico's early-warning system and speeding up its alerts could save more lives when earthquakes strike, but making buildings quakeproof and preparing communities better are the best ways to protect people, scientists said Tuesday.

Securing enough funds to maintain and run the infrastructure underpinning the SASMEX early-warning system is also crucial, said the lead author of a study on its performance, after a chunk of the system was knocked out by a recent storm.

"We're all enamored by the technology ... but we cannot forget the social aspect of early-warning systems," said Gerardo Suarez, geophysics professor at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

"There is no alert that substitutes [for] the prudent measures of building properly, having good regulations for construction, and also civil protection," he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

In a paper published in the journal Seismological Research Letters, scientists described how the SASMEX system uses algorithms to analyze seismic waves and determine the size of an earthquake.

When an 8.1 magnitude quake hit southern Mexico on September 7, 2017, the system gave the capital nearly two minutes' warning.

The earthquake left more than 100 dead and millions in need of aid in the poor states of Oaxaca and Chiapas.

However, on September 19, Mexico City's 21 million people had only a few seconds' notice of a 7.1 magnitude tremor that struck closer in nearby Morelos, killing more than 330 and damaging 11,000 homes in the capital and surrounding states.

New algorithms being developed by the nonprofit Seismic Instrumentation and Record Center (CIRES), which runs the early-warning system, would have enabled alerts to be issued up to 10 seconds earlier in that situation, the researchers found.

FILE - A woman walks past debris of a house damage FILE - A woman walks past debris of a house damaged by an earthquake in Huixtla, in Chiapas state, Mexico, June 14, 2017. FILE - A woman walks past debris of a house damaged by an earthquake in Huixtla, in Chiapas state, Mexico, June 14, 2017.

Expanding the system to areas such as quake-prone Chiapas, Mexico's southernmost state, would also help make communities safer, said Suarez.

Quake drills

Buildings, including homes, need to be constructed so they can better withstand tremors, with construction adapted to various soil types, particularly in the capital, whose soft lake-bed foundation can amplify the impact of quakes, said Suarez.

Also key are civil protection measures including regular drills so people know what to do when an alarm sounds, said Suarez, a technical consultant for the Mexico City government.

Alerts in the capital are broadcast via street sirens, but other places like Oaxaca and Acapulco use radio receivers and television and radio stations to spread SASMEX warnings, which are also sent to schools, the emergency services and local governments.

Built in the years following the devastating 1985 Mexico City earthquake that killed more than 5,000, the early-warning system now includes nearly 100 monitoring stations across the most seismically active parts of southern and central Mexico.

Suarez said the recent outage of a SASMEX telecoms tower in Oaxaca after a storm flagged the need to use multiple ways to communicate data gleaned from the system's sensors.

He also pointed to the importance of ensuring CIRES has sufficient funding to keep the network functioning properly.

CIRES said in a statement on its website that a combination of storm damage, a lack of maintenance and funding shortfalls threatened its ability to alert people to quakes.
WASHINGTON - Russian cyberspies pursuing the secrets of military drones and other sensitive U.S. defense technology tricked key contract workers into exposing their email to theft, an Associated Press investigation has found.

What ultimately may have been stolen is uncertain, but the hackers clearly exploited a national vulnerability in cybersecurity: poorly protected email and barely any direct notification to victims.

The hackers known as Fancy Bear, who also intruded in the U.S. election, went after at least 87 people working on militarized drones, missiles, rockets, stealth fighter jets, cloud-computing platforms or other sensitive activities, the AP found.

Employees at both small companies and defense giants like Lockheed Martin Corp., Raytheon Co., Boeing Co., Airbus Group and General Atomics were targeted by the hackers. A handful of people in Fancy Bear's sights also worked for trade groups, contractors in U.S.-allied countries or on corporate boards.

"The programs that they appear to target and the people who work on those programs are some of the most forward-leaning, advanced technologies," said Charles Sowell, a former senior adviser to the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, who reviewed the list of names for the AP. "And if those programs are compromised in any way, then our competitive advantage and our defense is compromised."

"That's what's really scary," added Sowell, who was one of the hacking targets.

The AP identified the defense and security targets from about 19,000 lines of email phishing data created by hackers and collected by the U.S.-based cybersecurity company Secureworks, which calls the hackers Iron Twilight. The data is partial and extends only from March 2015 to May 2016. Of 87 scientists, engineers, managers and others, 31 agreed to be interviewed by the AP.

Most of the targets' work was classified. Yet as many as 40 percent of them clicked on the hackers' phishing links, the AP analysis indicates. That was the first step in potentially opening their personal email accounts or computer files to data theft by the digital spies.

One click and 'I had been had'

James Poss, who ran a partnership doing drone research for the Federal Aviation Administration, was about to catch a taxi to the 2015 Paris Air Show when what appeared to be a Google security alert materialized in his inbox. Distracted, he moved his cursor to the blue prompt on his laptop.

"I clicked on it and instantly knew that I had been had," the retired Air Force major general said. Poss says he realized his mistake before entering his credentials, which would have exposed his email to the hackers.

Hackers predominantly targeted personal Gmail, with a few corporate accounts mixed in.

Personal accounts can convey snippets of classified information, whether through carelessness or expediency. They also can lead to other more valuable targets or carry embarrassing personal details that can be used for blackmail or to recruit spies.

Drone consultant Keven Gambold, a hacking target himself, said the espionage could help Russia catch up with the Americans. "This would allow them to leapfrog years of hard-won experience," he said.

He said his own company is so worried about hacking that "we've almost gone back in time to use stand-alone systems if we're processing client proprietary data  we're FedEx'ing hard drives around."

Campaigns, drones

The AP has previously reported on Fancy Bear's attempts to break into the Gmail accounts of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, American national security officials, journalists, and Kremlin critics and adversaries around the world. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the hackers worked for the Kremlin and stole U.S. campaign emails to tilt the 2016 election toward Donald Trump.

FILE - A MQ-9 Reaper drone taxis at Kandahar Airfi FILE - A MQ-9 Reaper drone taxis at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 27, 2009. MQ-9 Reaper drones are reportedly armed with Hellfire missiles, laser-guided bombs and other munitions. FILE - A MQ-9 Reaper drone taxis at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 27, 2009. MQ-9 Reaper drones are reportedly armed with Hellfire missiles, laser-guided bombs and other munitions.

But the hackers clearly had broader aims. Fifteen of the targets identified by the AP worked on drones  the single-largest group of weapons specialists.

Countries like Russia are racing to make better drones as the remote-control aircraft have moved to the forefront of modern warfare. They can fire missiles, hunt down adversaries, or secretly monitor targets for days  all while keeping human pilots safely behind computer controls.

The U.S. Air Force now needs more pilots for drones than for any other single type of aircraft, a training official said last year. Drones will lead growth in the aerospace industry over the next decade, with military uses driving the boom, the Teal Group predicted in November. Production was expected to balloon from $4.2 billion to $10.3 billion.

So far, though, Russia has nothing that compares with the new-generation U.S. Reaper, which has been called "the most feared" U.S. drone. General Atomics' 5,000-pound mega-drone can fly more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) to deliver Hellfire missiles and smart bombs. It has seen action in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.

The hackers went after General Atomics, targeting a drone sensor specialist. He did not respond to requests for comment.

They also made a run at the Gmail account of Michael Buet, an electronics engineer who has worked on ultra-durable batteries and high-altitude drones for SunCondor, a small South Carolina company owned by Star Technology and Research. Such machines could be a useful surveillance tool for a country like Russia, with its global military engagements and vast domestic border frontier.

"This bird is quite unique," said Buet. "It can fly at 62,000 feet [18,600 meters] and doesn't land for five years."

Space plane secrets

The Russians also appeared eager to catch up in space, once an arena for Cold War competition in the race for the moon. They seemed to be carefully eyeing the X-37B, an American unmanned space plane that looks like a miniature shuttle but is shrouded in secrecy.

In a reference to an X-37B flight in May 2015, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin invoked the vehicle as evidence that his country's space program was faltering. "The United States is pushing ahead," he warned Russian lawmakers.

Less than two weeks later, Fancy Bear tried to penetrate the Gmail account of a senior engineer on the X-37B project at Boeing.

This image provided by the U.S. Air Force shows th FILE - This image provided by the U.S. Air Force shows the Air Force's X-37B spacecraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 7, 2017. FILE - This image provided by the U.S. Air Force shows the Air Force's X-37B spacecraft at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Shuttle Landing Facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida, May 7, 2017.

Fancy Bear has also tried to hack into the emails of several members of the Arlington, Virginia-based Aerospace Industries Association, including its president, former Army Secretary Eric Fanning. It went after Lt. Gen. Mark Shackelford, who has served in the military and aerospace industry as a corporate board member. He has been involved with major weapons and space programs like SpaceX, the reusable orbital rocket company founded by billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk.

Cloud-based services

Along another path, the hackers chased people who work on cloud-based services, the off-site computer networks that enable collaborators to easily access and juggle data.

In 2013, the CIA signed a $600 million deal with web giant Amazon to build a system to share secure data across the U.S. intelligence community. Other spy services followed, and the government cleared them last year to move classified data to the cloud at the "secret" level  a step below the nation's most sensitive information.

Fancy Bear's target list suggests the Russians have noticed these developments.

The hackers tried to get into the Gmail accounts of a cloud compliance officer at Palantir and a manager of cloud platform operations at SAP National Security Services, two companies that do extensive government work. Another target was at Mellanox Federal Systems, which helps the government with high-speed storage networks, data analysis and cloud computing. Its clients include the FBI and other intelligence agencies.

FBI 'triaging'

Yet of the 31 targets reached by the AP, just one got any warning from U.S. officials.

"They said we have a Fancy Bear issue we need to talk about," said security consultant Bill Davidson. He said an Air Force cybersecurity investigator inspected his computer shortly after the 2015 phishing attempt but found no sign that it succeeded. He believes he was contacted because his name was recognized at the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, where he used to work.

The FBI declined to give on-the-record details of its response to this Russian operation. Agency spokeswoman Jillian Stickels said the FBI does sometimes notify individual targets. "The FBI takes ... all potential threats to public and private sector systems very seriously," she said in an email.

However, three people familiar with the matter  including a current and a former government official  previously told the AP that the FBI knew the details of Fancy Bear's phishing campaign for more than a year.

Pressed about notification in that case, a senior FBI official, who was not authorized to publicly discuss the hacking operation because of its sensitivity, said the bureau was overwhelmed by the sheer number of attempted hacks. "It's a matter of triaging to the best of our ability the volume of the targets who are out there," he said.

A Pentagon spokeswoman, Heather Babb, said she could release no details about any Defense Department response, citing "operational security reasons." But she said the department recognizes the evolving cyber threat and continues to update training and technology. "This extends to all of our workforce  military, civilian and contractor," she added.

Safeguarding systems

The Defense Security Service, which protects classified U.S. technology and trains industry in computer security, focuses on safeguarding corporate computer networks. "We simply have no insight into or oversight of anyone's personal email accounts or how they are protected or notified when something is amiss," spokeswoman Cynthia McGovern said in an email.

Contacted by the AP, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, Airbus and General Atomics did not respond to requests for comment.

Jerome Pearson, a space system and drone developer, acknowledged that he has not focused on security training at his company, Star Technology, where Buet has consulted. "No, we really haven't done that," he said with a nervous laugh. "We may be a little bit remiss in that area." He said they may do training for future contracts.

Cybersecurity experts say it's no surprise that spies go after less secure personal email as an opening to more protected systems. "For a good operator, it's like hammering a wedge," said Richard Ford, chief scientist at the Forcepoint cybersecurity company. "Private email is the soft target."

Some officials were particularly upset by the failure to notify employees of cloud computing companies that handle data for intelligence agencies. The cloud is a "huge target for foreign intelligence services in general they love to get into that shared environment," said Sowell, the former adviser to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

"At some point, wouldn't someone who's responsible for the defense contractor base be aware of this and try to reach out?" he asked.

Even successful hacks might not translate into new weapons for Russia, where the economy is weighed down by corruption and international sanctions.

However, experts say Russia, while still behind the U.S., has been making more advanced drones in recent years. Russian officials have recently been bragging as their increasingly sophisticated drones are spotted over war zones in Ukraine and Syria.

At a 2017 air show outside Moscow, plans were announced for a new generation of Russian combat drones.

Rogozin, the deputy prime minister, boasted that the technological gap between Russia and the United States "has been sharply reduced and will be completely eliminated in the near future."
CAPITOL HILL - One day before a threatened U.S. government shutdown, Senate leaders on Wednesday struck a bipartisan deal that would keep the federal government funded for two years but left contentious immigration topics unaddressed.

Im pleased to announce that our bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on defense spending and other priorities have yielded a significant agreement, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, said on the Senate floor.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., cent Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, accompanied by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., at left, speaks on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2018 in Washington. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, accompanied by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., at left, speaks on Capitol Hill, Feb. 6, 2018 in Washington.

We came together with an agreement that is very good for the American people, Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. After months of legislative logjams, this budget deal is a genuine breakthrough.

The package would boost U.S. government spending on national defense and domestic programs by $300 billion over a two-year period, ending years of mandatory budget caps Republicans argued were hollowing out America's military and Democrats said were harming the needy.

The compromise weve reached will ensure that, for the first time in years, our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep America safe, McConnell said. It will help us serve the veterans whove bravely served us, and it will ensure funding for important efforts such as disaster relief, infrastructure, and building on our work to fight opioid abuse.

Senate leaders were racing against the clock, with federal funding set to expire at midnight Thursday. Unless spending authority is extended, the U.S. government will suffer its second partial shutdown in as many months.

The agreement gives Congress six weeks to appropriate funds that are in line with spending levels set forth in the agreement. To become law, it would have to pass both houses of Congress and be signed by President Donald Trump.

Initial White House reaction to the deal was optimistic but noncommittal.

We applaud the steps forward that they (congressional leaders) have made, but we are going to need to see what is in the final bill, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at the daily press briefing. Were certainly happy with the direction that its moving, particularly that were moving away from the crisis budgeting that we've been on.

The funding deal was expected to draw opposition from Republican ultra-conservative fiscal hawks and was dismissed beforehand by some Democrats who are demanding congressional action to protect from deportation hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants brought to America as children.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California i House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, is shown on television as she speaks from the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 7, 2018. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California, is shown on television as she speaks from the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 7, 2018.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, announced she would withhold support for the funding deal until Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan commits to a floor vote to address the plight of beneficiaries of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

What are you afraid of? Pelosi asked of Ryan in a lengthy speech on the House floor. Give us a vote. Let the House work its will.

Democrats blocked a stopgap spending bill in January, triggering a three-day federal shutdown, in part to protest Congress' inaction on DACA, an Obama administration program Trump set to expire March 5.

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting wi President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with law enforcement officials on the MS-13 street gang and border security, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Feb. 6, 2018. President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with law enforcement officials on the MS-13 street gang and border security, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Feb. 6, 2018.

The president has said he supports a path to citizenship for 1.8 million youth eligible for DACA as part of a larger immigration reform package. The White House is also demanding funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a reduction in legal immigration to the United States, and prioritizing newcomers with advanced work skills.

Bipartisan negotiations have yet to reach a deal on an overhaul of America's immigration laws, and Trump has rejected a proposal that would pair a DACA solution with limited border security enhancements.

After hailing the funding accord, McConnell restated his intention to start floor debate on immigration reform, including a fix for DACA recipients.

Our upcoming debate on DACA, border security and other issues will be a process that is fair to all sides, he said. While I obviously cannot guarantee any outcome, I can ensure the process is fair. And that I intend to do.
U.S. lawmakers grilled Trump administration officials Tuesday about the war in Afghanistan, saying the new White House strategy was inconsistent and was not producing results.

The comments made at a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing reflected growing frustration in Congress about the U.S.-led war, which is entering its 17th year.

WATCH: US-Afghan relations

?As recently as November, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, acknowledged that the conflict remained a stalemate.

Since then, a wave of high-profile insurgent attacks have rocked the capital, Kabul. The Taliban now controls or contests almost half the country, according to latest U.S. estimates.

'Signs of progress'

Despite the setbacks, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, who is helping oversee the new White House strategy, gave a positive assessment of the conflict.

"The president's South Asia strategy is showing some signs of progress," Sullivan said. "On the battlefield, we are seeing the Taliban's momentum begin to slow."

But lawmakers from both parties expressed skepticism.

"Something is clearly not working," said Senator Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat and longtime Afghan war critic. "By any standard, the current security situation is grim."

A patrolling U.S. armored vehicle is reflected in FILE - A patrolling U.S. armored vehicle is reflected in the mirror of another vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 23, 2017. FILE - A patrolling U.S. armored vehicle is reflected in the mirror of another vehicle in Kabul, Afghanistan, Aug. 23, 2017.

Some lawmakers took aim at President Donald Trump, who last week said he didn't want to talk with the Taliban  a statement that seemingly contradicted his own strategy.

After Sullivan and a top Pentagon official told the lawmakers that the U.S. was in fact still open to negotiations with the Taliban, lawmakers pressed for more details.

"You can see that the world and those involved in the peace process may be pretty confused about what the U.S. position is. What is it?" asked Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat.

Unwillingness to negotiate

Sullivan said he thought Trump was expressing a reaction to last month's terrorist attacks, and was pointing out that "significant elements of the Taliban are not prepared to negotiate."

"And it may take a long time before they are willing to negotiate," he added.

But many in the Senate appear tired of waiting, and that impatience was on display Tuesday.

"We're in an impossible situation. I see no hope for it," said Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky, another longtime war critic. "I feel sorry for putting the military in this position."

Even Tennessee's Bob Corker  the Republican chairman of the committee who has spoken positively of the new White House plan  was skeptical, citing high attrition rates among Afghan defense forces, rampant corruption and a dependence on foreign aid.

Senator Ben Cardin. FILE - Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md., asked Trump administration officials on Feb. 6, 2018, whether Americans should simply accept that the Afghan conflict is "a forever war." FILE - Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md., asked Trump administration officials on Feb. 6, 2018, whether Americans should simply accept that the Afghan conflict is "a forever war."

"What is the end state that U.S. and NATO troops are fighting for?" Cardin asked. "We've been there for 16 years. Should the American people accept that this is a forever war?"

The criticism came as the U.S. military has been ramping up airstrikes on the Taliban and sending thousands more troops to Afghanistan.

On Tuesday, the U.S. military said a B-52 dropped 24 bombs on the Taliban. The Pentagon said it was a record for the "most guided munitions ever dropped" from that type of aircraft.

According to a statement, the targets included Taliban training facilities in Badakhshan province, an area that until recently was relatively calm.

Stolen vehicles

The statement said the airstrikes also destroyed "stolen Afghan National Army vehicles" that insurgents planned to use in truck bomb attacks.

A U.S. military spokesperson did not immediately respond to VOA's request for comment on the type and number of vehicles that were destroyed.

Taliban militants are thought to have stolen dozens of Humvees and other U.S.-made vehicles in recent years to create massive fortified and disguised truck bombs.

Polls show the U.S. public is divided on Trump's plan to expand the war in Afghanistan. When Trump unveiled the strategy last year, a Politico/Morning Consult poll suggested 45 percent of voters supported increasing U.S. troop levels, while 41 percent opposed the plan.
AMATITAN, MEXICO - In the heartland of the tequila industry, in Mexico's western state of Jalisco, a worsening shortage of agave caused by mounting demand for the liquor from New York to Tokyo has many producers worried.

The price of Agave tequilana, the blue-tinged, spiky-leaved succulent used to make the alcoholic drink, has risen six-fold in the past two years, squeezing smaller distillers' margins and leading to concerns that shortages could hit even the larger players.

In front of a huge metal oven that cooks agave for tequila, one farmer near the town of Amatitan said he had been forced to use young plants to compensate for the shortage of fully grown agave, which take seven to eight years to reach maturity.

He asked not to be identified because he did not want his clients to know he was using immature plants.

The younger plants produce less tequila, meaning more plants have to be pulled up early from a limited supply - creating a downward spiral.

"They are using four-year-old plants because there aren't any others. I can guarantee it because I have sold them," said Marco Polo Magdaleno, a worried grower in Guanajuato, one of the states allowed to produce tequila according to strict denomination of origin rules.

Farmers know as Jimador harvest in a blue agave pl Farmers know as Jimador harvest in a blue agave plantation in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, Sept. 6, 2017. Farmers know as Jimador harvest in a blue agave plantation in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, Sept. 6, 2017.

More than a dozen tequila industry experts interviewed by Reuters said that the early harvesting will mean the shortage is even worse in 2018.

Already, the 17.7 million blue agaves planted in 2011 in Mexico for use this year fall far short of the 42 million the industry needs to supply 140 registered companies, according to figures from the Tequila Regulatory Council (CRT) and the National Tequila Industry Chamber (CNIT).

The shortages are likely to continue until 2021, as improved planting strategies take years to bear fruit, according to producers.

The result is agave prices at 22 pesos ($1.18) per kilo - up from 3.85 pesos in 2016.

Those higher prices mean that low-cost tequila producers, which make a cheaper, less pure drink that once dominated the market, find it harder to compete with premium players.

"It doesn't make sense for tequila to be a cheap drink because agave requires a big investment," said Luis Velasco, CNIT's president.

Small-scale distillers of quality tequilas are also feeling the pinch and some warn that drinkers are seeking alternative tipples.

"At more than 20 pesos per kilo, it's impossible to compete with other spirits like vodka and whisky," said Salvador Rosales, manager of smaller producer Tequila Cascahuin, in El Arenal, a rural town in Jalisco.

"If we continue like this a lot of companies will disappear," he said.

Exports to the United States of pure tequila jumped by 198 percent over the past decade, while cheaper blended tequila exports rose by just 11 percent, CNIT data shows.

Over the same time, Mexican production declined 4 percent, with blended tequila leading the fall.

Global Demand

As it sheds its image as a fiery booze drunk by desperados and fratboys, while moving into the ranks of top-shelf liquors, the tequila industry has seen a flurry of deals in recent years.

In January, Bacardi Ltd. said it would buy fine tequila maker Patron Spirits International for $5.1 billion.

In 2017, after years of speculation, Mexico's Beckmann family launched an initial public offering of Jose Cuervo, raising more than $900 million.

And Britain's Diageo Plc swapped its Bushmills Irish whiskey label for full ownership of the high-end Don Julio tequila in 2014.

The question posed by many distillers is how to keep pace with tequila's success.

Bottles of Jose Cuervo Tequila rest on a shelf in Bottles of Jose Cuervo Tequila rest on a shelf in Mexico City, Mexico, Feb. 8, 2017. Bottles of Jose Cuervo Tequila rest on a shelf in Mexico City, Mexico, Feb. 8, 2017.

"The growth has overtaken us. It's a crisis of success of the industry," said Francisco Soltero, director of strategic planning at Patron, which buys agave under various contracts.

"We thought that we were going to grow a certain amount, and we're growing double," he said.

Large sellers such as Patron and Tequila Sauza say they have not experienced problems paying for agave, and forecast that their inventories will keep growing.

"If you sell value, the costs don't worry you," Soltero said.

Tequila Sauza, which mostly grows its own agave, does not foresee supply problems, chief executive Servando Calderon said.

But some think it is simply a matter of time before the higher production costs and scarcity pressures bigger players.

"We are sure this will have a strong impact on the big firms such as Cuervo or Sauza," said Raul Garcia, President of the National Committee for Agave Production in Tequila, a group that includes most agave producers in the country.

"We don't see that the problem will be resolved soon, and that's what worries us."

Farmers know as Jimador load up a truck of hearts Farmers know as Jimador load up a truck of hearts of blue agave in a plantation in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, Sept. 6, 2017. Farmers know as Jimador load up a truck of hearts of blue agave in a plantation in Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, Sept. 6, 2017.

Demand is also being driven by other, fashionable agave-derived products, including agave syrup and health supplement inulin, which use the equivalent of 20 percent of the plants needed in 2018, the CRT said.

And rising prices are leading to growing theft, driving out smaller producers, said Jose de Jesus, a producer of blue agave in Tepatitlan. Criminals come to the area with large trucks in the middle of the night to steal agave, he said.

According to the CRT last year 15,000 plants were reported stolen, more than triple the number in 2016.

($1 = 18.7096 Mexican pesos)
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - The man who sat by Nelson Mandelas side as they negotiated the end of South Africas apartheid regime has gone on to become the most divisive leader in this nations short democratic history.

But President Jacob Zumas never-ending stream of scandals  which include a rape trial, a corruption trial, hundreds upon hundreds of mounting corruption charges, and at least two out-of-wedlock children that Zuma, a polygamist with four known wives, fathered with daughters of political allies  aren't what have finally brought the populist president down.

Instead, the 75-year-old's end is being engineered by the very organization whose dangerous militant wing he joined at the tender age of 17, and for whom he spent a decade in prison under the apartheid government.



WATCH: The Long, Complicated Fall of President Zuma

The ruling African National Congress, which has dominated national politics since 1994, has steadily lost ground to the opposition, and the unpopular president is widely seen as its top liability ahead of elections next year.

This is a challenging time for our country, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa  who took over from Zuma in December as head of the ruling African National Congress  said in a statement this week after several days of closed-door negotiations aimed at convincing Zuma to step down. Both President Zuma and myself are aware that our people want and deserve closure.

Newly-elected ruling African National Congress (AN The ruling African National Congress party's new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, right, and his predecessor, South African President Jacob Zuma, attend the ANC's 106th anniversary celebration in East London, South Africa, Jan. 13, 2018. The ruling African National Congress party's new leader, Cyril Ramaphosa, right, and his predecessor, South African President Jacob Zuma, attend the ANC's 106th anniversary celebration in East London, South Africa, Jan. 13, 2018.

Trouble from the start

Zumas father embedded a warning  and some of his critics say, a prophecy  in naming his newborn son in 1942. Zumas middle name, Gedleyihlekisa, refers to a phrase in the isiZulu language that translates to I wont keep quiet when someone deceives me with a beautiful smile while he is doing damage to me.

Accordingly, Zumas wide smile and glittering charisma served him well as he made his way up the political ladder, working closely with Mandela and becoming the nations deputy president in 1999. Zuma, who has never had any formal schooling, entered the nations highest office a decade later, riding a populist wave by positioning himself as champion of the Everyman  a stark contrast to the intellectual, well-educated Thabo Mbeki, who was recalled from the presidency by the ruling African National Congress in 2008.

But Zuma's presidency has been plagued with problems from the start. He weathered eight previous no-confidence votes, each by an increasingly narrow margin  the latest with 198 votes of support squeaking over 177 votes to leave.

FILE - A Sept. 28, 2012, photo shows the private c FILE  Zuma used roughly $23 million in government funds to upgrade his private homestead in Nkandla, in South Africa's northern KwaZulu Natal province. The compound was photographed Setp. 28, 2012. FILE  Zuma used roughly $23 million in government funds to upgrade his private homestead in Nkandla, in South Africa's northern KwaZulu Natal province. The compound was photographed Setp. 28, 2012.

Throughout, the opposition has been unstinting in its criticism.

You, Honorable President, are not an honorable man, said Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane in a seating of Parliament in 2015. You are a broken man, presiding over a broken society. You are willing to break every democratic institution to try and fix the legal predicament you find yourself in. You are willing to break this Parliament if it means escaping accountability for the wrongs you have done.

Author and journalist Adriaan Basson, who has written two books on Zuma  most recently, "Enemy of the People: How Jacob Zuma Stole South Africa and How the People Fought Back  says Zuma has always been an excellent politician.

He came to power through a false narrative through which he successfully portrayed himself as a victim of Thabo Mbeki's  his predecessors  fight against corruption," Basson said. "He was targeted in an investigation into corruption, and he managed successfully to sell the narrative to the ANC supporters that he was targeted specifically because Mbeki wanted to prevent him from succeeding him as ANC leader.

But, Basson added, a good politician doesnt necessarily make a good leader.

Hes been a terrible president, the author said of Zuma. Hes been terrible and poor on all fronts.

'Some things cannot be pardoned'

The chorus against Zuma has grown since a 2013 investigation uncovered that he used some $23 million in government funds to upgrade his rural residence, Nkandla. That, in part, may have led thousands of mourners to loudly boo him as he spoke in December that year at Mandelas funeral proceedings in Johannesburg.

That scandal also prompted a flurry of calls for Zuma's resignation. But the death knell came only in late 2017, when he suffered several crushing blows. Those included several court rulings, including a Constitutional Court decision that Parliament had failed to hold him to account over Nkandla.

But it was his replacement as ANC leader  his term was up  that struck what many saw as the deepest blow. Zuma had campaigned actively for Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma  former South African health minister and chairwoman of the African Union, and one of Zumas former wives  to succeed him.

Zuma appeared confident and relaxed in front of journalists ahead of the announcement  though just minutes earlier, his bodyguards struck blows to the throat of a reporter who asked, aloud, if Zuma was responsible for the countrys woes.

"Im happy to say now that I am bowing out," Zuma said, delivering his signature chuckle.

But when Ramaphosa was announced as the winner, the pinched, tense look on Zumas face told a very different story.

South African President Jacob Zuma, second left, i FILE - South African President Jacob Zuma, second from left behind a bust of former president Nelson Mandela, prepares to give a national address in Cape Town, June 17, 2014. FILE - South African President Jacob Zuma, second from left behind a bust of former president Nelson Mandela, prepares to give a national address in Cape Town, June 17, 2014.

'A dangerous man'

Zumas closest allies say they have long known about his flaws. As members of the ruling party were trying to convince Zuma to step down, the Nelson Mandela Foundation released a harsh statement demanding his resignation "because he has demonstrated that he is not fit to govern.

That foundation is comprised of a constellation of South African luminaries, many of them liberation-era stalwarts such as former president Kgalema Motlanthe, former minister Tokyo Sexwale and anti-apartheid activist Mamphela Ramphele. The last was the partner of anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who died in police custody.

"Some things cannot be pardoned" the trustees said  a striking comment, coming from a foundation built to honor a man who dedicated his life to forgiveness and reconciliation.

The ANC even had doubts about Zumas character in 2005, after Mbeki dismissed him as deputy president amid corruption allegations.

In a new book, former intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils recounted a tense debate over Zuma between ANC stalwarts, many of whom remain in powerful positions today.

He is a dangerous man, Kasrils argued.

But the party leadership said they thought Zuma, despite his flaws, represented a powerful narrative that would appeal to the masses who found Mbeki too intellectual, too removed from the realities of ordinary South Africans.

Mark my words, Kasrils said he argued to the group. The party one day will deeply regret this support for Jacob Zuma.
JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN - A new report released by South Sudan's Human Rights Commission says national security operatives continue to rape women and girls and arbitrarily arrest and detain people across the country.

The 53-page report, released Wednesday, also states that most victims of human rights abuses have no access to justice.

The report details human rights violations and atrocities committed by security agents and other armed forces during the past two years.

Critics say the commission must do more than simply issue reports and, instead, should regularly monitor and keep track of human rights violations and follow up to make sure the perpetrators are arrested.

Gang rapes prevalent

Nyol Justine Yaac, acting chairman of the South Sudan Human Rights Commission, said one of the things the commission found most disturbing is that nearly every reported case of rape was a gang rape.

"All the complaints that have come, no rape was carried out by one person. It's always two people, three people, four people, it's a group. And they are willing to protect whoever did that," Yaac told VOA's South Sudan in Focus.

Yaac said the commission documented more than 200 cases of women and girls being raped by soldiers or men in uniform between 2016 and 2017.

"I think cases of rape have diminished, but we have started to witness more cases of rape from the areas of Kator Gudele," in the southern part of the country, said Yaac.

The commission recommended a special court be established to try rape suspects.

The report also indicates ethnic undertones in the latest wave of violence that broke out in July 2016. It said government forces and SPLA-IO rebels led by former First Vice President Riek Machar were guilty of targeting civilians in parts of Equatoria during this second phase of the four-year conflict.

Role of national security

Yaac said the commission has recommended that in the future, only police have the power to arrest or detain civilians.

"This idea of mortgaging every situation of the police to the national security has to stop. If you look in Juba now, security monitoring and everything is being done by the national security," Yaac added.

Christian Mikala, head of the Human Rights Division at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan, urged the South Sudan Human Rights Commission to go beyond citing human rights violations in reports.

"UNMISS looks forward to the South Sudan Human Rights Commission being accredited to the global association of the Human Rights Institution," Mikala said at the report's release in Juba. "But to do that, the commission must demonstrate independence, and must report regularly, and must receive individual complaints from members and investigate."

Yaac countered that the commission has been given no funds to monitor human rights conditions across the country, noting some of its offices were closed in 2013 shortly after the conflict began.
The private space company SpaceX has launched its largest rocket yet Tuesday, sending a cherry red Tesla Roadster into an elliptical Earth-Mars orbit.

The Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on the same launch pad from which NASA's Apollo 11 lifted off in 1969 on the first mission that landed astronauts on the moon.

A Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket lifts off from pad A Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Feb. 6, 2018. A Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket lifts off from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Feb. 6, 2018.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk told reporters before the launch Tuesday he "would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesn't blow the pad to smithereens."

Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and lead designer of Spac Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX, speaks at a news conference after the Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket launched successfully from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018. Elon Musk, founder, CEO, and lead designer of SpaceX, speaks at a news conference after the Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy rocket launched successfully from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018.

The rocket is equipped with three boosters and 27 engines designed to provide more than 2 million kilograms of thrust. If successful, it will be the most powerful rocket in use today, and the most powerful used since NASA's Saturn 5 rockets last carried astronauts to the moon 45 years ago.

Two booster rockets from the Falcon 9 SpaceX heavy Two booster rockets from the Falcon 9 SpaceX Heavy, return for a landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Feb. 6, 2018. Two booster rockets from the Falcon 9 SpaceX Heavy, return for a landing at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Feb. 6, 2018.

Spectators at Cocoa Beach watch SpaceX's first Fal Spectators at Cocoa Beach watch SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018. Spectators at Cocoa Beach watch SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018.

The Falcon Heavy was first designed to send humans to the moon or Mars, but Musk said Monday it is now being considered as a carrier of equipment and supplies to deep space destinations.

SpaceX New Rocket Launch The Falcon Heavy has three first-stage boosters, strapped together with 27 engines in all. The Falcon Heavy has three first-stage boosters, strapped together with 27 engines in all.

?While such test rockets usually use items like steel or concrete slabs as payload, but the Tesla Roadster made by another company owned by Musk, carried a mannequin "Starman" sitting at the wheel and the radio set to play David Bowie's classic hit Space Oddity on a loop.

"Starman" sits behind the wheel of a Tesla roadste "Starman" sits behind the wheel of a Tesla roadster in this photo posted to the Instagram account of Elon Musk, head of the Tesla car company and founder of SpaceX. "Starman" sits behind the wheel of a Tesla roadster in this photo posted to the Instagram account of Elon Musk, head of the Tesla car company and founder of SpaceX.

In a tweet last month, Musk said he loves the thought of a car driving -apparently endlessly through space and, perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future.

Le SpaceX Falcon Heavy dAcolle du Pad 39A au Cent The SpaceX Falcon Heavy takes off from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Feb. 6, 2018, on its demonstration mission. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy takes off from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Feb. 6, 2018, on its demonstration mission.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket leaves a smoke trail A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket leaves a smoke trail behind after lifting off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket leaves a smoke trail behind after lifting off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018.

Spectators at Cocoa Beach watch SpaceX's first Fal Spectators at Cocoa Beach watch SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Feb. 6, 2018. Spectators at Cocoa Beach watch SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Feb. 6, 2018.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket trails flames after l A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket trails flames after lifting off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Feb. 6, 2018. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket trails flames after lifting off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Feb. 6, 2018.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from histor A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018. A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018.

Visitors stake out spots near the fishing pier at Visitors stake out spots near the fishing pier at Jetty Park to watch SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018. Visitors stake out spots near the fishing pier at Jetty Park to watch SpaceX's first Falcon Heavy rocket launch from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Feb. 6, 2018.
PARIS - A Paris judge on Tuesday denied bail to a controversial Swiss Muslim scholar facing rape accusations, as fresh allegations promise to further complicate one of France's most prominent sexual assault cases to date.

Oxford University professor Tariq Ramadan, 55, was charged with rape late last week, following two French women's accusations of brutal sexual experiences in hotel rooms years before. Ramadan was questioned for two days before being taken into custody Friday.

Swiss media have reported allegations that Ramadan had sexual relations with teenage girls at a Geneva school where he taught in the 1980s. In addition, French media have reported that police have testimonies from other women, who have not leveled charges.

The allegations first surfaced last fall, as the Harvey Weinstein scandal triggered a broader #MeToo outcry against sexual assault and harassment.

Ramadan, a married father of four, adamantly denies the charges, claiming they amount to slander from enemies intent on demolishing him. The case has stunned the Muslim world and further fueled the many critics of Ramadan, who has long been a polarizing figure in Europe.

The accusations

Both of the women pressing charges describe similar episodes  of hotel room meetings, ostensibly for religious discussions, that quickly turned into violent sexual encounters. One woman  a handicapped, 45-year-old convert to Islam using the pseudonym "Christelle"  described in interviews a particularly brutal and humiliating encounter with the scholar in the French city of Lyon in 2009.

During recent questioning, "Christelle" allegedly identified a scar on Ramadan's groin, which he reportedly confirmed existed. She turned over a USB flash drive to investigators allegedly containing compromising text messages from Ramadan, according to Le Parisien newspaper.

But the newspaper also reported a plane reservation that, if confirmed, would show Ramadan flying from London to Lyon at about the same time the woman said the assault took place.

Henda Ayari, accused Tariq Ramadan for raping her Henda Ayari Henda Ayari

The second woman, Henda Ayari, a former Salifist-turned-feminist activist, went public with her accusations in October. She was the first to openly accuse Ramadan of sexual assault, earning insults and threats in the weeks that followed. Like "Christelle," Ayari said the experience took place in a hotel in 2012.

But Ayari's account, too, has been compromised in recent days, with reports of a man claiming she threatened to press rape charges against him in 2013  a year after her alleged encounter with Ramadan after he rebuffed her advances.

Beginning of the end?

Regardless of the outcome, the charges amount to a significant blow to Ramadan, once seen as an inspiration to a generation of young European Muslims. In conferences and television interviews, he preached that Islam and Europe were compatible. Still, critics claimed Ramadan, the grandson of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, wielded a double discourse, hiding political Islam behind unifying rhetoric.

Following last fall's allegations, Ramadan took a leave of absence from his teaching post at Oxford University. More recently, French media report that Qatar  which financed his Islamic Studies chair at Oxford  has also distanced itself from him.

"He has a real hold on his [sexual] prey, as on his faithful," feminist writer Caroline Fourest, a longtime Ramadan foe, told Le Journal du Dimanche.

"I don't think people realize his impact on Europe as a preacher," she added. "He has radicalized brilliant students  young Muslims and transformed them into vindictive paranoids. He has divided European citizens with the kind of harm that few extremists can match."

A number of prominent Muslims have chosen to remain silent, saying they will wait for French justice to weigh in. Analysts claim Ramadan's star was fading long before the allegations surfaced  and especially after the Arab uprisings starting in 2011.

"It's a whole myth that is collapsing. Tariq Ramadan will have a hard time continuing his preaching career based on his personality and a discourse of religious puritanism," Islam specialist Omero Marongui-Perria told Le Parisien.

For their part, Ramadan's backers have launched a petition and written an open letter of support in which they denounce an alleged campaign against him carried out by French media and politicians.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says the United States is seriously considering imposing major restrictions on Venezuela's oil industry, and that President Donald Trump will make the decision.



As he was heading to Kingston, Jamaica, the last stop on a tour of Latin America and the Caribbean, Tillerson told reporters he wanted to consult with American allies in the region who would be effected by such a decision.



"And it was important because I wanted to hear their views, were we missing something, but also their views of whether taking action against oil, which would be pretty dramatic, how they felt about that," the secretary of state said.



Tillerson said the dire situation for the people of Venezuela, who are in the midst of an economic and humanitarian crisis under President Nicolas Maduro, and possible restrictions on oil have been on the agenda at every stop on his tour.

Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexic (L-R) Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are pictured after a news conference in Mexico City, Feb. 2, 2018. (L-R) Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are pictured after a news conference in Mexico City, Feb. 2, 2018.

"We agreed in the trilateral in Mexico City with Mexico, Canada and the U.S. that we are going to put together a very small, very focused working group to see what we can do to mitigate a decision like that if we do take it," Tillerson said of imposing restrictions on Venezuelan oil. "Obviously it will be the president who decides."



Banning sales of Venezuelan oil in the U.S. and suspending refining of Venezuelan crude by American companies could further hurt the already suffering Venezuelan people, American businesses and Caribbean nations that depend on it. Tillerson acknowledged that this is all being considered as part of any decision.



In Kingston, the last stop on his five-nation tour, Tillerson met Wednesday with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Foreign Minister Kamina Johnson-Smith.

Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness and U.S. S Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson shake hands in Kingston, Jamaica, Feb. 7, 2018. Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson shake hands in Kingston, Jamaica, Feb. 7, 2018.

At a news conference with Holness, Tillerson said, "As to any future steps that the U.S. might take regarding sanctioning oil or products to put more pressure on the Maduro regime, we are going to take into full consideration the impacts on regional countries, as well."

He suggested the U.S. could make up for the shortfall created by such a ban.

"We stand ready to assist Jamaica and other partners in the Caribbean to explore and develop the resources they have, but also to share the abundance of resources that North America enjoys," Tillerson said.

A day earlier in Colombia, Tillerson said the United States is also rallying countries in the hemisphere to escalate the fight against a problem that's detrimental to the region  drug trafficking.



While encouraged by the progress made by Colombia in the reduction of coca growth, Tillerson cautioned Tuesday that "results are what matter."



"We need to see results, we need to see the trends reversing," Tillerson said at a news conference in Bogota with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, left, sha Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (L) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a joint press conference after a meeting at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 6, 2018. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (L) shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a joint press conference after a meeting at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Feb. 6, 2018.

Tillerson's remarks came days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to curb assistance to illicit drug hotspots.



Last week, Trump threatened to end aid to countries that fail to stop illegal drugs from pouring across the border, after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official told him cocaine was primarily coming from Colombia and Peru, and trafficked through Mexico and Central America.



"There would be no supply of drugs if there's no demand, and there would be no demand if there is no supply," said Colombian President Santos, indicating the demand in the U.S. is part of the problem.



"We have lost our best leaders, our best journalists, our best judges, our best policemen in this war against drugs," said Santos, adding Colombia hoped to continue the cooperation with the U.S. to eradicate the production of coca, the source of cocaine.



Colombia receives major funding from the U.S. under the so-called "Plan Colombia," which is the name of the U.S. foreign aid, military and diplomatic initiative aimed at combating Colombian drug cartels and left-wing insurgent groups.



During his trip, Tillerson also continued advocating for the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea.



At the joint news conference in Bogota, the secretary of state urged Colombia to join the international community to voice concerns over North Korea's nuclear proliferation.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, shake U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) shakes hands with Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski after a private meeting at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Feb. 6, 2018. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) shakes hands with Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski after a private meeting at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Feb. 6, 2018.

Earlier in Peru, Tillerson said Washington appreciates "the strong support that Peru has given the United States and the international community in pushing back on North Korea's nuclear weapons program."



"The recent sending home of diplomats from Peru is a very strong signal of Peru's position," said Tillerson at a news conference in Lima with President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.



Secretary Tillerson's tour also took him to Argentina, where he talked with officials about conservation and diplomacy.
STATE DEPARTMENT - The United States is rallying countries in the western hemisphere to escalate the fight against a problem thats detrimental to the region: drug trafficking.

While encouraged by the progress made by Colombia in the reduction of coca growth, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson cautioned Tuesday that results are what matter.

We need to see results, we need to see the trends reversing, Tillerson said at a news conference in Bogota with Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos.

Tillersons remarks came days after U.S. President Donald Trump had threatened to curb assistance to illicit drug hotspots.

Last Friday, President Trump threatened to end aid to countries that fail to stop illegal drugs from pouring across the border, after a U.S. Customs and Border Protection official told him cocaine was primarily coming from Colombia and Peru, and trafficked through Mexico and Central America.

There would be no supply of drugs if theres no demand, and there would be no demand if there is no supply, said Santos, indicating the demand in the U.S. is part of the problem.

We have lost our best leaders, our best journalists, our best judges, our best policemen in this war against drugs, said Santos, adding Colombia hoped to continue the cooperation with the U.S. to eradicate coca production.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, left, and Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson walk away after a press conference at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson walk away after a press conference at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018.

Colombia receives large funding from the United States in the so-called Plan Colombia, which is the name of the U.S. foreign aid, military and diplomatic initiative aimed at combating Colombian drug cartels and left-wing insurgent groups.

The top U.S. diplomat also continued advocating for the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea in this hemisphere, a reminder of Pyongyangs threats to the globe.

At the joint news conference in Bogota, Tillerson urged Colombia to join the international community to voice concerns over North Koreas nuclear proliferation.

Earlier in Peru, Tillerson said Washington appreciates the strong support that Peru has given the United States and the international community in pushing back on North Koreas nuclear weapons program.

The recent sending home of diplomats from Peru is a very strong signal of Perus position, said Tillerson at a news conference in Lima with Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, shake U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, shakes hands with Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski after a private meeting at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Feb. 6, 2018. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, left, shakes hands with Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski after a private meeting at the government palace in Lima, Peru, Feb. 6, 2018.

The rapid increase of cocoa cultivation, in many respects, was an unintended consequence of the peace that was negotiated with the FARC, said Tillerson, referring to Colombia's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

A peace deal signed by the Colombian government and the leftist FARC rebels in 2016 to end decades of war committed the guerrillas to stop the narcotics business and help farmers to switch to legal crops. But the cash benefits through that peace accord also brought farmers the incentives to fill their land with large amounts of illegal crops.

After Colombia, Tillerson heads to Kingston, Jamaica, the final stop on his five-nation Latin American tour.
RIO DE JANEIRO - When he paraded during Carnival at age 14 for the first time with a Rio de Janeiro samba group, Wagner Carvalho did not recognize himself in the mirror.

Today, after 16 years, four plastic surgeries and a long process of self-discovery, Wagner, now Kamilla, will become the first transgender woman to be one of the star dancers leading the top-tier Academicos do Salgueiro samba group during Rio's glittering Carnival parades, which begin Sunday.

While Brazil has a reputation as a free-for-all and tolerant nation, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community faces significant numbers of hate crimes and killings. In 2017, over 170 transgender people were slain in Brazil, compared with 56 in Mexico and 25 in the United States, according to Transgender Europe, an advocacy group.

"Adversity for trans people is everywhere," Carvalho said. "If you go into a bakery with me, people are going to look. If I go to a nightclub that is not used to people like me, everything that is different is going to generate resistance."

Born in the Rio favela of Providencia, Carvalho always loved Carnival. After debuting with a small neighborhood group at age 14, she began parading on floats with the Salgueiro samba group in 2008.

Her big break came last year, when she met the head of Salgueiro, Regina Celi, who invited her to parade in a prominent position.

Transgender dancer Kamilla Carvalho prepares herse Transgender dancer Kamilla Carvalho prepares herself for the rehearsal of the Salgueiro samba school prior to the carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan. 11, 2018. Transgender dancer Kamilla Carvalho prepares herself for the rehearsal of the Salgueiro samba school prior to the carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jan. 11, 2018.

Ten years after dancing with Salgueiro for the first time, Carvalho will play a queen as part of this year's Women of the World's Womb theme, which celebrates the strength of black women.

"The story is about ... women warriors ... those who made it possible for women to be empowered today. I think the story is perfect for me," Carvalho said.

Celi said Carvalho's prominent role this year was good for Salgueiro, which will compete against 12 other groups for the coveted title of Rio's Carnival champions, a hotly contested event that tens of millions of Brazilians watch live on TV.

"It is only natural for us to have this beautiful transgender woman representing us," Celi said.

Despite the danger transgender people face in Brazil, Kamilla sees Carnival as an opportunity to promote tolerance.

"People should use the street carnival to enjoy themselves peacefully ... without segregating any kind of person, any race, to embrace people," she said.
CHICAGO - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is embarking on a four-day U.S. tour with the first stop in Chicago to discuss how public service can contribute to stronger economic and political ties between the two countries.

He is expected to appear Wednesday afternoon at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics for a conversation with its founder and director, David Axelrod, who was once an adviser to former President Barack Obama.

Trudeau is also expected to meet with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

After Chicago, he's scheduled to stop in San Francisco, where he's set to meet with local business leaders and entrepreneurs, and Los Angeles, where he'll speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.

The visit comes as talks to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement are underway.
Students in the U.S. who said they were deceived by President Donald Trump's now-defunct Trump University can now get most of their money back, according to a ruling Tuesday by a federal appeals court.

The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a March 2017 agreement requiring Trump to pay $25 million dollars to settle class-action lawsuits accusing his school of fraud after failing to deliver on promises to teach them how to succeed in the real estate sector.

In doing so, the court rejected a challenge from student Sherri Simpson to opt out of the deal and sue Trump for the $19,000 she paid for classes and a mentorship program.

Simpson, a Florida bankruptcy lawyer, did not withdraw from the agreement initially and said she had the right to do so before it was finalized. The court disagreed, saying neither notices to affected students nor due process gave Simpson a second chance to opt out.

Simpson's attorneys had maintained that notices sent to thousands of students earlier in the case promised the right to withdraw from the lawsuits immediately or after any proposed settlement was presented.

"Reading the notice as a whole and in context, we conclude that it promised only one opportunity to opt out," Judge Jacqueline Nguyen wrote for the three-judge panel.

The court also said U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel had good reason to approve the agreement in March. Trump fueled the controversy by repeatedly suggesting Curiel's Mexican heritage made him biased against him. Trump vowed never to settle. But after winning the 2016 presidential election, he said he did not have time for a trial. Trump did not acknowledge any wrongdoing under the terms of the settlement. Trump's attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Simpson's lawyers also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But Amber Eck, a lawyer representing some of the plaintiffs, said, "We're obviously thrilled that the 9th Circuit rejected Ms. Simpson's objection and agreed that our $25 million settlement, which we reached nearly a year and a half ago, is fair and reasonable."

Students paid as much as $35,000 to enroll at Trump University after falsely believing they would succeed in real estate after being taught by experts handpicked by Trump, who himself is a real estate mogul. Trump University operated from 2005 to 2011.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs have said about 3,730 people are slated to receive 90 percent or more of what they paid.
U.N. human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein warned the Indonesian government Wednesday against criminalizing its LGBT citizens.

Zeid said "extremist views" expressed by mainstream politicians are "deeply worrying" as the parliament considers revising criminal laws that would outlaw all sex outside marriage and criminalize the country's LGBT minority.

During the past couple of years, the LGBT community has been subject to an escalating campaign of arrests, raids, vile rhetoric from officials and vigilante attacks.

Zeid said if Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, expects others to fight Islamophobia, then Indonesia must be ready to end discrimination toward others.

"The hateful rhetoric against this community that is being cultivated seemingly for cynical political purposes will only deepen their suffering and create unnecessary divisions," Zeid said on the last day of his three-day visit to the Southeast Asian country.

Local news outlets reported Wednesday that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo cited the country's culture in telling Zeid that LGBT people are not tolerated in Indonesia. Jokowi also reportedly vowed his government would not "over criminalize" LGBT Indonesians.

Rights groups and legal observers believe Islamic and secular political parties are exploiting anti-gay sentiment to reinforce their conservative credentials before provincial elections this year and presidential and parliamentary elections in 2019.
WASHINGTON - The U.S. is shifting combat and intelligence-gathering aircraft to Afghanistan as part of an intensified focus on the Taliban, now that the campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria is winding down, the commander of coalition air forces in Afghanistan said Wednesday.

Air Force Major General James Hecker told reporters at the Pentagon in a video teleconference from Kabul that on February 1 the U.S. Central Command officially designated Afghanistan as its "main effort," supplanting the counter-IS campaign in Iraq and Syria. Central Command is responsible for all U.S. military operations in the broader Middle East and Central Asia.

Hecker emphasized the importance of increased support from U.S. intelligence agencies, whose analysis and expertise help the military identify targets to strike.

"This behind-the-scenes legwork allows us to hit the Taliban where it hurts most, whether it's command-and-control ... or their pocketbooks," Hecker said.

FILE - A U.S. MQ-9 drone is seen at Kandahar Airfi FILE - A U.S. MQ-9 drone is seen at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Jan. 23, 2018. FILE - A U.S. MQ-9 drone is seen at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, Jan. 23, 2018.

?More drones, attack planes

He said the U.S. now has 50 percent more MQ-9 Reaper drones providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in Afghanistan compared with last year.

He said the U.S. also has added A-10 attack planes and will be adding combat search-and-rescue aircraft.

Even as the U.S. adds air power, the size and capabilities of the Afghan air force are growing, Hecker said. The Afghans are now conducting more strike missions than the Americans, he said.

"We are putting unrelenting pressure on the enemy these days," Hecker said, with a goal of compelling the Taliban to reconcile with the government. That goal has been pursued by U.S. commanders in Afghanistan for much of the past 16-plus years, without success.

Hecker acknowledged that air power alone is unlikely to do the trick.



"You're not just going to bomb them into submission," he said. "But it is another pressure point that we can put on them," in addition to ground combat operations led by the Afghan army and special operations forces.
The United States on Wednesday said it was "deeply concerned" that Iran had returned Iranian-American Baquer Namazi to prison after briefly releasing him so he could receive medical treatment.

The White House said it understood that the 81-year-old former U.N. official was returned to Iran's "notorious Evin Prison against the strong advice of his doctors and the Iranian regime's own medical examiner."

Namazi is serving a 10-year sentence based on Tehran's allegations that he spied against Iran and cooperated with the United States. The United States has called those charges "false."

The White House said Namazi has been hospitalized four times in the last year and "continues to suffer from life-threatening heart problems. He remains in urgent need of sustained medical care."

The White House said it "holds Iran fully accountable for his well-being."

The Trump administration called for "the immediate and unconditional release of all unjustly detained and missing U.S. citizens in Iran," including Namazi, his son, Siamak Namazi, Xiyue Wang and Robert Levinson.

Baquer Namazi was detained two years ago, five months after his son was arrested.

Jared Genser, an attorney for the Namazi family, said returning the elder Namazi to prison was "tantamount to a death sentence."

Babak Namazi, another son, told reporters in Washington his father's renewed imprisonment was a "spectacular display of cruelty" by the Iranian government.
GENEVA - The director general of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he is establishing what he calls a health reserve army to tackle emergencies and newly emerging diseases.



Ghebreyesus said he has been spending the past seven months working on a strategic plan to reform and improve the World Health Organization. He said a major focus of this plan is on implementing swifter, more effective emergency response measures.



Tedros noted this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Spanish flu, which killed up to 100 million people, far more than were killed during World War I. He said the world remains extremely vulnerable to potential pandemics and newly emerging diseases, and it must be prepared to respond to them quickly.



He told VOA it is crucial to work with countries on prevention in tackling these looming threats.

Director-General of the World Health Organization Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 7, 2018. Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attends a news conference at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 7, 2018.

"If anything happens, no country can do it alone," he said. "So, we need to have a health reserve force, or, if you like, a health reserve army in different locations so countries who are better off can help other countries."



What he envisions, he said, is the commitment of 50 countries that will have thousands of trained health workers on hand, ready to respond rapidly to medical emergencies wherever they occur. He said he expects countries to cover their own expenses and help those that are unable to do so.



Tedros, a former Ethiopian health minister and the first African to head the WHO, took office on July 1. Back in October, he appointed then-Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as a WHO goodwill ambassador  a move that sparked an international outcry and nearly derailed his nascent administration. Mugabe had faced U.S. sanctions over his government's human rights abuses. The appointment was quickly rescinded.



The WHO chief said the appointment was made in good faith, but he acknowledged the impact it had on the organization and voiced regret. He added it is time to put the controversy behind him, however, and get on with the urgent health issues at hand.
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has named Nelson Chamisa the acting president of the Movement for Democratic Change with immediate effect.



The party said that Chamisa, one of three party vice presidents, will serve as president until Tsvangirai returns from receiving cancer treatment in neighboring South Africa. The party said the party's two other vice presidents also are in South Africa.



The 65-year-old MDC leader has been in and out of the hospital since revealing last June that he has colon cancer.



Over the past few days there have been unconfirmed reports that Tsvangirai is gravely ill and might not survive, but Tsvangirai has disputed that on his Twitter feed. "Of course I have cancer and not feeling too well but I am stable and the process is under control," he wrote.

I am shocked to read in the press that I am in a critical condition. Of course I have cancer and not feeling too well but I am stable and the process is under control. I have been frequently on twitter of late, I am recovering.  Morgan Tsvangirai (@mrtsvangirai) February 6, 2018



Tsvangirai formed the MDC in 1999 to challenge President Robert Mugabe, who was forced out of office in November when a military uprising ended his 37-year hold on power.



The question of Tsvangirai's successor has come up over in the past year, with support divided among Chamisa and the other vice presidents, Thokozani Khupe and Elias Mudzuri. It is not clear how the party will settle the succession issue should Tsvangirai leave his position.
Ailing Movement for Democratic Change founding president, Morgan Tsvangirai, has appointed Nelson Chamisa as acting president of the party.

In a statement, presidential spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka, said, President Morgan Tsvangirai has with effect from today, 7 February 2018, affirmed Vice President Hon. Nelson Chamisa as the acting President of the party by operation of the Constitution until the Presidents return.

This is in light of the Presidents absence and that of the two other vice Presidents who are both in South Africa. VP Chamisa also continues in his assigned duties as the acting chairperson of the MDC Alliance.

Tsvangirai is currently undergoing treatment for cancer of the colon in South Africa. His condition is unknown. Some reports say he is in critical condition while his handlers have indicated that he is stable.

There is chaos in the party as Chamisa and the two other vice presidents Thokozani Khupe and Elias Mudzuri are fighting over the control of the party and the MDC Alliance. Khupe has dissociated herself from the Alliance saying it is not being properly run.

More details to follow 
In a constant effort to grant you, our readers, the best service possible and to keep up with new technologies we have just developed our Facebook Messenger service. The Bot will allow you, if you subscribe, to receive updates from Wanted in Rome directly on your Messenger Facebook chat.

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You will then be asked if you want more information on some of our features and, soon after, you will receive a message asking if you want to subscribe.

The bot will also answer, automatically, some of your frequently asked questions. Of course if you still wish to contact us you can still do it the old fashioned way by sending us an email at info@wantedinrome.com and well get back to you immediately.
Second phase of Rome's tram project would connect Via dei Fori Imperiali with Piazza Venezia.

Rome city council has presented plans to introduce a new tramline connecting Via dei Fori Imperiali with Piazza Vittorio as part of its plan to connect the " new environmental island " in the Monti district.

The tram would run from Largo Corrado Ricci, beside the Roman Forum, up Via Cavour, Via Giovanni Lanza and Via dello Statuto as far as Piazza Vittorio in the Esquilino neighbourhood, where there is a Metro A connection.

The city says it has already sanctioned a budget of 5 million for the project but will be seeking additional funding from the Italian transport ministry.

Rome's transport councillor Linda Meleo said that work could start by May 2019 and that the construction of the new tram line would take 12 to 16 months to complete. The tramline would have three stops and would be able to transport 2,600 passengers an hour during peak times, according to Meleo.

Part of the capital's urban plan of sustainable mobility , known as "Pums", the new tram project allows for the opportunity to "rethink pedestrian systems and the relationship between Monti and the archaeological area", according to Rome's urban transformation councillor Luca Montuori.

The city says the second phase of the project would involve making a tram connection from Largo Corrado Ricci to Piazza S. Marco, just off Piazza Venezia.

In 2013 the city relocated the terminal of the Tram 8 from Largo Argentina to Piazza S. Marco. The 450-m section of extra track cost 6.6 million, meaning the city will require significant additional funding from the transport ministry to complete the 1.5-km tramline from Largo Corrado Ricci to Piazza Vittorio.

The last time a tram trundled between Via Giovanni Lanza and Via Cavour was in 1976.

Separately, the timetable of the number 3 tram, which connects Trastevere with Valle Giulia, has been extended by two hours. The tram now ends its service each night at half past midnight instead of 22.30.
10-14 Feb. The 15th edition of the Cioccolentino festival takes place in the Umbrian city of Terni, in honour of St Valentines Day, from 10-14 February.

The event is designed to unite chocolate with eternal love, and there is nothing casual about the choice of location: a third-century bishop from Terni was none other than St Valentine himself.

Under the heading L'eta dell'amore, the five-day festivals programme of events include lessons in handmade chocolate and tastings as well as a series of demonstrations and workshops by some of the regions most skilled pastry chefs and master chocolatiers on the streets of the historic centre.

Visitors to Terni can even pay their respects to St Valentine, whose relics are preserved in the citys basilica under the sign St Valentine, patron of love.
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The acrimonious break up between former best friends Betty Kyallo and Susan Kaittany has reached a new low. This after the screen siren sought the help of the police in bringing her former business partner to book.

According to reports, the KTN news anchor, accompanied by two police officers, stormed Posh Palace and arrested Susan Kaittany on Monday for allegedly confiscating Bettys passport.

According to sources at their former joint-business, a male and female officer left the high-end salon and spa with Susan.

It looked like they were trying to intimidate Susan asking her why she is holding on to Betty Kyalos passport, a source at the Salon said as quoted by the Star.

Apparently, Bettys passport was left at Susans home after the two went on an exotic trip to Thailand in May last year.

It is still unclear why Susan retained Bettys passport but with Betty no longer part of Posh Palace, it could be business related.

How do you come with cops to someones place of work if you dont want to intimidate them? a witness who was at the salon at the time of the arrest posed.

When called for comment, Susan said that her lawyer was handling the matter and therefore, could not comment further.

Kaittany was taken to Kilimani police station. However, no OB was recorded.

This is the only way we can talk, Betty was heard saying while stating her reasons for calling cops.

While Betty is yet to comment on the matter, she took to social media to post a telling post about friendship.

She wrote:

Yo my peeps. I want to make a shout to a few sets of special people in my life.

1. To everyone who texts or calls you or prays(genuinely) when you are going through something, be blessed sana sana sana. <

2. To everyone who claims to be a friend but they are the first to forward gossip on WhatsApp and ask guys have you seen this ??? I see you? <

3. To everyone who claims to a be a friend but they would rather give you time to go through something alone then holla later because they were giving you time??? as you were?

4. To everyone who leaves group when they shouldnt then they miraculously tokelezea when everything is ok. You know that new Nyashinski song? ?? <

Moral of the story, when your friendship circle becomes thinner, you are definitely heading the right direction, keep going! 
National Super Alliance co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka has maintained that he is ready to be sworn-in as the peoples deputy president  anytime, even now.

The Wiper Party leader reiterated that the Nasaa coalition is stronger and will remain intact despite intra-coalition squabbles.

We do not want to issue empty dates and then we do not swear in. The commitment is still there, and how I wish I could be sworn-in even now, Kalonzo said.

He added, Our opponents are not within Nasa. We are more than ever before committed to the unity of Nasa.

Speaking at the party headquarters in Nairobi after he chaired a National Executive Committee meeting, Kalonzo restated that the no-show by him, Musalia Mudavadi, and Moses Wetangula during Nasa oath day was a strategic move by the coalition.

We are strong as Nasa. We do not fear. Skipping the event was a plan. We will not retreat, he said.

 I am not a coward. We are ready to move this country forward. We have all sacrificed for it.

Kalonzo said given the accusations and counter-accusations in the coalition, Nasa will on Friday meet all its elected leaders to iron out issues post the Raila Odinga oath.

The former Vice President also said he had washed his hands regarding a national dialogue proposed by the international community to heal the ongoing political crisis in the county.

He, however, added that such a discussion about electoral justice will happen eventually.
Outspoken city lawyer Donald Kipkorir has penned a strongly worded letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta lecturing him on dictatorial tendencies.

The lawyers remarks come in the wake of government arrests of some Opposition leaders. Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi has particularly come under fire for the handling of former Nairobi gubernatorial aspirant Miguna Miguna.

In his letter, Kipkorir stated that the Interior CS is over excited and the harassment of opposition leaders is self-defeating.

Posting an old photo where he is in the company of Uhuru, the lawyer said that the two of them wametoka mbali and that it was too late for the president to be a benevolent dictator.

Kipkorir further lectured Uhuru on the difference between Benevolent dictatorship and Kleptocratic dictatorship.

There is a BIG difference between Benevolent Dictatorship and Kleptocratic Dictatorship  Benevolent Dictatorship leads a country completely devoid of corruption or ethnic or filial favour. No Benevolent Dictator names a building, street or university in their names or that of their family members. They leave no memorial in their honor other than their development record. They dont do any business. The only money they earn is their State Salary. On the other hand, Kleptocratic Dictators do the opposite, wrote Kipkorir.

He noted that the remaining four years of Uhurus presidency were too short to industrialize Kenya and he will probably leave office with the country worse off or slightly better.

Four years is too short to industrialize Kenya. Unless we get huge deposits of Oil, Gas, Diamonds and Gold same time. Bottom line, you will leave Kenya in 2022, worse off or slightly better than now, but for sure not industrialized, reads the letter in part.

The letter was posted on his popular Facebook page. Read below.

Dear Mr. President Uhuru Kenyatta

Your Excellency, its too late to be a Benevolent Dictator. A successful Benevolent Dictatorship needs uninterrupted One-Man show for minimum fifteen years, with economic growth of minimum 13% p.a. plus the population growth rate. So, for Kenya to be industrialized, we need a minimum 17% annual economic growth rate.

Park Chung-hee Of South Korea, Lee Kuan Yew Of Singapore, Mahathir Mohamad Of Malaysia and Recep Tayyip Erdogan Of Turkey delivered.

Leadership is a social contract between the King and the citizens. Its inherent in all human beings to trade off certain freedoms for certain comforts. In the above dictatorships, the people slowly, gradually and finally surrendered their rights when the leaders delivered a completely new life for them. All above Benevolent Dictators took South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Turkey from backwater States to industrialized and developed economies in less than fifteen years.

And there is a BIG difference between Benevolent Dictatorship and Kleptocratic Dictatorship  Benevolent Dictatorship leads a country completely devoid of corruption or ethnic or filial favour. No Benevolent Dictator names a building, street or university in their names or that of their family members. They leave no memorial in their honor other than their development record. They dont do any business. The only money they earn is their State Salary. On the other hand, Kleptocratic Dictators do the opposite.

Africa has never had a Benevolent Dictator except for Thomas Sankara and Paul Kagame.

Your Excellency, Four Years is too short to industrialize Kenya. Unless we get huge deposits of Oil, Gas, Diamonds and Gold same time. Bottom line, you will leave Kenya in 2022, worse off or slightly better than now, but for sure not industrialized.

Your advisers, may not be students of History and Politics. If they were, they will tell you that for the Four Years, the lasting legacy you can leave is solid Constitutional Order. Let the full implementation of our Constitution be what you bequeath the next Government.

What is being done harassing Opposition leaders is pyrrhic. It is an empty exercise. No High Court Judge will allow it. The High Court will countermand all the harassment. Your Minister for Internal Security is overexcited. But again, if he takes time to read books of History and Politics, he will know that his actions are futile and one day, he will be held accountable.

Your Excellency, I sign off reminding you that tumetoka mbali!
After days of uncertainty following his arrest last Friday, outspoken Nasa politician Miguna Miguna was last evening ejected to Canada.

His lawyers Nelson Havi and Cliff Ombeta said he was forced on a KLM flight headed for Amsterdam then Canada at around 10 pm.

The government, through a Twitter handle run by the Presidency  @NexusKE- confirmed the alleged deportation, saying the Ministry of Interior has taken the action.

Miguna is headed home. The court ordered he gets released and @ InteriorKE obeyed the orders and even assisted him with a flight ticket home. Please note he renewed his Canadian Passport on 16th June 2017, the tweet read.

According to reports, when Miguna was arrested, the Canadian government had written to Kenya expressing concerns that their citizen was being harassed and they wanted him back.

And as it turns out, Miguna Migunas dual citizenship might be illegal because he denounced his Kenyan citizenship before acquiring Canadian citizenship.

At the time, Kenya had not passed the new constitution that allows for dual citizenship, meaning Miguna Miguna had to forfeit his Kenyan citizenship before becoming a Canadian.

We are not sure if Miguna Miguna applied to regain Kenyan citizenship following the promulgation as required by law, but he has a valid Kenyan identity number which he has used to conduct his functions as an adult citizen of Kenya, including paying taxes, gaining employment and vying for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.

Migunas contentious dual citizenship appears to be the governments main weapon as they can argue that ever since he lost his citizenship by birth, he has never gained citizenship by registration and is no longer a Kenyan citizen. Thus, he is a persona non grata in Kenya.

Those same sentiments were shared by Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria exactly 8 years and 1 month ago.

In a letter dated 8th January 2010 and addressed to Raila Odinga, Moses Kuria, who was then the spokesman of PNU, said Miguna was breaking the law with his irregular citizenship. He urged Raila, who was the Prime Minister and partner in the Grand Coalition government, to release Miguna from his duties as his senior advisor on Coalition affairs.

Last night, as Miguna Migunas deportation stunned the country, Moses Kuria revisited his letter saying that Raila never listened to him.

The matter of General Miguna Migunas citizenship woes was first brought to the fore exactly 8 years and 1 month ago. On the 8th of January 2010, I wrote to then Prime Minister and Grand Coalition partner Rt Hon Raila Amolo Odinga. You can find a copy of this letter in my book Saying it as it is on pages 155 and 156. Did Raila listen? Asiyesikia la MKuu huvunjika MGUuuna, Moses Kuria posted on Facebook.

Here are screengrabs of the said letter.
We must be efficient with those resources, she urged. We need our leaders to be prepared.

Much of that preparation, Kelly Janus explained, is being able to put a strategic plan in place. She highlighted a lack of planning as one of the top reasons nonprofits either dont succeed or dont thrive.

A strategy, she said, is what lays the foundation for success. Its not just the charisma of the leader; you need these foundations.

When talking about the five years of research she did, conducting interviews and meeting with founders, Kelly Janus said that she was pleasantly surprised by how open, inspirational, and generous people were.

Although she admitted that the thought of writing so many words was daunting at first, and the process of finding her voice made her feel vulnerable, she said she is excited to share this book and hopes to equip nonprofit leaders to be effective.

Looking at the operational side of a social organization, rather than just the people it serves, was something the author said she became aware of during her upbringing.
OTTAWA  The federal Conservatives conservation critic says hes alarmed by a Liberal bill tabled Tuesday that would keep Indigenous traditional knowledge secret from the public when its used to kibosh fishery projects.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 6/2/2018 (1314 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  The federal Conservatives conservation critic says hes alarmed by a Liberal bill tabled Tuesday that would keep Indigenous traditional knowledge secret from the public when its used to kibosh fishery projects.

"Id say thats outrageous," Neepawa-area MP Robert Sopuck said. "Natural justice demands that if government makes a decision based on information, that any citizen should have a right to challenge that information, but they have to know it first."

Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc unveiled a number of amendments to the Fisheries Act, and announced $284 million in spending over the next five years to enforce laws that protect habitats wherever fish are present.

The overhaul would expand the reach of a prohibition against anything that alters or impacts fish habitat anywhere fish are found. The legislation takes aim at the former Conservative governments 2012 reform, which only enforced those protections for fish listed in provincial registries as being part of commercial, recreational or Indigenous fisheries.

Officials with Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the 2012 changes resulted in a lot of confusion about exactly what projects would require a federal government assessment, because it wasnt always clear which fish needed protecting and which didnt.

Under the new law, only major projects will go through a federal assessment. More minor ones, such as smaller changes to individual farms or in small municipalities, will fall under provincial or municipal jurisdiction, though Ottawa will issue guidelines.

The $284 million will be allocated to help implement and enforce the new law, largely designated to hire new fisheries officers, habitat protections officers and staff to create and monitor the registry to keep track of cumulative effects.

That means impacts on a specific ecosystem or watershed.

For most of Manitoba, that would mean the Lake Winnipeg basin, which stretches from Flin Flon southeast, past the American border.

Sopuck praised the idea of more federal monitoring of species at risk, such as pickerel in Lake Winnipeg. But he fears a return to the issues that led to the 2012 law. He recalled highways, culverts and drains were considered fish habitat, because definitions are easier to apply to coastal communities, but harder for the Prairies.

"We had all these absurd situations of fisheries officers showing up everywhere with guns on their hips, basically regulating things that had no benefits for fisheries," Sopuck said.

"What Im worried about is that all of a sudden every drop of water in Manitoba becomes fish habitat."

JOE BRYKSA / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES The government has proposed $284 million in spending over the next five years that will go towards hiring staff to implement and enforce changes to the Fisheries Act.

LeBlanc said the 2012 bill "weakened our environmental protections, increased economic uncertainty and cut the federal governments capacity to protect our waters." Environmental groups have voiced similar concerns.

But Sopuck noted Manitoba Hydro and others testified at the House fisheries committee in 2016 the Conservative law did a better job of protecting by fish by expanding the scope and statute for harming them.

The Fisheries Council of Canada (FCC) said it needed more time to review the 67-page bill.

"The amendments are far-reaching and some implications may not appear for years to come," FCC head Paul Lansbergen said, calling for "an open and honest discussion to make sure we get it right."

The act also will require the minister to take into account Indigenous knowledge and expertise when it is provided, and all decisions must take into account the possible impacts on Indigenous rights.

However, the bill will change the Access to Information Act to protect that knowledge from being revealed publicly or even to a projects proponents, without explicit permission from the Indigenous community or people who provided it.

The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) could not make somebody available for a Tuesday afternoon interview. But an undated AFN brochure says traditional knowledge is owned by Indigenous peoples and differs among nations. "(It) has traditionally been protected by the community on a collective basis and is subject to the context in which it is being used."

The pamphlet says such "collectively held" knowledge is in "continuous evolution," and can complement western knowledge to manage fish ecosystems. "Scientific methods call for knowledge to be shared, whereas Aboriginal knowledge is often sacred, in some aspects," it reads.

Senior bureaucrats could not recall who had requested such changes, but said the issue of protecting knowledge has come up for decades.

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LeBlanc told reporters he doesnt imagine the change become a veto, but "co-managing" fisheries would respect traditions.

"Theres an intellectual-property responsibility to protect that knowledge; that knowledge belongs to them," LeBlanc said. He said considering such input is "an obligation," but also wouldnt say who requested the privacy policy. "I dont think its constructive to speak in terms of veto powers."

Exactly which projects will require a federal assessment and ministerial permit to proceed, and which will not, will be spelled out in regulations that are now under development. Decisions made through assessments will be made public, something that is not required now.

The bill will be followed later this week by one that will overhaul the National Energy Board, as well as revise the Navigable Waters Protection Act. LeBlanc said when that bill is made public, it will become clear how it and the new Fisheries Act will work together to protect the environment and prevent duplication of assessments.

 with files from The Canadian Press

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
The man accused of killing 15-year-old Tina Fontaine told police he treated her like a daughter, but also thought she was a "hot chicky."

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 7/2/2018 (1313 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The man accused of killing 15-year-old Tina Fontaine told police he treated her like a daughter, but also thought she was a "hot chicky."

The jury that will have to decide whether 55-year-old Raymond Cormier is guilty of second-degree murder heard from the accused for the first time Wednesday in a videotaped police interview, in which he denied killing Tina.

Supplied Raymond Joseph Cormier

Cormier has pleaded not guilty and is presumed innocent.

Jurors watched and listened, with the aid of a transcript, to 1.5 hours of Cormier's interview with Winnipeg Police Service homicide investigators on Oct. 1, 2014. The rest of the video is set to be played in court today.

It shows Cormier hunched over and slumped against the wall as he speaks to officers, his French accent apparent through mumbled speech.

"Don't focus on me as the guy that did this, because I didn't do it," Cormier told officers before they began their questioning.

"She did not deserve what happened to her," he said while Det.-Sgt. Wade McDonald was explaining his legal rights as a person who had just been arrested for murder. "What happened to her was wrong."

Cormier told police he and Tina got in a fight the last time he saw her because, he said, he sold her bike. Although he said he couldn't remember the exact date he last saw her or what she was wearing, Cormier told investigators she showed up to a house where he was staying around 3 a.m. or 4 a.m.

Tina was "distraught," he said, after her 18-year-old boyfriend, Cody Mason, left the city and returned to St. Theresa Point, located 470 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg.

"She was crying. Cody was gone," Cormier said.

He said he'd known Tina and her boyfriend for about a month-and-a-half, having met them on a North End street in the summer of 2014. He'd seen Tina five to seven times that summer, "no more than that." Cormier used to call Cody "the royal guard" because he and Tina were always together, he said. But the night he last saw her, she was alone.

"That was the only time without Cody," Cormier said.

He told police Tina was screaming and being "hysterical" and he couldn't handle it, so he threw a bag of marijuana at her and watched her walk away.

"I got fed up with her. You know, I don't need this," he said.

"Some of her last words was what  to me anyway  was 'I'm homeless,' and yelling and screaming," Cormier told police during the interview.

He told police he watched her walk toward another man who was walking on the other side of the street, and suggested to officers they should focus on him in their investigation.

When officers pressed him for details about the man, Cormier described him as a middle-aged, white, with shoulder-length hair who looked like "Robert Plant," the former lead singer of 1970s rock band Led Zeppelin.

At one point during the interview, Cormier said he wondered if another man, who he accused of beating his friend, could have done something to Tina.

"I'm not trying to point you in a bad direction," he told investigators.

Cormier described how he thought Tina was "a very beautiful young girl," outgoing and bubbly. On the first night they met, he said he thought she was a "hot chicky," and made a derogatory sexual comment. But he told police an adult female friend of Cormier's told him "she's too young." Police questioned Cormier about whether that friend, Sarah Holland, was actually present the night Cormier met Tina and Cody.

Cormier said Tina talked about her father's murder, and showed him the memorial tattoo on her back in honour of her dad, Eugene Fontaine, who was killed in 2011.

"I was treating her like she was my daughter," Cormier said. He told police he had a daughter, and he said if anyone hurt his daughter like he thought Tina had been hurt, "I'd kill him."

"I hope you guys find this piece of s--t," he said.

McDonald testified police weren't initially planning on arresting Cormier on Oct. 1, 2014.

He was a suspect in the murder investigation at the time, but when McDonald and his partner showed up to a Carmen Avenue home to interview Sarah Holland as part of what they told her was the investigation into Tina Fontaine's homicide, Cormier was there. He ran from officers and tried to jump a fence before McDonald grabbed him by the ankle. Cormier later questioned his arrest and told officers they had "a Mickey Mouse warrant."

Tina's bike and her friendship with Cormier was on the 15-year-old's mind the last day her social worker saw her alive, the jury also heard Wednesday.

Kimberly Chute, who was then a social worker with South East Child and Family Services, told court about a conversation she had with Tina involving a meth user named "Sebastian."

The jury previously heard Cormier was using the name Sebastian during the summer of 2014. "I tell everybody my name's Sebastian, but it's not," he told police.

On Aug. 8, 2014, Chute picked up Tina from the children's hospital at the Health Sciences Centre and arranged an emergency CFS placement for her at a downtown Winnipeg hotel where she could stay the night. Tina had been taken to hospital after a security guard found her unresponsive in a parkade outside the Helen Betty Osborne Building around 10 a.m.

After Tina was medically cleared and released from hospital, Chute took her to get something to eat. They stopped at a McDonald's drive-thru  something the social worker said she often did when meeting teens.

"It's a great way to get them talking, and kids tend to talk more in the car as well," Chute said.

They started talking, and in a conversation Chute would make notes on later that day, Tina said some "fairly significant" things, she testified Wednesday.

Tina brought up her desire for a bicycle, and Chute said she told her if she had a stable CFS placement, it was a possibility the agency could arrange to buy her one.

Chute said she was trying to give Tina a reason to stay at her placement, since she'd already been reported missing and gone AWOL more than once since she came into care in mid-July 2014  "Just to get her to stay put for more than one day," Chute said.

But that's when, Chute said, Tina brought up her friend Sebastian.

"She said her friend was going to find her a bike," and that morphed into a conversation about Sebastian, who Tina said was a 62-year-old meth user. She told Chute she didn't use meth herself.

"After I tried to do a bit more digging, she shut down and didn't want to answer those questions anymore," Chute testified.

She testified she brought Tina to a downtown hotel  the Best Western Charter House  and tried to encourage her to stay in and get some sleep. The teen had told her she hadn't been sleeping well. But Tina said she wanted to go to Portage Place shopping centre, and Chute said she couldn't stop her.

"We're not allowed to use physical restraint for kids, and if she wants to go, she was free to go," Chute said.

A respite worker who was tasked with looking after Tina that night testified the teen didn't take the advice to stay in, saying she was going to see some friends at Portage Place and then she'd be back.

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She never returned.

Tina was reported missing four times in a month, from the day she was to be taken into CFS care on July 17, 2014, to the day her body was pulled from the Red River on Aug. 17, 2014.

A doctor who treated Tina after she was taken to hospital Aug. 8, 2014, the last time CFS workers saw her, testified she was concerned the teen was being sexually exploited because of the way she'd been found by paramedics passed out and prone in a parkade. Tina didn't consent to a physical exam and was reluctant to answer the doctor's questions, the jury heard.

"I was worried she'd been sexually exploited in some way," Dr. Andrea Wilkie Gilmore testified. "I tried to get her to open up to me, and I told her about some of the dangers she could be in."

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @thatkatiemay
My father was Paul Childs twin brother, so Julia Child was my great aunt by marriage. Paul and Julia had no children of their own, Prudhomme said. We were lucky enough to be treated like children or grandchildren.

Prudhomme said that his aunts getting into television was almost accidental. She was invited to talk about her cookbook on a local channel.

On the set, she said I dont want to tell them how to cook. I want to show them. So, she demonstrated making an omelet, he said. After the show aired, all 23 people watching called in to say they wanted that book.

From then on, she was in demand as a television cooking personality.

As a very young child, Prudhomme would watch his great-aunt on black and white television and then she would appear in his home or hers. He admitted that it was at first confusing for him to reconcile the two Julias.

Eventually, I came to know the difference in the Julia on television and the real Julia, he said, laughing. Actually, there really wasnt that much difference. In real life, she was very much the way she was on television.

Napa Valley Museum News Learn about the history, process, and artistry involved in creating chocolate at the Napa Valley Museum is opening a new exhibit The Art of Chocolate, running from Feb. 10 through April 1.

Prudhomme has many rich memories of time spent with the Childs.
OTTAWA  A Manitoba senator appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December gave a scathing dressing-down Tuesday of the Liberals approach to Indigenous issues, in her first major comments since taking office.

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This article was published 7/2/2018 (1314 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  A Manitoba senator appointed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in December gave a scathing dressing-down Tuesday of the Liberals approach to Indigenous issues, in her first major comments since taking office.

Sen. Mary Jane McCallum is commonly cited as Canadas first female First Nations dentist, and is temporarily continuing treatments in Manitobas north.

Justin Tang / The Canadian Press files Manitoba Sen. Mary Jane McCallum (centre) poses with fellow senators Lillian Dyck and Peter Harder on Parliament Hill in December before she was sworn in.

"When I look at what has eroded in our relationship with government, its been the trust," she told the Senate committee on Aboriginal issues Tuesday, saying First Nations people get second-class dental treatment while grappling with a multitude of social issues.

Her comments came as auditor general Michael Ferguson detailed his assessment of the Childrens Oral Health Initiative (COHI) program, which aims to prevent dental issues among Indigenous children by providing them annual checkups, temporary fillings and applying fluoride varnish to their teeth.

The program has operated since 2004, and a report Ferguson published last November found COHI was only available on half of First Nations, and has been treating a declining number of children over the past three years, despite a baby boom.

At the time, the government said more funding would help the program grow, and Ferguson found some evidence suggesting there might have been a reduction in cavities.

The senator said that doesnt jive with what she has seen during the decade shes observed the program.

"There is an increase in general anesthetic, which means that the COHI program isnt working," said McCallum, adding she had raised the issue with federal officials in Manitoba.

"With COHI, you have unqualified, unlicensed people who work, and they have no oversight body whatsoever. They are not licensed anywhere. Theyre working on First Nations, and only on First Nations land would that happen."

She also spoke about the social issues surrounding health in remote, northern Manitoba communities. She said a weeklong trip to an unnamed community allows her to treat 25 patients. "Sometimes, there are 200 to 300 people that come in. The care we deliver is all emergency work; theres no comprehensive work."

The new senator calls Brochet home, a remote community that straddles the Saskatchewan border. More recently, she practised dentistry at the Opaskwayak Cree Nation reserve near The Pas. Its unclear to which community she was referring.

She said four dentists often circle through communities, meaning patients dont trust those caring for them enough to share the issues theyre facing.

"Weve trained people to access care only when theyre in pain," she said, adding "self-care" has been stripped by the legacy of residential schools and other programs.

She gave the example of dental bacteria spreading in crowded houses because toothbrushes can be strewn about, and small children may toss them in the toilet. "When you have homes that dont even have closets, you cant even take a glass to put your toothbrushes in," she said, holding up a water glass.

McCallum said subsidized food reaches communities where many people dont have enough teeth to consume it.

"Its not only a bacterial problem; theres homelessness, because they couch-surf. They cannot go into the fridge at any time, even if theyre grannies, because they dont feel theyve contributed to the household."

She said with some exceptions, her job remains fee-for-service, and shes been the sole dentist  on a part-time basis  for a population of 12,000.

"The more higher-cost work I can do, like root canals, surgicals, the higher my per diem is. So, if Im providing appropriate care to the people, which is restorative, my per diem comes down."

She claimed paperwork has only gotten worse, prompting her to write to Trudeau and Indigenous Services Minister Jane Philpott. "Our ability to provide care in a remote setting is getting less and less."

Philpott had not yet heard the senators testimony by Tuesday afternoon, but noted the Liberals boosted COHI funding last spring by $45.4 million through to 2021.

"My sense has been that its been a program thats been highly regarded and appreciated by communities," she said. "It takes time to do that and make sure youve got the right staff available."

The government also aims to finalize its oral health policy for First Nations and Inuit people by next month, and implement in April a better data-collection policy to assess which programs are working.

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McCallum said she was weary of the public discourse around Indigenous people.

"People seem to have the perception that this is mostly First Nations fault, that we are where we are because we choose to be on welfare or choose to be lazy or choose to be whatever they want to give us. Really, we are unable to fulfil responsibilities because the government cannot act, and they have not found a way through all of this," she said.

Ferguson spoke to the committee about what impediments to progress hes come across in his many audits of federal programs serving First Nations, Inuit and Metis people, for a sweeping Senate study on that issue.

His chief concerns included: a lack of simultaneous political will at different levels of government, the dispersed nature of various nations, a lack of true consultation, unstable funding, and vague goals that are hard to reach and assess.

Philpott listed most of those issues when she unveiled the scope of her new department, though some critics said there were not clear targets for housing, education and health.

"Im sorry to report that there still has been little improvement in federal government programs for Indigenous peoples," Ferguson said.dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
A Winnipeg resident is frustrated by a new fee imposed by her landlord, requiring $50 to print a rent receipt she can use for income tax filing.

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This article was published 7/2/2018 (1313 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg resident is frustrated by a new fee imposed by her landlord, requiring $50 to print a rent receipt she can use for income tax filing.

Kat Hermary has lived in her same apartment block on Fairlane Avenue for nearly 10 years and said this is the first time such a fee has been charged. She was alerted to the new cost in a Feb. 1 letter slipped under her door by Rancho Realty Services.

RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Kat Hermary is frustrated by a new fee to have rent receipts printed for income tax purposes.

"To me, this is just a big cash grab," she said. "Im on a fixed income, I live on CPP. My rent for a one-bedroom apartment here is $969 per month and now they want $50 just to get a lousy piece of paper that they can print off their computer."

Hermary said she met with her resident manager to discuss the issue, but realized hes simply following marching orders from Rancho Realty.

"While I was sitting in there, trying to talk to him, he had message after message after message of people wondering why they suddenly were getting charged. But of course, hes only the messenger  its not his fault," she said.

Adele Kozyniak, director of property management for Ranchos residential division, said the company found the practice of printing receipts for all of its 1,800 residential suites to be time-consuming. Under the Residential Tenancies Act, landlords arent required to issue rent receipts unless the tenant is paying by cash. So Rancho opted to start charging $50 per receipt to cover administrative costs.

"Fifty dollars was just a discretionary fee based on what other property management companies have been charging," Kozyniak said. "We thought it was a fair cost to recoup administration costs internally."

Asked if their company had received blowback from tenants about the new fee, Kozyniak tread cautiously.

"Weve got some feedback and they understand. Sometimes they just need further clarification on the costs involved and they leave knowing that, Yes, yep, OK, I understand," she said. "Some of them decided that they want to go to the pre-authorized payment plan (which would mean getting a free receipt annually)."

"Sometimes people have a difficult time with change and we appreciate that," she added.

In a call with the Free Press Wednesday, a Residential Tenancies Branch (RTB) spokesperson confirmed that if tenants paid their rent in cash, or by direct deposit, their landlord is obligated to provide a written receipt when they receive payment.

If tenants pay by cheque, money order or debit, then they can be charged for receipts, since they should technically have records of payment already, which can be used as proof of receipt for income tax purposes.

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But contrary to what the RTB said, when Hermary called Canada Revenue Agency to see if she could use her past bank statements, she was told they wouldnt be admissible. "So were all stuck," she said.

Real estate lawyer Carl Dalton said tenants could fight the fee at a RTB hearing, but would have to prove the fee is unreasonable to win their case "Its not atypical for property managers to charge for what they consider are extra services," Dalton said.

"(Hermarys) question is reasonable in this. How big is the fee? Most people dont complain because the fee is nominal. If I was the tenant, and if I wanted to argue it in front of the RTB, it sounds like it would be an uphill battle."

Hermary said she doesnt think it would be worth the hassle to pursue a hearing, but she will continue talking to her property manager in hopes of waiving the fee. Kozyniak said Rancho Realty would "potentially" consider kiboshing the $50 surcharge for people on fixed incomes.

jessica.botelho@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @_jessbu
At a recent town hall in Winnipeg, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said no religious group is going to be barred from Canadas summer jobs on the basis of its beliefs and that anyone who says otherwise is pushing a political agenda.

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This article was published 7/2/2018 (1314 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

At a recent town hall in Winnipeg, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said no religious group is going to be barred from Canadas summer jobs on the basis of its beliefs and that anyone who says otherwise is pushing a political agenda.

Respectfully, we disagree. The reality is, organizations that are unable  for reasons of conscience or belief  to check off an attestation stating they support Canadian constitutional rights as well as the right to reproductive choice, a move that seems to restrict access to federal funds to groups that are perceived as anti-abortion or anti-gay.

We implore the prime minister to truly listen to the concerns of Canadians with deeply-held religious convictions.

We are not the prime ministers political opponents. We are faith-based organizations and churches that use the summer jobs program to offer services to children and other vulnerable people in our communities.

It is surprising, even incredible, that the prime minister cannot understand our concerns when editorial boards across the country have recognized the overreach of the attestation, even though they may not agree with our beliefs. The media, almost without exception, have recognized that the attestation is problematic.

The required attestation is little more than a values test. It is wildly inappropriate, in a free and democratic society, for a government to require citizens or private organizations to attest to anything in order to receive a public benefit.

A troubling precedent is being set. Whats next? All Canadians should be asking that question.

The government continues to argue that it is uninterested in the beliefs of an organization, and concerned only with its activities. But the attestation is clearly not about activities. It is about beliefs.

The government provided some clarification in late January, including a definition of respect that stretches the common usage of the word, almost beyond recognition. To respect, according to this government, now means not seeking to remove or actively undermine existing rights.

This supplementary information leaves our significant concerns unresolved  the attestation remains unchanged. And it raises new questions. We are now left wondering, for example, what exactly it means to "actively undermine."

We have heard from hundreds of churches and faith-based organizations that are genuinely dismayed with this requirement. These groups provide summer programs that benefit children and youth, newcomers and refugees, persons and families experiencing poverty and homelessness.

They desire to serve their communities. But much of that programming will be significantly reduced, if not cancelled, by the current change in the Canada Summer Jobs grant.

Its not just us for whom values, beliefs and actions are integrated and inseparable.

The prime minister himself believes fervently that access to abortion is a right and a public benefit. Thats whats behind this attestation.

However, he is not allowing room for those who believe otherwise. Actions flow out of beliefs and values for all of us.

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We do not believe that we have a right to funding, or to a Canada Summer Jobs grant. No one does. However, if the government is going to offer grants, it must offer them on a level playing field and not use ideological screening to determine who is eligible to apply for funding.

The solution seems so easy. The government could have made it clear in the guidelines the kinds of activities that would be eligible for funding, and required applicants simply attest that the grant would be used only for those kinds of activities. They could have asked organizations to confirm that their policies and practices comply with all relevant human rights laws and labour and employment laws.

And they could have removed the value-laden attestation. Removing the requirement to attest respect for certain values and rights would have allowed all of these employers to submit applications without reservation.

The prime minister does not seem to understand that it is not for him or his government to decide what religious Canadians  or any Canadian, for that matter  can or cannot agree to in good conscience.

There is irony in invoking the charter to compel the agreement of individuals and non-governmental organizations. The charter is meant to protect citizens from government intrusion. It is not to be used by government to coerce belief, action or compliance of its citizens.

Julia Beazley is director of public policy for the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
A judge in London yesterday rejected an application by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to withdraw a British arrest warrant issued against him in 2012. In a judgment full of obvious contradictions, she ruled that way even though a Swedish-initiated European arrest warrantthe trigger for the British warrantwas cancelled in May 2017.

Despite the trumped-up Swedish government sexual assault allegations against Assange being dropped long ago, he still faces immediate arrest if he steps outside the Ecuadorian embassy, where he has been confined for five and a half years in a tiny, windowless room, 15 feet by 13, without access to sunlight, fresh air or exercise.

Swedish authorities last year formally closed their investigation, effectively confirming that there was never any case to investigate in the first place. What was involved was a dirty tricks operation aimed at discrediting and paralysing WikiLeaks and putting Assange behind bars, or worse.

Nevertheless, senior district judge Emma Arbuthnot insisted that Assange must still be arrested by the British police, despite no charges of any kind ever being laid against himnot even for skipping bail itself. She claimed this was a straightforward reading of the UK Bail Act. Assange had not been charged with absconding from bail, but she ruled that he must be brought to court to possibly face such a charge.

After handing down her ruling, the judge agreed to adjourn the hearing until next Tuesday to consider public interest arguments submitted by Assanges lawyers. Tweeting after the ruling, Assange said: We only lost the first of four points. I was never charged. My asylum was over US extradition and Sweden dropped its so-called preliminary investigation a year ago. We are arguing four points ... If we win any point the warrant falls.

Even if Arbuthnot were to withdraw the arrest warrant next week, however, Assange would still face almost certain arrest and extradition to the United States to be tried for espionage and treason, crimes carrying potential death penalties.

A sealed indictment was drawn up under the Obama administration. The Trump administrations Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last April that Assanges arrest remains a priority. CIA director Mike Pompeo has described WikiLeaks as a non-state hostile intelligence service. James Comey, then the FBI director, last May told a US Senate panel Assange would be arrested as soon as he stepped outside the embassy.

As these statements underscore, the US political, military and intelligence establishment is determined to punish Assange and silence WikiLeaks for having exposed its war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan and its diplomatic intrigues and crimes around the world.

This included the release of the collateral murder video showing the 2007 US helicopter massacre of 12 Iraqi civilians, the posting of over 250,000 secret US diplomatic cables, and the ongoing publication of thousands of files detailing the CIAs malware operations to secretly seize control of computer networks.

Outside the court, Assanges lawyer Jennifer Robinson said whether or not the warrant was quashed, Assange would not leave the embassy until he had an assurance he would not be extradited to the US. Mr Assange remains willing to answer to British justice in relation to any argument about breaching bail, but not at the expense of facing injustice in America, she said. This case is and always has been about the risk of extradition to the United States and that risk remains real.

Robinson pointed out that Assange had already suffered far in excess of any penalty for absconding from bailpossibly a fine or a short term in jailto seek political asylum in the embassy.

In a written submission to the judge, Assanges barrister Mark Summers QC said Assange had genuine fears, later proved correct, that the US authorities sought to prosecute him over his work with WikiLeaks. If arrested, Summers stated, Assange would face rendition to the US, treatment similar to that meted out against WikiLeaks whistleblower Chelsea Manning and possible persecution, indefinite solitary confinement and the death penalty. Manning spent seven years in a military prison and was subjected to abuse amounting to torture.

In her ruling, Judge Arbuthnot made no mention of this reality. Instead she declared that it was essential to uphold the Bail Act to avoid the administration of justice being undermined. She flatly dismissed the argument that the arrest warrant was obsolete because the substantive proceedingsthe European warrantwas no longer in existence.

Assanges barrister also submitted a medical report about Assanges deteriorating health. Summers said Assange was in constant pain, regularly suffered respiratory infections and had significant depression. Judge Arbuthnot, however, said the health issues were not that bad.

Assanges lawyers argued his punishment was not proportionate and it was in the courts interest not to proceed with Bail Act charges. They cited the December 2015 UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention report that condemned Assanges detention as arbitrary, unreasonable, unnecessary, disproportionate and called on Swedish and British authorities to immediately end his deprivation of liberty and compensate him.

The Westminster Magistrates Court room was packed and protests were conducted outside, demanding Assanges freedom.

The British government, however, is just as intent on putting Assange away as the US. Before seeking asylum in the embassy, Assange was jailed in Wandsworth Prison in isolation for 10 days and then put under house arrest for 550 days under powers granted by the European warrant. Scotland Yard mounted a 24/7 police presence outside the Ecuadorian Embassy for three years and remains committed to arresting him. In 2015, the UK government refused an earlier request for Assange to access hospital treatment without the threat of arrest.

In a bid to end the impasse in its embassy, Ecuador recently granted Assange citizenship and tried unsuccessfully to persuade British officials to give him diplomatic status, which might have allowed him to leave Britain even if he was sought by US officials.

Assange, an Australian citizen, was forced to seek Ecuadorian assistance because successive Australian governments have closely collaborated in the US drive to capture him. In 2010, Prime Minister Julia Gillard vilified his actions as illegal and established a taskforce of Australian intelligence and police officers to actively aid US efforts to fabricate criminal charges against Assange and others.

Assange sent a statement to the January 16 webinar Organizing Resistance to Internet Censorship, featuring journalist Chris Hedges and WSWS Chairperson David North. Assange warned that the future of humanity depends on the struggle between the democratization of communication via the Internet and usurpation of communication by artificial intelligence, directed by conglomerates such as Google and Facebook.

In calling for an International Coalition of Socialist, Antiwar and Progressive Websites, the World Socialist Web Site and the International Committee of the Fourth International proposed as one of the principles to be fought for: Demanding the end to the persecution of Julian Assange and [US NSA whistleblower] Edward Snowden and the complete restoration of their personal freedom.

The author also recommends:

Freedom for Julian Assange!

[11 January 2018]

All WSWS Coverage of the Persecution of WikiLeaks
On January 24, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested Syed Ahmed Jamal at his home in Lawrence, Kansas as he was preparing to take his daughter to school. Jamal, a 54-year old adjunct professor of chemistry at Park University in Parkville, Kansas, has been charged with being in the United States illegally.

The manner in which the arrest was carried out as well as the details of the case have drawn the attention of local, national and international media. Jamal was arrested in his own front-yard in the presence of his young daughter, handcuffed and taken to the car before his family could reach him. As his wife rushed out along with their teenage son and tried to hug Jamal, she was warned by an ICE agent that she could be charged with interfering with an arrest. For two weeks Jamal has been held in a Missouri jail, 160 miles away from his wife and three children.

Jamal arrived in the United States 30 years ago on a student visa from Bangladesh. After completing his degree at the University of Kansas, and a brief return to Bangladesh, he acquired an H1-B visa to work at Childrens Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. He continued his education, pursuing a doctoral degree at the University of Kansas in molecular biosciences and pharmaceutical engineering, exchanging the H1-B for a student visa. At the time of his arrest, Jamal was on a temporary work permit that enabled him to get an adjunct position at Park University, while carrying out research at various local hospitals.

According to ICE, while Jamal entered the country legally, he twice overstayed a visa and in 2011 violated a judges order to leave the country. As reported in the Washington Post, the agency initially also claimed that Jamal had been arrested on a misdemeanor charge in 2012, but issued a new statement Monday night after it could not confirm the charge.

Jeffrey Y. Bennett, an immigration lawyer who has filed a request to stay Jamals deportation order, confirmed that in 2011, Jamals visa had become invalid. At that point, he was given a voluntary departure order to leave the United States. Non-fulfilment of that order meant that Jamal was vulnerable to being arrested and deported by ICE agents.

Based on an active ICE arrest warrant, Jamal was taken into custody in September 2012, but released on the condition that he continue to check in with ICE. Bennett stated that this was possible because of the way in which ICE functioned under the Obama administration: At that time, President Obama directed the Department of Homeland Security to exercise prosecutorial discretion on certain people who could legally be deported... and refrain from deporting them if they have more favorable factors than negative factors in their life.

Jamal, by all accounts, fit that category. A teacher and a volunteer at the Lawrence public schools, Jamal was the sole provider in his family. His three childrenaged 14, 12 and 7are US citizens, and all of his siblings live in the United States as citizens. His criminal record, as his lawyer stated, consisted of nothing more than speeding tickets, basically.

In the weeks since his arrest, Jamals friends, family and neighbors have organized a change.org petition hoping to persuade the authorities to grant him permission to stay. The petition, which has garnered over 34,000 signatures at the time of this writing, includes a letter from Jamals oldest son Taseen. The letter highlights the potential danger to Jamals life from radical Islamist groups in Bangladesh should he be deported, and ends with a simple, heart-rending plea for help in bringing his father back: A home is not a home without a father.

Jamals case is far from unique. In January alone, there were multiple cases of ICE arresting and deporting immigrants who have lived in the US for decades, tearing apart families. Jorge Garcia, a 39-year old landscaper from Lincoln Park, Michigan was forced to leave behind his wife and two teenage children, after he was detained and deported to Mexico last month.

Garcia had been brought to the United States illegally as a 10-year-old. After his marriage 15 years ago, he and his wifean American citizen and retired auto workerattempted to get him legal status, but instead ended up being enmeshed in deportation proceedings. Too old to quality for DACA, Garcia managed to get a stay order given his lack of a criminal record. However, ICE revoked those orders at the end of last year, forcing Garcia to leave the country.

In mid-January, Lukasz Niec, a doctor of Polish origin who had been living in the United States for 40 years, was arrested on two misdemeanor charges dating back several decades.

Niecs sister told The Washington Post that the charges stemmed from a fight following a car accident in 1992, which left Niec with a conviction for malicious destruction of property. The second charge, involving a conviction for receiving and concealing stolen property, had been expunged from Niecs record.

The local NBC affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan reported that dozens of doctors and hospital employees have written letters in support of Niec, an internal medicine specialist, calling for his release particularly since the hospital is facing a shortage of doctors during flu season. Niec, who has lived in Michigan since he was child, has an American wife and two children. He now faces deportation to Poland, a country whose language he does not speak and where he has no relatives.

These arrests are a part of a new and growing trend in anti-immigration policy. While the Obama administration carried out massive deportations, there appeared for some immigrants with families and no criminal record the possibility of finding some room within the system to procure temporary stay orders. This practice provided only a veneer of humanity to the administrations brutal immigration policies, which has now been completely stripped away.

Soon after his inauguration, Donald Trump vowed to deport 2 to 3 million undocumented immigrants, claiming that most of them possess criminal records and pose a threat to the safety of various communities and the security of the nation at large.

Trumps Executive Order on Interior Enforcement, signed on January 25, 2017, however, made it plain that the dragnet would not be limited to immigrants with criminal records but would extend to all removable aliens. Soon after, the Department of Homeland Security issued memorandums that essentially stripped all deportation priorities, a fundamental shift away from the Obama administration's guidelines to prioritize criminals and recent border crossers.

In the year since, ICE agents have made the news for arresting immigrant workers leaving church, standing outside court houses, taking their children to school, accompanying family members to immigration status check-ins or merely attempting to earn an honest living.

In September 2017, Juan Hernandez Cuevas, along with four other men working in an auto shop, was arrested by men carrying semi-automatic weapons and wearing vests with only the word Police on them. As reported in the Los Angeles Times, Hernandez had no idea which law enforcement agency had arrested him until he was at the downtown Los Angeles processing facility and saw the word "immigration" written on a wall.

The ICE agents who arrested Cuevas and his coworkers had come armed only with a warrant for the owner of the shop, who had an outstanding deportation order based on multiple DUI convictions. Without identifying themselves or asking about the immigration status of anyone in the shop, they proceeded to arrest all of the employees in a practice which the Trump administration has deemed collateral arrests.

Last month, ICE agents raided nearly one hundred 7-Eleven stores across 17 states, arresting 21 undocumented workers and immediately starting deportation proceedings against them. As Muzaffar Chisti of the Migration Policy Institute, a non-partisan group that researches immigration issues, told USA Today, the broadening scope of arrests and deportations shows that there are no longer any priorities. Everyone is a priority."
In the midst of widespread anger over pay and conditions, the Rail, Tram and Bus Union (RTBU), in league with New South Wales (NSW) transport authorities, is doing everything it can to silence rail workers and prevent them from speaking out publicly.

At the same time, the union is keeping workers in the dark about backroom negotiations with the Liberal-National state government and rail management over an enterprise agreement that will inevitably mean the further destruction of jobs and conditions, and an acceleration of the drive towards privatisation.

Gagging rail workers is aimed at atomising the workforce, preventing any discussion and suppressing an incipient rebellion that the government and the unions fear will become the focal point for broader discontent and opposition in the working class as a whole.

One young rail worker told the WSWS this week that he and others were working, with overtime, up to 70 hours a week. Then he added: But we cant tell people about this, because weve been gagged with the backing of the union. I could get fired just for telling you all of this.

Other rail workers have told the WSWS the same story: they cannot speak publicly because they could face retaliatory action, including being sacked.

In 2015, Transport for NSW, the states corporatised public transport organisation, introduced a Code of Conduct, in order to muzzle workers. Under the Code, transport workers are permitted to enter into public debate on political and social issues but potentially face termination if they make any comment critical of public transport.

The Code mandates: All media inquiries must be referred to the agencys media unit. Making public comment or releasing information must only occur in accordance with agency policies and procedures. And, furthermore, Opinions on transport agencies and government policies or decisions must be avoided unless required by law.

The RTBU has never challenged this deeply anti-democratic measure, for the same reason that it refused to challenge the pro-business Fair Work Commissions decision on January 25 to ban the strike and overtime and other bans for which NSW rail workers voted. The union functions as the industrial policeman for the government and management and exploits these laws and regulations to suppress any independent activity, even discussion, by workers.

On January 29, in a highly revealing action, the moderators of the unions official Facebook page eliminated its comment section. The RTBU claimed that the decision was to comply with the FWCs decision, but the real reason was obvious from the groundswell of opposition that was emerging from rail workers.

On January 24 to 25, workers had denounced a desperate union attempt to shut down the January 29 one-day strike in advance of the FWC ruling, through a bogus text message ballot. Union members were supposed to cast a vote on the basis of a one-page summary of their draft Enterprise Agreement (EA), which contained no details of the draconian productivity measures being demanded by the government.

How are we meant to make an informed decision when we cant see the whole deal, cuts and all? Or is this EA going to be half a page only? one worker scornfully asked. Once again, from both sides, no information on what changes management seek or unions are prepared to agree to, another declared.

Others warned that the union was seeking to push through a betrayal. My message to the RTBU: dont sell out station staff in NSW trains for a small increase in pay for train crew, one worker wrote. Job security is a must you should be fighting for.

Following the FWC ruling, the union issued a directive on Facebook: You must work overtime as you normally do after 6pm tonight and you must work as usual on Monday 29 January. It was after workers reacted angrily to this directive, that the union disabled the ability to comment on its Facebook page.

In cahoots with the other rail unions and Unions NSW, the RTBU called a delegates meeting last week to present an offer that was virtually identical to the one that had been rejected just days earlier in the text message ballot. After hours of discussion, delegates told the WSWS that they were none the wiser about the content of the union-government negotiations, or the content of the deal being discussed.

For the past three decades, the unions, on behalf of big business and in collaboration with Labor and Coalition governments, have stamped out any semblance of democracy in the ranks. The RTBU has no intention of holding mass meetings over the current EA for fear that it would lose control. It is desperately seeking to intimidate and wear down opposition while it keeps workers completely in the dark about the sell-out it is preparing.

The unions are not organisations that in any way defend the interests of the working class. Rather, they have become virtual prisons for workers, aimed at preventing any struggles to defend their rights. Union bureaucrats are, above all, intent on defending their positions in the official industrial relations apparatus, and the very considerable privileges that flow from it.

To fight for their basic democratic and social rights, even the right to speak out, rail workers need to organise a political rebellion against the unions. The Socialist Equality Party advocates the building of rank-and-file committees among rail workers, led by trusted and democratically elected representatives.

The launching of any struggle by rail workers would immediately attract the sympathy of other workers, not only in rail but throughout industry and the public service. It would, however, also face the wrath of the courts, media, the unions and the political establishment, including the Labor Party. Rail workers would need to turn for support to other sections of workers in NSW, throughout Australia and internationally who face similar attacks.

Such a struggle requires a new political perspective that rejects the profit dictates of the corporate elite: that means the fight for a workers government to implement socialist policies, including placing transport, along with the major banks and big business, under public ownership and democratic workers control.

We urge rail workers to contact the Socialist Equality Party to discuss these vital issues.
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Raymond Dominic Canepa passed away peacefully at home with family by his side on January 31st, 2018.

Raymond was born in Oakland, California on May 15th, 1937 to Dave and Helen Canepa. Shortly after the family moved to Napa to live in the country. Raymond often spoke of his special memories of growing up on the farm and how much fun he had climbing trees as a kid, picking walnuts and running around the family property.

Ray attended Lincoln Elementary, and went on to graduate from Napa High School with the class of 1955. After high school, Ray attended Napa Valley College. Ray entered the apprentice program, Plumbers Pipe Fitters Union Local 343 and worked in Plumbing for many years. He retired in 1990 only to begin his encore career as a remodeling contractor often helping family and friends with their many projects. As a master of many trades, Ray also built several homes and nearly all aspects of construction on his own.
In addition, the lawsuit will seek ways to better protect citizens against future possible fires, a county report said without elaborating.

The Board of Supervisors took the first step toward the lawsuit on Dec. 19, when it voted in closed session to start litigation against an unnamed party. County officials at that time said the name would be revealed once the pleading had been finalized and filed with the court.

On Tuesday, the county announced the suit will be against PG&E. Supervisors without comment voted to hire the legal team that will represent the county.

That team is Baron & Budd, P.C.; the Singleton Law Firm; Thorsnes Bartolotta McGuire; Dixon Diab & Chambers; Terry Singleton, Esq. and Bruce Bailey, Esq. The same team will represent Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties in their separate lawsuits, a county report said.

The attorneys will advance the costs for the lawsuit and be paid 18 percent of the recovery money they generate. Napa County will spend no general fund money. All four counties using the legal team have the same arrangement.
LaRochelle predicted Napa will need to finance a corporation yard center separately from the civic center project, for which the developer Plenary Group has been selected.

The Corporation Yard building may be only the first element in a radical rethinking of the 8.9-acre corporation yard, a valuable city-owned parcel close to downtown in a community marked by soaring property values.

Council members discussed eventually separating a 3-acre northern section of the yard along Lincoln Avenue for about 60 units of affordable housing, as well as reclaiming the 1.8-acre next-door site of the VINE bus yard when the Napa Valley Transportation Authority completes a move of the service facility south near Napa County Airport.

Such an overhaul has been favored by Napa officials because of the blocks nearness to businesses, schools, shopping and public buses  a combination that may reduce the strain on local traffic.

Councilmembers agreed that few other pieces of land  particularly those already in city hands  can meet police and public-works needs for space, communications, and secure storage for vehicles and evidence over two years.
"The media is fake. . . . The media is really the word - I think one of the greatest of all terms I've come up with is fake. I guess other people have used it perhaps over the years, but I've never noticed it."- President Trump in an interview with Mike Huckabee on Oct. 7, 2017

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At the end of 2016, "fake news" had a clear meaning. It referred to stories that were fabrications - the Clinton Foundation paying for Chelsea Clinton's wedding or a child sex ring run out of a D.C. pizza shop. The phrase was popularized after Google, Facebook and Twitter vowed to eliminate the phony content that some have speculated helped tilt the 2016 election in Donald Trump's favor.

But then, on Jan. 11, 2017, then President-elect Trump told CNN's Jim Acosta, "You're fake news," while responding to Acosta's shouted questions. Since then, according to our friends at PolitiFact, Trump used the term more than 153 times in 2017, often referring to negative press coverage as "fake news."

Trump's supporters applaud his willingness to combat what he sees as unfair or biased reporting. But there has been a second-order effect as well. What has Trump's usage of "fake news" meant to the world's discourse over the last year?

The Facts
The Dancing With the Stars family is grateful that none of the cast and crew of Dancing With the Stars: Live! Light Up the Night were seriously injured during a deadly multi-car accident on Monday afternoon in Iowa, involving one of the tour buses transporting members of the show.

A source tells ET that the tour bus slammed into another truck that was involved in the pile-up.

No one was injured, but it was pretty scary, the source says.

Another source exclusively tells ET that season 25 contestant Lindsay Arnold and her husband, Samuel Lightner Cusick, along with dancers Brandon Armstrong, Emma Slater and Sasha Farber were on the bus at the time of the crash. According to the source, the dancers did not suffer any major injuries aside fromcuts and bruises, and they are all grateful to be OK after the very scary accident.

It felt like a tumble dryer inside the bus at time of impact, but again, everyone is OK.," the source says.

The source adds that the dancers were caught completely off guard by the crash, as some were out of bed and others still in their bunks. The source notes that the group feels very lucky that things were not worse, and they were all very grateful to have each other on the bus to help recover.

Its one day they will never forget, the source says.

Monday's scheduled show at Stephens Auditorium in Ames, Iowa, was canceled due to the crash. As many as 70 cars were involved in the accident, KCCI 8in Des Moines reports, with one person dead and five more being sent to the hospital in critical condition. The tour is resuming on Tuesday at the Coronado Performing Arts Center in Rockford, Illinois.

On Tuesday, DWTS cast members reacted to the deadly collision. Six-time champ Derek Hough Instagrammed a picture of him and his girlfriend, dancer Hayley Erbert.

"Im so thankful my love is safe," he wrote. "To my DWTS family. I love you all and I am so glad you are all safe after such a terrible accident. Be strong, be safe and I will see you very soon."

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Farber tweeted to reassure fans that he and Slater, who are engaged, are safe.

"Thank you so much for all the sweet messages @EmmaSlaterDance and myself are ok," he wrote.

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"Last night our tour bus was involved in an accident, it was one day I will never forget," he later Instagrammed. "Im so grateful and thankful that everyone on our bus including the bus driver is ok. Our prayers and thoughts to the familys involved in this horrible accident."

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Slater shared her own Instagram post about the accident, thanking their bus driver, Billy.

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Meanwhile, dancer Witney Carson -- who dropped out of the tour due to family health reasons -- tweeted, "So glad everyone on the @DWTSLiveTour is safe -- my heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible accident ]]>
Dr. Michael Mangahas, a Children's Hospital Oakland pediatrician, said, "Trump thinks DACA is a bargaining chip to get his wall."

Schaaf urged members of Congress to "put aside their party affiliations and affiliate with the human race and pass a Dream Act that is clean and creates a path to permanent citizenship."

Dr. Michael Anderson, the president UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, said, "Our country is better than this, we should be the beacon of hope."

Referring to children and young adults who are worried about their futures in the U.S., Anderson said, "No child, no family should be scared."

"We are here, we care for you and we have your back," Anderson told the people at the rally.

Mangahas said, "We will fight with our votes. This is an election year and we're paying attention and we want results."

Dr. Noemi Spinazzi, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital Oakland, said the uncertainty over the fate of Dreamers is "a direct threat to our public health" because the chronic stress and anxiety that immigrants and their families and loved ones face is having adverse effects on their long-term physical and mental health.
Derek Hough recognizes that life can change in an instant after a tour bus carrying his Dancing with the Stars family, possibly including girlfriend Hayley Erbert, crashed in Iowa.

On Tuesday, the 32-year-old performer shared a photo with Erbert, 23, on his Instagram taken at his sister Julianne Houghs July 8 Idaho wedding.

Im so thankful my love is safe, he captioned the romantic snap. To my DWTS family. I love you all and I am so glad you are all safe after such a terrible accident. Be strong, be safe and I will see you very soon.

Hough spent the weekend in Minneapolis for Super Bowl LII.

A source told PEOPLE that everyones rattled and some members of the cast suffered minor injuries in the accident but, ultimately, everyones okay.

The official DWTS: Live! tour Instagram account announced hours before its scheduled show in Ames, Iowa, that Monday evenings production would be canceled due to the crash, which occurred because of bad weather.

To anyone involved in the accident, the entire cast sends their best wishes for a speedy recovery, and their deepest apologies to all of the fans who have been waiting to see the show tonight, the caption stated. Information regarding rescheduling and/or refunds will be available soon.

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Hayley Erbert and Derek Hough

It remains unclear who was aboard the vehicle. DWTS pros Keo Motsepe, Emma Slater, Artem Chigvinstev, Sharna Burgess, Gleb Savchenko, Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten are on the tour, along with troupe members Jenna Johnson, Hayley Erbert, Brandon Armstrong and Sasha Farber.

Local news outlet KCCI 8 reported that the bus crashed on Interstate 80. Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Nathan Ludwig told the outlet that seven people were killed on multiple Iowa roads Monday due to inclement weather.

Throughout the course of their relationship, Derek has shared sweet images of himself and Erbert to Instagram, including a post in celebration of #NationalGirlfriendDay.

Nothing better in the world than sharing your experiences with the woman you love, he captioned a series of photos taken on the Emmy Awards red carpet. Everything is amplified in the best possible way. #love #emmys #redcarpet @hayley.erbert.

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In November 2016, Hough opened up to Ellen DeGeneres about the possibility of marriage and children in his future.

You know, if you would have asked me like a year ago, or two years ago, Id probably [have been] like, Im not really looking [for that]. But Im kind of in a place now in my life, kind of in a transition, and yeah  I see myself married with kids within the next five years, so, well see, he said.
Missouri authorities are investigating the deaths of a mother, her husband and the couples infant daughter in what police are calling a double-murder-suicide, PEOPLE confirms.

According to the St. Louis police Mary Jo Trokey, 32, was found dead from a gunshot wound in her St. Louis home near her 33-year-old husband, Matthew, and their 3-month-old daughter, Taylor Rose, St. Louis police announced Friday. The deaths are believed to be the result of a murder-suicide, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Captain Eric Larson told reporters.

St. Louis police have declined to publicly comment on who the shooter is.

But the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, citing a police source, reports that Mary Jo is believed to be the shooter, and that investigators are tracking her purchase of a gun in the days before the shooting as well as possible mental illness.

The trio were discovered by one of the familys relatives Friday afternoon. Police were immediately called to the scene, where they were all pronounced dead.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

Mary Jo, Matthew and Taylor Rose Trokey

The shooting appeared to have occurred either late Thursday or early Friday morning, Larson said. There were no signs of forced entry into the couples St. Louis Hills home.

The couple were originally from the St. Louis area, a relative who asked not to be identified told the Post-Dispatch. They became engaged in the fall of 2013 and married months later, according to the paper. Both received their bachelor degrees from the University of Missouri, where Mary Jo also earned a masters in social work.

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Rev. Bob Reiker of St. Raphael the Archangel Parish, which the couple attended for nearly two years, told the Post-Dispatch he baptized the couples daughter last month.

Reiker tells PEOPLE that Mary Jo worked for two years with the churchs St. Vincent de Paul Society, which worked with low-income people in the neighborhood.

Its hard to imagine what happened, said Reiker, who christened the couples daughter. People are baffled by it. Its inexplicable how someone could do this to themselves, let alone their little girl.
President Trump headlined Fox & Friends Tuesday morning after tweeting the death of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson was preventable and disgraceful, police having identified the suspected drunk driver accused of careening into him as a Guatemalan citizen who was in the U.S. illegally for a third time.

Jackson and Jeffrey Monroe were struck and killed very early Sunday morning on Interstate 70 in Indiana while standing outside their vehicle on the emergency shoulder. Monroe was Jacksons Uber driver, and they had pulled over after Jackson got sick in the car, according to press reports about the deaths.

Indiana State Police identified the driver of an F-150 truck as Manuel Orrego-Savala, who previously had been deported in 2007 and 2009.

So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST! Trump tweeted. In a second tweet he said his prayers and best wishes were with the family of Jackson, a wonderful young man whose life was so senselessly taken.

Fox & Friends First co-host Robb Schmitt reported Tuesday morning on the mothership morning show that For Republicans and for the President it is a prime example of why the country needs a secure border. A twice deported illegal immigrant from Guatemala managed to get back into the country a third time and police say he got drunk Saturday night and ran over an Indianapolis Colts linebacker and his Uber driver very early on Super Bowl Sunday.

Added Steve Doocy: He was deported twice. He should have been deported There was a different standard.

Trumps tweets and Fox & Friends coverage:

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Heirs to the throne!

Princess Estelle poses alongside her grandfather, King Carl XVI Gustaf, and her mom, Crown Princess Victoria, in a regal new portrait released by Swedens Royal Palace this week.

The photo, which was taken on the day of the Nobel ceremonies on December 10 in Stockholm, was released to mark 200 years of rule by the Swedish royal family.

Emphasizing continuity, all three generations of the royal family are dressed in blue, with the king and his heir apparent both wear ceremonial sashes.

According to Bernadotte family tradition, 5-year-old Princess Estelle will be allowed to wear one of the familys many tiaras, like her mom, when she turns 18. In the portrait, Victoria is wearing the stunning Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara.

King Carl XVI Gustaf, Crown Princess Victoria and Princess Estelle

The king, who has been the monarch for 44 years, gave a speech to some 300 dignitaries who gathered together on Monday at Stockholms National Hall to celebrate two centuries of the Bernadotte dynastys reign.

My wish is that the royal palace should be a living place, a place for conversation. A link between our history and our present, he said. I dare to believe that this would also have been my ancestor Karl XIV Johans wish too.

Surprisingly, the founder of the dynasty, Karl XIV Johan, was not Swedish  but French. He was a successful marshall in the army of Frances then almost omnipotent kingmaker, the self-styled Emperor Napoleon.

Jean Baptiste Berndotte didnt even speak Swedish, but came to the countrys throne after the country was in crisis in early 1818.

Swedens previous monarch, Karl XIII, had no natural heirs, and his successor, the Danish prince Christian August, suffered a sudden fatal stroke.

Bernadotte was rewarded for his service to Napoleon with the throne and changed his name to the more Swedish sounding Karl Johan.

His wife Desiree, a former fiancee of Napoleon, didnt appreciate the nations cold, wet climate and lived in Paris for more than 12 years before moving to Scandinavia.

Nevertheless, the couple had a child together who inherited the monarchy on his fathers death in March 1844 as King Oscar I.
So, maybe theres a good reason the new Cloverfield sequel went straight to Netflix instead getting a theatrical release as originally planned.

The streaming company shocked viewers by announcing Sunday during the Super Bowl that the mysterious third film in the J.J. Abrams-produced sci-fi franchise, The Cloverfield Paradox, was going to premiere right after the big game.

First, EWs own Darren Franich weighed in last night with a quick summary judgment:

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And now here are some fuller reports:

The Guardian: The Cloverfield Paradox is an unholy mess  Right from the start, its hard to shake the feeling that this was a troubled production. There are unexplained plot elements, underwritten characters and messy editing choices thatll make viewers wonder if they missed something in the blink of an eye  As the film bumbles from one confusingly mounted scene to the next, disappointment turns to boredom  What the film does manage well, aside from some nifty production design, is a string of effective shock moments from the disappearance of a planet to some nasty business with a bunch of worms.

Hollywood Reporter: A trainwreck of a sci-fi flick bent on extending a franchise that should have died a peaceful death almost exactly one decade ago  A theatrical release would likely have been disastrous for this dud; with any luck, it will be forgotten amid tomorrows hangovers.

Forbes: At some moments, it feels like The Cloverfield Paradox can make the same case that Lost did all the time: sure, the plot doesnt make much sense, but its really about the characters and their emotional journeys. Except this is a movie that cant even make its mind up about that  The actors do a solid job nonetheless. Mbatha-Raw proves that she could be the next Sigourney Weaver if shes ever in an Aliens rip-off that doesnt let her down.

Collider: The Cloverfield Paradox is a tepid, predictable, and largely uninteresting sci-fi film where dumb characters do dumb things and bad things happen because the script needs them to. Its a movie thats not particularly scary, interesting, or deep, but it does have good actors performing admirably  the movie is nowhere near as good as the original Cloverfield or 10 Cloverfield Lane. Its not even as good as some of the weaker episodes of Black Mirror.

Thrillist: While there are a handful of nifty sequences and good performances overall, this feels like a blown-out pilot for one of those Syfy series you always mean to get around to but never do If this movie, either as The God Particle or The Cloverfield Paradox played in theaters it would have been roundly booed by critics and audiences alike. But as a surprise present on Netflix, its absolutely more than serviceable in a bad movie night way. I had a blast making fun of this, and I didnt spend anything on gas money or tickets.

The audience reviews on RT, however, were more kind, giving the film a modestly okay 63 percent score.
Princess Makos fairy tale ending will have to wait.

The 26-year-old eldest daughter of Japans Prince Akishino and granddaughter of Emperor Akihito is postponing her marriage to Kei Komuro  a graduate student who works at a law firm.

It is because of our immaturity and we just regret it, the couple said in a statement, according to CNN. I wish to think about marriage more deeply and concretely and give sufficient time to prepare our marriage and for after the marriage.

Last spring, Mako famously announced she was giving up her royal status to marry her college sweetheart, who is a commoner. The wedding, which had been set for November 2018, has been postponed until at least 2020, following Emperor Akihitos planned abdication in April 2019.

Mako said they had rushed various things and they needed more time to plan their future together.

We feel extremely sorry for causing great trouble and further burden to those who have willingly supported us, Mako said in the statement.

The couple met while attending a study-abroad event at a restaurant in Shibuya  a district in Tokyo  about six years ago. They both were students at the International Christian University in Tokyo at the time.

Though Mako will be considered a commoner once she marries Komuro, her opportunity to ascend to the Chrysanthemum Throne is limited, as the position is only passed to male heirs.

Of the 19 members of the current imperial family, only three males are left. Makos uncle Crown Prince Naruhito is expected to succeed Emperor Akihito  with her father and her younger brother following Naruhito in line.
Snap Inc., Snapchats parent company, easily posted its best quarter since going public last year, blowing past revenue and user growth estimates when the company reported its Q4 earnings on Tuesday.

After the bell, Snap reported $285.7 million in revenue and a loss of 13 cents a share for the three months ending Dec. 31. On average, analysts estimated $252.95 million in revenue and a loss of 16 cents a share. The sales boost represented a 72 percent year-over-year increase.

Also Read: Netflix Shines 'Bright' With Huge Q4 Subscriber Growth, Races to All-Time Stock High

The number of users were also up for Snapchat, with the company adding 9 million daily users to hit 187 million. Wall Street expected Snap to add about 6 million daily users during the quarter. Snapchats user growth was better than a 5 percent jump quarter-over-quarter  only three months removed from posting a 2.9 percent growth rate.

Investors were snapping up shares in after-hours trading, with Snaps stock soaring 25 percent to about $17.60 a share  coming in above its IPO price from last March.

Snaps Average Revenue Per User did better than the $1.36 ARPU analysts expected. Snap made $1.53 per user  a 46 percent jump year-over-year  and a healthy bump from its $1.17 reported during Q3. Snap has invested heavily in driving its ad business forward, buying Placed, a company that helps measure in-store foot traffic, and adding ad-serving tools for its clients.

Also Read: Snapchats Redesign Will Separate Social From the Media

In its first three quarters since going public, Snap had been under fire for uninspiring user growth, along with tepid sales. That trend was finally bucked on Tuesday, with the company reversing course on both fronts.

Less than one year after going public, Snap is already making major changes. CEO Evan Spiegel announced an app redesign following its underwhelming Q3 earnings, making Snapchat easier to use. The updated Snapchat  being tested in markets like the U.K. and Australia  will prioritize content based on interactions, rather than chronological order, and place a renewed emphasis on social creators. Its expected to roll out worldwide by the end of Q1.

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Snap also planned on releasing more original scripted content by the end of 2017, but that was bumped due to the redesign. Snap VP of Content Nick Bell said last month that the launch of its next batch of programming is imminent. Bell reiterated 3.5 billion snaps are sent each day.

Also Read: Facebook Boots Anti-'Black Panther' Group for Violating Community Standards

For Snap shareholders, its been a rollercoaster ride in the past three months. Soon after its Q3 earnings, Chinese investment behemoth Tencent took a 10 percent stake in Snap. Shares dipped from about $15 in early November to below $13 midway through the month, before jumping again in December on confidence in its upcoming app redesign. That enthusiasm waned heading into earnings, however, with shares of Snap trading at $TK as markets closed on Tuesday.

The company will hold a call at 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss its earnings.

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Once upon a time in the mid-1990s, when I got back from vacation in West Virginia, back in the mid '90s, I got a call from the city manager, Pat Thompson, about what had happened when I was out of town.

A young man from L.A., who for some reason felt wronged by Ed Keith, had driven up to Napa, apparently seeking revenge. He headed down First Street, into the wilds of Browns Valley. His face was painted black, commando-style.

Painting oneself black is not a way to go unnoticed in Browns Valley.

Sure enough, an off-duty cop, Tom Lipsey, saw him, turned around, and followed the youthful avenger to Ed's house. When he got to Ed's place on Forest Drive, the kid was stuffing Ed into the trunk of his car.

Ed was saved, and maybe a little embarrassed, because the story did make the Register. Tom Lipsey told Pat, "Thank goodness Councilmember Watter is on vacation, or she would try to have me fired for saving Ed Keith."

This was what we had to deal with in the old days,before the big hotels with their Transient Occupancy Tax beckoned. It was a very small town. Everyone knew Ed was weird, but he was just part of the local landscape (as I learned). Plus, he was obviously, outrageously, rich.

Cindy Watter

Napa
Kylie Jennerannounced via Instagram on Tuesday that she has named her first child Stormi.

It is Jenners first child with her boyfriend, rapper Travis Scott, whose real name is Jacques Webster. Jennerupdatedher initial Instagram announcement to later include Stormis last name, which is also Webster.

The 20-year-old reality star and beauty mogul announced on Sunday that shed given birth to a daughter on Feb. 1 after months of speculation around her suspected pregnancy.

A post shared by Kylie (@kyliejenner)on Feb 6, 2018 at 1:14pm PST

Pregnancy has been the most beautiful, empowering, and life-changing experience Ive had in my entire life and Im actually going to miss it, Kylie wrote in her Sunday announcement. Ive never felt love and happiness like this I could burst! In addition to her message, Jenner posted a sweet, 11-minute video, called To Our Daughter, that shared moments from the past nine months. There were a few butterfly references in the video (Jenner wears a butterfly chain and there were butterflies on what looked like the walls of the nursery). Many fans speculated that Kylie would name her daughter Butterfly, Mariposa (which means butterfly in Spanish) or Monarch, after Scotts song Butterfly Effect. Jenner and Scott also have matching butterfly tattoos.

Kris Jenner told People magazine at an event in Los Angeles on Monday night that Kylie is an amazing mom. God is SO good!! the momager said on social media after Kylie announced her baby news Sunday. I am so excited and thrilled to welcome another precious baby girl to our beautiful, ever growing family. We are blessed beyond belief! This post has been updated with more background about the baby announcement.

Related Coverage

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Caitlyn Jenner Breaks Her Silence On Kylie Jenner's Baby News

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
After officially revealing the first name of her newborn daughter Stormi, Kylie Jenner has shared whose last name the newest member of her family will take.

Kylie and boyfriend Travis Scott welcomed Stormi into the world on February 1, and kept the baby's name a secret until February 6. In an Instagram post the founder of Kylie Cosmetics shared a picture of her daughter with the caption: Stormi. As People pointed out, she went on to edit the caption sometime after posting, adding a last name for the baby  Webster.

The edited caption revealed that Stormi has been given the surname of her dad. Travis Scott performs under a stage name, but the rapper's real name is Jacques Webster.

Many fans had long speculated over the baby's possible name. The Internet previously believed they had solved the mystery and thought Kylie would name Stormi something related to butterflies, as the winged insect often appeared in her Instagram posts. Others thought pictures from the star's baby shower contained hints at a name, and some even thought she'd name the child after one of her lip kits.

Since editing her Instagram post to include "Webster," many on social media have expressed their thoughts on the last name. Some were surprised by the decision and others shared their embarrassment over just realizing that Travis Scott is a stage name. One user wrote: "When your whole life has been focussed on cracking the kylie babe name code when all that time the biggest news was Travis Scott is really Jacques Webster. Blown. Away."

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When Kylie made the announcement that her daughter was born on Instagram, she also shared a heartwarming 11-minute mini-doc that followed her past nine months being pregnant. Travis could be seen throughout the video, along with a first look at both Stormi and cousin Chicago West, child of Kim Kardashian.

Related: Caitlyn Jenner Speaks Out On Kylie Jenner's New Daughter

Check this out:
Meghan-Markle

Meghan Markle might be selling out jackets and bags all over the world (and breaking royal fashion rules), but theres another trend that Prince Harrys future wife has been setting for years: Living a healthy, well-balanced life.

Often seen toting her yoga mat to and from classes in Toronto, Markle has always been a big advocate of living well. Her lifestyle website, The Tig, was a source of inspiration for manyand editors would often share tips and tricks for living a well-balanced life. Shes since moved to London to be with her fiance. Here's the true story of how they met, by the way.

The Meghan Markle workout

Beyond her regular yoga practice, Markle keeps her princess physique (even though she won't actually be called a princess!) in tip-top shape by attending Megaformer classes. The classes are each an hour long, and have been described as a fat-burning workout. They follow Sebastien Lagrees Lagree Method using his Megaformer 3K machine.

According to Harpers Bazaar, Meghan recently touted the machines benefits, saying the classes at Pilates Platinum (a studio in Santa Monica) are hands down the best thing you can do for your body and that the results are incredible. (Lucky for the new royal, they offer Megaformer classes in London.)

Doubling down on her support, she promised participants would see a difference in two classes.

The Markle Megaformer trend

And Markle isnt the only one who feels this way. Some of the buffest bods in Hollywood have the Megaformer to thank for their physiquewere talking Kim Kardashian West, Calvin Harris, Sofia Vergara, and Victorias Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio.

However, the classes are certainly not for the faint of heart.

An editor atPeoplecompared the pain of exercising on the Megaformer to childbirth and, despite being a runner and regularly doing CrossFit, said the workout was incredibly tough.

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If youre feeling like a good challenge, follow Markles lead and try the Megaformerbut be prepared not to be able to walk for a few days. Or check out this other, less brutal fat-burning workout. For more about Markle and her fitness routine, check out her gorgeous cover shoot with Best Health.

Related Video:
A second-grade teacher in Weatherford, Texas, died Sunday following complications from the flu.

Heather Holland, who was 38 years old, started to feel sick last Monday and went to a doctor who prescribed her Tamiflu Wednesday, her husband Frank Holland told WFAA.

But Heather Holland did not buy the Tamiflu, originally believing it was too expensive, and only started taking it once her husband purchased it for her a day later, he told the network.

Holland was rushed to the emergency room Friday night where she became septic, and ultimately died from septic shock, her husband told WFAA, though her official cause of death has not yet been released by the Weatherford ISD school district.

The school where she taught, Bose Ikard Elementary School, made counselors available for students, parents and staff struggling with the loss of the popular teacher, according to The Dallas Morning News, which also reported that the Weather ISD district has been deep-cleaning area schools since December. Hollands school was most recently deep-cleaned Feb. 2, according to the districts written statement.

Holland, who had no previous medical conditions, leaves behind a a 10-year-old daughter and seven-year-old son, her husband said.

Instances of the flu remain high throughout Texas, with 13 influenza-related outbreaks having been reported so far this flu season, but it is too soon to determine whether flu activity has peaked for the state this season, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services.
As one of the few nonwhite kids in his eighth-grade class at Lake Oswego Junior High in Portland, Ore., 13-year-old Christiaan Bedford was unfortunately accustomed to hearing racial slurs lobbed his way. But when his mom, Jennifer Cook, arrived to pick him up after school one day in January and learned that three white kids had handed him a Post-it note with the words n***** dog scribbled on it, she said: Enough.

Photo: Stocksy

In a Facebook post detailing the incident, Cook says she went immediately to school administrators, who assured her that the situation would be dealt with, and that the student perpetrators would be punished. Her son, she said, was upset but was also used to it, telling his mom that he hears the N word anywhere from five to 20 times a day. To Cook, the incident was just one example of a growing problem  one that required a prompt solution.

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They told me the children would be suspended. This ended up not being completely true, two of the three kids received in school suspension for one day, Cook wrote in her post, which has now been shared 1,800 times. A one day suspension is completely inadequate for a hate crime.

After sending an email to the school calling for more action, Cook was met with what she calls a dismissive response from principal Sara Deboy, who directed her to a blog post shed written on the topic. (The school did not respond to Yahoo Lifestyles request for an interview.) The post, titled The Power of Words, began by discussing research about how malleable young kids brains are, before offering a defense of the students who made racial slurs in the hallways.

I have found that when [racial slurs] are used, the students have a hard time explaining their intent they may claim it was meant as a joke, they did not connect the word to the meaning, etc. I believe them, Deboy writes. That is why it is on all of us as the adults in their lives to help them understand how we cannot allow these words to be part of jokes or allow them to be thrown around as if they had no meaning. These words have power.

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Principal Deboy didnt offer any specific plans of action in the blog post, but said instead that the issue will be a topic at the schools advisory committee meeting next month. Dissatisfied with the response, Cook and others planned a meeting to discuss the incident.

For students at Oswego, the battle against racism has been ongoing. Last March, students at the sister high school discovered racial slurs scribbled on the bathroom walls. Later in the year, also at the high school, anti-Semitic comments surfaced on a student-run Facebook page.

For many in the community, a crackdown on racial harassment seems long overdue. In the absence of a strong response from the principal, students at Lake Oswego decided to take matters into their own hands. On Monday morning, over 200 of them staged a walkout of the school in the name of racial equality, marching out of their classrooms and onto the front lawn around 9 a.m. Their goal was to take a stand against racism, and the administrations failure to stand up to it.

A video taken from the walkout shows the hundreds of students sitting on the lawn, listening to speeches, and holding signs with hashtags like #TimesUp. On a daily basis I tend to hear racial slurs from the students, Dakota Webb, another black student at Oswego told local Fox 12 during an interview. They seem to think its really funny  and I cant really do anything because it happens from so many angles. It hurts.

The school, which was aware of the walkout, later confirmed that the two students who wrote the note received detention, and the one who passed the note was given an in-school suspension. In a broad statement released afterwards, the administrators acknowledged the need for greater diversity at the school, and cited a plan to hire a permanent director of diversity, equity and inclusion for the school district.

But to students at Oswego  and to mothers like Jennifer Cook  its still not enough. It makes my heart sink, Cook said to the Lake Oswego Review in the aftermath of the walkout. This isnt the first time, and its not going to be the last time. But hes got such a beautiful soul and spirit, and I dont want it to be chipped away because of these people.

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Jeffrey Edmonds

Security, Europe

Part of Operation Upshot-Knothole, was a 15-kiloton test fired from a 280-mm cannon on May 25, 1953 at the Nevada Proving Grounds.

America runs the risk of misunderstanding the context within which the Russian government would use its nuclear weapons.

How America Could Accidentally Push Russia into a Nuclear War

The Trump administrations Nuclear Posture Review calls for expanding nuclear options to include low-yield nuclear weapons. While there may be any number of good reasons for these force-structure adjustments, the proximate cause appears to be a desire to deter the Russian government from what many in Washington believe to be a lowered nuclear threshold. This line of thinking runs the risk of misunderstanding the context within which the Russian government would use nuclear weapons and likely overestimates our ability to signal anything meaningful to the Russians in a scenario where Moscow is deliberating nuclear first use. Threatening the use of nuclear weapons to deter the Russian use of smaller-yield nuclear weapons will, in all likelihood, be ineffective.

United States and Western commentary on Russian nuclear doctrine often focuses on Russias intention to use low-yield nuclear weapons in a conventional conflict, raising the stakes for the West. The implication is that Russia has lowered its nuclear threshold. The NPR states that Russias belief in the coercive credibility of its lower-yield nuclear weapons is mistaken and that correcting this perception is a strategic imperative. Its important to first correct some thinking about thresholds.

A threshold can be best understood as a set of conditions that, when met, trigger some sort of action. In the case of Russian nuclear thresholds, the conditions most frequently cited are when the Russian Federation is facing an existential threat to the state, including a threat from an overwhelming conventional force. The Russian leadership, according to a reading of its published official documents, hasnt really lowered or raised the nuclear threshold in recent times. What people are misunderstanding is that policymakers in both Russia and the United States have different notions about the conditions under which a conflict meets the nuclear threshold that the Russian leadership is talking about.

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The two most important drivers in this scenario, from the Russian perspective, are a belief in the conventional superiority of the United States and U.S. intent toward Moscow in any conflict between Russia and the United States. While the Russian military has been pursuing an aggressive modernization program of its armed forces, with varying degrees of success, its military leaders recognize that Russia is not able to ultimately win a conventional war against the United States, much less the United States and NATO. It may be able to overrun many of its neighbors but, in the end, U.S. conventional forces will be able to drive to Russias doorstep.

Once on that doorstep the Kremlin will understand U.S. intent in only one wayregime change. The Russian leadership have long believed that the United States seeks to weaken, contain, and eventually bring about regime change in Moscow in favor of one that is more compliant with U.S. national interests. This goes back to NATOs 1999 intervention in Kosovo, against fervent Russian objection. United States and NATO actions against Serbia convinced Russian policymakers that the United States, in pursuit of its foreign-policy goals, would not take Russian national-security concerns into account.

Furthermore, Moscow witnessed the color revolutions in Europe and the Arab Spring and walked away with one conclusion, given the opportunity, the United States would do the same to Russia. The Russian leadership will assume that in any conflict where the United States is winning and able to threaten the Russian homeland, the United States will be seeking regime change, regardless of any U.S. statements to the contrary. These are the conditions under which the Russian leadership would likely assess that there is an existential threat to the state and employ smaller-yield nuclear weapons, whether in a demonstration strike or against military forces. And the message would be clear, the United States needs to withdraw its forces and back down.

The supplement of new, smaller-yield nuclear weapons envisaged by the NPR is intended to deter this very behavior. Given Russian intent to use nuclear weapons, the United States could signal that it is also willing to go down this path and use nuclear weapons in a limited way, convincing the Russians that they cannot escalate their way out of the conflict. This completely misinterprets the situation.

Deterrence is about affecting adversary behavior. Remember that the Russians, in this scenario, think they are on the verge of defeat. Signaling or using nuclear weapons may be the only way, from their perspective, that they can survive and get the United States to back down from regime change. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deter someone from an action they believe is critical to their survival. If the United States did decide to use nuclear weapons in response to Russian use, then it would likely fail to deter additional Russian nuclear strikes or convince the Russian government to back down. To borrow some military sarcasm about bad situations, nukes will continue until morale improves, i.e. until the threat of regime change is gone.

None of this is to say that we shouldnt be hard-nosed and doggedly pursue our own objectives in a conflict with Russia. To achieve those objectives, however, we need to understand our adversary. If the Russian leadership decides to use nuclear weapons in a limited way to gain escalation control, then it is likely doing so as a last measure, reacting from a perception that the Russian state is about to fall. If the United States objective in such a conflict is to return to the status quo ante and not regime change, then policymakers and those working this issue need to spend time exploring pathways for convincing the Russian government that the United States is not going down this path. This will prove exceedingly difficult given the Russian leaderships deeply ingrained threat perceptions about the United States.

Jeffrey Edmonds is a research scientist at the Center for Naval Analyses. Edmonds served for three years as director for Russia on the National Security Council and was the acting senior director for Russia during the presidential transition.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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Brest (France) (AFP) - Fancy a job at the North or South Pole? A French research institute is looking for you.

The Paul-Emile Victor Polar Institute in northwest France has launched a public appeal to recruit around 40 French-speaking people for a wide variety of jobs at its six bases in the Arctic and Antarctica.

From chemists and carpenters to bakers and pastry chefs, the institute is stepping up its efforts to reach potential candidates for 12- to 14-month stints at its bases with endless summer days and winter nights.

"We get lots of interest from the biology fields but not enough mechanics or tool operators, because these people don't know about us," said Laurence Andre Le Marec, hiring director at the institute named for a French polar explorer and pioneer.

It operates at the Spitzberg base in the Arctic and the Dumont d'Urville and Concordia bases in Antarctica, as well as three bases on France's sub-Antarctic islands of Amsterdam, Crozet and Kerguelen.

Women in particular are being sought in this year's recruitment drive, which includes six testimonial videos from female alumni.

At the Dumont d'Urville station there are just six women compared to 24 men. "I haven't been able to get balance" among the sexes, Andre Le Marec admitted.

The 40 successful candidates -- 30 of whom are reserved for France's corps of Civic Service volunteers -- will have to pass a medical exam that includes psychological evaluations.

"We make sure they are physically apt for this type of mission, and psychologically ready to live in a small group on an isolated site under conditions that can at times be extreme," Andre Le Marec said.

The mechanic being sought for the Concordia station, for example, will have to mesh with a group of about 60 people in summer and just 14 in winter -- when temperatures can plunge to minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit).

"There's no going back over winter," the job posting on the institute's website warns.

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Concordia, which houses a French-Italian team, is one of three permanent bases maintained in the interior of Antarctica, one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on the planet.

"Not all the bases have temperatures this extreme," Andre Le Marec assured, adding that a biologist sought on the island of Amsterdam, in the southern Indian Ocean, would be able to work "in a T-shirt".

"It was incredible," said Claire Le Calvez, who spent a tour at Dumont d'Urville as a chemist and glaciologist in 2003 and eventually joined the roughly 50 permanent employees at the institute.

What one discovers in the natural world of Antarctica is amazing, she added.

"These are memories that last a lifetime."
***

If the previous topic sparks your interest, attend the SHAPE Committees next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14, at Vintage Hall. The name stands for St. Helena Asset Planning Engagement, and the Engagement part will be a lot easier if people attend the meetings, which are packed with useful information and dont tend to be overly long.

***

Angela Cortez, daughter of Jesse Cortez at Klass Cleaners, has been nominated by her teacher at Alta Heights Elementary School in Napa to participate in this summers National Youth Leadership Forum: Pathways to STEM. Angelas teacher Ginger Dunne recognized her as a student with exceptional maturity, scholastic merit and leadership potential. Angela will get a take part in hands-on workshops focused on communication, critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and goal-setting, and explore possible careers in engineering, medicine and detective work. Her dad has worked at Klass Cleaners for 25 years, so chances are youve run into him if youre a customer. If you see him, be sure to congratulate him on his daughters achievement.

***
Its already been a busy winter of travel for Prince Harry and fiancee Meghan Markle, who have been attending a slew of official events  many of them of the charitable variety  in advance of their impending spring nuptials.

But for Valentines Day, perhaps the pair will be able to take a break. They wont be at their home of Nottingham Cottage in London, however; the official royal Twitter account shared that the former Suits actor and her betrothed are scheduled for a stop in Edinburgh, Scotland on Tuesday, Feb. 13, just one day before the holiday of Hallmark romance. In picturesque Edinburgh, theyll be enjoying some time at the historic castle and at Social Bite, a restaurant known for providing employment training and free meals to the homeless. (Its a favorite of celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio, who raffled off a lunch with him at the establishment back in 2016, too.) Then theyll hit up a youth achievement reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse. Not bad!

While its unclear where Markle and the Prince will make off to for Valentines Day proper, they may just choose to stick around: Edinburgh is 400 miles from London. In any case, Markle has left plenty of clues for her royal beau about what shed like from the holiday, sharing her ideal day on her old blog The Tig.

Hook, line and sinker, I am such a sucker for Valentines Day, she wrote previously, according to PEOPLE. Without fail, every February 14th, I wake up feeling like Im immersed in a Robert Doisneau photo, waiting with bated breath to be dipped into a kiss. This is all happening in black and white, of course. And in Paris, if I had my way. (Side note to Harry: maybe book a quick flight across the Channel?) But delusions of francophile grandeur aside, Valentines Day is special wherever you happen to find yourself. And in terms of gifts, be it breakfast in bed, a sweet love note, or a single flower, it really is the thought that counts, she concluded. So looks like he wont have to do too much advance planning after all.

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In another post, she had reflected on the divisive nature of the holiday, where couples are cuddled up and singletons see their requisite froyo as a cup of lonely. She had a kicker then: I think you need to be your own Valentine.

Its good advice, although this year its doubtful shell be needing it.
President Donald Trumps reported proposal for a military parade replete with tanks and marching soldiers is facing withering criticism from an unexpected quarter: retired generals.

A number of retired high-ranking military officials have spoken out about Trumps orders for the Pentagon to begin planning a big parade, likely in Washington, D.C., since it was reported Tuesday evening by the Washington Post.

Among their objections: Military parades have traditionally been the hallmarks of totalitarian regimes, appearing in the parade would be an unwelcome distraction for rank-and-file servicemembers and it would make it seem like the military is promoting the president and not serving the Constitution.

Read More: President Trumps Military Parade Is Likely to be a Logistical Nightmare

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling told TIME that a military parade goes against U.S. democratic traditions.

A lot of countries have histories of longtime military conquest and the power and strength of the military supporting the government, but since our inception that has not been who we are, he said. Were the only nation in the world that defends a piece of paper. An ideology. And to say were going to strut our stuff with tanks and rocket launchers and things like that, is just not a good representation of what the military does in a democratic nation.

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Other military officials found troubling Trumps desire for a parade, reportedly sparked after viewing a Bastille Day celebration in France, especially since it came just days after he declared  jokingly, his advisers argued  that Democratic lawmakers who did not clap for him at the State of the Union were treasonous.

Read More: Admiral Stavridis: Our Troops Deserve Better Than Trumps Big Parade

Donald Trump has continually shown himself to have authoritarian tendencies and this is just another worrisome example, said Retired Major General Paul Eaton, a Senior Adviser VoteVets, a progressive political organization devoted to electing veterans to office. For someone who just declared that it was treasonous to not applaud him, and for someone who has, in the past, admired the tactics of everyone from Saddam Hussein to Vladimir Putin, it is clear that a military parade isnt about saluting the military  it is about making a display of the military saluting him.

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I used to watch them in Bulgaria, retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA and National Security Agency, said on Twitter of these type of parades, another reference to the association of these events with totalitarian regimes. Put me down as a no, he added.

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Other former military officials were concerned that the parade would be antithetical to the militarys principles.

Ill let military friends speak for themselves, hoping they dont just salute Trump, but when I served in the U.S. Army, the LAST thing we wanted to do was parade, tweeted John McLaughlin, who served in the CIA under the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations.

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Hertling added that, in the end, the parade would not actually be for the troops.

I think having a parade in the middle of the nations capital is obviously not for the soldiers, its more for the people that watch, Hertling continued. And in this case its one particular person and thats the President.
One of President Donald Trumps loudest critics from within his own party took to the Senate floor on Tuesday afternoon to denounce his calling Democrats treasonous at an event in Ohio the prior evening.

In a scathing address, Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona described Trumps comments as vile, lamenting what he described as the daily sundering of our country at the hands of a bombastic and often incendiary commander-in-chief.

The night before, Trump harshly criticized Democrats during a speech on Cincinnati for not standing to applaud during his State of the Union address less than a week earlier.

They were like death  and un-American, Trump said. Un-American. Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess, why not. Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean they certainly dint seem to love our country very much.

Many Democrats objected to the remarks, while a White House spokesman said the remarks were tongue in cheek.

I have seen the presidents most ardent defenders use the now-weary argument that the presidents comments were meant as a joke, just sarcasm, only tongue in cheek, Flake said in his speech. But treason is not a punchline, Mr. President.

For months, Flake has been at the frontline of the Republican faction that continues to stand against Trump and his presidency. In October, the conservative Arizona lawmaker gave a speech on the Senate floor in which he announced he would not run for reelection and denounced what he called Trumps assault on American democracy.

We will get through this period and when we do, we will look back on the destruction of our discourse and the attacks on our democratic values as nothing but a tragedy, Flake said on Tuesday.
Photo: Getty Images/Quinn Lemmers for Yahoo Lifestyle

Welcome to a new Yahoo Lifestyle column, The #MeToo Guide to Raising Boys, which takes a look at where weve gone wrong  and how we can go right  while raising caring, respectful, self-assured boys today. Michael C. Reichert is a psychologist, executive director of the Center for the Study of Boys and Girls Lives, and author of the forthcoming The New Boyhood: The Power of Connections to Build Good Men.

When the unfortunate details of a hookup between Aziz Ansari and a young woman were made public on a millennial feminist website recently, said young woman called it the worst night of my life. The story provoked controversy, deeper conversation about #MeToo, and a reaction from New York Times writer Bari Weiss, who argued that while Ansaris behavior was aggressive and selfish and obnoxious, the womans complaints were overblown. There is a useful term for what this woman experienced, Weiss wrote. Its called bad sex.

But even the idea of bad sex is complicated, meaning quite different things to men and women. In a recent commentary about the Ansari situation, writer Lili Loofbourow pointed out that for men, it has to do with not having an orgasm. But when most women talk about bad sex, she observed, they tend to mean coercion, or emotional discomfort or, even more commonly, physical pain.

Reading about this encounter and its parsing, I flashed to the many others regaling us in this time of growing impatience  like the 2015 assault behind a Dumpster by the Stanford swimmer on a fellow student, or the behavior bragged about in the infamous Access Hollywood interview by then-reality TV star Donald Trump. Both of these stories, like the Ansari example, were one-sided, wounding, pathetic, and, in the swimmers case, at least, criminal.

I cannot stop thinking about the men in these stories, wondering what they were thinking. The usual explanations spring to mind: They are all men besotted with alcohol, power, and entitlement. They are narcissistically self-absorbed, perhaps sociopathic, lacking empathy and an ability to feel connected to someone else. Still, these explanations raise the question: What are they consciously thinking?

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The book American Hookup, extrapolated from interviews and surveys with college students across the country by author and sociologist Lisa Wade, provides some insight. Through her research, she realized that the contemporary mandate for meaningless sex overcomes other human impulses, including connection or emotional intimacy. In fact, nearly 70 percent of both males and females regret hooking up after the fact  and yet most, despite these aversive conditions, are unable to opt out in the first place to avoid the regrets. And Wade concludes that while casual sex is often sad for both males and females, it is a particularly unsavory brand of masculinity  one she characterizes as toxic  that defines this aspect of college dating.

Hookup culture, she writes, strongly masculinized, demands carelessness, rewards callousness, and punishes kindness.

Even though new generations of women can express their voices and their personal agency as never before, social interactions  dating relationships, college culture, classroom discussions  are still dominated by the same cultural norms men have contended with for generations. Social scientists call these norms masculinity.

Whats important and hopeful, though, is that these norms are historic, unconscious, and largely beyond the reach of any particular male or female. They are passed along in families and schools, on playgrounds and through media, in ways that are so taken for granted that we speak of the process as hidden. And though just about every male internalizes these norms to some extent, extreme versions arise only when a man has lost himself.

In this sense, was Ansari simply playing out the customary male part in the dominant sexual script? And are we confined to this script forever?

In my role as a psychologist and teen counselor, I spend lots of time talking with high school boys. I meet with a group of 40 to 50 of them regularly at a school, in a context where we can discuss topics that are central to their lives.

Last month, our focus was on relationships with girls. A young man, Luis, had volunteered to tell his story while dozens of his classmates listened attentively. He was trying to say what his girlfriend meant to him and what it was like to explore new feelings of intimacy and commitment. Being open in front of other guys was not easy and, judging from snickers and stray comments that escaped from them, I worried it might be a bridge too far. Because in the hookup culture, according to Wade, wanting to be close and acknowledging dependency needs is the antithesis of masculinity. And the worst a young man can do is to catch feelings or become clingy.

Still, Luis persisted, and I offered encouragement. I love Natalie, I invited him to proclaim, challenging him to be fully himself. He took the challenge, tentatively at first but louder and stronger as he repeated the phrase again and again. He pushed back against the bro culture both within him and around him, in the room.

In our current cultural of reckoning with the way basic rights have been denied to women, the concept of toxic masculinity has become a popular meme. The idea of making such a distinction between healthy identities and ones that are hurtful originated with Terry Kupers, a psychiatrist who worked with men in prison and sought to explain their antisocial and self-destructive behaviors. That idea was then taken up by the mythopoetic movement, which held that virtues like courage, responsibility, and service spring from mens deeper natures and represent their true potential.

Michael Kimmel, author of Guyland and Angry White Men, regrets the toxic male concept, finding in his work with men that it basically amounts to name-calling.

When we talk about toxic masculinity, he explained in an interview, men very often think that were telling them theyre doing it wrong, that theyre bad, and they have to give up their ideas of masculinity, the toxic ones, and embrace the new one. He prefers another distinction: between a good man, defined by each mans personal values, and a real man, representing those cultural norms. Kimmel has found that men recognize the idea that surrendering their values to cultural pressures leaves them with only a diminished, false sense of self.

The problem, as Wade has asserted, is not toxic masculinity. Its that masculinity is toxic. And she noted, about the Stanford rapist specifically, the problem is mens investment in masculinity itself.

Fortunately, new research is beginning to clarify whether its men, masculinity in general, or extreme cultural pressures that are most responsible for the problem of sexual exploitation.

According to a new study of young men in the U.S., U.K., and Mexico, which was just presented by global justice organization Promundo at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, a majority of young men dont harass, dont bully, and dont approve of this violence. Males at risk of hurting someone else come from all classes, races, and countries. And what they have in common is a restrictive and punishing identity taken more deeply to heart. These are the males who can find no alternative but to submit to the pressures, seductions, and rewards, even at the expense of their goodness.

Reflecting on these findings while listening to Luis and his peers that day in the classroom, I realized the boys and I were engaged in a battle for their souls. With backing, boys like Luis summon the courage to resist cultural pressures and step out of the man box. Contrary to the view of pessimists, it seems clear that he and most other men, offered a real opening, would be guided by their hearts. It is when they are both overwhelmed and alone that they give up on themselves.

How can we be sure? Because human development is a progressive force, perhaps the most powerful one we have. For a generation that reports alarming levels of angst and loneliness, even while connected to each other like never before, virtue flourishes when we make sure that conditions are right.

Because, when I thinking back to that day with Luis and the other young men at the school, I realize this: There was plenty of masculinity in the room, and yet none of it was toxic.

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DUBAI (Reuters) - Bahraini authorities have arrested four members of cell behind a bomb attack on an oil pipeline, the interior ministry said on Wednesday, adding two of the group had been trained in Iran, an adversary of the Gulf Arab state. Iran denies any role in Bahrain's unrest. The explosion on November 10 caused a fire at Bahrain's main pipeline near Buri village, 15 km (10 miles) from the capital Manama, forcing the evacuation of residents. A ministry statement said authorities had arrested four people, two of whom had received intensive training in Iran to carry out attacks to harm Bahrain's economy and its oil pipeline. "Immediately after their return from Iran, they planned and got ready to blast the oil pipeline ...in addition to committing a series of other terrorist acts. They checked out the location and remotely bombed the pipeline," the ministry said. Authorities were searching for three others "involved in the financing, planning, and implementation" behind the attack, the statement said, two of which live in Iran. A key Western ally and host to the U.S. Fifth Fleet, Sunni Muslim-ruled Bahrain has for years grappled with protests mainly by members of its Shi'ite Muslim majority who demand a bigger share in running the kingdom. Several Bahraini dissidents reside in Iran, calling for armed struggle to uproot Bahrain's ruling Al Khalifa monarchy in a holy war. Iran has called accusations that it had any role in supporting violent acts in Bahrain "baseless and fabricated", but it has allowed the exiled Bahrainis to promote their ideas on Iranian official media and hold mourning ceremonies for those involved in deadly attacks in the country. (Reporting by Sami Aboudi, writing by Hadeel Al Sayegh, Editing by William Maclean)
A Black Lives Matter activist who made headlines last year when he leaped through police tape to grab a Confederate flag away from a protester was fatally shot in New Orleans early Tuesday morning.

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Muhiyidin Moye, also known as Muhiyidin dBaha, was riding his bike in New Orleans when he was shot in the leg by an unknown assailant around 1 a.m., WCSC reports.

Moyes niece, Camille Weaver, told the station that her 32-year-old uncle rode more than five blocks after being shot to get medical help.

He was transported to a hospital and subsequently died of his wounds, New Orleans Police spokesman Beau Tidwell said in a statement to WCSC. The incident is the subject of an active and ongoing investigation.

Moye was a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement in Charleston, South Carolina, and close to the family of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was shot and killed by then-officer Michael Slager in 2015.

I thank God for placing him here to be the soldier that he is, that he was, Walter Scotts brother, Anthony Scott, said to the station about Moye.

In February of last year, as a WCSC reporter was broadcasting, Moye took an impressive running leap through police tape to snatch a Confederate flag in Charleston. He was charged with disorderly conduct for his actions, but was hailed as a hero online.

His death has been ruled a homicide.

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BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's cabinet minister in charge of political affairs said on Wednesday that the government believes recent amendments to a pension reform bill will result in 314 members of the lower house voting in favor of it, five more than required to pass it. Carlos Marun told reporters that the measure should be voted on this month and head to the Senate, where he forecast a vote in March. The government is pressing hard to trim social security to rein in surging public debt. (Reporting by Ricardo BritoEditing by Chizu Nomiyama)
When Kylie Jennerannounced Sunday that shedgiven birth to a baby girl earlier this month with a nearly 12-minute video documenting her last nine months, many realized thatCaitlyn Jennerwasnotably absent from the sweet clips. Some fansquestionedwhether the two were still talking.

Caitlyn quickly put all the rumors to rest with an Instagram photo on Monday.

My daughter just had a daughter. Its amazing to be by your side through this journey, Jenner captioned her emotional post. Shes SO beautiful already. Cant wait to watch her grow.

Caitlyn posted a photo of Kylie as a baby, captioning the picture, Throwback to my baby, as a baby @kyliejenner.

A post shared by Caitlyn Jenner (@caitlynjenner)on Feb 5, 2018 at 5:09pm PST

Kylie commented on the photo, writing Love you with a heart emoji.

The new mom, who has yet to release the name of her baby, welcomed her first child with boyfriend Travis Scott on Feb. 1.

Pregnancy has been the most beautiful, empowering, and life-changing experience Ive had in my entire life and Im actually going to miss it, Kyliewrote in her announcement. Ive never felt love and happiness like this I could burst!

At an event in Los Angeles on Monday night, Kris Jenner told People magazine that Kylie is alreadyan amazing mom.The momager added that she couldnt stop crying over the sweet video, called To Our Daughter, that Kylie released.

I was bawling! I was crying so hard, especially at the end, Kris said. The video also providedthe first footageof Kim Kardashian and Kanye Wests newest addition to the family, a little girl namedChicago.

A post shared by Kim Kardashian Snapchats  (@kimksnapchats)on Feb 4, 2018 at 3:03pm PST

Watch the whole video below:

Related...

Khloe Kardashian Reveals Family Secrets On 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'

This Is The Best Theory About Khloe And Kylie's Reported Pregnancies

Kylie Jenner Announces Birth Of A Daughter

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Manila (AFP) - The Philippines has bought 16 new Bell helicopters from Canada for about US$235 million to strengthen its fight against Islamic militants and other domestic insurgencies, defence officials said Wednesday.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clashed with host President Rodrigo Duterte over Philippine drug war killings, on the sidelines of a Manila summit.

The Philippine defence department signed the 12- billion-peso (US$234.8 million) Bell 412EPI deal with the state-run Canadian Commercial Corp, with deliveries set to start in nine months, ministry spokesman Arsenio Andolong told AFP.

"These are multi-purpose aircraft for anti-terrorism as well as HADR," he said, using military lingo that refers to disaster response and humanitarian missions.

Philippine troops and police, beset by Islamist and communist insurgencies, fought a five-month battle last year against Islamic State group supporters in the southern city of Marawi.

It is also faced with rising tensions over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea and has been upgrading its navy and air force in recent years. The country is also regularly battered by typhoons.

"These (helicopters) are a real benefit to Filipinos," Canadian ambassador John Holmes said on the mission's Facebook page, adding it would boost Manila's "search and rescue and disaster relief capabilities".

The Philippine defence department acquired eight of the same Bell aircraft model in 2015, which it said went mostly to an air force unit assigned with providing air transport for the Philippine president.

The Filipino military also uses derivations of the Bell-UH-1H helicopter, which first saw service for the US military in the Vietnam War in the early 1960s.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Duterte and Trudeau clashed.

Trudeau said during the November summit that he called out Duterte over "human rights, the rule of law, and specifically extrajudicial killings".

Duterte, who has overseen a crackdown that has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of the police, later described Trudeau's comments as "a personal and official insult", adding he would only answer to his Filipino electorate.

The Philippine government says police only shot the suspects in self-defence and rejects human rights monitors' description of the crackdown as a crime against humanity.
The Native Sons Hall on Spring Street is a greatly appreciated and used venue for community events: numerous crab feeds, film festival screenings, and many other enjoyable occasions.

More soberly, it is also a frequently used space for memorial celebrations for those weve lost; the hall can easily hold hundreds of people. In the past several weeks, St. Helenans have sadly congregated there to celebrate the lives of Joice Beatty and Bruce Frank. For the former, Diane Dillon expertly hosted the gathering; for the latter, it was Scott Snowden.

Each of us knows our friends and associates in our own ways. For me, Joice was a neighbor and Bruce was a fellow gym rat. But, of course, each was so much more than that  Joices good works for the elderly and Bruces many years guiding and counseling high school students. It was comforting to hear affirmations of their contributions and, more broadly, the many facets of the lives they led.

We need gatherings such as these not only to honor the departed but to comfort the community and ensure that the deceased are commemorated. As long as they are remembered, they will remain with us.

Stanford neuroscientist David Eagleman tell us, There are three deaths: the first is when the body ceases to function. The second is when the body is consigned to the grave. The third is that moment, sometime in the future, when your name is spoken for the last time. That third and final death can and should be pushed out to the far distant future.

We, and our loved ones, have complete dominion over how family deaths are handled and there is no one right way to grieve. At the same time, however, deaths do impact the larger community.

In mid-December I was told that a St. Helenan friend of many years had died a couple of weeks previously. I was dumbfounded; there had been no announcement, no obituary, no informal sharing of the sad news. I didnt believe it.

I wont call this story a rumor but instead a report, since there was an identifiable original source of the information. But in life  as well as journalism  we need more than one source to confirm a story. Thats what I tried to do.

I ran the traps on the usual search techniques for finding information on a supposed death. I Googled the name my friend; I got assistance in accessing a robust website that newspapers use to confirm a death. Nothing came up. Discretely, I asked other friends if they had heard anything; no one had. But I wondered if my holiday card had inadvertently caused added distress.

If indeed my friend had died and the family wanted to keep the news private, I marveled at their success. In a small town, good and especially bad news typically travel fast. In the past two months Ive expected each week to see an announcement, to receive some confirmation. Zilch.

The lives we lead belong in some measure to those we touch, encounter and interact with. We saw that in the outpouring of St. Helenans for Joice Beatty and Bruce Frank. Surely my friend, and those he knew, merited a similar remembrance.

In our electronically interconnected world our individual privacy is continually challenged. If we do something notable, for good or ill, that news will be out fast. When an Equifax screws up, our financial lives are potentially exposed broadly. When we buy something were deluged with offers for other products.

Deaths are in a separate category. The rules may differ state-by-state, but there seems to be no automatic right to know. In California, it appears to be possible to access death certificates, but that requires full information on the details of a death. Having a vague report is not sufficient.

Eaglemans third death scares me. I dont want my friends to be forgotten. Meaningful actions, like establishing a scholarship in Bruce Franks honor, can effectively halt death at number two.

For now, Ive accepted that the report of my friends death is not confirmable. If he really has died, I hope he can be remembered for the benefit of his family and the wider community as well.

Mark G. Epstein moved to St. Helena from the East Coast early this century after a career in international business.
Laurent Potdevin, chief executive officer of Lululemon Athletica Inc., has resigned. (Photo: Getty Images)

Lululemon, fitness apparel company and purveyor of $100 yoga pants, has announced the resignation of CEO Laurent Potdevin. In an enigmatic statement released Monday, the company claimed that Potdevin fell short of the companys standards of conduct.

The company hinted that the departure may be due to an undefined indiscretion. The statement read: lululemon expects all employees to exemplify the highest levels of integrity and respect for one another. For now, thats all we know about the reason behind Potdevins resignation.

The current #MeToo moment has spread from Hollywood to fashion to media and more, and the yoga world is no exception. Pop culture has a penchant for sexualizing yoga  remember the Sex and the City episode when Samantha hit on her instructor during class?  but in reality, the goal of a yoga class is to create a safe space. In fact, many instructors start class by offering students the opportunity to decline hands-on adjustments. As recent litigation shows, however, some instructors abuse their power.

Lululemon is currently facing a lawsuit from a store employee who claims that her supervisor raped her after the company created the perfect environment for a sexual predator. According to the lawsuit, when the company learned about the allegations, the supervisor was simply transferred from one store location to another. Equinox has also dealt with claims of harassment after a San Francisco man accused a teacher of sexual assault. The man alleges that when he reported the instructor to Equinox, the gym retaliated by canceling his membership.

In December 2017, famous yogi Rachel Brathen asked her more than 2 million social media followers to send in their own stories of sexual harassment in the yoga industry. Brathen compiled the accounts into 300 anonymous #MeToo stories that span inappropriate adjustments in class to violent assault. But people have known about these abuses in the yoga community for decades, Brathen told Yoga Journal. So, for now, the work is empowering women, to encourage them to keep the stories coming.

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The yoga world was also rocked by Bikram Choudhury, the yoga guru who created a new form of yoga while reportedly attacking and assaulting female yogis. He was eventually sued for breach of contract and wrongful termination by his own lawyer, Minakshi Jafa-Bodden, who claimed that Choudhury had created a hypersexual, offensive and degrading environment for women by, among other things, demanding that female staffers brush his hair and give him massages.

The court ruled in Jafa-Boddens favor, and Choudhury was ordered to pay her $6.5 million worth of punitive damages and $924,000 in compensation. Choudhury has yet to pay the damages and is rumored to have left the country. If he comes back, it will be to go to jail: In May 2017, a California judge issued an arrest warrant against him.

Its unclear whether Potdevins lack of integrity and respect falls into a #MeToo category, and if Lululemon remains mum, we may never know exactly what led to his resignation. But one thing is for sure: Its time for a sexual assault reckoning to hit the yoga industry.

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By David Morgan and Alana Wise

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - When President Donald Trump signed into law an overhaul of the U.S. tax code in late December that slashed the corporate tax rate, managers at Southwest Airlines Co wasted no time.

Within days of the law's enactment, the Dallas-based carrier announced that because of anticipated savings under the new law, it would give $1,000 bonuses to each of its 55,000 employees.

Southwest was not alone. More than 200 companies in recent weeks have cited the tax law in declaring bonuses for at least 3 million U.S. workers, according to Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative tax activist group in Washington.

Besides being eager to offer a swift thank you to employees, Congress and Trump, companies had another reason to move so quickly on bonuses, said tax experts and corporate executives.

Bonuses are a tax deductible business expense. Since Trump's tax overhaul reduced the corporate tax rate to 21 percent from 35 percent, a bonus deduction booked in 2017 could provide a company with tens of millions of dollars more in tax savings than one booked in 2018, depending on its size and scope.

Bonuses declared in fiscal 2017 can be claimed as 2017 deductions as long as the bonuses are paid out by mid-March 2018 for companies with calendar fiscal years, said tax experts.

"A deduction in 2017 is a lot more valuable than a deduction in 2018, because of the 14 percentage point difference in tax rates," said Robert Delgado, head of a compensation and benefits group at audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP.

At Southwest, Chief Financial Officer Tammy Romo told Reuters in an interview, "We went to work immediately over the holidays to look at our options."

On the bonus, she said, "Because it was approved prior to the end of the year, it ended up being a deduction for 2017.

The large corporate savings obtainable by taking a bonus deduction in 2017 instead of 2018 will not be equally available to employees earning $200,000 or less who get a bonus in 2018, said the Tax Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank.

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For them, tax will be due on bonuses and their tax rates will be only slightly lower this year than last, nowhere near the deep cut in the corporate rate, tax experts said.

Maximizing the value of deductions for bonus payments is a legitimate strategy for corporations, whose shareholders expect them to pay the lowest taxes possible.

AT&T Inc unveiled $1,000 bonuses for more than 200,000 employees on Dec. 20, the day Congress approved the law. Similar announcements followed from Comcast Corp, Walmart Inc, Kansas City Southern and other companies.

Some of the bonuses would have been awarded anyway, experts said, but the tax bill allowed employers to be more generous.

Walmart, which handed out bonuses worth $200 to $1,000 depending on years of service, routinely offers its employees quarterly performance-based bonuses. But the company described this payment as a one-time bonus set after the tax bill passed.

Steve Seelig, a compensation expert at consulting firm Willis Towers Watson, said declaring a post-tax overhaul bonus was a compelling move for companies in several ways.

"It engenders good will with their employees, it gets good press, there's good reaction in Congress. Not only do you get all that, you get a better deduction," he said.

To get a 2017 bonus deduction, a corporation must ensure a bonus qualifies as a "fixed and determinable" liability. This can require the board to pass a resolution authorizing a bonus payment and a message alerting employees to the plan.

"Companies are continuing to evaluate bonuses and whether it makes financial sense to pay them ... and get the deduction earlier," said Jerry Karlin, an employer tax expert at Deloitte Tax LLP. "That's not new. There's just a greater economic savings this year."

(Additional reporting by Nandita Bose in New York; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh, Sue Horton and David Gregorio)
Mr Trump was reportedly inspired by a military parade he attended in France: CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT/AFP/Getty Images

A Democratic lawmaker has mocked President Donald Trump for his reported interest in a military parade, trolling the President for his Inauguration Day crowd turnout.

Rep Rick Larsen tweeted in response to recent reports that Mr Trump has been asking for a military parade in Washington  an event that would be rare for the United States, which hasnt conducted one in decades.

There was already a #TrumpParade in DC. Not very well attended the first time, would be a waste of Pentagon time and resources the second time, Mr Larsen tweeted alongside a photo of Mr Trumps inauguration parade, which showed several rows of bleachers empty as the motorcade passed by.

The Washington Post recently reported that Mr Trump has asked the Pentagon to take a look into holding a military parade. The White House subsequently confirmed the report, as did the Pentagon.

Critics of such a parade say that it would cost millions of dollars to conduct a parade like that, which Mr Trump has indicated he would like to see along Pennsylvania Avenue, which connects the White House to the Capitol building. And, the millions of dollars in expenses would come at a time when Republicans are seeking more funding for the military.

Mr Trump has frequently discussed the idea of having a military parade during his presidency, and was reportedly inspired when he attended one in France last year.

Mr Larsen was referring to a running joke sparked by former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer when he said during his first briefing that Mr Trump had received the largest global audience to ever witness the inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.

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The statement was followed by ridicule from people  including a government agency  who made side-by-side photo comparisons of the crowd Mr Trump drew to that of his predecessor Barack Obama. Mr Obamas crowd, in this photos, was clearly larger.
(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.)  A Colorado sheriffs deputy was shot and killed on Monday, the third officer to be gunned down in the line of duty in the state in the past five weeks.

El Paso County Deputy Micah Flick, 34, was killed while he and other officers were investigating a stolen vehicle in Colorado Springs, about 70 miles south of Denver, authorities said.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey said the officers were struggling with the male suspect when shots were fired.

Two other deputies, a Colorado Springs police officer and a bystander were also shot, authorities said. All were hospitalized, but the extent of their injuries wasnt immediately released.

The lone suspect was also killed, authorities said.

The names of the injured officers, the bystander and the suspect were not immediately released.

Sheriff Bill Elder said Flick, who was killed on his 11th anniversary with the department, is survived by his wife and 7-year-old twins.

Deputy Flick was an outstanding member of my agency and he will be missed, Elder said.

Carey said it was a tough day for all law-enforcement agencies.

Tonight there is no distinction between our uniforms. State Patrol, sheriffs office and the Colorado Springs Police Department, our hearts are all broken, he said.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper said the deadly violence against officers is having a grave impact on the state.

We will once more come together to provide sympathy and strength for the deputys loved ones and pray for the recovery of those injured, he said in a written statement. However, we also must come together and say enough is enough. We want each officer, every deputy, to know we are grateful for their service.

Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm was killed Jan. 24 and Douglas County sheriffs Deputy Zackari Parrish was killed on New Years Eve.

Gumm, 31, was shot while chasing a suspect. Parrish, 29, was shot in suburban Denver by a man with a history of mental health issues.

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Mondays shooting occurred in a neighborhood of single-family homes, apartments and retail stores just east of downtown Colorado Springs, a city of about 465,000.

Television coverage showed dozens of emergency vehicles responding to the scene.

A police command post remained on the scene hours after the shooting, along with about a dozen police cars and multiple officers.
The US presidents eldest son insists his father is not racist: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Donald Trump Jr has insisted his father is not racist because he used to spend with rappers.

The US President's eldest child claimed criticisms of his father went so far as to undermine people who are actually affected by real discrimination.

He told conservative news website, The Daily Caller that "you can't win" if your response to an argument was to say something is racist or sexist.

"You actually do a real disservice to those people actually afflicted by it, he said. You can only overplay your hand so many times before people start calling your bluff.

Defending his father's record on racism, he added: I know him. I've seen him my whole life. It's amazing, all the rappers ... all his African-American friends from Jesse Jackson to Al Sharpton  I have pictures [of my dad] with them.

Over the years Mr Trump has been pictured with rappers like Ja Rule, Puff Daddy, Snoop Dogg and Lil Jon.

After it was reported that the US President had described certain African nations, along with Haiti and El Salvador as shithole countries, the United Nations said it was impossible to describe his remarks as anything other than racist.

The 55-nation African Union also said the remarks were clearly racist, while the Vatican decried Trumps words as particularly harsh and offensive.

Mr Trump was also criticised after he referred to some Mexican immigrants as "rapists."

Defending his father, Mr Trump Jr, whose friends reportedly call him the Fifth Avenue Redneck because of his penchant for hunting, said people had only started lashing out at his father since he had become involved in politics.

It was only then that "all of a sudden [people said], 'Oh, he's the most terrible human being in the world,'" the 45-year-old claimed.
President reportedly seeks parade in model of Frances Bastille Day celebration, prompting one veterans group to call him a wannabe banana republic strongman

Melania and Donald Trump attend the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris on 14 July 2017. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to plan a military parade that would see soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the streets of Washington, it was reported on Tuesday.

The move was instantly criticised, with one veterans group comparing the president to a wannabe banana republic strongman.

Trump is seeking a grand parade similar to the Bastille Day celebration in Paris, according to the Washington Post. He outlined the plan at a meeting at the Pentagon on 18 January that included defense secretary Jim Mattis and joint chiefs of staff chairman General Joseph Dunford, the paper said, citing an unnamed military official.

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, the official told the Post. This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

The White House confirmed that an event is in the works, though it did not offer further details. President Trump is incredibly supportive of Americas great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe, press secretary Sarah Sanders said. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.

Trump, who did not serve in the Vietnam war after receiving five draft deferments, has long spoken of his admiration for tough military figures such as General George Patton and frequently makes reference to my generals.



The president was deeply impressed by a parade in Paris on 14 July last year. American and French soldiers marched together on the Avenue des Champs-Elysees to mark the centenary of Americas entry into the first world war and Frances annual Bastille Day holiday. It included tanks, armoured vehicles and a flyover of US and French military jets.

Trump told reporters in September: To a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on the Fourth of July in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue. Were actually looking into it.

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But not for the first time in Trumps short political career, such a display is likely to prove divisive. On Tuesday retired general Paul Eaton, senior adviser to VoteVets, a progressive political action committee for military veterans, said: Donald Trump has continually shown himself to have authoritarian tendencies, and this is just another worrisome example.

The Trumps watch the military parade in Paris alongside Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

In the past, Eaton noted, Trump has praised the tactics of autocrats such as Saddam Hussein and Vladimir Putin. He added: Unfortunately, we do not have a commander in chief right now as much as have a wannabe banana republic strongman.

Richard Painter, former White House ethics lawyer for George W Bush, tweeted: Cool. Just like in North Korea and Russia. But what do we do about those traitors who dont clap during our Dear Leaders speech?  a reference to Trumps criticism of Democrats who did not applaud during his state of the union address.

And journalist Joy Reid wrote on Twitter: Oh my god ... he wants to be Kim Jong-un.

A date for the event has not yet been chosen. Options include Memorial Day on 28 May, Independence Day on 4 July and Veterans Day on 11 November, which would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the end of the first world war. If the route includes Pennsylvania Avenue, it would pass by Trumps controversial hotel.

But the Post added: The cost of shipping Abrams tanks and high-tech hardware to Washington could run in the millions, and military officials said it was unclear how they would pay for it.

Thomas Crosson, a spokesman for the Pentagon, said: We are aware of the request and are in the process of determining specific details. We will share more information throughout the planning process.
Donald Trump is planning a grand military parade in Washington this year  and its likely to go past one of his own hotels.

The US president is thought to have been inspired by the Bastille Day celebrations he attended in Paris last year, but is keen that his own display of military might will top his French inspiration.

The Washington Post revealed that Mr Trump instructed his top generals at a meeting in January to start planning a parade, with an anonymous official quoted as saying: The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France.

Inspiration  Mr Trump was apparently inspired by last years Bastille Day celebrations in Paris, but wants his own parade to top them (Pictures: AP)

After the Bastille Day celebrations last year, Mr Trump told reporters it was one of the greatest parades Ive ever seen, later telling French President Emmanuel Macron: Were going to have to try to top it.

Following the story by The Washington Post, both the White House and the Pentagon reportedly confirmed the plans, with White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying that the President had asked the US Department of Defence to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.

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It is not yet known when or where the parade would take place or what role Mr Trump would have, though it is thought the president will make sure any route goes past his own Trump International Hotel.

The Washington Post reported that Mr Trump had said he would like the parade to proceed along Pennsylvania Avenue, which links the Capitol and the White House.

Concerns  some think such a show of military might will echo parades in North Korea or Russia

Concerns have been voiced in some quarters that such a parade would echo some of the military displays seen in Russia or North Korea.

But the White House official reportedly rejected the suggestion, saying it would be a celebration of the men and women who give us freedom.
Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to hold a military parade, showcasing Americas martial might in the type of display Mr Trump has publicly praised.

The White House said in a statement that Mr Trump had asked the Department of Defence to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation, confirming a report in the Washington Post.

President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

The proposal was also verified by the Pentagon, with a spokesman saying We are aware of the request and are in the process of determining specific details.

The President has repeatedly expressed admiration after being witnessing of military strength in other countries, calling a procession in China magnificent and a Bastille Day parade in France one of the greatest parades I've ever seen.

Because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4th in Washington, down Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr Trump said during a September press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

France's spectacle in particular inspired the President, according to an unnamed official who told the Post that This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, the official said.

While Mr Trump has shown enthusiasm for such demonstrations of martial strength, they are historically rare in America.
(WASHINGTON)  Dreamers protected by an Obama-era program that President Donald Trump has said will end on March 5 are not top targets for deportation as long as they lack criminal records, the White House chief of staff said Tuesday.

John Kelly also dismissed the idea of a short-term extension of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program beyond March 5 to give the administration and Congress more time to work out compromise legislation.

What makes them act is pressure, he said of Congress.

Kellys remarks, to a small group of reporters at the Capitol, came as lawmakers have deadlocked in an effort to reach a bipartisan deal on protecting from deportation recipients of the program, called DACA. Barring a last-minute agreement  which seems unlikely  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said his chamber will begin considering the issue, a debate that GOP leaders expect to start next week.

A federal judge has indefinitely blocked Trump from terminating DACAs protections for the so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. as children and are living here illegally. The program shields them from deportation and gives them the right to hold jobs.

Many lawmakers are uneasy about what might happen to the Dreamers after March 5, and Democrats  and Trump himself  are using that uncertainty as leverage to help force a deal. Kellys remarks seemed aimed at easing worries that major deportations of Dreamers could begin right away.

He described a lengthy legal process that often takes years that immigrants in the U.S. illegally face before they are deported. He said an immigrant here illegally who doesnt commit crimes never comes onto anyones scope.

He added, They are not a priority for deportation.

Trump has proposed creating a pathway to citizenship for up to 1.8 million immigrants covered by DACA who might potentially qualify for its protections.

In exchange, Trump wants $25 billion for border security, including money to build his much-touted wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He also wants to curb legal immigration, restricting the relatives that legal immigrants could sponsor for citizenship and ending a lottery that distributes visas to people from diverse places like Africa.

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Democrats strongly oppose limiting legal immigration, and conservatives are against giving citizenship to DACA recipients. Trumps bill has gotten little traction in Congress.

Kelly said he doubted Trump would act unilaterally to extend DACA beyond March 5. He cited the administrations argument that former President Barack Obama exceeded his constitutional authority in initially creating it.

He also ruled out asking lawmakers to approve a short-term extension of the program. And he said he opposed one idea mentioned in the Capitol as a possible fallback should talks on a broader bipartisan compromise fail  a one-year extension of DACA in exchange for a years worth of money for border security, including for building Trumps wall.

I would certainly advise against it, Kelly said. I would advise against it, Im not the president.

Trump said last September that he was ending the DACA program, complaining that Obama had overstepped his legal authority in creating it.

But while his 2016 election campaign was laced with anti-immigrant remarks, hes expressed sympathy for the Dreamers and he gave Congress until March 5 to pass legislation protecting them.
President Donald Trump has congratulated Elon Musk's SpaceX for the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket.

Musk replied, "An exciting future lies ahead."

SEE ALSO: Watching SpaceX's Falcon Heavy launch to space was like seeing into the future

Trump tweeted at the SpaceX and Tesla CEO on Tuesday after the launch of the Falcon Heavy (and its payload of a Tesla Roadster) from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

It would have been a much more straightforward space-related moment for Trump than the time he looked directly into an eclipse without glasses.

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It was a moment of rather mannerly camaraderie between the two  Musk and Trump have a rather complicated relationship. Before the 2016 election, the SpaceX founder told CNBC, "[Trump] doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States."

Nonetheless, Musk was one of the many tech titans to attend a summit Trump held in Dec. 2016, alongside Apples Tim Cook, Facebooks Sheryl Sandberg, Amazons Jeff Bezos, and Microsofts Satya Nadella, among others.

Musk served on the president's business advisory councils, but in June 2017 announced he was quitting after Trump pulled the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement.

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However, space exploration and interplanetary travel is obviously a priority for Musk, and Trump signed his first space policy in Dec. 2017, ordering NASA to return humans to the moon, then concentrate on Mars.

Guess who'll play a major part in this? Commercial space companies including SpaceX, already working toward Musk's ambitious Mars plans and successfully launching rockets like Tuesday's Falcon Heavy at a lower price point than other companies.

Trump and Musk's shared space ambition comes up even in Michael Wolffs controversial 2018 memoir Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, in which he describes a meeting between the pair in New York's Trump Tower.

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Elon Musk, in Trump Tower, pitched Trump on the new administrations joining him in his race to Mars, which Trump jumped at, Wolff wrote. A SpaceX spokesperson reportedly told Business Insider that this conversation indeed occurred but that it wasnt about Elon personally getting to Mars but rather making humans multi-planetary, which is the SpaceX mission.

Mutually beneficial politeness it is then.

Watch: A 'hangover cure' from a former Tesla employee could save your morning after

Watch original series, sports and more on go90.
I recently read a statistic that there are more African Americans in New York City who are aborted than are born. If this is only half true, then the quote from Sean Carney, national director of 40 days for Life, is right when he says, "Genocide of all genocides."

And despite the fact that a new poll shows that 63 percent of Americans favor restricting abortions after 20 weeks, we see the recent vote of 46 U.S. Senators who voted to prohibit the ban on those late term abortions at the point that the unborn feel pain. (Where does the idea of representative government apply here?)

Only seven countries in the world allow abortion after 20 weeks. The United States is one of them.

40 Days for Life, was started to combat the spirit of death in this country. The movement is building. Fifty thousand faithful came together recently in San Francisco. This year 354 cities and 25 countries will participate.

Through peaceful prayers and quiet witness, 13,998 lives have been spared from abortion, 170 abortion workers had conversions and quit their jobs, 94 abortion centers have closed their doors forever. (Lest you think there are no clinics to serve pregnant women, there are many Pregnancy Centers who help women and families who do not offer abortion as a solution. Locally, there are Alpha Pregnancy Clinic and Birthright.)
Ankara (AFP) - President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned the United States to withdraw any American forces from the Syrian town of Manbij, vowing Turkish troops would expand a cross-border military operation to the key strategic hub.

Erdogan blamed Washington for the presence in Manbij of fighters from the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) and its Democratic Union Party (PYD) political wing, which Ankara sees as terror groups.

Turkey on January 20 launched a major operation aimed at ousting YPG forces from their enclave of the northwestern town of Afrin. However moving east to Manbij -- where unlike Afrin there is a US military presence -- would mark a major escalation.

Accusing Washington of breaking past promises, Erdogan said: "They (Americans) told us they will pull out of Manbij. They said they will not stay in Manbij... Why don't you just go?"

"Who did you bring there? PYD. Who did you bring there? YPG. Who did you bring there? PKK," he said.

Turkey considers YPG as Syrian offshoot of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which has waged an insurgency since 1984 and is designated a terrorist outfit by Ankara and its Western allies.

"And then you tell us not to come to Manbij! We will come to Manbij to return it to its original owners," he added.

Turkey considers towns like Manbij to be originally Arab-majority territory whose ethnic balance was upset in favour of the Kurds during the seven-year civil war.

Turkey's Western allies, including the United States, do not classify the YPG as a terror group and have worked closely with its fighters in the battle against Islamic State jihadists.

In 2016, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an alliance dominated by the YPG, captured Manbij from IS.

In a show of anger at Turkey's NATO ally, Erdogan asked the United States what it was doing in Syria in the first place.

"You do not have a border, you are not a neighbour (of Syria)," he said. "What's your business there? We have a 911 kilometre (566 miles) border."

Erdogan also accused US President Donald Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama of failing to tell the truth over US support for the YPG.

"They told us many things but unfortunately they did not tell the truth," Erdogan said. "Mr Obama did not tell the truth and now Mr Trump is heading down the same path."
David Wise says there are sweet perks to be had showing his Olympic ring. (AP)

If youre one of the record-setting 242 athletes representing the United States at the 2018 Winter Olympics, you dont have to medal in PyeongChang, South Korea, to come away with hardware. And if youre smart about it, you can even squeeze some amazing perks out of said hardware.

According to NBCOlympics.coms Rachel Lutz, every member of Team USA, be it at the Olympics or Paralympics, is fitted for a customized commemorative sterling silver ring by O.C. Tanner. The Salt Lake City-based jeweler has been donating pieces of memorabilia to American athletes since the 2000 Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. The company even put together a video of the lost wax method it uses to make them.

Those lucky Olympians and Paralympians get to trick out their rings as they please, be it with diamonds, different types of gold (10-karat, 14-karat, platinum gold, etc.) and personalized engravings. This years edition features the Olympic logo, the five rings, the American flag, the athletes names, the phrases Team USA 2018 and PyeongChang and a pictogram signifying each persons specific sport.

As much as these rings might be able to fetch on eBay or (heaven forbid) at a pawn shop, their greatest value may be in the awe they can inspire  and the extra benefits they can extract, wittingly or otherwise, from admirers.

David Wise, who will be looking to defend his gold medal in the Mens Halfpipe from the 2014 Sochi Games, has saved significant sums by wearing his ring around.

Everyone who notices the ring is fascinated with it, Wise told NBCOlympics.com. Ive had it get me free meals, drinks, first class flights and hotel upgrades. It even got me out of a parking ticket!

If Wise has managed to score that many bonuses with his one previous ring, just imagine what kinds of fringe benefits Kelly Clark, a three-time medalist in the womens halfpipe, has racked up (and might going forward) now that shes added a fifth piece of Olympic jewelry to her collection.
By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Honduran police officer was sentenced to five years in prison on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.

Victor Oswaldo Lopez Flores, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan. The judge said the sentence was the minimum allowed under federal law.

"It makes me very sad and it is very difficult for me to be standing on this side of the law," Lopez Flores said in court before he was sentenced. "I am very sorry for having committed this action."

Lopez Flores was one of six members of the Honduran National Police who were indicted on U.S. drug charges in July 2016. Two of the others, Mario Guillermo Mejia Vargas and Carlos Jose Zavala Velasquez, have also pleaded guilty, but have not yet been sentenced.

Lopez Flores pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in April 2017. He admitted that in 2014, he met with two people representing themselves as Mexican drug traffickers and showed them a map of possible police checkpoints on a road in Honduras in order to help them transport cocaine.

Prosecutors have said that Lopez Flores was promised about $100,000 for his assistance, and that the two purported drug traffickers were in fact undercover informants working for U.S. authorities.

The case is one of several drug-related prosecutions in New York targeting officials and others in Honduras, which U.S. authorities have long identified as a major transshipment point for drugs being smuggled into the United States.

Fabio Lobo, son of former Honduran President Porfirio Lobo, was arrested in 2015 and accused of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States with the police officers. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 24 years in prison in September.

Yani Rosenthal, a former Honduran legislator who twice ran for president, and his cousin Yankel Rosenthal, a former minister of investment, also received prison time for drug-related charges. The Rosenthal family owns Honduras' Grupo Continental conglomerate.

Prosecutors recently announced cocaine trafficking conspiracy charges against Honduran congressman Fredy Renan Najera Montoya, who is not in U.S. custody.

(Reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas)
By Jonathan Allen NEW YORK (Reuters) - False tsunami warnings flashed on cellphones along the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts on Tuesday morning when a U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) systems test went awry, unnerving Americans from Maine to Texas. The false alerts appeared to have been sent by the private forecasting company AccuWeather, according to cellphone images posted on social media. AccuWeather pointed the finger at the NWS. "Yikes!" Trish Milburn, a writer of romance novels who lives on Florida's Gulf Coast, wrote on Twitter. "That warning is not what you want to see when you live less than 10 feet (3 meters) above sea level." It was not the first time this year Americans were roused by their cellphones warning of an impending catastrophe. Last month's false alarm was a missile headed for Hawaii. The National Weather Service said its National Tsunami Warning Center issued a routine monthly test message that was misconstrued, spooking people in cities as far apart as Boston and Houston. "The test message was released by at least one private sector company as an official Tsunami Warning, resulting in widespread reports of tsunami warnings received via phones and other media across the East Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean," the service said in a statement. At least some people who clicked the alert to read the full message saw a disclaimer that the alert was in fact a test, according to screenshots posted online. AccuWeather said the National Weather Service wrongly coded the test as a real warning, confusing its automated alerts system. "AccuWeather has the most sophisticated system for passing on NWS tsunami warnings based on a complete computer scan of the codes used by the NWS," the company said in a statement. "While the words 'TEST' were in the header, the actual codes read by computers used coding for real warning, indicating it was a real warning." AccuWeather said it had warned the National Weather Service in 2014 of this vulnerability after a similar error. The National Weather Service said its investigation confirmed the message was coded as a test. "We are working with private sector companies to determine why some systems did not recognize the coding. Private sector partners perform a valuable service in disseminating warnings to the public. We will continue to work with our partners to prevent this from occurring again," NWS said in a statement. An AccuWeather spokesman could not be reached late Tuesday to respond. It was not clear how many people saw the false alerts. Residents of the West Coast were warned in January to brace for a possible tsunami after an earthquake off the coast of Alaska. The warnings were later lifted and no significant damage was reported. (Reporting by Jonathan Allen in New York; additional reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)
One agent said he hoped it was 'an instance of fake news.' Another said the news was 'unexpected and hard to understand': REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

FBI employees expressed shock and disappointment after James Comey was fired, new emails have revealed  contradicting Donald Trumps claim staff had lost confidence in the bureau chief.

Just a day after the US President took the controversial decision to remove the FBI director from his post, White House staff claimed the rank and file of the FBI had lost confidence in Mr Comey, with then deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders saying countless members of the FBI had told her they were grateful and thankful.

But hundreds of leaked emails, obtained by LawFare, have now shown employees were surprised by the news, with many expressing sorrow and dismay over the unsettling decision.

One agent said he hoped it was an instance of fake news. Another said the news was unexpected and hard to understand.

John Bennet, San Francisco bureau head, said: These events are hard to hear and harder to comprehend.

Renae McDermott, special agent in charge of the Knoxville field office, said in an email to staff: Unexpected news such as this is hard to understand but I know you all know our Director stood for what is right and what is true!!!...He truly made us better when we needed it the most.

David Gelios, the special agent in charge of the Detroit field office, said: I just saw CNN reporting that Director Comey has been fired by President Trump. I have no notification from HQ of any such thing. If I receive any information from HQ, I will advise. Id ask all to stand by for clarification of this reporting.

I am only sending this because I want everyone to know I have received no HQ confirmation of the reporting. I hope this is an instance of fake news.

Mr Trumps decision to fire Mr Comey in May 2017 unleashed a storm of claims the former billionaire businessman was trying to obstruct the probe into alleged Russian collusion in his election campaign.

Mr Comey testified in Congress that Mr Trump asked him to drop an investigation of his campaigns ties to Russian officials.

He, along with former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former CIA Director John Brennan, issued a report in January 2017 describing an unprecedented Russian intelligence operation to undermine the US democratic process and help elect Mr Trump.
Tokyo (AFP) - Japan's Princess Mako has postponed her wedding to her college sweetheart until 2020, sparking speculation that alleged money trouble involving the fiance's mother could have thrown a spanner in the works.

In an announcement that came completely out of the blue, the 26-year-old eldest granddaughter of Emperor Akihito cited time constraints as the reason to delay the formal engagement.

"We have come to realise that we do not have enough time to prepare for the ceremonies and our new life before the wedding planned in autumn," she said in a statement released through the imperial household agency Wednesday.

Mako and Kei Komuro, also 26, had been scheduled to be formally engaged in a traditional court ceremony next month before their wedding on November 4.

The imperial household agency insisted the couple still want to wed and flatly denied any connection between the postponement and a series of recent magazine articles about the alleged money trouble of the Komuro family.

But speculation is swirling that there could be more than meets the eye to the postponement, which was leading Wednesday's television news programmes.

For weeks, gossip magazines have been delving into the finances of Komuro's mother, who is widowed.

In late January, Japan's two biggest weeklies, each quoting an acquaintance of "a former fiance" of the mother, reported she had not repaid more than four million yen ($37,000) she had loaned from him.

The man called off the engagement after she asked for money so often, the reports said.

The money was reportedly spent on supporting the living of the single-parent household and the son's school tuition, including a half-year study at a US university.

But the Komuros argued they thought the money was "a gift", according to the Shukan Shincho weekly.

- 'Worried voices' -

The liberal Asahi daily said "there have been worried voices in the imperial household agency since the money trouble was reported."

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"Even an ordinary family would have cold feet over their beloved daughter's marriage if weekly magazines wrote this much," tabloids quoted an anonymous "top official of the imperial household agency" as saying.

Kei Komuro declined to comment late Tuesday, merely bowing deeply to a swarm of reporters waiting for him to finish work.

In her statement, the princess noted the couple needed to announce their informal engagement "much earlier than planned" after the news leaked out in May.

Schedules for events concerned were then announced in November but she admitted this may have been done "too hastily".

"We should have thought twice carefully whether the pace was actually right for us... Now, we'd like to have the marriage, a major life event, in a better way."

She apologised to those planning the royal wedding, blaming the young couple's "immaturity".

They have already informed the emperor and empress that wedding-related ceremonies will be delayed until 2020.

The imperial family has a packed schedule next year as the 84-year-old Emperor Akihito abdicates on April 30, 2019 -- the first time for more than two centuries that a Japanese emperor has stepped down.

His eldest son Naruhito, who will turn 58 this month, is set to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne a day later.

Mako is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino, Naruhito's brother, and Princess Kiko.

The Nikkei business daily warned against labelling Kei Komuro as not suitable as a partner for the royal.

"It would be a shame for a democratic country if concerns and criticism about family lineage or economic resources caused pressure," it said, warning it could create serious problems for future royal marriages.
Conakry (AFP) - Five young children perished in an arson attack on Tuesday during clashes in central Guinea following weekend local elections, a government minister said.

Huts and houses were set on fire in the town of Kalinko, and "five Guinean infants died in the flames", the minister Boureima Conde said on television on Tuesday, without specifying their age or identity.

Unrest flared in the West African country after Sunday's ballot.

One person was killed when opposition party supporters clashed with security forces in Guinea during vote counting on Monday, as activists alleged fraud.

Guinean opposition leaders have denounced the west African country's long-delayed local elections, saying vote rigging with proxy ballots occurred at several polling stations.

Political distrust is high in Guinea, where ethnic tensions often turn deadly around election time.

The last local election was held in 2005 under the decades-long rule of authoritarian leader General Lansane Conte, who died in 2008.
(ESPN)

Tommy Bush and his family decided a Georgia shirt would be the best way to reveal his commitment to the Bulldogs.

But Bush himself was not going to be wearing that Georgia shirt.

Instead, as Bush announced he was signing with the Bulldogs, he held his baby niece. She was the one wearing the Georgia shirt, even if she was momentarily unhappy with the decision to be a part of the charade.

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Bush, a four-star wide receiver from Schertz, Texas, told ESPN that he had been committed to Georgia for a few weeks but kept his decision secret until signing day. He took his official visit to Georgia the weekend the power went out in Atlantas Jackson-Hartsfield Airport. Thankfully for Bulldog fans, that didnt persuade him to pick another school.

[Rivals National Signing Day Live-Blog]

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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Ismail Hakki Karadayi never sat behind the defense minister. Neither did Huseyin Kivrikoglu. Nor did any Turkish military chief of staff who came before them. It was always a seeming oddity that military officers from other member countries sat behind their civilian leadership at NATO ministerial meetings  except for the Turkish ones; they sat next to their ministers. But anything else would have been a breach in protocol. Turkeys organizational chart was clear: The minister of national defense had no authority over the military command, and while both were formally subordinate to the civilian prime minister, the men in uniform didnt always act that way.

This pattern of civil-military relations in Turkey is now changing. The enervation and defenestration of the armed forces under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) over the past 15 years mean that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now the first Turkish head of state to be truly vested with the powers outlined in Articles 104 and 117 of the Turkish Constitution. Those provisions make Erdogan the commander in chief (on behalf of the Grand National Assembly) and allow him to decide on the use of the Turkish Armed Forces, NATOs second-largest military. And he has availed himself of those powers liberally, having ordered Turkish planes, tanks, and troops into battle in Syria twice over the last 18 months.

What sort of commander in chief has Erdogan revealed himself to be? Turkeys Operation Olive Branch, which began on Jan. 20, demonstrates that Erdogan the military commander is largely similar to Erdogan the politician  there are strains of both the risk taker and the pragmatist in his Syrian foray. But one thing has remained consistent about the presidents military leadership: the self-reinforcing and unrestrained nationalist zeal of his rhetoric, in his descriptions of both the militarys goals and its progress. There is also an unmistakable emphasis on Islamist themes when Erdogan has addressed his supporters about the most recent incursion into Syria.

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Whatever the outcome on the battlefield, Erdogan has already established an unprecedented military role for a Turkish civilian.

The powers of commander in chief that are in Erdogans hands are powers that previous presidents have held. The relevant articles of the constitution have not changed since the document was adopted in 1982. Still, Erdogan is unique in the ways in the ways he has given life to these formal powers. The only precedent lies in the politics of the years after the 1980 coup and the charismatic presidency of Turgut Ozal. Like Erdogan a generation later, Ozal was determined to establish his authority in part by challenging the prerogatives of the officer corps. In 1987, he named Gen. Necip Torumtay as the new chief of the General Staff over the objections of the commanders who had long been accustomed to making this decision on their own. Then, two-and-a-half years later, Ozal  by that time the countrys first civilian president  forced a showdown with the General Staff over his insistence that Turkey support the U.S.-led Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Torumtay resigned in protest. Then nothing happened. There were no threats from the officers, no memo directing Ozal to alter Turkish policy, and no coup.

But Ozals independence from the military was conditional and contextual, and the more typical pattern of civilian passivity returned after his death in 1993. Before Turkeys first Islamist-led government was forced from office in June 1997, the General Staff established strategic ties with Israel  announcing their existence at a think tank in Washington  to the great discomfort of then-Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and undertook military operations in Iraq against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) without bothering to tell him. The officers ordered up another operation in Iraq after a shaky right-left coalition took over after Erbakan was chased from the prime ministry. The new prime minister, Mesut Yilmaz, was also left in the dark.

When the AKP came to power in November 2002, it began altering the relationship between Turkeys elected civilian leaders and the officer corps. The previous government had already done some tinkering in this area by changing the composition of Turkeys National Security Council, a primary channel through which the military influenced policy and politics, to favor civilians. The effect was negligible, however, given the militarys control of the bureaucratic apparatus of the body. The AKPs efforts began relatively smoothly due to broad public support for European Union-related reforms that required, in part, the militarys relationship with elected civilian leaders be brought into line with European norms. Erdogan and the then-chief of staff, Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, seemed to have struck a gentlemens agreement not to heat up the political arena unnecessarily over the changes.

Things only got ugly in 2007 after the military tried to prevent the AKPs Gul from becoming president of the republic. Paranoid that Turkeys traditional elite would never let him govern, Erdogan and the AKP collaborated with followers of Fethullah Gulen to decapitate the armed forces through spectacular show trials based on fabricated evidence. The cowing of the military continued with waves of purges of suspected Gulenist officers  the Turkish government now accuses the U.S.-based cleric of leading a terrorist organization that was behind the failed July 2016 putsch  and other disloyal members of the military. This has left the military in no position to challenge Erdogan today. Although it is not a good idea to declare the era of coups in Turkey to be over  if only because that is what many analysts believed in the years before the attempted military takeover in 2016  Erdogans long tenure seems to have altered past patterns of Turkeys civil-military relations.

The invasion of Syria highlights precisely how. Erdogan has now ordered the Turkish Armed Forces  whose commanders have previously emphasized caution and quick, limited cross-border operations  deployed across the southern border twice. It is important to remember that the complexities of the Syrian fight are the reason that for years Erdogan encouraged and cajoled U.S. President Barack Obamas administration to intervene so the Turkish leader would not have to commit his own forces to this dangerous conflict. Unable to convince the United States, Erdogan finally took the risk himself when just five weeks after the failed coup in July 2016 he ordered his still-reeling armed forces to undertake Operation Euphrates Shield. It turned out to be a lame blitz that was badly organized, poorly commanded, and took seven months to complete. Anywhere from 35 to 70 Turkish soldiers died in the effort to take al-Bab and other towns from fighters of the self-proclaimed Islamic State. The political costs of this operation were reduced by the fact that pro-AKP interests have captured much of Turkeys media landscape. It was also launched in the fraught aftermath of the July coup when Erdogan was drawing support across Turkeys political spectrum.

Erdogan seems to have approached the most recent venture  with its awkward code name, Olive Branch  a bit differently, which is understandable given the higher stakes involved. From the perspective of Turkeys national security establishment, the invasion is a war of necessity to prevent the possible emergence of a terrorist state on its borders. Still, Erdogan has taken the dramatic step of ordering the military into battle against forces that are allied with the United States and at least implicitly has threatened American personnel in vowing to sweep into the town of Manbij and farther east to the Iraqi border. This area is where U.S. special forces operate with the Peoples Protection Units (YPG), an affiliate of the PKK that makes up the bulk of the U.S. Defense Departments ground forces in the fight against the Islamic State.

Needless to say, previous Turkish commanders in chief would likely not have challenged the United States in this way. Then again, given Washingtons relationship with the YPG and the outrage it has produced in Turkey, threatening a breach with the United States is good politics that helps shore up Erdogans popular support, which before Operation Olive Branch was softer than it was after the 2016 failed coup.

Thus far, the military seems to have learned its lesson from Operation Euphrates Shield. Turkish shelling and airstrikes are supporting the Free Syrian Army  which is doing Turkeys bidding  against the YPG in the district of Afrin. This has kept Turkish casualties low. It is unclear if Erdogan was involved in any military planning beside approving the plan and giving the orders to begin hostilities. During the first week of fighting, he was photographed in what looked like an operations center wearing a camouflage jacket, pointer in hand, and peering intently at documents and maps of the battlefield. This seems like a standard photo op (not terribly different from obligatory photos of American presidents at the Demilitarized Zone dividing North and South Korea) rather than an indication that Erdogan is actually managing the battle. For a micromanager of some renown, Erdogan, it seems, has uncharacteristically left the details to the General Staff.

That is a smart move militarily, but just as important will be that the commander in chief insists on getting timely and accurate information from the battlefield. Given Erdogans erratic management style, no one can be sure that is the case. It may not matter that much in the early days of fighting given the fear, nationalist zeal, and anger (mostly at the United States) that have mobilized the Turkish population.

Yet what if more Turkish soldiers are killed; what if the YPG puts up stiffer-than-expected resistance; what if the United States does not fold on its Kurdish allies; what if Syrian regime forces in tandem with Hezbollah fighters continue to take shots at Turkish forces in Idlib and that confrontation expands; and what if Syria becomes a quagmire for the Turkish Armed Forces? There are a lot of ways incursions into neighboring countries that seem neat and clean on a map can corrode a military operation and undermine even the most politically deft leader  despair over the death of his wife and the quagmire that the 1982 Operation Peace for Galilee became sent Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin into seclusion for the rest of his life. Erdogan presumably understands all of these risks, but the very political dynamics he has created to whip up support for Operation Olive Branch might make it hard for him to break it off.

So far, however, Erdogan seems to be doing well in his new role. He has set the goals of the operation and focused on managing domestic politics, ensuring Turkeys geopolitical interests, and doing what he does like few others by mobilizing support for Operation Olive Branch at home while leaving the fight to the commanders. But, regardless of what anyone thinks about the justness of Ankaras cause in Syria, civilian control of the armed forces in Turkey is now a reality. That is something quite new. The very real danger given Erdogans authoritarian worldview and approach to politics is that he transforms the military into an instrument of his transformative vision for Turkey. The only other commander in chief who has ever done that was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Steven A. Cook is the Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of False Dawn: Protest, Democracy, and Violence in the New Middle East.
Soon-to-be royal Meghan Markles starring role on Suits made looking young  as is inevitably the case in Hollywood  a priority. So when the 36-year-old started to feel the effects of aging taking shape, she did what any self-respecting woman of a certain age does: face yoga.

Photo: Getty Images

The practice  which involves an intricate set of movements to tone the muscles in your face  has been around for years and is widely credited to Annelise Hagen, a New York yoga teacher. Hagen published a book on it in 2006, aptly titled Yoga Face. In it, she bills the practice as a natural alternative antiaging regimen that women can do anytime and anywhere and in just minutes.

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Markle, who is set to marry Prince Harry on May 19 in England, said she was introduced to the antiaging concept by famed facialist Nichola Joss. I do facial exercises from one of my favorite aestheticians  who basically has you sculpt your face from the inside out, Markle recently told Birchbox. I swear it works, as silly as you may feel. On the days I do it, my cheekbones and jawline are waaaay more sculpted.

Hagen says her motivation for creating a face yoga practice stemmed from her own desire to relieve the facial and neck tension she felt. Facial muscles are involuntary. They give away our secrets  whatever were thinking or seeing, Hagen tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Tension has a strong gravitational pull, and when you release it, even just stretch your face, it feels better.

What began as workshop at a local New York studio soon blossomed into a regular class, a book, and now an entire movement. Hagens theory, which has been adopted by many face yoga experts in her wake, is that the muscles in your face are no different than muscles in the rest of your body. If you dont tone them, they will sag. So face yoga does just that, in a series of unusual, awkward, and  sometimes  bizarre moves.

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When Hagen premiered the idea of face yoga years ago, she says, many were quick to downplay it. There were a lot of doubters at first, most of which came from the plastic surgery world, she tells Yahoo Lifestyle. But now there have been a lot of studies that have validated my work. To get the news that a soon-to-be princess now uses the practice was even more exciting to Hagen.

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Its super validating when someone like that is associating with the work Ive done, Hagen tells Yahoo Lifestyle. Im happy to hear Meghan is embracing it. Shes a positive role model for beauty, inside and out. While Hagen is now taking the phenomenon international, hosting a retreat in Costa Rica this March, others are still growing the face yoga community on U.S. soil.

One of those voices is Danielle Collins, who offers DVDs of her face yoga program as well as individual training courses on her website. In a recent interview with Marie Claire, Collins said that the process works by stimulating blood flow to the hypodermis (lower layer of the skin), the dermis (middle layer), and the epidermis (upper layer).

Working all these layers correctly will increase the blood circulation, allowing more oxygen and more nourishment to reach the cells of the skin, Collins said. The result is a clear, healthy complexion with a beautiful glow which has less toxins and has a better ability to absorb moisture.

A study from Northwestern now offers the first scientific evidence that face yoga works. Published in the Jan. 3 issue of JAMA Dermatology, the study found that middle-aged women who did a 30-minute daily (or every-other-day) facial exercise program for 20 weeks ended up with a younger appearance, with full upper and lower cheeks.

Led by Murad Alam, MD, a dermatology professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the study suggests face yoga could be a low-cost, all-natural antiaging option. Now there is some evidence that facial exercises may improve facial appearance and reduce some visible signs of aging, Alam said. The exercises enlarge and strengthen the facial muscles, so the face becomes firmer and more toned and shaped like a younger face.

To determine the ages of the women in the study, two dermatologists relied on a standardized facial aging scale (Merz-Carruthers Facial Aging Photoscales) that looks at 19 different features of the face. The most significant changes reported were in the upper and lower cheeks, resulting in an overall decrease in the average ages estimated from 50.8 years to 48.1 years).

While Markles endorsement may be reason enough to try face yoga (because, hey, if shes marrying a prince, shes got to be doing something right), the JAMA study should be taken with a grain of salt. The results suggest face yoga could be beneficial, but much larger studies need to be done in order to say definitively that its helpful.

Until then, feel free to try it. But unless your job requires weird faces, save it for home.

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Recently, Macaulay Culkin shared that hes not a big fan of Donald Trumps brief cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, proclaiming that he much preferred the first movie since it had 100 percent less Trump.

Now, one-half of the sticky bandits in the movie, Daniel Stern, has revealed some behind-the-scenes details about running into the real estate magnate while filming the movie.

Stern wasnt actually on set when Trump shot his appearance (upon entering Trumps Plaza Hotel, Culkins Kevin McCallister asks directions to the lobby), but the veteran actor ended up having a very Trumpian encounter while drinking at the hotel bar.

Me and Joe [Pesci] were in the bar drinking, and Mr. Trump and his wife, or girlfriend at the time, came over and said, Drinks are on me! and then he left, Stern recalled.

And with that, Stern and Pesci went to town. I think we must have run up $5,000, said Stern. I mean we got the best of everything. We just ran up his tab after he made the big show of drinks for everybody.

Stern, whose son, Henry, is a Democratic state senator in California, couldnt help but look back on the night as a mini-act of political resistance: He was a big shot, and I took my pound of flesh, or alcohol.

Since Trump became president, his cameo in Home Alone 2 has become a polarizing issue. Someone sent me a picture of a sign at the Womens March saying, Edit Trump out of Home Alone 2,' said Stern. That was their cause, which Id have to say, I support.

Donald Trumps brief cameo in Home Alone 2 was criticized by at least one sign at the Womens March in Los Angeles earlier this year. (Photo: Instagram/@thevictoriagold)

Watch Daniel Stern recall how he got his memorable role on The Wonder Years:
In a case viewed as a crucial test of Hong Kongs judicial independence, an appeals court has ruled to free three prominent activists who were facing prison terms for their role in massive pro-democracy protests that shook the semi-autonomous region of China in 2014.

A judge in Hong Kongs highest appeals court quashed the sentences of imprisonment handed down to Joshua Wong, 21, Nathan Law, 24, and Alex Chow, 27, late last year, ruling that their previously served community service was sufficient. Tuesdays ruling reversed a highly-criticized decision in August to reopen their case and seek custodial punishment.

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The successful appeal was seen as a major victory for the trio, who last week were nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. The nomination, and the criminal charges against them, was related to their role in spearheading the Umbrella Movement, a 79-day peaceful occupation of the city demanding greater political autonomy.

Read More: Hong Kongs Umbrella Movement Has Been Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

Supporters queued outside the courthouse as the trio arrived, many wearing the bright teal T-shirts emblematic of their political party, Demosist?. Once convened, the hearing lasted roughly 10 minutes; supporters and journalists streamed out of the courtroom looking perplexed by the surprise ruling.

The three were initially sentenced to community service for their role in a demonstration that helped kickstart to Umbrella protests, during which tens of thousands of mostly young people flooded Hong Kongs financial and government center and brought the city to a standstill for months. The demonstrations, originally planned to oppose Chinese interference in the citys elections, soon swelled into a broader movement for democracy and political autonomy.

Read more: Hong Kong Democracy Activist Joshua Wong Talks to TIME About Life Behind Bars

But in August, prosecutors reopened their case to seek harsher punishment; their prison sentences of six to eight months effectively barred them from office for five years and earned them the label of Hong Kongs first prisoners of conscience. The move was broadly seen as an attempt to sideline the popular young pro-democratic figures and intimidate other activists. Just before the hearing, Chow told TIME that it is getting clearer, that the red line is pushing forward, and room for resistance is shrinking.

Tuesdays ruling was welcomed by their supporters. Wong and his co-defendants cautioned, however, that though they had been spared sentences the ruling could still signal that the city is losing tolerance for dissent. The ruling emphasized that future offenders involved in large scale unlawful assemblies involving violence may face harsher punishment. Wong, Law and Chow reject allegations of violent demonstration.
Office workers drinking tea and coffee - PA

Hot tea can increase the risk of a deadly cancer five-fold for people who also regularly drink alcohol, Chinese research suggests.

People who drink at least one alcoholic beverage and a "burning hot" cup of tea on a daily basis were five times more likely to develop esophageal cancer than people who drank tea at any temperature less than once a week, the study found.

The risks to smokers also increase with high-temperature tea drinking, said the study, which examined data on 456,155 Chinese adults ages 30 to 79. Drinking boiling hot tea every day was associated with roughly twice the risk of oesophageal cancer as consuming tea less than weekly for people who smoked.

Both smoking and drinking alcohol are already widely-known to be linked to oesophageal cancer, but the new study, which appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine, proved that very hot tea can increase the risks.

Lv Jun, of Peking University Health Science Centre in China, who co-authored the study, told The Telegraph: Boiling hot tea will harm the cells in the oesophagus. If the person also drinks alcohol and smokes, then the harm caused will be more heightened.

At the start of the study, none of the participants had cancer. Researchers followed half of the participants for at least nine years.

During the study, 1,731 people developed oesophageal tumours.

Each year, oesophageal cancer - which killed Inspector Morse actor John Thaw - is diagnosed in around 9,000 people in the UK, and an estimated 15 per cent of patients who develop the cancer are still alive after five years.

Theresa May drinks tea with counterpart Xi Jinping on her visit to China Credit: Dan Kitwood/Pool via Bloomberg

Rates of the disease are relatively high in China, where tea drinking is common and many men smoke and drink.

Chinese people often drink tea from flasks that they carry with them to their workplace and regularly fill up with hot water.

Very few Chinese drink traditional British tea, which less hot than Chinese varieties as it also usually taken with cold milk.

Cancer | The tests you need to know about

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People in Russia, Turkey and South America enjoy their tea very hot, with many regularly drinking it at temperatures above 149 degrees Fahrenheit (65 degrees Celsius).

Past research has shown that tea can help to protect against tumours in the digestive tract.

But studies have also suggested that hot liquids and food can cause "thermal injury" which can increase the risk factors associated with cancer.

Additional reporting by Christine Wei
Plan to avert shutdown includes over $300bn rise in spending

Pelosi says package must consider immigration legislation

Nancy Pelosi said on Wednesday: Without a commitment from Paul Ryan, this package does not have my support. Photograph: Jose Luis Magana/AP

Senate leaders on Wednesday announced a far-reaching agreement that would set federal spending levels for the next two years, a major victory for both parties after years of lamenting Congresss reliance on short-term solutions to avert financial crises.

The bipartisan plan would raise defense and non-defense spending by $300bn and provide billions of additional dollars in disaster relief funding for areas ravaged by wildfires and hurricanes last year. It would also increase the debt ceiling and allow the government to take on new debt for the next year.

However, the deal does not resolve the thorny issue of immigration reform.

The Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, unveiled on Wednesday the deal after months of fraught negotiations.

I am pleased to announce that our bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on defense spending and other priorities have yielded a significant agreement, McConnell said. He added that the measure was not perfect but was a significant bipartisan step forward nonetheless.

I hope we can build on this bipartisan momentum and make 2018 a year of significant achievement for Congress, for our constituents and for the country we all love, McConnell added.

The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, who followed McConnell to the floor, echoed his counterpart.

The budget deal doesnt have everything Democrats want, it doesnt have everything Republicans want, but it has a great deal of what the American people want, Schumer said.

The White House signaled support for the deal. Defense secretary James Mattis praised the increase in defense spending at the White House press briefing.

And later on Wednesday, Trump tweeted: The Budget Agreement today is so important for our great Military. It ends the dangerous sequester and gives Secretary Mattis what he needs to keep America Great. Republicans and Democrats must support our troops and support this Bill!

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The legislation, however, could face barriers in the House without a commitment from the speaker, Paul Ryan, to consider legislation that would protect Dreamers, the young undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children.

On Wednesday the leader of House Democrats, Nancy Pelosi, threatened to withhold support for any budget deal not accompanied by a promise to consider immigration legislation.

(August 16, 2015)

Upon announcing his presidential bid Donald Trump makes hardline immigration reform central to his campaign and pledges to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca).

I will immediately terminate President Obamas illegal executive order on immigration, he says.

(December 7, 2016)

Weeks after winning the White House, President-elect Trump appears to soften his stance on Dreamers. Despite offering no specific policy he promises to work something out.

On a humanitarian basis its a very tough situation. he tells Time magazine.

(February 16, 2017)

Trump acknowledges the fraught road to a solution, describing Daca as a very difficult thing for me as I love these kids.

I have to deal with a lot of politicians, Trump says. And I have to convince them that what Im saying is right.

(February 5, 2017)

Trump abruptly announces he will end Daca, phasing out applications for renewal by March 2018. The president insists the decision provides a window of opportunity for Congress to finally act.

(September 14, 2017)

Following talks with Democrats, Trump hints a deal may be close, but suggests it wouldnt include a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers.

Were not looking at citizenship. Were not looking at amnesty, Trump tells reporters.

(January 9, 2018)

Trump promises to take the heat for a bipartisan Daca bill being brokered by senators. But within days he revokes his support, calling the bipartisan plan a big step backwards. The US government shuts down after negotiations over the budget and a Dreamers solution collapse.

(January 24, 2018)

With the government reopened with a temporary bill, Trump tells reporters he is now open to a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers over a period of 10-12 years if the individual does a great job, they work hard.

Pelosi said on Wednesday: This morning, we took a measure of our caucus because the package does nothing to advance bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers in the House. Without a commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support.



In exchange for bringing a swift end to last months three-day government shutdown, Senate Democrats extracted a promise from McConnell to debate immigration legislation if no deal had been reached by Thursday, when the current funding measure expires.



Pelosi said the agreement includes many Democratic priorities such as a disaster recovery package and dollar for dollar increases in the defense and non-defense budget.

She said: There will be billions in funding to fight opioids, to strengthen our veterans and the NIH, to build job-creating rural infrastructure and broadband, and to fund access to childcare and quality higher education.

AshLee Strong, a spokesman for Ryan, said the Republican leader has already repeatedly stated we intend to do a Daca and immigration reform bill  one that the president supports.

But in an hours-long floor speech, Pelosi warned that without a promise to debate immigration legislation, a large number of members of our caucus would not support the budget deal.

Pelosi issued the demand on immigration as she commanded the House floor, using an unusual procedural maneuver extended to a handful of House leaders enabling them to speak on the floor without a time constraint. She used the dramatic blockade, which passed the six-hour mark around 4pm, to share stories of Dreamers and urge Ryan to bring legislation to the floor.



Senate Democrats appear to have little appetite for another shutdown. But on Tuesday, Trump said he would welcome another shutdown if they refused to yield to his hardline demands on immigration.

Trump said: Id love to see a shutdown if we cant get this stuff taken care of.

Trump has expressed a desire to protect Dreamers, but only if it also includes measures to strengthen border enforcement, fund a border wall and restrict the legal immigration system. The fate of Dreamers was thrown into jeopardy when the Trump administration ended Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (Daca). Trump gave Congress until 5 March to find a legislative solution.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Senate are working on a legislative package. It is unclear if this would be acceptable to the White House, which has drawn a hard line on immigration.
By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters massed outside the U.S. embassy and U.N. headquarters in South Sudan's capital on Tuesday, chanting slogans against an arms embargo imposed by Washington, before some attacked journalists at the scene. The demonstrators handed in a petition to the United Nations, then some in the crowd turned on reporters, punching them and throwing stones, witnesses said. One foreign journalist needed medical treatment. "She was targeted because when the demonstrators saw her, they said 'Why is the white person taking our photos?' ... they beat her," said a local journalist who asked not to be named. The United States banned the export of weapons and defense services to South Sudan on Friday, in a bid to press President Salva Kiir to end a four-year-old civil war. Washington has already blacklisted several South Sudanese figures - the former army chief and several former or serving officers, a businessman and the information minister - that it says have helped stoke the conflict, which has triggered Africa's biggest refugee crisis since the Rwandan genocide. Protesters held banners denouncing colonialism and chanted "America mind your own business, stop the arms embargo against South Sudan". We are ready to defend South Sudan from any foreign invaders and oppression even if it means to die," read the petition, presented by Gatluak Bol Dhew, the acting secretary general of South Sudan National Youth - a youth group which says it is not linked to the government or any political party. The petition praised China - which has large investments in South Sudan's oil industry - and Russia as "true friends" of the country. More than a third of the population has been driven from their homes by the fighting, which had exacerbated ethnic divisions, splitting the oil-rich nation into a patchwork of fiefdoms. Internationally-backed attempts to mediate a peace deal or ceasefire have repeatedly failed, and deadly attacks on aid workers trying to tackle widespread hunger, poverty and disease are common. Police spokesman Daniel Boulogne said they were unaware of any violence at the demonstration. When asked about the attacks on journalists, he said "this was not reported to us." The United Nations Mission in South Sudan said the demonstration was largely peaceful, but added that "a small group of those gathered outside threw stones at the main gate of the base". (Editing by Andrew Heavens)
Tuz Khurmatu (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces backed by a US-led coalition advanced in a major operation Wednesday against Islamic State group jihadists hiding out in a northeastern desert region, the military said.

The army, rapid intervention and paramilitary forces, in coordination with Kurdish fighters and with Iraqi and coalition air cover, launched the operation east of Tuz Khurmatu "to chase away IS remnants," Iraq's Security Information Centre said.

"Air strikes targeted the Hamrin mountain range, destroying 50 targets, including two fortified hideouts, 20 terrorist caches, weapons warehouses, ammunition as well as communication networks, mortar positions and 24 tunnels," it added.

Iraqi forces took control of 80 square kilometres (30 square miles), three oil wells and two gas fields, according to the rapid intervention forces.

They also retook five villages and stormed an IS camp.

Iraq declared victory against IS in December, more than three years after the extremist group seized a third of its territory and swathes of neighbouring Syria, declaring a "caliphate" ruling over millions of people.

The jihadists are still active, however, and there have been several attacks against government forces in the Khurmatu region.

Authorities have blamed not just IS but also pro-independence Kurds, who are accused of seeking revenge after government forces seized control of Kirkuk province, during which many Kurds were expelled from the Tuz Khurmatu area.

The town is home to a mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens. It was the scene of deadly violence in mid-October when Iraqi forces retook it in response to a Kurdish independence referendum bitterly opposed by Baghdad.
Berlin (AFP) - Germany on Wednesday achieved a breakthrough after the longest period of political limbo in its post-war history, since an inconclusive general election in September.

Here are the key dates in the battle to set up a stable government for Chancellor Angela Merkel's fourth term:

- Election -

September 24, 2017: Germany holds a general election which Merkel's Christian Democrats win but with a historically low score, depriving them of a clear ruling majority.

The second-place Social Democrats (SPD) also see their support plummet, while the far-right Alternative for Germany party scores nearly 13 percent, winning its first seats in parliament.

- Caretaker government -

October 22, 2017: Merkel's previous right-left "grand coalition" with the SPD becomes a caretaker government.

- Coalition talks -

November 20, 2017: Talks to build an alliance between Merkel's conservative bloc, the liberal Free Democrats and the ecologist Greens collapse in acrimony.

January 7, 2018: Negotiations begin to mount a new "grand coalition" -- the third under Merkel following her 2005-2009 and 2013-2017 terms.

- Coalition deal -

February 7, 2018: Parties reach a deal for a new coalition.

Early March: The SPD is to publish the result of a yes-or-no referendum by the SPD's 440,000 rank-and-file members on the coalition deal. If they approve it, Merkel can be officially elected chancellor for a fourth term by a majority of MPs.
Kim Jong-uns sister will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, becoming the first member of her family ever to do so.

Kim Yo-jong, seen as one of the most powerful women in North Korea, will join a delegation led by the Norths ceremonial head of state as it attends the ceremony on Friday.

Kim Yo-Jong, Kim Jong-uns younger sister, is a senior member of the ruling Workers Party and was promoted in October to be an alternate member of the partys decision-making body, the politburo.

She has frequently accompanied her brother on various trips, but her attendance at the Winter Olympics is thought to be her debut on the international stage.

Debut  the visit is thought to be Kim Yo-jongs debut on the international stage (Pictures: AP)

Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul told AFP: It is highly significant that a member of the Kim family is coming to the South for the first time in history.

She is being groomed as one of the Norths most powerful figures by her brother.

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It is thought that Kim Yo-jong will meet South Korean President Moon Jae-In and deliver a personal letter from her brother.

The Olympics has seen a thawing in relations between North and South Korea, with both set to mark under one flag at the opening ceremony.
Brevard County Corrections Deputy Carissa LaRoche has been selected as Florida's 2018 Corrections Deputy of the Year.Among her acts of heroism, LaRoche has saved numerous lives while working in the Brevard County Correction Facility.On July 30, 2017, she observed an inmate in the Jail Complex Female Annex who appeared to be having a seizure. She jumped into action, calling all necessary medical assistance and then moved the inmate to the floor where she performed CPR for seven minutes until the EMT arrived.On September 24, 2017, LaRoche saved another inmates life upon his arrival to the Brevard County Jail Complex. After another Deputy called for assistance with an unresponsive inmate being transported into the jail. LaRoche was the first to arrive on scene where she assessed the victim and began CPR, which lasted for five minutes until the inmate began breathing again. Jail complex medical staff again commended her quick response and expert implementation of CPR, which ultimately saved the inmates life.On August 17, 2017, when a female inmate suddenly fell to the ground due to a seizure shortly after being relocated to a holding cell. The booking nurse was quick to respond to the scene; however, she was unable to revive the inmate. LaRoche then grabbed the AED, attached the pads to the inmate and followed with chest compressions for 15 minutes until the patient was revived.The inmate was transferred to a local hospital where it was determined she was suffering from a drug overdose, and sadly passed away shortly after."We are incredibly proud of Carissa as her dedication and pride is unparalleled, as she serves as a role model for all Corrections Deputies throughout our agency and other agencies across the state of Florida," said Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey.Image credit: BCSO
CHICAGO (AP)  The Latest on newly released FBI wiretaps of Democratic Illinois governor candidate J.B. Pritzker and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich (all times local):

12:50 p.m.

Democratic Illinois governor candidate J.B. Pritzker is apologizing for racially insensitive comments captured on a FBI wiretap between him and then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Pritzker said Tuesday he regrets portions of the conversations recorded during a decade-old investigation of Blagojevich, who's now imprisoned for corruption.

Pritzker is heard suggesting Blagojevich appoint Secretary of State Jesse White, calling him the "least offensive" African American.

White, who's supported Pritzker's candidacy, stood beside the billionaire businessman during Tuesday's news conference. Other black lawmakers joined them.

Pritzker's opponents in the March 20 primary condemned the comments. State Sen. Daniel Biss says the conversation is "racially insensitive at best and at worst reveals an attitude that is disrespectful to African Americans."

___

12:20 p.m.

Newly released FBI wiretaps captured Democratic Illinois governor candidate J.B. Pritzker telling then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich that a state lawmaker was the "least offensive" African American he could appoint to a U.S. Senate seat.

The Chicago Tribune published the previously unreleased recording from a decade-old investigation of Blagojevich late Monday. Blagojevich is now imprisoned for convictions that included trying to trade an appointment to Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat for campaign cash.

On the recording, Pritzker suggests Blagojevich appoint Secretary of State Jesse White rather than other African Americans. He says doing so "covers you on the African American thing."

Pritzker also is heard laughing as Blagojevich jokes about appointing Obama's minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.

Pritzker told the Tribune he's supported many minority candidates. He's scheduled a Tuesday news conference.
By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Justice Department memo issued in January to employees about their communications with Congress may run afoul of rules designed to protect government whistleblowers from being muzzled, a Republican lawmaker said on Tuesday. In a Feb. 5 letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley said he feared the Jan. 29 memo was an attempt to "prevent direct communications between federal employees and Congress." Grassley, a whistleblower advocate, released both documents on Tuesday. He has criticized the Trump administration's efforts to prevent Congress from getting access to information from executive branch agencies. The memo, attached to Grassley's letter, was addressed to U.S. attorneys' offices and heads of the Justice Department's other components, such as the criminal and civil divisions. The memo states that staffers "should not communicate with Senators, Representatives, congressional committees or congressional staff without advance coordination and consultation" with the department's Office of Legislative Affairs. Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior said the agency was reviewing the letter. In his letter to Sessions, Grassley said he feared that the memo failed to let Justice Department employees know they have the right to make protected disclosures to Congress about potential waste, fraud or abuse. "Denying or interfering with the right of employees to furnish information to Congress is also against the law," Grassley wrote. "Please review this memorandum and address the deficiencies I have raised as soon as possible with a corrective communication to all employees who received it." Last June, Grassley sent a letter to President Donald Trump to complain about a Justice Department legal opinion which claimed that only congressional committee chairs were "constitutionally authorized" to obtain information from executive branch agencies. In that letter, Grassley called the legal opinion "nonsense" and said the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel's views exposed a "shocking lack of professionalism and objectivity." (Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Richard Chang)
A victims graphic letter describing sexual abuse by a priest that was witnessed by a controversial Chilean bishop was hand-delivered to Pope Francis three years ago  contradicting the pontiffs claims that he was unaware anyone had come forward about a coverup, The Associated Press reports.

The eight-page letter, a copy of which was obtained by the AP, was reportedly delivered to the pope by Boston Cardinal Sean OMalley in 2015. The letter detailed sexual abuse that the victim said was witnessed by Bishop Juan Barros, according to AP.

The Vatican didnt comment on the report. But last week, the Vatican suddenly announced that new details had emerged about Barros, and that it was sending its top sex-crimes investigator to listen to those who want to submit information in their possession, Reuters reported.

The letter and its history emerged after the popes contentious visit to Chile last month. He apologized and expressed compassion for victims of clergy sexual abuse. But he also staunchly defended Barros, whom many accuse of covering up abuse by notorious pedophile the Rev. Fernando Karadima.

Francis even accused critics of Barros of slander. He said that there was no evidence linking the bishop to abuse, and that no victims had come forward.

But four members of the popes Commission for the Protection of Minors told AP that they flew to Rome in 2015 and met with OMalley to discuss their concerns about the popes appointment of Barros that year as a bishop of Osorno, Chile, over objections. OMalley, who has had extensive experience dealing with sex abuse in Boston, is president the Commission for the Protection of Minors. The commission members gave OMalley the letter from the victim, and asked him to deliver it to Francis.

He assured us he would give it to the pope and speak of the concerns, then-commission member Marie Collins told the AP. At a later date, he assured us that that had been done.

The victim, Juan Cruz, who now lives in Philadelphia, told AP that OMalley also told him the letter was delivered.

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Cardinal OMalley called me after the popes visit here in Philadelphia and he told me, among other things, that he had given the letter to the pope  in his hands, Cruz said in an interview at his home Sunday.

Cruz came forward with the letter after reading news accounts about the pope denying knowing of any victims implicating Barros. The letter tells how Cruz wanted to kill himself after repeated abuse. He talked of a circle of boys and young men around Karadima who were repeatedly abused while Barros was often present.

Karadima was sentenced by the church in 2011 to a lifetime of penance and prayer for his crimes. He was not convicted in a court because too much time had elapsed since his crimes and he could not legally be prosecuted.

Karadima, 87, currently lives in a home for elderly priests in Santiago.

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Paris (AFP) - French President Emmanuel Macron will head to the United States in April for the first state visit announced by Donald Trump's White House, officials said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television that the visit would take place in April, with diplomatic sources telling AFP that Macron would leave around April 24.

The two leaders, who have met several times, have good relations despite fundamental disagreements on such issues as climate change.

Macron hosted Trump in Paris with great pomp in July for the Bastille Day national holiday -- when the US leader was impressed by the huge traditional military parade on the Champs-Elysees.

On Tuesday, the White House said Trump had asked for a similar large-scale military parade in an unconventional move that would showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief.

In Paris, Trump had marvelled at the French Republican Guard on horseback and jets flying overhead, with Macron arriving in an open-topped camouflaged military jeep.

Months after that meeting, Trump publicly remarked: "So we're actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength."

Even before becoming president, aides reported that Trump had considered a military parade to mark his inauguration, but the idea was eventually scrapped.

Macron, who deplored Trump's announced intent to pull out of the 2015 Paris climate accord on curbing global warming emissions, has openly expressed hope that his "friend" will change his mind.
Ajaccio (France) (AFP) - President Emmanuel Macron told nationalists on the island of Corsica during a visit Tuesday that he would try to accommodate their demands for more autonomy while keeping them in France's "Republican fold".

Macron's two-day visit to Corsica is being closely watched on the mainland, where some fear that giving the Mediterranean island too much autonomy could fuel a breakaway bid in the future.

The nationalists, who cemented their control of Corsica's regional assembly in December elections, have denied any plans to try to take the territory of 330,000 people out of France -- at least for the time being.

Macron began his visit with a tribute to Claude Erignac, the state's top representative on the island who was assassinated 20 years ago in an attack that shocked the country.

Addressing a ceremony in the city of Ajaccio, Macron said Corsica had been "sullied" by the killing, over which nationalist Yvan Colonna is serving a life sentence, and that there would be "no forgetting and no amnesty".

He stressed that Corsica, which is economically dependent on the mainland, was part of the "unwavering" French Republic.

He promised, however, to try to give it "the future it aspires to, without giving into demands that would take it out of the Republican fold."

Nationalists have a string of demands, including making Corsican an official language and granting amnesty to Corsicans jailed for pro-independence violence.

A longtime hotbed of anti-French militancy, the mountainous island has enjoyed a measure of stability since 2014 when the separatist National Liberation Front of Corsica (FLNC) called a ceasefire.

- Not Catalonia -

Erignac was gunned down on February 6, 1998 while on his way to a concert with his wife.

The killing was the worst in a nearly four-decade campaign of attacks on the island, mostly targeting state infrastructure.

Tens of thousands of Corsicans took to the streets in protest.

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Erignac's widow and two children attended Tuesday's ceremony, as did the leader of the regional government, Gilles Simeoni, who later held talks with Macron.

Macron's meeting with Simeoni and fellow nationalist leader Jean-Guy Talamoni lasted more than two hours but none of them commented afterwards.

Earlier, Talamoni said he would be "dismayed" if Macron "closes the doors" to dialogue. "We are convinced that Mr Macron is a man intelligent enough to understand the situation" and "that what we want to do is in the interests of Corsica and also Paris," he added.

The wife of Colonna, jailed for killing Erignac, stopped Macron in the street late in the afternoon, saying their six-year-old son had not seen his father for a year and a half. "He's not an animal, he's a human being," Stephanie Colonna said.

"That your child can see his father, that people who are detained in our country can see their family, that's one of the things we will ensure," said Macron.

The Corsican question has plagued successive French governments for nearly half a century.

Unlike the separatists in the wealthy Spanish region of Catalonia, who mounted a breakaway bid last year, Corsica's leaders have said they will be content with greater autonomy and a special mention in the constitution.

On Saturday, thousands of nationalists marched to demand "respect for the Corsican people."

Macron had suggested during campaigning for president that he was prepared to go further than his predecessors in recognising the distinct nature of the island.

He will set out his policy in a highly anticipated speech in the northern city of Bastia on Wednesday.
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A Malaysian court on Wednesday sentenced an opposition lawmaker to jail for revealing confidential bank details in a 2012 graft scandal, a potential blow on the opposition ahead of national polls that must be held by August. Rafizi Ramli is a senior leader with the People's Justice Party (PKR) and the ruling could dent the opposition challenge to scandal-tainted Prime Minister Najib Razak in the elections. Elected representatives are disqualified from office and barred from contesting elections if sentenced to at least six months' jail or fined at least 2,000 ringgit. Another PKR lawmaker is appealing against a 3,000 ringgit fine. Rafizi was handed a 30-month jail term for revealing to the media bank details of the National Feedlot Corp (NFCorp) and a top executive of the company which was tasked by the government with boosting cattle production, state news agency Bernama said. Rafizi had at the time alleged that executives at NFCorp had misappropriated about 250 million ringgit($64 million) of public funds in what the media had called the "cow gate" scandal. The judge granted a stay of execution of the sentence to allow Rafizi to appeal the decision. Najib faces an unprecedented challenge from his former mentor, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, whom the opposition have named as their leader. Mahathir, 92, turned on Najib in 2015 over the prime minister's handling of a multi-billion dollar scandal linked to state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). In civil lawsuits, the U.S. Justice Department has alleged that about $4.5 billion was misappropriated from 1MDB. The Malaysian fund has denied any wrongdoing and Najib, who founded 1MDB, has denied all allegations of corruption against him. ($1 = 3.9040 ringgit) (Reporting by Joseph Sipalan; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
The island nation has been in chaos since a supreme court ruling last week quashed the convictions of opposition leaders - REUTERS

The Maldives' opposition pleaded with India to send troops to the islands on Tuesday after the president declared a state of emergency and arrested supreme court judges and political opponents.

The island state plunged into political chaos last week when the high court quashed the convictions of nine opposition leaders and ruled that their trials were politically motivated.

President Abdulla Yameen defied the court's ruling and instead of freeing the jailed politicians he accused the supreme court of planning "a coup" against him.

On Sunday, Mr Yameen declared a state of emergency and government troops stormed the supreme court building. They arrested Abdulla Saeed, the chief justice, and another judge.

"I declared the state of emergency because there was no way to hold these justices accountable. This is a coup. I wanted to know how well planned this coup," Mr Yameen said.

Abdulla Yameen has cracked down on opponents and the judiciary since taking power in 2013 Credit: REUTERS/Waheed Mohamed/File Photo

Police also arrested the president's half brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, an 80-year-old former dictator of the Maldives who has become an unlikely opposition figure.

Mohamed Nasheed, a former president, has been leading the opposition from his exile in Sri Lanka. On Tuesday, he appealed to India to send an envoy supported by troops to force Mr Yameen into releasing prisoners.

"On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request: 1. India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges and political detainees including President Gayoom. We request a physical presence. 2. The US to stop all financial transactions of Maldives regime leaders going through US banks," he tweeted.

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The Maldives, a country of 400,000 people, is known to many as a luxury beach tourism destination but the country's political scene is fraught and chaotic.

Mr Nasheed, a British-educated politician with good relations in the West, was best known for stunts to demonstrate the effects of climate change, like holding a cabinet meeting underwater.

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He was elected in 2008 but forced from power in 2012 after the police and much of the military deserted him. He was later convicted of terrorism charges and jailed but was able to leave the country for health reasons and sought asylum in the UK.

The supreme court voided his terrorism conviction last week, calling his trial "politically motivated", and ordered a retrial.

Mr Yameen took power in 2013 and has cracked down on political opponents and independent activists. One third of the country's lawyers had their licenses suspended after they signed a petition demanding the government respect the independence of the judiciary.

Maldivian police officers detain an opposition protestor demanding the release of political prisoners during a protest Credit: AP Photo/Mohamed Sharuhaan

"The rule of law has deteriorated to the point that it really has no meaning in these islands," said Omar Waraich, deputy South Asia director for Amnesty International.

India intervened in the Maldives in 1988 to foil a coup against the government but it is considered unlikely they would heed Mr Nasheed's call for intervention this time.

The Maldives' strategic location in the Indian Ocean makes it of interest to China and Mr Yameen has carefully fostered ties with Beijing, meaning that an Indian intervention could risk a broader confrontation with China.

"I don't think that India will take the chance of having a standoff with China in the Indian Ocean," said Mr Waraich.

Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, said he was "gravely concerned about the declaration of a state of emergency in Maldives, and the accompanying suspension of fundamental rights.

"The damage being done to democratic institutions in Maldives and the sustained misuse of process in Parliament is deeply worrying."

The White House also warned the government that it "must respect the rule of law, freedom of expression, and democratic institutions. The world is watching."

China meanwhile said the political situation in the Maldives was an internal matter.
As security forces surrounded his home shortly after a state of emergency had been declared in the Maldives, 80-year-old ex-president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom deftly hit social media to tell the world of his impending arrest.

The government quickly sought to control the flow of information out of the famed Indian Ocean holiday islands following its declaration late Monday night, according to local media outlets and the Committee to Protect Journalists, an international watchdog.

However, Gayoom, opposition politicians and even the Supreme Court gave a blow-by-blow account of the dramatic events via Twitter, Periscope and other social media platforms.

Moments after posting a tweet stating that "a large number" of police had converged on his home, Gayoom calmly delivered a live video message that was aired by an opposition politician on her Periscope account.

"Right now, police are here to arrest me. I remain steadfast in my resolve," Gayoom said in a quiet voice.

"I don't know what charges they have against me. I have not done anything to be arrested. I urge you to remain steadfast in your resolve too," he added.

"We will not give up on the reform work we are doing. I wish all Maldivians success. Remain courageous and I pray Allah almighty to direct us to the right path."

When the Maldives' top judge was arrested on Tuesday, officials from the Supreme Court similarly fought back via social media.

"BREAKING NEWS: THE NATIONAL DEFENSE FORCES OF THE MALDIVES HAVE BROKEN INTO THE SUPREME COURT OF THE MALDIVES," said a post on @judiciarymv, the official account of the country's top court.

After authorities detained Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another Supreme Court judge, it was unclear who had control of the account.

"This is to inform that the Supreme Court of the Maldives continues to function under the guidance of the Judicial Council," another tweet on the account said.

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- 'Attack' on the press -

Since coming to power in 2013, President Abdulla Yameen has presided over an escalating crackdown on dissent that has battered the image of the nation and left almost all the political opposition jailed.

The Supreme Court's shock decision last week to order the release of political dissidents and quash the conviction of exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed, among others, sparked the crisis.

Gayoom, president for 30 years until the country's first democratic elections in 2008 and Yameen's estranged half brother, was detained after he sided with the opposition.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists released a statement after the state of emergency was declared condemning what it said was a government "attack" on the press.

"Authorities in the Maldives must immediately stop trying to exert control over the media and access to information," Steven Butler, the CPJ's Asia programme coordinator, said in a statement.

"The Maldives should abide by its constitutional commitment to the freedom of speech."

The Maldives Broadcasting Commission warned media outlets last week they could be shut down if they were deemed a threat to national security, according to the CPJ.

Twenty-four-hour news channel RaajjeTV said Tuesday on Twitter it indeed feared such a fate.

"RaajjeTV shutdown... imminent. Will continue to work for the people of the Maldives till the last minute," it tweeted. "We have no security."
The Maldives on Tuesday sought to reassure tourists they would be safe as governments warned their citizens to steer clear of the troubled honeymoon islands amid a spiralling political crisis.

India and China advised their holidaymakers against visiting the tropical archipelago after a state of emergency was declared by the regime of embattled President Abdulla Yameen.

Tourism is a key earner for the Maldives but a dramatic confrontation between Yameen and the security forces against the Supreme Court has further eroded its reputation as an idyllic atoll nation.

Government spokesman Ibrahim Hussain Shihab said no curfew had been declared and the safety of tourists in the upmarket holiday paradise was assured.

The government would "facilitate calm at a time of national difficulty", he added.

But China -- the number-one source of tourists for the Maldives -- has urged its citizens against visiting the Indian Ocean nation.

The warning from China's foreign ministry comes ahead of the "Spring Festival" -- the peak period for Chinese tourists to visit the Maldives.

"Given the security situation there, we advise the Chinese tourists who are now in the Maldives to closely follow the security situation and enhance self-protection," Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a regular briefing.

"In the meanwhile, Chinese citizens are advised to avoid going to the Maldives until the situation on the ground is stabilised."

India and France and other European nations also advised its citizens against non-essential travel.

The United States advised caution, warning of further protests in coming days across the capital Male "in response to emerging political developments".

"You should avoid areas of demonstrations and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations," the US embassy in Colombo said in its updated travel advice on Tuesday.

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In the latest escalation of the crisis, police clashed with opposition supporters outside the Supreme Court as troops stormed the building to arrest the chief justice and another judge at dawn Tuesday.

Hours earlier, they had arrested the country's former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom after accusing him of orchestrating attempts to topple his estranged half brother Yameen.

President Yameen has refused to comply with a court order to release political prisoners, despite growing international pressure and concern.

Political turbulence under Yameen -- who was elected in a controversial run-off in 2013 -- has dented the Maldives' image as an island paradise, but most tourists are insulated from the turmoil in Male.

The airport is a short boat journey from the capital and many visitors are whisked away to resorts on remote, serene islands spread 800 kilometres (550 miles) across the equator.

Nearly 1.4 million foreigners visiting the Maldives last year, up from 1.28 million the previous year.
While a decision by Hong Kongs highest appeals court to drop prison sentences for prominent democracy activists was welcomed by human rights advocates and legal observers this week, the ruling raised alarm for the preservation of civil liberties and the independence of Hong Kongs judiciary.

Hong Kongs Court of Final Appeal on Tuesday quashed the sentences of imprisonment imposed against Joshua Wong, 21, Nathan Law, 24, and Alex Chow, 27, last year, but the ruling was something of a final warning, with a panel of judges also supporting prison terms for future cases of unlawful assembly.

This is not a time for celebration, Joshua Wong told reporters after the hearing on Tuesday, calling the verdict harsh and sugar-coated.

Rights experts and legal analysts warned the case could have a chilling effect, creating a more lenient threshold for jailing dissidents and endangering political liberties. The ruling set a dangerous precedent for sending people to prison for protesting in the future, says Maya Wang, senior China researcher for Human Rights Watch.

Willy Lam, adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, says the decision could be used by police to restrict freedom of expression, with any public political gathering subject to a fluid definition of unlawful assembly. The ruling definitely could be used against future demonstrations  its intended to, Lam tells TIME.

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Wong and Law were initially sentenced to community service, with a suspended sentence for Chow, over a September 2014 demonstration that saw protesters storm into Hong Kongs government complex. The incident helped spark the Umbrella Movement, a 79-day occupation of the citys financial and administrative areas, with protesters demanding greater political autonomy.

In what was seen as a highly controversial decision, the Department of Justice retried the case last year, seeking harsher penalties; Wong, Law, and Chow were sentenced to six- to eight- month prison terms.

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This week, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that sentence was retroactive, but that future offenders will be subject to new guidelines, which include harsher penalties for those deemed to be taking part in large scale unlawful assemblies involving violence.

Wong is also appealing a three-month sentence under a separate contempt of court charge.

Read more: Hong Kong Democracy Activist Joshua Wong Talks to TIME About Life Behind Bars

Before the hearing, Alex Chow confessed the trio felt uncertain about both the verdict and the future of the democracy movement. What has happened in the past two months  is totally and completely different from what weve seen in the previous years, he told TIME outside the courthouse. Room for resistance is shrinking.

Hong Kongs pro-democracy groups may find themselves barred from both mainstream politics and public activism, says Craig Choy of the Progressive Lawyers Group, an organization set up by Hong Kong lawyers in the wake of the mass protests. Last month, Agnes Chow, a member of Wongs Demosist? political party, was prevented from contesting a March by-election. They are pushed outside the establishment  and at the same time this judgement is limiting their right to peaceful assembly, Choy tells TIME.

Read more: Facing Jail, Democracy Activist Joshua Wong Says Hong Kong Is Under Threat

The case has also raised concerns about the health of Hong Kongs judiciary, a much-lauded institution that is a point of pride in the semi-autonomous territory of China. Although the Hong Kong judiciary has remained independent, it faces increasing encroachments from Beijing, says Human Rights Watchs Wang. When the authorities rely on the judiciary to resolve politically-motivated prosecutions, Wang says, it may, under the broader context of crackdown on dissent, have difficulties safeguarding freedoms.

The young democracy activists case has attracted high-profile international attention. Last week, 12 U.S. Senators and representatives nominated the three, along with the entire Umbrella Movement, for the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, citing their peaceful efforts to bring political reform and self-determination to Hong Kong.
A leaked Department of Homeland Security document recommends the continuous vetting of male Muslim immigrants from parts of the world deemed a security threat, Foreign Policy reported Monday.

The January document calls for dedicating resources to continuously evaluate" Sunni Muslim immigrants South Asia, Africa and the Middle East on a "long-term basis."

02_04_dhs_01

Reuters

Trending: Obama Library Plans Run Into Trouble on Chicagos South Side

The department bases its recommendations on a study of 25 terror attacks in the U.S. between October, 2001, and December, 2017. It describes male Sunni Muslim residents as being potentially vulnerable to terrorist narratives, with their country of origin and gender acting as determining factors.

The purpose of the report, the document says, is to inform United States foreign visitor screening, immigrant vetting and on-going evaluations of United States-based individuals who might have a higher risk of becoming radicalized and conducting a violent attack.

Critics told the publication that the reports focus on Sunni Muslims skewed its findings.

Don't miss: NYPD Begins Implicit Bias Training Three Years after Eric Garner's Death

Theyre saying we can use their demographics to identify at-risk people, but the demographics they identify are all over the map: citizens and noncitizens, native and naturalized, Middle Eastern, African, and South Asian, Margo Schlanger, who served as the DHS officer for civil rights and civil liberties during the Barack Obama administration, told the publication.

So it basically concludes that everybody who is Sunni Muslim needs extra scrutiny.

A DHS spokesperson did not deny the drafts authenticity, but cautioned that the policy was still under internal review.

The Trump administration has faced criticism for its Muslim ban, which prohibits people from six Muslim majority countriesSyria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemenfrom entering the U.S. The proposed DHS policy would extend the focus from Muslims seeking to enter U.S. to those who have already entered to the country.

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This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
Nebraska football coach Scott Frost, formerly with Central Florida, poses with the Paul Bear Bryant award ahead of the 32nd annual Paul Bear Bryant Awards, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, in Houston. (Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Nebraska fans are really excited about the arrival of Scott Frost.

How excited? The teams spring game  a glorified scrimmage  is already completely sold out. It took about 24 hours for all of the seats at Memorial Stadium to be completely snatched up.

Per the Omaha World Herald, the first 60,000 tickets were sold to season ticket holders in about seven hours. From there, the other tickets went on sale to the general public. And less than 90 minutes later they were all gone.

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Memorial Stadium, which has a listed capacity of 85,458, is sold out on a weekly basis during the regular season (361 straight, in fact), but not the spring game. According to ESPN, this game, which will be played April 21, will mark the first spring sellout in program history.

The record for spring game attendance occurred at Ohio State in 2016, when more than 100,000 fans filled Ohio Stadium.

The excitement stems from the hiring of Frost, a Nebraska graduate who led Central Florida to an undefeated season in just his second season leading the program. Frost inherited a Knights team that went 0-12. Two years later, UCF knocked off Auburn in the Peach Bowl. That kind of turnaround and his recruiting prowess have Huskers fans fired up for their first glimpse at a Frost-led Nebraska squad.

Nebraska went 5-7 last year, leading to the firing of Mike Riley.

      

Sam Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!




By Noah Browning DUBAI (Reuters) - Yemeni Nobel Peace laureate Tawakkol Karman called for an end to what she says is a military occupation of her country by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), powerful Arab states she accuses of repressing democratic change in the region. An outspoken rights advocate and activist with Yemen's main Islamist party, Karman won the prize in 2011 after camping out in a tent for months in pro-democracy protests that eventually forced Yemen's veteran autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. As in other lands shaken by Arab Spring uprisings that year like Syria and Libya, Yemen descended into a war which drew in foreign powers, seeming to dash the dreams of progress by the thousands who took to Sanaa's makeshift "Change Square." A Saudi-led military coalition, backed by U.S. weapons and intelligence, joined the Yemen conflict after Iran-aligned Houthis seized much of the country in late 2014 and eventually drove the government into exile in Saudi Arabia. "The Saudi-Emirati occupation ... betrayed the Yemenis and sold them out, exploiting the coup of the Houthi militia backed by Iran on the legitimate government, to exercise an ugly occupation and greater influence", Karman told Reuters by phone in an interview from her base in Istanbul. She alleged that the President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, along with other top officials, were being kept under "house arrest" by Riyadh and prevented from governing on the ground in order to preserve Saudi and UAE influence. Officials from the Saudi-led coalition and the UAE did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Yemeni government official denied her charges. "This lady, unfortunately, no longer means what she says. President Hadi isn't under house arrest and can travel wherever he wants ... the government and the coalition are in complete coordination," the official said. The coalition says their campaign was launched at Hadi's request and aims at restoring his rule and Yemen's future as a unified state in line with U.N. resolutions. But Karman says Saudi Arabia and the UAE, monarchies where the state and ruling families are intertwined, seek to seek to turn back the clock on political progress in Yemen and abroad. "They regard the Arab Spring as their first enemy and this is a strategic error they have fallen into ... I call on the two countries to reconcile with the Arab Spring, not to clash with it, because the future is a future of change, and the wheel of history does not roll backward." COUNTER-REVOLUTION Brooking little public dissent at home, the two Gulf countries watched the region's upheavals in 2011 with concern and sought to deny any political advantage to the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist party with branches across the Arab world they had designated as a terrorist organization. Karman was a top official of the Islah party, seen as Yemen's branch of the Brotherhood, until her public break with the coalition in a speech on Friday led it to freeze her membership. "Who's freezing whom?" she asked. "The vast majority of our people agree with me." Perhaps paradoxically, however, Yemen's Islamist Islah is the Saudi-led coalition's main ally in the war against the Houthi movement, in a conflict which has laid bare some of the region's most knotted struggles over ideas and geopolitics. Karman has in recent years lived in Qatar and now in Turkey, both of which largely welcomed the tumult of 2011 and appeared to back the Islamists, earning the ire of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. Her critics have for years accused her of being beholden to the policies of her hosts, especially after she was granted Turkish nationality, though she maintains she is a "a free Yemeni citizen." Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with Egypt and Bahrain, slapped trade and travel curbs on Doha last June, saying it aided terrorism and was too friendly with their arch-foe Iran, charges Doha denies. Politics at home may be even more vexing than the struggles abroad, however, as deadly clashes divided the Saudi-led coalition's main Yemeni allies against the Houthis this week. Karman accuses Saudi Arabia and the UAE of backing southern separatist militias, who battled this month with Hadi government loyalists, in order to stoke chaos and keep their hold on key territory. The assertion echoes concerns voiced by many Yemenis that the country's is being taken over by more powerful foreign powers to advance their own economic and strategic interests. The coalition says it is helping mediate the feud, while maintaining that its military bases on islands, ports and airports throughout the country aim to back the war effort. Despite her country's progressive implosion, Karman remains sure of a "decisive victory over the counter-revolution." "The Spring will win the initiative in any country and every time where there is a state based on tyranny, corruption, failure, nepotism and bribes, from the (Atlantic) ocean to the Gulf." (Reporting By Noah Browning, Editing by William Maclean)




Throughout the promotion of The Big Sick, Emily V. Gordons pivotal role  in not only creating the film but also being the protagonist of the love story  has been overshadowed. Yes, she got an Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe, but shes still continuously referred to as Kumail Nanjianis wife. And while the screenwriter and family and couples therapist believes that sexism is absolutely at play, she concedes that the treatment is partially because her partner is more well-known. For me, its been working hard to not take it so personally when it happens, but also not letting it go by, she said during the MAKERS Conference on Tuesday.

And she does this by affronting offenders. For example, at the Oscars luncheon this week, people were coming up to Nanjiani and Gordon to offer their congratulations  but then would direct their comments only to Nanjiani. And I just kept staring at them until they were like, And you too! Gordon explained.

But she also has the support of others. While Gordon was doing a photo shoot with a bunch of other writers where she was the only woman, the photographer directed her to not be afraid to be sassy. Hes like, Put your hand on your hip, get sassy. And I was mad but I was also like, This is so stupid, like really, sassy?! And Jordan Peele said, Would you like me to be more hood in the photo? And thats what we need; I can handle this on my own, but its so much easier if I have that support.

Sure, Peeles jab was helpful, but it pales in comparison to Nanjianis recent clapback.

When the Washington Post published an article titled, Kumail Nanjiani opens up about his wifes illness, the inspiration for The Big Sick, the Silicon Valley star responded by tweeting, Hey @washingtonpost. Big fan. Love what yall do. Appreciate you covering this. Could you add my wifes name to this headline please? She is Emily V Gordon, & not just the inspiration, but one of the writers of The Big Sick.

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The positive outcome of having to deal with this blatant disregard for Gordon has been that the married couple has seen sexism firsthand in a way that they hadnt before. And now that theyve confronted it, theyre ready to combat it.





Its frustrating for people to think that I wrote all of the emotional stuff in our script and he wrote all of the funny stuff, which is not necessarily the case, she said. At the end of the day, we both work hard to just show up and do the work because thats the most important thing. If I had to go out every day and say, No, no, no, no, Im also involved, Im also involved, if I had to do that myself it would be very demoralizing, so Im very grateful that Kumail does have my back.

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The ozone layer that protects life on Earth from deadly ultraviolet radiation is unexpectedly declining above the planet's most populated regions, according to a study released Tuesday.

A 1987 treaty, the Montreal Protocol, banned industrial aerosols that chemically dissolved ozone in the high atmosphere, especially above Antarctica.

Nearly three decades later, the "ozone hole" over the South Pole and the upper reaches of the stratosphere are showing clear signs of recovery.

The stratophere starts about 10 kilometres (six miles) above sea level, and is about 40 kilometres thick.

At the same time, however, ozone in the lower stratosphere, 10-24 kilometres overhead, is slowly disintegrating, an international team of two dozen researchers warned.

"In tropical and middle latitudes" -- home to most of humanity -- "the ozone layer has not started to recover yet," lead author William Ball, a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, told AFP.

"It is, in fact, slightly worse today than 20 years ago."

At its most depleted, around the turn of the 21st century, the ozone layer had declined by about five percent, earlier research has shown.

The new study, based on multiple satellite measurements and published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, estimates that it has now diminished an additional 0.5 percent.

If confirmed, that would mean that the level of ozone depletion is "currently at its highest level ever," Ball said by phone.

The potential for harm in lower latitudes may actually be worse than at the poles, said co-author Joanna Haigh, co-director of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in London.

"The decreases in ozone are less than we saw at the poles before the Montreal Protocol was enacted, but UV radiation is more intense in these regions and more people live there."

Two possible suspects for this worrying trend stand out, the study concluded.

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- 'Concerned, but not alarmed' -

One is a group of chemicals used as solvents, paint strippers and degreasing agents -- collectively known as "very short-lived substances", or VSLSs -- that attack ozone in the lower stratosphere.

A recent study found that the stratospheric concentration of one of such ozone-depleting agent, dichloromethane, had doubled in just over a decade.

Unlike the long-lived chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that began tearing at the ozone layer in the 1970s, this new family of chemicals only persists 6-12 months. They are not covered by the Montreal Protocol.

"If it is a VSLS problem, this should be relatively easy to deal with," said Ball.

"You could apply an amendment to the Protocol and get these things banned."

The other possible culprit of the renewed breakdown of the ozone layer is global warming.

Climate change models do suggest that shifts in the way air circulates in the lower stratosphere will eventually affect ozone levels, starting with the zone above the tropics, where the substance forms.

But that change was thought to be decades away, and was not expected to reach the middle latitudes between the tropics and the polar regions.

"If climate change is the cause, it's a much more serious problem," said Ball, adding that scientists disagree as to whether the stratosphere is already responding in a significant way to climate change.

"We should be concerned but not alarmed," Ball continued.

"This study is waving a big red flag to the scientific community to say, 'there's something going on here that doesn't show up in the models'."

Ball and colleagues encouraged other researchers to duplicate their results, and drive down the level of uncertainty.

They also called for data-gathering missions -- by balloon or airplane -- to measure more precisely the level of VSLSs in the upper atmosphere.

At the same time, they said, scientists need to reevaluate the complex interplay of cause-and-effect in the lower stratosphere to see if models to date have missed telltale signals showing a link with climate change.
By David DeKok

HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (Reuters) - Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, who faces re-election this year, presented on Tuesday a $32.9 billion budget for fiscal 2019 that called for a single tax increase on natural gas extraction, a proposal he has failed to win for the past three years.

Wolf, a Democrat, battled the Republican-led legislature for three years over tax and spending issues which led to extensive delays in implementing a final budget, putting the state's credit rating in jeopardy.

Last year, Wolf signed the budget in July but a revenue package to fund it was not approved until October. This year, his budget seeks to increase spending 3.1 percent or $969.8 million.

Budget director Randy Albright told reporters: We are in the best fiscal position since the Great Recession a decade ago. Albright said tax collections through January are $90 million ahead of projections.

In the latest budget, Wolf once again proposed a tax on natural gas extraction that he said would yield $248.7 million to pay for education spending of $225 million.

"Pennsylvania is one of the few states fortunate enough to have abundant natural gas resources," he said in his budget address.

"Yet we are the only one of those states without a severance tax. Everywhere else  Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Alaska  theyre bringing in billions of dollars from the oil and gas industries."

The state's Republican-controlled legislature has rejected Wolfs three previous attempts to impose a severance tax on the states booming gas industry, which is based on the fracking technique. Democrats and some Republicans favor the tax.

Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman, a Republican, said the severance tax "will not happen." He supported increased education spending but called for cuts to make the new tax unnecessary.

Wolf also brought back another rejected proposal from last year, reducing the states corporate net income tax to 7.9 percent from 9.9 percent by 2023. He would pay for the reduction in part by eliminating the so-called "Delaware loophole," in which Pennsylvania businesses incorporate in Delaware, which has no corporate income tax.

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Pennsylvanias improved fiscal health was evidenced by a projected balance at the start of fiscal 2019 of $41 million, compared to a deficit of more than $1.5 billion at the start of fiscal 2018.

Albright said the states $65 billion pension liability for state employees and teachers will begin to decline this year and is on track to be eliminated between 2035 and 2040.

(Reporting By David DeKok in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Editing by Daniel Bases and Cynthia Osterman)
By Manuel Mogato MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has banned all foreign scientific research off the country's Pacific coast and told the navy to chase away unauthorized vessels, despite earlier allowing Chinese oceanographers to operate there. There was no clear explanation for the about-face by the mercurial Duterte, who has cultivated warm ties with China, ostensibly to attract loans and investments and lessen Manila's dependence on the United States. The area of focus is Benham Rise, which the United Nations in 2012 declared part of the Philippines' continental shelf. Manila last year renamed it "Philippine Rise". "Let me be very clear about this: the Philippine Rise is ours and any insinuation that it is open to everybody should end with this declaration," Duterte told a cabinet meeting on Monday, according to a Facebook post by his Agriculture Secretary, Emmanuel Pinol. The area is roughly the size of Greece and believed to be rich in biodiversity and tuna. Scientists from the United States and Japan have surveyed it numerous times. However, Chinese interest, including some 18 official requests in 17 years, has caused concern among Philippine nationalists mistrustful of its intentions after decades of disputes and perceived encroachments by Beijing in the South China Sea. Benham Rise is not in the South China Sea and Beijing has made no claim to it. According to Pinol, Duterte said the navy should deploy vessels to chase away any fishing or research vessels, and he wants the air force to patrol the area. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque confirmed Duterte's order, which he said was over a "national security issue". Roque gave no explanation as to why only a few weeks ago Duterte personally endorsed China's research at Benham Rise to be performed jointly with Filipino scientists. "Our sovereign right is unquestioned," Roque told a regular news briefing. "All licences are deemed cancelled. There are no foreign entities conducting scientific research," Roque said, adding that innocent passage would be allowed, in accordance with international law. In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said a Chinese scientific ship, with four Philippine scientists on board, had recently completed a scientific mission to the east of the Philippines, though not around Benham Rise. "China respects the Philippines' sovereign and jurisdiction rights over the relevant waters," Geng told a daily news briefing. Pinol said the agriculture department had sent two research vessels to monitor "foreign groups" and the military would deploy unmanned aerial surveillance vehicles. He said the president's order stemmed from a statement from a "low-level diplomat of another country" who said the area does not belong to any country. He did not elaborate. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Martin Petty and Nick Macfie)
This week it came to light that Pope Francis received an eight-page letter from a Chilean man in 2015 that detailed how a priest sexually abused him, and how other priests ignored and concealed the crime, including then-Father Juan Barros, a man Francis had just months earlier appointed to be the bishop of Osorno, Chile.

This revelation comes weeks after Pope Francis called accusations against Bishop Barros calumny and said he had received no credible evidence that Barros had covered up abuse. Francis eventually walked back his claims of calumny and sent a Vatican special prosecutor to Chile to investigate the claims of coverup. But the fact that Francis received the letter by hand by from Boston Cardinal Sean OMalley, one of the Churchs top-ranking officials, and either did not read the letter or did not act on it, is a stunning development that represents the biggest crisis of Franciss nearly five year papacy.

Franciss surprise March 2013 election as the universal leader of the Catholic Church came on the heels of a four-minute speech he gave at the conclave where he derided Churchs self-obsession. In what many have described as Franciss Gettysburg Address, the future pope said that when the Church is self-referential, inadvertently, she believes she has her own light. Francis called this oversized self-importance that worst evil which could befall the Church.

His election was seen as a rebuke of that self-referentialism and he was expected to operate an agenda of reform. In countless ways, he has furthered that agenda. The Catholic Church of 2018 looks very different from the one he inherited nearly five years ago. From everything from the new focus on the environment and the poor to an emphasis on simplicity and sobriety among the clergy, Francis has reformed nearly every corner of the Catholic Church in his image.

But all that is for naught if Francis doesnt finally address the sexual abuse scandal head-on. Ive been one of the Popes biggest cheerleaders in American and global media the past five years, but I can say with conviction that if Francis doesnt transform his focus and practice on ending the systematic cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, his papacy will be a tragic failure. Sadly, his record on this issue is worse than his immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who despite his many shortcomings on the issue, was the first pope to take the cover-up scandal seriously.

Pope Franciss legacy is at stake, but more importantly, the viability of the Catholic Church itself and its gospel mission is as at stake. To put it simply, a Church that systematically covers up the abuse of children by its ministers is a Church without a future. It was that way in 2002 when this scandal first exploded. Its even more so the case in 2018, when the Churchs popular reformist pope has failed to accurately assess the gravity and effectively address this issue.

In his letter to the pope, Juan Carlos Cruz wrote, Holy Father, I write you this letter because Im tired of fighting, of crying and suffering. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us Gods worst punishment is reserved for those who would harm children. In the Catholic tradition, the Pope is the Vicar of Jesus Christ. In other words, he acts and ministers in his name. If thats the case, then Francis must end this scandal now. He must apologize to the victims. He must investigate the claims. And he must transform the Church.
A new Senate Republican report on the Hillary Clinton email investigation renews questions about whether bias in the Obama administrations handling of the case influenced the outcome, including whether President Barack Obama monitored the probe, an unverified assertion that President Donald Trump called a bombshell.

The report by the staff of the Homeland Security Committee includes a newly released text message from FBI lawyer Lisa Page to FBI agent Peter Strzok in September 2016 that refers to preparing talking points for then-Director James Comey for Obama. Potus wants to know everything were doing, it said without providing any evidence about the topic of the reference to the president of the United States.

President Trump said on Twitter: NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS! Donald Trump Jr. also seized on the reference, saying in a tweet that this is a really big deal.

While the Senate staff report said it assumes that such a briefing might have been about the investigation into Democrat Clintons use of a private email server when she was secretary of state, thats not clear from the text. At that point, the email investigation had been formally closed, and the FBI had separately opened a counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the presidential campaign.

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Obama-Putin Meeting

The text came three days before Obama was to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, China. Obama later recounted that he brought up Russias campaign meddling and told Putin to cut it out, and there were going to be serious consequences if he didnt.

The mention that Obama wants to know everything is concerning, but its actual meaning is something weve got to figure out, said Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a senior Republican member of the House Judiciary Committee. He said the timing of the message indicates it may have been about the Clinton emails or the Russia inquiry and would be pretty darned significant in either case.

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The messages include an agent expressing frustration with Attorney General Loretta Lynchs remark that she would follow the FBIs recommendation in the Clinton case, saying that she made that statement because she knows already that Clinton wouldnt face charges, the report said.

Other text messages in the Senate report, some of which have been previously released, show Strzok and Page expressing strongly negative opinions about Donald Trump and the prospect hed become president.

The information available to the committee at this time raises serious questions about how the FBI applied the rule of law in its investigation of classified information on Secretary Clintons private email server, said the report, which was issued by Senate Homeland Security Chairman Ron Johnson without the participation of Senate Democrats.

The report doesnt make final conclusions on whether bias or political interference influenced the outcome of the case, but says its findings show the need for further investigation.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Trump administration tasked a small, inexperienced contractor with delivering 30m meals to Puerto Ricans affected by Hurricane Maria, according to a new report. She delivered 50,000.

When Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in late last September, it demolished homes, destroyed the electricity system and left millions of people dependent on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for food and water. On 3 October, FEMA signed a $156m contract with self-described serial entrepreneur Tiffany Brown to deliver millions of meals to the island, according to the New York Times.

By 19 October, they had cancelled the contract. Ms Brown  the sole owner and employee of her contracting company  had delivered only 50,000 meals in the time she was supposed to deliver 18.5m.

Do not ship another meal. Your contract is terminated. This is a logistical nightmare. FEMA contracting officer Carolyn Ward wrote in an email to Ms Brown, obtained by the Times.

Ms Brown is now disputing the termination and seeking a $70m settlement. She did not reply to a request for comment.

The Atlanta-based entrepreneur started her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, in 2013. According to her LinkedIn page, Ms Brown also operates a fashion line and once staged a write-in campaign for Atlanta mayor.

Her company has been awarded more than 20 government contracts since it began, according to a federal database. The government has also cancelled its contracts with her company at least five times, according to the Times. On four of those occasions, the government accused Ms Brown of failing to deliver.

To help complete last years FEMA contract, Ms Brown hired two subcontractors: catering company Cooking With A Star LLC and emergency food provider Breedlove Foods Inc.

Bill Miller, the CEO of BreedLove, told The Independent he only learned that the contract had been cancelled when his drivers called him from a port in Jacksonville, Florida and told him their deliveries were being denied.

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We then had some dialogue with Tribute, and Tribute requested we not discuss this with FEMA; they were trying to resolve it, Mr Miller said. And we said, We need to step back and look at this.

Now, the company is sitting on the two 40-ft containers of supplies it shipped to Puerto Rico, along with two other containers it intended to send, and the raw materials needed for yet another shipment.

Kendra Robinson, the director of Cooking With A Star catering, told the Times that she, too, was sitting on about 75,000 prepared meals. Ms Brown said the subcontractors have threatened to sue for breach of contract.

FEMA declined to comment on Ms Browns appeal, but a spokesperson told the Times that the situation had not affected their food distribution efforts in Puerto Rico.

At the time of the contract termination there were ample commodity supplies in the pipeline, and distribution was not affected, spokesman William Booher said, adding that the agency has sourced more than 200m meals during the 2017 hurricane season.

Nearly half a million Puerto Ricans still do not have power. The territory is re-evaluating the official death toll of the storm, which the Times has put at 1,052.

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Quentin TarantinosaysUma Thurmans violent car crash on the set of his 2003 film Kill Bill was the biggest regret of his life.

The actress mentioned the wreck, which she says resulted in permanent damage to her neck and knees, in an interview published Saturday in The New York Times. The article largely focused on Thurmans sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, but she also discussed her experience with Tarantino filming Kill Bill, which was produced by Weinsteins studio.

Thurman accused Tarantino of forcing her to drive a car she didnt feel comfortable operating in one shot. After eventually agreeing to do it, she accidentally crashed and had to be taken to a hospital.

Tarantino, in an interview with Deadline published Monday, admitted he pressured Thurman to do the scene. He said he believed at the time that it was safe.

Its the biggest regret of my life, getting her to do that stunt, Tarantino told Deadline. As a director, you learn things and sometimes you learn them through horrendous mistakes. That was one of my most horrendous mistakes, that I didnt take the time to run the road, one more time, just to see what I would see.

He continued: Me and Uma had our issues about the crash. She blamed me for the crash and she had a right to blame me for the crash. I didnt mean to do it. I talked her into getting in the car, I assured her the road was safe. And it wasnt.

Thurman accepts Tarantinos apology, according to a post she published Monday on Instagram. But shes still going after Weinstein and his fellow Kill Bill producers Lawrence Bender and E. Bennett Walsh, saying they covered up the crash.

A post shared by Uma Thurman (@ithurman)on Feb 5, 2018 at 10:15am PST

They lied, destroyed evidence, and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress, Thurman wrote. The cover up did have malicious intent, and shame on these three for all eternity.

Thurman told the Times that Miramax, owned by Weinstein at the time, refused to show her footage of the wreck two weeks after it happened unless she signed a document releasing them of any consequences of [her] future pain and suffering.

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Something else Uma was misunderstood about [in the Times article], and I dont think she realized it until last night while we were talking, was she feels that a whole cover-up happened, Tarantino told Deadline. She feels its very possible the car was destroyed, at Harvey Weinsteins insistence, and at Bennett Walsh and Lawrence Benders execution.

A spokesperson for Weinstein denied Thurmans accusations of a cover-up.

Harvey has tremendous affection for Uma Thurman nevertheless he denies these allegations, the spokesperson said in a statement to HuffPost. He did not give instructions to destroy the vehicle or orchestrate a cover-up and this is the first time he has learned that Ms. Thurman had any issues regarding the handling of her accident.

We understand that members of the production team have stated to individuals in the media that Mr. Weinstein had nothing to do with the aftermath of the crash, the statement continued. Mr. Weinstein wishes Ms. Thurman would have spoken to him at the time to express her concerns and would like for her to provide any additional details so that he can assist in closing and repairing this chapter of her life.

Representatives for Bender and Walsh did not immediately respond to HuffPosts requests for comment.

Following the Times interview with Thurman, many media outlets emphasized her experiences with Tarantino over her allegations against Weinstein. An excerpt about Tarantino choking Thurman and spitting on her while filming Kill Bill scenes sparked outrage on the internet. But Tarantino defended his actions, saying he performed those scenes himself because he knew what he wanted as the director.

For some reason there is a lot of hay being made out of this. Which I dont understand, at all, Tarantino told Deadline. I can explain why I did exactly what I did, but my question is, whats the fucking problem?

Naturally, I did it, he said of spitting on Thurman. Who else should do it?

ReadTarantinos full interview at Deadline.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Bangkok (AFP) - The rescue in Laos of three endangered red pandas trafficked from China has raised fears the rare animals are increasingly being coveted by exotic pet owners.

Landlocked Laos, which borders China and Vietnam, is a key transit hub in the global trade in illegal wildlife, but experts say the discovery of red pandas there is virtually unheard of.

Six of the cat-sized bears were found on January 12 inside northern Laos during a random stop of a van travelling from China, one of their few remaining habitats.

Three died later after the rough journey but the remaining three were sent to a sanctuary run by the Free the Bears NGO in the northern tourist town of Luang Prabang, where they are recovering well.

"They have already made it through their initial two week quarantine period which has allowed us to move them to larger cages where they have more room to climb," Rod Mabin, regional communications director with Free the Bears, told AFP.

The group shared recent footage of the ring-tailed red pandas munching on leaves and eating fresh fruit while occasionally staring up in apparent puzzlement at the camera.

With habitats under threat in the Eastern Himalayas and China, red pandas are considered endangered and highly vulnerable to infectious diseases.

But their copper fur, cute appearance and small size also make them easy candidates for the exotic pet trade.

According to an assessment from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the interest in red pandas as pets may have grown partly in response to the increasing number of "cute" images of the animals shared on social media.

"This is a very unusual confiscation as red pandas had never before been seen in Laos," Mabin said. "The most likely explanation is that the animals were destined for either a private zoo or the exotic pet trade."

The animals are also targeted for their fur.

Ang Phuri Sherpa, Nepal country director for the Red Panda Network, said the mammals are difficult to find outside of their habitats in the dense bamboo forests across countries including Nepal, Bhutan, India, China and Myanmar.

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Citing a Laos media report, Sherpa said an initial investigation indicated they were being brought for the pet trade or on the way to Thailand, stressing the need for countries to exert "extra effort curbing [the] illegal trade."

Discussions are ongoing over where the creatures will live once fully recovered.

"Whether that is at the sanctuary in Laos or in the wild in China is yet to be determined," Free the Bears Mabin added.
President Trump apparently loves a parade.

At the direction of the president, Pentagon generals have begun planning a grand parade on the streets of the U.S. capital to showcase American military might.

At a Jan. 18 meeting attended by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Trump set into motion his desire for a Bastille Day-inspired military spectacle, Pentagon officials confirmed Tuesday.

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, a military official told the Washington Post, which added that the parade was being worked on by Pentagon brass.

Among the unresolved questions about the military display are how much it will cost taxpayers, the date the parade would be held, what role Trump himself will play in the festivities, and whether it would be a one-off event or something to be replicated.

The Trumps and the Macrons attending a military parade in Paris, July 14, 2017. (Photo: Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

When he traveled to Paris in July, Trump expressed his admiration for the Bastille Day display.

It was one of the greatest parades Ive ever seen, Trump gushed to reporters. It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France.

Of course, another nation known for its grandiose military parades is North Korea, whose authoritarian government has engaged the Trump administration with nuclear brinksmanship over the past several months.

While Vice President Mike Pence has not ruled out a meeting with Pyongyang officials when he attends the Olympic Games in South Korea, Pence will also be bringing the father of Otto Warmbier  the college student who died shortly after North Korea released him from prison  as a guest to the opening ceremonies, Yahoo News Olivier Knox reported.

Read more from Yahoo News:
Hualien (Taiwan) (AFP) - Rescue workers pulled survivors and bodies from buildings tilting precariously in the Taiwanese city of Hualien Wednesday after an overnight earthquake killed at least seven people, injured more than 250 and left dozens missing.

Emergency responders were focusing on a 12-storey apartment block and a nearby hotel, both of which were leaning dangerously with their lower floors pancaked after the 6.4-magnitude quake hit the popular tourist city late Tuesday.

The national fire agency said seven people had been killed across the city, and 260 were injured.

Some 67 people remained unaccounted for late Wednesday evening.

There were grave concerns for the badly leaning Yun Tsui residential building, which also housed a restaurant, shops and a hostel.

Dozens of residents -- and several pets -- were rescued with ropes, ladders and cranes. But fire department staff at the site told AFP at least four bodies had been pulled out of the building in the day.

Of those still missing, the Hualien disaster relief centre said, 39 are residents at the apartment block and 13 are guests at the Beauty Stay Hotel -- which is on the bottom floors of the Yun Tsui building.

One of the people killed at the apartment block was a woman from mainland China, authorities said.

Officials temporarily suspended rescue efforts over fears the building might slip further as engineers raced to push large concrete blocks and steel bars to support the leaning side.

Rescue efforts continued as night fell, with emergency responders wielding crowbars and torches to search the lower floors for survivors.

Continual aftershocks forced rescuers searching the apartment block to run for safety every time they struck. The responders would go back inside when the tremors stopped.

The strongest of them was a shallow 5.7-magnitude quake that was felt as far away as the capital Taipei, around 120 kilometres (75 miles) north of Hualien.

One resident who lives nearby told AFP how he watched the tower block partially collapse.

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"I saw the first floor sink into the ground. Then it sank and tilted further and the fourth floor became the first floor," said Lu Chih-son, 35, who saw 20 people rescued from the building.

Chen Chih-wei, 80, said he was sleeping in his apartment on the top floor of the building when the quake struck.

"My bed turned completely vertical. I was sleeping and suddenly I was standing," he told AFP.

Chen said he managed to crawl to a balcony to wait for rescue, adding that the quake was the strongest he had felt in more than five decades of living in Hualien.

- Tourists rescued -

At the Marshal Hotel, which was also leaning and badly damaged, at least two people were killed when the lower floors collapsed. But most residents got out and authorities said they believed no more people were trapped inside.

President Tsai Ing-wen visited the apartment block Wednesday morning. "Now is the prime time for our rescue efforts, our first priority is to save people," she said in a Facebook post.

Hualien is one of Taiwan's most popular tourist hubs as it lies on the picturesque east coast rail line and near the popular Taroko Gorge.

The government said 17 foreigners sought medical treatment for minor injuries.

Local resident Blue Hsu said some of those carried out of the hotel were foreigners.

"The lower floors sunk into the ground and I saw panicked tourists being rescued from the hotel," Hsu told AFP.

Some 830 people were in shelters, officials said, while 1,900 houses were without power.

Pope Francis expressed solidarity with the victims and encouraged emergency responders in a statement issued by the Vatican on Wednesday.

"His Holiness willingly invokes upon all the Taiwanese people the divine blessings of strength and peace," the statement said.

- Quake anniversary -

The quake hit just before midnight (1550 GMT) around 21 kilometres (13 miles) northeast of Hualien, according to the USGS.

It followed almost 100 smaller tremors to have hit the area in the last three days and comes exactly two years since a quake of the same magnitude struck the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, killing more than 100 people.

Most of the deaths from the February 2016 earthquake were from the 16-storey Wei-kuan apartment complex, which toppled on its side and buried many residents in the rubble.

The safety of the building was called into question immediately after the disaster, when metal cans and foam were found to have been used as fillers in the concrete and residents said there had been cracks in the structure.

Five people were found guilty over the disaster, including the developer and two architects.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

The island's worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6-magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.
Moscow (AFP) - The Russian defence ministry has criticised an independent news website for publishing the average salaries of military officers after a Russian pilot's plane was downed over Syria.

Saint Petersburg's respected news website Fontanka revealed late Monday that with basic information anyone can access the personal files of servicemen on the ministry's online database.

"A pilot with the title of major receives on average a little over 100,00 rubles ($1,750) after taxes," the media outlet said.

It suggested that Major Roman Filipov -- who was killed on Saturday in fighting with Islamists after his warplane was downed in northwest Syria -- received as much.

Russia hailed Filipov as a national hero after he reportedly parachuted out of his Su-25 warplane into a Syrian rebel stronghold and killed himself with a hand grenade before he could be captured by Islamists.

Fontanka said the database showed that Russian pilots can also receive bonuses of 140,000 rubles ($2,450).

The website said that while the ministry "probably meant well", its database posed a potential danger for Russian soldiers.

The defence ministry lashed out against the Fontanka report, titled "The defence ministry has disclosed the salaries of servicemen to possible enemies", as lacking "an elementary understanding of decency and journalistic ethics."

"We are sure that law enforcement agencies will give their appraisal of what happened in accordance with Russian law," the ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.

Fontanka's chief editor Alexander Gorshkov defended the report in an interview with Echo of Moscow radio.

"This is not a question of journalistic ethics," he said.

"It is a question of the safety of our servicemen fulfilling their duty in different places around the world."

If a serviceman is taken prisoner, Gorshkov said, all his captors need to know is his date of birth in order to access his files on the defence ministry's website.

"If I were them, I would not be talking about ethics but would close this loophole as fast as possible," he said.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a powerful jihadist-dominated alliance in Syria, said it shot down the Russian plane in retaliation for a ferocious bombing campaign by Moscow's warplanes over Idlib.
El Paso County, Colorado Sheriff Bill Elder addresses the media after one of his deputies was shot and killed

One sheriffs deputy was killed and five other people were injured during a shooting in Colorado Springs.

Gunfire rang out after officers encountered an adult male suspect while investigating a reported motor vehicle theft, authorities said. A civilian, a police officer and three sheriffs deputies were all injured by gunfire and transported to the hospital with treatment, with the police officer in stable condition.

El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder said 34-year-old deputy Micah Flick died, leaving behind a wife and seven-year-old twins. He died on the 11th anniversary of his time with the department, Mr Elder said.

The suspected shooter was killed on the scene and there were no other suspects at large, authorities said.

The shooting marked the latest spasm of violence against Colorado law enforcement in recent weeks.

Late last year, a deputy died and others were injured after an assailant opened fire on officers responding to a call. A few weeks later, another sheriffs deputy was shot down by a fleeing suspect.

A law enforcement agency responsible for the area where one of the prior shootings occurred responded to the latest incident with words of sympathy.

Another loss to our law enforcement family during an active scene response, the Colorado State Patrols Castle Rock branch said on Twitter. We are here to assist our brothers/sisters in BLUE.
09:37

Actor Jeetendra was on Wednesday accused by his cousin of sexually assaulting her 47 years ago, a charge that the 60s star rubbished as 'baseless and ridiculous'.



The complainant said the actor, whose actual name is Ravi Kapoor, is her aunt's son.



In her complaint to the Director General of Police, Himachal Pradesh, she said the incident took place in Shimla in January, 1971, when she was 18 and the actor was 28.



She said he had 'arranged' for the victim to join him from New Delhi to Shimla on the sets of a film he was shooting for.



She alleged in the complaint that after reaching Shimla at night, an inebriated Jeetendra went to her room, joined two twin beds and sexually assaulted her.



The actor denied that any such incident had taken place.



Police sources said a first information report had not been registered as the complaint had been emailed to the DGP.



For the registration of an FIR, the signature of the complainant was necessary, police sources in Shimla said.



In a statement issued in Mumbai, Jeetendra's advocate Rizwan Siddiquee said the allegation was 'baseless and ridiculous'.



"Foremost, my client specifically and categorically denies any such incident. Besides even otherwise such baseless, ridiculous and fabricated claims cannot be entertained by any Court of law or the law enforcement agencies after a span of almost 50 years," it said.



Siddiquee said the law did not give any person 'any rights or liberties of making any baseless... claims against any man publicly and seek to defame him with a hidden personal agenda'.



"The Statute has provided a justice delivery system through the Courts, and the Limitation Act 1963 was specifically enacted to ensure that all genuine complaints are made within a maximum time limit of three years, so that a proper investigation is carried out and timely justice is delivered," it added.



It also questioned the timing of the complaint.



"In any event the timing of this baseless complaint seems to be nothing but a miserable effort made by a jealous competitor to disrupt the business activities of my client and his esteemed company. Such efforts are therefore in all fairness treated with the contempt it truly deserves," it said.



The allegation by the woman, who said the actor was her father's sister's son, comes in the wake of a slew of accusations of sexual assault by actresses against American producer Harvey Weinstein and others in the entertainment business. -- PTI


JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's African National Congress party leader Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday he is holding direct talks with President Jacob Zuma over a transition and matters relating to Zuma's position as president of the country.

Zuma, in power since 2009 and beset by corruption allegations, has been in a weakened position since Deputy President Ramaphosa replaced him as ANC leader in December. Ramaphosa has talked of a transition of power since he took over as leader of the ANC.

In a statement, Ramaphosa said he and Zuma hoped to conclude their discussions and report back to country "in coming days", adding the process was an opportunity to conclude the matter without causing discord or division in the country.

(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Writing by James Macharia, Editing by William Maclean)
Joshua Stimpson has been jailed for life - PA

A warehouse worker who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death after she ended their relationship had been reported to the police four years earlier for stalking a previous partner, it can be revealed.

Joshua Stimpson brutally killed 23-year-old Molly McLaren in a shopping centre car park in Kent after she reported him to the police for posting derogatory remarks about her online.

During his trial it emerged that he had stalked two ex-girlfriends and had been reported to the police before about his behaviour.

Miss McLaren's devastated family said more needed to be done to raise awareness of the dangers of "digital stalking" to prevent similar tragedies happening in the future.

In a statement the family said: "We feel there needs to be more awareness over the dangers of stalking and the need for people to report any concerns that they may have to the police.

"The verdict has brought us a small measure of comfort. But it seems nothing will take away the pain or allow us to come to terms with our Molly being taken from us. We are serving a lifetime of pain, anguish and loss."

Molly McLaren was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend in June last year Credit: PA

The pair met on the dating app, Tinder, and dated for seven months before Miss McLaren, a student at the University of Kent, ended their relationship.

In the two weeks that followed, Stimpson stalked her and posted derogatory messages on Facebook falsely claiming she had been taking cocaine, warning there was "more to come".

Joshua Stimpson was arrested at the scene Credit: PA

She reported the posts to Facebook but nothing happened, so she went with her mother Joanna to North Kent Police Station.

A police officer called Stimpson in their presence, put him on speakerphone and warned him to stop or face prosecution.

The 26-year-old was spoken to by police for a second time on June 27 last year, just two days before her death.

The couple had met on the Tinder dating app Credit: PA

Alexandra Dale, who dated him in 2013, had also reported his behaviour towards her to police.

Kent Police reported itself to the Independent Police Complaints Commission, now known as the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), after Miss McLaren's death.

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A spokesman said: "Following careful assessment it was determined that this matter could be investigated by Kent Police's professional standards department."

The knife used to murder Molly McLaren Credit: PA

The force said the inquiry would be finalised once criminal proceedings were concluded.

He claimed to have no memory of the attack and his barristers said psychiatric assessments showed he had a borderline personality disorder.

Before standing trial, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility but denied murder.

Stimpson showed no emotion as Judge Adele Williams jailed him for a minimum of 26 years and said he may never be released.

She said: "This was a cruel, calculated and cowardly act. This was an act of wickedness."

She described the Ms McLaren as "beautiful and intelligent", adding: "I am sure you are not suffering from a personality disorder. You planned this killing."

Ms McLaren's family, sat in a packed public gallery, cried as the sentence was read out.
TAIPEI (Reuters) - There are still seats left for Taiwanese people to return home from China over the upcoming Lunar New Year, Taiwan said on Tuesday, brushing off concern a dispute over air routes could leave thousands stranded. The dispute has become increasingly bitter, with both sides trading accusations after two Chinese airlines canceled extra flights to self-ruled Taiwan over the Lunar New Year, the most important holiday in the Chinese calendar, potentially leaving thousands of Taiwanese without tickets to go home. In January, China, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province, opened several new air routes, including a northbound route up the sensitive Taiwan Strait that divides China from the island. Taiwan says it was done without its agreement, contravening what the democratic government in Taipei has said was a 2015 deal to first discuss such flight paths. The Lunar New Year begins on Feb. 16. Seeking to alleviate worries about stranded holidaymakers, Taiwan's China policy-making Mainland Affairs Council said there were already 418 extra flights added for the holidays in addition to 586 regularly scheduled flights, serving 50 Chinese destinations. "At present there are still seats on other airlines' regular and additional services," the council said. Taiwan says the new routes could affect flight safety as they pass close to two groups of Taiwan-controlled islands close to China which have regular flights to and from Taiwan. The council said it sympathized with people being inconvenienced on their return home. "But safety comes before all else, and the government doesn't have the space to compromise," it said. China denies any safety threat, and says the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has told them the M503 route - the main point of contention - has been assessed and approved by them. In a statement sent to Reuters, ICAO said the route had been approved in 2015 by an amendment to an air navigation plan for the Asia-Pacific region. "These amendments are undertaken through a formal process that includes a consultation with the user and provider states concerned, as well as relevant international organizations," it said. (Reporting by Jess Macy Yu in TAIPEI; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING)
Pre-K teacher Leigh Bishop made her student smile by surprising her with an identical do. (Photo: Facebook/Leigh Bishop)

Its no secret that teachers help shape our futures by being central figures in our lives at a young age. For some teachers this means strict deadlines and rules, while others may have a more creative approach to inspiring young minds.

One teacher in Sugar Land, Texas, took extra initiative to make one students day in the sweetest way.

Pre-K student August showed up at school last week with a new hairstyle. Leigh Bishop, a teacher at Lakeview Elementary, was quick to comment on Augusts new look.

Bishop told her student she loved her hair so much that she would show up with similar style the next day. The 4-year-old responded with an eye roll and an OK, Ms. Bishop.

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Bishop kept her promise  and the next day arrived at school with the same braided hairstyle as August. The teacher says both August and the girls father were surprised when they saw her arrive at Lakeview Elementary.

Bishop shared the photo to Facebook, and it wasnt long before the post had gone viral with more than 15,000 likes, 4,000 shares, and 500 comments.

Those following the post were quick to comment on the happiness captured in the photos, with many praising Bishop for her unique approach to building relationships with her students. Some even admitted to getting emotional after seeing the post.

So sweet and a great way to engage her forever! wrote one Facebook user.

Oh my heart! This is beautiful. Her face is priceless! And now Im crying, added another.

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The car - with its 'Starman' model in the driver's seat - enters space - SpaceX

A cherry red Tesla car was launched into space on Tuesday by tech entrepreneur Elon Musk, with David Bowies song Life on Mars playing on repeat.

Thousands of people gathered in Florida to watch the launch - the culmination of a plan five years in the making.

Mr Musk used a super rocket  the Falcon Heavy vehicle  to send the car into orbit around Mars, deploying technology with twice the launching power of any existing rocket, and double that of the Saturn V, which launched the Apollo lunar missions.

The Spacex CEO had billed the take-off as a risky first attempt, saying the challenges of building the Roadster meant the chances of success might only be 50-50.

The car - with its 'Starman' model in the driver's seat - enters space Credit: SpaceX

However, his fears were not realised with the world's most powerful rocket successfully taking off from the Kennedy Space Center at 3.45pm local time (8.45pm GMT).

About two and a half minutes after the launch, two of the three boosters on the rocket detached and landed upright, at the same time, at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Mr Musk later tweeted a picture of his old Tesla car orbiting over Australia.

The SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral Credit: Reuters

Among the online spectators was British Astronaut Tim Peake, who described the feat as "simply awesome".

Mr Peake tweeted his congratulations the team on "a phenomenal technical achievement", adding that it marked "the dawn of a new era of space exploration".

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Earlier this week, in a YouTube video to promote the launch, Bowies song played as the Falcon Heavy was shown on the launch pad.

The animation showed that during the launch, Falcon Heavy's three first-stage boosters ignite, powering up the booster toward space.

The centre core separates later and lands on SpaceX's drone ship, named Of Course I Still Love You.

The upper stage continues on, with the nose cone's protective fairing separating to reveal the Roadster and a dummy of a driver, which Mr Musk calls Starman, sitting in the drivers seat.

The car Credit: SpaceX Starman Source: Elon Musk via Instagram

The car will take at least six months to travel the 200 million miles to Mars.

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Speaking to reporters ahead of the Cape Canaveral launch, he said: "Itll be a really huge downer if it blows up. If something goes wrong, hopefully it goes wrong far into the mission so we at least learn as much as possible along the way.

"I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesnt blow the pad to smithereens. Thats four million pounds of TNT equivalent so theres probably not going to be much left if that thing lets loose on the pad."

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The Falcon Heavy consists of three of the company's Falcon 9 rockets joined together, each lending the super-rocket 27 Merlin engines.

This means that it should be able to generate almost 23,000 kilonewtons of thrust - just over double that of the world's current most powerful rocket, the Delta IV Heavy, which is operated by US competitor United Launch Alliance.

The South African-born entrepreneur has promised "epic views" of space from cameras strapped to the vehicle.

It is hoped the car will be thrown into an elliptical orbit that stretches out to Mars' orbit around the Sun.

The rocket is designed to lift the equivalent weight of five double-decker London buses - 64 tons - into space.

If this maiden voyage is successful, it raises interesting possibilities for future innovation, including larger US satellites and also the realisation of Mr Musk's dream to launch hundreds of satellites into space in order to give broadband internet access to the developing world.

It also means space exploration could be hugely enhanced, with larger robots sent to Mars. Some could even visit outer planets such as Jupiter, Saturn and their moons.

Nasa is also developing a super-rocket, but Mr Musk's, if successful, is much cheaper.

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Their Space Launch System is said to cost $1bn (715m) per flight, while the entrepreneur claims his Falcon Heavy will cost just $90m (64m) per flight.

Casey Dreier, director of space policy at the Planetary Society, told The Guardian: "If Falcon Heavy is up and running, it opens up a lot of possibilities. Thats the key.

"Nasa is going to be saying: look, instead of waiting around for SLS, we can start putting pieces of our deep space gateway or orbiting lunar outpost in place. The question is will it be reliable enough for the government and others to put in their most valuable assets, to be worth the reduced cost?"
A Texas fathers bout with the flu led to pneumonia and septic shock, forcing doctors to amputate both of his legs below the knee and nine of his fingers.

Brian Herndon, of Fort Worth, was diagnosed with the flu on January 4. He was admitted to the hospital the following day with pneumonia and quickly went into septic shock, according to NBC DFW.

Brian has been facing all kinds of complications due to flu, pneumonia, and septic shock, his wife, Jaye Herndon, wrote on a GoFundMe page she created for him. As of today Brian will need prosthetics for both feet and special hand work as parts of every finger have been amputated.

She adds that while this is a challenging complication, we can do this together. Our amount needed is rapidly growing but your help makes a huge difference. Every dollar will help show love to an amazing man.

On January 6, just 36 hours after his flu diagnosis, Brian, 51, was airlifted to Baylor Hospital in Dallas and has since been in and out of consciousness.

His wife told KHOU that her husband had no previous medical conditions and that he had a 104.7 temperature right away, followed by difficulties breathing.

We didnt wait, we went to the ER, she said. It was that quick.

On Sunday, the father of two spoke to the news outlet through Skype and said that one minute youve got the flu and the next minute youre septic.

Jaye posted an update on the GoFundMe page on Monday, writing that while Brian had a positive day, theyre still praying for healing to his kidneys to heal and continued respiratory improvements and decreased pain.

According to NBC DFW, Brian didnt have his flu shot this year and although he received Tamiflu, he was already in the hospital before he had the chance to take it.

While most peoples immune symptoms work to fight germs to prevent infection, the Sepsis Alliance says that for reasons researchers dont understand, sometimes the immune system stops fighting the invaders, and begins to turn on itself. Forty percent of patients diagnosed with severe sepsis do not survive.

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The organization adds: Some people are at higher risk of developing sepsis because they are at higher risk of contracting an infection. These include the very young, the very old, those with chronic illnesses, and those with a weakened or impaired immune system.

Inflammation caused by sepsis can cause massive organ failure. Warning signs of sepsis include a body temperature of above 101 degrees or below 96.8 degrees fahrenheit, a heart rate higher than 90 beats per minute and a respiratory rate higher than 20 breaths a minute, according to The Mayo Clinic. Its important to monitor fever levels and fluid intake while ill to lower the possibility of sepsis.

The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) currently lists the 2017 to 2018 flu season as moderately severe, and warns it could get worse. More than 30 children have succumbed to the virus across the nation so far, PEOPLE confirmed with the CDC.

The CDC reports that the flu vaccine lessens the chance that someone catches the virus by 10 to 60 percent and doesnt guarantee that someone will not catch the flu. However, the annual vaccine is highly recommended by the CDC for everyone 6 months and older and the more people that get vaccinated can limit the diseases spread throughout the community.

Getting the flu shot and staying home if youre sick are two of the most important ways to reduce transmission. But the CDC says its also important to wash your hands frequently, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze and wipe down surfaces that may have come into contact with contagion, as flu germs can live on them for up to 24 hours.
Police on the scene in Colorado Springs

A police officer was shot and killed on Monday, the third officer to be gunned down in the line of duty in Colorado in the past five weeks.

Micah Flick, 34, was killed while investigating a stolen vehicle in Colorado Springs, about 70 miles (110 km) south of Denver, authorities said.

Two other deputies, a Colorado Springs police officer and a bystander were injured, authorities said. All were hospitalised, but the extent of their injuries wasn't immediately released.

The lone suspect was also killed, authorities said.

The names of the injured officers, the bystander and the suspect were not immediately released.

Micah Flick Credit: El Paso County Sheriff's Office via Reuters

Sheriff Bill Elder said Flick, who was killed on his 11th anniversary with the department, is survived by his wife and 7-year-old twins.

"Deputy Flick was an outstanding member of my agency and he will be missed," Elder said.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey said it was a tough day for all law-enforcement agencies.

"Tonight there is no distinction between our uniforms. State Patrol, sheriff's office and the Colorado Springs Police Department, our hearts are all broken," he said.

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John Hickenlooper, Colorado governor, said the deadly violence against officers was having a grave impact on the state.

"We will once more come together to provide sympathy and strength for the deputy's loved ones and pray for the recovery of those injured," he said. "However, we also must come together and say enough is enough. We want each officer, every deputy, to know we are grateful for their service."

Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm was killed on January 24 and Douglas County sheriff's Deputy Zackari Parrish was killed on New Year's Eve.

Monday's shooting occurred in a neighborhood of single-family homes, apartments and retail stores just east of downtown Colorado Springs, a city of about 465,000.

Television coverage showed dozens of emergency vehicles responding to the scene.
Several of President Donald Trumps lawyers have advised him to refuse an interview request with special counsel Robert Mueller as part of the ongoing inquiry into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, The New York Times reported on Monday.

At least two members of Trumps legal team, John Dowd and Jay Sekulow, have reportedly expressed concerns over an investigators interview of the president. The lawyers, as well as several White House aides, fear that the president might contradict himself or make a false statement to investigators, which is a federal crime, the Times writes, citing four people familiar with the White Houses thinking.

HuffPost has reached out to the White House for comment.

Earlier this year, several news outlets reported that Mueller had told Trumps lawyers he would move to interview the president, although no formal request had been submitted. His legal team was considering how such an encounter would take place, according to NBC News, including the format, the topics of the interview and who would conduct it.

Were Trump to refuse the request, Mueller has the power to issue a subpoena to compel him to testify before a grand jury, although such a move would likely set off an intense legal battle.

John Dowd, Trump's top personal attorney, has reportedly warned the president against agreeing to an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller. (Photo: Lucas Jackson / Reuters)

The special counsels office has conducted a series of interviews with high-profile members of Trumps inner circle in recent weeks, including several former campaign officials. Muellers team spoke to Attorney General Jeff Sessions in January, and the presidents former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, has been cooperating with investigators for months.

Trumps many lawyers have frequently butted heads about the approach to the Mueller investigation, as they represent a slew of different interests when it comes to Trump the president and Trump the individual. Dowd and Sekulow are paid directly by Trump to defend his interests, while White House special counsel Ty Cobb and White House counsel Don McGahn are tasked with defending the executive branch itself.

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The reports about the lawyers thinking comes just weeks after the president said he was looking forward to speaking with Mueller under oath and that he would like to do so as soon as possible. Trump made the comments to a pool of reporters at the White House as he was preparing to leave for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 24.

Cobb immediately moved to downplay the comments in a statement at the time, saying they were made off-the-cuff.

Hes ready to meet with them, but hell be guided by the advice of his personal counsel, Cobb said.

The Times reported Monday that Cobb was one of the few aides in the West Wing who thought the president should cooperate with Mueller.

The Times also noted the lawyer had repeatedly told Trump the inquiry would end soon. But those interviewed by the outlet said such assurances were simply a strategy to keep the president from slamming the investigation on Twitter.

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Members of Donald Trump's Republican Party have criticised their leader for calling Democrats who refused to applaud his State of the Union address, "treasonous".

The US President told a crowd in Blue Ash, Ohio, that his rivals gave off bad energy by failing to clap, even after his comments on the good performance of the US economy.

Democrats would rather see Trump do badly than our country do well, he said, calling the reception un-American, he told the crowd.

Somebody said, Treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? I mean they certainly didnt seem to love our country that much.

He added the response was very, very sad.

Treason is a capital offence and punishable by death in the US and Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican who frequently criticises Mr Trump and his policies, was unimpressed by his leader's comments.

Treason is not a punchline, Mr President. Applause is approval of an idea, not loyalty to ones country," he said.

Mr Flake, who accused Mr Trump of the "regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms," when he announced his retirement last year, added: Our Democratic colleagues love this country as much as we do. To suggest otherwise is simply unconscionable.

Republican Congressman, Mark Meadows also took issue with the his leader's comments.

Although his known to be closely allied with his party's leader, he told CNN: Certainly saying that someones un-American because of their unwillingness to clap is not something that most Americans would agree with.

Democrats also criticised Mt Trump's use of the word.

We dont live in a dictatorship or a monarchy, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs in the Iraq War in 2004, said.

I swore an oath  in the military and in the Senate  to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap.

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Mr Trump received five deferments from service in the Vietnam War: four for academic reasons and one for bone spurs  calcium formations  in his heels.

She later said: To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Mr Trump was obviously joking during the speech at the Ohio plant.

The president was obviously joking. But whats serious is the Democrats seem to put their personal hatred for this president above their desire to see America succeed, he said in a statement.

Reuters contributed to this report
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US Vice President Mike Pence have reaffirmed the need to maximize pressure on North Korea, even as they welcomed inter-Korean dialogue ahead of the PyeongChang Olympics.

Abe and Pence held a joint news conference after meeting in Tokyo on Wednesday. The vice president is in Japan on his way to the Winter Games' opening ceremony in South Korea on Friday.

Abe said the 2 exchanged views on the latest situations in North Korea and how to deal with the country. He said they confirmed that Japan and the US are 100 percent together.

Abe said they must face the fact that North Korea continues to pursue nuclear and missile development.

He said he and Pence reconfirmed the joint view that a nuclear-armed North is unacceptable, and that they must not be tricked by the country's charm offensive.

They also reconfirmed the need for the 2 countries, along with South Korea, to put the maximum pressure on North Korea.

Pence noted that the 2 Koreas marched under the same banner in past Olympics, but that the North carried out a nuclear test 8 months after the 2006 Games.

He said the US will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever. He vowed that the US will continue pressuring Pyongyang and aim for complete denuclearization.

Pence described the Japan-US alliance as a cornerstone of peace, prosperity and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region.

He added that the US is preparing to provide Japan with the latest defense system and will stay involved in various aspects of Japan's defense.
The House Intelligence Committee that issued a controversial memo drafted by Republicans last week voted unanimously to release a rebuttal by Democrats on Monday.

The 10-page Democrat-written document will now go to the White House for President Donald Trump to examine and potentially declassify. Trump has five days to make a decision. He declassified the four-page Republican memo last Friday.

After the GOP memos release, the president argued on Twitter that it showed the top Leadership and Investigators of the FBI and the Justice Department have politicized the sacred investigative process in favor of Democrats and against Republicans.

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Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Trump was referring to ongoing probes in Congress and by special counsel Robert Mueller into whether his campaign aided Russias alleged efforts to interfere in the 2016 election. A counterintelligence investigation into the matter was launched by the FBI in July 2016.

The Republican memo was drafted by the office of the House Intelligence Committee Chairman, Representative Devin Nunes, and other GOP members of Congress. The FBI said last Wednesday that it has grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memos accuracy.

The memo written by Democrats is said to pick apart the narrative of the Republican document. Republicans argued that FBI and Justice Department officials did not alert a U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court that some evidence they used to get a warrant to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page came from a dossier compiled for a political research firm with funding from Hillary Clintons campaign.

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The GOP memos chief advocate Nunes, however, said during an appearance on Fox & Friends on Monday that the FBIs application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance warrant on Pagewho was suspected of working with Russian intelligence agentsmade clear in a footnote that some of the supporting evidence came from a political source.

Read more: Republicans say Trump isn't vindicated by memo in Russia investigation, adding to Democrat chorus

A footnote saying something may be political is a far cry from letting the American people know that the Democrats and the Hillary campaign paid for dirt that the FBI then used to get a warrant on an American citizen to spy on another campaign, Nunes argued.

On Saturday, Trump wrote that the memo totally vindicates Trump in probe and argued the Russia investigations are a politically motivated witch hunt.

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Some Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee said over the weekend their memo stops short of vindicating the president and urged the Mueller investigation and others to continue.

Other Republicans have argued the memo provides evidence current and former law enforcement officials should be prosecuted for illegal spying.

The president now has the opportunity to vet what information the Democrat memo contains and decide if the document should be published at all.

The House Intelligence Committees top Democrat, Representative Adam Schiff, said Monday he will track what information the White House withholds in an attempt to determine if the document is being manipulated for political purposes.

On Monday, Trump called Schiff one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington and said he must be stopped.

Nunes is reportedly preparing several more memos looking at wrongdoing in the Justice Department and State Department to support claims officials plotted against Trump.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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Supporters and confidants of President Donald Trump reportedly joined his chorus of lawyers warning him not to agree to a face-to-face interview with the special counsels office investigating Russian meddling and alleged collusion with his campaign in the 2016 election. Trumps lawyers fear he could lie under oath, The New York Times reported Monday.

Instead, some of the presidents allies think he could strike a deal and answer special counsel Robert Muellers questions in writing rather than risk employing his often-off-the-cuff manner of speaking, Politico reported Wednesday morning.

Trump's allies include Newsmax publisher Chris Ruddy, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and conservative political strategist Roger Stone.

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The president could assert his Fifth Amendment privilege and tell Mueller to shove it, Stone told Politico.

The long-time political trickster also said that completely blocking out the special counsel could be politically radioactive. Stone previously said he believed Mueller would end up charging the president and that a meeting would be a perjury trap.

I think there can be a reasonable compromise. I recognize the political and legal danger of just stiffing the guy, Stone said.

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Getty Images/Chris Kleponis-Pool

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That feeling was echoed by U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who has often sided with and encouraged the president throughout his time in office.

If I were his lawyer, thats what Id tell him, Graham told Politico. I just think, you know, if I could avoid my client having to answer a bunch of questions that you may not be prepared to answer, I would.

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Even former Vice President Joe Biden suggested Trump should avoid crossing Muellers path since the president could lie about something even unintentionally.

"You are in a situation where the president has some difficulty with precision," Biden told CNN on Tuesday. "One of the things I would worry about if I were his lawyer, is him saying something that was simply not true without him even planning to be disingenuous."

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Former President Ronald Reagan reached a similar deal and submitted answers in writing regarding the Iran-Contra scandal in 1987. Ex-president Bill Clinton rejected questions from special prosecutor Ken Starrs team before he was eventually subpoenaed and sat for an interview in August 1998.

Some of Trumps lawyers and advisers also questioned whether Mueller would risk subpoenaing the president. They believe that the former FBI director may not have the legal maneuverability to question Trump over matters like the response to the infamous Trump Tower meeting in June 2016.

Nevertheless, Trump said publicly and recently that he would be happy to meet with Mueller and was looking forward to doing so while maintaining his claim that collusion never took place and there was nothing to hide from investigators.

"I am looking forward to it, actually," Trump told reporters last month. There has been no collusion whatsoever. There is no obstruction whatsoever. And I am looking forward to it."

This article was first written by Newsweek

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President Donald Trump has instructed government officials to start planning for a massive military parade to take place in Washington, D.C., sometime this year, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The Pentagon confirmed the Posts report on Tuesday. We are aware of the request and are looking at possible dates, Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers told reporters, according to NBC.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters Wednesday that the Pentagon is putting together some options for the parade, saying that it reflects Trumps respect and fondness for the military.

Trump, who has never served in the armed forces and avoided the Vietnam War draft on account of bone spurs, has long dreamed of showing off the United States military prowess in a large public display.

After he won the presidential election, Trumps staff confounded officials by asking the Pentagon to send photographs of military tactical vehicles that he might include in his inaugural parade.

Confronted with the potential image of tanks and missile launchers rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue, some worried it might resemble the massive military parades in North Korea, a source involved in inaugural preparations told HuffPost last year. They were also concerned that the heavy tanks could damage D.C. roads.

But the president appears to have had better luck with his vision the second time around.

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, a military official told the Post. This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

Trump attended a Bastille Day celebration in Paris last year as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron and reportedly walked away awestruck.

It was one of the greatest parades Ive ever seen, Trump, seated next to Macron, told reporters at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France.

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Were going to have to try to top it, he added.

Officials have yet to decide on a date for the parade, the Post reported, though Veterans Day on Nov. 11 is currently a strong contender. Trump has reportedly said he hopes the display would run along Pennsylvania Avenue and pass by Trump International Hotel.

This article has been updated with comments from Mattis.

Marina Fang contributed reporting.

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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
President Donald Trump has said he would love to see a government shutdown if his border demands are not met: AP

President Donald Trump has said he would love to see a shutdown if Democrats do not meet his demands for tighter border security.

Id love to see a shut down if we cant get this stuff taken care of, Mr Trump told reporters after a meeting with law-enforcement officials to discuss gang-related violence.

If we have to shut it down because the Democrats dont want safety, he added Lets shut it down.

While combative, Mr Trumps comments about how the US needs tighter border security measures or risk another shutdown appear to have little to do with the ongoing budget negotiations on Capitol Hill. The President has frequently been accused of making comments that are odds with Republican talking points.

On the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Senate leaders were confident about their prospects of avoiding a shutdown, sharply contrasting with the Presidents stark position.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he was optimistic that he would soon be able to reach a deal with Democrats.

Many legislators seem to have little appetite for a repeat of Januarys three-day government shutdown, which was largely the result of an impasse on immigration. Democrats had demanded that Republican leaders agree to the rough outlines of a measure that would provide protections for dreamers, the term given to undocumented migrants brought to the US as children.

The issue had been brought to the forefront of congressional matters after Mr Trump announced in September that he was rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme, the Obama-era policy that had granted dreamers deportation reprieves. The shutdown only ended after Mr McConnell promised to bring a DACA bill to the Senate floor for debate.

In budget negotiations this time around, many Senate Democrats seem to have put their immigration policy demands on the backburner for now, and a new budget deal appears to be taking shape.

Even though a deal has eluded us for months, negotiators are now making significant progress, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor. The Republican leader and I have been working together quite productively. We are closer to an agreement than we have ever been.

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But the House and Senate are expected to diverge on their short-term budget bills that would fund the government for another six weeks, slowing down the process. Both chambers of Congress must pass the same bill before it can head to the Presidents desk to be signed.

Mr Schumer and Mr Mitch McConnell intend to award whopping spending increases to both domestic federal programmes and the Pentagon. The House bill is not expected to include the same increases, and many House conservatives are likely to oppose raising nondefence spending.

Im for increasing defence, but then holding the line on non-defence, said Republican Representative Jim Jordan, according to The Hill.

This means House Speaker Paul Ryan could have to turn to Democrats to round up the votes needed to avert a shutdown.

While immigration may not be the main issue in this weeks budget talks, its not going away anytime soon.

DACA expires on March 5, and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has suggested that Mr Trump will not extend the deadline. This means that Congress has less than a month to pass a permanent legislative solution to the programme.

The immigration proposal the President recently offered to Congress has drawn strong opposition from Democrats, whose support is expected to be necessary for the Senate to pass a bill. Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority in the 100-member upper chamber, meaning an immigration bill would need the votes of nine Democrats  if Republicans play by the rules  to move forward.

Mr Trump has said he would grant about 1.8m dreamers legal status, including a path to citizenship  in exchange for increased enforcement, the construction of his long-promised border wall, and a restructuring of legal immigration channels that moves away from reuniting families and gives priority to higher-skilled immigrants.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration says that an ambassadorial nominee under scrutiny for sharing cuckoo conspiracy theories about the future presidents rivals in 2016 is qualified for the post in part because of his considerable marketing skills.

Leandro Rizzuto Jr. got the nod to be ambassador to Barbados and other Caribbean nations in January, but his confirmation has hit a snag after CNN unearthed evidence that the businessman promoted smears about other GOP contenders and even Sen. Ted Cruzs wife. On Tuesday, the office of Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., mocked Rizzuto as having a tinfoil hat and accused him of spreading salacious conspiracy theories and cuckoo allegations.

Cynics and nuts are probably going to have a hard time securing Senate confirmation, said Sasse spokesman James Wegmann.

Rizzutos apparent fondness for advancing fringe stories was understandably absent from the administrations formal description of why he is qualified for the job.

In a certificate of demonstrated competence  a document the State Department is required to share with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for each nominee  the administration lavishly praised Rizzutos business skills. The document highlights sales growth and patent development at corporations he has led, like Conair.

With Conair offices in Asia, Europe, Australia, and Latin America he had extensive international business experience, evaluating and analyzing markets and expanding global operations, the document says.

His demonstrated leadership in business and management and his considerable success in international marketing make him well-qualified to serve as U.S. Ambassador.

Trump and Leandro Rizzuto Jr. (Photos: Getty Images/YouTube  Salon.com)

Certificates of competency for political appointees tend to go a bit overboard in highlighting both business savvy and largely irrelevant biographical tidbits. President Barack Obamas choice to be ambassador to Norway was promoted as speaking conversational Greek. His pick to be ambassador to Hungary speaks conversational Spanish. Another Trump nominee was described in her certificate of competence as having written a cookbook. The Senate confirmed her as ambassador to France.

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So its not a major surprise to discover that one of Rizzutos qualifications to be the top U.S. diplomat in Barbados is that he created and published Style Source Magazine, the leader in beauty industry publications and distributed in six languages internationally.

Big donors and political figures can make fine American diplomats. A top Obama donor, former Yo Gabba Gabba! producer Charles Rivkin, served first as ambassador to France and later as assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, a post to which he won Senate confirmation in a 92-6 vote.

Its too early to judge Terry Branstads tenure as Trumps envoy to China, but no one seriously doubted that he had some relevant skills.

The former Iowa governor made frequent trips there and regularly welcomed officials from Beijing to the Hawkeye State as part of his efforts to boost his states exports. He notably hosted Xi Jinping in the 1980s, when the future Chinese president was merely a minor functionary.

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President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to put on a military parade to show off Americas military might. It will be similar to one Trump saw during his trip to France last July, and officials are working to make it happen later this year.

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, a military official told The Washington Post Tuesday. This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

Trump made the decision during a meeting at the Pentagon January 18, two officials told the Post. The planning process is in its infancy, Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers said Tuesday.

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Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

The president has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Tuesday.

President Trump is incredibly supportive of Americas great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe, she said.

Trump has long wanted a military parade in Washington, which hasnt seen a parade of this kind since the 1991 parade on Constitution Avenue to mark the end Operation Desert Storm in Iraq during the first Gulf Wara show of might that cost more than $8 million.

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A month after Trump won the 2016 election, the Presidential Inaugural Committee wrote to the Pentagon because it was seriously considering adding military vehicles to the Inaugural Parade, a Pentagon official wrote in an email obtained by The Huffington Post early last year. The military rebuffed the idea.

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After witnessing the Bastille Day parade, which features heavy artillery including tanks, during a trip to France last July, Trump said, It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen.

It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France, Trump continued. Were going to have to try to top it.

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Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters

Trump told French President Emmanuel Macron last September that he wanted a similar parade on the fourth of July. Yet the Pentagon is aiming to have the parade on Veterans Day, November 11, according to one military official who spoke with the Post, because it would mark 100 years since Americas victory in World War I.

News of the parade planning comes as the Pentagon has complained about a lack of stability in its budget as Republicans have continued to rely on a series of short-term spending bills while they seek a long-term deal on immigration with Democrats.

The Pentagon is still determining specific details about what the parade will look like, said Defense Department spokesman Thomas Crosson in a statement Tuesday.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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The Late Show With Stephen Colbert mocked Donald Trump's military record with a fake G.I. Joe toy named "Cadet Bonespurs." The toy was inspired by US military veteran and Senator Tammy Duckworth's response to Donald Trump in the wake of a speech he gave on Monday. Trump was upset that Democrats did not clap during his State of the Union address. In fact, Trump even joked that it was treasonous act. Senator Duckworth didn't find the joke as amusing and tweeted, "I swore an oathin the military and in the Senateto preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap." In support of Duckworth, The Late Show fashioned a Trump doll head onto a G.I. Joe body. They created a fake commercial to mock the president, who received 5 draft deferments during the Vietnam War. Including one deferment for alleged bone spurs in his heels. The commercials announcer described him saying, "He'd loved to charge bravely into battle. It's just that he has this thing with his heel which causes occasional minor foot pain." The announcer went on to claim, "It will be the greatest fun you ever had playing soldier, or in his case avoiding playing soldier to date models." This is not a real toy but after watching the fake commercial, maybe it should be?
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert mocked Donald Trumps military record with a fake G.I. Joe toy named Cadet Bonespurs. The toy was inspired by U.S. military veteran and Sen. Tammy Duckworths response to Donald Trump in the wake of a speech he gave on Monday.

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Trump was upset that Democrats did not clap during his State of the Union address. In fact, Trump even said it was a treasonous act, which he labeled as a joke. Sen. Duckworth didnt find the joke amusing and tweeted, I swore an oath  in the military and in the Senate  to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap.

In support of Duckworth, The Late Show fashioned a Trump doll head onto a G.I. Joe body. It created a fake commercial to mock the president, who received five draft deferments during the Vietnam War  including one for alleged bone spurs in his heels.

The commercials announcer described the toy saying, Hed loved to charge bravely into battle. Its just that he has this thing with his heel which causes occasional minor foot pain.

The announcer went on to claim, It will be the greatest fun you ever had playing soldier, or in his case, avoiding playing soldier to date models.

This is not a real toy, but after watching the fake commercial, maybe it should be?

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on CBS.

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Updated | Turkey has accused Kurdish forces of using chemical weapons against Syrian rebels trying to oust them from a northwestern enclave of control in Syria.

A Twitter account affiliated with Turkeys so-called Operation Olive Branch in Syria claimed Tuesday that forces affiliated with the Democratic Union Partya leading Syrian Kurdish political party that commands the armed and U.S.-backed Peoples Protection Units (YPG)fired a mortar shell containing toxic chlorine gas at Turkey-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) insurgents in northern Afrin, injuring up to 20. The Syrian military and rebels have both been accused of using chemical weapons throughout the nearly seven-year conflict, but such charges against the Kurds were rare.

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FSA elements were targeted by the terrorist PYD militia with a shell containing poisonous chlorine gas on the Sheikh Kharoz front north of Afrin, the account tweeted, accompanied by four images of what appeared to be men suffering from the alleged attack.

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Turkey has split with the U.S.a fellow Western military alliance NATO member over the Pentagons backing for Kurdish fighters alleged to have ties to the militant group known as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has launched attacks for decades in Turkey. Like Ankara, the U.S. entered the Syrian conflict in support of rebel groups such as the FSA that were trying to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, but CIA funding for the insurgents dwindled as they were overshadowed by more powerful and radical groups such as the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front and the Islamic State militant group (ISIS).

The U.S. invested more heavily in backing Kurdish fighters battling rapid ISIS advances across Syria and Iraq. In October 2015, the U.S. formed the Syrian Democratic Forces, a coalition of Arabs and ethnic minorities that has been dominated by the YPG.

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As the Syrian Democratic Forces defeated ISIS in northern Syria, Turkey has protested the Kurdish presence along its border with Syria and, last month, launched Operation Olive Branch to dislodge the YPG from the Aleppo district of Afrin, which borders Turkey. The U.S. has criticized the Turkish operation for impeding the task to eliminate ISIS, but has so far declined Kurdish calls for intervention.

Turkeys chlorine gas claims already have been reportedly challenged. Ragp Soylu, Washington correspondent for Turkeys Daily Sabah outlet, said on Twitter shortly after the news broke that local sources were claiming no chemical attack had occurred, but that the FSA fighters had been exposed to some form of smoke from another source.

The YPG then released a strongly-worded denial and suggested Turkey and its FSA allies were trying to "fabricate a cover for their fiasco in the north of Afrin" where the Turkish offensive has struggled to advance. The YPG claimed Turkish artillery actually shot chlorine gas-filled shells that ultimately poisoned the FSA as Kurdish fighters sought higher ground.

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SALEH ABO GHALOUN/AFP/Getty Images

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The Turkish reports came as activists and the Syrian opposition claimed the Syrian military has launched a chlorine gas attack against the last rebel-held province of Idlib and in a small, besieged pocket of control in eastern Ghouta, outside of Damascus. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, argued last week that Russia shared some blame because it looked the other way when its Syrian ally was accused of using chemical weapons.

Syrias acting charge daffaires to the U.N. Mounzer Mounzer denied the accusations and blamed Western support for various nonstate actors for introducing chemical attacks to Syria. He said Monday that the U.S., Britain and France bear full responsibility for obstructing the international investigation of the use of toxic chemical materials by covering the crimes of terrorist groups in Syria, according to the official Syrian Arab News Agency.

The Syrian military, backed by Russia and Iran, waged a separate, parallel offensive to defeat ISIS and declared victory over the jihadi group in November. Assad has regained most of the ground he lost to rebels and jihadis earlier in the war, but faced tough questions about Kurdish autonomy and Western calls for the Syrian leader to step down.

This story has been updated with additional information reported by Daily Sabah journalist Ragp Soylu and a statement by the YPG.

This article was first written by Newsweek

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ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A Turkish court on Wednesday sentenced 64 military academy officers and trainees to life in prison for involvement in a failed military coup in 2016, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

Another 100 defendants were acquitted in the case, it said.

Those sentenced were involved with plotters of the coup and had flown unsuspecting military academy trainees to a military headquarters to confront civilians opposing the attempted putsch, Anadolu said, citing the indictment.

Four of the sentenced were given "aggravated life" sentences, the harshest punishment possible under Turkish law because it raises the minimum required for parole. The four were found guilty of attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

More than 240 people, most of them unarmed civilians, were killed on the night of the July 15, 2016, when a group of rogue soldiers commandeered tanks and warplanes in an attempt to attack parliament and overthrow President Tayyip Erdogan.

Since the coup attempt, Erdogan has embarked on a sweeping crackdown, jailing some 50,000 people and sacking or suspending 150,000. Under the purge, Turkey shut down all of its military academies, schools that had been once seen as a pillar of the secular state.

The scope of the crackdown has alarmed European allies and rights groups, who fear Erdogan has used the coup as a pretext to quash dissent. Turkey says the measures are necessary, given the extent of the security threats it faces.

The government blames the network of Gulen, a former ally of Erdogan, for orchestrating the failed coup. Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied involvement and condemned the coup.

(Writing by Ali Kucukgocmen; Editing by Dominic Evans/David Dolan)
By Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States could consider ending a suspension of security assistance to Pakistan, if Islamabad takes "decisive and sustained" actions against militant groups in the country, the State Department's No. 2 official said on Tuesday. "We may consider lifting the suspension when we see decisive and sustained actions to address our concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory, without distinction," Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sullivan, however, told the committee the Trump administration has so far seen no evidence that Pakistan has met its demands for a crackdown on extremist groups operating on Pakistani territory. The U.S. government last month said it was suspending at least $900 million in security assistance to Pakistan until it takes action against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network militant groups. Pakistan has long rejected accusations that it fails to tackle militants battling the government in neighboring Afghanistan and U.S.-led foreign forces there, from sanctuaries on its side of the border. After Washington announced the aid suspension, Pakistan criticized what it called "shifting goalposts" and said the move was counter-productive. (Editing by Franklin Paul and David Gregorio)
By Brendan Pierson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Wednesday refused to overturn the conviction of a Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive at Turkey's majority state-owned Halkbank, on charges that he helped Iran evade U.S. sanctions.

U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan said the evidence against Atilla was "clearly sufficient" to support the Jan. 3 verdict. He said he could only overturn that verdict if the evidence were "nonexistent or so meager that no reasonable jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

Victor Rocco, a lawyer for Atilla, declined to comment. Atilla, who was convicted of five counts including bank fraud and conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions law, is scheduled to be sentenced by Berman on April 11.

Atilla's lawyers had moved for Berman to enter a verdict of not guilty during the trial, after the prosecutors finished presenting their evidence. Berman's ruling on Wednesday denied that motion.

Much of the testimony against Atilla during his four-week trial came from Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader who pleaded guilty to U.S. charges and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Zarrab told jurors that he masterminded a scheme to allow Iran to spend the proceeds of its oil and gas revenues abroad using fraudulent gold and food transactions through Halkbank, violating U.S. sanctions. He said Atilla helped design some of the transactions.

Atilla, testifying in his own defense at the trial, denied the accusations.

The case strained relations between the United States and Turkey, which are NATO allies, as Zarrab testified that he paid bribes to Turkish officials and that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, then prime minister, personally signed off on parts of the scheme.

Erdogan denounced the verdict at a Jan. 5 news conference.

"If this is the U.S. understanding of justice, then the world is doomed," Erdogan told a news conference before his departure to France for an official visit.

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The U.S. trial carried echoes of an investigation in Turkey in 2012 and 2013 that involved Zarrab and multiple government officials. One of the prosecutors' witnesses was a former Turkish police officer, Huseyin Korkmaz, who said he led that investigation.

The Turkish government has said that followers of the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen were behind both the Turkish investigation and the U.S. case, as well as the 2016 failed coup in Turkey. Gulen has denied the accusations.

(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; editing by Clive McKeef)
The wedding of Princess Mako, the eldest granddaughter of Emperor Akihito, and her college sweetheart will be postponed until 2020 due to lack of "sufficient preparations", news reports said Tuesday.

Mako and Kei Komuro, both 26, had been scheduled to become formally engaged in a traditional court ceremony next month before their wedding on November 4.

But the couple have decided there was not enough time to make "sufficient preparations", Mako said in a statement quoted by Jiji Press.

They have already informed the emperor and empress that their wedding-related ceremonies will be delayed until 2020, since the imperial family's schedule will be tight next year as Akihito abdicates, Jiji said.

"I'm very sorry for causing a big trouble and extra burden to those who have sincerely helped our wedding," Mako said.

An imperial household agency official said the couple still want to get married and denied any connection between the postponement and a recent magazine article about alleged money trouble involving the fiance's mother, Jiji reported.

The emperor shocked the nation in 2016 when he signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades in the job, citing age and health problems.

He will leave the post on April 30, 2019 -- the first time for more than two centuries that a Japanese emperor has stepped down.

Akihito's eldest son, 57-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito, is set to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne a day later.

Mako is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino, Naruhito's brother, and Princess Kiko.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has said he does not expect President Trump to extend the Daca deadline: Getty Images

President Donald Trump is not expected to extend the March 5 deadline when work permits begin expiring young immigrants known as dreamers, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has suggested.

I doubt very much that Mr Trump would extend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, Mr Kelly told reporters on Capitol Hill, according to the Washington Post.

He added that he was not so sure this president has the authority to extend it because the original programme protecting the immigrants was not based on law  a proposition that has been disputed by Democrats as well as Supreme Court justices.

An idea that has floated around the Capitol is that legislators come up a short-term legislative patch for DACA as they negotiate a longer-term solution  a proposal that Mr Kelly said he would not recommend.

What makes them act is pressure, Mr Kelly said of Congress.

Under DACA, Dreamers were able to apply to defer deportation and legally reside in the US for two years. After that, they could apply for renewal.

But Mr Trump rescinded the Obama-era programme in September, throwing the futures of nearly 700,000 young immigrants  many of whom have known no other home than the US - into uncertainty. A federal court last month ordered the Department of Homeland Security to continue accepting applications for DACA, leading some to believe that Congress would have more time to resolve the issue. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is currently appealing against the court ruling.

Mr Trump has called on Congress to come up with legislation to allow Dreamers to stay in America. But immigration has been a difficult issue for Congress, with former President Barack Obama having implemented DACA after a lack of action on immigration reform. Republicans called the policy a breach of Mr Obamas executive authority.

Last month, to end a three-day government shutdown over an impasse on an elusive deal to protect Dreamers, Senate Majority Leader McConnell promised to take up an immigration bill if senators failed to reach an agreement on the matter by February 8.

Story continues

Now  with that deadline quickly approaching and no immigration deal on the horizon  it appears that Mr McConnell may have to make good on his promise. The issue has been further complicated by the fact that DACA work permits expire in less than a month.

The immigration proposal the President recently offered to Congress has drawn strong opposition from Democrats, whose support is expected to be necessary for the Senate to pass a bill. Republicans hold a slim 51-49 majority in the 100-member upper chamber, meaning an immigration bill would need the votes of nine Democrats  if Republicans play by the rules  to move forward.

Mr Trump has said he would grant about 1.8 million dreamers legal status, including a path to citizenship  in exc,hange for increased enforcement, the construction of his long-promised border wall, and a restructuring of legal immigration channels that moves away from reuniting families and gives priority to higher-skilled immigrants.

Mr Kelly called this a generous offer because it would protect far more than the 690,000 Dreamers currently enrolled in DACA.

The difference between [690,000] and 1.8 million were the people that some would say were too afraid to sign up, others would say were too lazy to get off their asses but they didnt sign up, Mr Kelly said, according to Politico. Thats beyond what anyone could have imagined, whether youre on the right or the left.

Mr Kelly also said Dreamers would not a priority for deportations if their protections lapse and Congress fails to pass a legislative solution.

Along with Democrats, some Republicans are sceptical of Mr Trumps proposal.

The White House has also already rejected a new plan from Senator John McCain, a Republican, and Senator Christopher Coons, a Democrat, that would grant permanent legal status to dreamers and bolster security along the USs southern border. But the new legislation does not provide for the $25bn to $30bn that Mr Trump and conservative Republicans want for border security construction projects.

Mr Trump continued to market his plan on Tuesday, tweeting that nearly 7 in 10 Americans support an immigration reform package that includes DACA, fully secures the border, ends chain migration & cancels the visa lottery. If Ds oppose this deal, they arent serious about DACA-they just want open borders.

In a separate tweet, Mr Trump said that We need a 21st century MERIT-BASED immigration system

Mr Trump continued to market his plan on Tuesday, tweeting that nearly 7 in 10 Americans support an immigration reform package that includes DACA, fully secures the border, ends chain migration & cancels the visa lottery. If Ds oppose this deal, they arent serious about DACA-they just want open borders.

In a separate tweet, Mr Trump said We need a 21st century MERIT-BASED immigration system, adding that the current family-based legal immigration programmes and the diversity visa lottery system are outdated programmes that hurt our economic and national security.
Ivanka Trump will lead the U.S. presidential delegation at the Winter Olympics closing ceremony in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The Olympic Games will be held from February 9 to 25.

A White House official told CNN that Trump, who is an unpaid senior advisor to President Donald Trump, was asked to attend by her father and the United States Olympic Committee. She is also planning to attend some of the competitions in which the U.S. is participating.

The president's daughter has had a busy travel schedule in the past year. She traveled to Japan, where she delivered a speech on womens empowerment, and to India, where she discussed women's rights and economic empowerment at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit. She attended the G20 summit in Germany in July, and briefly sat in for her father.

Last month, Trump tweeted her excitement for the upcoming Olympic Games.

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Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence are leading the delegation in the opening ceremony of the Olympics. According to the Associated Press, the Pences arrived in Japan on Tuesday.

Freeskier Gus Kenworthy  one of the first openly gay male athletes to represent the U.S. in the Winter Olympics  criticized the choice of vice president Pence to lead the delegation given his record on LGBTQ rights.

[Pence] seems like such a strange choice, Kenworthy said Monday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

To have somebody leading the delegation thats directly attacked the LGBTQ community, and a Cabinet in general that just sort of stands against us and has tried to do things to set us back; it just seems like a bad fit, Kenworthy told DeGeneres.

The White House official told CNN that additional members of the delegation will be announced in the next few days.

During the trip, Pence will also "reaffirm to the leaders of Japan and South Korea the United States unwavering commitment to our allies and to deter and defend against the North Korean threat," according to the White House. His efforts come against a backdrop of nuclear tension in the region, but the two Koreas are in diplomatic talks  which is a big progress  and have agreed to march together in the opening ceremony.

Story continues

We reached out to Ivanka Trump's office at the White House and will update this story when we hear back.

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Yara Shahidi graced the Build Series stage in New York on Feb. 6 with her brilliance and beauty to promote Grown-ish, a college-set spinoff of the popular ABC series Black-ish. Like her onscreen character, Zoey, the 17-year-old actress and advocate is off to higher learning at Harvard. No big deal, right?

Armed with the support of former first lady Michelle Obama, a solid foundation nurtured by her parents, and an unfiltered glimpse into real-life college experiences via Freeforms Grown-ish, Shahidi will no doubt settle into the Ivy League school quite nicely after her gap year.

If we could go back in time and relive our uni days, wed definitely want to share close quarters with Shahidi. But when the bright young star revealed her dream college roommate, we were stunned she didnt suggest fellow Harvard student Malia Obama.

I would choose James Baldwin just because itll be really useful when writing essays to turn over him and say, So can you give me a quote to work with? cause I feel like thats what I do anyway, she says.

If you follow Shahidi on Instagram, youll know that she is a huge fan of the essayist, novelist, and playwright. She considers Baldwin to be one of her idols, and her obsession is evident with her collection of Baldwin-themed pillows, tees, candles, as well as a signed copy of Go Tell It on the Mountain.

Dont worry. We wont take it personally that youd pick rooming with Baldwin over us.

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Religious female soldiers are reporting that they have been receiving text messages from an unknown number advising them to download the new booklet by Rabbi Yigal Levinstein, arguing against incorporating women in the IDF.

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Dozens of soldiers have turned to Aluma, an organization that assists religious women with a meaningful military service, and complained of receiving similar texts.

The soldiers said a link to download the teachings of the rabbiwho heads the Eli pre-military academyon the subject of "How the perception of gender disintegrates the people's army," was sent to their phones without them requesting to be added to any mailing list, which is against the law.





Religious female soldiers

It was not immediately clear whether the texts were sent to them specifically as soldiers or whether their information existed in a general database of religious young women who may be interested in the teachings of Rabbi Levinstein.

Bnei Dovid, the pre-military academy in Eli where the rabbi teaches, denied any connection to the messages. Either way, the women felt harassed by the incident.

'The army has adopted radical feminism'

In the newly released booklet by Rabbi Levinstein, he expounded on his views on feminism and post-modern ideals and critiqued them, along with criticism of the IDF.

"The IDF is undergoing a process, to which unfortunately the army brass is a partner, of assimilating an agenda of blurring gender, a product of radical feminism which aims to eradicate Judaism," argued the rabbi.

Rabbi Levinstein

"If these ideas were not explicitly written, we would surely have considered them to be urban legends, " added the rabbi. "But official IDF documents show that it has chosen to adopt a radical agenda and integrate it into the ranks."

According to Levinstein, when the matter at hand was controversial among the general public, and not strictly related to national security, it constituted a serious digression from the IDF's authority vis-a-vis the general population.

Army as partner to the feminist revolution

The rabbi referred to an official IDF document from two years ago that explained the name change of the IDF chief of staff's women's affairs adviser to "adviser on gender" as the smoking gun that proves the IDF was a "partner in the new feminist revolution" and a partner in re-education.

Levinstein believed that the IDF was implanting a radical worldview among soldiers and working to revolutionize the face of society. He concluded that, "This issue goes far beyond religious soldiers.

"To this day, the religious Zionist public has dealt mainly with the question of the effect of coed service on the religious soldier... But the deeper process that exists here is the assimilation of an agenda that blurs gender and identity, from the school of radical feminism that seeks to erase identities, and this is already a much more problematic process for the entire Israeli society."

Illustration. The Chotam NGO said women should volunteer for national service rather than join the army

Following Ynet's publication, the Chotam organization (dedicated to restoring Judaism to the center of public agendaed) took responsibility for sending the messages, and said in response: "A significant contribution of the religious women in the State of Israel can be found within the framework of national service.

"An army aims to win a battle and use tremendous physical force. As a result, an absolute majority of religious girls turn to a more appropriate framework for their spiritual and moral being. The Chotam organization will continue to act and advance its goal: allowing the IDF to win."

The Israel Women's Network NGO commented on the matter, saying, "It is appalling that every week, medieval minded rabbis, who receive salaries and funding from the state, trample its institutions and nothing is done about them.

"It is inconceivable that IDF soldiers who devote years of their lives to compulsory serviceand even endanger their lives while servingact as the punching bag of an extremist group that seeks to obtain political power at their expense. We call upon the chief of staff to set up an inquiry committee to find out how the senders obtained the private phone numbers of IDF soldiers."
A former Palestinian intelligence chief and the head of the West Bank bar association are suing the Palestinian self-rule government after a purported whistleblower alleged the two were targeted, along with many other allies and rivals of President Mahmoud Abbas, in a large-scale CIA-backed wiretapping operation.

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Allegations of continued intelligence-sharing with the United States could prove embarrassing for Abbas, who has been on a political collision course with Washington since President Donald Trump's recognition in December of the contested city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

The claims are contained in a 37-page anonymous document that was been shared widely among Palestinians, mostly on WhatsApp. The document alleges that three of the Palestinian security services set up a joint electronic surveillance unit in mid-2014 and monitored the phone calls of thousands of Palestinians, from senior figures in militant groups to judges, lawyers, civic leaders and political allies of Abbas.

PA President Abbas's government allegedly conducted a wire-tapping operation with the CIA (Photo: Reuters)

The author describes himself as a former member of the surveillance unit who quit "this dirty job" several months ago because of his growing opposition to the Palestinian government's practices, including intelligence-sharing with the United States. He wrote that Trump's policy shift on Jerusalem provided another impetus to go public.

Bar association head Jawad Obeidat told The Associated Press on Monday that transcripts of his phone conversations, as published in the document, were accurate.

"I made these phone calls and this is evidence that the leaked report is true," said Obeidat, who spearheaded recent protests by lawyers after one of them was arrested from a court room during a legal case against the government. "This is a blatant violation of human rights," he said.

Tawfiq Tirawi, an outspoken Abbas critic and West Bank intelligence chief from 1994 to 2008, said he checked with his contacts and believes the document is authentic.

The CIA declined comment.

PA: Document part of plot

In mid-January, when the document first surfaced, Palestinian security services said in a joint statement that it was part of a "plot" seeking to harm the political and security establishments.

Adnan Damiri, the spokesman of the security services, dismissed the document Monday as "nonsense."

The allegations come at a low point in Palestinian relations with the United States, following Trump's policy pivot on Jerusalem, whose Israeli-annexed eastern sector the Palestinians seek as a future capital.





The CIA was allegedly involved in the wire-tapping operation (Photo: EPA)

Abbas said at the time that he was suspending contacts with US officials dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The US shift on Jerusalem angered many Palestinians, and in this context, allegations of continued intelligence-sharing with the US could pose a domestic political problem for Abbas.

The 82-year-old has also faced pushback from critics who say his rule has become increasingly authoritarian.

Elected in 2005, Abbas has ruled by decree since 2007, when the Islamic militant Hamas overran Gaza, leaving him with autonomous enclaves in the West Bank. The territorial split and deep animosity between the Abbas- and Hamas-led camps paralyzed political institutions, including parliament, and prevented new elections.

Last week, Tirawi and Obeidat filed a complaint over the alleged wire-tapping against the Palestinian self-rule government, calling for a criminal investigation. The lawsuit asked that those who ordered the monitoring of their phones be punished and demanded an end to all wiretapping as a violation of privacy.

The PA's cabinet (Photo: Reuters)

Attorney General Ahmed Barrak confirmed that he received the complaint, but declined further comment.

Separately, the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq demanded an investigation of the extent of the wiretapping and an explanation from the government. The head of Al-Haq, Shahwan Jabareen, said he has not received a response from the attorney general or the office of Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

Jabareen said an investigation must determine if the wiretapping went beyond monitoring militants who pose an immediate security threat. If the bar association was targeted, he said, the government might also be spying on other civil society organizations and ordinary people. "We are not against security, but it has to be legal," he said.

The document alleged that thousands of phones are being monitored without legal authorization, including those of leaders and senior operatives in Hamas, the militant group Islamic Jihad and other factions.

Supporters of Abba's exiled rival Mohammed Dahlan were allegedly targeted by the wire-tapping (Photo: AP)

Others being monitored include members of Abbas' inner circle, such as the No. 2 in his Fatah movement and members of the decision-making body of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the document said. Abbas rivals are also on the list, including the family of imprisoned uprising leader Marwan Barghouti and supporters of Abbas' former top aide-turned-nemesis, the exiled Mohammed Dahlan , according to the document.

It said that in 2013, the then-head of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service asked the CIA for help with wiretapping and that the CIA agreed, in exchange for oversight.

The document said the equipment was provided by ISS World, a company based in Virginia.

Jerry Lucas, the president of the ISS World parent company, TeleStrategies, declined comment when contacted by email Monday by The Associated Press.

The document said members of the Palestinian surveillance unit were trained on the new equipment on the sidelines of an ISS World conference in Dubai.

The document included a copy of an invitation letter purportedly issued by TeleStrategies to two senior Palestinian security officers to attend an "ISS World Middle East Intelligence Support Systems Conference" at the Dubai Marriott from March 3-5, 2014. The date and venue of the conference in the invitation match those on the ISS website.

Palestinian security officials acknowledged in the past, in private conservations, that they were engaged in domestic phone monitoring and other types of surveillance, going back to the 1990s.

However, the latest allegations, if confirmed, suggest spying has become more sophisticated and broader in scope.
A security guard was very lightly wounded Wednesday morning in a stabbing attack in the settlement of Karmei Tzur in Gush Etzion.

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The terrorist arrived at the settlement by car early Wednesday, opened the door of the security post, and attacked one of the guards in his hand.

Another security guard opened fire and killed the terrorist, who was identified by Palestinian security sources as Hamza Zamareh, 17, from Halhul, which is not far from the scene of the attack.

Knife used by the terrorist

IDF forces that arrived at the scene launched a search for possible accomplices.

Palestinians said Israeli troops arrived at the Zamareh family home shortly after the attack and began interrogating relatives, while Palestinians hurled stones at the soldiers. One of the rioters was arrested.

The wounded guard, Boris Balbrava, 36, from Karmei Tzur, was taken to the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem's Ein Karem for treatment.

Boris Balbrava

"The security guard got to us after having tried to fight off the terrorist in close hand-to-hand combat," said Prof. Mosheiff Ram, the head of the Orthopedic Trauma Center at Hadassah."The terrorist stab him in his palm... I'm optimistic about the palm, but we're looking into it."

Balbrava began working as the settlement's security guard two weeks ago.

The security post where the attack took place

Tensions have risen in the West Bank since US President Donald Trump's December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. His declaration overturned decades of US policy that its status should be decided in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian officials say two Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded in clashes overnight with Israeli soldiers conducting searches for Abed al-Karim Adel Assi, the terrorist who fatally stabbed Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal at the entrance to Ariel on Monday.

"During the activity, a violent riot was instigated as approximately 500 Palestinians hurled rocks, fire bombs and explosive devices and fired live rounds at IDF soldiers, and in addition the rioters built rock barriers," the IDF said.

The troops responded with riot dispersal means and fired warning shots in the air.

The Palestinian Health Ministry put the number of Palestinians wounded at 29.

Adel Assi was not apprehended in the operation, but seven people were detained for questioning.
Israel reportedly attacked a Syrian military post on the outskirts of Damascus early Wednesday, the Syrian army said, adding its air defense system destroyed most of the Israeli missiles.

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The Syrian army said Israeli fighter jets fired a number of rockets from Lebanese airspace at 3:42am, targeting an army position.

The Syrian air defense system responded to "new aggression by Israel," according to a report on Syrian state media.

File photo

"The general command of the armed forces holds Israel fully responsible for the dangerous consequences for its repeated, aggressive and uncalculated adventures," the army statement said, without giving any details of damage or casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said the missiles targeted "positions of the Syrian army and its allies" in the region of Jamraya, west of Damascus, which was attacked in the past.

Israel has been waging a campaign in recent years to prevent the transfer of advanced arms from Iran through Syria to Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as to stop Tehran from establishing a military presence in Syria.

Israeli aircraft have reportedly carried out nearly 100 attacks in Syria, targeting weapons convoys and depots. Israel confirmed some of these reports.

Wednesday's report was the second such accusation in less than a month. Syria's military on January 9 accused Israel of launching missiles targeting military outposts in the area of Qutayfeh, in the Damascus countryside. The military said that attack caused material damage.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of the Security Cabinet toured the Syrian border on the Golan Heights on Tuesday. "We desire peace, but remain prepared for any scenario, and I don't propose to anyone to test that resolve," Netanyahu said at the tour's conclusion.

Last week, Netanyahu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Syria, telling his Russian ally that Israel would not hesitate to attack to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria.

We are now on the cusp of a watershed moment of whether Iran will entrench itself there or if the process will be stopped. I told Putin that if it isnt stopped by itself, we will act to stop it. In practice, were already operating, Netanyahu told journalists after the meeting.






TOKYO - US Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday Washington would stand with its allies and not waver from its goal of denuclearizing North Korea.

Pence is in Tokyo on his way to the Winter Olympics in South Korea and was speaking at the start of talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His talks with Abe were expected to showcase the US-Japan security alliance in the face of the threat from Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.

"The United States is with you in this challenge," Pence told Abe as they began their bilateral talks. "And we will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Japan, the people of South Korea, and our allies and partners across the region until we achieve the global objective of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula."
NEW YORK - A New York City man was sentenced to 18 years in prison on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to aid Islamic State and assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.

Munther Omar Saleh, 22, was sentenced by US District Judge Margo Brodie in Brooklyn, according to John Marzulli, a spokesman for federal prosecutors.

"Mr. Saleh is sincerely remorseful," said Saleh's lawyer, Deborah Colson. "He is relieved to have put this behind him and he is ready to make amends."

Saleh, a resident of the New York City borough of Queens and a US citizen, pleaded guilty in February 2017. He admitted that in 2015 he helped New Jersey resident Nader Saadeh with his travel and accompanied him to John F. Kennedy International Airport for a flight to Jordan, where Saadeh was subsequently detained.

Saadeh has pleaded guilty to charges of conspiring to help Islamic State but has yet to be sentenced.
The ebanese newspaper al-Ahbar reported that US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Lebanon this month as part of a regional visit. Western diplomats in Beirut said that Tillerson's visit will focus on the Lebanese parliament elections due to take place this May, as well as the matter of territorial and maritime boundaries between Lebanon and Israel; with the goal of calming the recent tensions regarding Israel's building a wall on the Lebanese border and Minister of Defense Lieberman's statements regarding Israeli sovereignty over "block 9" of Lebanese economic maritime zone.
Poland's president on Tuesday signed legislation that outlaws blaming Poland as a nation for Holocaust crimes committed by Nazi Germany, defying both criticism from Israel and a warning from the US.

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But in a move that appeared designed to soften the impact of his decision, President Andrzej Duda said he would also ask Poland's constitutional court to evaluate the billleaving open the possibility it could be amended.

As written, the legislation calls for prison terms of up to three years for falsely attributing the crimes of Nazi Germany to Poland. The law takes effect 14 days after it's officially published, but it wasn't immediately clear when that will be.

Polish President Andzrej Duda (Photo: Reuters)

Poland's authorities have described it as an attempt to protect the country's reputation from what it believes is confusion about who bears responsibility for Auschwitz and other death camps Nazi Germany set up in occupied Poland. They say it was modeled on anti-defamation laws in many other countries, including laws criminalizing Holocaust denial.

The proposed law has fueled a diplomatic crisis with Israel, which fears it would stifle discussion about the Holocaust and enable Poland to whitewash the role of the Poles who killed or denounced Jews during the German occupation of Poland during World War II.

Israel's Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it would continue to communicate with Poland despite its reservations about the law. It said it hopes Duda's decision to ask the constitutional court to evaluate the bill will allow both sides to "agree on changes and corrections."

Polish Deputy Ambassador to Israel (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

That language seemed more conciliatory than earlier statements, suggesting the sides are seeking compromise.

Duda acknowledged there were doubts about the legislation's intent, leading some observers to interpret his request for a constitutional review as a way to save face while calming the storm.

But critics say it was a diversionary tactic.

Slawomir Neumann of the centrist Civic Platform party accused Duda of giving in to the pressure of nationalists and anti-Semites and said his signing "deepens the diplomatic crisis."

Neumann, head of the party's parliamentary caucus, also described the constitutional court as a body without independence that will rule as the governing party wants.

The United States also strongly opposed the legislation, warning that it could hurt Poland's strategic relations with both Israel and the US.

After Duda signed it, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the new law "adversely affects freedom of speech and academic inquiry."

Holocaust scholars and institutions strongly denounced the law as well, arguing that its unclear wording created the potential for abuse. Polish officials note that a provision in the law exempts historic research and works of art.

Polish officials have long argued a Holocaust speech law is needed to fight the use of expressions like "Polish death camps" as shorthand for the German camps in Nazi-occupied Poland where Jews and others were exterminated.





Polish parliament (Photo: EPA)

Secretary of State Tillerson said that while "terms like 'Polish death camps' are painful and misleading," they are best countered through "open debate, scholarship, and education."

Defending the law, Duda said it would not prohibit Holocaust survivors and witnesses from talking about crimes committed by individual Poles.

"We do not deny that there were cases of huge wickedness," he said in a speech.

But he said the point of the law is to prevent the Polish nation as a whole from being wrongly accused of institutionalized participation in the Holocaust. He recalled that the Polish government at the time had to go into exile and Polish officials were those who struggled to inform the world that the Germans were putting Jews to death on Polish soil.

"No, there was no systemic way in which Poles took part in it," Duda said.





Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki (Photo: Getty Images)

The legislation hasn't only sparked a bitter dispute with Israel. It also has caused division within Poland, where anti-Semitic rhetoric moved quickly from the political fringes into the mainstream over just a few days.

Beata Mazurek, the spokeswoman for the conservative Law and Justice and a deputy parliament speaker, tweeted a quote by a Catholic priest who had said that the Israeli ambassador's criticism of the bill "made it hard for me to look at Jews with sympathy and kindness."





Many conservative lawmakers and commentators are now accusing Israelis and American Jews of using the issue as a pretext for getting money from Poland for prewar Jewish property seized in the communist era.

Jerzy Czerwinski, a senator with the ruling party, said on state radio Monday that he saw a "hidden agenda" in the opposition.

"After all, we know that Jewish circles, including American, but mostly the state of Israel, are trying to get restitution of property or at least compensation," he said.

On Monday evening, a small group of far-right advocates demonstrated in front of the presidential palace demanding that Duda sign the law. They carried a banner that said, "Take off your yarmulke. Sign the bill."

Far right protest (Photo: EPA)

The bill first was proposed about two years ago, soon after Law and Justice took power in 2015, but hadn't been an issue of public debate recently. Many people were surprised when lawmakers suddenly approved it on Jan. 26, the day before International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Jan Grabowski, a historian at the University of Ottawa in Canada who studies Polish violence against Jews during the war, called Duda's signing of the law "further proof that the nationalists now in power in Poland will do anything to cater to the hard, right-wing core of their electorate."

"Unfortunately, it is not only the nationalists but also the whole Polish society which will have to pay the price," said Grabowski, who is also a member of the Polish Center for Holocaust Research in Warsaw.
The winds of war, which began blowing several weeks ago, have raised the level of restlessness among the Israeli public. At first, there were warnings of a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip which could lead to an escalation in the south, and then Israel warned that Lebanon could be destroyed over the precision-guided missile factories that Iran is trying to build there for Hezbollah.

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These are not empty warnings, and the IDF is making hectic and real preparations to deal with the different lines of escalation, but war isnt at our doorstep just yet, at least according to all the relevant sources in the defense establishment and the intelligence community. This is also what IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gadi Eisenkot said earlier this week to the ministers of the government he is subject to by law.

A security source told Ynet, We are hearing the sounds of war in the north and in the south, the situation is explosive, but we are doing everything in our power to prevent a war, and we arent any closer to war than we were a month or two ago.

Iranian militias members in Syria. They havent reached the Israeli border yet

This statement summarizes in one sentence the current reality, in which the Israeli intelligence community recently detected the emergence of serious strategic threats to Israel by Iran, Hezbollah, Syria, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Some of these threats are new, and some we are already familiar with. To prevent these threats from materializing, Israels diplomatic and military system was enlisted for a concentrated diplomatic-PR effort to deter the threatening elements and use international leverages of influence against them (like Russian President Vladimir Putin, for example). Thats, briefly, the whole story.

There are still no Shiite militia fighters near the Golan Heights border, Hezbollah doesnt have a considerable number of precision-guided missiles yet, and there are no Iranian factories for improving the accuracy level of surface-to-surface missiles and rocketsneither in Syria nor in Lebanon. There are, however, preparations and attempts by the Iranian Quds Force and Hezbollah to build such a factory in Lebanon, after a similar factory was destroyed in a bombing in Syria . The Iranians believe Israel wont dare strike in Lebanon for fear Hezbollah will respond by firing missiles and lead to war.

The Iranian factory before it was destroyed. Iran is trying to build a new one in Lebanon

The Iranians and Hezbollah believe Israel is afraid of such a war because of the destruction it could cause on the home front. They believe there is mutual deterrence between Israel and Hezbollah, which allows them to fearlessly build the missile accuracy improvement factories in Lebanon.

Israels political-security establishment, however, is making it clear to the Iranians and Hezbollah that their assessment is wrong: We have red lines, and if precision missile factories are built in Lebanon, or if we detect Shiite militias in the Syrian Golan Heights, well act to remove the threat without any hesitations, even if this leads to an escalation and war. If there is an escalation, well act immediately, with full force. Unlike you, Israel is already prepared, right now, to defend itself with offensive and defensive means, and your side stands to suffer from the results of that war, much more than Israel would suffer. So you better think very carefully if you want Lebanon to return to the Stone Age for the sake of a precision-improvement factory.

These messages were intensively conveyed by Israel on a variety of channels, in a letter published by the IDF spokesperson in Arab media outlets, as well as in Defense Minister Avigdor Liebermans speeches and in a meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Russian President Putin.

Netanyahu and Putin. Messages relayed through Russia as well (Photo: EPA)

There are quite a few signs that Iran and Hezbollah are taking Israels threatening messages seriously, and there are a few good reasons for that: In May, Lebanon will hold general elections; Hezbollah, which is currently running the Lebanese state, could suffer a political loss if it is defeated and Lebanon is ruined as a result of a war in Israel. The Sunni prime minister, Saad Hariri, whose resignation was rejected by Hezbollah, will make sure the next elections arent held on the ruins of Lebanons infrastrctures. Furthermore, Hezbollah has yet to return the fighters from its elite units from Syria.

The Iranians, even the Revolutionary Guards and the radical conservatives, cant afford a war in Lebanon now. In light of the grave economic situation of large parts of the Iranian population, which has sent dozens of protestors to the streets, supreme leader Ali Khamenei will think twice before giving Hezbollah the green light to escalate the situation. He knows Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah will demand that he fund Lebanons reconstruction, just like he did after the Second Lebanon War.

Hariri will make sure that the next elections arent held on Lebanons ruins (Photo: AP)

The Iranians are now focused on expanding their presence and influence in Syria as a regional power. A war in the north could thwart the achievements they have made so far. Furthermore, they want to gain from rebuilding Syria, and a war in Lebanon would thwart that too.

The Kremlin is also interested in maintaining the quiet in Syria and Lebanon. Russia wishes to maintain stability and bring about a political arrangement in Syria, which would serve Putins economic and strategic interests in light of the upcoming elections he is facing in March.

All the restraining elements on the northern front are faced by only one semi-explosive element in the regionthe obstacle being built by Israel on the Lebanon border . It is made up of two segments of walls, 5-7 kilometers long and 9 meters high, one in the western area and one in the Misgav Am area. Their purpose is to prevent Hezbollahs special force from directly attacking Israeli communities near the border in those areas in an attempt to occupy them for a limited period of time and gain a perceptual victory.

Putin seeks to maintain stability in Syria ahead of the Russian elections in March (Photo: MCT)

The Defense Ministry is building the wall segments on Israeli sovereign territory, on the Blue Line, which has been approved by the United Nations as the border. But the Lebanese army, inspired by Hezbollah, argued in a complaint submitted to the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) that Israel was building the obstacle on disputed territory. Israel made it clear to UNIFIL and to the Lebanese army that it would keep building the obstacle regardless of the unjustified Lebanese claims. IDF officials believe the Lebanese army may try to disrupt the work by firing at the area and that Hezbollah may plant explosive devices there.

A highly explosive threat in Gaza

While the Iran-Hezbollah threat is considered by the defense establishment as the most serious threat to Israel at the moment, the Palestinian threatthe Gazan threat, to be exactis considered highly explosive. In other words, it has the highest likelihood of materializing and leading to war.

The obstacle on the northern border. The only semi-explosive element in the region (Photo: Avihu Shapira)

This is more or less what Eisenkot told the government ministers during his briefing. He recommended that Israel make an effort to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Ynet reported that the chief of staff made a distinction between Gazas reconstructionan extensive, strategic move which Eisenkot believes should be made only after Hamas returns to bodies of IDF fighters Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul and humanitarian aidaimed at preventing an extensive humanitarian disaster among the strips residents, which Israel would have to deal with, and which the world would hold Israel accountable for.

Such a disaster could lead to escalation, either when Hamas reaches the conclusion that it has nothing to lose or when thousands of Gazans run to the fences separating the strip from the Israeli border communities and cross them in a desperate attempt to solve their distress. The IDF would have to stop them, there will be casualties, and we would find ourselves in a war that could possibly expand to the north. Defense Minister Lieberman has already hinted that Hamas is making attempts to establish terror infrastructure in the north, and Hezbollah could join the fighting alongside the Palestinians in case of a high death toll in Gaza.

Riots near Gaza border fence, Thousands Of Gazans could run to the fences in case of a humanitarian disaster (Photo: AFP)

Granted, Hamas and Islamic Jihad have no interest in an escalation at this time. Having no ally and external financial and political support, they know the next war with Israel could bring their rule in the strip to an end. Furthermore, they are unprepared for such a battle militarily and know they are losing their infiltration tunnels. There are signs that Hamas has come to an understanding that the cross-border tunnel affair is over. Having said that, they still have rockets, quadcopters and UAVs and special forces, which could inflict death and destruction in the Israeli border communities, disrupt the Israeli routine and damage infrastrcture.

Hamas understands that the IDF would enter the strip and hopes to claim a bloody price from the Israeli army and have Nuhba fighters come out of tunnels within the strip and kidnap soldiers. In those tunnels, Hamas is also sheltering the rockets and mortar shells, which they will keep firing at Israel as long as the tunnels arent destroyed.

The Gazan threat allegedly seems far, but it is more likely to materialize than the northern threat. The IDFs Intelligence Directorate has warned, therefore, that the explosive potential in 2018 is higher than in the previous yearthats all. So in the meantime, we can stop stressing out but make sure that our shelters are in order.
The Nazareth District Court sentenced a resident of the village of Ghajar to 14 years in prison after he was convicted of smuggling explosives from Hezbollah into Israel in order to carry out an attack.

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The plot was foiled after the defendant, Diab Kahamuz, had forgotten where he had hidden the explosives, which were later discovered by an Israeli farmer.

Kahamuz was also ordered to pay a NIS 120,000 fine.

Diab Kahamuz, in the top right-hand corner, with his accomplices

While he was acquitted of espionage charges, Kahamuz was convicted of aiding an enemy during wartime, having contact with a foreign agent, weapons offenses and conspiring to commit a crime.

Kahamuz is the son of Saeb Kahamuz, a drug dealer and Hezbollah member who escaped to Lebanon during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Saeb allegedly contacted his son using encrypted emails, suggesting that Diab used his drug smuggling infrastructure to smuggle explosives from Lebanon into Israel. The senior Kahamuz also told his son how to directly contact Hezbollah operatives.

Among Diab's accomplices are his two brothersJamil and Yussef Kahamuz, their cousin Mohssan Kahamuz and two other residents of GhajarAdal Ayunat and Ibrahim Mamdouh.

Jamil and Yussef Kahamuz and other accomplices were sentenced to prison terms ranging between two to three years.

On July 30, a farmer from the northern city of Metula found a bag containing two explosive devices in a grove near Highway 90. Explosives experts who examined the two bombs, which had delay fuses and were found to be very powerful, determined they were made by Hezbollah.

An investigation by the Israel Police and the Shin Bet found that the explosives were smuggled into Israel from Lebanon in May. Diab, who retrieved the explosives after they were thrown over the border fence, put them in a bag and hid them in the grove.

He was instructed to use the explosives to carry out bombings in crowded places in Haifa.

Diab scouted the locations he was instructed to target but decided they were unsuitable due to the tight security and numerous cameras. Instead, Diab suggested to his father and their handlers to plant the explosives in other areas, including the nearby northern city of Nesher. He allegedly brought his two brothers, Yussef and Jamil, in on the plan, planning to use the latter's help in carrying out the attack.

Later, Diab went to retrieve the explosives from their hiding place but was unable to locate them.

"The case before us is one of the cases in which citizens of the State of Israel knowingly and intentionally aid an enemy in its war against the state, having contact with agents of the enemy, and demonstrating spectacular audacity in smuggling explosives inside the borders of the state," the judges noted in their sentence.

"We do not see any importance to the fact he was eventually arrested without having committed the attack," the judges then explained. "His willingness to bring additional explosives into the country... reflects in our view his desire to continue carrying out the dangerous criminal activity."
PARIS - French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday that all Iranian militia, including Hezbollah, must leave Syria, whose civil war has thrown the Middle East into turmoil.

Asked in an interview on BFM TV whether he wanted Turkish armed forces to withdraw from Syria, Le Drian replied that he wanted: "The withdrawal of all of those who ought not to be in Syria, including Iranian militia, including Hezbollah."
The funeral of Itamar Ben-Gal, who was murdered at the entrance to Ariel, was attended by Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein, Deputy Defense Minister Eli Ben-Dahan, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel, and others.

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Every murder, particularly the murder of a young man, is a traumatic event. The calls for revenge and the accusations of powerlessness hurled at the authorities are understandable. Pain doesnt produce diplomatic statements.

It seems, however, that a new norm has been created in Israel, reflected in decision makers statements and actions, that the proper response to terror attacks isfirst of allan expansion of settlements. If there is no building permit, it is soon granted; if there is a permit, there is an expansion.

Since it's the Temple Mount's time, we will soon see the establishment of the Temple Mount state (Photo: AFP)

This is allegedly a rational response aimed at replacing the impulsive calls for collective revenge and permitted bloodshed. Theres no need to shed blood; theres a need to build. This norm, in actual fact, has nothing to do with rational behavior. On the contrary, it seems to be turning terror into an axe to grind. Terrorists are providing an exemption from discretion.

The decision if and where to build should only be made from considerations of political logic and under the restrictions of the law. Just like the response to Jewish murderers isnt to dismantle settlements, the response to Palestinian murderers isnt to build settlements. If we decide to build, it should have nothing to do with terror. The proper response to terror is punishing the perpetrators and preventing future terror. Everything else is a cynical use of the victims blood to advance sectarian interests.

We should also pay attention to the fact that sectarian victims are the only ones who provide restraining and expropriation orders. If the murdered are people from the sector that believes the diplomatic stalemate is killing ustheir voice should be ignored.

Uri Ariel. The local fire needs more fuel, and the minister would be happy to add some (Photo: Marc Israel Sellem)

And in case youre still wondering, Minister Ariel rushed to clarify the objectives dictated by the blood that has been shed, as far as hes concerned: Its the Temple Mounts time, its time for the people of Israel to recognize the sanctity of the land Security forces have many ways of dealing with terror. There are things which have yet to be done, like expelling the family and other things, and its time to do them immediately. Not after the next murder, but in order to prevent the next murder.

We in the government are responsible both for security and for building the Land of Israel. We shouldnt wait for someone to be murdered to build Har Brakha or Havat Gilad We should say it loud and clear: Between the river and the sea there will be one sovereign state, the State of Israel with united Jerusalem as its capital

Well, first of all the Temple Mount. The local fire needs more fuel, and the minister would be happy to add some. Allegedly, Ariels agenda doesnt depend on blood. If it were up to him, everything would be done anyway. Since its not being done, its time to do it in the name of blood.

Terror victim Itamar Ben-Gal (R) and his family. If building isn't carried out anyway, it should be carried out in the name of blood spilled

What time is it? The Temple Mounts time. What kind of mitzvot has this time created? First of all, presumably, violating the fragile status quo over the Temple Mount, which Ariel and his friends detest. Building a synagogue? Probably. And then building a temple? Absolutely. How much blood will it cost us? These are questions the minister doesnt care about, just like he doesnt care about questions of political logic.

Its time for the people of Israel to recognize the sanctity of the land. In Ariels world, there is no State of Israel and no citizens in the State of Israel. He doesnt approve of those terms, as they include quite a few people who are not the people of Israel. His people of Israel dont defend their right to live in his state; they must recognize the sanctity of the land. And matters of sacredness are not discussed in committees or in parliament; they are handed over to Gods experts. Everything is oursand actually theirs.

What should we do in the meantime? Expel families, for example. And why should families that havent sinned be expelled? The minister would rather not say. Towns must be built in Havat Gilad and in Har Brakha, because there is only room for one sovereign state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. And since its the Temple Mounts time, we will soon see the establishmentif Ariel and his partners are willingof the Temple Mount state.
Over 2,000 asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan demonstrated outside the Rwanda Embassy in Israel on Wednesday afternoon, protesting against the agreement reportedly signed that would allow deporting them to Rwanda.

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Israel has given thousands of migrants in the country until April 1 to accept an offer to leave for an unnamed African destinationwidely known to be Rwanda, based on testimonies of people who have already leftin exchange for $3,500 and a plane ticket. Those who don't leave face indefinite incarceration.

The protesters said the plan would put them in danger and said the deportations were racist. They urged Rwanda and its president, Paul Kagame, not to cooperate.

(Photo: Motti Kimchi)

"KagameWe are not for sale," said one banner. "Prison or Deportation? What would you choose?" said another. "Would you deport me if I was white?" said another, held by protesters with faces painted white.

Protesters also chanted "Deportation kills," "We are not criminals. We are refugees," "we will not succumb to despair, we'll stop the expulsion," "acknowledging refugees is a moral duty," "We won't accept racist plans," "a refugee doesn't expel another refugee," and in English: "Shame on you Rwanda" and "We are not for sale."

(Photo: Motti Kimchi)

Israel has 40,000 migrants, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, who say they fled from danger at home. Both countries have poor human rights records.

Israel contends that most of the migrants are job seekers and cites complaints that they have transformed working class neighborhoods of south Tel Aviv into unrecognizable slums.

But the migrants and their supporters say those who have left have run into danger in Rwanda and Uganda, another destination country. They claim they have no rights in those countries, and quickly are forced to flee through war-torn countries like Sudan and Libya in hopes of making their way to Europe.

(Photo: Motti Kimchi)

In a 2015 incident, a migrant who had left Israel was captured by Islamic State militants in Libya and decapitated.

The migrants say they do not want to settle in Israel, but want to remain as refugees until it is safe for them to return to their homelands.

Thousands of migrants entered Israel from neighboring Egypt until Israel completed a massive border fence to stop the flow. Since then, Israel has struggled to find a solution for those who entered the country.

The deportation plan has sparked outrage in Israel, where critics have called it unethical and a stain on Israel's image as a refuge for Jewish migrants.

The government says it has no obligation to take in migrants, and that it has taken steps to make sure they are not harmed. Women, children and families, for example, are exempt from the deportation order.

Similar protests are expected in front of Rwanda's embassies in other countries as well, including in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States and Canada.

(Photo: Motti Kimchi)

One of the protesters, Awat Ashbar, 37, from Eritrea, said he has been in Israel since 2008. "I live in Petah Tivka. Because I was (detained) in Holot, I'm not allowed to live in Tel Aviv. I asked for asylum, and I haven't received an answer yet. If my friends get expelled, so would I. That's what I'm afraid of," he said.

Ashbar said he will go to prison if he has no other choice. "If the state agrees for me to be in jail (instead of deportation), of course I will be. What else can you do? You ask for asylum, not prison, but if the state tells you to go to prison, I go to prison. I have no choice."

He said the agreement to take in the asylum seekers deported from Israelwhich Rwanda has repeatedly denied signing"is an agreement for us to die. We're saying: Don't make an agreement with Rwanda, because we could die, and we will be in danger."





Protest at The Hague

Thomas Johnassen, 29, from Eritrea, has been in Israel for six years. He is currently staying at the Holot detention center in the Negev.

"I submitted a request for asylum about two years ago, and I haven't received an answer yet," he said. "I won't go to Rwanda. It's difficult to have to go to prison, but there's nothing else to do, (we would be in) mortal danger in Rwanda."

Preparing signs for a protest in New York

"I've heard from people who left willinglynot really willinglyabout what's going on there. People disappear, people are trying to get to Europe and get murdered on the way," Johnassen said. "None of my friends is planning on leaving, they will all go to jail."

"I call on the Rwandan government not to take anyone, and to the Israeli government I sayit is forbidden to sell people in the 21st century."

Protest in Paris (Photo: Shai Somek)

Israeli citizens who oppose the deportation plan also came to protest.

"I left work and I came to protest, because this is a very important cause. This is what the country looks like, and it's very sad this is what we're doing to them," said Gidi Eizen, 26, from Tel Aviv. "They are refugees who came here, to the Jewish state, to receive protection, and we in response want to expel them to a place where they could get kidnapped, killed, and maybe even meet ISIS."

Protest in Washington, DC (Photo: Rotem Ilan)

Eizen went on to say he has "a hard time with the lies being spread, there are people here who have horror stories to tell. The indifference of a country established by Holocaust survivors is outraging."

Protest in Stockholm

"I'm the daughter of refugees, and what we're doing is inhumane and contradicts the Jewish morals we've been raised on," said Hava, another Israeli protester. "I came here to protest for the first time, because it seems wrong to me to be sending people to their death. There are enough testimonies from there that their money gets stolen, that they need to flee one place to another, and that their lives are in danger."

Protest in Geneva

This is the second such large scale protest outside the Rwandan embassy in Israel. Some 2,000 people also protested there in January, demanding Rwanda not to cooperate with Israel in expelling them.

Prof. Amnon Rubinstein, a law scholar and former minister, spoke to Ynet on Wednesday about the fact Israel is a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Protest in Berlin

The convention, he said "requires two things: First, to change each request on an individual basis. We've only done that for a small amount of the refugees here. Second, not to return to countries where they are expected to face danger."

Rubinstein argued Israel can meet both of these conditions. "For us, 40,000 people do not pose a financial problem. There is a problem with them being concentrated in southern Tel Aviv, I can understand the residents, but if you give them professional training, they will scattered throughout the country," he said.






More than 2,000 asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan are protesting Wednesday in front of the Rwandan Embassy in Herzliya Pituah against the agreement signed with Israel to deport them to its borders. Similar protests are planned in front of Rwandan embassies throughout the world.
Lebanon's Higher Defense Council said Wednesday it has ordered the army to prevent Israel from building a border wall on Lebanese territory.

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The council also announced that if Israel does build its border wall on what Beirut views as Lebanese territory, it would be considered an Israeli act of aggression.

"We grant the army forces with the political backing to act against any Israeli aggression on the borderon land and at sea," the council said in a statement. "The Israeli fence on our border constitutes a violation of our sovereignty and of Resolution 1701. We will continue acting on all levels, the regional and international, to oppose and prevent Israel from building the separation fence."

Lebanon's Higher Defense Council

Lebanon's Higher Defense Council is headed by President Michel Aoun and also includes Prime Minister Saad Hariri and the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, finance, interior and economics.

Earlier Wednesday, Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz stressed that Israel seeks a diplomatic solution to the dispute with Lebanon over territorial and maritime boundaries, but warned any aggression will be met with force.

"I think both Israel and Lebanon are interested in a diplomatic solution. They should not make any threats, though, and definitely not infiltrate our economic waters," Steinitz told Ynet.

He warned that "if heavens forbid we are attacked, the response would be a lot more severe, quick and unequivocal than in the past."

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (Photo: Avi Moalem)

Lebanon's leadership vowed on Tuesday to act to prevent Israel from building a wall on Lebanese land at the frontier, and threatening an offshore energy block in disputed waters.

Israel says the wall it is building is on Israeli sovereign land. The Lebanese government says it passes through territory that belongs to Lebanon but which lies on the Israeli side of the Blue Line, where the UN demarcated Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

Lebanon also has an unresolved maritime border dispute with Israel over a triangular area of sea of around 860 sq km (330 square miles) that extends along the edge of three of five blocks Lebanon put to tender early last year.

Lebanon in December approved a bid by a consortium of Frances Total, Italys Eni and Russias Novatek for two blocks. One of the awarded blocks, Block 9, borders Israeli waters, and Israel claims it belongs to it.

The Leviathan gas field

Steinitz said Israel was willing to accept American mediation to resolve the issue diplomatically. "There was international mediation on the matter in the past. We were close to reaching a compromise in 2013, but the whole thing collapsed at the eleventh hour," he said.

The energy minister stressed, however, that "let there be no doubt, the State of Israel is the strongest nation in the region, and we will defend our economic waters and our gas rigs and fields."

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is expected to visit the Middle East, and particularly Lebanon, soon to help in mediation between Jerusalem and Beirut over the two issues.

Washington has already sent the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, David Satterfield, to Lebanon for a surprise visit. He met with senior government officials on Tuesday to discuss the border disputes.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is also trying to calm down the tensions by facilitating talks between IDF representatives and their counterparts in the Lebanese army.

The Shiite Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, meanwhile, began disseminating flyers Tuesday with an overt threat to Israel , saying, "Whoever harms gas and oil sites in Lebanese economic waters, their own sites will be harmed, and they know Lebanon is fully capable of doing so."

"I didn't need these explicit threats," Steinitz said. "Energy security and the protection of our energy installationsand to a great extent the gas rigs as wellis at the top of our list of priorities," he said.

Describing the threat of anti-ship and ballistic missiles from Lebanon, Steinitz said that "On this matter, there is also a lot being done to defend ourselves. Israel is more or less the world champion in anti-missile technology: The Iron Dome, David's Sling, Barak 8, and other things we will no doubt develop in the future. But we are definitely concerned, and we are not idle on this matter."

Steinitz stressed that despite the threats from Hezbollah, Israel will continue drilling for gas.

"We have to open up our energy sources, primarily the massive gas fields we found in the Mediterranean SeaLeviathan, Karish and Tanin," he said. "It's important not just for economic and geopolitical reasons, but also for diplomatic reasonsour ability to sell gas to Europe."

Maj. Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, the head of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and the former head of Military Intelligence, said Hezbollah was merely trying to find other pretenses to attack Israel.

"The Iranians and Hezbollah are planning on building a precision missiles factory in Lebanon. Hezbollah can't justify this to the Lebanese people and is looking for other reasons that it could possibly explain. One of these reasons is the gas field, and the other is an overground obstacle that Israel is building on the border," Yadlin said.

Amos Yadlin (Photo: Matan Turkia)

Yadlin rejected Lebanese claims that the Israeli border wall was being built on Lebanese territory. "There is no complete overlap between the border as it was determined by the UN as part of Resolution 425 in 2000 and the security fence Israel built," he explained. "Between the fence and the real border there is an area referred to as an enclave. The Lebanese got used to it being theirs, even though it's ours. The obstacle... is definitely south of the line marked by the UN. Hezbollah is trying to create a border dispute that doesn't exist. It's the same with the gas field."

The INSS chief said that while Hezbollah has precise Russian P-800 Oniks (Yakhont) missiles they got from Syria, which could hit the gas rigs, Israel has its own defensive and offensive measures against such missiles. "We'll see the results if a conflict breaks out," he said.
The military does not necessarily believe that a war in the north is imminent, but the Navy must prepare to cope with Hezbollahs weapons arsenal that can pose a danger to the Israeli gas drilling rigs in the Mediterranean Sea and may potentially shut down the Israeli economy.

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German shipbuilders have recently begun work on four defense ships that Israel is purchasing to defend the gas fields and its territorial waters. Almost three quarters of the electricity produced in Israel relies on those gas fields.

The first ship will arrive at the beginning of 2020, but outfitting it with weapons and tactical systems will take another year and a half.

Navy missile defense system (:  ")

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The four new ships will be the largest in the Navys fleet. In addition to the dozens of interception missiles of the naval Iron Dome system and the Barak 8 system, each ship will come equipped with highly precise offensive missiles.

The ships will also be mounted with cyber and electronic warfare systems and the Adir radar system and will be commanded by an officer with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

Navy radar (Photo: IDF Spokesmans unit)

The new ships, Sa'ar 6-class corvettes, will have a slightly lower speed than the current Saar models, four of which were recently retired. Each ship will carry a crew of 70 marines, similar to current models, and will be assisted by unmanned aerial vehicles, new naval helicopters, satellite intelligence and coastal radars.

Missile defense system (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)

The Tamar gas rig is currently active and will be joined in the coming years by additional rigs in new gas fields, comprising 44,000km of sea to be defended by the Navy.

As a matter of routine, one missile boat patrols Israels territorial waters while the remaining ships are to establish naval superiority, said a senior officer in the Navy. During an emergency, we will need a ship near each rig. The installation of the electronic systems will be carried out at the Navy's shipyards.

(Photo: IDF Spokesmans unit)

Regarding submarines, the officer said that an understanding was signed in October between Israel and Germany for the purchase of three new vessels. The Navy will soon begin planning how to deploy the submarines, scheduled to arrive in the middle of the next decade and gradually replace the three Dolphin class submarines the Navy currently operates.

The minimum of submarines necessary at any given time is five, ideally six, but we never planned to have nine , clarified the officer, referring to the scandal and ongoing investigation regarding the purchase of additional submarines.

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz (L) and Hezbollah Secretary-General Nasrallah

The officer also said that Hezbollah is in possession of precise missiles, of Iranian manufacture, that can hit Israeli gas drilling rigs. We must always be alert, there is no Iranian naval presence here and the Syrian Navy does not go out to sea, but Iranian missiles in the hands of Hezbollah can be launched from small vessels, manned or unmanned. Hezbollah radiates naval power even without having any ships or submarines. The Iranian presence is a game-changer.

(Photo: IDF Spokesmans unit)

Ballistic or cruise missiles fired from the Lebanese or Syrian coast can reach the Israeli rigs within 2.5 minutes. If the rig is cold and no gas is being pumped at the time, the damage will put it out of commission for a few weeks, but if it sustains a missile strike while gas is being pumped, the entire rig will be destroyed.

The decision regarding shutting down rig operations is made between the energy company and the government, with the Navy in an advisory role. The cost of security for the rigs, some $3 billion, is also a matter of dialogue between the two parties.
The village of Jamraya is located several kilometers northeast of Damascus, near a large military and research complex. The entrance to the well-guarded facility is likely permitted exclusively to people who have been checked and approved by Syria's internal security apparatuses.

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In this facility, which officially belongs to the Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC), the Assad regime is developing and producingaccording to foreign reportschemical weapons and different types of missiles.

Considering the fact that the site has been reportedly attacked at least three times in the past two years with precision-guided weaponsallegedly by Israel, according to the Syrian regimethere are three possible reasons the facility was bombed once again Tuesday night.

A previous strike in Syria (file photo)

One possibility is that Syria is developing new types of chemical agents in the facility. Last week, US media quoted senior Pentagon and State Department officials as saying that Syria was using chemical agents, mainly chlorine, against its own civilians and that it was developing new types of gases to use against the rebels who are still fighting the regime.

These are likely weakened chemical agents that dont cause immediate death, but neutralize their victims and eventually lead to death after a long period of time. The purpose is to get around the international ban on chemical agents like sulfur mustard and the nerve agent sarin, which were used by the Syrian regime in the civil war in the past.

Israels red lines

The United States last week held Russia indirectly accountable for the development and use of these gases in light of its presence in Syria and its protection of a regime that develops such substances. Assuming that the American information is accurate, the development of these chemical agents is likely taking place in the Jamraya facility.

While Israel isnt confirming or denying the Syrian claims, it has set a number of red lines in the past concerning the northern front that it wont tolerate or allow. Since the use of chemical agents is one of these red lines, that could be one of the reasons for the alleged Israeli strike.

Another possibility is that the Syrians allowed the Iranians to develop a factory in Jamraya to improve the accuracy of Hezbollah-bound missiles and rockets. According to previous reports, the SSRC facility in Jamraya develops ballistic missiles, making it very likely that the site would also be used by the Iranians for the same goal. Not to mention the fact that the facility is located near the Lebanon border and isnt far from the road connecting Damascus and the Beqaa Valley and crossing the border.

Political-Security Cabinet members tour the northern border, Tuesday (Photo: Kobi Gideon/GPO)

Foreign sources reported in the past that Israel had attacked a convoy transporting antiaircraft missiles and launchers to Hezbollah in the Jamraya area. It is believed that Hezbollah is constantly trying to obtain modern antiaircraft weapons from Iran and Syria that would limit the Israel Air Forces ability to operate in Lebanon, mainly SA6 and SA8 mobile missile batteries. At the same time, Iran and Hezbollah are continuing their joint efforts to improve the precision level of the missiles and rockets received by the Lebanese terror organizations or the ones it already possesses.

A third possibility is that the Jamraya facility serves as a station for transferring high-quality antiaircraft weapons or precision-guided missiles from Syria to Hezbollah. At the moment, its unclear what exactly was attacked in Jamraya and why, but its likely one of these three possibilities.

The Syrians are claiming, for PR purposes, that some of the missiles fired at the Jamraya facility were intercepted, but these claims areas usualbaseless. Today, aerial or surface precision-guided weapons can be launched from a very long distancenot reachable by the Syrian antiaircraft defense system. If the strike was indeed carried out by Israeli planes, as claimed by the official Syrian media, they likely didnt operate from Syrian territory but from rather from Israeli or Lebanese territory.

The Syrians previously threatened to target Ben Gurion Airport (Photo: AFP)

In the not-so-distant past, Syria threatened to target Ben-Gurion Airport if Israel struck in its territory one more time. So far, Syria has failed to act on its threat. The Syrian regime prefers to complain to the United Nations Security Council time and again, but is unable to provide proof that the strikes were carried out by Israel. The UN takes note of these complaints but takes no action, just like it fails to take action in response to the Lebanese governments repeated claims that Israeli aircraft are infiltrating Lebanons airspace.

This time too, Syria likely wont try to act on its threat, knowing that hitting a sensitive place like Ben-Gurion Airportor even just trying to do sowould lead to a harsh Israeli response and could even lead to war. In an explicit response to the Syrian threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel will hit hard if Syria tries to target Israeli territory.

The last time Israel conveyed such a message to Syria was on Tuesday, when the Political-Security Cabinets toured the northern border and was briefed by the IDF chief of staff and senior officers.
JERUSALEM/NEW DELHI - Air India said on Wednesday it plans to begin direct flights to Israel and has proposed they pass through Saudi airspace, a route so far off-limits to Israel-bound commercial planes.

Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and lifting the 70-year-old airspace ban would reflect what appears to be thawing ties between Israel and the kingdom, both US allies with a shared concern over Iranian influence in the region.

An Air India spokesman and Israel's Airports Authority said the state-run carrier had requested slots for three weekly flights between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. The Airports Authority said the service would begin in early March.

Air India was awaiting clearance from the Indian aviation regulator to fly over Saudi Arabia, the spokesman said.

Israeli media, in unsourced reports, said Riyadh had granted the necessary flyover rights, which would shorten the flight time from New Delhi by more than two hours.

A spokesman for Saudi's General Authority of Civil Aviation said the agency had not granted any permission to Air India.

India and Israel have built close ties over the years, largely centred on arms purchases, away from the public eye.

El Al Israel Airlines, the country's flag carrier, flies four weekly flights to Mumbai but these take seven hours rather than five as they take a route south towards Ethiopia and then east to India, avoiding Saudi airspace.
JERUSALEM - A Russian diplomat cautioned Israel on Wednesday over a proposed law that would formally recognise the deaths of millions of Ukrainians under Soviet rule as a genocide.

"This is not a good time to discuss such a proposal," Leonid Frolov, Russia's deputy ambassador in Tel Aviv, told Israel's Army Radio. "It will be bad. It will be (the) wrong step."

He was referring to preliminary legislation, submitted by a lawmaker from a centrist party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, that would declare Dec. 6 as "Remembrance Day for the Ukrainian Genocide" in Israel.

Ukraine's Holodomor, or death by starvation of as many as 10 million people in 1932-33, was denied by the Soviet Union for decades. Ukraine passed a resolution in 2016 appealing for world recognition of the Holodomor as genocide, angering Moscow.

The Israeli bill is still far from ratification, and faces opposition within the ruling coalition. While Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment, rightist Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman called the bill's author, Akram Hasson, "delusional".

Hasson told Reuters he proposed the law after making a three-month fact-finding trip to Ukraine to examine the issue.

"I don't know how anyone can be angry about this, and I'm under no obligation to please anyone," he said. "I work for the parliament
The Defense Ministry is proposing a bill to deduct sums paid to terrorists from tax monies collected by Israel on behalf of the Palestinian Authority (PA), in light of the Authoritys protocol of wiring monthly payments to convicted terrorists.

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The money will be set aside in a special fund, set to have three uses: remuneration for victims of terror who were awarded damages in court, financing for a project that fights terrorism funding and to improve civil infrastructure such as roads and lighting, thus boosting security.

Families of terror victims (Photo: Yoav Dudkevitch)

As was recently revealed by the Defense Ministry, payments by the Palestinian Authority to Palestinian prisoners, released prisoners, families of terrorists and those injured by Israel amounted to NIS 1.2 billion annually.

It can be said that these funds are a direct incentive for terrorists, as the average wage among West Bank Palestinians is NIS 2,000 while a terrorist who is a resident of Israel, married with three children and serving a life sentence can receive NIS 10,950 a month.

In 2017, the PA paid Palestinian prisoners and released prisoners more than NIS 550 million, and NIS 687 million to families of suicide bombers. These amount to 7 percent of the budget of the PA, which nevertheless maintains it does not engage in terrorism.

A terrorist sentenced to 3-5 years in prison, meanwhile, receives NIS 2,000 a month, while one who was sentenced to between 20-35 years receives NIS 10,000 a month for the rest of his life.

A married terrorist receives an additional NIS 300 a month and another NIS 50 per child. Terrorists who are residents of Jerusalem receive another NIS 300 and those with Israeli citizenship a further NIS 500.

According to the bill, at the end of each year, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman will present the year's statistics to Cabinet and they will decide on the appropriate deduction from funds transferred to the PA.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates  Bahraini authorities say police have arrested four men suspected of being behind a blast that ripped through a state-run oil pipeline in November.

A statement by the Interior Ministry says two of those arrested received "intensive training" in Iranian Revolutionary Guard camps in Iran. Iran denies allegations it is behind Shiite insurgents in Bahrain.

The government named four suspects, saying one of the men already faces a 15-year-sentence in another case. The men range in age from 23 to 27 years old.

No one was injured in the explosion near the Shiite village of Buri and no militant group immediately claimed the blast.
BEIRUT  New airstrikes launched by Russian and Syrian government forces on a besieged rebel-held region east of Damascus killed at least 10 people on Wednesday, opposition activists said, part of an ongoing aerial campaign that has killed dozens of civilians in the past few days.

Around 60 civilians were killed Tuesday in airstrikes and shelling that overwhelmed rescue workers and prompted calls for an immediate cease-fire that would allow the delivery of critical medical care.

The opposition's civil defense workers, known as the White Helmets, said 10 civilians were killed on Wednesday and many were wounded after warplanes targeted the town of Hamouriyeh, causing a building to collapse over its residents' heads. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported an overall death toll of 23 civilians for Wednesday, which it said raised the number of people killed in the area since Jan. 29 to 384, including 94 children.
A Russian diplomat cautioned Israel on Wednesday over a proposed law that would formally recognize the deaths of millions of Ukrainians under Soviet rule as genocide.

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"This is not a good time to discuss such a proposal," Leonid Frolov, Russia's deputy ambassador in Tel Aviv, told Israel's Army Radio. "It will be bad. It will be (a) wrong step."

He was referring to preliminary legislation, submitted by a lawmaker from the centrist Kulanu party in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, that would declare December 6 a "Remembrance Day for the Ukrainian Genocide" in Israel.

A young girl, draped in the Ukrainian flag, opposite a Holodomor memorial. Hasson's bill sought to recognize the deaths of millions of Ukrainians as genocide (Photo: Reuters)

Ukraine's Holodomor, or death by starvation of as many as 10 million people in 1932-33, was denied by the Soviet Union for decades. Ukraine passed a resolution in 2016 appealing for world recognition of the Holodomor as genocide, angering Moscow.

Kiev is also embroiled in a row with Moscow over Russia's annexation in 2014 of the Crimea Peninsula.

The Israeli bill is still far from ratification, and faces opposition within the ruling coalition. While Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment, rightist Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman called the bill's author, MK Akram Hasson, "delusional."

Hasson told Reuters he proposed the law after making a three-month fact-finding trip to Ukraine to examine the issue.

MK Hasson proposed the bill, saying, 'Israel was founded after a genocide, so why can it recognize another?'

"I don't know how anyone can be angry about this, and I'm under no obligation to please anyone," he said. "I work for the parliament of Israela democracy, with human values, founded after a genocide. Why shouldn't we recognize this genocide?"

Israel is mindful of Russian clout over its enemies Syria, Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah. The Netanyahu government has long sought good ties with the Kremlin and Israel stayed out of the 2014 Crimea crisis even as the United States condemned Russia.

"Israel needs support not only of United States. Israel needs support of many other countries that think differently," said the Russian deputy ambassador, speaking in English.

The Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland. Deputy Ambassador Frolov drew comparisons between recent polish legislation and Hasson's bill (Photo: AP)

He referred to Israel's opposition to new Polish legislation that would criminalize suggestions that Poland was complicit in the Holocaust.

"Poland now wants to delete some pages of the history, and we are on the side of Israel," Frolov said, adding that the proposal by the Israeli lawmaker on Ukraine also aimed "to rewrite the history, like in the Polish case."

Ukraine's government says 17 countrieseight of them former Soviet republics or satelliteshave recognized the Holodomor as a genocide.
Former prime minister Ehud Olmert attacked current prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his first public appearance since being released from prison, saying the two haven't been in touch since 2009. "I wish the prime minister to leave office quickly and appropriately," Olmert quipped.

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"I'm not exactly known for being taciturn," Olmert added, "but I thought it would be proper and respectable to maintain silence and not jump at the opportunity (to respond)."

Speaking at a conference marking the 70th anniversary to the War of Independence battle of Latrun near Jerusalem at Tel Aviv's Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot, Olmert also commented on the deal to free Gilad Shalit , an IDF soldier held captive by Hamas for more than five years.

Former PM Olmert wished PM Netanyahu a speedy exit from office (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

prisoner swap deal during his term at prime minister, which was later finalized under Netanyahu and led to Shalit's release. "It's hard to speak of the price we paid. The price I turned down was much lower both in terms of the number of prisoners released and their characteristics."

On the deal to return the bodies of soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser in return for freeing terrorist Samir Kuntar , Olmert said, "We did the best, most appropriate deal ever made in the context of prisoner swapswe released a single heinous murderer serving a 30-year jail term and another person who was a little batty and that we wanted to be rid of."

Olmert, who was released from prison six months ago, said, "Our assumption was that Regev and Goldwasser were no longer alive, and what pushed the deal to be completed was a message we conveyed to Hezbollah through an intermediary that said that if they didn't agree, we'd declare them as KIA and break negotiations."

"That gives an indication as to what should be done regarding people who are no longer alive," Olmert added, possibly hinting at the bodies of soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin , still held by Hamas in Gaza.

PM Netanyahu embracing Shalit on his release. The price paid for the soldier was too steep, Olmert said (Photo: GPO)

"In Shalit's case," Olmert continued, "I had talks with the family. I always told them they could even ask for ten thousand (prisoners) to be released. It's completely understandable for a young soldier's parents to ask for that, but Ias prime ministercannot acquiesce."

"From my position as prime minister you have to see things differently. A country cannot go to war and put its army and soldiers at risk, painful as it is to say, to release one man," he stated.

According to Olmert, who received a round of applause for his previous statement, "It needs to be said and not covered up with platitudes about the compassion of the Jewish heart. It's the leadership's role."

Speaking plainly on the matter of returning Shaul and Goldin's bodies, Olmert merely said they were "two dead soldiers."

Asked about exerting pressure on Hamas by a third party, and hinting at the deterioration of relations with Recep Tayyip Erdogan during Netanyahu's term, Olmert said, "Turkish pressures? Maybe we could when we knew how to talk to them. We once did, but not really anymore."
BEIRUT  Sweden and Kuwait have called for a UN Security Council meeting on the escalating violence in several areas of Syria and the "dire consequences" for the already critical humanitarian situation in the war-torn country.

The council is expected to hear a briefing on Thursday and then hold closed-door consultations on the growing humanitarian crisis.

Sweden's UN Ambassador Olof Skoog said the council needs to hear from UN humanitarian chief Mark Lowcock about what the council can do to support the UN call for a 30-day humanitarian cease-fire to deliver life-saving aid and evacuate critically ill people from besieged areas in Syria.

The Security Council is currently deadlocked on Syria, with Russia blocking a statement proposed by Sweden and Kuwait supporting five points urged by Lowcock.
NEW YORK  A US judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking the return by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan of a Pablo Picasso masterpiece that a German Jewish businessman was allegedly forced to sell at a low price to fund an escape from the Nazis and fascism.

US District Judge Loretta Preska in Manhattan on Wednesday said the great-grandniece of Paul Leffmann, who once owned "The Actor," could not show under New York law that he sold the painting under "duress," justifying its return to her family.

The great-grandniece, Laurel Zuckerman, who oversees the estate of Leffmann's wife Alice, had alternatively sought more than $100 million of damages over "The Actor," from Picasso's Rose Period in 1904 and 1905.
Mere hours after Israeli officials claimed that Air India received authorization to fly over Saudi airspace in its New Delhi-Tel Aviv line, a spokesman for Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said Wednesday they provided no such permission.

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Previously, an Air India spokesman officially announced the airliner was awaiting authorization from Indian authorities to fly over Saudi Arabia. No incoming or outgoing flights have yet to pass through the skies of the Arab kingdom, with which Israel has no diplomatic ties.

If approved, the move will shorten flight time to India to only five hours, instead of seven, also causing ticket prices to dip.

India's national airline may receive authorization to fly over Saudi airspace on flights to and from Israel

Air India reported it planned to commence operations mid-March on a direct line from New Delhi to Tel Aviv. Final talks began during Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent visit to India, during which he convened with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In addition to the economic agreements signed by the two colleagues, the pair also signed an aviation agreement determining changes will be made possible to flight pricelists and security arrangements, and that coordination on the matter between the parties will be strengthened.

The national Indian air carrier received a 750,000 euro (NIS 3.2 million) grant from the Tourism Ministry to operate the line, which is expected to provide an additional boost to improving relations between the countries.

The grant effectively signifies 250,000 euro for each weekly flight, and is awarded to every airline that opens a line to a new destination.

The Indian company is expected to commence flights this coming Passover, according to plans, using Boeing 787 Dreamliners. Flights will operate three days a weekon Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

El Al VP of Incoming Commerce Michael Strassburger said he hoped authorization will also be provided to El Al to fly over Saudi airspace (Photo: Sivan Farag)

Israeli officials have yet to sign off on any Saudi authorization, even if one was given, but a senior Israeli official noted the Indian airline stated the flight's path will take it over Saudi Arabia.

El Al Vice President of Incoming Commerce Michael Strassburger said that should such an authorization be provided, it will also change flights operated by his own company on the line to Mumbai.

"This will significantly shorten flight times, leading to lower operating costs and ticket prices for passengers. We hope and believe that this agreement will also be valid for all Israeli airlines, because there's no difference between passengers flying Israeli airlines and those flying foreign ones.

"It is also congruent with an agreement Israel signed with India regarding air carriers," he concluded.

Reuters contributed to this report.
- A government official says government is spending so much on the free education policy

- The policy, according to the vice president, costs Ghana 1 trillion cedis

A deputy information minister has revealed that the free SHS program is costing the government a lot of money.

READ ALSO: We will start wielding guns for protection - Top NDC official

The flagship Free SHS program is aimed at providing in excess free SHS education to over 400,000.

Speaking to the media in a press encounter at the Central Region, Nana Ama Dokuaa Asiamah revealed that the quality of education and also the challenges in the education service has compelled the government to spend so much into the program.

"This program is really eating into our coffers, we are spending so much to keep it running," she revealed.

Vice president, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has revealed the actual cost of the free SHS program. According to him, the program which took place last year is government's main priority project which will cost GH1 trillion.

Meanwhile, president of the Republic, Akufo-Addo, has revealed that monies from the exploration of oil resources will be used to fund the free SHS policy.

READ ALSO: What Rihanna had to say about Akufo-Addo's speech in Senegal

The president in a recent speech at a pan-African conference in Senegal revealed that government will not rely on foreign aid to fund education projects. This speech has been commended across the world especially when it forms part of government's "Ghana beyond aid" agenda.

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Source: Yen.com.gh
- Ernest Owusu Bempah, the Communications Director of the Ghana Gas Company says he would quit politics if NDC selects John Mahama for the 2020 elections

- He added that Former President Mahama would lose the polls if picked by the NDC to contest

- According to him, President Akufo-Addo has proven the critics wrong with the implementation of his policies

The Communications Director of the Ghana Gas Company Limited, Ernest Owusu Bempah, has promised to quit politics if the National Democratic Congress (NDC) endorses John Mahama as its flagbearer for the 2020 elections.

According to him, Former President John Mahama would not get 30% of the votes of Ghanaian voters in the 2020 elections.

"...you remember I told you in 2016 in your studio that if Mahama wins I will pack my things, travel to the UK and live there and truly he lost woefully, he stated, when interviewed by Abusua FM's Abusua Nkommo.

Ernest Owusu Bempah, Communications Director of the Ghana Gas Company Limited

READ ALSO: I am not a spirit - Anas Aremeyaw Anas reacts to rumours

Owusu Bempah went on to say that the ex-president would lose the 2020 polls even if endorsed by the NDC, because President Akufo-Addo is doing a good job.

He noted that the introduction of unprecedented policies such as the Free SHS programme would forever remain with Ghanaians.

He went on to say that the NDC doubted the possibility of the implementation of the programme, and as such President Akufo-Addo has proven the critics wrong.

The Free SHS policy was one of the key campaign promises of the New Patriotic Party during the 2016 elections. It was implemented in September 2017.

READ ALSO: We would start using guns for our protection - Top NDC official

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Source: Yen
[February 06, 2018] BP Logix Congratulates University Of Central Florida's UCF Global As Finalist, Business Transformation & Operational Excellence Awards SAN DIEGO, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BP Logix, provider of low-code/no-code BPM solutions for rapid digital application development, is pleased to announce that the University of Central Florida (UCF) Global has been selected as a finalist for two awards from the 2018 Business Transformation & Operational Excellence World Summit (BTOES). The awards recognize organizations that have demonstrated success in business transformation and operational excellence, incorporating innovative technologies to address strategic business objectives. Shortlisted in two award categories by an independent judging panel, UCF Global has been selected as a finalist for Best Achievement in Operational Excellence to deliver Digital Transformation as well as for Best Operational Excellence Project under 90 days. UCF is a thriving preeminent research university receiving $145.8 million for research in 2016 and serving 66,000 students from 50 states and 148 countries. The UCF Global unit functions as the hub for its international students, faculty and staff. UCF Global is responsible for all students who are studying abroad, bringing International students to the campus, increasing international mobility and enhancing the University's global competency. UCF Global provides access to high impact, international experiences while embracing a commitment to partnership, innovation and services. The UCF Global implementation was developed using BP Logix Process Director as the underlying tchnology for its digital journey and transformation. The Operation Excellence Initiative and specifically its Advisor Assignment Solution, nominated for the award, was designed, developed and implemented in 45 days. As a result of deploying Process Director, UCF Global has the technology to advance institutional goals, create rich, interactive experiences for faculty, staff, and students and provide 24/7 access to a broad selection of services and applications. BP Logix Process Director is recognized as a leading low-code/no-code BPM platform for the rapid delivery of workflow-driven applications across the enterprisea digital application development platform that provides the tools necessary for digital transformation. "We are pleased that this implementation by UCF Global has garnered recognition for its vision, which acknowledges that our technology could also ignite a digital transformation initiative and mentality," stated Jay O'Brien, CEO of BP Logix. "As a progressive, forward-looking university the results of going beyond the initial business problem has translated into a true digital transformation." The Awards Reception and Program will be held at the BTOES conference March 14, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. About BP Logix BP Logix unites IT and business users enabling them to deploy sophisticated digital business solutions in a fraction of the time and a fraction of the cost of traditional development. Our award-winning business process management (BPM) software powers workflow-driven solutions that cross organizational boundaries, embracing the C-suite, operations, sales, customers and prospects. Customers including Barclay Damon, the City of West Allis, IDEX, Leo Burnett USA, Memphis Light, Gas and Water, MultiPlan, Starwood Hotels and Resorts, University of Central Florida and Vulcan Materials Company rely on Process Director's full mobile support; SharePoint, MS Dynamics and MS Office integration. In conjunction with its social media support, Process Director enables customers to build award-winning applications that deliver clear and measurable improvements in productivity, compliance and customer engagement. The BP Logix name and logo are the registered service and trademarks of BP Logix, Inc. Media Contact:

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BP Logix

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marti.colwell@bplogix.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bp-logix-congratulates-university-of-central-floridas-ucf-global-as-finalist-business-transformation--operational-excellence-awards-300593820.html SOURCE BP Logix

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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  The Nebraska Supreme Court has ruled that a Guatemalan mother who fled her home country and Nebraska to escape abusive men can keep her children.
French aircraft and service maker, Daher, has opened its new plant in Tangier, expanding its production operations in the North African nation.

The new site strengthens the companys position in Morocco as an aircraft manufacturer, equipment supplier and service provider. It follows a first site in Tangier in 2001 and a second in Casablanca in 2007.

The new plant sits just 500 meters from the first facility, in the Tangier Free Zone, near the airport. It will support the ramp-up in production for international aerospace programs partnered by Daher and provide a platform to meet better the needs of customers like Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Airbus Helicopters and Dassault.

The site represents an investment of more than 15 million as part of Dahers ongoing development in Morocco, which has a booming aerospace ecosystem. The site spans around 10,000 m2, giving Daher a total of 30,000 m2 of production facilities in the country. The new plant will eventually employ more than 250 people, adding to the 550-strong workforce at the other two sites.

Daher CEO Didier Kayat said:training, job quality, strict compliance with relevant process and production standards, geographic proximity and overheads were all deciding factors in choosing to expand our industrial footprint in Morocco.

Our business development policy also provides support for our employees in the country, who benefit from a program to build skills and provide training in Daher quality and safety, he added.

Production at the new Tangier plant began in Q3 2017 and covers Dahers full range of aerospace expertise in metal and composite structures and parts for the aircraft engine environment.

Moroccos aeronautic industry continues to attract foreign investment and gain trust of giant manufacturers. The sector is growing rapidly thanks to incentives granted by the North African country to investors, proximity to Europe, low labor costs, stability and political will to make this sector a driving force of economic growth and development.

The aeronautic industry in Morocco, which employs 11,500 people and achieved last year exports worth $1bn, has been growing at 15 per cent a year.

Its goal is to reach 23,000 jobs by 2020, increase exports to $1.6bn per year and increase to 35 per cent the proportion of locally-produced or assembled components.
Egyptians have criticized an interior ministrys cartoon in which the police urges children to report suspicious activities and bad guys without referring to parents.

A cartoon launched by the interior ministry late last month has drawn criticism from the public that deemed the content dangerous.

The call on children to have complete trust and cooperate with the police has backfired. For Parents and activists, the government is turning kids into informants, Middle East Eye (MEE) reported.

A second episode of the cartoon, released Saturday, shows two kids, Fateen and Bolbol, running to a police officer to report on two neighbors suspicious behavior. The police officer thanked them and instructed them not tell anyone, not even their parents, about what they had reported.

Well done, kids, for reporting when you see something suspicious, the police officer said while the kids were asking for a candy as a reward.

The officer sent forces to detain the neighbors.

According to the interior ministry, the cartoon seeks to protect minds of children and teach them the role of the police in serving children.
Nothing gets past Trey Gowdy. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Over the past few weeks, Representative Trey Gowdy has become as confusing as his ever-changing hairstyle. Last month Gowdy helped whip up fears about the credibility of the intelligence community, suggesting that there may be an anti-Trump secret society within the government  based on an out-of-context joke. Then Gowdy announced that he will not be seeking reelection. Days later, when the memo drafted by Devin Nuness staff was made public, Gowdy undermined what appeared to be its central purpose, saying it didnt discredit Robert Muellers probe.

As I have said repeatedly, I also remain 100 percent confident in Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The contents of this memo do not - in any way - discredit his investigation.  Trey Gowdy (@TGowdySC) February 2, 2018

This was a significant blow to President Trumps argument that hes the victim of a witch hunt, since Gowdy is the only Republican on the House Intelligence Committee whos actually read the underlying FISA warrant applications  but weirdly, Trump hasnt lashed out at him.

Now Trump is deciding whether to allow the release of a Democratic memo that rebuts accusations in the Nunes memo. The GOP-controlled House Intelligence Committee voted to make it public on Monday, but a day later White House chief of staff John Kelly told reporters that the president still hadnt read the document, as its a whopping ten pages. He has it. Its pretty lengthy, Kelly said. Well get some people down to brief him on it.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Trump is expected to release the Democrats memo, with certain parts redacted. Both Democrats and Republicans acknowledge that some classified information in the memo must not be made public, but Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, raised concerns about Trump making political redactions.

That is, not redactions that protect sources or methods, which weve asked the Department of Justice and the FBI to do, but redactions to remove information they think is unfavorable to the president, Schiff said on CNN. That could be a real problem and thats our main concern at this point.

During a Fox News interview that aired Tuesday night, Gowdy floated his own theory about why the Democrats memo requires redactions: Theyre trying to trap President Trump.

I think the Democrats are politically smart enough to put things in the memo that require either the [FBI] or the Department of Justice to say it needs to be redacted. Therefore, it creates this belief that theres something being hidden from the American people, Gowdy said.

Unfortunately, we are in an environment where you would include material that you know has to be redacted and you know responsible people are going to redact just so that questions will be asked, he continued.

.@TGowdySC: "I think the Democrats are politically smart enough to put things in the memo that require either the [@FBI] or @TheJusticeDept to say it needs to be [redacted]. Therefore, it creates this belief that there's something being hidden from the American people." #TheStory pic.twitter.com/3WGoGp7G7J  Fox News (@FoxNews) February 7, 2018

Later in the interview, Gowdy reiterated that hes not ready to say there was an anti-Trump conspiracy within the DOJ because, I never allege a conspiracy when simple incompetence will suffice as an explanation.

.@TGowdySC: "I never allege a conspiracy when simple incompetence will suffice as an explanation. I don't look for some nefarious motive if incompetence or a lack of protocol will explain it." #TheStory pic.twitter.com/KTuM89nPec  Fox News (@FoxNews) February 7, 2018

So why is Gowdy  who was greatly offended when Democrats accused him of fabricating a redaction to smear Hillary Clinton during the House Benghazi investigation  raising the possibility that his Democratic colleagues came up with a convoluted scheme to force Trump into releasing a heavily blacked-out memo?
Mike Pence makes it clear GOP special election candidate Rick Saccone is his and the presidents man. Photo: Pete Marovich/Getty Images

The spin wars over the results of the special and off-year elections in the Trump era have been as intense as the races themselves. Democrats can rightly point to a regular pattern of over-performance in congressional and state legislative special elections once you look at the jurisdictions involved. At the congressional level, the playing field was heavily tilted to the GOP by the fact that most of the vacancies involved were produced by Trump lifting incumbents into his administration. So the most common GOP rationalization for obvious Democratic gains in dark-red territory was: We won, didnt we?

The big regular off-year elections in New Jersey and Virginia were Democratic routs by any measure, and produced new excuses for failure: Trump blamed Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie for not running a cookie-cutter campaign based on his own, and Republicans could blame the New Jersey debacle on Chris Christies profound unpopularity.

Now, though, a special election is approaching on March 13 in Pennsylvania that will leave no excuses for Trump or for Republicans if the GOP loses. The district itself is both strongly Republican (its Cook Political Report PVI is R+11, which means it has recently voted more Republican in presidential elections than the nation as a whole by 11 percent) and unlike, say, Georgias Sixth Congressional District (that districts PVI is R+8, but Trump only won it by one point), strongly pro-Trump as well (the president carried it by 20 points).

This district is also, not to put too fine a point on it, in perhaps the most stereotypical Trump Country segment of the United States: southwest Pennsylvania, whose bars and living rooms are regularly trawled by conservative journalists like Salena Zito for validation of Trumps appeal. And the GOP candidate to succeed disgraced GOP congressman Tim Murphy (who had no Democratic opponent in 2014 or 2016), state legislator Rick Saccone, might as well be campaigning in a Trump mask. The fiery conservative likes to boast that he was Trump before Trump was Trump.

Raising the profile of this race still more as a potential 2018 bellwether is that the Democratic candidate, former local prosecutor Conor Lamb, is regularly described as being straight out of central casting  a 33-year-old Marine veteran with deep roots in the district and a moderate issues profile and style.

Unsurprisingly, reports Politico, the national GOP and the Trump administration are taking no chances in this race. Trump himself and Vice-President Mike Pence have already appeared in the district with Saccone, and are prepared to do so again, with Cabinet members also on call to take the short trip up to Pittsburgh. Saccone is not a particularly good fundraiser, so the GOP and outside groups are already making up for that abundantly; at the moment, Republicans [are] outspending Democrats on TV by nearly 5-1, with more money on the way.

All this national and conservative-movement activity is occurring at a time when their huge built-in advantages in the district are potentially being strengthened by an abatement  perhaps temporary, perhaps not  in the intensity of the Democratic wave that was so evident at the end of 2017. The Democratic advantage in the congressional generic ballot  a regular measurement of national party strength in a midterm election  has by most accounts shrunk by more than half since its peak just before Christmas.

Theres more than a month to go before voters in Pennsylvanias 18th District go to the polls, and a lot could happen in the interim. But its pretty clear this is not only the GOPs race to lose, but one that if they do lose could indicate a real disaster in the making for Trump and his party.
Protesters outside the Supreme Court, which was hearing DAPA arguments, on April 18, 2016. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The earliest, highest-profile critic of granting an executive reprieve to Dreamers was none other than Justice Antonin Scalia. The plight of young immigrants brought to the United States as children was not something the Supreme Court was concerned with in 2012, but the late justice somehow felt the need to protest, in open court, President Obamas then weeks-old decision to not deport them for humanitarian reasons. The president has said that the new program is, quote, the right thing to do, close quote, in light of Congress failure to pass the administrations proposed revision of the immigration laws, he said as he read from a summary of his partial dissent in Arizona v. United States. That case and decision had nothing to do with Dreamers.

Maybe Scalias real qualm was with the sitting president and not the recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA. But his broader point, which a Supreme Court majority rejected, was that states should have leeway in enforcing federal immigration laws, since they  and not undocumented immigrants  face the human realities of a broken immigration system. The citizens of border states like Arizona feel themselves under siege by large numbers of illegal immigrants who invade their property, strain their social services, and even place their lives in jeopardy, Scalia complained. Somewhere, a future President Trump may have been taking notes.

More than five years since that screed, the Supreme Court could soon get a chance to judge the propriety, if not the legality, of Trumps decision last September to pull the plug on DACA. A federal judge in California in January ordered the reinstatement of the program, reasoning that its rescission rested on a flawed legal premise  namely, Jeff Sessionss paper-thin conclusion that DACA was illegal the moment it was conceived. The judge also rejected as spin and post-hoc rationalization the Trump administrations contention that DACA was vulnerable to a legal challenge by Texas and other states, which had threatened Sessions with a lawsuit if he didnt kill the initiative outright. The agency action was not in accordance with law because it was based on the flawed legal premise that the agency lacked authority to implement DACA, wrote the judge, William Alsup, in a ruling that effectively brought DACA back from the dead. Days later, the administration began accepting renewal applications as if the rollback had never happened.

Legal scholars werent impressed with the ruling. And Sessions, not one to give up on Trumps anti-immigrant crusade, then took the rare step of appealing Alsups decision directly to the Supreme Court  and why not? The Ninth Circuit, Trumps least favorite appeals court, is unruly, liberal, and anti-Trump, anyway; leapfrogging it seemed the smart thing to do. Whats more, Sessions wanted the justices to act expeditiously  his solicitor general filed an additional request to decide the case before the end of June. Not doing so, he suggested, would be the same as blessing indefinitely an ongoing violation of federal law being committed by nearly 700,000 aliens. So much for Trumps wish to treat Dreamers with heart. There was only one problem: The Supreme Court rarely, if ever, lets anyone skip over the regular appeals process. And if Sessions is in such a hurry, why didnt the administration seek to block Alsups ruling rather than comply with it? Last Friday, a coalition that includes the University of California, several states, a local chapter of the SEIU, and a number of Dreamers told the Supreme Court to reject the Trump administrations request to hear the case. The DACA mess, this alliance broadly contended, is Trumps and Congresss to own, and the justices shouldnt be the ones fixing it, at least not with the urgency Sessions is demanding.

To make sense of all this legal tussling, I reached out to one of these DACA defenders, Janet Napolitano, the Department of Homeland Security secretary under Obama who drafted the original 2012 memorandum that gave birth to DACA. Back then, her agency faced its share of lawsuits over the program, but none got much farther than the courthouse door. Ive always felt that DACA was an entirely legal use of the Executive branchs authority, Napolitano, now the president of the University of California system, told New York. In her official capacity, shes now one of several plaintiffs leading the charge on the West Coast to keep DACA alive in the courts for as long as possible  or at least until Trump and Congress reach an agreement on a permanent legislative fix for Dreamers. The fact is that no court has found that DACA is illegal, Napolitano added.

Or unconstitutional, for that matter. Indeed, a parade of unlucky litigants tried to challenge DACAs legality over the years, but all the cases were procedurally defective and got thrown out of court in the early stages. We were very careful in creating DACA not to exceed the bounds of executive authority and grant permanent legal status when only Congress could do that, Napolitano told me. Where the courts were less favorable was with a second Obama program, announced in 2014, that wouldve granted deferred action to the undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. That program never got off the ground because Texas and 25 other states secured a nationwide injunction against it. The Supreme Court, for its part, couldnt do much about it: Scalia died while the case was pending and the remaining justices, split down the middle, left the injunction in place without a definitive ruling. Sessions cited this inconclusive affirmance, if one can call it that, for the proposition that DACA was at risk of being struck down by the courts.

But DACA had already survived the court system. Against all odds, it remained alive and well for more than five years, and now, thanks to the courts, is alive again  if on life support  as a result of Judge Alsups decision last month. Yet somehow the myth that DACA violates the Constitution or amounts to amnesty for a subset of young undocumented immigrants persists in the imagination of Sessions and other immigration hard-liners. Thats detached from both history and practice  and the law itself. As Alsup reminded the Trump administration, [D]eferred action has been blessed by both the the Supreme Court and Congress as a means to exercise enforcement discretion. As a matter of course, both Republican and Democratic presidents have had ample authority to not enforce existing immigration law for humanitarian reasons  deferring action against vulnerable non-citizens under an expansive grant of prosecutorial discretion to not enforce the law. Justice Scalia, bless his soul, once described this very act of mercy as a regular practice that the Executive may engage in for humanitarian reasons or simply for its own convenience.

For Napolitano and the Obama administration, the decision to institute DACA came down to a policy choice that Dreamers werent a priority for deportation and that DHS resources were best expended elsewhere. Our Nations immigration laws must be enforced in a strong and sensible manner, Napolitano wrote in her 2012 DACA memo. They are not designed to be blindly enforced without consideration given to the individual circumstances of each case. Nor are they designed to remove productive young people to countries where they may not have lived or even speak the language. Indeed, many of these young people have already contributed to our country in significant ways. Prosecutorial discretion, which is used in so many other areas, is especially justified here.

The principle of prosecutorial discretion, which is what holds DACA together, was never once discussed by Sessions when he announced the wind-down of DACA. He didnt even try. Prosecutorial discretion wasnt some novelty that Napolitano came up with at the time, let alone a quirk of immigration law. In a path-breaking memorandum written some 40 years ago, Sam Bernsen, the general counsel of the now-defunct Immigration and Naturalization Service, advised the agencys commissioner that the ultimate source for the exercise of prosecutorial discretion lies with the inherent powers of the presidency. Under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution, the executive power is vested in the President, Bernsen wrote in what is believed to be the first in a long string of government memos justifying prosecutorial discretion in the immigration realm. Article II, Section 3, states that the President shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed. Ironically, conservatives would later seize on this take care language to argue breathlessly that Obamas immigration actions were an affront to the constitutional text, but no judge took that argument seriously.

Far and wide, executive officers enjoy similar discretion to enforce the law. From the president down to a lowly street cop, every law enforcer, state or federal, exercises some form of prosecutorial discretion over the laws theyre entrusted to oversee. Its the reason you dont always get ticketed for jaywalking or pulled over for doing 65 on a 55, even in instances where you happen to do those things in full view of the police: The government has ample discretion to not go after you if it feels youre a low-priority lawbreaker. Maybe the 75-miles-per-hour driver is the bigger fish. Whichever the case, the decision is, by and large, unchallengeable. Federal officials, as an initial matter, must decide whether it makes sense to pursue removal at all, wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in the same immigration ruling that Scalia assailed in 2012. Discretion in the enforcement of immigration law embraces immediate human concerns, he added.

Kirstjen Nielsen, the new DHS secretary, and Trump himself have all but conceded the point in recent weeks. In an interview with CBSs John Dickerson, Nielsen said that its not the policy of DHS to go after Dreamers who are DACA recipients, even if the current legislative talks fail and the program isnt renewed. Its not going to be a priority of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement to prioritize their removal, Nielsen clarified, directly contradicting the Department of Justices position on DACA before the Supreme Court. (Dreamers and immigration advocates know better than to trust Nielsens assurances.) Asked last month if he might extend the arbitrary March 5 end date of the DACA rollback process  which is no longer the end date as a result of Judge Alsups ruling  Trump spoke as if he never truly believed, like Sessions did, that deferred action was unlawful: I certainly have the right to do that if I want.

In this climate, and with Trump still fielding immigration offers as Congress faces yet another deadline to fund the government, the Supreme Court would be crazy to jump into the DACA controversy. I think for the Supreme Court to reach down to a district court decision and not allow the normal appellate process to proceed would necessarily, under the circumstances, involve or indicate that the Supreme Court is signaling its involvement in a deeply political matter, Napolitano told me. Scalia may have felt comfortable criticizing policy choices from the bench, but that doesnt mean Chief Justice John Roberts and his colleagues have to take the bait. For their own peace of mind and that of Dreamers, the Court is better off staying as far away as possible, and letting Trump take care of the laws that give him broad authority to spare young undocumented immigrants if he really wants to.
The art of the  never mind. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

After weeks of rancorous division, Democrats and Republicans finally seemed on the verge of striking a large-scale budget deal that would satisfy some of the spending demands of both sides while punting on the hot-button immigration issues that had caused the division in the first place.

That is, until the deal-maker-in-chief opened his mouth.

At a roundtable that focused on Americas foremost menace, MS-13, President Trump said, If we dont get rid of these loopholes  lets have a shutdown, well do a shutdown, and its worth it for our country. Id love to see a shutdown if we dont get this stuff taken care of.

Trump: Id love to see a shutdown. pic.twitter.com/EE7TOmbj2X  Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) February 6, 2018

By this stuff, Trump was referring to long-standing American law. As Democrats and Republicans have gone back and forth on a potential deal to protect DACA recipients from deportation, the White House has been pushing its own immigration framework, which involves over $20 billion for a border wall, sharp cuts to family-linked immigration, the end of the visa lottery, and an eventual path to citizenship for Dreamers.

That proposal was a nonstarter for Democratic leadership and many Republicans. With Senate-crafted alternatives meeting stiff White House resistance, the most likely scenario seemed to be a budget deal paired with an extension of DACA eligibility coupled with a modest increase in security spending, leaving the crucial immigration fight for another day.

But Trump, at least for now, seems determined not to agree to anything unless he gets everything.

Republican representative Barbara Comstock, who is in danger of losing her seat this November, immediately took issue with the notion of a shutdown.

Per pool report, VA GOP Rep. Comstock tried to reel it back in after Trump's comments -- "We don't need a government shutdown on this." And Trump cut in -- "You can say what you want. We are not getting support of the Democrats."  Elana Schor (@eschor) February 6, 2018

And White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders quickly clarified that the president wasnt endorsing the outcome, exactly.

We are not advocating for a shutdown, Sarah Huckabee Sanders insists.

Just want Dems to do their jobs, and stop kicking the can down the road. pic.twitter.com/MWe9eGPi59  Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) February 6, 2018

As ever, its tough to know whether Trump really meant what he said, or if hell tweet something completely contradictory in the next hour.

Earlier on Tuesday, the president was in full demagogue mode; in a pair of tweets, he noted that a drunk driver who killed an ex-NFL player was an illegal immigrant.
It depends on what the meaning of truth is. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Late last month, President Trump declared that hes not only willing to answer questions from Robert Mueller, hes eager to sit down with the special counsel. I would love to do it, and I would like to do it as soon as possible, Trump said, adding, I would do it under oath, absolutely.

White House attorney Ty Cobb quickly intervened, saying Trump meant that he was ready to meet with Muellers investigators, but would be guided by the advice of his personal counsel.

Now the New York Times reports that Trumps legal team has reached an unsurprising decision: They dont want him talking to Mueller, especially not under oath. The worst-case scenario is that Trumps attorneys think hes guilty of some Russia-related crime. But the Times suggests theres a somewhat less damning explanation: They think the president of the United States is innocent, but incapable of telling the truth. His lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators, the paper reports.

This raises the possibility that Mueller might subpoena Trump to testify before a grand jury, which would likely spark a months-long legal battle that could be decided by the Supreme Court. That would also raise questions about why the president is suddenly unwilling to chat with prosecutors. They cant exactly point to a 2007 deposition in which Trump admitted to 30 lies under oath. The best explanation Trumps allies have been able to muster is that hes not quick enough to outfox a potential perjury trap from Muellers team.

The idea of putting Trump in a room with five or six hardened, very clever lawyers, all of whom are trying to trick him and trap him, would be a very, very bad idea, Newt Gingrich said last month on Fox & Friends.

Aside from Trumps well-documented penchant for lying, the presidents attorneys must also deal with the strong possibility that their client is not, like, really smart. According to the Times, hes privately claimed he wouldnt just survive an exchange with Mueller, hed find a way to exonerate himself: The president has bragged to some aides that he would be able to clear himself if he talked to Mr. Muellers team.

It appears the lawyers have been trying to use this Trump trait to their advantage, offering him obviously false information about the state of the investigation. The last paragraph in the Times piece reads:

Privately, people close to the president have conceded that assuring Mr. Trump that the investigation would end by a certain date was primarily aimed at keeping him from antagonizing Mr. Mueller on his Twitter feed or in interviews.

Ordinarily, the presidents attorneys might be worried about the paper reporting on their efforts to mislead their client, but it doesnt seem like theres a high risk of Trump reading a Times story all the way to the end.
By the time protestors dragged Muammar Gaddafi through the streets of Sirte in Libya during the height of the Arab Spring in late 2011, Uganda Telecom Limited (utl) was spiralling from one financial pitfall to another.

The then Libyan government, with Gaddafi as its leader, was a majority shareholder in utl with about 69 per cent. Around the same time, in the humid terrains of western Uganda, trucks were belonging to ThreeWays Shipping transported rigs and all sorts of materials to mainly Tullow Oils wells and camps.

A Uganda telecom outlet

With Gaddafi overthrown, the financial injections from Tripoli to utl ground to a halt. The company slashed its capital investments at a time when its peers such as Airtel were pumping more money in their network operations.

For example, in 2010, utl accounted for six per cent of the total net investment spend in the market. By the end of 2011 that figure had shrunk to two per cent. The company losses more than doubled over the same period. Numerous management shake-ups came after. Utls free-fall could hardly be stopped.

On the other hand, ThreeWays Shipping was raking in huge amounts of money. By 2012, the company said it had more than 750 employees. In the same year, ThreeWays had a turnover of $30 million, up from $3.2 million nine years earlier. ThreeWays became the biggest local company operating in Ugandas oil fields, where foreign firms are dominant. The sky appeared no limit for ThreeWays.

Five years later, utl and ThreeWays found themselves in a similar position: cash-strapped and in need of a bailout. Company managers rushed to the one man who usually has the last word on pretty much everything  President Yoweri Museveni.

Both companies presented two different plans: utl, with Evelyn Anite, the state minister for Investment and Privatisation, as its key negotiator, pushed for a compulsory acquisition of its services  both voice and data  by all government ministries. That particular suggestion, among other proposals such as the writing off of debt, sounded wild.

ThreeWays Shipping got hit by a slowdown in Ugandas oil industry as protracted negotiations over tax and a route for a crude oil export pipeline took longer than what many players had predicted. A series of bank loans from Standard Charted bank, among other factors, would later lead to the collapse of ThreeWays Shipping.

To recover, Jeff Baitwa, the founder of ThreeWays Shipping, came up with what looked like a brilliant idea: he tried to convince government that Uganda needed an oil fund to help distressed local firms borrow money at a cheaper rate. His reason was that for local content to make meaning in the oil industry, Ugandan local firms have to be at the centre of winning the key tenders, and therefore they need all the help they can get.

In the end, Anites plan to force all government bodies to sign up to utls services, outrageous as it sounds, last week received a thumbs-up from Museveni, while Baitwas proposals appear to have been shot down before they were even internalised.

ThreeWays was placed under receivership and there is little hope it can ever recover, while utl has received a new lease of life. So, that brings me to the question: which of the two firms  utl (ignore the fact that it is a government company) or ThreeWays Shipping  should government have saved?

While both firms deserve a bailout, it is important to look at what impact the two had/have in their particular sectors to know which of the two should be sacrificed for the other.

The telecom industry has evolved over the years. Due to the heavy competition, the profit margins have been narrowed due to the price wars. Prices for voice and data products have been slashed under the false pretence of labelling them as promotions.

One of the reasons as to why Orange Uganda left the country in 2014 was partly because the price wars had made it difficult for the French company to make money.

Utl is not likely to come anywhere close to the competition that MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda pose. This is because matching the big two telecom firms requires huge investments in the network, which government might not be ready to commit to the firm. Also, forcing government agencies to sign up to utl services does not necessarily bar the consumption of other products from the competition.

ThreeWays, however, has a different story. The company is purely private. However, it had an impact on how much money the country would make from its oil industry. Being local, some of the oil majors found it cheaper to hire a local transport company than a foreign entity.

As such, the recoverable costs  the first batch of money that government would have to pay an oil production company before profit from the sale of oil is shared  was bound to be significantly lowered.

ThreeWays said that at the start of oil exploration in the early 2000s, daily hire rates for trucks and cranes ranged between $800 and $1,000 per day per semi-trailer truck, and $1,400-$1,800 per day per crane. By 2016, the rates were $300 - $400 and $850 - $1,100 respectively.

The numbers dont lie. Utl might not be able to influence any price movements in the market. ThreeWays Shipping could. It does not take rocket science to figure which of the two firms is quite critical to the country right now.

jeff@observer.ug

Twitter: @jeff_mbanga
Diplock Ssegawa, the leader of popular 1990s outfit, the Wrens, is best known for his 35-year-old hit, Sooka Omunoonye, and last week at the National theatre, he celebrated the song in a special way.

The song is a staple at Buganda introduction ceremonies (kwanjula) to this day and fans filled up the theatre to get treated to Ssegawas songs for two hours.

Diplock Ssegawa (R) with his band on stage

He sang Beera Nange, Party Song, Tuginenyeza Bwerere, Friendship, Obudde Butuuse, Abakyala Beebazibwe, Abavubuka, Nkomyewo and Obunnanfuusi. The highlight of the night was predictably when he performed Sooka Omunoonye, sending fans into cheers and wild dances.

He said that during rehearsals in 1991, his colleague Maria Nakyagaba proposed that they record Sooka Omunoonye, which would later become a hit.

I immediately bought the idea and we recorded, he said.

The show got emotional as a teary Ssegawa thanked those in the audience that shaped his musical career. He called to the stage his eldest daughter who is deaf, to give her life testimony. Despite her impairment, she is now married with two children and working with dfcu bank.

About Ssegawa

Ssegawa has released 11 albums since 1987. He says he has over 200 songs yet to be released. Born in Wakiso district to Benjamin and Aida Katumba, both musicians, Ssegawa, the seventh of 10 children, started singing in their family choir, the Mirembe Family Choir, in the 1980s, under their fathers tutelage.

Back home in Kaababbi, Bulondo, there was a tree where we used to gather and sing as a family. Our father corrected us whenever we made mistakes and gave us credit for good performances.

Ssegawa started writing songs in 1982, and later honed his musical skills when he began to translate gospel songs from English into Luganda. He formed The Wrens in 1982 and they performed in Uganda, the UK and Sweden in the 1990s.

He left for the UK in 2000, where he conducted choirs in churches including St Jude and Aiden Church of England Choir at Thornton Heath near Croydon and St Johns Waterloo Luganda Church Choir in Central London.

kamogajonathan50@gmail.com
Conflicting accounts continue to circulate about the time, and at whose hands, music superstar Moses Nakintije Ssekibogo (Mowzey Radio) suffered severe injuries, which led to his death on February 1.

Authorities at Case hospital, family members, friends and fellow artistes have in recent days made public statements which do not seem to tally, raising questions about who actually killed the one-half of the hugely popular Goodlyfe Crew.

Moses Ssekibogos casket carried from Lubaga cathedral

Radio was rushed to Case after being referred there from Nsambya hospital in critical condition following a brawl at De Bar, a hangout in Entebbe on January 22.

On the day the shock news of Radios death was officially announced to a stunned nation, Dr Miriam Apiyo, an inpatient clinic director at Case hospital, told journalists that upon admission, it was established that the star had a brain bleed and was subsequently placed on life support.

The MRI scan comfirmed the bleeding and surgery was done to remove a [blood] clot. He had responded well to treatment, which prompted doctors to remove him from the life-support machine but the condition deteriorated on Saturday [January 27], Apiyo said.

Apiyo said the condition was aggravated by convulsions although Radio had been responding well to treatment.

Mothers doubts

But Radios mother, Jane Kasubo, told The Observer during the public vigil at Kololo ceremonial grounds last Friday that her son was in stable condition after the operation.

His condition, she said, only deteriorated after another minor additional surgery was performed on his neck on January 27.

My son was releasing some discharge through the nose and doctors insisted that it would affect his health. They promised us that he would be better if they cut his throat and tubes are inserted to release it [discharge], Kasubo said.

After the cutting, we only saw doctors moving around; no one was giving us updates. I sensed danger because my son was not fine but doctors were not telling the truth, she said.

According to Radios mother, her son could have died on Tuesday, January 30, not February 1 as announced by the hospital.

Why did doctors refuse me to see my son for two days after cutting his throat? They just kept putting him in induced coma, and not explaining anything to us. Yes, I dont understand medical terms but my daughters were around to interpret for me but they were also not given updates, she said.

Theres a day I told doctors if they cannot help us, let them give me my son and we go to another hospital. But some doctors were kind and said they will talk to the director not to be harsh on me, she said.

Sylvia Nakintije, Radios paternal aunt, was quoted as saying that Radio had a big cut on his scalp, a broken collarbone and thumb.

According to Kasubo, her sons life ended the day he was beaten in Entebbe.

For all the time I was at Case hospital, Radio never recognised anyones voiceHe couldnt even tell I was his mother. He didnt know what was on earth. His eyes were always so light but doctors assured me he was regaining consciousness but I didnt believe them.

Music promoter Balaam Barugahara, who became the focal point at the hospital, seems to agree with her, telling The Observer in an interview that Radio was half-dead at Case.

There was a time when I visited them and realised Radios eyes were closed. But when I called out loud to him, he only opened his right eye while the other remained closed. Even then, he didnt recognise it was Balaam speaking, Barugahara said.

Prime suspect held

On Monday, the police announced that Godfrey Troy Wamala had been arrested after days on the run. Wamala is the bouncer who one eyewitness says attacked Radio, lifted and slammed the pencil-thin musician onto the concrete floor of De Bar, splitting his skull.

Wamala denied this on Monday but police wonder why he then fled the scene and has been a fugitive from the law since. Police say Wamala was hiding at a friends place in Kyengera, a city suburb.

Also in custody is George Egesa, owner of the bar, and another individual, Xavier Rukere  all of whom are believed to have played a part in the fatal bust-up.

Meanwhile, Pamela Musiimire, the woman who called Radio to the bar in the first place, has suggested that there was a third party, an unidentified man dressed in a white T-shirt and blue pair of shorts, who also attacked Radio.

While her narration of how events unfolded is similar with that of the other eyewitness, producer David Ebangit a.k.a Washington, says the inconsistency is in who lifted Radio and hit him on the floor

After two weeks of silence, Washington, who has neither spoken nor been seen in public since the attack, spoke to NBS television on Monday.

He had travelled with Radio from Kampala to inspect works on a mansion being built by the musician in Entebbe. Later, they joined Musiimire at De Bar where Washington says he saw Troy inflict the grievous injuries on the nationally adored Radio.

He [Troy] lifted him up and threw him down. I heard Radios head crack..., Ebangit narrated.

Ebangit said they set off from Makindye to Entebbe at around 3pm, arrived at the bar between 5pm and 6pm, and that the assault ensued around 7pm.

Earlier reports before Ebangits interview had said the tragic brawl took place at about 9pm. It is now up to the police and Directorate of Public Prosecutions to cobble together different strings in this most heart-rending of celebrity homicides.

The suspects had first faced lesser charges of assault and causing grievous harm. They are now staring at the graver prospect of either manslaughter or murder charges -- depending on respective level of culpability.

nangonzi@observer.ug
The Uganda National Examination Board has said that the massive leakage of the 2017 Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE) examinations didnt in any significant way affect the results that have been released today.

Speaking at the release of the senior four examinations results today in Kampala, Uneb executive director, Dan Odongo, said that although it is true there was a leak of exams, especially in the second week of the exams, examiners didnt find anything during the marking process that was extraordinary.

Uneb executive director, Dan Odongo

Odongo said although the papers circulated widely on social media channels, they didnt reach the candidates.

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the performance that shows that the papers were leaked. What made this appear as though it was massive leakage was the method used to leak the papers Odongo said.

Mary Okwakol, the chairperson of Uneb, added that even when there was no significant effect, all those who were implicated in the malpractice were apprehended and some are already in court battling charges.

All the information and persons involved were reported to police; thats why there are so many people who were arrested, Okwawol said. At least 81 persons, 78 of whom are teachers, were suspected to have been involved in examinations malpractices.

Of these 49 have appeared in court and are currently out on bail with their cases at various stages of hearing. According to the results, the overwhelming form of malpractice experienced was assistance given to candidates by third parties.

Other forms include collusion where students copy from one another and smuggling of unauthorized materials into the examination rooms. The majority of reported cases of malpractice are in science subjects with Biology being the most affected with 39.7% of the cases followed by Physics with 20.1% Chemistry 10.3% and Mathematics 6.7%.

Results of 4,525 candidates, representing 1.4% of the candidates who sat from 112 examination, centers have been withheld. In her speech, Okwakol condemned the habit of cheating in exams, saying this compromises Ugandas education system.

I appeal to leaders and the general public to support UNEB to combat examination malpractices and to be partners to ensure malpractice free examinations, Okwakol said.

In her remarks read by the state minister for higher education, John Chrysostom Muyingo, the First Lady and Minister of Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, noted that it is inconceivable that professionals charged with overseeing exams act in a criminal manner.

Malpractice is like a cancer if which not dealt with will destroy our education system. Its my prayer that the courts will handle the cases before them and will hand out punishments according to the gravity of the matter, Museveni noted.

bakerbatte@observer.ug
In the past, a student leader was comparable to the African native chief, an instructor who assumed some administrative tasks as educational institutions began to grow beyond one room.

But today, there is a lot of pressure on student leaders from all angles, especially in the giant traditional schools where they are glorified. But let us look at the average student leader today. First, they are students with academic responsibilities such as attending classes, sitting exams and reading like any other student.

They are also the bridge between the school administration and students. To the administration, this person represents the students body; but to the students, they represent the school administration.

The student leader is an important function of management and helps to maximize efficiency. But do they have the potential to influence and drive the group efforts towards the accomplishment of organizational goals?

Unfortunately, school administrators (the guides) have at times unknowingly turned student leaders into bad guys, the villains. In some schools, student leaders are allowed to hit fellow students as a form of punishment. Yes, as extreme as it may sound, it is traditional.

Many people will tell stories of a tough teacher who used to hit them. That is bad enough. Now imagine having a vivid memory of being beaten by your classmate. These are things one never forgets.

So, imagine what this does to the student leader when school is over. This creates a power-hungry character. It is a sort of defense mechanism because no one wants to go back to being equals with someone they once hit. So, schools are creating leaders who have no space for humility and simply cannot give up power.

I believe that ensuring discipline should not only be centered on punishing, but also on rewarding. The highly-disciplinarian schools today are producing people who fear doing wrong and see no good in doing what is right.

This is because they fear the punishment that comes with wrongdoing but see no wrong in the crime itself. Taking the kindergarten approach would be more effective.

Here, the shame upon you rant makes sense because it is an honor for one to do something good. With that, we will have less people in society who take pride in wrongdoing.

Student leaders should, therefore, be given more ability to reward than to punish.



Ethel Alexandria Luyiga,

S6 vacist.



Makerere lecturers insensitive to students?



Makereres department of Journalism and Communicatiom joined their Law School counterparts to withdraw its services from the evening undergraduate degree program.

This was backed by a message delivered by the head of department highlighting their protests against working extra hours without reimbursement. Dr WilliamTayeebwa said they have tried diplomatic dialogue on a number of ocasions with the university administration but all in vain.

He added that the university has always extended an deaf ear when it comes to services offered to evening students. He said lecturers work without pay yet students pay their tuition.

It is at this point that I wish to fault our lecturers. If you failed to agree with the administration, how do you expect us students to respond?

Fellow journalists, injustice to one of us is injustice to us all. The university thinks it can just change students from evening to day, ignoring the stress many of them go through during day to work for their tuition. The congestion and discomfort most likely to come out of this is none of their business.

I am not happy; we are not happy.

Elvis Ubanga,

Student.



Lets appreciate the good done by NRM



The ruling party recently marked 32 years in power, continuing to make history as the countrys longest regime since independence.

With the country having undergone a lot of upheavals, NRA/M inherited a failed state and a handicapped economy. With such challenges, the party looked like a saviour.

They have since established relative peace and professionalized the army. They also liberalized the economy before establishing participatory democracy with the reinstatement of political parties, thus the advent of the likes of Dr Kizza Besigye.

Other achievements include women emancipation, fighting the HIV/Aids scourge and return of constitutionalism. Although the NRM has failed on many fronts, the last 32 years are worth celebrating.

Joel Mukisa.

joelmukisa13@gmail.com.



Museveni right on boda boda carnage



While addressing the nation in Arua on January 26 during the National Liberation day celebrations, President Museveni attacked boda boda riders who disrespect traffic rules.

Road accident reports from Mulago national referral hospital show that more than half of all trauma cases there are as a result of boda boda accidents.

Although President Museveni tasked police on fighting errant boda bodas, I believe it is everyones role to make sure that as Ugandans, we reduce the carnage caused by these cyclists.

Passengers, boda boda cyclists and police all have a role to play.



David Serumaga,

serumagadavid916@gmail.com.



Expand Arua hospital mortuary



I wish to register my disappointment once more with Arua regional referral hospital. Despite the regional referral trademark name it carries, Arua hospital has a disappointing mortuary.

The facility has a two-roomed, dilapidated and small mortuary for keeping bodies from within and those brought from outside.

At the mortuary, picking a body of a relative, who has died in the hospital, one is sometimes made to endure the foul smell emanating from other decomposing bodies, especially those who die from somewhere and are brought in.

It is my humble request that the administration considers constructing two separate mortuaries, where one would be for keeping bodies of persons who have died within the facility and the other for those ferried from outside.



Muzamil Alamiga,

Arua.



letters@observer.ug




This years Tarehe Sita celebrations, which climaxed in Butaleja district on Tuesday, was not just about dining and wining, but working too.

During the annual week-long events to mark the day this army was founded, the UPDF leadership launched construction of a Shs 130 billion hospital at Mbuya military barracks.

The 250-bed facility, which the army describes as a state-of-the-art national referral hospital, is to be ready within three years, and will be open to civilians too.

According to ministry of Defence acting permanent secretary Edith Buturo, once construction is complete, there will be no more referral of army officers abroad for treatment.

Apparently, the ministry spends Shs 5bn on such treatment every year. Yet this figure pales in comparison to what the government as a whole spends, which is currently estimated at Shs 380bn annually.

Therefore, a well equipped army hospital can save the Ugandan taxpayer much more than Shs 5bn annually. If the government is as concerned as many Ugandans are, about the exorbitant medical bills accumulated by public officials abroad, it can use this military hospital project to end or at least limit the haemorrhage.

The military facility should be built to world-class standards and accordingly equipped so that all public officials who would otherwise have gone abroad for treatment are treated here. Not only does this save us foreign exchange, it helps us build adequate capacity in our national healthcare system.

A well-run military medical facility would appeal to many dignitaries as it comes with acclaimed military efficiency and robust security for high-profile people who might not trust local facilities.

During the same Tarehe Sita week, the UPDF also welcomed back its officers who had undergone three-month training about railway technology in China.

In peacetime, there is so much a disciplined and well-trained army can do. With such a vast and rich human resource, the UPDF is truly capable of achieving great things.

An army that can run world-class hospitals, engage in modern farming, build roads, railways and airports, on top of protecting the country, is what Uganda needs.
Last week, an old friend and senior scholar at Makerere University emailed me about the ongoing national consultations by former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president, Mugisha Muntu.

He argued that Muntus search for a new course after losing the race for FDC president may well lead to nowhere and, in the end, only aid Mr Museveni and hurt the opposition. Possibly. Its quite likely that Mr Museveni is a very pleased man!

But what exactly is Muntu up to and what does he hope to achieve by conducting nationwide consultations? What is the end-game? This is not clear at all or, at a minimum, there has been no clear articulation of the agenda at hand and its stated goals.

To my understanding, Muntu is staking his name in a way that may very well imperil his integrity and hurt his political career. The manner in which he lost the race for re-election as FDC president left him little ground for genuine grievance, at least from a strictly political standpoint.

There is a great deal of moral argument that one can make as to why Muntu must feel aggrieved. But the fact that he was the incumbent and he lost the race in a free and open contest makes it difficult to argue that he was unfairly treated during the five years when he was party president and in the course of campaigning for a second term.

There is no doubt as to the shabby and mean tactics deployed from sections of the party to fail his presidency. The cheap denigration, open hostility, and outright obstruction meted out to him were for years quite palpable.

But it is also true that Muntu did not do himself enough justice to succeed in whatever he set out to do. The goodwill of others is important to succeed. In politics though, there are situations when one has to ruggedly succeed in spite of bad will and unfavourable conditions.

The bottom line is that the same constituency and voting base of the party that put Muntu in office in 2012 put him out in 2017. The fact that after five years at the helm he wasnt able to overcome his detractors and prevail at the polls is as much due to those who wanted him to fail as to his own failure to stamp his influence on the partys grassroots and structures.

It is instructive that despite enjoying seemingly bigger support across the spectrum of the partys leadership at the national level, including the leadership in parliament, Muntu was not able to command a decisive support base among the rank and file delegates.

Yes, his opponent had the tacit support of a towering and imposing former party president, but Muntu had incumbent advantages and the leverage to secure victory.

Attempting to depart FDC and work on a so-called third force alternative is likely to be counterproductive. First, for as long as Mr Museveni is in the picture, any political contest involving him, in the final analysis, is between him and the rest of the political class. It is a referendum. A third alternative is almost inconsequential.

Since 1996, there has been no room for a third candidate in presidential elections because the election involving the life-president-in-chief is a referendum against him. If there was ever any doubt, the 2016 elections settled this matter. So, if Muntu and co are serious about anything outside of FDC, it has to be to unseat FDC, and whoever is leading its front, and emerge as the main opposition against our creeping authoritarianism.

Equally important in the whole scheme of a third alternative project is Muntus own credibility. For as long as he went to the polls well aware of the odds stacked against him yet confident of victory, contested fairly and lost squarely, Muntu will not look any different from his opponent in 2012 who took leave of the party after losing the race and created a deleterious silent standoff.

The circumstances are different, but the principle is the same. Now, he can choose to take the risk and deal with the charge of failing to behave differently, which will cheap away at the chinks in his otherwise strong moral amour, but in the end there is unlikely to be the kind of payoff to justify the chosen course.

Reaching out is the only viable way out for the long term. And the bigger onus is on the FDC president. Campaign time comes with big sloganeering and heavy rhetoric that is often bereft of substance. But the time of leadership calls for sober introspection and measured strategy.

As matters stand now, FDC president Patrick Amuriat needs Muntu just as Muntu needed Nandala-Mafabi after 2012. Muntu didnt get Mafabi in his corner, and it wasnt for not trying. This time though, Amuriat can try and succeed. And both him and Muntu will be winners.

moses.khisa@gmail.com

The author is an assistant professor of political science at North Carolina State University.
South Korean automaker Kia Motors today unveiled new SP Concept, which made its public world premiere at AutoExpo 2018, alongside a showcase of 16 global models. Kia will kick off its retail sales in India in the second half of the next year. The company said that it would introduce a range of vehicles, including an India-exclusive compact electric vehicle in the country between 2019 and 2021.

Motors Corporation President and CEO Han Woo Park today said that the SP Concept SUV will be the first of the products to be rolled out from the company's plant in Andhra Pradesh, where it has invested USD 1 billion. The plant will have a capacity of 3 lakh units annually.

Kia will also introduce an India-exclusive compact electric vehicle. Commenting on Kia's official debut here, Park said, "This beautiful country of India is the final piece of puzzle in Kias global footprint." He further said that with a plant in Andhra Pradesh, the company has also moved one step closer to having a truly global manufacturing network, which also includes facilities in the US, Mexico and Slovakia among others.

Despite being a late entrant, Park said, "Even though we have arrived late, we have come fully prepared." Globally, Kia is the 8th largest auto manufacturer, selling 2.8 million units last year across 180 countries, he added.

The company is showcasing 16 products from its global portfolio at the ongoing auto expo. Kia Motors India Managing Director and CEO Kookhyun Shim said,"Kia Motors is thrilled to enter India, which is all set to catapult into the world's fifth largest economy this year."

Stating that it is a favorable time to enter the country, he said additional forecasts predict that India will be amongst the world's largest car markets in a few years. "We are here to be a part of the success story, which has been put into motion by progressive government policies and decision making," Shim added.

Commenting on the SP Concept, Kia Motors Corporation Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer said, "Over the last few years, SUVs have become the vehicle of choice among Indian buyers. Combining the comfort and space of a sedan with the ability to tackle all kinds of terrain, we intend to storm the market with an SUV that will set new parameters in motoring."

He said being a concept, the vehicle is a "little bit exaggerated", but the actual production car will be very close to the concept displayed at the expo. Other models displayed by Kia at the expo include city car Picanto, passenger car Rio, crossover Stonic and 7-seater Sorento among others.

(With inputs from PTI)


The Minority in Parliament walked out of the August House Tuesday afternoon over the cash-for-seat report.



According to them, they just received the 147 page committee's document and could not have gone through the report thoroughly for discussions to be generated.



Parliament today commenced discussions into the cash-for-seat committee's report as it was laid before the house.



The Minority Leader, Haruna Iddrisu, held that under the circumstances, his side of the House could not take part in the deliberations.



The Majority in Parliament has however decided to go ahead with the debate and discussions on the report.



The Majority Leader and Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Osei-Kyei Mensah Bonsu, said the Minority MPs refusal to take part in the debate was borne out of their lack of understanding of Parliamentary standing orders.



A 5-member ad hoc committee of Parliament which was set up to investigate extortion allegations against the Ministry of Trade and Industry cleared the sector Minister Alan Kyerematen and his officials of any wrongdoing.



The Minority led by MP for Asawase, Muntaka Mubarak alleged the Ministry took $100, 000 from expatriates to sit close to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo during the Ghana Expatriates Business Awards last year.



Some sections of the 146-page report said:  . . After the hearings and the analysis and evaluation of the evidence adduced before it has come to a conclusion that there is no merit in the allegations leveled against the Ministry of Trade and Industry as contained in the motion and which culminated in the setting up of the Special Committee.



The Committee, however, made the following recommendations: That the Controller and Accountant General and the Ministry of Finance should consider in the formulation of the new Regulation of the PFM Act, adequate provision to cater for public private partnership arrangement and emerging or contemporary issues.



That there is a need to have a second look at the recall mechanism and ensure that it is not needlessly invoked at any time because of its mandatory nature in the Constitution. Upon a recall, Mr. Speaker may have to establish that there is a prima facie case and if Mr. Speaker is not satisfied that there is a good reason for the summoning, he may dispense with the meeting. This test is likely to curtail frivolous and vexatious request for a recall.



That the practice of some Members of Parliament trooping to the media to make allegations against highly placed officials must cease.



"The Committee is of the view that Members of Parliament who indulge in such acts ought not to be heard in Parliament if they should thereafter bring those matters before Parliament for Parliament to deliberate on the matter.



'Minority report'



The bi-partisan committee probing the extortion claims was enveloped by controversy when its Minority members decided to prepare and leak a separate report that indicted some persons of interests in the probe, including the Ministry of Trade and the organizers of the awards scheme, the Millennium Excellence Foundation.



The Minority side of the Committee, comprising of Dr. Dominic Ayine and James Avedzi, concluded that, the Ministry of Trade engaged in multiple infractions including breaches of the public financial management law and multiple ethical violations.



It also said the Millennium Excellence Foundation, among other things, presented forged evidence to the Committee.



Dr. Ayine subsequently called for the withdrawal of the already laid report so that a composite report will be presented to Parliament.



Prior to the walkout, there were reports that the Minority was planning to boycott the debate of the report over the matter.

Source: Isaac Kwame Owusu/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









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sacw.net - 7 February 2018

With Indian independence and coming of Indian Constitution; the foundations for progress in the society were laid. This was to be for an all out progress and the basis of this was the principles of scientific temper. This process was guided by the architect of modern India, Jawaharlal Nehru. We saw the surge of the institutions which contributed to the progress of the country; with great contributions of Indian scientists. There were flaws and weaknesses, of course, but the direction was a rational, direction was that of scientific approach. This fulfilled the clause of the Article 51a of the Indian constitution which enjoins upon citizens the afundamental dutya to develop athe scientific tempera .

The Bharatiya Janata Party and its leaders, who are currently ruling and dictating the direction of scientific research and development, seem to have different ideas. While we have good foundations in all round areas of science and technology be it the area of basic science and technology, health, atomic energy, space science and what have you, it seems that currently direction being pursued by ruling dispensation is putting the things in the reverse gear.

During last seventy odd years the way our institutions have developed we can see their massive all round contribution in most areas of science and technology, though one can add, things could have been better. The inkling of this retrograde direction began with the previous BJP led NDA Government when Murali Manohar Joshi, the then MHRD minister introduced courses like astrology and Paurohitya (rituals) in Universities. In continuation with this pattern Dr. Satya Pal Singh, who is currently minster in MHRD, recently stated that Darwinas theory is wrong as our ancestors did not mention that they saw ape turning into man in our scriptures. He was duly backed up by the RSS ideologue turned BJP leader Ram Madhav.

He himself a while ago he had stated that Wright brothers were not the first oneas to discover aero plane, it was and Indian, Shivkar Bapuji Talpade who had discovered it. He emphasized that such books should be taught in the schools which highlight the likes of Talpade. Theory of evolution has been one of the turning point discoveries of science, based on the painfully collected evidence by Darwin for a period of decades. As science is not based on faith there is always a scope to fill the gaps of knowledge of the original discoverer, and thatas how science develops. In contrast to the methods of science, the fundamentalists harp that all knowledge is already there in the Holy Scriptures, the word of almighty. Singh-Joshi-Ram Madhav clone is not the only onesa in this retrograde thinking. The Christian fundamentalists went on to counter the theory of Darwin by putting together aCreation sciencea and similarly Islamic fundamentalists like Zakir Naik also dismiss this theory on frivolous grounds.

Singhas statement has been very disturbing for the scientific community in India. A large number of them expressed their anguish in a letter, which they sent to the Minister. The letter says that the ministeras statement was simplistic and misleading. aThere is plentiful and undeniable scientific evidence to the fact that humans and the other great apes and monkeys had a common ancestor.a The letter further says that the ministeras claim that the Vedas contain answers to all questions is exaggerated and ais an insult to the genuine research work on history of Indian scientific traditionsa .

aWhen a minister working for the human resource development in the country makes such claims, it harms the scientific communityas efforts to propagate scientific thoughts and rationality through critical education and modern scientific research,a reads the letter. aIt also diminishes the image of the country at the global level and reduces faith of the international historical research community in the genuine research by the Indian researchers.a

At another level there are claims that Kauravas were born through the techniques mentioned in our holy scripture based on which Balkrishan Ganpat Matapurkar has patented the technique for body part generation, inspired by Gandharias giving birth to 100 sons and Karna taking birth from ear of Kunti. At equally interesting level is the understanding of the Chief of Indian Council of Historical Research, Y. Sudarshan. As per him reading of the Hindu epic Mahabharata can make us infer that the weapons described in them were the result of atomic fission and/or fusion. He also claims that stem cell research was there in Iron Age India.

It is not difficult to imagine that with this pattern of thinking among policy makers our science policy will get a strong jolt. Currently on most of issues the policy has been to encourage research and funding on topics, which are purely based on figments of imagination. Huge top level funding has recently been announced for Panchgavya, a mixture of cow urine, dung, ghee, curd and milk. The efforts to prove that Ram Setu (Adamas bridge), bridge between India and Srilanka was for real and was built by Lord Ram with the help of Monkey army; are also on. In matters of History efforts are on to prove the existence of River Sarswati, to prove historicity of the epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata are among the few of them.

The twin processes involved here are to claim that all the knowledge is already there in our scriptures and that science-technology research and development should be along those lines. Second is to claim that all discoveries have their roots here in India, more so in India before the coming of Christians and Muslims. This seems to be running in parallel with identifying India with Hindus and Hinduism alone. One does feel that already during last many decades good foundation of scientific enterprises has been laid, the question is whether this community of scientists and Indian society at large will be able to resist these impositions on the march of direction of our science? Will our next generations be able to benefit from the rational thinking and achievements of science in coming times?
Education Reporter

Mathew Burciaga is a Santa Maria Times reporter who covers education, agriculture and public safety. Prior to joining the Times, Mathew ran a 114-year-old community newspaper in Wyoming. He owns more than 40 pairs of crazy socks from across the globe.
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Wild raids and stalking. We know more about the escape distance of monkeys

Living near humans can have benefits, such as plenty of food - but it can also pose a big threat. But monkeys know well how to assess the risk and when to flee.

This has been confirmed by a new study conducted in African cities where monkeys are a tourist attraction, and in villages where they are a nuisance for farmers. Researchers present their conclusions in "Behavioral Processes".

The authors of the publication are: Peter Mikula from the Charles University in Prague (Czech Republic), Gabriel Saffa from the University of Presov (Slovakia), Emma Nelson from the University of Liverpool (UK) and Piotr Tryjanowski from the University of Life Sciences in Poznan.

The study focused on vervet monkeys (that have made their contribution to science, for example in the context of AIDS and resistance research).

Vervet monkeys in city parks are bold animals that dig in the rubbish and approach people to beg for snacks.

"Living in cities is not a necessary a bad thing for them. Looking at the number of their young in parks, you would think that all this extra food that people leave as trash is paradise on earth for vervet monkeys. The benefits of using such food can be short-term but - apart from the risk of disease transmission - living near people does not cost these monkeys anything" - says Prof. Tryjanowski.

Life in the countryside is a different story. Monkey hordes that raid the fields and destroy crops are by definition treated as pests. Uganda farmers react to them like Polish farmers would to a polecat or a fox. "People persecute them: they throw stones at them, shoot firearms, chase them with cars" - says Prof. Tryjanowski.

The key issue for scientists is whether and how monkeys adapt to such different realities. The monkeys' reactions to humans can be compared, it just takes some patience and a lot of walking. From a technical point of view, this requires scientists to repeat the following actions: look for a monkey and calmly approach it. Scientists check the distance at which the monkey loses its nerve. This key moment determines the flight initiation distance (FID) - the smallest distance to which a resting or eating vervet monkey allows you to approach it.

Professor Tryjanowski and his colleagues examined 83 monkeys in cities (Kampala, Entebbe, Masaka and Hoima) and villages.

The study confirmed that monkeys in the rural landscape do not allow people to come closer than 200 meters. "They flee at the sight of a man in a distance - it is basically enough to look at them. They treat people as predators; they are afraid of them, they feel great respect - says Prof. Tryjanowski. - But in cities, especially in the capital, Kampala, and in nearby parks they are trusting to the extent that their FID is only about 10 m. They behave as if they were domesticated. Vervet monkeys from the park in Kampala sometimes even approach people and beg for food. That is unfortunate, because a wild animal's close contact with a human being is not a good thing".

The authors of the publication emphasize that in the case of monkeys, the conclusions from the study are important in the context of protection. "Such forced closeness to humans has considerable consequences for animals. Firstly, the consequences associated with escape that means stress and energy expenditure for animals. The epizoological consequences are equally important. People can get infected from monkeys, and the other way around - monkeys can get infected from us, from people, especially tourists coming from Europe" - emphasises Prof. Tryjanowski.

FID has already been tested in various groups of animals, including reptiles, rodents, ungulates, predators and birds. Prof. Tryjanowski and colleagues studied birds living in urban and rural areas and at different latitudes.

They used the same working method to study vervet monkeys. Co-author of the publication in "Behavioral Processes" Dr. Emma Nelson points out that there is an absence of FID studies in primates. And this is a special group of animals, if only because of highly developed cognitive and adaptive abilities.

"All theoretical models predict that organisms with large brains - primates - should identify threats on the principle that they know when to run and when they do not have to. This has been confirmed" - says the zoologist from the University of Life Sciences in Poznan.

PAP - Anna Slazak

zan/ agt/ kap/

tr. RL
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 Advocating for postpartum mental illness to be an express mitigating sentencing factor | Main | AG Sessions gives full accounting of his full law-and-order approach to his work as Attorney General 

February 6, 2018

ABA House of Delegates enacts resolution urging prohibition of death penalty's application to those under 21

As reported in this ABA Journal posting, the "ABA House of Delegates on Monday asked all death penalty jurisdictions to ban capital punishment for any offender who committed their crime at the age of 21 or younger." Here is more:

In the report accompanying the resolution, the chairs of the Death Penalty Due Process Review Project and the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice wrote: In light of this evolution of both the scientific and legal understanding surrounding young criminal defendants and broader changes to the death penalty landscape, it is now time for the ABA to revise its dated position and support the exclusion of individuals who were 21 years old or younger at the time of their crime. The language of Resolution 111 makes clear that the ABA is not taking a position supporting or opposing the death penalty. In a motion to amend, Robert L. Weinberg, a past president of the District of Columbia Bar and the Bar Association of the District of Columbia, proposed removing that language. He brought up a CLE session held earlier during this midyear meeting by Cassandra Stubbs of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project. We stand almost alone among the progressive democracies in adhering to capital punishment, he said.... Michael Byowitz, the Board of Governors liaison to the Death Penalty Due Process Review Project, rose to speak in opposition to Weinbergs amendment.... Byowitz said marginal efforts chipping away at the use of the death penalty are the most effective ways of addressing the problem. We will be ignored if we are perceived in many of the councils that matter as against the death penalty, he said. Lets not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.... The amendment was defeated in a divided vote. Resolution 111 was passed overwhelmingly.

The full Resolution and Report can be accessed at this link. The report runs a dozen pages and concludes this way:

In the decades since the ABA adopted its policy opposing capital punishment for individuals under the age of 18, legal, scientific and societial developments strip the continued application of the death penalty against individuals in late adolescence of its moral or constitutional justification. The rationale supporting the bans on executing either juveniles, as advanced in Roper v. Simmons, or individuals with intellectual disabilities, as set forth in Atkins v. Virginia, also apply to offenders who are 21 years old or younger when they commit their crimes. Thus, this policy proposes a practical limitation based on age that is supported by science, tracks many other areas of our civil and criminal law, and will succeed in making the administration of the death penalty fairer and more proportional to both the crimes and the offenders. In adopting this revised position, the ABA still acknowledges the need to impose serious and severe punishment on these individuals when they take the life of another person. Yet at the same time, this policy makes clear our recognition that individuals in late adolescence, in light of their ongoing neurological development, are not among the worst of the worst offenders, for whom the death penalty must be reserved.

February 6, 2018 at 10:33 PM | Permalink

Comments

Why should anyone care what the ABA says? Isn't the ABA the organization that gave Cornelia Pillard a unanimous WQ rating, and she got clown-suited in DC v. Wesby?

Or Kim McLane Wardlaw--rated Q, but has eaten five, count 'em 5 per curiam reversals by opinion in her career.

Posted by: federalist | Feb 7, 2018 8:14:18 AM

I thought frontal lobe myelination ended at 25. I thought 90 year old people are more mature than 40 year old ones.

When looking at reality, adolescents out perform adults in every way. They are superior people. That superiority includes morality, since they have lower rates of violent crime.

Add the age of culpability to the list of fictitious doctrines believed by the lawyer profession, from its indoctrination into its criminal cult enterprise. These doctrines are as ridiculous as that of college educated people who killed themselves to be propelled unto a spaceship trailing a passing comet.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2120869/Heavens-Gate-cult-committed-mass-suicide-15-years-ago.html

That false belief killed dozens. The false beliefs of the lawyer profession have killed millions, including millions of viable babies in the womb, who did nothing wrong to anyone.

Posted by: David Behar | Feb 7, 2018 12:17:49 PM

His frontal lobes were not fully myelinated.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/01/04/new-jersey-family-killed/1002799001/

Posted by: David Behar | Feb 11, 2018 12:57:52 PM

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 Prez Trump trumpets again his interest in getting "really, really tough, really mean with the drug pushers and the drug dealers" | Main | ABA House of Delegates enacts resolution urging prohibition of death penalty's application to those under 21 

February 6, 2018

Advocating for postpartum mental illness to be an express mitigating sentencing factor

The Hill has this notable new sentencing commentary authored by doctors Katherine Wisner and Cara Angelotta headlined "Accounting for postpartum depression in criminal sentencing is the right move." Here are excerpts:

A new Illinois law is set to take effect this summer that will specifically address the legal culpability of women who commit criminal acts during episodes of severe postpartum mental illness. This is the first law of its kind in the U.S., and as perinatal and forensic psychiatrists, we applaud this legislation and urge other states to follow. This new law takes the unprecedented step of specifically highlighting postpartum mental illness as a potential mitigating factor for judges to consider in determining an appropriate punishment for a crime. Once enacted, the state law will allow women who were convicted of a felony, but who did not have evidence of postpartum mental illness presented at their trial or sentencing, to apply for post-conviction sentence reduction. Practically, this means that women in prison for crimes that were directly related to symptoms of undiagnosed or untreated postpartum mental illness now have a legal mechanism to apply to the courts for a lesser sentence. The law provides hope for the possibility of treatment, rather than punishment, for women who were convicted without consideration of the devastating effects of postpartum mental illness on behavior. This legislation is in line with the longstanding Infanticide Act of 1938 in the United Kingdom, which limits the charge for killing an infant to manslaughter, not murder, if the act occurred when the womans balance of her mind was disturbed by reason of her not having fully recovered from the effect of giving birth to the child or by reason of the effect of lactation consequent upon the birth of the child.... The Illinois legislation is unique because it creates a legal definition of postpartum mental illness. Postpartum depression was defined in the laws text as "a mood disorder which strikes many women during and after pregnancy which usually occurs during pregnancy and up to 12 months after delivery. This depression can include anxiety disorders.... To be sure, we all have strong emotional reactions to the injury or killing of an infant by a mentally ill mother. The criminal acts in this law apply to forcible felonies, which involve violence or the threat of physical force or violence to any individual, not only the infant but other family members or strangers. But, coupled with the miracle of new life comes the risk for multiple maternal complications, including mental illness, anemia, nausea and vomiting, hypertension, gestational diabetes, excess weight gain, pregnancy loss, cesarean delivery and anesthesia complications. Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders are associated with increased risks of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity and are recognized as a significant maternal safety issue. The pregnancy-related death rate in the United States has steadily increased across the past three decades  evidence of another risk pregnant women face.... This law specifically identified perinatal (occurring during pregnancy or postpartum) psychiatric disorders as mitigating factors. We urge support for legislation that incorporates both pregnancy and childbirth and their complications as mitigating factors in crimes committed during postpartum mental disorders in all states.

February 6, 2018 at 10:20 PM | Permalink

Comments

So let me get this straight: a woman murders her baby or her husband, and these two women want to allow her to claim that she was temporarily insane? They want to do this because there is some evidence that some women may suffer a psychotic break in the postpartum stage? And this is progress: giving a murderous woman a break, because crazy for a few weeks?

Interesting article. But what about that common ailment found in men: temporary irritation with nagging wife syndrome? This common malady should cause all state and federal legislaatures to change all of their laws to allow for this type of defense. Furthermore, all people in prison convicted of any violent offense should be evaluated for sentence reductions or even complete reversals in order to account for men who suffer the trauma of temporary IWNW Syndrome.

Posted by: restless94110 | Feb 7, 2018 2:24:28 AM

No, it doesn't allow her to argue she was "temporarily insane." It's a factor at sentencing, which means this only applies after a conviction that this law leaves untouched. For what it's worth, the traditional example of voluntary manslaughter was a husband killing his wife and her lover when finding them in bed together. This "partial excuse" from murder down to manslaughter assumed that finding your wife in bed with another man is deemed a "severe provocation" that decreased (but didn't eliminate) criminal responsibility.

Posted by: Stephen Hardwick | Feb 7, 2018 9:43:30 AM

When someone, especially if they add some critical comment, says something like "let me get this straight" or "so you are saying" etc., be on guard. They just might be off base to some degree. It's just a inclination, so not saying the first comment meets it.

Posted by: Joe | Feb 7, 2018 9:59:05 AM

Progesterone levels go from 160 in pregnancy back to like 10 or lower in three days, after delivery. Progesterone is a good anti-depressant. For example, it boosts brain serotonin, the way anti-depressants do. After this rapid withdrawal of progesterone, millions of women cannot control their tears despite having done very well in delivery. Those with prior mood disorders may become psychotic. They may have done well in pregnancy off meds. All OB's and psychiatrists know this. So they jump in immediately to resume prior treatment.

Post partum depression is associated with lethargy, low self esteem, feeling overwhelmed. If psychotic, as Andrea Yates was prior to delivery, she may act on her false beliefs. In the case of Andrea Yates, her psychiatrist took her off Haldol, despite the begging of her husband. He was afraid of being sued for the side effects of Haldol. The husband should have said the magic words, we will not sue you, put her back on Haldol. She came to believe she had to save her children from the Devil by drowning them. She drowned 5 of them, as they begged for their lives. Once in prison, she was restarted on Haldol, and became a normal person. She had to face what she had done, with a clear head.

Post partum depression should not be a separate defense without the usual features of the insanity defense. It is associated with violence only in people with prior mental problems, worsened by progesterone withdrawal. I have also said that all mitigating factors are actually aggravating factors. Is Andrea Yates more or less dangerous than a paid Mafia assassin?

[Disclosure. I was sued for what the doctor was afraid of. I ended the entire line of litigation by destroying the lives of the plaintiff lawyers, the plaintiff expert witnesses, and of the plaintiff's family. To deter. There has not been any more such litigation. They had won $millions prior to suing me. Now doctors should use their best judgement, and no longer fear litigation on this subject. I have seen a patient suffering horrifying versions of the side effect. She could not find a lawyer to take her case within 200 miles of her town. I felt sorry for her, but then I thought of the Yates children.]

Posted by: David Behar | Feb 7, 2018 12:46:08 PM

When someone, named Joe, attacks another commenter because they say a phrase, be on your guard. That person is obviously a nitwit devoid of all sense whatsoever.

Posted by: restless94110 | Feb 8, 2018 3:40:00 PM

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 "The Fatal Flaw in John R. Lott Jr.s Study on Illegal Immigrant Crime in Arizona" | Main | Advocating for postpartum mental illness to be an express mitigating sentencing factor 

February 6, 2018

Prez Trump trumpets again his interest in getting "really, really tough, really mean with the drug pushers and the drug dealers"

As noted in this prior post, Prez Trump last week in his State of the Union address spoke about "reforming our prisons" and the need to "get much tougher on drug dealers." The first comment, coming on the heels of other prison reform talk, has garnered the most attention among criminal justice reform advocates. But the second comment ought also get some attention, especially because Ronald Bailey has highlighted at Reason that Prez Trump doubled-down on these comments this week.

This Reason commentary, headlined "Trump Wants Us 'To Get Really, Really Tough, Really Mean with the Drug Pushers': Doubling down on a drug war that has failed for 40 years," take a critical look at what the President is saying. Here is how is starts (with links from the original):

What's the best way to address the national problem of opioid abuse and overdose deaths? "My take," President Donald Trump declared in Ohio yesterday, "is you have to get really, really tough, really mean with the drug pushers and the drug dealers. We can do all the blue ribbon committees we want[applause]we have to get a lot tougher than we are." The president's dismissal of blue ribbon commissions is somewhat perplexing, since he ordered that one be created just last Marchthe President's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis. In any case, the president is evidently eager to rev up the war on drugs. What might the president mean by getting really tough on drug pushers? One clue might be his phone call to Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte last April. "I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem," Trump said. "Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that." Duterte is indeed doing an "unbelievable job," according to Human Rights Watch. The group estimates that that Duterte's drug war has killed more than 12,000 drug suspects so far. As big a blustering blowhard as our president is, I trust that he is not actually contemplating Duterte-style extrajudicial killings when he says "we have to get a lot tougher than we are." Nevertheless, it is clear that the president has learned nothing from the failures of the war on drugs. Over the past four decades, the government has spent more than trillion dollars, locked up millions of Americans, and undermined our civil liberties, especially our Fourth Amendment protections against search and seizure, to stop the drug trade. Despite all the resources wasted and lives lost, the prices of illicit drugs have generally declined. Prohibitionists claim that the drug war has reduced drug-related crime, decreased drug-related disease and overdose, and disrupted and dismantled organized criminal enterprises. But in a paper last year for the Cato Institute, George Mason University economists Christopher Coyne and Abigail Hall show that "prohibition is not only ineffective, but counterproductive, at achieving the goals of policymakers both domestically and abroad. Given the insights from economics and the available data, we find that the domestic War on Drugs has contributed to an increase in drug overdoses and fostered and sustained the creation of powerful drug cartels."

February 6, 2018 at 06:03 PM | Permalink

Comments

Even in light of such idiotic comments from Trump, Doug can't even choke out that this development is "disappointing." Just that it "ought also get some attention." What would Doug's post have looked like if Obama said the same thing...

Posted by: Paul | Feb 7, 2018 9:22:55 AM

Paul: If I commented on every dumb and disappointing thing Prez Trump says, I would not have time to do anything else. What the Obama era reinforced for me is that actions, not words, are most properly the focus of criticism or praise. I am concerned that Trump's "really tough, really mean" talk might lead to problematic actions by him or others, but so far we have not (yet) seen a dramatic increase in federal drug prosecutions and sentencings. (Also, FWIW, I quoted at length the Reason coverage because it provides good critical context.)

Posted by: Doug B | Feb 7, 2018 10:36:10 AM

According to our dear leader and Fuehrer:

 James Comey is a liar

 Christopher Steele is a liar

 Glenn Simpson is a liar

 Steve Bannon is a liar

 Michael Wolfe is a liar

 Michael Flynn is a liar

 George Papadopolous is a liar

 Reince Priebus is a liar

 Robert Mueller is a liar

 Frederica Wilson is a liar

 John Brennan is a liar

 James Clapper is a liar

 Carmen Cruz is a liar

 Barack Obama is a liar

 Ted Cruz is a liar

 Adam Schiff is a liar

 the FBI are liars

 The CIA are liars

 The NSA are liars

 The Boy Scouts of America are liars

 CNN, NBC, ABC, the NYT, and WaPo are all liars

 16 sexual assault / harassment accusers are liars

 Etc., etc., etc....

Only Donald Trump, a proven serial / pathological liar is not a liar, and the only person he does not and cannot attack (because he is being blackmailed) is Vlad ("the Impaler") Putin

Posted by: anon15 | Feb 7, 2018 12:23:11 PM

All my Filipino friends love President Duterte. He is a lawyer, but learned the Civil Code. That is a strong leader. Donald Trump is a weak leader, and a NYC liberal. Duterte likely prevented many more overdose deaths than the number of dealers he killed.

I pray he does not become a casualty of the fentanyl he has been suing. Claims to have a bad back.

Posted by: David Behar | Feb 7, 2018 1:01:13 PM

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At the meeting announcing the investment situation of Japanese firms last year and tendency in 2018, Mr. Koji said that 88 percent of Japanese companies are profitably operating in Vietnam and 70 percent of respondents affirmed that they will broaden investment, trading and production scale in Vietnam.



The results have been drawn after a survey of 652 out of 2,540 Japanese businesses operating in Vietnam. Of these, two thirds are production and one third are service companies.

Japanese firms investment structure in 2017 posted changes compared to 2016. The number of companies investing in manufacturing and processing industry reduced from 59 percent in 2016 to 40 percent in 2017.

Investment in real estate field strongly increased from 7 percent to 23 percent and slightly hiked in other fields such as warehouse, transport, hotels, restaurants and construction.

The investment structure change is expected to continue in 2018.

Japanese firms commented that in short and long term, Vietnam will continue being an attractive investment country with advantages such as large market scale with the population of over 100 million people.

Stable political and social situation and the Government's strong reform policies have created advantageous conditions for businesses to invest and develop.

However, they said that investment environment in Vietnam still has many risks, focusing on wage increase and inconsistent and intransparent implementation of policies and state regulations in localities.

By AI VAN  Translated by Hai Mien
Vietnamese citizens are advised not to visit the Maldives until its government announces an end to the state of emergency.Those, who are learning, working or visiting the island country, are recommended to avoid crowded and sensitive places and keep a close watch on warnings of local authorised offices to ensure safety.In case of emergency, it is recommended to contact the hotline of the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka (cum the Maldives) 94.11.2696050 or the citizen protection hotline 84.981.84.84.84.

VNS
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang's Regular Press Conference on February 7, 2018

2018/02/07

Q: Recently, many people and media are speculating whether the US and the DPRK delegations would meet during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The US side has talked about this many times. Do you have any information? What is your comment?

A: Whether the US and the DPRK will have any contacts during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics remains to be seen.

The core of the Korean Peninsula issue is the contradiction between the DPRK and the US. As parties directly concerned, the DPRK and the US should enhance mutual understanding and accumulate mutual trust through dialogue so as to pave the way for the final settlement of the issue.

At present, the situation on the Korean Peninsula appears to be easing up, which does not come by easily. Direct dialogues between the DPRK and the US will help consolidate the momentum and move forward the process of the political settlement of the Peninsula issue. We hope that the DPRK and the US could bear in mind regional peace and stability and seize the opportunity to make positive steps towards dialogues.

Q: Who is China sending to the DPRK military parade tomorrow?

A: We have said many times that the current mitigating situation on the Korean Peninsula does not come by easily. We hope that all parties could take actions to sustain that momentum and refrain from any move that may cause tension.

Q: According to reports, after the Maldivian government declared a state of emergency, some oppisition figures have called for international pressure and even military intervention on the Maldivian government. What is your comment?

A: As I have said before, what is happening inside the Maldives belongs to the internal affairs of the country and shall be properly resolved by all parties through dialogue and consultation. The international community shall play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the sovereignty of the Maldives, instead of further complicating the situation.

Q: According to reports, on Monday, Mercedes-Benz quoted the Dalai Lama in an English language post on Instagram. Yesterday, the company apologized and deleted the post. Was this at the behest of the Chinese authorities?

A: I have seen relevant reports. To acknowledge your wrong and fix it is the simplest truth, universally accepted both in China and in other countries.

I want to stress that over the forty-year course of reform and opening-up, the all-around cooperation between China and foreign enterprises has not only boosted China's development, but also benefited the latter. As the 19th CPC Congress ushered in a new era for China's endeavors in various causes, a China in the new era will be more open and more confident. We will continue to pursue cooperation with foreign companies, and we are also ready to share China's development opportunities with them. However, it is needless to say that they must observe some basic rules.

Q: You said that what happens in the Maldives should be settled internally. How can it be possible when the present president has arrested almost everybody of the opposition, including the Supreme Court judges and a former president, while another former president is now in exile? Are you suggesting that President Yameen should open up talks with opposition leaders and resolve the issue?

A: I think I've made it very clear that we hope various parties of the Maldives will properly resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation and restore national and social stability as soon as possible. We are calling on all relevant parties to do so.

In the meanwhile, we believe that the Maldives government, political parties and people have the wisdom and capability to cope with the current situation on their own.

Q: The former Speaker of Maldives Parliament, who is also from the opposition party, has said that it is under the influence of China that Yameen, the President of the Maldives, has been able to stand up to the pressure and nobody should underestimate the influence of China over Yameen. He also said we saw that in that manner Yameen recently signed the FTA with China, and he thinks that it is the support of China that has allowed him to be bold. Do you have any comment on that?

A: China and the Maldives maintain friendly and cooperative relations. The signing of the FTA is in the interests of the two countries and peoples. The fact has proven that since the signing of the FTA, the cooperation between the two sides has deepened, which benefits the two peoples a lot.

Just as I said, what is happening now in the Maldives falls within the internal affairs of that country. China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in other's internal affairs.

Q: According to reports, the former Maldivian President Nasheed called on India for a military intervention to resolve the crisis by sending a special envoy to the Maldives. Do you have any comment on that?

A: As I said just now, the international community should play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the sovereignty of the Maldives rather than take actions that may further complicate the situation.

Q: According to reports, the Singaporean Defense Minister said that China and the ASEAN countries would not be able to reach an agreement on the South China Sea Code of Conduct within the year. Does China agree that this time frame would not be possible?

A: What I have seen is the remarks by Singapore's Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan yesterday, which seem different from what you said.

Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's remarks testify to the commitment of China and the ASEAN countries to advancing the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).

Last November, the leaders of China and the ASEAN countries reached important consensus on launching the consultation on the text of the COC.

Upon agreement, China and the ASEAN countries will hold the 23rd joint working group meeting on the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in Nha Trang, Vietnam, from March 1 to 2. This is the first institutional meeting where various sides will exchange in-depth views on the COC and other topics. China will, guided by the consensus of the leaders, vigorously consult with the ASEAN countries on the text of the COC in an effort to jointly build an architecture of rules that suits the actual conditions of this region and meets the needs of regional countries.

Q: The Chinese mainland has offered to send help after the earthquake in Taiwan. Has Taiwan responded to this offer?

A: The earthquake that hit the Taiwan region is not a diplomatic question. Spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has issued a statement on the earthquake that shook Hualian, Taiwan. You could check that on the website.
Qaisar Mahmood, a Muslim born in Pakistan, is the new head of the Swedish National Heritage Board. This is an extremely anomalous appointment, since he readily admits that he has not read anything about Swedens cultural heritage. But his new job is not really about preserving and protecting Swedens cultural heritage and historical sites at all.Qaisar Mahmood, who once rode his motorcycle around Sweden in an apparently failed attempt to discover what being Swedish consisted of, is using his position as head of the Swedish National Heritage Board not to highlight and celebrate that heritage, but to downplay Swedens cultural heritage and history, and to create a false narrative that will help compel Swedes to accept mass Muslim migration. He says he doesnt want simply to alert people to Viking artifacts and the like, but to use Swedens history to create the narrative that will make Muslim migrants part of something.We have already seen how that works. Remember the fake news story about the Viking burial cloth bearing the word Allah ? Last October, a Swedish researcher gained international headlines by claiming that burial costumes from Viking graves dating back to the ninth and tenth centuries had been found to be inscribed with the name Allah. The intent of this was obvious: to convince Swedes that Islam had always been a part of Sweden, all the way back to the days of the Vikings, and so they should not be concerned about the mass Muslim migration that was now bringing Sweden unprecedented rape and other crime rates. Islam has always been a part of Sweden! Stop opposing mass Muslim migration!The Viking burial cloths didnt really feature the name Allah at all, as Stephennie Mulder, an associate professor of Medieval Islamic art and archaeology at the University of Texas at Austin, proved shortly thereafter , but by then the damage had been done. The idea had entered, however dimly, the popular consciousness: the Vikings were really Muslims. Islam is Swedish. Sweden was Islamic before it was Christian. The Muslim migrants are Swedes.The Allah Viking burial cloth propaganda offensive was one manifestation of what Qaisar Mahmood and others like him are doing. There is no Muslim history in Sweden, but Qaisar Mahmood is working to change the very idea of cultural heritage and fabricate fictions about a historical Muslim presence in Sweden in order to advance his political and sociological agenda.Qaisar Mahmood, as a Pakistani, of course has no Swedish heritage of his own. His admitted lack of knowledge of Swedish heritage and history ought to have disqualified him from his position, but this is how Sweden is obliterating itself and committing cultural and national suicide. After all, Swedes appointed Qaisar Mahmood to this position. It is Swedish leaders who want to destroy Swedish cultural and national identity.It also must be remembered in connection with Qaisar Mahmoods role as head of the Swedish National Heritage Board that the Quran suggests that ruins are a sign of Allahs punishment of those who rejected his truth: Many were the Ways of Life that have passed away before you: travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who rejected Truth. (3:137)This is one of the foundations of the Islamic idea that pre-Islamic civilizations, and non-Islamic civilizations, are all jahiliyya  the society of unbelievers, which is worthless. Obviously this cuts against the idea of tourism of ancient sites and non-Muslim religious installations such as are found all over Sweden.V. S. Naipaul encountered this attitude in his travels through Muslim countries. For many Muslims, he observed in Among the Believers, The time before Islam is a time of blackness: that is part of Muslim theology. History has to serve theology. Naipaul recounted that some Pakistani Muslims, far from valuing the nations renowned archaeological site at Mohenjo Daro, saw its ruins as a teaching opportunity for Islam, recommending that Quran 3:137 be posted there as a teaching tool.It does lead one to ponder what Qaisar Mahmood might allow to be done, or not done, with Swedens historical sites and artifacts. But whatever destruction may ensue is, obviously, what Swedish authorities want.Robert Spencer is the director of Jihad Watch and author of the New York Times bestsellers The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades) and The Truth About Muhammad . His new book is Confessions of an Islamophobe . Follow him on Twitter here . Like him on Facebook here
Le Collectif Cheikh Yassine a organise un certain nombre dactivites et de festivites pour les enfants de Gaza sous le theme  La joie des enfants de Gaza pour lAid . Ces activites ont commence le premier jour de lAid et continue jusquau 4eme jour de lAid dans la bande de Gaza.



Plusieurs activites, ont ete organisees parmi lesquelles : des competitions recompensees par des prix, des jeux, des animations et des chants presentes par un groupe ainsi que des distributions de cadeaux et daides financieres.




When you first step into Deeper Roots Coffee at Cincinnatis Findlay Market, the first thing you notice is that the space is comfortable. Like, home kitchenlevel comfort. Many cafes have a delineation between barista space and customer space, like a bar between them. But at Deeper Roots, the space where customers order is more of a kitchen island than a counter and connects to a large communal table.

The effect is an extremely welcoming one, and Deeper Roots, one of the citys best specialty coffee roasters, didnt arrive at this design by accident.

Were all trying to figure out what should a coffee shop be like in Cincinnati? says Jon Lewis, head of retail for Deeper Roots. Because theres a bit of a blank slate, we can make it how we want it to be and see how people respond.

Deeper Roots first cafe in the Oakley neighborhood of Cincinnati wasnt in the original plans for Director of Coffee Les Stoneham. In 2011, he started sourcing green coffee direct from La Armonia Hermosa in Guatemala and roasting them in an old dairy farm in suburban Mount Healthy strictly for wholesale business. The retail arm of the company naturally grew from a need to showcase all the coffees they had on the menu at any given time.

We have phenomenal wholesale accounts we work with but we took a look at our offerings and realized none of them would get all of our coffees at any given time, says Ryan Doan, head of customer relations. The cafe was a way to also showcase the way Deeper Roots would prefer the coffees be served from both a brewing and hospitality standpoint.

The second retail outlet opened in October 2017 and is across Race Street from Findlay Market, Ohios oldest public market, operating since 1855. In the markets covered spaces, you can buy products such as vegetables, meats, spices, and many more items direct from the producers. It makes the cafe a natural fit in the neighborhood.

The market across the street is a great example, says Lewis. You go to the meat guy to get your meat, your vegetables from the veggie people, and you come to the coffee people to get your coffee.

The retail coffee wall in the cafe looks a lot like a cabinet you might see at your grandmothers housesturdy wood, old-style accentsbut a clean gray paint job is the backdrop for their brand-new redesigned coffee packaging hanging out on the shelves. While looking for coffee, you may literally rub elbows with the barista behind the La Marzocco GB5. The machine is definitely double-take worthy as it is a custom-outfitted piece from Seattles Pantechnicon Design. Its matte black finish downplays the usual silver shine of the factory standard GB5, which lets the walnut portafilter handles and steam-wand knobs truly pop.

Pantechnicon also did the brass work on the cafes two Modbar pour-over modules. The design firm used a newer process called PVD plating, which makes the brass stronger than diamonds and wont tarnish or rust over time.

Deeper Roots drip coffee is offered as a batch brew or two options for pour-overs made via the Modbar system. Theres also cold brew on tap alongside a tap for local kombucha producer Skinny Piggy. The cold case also offers local favorite Hop Water.

The comfort comes through in their signature drinks as well. Year-round specialty drinks include: Honey Bear (a latte infused with honey and cinnamon), Holy Moly (a cappuccino-size mocha with cinnamon and cayenne), and Maple Leaf (cortado-size cocktail with maple syrup and orange zest).

Around the same time of the opening of this shop, Deeper Roots also moved their roasting facility to a new space in the west end of the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood with ample space to grow. They are currently using 10,000 square feet for office, training, and green coffee storage in a site that totals 45,000 square feet.

The comfy factor of the Findlay Market location shines through and will make it a bedrock for the neighborhood as the area continues to grow.

Goodrich Gevaart is a writer and standup comic living in Cincinnati. See him live or buy his album. This is Goodrich Gevaart's first feature for Sprudge.
Officials from North American harness raceways have announced that they have been forced to either cancel pari-mutuel cards, qualifying sessions or training access on Wednesday (February 7) due to inclement winter weather.

Due to the timing of the snow and concern for the safety of horsepeople, Monticello Raceway has cancelled its card of live pari-mutuel racing for Wednesday. Live racing at Monticello will resume on Thursday (February 8) with a first-race post time of 12:25 p.m.

Earlier, officials at The Raceway at Western Fair District had informed Trot Insider that the London, Ont. track would be closed for training on Wednesday. The closure is due to snow expected in the forecast for the London area. The Raceway at Western Fair District is still scheduled to go forth with its live pari-mutuel card on Wednesday evening. The program is set to kick off with a first-race post time of 6:15 p.m. To view the entries, click here.

The qualifying session that had been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at Miami Valley Raceway in Ohio has been cancelled.

Trot Insider will update this notice with all information that is received from North American Standardbred tracks, so be sure to check back for the most recent updates.
Celebrating Purity and Respect this Valentine's Day

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 7, 2018 / Standard Newswire / -- The 15th annual Day of Purity is a project led by Liberty Counsel on Valentine's Day to promote purity and respect. It encourages and celebrates young people who choose to save sexual intimacy for marriage.

Students are encouraged to wear white on February 14th to help promote abstinence and inspire young people to look past casual sex to lifetime intimacy. The Day of Purity is based on First Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (NIV). Young people are also encouraged to wear a special LIVEPURE wristband on that day and throughout the year. This effort has even caught the attention of people in 37 countries who have reached out and supported this special day.

While Hollywood may encourage sexuality activity outside marriage, the #MeToo movement is just one of the devastating consequences of a selfish and overly sexualized culture. In contrast, studies show far-reaching benefits for saving sexual intimacy for marriage. For example:

Women who marry as virgins have a six percent divorce rate rather than the 40-50 percent average.



Teens who are sexually abstinent make an average of $370,000 more during their lifetime.



Each day in America 8,000 teens will be infected with a sexually transmitted disease.



Approximately one million teenage girls will become pregnant this year and 350,000 of them will abort their child.

Holly Meade, Liberty Counsel's director of communications and international director for the Day of Purity said, "In today's culture, young people are bombarded with messages encouraging them to become sexually active at a young age and to experiment with their sexual preferences. When they stand up for sexual purity, they send a message to parents, churches, communities, legislators and the media that they want a different world. The Day of Purity, on February 14, 2018, is an opportunity they have to take a stand for self-respect and publicly communicate they will not be dictated by Hollywood's mirage. And as they make this pledge for purity, they can drastically change the statistics of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," said Meade.

Learn more at Facebook and Twitter.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
Pence announces `toughest` US sanctions on North Korea

US Vice President Pence pledged that Washington would \"intensify its maximum pressure campaign\" on North Korea.

AFP, Tokyo :

US Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday Washington would soon unveil its "toughest sanctions ever" on North Korea, adding that the regime in Pyongyang would not be allowed to "hijack" the upcoming Olympics.

Speaking in Japan before attending the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in South Korea, Pence pledged that Washington would "intensify its maximum pressure campaign" on the North, working with Tokyo.

"I'm announcing today that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever," he said, without giving further details.

Pence's three-day visit to Japan came as Washington seeks to bolster ties with its allies in the region and maintain pressure on the regime in Pyongyang despite a recent thaw on the peninsula.

"All options are on the table and the US has deployed some of our most advanced military assets to Japan and the wider region to protect our homeland and our allies and we will continue to," vowed Pence.

To highlight what Washington calls the regime's human rights "abuses", the vice president will attend the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Olympics with the father of the late former North Korea prisoner Otto Warmbier.

The US and North Korea have been locked in a fierce war of words, with US President Donald Trump mocking North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un as "rocket man" and the young dictator threatening to rain nuclear destruction on the United States.

But Kim has taken a more conciliatory tone in 2018, calling for detente with the South Koreans and accepting an invitation for his country to participate in what is being billed as the "peace Olympics."

The two Koreas held a rare high-level meeting last month and the North's ceremonial head of state is due to arrive Friday, the highest-ranking Pyongyang official ever to visit the South.

Nevertheless, the peninsula remains tense, with the North slamming anti-Pyongyang activists who protested against its participation as a "spasm of psychopaths."

For his part, Abe said that Japan and the US had "confirmed... that we can never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea."

"I appreciate the North-South talks toward the success of the Pyeongchang Olympics. But on the other hand, we must squarely face the fact that North Korea continues to pursue nuclear and missile programmes."
North Korea leader's sister to make landmark visit to South for Olympics

Photo shows leader Kim Jong-Un with his sister Kim Yo-Jong touring a military unit.

AFP, Seoul :

The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will visit the South this week for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, Seoul said Wednesday (Feb 7) - the first member of its ruling family ever to do so.

Kim Yo-Jong, who is a senior member of the ruling Workers' Party, will be part of a high-level delegation due Friday and led by the North's ceremonial head of state, the unification ministry said.

The two Koreas have been divided by the Demilitarized Zone since the end of the Korean War in 1953, and Pyongyang's pursuit of nuclear weapons have seen it subjected to multiple rounds of United Nations Security Council sanctions.

Tensions soared last year as the North carried out multiple weapons tests, including intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US mainland, and by far its most powerful nuclear test to date.

But the Olympics have triggered a rapid rapprochement on the peninsula.

"It is highly significant that a member of the Kim family is coming to the South for the first time in history," said professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

She was likely to meet South Korean President Moon Jae-In and give him a personal letter from her brother, expressing his hopes for a successful hosting of the Olympics and desire to improve inter-Korean ties, he added.

"This will mark Kim Yo-Jong's debut on the international stage," Yang told AFP. "She is being groomed as one of the North's most powerful figures by her brother."

Kim Yo-Jong, believed to be aged about 30, was promoted in October to be an alternate member of the party's powerful politburo, the decision-making body presided over by her brother.

She has frequently been seen accompanying her brother on his "field guidance trips" and other events and is known to have been involved in the party's propaganda operations.

The North has always kept its leadership within the family - Kim Jong-Un is the third generation of the dynasty to lead the country, after his father Kim Jong-Il and grandfather Kim Il-Sung, the North's founder.
Bitcoin drops below $6,200 for first time in 3 months

AFP, Tokyo :

Bitcoin plunged 20 percent to a three-month low on Tuesday, its latest sharp loss following a series of setbacks for the cryptocurrency that, with a collapse across global mainstream markets adding to the selling.

The virtual currency fell to $6,190 for the first time since mid-November, according to Bloomberg News, and represents the latest hammering for a unit that saw a stratospheric 26-fold rise last year.

Tuesday's collapse comes just six weeks after bitcoin hit a record high of $19,511, fuelled by a flood of speculators looking to make a quick buck, with warnings it could fall another 50 percent.

Since those heady days the cryptomarket-which includes dozens of other units-has been pounded by news of crackdowns by governments including in China, Russia and South Korea, one of the biggest markets for the sector.

On Thursday, India said it would "take all measures to eliminate" cryptocurrencies' use as part of a payment system and in funding illegitimate activities, while Japanese authorities raided a virtual currency exchange after it lost $530 million to hackers.

Central bank in Europe, Japan and the United States have also flagged concerns about the unit and this week saw several commercial lenders say they would stop allowing their customers to buy bitcoin through their credit cards owing to debt concerns.
Better find another one to handle Education Ministry

LIKE in Bangla first paper, allegations of question paper leak surfaced in Bangla second paper of the Secondary School Certificate examinations held on February 3. This time too the section for multiple-choice questions (MCQ) of "Kha" set was allegedly leaked and was doing the rounds on different Facebook pages around 45 minutes before the exam started at 10:00am.

The leaked questions matched those in the actual test paper and went viral on social media sites and messenger groups, a number of guardians alleged. A Facebook account with the name Tusher Shuvro [in Bangla] uploaded the MCQ questions of "Kha" set on a facebook page around 9:15am with answers written on a white sheet of paper.

After the exam ended, the same person posted a status asking if the leaked questions were actual or not. Many replied that those exactly matched with those in the test. In the comment section, some respondents even made requests to leak the questions much earlier as they had missed it this time. There were also requests to leak the questions for upcoming English exam.

Some Facebook pages and groups claiming to have the accurate question papers for the exams even started advertising before the SSC exam began. A Facebook page advertised on January 30: "Those who took question papers last year know those matched exactly. This year also, by the grace of the Almighty, I am giving you assurance of selling question papers with 100 percent common."

Earlier, images of the "Kha" set MCQ questions of Bangla first paper went viral on Facebook before the exam began and many of the questions matched with those in the actual test paper. Many guardians and social media users vented frustration over the matter of question leakage repeatedly in every public examination.

Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid had previously told the media that exams would be cancelled as soon as the leaks were proved. It is blindingly clear that he alone is incapable of bucking the entire system which is corrupt. Whether he cancels exams or holds new ones the chances of leaks remain omnipresent.

The opposition lawmakers already demanded immediate resignation of Education Minister for his failure to stop the menace of question paper leak in public examinations. We hold no ill will towards Mr Nahid, but it would be better for a more proactive Minister to be in place. Putting a stop to the technologically advanced cheating methods should not be a problem for another Minister.


Amit Sadh prepped in isolation for his Amazon original Breathe

Amazons second Indian original Breathe brings to netizens Amit Sadh in a never seen before avatar that of a distressed police office and in order to play his role to perfection Amit Sadh prepped in isolation.

Amits character in the digital series Breathe is that of an Alcoholic distress individual battling issues in his personal life. In order to get into the skin of his character and deliver a performance of a distressed person Amit disconnected from friends and family, for a couple of months and lived in complete isolation.

To meet the demands of playing an onscreen police officer he also visited real crime branch offices as part of his research, to play the role of Kabir Sawant. Known to be a method actor Amit Sadh would also speak to himself.


Orbis to offer free eye care service to Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar

A Correspondent :

Orbis International, Bangladesh will provide free eye care services to some 60,000 Rohingyas and host communities in Cox's Bazar.

Orbis on Tuesay signed an agreement to this effect with Cox's Bazar Baitush Sharaf Hospital (CBSH).

Dr Munir Ahmed, Orbis country director; and MM Sirajul Islam, general secretary of CBSH signed the agreement at the Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner's (RRRC) office in Cox's Bazar.

Funded by Qatar Fund for Development, the eye care services will be provided under a project titled "Qatar Creating Vision Expanding Eye Care," says an Orbis press release.

The services will include free eye screenings for 50,000 people, supply of medicines and spectacles to 8,000 people and surgical treatment to 20 children and 850 adults at two Rohingya camps, in Ukhia and Teknaf, as well as to the host population at Maheshkhali and Chakoria, said the release.

Skills development trainings will also be provided to around 250 frontline health workers and ophthalmic personnel in the first year of the project.

Orbis will set up "Vision Centers" outside the camps for the host community. A mobile unit will work in the camp areas to conduct primary screening of children and adults, according to the release.

Bob Ranck, president and chief executive officer of Orbis International, who is visiting Bangladesh, said many in the refugee camps and the host communities have been suffering from various eye diseases such as glaucoma and cataract.

He urged all concerned to come forward and address the situation.
Speed up dev using tech: President



President M Abdul Hamid on Wednesday urged all concerned to come up with new inventions in technology and ensure their proper use to speed up country's development at all levels.

"Accelerate ongoing development by utilizing technology properly," the President said while addressing the third convocation of Jessore Science and Technology University (JSTU) in Jessore in the afternoon.

The President, also the chancellor of the university, categorically stressed making efficient manpower to compete with the revolutionary expansion of the information technology worldwide.

"Make students technology-based skilled human resources to meet the demand of time as the world is rapidly changing and becoming more competitive", he observed.

Abdul Hamid asked teachers, students, researchers, guardians and all student bodies to nurture mutual respect, tolerance and non-communal spirit at all strata of life.

Noting that the university is not only the centre of learning, rather it is the footrest of higher studies and research, the President said the education from the university is very significant to build the young generation as worthy and global citizens.

He also put emphasis on the raising the human values among the new generation and their readiness to become the builders of a modern Bangladesh as envisioned by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

President Hamid stressed the need for the practice of freethinking, contemporary thoughts, cultural activities and various creative works alongside the academic curriculum as those help expand the knowledge of the learners making them world-standard.

Terming the creative activities as part of education, the President observed that the localism, fanaticism and intolerance hamper the freethinking environment in the universities.

"We have to come out of this (environment)", the chancellor added.

The President said the country in the meantime achieved tremendous success in various sectors including per capita income, national growth, women's empowerment, sanitation, agriculture, education, health, constructing multipurpose Padma bridge and Bangabandhu satellite.

Abdul Hamid called for achieving the international standard in science education and IT sector.
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon inaugurating different development works at Ward No 23 in the city yesterday.
Steps taken to keep law, order under control: Asad

Police, BGB, RAB personnels have tightened security steps at all entry points to the capital searching at Tongi, Kamalapur, Gabtali and Chittagong Road centering the verdict on BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia\'s graft case today (Thursday).

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan on Wednesday said law enforcement agencies have taken all the necessary preparations to deal with any kind of chaos and anarchy over Thursday's verdict in Khaleda Zia's graft case.

"It's very natural that the court will pronounce verdict after trial. We have no information about the verdict. Everything depends on court. We'll carry out our duty as per the court order," said Asaduzzman while talking to reporters at the Secretariat. The court will fix whether the BNP chairperson will be convicted or acquitted. If she is punished, she will be kept in jail according to jail code. The authorities concerned have already taken preparations, he said. The law enforcement agencies have been kept ready to handle any situation as ensuring security for people is their duty, the minister said. The four main criminals behind the attack on police on January 30 from the motorcade of Khaleda Zia have been identified and arrested, he said.

BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir earlier claimed that the attackers were intruder. But the arrested four attackers are the leaders of an associate and student wing of BNP, he said adding that police arrested them after identifying them through examining video footage.

Disclosing the identities of the arrestees, he said the four arrestees were identified as Mamun Khan, son of Masum Billah Nalchiti upazila in Jhalakati and publication and research secretary of Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, Ruhul Amin, son of Abdul Kader of Hajiganj in Chandpur, general secretary of 98 No ward BNP, Harunur Rashid, son of Abdul Malek and organasing secretary of 26 No ward Jubo Dal in Dhaka and Ishtiaque Ahmed Nasir, vice-president of central Chhatra Dal, the minister said.
Protecting Rohingyas during cyclone, rains absolute priority: Berset

Switzerland has laid emphasis on preparedness to avoid disaster in Rohingya camps and protect vulnerable groups during the impending cyclone and rainy season.

"Protecting those in need is the absolute priority. I am also worried about the impending cyclone and rainy season," Swiss President Alain Berset told UNB in an interview on Wednesday hours before wrapping up his four-day official visit to Bangladesh.

He said, the needs in the camps are still enormous as he saw during his visit to Kutupalong camp. "I am especially concerned by the risks faced by the most vulnerable groups."

The Swiss President called on all humanitarian and development actors present in Bangladesh to extend their programmes to refugees and host communities and to coordinate their activities closely with the government of Bangladesh.

Responding to a question, he said the agreement on repatriation between Bangladesh and Myanmar is a positive step towards solving the current crisis. "Switzerland underlines the need for any return of refugees to Myanmar to be voluntary, safe and dignified," The Swiss President commended the government and people of Bangladesh for the humanitarian assistance and protection they have provided to those fleeing violence in Myanmar. "In order to address this crisis, we have increased our humanitarian commitment to Bangladesh by an additional 12 million Swiss francs after having committed 8 million francs in 2017," he said adding that five experts from their Humanitarian Aid Unit are also assisting UN agencies on the ground. The Swiss President said, he had two main objectives - to establish closer relations between Bangladesh and Switzerland and to express solidarity with Bangladesh at a time when it is severely affected by the crisis in Myanmar.

"In Cox's Bazar, I was able to announce the increase in our humanitarian commitment to Bangladesh," he said.

On its supports and engagement on Rohingya issue, he said, "We will continue to remain engaged in the international platforms." The Swiss President called for the full implementation of the report of the Advisory Commission chaired by Kofi Annan to protect Rohingyas and ensure their safe return to Myanmar.

He said, a refugee crisis of this scale had put Bangladesh and the international community under enormous pressure to provide shelter and the most urgent services to more than 688000 people. "Switzerland is working closely with Bangladesh, UN agencies and other development partners in order to respond to this crisis," the Swiss President told reporters during his visit to Kutupalang camp on Tuesday.

President Berset extended his appreciation for the enormous efforts being undertaken by Bangladesh government to welcome and host the communities from Myanmar.

Placing emphasis on voluntary, safe and dignified return of Rohingyas to their places of origin, he expressed his concern over the outbreak of diseases for the younger generation and the situation of the women, children who need increased protection. Earlier, the Swiss President went to the Sadar Hospital to officially handover the Swiss contributions, including hospital beds and medical equipment support to the hospital management.

He highlighted the important role played by the doctors and the staff of this hospital in providing much needed medical treatment to patients from the host community as well as the Rohingya arrivals.
Dhaka cuts off from districts

Search, arrest continues

Kazi Zahidul Hasan :

Dhaka remained virtually cut off from the rest of the country from last night as law enforcers have urged transport owners to restrict the movement of traffic by roads and water ways while facing filtering of passengers with intensified security checks. If the situation worsens the shut down may continue until further order.

The law enforces are trying to dry the arrival of BNP leaders and workers to the capital to take part in rallies and procession in the event the party chief is convicted by the Special Court in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case.

All eyes are fixed on the old city Special Judge Court; which may deliver the verdict ant time in the noon. Tension also runs high across the country as people wonder what this verdict makes so much sensation when thousands of verdicts run unnoticed throughout the year.

BNP is taking the verdict seriously in the wake of the ruling party's assertion that she will be punished and they believe it is part of the government strategy to discredit her and keep her out of election.

Khaleda Zia will appear before the court at 10 am but it is not sure whether party men like other occasions will accompany her. Meanwhile additional police forces have been deployed around her Gulshan residence and BNP central Office in the city's Naya Paltan area.

In the city police barriers have been set up at frequent distance. Even rickshaw movement is facing trouble at many places while city dwellers are facing police obstacles and questioning during their movement.

The government fears BNP workers may engage in subversive activities if the verdict goes against the party chief. Meanwhile the government has deployed BGB along with huge number of police in other districts and keeping watch on the situation throughout the country.

Law enforcers have also intensified crackdown on BNP leaders and activists in the capital and all over the country so that the situation does not go out of control. Police have also started searching vehicles and suspected people while entering the capital, as they fear BNP men may take to the streets in the event of "unfair" judgment convicting Begum Zia in the case today. They have also set up check-posts at 13 entry points of the capital from outside to prevent BNP men from entering the city. They also continue drives at different residential hotels, mess-houses of students and bachelors to detain people suspected to be BNP activist in the capital.

Plain cloth detectives are also watching on Sadarghat Launch Terminal and Kamalapur Railway Station and other bus terminals so that no troublemaker can enter the city. All important city points have been brought under CCTV cameras to check untoward incidents.

BNP high command has asked party men to take position around the makeshift special court in the old city from Thursday morning, defying all obstacles in order to stage a big demonstration if Khaleda is convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust Graft case.

In another directive it has asked party men to protest peacefully around the court and embrace mass arrest to protest the party Chief's conviction.

Meanwhile, the DMP has set up three-tier protection belt around the court to protect the court from subversive attacks.

DMP's Deputy Commissioner (media) Masudur Rahman told The New Nation that adequate plainclothes police and members of different intelligence agencies have been deployed at the city's different strategic points, besides several thousand regular police force to maintain law and order.

"We will take stringent measure if any one breaks law to create trouble. No chaos will be tolerated over the court verdict," he added.


BB to file lawsuit against RCBC

Staff Reporter :

Bangladesh Bank (BB) has decided to file a lawsuit against the Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation for its role in one of the world's biggest cyber heists.

Unidentified hackers stole $81 million from Bangladesh Bank's account main-tained with the New York Federal Reserve Bank on February 4, 2016, using fraudulent orders on the SWIFT payments system. The money was sent to four accounts with the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) and then disappeared into the casino industry in the Philippines. "We'll file a case against RCBC within two to three months," BB's Deputy Governor Abu Hena Mohd Razee Hassan told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday. The briefing was held at the BB headquarters in the city. Abu Hena also said, they have already sent a proposal to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and SWIFT, requesting them to joint with us in the suit. But they are yet to respond formally.

"We will go ahead with the case if the Federal Reserve Bank and SWIFT do not join us," he added.

BB has been able to retrieve about $15 million only out of the US$ 81 million stolen fund despite repeated assurance from the Philippine government and an international probe involving the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Razee Hassan however expressed his hope to get back rest of the stolen fund from Philippines saying legal process is underway to settle the issue.

"The case will be filed with a court in New York to recover the money. We hope Fed and SWIFT would be joint petitioners in the case to be filed against the RCBC," said Ajmalul Hossain QC, a member of BB's legal team. RCBC was fined a record one billion pesos ($20 million) by the Philippines' central bank in 2016 for its failure to prevent the movement of the stolen money through it.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister AMA Muhith told reporters that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and the BB will file the case.

He was talking to the journalists after a meeting with the purchase committee of the cabinet division in Dhaka this afternoon.
BGB deployed, security tightened all over

Staff Reporter :

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Dr Mohammad Javed Patwary on Wednesday said nothing will happen in the country following sufficient security measures ahead of the verdict in the graft case against BNP chief Khaleda Zia on Thursday.

Police have taken all preparations to keep the situation normal. But as per eye witness accounts the real situation in the ground is different. The number of transports has become thin in city streets and people were found waiting in long queues at different places in the city streets for a ride to their destinations.

Inter-district bus services were off the road. So also uncertainty gripped passengers at city railway stations and launch terminal.

The IGP made the observation at a press briefing at Police Headquarters on Wednesday afternoon.

The Police chief repeatedly claimed the law and order situation will have remain under control.

He also said that the law enforcers have been instructed to intensify arrest drives, raid and checking at different city points and vehicles as part of tight security.

The IGP said that the law enforcers are also ready to face any emergency across the country, if needed.

In a query, he said that police arrested about 59 people a day during last week based on specific causes while BNP alleged that the aw enforcers arrested more than 350 people in everyday during the period.

He said police headquarters (PHQ) has asked district police superintendents and unit chiefs to bring opposition leaders and activists under surveillance with previous records of involvement in subversive acts.

Also Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah on Wednesday said that they were ready to keep the law and order across the capital under control ahead of the verdict.

"I have instructed all units of DMP to remain alert on the day," Asaduzzaman said while talking to reporters at DMP headquarters.

Plain clothes police, detective police, City SB and quick response teams will be on alert, said the DMP Commissioner adding that ban has been imposed on holding processions from 4:00 am to until further notice centering the verdict on Thursday.

Besides, Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) on Wednesday imposed restriction on vehicular movement and carrying sharp weapons, explosives, flammable materials in the port city on Thursday.

In the meantime, members of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have already been deployed across the country including the capital.

Some 20 platoons of BGB were deployed in the capital. BGB have also been deployed in different districts including Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sirajganj, Bogra, Narayanganj, Noakhali, Lakhmipur and Chandpur.

Md Moniruzzaman, additional deputy inspector general of intelligence and special affairs at PHQ, said they instructed all police units to take stern actions if anyone try to damage public properties and put people's lives at risk.

Khandaker Enayet Ullah, general secretary of the National Road Transport Owners Association, on Tuesday said, 15,000-20,000 transport workers would remain standby at different city terminals tomorrow to resist attack on transport.

They have also decided to operate buses even if anyone called for hartal or blockade. Buses would be parked in specific areas under police protection, Enayet added.

On the other hand, law enforcers have taken measures to prevent BNP supporters from entering the capital so that they could not gather on the streets centring on today's expected verdict, detective sources said.

As part of the move, police have already set up additional checkpoints at the eight entry points to the capital.

Most of the 35,000-strong forces of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police have been deployed on the streets. Normally, some 8,000 police deployed every day, they added.

"We will be on the hard line. No one will be allowed to gather or bring out processions on the street," according to them.

Earlier, the ruling Awami League has also announced that its leaders and activists will be on the streets to prevent BNP men from carrying out any attack.

An owner of a private bus service on Dhaka-Satkhira route said police instructed them not to rent out any bus for reserve passengers and take steps so that fewer buses ply on Wednesday night.

An official of Shyamoli Paribahan, one of the largest private bus operators, said they would not operate any bus on Thursday, although they did not receive any such instructions.

Ibrahim Khan, deputy commissioner (Lalbagh division) of DMP, said vehicles entering the capital would have to go through security checks so that no one could enter the city with anything that cause destruction.

Residential hotels in the capital have been asked to collect National ID cards and detail information of boarders every day and submit those to detectives.

"We had given a similar instruction about one and a half years ago. Hoteliers are now following it and we have kept them under surveillance," said Ibrahim.

Over the last few days, law enforcers increased surveillance at Sadarghat Launch Terminal and Kamalapur Railway Station so that no one can carry illegal firearms or explosives.

Similar measures have been taken at other important places, bus and launch terminals and rail stations, by setting up CCTV cameras, another police sources said.


Khaleda claims innocence

She says, I am ready to face any situation to uphold democracy

BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia addressing a Press Conference at her Gulshan office on Wednesday ahead of verdict in Zia Orphanage case today.

Staff Reporter :

Ahead of a graft case verdict, BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia claims herself innocent. She said, the cases filed against her are baseless and politically motivated. Apart from this, the BNP chief said she is ready to face any situation to uphold the democracy and rights of the people.

"I am assuring the countrymen that I did not commit anything unfair and never involved in corruption. The corruption charge brought against me is false,' the BNP Chairperson said it at a press conference in her Gulshan office on Wednesday.

A special court in Dhaka will pronounce its verdict in a graft case filed against her today (Thursday).

"I was implicated in a false case and a verdict is going to be announced against me tomorrow. The government is in fear about the verdict. The ruling quarter for unleashing a reign of terror across the country ahead of the verdict scheduled to be announced tomorrow (Thursday)," alleged Khaleda.

The former prime minister said, "It is a false case and it is using as a tool to harass my family and me. If justice is delivered, I believe the court will acquit me of all charges."

"However, if the judgment is delivered to please the rulers, it will be a history of disgrace. The people of Bangladesh do not pardon the ones who commit such crimes," the BNP chief said.

Referring to the resignation of former Chief Justice SK Sinha, Khaleda Zia said, "SK Sinha was forced to step down and sent abroad. The incident cast doubt in people's mind that no court can show the courage to establish justice here."

"I am also in doubt to get justice as the AL government had turned the justice delivery system into a farce by acts of politicisation and intimidation," she added.

The former prime minister and five others, including her son Tarique Rahman, were accused of embezzling Tk 21 million foreign donations meant for the Trust.

Claiming her innocence, Khaleda Zia claimed that she was not involved with the Zia Orphanage Trust in any stage.

Rather, Khaleda Zia alleged, the ruling party men looted public resources worth millions. "Such scams are not probed; even if it is probed, the report is not made public," she said, adding that the Awami League regime stopped all means of protests against all its misdeeds.

Khaleda said the AL regime couldn't achieve anything by showing me fear. I will never bow down to any pressure from any quarter. I am ready to face any situation. Nothing could keep her and her party away from the ongoing peaceful agitation demanding free, fair and inclusive polls.

She also alleged that the government was trying to keep her away from the next general election.

"The government wanted to cling to power for long by keeping me away from polls using courts. But I think it would not fulfill their intention of impose one-party rule and score goal in empty post," she added.

"The history witnessed that the autocrat Ayub Khan tried to keep popular politicians out of election, but failed. The Ayub government collapsed to popular uprising," she said.

Khaleda Zia also said, "The emergency government led and backed by Fakhruddin and Moinuddin failed to make me agree to leave the country."

"There was close friendship with the Amir of Kuwait and Shahid President Ziaur Rahman. The Amir donated money to keep the Shahid President's memory alive. The then foreign minister Col. (rtd) Mustafizur Rahman brought the money from Kuwait. I was never involved with the trust and any process of it," Khaleda Zia said.

The BNP chief said, "The money is not government's own resources. The trust is not a government organisation. It is totally private trust. Not a single taka of the trust was misused. All of the money of the trust is in its bank account. The money increased to three times with its interests."

Khaleda Zia said, "They filed the case against me after preparing false papers. My lawyers proved it before court."

"Insha Allah I will be acquitted in the case. Those who were involved behind filing the case should be punished," the BNP chief said.

She said that the then emergency government also filed many cases against the Awmai League leaders.

"Many AL leaders were convicted. But they came to power after understanding with the Fakruddin-Moinuddin's emergency government," she said.

BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, Standing Committee Member Dr. Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, Barrister Moudud Ahmed and Mirza Abbas, among with others, were present.


Khaleda`s graft case verdict today

Quazi Shafiqur Rahman :

The Special Judge Court-5 of Dhaka is expected to deliver its verdict in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case filed against BNP Chairperson Begum Khaleda Zia and five others today (Thursday).

Judge Dr Md Akhtaruzzaman of the makeshift court set up in Bakshibazar area of the old Dhaka, on January 25 fixed February 8 to deliver the verdict, after the prosecution and defence counsels completed their 16-days' closing arguments in presence of Khaleda Zia.

The main accused and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia of the case will appear in the court before the announcement of the verdict, according to her counsel Sanaullah Mia.

She faces a maximum of life term imprisonment if proved guilty in the case. However, she would be out of the coming election of the year if she gets a minimum of two years' imprisonment and if her conviction is not stayed by the apex court. During the last army-backed caretaker government, she was in the jail for about a year.

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed the graft case with Ramna Model Police Station on July 3, 2008, accusing Khaleda Zia, her son Tarique Rahman and four others of misappropriating over Tk 2.1 crore that had come from a foreign bank as grants for orphans.

According to the case document, the then (1991-1996) Prime Minister Khaleda Zia opened an account named "Prime Minister's Orphanage Trust" with the Ramna branch of Sonali Bank.

On June 9, 1991, $126,000 (Tk 4,44,81,216) was deposited in the account from United Saudi Commercial Bank, but the money was not spent for any orphanage in between June 9 and September 5 of the same year,

the case document said.

The Zia Orphanage Trust was set up by Khaleda Zia's two sons and a nephew. It was registered on September 5, 1993. A total of Tk 2,33,33,500 was given to the trust on November 13, 1993, to establish an orphanage in Bogra, reads the FIR. The money was deposited in the Trust account on November 15 that year and Tk 4 lakh was withdrawn from it on December 4, the FIR says.

Later, the amount was transferred to the accounts of two other accused- then BNP lawmaker Kazi Salimul Haque and businessman Sharfuddin Ahmed.

The other cases, the Zia Charitable Trust graft case was filed on August 8, 2011, with Tejgaon Model Police Station accusing four persons including Khaleda Zia of raising funds for the trust from unknown sources through abuse of power.


SC summons N`ganj joint dist judge

Court Correspondent :

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court yesterday summoned a joint district judge of Narayanganj to explain the reason behind his failure to dispose of a case filed in 2006.

A four-member Appellate Division bench led by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order on Wednesday. The highest court directed the sub-ordinate court judge to appear in person before it on February 13, when the apex court is scheduled to pass the next order.

The Appellate Division passed the incumbent order after hearing on an appeal of Titas Gas authorities challenging the verdict of the High Court Division.

Senior lawyer Barrister Mainul Hosein moved the case at the Appellate Division on behalf of the Titas Gas Company, while Senior advocate Kamal Ul Alam represented the writ petitioner company- Mac Papers Limited in the court and advocate Shahnaj Akhter assisted him.

Mac Papers Limited filed a case with a sub-ordinate court for declaring 12 months' bill of Titas Gas Company illegal. On March 15, 2007, trial court rejected the case. The organization filed a case with the High Court challenging the verdict of the sub-ordinate court. Later, after final hearing , on July 4, 2008, a bench of the High Court gave the verdict asking the company to pay Tk 17 lakh every month. They were also directed to pay a regular bill of Tk 7.5 lakh per month. Besides, the sub-ordinate court was asked to dispose of the case by November 30, 2008.

Titas Gas authorities lodged a civil appeal against this verdict of the High Court. On Wednesday, hearing, the Appellate Division, during the observed uncommon delay in disposing of the case and summoned the Sub-ordinate District Judge of Narayanganj to appear before it.




ASK condemns mass arrest

Staff Reporter :

Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) yesterday strongly condemned the ongoing "mass arrest" across the country ahead of verdict in Zia Orphanage Trust corruption case.

"A total of 1,786 persons have been arrested in last eight days," the rights body said citing media reports.

Centring BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia's graft case verdict today 8, BNP and its affiliate bodies' leaders and activists are being held across the country, ASK claimed in a press release signed by its Executive Director Sheepa Hafiza.

Though police are saying it's a part of their routine work, their act is

contrary to the Article 33 and 36 of the Constitution which safeguard a citizen's right to arrest and detention and freedom of movement respectively, the release read.
Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. Becoming windy in the afternoon. Potential for heavy rainfall. High 82F. E winds at 10 to 20 mph, increasing to 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near an inch..

Tonight

Tropical storm conditions possible. Windy with rain likely. Low 76F. Winds SE at 25 to 35 mph. Chance of rain 80%. 2 to 3 inches of rain expected.
Paris, TX (75460)

Today

Increasing clouds with showers arriving sometime in the afternoon. High 87F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

A few clouds. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 69F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph.
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Global workspace provider Regus has announced the opening of its fourth business centre in Bahrain.



The new centre aims to support Regus network expansion in the kingdom as demand for flexible workspace continues to increase. The centre will be officially opened today during a launch event attended by over 70 people.



The new centre is located on the 29th floor of the iconic United Tower, one of the newest and most prestigious buildings in Bahrain Bay, known for its twisting structure rising from an octagonal floor plate, rotating counter-clockwise and offering uninterrupted 360-degree views of the bay corniche and downtown Manama.



The centre is currently the only serviced office in Bahrain Bay and offers a great lounge and co-working facilities, as well as access to cutting edge technology and the Regus App.



Regus tenants benefit from over 1,200 sq m of offices, co-working spaces and meeting rooms spread across one floor. The centre is the perfect solution not just for local professionals, but also for foreign companies that are looking to set up a business in Bahrain without having to commit to traditional long-term leases. They will also benefit from business opportunities and Regus networking events.



Alina Gomotirceanu, country manager for Regus in Bahrain, said: Following a growing demand for flexible office spaces in Bahrain, we have decided to open our fourth centre in Manama, to support the continuous expansion of our global network. Bahrain has a healthy business sector, with many regional and international companies looking to set up offices in the Kingdom, encouraged by recent investments in tourism and infrastructure that will support the countrys economic diversification.



Regus is the largest International workspace provider in Bahrain with multiple locations. Other centres in Manama can be found in Wind Tower, World Trade Centre and Bahrain Almoayyed Tower. Each private office can be upgraded to add more desks or relocated at no extra cost.



Temporary offices can also be rented, to cover the duration of a project, with rolling one month contracts. The serviced offices are supplied with furniture, high-speed internet and a staffed reception, with additional services such as meeting rooms and virtual offices available. - TradeArabia News Service
Work is in progress to build five Zamzam water transits inside the Grand Mosque complex in Makkah, as part of an ambitious Saudi government project, said a report.



The Zamzam well project is being implemented in two parts. The first part will see the construction of five transits from the eastern side of the mataf while the second part involves sterilizing the water and removing concrete and iron particles from the area surrounding the well, reported The Saudi Gazette.



More than 250 engineers, technicians and labourers, supported by 11 cranes, are working round-the-clock to complete the renovation of the historic well and it will be ready before the start of Ramadan, it added.


Samsung Engineering said its joint venture with CB&I Nederland, a global player in the technology and infrastructure services sector, has been awarded a major contract by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) to build a crude flexibility project for its Adnoc Refining unit in the UAE capital.



One of the worlds leading engineering, procurement, construction and project management companies, Samsung Engineering said at a value of $ 3.1 billion, it is the ninth award in total the company has received from Adnoc, the national oil company of the UAE and the parent company of Adnoc Refining.



As per the deal, the Samsung Engineering JV will construct a new atmospheric residue de-sulfurization (ARDS) facility, with a capacity of 177,000 barrels per day. The Korean companys share in the contract is $ 2.6 billion, according to a statement from the company.



Work will soon start on the project, which will come up at the Ruwais Industrial Complex (the largest industrial complex in the UAE). It is due for handover by the end of 2022.



Samsung Engineering has previously delivered six projects in the Ruwais complex, two of which are directly linked to the CFP, said a top company official.



"Therefore, not only is it possible to fully utilise the existing experienced manpower, equipment, facilities and partner network, but also build on our strong relationship with Adnoc Refining," remarked Sungan Choi, president and CEO of Samsung Engineering.



"We were able to win this project based on our track record of delivering safely and on schedule," stated Choi.



We will do everything in our power to successfully execute the CFP by utilising our global experience in the refining sector, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Bahrains Capital Schools has announced a discount of 5 per cent on tuition fees as a special gesture in response to the directives of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa.

The discount will apply for the third term of this year and the next academic year, a statement said.

Adel Al Safar, chairman of Al-Safar Group, owner of Capital School, said: "This idea came after the Royal directives that there should be no increase in tuition fees in private schools, concluding the decision of the Ministry of Education to reward high-performing private schools should not be borne by the parents of the students in the form of an increase in tuition fees.

Al-Safar added: I believe the private sector should also take the initiative in this worthy cause for all citizens to support the national responsibility to lighten their fees."

Al-Safar called on all private sector institutions in Bahrain, especially banks and large companies in various sectors, to take the initiative to respond to the Royal directives and to bear part of the expenses for students in Bahrain, especially those who are unable to do so, through a mechanism run by a team representing these companies.

Al Safar also called on the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry to contribute through a fund to support the families of small traders towards the tuition fees.

"We, as an educational institution, have decided to contribute to the wisdom of our leadership by giving all students enrolled in our school a reduction in tuition fees hoping that the private sector will also take similar steps in this regard.

Capital School has two campuses - one in Bahrain and the other in Dubai. There is also a plan to establish two schools in Kuwait, one in Oman and later in Saudi Arabia. This demonstrates our confidence in the economic vision of Bahrain and neighbouring countries, which has also a focus on investment in the educational sector, he said.

The group has acquired a land (approx. 25,000 sq m) in a strategic location in Saar for building an integrated school building, which includes many facilities. - TradeArabia News Service
GE Healthcare has partnered with Tatweer Medical Co., an investment arm of Tatweer Holding, to develop an advanced diagnostic facility near the Diplomatic Quarter in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.



The Medical Village project, set to open in 2020, will host seven specialized hospital buildings with more than 900 beds and 33 stand-alone medical centres delivering high quality care across all areas of specialization.



Through an innovative business model led by private investment, GE Healthcare and Medical Village will create a centralized Diagnostic Radiology Center that will serve the entire development, providing sustainable high-quality diagnostics to support Medical Village in achieving clinical excellence. The centre will also provide support to other diagnostic clinics in Riyadh, across the Kingdom and Gulf region, through advanced tele-radiology services.



The agreement was signed by Sheikh Huzam Salama Bin Saidan, CEO of Tatweer Medical, and Jalil Juha, president & CEO, GE Healthcare Saudi Arabia, in the presence of Dr Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, Saudi Minister of Health, and Dr Rafat Taher, managing director of Healthcare & Life Sciences at Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia); Adnan Abdullah Al-Olayan, CEO of Medical Village; Kieran Murphy, president & CEO, GE Healthcare; and Maher Abouzeid, president & CEO, GE Healthcare- Eastern Growth Markets, at Arab Health Exhibition & Congress 2018 in Dubai.



Dr Taher said: The agreement between Tatweer Medical and GE Healthcare underlines the positive investment environment of Saudi Arabia. Healthcare is one of the core economic sectors that offers promising opportunities for public private partnerships, and Medical Village sets a model in this regard, bringing not only inward investment but also the advanced technologies and know-how that will enhance the standards of healthcare delivery.



Al-Olayan said: The Medical Village project is a visionary development that complements the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Program 2020. As a sophisticated healthcare hub, Medical Village will bring together experienced clinicians and professionals to deliver high quality care for the community.



Through our partnership with GE Healthcare, we are creating a diagnostics hub for the entire region that will ensure better and timely diagnosis, which is of critical importance in delivering efficient healthcare.



GEs collaboration with Tatweer Medical is testimony to the power of partnerships in enabling enhanced operational efficiency, accuracy and access to clinics and hospitals across Saudi Arabia in line with the Ministry of Healths National Transformation Plan, said Juha.



We are proud to see our technology and solutions help build outcome-based care systems that are efficient, cost-effective and still deliver the best quality of patient care possible.  TradeArabia News Service
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has partnered with Italian institution University of Udine, a pioneer in organ transplantation, to develop a joint programme to cooperate on the scientific educational, research and medical level.



The University of Udine, which was founded in 1978, is known for its organ transplantation programme (includes liver, kidneys and bone marrow) and organ transplantation from alive donors (liver and kidney transplantation and a strong relation with bone marrow and stem cell transplantation).



The university is also known for its heart transplantation and cardiology (including emergency in coronary diseases, oncology, rheumatology and autoimmune diseases, molecular diagnostics ad regenerative medicine) programmes.



The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by Humaid Al Qutami, chairman of the Board and director general of the DHA and by Professor Alberto Felice De Toni as his capacity as the rector of the University of Udine.



The two parties will be accomplishing a joint programme aiming to create a cooperation and development on the scientific educational, research and medical level in addition to the exchange and development of medical experiences and competencies.



As part of the MoU, the two parties will also exchange scientific and educational papers and studies, exchange students and specialized cadres. It will also see the two parties organize meetings, seminars and joint training programmes and invite researchers and educational cadres to participate in researches, prepare educational projects and exchange of medical experiences for the purposes of developing the medical cadres in all specialties and sub-specialties.



Al Qutami said the authority aims to expand its partnerships with different medical, scientific and academic organizations in order to exchange experiences and to learn about the latest international innovations in the medical field.



He said the partnership with the university is important because of its specialization in organ transplantation, which will provide the authority with an important opportunity to exchange experiences and knowledge about this field.  TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain Pack (United Paper Industries), a specialist in producing a range of innovative customised packaging solutions for the GCC market, is looking at expanding its business by launching new packaging formats as well as tapping new markets in the GCC.



We are currently studying the options of entering new sectors such as flexibile packaging in line with the growing market demands, said Hamed Faleh Al Abdulla, the company general manager on the sidelines of the Gulf Industry Fair 2018.



Based in Bahrain, United Paper Industries is a company with extensive exports around the GCC region. Around 40 to 45 per cent of our total production is exported to the GCC countries, stated Al Abdulla.



The company has pumped in BD1 million ($2.65 million) for refurbishing its facility with new machinery and is now looking at investing in the neighbouring countries as part of its expansion plan.



We have expanded three-fold in the last 15 years and are aiming to increase our capacity by 25 per cent in the short term, he said.



Set up in 1993, Bahrain Pack has since its founding built a reputation for customising packaging solutions for customer needs. Its manufacturing facility located in Sitra Industrial Area is well-equipped to manufacture all types of printed and non-printed corrugated cartons.



In addition to its Sitra facility, Bahrain Pack has a second facility in Jordan. The unit which is run through its subsidiary company produces items from its vast range of corrugated cartons.



The company is back at the Gulf Industry Fair this year to introduce its full range of customised packaging solutions and services designed to meet the requirements of industrial manufacturers and service providers.



Bahrain Pack is celebrating its 25th year in 2018. Our first 25 years of business have been successful in achieving 80 per cent share of the market in Bahrain, apart from high-value clients in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and in Jordan," said Al Abdulla.



"We are quite excited as we look to the next 25 years in the development of Bahrain Pack," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The sixth Edition of World Government Summit set to run from February 11 to 13 in Dubai, UAE will host the Global AI Governance Forum, aiming to forecast the future of government work in view of the advancements in artificial intelligence.



Today's artificial intelligence (AI) can fly a drone, drive cars, park vehicles, detect cancer, predict crop yield, warn of super storms, schedule personal meetings, become a personal trainer, trade stocks and even beat you at Candy Crush! No longer relegated to the realm of possibilities, Sci-Fi movies and intellectual forums, AI is real, its here and it has infiltrated our lives, reported Emirates news agency Wam.



From self-driving cars to popular digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa, every cutting-edge innovation that is an integral part of our lives today incorporates artificial intelligence at some level.



At the World Government Summit 2017, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, said: "I think we need to be very careful in how we adopt artificial intelligence and that we make sure that researchers dont get carried away."



Musk has held firm on his belief that AI will be a threat to people, with a handful of leading companies ending up in control of AI systems and capable of exercising "extreme" levels of power.



Not by any means the sole voice of caution against AI, Musks warnings resonate with leaders and thinkers around the globe including world-renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who believes that AI will continue to evolve and improve until it is eventually superior to human beings. Articulating his anxiety, he said: "I fear that AI may replace humans altogether and be a new form of life."



But the most immediate and looming threat perceived by AI has to do with livelihood and the likelihood that machines will take over our jobs, making thousands of employed professionals across the global workforce redundant.



A McKinsey report states that half of todays workplace activities could be automated by 2055, or in more extreme scenarios, up to 20 years earlier. In contrast, a 2017 Gartner report predicts that AI will create 500,000 more jobs than it will displace over the next three years, creating a host of employment opportunities for medium-to high-skilled workers.



Inevitably, as the global economy gears up for the widespread adoption of AI solutions, the competition will be fierce. It is therefore imperative for employees to implement, manage and work in tandem with this new technology to develop skills that will enable them to remain relevant.



Artificial Intelligence will arguably be the most defining force in reshaping our world and what greater testimony to its pervasive power than the fact that on October 19, the UAE became the first nation with a minister in the government dedicated to AI.



Not surprising really, given that since 2013, the worlds most powerful leaders and game-changing innovators have convened for the World Government Summit in Dubai, UAE - an event dedicated to helping mold the governments of the future. Past events have featured high-calibre speakers such as former US President Barack Obama, World Economic Forum founder Professor Klaus Schwab, and everyones favourite tech visionary Elon Musk.



The UAEs AI strategy covers development and application in nine sectors, including transport, health, space, renewable energy, water, technology, education, environment, and traffic, with the aim of becoming the worlds most prepared country for artificial intelligence.



According to Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, the UAE's Minister of State for AI, the future is not going to be black or white. AI is not negative or positive, Al Olama believes, and as is the case with any new technology it all depends on the usage and implementation.



''Whether we consider AI the tool to achieve a utopian dream where superior intelligence rids the planet of all ills or a dystopian reality where we are at war with robots, theres no debating that governments and private enterprises needs to come together and engage in meaningful dialogue about a future where man and machine must coexist in harmony and use this rapidly transmuting technology to create a better world for those that will inherit it, he said.
Celebrating Saudi Arabias historic decision to grant women drivers licenses, Nissan recently offered a group of women the chance to get behind the wheel for the first time  with a surprise group of driving instructors.

The company has released an inspirational video about the initiative, part of its #SheDrives campaign, which encourages women to embrace the exciting prospect of becoming fully licensed drivers in 2018.

The women in the video (https://my.nissan/She-drives) say that while theyre delighted by the prospect, they face reluctance from some of their family members. To help them overcome this, Nissan invited aspiring female motorists to hone their driving skills and build confidence on a closed driving course, with a plot twist: Instead of professional instructors, the women were met by their respective husbands, fathers and brothers, who were their teachers for the day.

2018 is earmarked to be a pivotal moment in history for women in the kingdom, said Bader Al Houssami, Chief Operating Officer at Nissan Saudi Arabia. We wanted to launch a campaign thats just as emotional as its innovative, which ultimately is at the heart of what we at Nissan strive to achieve. The #SheDrives campaign aims to motivate women all over Saudi Arabia with a clear message: When the time comes, the decision to drive will be entirely yours. - TradeArabia News Service
Euro Motors, the exclusive distributor for Jaguar Land Rover in Bahrain, has launched an exclusive new feature in their websites which allow customers to purchase any Jaguar or Land Rover online.



The Euro Motors websites, www.jaguar-bahrain.com and www.landroverbahrain.com, which were launched late last year now allow customers to purchase any Jaguar or Land Rover with a click of a button, said a statement.



With customer satisfaction being the top priority, Euro Motors Jaguar Land Rover allows customers to make their purchases with a down payment of BD1,000 ($2,652.8). Using the exclusive feature customers will be able to purchase brand new vehicles as well as Approved pre-owned vehicles, it said.



Stephen Lay, general manager of Euro Motors Jaguar Land Rover, said: As part of our efforts to provide unrivalled customer experiences, we are delighted to introduce an innovative feature such as this that enhances our capacity to meet the demand of our luxurious vehicles by making them more accessible to everyone.



By providing absolute transparency in pricing, the revamped website greatly redefines the steps involved in the purchase of our vehicles in order to make the process much easier. Our capacity to provide such customized offerings reiterates our status as the most customer-oriented dealership in the kingdom, both in terms of accessibility on our digital domain and our physical presence, he added.



The websites include a fully-revamped customer friendly user interface with highly interactive content that allows users to experience dynamic and personalised specs and pricing.



Jaguar Land Rover is the first manufacturer to introduce a detailed pricing configurator across nine countries in the region with local currencies on their websites. And the revamped websites integrate this highly beneficial facility and allows customers to purchase vehicles online through Euro Motors Jaguar Land Rover, while being able to view the latest financial offers available in Bahrain.



The websites are also integrated with programmatic dynamic campaigns, which means that based on customers behaviour on the websites, Euro Motors Jaguar Land Rover can now deliver customised content to them at all the possible "touch points" they have been recognised to have with the brands, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has awarded the contract for the construction of the fourth phase of H-Station at Al Aweer, worth Dh1.1 billion ($300 million), to a consortium comprising Siemens and Elsewedy Power.



We are working hard to achieve the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and we strive to improve our performance, productivity, and customer service, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa.



Our strategy is aligned with the UAE Centennial 2071, UAE Vision 2021 and the Dubai Plan 2021 to secure a happy and sustainable future. We work tirelessly to support the UAE in reaching first place in everything we do, and to enhance our infrastructure and our total production capacity, which currently is 10,200 MW of electricity and 470 million imperial gallons (MIGD) of desalinated water per day. Currently, Dewa has over 4,000 MW of projects under construction.



The project aims to test, supply, and commission three gas turbines with a total capacity of 815 MW. The turbines are expected to be operational in phases starting from February 29, 2020 and ending on 30 April 2020, added Al Tayer.



The power station is one of Dewas most important projects, to help meet the growing demand for electricity. The station is equipped with the latest control systems and technologies to reduce emissions. The turbines will be completely fuelled with natural gas.



H-Station at Al Aweer has a current total capacity of 1,996 MW under climatic conditions and high temperatures of up to 50 deg C. Once the 815-MW fourth phase is complete, the station will have a total capacity of 2,811 MW.  TradeArabia News Service
The chief executive officer of the Bahrain Tourism and Exhibitions Authority (BTEA), Shaikh Khaled bin Humood Al Khalifa participated in the recently held Bahrain British Business Forum (BBBF).



The forum was held in the presence of the chairman of BBBF, Khalid Al Zayani, British Ambassador to Bahrain, Simon Martin and BBBF members at the Westin Bahrain City Centre.



Shaikh Khaled stressed on the importance of enhancing the role of the Kingdom of Bahrain as a tourism destination and provided insights and developments indicative of rising prosperity in the Kingdom. Additionally, he mentioned the events and activities that were lined up to meet this objective.



The BTEA is committed to supporting initiatives aimed at boosting investments in Bahrains tourism sector. This comes in line with the BTEAs long-term strategy to make the Kingdom a leading regional hub offering a diverse and distinct variety of tourism facilities and promoting it through its representative offices which have collaborated with several travel agencies in target markets, said the Shaikh Khaled.



The BTEAs participation comes in line with its overall strategy aimed at developing the tourism sector under the slogan of Ours. Yours., which contributes towards the Kingdoms economy and the 2030 Economic Vision.



Furthermore, the BBBF is a leading network of businessmen and women in Bahrain. The forum has nine Special Interest Groups (SIGs), covering oil, gas & energy, hospitality, construction, banking & financial services, ICT and legal sectors; as well as organisational effectiveness, young professionals and women in business. The SIGs offer members and guests a valuable medium for exchanging industry specific ideas and discussing issues relevant to a particular sector in a more informal setting.



The BBBF was set up in 1995 and has grown from the original 16 members to over 400 members today. It aims to promote trade and investment between Bahrain and Britain in a non-discriminatory, non-political and non-profit making manner. The BBBF is widely recognized in Bahrain and the UK as a leading impartial business sector group. The Forum works to create and sustain a favourable business environment. The BBBF strives to assist and introduce new trade and investment to both countries to benefit and enhance the common economic interests of our member companies.  TradeArabia News Service
Boeing has announced services orders valued at more than $900 million that will enable carriers and partners to excel in todays competitive airline environment.



Boeing is serious about helping customers optimize the performance of their fleets and reduce operational costs throughout the lifecycle, said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Global Services. Predicted growth for aerospace services in the Asia Pacific brings opportunities to partner with local industry to understand the regions greatest needs, invest in new capabilities to meet those needs, and then bring them to market quickly.



Todays agreements stretch across Global Services four capability areas, including parts; engineering, modifications and maintenance; digital aviation and analytics; and training and professional services.



Regional agreements announced today include in part:



 All Nippon Airways signed a contract for 36 landing gear exchanges for the 787.



 China Southern Airlines and Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Limited (GAMECO) signed an agreement to develop service capabilities for the Boeing Global Fleet Care portfolio, as well as enhanced component and composite repair capabilities.



 Malaysia Airlines signed an agreement for 48 landing gear exchanges for the Next-Generation 737. Through the program, operators receive an overhauled and certified landing gear from an exchange pool maintained by Boeing, with stocked components and supporting parts shipping within 24 hours.



 Nippon Cargo Airlines signed a five-year agreement to renew Jeppesen charting and electronic flight bag services to optimize navigation and flight operations across their 747 fleet.



 Royal Brunei Airlines signed an agreement for five 787-8 overhead flight crew rest retrofits. The modifications, to be completed at Boeing Shanghai, will allow the carrier to fly the 787-8 airplanes on long-haul routes, providing increased operations flexibility to the fleet and operator.



 SilkAir signed an agreement to receive fleet material services for 54 of its 737 MAX and Next-Generation aircraft. Fleet material services include Component Services Program, Integrated Material Management and Customer Furnished Parts, providing the customer with a centralized supplier of parts.



 Singapore Airlines signed a contract to use Electronic Logbook on its 777 and 787 fleet. As a Boeing electronic flight bag app, the Electronic Logbook replaces paper logbooks with digital records that improve operational efficiency and reliability, reducing schedule interruptions.



 Singapores Defence Science and Technology Agency signed an agreement to engage in collaborative research and experimentation activities, powered by Boeing AnalytX.



Worldwide agreements include:



 Alaska Airlines signed an agreement to renew Jeppesen Flight Planning for its 737 fleet.



 Biman Bangladesh Airlines has expanded its use of Boeings Component Services Program by adding the service to support induction of new 787 aircraft that will enter its fleet in August this year, in addition to expanding and extending current component service coverage of its existing 737 and 777 fleets. With this service extension, Biman is on CSP support for all three of its airplane models.



 DHL has ordered one 767-300ER Boeing converted freighter. Boeing converted freighters carry high-density cargo on long-range routes, as well as e-commerce cargo on domestic and regional routes.



 Honeywell Aerospace signed a contract extending Avialls product support agreement as the exclusive distributor for Honeywell Aerospace through 2022, covering interior and exterior lighting equipment for all commercial aftermarket product sales. Products covered include indicators, annunciators and other components used on commercial aircraft.



 Lufthansa Group signed an agreement for 25 landing gear exchange and overhauls across its 777-200F and 777-300ER fleets for AeroLogic, Lufthansa Cargo and Swiss International Airlines. The service eliminates the need for operators to contract, schedule and manage the overhaul process.



 Parker Aerospaces Aircraft Wheel & Brake Division signed a five-year master distributor agreement with Aviall for its Cleveland Wheels & Brakes product line. Aviall will forecast, warehouse and market through its network, including Parker AWBs former network of direct distributors.



 Tianjin Air Capital signed a contract with AerData for Secure Technical Records for Electronic Asset Management, a tool that transforms operations by replacing paper documents with digital ones, for a fleet of more than 50 aircraft.



 Tunisair signed a contract to integrate Jeppesen Aviator services on iPad into its flight operations, reducing pilot time spent on data entry and accessing individual apps.  TradeArabia News Service


Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London has announced its partnership with luxury British dog brand Teddy Maximus.



Launching in time for Chinese New Year  celebrating the Year of the Earth Dog- our four legged friends will take centre stage at the hotel. Guests travelling from far and away with their best friend will be able to delight in the comfort of British luxury when checking in.



Priced from 600, the Pawfect Package includes:

 Overnight in a Superior Room

 Sand Shetland Wool Cocoon bed by Teddy Maximus

 Shetland Wool Luxury Lounging Cushion by Teddy Maximus

 Ceramic food and drink bowls

 Sand Shetland Wool toy bone by Teddy Maximus to take home

 Shetland Wool neckerchief by Teddy Maximus to take home

 The Otis Lead by Teddy Maximus



Champions of British craftsmanship, Teddy Maximus luxury accessories are adored by pet owners across the globe for their quintessential style. Production takes place across the UK by the finest and most skilled craftsmen. Additionally, many of the luxury dog items can be personalised upon request.



Holly Simpson, founder of Teddy Maximus, said: "We are delighted to partner with Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park, London as the luxury destination for dog owners. Pooches can now relax in our cosy, stylish beds and enjoy many other accessories to make their stay memorable. With Hyde Park on the doorstep we cant think of anything more pawfect!" - TradeArabia News Service
In what could be the first unprecedented moon landing of its kind in history, Indias space agency ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) is planning to send a lunar probe to the Moon's South Pole which till today remains an unchartered region territory of the lunar surface. The vehicle named Chandrayaan -2 is scheduled for lift-off in April this year and if successful will become the first lunar probe to land in the region of the moon's South Pole where others have all landed near the equator.

The ambitious project to be launched by the ISRO comes in the wake of the first unsuccessful Chandrayaan -1 which was launched in 2008 and terminated after scientists lost contact with the spacecraft.

A major breakthrough if successful: targeted area has rocks four billion years old

This mission would be a scientific milestone and a breakthrough of sorts in lunar exploration as the area that has been targeted for landing consists of rocks that are regarded by scientists to be four billion years old. By that, one can imagine the sheer magnitude of the data and research the project would yield. It would become a goldmine of information to which scientists have not yet been privy too as no craft has attempted such a challenge till date.

ISROs ambitious project is being touted as a daredevil manoeuvre as the first-ever mission to soft-land on the moon's South Pole. The mission itself is not without its technical challenges.

Said former ISRO chief AS Kiran Kumar on Saturday, Feb 4 We have identified two locations and will be choosing one. No other moon mission has landed in this area. Incidentally, AS Kiran Kumar retired just last month.

Landing simulations are underway: scheduled launch in April

Speaking to the Times of India, current ISRO chairman K Sivan said that Chandraayan-2 will be a real challenge because this is going to be the first instance a lander, orbiter and a rover will be carried to the moon.

Even now, landing simulations are also underway at ISROs Liquid Propulsion System Center at Mahindra Giri in Tamil Nadu. A prototype of the lander will attempt a simulated soft-landing from a height of approximately 80 meters.

Technology and hardware almost ready

The ISRO chief also revealed the technology and hardware for Chandrayaan -2 was almost ready and launch is scheduled by the first quarter or second half of 2018.

Chandrayaan-2 will be carried into the lunar orbit by the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II space rocket. Solar energy will be used to power the rover every lunar day which is equivalent to 14 Earth days. It will be analysing the lunar surface and transmitting data and images back to Earth.

The lunar probe may discover water which would be phenomenal

Wu Ji the director of the National Space Science Center in Beijing said it was a challenging and complicated mission because there is less sunlight at the lunar poles so the lunar probe may receive less power.

The project aims to land the probe in an area between the lunar mountain craters of Simpelius N and Manzinus C which are 70 degrees south.

This is an entirely unknown area near the lunar South Pole but the scientists working on the project feel it will not just be a milestone in lunar exploration but more ambitiously pave the way for possible lunar habitation in case the probe discovers water.

Will Chandrayaan-2 redeem the loss of Chandrayaan I. Scientists are optimistic.

The spacecraft carrying the probe weighs 3,300 kg and will be launched from the Sriharikota Satish Dhawan Space Centre located on the countrys southwest coast. The rocket GSLV MKII will launch the spacecraft that will carry the orbiter, robot and lander to the moon. Upon launch, the spacecraft will enter a 170 x 20, 000 km elliptical orbit. From here, the craft will be manoeuvred towards a lunar orbit with the help of thrusters.

In 2008 Chandrayaan I was launched from Sriharikota at a cost of $83 million. The main craft made it to the lunar orbit and a lunar probe landed on the moon. It even discovered magmatic water on a moon pit. Unfortunately, the main craft malfunctioned in 2009 crashing into the moon breaking all communications with the probe. The project was subsequently abandoned. In 2017, NASA through its Jet propulsion Lab in Pasadena, California, located the lunar orbiter hovering near the moons North Pole.

Scientists are hopeful that Chandrayaan 2 will be successful and put India on the map as one of the latest major contenders in space exploration.
Doritos recently told consumers that they plan on releasing a new version of their chips that were targeted towards the ladies. The new version of the chips won't crunch so loudly, will be less messy, and come in a size easy to pop into handbags.

But who really asked for them to make this new version of chips? Certainly not actual women.

In an article on the New York Post, the CEO of Pepsi-Co (who own Doritos) Indra Nooyi got the idea from a study that found women don't like to eat crunchy food or lick their fingers in public.

Apparently, women don't like noisy doritos

On the podcast, "Freakonomics Radio" Nooyi said guys love the sensation of licking their fingers and eating the broken chips at the bottom of the bad but that women don't like crunching too loud in public or lick their fingers. Nooyi should probably give more evidence to prove her Dorito consumption theories.

Another important aspect to the controversy, Nooyi herself is a women. This brings up the question of how can a female try to justify such sexist marketing?

The Lady Doritos reminds consumers of the controversial "Pink Tax," which is basically the idea to paint something pink to target it towards women and then hike the price up for making it exclusive to females.

What the PepsiCo CEO fails to realize is that most people who eat Doritos, or any chip for that matter, eat them in the same way Nooyi described how men eat them. There is really no difference how women and men eat chips. In reality, do men really enjoy licking the chip dust off their fingers like she's portraying? It can be argued that both genders don't like getting their fingertips dirty.

It didn't take long for people to start commenting on the idea. Not only was PespsiCo facing angry feedback but some was also humorous.

Here's what social media had to say about the new idea

I saw Lady Doritos trending and thought Ah, so Kylie named her baby.  Laraine Pennington (@LaraineBaker) February 5, 2018

Has anyone at Doritos ever met a lady  Danielle Sepulveres (@ellesep) February 5, 2018

Women would rather have affordable feminine hygiene products and contraception but instead we get Lady Doritos.  Shea (@iamsheajenkins) February 5, 2018

Women: We want equal pay for equal work and an end to sex discrimination in the workplace.



Society: Heres a bag of Lady Doritos so you wont have to crunch too loudly in front of your male colleagues.  Marie Connor (@thistallawkgirl) February 5, 2018

There are plenty of things women have been asking for but Lady Doritos was not one of them.

In fact, the idea is more negative than positive. The idea focuses more on how women look in public while eating the chips rather than their actual enjoyment of Doritos.

According to the Washington Post, "PepsiCo isn't developing a product based only on sexism. PepsiCo is developing a product based on real-life behaviors that are themselves based on sexism."

The concept goes into a deeper issue than the surface level issue of sexism.

PepsiCo probably meant nothing by the idea except that it was supposed to be a relief from what women might not like about their chips, they just didn't market it effectively.
The biggest story of the day comes from the Washington Post that reports Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to throw a military parade in honor of his presidency. The news received such negative attention that even some on the president's favorite cable news station think it's a bad idea.

Sanders on Trump

Donald Trump has made it well-known that he's a fan of the United States Military and veterans, at least in his rhetoric. Since the day he kicked off his campaign for president, the former host of "The Apprentice" has used the military as a talking point to help cater to conservative voters.

Despite this, Trump has done little in the way of helping service men and women, and veterans. As reported by the Washington Post on Tuesday night, Trump's way to show his appreciation for the military is to hold a parade in his honor that is projected to cost millions of dollars, and it's unknown how the costs would be covered.

"Fox & Friends" host: Trump's military parade "seems like a waste of money" https://t.co/9ADBys5rkd pic.twitter.com/BW2pt22jgY  The Hill (@thehill) February 7, 2018

This issue was highlighted during the February 7 edition of "Fox & Friends," which happens to be the president's favorite cable news program. After giving a short news brief on the parade, co-host Steve Doocy seemed fine with the idea, saying, "There are a lot of people at the Pentagon who would love to show off all the equipment."

After fellow co-host Ainsley Earhardt agreed with Doocy, co-host Brian Kilmeade didn't seem too impressed with Trump's plan.

"I don't know," Kilmeade said, before admitting, "It seems like a waste of money." After throwing shade at the president, Kilmeade was directed to quickly end the segment and cut to a commercial break.

Parade details

Following the report in the Washington Post, it was later confirmed by Gen. James Mattis and White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders that a parade was in the works, but that it was in the early stages.

According to the details known as of press time, the parade could costs millions of dollars, and is being planned to be held around Veterans Day. Trump made the request during a meeting with top military officials after being inspired by a similar parade held in France known as Bastille Day.

Analysis: Trump wants a grand military parade. Some veterans say that wont fix their problems. https://t.co/u6UzpvviA7  Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 7, 2018

Trump's lack of history

While Donald Trump often talks about his support for the military, he doesn't have much personal experience in the area. Trump has widely been criticized for obtaining five deferments to avoid serving in the Vietnam War, with one being a controversial medical exemption for alleged bone spurs.
Donald Trump has long claimed that he is a big supporter of the United States Military, but he appears to be taking his admiration to another level. In a new report, the president has called on the Pentagon to throw him a special military parade.

Trump's parade

From the day Donald Trump kicked off his campaign for president, he made sure to stick with several talking points. In addition to repealing Obamacare and pushing for a southern border wall, Trump has also repeated his claim that he is a strong supporter of the military, often promising to treat current members of the military and veterans better than any president before him.

JUST IN: Trump ordered Pentagon to plan massive military parade for him: report https://t.co/EDsEPGoNH6 pic.twitter.com/eujhC4QeGy  The Hill (@thehill) February 6, 2018

As reported by the Hill On February 6, Trump is calling on the Pentagon to throw a military-style parade in honor of his presidency. Citing the first report by the Washington Post, Trump recently held a meeting with military officials where his orders of a personal military parade were "suddenly heard as a presidential directive." According to one military offical in attendance, the president said "I want a parade like the one in France."

As of press time, the parade plans are in the "brainstorming" stage, with a target date of around Veteran's Day.

In addition, the Washington Post reports that the parade could cost millions of dollars, with the Pentagon unsure of how they will be able to fund the event.

Instant backlash

Once the news broke of a Trump-ordered military parade, critics lashed out on social media. "I am so mad I am crying right now over this! I just can't believe what's happening in our country and just makes me sad!" one tweet read.

I wonder how much a military parade to honor a draft dodger is going to cost us.  bex  (@bex0760) February 6, 2018

I hope there is some kind of rally/March during his parade I will be there!!  Kimberley D (@KimM1969) February 6, 2018

Ridiculous!! And frightening.  Anthony Assefi (@anthony_assefi) February 6, 2018

"How very authoritarian.

He admires North Korean parades and state TV control," a follow-up tweet added. "Ridiculous!! And frightening," another Twitter user wrote. "As a Vietnam vet, this draft dodger wanting a parade to honor himself really turns my stomach. Where is Lee Harvey Oswald when we really need him," an additional tweet noted. "I didnt think I could hate him more but he constantly lowers the bar," a tweet went on to read.

I didnt think I could hate him more but he constantly lowers the bar  Christine Galea (@chrisgalea) February 6, 2018

Um, ya...If ever there was a reason for thousands of people to lie down and block a parade route, this is it. #Trump  cmacs (@Leafer1) February 6, 2018

Better be careful a Trumpanzee might report your tweet to secret service since they still believe Lee Harvey Oswald is alive  Kelley Dockrey (@DockreyKelley) February 6, 2018

"I wonder how much a military parade to honor a draft dodger is going to cost us," a social media user wondered.

Um, ya...If ever there was a reason for thousands of people to lie down and block a parade route, this is it," a post went on to read. As the backlash continued to pour in, it reflected the growing negativity in the United States towards Donald Trump and the entire administration.
During a speech on Monday afternoon, Donald Trump accused the Democratic Party of treason for not standing and applauding while attending his State of the Union last week. In response, the hosts on "The View" didn't hold back.

"The View" on Trump

Following Donald Trump's State of the Union speech last week, it was clear that many Democrats weren't impressed. As is the case during most State of the Union speeches, the opposing party often sits in silence, but that didn't go over well with the current president. While addressing a crowd in Cincinnati on Monday, Trump ripped into Democrats, referring to them as "Un-American," before saying, "Treasonous, I mean, yeah, I guess, why not."

'TREASONOUS' FOR NOT CLAPPING? The president took aim at Democratic lawmakers who sat stone-faced during his State of the Union address. The co-hosts weigh in on the comment. https://t.co/f8u2wc159S pic.twitter.com/CRVV1oX74I  The View (@TheView) February 6, 2018

Donald Trump's remarks were met with ironic backlash as many of the president's critics have accused him treason.

The issue was highlighted during the February 6 edition of "The View," led by co-host Whoopi Goldberg sounding off. "Clearly youve never seen a state of the union before," Goldberg said of Trump.

"The opposing party always sits on their hands," Whoopi Goldberg went on to point out. "I dont know if you really want to be throwing words like 'treason' and 'treasonous' around in this political climate," she added, while noting, Many people are pointing at you for similar things." Goldberg's remarks were similar to the rest of the panel who also made sure to give their thoughts.

Behar doubles down

In agreement with Whoopi Goldberg, fellow co-host Joy Behar doubled down on Donald Trump's hypocritical attack on the Democrats, saying the president is "basically in bed with Russia and with Putin." "Hes calling people who dont stand up for him treasonous," she added.

In addition, co-host Sonny Hostin observed that Trump might be confusing the term "treason" with "dissent," making a note that the United States was founded by those who dissented from Britain. "Dissent is the bedrock of our democracy, she went on to add.

Moving forward

After just over a year in office, Donald Trump has had a roller-coaster like start to his administration.

To start of the month of February, Trump's approval rating slightly ticked up, sitting at around 42 percent, though his numbers are still historically low for a president after just one year in office. With the recent drop in the stock market and uncertainty over a potential government shutdown, Trump is facing serious issues about improving his standing with the American people.
Spoiler alerts indicate that things are going from bad to worse for Chelsea on "The Young and the Restless." Phyllis has already practically accused Ms. Lawson of stealing from her own company, and now she has another surprise up her sleeve that will lead to some shocking revelations coming forth in Genoa City. According to Soap Hub, Phyllis is going to bring Jordan Wilde back to town and expose a shocking secret. He may be the co-conspirator in the theft of Fenmore's products or have something to reveal about the grifter past he shared with Chelsea.

As Melissa Claire Egan's time on the show is almost up, the truth of Christian's could be about to be revealed.

Chelsea is up to something shady

Ms. Lawson has been acting strangely in recent weeks, but viewers of "The Young and the Restless" have not yet been able to figure out why. She hid a quarter of a million dollars in her home and opened a bank account under an assumed name. She closed the account before J.T. could learn her identity, but Phyllis has figured out that Chelsea is the one stealing her own designer clothing. She must also have a good reason for bringing Jordan back to town.

Spoilers indicate that Nick will be fooled for a while, but time is running out as Melissa Claire Egan's departure date nears.

He will eventually begin thinking about all that his ex-wife has said regarding the woman he is currently living with. Chelsea is up to something shady and it is about to blow up in her face before she exits Genoa City. Soap Hub suggests it could be that Justin Hartley will reprise his role as Adam and whisk his wife and children away to parts unknown.

Jordan may bring the house of Chelsea tumbling down

Phyllis obviously has a very good reason for why she is bringing Mr. Wilde back to Genoa City, and whatever he brings to the table will be explosive. He made hold the key to bringing the house of Chelsea tumbling down around her. All the mystery has "Y&R" viewers wondering what is the root of all the mystery and what caused Ms.

Lawson to revert to her con artist ways. As time winds down, it all has to hit the fan, because it is well past time for Nick to know that his brother is Christian's biological father.

Spoilers say that just when Chelsea believes she has things under control and has averted Nick's suspicion, the other shoe will drop because of a phone call. It could be Jordan, Adam, or someone totally different. Stay tuned to "The Young and the Restless" weekday afternoons at 12:30 PM on CBS. Keep watching for updates as this storyline continues to unfold.
Not too long ago, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi received obituaries about his political career. Thanks to a tax fraud case and several salacious discoveries about his sexual relations with prostitutes (including some who may have been under the legal age of consent), many thought that Berlusconi would never again achieve political office. However, the man that Italians call "Il Cavaliere" (the Knight) has formed a new political coalition that looks poised to unseat the country's center-left Democratic Party.

Last Sunday, regional elections in Sicily returned a victory for Berlusconi and his right-wing coalition made up of his own Forza Italia party, the Brothers of Italy, and the Northern League.

Following this victory, the ebullient 81-year-old politician, who recently recovered from heart surgery, said: "Sicily, just as I asked, has chosen the path of real, serious, constructive change, based on honesty, competence, and experience."

Although Sicily is traditionally a stronghold of center-right parties, the anti-immigrant stance of Berlusconi's coalition helped to propel the party to victory. Although the Democrat Party has made overtures to stop the migration routes between Italy and North Africa, and even though the Italian Army will soon be deployed to Niger in order to deal with human smuggling, many Italian voters still believe that the government could do more to stop thousands of mostly African immigrants from seeking asylum in the country.

'Social bomb'

Berlusconi's tough stance on immigration comes after approximately 600,000 immigrants have entered Italy over the last four years. Many of these immigrants relocate to Italy's impoverished south, where various criminal organizations like the Camorra and 'Ngrangheta exploit the growing black market economy of African prostitutes, drug dealers, and labor slaves.

Berlusconi and his party have used this situation to hammer the Democratic Party and their allies for engineering social chaos in the country.

"Today, there are 650,000 migrants in Italy, of whom only five percent have the right to stay because they are refugees, while the others represent a social bomb ready to explode, they live on expediency and crime," Berlusconi said in a television interview.

Berlusconi has since said that if elected on March 4th, his government would oversee mass deportations of immigrants throughout the country.

In Italy, Mr. Berlusconi's remarks have created a firestorm of controversy. A writer for Fox News compared Berlusconi's words to Donald Trump's 2015 remarks about illegal immigrants from Mexico bring crime, drugs, and rape across the border. Like President Trump, Mr. Berlusconi has long touted his business acumen as one of his defining characteristics as a political leader. From 2001 to 2006, and again from 2008 until 2011, Prime Minister Berlusconi pursued pro-market policies in order to stimulate Italy's chronically sluggish economy. As Prime Minister, Berlusconi was also one of the more powerful voices in Europe speaking out against the European Union and its ostensible leader, German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Rising tensions

Berlusconi's "social bomb" comments come at a particularly dangerous time in Italian politics.

Anxiety about unchecked immigration from Africa is not only about the widespread fear of ISIS-style terror attacks but is also partially the result of the failure of the native Italian population to breed at replacement levels. Another worry is that since so many immigrants wind up using social services, increasing immigration to Italy would only bankrupt the country due to lost revenue and declining wages.

On a more visceral level, violence has seeped into the immigration discussion. This week, Italian police arrested Innocent Oseghale, a Nigerian immigrant accused of murdering and dismembering Pamela Mastropietro, a native-born Italian woman. Investigators believe that the 29-year-old immigrant dumped the remains of his victim, which were stored in two suitcases, outside the city of Pollenza.

It has also been reported by the Italian press that Oseghale came to Italy as an asylum seeker, but remained in the country after the government in Rome denied his asylum request.

On Saturday, The Guardian reported that 28-year-old Luca Traini was arrested for attempting to kill African immigrants in the city of Macerata. All told, six people were shot in drive-by style attacks. Police officials have stated that Traini's attacks were racially-motivated. Traini once stood for a local election as a member of the Northern League, one of the right-wing parties in Mr. Berlusconi's coalition.
Lithium is in top demand with the rise of electric cars and Zimbabwe is sitting on tons of the stuff. Potentially the 4th largest producer in the world, Zimbabwe is becoming more investor-friendly. A Lithium Mining investment deal was struck with Zimbabwe, it was announced at the Mining Indaba 2018, with more deals on the way.

Wilfried Pabst, chairperson of African Metals Management Services Limited says now is "the time to invest" in Zimbabwe, the Herald reports.

The annual Mining Indaba, held every year at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in the first week of February, is always an exciting time for the mining and mineral exploration sectors.

The Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation (ZMDC) attended and according to Mines and Mining Development Minister Winston Chitando, most of the mining inquiries under the new government of the country have focussed on Lithium.

Zimbabwe Is Open For Business! Theres a lot of excitement centred on the country at the Mining Indaba currently taking place in Cape Town. Its important that its strategically harnessed and channelled towards galvanising initiatives in the mining sector for economic prosperity  Hon. Temba P. Mliswa (@TembaMliswa) February 6, 2018

Lithium deal plus bankable feasibility studies for further investment

The main deal struck for the mining of lithium in Zimbabwe involves a foreign investor who will work lithium deposits worth $1,4 billion in Matabeleland North.

The Minister of Mines said that the project will involve the reworking of old dumps.

Two other lithium projects in Zimbabwe are undergoing exploration stage bankable feasibility studies. While the names of the investors have not been publicized at this time, they are a quoted company. The Herald reported that the first project is expected to "unlock more than $1,4 billion over the next few years," according to Minister Chitando.

Zimbabwe new government encouraging foreign Investment at Mining Indaba 2018

According to the new President of Zimbabwe, Ed Mnangagwa, at the Davos event in January, the country is "open for business." CNN reported that investor confidence is rising. This follows the 'bloodless coup' that saw the ousting of longtime Robert Mugabe last year.

In an interview with CNN's Richard Quest at the World Economic Forum, it was obvious that Zimbabwe is excited about a new future. Mnangagwa told CNN that the new government is set for "zero tolerance on corruption."

Artisanal miners keen for resurrection of mines

The oppressive rule by former leader Robert Mugabe saw many mines close their doors as foreign investors shut up shop and left in droves. The mine workers were left with no option but to try and wrest a living from the old workings themselves. I spoke to some of the people involved in this dangerous lifestyle, and all they want is for the mines to reopen. Nobody likes to see their wives and children scrabbling in the dirt to try and make a living in dangerous conditions.

Since late last year, there have been many meetings in Zimbabwe where people of all political persuasions are being encouraged to participate in both public and government forums to discuss the way forward for the country.

In Zimbabwe, the opening of the lithium mining sector is potentially just the beginning of a resurgence of the mining industry. The country is endowed with mineral wealth, that if properly managed, will help to turn the economy around.

As part of the investment deal which is expected to employ over 500 people, the investor will assist with local infrastructure development. The lithium mining venture is expected to "have an immense impact on the local economy, in the northern Matabeleland region of Zimbabwe.

Mining Global. com report that the country's "800 mines have the capacity to earn US$18 billion per annum."
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Pollsters say US leadership crisis in age of Trump and US support for terrorist PYD/PKK are behind rising anti-Americanism. As Anadolu Agency writes in the article Turkey: Surveys show growing anti-US views, according to a survey carried out by Optimar of 1,508 people across 26 provinces, 71.9 percent described themselves as anti-American, while 22.7 percent say they are partially anti-U.S., with only 5.4 percent saying they are not anti-U.S.

Fifty-eight percent of the people surveyed said international powers such as the U.S., Israel, and European countries are behind the rapid strengthening of Daesh in Syria and Iraq. Asked what they think about Turkey and Russia moving closer together, 62.1 percent found it a positive development, while 22.4 percent called it negative, and 15.5 percent had no opinion.

Anti-US views peak

Hilmi Dasdemir, who heads the pollster, told Anadolu Agency that Optimar is doing surveys on the Middle East and foreign policy. Pointing to the new survey, Dasdemir said anti-U.S. sentiments are at a peak. "The survey result is quite concerning in terms of U.S.-Turkish relations, which of course derive from the U.S. policy on FETO and the PYD, he said. The Fetullah Terrorist Organization or FETO is the group behind the July 15, 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, while the PYD/PKK is the Syrian branch of the terrorist PKK, and the main focus of Turkeys current counter-terrorist operation in Syria, near the Turkish border. In its 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S., EU, and Turkey -- has taken 40,000 lives.

Dasdemir reviewed the results of a poll done back in 2016. When we asked Who do you think is behind the July 15 coup attempt? 36.9 percent said FETO was behind it, 25.2 said the U.S. and FETO worked together, and 5.6 percent said only the U.S. Dasdemir said fewer people support cooperation between Turkey and the U.S. now. When we asked in 2015 Which countries should Turkey act in line with on foreign policy?, 23.1 percent said the U.S., but now this fell to 13.6 percent. Dasdemir said more people are supporting Turkeys cooperation with countries such as Russia and China.

AGS survey

AGS Global, another pollster, recently surveyed 393 businesspeople in various sectors. Some two-thirds -- 66 percent -- of the businesspeople said they had negative views of the U.S., versus only 13 percent with positive views, and 21 percent with mixed views. Most businesspeople with negative views of the U.S. said the main factor behind this is a lack of trust. Ahmet Guler, AGS Globals CEO, said there are three main factors behind this negative view. Western countries attempt to look at new Turkey from an old perspective is one of the reasons, Guler said. Guler said contradictory statements from EU countries and the U.S. and a leadership crisis in these countries also eroded views of them among Turkish businesspeople. Especially the leadership crises after [the election of President Donald] Trump and a contradictory management approach have caused negative attitudes to rise. Contrary to the crises in the West, the stable situation in Russia created a positive attitude among businesspeople, Guler said.

Guler said the third reason for the falling U.S. profile is the shift of worlds economic and political center to the Asia-Pacific region.

Russia in better light, US looking worse

Adil Gur, the CEO of pollster A&G, said their recent surveys show a growing anti-U.S. attitude in Turkey alongside falling anti-Russian views. Gur said the anti-Russia percentage was quite high 20 years ago, while the anti-U.S. percentage was lower. U.S. support for the [PYD] PKK and FETO in recent years has seriously pushed up anti-U.S. sentiments. These sentiments even increased to 85-90 percent amid U.S. support for the PKK during Turkeys Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, he said.

Against strong Turkish objections, the U.S. has given weapons and support to the PYD/PKK in Syria, claiming that it is not a branch of the terrorist PKK but a reliable ally in the fight against Daesh. Gur said 82 percent of Kurds living in Turkey think that the U.S. is not their friend and ally. They say, America is supporting the PYD in line with its interests. Gur said 87 percent of the adult population in Turkey think the PYD is an offshoot of the PKK.

Turkey on Jan 20. launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin. According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkeys borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty. The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkeys rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said. The military has also said that only terrorist targets are being destroyed and "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.
The ISIS* terrorist group may be on the wane in Iraq and Syria but for Iran, the threat is still strong, centered on Kurdish communities along the Iraq-Iran border where militants have operated in recent years. As Asharq Al-Awsat writes in the article ISIS Threatens Iran from Kurdish Tora Bora Region, the locals even have a nickname for the area, Tora Bora, after the mountain hideout al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden fled to after the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001, a senior Iraqi security official in the border region said according to a Reuters report on Monday.



In late January, three Revolutionary Guards were killed in the Bamo region fighting 21 ISIS terrorists who had sneaked in from Iraq. Three militants detonated suicide vests and two others were killed in the clash, the Guards said. Days earlier, Irans intelligence ministry found a weapons cache in the town of Marivan on the Iranian side of the border that included TNT, C4, electronic detonators, grenades, ammunition clips for AK-47 machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. The clash and discovery indicate that ISIS still has the ability to penetrate the tightly controlled security net of Iran. Today (ISIS*) does not control a country ... in order to assert that they exist, they may carry out an attack any day, Hossein Dehghan, a former defense minister and now an adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said in a recent interview with the semi-official Tasnim news agency.



Many of the Iranian and Iraqi Kurds now fighting with ISIS* are part of a second generation of extremists largely influenced by Zarqawis deadly legacy, Iraqi security officials and Peshmerga commanders familiar with the matter say. Hamai Hama Seid, a senior Peshmerga commander and member of the Iraqi Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party, said Kurdish ISIS members take advantage of their knowledge of the language and region as well as strong cross-border ties. There are definitely ties between the Iranian and Iraqi extremists on the two sides of the border, Seid told Reuters in the Iraqi border village of Tawila, only a few hundred meters from the Iranian border. He added: The extremists exploited this area because its mountainous, difficult and wooded.



Many of the young men are poorly educated and have few economic opportunities, allowing extremist recruiters to flourish, Iraqi security officials and Peshmerga commanders say.

Iranian authorities say the arms cache found on the border was going to be used to attack civilians in public areas, a follow-up to the shocking assault on the parliament in Tehran and the mausoleum of the founder of Irans revolution, Ruhollah Khomeini, last June that left at least 18 people dead and dozens wounded. ISIS* claimed responsibility for that assault and threatened more. The Revolutionary Guards responded by raining missiles on the militants in Syria and arresting dozens of suspects in Iran.



The June attack was conceived by an Iraqi militant using the nom de guerre Abu Aisha, a senior commander in a unit of ISIS* fighting in Iraq and Syria made up exclusively of Kurds, according to the Iranian ministry of intelligence. The Tehran attackers fought in Mosul and Raqqa and trained outside Iran, the ministry said.



In the fall of 2016, a number of Kurdish ISIS* militants led by Abu Aisha came to an Iraqi border village near Halabja to try to establish a base of operations which could carry out attacks in both Iran and Iraq, according to Iraqi security officials familiar with the matter.



Peshmerga killed Abu Aisha in December 2016. Afterward, Serias Sadeghi, who ran a bakery with his brother in Paveh, an Iranian town about 15 km (9 miles) from the border, took over as lead planner for the Tehran attacks. Sadeghi knew Abu Aisha and had crossed back and forth into Iraq with him multiple times. During the attack on Khomeinis mausoleum, Sadeghi detonated a suicide vest, shooting up an orange fireball captured on amateur video. The other four attackers were also killed.



The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), an Iranian opposition group fighting for greater autonomy for the Kurdish community, posted a report online in 2014 about extremists spreading propaganda for ISIS and trying to recruit young men for the group in Iran. They named Sadeghi as an individual actively recruiting in Paveh. They were in most of the mosques in Kurdistan and spread propaganda but none of them were arrested by Iran, said Mohammad Saleh Ghaderi, a representative of the PDKI in Erbil.



Attempts to reach representatives from the Iranian Ministry of Interior were not successful. But documents show Iranian authorities were aware of the growing threat. A report issued by Irans Ministry of Interior noted in 2014: Many Salafist Iranian Kurds have announced the readiness to join ISIS in Iraq and many have traveled to Syria.

*ISIS is a terrorist organization banned in Russia
A criminal court in Ankara on Feb. 7 acquitted 100 people and handed down life sentences to 64 others for incidents that took place at the Turkish Military Academy in Ankara during the July 2016 coup attempt.

The 17th Heavy Criminal Court in Ankara gave 60 convicts regular life sentences, while four others were given aggravated life sentences, Hurriyet Daily News reported citing Anadolu Agency.

In total, 164 suspects appeared before the court in the case and 100 were released.
Another Armenian provocation on the international arena was prevented in the capital of Russia Moscow, where Prodexpo 2018 exhibition is being held.

The Azerbaijani Economy Ministry noticed the appeal of Stepanakert cognac factory, operating in the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, for participation in the exhibition, the Ministry informed on February 7, AzerNews reports.

Subsequently, the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) officially informed the exhibition organizer ExpoCentre OJSC that participation of an enterprise illegally operating in the occupied Azerbaijani territories is unacceptable and contrary to the norms of international law.

Thanks to the joint activities of the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia, the participation of Stepanakert Cognac Factory in the exhibition was foiled.
The chairman of the lower house of the Russian Parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, plans to visit Azerbaijan.

Volodin said about it at the exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan.

He plans to visit Azerbaijan in about 6 months after the early presidential election to be held on April 11, 2018 in the country, the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reported.
Former US President Barack Obama and current President Donald Trump have lied to Turkey on the issue of Syrian Kurdish fighters in Syrias Manbij region, the country's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

"Obama lied to Turkey on the issue of Syrian Kurdish fighters in Syrias Manbij region and Trump follows the same path," Erdogan stressed.

"Trump told us they cannot stay there. They will go to the east of the Euphrates. He accepted that Arabs are the real owners of Manbij. But what he said has not come true. Now there is mobilization in Manbij. Manbij will find its real owners, Hurriyet Daily cited Turkey's President as saying.

He noted that there are many refugees in Turkey who had to "flee from Manbij but want to return to their homelands."

Relations between Ankara and Washington have been experiencing a serious crisis because of the military support provided by Washington to the Syrian Kurds' People's Protection Units (YPG), which is considered by Turkey to be affiliated with the Kurdistan's Workers' Party (PKK), regarded by Ankara as a terrorist organization.
The fire that broke out in the Radiogurashdirma plant in Baku has been extinguished, Azerbaijans Ministry of Emergency Situations said.

No information on casualties has been received. There was no threat for the areas surrounding the plant, Trend reported.

A fire broke out in the Radiogurashdirma plant, manufacturing radio and TV sets, computer and special engineering means, in the Khatai District of Baku.

Fire brigades have been sent to the scene.
Russia has always had very kind, close and sincere relations with Azerbaijan, the Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov said today after visiting the exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan that opened at the Russian State Duma today, the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reports.

Speaking about the historical good relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, Gennady Zyuganov noted that they are doubly friendly and warm for him. "My father, fighting for Odessa, defending Sevastopol, was mortally wounded, but after five operations he survived - he was saved by doctors and nurses in Baku. I was fortunate enough to meet Heydar Aliyev, and I believe that he is the architect of that modern policy that has been laid down in Soviet times, and continued by his son Ilham Aliyev. I was their personal guest and should thank the leadership of Azerbaijan and its parliament for preserving the best Soviet traditions," the Communist Party leader said.

He drew attention to efforts to preserve the Russian language in Azerbaijan. "The republic does everything necessary to prevent an exodus of the Russian-speaking population. Heydar Aliyev personally met with people, came to the Russian community and said that he would guarantee their safety, and then he did everything to ensure peace in the country. Russian language is taught at a good level in all schools of Azerbaijan. Let us do our best to strengthen these relations, especially since there is mutual understanding and support at the highest level ," Gennady Zyuganov called.

Also, the head of Russian Communists thanked the Azerbaijani authorities for the development of Baku. "Baku has the best embankment in the world. Baku has become a cultural center of the whole region. I congratulate you on this great exhibition, and I declare that we have done everything to strengthen our friendship and will continue this historic tradition," the Communist Party leader concluded.
The Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) of Turkey signed an agreement, according to which deliveries of Russian Ka-32 helicopters may begin in the spring of 2018.

Head of Rosaviatsiya Alexander Neradko and deputy director of DGCA Kan Erel signed working agreement on cooperation during the 5th National Exhibition of Civil Aviation Infrastructure Nais-2018.
The list of fugitive Russian businessmen willing to return from the United Kingdom, compiled by Russian commissioner for entrepreneurs' rights Boris Titov, has been received by Kremlin, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

According to him, the presidential administration will study the document in consultations with law enforcement agencies.

"Indeed, this letter and this list of entrepreneurs were received yesterday by the presidential administration. The relevant departments of the presidential administration will look into it, including in consultations with the law enforcement agencies which used to have questions to our compatriot for some reasons," Sputnik cited Peskov as saying.

The spokesman added that there was no common approach since each case was unique and needed to be addressed separately. He added that time will be needed to address all the requests.

Last week, Titov met in London with Russian businessmen who are being investigated in Russia for crimes.
A number of Western countries are allergic to Moscows domestic and foreign policy successes, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a master class for the Leaders of Russia contest finalists, TASS reports.

"Under the current situation, when eras are changing and the world is leaving the Western domination era and entering an era of multipolarity, many of our Western and European counterparts are allergic to the foreign and domestic policy successes achieved by our country," the Russian top diplomat said.

According to Lavrov, the United States is particularly sensitive to the fact that "after centuries of global domination, it now is forced to see its own failing attempts to resolve each and every issue and impose its will on everyone."

"The development of a multipolar world will not be fast," Lavrov went on to say. "It will continue to meet resistance and illegal methods are likely to be employed, such as the use of military force in breach of the United Nations Charter," the Russian foreign minister said, adding that "all of this erodes international law but we have been trying to counter this trend."
Deputies of the Russian State Duma are reliable partners of Azerbaijani parliamentarians, the chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, said today after visiting the exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan that opened at the Russian State Duma today, the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza reports.

First of all, he noted that in recent years the Russian deputies have actively interacted with their colleagues from Azerbaijan's Milli Majlis. "The State Duma's close relations with the Milli Majlis continue to this day. We discuss the most topical issues of the bilateral and international agenda in the format of joint meetings of the relevant committees at international parliamentary platforms and in many other formats," he said.

"Serious problems inherited from the 90s and earlier times have been overcome in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan became an energy-independent state, carried out a successful program to combat poverty. Under the leadership of Ilham Aliyev the republic successfully follows the path laid by his father, the founder of the modern Azerbaijani state, Heydar Aliyev. Of course, today we must note that Azerbaijan, fulfilling Heydar Aliyev's covenants, has become one of the most prosperous economies far beyond the post-Soviet space," Leonid Slutsky stressed.

"Azerbaijan approaches the presidential elections on April 11 with an extremely developed parliamentary system. The Milli Majlis today is an institution that determines very much in Azerbaijani society," the chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs said.

He also described Baku as one of the world's humanitarian capitals. "This can be confirmed by Mikhail Gusman, one of the founders of the Baku Humanitarian Forum. Baku held the First European Olympic Games. Azerbaijan is the source of a number of global initiatives that are successfully implemented, many of them are implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, and may - with the personal coordination of First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva," Leonid Slutsky concluded.
An exhibition marking the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan opened at the Russian State Duma in Moscow today.

The exhibition is the first exposition in the State Duma devoted to a foreign state. The concept of the exhibition is based on the fact that Azerbaijan is an ancient and rapidly developing modern country with a rich history.

At the same time, the exhibition demonstrates materials reflecting friendly relations, mutually beneficial cooperation and developing cultural and economic ties between the two countries. There are Russian schools operating in Azerbaijan, the Russian Drama Theater, the Baku Slavic University,as well as the branches of Lomonosov Moscow State University and Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University.

Chairman of Russias State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin addressed the opening o the exhibition. He expressed gratitude to the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for organizing the exhibition.

"I want to thank the Heydar Aliyev Foundation for giving us the opportunity to learn about the history of Azerbaijan, its modern life and the centuries-old history of Russian-Azerbaijani relations. The Russian and Azerbaijani people have protected our homeland and the whole world from fascism. Today, our friendship is developing and strengthening. At todays exhibition, were getting acquainted with the achievements of our neighbor, Azerbaijan, the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza cited him as saying.

Talking about the importance of the exhibition, Volodin said such events contribute to the development of bilateral relations.

"We are bringing our countries' positions closer to each other. The basis of relations between the two countries was laid by the decisions of our presidents. The duty of parliaments is to ensure the legality of these decisions. Therefore, together with my colleague Ogtay Asadov and other Azerbaijani parliamentarians, we are doing everything possible to strengthen the bilateral ties. We are such countries that have a common history and future," Volodin added.

"Today's exhibition proves once again that Russia and Azerbaijan have a lot to remember and discuss today, because we are countries with a common history and common future," he stressed.

Addressing the event, Speaker of Azerbaijans Milli Majlis Ogtay Asadov thanked the State Duma, the Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia for preparing this exhibition.

"I am confident that such events will contribute to further development of Russian-Azerbaijani bilateral ties. Official meetings and official visits of the heads of state play an important role in the development of our relations, during these visits more than 200 bilateral documents were signed between our countries. Im confident that our relations will continue to develop from year after year, the speaker stressed.

The exhibition consists of several sections. Old carpets and shabaka are presented on the main wall. Antique brass dishes are presented in two corner display cases. Traditional musical instruments are displayed in the central part of the hall, next to them there are mannequins in national clothes. Video monitors are also installed here, which will allow guests to get acquainted with Azerbaijan's traditional crafts.

In addition, visitors will be able to get acquainted with the history of Azerbaijan using special stands and monitors.

The exhibition will last until February 10.
Representative delegation of Azerbaijani parliamentarians headed by speaker of the Milli Majlis Oktay Asadov arrived in Moscow today. Azerbaijani deputies participated in the opening ceremony of exhibition dedicated to the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan, held in the Russian State Duma. They also held talks with Russian counterparts on a wide range of issues of interstate and interparliamentary contacts between the two countries.

In an interview with Vestnik Kavkaza, Alexander Korovnikov, member of the State Duma Defense Committee, stressed that it's necessary to hold such events to strengthen relations between Russia and Azerbaijan. "I'm happy and proud that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, our countries have maintained their ties. Such events must be held within the framework of parliamentary contacts more often. This is the first exhibition of foreign state in the State Duma, and I believe that it should held to establish tradition and help us maintain even closer ties with former republics of the USSR. It's very important for Russia, Azerbaijan, and all former Soviet republics," he said.

Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee for Family, Women and Children Affairs Oksana Pushkina informed that this exhibition, organized on the initiative of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, led to the idea of establishing closer contacts with Azerbaijani women in power. "Irina Rodnina and I created nongovermental Women's Diplomacy Fund. We announced this during the meeting of the State Duma. After this exhibition, we would like to meet with Azerbaijani women, because this is one of the most socially active parts of the population throughout the world," she said.

"We have something to talk about. I remeber when I talked with Heydar Aliyev, he said: 'You will always have friends and allies if you remember two topics - parents and children', in other words, history and future are two topics that unite us all, and there's no a single person, who doesn't care about such things. We, women, preserve centuries-old traditions of friendship and we look forward, that's why it would be very interesting for us to hold an event with representatives of Azerbaijan," she added.

During the opening of this exhibition, head of the "Just Russia" faction Sergey Mironov said that today's event is not only cultural, but also an important political event. "This exhibition and the fact that it's held hear is a great example of centuries-old friendship between our peoples. It was really great to see and listen to familiar Azerbaijani melodies," he admitted, explaining that in his youth, he served in the Airborne Forces in Ganja for a year and a half.
Saudi Arabia has granted for the first time permission for Air India flights headed to Israel to use its airspace, the Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

The decision, which will be implemented in March, means that the flights from New Delhi to Tel Aviv would be shortened by two and a half hours.

The new route means that the airline would reduce fuel costs and sell cheaper tickets to passengers.

The Saudi government had banned flights headed to Israel from using its airspace for 70 years.
Turkish forces shelled a primary school and a water plant in Syrias northern Afrin region, Syrian Kurdish fighters and Syrian state media said on Wednesday. A Turkish military source denied the allegations, Reuters reported.

YPG spokesman Nouri Mahmoud said Turkeys army and its Syrian insurgent allies hit the main water plant that supplies Afrin city. Technicians, he said, were trying to repair destruction at the treatment and pumping facility after the artillery knocked it out of service. Mahmoud said shells also struck a primary school in the Maydanki village a day earlier but caused no casualties.

Asked about the reports, the Turkish military source said: The Turkish armed forces are not aiming at these kinds of targets.
US President Donald Trumps national security advisor, Herbert McMaster, will visit Istanbul this weekend and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit the Turkish capital Ankara next week.

According to the source, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on talking to the media, Tillerson and Mcmaster are scheduled to meet their Turkish counterparts, the source, Anadolu Agency reported.

The official visits come amid heightened tension between the United States and Turkey, with the latter staging an ongoing military operation into the Syrian district of Afrin against the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG).
HA NOI  As the world faces a crisis in wealth distribution, some experts doubt if the accumulation of capital will encourage innovation and investment, but instead, lead to multiple tax burdens and increase the gap between rich and poor.

During a seminar in Ha Noi yesterday , representatives from the Viet Nam Institute for Economic and Policy Research (VEPR) and international charitable confederation Oxfam agreed that the four policies against tax inequality - public services, public spending on health and education, and labour policies - should be employed simultaneously.

Deepak L. Xavier, head of Oxfam Internationals Even It Up Campaign, said taxation was an important tool to lessen inequalities.

However, recent studies from Oxfam and the World Bank (WB) all show that the tax systems in developing countries are often highly regressive and generate insufficient revenue. A lack of transparency and lack of co-ordination in their policies is said to be making the global tax system less effective in addressing poverty and inequality.

Xavir said that tax burdens, such as the existence of tax havens, were driving global inequality up further by allowing multinational companies and super-rich individuals to shirk their tax obligations outside their home country.

He argued that should these huge taxable amounts of income be retrieved in full, they could be used to fund public services, such as health care and free education - and any other social security programme.

In agreement, Vu Sy Cuong, vice-dean of Financial Policy Analysis at the Academy of Finance, said he considered wealth inequality a great barrier to growth and a hindrance to the chances of the poor contributing to society - even creating a reason for crime and corruption.

However, he said the present policy framework might not be sufficient to address the wealth distribution inequalities that were becoming increasingly common in Vietnamese society.

Cuong suggested that to prevent further deterioration of poverty, the Government should recognise all the growing forms of economic inequality and take measures to ensure successful innovation and economic growth enabled poverty reduction.

Xacvier said that to minimise the growing gap between the rich and the poor, Viet Nam should implement progressive policies on state governance, the tax system, public services, and workers rights.

He also suggested the application of a heavier, more progressive tax bracket for billionares, to end extreme inequality and encourage the flow of funds into public welfare spending.

According to Oxfams 2017 study, the current level of global inequality is so great that just one per cent of the richest people accounted for more than 80 per cent of the worlds total assets, while the worlds poorest 50 per cent did not increase their wealth, even slightly.

Data from the World Bank shows that income inequality in Viet Nam has increased in the past two decades even though the poverty line has been raised significantly.

Since 2004, the income gap between the richest 20 per cent in the country and the rest of its labour force has been increasing, along with the number of super-rich people, according to the bank.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City Peoples Court commenced trial looking into the suit initiated by the local domestic taxi operator Vinasun against the popular ride hailing service, Grab, on accusations of unfair business practices.

Vinasun, once a dominant player in taxi transport in the southern region, has seen its market share gradually eaten away by Uber and Grab as they continue to gain popularity, especially as the number of smartphone users in the country rises.

Vinasun claims the illegal operations of Grab in Viet Nam are to blame for the companys falling revenues in 2016 and 2017  a VN40 billion (US$1.756 million).

Truong inh Quy, deputy director-general of Vinasun, based their complaint on the trade law and governments Decree 37 issued in 2006, which clearly states that the duration of total promotion deals in a year must not exceed 90 days and each promotion programme is not to last beyond 40 days. In addition, businesses that want to hold promotion events must register with the municipal or provincial commerce department.

Quy alleged that in recent times, exploiting the pilot window that the transport ministry granted for software-based transport services, Grab has conducted rampant promotion deals and discounts, akin to the practice of dumping of manufactured goods.

Vinasun also claimed that the company needs to observe 13 regulations, while Grab only has to follow three, creating unfair competition in the field of passenger transport.

"Industry 4.0 apps are an inevitable trend. However, being just an app-based ride hailing service, Grab has disrupted the taxi transport sector, causing several implications to State management activities in tax collection and ensuring social security for those work for Grab," Quy said.

"In addition, Grab drivers themselves are encountering difficulties when the company collects up to 25-28 per cent from the taxi drivers earnings as commissions. Even more concerning, Grab Viet Nam reported charter capital of VN40 billion while they claimed they turned a loss of VN938 billion, which earned them special supervision by the finance ministry," Quy told Vietnam News Agency.

Quy said that the company has prepared for the case over the last year and is ready to fight against Grab and Uber to the end in a legally transparent manner.

Grabs lawyers, on the other hand, contended that Vinasuns allegations are baseless and that their software solution has actually created fair grounds for competition between conventional taxi operators. They also argued that Vinasuns evidences and methods of loss calculations are all questionable. On these grounds, Grab asks the court to either suspend the lawsuit or reject Vinasuns case entirely.

The trial yesterday morning attracted a crowd of taxi drivers from Vinasun and Mai Linh, another well-known taxi company in the country, anxiously awaiting the outcome that could determine the course of their futures.

Former supreme judge Pham Cong Hung said that the outcome of the case depends on who has the weightier evidence in court.

With that being said, I fully support Vietnamese businesses wanting to take matters to court if they see their interests have been violated. This is a totally civilised way of settling business disputes, Hung told Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper.

This is the first time the increasing tension between conventional taxi operators and their app-based counterparts took to the fight to the courtroom, all while Vietnamese lawmakers seek to construct appropriate legal tools to effectively regulate these emerging services.
HA NOI  As the Tet holiday draws closer, the Vietnamese aviation industry is scrambling to meet peak demand by increasing the number of flights.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam (CAAV), at the end of January, total flights were up by 9.8 per cent over the same period last year. In particular, domestic supply reached 3.7 million seats, while international supply was 1.4 million from the beginning of the year to the end of January.

Regardless, the CAAV recorded that about 40 per cent of seats were still unsold, especially through online booking. This means up to 49 per cent of seats on domestic flights and 29 per cent on international flights are yet to be taken, despite the seemingly heightened demand.

Responding to the CAAV, Trinh Ngoc Thanh, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines, said that although the 2018 Tet season would go from January 30 to March 4, the number of passengers was mainly concentrated in the two weeks before and after Lunar New Year.

Thanh said in late January that the 2018 holiday aviation traffic forecast showed an increase of 20 per cent from 2017.

"Vietnam Airlines wants customers to buy their tickets at a relatively cheap price, but they must accept the peak-day deviation, since the closer to Tet, the less likely these affordable seats will remain on sale. And of course, the sooner a customer makes his purchase, the cheaper the price," said Thanh.

In the same vein, Vo Huy Cuong, CAAVs Deputy Director, said that Vietnamese airlines had been strictly adhering to regulations regarding domestic airfares. As such, over-the-counter tickets would be available at airports until the last minute and therefore subject to availability.

Cuong also said that fraudulent practices in ticket selling had been occurring for a few years, through the abuse of policies by different aviation firms.

To avoid this, he advised passengers to research information on flights and tickets from airline agencies and websites. To protect their rights, customers also needed to check the ticket code by calling the airline directly and collect invoices when buying tickets.

Cuong warned customers to be wary of online offers that were too cheap to be true.

According to the CAAV, since late 2017, despite increasing fuel prices and demand, domestic airlines are committed to selling tickets within the declared price range, not exceeding the ceiling price prescribed.

During the 2017s Tet holiday peak from January 26 to February 1, the CAAV recorded more than 1.76 million passengers, an increase of 21.3 per cent from last year.  VNS
HA NOI  Favourable conditions are needed to increase the number of new businesses and startups in order to realise the target of 1 million enterprises by 2020, an official has said.

The State should continue speeding up administrative reform, improving the business climate and legal framework, Nguyen Bich Lam, General Director of the General Statistics Office (GSO) said at a press conference in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

Due attention must be paid to restructuring the economy, equitising state-owned enterprises, luring more foreign direct investment and facilitating the development of the private sector, while enforcing the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises, Lam said.

Inspection should be strengthened to ensure firms would make reports and provide timely and accurate information for competent agencies for better management, he added.

Pham inh Thuy, Director of the GSOs Industrial Statistics Department, underlined the need to increase inspections and supervision to ensure businesses operate effectively and legally.

Dialogues between State management agencies at all levels and enterprises should be conducted regularly, thus bettering the legal framework and policies to support enterprises, Thuy said.

According to the department, by December 31, 2017, Viet Nam had 561,064 operating enterprises, up 11 per cent year on year. The highest increases in the number of operating businesses were seen in Bac Giang, Thanh Hoa, Hung Yen, Ben Tre, Bac Ninh, Vinh Phuc, Binh Duong and a Nang.

In 2017, the number of new firms set a record high of nearly 127,000, with a combined registered capital of nearly VN1.3 quadrillion (US$57 billion), year-on-year rises of 15 per cent and 45 per cent, respectively.

Average registered capital was VN10.2 billion per company in 2017, increasing 26.2 per cent from the previous year.

The number of enterprises resuming their operations was some 26,500, down 0.9 per cent compared with 2016.

It also said the new firms were mostly in wholesale and retail with 45,400 (36 per cent), processing and manufacturing with 16,100 (13 per cent) and construction with 16,000 (13 per cent).

In term of registered capital, the property sector made up the highest portion with VN388.3 trillion, accounting for 30 per cent of the total. The real estate sector in 2017 attracted a large amount of capital in comparison with other sectors.

It was followed by the wholesale, retail, construction and manufacturing sectors.

The number of workers at new firms in 2017 was more than 1.16 million, down 8.4 per cent from the previous year. The manufacturing sector attracted the most workers at 430,622, accounting for 37 per cent of the total.

The department added that over 21,600 businesses registered to halt their operations in 2017, increasing 9 per cent over last year.

Notably, the number of sectors that had more businesses registering to halt their operations included wholesale, retail, construction and processing.

In addition, the number of enterprises waiting for dissolution in 2017 declined 4.6 per cent from the previous year.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnam Posts and Telecommunications Group (VNPT) sold its finance subsidiary Post and Telecommunication Finance Company Ltd (PTF) to SeABank at a recent auction.

After the successful auction, Tran Manh Hung, chairman of VNPT, on Monday announced VNPT was completing the dossiers to submit to the State bank of Viet Nam (SBV) and the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) for the deals approval.

According to Hung, VNPT sold PTF to SeABank at a higher price than the asset valuation it gave.

Earlier in December, a VNPT official announced that it would sell all the assets of PTF for at least VN500 billion (US$21.9 million). Participating investors will have to pay a deposit of VN50 billion.

Withdrawal from PTF is part of the VNPTs plan to divest from non-core businesses.

Founded in 1998, PTF is Viet Nams first finance company, wholly owned by VNPT, with a charter capital of VN500 billion.

According to PFTs financial statements, its profits in 2015 and 2016 were VN21 trillion and VN19 trillion, respectively.

Earlier, on February 2016, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh suggested a restructuring plan for PTF. Accordingly, the SBV and the MoIC needed to agree on measures to be taken.

Meanwhile, the VNPT group is expecting its restructuring plan and development strategy to get the Prime Ministers approval early, which was the base for equitising the group in 2019.

Tran Manh Hung, chairman of VNPT, said its development strategy in the period between 2018 and 2025 with a vision to 2030 is aimed at renovating its growth model towards improving productivity and competitiveness.

Its report revealed that the group earned a revenue of VN144.7 trillion in 2017, rising by 7 per cent over the previous year. Its pre-tax profit reached VN5.1 trillion, up by 21 per cent.

Under the restructuring plan, VNPT is aiming for an average revenue growth rate of at least 6.5 per cent per year, with a profit growth of more than 10.8 per cent per year by 2020. In the period between 2021 and 2025, the annual growth is expected to reach more than 7.7 per cent for revenue and more than 11 per cent in profit.  VNS
Lessons learned from the strategic mainstreaming of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) was a good foundation for Viet Nam to prepare for climate change.  Photo tuoitre.vn

HA NOI  Lessons learned from the strategic mainstreaming of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) was a good foundation for Viet Nam to prepare for climate change, according to Dr. Nguyen The Chinh from the Natural Resources and Environment Strategic Institute.

Dr Chinh was speaking on Tuesday at a workshop reviewing a project on the subject. It was held by the Institute for Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment in collaboration with the German Development Co-operation Agency. The event marked more than three years of productive collaboration.

The Euro 4-million (US$4.9 million) project funded by the German Society for International Co-operation (GIZ) worked with the Vietnamese Government to mainstream ecosystem-based measures into pilot models in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces.

"After three years of implementation, the project evaluated the vulnerable ecological situation in Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces," Chinh said.

The project also helped to set up a national plan of land use for 2016-2020, and an updated action plan for climate change preparedness until 2020 in the provinces, he added.

The EbA project aims to support efforts in the strategic mainstreaming of ecosystem-based approaches into national policies on climate change adaptation, land-use and development planning.

EbA has been identified as an effective adaptation measure given that Viet Nam is heavily affected by the adverse effects of climate change.

Climate change vulnerability assessments have been conducted at both provincial and commune levels to introduce appropriate EbA solutions for implementation in the selected provinces.

From 2016, the project began pilot EbA activities in coastal areas suffering erosion and sand movement in Quang Binh Province by planting and rehabilitating coastal forests in combination with livelihood activities, such as cattle-raising, fresh- water fish farming, and vegetable cultivation.

In Ha Tinh, the project piloted EbA approaches in a mountain ecosystem under drought conditions, enriching natural forest by using indigenous plants, oranges and pineapples grown in contour lines - plus bee-raising.

The two areas selected for the pilot EbA approaches shared common characteristics. Firstly, the communities in both areas showed real enthusiasm to participate; and secondly, they lived in areas suffering from difficult economic conditions, with limited access to the technologies required for agricultural production.

Strengthening the capacity of stakeholders at central and local levels was a key aspect of the project.

To improve knowledge and the sharing of information on EbA measures and activities, the project organised a series of training workshops on mainstreaming them into the development planning process.

The project also focused on mainstreaming EbA into the climate-change-adaptation legal framework by supporting Government agencies. For example, the Department of Land Management will implement strategic environmental assessments to collect inputs for revising national land-use planning for 2016-2020; the Department for Planning Management will mainstream EbA and climate-change issues into developing the Planning Law; and the departments of Natural Resources and Environment of Ha Tinh and Quang Binh will mainstream EbA into the updated Provincial Climate Change Action Plans to 2020.

Ivo Litzenberg, GIZ expert, said after three years of implementation, the two provinces had cleaner water resources and a healthier ecological system which was less vulnerable to climate-change impacts.

Land erosion was also reduced, which helped local people produce rice crops on slopes, said Litzenberg.

The project had also helped local people understand the importance of production thast was less harmful to ecological systems, he said.

Meanwhile, according to Phan Lam Son, deputy head of Ha Tinh Provinces Natural Resources and Environment Department, the project helped people become aware of main reasons for climate change, such as improper use of natural resources, waste discharge and polluting the environment.

Viet Nam was assessed as one of nations worst affected by climate change.

If the sea water level rise by one metre, 40 per cent of land area in Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, 11 per cent of land in the Hong Delta, and 3 per cent of land areas along other coastal regions would be submerged.

About 10-12 per cent of population would be affected and losses would account for 10 per cent of the countrys GDP, said experts.

Understanding the consequences, the Government has issued several legal documents to deal with the situation, including a National Programme on Climate Change Preparedness, National Strategy on Climate Changes, National Strategy on Natural Calamity Reduction by 2020.  VNS
HA NOI  An art book entitled Lang Pho (Quiet Streets) is now available for sale online.

The book marks the co-orperation of two Vietnamese talents: realism painter Pham Binh Chuong and writer Le Nguyen Nhat Linh, combining paintings from Chuongs previous exhibitions on Ha Noi and Linhs excerpts from her books on the capital.

Chuong, 45, graduated the fine arts faculty of Viet Nam University of Fine Arts in 1995, and is now a lecturer at the university. He has received many pretigious Vietnamese arts awards during 1997-99 and had an exhibition in Japan in 2016.

His four solo exhibitions include Xuong Pho 1 (Going Out The Street 1), Xuong Pho 2 (Going Out The Street 2), Cau chuyen ben le uong (The Story By The Roadside) and Golden Palace.

Talking about his art, he said, When you paint, you should not be like anyone else. Realism is a narrow door, so I chose an unusual realism way. I am in love with classic because of its standard in layout and description. I am also drawn by natural colours, wild style with strong and blazing colours. Abstract is included in my arts too. I do not expect my subject on Ha Noi would be so much warmly welcomed. Viewers can see themselves in it. I think only realism can show it, since people can only touch, listen and even smell life in realism, he said.

Linh, 26, is a modern writer whose has had three books published.

She said as a writer, she needs to create ceaselessly and keeps on working, I always set serious rules for myself. For example, keep it in mind during the creative process that if you step on your old path, or you reuse your idea, you will push yourself to the edge, she said.

The art book is available in hard cover, with 1,000 copies on the website betado.com. VNS
New Zealands Ambassador to Viet Nam, Wendy Matthews, celebrates Waitangi Day and reviews a year of co-operation with Viet Nam.

New Zealands National Day on February 6, Waitangi Day, is a time to reflect where New Zealand has come from as a country, and where its future lies. It is a time to reflect on the achievements of 2017 and look forward to greater heights in the relationship between New Zealand and Viet Nam.

In terms of trade, the year has started with a bang. New Zealand was delighted with the recent conclusion of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership  the CPTPP  and we look forward to the signing on March 8.

New Zealand and Viet Nam have worked side by side to ensure that our export-driven economies can continue to grow and prosper. This builds on our existing co-operation under the ASEAN, Australia  New Zealand FTA, which has been facilitating trade since 2010.

There has been outstanding growth in a number of areas in the past year, including a 33 per cent increase in two-way trade.

In the field of education, student visa applicants from Viet Nam to New Zealand rose by nearly 60 per cent.

Vietnamese tourists travelling to New Zealand have increased 30 per cent. Education co-operation continues to be a strong foundation of the friendship. Under our development programme, we also provide targeted scholarships to ensure New Zealand is helping develop the future leaders of Viet Nam.

Through the same programme, we are also working with Viet Nam in other areas of New Zealand expertise  agriculture, education and disaster risk management.

Defence links have deepened in the last year with the successful visit of the Royal New Zealand Navy Ship Te Kaha to Viet Nam, provision of English language support for Vietnamese peacekeepers heading to South Sudan, and a bilateral Peacekeeping Cooperation Arrangement.

In 2017, we were proud to support Viet Nams successful hosting of APEC. New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern came to Viet Nam two weeks after being sworn into office.

Overall our two countries have never been closer, helped in part by the Air New Zealands direct flights between Auckland and HCM City.

We are proud of the developments in the relationship and the strengthening economic, political and defence partnership.

I know that 2018 will bring further positive milestones.

Happy Waitangi Day, and on the eve of Tet, I wish Vietnamese a prosperous and happy Year of the Dog.

Chuc mung nam moi!  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnamese audiences now have the chance to read the masterpiece The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat by the acclaimed Polish writer and journalist Ryszard Kapuscinski in Vietnamese.

Polish Ambassador to Viet Nam Barbara Szymanowska on Monday hosted an event to introduce the book, translated by Nguyen Chi Thuat.

The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat, published in 1978, features accounts from those close to Ethiopias last emperor, Haile Selasssie, as well as analysis of the fall of his regime in Ethiopia by Kapuscinski, Polands leading foreign correspondent.

I am very delighted that The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat is now available to Vietnamese audience. The authors other books Travels with Herodotus and The Shadow of the Sun, translated by Thai Linh, have been present in Viet Nam. I warmly encourage you to read the works of Ryszard Kapuscinski, from which one can take a trip around the world, a world that has undergone rapid change yet the values and phenomena are still the same. Though these books are set in the context in the remote countries in the past, the truth and message are still relevant today, said Ambassador Szymanowska.

He is a world renowned writer with the role of documentary founder. His accounts written in 1960s and 1970s are still compelling and relevant today. It has been 10 years since Kapuscinski passed away and 50 years since his greatest books like The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat and The Shadow of the Sun were published, yet these works are worth reading and a valuable reference for journalists in the art of storytelling, said the Ambassador.

Translator Nguyen Chi Thuat said, Publishing the masterpiece The Emperor: Downfall of an Autocrat is truly an important event of Vietnamese literature.

Vietnamese audiences first learned about Ryszard Kapuscinski in the 1990s. I had the honour of playing a part in promoting the writer and his works in Viet Nam. After the meeting with him, I returned Viet Nam with a doctorate in Polish literature and a close relation with the author. I also set a clear target for myself: bring his work to Vietnamese audiences. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Kapuscinski, he added.

Kapuscinski (1932-2007) was a noted Polish poet, writer, journalist, photographer and traveller. He was considered king of documentary journalism.  VNS
LOS ANGELES  Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino says persuading actress Uma Thurman to perform a car-driving scene on the set of Kill Bill  which ended with her in the hospital  is the "biggest regret" of his life.

Thurman, 47, in an interview with The New York Times published on Saturday, said she had an enormous fight with Tarantino after the car crashed and accused him of trying to kill her.

She walked back her criticism of Tarantino somewhat in an Instagram post on Monday, saying she does not believe now that he acted with "malicious intent."

Tarantino delivered his account of the incident which occurred on set in Mexico in an interview published on Monday in Deadline Hollywood.

"None of us ever considered it a stunt," the 54-year-old director said.

"Maybe we should have, but we didnt."

He said he drove the strip of road himself to ensure it would be "easy and safe enough for Uma to drive.

"I came in there all happy telling her she could totally do it, it was a straight line, you will have no problem," he said.

"I told her it would be safe. And it wasnt. I was wrong," he said. "I didnt force her into the car. She got into it because she trusted me."

Tarantino said it was decided at the last minute because of the light to have Thurman drive the car in the opposite direction.

Spins her like a top

"And I didnt think I needed to run the road again to make sure there wasnt any difference, going in the opposite direction," he said. "That was one of my most horrendous mistakes, that I didnt take the time to run the road, one more time.

"It wasnt the straight shot that it had been, going the other way," he said. "There is a little mini S-curve.

"Shes flying along, and she thinks its a straight road and as far as she can see, it is a straight road out her windshield.

"And then it takes this little S-curve, and shes not prepared for it. And it threw the car out of control," he said.

"And it spins her like a top," Tarantino said. "It was heartbreaking. Beyond one of the biggest regrets of my career, it is one of the biggest regrets of my life."

In footage posted by the Times, the actress is seen speeding down an unpaved road before crashing into a tree. Thurman is jolted and left dazed for several moments until crew members carry her away.

"I felt this searing pain and thought, Oh my God, Im never going to walk again," Thurman told the Times.

"Quentin and I had an enormous fight, and I accused him of trying to kill me," she said.

Producer Miramax told her at the time that she could see the footage of the crash if she gave up her right to sue, Thurman said. She declined.

In her Instagram post, Thurman lashed out at producers Lawrence Bender, E. Bennett Walsh, and Harvey Weinstein.

"THE COVER UP after the fact is UNFORGIVABLE," she said. "For this I hold Lawrence Bender, E. Bennett Walsh, and the notorious Harvey Weinstein solely responsible.

"They lied, destroyed evidence, and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress," she said.  AFP
Hoang uc Binh at the court.  VNA/VNS Photo Bich Hue

NGHE AN  The Peoples Court of Dien Chau District in the central province of Nghe An yesterday sentenced 35-year-old Hoang uc Binh to seven years in prison on the charge of resisting on-duty officials and another seven years for abusing the rights to democracy and freedom to infringe on the interests of the State and rights and interests of organisations and citizens.

During a trial on Tuesday, Binhs accomplice, Nguyen Nam Phong, 38, from Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu District, Nghe An Province received a two-year prison term on the charge of resisting on-duty officials.



Binh, residing in Hung Trung commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province, joined a number of organisations, associations and groups hostile to the State and the Communist Party such as NoU Saigon and Phong trao Lao ong Viet (Vietnam Workers Movement).



He was arrested after investigations into his delivery of leaflets to incite people to join Nghiep oan oc lap (Independent Union), and received administrative punishment for his violation of regulations on keeping and distributing illegal publications and printed materials that are not publications. However, he refused to pay the fine and fled to Nghe An.



After returning to Nghe An, Binh regularly posted and shared information and documents slandering the administration and advocating pluralism and multi-party movements via his Facebook account.



After the environmental incident caused by Taiwanese Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Co Ltd in four central localities, Binh, as the vice president of the Phong trao lao ong Viet, formed the so-called Association of Fishermen in the Central Region, aiming to incite parishioners and fishermen to participate in the association, and select seeds to trigger demonstrations and security disturbances.



On the morning of February 14, 2017, Binh, Phong and about 300 people departed from Song Ngoc Parish in Quynh Luu district to Ky Anh District of Ha Tinh central province on the pretext of lodging a complaint about Formosa Company.



With banners, the crowd travelled by different means of vehicles, causing traffic jams. However, Binh requested Phong, the driver, to ignore instructions of traffic policemen who were working to ensure traffic order. Their car then stopped on National Highway 1A, seriously blocking the traffic for several kilometers. Binh incited Phong to resist on-duty officials.



At the investigation agency and the court, Binh admitted that he used his mobile phone to live stream what happened as well as post comments on his Facebook account. He abused the right to the freedom of speech to slander and distort the facts and defame the police force while showing a video of their actions.



He also called on Facebook users to keep track of, publish and share comments to defame the administration and the police force. His acts seriously affected the prestige, honour and interests of Nghe An police in particular and the peoples police in general, stirring bad opinions both at home and abroad, prosecutors said.  VNS
The Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned Vietnamese citizens not to travel to the Maldives these days as the country declared a 15-day state of emergency starting from February 5 due to a political crisis. Photo AP

HA NOI  The Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has warned Vietnamese citizens not to travel to the Maldives these days as the country declared a 15-day state of emergency starting from February 5 due to a political crisis.



Vietnamese citizens are advised not to visit the Maldives until its government announces an end to the state of emergency.



Those, who are learning, working or visiting the island country, are recommended to avoid crowded and sensitive places and keep a close watch on warnings of local authorised offices to ensure safety.



In case of emergency, it is recommended to contact the hotline of the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka (cum the Maldives) +94.11.2696050 or the citizen protection hotline +84.981.84.84.84.VNS
Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh led a Vietnamese delegation to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Retreat (ADMM Retreat) in Singapore yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Viet Dung

SINGAPORE  Deputy Minister of National Defence Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Chi Vinh led a Vietnamese delegation to attend the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting Retreat (ADMM Retreat) in Singapore yesterday.

The retreat discussed orientations for defence-security cooperation among ASEAN nations in 2018, focusing on counter-terrorism, collaboration in responding to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, and a Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) as proposed by Singapore  the Chair of ASEAN this year.



Along with newly-arising challenges, the heads of delegation at the event agreed that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to maintain unity and remain vigilant over old security challenges such as sovereignty, territorial disputes and maritime security.



Speaking at the meeting, Vinh affirmed that Viet Nam welcomed the three targets of ASEAN in 2018 as proposed by Singapore, stressing the need for strengthened cooperation in coping with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.



"For the past five decades, Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia have suffered serious consequences of chemical weapons used during wartime," he said, adding that Viet Nam is willing to share experience in preventing and decontaminating toxic chemicals.



Regarding the CUES, Vinh emphasised that it must be associated with the East Sea issue, especially in preparation for the formation of a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC).



As there remain latent risks in the East Sea issue, ASEAN member states should continue intensifying cooperation and sharing information about the sea situation, with the focus placed on abiding by international law, respecting the diplomatic and legal processes, maintaining maritime and aviation security and safety by strictly implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and working towards the early finalisation of the legally-binding COC, Vinh suggested.



On the sidelines of the ADMM Retreat, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong received the heads of delegation. He spoke highly of the countries contributions to the ASEAN defence cooperation process and stressed the need to strengthen solidarity within the bloc to tackle common security challenges.



The ASEAN-China Defence Ministers Informal Meeting also took place with the participation of defence leaders from ASEAN member nations and Chinese Defence Minister Sen. Lieut. Gen. Chang Wanquan.



The ASEAN defence leaders affirmed that cooperative relations between ASEAN and China are developing fruitfully across many areas. ASEAN countries expect that through cooperation, China will contribute to strengthening peace, stability and security in the region.

On Monday, Deputy Minister Vinh met with Singaporean Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen and Chinese Defence Minister Chang Wanquan.  VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (r) receives Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Sigrid Kaag, in Ha Noi yesterday.  VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat

HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has called on the Netherlands to continue supporting and cooperating with Viet Nam in the fields of animal husbandry, cultivation, food safety, post-harvest networks and market development.

While receiving Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Sigrid Kaag, in Ha Noi yesterday, Phuc said Viet Nam is impressed with the achievements the Netherlands has recorded in building irrigation works, seaports, high-tech agriculture and especially its adaptation to climate change.



Thanks to experience shared by the Netherlands, Viet Nam successfully organised a major conference on climate change response in the Mekong Delta region, with the attendance of the Deputy Delta Commissioner of the Netherlands and other experts in this field, he said.



The PM praised the Netherlands as one of Asias leading trade partners, noting that Dutch businesses have invested nearly US$8 billion in Viet Nam.



He urged the Government of the Netherlands to encourage Dutch firms to increase investments in Viet Nam in various realms, particularly in climate change response and renewable energy.



Viet Nam is reforming itself strongly and improving its business environment which has been recognised by the international community, he said, adding that the country is integrating deeply into the global economy as reflected through its successful hosting of large-scale international events with the most noteworthy being the APEC Economic Leaders Week in 2017.



In that spirit, PM Phuuc called on the two nations to further implement the strategic partnership through specific activities such as updating the Mekong Delta Action Plan by building a concrete planning scheme for the region; rolling out orientations for regional livelihood restructuring and building regional connectivity; stepping up cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi of Viet Nam and Rotterdam of the Netherlands, as well as collaboration in personnel training in the environmental sector.



For her part, Kaag expressed her delight on seeing the two countries actively preparing for activities to mark the 45th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties.

The minister believed that the Governments and people of the Netherlands and Viet Nam will tighten cooperation and accompany each other in development, looking towards another period of 45 years in peace and prosperity.

Kaag said she was accompanied by representatives of major Dutch businesses who want to study the Vietnamese market and seek investment and cooperation opportunities in Viet Nam, not only traditional spheres like climate change and high-tech agriculture but also in seaport management, technological development and start-ups.



With its strengths, the Netherlands is willing to collaborate with Viet Nam in agriculture, seaport development and logistics, thus helping generate jobs, spur the countrys economic growth and improve the living conditions of local people, she said.



The Netherlands always stands ready to partner with Viet Nam in developing the Mekong Delta in the face of climate change, she said, stressing that through such cooperative activities, the two sides will target higher efficiency of the implementation of the millennium development goals (MDGs).



The Netherlands is also willing to share its knowledge and experience with Viet Nam and work together with the country during its development process, she emphasised.

In reply, PM Phuc said he will instruct relevant agencies to study, propose and carry out these cooperative activities, covering water resources management.



He expressed his hope that Kaags visit will create a milestone in promoting comprehensive cooperation between the two countries more effectively, on par with the strategic partnership on climate change and water resources management, and the strategic partnership on sustainable agriculture and food security.VNS
HA NOI  President Tran ai Quang presented a Fatherland Defence Order, Third Class, to the Peoples Public Security Guard High Command during a ceremony yesterday to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the forces establishment.

In his remarks at the event, President Tran ai Quang lauded the efforts and achievements of the guard force over the past 65 years. The countrys new era comes with not only many opportunities but also challenges, putting the public security forces, including the guard force, under greater pressure to ensure social order and security, the president said.



He urged the guard force, together with other forces under the Ministry of Public Security, to continue effectively enforcing the Party and the States policies in protecting national security, improving fighting capacity and ensuring the safety of senior officials, international events and foreign guests.



He also asked them to enhance the efficiency of their operations and take steps to prevent any acts of sabotage, terrorism, crime and anti-State movements.



The guard force, previously known as the Guard Bureau, was founded on February 16, 1953 to protect President Ho Chi Minh and high-ranking officials during the anti-French resistance war.  VNA/VNS
HA NOI  Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hosted a reception for a delegation of nearly 100 overseas Vietnamese returning home for the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival as part of the Homeland Spring 2018 programme.

The expats showed delight at the countrys achievements in 2017 and the PM and Cabinets great efforts to drive national development.



They expressed their hope to connect with young intellectuals at home for co-operation in producing high value products, while asking for the Governments support in investing in start-ups in Viet Nam and strengthening links with domestic firms.



Vo Quang Hue, a Vietnamese in Germany who works for Vingroups automobile-making project Vinfast, said he hopes to contribute more to the country by working with Vinfast to introduce products in September 2018 and call other Vietnamese intellectuals abroad to join hands in building the homeland.



Extending Tet wishes to the expats, PM Phuc briefed them on the socio-economic, defence, security and cultural achievements of the country in 2017 and the contributions of the Vietnamese community abroad.



The Government leader also lauded the communitys efforts in investing in domestic projects and sharing experience and knowledge in various fields.



He underlined that the country needs the expats experience in developing start-ups, knowledge in science, technology and resources for national development.



The PM pledged that the Government will continue completing institutions, the legal system and policies to create favourable conditions for overseas Vietnamese to invest in the country.



He affirmed that realising the countrys target of becoming a new tiger in economy, it is necessary to strengthen the determination of the whole country to promote national strengths and the solidarity of the Vietnamese community both at home and abroad.



Homeland Spring is an annual event held by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs. This year, thousands of overseas Vietnamese have registered to participate in the programme which includes various traditional Tet practices.



An art performance is also scheduled to be held as part of the programme on Wednesday with the attendance of President Tran ai Quang.



There are approximately 4.5 million Vietnamese living and working in 103 countries and territories worldwide.  VNS
HCM CITY  The Vanh Khuyen Kindergarten has been built at A Vuong Commune in the south-central province of Quang Nams Tay Giang District with funding from the en om om Study Encouragement Programme carried out by FrieslandCampina Viet Nams Dutch Lady brand.

It takes the total number of schools built under this programme in the country to 21.

The construction of Vanh Khuyen Kindergarten and its teaching aids and equipment were funded by Dutch Lady in co-operation with Belgiums Live and Give foundation.

The kindergarten, most of whose students are ethnic minorities, was built on a piece of land donated by a local named Alang Cua.

A Rat Thi ao, its principal, said the new kindergarten is the beginning of the future for ethnic minority children in Tay Giang District.

Initiated by Dutch Lady in 2002, the programme aims to prevent children from dropping out of school and gives disadvantaged children a chance to continue schooling.

In addition to school construction, it has awarded more than 25,000 scholarships.

In 2013 it received the Prime Ministers Certificate of Merit for helping disadvantaged children go to school.  VNS
The Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing and Consulate General in Chinas Guangzhou province to deploy citizen protection measures for a Vietnamese fisherman rescued at sea by Chinese authorities.  VNA/VNS Photo Tran Hoang Ngoc

HA NOI  The Consular Department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is coordinating with the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing and Consulate General in Chinas Guangzhou province to deploy citizen protection measures for a Vietnamese fisherman rescued at sea by Chinese authorities.

Nguyen Quoc Han, a fisherman of QNg 95806 TS fishing vessel from Viet Nams central province of Quang Ngai, was heavily wounded while diving on January 20. He was provided with emergency aid and surgery by Chinese relevant agencies, and survived critical conditions.



Viet Nams Consulate General in Guangzhou province sent representatives to visit the fisherman on January 29.



They thanked Chinese competent agencies for their help and requested the Chinese side to continue assisting the fisherman.



The Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing and the Consulate General in Guangzhou will implement necessary procedures to bring Han home when he recovers his health. VNS
BINH DUONG  Over 105 workers from Vietnam Jin Chang Shoes Company Limited in the southern province of Binh Duong were hospitalised with food poisoning after having lunch on Tuesday, reported Vietnam News agency.

The workers fell sick an hour after having lunch at the factory. More than 1,000 workers joined the lunch. The victims reportedly had stir-fried bitter melon with eggs, braised pork and baby Kai Lan. Soon after eating, they vomited and complained of headache and abdominal pain.

As the number of workers showing the symptoms continued to rise, the companys management rushed them to Binh Duong General Hospital and Binh Duong Medic Clinic.

By 6.30pm on Tuesday, most of the workers were in stable condition and discharged from the hospital and clinic, except those who had a severe case of poisoning and a pregnant woman. They had to stay at the hospital overnight for monitoring.

Tran Huu Nhon, head of Binh Duong Medic Clinic, said braised pork was suspected to cause the poisoning, reported the Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper as hospital records showed that the number of workers who vomited were less than those with severe abdominal pain.

Binh Duong health officials have collected food samples from the private company Thap Toan, which provides meals to Jin Chang Shoes, for investigation.  VNS
HCM CITY  About 600 overseas Vietnamese (Viet kieu) from 25 countries on Tuesday participated in a meeting with HCM City authorities to celebrate Tet (Lunar New Year) 2018.

The meeting was a special gift that HCM City had prepared to welcome overseas Vietnamese returning home for the holiday, said Nguyen Thanh Phong, deputy secretary of the municipal Partys Committee and chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee.

Speaking at the meeting, Phong praised overseas Vietnamese contributions to the development of HCM City and Viet kieu community in 2017.

The Viet kieu community is an inseparable part of the Vietnamese community, he said, adding that he looks forward to another great year with the community.

On behalf of the Viet kieu community, Chau Ba Long from Australia thanked the authorities for the warm welcome and for providing the community with favourable conditions to live and work in Viet Nam.

Long said the community would continue to support HCM City in making it more sustainable, prosperous and vibrant.

At the meeting, the municipal Peoples Committee awarded five organisations and 15 individuals for their outstanding contributions to the development of HCM City last year.

The meeting is an annual event organised by the HCM City.

In addition to the meeting, a photo exhibition, called HCM City Welcomes Compatriots Home on the Occasion of Lunar New Year 2018 was held, showcasing about 100 photos capturing vibrant HCM City with Vietnamese compatriots.  VNS
SAQBA, Syria  Fresh regime strikes on a besieged rebel-held enclave near Damascus killed 78 civilians on Tuesday despite mounting Western pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The bloodshed came a day after another 31 civilians were killed in Eastern Ghouta and as the United Nations pleaded for a truce in the seven-year-old war to allow for aid deliveries.

Eastern Ghouta and Idlib, a northern province where violence also flared this week, are both so-called de-escalation zones under a deal last year intended to pave the way towards an end to the conflict.

A UN-mandated committee however said the recent escalation in violence "made a mockery" of the deal, which has failed to stem the fighting as the Syrian government continues its nationwide military reconquest.

The latest casualties in Ghouta came as Washington threatened military action over the reported use of chemical weapons in the enclave, which regime and allied forces have besieged since 2013.

The death toll there rose from an initial report of 16 to 78, including 19 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. Around 100 people were wounded, it said.

All too familiar scenes of chaos engulfed towns scattered across the semi-rural rebel-held area of Ghouta which lies just east of Damascus.

Rescuers from the White Helmets, an award-winning organisation featured in an Oscar-nominated documentary, could be seen rushing shredded bodies covered in white dust to ambulances hurtling down streets littered with rubble.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman added that few rebels were among the dead because they rarely left their tunnels and had better protection from air strikes than civilians, estimated to number around 400,000 in Ghouta.

He described Tuesdays bloodshed as the deadliest since efforts to broker a truce in Ghouta failed and the government intensified its operations against the enclave six weeks ago.

In apparent retaliation, rockets were fired on several Damascus neighbourhoods, killing three civilians, Syrias state news agency SANA reported.

Several schools in Damascus announced they were suspending classes for the next few days due to the upsurge in violence.

Increase in violence

Regime attacks on Ghouta involving suspected chlorine-filled munitions have also risen in recent weeks.

The US State Department said on Monday it had recorded six suspected chemical attacks in Syria in the past 30 days.

Washington, which last year launched cruise missiles on a regime airfield in retaliation for a nerve agent attack in Khan Sheikhun that killed scores of people, has threatened more military action.

France last month blacklisted companies and nationals it said had links to Syrias alleged chemical weapons programme.

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley clashed with her Russian counterpart at a meeting of the Security Council on Monday after proposing a statement condemning Damascus "in the strongest terms".

Russia, Assads major backer, retorted that "no perpetrators have been identified" and accused the United States of orchestrating a "propaganda campaign" against the Syrian government.

The UN said it was looking into the reports of chemical attacks and condemned what it described as an escalation in violence in Ghouta and Idlib.

"Over the last 48 hours, the scale and ferocity of attacks has increased dramatically," the UN-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry said in a statement.  AFP
Rite Aid Pharmacy To Transition To Walgreens

According to a representative from New Martinsvilles Rite Aid facility, the Rite Aid pharmacy will transition to Walgreens on Thursday, Feb. 8. The pharmacy will shut down that day at 5 p.m.

In September 2017, Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. announced that it had secured regulatory clearance for an amended and restated asset purchase agreement to purchase 1,932 stores, three distribution centers and related inventory from Rite Aid Corporation for $4.375 billion in cash and other consideration. The amended and restated purchase agreement between the parties updated the terms of the agreement with Rite Aid announced in June 2017. The transaction had been approved by the boards of directors of Rite Aid and Walgreens Boots Alliance and was still subject to other customary closing conditions. Store purchases were to begin in October 2017, with completion in spring 2018.

According to Jim Cohn, a media representative for Walgreens, Upon transfer of ownership, the store will have a Walgreens pharmacy, but the front of the store will continue normal business operations under the Rite Aid brand. So, itll be a Walgreens-owned Rite Aid store and the external store signs will remain Rite Aid.

However, there will also be a sign on the window of the door indicating this store is owned by Walgreens. There will also be a sign at the pharmacy letting patients know this is a Walgreens pharmacy.

Cohn stated, Once we have completed the acquisition of stores under the agreement, further store conversions to the Walgreens brand will be done in phases over time.
These individuals stand united for teachers and other public employees across the state of West Virginia. (Photos provided) This girl expresses support for her teachers and school. Teachers and supporters of them, and other public employees, stood outside -- across from New Martinsville School -- Feb. 6, in opposition to a proposed 1 percent race for West Virginia's public employees. They also express concern for PEIA funding. Teachers and supporters gathered Feb. 6 to request support from the public as they ask for funding for PEIA. Teachers argue that West Virginia ranks near the bottom in pay to teachers. (Photos provided)

Employees from New Martinsville School, along with supporters, braved the elements early on Feb. 6 and held an informational picket outside, across from the school. The picket was held from 7 a.m. to approximately 7:25 a.m at the former Rite Aid store. At 7:25 a.m., NMS employees then headed to the school building for the day.

A walk-in was held at New Martinsville School to show solidarity and support for teachers, service personnel, and public employees throughout the state of West Virginia, said Elliot Kendle of the Wetzel County Education Association.

All across the state, public employees have been speaking out against a 1 percent pay raise for teachers and all state employees. Employees feel as if this raise, proposed by Gov. Jim Justice, is not enough. Teachers feel this proposed raise isnt enough for retain top educators in West Virginia. At an average wage of about $40,000 a year, the raise would amount to about $400 annually for the teacher.

Perhaps the number one concern, based on the signs held Feb. 6, pertain to fixing the Public Employees Insurance Agency and funding the PEIA. Teachers and other state employees are concerned about cuts to the health insurance benefits they receive through the PEIA.

A private informational meeting for Wetzel Countys teachers and service personnel was also held the afternoon of Feb. 6. However, this meeting was not open to the public.
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Feb 7, 2018 | By Tess

Its a bird! Its a plane! Its a shark?!

Researchers from Harvard University have turned to the fiercest underwater predators, sharks, for inspiration in designing next-generation planes, drones, wind turbines, and cars. According to the researchers, shark skin can provide valuable insights into creating more aerodynamic structures.

The team behind the project, which consists of evolutionary biologists and engineers from Harvard University and members of the University of South Carolina, recently demonstrated the ability to 3D print a shark skin-inspired structure which could help usher in a new generation of more aerodynamic aircraft, drones, and other systems. The work has been published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

What the project shows is that sharks and planes might not actually be as different as one might think. (Admittedly, I dont think I had ever thought of the two in relation to one another before.)

Both are designed to efficiently move through fluid (water and air), using the shape of their bodies to generate lift and decrease drag, reads a press release about the research. The difference is, sharks have about a 400-million-year head start on the design process.

Shark skin is special in that while it appears smooth, it is actually covered with thousands of tiny scales called denticles. These denticles, which Professor George Lauder compares to human teeth, have different shapes and sizes depending on where they are located on the sharks body.

Up until now, scientists have generally believed the main function of denticles to be reduction of drag as the shark swims, but now the Harvard researchers have reason to believe that they might actually be for improving lift.

Micro-CT scan of the shortfin mako shark's denticles

(Image: Harvard University)

This discovery was helped in part by 3D printing, which was used to recreate a shortfin makos denticles for various experiments. The shortfin mako, one the fastest shark species roaming the oceans, has a specific kind of denticle, notable for their three raised ridges (like a trident, the researchers say).

The team of Harvard researchers scanned the sharks denticles using a micro-CT scanner and then integrated the 3D denticle structures onto a curved wing structure. This part, known as an airfoil, was then 3D printed and tested for its aerodynamic properties.

Airfoils are a primary component of all aerial devices, elaborated August Domel, the Harvard PhD student who acted as co-first author of the study. We wanted to test these structures on airfoils as a way of measuring their effect on lift and drag for applications in the design of various aerial devices such as drones, airplanes, and wind turbines.

After extensive testing of the denticle-embedded airfoils (multiple versions were 3D printed) inside a water flow tank, the researchers found that the denticle structures didn't only reduce drag, but also effectively increased lift. The team even likens them to high-powered, low-profile vortex generators, which are built into most cars and planes and help to alter the airflow over the vehicle to improve its aerodynamics.

3D scanned denticles are integrated onto the surface of an airfoil structure for 3D printing

(Image: Harvard University)

These shark-inspired vortex generators achieve lift-to-drag ratio improvements of up to 323 percent compared to an airfoil without vortex generators, added Domel. With these proof-of-concept designs, weve demonstrated that these bio-inspired vortex generators have the potential to outperform traditional designs.

The numbers prove it: 3D printed shark skin could very well be the future of planes, drones, cars, and turbines.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

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Charles C. Mann in Breakthrough Journal:

On June 30, 1860, Samuel Wilberforce, DD, 36th Bishop of Oxford, attended the 30th annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Oxford University. Countless students have been taught that during the meeting, Wilberforce attacked evolution, setting off an impromptu debate which became a tipping point in the history of thought. I was one of those students. The debate, my biology professor explained, was the opening salvo of the war between Science and Religion  and Religion lost. My textbook backed him up. Wilberforces anti-evolution assault, it said, was swept aside by researchers careful and scientific defense. In a flourish unusual in an undergraduate text, it boasted that the pro-evolution arguments neatly lifted the Bishops scalp. That day the forces of empirical knowledge had beaten back the armies of religious ignorance.

None of this is accurate. There was no real debate that day in Oxford. Nor was there a clear victor, still less a scalping. Not that many people were paying attention; the debate was not mentioned by a single London newspaper. Still, the exchange was important, though the quarrel was less between scientific theory and religious faith than between two conceptions of humankinds place in the cosmos. And far from being an enduring victory for rationality over faith, the debate inaugurated a conflict which continues to the present day, and is less about the past than about the future.

In 1860 science was not assumed to be inaccessible to ordinary people; the attendees at the Advancement of Science meeting included many ordinary, middle-class Britons, as well as Oxford students and faculty. The crowd packed a hall at the universitys new museum, standing in aisles and doorways. In that jammed, sweltering space, the subject on attendees minds was On the Origin of Species, by Charles Darwin. Published just seven months before, the book had created a public uproar, dividing educated Britons into pro- and anti-evolution camps.

More here.
David Marchese in New York Magazine:

In both music and manner, Quincy Jones has always registered  from afar, anyway  as smooth, sophisticated, and impeccably well-connected. (Thats what earning 28 Grammy awards and co-producing Michael Jacksons biggest-selling albums will do.) But in person, the 84-year-old music-industry macher is far spikier and more complicated. All Ive ever done is tell the truth, says Jones, seated on a couch in his palatial Bel Air home, and about to dish some outrageous gossip. Ive got nothing to be scared of, man.

Currently in the midst of an extended victory lap ahead of his turning 85 in March  a Netflix documentary and a CBS special hosted by Oprah Winfrey are on the horizon  Jones, dressed in a loose sweater, dark slacks, and a jaunty scarf, talks like he has nothing to lose. He name-drops, he scolds, he praises, and he tells (and retells) stories about his very famous friends. Even when his words are harsh, he says them with an enveloping charm, frequently leaning over for fist bumps and to tap me on the knee. The experiences Ive had! he says, shaking his head in wonder. You almost cant believe it.

You worked with Michael Jackson more than anyone he wasnt related to. Whats something people dont understand about him?

I hate to get into this publicly, but Michael stole a lot of stuff. He stole a lot of songs. [Donna Summers] State of Independence and Billie Jean. The notes dont lie, man. He was as Machiavellian as they come.

How so?

Greedy, man. Greedy. Dont Stop Til You Get Enough  Greg Phillinganes wrote the c section. Michael shouldve given him 10 percent of the song. Wouldnt do it.

What about outside of music? Whats misunderstood about Michael?

I used to kill him about the plastic surgery, man. Hed always justify it and say it was because of some disease he had. Bullshit.

More here.
Chinese New Year is really all about the food...and maybe the red envelopes.

If you've ever celebrated with a Chinese family, you know that merrymaking of any kindbe it a wedding, welcoming of a season, or start to a new yearrevolves around eating copious amounts of food. It starts with the appearance of an assortment of sweet, pickled, and salted things in small lacquer dishes in homes. And then the serious gourmandizing beginsthink shining banquets with soup, noodles, fish, and duck; multiple courses of decadent delights. Once you think you can't eat anymore, yet another round comes out, too delicious to turn down. (Now is not the time for impulse control).

And then comes times to make it rain. Hello, red envelopesthe crimson hue symbolizes luck with gilded messages welcoming the New Year. It's all calculatedthe amount of money, whether it's an even or odd number, and determined by age or whether you're single or married. There are endless factors to consider. Even noodles have special meaning, bequeathing long life to those who slurp.

Come February 16th, between firecrackers and lion dances, you'll need to be ready for some serious feasting if you intend to celebrate the Year of the Dog. From authentic hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurants to fancy coursed feasts, special cocktail menus to high tea, here are the tastiest places to ring in Chinese New Year. Note: Celebrations last two weeks, so pace yourself.

Sesame pancake with beef at House of Pancakes. (Courtesy of Anna Latino via SF Weekly)

Hakkasan



From now through February 24th, the Union Square restaurant known for its modern take on Cantonese cuisine will offer a limited-edition signature menu created by chefs from around the globe. An array of dishes will take aim at bringing good luck and prosperity for the coming year: oysters for good fortune, fish for increased prosperity, and fai cai (fat choy) to grow wealth. Indulge in mouthwatering Szechuan oyster with lotus root and crispy rice in mantau; crispy Scallop in sweet plum sauce with mango in a golden cup; baked Chilean sea bass with kumquat glaze; and abalone fried rice in bean curd wrap with Chinese sausage, and shiitake mushroom. Wash it down with a Happy Daisy (Tanqueray No.10 gin, Chartreuse Yellow, lemon, spiced mandarin jam, egg white, and soda water); and finish with the golden fortune dessert (ginger caramel, roasted macadamia nuts, and lemongrass). There will even be lion dancers on February 16th at 7pm, and Hakkasan will have their annual wishing tree tradition where guests can write their wishes on red ribbons that will be hung around the restaurants. // $118 per person, 1 Kearny St. (Union Square), hakkasan.com.





House of Pancakes

A staple for divine Chinese eats in Parkside, this is a local eatery worthy of any occasion. With just a handful of tables, the restaurant is unassuming (honestly, you'd easily walk past without even thinking to look in) but be prepared for some serious flavor. Their scallion pancakes are perfectly crispy, the hand-pulled noodle soups are chewy and delicious, but it's the steaming meat rolls with egg that really stand out. A golden, flaky pastry is spun into a roll with an array of savory meat options and oyster sauce. Be sure to add an egg; you won't regret it. // Cash only, 937 Taraval St. (Parkside), 415-681-8388.





St. Regis

Enjoyed regularly, on both casual and formal occasions, tea is deeply embedded in Chinese culture and is used in traditional medicine as well as cuisine. St. Regis San Francisco captures this ceremony with a Year of the Dog edition of the Art of Tea, the afternoon tea tradition held in their lobby lounge. Spend a relaxing day sipping on festive teas like pu-erh and oolong, while noshing on dim sum and a selection of themed sweet treats. // February 1-28, 2pm to 4pm, reservations are available by calling 415.284.4188, stregissanfrancisco.com.





Shandong

Legendary for their hand-pulled noodles and dumplings made on-site, Shandong not only has delicious eats in house, but also sends out their goodies to other local restaurants. Nestled in Oakland's Chinatown, it's a go-to for major celebrations or just a night of binging on comfort food. Get the spicy meat sauce noodles with minced pork, sesame paste noodles, and any of the dumplings (veggie options available). // shandongoakland.com





Cold Drinks

There no party without drinks. Located on the second floor of China Live, Cold Drinksthe luxe Scotch-centric bar founded by restaurateur George Chenwill be serving up a Lunar New Year menu with 12 cocktails inspired by Zodiac animals. From now until February 28th, sip on fun drinks like the Black Bull Scotch (dry curacao, Braulio, Barolo Chinato, hakai chiew, ginger and candy cap bitters); Sheep Dip (Barolo Chinato, lemon, Campari, blood orange and habanero bitters); and Compass Box Asyla (Mancino Chinato, Allspice Dram, topped with citrus foam). // chinalivesf.com
Tim Gosling, Policy Lead, Defined Contribution at the PLSA, said: We welcome the Governments response to the Taylor Review. By consulting on whether to redraw the line on who is deemed self-employed and who is a worker, it offers the prospect that some gig economy workers may in future benefit from a workplace pension. This is important and welcome as it will help to prevent employers wrongly categorising people as self-employed and therefore not eligible to be enrolled into a workplace pension. Todays announcement will not, however, help solve the problem of how to involve the traditional self-employed in workplace pension saving. The Government acknowledges that more needs to be done and has committed to testing difference solutions for the self-employed over the coming year. We will continue to work closely with Government as well as the rest of the industry to look at options which will help this important and growing demographic to tackle the retirement savings challenge. Darren Philp, director of policy at The Peoples Pension, said: Its encouraging that the majority of recommendations from the Taylor review have been accepted by the government. But at a time when self-employed people still arent covered by auto-enrolment, and only around two in ten people who work for themselves are saving into a pension, the lack of any detail over getting the self-employed into pensions is disappointing. The greater emphasis on cross-departmental co-operation is welcome though, as its only through this cooperation that the Government will really be able to deliver the meaningful changes that the system so desperately needs. Kate Smith, Head of Pensions at Aegon: The world of work is rapidly changing and we welcome the move to give all workers greater clarity of the employment rules and entitlement to basic rights such as holiday and sick pay already enjoyed by employees. There are 5 million self-employed individuals representing 15% of the UKs workforce and this is set to increase. Of these 1.3 million are gig-economy workers which is amongst the fastest-growing sectors of the economy but many of these workers face low and irregular pay. While we welcome the clarity the governments plans give to gig economy workers over their employments status the government has failed to address the issue of pensions, which could turn out be the most valuable benefit of them all. In the UK pension provision is largely delivered through the workplace, via auto-enrolment, so the self-employed, including gig-economy workers are currently excluded. The right to an employer contribution should be carved in stone for all workers. Following the Governments recent review of auto-enrolment, it promised to look at how to kick-start the self-employed into pension saving. Government needs to grasp the nettle and address this growing savings gap before its too late Steve Webb, Director of Policy at Royal London said:It is welcome that the Government is planning to take action on some of the ways in which gig economy workers can lose out. The idea of an enhanced minimum hourly wage for those on zero hours contract is well worth further investigation. But despite Matthew Taylors recommendations, the government response offers little hope for improving the pensions of the self-employed. The Governments automatic enrolment review merely proposed some further research and testing on pensions and the self-employed, which is not up to the urgency of the problem. Pension membership amongst employed workers has soared because of automatic enrolment, but it remains shockingly low for the self-employed. It is very worrying that this issue has again been kicked into the long grass, meaning that millions of self-employed people face an insecure retirement The Good Work Plan
A penalty of 50,000 for failing to process some core financial transactions promptly and accurately and a penalty of 20,000 for failing to report late or missing contributions to some members. The penalties will be paid by NOW: Pensions Limited and will not come out of members funds. Troy Clutterbuck, Interim CEO, NOW: Pensions Limited said: I am truly sorry for the delays that some clients have experienced processing pension contributions. Weve been working closely with The Pensions Regulator on the steps detailed in the Improvement Notice and Third Party notice and have made significant progress. Im pleased to say that the vast majority of schemes are now up to date. Work continues on a small percentage of larger and more complex schemes and these will be updated by April  the deadline set by the Regulator. Nigel Waterson, Chair of Trustees, NOW: Pensions said: I want to emphasise that all money weve received is completely safe. Weve analysed each and every member record and if a member has experienced a delay, we will make sure we put them back in the same position they would have been in had their contributions been processed in a timely manner. Our average pot size is 385 so the typical adjustment will be less than 2. Our approach to doing this has been shared with the Regulator and approved by an independent actuary. What caused the delays?

These delays arose when NOW: Pensions received inaccurate, incomplete or missing payroll data from employers  such as a missing date of birth, National Insurance number or information relating to the wrong pay period. This data has been held in our system and hasnt been able to move forward to the next stage where its verified and ultimately invested. Troy Clutterbuck continued: To stop this from happening again we have reviewed and improved our processes and controls. As part of this, NPL has invested more than 4m in our own market-leading auto enrolment system called the NOW: Pensions Gateway. Over 85% of our clients are already on Gateway and the platform ensures that poor quality or incomplete data is not accepted and that employers receive immediate detailed feedback as to the reasons why so that the data can be correctly and successfully resubmitted. All remaining clients will be moved onto this system by April and it is working extremely well. Nigel Waterson continued: The Trustees have agreed a timetable with the Regulator to resolve these legacy issues. We continue to work closely with the Regulator and with independent trustees Dalriada Trustees to ensure that this is done on time. Considerable progress has already been made towards the April deadline. Why did NOW: Pensions fail to report late or missing contributions to some members?

All providers must write to members within 30 days of reporting employers to TPR for material payment failures. Although NOW: Pensions has been carrying out its duties, reporting employers to TPR for material payment failures, due to human error, there was a short period when reporting to some affected members did not take place. This was identified and immediately put right. The Regulator acknowledges there was no material detriment to members. Troy Clutterbuck continued: As one of the largest auto enrolment providers, we remain very much open for business. We will continue to play a key role in safeguarding the success of the policy so that it delivers on its promise of providing millions more people with a better retirement.


The bond, which mitigates balance sheet risk for the World Bank in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru by offering protection against earthquake risk on a parametric basis, is the second largest catastrophe bond on record, and represents the largest sovereign risk transfer in the history of the insurance-linked securities sector.

The issuance was made across five tranches of notes  one for each of Chile, Colombia and Peru, and two for Mexico. Under the issuance, Chile will receive USD500 million, Colombia USD400 million, Mexico USD260 million and Peru USD200 million in earthquake risk protection.

The bond's parametric trigger is based on U.S. Geological Survey data. Coverage is provided on a three-year basis for the Chile, Colombia and Peru notes, and on a two-year basis for the Mexico notes.

The transaction brings the total amount of risk transfer facilitated by the World Bank to USD3.6 billion, and is part of the organization's broader work to support Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru  all member countries of the Pacific Alliance  in managing risk from natural disasters.

Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities, said: "We are honored to support the Pacific Alliance members and World Bank in bringing this pioneering transaction to the market. This record-breaking issuance highlights the strategic partnership between nations seeking efficient sources of capital to fund emergency costs and investors seeking to invest in diversifying risks and support sustainable development initiatives. We are optimistic that this transaction will pave the way for other governments to develop more resilient risk management programs for their uninsured exposures."


Satair and Cobham Aerospace Communications have renewed their distribution agreement across the Asia-Pacific region, including China and also extending into the Middle East.





The agreement covers a range of aircraft intercommunications equipment including radio management panels, audio control panels, audio management units and related spares.



Satairs role is to provide a high level service covering inventory from Singapore as well as the management of repair and exchange services.



We are delighted in the continued trust given to us by Cobham, said Rene Frandsen, Managing Director and Head of Sales and Support for Satair in Singapore. We will continue to work hard to deliver world-class support.



Cobham Aerospace Communications, part of the global Cobham PLC group, is a leading manufacturer of aircraft intercommunications systems on commercial aircraft with a commitment to world-class service and high product reliability.



Stephane Lagarde, Director Customer Support and Services for Cobham Aerospace Services added: During the last two years, we increased our customer satisfaction thanks to our new customer support organization and partnership, so Cobham Aerospace Communications is pleased to renew this agreement with Satair, who has a strong presence in the Asia/Pacific Middle-East region we look forward to the continuation of our collaboration.


US-backed Assyrian Force Heading to Defend Syrian City Could Be Cut From Anti-ISIS Coalition

The Syriac [Assyrian] Military Council -- a member of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces -- has announced it will send units to fight in Afrin, risking being cut from the global coalition fighting ISIS. ( Syriac Military Council) The Syriac [Assyrian] Military Council -- a member of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces -- has announced it will send units to fight in Afrin, risking being cut from the global coalition fighting ISIS. The MFS "decided to send reinforcements to [the] Afrin battle to defend Afrin people from Turkish invasion," the group said in a statement Sunday. "We appeal to the international community as Syriac Christian people and urge them to stop the barbaric Turkish attack and support us by all means," the group's statement said. The MFS has been historically allied with the People's Protection Units, or YPG, currently engaged against Turkish forces in northern Syria, but their recent decision could risk severing the group from their U.S. allies. "We would review their support, try to determine their intentions, talk to them, and if they decide that this is what they got to do, we would absolutely not support them," Eric Pahon, a Pentagon spokesman, said. The MFS is a relatively small militia within the Syrian Democratic Forces, which fought in the liberation of Raqqa, among other battles. Many of group's fighters are part of the Assyrian Christian minority. As such, they tended to attract volunteer fighters from western countries. "Any forces that decide to move to Afrin will not receive continued Coalition support," a spokesperson for Operation Inherent Resolve said in a statement to Military Times. "The Coalition has been clear: military operations in Afrin are a distraction to the defeat-Daesh fight," the statement read. "We are not providing training, equipment or support to operations in Afrin and continue to be focused on defeating Daesh, particularly in the Middle Euphrates River Valley."
Turkey's Assyrian Community Welcomes Monastery's Return

St. Gabriel Monastery in Midyat, Turkey, an Assyrian monastery founded in 397 A.D. ( AINA) A number of properties belonging to Turkey's Syriac minority that were controversially handed to the state in recent years will be returned as part of a planned new omnibus bill, daily H
What do you get when you ask an Indian-American chef--who grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, trained in Europe, and cooks Mexican food in New York--to open a restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama? You get Fero.

The modern Italian joint, a full-service, sit-down restaurant located inside the Pizitz Food Hall is the brainchild of chef Akhtar Nawab, a New York City-restaurateur who trained under famed chef Tom Colicchio, founder of Gramercy Tavern.

Peruse the menu at Fero, and it's easy to see notions of Nawab's background incorporated in the dishes. The Crab Toast ($14), which has quickly become a signature dish, has elements of Italian, French, and Indian cuisines. Based on a bruschetta, the dish features a thick-cut piece of charred toast as the base. Nawab takes Maryland Peekytoe Crab meat and poaches it in a French beurre blanc, thinned with lemon juice. He finishes the appetizer with a curry aioli, featuring Vadouvan curry powder, rosemary, parsley, anddried shallots.

"It has this interesting French-Asian aspect, but it also is Mediterranean," Nawab says. "It's actually really simple--there are just three things happening on your palate."

Nawab's path to culinary notability began when he was 20 years old. Raised by Indian parents (Nawab is a first-generation American), he says he was expected to pursue "something along the lines of formal education."

"My whole family is doctors, teachers, and engineers," Nawab says. "But I just wasn't motivated by that, and I had a much more creative side that I think some of my other family never had."

Growing up cooking in the kitchen with his mom, Nawab was influenced at an early age by the aromatic and flavorful foods of his heritage. It eventually led him to attend culinary school in San Francisco in 1994, a time when the Bay Area was leading a food revolution of sorts.

"San Francisco was doing some really interesting things that the rest of the country wasn't," Nawab explains. "It was when Alice Waters was creating this California cuisine movement--taking European thinking and applying it to California."

Eventually, Nawab ended up in New York City at Gramercy Tavern, where he met Colicchio. After collaborating with Colicchio on several projects, Nawab opened his own restaurant--in 2008, right before the market crashed. The restaurant didn't survive, but later, through experimentation with new flavors, Nawab realized his passion for cooking Mexican food. You might recognize the name Choza--the Piztiz's fast-casual taco stand is the second location for the New York operation also run by Nawab.

It was the collaboration between Choza and the Pizitz that led Bayer Properties to approach Nawab about also opening a full-service restaurant in one of the food hall's two anchor restaurant spaces.

"I'd heard very little about Birmingham before," Nawab says. "Some of the principals [of Bayer] showed us around town and I immediately said to my business partner, 'This feels so much like Louisville when I was growing up.' There's this lively scene happening here and it all felt very familiar."

The idea for Fero, which means "iron" in Italian (a nod to Birmingham's history), was to offer cuisine that felt familiar with plenty of elements that make it different--more upbeat and alive, as Nawab says.

"I find that these days the heavy sauces and European cooking don't excite my palate the way they used to," Nawab says. "With our menu [at Fero] we really try to take a traditional dish and rework it. A little chili here and a little twist of this make me want more."

A good example of that is the restaurant's Cacio e Pepe ($15)--available in warmer months. The traditional dish is quite simple, using just butter, cheese, pasta, pasta water, olive oil, and cracked pepper, but Nawab debuted it on Fero's menu with fresh, in-season sweet corn and a bit of spice.

For his version, he roasts corn and uses its juices in place of some of the butter in the dish. Instead of traditional black pepper, he uses a combination of Szechuan and long peppers to give a different aromatic quality.

For winter, the dish has been replaced with Garganelli ($24)--a pasta made with Amaretti cookie flour, which Nawab jokingly refers to as a "cookie dough pasta." The dish is based on a traditional version from southern Italy featuring squash, pecorino cheese, sage, and crushed Amaretti cookies. To update the dish, Nawab grinds the cookies into a flour that's then added to the pasta dough. Paired with roasted squash puree, pecorino cheese, and crispy sage in brown butter, it's a dish that exemplifies Nawab's creativity.

Nawab spent a good bit of time traveling through France and Italy to learn cooking techniques (including a stint at a cooking school in Sicily), since he says the early part of his cooking career was focused on European and Mediterranean cooking. As a result, he brings a style of Italian food to Birmingham that is not found elsewhere.

"Italian is in and of itself one of the few cuisines that speaks about simplicity first," Nawab says. "It's a very pure culture in that, say, if you have good tomatoes then why do you need something else? After coming down [to Birmingham] several times and seeing what produce we can get and what purveyors we can do business with, we thought maybe Italian would suit us well."

The result is interesting, complex dishes that are still straightforward.

One example is the Ribeye ($39), a traditional dinner entree that's served in an unexpected manner. The steak comes from local purveyor Evans Meats and is dried at Fero for a few days to get the moisture out and concentrate the flavor. Before grilling, it is rubbed with a marinade of dried mushrooms, chili, olive oil, salt, and herbs. It's then paired with potato gnocchi made with Dijon and pickled mustard, and is drizzled with a green peppercorn sauce.

"Again, it's all about that dimensional aspect on your palate, so it's not just a steak," Nawab says.

Nawab's favorite dish on the menu is Vitello Tonato ($12), a traditional Italian dish made with veal and tuna. Nawab's version updates the dish by using oil-cured tuna to make an aioli, and cured veal breasts shaved thin like prosciutto. The veal is layered on a dish like carpaccio is, and is topped with the tuna aioli, olive oil, lemon juice, chili, and a bit of harissa. A slow-circulated egg, cooked at 61 degrees in the shell, acts as a dressing.

As a full-service restaurant separated from the other stalls in Pizitz, Fero features its own bar. Creative, seasonal cocktails, utilizing several classic Italian liqueurs like Campari and Aperol, dominate the menu.

In addition to its innovative dinner service, Fero also offers brunch on the weekends. The brunch menu gives Nawab an opportunity to have some fun. Not to be missed are the Ricotta Pancakes ($14), a stack of three flapjacks drizzled with a Sicilian-style honey and vanilla syrup. The taste of ricotta is prominent in the thick, fluffy pancakes, served steaming hot. The brunch menu also features Pain Perdu ($12)--French toast casserole baked with bananas and custard, cut into squares, and crisped in a pan--and Duck Wings & Waffle ($22) with fried eggs. Steak & Eggs ($20) with salsa verde and spicy greens is a throw to Nawab's Mexican cooking style.

Although the restaurant is part of the food hall, it holds vastly different hours than the stalls--meaning it's open more often and for longer than its counterparts. Sometimes, Nawab says, it's hard to get the word out that the restaurant is open and ready for business, but when customers come in, it's Nawab's desire to make dishes different and exciting that keeps them coming back again and again.

"I always say we have the ability to do something different, so let's think about how we want to do something different," Nawab says. "I think we've done the right thing and people leave jazzed about what we're doing and they say, 'That was good, that was reasonably priced, and it was different.' We're doing our best to go person by person and table by table to make sure they come back and tell other people."

Details

Fero | 1821 Second Avenue North, Suite 176 (inside Pizitz Food Hall) | 205.582.9250 | Hours: Mon.-Tues., 5 p.m.-9 p.m.; Weds.-Fri., 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. & 5 p.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m.-2 p.m. & 5 p.m.-9 p.m. | ferorestaurant.com

--Photos by Cary Norton

This story appears in Birmingham magazine's February 2017 issue. Subscribe today!
Public records requests by North Carolina media are revealing all the state offered within $1.6 billion of incentives to attract the Toyota-Mazda auto plant.

North Carolina was the other finalist for the factory, which was announced last month. Alabama offered more than $800 million in incentives.

The plant is expected to open in Huntsville in 2021.

North Carolina's failed bid was extensive, according to WRAL out of Raleigh.

Included in it was the land at a 1,500-acre megasite outside of Greensboro, N.C., valued at $48 million, including all utility improvements. The state promised a dedicated state employee at the Commerce Department, drawing $250,000, to expedite any needs. The state even pledged a $1 million campaign to attract suppliers.

The state emphasized about $565 million in corporate and franchise tax savings. Another $500 million would come from cash grants, while Randolph County itself offered $100 million.

There was $116 million offered for infrastructure improvements, $46.4 million for workforce training, and $6.3 million described as supply chain incentives. One of the reasons Alabama won the project was because of its position within an existing multi-state automotive supply chain.

Even in the final days before the companies' decision, North Carolina officials were planning a Japanese website and investment seminars to attract suppliers.

In addition, state officials were supplied with notes and talking points to use when talking with Toyota and Mazda representatives, making it clear the company officials needed to "feel the love."

State and local figures were also told to talk up Toyota's emphasis on veteran hiring, its zero-waste-to-landfill concept and its image as a "mobility company" rather than an auto manufacturer.
U.K.-based Preformed Windings, a firm that manufactures HV coils, has located a plant in Pell City and will hire up to 85 people.

The facility is the first in the U.S. for the firm, according to the Alabama Department of Commerce. The 30,000-square-foot facility will provide domestic support for the growing demand of high voltage coils in the North American market, the company said in a news release.

James Stevens, sales director for Preformed Windings, said growth in the business has driven the expansion.

"Not only are we creating jobs and developing skills in the region, but the local presence will allow an increased level of service to our growing customer base," Steven said. "Preformed Windings are proud to open the new facility in the USA, and looks forward to this new chapter in our 50 year history."

Frank Barrett, CEO of Parson Peebles Group, thanked Pell City Mayor Bill Pruett and local leaders for their support.

"We believe Pell City's close proximity to our growing markets, and the community's can-do approach in supporting our location efforts made this an easy decision," Barrett said.
The founder and top executive of Fixed Point Foundation, a Christian "think tank" ministry in Birmingham which organized high-profile debates between atheists and Christian evangelists, has resigned.

Larry Taunton, founder and former executive director, resigned after he was confronted about allegations that he had inappropriate relationships with two young women on the ministry staff, according to sources familiar with the situation.

"Last autumn I confessed to my wife, family, and the board of Fixed Point Foundation that I had engaged in inappropriate (consensual) behavior outside the bonds of my marriage some time ago," Taunton wrote in a statement posted on the Fixed Point web site today. "I resigned as the executive director of Fixed Point and have been in marriage and personal counseling as I seek healing and the forgiveness of those I have hurt. Lauri, strong and full of grace, has demonstrated great love and mercy to me as we have begun rebuilding our lives together. I love Lauri and our children and ask you to pray for her and for them. They deserved much more from me. Out of respect for them and others, I will not discuss any additional details. I attach blame to no one else for the choices I made. I am deeply sorry, and I can only seek the grace and mercy of the God I serve and the many friends who have stood with us through the years."

Two former board members who have resigned declined to comment. At least four board members who were on the board of directors in 2015 have resigned, a former board member confirmed.

The organization's annual fundraising event set for Nov. 14 at The Club in Birmingham was canceled on short notice. Taunton did not mention the allegations against him in a resignation letter sent to some supporters after the event was canceled.

Taunton had undertaken a trip around the world last year, visiting 21 countries in 80 days. He was planning to write a book about the trip.

He is the author of two books, "The Grace Effect," about he and his wife adopting a daughter from the Ukraine diagnosed with HIV, and "The Faith of Christopher Hitchens," about his friendship with the famous atheist.

Efforts to reach Taunton for comment about his resignation were unsuccessful. He is currently out of the country.

"He's left the ministry," said his son, Michael Taunton. "I'll say what he said in his letter; he never fully recovered from his accident, he's kept up a manic pace since then." Michael said that his father is currently in France.

The ministry owns a 12-room mansion in Labastide, France, formerly the home of one of Napoleon's generals, where Larry Taunton hosted events with high-profile Christian evangelists and authors such as John Lennox and Eric Metaxas. The estate in Southern France was donated to the ministry.

Larry Taunton's total compensation as executive director was $142,719 in 2015, according to the most recent available filing with the IRS for the non-profit ministry. The ministry, with an office at 2326 Second Ave. North in Birmingham, had gross receipts of more than $1.1 million in 2015 and listed assets worth more than $2.3 million, according to filings with the IRS.

Fixed Point Foundation has drawn international attention for organizing debates that featured famous atheists such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens debating Lennox and other Christian apologists.

"I am, to put it bluntly, spent," Taunton wrote in the letter last year to supporters announcing his resignation. "As many of you know, I have maintained a manic pace for several years now. After my horrific accident of two years ago, I returned to work much more rapidly than was wise. Many friends and family have expressed concern about my unrelenting travel and work schedule, and I have, up to now, ignored their counsel. But the Lord has made it very clear to me that I need to properly renew my mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health if I am to be effective in the coming years. As such, I need to step back from the work of Fixed Point Foundation and let others lead that work and fulfill its mission. This does not mean the work of Fixed Point will discontinue. On the contrary, that work, staffed by excellent people, will continue as it ever did addressing the Big Questions of faith and culture. Meanwhile, I will take a break from work and, in God's timing, return with a focus on writing at LarryAlexTaunton.com that is free from heavy administrative duties. Our two primary websites, LarryAlexTaunton.com and Fixed-Point.org, have developed separately in recent years for this purpose. It is exciting to see that a single organization that began in our living room many years ago has produced these two important resources.

"As a side note, knowing that this transition was coming, we decided to cancel the Nov. 14 dinner. We simply did not want to raise funds only to inform you sometime after the fact that I was separating from Fixed Point. Besides that, I was exhausted. 21 countries in 80 days? Yes, exhausted. We apologize for any inconvenience to those of you who missed our cancellation notice. I hope you will pray for us all as we move forward. Now Lauri, Sasha and I are going to enjoy our first authentic vacation in years. I look forward to reconnecting with you in the New Year. Merry Christmas, Larry Alex Taunton"

This story was updated to include a statement issued by Taunton today, Feb. 7.
The Alabama Attorney General's Office is appealing a federal court's ruling that stayed the execution for a death row inmate.

Doyle Lee Hamm was granted a stay last week by U.S. Chief District Judge Karon O Bowdre, and Tuesday Bowdre issued a written order explaining her reasons for granting the stay. According to court records, AG Steve Marshall is planning to appeal to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals and ask the court to overturn the stay and allow the state to go forward in the execution.

Hamm's scheduled execution date is February 22.

The opinion filed Tuesday was 25 pages, and detailed Bowdre's ruling on the case. "If his current medical condition includes compromised peripheral veins, lymphoma untreated for three years, and lymphadenopathy... the injection of fluid could 'blow out' his veins with infiltration of drugs into the surrounding tissue; and efforts to place a central line could be hindered by enlarged lymph nodes creating a higher risk of puncturing a central artery--all resulting in severe and unnecessary pain," she wrote. She called the scenario "gruesome."

The opinion says, "The looming February 22, 2018, execution date leaves insufficient time to resolve these unknowns... Mr. Hamm has shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, and the court finds that the execution date must be stayed pending an independent medical examination of Mr. Hamm."

Hamm, 60, has been on death row since 1987 after being convicted of killing Patrick Cunningham-- a Cullman motel clerk.

According to information revealed in court and through records, Hamm was diagnosed with cancer in 2014 and underwent treatment. The Alabama Department of Corrections said Hamm's cancer went into remission in March 2016, and no scans from an oncologist have been performed since. In the spring of 2017, Hamm complained of having lumps on his chest and abdomen area. An X-ray was preformed, but no PET scans or biopsies were completed. Earlier this month, doctors said there was no evidence of cancer in his clavicle, but did not have a definitive answer about the other lumps.

Hamm's attorney and professor at Columbia, Bernard Harcourt, has that his client is too sick to die by lethal injection. Because of a federal court decision requiring an inmate to suggest an alternative method of execution, Harcourt states Hamm should be killed via oral injection.

Alabama uses a three-drug execution protocol, which includes the drug midazolam; however, midazolam cannot be used for oral injections.

The AG's Office asked Bowdre to dismiss the case, but the judge denied the state's motion after a day-long hearing last week. She ordered a stay of execution, and allowed the case to go forward.
Tennessee authorities said the investigation into the death of a college student from Alabama is ongoing.

Blount County Sheriff James Lee Berrong said in a prepared statement Wednesday that he wants "to reassure citizens that wheriff's investigators are actively working the case involving the death of Blake Smith and following up on all leads." Sheriff's officials will not answer any additional questions beyond what they post on Facebook, according to a department spokeswoman.

The Knox County Regional Forensic Center on Tuesday said preliminary cause of the 20-year-old's death was determined as hypothermia/drowning, and his death appears to be accidental. Smith's family, however, said the death was not accidental and that foul play was involved but they couldn't comment further.

The sheriff's latest statement read, "This is not the final autopsy report. We are awaiting results of the toxicology test." They did not elaborate.

Smith was a junior at Crown College, a bible college about 10 miles northwest of Knoxville. Friends and family became alarmed Saturday when Smith's roommate said Smith did not return home from work at the usual time. The college then contacted police and his parents, who filed a missing person's report on Sunday.

Blount County sheriff's deputies found Smith's Camry at the Ballards Way construction site. Smith's cell phone and some other personal belongings were found near his 2014 Toyota Camry, which had crashed into the deck of the home that is under construction. Family said there was a cinder block on the gas pedal and his phone and wallet in the car. His shoe, chain necklace and beanie were also found at the site.

His body was recovered Monday the Georges Creek, about a half mile from the construction site. It was later positively identified to be that of Blake. The family provided a link to the last sermon Smith preached on Dec. 31 at Mountain View Baptist Church and said it is their greatest desire for the sermon to be listened to, and shared, around the world.

"We just want to give God the glory,'' Smith's aunt, Jill Williams, told AL.com Tuesday. "We want souls to be saved and lives to be changed. That would make Blake happier than anything."

Anyone with information about Blake Smith and his whereabouts between Saturday afternoon at around 2 p.m. and early Monday afternoon, they are asked to call the sheriff's office Investigations Unit during normal business hours at (865) 273-5001. Tipsters can also call the 24-hour anonymous Crime Hotline at (865)273-5200, or leave a tip on the Text-a-Tip link at www.bcso.com.
Authorities are searching for family members of four people who have died in Jefferson County in recent weeks.

Their bodies are ready to be released for burial, but officials at the Jefferson County Coroner's Office have not been able to identify or locate next of kin. Their names are Altha Elaine Lovelady, 63, Louise Pastor Bird, 80, Michael Wayne Martin, 56, and Darrell Thomas Glover, 67.

All four are believed to have died from natural causes. No foul play is suspected.

Glover, a black male, was a tenant at Mount Royal Towers and a hospice patient. He died at 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 27 from significant medial issues. Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said prior to moving to Mount Royal, Glover lived at a couple different boarding homes in Birmingham. A friend told authorities he did not know of any family members but said Glover had mentioned having "a couple of boys."

Lovelady, a white female, died at her residence in the 1500 block of 11th Avenue North on Jan. 31 at 10:25 a.m. She, too, was a hospice patient, Yates said. Authorities believe she has family in Athens and Double Springs, and possibly in Texas.

Bird, a white female, died Jan. 31 at 12:45 p.m. at the Budget Motel on Ninth Avenue North in Bessemer where she had lived for the past two years. Management told coroner's investigators that in her time at the motel, she did not mention any family. Yates, however, said there is possibly family in Montevallo.

Martin, a white male, died Feb. 1 at 3:50 p.m. at his Center Point home on 21st Avenue N.W. He was a veteran receiving medical treatment at the Birmingham VA Medical Center. His doctor called Martin's landlord to try to get Martin to schedule an appointment because of ongoing illness. When the landlord went to talk to Martin about him, he found him dead. He had lived in the location for about 10 years. He told his landlord, who also was his friend, that he was previously divorced with no children, but authorities believe Martin may have a sister.

Any family members are asked to call the Jefferson County Coroner's Office at 205-930-3603.
A Kansas man is behind bars in Alabama, accused of having more than 100 stolen checks worth over $700,000.

Hoover police on Wednesday announced the arrest of Justin Edward Fink. He is 32.

The investigation began nearly one month ago, on Jan. 12, when officers responded to a report of a "suspicious incident at Days Inn on Riverchase Drive, said Lt. Keith Czeskleba. Hotel staff told police they found a printer and several pieces of paper with counterfeit checks printed on them that were left behind by a hotel guest.

Officers collected the items and learned that the man who rented the room - now identified as Fink - was wanted out of Kansas for burglary of a vehicle. Czeskleba said detectives began investigating the case and determined the checks were stolen from several local businesses, as well as a few out-of- state individuals.

Then, on Jan. 25, officers responded to the Hyatt Place hotel after receiving information that the same man was staying there and was altering checks inside his room. The suspect was not located but officers did find a printer, laptop, and other tools used to alter checks in the room.

Czeskleba said detectives learned that Fink was breaking into mailboxes of businesses and stealing checks and other documents. He would then alter the checks to make it appear as if they had been written to him.

On Feb. 4, an officer working at the Riverchase Galleria saw Fink and was able to catch him after a brief foot chase. At the time of his arrest, he was in possession of a forged check from a car dealership in Clanton, Czeskleba said. He told police he was staying in a room at the Hampton Inn on John Hawkins Parkway.

Detectives obtained a search warrant for the room and found another printer, driver's licenses, and tax documents. They also found 117 stolen checks with a face value totaling more than$760,000.

Fink is charged with trafficking in stolen identities and possession of a forged instrument. He is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on bonds totaling $1.075 million.

Authorities said more charges are expected. Anyone with additional information on the case is asked to call Det. Josh Wiggins at 205-739-7499.
A 24-year-old Selma man was convicted Wednesday in a 2015 shooting that wounded a man already confined to a wheelchair from a previous shooting.

A Dallas County jury took just over one hour to convict Glentravious Olds of assault in the second-degree, said District Attorney Michael Jackson. Eric Parnell was wounded in the shooting, which was one of several over a violent three-day period in an ongoing feud that left at least two innocent bystanders dead and others injured.

Authorities have said it appears the feud initially started between two men over a woman, and then led to more disagreements over Facebook which ultimately led to Eric Parnell getting shot on Dec. 30, 2015.

Eric Parnell was paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot six times in the back in 2005. On the night of the 2015 shooting, he was at his sister's house on Church Street in Selma when he went outside to smoke a cigarette because his sister didn't allow smoking in the house.

While outside, he noticed three men standing in the street at the house next door to his sister's. All three of them, he would later tell police, started shooting. Eric Parnell turned around his wheelchair to seek cover when one of the bullets hit him in the shoulder and others struck his sister's nearby Cadillac.

He said he didn't know the men but was able to identify two of them as Olds and Antonio Whatley. Authorities later determined the original feud between Eric Parnell's brother, Alfred Parnell, and Whatley is what prompted the shooting.

The following day, authorities say, Alfred Parnell set out to avenge his brother's shooting. He went to a home where he thought his brother's assailants may be and fired shots into a house. A female relative of Olds' was wounded but survived.

The next day, authorities believe, Alfred Parnell again went in search of Whatley and fired shots into a Maple Street home. Whatley's mother, Mary, was struck multiple times and later died. Jackson said no one has been charged in Mary Whatley's death.

From there he went to GWC Homes to try to shoot Olds, authorities say. They exchanged gunfire but neither got hurt. Instead, Antoine Stallworth, who was helping a friend move furniture on New Year's Eve, was shot and killed. Alfred Parnell is charged in Stallworth's death but has not yet gone to trial in that case.

Olds surrendered about a week later.

Parnell then fled to Birmingham where, in March 2016, he shot and killed 18-year-old Maliek Lamare McBride. The Birmingham shooting happened in the 1200 block of 12th Court North shortly after 7:30 p.m. on March 14. Police said McBride was in the process of conducting an illegal transaction when he was killed during an apparent robbery.

In November 2017, Parnell pleaded guilty in McBride's death. He was sentenced to a 20-year sentence, split to a 20-month sentence of time served. He will serve three years of supervised probation. He is now jailed in Dallas County.

Jackson said Olds will be sentenced in a few months in the shooting of Eric Parnell. Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway has ordered a pre-sentence investigation. "Glentravious Olds and his crew ambushed the victim,'' he said. "We are going to keep getting these gunslingers off the streets."
While filling out the paperwork to see a doctor at a free clinic in Hoover, Semina Tawar sat in a Hoover waiting room that becomes a melting pot of cultures every Sunday.

The multilingual staff speaks English, Urdu and Arabic. Spanish interpreters are available when needed. Since Tawar's family legally moved from India to the United States a few years ago, their health insurance options are almost nonexistent due to their immigration status. After years of relying on home remedies, like turmeric and aloe vera, Tawar was able to communicate her eight-year-old daughter's needs in Hindi, her native language.

"Here, they can understand me," Tawar said. "If I can't speak (English) very well, they can't understand me."

Many Muslim doctors across the nation have opened their own facilities funded primarily through donations to help the poor and the uninsured. The trend, which started a little more than a decade ago, is taking root in Alabama. The Red Crescent Clinic of Alabama operates out of the Hoover Crescent Islamic Center on Hackberry Lane. From 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. every Sunday, classrooms are converted into healthcare hubs where flu shots, vaccinations and lab work costs are nonexistent for patients. Prescriptions can be found at a steep discounts. A team of 16 Muslim physicians sees patients for free regardless of income, religion. The philosophy allows the clinic fills a gap for people who have limited medical options in the greater Birmingham area.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation estimates 420,800 Alabamians, or nine percent of the state's population, were uninsured in 2016. Aly, who didn't give his last name, started visiting the clinic after hearing about the facility from a friend. Aly said he is on a strict budgeted income and can't afford insurance, yet.

"This is good," Aly said about the clinic. "With all the free services and all the professional doctors, it's just nice to be here."

'We were taught to be compassionate'

Like many Muslim-led clinics across the nation, the creation of Red Crescent was a response to the negative social climate towards the Islamic faith.

Co-founder Talha Malik immigrated to New York City from Pakistan in June 2001 to study internal medicine. Seeing foreign-born residents running hospitals was an inspiring sight and a different environment from his home country where someone's future is determined by their socioeconomic status, ethnic group and religion, Malik said.

Just a few months after his arrival, terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers. Details about the 9/11 attacks fueled hate crimes against the Muslim community that Malik would rather not speak about. He said the discrimination was sometimes subtle, and other times brutal. But that didn't stifle Malik and other Muslim doctors' passion to want to help indigent patients.

"I don't think that the negative perception of Islam is driven by ill-will in everybody. It's kind of misperception that Islam teaches violence or there is violence in Islam," Malik said. "But we were taught to be compassionate to help the widow, poor and those who have less than us in the same way any civilized society would bring their kids up."

In 2011, Malik said a group of Birmingham doctors of Pakistani descent gathered for dinner to discuss opening a clinic. Providing free services would allow them to illustrate the servitude of their faith by helping those who couldn't afford primary healthcare. After receiving support from the Birmingham Islamic Society and other donations from the Muslim community, the clinic was opened in 2012.

"A physician can basically see patients and helps them," Malik said. "To do it for compensation or reimbursement is just doing your job, working and making money to take care of your family. If we take time away from our families and actually serve the community, that to me is noble and representing something good."

Being the safety net for those in need

What started as a mission to dispel negative stereotypes, soon expanded. The clinic saw 396 patients in 2017. Malik said 40 percent of the patients are non-Muslims. The number of non-Muslim clients has grown over the years as they started to add psychiatric and pediatric services that complement the community's needs, Malik said.

Sammy Kaphner was able to detect a medical condition during an annual health fair organized by the doctors. Dozens of people filled the Hoover mosque to receive free glucose tests, blood pressure checks, doctor consultations and other primary needs. Kaphner was diagnosed with high cholesterol, which can cause severe heart problems if left untreated. He was able to make follow-up appointments at the Red Crescent Clinic.

The clinic's philosophy keeps people like Kaphner from slipping through the cracks of the healthcare system. Gallup, which has been measuring the national uninsured rate since 2008, saw an increase from 10.9 percent in 2016 to 11.7 percent in 2017. Kaphner, who is a U.S. citizen, has children who are covered by the Children's Health Insurance Program, also known as ALL Kids. But Kaphner is in between jobs and has to provide his own insurance - a $1,000 monthly expense. He said the clinic fills an important gap for his family.

"It's a good safety net knowing that someone has your back if you don't have a private clinic," said Kaphner during a recent visit. "My situation is not unique. It's probably more common than people think."

Primary care as the core of healthcare

Most of the kids seen at the clinic are children from refugee families or families who recently immigrated to the U.S, Malik said. A pediatrician started seeing patients once every three months in 2016.

Zeenat Islam, who trains volunteers, said the clinic is providing free services to those who face barriers when it comes to healthcare. On a federal level, non-citizens qualify for Medicaid and CHIP coverage five years after they receive legal immigration status. Exceptions are made for refugees, asylees, or lawful permanent residents who used to be refugees or asylees.

Alabama isn't one of the 25 states which expended CHIP to children who are lawfully in the U.S. or one the six states which give CHIP to children regardless of their immigration status.

"Recent immigrants, generally, do not have access to proper medical services due to not for qualifying for many healthcare measures whether that be as part of Obamacare or Medicaid," Islam said. "This is either due to many have temporary status and/or otherwise can't afford many of the healthcare costs."

Ehtsham Haq, one of the clinics founding members, has worked in psychiatry since 1998. What was once a service that was provided as needed at the clinic became a necessary service that Haq now provides once every three months. He said the clinic needed someone to diagnose, prescribe medication and provide follow-up care to patients. Most of his patients who have insurance have high deductibles, which creates high copays. Along with that, Haq said there isn't enough people providing outpatient mental health care.

"There is a shortage of psychiatrists in this state. There are about 400 psychiatrists and there is a need of 700 plus," Haq said. "So if some of them serve at a clinic for free or somewhere else, that will be helpful statewide."

Malik said the clinic will continue to build its services as the years go on. The staff would like to add subspecialties like oncologists and cardiologists to their rotation and provide imaging services, such as ultrasounds. Malik said clinic staff have actively talked about having a mobile clinic that will travel across the state once a month and provide free healthcare in the parking lot of churches, synagogues and other Islamic centers.

Red Crescent is taking shape of what primary care should look like in the United States, according to Malik.

"By practicing screening and preventive measures that are wholly practiced in primary care, we have been able to increase the lifespan of people by about 20 years," Malik said "By keeping primary care at the core of all healthcare in this country and trying to ensure that we can provide good-quality healthcare to as many people in this county regardless of their ability to pay to for it, we will not just save billions of dollars in healthcare. We will also save millions of lives and we'll increase our lifespans and will productivity of each human being as well."

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A lawsuit filed by the mother of Natalee Hollow portrays an "inaccurate depiction" of how the series was produced, according to the national television network named in the suit.

Beth Holloway filed the scathing lawsuit in Birmingham against Oxygen Media, claiming they duped her into providing her DNA and that the conduct in the making of the 2017 true crime series on the Mountain Brook teen's disappearance was reckless and outrageous.

Holloway's federal lawsuit is seeking $35 million in compensatory and punitive damages.

Oxygen aired what was touted as an unscripted documentary called "The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway" that aired over six episodes between Aug. 19, 2017 and Sept. 23, 2017. Natalee's father, Dave Holloway, and private investigator T.J. Ward were featured in the show, which at the time they said showed Dave Holloway's journey for justice. The show previews described the discovery of bone fragments, which Dave Holloway called his most credible lead in more than 12 years.

"We were disappointed to learn of the complaint and its inaccurate depiction of how the series was produced, and we want to reiterate our deep compassion and sympathy for all members of the Holloway family,'' according to the Oxygen Media statement. "The documentary series was developed by a production company in close collaboration with Dave Holloway and his long-time private investigator."

"The show followed his continued search to find answers about his daughter Natalee from a lead he had received,'' the statement read. "We had hoped, along with Mr. Holloway, that the information was going to provide closure."

Dave Holloway has not responded to a request for comment about Beth Holloway's lawsuit.

The 44-page suit claims the defendants - Oxygen Media and Brian Graden Media - knowingly made false declarations that they had discovered how Natalee died, where she was buried, that her body was exhumed five years after her death, and that her remains were then desecrated.

The network, the lawsuit contends, "made Beth hear, watch, and read that Natalee was likely drugged, raped, killed, and her body buried after her legs were 'cracked' so she could fit in a burlap sack that would hold her buried body; that five years later, after being 'dug up,' her remains were 'crushed' and 'pummeled...throughout a few hours' 'to the point it was not recognizable'; her skull was 'doused in gasoline in a fire pit' 'to burn the hair fibers'; and her crushed bones were then mixed with a dog's before being 'cremated.'

"All the while, defendants knew that their gruesome depictions of Natalee's death and desecration were lies,'' the suit reads. "Rather than being un unscripted and true-crime documentary as defendants portrayed to Beth and their viewers, defendants' series was preconceived and written in advance...the series was not a real-time or legitimate investigation into new leads...the series was a pre-planned farce and its publication was outrageous."

The lawsuit also states that the network preyed and capitalized on Beth Holloway's need and desire to find her daughter by claiming they may have found Natalee's grave site, and asked her for DNA to test against the remains they claimed to have found.

"As agonizing weeks passed, Beth was forced to watch - along with the rest of the world - episode after episode, headline after headline, to discover what horrors had befallen her daughter, while defendants used Beth's DNA on their farcical show without her permission and under the guise of conducting a legitimate search for Natalee,'' the suit reads.

According to the suit, "defendants knew at the outset that they had not discovered, and would not, discover, Natalee's remains."

In October 2017, it was announced that the remains weren't Natalee's and, in fact, out of the four individual bone samples tested, only one was found to be human.

Natalee Holloway disappeared May 30, 2005 while in Aruba with 130-plus of her graduated classmates.

For several days during that 2005 graduation trip, the teens - of legal drinking age in Aruba - sunned and snorkeled during the day, and at night donned their sundresses for dinner and partying at Carlos' N Charlie's, which at the time was located in downtown Oranjestad, a decent cab ride from the high-rise district. The group often ended up at Excelsior Casino, which was, and still is, connected to the Holiday Inn where the Mountain Brook group stayed.

On their last night, Natalee and her friends met Joran van der Sloot, who lived with his family in the nearby Montana neighborhood and attended the Aruba International School. She was last seen about 1 a.m. getting into a gray Honda with van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers as they left Carlo 'N Charlie's.

Natalee was scheduled to fly home on May 30 but failed to show up when the group met in the lobby to leave for their flight. Van der Sloot and Surinamese brothers Deepak and Satish Kalpoe, reportedly the last people to see Natalee alive, were arrested multiple times in her disappearance, but were always released without being charged. The Kalpoes continue to live and work in Aruba. Van der Sloot is serving a 28-year sentence in Stephanie Flores' death. He also faces charges in Alabama for extorting $25,000 from Holloway.

An Alabama judge declared Natalee legally dead in 2012.
Federal district judge Karon O. Bowdre Tuesday issued a 25-page written opinion staying the execution of Doyle Lee Hamm, who was schedule to die Feb. 22.

The stay of execution was granted last week, after Hamm's attorneys and attorneys from the Alabama Attorney General's Office argued about Hamm's current health condition, and whether he is fit to be executed.

Bowdre ruled from the bench on Jan. 31, but issued a 25-page opinion Tuesday explaining her decision. "Based on the record as it currently exists, Mr. Hamm has shown a substantial likelihood of success on the merits, and the court finds that the execution date must be stayed pending an independent medical examination of Mr. Hamm," she wrote.

At last week's hearing, assistant AG's argued in federal court that Hamm, who has been on death row for more than 30 years, should be executed on Feb. 22-- the date the Alabama Supreme Court set for Hamm in December. Columbia Law School Professor Bernard Harcourt, who has represented Hamm for 28 years, argued Hamm is too sick to die by lethal injection.

Hamm was convicted and sentenced to death in 1987 for the robbery-murder of Cullman County motel clerk Patrick Cunningham. The 60-year-old inmate has been battling lymphatic cancer and carcinoma for more than four years, according to a statement from Harcourt.

"Judge Bowdre's opinion is stunning, and shows full command and comprehension of the medical issues," Harcourt said. "It's not only judicious, it's also air-tight insofar as the judge found that there is a significant likelihood that Doyle Hamm will prevail and demonstrate a substantial risk of an unnecessarily painful and torturous execution if lethal intravenous injection is attempted given his history of cancer and cancer treatment and the present medical condition of his veins."

Harcourt argued last week that Hamm should be executed through "oral injection" similar to that used in medical aid dying, which is legal in Oregon.

An anesthesiologist and professor of medicine at Columbia University visited Hamm in prison in September 2017 and testified about Hamm's medical condition in the judge's private conference room.

Heath described Hamm's veins as "inaccessible," and explained there was a high probability that intravenous lethal injection could cause Hamm to become paralyzed and consciously suffocate leading to "an agonizing death."

Harcourt also today filed a petition for clemency to Gov. Kay Ivey.

Bowdre opinion on stayed execution of Doyle Lee Hamm by Anna Beahm on Scribd
A Maine man who previously worked for a traveling petting zoo has pleaded guilty in an Alabama child molestation case.

Daryl Raymond

Daryl Raymond, 50, was arrested by Florence police in 2016 on six counts of sexual abuse of a child younger than 12. Raymond pleaded guilty today to two lesser counts of attempted sexual abuse of a child, court records show. Sentencing is set for March 7 at 9 a.m. in Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Gil Self's courtroom.

Raymond was working for Jungle Safari traveling petting zoo when it did business in Florence. He was indicted on allegations of molestation involving children ages 3-5, court records show. He was accused of inappropriately touching the children at the petting zoo, including during a pony ride, according to authorities.

Raymond's defense attorney James Engelthaler did not immediately return a call for comment.

Jungle Safari, a Florida-based petting zoo that travels to malls, fairs and festivals across the country, according to its website. Raymond no longer works for the company.

Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly was not immediately available for comment.
Two north Alabama school systems are closing schools this week due to the flu outbreak.

Cullman County schools will be closed Thursday and Friday because of the flu epidemic, Superintendent Shane Barnette said today in a letter to parents.

Barnette said schools in the district are already seeing "a high number of student and employee absences." He noted that Gov. Kay Ivey has declared a state of emergency.

Barnette said he understands dismissing school "creates a hardship on many of our parents," but said the health and safety of students must be his top priority.

Marshall County Schools also will be closed Thursday through Friday and next Monday and Tuesday due to a high number of student and employee absences from the flu.

Marshall County Schools Superintendent Cindy Wigley said parents can send children to school Wednesday to allow time to make childcare arrangements. Schools will be closed from Feb. 8 until Feb. 13.

"I understand dismissing school creates a hardship on many of our parents. However, the health and safety of our students must continue to be my number one priority. At this time, the epidemic is not only having an impact on our students but also our staff, preventing us from effectively serving our students," Wigley said. "Given the short notice, teachers will prepare as much as possible for assignments to be completed at home."

Attendance policies will be flexible and written parent notes will be accepted, she said. Also, the semester test requirement due to absences will be waived until levels of flu activity subside, she said.

Sick students should not return to school until they have been fever-free for 24 hours.

Wigley said some of the schools' efforts to prevent the flu have been teaching proper handwashing and cough etiquette, separating sick children from the others until parents are able to pick them up and disinfecting hard surfaces throughout the day.

Besides getting the flu shot, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is encouraging people to follow these guidelines to avoid catching the flu virus:

Stay away from people who are sick.

If your child is sick with the flu illness, try to keep him or her in a separate room from others in the household, if possible.

CDC recommends that your sick child stay home for at least 24 hours after his or her fever is gone, except to get medical care or for other necessities. The fever should be gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine. People with the flu may be able to infect others from 1 day before getting sick to 5 to 7 days after.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after it has been used.

Wash hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth. Germs spread this way.

Clean and disinfect hard surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs. The flu virus can live and potentially infect a person for 2 to 8 hours after being deposited on a surface.

Marshall County is part of the North Alabama district recognized by the Alabama Department of Public Health. The North Alabama district has reported the most flu-related deaths so far this flu season with 12 people reported to have died.

Updated at 12:15 p.m. with Cullman County schools closing

Al.com reporter Lee Roop contributed to this story
Payday loan companies are fighting a bill that would set the terms of loans at 30 days, instead of 10 to 31 days allowed under Alabama law now.

Supporters of the change say it would cut unreasonably high fees that can keep credit-shaky borrowers stuck in debt for months.

Payday lenders say the change would slash their revenues and could drive them out of business, sending borrowers to online lenders who don't follow state regulations.

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee held a public hearing today on the bill by Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur. Four supporters and three opponents of the bill spoke.

Two senators on the committee -- Linda Coleman-Madison, D-Birmingham and Bill Holtzclaw, R-Madison -- expressed support for the bill during today's hearing.

Efforts to roll back the cost of payday loans come and go every year at the State House, but not much changes. Orr has tried before but his latest bill is probably the simplest approach. It would change only the length of the loans.

Lenders could still charge a fee of up to 17.5 percent of the amount borrowed. On a two-week loan calculated as an annual percentage rate, that amounts to 455 percent.

Setting the term at 30 days effectively cuts that in half, Orr noted.

Luke Montgomery, a payday lender based in Mississippi who has stores in Alabama, told the committee the average term of his company's loans is 24 days. Montgomery said some of his stores might not be able to survive what he said would be a 20-percent loss of revenue.

In small cities, he said, that could leave borrowers with few or no options other than an online lender or unlicensed "local pocket lender." He said the unintended consequence could be that borrowers pay even more.

Max Wood, who said he has been in the payday loan business more than 20 years, told the committee that payday lenders have a large base of customers in Alabama and they file relatively few complaints with the state Banking Department.

Wood said the number of lenders has already declined sharply since the state Banking Department set up a database of payday loans. The database put teeth in a law that said customers with $500 of outstanding payday loan debt could not receive another payday loan.

Payday lenders fought the establishment of the database and lost a lawsuit over the issue.

Wood said many companies could not afford the loss of revenue that would result from extending loan terms to 30 days.

Michael Sullivan, a lobbyist who represents Check Into Cash, said federal regulations that will take effect next year will already force major changes in how payday lenders operate, including a requirement to pull credit histories on customers and determine whether they should qualify for a loan. Sullivan urged the committee to seek a long-term solution rather than change a state law that will likely have to be updated again.

While the number of state-licensed payday lenders has declined, statistics from the state Banking Department show it remains a high-volume business in Alabama. These numbers are for 2017:

1.8 million payday loans issued

$609 million borrowed

$106 million paid in fees

20 days was average loan term

$336 was average loan

$59 was average amount of fees paid per loan

The Legislature passed the law setting regulations for payday loans in 2003. There are 630 licensed payday lenders in the state today, down from a peak of about 1,200 in 2006.

Mary Lynn Bates of the League of Women Voters of Alabama spoke in favor of Orr's bill today. She said the $100 million spent on payday loan fees is money that could have otherwise gone to utilities, school books and other household expenses.

"This bill is an excellent first step to remedying the problem," Bates said.

Sen. Slade Blackwell, R-Mountain Brook, chairman of the Banking and Insurance Committee, said he expects the committee to vote on the bill next week.
Roy Moore is ready to go to court.

The attorneys for the 2017 U.S. Senate candidate filed a motion in Montgomery Circuit Court on Tuesday asking for a hearing before Judge Roman Ashley Shaul.

The purpose of the hearing, according to the motion, is to address responses from Moore to the lawsuit filed last month by Leigh Corfman, who alleged in a Nov. 9 Washington Post story that Moore sexually molested her when she was 14 years old and he was in his 30s.

Corfman filed a defamation lawsuit against Moore and his Senate campaign committee.

In response to the lawsuit, Moore's attorneys have filed motions seeking to change the case's venue from Montgomery County to Etowah County as well as a motion to dismiss the lawsuit over the issue of the venue as well as a separate motion to dismiss because Corfman did not state a claim for relief to be granted.

The judge ordered Tuesday that Corfman has 14 days to respond to the motion to dismiss.

"If political candidates are unable to defend themselves against statements made which harm their candidacy, without the fear of being sued for defamation if they rebut or deny the allegations, they as individuals, especially those without significant monetary means, will be reluctant to become political candidates," Moore attorneys Kenneth Shinbaum and Julian McPhillips wrote in the motion to dismiss.

Corfman's lawsuit maintained that Moore and his campaign "have defamed Ms. Corfman, repeatedly and in all forms of media, calling her a liar and questioning her motivation for publicly disclosing that Mr. Moore sexually abused her in 1979 when she was a 14-year-old high school freshman and he was a 32-year-old assistant district attorney."

Moore has repeatedly denied the allegations and repeated those denials in the motion to dismiss.

"Unlike what she has alleged against him, Judge Moore has laid no accusation of wrongdoing against Corfman," the motion to dismiss states. "He has merely denied the truth of her accusations and sought to defend his reputation against her attacks on his character. For simply defending his good name against Corfman's accusations, Judge Moore is now the defendant in a defamation action."

In a written statement released to AL.com when she filed her lawsuit, Corfman said that Moore called her a liar and continued to do so even after she publicly asked him to stop via an open letter released to AL.com.

"The decision to sue Mr. Moore and his campaign committee was difficult, but they need to be held responsible for their actions," Corfman said in the statement last month. "Mr. Moore sexually abused me when I was only 14 years old. Then he and his campaign called me a liar and immoral when I publicly disclosed his misconduct. They ignored my requests to stop attacking me and to acknowledge the truth. Just last week, after the election, they filed a lawsuit in which they once again called me a liar. By this lawsuit, I seek to do what I could not do as a 14-year-old -- hold Mr. Moore and those who enable him accountable."

In the motion to dismiss, Moore's attorneys described Corfman's allegations as "a verbal mugging" of Moore's reputation.

"Corfman's theory that Judge Moore could not fight back against a verbal mugging of his reputation because his resistance could harm the mugger is absurd," the motion stated. "Just as a mugger cannot bring an assault charge against his victim for fighting back, so Corfman is not entitled to sue Judge Moore for merely defending himself against her attacks on his character. This case must be dismissed in its entirety under the privilege of self-defense against defamation and based on a public candidate's freedom of speech."

The motion to dismiss also re-stated previous arguments by Moore that describing Corfman's allegations as "false and malicious" in a court filing attempting to stop the certifying of the Senate election results.

Motion to dismiss filed by Roy Moore by pgattis7719 on Scribd
The partnership with Airbus that could bring a new jetliner assembly line to Mobile is Bombardier's "top priority," an executive said Wednesday at the Singapore air show.

Other news coming out of the show includes word that Airbus may develop military version of the A320-family passenger jets. Airbus' Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Mobile is one site where it produces the A320 family.

According to a report by industry news site Air Transport World, a Bombardier executive said that Bombardier and airbus could have a new FAL in the United States up and running within a year of getting a regulatory go-ahead. Getting that approval is the main focus, said Colin Bole of Bombardier.

Until then, Bole said, "you can do 'As if' planning, as long as there is nothing exchanged of a sensitive commercial nature."

Late last year, Airbus and Bombardier announced a partnership in which Airbus would take a majority stake in Bombardier's new C Series jets. They said they planned to build a new assembly line in Mobile. The future was clouded somewhat by a trade dispute between Boeing and Bombardier, but Bombardier recently won a favorable ruling.

One issue in that dispute was a large Delta order of C Series jets. Delta said during the dispute that it planned to wait until the American FAL was operational and buy jets made there. According to the Air Transport World report, Bole said it wasn't yet clear whether Delta's jets would be built in Mobile or in Mirabel, near Quebec.

According to Reuters, Bole, the head of Commercial Aircraft Sales for Bombardier, said uncertainty over the Airbus deal has created "a bit of a pause" in orders for C Series jets. "Most airlines at least are trying to understand what this means in the long run," Bole said.

A Singapore report from industry site FlightGlobal said that Fernando Alonso, the head of military aircraft at Airbus Defence & Space, said the company was considering military derivatives of the A320neo family. Details were scant, but Alonso said the planes could be outfitted for a variety of missions, including VIP transport, surveillance and maritime patrol. Airbus has experience converting passenger jets to military use, so the company has "a more efficient process," he said.

According to FlightGlobal, Alonso said that Airbus is discussing the possiblities with multiple potential customers, including European and Asia-Pacific nations.

Airbus assembles A320-family jets at its Mobile FAL, located at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley. Its Defence & Space division has a facility in West Mobile at Mobile Regional Airport.
Outrage over a Republican lawmaker's reference of Francis Scott Key fueled a lengthy debate Tuesday over legislation allowing the nation's motto, "In God We Trust" to be displayed on public property.

The legislation sponsored by state Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, was approved with a 91-4 vote, but not after a more than two-hour racially-charged debate that often veered away from the legislation's original intent.

"I believe it was a good debate, the part of the debate that was on point," said Standridge, following the vote, recognizing opposition from some lawmakers over religious freedom concerns. "There were some parts of the debate that were not on point and dealt with other circumstances."

Those circumstances surfaced following comments by Rep. Arnold Mooney, R-Birmingham, who praised the history of the motto from the little-known fourth stanza of the Star-Spangled Banner, penned by Key in 1814.

But it's the National Anthem's controversial third stanza -- and Key's history as a Maryland slave owner who, as a U.S. Attorney, prosecuted abolitionists -- which drew fierce backlash from representatives of the Alabama Black Caucus.

The ire was first sparked by Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham. "This is ridiculous that Representative Mooney came here defending this piece of legislation with the comments he made. When you come here and talk about black folks and defend a bill on the backs of black folks, you better come here with some straight talk," she said.

Said Rep. Ralph Howard, D-Greensboro: "You would think a person that is a member of the Alabama Legislature would know something about history."

Added Rep. John Knight, D-Montgomery and chairman of the Black Caucus: "What happened tonight, I hope it serves as an educational tool to be sensitive to things that impact all of us."

Mooney declined comment after the vote.

State Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, speaks to the media after legislation he sponsored allowing for "In God We Trust" displays on public buildings and vehicles was approved by the Alabama House on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (John Sharp/jsharp@al.com).

Displaying the national motto is nothing new in Alabama, but the issue has been relatively quiet since activists pushed to have it unveiled at city halls in coastal Alabama in 2015. Thirteen cities and four counties in Alabama have approved displays inside their buildings, with most of them located in Baldwin County.

The Mobile City Council also approved an "In God We Trust" display at Government Plaza, but only after hearing from irate atheists and those who support a separation of church and state. The motto has yet to be displayed in Mobile.

In Baldwin County, Sheriff Huey "Hoss" Mack's department has 40 vehicles with the nation's motto marked on patrol vehicles. That activity drew opposition from the Wisconsin-based Freedom of Religious Foundation, but Mack said he's had "almost 100 percent positive reaction."

"In God We Trust" has been the national motto since the 1956, during a tense time in the Cold War, when the U.S. wanted to distinguish itself from the Soviet Union, which promoted atheism. It was voted in by Congress to serve as an alternate or replacement of "E pluribus unum" (Latin for "Out of many, one"), which served as the country's de facto motto since 1782.

Rob Boston, spokesman with the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said Alabama and other states "have a better option" by displaying the Latin version. "It's an inclusive, powerful phrase of simple eloquence that deserves to be posted in schools and government buildings."

Boston said the "In God We Trust" motto makes several theological claims, which references "one God that all Americans not only believe in but place their trust."

He said, "Yet we know that some Americans worship more than one god, and others don't believe in God at all. It's time for us to face the fact that this motto excludes large numbers of our fellow citizen and ask if it's appropriate for the government to promote a message that divides us instead of unites us."

How disappointing the the Alabama house is now legislating religion in the classroom. https://t.co/NzMbN56lif  E Pluribus Unum (@original_motto) February 7, 2018

Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, was one of the few state lawmakers to speak in opposition of the motto from a religious freedom standpoint. She said the motto could harm economic development efforts in luring diverse business to Alabama.

"Personally, I think there should be a separation of church and state at every level," she said. "we are here to do the people's business. We all have different religious beliefs. To say your Bible is correct and the other is not is dangerous to us."

Standridge said the legislation does not mandate any government agency display the motto. That's unlike in South Carolina, where one Republican lawmaker is pitching a mandate that public schools display the motto on posters. Arkansas, last year, approved legislation mandating the motto on public school walls.

"What this does is let everyone know that you can do it, but that it' your decision locally," said Standridge.

He said that Sen. Shay Shelnutt, R-Trussville, will carry the proposal in the Senate.
Health officials with concerns about the potency of fentanyl opioids squared off Wednesday with law enforcement officials worried about soaring incarceration rates during the latest debate on legislation to stiffen Alabama's drug laws.

The two sides engaged in a dispute over the Legislature's attempts to increase penalties on fentanyl users and distributors. The drug is believed to be a driving force behind a surge in drug overdoses in recent years as the U.S. battles a crisis that led to 64,000 deaths last year.

The legislation, approved last month by the Alabama Senate and now under consideration in the House, would add fentanyl and its synthetic version to the state's list of controlled substances. But it's the small amount of fentanyl - a half-gram - that could land users and drug traffickers behind bars for 25 years to life sentences which propelled much of the dispute during an Alabama House Health Committee hearing.

"When you look at that small amount and that (a user) could be charged with trafficking, that is serious when we are dealing with an overcrowded prison situation," said Rep. Laura Hall, D-Huntsville, a committee member.

Michael Humber, president of Alabama Association of Nurse Anesthetists, said even the smallest amounts of fentanyl can be fatal, and that ongoing concerns about the state's prison overcrowding should not overshadow what he believes is a public health crisis.

He advocated for small doses, measured in micrograms, be addressed in legislation that he believes could be among the toughest in the country.

"Most people aren't aware of the potency of the drug and that's what we're trying to raise awareness for," said Humber. "It's about the microgram dose of fentanyl as opposed to these gram doses of heroin and cocaine."

Legislation opponents see things differently. They claim that the proposed bill, as presented, would subject users who are often unaware that fentanyl is laced in other drugs - such as heroin or cocaine - to lengthy prison terms instead of rehabilitation programs.

"It's a huge concern under the bill in its present form that folks could have trace amounts of fentanyl and may end up being subjected to 25 years to life," said Kenyen Brown, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. "We need a thoughtful analysis on this issue before we enact legislation."

Foster Cook, director emeritus of the substance abuse program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, said the proposed legislation would deny addicts much-needed treatment while undermining early intervention strategies in combating the drug's use.

"A lot of the people we see going into the system are young, naive and a lot of them are middle class," Cook said. "This will catch all of these people in longer term sentences."

Alabama, if it enacts legislation, would join 25 other states that have passed fentanyl-related laws to increase penalties.

Humber cited Florida, where lawmakers passed legislation last year that would sentence users to a minimum of three years in prison and a $50,000 fine if they were found in possession of between four and 14 grams of fentanyl.

He said if Alabama enacts a law punishing users in possession of a half-gram, it would potentially lead to fewer instances of having the drug trafficked into the state.

"We'll lessen the likelihood of the big drug traffickers in this state," he said, calling Alabama an "epicenter" for fentanyl use.

"It's an easy thoroughfare to get from west to east and north to south," he said. "It's a big problem for Alabama compared to other states around us."
As Gov. Kay Ivey visited SSAB's steel mill in Axis on Wednesday, an executive said the company's relocation of its headquarters to the area should be complete by year's end.

Ivey was given a brief tour of the facility before speaking to a group of about 50 employees. SSAB Americas President Chuck Schmitt said a full tour would have taken several hours, but Ivey pronounced herself impressed with the look she'd gotten at steel being melted down. "It's just an impressive process," she said.

In her remarks to employees, Ivey, who is running for re-election, focused on her support for a positive business climate and praised SSAB for its investments in the state. It employees about 600 people at the Axis mill, north of Mobile.

She also praised the company for its donations to area schools, and said she saw education as critical to offering a work force attractive to employers. "To be pro-business, you've got to be pro-education," she said.

SSAB Americas announced in October that it had decided to relocate its headquarters from the Chicago area to the Mobile area, a move affecting about 60 jobs. The move was supported by a significant package of incentives: The city of Mobile and Mobile County are each contributing $750,000 in cash, while the state is providing $1 million. The deal also includes a 10-year local tax abatement and a state jobs credit valued at a little over $2 million over 10 years.

According to information provided by Alabama Secretary of Commerce Greg Canfield, the state expects those incentives to be offset by $9.6 million in new state revenue over the next 20 years, and by the impact of the headquarters payroll of about $152 million over the same time frame.

Schmitt said Wednesday that a handful of headquarters employees already had moved to the area, but the real shift would come when the school year ends. Schmitt said SSAB still is looking for office space in downtown Mobile, as previously reported, but ultimately will consolidate its headquarters staff at the Axis site.

Right now it has a logistical challenge, he said: While the Axis site is huge, the portion readily available for new office space is limited.

"It's sort of a two-pronged approach," he said of the short term: SSAB will put some of its headquarters staff in Axis, and some off-site. "We can't build fast enough" to put them all in Axis off the bat, he said. Eventually, they'll all be located there, he said, because the company wants to create a culture where executives are "closer to where we actually make money."

He expects the move to be more or less complete by the end of 2018. "We actually close our Chicago headquarters in March of next year," he said.

Schmitt said he doesn't expect all the current headquarters staff to make the move, which means SSAB will do some local hiring to fill those positions.
By Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and a signatory to the Right on Crime Statement of Principles

As conservatives and people of faith, we know that a strong and united family is the best agent for meaningful change in a child's life. Sadly, when it comes to our juvenile justice system, states around the country too often rely on invasive, ineffective government interventions to correct a child's behavior.

Fortunately, Alabama is on the cusp of changing this pattern and taking steps toward a better way forward.

The Alabama legislature is considering House Bill 225, a bill introduced this session by Rep. Jim Hill and Sen. Cam Ward that will better protect public safety and hold juvenile offenders accountable, while providing families and communities with the supports necessary to turn around the lives of troubled young people.

HB 225 is based on the recommendations of the 20-member Alabama Juvenile Justice Task Force, which was appointed last year at the request of state leadership. Governor Kay Ivey asked the Task Force to assess Alabama's juvenile justice system and recommend policy solutions that would protect public safety, control costs, and improve outcomes for children and their families.

As a former Governor, I recognize this was a tall ask. But this Task Force came through; conducting a rigorous, data-driven study with input from hundreds of Alabamians and delivering a report to state leadership in December that contained some alarming findings along with a set of smart, common sense solutions.

We know from research and successful reform legislation in Texas and Georgia that sending youth to taxpayer-funded out-of-home placements for low-level offenses doesn't rehabilitate and can actually make youth more likely to reoffend when they return home. Yet in Alabama, the Task Force found that two-thirds of the youth removed from their families and placed in state custody are committed for non-felonies, such as petty theft or probation violations like missing curfew. These out-of-home placements can cost Alabama taxpayers as much as $161,694 per youth per year.

Worse, judges, probation officers, and law enforcement--especially in rural areas--lack access to the community-based programs like family therapy, mentoring, and substance abuse treatment that are shown to keep our communities safer and put youth on the right path to productive adulthood.

The Task Force's recommendations reflected in HB 225 ensure that youth who pose the greatest threat to public safety receive the most serious punishment. At the same time, they keep low-level youth with little prior history out of costly facilities, instead holding them accountable through community-based programs that cost less and work better.

Enacting HB 225 would reduce the population of youth living in state-funded facilities by 45 percent over five years, allowing for reinvestment of more than $34 million in state funds into evidence-based alternatives by 2023. By reallocating current system resources to less costly and more effective options, Alabama can help ensure that youth in the juvenile system do not exit it only to enter the adult system.

Whenever possible, the state should ensure that the punishment meets the crime, and with so many youth in state-funded facilities for low-level offenses, the legislature must act. By focusing out-of-home responses on youth who pose the greatest threat to public safety while placing low-level youth in community-based programs, Alabama will be able to respond to delinquent behavior more appropriately and ensure better outcomes for youth and families.

In addition, keeping young people who are not a threat to public safety out of juvenile justice facilities is also a moral issue. When kids are kept with their families and participate in high-quality programs that empower families and address the root causes of delinquency, they have the ability to lean on the supports in their communities while they get back on the right path.

I strongly encourage the Alabama legislature to consider HB 225. This bill represents an opportunity to join with conservatives and faith leaders across the county in supporting juvenile justice reform that reflects good governance and embodies the strong conservative principles of limited government.
The last 48 hours have been extraordinary, even by South African standards as country waits for Zuma to step down.

Durban, South Africa  Even by South African standards, it has been an extraordinary 48 hours of politics.

A volley of emergency meetings, postponements, allegations, counter-allegations and fake news have dominated the South Africans news-scape as pressure continues to rise on President Jacob Zuma to stand down.

South Africans are a little anxious; no one knows who is actually running the country. The president, the deputy president and government have spent the best part of the past few days talking about who should run it.

Journalists are dazed and delirious, chasing every bit of noise, hoping for a scoop.

There is simply no time or space to make sense of the continuous stream of information; updates and not news has become the point.

This obsession with being first with news of Zumas impending resignation has only tainted the reputation of news media further.

Readers are agitated. Not to be undone, deviants have made sure that fake news stories have made their rounds too, leaving many wishing for the death of instant messenger.

At one moment on Tuesday night, some journalists moved from one allegation suggesting Zuma was about to fire Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to a Whatsapp message suggesting that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was on his way to the country for talks with his counterpart (the inference was that Putin had come to protect a nuclear deal with Zuma). Both were denounced by the presidency. But under such extraordinary circumstances, both seemed entirely plausible to many.

For millions of South Africans, outside the bubble of chaotic speculation, it is business as usual.

Whether it is Zuma today, Ramaphosa tomorrow, many know that the changes are of little consequence to their daily lives.

Unemployment, rising inequality, a water crisis in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town, failing public health sector  none of these issues are on anyones agenda.

People know that these are secondary concerns in the face of the main political prize.

Of course, Zumas reputation lies in the gutter, and his impending departure has reached popular consensus.

But to suggest that all South Africans want him to go is until now unproven. In fact, it is not even clear at this point that all in the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party want him to go.

Sure, there have been multiple meetings, delays and other haggling, but the party has said very little publicly. If anything, this indecision is only a further indicator of their overall complicity in creating someone that wont go.

The proof is no further than the manner in which the ANC has mollycoddled him since Ramaphosa became president of the party in December.

On one hand, he has come out guns blazing as an anti-corruption campaigner, on the other hand, he says Zuma should have a dignified exit.

This is the talk of a leader who knows his party is split.

He also knows that Zuma still wields tremendous power; many in the party clearly do not believe his behaviour was necessarily criminal.

Most South Africans just want to see justice served.

If Zuma is guilty of looting the state he must be charged. But more than the prospect of justice served, most South Africans just want their lives to improve.

When the tide turned against former President Thabo Mbeki in 2007, his critics argued that he was out of touch with the common man, that Zuma was closer to the people and would look out for their needs. But for many, that turned out to be a lie, and some argue, he too, only ever looked out for himself.

Follow Azad Essa on Twitter: @AzadEssa
Group of young activists in Pakistans north fight for tribal rights and pursue case of police killing.

Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan  Naqeebullah Mehsud never wanted this life, slaving away for long hours at a textile factory, scraping together the cash to start his own garment shop.

On the evening of January 3, he sat at a roadside restaurant in northern Karachi, Pakistans largest city, with friends, discussing plans for how he was going to start that shop.

Armed men in plain clothes burst into the restaurant, demanding to know which of the young men was Naqeebullah Mehsud.

When he identified himself, the men grabbed Mehsud and took him away in their vehicle. It was to be the last time he was seen alive.

On January 13, police said that Naqeebullah had been among four Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and Pakistani Taliban terrorists killed in a shootout with police in eastern Karachi.

The incident sparked national outrage, with relatives and friends protesting Naqeebullahs innocence.

They were joined by thousands of his fans  Naqeebullah ran a popular Facebook page where he posted pictures of himself modeling clothes and hairstyles.

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Friends and family said that far from being a feared Taliban fighter who had killed several security forces personnel, as the police claimed, Naqeebullah was an aspiring male model.

A police inquiry was ordered by the Supreme Court, which was told that Rao Anwar, the police officer responsible for the killing, had presided over at least 444 killings in 745 police shootouts since he took over as a senior police official in Karachis Malir district.

Anwar, long known as Karachis version of Dirty Harry, is now on the run, wanted by the courts after the police inquiry found there was no evidence to suggest Naqeebullah was a member of the Taliban.

None of this, however, would have happened if it had not been for the Mehsud Tahaffuz Movement (MTM)  a grassroots group of young activists from Naqeebullahs native district of South Waziristan.

Born in violence

He was a very honest person, he did not have any kind of pride or arrogance, said Abdul Wahid Mehsud, one of the founders of the MTM, and a friend to Naqeebullah.

He said that he had worked a lot as a labourer, and that now that he was getting a good response from social media [to his modeling], he would open a shop [] and then all this fame would help to make the shop successful.

Abdul Wahid, 30, is one of the founders of the Mehsud Tahaffuz Movement (Mehsud Protection Movement), back when it was just eight students at Gomal University, in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, about 300km southwest of the capital Islamabad, and adjacent to South Waziristan.

The group was founded to fight for the rights of members of the Mehsud tribe, which hails from South Waziristan.

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The remote district in northwestern Pakistan is one of the countrys poorest, and consistently scores among the lowest in countrywide socioeconomic surveys.

It is more widely known as the birthplace of the Pakistani Taliban, home to the groups founder Baitullah Mehsud and his successor Hakeemullah Mehsud, both of whom waged a bloody war against Pakistani security forces and civilians for years.

Driven from their homes in 2009, after the military launched a successful operation to displace the Taliban from its stronghold, most Mehsuds continue to live outside of their homeland, for want of both security and basic services like healthcare, education and employment.

The operation was brutal, and, MTM members allege, the military has not let up in its violence against South Waziristan residents who have chosen to return, often arbitrarily detaining them or subjecting whole villages to collective punishment if there is a security incident in their area.

We have grown up watching all of this happen around us, Alam Zeb, 25, one of the groups most outspoken members, told Al Jazeera.

In the end, we thought that someone should raise their voice, someone should ask the harsh questions. And we saw that there was no one. Not our political leadership, [] not our tribal leaders, [] no one is willing to ask these questions.

The MTMs fight focuses on three major issues: unexploded landmines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that remain strewn across South Waziristan, the alleged arbitrary detention of residents by the military and alleged harassment by the armed forces.

Khan Rasool says he is indebted to the MTM for their work advocating for landmine victims [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

The military denies that it arbitrarily detains or assaults citizens in South Waziristan and elsewhere.

In case of any sporadic terrorist or IED incident in the area, efforts to identify any possible resident facilitation to terrorists by the locals and to investigate details of the event, local populace is engaged strictly as per local [] tradition, said a military statement in response to Al Jazeeras questions.

On landmines, however, the MTM has emerged as the only group willing to organise victims and to lobby the military to do a more effective job of clearing explosives that have, so far, claimed at least 18 lives and wounded scores more since displaced Mehsuds began returning home in 2012.

I am very thankful to them. I was not there that day, and for what they did I cannot thank them enough, said Khan Rasool, 50, whose daughter and grandson were severely wounded in a landmine explosion in South Waziristan last month.

MTM members, he said, helped to get them the medical care they needed.

Bringing the apocalypse

The fight for Naqeebullahs case, was personal.

He was from my area, I knew him, I had met him a few times, said Muhammad Idrees, 25, another of the groups founders, who says the case outraged Mehsud youths because it brought home the issue of the social profiling of Pashtuns, and particularly Mehsuds, as terrorists.

Ihsanullah Mehsud, a member of the movement, narrated how on a recent trip to Pakistans second city of Lahore he was denied accommodation at a hotel, after the hotel owner saw his last name on his national identification card.

Others quickly chimed in with similar stories.

If [the MTM] hadnt raised their voice, [Naqeebullah] would have been considered the same kind of terrorist as so many others who have been killed, in the hundreds, for years, said Ihsanullah.

In the end, we thought that someone should raise their voice, someone should ask the harsh questions. And we saw that there was no one. Alam Zeb, MTM member

Asked if they think that residents of South Waziristan are accorded the same human rights as other citizens in Pakistan, they laugh, apparently at the absurdity of the question.

[In South Waziristan], the state of human rights is that when someone is killed in an explosion, [the army] goes there and oppresses the very people who were the targets. To ask them: Why did this explosion happen?' narrates Alam Zeb.

Essentially, to ask them Why did you die?'

Since February 1, the MTM has led a sit-in of hundreds of people from across the country in the capital Islamabad, uniting demonstrators across political party lines, rallying around Naqeebullahs killing.

Their demands include the arrest and trial of Rao Anwar; the formation of an inquiry commission into similar extrajudicial killings by the police in Karachi and elsewhere; and an end to the policy of assault and abduction of common people after security incidents in South Waziristan and elsewhere.

They say it is a sign of the Day of Judgment, when Pashtuns actually stand together, said Saeed Anwar Mehsud, a political leader from South Waziristan.

It seems the MTM has brought about the apocalypse.

Subverting power structures

If the MTM is able to achieve that which has never happened before, it is also because they work in a manner that no one else does, using social media and grassroots activism to subvert traditional power structures.

The tribal leadership of South Waziristan, they have almost all been killed, said Mansur Khan, director of research at the Islamabad-based FATA Resource Centre.

The ones left now are sycophants to the government or military. And the MTM opposes those who are constantly standing with those in power.

In addition, Khan says, the young activists have been able to harness the power of social media to organise directly with common people, bypassing political parties and traditional leadership structures.

Social media has become such a weapon for us, that we can use to make our voice or the voice of any person from the tribal areas heard. [] It has given every person a voice, said Alam Zeb.

Zeb is known for hosting Facebook Lives when landmine victims arrive at the local hospital in Dera Ismail Khan, documenting what happened to them, where the explosion occurred, and what government aid (if any) they were offered.

This in itself is a way to protect yourself, he said, adding that once such videos have been broadcast, the authorities cannot deny that the problem exists.

The youth movement subverts traditional power structures, such as that of the governments Political Agent, to conduct grassroots activism through social media and other tools [Asad Hashim/Al Jazeera]

Once, Idrees said, he was questioned by a man identifying himself as a member of Pakistans military intelligence agency, asking why he was posting statements and victims stories on social media, rather than approaching the military directly.

I said that we have done this out of desperation, he said. We have gotten tired, after all the times where we told you and you promised that the issues would be resolved by such and such time. And they were not.

The phone call carried a veiled threat, Idrees said, and it was not the first that members of the group have received.

Last year, several members were detained for hours by security forces, after leading a protest for landmine victims. Others have been kicked out of their homes for their activism.

We are accused of being agents, of being after money from NGOs, but we have set those things aside and pay no attention to them, said Wahid.

Even if they cut us into tiny pieces, we will not step backwards. We have burned our boats to enter this battlefield.

Back at the protest in Islamabad, Wahid and other speakers continue to rally the hundreds who refuse to leave until justice is done for Naqeebullah Mehsud.

The stage they stand upon is draped with 15ft high portraits of the young aspiring model, taken from his Facebook portfolio and now looking out upon the massive crowd.

What he could not achieve in life, it seems he has achieved in death, said one bystander.

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras Web Correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim.
Ostracised by their communities, leprosy sufferers are the silent victims of the Saudi-led war on Yemen, medics say.

Qasim al-Salahi cant remember the last time he had a hot meal to eat.

My young sons go out every night and rummage through peoples rubbish, he says, his bones protruding through his skeletal frame.

On a good day, theyll come back with something edible  but on a bad day, the family has to make do with mouldy bread or whatever leftovers they find lying around.

Before Yemens civil war erupted in early 2015, the 56-year-old could rely on his extended family and tribe for support. But since being diagnosed with leprosy, such bonds have begun to fray with the vicious conflict testing centuries-old Yemeni traditions.

Many leprosy sufferers told Al Jazeera they had been banished from their villages and towns, ostracised for carrying an ancient disease incorrectly associated with sin.

After being driven from his home, Qasim said he moved hundreds of kilometres from his rural village in the countrys north, to the western province of Taiz, one of the few areas in war-ravaged Yemen where life-saving medication and treatment was available.

But after he relocated to a leper colony in Taizs Madinat al-Nour neighbourhood, his home and everything in it was destroyed by Houthi rebels fighting government forces backed by Saudi Arabia.

I lost all my possessions. I lost all my money. I lost everything, said Qasim.

Everyone is a victim of this war, but lepers are one of the many silent victims. They're isolated, abandoned by their families and have to endure an appalling end of life care. Dr Abdul Rahim al-Samee, head of Taiz's main health office

Abandoned by everyone

The conflict in Yemen, now entering its third year, has had a devastating impact on ordinary Yemenis.

Qasim al-Salahi says he blames the Yemeni government and Saudi-led coalition for his plight [Mohammed Al-Rumim/Al Jazeera]

Fighting has killed at least 10,000 people, wounded tens of thousands of others and forced more than one million from their homes.

The situation has worsened since November, with a de facto blockade leaving more than 10 million people  a number greater than the entire population of Sweden  requiring immediate assistance to save or sustain their lives.

Everyone is a victim of this war, Abdul Rahim al-Samee, the director of the National Leprosy Elimination Programme and head of Taizs main health office, told Al Jazeera.

But lepers are one of the many silent victims. Theyre isolated, abandoned by their families and have to endure an appalling end of life care.

I have nothing

Leprosy is a chronic infectious disease that affects the skin, nerves outside the brain and spinal cord, as well as the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes and throat.

The social stigma attached to it goes back centuries, cutting across different cultures.

With symptoms taking up to five years to appear, the disease develops slowly and painfully.

But leprosy is entirely curable today, thanks to a treatment called multi-drug therapy.

In Yemen, at least 367 cases were reported in 2016, up from 255 the year before, according to the World Health Organization.

Scores of emaciated patients, accompanied by their caretakers, have sought treatment at Taizs Dermatology and Venereology hospital.

However, a chronic lack of funding has left many complaining of receiving substandard care.

I dont have food, water, electricity, fuel, cooking gas. Nothing. I have nothing, said 65-year-old Museed al-Firasi, a leprosy sufferer.

The only water I get is rain water or a mere 20 litres after walking a long distance to collect it.

Health hazards

With clean drinking water becoming harder to find, and the healthcare system in an increasingly precarious state, the danger of disease looms large over millions of Yemenis.

Already, humanitarian groups have told Al Jazeera they are powerless to stop a cholera epidemic, which has become the largest and fastest-spreading outbreak of the disease in modern history.

More than one million cholera cases have been reported, and at least 2,000 people have died, according to the United Nations.

In addition, there have been outbreaks of diphtheria, a disease that was once nearly eradicated worldwide.

Aid agencies told Al Jazeera they were struggling to deliver relief packages to large parts of Taiz, a front line in the fight between the Houthis and government forces, with the rebels preventing the delivery of drugs and medical supplies to areas not under their control.

The vast majority of Taizs hospitals and medical institutions have also been forced to close amid the war.

The situation is extremely challenging, said Fatik al-Rodaini, a Yemeni journalist-turned-charity worker at Mona Relief, an aid group that operates in hard-to-reach areas of the country.

Its near impossible [for international organisations] to get permission from both sides  the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition  to visit some of the worst-affected areas, he said.

I have a strong team in the field who have never failed a project, but even when we enter crisis centres, our work is immediately hampered by authorities who want to interfere in the distribution of aid.

Ive personally been arrested on several occasions in the governorates of Hudaida and Mahwit. Its a real nightmare.

Every day I suffer

The humanitarian situation has been further compounded by a decision to shift the central bank out of the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, to the southern port city of Aden, after allegations emerged that the Houthis had looted funds to pay for their war effort  a charge the rebels deny.

The government stopped funding the public health department, resulting in many doctors and hospital staff, and around 1.2 million civil servants, not receiving their salaries.

My children havent been paid in over a year, said Dawood al-Raimi, a leprosy sufferer.

Preventable illnesses and deaths have increased staggeringly, with patients unable to afford their treatment.

Every day I suffer. All I want is food and to be treated, said Dawood.

I need help, but nobody is willing to give it.

Follow Al Jazeeras Faisal Edroos on Twitter: @FaisalEdroos

Dawood al-Raimi says if it werent for the local community and charities, he wouldnt be receiving life-saving medication [Mohammed Al-Rumim/Al Jazeera]




Cholera epidemics are preventable in modern times. So why do we continue to see deadly outbreaks?

The seventh cholera pandemic in modern history has killed millions of people in the Global South since its outbreak in Indonesia in 1961. Over the last few months, there have been several notable cholera outbreaks.

War-torn Yemen experienced the biggest epidemic of recent times, with almost one million cases and over 2,000 deaths. The Democratic Republic of Congo is in the throes of its worst outbreak in 20 years, which has killed approximately 1,000 people.

In Zambia, there have been at least 70 fatalities in recent weeks. The government responded by banning public gatherings and street vending, as well as closing government offices and schools. The countermeasures have helped to slow the epidemic but provoked riots in the capital, Lusaka.

As cholera has been more or less eliminated from Europe and North America, the pandemic has until now received relatively little attention from global health actors. But at the end of last year, the Global Task Force on Cholera Control  a WHO-led coalition of UN agencies, NGOs, and academic institutions  vowed to reduce cholera cases by 90 percent by 2030.

The historical record suggests that achieving this aim is possible: Cholera was the chief public health problem for European governments in the mid-1800s, but had all but disappeared by the turn of the century. Nevertheless, the WHO et al must overcome some massive obstacles if they are to achieve their objective.

Cholera is passed on when people consume water or food contaminated with carriers excreta. It first spread from its endemic haunts in northern India after the East India Company army invaded the Maratha Empire in 1817. The bacteria travelled on trade routes to the rest of the world.

Cholera reached Europe in the early 1830s, where the rapidly growing towns provided favourable conditions for its spread. With no known treatment, victims would lose a quarter of their bodily fluids from vomiting and diarrhoea in a few hours before dying from dehydration.

Inequalities between rich and poor were at their peak in mid-19th century Europe and cholera disproportionately affected the urban working classes who lived in crowded, unsanitary conditions. Outbreaks brought latent social tensions to the surface, resulting in widespread riots.

Richard Evans, former regius professor of history at Cambridge University, describes cholera as the classic epidemic disease of Europe in the age of industrialisation. Yet it hardly touched the continent after 1900. How did this turnaround come about, and what can be learned from it?

The demise of cholera in Europe was the result of intervention by increasingly powerful and well-resourced states to provide cities with clean water and effective sewage systems. Several factors coalesced in the second half of the 19th century to make this possible.

Scientific advancements underlined the need for public sanitation measures. In the mid-1800s, it was widely believed that cholera spread through exposure to bad air. In 1854, English physician John Snow demonstrated that cholera was a water-borne disease by tracing the source of an outbreak to a pump on Broad Street in London. Thirty years later, German scientist Robert Koch identified the comma-shaped cholera bacteria in the intestines of deceased patients.

Along with scientific progress, there were major political changes happening in Europe. The late professor Christopher Bayly neatly captures how cholera outbreaks shocked political and economic elite: It seemed as if the horrid filth and turbulence of the Orient had infected the seamy underworld of the European city. This horror precipitated broad-based support for sanitation reforms. Those of a progressive bent were motivated by compassion for the wretched of the earth. Conservatives were concerned that the unhealthy poor were neither productive workers nor good soldiers and could be tempted to start a revolution.

So, can the Global Task Force on Cholera Control succeed in their goal of reducing cholera cases by 90 percent?

In theory, cholera is easy to prevent and treat today. Outbreaks dont occur where the population has access to clean water or vaccines. Those who contract cholera recover quickly when treated with antibiotics and oral rehydration therapy.

The WHO et al will, nevertheless, struggle to meet its target. Contemporary cholera outbreaks are a manifestation of a deeper malaise, just as they were in mid-19th century Europe. Epidemics occur because of the failure of political actors to provide the worlds poorest people with safe drinking water, adequate sanitation, and rudimentary healthcare.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen, this failure is, in large part, due to civil wars. Zambia, however, is a different case; it does not suffer from an ongoing armed conflict.

Driven by copper exports, its economy has boomed in the last two decades, with income per capita increasing fourfold since 2000. But economic gains have failed to benefit many Zambians. According to World Bank data, 57.5 percent live on less than $1.90 a day, 35 percent dont have access to safe water, and 56 percent dont have decent sanitation.

The failure of the Zambian state to provide for its citizens basic needs can be traced to a number of interconnected factors, including the colonial legacy of weak institutions, International Monetary Fund neoliberal conditionalities that discouraged investment in public health (pdf), and corruption that costs the state budget an estimated $3bn a year (pdf).

Cholera disappeared from Europe because increasingly strong and well-resourced states intervened to improve the living conditions of the urban working class. Many states in the Global South have neither the will nor the capacity to build water, sanitation and health systems. Moreover, it is unlikely that donor countries will help because they are far more concerned with the potential threat posed by airborne diseases such as Ebola.

Challenging this iniquitous neoliberal system is beyond the remit of global health actors, but as long as it prevails their role will be limited to treating the symptoms of our sick society. In this sense, it is quite likely that unless there is a tremendous political change in the Global South, the WHO and its partners will be unable to eradicate cholera in the coming decades.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
At this years Paris edition of Nuit des idees (the Night of Ideas), Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie made two remarks that caused a stir. The more widely publicised one was her gentle rebuke of interviewer Caroline Broues question as to whether there are bookstores in Nigeria. Adichie replied, I think it reflects very poorly on French people that you have to ask me that question.

The second statement provoked discussion among African academics. Asked by a member of the audience what she thought of postcolonial theory, Adichie answered: Postcolonial theory? I dont know what it means. I think it is something that professors made up because they needed to get jobs.

African academics interpreted Adichies comment on postcolonial theory as a dismissal of the theory as an important analytical tool or of the theoretical work of Third World scholars.

However, this interpretation misses the overall context in which these remarks were made  that of France wrestling with its Anglo-Saxon nemesis for cultural power on the global stage on the backs of people of colour.

Anglo-Saxons are racists, the French are not

France has always imagined itself as a country that is free of discrimination against black people. In the view of the French majority, that status of racist is reserved for the Anglo-Saxons. The French contrast themselves with Americans who, they say, are racist because of the violent segregation in their society. The French, on the other hand, are supposed to be colour-blind.

Towards the end of the interview, Adichie actually referred to this popular idea in France. She pointed out that a French government official insisted in front of her that there is no racism in France, something many Anglophone Africans get told in France.

Postcolonial theory confined colonialism's impact to the past and most of all, diluted nationalist struggles...

But French racism is no less disorienting than the American one. French racism constantly swings between universality and particularity, making Africans seem like they can never be rooted in one place.

Exemplified by Jean-Paul Sartres famous work Black Orpheus, the French intellectual tradition requires Africans to claim a universal human identity. But when the Africans do so, it demands that they reclaim their African culture. The African never wins in what Sartre called a temporary dialectic, because once the African affirms an African identity, the African is told that that affirmation alienates them from human freedom.

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Similarly, the Paris interview began with Broues questions that required Adichie to express reservations about her work being considered African literature because often that tag reduces African literature from artistic to anthropological work.

But once Adichie talked about wanting to be seen as just a writer and a human being, the next set of questions swung her to the other extreme of particularity. Broue talked of Adichie growing up in Nigeria, speaking Igbo but writing in English, not being the typical Nigerian child, writing on the theme of military coups in her novels  all of which crystallised into the controversial question about whether there are bookstores in Nigeria or not. In other words, Adichie is both Nigerian and American, but at the same time neither Nigerian, nor American.

This confusing pendulum is a central theme of postcolonial theory.

Postcolonial theory vs pan-African thought

Postcolonial theory became popular in Western academia which glorified hybrid identities and multiculturalism. From their positions in prestigious American universities, migrant scholars from countries that suffered under imperialism could criticise an empire for its past, while avoiding materialist critiques of the continuing, exploitative relationship between the empire and the Global South.

Postcolonial theory confined colonialisms impact to the past and most of all, diluted nationalist struggles by claiming that the primary project of nationalists, such as anti-colonial theorist Frantz Fanon, was a cultural one: to reject essentialism and embrace a universal humanity.

The other benefit of postcolonial theory for the empire was that it alienated African-born scholars in the US from African American scholarship, given that African American scholars (unlike their migrant peers) were unwilling to play down the critique of material conditions of black peoples.

Despite these weaknesses, the popularity of postcolonial theory in the American academy spread to African universities. The theory gave African scholars in Africa a temporary reprieve in the continued American dominance of knowledge production, because scholars were excited to read rigorous critiques of empire by scholars of African and Asian origin. The scholars, therefore, missed the nuanced, but important distinction between the postcolonial thought and nationalist pan-African thought.

It is this aspect that makes postcolonial theory resonate in France. Both postcolonial theory and the French universal-particular pendulum entrench a feeling of rootlessness in African intellectuals, by endorsing the criticism of empire that is cathartic for the West, but not strong enough to inspire a pan-African intellectual tradition that supports both cultural and material liberation.

Frances intellectual anxiety

One must also bear in mind that the Nuit des idees event with Adichie was held at the French foreign affairs office located at Quai dOrsay in Paris. France has always targeted African intellectuals as part of their goal to assert French dominance in the world of ideas.

Successive French governments have been worried about the star status Francophone African intellectuals and their writings have gained in the United States. For instance, Frantz Fanon and Senegalese historian Cheikh Anta Diop are more widely read in American academia, largely thanks to African American scholars. Several American universities host professors and writers from the Francophone world such as Manthia Diawara at New York University, Maryse Conde at Columbia University and Alain Mabanckou at University of California, Los Angeles.

In fact, in 2007, then presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy warned that France was losing its cultural influence because there were hardly any chairs for Francophone studies in France to retain the literary talent of people like Diawara, Conde, and Mabanckou. Sarkozy lamented: The soul and the future of la Francophonie are less and less French, and paradoxically, more and more Anglo-Saxon. Francophonie saved by America? That caps it all!

And so France still has a reason to worry. While on his African tour, newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron faced an increasingly hostile African youth and had to field questions from African students about the French treasury guaranteeing the CFA currency, and about justice for the pan-Africanist revolutionary Thomas Sankara.

In other words, Broues interview of Adichie was a clear political project. Adichies comment on postcolonial theory was on point, and the reaction to it exposed how the sibling rivalry between France and the Anglo-Saxons continues to fragment intellectual production by people of African origin and descent.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Nemera Mamo is a co-author of this article. He is a teaching fellow at SOAS, University of London.

Ethiopia has been experiencing recurrent mass protests, riots and ethnic conflicts over the past two years that have claimed the lives of thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands.

These events have led observers and members of the ruling Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) to conclude that the very survival of the Ethiopian state is at stake.

State collapse is so far an extreme and unlikely scenario given that the conflicting parties are internal actors in the system and have a vested interest in its survival. A more likely but still dangerous scenario is a long-term vicious cycle of political conflict and economic stagnation that cripples state and society.

Much of Ethiopias appeal to global investors lies in the high-level political commitment to economic growth. Political instability risks eroding the hard-won economic gains it has registered over the past decade.

Analysts and the international community have often attributed the current crisis either to Ethiopias ethnonational federal system or the near total curtailment of political space since the disputed parliamentary elections in 2005.

While political liberalism is a moral imperative on its own accord  and long overdue  it is, nevertheless, an insufficient solution to the political quagmire that the Ethiopian state finds itself in. The ethnonational federation is also not the primary source of the problem, and its abolishment is neither desirable nor a realistic proposition.

The governments response to the problem has also been inadequate. It has primarily attributed this to corruption and a stalled democratic process. Based on this diagnosis it has taken important yet inadequate measures such as releasing political prisoners, initiating dialogue with opposition groups and demoted officials.

Managing Ethiopias current political crisis requires going beyond democratic reform and instead thinking about the political economy and institutions that shape elite competition along ethnic lines. The two most important reform measures that should be embarked upon immediately in this regard are devolving more power to the regional states in accordance with the Constitution and de-ethnicising elite competition at the federal level.

More power to the regional states

Ethiopia is suffering from a political economy crisis at the heart of which is the contradiction between the EPRDFs developmental state model and the constitutional ethnonational federation. The Constitution grants the regional states extensive rights to self-determination in economic, cultural and political matters even to the extent of secession.

In terms of fiscal autonomy, it provides them with the power to levy a wide range of taxes on economic activities occurring within their territories.

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The EPRDFs governance model, on the other hand, has been characterised by rigid long-term planning and centralised policy-making. Its primary purpose has been the pursuit of a structural transformation of the economy from an agriculture-dominated to one wherein industry holds a substantial share.

The contradiction between the developmental state and federalism has resulted in the objectives of the latter being compromised.

Regardless of the great lengths to which the Ethiopian constitution goes to grant regional states access to a number of tax instruments, the revenue generating capacity of the regional states has been consistently low due to the centralising tendencies of the developmental state.

This has led the regions to heavily rely on subsidies from the federal government to finance public goods. Moreover, through its many parastatals, the government is encroaching upon what could have been the tax jurisdiction of the regional states.

Ethnic politics is not a necessary evil that Ethiopia has to live with - it is rather an existential threat.

The conflict over Addis Ababas large-scale urban development plan that sparked mass protests in 2015 is another example of the encroachment of the federal government on the jurisdiction of the regional states.

Regional officials accused the federal government of denying them the right to participate in devising an urban development plan that had economic implications. This dispute sparked the protests, which eventually led to a u-turn on the plan by the government, but only after a great human, political and economic cost had been incurred.

A combination of a lack of transparency and corruption scandals has led to an increasing feeling that Ethiopias wealth is not fairly distributed or properly managed at the federal level.

In pursuing a highly centralised development policy-making process, the EPRDF has underestimated the potential consequences of resistance from the general population and officials in regional states that feel disenfranchised by particular policies.

The current quagmire shows that there is a need to balance economic ambitions with political realities. Ethiopia needs to devise a more dynamic approach to decentralisation that is more responsive to changing political economy conditions.

The regional states currently have virtually no capacity in tax legislation. The federal government should work with the regional states to remove legal, administrative and political constraints that have prevented the regions from fully exploiting their powers of taxation. This policy would also contribute to holding the leaderships in the regional states more accountable by their own constituencies.

De-ethnicising elite competition

Competition for power and resources at the federal level has taken place along ethnic lines and much of the violence that shook the country has been tied to disputes between groups within the ruling party. This political elite competition is not an inescapable function of the federal structure, but rather, an outcome of the nature of political party organisation and practice.

Under the EPRDFs rule, the party and state structures have  though de jure separate  in practice, become intertwined. One of the consequences of this merger has been the employment of state resources as a currency for the ruling party to maintain and increase its large body of party members.

State rents tied to political and bureaucratic appointments have, particularly after the controversial 2005 parliamentary elections, been an important incentive for increasing the membership of the ruling party from around 700,000 in 2005 to seven million in 2015.

Given that the four constitutive parties of the front are organised along ethnic lines, the distribution of economic and political resources have also taken place through ethnic-based patronage structures (this includes both the legal distribution of official posts in the government, as well as the illicit benefits accrued through some of these positions).

The distribution of power and resources in everything from seats in the cabinet to leadership positions in universities are often based on an informal ethnic quota system. Any form of inequality that emerges in access to administrative positions, state rents and illicit benefits, therefore, assume a communal ethnic character.

In the process of competing for power and resources, party officials on all sides have consistently and systematically framed disputes in nationalistic terms and mobilised their ethnic constituencies. Political elite competition has consequently spilled over into communal conflicts that have led to mass violence and displacements.

Ethnic politics have in general also come at the expense of meritocracy and economic efficiency. Most importantly, it has also provided the four EPRDF parties with ethnic constituencies whose support are almost guaranteed through the perpetuation of a discourse of ethnic-interests and fear of other groups. Both conflicts within the EPRDF and with opposition parties are increasingly becoming devoid of substantive policy and ideological differences and revolve around ethnic group privileges.

Sustainable economic development and a functioning democratic and federal governance arrangement will be difficult to achieve in the current ethnicised framework of political competition.

The way forward must, therefore, involve a de-ethnicisation of competition for resources at the federal level. This is difficult but not impossible. The first and most important step in this direction must be to reorganise the ruling EPRDF from a front composed of four ethnonational organisations into a cross-ethnic and unitary party.

The EPRDF had in its origins an extensively formulated class-based ideology, which explicitly prioritised the interests of Ethiopias peasantry (which account for more than 80 percent of the working population). Over the last decade, its ideological commitment has weakened, and it has transformed into a party that tries to cater to various and contradictory interests.

This first step will necessitate a different resource and power distribution mechanism within the EPRDF, which will encourage new patronage structures and alignments within the party that cut across ethnic lines.

It will thus tame communal conflicts caused by competition between party officials and it will encourage the formation of opposition to the EPRDF that is cross-ethnic and based on a different ideological platform than nationalism.

Ethnic politics is not a necessary evil that Ethiopia must live with  it is rather an existential threat. And now, more than ever, it is the time to think about the possible institutional mechanisms that can contribute to transforming politics away from it.

There is no silver bullet that can de-ethnicise politics in Ethiopia. Instead, many individual measures such as those we have outlined above can, over time, make ethnicity a less salient and central feature of how people and politicians conceive of their political interests and how they mobilise for against power.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Muhtar Awdalla had two choices: indefinite detention in southern Israel, or a return to his native Sudan, where he feared for his safety.

So when Israeli officials offered him a third option  a one-way flight to Uganda and $3,500 cash  he begrudgingly agreed to leave.

Awdalla was given a travel document and boarded a plane in Tel Aviv. Exhausted by what he had already been through, he fell asleep.

But when he woke up, he was in Sudans capital, Khartoum.

I thought it was a dream, but it was a reality, Awdalla told Al Jazeera.

His account of a voluntary departure from Israel gone wrong comes amid a growing protest movement against an Israeli government plan to forcibly expel tens of thousands of African asylum seekers.

On Wednesday, thousands of aslyum seekers protested in front of the Rwandan embassy in Tel Aviv, chanting, Deportation kills and We are not criminals, we are refugees, AP news agency reported.

Rallies were also expected in London, New York, Paris, Berlin, Toronto and more than a dozen other cities to protest Israels effort to deport asylum seekers to third countries in Africa, namely Rwanda and Uganda.

If they do not agree to leave, the asylum seekers may be imprisoned indefinitely in Israel.

The protests are being held outside the Rwandan embassies in each respective city throughout the day.

Protesters will demand that Rwandan President and African Union chairman Paul Kagame refuse to participate in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus plan, organisers said in a statement.

Thousands deported

Originally from the Sudanese region of Darfur, Awdalla, now 29, had been living in Israel for nearly five years when he took his deportation flight in 2014.

He said he believes the Israelis lied to him about where the plane was going and never intended to send him to Uganda in the first place. They didnt tell the truth, he claimed.

Once in Sudan, he said he feared he would be jailed and tortured  or worse. I knew that I was in Sudan so I was thinking, how am I going to survive?

Travelling to Israel is expressly forbidden for Sudanese nationals. Sudan does not recognise Israel and does not maintain diplomatic ties to Tel Aviv.

If a Sudanese citizen comes back after being in Israel, he or she will be interrogated by the Sudanese authorities. If records of their stay in Israel exist, then they may be held in temporary detention until they are proven not to be anti-state agents.

Though exact numbers do not exist, Awdalla is believed to be among about 4,000 African asylum seekers who, faced with the prospect of imprisonment, have signed deals with the Israeli government since 2013 to be deported to third countries in Africa, according to the United Nations.

Those third countries are widely thought to be Rwanda and Uganda, Israeli media have reported.

About 27,000 Eritrean and 7,700 Sudanese asylum seekers currently live in Israel, figures from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) show.

This week, the Israeli government issued deportation notices to 20,000 male asylum seekers, Reuters news agency reported, giving them 60 days to leave the country or face indefinite detention.

The asylum seekers will be able to go to Rwanda or back to their home countries, Haaretz newspaper said.

In testimony collected by an Israeli human rights group, an Eritrean asylum seeker named Dawit said Israeli officials pressured him to sign a so-called voluntary repatriation document that stated, I want to go to Rwanda.

I said I did not want to write that, I am leaving only because I cannot stay. They told me: You have to,' he said.

Awdalla says he was beaten in a Sudan prison, but fared better than most [Courtesy Muhtar Awdalla]

For his part, Awdalla had lived in Libya and Egypt before crossing into Israel through the Sinai desert in 2009. He was jailed when he first arrived, but let out after eight months on a conditional release visa.

Israel does not verify individual refugee claims. Instead, it grants asylum seekers temporary protection, which allows them to remain in the country, but does not give them access to healthcare and other social services, as well as the legal right to work.

Israeli government officials have in the last years described African asylum seekers as infiltrators, a cancer, and as a threat to the states Jewish majority.

Since 2009, Israel has only recognised 10 Eritreans and one Sudanese national as refugees, according to UNHCR.

The agency recently said it had identified 80 cases of Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers who were relocated from Israel and later risked their lives by taking dangerous onward journeys to Europe via Libya.

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African migrants have been abused and sold as slaves in Libya, which serves as a main transit point on many routes to Europe.

Some of the asylum seekers who had been deported from Israel said that people travelling with them had died en route to Libya, where many experienced extortion and detention, as well as being subjected to abuse  including torture  and violence, said William Spindler, UNHCR spokesperson.

UNHCR is again appealing to Israel to halt its policy of relocating Eritreans and Sudanese to sub-Saharan Africa, Spindler said in a statement.

Despite this, Israel announced late last year that it intends to give the remaining asylum seekers two options: indefinite detention in an Israeli prison, or deportation to a third country, even without their consent.

To that end, the Israeli cabinet recently approved a proposal to close the Holot detention facility by March. Holot was built specifically to hold African asylum seekers in southern Israel.

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This removal is enabled thanks to an international agreement I achieved, which allows us to remove the 40,000 remaining infiltrators without their consent, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israels prime minister, has said.

After the plan was made public, Rwandas foreign minister told a local newspaper the country was in negotiations with Israel to take in as many as 10,000 asylum seekers.

But both Rwanda and Uganda subsequently denied reports they had formal agreements with Israel to take in any asylum seekers.

Let me be clear: Rwanda will NEVER receive any African migrant who is deported against his/her will, Olivier Nduhungirehe, the countrys minister of state in the ministry of foreign affairs, wrote on Twitter on January 24.

Let me be clear: Rwanda will NEVER receive any African migrant who is deported against his/her will. Our  open doors  policy only applies to those who come to Rwanda voluntary, without any form of constraint. Any manipulation of women, men & children in distress is appalling. https://t.co/W1chMCq96y  Amb. Olivier J.P. Nduhungirehe (@onduhungirehe) January 24, 2018

Okello Oryem, Ugandas foreign minister, also denied the existence of any written agreement or any form of agreement between the government of Uganda and the Israeli government to accept refugees from Israel.

Obscure deals

However, Sigal Rozen, of the Tel Aviv-based Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli government has made all sorts of obscure deals to get rid of asylum seekers.

We dont know the details  we dont know the safeguards of the deals, she said, however, explaining that the secrecy with which Israel carries out its policy makes the deportations dangerous.

In these cases, a mistake might cost the life of a person. These are not little errors.

For years, Israel also sought to pass decrees and laws whose main purpose is to make their life miserable until they leave, added Rozen.

When the government realised people would not go back to their home countries voluntarily, it sought to find third countries that would be willing to take them in for the right amount of money and who knows what else, she said.

In 2014, thousands of asylum seekers protested Israels detention policy [Uriel Sinai/Getty Images]

She said the third countries are not truly absorbing the asylum seekers, but bringing them in without providing them [with] any legal status.

In testimonies collected over the past four years, asylum seekers described being sent from Israel to Rwanda, where they said they were handed over to people-smugglers who told them they cannot stay in Rwanda and they must go to Uganda, Rozen said.

An asylum seeker who agreed to leave Israel for Rwanda in 2015 recently told Israeli researchers he was coerced to leave for Uganda in this way.

Three days after our arrival, this man picked us up from the airport told us, You must leave for Uganda. I asked where are our documents and why must we leave?  He said that we must, the asylum seeker said, according to the report.

It is as if Israel thinks that the fact that the Eritrean and Sudanese [refugees] share a similar skin colour with the Rwandan and Ugandan people, [and that] is a good enough reason to send them there, Rozen said.

Strengthening ties

In the past year, Netanyahu has made a noticeable push to strengthen Israels ties to African countries in a bid, as he has publicly admitted, to shift the balance of votes at the UN in Israels favour.





Relations have been particularly warm between Netanyahu and Rwandan President Paul Kagame. The two leaders have met several times in the past few years.

In June 2016, Netanyahu arrived in Rwandas capital, Kigali, to become the first sitting Israeli prime minister to visit sub-Saharan Africa in three decades. Kagame, meanwhile, was the first African head of state to speak at the annual AIPAC Zionist lobby conference in the US last March.

My message today is simple: Rwanda is, without question, a friend of Israel, Kagame said in his address.

In November, Netanyahu also announced plans to open an Israeli embassy in Kigali, in a move that fuelled rumours that Rwanda plans to take in Israels asylum seekers.

I was very lucky

For Awdalla, the return to Sudan turned into a long ordeal. After landing in the country, he said he was detained by the Sudanese authorities.

He spent three months in jail, where he said he shared a cramped cell with dozens of other prisoners. The space was too small for every person to sit down at the same time, Awdalla said, and the prison guards sprayed them with hot and cold water and beat them with sticks.

I know some others who got [sent] back from Israel, some of them were tortured much worse than me. I was very lucky, he said.

After being released from detention, he briefly rejoined his family in a refugee camp in eastern Chad before moving to Uganda, where he is now pursuing a law degree at a local university.

I dont think Israel will ever stop sending African refugees to Rwanda and Uganda, he said, describing Israels policy as the worst and a violation of international law.

Despite being able to study and rebuild his life, he said life in Uganda is very, very difficult.

Deportees from Israel in Uganda and from Israel [in] Rwanda, these people are suffering, he said, urging asylum seekers who are still in Israel not to give up.

With contribution from Al Jazeeras Hiba Morgan in Sudan
At least 22 children among the dead as Russian and Syrian government warplanes continue to pound the rebel-held area.

Russian and Syrian government forces have killed at least 136 civilians over the past 48 hours in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of the capital Damascus, according to residents and monitoring groups.

On Monday, 30 civilians were killed in air raids; on the following day, 80 more were killed, and on Wednesday, another 26 were killed.

At least 22 children and 21 women were among the dead.

Scenes of entire buildings, housing whole families crashing down with the residents  women, children and men  still inside have become a frequent image, Abu Salem al-Shami, a resident and activist, told Al Jazeera by phone from Eastern Ghouta, an area that has been under opposition control since 2013.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, says Tuesday marked the largest massacre in Syria since Aprils chemical attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province when more than 80 people were killed.

Eastern Ghoutas proximity to the capital  where the government of President Bashar al-Assad resides  renders it a key target for the government and its principal ally, Russia.

Assads forces have enforced an ongoing military siege on the area since 2013 in an attempt to drain the armed opposition groups there.

While Eastern Ghouta, home to some 400,000 people, has been under constant bombardment since then, there has been an uptick in air raids in recent months as it is one of the last remaining opposition strongholds in Syria.

People on the outside think that Russia and the Syrian regime are killing armed fighters, but this is completely false. Only civilians are being targeted  regular civilians, the people of Damascus, al-Shami, who lost 10 of his immediate family members when their building was attacked last April, said.

According to the SOHR, 369 people have been killed in Eastern Ghouta, including 91 children and 68 women, since the end of December.

People eat one meal a day

Eastern Ghouta was meant to be one of several de-escalation zones agreed upon a year ago by Russia, Iran  both government allies  and Turkey  a backer of the armed opposition. The deal was meant to result in an end to the violence and provide safety to civilians. But it has not been implemented.

The attacks have primarily targeted residential areas, medical centres, local markets and schools.

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Due to the siege, very little humanitarian aid has entered, making access to basic supplies such as food, highly restricted. Medical supplies are also scarce.

According to the United Nations, nearly 12 percent of children under five in Eastern Ghouta suffer from acute malnutrition  the highest rate ever recorded since the start of the war in Syria.

At least five children  out of more than 130  have died as a result of the lack of medical supplies.

The last United Nations aid convoy allowed to enter was in November 2017, according to al-Shami.

Since then, at least 12 people have died of starvation  including four children and two women  according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights.

Al-Shami says many have resorted to begging. The price of food in the markets is extremely high. People eat one meal a day. There are many people begging on the streets  children, old men. Its a huge problem.

To keep themselves warm during the cold winter months, families have been burning furniture. Wood is expensive. They burn wardrobes, chairs  anything made of wood. That has become our reality, he said.

De-escalation deals a complete failure

Fadel Abdul Ghany, founder of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, says that the military campaign against Ghouta intensified in mid-November.

According to his groups records, some 19 markets, seven medical centres, six schools, three kindergartens and 10 civil defence centres, have been attacked since then.

What is happening in Ghouta is proof that the de-escalation deals are a complete failure. Whats worse is that the international community cannot do anything to stop the siege, Abdul Ghany told Al Jazeera.

At least five children have died due to the lack of medical supplies in the besieged rebel-held area [Anadolu/Diaa Al Din]

In 2013, Eastern Ghouta was the target of a suspected government chemical weapons attack that shocked the world.

According to some estimates, warplanes dropped about 1,000kg of the deadly nerve agent Sarin on the area, killing more than 1,000 people, the majority of whom were civilians.

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Despite government claims that it no longer possesses chemical weapons, the area witnessed at least three other smaller-scale chemical attacks in recent weeks.

Abdul Ghany believes that the increase in attacks on the area is tied to a Russian-organised diplomatic conference held in January.

Russia, which entered the war in support of Assad in 2015, has largely taken over efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria after it helped turn the balance of power in favour of Assads government.

Last months conference, held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, was boycotted by the opposition who claimed that the Russian and Syrian governments had no interest in a real political solution and are trying to win the war through military might.

The government and its allies have increased their bombardment of Ghouta to send a message to the opposition there. They want to tell them: if you dont want to comply with our vision for a solution, then your fate is to die, said Abdul Ghany.

With Iran and Russia on its side, the Syrian government has been able to regain control across the majority of Syria. The war, which began in 2011 when peaceful protests broke out, has transformed  according to the Syrian government narrative  into a war against terrorists, due to the presence of former al-Qaeda affiliated armed groups.

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But in Eastern Ghouta, like many areas across Syria, civilians have borne the brunt of the fighting.

At least 470,000 people have been killed, and over 12 million Syrians  half the countrys prewar population  have been driven from their homes.

The pain and suffering were witnessing in Eastern Ghouta is indescribable, said al-Shami.

And its not just Eastern Ghouta  its all of Syria.

Follow Zena Tahhan on Twitter: @zenatahhan
The death toll rises as Russian and Syrian government bombardment continues.

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Human Rights Watch report details how people with disabilities suffer sexual and physical abuse in Australian prisons.

People with disabilities are at serious risk of being sexually and physically abused in Australian prisons, and are disproportionately held in solitary confinement, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The damning investigation, published on Tuesday, examined 14 government and private prisons in the states of Queensland and Western Australia, detailing experiences of sexual and physical abuse, as well as the treatment of prisoners with disabilities.

The report found instances of prisoners living in nappies (diapers) due to lack of adequate toilets.

It confounds me that in modern Australia a prisoner with a physical disability would have to wear a nappy simply because there is only one suitable toilet  and it is located in an infirmary, Elaine Pearson, Australias head of Human Rights Watch, said.

The report also found high levels of solitary confinement among those living with disabilities.

Prisoners with pyschosocial or cognitive disabilities were found to be disproportionately placed in solitary confinement, at times for up to 22 hours a day. This had a devastating effect on the prisoners, HRW said.

One man with a cognitive disability was found to have been in solitary confinement for 19 years, the report found.

When approached for data, the state of Western Australia said it did not record specific data on the numbers of prisoners with mental health disabilities being sent to solitary confinement.

The HRW investigation is based on interviews with 275 people, including 136 current or recently released prisoners with disabilities. HRW documented 32 cases of sexual violence, allegedly perpetrated by other prisoners and staff. It also documented 41 cases of physical violence.

They are perceived as weak by other prisoners and are routinely bullied and harassed, particularly for their medication, lead researcher Kriti Sharma told Al Jazeera.

Pearson called on Australias states to better train prison staff in recognising cognitive disabilities, and to hold independent inquiries into the use of solitary confinement.

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She also called for the independent inspection of facilities.

While Western Australia had an independent inspector, that was the exception, rather than the rule, she said.

The report said reforms were needed regarding how prisoners were screened to detect disabilities when first entering prisons.

Lack of communication, especially between Aboriginal prisoners and prison staff, was identified as a key issue. A 2010 study found that up to 94 percent of indigenous inmates in Northern Territory jails experienced some form of hearing loss, but was frequently unaccounted for.

Aboriginal prisoners especially affected

While fewer than three percent of Australians are Aboriginal, official data shows that indigenous people make up more than a quarter of the prison population.

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Aboriginal people who are sent to prison are more likely to be living with a cognitive disability, according to Damian Griffits of the First Peoples Disability Network.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience disabilities at a much higher rate than the rest of the population, Griffits told Al Jazeera.

If youre an Aboriginal person in parts of remote Australia with pyschosocial disabilities youre more likely to end up in the back of a paddy wagon (police truck) than to receive help for your disabilities, he added.

The report comes on the back of a Royal Commission into the detention of youth in Australias Northern Territory last year.

That inquiry was prompted by the release of shocking footage that showed mostly Aboriginal teenagers being tear gassed while confined in prison, as well as being held in sensory deprivation spit hoods.

HRWs Pearson singled out the states of Western Australia and Queensland for being open enough to allow access to prisons for the reports research.

In a statement, the Queensland government said it was implementing the recommended reforms found in a parole review report and developing a 10-year plan, which would encompass issues of disabilities among prisoners.

Western Australia said staff receive training in handling prisoners with mental health issues, including in-person training on working with people with disabilities in prisons, as well as online modules.
Opponents blast US presidents plan for massive show of military force in downtown Washington DC parade.

Opponents of US President Donald Trump belittled his order to put on a massive military parade in Washington DC to celebrate American power with one calling him Napoleon in the making.

Trumps order to his generals to prepare a military extravaganza replete with tanks and marching soldiers was met with comparisons on Wednesday to autocratic displays that occur in nations such as China, North Korea, and previously the Soviet Union.

I dont think anyone believes this would be about trying to honour men and women who serve our country, DC Council member Charles Allen told the Washington Post. This would only be about feeding one mans ego.

Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison described Trumps order as the Exalted Leaders latest idiot [and authoritarian] idea.

We have a Napoleon in the making here, said Congresswoman Jackie Speier.

Kind of cheesy

The idea for the show of military might apparently came after Trump visited France last July for Bastille Day when an impressive military display was held.





Sitting on the Champs-Elysees, Trump marvelled at the Republican Guard on horseback as fighter jets flew overhead and President Emmanuel Macron arrived in a camouflaged military jeep.

So were actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength, Trump said months after his Paris experience.

Such shows of force are rare in the United States. The last major parade in Washington took place in 1991, after the Gulf War. It cost more than $8m, which would be significantly more in todays dollars.

Its a fantastic waste of money to amuse the president, said Democratic Senator Dick Durbin.

Even Trumps supporters were lukewarm to the idea.

Republican Senator Lyndsey Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday a parade makes sense. But he added: Im not looking for a Soviet-style hardware display. Thats not who we are, its kind of cheesy, and I think shows weakness quite frankly.

Cadet Bone Spurs

Trump has frequently touted his support for the US military and placed high-ranking generals in top White House and cabinet posts.

Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Trumps intention was to have a celebration of the military.

Trump already raised fears over growing authoritarianism earlier this week after calling Democrats who did not applaud his State of the Union address un-American and treasonous. The White House said the president was clearly joking.

Military veteran and Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth  who lost both legs fighting in Iraq  denounced Trumps comments. She noted medical deferments for a foot ailment meant he didnt have to serve in the Vietnam War.

We dont live in a dictatorship or a monarchy, said Duckworth.

I swore an oath  in the military and in the Senate  to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap.
Crackdown of government dissent appears to continue, as incumbent president, Sisi, looks poised for a second term.

Egypts prosecutor-general has ordered an official investigation into a number of opposition politicians who are boycotting next months presidential election, as President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi looks set to extend his term.

Nabil Sadeq, Egypts prosecutor general, said in a statement on Monday that 13 individuals may be summoned to the Giza office for incitement against the state and attempting to overthrow the regime.

This comes as opposition parties called for a boycott of the March vote last month.

Among those to be investigated is Hamdeen Sabahi, Sisis only rival in the 2014 presidential elections.

Experts say Sisi, who is seeking his second term in office, is almost guaranteed to be re-elected after he made it nearly impossible for any real political opponent to challenge his firm grip on power.

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What happened to the hopefuls?

Several potential candidates have either been arrested or faced threats, intimidation and physical violence, forcing them to drop out.

The former head of Egypts armed forces, Sami Anan, suspended his run for the countrys presidency, hours after he was arrested by the army on accusations of committing violations that warrant official investigation.

Former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiks plan to run was short-lived after he withdrew his potential candidacy.

I saw that I would not be the ideal person to lead the state during the coming period, Shafik said in a statement posted on Twitter.





One of Shafiks lawyers accused the Egyptian government of putting pressure on the 76-year-old by threatening to re-investigate previous corruption allegations against him, the New York Times reported.

Meanwhile, Khaled Ali, an opposition leader who ran in the 2012 presidential polls, quit the race after stating his intention to run.

The opportunity for hope in this presidential election has gone, the human rights lawyer told his supporters.

Ali was sentenced to three months in prison last year for offending public decency after he allegedly made an obscene gesture during a protest against Egypts decision to cede control over two islands to Saudi Arabia.

In December 2017, Ahmed Konsowa, an army colonel, was sentenced to six years in prison after announcing his candidacy.

Who are the candidates?

Sisi, 69, announced his presidential bid in Cairo last month, where he stressed the importance of citizens voting to preserve the democratic experience that began four years ago.

Your participation in the election will be a strong message, he said, before jokingly adding that Egyptians would become exhausted with me again because Egypt needs every sacrifice.

The former Egyptian army chief is pitted against Moussa Mostafa Moussa, chairman of the liberal El-Ghad Party.

Samir Abdel Azem, Moussas lawyer, submitted his candidacy papers last month [Mohamed Abd El Ghany/Reuters]

Moussa, a Sisi loyalist, submitted his candidacy documents 15 minutes before the deadline.

I will not be a background actor [for Sisi in the election], he said. I am looking forward to a strong and real electoral competition with the president, especially as I have a strong platform that relies on young people and addresses the rising prices.

However the 66-year-old has repeatedly endorsed Sisi, and last year formed a campaign called, Supporters of President el-Sisis nomination for a second term.

Egyptians took to social media and used the hashtag Al-Kombares, which loosely translates to someone playing the role of an extra, to mock Mousas candidacy and the upcoming poll.

A runoff vote will be held in April if no candidate receives more than 50 percent support in the first round.

I think the word election is probably too generous, Timothy Kaldas, non-resident fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, told Al Jazeera.

The question is: whats worse, a convincing sham, or one thats transparently a sham?
Germanys top two political parties broker coalition deal, with Merkel set to continue as chancellor for a fourth term.

After months of political limbo, German Chancellor Angela Merkels conservative alliance appears set to form a coalition government with its main rival, the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

Representatives from Merkels Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, alongside partners from the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) party, agreed terms with SPD negotiators on Wednesday.

It follows an extended period of political uncertainty caused by the results of a federal election in September 2017, in which no party won a majority share of the vote.

Under the terms of Wednesdays agreement, Merkel will continue as chancellor for a fourth successive term, according to state broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

Merkel told reporters she had been forced to make compromises during the negotiations, but said the deal reached offers the foundation of a good and stable government with well-managed finances as its signature.

SPD leader Martin Schulz will become foreign minister, Germanys DPA news agency reported.

Germany will change direction in Europe as a result of the deal, Schulz told reporters.

With this coalition agreement, Germany will take an active and leading role in the European Union again, he said, adding that the government will be prepared to commit more funds into the EU budget.

Other SPD appointees are expected to fill the finance ministry post, as well as the labour and social affairs portfolio. Overall, the SPD is expected to get six ministerial positions.

The SPD has already been the junior partner in two Merkel-led grand coalitions, from 2005 to 2009 and from 2013 to 2017.

Wednesdays agreement now requires the approval of the SPDs some 460,000 members.

Al Jazeeras Paul Brennan, reporting from Germanys capital, Berlin, said it is likely to be a close-run vote.

In 2013, 76 percent of members voted in favour of approving going into a coalition with Merkel, he said.

This time, sentiment seems very much more evenly divided, and there have been quite vociferous campaigns, particularly by the youth wing of the SPD, to say no, we are rejecting the status quo  we want to be an opposition party and shake things up.

Coalition agreement in #Germany: good news also for #Europe! Respect for the constructive spirit of my friends from the @spdde  Pierre Moscovici (@pierremoscovici) February 7, 2018

Pierre Moscovici, the European Unions economics commissioner, welcomed the deal, calling it good news for Europe on Twitter. Germany is Europes largest economy.

Schulz had previously ruled out forming a coalition with Merkels conservatives, saying that Septembers poll results  which saw the SPD recording its worst post-war election performance, at 20.5 percent  had directed us to go into opposition.

Merkels CDU/CSU alliance had finished first, securing 33 percent of the vote, down nine percentage points from 2013.

The biggest shock, however, was the emergence of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as the countrys third biggest political force, winning a 12.6 percent share of the vote.
Lebanese leaders have said Israel actions are threatening the stability of the border region.

Lebanons Higher Defence Council has given orders to prevent Israel from building a border wall on Lebanese land, amid rising tensions over land and maritime boundaries.

Lebanese leaders have said Israels actions are threatening the stability of the border region.

This wall, if it is built, will be considered an assault on Lebanese land, the secretary-general of Lebanons Higher Defence Council said in a statement after meeting senior government and military officials.

The Higher Defence Council has given its instructions to confront this aggression to prevent Israel from building (the wall) on Lebanese territory, the statement said, without elaborating.

Israeli officials did not immediately respond. Israel has previously said that the wall and a disputed Mediterranean gas field were on its territory.

Calm has largely prevailed along the frontier since 2006 when Israel attacked Lebanon and fought a war with Lebanons heavily-armed Hezbollah movement.

The devastating 2006 war cost the lives of 1,200 people in Lebanon, mainly civilians, and 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Israel and Lebanon are technically at war, but military officers from both sides meet regularly under the auspices of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon to co-ordinate security along their joint border.
French officials apologise for inaccurate depiction of Gulf region at Abu Dhabi branch, says Qatars human rights chief.

The Louvre Museum in Paris has launched an official investigation into the distortion of the Gulf map at its Abu Dhabi franchise, Qatars National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) said.

A map omitting the state of Qatar was published by curators at the Louvre Museum Abu Dhabi last month, sparking controversy.

Museum officials later replaced it with a map of the Arabian Peninsula, admitting oversight.

Another map appeared to have removed the border demarcation between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Omani enclave of Musandam.

NHRC chairman Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, who met the management of Louvre in the French capital on Monday, said the issue will be raised by French officials due to visit UAE next week.

The Abu Dhabi authorities aggression against the memory, history and culture of the people of the region and the Louvre Abu Dhabi scandal are not just aimed at Qatar, but the world cultural heritage, said al-Marri in a series of Tweets.

What happened in the Abu Dhabi scandal was an attempt to wipe out the people and state of Qatar and use art as a tool to settle political scores, he added.

Al-Marri called on the Louvre management in Paris to take firm measures against political exploitation and to protect intellectual and cultural heritage.

Geographical deletion

The controversy comes as a major diplomatic regional dispute has entered its ninth month.

The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorism, an allegation Doha has vehemently denied.

The two maps drew plenty of reaction on social media, with activists accusing the Abu Dhabi museum of deliberately trying to distort the geography of the Gulf.

The Washington Institutes Simon Henderson reported Qatars omission from the regional map.

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In the childrens section of Abu Dhabis new flagship Louvre Museum, a map of the southern Gulf completely omits the Qatari peninsula  a geographical deletion that is probably incompatible with Frances agreement to let Abu Dhabi use the Louvres name, Henderson wrote.

According to images published on social media, another map showed Musandam, an exclave of Oman in the northern tip of the peninsula, as part of the UAE.

Anwar Gargash, the UAE minister of state for foreign affairs, called the distortion a small mishap and accused those pointing it out of looking to create unnecessary controversy.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi, which took 10 years to build, opened its doors to the public in November last year.

The immense $1bn project was officially inaugurated by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Nicolas Maduro has proposed an oil-backed joint cryptocurrency mechanism within OPEC to support Venezuelas new, state-backed virtual currency  the petro.

The Venezuelan president is expected to encourage members and non-member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to back the cryptocurrency, Venezuelan state radio reported on Tuesday.

I am going to officially propose to all OPEC and non-OPEC producing countries that we adopt a joint cryptocurrency mechanism backed by oil, Maduro said.

In December, Maduro announced the launch of the petro, a cryptocurrency system backed by Venezuelas oil, gas, gold and diamond reserves.

The new currency is seen as part of the countrys effort to alleviate an economic crisis and food shortages and circumvent United States sanctions.

Venezuela has allocated five billion barrels of oil to back its new digital currency, which will be tied to the cost of a barrel of Venezuelan oil.

In mid-January, the average price was $60.40 a barrel.

While petros cannot be exchanged for oil, the government said it will accept the cryptocurrency as payment for taxes and fees.

Around 38.4 million petros of a total 100 million units will be released on February 20, with a series of discounts applied to stimulate early demand, according to media reports.

The petro will be pre-mined, meaning that, unlike popular cryptocurrency bitcoin, new tokens cannot be created, Reuters news agency reported.

Buyers will be able to purchase the petro via online exchanges.

Some of the exchanges would work with bolivars, Venezuelas local currency, while others will be able to exchange other cryptocurrencies for the petro, a Venezuelan government adviser told Reuters.





Venezuela also said it plans to launch an international campaign to promote the petro abroad, with an emphasis placed on Venezuelas political allies and developing countries.

But the US has warned that buying the petro could violate sanctions against Venezuela, which prohibit the purchase of newly issued Venezuelan debt, Reuters news agency reported.

The petro digital currency would appear to be an extension of credit to the Venezuelan government  [and] could, therefore, expose US persons to legal risk, a US Treasury spokesman told Reuters in January.
Thirty others imprisoned for the murder of young student wrongfully accused of committing blasphemy last year.

Islamabad, Pakistan  A Pakistani court has sentenced one man to death and handed prison terms to 30 others over the mob lynching of a university student who was wrongfully accused of blasphemy last year.

The killing of 23-year-old Mashal Khan, which was filmed and posted to social media, ignited national outrage in Pakistan, where blasphemy cases have increasingly sparked violence in recent years.

An anti-terrorism court in Haripur on Wednesday announced verdicts for 57 of the 61 suspects who had been charged in connection with the case.

Judge Fazal-e-Subhan sentenced one of the accused to death; five to life in prison; and another 25 to at least three years imprisonment, according to a copy of the verdict. Twenty-six suspects were acquitted.

One recently arrested suspect is yet to face trial, while three more are on the run.

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Khans family said that it would review the verdict before announcing whether they would be pursuing their option of an appeal.

Our legal team is meeting on this, and as soon as we reach a decision, we will announce it, Aimal Khan, Mashals brother, told reporters after the verdict was announced.

Our demand was that all of the suspects should have been convicted  We ask the [provincial] police to arrest the remaining suspects who are still at large and to bring them to trial.

Sensitive subject

Khan was an undergraduate student at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the northern town of Mardan, about 122km west of the capital, Islamabad.

In April 2017, he was accused of committing blasphemy  a charge that carries a judicial death sentence and, increasingly, the threat of extrajudicial murder in Pakistan  by fellow students.

Days later, a mob of hundreds attacked him at the university hostel.

Khan was stripped of his clothes, beaten and shot by members of the mob, video footage of the lynching showed. He died of his injuries.





In June, a police inquiry into the allegations against Khan found him innocent of having committed blasphemy.

Blasphemy is a sensitive subject in Pakistan, where around 40 people are on death row or serving life sentences for the crime, according to the United States Commission of International Religious Freedom.

At least 74 people have been killed over alleged blasphemy in Pakistan since 1990, according to an Al Jazeera tally.

Those killed include people accused of blasphemy, their relatives, their lawyers, judges hearing their cases and members of their communities.

On Wednesday, more than 250 police officers were deployed to maintain security around the anti-terrorism court, where the verdict was read behind closed doors.

Khans family has been given a security detail by the government since the case gained national prominence.

Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras Web Correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets at @AsadHashim.
Air from the Arctic makes it down to northwest Africa again this winter covering the solar power station.

Snow has again blanketed the streets of parts of southern Morocco, a rare sight for an area that until the end of January hadnt seen the wintery mix for at least 50 years.

Ouarzazate, nicknamed The door of the desert, is the site of one of the largest solar plants in the world and is the first stage of a larger project to boost renewable energy production in Morocco. All the panels were covered in snow for at least a day and the city was cut off until the roads were cleared.

Snow also fell in the town of Zagora, in southeast Morocco, well beyond the Atlas Mountains.

February started on a cold note. The National Meteorological Directorate had forecast a drop of temperature, with frost or ice to follow. Throughout the mountains and plateau, snow fell at heights above 1200 metres. There are ski resorts in Morocco but at closer to 3000-metre elevation.

The Ministry of Education announced on Tuesday the temporary closure of 900 rural schools. Snowstorms blocked 38 roads, according to the Ministry of Transport, as snow depths ranged from 50cm to two metres, especially in the high and medium Atlas.

Rabat, the capital city, recorded at least 103mm of rain in the last three days, exceeding the February average by 39 percent.

The wintry weather is not over. Another 25cm of snow is possible in the southern Atlas range over the next three days.
Centre core of Falcon Heavy rocket hit water at 480 km/h and took out two engines of ocean landing pad, Musk says.

SpaceX has successfully launched its new Falcon Heavy spacecraft, as questions lingered about the rockets centre core, which crashed into the ocean after re-entering Earths atmosphere.

Tuesdays launch took place at NASAs Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Kennedy Space Center in the US state of Florida, the spot also used for the Apollo 11 moon mission and several space shuttle launches.

Falcon Heavy carried a car  SpaceX CEO Elon Musks Tesla roadster  as a mock payload, along with a mannequin in a spacesuit and a playlist consisting of David Bowies Space Oddity. Originally, SpaceX had planned to direct the car into the orbit of Mars, but the companys latest estimates indicate it will overshoot the red planet and continue into the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

Minutes after takeoff, the two outer boosters landed at the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

A third booster, or the centre core of the rocket, was supposed to land on a floating barge in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, but that did not go as planned.

If we got the footage ... that sounds like some pretty fun footage, if the cameras didn't get blown up as well, then we'll put that up ... for - you know - just the blooper reel. Elon Musk, SpaceX founder

Speaking at a news conference after the launch, Musk said the centre core of the rocket was lost after it smashed into the ocean near the landing pad.

The centre core hit water at 300 miles per hour (482km/h) and took out two of the engines of the drone ship, Musk said.

If we got the footage  that sounds like some pretty fun footage if the cameras didnt get blown up as well, then well put that up  for  you know  just the blooper reel, he said.

Falcon Heavy side cores have landed at SpaceXs Landing Zones 1 and 2. pic.twitter.com/oMBqizqnpI  SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 6, 2018

The rocket landed about 100 metres away from the landing pad, which was enough to take out two thrusters and shower the deck with shrapnel, Musk added.

Falcon Heavy is the largest rocket since NASAs Saturn V booster, which was used for the Moon missions in the 1970s.

It generated about five million pounds of thrust (22.2 million newtons) during its takeoff, which, according to SpaceX, is equal to about 18 Boeing 747 aeroplanes.

Falcon Heavy can launch about 64 tonnes into low Earth orbit, now thats almost a factor three more than the current-running biggest launch vehicle, Delta IV Heavy, astrophysicist David Clements from Imperial College told Al Jazeera.

Cherry red Tesla

SpaceX was the first company to successfully launch and land a booster rocket  the Falcon 9  that was sent into space.

That rocket is now being used to bring satellites into orbit and resupply the International Space Station.

View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth. pic.twitter.com/QljN2VnL1O  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2018

The landing capability of Falcon 9 allows for quick reuse of the boosters, which has led to lower costs and less time between launches.

However, with its more powerful rockets, Falcon Heavy is expected to be the first step to future missions to the Moon and even Mars.
Palestinian shot and killed after stabbing Israeli guard in illegal settlement in Hebron, Israeli officials say.

A Palestinian man was shot and killed after a stabbing attack on an Israeli guard outside an illegal settlement in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron.

According to the Israeli army, Hamza Zaamara drove up on Wednesday morning to the entrance of the Karmei Tzur settlement, built on Palestinian lands belonging to the towns of Halhul and Beit Ummar, and stabbed a guard.

Zaamara, 19, was shot by another security guard and killed, the army said.

The wounded Israeli guard was taken to hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. Zaamaras family home in Halhul was raided by Israeli forces in the aftermath of the attack. Zaamaras father, Yousef, was arrested in that raid.

The incident marked the second one in two days. On Monday, a Palestinian reportedly stabbed a settler at the entrance of the Ariel settlement near Salfit and managed to escape. The settler later died from his wounds in hospital, while the Palestinian mans whereabouts remain unknown.

The occupied West Bank has been in a state of turmoil for a month, following the killing of a settler rabbi in January. Israeli forces have carried out daily raids and increased the arrests of Palestinians in the hunt of the perpetrator.

On Tuesday, Israeli security forces announced that the case has been closed after they found and killed Ahmad Jarrar, who they say was behind the killing of the rabbi. Jarrar had gone into hiding for several weeks.

Mass protests against the Israeli army broke out in Jenin and Nablus, and another Palestinian was killed after being shot in the chest. According to the Palestinian ministry of health, a further 110 Palestinians were also injured, including 32 from live ammunition.
Police in Boston unjustly spied on Muslims and African Americans online for years, American Civil Liberties Union says.

Police in the US city of Boston unjustly spied on thousands of social media posts and specifically targeted Muslims and African Americans for surveillance, a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has alleged.

The Boston Police Department (BPD) used an online surveillance system, Geofeedia, from 2014 to 2016 to monitor online comments on topics including politics and religion, the ACLU of Massachusetts said on Wednesday.

The BPD treated ordinary citizens discussing ordinary affairs as justifiable targets of surveillance, the group said in a statement.

What it did not do  was deter or help solve serious crimes.

The civil rights organisation said the BPD unfairly focused its surveillance on African Americans and Muslims by creating online alerts for the use of innocuous Arabic words and the hashtags #BlackLivesMatter and #MuslimLivesMatter.

Activists have used the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter to denounce police brutality targeting African-Americans.

#MuslimLivesMatter was used to draw attention to Islamophobia after three Muslim students were killed in a shooting in North Carolina in 2015.

Lack of transparency

Based on documents obtained through a public records request, the ACLU report said police treated people as suspicious on the basis of their race, religion and ethnicity.

The records demonstrate the clear need for both transparency and procedural safeguards to ensure that this type of software is subject to public scrutiny and ongoing oversight before it is used again, the group said.

For its part, the BPD has accused the ACLU of reaching misguided conclusions.

It said its surveillance programme helped police monitor events and demonstrations which had the potential to turn violent.

Our main focus in all of this is public safety, not targeting speech, not targeting peoples political affiliations, Lieutenant Detective Michael McCarthy told reporters on Wednesday.

Quite frankly, to have the ACLU even make that insinuation is not only insulting, its completely misinformed.

The ACLU has called on the BPD to change its privacy policies in the wake of the report, however.

The group said surveillance based on race, religion or ethnicity should be outlawed, except in cases where law enforcement officials have reasonable grounds to believe an individual has broken the law.

In early 2017, the BPD withdrew a $1.4m funding request for a new social media surveillance system following widespread opposition from civil rights groups.
For the first time, Saudi Arabia grants permission for Air India flights headed to Israel to use its airspace.

Indias national carrier has secured permission to begin direct flights between New Delhi and Tel Aviv that will pass through Saudi airspace, as reported by AP news agency on Wednesday.

The move ends a decades-long ban by Saudi Arabia on the use of its airspace for flights to Israel.

The day before, on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Saudi Arabia agreed to allow Air India to use its airspace in flights to and from Israel, but Air India had denied having received the approval from the Saudi authorities.

Speaking to reporters in Washington on Monday, Netanyahu said Air India had reached an agreement with Saudi Arabia to use their airspace.

Saudi approval

In February, Israeli daily Haaretz reported that Saudi Arabia had granted permission, for the first time, for Air India flights headed to Israel to use its airspace.

But until Tuesday, March 7, an Air India spokesperson maintained that we havent yet received any communication about it from the regulator.

The new route, Haaretz said, means that the airline would reduce fuel costs and sell cheaper tickets to passengers.

A spokesman for the Israel Airports Authority confirmed Air India has received permission to land at Israels Ben Gurion airport.

Israel  India route

The new Israel-India route was first announced by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Israel in July.

In his January reciprocal visit to India, Netanyahu implied the route could pass over Saudi Arabia, which, beyond significantly shortening flight time, would be a public indication of a warming of ties with Israel.

The new route flying through Saudi Arabia will shorten the flights from New Delhi to Tel Aviv by two and a half hours.

Air India spokesman Pravin Bhatnagar said the airline will start flying the route three times a week from March 22.

The Saudi government had banned flights headed to Israel from using its airspace for 70 years. While it is no secret that private jets can fly from Saudi and other Gulf airports to Israel, they could not use the direct route and had to make a stopover in Amman airport first.

Israels national carrier El Al currently operates an India service that takes a detour over the Red Sea to avoid flying over Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The airline has reportedly objected to the Air India route, saying the shorter flights over Saudi Arabia put it at an unfair disadvantage.

Regional politics

The move is seen as a nod to Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modis influence in the region, who visited the occupied West Bank on February 10. Last year, he became the first Indian premier to go to Israel on an official state visit.

But the decision also signifies warmer ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which have been seen as having increasingly covert relations over the last year.

This has been credited to the shakeup of Saudi domestic and foreign policy, spearheaded by the young and ambitious Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The political changes in Saudi Arabia and the desire to consolidate power are the main reason why these relations with Israel were opened, Mahjoob Zweiri, an associate professor in the Gulf Studies Program at Qatar University, had previously told Al Jazeera.
The oldest human remains found in the UK belonged to a man with dark skin and blue eyes, a study by scientists in the UK has found.

Researchers at University College London and the British Natural History Museum reconstructed how the man, who lived 10,000 years ago, would have looked using the latest DNA analysis techniques and 3D-scanning of his skull.

Known as Cheddar Man after the southern English village where he was found in 1903, the man had dark to black skin and dark curly hair, according to the researchers.

DNA was recovered from the mans skull and information about his physical characteristics was obtained by mapping the genetic data collected.

DNA had been preserved inside Cheddar Mans skull [University College London/Channel 4]

Genetic information is usually difficult to obtain in remains as old as Cheddar Man but had been preserved in his case thanks to the cool conditions inside the limestone cave where he was found.

I first studied Cheddar Man more than 40 years ago, but could never have believed that we would one day have his whole genome  the oldest British one to date, said Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum.

To go beyond what the bones tell us and get a scientifically -based picture of what he actually looked like is a remarkable  and from the results quite surprising  achievement.

The scientists involved in the study explained that Cheddar Mans ancestors were part of a population that travelled out of the Middle East and then on to Europe.

At least 10 percent of British ancestry can be linked to that population, they said.

A documentary on the findings will air on the UKs Channel 4 TV station on February 18.

Previous studies have indicated that genes responsible for lighter features common in people of European descent developed at some over 8,000 years ago.
Air raids were carried out by Israeli warplanes in cross-border attack from Lebanese territory, Syrian military says.

Syria has accused Israel of launching air raids on military positions near the capital Damascus, saying the attack showed its support for terrorist organisations operating in the area.

The raids early on Wednesday targeted military forces in Jamraya, 10km northwest of Damascus, the Syrian military said in a statement carried by state news agency SANA.

This morning Israeli warplanes fired several missiles from Lebanese airspace on one of our military positions in the Damascus countryside, it said. Our air defence systems blocked them and destroyed most of them.

UK-based monitoring group, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), said some Israeli missiles did hit Syrian targets.

Syrias air defence system blocked some of the missiles, but others hit ammunition depots near Jamraya, said SOHR chief Rami Abdel Rahman.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the accusations.

Syrias foreign ministry accused Israel of supporting armed groups that have shelled Damascus for days with rockets and mortar rounds.

The government of the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates its warning to Israel on the serious repercussions of its attacks on Syria, its continued support for armed terrorist organisations, and its continued occupation of the Arab territories, the ministry said.
Turkey-Kurdish tensions escalate over Syria operation

As Turkey continues its military operation inside Syria battling Kurdish militia, the latter have not ceased in launching attacks on Turkish soil. Al Jazeera meets some of the victims whose lives have been affected by the ongoing violence.
A former banking executive and an Orlando-based lawyer have been appointed to the Board of Trustees.

Thomas Kuntz

Daniel OKeefe

If confirmed, banker Thomas Kuntz and attorney Daniel OKeefe will fill the spots left by board members Steven Scott and David Thomas, UF spokesperson Margot Winick wrote in an email.

Trustees volunteer to serve on the board, and therefore they do not get paid. Members serve staggered 5-year terms, according to the current bylaws. The last appointment of new members was in June 2016, according to Alligator archives.

Both appointees cannot become full members until receiving approval by the Florida Senate, Winick said.

The university is excited to welcome them to our board, Winick said. They bring a wealth of important experience with their leadership.

OKeefe, appointed by the Board of Governors, received his business degree in 1990 from UF, where he also attended law school.

OKeefe plans to bring his years of business and legal experience to the board position, he wrote in an email.

He is a co-managing partner at Shutts and Bowen LLPs Orlando office, where he deals with real estate and land usage, and for the past five years, he has also served as chairman of the South Florida Water Management District, which manages water in 16 counties along with efforts to restore the Everglades, OKeefe said.

My focus will be on the student experience and making sure that a UF education remains affordable and provides a strong foundation for students obtaining productive jobs, he said.

Kuntz was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott for a term starting Jan. 26, according to a press release. Kuntz is currently serving his term on the Board of Governors, which isnt supposed to end until Jan. 1, 2019.

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He retired from a 35-year career at SunTrust Banks, Inc. in 2015. He was the president and CEO of the bank for eight years.

Kuntz has a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Rollins College and a degree from the Graduate School of Banking at Louisiana State University.

The Alligator could not reach Kuntz for comment.

Contact Elliott Nasby at enasby@alligator.org. Follow him on Twitter at @_ElohEl.
In a letter sent to The Alligator on Tuesday, Senator Branden Pearson (Independent, Lakeside) announced his disaffiliation with Inspire Party.

The party that I slated with back in September is not the party that Inspire is today, Pearson said.

Pearson said Inspire prioritizes their brand before the well-being of students and tokenizes minorities.

In January, two members of Impact Partys leadership, former Senate Pro Tempore Janae Moodie and Student Body Treasurer Revel Lubin, disaffiliated from Impact Party because they said it didnt value minorities.

Inspire President Ben Lima said he disagrees with Pearson.

I am certainly fully confident in the vision of Inspire party and our caucus, Lima said. We are dedicated to representing Gators from all walks of life.

In Pearsons letter, he said he was attacked by Inspire leadership when he wrote a bipartisan letter with Senator Emily Dunson (Impact, District A) in support of the Gators Matter, Period initiative.

He said when he disagreed with Inspire about their policies and procedures, he was taken off the executive board.

Lima said Pearson was removed from their executive board about two weeks ago  but because he was mistreating members. Pearson believes otherwise.

They do not like disagreement; disagreement to them is divisive, he said.

At Tuesday nights Senate meeting, Inspire and Impact Senators debated an amendment the Judiciary Committee unanimously failed on Sunday. It would limit senators from serving on more than one committee.

Four judiciary committee members serve on two committees. Senate President Pro Tempore Trevor Schaettle (Impact, District B) said he doesnt think there was a conflict of interest.

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I think that their decision was for the best for all students, not just themselves, he said.

The three political parties began to develop their campaign platforms Monday and are continuing to collect ideas throughout the week.

Felipe Gatos, a UF economics sophomore and an Inspire Senator, wrote on Inspires board about issues hes seen as the Brazilian Student Association president.

Theres not enough scholarships and work opportunities for international students on campus, the 19-year-old said.

Nicole Mooradian, a UF theatre sophomore, spoke with Challenge Party members about inclusivity. She said SG should be more accessible to students.

I think it would be good for all parties to come forward and really talk to the students about what theyre for, and allow students voices to also be heard, the 19-year-old said.

Michaela Rechdan, 18, said she went to Impacts table and suggested adding handwipe stations to each floor of UFs libraries, especially for flu season.

I think we could really benefit from staying clean, she said.

Contact Christina Morales at cmorales@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter at @Christina_M18.
Police are investigating a security threat sent by email to Alachua County Public Schools and at least three nearby school districts early Wednesday.

Alachua, Baker, Citrus and Columbia county schools were sent the same email threatening violence in schools, said ACPS spokesperson Jackie Johnson. The threat, signed with a name law enforcement is not releasing, did not mention any specific schools, she said.

The school system doesnt believe theres anything to the threat, she said.

We are working with law enforcement, but we dont consider this a credible threat, Johnson said. We should just go about our day.

Alachua County Sheriff's Office, as well as state and federal law enforcement, are tracing the source of the email, which is overseas, according to a ACPS press release.

ACPS has resource officers and deputies in place at all schools Wednesday due to the threat.

UF Public Safety sent out a message on Twitter stating it also placed officers at P. K. Yonge Developmental Research School, located at 1080 SW 11th St.

A girl stares out the window of an Alachua County school bus on West University Avenue.
The Amazon Echo, more commonly known as Alexa, was the star of the Super Bowl  at least if youre the kind of person who was in it for the commercials. In the ads featuring the virtual personal assistant, after the automatic voice starts to cough, chaos erupts. While Alexas sick, Jeff Bezos and some Amazon employees rush to find a replacement. None of them fit the bill: Gordon Ramsay is too hostile, Cardi B plays Bodak Yellow when asked to play country music, and Leslie Jones and J.B. Smoove cant agree on what romantic advice to give a lovesick user. The voice of Alexa returns, assuring everyone, Ill take it from here.

With that, all is right in the world again. We all go back to asking her about the weather, instructing her to remind us about things in our calendars and commanding her to tell us jokes. She goes back to speaking when spoken to.

Its clear from the commercials just how much these digital assistants now permeate our lives. The mainstream assistants are all programmed a little differently, with somewhat different personalities and varying witty responses to questions. But the one thing they have in common is the gender of the voice coming out of their speakers.

Theres Cortana, Microsofts version of the female assistant, and theres Siri, which when asked about its gender says, I dont have a gender, in a distinctly feminine voice. Even the voice that responds to OK Google is that of a female. Finally, theres Alexa from the Amazon Echo. Shes our weather forecaster, DJ and, most importantly to Jeff Bezos, a personal Amazon shopper.

In a world thats finally seeing that women are so much more than the subservient secretaries of the Mad Men era, the gender of almost all of our digital assistants voices is a step in the wrong direction. No, were not hurting Siris feelings or diminishing Alexas self-worth, but we are reinforcing gender stereotypes that women were created to serve people. How that will affect users  especially young ones  remains to be seen.

The problem, of course, isnt that these digital assistants exist. Theres no way Id remember half of my to-do list without Siris reminders. They serve other important purposes, too  at the command of Hey Siri, 108, iPhones will call emergency services; Alexa will read personalized bedtime stories to kids. These inventions make life easier and, at times, better.

Whats problematic is that the default voice for all of these products is a females. Market research showed Apple, Amazon, Google and Microsoft that wed all prefer our menial tasks be done by a robot presenting as female  and thats another issue.

Its strange that these inanimate objects even need to have a gender either way. People dont need to identify as male or female, so why do robots?

Genderless voice is hard, Robert Weideman, a spokesperson for Nuance Inc., which provides the voices for these devices, told the Wall Street Journal. Maybe the key to taking gender stereotypes out of our devices is finding a gender-neutral voice and a gender-neutral name, which doesnt seem too difficult to me. Or maybe its as easy as giving the users a choice when they set up their phones and creating half of the advertisements with the digital assistants male voices.

As for me, my new personal assistant, still named Siri, has the voice of an Australian man. He reminds me to sign up for spin class and transcribes my text messages when Im too lazy to type. You have to start somewhere.

Carly Breit is a UF journalism senior. Her columns focus on feminism.

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Local experimental indie-electronic duo King Complex released a new music video for their popular song Pulling Strings Thursday on YouTube.

The musical duo has been picking up popularity in the last few months, with seven scheduled shows in February and March, including Gasparilla Music Festival in Tampa.

Bracher Brown and Cody Doss, the duo that makes up King Complex, met through a mutual friend five years ago in St. Petersburg. Theyve been performing as King Complex for nearly two years now.

Prior to the videos release, Pulling String had gathered nearly 20,000 plays on Spotify. On YouTube, the official lyric video for the song had gathered nearly 500 views.

The two 23-year-olds worked with Octopus Studio to bring the video to completion. They gave their idea to the Miami-based production company and were able to maintain their original idea to the final video. The duo and production company have been working on the video since Aug. 22, 2017.

I think at this point we just want to kind of create the same space that we made with the last album, just a continuation of that, just more content into that kind of world, Brown said.

The science fiction-esque video features a young girl in a white room with two contrasting hooded figures. As the video progresses, the video moves from the monochrome palette to neon colors, with psychedelic imagery persisting throughout.

The animations were super cool and groovy. I liked how the video really brought the line dream like a child to life, Elissa Waller, a 19-year-old UF marketing sophomore marketing, said.

Pulling Strings is one of my favorite King Complex songs because it includes all the elements the band uses to make their sound unique, Waller said.

The Pulling Strings video can be found at here.

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David Ballard said Black History Month is celebrated in many ways over many years.

But Sunday from 2 p.m. to around 6 p.m., Black History Month will be celebrated for the first time on Bo Diddley Community Plaza with various black musicians performing, Ballard, the events coordinator for the City of Gainesville Parks Recreation and Cultural Affairs Department, said.

Black musicians over the many years have contributed just really to every major genre of popular music, Ballard said. Theres a little something for everybody.

The free concert will host two bands: Billy Buchanan with his Rock 'n Soul Revue as well as Dr. Neu & BluJaFunk, according to the press release. Dr. Neu, otherwise known as Longineu Parsons, is a world-renowned trumpeter.

The concert, presented by the City of Gainesville, is free to the public and funded in part by Culture Builds Florida. This campaign strives to promote art and culture to create a continually vibrant and creative Florida, according to the website.

To be able to welcome everybody, nobody has to buy a ticket. Nobody has to not come because theyre on a budget, Ballard said. You know, its just really something that everybody from all walks of life and all incomes can come and have a great time together.

People are invited to bring blankets or lawn chairs downtown to Bo Diddley and enjoy a concert that celebrates many of the great pioneer artists of Black music, according to the press release.

Ballard said he expects anywhere from 500 to a couple thousand people to show out Sunday afternoon, similar to the turnout of free Friday night concerts downtown.

Ariel Williams, an African American Gainesville native, said she hasnt attended a Black History Month event downtown in over 20 years.

However, I remember it vividly and think about it often, Williams said.

She said the black community has always come together in celebration of its history, whether at church, barbershops, hair salons or cookouts.

Seeing it at large, if you will, reinforces what I already know and have been raised to know  that our community is love, strength, resiliency and joy, Williams said.

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She recently attended a similar event, Take Me To The River, a nationwide tour of several Delta musicians celebrating the evolution of blues to modern day hip-hop, which performed in Gainesville.

It was an eye opening exploration of how racism directly impacted the Memphis Blues scene and Black communities in the Jim Crow era, she said.

She said now she is even more excited for the concert Sunday.

Learning about cultures and communities outside of your own is progressive and what this city needs, she said. If you are curious, come with an open mind and listen to understand without judgment.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that two bands will be performing during the concert. The first band is Dr. Neu & BlujaFunk and the second band is Billy Buchanan with his Rock 'n Soul Revue.

Billy Buchanan, pictured here (foreground), will come together with his Rock 'n Soul Revue for Sunday's show.
A Big Red Wave

If you take the time to sit down to read the Nunes Memo, you start to realize that the claims being made on the political right arent just hyperbole. Nor are they a disingenuous attempt by the Trump administration to discredit the Mueller probe. It increasingly appears to be the biggest government scandal in U.S. history: the weaponization of the DOJ and FBI by the Obama administration to shield their presidential candidate and assail an opposing partys presidential campaign and subsequent presidency. This is earth-shattering stuff. Yet, what are we hearing from the mainstream media (MSM)? Not just denial, but teeth-gnashing defiance. It leaves a reasonable person in a state of fear. What is happening? This is not our American system. Could they really be on the attack in the face of damning evidence and facts? And then I had a revelation. This defiance by Dems and their MSM lapdogs may lead to a big red wave in the midterms. They are trying to defend the indefensible. Thats why your blood pressure shoots up when you hear them speak. More evidence will continue to come out and I predict that the Dems will continue with the same strategy --- keep blaming Trump. Have the Dems gone mad, or is this a kamikaze mission?

There have been reports that the DNC is going broke and the Dems are leaderless and directionless. This is easy to believe. It is becoming more evident that in this void of leadership, they have started to follow the MSM and its agenda, instead of the other way around. This a disaster for Dems because the media isnt considering the merits of policy positions. The MSM are chasing ratings. They are dealing in the currency of Trump Derangement Syndrome. They are dealing in the currency of identity politics and the grievance industry. They are always on the hunt for anyone with a shred of credibility to fire up an even more potent batch of hysterical brew to serve to their viewers. Following that path, one can only conclude that these Democratic leaders are clueless. Pelosi, Schiff, Schumer: what are they thinking? As Rush Limbaugh put it on his radio show on Tuesday, Whatever is good for America, is bad for the Democrats. Whatever is bad for America, is good for the Democrats. Do they really think this is the path forward that leads to more votes? I imagine even Barack Obama himself must sit back and laugh in amazement at the line these fools are trying to toe for him. Why would they choose to die on this hill for Obama actors and career DOJ/FBI partisans? Its all going to backfire and the entire left will be blindsided again because, guess what? Not every Democrat or Independent drinks every glass of Kool-Aid Wolf Blitzer serves up for them. America is brimming with good, proud, and honorable people with families. They go to work each day and do their best. They enjoy their families, friends, and communities. Ultimately, citizens just want a system that is not on the political fringes. They want a balanced system that works for them -- the American system, the system that made this country the best, freest country in history. Not a system of corruption that subverts the rule of law at the highest levels. Not a system chock full of double standards that favors the ruling class and their whimsical causes. It simply wont be allowed to stand. This crop of Dems appears poised to learn the hard way that the path back to prominence will only open up when they turn the compass back toward the center. That means considering Americans before foreigners. It also means showing even the slightest adherence and respect for the laws theyve enacted. Im not sure that history will ever truly reflect how badly disconnected from the rule of law Obama left the Democratic party. Traditional Dems and liberals should be distraught by wave of destruction Obama left in his wake. Sadly, the echo chamber will never tell this tale. I no longer find myself getting worked up when Im near a public TV tuned to CNN spewing the incessant demagoguery. I snicker and shake my head. I deeply enjoy the next most outrageous claim theyll make, because I know that people arent buying it anymore. I know the MSM are digging in and digging deeper and I applaud them. Keeping digging guys! Faster faster! The MSM and Dems learned nothing from the election of Donald J. Trump. You might ask -- What about all the statistics that show incoming administrations tend to lose the House in the first midterms? Response -- those statistics dont encompass the largest governmental corruption scandal in history and a party that refuses to acknowledge or take any responsibility for it. I offer to my fellow conservatives good tidings: the Dems are headed for a path of destruction, and they dont even realize it, because they never pulled their heads out of the echo chamber. If they continue down this path thinking that the collective TDS stance will carry them across the goal line, they will find themselves in the path of a big red wave. Bet on it.
Protesters were heard chanting, "Death to Khamenei," "Death to Rouhani" and "Reformists, principalists, end of story," expressing their abhorrence of the ruling regime.

Iran's protests are proving how the people demand change to a democratic system. These nationwide demonstrations, rejecting the entirety of Iran's regime, and U.S. President Donald Trump's positions, alongside other administration officials such as Vice President Pence and UN Ambassador Nicki Haley, have angered Iran's lobbyists and appeasement supporters in the U.S. They have launched retaliatory measures supporting Tehran.

As protests grew, Tehran launched a wave of crackdowns, arrests, torture in prisons, and a series of suspicious "suicides" among those arrested, all to create a climate of fear. At the same time, Iran began publishing fake news to divert attention and render disappointment among protesters, and isolate international support.

Reports citing Iran's officials indicate 5,000 arrests, including 1,400 women. The Iranian opposition, however, says at least 8,000 were apprehended and over 50 were murdered. The international community expressed concerns over prisoners' conditions.

The University of Marylands Center for International and Security Studies, which generally supports the regime, has attempted to claim that the Iranian majority desire to maintain the regime in power and oppose U.S. support for the protesters. For this purpose, they conducted a fake telephone poll by calling people inside Iran.

The Washington Post reported a segment of this poll as such:

The poll, released on Friday by the Center for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM) and IranPoll, found comparatively little support for changing Iran's political system or relaxing strict Islamic law and suggested that criticism of Iranian foreign policy in Syria and Iraq was not as widely shared by the general population. "Iranians also felt expressions of support for the protesters from President Trump and other U.S. officials did not help those demonstrating, the survey found, with 39 percent saying they hurt the protesters' demands and 9 percent saying they helped. When asked for their opinion on the U.S. government, 85 percent of Iranians were found to have a very unfavorable opinion of it; less than 1 percent had a very favorable opinion. "The poll also found that generally, Iranians were happy with the way authorities had handled the protests, with roughly two-thirds saying police handled the protests very or somewhat well, and a slightly smaller about (64 percent) saying they used an appropriate amount of force.

Its interesting how those behind these polls chose to telephone individuals inside Iran, people living under a vicious dictatorship whose communications are controlled. Authorities summarily hunt down and arrest those taking part in protests. They are arrested without any warrants and transferred to unknown locations. The bodies of a number of those arrested are dumped in public with signs of torture.

In such circumstances, would anyone in Iran asked about regime change actually provide their true opinions?

Such questions were most likely addressed to regime officials and their relatives, as the majority of the Iranian people are living in poverty, struggling with unemployment due to rampaging government corruption, forced to sell body parts to make ends meet, and all the while fearing arrest and execution.

Pro-Iran advocate Barbara Slavin and the Atlantic Council were behind this survey. The questionnaire was carried out by IranPoll, noted for its affiliation to Tehran and former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was presented by the University of Maryland to provide some legitimacy.

Concerning the results of the poll, Slavin goes further and directly insults the Iranian people by saying:

"The survey shows that Qasem Soleimani -- the head of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and a man under US sanctions -- remains the most popular figure among regime stalwarts. According to the poll, he is gaining in popularity with an 83% approval rating now compared to 73% two years ago. "President Hassan Rouhani, meanwhile, has seen a noticeable slide, from 82% approval two years ago to just over 65% now. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's numbers have also gone south, with 68% approval now versus 78% in 2016."

The poll was carried out by Dr. Ebrahim Mohseni of Tehran University. Mohseni used to work in a Tehran center and gained Ahmadinejad's attention after conducting a poll in his favor. He is in direct connection with Iran's U.S.-based lobbies and to this day has prepared a number of fake polls in Tehran's favor.

The Iranian American Forum published a report on April 20, 2015 on this individual's past and connections with Iran's Revolutionary Guards [IRGC].

Ebrahim Mohseni was a student at the University of Maryland in 2007 who went to Iran and worked under the supervision of Mohammad Marandi, a Tehran University professor to conduct [a] poll Following the successful launch of two polls in the US in 2007 and 2008, and the large media coverage that they received, President Ahmadinejads office dedicated more resources to the project and helped to create the 'University of Tehran Center for Public Opinion Research (UTCPOR)' in 2009. The head of the center is Mohammad Marandi and the director of projects is Ebrahim Mohseni who is also tied to the Revolutionary Guards Since 2009, UTCPOR has produced a dozen of polls for its partners in the US. Additionally, the center has also released domestically used polls designed to help the hardliners and Revolutionary Guards. For example, in 2014, the ultra-hardliners planned to impose a mandatory separation of men and women in working places and universities. They also envisaged to pass it into law in parliament. The plan created a social and media uproar but UTCPOR released a public opinion poll of Iranians that showed an overwhelming support for the plan. "Mohseni explained the result of his poll in an interview with 'Tasnim News', affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards and declared: 'A majority of Iranians who answered our questions told that implementation of Islamic rule in Iran will help to reduce the social and economic problems in the country. 78% believed that the separation of men and women will improve work conditions in public offices and will strengthen the foundation of families. 64% of them preferred that women be given only jobs that are related to women.'

The fake news industry has escalated to fake polls. Organizers of such schemes, along with Iran apologists, are opposed to fundamental change in Iran and seek to undercut the strong support provided by the Trump administration. Their shameful measures provide a green light for the regime's crackdown.
'Customized Learning' Means Every Student Learns Something Different

According to the people controlling our public schools, this country has been blessed by an endless stream of brilliant innovations. For examples, we had Sight-word instruction, which creates dyslexia and illiteracy, we had New Math, which the whole country hated; we had Constructivist instruction, which guarantees less success in the classroom. Point is, the hype is often far separated from reality. We have a lot of gimmicks in our classrooms that almost always share two things: they were lavishly promoted as breakthroughs; and they dont work very well. So forgive my hesitation when I read praise of mass customized learning, which the developers hail as the only way to achieve true education reform. We have to redesign student learning from class time to curriculum and from teaching styles to learning spaces. Translation: throw everything out the window and start anew with a big blank check.

Julie Mathiesen has been the director at TIE (Technology and Innovation in Education) in Rapid City, Iowa, since 2008. She promotes the concept of Mass Customized Learning; a technologically empowered educational system in which learning activities are keyed to the individual students learning style and developmental level. According to Mathiesen; The old way of learning doesnt work anymore, because students are living in a world where they are no longer told how to think and dont process and learn through telling. Instead, students learn by doing and by learning anytime, anywhere. Mathiesen claimed that, no matter how much you spruce up an old model of car, no one would want it because theres always a maximum capacity and the same applies to education. Maybe this is baloney. There is no reason why the human brain is any different now than it was 50 or 100 years ago. In fact, the best students around the world are typically sitting in large classrooms, more like amphitheaters, listening to professors, just as they have for hundreds of years. The large lecture is efficient and its cheap. Whats not to like? Unless perhaps you dont want efficiency and economy. We know for sure that our Education Establishment is always finding reasons to attack the traditional classroom, the traditional lecture, and the traditional role of the teacher. Typically, they announce: none of this stuff works, we have to do everything differently. If it was blue, paint it pink; if it was tall, make it short; if it was up in the air, put it on the floor. All instruction will be customized. Students may sometimes be in the same classroom but each will be attending his own separate school. Each will, in effect, have what schools now call an IEP, individualized education program. Why is this such a great idea? What about the responsibility of the school to identify those things which everyone should know and then teach those things? In other words, what about the classical concept of a shared community of knowledge?? Taken to its logical conclusion, customized learning means a different academic experience for every kid. That might sound fun and exciting for a time. But surely there are things that everybody should know. Who is Shakespeare? Whats a hypotenuse? Why do people still talk about Julius Caesar? The truth is, our progressive educators dont like people knowing a wealth of knowledge. Its not fair; its not what socialists call democratic. So this new approach is a good way to keep everybody ignorant and separate. Nobody will have any way to judge anybody elses knowledge because everybody will know different things. Customized learning is a proposal that would probably require more administrators and bigger budgets. But heres the main problem. What about the theory that there is a best way to do things? Why not do it that way? When you design a hotel lobby, or machine interface, or an amusement park ride, you dont create a different ride for every customer. No, you try to create the best ride for everybody in one place. ASCD, a big voice in the Education Establishment, concluded: Mass customized learning is about each learner becoming an active, engaged partner with real voice in how he or she learns and how he or she demonstrates knowledge or skill. In other words, students decide what they should know and how they will prove that they know it. How convenient for the students. The Education Establishment gets competency learning or standards-based learning all in one swoop. Subjective assessment will be the norm. Expect more administrative problems, as there will be different tests for every student. Chaos will necessarily increase. No two students will know the same facts. Mass customizable learning might be the best gimmick yet if your real goal is to make sure that K-12 education remains ineffectual. You never know with our Education Establishment whether they are searching in the dark for a bright idea, or their real purpose is to finally kill off whats left of traditional education. Id put my money on the latter. Lets consider this question: if people were really serious about making schools better, wouldnt they pick a certain body of knowledge and demonstrate how that knowledge can be taught most quickly and efficiently? Funny thing, they never do this. The most popular first step is to throw everything out the window and jump into deep, very expensive water. Thats how we lost phonics in 1931. Thats how we got New Math in 1962. Thats how we now have Constructivism in every classroom. The Education Establishment, for the past century, has relentlessly tried to chip away at traditional content. Less and less is taught. Customizable learning achieves the same goal in a different way. Each child learns a different set of facts. In total, more might actually be taught. But the facts are all Balkanized, atomized, divided into small parcels. There will be less and less shared knowledge, and therefore less communication within the society. That seems to me a weakness. Bruce Deitrick Price's new book is Saving K-12  What happened to our public schools? How do we fix them? He deconstructs educational theories and methods on Improve-Education.org.
Identity politics, Lilla argues in his new book The Once and Future Liberal, is a myopic tactic for regaining political ground. As soon as you cast an issue exclusively in terms of identity you invite your adversary to do the same, he explains. Those who play one race card should be prepared to be trumped by another, as we saw subtly and not so subtly in the 2016 presidential election.

Dave Weigel, the portly, nesting doll look-alike reporter for the Washington Post, is no fan of Mark Lilla, the Columbia University professor who issued a distress call to liberals about embracing identity politics following Donald Trumps presidential victory.

The Spectator columnist Ed West made the same point in a piece published not long after Trumps astonishing win. Trump, West observed, is the triumph of identity politics, a man who turned the Democrats emphasis on minority races upside down and cobbled together a winning coalition of whites, spanning from the well-to-do to the working class.

Licking their wounds and nursing their pride, Democrats woke up the morning after Election Day desperately searching for an answer as to why Trump outsmarted them at their own game. More than a year later, they have yet to devise a foolproof plan to resist the President, outside of rabid outrage over trivialities and vulva-shaped crochet hats.

Weigel, intrepid reporter that he is, thinks Democrats have figured out a way to fell Trump, or at least his Republican allies in this falls midterm elections. Following the Presidents highly-praised State of the Union address, not one, not two, not three, but five Democrats gave rebuttals, each tripping over one another to deliver the most concise, like-friendly salvo that would, hopefully, be looped endlessly over social media. The party employed its usual cast of characters to give the team rebuttal: a Kennedy, a grandfatherly socialist, a Spanish speaker, an insipid third-party nobody, and a black woman whos temperamentally incapable of not calling everything racist.

The messages were all the same. President Trump is simultaneously incompetent and masterfully devious; a hapless stooge and a cunning oligarch; a friend of benighted provincials and an ally of big business. Nothing of note stuck out in any speech other than Chapstick-laden lips of Bobby Kennedys grandkid.

One theme did stick out, however, according to Weigel. He notes the debate about identity politics that briefly distracted Democrats after 2016 has been long forgotten. In a tweet promoting the report, Weigel bolsters his conclusion, directly naming Lilla: One takeaway: The battle over identity politics has been settled, and Mark Lilla (remember him?) lost.

Au contraire, Mr. Weigel, but to paraphrase Chesterton, ditching identity politics has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.

The so-called squabble over identity politics that was supposed to swallow up the Democratic Party never actually happened. While a few introspective types like Lilla considered ditching the civically poisonous belief system, howling lonely in the cold night, the rest of the Democrat coalition kept right on chugging along, cutting and pasting political interests based on skin color, private parts, and troublesome legal status.

If there was any serious conversation among Hillary Clinton voters about the pitfalls of identity-centrism, it was vanquished when the first Womens March crowded the streets of Washington the day after Trumps inauguration. It lost further ground in the outrage following the administrations first executive order limiting travel from a handful of Muslim-majority countries.

By the time liberal precincts started removing monuments dedicated to Confederate Army generals last summer, it was more than obvious the liberal obsession with racial and sexual identity wasnt withering. If anything, Trumps rise made it a more potent weapon.

In attempting to malign Lillas admonition of identity politics, Weigel creates a straw man, only to knock it down. Lillas small but instructive monograph was dismissed too quickly by the media set to have any sort of impact on voters. It was a shame. His message of social solidarity over sowing division, of reaching out to rural whites over dismissing them in favor of urban centers, is still a compelling one.

Democrats, if theyve any care left for politicking, will be kicking themselves soon enough for not heeding Lillas advice. Already, the tenuous strands holding together the identity-driven voting bloc are stretching beyond capacity.

Chelsea Manning, the soldier-cum-transgender activist, was vilified by his fellow leftists for associating with pro-Trump writers. Rose McGowan, the actress who helped out Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein for being a lecherous abuser, was recently drawn into a shouting match with a transgender person over not doing enough to help trans women. A Snapchat video of a Hispanic girl calling black people trash who need to die recently went viral, eliciting a wave of backlash.

These small but significant outbursts portend a greater blowup for those motivated primarily by personal grievance. The identity politic coalition cobbled together by Democrats cant last because, ultimately, identity is a selfish ideal. Theres nothing wrong with valuing the history and culture of people like you. But to maniacally focus on your own living traits, to put your superficial characteristics above thoughts of your own countrymen, destroys the potential for democratic governance.

Identity politics is a misnomer because its only effective at one thing: tearing a society apart. Politics is an art of persuasion and compromise. Linking it to identity is a sure way to tank cordiality, and, by extension, the democratic republic we call home.
The SPLC ignores basic standards of scientific research in selecting and classifying hate groups and extremists.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) says its primary mission is to fight hatred, teach tolerance, and seek justice. These are noble goals for most Americans, but this is not a noble organization. It is the exact opposite. Given the SPLCs power and influence over the media and members of Congress, this once highly-regarded civil rights organization deserves fresh scrutiny. Here are seven reasons why the SPLC fails to serve the public interest:

The SPLCs definition of hate is vague. It defines a hate group as one with beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics. SPLC President Richard Cohen testified in December 2017 that its assessment of hate is based on opinion, not objective criteria. (See minutes 43-48 of his testimony.)

George Yancy, a University of North Texas sociologist, documented the SPLCs subjective nature in a 2014 study, Watching the Watchers. Yancy said the groups methodology seemed more geared to mobilizing liberals than cataloguing hate groups.

The SPLC uses guilt by association to engage in ad hominem attacks against individuals.

Hannah Scherlacher, a Campus Reform worker, found her name listed in the SPLCs Anti-LGBT Roundup of Events and Activities after the conservative Family Research Council interviewed her. Surprisingly, Scherlachers interview had nothing to do with LGBT issues. In 2009, soon after I criticized the SPLC for having mission creep, it labeled me an apologist for white supremacy .

Carol Swain, PhD

I committed the crime of endorsing a film produced by a man the SPLC considers a racist.

The SPLC ignores threats posed by leftist, anti-American groups such as ANTIFA, ISIS, and the Muslim Brotherhood.

Despite the growing threat of jihadist violence, the SPLC has been reluctant to add Islamic groups with terrorist ties to its list of extremists. It also ignored how, in 2004, the FBI found plans for a grand jihad in America within the archives of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America. Yet, the SPLC has applied the hate label to Muslim critics of Islam, such as Maajid Nawaz and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Both are listed in its Field Guide to Muslim Extremists.

The SPLC attacks and smears mainstream public service organizations, including churches, ministries, and various pro-family entities.

Targeted organizations include the American Family Association, Alliance Defending Freedom, Act for America, the Center for Immigration Studies, Center for Security Policy, D. James Kennedy Ministries, Family Research Council, Liberty Counsel, and the Traditional Values Coalition. These groups are lumped together by the SPLC with the Aryan Nations, KKK, and neo-Nazis. Preposterous.

Note: labelling an organization as a hate group hurts its fundraising and hinders access to credit card-processing vendors, search engine rankings, and ministry partners.

The SPLC bashes conservatives while pushing a liberal agenda that empowers and supports leftists, communists, and anarchists.

The SPLC regularly bashes President Trump, blaming him for the growth of white nationalism. Their analysis fails to acknowledge that the rise of white nationalism predates the election of Trump by more than two decades. Much of what the president says or does is framed as an attack on civil rights.

Curiously, after violence in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017, the SPLC republished a map detailing the location of more than 1,500 Confederate monuments and symbols. Consider the map a field guide for anarchists.

The SPLCs labeling of groups and individuals has inspired acts of violence against its targets.

The SPLC is the common thread in two violent hate crimes against conservatives. After the SPLC listed the Family Research Council (FRC) on its hate map, Floyd Lee Corkins II entered FRC headquarters in August 2012 intending to commit mass murder. He was subdued by a security guard who was shot in the process. Likewise, James T. Hodgkinson, who in 2017 shot House Majority Whip Representative Steve Scalise (R-La.), was an SPLC social media fan.

The SPLC is an irresponsible public charity.

The SPLC has violated the public trust. Nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations are expected to operate in a nonpartisan manner with the public interest at heart. The SPLC, however, is a radical activist group dedicated to suppressing political dissent.

As of 2016, the SPLC had $319 million in net assets with $69 million parked in offshore accounts. Despite its name, the SPLC does not fight poverty. Its salaries are bloated, and only a fraction of its annual contributions are used to support its programs. Writing for Philanthropy Roundtable, a nonprofit group informing the public on philanthropic activity and groups, executive director Karl Zinsmeister wrote:

The SPLC is a cash-collecting machine. In 2015 it vacuumed up $50 million in contributions and foundation grants, a tidy addition to its $334 million holdings of cash and securities and its headquarters worth $34 million. Theyve never spent more than 31 percent of the money they were bringing in on programs, and sometimes they spent as little as 18 percent. Most nonprofits spend about 75 percent on programs.

SPLC headquarters, Montgomery AL

A strong case can be made to strip the SPLC of its nonprofit, tax-exempt status.

Congress and the media need to take a fresh look at the SPLC. It no longer serves the public interest.

Carol Swain is a former associate professor of politics at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and former professor of both political science and law at Vanderbilt University. She holds a master of studies in law from Yale University and a Ph.D from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
The Bulgarian president gave President Bush a book titled The Leadership Genius of George W. Bush. Secretary of State John Kerry gave Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov two large potatoes from Idaho. Occasionally a gift has unfortunate consequences. The electoral defeat of Valery Giscard d'Estaing in 1981 was at least partly attributable to his acceptance of a large gift of diamonds from Jean-Bedel, Bokassa I, the self-proclaimed Emperor of the Central African Republic.

Speak low if you speak camaraderie. Diplomatic gifts date back to the ancient world, and have symbolized friendship, peace, appreciation, or anticipation by the donor. Sometimes the gifts have been unusual, even bizarre. In 1824, the Marquis de Lafayette gave John Adams an alligator. Iran gave Russian President Vladimir Putin two Persian leopards. In 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron gave President Barack Obama a ping-pong table made in China.

The most recent and intriguing diplomatic gesture has come from French President Emmanuel Macron, the young, highly energetic, ambitious, self-confident leader interested in the "refoundation of Europe," and in a prominent role for France. politically and economically, including investment destination. Macron is more prone to engage in grand gestures and the exercise of charm rather than quiet diplomacy. At this point it is uncertain whether British Prime Minister Theresa May has succumbed or resisted that charm, but Macron's gesture to UK is captivating.

President Macron on January 18, 2018, agreed to loan Britain, probably in 2022, the Bayeux Tapestry, though at the end it may be too fragile to move. A remarkable achievement of the art of the Norman Renaissance, the work, 70 meters long and 50 cm high, is embroidered, not woven, and therefore not technically a tapestry, though always referred to as such. It relates the story of the years 1064-1066, of the events up to and including the Norman conquest of England and the battle of Hastings.

The tapestry has never left France in 950 years, even during World War II, when Nazi leader Heinrich Himmler tried, and failed, to take it to Berlin. It provides a simplified view of a complex political and military struggle from the death of Edward the Confessor who became king of England in 1042 and following events until the Norman Conquest. There are a small number of leading characters. King Edward had no children and thus there was no automatic and accepted successor. After his funeral, Edward's brother-in-law, the ambitious Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex, was selected to become king. He was immediately confronted by a challenge for the throne by Harald Kardrada the Viking king of Norway who invaded with 10,000 men and was defeated and killed at the battle of Stamford Bridge.

However, William, illegitimate son of the Duke of Normandy, who became a duke at age seven, claimed that Edward, whose mother was the great aunt of William, had promised him the throne. William invaded, the only person since Julius Caesar, veni, vidi, vici, to successfully invade Britain, and the last to do so. His army fought and defeated that of Harold on October 14, 1066 at the battle of Hastings. Thousands on both sides were killed, including Harold, and William, the Conqueror, took the throne. The Bayeux tapesty, which in fact was made in England, not in Bayeux, is the story of and implicitly the justification of the Norman Conquest.

Three interesting questions arise. Are the two countries making a new tapestry together or is Macron's decision to loan Bayeux a symbolic article for France, a political statement, with its message of the defeat of the Anglo-Saxon Harold by the French William? Harold's death marked the end of Anglo-Saxon rule over England. Is Macron hinting that Britain, in the throes of Brexit, cannot evade European rules?

A second question is how or if Britain will reciprocate in this diplomatic game with a gesture. Some options may be considered. Perhaps the most appropriate is loaning Paris the Rosetta Stone, the black granodiorite dating from an Egyptian decree issued in 196 B.C. taken from the French in Egypt in 1801, and now a main tourist attraction in the British Museum in London. The Stone was discovered by French soldiers and engineers during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt, captured by British troops who defeated the French in Egypt in 1801 and transported to the BM.

The main question is, what policy will Macron take in relations with UK, both bilaterally and in the ongoing Brexit negotiations with the EU? He recognizes that the UK is a vital partner on security and defense, cyber and digital issues, and that France and UK provide about half of EU defense spending. Britain has provided three military helicopters to support France in its confrontation with Islamists in the Sahel region of Africa and Mali. France has committed troops to the UK-led NATO force, Enhanced Forward Presence, the multinational Battlegroup, in Estonia, set up after the Russian annexation of Crimea and the invasion of Ukraine.

The first step is to obtain agreement on border controls at Calais, the processing of migrants trying to enter the UK, and the so-called "refugee jungle" outside Calais. The UK has agreed to pay, in addition to the 100 million it already pays, an additional $62 million to reinforce security, fences, CCTV cameras, detection technology. The bilateral Le Touquet agreement of 2003 allowed the UK and France to post border officials in the other country to monitor immigration and passports. In effect, it put part of the UK border in France. However, if and when UK leaves the EU, the border will be Dover, not Calais. Moreover, the UK will have to contribute to the cost of tighter border controls on the Channel crossing even after it leaves the EU.

Macron has been eager to obtain agreement on this issue of illegal migration, mostly from Eritrea, Somalia, Syria, and Afghanistan, on the French-UK border, including the issue of nonaccompanied minors. He has argued that UK should be more active in tackling the issue. His basic point is that it is not the fault of France that migrants are coming; the problem is that UK firms are too ready to employ illegal migrants.

As a result of the Sandhurst treaty of January 18, 2018, the processing of immigrants trying to come into the UK is expected to quicken. France wants to avoid repetition of the 2016 situation when migrants were living outside Calais.

Most important is French policy on Brexit. Macron has made clear that if Britain leaves the single market of the EU, British firms will have less access to export than they have now. He sees the choice for UK: between a relationship with EU, similar to the one that Norway has with the EU, not a member of EU but associated with it for trade issues, and a Canadian-style one, maintaining ties with European countries. Theresa May counters that though UK will not be a full member of the single market, it is in the interests of both sides to agree on a deal on goods and services. The City of London will continue to be a major global financial center, and that is an advantage not only for the UK but also for Europe and the global financial system.

Macron insists that if UK wants access to the single market, including the financial market, it must contribute to the EU budget and also acknowledge European legal jurisdiction, the European Court of Justice. Otherwise, UK may have trade access, but this is not full access to the single market or to financial services.

The outcome of the Brexit negotiations is unpredictable, but the Entente Cordiale is still alive. This was evident at the bilateral meeting at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in January 2018 when the French flag was raised over the site and La Marseillaise was played. Theresa May might not have said it to the French president, but she may thought, "play it again, Emmanuel.
A Tesla Roadster is Launched to Mars, and a New Space Age Begins

Elon Musk is the worlds greatest showman. His Tesla Roadster and a dummy astronaut blasts off on a super-giant rocket called Falcon Heavy, headed for Mars orbit with David Bowies Space Oddity blaring on the car radio. The astronaut is dubbed Starman, after another Bowie song. The words Dont Panic! are on the dashboard. Musk said that it took his team over three years to develop the space suit, because it not only had to be functional, it had to look good. To Musk, the spectacle is as important as the accomplishment. He understands that to be truly successful, you not only need to produce successful results, you need to excite peoples imaginations.

Two of the boosters landed softly, tail-end first precisely on ground pads, like something out of a 1950s science-fiction movie. The third is due to land on a drone barge in the Atlantic. Musks next goal is to land an entire rocket in that manner, something I thought was counter to the laws of physics. Apparently, I am wrong. But the child in me, who watched all of those early science-fiction movies, is greatly excited. I like to think of myself as a child of the space age. My father worked as an engineer for NASA for 20 years at Cape Canaveral. I got to see almost every launch, from Alan Shepards Mercury rocket as the first American in space to the Gemini launches to Apollo 13, all from my backyard. My high school let out to let the students watch the Apollo 11 launch from across the Indian River. I never got to see a space shuttle launch from the ground. I was working in the Tampa Bay area when I witnessed the Challenger shuttle explode in midair in 1986. My father was working at the Cape at the time, and collapsed when the shuttle exploded. He died of an aortic aneurism two days later. The space shuttle program was ended in 2011, but the space coast area had fallen into a drug-addled depression. President Obama declared the primary mission of NASA to be Muslim outreach. My brother, who worked as an engineer for a NASA subcontractor and tested the re-entry tiles on the shuttles, died of a drug-induced heart attack. I am sure that as history unfolds, Elon Musk will get the credit for re-igniting Americas space program. President Trump announced his support for NASA space exploration in his SOTU address, and should get co-credit. We may be on the verge of a new millennium in space. That is, assuming the radical leftist Dems arent soon back in control of the country. But, I have a bone to pick with Musk. He did not originate the concept of a roadster in space. Ivan Reitmans (pre-Ghostbuster) film Heavy Metal featured an astronaut in a 1959 Corvette launched from a space shuttle in the opening credits (see video below). Also, do you know to what book the Dont Panic! on Musks roadster dashboard refers? Andrew Thomas blogs at http://darkangelpolitics.com
Carter Page previously worked with the Clinton Administration transition team in 1992-1993 while serving as a Research Fellow on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) on Capitol Hill. During his Fellowship, HASC Chairman Les Aspin was selected by President Clinton as the Secretary of Defense in December 1992. From May 1993  December 1994, Carter went on to serve as the Arms Control Action Officer for Counterproliferation Policy in the Nuclear Affairs and International Negotiations Branch of the Navy Staff in the Pentagon. [italics in original]

It is far from clear what Carter Page is, other than an international man of mystery  possibly implying the farcical tone of Austin Powers . A Twitter account in the name of The War Economy (hat tip: Rex Imperator ) dug up a 2008 listing of speakers to be heard at the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program in New York City, which reproduced his claim to be an Clinton insider:

But what if Page were an agent of the Clinton Machine, who volunteered with the Trump transition team in order to implicate Trump in the plot that began the morning after the 2016 election, when the excuse of Russian interference was first cooked up by Hillarys advisors. That cant be ruled out either.

There are many possibilities to explain this. The simplest would be that Page was and remains a hustler, anxious to affiliate himself with whoever gains the presidency, that he is no ideologue, but more of an influence-peddler. This does not rule him out of being a spy but it also raises question as to whether  if the spy suspicions have any validity  he had any nefarious influence on the Clintons. Remember that Bill Clinton spent time in Moscow as a young man, a trip whose funding and implications have never been adequately explained.

This is the first time I have learnt this about Carter Page. Why isn't it mentioned? He worked with the Clinton Administration transition team between 1992 and 1993. Could be something, could be nothing, but I just find it odd that this happened. https://t.co/G8LpfjnXl8 pic.twitter.com/ebOHto2kH3

It is far from clear what Carter Page is, other than an international man of mystery  possibly implying the farcical tone of Austin Powers. A Twitter account in the name of The War Economy (hat tip: Rex Imperator) dug up a 2008 listing of speakers to be heard at the Bard Globalization and International Affairs Program in New York City, which reproduced his claim to be an Clinton insider:

Carter Page previously worked with the Clinton Administration transition team in 1992-1993 while serving as a Research Fellow on the House Armed Services Committee (HASC) on Capitol Hill. During his Fellowship, HASC Chairman Les Aspin was selected by President Clinton as the Secretary of Defense in December 1992. From May 1993  December 1994, Carter went on to serve as the Arms Control Action Officer for Counterproliferation Policy in the Nuclear Affairs and International Negotiations Branch of the Navy Staff in the Pentagon. [italics in original]

This is the first time I have learnt this about Carter Page. Why isn't it mentioned?



He worked with the Clinton Administration transition team between 1992 and 1993.



Could be something, could be nothing, but I just find it odd that this happened.https://t.co/G8LpfjnXl8 pic.twitter.com/ebOHto2kH3  The_War_Economy (@The_War_Economy) February 6, 2018

There are many possibilities to explain this. The simplest would be that Page was and remains a hustler, anxious to affiliate himself with whoever gains the presidency, that he is no ideologue, but more of an influence-peddler. This does not rule him out of being a spy but it also raises question as to whether  if the spy suspicions have any validity  he had any nefarious influence on the Clintons. Remember that Bill Clinton spent time in Moscow as a young man, a trip whose funding and implications have never been adequately explained.

But what if Page were an agent of the Clinton Machine, who volunteered with the Trump transition team in order to implicate Trump in the plot that began the morning after the 2016 election, when the excuse of Russian interference was first cooked up by Hillarys advisors. That cant be ruled out either.

hat tip: Clarice Feldman
Dan Canon is trying to unseat a Republican House member in Indiana. He thinks he has a winning issue -- the legalization of marijuana. He makes a statement so outrageous, so preposterous, that I have to parse it, phrase by phrase:

The votes of druggies could be crucial in the 2018 midterm elections. That's what Democrats think, which is why they are going all out to show their support for pot users .

And it's appealing [the legalization of marijuana] because it touches on so many other things: creates a new industry with jobs..."

Narcotics dealers are a "new industry with jobs"? I suppose so, from a certain point of view.

...good for agriculture...

Growing narcotics is now "agriculture"? What are we, Afghanistan?

...alleviates pressures placed on the criminal justice system...

And if we decriminalized rape and murder, it would alleviate the pressure even further.

...reduces overdose deaths...

legalizing drugs increases consumption, and overdoses.

...is a natural pain reliever, can raise massive tax revenue, et cetera.

I think Dan Canon is the opposite of a natural pain reliever. And why is it that the only businesses that Democrats want to support involve drugs or racial sensitivity training?

Canon thinks that he can overcome the natural Republican instincts of Indiana by supporting marijuana legalization. And he isn't the only one.

In a race to unseat a GOP congressman in Kentucky, the three Democratic candidates are a black man, a white woman, and a homosexual. Which one is from the most virtuous Democratic Party interest group? None of the three are taking any chances; the candidates are all trying to tip the scale by highlighting their support for narcotics.

State Senator Reggie Thomas [the black candidate], who represents a portion of Lexington in the Kentucky Senate, was first in the race to come out in favor of medical marijuana. In a web video, he states, The evidence is clear. Medical marijuana helps those with chronic pain and other medical conditions. Two days after Thomas posted that video, one of his primary opponents, Amy McGrath [the white woman], responded on Twitter: Many #veterans suffering from #ChronicPain and #PTSD report improved healthcare outcomes from #MedicalCannabis. Im proud to stand with the @americanlegion in advocating for more research. Jim Gray [Gray is openly gay], the mayor of Lexington, is the third Democrat vying for the opportunity to unseat Barr. "I'm for Congress either legalizing medical marijuana across the country or getting out of the way and letting states decide whether to regulate and tax marijuana. That means removing it as a Schedule I drug, Gray told POLITICO.

Why is it that Democrats only have a keen interest in one kind of "pharmaceutical"? Beyond government centralization and control of healthcare, marijuana is where Democrats interest in medical innovation starts and ends.

Questions for discussion:

1) Democrats are obviously trying to curry the favor of potheads. If that isn't enough, do you think they will also try to attract the votes of cocaine and heroin users?

2) What other criminal class can the Democrats curry favor with?

3) In the primary contest between the black state senator, the white woman, and the gay mayor, which candidate ranks the highest in virtuousness?

Ed Straker is the senior writer at Newsmachete.com.
Up until the present moment, Barack Obama has been missing in all the discussions of surveillance misbehavior. And most curiously, Obama has been almost invisible, staying quiet, and not using his expensive Washington, DC mansion (shared with Valeire Jarrett) as a base for leading the opposition to President Trump, as many of us expected him to do. He is the only president I can remember who didnt get out of DC when his term in office expired, yet he has been as invisible as if he were Truman retired to Independence or Eisenhower retired to Gettysburg. He hasnt even spoken out about the opposition to his presidential monument planned for public park land in Chicago, My optimistic guess is that he realizes his peril and is dummying up.

Tick, tick, tick were getting closer and closer to the What did the president know and when did he know it? moment in the biggest political scandal in American history. What looks like a sitting president authorizing the use of the vast spy apparatus of the federal government on the opposing party candidate for president would, if proven, be far bigger than Watergate  a mere burglary intended to spy on the opposition. Pay attention because you may want to tell your children or grandchildren what it was like watching this all unfold in 2018.

We have no way of knowing if she finally realized that using officially-issued devices for text messages that revealed illicit plotting and made the head of FBI Counterintelligence into an obvious blackmail target was unbelievably reckless, or if it was something personal. Perhaps he gave the wrong answer when she asked, Does this outfit make me look fat?

The last text is from Page to Strzok, and comes on June 23, 2017 when she wrote, "Please don't ever text me again."

Finally, last summer, Page broke up with her lover for reasons as yet undisclosed:

Pages meaning here is unclear, but Senate investigators say, coupled with Strzoks Aug. 15 text about an insurance policy, further investigation is warranted to find out what actions the two may have taken.

The next day, Nov. 14, 2016, Page wrote, God, being here makes me angry. Lots of high fallutin national security talk. Meanwhile we have OUR task ahead of us.

On Election Day 2016, Page wrote, "OMG THIS IS F***ING TERRIFYING." Strzok replied, "Omg, I am so depressed." Later that month, on Nov. 13, 2016 Page wrote, "I bought all the president's men. Figure I need to brush up on watergate."

Comey swore under penalty of perjury that he was kept in the dark by McCabe, apparently. If he didnt commit perjury, that means he was ignorant of the biggest and politically most important case the FBI was handling at the time. He is either guilty of incompetence, or he was lying.

"In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday..." Comey said at the time.

It was a full month later, on Oct. 28, 2016 when Comey informed Congress that, "Due to recent developments," the FBI was reopening its Clinton email investigation.

On Sept. 28, 2016 Strzok wrote to Page, "Got called up to Andy's [McCabe] earlier.. hundreds of thousands of emails turned over by Weiner's atty to sdny [Southern District of New York], includes a ton of material from spouse [Huma Abedin]. Sending team up tomorrow to review... this will never end." Senate investigators told Fox News this text message raises questions about when FBI officials learned of emails relevant to the Hillary Clinton email investigation on the laptop belonging to Weiner, the husband to Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

The newly uncovered texts reveal a bit more about the timing of the discovery of "hundreds of thousands" of emails on former congressman Anthony Weiner's laptop, ultimately leading to Comey's infamous letter to Congress just days before the 2016 presidential election.

That text came from Strzok to Page on Nov. 4, 2015, the day after Jill McCabe lost a hotly contested Virginia state Senate election. Strzok said of the result, "Disappointing, but look at the district map. Loudon is being gentrified, but it's still largely ignorant hillbilliys. Good for her for running, but curious if she's energized or never again." (snip)

Page wrote to Strzok on Sept. 2, 2016 about prepping Comey because "potus wants to know everything we're doing." Senate investigators told Fox News this text raises questions about Obama's personal involvement in the Clinton email investigation. (snip)

In a follow-up post (and on air segments), Fox News analyzed the key takeaways from the latest lovebird texts, and there are several, aside from the startling information that the two senior FBI executives believed that the President of the United States was following their work closely. On its own, that does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt his culpability in any crime, but there is a lot of information yet to be seen by the public.

In a move calculated to infuriate the Democrats, the latest batch of text messages between senior FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page was leaked to Fox News first , and there are some striking revelations. Officially embargoed until 6 AM Eastern Time today, FNC was ready with the first item to reach the nation, followed minutes later by an AP dispatch, which headlined that the lovebirds admired James Comey. The Washington Post and other outlets saw fit to go with the innocuous emphasis. No kidding!

Tick, tick, tick were getting closer and closer to the What did the president know and when did he know it? moment in the biggest political scandal in American history. What looks like a sitting president authorizing the use of the vast spy apparatus of the federal government on the opposing party candidate for president would, if proven, be far bigger than Watergate  a mere burglary intended to spy on the opposition. Pay attention because you may want to tell your children or grandchildren what it was like watching this all unfold in 2018.

Up until the present moment, Barack Obama has been missing in all the discussions of surveillance misbehavior. And most curiously, Obama has been almost invisible, staying quiet, and not using his expensive Washington, DC mansion (shared with Valeire Jarrett) as a base for leading the opposition to President Trump, as many of us expected him to do. He is the only president I can remember who didnt get out of DC when his term in office expired, yet he has been as invisible as if he were Truman retired to Independence or Eisenhower retired to Gettysburg. He hasnt even spoken out about the opposition to his presidential monument planned for public park land in Chicago, My optimistic guess is that he realizes his peril and is dummying up.

In a move calculated to infuriate the Democrats, the latest batch of text messages between senior FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page was leaked to Fox News first, and there are some striking revelations. Officially embargoed until 6 AM Eastern Time today, FNC was ready with the first item to reach the nation, followed minutes later by an AP dispatch, which headlined that the lovebirds admired James Comey. The Washington Post and other outlets saw fit to go with the innocuous emphasis. No kidding!

In a follow-up post (and on air segments), Fox News analyzed the key takeaways from the latest lovebird texts, and there are several, aside from the startling information that the two senior FBI executives believed that the President of the United States was following their work closely. On its own, that does not prove beyond a reasonable doubt his culpability in any crime, but there is a lot of information yet to be seen by the public.

Here is a list of the key revelations courtesy of FNC:

Page wrote to Strzok on Sept. 2, 2016 about prepping Comey because "potus wants to know everything we're doing." Senate investigators told Fox News this text raises questions about Obama's personal involvement in the Clinton email investigation. (snip) Strzok also calls Virginians who voted against then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe's wife for a state Senate seat "ignorant hillbillys." (sic) That text came from Strzok to Page on Nov. 4, 2015, the day after Jill McCabe lost a hotly contested Virginia state Senate election. Strzok said of the result, "Disappointing, but look at the district map. Loudon is being gentrified, but it's still largely ignorant hillbilliys. Good for her for running, but curious if she's energized or never again." (snip) The newly uncovered texts reveal a bit more about the timing of the discovery of "hundreds of thousands" of emails on former congressman Anthony Weiner's laptop, ultimately leading to Comey's infamous letter to Congress just days before the 2016 presidential election. On Sept. 28, 2016 Strzok wrote to Page, "Got called up to Andy's [McCabe] earlier.. hundreds of thousands of emails turned over by Weiner's atty to sdny [Southern District of New York], includes a ton of material from spouse [Huma Abedin]. Sending team up tomorrow to review... this will never end." Senate investigators told Fox News this text message raises questions about when FBI officials learned of emails relevant to the Hillary Clinton email investigation on the laptop belonging to Weiner, the husband to Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

This raises yuuuge problems for McCabe and Comey because:

It was a full month later, on Oct. 28, 2016 when Comey informed Congress that, "Due to recent developments," the FBI was reopening its Clinton email investigation. "In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday..." Comey said at the time.

Comey swore under penalty of perjury that he was kept in the dark by McCabe, apparently. If he didnt commit perjury, that means he was ignorant of the biggest and politically most important case the FBI was handling at the time. He is either guilty of incompetence, or he was lying.

There is bias aplenty again visible in the lovebird texts:

On Election Day 2016, Page wrote, "OMG THIS IS F***ING TERRIFYING." Strzok replied, "Omg, I am so depressed." Later that month, on Nov. 13, 2016 Page wrote, "I bought all the president's men. Figure I need to brush up on watergate." The next day, Nov. 14, 2016, Page wrote, God, being here makes me angry. Lots of high fallutin national security talk. Meanwhile we have OUR task ahead of us. Pages meaning here is unclear, but Senate investigators say, coupled with Strzoks Aug. 15 text about an insurance policy, further investigation is warranted to find out what actions the two may have taken.

Finally, last summer, Page broke up with her lover for reasons as yet undisclosed:

The last text is from Page to Strzok, and comes on June 23, 2017 when she wrote, "Please don't ever text me again."

We have no way of knowing if she finally realized that using officially-issued devices for text messages that revealed illicit plotting and made the head of FBI Counterintelligence into an obvious blackmail target was unbelievably reckless, or if it was something personal. Perhaps he gave the wrong answer when she asked, Does this outfit make me look fat?
On Monday there was a great example of the wonders of AI. Machines are programmed to sell stocks at certain levels, and they do what they are told. Then the cascading effect goes throughout the world. So what if a human forgets to program the machines to stop selling? What could go wrong?

When I think of AI, I think of self-driving cars, which are only as good as the humans programming their cameras and computers. Lets say an autonomous car was going down the road and came to black ice that it didnt recognize and yelled at the person in the back seat (who was drinking a beer, reading a book and had never learned to drive) and the car took over. What could go wrong? I also think of how cars with AI could not have handled the changing conditions of Hurricane Harvey.

There are a lot of examples of AI cascading through society today with negative consequences. It has to be AI, because if humans were actually using the brains God gave them, this stuff wouldnt happen. AI is that sort of automatic programming that replaces thinking in the name of greater productivity.

Programming can take many forms, not just AI, but the thought-free parrotings of the press and on the left:

Some examples:

No matter how many times the global warming fear mongers have been shown to cook the books and how many predictions of theirs have been completely wrong, programming in the form of journalists and others. repeat over and over again Climate change/global warming is caused by humans. People who disagree should not be listened to because they are stupid.

Jimmy Kimmel has been programmed to repeat the tropes provided to him by Chuck Schumer on any subject as factual, and the rest of the media has been programmed to just repeat over and over again how smart Kimmel is.

In the president's State of the Union speech, Democrats were programmed to sit and grimace no matter what was said. A human, Joe Manchin, made a mistake and stood to applaud at a non-programmed time, then looked around, and said 'oops. I must sit.'

Obama programmed bureaucrats to target people who disagreed with him. Humans performed the task at IRS, and after Obama sent out the message that there wasnt a smidgen of evidence that anyone did anything wrong, humans, without a brain at Justice complied.

Obama also programmed the FBI and Justice to not charge Hillary no matter what she did and they did what they were told. Journalists were programmed to not see anything wrong either and support her for President.

Obama needed a reason to spy on political opponents so his minions needed a program to justify this task. The one they found was paid for by Hillary and the DNC. Once the piece of artificial intelligence, or maybe fictional intelligence was bought and paid for, it was spread throughout the media world to complicit journalists who gladly reprinted the program as factual. Then the Justice Department and FBI, which was obviously programmed to do what they were told, used the dossier themselves and leaked it to the media to justify the spying.

After the spying was exposed, the same journalists who continually reprinted and repeated the programming as factual said dutifully they could see nothing wrong with what the FBI and Justice did.

Throughout eight years of the truly autocratic, dictatorial Obama, journalists were programmed to say how smart and inclusive he was no matter what he did. They continue with that order today.

The media has now been programmed to say that Trump, who is trying to give the power, purse and freedom back to the people and the private sector as fast as he can is the autocrat. Stupidity is thriving.

It would be nice if journalists and others went back to using their brains and common sense instead of just repeating what they are told. They would be worth reading and listening to then.

Maybe if humans were deciding when to buy and sell common stocks instead of machines programmed by humans there would be more logic and not as many scary moves. .

We should all remember that AI, and any kind of programming, can be extremely dangerous if the wrong people, or people with bad motives, do the programming.
Yesterday, President Trump said that the Democrats who did not cheer or applaud during the SOTU were this and that :

President Trump has a sure way of getting a reaction from many in the media. He reminds me of my son's cat who knows how to make me mad by simply walking into my home office every time I need a few quiet moments.

They would rather see Trump do badly, OK, than our country do well its very selfish even on positive news, really positive news like that, they were like death and Un-American. Un-American. Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? [laughter] Can we call that treason? Why not. [laughter] I mean, they certainly didnt seem to love our country very much. But you look at that and its really very, very sad.

My first reaction was to laugh and assume that President Trump was just having a little fun with the crowd. Didn't President Obama play with the crowd, too?

My second reaction was that President Trump should have reminded the Democrats that they looked silly and childish. It's not treasonous, it's stupid! They hate Trump so much that they lose their self-control.

This is what Cas Mudde wrote, and I agree:

The Democratic party, on the other hand, showed it had learned nothing from the 2016 defeat and still has no idea how to deal with Trump and the Republican hegemony. Not only did their members of Congress sit there defeated and moping, often not even applauding policies that were, or should be, in their own platform. They chose the personification of the east coast liberal political dynasty, Joe Kennedy III, to give the Democratic response to the State of the Union. From Massachusetts, of all places! Kennedys speech was heralded by the Democratic punditry as inspiring and truly American. But as with Hillary Clintons 2016 campaign, it was low on substance, particularly in terms of socioeconomic policies. And, seriously, who chooses a trust-fund kid, who is the 22nd richest member of Congress, to speak to the thousands of American communities whose roads arent paved with power or privilege? And so Kennedy did what the Democratic party has been doing for over a year now, reach out to Hispanics, including the by now obligatory few sentences in (surprisingly good) Spanish, and women -- the type of identity politics the party has been criticized for since the 2016 defeat.

So let me suggest this to President Trump. Don't joke about treason. Instead, call them tone deaf and out of touch with the people in Ohio that you are speaking to.

The Democrats are now the stupid party and all you have to do is watch a video of their SOTU performance.

P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter.
Posted on: February 7, 2018 12:28 PM

The mission agency USPG has produced a Lent course for 2018 which looks at how Anglican Churches around the world are supporting global development. Entitled All Things Are Possible, the course has a focus on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which were agreed by UN member countries in September 2015 to replace the Millennium Development Goals. The SDGs have been endorsed by Anglican leaders around the world.

USPG and our global church partners are giving our full support to the SDGs, USPG spokesman Tim Harford told ACNS. In particular, we have been inspired by the growing understanding among governments, the UN and other actors that faith-based organisations have a key role to play in global development  something we have known for years!

According to UN Development Programme administrator Helen Clark: faith-based organisations . . . have an important role to play in reminding us to focus on what really matters to us as human beings in search of well-being.

All Things Are Possible is a five-week Lent study course which attempts to make clear the links between our faith and global development. We want to suggest that it is only in God that there is any real hope for lasting change, Harford said.

The Millennium Development Goals, the precursor to the SDGs, were a series of challenges which the UN asked its members to achieve by the year 2015. All 189 UN member states and numerous international organisations signed up. Despite being somewhat idealistic in nature  for example, goal number one was to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger  much progress could be reported by the time the MDG deadline was reached, USPG says on its website.

The 17 SDGs are part of the UNs 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and have been categorised for simplicity under Five Ps: Prosperity, People, Planet, Peace and Partnership.

The USPG Lent course introduces the five Ps and explores how the perspective of faith can help churches and the world community to meet these goals.

Over five weeks, participants will explore the Five Ps, asking: What does it mean to prosper, what does it mean to fulfil our potential, what does it mean to care for the environment, what does it mean to love our neighbour, and what does it mean to live in partnership with God.

All things are possible can be downloaded as a printable pdf. Free copies can also be ordered for individuals or churches. In addition, USPG has prepared a sermon on the SDGs with an accompanying PowerPoint presentation.
Posted on: February 7, 2018 5:00 PM

The former Secretary for Anglican Communion Affairs for the Archbishops of Canterbury, the Revd Canon Joanna Udal, has been awarded the Cross of St Augustine for Services to the Anglican Communion by Archbishop Justin Welby. Canon Joanna Served both Archbishop Rowan Willams and Justin Welby, before stepping down in 2014. The award was in recognition of her unparalleled service to the Anglican Communion.

In the citation for her award, which Archbishop Justin presented yesterday (Tuesday) at Lambeth Palace, the London residence and offices of the Archbishops of Canterbury, former Archbishop Lord Williams said: Canon Joanna Udal has given unparalleled service to the Anglican Communion, both in selfless work at grassroots level and as an adviser and enabler of projects for the entire Anglican family.

Her long and dedicated ministry in Sudan was of immense significance for the successful running of that Province, and she laboured faithfully, even heroically, travelling all around Sudan with the then Archbishop and assisting his ministry of reconciliation and encouragement.

Her engagement with the day to day life of the Sudanese Church earned her both a unique insight into the sufferings and struggles of this Province, and a unique level of trust and affection on the part of the members and leadership of the Province and of many other African churches also.

Lord Williams continued: Her subsequent work on the staff of Lambeth Palace revealed her capacity for wise advice, efficient planning and endless sacrificial hard work in overseeing some complex foreign journeys for the Archbishop of Canterbury and monitoring the situation of various Provinces as plans unfolded for Anglican Consultative Council and Primates meetings.

Unobtrusive and unselfish, prayerful and intelligent, she was a tower of strength for the life of the Communion, and the Anglican family owes her an immense debt  as does this former Archbishop.

Canon Philip Mounstephen, Executive Leader of Church Mission Society, with whom Canon Udal served in Sudan as a CMS mission partner, commented: Were just delighted that Joannas outstanding service has been recognised in this way. One of our values in CMS is faithfulness and she is unquestionably a wonderful example of this.
(ANSA) - Rome, February 7 - The final report of a commission on depleted uranium said Italian soldiers had been exposed to "shocking" levels of it in Italy and on foreign missions, and that it had "helped sow deaths and illnesses".

However, the doctor whose expert opinion informed the panel's conclusions denied a link between uranium and cancer. Levels of uranium in the sectors of security and workplace health for soldiers had been toxic and deadly, said the report from the parliamentary commission of inquiry. The report highlighted that military chiefs had been in "denial" on the phenomenon, and also stressed the "deafening silences maintained by government authorities." Experts heard by the panel had verified the links between exposure to depleted uranium and tumours, the report said.

Commission Chair Gian Piero Scanu of the Democratic Party said "repeated judicial sentences have consistently affirmed the existence of a causal link between exposure to depleted uranium and the pathologies cited by the soldiers: this is a milestone and now those who were exposed will have the possibility of getting justice without having to struggle as they have done so far".

But the Italian doctor whose expert testimony was cited by the commission as evidence that depleted uranium caused cancer in soldiers denied "ever saying that". "That is absolutely not my thinking, I never said that depleted uranium is responsible for the tumours found in the soldiers," said Giorgio Trenta of the Italian association for medical radioprotection. Trenta's report was cited by the panel as proof of the causal link between depleted uranium and cancer.

In response to Trenta's statement, panel chair Scanu said the cancer expert had denied what he told the parliamentary commission of inquiry. Scanu said Trenta' s former statements about the link were contained in sworn testimony made at an Abruzzo audit court and in his evidence to the panel on March 23 2016. "He was asked twice," Scanu said, "if he confirmed that version and he did not deny having issued it. I can't understand why the professor now wants to deny the responsibility of such (uranium-tipped) projectiles in generating the nanoparticles that are the real cause of many forms of cancer".

The past president of the Italian association of medical oncology (AIOM), Carmine Pinto, told ANSA Wednesday there is a potential link between exposure to depleted uranium and cancer. "Potentially the continuous low-dosage exposure to uranium can be carcinogenic," Pinto said. This type of exposure, "continuous and at low doses", is exactly what could be determined by soldiers in missions and exercises", using uranium-tipped shells.

The relatives of soldiers who died of alleged uranium-linked cancer have been suing the government for years and pursuing cases in the courts, amid denials from military authorities.

In 2016 a Rome appeals court upheld a guilty verdict for the defence ministry in the 1999 death from leukemia due to depleted uranium exposure of 23-year-old Corporal Salvatore Vacca who handled uranium-tipped munitions during a 150-day mission in Bosnia in 1998-99.

The court found the ministry guilty of not having protected Vacca.

It ordered the ministry to pay more than one and a half million euros in compensation to Vacca's family.

The families of other victims are suing the ministry for deaths allegedly due to depleted uranium exposure on several Italian missions.

Domenico Leggiero of the Military Observatory group said the sentence was "historic, because it confirms that the ministry was aware of the danger the soldiers sent to those zones were subject to".

He said "I am sure Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti will bear this ruling in mind when she appears before the parliamentary depleted uranium commission".

Italian authorities consistently played down the uranium risks.

photo: Fulvio Pazzi, who died after uranium exposure in Bosnia
(ANSA) - Rome, February 7 - The final report of a commission on depleted uranium said Italian soldiers had been exposed to "shocking" levels of it in Italy and on foreign missions, and that it had "helped sow deaths and illnesses".

However, the doctor whose expert opinion informed the panel's conclusions denied a link between uranium and cancer. Levels of uranium in the sectors of security and workplace health for soldiers had been toxic and deadly, said the report from the parliamentary commission of inquiry. The report highlighted that military chiefs had been in "denial" on the phenomenon, and also stressed the "deafening silences maintained by government authorities." Experts heard by the panel had verified the links between exposure to depleted uranium and tumours, the report said.

Commission Chair Gian Piero Scanu of the Democratic Party said "repeated judicial sentences have consistently affirmed the existence of a causal link between exposure to depleted uranium and the pathologies cited by the soldiers: this is a milestone and now those who were exposed will have the possibility of getting justice without having to struggle as they have done so far".

But the Italian doctor whose expert testimony was cited by the commission as evidence that depleted uranium caused cancer in soldiers denied "ever saying that". "That is absolutely not my thinking, I never said that depleted uranium is responsible for the tumours found in the soldiers," said Giorgio Trenta of the Italian association for medical radioprotection. Trenta's report was cited by the panel as proof of the causal link between depleted uranium and cancer.

The relatives of soldiers who died of uranium-linked cancer have been suing the government for years and pursuing cases in the courts, amid denials from military authorities.

In 2016 a Rome appeals court upheld a guilty verdict for the defence ministry in the 1999 death from leukemia due to depleted uranium exposure of 23-year-old Corporal Salvatore Vacca who handled uranium-tipped munitions during a 150-day mission in Bosnia in 1998-99.

The court found the ministry guilty of not having protected Vacca.

It ordered the ministry to pay more than one and a half million euros in compensation to Vacca's family.

The families of other victims are suing the ministry for deaths allegedly due to depleted uranium exposure on several Italian missions.

Domenico Leggiero of the Military Observatory group said the sentence was "historic, because it confirms that the ministry was aware of the danger the soldiers sent to those zones were subject to".

He said "I am sure Defence Minister Roberta Pinotti will bear this ruling in mind when she appears before the parliamentary depleted uranium commission".

Italian authorities consistently played down the uranium risks.

photo: Fulvio Pazzi, who died after uranium exposure in Bosnia
(ANSA) - Milan, February 6 - Police on Tuesday searched the offices of ENI former legal chief and current manager Massimo Mantovani in a probe into an allegedly fake probe aimed at foiling kickbacks probes involving the fuels giant and Nigeria and Algeria. Mantovani is under investigation for a conspiracy to commit a number of crimes, judicial sources said.

ENI stressed earlier that it was not itself under investigation and urged the judiciary to clear up the matter.

Earlier Tuesday, in a related case, a magistrate was among 15 people arrested in a probe into two alleged criminal associations devoted to tax fraud, crimes against the public administration and corruption in judicial processes.

Former Siracusa prosecutor Giancarlo Longo is accused of being a "public official who sold off his role".

Lawyer Piero Amara and businessmen Fabrizio Centofanti and Enzo Bigotti are also implicated in the case. Riccardo Virgilio, a retired official of top administrative court the Council of State, is under investigation too, the sources said.

Among other things, Longo is suspected of concocting a false probe into an alleged plan to destabilise fuels group ENI along with Amara, who was one of the petrochemicals giant's lawyers.

The aim of the fake probe was to derail an investigation into alleged Nigerian and Algerian kickbacks allegedly involving ENI CEO Claudio Descalzi, judicial sources said.

Mantovani is accused of aiding and abetting Amara, judicial sources said.

photo: Descalzi
(ANSA) - Brussels, February 6 - The European Investment Bank on Tuesday gave the TransAdriatic Pipeline (TAP) project a 1.5 billion euro loan. The TAP will bring Azeri natural gas through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic to reach Italy and tap into its natural-gas network. The EIB said that after "detailed discussions" by its board, it had approved one of its largest ever loans. The TAP is part of the natural gas market's Southern Corridor and is thus among the EU's strategic energy projects.

There have been protests in Puglia over olive-tree removal for the construction of the Italian hub, even though the trees will be replaced in their original sites once construction is complete.

In December Puglia Governor Michele Emiliano apologised for having used an Auschwitz analogy in a row over the contested TAP project.

Emiliano apologized for comparing a worksite in his region for the TAP gas pipeline to Auschwitz amid a war of words with Industry Minister Carlo Calenda.

"Objectively, the comparison between the TAP work site and Auschwitz was wrong and I apologise for having inopportunely used it live on radio this morning," Emiliano told Radio Capital.

The row with Calenda broke out after the minister said that an explosion in Austria that led to the temporary interruption of gas flows from Russia proved the need for the TAP project, which has been held up by violent protests and legal challenges.

Calenda chastised Emiliano about the Auschwitz comment and about aspersions he cast about his motives.

"It is infantile and vulgar to say that I support the TAP to favour lobbies and find a job (in the future), but basically harmless," the minister said via Twitter.

"To say that the work site is the same as Auschwitz is serious and disrespectful.

"Try to return within the limits of civil debate".

Before he became Italian premier, then Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said in 2016 that "The creation of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline is strategic for the diversification of provision sources" not just for "the EU and the Balkans" but also "for Italy".

Speaking at the foreign ministry in Rome during the fourth session of the inter-governmental commission on economic cooperation between Italy and Azerbaijan, Gentiloni said "after the inauguration of the project in Thessaloniki, about one month ago, a challenge has opened: seeing Azeri gas reach Italy by 2020" .

"Now we can look at new horizons", he said. The objective, recalled Gentiloni, is to boost economic and political relations between Rome and Baku, considered a "strategic regional partner".

The TAP consortium is made up of the following companies: BP (20%), SOCAR (20%), Snam (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enags (16%) and Axpo (5%).

It is set to invest 5.6 billion euros in the gas pipeline in the next few years.

Protests against the Puglia stretch of the TAP have centred on Nimby issues as well as the temporary removal of olive trees.

photo: police keep protesters at bay in Puglia
STRASBOURG / TUNIS - Tunisia has been added to the EU's blacklist for countries held to be at high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing. Some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), according to a statement issued by the European Parliament, had tried to reach an absolute majority of 376 votes to prevent the country's inclusion on the list but were unsuccessful. Tunisia, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago have thus been added to a European Commission list of non-EU countries that are believed ''to have strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regimes''.



The voting reflects a division in the Parliament on the issue, with 357 votes supporting the motion, 283 against and 26 abstentions. The MEPs that presented the proposal focused their opposition on Tunisia's inclusion. They believe that the North African nation does not deserve to be included on the list since it is a democratic state that needs support and that the list does not take into consideration the recent progress made to strengthen the country's financial system against criminal activity.

Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said his country would "continue to fight for Tunisia not to be included unfairly on blacklists". "Including Tunisia on these lists does not take into account

the economic peculiarities of the country and the continual structural reforms," he added.
TEL AVIV - Israel has attacked a 'research and scientific study centre' in Jamraya, north of Damascus, Syrian sources said on Wednesday. Three explosions were heard at the site, the sources added.

The Syrian air defence system responded to what was described as "a new aggression by Israel". Syria claims the centre had already been attacked by Israel.

However, the Jewish State has confirmed neither today's nor the earlier attack. The Syrian armed forces have issued a statement saying the Israeli missiles were launched around 3:30 am local time from military aircraft over Lebanon. "Most of the missiles were destroyed before reaching their target," the statement added. The military does not specify which sites were hit, referring only generically to 'the Damascus region'. Syrian non-governmental sources say the attack was directed at the scientific research centre in Jamraya, near the capital, a month ago.

The centre has been repeatedly targeted by Israeli air raids.

There are no reports of victims or damage to military or civilian structures in the area.
TEL AVIV - A Palestinian assailant was shot dead on Wednesday morning after stabbing and lightly wounding a security guard at the entrance to Karmei Zur settlement near Bethlehem in the West Bank, an Israeli military spokesman said. The media report that in recent weeks the 'Knife Intifada' has been gaining ground. On Tuesday a Palestinian demonstrator was killed in Nablus during a manhunt for Ahmed Nassr Jarrar, the leader of a cell linked to Hamas thought to be responsible for killing a rabbi in January. Soldiers later found Jarrar and shot him dead in the West Bank village of Yamoun. He was said to be armed and was allegedly plotting other attacks. On Tuesday Hamas invited Palestinians in the West Bank to follow Jarrar's example and urged the Palestinian National Authority to end security cooperation with Israel.


TEL AVIV - Opposition is growing in Israel to the imminent deportation of Eritrean and Sudanese migrants to a third country, which media reports say will be Rwanda. Thousands took part in a protest at the Rwandan embassy in Herzlya, north of Tel Aviv. At the same time, solidarity marches were held in front of Rwandan embassies in several other countries including Germany, Switzerland and the UK.



"Our deportation to Rwanda is a death sentence" was written on one of the placards.



Some of the protestors painted their faces white and held up placards proclaiming "Now we are also white. Will you still deport us to Rwanda?". One of the orators at the event was Reuven Abergil, a leader of the Israeli Black Panthers movement in the 1970s. At the beginning of the month, Israel began to deliver the first deportation orders to unmarried Eritrean migrants. Now half of the 40,000 migrants living in Israel are at risk of expulsion. One survey found that 66% of Israelis support the deportations ordered by the government.


ISTANBUL - Italy has agreed to extend its air defense system in the southern Turkish province of Kahramanmaras against possible attacks from Syria until September, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters on returning to Turkey. "For us it is very important," Erdogan said. The air defence system is operated under the umbrella of NATO. The Turkish head of state obtained the extension during meetings with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Premier Paolo Gentoloni in Rome on Monday. The Italian SAMP/T missile defence system has been operating at the Kahramanmaras base since June 2016 within the framework of NATO's 'Active Fence' air defence of Turkey.

The Italian contingent comprises approximately 130 soldiers. Spain also contributes to the NATO mission. 'Active Fence' was launched in 2013 to protect Turkey from possible missile attacks from Syria. In the past Germany, the Netherlands and the United States have also contributed to the mission.
Death toll in Syria's Ghouta rises to 80  NGO '19 minors and 20 women among the victims'

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 7 - Some 80 people are reported dead following intense government air strikes across much of Ghouta east of Damascus in the last 24 hours, the national observatory for human rights in Syria said on Wednesday citing local sources.



19 minors and 20 women were said to be among the victims.



Meanwhile, the official news agency Sana has raised to five the number of civilians killed in the capital on Tuesday in mortar attacks by rebel groups in Ghouta. Opposition-held Ghouta is under siege from loyalist forces backed by Iran and Russia.



The rebel groups can instead count on Saudi support.



(ANSAmed).




Protest in Israel against migrant deportations to Rwanda Demonstrations also held in Berlin, Geneva and London

(ANSAmed) - TEL AVIV, FEBRUARY 7 - Opposition is growing in Israel to the imminent deportation of Eritrean and Sudanese migrants to a third country, which media reports say will be Rwanda. Thousands took part in a protest at the Rwandan embassy in Herzlya, north of Tel Aviv. At the same time, solidarity marches were held in front of Rwandan embassies in several other countries including Germany, Switzerland and the UK.



"Our deportation to Rwanda is a death sentence" was written on one of the placards.



Some of the protestors painted their faces white and held up placards proclaiming "Now we are also white. Will you still deport us to Rwanda?". One of the orators at the event was Reuven Abergil, a leader of the Israeli Black Panthers movement in the 1970s. At the beginning of the month, Israel began to deliver the first deportation orders to unmarried Eritrean migrants. Now half of the 40,000 migrants living in Israel are at risk of expulsion. One survey found that 66% of Israelis support the deportations ordered by the government. (ANSAmed).




Syrian regime airstrikes on Ghouta kill 9 civilians Day after 'unprecedented bombing'

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, FEBRUARY 7 - At least 9 civilians were killed on Wednesday morning near Damascus by Syrian regime airstrikes on the besieged, opposition-held area of Eastern Ghouta. Almost 90 civilians have been killed in recent days as part of the Syrian government's latest bombing campaign on the eastern suburb of the capital, report medical sources on the ground, Arab media and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The airstrikes resumed in the morning on Douma and Beit Sawa, where the 9 civilians were killed. (ANSAmed).




Turkish guards shoot at Syrians trying to cross border, HRW Several killed, 'country must respect nonrefoulement principle'

(ANSAmed) - ROME, FEBRUARY 7 - Turkish border guards along the border with Syria "are indiscriminately shooting at and summarily returning Syrian asylum seekers attempting to cross into Turkey", reports Human Rights Watch (HRW).



The organization says that Syrians who managed to cross the border using trafficking routes say that the guards shot at them and others who had tried to cross the border to reach Turkey. "In some cases, Turkish border guards beat asylum seekers they detained and denied them medical assistance," HRW said. The accounts were included into a letter sent to the Turkish interior ministry on January 30. HRW spoke to 16 Syrian refugees who entered Turkey between May and December 2017. "Thirteen said Turkish border guards shot toward them or other fleeing asylum seekers as they tried to cross while still in Syria, killing 10 people, including one child, and injuring several more," the organization said.



One woman who tried to cross the border with her family several times in different parts of the border between September and October said that the Turkish border guards had shot at them on every attempt. "When they [Turkish border guards] open fire, we would be hiding in the valley. They would shoot randomly. I could see the bullets spark between my feet. In one incident, a woman was hit twice in her belly, and two men carried her back to Syria. We could see the trail of blood between the bushes," she said.



Another woman said that the guards shot at a 13-year-old while he was trying to cross the border with his mother: "We had reached the wide street that divides Syria and Turkey, and the smuggler told the child and another man to cross it. They started to walk across, and then bang, bang. They were both shot. The kid, it went straight through his stomach, and he was bleeding heavily. We dragged him back with us all the way, and he died in Syria". The refugees also said that the Turkish border guards beat those that they detained and then sent them back to Syria. "Turkey has taken in about 3.5 million Syrians," the organization noted. "However, Turkey's generous hosting of large numbers of Syrians does not absolve it of its responsibility to help those seeking protection at its borders." While protecting its borders, the country "is required to respect the principle of nonrefoulement, which prohibits rejecting asylum seekers at borders when that would expose them to the threat of persecution, torture, and threats to life and freedom", it said.



"Turkey must also respect the right to life and bodily integrity, including the absolute prohibition on subjecting anyone to inhuman and degrading treatment," it stressed.



(ANSAmed).




EU blacklists Tunisia for moneylaundering and terrorism European Parliament votes in favor, 357 against 283

(ANSAmed) - STRASBOURG, FEBRUARY 7 - Tunisia has been added to the EU's blacklist for countries held to be at high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing. Some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), according to a statement issued by the European Parliament, had tried to reach an absolute majority of 376 votes to prevent the country's inclusion on the list but were unsuccessful. Tunisia, Sri Lanka and Trinidad and Tobago have thus been added to a European Commission list of non-EU countries that are believed ''to have strategic deficiencies in their anti-money laundering and terrorism financing regimes''.



The voting reflects a division in the Parliament on the issue, with 357 votes supporting the motion, 283 against and 26 abstentions. The MEPs that presented the proposal focused their opposition on Tunisia's inclusion. They believe that the North African nation does not deserve to be included on the list since it is a democratic state that needs support and that the list does not take into consideration the recent progress made to strengthen the country's financial system against criminal activity.



(ANSAmed).




ROME - The second meeting of the European Relationship for Mediterranean Security (E.R.ME.S.) involving police chiefs of EU countries facing onto the Mediterranean opened in Rome on Wednesday. The appointment follows on from the meeting on immigration in Lampedusa last June and will focus on information exchange between security services and police to prevent and counter terrorism. Interior Minister Marco Minniti opened the proceedings attended by police chiefs from Cyprus, Croatia, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. The agenda centres on Italy's Anti-terrorism Strategic Analysis Committee(C.A.S.A.)involving members of the judicial police and intelligence services tasked with assessing the terrorist threat and making the necessary response. The meeting will end with the adoption of a declaration of intent outlining the principles and actions to be used as a basis for drawing up best practices for joint anti-terrorism activities.
Mideast Quartet 'is dead', says PNA ambassador to Moscow 'US is pro-Israel. New mediation mechanism needed'

(ANSAmed) - MOSCOW, FEBRUARY 7 - Palestine is asking for a new international mediation mechanism to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.



The issue is one of those on the agenda of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas for his February 12 meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Sochi, said Palestinian Ambassador to Russia Abdel Hafiz Nofal.



Nofal added that Palestine considers the Middle East Quartet - with Russia, the US, the EU and the UN - to be dead. The idea, Nofal was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying, is to create a new coalition, new ways to regulate the Israeli-Palestinian issue, because Palestine holds that the US is acting on the side of Israel and is thus no longer in a position to lead the talks. The ambassador added that the mediation group could include Europe, Russia, China, the US and the UN or the five permanent members of the UN Security Council as well as the UN. (ANSAmed).




Tunisian FM decries EU decision to blacklist country Added to list at risk of terrorism funding, money laundering

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, FEBRUARY 7 - Tunisian Foreign Minister Khemaies Jhinaoui said his country would "continue to fight for Tunisia not to be included unfairly on blacklists". The comment came after Wednesday's voting by the European Parliament to include Tunisia on the list of non-EU nations at high risk of money laundering and terrorism funding. "Including Tunisia on these lists does not take into account the economic peculiarities of the country and the continual structural reforms," he added. (ANSAmed).




Tunisian PM fires central bank governor After EU blacklisted for risk of terrorism, moneylaundering

(ANSAmed) - TUNIS, FEBRUARY 7 - The prime minister of the Tunisian national unity government has initiated procedures to remove the governor of the country's central bank, Chedly Ayari.



He has presented a request to the president for the governor to be replaced by the economist Marouen Abbassi, according to a government statement.



Once the decision is approved by Head of State Beji Caid Essebsi, the proposal will be submitted to a parliamentary vote.



The news came after the European Parliament voted to include Tunisia in a list of non-EU countries at high risk of money laundering and terrorism financing. (ANSAmed).




Boeing's 737 MAX 10 has reached a major milestone as the MAX programme completed firm configuration on the aircraft.

This means engineers now have all the design requirements in place for what will be the largest member of Boeing's single-aisle family.

"The steps we've taken to reach this point ensure the MAX 10 will be the most efficient and profitable single-aisle airplane the market has ever seen," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We're working closely with our airline customers to deliver on the performance and efficiency benefits we've promised."

The 737 MAX 10, which will use a stretched fuselage that is 66 inches longer than the 737 MAX 9, now moves into the detailed design phase prior to the start of production. The airplane will carry up to 230 passengers, delivering 5 percent lower trip costs and 5 percent lower seat-mile costs compared to its competition.

The MAX 10 will soon join the rest of the 737 MAX family. The first MAX 7 rolled out of the paint hangar earlier this week and will soon start flight tests. The MAX 8 has been in service since 2017, already carrying more than 1.8 million passengers. And the first MAX 9 is scheduled to be delivered in the coming weeks.
Daher has inaugurated its new plant in Tangier at a ceremony attended by Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Morocco's Minister of Industry, Trade and the Digital Economy, along with Dahers CEO, Didier Kayat, and Chairman, Patrick Daher.

The new site strengthens the companys position in Morocco as an aircraft manufacturer, equipment supplier and service provider. It follows a first site in Tangier in 2001 and a second in Casablanca in 2007.

The site represents an investment of more than 15 million as part of Daher's ongoing development in Morocco, which has a booming aerospace ecosystem. It spans around 10,000 m2, giving Daher a total of 30,000 m2 of production facilities in the country. The new plant will eventually employ more than 250 people, adding to the 550-strong workforce at the other two sites.

Didier Kayat, Daher CEO: "Training, job quality, strict compliance with relevant process and production standards, geographic proximity and overheads were all deciding factors in choosing to expand our industrial footprint in Morocco. Our business development policy also provides support for our employees in the country, who benefit from a program to build skills and provide training in Daher quality and safety."

Production at the new Tangier plant began in Q3 2017 and covers Daher's full range of aerospace expertise in metal and composite structures and parts for the aircraft engine environment.
Software solutions for airport planning and operations are becoming more effective. Keith Mwanalushi looks at how they can be used to improve passenger flow, particularly at busy Middle East hubs.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has indicated that the Middle East region will see an extra 244 million passengers a year on routes to, from and within the region by 2035. The UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia are leading the way.

Managing this growth, as well as the capacity constraints associated with it, requires the ability to make the right decisions at the right time to keep things moving.

This relies on having the right, integrated systems to provide airport management with all the information they need to make informed decisions, said Jihad Boueri, vice president  airports, Middle East, India and Africa at information technology specialist SITA.

He added that this included information from the various stakeholders that play a role in the operation of an airport, including the airlines and control authorities.

The ability to plan ahead is obviously vital for any airport to ensure smooth, proactive operations. This is particularly important at the bigger transfer hub airports in the region, such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi, where the complexity is far greater, Boueri said.

SITA has a suite of integrated software applications designed to support and enhance airport planning and operations from landside to airside, from landing to take-off, according to Boueri. It allows management to have a full view of what is happening in the airport at any time and makes it possible to proactively manage changes within the airport operation.

Ensuring cost-effective and fit-for-purpose infrastructure is critical to the success of any airport. In June 2017, Quintiq  developer of planning, scheduling and supply chain optimisation software  announced it had been selected by Dubai Airports to plan and schedule its fixed resources at Dubai International Airport (DXB) and Dubai World Central (DWC).

Frank McCrorie, SVP operations at Dubai Airports, affirmed that Quintiq would enable the airport operator to maximise utilisation of current fixed resources and prepare for future expansions. We aim to deliver a world-class experience to the airlines that use our airports and the passengers that they carry, he said.

The intention is for the Quintiq solution to automate the planning process for airport stands, gates, baggage belts and check-in counters, to increase overall efficiency, reliability and passenger satisfaction. The solution has been live at (DXB) for several months now.

At DXB, managing these fixed resources efficiently is crucial. From its 260 airport stands, 143 gates, 561 check-in counters and 28 baggage belts, airport planners will need have full visibility of resource allocation. They adapt this allocation to fit specific airline preferences and further streamline passenger flow.

Abu Dhabi Airports engaged SITA for the provision of airport management solutions for the on-going Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) project. When complete, the MTB, along with the existing terminals at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), will serve the increasing number of passengers who fly through the UAE.

SITA is providing a range of fully integrated airport systems, as well as key passenger and baggage-processing infrastructure, to the Midfield Terminal. This includes our airport management solution, which will allow Abu Dhabi Airports to proactively manage the operation of AUH by providing real-time information across all facilities, said Boueri.

He stated the solution integrates collaborative processes, enabling end-to-end management of airport resources in real time and proactive control of day-to-day operations. These systems are key to the operation of the new terminal and our teams are working closely with the Abu Dhabi Airports to ensure we meet the requirements and deadlines of the new terminal.

However, local reports have indicated that the MTB project is running two years later than the anticipated 2017 opening, with sources close to the project saying problems relating to the design and execution of the roof have caused the delay.

One of MTBs most impressive features from an architectural and engineering perspective is its central processor, the area at the heart of the building. The supporting structure for the roof of this central space consists of 18 inclined arches of varying heights, which gives the impression that the roof structure is floating above them. This complex roof design features the worlds longest indoor arch spanning 180 metres. It is 52 metres at its highest point, with a weight of around 1,000 tonnes. The whole roof weighs around 20,000 tonnes.

Boueri said the IT solutions provider is currently engaged in testing interfaces and systems in collaboration with other sub-contractors. However, delays on the overall Midfield Terminal project has had a downstream impact on all sub-contractors including SITA, he added.

Back in Dubai, improved passenger flow means that the two airports [DXB and DWC] can now handle increasing traffic without sacrificing passenger experience. Quintiq was the clear choice, according to Abdul Razzak Mikati, managing director at Dubai Airports implementation partner, Dubai Technology Partners (DTP). He said: The cost of investing in new infrastructure can be prohibitively high. The customer needed a future-ready, industry-proven solution to efficiently manage the capacity of its current airport resources. With Quintiq, the need for manual planning has been eliminated, resulting in enhanced flexibility and agility of operations.

DTP has prioritised its target segments as airlines, ground-handlers and airports.

The Quintiq solution is able to handle calculations for 40 flights per second and take advantage of information from multiple sources to improve its automation process. These capabilities are crucial, especially when considering the rising passenger traffic at DXB, which surpassed 43 million in the first half of 2017  up 6.3 compared to the corresponding period in 2016.

Passenger numbers at DWC have also seen an upward trend, growing by more than 35% in the first half of the year, according to Dubai Airports.

With more passengers to process, airports at their worst can be a stressful and frustrating place when things go wrong. With that in mind, disruption management becomes a key element of any planning solution.

The permutations for any kind of disruption are considerable. Bad weather, industrial action, IT outages, unexpected technical faults or staff sickness can hit at any time. Delays involving another airline or airport disruption may also result in the crew running out of legal work-time and overly complex notice to airmen (NOTAMs), which are not fully digested, leading pilots to miss potentially important information. The list is long and the consequences problematic.

SITA is already supporting this element through what it calls control bridge, which seamlessly integrates the command and control capability of an airport across multiple traditionally standalone functions  airport operations, physical security, engineering and facilities management, baggage-handling, emergency response, airport IT service desk  to create a single integrated airport control centre.

In May this year, DTP launched a new flight performance monitoring (FPM) solution at the annual Airport Show in Dubai.

The system provides real-time data and an holistic view of airport operations and flight-related processes. Coupled with forecasting and decision-support tools, the new platform allows airlines and airports to minimise and possibly eliminate some potential delays. The resulting improved on-time performance (OTP) should allow airlines and airports to significantly reduce costs, while increasing customer satisfaction.

One of the most critical challenges facing airlines and airports, not only in the region but also across the world, is meeting OTP, declared Mikati. He said airlines had a choice when managing turnarounds: They can continue to be reactive and tackle issues as they arise, or they can direct those efforts and resources to prevention and mitigation to ensure a smooth turnaround process.

Its fair to say that, generally, airlines and airports are focusing their efforts on disruption management to improve recovery, in particular resolving the impact of disruption on passengers. Key to this is to better predict what could affect the airport operation in 12 or 24 hours and, therefore, better plan for those possible scenarios.

A small number of airports are already using predictive technology to minimise disruptions  an area SITA is exploring and further developing.

By 2019, SITA estimates that almost 50% of the worlds airports expect to be using integrated systems to predict potential disruptions and their impact before they occur, while four out of 10 airports are looking to implement automated predictive alerts before flight disruption events.


Abu Dhabi's Turbine Services & Solutions (TS&S), Mubadala's MRO provider for gas turbines and driven equipment is collaborating with Atlas Copco, on an extensive digital optimization process, it was announced today during the Singapore Airshow.



The partnership will enable TS&S to be the first MRO outside of the United States and Europe to embrace the smart connected assembly technology.

The framework will enable TS&S to enhance its processes through data generated solutions known as the Smart Connected Assembly, the process will support optimization by reducing the time spent on assembling engines. This is achieved using the technology to support the technician to improve productivity, reduce the risk of error and provide total data traceability.

Commenting on the agreement, Mansoor Janahi, Deputy CEO of TS&S said "This collaboration supports our vision of being a digitally agile MRO company. As TS&S continues to invest in advanced technologies, our partnership with Atlas Copco is part of a broader strategy that enables us to meet the growing demands of our local and global customers."

The company has plans to digitize its operations to improve efficiency across its MRO operations. With this end, TS&S signed an agreement with Honeywell in January 2018, to implement a "Maintenance and Inspection" (M&I) voice system.

Henrik Elmin, Senior Executive Vice President Atlas Copco and Business Area President Industrial Technique, said: "Smart Connected Assembly is about creating unique value by connecting all assembly related processes. Through Smart Connected Assembly, all processes are networked to each other and integrated into the operational network. Any new data generated is then fed into a digital framework which manages and identifies improvements in and between assembly processes."


UPS is launching a daily non-stop flight from Louisville to Dubai reducing time-in-transit between the United States and key destinations in the Middle East by a full business day.

The flight, operated with one of UPSs new 747-8F freighters, is part of the build out of UPSs smart global logistics network and takes place as the company plans for its role as official logistics provider for Expo 2020 Dubai.

The UAE trades with all 50 U.S. states and has grown to become the U.S.s largest export destination in the Middle East. Dubais importance as a global trade hub increases every day  and were now getting there a day faster with our small package express carrier and cargo offerings, said Jim Barber, President, UPS International. Growth potential is great for companies accessing the UAE and other rapidly developing industrial and commercial sectors in the region. Our new flight is another example of how UPSs smart global logistics network, which carries three percent of the worlds GDP every day, constantly evolves to service increasing international trade demands.

At approximately 7,700 miles (12,400 km), the route is the longest regularly-scheduled flight UPS has ever operated, and is made possible by the new 747-8s, which offer greater payload over long range. The new flight is currently operating on a weekly basis and will become a daily flight on February 27th, operating Tuesday through Saturday. The new flight is part of plans to expand UPSs presence in Dubai, the headquarters of UPSs Indian Subcontinent Middle East & Africa (ISMEA) region, by establishing capacity, technology and staff capabilities to serve customers shipping to and through Dubai in the buildup to Expo 2020 and beyond. UPS has been operating in the region since 1989.

Our customers are demanding more capacity, and were providing it with this non-stop connection to Dubai, said UPS Airlines President, Brendan Canavan. UPS has made a strategic investment in 747-8 jumbo jets, the largest aircraft we have ever flown, to offer sustainable lift on long-range international routes like this.
Hyundai has integrated minor cosmetic revisions and a small increase in price.

Weve gotta hand it to Hyundais military grade test mule camouflages. No matter how many spy shots emerged, the changes that the Elite i20 facelift comes with have been kept, quite literally, under the covers. But at the Auto Expo 2018, the guesswork has been laid to rest and Hyundai has finally launched the updated avatar of its premium hatchback.

How much will this cost me?

Prices havent changed significantly when compared to the outgoing version, which set you back between Rs 5.29 lakh and Rs 9.15 lakh for the petrol and Rs 6.67 lakh and Rs 9.03 lakh (all prices are ex-showroom Delhi) for the diesel. The new petrol i20 will start from Rs 5.35 lakh to 7.90 Lakh and the diesel motor car range starts at Rs 6.73 and goes up to Rs 9.15 lakh.

Does it look any different?

Well, yes, but while we were expecting something thatd look more like the i30, the changes are considerably subtler. The first change is the new Hyundai family grille that weve been familiarised with, courtesy the Hyundai Verna and the Xcent.

The front bumper gets a slight revision and includes tweaked fog lamp enclosures that look a touch sportier. 14-inch wheels still come as standard while higher variants get 16-inch alloys, with the latter getting a new wheel design, in line with whats been on offer with the European-spec Elite i20.

At the rear, the one big change is sure to polarise opinions. While the Elite i20 now gets a cool set of LED tail lights, the new bumper is a direct lift from the updated Xcent, which certainly looks more distinctive but isnt as clean as it was earlier. With the bumper revision, the number plate also moves up onto the boot lid.

Drive Different?

Well, well have to take it for a spin to attest to that but Hyundai has carried forward the existing range of engines i.e. a 1.2-litre petrol (83PS/114Nm with a 5-speed manual gearbox) and a 1.4-litre diesel (90PS/220Nm with a 6-speed manual gearbox). The 1.4-litre petrol (100PS/132Nm) has now been dropped because the Elite i20 finally gets a more sensible petrol AT.

While we speculated that the new i20 would be launched with a new CVT automatic transmission, Hyundai says this transmission will only be launched later, in May. Power and torque output remains identical to the manual variant.

Take Me In

Updates in the cabin include new seat upholstery and like before, you still have a beige-black two-tone cabin. The design for the air-con vents at the centre and the switches in between them have also been tweaked a bit. The 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system has been carried forward as well and still offers Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and MirrorLink support. This setup can now be had with the automatic Elite i20 as well, since the transmission is no longer limited to the Magna variant.

Whos it fighting?

Like before, the Elite i20 faces the Maruti Suzuki Baleno and Honda Jazz, along with the ageing Volkswagen Polo. With the introduction of the 2018 Maruti Swift, the competition stretches further.

Why should I buy this?

Its value proposition remains the same, even after the update. The Elite i20 is still a premium, feature loaded hatchback thats spacious enough for a family of four. A major draw for the Elite i20 remains the premium cabin quality and the Hyundai brand backing. Now that the 1.2-litre petrol gets a CVT automatic, the Elite i20 is a stronger rival to the Baleno and Jazz CVTs.

Source: ZigWheels.com
Veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra has been accused of sexual abusing his cousin 47 years ago.

Mumbai: Veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra has been accused of sexual abusing his cousin 47 years ago, according to a complaint filed against him in Himachal Pradesh.

The said cousin, according to a report in India Today, claims that Jeetendra abused her, who was just 18, at a time when Jeetendra was around 28, ten years older.

The incident happened 47 years back, when Jeetendra asked her father for permission to take her to a film shoot, where he allegedly sexually abused her.

However, Jeetendras lawyer Advocate Rizwan Siddiquee spoke to Pinkvilla, calling the claims baseless.

Rizwan said, "Foremost my client specifically and categorically denies any such incident. Besides even otherwise such baseless, ridiculous and fabricated claims cannot be entertained by any Court of law or the law enforcement agencies after a span of almost 50 years. The Statute has provided a justice delivery system through the Courts, and the Limitation Act 1963 was specifically enacted to ensure that all genuine complaints are made within a maximum time limit of three years so that a proper investigation is carried out and timely justice is delivered."

He added, "Besides I want to make it specifically clear that the law does not give any person any rights or liberties of making any baseless, ridiculous or fabricated claims against any man publicly and seek to defame him with a hidden personal agenda. Media is therefore adviced to cautiously refrain from giving any importance to such ridiculous, baseless and fabricated claims, and they should not participate in any way whatsoever in defaming or assassinating the character of any man in such cases."

Siddiquee concluded, "In any event, the timing of this baseless complaint seems to be nothing but a miserable effort made by a jealous competitor to disrupt the business activities of my client and his esteemed Company. Such efforts are therefore in all fairness treated with the contempt it truly deserves."

According to the report, it took years for the victim to gather courage to file a complaint. This happened as a result of the #MeToo campaign, which encouraged the woman to take the step.

The cousin decided to file a police complaint after the demise of her parents, who, according to her would have been heartbroken, had they got to know about the sexual abuse by Jeetendra, their nephew.

Jeetendra, a Bollywood actor for almost 60 years now, is a producer and father of Ekta Kapoor and Tusshar Kapoor.
Salman Khan is the only superstar among the Khans to have maximum number of movies till 2019.

Mumbai: Salman Khan is the only superstar among the Khans to have his hands full with the maximum number of movies till 2019. The actor has been involved in a number of franchises and will probably be the only actor who has booked Eid as well as the Christmas slot in both 2018 as well as in 2019.

The superstar is currently shooting for Race 3 which is scheduled for Eid 2018 release. This might be followed by Dabangg 3 release in Christmas 2018. Yes, Salman will reportedly start shooting for the movie in April, once he wraps up Race 3. Interestingly, if the scenario persists, Salman will clash with Shah Rukh Khan starrer Zero, which also has the Dabangg Khans cameo.

If Dabangg 3 is on schedule, then Salmans next film Bharat, and Atul Agnihotri production and Ali Abbas Zafar directorial, is schedule for Eid 2019 release. Salman gave his last hit Tiger Zinda Hai, an Ali Abbas Zafar directorial, with whom he earlier collaborated on Sultan.

And now Nadiadwala Grandson, the producers of Kick 2 confirmed that the Salman Khan starrer will release in Christmas 2019. Heres their tweet:

Apart from these movies, Salman has also been roped in for Remo DSouzas next, which is tentatively titled Go Daddy. That movie will go on floors after Salman can find dates from his current schedule. There are also reports that the superstar might be replaced by Ranveer Singh in No Entry Mein Entry, a sequel of the 2005 film.
Trade rumours have been abuzz that Boney Kapoor has inked a deal last week in Chennai to acquire the remake rights of Vivegam.

Trade rumours have been abuzz that Boney Kapoor has inked a deal last week in Chennai to acquire the remake rights of Vivegam. The Tamil hit starred Ajith Kumar, Kajal Aggarwal, Vivek Oberoi and Akshara Haasan, and dealt with the story of an Interpol agent, betrayed by his own friends, who work for a secret agency.

The catch, however, was that Boney wanted to launch Ajith in Hindi movies, with the remake. While Boney did not reply for a long time, Ajiths manager Suresh Chandra denied that Ajith was making his Hindi debut. Boney Kapoor may have taken the rights, but Ajith is not doing the film in Hindi, he says.

Ajith Kumar

Finally, Boney responded saying that he was not doing the remake, with a simple No. Sources, however, insist that the deal has been signed and Boney would make an announcement soon. We await an official confirmation.

 Sanskriti Media
When asked about the same, Tamannaah said jokingly, You cant help when somebody reacts in a certain way.

Actress Tamannaah Bhatia has a huge fan following down South. But popularity comes with its own share of detractors too, as Tamanaah may have recently learnt.

The actress became the victim of a miscreants frivolous behaviour. Recently, a footwear was allegedly hurled at Tamannaah by a 31-year-old man at a jewellery store in Hyderabad.

When asked about the same, Tamannaah said jokingly, You cant help when somebody reacts in a certain way. There was a lot of security at the venue. As an actor, we keep quiet when people welcome us with flowers. So, at times people also throw shoes.

However, according to a source, the fan had no intention of attacking the actress, but was upset with the bouncers for stopping fans from meeting her.
Along with the 60-year-old Ekbote, another pro-Hindutva leader, 85-year-old Sambhaji Bhide was also charged for the same.

Police sources also informed that Ekbote, whose arson last month left one person dead and several others injured, is on the run. (Photo: File)

Pune: A Pune Court issued an arrest warrant against pro-Hindutva leader Milind Ekbote for spreading violence in numerous villages during the 200th anniversary celebrations of Battle of Bhima Koregaon on January 1 this year.

Along with the 60-year-old Ekbote, another pro-Hindutva leader, 85-year-old Sambhaji Bhide was also charged for the same.

Also read: Dalit protests hinder normalcy in Mumbai suburbs, security roped in

Asked about Bhide, a senior police officer said, What we had in our hands till now, in terms of concrete leads, has resulted in an arrest warrant for one suspect (Ekbote). Probe on the second suspect (Bhide) is in progress.

Police sources also informed that Ekbote, whose arson last month left one person dead and several others injured, is on the run.

The FIR against Ekbote and Bhide was filed by Dalit activists at Pimpri police station and was later sent to Pune Rural Police.

The complainant, Anita Salave, is a member of Bahujan Republican Socialist Party.

She claimed to have seen Bhide and Ekbote in the area where violence took place.

Also read: No relief for Milind Ekbote in Bhima-Koregaon case

Ekbote's attempts to secure anticipatory bail fell flat on its face in both sessions court and High Court.
Government also informed Parliament that there was a marginal increase from 454 to 515 in infiltration cases last year.

Top intelligence sources claimed that ISIS has been making sustained efforts to increase its footprint in the country specially with increasing use of the social media. (Photo: AFP/Representational)

New Delhi: In what may well be a significant achievement for security and intelligence agencies, terror outfit Islamic State (ISIS) has not been made to make any significant inroads into the Kashmir Valley.

State home minister Hansraj Ahir informed the Lok Sabha on Tuesday that last year, one incident related to ISIS was reported from the Valley where slogans were shouted in support of the terror outfit.

The incident was reported last November from Srinagar.

Top intelligence sources claimed that ISIS has been making sustained efforts to increase its footprint in the country specially with increasing use of the social media. However, Indian security agencies have been able to successfully neutralise ISIS efforts, specially in the Valley due to which it has not been able to make any presence in terror activities in the region.

Our agencies which is closely monitoring ISIS activities on social media have managed to either block or delete a lot of material on these platforms which are aimed at attracting the youth in the Valley.

The trend continues in other parts of the country also due to which apart from the Valley also ISIS does not have significant presence despite sustained efforts in the country, a senior intelligence official said.

Meanwhile, the government also informed Parliament that there was a marginal increase from 454 to 515 in infiltration cases last year, but significantly the number of militants killed last year by security forces also registered an increase from 45 in 2016 to 75 in 2017.
Jhutt, along with five other detainees from Srinagar Central Jail, was taken to hospital on the advice of the jail authorities, police said.

SRINAGAR: A jailed Pakistani terrorist  a former deputy chief of LeT  made a daring escape from custody on Tuesday after at least two militants opened fire and killed two policeman escorting him in a pre-planned attack on a hospital complex in Srinagar, police said.

Mohammed Naveed Jhutt alias Abu Hanzala, 22, who was arrested in Kulgam in south Kashmir in 2014, managed to escape with the assailants around noon from outside the government-run Sri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) hospital in Kaka Sarai area where he had been taken for a medical check-up, police said.

The two slain policemen were identified as head constable Mushtaq Ahmed and constable Babar Ahmed Khan. Mushtaq Ahmad died almost immediately after the attack that took place in the busy pre-lunch hour when the 70-year hospital, Srinagars main health care facility, is crowded with patients. Babar Ahmad succumbed to his injuries a few hours later.

Jhutt, along with five other detainees from Srinagar Central Jail, was taken to hospital on the advice of the jail authorities, police said.

Jammu and Kashmirs director general of police S.P. Vaid said, Its a very unfortunate incident and the terrorists managed to free one of their hardcore accomplices. We have sounded a red alert to nab all those involved in this crime.

The pheran-clad assailants were lying in wait in the hospitals parking lot of the hospital and opened fire around 11.35 am, as soon as a handcuffed Jhutt, along with five other prisoners and the police team, got off a vehicle outside OPD, said a police official.

Deputy inspector general of police (Central Kashmir) Ghulam Hassan Bhat denied reports that Jhutt himself snatched the rifle of one of the escorting policemen and opened fire.

Jhutt, a school dropout from Borevella district of Multan in Pakistans Punjab, is believed to be involved in multiple attacks, including the killing of a teacher on election duty. He is also believed to be behind the killing of at least seven policemen, including three near a court house in Pulwama. He was also involved in an attack on the Army in Hyderpora in Srinagar and an attack on the Silver Star hotel along the national highway outside Srinagar.

As claimed by the officials, Jhutt had told his interrogators that he had met Ajmal Kasab who was involved in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

Police officials said that they wanted to shift Jhutt and the five other prisoners from Srinagar jail to prisons outside the Valley but were disallowed to do so by a sessions court on December 26, 2017.

Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, in a statement condemned the killing of the two policemen on Tuesday, saying it was an act of cowardice which ought to be condemned by one and all.

She also tweeted, Pained to hear that two more brave policemen lost their lives in an attack in Srinagar today. My heart goes out to their families and loved ones.

Her predecessor and Opposition National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah tweeted, Two J&K policemen killed by terrorists inside Srinagars premier hospital. Heartfelt condolences to the families
A Bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Shantanagouder said if Ekbote is held, he would be released on bail on furnishing a surety for Rs 2L.

The bench issued notice to the Maharashtra government returnable on February 20 on the special leave petition filed by Ekbote challenging the Bombay High Courts order rejecting his plea for anticipatory bail. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: In a huge relief, the Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim protection to Hindutva outfit leader Milind Ekbote, accused for instigating the Bhima Koregaon violence on January 1.

A Bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Shantanagouder said if Ekbote is arrested, he would be released on bail on furnishing a surety for Rs 2 lakhs.

The bench issued notice to the Maharashtra government returnable on February 20 on the special leave petition filed by Ekbote challenging the Bombay High Courts order rejecting his plea for anticipatory bail.

Senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi representing the Petitioner submitted that the High Court order rejecting the anticipatory bail was yet to be made available and that the petitioner must be protected from arrest.

He also told court that his client has been charged under pressure, as he was not at the site when violence took place and was at home.

Counsel for one of the victims opposed granting any relief to Ekbote, who is a former corporator and president of the Hindutva outfit Samasta Hindu Aghadi and is known for cow vigilantism in Pune and its neighbouring districts.

Read: Bhima-Koregaon: Pune court issues warrant against pro-Hindutva leader

A Special Pune Court rejected earlier Ekbotes anticipatory bail application on January 22, which refused to grant him interim protection.

The Pune rural police had invoked IPC Sections 153 (a) (provocation with intent to cause riot), 120 (b) (criminal conspiracy) and Sections 117 (abetting commission of offence by the public or by more than 10 persons) against Ekbote claiming that their preliminary probe has found proof of his involvement in the violence.

The police had invoked the said Sections against him on January 23 and a report regarding the same was submitted to the sessions court in Shivaji Nagar.

Two FIRs were registered against Ekbote and Manohar alias Sambhaji Bhide by Dalit activists, accusing the duo of anti-Dalit violence at Bhima Koregaon at a time when lakhs of Dalits had come to pay their respects at Jay Stambh in Perne village on the Pune-Ahmednagar road to mark the 200th anniversary of the battle of Bhima Koregaon.

Also Read: No relief for Milind Ekbote in Bhima-Koregaon case

The violence had left one person dead.

Clashes broke out in Bhima Koregaon and its surrounding villages after some people reportedly carrying saffron flags pelted stones on cars going towards Vijay Stambh.
Oppn leader Azad asked why Jutt, a Pakistani arrested in 2014, was brought to a civilian hospital and not taken to the army hospital.

'Though the government is claiming that situation in the state is better than the past decade, the ground reality is different,' opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

New Delhi: The issue of the daring escape of an arrested Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant from a Srinagar hospital was raised in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, with the Congress saying the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has worsened.

Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the situation, not just in Srinagar, but also in the Jammu province has worsened.

Though the government is claiming that situation in the state is better than the past decade, the ground reality is different, he said.

On Tuesday, 22-year-old Mohammed Naveed Jhutt alias Abu Hunzala escaped from the custody of jail officials after his associates opened fire on his escorts, when he was brought to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar for a check-up.

Also read: BJP ruining democracy by fear psychosis: Ghulam Nabi Azad in RS

Azad also asked why Jutt, a Pakistani who was arrested in 2014, was brought to a civilian hospital and not taken to the army hospital.

The incident, he said, does not reflect well on the state government, the Centre and the country. "The Government should be vigilant so that such situations are not repeated," he said.

Azad sought a discussion on the worsening security situation in Jammu and Kashmir in the current or the next session of Parliament.

Vivek K Tankha (Cong) said a dialogue should be started to create an atmosphere to faciliate the return of Kashmiri Pandits to the Valley.
Jashodaben has sustained some minor injuries and has been admitted to district hospital Chittorgarh.

Jashodaben was returning to Gujarat after visiting relatives in Baran district near Kota and was travelling in an Innova which was hit by a trailer-truck. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's estranged wife Jashodaben suffered minor injuries in an accident near Katunda on the Kota-Chittorgarh four-lane road in Begu, Rajasthan, on Wednesday morning.

She was rushed to a medical facility in Chittorgarh.

"Jashodaben has sustained some minor injuries and is out of danger. She has been admitted to district hospital Chittorgarh," said Rajesh Rajora, Circle Officer, Begrun.

Jashodaben was returning to Gujarat after visiting relatives in Baran district near Kota and was travelling in an Innova.

The car was hit by a trailer truck around 10 am.

"A case will be registered again the unidentified truck driver," Rajora also said.

Vasantbhai Modi, one of the relatives and incidentally also the driver of the car, succumbed to injuries.
The Yoga guru further urged Kashmir youth to be a rebel like him by remaining within parameters of the Constitution and not anti-nationals.

'This country equally belongs to Jains, Buddhists, Dalits, Sikhs, and Christians. It is not right to differentiate people based on religion,' Ramdev said. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday expressed his disagreement with Vinay Katiyar and said that Muslims have equal right to live in this country.

"I don't agree with Vinay Katiyar because Muslims have equal right to live in this country. This country equally belongs to Jains, Buddhists, Dalits, Sikhs, and Christians. It is not right to differentiate people based on religion", Ramdev said.

The Yoga guru further urged the youth of Kashmir to be rebels and not anti-nationals.

"I was also a rebel. My revolt was not against the country, it was against superstitions and exploitation. One should rebel like me within the parameters of the Constitution. I request the youth of Kashmir to rebel like me and not anti-nationals," added Ramdev.

This comes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vinay Katiyar's statement that Muslims should leave the country.

Read: Muslims should quit India, go to B'desh, Pak: BJP MP Vinay Katiyar

He had said, "...Musalman iss desh mein rehna hi nahi chahye, unhone jansankhya ke aadhaar par desh ka batwara kardia toh iss desh mein rehne ki kya avashyakta thi? Unko alag bhu-bhaag de dia gaya, Bangladesh ya Pakistan jaayen yahan kya kaam hai unka? (Muslims should not live in this country. They divided the country in the name of religion, what is the need of living in this country? They should go to Bangladesh or Pakistan, what work do they have here?)"
Athawale cited former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to gather support for his rationale.

Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday proposed an all-out decisive war with Pakistan with an aim to take back Pakistan-occupied Kasmir (PoK). (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday proposed an all-out decisive war with Pakistan with an aim to take back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"Pakistan frequently violates ceasefire. Although we have extended hand of friendship to them so many times, I feel now the time has come for a decisive battle with Pakistan. That country needs to be taught a lesson," Athawale said in his motion of thanks to President's address in Rajya Sabha.

Athawale cited former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to gather support for his rationale.

"India is a tiger and Pakistan is a midget in front of us. We should take a cue from what Atal ji said and warn Pakistan that if it doesn't accept our offer of friendship, we will attack," the minister was quoted as saying by Times of India.

"The attack should be so severe that not only we are able to seize the illegally occupied portion of Kashmir but also some parts of the Islamic republic," he added.
The Prime Minister said the President's address highlighted work being done across the country and how India is progressing.

New Delhi: Delivering Motion of Thanks to the President's address at the start of the Budget session 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said President Ram Nath Kovind's address highlighted the work being done across the country and how India is progressing.

The Prime Minister said Partition was result of Congress' wrong policies. "Not a single day has passed when country has not suffered due to poision sowed by you," Modi said in Lok Sabha.

Modi also said the people of Telangana were suffering for the hurried division of Andhra Pradesh by Congress, which took only politics into consideration during the deed.

"Under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government too states were divided, but they were done with everyone's confidence... the process was smooth... But the Congress has messed up in dividing Andhra Pradesh. They did it in a hurry, and without much thought," said Modi.

"When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how farsighted decision making is done," the Prime Minister said.

Intensifying his attack at the Opposition, Modi said, "Don't give sermons on democracy to us, we know what you have done in the past."

The Prime Minister said even after 70 years of Independence, 125 crore Indians have to suffer every single day for the sins that the Congress committed.

Opposition MPs shouted slogans as Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in Lok Sabha.

"I wish the opposition had the courage to listen to silently," the Prime Minister said.

About the constant disruption of Parliament session by the Opposition, Modi said, "Opposition has the right to protest but not disrupt."

The Prime Minister said, "I see that whenever we are criticised by select opposition parties, substance is lacking. They go back to saying; 'when we were in power...' This is the same party that divided India."

"You talk of democracy and try to lecture us? It was your party chief that tore up the paper and threw it in front of the media, it was your party chief that didn't let young leaders give their points of view, and you preach us democracy," Modi said in his speech in Lok Sabha.

Narendra Modi said India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants people to believe. "Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries ago. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture," PM said.

Modi said if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had been the first Prime Minister, a part of Kashmir would not have been under control of Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said: "We cannot forget how the Congress insulted Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, a proud son of Andhra Pradesh. They humiliated him. Nobody in India needs lessons on democracy from the Congress Party."

Strengthening his attack on Congress, Modi said, "How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will. This is no commitment to democracy."

Recalling former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's behaviour towards Congress leader T Anjaiah, Modi said, "When Rajiv Gandhi landed in Hyderabad, how did he behave with a T Anjaiah. He humiliated a big leader, who did not belong to a privileged background."

"After independence, right from the start, if you (Congress) had worked sincerely and honestly for the people of the country, India would have been miles ahead of where it is today. But all you were interested in was to promote one person and his family," said the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, what started from Independence has now become the only thing that Congress does - defend one family.

"After independence, right from the start, if you (Congress) had worked sincerely and honestly for the people of the country, India would have been miles ahead of where it is today. But all you were interested in was to promote one person and his family," said the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Lok Sabha speech said, "When we compare the work done in three years of the NDA government to that done by the Congress in the past, when we compare the facts, figures and numbers... well, what comparison are we even talking about...there is none. The Congress has failed the people miserably, so let me give you the numbers."

Modi pointed out that more villages are getting optical fibre network in the last three years than they got under all Congress-led governments. "Just look at the transformation that's happening now," the PM said.

About the accusation made by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge about Railways and Karnakataka, the Prime Minister said: "Since (Mallikarjun) Kharge Ji spoke about railways and Karnataka, let me tell the truth about the Bidar-Kalburgi rail line. The project was approved by the Vajpayee Government and from 2004 till 2013 nothing was done. It is when a Government under BS Yeddyurappa gave approvals that work could begin."

Modi said the approvals by the former government in Karnataka led by BJP's Yeddyurappa helped progress the work on the rail line. "We do not bother who is the local MP or MLA, which party they belong to. We serve the nation and care for 125 crore Indians," said Modi.

Listing the achievements of his government and mocking at the Congress in the Lok Sabha the Prime Minister said, "I know it pains you to hear all this, but the people of this nation already gave you a bitter pill to swallow few years ago. Many of you have still not come to terms with it, but hear some more..."

Modi said, "The way people of Rajasthan were misled about the Barmer refinery was appalling. Just for votes, lies were said. It is in the last three years that the Government of India and the Rajasthan Government worked together to sort out the pending issues."

The Prime Minister asked the Opposition to stop misleading the country by false statements on jobs and employment. "The truth is quite the opposite," Modi added.

Talking about the start-up initiative by the Centre, Modi said, "I can see the energy and enthusiasm in our youth. They want to do something on their own, they want to launch their own start-ups. Our government is giving wings to the aspirations of India's middle class."

Narendra Modi said the impact of Start-up India, Mudra Yojana, Entrepreneurship scheme, Skill India, and Make in India reveal that the truth is far from what the Congress believes and says.

Talking about the aviation policy, the Prime Minister said, "A government that talked about 21st century could not bring an aviation policy. Then what kind of a 21st century did they talk about, the one with bullock carts."

Modi said, "Our government had the opportunity to prepare an aviation policy that focuses on smaller cities, towns so that more Indians can fly. Today, tier-2 and tier-3 towns in India are getting air connectivity. Almost a thousand new aircraft have been ordered. So, who is doing the work."

Talking about Aadhaar, the Prime Minister said, "When our Government took office in 2014, the chorus from the opposition was - Modi will scrap Aadhaar, but when we made Aadhaar more effective in terms of enabling better and effective service delivery, suddenly the opposition began opposing Aadhaar."

Modi said, "Congress just doesn't know how to deal with all the work they see being done. When the GST happened, and they saw its success, they didn't know how to react, so they made a joke of it."

Modi in his Lok Sabha speech said, "I know the Government's efforts to eliminate corruption and black money are hurting a select group of people. Today, people who served as Chief Ministers are in jail. However powerful one was, if one has been corrupt, that person will be punished. We are in an era of honesty."

Modi blamed the Congress for failure of country's non-performing assets. He said, "It was for the nations benefit that I was silent when you kept saying whatever you wanted. I worked silently for the benefit of the nation... but the time has come for the people to know the truth. Of how the Congress had completely ruined the nation. I stand here to in the Parliament - the temple of democracy - and say on record that the entire failure and the entire problem of India's NPAs are because of you. Since we have come to power not a single such case has happened."

Targetting Congress in his speech Modi said, "Loans were given without any scrutiny, they were distributed like sweets. Your bad decisions have directly been the reason for failures."

Modi said, "I have all the proof of how the Congress has looted and plundered India. You will pay for your sins. Time has come for you to be held accountable and answerable to the people of India."

Indirectly attacking at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the Prime Minister said, "The nation's Army was standing ground in Doklam but leaders of one party preferred to meet Chinese officials. The same party questions the Army on surgical strikes. It was a time when the government, the opposition and all parties should've stood together."

"I reiterate to those in the Congress that to achieve big things, you need to be have a big heart. My appeal to all of you present here (in Lok Sabha) is that we have to create a new India. Let us work together to fulfil the dreams of the people," the PM said.

The house adopted the motion of thanks to the President's address. Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 pm.
A video of the act, recorded and circulated by the accused, 18-yr-old Vinay Meena, is doing the rounds on the internet.

In the 3-minute clip, Meena is seen slapping Mohammad Salim 25 times and forcing him to say 'Jai Shri Ram', to which the victim responded, 'Parvardigaar sabse bada hai (God is almighty).' (Representational Image)

Jaipur: A video purportedly showing a teenager slapping a 45-year-old Muslim man and forcing him to say "Jai Shri Ram" in Rajasthan's Sirohi district went viral, prompting a protest from the community.

The incident sent police into a tizzy.

A video of the act, recorded and circulated by the accused, Vinay Meena (18), is doing the rounds on the Internet.

In the three-minute clip, Meena is seen slapping Mohammad Salim 25 times and forcing him to say "Jai Shri Ram", to which the victim responded: "Parvardigaar sabse bada hai (God is almighty)."

Also read: Rajasthan man hacks labourer, burns him alive to 'save sister from love jihad'

Members of the Muslim community protested the incident and filed a complaint at the Abu Road City police station against Meena.

"An FIR was registered yesterday based on a complaint we received from members of the Muslim community," SP Sirohi Om Prakash said.

Meena has been nabbed for "voluntarily causing hurt, promoting enmity, hurting religious sentiments, breaking peace", he said.

On December 6, a Muslim labourer, Mohammad Afrazul, was hacked to death and burnt in Rajasthans Rajsamand town.

A gruesome video of the crime had gone viral.

Pehlu Khan (55) died in Alwar in April last year after being brutally beaten up by cow vigilantes on suspicion of cattle smuggling.
The counsel informed the court that they have received information from 22 states about constitution of state-level advisory boards.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday pulled up the Centre for filing an 845-page affidavit on solid waste management in the country and said, This court is not a garbage collector.

A bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepk Gupta hearing a suo motu petition relating to the death of seven-year- old boy in dengue fever in 2016 refused to take on record the affidavit and said the government cannot dump junk before it.

Justice Lokur told Central government counsel Wasim Quadri What are you trying to do? Are you trying to impress us? We are not impressed. You are trying to dump everything on us. We are not going to accept it. Dont do this. Whatever junk you have, you dump it before us. We are not garbage collectors. Be absolutely clear about this.

The counsel informed the court that they have received information from 22 states about constitution of state-level advisory boards and have compiled data received from the respective states.

Justice Lokur observed there is no point in filing affidavits if they contain nothing. We are not taking this affidavit on record. You have not seen it and you want us to see this affidavit. The bench asked the Centre and States to file a better affidavit in three weeks furnishing all details indicating whether the states and union territories have constituted state level advisory boards in accordance with the provisions of Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 giving the names of members. In 2005 the court taken suo motu cognisance of the death of a seven-year-old boy due to dengue after he was allegedly being denied treatment by five private hospitals and subsequent suicide by his parents.

The court had earlier expressed grave concern over deaths due to vector-borne diseases like dengue and chikungunya and said that lack of waste management was the cause for several lives being lost across the country from such diseases.
The BJP spokesperson said that such expenses are natural as many official meetings take place in the CM's office.

Haldwani-based RTI activist Hemant Singh was informed via a letter dated January 22 that that Uttarakhand chief minister's office spent Rs 68,59,865 on 'chai paani' (snacks and refreshments). (Photo: File)

New Delhi: In less than a year since its formation, the Trivendra Singh Rawat-led BJP government in Uttarakhand has spent a lumpsome amount of Rs 68 lakhs on refreshments, reveals a recent Rights to Information (RTI) query.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) termed these expenses "natural", but also promised a probe into the matter.

"Such expenses are natural but if they go beyond a limit then it's matter of concern," BJP spokesperson Virendra Singh Bisht told the media,"Janta Darbar and many other official meetings take place at CM office. Nevertheless, CM Rawat will take cognizance of the matter."

Haldwani-based RTI activist Hemant Singh was informed via a letter dated January 22 that that Uttarakhand chief minister's office spent Rs 68,59,865 on 'chai paani' (snacks and refreshments) since it was sworn in on March 18, 2017.

Earlier this month, another RTI application revealed that Kerala Assembly speaker P Sreeramakrishnan claimed reimbursement worth Rs 49,900 for purchasing an expensive pair of eyeglasses.
Accused Rajendra Yadav, allegedly used a HIV infected syringe to treat all his patients in near vicinity.

'The accused, Yadav, was arrested from the house of a relative where he was hiding,' said Bangarmau Station House Officer Amit Kumar Singh. (Photo: File | Representational)

Unnao (Uttar Pradesh): The Uttar Pradesh Police on Wednesday arrested the quack doctor accused of infecting at least 40 people with HIV in state's Unnao district.

Accused Rajendra Yadav, allegedly used a HIV infected syringe to treat all his patients in near vicinity.

"The accused, Yadav, was arrested from the house of a relative where he was hiding," said Bangarmau station house officer (SHO) Amit Kumar Singh.

At least 40 people in Unnao were tested HIV positive.

It is also being feared that numerous truck drivers, who dislodge themselves in Unnao, a transit point might be acting as the HIV carriers.

Read: UP: At least 46 people infected with HIV in Unnao in last 10 months

On Tuesday, area councillor Sunil Bangarmau said if proper tests are done, at least 500 cases of HIV would come up.

"40 positive cases have been found. If proper tests are done, at least 500 cases would come up. It is being told that the people here used to go to a quack for treatment of diseases. He used a single syringe on all of them," said Bangarmau.

Health camps have been set up by the local health authorities to curtail the spread of HIV.

Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Sidharth Nath Singh had also assured an investigation in the connection.
The matter came to light after the health department launched a probe following reports of high number of HIV cases in the area.

In the past five years, Kanpur and Unnao had reported only one HIV positive case. (photo: Representational | File)

Lucknow: At least 40 people have been infected with HIV in UPs Unnao district in the last 10 months allegedly after a quack used a common syringe to administer injections, an official said on Tuesday.

An FIR has been registered by Bangarmau police against the culprit, Rajendra Kumar, who is absconding. The Yogi Adityanath government has also ordered a probe.

The matter came to light after the health department launched a probe following reports of high number of HIV cases in the area.

Kumar charged his patients a fee of `10, with medicines, and carried his mobile clinic on a bicycle from village to village. The youngest of his victim is a six-year-old while many of the patients are in their 70s, officials said.

Health minister Siddhartha Nath Singh said, Since Unnao is a transit point, HIV carriers, including truck and bus drivers, are likely to come in. We are mapping truck drivers who come there and offer treatment to others.

The 40 HIV positivepatients have now been referred to antiretroviral therapy centre in Kanpur for treatment, said an official.

According to sources, some people had filed a complaint against the quack in the CMO office a few months ago but no action was taken.

An official said, Earlier 21 persons had tested HIV positive but the number has gone up to 40 now. If more tests are carried out in the surrounding villages, we fear that the number may go up substantially.

In the past five years, Kanpur and Unnao had reported only one HIV positive case.

Chief medical officer Dr S.P. Chaudhary said that the matter came to light after the health department launched a probe following reports of high number of HIV cases in the area.

A two-member committee had which visited villages in Bangarmau to investigate the reasons behind the increase in such cases, he said.

The team visited Premganj and Chakmirpur areas of Bangarmau and filed a report, based on which screening camps were held at three places (in Bangarmau) on January 24, 25 and 27.

In these camps, 566 people were examined of whom 21 were found to be infected with HIV. Later more people tested HIV positive.

Unnao was in the news in December last year, when the district administration suspended the chief medical officer after reports surfaced that 32 cataract patients were operated upon in torchlight for want of steady electricity supply at a state-run facility. The government later suspended CMO Rajendra Prasad and also removed the in-charge of Nawabganj community health centre.
Narendra Modi said the BJP government was committed to working for the nation and the poor.

Referring to Aadhaar, Modi reminded the Congress that the notion of Aadhaar originated in LK Advani's speech during a debate in the Rajya Sabha in 1998. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

New Delhi: After a 90-minute long offensive against Congress in Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued his attack on the Opposition in Rajya Sabha saying that the Congress has been cut off from the ground after a reign of 50 years and is unaware of the reality of situation in India.

Modi said the BJP government was committed to working for the nation and the poor. "We are always looking for suggestions, feedback and input on our schemes," he said.

Addressing the Rajya Sabha, Modi recalled Mahatma Gandhi and said that the latter, post the independence, wanted the Congress party to dissolve.

You need Mahatma Gandhi's India, even I want Mahatma Gandhis India. Gandhi ji post the independence had said that now the country is free, the Congress must be dissolved, said Modi.

Modi countered the Congress claims about the NDA government "repackaging" UPA government's schemes as NDA government's achievements.

"You said we are Name Changers and not Game Changers but if you notice our mode of operation and working pattern you will realise we are Aim Changers," he said.

"We plan our action, set the road map so that we take the nation on the path to development," he further said.

Referring to Aadhaar, Modi reminded the Congress that the notion of Aadhaar originated in LK Advani's speech during a debate in the Rajya Sabha in 1998.

Modi also quoted the united opposition against the Triple Talaq Bill and said that the Congress should have brought the law themselves when in power, if they wanted changes in it.

Modi questioned the Congress for blocking the OBC Commission bill and the Triple Talaq bill. He also questioned the party's sensitiveness towards the aspirations of backward communities.

The Prime Minister also pitched for a constructive discussion on holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in the various states.
Both the leaders aired their views while participating in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on Presidents address in the Lok Sabha.

NEW DELHI: After drawing political mileage from alleged chaiwala remark of Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, BJP is now all out to make pakodas an emotive issue. A day after BJP chief and Rajya Sabha MP Amit Shah flayed the Congress for ridiculing pakodawalas, BJP Lok Sabha MP Prahlad Joshi in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday accused the Congress of insulting pakodawallas, citing the case of an engineering graduate who is making more money by selling the snack.

Hitting out at the government, Trinamul Congress (TMC) MP Kalyan Banerjee said that its not a matter of pride that graduates are selling pakodas to earn livelihood.

He said that its disgraceful and shameful that educated youth of our country are forced to sell pakodas for want of jobs. Attacking the Prime Minister, he asked, The PM is a son of a teaseller. But in the last four years how many tea sellers sons have got jobs?

Both the leaders aired their views while participating in the discussion on the Motion of Thanks on Presidents address in the Lok Sabha. Mr Joshi, who seconded the motion after his party colleague Rakesh Singh moved it and initiated the debate, referred to senior Congress leader P Chidambarams jibe at Modi and said, You (Congress) insulted Modiji who used to sell tea (during his childhood). Now you are insulting pakodawalas.
Will be released about 2 weeks from now before the budget session reconvenes.

New Delhi: Gearing up for the 2019 general elections, the Congress party is soon going to release a state of the economy report on the four years of the Modi government which is likely to be titled Four years wasted.

The document would be released from about two weeks from now before the budget session reconvenes after its break. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and former finance minister P. Chidambaram are likely to release the document, which is being prepared by the Research Cell of the Congress Party.

We are going to come out with a document which will tell the real story behind the tall claims being made by the government on the economy front, Rajiv Gowda, chairperson of the Research Cell of the Congress and National Spokesperson of the party told this newspaper.

It might be recalled that the party had released the first in the series of these reports called The Real State of the Economy in January last year. A member of the Research Cell said that this time the document would be released slightly late as they were waiting for the budget.

We also wanted to take into account all the four years of the Modi rule, Mr Gowda said. The document is likely to become the basis of the manifesto and the campaign plank on the economic front for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The Party would also come out with similar compilations on the problems in the front of Foreign Policy, Social Sector and other areas.

Formed just six months before, the Research Cell has been instrumental in framing a campaign strategy for the Gujarat polls where the party got the maximum seats in the last 20 years and claimed moral victory over the BJP. Providing the much needed backbone of the campaign trails, the Research Department would fan out to all states which go to polls this year and provide inputs on local intelligentsia and activists to find out the real issues plaguing the people. The Department, chaired by Mr Gowda a former Professor of Economics and Social Sciences at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, also provides the ammunition to Congress MPs to take on the Government in debates and interventions.
Mallikarjun Kharge led the Opposition charge in the Lok Sabha from the front on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: The Opposition parties ripped into the government while participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks for the Presidents address on Tuesday.

Slamming the Narendra Modi-led government, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge led the Opposition charge in the Lok Sabha from the front on Tuesday even as he encapsulated his charges in a couplet: Khub karo Modi sahab koshish hame mitti mein dabane ki, hum bij hain, hame adat hai ug jane ki  (However hard you try to grind us into the dust, Modiji, we are like the seeds which will sprout up despite your attempts). The Prime Minister will respond to the Opposition charges on Wednesday.

Taking a dig at the Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modis Davos visit, the Leader of the Opposition quipped and said; You spoke very well in Davos, but when the foreigners come to invest in India what you will say. That cow vigilantes in India kill the non-vegetarians.

Noting that UPA government had announced a Rs 72,000-crore farm loan waiver, Kharge demanded that the Modi government should also announce such waiver to help farmers.

Claiming that the government is weakening the armed forces, Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia demanded a white paper of the Rafale deal and questioned its transparency, saying that the people of the country have realised; Kamal ka phool hamari bhool (it was a mistake to vote for the lotus).

CPI (M) MP Md Salim took a dig at PM Modi for his unfulfilled promises and said that someone was talking about his 56-inch chest, later we realised it was not 56 inches chest. but the length of his tongue.
The Samajwadis will also raise the issue of setting up inquiries against former minister Mohd Azam Khan.

Lucknow: The Opposition is ready to fire salvos at the Yogi Adityanath government.

The UP governments encounter policy, Kasganj riots, Noida fake encounter, Bulandshahr double murder, objectionable acts by government officers, delay in distribution of sweaters to school children and behaviour of legislators belonging to the ruling party are some of the issues that Oppo-sition parties will use to target the Adityanath government in UP during the Assemblys Budget Session that begins on Thursday.

There are so many issues which the government does not wish to address. The law and order situation has been steadily going downhill and the cops are trigger happy. The ruling BJP does not go beyond issuing statements and making tall claims. The Yogi government is 11 months old but they are still harping on what happened, or did not happen, in previous years because they have done no work of their own, said Leader of the Opposition and senior SP MLA Ram Govind Chaudhary.

The Samajwadis will also raise the issue of setting up inquiries against former minister Mohd Azam Khan who has been questioned by SIT in matters related to Jal Nigam.
The Opposition also did not agree to Dy Speaker Kuriens suggestion to meet the the Chairman in his chamber and resolve the deadlock.

New Delhi: A group of Opposition parties including the Congress on Tuesday boycotted the proceedings of Rajya Sabha, alleging that their voice was being muzzled. Among the parties which boycotted the proceedings after lunch include the Congress, TMC, NCP, DMK, Samajwadi Party, CPI-M, CPI and the AAP. Members of the parties stayed away from the House when the proceedings resumed at 3pm after two adjournments during the day. However, seemingly in an effort to placate the agitating Opposition members in Rajya Sabha, Vice President M Venkiah Naidu on Tuesday evening said that the democratic rights of MPs would be protected.

Speaking to reporters outside the House, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said, The voice of the opposition is being muzzled outside and we do not want this to happen with the Opposition parties inside the House. Which is why we wanted to raise this issue since morning and which is why we have boycotted the House for the whole day.

He alleged that various issues happening in the period between proceedings of two days are meant to be raised during Zero Hour, but the moment MPs get up to raise these issues the House is adjourned till 2 PM.

Meanwhile, clarifying on the issue of abrupt adjournment of the upper house on Monday and Tuesday, Mr Naidu said, I am deeply concerned with the negative public perception of this august House on account of forced adjournments and that too quite frequently over the years, which follows a pattern. A pattern aimed at not allowing the House to function smoothly, come what may. I thought that it would be better to adjourn the House for a longer period instead of resorting to frequent adjournments. That too when it becomes evident that some sections of the house were bent on not allowing smooth conduct of the house, he said after facing opposition ire after he disallowed their adjournment notices.

The Opposition also did not agree to Dy Speaker Kuriens suggestion to meet the the Chairman in his chamber and resolve the deadlock.

But, OBrien pressed for an open debate in the House, saying Whatever has happened at 11.10 AM did not happen in the chamber, but here only.

Earlier, intervening during the ongoing debate on the motion of thanks to the Presidential debate, Union minister Arun Jaitley said,  It is absolutely unprecedented. Congress and some other parties have tried to manufacture an issue when none existed...There is a huge opportunity for discussing all political and economic issues this week in Parliament. Instead rules are being violated, everyday an effort being made to get the House adjourned, it is obvious that they dont want an organised discussion.
Lalu has also included almost all the members of his family into the list of the working committee.

Patna: Days after holding a crucial meeting with estranged JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) president Babu Lal Marandi, RJD chief Lalu Yadav reconstituted his partys working committee from jail.

The list released by the RJD on Wednesday shows that Lalu has removed criminal-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin from all party posts, but appointed his wife Heena Shahab as a member of the working committee.

RJD insiders feel that Lalu, who always projected Shahabuddin as RJDs Muslim face, gave a key position to his wife Heena in order to keep minority community in the party fold. Restructuring has been done in order to strengthen partys base in Bihar. Heena Shahab has the support of people in Siwan and party will only gain politically by giving her a place in the working committee, RJDs national general secretary Qamar Alam told this newspaper.

After Shahabuddin was convicted and disqualified as member of Parliament in 2007, his wife Heena had contested Lok Sabha elections on RJD ticket from Siwan in 2009 and 2014 but lost both the polls to BJP as CPI(ML) ate into the secular votes.

Lalu has also included almost all the members of his family into the list of the working committee. Tejashwi Yadav, who is considered heir apparent of Lalu, has been made the member of working committee along with his other siblings Tej Pratap and Misa Bharti.

Lalus wife and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi has been given the post of national vice-president.
When Patrunjel appeared before Swindon Magistrates Court on January 31, he admitted to seven charges of theft.

The court ordered Dragos to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work over the year, and to pay 85 costs and a 85 victim surcharge. (Photo: Instagram/DragosPatrunjel)

Britains best-dressed thief stole designer products worth about 2,000 and got caught in an attempt to steal Tesco sunglasses.

23-year-old Dragos Patrunjel, who was dubbed 'Britain's best-dressed' thief by Twitter, stole items worth 1,100 from Hugo Boss, 300 from Tommy Hilfiger, 160 from Calvin Klein, 130 from H&M, 100 from Gant and 60 from Armani.

His shoplifting spree came to an end when he was caught trying to nick sunglasses in a Tesco supermarket when security staff realised Patrunjel had a device to remove security tags from clothes.

The police then raided his home and discovered the stolen designer goods.

Patrunjel did not have to pay compensation as the stolen clothes were returned to Swindon's McArthurGlen designer outlet, from where they were stolen.

When Patrunjel appeared before Swindon Magistrates Court on January 31, he admitted to seven charges of theft.

The court ordered Dragos to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work over the year, and to pay 85 costs and a 85 victim surcharge.
The holy man was banished from his temple by the spiritual leader.

Police are looking for the monk in the footage (Photo: YouTube)

Godmen have landed in hot water as they were held responsible for their crimes in India. Similar reports of holy men in Thailand being charged for crimes including wildlife trafficking in the past few years.

Now another monk from the country was caught on camera as he stole womens innerwear from an alleyway. The man put six pairs of underwear drying outside inside his blue shoulder bag.

The police started a manhunt for the monk when 40-year-old Kittisak Khajornnetikhun complained about his wifes and daughters innerwear missing. The holy man was banished from his temple by the spiritual leader.

The man said that he complained about the theft so that women are warned about the monk.
Ebin Jose quit his full-time job to travel around the world.

Travelling has emerged as a significant aspect in everyones life. But in the midst of these casual travellers is a breed of travellers who put on their globetrotting shoes, bidding adieu to well-paying jobs. For this rare breed, each day is an adventure waiting to unfold. Travelling, to them, is synonymous with living. They realise that the magic of places goes far beyond the highlighted itineraries of guide books and pictures.

Such is the story of a passionate traveller and hardcore food lover from Kottayam, Ebin Jose, who moved to Somalia as part of his management job in 2000 but quit it in 2016 and returned to Kerala. By that time he had already travelled to 19 countries during 16 years of professional life. The year was also when he shifted completely to travelling  hitting the open road or hopping on a plane to a destination unknown. He has helped a friend elope while in Somalia, lived in a cubicle for over seven months in Eritrea, trekked the Tossa Mountains in Ethiopia with his three-month-old baby and walked with African Elephants in the Murchison Falls National Park of Uganda. He also started a YouTube channel to share his travel experiences and in between found time to turn an author by writing under the pen name E.Jey.

It can be terrifying to leave a secure job but to Ebin, wanderlust was deep in his blood. My job with a developmental agency in Africa was something that helped me explore a majority of destinations. The job helped me dig into 15 out of the 19 countries that I have toured to. Yet, to stretch my wings as a dedicated traveller, the job was an obligation, he quips.

Ebin Jose on his travels

Having travelled to almost every nook and corner of the globe, his recent travel over the year-end was planned as a project in India  #OutOnRoads4Hornbill  coinciding with the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland. The 30-day travel project was a road trip with two of his friends and he travelled from Kanyakumari to Kohima. Explaining more, Ebin says, We were living the cultural richness of India from south to northeast. Over 8,000 kilometers and 15 destinations; we lived a gypsy life from 20 November for a month and celebrated the cultural extravaganza during the Hornbill Festival in Nagaland. He has shared his experiences in Jaunt Monkey  his YouTube channel. Meanwhile, he kept updating his blog.

Ebin takes a moment to recall his favourite spots. I am in love with every country and every place I have been to. Nepal was the first country that I travelled to. Somalia was the first African country I flew into. Egypt, Ethiopia, Maldives, Uganda, and every other country that I ventured into are special to me.

Taking off to worlds unknown may sound romantic but the support and unconditional support of a partner is crucial. Ebins wife Kalpita Chakraborty has been the ying to his yang. He says with lot of pride. A man is incomplete without a woman and if I quote the Bible, A blessed mans wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table. My daughters need a little more time to stretch their wings. Well, when it comes to support, their (my familys) curiosity to listen my travel stories and thrill to watch my travel videos are just enough for me to fuel my year long travels, he says.

Ebin also found his calling in the love for the written word. He has already published a novel Afflictions of Love and a collection of short stories Ordeal and the Horoscope. He is busy with his second novel, Somali Days. Before he ends, dreaming of his next destination, he ruminates, We do not know even a small part about our planet. My travels are to find answers for my questions. Yet, a whole lifetime is not enough to answer all my questions.
Services hit in many govt hospitals across city.

New Delhi: Services at AIIMS, Safdarjung and many other Delhi government hospitals were hit after doctors, protesting the National Medical Commission Bill, took out a march to Parliament.

The doctors were not allowed to march till the Parliament building and meet health minister J P Nadda. At least four of them were detained for some time at Mandir Marg Police Station.

Healthcare services were affected at various Delhi and Central government hospitals, including AIIMS and Safdarjung, as only emergency wards were operational. Doctors from AIIMS and Safdarjung blocked the road outside the hospital and protested by sitting outside the Metro station. They raised slogans against the health minister and the bill. The strike was ended after the health minister met a doctors representation at Nirman Bhawan. Mr Nadda said on a positive note that the exit exam and bridge course wont be passed, but are subject to further discussion with the standing committee. Other points shall also be discussed in front of the standing committee where representatives of the doctors association shall speak. The strike was called off, with a note that such protest will be launched again in case the standing committee rejects our proposal, said Resident Doctors Association, AIIMS.

Meanwhile, Federation of Resident Doctors Association said that a meeting is being organised with the health ministry and FORDA representatives within three days and the government will be rectifying the faulty proposal of bridge course and exit exam.

Assurances have been given that postgraduate seats will be increased, it added.

The NMC Bill, which was tabled in Parliament in December and was later sent to a parliamentary standing committee, seeks to replace the Medical Commission of India with another body and also proposes allowing practioners of alternative medicines, such as homoeopathy and ayurveda, practise allopathy after completing a bridge course.
A scuffle had broken out between the victim and the attackers after they accused him of staring at a girl in the class.

Natepute police station incharge Rajkumar Bhujbal said they suspected the role of the two students as they were missing since the day of the incident and even didn't appear for the practical examination. (Representational Image)

Mumbai: A class 10 student was found dead with grievous injuries inside his school in Maharashtra's Solapur district on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday.

Police apprehended two classmates of the deceased on Wednesday, identified as Mahesh Karande (16), who were absent since the incident and booked them for murder, an official said.

As per preliminary investigation, the accused duo had objected to Karande staring at a girl in his class and attacked him with a sickle, he said.

According to the official, the duo--one of them juvenile and another a 20-year-old--allegedly attacked Karande near the computer room of Samata High School in Pirale village ahead of practical tests for class 10.

"Karande was attacked with a sickle near the computer room of the school. He was rushed to a hospital by school authorities where he was declared brought dead," the official said.

Natepute police station incharge Rajkumar Bhujbal said they suspected the role of the two students as they were missing since the day of the incident and even didn't appear for the practical examination.

"An offence of murder was registered against the duo who were apprehended from the village this morning," Bhujbal said.

The officer said a scuffle had broken out between the duo and Karande after they accused him of staring at a girl in the class, before the fatal attack.

Further investigation is underway, he added.
Congress has said that it would oppose the tree cutting proposals.

Mumbai: Mumbai is likely to lose more than 2,000 trees which are scheduled to be chopped for various infrastructure and development projects across the city. Of them, 865 would be cut for Metro projects alone.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has tabled several tree cutting and transplantation proposals for approval before the tree authority meeting to be held on February 8. According to the proposals, total 2,086 trees will be removed, of which 1193 trees will be cut right away whereas 893 trees will be transplanted.

Around 865 trees will be cut for the Metro project such as Charkop Malad West Metro IIA depot and workshop (350 to be cut and 22 transplanted), Metro III Pylon termination sub-station and car depot at Aarey Colony (105 and 32), Andheri Metro III ramp at Sariput Nagar, Aarey Colony (235 and 72) and Metro line III casting yard at Aarey Colony (one and 48).

The others projects from which trees would be cut include reconstruction of Wadibunder Central Railway yard (42 and 25), reconstruction of proposed building at BDD Chawl, Naigaum (72 and 45), development works of Somaiya Nullah from the Tansa main at Ghatkopar (89 and 14), Andheri-Milan Subway western line sixth track (3 to be cut and 164 transplanted), proposed widening of railway over bridge at Bhandup (29 and 188) and proposed widening of railway over bridge at Mulund (86 and 94).

Several proposals will come up for approval before the civic tree authority, which involves chopping and transplantation of trees in large numbers for development and infrastructure projects. However, civic activists have alleged that developing agencies and builders pay no attention to the rule of planting triple the number of trees that have been axed.

Congress has said that it would oppose the tree cutting proposals. At one end, the ruling Shiv Sena and Bharatiya Janata Party are talking about saving the environment, and at the other end, they are damaging the environment by cutting trees, said opposition leader Ravi Raja from Congress.
The corporation had also written to the police asking it to ensure that the meat shops were shut.

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has granted relief to 20 meat sellers in Nalas-opara, terming the revocation of their licences by the Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation as arbitrary.

The corporation, which claimed that the beef was seized from areas around the shops, had revoked the licences on suspicion that they were selling beef.

A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice P.N. Deshmukh was hearing a petition filed by 20 meat shop owners from Nalasopara. They had challenged notice issued to them by the corporation to shut their shops and suspend their licence to sell meat. The civic body had alleged that on December 15-16 last year, it seized around 550kg of beef from the area where the meat shops are located. Subsequently, the corporation had initiated an inquiry. Suspecting that the beef might have come from one of the local meat sellers, it suspended the licences of all meat sellers in the locality. The corporation had also written to the police asking it to ensure that the meat shops were shut.

The court on Tuesday asked, Can the corporation suspend licences of the meat sellers, who had apparently not breached any terms and conditions?
The freshly arrested accused are friends of the other accused.

Mumbai: One more accused was arrested in the Vile Parle minor rape case which came to light on Saturday, taking the toll of persons arrested to nine including a BJYM office-bearer, even as the police found videos that the accused persons had shot of the minor to blackmail and rape her.

The Vile Parle police arrested one more accused from the vicinity of the complainants residence on Tuesday, whereas two others were arrested on Monday. The freshly arrested accused are friends of the other accused. On Saturday, the complainant approached the police, alleging that the men blackmailed and raped her on several occasions over the course of one year on the pretext of possessing a compromising video of her while the crime was being perpetrated.

Acting on her complaint, the nine accused have been arrested and booked under section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.

Laxman Chavhan, senior police inspector, Vile Parle police station, confirmed the arrests and said, A total nine arrests have been made in the case and we have found evidence, which incriminates the accused in the crime. Further investigation is underway. Meanwhile, the names of the accused have been kept under wraps by the police in view of the sensitivity of the case.

The Vile Parle police has registered a case under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act
PM Narendra Modi to launch them at Magnetic Maharashtra on February18.

Mumbai: Ahead of the investment summit Magnetic Maharashtra, the state government on Tuesday approved seven industrial policies regarding GST concession, electric vehicles, logistic parks, garments and use of coir. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil these policies during the event on February 18 at the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

Aiming to boost investments in the coming years, other approved policies include Aerospace and Defence Procurement Policy. The government is aiming for 200 crore dollar investment in the next five years and employment generation figure of about a lakh. The American Aerospace Industry is a one lakh crore dollar and growing with three to four per cent every year. This growth can be utilised by developing country like India to produce the requirements, said an official from the industries department.

Under the defence policy, the state government will set up production centers (defense hubs) at Pune, Nagpur, Ahmednagar, Nashik and Aurangabad, the official added.

Another important policy unveiled in the cabinet meeting on Tuesday was related to electric vehicles. The state is targeting to increase the number of electric vehicles to 5 lakh. With electric vehicles, parts, batteries, assembly enterprises and charging facilities, the industry is expected to bring an investment of Rs 25,000 crore. The electricity required for these vehicles will be given at the same tariff as residential electricity, said an official.

In the Maharashtra Logistic Park policy, the states emphasis will be on creating 25 logistic clusters across Maharashtra. At present, the state lacks professional logistic facilities. With the help of the policy, the facilities will be made available, the official added.

With a view to make employment available to 1.2 million people, the government has chalked out the Industrial Parks for Readymade Garment Production Policy. It is expected that women would play a major role in the garment industry. Also, as the city is known for its diamond market, the Gems and Jewellery Policy will help in making incoming investments easy.

After implementing the GST, the state government is going to offer some concessions to the industries. The concessions given to industries in earlier VAT scheme would continue in this policy and will be applicable for inter-state sales. In vehicle production business, the vehicles registered in the state will get concession in state GST, the official said.
The demand was made by transport minister Diwakar Raote on Tuesday.

Mumbai: The Shiv Sena presented what it calls its Marathi agenda in the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday when transport minister Diwakar Raote asked chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to change the name of the Bombay high court to the Mumbai high court. He also said that Bombay Gymkhana land must be allocated to the Marathi Bhasha Bhavan. Mr Fadnavis assured the Sena ministers that he would look into their demands.

After the Shiv Sena declared that it would go solo in the upcoming Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, ministers have been aggressively raising a number of issues in the Cabinet meeting. Mr Raote said, This issue is concerned with the Central government, which is under the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) leadership. So Mr Fadnavis can resolve this issue.

Many IAS officers and dignitaries are members of the Bombay Gymkhana, whose land lease has expired. So, Mr Fadnavis offered two options for Marathi Bhasha Bhavan to be set up: Rang Bhavan, which is located near Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, or a plot of land in Navi Mumbai. However, Mr Raote rejected both options. He said in the meeting, Land was given for other languages in Mumbai. Why is no land available in the city for Marathi? Rang Bhavan is an odd place and the gymkhana, which is also close to CST, is more suitable.
The megastar has been recommended for the honour for his lifelong contribution to Indian Cinema.

Mumbai: The Rabindra Bharati University (RBU) here has recommended conferring of honorary D Litt on Amitabh Bachchan during its convocation this year, its vice-chancellor said today.

The Executive Council of the university has recommended conferring the degree on the legend on the 43rd annual convocation of the RBU, Vice-Chancellor Sabyasachi Basu

Ray Chaudhury told PTI here today. He said the EC's recommendation has been sent to Raj Bhavan 10 days ago for getting the nod of Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi, who is also the Chancellor of the university.

"We are awaiting the nod from Raj Bhavan," the VC said.

The megastar has been recommended for the honour for his lifelong contribution in the field of acting in a career spanning over four decades, the VC said.

Besides, names of three other eminent personalities in the fields of literature and arts have been recommended for D Litt.

Actor-director Amal Palekar was conferred D Litt by the university last year.

The convocation is slated to be held on May 8.
Never mind that the Turkish supremo did his best to thwart the Kurdish-led defence of Kobani against an IS assault.

The unending war in Syria acquired an additional layer of complexity nearly three weeks ago when Turkey launched its ludicrously titled Operation Olive Branch, with the aim of overrunning the Kurdish-controlled town of Afrin.

The Turkish invasion was evidently sparked by an American announcement in mid-January about forming a border force in collaboration with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)  which are largely Kurdish-led, although a substantial proportion of its foot soldiers are Arabs.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promptly accused the US, Turkeys partner in Nato, of setting up a terror army, and shortly afterwards launched the military aggression, which relies on the pro-Turkish so-called Free Syrian Armys (FSA) militias, backed by Turkish forces and air power.

Given that the Kurdish YPG or Peoples Protection militias were instrumental in the US-guided effort to wrest Raqqa and other parts of Syria from the militant Islamic State (IS) group, one might have assumed that Washington make more of an effort to prevent Ankara from carrying out its threats. But US said it understood Turkish security concerns and merely advised restraint and the avoidance of any conflict with American forces in the area. Russia, which has allowed Turkey use of the airspace it controls in northern Syria, has been similarly cavalier in its approach.

Both the rival powers see Turkey as a crucial ally in determining Syrias future. Other Nato members, notably Germany and France, have been moderately more robust in their criticism of the Turkish military action. But ultimately the Kurds are on their own.

They are still counting on the US to resist Erdogans threatened incursion into Manbij, where US forces are also based, and have received assurances from US commanders.

Never mind that the Turkish supremo did his best to thwart the Kurdish-led defence of Kobani against an IS assault. Or that Turkey was for several years the main conduit for would-be jihadists flocking to Syria. Or that, like Saudi Arabia and some Gulf states, it backed Islamists in the Syrian battlefield. The FSA was effectively adopted by Turkey after its Western support crumbled because of its alliances with outfits such as Al Nusra Front  recently reincarnated as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and active in Idlib province on the Turkish border, where it shot down a Russian warplane on the weekend.

The nature of at least some of Erdogans Syrian allies was illuminated last week when a video turned up of the mutilated corpse of Barin Kobani, a fighter in the Kurdish Womens Protection Units. The very fact that women tend to be prominent participants in Kurdish politics as well as the armed struggle fuels the spite of their invariably retrograde foes.

Turkey refuses to distinguish between the YPG and the PKK  the Turkish-based Kurdistan Workers Party, widely designated as a terrorist organisation, whose leader Abdullah Ocalan has resided in a Turkish prison since 1999, after being apprehended with CIA connivance. His inevitable death sentence was commuted at a time when Turkey was still keen to be admitted into the EU, but he remains in prison despite having given up on the idea of armed struggle and favouring a political solution. Marginally different answers may be obtained from Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran, but they basically boil down to territorial integrity, and the determination to avoid any one of the Kurdish enclaves setting an example. Erdogans government was on relatively good terms with the Iraqi Kurds until they voted for independence last year, which instinctively prompted Ankara to threaten an invasion.

The Syrian Kurds have based their recent autonomy broadly on Ocalans progressive philosophy that entails a secular outlook, democratic rights for all minorities and equal rights for women  each of the tenets anathema to Islamists. This explains Erdogans animosity.

Kurdish entities have often collaborated with Western and regional powers, but it has invariably been a case of being won over by honest trifles only to be betrayed in deepest consequence. That decidedly holds true also in the context of Israeli backing for a Kurdish state, even as the prospect of a Palestinian state goes down the gurgler.

By the same token, the idea of Erdogan listing Jerusalem at the top of his agenda in this weeks meeting with Pope Francis lacks credibility when he is intent, at the same time, on crushing the Kurds and denying Turkish citizens their basic human rights.

By arrangement with Dawn
About 25 million people whose data was compromised in the breach live in the US,chief information security officer John Flynn said

Uber disclosed the breach of 57 million worldwide users in November, about a year after it occurred.

The two people who hacked ride-hailing firm Ubers data in 2016 were in Canada and Florida at the time, a company security executive told a US congressional committee.

About 25 million people whose data was compromised in the breach live in the United States, Uber Technologies Inc chief information security officer John Flynn said in written testimony to a Senate Commerce Committee panel.

Of those, 4.1 million were drivers, said Flynn, whose testimony described new details about the hack, the handling of which prompted newly appointed Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi to fire two top security officials.

Uber disclosed the breach of 57 million worldwide users in November, about a year after it occurred. In December a 20-year-old man was primarily behind the breach, and that he was paid by Uber to destroy the data through a so-called bug bounty program, which is designed to reward researchers for uncovering security vulnerabilities.

Flynn confirmed the man who obtained data from Uber was in Florida and revealed that his partner, who first contacted the company on November 14, 2016, to demand a six-figure payment, was in Canada.

Ubers security team made contact with both people and received assurances the pilfered data had been destroyed before paying them $100,000, Flynn said. Sources familiar with the breach told Reuters in December the company did a forensic analysis of the Florida hackers computer to verify the deletions. A Canadian Royal Canadian Mounted Police representative said she had no immediate comment on the case.

Flynn said Uber had made mistakes, including paying the hackers through its bug bounty program. We made a misstep in not reporting to consumers, and we made a misstep in not reporting to law enforcement, Flynn said. Republican and Democratic lawmakers admonished Uber for its delay in disclosing the breach.

The fact that the company took approximately a year to notify impacted users raises red flags within this committee as to what systemic issues prevented such time-sensitive information from being made available to those left vulnerable, Republican Jerry Moran said.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said Ubers management of the hack was morally wrong and legally reprehensible, and that the company appeared to violate state rules for data breach disclosure.

Compromised data includes names, phone numbers and email addresses but not Social Security numbers or credit card information of Uber users. Drivers license numbers of 600,000 drivers were also compromised.
Trudeau has come under fire for virtue signally, mansplaining and being too politically correct.

On 1st February Trudeau was answering questions at Edmonton, Alberta when a woman who claimed to be a part of World Mission Society Church of God engaged the young prime minister. (Photo: File)

Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is back in the news. This time for correcting a woman for saying mankind instead of peoplekind.

On 1st February Trudeau was answering questions at Edmonton, Alberta when a woman who claimed to be a part of World Mission Society Church of God engaged the young prime minister, the Washington Post reported.

The woman who spoke about the power of maternal love and about her church, thanked the prime minister for recognizing the "ability and power that women actually possess." She ended her long question by requesting Trudeau to look into laws regarding the charitable status of religious organisations.

She then circled back to "maternal love," describing it as "the love that's going to change the future of mankind," when she was interrupted by Trudeau who said, We like to say peoplekind, not necessarily mankind, because its more inclusive.

The audience broke into applause, including the woman, whose name is not known.

"There you go, exactly. Yes, thank you," she said.

Trudeau has come under fire for virtue signally, mansplaining and being too politically correct.

Conservatives broke into a patronising rhetoric calling Trudeaus move -- as Australian conservative commentator Rita Panahi said  an attempt to appease those desperate to find offence where none exists with others claiming that his political correctness has gone haywire.

Few others however came forth in support of the liberal prime minister saying that the situation had been put out of context.

Daniel Dale, a Toronto Star correspondent said that the US right-wing pile-on was misleading as Trudeau was lightly ribbing a woman who was rambling about the power of women and accused it of omitting context.

Drew Brown, VICE political columnist mocked Trudeaus critics saying the prime minister was "so woke his brain went supernova and exploded!"

And then of course there were the Tweeple:

Trudeau sounds exactly like a first-year women's studies major who just walked out of his first ever seminar #peoplekind  Mido (@midoanth90) February 5, 2018

If the word "mankind" should now be #peoplekind, are woman now "wopeople"?



Please advise to ensure I'm in compliance, Justin Trudeau!  Danielle (@HerbMajesty) February 5, 2018
Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) functions from Colombo, had appealed for India's help on Tuesday.

'Saying -- resolve things internally -- is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see India's role positively: in '88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now,' Nasheed tweeted on Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

Colombo/Male: Exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday asked India to play its role of "liberators" and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

China has warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges.

"Saying 'resolve things internally' is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see India's role positively: in '88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now," Nasheed tweeted on Wednesday.

Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) functions from Colombo, had appealed for India's help on Tuesday.

"We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are

asking for a physical presence," Nasheed said in a tweet.

In 1988, the then president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had sought India's help to defeat a coup by mercenaries. India responded to his call and dispatched troops to the Maldives to restore order in the country. Most of the Indian soldiers

returned home after order was restored in the island nation.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Concerned over political crisis in Maldives, India, which is monitoring the situation very "closely", on Tuesday said it was "disturbed" on the declaration of the emergency by the Maldivian government and described as a matter of "concern" the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

Weighing its options in the fast deteriorating crisis in the Maldives, China has asked political parties in Maldives to find a solution without external intervention after UN, the US and India stepped pressure on Yameen to implement the Supreme Court ruling of setting the detained opposition leaders free.

"The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," China's Foreign Ministry

spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The remaining three judges of the Supreme Court Tuesday night amended an order to release nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed.

In a statement, the judges said they were revoking the order to release the prisoners "in light of the concerns raised by the President".

The amendment to the ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1 also omits the part that says the case against the Supreme Court judges was not received by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

President Yameen on Wednesday welcomed the court's move to reinstate the convictions of political prisoners. He had accused the detained judges of plotting to overthrow him.

"I had to declare a national emergency because there was no other way to investigate these judges," Yameen said in a televised address to the nation last evening.

"We had to find out how thick the plot or coup was," he said, adding that the chief justice was trying to illegally impeach him and sack the attorney general.

Meanwhile, Acting police chief Abdulla Nawaz told reporters that police had found evidence that millions of dollars were given as bribes to Saeed and Hameed of the Supreme Court, and to court official Hassan Saeed.

Nawaz said police had reason to believe Gayoom had bribed politicians and influenced judges in order to overthrow the government, the Maldives Independent news website reported.

Gayoom, president for 30 years until the country's first democratic elections in 2008, was also detained at his home hours after the emergency was declared on Monday night. Gayoom has allied himself with the Opposition.

Nawaz claimed that police had found "lots of cash" that was connected to Hameed and that "lots of cash" had been found under Hassan Saeed's mattress.

All four are being charged with attempting to unlawfully overthrow the government, he added.

Nasheed, 50, the first democratically elected leader of the Maldives, has accused President Yameen of acting illegally and asked the US to ensure that all American financial institutions stop all transactions of the regime's leaders.

He was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terror charges in March 2015 over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency. He was granted asylum in the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure.

Nasheed was narrowly defeated in 2013 by Yameen. Nasheed says his conviction on terror charges was politically motivated.

The Maldivian government holds that Nasheed is convicted for a crime and is wanted in the Maldives to serve a jail sentence. Nasheed said he will seek UN support to ensure he is allowed to contest this year's election.
North Korea accused the United States of seeking to aggravate the situation on the divided peninsula by deploying large nuclear assets.

In a diplomatic showdown at a UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, North Korea responded by blaming Washington for escalating confrontation. (Photo: File)

Geneva: North Korea is only months away from obtaining the capability to hit US territory with a nuclear weapon and must be disarmed, a US envoy said on Tuesday, dismissing Pyonyang's diplomatic thaw with South Korea as a "charm offensive" that fooled no one.

In a diplomatic showdown at a UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, North Korea responded by blaming Washington for escalating confrontation, saying it was deploying nuclear assets including aircraft carriers near the divided peninsula and was considering a pre-emptive strike against Pyongyang.

"North Korea has accelerated its provocative pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile capabilities, and expressed explicit threats to use nuclear weapons against the United States and its allies in the region," US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood told the Geneva forum.

"North Korean officials insist that they will not give up nuclear weapons, and North Korea may now be only months away from the capability to strike the United States with nuclear-armed ballistic missiles," he said.

A new US nuclear policy review outlined last week "reaffirms that North Korea's illicit nuclear program must be completely, verifiably, and irreversibly eliminated, resulting in a Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons," he said.

Asked later what the basis was for the assessment that North Korea would soon be able to hit the United States with a nuclear weapon, he said he had "no new information to share".

North Korea tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-14, twice last July. In November it tested the Hwasong-15, believed to be capable of reaching the continental United States. It is not yet believed to have the capability to mount a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile.

North Korea is under tightening UN Security Council sanctions for its banned nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. But recent weeks have seen a thaw with South Korea, after Pyongyang agreed to send athletes to compete in the Olympic Games opening on February 9 in the south.

"Charm Offensive"

"What I would call 'the charm offensive' frankly is fooling no one," Wood told the talks.

He also said arsenals in China and Russia were expanding, drawing rebukes from their respective delegations.

"Russia, China and North Korea are growing their stockpiles, increasing the prominence of nuclear weapons in their security strategies, and - in some cases - pursuing the development of new nuclear capabilities to threaten other peaceful nations," Wood said.

"We are not going to stick our head in the sand, we are going to respond to these growing challenges," he later told reporters.

North Korea accused the United States of seeking to aggravate the situation on the divided peninsula by "deploying large nuclear assets" nearby, laying the ground for a possible pre-emptive strike against it.

"In view of the nature and scale of US military reinforcements, they are designed to make a pre-emptive strike against the DPRK," North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Chol told the talks, referring to his country's official name the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"US officials including the defense secretary and the CIA director repeatedly talked about DPRK nuclear and missile threat to justify their argument for a military option and a new concept of a so-called 'bloody nose', a limited pre-emptive strike on the DPRK is under consideration within the US administration," Ju said.

He said President Donald Trump's 'America First' doctrine and US nuclear superiority would endanger global peace and security and "trigger off a new nuclear arms race and could bring the whole world close to a horrible catastrophe".
The bloodshed came a day after another 31 civilians were killed in Eastern Ghouta.

Syrian rescuers evacuate badly injured people following regime strikes on the besieged rebel-held enclave of Kafr Batna near Damascus on Tuesday. (Photo: AFP)

Saqba: Fresh regime strikes on a besieged rebel-held enclave near Damascus killed 35 civilians on Tuesday despite mounting Western pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The bloodshed came a day after another 31 civilians were killed in Eastern Ghouta and as the United Nations pleaded for a truce in the seven-year-old conflict to allow for aid deliveries.

Fighting also raged in the northwestern province of Idlib, where the UN said the violence made a mockery of the de-escalation zones agreed last year in a bid to pave the way for an end to the war.

The latest casualties in Ghouta, on paper also a de-escalation zone, came as Washington threatened military action over the reported use of chemical weapons in the enclave, which regime and allied forces have besieged since 2013.

The death toll rose from an initial report of 16 because the strikes are continuing  some new victims died in Douma and some critically wounded people died of their wounds, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman added that few rebels were among the dead because they rarely left their tunnels and had better protection from air strikes than civilians, estimated to number around 400,000 in Ghouta.

In apparent retaliation, rockets were fired on Damascuss Bab al-Touma neighbourhood, killing three civilians, the state news agency SANA reported.

Although less deadly, regime attacks involving suspected chlorine-filled munitions on Ghouta have also been on the up in recent weeks.

The US State Department said on Monday it had recorded six suspected chemical attacks in Syria in the past 30 days. Washington, which last year launched cruise missiles on a regime airfield in retaliation for a nerve agent attack in Khan Sheikhun that killed scores of people, has threatened more military action.

France last month blacklisted companies and nationals it said had links to Syrias alleged chemical programme.

US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley clashed with her Russian counterpart at a meeting of the Security Council on Monday after proposing a statement condemning Damascus in the strongest terms.

Russia, Assads main backer, retorted that no perpetrators have been identified and accused the US.
President Abdulla welcomes SC U-turn on high-profile prisoners.

Male/Beijing: As Maldives President Abdulla Yameen on Wednesday welcomed the move by the Supreme Court to revoke the order to release high-profile political prisoners and invited representatives from international organisations to see for themselves the safety and security of Male, China warned against any military intervention in the Maldives.

The move to reinstate the convictions of high-profile political prisoners by the remaining three judges of the Supreme Court comes after Mr Yameen arrested two top judges and declared a state of Emergency, plunging the upmarket holiday paradise into chaos. They said they were rescinding their February 1 order in light of the concerns raised by the President.

The courts original decision, signed by all five judges, had quashed a terrorism conviction against former president and Opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed, among others.

Amid repeated calls for Indias military intervention by former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed to resolve the political crisis, China on Wednesday said military intervention in the Maldives would further complicate the situation.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, when asked to comment on Mr Nasheeds call to India, said the international community should play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the Maldives sovereignty instead of taking measures that could complicate the current situation.
The state of emergency remains in the country and about twenty constitutional rights are suspended. The remaining three judges revoke the release of political opponents. China, the US, India and the United Kingdom invite their citizens not to travel to the nation.

Male (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The Maldives Supreme Court has withdrawn its decision to release nine political opponents, including exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed. The u-turn was issued by the three remaining judges of the supreme body, after the arrest of President Abdulla Saeed and Judge Ali Hameed, now hospitalized in critical conditions, perhaps due to an illness following his imprisonment. The current president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, congratulated the Court and declared a "victory".

The three judges issued a statement in which they state that the release order has been revoked "in light of the issues raised by the president". Yameen yesterday appeared on television claiming to want to investigate a "coup" against him and that he had "no choice but to investigate the judges" removed.

Meanwhile, the state of emergency remains in the country with the suspension of about twenty constitutional rights. The Parliament sessions have been indefinitely interrupted. The parliamentarians, in fact, if gathered, could vote the impeachment against the head of state.

The situation precipitated last week, when judges unanimously ruled in favour of the release of opponents belonging to the Maldivian Democratic Party (Mdp) and the reopening of their trials. Furthermore, they defined the sentence in the trial that led Nasheed, the first democratically elected president in 2008, to condemnation of terrorism as "unconstitutional". The latter, after the unexpected verdict, was preparing to return to the capital and compete in the presidential elections scheduled for the end of the year.

With the state of emergency in force, the police can make arrests without having to specify the reason and public rallies are banned.

Meanwhile, members of the opposition have called for the intervention of the international community. The United States has expressed concern about the ongoing events. China, the United Kingdom, India and the US have issued travel warnings and invited their citizens not to participate in protests or rallies. In the Maldives, the tourist season is in full swing. The sector has an annual turnover of about 2.7 billion dollars (2.2 billion euros).
by Bernardo Cervellera

The President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences exalts China as the best implementer of the Churches social doctrine. The bishop seems oblivious to the shantytowns of Beijing and Shanghai, the expulsion of migrants, oppression of religious freedom. Appreciation for the Paris Climate Agreement, but silence on the links between wealth, corruption and pollution. An ideological approach that makes a laughing stock of the Church.

Rome (AsiaNews) - When my friends tell me they are going to China, I always advise them not to stop at the shopping centers, the ultra-luxury hotels and the skyscrapers, but also to go to out to the peripheries to get a better picture of real China. Since the economic disaster into which it had sunk after Mao's death, the country has certainly made great strides, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty, modernizing industries and becoming an economic superpower that now overshadows the United States.

But from here to presenting China as the "Land of Wonders" is a bit too far. In his interview following his recent trip to Beijing, Msgr. Sanchez Sorondo describes a China that does not exist or that vigilant Chinese escorts did not show him.

"There are no shantytowns", proclaims Msgr. Sanchez Sorondo. Did our bishop try to go to the south of the capital, where for months the city government has been destroying buildings and houses and driving away tens of thousands of migrant workers? Not to mention the suburbs of Shanghai or other Chinese megalopolis, where a "cleansing" is underway and a ban on the "low-end" and defenceless population?

The bishop, who is President of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, even states that the Chinese are "the best implementers of the Churches social doctrine". But perhaps he is not referring to these mass expulsions, which are very similar to a fruit of the "culture of waste" so highly criticized by Pope Francis.

"No drugs", says the bishop: but did he go to Chinese prisons, filled with drug dealers and drug addicts, many facing the death sentence? And in Shenzhen, which is also the drug hub for Hong Kong?

Not to mention religious freedom in China. Religious freedom should be a pillar of the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. We should perhaps propose the bishop read the daily news tracking violence, arrests of Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, abuses on domestic churches, checks on official churches. The same rough road of dialogue between China and the Vatican shows the difficulty with which Beijing is reluctant to swallow drops of religious freedom for Catholics.

Maybe someone should tell Msgr. Sanchez Sorondo that since February 1, since the implementation of the new regulations, all the unofficial churches have been closed and at least 6 million Catholics have no meeting places: the threat of the regime that "best implements of the Churches social doctrine" is arrest, stratospheric fines and expropriation of the buildings where the faithful gather. Furthermore, local authorities will henceforth prohibit "minors under the age of 18" from entering churches, even official ones. As one priest said, "China has transformed the church into a night club, for adults only ".

Lets not mention the naivety with which Msgr. Sanchez Sorondo speaks of the Middle Kingdom as the place where one looks at the "common good", where the economy does not dominate politics. What we need to mention, instead, is that in China the economy and politics are the same thing; that the billionaires sit in the Chinese parliament and determine politics according to their interests, which are not those of the rest of the population. According to scholars, at least one third of the Chinese population does not directly benefit from Chinas economic development: farmers and migrants are not guaranteed land ownership (promised in the days of Mao and never kept); social rights and sometimes even pay are withheld, as shown by the monthly reports of the China Labor Bulletin.

Of course, and the bishop rightly states that China - unlike Trump and the United States - has decided to remain in the Paris Agreement on climate. But for now "it has promised" to work to stop pollution, and the country has the most destroyed and poisonous environment in the world. This is undoubtedly the fault of many Western investors who exploit the sluggish Chinese legislation, but it is also the fault of the greed and corruption of Party members who prefer, just like many in the world, an immediate profit at the expense of their own population.

We can understand that in the enthusiasm of wanting an agreement between China and the Vatican, Chinese culture, Chinese people and Chinese mentality are exaggerated and exalted - as Pope Francis does - but presenting China as a model ... We should listen to the African bishops, who see the economy of their countries destroyed by the invasion of Chinese investment and labor and who watch as their resources are stolen from them, just as it once happened with the western colonizers.

It is true that in the world everyone is pressed to choose between the United States and China, between liberal capitalism and state capitalism, but the idolization of China is an ideological affirmation that makes a laughing stock of the Church and harms the world.
The chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, back from a trip to Beijing, exalts China as a country where the "common good" is the primary value; where "there are no slums" or drugs, where the environment is respected. Not like the United States of Donald Trump. "Many meeting points" between China and the Vatican.

Rome (AsiaNews) - "Right now, those who are best implementing the social doctrine of the Church are the Chinese". This was stated by Msgr. Marcelo Sanchez Sorondo, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.

In an interview published in the February 2 Spanish edition of Vatican Insider the Argentine bishop lists all the wonders that he noted on his last trip to China: "They hold the common good above all else, everything else comes second to the common good".

"I met an extraordinary China: what people dont realise is that the central value in China is work, work, work. Theres no other way, fundamentally it is like St Paul said: he who doesnt work, doesnt eat".

"You do not have shantytowns, you do not have drugs, young people do not take drugs. Instead, there is a positive national conscience".

According to Msgr. Sanchez Sorondo, Beijing "is defending the dignity of the person", following Pope Francis encyclical "Laudato si", more than other countries defending the Paris agreements on climate.

In this, China stands out from the United States: "The economy does not dominate politics, as happens in the United States, as the Americans themselves say. How is it possible for oil multinationals to influence (Donald) Trump? Knowing that all this hurts the earth, as the encyclical and scientists say. Liberal thought has dismissed the concept of the common good, it does not even want to take it into account, it states that it is an empty idea, without any benefits. On the contrary, the Chinese, no, they propose work and the common good ".

"The impression - he concludes - is that China is evolving very well. They asked me about relations between China and the Vatican, I replied that at right now there are no formalities because we do not have ambassadors or nuncios, but there are many points of agreement. The world is dynamic and evolving. You can not think that today's China is the China of the days of John Paul II or Russia of the Cold War ".

Msgr. Sanchez Sorondo is not new to praise for China. In February 2017, at an international meeting on organ trafficking, he defended Beijing against the charge of forced transplants operated by Chinese doctors on prisoners and death row inmates.
by Melani Manel Perera

The inauguration ceremony took place on 3 February. The McLarens Group of Sri Lanka funded the construction. The new site includes a big stage for meetings, confessionals in the church, and a water stream around the building to symbolise purification (and healing).

Ragama (AsiaNews)  Card Malcolm Ranjith, archbishop of Colombo, inaugurated the new chapel and grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes in Tewatte. It is a faithful replica of the original place of worship in France.

In his homily the cardinal called on the faithful to "thank God for giving us such a loving Mother". He also invited those present to make "the chapel and grotto a place to pray and meditate for peace. Come to this place and start a new life of prayers and loving spirituality centred on Mary."

The ceremony took place last Saturday. The faithful participated with joy in the Mass, which was followed by a candle-lit procession, during which the Rosary was recited and the statue of Mary carried.

Card Ranjith thanked Mr Rohan De Silva, CEO of the McLarens Group of Sri Lanka, who financed the construction of the church with a donation of more than 100 million rupees (US$ 650,000).

Some believers told AsiaNews that they were happy because now we too have a Lourdes chapel in our country". Others are not so positive, noting that the new construction is only a "duplicate" of the original.

According to a retired teacher from Colombo, "it's just imagination. If you want to get the real atmosphere or the impression of the real Lourdes, you have to go to France".

A group of lay people from Kandana parish noted that "in Tewatte there is already a basilica with shrine dedicated to Our Lady, with large spaces and structures suitable for personal prayer and gatherings".

Therefore, they ask themselves, "why did the Church hierarchy squander so much money? The Church teaches us simplicity and the authentic faith."

Still, they appreciate the new grotto, located behind a stage "that can be used for many purposes, such as prayer meetings".

On the archdioceses website, one can read that "the purpose of the building is to help the faithful, who can gather to pray with minds at peace and promote the devotion to Mother Mary and emulate the values of Mother Mary in their lives.

The lighting and the landscaping has been done in such a way that everyone who comes will not be distracted from their prayers. There are confessionals made so that the faithful who wish to make their confessions can do so easily. A stream of water adds more beauty and meaning as one cross over it in a symbol of cleansing after they have made their confession.

Card Ranjith concluded the event by intoning a prayer to Our Lady. "Dear loving mother, we love you very much; therefore, in this hard life, help us, strengthen us, and give peace to face this life. Make us peaceful in this sorrowful life. When we are become prey to the evil one, save us Mother, make our families more united.
The mosques had not been authorised by the authorities. The latter also write imams sermons, and require the former to renew their permits on a regular basis. The government is trying to fight foreign influence and fundamentalism, but for one expert, it is running the risk of favouring extremism.

Dushanbe (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Tajikistans Committee for Religious Affairs (CRA) last year converted what it claimed to be 2,000 illegal mosques into tearooms, barber shops, cultural centres, medical clinics, and kindergartens.

We gave the owners of the mosques time to file [registration] documents, but they didnt do it, so the sites were either reclaimed by the government or repurposed into social facilities, said CRA chief Husein Shokirov at a conference on Monday.

According to the Committee, there are 3,900 mosques operating with proper permits in Tajikistan, including 370 so-called cathedral mosques of significant size.

Every year, hundreds of unregistered Islamic places of worship are forced to close. Last month alone, another 100 mosques were closed in the north of the country.

Under Tajik law, whilst the responsibility for building mosques lies with the public, ultimate control over the premises and what happens inside them is assumed by the government.

Imams are required to regularly renew paperwork to perform their duties, and sermons are written on their behalf by the authorities. The countrys security services have also set up video surveillance within and around mosques.

Clerics who decline to cooperate with the government are invariably ousted. Since 2014, imams receive civil servant salaries, about 800 som (US$ 90) a month. As of last month, they also have to declare all their sources of income.

In November, a law came into effect banning people from serving as imams if they were trained abroad. This is a very restrictive step because the country has only one Islamic institute.

About 90 per cent of the countrys 8.3 million population are Muslim, mostly following the moderate Hanafi school.

Religious life in the former Soviet Republic has come under closer supervision after many Tajiks joined Islamist groups in Syria and Iraq.

Wearing the Islamic veil has been banned in schools, and minors cannot attend mosques. Several students attending foreign Islamic schools have also been forced to come home.

Government religious repression has to be understood against the background of the countrys civil war in the 1990s in which an Islamic party played a major role.

However, the campaign against Islamic extremism in the country could turn against the authorities and produce the opposite effect, this according to Paul Globe, a specialist on ethnic and religious questions who writes for the Jamestown Foundation.

Many imams and ordinary Muslims could be driven underground, where they are more likely to be exposed to jihadi infiltrations from Afghanistan, home to many Afghan Islamists who are ethnic Tajiks.
The United Nations calls for an "immediate cessation of hostilities" to promote "the distribution of humanitarian aid, the evacuation of the injured and the sick". It also re-launches charges against the government army for the use of chemical weapons. Damascus continues its siege of the rebel enclave on the outskirts of the capital and in the province of Idlib.

Damascus (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The United Nations is launching an appeal for a month-long humanitarian truce in Syria, a nation battered by a bloody war now in its seventh year, which has caused 340,000 deaths and millions of refugees. In a recent appeal the UN leaders called for an "immediate cessation of hostilities", to allow for "the distribution of humanitarian aid, the evacuation of the wounded and sick in a critical state, and to alleviate the suffering" of civilians.

However, in response to the UN request to ease the tension and establish a truce, the government army loyal to President Bashar al-Assad has intensified bombing of a rebel enclave on the eastern outskirts of the capital. At least 40 people were killed in recent air raids on Goutha Est.

Government fighters also hit the province of Idlib, in the north-west of the country.

Dead and wounded are also registered in Damascus, especially in the Christian neighborhoods of the old city. Local sources speak of mortar shells hitting the Syrian Orthodox patriarchate in the district of Bab Tuma, causing at least two dead and three wounded.

The United Nations denounces the extreme difficulty in reaching the conflict areas. In particular, areas under siege by government forces cannot receive humanitarian aid without the permission of Damascus.

In a note, the UN humanitarian aid coordinator in Syria and other UN personalities denounce an "extreme" situation in these areas and invite all parties to loosen the grip of the conflict to facilitate the distribution of aid.

Meanwhile, UN experts have opened an investigation into a new complaint concerning the use of chemical weapons - the reference is to the use of chlorine bombs - by the regular army. Local doctors, opposition activists and Western governments point to Damascus, responsible for using toxic chemicals in at least six attacks in the last 30 days.

The accusations were rejected by the Damascus leadership, who dismissed these allegations as "lies". The response by the leaders of the UN International Commission of Inquiry on Syria was immediate who speak of an "alarming" reality.

Dramatic stories also come from the province of Idlib, scene of a government offensive against rebel and jihadist forces in the area. Local journalist Akram Al-Ahmad speaks of a "Grozny scenario", with severe civilian suffering. Al-Ahmad professional founded the Syrian Press Center (SPC), an information center that has allowed the formation of over 450 Syrian journalists in these seven years of war.

In an interview with Le Monde, Akram Al-Ahmad states that part of his work is "making the Syrian civil and democratic movement known", which is "completely absent" from the chronicles of the main international media. "Everyone thinks that in Idlib there are only Daesh [Arabic acronym for the Islamic State (IS, ex Isis)] and Tahrir Al-Cham. In reality there is an important movement belonging to civil society, made up of hundreds of people: local councils, non-governmental organizations "that are opposed to jihadist and extremist groups.
The disputed land is located in the O'Sophy Kiri Prey Srong forest, which is protected by the United Nations. Lieutenant Van Limeng sued 13 families in O'Chab Trey village. Many soldiers stationed in a nearby military base now use the land illegally.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Villagers have accused a Cambodian army officer of illegally receiving title to a protected community forest in the remote north-western province of Oddar Meanchey.

A representative of the United Nations Office of the High Commission for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and representatives from the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Cambodia's oldest human rights organisation, have been asked to intervene in the land dispute.

Last year, Lieutenant Van Limeng sued 13 families from the village of O'Chab Trey, Anlong Veng district (pictured), for farming the dispute land without permission. He asked for US$ 20,000 in compensation.

Faced with charges that he took the villagers land, the officer said that he holds a valid title deed to about 10 hectares.

The villagers have countered that he claims 75 hectares and that his deed is dated 2014, years after the United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (or UN-REDD Programme) came into effect.

ADHOC provincial coordinator Srey Naren said he and a UN representative from the UNHCHRs Battambang bureau visited the area last week.

They found that the disputed land indeed lies within the OSophy Kiri Prey Srong community forest, a 64 square kilometre area recognised by Cambodias Ministry of Agriculture and protected under the UNs REDD+ program, through which forests are meant to be conserved in exchange for carbon credits.

The project was set up to protect forest cover in all community forests in Oddar Meanchey, but conservationists say it ran into issues, in part because of the great number of soldiers who had settled in the area at the time, making it difficult to police illegal clearing.

Oeun Nak, head of the OSophy Kiri Prey Srong community, said only 10 square kilometres of the forest have remained pristine with most of its natural products and wildlife, especially the Banteng cattle, having been lost.
Cadbury brings back Caramilk after 20 years





Cadbury has decided to bring back Caramilk chocolate to Australia after it was discontinued more than 20 years ago.

Caramilk, a caramelised white chocolate block, is back for a limited time only after a successful return to New Zealand in late 2017.

After finding out Kiwis were selling Caramilk to Australians online for over $30 a block, Cadbury says it decided to bring the chocolate back to Australia as well.

A spokesperson for Cadbury told Australian Food News that although Caramilk has only started hitting Australian supermarket shelves it is selling quickly.

Given the demand from Aussie consumers, weve now brought a limited quantity to Australian retailers and feedback from the first stores to have the block on shelf is that theyre disappearing fast, the spokesperson said.

What about Marble?

The decision to bring back Caramilk comes whilst an on-going popular social media campaign continues to petition Cadbury to bring back its Marble chocolate blocks.

Although the campaigns Facebook page has over 13, 000 likes, Cadbury has not yet made a commitment to bringing back Marble, but has previously said never say never.

The challenges of bringing back nostalgic flavours

In re-releasing Caramilk, Cadbury said bringing back an old favourite confectionery presents a lot of challenges from a product development perspective.

Unlike developing an entirely new product, when we bring back an old favourite we need to ensure were delivering a taste experience that matches peoples recollection of the product, Cadburys spokesperson said.

Often people have a very positive, nostalgic view of a heritage product and the feedback from consumers to date has been that Cadbury Caramilk matches what they enjoyed about the original.

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Woolworths to stock Bubs goat milk infant formula





Australian goat milk infant formula company Bubs has announced its formula will be stocked in Woolworths from April 2018.

After a recent review of Woolworths infant formula category, Woolworths decided to stock all three stages of Bubs Advance Plus+ Goat Milk Formula in selected Woolworths supermarkets.

Bubs Australia Chief Executive Officer, Nicholas Simms, said Woolworths should be commended for its commitment to partner with Australian producers.

Bubs pathway to provenance through its strategic acquisition of Nulac Foods to become Australias only vertically integrated producer of goat milk infant formula guarantees sustainable supply and control over our key base ingredient and capacity to meet growing future demand, which is a key differentiator for Bus versus other offerings in the market, Simms said.

Goat dairy and infant formula is experiencing rapid growth domestically and overseas.

Woolworths ranging of Bubs Australian made goat milk infant formula will only further enhance the appeal to consumers both in Australia and internationally in China and South East Asia.

Bubs had its start over 12 years ago when Australian mother and former marketing executive, Kristy Carr, was on maternity leave and developed a strong interest in what she was feeding her child. Bubs began with Carr and her sister, Liesa Dailly, experimenting with different infant food recipes in a home kitchen. The Bubs business was founded with Anthony Gualdi, who is also the founder of Shakespeare Pies.

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By Kathrin Schemann, Fellow in Veterinary Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Sydney

Kathrin Schemann, Author provided

Vaccination against the deadly Hendra virus in horses does not reduce their racing performance, according to new research published in the Australian Veterinary Journal.

The research was done following concerns by some that the vaccine could impact on the performance of horses.

The new study should ease those concerns, and lead to an increased uptake of the vaccine for horses to protect them  and also protect the people who work with the horses (who are potentially at risk from the virus too).





Read more:

Why horse-racing in Australia needs a social licence to operate





A deadly discovery

The Hendra virus was first identified in 1994 in a large outbreak in a thoroughbred racing stable in the Brisbane suburb of Hendra. In this outbreak, the horse trainer and 13 of his horses died, and the stable-hand became sick. Brisbane racing was cancelled for three weeks.

The Hendra virus spills over sporadically from fruit bats to horses. It has caused 60 outbreaks of disease in Queensland and in northern New South Wales as far south as Kempsey.

To date, 102 horses and four people have died. The last human death happened in 2009. A record number of 18 outbreaks occurred in 2011.

Four outbreaks occurred in unvaccinated horses in 2017. Three people  including two children  required hospitalisation and preventative emergency post exposure treatment with monoclonal antibodies.

At last, a vaccine

A horse vaccine for Hendra was finally developed following years of research involving the CSIRO.





Read more:

How we developed the Hendra virus vaccine for horses





On November 1, 2012 the Hendra virus (HeV) EquiVac vaccine for horses was made available under a special minor or emergency use permit due to the urgent need for its release following the large number of outbreaks in 2011. In May 2015 the vaccine was fully registered.

There is no vaccine available for people, but Queensland Health has conducted a successful early phase clinical trial of monoclonal antibody treatment for people exposed to Hendra virus.

The Hendra vaccine for horses is promoted by many authorities, including the New South Wales and Queensland governments and the Australian Veterinary Association, as the single most effective way of reducing the risk of Hendra virus infection.

Low uptake of the vaccine

But despite the vaccine protecting human and horse health, its uptake was low.

Our unpublished data suggest that just 26% of thoroughbred horses racing in southeastern Queensland received vaccinations between November 2012 and December 2016. Overall, only about 14% of all Australian horses have been vaccinated.

Some individuals and performance horse associations voiced their concerns about potential performance impacts caused by the vaccine during a 2016 Queensland Parliamentary inquiry. For example the Thoroughbred Breeders Queensland Association described anecdotes of alleged poor performance in some racehorses following Hendra vaccination.

In a study of 27 horse owners, some also said they were concerned and uncertain about adverse reactions as they had heard about horses performance decreasing, horses aborting, becoming sterile, getting severely sick, or even dying due to the vaccine.

Some people also expressed such concerns over vaccination via social and other media.

In contrast, the Australian Veterinary Association and a well known racehorse trainer said Hendra vaccination did not impact performance of top racehorses. The Queensland Horse Council submission to the inquiry also fully supported the vaccine.

Lets look at horse performance

As a result of lacking objective information about any effect of vaccination on racing performance, the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission funded the University of Sydneys Equine Infectious Disease Research Group to investigate the issue last year.

The extensive study examined performance data of 1,154 thoroughbreds over 12,066 race starts in the three months before and after receiving Hendra vaccination.

Each horse acted as its own control. Horses were selected if they had raced at one of the six major southeastern Queensland racetracks between July 2012 and December 2016.

The main measure of performance was the Timeform rating. Timeform rating is an internationally comparable measure of a horses performance in a race. It considers many factors including how the race was run and where the horse finished.

The study also compared the margin of the horse to the winner and whether a horse won the race, placed first to third or won any prize money.

The results are in

None of the analyses found any statistically significant difference in horse performance before and after vaccination.

The large number of horses and race starts studied allowed us to account for many factors that can affect horse performance, such as distance and track conditions. It provides very high confidence that performance is unaffected by vaccination.

Its hoped the studys findings will now increase the uptake of the Hendra vaccine. This would lead to a higher number of horses protected from this deadly disease. It would also result in prompter treatment of sick horses and improved horse welfare.

Other concerns

But there are other reasons for the poor uptake of the Hendra vaccination that need to be addressed.

Costs can be a factor as each vaccination costs between A$80 and A$120 to be administered by a veterinarian.





Read more:

Why bats don't get get sick from the deadly diseases they carry





The current vaccination protocol requires a horse to have two initial vaccinations administered three to six weeks apart, followed by a booster at six months, followed by annual boosters.

Other barriers for vaccination uptake include a perceived low infection risk, fear of adverse reactions and opposition to regulations that mandate vaccination.

It is important to remember that Hendra virus disease is also a human health issue.

So the results of our study should remove the barrier to vaccination uptake that was based on misinformation around racing performance impacts. Horse trainers and owners can be confident that Hendra vaccination can prevent infection in horses, themselves and staff without adversely affecting their horses performance level.

Kathrin Schemann received funding from the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission to conduct the study.

Originally published in The Conversation.
One large fleet customer in Iraq is the Ministry of Interior (MOI), which has acquired the Chevrolet Tahoe to meet its fleet applications. Photo: GM.

When discussing the Middle East fleet market it should not be viewed as a single region, but, rather, it should be viewed as three separate regions.

One region is the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except Iraq. The GCC member states include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

The second region in the Middle East is known as the Levant, which includes Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

The third region includes the Rest of the Middle East or ROM category designation, which are Yemen, Iraq, and Iran.

The economies in the Middle East are coping with the impact of lower oil prices by instituting austerity measures and investigating ways to make their economies less oil-dependent. While these factors are impacting the fleet market in the Middle East, it is difficult to quantify the impact across the entire region. It is difficult to gauge the size of the total fleet market in the Middle East because vehicle registration data is not available in the Middle East, said Seyar Shunnar, regional manager  Fleet & CPOV for General Motors, who is based in Dubai.

The Fleet Market in Jordan With record high unemployment and sluggish growth, the economy of Jordan continues to be dragged down by the repercussions from the Syrian crisis, especially the presence of more than 655,000 registered Syrian refugees. Jordans economy remains sluggish as growth slowed down in 2017 for the third year in a row. This is largely due to a weaker mining and quarrying sector, partly related to downward pressures on global potash prices, and other factors related to the Syria crisis, notably the closure of export routes to Iraq and Syria and lower tourism. Despite these economic headwinds, the outlook for the automotive market in Jordan, in particular, fleet, is much better. Jordan has a healthy fleet market environment for rent-a-car companies (RAC) and government fleet sales, said Seyar Shunnar, regional manager  Fleet & CPOV for General Motors, who is based in Dubai.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is where 50% of the regions automotive sales are generated. This is true for General Motors and all other car manufacturers that are selling vehicles in the region.

Low oil prices continue to challenge growth and fiscal sustainability in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). For first half of 2017, vehicles sales in Saudi Arabia declined double digits.

Data courtesy of General Motors

Saudi Arabia has an unhealthy fleet market environment for small to mid-size enterprises (SME), due to the declining economy, said Shunnar.

The decline in oil prices has resulted in the Kingdoms worst economic slowdown since the global financial crisis of 2009-2010. The downturn in oil prices impacted many small and medium enterprises, along with larger corporations that were contracting with the oil industry, due to pending payments and large payables owed by governmental entities, which cause projected completion dates to lengthen, which required some companies to extend lease terms. This forced fleets to keep vehicles in service longer, extending the vehicles lifecycle costs. In addition, the government decreased fleet purchases for governmental entities.

In addition, earlier austerity measures dampened consumer sentiments deferring automotive purchases. However, these austerity programs have since been somewhat relaxed. One recent development that may spur future sales is that, for the first-time ever, women will be allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia starting in June 2018.

The outlook for future sales of commercial vehicles in Saudi Arabia is positive. Anticipated stabilization of crude oil prices, implementation of favorable government initiatives, growing infrastructure construction and logistics industry to drive sales of trucks, buses, and vans in the Kingdom. In order to accommodate growing vehicle demand of the Kingdom, Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA) plans to increase investments toward strengthening and expanding the countrys road infrastructure. The Kingdoms Ministry of Economy and Planning is increasing overall spending of about USD$27 billion to improve and expand the countrys road infrastructure. These infrastructure projects are anticipated to boost the sales of commercial vehicles.

Data courtesy of General Motors

Austerity measures were announced in September 2016 as part of an ambitious plan (Vision 2030) to repair public finances and revamp the oil-dependent economy of Saudi Arabia. Two noteworthy aspects of Vision 2020 are:

Ministers will take a pay cut of 20% and 15% to Shura council members, with bonuses canceled for the financial year.

The Fleet Market in Bahrain Bahrain is the most economically vulnerable country in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except Iraq. The GCC member states include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain faces economic uncertainty due to low oil and bauxite prices, compounded by its limited savings and high debt levels, leaving it exposed to financing risks. Cheap oil continues to test Bahrains economic resilience. Bahrain maintained an expansionary fiscal policy since 2009 resulting in government budget deficits. The deficit spending helped maintain economic growth at 2.9%, but it brought currency reserves down to a low level at 2.6 months of imports and increased public debt to 62% of GDP. Economic growth is expected to decline in 2017. Real GDP growth projections have been revised downward to 1.9% in 2017 and 2018, as continuing low oil prices depress private and government consumption. Some infrastructure investments are also likely to be put on hold, which will impact fleet sales to the local construction industry.

In addition to pay cuts, government-sponsored cars will be discontinued.

Decreases in automotive sales have been noticeable due to lower consumer sentiment and lower internal/national tourism impacting the RAC industry. Small- and medium-sized businesses, along with large corporations contracting with the oil industry, are being affected due to reduced purchases and extended project completion dates. In terms of fleet vehicles, there are pressures to extend vehicle lifecycles at fleet operations. Austerity measures have decreased government fleet purchases.

Other fiscal and political pressures are mounting within the region due to the economic and diplomatic blockade against Qatar that Saudi Arabia and its allies

implemented on June 5, 2017. While the economic impact of the embargo on the Saudi economy is expected to be limited, a potential escalation of the crisis is a concern.

Data courtesy of General Motors

In other recent automotive news, SsangYong agreed to license CKD assembly to (SNAM) Saudi National Automobile Manufacturing Company. The agreement allows SNAM to localize key components and provide training and other technical support. SNAM aims initially to build mid-size pickup truck with production capacity of 25,000 units annually by 2020.

The Fleet Market in Kuwait The Kuwait gross domestic product (GDP) contracted in calendar-year 2017. OPEC-related oil production cuts have weighed on growth, with GDP shrinking by 1% in 2017, following a 3.6% increase in 2016 that was supported by higher oil production and implementation of its economic development plan. Despite the economic contraction, the forecast is for a partial recovery in oil prices, which will partially ease the recent fiscal pressures. In addition, major infrastructure projects will continue to support the economys growth in the near to medium term, which will positively affect fleet sales. Also, the government plans to invest USD$115 billion in the oil sector over the next five years, which should boost oil production in 2018. Kuwait has a healthy fleet market environment for fleet sales to rent-a-car (RAC) companies and government fleet sales. Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) are still growing, said Shunnar. But, key challenges will continue, which include hydrocarbon dependence and parliamentary opposition to deep structural reforms. With additional support coming from public-investment spending, growth is anticipated to rise to about 3.2% over the medium term. A VAT was introduced in 2018, which will put upward pressure on fleet total cost of ownership by increasing vehicle acquisition prices.

Fleet Activity and Tenders

In 2017, General Motors won some major fleet contracts in the Middle East. One of the biggest fleet contracts was winning the Saudi Electric Company tender, which comprised around 2,500 units, mostly Silverado pickups and full-size utilities.

GM has also been successful in Kuwait with the Ministry of Interior and the Kuwait oil company, which will acquire more than 1,000 units of full-size utilities.

Looking at the future fleet business opportunities, one of GMs main focuses is to improve its passenger car business.

Data courtesy of General Motors

GM has consummated fleet agreements in the sedan segment, such as police departments, and several high-exposure hotel contracts with GM sedans being used for guest pickup services that are provided by hotels in the Middle East.

Another fleet focus is on airport VIP services. This is a door to immigration VIP service, where vehicles will come to the plane, pick you up, and take you to the immigration offices. This is a very popular service in the Middle East.

GM recently concluded a deal with the Dubai Police on the back of which we are building some strategic deals across the region, with volumes that might go up to around 1,000 Bolt EVs within the next 18 months, said Shunnar.

As in other areas of the world, there is an increasing penetration of Chinese products that are slowly infiltrating these local markets. They havent gained traction yet; however, we foresee that there will be a future for the GM products that are manufactured in China, said Shunnar. We are researching at this point in time how to take advantage of this.

Recently GM won a contract to sell Chevrolet Impalas to the KSA Intercontinental Hotel for guest pickup services. Another fleet application for sedans is airport VIP services, such as immigration VIP service, where vehicles will come to the plane and pick up a customer to be driven to immigration offices. This is a very popular service in the Middle East. Photo: GM.

In terms of challenges in the Middle East fleet businesses is that there is strong competition from the Korean products. They are very aggressive when it comes to pricing, and well see why with the next point. Our Japanese competition, Toyota does very well with the residual value and that stands as well with the leasing and rent a car companies, said Shunnar.

In the Middle East fleet market, OEMs generally have no direct relationships with their customers since all the business dealings are through dealers. However, that does not mean that OEMs do not focus on relationship management. Our relationship with our customers is through managing the relationships, making sure we do our needed PR, but anything over and above that is considered a business transaction. We do not directly transact with our customers, said Shunnar.

The Fleet Market in Qatar The number of passenger cars in use in Qatar is expected to reach about 912,000 units by 2020, registering the highest annualized growth of 5.4% in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Qatar has a healthy fleet market environment for rent-a-car (RAC) companies and government fleet sales. Small and medium enterprises (SME) are still growing, said Shunnar. A high urbanization rate and increasing number of affluent consumers have been propelling demand for different types of passenger cars. Qatar is likely to see a net addition of around 213,000 cars by 2020. The number of passenger cars in use in Qatar is projected to account for about 7% of the GCC car fleet in 2020. According to the International Monetary Fund, Qatars population is forecast to grow at 3.1% between 2015 and 2020. The increasing population base is expected to further stimulate demand for automobiles in the country. During 2010-2015, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE recorded the fastest increase in new-vehicle sales in the range of 8.8% to 10.7%. The growth is attributed to the strong domestic economy and growing population. The countrys population has grown by more than 8% during the five-year period, as migrants are attracted to the job opportunities being generated by the countrys substantial economic development projects. Passenger cars represented 80% of the total new vehicles sold in the country. As low oil prices have persisted, fiscal and current account balances in Qatar have shifted to deficits. As a consequence, the government has pared back current spending and undertaken subsidy reform. The forecast is that the fiscal deficit will narrow, helped by savings in current expenditures, subsidy reforms, and the introduction of a value-added tax (VAT) on Jan. 1, 2018. Prior to the VAT introduction, there was a trend of increased purchases in Q4 2017 to pull sales from Q1 2018 to avoid the tax, especially for big ticket purchases. Many of these purchases have now shifted to leasing as consumers now prefer it over purchase new vehicles.

GM is also looking to improve its remarketing channels by introducing strategic buyback initiatives with the focus of improving residual values.

The Dubai police vehicles are painted with a white and dark green color scheme, with all blue emergency lights. The Dubai police force purchases Chevrolet, Toyota, Mazda, and Nissan models used for general duties and patrol vehicles. Photo: GM

Another focus is GMs fleet aftersales program. We have specific fleet or aftersales offerings and go-to markets within each sector. Weve got a fleet offer or a package that goes to our small-to-medium businesses, and then weve got fleet aftersales packages that go to our rent a car, and so on, said Shunnar. Were being very surgical in how to go about the market and offer our aftersales package. This is all in the interest of completing the circle of taking care of our customers.

GM is focused on addressing regional and government tenders. Currently, Aramco, the biggest oil industry company or semi-government entity within the Middle East is out to bid for a fleet contract. In addition, the U.S. Army and Kuwait Oil Company have conducted fleet tenders. These represent north of around 4,000 vehicles for 2018 delivery, with some sales starting as early as December 2017, said Shunnar.

Data courtesy of General Motors

The big fleet management companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are GMs dealer leasing arms. Weve got two dealers in the Kingdom, and two of them combined would create the biggest entity, probably in KSA and the Middle East that handles leasing within this region. Otherwise, a lot of banks get involved with leasing, but leasing is still not very popular in the region, added Shunnar

SUVs are very popular in the Middle East, especially in the GCC. For example, in the UAE, youve got 60% of full-size utility sales in the Middle East are the Tahoe Denali and LT, said Shunnar. Small cars and low-displacement engines are popular in the Levant.

Further diversities are the result of regulated and unregulated regions and different regulations per region.

GMs fleet sales organization in the Middle East consists of five fleet development managers. Three GM team members specifically focus on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia because thats about 60% of its business in this region. General Motors has two other team members handling the rest of the Middle East, which is sometimes generically called ROM, meaning rest of the Middle East.

Abu Dhabi Police is the primary law enforcement agency in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates. All Abu Dhabi Police vehicles, including traffic patrols, rescue and assistance cars will be changed into blue and white colors.

Pictured is a Chevrolet Impala in use as an Abu Dhabi patrol vehicle displaying the new blue and white color scheme that replaces the prior red and white color scheme. Photo: GM

GMs best-selling models are full-size utilities, such as the Tahoe and Yukon, which make up over 25% of GMs sales in the Middle East. This is followed by pickups, whether Silverado or Sierras at 14%, followed by the sedan segment, the Impalas and Malibus, making up around 15%. The remainder of GMs market share is comprised of the rest of the vehicles in its product portfolio.

From an overall perspective, were looking forward to the new launches. Were launching the Equinox, the Terrain, and the Traverse, said Shunnar. From a fleet perspective, our expectations are high, specifically on the Traverse. We feel that we will have some good business with government and leasing departments.

The Fleet Market in the UAE The economies of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) remain in fairly good shape, with the oil sector firms benefitting from solid domestic demand. In addition, the number of tourist arrivals increased significantly in Q1 despite a stronger dirham, the national currency of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE continues to have a healthy fleet market environment for rent-a-car (RAC) companies and government. Small and medium enterprises (SME) are still growing, said Shunnar The UAE economies have weathered the storm of low oil prices better than its GCC neighbors thanks to a relatively diversified economy and significant fiscal buffers. In addition, the relative ease of doing business in the country is a major draw for foreign investors. Low oil prices and fiscal austerity continue to weigh on the UAEs economy. Austerity measures weakened business and consumer confidence. It has slowed growth in credit to the private sector. The forecast for 2018 is that oil production will rise due to investments in oilfield development. Non-oil growth is projected to rebound as the expected improvement in oil prices; as megaproject implementation ramps up ahead of Dubais hosting of Expo 2020; and as the lifting of sanctions on Iran translates into increased trade. Expo 2020 is expected to draw in a large number of visitors to the UAE, boosting private consumption and services exports, and stimulating the car rental industry.

Market Challenges

The population of the Middle East is around 128 million, excluding Iran. It is estimated that around 50% of people in the Middle East are between the ages of 15 and 29.

One challenge is the ongoing political unrest in the Middle East. It is a politically volatile region. Some ongoing conflicts include the Syrian Civil War, internal conflict in Yemen, Isis in Iraq and the Qatar embargo. This makes it a very unpredictable market that is very difficult to forecast. Weve been through ups and downs the past two years. Its been literally a roller coaster trying to maintain a solid forecast across two years, said Shunnar.

Since the region is comprised of 12 different countries, its diversity drives the portfolio complexity for OEMs selling in the region. There are very large wealth disparities across the region that range from US$3,000 per capita GDP in Yemen to Qatar at US$133,000 per capita, said Shunnar. There are generally high living standards for GCC nationals. Having said that, the common misconception here is that every Saudi in the KSA is wealthy. In actual fact, 90% of Saudi wealth goes to the top 20%. The majority of Saudis are not wealthy, and we can see that from the vehicle preferences, that is skewed to base models.

GM has also been successful in Kuwait fleet market with its full-size SUVs, which have been popular with the countrys Ministry of Interior. The major responsibilities of the ministry are public security, and law and order. Photo: GM.

The regions economic downturn has resulted in a decline in consumer confidence when it comes to retail sales, which makes for less demand on vehicle purchases from a retail perspective.

In most of the GCC countries, there were value-added tax (VAT) introductions on Jan. 1, 2018, which did not exist before. There are differing opinions on how the new VAT taxes will affect the fleet business in the Middle East.

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Joseph Luiz can be reached at 395-7368 or by email at jluiz@bakersfield.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @JLuiz_TBC.
Harold Pierce covers education and health for The Californian. He can be reached at 661-395-7404. Follow him on Twitter @RoldyPierce
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A man has been charged with first-degree murder eight years after the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said the crime was committed.

James Riddle was already serving 38-year sentence

Aaron Reny has died from injuries in February 2010 shooting

Riddle was charged Monday with first-degree murder



Authorities said the victim recently died from gunshot wound complications.

James Riddle, 43, was already serving a sentence with the Florida Department of Corrections after the Feb. 4, 2010, slaying of John Roland. The homicide happened on 57th Avenue North in unincorporated St. Petersburg.

During that incident, Aaron Reny was shot multiple times and treated at a hospital.

At the time, Riddle was charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. He pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2012 and was given a 38-year sentence.



The Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that Reny died on Jan. 13 "due to delayed complications of multiple gunshot wounds." He was 37 years old.



The latter charge against Riddle was upgraded to first-degree murder on Monday.
Citing that the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe does not follow the "gaming laws and regulations of Texas," a federal judge ruled this week to shut down the tribe's popular electronic bingo hall 90 miles north of Beaumont.

U.S. Magistrate Keith Giblin wrote in an order filed Tuesday that he had "sympathy for the Tribe's position" because it is "bearing the brunt of a conflicting statutory scheme" that some might call "unjust."

The tribe has operated Naskila Gaming, a facility with more than 360 electronic bingo games, since May 2016 under the approval of the National Indian Gaming Commission, a federal regulatory agency.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked a federal judge in August 2016 to close the gaming site between Woodville and Livingston, claiming it violated state law.

The tribe argued the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act gives the three-member National Indian Gaming Commission governing power over all gaming on Native American lands.

The state argued the tribe's operations should be governed by the 1987 Restoration Act, which gave Indian tribes federally recognized status but included language that barred them from engaging in gambling activities on their lands.

"The Tribe submitted itself to the gaming laws of the State when it certified Tribal Resolutions in exchange for the passage of the Restoration Act," Giblin wrote in his order. "Until Congress can be persuaded to amend or repeal the Restoration Act, the Court is obligated to abide by the plain language of the statute and the Tribe must conform to the gaming laws and regulations of Texas."

Outside of betting on horse and greyhound races, gambling is illegal in Texas.

The tribe's attorneys argued that the tribal resolutions were passed under "duress" because "certain members of Congress threatened to block passage of the Restoration Act" unless the tribe agreed to "forever prevent" gaming on its lands.

"This may have indeed taken effect under duress," Giblin wrote, "but the issue is not up for consideration by this Court thirty years after the fact."

The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe filed an appeal with the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals immediately after receiving Giblin's ruling on Tuesday.

"We are very disappointed with the ruling issued by the U.S. Federal District Court," Jo Ann Battise, tribal council chairperson, said in a Tuesday statement. "The Alabama-Coushatta Tribe remains confident in its legal position and has already filed a Notice of Appeal. The Tribe has also filed a Motion with the Court requesting the ability to stay open pending the appeal process in order to protect the 330 jobs that the Tribe provides as the third largest employer in Polk County."

A tribe spokeswoman said on Wednesday Naskila Gaming remains open.

Battise said the bingo hall generates an annual payroll and benefits for employees of almost $17 million.

The jobs created by Naskila Gaming "significantly contribute to the economies of Polk and Tyler Counties, and are vital to the greater Deep East Texas economy," she said in the statement.

In his August 2016 motion asking that the gaming site be closed, Paxton requested the court force Naskila Gaming to pay a $10,000-per-day civil fine for every day the center had been open since June 2, 2016.

That fine would be in excess of $5 million today.

Giblin wrote in his order that the court "defers request for damages and fees" until after a hearing later this month.
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For Immediate Release, February 6, 2018 Contact: Brett Hartl, (202) 817-8121, bhartl@biologicaldiversity.org Senate Republicans Push Attacks on Endangered Species, Clean Water Under Guise of Farming WASHINGTONThe Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, led by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), will hold a hearing Wednesday advancing its goals of repealing the Endangered Species Act and gutting the Clean Water Act. The hearing will highlight testimony from industrial-scale agribusinesses and preview environmental attacks likely to be included in the 2018 Farm Bill, including exempting pesticides from the protections of the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act. Its really disturbing to see Barrasso and other Senate Republicans bending over backward to please polluters and the pesticide industry, said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity. The price will be dirtier rivers and streams, and more wildlife on the fast track toward extinction. The pesticide industry is pushing sweeping legislation on Capitol Hill that would dismantle safeguards to protect endangered wildlife and continues to advance legislation to exempt pesticide users from the requirements of the Clean Water Act. Meanwhile, at the request of Dow Chemical, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed the recommendation of career scientists to ban the toxic insecticide chlorpyrifos, which is believed to cause birth defects in children. And following a National Marine Fisheries Service analysis that chlorpyrifos is putting 38 species of salmon and sturgeon on both coasts in jeopardy of extinction, Pruitt has announced that the EPA is rejecting recommendations to protect those endangered species. Last month more than 250 organizations sent a letter to Congress urging them to reject the pesticide industrys attempt to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections from pesticides. Senator Barrasso is using this hearing as a smokescreen to eviscerate these vital conservation laws, stoking fears that well all starve to death if we dont jettison our environmental safeguards, said Hartl. This is totally out of step with what the American people want. What a despicable sideshow. Barrasso is one of the most anti-wildlife members of Congress. He has voted against the Endangered Species Act nearly a dozen times since 2011, and has sponsored nine separate legislative attacks on the Act in the past two years alone. This is despite the fact that nine out of 10 Americans want the Act strengthened or left unchanged by Congress, according to a 2015 poll.
For Immediate Release, February 7, 2018 Contact: Sarah Baillie, (520) 623-5252 x 308, sbaillie@biologicaldiversity.org Hundreds of Endangered Species Condoms to Be Given Away in Pittsburgh Program Highlights Effect of Human Population Growth on Wildlife PITTSBURGH, Pa. Hundreds of free Endangered Species Condoms will be given away at the Carnegie Science Centers adults-only Valentines event Feb. 9 as part of the Pillow Talk program created by the Center for Biological Diversity. The colorful condom packages include species threatened by population growth and slogans like Wrap with care, save the polar bear and When youre feeling tender, think about the hellbender. The condom distribution is a part of the Centers Pillow Talk program, which aims to get people who are interested in science and the natural world talking about the effect of human population growth on wildlife. The endangered species condoms are a perfect fit for our event. The packaging highlights a dire topic, while the contents are actionable ways to solve the problem, said Lamont Craven, adult programs coordinator at the Carnegie Science Center. We hope our event and the exhibits within can do the same. In the past 50 years, as human population has more than doubled, wildlife populations have been halved. The United Nations predicts that global population will reach 9.8 billion by 2050 and exceed 11 billion by 2100. At the end of 2017, there were nearly 326 million people living in the United States. There are more than 7.6 billion people on the planet, with the United States ranked as the third-most populous country. Lots of couples will get lucky this Valentine's Day, but wildlife and the environment will be far less fortunate in our increasingly crowded world, said Sarah Baillie, Endangered Species Condoms coordinator at the Center. As our population grows, and urban sprawl and agricultural development destroy wild spaces, species we know and love pay the price. Pillow Talk helps people understand how conscientious family planning can protect wildlife. The Centers population and sustainability program uses creative media to promote a range of common-sense solutions like access to family planning and reproductive health services, as well as education, opportunity and equal rights for women and girls.
An international team of researchers has shown that two different compounds-one, an older malaria drug, the other a common laboratory dye with known antimalarial properties-can safely and effectively be added to treatment regimens to block transmission of the most common form of malaria in Africa.

This development could help reduce the spread of P. falciparum malaria, including its drug-resistant forms, thus speeding progress toward elimination of the disease.

"Although these two drugs have been around for more than half a century, this is the first time that the exciting and impressive effects of each of these drugs on malaria transmission have been so clearly demonstrated in a comparative study," said Roly Gosling, MD, PhD, a professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UC San Francisco (UCSF). "Now we can say that the effectiveness of common malaria drugs used for seasonal malaria chemoprevention can be improved, with the potential of removing the threat of malaria to many millions of people across West Africa."

Malaria has several different forms and is perpetuated through a cycle in which it is passed from mosquitoes to humans and back again. When a person is bitten by an infected mosquito, malaria parasites travel through the liver to the bloodstream, where they circulate for several weeks. The majority of parasites replicate into asexual forms in red blood cells, which cause the symptoms of malaria when they burst. But a small percentage develop into male and female cells, called gametocytes, which play an important role in transmitting the disease back to mosquitoes.

Since these gametocytes are not killed by the anti-malarial drugs used to treat P. falciparum, the most common form of malaria found in Africa, people can continue to transmit the infection to mosquitoes for weeks after they've been treated, unless something is added to the treatment regimen to block their transmission.

The study tested the safety and efficacy of primaquine, which has been used for decades years to treat another form of malaria, called P. vivax, and a laboratory dye called methylene blue, which has been in use for nearly a century to distinguish dead from living cells. When injected into the bloodstream, methylene blue also acts as an anti-malarial agent. Researchers found that each of these compounds, when added into different anti-malarial drug treatment regimens, blocked the P. falciparum malaria parasite's gametocytes from passing from infected humans into mosquitoes that bit them.

"The results are very promising," said Teun Bousema, PhD, associate professor of Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, in The Netherlands. "We found that adding either of these drugs to antimalarial medicines already in use ensured that patients were no longer able to pass the disease back on to mosquitoes."

The researchers conducted a Phase 2 trial to compare the effectiveness of the two compounds in preventing gametocyte transmission against treatment as usual in 80 boys and men in Mali with asymptomatic malaria. They found that adding a single dose of primaquine to sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine and amodiaquine treatment or adding three doses of methylene blue to dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine treatment resulted in the near complete blockage of transmission within 48 hours.

"Patients who were not given these medications were able to infect mosquitoes for at least one week after treatment," said Alassane Dicko, MD, PhD, professor of Public Health at the Faculty of Pharmacy, Medicine and Dentistry of the University of Science, Techniques and Technologies of Bamako in Mali.

The researchers said the findings could help countries moving towards malaria elimination to rapidly reduce population-level transmission of the disease, but formal trials are needed to confirm the optimal scenarios in which these drugs can be used, and how their use could be integrated with other malaria strategies and tools.

"The next question is when primaquine versus methylene blue should be adopted for rollout," said Ingrid Chen, PhD, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF. "From a practical standpoint, primaquine is available as a single dose, while methylene blue requires three doses, and it also gives urine a blue color, which would require a greater degree of community sensitization prior to use."
The APO Group has launched the first print monitoring service for press releases distributed in Africa after its APO Innovation Lab designed a cutting-edge print monitoring system for press releases distributed across Africa.

Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, founder and CEO of APO Group.

New technology

Analytics

Print monitoring

Upon successful completion of a three-month testing period, APO Group yesterday unveiled its print monitoring workflow system for press releases distributed across Africa. For the last couple of years, APO Innovation Lab has worked towards developing an advanced automation tool that pinpoints where customers press releases have been picked up in newspapers and magazines across the 54 African countries, whether they are in English, French, Portuguese, Arabic or local languages such as Afrikaans, Zulu and Swahili. During the test, more than 400 print publications were monitored, and 1000 print clippings collected.This significant breakthrough opens up new possibilities for organisations. They will now be able to gauge their message penetration in print media and gain valuable insights on how the national, regional, local and pan-African press responds to their communication efforts.In the space of two years, APO Innovation Lab, APO Groups Research and Development arm, succeeded in designing a highly sophisticated analysis engine that uncovers press releases mentions in all African news sources, regardless of the language. Furthermore, to ensure accuracy and relevance, all editorial coverage is scrutinised by seasoned analysts.The new technology has been developed at the request of customers and partners, who expressed the need for a multi-market press release monitoring solution that measures the extent of their print media coverage in all 54 African markets. Until now, no such solution existed.Over the years, APO Group has earned the trust of many public relations agencies including the most prestigious ones such as Edelman, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Fleishman Hillard, Ogilvy, APCO Worldwide, Havas MSL, Bairds CMC who, to meet the needs of their clients, use APO Group services.In 2017, 56 PR agencies collaborated with the consultancy compared to 42 in 2016. A number that keeps increasing year-on-year.APO Group has a strong track record of providing a support system to communication practitioners and PR agencies which regularly call on our expertise in media relations for Africa. As no such tool was available on the market, we decided to take on the challenge of developing a pioneering technology internally, said Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, founder and CEO of APO Group.This innovation is the fruit of relentless work by our Lab team. Given the diversity and the number of markets we serve, perusing all print publications and generating an almost inexhaustible number of press cuttings was far from easy and required considerable ingenuity. After testing the technology thoroughly, we were thrilled with the results which far exceeded our expectations.Press releases print monitoring, coupled with online monitoring and social media analytics, beefs up organisations capabilities to assess their return-on-investment more accurately. With the complete press releases media monitoring solution, they can now access a powerful decision-making tool that gives them a holistic understanding of their campaigns performance and a clearer vision of how efficiently they support their business strategies.For every press release distributed either through Africa Wire or MENA Wire technology, APO Group will provide its customers with a full press releases media monitoring report, including rich data and precise metrics on online news penetration, international reach (screenshots of Bloomberg Terminal, Factiva, LexisNexis, SyndiGate, and so on), social media, and print media coverage.To my knowledge, APO Group will be the first company to provide print monitoring as part of its press release distribution service globally. Now that we have the technological and human capacity to monitor print media, we will challenge the limits of the possible to keep bringing a wealth of data to our customers.We set ourselves the objective of monitoring 600 Africa and Middle East related-media outlets worldwide and double the number of press cuttings by the end of 2018. This is just the beginning of our commitment to enhancing our press releases media monitoring reports, added Pompigne-Mognard.Since APO Group was founded, innovation has always played a crucial role in delivering service excellence. The consultancy allocates 6.5% of its total budget to the APO Innovation Lab, whose mission is to invent and test emerging technologies in response to corporate communications challenges.The addition of print monitoring in press releases media monitoring reports underscores APO Groups commitment to supporting organisations whether they are private companies, public and governmental institutions or PR agencies in achieving superior editorial coverage.
On 31 January 2018, Onyx Display Media scored a double at the lavish dinner POPAI awards ceremony held at the beautiful Maslow Hotel, Sandton, Johannesburg. They won in both the "Best in-Store Promotions" as well as the grand award of the evening, "Innovation of the Year", respectively.

POPAI is a global organisation that celebrates amazing executions in point-of-purchase advertising displays and in-store communication, it has multiple hubs across the world and last week, South Africa hosted its leg of the awards. POPAI SA Awards recognised excellence in point-of-purchase advertising displays and in-store communication activity produced and placed in South Africa. The awards cover 20 categories, including digital media in retail and are open to any designer or producer for point-of-purchase material. The entries are judged on a number of aspects, including marketing objectives and strategies, innovation, construction, use of retail space and communicative value.Onyx Display Media is a revolutionary transparent digital signage solution that is patented and may be retro-fitted to any cooler, horizontal freezer and may even stand completely alone. Onyx-Glass allows for full HD images to be displayed, whilst simultaneously giving transparency (enabling customers to see the physical product at the same time).Onyx has developed specialised proprietary software that allows for this to be achieved and managed from a central point  to anywhere in the world. The bouquet of custom-built applications will take interaction at the point of purchase to a whole new level. Onyx-Glass even learns about the customer facing it and will trigger content based on audience profiles  ensuring that the right content reaches the appropriate audience - every time.The POPAI South Africa Marketing and Retail Awards is the industrys most coveted ceremony, and therefore it is no surprise that they feature the best of the best in the retail marketing industry. Congratulations to Onyx Display Media on their awards, said Jo Tshabalala, Membership & Events Manager of POPAI Awards.Onyx Display Media has shared their expertise and work on the world stage. In 2014 they were selected by Intel as one of four global disruptive technologies and were selected to showcase their groundbreaking solution, on the Intel stand at Venditalia 2014 in Milan. They have also had the opportunity and honour of sharing the stage with Apple co-counder Steve Wozniak, discussing leading technology trends.Andrew Coudounaris, co-founder of Onyx Media Display, said, We feel both honoured and grateful to win the two awards. Its a massive achievement for us and having our technology recognised as the innovation of the year is something we have worked hard to realise. He then went on to say, I am also extremely grateful to our client, Coca-Cola, for being bold and brave in embarking on this disruptive digital journey at our side, so I really see this award belonging to them as much as it does to us.He concluded, We aim for continuous growth of our technology and sustained market expansion. We have a presence in Australia, so naturally we need to focus on growing that market. We are also entering the UK market in the coming months, which is very exciting for us as a young company.Andrew CoudounarisOnyx Glass
Latiefa Mobara was on Tuesday elected as executive director of watchdog body the Press Council of South Africa (PCSA).

Mobara takes over from veteran journalist Joe Thloloe, whose term of office ends at the end of February.Joe Latakgomo, another veteran with over fifty years' experience in journalism, was appointed as Public Advocate to take over from Mobara, while Johan Retief has been retained as Ombud.A statement issued by the PCSA described Mobara as having extensive experience in media, having worked as a journalist for more than 20 years. Before her appointment as executive director at the PCSA, she worked in the same position at the South African National Editors' Forum.She joined the Press Council in 2013 in the then newly created role of Public Advocate.The Appointments Panel and the Constituent Associations of the Council have also finalised the list of people who will be on the Press Council and the Panel of Adjudicators, which would ensure that the PSCA continues to advance the freedom of expression clause in the Constitution.Mary Papayya, Andrew Allison, Faizel Dawjee, Themba Sepotokela, Dinesh Balliah, and Kalim Rajab have been appointed as the public representatives on the Press Council.Together with Press Council chairperson, retired judge Phillip Levinsohn, former deputy judge president of KwaZulu-Natal, they make up the non-media voice in the Press Council.The press representatives on the Press Council are Raymond Louw, Amina Frense, Graeme Campbell, Izak Minnaar, Andrew Trench and Louise Vale.The non-media voice on the Panel of Adjudicators is amplified by the appointments of Pria Chetty, Mpho Chaka, Patrick Roy Mnisi, Professor Karthy Govender, Paula Fray, Peter Mann, Brian Gibson and Carol Mohlala as the public representatives.Tshamano Makhadi, Joe Thloloe, Fanie Groenewald, Judy Sandison, Megan Rusi and Wandile Fana will serve as the press representatives on the Adjudication Panel.Press Council chairperson Judge Phillip Levisohn thanked Thloloe for the sterling role he played in his capacity as Ombud and Executive Director. He also expressed gratitude to both members of the public and the media who were previously on the Council and Panel of Adjudicators.
Kenya's Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has lifted a temporary ban on export of all Kenyan Fuerte and Hass avocado varieties over maturity issues - a move welcome by fresh produce exporter Selina Wamucii (Kenya) Ltd. According to CEO John Oroko, the lifting of the temporary suspension on the avocado exporters would bring relief to the farmers, exporters and importers of Kenyan avocados.

"It's definitely very good news for the small family growers who produce over 70% of avocado that is exported in Kenya," he said."The temporary ban was a wake-up call for the exporters with the ban having been imposed to stop exporters shipping out immature crop because of high demand in the world market. We are now getting into the main avocado season and hope that all industry players comply with the export requirements. The responsibility is now on the exporters to follow the protocols to avoid any future suspensions," Oroko said.To ensure that only mature avocados are exported, AFA has set the below criteria for mature avocado, among others: A dull appearance of the skin for Fuerte Have shrivelling and yellowing of the fruit stalk When cut and the seed is removed, the seed-coat is dark brown and dry and does not adhere to the flesh Have to contain at least 20% dry matter content and oil content of 8% and above.
Unemployment in South Africa is at nearly 28%. Even more frightening is that of this percentage, half have never ever worked. Research shows that, if you have never had a job before, your chances of finding employment decreases with each year.

SMME focus

Proudly South Africa CEO, Eustace Mashimbye

Concerns about unemployment in the country started in 1998. While the country was experiencing growth, the jobs were not forthcoming out of this growth, explains Howard Gabriels, chairperson Proudly South Africa.He was addressing the Buy Local Summit and Expo launch that took place recently in Johannesburg. This will be the seventh Buy Local Summit and Expo. It takes place on the 14 and 15 March at the Sandton Convention Centre.He says the 1998 jobs summit led to the creation of Proudly South Africa. Today our mandate is the same as back then: to create jobs.As such the biggest campaign the organisation has undertaken is to help all its stakeholders to understand how procuring or buying local can create jobs.This focus is to all our stakeholders, starting with all levels of government  nation, provincial and local as well as State Owned Enterprises (SOE). We are also focusing on the private sector and their supply chain managers.The campaign extends to the community and labour movement. The process in the communities is to educate community-based organisations to make them aware of local products and to ask for them when they shop.When it comes to the labour movement, the organisation invites the unions to a shop steward council. They are influential in their factories and in communicating to their members to buy local and are key stakeholders in ensuring their plant procures locally.The last stakeholder is the retail sector. The goal is to secure a strong commitment to increase the percentage of locally procured goods. We are positive about the work that we have been doing in this sector. For example, we have made huge progress with Edcon, he says.Edcon is also a sponsor of the event. Standard Bank is the headline sponsor. Other sponsors include Tsogo Sun, Sasol, Mango, the Gauteng Enterprise Propeller, the Department of Trade and Industry (dti), and Nestle, with CliffCentral.com as media partner.Proudly South Africa CEO, Eustace Mashimbye, says 'local procurement: is it policy or preferences?' is the theme of the conference on Day 2, while Day 1 will focus on SMMEs.It is proven the world over that thriving economies are built on the back of SMMEs. These businesses are crucial in creating jobs.Standard Bank, head of business, Gauteng province, Willie Chavalala says if we are to reduce the unemployment rate we need to support SMMEs. Too many SMMEs end up closing their doors because they do not have access to funding, a key component to running a business, and to markets. It is the role of the bank to engage with entrepreneurs and partner with them.Last years event was attended by 700 people. The event is free to attend.
Sustainability has moved out of the realm of soft issues, and has become such an integral part of the mining industry that it has been "mainstreamed" at the Mining Indaba, said veteran journalist, Hilary Joffe.

Mxolisa Mgojo, CEO: Exxaro Resources, Hilary Joffe, and Rudi Dicks, Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency.

Operating in silos

She was interviewing Mxolisi Mgojo, CEO: Exxaro Resources and president: Chamber of Mines and Rudi Dicks, who is with the Department of Performance Monitoring and Evaluation in the Presidency as part of the Indabas Sustainable Development Day progamme. Dicks was standing in for Jeff Radebe, minister in The Presidency, who had been summoned to an urgent meeting. No doubt, the one that saw the State of the Nation Address, scheduled for Thursday, being postponed as the government decide the fate of President Jacob Zuma.The title of the interview wasDicks kicked off the discussion by saying that mining in South Africa had been in existence for a long time, and although it had a positive effect on the economy, it was a negative in terms of social impact.Mgojo agreed, adding that: Mining was the guts of institutionalising apartheid laws and the mining industry really has a lot of work to do to rectify this..Solutions for the future must involve all stakeholders. We need to have a collective vision for mining. This requires great effort from all stakeholders. This collective pain will allow us to move into the centre.He was also critical of the lack of cohesion among the various government departments involved in the mining industry. The departments operate in silos, so its difficult to understand what their vision is.Dicks pointed to Operation Phakisa, the fast results delivery programme launched in 2014 to implement the National Development Plan, with the ultimate goal of boosting economic growth and create jobs, proved that government and industry can be united for a common good.
Eskom's chief generation officer, Matshela Koko, who is implicated in awarding contracts to a company linked to his stepdaughter, is facing a new disciplinary inquiry.

Koko was back in the labour court on Tuesday, 6 February 2018, to challenge an earlier ultimatum issued by the parastatal that he either resign or be fired.He had planned to argue, in a responding affidavit submitted to the court, that the power utility had not followed proper procedure when its newly appointed board gave him the ultimatum.But that argument, according to Eskom, was no longer valid as the ultimatum had been dropped, new disciplinary charges had been instituted and he was on suspension.Thereported in 2017 that Impulse International, a company in which his stepdaughter, Koketso Choma, owned a stake, was awarded tenders worth close to R1bn, allegedly without proper processes being followed. Koko said at the time that he had no influence over the awarding of the tenders.An internal disciplinary hearing initially found him not guilty on charges he had acted to benefit his stepdaughter. He was later presented with the ultimatum to resign or be fired by the new board - which he flatly rejected.In his replying affidavit submitted in court on Tuesday, Koko had planned to deny allegations that he was a central player in the collapse of corporate governance at Eskom.The utility's spokesperson, Khulu Phasiwe, confirmed on Tuesday that Koko faced a new disciplinary inquiry.
Drilling more boreholes, changing building bylaws, constructing three desalination plants and finishing phase three of the Nooitgedacht Water Treatment Works - these are just four ways the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality hopes to fight the drought in the near future.

Details of how the municipality intends to accommodate the growing needs of the city are contained in its Water Supply Capacity Increase Programme. This programme forms part of the city's water masterplan which is required by the national Department of Water and Sanitation.The report is expected to be the subject of debate at an infrastructure, engineering, electricity and energy committee meeting on Monday. In the report, the masterplan had shown the city's demand for potable water had increased by 6%.It said the increase could be attributed to more residents being relocated from informal to formal settlements."The increase in demand needs to be met with new potable water supply sources," it said.The first desalination plant is a proposed partnership between Marina Salts and South African Breweries."Negotiations have proceeded well and challenges have been discussed," the report said.The project will be presented to the committee and tabled in council later, according to the report.On the second desalination plant, a call for tenders saw 18 proposals submitted for evaluation. This plant will be constructed and managed through the municipality."It was found that none of the submitted proposals provided adequate information to enable the municipality to conclude an award."A third desalination plant will be a collaboration with the Coega Development Corporation. It is still in its approval phase."Even though a desalination plant in the areas surrounding the Coega IDZ would not directly address the recurring drought of the western sources, it would allow relocation of existing potable water to the stressed areas," the report said.The municipality hopes to increase its water supply once phase three of the Nooitgedacht Low Level Scheme is completed.Work on Nooitgedacht was brought to a temporary standstill last week when the national government indicated it would cut funding. However, work resumed on Friday when it emerged the budget would no longer be slashed.The municipality also intends to look at providing boreholes for all schools and amending bylaws to ensure all future building plans include a rainwater tank with a minimum 500 litre capacity."The projects are extremely important for the future of the sustainable potable water supply," the report said.
NEW YORK - US regulators on Tuesday joined a growing chorus of officials saying they may need new powers to regulate cryptocurrencies which pose risks the investing public does not recognise.

Bitcoin and other digital currencies have seen demand soar in recent weeks along with their value, accompanied by a rise in questionable investment scams that has prompted increased attention by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the main agencies overseeing US financial markets.SEC Chairman Jay Clayton said virtual currencies often are traded on electronic platforms that call themselves "exchanges" but have a "deceiving" appearance."I'm not satisfied when I see people thinking that trading cryptocurrencies have the same protections as stock markets," Clayton told a Senate Banking Committee hearing.He offered to work with Congress other regulators to study whether more federal oversight of cryptocurrency trading platforms is needed.In addition, he warned that regulators have no means to respond if a digital currency is stolen or if a platform is hacked.CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo described this absence of authority as a "gap."Digital currencies have moved from the fringes of global finance used for money laundering, drug dealing and other illicit schemes, closer to mainstream following the launch late last year of bitcoin futures trading on two major exchanges.Bitcoin's market capitalisation, while far below its peak, stood at $118.4 billion Tuesday, according to coinmarketcap.com. The market value of digital currencies as a whole has declined some $500 billion from peaks following restrictions by some governments and private companies.Agustin Carstens, general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, said bitcoin and others fail the "basic textbook definitions" of currencies -- which are backed by governments and their central banks.Instead it "has become a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster," he said at a lecture in Germany on Tuesday. "There is a strong case for policy intervention."Carstens, the former longtime governor of the Bank of Mexico, warned that, "If authorities do not act pre-emptively, cryptocurrencies could become more interconnected with the main financial system and become a threat to financial stability."In fact, the SEC and CFTC have cracked down several times in recent weeks on companies that have defrauded investors.In one case, a virtual currency that called itself "My Big Coin" and allegedly misappropriated over $6 million from customers on a currency it falsely said was backed by gold and traded on currency exchanges."We've brought three actions in the last week and there are more to come," Giancarlo said. "We are working the beat hard."
Agriculture is big business in Africa. The sector employs 65% of the continent's labour force and accounts for 32% of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the World Bank. Yet it is beset by problems. Africa's population is growing - it is projected to reach two million by 2050 - but farm productivity is low, as a result of weather changes, lack of technical equipment and expertise, and the movement of young people away from farming areas to cities.

McKay Savage via Wikimedia Commons

But why the sudden surge in funding?

Potential sizeable returns increase investors appetites

Expected market growth opens up space for return-oriented backers

Agri-tech projects a scale game, requires serious funding

Help, however, is at hand. African entrepreneurs are increasingly seeing the inherent opportunities within the agriculture sector, developing solutions that do everything from helping farmers increase their yields to providing better access to markets.Investors, too, are more and more attracted to a space that, should solutions scale widely enough, open up huge addressable markets. According to Disrupt Africas recently released African Tech Startups Funding Report 2017 , agri-tech startups across the continent raised a combined total of $13.2m in funding last year, the fourth largest of any sector.This was up 203% on 2016 figures, which had, in turn, been an increase of 8,660% on the pitiful $50,000 raised by agri-tech startups in 2015. It is a sector that has suddenly, and quite dramatically, sprung up the forefront of investors minds.Much of the 2017 total went to one company, Kenyas Twiga Foods , which raised a $10.3m round in July . Launched in 2014, the company uses technology to consolidate the fragmented purchasing power of urban retailers, saving them a trip to the market by delivering to their doorstep better quality and better-priced stock.Twiga Foods Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Grant Brooke told Disrupt Africa it was the size of the market that primarily accounted for the attractiveness of agri-tech startups. Agriculture is one of the largest, and most untapped by technology, sectors of the economy. I think investors are targeting agriculture because its a huge market, that touches just about everyone, he said.Agri-tech is hot right now internationally, and Africa is no exception. Investment tends to be macro-economically stable, people have to eat, and there are a number of acquirers perusing the space lately looking for opportunities.People have to eat is exactly the view of Onyeka Akumah, co-founder and CEO of Nigerias [https://www.farmcrowdy.com/ Farmcrowdy]], which allows users to sponsor farms and earn returns. The startup secured a $1m funding round in December , and Akumah believes people are beginning to pay attention to the growing demand for more food as Africas population grows. There is growing interest in funding for agri-tech startups that focus on the real problem of food security and enabling better use of technology to grow the agriculture sector as a whole. It is a welcome and attractive idea for investors, he told Disrupt Africa.Akumah said the potential for sizeable returns for investors in agri-tech startups are as big as the market these startups play in. There are different levels of the agriculture value chain, and depending on what sector a startup plays in, the investors they attract would have done their due diligence as to the market size, he said.For instance, at Farmcrowdy today, our investors are looking at the opportunity of scale that the $100bn agriculture sector in Nigeria presents to our business, along with the growing 189 million population and over 80 million hectares of arable farmland in the country. When things are done right with the right team, we have a good chance of succeeding with our goals for not just our investors but the country as a whole.Erick Yongs company GreenTec Capital Partners is one such investor in Farmcrowdy and also has a stake in Ghanas AgroCenta , which connects smallholder farmers to a wider online market to trade, access truck delivery services and get real-time market information. He agrees that investors are flocking to the space due to its massive growth potential and the fact it is currently very underutilised.On the one hand, more countries push for home-grown agriculture policies as they look to slow down the import flow of agricultural products, thus increasing the internal demand for agriculture and agri-services, he said. On the other hand, the increasing use of tech applications, everything from soil testing and drone technology through micro-credit and micro-insurance availability, via mobile wallets and digital platforms, will greatly enhance harvest yields and the overall productivity of the agriculture sector as a whole.Yong said both these factors naturally increase investors appetites, encouraging them to try to realise the growth potential at an early stage. He sees potential for significant returns.The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) predicts the size of the agriculture market in sub-Saharan Africa will grow from $200bn in 2015 to $1 trillion by 2030. This expected five-fold market growth presents very attractive investment return opportunities, especially for investors willing to take on risk earlier in the development process, he said.We believe some of the more scalable, digital platforms could run at 50 to 100% annualised growth rates over the next three to five years as the market looks for winning, high growth business models.As a result, a space that was previously the domain of impact-focused investors and donors is opening up to more return-oriented backers. Yong said while development finance institutions (DFIs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) continue to play a big role in financially supporting agriculture projects across Africa, there is a clear trend towards the emergence of private and return-driven investors.Impact funds themselves are also changing. Brooke said the major shift he has witnessed is that impact funds are becoming much more commercial. Im not sure there is a clear distinction between the two any longer, he said. That said, donors and social impact funds will continue to be the early-stage capital for agriculture startups. There isnt much strictly commercial early-stage capital. But, as companies graduate up the funding ladder, well see their capitalisation tables get more and more commercial with each passing round.Whatever the type of investor the money is coming from, the fact that funding is on a meteoric rise is of crucial importance to agri-tech startups.Brooke says most agri-tech projects are a scale game.Funding is key for getting to scale. Further, as most models are new, funding is also needed to refine models, as we are just in the very early days on the continent of understanding what models are going to work in agri-tech, he said.Akumah agrees that startups relying on scale require serious funding in order to succeed. When you tackle a big problem, you need the kind of backing that will allow you engage and successfully provide a solution for the big problem, he said. Most startups solving big and real problems require funding to scale. The reason why the problem is big in the first place speaks to why any startup looking to solve the issues would require resources, including funding, to tackle it properly.Yong, however, says this is not necessarily the case at the beginning of a startups journey. In the very early stages, funding by itself is not the only ingredient for a winning recipe  successful entrepreneurs have to iterate and seek winning, profitable models, he said.Down the line, however, this changes.Once unit economics and profitability is more visible, the funding to scale and grow becomes a lot more important. A startups proven ability to execute should be able to draw a lot more funding on the follow, he said.Luckily, that funding is increasingly available. Africas agri-tech startups are solving big problems and serving potentially huge markets. Now, at last, there seems to be investor appetite for big funding to help them succeed.
While much is said about the looming Day Zero in Cape Town, other parts of the country are in the grips of a water shortage that is reaching a critical stage.

Dawie Maree

Impact on agriculture

The crisis will not simply wash away with rain

Day Zero in the Western Cape is estimated to take effect this May, this will largely depend on demand versus usage and supply through the alternative sources like boreholes, and any considerations of desalination. However, there should also be concern about the critical water shortages in provinces such as the Eastern Cape and Northern Cape, says Dawie Maree, head of marketing and information at FNB Agric Business.The Eastern Cape and Northern Cape are facing the same shortage as the Western Cape. In fact, the Kouga Dam, which supplies water to Port Elizabeth and surrounding rural towns in the Eastern Cape, was sitting at 9.2% dam for the week ending 2 February levels before the recent rains, which will probably lift it in the short term to approximately 12% for the week ending 2 February. The western parts of the Northern Cape are also experiencing a prolonged drought and livestock farmers in these areas are under immense pressure.The immediate agricultural impact will be on cash crops such as vegetables as well as livestock due to their high water needs, while perennial crops such as fruit with deeper root systems might hold on for a bit longer. We may also start to see output in terms of yields and fruit sizes decline. If the drought persists for another season some fruit trees might have to be uprooted with longer-term implications for supplies as it takes them longer to replant and grow the trees to a point where they are sufficient for production, explains Maree.The true impact of the drought will, in essence, depend on how the winter rain season plays out in the Western Cape and other parts of the country. However, given that the summer rain season started late, it is forecasted that the winter season might also be late. This suggests that we may see a more protruded length of the current drought.We need to face another reality in that even when the rains return, the crisis will not simply wash away. Firstly, groundwater levels need to rise before any run-off to replenish the dams. The best case scenario would be a large amount of rain in a short space of time, in which case the process speeds up, says Maree.On the upside, South Africa has gone through a similar situation in the inland when Vaal Dam water levels fell critically low. When the rains returned, the Vaal Dam levels went from empty to full within a space of three weeks.The impact of Day Zero in Cape Town on agriculture is minimal in the short term as restrictions have already been in place to ensure that the industry does not make excessive use of water, which in essence mean that farmers are already past their Day Zero. Should the drought persist, we may start to see a far more concerning impact on the industry, for now, we wait for the rains to return, concludes Maree.
The recruitment processes for several senior employees at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) in the Western Cape were "irregular" and in breach of company policy. This is according to a 2015 progress report, seen by GroundUp, on an ongoing investigation by the Public Protector's Western Cape office.

A Metrorail train passing Muizenberg train station in Cape Town. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks/GroundUp

The investigation, started in 2013, centres around Mthuthuzeli Swartz, who was appointed acting CEO of Prasa Rail earlier this year. Swartz was previously provincial Regional Manager. He is also under investigation for corruption and sexual harassment when he was executive manager for mainline passenger services.Cleopatra Mosana, a spokesperson for the Public Protector, toldthe office had received an anonymous complaint for alleged maladministration in relation to mismanagement and abuse of resources, irregular recruitment and labour processes by officials at Metrorail Western Cape in 2013.The investigation has not yet been finalised. Mosana said it was not clear when the investigation would be completed.According to the progress report, dated November 2015, there were several irregularities in the recruitment of senior staff. A number of employees at Prasas Western Cape office were attending the same church as Swartz.Swartz made a submission to the Public Protector denying the allegations against him.A formal complaint by another senior employee (whose name is known to) was also lodged against Swartz and then Human Resources Manager Themba Jack about their alleged roles in unethical instructions that were not policy compliant.The employee claimed that the Recruitment and Selection unit were instructed to ensure that certain individuals were recruited.One of the irregular recruitments was that of Bulelani Ngxukumeshe. The report states that Ngxukumeshe was employed as a Process Worker for nine years. In 2013, he was appointed Senior Protection Officer.Affidavits obtained from and interviews conducted with Metrorail employees ... state that Mr Ngxukumeshe was irregularly appointed on the instructions of Mr Swartz, the report said.The minimum requirement for Ngxukumeshes position, which was advertised internally in January 2013, was matric; at least three years experience at Section Commander level; Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) Grade B for a minimum of two years; a certificate of Firearm Competency and a certificate in Security Risk Management.The report stated that Ngxukumeshe wrote matric in 2003 but failed, and that he did not have the relevant PSIRA or security management certificates.[This] raised questions about the integrity of the selection and recruitment process and the integrity and competence of the officials who participated in the process, the report stated.Last week, Eulenda Mokhonoana of PSIRA confirmed tothat the authority had no record of Ngxukumeshe ever being registered.Zanele Sabela, spokesperson for the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), said last week that Ngxukumeshe was a full time shop steward at Prasa. Satawu has about 5,700 members at Metrorail while the United National Transport Union has the majority.Asked if Satawu was aware of the Public Protectors investigation and the allegations against Ngxukumeshe, Sabela said, [He] went through the requisite assessments including tests and interviews before being offered employment at Prasa. Moreover, these allegations were tested in a disciplinary hearing, where Ngxukumeshe was found not guilty, she said.Following the disciplinary hearing, Prasa Regional Management in the Western Cape lodged a complaint with the Public Protector. Given that five years have elapsed since the investigation was launched, it is safe to assume it did not uncover the alleged maladministrationand irregular recruitment and labour processes by officials that it purported, she said.However,has also seen a document in which Ngxukumeshe was instructed to attend an internal disciplinary hearing in October 2017 for gross dishonesty for lying about his qualifications. But, a medical report sent to Prasa in September 2017 and another note in November 2017 stated that Ngxukumeshe was unfit for distressing situations like hearings for health reasons.was unable to confirm whether the disciplinary hearing had since taken place.In response to this, Sabela said, It would be regrettable if confidential records were leaked and the employees right to privacy and confidentiality violated. Satawu would therefore expect Prasa to conduct an investigation with a view to ensure that those responsible are accordingly disciplined.Another employee named in the report is Luyanda Matomane. The report states that the complainant also alleged that Matomane was not subjected to fair recruitment processes ... and she has been acting in various positions and receiving unfair allowances, all requested and approved by Swartz.The report also stated that the appointment of Lumkile Mzukwa as Area Manager and acting Customer Service Manager was irregular. It said that a senior employee had told investigators that Mzukwa was never a candidate for the post; he never worked in Customer Service as the job advert required; and his salary had been unduly increased.Prasa spokesperson Nana Zenani last week toldthat Prasa had fully cooperated with the Public Protectors ongoing investigations. The investigations are still ongoing and therefore we cannot respond on the ongoing investigations by the Public Protector but will rather await the outcomes of the investigations, she said.The UniteBehind Coalition has requested the urgent release of the Public Protectors findings. In a letter sent on 30 January, UniteBehind gave the Public Protector ten days to respond to questions around the finalisation of its investigation and the release of its report.[The whistle-blowers] have reached a stage of complete despondency due to the lack of action ... The release of your report has now become critical because the main subject of the investigation is Mr Swartz, the letter read.
Property owners in the City of Johannesburg have expressed concern about whether the newly introduced system which allows them to object to property valuations online will work.

the owner has reached 60;

the owner must live on the property;

the value of the property does not exceed R2m.

The rebate shall be as follows:

if the owner received a national security grant, they will qualify for a 100% rebate.

if the pensioner is 70 or above they qualify for a 100% rebate irrespective of income;

if a pensioner has gross monthly income below and equal to R8,745, they qualify for a 100% rebate, provided the pensioner is at least 60 years of age.

if a pensioner has gross monthly income above R8,745 but less or equal to R14,991, they qualify for a 50% rebate, provided the pensioner is at least 60 years of age.

There are concerns that the new online system will experience technical glitches which were experienced when the Gauteng department of education introduced online applications in 2016."Our concern is whether the online system can handle the capacity of the amount of people that will be logging in to first check their property rates as well a make objections online. Our main concern is: can their system deal with that amount of objections?" said Angela Rivers, general manager of Johannesburg Property Owners and Managers Association.But the city assured TimesLIVE that the system was well backed up and should be able to deal with the demand at hand.Johannesburg MMC for finance Funzela Ngobeni announced recently that property owners would be afforded an opportunity to object to the municipal valuation roll through a carefully coordinated programme, which would run for 45 days.Property owners will be able to register their objections online which will reduce queues at the venues available for this across the city.The new General Valuation Roll 2018 for the period 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2022 will be open for public inspection effectively from 20 February 2018 to 6 April 2018.Ratepayers have 45 days from the first date of publication of the roll to inspect the general valuation roll and lodge objections, if necessary. The prescribed minimum legislated objection period is 30 days. There will be 12 venues city-wide where property owners can inspect the roll.The annual review of the rates policy is a legal requirement to ensure that the city complies with the Municipal Property Rates Act 6 of 2004. The city's rates policy review is driven by submissions and comments from property owners, which is taken into account when drafting the final policy.Public participation is critical in the formulation of policies and ratepayers are encouraged to take an active part in the public meetings during the process of policy review. Ratepayers will first be given the opportunity to inspect the General Valuation Roll from the first date of publication, and should they wish to object, they can do so by 6 April 2018.The proposed 2018 valuation roll has recorded about 879,005 properties within the Johannesburg metropolitan area. Each property value is linked to its market value, which is a determinant of the rates payable by each owner. The valuation roll will be valid for four years and customer rates will be calculated on the same value for that period unless changes have been made that may affect the property's value.The imminent General Valuation Roll will be implemented on Sunday, 1 July 2018.In the current property rates policy, there are exemptions on properties owned and occupied by people who have limited income and are not pensioners but can show annual income falls within a limit determined by the council. In this category, the owner must apply every six months for the council's approval.Property owners dependent on pensions will also enjoy exemption provided:Owners of properties who have become pensioners due to injury on duty who were members of the SAPS, SANDF, emergency services and JMPD also receive rebates. There are also exemptions for child-headed households.Source: The Times
FRANKFURT, Germany - German prosecutors said they had raided offices belonging to high-end carmaker Audi on Tuesday, 6 February 2018, the second sweep in a week related to diesel emissions cheating at the Volkswagen subsidiary.

The raids on a private home and offices belonging to Audi in southern German states Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg "focused on the use of technical devices to manipulate emissions data in 3.0-litre V6 diesel motors for sale on the European market," the authorities said in a statement.Some 14 people are now under suspicion in the probe into suspicions of fraud and illegal advertising relating to 210,000 diesel vehicles sold since 2009, which also saw prosecutors search the homes of six current and former employees last Wednesday, 31 January.The raids on Tuesday are the third in a year against the manufacturer with the four-ring logo, after a first round of searches in March 2017.Most of the people targeted are engineers involved in motor development, the prosecutors said last week, reiterating Tuesday that no Audi executives are among the suspects.An Audi spokesman confirmed the raids had taken place, adding that "we are cooperating fully with the authorities".Two Audi workers have been arrested in recent months, with a former motor development executive still in custody while another engineer was released in November.Audi parent Volkswagen admitted in September 2015 to fitting 11 million cars sold worldwide with so-called "defeat devices" designed to make them appear less polluting in regulators' tests than they were in real driving conditions.The fallout from the "dieselgate" scandal has seen VW pay out billions in fines and compensation and step up plans to electrify much of its product range in the coming years.And the reputation of diesel-fuelled vehicles has suffered even in car-mad Germany, with their share of the overall market slumping in favour of petrol-powered variants.
BRUSSELS, Belgium - The European Union says it will probe tech giant Apple's plan to buy leading song recognition app Shazam because of fears the deal may "adversely affect competition."

Apple announced the deal with London-based Shazam, worth a reported $400m, in December in a fresh bid to secure an edge in the intensifying battle of streaming services.The European Commission said it launched the inquiry at the request of EU states Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and Sweden, and non-EU Norway and Iceland, which form part of the affiliated European Economic Area."The commission considers that the transaction may have a significant adverse effect on competition in the European Economic Area," it said in a statement.The deal did not meet the "turnover thresholds" for the European Commission - the EU's executive arm and anti-trust enforcer - for Brussels to launch a probe by itself.Instead, it had to wait for Austria to lodge an initial request, which was followed by the other states.Shazam, which was founded in 1999 in the early age of online music, has offered a solution to a longtime agony of listeners - putting a name to elusive songs. With a click, the app identifies tracks playing on the radio, at parties or as background music.Struggeling to make money off its technologyBut Shazam has struggled to find a way to make money off its technology, even as it said that it had reached one billion downloads on smartphones last year.Shazam only recently announced it had become profitable, thanks to advertising and steering traffic to other sites such as Spotify and Apple Music.The technology is also no longer quite as novel, with Shazam facing rivals such as SoundHound and with smartphones capable of ever more advanced recognition functions.Source: AFP
In his keynote address to the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit (SAALS), director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Alexandre de Juniac, called for urgent attention to address infrastructure challenges in order to secure the industry's future.

Alexandre de Juniac

Lack of airport capacity in Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila

No support for pre-funding of infrastructure projects

As early as 2022 China will reportedly be the largest single aviation market. India is another emerging power-house  even if it will take longer to mature. And nearly equal potential could be realised as the Indian aviation market continues to develop.

Five fundamental areas to be protected

Said De Juniac: "Having the infrastructure to grow is vital to our industrys future. But in many key places, it is not being built fast enough to meet growing demand. And there are worrying trends which are increasing costs. One of these is airport privatisations."We have not found the correct regulatory framework to balance the interests of the investors to turn a profit, with the public interest for the airport to be a catalyst for economic growth. All the optimism supporting strong aircraft orders will mean nothing if we dont have the capability to manage traffic in the air and at airports."De Juniac highlighted the lack of airport capacity in Jakarta, Bangkok and Manila as his top concerns in the Asia-Pacific region."At the other end of the spectrum, we have Seouls Incheon Airport. It recently added runway and terminal capacity without raising charges for airlines and passengers. And, Incheon has extended an airport charges discount introduced two years ago. This sets a very positive example for other airports to follow. It also demonstrates a great understanding of the role aviation plays in linking the Korean economy to economic opportunities globally," said De Juniac."The Singapore government is also showing great foresight with its expansion plans for Changi Airport, including Terminal 5 (T5). But there are challenges. We must ensure the plans for T5 are robust enough to meet the high standards of airline operations and passenger convenience users of Changi Airport have come to expect. And we need to get the funding model right to avoid burdening the industry with extra costs. The prize to keep in sight is the airports contribution to Singapores overall economy," he said.There have been reports on plans to introduce a tax on passengers and increases in charges to fund the construction of Terminal 5. The airline industry does not support pre-funding to finance in advance infrastructure projects.Ensuring sufficient and cost-efficient infrastructure in Asia-Pacific is a top priority. The region is centre stage of the industrys overall growth. By 2036 it expects 7.8 billion people to travel (up from 4.3 billion expected in 2018). Of the 3.5 billion trips to, from or within the Asia-Pacific region in 2036, 1.5 billion will touch on China.De Juniac also identified five fundamental areas that need to be protected when reimagining the industrys future, the theme for SAALS:"There are always ways to improve  particularly as our data analysis capabilities grow. I would like to imagine a future for aviation with no accidents. We need to improve on safety, particularly as our data analysis capabilities grow," said De Juniac."Aviation needs borders that are open to people and trade. The ASEAN single aviation market is an important development. I would like to imagine a future for aviation where airlines are as free as possible to meet the demands for connectivity. We must be a strong voice in the face of protectionist agendas," he said."A common set of rules underpins the aviation industrys success  in everything from safety to ticketing. And I would like to imagine a future where global standards continue to be strengthened by the cooperation of airlines and government through institutions such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and IATA," said De Juniac."Our commitment to cut emissions to half of 2005 levels by 2050 is ambitious. And I would like to imagine a future where our net carbon impact is zero." Industry and governments have agreed on a Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) as one of its four pillars in a common strategy to ensure aviation meets this responsibility."I would like to imagine a future where airlines generating normal profits is the norm, not a rarity." 2018 is the ninth year of profitability since 2010, and the fourth consecutive year in which the return on invested capital is expected to exceed the cost of capital.
Johanna McDowell of the IAS is also the South African partner of Scopen. Over what she described as 'the best sandwich ever' at Bizcommunity's offices in the MadWorld Orange Block in Woodstock, McDowell shared a wealth of insights into the local marketing-agency relationship, as well as SA-specific insights and what attendees can expect from the upcoming Scopen masterclasses.

Scopen global EO Cesar Vacchiano with South African partner Johanna McDowell.

On her role as South African partner at Scopen, McDowell said:

Preferences for integration v specialisation

Satisfaction levels with agencies

Concerns with the consumer and their changing environment

Contribution by agencies to business growth of marketers

In a tough economic environment where every rand counts, an agency with satisfied clients is in a much more sustainable position and is able to grow their own business along with the business of their clients.

Creative agencies and media agencies to watch and follow

Creating a long list  how are marketers doing this?

Lets end with a few tips on what to look for when selecting an agency to work with. What would you recommend?

We want them to be able to look at it like a blueprint for what they should be doing to get to that stage. It shows them where all their competitors are  theres never been anything like this here. Its groundbreaking and thats why its been so successful, so quickly.

The 2018 Marketers Masterclass 3 cities tour: Johannesburg, 7 February at the IoD  Institute of Directors, Graystonridge Office Park, 144 Katherine Street, Sandton from 2pm  4:30pm

Durban, Umhlanga Rocks, 22 February 2018 at the Square Boutique Hotel and Spa from 9am 11:30am

Cape Town, 1 March 2018 at the Winchester Mansions Hotel from 9am  11:30am. Attendance is free for respondents who participated in the study fieldwork, and R2,500 ex-VAT per person for other marketers. All attendees will receive a complimentary printed copy of the 2017/18 Agency Scope Marketers Report, containing the 15 trends. To enrol for any of the classes contact Hlamazi Mabunda on Attendance is free for respondents who participated in the study fieldwork, and R2,500 ex-VAT per person for other marketers. All attendees will receive a complimentary printed copy of the 2017/18 Agency Scope Marketers Report, containing the 15 trends. To enrol for any of the classes contact Hlamazi Mabunda on az.oc.nepocs@adnubamh or call 010 594 0281.

McDowell explained they will be running three Scopen masterclasses for marketers who participated in the second-ever SA Scopen Agency Scope study  starting in Johannesburg this afternoon, then in Durban on 22 February and in Cape Town on 1 March. The reason? They have roughly 200 slides of critical information for marketers, based on responses from the 217 CMOs and professionals from the countrys largest companies, having undergone face-to-face interviews with Scopen researchers between June and September 2017. The client-agency relationships, in particular, were explored across creativity, execution, strategy and even account services.Seeing the information presented in this way will help them remember what they said and how they participated, which will make it valuable for them, says McDowell. Even better? Its free to attend if you participated in Scopen Agency Scope, and marketers who didnt participate can still do so for a fee. Each marketer will also walk away with a summarised copy of the marketing trends, being printed at the time of our talk. Win-win!Every year I go to the AdForum Summit, and when I first went eight or nine years ago, I met the people from Scopen and wondered what they did. I thought it would be similar to what we do, and theydo some of what we do, but the main thing they do is their study into the marketing communications industry. I thought it was interesting when I started seeing some of their data when I was in Latin America, in Brazil about four years ago.I thought it would be so wonderful to have in South Africa, as we just dont have anything like it. So I asked global EO Cesar Vacchiano, 'Have you ever thought of coming to South Africa?' He said: 'Wed love to do it there, Johanna, but we need people on the ground.' So, I said, 'Well, here I am,' and that was that. We formed a partnership, and the relationship is that Scopen Africa is owned 74% by Scopen Global and 26% by black-owned marketing services group, Mazole Holdings, which is also the holding company for the IAS. So thats the relationship. Im the director here, and obviously a shareholder, but Scopen Global is the majority.McDowell also took the time to comment on specific trend outtakes from the survey, which have implications for marketers and advertisers alike:When we first did the SA study in 2016, our sample size was 70 of the top 100 advertisers. Our sample this time is 200, so weve got everybody who spends any money, really. And what was interesting, with the 70 in 2016, is that they showed a preference for integration. We asked them how they were working currently, and they said they have a separate digital agency and a separate creative agency, and they wanted to integrate them.Thats still the case, even with the big sample. One of the reasons for that is because particularly with the smaller-sized clients, they dont want to split their adspend across three or four different agencies. Its too much, its too time-consuming, and they dont think they get economies of scale But the paradox is that although they want everything in one place, theres also still a need for specialisation, in digital particularly, when it comes to the more business transformational work.So, what I call the light digital  social media, banners on websites, all that stuff  can be done by the integrated agency. But when it comes to solving serious business issues or changing the way a business might work, thats going to need a very deep digital expertise, and thats whats found in the specialist agencies.79% of those marketers who were interviewed said they were quite happy with their current agency. The 21% who arent happy will obviously look around. But when we asked a different question: Are you likely to change your agency, more than 26% said they would be. What that tells us is that even though clients are happy, they still might change because theyre looking for something more, something different.Clients say theyre happy with their agencies, and yet, were probing, so there are more than a hundred questions asked in the space of an hour to an hour-and-a-half, its not an online survey. Senior researchers are talking to these marketers and it ends up being quite a therapy session. The marketers can offload and talk about whats really bothering them, so a lot of stuff comes out. Its very different having someone experienced in front of you, asking questions and getting you to talk.So, they may well be satisfied with their agency, and we dont actually know whether that 26% who say they are likely to change their agency comes from the 79% who say theyre happy with their current agency. So although marketers say theyre happy with their agency, and by and large they seem to be so, which is in line with results from the rest of the world, they still will look, because theyre always looking for a solution, or the Holy Grail, or something new. And thats their job, they need to do that.The agencies and the marketers were both asked the same question, and they were quite aligned in that an understanding of the consumer is the most important thing. The marketers also want the agencies to be able to work within their budgets because their budgets have declined and nobody sees anything really increasing dramatically in the next year, so thats a major concern. So its really about understanding the consumer and whats driving them, working within their budgets, and then a greater understanding of the marketers business by agencies, and to understand what the priorities are for marketers.Theres been a decline in this. In 2016, the percentage was something in the order of about 25% contribution to their business growth. But in 2017, it was down to just 17%, which was lower than the global average. I suspect thats due to the economy.But I also think some of the smaller marketers dont really have the tools to know what contribution their agency is making, or theyre working with agencies that dont have the tools to help them do so.Rather than listing the specific ones that came out tops, as youll see who they are in the printed document, this is what made them stand out:Theyre a mixture of independent agencies, network agencies, and media agencies. What made them stand out is the changes between 2016 and 2017 and the ones that have done so much better or seem to have come from nowhere. One of the agencies, for example, was in position 17 in terms of awareness last time around and now has gone up to the fourth position. Thats how we selected the ones that marketers should notice as standouts.There are about five different ways they do so, but the main way is that theyre approached. They also look at recommendations from marketing friends or colleagues. I found it interesting that theres a decline in the number of marketers who say that they would select an agency through friends in the agency business. Thats good. They also could have heard about a particular agency and read things in the media, and they say they dont use consultants like us.When marketers put together their long list, the thing that matters to them the most are the case studies that the agency produces. The thing that matters to them the least is awards, which tend to be promoted the most. Thats not to say awards are not important, they do have a role to play.But in a case study, whats important and whats changed is that when I first started the IAS work 10 years ago, agencies would put together a case study and theyd talk about the awards theyd won first. Now, theyve trained themselves, so their case studies reflect what changed for the brand. Did it produce sales? Thats all that marketers are interested in: How are you going to increase my bottom line? Whats my revenue generator?Marketers are also not interested in the number of likes on Facebook. What did those 3,000 likes lead to, in terms of sales and revenue? When marketers are selecting agencies, thats what they look for.So lets say marketers are looking through the credentials, thats what theyve got to find  case studies that resonate with them, and the agency doesnt necessarily have to have worked in their category before.In fact, quite refreshingly, the last couple of pitches weve done, one of the clients  in the automotive sector  said, Wed rather not have agencies that have lots of automotive experience. Because they want to do things differently. And unfortunately, people who have done things in a certain way at different agencies might think, That worked, so its how well do it again and again.Clients dont want that formulaic approach. So experience is important, but it doesnt have to be in that area. I say that to marketers as well as to agencies. It might take the agencies a bit longer to understand the business but theyll come at it in a different way, and thats what you want, or else why would you change your agency?Whats been interesting for me in the last two years is to see, and a couple of agencies have commented on this now, how well Scopen has taken off in SA. And its certainly helped that were very aggressive with our marketing, but its proper content. At last, its not just about an opinion, its actually ground in reality. The Scopen results, for the agencies that have seen them, have both verified things for them and surprised them, helping them to change and to improve. In the end, thats all we want.We also encourage the agencies to use those results in their PR. Obviously not by talking about other agencies, but in their own marketing and credentials, as agencies all over the rest of the world are doing.The results definitely mean something to the marketers, and theyre proud of their results  as are we. So hopefully in 2019, it wont be a hard sell to get those Scopen Agency Scope interviews.
The role of the modern marketer has undergone a fundamental shift. The old approach of allocating big budgets to the traditional advertising complex is no longer effective, nor relevant.

The growth hacking mindset

Digital has made the creative CMO redundant

Find the right product-market fit

Target the right people

Marketers should shift their strategic approach

Today the chief marketing officer (CMO) sits at the confluence of product development, customer engagement, data analysis, and dynamic sales and marketing channels. This has made the CMO one of the most influential executive positions in the modern enterprise.But embracing this new role requires a shift in mindset and approach. That's because the metrics that define a company's victory condition  the ultimate measure of its success  have changed in the digital economy.If companies choose to still measure return on marketing investment based solely on reach or cost per acquisition or the number of awards a campaign wins, then they're stuck playing by the rules of a game in which the victory condition has changed.That was the overriding message from serial entrepreneur, columnist, keynote speaker and trends analyst Richard Mulholland, who was speaking at the first of a series of workshops hosted by Popimedia that are designed to shift the thinking of senior marketing professionals around design, marketing and business in the digital age.Mulholland explained that a change in a victory condition fundamentally changes how a game should be played. Moving forward and moving towards something are fundamentally different strategies. Marketing can, therefore, employ differing behavioural and conceptual approaches to sell more products and create demand for services, but ultimately a business's north star metric is growth.And in the age of digitisation, which is characterised by disruption and innovation, that growth can be exponential. Offering examples of business successes such as Dropbox, Amazon, Netflix, Slack and Facebook, Mulholland explained that these Silicon Valley entrepreneurs didn't adhere to the old marketing and advertising rules as they didn't know them. They made it up as they went along, using the tools available to them at the time. What this gave rise to, was the growth hacking mindset.Basically, by forgoing the traditional marketing and advertising approach that relies on a cycle of advertising to boost sales and distribution, which then funds more advertising to further increase sales in what is a perpetual cycle, these startups were able to generate growth rates of 10x rather than just 10%.In his best-selling book,, author and dot-com entrepreneur Seth Godin explains that the television industrial complex has become obsolete because it aims to leverage the antiquated approach of marketingpeople.What marketers today need to understand is that traditional marketing no longer works because broadcasting was only effective when the attention of the mass market was held captive through a single medium, like TV. Before device fragmentation, everybody saw the same content. They could all be reached in one place and everyone had a narrow attention band. Today consumers seldom watch the same thing at the same time, which has fundamentally changed the way we need to reach them.Yet most marketers continue trying to solve the problem by changing what they say or the platforms on which they say it. Mulholland equates this to shouting louder at someone who is no longer listening.Marketers now need to leverage data to identify opportunities or problems and create products and services that address them. According to Mulholland, the digital age has effectively made the creative CMO redundant. Within the next 10 years, CMOs will need to understand and use data to shape a business's growth strategy. It's no longer a creative game, it's about numbers and marketing will be largely ineffectual without data, he said.To illustrate this scenario, Mulholland elaborated on the concept of the solution gap, a concept taken from his book,. The old problems that companies solved to build their businesses on have changed. That's the nature of problems  they're dynamic. It's therefore pointless to continue trying to rethink the solution to old problems. For businesses to thrive in the modern digital economy they need to first cross the solution gap to solve new problems.This ultimately means some part of what the business does today will need to change, which sits at the heart of the need to innovate. It's not about innovating the way you sell or how you sell. It's about changing what you sell and who you sell it to, because consumers themselves have changed, as have their needs and problems.And it's a philosophy that underpins the growth hacking approach to marketing, which author, marketer, and entrepreneur Ryan Holiday has distilled into a four-step process. The first step requires marketers to find the right product-market fit.Mulholland explains: Forget the old model of making products that people don't want or need, then making an advertisement to push it on them. By doing this you're trading frequency for reach. Marketing is no longer about a product's unique selling proposition. It's about identifying a unique problem that only the product itself can solve. This focus on problem-centric thinking has helped to create entirely new industries, as entrepreneurs have identified problems that people didn't even realise they had.The second step in Holiday's approach requires that businesses target the right people. That's because growth hacking succeeds when it appeals to early adopters or targets core groups of consumers who will want to trial and use new products and services.Defining this group is often a question of whose problem can be solved the easiest and in the shortest amount of time. The success of growth hacking hinges on a business's ability to capture users early while continuing to refine and improve the offering, explained Mulholland.And by targeting the right people from the outset, marketers also know that they're launching something new to people who want it. This bottom-up approach is also more scalable than the traditional spray-and-pray approach to broadcast marketing as the target groups recommend it to others. This feeds into the third step, which is finding an inherent product trait that has 'virality'.This, explained Mulholland, is a feature or attribute that makes it possible for a new product or service to go viral. It's almost impossible for an established company to develop something iterative in this regard, but something as simple as functionality can have this effect. Dropbox is the quintessential example of how 'virality' can be baked-in to marketing and product design. By offering an extra 500MB of space for every referral, the company grew exponentially to become what it is today  a company with 500 million global users and $1bn in annual revenue. And they achieved this without a TVC or billboard ad.However, the success of Dropbox and other businesses that hacked their growth didn't end after the acquisition phase. The final step, according to Holiday, requires that marketers work to retain their acquired users by continually improving. Mulholland referred to this as the 'get, keep, grow' approach.The best way to keep the interest of your customer today is through constant improvement as modern consumers are constantly looking for something new and exciting. Without new features or reasons to keep coming back to a product or service, customer engagement dies.Given the unprecedented rate of change being experienced across industries, Mulholland urges all marketers to shift their strategic approach and adopt this growth hacking mindset. The best way to make you better at your job tomorrow is to cut 90% of your budget today. This forces you to innovate because the easiest thing to do with a large budget is to spend it in the conventional ways. With no budget, you have to think laterally in terms of how you create growth.Every marketer should, therefore, be asking themselves, how do we create exponential growth in our business without spending the same amount of money we've used in traditional media?
Embattled international auditing firm KPMG SA says it has paid back the R23m it received as payment from the South African Revenue Service (Sars) for the report on the so-called rogue unit.

KPMG SA said it paid the money back on January 29. Sars did not respond to requests for comment.When KPMG SA found itself at the centre of state capture allegations in 2017, the firm announced that it was withdrawing all its findings, recommendations and conclusions of the Sars report.It also said it had contacted Sars and offered to repay the R23m fee received for the work it had done or to donate the same amount to charity.The discredited KPMG report on the rogue unit was used to bring charges against former finance minister Pravin Gordhan and as the basis for the continued harassment of former Sars officials by the Hawks.Gordhan and former Sars employees implicated in the rogue unit report - Ivan Pillay, Johann van Loggerenberg, Peter Richer, Yolisa Pikie and Adrian Lackay - have all called on KPMG to scrap the entire report. None of the former employees has seen the final report, which was released in January 2016, nor were they called to give their side of the story when KPMG started its investigation. A draft report was leaked in 2015.Lackay called the contents of the report "fraudulent".Brett Murison of Boqwana Burns, on behalf of Van Loggerenberg, said his client had concluded that KPMG SA was "not straightforward and honest" in compiling the report and "did not act truthfully".There were a number of material omissions, factual errors and material misrepresentations, Murison said.KPMG SA is facing two separate inquiries in which the work done for SARS is being investigated. The first is the Ntsebeza inquiry into the conduct of the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants members who worked for KPMG SA on Gupta accounts and the report for the revenue service. The second is a Regulatory Board for Auditors inquiry into the audit firm's conduct.The former Sars employees have made submissions to the Ntsebeza inquiry, which is set to start hearings on February 19. KPMG has also made submissions to the inquiry.In response to questions, KPMG SA, quoting a Sars statement from 2015, said the disciplinary hearings against Van Loggerenberg, Pillay and Richer were not conducted as a result of the firm's report but on the basis of the Sikhakhane report.However, in the letter to Pillay in 2015 informing him of disciplinary charges, Sars commissioner Tom Moyane told him that he was being charged based on both the Sikhakhane and the KPMG reports.
Beware: Not all of the spring water being collected by residents in Cape Town is safe for drinking. Neither is the water being sold illegally and delivered to private homes by profiteers across the city.

Christa Hugo, an environmental health coordinator in the City of Cape Town, warned at a media briefing on Monday, 5 February: "The city has 70 springs. They do not form part of the city's water reticulation system and are not monitored and controlled for drinking water standards."Only 10 springs so far, in residential areas, had been sampled once a month, and now "newly popular" sites were being added to the list for testing, she said. The list of safe, unsafe, and untested sites was not available at the time of publishing.Unfortunately, signs warning the public not to drink from the springs, or use the water for cooking purposes, had been removed at various sites by members of the public, she said.As for grey water, she cautioned that it should "not be kept for longer than 24 hours" and should never be used to wash fruit and vegetables. It also cannot be sterilised.Health manager Virginia De Azevedo, speaking about the "surge season" in which hot weather helped germs proliferate, said that hand-washing and cooking with potable water was very important to curb the spread of diseases like diarrhea, cholera, typhoid, food poisoning, hepatitis A, and listeria."As our region has become more water scarce, we need to adapt. We will never return to a system where we use water as casually as before. We should have been doing this for a decade. Now we're all having to take a crash course," said Jean-Pierre Smith, mayoral committee member for safety, security and social services.Those who will be spared if - or when - Day Zero comes include informal settlements, and the Cape Town CBD. Regarding those with special needs, the city has been, for one-and-a-half weeks, mapping facilities that take care of people with special needs and all early childhood development centres, according to Smith.They are also calling on those not yet recorded to announce themselves. Water tanks will deliver water to such facilities. For homes for the aged, volunteer and charity organisations have offered to deliver water, he said.Informal settlements will not have their communal tap water switched off, but there will be "strict monitoring to make sure that people do not arrive with trucks to load up on water illegally" and then profiteer from that water.Day Zero, the day residents may have to start queuing for water, was expected to be shifted to the middle of May 2018 due to a decline in agricultural usage, said the city's executive deputy mayor Ian Neilson."This is a welcome decline in water usage and gives Cape Town and some of the other municipalities hope but importantly, we need to get our consumption down to 450-million litres per day to prevent the remaining water supplies running out before the arrival of winter rains," he said.


An internet imagery.

BALASORE, ODISHA (PTI): India on Wednesday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha, Defence sources said.



The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near here at around 11.35 am, they said.



Describing the trial as a complete success, they said all mission objectives were met during the test launch.



The perfect test launch came after successful trial of Agni-5 on January 18 and Agni-1 missile conducted from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast Tuesday.



Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines.



The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target, they said.



The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the Army and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise, they said.



"The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro- optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha," the sources said.



The downrange teams onboard the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown.



In salvo mode, on November 21, 2016, two missiles were successfully test fired in quick succession from the same base and the last trial was successful on June 2, 2017 from the same base.



Inducted into the Armed forces of the country in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), sources said.


Air India said on Wednesday it plans to begin direct flights to Israel and has proposed they pass through Saudi airspace, a route so far off-limits to Israel-bound commercial planes. Saudi Arabia does not recognise Israel and lifting the 70-year-old airspace ban would reflect what appears to be thawing ties between Israel and the kingdom, both U.S. allies with a shared concern over Iranian influence in the region. An Air India spokesman and Israel's Airports Authority said the state-run carrier had requested slots for three weekly flights between New Delhi and Tel Aviv. The ...
Cupertino-based Apple may have been at the centre of the narrative for hiking import duties on a slew of items in the Budget for 2018-19. For the second time in two months, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced an increase in the customs duty on mobile phones  to 20 per cent from 15 per cent after raising it from 10 per cent earlier.

It took several rounds of convincing by the revenue department for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to approve the customs duty hike on each of the 45 items announced in the Budget for 2018-19. ALSO READ: Apple raises iPhone prices by ...
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Honda Cars on Wednesday unveiled the next-generation Amaze at the Auto Expo 2018 in Greater Noida. The company also unveiled two other products as part of its plan to launch six new models in the next three years. The other two products that are marking their debut on Wednesday are the Honda CR-V and Honda Civic.

The three newly unveiled models will be launched in India in the 2018-19 financial year. Honda Motor Company President Takahiro Hachigo, also the companys representative director, said the company planned to launch six models over the next three years. Honda ...
The Bharti Infratel stock has shed 21 per cent in the past three months due to consolidation, benign near-term outlook and decision by newbie Reliance Jio to focus more on owned towers rather than leasing them out from service providers such as Bharti Infratel.

The preference for own towers will mean that tenancies for Bharti Infratel will trend down from levels seen last year as well as earlier estimates by analysts. The near-term worry is the tenancy exits brought on by consolidation in the telecom sector, which, according to analysts at JP Morgan, will lead to flattish revenue ...
Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) on Wednesday reported a 3 per cent increase in global sales at 49,066 units in January.

Sales of Jaguar brand of vehicles in January were at 14,066 units, a growth of 1 per cent, the company said in a statement.

Land Rover range posted sales of 35,000 units in the month, an increase of 4 per cent, it added.

Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Operations Director Andy Goss said, the continued demand in China is encouraging, however, "we are still facing challenges because of tough trading conditions in our key UK and Europe markets".

The company said challenging market conditions led to fall in sales in the UK by 4 per cent and in Europe by 9 per cent.

However, overseas markets such as Mexico, India and Brazil, saw more positive results, with sales up by 9 per cent to 6,551 units, it added.
Reliance Infrastructure (RInfra) said on Wednesday it has bagged two road projects with a combined worth of Rs 18.81 billion from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis.

According to the infrastructure major, the Letters of Award (LOAs) have been received for the six-laning of a 69.5 km stretch of Aurangabad to Bihar-Jharkhand border (Chordaha) section of NH-2 with a project cost of Rs 8.82 billion, and the adjoining 71.3 km stretch of the Bihar-Jharkhand border (Chordaha) to Gorhar section of NH-2 in Jharkhand for Rs 9.99 billion.

"The six-laning of both the roads projects is under the Government of India's flagship National Highway Development Program (Phase V) and is funded by NHAI," the company said in a statement.

"The overall schedule for the project is 24 months and 30 months from the appointed date, respectively," it said.

The statement said with these two project wins, RInfra's EPC order book rose to over Rs 123 billion.

" EPC is already executing a NHAI road project in Tamil Nadu for the construction of Vikkaravandi to Sethiyahopu section of NH-45C. This is the third road EPC project won from NHAI in the last year," it added.
The controversy surrounding director Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmaavat' has barely settled, now a new row seems to be emerging, this time over Kangana Ranaut's

A Brahmin outfit in Rajasthan has threatened to disrupt shooting of the film, claiming it has an "indecent portrayal" of Rani Laxmibai, a Brahmin.

The film is based on a book, which is a historical fiction, containing a romantic relationship between Rani Lakshmibai and British officer Robert Ellis.

It was earlier banned in Uttar Pradesh in February 2008 by the then Mayawati-led government.

"The movie's shooting has been going on in Rajasthan for some time and we have come to know that there are some scenes, including a song, that show her as having a love affair with an Englishman," founder president of Sarv Brahmin Mahasabha (SBM), Suresh Misra told ANI.

"When the book was banned by Uttar Pradesh Government then, so why are filmmakers proceeding with a movie with content from a banned book. We had sent a letter to the producers on January 9. However, after almost a month, there has been no response," said Misra, who is also a secretary with the state Congress unit.

Earlier in the day, the SBM had reportedly sent a letter to the film's producer Kamal Jain stating that "Jhansi Ki Maharani Laxmi Bai was a Brahmin and therefore our organisation and community has certain queries as it is related with Brahmin sentiments and emotions."

The letter further enquires about background and profile of writers and historians they may have consulted, details of song(s) in the film and the context in which they are being filmed.

Meanwhile, producer Kamal Jain did not comment on the issue but a person closely associated with the film said they are not consulting Jaishree Misra's book and that there is "nothing objectionable" in the movie.

In November last year, SBM supported the campaign by Rajput outfits against 'Padmaavat'.
The Chief of the Staff of the French Air Force, General Andre Lanata, on Wednesay flew a sortie on the Indian Air Force's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) 'Tejas' in western Rajasthan.

The indigenously built aircraft took off from the Jodhpur Air Force Station. Lanata was in the rear seat of the twin- seat trainer aircraft, a defence spokesperson said.

US Air Force chief General David L Goldfien had also flown a sortie on the LCA at the air force station on Saturday.

Group Captain Rajesh Joshi briefed Lanata about the air force station, which is strategically located in the western part of the state, the spokesperson said.

Joshi is also the commander of the IAF's Jodhpur station.

Other IAF aircrafts were also shown to Lanata who is in the country to enhance bilateral defence cooperation between India and France.

'Tejas' is a single-seat, single-jet engine multi-role aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautical Limited (HAL).

The French air force chief was accompanied by his wife. They also visited other operational units of the station, the spokesperson said.

The first squadron of 'Tejas' was inducted into the IAF in July 2016.
President has asked for a military parade and the Pentagon is reviewing potential dates, Pentagon spokesman Charlie Summers has confirmed.

The spokesman on Tuesday described the planning process as being in its "infancy", reports CNN.

In response to the news, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that Trump had asked the Defence Department to "explore" the idea.

"President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service-members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defence to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation," Sanders said.

According to a Washington Post report on Tuesday, at a recent meeting between Trump and top military brass, Trump's wishes were "suddenly heard as a presidential directive".

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," a military official told the Washington Post.

"This is being worked at the highest levels of the military."

Trump was French President Emmanuel Macron's guest on Bastille Day last year, and later called the French military parade he witnessed "one of the greatest parades" he had ever seen.

He said last September in a conversation with Macron that when he came back from France he wanted a military parade on the Fourth of July in Washington.

Trump's call for a military parade might be hitting a few snags, according to The Washington Post report.

Shipping tanks and military hardware into Washington could cost millions of dollars, and the military official said they were unsure how to pay for it, the daily added.

After the Gulf War in 1991, the US put on a victory celebration replete with service-members and military gear.
India on Wednesday criticised the UN Security Council's veto-wielding members for obstructing the designation of terrorists without giving any explanation, apparently hitting out at China for repeatedly blocking its bid to list Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

Participating in an open debate of the Security Council on its working methods, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said, "Most of the time, one does not even know which countries have exercised their veto."



He said the veto power being exercised by members of the Security Council who have been anonymously blocking the designation of several terrorists without giving any explanation.

Though Akbaruddin did not mention the name of any country, it is well known that China in the past has used its veto power when it came to designating terrorists or extremist groups having links with the Pakistani establishment.

A veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked India's move at the UN to designate Azhar a terrorist under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the

Akbaruddin said there were 14 sanctions committees, which cumulatively listed 678 individuals and 385 entities subject to such measures.

Yet, each of those decisions had been made "beyond the gaze" of public knowledge, with no explanation of the inputs that had informed them, he said.

"For example, in practical terms, decisions of these sanctions committees can be placed on hold or blocked by any of the 15 Member States of these Committees," he said.

"The challenges related to the working methods of the sanctions committees were not merely related to transparency and accountability and in that context a case existed for the Council to address the anomalies in the committees working methods," he said.

The anomalies not only affected the efficiency and credibility of the work of the Council, but also impacted the larger membership that was required to implement its decisions, he said.

"It is in this spirit that my country along with so many others have called for the reform of the Security Council," Akbaruddin said.

His view was shared by Bolivias representative, who said the success of sanctions hinged on cooperation by all Member States.

Yet the details of those regimes were not easily accessible or transparent, including for States being sanctioned.
As per data shared by the Ministry of Home Affair, at least 111 people were killed and 2,384 others injured in 822 communal incidents in the country in 2017. Uttar Pradesh, which recently witnessed Kasganj riot, reported 195 communal incidents - the highest in the country.

Karnataka, which is all set for elections later this year, is second in the list, reporting 100 communal incidents in the last year in which nine people were killed and 229 injured. The data was shared by Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir in the Parliament on Tuesday. This was in response to a ...
AAIMIM leader on Tuesday demanded that the government should bring a law to punish with three-year jail term any person who calls an Indian Muslim "a Pakistani".

Owaisi, who was taking part in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's Address, also said the triple talaq bill was "anti-women."

"Bring a law that if any Muslim is called Pakistani, the person will face three-year jail term," he said, but added that the BJP-led government will not bring such a bill.

Owaisi said Muslims living in India had rejected Mohammad Ali Jinnah's two-nation theory.
The Centre is looking to cap the amount of sugar mills can sell in the open market. This is to prevent sugar prices from falling sharply, which, in turn, would help mills in making sugarcane payments quicker to farmers. There was a stockholding limit on sugar mills, which has been reworked, a senior government official said.

Sources said new orders on this would be issued soon. According to them, mills have to hold at the end of February 83 per cent of the sugar stock with them on January 31, and at the end of March, the sugar stock with them will be 86 per cent of ...
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel on Wednesday flagged the governments moves related to adherence to its fiscal policy and the inability to foster a conducive investment environment because of complex tax policies.

During the central banks sixth bi-monthly monetary policy meeting in Mumbai, he said: On the fiscal side, we have news of fiscal slippages at three levels in recent times. A fiscal slippage this year, a fiscal slippage next year compared to what the market expected, and what the target was, and then a postponement of the medium-term adjustment even further.

In the Budget, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had stated the fiscal deficit would rise to 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) for 2017-18, against the target of 3.2 per cent. The government also had to reset its fiscal deficit target for 2018-19 at 3.3 per cent of GDP, against a target of 3 per cent, to accommodate all its spending plans before the general elections next year.





ALSO READ: RBI monetary policy: MPC keeps repo rate unchanged; read full text here

The effect of fiscal slippages on inflation and the broader macro-financial implications, notably on economy-wide costs of borrowing and financing conditions, are some of the upside risks that might affect the confidence of external investors.

Several factors contributed to the higher deficit this year  low indirect tax collections with teething troubles over the goods and services tax, hardening global crude oil prices, implementation of the Seventh Central Pay Commissions recommendations, higher levels of debt-financing by state governments, and large-scale spending programmes of the Centre.

Rupa Rege Nitsure, group chief economist at L&T Financial Services, said, It is just a pause in fiscal consolidation as both growth and investments are at multi-year lows. As capacity utilisation rates are low, higher fiscal spending need not stoke inflation. The reaction of bond yields is excessive.

The government has since revised its commitments, stating it wanted to achieve the fiscal deficit targets of 3.3 per cent in 2018-19, 3.1 per cent the next year and 3 per cent in 2020-21. The government also said it wanted to reduce its debt-GDP ratio from 50.1 per cent in 2017-18 to 48.8 per cent in 2018-19, 46.7 per cent in 2019-20 and 44.6 per cent in 2020-21.





ALSO READ: RBI warns Budget 2018 may feed inflation as rates left on hold

Economists said the delay in fiscal consolidation created challenges in meeting the inflation target of 4 per cent, set for monetary policy working. Despite the delay, the government has been moving on the path of fiscal discipline.

Patel, when asked about the RBIs ability to address inflation when fiscal deficit targets were being missed consistently, said: Monetary policy has become much more flexible in terms of responding to inflation risks. So it is not necessary that 4 per cent (inflation target) should be achieved by the time given in the report. However, having a fiscal stance that is conducive to achieving the target is important and significant, and to postpone deviations from them would make matters more challenging.

Ease taxation, not further complication

The Budget was especially disappointing to the urban salaried class, given that there were no concessions on the direct taxation front. The finance ministers aim to slash the corporation tax rate with an equivalent reduction in exemptions for corporations remained unfinished.





ALSO READ: Analysts say you may have to now wait long for next RBI policy rate cut

Instead, the government introduced a long-term capital gains tax on equity holdings, which will kick in from April 1. The government had so far only enforced a short-term capital gains tax of 15 per cent on gains made on the sale of shares within a year of purchase.

From a back-of-the-envelope calculation, you have a corporate tax rate, you have a dividend distribution tax rate for dividend income above ~1 million, you have the marginal tax, you have a securities transaction tax and you have a capital gains tax. So there are five taxes on capital, and that would obviously have an impact on investment and saving decisions, the RBI governor said.

Economists noted that due to all these taxes, the capacity to improve tax compliance, let alone encourage investments, would reduce considerably.
Cabinet approves hike in MSP for Copra for 2018 season





The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of "Milling Copra" to Rs.7500/- per quintal for 2018 season from Rs. 6500/-per quintal in 2017. The MSP for FAQ of "Ball Copra" has been increased to Rs.7750/- per quintal for 2018 season from Rs. 6785/- per quintal in 2017.

The MSP of Copra is expected to ensure appropriate minimum prices to the farmers and step up investment in Coconut cultivation and thereby production and productivity in the country.

The approval is based on recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). CACP, an expert body, which takes into account the cost of production, trends in the domestic and international prices of edible oils, overall demand and supply of copra and coconut oil, cost of processing of copra into coconut oil and the likely impact of the recommended MSPs on consumers, while recommending the MSPs.

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Limited (NCCF) would continue to act as Central Nodal Agencies to undertake price support operations at the Minimum Support Prices in the Coconut growing states.
Cabinet approves scheme for augmenting human resources for health and medical education



24 new Medical Colleges to be set up in underserved areas 18,058 UG and PG seats to be increased in medical colleges 248 Nursing and Midwifery schools to be set up





Giving a boost to Health and Medical Education, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for continuation and taking up additional phases of Human Resources for Health and Medical Education schemes, at a total estimated cost of Rs.14,930.92 crore upto 2019-20.

Salient Features:

New Medical Colleges:

? Continuation of ongoing scheme to establish 58 new medical colleges attached with existing District/Referral hospitals already approved under Phase-l by 2019-20.

? selection and establishment of 24 new medical colleges attached with existing District/ Referral hospitals under Phase-lI by 2021-22.

? The locations of proposed 24 new medical colleges in Phase-ll will be selected within the identified underserved areas in Challenge Mode.

An amount of Rs. 5,587.68 crore is proposed for the ongoing scheme under Central share during Phase-I. Phase-II entails an amount of Rs.3,675 crore to be spent till 2021-22 as central share out of which an amount of Rs.2,600 crore is proposed to be spent till 2019-2020.

Increase of Medical Seats: Continuation of Centrally Sponsored Scheme for Up-gradation of existing State Government/Central Government Medical colleges resulting in:

? increase of 10,000 UG seats by 2020-21 and

? 8,058 PG seats (4,058 in Phase-l by 2018-19 and 4,000 in Phase-ll by 2020-21).

Increase of UG seats entails an amount of Rs.7,795 crore as central share and is likely to be spent till 2021-22 out of which an amount of Rs.4,536 crore is proposed to be spent till 2019-20.

Increase of PG seats under Phase-II entail an amount of Rs.3,024 crore as central share to be spent till 2021-22 out of which an amount of Rs.1,700 crore is proposed to be spent till 2019-20 while Rs.317.24 crore as balance central share will be spent for Phase-I of PG seats.

Nursing Scheme: Continuation and completion of scheme for setting up of:

? 112 Auxiliary Nursing and Midwifery (ANM) Schools and

? 136 General Nursing Midwifery (GNM) Schools by 2019-20 in under-served districts of the country.

This Nursing Scheme will be implemented and completed with an amount of Rs.190 crore till 2019-20 for the schools where work has already been started.

Impact:

The establishment of new medical colleges and increase of MBBS and PG seats would:

i) increase the availability of health professionals,

ii) check the existing geographical distribution of medical colleges in the country,

iii) promote affordable medical education in the country,

iv) utilise the existing infrastructure of district hospitals, and

v) improve tertiary care in the Government sector.

It has been planned to ensure at least one medical college for every 3-5 Parliamentary Constituencies and at least one Government medical colleges in the State. It was worked out that we need to sanction 24 new Medical Colleges in the Phase II of the scheme to have one medical college for three Parliamentary constituencies which will facilitate covering the underserve areas. The location of new medical colleges in Phase-II of the scheme will be selected by the State Government within the identified blocks in a Challenge Mode.

Benefits:

The scheme will serve to:

Create additional 10,000 MBBS and 8,000 PG seats in the country, Bridge the gap in number of seats available in government and private sector, Mitigate the shortage of Doctors/specialists/medical faculty in the country by increasing the number of eats and to achieve the desired doctor population ratio, Upgrade PG teaching facilities in Government Medical Colleges, Introduce new and higher courses of study, Improve the quality of medical education, medical research and clinical treatment.

Background:

According to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 3, ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development and as per World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, there should be one doctor for 1,000 population. Adequate availability of human resources in health is a necessary prerequisite for this. To attain the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and to meet WHO standards for Human Resources in Health (HRH), Schemes have been proposed for making available more Human Resources in Health sector, i.e. Doctors, Nurses in the country.
Cabinet approves signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation between India and USA on Law Enforcement Training





The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC),USA and Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D), India on Law Enforcement Training.

This has paved the way for enhanced cooperation between the two countries in security related matters under the aegis of the India-US Homeland Security Dialogue.

The MoC will help in improving the standards of training, training materials, quality of trainers etc. which will go a long way in improving the functioning of police forces in the country and realizing the concept of SMART Police.

India and United States share common interest to fight terrorism and transnational crimes in all their forms and manifestations and to prevent the continued growth of terrorist organizations. India and US also share a common interest in protecting the homeland and vital infrastructures and in preventing disruption of global supply chain by terrorist attacks.

Background:

During the visit of the President of the USA to India in November, 2010, both sides agreed to set up a Homeland Security Dialogue (HSD) mechanism as a sequel to the signing of the India - USA Counter- Terrorism Initiative.

Six Sub-Groups were formed under Homeland Security Dialogue covering the areas of:

Global Supply Chain, Transportation, Port, Border and Maritime Security, Megacity Policing and Sharing of Information among Federal state and Local Partners, Illicit Finance, Illegal Smuggling of Cash, Financial Fraud and Counterfeiting; Cyber Information; Capacity Building; and Technology Upgradation.

As part of the Homeland Security Dialogue (HSD) between India and USA, a Sub Group on Capacity Building has been constituted with the objective of coordinating with the US authorities for overall capacity building of law enforcement agencies working in India related to all the six sub groups which are included in the HSD. Structured cooperation between the key institutions handling capacity building in India and USA is considered to be important. Accordingly, US side has proposed for a MoC between FLETC in USA and their Indian counterpart which is the BPR&D.
Cabinet approves signing of a MoU with United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Cooperation in the Field of Skill Development, Vocational Education and Training





The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Cooperation in the Field of Skill Development, Vocational Education and Training.

The MoU would pave the way for closer bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the field of vocational education and training and skill development.

The collaboration with foreign countries would help to strengthen the India skill eco-system thereby skilling youth for better employment prospects. The MoU will create the framework for innovative partnership between India and the United Kingdom Industry and training institutes, and will help to scale up skill training efforts in India and enhance their quality. Funding of projects related to the execution of this MoU will be structured in separate individual arrangements, mutually agreed by both parties.

Background:

Skill Development is a national priority for India and the United Kingdom and a key part of the bilateral partnership. In November, 2016, the two Prime Ministers endorsed Skill Development and Entrepreneurship as one of the priority area for collaboration.
Creation of Defence Chief Post





Creation of the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) was recommended by Group of Ministers in 2001. A decision in this regard was to be taken after consultation with political parties. Subsequently, Naresh Chandra Task Force on National Security recommended creation of the post of Permanent Chairman Chief of Staff Committee in 2012. Both the proposals are simultaneously under consideration of the Government.

Creation of appropriate military command structures is a complex exercise involving operational, technical, logistical and financial aspects, and is reviewed from time to time. Appropriate measures are being taken from time to time to ensure inter-operability between the Services including through joint training and exercises.

This information was given by RakshaRajyaMantriDr.SubhashBhamrein a written reply to Dr. Manoj Rajoria and ShrimatiRiti Pathakin LokSabha today.

NAo/Nampi/Rajib/HS
IIIDEM organizes 4-Day Consultation/Study Tour for Delegation from Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria





A six-member delegation from Independent National Electoral Commission of Nigeria called on the Chief Election Commissioner of India Shri O. P. Rawat in New Delhi today. Shri Rawat welcomed the Election Commissioners and senior officials from INEC Nigeria. The India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIIDEM) is organizing a four-day Consultation/Study Tour for the Delegation from Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria from February 5-8, 2018 at Nirvachan Sadan, Election Commission of India.

The study tour aims to conduct a round-table conference on various subjects related to election process and management. Giving an outline of the various sessions, CEC Shri Rawat said that IIIDEM has prepared a comprehensive programme that is designed and tailored according to the needs and expectations of the participants. He hoped that the learning outcomes of the programme would prove to be fruitful and helpful for participants in the electoral practices of their election management body.

Delegates from INEC Nigeria with Sh. O.P. Rawat, CEC at the Consultation/Study Tour

The thematic topics of the study tour include Legal Framework for Voter Registration, Engaging with Stakeholders, Online Voter Registration, National Voters Service Portal of ECI, Electronic Voting Machines & Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail, Demonstration of EVM, VVPAT and Mock Poll, and Election Experience of India. The study tour also features visits, for the participants, to the Voter Registration Centre in New Delhi and Office of Chief Electoral Officer of National Capital Territory of Delhi.

The delegation would also be sharing their country practices on various themes of election management.

SBS
Indian Advance Pricing Agreement regime moves forward with signing of five UAPAs and two BAPAs by CBDT in January, 2018





The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into five Unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (UAPA) and two Bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (BAPA) during the month of January, 2018. With the signing of these Agreements, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has gone up to 196. This includes 178 Unilateral APAs and 18 Bilateral APAs. In the current financial year, a total of 44 APAs (7 Bilateral and 37 Unilateral) have been signed till date.

The 2 Bilateral Agreements signed in the month of January, 2018, inter alia, include the first BAPA signed with USA.

The 7 APAs entered into during January, 2018 pertain to various sectors of the economy like Banking, Insurance, Investment Advisory, Information Technology, Chemicals and Engineering. The international transactions covered in these agreements include provision of IT enabled services, provision of software development services, contract manufacturing, payment of royalty, sale of goods, etc.

The progress of the APA scheme strengthens the Governments resolve of fostering a non-adversarial tax regime. The Indian APA programme has been appreciated nationally and internationally for being able to address complex transfer pricing issues in a fair and transparent manner.
M/O Tourisms Social Media Key Influencers Campaign The Great India Blog Train" Launched





The Social Media Key Influencers Campaign of the Ministry of Tourism The Great India Blog Train" involving Travel bloggers from across the world was launched today by the Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Smt. Rashmi Verma at Safdarjung Railway Station, New Delhi. The Secretary interacted with the Bloggers on the issue of promotion of tourism and other aspects pertaining to tourism and see them off on their journey. These Bloggers have been invited to travel to destinations in the country on the Luxury Trains operating in different States.

The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, keeping in mind the importance of Social Media as an effective tool for destination branding and marketing, is organising a Social Media Key Influencers Campaign The Great India Blog Train".

The objective of the campaign is to position luxury trains of India as a unique tourism product both in the domestic and overseas markets. The campaign will generate widespread publicity for the luxury trains as well as the destinations visited, by way of blogs, videos and photos published by the Bloggers/Instagramers on their experiences of their journey. Needless to say this initiative would benefit the railways and the Luxury Train Operators to a large extent.

A total of 60 bloggers from 23 countries including India are travelling on a week long journey on four luxury trains, i.e. Palace on Wheels, Maharaja Express, Deccan Odyssey and Golden Chariot, in groups of 15 bloggers on each train.

The first group of 15 bloggers today left on the Palace on Wheels, from the Safdarjung Railway Station, New Delhi. The second group will leave Delhi on the Maharaja Express on 10th February, 2018, the third group is scheduled to leave on the Deccan Odyssey on 10th February, 2018 from the Chaatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai and the last group of Bloggers will leave on the Golden Chariot on 19th February, 2018 from Bengaluru on a week long journey.

The Railway Board, the State Governments of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) are proactively promoting this Luxury segment both in the domestic and overseas markets and are actively supporting the campaign by hosting the Bloggers on their trains.
Policy towards surrendered insurgents





The Government of India has been implementing a Scheme for Surrender-cum-Rehabilitation of Militants in the North-East. The objective of the Scheme is to wean away the misguided youth who have strayed into the fold of militancy and bring them to the mainstream. Surrenderees are paid monthly stipend not exceeding Rs. 3,500/- p.m., for a period not more than 36 months and an immediate grant of Rs. 1.5 lakh is kept in a bank in the name of each surrenderee as fixed deposit for a period of 3 years. They are also given incentive for surrendered arms/weapons.

In 2012, a special scheme for Government of Manipur was formulated to encourage militants to surrender and join mainstream. The scheme was effective from 01.12.2012 for 3 years and lapsed on 30.11.2015. The special features of this scheme were :-

i. An immediate grant of Rs.2.50 lakh to be kept in a bank in the name of surrenderee as fixed deposit for a period of three years.

ii. Monthly stipend of Rs.4000/- p.m. for a maximum period of 36 months.

The Surrender Scheme has been modified to be more effective and will be effective from 1st April, 2018. According to the revised scheme, the surrenderees will be paid monthly stipend not exceeding Rs. 6,000/- p.m., for a period of 36 months and an immediate grant of Rs. 4 lakhs will be kept in a bank, in the name of each surrenderee as fixed deposit for a period of 3 years. Incentive for surrendered weapons has also been revised.

This was stated by the Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
Shri Nitin Gadkari Inaugurates / Lays Foundation Stone For 5 Highways Projects Worth Rs 5632 Crore Around Allahabad





Shri Nitin Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation inaugurated / laid foundation stone for 137 km of highways projects worth Rs 5632 crore around Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh today. Besides widening of national highways, this includes construction of a new, six-lane bridge over Ganga at Fafamau, Allahabad.

Speaking at Parade Ground in Allahabad Shri Gadkari said that his Ministry plans to build highways worth Rs 2 lakh crore in Uttar Pradesh before the governments five year term ends next year. For this, he said, he would need the cooperation of the state government for acquiring land and getting environment clearance. He further said that the ongoing work to develop River Ganga for navigation will improve the financial condition of farmers in the state. The Minister also appealed to students, NGOs and the people of the state to come forward and plant trees along the Ganga to protect the river and the environment, and said that he was raising funds from corporates and individuals for developing ghats along the river.

Shri Gadkari inaugurated a 41.34 km long section of NH 27 that was 4 laned at a cost of Rs 775 crore. He also laid the foundation stone for three projects that include 6 laning of 53.15 km Handiya- Aurai section of NH 2 at a cost of Rs 1813 crore; the 15 km, 4 lane Puramufti-Kaudihar Allahabad inner ring road Phase I that is to be constructed at a cost of Rs 830 crore and the 17.77 km section of NH 96 from Allahabad Bypass to Allahabad City at a cost of Rs 314 crore. In addition to these Shri Gadkari also attended the commencement of construction of a new, six lane bridge over River Ganga at Fafamau, Allahabad, that is to be built at a cost of Rs 1900 crore.
Women Joining Army





The induction of women in Indian Army is based on the organizational requirements, fighting efficiency, combat effectiveness and functionality. Presently, women are recruited in Indian Army in the Military Nursing Service and as Officers through Short Service Commission (SSC) on all India merit basis in specific branches like Army Service Corps, Army Ordinance Corps, Army Education Corps, Judge Advocate General, Signals, Intelligence and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering branches.

Government has taken a number of measures to encourage both men and women from all parts of the country including Maharashtra to join the defence forces, viz. (i) sustained image projection; (ii) publicity campaign to create awareness among the youth on the advantages of taking up a challenging and satisfying career; (iii) participation in career fairs and exhibitions; (iv) motivational lectures in schools and colleges etc.

This information was given by RakshaRajyaMantriDr.SubhashBhamrein a written reply to Shri Ashok MahadeoraoNetein LokSabha today.

NAo/Nampi/Rajib/HS
Tronc Inc said on Wednesday it would sell the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune and some other newspapers to billionaire investor Patrick Soon-Shiong for $500 million in cash. Shares of Tronc rose more than 40 percent to $25.72 in premarket trading. Tronc expects to use the cash proceeds from the deal to boost its digital businesses by increasing investments and acquisitions. "This transaction allows us to fully repay our outstanding debt, significantly lower our pension liabilities and have a substantial cash position following the close of the transaction," Tronc ...
The Maldives' Supreme Court late Tuesday revoked its order to release nine political dissidents, including self-exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed.

Amid the ongoing political crisis in the island nation, the Supreme Court on February 1 ordered the immediate release of the nine political leaders and also prohibited the judicial watchdog from probing any case against the top court bench.

The latest development has taken place after President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency in the country on Monday, giving sweeping powers to security forces in the country, which is reeling under political turmoil under the present dispensation.

Under the emergency state, the constitutional rights have been suspended and this has effectively quashed any moves by the opposition to impeach him while also stripping the Supreme Court of any authority.

In the few hours since the emergency state was declared, police have made a series of high profile arrests including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, two top court judges, including the chief justice and the chief judicial administrator.



UN censure

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed serious concern about the situation in Maldives and urged the government to uphold the rule of law in the island nation.

Guterres's statement comes after President Abdulla Yameen ordered a state of emergency in the country and gave sweeping powers to the law enforcement agencies and the military.

In a statement issued by his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, "The Secretary-General urges the Government of the to uphold the constitution and rule of law, lift the state of emergency as soon as possible, and take all measures to ensure the safety and security of the people in the country, including members of the judiciary."

Earlier in the day, according to media reports, the security forces arrested the top judge after the declaration of the state of emergency.

Former President of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed, Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed and Judicial administrator Hassan Saeed were arrested by security forces, just hours after President Yameen declared a state of emergency in the country on Monday.

Yameen, who has been defying Supreme Court's orders, directing him to release former president Mohamed Nasheed, and free eight other political opponents from prison, has given sweeping powers to security forces in the country, which is facing widespread protests against the president.

The opposition and general public have been unrelentingly asking President Yameen to step down and allow a new leadership to take charge.



India was disturbed by the declaration of the state of emergency in the Maldives, following Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen's refusal to abide by the Supreme Court's ruling, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

"We are disturbed by the declaration of a State of Emergency in # following the refusal of the Govt to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court on 1 Feb, and also by the suspension of Constitutional rights of the people of Maldives," the MEA said in a statement.

"The arrest of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and political figures are also reasons for concern. The government continues to carefully monitor the situation," it added.

Last week, the Maldivian Supreme Court acquitted former Nasheed, former Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and ordered the reinstatement of the 12 other parliamentary members.

The Maldives has been in a state of turmoil since 2015 when Nasheed, the first democratically elected president of the country, was arrested on "terrorism" charges, relating to the arrest of a judge during his tenure.

The arrest had led to widespread protests across the country and resulted in the arrest of hundreds of dissidents. The apex court had sentenced Nasheed to 13 years in prison.

In 2016, Nasheed sought political asylum in the United Kingdom (UK) after travelling there on medical leave from prison.

Ten years ago, the Maldives became a multiparty democracy, after three decades of autocratic rule of former strongman and Yameen's half-brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May have asked all responsible nations to increase pressure on until it turns to the path of denuclearisation.

The two leaders spoke over phone yesterday during which May also briefed Trump on her recent trip to China, the White House said.

"The two leaders agreed all responsible nations must increase pressure on until it turns to the path of denuclearisation," the White House said.

"The leaders also agreed the pending United States-United Kingdom Data Sharing Agreement would benefit law enforcement efforts in both countries, and they will advocate for legislation together," the White House said.

Meanwhile, the State Department said there is no plans for the US officials to meet the North Korean delegations during the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

"There are no plans to meet with any North Korean officials during or after the Olympics; I want to be clear about that. There are no plans to do so," State department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference.

last year increased the pace of its missile programme and launched 23 missiles since February.

In November, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said that his country had achieved full nuclear statehood after what he said was the successful test of a new missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States.
At least 10 militants of Afghanistan's Taliban insurgent group have surrendered and joined the peace process in eastern Nangarhar province.

Tolo News quoted Nangarhar National Directorate of Security (NDS) on Wednesday as saying, "the group was involved in destructive and terrorist activities in Khogyani district."

"The group handed over five AK-47 weapons, two pistols, an RPG and an amount of ammunition," the statement added.

In January, 15 militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) and Taliban groups joined peace process in the province.

According to the reports, 166 militants including 44 IS insurgents have by far joined peace process in Nangarhar due to the efforts of the intelligence operatives, the provincial governor's spokesman added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Delhi Court on Wednesday granted bail to Bilal Ahmad Kawa, a suspect in the terror attack at the Red Fort in 2000.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma granted bail to Ahmad, asking him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of like amount.

The Delhi police and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad had arrested Bilal Ahmed at the Delhi airport in January just before the Republic Day.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday assured that all 'Namami Gange' projects will be completed soon.

"We are spending Rs. 20,000 crore on River Ganga especially for the upcoming 'Kumbha mela'. We have also completed 47 out of the 189 projects and are also aiming to complete all the projects which have been started for cleaning the Rive Ganga," Gadkari said while addressing a gathering in Allahabad.

"Before the Kumbh mela, Ganga will be cleaned up to 80 percent. Apart from this, sewage treatment will prevent water from going to Ganga," he added.

Gadkari further said that five river ports will also be constructed.

"Along with road and water maintenance; transport facility will also be provided," he added.

The Kumbh Mela, is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, to be held at Sangam in Allahabad. Up to 100 million people gather on the shores of the Ganges to celebrate the Hindu festival.

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Abhishek Bachchan's Twitter account has allegedly been hacked by 'Pro-Pakistan' Turkish cyber army Ayyildiz Tim.

"One of India's most famous actors, @juniorbachchana, has been hacked by us. We got DM correspondence and information. As long as Twitter continues to close our social media accounts, our hacking attacks will continue," read a post on their Twitter handle.

On Tuesday, the accounts of actor Anupam Kher, Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasupta, Puducherry's lieutenant governor Kiran Bedi and BJP general secretary Ram Madhav were also compromised.

Kher, on Tuesday, had said, "My twitter account has been hacked. Just got few calls from friends in India about it. I am in LA and it is 1am. Got a DM yesterday from Swapan Das Gupta's account about a link. A first from him. So opened it. Have spoken to twitter already.

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The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Wednesday said the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives "is an all-out assault on democracy."

Hussein's statement comes after President Abdulla Yameen ordered a state of emergency in the country and gave sweeping powers to the law enforcement agencies and the military.

Expressing his concerns over recent development in Maldives Hussein said, "President Yameen has, to put it bluntly, usurped the authority of the State's rule-of-law institutions and its ability to work independently from the executive."

"The Maldives have seen in recent years attacks on political opponents, on journalists, on civil society and human right defenders, and what is happening now is tantamount to an all-out assault on democracy," he added.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed serious concern about the situation in the Maldives and urged the government to uphold the rule of law in the island nation.

Earlier in the day, according to media reports, the security forces arrested the top judge after the declaration of the state of emergency.

Joint Opposition spokesperson Ahmed Mahloof on Wednesday said that officials within the government are threatening the Member of Parliament (MPs) of the opposition party.

Yameen, who has been defying Supreme Court's orders, directing him to release former president Mohamed Nasheed, and free eight other political opponents from prison, has given sweeping powers to security forces in the country, which is facing widespread protests against the president.

The opposition and general public have been unrelentingly asking President Yameen to step down and allow a new leadership to take charge.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Jana Sena Party chief Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday said bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh was done unparliamentarily.

In an exclusive interview to ANI, Kalayan said this while commenting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha over bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the parliament said he was not allowed at the time of bifurcation of the two Telugu states and blames the Congress party now. There were few state leaders who were not allowed at the time of bifurcation and the Parliament doors were closed at that time and it had done in a very unparliamentarily," Kalyan said.

Commenting on the Telugu Desham Party (TDP) and Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) protesting against the Union Budget 2018, the Jana Sena Chief said, "They should have done it long back, but repeatedly they have compromised. There is a huge loss for Andhra Pradesh and even Telanagana. There were many promises made for the Telangana which aren't fulfilled yet."

When asked what is your demand regarding the union budget, Kalyan said, "It is not about the special categories but it is question of political accountability. Whatever the decision has been made should be put forward and shouldn't be broken by them (Centre) after promising."

On the question of supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), he said, "Here the question is not about the supporting or not supporting. The question is what are the things that you have fulfilled? I is not about the power game and it is not about the political but it is the question of governance.

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Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday expressed his disagreement with Vinay Katiyar and said that Muslims have equal right to live in this country.

"I don't agree with Vinay Katiyar because Muslims have equal right to live in this country. This country equally belongs to Jain, Buddhists, Dalits, Sikhs, and Christians. It is not right to differentiate people based on religions", Ramdev told ANI.

The Yoga guru further urged the youths of Kashmir to be rebels and not anti-nationals.

"I was also a rebel. My revolt was not against the country, it was against superstitions and exploitation. One should become rebel like me within the parameters of the Constitution. I request the youths of Kashmir to become rebel like me and not anti-nationals," added Ramdev.

This comes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Vinay Katiyar's statement that Muslims should leave the country.

He had said, "...Musalman iss desh mein rehna hi nahi chahye, unhone jansankhya ke aadhaar par desh ka batwara kardia toh iss desh mein rehne ki kya avashyakta thi? Unko alag bhu-bhaag de dia gaya, Bangladesh ya Pakistan jaayen yahan kya kaam hai unka? (Muslims should not live in this country. They divided the country in the name of religion, what is the need of living in this country? They should go to Bangladesh or Pakistan, what work do they have here?)".

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Head of the Baloch Women Forum (WBWF), Professor Naela Quadri Baloch, has written a letter to French Senator Pascal Allizard raising doubts over the multi-billion dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

According to the reports, a French delegation recently visited Pakistan to "analyse if this (CPEC) initiative is Chinese regional hegemonic agenda or a step towards greater regional connectivity."

The compiled report of this delegation would be submitted to the French Senate in April.

The CPEC project comprises a network of railways, roads, and pipelines that would connect Pakistan's port city of Gwadar in the Balochistan province, with the Chinese city of Kashgar in landlocked Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

The human rights activists have, time and again, spoken about and highlighted the growing atrocities of Pakistan on the indigenous people of Balochistan and deteriorating human rights situation as a result of the CPEC.

Last week, the Free Balochistan Movement (FBM) organised a two-day protest outside the Grosvenor Hotel in London, against the sale of Baloch lands in Gwadar by a property dealer 'One Investments'.

The protesters said that China and Pakistan were aiming to change the ethnicity and demography of Balochistan by settling hundreds of thousands of Punjabis and Chinese in Gwadar.

The protestors carried placards and banners against the CPEC, the sale of Baloch lands in Gwadar and human rights violations in Balochistan by Pakistan.

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A Border Security Force (BSF) jawan hanged himself after allegedly murdering his wife in Haryana's Rewari.

The BSF jawan, Jaiprakash allegedly killed his wife by slitting her throat over some family dispute.

Jaiprakash, who was posted in Noida, came home on leave when the incident took place.

Police have registered a case and a probe is underway, investigative officer Jay Prakash told ANI.

As of now, the bodies have been sent to the hospital for autopsy.

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China, in recent times, has been expanding its network to the military bases in the Indian Ocean, in a bid to increase its maritime preparedness and to strengthen its defence infrastructure.

In an op-ed by David Brewster, an Australian research scholar for The Interpreter, titled- "China's New Network of Indian Ocean Bases", Beijing is planning to construct a naval and air base near Gwadar Port in western Pakistan.

This would be China's second base in the Indian Ocean. The development indicates that the world's largest populous country is establishing a network of military bases in the region.

In July last year, China opened its first ever foreign military base in Djibouti in western Africa. The facility comprises of a large helicopter base, a naval port and a huge accommodation for nearly 10,000 Chinese troops. This came after Beijing criticised the establishment of such bases by other countries for a long time, calling it "the domain of Western imperialists."

Brewster noted that the establishment of the foreign base in Djibouti assumed significance since China could keep a watch on anti-piracy operations in the Arabian Sea and Chinese-United Nations' peacekeeping operations in Africa.

Given the existing presence of American, French and Japanese forces (Saudi forces expected to join as well), it would be handy for the Chinese troops for supporting military interventions across the African continent and the Middle East, as well as for evacuating people, should there be a military conflict.

The author of the research opines that China has ambitious plans for Gwadar, where it plans to build accommodation for a whopping 500,000 Chinese nationals during the next five years. It would also overtake the port city's population of around 100,000 people, effectively making Gwadar, as China's first colony in the Indian Ocean.

A US report earlier this month claimed that the Asian giant will start the construction of a new naval base and airfield at Jiwani, which is around 60 kilometres west of Gwadar. Brewster believes that it would be a good move as it will separate Chinese naval forces from the commercial shipping at Gwadar, even as it is yet to be confirmed.

According to the op-ed, Jiwani already hosts a small Pakistan naval base which could be expanded. There are some airfields dating as old as the Second War in the 1940s, which could be developed by the Chinese air force. Also, the town is situated close to the Strait of Hormuz and further away from Indian airfields.

Brewster said that by setting up a military base in Jiwani, along with its Djibouti base and access to Karachi, it would provide Beijing with additional options, if there is a chance of a conflict in and around the Persian Gulf. It would also make life a lot more difficult for China's adversaries.

Analysts have commented that there are a lot of potential candidates among the underdeveloped countries, where China can set up more of its military bases. They have cited Tanzania, as an example, which has good relations with China.

It may be noted that China recently took control over the newly built port of Bagamoyo, around 50 kilometres north of the Tanzanian capital, Dar es Salaam.

China will also require facilities or staging points in or around East Africa, in order to help protect its massive energy trade from West Africa travelling around the Cape.

The country will also likely require naval facilities in the central and eastern Indian Ocean, as a part of its new network in the region. Also, China recently took control of the Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka.

Other analysts look at the Maldives as another place for establishing a Chinese military base. The island nation, which shares close relations with India, has been in recent times, facing a political turmoil.

Due to climate change, it has become vulnerable and it is said that much of the country's land would disappear under the rising sea levels.

Despite the developments, the purpose of China's naval presence in the Indian Ocean region remains an open question.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A sub inspector (SI) of Delhi Police has been sentenced to four-year jail in bribery case.

The Special Judge, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) cases, Tis Hazari Courts, Delhi sentenced Ramesh Chand Diwan, then Sub Inspector of Narela Police Station to undergo four years simple imprisonment with fine of Rs. 20,000 in a bribery case.

The CBI had registered the case on July 16, 2015 on a complaint that SI Diwan was threatening the complainant and demanding bribe of Rs. 15,000 from the complainant for not implicating him and his family members in a case registered against him at Narela Police Station, which was investigated by said sub inspector.

The CBI laid a trap and caught the accused while accepting a bribe from the complainant. After investigation, a chargesheet was filed on December 2, 2015 in the Court of Special Judge, CBI Cases, Tis Hazari Court, Delhi.

The trial court found the accused guilty and convicted him.

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Students of a Delhi University college on Wednesday staged a protest on the campus against the college authorities over the alleged harassment of a third-year student by a professor.

A woman student of Bharti College, reportedly filed a complaint to Vice-Chancellor of the University, Yogesh Tyagi, alleging sexual harassment by a male teacher of the college.

The student alleged that the professor used to send her lewd messages and would make obscene calls to her until she confronted him and recorded the incident.

Reflecting on the matter, Sangeeta, student leader of Bharti College told ANI, "Our Prime Minister always talks about women safety and welfare. On the other side, our teachers misbehave with us. This is not a one-off incident; there are many other girls who are facing this."

The protestors also alleged that the college on the contrary suspended the victim for a period of three years in a cheating case, a charge that the institution denies.

Mukti Sanyal, the principal of the college, told ANI, "I have no idea about any action taken place against the victim and yes there is no restigation taken place because without my signature restigation cannot happen and we have sent teacher on extraordinary leave. So we are waiting for the investigation to take place and though he has not deposed in front of the committee yet which he will do I think and he will be also called to the committee to give his part of the story. Before leaving on leave he hinted that there is a conspiracy against him."

Sanyal added that the classes are going on without any disruption, along with other curriculum activities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday hit out at Congress President Rahul Gandhi for meeting the Chinese Ambassador during the recent border standoff at Doklam.

"Jab desh Doklam mein ladai ladd raha tha aap China ke logon se mil rahe the. (When the country was fighting in Doklam, you were meeting the people of China)," Prime Minister Modi said during the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha.

On January 5, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had met a delegation of the Communist Party of China leaders and discussed various issues.

Speaking of the Non-Performing Asset (NPA), Prime Minister Modi stated that it was time for the country to know that the Congress party was hundred percent behind the scam.

"It is time that people of the country know that NPA was your curse. The country should know that this was a business by you (Congress) and you are hundred percent responsible for it," Prime Minister Modi noted.

On December 13 last year, Prime Minister Modi had said that the NPA was the biggest scam of the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

"The hullabaloo over the NPAs is the biggest liability given to our government by the economists of the previous (UPA) government. NPA was the biggest scam of the UPA government. It was the much bigger scam than Commonwealth, 2G, Coal block allocation scams," Prime Minister Modi had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Continuing its digital literacy initiative aimed at empowering women in rural India, Google India and Tata Trusts announced the expansion of its 'Internet Saathi' program in the state of Tamil Nadu.

Google India and the Tamil Nadu government also announced other initiatives to support the digitisation efforts in the state. Google India will facilitate the provision of Google Cloud credits and access through its affiliate for eligible startups engaged with the government's startup initiative. Google India will also, through its Developer Relations team, provide technical mentorship and advisory support to various startups.

Other initiatives as part of the announcement include: working together to make all government sites mobile friendly, introduce joint programs to help local small and medium businesses get online, and internet safety education for children to stay safe online.

Launched as a pilot in Rajasthan in July 2015 along with Tata Trusts, Google had announced the ambitious plans to scale the Internet Saathi program, to cover 300,000 villages across India in December 2015. In Tamil Nadu, the program has already started to roll out and will be covering over 4000 villages across 6 districts.

"Google India is a valuable partner of the state of Tamil Nadu and we are happy to launch the Internet Saathi program that will benefit rural women, across our state. We believe all the initiatives launched today with them that will benefit women, small businesses, youth, and others across our state. Our mission is to digitise Tamil Nadu and Google's efforts in the state will help in the same direction," said Dr M.Manikandan, Minister for Information Technology, Tamil Nadu.

As per the latest report released by Kantar IMRB - ICube - Rural Internet Report for 2017, there are 134 million active internet users in rural India that continue to be dominated by male users. Using the train the trainer model, women in villages were equipped with smartphones and tablets, that enabled them to explore the world of Internet and help reduce the digital gender divide in rural India.

Today, with over 36,000 Internet Saathi across 12 states, 13.5 million women have already benefited from the program in over 1,40,000 villages.

Recently, Google India and Tata Trusts announced the extension of the Internet Saathi program, to support the Foundation For Rural Entrepreneurship Development (FREND) set up by Tata Trusts. Under this initiative, Google is jointly working with the new foundation, to create digitally enabled livelihood opportunities for the Internet Saathis.

FREND, will become a vehicle for other likeminded companies and institutions to utilise the Internet Saathi network and enable dissemination of information and services in the rural areas thereby creating newer avenues of income for these women in rural India. This will be in addition to imparting digital literacy to millions of rural women under the ongoing Internet Saathi program.

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A police Constable in Hyderabad's Mughalpura Police Station committed suicide by jumping in front of a moving train, in the wee hours of Tuesday.

The Constable, identified as Sandeep Kumar, took the step a few days after his relationship with a married woman was disclosed in the media, and the woman's husband had filed a complaint seeking action against him.

The incident took place within the limits of Malkajgiri police station

The body has been taken for autopsy and a case has been registered under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), Malkajgiri Police informed.

Further probe is underway.

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India was disturbed by the declaration of the state of emergency in the Maldives, following Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen's refusal to abide by the Supreme Court's ruling, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

"We are disturbed by the declaration of a State of Emergency in #Maldives following the refusal of the Govt to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court on 1 Feb, and also by the suspension of Constitutional rights of the people of Maldives," the MEA said in a statement.

"The arrest of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and political figures are also reasons for concern. Government continues to carefully monitor the situation," it added.

On Monday, former Maldives' president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed, Supreme Court Justice Ali Hameed and Judicial administrator Hassan Saeed were arrested by security forces, just hours after President Yameen declared a state of emergency in the country.

Yameen, who has been defying Supreme Court's orders, directing him to release former president Mohamed Nasheed, and free eight other political opponents from prison, has given sweeping powers to security forces in the country, which is facing widespread protests against the president.

The opposition and general public have been unrelentingly asking President Yameen to step down and allow a new leadership to take charge.

Last week, the Maldivian Supreme Court acquitted former Nasheed, former Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and ordered the reinstatement of the 12 other parliamentary members.

The Maldives has been in a state of turmoil since 2015 when Nasheed, the first democratically elected president of the country, was arrested on "terrorism" charges, relating to the arrest of a judge during his tenure.

The arrest had led to widespread protests across the country and resulted in the arrest of hundreds of dissidents. The apex court had sentenced Nasheed to 13 years in prison.

In 2016, Nasheed sought political asylum in the United Kingdom (UK) after travelling there on medical leave from prison.

Ten years ago, the Maldives became a multiparty democracy, after three decades of autocratic rule of former strongman and Yameen's half-brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

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An Indian Army delegation in Naypyitaw on Monday began training the Myanmar armed forces for UN Peacekeeping operation, a statement said.

At least 30 Myanmar Army personnel would be trained for 15 days to enhance their capacity towards undertaking United Nations assignments in near future, the Indian Army said in the statement.

Such joint training events are seen as major initiatives, aimed at fostering better ties with neighbouring nations.

The statement added that the Indian Army's rich experience as part of United Nations Force, spanning almost seven decades, and its professional approach in UN peacekeeping brings in quality and value to such training.

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The Patiala House Court on Wednesday sent Indrani Mukerjea to 14-day judicial custody in connection with the

On February 5, a special court ordered the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to arrest Indrani.

Indrani, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, is currently lodged in Mumbai's Byculla jail.

Earlier on February 2, a Mumbai Court had allowed a production warrant against Indrani from a Delhi court after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told the court that there were discrepancies in the income tax details of INX Media.

The ED had earlier registered a case against INX Media, its founder Peter Mukerjea and his wife Indrani under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

INX Media has been accused of violating Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) guidelines while receiving investments from Mauritius.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's son Karti is also an accused in the case, which relates to FIPB approval granted in 2006 for receipt of funds by INX Media.
Food items worth Rs. 3.6 crore were seized from a Clearing and Forwarding (C&F) agency of Adani Wilmar in Raipur on Wednesday.

Chhattisgarh Food Safety Department officials conducted raid at Adani Wilmar C&F agency and seized items worth Rs 3 crore 60 lakh including edible oil, soya and rice.

Raid was conducted on the complaints of misbranding and misleading by the agency.

The officials have sent samples of the seized items to the laboratory for testing.

Further action will be taken based on lab report.

Adani Wilmar Limited (AWL) is a joint venture incorporated in January 1999 between Adani Group and Wilmar International Limited - Singapore.

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A team from the Human Rights Commission (NHRC) reached Odisha's Kunduli, on Tuesday, the place where a minor school girl was allegedly gang-raped last year, to examine several critical issues in the case.

Acting on a petition and subsequent submissions filed by social activist and Supreme Court lawyer Radhakanta Tripathy, the NHRC sent its investigation team, headed by DSP Ravi Singh, to solve the case.

Tripathy also sought heavy compensation to the victim's family and action against the errant officials.

The girl, who was studying in ninth standard, was allegedly gang-raped by four security personnel in October last year. She committed suicide on January 22.

The case took a complicated turn on November 7, when the HRPC of Odisha Police stated that as per the medical report of the victim, she had not been raped.

Following the girl's suicide, a report submitted before the NHRC by the Crime Branch Criminal Investigation Department (CB-CID) stated that betrayal by the deceased victim's boyfriend was the reason behind her suicide.

In its first hearing of the case filed by Tripathy, on November 23, 2017, the NHRC sought an action taken report from the Odisha DGP and asked its own investigation wing to place the facts of the case after telephonically talking to the state officials.

Citing the contents of the FIR lodged in the case, the report states that the unfortunate incident did not occur on October 9, when the victim went to take a passport photo to be submitted in Sharisapadar School, as admitted the teachers of the school.

The report further quotes the finding of all the hospitals starting from Kunduli CHC, Koraput DHH and MKCGH, Behampur that there is no sign and symptoms of recent physical relation and that the complainant's hymen was intact.

The report clearly denies the involvement of security personnel and quotes another theory involving a minor boy in love with the girl who was last seen on the spot of incident.

According to the theory, the refusal to marry the victim by her boyfriend led to the entire story of lodging the FIR with a different story of blaming COBRA Police.

Subsequently, a polygraph test of her alleged boyfriend was conducted on October 16, 2017 at FSL, Bhubaneswar.

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Days after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency in the Maldives, Joint Opposition spokesperson Ahmed Mahloof on Wednesday said that officials within the government are threatening the Member of Parliament (MPs) of the opposition party.

Mahloof said in a statement that "We are very worried that MPs are getting lots of threats, especially from officials within government. According to the constitution, we should be given security round the clock."

"But it's been more than a year Yameen stopped that. Some members of the gangs are also threatening MPs, so we are deeply concerned because there were sad incidents of MPs being stabbed to death and paralyzed too. Lot of MPs were attacked even recently," he added.

Maldivian journalist Junayd took to Twitter to inform about the threat calls to Mahloof.

"A coordinator [political post] at the tourism ministry has called MP @AhmedMahloof and threatened to kill him, Mahloof has said. #MaldivesInCrisis #MaldivesCrisis," he tweeted.

Earlier today, the opposition called for other countries to intervene in the crisis.

Ali Zahir, deputy leader of Adhaalath Party (AP), demanded an immediate intervention to resolve the turmoil as the situation continues to worsen after the arrest of top judges and politicians.

Zahir told ANI, "This is the time for other countries to help us. I wonder what the international community is waiting for to happen. Do they want to help us only after we become another Syria?"

Citing concerns, he added, "President Yameen first hijacked and dysfunctioned the parliament and now he has done the same with the judiciary."

There has been worldwide condemnation of the government's move, with the United States also expressed concern.

India on Tuesday said it was disturbed by the declaration of emergency in the country following the refusal of the Abdulla Yameen government to abide by the numinous court ruling ordering release of political prisoners.

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Security forces arrested a naxalite from Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday.

During the search operations, the security forces nabbed the naxal from the forest area of Bijapur's Basaguda.

Detonator, wires and other equipment have been recovered from him.

Maoists have been a regular nuisance in Bijapur.

On Monday, three security personnel were injured in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast by Maoists in Bijapur.

In another recent incident, 10 vehicles engaged in road construction work were allegedly set ablaze by Naxals in the state.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday continued his tirade against the Congress Party.

While addressing the Rajya Sabha, he recalled Mahatma Gandhi and said that the latter, post the independence, wanted the Congress party to dissolve.

"You need Mahatma Gandhi's India, even I want Mahatma Gandhi's India. Gandhi ji post the independence had said that 'now the country is free, the Congress must be dissolved'," said Prime Minister Modi.

"We want Mahatma Gandhi's India. Even the Congress wants [Indira] Gandhi's India - India of Emergency, Bofors and chopper scams," he added.

Accusing the Congress party of not wanting to be a part of the 'New India', he said that the people (Congress) sitting here "need that India where there is an emergency... you need that India where there is tandoor case... you want the India where Sikhs are killed. you need that India, where Bhopal gas tragedy accused are set free."

Further, cornering the grand old party for referring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as mere 'name changer', the Prime Minister asserted that his government is not only 'game changer' but is also an 'aim changer'.

"You said we are Name Changers and not Game Changers but if you notice our mode of operation and working pattern you will realise we are Aim Changers. We plan our action, set the roadmap so that we take the nation on the path to development," he added.

The Prime Minister, earlier in the day, during his speech in Lok Sabha, hit out at the Congress party on various issues.

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Nepal, which held simultaneous elections last year, is set to vote for one final time, for the upper house on Wednesday, where 52 candidates are vying for the remaining 32 seats in the 59-seat upper parliament.

Polling stations have been set up in in Biratnagar (Province 1), Patan (Province 2), Lalitpur (Province 3), Pokhara (Province 4), Dang (Province 5), Surkhet (Province 6) and Doti (Province 7).

However, Patan will not be heading for the polls as all the members of the National Assembly from there are elected unopposed.

The Election Commission of Nepal has set the time period from 10 am to 3 pm for the voting in the respective polling centers.

As per Nepal's constitution, at least 33 percent of women's participation is mandatory in the parliament.

The National Assembly, which became an obstacle for the submission of the final results of the previously held elections to form the new government, will now be eased.

There will be four different ballot papers bearing the colour code of green and red. The weightage of vote for the Province Assembly members will be around 48, whereas the weightage of vote for the local level officials will be 18.

In 2015, the lately promulgated constitution of Nepal stipulated the bicameral federal legislature, comprising of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly.

The National Assembly or the Upper House has a total seat of 59 members, out of which three of them are nominated by the President. The remaining 56 of them are elected through the electoral college with the rate of eight members.

The electoral college comprises of at least three women, one backward class person and one from the minority or differently able communities from each of the province.

The electoral college of Nepal has a total of 2,056 voters, inclusive of 1,506 mayors and deputy mayors of municipalities, along with the chairpersons and vice-chairpersons of the rural municipalities. The remaining 550 members are from the Province Assembly.

The elected representatives of the Upper House will have tenures of two, four and six years respectively. When the post fall vacant, re-elections for the vacant posts takes place.

Vote counting will happen swiftly after the commencement of the election. The Election Commission of Nepal will submit the final results of the election to the president, opening the way for the parliament to commence and procedure to elect the new Prime Minister of Nepal.

The leader of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) K.P. Sharma Oli is expected to be the first Prime Minister of Nepal under the federal system.

The election for the House of Representatives had taken place on two phases on November 26 and December 7 last year.

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A new pension camp has been established in western Nepal's Palpa district, where the Bharatiya Gorkha sainiks can now get their pensions easily and on time.

Earlier, the Gorkha soldiers held meetings to discuss the issues of their interests.

During the meetings, the issue of pension collection used to be on top the list. But now, with the establishment of the pension camp, the problem has been solved.

Bidur Bahadur Thapa, a former Bharatiya Gorkha Sainik told ANI, "We use to face a lot of problems after we returned to Nepal. We used to go to the Kurahghat of Gorakhpur to receive the pension."

"In every three months or six months, we had to go to Kurahghat and come back and had to face a lot of problem. But after the establishment of the pension camp we have now much-eased access," added Thapa.

"The incurring expenses of going and returning back from Gorakhpur also decreased with increased saving, it is the second benefit. The third aspect of receiving pension from own territory, is that it makes us feel secure," he added.

"We are very much thankful to Government of India and also we expect ease in the cases of the family pensions. We would be more benefitted from the scheme. We have the main concerns for the family pension because the recruits before 1985 had no citizenship or formal identification documents and used to be recruited on a random basis," Thapa continued.

Tara Bahadur Rana, another Bharatiya Gorkha Sainik, highlighted the latest problems faced later.

He said, "After the introduction of the citizenship there were differences between the name used to address someone and the actual name and documented name. Those who were recruited before 1950 had problems in receiving the pensions."

The former Gorkha soldiers in Palpa have worked for Indian Army for over 35 years. With the pensions now received from the Indian side, they are able to go on with their daily needs and working out on their own economic sector of development.

Palpa district is home to about 1,000 Bharatiya Gorkha sainiks.

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After 'Padmaavat', Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut's highly-anticipated film 'Manikarnika

Reports are doing the round that the movie, which was earlier slated to release in April, has now been pushed to August.

However, the producers of the film, Kamal Jain and Zee Studios haven't officially announced the release date yet.

On a related note, a Brahmin outfit in Rajasthan has threatened to disrupt the shooting of the film, claiming it has an "indecent portrayal" of Rani Laxmibai.

The period drama, which stars Kangana in the titular role, also features Atul Kulkarni in a pivotal role as Tatya Tope, Sonu Sood as Sadashiv and Ankita Lokhande as Jhalkarbai.

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Turns out, discarded antibiotic compounds could be developed for new life-saving drugs.

In the heyday of antibiotic development in the mid-20th century, many different chemical compounds with antibacterial properties were examined, but only a small proportion was selected for development into drugs.

As the fight against drug-resistant infections continues, biological scientists and chemists at the University of Leeds re-examined these old compounds, applying advances in science and technology to test more precisely whether they could still hold the key to a future drug.

Dr Alex O'Neill, from the Antimicrobial Research Centre at the University, said, "We're showing the value of reviewing compounds previously put on the back of the shelf. Amongst the 3,000 or so antibiotics discovered to date, only a handful has been brought into clinical use. There may be a wealth of compounds out there with untapped potential".

Dr O'Neill's latest research found that a compound identified in the 1940s could now be a realistic contender as the basis of a new antibiotic drug.

A family of compounds, known as the actinorhodin, was originally identified as having weak antibiotic properties, but was not taken forward for development into a drug.

However, Dr O'Neill said that at the time scientists did not fully differentiate the individual compounds within the family when they examined them, leading to a less than precise picture of their properties.

Dr O'Neill and colleague Professor Chris Rayner from the University's School of Chemistry believed the compound is worth serious consideration as the basis for a new drug to combat certain types of bacterial infections.

Dr O'Neill added, "A major challenge in tackling the problem of antibiotic resistance is to discover new drugs - our study shows that potentially useful drug candidates can be 'discovered' from amongst the antibiotics we already know about".

Also based in the School of Chemistry is Dr Michael Webb, whose research focuses on a compound, called pentyl pantothenamide, first assessed in the 1970s.

Then, it was found to be able to stop the growth of E.coli but not completely kill the bacteria, so was never taken into clinical use.

Dr Webb said, "The results of our latest study open up the possibility of designing new drugs that use the same means to attack E. coli, but in a more effective way".

Dr O'Neill concluded, "Our findings underscore the importance of revisiting unexploited antibiotics as a potential source of new antibiotic drug candidates. We now believe a comprehensive re-evaluation of such compounds is worthwhile, potentially offering new ways to protect against infections".

The study is published in the journal Scientific Reports.

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The Government of India on Wednesday gave detailed clarification on the Rafale deal controversy and said the opposition is misleading the country.

On Tuesday, the Congress posed eight questions to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the deal.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleged that the Prime Minister personally went to Paris and changed the deal.

The Centre said it was issuing clarification over the 2016 Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition from France because the opposition was misleading nation on a serious matter of security.

"In another effort to twist facts, the Government is asked why it did not conduct negotiations with a particular company representing a competing fighter aircraft. It seems to have been conveniently forgotten that the then Government itself had rejected that company's unsolicited offer made days after closure of the bid process, declared Rafale (DA) as the L1 bidder and had commenced negotiations with it in February 2012," the Centre said in a statement.

The Government of India further termed the demand to disclose details and value of the Rafale aircraft as "unrealistic".

"The demand that the Government disclose the details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic. [In keeping with confidentiality requirements, the UPA Government had also expressed its inability to disclose the price of various defence procurements, including in its responses to Parliament Questions]," the statement said.

The Centre also said the Opposition's demand to disclose exact item-wise cost and other information will impact military preparedness and compromise security.

"The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to the Parliament. Provision of exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal, inter alia, details regarding the various customizations and weapons systems specially designed to augment the effectiveness and lethality of the assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our security," said the Union Government.

It added that "such details would also come under the ambit of the security agreement signed in 2008. Thus, in not revealing the item-wise details of the contract, the Government is merely following in letter and spirit the confidentiality provisions of a bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the previous Government".

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government also said its deal is much better than that of previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

"The deal secured by the Government is better in terms of capability, price, equipment, delivery, maintenance, training, etc., than that notionally negotiated by the then Government in a process it could not conclude in ten years. Moreover, the present Government completed these negotiations in just about one year," said the NDA government.

The government also stressed that 36 Rafale aircrafts were procured to meet the urgent need of the Indian Air Force strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure.

"The procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft to meet the urgent need of the IAF is strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects including mandating, conducting and monitoring of negotiations and seeking all necessary approvals, including that of the Cabinet Committee on Security, before entering into the IGA. The aircraft had already been evaluated successfully by IAF during 2009-10," said the statement.

On the issue of transfer of technology, the government said, "It may also be noted that contrary to the impression sought, to be created by the Opposition, in the earlier proposal to procure Rafale, which ended in a stalemate, there was no provision for transfer of technology but only to manufacture under licence. The Government was unable to agree on the terms for even that in its negotiations with the vendor, resulting in the long-drawn exercise under the earlier Government ultimately turning futile."

Reacting to the Congress allegation on why an Indian private company with zero experience in aviation was chosen as an offset partner to manufacture Rafale jets, the MoD said no offset partners has been selected so far.

"Further, no Indian Offset Partner for the 2016 deal for 36 Rafale Aircraft has been so far selected by the vendor (DA) because as per the applicable guidelines, DA is free to select the Indian Offset Partners and provide their details at the time of seeking offset credits, or one year prior to discharge of offset obligation," it said.

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Amidst uproar by the opposition in the Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address.

With Telugu Desam Party (TDP) threatening to leave the NDA fold, PM Modi blamed the Congress party for what the TDP says injustice meted out to Andhra Pradesh.

PM Modi said, "While bifurcating the state of Andhra Pradesh and creating Telangana, Congress party hastened up, as a result of which the state is still reeling from problems even after four years of the division."

He added that whenever one speaks about carving out new states, they remember the manner in which former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

This is the first time Prime Minister Modi has spoken, albeit indirectly, on the ongoing tussle with the TDP, where the Andhra Pradesh's political party is alleging that the government has done injustice in allocating funds to the southern state in the Budget 2018-19.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Palestine on February 10 via Jordan, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

In response to media queries about the Prime Minister's travel to Ramallah in Palestine for the first ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister there, the Official Spokesperson of MEA, Raveesh Kumar said, "The Prime Minister will travel to Palestine via Amman. The Government of India and its leadership are very grateful to the Jordanian authorities and leadership for the wholehearted cooperation being extended for the Prime Minister's transit."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be on a state visit to Palestine, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman from February 9 to 12.

This will be the first-ever visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Palestine, and Prime Minister Modi's second visit to UAE and the first to Oman respectively.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will hold discussions on matters of mutual interest with their leaders, apart from participating in other events.

Also, Prime Minister Modi would be addressing the Sixth World Government Summit to be held in Dubai, at which India has been extended the 'Guest of Honour' status.

He will also meet the Indian community in UAE and Oman respectively. As many as 12 agreements will be signed during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the UAE later as India and the oil-rich Gulf nation look to intensify economic cooperation, a top diplomat said on Tuesday.

The agreements will include areas like finance and skills development.

Modi will start his visit to three West Asian countries - Palestine, the UAE and Oman - on Friday with focus on cooperation in key areas of defence, security and counter- terrorism.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday termed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha as a farrago of misrepresentations and half-truths.

Talking to ANI, Tharoor said, "Prime Minister Modi might be a terrific orator but this speech (in Lok Sabha) is a farrago of misrepresentations and half-truths."

He said the prices of solar panels and gas have come down so it was not right for Prime Minister Modi to take credit for them.

"Everyone knows worldwide prices of the solar panel have come down. And, of course, the gas prices have gone down in the international market," Tharoor said.

He also questioned as to why were people paying more for diesel and petrol if their prices went down.

On the comparison of three years of UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government with the first three years of ( Democratic Alliance) NDA by Prime Minister Modi, Tharoor said, "Why does not he compare the 10-year average of UPA with the first three years of the NDA ? Had he done so, probably he would have found very-very different numbers."

The Congress leader said the problem was that all the facts and figures that were given were simply not the figures that can stand up to the detailed scrutiny.

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi tore into the Congress party during his speech in Lok Sabha, for motion of thanks to the President's address. The Prime Minister directly attacked the Gandhis and the Congress party, blaming them for India's partition.

"I have proof of how the Congress looted and plundered India. You will pay for your sins. Time has come for you to be held accountable and answerable to the people of India," Prime Minister Modi said.

He held previous governments responsible for the non-performing assets (NPA) mess.

The Prime Minister said that the banking policies of the previous governments were not proper and the middlemen were happy but the country was suffering.

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha and questioned when will he speak on Rafale deal.

Rahul took to Twitter and said, "It was a very long speech by Saheb (PM Modi). He termed day as night in the Parliament and put curtains on his own failures. Sadly, the issues were missing from the speech. When will Prime Minister break the silence? When will he speak on Rafale deal?"

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi tore into the Congress party during his speech in Lok Sabha during motion of thanks to the President's address. The Prime Minister directly attacked the Gandhis and the Congress party, blaming them for India's partition.

"I have proof of how the Congress looted and plundered India. You will pay for your sins. Time has come for you to be held accountable and answerable to the people of India," Prime Minister Modi said.

He held previous governments responsible for the non-performing assets (NPA) mess.

The Prime Minister said that the banking policies of the previous governments were not proper and the middlemen were happy but the country was suffering.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Minister Smriti Irani on Wednesday said Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury's inappropriate remarks called for a sarcastic reply from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Irani told media that it is not fair for Chowdhury to use her gender as shield.

"I was present there. I heard the kind of indecent remarks she was making on Prime Minister Modi. Is it justified that she makes indecent remarks and when those remarks are met sarcastically she makes gender her shield?".

Meanwhile, retorting to Prime Minister's remark against her, Chowdhury told ANI, "What else do you expect from him? I can't fall to that level to reply to him. This is actually called denigrating the status of a woman."

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi took a jibe at Congress leader who laughed out loud during his speech in Rajya Sabha.

When Rajya Sabha Chairman Venkaiah Naidu objected to Chowdhury's interruption, Modi said, "Sabhapati ji, I request you don't say anything to Renuka ji. After Ramayan serial, we are now getting the opportunity to hear such a laugh."

Following that, all Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders roared in laughter and clapped.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest to Milind Ramakant Ekbote, the prime accused in the January 1 Bhima-Koregaon violence.

The apex court bench headed by Justice Kurian Joseph granted Ekbote interim protection from arrest till February 20.

It also sought a response from the Maharashtra government on his plea for anticipatory bail.

On Jan 29, Ekbote's plea was mentioned before the bench, led by Justice Gavai after a sessions court refused to grant him any interim protection from arrest.

Earlier last month, a special court in Pune had rejected a plea for anticipatory bail filed by Ekbote, in regards to the same case.

Two FIRs were registered against Ekbote alleging his role in the violence at Bhima Koregaon at a time when Dalits in huge numbers had gathered in Perne village to mark 200th year of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon.

Ekbote is facing charges for inciting violence, attempt to murder and atrocities against Dalits.

On January 1, the violence left at Bhima Koregaon left one dead and injured several others, including 10 policemen.

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The Shiv Sena on Wednesday criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha.

The old-time ally of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that the people didn't want to hear Congress' criticism from Prime Minister Narendra Modi but know about the government's schemes.

Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande said, "It is time that Modi ji realises it has been 4 years now. People were fed up because of Congress and that is why they chose you. People want to hear about your schemes and not the criticism of Congress."

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi tore into the Congress party during his speech in Lok Sabha, for the motion of thanks to the President's address. The Prime Minister directly attacked the Gandhis and the Congress party, blaming them for India's partition.

"I have proof of how the Congress looted and plundered India. You will pay for your sins. Time has come for you to be held accountable and answerable to the people of India," Prime Minister Modi said.

He held previous governments responsible for the non-performing assets (NPA) mess.

The Prime Minister said that the banking policies of the previous governments were not proper and the middlemen were happy but the country was suffering.

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External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz who inaugurated the prestigious annual National Heritage and Culture Festival 'Janadriyah'.

"The prestigious annual 'National Heritage and Cultural Festival' of Saudi Arabia, Janadriyah Festival, was inaugurated by Saudi King Salman in the presence of External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said in a statement.

"Giving due recognition to the strategic partnership, close ties and historical linkages between the two countries, for the first time, India was accorded the 'Guest of Honour' status at the [Janadriyah] Festival," the statement added.

Speaking at the inaugural function, Sushma Swaraj thanked Saudi Arabia for according the honour and recalled the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Kingdom in April 2016 which "gave strong impetus to the bilateral partnership."

The minister added that this Festival "provides an opportunity to showcase and further build upon this relationship."

The India Pavilion mounted on the occasion is based on the theme "Saudi ka Dost Bharat". The statement stated that it showcases the core values and traditions of India and presents a kaleidoscope of India's vibrant culture through a colourful dance and music extravaganza.

The statement also threw light on the facts that the section on 'Tradition' has on display, traditional strengths like Yoga, Ayurveda, textiles and tourism while the 'Modern Section' coined as 'Opportunities in India' showcases the digital revolution, achievements in Space and defence technologies as well as Flagship programmes like 'Digital India', Make in India' etc.

Earlier, the Minister held bilateral discussions with the Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir and discussed wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.

"She re-affirmed India's support to peace in the region and called for collective efforts in fighting the menace of terrorism," the statement said.

She said that "India's flagship programmes including 'Make in India', 'Digital India' complement well with 'Vision 2030' launched by Saudi Arabia and invited Saudi investments in India," the statement added.

The External Affairs Minister called on King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud and thanked him for according India the honour at the festival.

Both expressed satisfaction at the strength and depth of bilateral relationship. The Minister also thanked the Saudi King for ensuring welfare and well being of large Indian community in Saudi Arabia, the statement read.

The Minister also addressed a large gathering of Indian community on February 6.

About 3.2 million strong and vibrant Indian community in Saudi Arabia forms the largest expatriate group. Saudi Arabia is also the fourth largest trading partner for India with bilateral trade exceeding US$ 25 billion in 2016-17.

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External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj, who is on a three-day visit to Saudi Arabia, has thanked the Kingdom for increasing the Haj quota for India last year.

"A large number of my Muslim brothers and sisters from India visit Saudi Arabia every year for Haj and Umrah pilgrimage. Once again I thank your majesty for increasing the Haj quota for India in 2017 and also for the special arrangements and care given to the pilgrims," EAM Sushma Swaraj said at the inaugural ceremony of the Janadriyah Festival representing the 'Guest of Honour' country in Riyadh.

The minister also used the occasion to underscore that "the linkages between the two countries date back to several millennia and have been nurtured by socio-economic interactions and people to people contacts."

"Over 3 million Indians reside in Saudi Arabia contributing to the development of economic prosperity of the kingdom," Swaraj added.

Furthermore, the External Affairs Minister noted that India's participation at the Janadriyah Festival "provides an opportunity to showcase our strong bilateral relationship."

Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday visited India pavilion at the Al Janadriyah festival in Riyadh.

Swaraj was accompanied by the King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saudthe and the Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.

India is the guest of honour country at this year's festival and Swaraj led the Indian delegation at the festival.

The two-week long festival that began in is the biggest cultural festival of the Gulf that celebrates the culture and heritage of Saudi.

The festival not only brings to life the culture of the Gulf kingdom but also aims to acquaint its citizens with the cultures of other countries, by way of inviting a country each year as the guest of honour.

This year, at the 32nd edition of the festival, India as the guest of honour will get to showcase facets of its culture, business opportunities, technology, medical and military progress

Indian Pavilion provided a glimpse of socio-cultural heritage, folklore, traditional costumes, Indian perfumes, bridal costumes, artifacts, calligraphy and food.

Indian cultural performances such as Kathakali, Kalariyaptu, Kathak, Manipuri, Chhau, Bangra, Bollywood, Gujarati and Rajasthani and Yoga performances are also expected to grace Al Janadriyah.

On the business front, major Indian companies like Tata Motors, Jet Airways, Al Abeer Medical Group, etc. will also be putting up stalls at the Pavilion.

Al Janadriyah started in 1985 under the patronage of the ruling monarch. The tradition continues with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who is the patron of the festival this year.

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Turkish police on Wednesday arrested 31 suspected militants, as a part of an investigation into the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organisation, the Anadolu news agency quoted a security source, as saying.

In the operations, 31 out of the 43 suspects, are members of the left-wing Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK).

The news agency, attributing to a security source, said that a gun, ammunition and a hunting rifle were recovered.

The PKK is based in Turkey and Iraq. Since 1984, it has been involved in an armed conflict with Turkey, with the initial aim of achieving an independent Kurdish state.

It has been listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Ankara says, PKK is responsible for the deaths of its more than 1,200 security personnel and civilians.

Turkey has been embroiled in a state of emergency since last year, ever since the failed military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and subsequent terrorist attacks by local militants and the Islamic State (IS) group in the country.

Since January 20, Turkish forces have been carrying out a clearance operation, called Olive Branch, to clear PKK and IS terrorists from Afrin in northwestern Syria.

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At least 25 terrorists belonging to the Islamic States (IS) group have been killed in the airstrikes carried out by the United States in Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province bordering Turkmenistan.

Anadolu Agency quoted a spokesman for the provincial government Mohammad Reza as saying that IS hideouts in Darzaab district of the province were targeted.

"Twenty-five [Daesh] militants were killed. They included Uzbek, Chechen and Arab militants," he said, adding there were no civilian casualties.

U.S. forces used Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, a subsonic bomber aircraft to conduct the airstrikes.

Since last week, the U.S. forces in Afghanistan have conducted air operations to target Taliban training facilities in Badakhshan province according to a report by NATO-led Resolute Support Mission.

In January, 15 terrorists hailing from Tajikistan were killed and 11 others injured in a series of airstrikes carried out in northeastern Badakhshan province.

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This week, the first commercially available freeze-free vaccine carrier will begin introductory field trials in Nepal. This follows the World Organisation (WHO) announcement that the Indian-made carrier using PATH's "Freeze-Safe" reference design passed WHO Performance, Quality, and Safety (PQS) laboratory tests for User Independent Freeze Prevention, which prequalifies it for use in global immunisation programs.

This is the first low-cost carrier innovation available to address the widespread and long-standing problem of vaccines freezing in the cold chain during the "last mile" of outreach to infants and children.

Currently in low - and middle - income countries, workers carry millions of temperature-sensitive vaccines next to ice packs inside vaccine carriers to reduce heat exposure, but this risks freezing the vaccines if ice packs are not conditioned (carefully warmed to around 0C).

Freezing can irreversibly compromise vaccine potency, resulting in inadequate protection from disease for people receiving vaccines. When workers suspect temperature damage, the vaccine or medication is often discarded - at great cost to health care programs.

PATH's breakthrough solution mitigates the risk of vaccines being damaged by freezing or heat in carriers and eliminates the step of conditioning ice packs, reducing health worker burden. Frozen ice packs can be inserted immediately into the carrier thanks to a built-in barrier that shields the vaccines from reaching negative temperatures and excessive heat.

Many of the newer vaccines that protect children and infants from life-threatening diseases and infections, such as for human papillomavirus, pneumonia, and rotavirus, are freeze sensitive and cost far more than other vaccines. In 2015, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) procured approximately USD 1.7 billion worth of vaccines for immunization programs, of which more than USD 1.2 billion were freeze sensitive.

"Our priority is maintaining vaccine potency for the millions of people living in remote communities. In the future, vaccine carriers that prevent freezing will become the new standard for immunization programs," said Pat Lennon, who leads the cold chain team at PATH.

In order to rapidly accelerate introduction of this innovation, PATH put the Freeze-Safe reference design into the public domain for any manufacturer to use in their vaccine carrier products.

PATH staff in Seattle and New Delhi, India, has provided technical advice to three product manufacturers who have adopted the technology. India-based AOV International's product AFVC46 is the first carrier to receive WHO-PQS approval and will be available for purchase through the UNICEF Supply Division catalog.

"The Freeze-Safe vaccine carrier is a great example of Indian industry helping solve a global public health challenge. This 'Made in India' freeze-preventive vaccine carrier can help health workers in India and globally to administer lifesaving vaccines that do not freeze and could help save millions of lives," said Neeraj Jain, Country Director of PATH's India country program.

PATH estimates that more than 2 million new and replacement carriers will be needed by 2020 for the 73 Gavi-member countries. To accelerate scale-up of the Freeze-Safe innovation, PATH is conducting field trials, supporting efforts to integrate the carriers into existing health systems, and working with manufacturers as well as adapting the innovation for use in other cold chain equipment.

"Vaccine carriers that prevent vaccines from freezing while in transit and yet are low cost and easy to use can save millions of children's lives. These are exactly the type of cutting-edge solutions we need to immunize every child," said Dr. Benjamin Schreiber, Deputy Immunization at UNICEF.

PATH has worked to advance technologies, policies, and programs to address vaccine freezing issues across the supply chain from formulation to the last mile since 1996, and on the Freeze-Safe innovation since 2012. This work aligns with UNICEF; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and WHO strategies to maintain vaccine potency and improve immunization cost efficiencies and coverage.

This project was made possible with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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The stock is quoting at Rs 474.9, up 1.65% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is down 1.13% in last one year as compared to a 19.93% spurt in NIFTY and a 27.93% spurt in the Nifty Energy.

Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd gained for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 474.9, up 1.65% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.18% on the day, quoting at 10516.9. The Sensex is at 34232.26, up 0.11%. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has slipped around 4.49% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Energy index of which Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is a constituent, has slipped around 4.25% in last one month and is currently quoting at 13583.7, up 0.98% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 17.13 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 37.3 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark February futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 465.95, up 1.81% on the day. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd is down 1.13% in last one year as compared to a 19.93% spurt in NIFTY and a 27.93% spurt in the Nifty Energy index.

The PE of the stock is 14.12 based on TTM earnings ending September 17.

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Cosmo Films gained 1.31% to Rs 316.50 at 12:15 IST on BSE after the company said that CF (Netherland) Holding B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of the company has setup a wholly owned step down subsidiary in Poland.

The announcement was made during market hours today, 7 February 2018.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 19.59 points, or 0.06% to 34,176.35. The S&P BSE Small-Cap index was up 312.97 points, or 1.8% to 17,705.04, outperforming the Sensex.

On the BSE, 4,079 shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 7,926 shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 330 and a low of Rs 310.05 so far during the day. The stock had hit a record high of Rs 468.80 on 28 April 2017. The stock had hit a 52-week low of Rs 294.65 on 6 February 2018.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 6 February 2018, declining 18.55% compared with 0.12% rise in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, dropping 19.8% as against Sensex's 1.38% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one year, sliding 17% as against Sensex's 20.24% rise.

The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 19.44 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The stock has declined 11.12% in three sessions to Rs 312.40 yesterday, 6 February 2018, from a close of Rs 351.50 on 1 February 2018.

Cosmo Films said that CF (Netherland) Holding B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of the company has setup a wholly owned step down subsidiary in Poland namely Cosmo Films Poland SP.Z.O.O. for the purpose of sale and distribution of the products manufactured by the company and/or its subsidiaries.

Cosmo Films' consolidated net profit fell 49.6% to Rs 9.77 crore on 33.4% rise in net sales to Rs 481.23 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016.

Established in 1981, Cosmo Films is a global leader in speciality films for packaging, lamination and labeling applications. Its films offerings include biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films, cast polypropylene (CPP) films and soon to be offered biaxially oriented polyethylene terephthalate (BOPET) films.

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The stock is quoting at Rs 1119.35, up 1.05% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. Infosys Ltd is up 19.52% in last one year as compared to a 19.93% spurt in NIFTY and a 24.74% spurt in the Nifty IT.

Infosys Ltd is up for a fifth straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 1119.35, up 1.05% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.18% on the day, quoting at 10516.9. The Sensex is at 34232.26, up 0.11%. Infosys Ltd has risen around 8.04% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty IT index of which Infosys Ltd is a constituent, has risen around 5.99% in last one month and is currently quoting at 12562.35, down 0.64% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 22.01 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 64.28 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark February futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 1120.15, up 0.69% on the day. Infosys Ltd is up 19.52% in last one year as compared to a 19.93% spurt in NIFTY and a 24.74% spurt in the Nifty IT index.

The PE of the stock is 14.8 based on TTM earnings ending December 17.

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The stock is quoting at Rs 898.4, up 0.71% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. Reliance Industries Ltd is up 75.27% in last one year as compared to a 19.93% jump in NIFTY and a 27.93% jump in the Nifty Energy.

Reliance Industries Ltd is up for a fifth straight session today. The stock is quoting at Rs 898.4, up 0.71% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 0.18% on the day, quoting at 10516.9. The Sensex is at 34232.26, up 0.11%. Reliance Industries Ltd has slipped around 3.25% in last one month.

Meanwhile, Nifty Energy index of which Reliance Industries Ltd is a constituent, has slipped around 4.25% in last one month and is currently quoting at 13583.7, up 0.98% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 36.3 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 71.59 lakh shares in last one month.

The benchmark February futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 900, up 0.63% on the day. Reliance Industries Ltd is up 75.27% in last one year as compared to a 19.93% jump in NIFTY and a 27.93% jump in the Nifty Energy index.

The PE of the stock is 17.1 based on TTM earnings ending December 17.

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Tata Motors rose 1.66% to Rs 380.65 at 11:51 IST on BSE after the company said that sales of its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover rose 3% to 49,066 units in January 2018 over January 2017.

The announcement was made during trading hours today, 7 February 2018.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 67.06 points or 0.2% at 34,128.88.

On the BSE, 15.27 lakh shares were traded on the counter so far as against average daily volumes of 6.64 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 388 and a low of Rs 377.95 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 531.35 on 6 February 2017 and a 52-week low of Rs 357 on 6 February 2018.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 6 February 2018, falling 13.66% compared with 0.46% fall in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, sliding 14.65% as against Sensex's 2.94% rise. The scrip also underperformed the market in past one year, declining 26.11% as against Sensex's 20.68% rise.

The large-cap company has equity capital of Rs 577.47 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

Tata Motors said that sales of its subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) rose 3% to 49,066 units in January 2018 over January 2017. Jaguar sales were up by 1% year-on-year with 14,066 units sold amid strong demand for the Jaguar XF Sedan, including the long-wheelbase XFL in China. Land Rover sales rose by 4% with 35,000 units sold, primarily reflecting continuing strong demand for the Range Rover Velar and Land Rover Discovery.

Jaguar Land Rover is the UK's largest automotive manufacturer, built around two iconic British car brands: Land Rover and Jaguar.

Andy Goss, Jaguar Land Rover Group Sales Director, said the continued demand in China is encouraging however the company is still facing challenges because of tough trading conditions in key UK and Europe markets.

Tata Motors' consolidated net profit surged 988.6% to Rs 1214.60 crore on 16% growth in net sales to Rs 74156.07 crore in Q3 December 2017 over Q3 December 2016. The company announced Q3 result after market hours on 5 February 2018.

In a separate announcement made after market hours on 5 February 2018, Tata Motors said that the company and Warburg Pincus have mutually decided to call off the transaction in Tata Technologies. As per the transaction announced on 15 June 2017, Warburg Pincus was to acquire approximately 43% stake in Tata Technologies from Tata Motors and other Tata entities.

However, due to delays in securing regulatory approvals as well as due to the recent performance of the company not meeting internal thresholds because of market challenges, the parties to the transaction have mutually decided not to proceed with closure of the transaction. Tata Motors will continue to explore strategic options to sell its stake in Tata Technologies and remains positive on the outlook of the business.

Tata Motors is a market leader in commercial vehicles in India. The company's British luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) sells premium luxury cars.

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The export during January 2018 is provisionally reported at 116,150 tons compared to 239,613 tons in January 2017 i.e. down by 52%, as per the export of oilmeals data compiled by The Solvent Extractors' Association of India for the month of January 2018. The overall export of oilmeals during April 2017 to January 2018 provisionally reported at 2,362,049 tons compared to 1,409,527 tons during the same period of last year i.e. up by 68%.

On 17th November 2017, Government raised the import duty on edible oils by 12.5 to 15% across the board and increased MEIS on soybean meal to 7% from 5%. This steps has made Indian oilmeal more competitive in the world market and may result in to larger export of oilmeals during current year.

Secondly, after two difficult years, export of oilmeals has revived in the current year, but still lower than earlier years, when India used to export annually over 40 to 45 lakh tons of oilmeals.

South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Germany & Europe - Major Importers of Oilmeals:-

During April'17- Jan.'18 oilmeal imported by Vietnam from India reported at 445,489 tons compared to 271,144 tons; consisting of 31,169 tons of soybean meal, 70,123 tons of rapeseed meal and 344,197 tons of De-oiled Rice Bran Extraction. South Korea imported 670,204 tons compared to 463,019 tons; consisting 226,360 tons of rapeseed meal, 415,510 tons of castor meal and 28,334 tons of soybean meal.

Bangladesh imported 127,275 tons compared to 176,688 tons; consisting 26,037 tons of rapeseed meal, 5,857 tons of De-oiled Rice Bran Extractions and 95,381 tons of soybean meal. Thailand imported 145,452 tons compared to 12,943 tons; consisting 101,312 tons of rapeseed meal, 9,454 tons of De-oiled Rice Bran Extractions and 34,651 tons of soybean meal. European countries were the major importer of Indian Soybean Meal. France imported 103,541 tons compared to 126,456 tons; consisting 98,310 tons of soybean meal and 5,231 tons of Castor meal and rest of European countries imported 350,514 tons of oilmeals, mainly soybean meal.

Port-wise Export : Apr.'17 - Jan.'18

The export from Kandla is reported at 1,256,033 tons (53%), followed by Mumbai including JNPT handled 344,619 tons (15%), Mundra handled 195,533 tons (8%) and Kolkata handled 353,652 tons (15%) and others ports handled 212,212 tons (9%).

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The death toll in the Taiwan earthquake climbed to four on Wednesday, while 225 people were reported to have been injured in the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that had struck on Tuesday night.

Search operations were ongoing to find 145 people who went missing in the quake mostly from the residential and commercial floors of the Yunmen Cuidi building, according to the Central Emergency Operation Centre.

The 6.5-magnitude quake occurred at 11.50 pm on Tuesday night with its epicentre located at 18.3 kilometres north-northeast of the city of Hualien, Efe news reported.

"Rescue operations have been continuing night and day. We will not rest until all are found," Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on her official Twitter account.

She had also visited the injured in hospitals and praised the first responders "for their tireless efforts".

The areas worst affected in the quake are located close to the eastern city of Hualien -- the Hualien and Yilan districts -- although tremors were felt throughout the island and had forced people out of their homes.

Search teams managed to rescue 235 people, trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings in Hualien, including the worst-hit Yunmen Cuidi building and Hotel Tongshuai, where the lower floors had collapsed completely.

Two hotel employees, buried under the rubble of the hotel, were able to contact rescue teams. Out of the 830 people, who were evacuated, 643 took refuge in temporary shelters.

While the country is slowly returning to normalcy, water and electricity are yet to be fully restored in Hualien, while serious damage to underground gas pipelines have been reported.

Several buildings sustained structural damages, with two hospitals and the Hotel Meilun tilting precariously after suffering damage in the quake.

The quake also reportedly triggered landslides which affected the country's main Suhua highway and the state highway 11.

--IANS

soni/sac

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Acne problem? You may be at higher risk of depression as researchers have found that patients with acne have significantly increased risk of developing major depression in the first five years after diagnosis.

"This study highlights an important link between skin disease and mental illness," said the lead author of the study Isabelle Vallerand, PhD student at the University of Calgary, Canada.

For the study, published in The British Journal of Dermatology, researchers included data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) from 1986 to 2012.

The database included 134,427 men and women with acne and 1,731,608 without and followed them for 15 years. Most were under 19 at the start of the study, though they ranged in age from seven to 50, The New York Times reported.

They found that the risk for major depression was highest within 1 year of acne diagnosis -- a 63 per cent higher risk compared with individuals without acne -- and decreased thereafter.

The results indicates that it is critical that physicians monitor mood symptoms in patients with acne and initiate prompt treatment for depression or seek consultation from a psychiatrist when needed, the researchers mentioned.

"Given the risk of depression was highest in the period right after the first time a patient presented to a physician for acne concerns, it shows just how impactful our skin can be towards our overall mental health," said Vallerand.

"For these patients with acne, it is more than a skin blemish -- it can impose significant mental health concerns and should be taken seriously."

--IANS

vc/ksk/vm

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In a reel meeting real life, gun-toting officers of the city police arrested over 60 anti-socials assembled at a birthday bash of a fellow history-sheeter late on Tuesday night.

Over a 100 rowdies were gathered at the bash to celebrate the birthday of Binu, who cut the cake with a sickle late on Tuesday.

The police got to know of the celebrations when they questioned three persons travelling in a car carrying sickles and knives.

Immediately the police formed special teams and surrounded the birthday party venue.

Many, including Binu, escaped as they saw the police party approaching. But the officers with their guns, took 60 in their custody and also seized several cars and two wheelers.

--IANS

vj/in/bg

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Prime Minister on Wednesday launched a bitter attack on the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha, saying those opposing the dream of 'New India by 2022' want to live with their baggage of the past, and added in a taunt that even he wanted an India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams who had envisaged a "Congress-free India".

Modi also took digs at the Congress party over various alleged scams of distant and recent past and for blocking the triple talaq legislation in Parliament.

"The President has spoken of a New India in his address. Swami Vivekananda also dreamt of a New India. Mahatma Gandhi would also speak of a Young India. I don't know what is the (Congress party's) problem with the New India. They say 'we don't need New India. We want our older India'," Modi said as he started his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.



"They say 'we need Gandhi wala Bharat' (India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams). Even I want Bharat of Gandhi's dreams, because Gandhi said after Independence that now there is no need of the Congress party and it should be dissolved.

"Congress-mukt Bharat Gandhi ka vichar hai hamara nahi (Congress-free India is the idea of Gandhi not ours). We are only trying to walk in his footsteps," Modi said in sarcasm, amid thumping of desks and laughter by the treasury members.

"If not New India, do you need India of army jeep scam, of submarine scam, of Bofors scam, of (Agusta) helicopter scam, of Emergency when the country was turned into a jail? Do you need India of the time when thousands of innocent Sikhs were massacred after a 'big tree' fell? Do you need India of the time when the culprit of thousands of deaths was provided an airplane to fly out of country (after Bhopal gas tragedy)?" Modi said, in an attacking mode.



The "big tree" jibe was a reference to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's remarks who, reacting to the anti-Sikh violence in Delhi in the wake of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, reportedly said that when a "big tree falls", the ground beneath was bound to shake.

"Is this why you don't need New India?" Modi said.

He said his government was being labelled as "name changer not game changer", but actually it was an "aim chaser" government that works hard and mobilizes resources to achieve its targets in a given timeframe.

Raking up the triple talaq Bill that is pending in the Rajya Sabha, Modi said that the Congress now wants changes in the Bill but it never brought such legislation while in government.

"You now want changes in the triple talaq Bill. You had got an opportunity to bring this legislations 30 years ago, but you didn't under pressure from your vote bank. You did not want to lose your vote bank," Modi said.



He also wondered why all the people were concerned for the man and his family who would be jailed for administering instant irrevocable divorce under the proposed law.

"Everybody is concerned about the elderly parents of the man who would be punished for giving triple talaq. They ask who would take care of his elderly parents when he would be jailed. Why is there not similar concern for the elderly parents of a Hindu man who can be jailed for polygamy under present laws?" Modi said.

Replying to opposition criticism of the government splurging hundreds of crores on Swachh Bharat Mission advertising, Modi said that the money was not being splurged on giving full-page advertisements on the "birthdays of a single family" but was being utilized for "behavioral change".

"Cleanliness, use of toilets, is more a behavioural issue than an infrastructure problem. Advertising is being done to teach the people, to bring about the required behavioural change. It is not being spent on celebrating birthdays of only one family through full-page advertisements worth crores," Modi said.

The Prime Minister yet again raked up the issue of simultaneous polls and urged the parties to start a comprehensive discussion on the matter as this would save thousands of crores of rupees which can be used to fund various welfare schemes for the poor.

"In 2009, the Lok Sabha election cost around Rs 10 billion (Rs 1,000 crore). In 2014, the cost rose to Rs 40 billion (Rs 4,000 crore). In future elections, this will go further up. We need a lot of money for poor people's welfare," Modi said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of having "small mind" and fostering one family's legacy at the country's cost and said there was "festival of honesty" under his government with people knowing they will get account of the tax they pay.

Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha, Modi went to hit out on the Congress on several issues, arguing it had no right to give lessons on democracy and should not "mislead" the country on the issue of employment generation.

He said Congress-led UPA was fully responsible for the NPAs of banks and the country will never forgive the party for its "sin".

Congress members protested throughout Modi's over 90 minute speech, raising slogans and displaying placards.

Modi also sought to reach out to the middle class, which is seemingly feeling squeezed by the tax proposals in the Union Budget, saying the government was bringing about ease of living through good governance, improving education, infrastructure and housing.

With some MPs from Andhra Pradesh protesting before his speech over the pending promises at the time of division of state, Modi accused the Congress of "dividing" the state and earlier the country in 1947 for political gains.

"This is your character. You divided India. Even after 70 years of Independence, 125 crore people of India continue to suffer because of the poison you sowed. Not a single day passes when people of India are not punished for your sins.

"When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how farsighted decision making is done," Modi said.

Attacking Congress over its leaders' claims about the development done by the party in its long rule, Modi said several countries, which had gained independence almost when India had attained it, had surged ahead in development.

He said there was nominal opposition during the first few decades after Independence and Congress hold sway and even decided top judicial appointments. "But you spent the entire time singing songs in praise of one family forgetting the country. If you had worked responsibly channelizing the energy of people, the country would have reached new heights....".

Congress feels that the country was born on August 15, 1947 and democracy was given by the party and by country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he said, noting there was democracy in India from ancient times.

Modi said that if Sardar Vallabhai Patel had been the first Prime Minister instead of Nehru, the country would have not faced the Kashmir problem.

He also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress chief, and also slammed him for tearing the UPA government's ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification.

He also accused the party of inaugurating half-finished projects to gain publicity.

Referring to unemployment, he said four opposition ruled states - West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala - had claimed to have generated one crore jobs. "Will you not treat it as employment," he said, adding that unemployment was posed as a national problem and the answer has also to be in a national perspective.

Modi said the aspirational youth from the middle class were keen on setting their own enterprise than on jobs. "We should support their aspirations," he said, adding that the NDA government has given 10 crore Mudra loans.

"Is it not a boost to employment. You have habit of singing your praises... Atalji had said no one rises with a small mind."

Referring to Aadhar, he said Congress had apprehension that Modi will not make use of it and now when government was making full use of it, objections were still being raised.

He said Rs 57,000 crore had been saved due to direct transfer of money to beneficiaries and this was earlier going in the pockets of middlemen.

"If employment has gone, it is of these middlemen, the people who looted the country," Modi said.

Referring to farmers, Modi said efforts were being made to reduce their cost of cultivation and supplement their incomes through steps such as bee-keeping, animal husbandry and bamboo plantation.

He said GST was benefiting the country and time taken to transport goods had come done considerably.

He said those who had indulged in corruption will not be spared. "Today there is festival of honesty. People have faith that they will get account of every rupee given in tax," Modi said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A student of Vasant Valley School here has been awarded Britain's University of Bath's "Young India Student of the Year" prize.

Namit Makhija of Vasant Valley School emerged as the winner among a number of school students from across India in this essay-writing contest.

Students of class 11 and 12 class were invited to write an essay of maximum 2,000 words on the topic -- "Would India benefit from more open trade -- for example with the UK?".

Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, who is varsity's Chancellor, presented the award for the first edition of the Young India Student of the Year competition here on Wednesday.

"The debate between open trade and protectionism is a burning topic in every economic forum today and I am deeply honoured to have received the recognition from the University of Bath for my essay on the subject," Makhija said in a statement.

"Needless to mention, researching for this work was enlightening as it helped me enhance my understanding of the subject," he added.

As the competition winner, Makhija has been awarded 3,000 pounds. The prize amount will be taken directly off his first year fees on his course of course, BSc (Honours) International Development with Economics in the university.

"I consider myself fortunate to get the opportunity to be a part of this institution, known for its quality, research-based programme."

"I am excited and now looking forward to my undergraduate experience at University of Bath," he said.

--IANS

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Alleging "discrimination" against the opposition parties while giving coverage on Rajya Sabha TV, the Congress on Wednesday urged the House not to convert the public broadcaster into BJP's TV.

"Its a serious issue. All the political parties should be given proper coverage by the Rajya Sabha TV. Around five minutes of Derek O'Brien's speech was not telecast on the Rajya Sabha TV.

"This is Rajya Sabha TV, do not make it BJP TV," Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, said in the Upper House.

Azad's remarks came soon after TMC member O'Brien alleged that the first five minutes of his speech on Motion of Thanks on the Presidential address was blacked out by Rajya Sabha TV.

Raking up the issue through a point of order, O'Brien said Rajya Sabha TV stopped the broadcast of his speech.

Azad, later, demanded an inquiry into the matter by panel of all-party representatives.

"I was watching Rajya Sabha TV on Monday night and I found that 98 per cent coverage was given to BJP President Amit Shah's speech while opposition's parties view were aired only for 16 seconds.

"Don't do this. The matter needs to inquired by the all-party representatives," Azad said.

On Tuesday Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agarwal had alleged that the Rajya Sabha TV has become Bharatiya Janata Party's TV.

--IANS

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With a political crisis raging in the Maldives, the European Union (EU) has called for the lifting of the state of emergency that President Abdulla Yameen has imposed in the country.

"The declaration of the state of emergency on February 5 by the President of the Maldives undermines democracy and human rights and further escalates political tensions in the country," EU spokesperson Maja Kocijancic said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The European Union expects the state of emergency to be lifted without delay," Kocijancic said.

She said that the decision to arrest two Supreme Court judges, including the Chief Justice, shows a clear disregard for the independence of the judiciary - fundamental in any democracy - as well as the Court's ruling of February 1, which ordered the release of leading politicians and reinstated 12 members of parliament.

"The arrest of former President Gayoom is an additional blow to the fundamental freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Maldives," the spokesperson said.

"The European Union continues to expect the authorities of the Maldives to abide by the ruling of the Supreme Court and allow the immediate resumption and normal functioning of the Parliament. An inclusive dialogue that engages the leaders of all political parties is needed in order to pave the way for credible, transparent and inclusive elections."

Kocijancic said given the serious deterioration in the Maldives, "it is essential that all in the country, in particular law enforcement authorities, act with restraint".

"Fundamental rights and freedoms of the population must be preserved, notably the freedom of expression and the right to peaceful demonstration,".

"The immediate return to constitutional normalcy is imperative so as to reduce the current tensions."

The Indian Ocean archipelago nation has been hit by political turmoil ever since President Yameen refused to release high-profile political dissidents, including former President Mohammed Nasheed, in defiance of a February 1 apex court order, sparking protests.

On Monday, Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency, and ordered the arrest of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed.

India, China and Britain have issued travel warnings to their citizens.

Meanwhile, former President Nasheed, who is living in self-exile in Sri Lanka, has sought India's help to resolve the crisis, saying Indians "are not occupiers but liberators".

--IANS

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Nepal's former King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev on Wednesday arrived here on a six-day visit to attend various religious programmes, including some dedicated to save the indigenous Indian cow.

He was accorded a warm welcome on his arrival at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here.

Gyanendra Shah is scheduled to inaugurate the 'Mission Wow Cow Goshala' at Rathipur near Jatani on Wednesday, aimed to save the indigenous Indian cow.

On February 8, the erstwhile royal will offer prayers at the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar and later visit the Sakhigopal Temple in Puri, sources said.

On February 9, he will attend a programme commemorating the silver jubilee of 'Pattabhisheka' of Shankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati, sources added.

The last Hindu monarch of the world's only Hindu kingdom of Nepal will visit the Puri Jagannath Temple on February 11.

As per the age-old tradition, the royal family members of Nepal are given special privilege at the Puri shrine and allowed to ascend the Ratna Vedi (the holy altar on which Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are placed) and offer prayers.

Gyanendra Shah is even allowed to touch the idols of the Holy Trinity, sources said.

In view of the former King's visit, the Jagannath temple's servitor body Chhatisa Nijog has decided to ensure smooth and timely conduct of rituals.

--IANS

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France has banned the use of cellphones in cars even when the engine is off as long as one has not stopped in a designated parking area, local media reported.

According to a new court ruling, violating the ban could lead to the immediate suspension of one's driver's license, Xinhua news agency quoted French daily Le Figaro as saying.

A cellphone can be used only when a car breaks down or in case of an accident, the ruling said.

France has stepped up its measures against dangerous driving in the wake of a rising road accident rate after decades of steady decline.

It recently reduced the speed limits on two-lane roads from 90 to 80 km per hour.

--IANS

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Courtesy Williamsburg Inn (NEW YORK) -- Eight new hotels have received an AAA Five Diamond ranking in the last 12 months, putting them in a very exclusive class of inspected hotels.



There are a total of 121 hotels on the list. Honorees range from historic inns to brand-new city properties to coastal resorts.



According to AAA, the hotels receiving a Five Diamond Rating "undergo a number of checks and balances including in-person inspections, anonymous overnight stays and, finally, review by a panel of experts to ensure credibility." More than 27,000 hotels are inspected.



Attaining a Five Diamond Rating is an exceptional accomplishment that signifies meticulous attention to detail, creativity in enhancing comfort, outstanding service and memorable guest experiences, said Michael Petrone, director of AAA Inspections & Diamond Ratings. And as more mid-scale and even budget properties are adding amenities for comfort and convenience, hotels that aim for a Five Diamond Rating must stay far ahead of the curve to differentiate themselves through advanced design concepts, highest quality furnishings and scrupulous attention to guests expectations.



Here are the eight hotels.



Esperanza An Auberge Resort  Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. "Guests can enjoy the water many ways at this intimate seaside resort: They can soak in hot tubs in terraces overlooking the ocean, swim in one of several pools or lounge on a private beach," said AAA.



Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown  New York, N.Y. "High-tech meets classic comforts with features including an indoor 75-foot lap pool bathed in natural light and surrounded by comfortable chaise lounges."



Grand Luxxe Riviera Maya  Playa del Carmen, Mexico. According to AAA, "A multi-tiered pool and a theater built for world-class Cirque du Soleil shows are among the unique offerings at this resort."



Grand Velas Los Cabos  San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico. "This new resort offers oversize, elegant suites with dramatic ocean views. All guest units include terraces, some of which have plunge pools."



Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa  Seven Mile Beach, Cayman Islands. "This stylish oceanfront resort, named after the jaw-dropping bursts of color guests can view at sunset, includes fully furnished balconies with sofa seating and an 8,500-square-foot spa with a Turkish hammam."



The Langham, New York, Fifth Avenue  New York, N.Y. "Close-up views of the Empire State Building are among the stunning hallmarks of this property, where rooms have fine wood finishes, high-tech accessories and marble bathrooms," said AAA.



The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas  Dallas, Texas. "Museum-quality artwork, a luxurious club-level lounge and a nationally acclaimed restaurant set this hotel apart."



Williamsburg Inn  Williamsburg, Virginia. "Just a few minutes walk from the historic area, this opulent inn takes guests back in time, with richly canopied beds, silk drapes and bedding, antiques and fine artwork."



To see the complete lists of 2018 AAA Four and Five Diamond Hotels, visit http://AAA.com/DiamondAwards.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Talks between Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) on forming a new government are yet to yield an agreement after a session that lasted all night and into Wednesday.

The negotiations have already exceeded the deadline set by Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the SPD to reach a consensus on a grand coalition, reports Efe news.

According to information leaked from the CDU headquarters, efforts to reach an agreement have stalled since Tuesday, over four months after the elections were held.

The parties, which were able to agree on several issues such as housing, rent and business digitalisation, have stumbled over healthcare, the labour market and foreign policy.

On Tuesday, Merkel warned both sides needed to make "painful compromises", adding that she was ready to do so if they would benefit the country.

The SPD leader, Martin Schulz, faces a struggle to convince the more militant factions within his party, including its youth wing known as "Jusos", to enter into a coalition with the centre-right ruling party.

Schulz hopes to convince the SPD's more sceptical members, who have the final say on whether to proceed with the coalition with the centre-right, by securing concessions on healthcare and employment.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Jordan Peele says he will "seriously consider" a sequel to his hit film "Get Out".

"Get Out", a horror film centred on an inter-racial relationship between a black American man and his white partner, was a satire on racism and it was critically lauded.

The director has said that while he has received a lot of feedback on the film, hearing audiences relate to the feeling of "the sunken place" has been the most meaningful, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

"When you create something like that, it's very personal and meaningful, but to hear that people kind of related to that feeling and needed it to be named has been very touching for me," Peele said.

After the success of "Get Out", the idea of a sequel isn't completely out of the question, Peele said. "I can tell you that I will definitely seriously consider it.

"I love that universe and I feel like there's more story to tell. I don't know what it is now but there are some loose ends that want to be tied up."

But since it took Peele eight years to create the world of "Get Out", the follow-up story would have to feel right, he said.

"I would never want to do a sequel that just feels like for the sake of doing a sequel. I would have to have a story that I feel like would take it up a notch," explained the triple Oscar-nominated star.

Peele is looking forward to the 90th Oscars, to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The ceremony will be held on March 4 at the Dolby Theatre here. It will be aired in India live on Star Movies and Star Movies Select on March 5.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Heated exchanges between treasury and opposition benches took place in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar saying that the ruling party members were agitated with Congress' protest during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech, and will not allow them (the opposition) to speak.

Members of the Congress and Communist Party of India-Marxist kept protesting and shouting slogans from near the Speaker's podium as Modi replied to the Motion of Thanks to the President's Speech.

When the Lok Sabha met after a break following the reply, an angry Parliamentary Affairs Minister said if the Congress will not listen to the Leader of the House, the treasury bench members will not listen to their members.

This happened as the Lok Sabha was about to take up a debate on the Budget and the discussion was to be initiated by Congress' M. Veerappa Moily.

"If they do not listen to the leader of the House, the House will also not listen to any Congress leader. With this attitude you cannot do anything.

"We want to debate the Budget, our MPs are agitated and they will show their agitation," said Ananth Kumar.

Congress members were also seen standing on their seats, as Speaker Sumitra Mahajan tried to pacify both sides.

"No one can make you understand, and no one can make them understand," Mahajan said referring to the two sides which had locked horns.

Moily slammed the Minister for suggesting that the treasury benches would disrupt the House and said: "It is alright if the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs would like to run the House like this..."

To this, a visibly-angry Ananth Kumar retorted: "What about the opposition leader, what about the UPA Chairperson.

"What about the Congress party... what are you doing for the last one and a half hour when the Prime Minister was speaking."

Moily meanwhile questioned the Minister's body language, to which Mahajan replied: "Everyone's body language is like that."

Members from the treasury benches were meanwhile standing on their seats and shouting and protesting against the Congress.

While the Speaker said everyone was behaving in an unruly manner, Moily slammed the government, saying: "You have been elected in 2014 by creating confusion and disorder in the country and telling all lies... In one more year you will go (out of power)."

"Behaviour of these MPs is like Bhasmasura who want to put their hands on their heads to burn themselves down before 2019," he added, referring to the demon from Hindu mythology who was only vulnerable to the touch of his own hand and burnt himself to ashes after laying his own hand on his head.

"God alone can help them if there is a god," he said.

As BJP members continued to protest, Moily also questioned if the ruling party wanted the Budget passed or not.

"I don't know if Finance Minister (Arun Jaitley) sitting here wants to get the Budget passed or not. It is duty of government to cooperate to run the business of the house. Today it appears to me the ruling party do not want to cooperated with Finance Minister to get the bill passed," he said.

Moily them started his speech as ruling party MPs continued to howl, shout and raised slogans, including those slamming UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi.A

The House resumed normalcy after Moily finished his speech, and BJP's Ramesh Pokhriyal started speaking.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a rebuff to China for warning India to keep off from interfering in the Maldives, the Indian Ocean nation's exiled ex-President Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday reiterated his appeal to India to intervene, saying his countrymen view New Delhi's role "positively" and during the 1988 crisis India were "not occupiers but liberators".

Nasheed said in a tweet: "Saying 'resolve things internally' is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see India's role positively: in '88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now."

The tweet by Nasheed, a friend of India, came as China, in apparent reference to India, on Wednesday cautioned against outside interference in the Maldives' internal affairs, saying it would "complicate" the situation.

On Tuesday, Nasheed, who lives in self-exile in Britain, had asked India to intervene militarily to help resolve the burgeoning crisis in his archipelago nation which is under a state of Emergency clamped by President Abdulla Yameen.

"On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request: 1. India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges and political detainees including President Gayoom. We request a physical presence. 2. The US to stop all financial transactions of Maldives regime leaders going through US banks," he had tweeted on Tuesday.

India had in a strong statement said that it is "disturbed" by the situation in the Maldives where the Supreme Court Chief Justice and another senior judge has been jailed and emergency clamped. Yameen clamped emergency days after the apex court in a ruling last Thursday ordered the release of nine political prisoners, including Nasheed, and the reinstatement of 12 legislators who were unseated for defecting from the ruling party and annulled the apex court's previous ban on floor-crossing.

In more tweets on Wednesday, Nasheed said: "President Gayoom and the Judges must be released immediately. I am told President Gayoom is not taking food, while (jailed Supreme Court) Justice Ali Hameed has been ill treated."

He said "Hon Qasim's son, Ibrahim, has been arrested. This is clearly politically motivated. This disgraceful, illegal arrest must be reversed and he must be immediately freed," Nasheed posted.

Turmoil in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation began when President Yameen refused to release Nasheed along with other nine high-profile political dissidents, in defiance of a February 1 apex court order, sparking protests.

On Monday, Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency, giving sweeping powers to troops to arrest and detain individuals while curtailing the powers of the judiciary and the legislature.

He also ordered the arrest of the Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed.

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who allied himself with the opposition, was also detained at his home.

Hours after the judges arrests, the court's remaining three judges revoked the court's release order "in light of the concerns raised by the President".

The US State Department said it was "troubled and disappointed" by the developments in Maldives, while British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called on Yameen to lift the emergency.

India, China and Britain have issued travel warnings for their citizens.

China has invested heavily in the infrastructure and booming tourism sector in the Indian Ocean nation. In 2017, Maldives became the second country after Pakistan to sign a free trade agreement with China.

--IANS

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India has hit out at the secretive functioning of Security Council sanctions committees, which operate in a "subterranean universe" with no accountability, and called for reforms to make their decision-making transparent.

The "decisions of the Sanctions Committees are taken beyond the gaze of public knowledge, with no explanation of the inputs that go into their decision making," India's Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin told the Council on Tuesday. "For want of a better depiction, it would appear these committees form the 'subterranean' universe of the Council."

The criticism was directed primarily at the UN's failure to declare Maulana Masood Azhar, chief of Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), a global terrorist because of China's veto in the so-called 1267 Sanctions Committee that deals with the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, and associated individuals groups. However, Akbaruddin did not directly mention the committee or China.

Akbaruddin focused on the 14 Sanctions Committees during the session on the working methods of the Security Council convened by its current president, Kuwait.

"The principles of anonymity and unanimity reign in this subterranean universe" unlike in the Council where vetoes are cast openly and explanations are publicly give, he said.

"None, except the members of this subterranean universe, are aware of the use of a veto while deciding on a reference made to any of the Sanctions Committees," he said. And "no rationale is provided for such anonymous vetoing of a submission."

"Such is the effective impact of this anonymous veto that a proposal that has been blocked is not even made public."

Even though the decisions are binding on all the members of the Security Council, countries outside the Council are not aware of the total number of decisions made by these Sanctions Committees, he said.

He estimated that last year 53 individuals and 19 entities were added to the sanctions list but said that it is not know how many were blocked from being listed.

The committees do not have uniform rules about how they operate and about the appeals or oversight, he said.

Seven of them have provisions - some of them vague - for referring cases when there is no consensus to the Council and only one of them has an ombudsperson, he said. The 1267 committee has aan ombudsperson to whom appeals can be made.

"Clearly, there exists a case for the Council to address the anomalies in the working methods of its subterranean universe of Sanctions Committees," Akbaruddin said. "These anomalies not only affect the efficiency and credibility of the work of the Council, but also impacts on the larger membership who are to implement Council's decisions."

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday thanked Saudi Arabia for increasing India's quota for Islam's most holy pilgrimage, the Haj.

At the inaugural ceremony of the Saudi national and cultural festival Al Janadriyah, where India has been given guest of honour country status this year, Sushma Swaraj said "a large number of my Muslim brothers and sisters from India visit Saudi Arabia every year for Haj and Umrah pilgrimage.

"Once again I thank Your Majesty for increasing the Haj quota for India in 2017 and also for the special arrangements and care given to the pilgrims," she said.

Last month, Saudi Arabia increased the quota of Indians for the Haj pilgrimage by 5,000 from this year.

The decision by Riyadh came after Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi signed a bilateral annual agreement for Haj 2018 with Saudi Minister for Haj and Umrah Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten.

Now, a total of 1.75 lakh Indian citizens can go for Haj. Last year, Saudi Arabia increased India's Haj quota by 35,000.

Sushma Swaraj said that India's participation at the Al Janadriyah Festival "provided an opportunity to showcase our strong bilateral relationship".

The visiting Indian minister received the festival's patron Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the India Pavilion showcasing the traditional and modern aspects of India.

"The Pavilion with the theme 'Saudi ka dost Bharat' is a big draw at Janadriyah," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Rveesh Kumar tweeted.

Earlier on Wednesday, Sushma Swaraj called on King Salman here and "steps to further intensify our strategic partnership in all sectors and to work together towards each other's progress came up during (the) warm discussion," according to Kumar.

Prior to that, Sushma Swaraj met her Saudi counterpart Adel Jubeir and discussed deepening of bilateral ties.

According to Kumar, the discussions between Sushma Swaraj and Jubeir focused on enhancing trade and investment, energy, defence and security, culture and people-to-people ties.

"The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the regional and global situation," the spokesperson said.

The India-Saudi Arabia relationship was elevated to that of a Strategic Partnership during the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Gulf kingdom in 2010.

Saudi Arabia is the fourth-largest trading partner for India with bilateral trade exceeding $25 billion in 2016-17.

As India's largest supplier of crude oil, Saudi Arabia accounts for about 20 per cent of the total annual imports.

The Gulf nation is also home to around 3.2 million expatriate Indians, that includes a growing number of professionals, including doctors, software engineers and oil technologists.

Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit in what is her first official visit to this Gulf kingdom.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is satisfied with the decision of the 132nd IOC Session in South Korea to uphold the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committees (ROC) membership, IOC President Thomas Bach said on Wednesday.

On December 5, the IOC Executive Board announced its decision to suspend the whole Russian national team from taking part in the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in South Korea's PyeongChang over multiple doping abuse allegations, reports Tass news agency.

The IOC, however, stated that doping-free athletes from Russia might go to the 2018 Olympic Games under the classification of neutral athletes, or the OAR status, which stands for 'Olympic Athlete from Russia'.

The IOC reserved the right to the final word in regard to Russian athletes, who will come to PyeongChang under the neutral status.

The upcoming Olympics, which are the 23rd Winter Games, will take place from February 9 to 25.

--IANS

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The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) confirmed on Wednesday that Israel has begun to construct a controversial wall along its border with Lebanon.

"We are in contact with the parties on both sides of the border to resolve this issue and prevent any tension or escalation," UNIFIL spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said in a statement carried by the National News Agency (NNA), Xinhua reported.

Tenenti added that the peacekeeping force is "fully engaged with both parties in order to find common solutions".

Lebanese and Israeli military officials had attended regular UN-sponsored talks on the border on Monday.

Tenenti said both parties demonstrated their commitment to preserve stability.

Israel has in recent days escalated its threats against Lebanon over Lebanon's invitation for offshore gas exploration bids on the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel.

Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman has described as "very provocative" Lebanon's exploration tender and suggested that Lebanon had put out invitations for bids from international groups for a gas field "which is by all accounts ours."

His comments drew sharp condemnation from Lebanese officials. Prime Minister Saad Hariri described Lieberman's comments as a "blatant provocation that Lebanon rejects."

Earlier on Wednesday, Lebanon's Higher Defence Council instructed the country's military to confront Israel if it goes ahead with plans to build the controversial border wall, labelling it as an "aggression" against Lebanese sovereignty.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday made it clear that it would not tolerate the possibility of "continuous blackmail" of the gang rape victim of O.P. Jindal Global University by the convict students, and asked them to share the password of their laptops containing her photos.

A division bench of Justice S.A. Bobde and Justice L.N. Rao asked the accused to share the iCloud account password with the victim.

"We are not concerned about the guilty. We are concerned about the present situation. There are pictures of the girl with one of you. It is difficult for us to accept and tolerate continuous blackmail," Justice Bobde told the counsels appearing for the accused.

It added: "You must give access to those photographs. If you have deleted, make sure that they are not released. If not, you have to give the password to the girl."

Senior advocates Shanti Bhushan and Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the accused, told the court that if any password is available, it will be shared.

The three accused -- Hardin Sikri, Karan Chhabra and Vikas Garg -- were earlier jailed by a trial court for raping a fellow student but the Punjab and Haryana High Court had suspended their conviction and sentence in September last year on the grounds that the woman was "promiscuous" and had "casual sexual escapades".

Challenging the High Court's order of suspension of their sentences, the victim approached the apex court. She alleged that the accused have been blackmailing her as they have her objectionable pictures and expressed apprehension of circulation of those photographs.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, appearing for the victim, argued that the accused have not shared the password and also sought the court's help to see the WhatsApp chats to understand the gut-wrenching threats the girl was put under.

The top court had earlier stayed the bail granted to them by the High Court.

On April 11, 2015, the victim had lodged a complaint with the university administration alleging that the trio, final year law students of the university, had been blackmailing and raping her since August 2013.

She had also alleged that the accused were having her objectionable photos and they used to threaten to make the photos viral, and coerced her to have physical relations with them.

In March last year, the trial court in Sonipat had held the three guilty of the offence and awarded a 20-year sentence to Hardik and Karan each and a seven-year jail term to Vikas, for gang rape and blackmailing the victim.

Later, in September the High Court had suspended their sentence and granted them bail against which the victim approached the top court.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A court here on Wednesday granted bail to a Kashmiri businessman arrested for alleged involvement in the Red Fort attack of 2000.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma granted bail to businessman Bilal Ahmad Kawa, 37, asking him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of like amount.

Kawa was arrested in a joint operation by Delhi Police and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here in January this year for his alleged involvement in the Red Fort attack of 2000.

The Delhi Police said Kawa's bank account had been used for Lashkar-e-Taiba terror funding.

The court order came on senior advocate and defence counsel Aman Lekhi's submission that except one, other accused in the case had been either discharged or acquitted.

The court warned Kawa not to tamper with the evidence or interfere in the probe.

Kawa, in his bail plea, claimed that no purpose would be served by keeping him in custody further.

The police have said that Kawa, one of the alleged conspirators in the attack, had been absconding for 17 years and declared a proclaimed offender.

The trial court in October 2005 awarded death sentence to Pakistan-based LeT terrorist Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq, while two key conspirators were awarded life imprisonment. The court also convicted three other accused.

In September 2007, the Delhi High Court had upheld the death sentence to Ashfaq but acquitted six others.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a widening emergency crackdown, the government of Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen on Wednesday arrested three family members of jailed Supreme Court judge Ali Hameed, even as exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed reiterated his appeal to India to intervene militarily to resolve the Indian Ocean country's deepening crisis.

Following the Supreme Court's unprecedented ruling to free Nasheed and nine other high-profile political prisoners on February 1, President Abdulla Yameen had declared a 15-day state of emergency earlier this week and curbed the powers of the Supreme Court before ordering the arrest of Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed, Judge Hameed and Judicial Administrator Hassan Saeed.

According to a family member, the police had taken a younger sibling of Hameed's wife under custody late on Tuesday, before arresting another of her younger siblings and their spouse on Wednesday. The police also raided their residences and seized a laptop on Tuesday night.

The Police Service also said they had evidence to show that Chief Justice Saeed, Judge Hameed and the Judicial Administrator had "accepted millions in bribes".

Meanwhile, Judge Hameed was rushed to the hospital early on Wednesday following a cardiac problem, according to a report by en.mihaaru.com.

Amid the ongoing turmoil, Nasheed repeated his appeal to India to intervene militarily in the archipelago country, saying that seeking an internal solution to the ongoing crisis could lead to chaos.

He said his countrymen view New Delhi's role "positively" and during the 1988 crisis India was "not occupiers but liberators".

He tweeted:



Saying resolve things internally is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see Indias role positively: in 88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now.  Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) 7 February 2018

On Tuesday he had requested from India "a physical presence" and to "send an envoy, backed by its military" for the release of judges and political detainees including former strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President Abdulla Yameen's half-brother.

The tweet by Nasheed, a friend of India, came as Beijing, in an apparent reference to New Delhi, on Wednesday cautioned against outside interference in the Maldives' internal affairs, saying it would "complicate" the situation.

China also denied allegations that Yameen had its backing and said Beijing follows the principles of non-interference in other countries' domestic affairs.

"The current situation in the is its internal affair. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultation by relevant parties," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

"The international community should play a constructive role based on the principle of respecting the sovereignty of the instead of taking actions that may complicate the current situation," Geng said.

"We hope the relevant parties in the Maldives will resolve the issues through consultation and restore the national stability and social order as soon as possible," he said.

Nasheed, who has been living in self-exile in Sri Lanka for the past few months, also accused authorities of ill-treating judge Ali Hameed and sought an immediate release of the judge along with Gayoom.

"President Gayoom and the Judges must be released immediately. I am told President Gayoom is not taking food, while (jailed Supreme Court) Justice Ali Hameed has been ill-treated," he said.

India had in a strong statement said that it is "disturbed" by the situation in the Maldives.

Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has termed the Maldives state of emergency an "all-out assault on democracy".

"The suspension of several functions of the judiciary and Parliament, and the restrictions on a series of constitutional rights create a dangerous concentration of power in the hands of the president," said Zeid.

"President Yameen has, to put it bluntly, usurped the authority of the State's rule-of-law institutions and its ability to work independently from the executive," the High Commissioner said. "The Maldives has seen in recent years attacks on political opponents, on journalists, on civil society and human right defenders, and what is happening now is tantamount to an all-out assault on democracy."

He called on the Maldives Government to lift the State of Emergency immediately, to respect the institutions and their competencies as provided for in the Constitution, and to respect the fundamental rights of all people and the rule of law, in line with the Maldives' obligations under international human rights law, in particular the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Meanwhile, the Maldives High Commission in India said in a statement that it was committed to ensuring the safety of all residents in the Indian Ocean nation irrespective of nationality.

It said that "the situation in the Maldives remains stable and the state of emergency does not force any restriction on movement in the country."

"All international airports... and all domestic airports, seaplane operations, tourist resorts, all allied tourism-related infrastructure, schools and banks are operating under normal conditions," the statement added.

The European Union (EU) also called for the lifting of the state of emergency in the country.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday moved a step closer to forming a coalition government with her centre-left rivals, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), after four months of political uncertainty.

A spokesperson for the SPD confirmed it had reached a deal with Merkel's centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but stressed that it would need to be formally approved by the party's 460,000 members, reports CNN.

The announcement represents a huge breakthrough for Merkel, who has struggled to form a government since suffering embarrassment in September's election.

But the latest deal means that a return to the the so-called "grand coalition" between the CDU and SPD, which has been in power for the last 12 years, appears to be on the cards.

Such a move will also leave the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party as the man opposition in the German parliament.

The AfD's anti-immigration stance proved hugely popular with voters, winning 12.6 per cent of the vote, a result described by leading party figures as a "political earthquake".

On Tuesday, Merkel warned both sides needed to make "painful compromises", adding that she was ready to do so if they would benefit the country, reports Efe news.

The SPD leader, Martin Schulz, faces a struggle to convince the more militant factions within his party, including its youth wing known as "Jusos", to enter into a coalition with the centre-right ruling party.

Schulz hopes to convince the SPD's more sceptical members, who have the final say on whether to proceed with the coalition with the centre-right, by securing concessions on healthcare and employment.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress on Wednesday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha as "disappointing" and said that he should not give lessons on democracy to the party as he himself does not respect it.

"It was his (Modi) political speech, election speech... He spoke about Karnataka, about Basweshwarji, about Gautam Buddha's Licchavi state where the democracy came first," Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge told media outside Parliament referring to the over one-hour long speech of Modi in Lok Sabha in which he fiercely attacked the Congress, during his reply on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Speech.

"But he himself does not respect democracy here," Kharge said, adding that "people like Modi speak something and do something else".

"We are disappointed by the speech. He backtracked from fulfilling our demands. Hence, we staged a walkout," he added.

The Congress walked out of the Lower House alleging that Modi did not address the issues raised by the MPs, including on the 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

Slamming the Prime Minister for accusing Congress of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, Kharge said, "In the run up to the 2014 general elections Modi had said that a separate Telangana state would be created if the BJP came to power."

Kharge also recalled that the BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, while in the opposition, had supported the demand for dividing Andhra Pradesh.

"Let Modi at least say that he was not in favour of creating Telangana and giving an economic package to Andhra Pradesh," he said.

"He is neither supporting (the bifurcation), while on the other (hand) he is speaking such a language. Hence, I feel saddened that the Prime Minister is not keeping his words," the Congress MP said.

The Congress leader also accused the Prime Minister of not keeping his word on doing justice to Telangana and giving an economic package, central government aid to the Polavaram irrigation project, a steel factory in Kadappa to the residual Andhra Pradesh after the NDA came to power in 2014.

Slamming Modi, he said, "The lawmakers of Andhra Pradesh's ruling TDP staged protests in Lok Sabha yesterday (Tuesday) over issues concerning the state when I flagged the matter of Rafale deal in the House.

"While today (Wednesday), the TDP MPs were requested not to raise their issues when the Prime Minister was to address the Lok Sabha," he said.

Referring to the Prime Minister reciting a poem by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on large-heartedness, Kharge said, "The Prime Minister talked about being large-hearted. He also read out Vajpayeeji's poem. Despite reading Vajpayeeji's poem, he did not become large-hearted (person)."

The Congress leader also accused Modi for not touching upon the important issues such as giving minimum support price (MSP) to farmers and doubling their income by 2022.

"He did not say anything new in his speech. He also did not mention anything new in the interest of the country. He also did not give any satisfactory reply to issues we raised," Kharge said.

"When Modi started speaking about doubling the income of farmers he said that they brought soil testing laboratories, neem coating urea has been brought for them. And by their usage the income of farmers is doubled," he said.

"By using fertilizers the income of the farmers is not doubled," he said, adding that Modi did not speak about the promises he made in 2014 about giving 50 per cent cost price and minimum support price to farmers.

"We kept on asking him, but he refused to answer all," Kharge added.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Wednesday finalised a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Ports group to set up two inland logistics hubs in the state.

A delegation of the group led by its Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem arrived here during the day to discuss the modalities for setting up the hubs in Jammu and Kashmir Valley.

"Sulayem and his team held separate meetings with Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and Industries Minister Chander Parkash Ganga followed by delegation-level parleys with Ministers and government officials concerned.

"The MoU for setting up inland logistic hubs in Jammu and Srinagar, as a joint venture between Dubai Ports and the Jammu and Kashmir government, was finalised at the delegation-level talks between group's team and government team led by Sulayem and Drabu respectively", an official statement said here.

The MoU is to be subsequently signed by the government of India with its UAE counterpart to facilitate the hubs in Jammu and Kashmir.

To begin with, 100 acres of land would be offered by the state government near the Samba railway station as equity in the joint venture with Dubai Ports for the logistic hub in Jammu region. Around 100 acres would be earmarked near Ompora in Budgam in the Kashmir Valley for a similar facility.

Dubai Ports has agreed to make its maiden foreign direct investment of around Rs 1,500 crore for two dry ports, warehouses, cold-storage chain, controlled atmospheric stores and supply chain to transport commodities and products including horticultural and agricultural produce, handicrafts and industrial products from the state directly to the world markets.

"One of the major problems of J&K economy is high cost of transportation of goods and products. We have to get fruits, agriculture produce, handicrafts and industrial products in trucks to outside world. If we get a dry port and cold chain, the commodities can move through an integrated transport chain. This will bring down the transportation cost by 20 to 25 per cent and thus give a major fillip to the state economy," the Finance Minister said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A gang of armed robbers attacked a gold trader from Mumbai and decamped with 1.30 kg of gold ornaments worth around Rs 35 lakhs, here early on Wednesday, an official said.

Kantilal Jaswantraj Mehta, 53, was threatened at gun point near Gujri Road around 6 a.m., close to the famed Mahadev Temple precincts near the city centre.

Mehta from Mumbai's Borivali area had just got off a private bus in Kolhapur, when the robbers wielding swords chased him to a deserted spot.

As Mehta attempted to resist the attackers, they assaulted him with the swords. A fourth person joined them.

A CCTV camera installed near the temple premises captured the entire incident. It showed Mehta writhing in pain on the ground, as the four snatched his bag and ran off, Investigating Officer Harish Suryawanshi said.

Later, the trader was admitted to a hospital. He belongs to a gold trading company in Mumbai. The Rajwada police station registered his complaint.

The police and Crime Branch have launched a massive manhunt in and around Kolhapur. Seven squads have been formed to trace the culprits.

The business community in the area is tense. This is the second such incident of its kind within a week that has taken place near the Mahalaxmi Temple.

Last week, a robbery of Rs 17 lakh was reported from the Kavala Naka locality.

The police suspect that specific information might have been available with the assailants prior to the attack.

The robbery was executed within a minute, the police officer said. At least one or two more robbers might not have been visible in the CCTV footage, he said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh informed the State Assembly on Wednesday that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe the three "puzzling" bomb blasts that took place this year in Imphal's high security areas.

The first grenade exploded on January 15 at the army office adjacent to the Raj Bhavan. The second blast followed within minutes, a few meters away, injuring a woman.

Biren said that apart from being a high security area there are sentry turrets in the army office.

Two more grenades exploded on Monday night at the Polo Ground in the heart of Imphal city, injuring two troopers.

The Chief Minister said that the safety pins of the grenades were found within the boundary wall.

Official speculation is that these grenades were not thrown from outside the wall, he said.

"From the CCTV footage, it was established that there was no movement of people near the Polo Ground at the time of explosions," Biren added.

On Tuesday, nine troopers were injured in a twin blast.

Unidentified persons lobbed two hand grenades over the wall which "exploded about inside the transit camp" of Assam Rifles.

This is something "incomprehensible" to the government, he said, adding "under these circumstances we approached the higher authority for an NIA probe and it was conceded to."

Sources told IANS that Biren had urged Home Minister Rajnath Singh for a NIA probe into the January 15 blasts at the army camp.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said there was "nothing new" in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha and that the people were interested in knowing about their future and jobs.

"The Prime Minister said nothing new. He is repeating old things, (but) people are interested about their jobs. They want to know about their future," Gandhi said.

Replying to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Modi had strongly attacked the Congress and accused the opposition party of "fostering the legacy of one family" at the cost of the country.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Odisha government on Wednesday announced a Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the alleged gang rape of a minor girl in Koraput district by security personnel last year.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik also requested the Orissa High Court to monitor the investigation in the "extraordinary circumstances of the case" following the death of the victim.

He said given his "strong faith and conviction in the principles of natural justice and commitment to safety and dignity of women", his government has decided to "take immediate steps for handing over the investigation" to a SIT "with a prayer for it to be monitored by the court".

In addition to transferring the case to the Crime Branch, the state government has also instituted an independent judicial inquiry with a sitting judge nominated by the High Court, he said.

Patnaik said the state is committed that justice be delivered at the earliest and in the most transparent manner.

A minor tribal girl was allegedly gang raped by security personnel in Kunduli area on October 10, 2017. She committed suicide at her house on January 22.

The incident had triggered massive public outrage across the state. Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party are demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the rape case.

The family members of the victim are also demanding a CBI probe alleging that they have lost faith in the state police.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China on Wednesday indirectly cautioned India against intervening in the Maldives, saying any outside "interference" in the country's political crisis would "complicate" the situation - a day after the exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed sought India's military help.

China also denied allegations that Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen had its backing and said Beijing follows the principles of non-interference in other countries' domestic affairs.

"The current situation in the Maldives is its internal affair. It should be properly resolved through dialogue and consultation by relevant parties," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said.

"The international community should play a constructive role based on the (principle of) respecting the sovereignty of the Maldives instead of taking actions that may complicate the current situation," Geng said.

On Tuesday, former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who was ousted in a coup in 2012 and is close to India, asked New Delhi to intervene militarily in the Maldives.

India in a strongly-worded statement said it was disturbed over the state of Emergency imposed by President Abdullah Yameen whose government has arrested the country's Chief Justice and former Maldivian President Abdul Gayoom.

Last week, the apex court had ordered the release of nine parliamentarians which could have restored the majority of the Maldivian Democratic Party-led by Nasheed and threatened Yameen's Presidency.

To calls by the international community for the Maldives government to comply with the apex court's ruling, Geng said: "We believe that the Maldives' government, political parties and the people have the wisdom to address the situation independently."

"We hope the relevant parties in the Maldives will resolve the issues through consultation and restore the national stability and social order as soon as possible."

Asked about former Maldives Parliament Speaker Abdullah Shahid alleging that Yameen was backed by China for approving a pro-Beijing trade pact, Geng said: "I have just said that the current situation in the Maldives is its internal affair. China always follows the principles of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs."

"China maintains friendly cooperation with the Maldives including the FTA which serves the common interests of the two countries. The facts have proven that after signing of the FTA cooperation has benefited the two peoples," he added.

China has invested heavily in the infrastructure and booming tourism sector in the Indian Ocean nation. In 2017, Maldives became the second country after Pakistan to sign a free trade agreement with China.

The Yameen government had rushed through the FTA pact in the country's Parliament, triggering concerns in the opposition party and in India. China's growing closeness to the Maldives under Yameen is seen as part of Beijing's strategic encirclement of India, and eroding New Delhi's influence with Male.

Yameen also approved China's Belt and Road project, a network of highways, railways, sea lanes and ports that aims to connect Asia, Africa and Europe.

--IANS

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(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Pakistan court on Wednesday announce its verdict in the case of the lynching of a student, Mashal Khan, who was accused of blasphemy.

Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Judge Fazal Khan Subhan read out the verdicts at the heavily guarded Haripur jail in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa against each of the 57 arrested suspects presented before the court, Dawn news reported.

The court's verdict is yet to be announced for at least 25 others.

According to initial reports, one person had been handed a death sentence, five sentenced to 25 years in jail, and 26 others acquitted without punishment.

Mashal, a student of Mass Communications at the Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was beaten and shot to death by an angry mob on April 13, 2017, reports Dawn news.

The lynching took place within the university premises and was recorded on video which was later circulated on social media.

Speaking to the media outside the courtroom, Mashal's brother Aimal said that he hoped no one ever has to go through the ordeal his family suffered.

"We will consult our lawyers and see if we are satisfied with the verdict. My only appeal to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police is to arrest the rest of the suspects and bring them to justice as well," he said.

A total of 61 accused, the majority of them students and university employees and a tehsil councillor, were directly charged in the FIR. Fifty seven of the accused were arrested within a few days of the occurrence, while another one was arrested only last month.

The brutal incident had shocked the nation and sparked a debate over the misuse of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

According to a probe report, Mashal had been vocal about the rights of students at the university and even challenged the appointment of a new vice chancellor (VC) at the university to ensure that students were able to obtain their degrees, which is not possible without the VC's signature, reports Dawn news.

Days before he was lynched by the mob, Mashal in an interview to Khyber news channel, had spoken against activities at the university and the administration.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Pakistan court is set to announce its verdict in the lynching of a student, Mashal Khan, who was accused of blasphemy.

Mashal, a student of Mass Communications at the Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was beaten and shot to death by an angry mob on April 13, 2017, reports Dawn news.

The lynching took place within the university premises and was recorded on video which was later circulated on social media.

Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) Jugde Fazal Khan Subhan is expected to announce a short verdict in the heavily guarded Haripur jail in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.

Extra security arrangements have been made due to the sensitivity of the case with roads leading to jail being closed. The prison administration has also banned the entry of visitors.

"It is expected that a large number of relatives, friends, family members and supporters will gather outside the Haripur jail," a police official told Dawn.

The family and lawyers of Iqbal Khan, Mashal's father, are hopeful that they would get justice.

"The case is very strong. Police have provided strong proofs including videos of the incident," Fazl Khan, Iqbal's lawyer told Dawn.

The brutal incident shocked the nation and sparked a debate over the misuse of the blasphemy laws in Pakistan.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Navy has seized 5,000 kg of narcotics and arrested some suspected drug traffickers in Arabian Sea off the country's shores, officials said on Wednesday.

The operation was conducted by the ship ASLAT in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone, a statement issued by the directorate of public relations of Pakistan Navy said.

The special warfare teams of ASLAT carried out the search operation at a suspected vessel after gathering credible evidence regarding the presence of 5,000 kg of hashish on it.

The sized drugs and the arrested suspects were handed over to Pakistan Maritime Security Agency for further legal proceedings, the statement added.

The Navy's ASLAT ship was deployed as part of the Multinational Combined Task Force-150, which is part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Task Force-150 is mandated to ensure maritime security to prevent counter terrorism and associated illegal activities.

The success of Pakistan Navy ship in interrupting the flow of narcotics highlights the importance accorded by Pakistan Navy in patrolling the waters of North Indian Ocean to ensure free flow of legitimate commerce and deny use of high seas to terrorists and all associated miscreants, the statement said.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan has brought up the Kashmir issue in the Security Council, accusing it of "selective implementation" of its resolutions.

"Nothing undermines the credibility of the Council more than selective implementation of its resolutions," Pakistan's Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi said on Tuesday during a session on its working methods.

"The Council should therefore periodically review implementation of its resolutions, especially on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute," she added. "Failure to enforce its own resolutions undercuts not just the Council's standing in the world, but the UN as well."

Her reference was to a 1948 Council resolution that called for a plebiscite to determine the future of Kashmir, while also demanding the withdrawal of Pakistani "tribesmen" who entered the state.

India has said that the "tribesmen" were Pakistani troops who tried to annex Kashmir.

Given Pakistan's refusal to withdraw its troops, India could not hold hold a plebiscite and New Delhi maintains that by participating in the elections in the state the Kashmiri people have exercised their democratic rights integrating with India.

Other Council resolutions relating to Kashmir were about a commission to oversee the plebiscite and, in 1957, on a UN representative mediating between the two neighbours.

India also maintains that under the 1972 Simla Agreement signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was then the President of Pakistan, the two countries have agreed to sort out their disputes between themselves without the intervention of third parties.

In 2010, the Council removed Kashmir from its list of unresolved international disputes.

At the beginning of every year, Pakistan also asks the Council to keep alive the question of the Hyderabad's integration with India based on a telegram from Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi Asaf Jah VII asking it to keep India out of the princely state. The Nizam, however, withdrew the complaint after the princely state's integration into India.

Two other issues it attempts to revive in its annual ritual are resolutions relating to the 1965 India-Pakistan War and the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Pakistan court on Wednesday sentenced one person to death and another 30 to between 4-25 years of imprisonment for lynching a student over accusations of blasphemy.

Imran Ali, who had pleaded guilty to shooting Mashal Khan in April after he was lynched by a group of students, was handed the death penalty and was also ordered to pay a fine of 150,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,355).

Another five people were sentenced to 25 years in prison, and another 25 to four years in prison.

Judge Fazl Subhan acquitted another 26 accused for lack of evidence at a hearing that was held at the Haripur central jail in northwestern Pakistan amid tight security, prison spokesperson Farid Ullah told Efe news.

Out of the 61 who were accused of being involved in the lynching, three are still on the run.

The government of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the lynching took place, said in a statement that it will appeal against the acquittals and seek tougher sentences for the convicted.

The incident took place on April 13, 2017 at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the city of Mardan, where a group of youngsters lynched and killed the journalism student over rumours that he had shared blasphemous content on social media.

The lynching was recorded on video which was later circulated on social media.

Speaking to the media outside the courtroom, Mashal's brother Aimal said that he hoped no one ever has to go through the ordeal his family suffered.

According to a probe report, Mashal Khan had been vocal about the rights of students at the university and even challenged the appointment of a new vice chancellor (VC) at the university to ensure that students were able to obtain their degrees, which is not possible without the VC's signature, Dawn online reported.

Days before he was lynched by the mob, Khan in an interview to Khyber news channel, had spoken against activities at the university and the administration.

Blasphemy became a controversial issue in Pakistan after laws were amended in the 1980s making it an offence punishable by the death penalty, although nobody has been executed so far.

Despite the tightening of the law, at least 53 people have been killed by mobs in Pakistan until now over alleged blasphemy.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two months after offering to discuss sharing of drinking water from the Mhadei river to Karnataka on humanitarian grounds, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday said that only the interstate Water Dispute Tribunal appointed by the Central goevrnment will decide on the water-sharing issue.

Speaking to reporters at the State Secretariat, he also held all other discussion on the issue was only of "academic interest".

"The discussion is only for purpose of academic interest. We are fighting the case very well in the Tribunal. Why do you need answers on every issue? If the Tribunal is deciding, let the Tribunal decide," Parrikar said, when asked to comment on the Mhadei issue.A

Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra are currently involved in a dispute in the tribunal over controversial Kalsa-Bhandura dam project across Mhadei river, through which Karnataka aims to divert water from the Mhadei basin to nearby basin on the Malaprabha river.

Mhadei, also known as the Mandovi river, originates in Karnataka and meets the Arabian Sea in Panaji, while briefly flowing through Maharashtra.

The river course is 28.8 km in Karnataka, and over 50 km in Goa.

Parrikar's offer of discussion, in a letter to Karnataka BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa in December, ttracted sharp criticism from his own cabinet colleagues as well as the Opposition and civil society groups who accused the Goa Chief Minister of selling out on the state's natural resources only to help the Bharatiya Janata Party, ahead of the Karnataka assembly polls.

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should answer the nation on the Rafale deal, farmers issues and on employment generation, instead of questioning the opposition Congress.

Talking to reporters outside Parliament, Gandhi said he can understand that before 2014 Modi was blaming the Congress for everything, but even after being in power for four years he was still questioning the opposition instead of giving answers to the people from the floor of the House.

"I can understand that before 2014, the Prime Minister was talking about the 70 years of Congress rule. But today, the BJP is in government, Modi is the Prime Minister not opposition," the Congress President said, soon after Modi finished his speech in the Lok Sabha, in which he fiercely attacked the Congress, during his reply on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Speech.

"He can talk about this in a public meeting, but in Parliament, you have to answer to the country," he said.

Gandhi raised questions on the details of the Rafale fighter jet deal, alleging corruption, on the farmers' issues and employment generation in the country.

"There is corruption in the Rafale deal, Prime Minister should answer on that," he said.

The Prime Minister, in his more than one and a half hour long speech, questioned the previous Congress-led government and blamed them for "hastily" bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.

Government ally Telugu Desam Party was staging a protest in the House as the Prime Minister came to reply. The TDP members later returned to their seats, but Congress MPs continued to protest.

Modi also blamed the former governments under the Congress for not doing enough for the progress of the country, and said India is lagging behind because of them.

--IANS

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President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday flagged off the celebrations to anoint the Gomateshwara statue in this Jain pilgrim town in Karnataka's Hassan district.

The President, along with the First Lady Savita Kovind, arrived in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening and were flown by a chopper to flag off the 'Mahamastakabhisheka' (grand consecration) celebrations of the Jain god Bahubali's Gomateshwara statue here.

"This magnificent statue and the whole philosophy of Jainism are valuable because they teach us world peace," Kovind said in his inaugural address.

Lakhs of people from across the country visit Shravanabelagola to take part in the 'Mahamastakabhisheka' festival, which is held once in every 12 years for over 1,000 years now.

The statue of Gomateshwara, dedicated to the Jain god Bahubali (a god with strong arms), built around 983 A.D., is one of the largest free-standing statues in the world. Bahubali was the son of Adinath, the first 'Tirthankara' (spiritual leader) of Jainism.

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, state Governor Vajubhai Vala, Janata Dal (Secular) leader and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda were also present at the festival's inauguration.

During the festival, the 17-metre high mighty monolithic statue of Gomateshwara is anointed with milk, saffron, ghee etc.

While the President flagged off the celebrations on Wednesday, the actual anointing of the statue will take place on February 17. The last anointing ceremony took place 12 years ago in 2006.

"The fest will be celebrated for 18 days from February 7 to 25, with various Jain rituals held for the first nine days and the anointing ceremony taking place from February 17 to 25," the festival organising committee's chief of publicity P.Y. Rajendra Kumar said.

While the key days of the festival are from February 17 to 25, devotees and VIPs have been pouring into this town for the last three weeks.

According to officials, about 2.25 lakh people are expected to visit the town for the mega Jain observance. The pilgrim town has been spruced up at an estimated cost of Rs 175 crore for the fest.

Hundreds of policemen were deployed in the town along with CCTV cameras in order to monitor the crowds.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Protests and sloganeering by the Congress and Left party members echoed in the Lok Sabha as Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Speech, in which he slammed previous Congress-led governments for not doing enough for the country's progress.

The Lok Sabha has been witnessing protests by government ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress since Tuesday. Both have alleged injustice to the recently bifurcated state, and are demanding a special package.

On Wednesday morning, as soon as the House met, members from the two parties trooped near Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's podium and kept raising slogans through the Question Hour.

An angry Speaker was seen reprimanding the members, but they did not go back to their seats.

However, when the Prime Minister was to start his reply just after noon, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar requested the protesting members to go back to their seats and let the Prime Minister speak.

The TDP members went back to their seats while the YSR Congress staged a walkout.

However, Congress leader in the House Mallikarjun Kharge questioned why the protests were not stopped when he was speaking in the House on Tuesday.

Soon after, the Congress members, along with members from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) trooped near the Speaker's podium and started raising slogans demanding justice for Andhra Pradesh.

Even as the Prime Minister slammed the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for the hasty bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh for political benefits, members from the Congress and the Left continued their protest.

The opposition MPs raised slogans in Telugu as well and were seen clapping in rhythm as they raised slogans.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who remained seated, was also seen clapping to the beats of the slogans at one point during the Prime Minister's reply.

Time to time, protesting members raised slogans saying "bhashanbazi band karo" (stop giving speeches) and "jumlebazi band karo" (stop making hollow claims).

However, more than halfway through the speech, Congress members got printed placards which raised questions on the Rafale deal and demanded a clarification from the Prime Minister.

Later, speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister should tell the nation the truth about the Rafale deal.

As the Prime Minister concluded his speech in the House, all members of the treasury benches stood up and were seen thumping their desk lauding the reply.

Congress members meanwhile staged a walkout soon after the speech was over.

The Speaker then passed the Motion of Thanks through a voice vote.

Rashtriya Janata Dal member Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav meanwhile stood on his seat and questioned why amendments were not taken up.

Soon after, TDP members, who were wearing bright yellow stoles and had yellow placards, once again trooped near the Speaker's podium.

The House was then adjourned till 3 p.m.

--IANS

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Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader M. Veerappa Moily on Wednesday said the Rafale aircraft deal inked with France was the "biggest scam" of the BJP-led NDA government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi was answerable to the people on the issue.

"Complete non-transparency in the Rafale deal, non-disclosure of purchase price of these aircraft, and violation of mandatory provision of defence procurement procedure," Moily said during the general discussion on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha here.

"Tragically, the Defence Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) has finally refused to disclose the purchase price (of the aircraft) in Parliament. What does it say?... the deal has left more questions than answers. (It is) Time for the Prime Minister to answer the questions to the people of this country in Parliament."

Moily urged the government to issue a 'white paper' on the aircraft purchase.

During the earlier United Progressive Alliance rule, the price negotiation was on Rs 586.1 crore per aircraft but the price negotiated by the present National Democratic Alliance government is Rs 1,570.8 crore as per the current exchange rate, he said.

"Who is responsible for the loss to the exchequer? This is the biggest scam," the Congress leader said, adding that the government was "playing with the security of the nation".

--IANS

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The Delhi government on Wednesday sent the files related to 351 roads proposed to be notified under commercial and mixed-use categories to save traders from an ongoing sealing drive to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal for approval.

"Sending the files pertaining to 351 roads to the L-G today, as soon as we received the proposal from MCDs ( Municipal Corporations). As soon as the L-G's approval is obtained, it will be presented before the SC (Supreme Court) for approval," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have been blaming each other for not notifying these roads.

The sealing drive going on in areas other than these 351 roads is against businesses using residential areas for commercial purposes without paying conversion charges.

It is being carried out by a Supreme Court-appointed Monitoring Committee and implemented by the three municipal corporations.

Once approved by the Lt Governor, the files will be returned to the Delhi government and forwarded thereafter to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Vijender Gupta said that the AAP's Delhi government was sitting on the files related to 351 roads and was forced to send them to the Lt Governor due to opposition pressure.

Last week, the Commissioners of the three BJP-ruled MCDs had said that they were yet to authenticate a survey of 351 roads, which was delaying the notification process.

On Wednesday, a Delhi government spokesperson told IANS that Delhi Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain received the files related to the 351 roads from the MCDs earlier in the day.

"The Minister sent the files to the L-G within an hour of receiving it from the MCDs," he said.

--IANS

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Senior leader of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and former Andhra Pradesh Minister Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu died following brief illness, his family said. He was 71.

Naidu, a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, breathed his last at a private hospital here late on Tuesday. He is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter.

Hailing from Chittoor district in the Rayalaseema region, he was associated with the TDP since its formation by actor-turned-politician N.T. Rama Rao in 1982.

He was elected to the state legislative assembly for a record six times from Puttur constituency in the same district.

Naidu served as Minister in N.T. Rama Rao's cabinets in 1984, 1987 and 1994 and held Education and Forest portfolios.

He remained loyal to Rama Rao when the latter's son-in-law N.Chandrababu Naidu led a revolt and became Chief Minister in 1995.

After Rama Rao's death, Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu remained in NTR TDP floated by Rama Rao's widow Lakshmi Parvathi.

In 2004, he joined the Congress party and was elected to the state assembly on a Congress ticket.

He returned to the TDP in 2008 and the next year he was elected from newly created assembly constituency Nagari. He, however, lost 2014 elections from the same constituency.

He was subsequently made a member of the Legislative Council.

Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu was sulking after he was ignored by Chief Minister Naidu during the cabinet expansion in 2017.

The Chief Minister, who is also the TDP president, condoled the death of the senior leader. He said the departed leader played a key role in the TDP and his demise "has shocked him".

Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu's body will be shifted to Puttur town, where the last rites were likely to be performed on Thursday.

--IANS

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SpaceX successfully launched the worlds most powerful rocket, a towering behemoth known as the Falcon Heavy that tore through the sky with the thundering force of 18 Boeing 747 jetliners.

Lifting off at 3.45 p.m., on Tuesday from the same launch-pad that sent the crew of Apollo 11 to the moon, the rocket sent up a mountain-sized plume of smoke and a rattling roar across Florida's Space Coast, where thousands gathered to watch, reports The Washington Post.

The mission represented the first test of the massive rocket, powered by 27 engines in three first-stage boosters that are estrapped together.

The maiden flight also marked the first time a privately financed venture ever attempted to launch a rocket so powerful that it was capable of hoisting a payload out of Earth's orbit.

As a promotional stunt, SpaceX founder Elon Musk loaded the Falcon Heavy with his own cherry-red Tesla Roadster carrying a spacesuit-clad mannequin named "Starman" in the driver's seat.

Musk said he planned to send the convertible, built by another one of his companies, into an orbit around the sun that would take it near Mars.

SpaceX topped off the launch by successfully landing two boosters on land, setting off twin sonic booms on their return. A third first-stage, the so-called centre core, crash landed at sea.

"I'm still trying to absorb everything that happened because it seemed surreal to me," The Washington Post quoted Musk as saying.

"I had an image of a giant explosion on the pad with a wheel bouncing down the road and the Tesla logo landing somewhere. But fortunately that's not what happened. The mission seemed to have gone as well as possible."

If SpaceX can fly the Falcon Heavy reliably, the rocket could prove useful to the Pentagon for lifting national security satellites and to NASA for helping its human exploration goals.

The company has said that the rocket is capable of hauling more mass farther than any existing rocket - an estimated 140,000 pounds to low Earth orbit, and nearly 40,000 pounds to Mars.

After the launch, SpaceX broadcast a live stream from the Roadster in space using the three cameras mounted to the vehicle.

In addition to carrying a plaque with the names of 6,000 SpaceX employees, the car also transported a data storage device containing Isasac Asimov's classic Foundation science fiction trilogy.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
TDP and YSR Congress members on Wednesday once again protested in the Lok Sabha, prompting Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to say they would not be able to discipline their own children as they are not disciplined themselves.

Soon after the House met, members from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the YSR Congress trooped near the Speaker's podium, protesting with placards in their hands.

As one of the protesting members tried to position the placard in front of the Speaker's seat, Mahajan reprimanded the members and said she could not even call the behaviour "childlike".

TDP members, with yellow scarves, protest demanding special package for the state of Andhra Pradesh, in the Lok Sabha in New Delhi | PTI Photo

"I can't even say it is your childish behaviour, as even children don't behave like you. When you go home, you will not be even able to teach discipline to your children," Mahajan said.

The members, however, continued their protests through the question hour, and all answers were given amid the din.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday met Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Jubeir here and discussed deepening of India-Saudi Arabia ties.

"Discussions focused on enhancing trade and investment, energy, defence and security, culture and people-to-people ties," Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

"The two Foreign Ministers also discussed the regional and global situation," Kumar said.

The India-Saudi Arabia relationship was elevated to that of a Strategic Partnership during the visit of then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the Gulf kingdom in 2010.

Saudi Arabia is the fourth-largest trading partner for India with bilateral trade exceeding $25 billion in 2016-17.

As India's largest supplier of crude oil, Saudi Arabia accounts for about 20 per cent of the total annual imports.

The country is also home to around 3.2 million expatriate Indians, that includes a growing number of professionals, including doctors, software engineers and oil technologists.

Sushma Swaraj arrived here on Tuesday on a three-day visit, during the course of which she will participate at the inauguration of the prestigious national heritage and culture festival Al Janadriyah being held just outside Riyadh at which India is the guest of honour country.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Launching a scathing attack on the government for not keeping its promises on financial assistance to bifurcated Andhra Pradesh, BJP ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Wednesday gave an ultimatum to the Centre to fulfil the same.

Participating in a debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Jayadev Galla said they have been fulfilling the "alliance dharma" (with the National Democratic Alliance) since 2014, and after five Union Budgets have been presented, this is the last chance for Andhra Pradesh to get what it was promised ahead of its bifurcation to carve out a separate state of Telangana.

Galla hinted that if the party's demands are not meant, the TDP will leave the alliance.

"We are allies -- we fought the 2014 general elections together, based on the promises made to the people of Andhra Pradesh.

"We have maintained the alliance dharma for five budgets. This is the final chance to fulfil your promises and assurances. It is now or never. We understand you have numbers (of MPs) to render us irrelevant, but elections are fast approaching, (and) based on current trends the coming (2019) elections may be challenging," he said.

"What message will it send to your allies? India has not seen the last days of coalition governments; what message do you want to send to allies and potential allies. Allies are feeling humiliated, as are the people of Andhra Pradesh," the TDP leader said.

He also questioned if the Bharatiya Janata Party was thinking of tying up with the YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh. "You think YSR will be a better ally in Andhra?

"You can fool some of the people all the time, you can fool all the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time," he said.

Galla said the party demanded an explanation, failing which it would have no option but to consider that "you are acting in bad faith and we will have to reconsider why we are in this relation".

The TDP member said he still had faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, and said he was left with no other option but to raise the issue in this manner.

The TDP has been protesting in Parliament that the Centre has not given the promised financial assistance to Andhra Pradesh. TDP MPs protested in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and Wednesday on the issue.

--IANS

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Authorities in Andhra Pradesh have tightened the security in view of the shutdown called by the Left parties on Thursday to protest the injustice meted out to the state in the Union Budget 2018-19.

The Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist and several other smaller parties have called for the shutdown. YSR Congress and Congress have backed the shutdown call.

The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has also called for protests across the state to express solidarity with its MPs, who have been trying to stall the proceedings in both the Houses of Parliament to demand justice to the state.

The government has declared holiday for schools as a precautionary measure. Police have made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward incident.

Director General of Police M. Malakondaiah has directed Superintendents of Police in all districts to take all measures to maintain law and order. The officials in districts have been asked to take precautionary measures to protect public property and also keep a tight vigil.

The police chief said additional forces were deployed in sensitive areas.

The TDP, an ally of BJP-led NDA, continued its protest in Parliament. The party MPs raised slogans during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech, demanding justice for the state.

Earlier, TDP president and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu asked his party MPs to continue the protest till a categorical announcement from the Centre. Though Union Ministers Rajnath Singh and Ananth Kumar spoke to Naidu over phone, urging to advise his MPs to cooperate during the Prime Minister's speech, Naidu made it clear that the protest will continue, TDP sources said.

Actor-politician Pawan Kalyan said the movement to get justice for Andhra Pradesh should be on the lines of the movement for separate Telangana state. The Jana Sena party chief remarked that two placards and four slogans will of no use.

He recalled that at the time of the state's bifurcation, then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had announced in Parliament that special category status will be accorded to Andhra Pradesh. Pawan said he had hoped that this commitment will be fulfilled after Narendra Modi formed the government at the Centre but this did not happen.

Pawan said his party would support shutdown observed peacefully and without causing inconvenience to people.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Designer Tommy Hilfiger, excited about the multi-year strategic partnership with four-time Formula One World Champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, says he loves the motor sport.

The multi-year deal brings the brand back to the world of Formula One for the first time in 17 years. Starting in the 2018 season, the brand will be the official apparel partner of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, read a statement.

"From the first time I attended a Formula One race, I was completely fascinated by the world of motor sports," said Hilfiger.

"To be re-entering this arena with World Champions Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and their number one team is an incredible way to fuse fashion and Formula One. I recognise the passion, spirit and drive that the entire Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team shows at every race, and these shared qualities are why I'm excited to partner with them for the upcoming seasons," he added.

The brand's logo will be featured on the team's 2018 race cars, which will be revealed on February 22, 2018 at the Silverstone track in UK, as well as inside the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport pit garage and other trackside assets.

Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, said: "It is always exciting to embark on a new partnership, particularly when it touches such a key area of our team's image; I am positive that it will energise our brand and bring a new spin to how we are perceived from next season.

"We are excited to see how Tommy Hilfiger will dress the team this season and to showcase their exciting plans to the fans of Formula One."

--IANS

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Britain Prime Minister Theresa May warned on Tuesday that democracy was being threatened by abuse and intimidation online in a speech celebrating the centenary of most British women winning the right to vote.

In a speech in the northern English city of Manchester, May praised the "heroism" of the suffragettes, but warned that attacks online were putting many women off getting involved in politics, Efe reported.

"As we remember the heroic campaigners of the past, who fought to include the voices of all citizens in our public debate, we should consider the values and principles that guide our conduct today," said May.

"Social media and digital communication, which in themselves can and should be forces for good in our democracy, are being exploited and abused, often anonymously," she added.

The PM said there was much to celebrate, but she worried that public debate was coarsening.

Tuesday marked the 100-year anniversary since the UK parliament passed a law giving women over the age of 30 the right to vote, which at the time applied to more than eight million people.

"As the woman at the head of our country's government, a century after my grandmothers were first given the right to vote, my mission is clear: to build that better future for all our people's said May.

On February 6, 1918, the parliament passed the Representation of the People Act, which granted millions of women the right to vote, following a long campaign on the part of the suffragettes that involved going on hunger strikes, arson attacks, and other forms of direct political action.

But it was not until 1928, 10 years later, when all women over the age of 21 won the right to vote in the UK.

--IANS

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the Congress-led UPA was fully responsible for the NPAs of banks and that the country would never forgive the party for its "sin".

Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Lok Sabha, Modi said that the total lending of banks was Rs 18 lakh crore in 2008 and it grew to Rs 52 lakh crore in 2014 due to indiscriminate lending during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime.

"Today the rise in NPAs (non-performing assets) is due to the interest on Rs 52,000 crore. The country will never forgive you.

"The country should know that deeds of the previous government were behind NPAs. The previous government is fully responsible. They made such banking policies in which pressure was exerted on the banks, telephone calls were made and the favourites would get loans. The government, bank and middlemen would jointly restructure the loans on paper and lakhs of crores were given," Modi added.

The Prime Minister said the entire issue came to attention of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government after it came to office in 2014.

"If I had to do politics, I would have placed the facts before people right at the beginning of (my tenure), but it would have hit the economy. I remained quiet despite having proof of your sins. I remained quiet in the interest of the country. Now we have empowered the banks and time has come to bring the truth before people," Modi said.

"This NPA is your sin. I am telling this in the temple of democracy. After our government came to power, we have not given a single loan which turned into a NPA."

Accusing the Congress of giving wrong statistics, he said its leaders had put the stressed assets identified as NPAs in 2014 at 36 per cent, but these had turned out to be 82 per cent.

He said the government had strengthened banks through recapitalisation.

Modi accused the Congress of "hit-and-run politics" and said "the more you throw mud, the more lotus (BJP's election symbol) will bloom".

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US House of Representatives have passed a stopgap spending bill to fund the government through late March.

In a vote of 245-182 on Tuesday night, the House passed a temporary spending bill to extend most government spending at current levels through March 23 while providing more funds for the Pentagon through September 30, the end of the current fiscal year, reports Xinhua news agency.

It also includes two years of funding for community health centres and extends several expiring health care programmes.

However, Senate leaders from both the Republican and Democratic parties were discussing a two-year deal to lift spending caps on defence and domestic programmes, which suggests that they would probably not support the House-version spending bill.

The US federal government is running on a short-term spending bill which will expire on Thursday.

Lawmakers need to work out a spending measure before Thursday to prevent another government shutdown.

The government was shut down last month after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on contentious budget and immigration issues.

Senate leaders said that they do not want to shut down the government again and see little risk that it would occur.

"I'm optimistic that very soon we'll be able to reach an agreement," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday, referring to the two-year budget deal they were discussing.

"We're making real progress on a spending deal that would increase the caps for both military and middle-class priorities on the domestic side that my colleagues have been fighting for," said Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer.

The Senate is expected to vote on the new spending bill on Wednesday, when lawmakers are likely to change the bill and return it to the House for final passage.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday was told that vulnerability of citizens' demographic and biometric data collected under for leaks is itself the violation of their right to privacy.

"Vulnerability (of personal data collected under to leaks) is violation of rights," senior counsel Kapil Sibal told the five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

Appearing for West Bengal government, Sibal said that the functioning of the digital world was vulnerable to the sabotage and pointed out no other country in the world has such a centralised demographic and biometric data of its citizens.

Telling the court that there was "no system of the world that can't be hacked", he said if one goes to railway booking counter and feeds number, then it would reveal all journeys they had undertaken by trains in the past.

Pointing out that same was the case with air journeys, Sibal asked: "Why should the state know where I am going and what I am doing?"

At this, Justice A.K. Sikri recounted how he once took his wife for a Chinese dinner and asked for a rice dish they had eaten during their last visit five months back but whose name they ere not able to recollect. After a short while, the waiter returned with the print-out of their five-month-old bill.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud described the entire episode as "scary".

A statute, Sibal said, has to be "consistent with the provisions of the constitution" and citing Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 asserted that the provision, it was a person's choice to produce Aadhaar number to establish their identity.

When Justice Ashok Bhushan said that under the said provision, Aadhaar can be used to establish the identity of the persons under other statutes, Sibal said that any interpretation other than that it was voluntary to use Aadhaar for establishing one's identity would be "horrendous".

As Justice Bhushan asked: "What is wrong with one nation, one identity? We are all Indians", Sibal said: "Yes we are all Indians. Passionately Indian. But we are more than our Aadhaars."

Further dwelling on his arguments, Sibal said, "Digital world knows more about you, than you know about yourself."

He told the court that there is an app called "moodpanda which rates and tracks your mood"and in a lighter vein told the bench "We would love to use it to see Your Lordships' mood in the Aadhaar case."

"Unlike smart cards which require several pieces of sophisticated equipment such as a card skimmer and card printer in addition to sophisticated software and advanced technical knowledge, most biometric readers in India today can be defeated by a child with no technical knowledge using Fevicol and wax," he claimed.

Besides West Bengal government, the former Karnataka High Court judge K.S. Puttuswamy, Magsaysay awardee Shanta Sinha, feminist researcher Kalyani Sen Menon and others have assailed the constitutional validity of Aadhaar Act on the touchstone of the fundamental right to privacy.

Hearing will continue on Thursday.
Google is listening to the App Developer Community of Kerala and to those who are capable of addressing some of the real problems that the Indian IT industry is facing, a top Google official said here on Wednesday.

Google India MD and Vice President Southeast Asia Rajan Anandan said this while inaugurating the Mobile 10X Incubation Centre at a 12,500 sq ft space at the Cyberpark here in Kozhikode.

Mobile 10X is an Indian Internet Industry backed programme spearheaded by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) to support app developers/app entrepreneurs to improve the quality of their apps.

While the state owned IT park in the state capital is called TechnoPark, the one at Kochi is called InfoPark and the recently launched one at Kozhikode is known as CyberPark.

"The objective of the incubation hub is to help entrepreneurs who are building mobile first products and services. The launch of Mobile 10X in Kerala will enable affordable access, affordable devices, local language friendly and locally relevant products and services," said Saji Gopinath, CEO Kerala Start-up Mission.

The Centre will offer co-working, training, mentoring, design and testing labs, monetisation zone, industry and investor's connect to the Digital Start-ups of the state with structure programmes enabling Cyberpark to be a Centre of Excellence in App Development.

"India today has over 425 million Internet users, 300 million mobile Internet users of which 160 million are connected to Smartphones. Statistics project that the number of Internet users would increase to 650 million by 2020.

"Setting up of Mobile 10X in Kerala will attract large number of domestic and multinational companies and lead to direct employment opportunities," said M. Sivasankar, IT secretary of Kerala.

--IANS

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Actor Michael B. Jordon, who essays Erik Stevens a.k.a Killmonger in the film "Black Panther" has said that he and the film's director Ryan Coogler knew that the project was relevant and in sync with today's individuals.

"Black Panther" is among the first films by the house of Marvel Studios which predominantly has a black cast and also shows a number of strong women of substance who work as the protagonist T'Challa's (Chadwick Boseman) allies.

Jordon told the media in a group interview here: "It is unique to our relationship. When it comes to the laying our trust, I know he (Coogler) will not put me in a situation that is not beneficial for me or for us. When it comes to that stuff... We knew that this project... The significance, our culture, our history... African American history and culture and we want to put it in a vehicle that could be relatable and accessible to the people of today.

"Killmonger's perspective and TChalla's perspective... two sides of an argument of a conversation and both have a valid argument, depending where you are sitting on the table and what you are taking from it."

Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, "Black Panther" also features Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Angela Bassett, Forest Whittaker and Martin Freeman among others.

The film is scheduled to release in India on February 16.

(The writer's trip is at the invitation of Disney. She can be contacted at kishori.s@ians.in)

--IANS

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Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his long speech in the Lok Sabha and wondered when he will break his silence on the Rafale deal, and also took a poetic jibe at him.

"The speech of Saheb was very long. In the House he termed day as night. He hid his failures. It was saddening that the real issues of the country were missing in his speech. When will the Prime Minister break his silence, and when will he finally speak on the Rafale deal?" Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Gandhi was referring to the over one-hour long speech of Modi in Lok Sabha in which he fiercely attacked the Congress, during his reply on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Speech.

Earlier, the Gandhi scion speaking to media outside Parliament said the Prime Minister should answer the nation on the Rafale deal, farmers issues and on employment generation, instead of questioning the opposition Congress.

Gandhi said that he can understand that before 2014 Modi was blaming the Congress for everything, but even after being in power for four years he was still questioning the opposition instead of giving answers to the people from the floor of the House.

"I can understand that before 2014, the Prime Minister was talking about the 70 years of Congress rule. But today, the BJP is in government, Modi is the Prime Minister not opposition," the Congress President said.

"He can talk about this in a public meeting, but in Parliament, you have to answer to the country," he said.

Gandhi raised questions on the details of the Rafale fighter jet deal, alleging corruption, on the farmers' issues and employment generation in the country.

"There is corruption in the Rafale deal, Prime Minister should answer on that," he said.

The Prime Minister, in his more than one and a half hour long speech, questioned the previous Congress-led government and blamed them for "hastily" bifurcating Andhra Pradesh.

Government ally Telugu Desam Party was staging a protest in the House as the Prime Minister came to reply. The TDP members later returned to their seats, but Congress MPs continued to protest.

Modi also blamed the former governments under the Congress for not doing enough for the progress of the country, and said India is lagging behind because of them.

--IANS

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The debate on the agricultural package in the 2018-19 Budget is bogged down with the issue of minimum support prices (MSP) of crops, disregarding some other proposals that can potentially have a more enduring impact on farmers incomes. This discourse has also obscured the fact that the Budget does not offer any upfront succour to farmers as immediate relief from economic distress.

The move to fix the MSPs at 50 per cent above the production cost, as announced in the Budget, can provide only cold comfort to farmers, and for good reason. For one, over 70 per cent of them seldom ...
Even as Sitaram Yechury and Prakash Karat battle out whether their party should enter into any electoral understanding with the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress parliamentarians were long lost comrades in arms in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Wednesday. The CPI (M) is in the midst of an intra-party battle over its future political tactical line.

The dispute is whether it should enter into any direct electoral understanding with the Congress. There is no disagreement on its alliances with the Congress in the states, as long as a regional ...
The Congress leadership on Wednesday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modis speech in the Lok Sabha. UPA chairman Sonia Gandhi said the prime minister said nothing new. He is repeating old things. But people are interested in their jobs.

They want to know about their future, she said. PM Modi spoke for 90-minutes in the Lok Sabha in his reply to the motion of thanks to the Presidents address. In his speech, the PM attributed much that is wrong with the country to the long years of Congress rule and spoke at some length about corruption. Congress ...
While senior ministers in the Narendra Modi government have ruled out an early Lok Sabha election, the Prime Minister on Wednesday launched an attack on the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty and the Congress party that was reminiscent of his public speeches during his election campaign in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Irrespective or whether or not the Lok Sabha elections are advanced to end of 2018, the PMs reply in the Lok Sabha to the motion of thanks to the Presidents address was akin to an election speech. The over hour-long speech, amid much slogan shouting by ...
Nearly 1,500 juveniles, either destitute or found to be in conflict with the law, live under appalling conditions in all the seven shelter homes in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government today told the Bombay High Court.

Shocked by the government's admission, the high court ordered the social welfare department to immediately sanction the proposal to fill up staff vacancies in the shelter homes.

According to a government affidavit submitted before the court, the juvenile inmates constantly battle problems of poor infrastructure, and inadequate staff and budget allocation.

"The seven shelter homes in Mumbai, run by (NGO) Children's Aid Society, are cramped for space and there is only one attendant and two cooks to look after the children in each shelter home," it said.

The affidavit highlighted the plight of 350 mentally- challenged inmates at a special home in suburban Mankhurd.

"They have just one attendant to look after them, and in the absence of any rehabilitation programme, most mentally disabled inmates end up living in the juvenile home for life," it said.

Shockingly, the oldest of the inmates is 76 years old, according to the affidavit.

Appalled at the submissions, a bench of justices Naresh Patil and N W Sambre asked the principal secretary of the state social welfare department to immediately sanction the proposal to fill up staff vacancies in these homes.

The bench summoned the government health officer and a senior official from the social justice department on the next date of hearing to provide it an account of the facilities given to the children in these facilities.

"You are telling us that these children are left to the care of just one attendant and some cleaning and cooking staff in each home? And worse, 350 mentally-disabled inmates are left to the care of a single attendant? They have just been left to the mercy of God?" the bench said.

"And why can't the shelter homes be renovated and expanded to ensure there is adequate space and infrastructure for each inmate?" it said.

"Also, tell us how much money do you spend on children in these homes," it said.

The court was hearing a PIL alleging that a senior official of the Children's Aid Society had called bar dancers to the shelter home in Mankhurd on New Year Eve in 2012.

As per the plea, the juvenile inmates were forced to watch the performances by bar dancers. The petitioner urged the court to direct the government to take stock of the conditions in all juvenile homes across Maharashtra.

The NGO looks after the day-to-day operation of the seven shelter homes in Mumbai, funded by the state government.

Government counsel Ashok Patki, however, told the court that a lack of space in Mumbai was a major impediment to the expansion and upgradation of these shelter homes.

The bench shot back saying, "For so many other projects this government never faces a shortage of space but for these children you are suddenly citing space crunch as an excuse?"



"This is an urgent matter and the government must treat this on a priority basis," it said.

As per the affidavit, around 76 sanctioned posts at the juvenile shelter homes in the city are lying vacant.

The matter will be heard again towards the end of this month.

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A Pakistani anti-terrorism court today sentenced one person to death and life imprisonment to five others for lynching a 23-year-old university student who was falsely accused of blasphemy.

Of the total 57 accused in the case, the court sentenced 25 others to four-year jail term and acquitted 26 others, officials said.

Last April, Mashal Khan, a student of journalism at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the northwestern city of Mardan, was dragged out of his university accommodation by a mob of hundreds of his fellow students over rumours, which later proved to be unfounded, that he had posted some blasphemous content on social media.

He was stripped and badly beaten before being shot and his body mutilated.

Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) judge Fazal-e-Subhan announced the verdict in a jail in Haripur, due to security reasons.

While one of the accused Mian Saeed was arrested on January 4, three more suspects, including a tehsil councillor from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, were still absconding.

After the verdict, the victim's brother, Aimal Khan, demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police to urgently arrest the absconders.

An official said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will file an appeal in the high court against the acquittal of suspects.

Protests erupted in several Pakistani cities after brutality of the attack, recorded on mobile phone cameras, posted online. It had stunned the public and also led to widespread condemnation, including from prominent Islamic clerics.

Students who participated in the lynching were later rounded up after being identified using CCTV footage from the university and video clips.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed to probe the lynching case, in its report in June 2017 has said that members of the Pakhtoon Students Federation, the student wing of the Awami National Party, incited the mob to kill Mashal on the pretext of blasphemy.

The report said the murder was premeditated as the group was threatened by his activities, because he would raise his voice against irregularities at his university.

According to the report, President of university employees, Ajmal Mayar, had revealed during probe that about a month before the incident, PSF President Sabir Mayar and a varsity employee, Asad Katlang, had met him and said they wanted to remove Mashal from their way as he was a threat to their group.

The investigators found no proof of blasphemy and ruled that the murder was politically motivated.

Blasphemy against Islam is punishable by death in the conservative Muslim country, and mere allegations are often enough to provoke mob violence.

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As many as 108 people were arrested in 90 cases of attacks on journalists across the country in 2015-17, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

Union minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said that the data was compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for the last three years.

He said that in 2017, there were 15 cases of attacks on journalists in which 26



people were arrested.

Last year, the highest 22 people were arrested in Rajasthan in three such cases while in Tripura, one person was arrested in three cases of attacks on journalists, the minister said.

In 2016, he said that 41 people were arrested in 47 such cases -- the highest of which were reported from Madhya Pradesh where 12 people were arrested in 41 cases.

There were six cases of attacks on journalists in Andhra Pradesh in 2016 in which nine people were arrested and five cases in Tripura where four people were arrested.

In 2015, 41 people were arrested for 28 cases of attacks on media persons, the minister said.

He, however, said that the Home Ministry has no information on whether any organisation or organisations were responsible for attacks on media persons.

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A former senior government officer accused of leaking secret defence documents has been acquitted in a 31-year-old espionage case by a Delhi court which said the CBI had failed to establish that they were classified "secret" documents.

The court absolved N W Nerurkar, who was working as an advisor to the Department of Electronics under the Centre in 1987, and another person, Aditya Kumar Jajodia, in the case and said the agency had failed to prove a conspiracy angle.

The two were acquitted of the offences of criminal conspiracy under the IPC and penalties for spying and wrongful communication of information under the Official Secrets Act.

The CBI had filed a case on April 17, 1987, after it received a complaint from a courier company in Delhi that certain secret documents related to defence matters were being dispatched by the accused.

Dr Narayan Waman Nerurkar, Brigadier (Retd) Rajpal Singh Deol, Delhi-based firm William Jacks' Krishna Kumar Jajodia, his son Aditya Kumar Jajodia and their employee Kizhuvara Venugopalan were named as the accused in the case.

While Venugopalan was discharged by the court earlier, Deol and Krishna Jajodia died during the trial and proceedings against them were abated.

Special CBI Judge Kamini Lau said in the recent judgement that there were a large number of missing links and a "total failure" on the prosecution's part to prove that the documents on "Operational Requirement of Utility helicopters for the Army" and the "User/Evaluation Trial Report on RATAC-S Battlefield Surveillance Radar (BFSR), Phase-I" were declared classified "secret" documents.

The court said even if it was assumed that these documents were "secret" notes, the possibility of their leakage from other sources could not be ruled out.

It said just because the word "secret" was written on the document, it would not make it so, particularly when the details of the equipment and its literature were readily available and published in magazines and newspapers and global tenders were invited.

The court, while acquitting Nerurkar, said the searches conducted by the investigating agency did not result in the recovery of any incriminating material against him to connect him with the alleged offence.

Regarding Aditya Jajodia, it said the recovery of a xeroxed copy of the note from the bedroom of accused Krishna Jajodia did not incriminate his son.

The court said due care and caution had not been taken to keep the concerned documents in safe custody and the approach of keeping them open showed that they did not contain any strategic or sensitive information which would be useful to any enemy or the disclosure of which was likely to affect the sovereignty and integrity of India.

According to the CBI, the courier company, Trident Express, had informed it that two packets were picked up for dispatch from Jajodias' firm.

On opening the packet, CBI officials had allegedly found that information about the Army's battlefield surveillance radar was being sent to Marc De Saint Denis in Paris.

Another packet was addressed to JWH Weavers of the Netherlands and contained draft letters with details of a radar to detect low-level enemy aircraft, it had claimed.

It had alleged that the Jajodias were engaged in buying and selling secret reports of equipment to be inducted into the Army and that the father and son were also close to Nerurkar and Deol, who was a Brigadier in the Directorate of Weapons and Equipment.

Nerurkar had claimed innocence and said he was falsely implicated in the case and had never visited the Jajodias. He stated he had never seen the concerned documents and it was manipulated by the officials with the connivance of CBI officials.

Aditya Jajodia had also claimed innocence and said the prosecution sanction to prosecute him was not legal and valid.

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Two Pakistan Army soldiers were killed and three others injured when militants targetted a military vehicle in northwestern tribal region in a late night attack, officials said today.

The attack occurred in Idak village of North Waziristan, which is one of seven tribal districts along the volatile Afghan border.

Earlier today, an IED explosion left several people wounded in Charmang area of Bajaur tribal district.

Officials said that the explosion was targetted a local elder who was supportive of military actions against militants.

The elder, identified as Malik Marooq, and other injured were shifted to the hospital, they said, adding that nobody immediately took responsibility of the attacks.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan often carries out such attacks against the security forces and the local who support the security forces against militants.

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Altogether 4,799 stone pelting incidents were reported in Jammu and Kashmir in last three years in which 17 protesters and two security personnel were killed, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said there were 730 stone pelting incidents in 2015, 2,808 such incidents in 2016 and 1,261 stone pelting incidents in 2017.

During the last three years, 17 protesters and two security personnel were killed in these incidents, he said replying to a written question.

Ahir said the central government had constituted an expert committee on July 26, 2016 to explore possible alternatives to pellet guns as non-lethal weapons.

The recommendations of the committee were taken into account by the government for appropriate implementation and accordingly, various measures such as using PAVA-Chilli (shells and grenades), STUN-LAC (shells and grenades) and tear smoke shells were used to disperse the unlawful violent protesters before the use of pellet guns, he said.

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A total of 443 candidates have filed papers for the 60 constituencies in Meghalaya after end of filing of nominations today, chief electoral officer F R Kharkongor said.

The 443 candidates include 59 of the Congress, 53 of the NPP and 47 contestants of the BJP besides other regional parties and Independents, Kharkongor told PTI.

Meghalaya will go to poll on February 27 along with Nagaland.

Result will come on March 3 along with Nagaland and Tripura.

The CEO said the election department will scrutinize the nominations tomorrow and the candidates who wish to withdraw are expected to do so by February 12, the last day of withdrawal.

Both the ruling Congress and the BJP, which drew a blank in the last assembly elections in the state, have expressed optimism that they will form the next government garnering maximum number of seats.

BJP which has government in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh is making a sincere efforts to increase its footprint in three states going to poll this month.

The National Peoples' Party which has put their best bet in Manipur and in the upcoming Nagaland poll, have also campaigned for a "change" to root the corrupt Congress.

The regional parties, the United Democratic Party and the Hills State Peoples Democratic Party which forged a pre-poll alliance has also exuded confidence of the people acceptance and their rejection of the national parties.

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A 50-year-old man, who was arrested last week on the charges of rape, died here today, prompting the government to order a magisterial probe after his relatives protested his death, officials said.

Subash Chander Mahasha alias 'Kaka', a resident of Shivalik Puram Janipur, was arrested on February 2 allegedly on charges of trespassing and rape, a police official said.

According to the official, the accused complained of uneasiness around3 amin the lockup at Janipur police station and was subsequently taken to Government Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

A medical board of doctors has been constituted for conduct of his postmortem and his body was handed over to his family for last rites, the official said.

Earlier, the relatives of the deceased took to streets in Janipur and blocked the road by burning tyres as they demanded an inquiry into his death.

District Magistrate (Jammu) Kumar Rajeev Ranjan has ordered a magisterial probe into the death of the accused and asked the inquiry officer to submit his reportwithin four weeks.

"It is a matter of concern that the death has occurred during the police custody and it becomes mandatory for this office to ascertain the cause of death of the accused person," Ranjan said in his order.

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Rescuers were working on Wednesday to try to reach people who were trapped after a strong earthquake near Taiwan's east coast caused several buildings to cave in and tilt dangerously. At least six people were killed and 88 missing in the quake.

Video footage and photos showed several midsized buildings in worst-hit Hualien county leaning at sharp angles, their lowest floors crushed into mangled heaps of concrete, shattered glass, bent iron beams and other debris.

Firefighters could be seen climbing ladders hoisted against windows as they sought to reach residents inside apartments.

The shallow, magnitude 6.4 quake that struck late last night caused at least four buildings to cave in and tilt dangerously.

A maintenance worker who was rescued after being trapped in the basement of the Marshal Hotel, whose ground floor had caved in, said the force of the earthquake was unusual.

"At first it wasn't that big ... we get this sort of thing all the time and it's really nothing. But then it got really terrifying," the worker, Chen Ming-hui, told Taiwan's official Central News Agency after he was reunited with his son and grandson following the quake. "It was really scary."



Two employees of the hotel were killed in the disaster, CNA said. Taiwan's National Fire Agency said rescuers freed another employee from the rubble.

Other buildings shifted on their foundations and rescuers used ladders, ropes and cranes to get residents to safety.

Six people were killed in the quake, while 256 were injured and 88 left unaccounted for, according to the fire agency. CNA reported that seven had been killed.

The force of the tremor buckled roads and disrupted electricity and water supplies to thousands of households, the fire agency said.

Rescuers are seen entering a building that collapsed onto its side from an early morning 6.4 magnitude earthquake Photo: AP/PTI

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen moved to reassure the Taiwanese public that every effort would be made to look for survivors. In a post on her official Facebook page, Tsai said she arrived in Hualien on Wednesday to review rescue efforts.

Tsai said she "ordered search and rescue workers not to give up on any opportunity to save people, while keeping their own safety in mind."



"This is when the Taiwanese people show their calm, resilience and love," she wrote. "The government will work with everyone to guard their homeland."China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that the director of China's Taiwan Affairs office, Zhang Zhijun, said China was "willing to send a rescue team to Taiwan" to help with relief efforts, adding that he was aware of a shortage of rescue workers in the disaster area.

China Central Television reported that more than 40 of the missing people were trapped in the Yunmen Cuiti building, a 12-story apartment building. Rescue efforts at the building were suspended because the structure was sliding, according to Taiwan's Central Emergency Operation Center.

Taiwanese media reported that the Beautiful Life Hotel also was tilting. CNA posted photos showing a road fractured in several parts.
There has been no breach of data and a majority of the country's people trust the scheme as it is completely safe, Union IT Minister said on Wednesday.

Terming a game changer, Prasad said in Lok Sabha that as of now 1.2 billion people have the cards and 570 million bank accounts were linked with it, which resulted in saving Rs 570 billion which otherwise would have been pocketed by some unscrupulous elements.

The minister said Unique Identification Authority of India has a well-designed, multi-layered robust system in place and the same is being constantly upgraded to maintain the highest level of data security and integrity.

"The UIDAI has adequate legal, organisational and technological measures in place for the security of the data stored with UIDAI," he said during the Question Hour.

Prasad said data protection measures have also been mandated for the requesting entities and eco-system partners.

"Government is fully alive to the need to maintain highest level of data security, privacy and is deploying the necessary technology and infrastructure," he said.

Referring to a media report which claimed that one can get the Aaadhar details of anyone by paying nominal fees, Prasad said an FIR has been registered but no journalist has been named.

"We respect press freedom. The journalist concerned should cooperate with the investigation," he said.

" is completely safe. Aadhaar is a game changer. Majority of the people are trusting Aadhaar," he said.

The minister said if any company is found to be misusing Aadhaar data, it could be prosecuted and persons concerned could be jailed for three to seven years besides imposition of fine.

"This is incorporated in a clause of the Aadhaar Act," he said.

Prasad, however, said no one will be denied government benefits due to absence of Aadhaar as other options are also available.

He said Aadhaar is being appreciated by international organisations like the and the IMF.

When an MP referred to the Aadhaar case hearing in the Supreme Court, Prasad said the court case should not be discussed in the Lok Sabha as "this House is sovereign".
Adani has failed to meet financial and jobs creation milestones through its 16.5 billion dollars Carmichael coal mine project in Queensland, the Australian state's premier said and asked the Indian energy giant to fulfil its commitment.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's remarks came as Labor party leader Bill Shorten cast doubt on the controversy-hit project.

Palaszczuk said Adani had failed to deliver the jobs it promised when it was granted final approval at a signing ceremony last year.

She called on Adani to prove it has the finance and that the project is progressing.

"They were given the green light about eight months ago, is my recollection, and weve been very firm in that they need to get on with those jobs," she said.

"We need to make sure the milestones are met and that is an issue for the company. Other companies meet their milestones and it is up to Adani to show the people of this state that they are meeting their milestones," she said.

According to media reports, Palaszczuk said the milestones related to job creation that had not been met due to a lack of finance.

In a statement today, Adani Australia disclosed that it was currently employing 800 people working across operations and projects in Queensland and had invested over 3.3 billion dollars in Australia.

"Our people are working on planning and early works for the mine and rail, further ramp up depends on the outcome of the current Federal court proceeding and subsequent agreed freeholding of land at our Mine," the company said.

"We remain committed to the Carmichael Project and look forward to the time when even more people in places like Townsville, Rockhampton, Mackay and Bowen can join the Adani Australia team," it said.

Earlier this week, the Australian government had said it would not finance a vital rail-link project that supports Carmichael coal mine.

The Carmichael project has been facing opposition from environmentalists and indigenous groups.

The Adani Group has for over five years battled the opposition to any expansion of the Abbot Point port, saying it will cut into the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.

The Adani group entered Australia in 2010 with the purchase of the greenfield Carmichael coal mine in the Galilee Basin in central Queensland, and the Abbot Point port near Bowen in the north.

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Taking a serious note of the Meteorological Department's advisory, the Maharashtra government asked the farmers in the state today to be prepared for hailstorm-like situation from February 10.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an advisory today stating that hailstorm-like situation may develop over parts of Maharashtra.

The Met officials made it clear that it was not a warning, but an advisory issued at a very primary stage.

The state government officials said that nonetheless the farmers need to be cautioned about it in advance.

"The system is developing and it may lead to hailstorm from February 10 onwards till February 14 in Marathwada and Vidarbha. This type of rains could cause heavy losses and damages to the properties and cattle," a government official said.

The Met advisory predicted that on February 10, hailstorm-like situation may develop over Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Bhandara, Gondia, Nagpur, Wardha, Nanded, Latur and parts of Yavatmal and Amravati districts. The eastern parts may receive thurnderstorms.

The situation is expected to come to normal by February 14, the Met officials said.

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AINRC founder and leader of the opposition in Puducherry Assembly N Rangasamy today said that the party which was formed in 2011 (after breaking away from Congress) had lasted its full five year term under him.

Addressing workers and delegates of various wings of AINRC on its eighth founding day, he said efforts would continue to bring back AINRC rule and added that people were already aspiring for an AINRC government again in the union territory.

Stating that ANRC was committed to procuring full statehood for Puducherry, Rangasamy, also a former Chief Minister said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was likely to visit Puducherry this month end to participate in golden jubilee of Auroville International township here.

AINRC has eight legislators in the 30 member Assembly e and the formation day was celebrated jubilantly by the party workers and Rangasamy also unfurled the party flag to mark the celebration.

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France said today that "all indications" suggest the Syrian regime is using chlorine weapons in its nearly seven-year civil war against rebel forces.

"All indications... tell us today that chlorine is being used by the regime at present in Syria," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television.

"I'm weighing my words because as long as we haven't completely documented this we have to stay prudent," he said.

UN war crimes investigators said Tuesday that they were studying "multiple" reports that chemical weapons have been used in the rebel-held zones of Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, and in the northwestern Idlib Province in recent weeks.

The United States said this week there was "obvious evidence" of recent chlorine gas attacks, including in Eastern Ghouta.

Asked how France would respond, Le Drian pointed to the "partnership against impunity" agreed by two dozen countries in January to ensure that perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria are held accountable.

But he did not allude to any other response, including military retaliation, that France might take against the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad if the attacks are confirmed.

Shortly after taking office last year, French President Emmanuel Macron said chemical attacks in Syria would be a "red line" for France.

Le Drian also said Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State group in northeast Syria had detained "about 100" French jihadists.

"We're being told that about 100 have been arrested by the Kurds in Syria," he said.

French officials have shown little inclination to repatriate any of these captured fighters, as well as those facing potential death penalties in Iraq, saying they should face local courts.

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Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today met Congress president Rahul Gandhi to discuss the reorganisation of the party's Punjab unit ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The chief minister was accompanied by Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar and AICC in-charge of Punjab unit Asha Kumari.

Sources said the chief minister also discussed the issue of the expansion of his cabinet, adding that the matter was deferred and would be discussed later this month when Amarinder would meet Rahul after the Ludhiana civic polls.

When contacted, Singh said the expansion issue would come up only after the Ludhiana civic polls later this month.

The issue of holding a Congress plenary session in March-April in Punjab was also discussed during the meeting, but no final decision was taken, sources said.

Apart from Delhi, Punjab is being considered as a possible venue for the session, where Rahul Gandhi's elevation as the Congress president will be ratified.

A party spokesperson said the discussion centred around revamping of the PPCC organisational structure in order to strengthen the Punjab unit of the party and prepare it for next year's parliamentary elections.

A delegation of five ex-servicemen, led by Subedar Bir Singh Chauhan (retd), also accompanied the chief minister.

These ex-servicemen, who hail from different parts of the country, had quit the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Punjab elections and campaigned for Singh in Patiala along with suspended Delhi AAP MLA Devinder Shekhawat.

They had expressed their desire to join the Congress, which was welcomed by Rahul Gandhi and Amarinder Singh.

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The Assam Government today signed a Memorandum of Understanding worth Rs 300 crore with the AISECT Group of Universities for setting up a university in the state.

The university, the location of which was not yet finalised, would be named after physicist Dr C V Raman.

The MoU was signed by Higher Department Secretary Krishna Gohain and AISECT Director Amitab Saxena on Saturday at the Advantage Assam Global Investors Summit, said a release by the group said here today.

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State-run ASTC operates 647 buses in Assam and the ticket collection stood at Rs 21.91 lakh a day, Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary said in the Assembly today.

The ASTC earned Rs 448.32 lakh per month from long distance buses and the rest from city buses, Patowary said in reply to a question of Pabindra Deka (AGP) in the Assembly.

Of the 647 buses, 270 operate as city buses in the state capital, the minister said.

At present 200 of the ASTC buses were being repaired, he said.

Replying to another question of Ramendra Narayan Kalita (AGP), the minister said of the 3235 ASTC employees, 1515 were permanent and 1720 temporary workers.

For the amount given as salaries to its employees, the ASTC requires Rs 6.82 crore per month, Patowary added.

Between April and December last year, the ASTC had a revenue collection of Rs 6657.85 lakh.

To another question on 'Namami Brahmaputra' and 'Namami Barak' in the state last year, organised by the transport department, the minister said Rs 12.10 crore and Rs five crore respectively had been spent.

'Namami Brahmaputra', tagged as India's largest river festival, was held across 21 districts of the state in March 2017 to showcase trade, tourism and cultural possibilities along the Brahmaputra.

'Namami Barak' was organised in November last year to showcase Barak valley's potential to emerge as a hub of trade and commerce.

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Bangladesh braced for possible unrest ahead of a court verdict in the corruption trial of former prime minister and opposition BNP chief Khaleda Zia amid escalating tensions.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police had issued a special notice prohibiting any form of public gathering from 4 AM tomorrow, the day of the verdict, until further orders.

The notice said inputs from intelligence agencies warned of efforts to destabilise public order, and sought cooperation from all quarters for security.

Zia, 72, and five others, including her son and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman, have been tried in the court of Dhaka's Fifth Special Judge Mohammad Aktaruzzaman on charges of embezzling 21 million takas ($252,000) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust.

Zia faces up to life in prison if found guilty of the charges, which means she will be disqualified from running in parliamentary polls slated for the end of this year.

The BNP had boycotted the 2014 polls but is expected to contest the upcoming general election.

The main opposition party, which claims the charges are part of a plot to keep its leader out of the national election, has threatened to take to the streets if she is convicted.

The ruling Awami League, however, has denied it saying if Zia is not guilty, then it will be proven in court.

It has also called on its supporters to be vigilant if the BNP launches protests.

Earlier, Zia had urged her party supporters to hold "peaceful programmes".

"Please don't do something foolish that can put the party in danger. Remain united," she said last week.
West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra today slammed the proposed National Health Protection Scheme od the Centre saying it was announced without consulting the states and is a 'bluff' to the nation.

Speaking at a discussion on budget in the Assembly today, Mitra said, "It is a bluff"'



He said Rs 2,000 crore for insuring 50 crore people is grossly inadequate and the Centre is now proposing to put 40 per cent of the cost burden on states for rolling out the scheme on a 60:40 basis.

Later, speaking to PTI outside the House, Mitra said, the health scheme has been announced to 'mislead' people of India and it was done 'unilaterally' like in the cases of Goods and Service Tax (GST) and demonetisation.

"Where is the consultative body," Mitra wondered



The health scheme, announced in the 2018-19 Union Budget, is likely to be rolled out within October this year.

However, Mitra did not mention whether the state will eventually hoin the scheme or not.

He said West Bengal already offers free medical services and medicines to its people. The state offers health cover to various section of people worth around Rs 1,300 crore.

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The BJP today called for a thorough inquiry into the terror attack in SMHS hospital in Srinagar, saying Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI has evolved a new strategy of freeing terrorists from police custody.

Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) terrorists yesterday attacked a police team accompanying a group of militants for checkup at SMHS hospital, killing two policemen and freeing a hardcore Pakistani militant arrested in 2014.

"In order to overcome the dearth of Pakistani commanders and terrorists, who mastermind and execute terrorist acts at the behest of ISI, it has now evolved the new strategy of freeing them from police custody and organise their escapes," spokesperson of BJP, Anil Gupta, said in a statement here.

He said despite unprovoked ceasefire violations by Pakistan targeting the civilian population and creating a fear-psychosis among the border and LoC dwellers, Pakistan has failed repeatedly in its endeavour to push terrorists into the Indian side.

Condemning the terrorist incident, Gupta said Pakistan's involvement in the act is "obvious"



"..because out of the six terrorists taken for medical check-up to the hospital, only the Pakistani terrorist among them was freed from the clutches of the police by his colleagues," said Gupta.

"It is similar to the strategy of looting banks and cash vans to overcome the lack of financial resources due to tightening the screws on terror funding from Pakistan," he said.

Gupta said daring attacks on jails or jail breaks with the help of "black sheep" also form part of the "new strategy".

"The unified command under the leadership of chief minister (Mehbooba Mufti) needs to plan a counter-strategy immediately," the leader of the BJP, which shares power with the PDP in the state, said.

Gupta said the attack appeared to be "a pre-planned operation" in which involvement of some insiders cannot be ruled out.

"A thorough inquiry needs to be done to ascertain manifold lapses and identification of black sheep who assisted in the whole plan. Rooting out these black sheeps is mandatory for elimination of terrorism from the state," Gupta said.

Criticising National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah, Gupta said the valley-based political leaders need to rise above party and condemn Pakistan in unison for its deep-rooted involvement in terrorist activities in Kashmir.

"It is ironical that the leaders of the party which was at the forefront of rejecting the two-nation theory and religion-based division of the country are today furthering Pakistan's agenda in Kashmir by demanding talks at a time when Pakistan has crossed all limits of humanity," said Gupta.

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The BJP today said it does not support the demand for a separate state by dividing Tripura, and its alliance with the IPFT for the upcoming Assembly polls, was on the basis of a common minimum programme.

Leaders of the ruling CPI(M) had accused the BJP of supporting the Indigenous Peoples Front of Tripura's (IPFT) statehood demand while campaigning.

Assam BJP leader and chairman of North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA), Himanta Biswa Sarma said his party believes in a united and vibrant Tripura, and it would never support separation of the state.

The BJP's alliance with the IPFT was "limited to ensuring socio-economic, linguistic, cultural issues of indigenous communities, he said.

"We believe in united Tripura. Our joint statement does not have anything to do with statehood demand," Sarma said.

The joint statement, which was made available to the media today, stated that the ongoing initiative of the Mministry of Home Affairs to constitute an inter-ministerial high-level committee for in-depth studies of socio-economic, educational, cultural and linguistic status of indigenous population of the state would be completed at the earliest.

The panel was formed after IPFT leaders met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi in January.

"Real proletariats of Tripura are indigenous people who were never on the developmental radar of the state," the joint statement said.

On the saffron party's prospects for the February 18 state election, Sarma said that he has no doubt of victory against the Left Front in Tripura in the upcoming polls.

The BJP leader said "victory" over the Left Front in Tripura would be significant from the ideological point of view and the BJP wants to take the message from here to Kerala, where the CPI(M) is a major constituent of the ruling LDF alliance.

"Tripura will be the launching pad of achieving CPI(M)- mukt Bharat. After we win in Tripura, we will do the same in Kerala," he claimed.

IPFT president N C Debbarma had recently said that his party would continue to campaign on statehood demand despite forging an alliance with the BJP.

Asked about the issue, Sarma said, "Different political parties might have their own agenda, but we are not aware of it. But BJP-IPFT alliance will work for the development of indigenous communities and the common minimum programme is the basis of the alliance, which is most important."



Under the terms of the alliance, the BJP filed nominations in 51 seats out of total 60 and IPFT fielded candidates in nine constituencies reserve for tribals.

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The BJP today sought to know the status of a resolution, passed last year, for creating a conducive atmosphere for the return of Kashmiri Pandits and other migrants to the Valley.

The Jammu and Kashmir Assembly had unanimously passed the resolution on January 19 last year.

BJP lawmaker Surinder Ambardar today sought to know the status of the resolution as he urged mainstream political parties to take a call on it.

"What is status and fate of the those resolutions? Has anything been done after that. I want to know?," Ambardar said.

He was speaking on the private member's resolution of BJP MLC Vikram Randhawa who said "this august house resolves that return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri migrants be ensured in a time-bound manner and due representation should be given to them in state Assembly".

Ambardar said that all the mainstream political parties and others should have joined hands to defeat the narrative of separatists to ensure the return and rehabilitation of Kashmiri Pandits in the valley.

He called for implementation of the resolution and urged the government to take step in this regard.

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The Bombay High Court today cleared the way for the adoption of a three-year-old girl, who has been living with her foster parents in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, since 2014.

The foster parents were unable to legally adopt the girl since her biological mother went missing before the adoption process was completed.

A bench of justices Naresh Patil and N W Sambre disposed of a plea filed by the prospective adoptive parents after the Maharashtra Child Welfare Committee (CWC) informed the court it had declared the child "legally free for adoption" last week.

The HC directed the authorities and the petitioners to complete the adoption process as per provisions of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act and the norms laid down by the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA).

The petitioners, a couple from Kolhapur, had moved the HC earlier this year seeking the CWC be directed to declare the child as "legally free for adoption".

As per their plea, the child's biological mother had been taken to a shelter home by an auto driver when she was about three months pregnant. After giving birth, she decided to give the girl child for adoption.

In April 2014, when the girl was three months old, she was sent to the petitioners' house as their foster child. At the time, the biological mother gave an oral consent to relinquishing her rights over the child, they said.

The CWC directed her to visit its office a month later to give her written consent and complete the adoption formalities.

However, she failed to turn up on the given date.

"The CWC and state authorities tried to trace her, and even issued notices in the newspapers but couldn't find her," government pleader Poornima Kantharia said.

"The JJ Act requires the CWC to wait for two months from the time of issuing such notice to declare a child free for adoption. However, we waited for over a year, thinking the biological mother might return," she said.

The CWC submitted that since the child had been living with the petitioners for so long, and was comfortable with them, it had no objection to the regularisation of the adoption process.

The bench, however, noted that the shelter home and the CWC had failed to take any steps to trace the whereabouts of the child's biological father, and had instead, proceeded with the presumption that her biological mother was unwed.

"What if he comes back? You must be more cautious in the future," the bench said.

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A fringe organisation, the 'Sarva Brahmin Mahasabha', today sought the intervention of Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh to ensure that "distorted historical facts" are not presented in the upcoming Bollywood film 'Manikarnika - The queen of Jhansi'.

The organisation has received the backing of Shree Rajput Karni Sena, which had earlier spearheaded protests against Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Padmaavat'.

A delegation of the Sarva Brahmin Mahasabha met the governor and presented a representation.

"It came to our knowledge that the filmmakers are planning a love song showing Rani Laxmibai with an agent of the British East India company. We will not tolerate any attempt to distort historic facts and have asked the filmmaker to clarify his stand but he has not responded to our queries," president of the Mahasabha, Suresh Mishra said.

Mishra said the has demanded that the governor issue directions to the filmmaker to give an affidavit pledging that he will not show any distorted historic facts.

Meanwhile, Shree Rajput Karni Sena extended its support to Sarva Brahmin Mahasabha.

"We have decided to extend our support to Brahmins, who had also supported us against Padmaavat by signing 10,000 letters against that film. The issue is at an initial stage and there is no need to protest at this time," chief patron of Shree Rajput Karni Sena, Lokendra Singh Kalvi said.

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The Union Cabinet today approved schemes worth about Rs 14,930 crore to boost the availability of human resources for health and medical sector, including the establishment of 24 new medical colleges in unreserved areas.

Other than the new colleges, 18,058 undergraduate and postgraduate seats will be increased in medical colleges by 2020-21, according to an official statement.

The government also plans to set up 248 nursing and midwifery schools.

The establishment of 24 new medical colleges attached with existing district/referral hospitals will take place by 2021-22.

The establishment of the new colleges and increase of MBBS and PG seats would increase the availability of health professionals, check the existing geographical distribution of medical colleges in the country.

It will promote affordable medical education in the country, utilise the existing infrastructure of district hospitals and improve tertiary care in the government sector, the statement said.

It has been planned to ensure at least one medical college for every 3-5 parliamentary constituencies and at least one government medical colleges in the state.

The location of new medical colleges will be selected by the state government within the identified blocks in a "challenge mode", it said.

The scheme will serve to create additional 10,000 MBBS and 8,000 PG seats in the country, bridge the gap in number of seats available in government and private sector, mitigate the shortage of doctors and medical faculty in India by increasing the number of seats and to achieve the desired doctor- population ratio, upgrade PG teaching facilities in government medical colleges.

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The government today gave its nod for placing before Parliament the new International Labour Organisation (ILO) recommendation that will help in initiating measures for generating employment and creating decent work environment in the country.

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for placing the new 'Instrument' adopted by ILO recommendation concerning "the Employment and Decent Work for Peace and Resilience (No-205)" before Parliament, an official statement said.

The International Labour Conference of the ILO at its 106th session held in Geneva in June 2015 adopted the recommendation. India supported the adoption of recommendation.

Each member state of the ILO is required to submit the instruments so adopted before the competent authority (the Parliament in case of India).

The adoption and placing of the 'Instrument' for the information of Parliament does not create any immediate obligation. An ILO recommendation is a non-binding instrument which seeks to serve as a guiding principle for national policy process.

The recommendation provides guidance to member states on the measures to be taken to generate employment and decent work for the purposes of prevention, recovery, peace and resilience with respect to crisis situations arising from conflicts and disasters.

It also emphasises the need to ensure respect for all human rights and the rule of law, including respect for fundamental principles and rights at work and for international labour standards, in particular those rights and principles relevant to employment and decent work.

The recommendation affirms the need to develop and strengthen measures of social protection as a means of preventing crises, enabling recovery and building resilience.

It states that members should adopt a phased multi-track approach implementing coherent and comprehensive strategies for promoting peace, preventing crises, enabling recovery and building resilience.

The approach should include promoting local economic recovery for employment and decent work opportunities and socio-economic reintegration, social protection and social inclusion, sustainable development, the creation of sustainable enterprises (in particular small and medium-sized enterprises); ensuring consultation and encouraging active participation of employers' and workers' organisations in planning, implementing and monitoring measures for recovery and resilience.

The recommendation No. 205 is applicable to all workers and jobseekers, and to all employers, in all sectors of the economy affected by crisis situations arising from conflicts and disasters and to workers engaged in crisis response, including in the immediate response.

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The Calcutta High Court today directed the state CID to investigate an allegation of rape against a Trinamool Congress MLA by a woman who claimed he had sexually exploited her with the promise of a job.

Justice Debangshu Basak directed that an officer of the rank of a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) probe the allegation against Chopra MLA Hamidul Rahman.

The woman had moved the petition before the HC seeking the transfer of the case to the CID and claiming that the North Dinajpur district police had not been able to proceed with the probe since 2014, when she filed the case before a magistrate.

Government counsel Amitesh Banerjee produced a report by the North Dinajpur superintendent of police which also proposed that the investigation be handed over to the CID in view of the serious nature of the charge.

The woman alleged that the accused had been sexually exploiting her since 2005 on the promise of giving her a job.

She claimed in her petition that she had first attempted to file a complaint at the Chopra police station in North Dinajpur in September 2014, but it was not entertained. Following this, she had moved the high court.

In May, 2016, Justice Manjula Chellur had directed her to file a complaint with the magistrate, which she did before the additional chief judicial magistrate at the Islampur court.

Her counsel Anjan Bhattacharya submitted before Justice Basak that even then the police did not pursue the investigation, following which she moved the high court seeking the transfer of probe to the CID.

Hearing both the petitioner's and the state's lawyers, the high court directed the district police to hand over the investigation to the CID.

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The Philippines has bought 16 new Bell helicopters from Canada for about USD 235 million to strengthen its fight against Islamic militants and other domestic insurgencies, defence officials said today.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clashed with host President Rodrigo Duterte over Philippine drug war killings, on the sidelines of a Manila summit.

The Philippine defence department signed the 12- billion-peso (US$234.8 million) Bell 412EPI deal with the state-run Canadian Commercial Corp, with deliveries set to start in nine months, ministry spokesman Arsenio Andolong told AFP.

"These are multi-purpose aircraft for anti-terrorism as well as HADR," he said, using military lingo that refers to disaster response and humanitarian missions.

Philippine troops and police, beset by Islamist and communist insurgencies, fought a five-month battle last year against Islamic State group supporters in the southern city of Marawi.

It is also faced with rising tensions over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea and has been upgrading its navy and air force in recent years. The country is also regularly battered by typhoons.

"These (helicopters) are a real benefit to Filipinos," Canadian ambassador John Holmes said on the mission's Facebook page, adding it would boost Manila's "search and rescue and disaster relief capabilities".

The Philippine defence department acquired eight of the same Bell aircraft model in 2015, which it said went mostly to an air force unit assigned with providing air transport for the Philippine president.

The Filipino military also uses derivations of the Bell- UH-1H helicopter, which first saw service for the US military in the Vietnam War in the early 1960s.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Duterte and Trudeau clashed.

Trudeau said during the November summit that he called out Duterte over "human rights, the rule of law, and specifically extrajudicial killings".

Duterte, who has overseen a crackdown that has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of the police, later described Trudeau's comments as "a personal and official insult", adding he would only answer to his Filipino electorate.

The Philippine government says police only shot the suspects in self-defence and rejects human rights monitors' description of the crackdown as a crime against humanity.

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The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which has representatives from key NDA constituents, is learnt to have discussed today the future of the Sethusamudram project, which many feel would damage the ancient 'Ram Sethu' bridge between India and Sri Lanka.

Sources aware about the development said that the government is unlikely to go ahead with the original alignment of the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project (SSCP) in an effort to protect the 'Ram Sethu' or 'Adam's Bridge'.

They said the government would make its stand clear in the Supreme Court through an affidavit.

The meting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and was attended by senior ministers part of the committee.

The project, which envisages dredging a channel across the Palk Straits, has hit a wall after protests over religious grounds relating to the proposed demolition of the Ram Sethu.

It aims to provide a shorter navigational route from the east and west coasts of India instead of circumventing Sri Lanka.

A claim made recently in a show on an American science channel that the 'Ram Sethu' is man-made and not natural had triggered a fresh debate on the issue.

The previous UPA government had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court questioning the belief that the bridge was built by Lord Rama to reach then Lanka to rescue his wife Sita, as depicted in the epic Ramayana.

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The CPI(M) today criticised the defence minister's statement in Parliament regarding the Rafale deal and alleged that the Centre was hiding facts from Parliament.

On Monday, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had refused to share the details of the deal on the grounds of the security agreement signed between India and France.

Her response had come on a written question in the Rajya Sabha from Samajwadi Party (SP) member Naresh Agrawal, who had asked why the government did not want to put the details of the agreement between India and France for purchasing the fighter aircraft in the public domain.

Stating that the defence minister's statement in Parliament was "completely unacceptable", the Left party accused her of suppressing information about the deal.

It also alleged that since the deal was re-negotiated, there were reports that the price paid for the planes was much higher than what had been decided in the previous agreement.

"The stance of the defence minister that the details of the inter-governmental agreement is 'classified information' is untenable. A defence deal involving billions of dollars cannot be kept confidential. Why is it that the government is hiding this information from the sovereign authority of the country, the Parliament?" the CPI(M) said in a statement.

Alleging that the Centre had refused to share information in Parliament about a deal that had created a "huge and unjustified burden" on the national exchequer, the Left party also claimed that the deal had "grave implications" for both the defence sector and public sector units involved in defence production.

It urged the government to reveal the details of the Rafale deal in Parliament in the interest of transparency and probity.

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The Centre does not propose to accord the minority tag to Siddi community of Gujarat, the Lok Sabha was informed today.

Minority Affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said this in a written reply to a question in this connection.

There are six notified communities in the country, namely: Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Zoroastrians (Parsis) and Jains.

Jain community was the last to be declared as a minority community, in January, 2014.

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China on Wednesday opposed any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation, a day after former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed sought India's help to resolve the political crisis in the island nation.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago plunged into a political chaos last week when the country's Supreme Court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

When asked to comment on Nasheed's call to India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said, "The community should play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the sovereignty instead of taking measures that could complicate the current situation."



Nasheed, who is currently in exile in Sri Lanka, had on Tuesday tweeted that India should send an envoy, backed by its military, to release judges and leaders of political parties detained by President Abdulla Yameen.

Asked how the situation could resolved internally when Yameen has arrested the Supreme Court judges as well as former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Geng said China's stand is that relevant parties should find a solution internally.

"I made myself clear. We hope relevant parties in the can properly resolve the issue through consultation and restore national stability and social order as soon as possible. We believe they (have) wisdom and capability to address the situation independently," he said without mentioning India.

Geng skirted a question whether China is also asking Yameen to hold talks with political parties to resolve the crisis.

He also sought to refute allegations by the opposition parties that China is backing Yameen because he has approved several Chinese projects and signed the controversial Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China during his visit to Beijing in December.

"China maintains friendly cooperation with the Maldives including the FTA which serves the common interests of the two countries. The facts have proven that after signing of the FTA cooperation has benefited the two peoples," Geng said.

"The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," he said.

Opposition party leaders in the Maldives allege that China is tacitly backing Yameen, which emboldened him to resort to unconstitutional actions like arresting Supreme Court judges.

China, which has huge investments in the Maldives, however has asked thousands of its nationals to cancel their holiday travel plans for this months week-long Chinese New Year Holiday which begins on February 15.

China views the Maldives as key to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has already acquired Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

The Chinese official media which was silent since the crisis broke out in Maldives last week came out today in support of Yameen's regime.

The Global Times, a part of the ruling Communist Party of Chinas publications, came out with an editorial saying 'India must stop intervening in Male'.

"Political struggles are supposed to be internal affairs, and New Delhi has no justification to intervene in Male's affairs. The Maldives must be under huge pressure from India," it said.

"The Maldives' sovereignty should be respected. The political unrest should be left to the Maldivian people to address. We urge all sides in the country to exercise restraint and end the crisis at the minimum cost, striking the correct balance between legal and governmental authority," it said.
China today warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation, amid repeated calls for India's military intervention by exiled former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed to resolve the political crisis.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago plunged into a political chaos last week when the country's Supreme Court ordered the release of nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Nasheed, who is currently in exile in Sri Lanka, had yesterday tweeted that India should send an envoy, backed by its military, to release judges and leaders of political parties detained by President Abdulla Yameen.

When asked to comment on Nasheed's call to India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the international community should "play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the Maldives sovereignty instead of taking measures that could complicate the current situation."



Asked how the situation could resolved internally when Yameen has arrested the Supreme Court judges as well as former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Geng said China's stand is that relevant parties should find a solution internally.

"I made myself clear. We hope relevant parties in the Maldives can properly resolve the issue through consultation and restore national stability and social order as soon as possible. We believe they (have) wisdom and capability to address the situation independently," he said without mentioning India.

Geng skirted a question whether China is asking Yameen to hold talks with political parties to resolve the crisis.

He also sought to refute allegations by the Maldives opposition parties that China is backing Yameen because he has approved several Chinese projects and signed the controversial Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China during his visit to Beijing in December.

"China maintains friendly cooperation with the Maldives including the FTA which serves the common interests of the two countries. The facts have proven that after signing of the FTA cooperation has benefited the two peoples," Geng said.

"The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," he said.

Opposition party leaders in the Maldives allege that China is tacitly backing Yameen, which emboldened him to resort to unconstitutional actions like arresting top judges.

China, which has huge investments in the Maldives, however has asked thousands of its nationals to cancel their holiday travel plans for this months week-long Chinese New Year Holiday which begins on February 15.

China views the Maldives as key to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has already acquired Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

The Chinese official media which was silent since the crisis broke out in Maldives last week today came out in support of Yameen's regime.

The Global Times, a part of the ruling Communist Party of Chinas publications, came out with an editorial saying 'India must stop intervening in Male'.

"Political struggles are supposed to be internal affairs, and New Delhi has no justification to intervene in Male's affairs. The Maldives must be under huge pressure from India," it said.

"The Maldives' sovereignty should be respected. The political unrest should be left to the Maldivian people to address. We urge all sides in the country to exercise restraint and end the crisis at the minimum cost, striking the correct balance between legal and governmental authority," it said.

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MaharashtraChief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today said the government has prepared many pro-industry policies to attract investment in various projects.

During his interaction with a delegation of the Goldman Sachs Asset Management at his official residence 'Varsha' here, the chief minister tried to hard-sell Maharashtra as the attractive destination for investment.

"Good infrastructure facilities are available in the state. Communication network, good roads,24x7 electricity and water, ample land are available. Many irrigation projects are underway. Opportunities are there for investors in farm products and in food processing industry," the chief minister said.

Referring to infrastructure projects, the CM said while work for Metro train is already going on in Nagpur and Mumbai, additional railway projects are proposed in the country's commercial capital.

"The work of Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Highway will begin soon. Work on Mumbai Trans-Harbour link, sea routes will also commence," he said.

Fadnavis said his government has prepared policies which will be beneficial for the investors willing to invest in logistic park, fintech, tourism, IT, textiles, defence, electric vehicles and many other such industries.

The Chief Minister also referred to the upcoming global investors' summit Magnetic Maharashtra, scheduled to be held from February18 to 23.

At the meeting, Additional Chief Secretary in the CMO Pravin Pardeshi gave information about the projects in the state through presentation.

The members of the delegation obtained information about GST, VAT, taxation system, sewage system in Mumbai, land acquisition process, renovation of dilapidated buildings, PMAY, state GDP etc. from the CM and other senior officers.

In view of Magnetic Maharashtra, the state government yesterday approved a slew of pro-industry policies to woo domestic as well as foreign investment.

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The Indian Coast Guard rescued seven fishermen from a sinking boat near the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) near Jakhau off Gujarat coast today.

The Coast Guard swung into action after receiving a distress call from a fishing boat, which was on the verge of sinking due to heavy ingress of water, defence spokesperson said in a statement.

"When the Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) 'C-408', a front line interceptor boat stationed at Jakhau, reached the spot mid sea, the fishing boat, which was registered in Veraval, had almost sunk," the spokesperson added.

Luckily, the Coast Guard personnel rescued all the seven crew members before their boat completely sank, the statement said.

All the seven fishermen have been brought safely to to Jakhau harbour, it said.

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Colorado's third law enforcement officer to be killed in five weeks was part of a group of detectives making an arrest in a car theft case, but authorities did not release other details about what led to the shooting in the closest string of on-duty deaths in three decades.

El Paso County Deputy Micah Flick was killed and four others two sheriff's officers, a police officer and a bystander were wounded Monday in a shooting near an apartment complex just east of downtown Colorado Springs. The suspect also was killed.

The last time this many Colorado officers were killed in the line of duty so close together was in 1987, when three were killed within a month.

"A number of other officers" were at the scene but not injured, El Paso County Sheriff Bill Elder said, calling the shooting "senseless violence."



He said the gunfire happened as they made an arrest and that the plainclothes officers were part of a group that works together regularly. Elder said they all wore protective vests as well as placards and badges identifying them as law enforcement.

Elder would not say if the suspect, whose identity has not been released, showed a weapon.

Colorado Springs Police Chief Pete Carey, whose department is leading the investigation, said Monday that the officers encountered the suspect and a struggle ensued, leading to gunfire.

A police spokesman didn't immediately reply to messages seeking information Tuesday.

Flick, 34, who grew up in Colorado Springs, was killed on his 11th anniversary with the sheriff's office. He leaves behind a wife and 7-year-old twins, a boy and a girl.

One of the wounded officers, Deputy Scott Stone was shot in abdomen and was hospitalized in stable condition yesterday.

His injuries did not appear life-threatening, authorities said. Sheriff's Sgt. Jake Abendshan, who appears to have been hit by shrapnel, was treated and released Monday night.

The conditions of the police officer and the bystander have not been released.

The shooting comes just days after the funeral for Adams County Deputy Heath Gumm, who was shot January 24 while chasing a suspect. On December 31, Douglas County Deputy Zackari Parrish died after he was shot in suburban Denver by a man with a history of mental health issues.

Elder said he believes a lack of respect for law enforcement has developed in the past few years.

"And frankly it just shocks me, it shocks my staff, it shocks the leadership of public safety throughout the country," the sheriff said.

Flags were lowered on state buildings at the order of Gov. John Hickenlooper, who said that the deadly violence against officers is having a "grave impact" on Colorado.

"We will once more come together to provide sympathy and strength for the deputy's loved ones and pray for the recovery of those injured; however, we also must come together and say enough is enough," he said in a statement.

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The Congress may reach out to the Naga People's Front (NPF) for an informal understanding in some seats for the February 27 Nagaland assembly polls, sources in the party said.

The Congress yesterday came out with its list of 23 candidates for elections to the 60-member Assembly. The state's ruling NPF has announced it will contest in 58 assembly segments.

The BJP has already tied up with the newly-formed Nagaland Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP) and has fielded candidates in 20 seats. The NDPP, led by former chief minister Neiphiu Rio, will have its candidates in 40 constituencies.

Today is the last date of filing nominations for the elections. The nominations can be withdrawn before February 12.

"The NPF has already declared candidates for almost all the seats. However, there is still time left for the candidates to withdraw nominations.

"We will try and reach out to the NPF leaders to have an understanding in some seats to take on the NDPP-BJP combine," a party leader said, requesting anonymity.

Till yesterday, 22 candidates from NPF, BJP, NDPP and JD (U) had filed their nominations.

Until about a week ago, nearly all political parties, including the Congress, had jointly decided against contesting the elections. This was in response to the demand by tribal organisations in the state for a solution to the protracted Naga political issue first.

However, that uncertainty is virtually over with candidates from various parties filing their nominations.

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The Congress in Rajya Sabha today accused the BJP-led government of being "intolerant and full of arrogance" and painting a "rosy" picture even when the ground realities only told a story of tall promises and failures.

Participating in a resumed debate on the motion of thanks for the President's address, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said even BJP allies like the Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam or the Shiromani Akali Dal also do not seem to agree with the "rosy projections" being painted.

The Rajya Sabha did away with the Question Hour to take up the debate on the motion of thanks.

Due to such a ground situation, the BJP is not keen on holding the Lok Sabha bypolls due in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, he said, adding that the BJP would fall below the majority mark if it loses these bye-elections.

Patel also claimed that a "feeling of insecurity" was prevailing across the country, whether it is in the social fabric, economic matters, national security, judiciary or independent constitutional institutions. There is no area which has escaped the feeling of insecurity, he said.

"Farmers, labourers and others - all are worried. The BJP will be defeated in 2019," he said, claiming even the Union Budget, on which the government had pinned its hopes, has "turned out to be a flop".

Referring to statements by BJP allies, Patel said the Shiv Sena had accused its saffron ally of lying, while the TDP has claimed it has reneged on its promises. Even Akali Dal has said that getting 272 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 will be a difficult task.

Taking a jibe at the BJP leadership, he said the situation was such that "something will have to be done".

Rebutting BJP chief Amit Shah's comments that the NDA government was filling the space left by the erstwhile UPA regime, Patel said in 2004, when the Vajpayee government left office, annual per capita income was Rs 24,000. In 2014, when the Manmohan Singh-led government ended its term, per capita income had risen to Rs 70,000, he said.

In contrast, the debt during the NDA rule has risen, he said, adding that it was "clear who is digging potholes".

The leaders of the BJP only know how to try to defame the Congress and the Gandhi family, Patel, a close aide of former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, said.

Attacking the government on the issue of corruption, he asked why the Centre had reduced the budget for the RTI, not filled key vacancies and neither appointed a Lokpal.

Patel said it was said that the BJP had formed governments in states like Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Manipur after the Modi government came to power at the Centre. In Manipur and Goa, Congress was the single largest party but the BJP formed the goverment.

"With whose support and how?...Now is this ethical, is this morality," he asked.

Patel said that except one case, in all Lok Sabha bypolls held after the present government assumed office, it was the Congress or its allies who emerged victorious.

The BJP tally has come down from 282 to 273, while the Congress's tally has risen after 2014, he said.

Reciting an Urdu couplet, the Congress leader said it was easy to reach the top using propaganda, but the real challenge was to remain at the top.

Patel claimed that those who talk of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state polls, could not even hold the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat polls together as the prime minister had to launch a Ro-Ro ferry service, which has now closed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Gujarat several times, flew on a sea plane, made references to Pakistan, but despite that, the BJP shrunk to double digits winning only 99 seats. The Congress, on the other hand, has emerged with more seats than the BJP in the rural areas.

"In Gujarat, we won despite losing, while you lost even after winning...The people know who has won," Patel said.

Referring to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he took a dig at the BJP saying that while the saffron party may use his name for poll gains, they had a "special affection" for the surname which he and Hardik Patel also shared.

Patel also claimed that water was wrongly diverted from Gujarat water bodies earlier, ignoring the requirements of the farmers of the state who are suffering now.

The veteran Congress leader said one of the "supposedly better performing ministers" Nitin Gadkari had announced about multi-nation road projects but nothing moved on the ground.

He said it was claimed that the present government was building over 20 km of roads every day, much more than the previous regime. However, if the data related to roads widened or repaired are separeted, the figure would come down to 6 or 7 km, he said.

"Tall claims are made for marketing, but nothing is done for implementation," Patel said.

He recited a poem by Bollywood lyricist Javed Akhtar to suggest that it was futile even for authoritarian regimes to impose their will on everyone and asserted that the leaders of Congress are not scared of IT, ED or CBI raids.

DMK member RS Bharati said that Tamil Nadu was neglected in the budget. He also raised issue of water for farmers. He also raised another issue related to a resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on the NEET exam.

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Congress's Vivek Dhakad who won the Mandalgarh seat assembly in the recently held bypolls today took oath as a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) in Rajasthan.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at 11 am. Dhakad was sworn in by Speaker Kailash Meghwal and took the oath in English.

With this, the Congress' tally in the House of 200 members has increased to 25.

Bypolls were held on Mandalgarh Assembly and Ajmer and Alwar Lok Sabha seats on January 29 which all were won by the opposition Congress.

All the three seats were with BJP before the bypolls.

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A Dalit man, who used to work as the manager of the mid-day meal scheme at a primary school near Vadnagar town, allegedly committed suicide today after reportedly being tortured by three school teachers, police said.

The man, identified as Mahesh Chauhan, ended his life by jumping into a well, they said.

According to police, the three school teachers have been booked for abetment to suicide.

Taking a serious note of the incident, Gujarat Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Ishwar Parmar, ordered an inquiry into the incident and assured that action will be taken based on the report submitted by the officials.

According to the FIR lodged at the Vadnagar police station of this district today, Chauhan committed suicide by jumping into a well near Shaikhpur village of Vadnagar taluka this morning.

Based on the 'suicide note' recovered by the police from his body, Chauhan's wife Ilaben lodged a complaint with Vadnagar police against three teachers of Shaikhpur primary school, situated near Vadnagar town, a police officer said.

In the FIR, she alleged that her husband committed suicide because he was "fed up with the torture by three teachers, who have been harassing Chauhan for being a Dalit".

"The three teachers, identified as Momin Hasan Abbasbhai, Vinod Prajapati and Amaji Thakor, have been booked for abetting suicide (IPC section 306) and under various sections of Prevention of Atrocities Act," Circle Police Inspector R L Kharadi said.

However, they have not been arrested yet, he said.

Vadnagar is the hometown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As per the FIR, Chauhan had been working as the mid-day meal scheme manager at Shaikhpur primary school near Vadnagar since the last one year with a monthly salary of Rs 1,600.

Ilaben, who used to work as a cook in the same school, alleged that though the family was reeling under acute cash crunch, these three teachers used to force his husband to spend money on their snacks.

She alleged that her husband was fed up with such "torture" by these teachers.

Ilaben claimed that her husband was subjected to such atrocities as he belonged to the Dalit community.

According to Kharadi, all the three teachers have went on leave after Chauhan's suicide.

"We have taken the FIR and handed over the case to the Deputy SP of SC/ST Cell for investigation," he said.

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South Africa's deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said today he expected that the future of embattled leader Jacob Zuma would be settled in the "coming days".

Zuma is under growing pressure to step down in favour of his deputy and African National Congress (ANC) party leader Ramaphosa, with local media suggesting an exit deal is being hammered out.

Ramaphosa said in a statement he had "constructive" talks with Zuma.

He added that postponing the ruling ANC party's emergency talks "will enable President Zuma and myself to conclude our discussions and report back to our organisation and the country in the coming days".

The presidency on Wednesday released pictures of the two men sitting together and smiling at a cabinet committee meeting in Cape Town.

"The discussions were constructive and lay the basis for a speedy resolution of the matter in the interests of the country and the people," Ramaphosa said.

Zuma's presidency has been dominated by an economic slowdown, record unemployment and allegations of corruption.

He faces several court cases, including action relating to 783 payments he received allegedly linked to an arms deal before he came to power in 2009.

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The Delhi government today sent the file pertaining to change of land use (CLU) of 351 roads to Lt Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal for his nod after it received the same from the municipal corporations.

The issue was recently at the centre of a tussle between the BJP and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), with both accusing each other of not doing anything to save traders from their properties being sealed on these roads.

According to the government, as soon as the file pertaining to the survey report about CLU of 351 roads was put up before Urban Development Minister Satyendar Jain, it was sent to the Lt Governor for his approval.

The survey report was pending with the MCDs since 2006.

Following the development, the BJP said that under pressure from the opposition, the AAP government had to give its nod to the file to notify the 351 roads, paving the way for legalising commercial activities on these roads.

Once the L-G's nod is obtained, the survey report would be presented before the Supreme Court for its approval, an official said.

"Sending the file pertaining to 351 roads to Hon'ble LG today, as soon as we recd the proposal from MCDs. As soon as LG's approval is obtained, it will be presented before SC for its approval," Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

The official said that if the apex court gives its nod to the survey report, the urban development department will issue a notification putting all 351 roads under commercial and mixed-use categories.

Last month, Kejriwal had said that on 351 roads, there was no sealing yet, but despite this, the BJP was raising this issue again and again.

He had accused the saffron party of "doing politics" over the ongoing sealing drive being carried out by the BJP-led MCDs.

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Vijender Gupta alleged that the AAP should apologise to the people of Delhi for "doing politics" over this issue.

"Finally, the hard work of Opposition yielded result. The Kejriwal government that was sitting on the file for notification of 351 roads, has to approve it under the Opposition's pressure.

"People were suffering but AAP was doing The Aam Aadmi Party should apologise to the Delhiites," Gupta tweeted in Hindi.

During the Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly last month, Gupta had alleged that he was marshalled out of the House to save the government from embarrassment over the sealing drive.

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Students in Delhi government-run schools will now get lessons on being 'happy' with the AAP dispensation planning to introduce a "happiness curriculum" for nursery to class 8 from upcoming academic session.

Addressing a gathering at the Excellence in awards at Thyagraj Stadium, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today said, "The Delhi government has commissioned a team of experts, including school teachers, which is preparing a framework for the happiness curriculum."



"The entire curriculum will be purely activity-based and no formal examinations will be conducted on it. However, a periodic assessment of children's progress will be made using a happiness index," he said.

Sisodia said at a time when neighbouring Bhutan is formulating policies to ensure a high Happiness Index for its citizens, introduction of happiness curriculum in schools will help enhance personality of children and influence the direction in which we are heading as a society and nation.

" has to serve a larger moral and societal purpose and cannot be looked at in isolation from the needs of society. Even as we aim for economic equality, we must strive for 'happiness equality' as well," he said.

Sisodia, who is also Delhi's minister, appealed to teachers and students of government schools in the capital to come forward and assist the government in developing the happiness curriculum.

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The AirAsia X will soon start a direct flight service from Amritsar airport to Kuala Lumpur, Punjab Tourism Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu today said.

Sidhu, along with Lok Sabha MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla, held a meeting with CEO AirAsia X Binjuman Ismail, India Head Suresh Nayyar, Secretary Tourism Department Vikas Pratap, Director Shivdular Singh Dhillon, Deputy Commissioner Kamaldeep Singh Sangha here in this regard.

An official release quoting Sidhu said that this flight would play a significant role in connecting Punjab with other countries of Asia as well as Europe.

The minister said that the officials of the AirAsia X have agreed to operate this flight four times a week and it would begin around the time of Diwali.

Sidhu said that the passengers travelling abroad from New Delhi comprise 30 per cent Punjabis, who would be benefitted to a large extent from this flight.

He also said this flight will enable foreign tourists, apart from NRI Punjabis, to travel to Amritsar.

Sidhu said that the direct link with Kuala Lumpur would also prove to be beneficial for the students pursuing studies in Australia.

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The government today called "unfounded" allegations made by the Opposition about the Rs 58,000-crore deal for 36 Rafale jets, asserting that the demand to disclose details such as its value was "unrealistic" as doing so might compromise India's national security.

In a statement, the defence ministry said the earlier UPA government had also expressed its inability to disclose the price of various defence procurements, including in its responses to Parliament questions, in keeping with confidentiality requirements.

Giving an item-wise cost and other information would reveal details about weapons systems and customisation of the jet, it said, adding that the government was bound by the confidentiality provisions of a 2008 Indo-France pact in not sharing details of the deal.

The government said "doubts" were sought to be created about the contract and insisted that the deal secured by the government was better in terms of capability, price, equipment and delivery than the one "notionally" negotiated by the UPA regime in a process which it could not conclude even in 10 years.

"Unfounded allegations are being made regarding the 2016 Inter-Governmental Agreement to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition from France. This would normally not have merited a response but for the serious damage being caused by the misleading statements, sought to be repeatedly perpetrated on a serious matter of national security," said the ministry.

The government's response came a day after the Congress launched a concerted attack on it over the "top secret" deal, alleging a "scam" and accusing the government of compromising" on national interest and security.

The Congress's criticism came after the government refused to share cost and other details of the deal in Parliament on Monday, while replying to questions on it.

At a press conference on November 17 last year, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, when asked repeatedly about the comparative cost of each aircraft negotiated by the then UPA government for the original deal for 126 aircraft and the rate at which the NDA had sealed the Rafale contract, had said the details would be provided soon.

However, the government did not reveal the details.

Apparently referring to a reply to a question on the cost of Rafale in the Lok Sabha in November, 2016, the ministry said the approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft had already been provided to Parliament.

"Provision of exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal, inter alia, details regarding the various customisations and weapons systems specially designed to augment the effectiveness and lethality of the assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our national security," it said.

The Congress had claimed that according to information, the per aircraft price during the NDA came to Rs 1,570.8 crore as against the Rs 526.1 crore negotiated during the UPA. It also asked "while the aircraft was sold for Rs 694.8 crore to Qatar by the same company, why was it sold for 100 per cent more price to India?"



The ministry said in 2012, the then Defence Minister exercised an unprecedented personal veto on the laid down institutional process then underway for the procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

"In another effort to twist facts, the Government is asked why it did not conduct negotiations with a particular company representing a competing fighter aircraft.

"It seems to have been conveniently forgotten that the then Government itself had rejected that company's unsolicited offer made days after closure of the bid process, declared Rafale (DA) as the L1 bidder and had commenced negotiations with it in February 2012," said the ministry.

It said in keeping with confidentiality requirements, the UPA Government had also expressed its inability to disclose the price of various defence procurements, including in its responses to Parliament questions.

The ministry said by not revealing the item-wise details of the contract, the government was merely following in letter and spirit the confidentiality provisions of a bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the previous government.

It said under negotiations carried out by the UPA government for the original MMRCA deal, there was no provision for transfer of technology and it was only for manufacture under licence.

The Inter-Governmental Agreement was inked, the ministry said, to meet the urgent need of the IAF and is strictly in accordance with all laid down procedures including approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security.

The government said no Indian offset partner for the Rafale deal has been selected by the vendor and that under the guidelines, the vendor is free to select the Indian partners.

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The telecom ministry today said it hopes to place the proposed New Telecom Policy before the Cabinet for approval by April.

The draft of the much-awaited policy will be ready in the next 2-3 weeks for incorporating stakeholder response and the Telecom Department expects to seek Cabinet nod on the proposed policy sometime in April, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said on the sidelines of a FICCI-EY event.

"The consultations on the new telecom policy (NTP) is nearly over and...in the next 2-3 weeks, we will be in a position to table the draft document and then people will be able to respond to that," Sundararajan said.

She said on futuristic technologies like machine-to- machine (M2M) communication, India is looking to play a far bigger role than just being a user.

"We also want to be the technology supplier and manufacturer, be it low-cost sensors or software platform for M2M communication," she said.

Terming M2M as being a fast-evolving area, the Telecom Secretary said that taking a licence heavy approach for it may not be appropriate as it may restrain the growth of the new age technology.

"Also, key will be to ensure that interoperability is maintained. Similarly, on service quality and spectrum, we should not be prescriptive...rather we should let things evolve," she noted.

She said that the 5G roadmap would require commitment of significant resources from the government as well as the industry.

"Unless we commit resources, both in terms of manpower and capital investments, India cannot emerge a leader," she said.

Sundararajan -- who also chairs a committee on evolving common utility duct policy for government departments -- said the panel will submit its report by March end.

"We expect that those recommendations will help hugely in ensuring we have necessary clearances and actual mechanism of rolling out fibre infrastructure much faster and much more cost effectively," she said. The common utility duct policy entails areas like highways, railways, power, oil and gas and telecom.

Meanwhile, some reprieve for telcos may just be around the corner as the Telecom Department has sent its recommendations on proposed relief measures for the stressed sector to the Cabinet.

"The cabinet note on IMG (inter-ministerial group's recommendations) has gone," she said referring to a slew of measures that have been proposed to provide financial relief to the sector.

The measures that have been recommended by the inter- ministerial panel and cleared thereafter by the Telecom Commission include giving more time to telcos to pay for the spectrum they bought in auctions.

Meanwhile, FICCI along with EY today released a report on 'M2M in India: Driving Growth in a Connected World', as an input document for the upcoming National Telecom Policy 2018.

The report noted that the M2M growth in India would be boosted by both demand and supply side drivers.

"Product innovation, increasing operational efficiencies and improved customer experience are some of the end-user drivers in India....an evolving partner ecosystem, maturing M2M solution, increased network coverage and data speeds, and key government programs such as the Smart City initiative would support M2M growth in India," the report pointed out.

The report further said that the M2M market in India is set to get a major boost from 'industrial M2M', an integration of physical machinery with networked sensors.

"Due to faster and efficient operational capabilities, industrial M2M accounts for approximately 60 per cent of the total M2M market in India, while the rest is attributed to consumer M2M, which includes smart home devices as well as wearables," the report said.

The share of the consumer M2M segment is expected to grow to 45 per cent by 2020 with the booming e-commerce industry, the rise of tech-savvy consumers and increasing smartphone penetration, the report added.

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A Delhi court today extended till February 7 the Enforcement Directorate custody of a director of a Gujarat-based pharma firm in a money laundering case related to a Rs 5,000-crore bank fraud case.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma extended the custody of Rajbhushan Omprakash Dixit, a director of Sterling Biotech, after Special Public Prosecutor Nitesh Rana, appearing for the ED, said his further custodial interrogation was required by the agency.

Rana told the court that the accused, arrested on January 25, was to be confronted with various documents and co-accused to unearth the larger conspiracy.

This is the third arrest in the case. The agency arrested a former director of Andhra Bank, Anup Prakash Garg earlier this month, and a Delhi-based businessman Gagan Dhawan in November last year.

While Garg is currently in judicial custody, Dhawan was granted bail in January 4. All three were arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

They were named as accused in the cases by the ED and the CBI.

The ED had registered a money laundering case after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR.

The CBI had booked Sterling Biotech, its directors Rajbhushan, Chetan Jayantilal Sandesara, Dipti Chetan Sandesara, Nitin Jayantilal Sandesara and Vilas Joshi, chartered accountant Hemant Hathi, Garg and some unidentified persons in connection with the bank fraud case.

It had alleged that the company had taken loans of over Rs 5,000 crore from a consortium led by Andhra Bank which had turned into non-performing assets.

The FIR had also alleged that the total pending dues of the group companies were Rs 5,383 crore as on December 31, 2016.

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The Mehbooba Mufti government is in the process of exploring natural resources to generate more electricity to make Jammu and Kashmir a power surplus state. Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh said today.

The road map for the transformation from power deficient to power surplus, include 1,401 MW projects under execution by state, Centre and under the Independent Power Producer (IPP) mode, he said in the Legislative Assembly here.

In a written reply to a question by Independent MLA Syed Mohammad Bakir Rizvi, he said 336.5 MW proposed projects were taken up under the Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP).

Singh, who is the minister incharge of power, said 5,162 MW projects were cleared by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) and Central Water Commission (CWC) and are under tendering stage, while 4,359 MW projects were at the Pre- Feasibility Report (PFR) stage.

He said 1,818 MW projects were under survey and investigation and detailed project report or appraisal stage. The deputy chief minister said the total identified hydro power potential accessed by CEA is 16,475 MW, out of which 11,283 MW is on river Chenab, 3,084 MW on Jhelum and 1608 MW on Indus.

A total of 3263.46 MW has been harnessed on the three western rivers from Jhelum, Chenab and Indus through state, central and IPP mode of execution, he said.

Explaining the reason for not executing the Para-Kachak hydel project despite completion of survey, Singh said it was allotted under Swiss-Challenge mode to messrs HCC limited for 100 MW capacity.

However, HCC has withdrawn from the project due to the reason that during the lean period, the required discharge is not available, hence not feasible, he said.

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Egyptian officials say the country has opened its border with the Gaza Strip for the first time this year.

The two officials said today the Rafah crossing point would operate for three days on a humanitarian basis. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to brief the media.

The Palestinian embassy in Cairo confirmed the opening of Gaza's main gateway to the outside world.

Thousands of Gaza residents are on travel lists most of them medical patients, students and holders of residency permits of other countries. Only a few thousand will make it out in the time allotted.

The announcement comes amid warnings of a health-care crisis in Gaza, home to 2 million people.

Egypt has kept Rafah mostly closed since Hamas took over the territory in 2007.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India's energy security and infrastructural investments from the UAE will be the key topics of his discussions with the Gulf nation's top leadership this week.

In an interview to Gulf News' XPRESS ahead of his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates from Saturday, Modi said that he will meet Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Modi said energy security and infrastructural investments in India will be the key topics that he will discuss with the UAE's leadership.

The investment from UAE to India exceeds USD 11 billion.

A number of initiatives taken during his earlier visit to the UAE in August 2015 and during the visit of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed last year when he was the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations have come to fruition, he said.

"It is a matter of even greater happiness that new Government-to-Government and business-to-business initiatives promise to add even more strength and depth to the bilateral cooperation in various areas of economic activity," Modi said.

The prime minister noted that the UAE was home to over three million people of Indian origin. "The Indian community has acted as a bridge between the two countries and I hope my visit will further strengthen these ties," he said.

When asked whether he has had a holiday, Modi told the paper: "I have not been on a holiday either as Chief Minister or now as Prime Minister. However, my work does require me to travel across India and interact with people, learn about their joys, sorrows and aspirations. This is refreshing and rejuvenating for me."



On a question about his sleep habits and daily routine, the 67-year-old prime minister said, "My sleep cycle varies from four to six hours, depending on the workload. But I get a sound sleep every night. In fact, I fall asleep minutes after hitting the bed.

"I do not take any worry with me and wake up fresh every morning and welcome the new day in my life," he said.

Modi said his day begins with yoga.

"It refreshes me and keeps me agile through the day," he said, adding that he scans the newspapers, checks e-mails and makes a round of phone calls.

"I also spend time reading some comments and feedback shared by citizens on the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App' which he said was "a wonderful way to remain connected with people across India."



"Before hitting the bed, I read the documents sent to me during the day. I also prepare for the next day meetings and engagements," he said.

Asked about his favourite dish, Modi said, "I am not much of a foodie. I enjoy a simple vegetarian meal every day."



On his favourite day of the week, he said, "Today is my favourite day of the week! I believe in a simple tenet make the most of today, live life to the fullest. Today is the only day on our hands to work hard and make things happen."



He said he was a firm believer in the power of technology as it empowers people.

When asked the one person who inspires him the most, the prime minister replied that several people inspired him and listed Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Bhagat Singh, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar as well as Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States.

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The Delhi High Court today asked the DDA to erect a boundary wall around the Kathputli Colony to prevent unauthorised occupancy and encroachment of the vacant area.

A bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar said such a step was "essential" as the prevailing conditions at the site, where vacant houses are being demolished prior to start of an in-situ development work, "may imperil life and limb of anyone visiting the area".

The court said the Delhi Development Authority would be at liberty to demolish the remaining structures at the colony, after the DDA said it has alloted flats in Narela to the the colony residents eligible for relocation and rehabilitation.

Meanwhile, a court-appointed observer told the bench that 53 vacant units remained at the site and they appeared to be abandoned.

The court was hearing a PIL filed by an NGO on behalf of some of the residents of the colony challenging the demolition as well as their relocation to a transit camp at Anand Parbat.

As the NGO's lawyers raised concerns about facilities at the transit camp, the bench allowed them to visit and inspect the camp.

The court listed the matter for further hearing on March 20.

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A group of farmers' outfits today blocked traffic at several places in Punjab over their demand for a complete debt waiver.

The seven groups protested at Sunam, Dirba, Lehraghaga, Malerkotla, Bhawanigarh in Sangrur, Patiala chowk in Patiala, Lehra Mohabbat in Bathinda, Gill Kalan in Moga, Barnala, Raikot and Fazilka.

The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta-Ugrahan), BKU (Dakonda), Kirti Sangharsh Committee, BKU (Krantikari) and Kirti Kisan Union participated in the agitation.

The protesting farmers claimed that the police took more than three dozens of farmers into preventive custody at Rajpura in Fazilka and Talwandi Mange Khan in Ferozepur.

The farmers have been seeking complete debt waiver from the Congress-led Punjab government. They have also been demanding Rs 10 lakh compensation and government jobs for the family of those farmers who committed suicide.

The state government had recently announced the farm debt waiver in which crop loan waiver for upto Rs 2 lakh for small and marginal farmers (up to 5 acres) and Rs 2 lakh relief for all other marginal farmers, thus benefiting over 10 lakh farmers.

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The day in July 2016 that FBI Director James Comey defended to Congress the bureau's decision in the Hillary Clinton email probe, two FBI officials traded admiring texts about his verbal dexterity and mocking jibes at the lawmakers questioning him.

Congress, wrote FBI lawyer Lisa Page in one text, is "utterly worthless." ''Less than worthless," replied Peter Strzok, a seasoned FBI counterintelligence agent assigned to that investigation. "Utterly contemptible."



The officials' assessment of Comey, facing hours of questions about his decision not to seek charges against Clinton for her use of a private email server, was unmistakably flattering.

"God he is SO good," Strzok said. "I know," Page responded. "Brilliant public speaker. And brilliant distillation of fact."



That exchange is included among 384 pages of text messages between Page and Strzok provided by the Justice Department to Congress and reviewed by The Associated Press.

The texts, part of an inspector general investigation into the handling of the Clinton email probe, are most notable for derogatory messages about President Donald Trump, the discovery of which led to Strzok's reassignment from special counsel Robert Mueller's team.

But they also include wide-ranging and unguarded discussion about a variety of current events and public figures, including Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and an encryption court fight with Apple, as well as candid assessments of their colleagues and their FBI careers and futures.

Among the thousands of texts, the dialogue about Comey is especially striking because it further calls into question White House characterizations of an FBI in "tatters," where "countless" agents complained about their director before his removal.

Employee surveys released last year show FBI employees consistently gave Comey high marks. And emails published this week by the Lawfare blog show FBI field office leaders using words like "profound sadness" and "hard to understand" in spreading the about Comey's May 9 termination, one of the events now under investigation by Mueller for possible obstruction of justice.

The texts proved an explosive development when revealed in December, giving rise to Republican allegations of bias in the FBI and the Justice Department and leading Trump to make an extraordinary allegation of "treason" against Strzok that the agent's lawyer dismissed as "beyond reckless."



Strzok was removed from Mueller's group in July after Mueller learned of the texts. Page, who'd also been detailed to that team, left that assignment before the messages were discovered.

Since then, amid attacks on the bureau, Director Christopher Wray has defended the FBI as home to "tens and thousands of brave men and women." Attorney General Jeff Sessions, meanwhile, has been more muted in his support, saying criticism can be appropriate and that political bias "in either direction" must be eliminated.

There's no question both Strzok and Page were stridently opposed to Trump's candidacy and the prospect of a Trump administration, using words like "idiot," ''loathsome," ''menace" and "disaster" to describe him.

In one text four days before the election, Page told Strzok that the "American presidential election, and thus, the state of the world, actually hangs in the balance."



They frequently texted each other stories about Russian election meddling, denigrated Trump associate Roger Stone and, in one profanity-laced message, Strzok cursed out the "cheating (expletive) Russians.

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A major fire broke out in a cloth mill at the Italian Industrial Estate near the Oberoi mall in suburban Goregaon this morning, an official said.

No injury or casualty was reported so far in the blaze which broke out on ground floor of the three-storey building located in the industrial estate on Mulund Link Road, he said.

The fire brigade control room received information about it around 7.19 am, the official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's disaster management unit said.

Eight fire engines along with water tankers and ambulance rushed to the spot, he said.

Efforts were on to douse the flames, he said.

The cause of the fire was not yet known and further details were awaited, he added.

On January 19, a massive fire had broken out at the Navrang studio in the Todi Mills Compound in Lower Parel area.

On January 8, there was a fire on the third floor of the sessions court building which had been accorded a heritage status.

Prior to it, on January 6, a huge fire broke out at the Cinevista studio in suburban Kanjurmarg, claiming one life.

In yet another incident on January 4, four persons, including two children, were killed and five others seriously injured after an upper floor of a residential building in suburban Marol caught fire.

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A major fire broke out in a cloth mill in suburban Goregaon on Wednesday morning, but no casualty was reported.

The blaze erupted on the ground floor of the three-storey building in the Italian Industrial Estate near Oberoi Mall, an official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's disaster management unit said.

The fire brigade control room received information about the fire at 7.19 am, he said.

Eight fire engines along with water tankers and ambulances rushed to the spot.

The fire brigade personnel managed to douse the flames after about five hours, he said, adding that no one was reported hurt.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained, he added.

On January 19, a massive fire had broken out at the Navrang studio in the Todi Mills Compound in Lower Parel area.

On January 8, there was a fire on the third floor of the sessions court building which had been accorded a heritage status.

Prior to it, on January 6, a huge fire broke out at the Cinevista Studio in suburban Kanjurmarg, claiming one life.

In yet another incident on January 4, four persons, including two children, were killed and five others seriously injured after an upper floor of a residential building in suburban Marol caught fire.
Five young children were killed in an arson attack during clashes in central Guinea following weekend local elections, a government minister minister said.

Huts and houses were set on fire, and "five Guinean infants died in the flames", the minister Boureima Conde said on television on Tuesday, without specifying their age or identity.

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Senior Telugu Desam Party leader and former state minister Gali Muddu Krishnama Naidu died of cardiac arrest at a private hospital in Hyderabad today.

He was 70 and is survived by wife, two sons and daughters.

Naidu, a member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, was admitted to a private hospital in Hyderabad following complaints of high fever two days ago.

He breathed his last in wee hours today, family sources said.

The mortal remains of the TDP leader would be brought to his native village Venkataramapuram, 30 km from here, from Hyderabad later, they said.

Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and several political leaders expressed shock and grief over the sudden demise of Gali Muddu Krishnama Naidu.

An official communique to the district authorities here said the Chief Minister would arrive here this afternoon and personally pay his tributes to the departed party leader.

Born in 1947, Naidu had joined after a career in teaching as college lecturer, when the actor-turned politician NT Rama Rao floated the TDP in the 1982, party sources said.

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Four more AAP MLAs today moved the Delhi High Court against their disqualification as legislators for holding offices of profit, claiming "defects" in the Election Commission's recommendation to the President.

Their pleas came up for hearing before a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Chander Shekhar which issued notice to the EC seeking its response to the MLAs' petitions.

Advocate Amit Sharma, appearing for the EC, informed the court that the commission would not file a fresh reply and would go by the affidavit already filed with regard to the other eight AAP MLAs' plea challenging their disqualification.

The AAP MLAs contended the poll panel had sent its opinion to President Ram Nath Kovind "flouting the principles of natural justice".

"Principles of natural justice requires a fair opportunity of defence. They (the petitioners) were not given a fair opportunity to defend themselves," senior advocate Mohan Parasaran, appearing for some of the disqualified lawmakers, said.

He claimed there were procedural lapses as the EC decided against them without the required quorum.

Parasaran claimed one of the EC members had initially recused himself from hearing the matter but joined at the time of passing of the order disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs for holding offices of profit as parliamentary secretaries.

The high court has decided to hear the MLAs' appeal on a day-to-day basis and refused to adjourn the matter, even when it was sought by the senior advocate for the legislators.

"This case takes precedence over everything else," the bench said while declining to grant an adjournment for a day.

So far 12 AAP MLAs have challenged their disqualification.

The high court had on January 24 refused to stay the Centre's notification disqualifying the MLAs, but restrained the Commission from taking any "precipitate measures" such as announcing dates for bypolls to fill the vacancies.

The EC had recommended the disqualification of 20 AAP MLAs on January 19. The President had accepted the EC's opinion the very next day.

The senior counsel for the petitioners told the court that the president had taken cognizance of a complaint against the lawmakers by advocate Prashant Patel which was not signed.

To this the bench said whether the complaint was signed or not or was moved with malafide motive was not the subject before the court. It said it was not disputed that the 20 MLAs were appointed parliamentary secretaries.

Even the Delhi High Court had on September 8, 2016 set aside their appointment as parliamentary secretaries on the ground that they were appointed without the concurrence of the Lieutenant Governor (LG).

The arguments on behalf of the petitioners, which remained inconclusive, will resume tomorrow.

The 20 disqualified MLAs include Adarsh Shastri (Dwarka), Alka Lamba (Chandni Chowk), Anil Bajpai (Gandhi Nagar), Avtar Singh (Kalkaji), Kailash Gahlot (Najafgarh) -- who is also a minister -- Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Manoj Kumar (Kondli), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), Nitin Tyagi (Laxmi Nagar), Praveen Kumar (Jangpura).

The others are Rajesh Gupta (Wazirpur), Rajesh Rishi (Janakpuri), Sanjeev Jha (Burari), Sarita Singh (Rohtas Nagar), Som Dutt (Sadar Bazar), Sharad Kumar (Narela), Shiv Charan Goel (Moti Nagar), Sukhbir Singh (Mundka), Vijendar Garg (Rajinder Nagar) and Jarnail Singh (Tilak Nagar).

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The Goa Forward Party (GFP) has accused its alliance partner Maharashtrwadi Gomantak Party (MGP) of trying to "trivialise" Goan heroes by opposing installation of Dr Jack Sequeira's statue at the Assembly complex.

The GFP, headed by state minister Vijai Sardesai, had demanded installation of the statue of Sequeira, known as the "Father of the 1967 Opinion Poll" that ensured Goa remained as a separate state after its libertarian from Portuguese in 1961.

The GFP and MGP are important constituents of Manohar Parrikar-led NDA government.

Opposing the GFP's demand, the MGP instead sought erecting the statue of freedom fighter T B Cunha.

Sardesai today said the party views the MGP's demand for statue as "great amusement and utter disappointment".

"Amusement because it's as if they (MGP) discovered the word statue after our demand for Dr Sequeira's statue, which the GFP, in keeping with our agenda of honouring Goan heroes, have successfully brought to the consciousness of the people," he said.

"A disappointment is because, by making this flurry of statue demands, the MGP is trying to trivialise and marginalise the most important event in the Goan history, and its leaders," he said.

Sardesai alleged that the MGP was not interested in any Goa-centric issues but rather seems opposing them.

The GFP had said they would try to unite various parties to pass a resolution in the Assembly for erecting Sequeira's statue during the Budget session, beginning later this month.

The BJP had decided not to support the installation of any other statue on the assembly complex apart from the one existing of Goa's first Chief Minister Dayanand Bandodkar.

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The Supreme Court today asked the Centre to apprise it about the "correct position" of dates of completion of the ongoing construction of Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways, which are aimed at decongesting Delhi's traffic.

A bench comprising justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta made the observation after it was apprised about the "discrepancies" on the dates of completion of the construction work.

While the 135-km-long Eastern Peripheral Expressway envisages signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida) and Palwal, the 135-km long Western Peripheral Expressway connects Kundli to Palwal via Manesar in Haryana.

Advocate Aparajita Singh, assisting the court as an amicus curiae, referred to a recent report of a committee and said there were some discrepancies about completion of the ongoing work for both the expressways.

She said that both the expressways were expected to be made open for public in April this year and the authorities should file an affidavit about it.

When the bench made a query in this regard, Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni said that he would take instructions on the issue and get back to the court.

The bench asked Nadkarni to take instructions and give the correct position within two weeks.

The court also asked Haryana government to file an affidavit about the status of the Western Peripheral Expressway.

In December last year, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had informed the apex court that hurdles in the construction of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway were resolved in a "satisfactory manner" in Uttar Pradesh.

The Uttar Pradesh government had earlier informed the top court that work on a 25-km stretch of the under-construction Eastern Peripheral Expressway in Ghaziabad, which was stalled following protests by farmers, had resumed.

The court, which has been hearing a 1985 plea filed by environmentalist M C Mehta on various issues including vehicular pollution, had asked the Centre in 2005 to build a peripheral expressway around Delhi by July 2016 to decongest and "de-pollute" the national capital.

The two expressways were planned in 2006 following the top court's order to form a ring road outside the national capital for channeling non-Delhi bound traffic bypassing the city.

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A Delhi-bound GoAir flight, with 166 passengers on-board, today suffered a bird-hit soon after take-off, after which it returned to the Ahmedabad airport, the airline said.

Following the incident, which took place around 9 am, the Airbus A320 aircraft returned to the airport for inspection, a GoAir spokesperson said in a statement.

"GoAir flight G8 720, which departed from Ahmedabad to New Delhi, suffered a bird hit during take-off this morning," the spokesperson said.

Following the standard operating procedure, the aircraft returned to Ahmedabad as a precautionary measure for inspection, the statement said.

All the 166 passengers on board were accommodated in other flights of GoAir as well as of other carriers to Delhi.

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Four robbers looted gold ornaments valued at more than Rs 35 lakh from a trader after attacking him here this morning, police said.

The incident, which was captured on CCTV, took place at around 6.30 am in Gujari area near Ambabai Temple, they said.

The trader, Kantilal Jasawantraj Mehta, arrived here at around 5.30 am from Mumbai by a private bus to deliver the ornaments as per an order, they said.

He came to Gujari by an auto-rickshaw and was going to a temple when four persons attacked him with a sword and sticks. They snatched the bag containing the ornaments valued at more than Rs 35 lakh and escaped in a car, police said.

Mehta lodged a complaint with the Juna Rajawada Police Station. Inspector Anil Gujar is heading the probe.

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The top priority of the BJP is to deliver good governance, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said at a poll meet today.

Development can take place in a state only when the governance is good and the BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership, has always strived hard to live up to the expectations of the people, the CM of the saffron-party ruled state said at a public rally in Khowai district, about 45 km from here.

When Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat, his style of working had set an example for state governments across the country, he said.

"The prime minister is a good organizer he can be given credit for strengthening the BJP throughout the country," Sonowal said, adding that no party would be able to level allegations of corruption at BJP-led governments in states.

Tripura is set to go to polls on February 18 and the results will be announced on April 3.

Opposition parties had been criticizing the central government for demonetization, but in reality the move had checked tax evasion, the Assam CM claimed.

"The Congress was in power for 12 years in Assam before the BJP took over. When the UPA government was at the Centre, the Congress in the state had indulged in many corrupt activities," he said.

The Left Front government in Tripura is no better, the state could not prosper as the ruling party did not take up adequate development projects despite being in power for 25 years, Sonowal added.

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Adding another chapter to its digital literacy initiative to empower women in rural India, Google India and Tata Trusts today expanded their Internet Saathi programme to over 4,000 villages across six districts of Tamil Nadu.

The global IT giant and the Tamil Nadu government also announced their plan to facilitate the provision of Google Cloud credits and access through its affiliate for eligible startups engaged with the Tamil Nadu governments startup initiative, according to a press release.

Google India will also, through its developer relations team, provide technical mentorship and advisory support to various startups, the press note added.

The initiatives were announced by state Information Technology Minister M Manikandan in the presence of T K Ramachandran IAS, Principal Secretary (IT), Anandrao V Patil IAS, Commissioner, Tamil Nadu eGovernance Agency (TNeGA) and R Sudalaikannan IAS, chairman and managing director, Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT).

"Google India is a valuable partner of the state of Tamil Nadu and we are happy to launch the Internet Saathi programme that will benefit rural women, across our state.

"We believe all the initiatives launched today will benefit women, small businesses, youth, and others across our state," said Manikandan.

Other initiatives as part of the announcement include working jointly to make all government sites mobile friendly, introduce joint programs to help local small and medium businesses get online, and Internet safety education for children to stay safe online.

"Our mission is to Digitise Tamil Nadu and Googles efforts in the state will help in the same direction," he added.

Launched as a pilot in Rajasthan in July 2015, Google India, along with Tata Trusts, had announced plans to scale the 'Internet Saathi' programme to cover 3,00,000 villages across India in December 2015.

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Internet giant Google today said it would support the digitisation efforts of the Tamil Nadu government,which include making all government websites mobile friendly, providing cloud credits for startups in the state.

Google stated this during the Tamil Nadu launch of the 'Internet Saathi' programme, 'digital literacy for women.'



The initiative was started in Rajasthan, along with Tata Trusts in 2015.

Google India, Public Policy, Director,Chetan Krishnaswamy said they were pleased to work with the government in its efforts to make Tamil Nadu a truly digitally empowered State.

"We are delighted with the progress we have made with the Internet Saathi model. Through our expansion in Tamil Nadu, we hope to benefit over 600,000 women in the first phase of the programme", Krishnaswamy said in a statement.

Google India through its developer relations team, would provide technical mentorship and advisory support to eligible startups, he added.

The programme was launched today in the presence of state Information Technology Minister, M Manikandan at the Secretariat here.

Speaking on the occasion, he said the 'Internet Saathi' programme would benefit rural women. "We believe the initiatives launched today will benefit women and small businesses across the state".

Nearly 13.5 million women have benefitted from the 'Internet Saathi' programme in over 1.40 lakh villages, the statement claimed.

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West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee today slammed Governor K N Tripathi in the Assembly alleging that he had flouted the Constitution by writing a letter to a senior official in Malda district, bypassing the state government.

Making a special mention, Chatterjee told the House that the governor's post had been "tarnished".

"The governor has tarnished his post by writing a letter (to the official). It is against the Constitution. We condemn such action. We respect him as the constitutional head. But we will not accept such action under any circumstances," Chatterjee said in the West Bengal Assembly.

When contacted, the governor declined to comment on the issue but said he was keeping a watch on the developments.

"I don't want to make any comment on this issue. Whenever I have to say anything I will say it to the reporters. At present, I am just watching the developments," Tripathi told PTI.

TMC chief national spokesperson Derek O'Brien had alleged yesterday that the governor had written a letter to the divisional commissioner of Malda, directing him to convene a meeting on law and order and development schemes of the state and central governments in the district bordering Bangladesh.

O'Brien had said Tripathi could not act unilaterally and he should follow the rules and regulations laid down in the Constitution.

The TMC had also tried to raise the issue in the Rajya Sabha yesterday.

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The government today approved signing of an agreement between India and the UK on cooperation in the field of skill development, vocational education and training.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

According to the government, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will pave the way for closer bilateral cooperation in this field and help strengthen the Indian skill ecosystem, improving employment prospects for youth.

It will also improve the scale and quality of skill training efforts in India, it added.

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Anti-corruption crusader alleged on Wednesday that the NDA government was more concerned about industrialists rather than farmers.

He also claimed that nearly 1.2 million farmers have committed suicide in the last 70 years in the country.

"The government is more concerned about the industrialists like Ambani, Adani, rather than farmers," he said while addressing a public meeting here.

"I had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which I categorically stated that farmers were not getting adequate price for their produce and the government is directly responsible for this," he added.

The veteran social activist said that after coming to power, Modi had said that efforts would be initiated to rid the country of corruption, but it has not happened.

"Rather, only a lot of publicity was done on this. The government lacks the will power (to make the country corruption-free)," he said.

Hazare recalled that whenever they held protests against the governments, they were put into jail.

He claimed that the Congress could not win the last elections due to their protest (over the Lokpal issue).

He said that for the protest he is going to launch from March 23 in New Delhi for a stringent Lokpal law and over farmers' issues, he has been touring the country since the last two months.

"We only want that common people get their dues and farmers get satisfactory price for their produce," he said.
The government is planning to hold the largest ever spectrum auction of 3,000 Mhz of radiowaves in the upcoming sale, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

"Spectrum above 3000 MHz will be put up for auction for the first time in the forthcoming auction," telecom minister Manoj Sinha said in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

In the previous auction in 2016, the government had put a total of 2,354.55 megahertz of mobile airwaves for sale in all bands of 700 Mhz, 800 Mhz, 900 Mhz, 1800 Mhz, 2100 Mhz and 2300 Mhz, cumulatively valued at around Rs 5.63 trillion at base price.

However, nearly 60 per cent of the radiowaves, including premium 4G bands, remained unsold in that auction.

"The government has sought recommendations from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on the applicable Reserve Price and related issues for auction of right to use of spectrum in the frequency bands 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz and 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3400 MHz and 3400-3600 MHz. Recommendations from TRAI are awaited," Sinha said.

In response to query on auction of spectrum for 5G services, Sinha said that the standardisation work in respect of 5G technology is in progress in the International Telecom Union (ITU), Geneva, Switzerland under the official name of IMT (International Mobile Telecommunication) 2020.

"The standardisation is expected to be completed around the year 2020 after which the frequency bands, already auctioned and proposed to be auctioned, can be utilised for deployment of 5G technology," he said.
The residents of Mumbai woke up to a hazy sky today and monitoring stations across the metropolis recorded poor to moderate air quality, an IMD official said.

The suspension of dust particles in air over the city and suburbs, the heavy traffic on roads and construction work at several places were responsible for the poor air quality and the haze, the official said.

All the 10 monitoring stations in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai recorded poor to moderate air quality today, he said.

"There is a thick sheet of clouds over Mumbai, resulting in obscure sunlight," India Meteorological Department's Deputy Director General (Western Region) K S Hosalikar told PTI.

He said the slow winds had caused dust particles to remain suspended for a long time over Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

The combined effect of the cloud density and the dust particles was causing low visibility, he said.

"A lot of vehicular movement and the ongoing infrastructure work in Mumbai are contributing to the poor air quality," Hosalikar said.

He said the haze was a normal phenomena during January and February in several parts of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, but this time the slow winds and dust particles had made the condition worse.

"The cloud density is expected to get thinner and the temperature may drop by a couple of degrees from tomorrow. It may bring some relief to the people in Mumbai and other parts of Maharashtra," Hosalikar said.

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The Allahabad High Court today reserved its judgment on UPPSC petition challenging the CBI inquiry into the selections made by it between April 2012 and March 2017.

The petition was filed by the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) through its Chairman, Anirudh Singh Yadav, and members.

The Centre, on the recommendations of the Uttar Pradesh government, had passed an order for a CBI inquiry into the selections made by the commission during the period.

The bench comprising Chief Justice D B Bhosale and Justice Suneet Kumar after hearing the parties concerned reserved the judgment in the case.

Earlier on January 2, the court had asked the counsel for the state government to apprise it on what basis it had recommended to the Centre for a CBI inquiry.

In the petition it was said that the UPPSC is a constitutional body and therefore notification directing the CBI inquiry was illegal and without jurisdiction.

No inquiry against the commission can be directed under existing laws, the petition said.

The state government's counsel opposed the petition and argued that in case of any allegations of irregularities in selections made by the commission, the government can recommend for a CBI inquiry.

The Centre, on the recommendation of the state government, had passed an order for the CBI inquiry for the selections made by the UPPSC between April 2012 and March 2017, the counsel said.

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The Bombay High Court today directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a reply on the bail pleas filed by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal and his nephew Sameer Bhujbal within two weeks.

The Bhujbals have approached the high court against a special court's order, rejecting their bail pleas.

A single bench of Justice A S Gadkari is likely to hear the pleas on February 27.

In December last year, a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court had rejected the bail pleas of the Bhujbals in a case of alleged money laundering.

Chhagan Bhujbal, the former Maharashtra deputy chief minister and former state public works department minister, was arrested in March, 2016 after an ED inquiry revealed that he and his associates allegedly misused their office and caused financial loss to the government.

According to the ED, Bhujbal had awarded contracts related to construction and development works, including one for the construction of the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi, to a particular firm, in return for kickbacks for himself and his family.

He and Sameer used to channel such money to illegal companies owned by them, the agency had alleged.

In their pleas filed in the high court through lawyer Salabh Saxena, the Bhujbals have claimed that the special court's order was erroneous.

They have cited a recent Supreme Court order that held section 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act as unconstitutional. The section puts certain restrictions on granting bail to a person booked under the statute.

The PMLA court had rejected their bail pleas after the ED opposed the same, saying the Bhujbals were influential and had a history of threatening certain co-accused in the case.

According to the ED, while the total amount of money laundered by the Bhujbals was Rs 857 crore, it has only managed to attach properties worth Rs 156 crore so far.

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Father of actors Ben and Casey Affleck, Timothy has criticised the culture of Hollywood for ruining the lives of his sons.

Calling the film industry a "disgusting place", Timothy said he believes the showbiz also contributed to his elder son's alcoholism.

"It has taken a toll on both of my sons. Hollywood is a disgusting place. I think that's been a major factor in Ben's drinking.

"You're kind of forced to develop a persona that is hard to shed and go home to your family. It affects your whole life. I think that's one of the dangers of the film industry," Timothy told Grazia magazine.

The 74-year-old also went on to take the onus of Ben's drinking problem on him as he was a long time "chronic, severe alcoholic" in the past.

"I had to recover and, happily, I did. Ben has always been serious about getting sober. There is no question about that. He wants a balanced life and he is working at it," he added.

Timothy also reflected that fame cost Ben, 45, his marriage with actor Jennifer Garner. The couple split in 2015.

"It's difficult to balance family life in the midst of global stardom. It's a hard, taxing life."



He dismissed the allegations of sexual misconduct against his sons.

"It doesn't interest me, they know what they're doing. They're both kind and good men. They treat women well, I can guarantee that. After 40 odd years, you know your kids."



Hilarie Burton claimed Ben groped her when she was a host of MTV's TRL in 2003, for which the actor offerd an apology apologised saying he does not remember the incident.

Casey, 42, went for an out-of-court settlement in case of sexual harassment in 2010, when two female crew members accused him of inappropriate behaviour after they worked with him on the sets of "I'm Still Here".

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Japanese auto major Honda today unveiled three new products, including the all new Amaze, which will hit the market during the upcoming fiscal.

The company also unveiled all new CR-V and Civic sedan as part of its plan to launch six new products in the Indian market over the next three years.

"We are committed to the Indian market and aim to launch six models in the coming three years. Today we announce three models which will be launched in 2018-19," Honda Motor Company President and Representative Director Takahiro Hachigo told reporters here.

The CR-V will come with diesel engine, while the 10th generation Civic will have both petrol and diesel powertrains.

"The new launches will strengthen our presence in the premium segment in the Indian market," Hachigo said.

He said that the Japanese company sold around 53 lakh automobile products globally last year with strong contribution from India.

Commenting on Indian operations, Honda Cars India Ltd (HCIL) President and CEO Yoichiro Ueno said the company's sales grew by 15 per cent last year.

"With the upcoming new launches, we are confident to grow further in the new fiscal," he said.

While Amaze will strengthen Honda's presence in mass segment, all new CR-V and comeback of Civic will help the company fortify its presence in the premium segment, he added.

The company also showcased electric concepts as part of its green mobility plans.

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South Korean automaker Hyundai today launched a new version of its premium compact hatchback Elite i20 priced between Rs 5.34 lakh and Rs 9.15 lakh (ex- showroom Delhi).

The company, which operates here through its wholly-owned arm Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), also unveiled its global electric vehicle Ioniq.

"The new 2018 Elite i20 is a product of our continuous R&D efforts ... the product is aesthetically designed with premium interiors and modern looks that make it truly appealing," HMIL MD and CEO YK Koo told reporters here.

The petrol versions of the car are priced between Rs 5.34 lakh and Rs 7.9 lakh while the diesel trims are tagged between Rs 6.73 lakh and Rs 9.15 lakh.

The car comes with various safety features like dual airbags as standard feature.

The petrol version is powered by 1.2 litre engine while the diesel trims come with 1.4 litre powertrains.

The company also plans to launch an automatic (CVT) version of the petrol model later during the year.

Koo said that HMIL contributed 15 per cent to the overall global sales of the South Korean firm last year. In 2016, the sales contribution from India was 13.6 per cent to overall global sales.

The company has already announced its plans to invest over USD 1 billion (around Rs 6,300 crore) in India in the next three years on new products, development of powertrain and setting up of a new office building.

The company, plans to launch an electric vehicle next year and is also gearing up for the possible comeback of its popular model Santro around Diwali this year.

HMIL has lined up nine products to be introduced between 2018 and 2020.

The company, which is completing 20 years in the Indian market, sold 6.78 lakh units last year in the country with a market share of around 16.5 per cent in the passenger vehicle segment.

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A special court convicted an important Indian Mujahdeen operative, Haroon Naik, today in connection with the seizure of fake Indian currency notes (FICN) and sentenced him to six years imprisonment.

Another accused Asrar Tailor, alias Sagari, was given a similar punishment in the case.

However, the special NIA court acquitted Azhar-ul-Islam Siddiqui alias Munna of all charges in the case.

The case, which was investigated by the Maharashtra ATS, was later handed over to National Investigation Agency (NIA).

According to the prosecution, the ATS had raided a private guest house in Wadala in August 2011 and arrested Naik. They recovered currency notes with a face value of Rs 9.75 lakh in Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 denominations from the place.

During Naik's interrogation, he told the sleuths that Asrar had indoctrinated him to participate in "jihadi activities" after undergoing militant training.

Police later arrested Asrar and also held Azhar as he was also indoctrinated by the former.

The accused were booked under various sections of the IPC and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The ATS said that Naik had gone to Pakistan and underwent militant training organised by Lashkar-e-Taiba and al-Qaida. The NIA had later taken over the case.

Naik's lawyer Abdul Wahab Khan and Sharif Sheikh told the court that Naik was arrested as soon as he landed in Mumbai from Saudi Arabia.

Special judge V P Avhad convicted Naik and Asrar only for posession of FICN and acquitted them of all other charges, including that of UAPA. Azhar was acquitted of all charges.

Naik is also an accused in the 2011 Mumbai triple blasts case.

Three powerful blasts ripped through crowded areas in Mumbai on July 13, 2011, killing at least 21 people and injuring 141.

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India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha, Defence sources said.

The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near here at around 11.35 am, they said.

Describing the trial as a complete success, they said all mission objectives were met during the test launch.

The perfect test launch came after successful trial of Agni-5 on January 18 and Agni-1 missile conducted from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast yesterday.

Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target, they said.

The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the Army and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise, they said.

"The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro- optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha," the sources said.

The downrange teams onboard the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown.

In salvo mode, on November 21, 2016, two missiles were successfully test fired in quick succession from the same base and the last trial was successful on June 2, 2017 from the same base.

Inducted into the Armed forces of the country in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), sources said.

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The inaugural 2+2 Indo-US ministerial dialogue between the defence and external affairs ministers is likely to take place here this spring, a top American diplomat has said.

The '2+2' dialogue was announced in June last year after a White House meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump.

Trump and Modi agreed to enhance peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region by establishing a new two-by-two ministerial dialogue, which would elevate their strategic consultations, the White House had said.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will hold talks with their American counterparts Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

"We expect to launch our inaugural '2+2' dialogue with India in Washington this spring, when Secretary Tillerson and Secretary Mattis will meet with their Indian counterparts to further deepen our security ties," Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a hearing on Afghanistan yesterday.

However, the date of the meeting was not immediately known.

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A 26-year-old Indian engineer in the UAE, who sneaked into the Sharjah International Airport runway to catch a plane to meet his fiancee back home, is not regretting his actions, saying he acted out of love, a media report said today.

The civil engineer, identified only as RK, was arrested by the Sharjah Police after he climbed the airport wall and breached the runway, in an attempt to board a plane without his passport, which was being held by his employer.

"I want to say I'm a free man and our life is ours. I did this act because I wanted to travel back to India to meet my fiancee, whatever the price I have to pay," he told the Khaleej Times.

It was not clear when the incident took place.

During the hearing at the Sharjah Sharia Court, presided by Judge Mahamood Abu Baker, the accused said that on the day of the incident, he left behind all his belongings in his flat, taking only his wallet and went to the airport at night.

He climbed the fence and sneaked on to the runway, to try and enter a plane. He had not bought a ticket as his passport was being kept by the company he worked for, the report said.

He said he decided to take the chance to either try and travel without his passport, or if caught in the process, he would be tried in court, get his passport and be deported from the UAE anyway.

RK says he was spotted by a luggage loader, after which he was arrested and taken into police custody in minutes and subsequently released on bail, the report said.

He told the paper that he was in a grave situation in the UAE as he loved his fiancee but was unable to go meet her. He claimed he had approached his company over 15 times to get permission for a visit home, but his relative who also manages the firm refused to give him permission.

"I cannot live without my fiancee and want to convince my parents to give us permission to marry," he said, indicating that his parents did not approve of the alliance. But his fiancee's parents do not have any such issues.

RK added that he had no regrets at having to face legal action now, but only wants to be free to go home and get married after everything has blown over.

He was only angry at the fact that his company held his passport against his will, in violation of the UAE law.

Passports should only be held by the employer for a limited period, while renewing or cancelling visas and if done otherwise, it is a clear violation of the international and UAE labour laws, the paper said.

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An Indian woman tourist, who recently lost her husband in a road accident here and was battling for her life, has died on her flight back home in an air ambulance, a media report said today.

Neetu Jain Kawad, 38, died on Monday while being flown to Bengaluru in an air ambulance, two weeks after she lost her husband Dinesh Kawad, 40, in a tragic accident on Emirates Road on January 22.

Neetu had suffered serious injuries in the accident. She had slipped into coma and was treated at a hospital in Dubai, Khaleej Times reported.

The couple hailed from Bengaluru and was on a vacation here when their minibus collided with a truck near Al Aweer area, it said.

The deceased have a garments business in India and had left behind their 11-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter with grandparents before coming to Dubai on a leisure trip.

The accident had killed Kawad, who was sitting in the front passenger seat and the Pakistani driver of the minibus on the spot.

While an Italian tourist's wife, who was reportedly three months pregnant, died due to injuries later, a Chinese couple and an Italian man sustained minor injuries.

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The India-Bangladesh border adjoining Sipahijala and Unakoti districts of Tripura has been sealed in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit tomorrow, police said today.

The prime minister would address two public rallies near border areas, programme manager and Deputy Speaker of Assam Assembly Biswarup Bhattacharya said.

Giving details of Modi's itinerary, he said the prime minister is scheduled to arrive at Agartala airport in a chartered plane, and from there, he would fly to Sonamura of Sipahijala district in an IAF helicopter.

A public rally has been organised at Rangamati Madrassa school ground in Sipahijala, Bhattacharya said.

According to Sipahijala SP Sudipta Das, the BSF has been asked to seal the frontier as the place is not very far from the international border.

"A security blanket has been thrown around the district with central and state paramilitary forces deployed at strategic points," Das said.

After the rally at Siphijala, Modi would go to Kailashahar in Unakoti district, Bhattacharya said, adding the prime minister would address a public meet at Ramkrishna Mahavidyalaya stadium in the second half of the day.

The security forces have been asked to intensify patrolling in the district and adequate measures have been taken to thwart untoward incidents, Unakoti SP Ajit Pratap Singh said.

Tripura is set to go to polls on February 18 and the results will be announced on March 3.

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With South India contributing 35 per cent of its total business revenue, Intex Technologies, a leading domestic consumer electronics company, today said it plans to open more Smartworld stores in the region.

"In South India,Intext Smartworld has already established its footprint in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka and the company wants to tap the huge potential in the region and will open nearly 40 stores in 2018-2019," the company's branded Retail DGM,Vishal Malik told reporters here.

It is also looking to enter the Kerala market soon, he said.

Here to open a SmartWorld store, the first in the city, the fourth in Tamil Nadu and 10th in South India, Malik said that the national count of such stores have crossed 130 in 80 cities in 25 states.

Being a key market, Intex would scale up its presence in Tier II cities in south India, he said adding that Intex was looking to expand its footprint beyond metros into smaller cities and towns to reach end customers of this mature market.

Having five manufacturing plants in North India, a new plant is coming up at Greater Noida with an investment of Rs 500 crore and commercial production is likely to commence in another six months, Malik said.

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Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today said IOC and BPCL are both keen to acquire gas utility GAIL India Ltd, which as per the extant policy needs to be split by separating gas transportation business from its marketing unit.

IOC and BPCL have separately indicated to the petroleum ministry their interest in taking over GAIL to add natural gas to their oil refining and marketing business.

In a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha, Pradhan said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in the 2017-18 Budget unveiled government's plan to create integrated public sector oil majors "through consolidation, mergers and acquisitions" so as that the merged company has "capacity to bear higher risks, avail economies of scale, take higher investment decisions" and is "able to match the performance of international and domestic private companies.

"Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) had written to the Ministry for integration with GAIL (India) Limited. However, government has not taken any decision in this regard," Pradhan said.

To a separate question on splitting GAIL, he said a decade-old policy provides for a natural gas transporter not having any interest in marketing of the fuel.

Incorporated in August 1984 by spinning off gas business of ONGC, GAIL (India) Ltd owns and operates about 11,000-km of natural gas pipelines in the country. It sells around 60 per cent of natural gas in the country.

Pradhan said in 2006, the government issued the Policy for Development of Natural Gas Pipelines and City or Local Natural Gas Distribution Networks.

"In the long run and with the maturing of gas markets, it is envisaged in the policy that the authorised entities will have transportation of natural gas as their sole business activity and will not have any business interest in the gas marketing or city or local gas distribution networks," he said.

Also, the policy and the provisions of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) Act, 2006 provide for all entities authorised to lay pipelines including GAIL to provide mandatory open access to their gas pipeline infrastructure on common carrier principle at non-discriminatory basis.

This open access to third parties should be given at transportation rates determined by PNGRB, he said.

The minister however did not say either way if the government was considering splitting GAIL.

Last month, Pradhan had stated that the state-run firm should focus on building natural gas pipelines as marketing can be done by "anyone".

He had stated that creating infrastructure to take environment friendly natural gas to uncovered parts, particularly eastern India, is a priority for the government.

Several meetings have been held in the ministry on splitting GAIL by spinning off its marketing business into a separate company and selling it to a state-owned firm.

GAIL also owns a petrochemical plant at Pata in Uttar Pradesh which too could be sold along with the marketing business to either IOC or BPCL.

The company had in the past resisted the split on grounds that its gas marketing and transmission businesses operate at arm's length, and hence do not need to be separated.

GAIL's marketing business formed 71 per cent of its 2016 -17 total sales, and 25 per cent pre-tax profit.

The government has a 54.89 per cent stake in GAIL India.

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The United States complained today that Iranian authorities have sent an 81-year-old American citizen back to prison after a short break for medical treatment.

US Undersecretary of State Steve Goldstein told reporters Baquer Namazi's health is failing and called for the former UNICEF official to be released immediately on humanitarian grounds.

"We are deeply disappointed that the Iranian government has returned Mr Namazi to prison. We are concerned about his declining health and he remains in urgent need of sustained medical care," Goldstein said.

On Sunday, Iranian authorities granted Namazi, a dual US-Iranian citizen, leave from prison on humanitarian grounds. In September, he underwent emergency heart surgery to install a pacemaker.

His lawyer, Jared Genser, said then that under the terms of the leave he could not leave Iran. His son, business consultant and fellow dual national Siamak Namazi is also still in jail.

The Namazis were given 10 years in prison for "espionage and collaboration with the American government" in October, a charge denied by the family and dismissed by US authorities.

"Mr Namazi is quite ill. He needs to get appropriate medical care very soon, and should be released on humanitarian grounds," Goldstein said.

Asked if Baquer Namazi might die, Goldstein said: "We are concerned about that and we would hope the Iranians are concerned about that too.

"We continue to call for his unconditional release from his unjust detention in Iran," Goldstein continued.

"We also renew our call for the return of all unjustly detained and missing citizens in Iran, including Baquer's son Siamak, Xiyue Wang and Robert Levinson," he added.

"We have raised this issue at every opportunity and will continue to do so, until their cases are resolved."



Baquer Namazi was rushed to a hospital on January 15 -- the fourth time in the last year -- after a "severe" drop in his blood pressure, and irregular heartbeat, Genser said on Sunday.

Wang, a Chinese-American researcher from Princeton University, has also been given a 10-year sentence for espionage.

Former FBI agent and CIA contractor Levinson went missing in March 2007 after apparently traveling to an Iranian coastal island.

Washington and Tehran have had no diplomatic relations since April 1980 in the wake of the Islamic revolution, and tensions have sharpened under Trump after a brief warming under his predecessor, Barack Obama.

The two countries along with other major powers signed an accord July 14, 2015 aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program, but Trump's administration is pushing for tougher measures.

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In a significant move, the Jammu and Kashmir government and Dubai Ports Group today inked a pact for a joint venture involving maiden Rs 1,500 crore foreign direct investment for setting up inland logistic hubs in Jammu and Srinagar capital cities.

"An MoU finalised for Joint Venture involving maiden Rs 1,500 crore foreign direct investment. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up inland logistic hubs in Jammu and Srinagar, as a Joint Venture between Dubai Ports and the Jammu and Kashmir government, was finalised at the delegation level talks between Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem-led DP team and Haseeb Drabu-led state government team," an official spokesman said.

A high-level delegation of the Dubai Ports Group (DP World) led by its Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem arrived by a chartered flight here this morning to discuss the modalities for setting up inland logistics hubs in Jammu and Srinagar.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and his team held separate meetings with Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and Industries Minister Chander Parkash Ganga, followed by delegation level parleys with the concerned ministers and officials.

"The visit of Dubai Ports Group delegation follows the announcement made by the Finance Minister in his budget speech in the State Legislature last month about the government's plan to attract foreign investment by setting up dry ports in the state to boost local economy," the official spokesman said.

Commerce Minister Chander Parkash Ganga, Principal Secretary Finance, Navin Kumar Choudhary, Principal Secretary Industries, Shailendra Kumar and other officials of the concerned departments were present at the delegation-level meeting.

The meeting deliberated in detail on the parameters of the MoU.

The MoU is to be subsequently signed by the Government of India with the Government of UAE to facilitate setting up the first inland logistics hub in Jammu and Kashmir.

To begin with, 100 acres of land would be offered by the state government near Railway Station Samba as equity in the joint venture for setting up the logistics hub in Jammu region and around 100 acres of land would be earmarked near Ompora, Budgam for a similar facility in Kashmir, the spokesman said.

The logistics hubs to be established in Jammu and Kashmir with maiden foreign direct investment of around Rs 1,500 crore by Dubai Ports would include two dry ports, warehouses, cold storage chain, controlled atmospheric stores and supply chain to transport commodities and products including horticulture and agriculture produce, handicrafts and industrial products from the state directly to the markets throughout the world, he added.

"One of the major problems of J-K economy is high cost of transportation of goods and products. We have to get our fruit, agriculture produce, handicrafts and industrial products in trucks to outside world.

"If we get a dry port and cold chain, the commodities can move through an integrated transport chain. This will bring down the cost of transportation by 20 per cent to 25 per cent giving a major fillip to the state economy," said Drabu.

He said a dry port, also called an inland port or multimodal logistics centre, is an inland terminal connected to a seaport by rail or road.

It serves as trans-shipment point in transport of export/import goods and is named so because it is very similar to a seaport in services it offers except that it is not near a sea.

Dubai Ports is operating 78 marine and inland terminals supported by over 50 related businesses in 40 countries across six continents with a significant presence in both high-growth and mature markets.

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Members of the ruling party and the Opposition today came on the same page and staged a walkout from the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council over "poor" coverage of the House proceedings by the state-owned media.

As the assembly proceedings began for the day, several members of the National Conference (NC), Congress, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) raised the issue of "poor coverage of the House proceedings by the state-owned media".

Ghulam Nabi Monga of Congress, Sajjad Ahmed Kichloo of NC, Girdari Lal Raina of BJP and Surinder Choudhary of PDP demanded adequate coverage of the members taking part in the House proceedings.

They later staged a walkout from the House, forcing Haji Anayat Ali, chairman of the legislative council, to adjourn the House for a brief period.

Later, state PWD minister Naeem Akhtar assured the protesting legislators that proper media coverage of the House



proceedings would take place.

The chairman told the House that a record of the proceedings has been submitted by the information department and the same was open for any member to see.

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Director Jordan Peele said he is considering working on the second installment of his horror movie, "Get Out".

The 38-year-old actor-turned-director said he believes there are more stories that can be explored in the film's universe, starring Daniel Kaluuya-Allison Williams.

"I will definitely, seriously consider it. I love that universe, and I feel like there is more story to tell.

"I don't know what it is now, but there are some loose ends that feel like they want to be tied up. I'll throw that out there," Peele told The Hollywood Reporter.

The director has received two Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, and shares the nod for Best Picture with co-producers Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, and Edward H Hamm Jr.

Kaluuya has also got his first nomination in the Best Actor category.

Peele recently said that he is in no mood to act and would completely focus on direction from now on.

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The Bombay High Court today allowed cultural events to be held at the Cross Maidan in South Mumbai as part of the ongoing Kala Ghoda festival but denied permission for food stalls and other commercial activities.

A division bench of justices A S Oka and P N Deshmukh also rapped the Maharashtra government for allowing such events in the past and this year as well at a public property free of cost and with no conditions imposed.

While the festival started on February 3, the high court had last week refused to grant permission until it heard the matter.

The bench was hearing an application filed by the Kala Ghoda Association, the organisers of the festival, seeking permission to hold the cultural events.

As per the earlier directives of the high court, for any event to be held at the Cross Maidan, the organisers have to seek permission from it.

The city collector on January 30 passed an order permitting the events to be held.

However, the high court had last week said the order was passed without proper application of mind following which the collector passed a reasoned order on February 5 imposing conditions and licence fee on the organisers.

The high court today said while it was allowing the events to be held this year, it shall not be taken as a precedent in future.

"The state government's decision of allowing such events is completely flawed and faulty. The collector's order of February 5 shall be followed this year. No food stalls or any other commercial activities shall be carried out," the court ordered.

The festival will be held till February 11.

The cultural events of the festival were shifted to the Cross Maidan in the past few years after the Kala Ghoda area in South Mumbai was declared a 'silence zone'.

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Lockheed Martin sees decades of business opportunities to make the latest and most advanced 4th generation multi-role F-16V fighter jets in India for its air force and exports, a top official of the American defence firm said today.

The F-16V, where the V suffix is for its Viper nickname, is claimed by the company to be the latest and most advanced combat-proven jet of the family in the market.

"If selected, we expect the production of F-16V from India to go on for decades. There are opportunities out there for delivering F-16s," Joe LaMarca, vice president of Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company said here.

"If we are successful in India, that would provide that opportunities (for exports) to countries that would want that plane," he added.

"If Lockheed Martin sets up production in India, any future orders from outside will be met through the jets made in India," LaMarca said, adding that it has been the offer from the company to India.

"We are still confident with the F-16V (offer to make in India). It is the right choice and provides most capability for India and for future opportunities (exports)," he said at the Singapore Airshow here.

He also noted that the Indian Air Force requires 100 single-seat fighter jets.

The F-16V has been upgraded to 12,000-hour airplane lifespan, an improvement from 6,000-8,000-hour in the past jet of the same model.

It can also be refurbished under service life extension programme, the official said.

Meanwhile, Lockheed Martin, he said, is relocating the F-16 plant to Greenville in South Carolina from Fort Worth in Texas to commence production for the 16 jets worth USD 3.8 billion ordered by Bahrain in October last year.

Production is expected to commence from 2021 onwards.

Requirement of more space at Fort Worth for the F-35 plant necessitated relocation of F-16 plant, LaMarca said.

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An outspoken member of Kenya's opposition accused of treason for taking part in a mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga was deported to Canada.

The move came in defiance of a High Court order that he be presented before a judge on Wednesday.

Miguna Miguna, a provocative firebrand and member of the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, was forced onto an international flight on Tuesday night.

"Miguna denounced his Kenyan citizenship years back, acquired Canadian citizenship and never bothered to reclaim Kenyan citizenship in the legally prescribed manner neither did he disclose that he had another country's citizenship despite being a lawyer who should have known better," said interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka in a tweet today.

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South Korean automaker Kia Motors today said it will introduce a range of vehicles, including an India-exclusive compact electric vehicle in the country between 2019 and 2021.

The company unveiled its SP Concept, an SUV designed and developed for the Indian market. It will be the first product to go on sale in the country in the second half of next year.

"The SP Concept SUV has been designed and developed for the Indian market," Kia Motors Corporation President and CEO Han-Koo Park said here at the Auto Expo.

He said the SP Concept SUV will be the first of the products to be rolled out from the company's plant in Andhra Pradesh, where it has invested USD 1 billion. The plant will have a capacity of 3 lakh units annually.

Between 2019 and 2021, Kia plans to introduce more products and have a diverse portfolio in India, ranging from hatchbacks to SUVs, he said.

The company will also introduce an India-exclusive compact electric vehicle, Park said without disclosing details.

Commenting on Kia's official debut here, he said, "This beautiful country of India is the final piece of puzzle in Kia's global footprint."



With the plant in Andhra Pradesh, the company has also moved one step closer to having a truly global manufacturing network, which also includes facilities in the US, Mexico and Slovakia among others, he added.

Despite being a late entrant, Park said, "Even though we have arrived late, we have come fully prepared."



Globally, Kia is the 8th largest auto manufacturer, selling 2.8 million units last year across 180 countries, he added.

The company is showcasing 16 products from its global portfolio here at the expo.

"The SP Concept provides a glimpse of what's in store for motoring enthusiasts once Kia kicks off retail sales in India in the second half of 2019," the company said.

The vehicle has been inspired by Indian heritage and driven by advanced technology, it added.

Kia Motors India Managing Director and CEO Kookhyun Shim said,"Kia Motors is thrilled to enter India, which is all set to catapult into the world's fifth largest economy this year."



Stating that it is a favorable time to enter the country, he said additional forecasts predict that India will be amongst the world's largest car markets in a few years.

"We are here to be a part of the success story, which has been put into motion by progressive government policies and decision making," Shim added.

Commenting on the SP Concept, Kia Motors Corporation Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer said, "Over the last few years, SUVs have become the vehicle of choice among Indian buyers. Combining the comfort and space of a sedan with the ability to tackle all kinds of terrain, we intend to storm the market with an SUV that will set new parameters in motoring."



He said being a concept, the vehicle is a "little bit exaggerated", but the actual production car will be very close to the concept displayed at the expo.

Other models displayed by Kia at the expo include city car Picanto, passenger car Rio, crossover Stonic and 7-seater Sorento among others.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday protected Milind Ekbote, the prime accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence in Maharashtra, from arrest.

The violence on January 1 had left one person dead.

A bench headed by Justice Kurain Joseph granted Ekbote interim protection from arrest till February 20 in the case.

The apex court also sought a response from the Maharashtra government on his plea for anticipatory bail.

The apex court asked the Maharashtra government to apprise it about the law and order situation in the state.

It said that in the event of Ekbote's arrest, he should be released on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh.

According to the police, a court in Pune yesterday issued an arrest warrant against right-wing leader Ekbote, who was booked for allegedly inciting violence on January 1 during an event to commemorate the bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.

A case was registered against Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who head the Hindu Ekta Aghadi and Shivraj Pratishthan respectively, for allegedly "inciting" violence that left a man dead near Bhima Koregaon on January 1.

Subsequent protests had disrupted normal life in Mumbai.

The Bombay High Court had on February 2 rejected Ekbote's anticipatory bail plea. Before that, a Pune court had also rejected his similar plea.

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A laundry shop owner was allegedly stabbed to death by three unidentified persons in the Kharghar area of Navi Mumbai, police said today.

Manoj Kanojia (35) was going home after closing his shop late last night when the three persons came attacked him with a knife, killing him on the spot, a police official said.

The accused then fled from the spot, he said.

The motive behind the killing was yet to be ascertained, he said.

The body has been sent for postmortem, the official said, adding that a hunt is on for the culprits.

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Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu today said people using local languages in High Court proceedings will be an "ideal situation".

He said this during Zero Hour after Sasikala Pushpa (AIADMK) urged the Centre to "resonsider" the resolution sent to it by the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly for allowing the use of Tamil as official language in the proceedings of the Madras High Court.

Pushpa said recently the Centre had rejected the demand of Tamil Nadu for the use of Tamil in High Court and urged the Centre to reconsider the decision.

To this, Naidu said it will be an ideal situation if people could use local languages in the high courts of their states.

"This will be an ideal situation if the country moves in this direction. For that, there has to be broad consensus. Everybody should agree...," the Chairman said.

In his Zero Hour mention, Sanjay Singh (AAP) raised the issue of sealing in Delhi saying the move has affected 7 lakh traders and a large number of others who are dependent on them.

He said that as per a report, Delhi traders have paid Rs 4,000 crore towards conversion fee and sealing process was still going on.

Singh said markets like Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazar, which are in existence since Mughal and British era, are also being affected due to the sealing drive.

The AAP member urged the government to bring a bill to stop sealing.

Congress MP Rajani Patil raised the issue of reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies.

Naidu said the issue raised by Patil was "good".

"This is a challenge before the entire nation. We all gave a commitment. We should honour it at the earliest," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.

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A court here today dismissed a plea by Malayalam film actor Dileep seeking copies of visuals of the alleged sexual assault committed on a South Indian film actress by a gang of men in a moving car last year and committed the case to the sessions court for trial.

The Angamaly Judicial First Class Magistrate Court accepted the prosecution argument that providing clippings of the alleged assault could be misused by the actor affecting the privacy of the actress.

It then committed the case to the Court of Session, setting the stage for commencement of trial.

Dileep is the eighth among the 12 accused in the case and has secured bail nearly three months after his arrest on July 10 last year.

The key accused in the case, Pulsar Suni, who has been in jail since his arrest early last year, was produced before the court today.

The actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by Suni and his accomplices, who had forced their way into the vehicle on the night of February 17 last year and later escaped.

Dileep has been charged with hatching the conspiracy to abduct and assault the actress and also film the act.

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A gag order issued by a lower court in Kerala restraining the media from publishing involving the son of a legislator was against the basic principles of the Constitution, Malayala Manorama Chief Editor Mammen Mathew said here today.

Mathew hailed the decision of the Kerala High Court to stay the interim order recently issued by the lower court.

In his petition filed in the High Court, Mathew had submitted that the sub-court had no powers under the Code of Civil Procedure to gag the media from reporting the details of the case.

The Sub-Court judge of Karunagapally had issued the order on January 3, imposing restrictions on the media from publishing any defamatory statements against Chavara MLA Vijayan Pillai's son Sreejith.

However, Justice B Kemal Pasha of the High Court had yesterday granted the stay while considering Mathew's petition challenging the interim gag order issued by the lower court.

"The right to know and inform is basic in our Constitution. Courts have upheld and protected this right all along," Mathew told PTI.

"The recent ban by a lower court in Kerala against publication of in a financial fraud case allegedly involving a political leader's son was against this tradition and beyond its authority," he said.

He said it was reassuring that the High Court of Kerala had intervened to protect the basic rights of the media on a petition by Malayala Manorama.

Former Lok Sabha MP and media analyst Sebastian Paul also welcomed the High Court judgement.

He said the swift action taken by it was laudable especially in the context of a "cold war" between lawyers and journalists in Kerala courts.

"The gag order passed by the lower court was beyond the jurisdiction of that court. It was highly unconstitutional," Paul said.

The High Court had held that the order issued by the sub-court seemed "illegal and against constitutional mandate".

The lower court had issued the order on the basis of a complaint filed by Sreejith alleging that his name was being misused in connection with a criminal case.

Dubai-based JAAS Tourism had alleged that Binoy Kodiyeri, son of CPI(M) Kerala state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, had cheated it of Rs 13 crore.

Hasan Ismaeel Abdulla Almarzooqi, the owner of the tourism company, had planned to hold a press conference at the Press Club in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday evening with regard to its allegations against sons of political leaders.

However, it was cancelled after the sub-court issued the order.

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A 42-year-old man succumed to injuries he sustained when a bull gored him at a 'Jallikaattu' event held here today and 16 others were injured, police said.

The victim, Paul Raj was rushed to a government hospital but died without responding to medical treatment.

The annual bull taming event, held under the auspices of Punitha Sebastiar Church at Pugayilaipatti about 20 km from here, witnessed participation of about 200 bulls, 300 contestants and hundreds of spectators.

Since January 2017, when Jallikattu resumed in Tamil Nadu after Pongal festivities, courtesy a Bill adopted in the state Assembly, approximately 27 deaths -including the one today -- have been reported so far, according to estimates.

The Supreme Court had in May 2014 banned jallikattu holding the sport as violative of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Following this, Jallikattu (conducted at the beginning of the harvest festival of Pongal and went on for about a month in different regions) was not held between 2015 and 2017.

In January 2017, the Tamil Nadu Assembly unanimously passed an amendment bill to replace an ordinance for conducting the bull-taming sport.

The Bill was adopted amid raging protests across the State, including at Marina Beach here, seeking the nod to hold the tratitional event.

The "Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Tamil Nadu Amendment), Act, 2017" was piloted by the then Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and adopted by voice vote in the Assembly.

It was deemed to have come into effect on the day the ordinance was issued, January 21, 2017.

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A host of issues related to mining will come up for a discussion at an international conference-cum-exhibition to be held here from February 14.

Union Minister for Mines Narendra Singh Tomar is expected to attend the inaugural day of the conference as a special guest, according to an official release issued here today.

The 'Mining Today 2018 - International Conference-cum- Exhibition' will also see the presence of Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsha Vardhan as the chief guest for the valedictory session on February 16, it said.

E S L Narasimhan, Governor of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, will also attend the event, it added.

The four-day event, being organised jointly by the Mining Engineers Association of India (MEAI), the Federation ofIndian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Telangana government, will deliberate on issues such as mineral exploration, mine design techniques, policy, environment, mines safety aspects, opportunities in mining sector and transfer of emerging technology, among others.

The theme of the event is T-E- M-P- O (Technology, Equipment, Machinery, Policy and Overseas), it added.

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A minor fire broke out today in the building of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) headquarters at south Delhi's INA area, officials said.

However, no one was injured in the incident, they said.

A call of fire at the ground floor (auction hall) of the building (Vikas Sadan) was received at 12.11 am. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot immediately and the fire was brought under control by 12.55 am, a Delhi Fire Services officer said.

The cause of the fire would be ascertained after investigation, but a short circuit is suspected, police said.

A DDA official said smoke due to fire was sighted around 11 am after which many employees ran out of the building while efforts were also made to control the fire before the firefighters arrived.

Four ACs and furniture, including 100 chairs kept in the hall that was locked, were burnt.

"However, no documents or important papers were destroyed in the fire," he added.

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The Supreme Court was today told that official minutes of the meeting of a committee, headed by the health minister of Delhi, on solid waste management (SWM) in the national capital would be finalised within this week.

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta, which had yesterday warned the Centre for dumping "junk" before it in an 845-page affidavit containing incomplete information about SWM, was informed that the meeting of the committee was held on January 12.

Advocate Wasim A Qadri, appearing for the Delhi government, informed the bench that the official minutes would be finalised by February 9 after which they would be placed on record.

The bench, which asked him to also place on record the minutes of the earlier two meetings held in October 2016, posted the matter for further hearing on March 7.

Meanwhile, Additional Solicitor General A N S Nadkarni, representing the Ministry of Environment and Forests, said that details sought by the court yesterday were already there in the 845-page affidavit.

"The court has said that all information should be in a chart. In the affidavit, the chart was there. Only additional information which the court had asked was about the names of the chairpersons (of state-level advisory boards) and we will give it," he said.

The court observed, "You have to remember one thing that you have to be ready for everything (during the hearing)."



The court had yesterday declined to take the Centre's affidavit on record and said there was no point in filing an affidavit if it contained nothing.

The bench had observed that the top court is not a "garbage collector" and the government cannot dump junk before it.

It is hearing a matter related to implementation of Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 across the country.

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The Jammu and Kashmir Government today said a probe has begun into Lashkar-e-Taiba's attack at SMHS hospital in Srinagar yesterday, during which a "hardcore" Pakistani terrorist managed to escape while two policemen were killed.

As the Legislative Assembly met here, Parliamentary Affairs minister Abdul Rehman Veeri made a statement on the incident after a ruling PDP MLA and opposition legislators raised the issue.

PDP's Raja Manzoor said one of the policemen killed in the attack was from his hometown Karnah and demanded a probe into it.

Asserting that the attack was a result of a "big security lapse", National Conference MLA Ali Mohammad Sagar sought a detailed statement from the government on the incident.

"The hospital remains crowded with patients and their attendants, and such an attack at the heart of Srinagar needs to be taken seriously," he said, and asked the government to probe how it happened.

Congress' G M Saroori and CPI(M) legislator Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami condemned the attack, with the latter saying it reflects security lapse which needs to be looked into seriously.

Independent MLA Hakeem Yaseen said yesterday's attack shows the "alarming situation" in the Valley at a time when government plans to hold panchayat elections in the state.

Veeri, in his statement in the House, said the concerns of the members over the attack are genuine.

An FIR has been lodged at Karan Nagar police station and a probe has begun, he said, adding, he lapses would be identified after the investigation.

The minister said around 11.30 am yesterday, a militant namely Mohammad Naveed Jhutt, alias Abu Hanzla Chotu, lodged in Central jail Srinagar and five other detainees, were escorted by a police party of the District Police Lines, Srinagar to the hospital.

"As soon as they reached the OPD of the SMHS hospital the police party accompanying the militant was attacked by some unknown militants with pistol, due to which two police personnel head constable Mushtaq Ahmad and constable Babar Khan - got injured and later attained martyrdom," Veeri said.

He said the Pakistani militant, along with the attackers managed to escape from the spot.

In this regard, an FIR under various sections, including that of murder, was registered at Karan Nagar police station and an investigation has begun.

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Continuing his tirade against the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the BJP was only following Mahatma Gandhi's dream of 'Congress Mukt Bharat' and wondered whether the grand-old party still wanted the "Old India" marked by Emergency, scams and massacre of Sikhs.

Replying to the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the Motion of Thanks for the President's address, Modi also urged the MPS to have a "constructive discussion" on holding of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies.

He also criticised the Congress for non-passage of a bill to provide constitutional status to OBC Commission and the legislation against triple talaq.

He questioned the grand old party for the long delay in conferring Bharat Ratna to Saradar Vallabh Bhai Patel and Constitution's architect B R Ambedkar.

Earlier in the Lok Sabha, he said the country has been suffering due to the "wrong" policies the Congress has pursued since independence as the party has spent time singing paeans to one family instead of focussing on people's welfare.

In the Upper House, Modi countered Opposition criticism of his government's vision of 'New India' and said the Congress wanted 'Old India', a country envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi.

"I also want India of Gandhi's dream. And Gandhi had said since the country has got independence, now Congress is not required and should be disbanded.

"This Congress-mukt Bharat is Gandhi's dream. We are trying to follow the path shown by him," Modi said amid thumping benches by ruling party members.

He said the Congress wanted an India of the Emergency, Bofors, Chopper scams and the Tandoor case and wondered if the party wanted a India where thousands of Sikhs were killed after a 'big tree falls', in apparent reference to 1984 Sikh riots following killing of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Modi sought to corner the Congress on the Bofors issue and quoted senior congress leader and former President of India late R Venkataraman, who in his biography has referred to his meeting with noted industrialist JRD Tata.

"Tata said he felt that after 1980 the Congress party did not ask for poll funding from industrialist as the parties expense were run from the commisison coming from defence deals," Modi said quoting Venkataraman.

Modi also took a dig at the opposition party when he quoted Jairam Ramesh having said that though the 'Sultanate' has gone, the leaders continue to behave like 'Sultans', by lauded the Congress leader for seeking out openly.

Taking a jibe at the opposition parties, the Prime Minister said "Why should anyone feel bad if the country improves 'ease of doing business' rating? It is beyond comprehension. If nothing, some even start questioning the credibility of the rating agency just because it has did not happen under their rule!".

He said the Congress party while criticising BJP or Modi, start criticising India which adversely affects the country.

"Look at what all you mocked -- Swachh Bharat, Make in India, surgical strikes, Yoga Day. You are free to mock as you please but why are you blocking the bill for OBC Commission? Why are you blocking Triple Talaq Bill. Are you not sensitive to the aspirations of OBCs," he posed.

Referring to his recent visit to Davos, Modi said he went there and Congress also went there. "But the difference is - you went with a letter to save someone," he claimed.

Taking on the Congress for accusing his government of only repackaging or renaming old schemes and programmes, the Prime Minister said "You call us name changers....we are aim changers - we work hard and have ushered in a paradigm shift in the working of the Government. Innovative projects are being thought of and completed in a time bound manner."



On Congress statements that it had brought Aadhaar scheme, he said "let me remind them about a debate in the Rajya Sabha in 1998 and what LK Advani Ji said. It is in his speech that you will find the genesis of Aadhaar."



Modi sought constructive suggestions from all parties for government's healtcare programme 'Ayushman Bharat'.

Raising the issue of simultaneous polls, he said thousands of crore are spent in conducting elections and so much time and energy goes into holding them and asked whether a country like India can afford it. He sought the opposition's cooperation in working out a solution in this regard.

Modi said the government was always looking for suggestions, feedback and input on its schemes. "After all, we are working for the nation and the poor," he said.

Referring to Leader of Opposition's remarks that BJP chief Amit Shah did not take Sardar Patel's name in his speech, he said Congress was using the picture of the first Home Minister during the Gujarat assembly elections, but it was not displayed in its programme just after the polls.

The Prime Minister highlighted achievements of his government that came into power in May 2014 and urged other parties to ask their state governments to allocate budget for bringing in behaviourial changes among people, especially in relation to Swachh Bharat programme.

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On the last day of filing nominations, Nagaland Chief Minister T R Zeliang was among the 200 odd candidates who filed their poll papers for the February 27 Assembly election, an official said.

Apart from Zeliang of the Naga People's Front, prominent among those who filed their nominations today included former chief minister K L Chishi of the BJP.

Because of the last-hour rush, compiling the final list party-wise is taking time, Chief Electoral Officer Abhijit Sinha told reporters.

A scrutiny of nomination papers would be held on Thursday and the last date for withdrawal is February 12.

Though filing of nominations for the election to the 60- member House had started on January 31, the first batch of 22 contestants filed their nominations only yesterday.

Political parties in the north-eastern state had stayed away from nomination filing till yesterday, as the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations (CCNTHCO) had, through a joint declaration on January 29, appealed to them to refrain from participating in the election.

The CCNTHCO had sought the support of the political parties to its call for a solution to the protracted Naga political issue first.

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Exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday asked India to play its role of "liberators" and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

China has warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges.

"Saying 'resolve things internally' is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see India's role positively: in '88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now," Nasheed tweeted.

Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) functions from Colombo, had appealed for India's help yesterday.

"We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence," Nasheed had tweeted.

In 1988, the then Maldivian president Abdul Gayoom had sought India's help to defeat a coup by mercenaries. India responded to his call and dispatched troops to the to restore order in the country. Most of the Indian soldiers returned home after order was restored in the island nation.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Concerned over political crisis in Maldives, India, which is monitoring the situation very "closely", yesterday said it was "disturbed" on the declaration of the emergency by the Maldivian government and described as a matter of "concern" the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

Weighing its options in the fast deteriorating crisis in the Maldives, China has asked political parties in to find a solution without external intervention after UN, the US and India stepped pressure on Yameen to implement the Supreme Court ruling of setting the detained opposition leaders free.

"The current situation in is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency.

In a late night development, the remaining three judges of the Supreme Court last night amended an order to release nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed.

In a statement, the judges said they were revoking the order to release the prisoners "in light of the concerns raised by the President".

The amendment to the ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1 also omits the part that says the case against the Supreme Court judges was not received by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

President Yameen welcomed the court's move to reinstate the convictions of high-profile political prisoners. He had accused the detained judges of plotting to overthrow him.

"I had to declare a emergency because there was no other way to investigate these judges," Yameen said in a televised address to the nation last evening.

"We had to find out how thick the plot or coup was," he said, adding that the chief justice was trying to illegally impeach him and sack the attorney general.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has allied himself with the Opposition, was also detained at his home.

Nasheed had also asked the US to ensure that all American financial institutions stop all transactions of the Yameen regime's leaders.

Reacting to these developments, the US yesterday said it was "troubled" and "disappointed" by the declaration of a state of emergency by Yameen and asked him to comply with the rule of law and implement the Supreme Court ruling.

Nasheed, 50, the country's first democratically-elected leader -- was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terror charges in March 2015 over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency.

He was granted asylum in the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure.

Nasheed was narrowly defeated in 2013 by President Yameen. Nasheed says his conviction on terror charges was politically motivated.

The Maldivian government holds that Nasheed is convicted for a crime and is wanted in the Maldives to serve a jail sentence. Nasheed said he will seek UN support to ensure he is allowed to contest this year's election.
Exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed today asked India to play its role of "liberators" and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

China has warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges.

"Saying 'resolve things internally' is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see India's role positively: in '88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now," Nasheed tweeted today.

Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) functions from Colombo, had appealed for India's help yesterday.

"We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence," Nasheed said in a tweet.

In 1988, the then president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had sought India's help to defeat a coup by mercenaries. India responded to his call and dispatched troops to the Maldives to restore order in the country. Most of the Indian soldiers returned home after order was restored in the island nation.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Concerned over political crisis in Maldives, India, which is monitoring the situation very "closely", yesterday said it was "disturbed" on the declaration of the emergency by the Maldivian government and described as a matter of "concern" the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

Weighing its options in the fast deteriorating crisis in the Maldives, China has asked political parties in Maldives to find a solution without external intervention after UN, the US and India stepped pressure on Yameen to implement the Supreme Court ruling of setting the detained opposition leaders free.

"The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said today.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The remaining three judges of the Supreme Court last night amended an order to release nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed.

In a statement, the judges said they were revoking the order to release the prisoners "in light of the concerns raised by the President".

The amendment to the ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1 also omits the part that says the case against the Supreme Court judges was not received by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

President Yameen today welcomed the court's move to reinstate the convictions of political prisoners. He had accused the detained judges of plotting to overthrow him.

"I had to declare a national emergency because there was no other way to investigate these judges," Yameen said in a televised address to the nation last evening.

"We had to find out how thick the plot or coup was," he said, adding that the chief justice was trying to illegally impeach him and sack the attorney general.

Meanwhile, Acting police chief Abdulla Nawaz told reporters that police had found evidence that millions of dollars were given as bribes to Saeed and Hameed of the Supreme Court, and to court official Hassan Saeed.

Nawaz said police had reason to believe Gayoom had bribed politicians and influenced judges in order to overthrow the government, the Maldives Independent website reported.

Gayoom, president for 30 years until the country's first democratic elections in 2008, was also detained at his home hours after the emergency was declared on Monday night. Gayoom has allied himself with the Opposition.

Nawaz claimed that police had found "lots of cash" that was connected to Hameed and that "lots of cash" had been found under Hassan Saeeds mattress.

All four are being charged with attempting to unlawfully overthrow the government, he added.

Nasheed, 50, the first democratically elected leader of the Maldives, has accused President Yameen of acting illegally and asked the US to ensure that all American financial institutions stop all transactions of the regime's leaders.

He was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terror charges in March 2015 over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency. He was granted asylum in the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure.

Nasheed was narrowly defeated in 2013 by Yameen. Nasheed says his conviction on terror charges was politically motivated.

The Maldivian government holds that Nasheed is convicted for a crime and is wanted in the Maldives to serve a jail sentence. Nasheed said he will seek UN support to ensure he is allowed to contest this year's election.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Scientists have developed a new computer model that can decode how people use emoticons to express themselves on social media platforms like Facebook.

The computer model - called robust label ranking (ROAR) - may help users and businesses navigate the increasingly complicated way people are expressing how they feel on social media, researchers said.

While Facebook once featured only one official emoticon reaction - the like button - the social media site added five more buttons - love, haha, wow, sad and angry - last year.

"We want to understand the user's reactions behind these clicks on the emoticons by modeling the problem as the ranking problem - given a Facebook post, can an algorithm predict the right ordering among six emoticons in terms of votes?" said said Jason Zhang, a research assistant at Pennsylvania State University in the US.

"But, what we found out was that existing solutions predict the user's emotions and their rankings poorly in some times," said Zhang.

Zhang added that merely counting clicks fails to acknowledge that some emoticons are less likely to be clicked than others, which is called the imbalance issue.

For example, users tend to click the like button the most because it signals a positive interaction and it is also the default emoticon on Facebook.

"When we post something on Facebook, our friends tend to click the positive reactions, usually love, haha, or, simply, like, but they'll seldom click angry," said Zhang.

For social media managers and advertisers, who spend billions buying Facebook advertisements each year, this imbalance may skew their analysis on how their content is actually performing on Facebook, said Dongwon Lee, associate professor at Penn State.

"This is a step in the direction of creating a model that could tell, for instance, that a Facebook posting with a million likes in fact consists only 80 per cent likes and 20 per cent angry If such a precise understanding on social emotions is possible, that may impact how you advertise," Lee said.

The new model could lead to better analytic packages for social media analysts and researchers.

"A lot of the commercial advertisements on Facebook are driven by likes," said Lee.

"Eventually, if we can predict these emoticons more accurately using six emoticons, we can build a better model that can discern more precise distribution of emotions in the social platforms with only one emoticon - like - such as on Facebook before 2016," he said.

The researchers trained the model using four Facebook post data sets including public posts from ordinary users, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post, and showed that their solution significantly outperformed existing solutions.

All four sets of data were analysed after Facebook introduced the six emoticons in 2016.

The researchers suggest future research may explore the multiple meanings for liking a post.

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A Delhi court today sent a suspected LeT member, arrested from Uttarakhand for allegedly raising funds for terrorist activities, into a six-day custody of the NIA for interrogation to unearth his larger conspiracy.

Abdul Samad, 22, is believed to be a hawala operator. He was arrested in Haridwar yesterday and brought to Delhi.

Samad was produced before Additional Sessions Judge Tarun Saharawat, who sent him into the custody of the NIA.

The National Investigating Agency told the court that the accused was required for sustained custodial interrogation and he will be confronted with other accused arrested earlier.

The agency told the court that Samad will to be taken to various locations across India in connection with its ongoing probe. He is the fifth accused arrested in the case.

The other four arrested in the case are Shaikh Abdul Naeem, a resident of Aurangabad in Maharastra, Dhannu Raja and Mahfooz Alam of Gopalganj in Bihar, and Touseef Ahmed Malik, a resident of Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

The agency said Samad was one of the leading hawala operators operating in Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Roorkee.

"He was acting as a conduit of a LeT financier based in Saudi Arabia, through his cousin based there. In the month of November 2017, he collected Rs 3.5 lakh from hawala operators in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, for delivering it to co- accused Naeem," the agency told the court.

It said Naeem, an active Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) member, had visited and established bases in Bihar, Odisha, UP and Jammu and Kashmir on the directions of his handler Abdul, who is based in Pakistan.

The agency told the court that its investigation so far has revealed that Naeem, arrested from Lucknow in November last year, had visited south Kashmir and had photographed a few Army installations.

He had also disclosed during questioning that he had stayed in Pulwama, moved to various places with the help of Malik and even photographed a few Army and paramilitary camps.

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The National Investigation Agency has arrested an alleged hawala operator from Uttarakhand in connection with its probe into the activities of Pakistan- based Lashker-e-Taiba in India, an official spokesperson said here today.

Abdul Samad, the fifth person arrested in the case, was arrested in Haridwar yesterday and brought to Delhi, the spokesperson said.

Samad, a resident of Bukkanpur village in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, was produced before a designated court yesterday and remanded to six days NIA custody, he said.

Samad is a leading hawala operator, operating in the area of Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Roorkee, who was acting as the conduit of an LeT financier based in Saudi Arabia through his cousin in that country, the spokesperson alleged.

In November 2017, he allegedly collected Rs 5.50 lakh from hawala operators in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to deliver it to Shaikh Abdul Naeem, an active LeT member.

Shaikh visited and established bases in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on the directions of his handler Abdul alias Rehan based in Pakistan, the NIA said.

Besides Samad, the NIA has arrested Shaikh as well as Dhannu Raja and Mahfooz Alam, both residents of Gopal Gunj in Bihar, and Touseef Ahmed Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

The case started with Shaikh, a resident of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, being arrested from Lucknow in November last year. Investigations revealed that he had spent time in troubled south Kashmir and photographed some Army installations, officials said



Central security agencies, which interrogated Shaikh at length, told investigators about his accomplice, Tauseef Ahmed Malik, in Pulwama district. He was placed under arrest by the NIA on December 9.

Shaikh also disclosed during questioning that he had stayed in Pulwama, moved to various places with the help of Malik and even photographed some Army and paramilitary camps, the officials claimed



Wanted in connection with a 2014 terror case and on the run since then, Shaikh told investigators that some important power projects and railway tracks in the Valley were surveyed, they said.

He also visited places in Himachal Pradesh, particularly Kasol, which is frequented by Israeli nationals, according to the officials.

Security agencies claimed that Shaikh was roped in for a recce mission similar to that undertaken by Pakistani-American David Headley, who is serving a 35-year prison sentence in a US jail for his involvement in terror activities and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The National Investigation Agency has arrested an alleged hawala operator from Uttarakhand in connection with its probe into the activities of Pakistan- based Lashker-e-Taiba in India, an official spokesperson said here today.

Abdul Samad, the fifth person arrested in the case, was nabbed in Haridwar yesterday and brought to Delhi where he was produced before a designated court.

The court yesterday sent the suspected LeT member, a resident of Bukkanpur village in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, to six days NIA custody in the case of alleged fund raising for terror activities.

Special Judge Tarun Sahrawat remanded 22-year-old Samad to the custody of the agency, which said he was required for sustained custodial interrogation.

Samad is a leading hawala operator, operating in the area of Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Roorkee, who was acting as the conduit of an LeT financier based in Saudi Arabia through his cousin in that country, the NIA spokesperson alleged.

In November 2017, he allegedly collected Rs 3.5 lakh from hawala operators in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to deliver it to Shaikh Abdul Naeem, an active LeT member.

Shaikh visited and established bases in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on the directions of his handler Abdul alias Rehan based in Pakistan, the NIA said.

Besides Samad, the NIA has arrested Shaikh as well as Dhannu Raja and Mahfooz Alam, both residents of Gopal Gunj in Bihar, and Touseef Ahmed Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

The case started with Shaikh, a resident of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, being arrested from Lucknow in November last year. Investigations revealed that he had spent time in troubled south Kashmir and photographed some Army installations, officials said



Central security agencies, which interrogated Shaikh at length, told investigators about his accomplice, Tauseef Ahmed Malik, in Pulwama district. He was placed under arrest by the NIA on December 9.

Shaikh also disclosed during questioning that he had stayed in Pulwama, moved to various places with the help of Malik and even photographed some Army and paramilitary camps, the officials claimed.

Wanted in connection with a 2014 terror case and on the run since then, Shaikh told investigators that some important power projects and railway tracks in the Valley were surveyed, they said.

He also visited places in Himachal Pradesh, particularly Kasol, which is frequented by Israeli nationals, according to the officials.

Security agencies claimed that Shaikh was roped in for a recce mission similar to that undertaken by Pakistani-American David Headley, who is serving a 35-year prison sentence in a US jail for his involvement in terror activities and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
It is the responsibility of the government to publicise Sanskrit and there will be no dearth of funds for this work, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth today said.

The government has set up 'Madhyamik Sanskrit Shiksha Parishad' for publicising the language and the budget of the 'Sanskrit Sansthanam' has also been doubled, Adityanath said at a felicitation function of Sanskrit Sansthanam here.

"The scholars of the language of Sanskrit could work for protecting it but as far as encouraging and publicising it is concerned, it is the responsibility of the state government and there will be no dearth of funds for it," Adityanath said.

"Sanskrit is the mother of several languages and it cannot be compared with any other language...it is the base of our culture ..government will do whatever is possible for encouraging it," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor Ram Naik said the importance of Indian culture can be understood only through Sanskrit.

'Sanskrit can be a strong medium for publicising Indian culture ..it also has a very rich literature," he said.

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The number of people getting connected to internet in India through smartphones is all set to double to 600-650 million by 2020, making it a challenge of opportunities to come up with technological solutions to meet the scenario, a top Google India official said here today.

Rajan Anandan, Google India Managing Director and Vice-President(South East Asia), was speakingafter launching Keralas first incubator "Mobile 10x Hub", an initiative by KeralaStartup Mission to create a mobile app-based ecosystem, on the sidelines of Kerala Mobile App Conference 2018 (K-MAC 2018) at UL CyberPark here today.

"More than 300 million of them (people) connect to the internet through their smart phones. And it will become 600 650 million by the year 2020, and thushalf of India will be connected", he said.

"Going by the current scenario in Kerala, by 2020 every single Keralite will be on the internet. the state is leading the way for India as it focuses on the country's real problems", Anandan said.

With more than 600 million Indians accessing the internet on smart phones, this will become the access device through which a whole range of solutions can be delivered to address real problems the consumers have, he said.

"You seem to have in your state many entrepreneurs focusing onIndias real problems as opposed to looking at countries like U.S.,China and trying to understand what is successful and trying to replicate it," he said.

Hence, we are hoping to see the emergence of a large number of startups using technology to solve Indias problems, not forsaking the quality".

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his web message congratulated Cyberpark on this 'great' achievement and extended the Government's full support for the Mobile 10x Incubation facility in Kerala.

He also urged the mobile app developer community of Kerala to develop citizen friendly apps that would initiate them into accesse-governance services provided by the Kerala Government.

M Sivasankar, Secretary, IT, Kerala, cited the need to conduct acomprehensive study on the internet and smart phone usage in Kerala and urgedthe Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) to take it up.

Jitender Singh Minhas, Vice President, IAMAI, and Hrishikesh Nair, CEO, Technoparks, Kerala exchanged a MoU to start the Mobile 10x hub, on the occasion.

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The government said today it was considering various proposals to enhance military-to-military cooperation with the US, but a proposal to appoint military liaison officers at each other's combatant commands are not part of it.

"Various proposals to enhance military-to-military cooperation with the US are under consideration. This does not currently include placement of reciprocal military liason officers," Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre said.

He was replying to a question in Lok Sabha.

Last month, Army chief Gen Bipin Rawat indicated that India and the US were deliberating on a proposal to appoint military liaison officers at each other's combatant commands.

US ambassador Kenneth Juster last month had talked about the proposal.

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The Law Ministry has said it has no record spelling out the legal action which can be taken against those forcing a citizen to chant "Bharat mata ki jai".

The case pertains to one RTI applicant Mohammed Irfan Quadri who had sought to know from the ministry whether there is any legal obligation of a citizen to chant "Bharat mata ki jai" and whether a citizen can take legal action against those forcing him to chant this slogan among others.

"The respondent (Law Ministry) referred to the CPIO's reply dated April 19, 2016 and stated that they have informed the appellant that 'information sought by him construes neither any material information defined under Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, 2005 nor part of any record as defined under clause (i) of Section 2 of the RTI Act," Chief Information Commissioner R K Mathur said.

The term "information" under the RTI Act means any material which can be accessed by a public authority under any other law for the time being in force.

Mathur, however, refused to intervene in the matter, saying the response of the ministry was satisfactory.

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The National Students' Union of India (NSUI) today accused the Bharati College administration of coercing a student to withdraw a complaint of sexual harassment she had filed with the Delhi University (DU) vice chancellor against a professor.

Staging a protest near the college premises, demanding stringent action against the professor, the Congress-backed students' outfit also accused the administration of sitting on the issue for nearly six months.

"Bharati College had not taken action for almost six months, leaving the student with no other option but file her complaint with the DU vice-chancellor," NSUI's media in-charge Neeraj Mishra told reporters, while also accusing the college authorities of "coercing the student to withdraw the plaint".

Acting principal Mukti Sanyal, however, denied the allegations.

"We came to know about it only through media reports on February 2 and today, for the first time, the student raised the issue with the college committee that deals with cases related to sexual harassment," she said.

Asserting that the college administration was not sitting on the issue, Sanyal said the committee was following all the protocols while dealing with the matter.

The professor, who has been named in the complaint, has been asked by the administration to go on leave.

In a written complaint to DU's vice chancellor and proctor yesterday, the third-year BA Hindi student of the college, who is also an NSUI member, accused a professor of another department of harassing her over text messages, besides seeking sexual favours.

"The professor crossed all limits of teacher-student relationship and sent lewd (text) messages, made (phone) calls at inappropriate times and sought sexual favours," the complaint, which was submitted along with purported evidence, read.

The student also alleged that the college administration and principal were coercing her to withdraw the complaint.

"I am getting calls from the college to settle the issue. I am being threatened with suspension and cases against me," the complaint read.

The professor was not available for comments.

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Office space leasing is expected to grow by an average 8 per cent to cross 100 million sq ft by 2020 in eight top cities on the back of robust demand from corporates, according to property consultant JLL India.

The net absorption of office space stood at 28.7 million sq ft in 2017 calendar year and the consultant has pegged absorption at 30.2 million sq ft in 2018, 33.6 million sq ft in 2019 and 36.5 million sq ft in 2020.

Unlike housing sector, commercial real estate (office and retail properties) is witnessing reasonable demand and attracting huge institutional investment.

In its latest report, JLL India said that "net absorption of office space is expected to cross 100 million sq ft by end of 2020 in the top eight cities of India".

These eight cities are -- Mumbai, DelhiNCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata.

"Office space absorption is expected to grow at approximately at a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 8 per cent over 2017," it added.

JLL said that the office market has been experiencing robust demand.

The consultant pointed out that net absorption had been witnessing yearonyear decline between the periods of 201517 dropping below the psychological barriers.

"The office space absorption growth is directly dependent and indicative of economic factors like the growth in GDP, access to institutional capital and stability in the market," JLL India CEO & Country Head Ramesh Nair said.

The demand for office space is expected to come both from domestic as well as global companies.

"Our estimates of growth sectors impacting the office absorption for the next three years are IT/ITeS, e-Commerce and related businesses, BFSI and FinTech companies and business consulting and services firms," he said.

On the supply side, JLL India said the estimated supply for the next three years is 116 million sq ft, growing at a CAGR of 15 per cent from 20172020.

"A stability of vacancy indicates a stability of rentals in most locations as well, we expect rentals to grow between 5 -8 per cent yearonyear albeit only in high demand micro



markets of SBD (secondary business districts) and IT corridors of in key markets. The rest of the markets are expected to hold fort to the current values," JLL said.

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Only one case of mob lynching of minorities was reported in Rajasthan in last three years, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.

Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir was replying to a question on whether it was a fact that there had been a series of mob lynching of minorities in Rajasthan from May 2015 to January 2018.

"As per the data furnished by the Rajasthan Police to the National Crime Records Bureau, only one case was registered in Rajasthan till July 15, 2017. In this case one person was killed and 8 persons were arrested. No case was registered during 2015 and 2016," he said.

"Police and Public Order are state subjects under the 7th Schedule to the Constitution. The responsibilities to maintain law and order, protection of life and property rest primarily with the respective state governments," Ahir said.

The state governments were competent to deal with such offences under the extant provisions of laws, he said replying to a written question.

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A 35-year-old man was caught in northwest Delhi for allegedly cheating people by cloning their ATM cards and withdrawing money from their accounts, police said today.

Accused Ravi Kumar was caught while withdrawing money from an SBI branch in Shalimar Bagh earlier this week, DCP (northwest) Aslam Khan said.

Kumar allegedly possessed 19 accounts, including of two companies he had found to stash the money. An amount of Rs 1.2 crore was found deposited in the accounts while police also recovered Rs 1.13 lakh cash from him, Khan added.

The DCP said recoveries from the accused included 3123 cloned ATM cards, 11,500 fresh uncloned cards, three magnetic card reader and writer machines, two magnetic card reader machines, a computer, four laptops, 18 mobile phones and 65 debit/credit cards of various banks.

In December last year, a customer of the SBI Shalimar Bagh branch, Nitin, received a message saying Rs 30,400 was withdrawn from his account although he had made no such transaction.

A CCTV footage showed a man withdrawing the money from an SBI ATM at the time shown in the message received by Nitin. On February 1, the branch manager saw the accused in the branch and apprehended him. He was later handed over to police, the officer said.

"The accused disclosed that he gained about Rs 3 crore by cloning ATM cards. He was found linked to 11 cases of similar nature," DCP Khan said.

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Only six per cent of the total available green cards in 2016 went to employment-based categories, according to a report of the ruling Republican Party which notes that Indian skilled workers have more than 10 years of waitlist.

The report said as of November 2017, around 112,000 people were on waitlists for all employment-based green cards combined.

It said that only six per cent of the green cards were issued by employment-based categories in 2016.

Amidst a heated immigration debate, the party's report said that in 2016, the US granted around 140,000 employment- based green cards, which was approximately 12 per cent of total green cards issued that year.

It said about five times as many people were awarded temporary employment-based visas like H-1B that expire after a period of time.

In 2016, the report said the US issued almost 1.2 million green cards, granting immigrants legal permanent residence and the opportunity to apply for citizenship in the future.

Around 800,000 green cards close to 70 per cent of the total went to people immigrating to the US based on having relatives here.

In contrast, about 140,000 green cards less than 12 per cent were issued to immigrants for employment reasons, based on their skills, experience, education and on the needs of US employers.

Of these 140,000 employment-based green cards, more than half went to the spouses and children of the primary applicants.

"So, the number of green cards issued to people directly based on skills, experience, and education and on the needs of US employers is closer to 6 per cent of the overall total," the report said.

More than 80 per cent of all employment-based green cards were issued to people already in the country who were changing from a temporary visa to permanent residence a process call "adjustment of status", it said.

The Immigration Nationality Act (INA) limits nationals of any single country to 7 per cent of all family and employment-based green cards issued annually.

Immigrants who get an employment-based green card may bring their spouses and minor children to the US.

These "derivative" entrants count against the green card limits. When an employment-based green card preference is oversubscribed, prospective immigrants are put on a waitlist, it said.

"As of November 2017, there were around 112,000 people on the waitlists for all employment-based green cards combined. Even if a preference category is not oversubscribed, nationals of some countries may face a wait because of the 7 per cent per-country limit," the report said.

"This limit affects people from countries that send a lot of people to the US such as China, India, and the Philippines. For instance, although there is no waitlist generally for EB-3 visas, the wait for EB-3 applicants from India is more than 10 years," it said.

Noting that some recent reform proposals have centered on making the US immigration system more "merit-based", the report said many of these proposals would place more emphasis on providing for employment-based immigration and less on granting family-based and diversity-immigrant visas.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) provides five major categories known as "preferences" of green cards for people to immigrate to the US for employment reasons. These are EB-1 to EB-5.

EB-1 visas are green cards for people with "extraordinary" abilities that have "been demonstrated by sustained national or acclaim", "outstanding" professors and researchers who are "recognised internationally as outstanding in a specific academic area" and multinational executives.

About 40,000 EB-1 visas are available each year.

EB-2 category provides around 40,000 green cards annually to professionals such as architects, lawyers, doctors, teachers and engineers with advanced degrees.

The category also includes immigrants "who because of their exceptional ability in the sciences, arts, or business" will "substantially benefit" the "economy, cultural or educational interests, or welfare" of the United States.

EB-3 visas are for skilled and unskilled workers providing services that are not available from US workers, and for professionals such as engineers and teachers who do not have advanced degrees.

Most of the Indian skilled immigrants apply for green cards in this category, thus the reason for their long agonising wait.

Every year, the US issues about 10,000 green cards under EB-4 visas category, which are available for people such as religious workers, broadcasters, members of the armed services and Afghani and Iraqi translators.

There are around 10,000 green cards available for immigrants under EB-5 category who invest at least $500,000 in certain US businesses.

In addition to the employment-based green card programmes that allow people to live permanently in the US, there are around 20 visa programmes that allow people to live temporarily in the US for employment reasons.

Some of the better-known categories of these temporary employment-based visas include H-2A visas for temporary or seasonal agriculture workers and H-2B visas for temporary or seasonal non-agricultural workers like hotel employees in seasonal tourist destinations.

"Another significant category is H-1B visas for workers in occupations requiring the application of highly specialised knowledge, such as information technology and engineering," the report said.

"In 2016, about 530,000 people got H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B visas, including spouses and children. There were more than 750,000 temporary employee-based visas issued across all categories," the report said.
Opposition in the Rajya Sabha today mounted a scathing attack on the Narendra Modi government charging it with undermining democracy and painting a "rosy" picture when ground reality was totally different, with Congress alleging a big scam in the Rafale aircraft deal.

Speakers from these parties also charged the government with being "intolerant" and "full of arrogance".

Participating in the debate on the motion of thanks for the president's address, Congress deputy leader Anand Sharma alleged there was a big scam in the Rafale deal as the price at which the planes were negotiated were four times higher and benefitted private firms.

Without taking into confidence the Defence Minister and the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), Prime Minister Narendra Modi had clinched the deal during his visit to France in 2015, he alleged and noted that even state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) was not consulted on the matter.

Sharma said the Modi government scrapped the 2005 deal signed during the UPA regime for purchase of 126 jets at a rate of Rs 526 crore each and inked a fresh pact in 2015 to purchase 36 jets at a much higher rate of Rs 15,070 crore each.

The price at which India is planning to buy is four times higher than the earlier price, while Qatar has purchased 12 jets a at price of Rs 694 crore each, he claimed.

Accusing the government of not being "transparent" about the deal, Sharma said it is a "big scam" and compromised national security because neither the country's Defence Minister or the CCS nod was taken on the matter.

As per the earlier deal, 108 jets were to be manufactured by HAL, but in the new deal the contract has been given to a private entity. The HAL has been by-passed for Rs 38,000 crore worth offset contract in favour of a private entity, he said.

"You can definitely rope in private sector but you cannot compromise the country's defence security. ...You give entire deal to a private entity. Why did you not take into confidence of the CCS and the defence minister," he sought to know.

Sharma also said the Presidential address did not have anything on foreign policy or border problems with China, the situation in Nepal or Maldives, but just mentioned old schemes without talking about the ground reality, he said.

Hitting back at BJP President Amit Shah who had said that Congress left nothing in heritage to the current government, Sharma highlighted steps taken by former Prime Ministers Jawarharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh. "The country has so many achievements. You say nothing has been done. This is showing disrespect to history and leaders," he said.

Refuting the charges against Congress of the dynasty rule, Sharma said four generations of leaders have fought for the country and sacrificed their lives. "We are proud of their sacrifice. Entire country feels proud but you may not."



He said both Opposition and ruling parties are imperative in democracy and it is a "sick mentality" to think about freeing the country from Congress rule.

"This party (Congress) is 133 years old. We are not going anywhere. ...We don't want any certificate from your party, PM and the government. We have culture and values. We will never say India without BJP. You are part of India," he said.

Earlier, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said in 2004, when the Vajpayee government left office, annual per capita income was Rs 24,000. In 2014, when the Manmohan Singh-led government ended its term, this had risen to Rs 70,000.

In contrast, the debt during the NDA rule has risen, he said, adding that it was "clear who is digging potholes".

Patel said "farmers, labourers and others - all are worried. The BJP will be defeated in 2019". He said the Union Budget, on which the government had pinned its hopes, has "turned out to be a flop".

He said not just the opposition, but BJP allies like the Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam or the Shiromani Akali Dal did not seem to agree with the "rosy projections" being painted.

Referring to statements by BJP allies, Patel said Shiv Sena had accused its saffron ally of lying, while the TDP has claimed it has reneged on its promises. Even Akali Dal has said that getting 272 Lok Sabha seats in 2019 will be a difficult task.

Due to a completely different ground situation, the BJP is not keen on holding the Lok Sabha bypolls due in Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir, he said, adding that it would fall below the majority mark if it loses these bye-elections.

Patel also claimed that a "feeling of insecurity" was prevailing across the country, whether it is in the social fabric, economic matters, national security, judiciary or independent constitutional institutions. There is no area which has escaped the feeling of insecurity, he said.

Making his maiden speech in the Rajya Sabha, Aam Aadmi Party member Sanjay Singh attacked the BJP saying the democratically-elected AAP government in Delhi was not being allowed to function, while referring to President Ram Nath Kovind disqualifying 20 AAP MLAs for holding office of profit.

Singh told the BJP members that the country will not run on the foundation of hatred, and claimed that Indian democracy was in danger, as he referred to the arrest of some AAP MLAs in the recent past on various charges.

While a whopping Rs 8.55 lakh crore was given as loans to big corporates, but the person not repaying Rs 9,000 crore (an apparent reference to beleaguered tycoon Vijay Mallya) hopped on a flight to flee the country, he said.

He also alleged that the BJP government has not fulfilled the promises made regarding job creation and the loan waiver to farmers and added that it has also betrayed the trading community through measures like demonetisation, foreign direct investment in retail and sealing of commercial establishments.

CPI leader D Raja said the government has been working against the political democracy in the country and deepened the social inequality through its policy of "divide and misrule."



"Quoting (Dr Babasaheb) Ambedkar and acting contrary to his vision has been the practice of this government.. It sounds offensive to the very vision of the Constitution and the legacy of Dr Ambedkar," Raja said.

He said the nation was passing through a very critical period and there was all-pervasive crisis in economic, political, social and cultural life and in the organs of the state including judiciary.

Raja alleged that the power of Parliament was being curtailed as the government was taking the Money Bill route for passage of several legislations and undermining the Parliament by not referring Bills to Parliamentary Committees.

Appealing to all parties to think over the issue, Raja said the situation is very challenging and not good for the country. "Is it not a fact that there are increasing attacks on dalits, minorities and adivasis."



He said those who question the government are increasingly under attack, including intellectuals, artists and journalists, and added that sedition charges were being slapped on student activists.

Abdul Wahab (IUML) criticised government on issues like Triple Talaq, subsidy cut for Haj travel and minorities, saying these were against the interest of Muslims.

Sanjiv Kumar (JMM) said opposition leaders are being targeted in Jharkhand, while B K Haripasad (Cong) referred to the mention of Deendayal Upadhyay's name in President's address and asked what his contribution to the nation was.

Nominated member KTS Tulsi opposed the idea of simultaneous Lok Sabha and state Assembly elections, saying the government was prioritising stability over democratic principles. He claimed that the concept was a threat to democracy and added that it was being "mindlessly" brought in to serve the "greed" of staying in power.

Joy Abraham (KC-M) said he was thoroughly disappointed as the President's address did not reflect the realities in the country. He claimed that free trade agreements signed with the 10 ASEAN nations and the Regional Comprehensive and Economic Partnership trade deal would ruin cultivators who were not getting remunerative prices.

Abraham alleged that democracy was killed in Manipur and Goa, referring to the BJP-led government forming governments in the states.

BSP's Satish Chandra Mishra said the condition of farmers in the country has worsened, and claimed that voters will not give a chance to the BJP-led government to present the next Budget. Rajani Patil (Cong) said that Congress was the only party which has been a key contributor to India's freedom struggle movement.

DMK member RS Bharati said that Tamil Nadu was neglected in the budget. He also raised issue of water for farmers. He also raised another issue related to a resolution passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly on the NEET exam.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Opposition today sought an inquiry into the alleged blacking out of the first few minutes of Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien's speech by the Rajya Sabha Television, asking the BJP not to convert the channel into "BJP TV".

O'Brien raised the issue in the Upper House, saying "I seek your protection.. I spoke today in Rajya Sabha. The first 4-6 minutes of my speech were not shown on Rajya Sabha TV. I am a member of the Opposition. You protect us".

BJP leader Satyanarayan Jatiya, who was in the Chair, said "we will enquire about this and let you know what happened".

Terming it as a "very serious issue", Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said "don't convert Rajya Sabha TV into BJP TV."



He said the television channel should give equal coverage to all political parties, whether it is a live telecast or



Azad said at least 98 per cent of the bulletin of the channel the day before related to BJP President Amit Shah's maiden speech in the Upper House during the debate on the motion of thanks for the President's address.

"Don't convert Rajya Sabha TV to BJP TV. This is Rajya Sabha Television. There should be an enquiry regarding this and the day before yesterday ( bulletin/coverage) by representatives of all parties," Azad said.

Jatiya asked him to raise the issue with Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.

Addressing the treasury benches, Azad said "You have media, your own party (BJP) media, but don't make Rajya Sabha/Lok Sabha TV your own media."



The Deputy Chairman said the issue can be discussed with the Chairman and resolved.

Later addressing reporters outside the House, O'Brien accused the government of imposing "super emergency" in the parliament by trying to mute the opposition voice.

Reiterating his charge that part of his speech was "deliberately blacked out to silence the opposition voice", the TMC leader said "it is a super emergency situation in Parliament. ... Though it started its telecast later, but the first 5 minutes of my speech was not shown. Coincidentally, that was the part in which I had criticised Prime Minister Narendre Modi and the BJP chief Amit Shah."



O'Brien said all opposition leaders met today and decided to raise their voice against "such discrimination and dangerous situation.

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The opposition parties have decided to write to the president demanding a Supreme Court- monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to enquire into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI judge B H Loya.

More than 100 opposition members of Parliament have signed the letter which will be sent to President Ram Nath Kovind tomorrow.

"The opposition parties have decided to write to the president demanding a Supreme Court-monitored SIT to look into the death of Justice Loya. More than 100 members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have signed a letter," Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien told reporters.

The opposition said that there is a need to know how Justice Loya died as there are "many theories" going around and only a Supreme Court-monitored SIT can "solve the issue".

Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

The issue came under the spotlight in November last year after media reports quoting his sister fuelled suspicion about the circumstances surrounding his death and its link to the Sohrabuddin case.

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The leaders of opposition parties, which had boycotted the Rajya Sabha proceedings yesterday, sought to leave the episode behind, saying they had the "highest respect" for the chairman, and expressed regret to him if he felt hurt, sources said.

Some opposition parties, led by the Congress, had boycotted the post-lunch session yesterday, alleging that their voice was being "muzzled" and that they were not allowed to raise issues due to long adjournments. They had also written a letter to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, expressing their anguish.

The opposition leaders met Naidu this morning, when Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad broached the issue and referred to the rules and conventions of the House, the sources said.

When one of them, quoting media reports, wanted to know if a letter was written against the chairman, some others said, "Let us leave behind what happened yesterday. We have the highest respect for the chairman. If he felt hurt, we express regret."



Naidu and the floor leaders also discussed the issue of availability of time and the business to be concluded in the House this week and decided to do away with the Question Hour to complete the discussion on the motion of thanks to the president.

Naidu is learnt to have said that sufficient time needs to be given to the members for discussing the Union Budget.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha TV said it could not air live proceedings of the Upper House for some time due to a power failure in the optical cable fibre hub and that the reasons behind it were being looked into.

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Teaching science subjects outdoors instead of within closed classrooms can increase students' motivation to learn and participate, a study has found.

The study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the University of Mainz advises offering more outdoor instruction at the lower secondary level.

About 300 students participated in a programme called "researcher weeks" aimed at getting pupils excited about the natural sciences.

Students were prepared for a one-week stay in the classroom. This was then continued on site during the research week, culminating in a two-day research expedition with experiments.

Both before and after the course, the students completed a questionnaire on their satisfaction and overall motivation. At the end of the week, the students again shared their experiences during the outdoor class.

Basic psychological needs to experience autonomy and competence as well as positive social relationships exert the primary influences on motivational behaviour, researchers said.

The study showed that motivational behaviour in both contexts was influenced equally strongly by these three needs, albeit at different levels.

Basic needs are met to a significantly higher degree during outdoor instruction than in the classroom.

A sense of achievement particularly increases motivation during outdoor instruction.

On the other hand, the student-teacher or student-student relationships had little or no influence on this increase. Nor did gender have any influence on the results.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, found that outdoor instruction with explorative learning methodology significantly promotes the attitudes of students toward learning, ie their intrinsic motivation.

'Explorative' means nothing more than simply giving students the freedom to discover the subject matter through independently organised experiments.

These outdoor dynamics, which provide a strong boost to more situational interest for science and engagement with the subject, can be evoked in occasional outdoor instruction sessions as well.

The teaching techniques explored and developed for this instructional program should therefore be included as a standard feature of lessons in schools.

"Whether it involves rural study centres away from school or forms a part of the science curriculum, or both, this statistical analysis demonstrates that regular outdoor teaching is an appropriate strategy to meet the challenges of the 21st century," said Ulrich Dettweiler, associate professor at the University of Stavanger in Norway.

"Such models might even be suitable to bridge the existing gap between science and environmental in the long term," said Dettweiler, who was at TUM at the time of the study.

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Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa today visited the poll museum housed in the old St Stephen's College building here, which has attracted over 12,000 visitors from 80 institutions since it was opened for public in 2016, officials said.

The first-of-its-kind Election Education Centre-cum- Museum, christened 'A Journey through Elections', is located on the first floor of the office of Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi, in the heritage building.

"Election Commissioner Lavasa launched a photo book commemorating one year of the museum," the CEO Office said in a statement.

The museum, that chronicles the country's historical electoral journey with artefacts, documents, photographs and film exhibits drawn from rare archives, was thrown open to the public on October 18, 2016.

Endowed with 200-odd exhibits with 100-120 rare photographs, drawn from several archives, the museum was inaugurated by the then Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, who had termed it as the "journey of the electoral democratic process of India".

Yesterday, a delegation of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria also visited the museum, officials said.

According to the CEO Office, "As on date, 12,048 visitors from 80 institutions have already visited the museum."



The exhibits include artefacts like the metal ballot box used in the first general elections in 1952, the one used in 1996, rare black and white images of elections through several decades after Independence, and samples of old election symbols.

Rare documents drawn from Delhi Archives, records of Election Commission of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Photo Division and Films Division archives, have also been put on display.

Visitors can also see a rare Films Division documentary -- "The Great Experiment" -- chronicling the events during the historic first general elections of India.

Among the rare pre-Independence era exhibits are the electoral roll of 1923, correspondences between police and poll officials in 1934 elections and Mahatma Gandhi's visit to St Stephen's College in 1915.

The museum has a separate section on the life of Gandhi and his struggle for Independence.

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Pakistan has again raked up the at the UN Security Council and accused it of "selectively" implementating its resolution on the matter.

Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, sought periodic review of the implementation of the UN Security Council's decades-old resolution on the issue.

"Nothing undermines the credibility of the Council more than 'selective' implementation of its resolutions," Lodhi said during an open debate of the Security Council on its working methods.

"The Council should therefore periodically review implementation of its resolutions, especially on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute," she said.

She said the failure of the Council to enforce its own resolutions "undercuts not just the Council's standing in the world, but the UN as well".

According to the top Pakistani diplomat, the best way to enhance the democratic and representative character of the Security Council is to reinforce this norm of accountability, and not to support any actions that threaten to undermine or reverse these ideals.

The Council, she said, should be more transparent and balanced in the working of its subsidiary organs.

Elected members should have a more equitable representation on these organs.

India is opposed to any third-party intervention in resolving the while Pakistan has continuously sought mediation to sort out the differences. Pakistan often raises the issue at various international platforms.
Pakistan's top army generals today warned India of effective response in case of "any misadventure".

"Indian ceasefire violations are detrimental to peace, however, these or any Indian misadventure shall be responded effectively," the army said in a statement after a meeting of the Corps Commander's chaired by Army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa.

It said the commanders reviewed the geo-strategic and security environment especially in the context of US security-related policies for the region.

India's alleged ceasefire violations were a vital part of the discussion, it added.

The conference agreed that the gains of war against terrorism will be consolidated to achieve enduring peace and stability both for Pakistan and the region.

The commanders also said that the "national interest shall be kept at a premium while cooperating with all other stakeholders for regional peace and stability.

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The increase in ceasefire violation in Jammu and Kashmir has been precipitated by the nefarious designs of Pakistan in perpetrating violence and creating instability in the region, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today said.

Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, she said these designs of the "enemy" are being defeated through "proactive" and determined actions by the Army both along the Line of Control (LoC) and hinterland.

Asked about details of surgical operations carried out during last three years, she said the Army conducts operations to pre-empt infiltration by terrorists as and when required based on credible inputs about terrorists having positioned themselves at launch pads along the LoC and conduct strikes in Jammu and Kashmir and in other metros.

Sitharaman said that a total of 860 ceasefire violations by Pakistan were reported in 2017 against 228 in 2016 and 152 in 2015. This year, till January, 192 incidents of ceasefire violations were reported.

A young army captain and three jawans were killed in heavy Pakistani shelling along the LoC in Rajouri district of Jammu and Kashmir on February 4, in yet another incident of cross border shelling by Pakistan.

The defence minister said regular review of security situation in Jammu and Kashmir is carried out and necessary changes in strategy is made continuously to defeat designs of the enemy.

"Appropriate retaliation to these ceasefire violations has been carried out wherever necessary," she said, adding that during ceasefire violations, the inhabitants of border villages which are vulnerable to shelling are shifted to safer locations.

She said the defences along the border are adequately fortified to withstand fire and continuous improvements, including the usage of modern technology are being made to make them more robust and resilient.

Sitharaman said a total of 860 ceasefire violations by Pakistan were reported in 2017 against 228 in 2016 and 152 in 2015. This year, till January, 192 incidents of ceasefire violations were reported.

According to figures given by her, a total of 213 terrorists were killed in 2017 while the figure in 2016 was 150 and in 2015, it was 108. Till January 29 this year, eight terrorists were killed.

She said 19 security personnel, including 15 Army men, were killed in 2017 as against 13 in 2016. Till January this year, eight security personnel lost their lives.

Replying to a separate question on creation of the post of the Chief of Staff (CDS), the defence minister said that a decision will be taken after consultation with all the political parties.

To another query, she said the medium range supersonic surface to air missile system to counter aerial threats is being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation and the IAI (Israel Aerospace Industries), Israel.

Replying to another question, she said defects were detected in some of the 'under vehicle scanner systems (UVSS)' which were procured since 2012.

The UVSS were procured for Indian Air Force and they have been installed in various IAF bases.

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Male teachers below the age of 50 should not be posted in schools for girls, Punjab's school department has proposed, drawing a sharp reaction from the teachers' union.

"No male teacher below the age of 50 years shall be posted in Girls' Schools," a draft of the teacher transfer policy, 2018, said.

The draft was put on the department website seeking feedback within 15 days.

Government Teachers' Union, Punjab, however, trashed the proposed move.

We "condemn" the proposed move of the state government not to post teachers below the age of 50 years in girls' schools, said the union president Sukhwinder Chahal.

"It is wrong to question the character of a teacher whose job is to teach students. We will strongly oppose this move if it is implemented," Chahal said.

A spokesman of the state department said the draft teacher transfer policy was uploaded on the portal to seek suggestions.

The main objective of the policy was distribution of human resources in an optimal manner to protect the academic interest of students and maximize job satisfaction among employees in a fair and transparent manner, the draft said.

The policy shall be applicable on teaching cadre posts including ETT, master, lecturer, vocational masters, principals and headmasters, according to the draft policy document.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Congress saying while it still wanted an "old India" marked by Emergency, scams and violence against Sikhs, while his party wanted to create a 'New India'.

He also sought the opposition's cooperation in the passage of the OBC Bill and the triple talaq bill, besides holding constructive discussion on holding simultaneous polls to Parliament and state assemblies.

Replying to the debate on the motion of thanks on President's address in the Rajya Sabha, he said the slogan of 'Congress-mukt Bharat' was not coined by him but by Mahatma Gandhi who after independence wanted the Congress party to be disbanded as there was no need for it.

"You don't need 'New India', but the India of Emergency, Bofors and chopper scams.

"We want Mahatma Gandhi's India as he had said there is no need for Congress now. The slogan of 'Congress-mukt Bharat' is not Modi's idea, it was given by Mahatma Gandhi," he said amid thumping of desks by BJP members.

The prime minister recalled the words of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi after then prime minister Indira Gandhi's death, and said the party wanted an India in which thousands of innocent Sikhs were done to death.

"'When a big tree falls'...you remember these lines. Is this the India the Congress wants," he asked.

Modi said that his party was "aim chaser" who achieve targets within time limits, as he retorted to the Congress on its charge of being a "name changer" by changing names of various schemes launched by the previous UPA government.

"You call us name changers....we are aim changers - we work hard and have ushered in a paradigm shift in the working of the Government. Innovative projects are being thought about and completed in a time bound manner," he said.

Responding to criticism over his Davos visit, Modi said, "I also went to Davos, you also went to Davos. But the difference is - you went with a letter to save someone."



Modi also raised the issue of holding simultaneous polls and said thousands of crores have been spent in conducting polls and so much time and energy goes into holding them and asked whether a country like India can afford it.

He sought the opposition's cooperation in working out a solution in this regard.

Talking about the Congress claim that it had brought Aadhaar, he said, "Let me remind them about a debate in the Rajya Sabha in 1998 and what L K Advani Ji said. It is in his speech that you will find the genesis of Aadhaar."



Modi wondered why some people felt bad when India improves its ease of business rankings.

He said the government was always looking for suggestions, feedback and input on its schemes. "After all, we are working for the nation and the poor," he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today accused the Congress of spending its time in power eulogising the Gandhi family at the cost of India's development, dubbed NPAs as the UPA government's "sin" and reeled out figures to rebuff opposition criticism on unemployment and other issues.

In his over 90-minute reply in the Lok Sabha to a debate on the motion of thanks for the president's address, Modi alleged that lies were being spread to create a sense of disappointment among the middle class about his government.

Throughout Modi's speech, Congress members were in the Well demanding that promises made to Andhra Pradesh following its division be fulfilled, questioning the Rafale deal and raised slogans targeting him.

Amid the din, an unfazed prime minister alleged Andhra Pradesh was suffering due to the "hasty decision" of the erstwhile UPA government to bifurcate the state in 2014 for "political benefits".

The Congress had similarly divided the country at the time of independence for its selfish interests, he said.

"This is the same party that divided India. For decades, one party devoted all their energies in singing paeans to one family. The interests of the nation were over-looked just for the interests of one family," he said in his hard-hitting address.

Claiming that his government has a vision for the country's development while the Congress worked with a "petty mind", he said the "biggest tunnel on land, the biggest tunnel under sea, the fastest train and the biggest gas pipe line" were being built by it.

"We have to create a new India. Let us all make our contribution to fulfil to create it," he said, adding that criticism was democracy's strength, but not lies.

The president's address does not belong to one party but underlines the government's direction, he said, and, in a dig, asked opposition leaders to read it again and "seek others' help if they cannot understand its language."



The Lok Sabha adopted the motion with a voice vote after opposition parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Left staged a walk out, saying Modi did not address issues raised by them like alleged corruption in Rafale deal.

Modi claimed that the opposition has been attacking him as its leaders were "losing their sleep " due to his fight against corruption and black money.

Many of them are out on bail in corruption cases, he said and noted that four former chief ministers are behind bars.

"When the corrupt and middlemen are out of work, obviously the Congress will be unhappy... Nobody is going to be spared. Those who have robbed the country will have to return their loot to the common man," he said amid thumping of desks by treasury benches and loud sloganeering by Congress members in the Well.

He termed the non-performing assets (NPAs) a "sin" of the UPA government and said he was giving its details for the first time as had he spoken earlier, it would have seriously harmed the economy.

"NPAs are cent per cent a responsibility of the previous government. Banks were pressured and the chosen few were given loans," he said.

He said the Congress gave wrong figures as NPAs were 82 per cent and not 36 per cent and added that the total advance made by banks rose from Rs 18 lakh crore to Rs 52 lakh crore.

"People should now know the truth.... It is the interest on what you squandered away. These are your sins," Modi said targeting the Congress, and alleged that loans were given to the people who were close to those in power.

He said the opposition's protest against his government's use of Aadhaar was due to its scientific use to weed out corruption and give direct benefits to the people.

When his government took office in 2014, the chorus from the opposition was that he will scrap Aadhaar but when he made it more effective, they began opposing it, Modi said.

Countering criticism of the government over the issue of unemployment, he said opposition-ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha and Karnataka have said that they have given employment to close to one crore people.

If the Centre is blamed for unemployment figures, then it should also be credited for employment data, he said.

"Don't try to mislead the people," he told referring to the opposition, adding that he had not cited figures of the BJP-ruled states but those where it was in power.

Seventy lakh new EPF accounts have been registered in the name of youths between 18-25 years of age, he said, citing measures like start-up India, skill India among others which have boosted the youth's aspirations.

"I can see the energy and enthusiasm in our youth. They want to do something on their own, they want to launch their own start-ups. Our government is giving wings to aspirations of India's middle class," he said.

Targeting the Congress for its charge that his government was muzzling their voice and threatening democracy, he said it had no right to talk of democracy as he cited "coronation" of Rahul Gandhi as its president, "insults" meted out to a Dalit chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and a presidential candidate by former prime ministers Rajiv and Indira Gandhi respectively.

A Congress leader, he said, had likened Rahul's elevation to Aurangzeb replacing Shahjahan and the latter taking over from Jahangir as Mughal kings. "And you talk of democracy!" he said making a jibe. "Don't give sermons on democracy to us. We know what you have done in the past," he said.

He also hit out at the Congress president, who was in the House, for presenting the government "in a wrong light" on his overseas trips. "Don't you feel ashamed," he asked without him.

When Indian Army was involved in a stand-off with the Chinese army in Dokalam, the Congress leader was speaking to Chinese officials, he said.

He recalled that BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee had expressed his party's reservations to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi privately during the Shimla agreement with Pakistan and did not harm India with any public criticism.

Reaching out to middle class, which opposition said was not benefitted from the Union Budget, he said lies were being spread to create a sense of disappointment among them.

He said his government was working on many fronts, like boosting infrastructure, education and health sectors, to make "ease of living" better for them. It has got new benefits of over 12,000 crore, he said.

"During much of the Congress rule after independence, there was little opposition presence, radio and then television were controlled by you and even judicial appointments were made by the government," he said.

But instead of focusing on the country's development, Modi said, "You spent the time singing paens to one family. You worked to ensure that everything else is forgotten and only one family is remembered by people. If your direction and intentions were right, then the country would have developed many times more."



If Sardar Patel had been the country's first prime minister, then a part of Jammu and Kashmir would not be in Pakistan's control, he said, claiming that most units of the Congress had backed Patel over Jawaharlal Nehru, who eventually became prime minister.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress today dubbed as "disappointing" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha.

The main opposition party, whose MPs walked out of the House over Modi's reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the president for his address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament, said it did not address the issues raised by lawmakers, including that on the Rafale deal.

Hitting out at Modi for his "don't give BJP sermons on democracy" remark directed at his party, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the prime minister himself does not respect democracy. He said people like Modi "speak something and do something else".

Responding to the prime minister's accusation that the Congress bifurcated Andhra Pradesh because of "political considerations", Kharge said Modi did not keep his word on doing justice to Telangana and giving an economic package to the residual Andhra Pradesh after the NDA came to power.

Speaking to journalists outside Parliament, the Congress leader assailed Modi for not touching upon the issues of giving minimum support price (MSP) to farmers and doubling their income by 2022.

"The prime minister did not say anything new in his speech. He also did not mention anything new in the interest of the country. He also did not give satisfactory reply to issues we raised," Kharge said.

"This was his political speech, election speechWe are disappointed by the speech. He backtracked from fulfilling our demands. Hence, we staged walkout," he added.

Referring to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Kharge said Modi, in the run up to the 2014 general elections, had said a separate Telangana state would be created if the BJP came to power. Kharge also recalled that the BJP, while in the opposition, had supported the demand for dividing Andhra Pradesh.

Let the prime minister at least say that he was not in favour of creating Telangana and giving an economic package to Andhra Pradesh, he said.

"He is neither supporting (the bifurcation), and on the other (hand), is speaking such a language (accusing the Congress of dividing the state). Hence, I feel saddened that the prime minister is not keeping his words," Kharge said.

He said the MPs of Andhra Pradesh's ruling TDP, a BJP ally, staged protests in Lok Sabha yesterday over issues concerning the state when he flagged the matter of Rafale deal in the House.

Today, the TDP MPs were, however, requested not to raise their issues when the prime minister was to address the House. Kharge alleged the government did not allow him to press his demands.

"The prime minister talked about being large-hearted. He also read out (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji's poem. Despite reading Vajpayee ji's poem, the prime minister did not become large-hearted (person)," the Congress leader said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also attacked the prime minister, saying his speech was a "farrago (a confused mixture) of misrepresentation and half truths".

"The problem was that all the facts and figures given were simply not the kind of figures that can stand up the detailed scrutiny, and I think the public would realise this," Tharoor added.

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Launching a tirade against the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said he was pursuing Mahatma Gandhi's dream of a 'Congress-mukt Bharat' and accused the grand old party of eulogising the Gandhi family when in power, at the cost of India's development.

Replying to a debate in both Houses of Parliament on the motion of thanks for the President's address, he asked whether the opposition party wanted the "Old India" marked by Emergency, scams and massacre of Sikhs, as against the 'New India' that the BJP was seeking to create.

In hard-hitting speeches, he claimed that his government was an "aim-chaser" as it was achieving targets in a time- bound manner, unlike during the Congress governments which only made announcements and never completed the projects.

He said the non-performing assets (NPAs) of banks were a "sin" of the UPA government, alleging that the Congress was spreading lies to create a sense of disappointment among the middle class about his government. He also gave figures to rebuff opposition criticism on unemployment and other issues.

While Modi spoke for nearly 90 minutes in the Lok Sabha which was marred by continuous slogan-shouting by Congress members from the Well, he delivered a 70-minute speech in the Rajya Sabha later.

In the Lok Sabha, he accused the Congress of dividing the country at the time of independence for selfish interests.

"This is the same party that divided India. For decades, one party devoted all their energies in singing paeans to one family. The interests of the nation were over-looked just for the interests of one family," he said.

"If your direction and intentions were right, then the country would have developed many times more," Modi said.

He said if Sardar Patel had been the country's first prime minister, then a part of Jammu and Kashmir would not be in Pakistan's control, he said, claiming that most units of the Congress had backed Patel over Jawaharlal Nehru, who eventually became the prime minister.

He also questioned the grand old party for the long delay in conferring Bharat Ratna to Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel and Constitution's architect B R Ambedkar.

Countering opposition criticism over his vision of 'New India', he said, "I also want India of Gandhi's dream. And Gandhi had said since the country has got independence, now Congress is not required and should be disbanded."



"This Congress-mukt Bharat was Gandhi's dream. We are trying to follow the path shown by him," Modi said amid thumping benches by treasury benches.

He said the Congress wanted an India of the Emergency, Bofors, chopper scams and the Tandoor case and wondered if the party wanted a India where thousands of Sikhs were killed after a 'big tree falls', in apparent reference to 1984 Sikh riots following killing of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Claiming that his government has a vision for the country's development while the Congress worked with a "petty mind", he said the "biggest tunnel on land, the biggest tunnel under sea, the fastest train and the biggest gas pipe line" were being built by it.

"We have to create a new India. Let us all make our contribution to create it," he said, adding that criticism was democracy's strength, but not lies.

Throughout Modi's speech, Congress members were in the Well demanding that promises made to Andhra Pradesh following its division be fulfilled, questioning the Rafale deal and raised slogans targeting him.

Amid the din, an unfazed prime minister alleged AP was suffering due to the "hasty decision" of the erstwhile UPA government to bifurcate the state in 2014 for "political benefits".

In the Rajya Sabha, Modi urged MPs to have "constructive discussion" on holding of simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies, saying the exercise costs a lot of time and money that India could not afford.

He also criticised the Congress for non-passage of a bill to provide constitutional status to OBC Commission and the legislation against triple talaq.

Hitting at opposition for criticising triple talaq bill on the ground that sending Muslim men to jail will cause sufferings to their families, Modi wondered if similar questions were asked when Hindu men are arrested for polygamy.

He said all criminal laws prescribe punishment but what will happen to the families of accused is never an issue.

Modi sought to corner the Congress on the Bofors issue and quoted senior congress leader and former President of India late R Venkataraman, who in his biography has referred to his meeting with noted industrialist JRD Tata.

"Tata said he felt that after 1980 the Congress party did not ask for poll funding from industrialist as the parties expense were run from the commisison coming from defence deals," he said quoting Venkataraman.

He also took a dig at the opposition party when he quoted Jairam Ramesh having said that though the 'Sultanate' has gone, the leaders continue to behave like 'Sultans', by lauding the Congress leader for seeking out openly.

Taking a jibe at the opposition parties, the Prime Minister asked why should anyone feel bad if the country improved 'ease of doing business' rating. "It is beyond comprehension. If nothing, some even start questioning the credibility of the rating agency just because it has did not happen under their rule."



He said the Congress party while criticising BJP or Modi, start criticising India which adversely affects the country.

"Look at what all you mocked -- Swachh Bharat, Make in India, surgical strikes, Yoga Day. You are free to mock as you please but why are you blocking the bill for OBC Commission? Why are you blocking Triple Talaq Bill. Are you not sensitive to the aspirations of OBCs," he posed.

Referring to his recent visit to Davos, Modi said he went there and Congress also went there. "But the difference is - you went with a letter to save someone," he claimed.

Taking on the Congress for accusing his government of only repackaging or renaming old schemes and programmes, the Prime Minister said "You call us name changers....we are aim changers - we work hard and have ushered in a paradigm shift in the working of the Government. Innovative projects are being thought of and completed in a time bound manner."



On Congress statements that it had brought Aadhaar scheme, he said "let me remind them about a debate in the Rajya Sabha in 1998 and what L K Advani Ji said. It is in his speech that you will find the genesis of Aadhaar."



Modi sought constructive suggestions from all parties for government's healthcare programme 'Ayushman Bharat'.

Raising the issue of simultaneous polls, he said huge amounts are spent in conducting elections and so much time and energy goes into holding them and asked whether a country like India can afford it. He sought the opposition's cooperation in working out a solution in this regard.

He claimed in Lok Sabha that his government has a vision for the country's development while the Congress worked with a "petty mind", he said the "biggest tunnel on land, the biggest tunnel under sea, the fastest train and the biggest gas pipe line" were being built by it.

"We have to create a new India. Let us all make our contribution to fulfil to create it," he said, adding that criticism was democracy's strength, but not lies.

The Lok Sabha adopted the motion with a voice vote after opposition parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Left staged a walk out. The motion was adopted in Rajya Sabha too, where Trinamool Congress also staged a walkout in Rajya Sabha while Modi was still speaking.

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Britain's Prince Charles has launched a new 10-million-dollar Development Impact Bond (DIB) to help improve education for over 200,000 children in India.

The DIB, the largest bond of its type in South Asia, is the latest fundraising initiative by the British Asian Trust (BAT), set up by the royal 10 years ago to fight poverty in South Asia.

"We are launching a 10-million-dollar Development Impact Bond that will improve education for more than 200,000 children in India," Prince Charles said at a Buckingham Palace event yesterday evening to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the British Asian Trust.

"This will be the largest bond of its type in the region and will, I hope, offer a compelling model for a more effective approach to philanthropy at scale," he said.

The heir to Britain's throne revealed that along with international philanthropist and champion of global impact investing, Sir Ronald Cohen, he has been a strong advocate of "social finance".

"These bonds are an innovative and, I think, a tremendously effective way of raising the funds needed to address some of the greatest challenges in the region at the kind of scale necessary to make a significant difference," he said.

The new bond has been launched by the trust with the support of the UK government's Department for International Development (DfID), Comic Relief, the Mittal Foundation and the UBS Optimus Foundation.

The concept of DIB is intended as a result-oriented way to attract new capital into development projects, with a strong emphasis on data and evidence.

Under the initiative, the DIB will provide funding to local not-for-profit delivery partners in India over four years, delivering a range of operational models including principal and teacher training, direct school management, and supplementary programmes.

It is intended to improve literacy and numeracy learning levels for primary school students from marginalised communities in the country.

"This is the most exciting period in the Trust's history. We have had an enormous impact on the lives of millions of people and everything is in place to substantially scale this up in the years ahead. It is a privilege to be involved with such a dynamic and innovative charity," said Manoj Badale, chairman of the British Asian Trust.

The Prince of Wales was accompanied by wife Camilla Parker-Bowles, the Duchess of Cornwall, at the gala event attended by the UK Cabinet ministers and celebrities such as musicians Kanika Kapoor and Naughty Boy.

The prince, who praised the South Asian Diaspora for its "extraordinary generosity", also announced plans for the trust to expand its zone of operation to Bangladesh this year.

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A quack, who allegedly infected 46 people in this district with the dreaded HIV over the last 10 months using the same syringe to administer injections, was nabbed today, police said.

Several teams were deployed to catch Rajendra Kumar and he was arrested today, Kotwali Police Station incharge Arun Pratap Singh said.

Meanwhile, teams of the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO) and the UP AIDS Control Society reached here to look into the shocking case and visited the district hospital and the Chief Medical Officer's (CMO) office.

CMO Dr S P Chaudhary told PTI that seven members from both the organisations took stock of the developments and saidthey will also visit the affected areas as well.

Chaudhary said that so far 58 persons had been found infected with HIV in the Bangarmau area.

It was during a routine screening held from April to July that as many as 12 HIV positive cases were reported from Bangarmau tehsil alone. Then during another screening held in November 2017, another 13 cases were reported from the same place.

"After noticing the high number of cases, the health department constituted a two-member committee which visited various hamlets of Bangarmau to investigate the reasons behind the spurt," Chaudhary said.

He said the team visited Premganj and Chakmirpur areas of Bangarmau and filed a report, based on which screening camps were held at three places (in Bangarmau) on January 24, January 25 and January 27.

"In these camps, 566 people were examined of whom 33 were found to be infected with HIV," he said.

The probe also found that a quack, Rajendra Kumar, living in a village in the area, had used a single syringe to administer injections.

This was the reason behind the significant rise in the number HIV cases, Chaudhary said.

A case against the quack was registered in Bangarmau police station, the CMO said.

He said the patients have been referred to Anti- retroviral Therapy (ART) centre in Kanpur. ART consists of a combination of anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs to maximally suppress the HIV and stop its progression. ART also prevents onward transmission of HIV, he added.

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Reviving an old tradition of the party, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi today interacted with delegations of its leaders and workers from across the country at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters here.

According to party sources, Gandhi came to the party headquarters at Akbar Road here at around 9:15 am and met delegations of workers from various states, including Delhi, Rajasthan and poll-bound Karnataka.

These delegations were listed for appointments with the party chief earlier.

Easy accessibility of the Congress president was an issue of debate in the past.

The Congress chief's office at the AICC headquarters has, for several years, remained closed. It was opened once in a while when former party chief Sonia Gandhi came to attend a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting or an important event like the party's foundation day.

The office was recently cleaned up and refurbished for Rahul Gandhi to sit there.

In the past, former Congress presidents like Indira Gandhi used to meet the party workers at a 'janata durbar' there.

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The railroad industry is playing down expectations that a safety technology that could have prevented recent deadly train crashes will be in operation across the United States by the end of the year.

Indeed, freight and commuter rail officials speak as if there never was any plan to complete their work on the technology known as positive train control, or PTC, by December 31.

Congress required in 2008 that railroads adopt PTC and gave them seven years to do the job. When it became clear that wasn't enough, Congress gave them another three years.

The discussion then was that a few railroads might need even more than three extra years, and provisions were added to the legislation to allow railroads that showed substantial progress, but couldn't meet the new deadline, the ability to obtain extensions of up to two additional years.

Officials for the trade associations representing the seven major freight railroads in the US and the nation's commuter railroads now say they view December 31 as the date by which railroads must meet several PTC milestones to qualify for an extension, rather than the ultimate deadline.

The Transportation Department has little choice but to grant the extensions as long as railroads meet the milestones, said Kathryn Kirmayer, the Association of American Railroads' general counsel. One milestone is that freight railroads have PTC in operation on half their route miles where it's required.

"By the end of 2020 is the absolute deadline everybody has to have it installed and implemented, which means operating everywhere they are required to have it operating," she said.

Members of Congress expressed frustration with railroads backing off this year's deadline.

Congress never intended the extensions be used "to allow railroads that have dragged their feet to just blow off the mandate," said Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the House transportation committee's senior Democrat. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida, the Senate commerce committee's senior Democrat, said, "Every railroad should be taking the recent deadly train accidents seriously and doing everything they can to meet the 2018 deadline."



Reports filed with the Federal Railroad Administration show some railroads have nearly completed their work, while others have made little progress.

Randy Clarke, the American Public Transportation Association's vice president for operations, said three or four of the nation's 27 commuter railroads have already received extensions past Dec. 31 and more extensions are expected.

"We are actively working as an industry to get everyone to the milestones necessary for extension or to completion," he said. "We know not every agency is in the same place and some have more complications than others."



The National Transportation Safety Board has said the technology could have prevented a collision between an Amtrak train and an out-of-service CSX freight train on Sunday near Cayce, South Carolina, and the derailment of an Amtrak train in December near Olympia, Washington. Five people were killed and dozens more injured in the two crashes.

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The Tourism Ministry and the IRCTC have enlisted 60 bloggers from 23 countries, including India, as part of a new publicity blitz to write on luxury trains run by the railways and improve their dwindling occupancy rate.

The first-of-its-kind venture will allow the bloggers to take a week-long journey on Palace on Wheels, Maharaja Express, Deccan Odyssey and Golden Chariot in groups of 15 on each of the trains, a tourism ministry statement said today.

The first 15 bloggers started their journey today on the Palace on Wheels from Safdarjung Railway Station in New Delhi.

The decision to promote travel on the trains comes after a recent parliamentary panel report pointed out that the occupancy rate during past four years - starting in 2012-13 - had been 29.86 per cent, 32.33 per cent, 41.8 per cent, 41.58 per cent and 36.03 per cent respectively.

It had also said that most of the seats on these trains were occupied by passengers who had complimentary tickets.

The bloggers, who have been chosen on the basis of their number of followers, will travel to destinations in various states across India on the trains and write about them.

"The campaign will generate widespread publicity for the luxury trains as well as the destinations visited, by way of blogs, videos and photos published by the bloggers or Instagramers on their experiences of their journey. Needless to say this initiative would benefit the railways and the luxury train operators to a large extent", the statement said.

The second group will leave Delhi on Maharaja Express on February 10, and the third group is scheduled to leave on Deccan Odyssey on the same day from the Chaatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai.

The final group will leave on Golden Chariot on February 19 from Bengaluru on a week-long journey.

The Railway Board, the state sovernments of Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka and the IRCTC - the tourism arm of the railways - have joined hands to host the bloggers, according to the statement.

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Rajasthan's ruling BJP legislator Gyan Dev Ahuja today asked the home minister to initiate a probe against the Alwar superintendent of police for alleged corruption and took up the issue of law and order in the state.

Ahuja, the legislator from Ramgarh in Alwar, raised the issue during Question Hour in the Assembly.

Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria said he had himself seen that the law and order situation in Alwar had improved.

Ahuja said he had already apprised the home minister and the state's top police officials of the SP's misconduct but nothing was done.

The legislator did not mention the police officer by name in the House.

Questioning the government on the law and order situation, he referred to an incident in Bharatpur district where an assistant sub inspector allegedly beat a woman.

I am not saying that the entire department is corrupt but there are some officials who need to be checked because corruption is not possible without the patronage of senior officials, Ahuja said.

Repeatedly questioned by Ahuja on whether the government would order a probe against the Alwar SP for corruption and misconduct, the home minister said no one could be held guilty just because of raised voices.

Kataria also assured the House that the government would spare no one found guilty. But for ordering a probe, written, detailed information against the officer was needed.

Replying to Ahuja's question on the number of policemen caught for accepting bribes, the minister informed the House that 200 police personnel had been arrested in cases of graft in the last four years, from 2014 to 2017.

There were 275 cases for graft registered in the state against policemen. Of these, 200 policemen were arrested in 171 cases.

According to Ahuja, most of those arrested were low rank policemen like constables, head constables, assistant sub inspector and sub inspectors.

He asked why senior officers like deputy SP or SP were not caught.

The minister then informed the house that action against Indian Police Service and Rajasthan Police Service officers were taken. Three IPS officers were also arrested and jailed in cases of corruption.

Congress whip Govind Singh Dotasara and others also cornered the state government on the issues raised by Ahuja.

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Rubbishing allegations of a "conflict of interest" vis-a-vis a hill resort in Nandurbar by the NCP, Maharashtra Tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal today said the Opposition was maligning his image on the basis of "false" information provided by his opponent.

"I do not have any association with the Toranmal hill resort in the present nor had in the past. I was neither a director nor a promoter of the company. The NCP had levelled baseless allegations feeding on false information provided by an opponent in my constituency," Rawal told reporters here.

The BJP leader represents Sindkheda constituency in Dhule district of North Maharashtra.

Earlier in the day, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged that Rawal's company Toranmal Hill Resorts Private Ltd. was operating the resort in Nandurbar district in north Maharashtra despite the company being blacklisted by the state-run tourism development corporation (MTDC).

"From 1998 to 2006, Rawal's company Toranmal Hill Resorts Private Ltd. was given an MTDC resort on lease. The company did not pay the lease rent to the MTDC, which in turn invoked provisions of the Eviction of Public Premises Act, in 2011 and sent a notice to the company.

Rawal said the Opposition should have furnished proofs while levelling the charges against him.

"In 1990-91, the MTDC officially gave the (Nandurbar) hill resort to MTDC Hill Resort Private Ltd (MHRPL) and for several years, rent was duly paid," the minister claimed.

He said he was a student when the resort was handed over to the MHRPL.

"J J Rawal was the director then and he resigned in the year 2000. Since then, none of our family members have any relation with the resort," he said.

Rawal said he was not associated with the company in any manner.

"Similarly, I have not been associated with the company in any way and thus the question of there being a conflict of interest does not arise," Rawal said.

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The Delhi High Court has held that courts ought to reevaluate the manner by which they require electronic documents to be authenticated.

Dealing with a case relating to a loan default, Justice Pratibha M Singh observed that merely because a printout of statement of an account is filed as secondary evidence with necessary certificate, does not make it less valid.

The court's observations were made while setting aside a trial court order, which had dismissed the recovery suit of the ICICI Bank on grounds that it failed to file the original loan recall notice.

The high court, however, observed, "Despite all the original documents being on record, the trial court proceeded on an erroneous assumption that the original loan recall notice dated February 11, 2014, has not been placed on record and only a photocopy of the same has been placed on record.

"It is actually unfathomable as to how the loan recall notice, issued to the Defendants, could be produced in original by the plaintiff bank. The original of the said notice would obviously be with the Defendants. This can hardly be a ground to dismiss the suit of the Plaintiff bank by adopting a technical approach," the high court added.

It stated that courts have a duty to safeguard public money and by applying completely incorrect principles of procedure and evidence, suits filed by these financial institutions cannot be dismissed in this manner.

Justice Singh gave extensive reasoning for holding that the trial court had applied the provisions of the Evidence Act in a completely incorrect manner.

The high court also delved into the way accounts are maintained nowadays and the resultant classification into primary and secondary evidence.

"Section 34 of the Evidence Act clearly provides that the books of accounts maintained in electronic form are relevant. Under Section 62 of the Evidence Act, original documents constitute primary evidence. In the context of electronic evidence, printouts of electronic documents are considered as secondary," it said.

The court noted that a judicial notice needs to be taken of the fact that most accounts today are not maintained in paper form, but electronic form.

"The primary evidence could be the server on which the statement of accounts is stored. These servers may store the statement of accounts of multiple clients in the hard drive. It would be an impossibility to require the Plaintiff bank to produce the hard drive of the server in every suit for recovery filed by it," it observed.

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Indian-American lawyer Kashyap Pramod Patel, called by the US media as the author of a controversial Republican memo, has said the process of drafting the document was a "great team effort".

The four-page memo portrays the FBI in a negative light, alleging that the agency helped the Democratic party and its presidential candidate Hillary Clinton against Donald Trump, the eventual winner of the 2016 presidential elections



The declassification of the memo was approved by President Donald Trump himself and it was later released to the public by House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence last week.

"It's a team effort. Lots of people were involved in it," Patel told PTI in an exclusive interview.

The 37-year-old lawyer explained how the report appearing was contrary to this fact which has personally affected him and his family.

"I will let the memo speak for itself. It's a team effort. Lots of people are involved in it," he said, adding that he was part of the team.

After multiple American media outlets, including The New York Times, reported this past week that the Republican memo was drafted by him and described it as 'Kash memo' Patel and his family members, including his parents, who are currently in Baroda are constantly receiving phone calls from reporters.

"No," he said when asked if this is a 'Kash memo' as being christened by The New York Times.

"They (the daily) want to see if they can assign one person to it.What I'm telling you is it's...for my colleagues it's offensive because they put just as much of their time, effort into an effort it. So it's a great team effort," Patel said.

The memo is a collection of facts, based on documents and interviews. It portrays the FBI in a negative light, alleging that the agency helped the Democratic Party and its presidential candidate Hillary Clinton against Trump, the eventual winner of the 2016 presidential elections.

Patel, who is the Senior Counsel for Counterterrorism at the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, rued that lots of media outlets have written about him incorrectly, despite the fact they were provided with factual information.

"It's caused my family around the world to have been receiving phone calls from the media, which is unfortunate," Patel said.

"For the media to attack (Congressional) staff personally and involve my family, it's an all-time low for them," he said.

"Unfortunately a lot of (media) organisations are continuing to lose credibility by personalising work rather than focusing on letting the work speak for itself. We don't mind that people have opposing viewpoints. That's what our job is to allow people to see what have been covered and make their own decisions," Patel said.

After a year in this sensitive position, Congressman Davin Nunes, Chairman of the House Permanent Select on Intelligence Committee pulled him as senior counsel on counterterrorism.

After the elections, he asked him to spearhead the Russia investigation of the House Intelligence Committee.

This he has been doing since April of 2017.

The Russia investigation, Patel asserts is being carried out by a team, of the House intelligence Committee.

As far as running the investigation, it is a Congress level decision.

He said his responsibilities included running the actual day-to-day investigation, witnesses and collection of documents, taking interviews, obtaining depositions, reviewing information and figuring out where to go next.

New York-born Patel has his roots in Gujarat.

However, his parents are from East Africa mother from Tanzania and father from Uganda. They came to the US from Canada in 1970.

He was an international terrorism prosecutor for about three and a half years. During this period, he worked on cases all over the world, in America in East Africa as well as in Uganda and Kenya.

While, still employed by the Department of Justice, he went as a civilian to join Special Operations Command at the Department of Defence.

At the Pentagon, he sat as the Department of Justice's lawyer with Special Forces people and worked inter-agency collaborative targeting operations around the world.

Since last April, he said the focus of the investigation has been Russian interference and to "find out the ultimate answer whether or not there was any collusion or cooperation between Russians and the Trump Campaign so that we can write a report and give it to the American people", so that people can read it and decide it for themselves what happened.

"We are an oversight body. Our role is to provide oversight, not to charge people. That's the role of the Department of Justice," he said.

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Rescue workers pulled survivors and bodies from buildings tilting precariously in the Taiwanese city of Hualien today, after an overnight earthquake killed at least five, injured more than 200 and left dozens missing.

Emergency responders were focusing on a 12-storey apartment block and a nearby hotel, both of which were leaning dangerously after their lower floors pancaked when the 6.4- magnitude quake hit the popular tourist city late Tuesday.

Local broadcaster TVBS showed rescuers carrying a victim covered in a white sheet from the Marshal Hotel some 14 hours after the quake struck. A walking survivor was rescued a short while later.

In an afternoon update, the national fire agency said at least five people had been killed and 247 injured across the city. But the toll could rise as rescuers discovered further bodies.

There were grave concerns for the badly leaning Yun Tsui residential building, which also housed a restaurant, shops and a hostel.

The national fire agency said 88 people were unaccounted for as of 2 pm (0600 GMT) but it was not immediately clear how many of those were trapped inside buildings.

Dozens of residents -- and a pug dog -- were rescued with ropes and ladders from the Yun Tsui apartment block overnight. But fire department staff at the site told AFP at least four bodies had been pulled out of the building.

One local resident who lives nearby told AFP how he watched the tower block partially collapse.

"I saw the first floor sink into the ground. Then it sank and tilted further and the fourth floor became the first floor," said Lu Chih-son, 35, who saw 20 people rescued from the building.

"My family were unhurt but a neighbour was injured in their head and is bleeding. We dare not go back home now. There are many aftershocks and we are worried the house is damaged," he told AFP.

Chen Chih-wei, 80, said he was sleeping in his apartment on the top floor of the building when the quake struck.

"My bed turned completely vertical. I was sleeping and suddenly I was standing," he told AFP.

He said he managed to crawl his way to a balcony to wait for rescue, adding that the quake was the strongest he had felt in more than five decades of living in Hualien.

President Tsai Ing-wen visited the apartment block Wednesday morning.

"Now is the prime time for our rescue efforts, our first priority is to save people," she said in a Facebook post.

Four mobile cranes had been brought in on the back of trucks to help prop up the structure, an AFP reporter on the scene said.

Hualien is one of Taiwan's most popular tourist hubs as it lies on the picturesque east coast rail line and near the popular Taroko Gorge.

The foreign ministry said 17 foreigners sought medical treatment for minor injuries.

Local resident Blue Hsu said some of those carried out of the hotel were foreigners.

"The lower floors sunk into the ground and I saw panicked tourists being rescued from the hotel," eyewitness Blue Hsu told AFP.

Officials also said 214 people had been injured in the quake, with 117 people rescued from damaged buildings so far. Some 830 people were in shelters while 1,900 houses were without power.

The quake hit just before midnight (1550 GMT) around 21 kilometres (13 miles) northeast of Hualien, according to the United States Geological Survey.

It followed almost 100 smaller tremors to have hit the area in the last three days and comes exactly two years since a quake of the same magnitude struck the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan, killing more than 100 people.

Most of the deaths from the February 2016 earthquake were from the 16-storey Wei-kuan apartment complex, which toppled on its side and buried many residents in the rubble.

It was the only high-rise in Tainan to crumble completely in that quake.

The safety of the building was called into question immediately after the disaster, when metal cans and foam were found to have been used as fillers in the concrete and residents said there had been cracks in the structure.

Five people were found guilty and sentenced to five years' imprisonment over the disaster, including the developer and two architects, with prosecutors saying they "cut corners" that affected the building's structural integrity.

Taiwan lies near the junction of two tectonic plates and is regularly hit by earthquakes.

The island's worst tremor in recent decades was a 7.6 magnitude quake in September 1999 that killed around 2,400 people.

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Rio Tinto rewarded shareholders Wednesday with a record dividend as the mining giant reported a bumper annual net profit of USD 8.76 billion in 2017, a 90 per cent jump as commodity prices strengthened.

The Anglo-Australian firm had posted USD 4.62 billion in annual profit in the previous financial year, turning around a loss in 2015 when key metals prices slumped and the growth in Chinese demand slowed.

"The strength of our cash flow is a result of resilient prices during the year coupled with a robust operational performance and a focus on mine to market productivity," chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in a statement.

He added that the firm's strong position had allowed it to "invest in high-value growth through the cycle, and consistently deliver superior cash returns to shareholders".

Underlying profit for the year to December 31 -- a measure preferred by the world's second-largest miner -- was USD 8.63 billion, a 69 per cent rise from the previous period and broadly matching analysts' expectations.

The bulk of underlying earnings came from its main commodity, iron ore, at USD 6.69 billion.

The company issued a record full-year dividend of USD 5.2 billion -- USD 2.90 per share -- and announced a billion- dollar share buyback. The additional share buyback took the total declared cash returns to shareholders to USD 9.7 billion.

Shares in Rio closed 3.82 per cent higher at 78.31 Australian dollars in Sydney ahead of the results, in a rising market.

Rio said improving prices in all its commodities increased underlying earnings by USD 4.11 billion compared to 2016.

"Overall, it was a pretty good result," Fat Prophets resources analyst David Lennox told AFP.

"Pricing did all the heavy lifting for the year, they are still doing very well on (cutting) costs, and volumes -- which we thought would be a small negative -- have come in at a small positive (and) the balance sheet was squeaky clean."



The annual net profit was Rio Tinto's highest since 2010. It posted a loss of USD 866 million 2015 on the back of slumping prices.

The plunge in key metals prices saw major players embark on cost-cutting programmes.

Rio said it was able to cut costs of USD 400 million last year, as part of its drive to free up USD 5.0 billion in additional free cash flow from 2017 to 2021.

The miner also reduced net debt to USD 3.8 billion, and made USD 2.7 billion in divestments last year, including the sale of most of its Australian coal assets to China-backed Yancoal.

Capital expenditure was forecast by Rio to be about USD 5.5 billion this year and rise to USD 6.0 billion in 2019 and 2020.

Rio said the global economy remained supportive of the mining sector, adding that while growth in key commodities consumer China may slow modestly over the next six months, the outlook "remains positive in the medium to long-term".

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RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today urged farmers of Bihar to join the Sangh and become a part of its mission to build a society free from discrimination.

Speaking to farmers invited to a RSS volunteers' camp here, he highlighted the work done by swayamsevaks in villages of the country.

"The problems faced by our villages can be solved by only those who live in villages. The RSS has been in close touch with rural India," said the Sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

"Thousands of our branches operate in villages. Our swayamsevaks have made laudable contribution towards rural development," said Bhagwat who arrived in this north Bihar town on a five-day tour yesterday.

The RSS chief also stressed on the need for adopting organic farming, saying that it has been a part of our tradition for thousands of years.

The RSS chief's tour of the state is scheduled to conclude on February 15.

Opposition parties, the RJD and the Congress, have alleged that Bhagwat's visits have become frequent of late and it was a part of the agenda of the BJP to saffronize Bihar.

They have also accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of having capitulated before the BJP, and taunted him over his 2016 resolve of making a RSS-free India when he had been heading an anti-BJP coalition government.

Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said Bhagwat was meeting farmers with a view to helping them make their own lives better.

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Russian Universities have come forward to offer five full scholarships for Indian students taking up post graduate programmes in nuclear technology, a top diplomat said here today.

Commemorating the 30th anniversary of Russia-India cooperation in the field of atomic energy, Vice-Consul in the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in South India, Mikhail Gorbatov said, one hundred per cent scholarships to students would be available for pursuing Master's degree in nuclear technology, based on a science olympiad test.

Students with under graduate degree in science, preferably in atomic physics with 50 per cent marks are eligible to take up the test, he said in a press release.

Meritorious students would be eligible for scholarship, which includes waiver of tuition fees and hostel accomodation.

The scholarships would be offered by the National Research Nuclear University, Moscow, he said.

The National Research Nuclear University, lead engineer, Ekaterina Petrova and Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Professor, Urii Anokhin would visit various colleges and schools in the city to share information about the scholarships for students, the release added.

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Saudi Arabia has allowed Air India to use its airspace for flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv, Israeli daily Haaretz reported.

However, it could not be confirmed from either the ministry of civil aviation here or Air India.

According to a spokesperson of the airline, the national carrier has sought permission from regulatory body DGCA for thrice-a-week flight services between Delhi and Tel Aviv from March, which is awaited.

Another Air India official said the airline is also waiting for slots at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International airport and Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport.

Many Arab and Islamic nations do not recognise Israel and, therefore, disallow airlines from using their airspace for flight services to that country.

According to the official, an approval from Saudi Arabia to use its airspace will allow Air India to take a shorter route by flying over Ahmedabad, Muscat, Saudi Arabia and then land at Tel Aviv.

This route will lead to a shorter flight duration between the two cities by two and a half hours and save fuel costs, the official said.

As of now, Israel's El Al flights between Tel Aviv and Mumbai take a seven-hour circuitous route and fly over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and then enter India and avoid countries that are on the direct flight path such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Due to route overflying issues Air India was earlier also examining the possibility of operating flights from Mumbai to Tel Aviv.

Israel's tourism ministry has announced a one-time grant of 750,000 euros to Air India for flight operations.

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A federal indictment returned today accuses a Saudi Arabian man of falsifying immigration paperwork when he failed to disclose he attended a terrorist training camp before entering the United States.

A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City handed up the indictment against Naif Abdulaziz M Alfallaj, 34, of Weatherford, Oklahoma, who is charged with two counts of visa fraud and one count of making false statements. He has lived in Oklahoma since 2012.

Court records do not indicate whether Alfallaj is represented by an attorney.

The indictment alleges Alfallaj attended the al-Qaida- operated al Farooq terrorist training camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan, around September 2000 and filled out a form using a nickname. The FBI later found 15 of Alfallaj's fingerprints on the document after it was recovered by the U.S. military from an al-Qaida safe house in Afghanistan.

The document is also alleged to include an emergency contact number associated with Alfallaj's father in Saudi Arabia.

Authorities said Alfallaj entered the U.S. in late 2011 on a nonimmigrant visa based on his wife's status as a foreign student. The indictment said Alfallaj answered "no" on an immigration application when asked if he supported terrorist organizations or had received firearms or other specialized training.

Alfallaj is accused of obtaining his visa fraudulently and using the visa to apply for lessons at a private flight school in Oklahoma in October 2016, authorities said. Alfallaj is also accused of making a false statement during an FBI terrorism investigation when he denied associating with anyone from a foreign terrorist group.

Kathryn Peterson, head of the FBI in Oklahoma, said the charges are an isolated incident and the investigation has not uncovered other potential threats.

Alfallaj was arrested yesterday. He faces up to 10 years in prison on each count of visa fraud and up to eight years for making false statements. Authorities said Alfallaj is expected to face deportation proceedings once the criminal case is concluded.

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The Supreme Court today asked the convicts in a gang rape case, involving a student of a private university in Haryana, to share with the woman the password of 'iCloud' where they had allegedly stored her obscene photographs.

'iCloud' is a mobile application used for storing data, including photographs, videos, documents and music, and it is tough to hack it without a password.

A bench comprising justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao observed that it cannot tolerate "continous blackmail" and asked the convicts to share the password to show bonafide to remain on bail.

"We are concerned about the present situation. There are pictures of the girl with one of you (convicts). It is difficult for us to accept and tolerate continuous blackmail," the bench told the counsel representing the convicts.

The trial court had awarded 20 years imprisonment to two of the convicts for various offences under the Indian Penal Code, including gangrape and criminal conspiracy, and the provisions of the Information Technology Act.

The third accused was awarded a seven-year jail term after being convicted in the case.

However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had suspended their sentences on the pleas filed by them and granted them bail.

The woman approached the apex court challenging the bail granted to the convicts.

During the hearing today, the bench asked the convicts to share the password with the woman to ensure that the photographs were not circulated.

"Some of the photographs were unfortunately sent by the girl herself. We are not deciding moral issue here. Somebody is released from jail....It is troubling her (woman) that the password is still with them," it said.

The counsel, representing the woman, told the bench that this was not a case where the convicts should have been granted bail by the high court.

He said that even if they shared the password, he would still argue the case on merit against their release from jail after securing bail.

"We are objectively trying to ascertain your security. After all, they are kids... We will decide later if such kind of crimes hurt society," the bench observed and posted the matter for further hearing on February 15.

The apex court had earlier stayed the high court's order suspending the sentence awarded to three convicts by the trial court.

The woman, who has also challenged the grant of bail to them by the high court, had claimed in the FIR that she had taken admission in the private university at Sonepat in August 2013 and got acquainted with one of them.

She alleged that the convicts, who became good friends, raped and forced her to send her obscene pictures and blackmailed her.

The woman claimed that the two others also raped her at the university campus after which she lodged an FIR in April 2015.

The high court, while granting bail to the convicts, had said, "The entire crass sequence actually is reflective of a degenerative mindset of the youth breeding denigrating relationships mired in drugs, alcohol, casual sexual escapades and a promiscuous and voyeuristic world.

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The Supreme Court is likely to commence from tomorrow the crucial hearing on a batch of petitions in the politically-sensitive Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title dispute case.

Tomorrow's hearing assumes significance in the wake of the rejection by a special bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, the vehement submission by Sunni Waqf Board and others that the pleas be heard after the next general elections.

The bench, also comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan and S A Nazeer, had made clear on December 5 last year, that it would begin final hearing on the petitions from February 8 and had asked the parties to file the requisite pleadings in the meantime.

Senior lawyers including Kapil Sibal and Rajeev Dhavan had contended that the civil appeals be either referred to a five or seven judge bench or posted in 2019 keeping in mind the sensitive nature of the case and its ramifications on the country's secular fabric and polity.

The top court had asked the advocates on records (AoRs), dealing with as many 14 civil appeals against the 2010 judgement of the Allahabad High Court in the land dispute, to ensure that all requisite documents are translated, filed and numbered before the apex court Registry.

The special bench of the apex court is seized of a total 14 appeals filed against the High Court judgement delivered in four civil suits.

A three-judge bench of the Allahabad High Court, in a 2:1 majority ruling, had in 2010 ordered that the land be partitioned equally among three parties -- the Sunni Waqf Board, the Nirmohi Akhara and Ram Lalla.

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The government today said that it did not seek transfer of technology (ToT) or license manufacturing while inking a deal to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France as it would not have been cost effective.

Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, "The license manufacturing/transfer of technology was not sought as it would not have been cost effective for a order of this size."



India had inked an inter-governmental agreement with France in September 2016 for the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of around Rs 58,000 crore, nearly one- and-half years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the proposal during a visit to Paris.

The Congress had attacked the government for not seeking transfer of technology as part of the deal to procure the jets.

The UPA government was negotiating the original 126- fighter aircraft deal but it could not fructify.

Sitharaman said that the request for proposal (RFP) for 126 medium multi role combat aircraft (MMRCA) was formally withdrawn in June 2015 as the contract negotiations had reached an impasse.

"To meet the critical operational necessity of the Indian Air Force, 36 Rafale were procured through the IGA (Inter- Governmental Agreement)," she said.

The defence minister said that state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has no role in the Rafale deal.

She said, "To meet requirement of fighter aircraft of the IAF, induction of the balance of 272 Su-30 MKI aircraft from HAL is under process".

Asked about the time by which the offset commitments of France towards setting up a research and development in the country as part of Rafale deal would be realised, she said the current policy permits the vendors to provide the details either at the time of seeking offset credits or one year prior to discharge of offset obligations.

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Senate negotiators were finalizing a long-term budget deal today that would avert a looming government shutdown, as a leader of House conservatives predicted the group's objections to big domestic spending increases would not be enough to block it.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., leader of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, said he opposes the emerging bipartisan deal, which could be unveiled Wednesday, but he has few hopes of scuttling its passage. Spending increases will appeal to many lawmakers, Meadows said.

"I'm afraid the numbers will get so high and the debt ceiling will be added and it will be a Christmas tree of spending that a lot of votes will be bought," he said on CNN. Meadows' group backs big defense increases but opposes boosting domestic spending.

The deal was picking up steam even as the president appeared to be readying for a standoff.

"I'd love to see a shutdown if we can't get this stuff taken care of," Trump declared yesterday.

Trump's comments were strikingly disconnected from the progress on Capitol Hill, where the House passed a short-term spending measure Tuesday night and Senate leaders were closing in on a larger, long-term pact.

The broader agreement would award whopping spending increases to both the Pentagon and domestic federal programs, as well as approve overdue disaster relief money and, perhaps, crucial legislation to increase the government's borrowing limit and avoid possible default.

Democratic leaders have dropped their strategy of using the funding fight to extract concessions on immigration, specifically on seeking extended protections for the "Dreamer" immigrants who have lived in the country illegally since they were children.

Instead, the Democrats prepared to cut a deal that would reap tens of billions of dollars for other priorities including combatting opioids while taking their chances on solving the immigration impasse later.

Tuesday night's 245-182 House vote, mostly along party lines, set the machinery in motion. The six-week stopgap spending bill contains increases for the military that long have been demanded by Trump and his GOP allies.

But the measure appears increasingly likely to be rewritten by the Senate to include legislation implementing the brewing broader budget pact.

The budget negotiations, conducted chiefly by the Senate's top leaders, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Chuck Schumer of New York, have intensified in recent days. A looming government shutdown at midnight Thursday added urgency to the talks.

Both McConnell and Schumer reported progress Tuesday. "I think we're on the way to getting an agreement and getting it very soon," said McConnell.

Prospects for dealing with immigration, however, were fuzzy as ever. The Senate is slated next week to begin a debate to address the dilemma of immigrants left vulnerable after Trump cut off former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

Weeks of bargaining have left the two parties divided over how to extend protections for such Dreamer immigrants.

Trump has given lawmakers until March 5 to extend DACA, though a court ruling is temporarily keeping the program running.

McConnell said yesterday that while he hopes "we will end up having something," he was unsure if any proposed immigration measure would get the 60 votes needed for approval.

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Senior TDP leader and former Andhra Pradesh minister Gali Muddukrishnama Naidu died due to dengue and related health complications at a hospital in Hyderabad early today.

He was 71.

The TDP leader, who was also a sitting member of the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council, was admitted to a super- speciality hospital in Hyderabad on Monday after he complained of fever.

"He was diagnosed with dengue shock syndrome (along) with multi-organ failure. Inspite of full resuscitation, he could not be revived and declared dead at 2.50 am today," a medical bulletin issued by the hospital said.

He had served as a minister in the cabinet of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) founder-president, N T Rama Rao, in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, and held portfolios like education and forests.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, Deputy Chief Minister N China Rajappa and other TDP leaders condoled the veteran leader's death.

Muddukrishnama Naidu, who hailed from Chittoor district, began his career as a lecturer before joining on the invitation of N T Rama Rao in 1983.

He was elected to the AP Assembly for six terms from Puttur and Nagari constituencies.

He also served as a member of the TDP politburo, the party's highest decision-making body.

He quit the TDP in 2004 and joined the Congress. However, four years later he returned to the parent party.

He lost the 2014 Assembly election but was made an MLC in 2016.

"Gali played a key role in the TDP's political journey. His services to the party and the people will be remembered forever," the AP chief minister said in a statement and offered his sympathies to the bereaved family.

AP Assembly Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, former chief minister of the undivided AP, N Kiran Kumar Reddy, Telangana roads and buildings minister T Nageswara Rao and Leader of Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, K Jana Reddy, also paid their last respects to the departed leader.

Muddukrishnama Naidu is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter.

The cremation is expected to be held at his native village in AP's Chittoor district tomorrow, TDP sources said.

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Jammu and Kashmir Congress chief Ghulam Ahmed Mir today questioned the Narendra Modi government's policy toward Kashmir and Pakistan, and said the situation at the borders continued to be grim.

Addressing a partyworkers' convention at Kishtwar today, Mir said the Modi government's policy towards Pakistan and China was a total failure.

"The borders have seen worst ever tension and casualties, while the internal situation in Kashmir has witnessed the worst kinds of violence. Situation of borders continues to be grim while increasing number of youth have joined militancy during this period," he said.

Mir said that the misrule and mis-governance of PDP-BJP had caused great resentment and anger amongst the people of all three regions of the state and they were totally fed up of from the present dispensation.

He said the people would bring about a change when they get an opportunity. "The people are so fed up that they want this governmentto go sooner than later.

The common people are finding it hard tomake both ends meet because of wrong economic policies of thecentral and the state governments, and the youth are deprived of opportunities in government and private sectors. The unprecedented price hike of all items has made the life of common man miserable," he added.

Mir said the present PDP-BJP government had failed to translate any of their promises into action and the remote areas were totally neglected in the matter of development.

Mir said that UPA government at the Centre had extended all sorts of liberal financial help to the state but the BJP merely re-named and repackaged the ongoing schemes and projects.

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As the government continues to focus on increasing renewable energy capacity, solar and wind power tariffs are likely to dip below Rs 2 per unit in the next 2-3 years, a senior official of transmission firm Sterlite Power said.

"Solar power has already reached Rs 2.4 per unit, while wind is selling at Rs 2.50 per unit. This will continue to go down...below Rs 2 in the next 2-3 years", Sterlite Power CEO of global infrastructure business Ved Tiwari told PTI.

The solar power tariff fell to an all-time low of Rs 2.44 per unit during the auction of 500 MW of capacity at Bhadla (III) in Rajasthan. The government had offered viability gap funding (VGF) for the project.

"During 2017, solar power tariff hovered around Rs 2.40 per unit only in auctions for capacities, where viability gap funding component was there," Tiwari said.

Wind power tariff, on the other hand, dropped sharply to Rs 2.43 per unit during an auction conducted by Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL) last year.

Tiwari further said with abundant solar and wind potential, southern states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, have the opportunity to become exporters of power.

"Earlier, power used to be transported to states like Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. But this situation has now changed. States like Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh are blessed with best of solar radiation and wind energy. These states will become exporters of power," he said.

However, he emphasised on the need for enhancing transmission network saying that the economic power can be unleashed for these states if India invests in power transmission.

"Just like India builds highways and roads that unleashes economic potential, much more economic potential may be created by power transmission lines. The country should build more and more power corridors, which would enable states to freely exchange very cheap electricity," Tiwari added.
The Supreme Court today observed that state authorities do not appear to be interested in the welfare of widows and stressed on the need for a combined effort to improve their condition.

The apex court, while noting that several posts in the state commissions for women (SCW) were lying vacant in various states, said there was some "lack of communication" between the Ministry of Women and Child Development and the states on the action plan agreed upon for welfare of widows.

A bench comprising Justices Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta told Additional Solicitor General (ASG) A N S Nadkarni, appearing for the ministry, that there has to be a scheme for utilisation of funds given by the Centre to states for the welfare of widows.

"There has to be some scheme. If money is not utilised for the cause for which it is meant, then perhaps the situation will be worse," the bench told the ASG.

When Nadkarni said some mechanism was needed to deal with the issue, the bench asked, "But what will you do with the state governments as they are not bothered?"



The bench asked Haryana government as to whether it has given its response to the Ministry of Child and Women Development on the action plan.

When Haryana's counsel said the state had given its response to the ministry in November last year, the bench said, "There was no action plan then. What you have replied (to)? This is just a waste of time of the court. We cannot wait for you to take instructions in the court".

However, when the court asked states like West Bengal, Kerala and Assam about it, it was told they had already replied to the Centre.

The ASG said the WCD ministry has not received the responses yet from some states on the agreed action plan.

The bench then told him there was perhaps some lack of communication between the ministry and the state governments due to which there was some confusion as to which of the states have not responded yet.

However, when the ASG claimed that reply by West Bengal was "incomplete", the court said the ministry would have to convey to the states if there was incomplete information in their responses.

The bench asked about the vacancies in state commissions, and on being informed that several posts were lying vacant, it said, "You (states) are not interested in the welfare of widows".

The ministry and the National Commission for Women told the bench that they would file their affidavits during the course of the day and that "substantial compliance" has been made by them pursuant to the court's earlier direction.

The court said the state governments and UTs should inform the SCWs concerned, National Commission for Women as also the WCD ministry about the steps they proposed to take so that there is a combined effort and monitoring to improve the conditions of widows.

"We expect all communications between the parties be sent by e-mail so that there is no confusion or loss of papers in transit," it said and posted the matter for March 20 for resumed hearing.

The SC had earlier asked the ministry to respond to the report of a six-member panel set up by it to study the reports furnished before the court about the condition of widows and come up with a common working plan.

The apex court had earlier taken note of the "pathetic" condition of widows after a plea was filed in 2007 highlighting how they lived in welfare homes in Vrindavan.

It had referred to various reports filed by the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), District Legal Services Authority and National Commission for Women on the condition of shelter homes for widows in Vrindavan.

One of the reports had said that there was a lack of proper toilets and bathrooms in the shelter homes, besides poor water and electricity facilities.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India submitted the compliance report to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on December 14 last year over the trade dispute with the US over solar cells, stating that it has complied with the ruling of the multi- lateral trade body in this dispute, Parliament was informed today.

In 2015, India lost a case against the US at the WTO as the dispute settlement body of the organisation ruled that the country's domestic content requirements under its solar power programme were inconsistent with the international norms.

Domestic content stipulation for solar cells and modules under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM) programme was challenged in 2013 by the US in the WTO.

"After the WTO ruling that required India to remove domestic content stipulation for solar cells and modules in the programme, India submitted its compliance report to the WTO," Minister of State for Commerce and Industry C R Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

He said India stated in the report that it has complied with the WTO ruling in the solar dispute.

In a separate reply, he said the ministry has set up a system of grievance redressal through Twitter.

"The total number of grievances/queries received and responded from April 2016 till January 31 this year is 15,076 and 14,998, respectively," he added.

He said that the grievances or queries mostly pertain to directorate general of foreign trade, Make In India, Startup India, trademarks, copyrights, Geographic Indicators and antidumping.

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Suspense prevailed over the release of "Padmaavat" in the city tomorrow, although police have assured security to the cinema halls screening the controversial film.

Film distributors and theatre owners in Indore had yesterday agreed to screen the film after the state government assured to provide adequate security cover.

However, it is no yet clear how many cinema halls or multiplexes will screen the movie here or elsewhere in the state tomorrow.

Instead of the posters of "Padamaavat", those of Akshay Kumar-starrer film "Padman", which is scheduled to release on February 9, are visible across the city.

Theatre owners in Madhya Pradesh had last month decided not to screen filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh following large-scale protests and bandhs in several places.

Director General of Police, Indore Range, H C Mishra told reporters that it was now up to the cinema halls owners to release the movie or not.

"We will provide adequate security cover at the cinema halls that screen the movie," he assured.

"We have already assured the film distributors and cinema hall owners that law and order will be maintained during the release of "Padmaavat"," he added.

An office-bearer of central circuit cine association said, "If everything goes well, "Padmaavat" would be released in multiplexes tomorrow."



Secretary of Bhopal Cinema Association, Azizuddin, had yesterday said that within three hours of the release of the film in Indore, it would be screened in the state capital.

Of the 361 cinema halls across Madhya Pradesh, owners of 200 theatres are eagerly waiting to screen the movie, he had said.

On January 23, two days before the nationwide release of "Padmaavat", the Supreme Court had refused to modify its earlier order, which had cleared the decks for its screening. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had petitioned the apex court to modify its order and stop the release of the movie.

Meanwhile, Rajput organisation Karni Sena, which had spearheaded the protests against Padmaavat, today reaffirmed its opposition to the screening of the film. The organisation said it would stage peaceful protests against its release in Madhya Pradesh.

"As the film has portrayed the history in a distorted manner, we will continue to oppose," Raghu Parmar, state in-charge of Karni Sena, said.

"We are going to stand outside the cinema halls and request the people not to watch the movie," he added.

The film is based on the 13th century battle between Maharaja Ratan Singh of Mewar and Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met her Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and discussed ways to enhance bilateral trade, energy, defence and security ties.

Swaraj arrived here yesterday on her maiden visit to Saudi Arabia during which she will inaugurate the Janadriyah festival of the Gulf Kingdom, which is home to over three million Indians.

"EAM @SushmaSwaraj met Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel Jubeir & had an engaging discussion on deepening our strategic relationship," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

He said the discussions between the two leaders focused on enhancing trade and investment, energy, defence and security, culture and people-to-people ties.

The two leaders also discussed the regional and global situation, Kumar said.

Swaraj will also inaugurate the prestigious National Heritage and Culture Festival 'Janadriyah', at which India is the guest of honour country.

The festival, organised by the National Guard, exhibits Saudi Arabia's rich tapestry of culture and heritage.

Swaraj thanked the Saudi government for according the 'Guest of Honour' status to India at the Janadriyah festival.

Last evening, Swaraj addressed Indian community members at a reception here and spoke in length about the growing relations between the two countries, Kumar said.

Swaraj thanked the Indian community for the goodwill it has earned for the country and lauded the Indian embassy for its promptness.

Saudi Arabia is home to more than 3 million Indian people and ties between the two countries are on an upswing in the last few years especially after the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Gulf Kingdom in April 2016.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trade partner after China, the US and the UAE. The country is a major source of India's energy requirement as it accounts for almost one- fifth of India's crude oil requirement.

The volume of bilateral trade during 2016-17 was recorded at USD 25.079 billion, a slight decrease from the USD 26.71 billion in 2015-16.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and discussed steps to further intensify the bilateral strategic partnership in all sectors and to work towards each other's progress.

Swaraj, who arrived here yesterday on her maiden visit to Saudi Arabia, called on King Salman here.

"Steps to further intensify our strategic partnership in all sectors and to work together towards each other's progress came up during warm discussion," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Earlier, Swaraj met her Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and discussed ways to enhance bilateral trade, energy, defence and security ties.

Kumar said the discussions between the two leaders focused on enhancing trade and investment, energy, defence and security, culture and people-to-people ties.

The two leaders also discussed the regional and global situation, Kumar said.

A welcome sign in Hindi appreciating India's rich cultural heritage was placed at the Foreign Ministry building where Adel Jubeir hosted a lunch in honour of Swaraj.

Swaraj will also inaugurate the prestigious National Heritage and Culture Festival 'Janadriyah', at which India is the guest of honour country.

The festival, organised by the National Guard, exhibits Saudi Arabia's rich tapestry of culture and heritage.

Swaraj thanked the Saudi government for according the 'Guest of Honour' status to India at the Janadriyah festival.

Last evening, Swaraj addressed Indian community members at a reception here and spoke in length about the growing relations between the two countries, Kumar said.

Swaraj thanked the Indian community for the goodwill it has earned for the country and lauded the Indian embassy for its promptness.

Saudi Arabia is home to more than 3 million Indian people and ties between the two countries are on an upswing in the last few years especially after the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Gulf Kingdom in April 2016.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trade partner after China, the US and the UAE. The country is a major source of India's energy requirement as it accounts for almost one- fifth of India's crude oil requirement.

The volume of bilateral trade during 2016-17 was recorded at USD 25.079 billion, a slight decrease from the USD 26.71 billion in 2015-16.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz who inaugurated the prestigious National Heritage and Culture Festival 'Janadriyah' at which India is the guest of honour country.

King Salman in the presence of Swaraj inaugurated the festival which exhibits Saudi Arabia's rich tapestry of culture and heritage and is organised by the National Guard.

Speaking at the inaugural function, Swaraj thanked Saudi Arabia for according the 'Guest of Honour' status to India at the Janadriyah festival, an official statement said.

She recalled the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Saudi Arabia in April 2016 which gave strong impetus to the bilateral partnership, it said.

Swaraj added that the festival provides an opportunity to showcase and further build upon this relationship, the statement said.

"India's participation at the Janadriyah Festival provides an opportunity to showcase our strong bilateral relationship: EAM @SushmaSwaraj,", Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Showcasing the core values and traditions of India, the India Pavilion mounted on the occasion is based on the theme "Saudi ka Dost Bharat", the official statement said.

"EAM @SushmaSwaraj receives His Majesty King Salman at the India Pavilion showcasing the traditional and modern aspects of India! The Pavilion with the theme 'Saudi ka dost Bharat' is a big draw at Janadriyah," Kumar said in another tweet.

Swaraj, who arrived here yesterday on her maiden visit to Saudi Arabia, called on King Salman here.

They discussed steps to further intensify the bilateral strategic partnership in all sectors and to work towards each other's progress.

"Steps to further intensify our strategic partnership in all sectors and to work together towards each other's progress came up during warm discussion," Kumar tweeted.

Earlier, Swaraj met her Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and discussed ways to enhance bilateral trade, energy, defence and security ties.

Kumar said the discussions between the two leaders focused on enhancing trade and investment, energy, defence and security, culture and people-to-people ties.

The two leaders also discussed the regional and global situation, Kumar said.

Swaraj reaffirmed India's support to peace in the region and called for collective efforts in fighting the menace of terrorism, the statement said.

She called for taking the strategic partnership to a higher level and in a variety of sectors, it said.

Swaraj said that India's flagship programmes including 'Make in India' and 'Digital India' complement well with 'Vision 2030' launched by Saudi Arabia and invited Saudi investments in India, it added.

A welcome sign in Hindi appreciating India's rich cultural heritage was placed at the Foreign Ministry building where Adel Jubeir hosted a lunch in honour of Swaraj.

Last evening, Swaraj addressed Indian community members at a reception here and spoke in length about the growing relations between the two countries, Kumar said.

Swaraj thanked the Indian community for the goodwill it has earned for the country and lauded the Indian embassy for its promptness.

Saudi Arabia is home to more than 3 million Indian people and ties between the two countries are on an upswing in the last few years especially after the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Gulf Kingdom in April 2016.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trade partner after China, the US and the UAE. The country is a major source of India's energy requirement as it accounts for almost one- fifth of India's crude oil requirement.

The volume of bilateral trade during 2016-17 was recorded at USD 25.079 billion, a slight decrease from the USD 26.71 billion in 2015-16.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Amid reports of strain in ties between the BJP and the TDP, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said today it is a problem between the two governments which is to be resolved in Parliament and not on the streets.

He also asked the Centre to spell out a plan of action for the state with clear timelines.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) had earlier publicly voiced unhappiness over the recent Union budget not offering any special benefits to Andhra Pradesh.

"This is a problem between two governments (the Centre and the state). This is a problem on which we have to fight in Parliament and not on the streets," Naidu told his party MPs, legislators and senior leaders in a teleconference.

He demanded that a special discussion for two hours be taken up in Parliament to debate all issues related to the bifurcation (of AP) and review the implementation of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

"The implementation of promises made in the Rajya Sabha by then prime minister Manmohan Singh, and the special economic package announced by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley (in September 2016) should also be reviewed," he said.

"The Centre should clearly spell out what it has done for the state in the last four years and what it will do now. It should announce a plan of action with clear timelines," Naidu said.

On Jaitley's statement in the Rajya Sabha yesterday over AP's revenue deficit and assistance under externally-aided projects, Naidu asked, "What is this new formula (for bridging the revenue deficit) now?"



"When no formula was applied to divide the state, why a new formula now to help the distressed state?" he asked.

"It is not correct to refer only to the funding from the National Bank For Agriculture And Rural Development (NABARD) when we sought an assistance from Hudco and other agencies as well under employee assistance programmes (EAP)," he added.

Naidu directed the TDP MPs to continue the din in Parliament "even if you get suspended".

"We have converted the problems of AP into a national agenda. The injustice done to AP has become a point of debate across the country. We now have to go ahead rationally and secure our rights," the TDP chief said.

Since it was the previous (UPA) government at the Centre that committed the mistake, the onus was now on the current (NDA) government to rectify it, he said.

Notably, amid an unease in its ties with the BJP, a delegation of TDP MPs, including Union ministers Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Y S Chowdary, had met Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday.

The leaders of the two parties said the meeting was an attempt to address the strain in ties after the TDP expressed unhappiness over the Union budget not offering any special benefits to Andhra Pradesh.

Prior to it, Chowdary had played down speculation that the TDP will break its alliance with the BJP.

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Tension erupted here today over the kidnapping of three children, one of whom was found dead while the remaining two were spotted with injury marks on their bodies, police said.

According to Vinay Kumar, Deputy Inspector General of police for Magadh Range, locals staged a protest in Gevalbigha locality, setting ablaze tyres over the abduction of Tannu Kumari, Ankit Kumar and Suraj Kumar.

The three children were residents of Gevalbigha in Rampur police station area of the town and their family members had lodged a complaint at the police station yesterday after they went missing, the DIG said.

This morning, the body of Tannu (8) was found near the official residence of Vice Chancellor of Magadh University while Ankit and Suraj were found, with injuries on their bodies, near the Anugrah Narayan Magadh Medical College.

Angered over what they termed as "police inaction", the locals hit the streets, blocking traffic in Gevalbigha for a few hours before the situation was brought under control, the DIG said.

The protesters also accused a local resident Chhotu, said to be a bad character, of being behind the abductions and assault, the DIG said adding that the suspect has been arrested and was being interrogated.

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There are established channels of communications between India and Pakistan at various levels, including at the level of National Security Advisors (NSAs) to discuss operational issues such as cross-border terrorist infiltration and border management, the Lok Sabha was told today.

In this context, the NSAs met in Bangkok in December 2017, Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh said while replying to a question.

"At these meetings, the Indian side has strongly taken up the core issue of cross-border terrorism fomented by Pakistan. Strong concerns have been shared and protests registered at the incidents of unprovoked cross-border firings and support to cross-border terrorist infiltration from Pakistan," he said.

The minister said it has been made clear that the government is committed to working towards normal neighbourly relations with Pakistan and addressing all outstanding issues bilaterally and peacefully in accordance with Simla Agreement and Lahore declaration.

"However, any meaningful dialogue can be held only in an atmosphere free of terror, hostility and violence. Onus is on Pakistan to create such a conducive atmosphere. Till then, India will continue to take firm and decisive steps to respond to cross-border terrorism," he said.

Replying to a separate question, Singh said as per available information, presently 341 Indian fishermen are believed to be in Pakistan's custody.

However, Pakistan has only acknowledged the custody of 253 Indian fishermen so far, he said.

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Here is an Olympian question that Pyeongchang Winter Olympics organizer is wrestling with: to give or not to give the Samsung Galaxy phone to the 22 North Korean athletes.

Olympic Partner Samsung Electronics has donated some 4,000 Galaxy Note 8 phones for athletes and officials at the International Olympic Committee so that they can document every moment and share their memories with the world.

But the Winter Olympic Games organizer is in limbo whether giving the device that costs at least USD 1,000 to North Koreans would violate global sanctions designed to punish their government's nuclear ambitions. It's also unclear if the phones would work on networks inside North Korea.

The Galaxy Note 8 Olympic Games phone distributed to athletes is a limited edition not for sale, but Samsung's Note series are some of the most expensive available in the market.

The United Nations sanctions ban supplying or transferring luxury items to North Korea or to North Korean nationals.

The International Olympic Committee has advised the organiser that North Korean athletes can use the phone during the Olympics that open Friday but must return them before their departure.

Even after the IOC's response, the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee is still unsure what to do.

"Somebody should make a clear call but there is no one who can," said Sung Baik-yoo, the committee's spokesman. "So we have not given the phone (to North Koreans) and we cannot give the phone until we confirm this is not a violation of the UN sanctions."



The committee should also take into consideration that all athletes are to be treated equally regardless of their nationality, Sung said.

Other Olympians receive the Samsung phone upon their arrival at the Olympic Village.

The phone is one of the sticking issues that South Korea is dealing with as it conducts a careful dance of welcoming North Koreans for the Olympics to send a message of peace while trying to avoid causing any frictions with its allies worried about the North's nuclear weapons.

In order to accommodate North Korean artists arriving by sea, South Korea's government had waived its own sanctions imposed against Pyongyang that bans entrance of North Korean vessels to the South.

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Homegrown auto major Tata Motors today unveiled two concept vehicles of a luxury SUV and a premium hatchback, besides showcasing six electric vehicles in mass and personal mobility segments.

With the theme 'Smart Mobility, Smart Cities', the company's display here at the Auto Expo is focusing on intelligently-connected cities designed to offer convenience, safety, security, and efficiency to its customers.

In the passenger vehicles (PV) segment as part of the two-architecture strategy, Tata Motors made the global unveiling of the 'H5Xconcept' from the 'Optimal Modular Efficient Global Advanced' Architecture



the 5-seater luxury SUV.

It also showcased the '45X concept' the premium hatchback based on the versatile 'Agile Light Flexible Advanced' Architecture.

Speaking at the event, Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran said Tata Motors is committed to the future of mobility, specially the governments vision in the electric vehicles space.

"We are making a serious commitment towards innovation and investment in the launch of a full range of products that will connect with the aspirations of our customers," he added.

Tata Motors CEO & MD Guenter Butschek said the companys display outlines its plans for the future of Indias Smart Cities and its connected generation.

"Our...pavilion has been designed keeping the future Smart Cities and emerging market trends in mind. Our exhibits are a clear indication of our capability to meet the growing aspirations of our customers," he added.

With a view on the governments vision for all electric vehicles by 2030, Tata Motors is displaying an extended range of six EV products in personal and mass mobility segments.

These include 12m Electric Bus with a smart bus stop and passenger carriers - the Magic EV and the Iris EV. The Tiago EV, the Tigor EV and the Racemo EV were also showcased as special Auto Expo edition.

These affirm the companys endeavour to facilitate faster adoption of electric vehicles, to build a sustainable future for India, Tata Motors said.

The company also announced its new design language 'IMPACT 2.0' for PVs and for CVs, 'Premium Tough', reflecting "a sense of purpose coupled with strength and quality".

In the CV segment, the company unveiled an all-new Tata INTRA, a compact truck in small CV category in the presence of Bollywood Superstar and Tata Motors CV business brand ambassador, Akshay Kumar.

It displayed the SIGNA 4323, a 6-axle rigid truck with a 30-tonne payload and an all-new Ultra T.7, light CV based on the modular ULTRA platform and with a 1.9-meter wide cabin.

"With our new future ready and PV Architectures along with the H5X, 45X concepts and the all-new LCV, Tata INTRA represents the changing face of Tata Motors in our journey towards shaping the future of mobility in the country," Butschek said.

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Toyota Kirloskar Motor today unveiled Yaris sedan, marking its entry into the mid-sized premium car segment in the country.

Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), which is a joint venture between the Japanese auto major and Kirloskar group, will launch the sedan by April this year.

The vehicle would compete with the likes of Honda City, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and Hyundai Verna in the Indian market.

"We see high market potential with growing population of Indian middle class families aspiring for more advanced features safety space luxury vetyke and comfort," TKM MD Akito Tachibana told reporters here.

Toyota Yaris is one of the best selling vehicles from Toyota stable and is being sold across 120 countries across the globe.

"With unique features customised for Indian market and a CVT option, we hope the vehicle will strongly appeal to Indian families especially the women drivers in India," Tachibana said.

Toyota Motor Corporation Chief Engineer Takatomo Suzuki said the model will introduce new customers to brand Toyota in the country.

"We are certain that the design concept of Yaris which is inspired by actual customer needs rather than traditional ideas will exceed expectations," Tachibana said.

The vehicle comes with 1.5 litre petrol engine and various features like 7 airbags, roof mounted air vents and all wheel disc brakes.

The bookings for the model open from April, the company said.

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US President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand military parade, the White House has said, an unusual move aimed at showcasing the muscle power of the country.

A parade showcasing the military strength of a country is a common thing for many countries like China, France and India.

But there is no such annual parade in the United States, which is militarily the most powerful country of the world.

"President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defence to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation," the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

According to The Washington Post, Trump's interest in having a large-scale military parade now is likely to receive a mixed reception, especially among those who are concerned about nationalism, militarism or the president's past praise for authoritarian leaders.

The tradition stretches back centuries, but has been typically been tied to the conclusion of wars, the daily said.

The last such parade was held in Washington DC in June 1991 at the end of the Gulf War.

The parade was then held on the Constitution Avenue.

Trump now wants this to be an annual feature.

The Pentagon and the White House are exploring various options.

Such an idea first came to Trump when he attended France's Bastille Day celebrations last year.

"It was one of the greatest parades I have ever seen. It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France," he told reporters then.

"We are going to have to try to top it," he added.

The President reportedly asked for this during a meeting with his commanders and Defence Secretary on January 18.

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential.

"This is being worked at the highest levels of the military," the official was quoted as saying by the daily.

"We are aware of the request and are in the process of determining specific details. We will share more information throughout the planning process," the Defence Department spokesman Thomas Crosson said in a statement.

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The UAE may share with India its understanding about the "present position" of the Islamic State (IS) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the Gulf country this weekend, a former diplomat has said.

Talmiz Ahmad, the former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, said New Delhi was also expected to express its concerns relating to Pakistan during the visit.

He expressed the hope there would be discussions on ways to promote dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose deteriorating relationship was a matter of concern for both India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Ahmad noted that India and the UAE had signed a comprehensive strategic partnership, a key aspect of which was counter-terrorism. The present situation related to extremism and jihad was likely to be reviewed during Modi's visit.

"As you know, the Islamic State (militant group) has been defeated but they are still dangerous people. So, the UAE will be able to share with us their understanding about what is the present position relating to the IS and where they are likely to strike and what's their agenda today," he told PTI.

Ahmad said India was likely to convey to the UAE side its concerns relating to Pakistan.

"Pakistan remains totally committed to supporting extremism and violence. So it's a state-sponsored set up. That is something which is a matter of concern for not only India but for the whole region. The whole region is endangered," he said.

"Today, when you look at Pakistan, you see a very weak central government and an armed force which is totally supportive of the extremist elements. And the extremist elements seem to be above the law," he added.

He said elements such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Afghan Taliban were working very closely with each other, and the matter of concern was that some of these groups had splintered.

"And some elements of those splintered groups are supporting the Islamic State; that is a matter of further concern. I would imagine this would be something that we would look at very seriously," Ahmad said.

He also said both the UAE and India were deeply concerned about the deteriorating relationship between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and nobody seemed to be making any attempt to address issues between them.

"And this is something we have to look at. I think that India and the UAE can seriously look at these issues and discuss how we can promote confidence between the two estranged countries," Ahmad said.

He said there has to be promotion of dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

"What you (India and the UAE) can do is promote confidence-building measures," he said.

"The level of trust between the two countries is almost non-existent. The useful role would be to promote confidence between the two sides by conveying the concerns of one side to the other and see how we can put in place a platform for dialogue between them," he added.

Prime Minister Modi is visiting Palestine, UAE and Oman from February 9 to February 12.

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UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed serious concern over the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives and asked the government led by President Abdulla Yameen to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.

Guterres' statement comes after President Abdulla Yameen ordered a state of emergency in the country and gave sweeping powers to the law enforcement agencies and the military.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago plunged into a political chaos last week when the country's Supreme Court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric in a statement said, "The Secretary-General urges the Government of the Maldives to uphold the constitution and the rule of law, lift the state of emergency as soon as possible, and take all measures to ensure the safety and security of the people in the country, including members of the judiciary."



Assistant Secretary-General of the UN for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenca spoke by phone with the Maldives' Foreign Minister and reiterated the Secretary-Generals serious concern about the unfolding situation in the country, in particular the arrest of the Chief Justice.

"Jenca stressed the importance of upholding the Constitution and the rule of law, in particular the need to preserve the independence of the judiciary. He urged the Government of Maldives to release the Chief Justice and Supreme Court judges urgently," Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.

He asked the Maldivian government to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of all people in the country and to resolve the political crisis through all- party talks, which the UN stands ready to facilitate, Haq said.

The declaration of emergency and arrest of judges by Yameen has attracted world-wide condemnation which is likely to quell the ambition of the island nation to be elected as non-permanent member of UN Security Council later this summer.

Indonesia is the other country in the race.

"Given the backlash that Maldives is facing from across the world in the aftermath of the declaration of emergency by its president," UN observers said.

However, the Permanent Representative of Maldives to the UN, Ali Naseer Mohamed, still has hopes.

"The Maldives hopes to get elected to the Council at the election to be held in June this year for the term 2019 to 2020," he told a meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.

"We will bring fresh views to the Council, and lead the discussions in finding innovative and long-term solutions to these emerging issues," he said.

"We believe that creating an accountable, transparent, and a coherent Security Council is a clear way to lead this Organisation into the 21st century," Mohamed told the powerful Security Council, which has 15 members.

Maldives has never been elected as members of the Security Council.

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The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (Monusco) today urged a fair trial for an army officer who deserted and is accused of rebellion.

"We are calling for the holding of a fair trial for Mr (John) Tshibangu," Monusco spokeswoman Florence Marchal told a press conference in Kinshasa.

She added UN human rights officials were following Tshibangu's case closely, but that in the absence of access to all the details on his extradition last Monday from Tanzania they could not determine if all procedures had been followed correctly.

RDC Defence Minister Crispin Atama Thabe said last Friday that former army colonel Tshibangu faced rebellion charges and accusations he took up arms against his country.

Justice Minister Alexis Thabwe Mwamba said Wednesday the 48-year-old had been extradited and would face "a trial in good and due form... in a few weeks or months".

Tshibangu deserted to rebel against President Joseph Kabila in 2012. In a video posted on social media on January 18 he said he would "remove" the president within 45 days unless he apologised for a crackdown that left at least nine dead following a December 31 street protest, according to UN figures.

Kabila, in power since the assassination of his father Laurent in 2001, is at the helm of a regime widely criticised for repression and corruption in a mineral-rich but strife- plagued nation.

He was due to leave office in December 2016 in line with the constitution, but the next elections have been postponed to December, sparking unrest.

Florent Geel, Africa director of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), told AFP ahead of Tshibangu's extradition that "we do not endorse this man's armed struggle, but there's a risk of physical harm if he is extradited to DR Congo".

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More than 180,00 students did not appear for Uttar Pradesh board examinations on the first day following the strict measures initiated by the Yogi Adityanath-led government to check copying in the exams.

The UP Board examination for class 10 and class 12 commenced yesterday and will continue till March 12.

"On the first day of examinations yesterday, over 1,80,826 students did not appear. It included over 53,100 high school and over 127,000 intermediate students," Deputy Director Education Vikas Srivastava told PTI.

An Education Department official said this number was due to the number of measures initiated by the state government, including installation of CCTV cameras in exam halls and using STF and local intelligence to check activities of education mafia.

A total of 66,37,018 students were registered to appear in this year's UP board exam. These include 36,55,691 appearing for class 10 exams and 29,81,327 students for class 12 exams.

In Hardoi, 11,141 students--3,065 of high school and 8,076 of intermediate--were absent, in Azamgarh 8,842 students--6,754 of intermediate--were absent, Jaunpur 6,330 students--4,516 of intermediate--and Gonda 6299 students--4376 of intermediate--did not appear for the exams.

In Firozabad, 5,214 students were absent, Mainpuri 4,922, Hathras 5,567, Moradabad 6,034, Gorakhpur 4,193, Sant Kabir Nagar 5,160 did not appear for exams.

Last year, the overall pass percentage for Class 10 was recorded at 81.18 per cent and in Class 12, 82.62 per cent students were declared successful.

Over 60.61 lakh candidates--3.4 million for Class 10 and 2.6 million for Class 12 were registered for the high school and intermediate exams in 2017.

However, due to strict measures 594,000 candidates left the exams and 1,862 examinees were caught copying.

With a view to clamp down on cheating in the state board examinations, the state government this year took help from the Special Task Force (STF) and local intelligence agencies to keep an eye on the "education mafia".

The objective was "copying free examinations" and preventing the education mafia from doing mischief, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said.

He said the government had taken the help of the STF and local intelligence agents in doing away with education centres infamous for mass cheating. The number of examination centres have also come down from over 12,000 to 8,500.

The deputy chief minister, who also holds the portfolio of the secondary education department, had made it clear that no unfair means would be tolerated and anyone found copying or promoting it would be dealt with strictly.

"We have studied all the possible ways and means of unfair means during the examinations. Those appearing in an exam impersonating someone else or involved in changing answer sheets before they reach evaluation centres will not be able to do so. Effective measures have been taken," Sharma told PTI.

The measures to prevent cheating include frisking students before they enter the examination halls, dividing centres in sectors, appointing administrative officers as sector magistrates and issuing prohibitory orders within 100 metres of the centre.
The US is shifting combat and intelligence-gathering aircraft to Afghanistan as part of an intensified focus on the Taliban, now that the campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria is winding down, the commander of coalition air forces in Afghanistan said today.

Air Force Maj Gen James Hecker told reporters at the Pentagon in a video teleconference from Kabul that on February 1 the US Central Command officially designated Afghanistan as its "main effort," supplanting the counter-Islamic State campaign in Iraq and Syria. Central Command is responsible for all US military operations in the broader Middle East as well as Central Asia.

Hecker emphasized the importance of increased support from US intelligence agencies, whose analysis and expertise help the military identify targets to strike.

"This behind-the-scenes legwork allows us to hit the Taliban where it hurts most, whether it's command-and-control ... or their pocketbooks," Hecker said.

He said the US now has 50 per cent more MQ-9 Reaper drones providing intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in Afghanistan, compared with last year.

He said the US also has added A-10 attack planes and will be adding combat search-and-rescue aircraft. Even as the US adds air power, the size and capabilities of the Afghan air force are growing, Hecker said. The Afghans are now conducting more strike missions than the Americans, he said.

"We are putting unrelenting pressure on the enemy these days," Hecker said, with a goal of compelling the Taliban to reconcile with the government. That goal has been pursued by US commanders in Afghanistan for much of the past 16-plus years, without success.

Hecker acknowledged that air power alone is unlikely to do the trick.

"You're not just going to bomb them into submission," he said. "But it is another pressure point that we can put on them," in addition to ground combat operations led by the Afghan army and special operations forces.

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The United States has asked Pakistan to expel terrorists, especially the Taliban leaders, operating from terror safe havens within its soil, a top Trump administration official today said.

"We've had a number of discussions with our Pakistani partners on expectations for change and expelling terrorists from areas in which they've been allowed to operate," Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan.

He was responding to questions from lawmakers expressing concerns over Pakistan's approach fighting terrorism.

"They (Pakistan) understand what we expect...Our suspension of security assistance continues until we see more evidence that they are in fact taking action," Sullivan said.

He said the US has been in discussions with Pakistan but there has been not a "sufficient amount of action" from it against terrorists.

Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, supported the South Asia Policy of the Trump administration.

"This administration has rightly drawn a clear line with Pakistan, suspending security assistance of over a USD billion as long as Islamabad continues to shelter Haqqani, and other terror groups that target innocent civilians, as well as the US and allied forces," he said.

Corker had blocked the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan during the previous Obama administration.

He said this "pointed approach" is designed to confront Pakistan's "duplicity" and its actions to provide safe harbour to the "greatest threat to our efforts in Afghanistan".

Last month, the Trump administration had suspended nearly USD 2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan because of its inability to take actions against terror groups.

Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said such a policy might not work.

"Does the administration really believe that a simple suspension of security assistance is going to bring about a lasting commitment by Pakistan to drop support for the Afghan Taliban or the Haqqani Network. It hasn't before," he said.

"We've tried it several times over the past 16 years. I have little confidence that such behavioural change is coming. So are we prepared to do more to elicit the behavioural change we want or is this just more about the same?" Cardin asked.

Sullivan said the Trump administration may consider lifting the suspension, when it sees decisive and sustained actions from Pakistan to address the US concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory, without distinction.

"The US is committed to doing our part to reduce tensions in the region in ways that address Pakistan's legitimate concerns," he said.

Sullivan said the US opposes the use of terrorist proxies by any country against another country anywhere in the world.

"The use of terrorism has no place in a rules-based international system. We hope the Pakistanis will also help to convince the Taliban to enter into a peace process," he said.

Sullivan told lawmakers that it was the assessment of the US that Pakistan has not done enough to expel elements of the Taliban that have been operating in sanctuaries in Pakistan and easily able to cross the border into Afghanistan.

Pakistan, he said, certainly have the ability to urge the Taliban to do come to the peace talks.

"What we believe they do have the ability to do also is to expel them from sanctuaries in their country. They may not be able to actually drive them to the negotiating table, but they can help and they can eliminate sanctuaries in their country where they currently operate," he said.

Noting that Pakistan has suffered grievously from terrorist attacks, Sullivan said what the US is looking for from Pakistan is more support against terrorist organisations.

"I understand it's a delicate balance for Pakistan. We want to do all we can to support them in that effort, and we have provided an enormous amount of assistance, monetary and otherwise, to the Pakistani government.

"What we're looking for is an indication from them, more support directed at those outward-focused terrorist organisations," he said.

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US bombers have struck multiple Taliban targets in a new air offensive over the past four days in far northeastern Afghanistan near the China and Tajikistan borders, the Southern Command said today.

The strikes hit Taliban training facilities in Badakhshan province, "preventing the planning and rehearsal of terrorist acts," the Southern Command said in a statement.

The bombing also destroyed vehicles that it said the Taliban took from the Afghan National Army and were turning into vehicle-born explosive devices.

The strikes were carried out in part by a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress, which dropped 24 guided munitions.

The Southern Command, which oversees US military activities in the Middle East and Afghanistan, said it continues to carry out strikes against the Taliban and its support networks in Helmand Province in the south of the country as well.

Strikes and raids by US and Afghan forces "have resulted in the removal of more than $30 million of Taliban revenue since the campaign began in November, 2017," the Command said.

US Defense Secretary James Mattis, defending the 16- year-old war in Afghanistan in a hearing by the House Armed Services Committee today, said that the new US strategy of training and advisory support to local troops has the strong backing of NATO allies helping the effort.

The number of allies in Afghanistan has actually grown to 41, he said.

"They're there because they believe in the strategy, which means the Afghan boys continue to carry the load for the fighting, but now with advisers that bring the NATO air support and fire support to bear to help them.

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The Trump administration's move to suspend its security aid to Pakistan offers opportunities for the US to advance its interests in South Asia, according to a former national security council official.

This includes reducing US "reputational exposure" to Pakistan; minimising security assistance as a mutual irritant in the relationship; signalling US' seriousness to India and China; stepping up pressure for action against the Haqqani Network; and presaging tougher policy action in other domains.

"Securing even these modest gains depends on the administrations ability to carry out a more disciplined policy process and messaging campaign, carefully manage risks to the US mission in Afghanistan, and adopt a public posture that does not undermine those Pakistani elites who are trying to use this moment to spark a debate about Pakistans own choices and the future it is making for itself," said Joshua T White, who served as director for South Asian affairs at the National Security Council in the Obama administration.

White is currently a non-resident fellow in the Foreign Policy programme at the Brookings Institution.

In a policy paper released by the Brookings Institute, White said it is unrealistic to expect that pressure on Pakistan can serve as the primary policy fulcrum for shifting the balance of power in Afghanistan.

Critics, he said, have argued that the decision was poorly executed and will prove insufficient to change Pakistans "strategic calculus" toward its neighbors.

These critiques, while persuasive, may overestimate what the administration intended to achieve from the announcement and underestimate its willingness to pursue a longer game in South Asia, he said.

According to White, securing even modest gains is far from guaranteed. It depends on the administrations ability to manage a disciplined policy process and messaging campaign.

The January announcement raised real questions about whether this is possible under a president who relishes political disruption, he said.

If, on one hand, President Trumps brash rhetoric becomes a recurring feature in the relationship, it will close off space for any practical cooperation or real concessions by Pakistan, the former Obama administration official argued.

If, on the other hand, various departments within the US government feel that they have a free hand to subtly countermand the president's guidance (the Defense Departments public messaging has been notably muddled) it may diminish any wider value that might be found in the security assistance decision, he said.

White said realising these gains also requires that the US carefully manage risks to its mission in Afghanistan.

"Were Pakistan to cut off ground or air lines of communication, US defense planners would scramble to secure alternate routeseach of which would almost certainly be considerably more expensive, or more restrictive, than the current access that Pakistan permits," he said.

Trump likely began laying the groundwork for alternatives through Central Asia when he spoke with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in December and hosted Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the White House in January, he noted.

The administration, he said, also ought to be realistic about the ways in which taking a tougher line with Islamabad might complicate its own larger political objective in Afghanistan by disincentivizing Pakistans efforts however flawed to bring the Taliban to the peace table.

In the policy paper, White argues that the success of any incremental strategy will depend in part on the administration's ability to demonstrate that it wants to retain open channels to understand and, as appropriate, address Pakistans legitimate political, security, and economic concerns in the region.

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The top US diplomat overseeing arms sales said today she sees keen interest in American weaponry in Asia, where China's military footprint and political influence are surging.

Ambassador Tina Kaidanow was part of a large US delegation to the Singapore Airshow, the largest in the region, and urging Southeast Asian governments to purchase U.S.-made arms like the F-35 fighter jet.

Two F-35B fighter jets, belonging to the US Marine Corps and made by Lockheed Martin, made their debut Tuesday at the air show. The jets can take off from a short runway and land vertically.

"It's been great, really great. A lot of interest in the region and in doing business here," Kaidanow told The Associated Press.

"We've seen a number of companies, small and large, and I want to encourage them both," she said.

Apart from supporting American jobs, the US intends to help its regional partners beef up their security, she said.

The Trump administration in December outlined a new security strategy that emphasizes countering China's rise and reinforcing the US presence in the Indo-Pacific region, where Beijing and Washington accused each other of stoking a dangerous military buildup.

More than 170 American companies were exhibiting at the Singapore show, using close to a third of the exhibition space according to a release from the US Embassy. The show features over a 1,000 participating companies from 48 countries.

Among US weaponry on display were F-16C fighter jets, the US Navy's P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and an F/A-18 Super Hornet, a fighter aircraft made by Boeing.

Steve Over, who leads the international sales team at Lockheed for F-35s, said the US, Israel, Japan and South Korea militaries have invested $60 billion in the fifth-generation jet, which has an advanced sensor suite and the ability to sneak up on enemies without being detected.

"He has the skin of stealth so no one can see him, and yet he sees everything that is in the battle space. We network these airplanes together so they communicate with each other at very high bandwidth, much like high bandwidth internet in your home," Over explained.

The Singapore show's commercial dealings period ends Friday. Then, it will open to the public.

Analysts said that large aircraft orders are unlikely, given the current backlogs of leading manufacturers.

Airbus has a backlog of over 2,000 planes in the Asia- Pacific region alone. Chicago-based Boeing Co. has a total backlog of 5,864 planes.

"The combination of large orders already placed by Asian airlines in recent years, combined with large order backlogs mean that Asia-Pacific airlines wishing to place new orders face long waiting times for new deliveries," said Rajiv Biswas, the Asia-Pacific Chief Economist at IHS Markit.

Washington has been wooing countries like Vietnam, a former foe, with arms sales and transfers at a time when China has reinforced its territorial claims in the South China Sea with extensive construction projects on man-made islands.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Trump administration today imposed sanctions against three individuals allegedly linked to Pakistan-based terror networks as it called on the Pakistani government to deny sanctuaries to "dangerous" individuals and organisations.

The US Department of Treasury designated the trio as "global terrorists" for their links to terror outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and The Taliban.

This has been done as part of our efforts to disrupt South Asian terrorist support networks, the Treasury said.

The three include Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan.

As a result of today's designation, all property and interests in property of the trio subject to US jurisdiction are blocked and the US citizens are prohibited from engaging in transactions with them.

"The Treasury continues to aggressively pursue and expose radicals who support terrorist organisations and run illicit financial networks across South Asia," said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

He said they were targeting operatives who provide logistical support, improvised explosive devices and other technological assistance to Al-Qaeda, LeT, the Taliban and other terrorist groups.

"This is part of this administration's broader efforts to disrupt terrorist fund raising, and we call on the Pakistani government and others in the region to work with us to deny sanctuary to these dangerous individuals and organisations," Mandelker said.

Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad (Rahman Zeb) was designated for providing financial, material, or technological support for, or other services to or in support of LeT, a UN and the US designated terrorist organisation based in Pakistan.

He was an LeT operative who for several years was responsible for collecting funds and running a network for LeT in the Gulf.

In early 2016, Zeb coordinated fund transfers with a Pakistan-based LeT facilitator. As of mid-2014, he was a long-standing contact of LeT members involved in Afghan operations, and was also involved in business activities with an LeT commander responsible for the group's operations in Afghanistan, the Treasury alleged.

Additionally, in mid-2014, Zeb facilitated travel for Fazeel-A-Tul Shaykh Abu Mohammed Ameen Al-Peshwari (aka Shaykh Aminullah) from Pakistan to the Gulf.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had in July 2009 designated Aminullah for providing material support to Al-Qaeda, LeT and the Taliban.

Hizb Ullah Astam Khan (Hizb Ullah) was designated for acting for or on behalf of Aminullah.

As of 2016, Hizb Ullah facilitated support for Aminullah and served as a financial official of a Peshawar-based madrassa that was co-founded by the latter.

As of early 2015, he provided assistance to Aminullah during latter's travel in the Gulf.

Hizb Ullah also facilitated Aminullah's travel in 2013 to the Gulf.

He previously worked for Aminullah as an improvised explosive device (IED) expert in Kunar province in Afghanistan, where he deployed IEDs targeting Afghan and coalition forces.

During that time, Hizb Ullah was involved with shipments of IED precursor chemicals supplied from Pakistan to Afghanistan for the US-designated terrorist groups, including the Taliban and Jama'at ul Dawa al-Qu'ran (JDQ), The Treasury alleged.

Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan (Dilawar) also was designated for acting for or on behalf of Aminullah.

He acted as Aminullah's assistant responsible for handling his accommodations in Pakistan and relaying his messages.

Dilawar has also facilitated funds transfers, including international transactions, on behalf of Aminullah.

In 2014, he facilitated travel for Aminullah within Pakistan, as well as to the Gulf.

In 2013, Dilawar was one of the leaders of the Ganj Madrassa, which the OFAC designated in August 2013 for being controlled by Aminullah and for providing financial and material support to LeT and the Taliban, alleged the Treasury.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A task force created by the Trump administration is looking for ways to expand internet access in Cuba and warning that the island's government uses online restrictions to stifle dissent.

The group held its first public meeting at the State Department today.

US officials say Cuba has one of the world's lowest internet penetration rates and that high access costs make the internet too expensive for most Cubans.

The task force includes government agencies and outside groups. It will make recommendations for increasing connectivity and enabling internet freedoms.

Cuba has protested the creation of the task force and accuses the US of using internet manipulation to achieve what the Havana government calls "subversive political ends.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Washington will soon unveil its "toughest and most aggressive sanctions" ever against North Korea, US Vice President Mike Pence said today after talks with Japan's prime minister in Tokyo.

"I'm announcing today that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea," Pence said alongside Shinzo Abe after talks on the threat posed by Pyongyang.

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A court in central Vietnam sentenced an activist to 14 years in jail Tuesday for livestreaming fishermen marching to file a lawsuit against a Taiwan-owned steel plant's spill of toxins into the ocean.

Following a trial by the People's Court in Nghe An province that lasted half a day Tuesday, Hoang Duc Binh was convicted of abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the state, organisation and people and opposing officers on duty, lawyer Ha Huy Son said.

Fellow activist Nguyen Nam Phong was given 2 years in jail for opposing officers on duty.

During last February's livestream on Facebook, Binh commented that the fishermen were stopped and beaten by authorities. Son said Binh told the court that he made the comments, but he denied committing a crime because what he said was true.

The court said his comments were untrue and slandered authorities.

The US was "deeply troubled" by the two activists' convictions and sentences "under vague articles" of the law, State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said in a statement from Washington.

The USD 10.6 billion steel complex owned by Formosa Plastics Group, which includes a steel plant, a power plant and a deep sea port in Ha Tinh province, discharged toxins such as cyanide and phenol during a test run in April 2016.

It killed massive amounts of fish and other sea life along more than 200 kilometers (125 miles) of coastline, devastating fishing communities and tourism in four central provinces. The plant owner has paid USD 500 million in compensation.

The chemical spill, one of the country's worst environmental disasters, sparked rare protests.

Despite economic reforms three decades ago that opened up the communist-ruled country to foreign investment and trade, making it one of fastest growing economies in the region, the one-party state maintains tight control on all aspects of life including the media and has zero tolerance for dissent.

Eight people have been convicted and given prison sentences for spreading propaganda against the state over the past month.

International human rights groups and some Western governments have criticised Vietnam for punishing those who peacefully express their views. Hanoi maintains that only law breakers are punished.

Nauert, in the US reaction to Tuesday's convictions, said the trend of arrests and harsh sentences for peaceful activists in Vietnam was "very concerning" and called on Vietnam to release all prisons of conscience immediately.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi High Court today threatened to stay the AAP government's move to procure 1,000 low-floor electric buses instead of standard-floor CNG buses, if it does not have an action plan to provide parking space for the vehicles.

"Will these 1,000 buses fly in air," a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar asked the Delhi government and the Delhi Transport Corporation, after noting that purchase orders were issued without finalising a plan for parking space.

The court demanded a timeline from the Delhi government on its move to procure the 1,000 low-floor electric buses instead of the standard-floor CNG buses proposed earlier.

Stressing on the need for low-floor buses, the bench said: "We will not let this exclusivity (against handicapped persons) to persist in Delhi."



On an apparent lack of a plan to park the buses proposed to be procured, the court said: "We are unable to understand what would be the fate of these buses."



It told the Delhi government that ensuring parking space was "not like buying buses or potatoes".

"Land is something you cannot manufacture. So the concern should not be the cost, but optimal use of the land," the bench said after the government and the DTC said they have the space to park the buses and there was no need to build multi- level parking facilities as they were not economically viable.

Unconvinced by the government and the DTC's claims, the bench asked the Delhi chief secretary to "forthwith" convene a meeting of high-level officials and to place before the court an action plan on the nature of parking spaces, their design, the timeline within which the construction would be completed and their location.

The bench said it wants the action plan by February 28, the next date of hearing, and failure to do so would result in a stay on the tender as well as the initiation of contempt action against the officials concerned.

"We will then ensure decisions are taken," it said.

The court said its job was "not to run the government, ensure buses are bought and parking space is constructed".

"It is very painful for us to push for decision making," it said. The court was hearing a PIL by Nipun Malhotra, who suffers from a locomotor disability and has challenged the AAP government's move to procure 2,000 standard-floor buses at a cost of Rs 300 crore.

During the hearing, advocate Aman Panwar, appearing for Congress leader Ajay Maken, who has moved an application for more buses in the city, said that while the Supreme Court- appointed Environment Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) has recommended building of multi-level parking spaces, the government and the DTC were opposed to it.

The government and the DTC defended their stand, saying that multi-level parking spaces were not cost-effective and that they were examining the EPCA's 2016 report recommending such structures.

This prompted the bench to remark that it was told that the master plan for Delhi was amended to include multi-level parking on the 2016 recommendation of EPCA, but the government was only now examining the issue.

On the issue of procurement of additional buses for the city, the bench observed that no efforts have been made by the government on the issue and told it to put its house in order.

The Delhi government has taken the stand that it did not procure more low-floor buses from Tata or Ashok Leyland, who had initially supplied them, as these companies "jacked up" the annual maintenance costs of these vehicles.

To this, the bench remarked: "We do not want trumped up difficulties. You cannot maintain a Mercedes for the cost of a Maruti."



Advocate Jai Dehadrai, appearing for petitioner Malhotra, said Tata and Ashok Leyland have taken the stand that they increased the maintenance costs as the buses were carrying more passengers than they were expected to.

During the previous hearing, domestic bus manufacturers Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland had refuted the Delhi government and the DTC's claim that they were quoting "unrealistic and unreasonable" rates for low-floor buses.

The two manufacturers had told the court that the Delhi government has not floated any tender for procurement of low- floor buses since 2013-14.

They have also told the court that DTC's global tenders floated last year for 2,000 buses did not meet Indian standards, let alone international parameters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Madras High Court today directed a lower court to complete the trial within three months and dispose of a case of rape and murder of a woman constable pending for over six years.

Justice M S Ramesh gave the direction while allowing a petition from P Mariammal, the mother of the deceased, Jayamani.

The petitioner had submitted that on August 23, 2009, her daughter, while returning home after duty, was offered a lift by the accused, Shankar alias Jaishankar at Adhiyur.

The accused took the woman, against her will, to a burial ground and when she attempted to escape, he attacked her with a weapon, the petitioner had submitted.

After she fainted, the accused raped and murdered her, the petition had alleged, adding that he also took a gold chain and other valuables of the victim.

Subsequently, the case was transferred from the district court in Coimbatore to the District Sessions and Mahila Court in Tiruppur in 2012.

However, till date, the accused was not produced in court regularly for trial and the case was still pending, the petitioner had submitted.

P Chandrasekaran, the petitioner's counsel, contended that more than eight years had passed since the heinous crime.

He also alleged that the police had not cooperated during the trial by producing the accused in the sessions court regularly.

It was painful to note that the police had shown such a lethargic attitude in conducting the trial of one of their colleagues, who was brutally raped and murdered for gain while she was on duty, the counsel added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A court here today extended till February 11 the police custody of Rajani Pandit, said to be the first woman detective of the country, who was arrested for her alleged involvement in illegal procurement of call detail records (CDRs).

Pandit was presented before Judicial Magistrate First Class S L Gupta, who extended her custody till February 11.

The crime branch had sought the extension of Pandit's custody, saying it needed to interrogate her further in connection with the case, DCP (Crime) Abhishek Trimukhe said.

Pandit (54) was arrested by the Thane Crime Branch officials on February 2.

According to the police, Pandit's name had cropped up after four private detectives, arrested earlier in connection with the case, had revealed her alleged involvement.

The case against the four private detectives was that they were illegally procuring CDRs from some persons in neighbouring Mumbai and selling them for money, the police had said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Facing flak for imposing emergency, the Maldives said today that it was done to address certain "internal aspects of governance", and invited its development partners and representatives from international organisations to visit the country to assess the situation.

Maldivian foreign ministry issued a statement, saying that the government wishes to assure the international community that despite imposition of emergency, no curfew has been imposed and general movement of people, services and businesses will not be affected.

The State of Emergency addresses certain internal aspects of governance and affects mostly the capital island Male, and not tourist resorts, tourist islands and tourism in general, the statement said.

"The Maldives would like to invite its development partners and representatives from international organisations and associations to visit the Maldives to assess the situation in the Maldives and witness the safety and security of Male, for their own citizens as well as to engage with the government and key stakeholders in the country," it said.

It also said that life in the Maldives continues as normal with all places of work, businesses, schools, government and social services, travel, including all domestic and international airports, and leisure facilities all remaining fully open and operational.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday last when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

The nine political leaders included Nasheed.

The Yameen government refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Following clashes and protests, the Yameen government imposed the emergency, evoking concerns from the international community.

While India and China issued travel advisories, the US asked the Yameen government to abide by the SC decision.

However, late last night Maldives' Supreme Court revoked the order to release nine high-profile political prisoners.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By Tim Hepher and Brad HaynesSINGAPORE/SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Boeing said on Wednesday there are still issues to address before a partnership can be agreed with Brazil's Embraer SA, stressing the price must make sense as outlines emerged of a deal that may give the U.S. planemaker control of the Brazilian E-Jet program."Our talks continue to advance in a productive manner but there are key issues that remain," Phil Musser, Boeing's senior vice president of communications, told Reuters."As noted on our earnings call this is a winning combination, but it is not a 'must do' for Boeing. The final ...
Bangladesh's central bank will file a lawsuit against a Philippines bank for its role in one of the world's biggest cyber-heists two years ago, a deputy governor said on Wednesday. Unidentified hackers stole $81 million from Bangladesh Bank's account at the New York Fed in February 2016, using fraudulent orders on the SWIFT payments system. The money was sent to accounts at Manila-based Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) and then disappeared into the casino industry in the Philippines. "Bangladesh Bank will file a lawsuit in a New York court within two to ...
By Alistair SmoutLONDON (Reuters) - Britain cannot tell businesses for certain what its relationship with the European Union will be after Brexit, business minister Greg Clark said on Wednesday, as ministers met to discuss the government's approach.Businesses want more clarity from the government over what Britain's trade and customs arrangements with the European Union will look like after it leaves the bloc in 2019 so they can take investment decisions with some certainty.Prime Minister Theresa May, who is meeting senior ministers to discuss the government's strategy, is under pressure to ...
SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday that it wants to list its Japanese telecoms unit this year, a move towards completing its transformation from a domestic telecoms upstart into one of the world's biggest technology investors. SoftBank said it started preparations to list shares of its core Japanese telecoms unit, SoftBank Corp. The company flagged last month that it was considering listing the business, seeking to raise a reported $18 billion. SoftBank has long relied on its domestic telecoms business, which makes up a third of overall sales but two-thirds of profit, as a ...
In the bid for debt-ridden Bhushan Steel, Sajjan Jindal's JSW Steel has emerged as the front runner, leaving Tata Steel at the second spot. According to banking sources, JSW has offered to take over around Rs 28000 crore debt of Bhushan, in addition to infusing Rs 1000-1500 crore as working capital.



"They (JSW) submitted a comprehensive plan detailing the turnaround. They look to cut costs of electricity, logistics and raw materials for making Bhushan profitable," he says.

The Committee of creditors are evaluating all the proposals and contemplating the options of taking more participations to fetch better value for the stressed asset. The bid submitted by the consortium of employees of Bhushan is expected to be rejected as it doesn't prove its financial back up. Also, the resolution professional and the committee of creditors suspect the role of promoters Singhal family in forming the consortium, say sources.

The media reported that Tata Steel submitted a Rs 24000 crore revival plan. Hindu Business Line reported about the chances of ArcelorMittal coming back to the race for Bhushan though they did not tender their resolution plan until the last day of submission.

Business Standard reported that the lenders asked LN Mittal, chairman of ArcelorMittal, to clear the Rs1340 crore debt of KSS Petron, the Kazakhsthan com pany which defaulted the loan in India. Mittal owns 33 per cent stake in its parent company. ArcelorMittal plans to sell its 29.1 per cent stake in another loan defaulter Uttam Galva today for meeting the eligibility criteria to bid for stressed assets.

The resolution professional of Bhushan has asked a set of queries to JSW Steel, including its partner in the bid Ajay Piramal-led Piramal Enterprises' role.

Share price of Bhushan jumped 14 per cent yesterday after speculation on JSW's bid price came to the market.

Economic Times reported that Union Bank of Indiaand Bank of Baroda (BoB) plans to sell the Bhushan Steel loan to Acre ARC, owned by SSG Capital, at a 50 per cent haircut.
Mahindra and Piramal Groups may buy a portion of beleaguered Subrata Roy's Sahara Aamby Valley project in Pune, which is under the liquidation process initiated by the Supreme Court. The apex court on Wednesday told the official liquidator and receiver of the Sebi-Sahara case that the saleable property of Aamby Valley should be auctioned till April 19.

Darius Khambatta, the lawyer for the official liquidator, told the Supreme Court that the two business groups, Mahindra and Piramal, have shown interest in buying a certain portion of the property, reported PTI. The SC in November had ordered a fresh auction of the luxury resort town, Aamby Valley. A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices Ranjan Gogoi and AK Sikri had also asked the official liquidator of the Bombay high court to take the help of the receiver and ensure the Aamby Valley properties were properly auctioned.

In April 2017, the Supreme Court had ordered to initiate the auction for the property in October, after two companies of the group, Sahara India Real Estate and Sahara Housing Invest Corp, failed to refund Rs 24,029 crore raised from over 29.6 million investors along with an interest of 15 per cent. In October, Sebi approached the apex court seeking contempt proceedings against the Sahara Group for obstructing the auction process by allegedly suspending day-to-day business activities in the project.

ULTRA-LUXURIOUS PROJECT


Ministry of Finance told the Central Information Centre (CIC) that it does not have information on Vijay Mallya's loans from different banks, following which it was rebuked by the CIC. The CIC that handles complaints regarding Right to Information cases told that ministry that this response was "vague and not sustainable as per law".

It all began when one Rajiv Kumar Khare filed an RTI seeking details of Mallya's loans. As he did not receive a proper response, Khare appealed to the CIC.

Khare revealed that the finance ministry told him that information about Mallya's loans were exempted under RTI Act clauses related to personal safety and prejudicial effect on the economic interest of the State. The ministry official mentioned that Khare might, however, be able to find the same information from the banks.

Chief Information Commissioner RK Mathur said, "The respondent (the finance ministry official) further stated that the said information was not available with the ministry. He stated that the information sought by the appellant might be available with the banks concerned or Reserve Bank of India," as mentioned in a Times of India report.



The same ministry had, however, answered questions about Mallya's loans in the Parliament in the past. Union Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar responded to a query on Mallya's loans in March 2017 and stated that a loan was given to him in September 2004, which was reviewed in February, 2008. He also added that the Rs 8,040 crore loan was declared as a non-performing asset (NPA) in 2009.

The Chief Information Commissioner asked the ministry to transform Khare's application to the public authority that has that information.
An inaugural keynote by the prime minister of the world's biggest democracy, India's Narendra Modi; the closing keynote by the President of the world's most powerful democracy - Donald Trump of the US; interim sessions of the four-day event graced by other world leaders - French President Emmanuel Macron, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, British PM Theresa May, Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Jordan's King Abdullah. The 2018 edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is the world's biggest gathering of CEOs, heads of states, economists and do-gooders, couldn't have been any grander.

In many ways it was India's Davos though. For the first time in history, the prime minister of India delivered the inaugural keynote. This was the first time an Indian prime minister attended the WEF after H.D. Deve Gowda did nearly two decades ago. The 120-member CEO delegation was also the biggest India had ever sent. CII's Deputy Director Ajay Khanna, a WEF attendee for nearly three decades, says the average size of an Indian CEO delegation has never exceeded 30-50. This time, including the prime minister's entourage, bureaucrats, five ministers and their teams, the Indian presence comprised nearly 300-400 people. Add to that executives of Indian origin from around the world, and every sixth attendee was an Indian. This year's gathering was unique in one other way. For the first time in the WEF's four-decade history, the forum had an all-women chair, including an Indian Chetna Sinha of the Mann Deshi Foundation that works extensively in the area of women empowerment and upliftment.

Vicious weather greeted the delegates at Davos for the 72 hours preceding the inaugural. Nearly four feet of snow, the worst in over two decades, caused widespread disruption and traffic jams across this small ski resort town. It even forced PM Modi to take the road route from Zurich airport instead of the helicopter he was supposed to take when he landed from Delhi in Air India One.

But WEF founder Klaus Schwab dug into his experience of holding the event for over four decades to allay fears of a snow-out by predicting a bright and sunny event. And so it was. The sun extended brightness and warmth on January 23, as the inaugural got underway with an impassioned invocation of Indian ethos, culture, principles and ambitions by PM Modi.

Delivering the speech in chaste Hindi and invoking the oldest Upanishad, the Isha Upanishad, Modi began by discussing the theme of this year's WEF 'Shared Future In a Fractured World', but then displayed the full breadth of his oratory covering the widest possible array of issues. He quoted the Upanishads, as he does so often, saying Indians consider the world as one big family.

For the global community he outlined: India has removed red tape in favour of red carpet; India is safe and will do everything to make foreign investors feel at home. Taking a dig at the world's fears in doing business with China, Modi asserted that India has no history of exploiting other people's resources and so doing business with India is good for other nations.

For the comity of nations, he had two messages: one, a call that global institutions need to reform and become more inclusive and democratic to let countries such as India find their rightful place in them. He was obviously using the platform of the world's biggest gathering of global CEOs to tell the world why the UN and the Security Council need to reform and expand. But he was clearly also referring to other global institutions as well.

Second, he took a higher ground and said that humanity faces three big challenges: climate change, terrorism and reverse globalisation.

On climate change, he again invoked the Upanishads saying they teach us to treat the earth as our mother and that humans cannot afford to be in conflict with mother nature; on terrorism he attacked the concept of 'good terrorist' and 'bad terrorist' and called it unacceptable. On globalisation, he warned protectionism and economic nationalism have reversed the trend of globalisation, and that global trade needs to be increased instead.

And finally he had a message and a challenge for Indians and India Inc. He set the target of $5 trillion GDP by 2025 - an ambitious goal that requires India to nearly double its economy in eight years. Modi expressed confidence that if we can do that, Indians will be job givers, forget about being job-seekers: another ambitious goal for a country struggling to create enough jobs within the economy. That was a comment for detractors who have criticised his nearly four-year-old government for jobless growth.

Several epitaphs have been scripted about the declining interest in the event at Davos; however, Schwab and WEF have bounced back with renewed vigour each time round. They managed to do it this year, too, just as everybody had been questioning how much bigger the WEF can get after Chinese president Xi Jinping and his entourage enthralled the alpine ski resort last year.

Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce and Industry

"Not concerned about economic competition, but about doubling farmers' incomes" While addressing his session 'India's Role in the World', Minister of Commerce and Industry, Suresh Prabhu, said India wasn't really competing with China on economic growth. Instead, it was concerned about doubling farmers' incomes in the next five years. When noted journalist Fareed Zakaria, who moderated the session, asked the minister how India planned to beat China in near term, Prabhu said: "We are not in competition with any other country in the world. India is growing at close to 8 per cent and by this rate it would be a $5 trillion economy in just a few years. We are not very much concerned about economic competition, but how to double farmers' incomes in the next five years. Economic growth of 8 to 9 per cent in India will be a reality soon." Speaking on archaic labour laws, land acquisition and massive logistics costs in the country, Prabhu said: "For the first time, the government has created a logistics department in the commerce ministry and the department is working to make logistics 100 per cent digitalised to make sure logistics cost is down." When a panellist asked whether India has any plan to introduce quota for women-owned business in the government contracts to promote them, the minister said: "Instead of giving reservations to women, we should empower them to earn on their own. If all the women in India get only minimum wage, the GDP of the country will rise by 1 to 1.5 per cent."

Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas

"We are working towards balancing our requirements"

Speaking at a session on 'The New Energy Equation', Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, said India has focussed heavily on renewable energy sources and will achieve its aim of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022. He, however, acknowledged that India's consumption of petroleum will remain high and it will be dependent on oil for several years to come. "Next 20 years, India will be depending on conventional sources of energy - fossil fuels and hydrocarbons. As we are a growing country, I am sure our requirements will grow, and we are working towards balancing our requirements," he said.

"Our per capita consumption is very low and we will continue to depend on imports...my expectation as a consumer would be that the prices should not pinch our domestic economy. The producing country should look into the interests of the consuming country. We should have more capex in exploration and production area," Pradhan outlined.

Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Coal and Railways

"We have to look at energy efficiency in a bigger way"

Speaking at a session on 'Strategic Outlook: Energy Systems', Union Minister of Coal and Railways, Piyush Goyal, emphasised that India had committed to pursuing clean energy options despite the costs involved and that India will be part of every global effort to promote energy conservation and addressing climate change "irrespective of what other countries may do".

"In countries like India that are still emerging, 80 per cent of the population does not own a vehicle as yet. And we would love them to have a first vehicle which is electric. So, in some sense, we are not duplicating investments first into the petroleum-driven vehicles and then into electric vehicles," Goyal said.

On the country's dependence on coal, Goyal said: "There will have to be a balance. We'll have to look at energy efficiency in a bigger way to bring down consumption, and more efficiently manage whatever consumption is there through the time of day, so that the dependence on fossil fuels based energy is reduced."

@rajeevdubey
CAMEROUN :: Cameroon, Make it plain: On Escaping your Inner Mental Prison

It is without saying that the state of affairs in Cameroon denote the reality that the independence of the country does not mean the independence of its people because the independence we have been experiencing so far is causing us more harm than good.

In practice, it means the difficulties to develop capacities for individuation, self-determination and autonomy. This has to do with the kind of institutional and political infrastructures the country has inherited from the colonial masters and the kind of political subjects being produced. The problem is that many Cameroonians pretend to be apolitical. They pretend no to care about what is going on in Yaounde. Nor do they see that if you do not get your politics right, you can lose your liberty. Democracy is no accident. You have to protect it from those who would take your freedoms away to increase their own power.

Precisely, what happens when fighting oppression is not over because the crucial change in structures of oppression has, after, seven decades of independence, has yet to take place. This, partly because on the ongoing pathological relationship between the colonized and the former colonizer. The nagging feeling of self-rejection rather than analyzing with an open eye and courage the legacy of colonialism in the country. This crucial lack of engaging colonial legacy has generated a long list of insecurities and a mental prison of our making. Indeed, the idea of political prison does not serve the public in Cameroon. It is part of a continuing chain of social violence and it does not offer justice to anyone. I understand that many people believe as you do that offenders should be hanged, but the social cost of that attitude and practice is enormous, and as I said, it serves no one.

Thus, being in prison does not simply have a physical dimension. As a matter of fact, many human right activists, such as the Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, to say the least, have shown that some people in prison might be more free than the ones wandering aimlessly outside. These heroes helped us to make the difference between prison and inner mental prison. Thus, in a regime running on the deprivation of personal freedom, there is the necessity for introspection, self-reflection and self-discovery. Hence, the untrained mind is a prison that entraps us within a maze of thoughts, beliefs, and concepts. As Gandhi said, A man is but a product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes. When we allow the mind to control us, it creates a mental prison that defines all aspects of our existence. Thus, as they say, there are those who watch the bars and those who look at the roof. As the Chinese Proverb, when the wise man points at the moon, the imbecile examines his fingers.

In Cameroon, it means finding ways to break out the mental cage the Biyas regime have us imprisoned into.

It begins with a reminder that we cannot just put politics over as we cannot put politics over common goodness and kindness. Thus, never back down from these values and even be willing to die for them as Dr. Martin Luther King said,  If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, he isnt fit to live.  Indeed, there is something in a universe that justifies the biblical writer in saying,  You shall reap what you sow.  This is a law-abiding universe. This is a moral universe. It hinges on moral foundations. If we are to make of this a better world, we have to go back and rediscover that precious value that we have left behind. Indeed, we shall know the truth, and the truth shall make us free because the mind is a terrible thing to waste.
| BY Ricki Green |

Award-winning design and motion studio, New Holland, has appointed internationally-awarded producer, Sophie Gibson, as the new EP of its Sydney team.

Gibson, originally from France, brings a wealth of experience from across the globe, having worked across the full spectrum of production. Most recently, Gibson led post-production projects at Framestore, MPC and B-Reel, New York with previous roles as producer at FINCH and Luscious in Sydney.

Gibsons work has been recognised at multiple creative festivals, including Cannes, Adfest and D&AD, where she won a coveted Black Pencil. Her experience has spanned all types of projects, including traditional TVCs, digital content, web series, websites, design, CG, animations, VR, experiential, as well as projects involving new technologies.

Says Gibson: I always felt it would take something special to fill that career gap after leaving New York. Im thrilled to have been given this opportunity to support Brendan and the team at New Holland build on whats been an incredibly productive two years. New Hollands service offering is second-to-none, with a full spectrum of graphic design, concept development, CG animation and project supervision, all adding up to a beautiful folio of work. But I truly believe the beating heart of any truly creative business is its culture. One filled with energy, passion, generosity and, in this case, an obsession with craft  and my new home is brimming with it.

Grounded as a creative entity, New Holland has been established as a studio specialising in motion design for clients in advertising, broadcast, branding and feature film.

Says Brendan Savage, creative director and founder of New Holland: Having just celebrated our milestone 2nd birthday, we couldnt have imagined a better way to continue our expansion than welcoming in an EP of Sophies caliber. In her short time at New Holland, Sophie has helped lead projects ranging from commercials, to events, to identity branding and some direct-to-client pieces, all of which she has embraced with her genuine passion for creativity and drive to continually make the work better. No doubt that comes from working with some of the best in the world. In fact, Sophies time in New York has already opened up doors in the US market, so we are seeing the weight of her experience pay off.
| BY Ricki Green |

To celebrate the upcoming Australian Release of Tomb Raiderstarring Alicia Vikander OMD, Isobar and Roadshow Films are inviting Australians to take part in Raid The Tomb, where they will walk into Lara Crofts shoes, solve puzzles and uncover a hidden tomb for their chance to win a Cape Town adventure for two.

Australian audiences will be invited to unearth a series of puzzling enigmas across outdoor, press and digital. They will need to solve each challenge to reveal the location of the hidden tomb and the riches inside.

OMD worked collaboratively with Isobar to create this immersive and rich media experience for Roadshow Films to build hype and excitement ahead of the reboot of this popular franchise. The integrated campaign allows players to enter Lara Crofts world with ease; on the bus, on their lunchbreak or reading their Saturday paper.

Launching the campaign is Alicia Vikander with a personal recruitment call to Australians. Across the two weeks, Laras supporters will find physical clues, social games and audio encouragement.

Says Michael Punton, associate creative director, Isobar: Gamifying digital and traditional mass mediaand having them work in tandemlets us engage with a broader audience to introduce the new world of Lara Croft in a seamless way. Players get to know the new Lara Croft while experiencing the fun, tactile, puzzle-solving nature of the Tomb Raider franchise.

Says Emma Ray, account director, OMD: Partnering with Isobar to release this film has enabled us to tell a unique story through media which will weave seamlessly with our brand messaging. Were able to leverage the strengths of each channel to engage consumers and really bring Lara to life.

Says Age Conte, product marketing manager, Roadshow Films: We are very excited about reintroducing the Tomb Raider franchise to Australian cinemagoers. Its been a long time since the Angelina Jolie days, and times have changed. Alicia Vikander is awesome as the modern-day Lara Croft, so we wanted to do something extra special to bring her to the attention of our diverse audiences. We developed an innovative idea that would engage fans and would-be fans; mixing media and digital to breathe new life into one of cinemas most iconic female action heroes.

The first puzzle will launch on 6 February at the Croft Holdings Facebook Page here.

RoadShow Films

Age Conte: Product Marketing Manager

Lachie Mackay: Product Marketing Executive

Julia Reed: Digital Media Executive

Isobar Australia

Creative Director: Alberto Talegon

Associate Creative Director: Michael Punton

Senior Art Director: Holly Langford

Senior Copywriter: Luke Falkland-Brown

Senior Designer: Augusto Jacquier

Senior Account Manager: Amy Sinclair

Senior Producer: Veerle Verlooij

Producer: Jessica Fletcher

Strategy: Rebecca de Hennin

Technical Lead: Andrew Bednarz

Front End Developer: Farah Abdi

Quality Assurance Specialist: Rajani Gunda

OMD Australia

Emma Ray: Account Director

Nicky Barton: Interactive Account Manager
| BY Lynchy |

Bolstered by an increase in market share and new partnerships with Tesla, UBER, and the AFL, Thrifty has engaged Y&R Sydney to lead its brand refresh. The addition of Thrifty sees Y&Rs relationship with NRMA extend beyond Motoring and Services to now include Car Rental.

Says Y&R Sydney managing director Sasha Firth: This is an exciting time for Thrifty and we are looking forward to working with them to bring the brand to life. Unfortunately, this does mean that our long-standing relationship with the Avis Budget Group must come to an end. We have been proud of the work we have done to date and wish them well.
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The ACT's cash-strapped Director of Public Prosecutions office will get nearly $1 million to help seize criminal assets, the ACT government has announced ahead of its mid-year budget update. The Canberra Times revealed last September Canberra prosecutors did not have enough funding to cope with a "significant increase" of work related to proceeds of crime seizures. That was despite securing more than $1.8 million for the territory in the last financial year. ACT Attorney-General Gordon Ramsay said the DPP would receive an extra $970,000 over two years to employ three more prosecutors and an extra staff member to help seize criminal assets. He was confident he extra resources would meet the demand from increased referrals from ACT Policing. "This extra funding we have allocated for the DPP complements the extra resourcing ACT Policing has allocated to address criminal gangs," Mr Ramsay said. "By allowing greater capacity to confiscate criminal assets that are identified through ACT Policing investigations, we are ensuring that offenders won't benefit financially from their criminal activities." The DPP has been beset by chronic staff shortages over the past year. ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Jon White, SC, said he could only spare two prosecutors, part-time, to deal with the rising number of criminal seizures. Meanwhile ACT Policing's bikie busting taskforce was last year given an extra $6.4 million for eight more staff, including a forensic accountant to probe criminals finances. Last financial year, ACT prosecutors seized properties worth a combined $1.1 million as proceeds of crime. About $720,000 in cash, cars and other property was also forfeited to the territory. Another $1.8 million worth of real estate, cash, vehicles and other property is now subject to a restraining order, a precursor to the seizure of the assets.

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The citizens' jury that will decide the future of the ACT's compulsory third party insurance has come under fire, after an independent report raised concerns that the autonomy of jurors had been undermined. Research by Australian National University Associate Professor Dr Ron Levy found the ACT government's framing of the existing CTP scheme favoured abandoning the status quo, possibly undermining "the key rationale of creating a citizens' jury as an arm's-length decision-making body". Canberra Liberals' leader Alistair Coe said Dr Levy's report cast a shadow on the idea of deliberative democracy. "The fact that the citizen's jury was not properly conducted is an insult to the people who participated in good faith. Like on many issues, the government tried to manufacture its preferred outcome," Mr Coe said in a statement. "The government has tarnished deliberative democracy through this process and Canberrans will rightly be sceptical of any future process undertaken by this government." Dr Levy said the close involvement of expert decision makers in the jury's deliberation stages risked undermining the autonomy of jurors, and jurors did not have enough time to get a good grasp of the subject matter. The research was prompted by questions from the ACT Law Society, but was conducted independently of it. ACT Law Society president Sarah Avery said they "had long been concerned about a number of aspects of the jury process". "These concerns include that vital information was not made available to the jury and that the information that was provided was selective," Ms Avery said (although Dr Levy found there was insufficient evidence to rule whether information provided to jurors was incomplete or misleading). "The Law Society is sadly not surprised that many of those concerns have been validated in the independent expert report undertaken by Associate Professor Dr Ron Levy. The ACT Law Society remains of the view that CTP is too important an issue to be dealt with in a flawed, pilot process." A spokesman for ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said Mr Barr "reiterated his confidence in the citizen's jury process, pointing to recommendations made in the research that the concept of a citizen's jury is a worthwhile exercise". The ACT Greens also remained supportive of the jury. Greens crossbencher Caroline Le Couteur said given what she had seen unfold during one of the information sessions, she believed the jury would come to a verdict unswayed by any preconceived ideas of what the scheme should be. "The Greens have been very supportive of citizen's juries and we remain very supportive of this one in particular. I note the main finding of the review that the planned series of citizen's juries was worthwhile and should be continued and we're totally on board with that," Ms Le Couteur said. "I went to a half-day session and it was really impressive. I wouldn't have written the introduction to it but be that as it may the people [were] exposed to all points of view and it hasn't been prejudged. The only thing that's been prejudged is that it's been a worthy topic for a citizen's jury. "We do however note the comments that were made about how the citizens' jury was sold, if you want to use that word, to the people of Canberra. We did have some early concerns this wasn't the most exciting topic for a citizens' jury and I think possibly that is reflected in how the government felt it needed to be sold." The stakeholder reference group and the jury will meet for the final time next month. A model will be chosen later this year. The ACT government vowed to uphold the decision of the jury.

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Liberal senators Lucy Gichuhi and Jim Molan are just two of the newcomers to the Senate after the unprecedented spate of forced retirements and resignations since the last federal election. There have been 13 (17 per cent of senators) so far with more to come shortly. Most of them were caused by section 44 of the constitution. Some, like Fraser Anning, Andrew Bartlett, Peter Georgiou and Jordan Steele-John are already sitting in the chamber. Some more, like Kristina Keneally and Richard Colbeck, are still working their way through the system and will arrive in Canberra soon. George Brandis will also shortly be replaced. This frenetic turnover undoubtedly has some upside, as many of the newcomers bring real quality and varied experience. But it also has a serious downside. The new senators' personal characteristics and the potential change in the balance between supporters and opponents of the government are only part of the story. The rise and fall of political parties in the Senate is another consequence, as is increased inexperience in the chamber. But the two main issues are the way in which the connection between voters and those senators they chose directly at the last federal election has been broken, and what the replacements reveal about the internal factional processes that are business as usual for political parties. These matters are specific to the Senate, as there is more transparency to House of Representatives processes. First, public by-elections are held for the House when MPs need to be replaced and, second, preselection processes are more transparent at the local electorate level than they are at the state-wide Senate level. Just who ends up in the Senate often emerges from a black box known as internal party politics. Gichuhi and Molan are examples. Gichuhi, the Kenyan-born senator from South Australia whom Malcolm Turnbull warmly welcomed, and Molan, the outspoken former army major-general from NSW, have arrived by circuitous routes. Gichuhi replaces Bob Day, the Family First senator, and entered the Senate in April 19 last year after Day was ruled to have contravened section 44 through his business dealings with the government. She was the next Family First candidate at the election and so was next in line. Almost simultaneously, the Family First Party was taken over by Cory Bernardi's Australian Conservatives Party, but Gichuhi declined to join that party and sat as an independent from May 2017, after just two weeks as a Family First senator. She announced recently she had joined the Liberals, restoring in a round-about way the SA seat the Liberals lost when Bernardi defected. But all this happened without anyone asking SA voters what they thought. They are the losers. Gichuhi has acted like a free agent since she was overtaken by events beyond her control. Molan replaces the Nationals' Fiona Nash, formerly a minister and deputy party leader. In NSW, the Liberals and Nationals run a joint ticket, but that is not taken into account by electoral law so the Nationals effectively lost that seat to the next candidate on the joint ticket. She happened to be a Liberal, Hollie Hughes, who was also ruled out by the High Court for having taken an office of profit under the Crown since the election, a patronage position as a member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Next in line was Molan, who comes not just from a different party from Nash but from a different Liberal faction from Hughes, such is the lottery of the NSW Liberal-National ticket, which is the product not just of inter-party but inter-factional negotiation. All of that has been overturned and it is Nationals' voters in NSW who have lost out. Other cases illustrate the same general points. Among the smaller parties, Malcolm Roberts' replacement, Fraser Anning, left One Nation after a record short period to sit as an independent. One Nation voters lose out. The departing Greens' senators have been replaced by those next in line on their respective party tickets, but it still means that new senators emerge who are scarcely known to voters. Among the larger parties, the factional nature of Senate tickets and replacements is emphasised. The speculation about who would replace Sam Dastyari centred on the NSW Labor's right faction because that is where the decision was made. It was Keneally, the former NSW premier, who got the nod over her NSW right competitors. In the Queensland LNP, factional infighting between moderates and conservatives has already begun as Brandis' replacement is discussed within the party. An unintended consequence of the rash of Senate replacements is the light thrown on both the constitutional provisions for mid-term senate appointments and how political parties work. It is hard to see how the system can be changed, but it magnifies the disconnect between voters and the electoral process, and throws light on the process by which party tickets are assembled. The minor parties are fragile entities and subject to a lot of infighting and coming and going between elections, as developments in One Nation, Family First and the Nick Xenophon Team showed recently. The major parties are more stable but often subject to bitter left-right factional infighting behind closed doors. Democracy is strained to breaking point by all these goings on, which contribute to the declining trust in and respect for government, which has now become dangerously pervasive. John Warhurst is an emeritus professor of political science at the Australian National University.

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An advocate with the Florida Commission on Ethics has found no evidence to substantiate any violation of law by a former Cape Coral official accused of failing the report gifts and disclose potential conflicts of interest as required by state statutes.

Advocate Elizabeth A. Miller accordingly recommends that the Commission board formally find no probable cause on each of four complaint allegations filed against former mayor Marni Sawicki by then sitting Cape Coral City Council member Richard Leon.

Sawicki said Tuesday the recommendation was welcome, but expected.

Im relieved, she said via a phone interview. I knew I did nothing wrong.

Miller reviewed a Report of Investigation completed Oct. 27, 2017 and a subsequent Supplemental Investigative Report completed Jan. 9 in making her no probable cause finding.

Gifts accepted in the course of a relationship with cohabitation or the anticipation of cohabitation, need not be reported, Miller stated.

In addition, to establish a violation of state statutes pertaining to the solicitation or acceptance of gifts accepted by a public official three things must be proven: 1) That the person is a public officer, employee or a candidate for nomination or office; 2) that the person receiving the gifts solicited or accepted something of value including a gift, loan, reward, promise of future employment, favor or service and 3) that such solicitation or acceptance was based on an understanding that the item or items of value would influence an official vote, action or judgement.

While Miller found that at one point in time the gift-giver and his company met the legal definition of a vendor, the items in question  including jewelry, use of a vehicle and a condominium rental  There is no evidence that (Sawicki) solicited the gifts or that her acceptance of the gifts was based on an understanding that her acceptance of the gifts was based upon an understanding that her vote, official action or judgement would be influenced.

Whats more, as the two lived together as a couple from December 2014 until November 2015, and anticipated to do so shortly before, Sawicki was not required to report jewelry received during that time, the advocate opined. State statutes exempt gifts received from family members, which by definition includes any natural person having the same legal residence as the public officer or employee, the advocates recommendation document states.

The next step is for the Commission on Ethics Board to review the advocates recommendations and determine whether to accept them. That determination is expected at the state agencys March 9 meeting.

The 50-plus page complaint that alleged Sawicki did not properly report gifts received during the relationship and that she also failed to disclose possible conflicts of interest, was filed by Leon in August of 2016.

After the issue was brought to his attention, Leon first brought the question to the then-sitting City Council. When Council indicated it was more a matter for the state, Leon sent the complaint to the Florida Commission on Ethics for its review, he has said in previous interviews.

He also is glad the matter is apparently nearing its end point.

I understand where the state is coming from and what its decision is, Leon said via telephone Tuesday. Its unfortunate it had to be drug out this long, but Im glad they were able to finally get answers to the questions I posed.

Still pending is a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, which as of Tuesday afternoon, remained active, according to FDLE officials.

Sawicki said she expects a similar outcome.

I know it will come back fine because I didnt do anything, she said of the FDLE probe.

Sawicki said she believes the FDLE investigation is an offshoot of the Ethics complaint.

Leon said he filed no criminal complaint with the agency and has no knowledge related to the FDLE matter.

Sawicki previously notified the city, and Leon, that she would seek reimbursement for her legal fees if no violations were found.

Editors note: This story has been updated to include quotes from the parties.
Iloura and Method Studios, two vfx companies owned by Deluxe, have announced that they will unify under a single brand: Method Studios.

The combined team now has offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Vancouver, Los Angeles, New York, Pune, Chicago, and Atlanta, and it will continue producing work across a wide range of platforms including features, television, design, advertising, and immersive experiences.

Iloura, which has a 30-year production history in Australia, won a 2016 vfx Emmy for its work on Game of Thrones and has worked on two recent Oscar-nommed vfx films: Mad Max: Fury Road and Deepwater Horizon. The studio also worked on the recent Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Thor: Ragnarok. Notably, the studio has done a fair share of cartoon-oriented cg, including the Spongebob characters in The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water and the titular character in Seth MacFarlanes Ted films.
There is a growing need for digital animation that fits with Japans unique animation production pipeline. The country celebrated 100 years of animation last year and its anime industry, which is largely 2d, posted record-breaking revenue in 2016 of over 2 trillion yen (around USD$17.7 billion).

In order to thrive for another century and meet the rising demands for original content, Japanese studios need software solutions that create traditional pencil-and-paper quality work, while respecting their artists process and culture.

Buoyed by global blockbusters like Makoto Shinkais Your Name, the perennial popularity of Studio Ghibli and an insatiable international culture fed by subscription video-on-demand services like Netflix and Hulu, anime is at a juncture. Tokyo-based studio DART Shtajio knows this and was searching for a digital solution to create its latest short, The Doll. Founder Arthell S. Isoms research brought him to Toon Boom Harmony.

DART Shtajio was founded in 2016 by Isom, an American background artist who moved to Japan 12 years ago. He and his right-hand man, animation director Henry Thurlow, both use the traditional Japanese process to create anime. Sensing a change in the industry, the pair began looking into the digital animation software that others in Japan were using.

The future is digital in Japan; theres no avoiding the situation, says Thurlow. In five to ten years, everybody will be digital.

They both knew Toon Boom Harmony as the industry-standard 2d animation software in North America and were well aware that OLM in Japan used it for Pokemon, but they wanted to see its benefits for themselves. DART Shtajio needed an affordable digital solution that could reflect the quality of the paper and pencil work they were doing, while respecting the Japanese process  and culture  they did it in.

Japanese animators have a system for passing the papers around the room and getting everything checked by the right person before moving to the next phase, says Thurlow. I didnt know if that would work digitally, but we have recreated the process in Harmony.

In order to meet the needs of Japanese studios, Western digital 2d animation solutions must emulate and empower this unique paper and pencil pipeline instead of trying to erase it. For The Doll, Toon Boom partnered with DART Shtajio for training, production assistance, and the creation of special custom scripts that would allow Harmony to digitally replicate the Japanese process.

The Doll was written by Isom and produced by DART Shtajios team in Toon Boom Storyboard Pro and Harmony. The anime is themed around freedom and expression, following an artist who recently lost his job and purpose. It explores how far he goes to  literally  bring his vision to life. In total, eight artists worked on the project including four key animators, three secondary animators, and one animation director. They were largely trained and mentored in Harmony by Toon Boom director of customer success Marie-Eve Chartrand over a two-week period in their offices.

I was surprised by how well they took to Harmony and Storyboard Pro, recalls Chartrand. When I started training the team, there were many exclamations like, This is better than RETAS!, Where has Harmony been?, and I wish I was taught this in school!. They also shared strong positive opinions on many of Harmonys key features, including the palette and camera functions.

Chartrand adapted existing scripts to allow Harmony to better emulate the Japanese animation process. This paved the way for the artists to not only continue making traditional-quality animation, but to create the work they have always wanted to with the added power of Toon Booms digital tools.

You cant just change character design and have it immediately look like anime  animation is done differently in Japan, says Thurlow. Artists here follow different steps to achieve animes aesthetic, which is why not changing the Japanese pipeline is crucial. We had to confirm Harmony could create authentic Japanese anime using the Japanese system, which is the difference between trying to mimic anime and actually being anime.

Creatively and visually, The Doll was a huge success. Isom notes that if artists do frame-by-frame animation in Harmony, it replicates the results of paper and pencil. DART Shtajios team used Toon Booms digital tools for exceptional traditional-quality results, including the train sequence at the beginning of the film.

Nowadays, most studios just use 3d computer [animation]  to traditionally animate a moving vehicle is rare, says Isom. Youd see that in a lot of old Japanese animation and it would actually differentiate their work.

Beyond the artistic advantages, there were innumerable practical benefits to using Harmony instead of paper to animate The Doll. Throughout the process, Toon Boom served as a creative and production partner to the studio.

Through production assistance, Toon Boom helped DART Shtajio apply the concepts we taught them and thats when everything started to make sense, says Chartrand. There is always a learning curve, especially transitioning from a traditional paper pipeline, but when they saw the speed gain and all the flexibility with the tools, they were able to take their creativity to the next level.

Among the other production benefits that came with using Harmony for Japanese anime were confirming motion during animation, easier editing and in-betweening, and skipping the scanning and cleaning-up step. Isom also espouses the programs coloring system.

Harmonys color profile system is amazing. You can color all the frames and change them just as easily by switching the palette; Flash cant do that. We did everything in-house, so this made it easier to make color adjustments along the way, he elaborates.

Other key features included Harmonys brush and pencil drawing tools, ink and paint, color selection, cropping and cutting during clean-up, hand-drawn effects, and the ability to import 3d objects.

We wanted to see Harmonys compositing features for Japanese animation and if it could do frame-by-frame animation well, says Isom. Cleaning, coloring, and inking has to be done in Harmony  nobody does it better.

As DART Shtajio prepares to release The Doll, a second volume has already been planned that will follow the titular character as she confronts her own existential crises. And while the anime short may have been produced entirely and solely by DART Shtajio in Harmony, each stage of the production pipeline could have been segmented and performed by a different studio, as is often customary in the Japanese process. That said, as Isom reinforces, the essential first step is learning the software.

Reflecting on his experience transitioning from traditional to digital animation, Isom says, Japanese studios want to streamline their systems. My advice is: It doesnt need to be utilized right now, but if you invest in learning the tools of the future today, when the industry is ready, youll be able to maximize the returns.

He continues, Once other studios have learned to use Harmony, they will see there are benefits beyond the color palette and paperless drawing systems. Theres so much more.

To learn more about Toon Boom Harmony, visit the Toon Boom website.
What other country in the world considers/or has considered/or has changed the wording of their National Anthem?

We are going to strive to become so politically correct until our backbones will deteriorate into mush.

If one mans vote counts so much why does my vote also not carry weight? What if my dying wish was that the Anthem should stay as it is?

Politics has become a focus on a lot of foolishness in the eyes of the common person.

Ron Posein
Many years ago, I worked for a private insurance company in Alberta. Already, back then the company required mandatory visual inspections on all vehicles 10 years old, or older. Other than brand new vehicles, all that wanted glass insurance, had to have a quick visual as well.

Any physical damage to the vehicle, or the glass was noted at the time of insuring, any previous damage would be deducted from any future claims. Glass damage had to be repaired and re-inspected, in order to get glass insurance. Body damage if repaired, also had to be re-inspected so as not to be deducted from any future claims.

ICBC does not have any vehicle visually inspected, other than those from out of province, prior to issuing physical coverage on vehicles. Let's say you just bought an older vehicle that has a cracked windshield and maybe a dented fender or two. You just take your bill of sale in, with the signed registration from the owner and presto, you can buy full coverage on that vehicle. Up the road, you can get yourself a new windshield by paying your deductible, or if you're in an accident that happens to receive damage to the same area that was previously damaged, you get it completely fixed. That's if they don't write the vehicle off. Also, during these visual inspections, important simple safety features were inspected, such as signal lights, tail and brake lights etc.

I would imagine that millions of dollars per year are spent by ICBC on glass and physical damage claims. How many of those involved previous damage? How much money was spent replacing previously damaged glass, or repairing preexisting damage?

It just seems like a very simple solution to part of the problem. A quick, visual inspection, before issuing physical insurance. Alberta has been doing this for years! I realize it's only a very small part of the problem, but isn't it a no brainer?

Laura Sali


Photo: City of Kelowna

New transit routes will be introduced in September, connecting Glenmore and UBC Okanagan with downtown Kelowna and Orchard Park.

The routes will coincide with the expected completion of John Hindle Drive at the end of July.

Council has approved a transit plan for the Glenmore-UBCO area, which includes an enhanced version of the second of three options presented to the public in October.

"I am really pleased ... all the benefits they were looking for ... came together in the enhanced plan. You achieved a win-win with that solution," praised Coun. Gail Given.

New routing scheduled to begin in September includes:

Route 6. Originates from downtown as it does today. Service frequency is increased over today, providing all day and some weekend service. Introductory summer service would be added to the route for the first time.

A new local route, the No. 18 Glenmore-downtown. It would follow the current routing of the downtown leg of Route 7. Combined with Route 6, it would provide as frequent a service as is provided today.

New local route, the 19 Glenmore-Orchard Park. It would follow the routing of the current midtown leg of Route 7, providing slightly less frequency than is in place between Glenmore and midtown today.

Route 4. It would be restructured to provide service to the west extent of Sexsmith Road, and up and over Academy Way, serving this growing student housing hub.

"Collectively, these routes would retain a similar level of population and employment within reach of transit services, while including more students in the overall catchment," said transit service co-ordinator Mike Kittmer.

"Preliminary costing by BC Transit indicates the Glenmore-midtown service package will require about 2,000 to 3,000 service hours annually. Final service hour requirements will be confirmed after detailed schedules are developed in the coming months."

Kittmer says the remaining service hours would be used to maintain a high quality of service on the remainder of the transit network, particularly on core transit routes.
Photo: Contributed Clothing with Independent Soldiers' logos, found in connection with the arrest of Donahugh McWhirter and Brittany Stinn.

A man police described as a veteran Independent Soldier gang member pleaded guilty to several drugs and weapons charges Monday, more than three years after his arrest.

Donahugh McWhirter, 46, was arrested with his girlfriend, 28-year-old Brittany Stinn, in Kelowna on Jan. 29, 2015.

At the time, police said the arrest was a year in the making, after the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. learned the Independent Soldiers were recruiting new members for a planned resurgence.

"An investigation began with the goal of both targeting this veteran IS member's alleged criminal activity, which was reported to include drug, violence and weapon-related offences, and disrupt the possible resurgence of the IS in the Okanagan," police said at the time.

On Monday, McWhirter pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine and MDMA for the purpose of trafficking, along with unlawful possession of a shotgun and rifle while he was prohibited.

Police said at the time that three large boxes of clothing with the Independent Soldiers logo were found in a Lake Country house in connection with the arrest.

McWhirter will be back in court on May 28 for a three-day sentencing hearing. Stinn's matter is still before the courts, and she'll be back in court on May 28.

The pair have been out of custody on bail since their arrest.

Police have been dealing with members of the Independent Soldiers in the Okanagan back to 2006.

Independent Soldier James Riach was in the same SUV as Jonathan Bacon when Bacon was shot and killed in Kelowna in August 2011.

In March 2017, a 26-year-old man with a large Independent Soldiers tattoo was found dead near Vernon.
Photo: File photo A winter storm warning has been issued by Environment Canada, with up to 50 centimetres of snow expected west of Revelstoke.

Highway 1 is about to get another big blast of winter.

A winter storm warning has been issued by Environment Canada, with up to 50 centimetres of snow expected from west of Revelstoke, through Glacier National Park and into Kicking Horse Canyon.

A Pacific frontal system is spreading snow over the Central and Northern Interior, and the Columbia regions. The snow will intensify this evening and continue through Wednesday. Total accumulations of 30-50 cm are expected by Wednesday evening.

The snow will ease Wednesday night as the system moves southward and weakens.

Motorists are being urged to consider postponing non-essential travel until conditions improve.

Rapidly accumulating snow will make travel difficult and road closures are possible. Visibility may be suddenly reduced at times in heavy snow. People are reminded weather in the mountains can change suddenly, resulting in hazardous driving conditions.

Highway closures for avalanche control are expected through the same region.

Current road conditions are available at www.drivebc.ca.
Photo: Contributed

UPDATE: 8:52 a.m.

The City of Kelowna wants your help to identify potholes around the city.

Stephen Bryans, Roadway Operations Supervisor with the city, says "Due to recent freeze-thaw patterns, potholes are starting to pop up across the City. Road maintenance crews are working to fix problem areas."



Residents can help to identify potholes along roadways by using the Online Service Request System.



Bryans says the "changing weather from season to season leads to the formation of potholes, which is why they tend to be more prominent in the winter and spring when the weather fluctuates."



If you're a commuter and you want to report potholes or other issues on provincially owned highways (Highway 97 and 33), visit DriveBC and select the Report a Highway Problem option on the left-hand side.

ORIGINAL: 5 a.m.

This year could go down as the year of the pothole in Kelowna.

Hundreds, if not thousands of those pesky asphalt holes have been popping up all winter on city roadways.

Speak with Steve Bryans, the man at the city works yard in charge of filling them, and he'd prefer to talk about anything but.

"I don't want to talk about potholes," Bryans jokingly stated when contacted by Castanet about the growing problem.

"But, it's really bad this year."

Bad enough that the city's two Porta-Patch machines are working double time.

"We have two shifts on. Those porta-patchers are running from 7 a.m. until midnight right now."

The machines reuse old, or unused asphalt, allowing the city to make repairs year round. Other communities can only make quick repairs because asphalt plants shut down for the winter.

Bryans said just one shift was able to repair more than 2,000 potholes in 2017.

Over the first three months alone, one shift was able to repair nearly 1,000 holes.

He says the city is getting to as many potholes as it can physically repair each day.

"They're there. You don't have to look very far. Just drive down the highway."
Photo: Contributed

A snowboarder at Big White claims to have encountered a wolf on a ski run Jan. 31, but management at Big White says it was most likely just a large dog.

Conservation officers investigated after the report, in which the man says he punched the animal in the face when it lunged at him.

Conservation officer Tanner Beck says the boarder "noticed an animal on the run ahead of them ... and thought it was a dog at first and proceeded towards the animal."

As he got closer, the man yelled to alert the animal.

With the individual snowboarding, he continued towards it and when he got real close to it, it lunged at him and growled, and he ended up punching it in the face, Beck said.

The man safely continued on the run.

Conservation Officers patrolled the area the next day, but could find no evidence of tracks or other sightings.

Big White's Michael J. Ballingall said: There are dogs on the mountain that look like wolves ... there are very big husky-looking dogs on the mountain.

Ballingall said 3,700 people skied that day, with nobody reporting any incidents.

The snow is way too deep for wolves to be up there, so we dont think there is a wolf up there," he said.

Ballingall noted the bottom of the Ogoslow run is "pretty quiet" and resort staff do see bobcat and lynx there often, however, no wolf sightings have ever been reported.

"There is a gentleman who parks down there and has a very large German shepherd cross. Our security sees them all the time, as he accesses the backcountry on his alpine skis with skins. We just dont think wolves would be this high. Theres too much deep snow to access the area."
Photo: Colin Dacre

A Grade 9 student at Penticton Secondary School who was forced to wear sleeves to hide self-harm scars said the school lifted that ban on Monday.

The student signed a letter of assurance on Jan. 11 which included a requirement to "ensure that long-sleeved shirts are worn while at school" to cover her scars, in order to avoid an "unwelcome environment" for other students.

She said school officials pulled her aside on Monday to clear the air.

"They were like... 'we don't want to make you to feel like this, it was a misunderstanding,'" she said. "I guess they realized they took the wrong approach and they lifted the rule, so now anyone can wear short sleeves.

"I never held a grudge against it, I just wanted to talk to them and rearrange the whole thing. I was scared to talk to them on my own, which is what helped when I got my friends involved."

The student spoke out to friends on Friday that she was forced to wear long sleeves, almost a month after signing the letter.

That led to a group of students creating a dress code petition, which about 300 people signed in less than 24 hours.

The student added the overwhelming support for the petition has continued into this week, and said she is amazed by the response she has received.

"I'd rather me go through this than anyone else have to, because I can handle it and some people can't. So for me to be able to stand up for anyone who is going through the same thing, I honestly feel proud."
Photo: Clayton Warkentin Clayton Warkentin was convicted last week of killing his mother.

Two years after a 51-year-old woman was found dead in her Yarrow home, her son has been convicted and sentenced for the death.

Clayton Jacob Warkentin, now 21 years old, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder on Jan. 30 and was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 10 years last Thursday.

Police found Lois Unger dead in her home, about 12 kilometres southwest of Chilliwack, in the early hours of Feb. 24, 2016. Nine days later, Warkentin was arrested and charged in the killing.

This was a tragic incident that shocked the community with lasting effect on Ms. Ungers family and friends, IHIT spokesperson Cpl. Frank Jang said in a statement.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Contributed

UPDATE 7:17 a.m.

Condolences have begun pouring in for a Rutland teacher who has passed away suddenly.

Bonnie Gratz says "Sad day. My love to RSS students and staff dealing with the heartbreaking passing of teacher Tim Lingor. I didn't know him well, but know he was respected and will certainly be missed."

Bri Dyck says, "Mr. Lingor - thank you for giving me another example of an excellent educator. Tonight my mind is flooded with memories of the months we spent together. I am filled with sadness and also deep gratitude that I got to be your student, too. You will be remembered with love by so many kids and will be deeply missed."

ORIGINAL 5 a.m.

Rutland Senior Secondary School has announced the sudden death of one of its staff members.

A letter sent home to parents by principal Hugh Alexander said the school is mourning the sudden death of Tim Lingor.

Lingor is listed in the staff directory as a teacher at the school.

We are deeply saddened by this news. Our focus will be to support those members of our school and community who have been affected by this tragedy, states the letter.

Alexander stated the school has developed a plan and will be making announcements to their students to assist them in helping with the response.

We will do all we can to assist our staff and students who require attention and support, states the letter.

The school has accessed the support of the districts Post Critical Incident Response Team.
Photo: Contributed

UPDATE 6:35 a.m.

Revelstoke RCMP tells Castanet one person has died after a collision between two semi-tractor trailers approximately 25 kilometers west of Revelstoke on the Trans-Canada Highway.

The driver of one truck died on scene while the other driver was transported by BC Ambulance Service to the Queen Victoria Hospital in Revelstoke.

Both vehicles suffered extensive damage.

A second collision an hour later when a commercial tractor-trailer was unable to stop for other vehicles which had stopped for the original incident. This truck rear-ended another stopped commercial tractor-trailer. No injuries were reported however extensive damage was done to the first commercial truck.

The RCMP Traffic Analyst is examining the scene to determine the cause of the original accident.

The Trans-Canada Highway was closed for several hours as the incident was investigated and then the wreckage was cleared.

The RCMP continue to assist the BC Coroners Service with their investigation into the collision and the fatality.

Drivers are advised to check DriveBC for updates.

ORIGINAL 8:53 p.m.

Highway 1 is closed in both directions because of an accident.

DriveBC is reporting the vehicle incident happened 40 km west of Revelstoke, and westbound traffic is being stopped at Revelstoke.

There is no detour and the road is not expected to reopen for several hou
Photo: Emcon

UPDATE: 10:08 a.m.

Highway 1 is closed in both directions east of Golden for avalanche Control.

DriveBC reports the route should reopen by 11:30 a.m.

UPDATE 8:39 a.m.

The Trans-Canada is now open just east of Sicamous, after being shutdown for almost 12 hours overnight. RCMP have opened the highway on a staggered basis. There is a winter warning issued for the region and all non-essential travel is not recommended.

UPDATE 7:52 a.m.

The Trans-Canada near Revelstoke is expected to re-open this morning at 8 a.m. after being closed for almost 12 hours overnight.

RCMP tell Castanet there will be a staggered release of traffic, so expect heavy congestion.

UPDATE 6:42 a.m.

A winter storm warning is in effect for the Trans-Canada west of Revelstoke through to Golden. Between 30 and 50 cm of snow is expected to fall in the area. The highway has already seen several collisions. A travel advisory is in effect, non-essential travel is not recommended according to DriveBC.

ORIGINAL 5:29 a.m.

Winter driving conditions in effect on the Trans-Canada Highway if you're heading to Alberta today.

Highway 1 is closed in both directions because of a collision 5 kilometres east of Sicamous to Revelstoke.

Estimated time of opening is between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m.

Traffic analysis experts are on scene, vehicle recovery is anticipated to commence within the hour.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The fight over Alberta oil coming to British Columbia has now escalated into a wine war.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced Tuesday that the province is banning wine from B.C. wineries effective immediately.

"This is one good step to waking B.C. up to the fact that they can't attack our industry without a response from us," Notley said at a legislature news conference. "The Alberta Gaming and Liquor Control Board will put an immediate halt to the import of B.C. wine into Alberta."

She said in 2017, there were 17.2 million bottles imported  the equivalent of about 1.4 million cases  with an estimated value of $70 million per year for B.C. wineries.

"The wine industry is very important to B.C. Not nearly as important as the energy industry is to Alberta and Canada, but important nonetheless," said Notley.

"I'm also encouraging all Albertans: next time you're thinking about ordering a glass of wine, think of our energy workers. Think of your neighbours. Think of our community. Think about our province, and maybe choose some terrific Alberta craft beer instead."

Miles Prodan, president of the B.C. Wine Institute, said the estimated retail value of the wine going to Alberta is likely even higher than Notley's estimate, around $160 million.

Alberta is the most important market for B.C. wine outside of sales within our own the province, Prodan said, adding that about 11 per cent of B.C. wine sold across the country is sold in Alberta.

The group, which represents 276 wineries, is disappointed that wine has been dragged into a political tiff, Prodan said.

"We hope that cooler heads prevail, that they realize the B.C. wine industry has very little if anything to do with government policy regarding oil pipelines. To us to be used as a pawn is difficult," he said.

The $7.4-billion project, approved in November 2016 by the federal government, would triple capacity on the 1,150-km line, which runs from Edmonton to Burnaby.

It's the linchpin component of Alberta's fight to get a better overseas price for its oil, which is currently being sold at a discount on the North American market while the province racks up budget deficits over $10 billion.

Last week, B.C. Premier John Horgan's NDP government announced it is looking at rules to limit any increase in the import of diluted bitumen until an independent panel can better analyze whether the system is safe and if it can adequately deal with a spill disaster.

Horgan has said the issue is about the B.C. government's responsibility to keep the coastline and inland waterways safe.

Notley conceded the ban on B.C. wine may violate inter-provincial free trade rules, but said Alberta is moving ahead with it anyway.

"I honestly wish it did not have to be this way," she said. "We don't take this lightly. Albertans didn't want or invite this fight."

Horgan responded to the announcement by urging Alberta to "step back from this threatening position" and vowing to stand with B.C. wine producers.

"Our consultation on proposed new regulations hasn't even begun, but Alberta has seen fit to take measures to impact B.C. businesses," he said in a statement.

Horgan reiterated the provincial government's position that it has every right to consult with citizens.

"If Alberta disagrees they can make that argument in the proper venue, in our court system," he said.

The wine ban is the second trade retaliation Notley has announced. Last week, she suspended talks to buy electricity from B.C., a deal that would be worth $500 million a year to the westernmost province.

"We did play by the rules, and we secured the approval of a new pipeline to tidewater to export energy products that support tens of thousands of jobs across this country," Notley said.

"Alberta will not stand by and be the only province impacted by another province's refusal to play by the rules."

The Opposition B.C. Liberals have branded the pipeline feud a trade war and called on Horgan to "stop playing games."

"This trade spat is simply a lose-lose for everyone," agriculture critic Ian Paton said in a statement. "We have agricultural workers who are going to lose jobs and Albertans who are going to lose out on our premium wine. British Columbians shouldn't be in the crossfire of NDP governments fighting.

The federal government has control over the cross-boundary pipelines, and Notley has called B.C.'s attempt to hinder the expansion an unconstitutional attempt to get around federal approval of the project.

Notley said the federal government has tools to resolve the impasse and that she will continue to push Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on it.

"We are actively preparing measures to get Ottawa to step up and B.C. to back down," she said.
Photo: CTV

Yaletown parking spots are being removed to make way for better access for emergency responders.

Firefighters say they don't have enough space to properly respond to calls.

The move goes into effect next month, about half the spaces in a five-block area of a neighbourhood where it's already very challenging to find parking will vanish. That includes all of the diagonal parking spots on Hamilton and Mainland streets.

"We recognized that it would be unpopular and just needed time to figure out if something else would work," said Fire Capt. Jonathan Gormick. "This is a last resort, but it's a life safety issue."

The announcement comes just days after firefighters put out a blaze at a nearby chiropractor's clinic on Mainland near Nelson Street.

Mayor Gregor Robertson indicated this may not be the best way forward in the long term.

-with files from CTV
Photo: The Canadian Press

Eight organizations in B.C. are joining forces to advocate for ride-hailing in the province as soon as possible.

The Ridesharing Now BC coalition has been formed by groups including the Vancouver Board of Trade, BC Business Council, Canadian National Institute for the Blind and San Francisco-based on-demand transportation company Lyft.

A news release from the coalition says it has launched a letter-writing campaign to B.C. politicians calling for a competitive ride-hailing industry "that can deliver much-needed choice to B.C. passengers."

Supporters are directed to the website, where they can sign and email a letter to their representative in the legislature calling for speedy introduction of ride-hailing services.

Coalition spokesman Ian Tostenson says politics, rather than public opinion, is driving decision making in Victoria.

He says the government sets the conditions that will attract ride-hailing services to B.C., and warns it should not be taken for granted that companies such as Lyft and Uber will inevitably operate in the province.

"The B.C. government appears to be moving toward a model that would simply replace the taxi monopoly with a one-app monopoly that favours taxis," Tostenson says in the release.

Other anchor members of the coalition include the Vancouver Economic Commission, BC Chamber of Commerce, Finger Food Studios, the BC Restaurant and Foodservices Association and the Urban Development Institute.

Anne McMullin, president and chief executive officer of the institute's Pacific region says balanced, well-planned communities depend on convenient, reliable and affordable transportation options.

"The Urban Development Institute is strongly encouraging the B.C. government to follow the lead of over 40 other Canadian jurisdictions that already benefit from ride-sharing, and take immediate action to introduce a framework to enable a competitive market for ride-sharing that increases choice for passengers," McMullin says.
Photo: RDCO

Residents of West Kelowna, Peachland and the Westbank First Nation are being urged to think before they flush.

Regional district spokesman Bruce Smith says it costs more than $60,000 a year to remove clogs from sewer pipes.

Information cards urging "Dont Rush, Think Before You Flush" have been sent out to residents.

Each day, the Westside Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant treats an average of 10 million litres of wastewater.

Pausing before putting questionable substances down the drain will help protect the plants biological treatment process. It can also help prevent costly clogs and backups.

"Think of the treatment plant as the heart, with hundreds of kilometres of sewer pipes acting like the arteries of your body, filled with liquid that should never be flushed or put down drains," says Smith.

Food waste like fats, grease and oils (deep fryer oil, vegetable oil, cooking oil) can easily congeal and block pipes. As well, diapers, wet wipes, bandages, personal hygiene products and cotton swabs should be placed into the household garbage.

"And hazardous waste materials like paints, solvents and other chemicals should be disposed of at the free household hazardous waste drop off at the Battery Doctors in Kelowna.

Unused or expired medications should also not go down the drain, and should be returned to a pharmacy.

Collected cooking oils and grease are recycled at McLeods Byproducts in Armstrong.
Photo: Contributed

The turnout was light but steady as advance polls opened Tuesday in the Kelowna West byelection.

Figures released by Elections BC Wednesday show 842 people cast ballots on the first of six consecutive advance polling days.

By comparison, 2,201 people cast ballots on the first day of advance voting during the 2017 general election.

Five years ago, 2,044 people voted on the first day of polling in the byelection in the same riding, then known as Westside-Kelowna, when Premier Christy Clark attempted to win her way into the legislature after losing in Vancouver.

Advance polls are open today through Sunday from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. at Powers Creek Community Church and Super 8 Motel in West Kelowna, and the Kelowna Curling Club and Grace Baptist Church in Kelowna.

General voting day is next Wednesday, Feb. 14.

The byelection was called after Clark stepped down as both premier and MLA for the riding in August.
Photo: BC Gov't

The British Columbia government and Airbnb have reached a deal to collect taxes on short-term rentals, and the money will be used to fund housing affordability initiatives.

Finance Minister Carole James says the government will introduce legislation this year that allows Airbnb to collect 11 per cent in taxes and send the cash to the government.

Airbnb has agreed to collect the eight per cent provincial sales tax and a three per cent municipal and regional district tax on accommodations in the province that it processes.

James says they estimate the two taxes will amount to $21 million annually and that money will provide added revenue to address housing affordability.

She says the agreement with Airbnb is the first of its kind in Canada and it recognizes the reality that short-term rentals are part of B.C.'s accommodations options.

Airbnb spokeswoman Alex Dagg says the agreement allows the province to participate in the economic benefits of home sharing.
Photo: Twitter

UPDATE: 3:40 p.m.

Premier John Horgan doesn't intend to respond to any provocation from Alberta in the escalating trade dispute over the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Horgan says he hopes to see the end of the back and forth debate, saying he doesn't think it is in anyone's interests to have duelling premiers.

The B.C. government is looking at restricting the expansion of bitumen through the province until it's satisfied a spill can be cleaned up, which was countered by the threat of a lawsuit from Alberta along with a ban on B.C. wine imports.

Horgan says officials from Ottawa will meet with deputy ministers from the B.C. government on Thursday to clarify the province's rights over the jurisdictional dispute.

He says while he and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley may both be New Democrats, that is secondary to his obligation to the people of B.C.

He says he won't be distracted from his agenda while the government of Alberta retaliates.

ORIGINAL: 2 p.m.

The B.C. Liberal caucus is calling on Premier John Horgan to end a growing trade war with Alberta before it puts even more jobs in the province at risk.

The Liberals say Horgan touched off the dispute that led Alberta to ban B.C. wine imports Tuesday by proposing to limit bitumen shipments from this province, a move that would at least temporarily delay the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.

And they the NDP appears poised to make things worse with Agriculture Minister Lana Popham suggesting B.C. might respond by banning Alberta beef.

The Liberals say B.C. beef is mainly processed in Alberta, so acting on the threat would create a lose-lose situation for both provinces.
Photo: Contributed Tinhorn Creek Vineyards

Western Canada's "wine war" could cost small family owned farms millions of dollars, says an advocate for British Columbia's wine industry.

Alberta Premier Rachel Notley announced Tuesday that her government is banning B.C. wine in a spat between the two provinces over the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.

Independent producers will bear the brunt of the prohibition, said Miles Prodan, president of the B.C. Wine Institute.

The Alberta government isn't aiming its anger at multinational corporations with shareholders, Prodan said.

"They're harming actual small farmers, which is ironic coming from a province like Alberta that understands agriculture and farming and all that goes into that. Why they're picking on fellow farmers is hard to understand."

Alberta is the second biggest wine market for the industry outside of B.C. itself, selling an estimated retail value of $160 million each year, Prodan said.

Jan Nelson with Tinhorn Creek Vineyards near Oliver said they send about 15 per cent of their production to Alberta every year and the ban will cost them about $100,000 per month.

"In the short term, I'm pretty sure we can find a happy customer to enjoy the wine. But that's not a sales strategy, so I'm hoping this turns around pretty quickly," he said.

Tinhorn Creek gets about 40,000 visitors each year, about 25 per cent of those tourists come from Alberta, Nelson said.

"I'm sure it will affect some people in the long term, but I'm hoping most people will be able to look past a political issue and just enjoy the wine that they've come to love," he said.

Jason Ocenas with Township 7 Wine said his products are sold in liquor stores and shipped directly to customers in Alberta, and finding another market will be difficult.

At least one Albertan stocked up to weather the storm, he added, saying a man came to their vineyard in Langley on Tuesday to grab a few bottles on his way home.

That shouldn't have to be the case, Ocenas said.

"We should be celebrating the pairings of B.C. wine and Alberta beef and putting that on a world market, not having a minor spat over something like this," he said.

"Alberta doesn't grow grapes, so they don't do wine. The same way we drink their rye and eat their beef, we celebrate what they do and they celebrate what we do. And it would be nice if we could continue that."

At least one restaurant in Alberta has vowed to continue serving B.C. wine.

"Trade politics routinely crush the 'little guys,' and we are deeply concerned about the handful of B.C. farmers we proudly work with," Edmonton restaurant Clementine said in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

"Access to these wines is essential to us, as we are able to support their efforts directly and help build the sort of food community that lies at the centre of why we even exist as a restaurant."
Merck will celebrate its 350th anniversary this year with customers, partners and employees under the motto "Past. Present. Future.

In 1668, the pharmacist Friedrich Jacob Merck laid the cornerstone for what Merck is today  a vibrant, global science and technology company. 350 years, thats an incredible number, especially if you consider everything that has happened in the world of science between 1668 and today. We are proud of the many contributions Merck has made to research and development. And we will also continue to do exactly the same. In other words, we are infinitely curious about what is coming, said Stefan Oschmann, Executive Board Chairman and CEO of Merck.

A highlight of the anniversary year will be the Curious2018  Future Insight conference in Darmstadt in mid-July 2018. This will be attended by more than 35 international scientists  including five Nobel Prize laureates  who on three days will be presenting their work and discussing the future of science and technology. Merck is supporting this premiere event as the main sponsor. The speakers will present to an audience of around 1,000 guests from all over the world topics oriented to the main focal areas of the three Merck business sectors (Healthcare Healthy Lives  new breakthrough therapies and diagnostics, Life Science Life Reimagined  synthetic biology and beyond, and Performance Materials Materials & Solutions  chemistry and beyond). Other topics of the conference address questions regarding digitalization (Vibrant Digital  the power of in silico) and new forms of collaboration (Bright Future  new ways of working and collaborating).

We are fighting cancer and other serious diseases. We are helping other companies to conduct research even more quickly and efficiently. And we are developing high-tech materials with which autonomous driving or foldable displays, for example, are becoming reality. We are doing all this in close partnership with top researchers around the globe. Therefore, we are very much looking forward to a huge celebration of research with the best of the best, said Stefan Oschmann.

Besides the five Nobel Prize-winning scientists  Joachim Frank (2017, Chemistry), Fraser Stoddart (2016, Chemistry), Bruce Beutler (2011, Medicine), Harald zur Hausen (2008, Medicine), Jean-Marie Lehn (1987, Chemistry)  further renowned representatives of the scientific and business communities, among others, will be present at Curious2018  Future Insight (see agenda here).

Another central event in Mercks anniversary year is the European ceremony on May 3, 2018 in a pavilion especially constructed for the celebrations. Around 900 guests from the worlds of politics and business are invited to this event in Darmstadt. Further regional ceremonies will take place in June in Shanghai, China and in October in Boston, USA.

In addition, as part of the European ceremony on May 3, the new Innovation Center will be officially opened. The newly designed and constructed building at the heart of Merck headquarters offers start-ups and company-internal innovation teams a five times larger area than was formerly available for working on innovation projects outside the existing business.

It is a great joy to collaborate with young entrepreneurs. And who knows, one of the promoted business ideas might evolve some time into a company like Merck. After all, we also began as a start-up in 1668, said Stefan Oschmann.

Before Merck celebrates with external customers, partners and representatives of society, a celebration for employees will take place on April 18/19. This is planned for the around 50,000 people working at Merck worldwide and will extend over all continents for 24 hours.

The celebration is a huge expression of our thanks to all our employees worldwide. With their work day by day, they ensure the success of our company. In Darmstadt we have many employees whose families have worked loyally for Merck over generations, which we highly esteem. Yet more and more talented people join Merck from all over the world, because they feel that Merck is a place where exciting things can be made to happen. In April, together with all of them, we will celebrate 350 years and the future, said Stefan Oschmann.

The other numerous events marking the 350th anniversary of Merck include the national Jugend forscht (Young Researchers) competition under the auspices of German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, which will take place in Darmstadt from May 24 to 27. The Federal Presidents Award for Outstanding Work is among the prestigious prizes awarded at the German national finals.

A highlight towards the end of the anniversary celebrations in autumn will be an Open Day on September 22, 2018 at global headquarters in Darmstadt. Interested visitors will then have the opportunity to take a look behind the scenes of the science and technology company Merck.
Chemists are working to synthesize the next generation of super materials for high-performance electronics, solar cells, photodetectors and quantum computers. While they have made progress with compound materials, they have not yet succeeded in developing unaltered or "freestanding" materials for such devices, according to a review.



Graphene is a carbon material derived from graphite, the same type of material found in pencils, but it is arranged in a one-atom-thin honeycomb lattice. Discovered in 2004, graphene's two-dimensional arrangement gives it "extraordinary" properties, including extreme strength and "marvelously high" electron conductivity.



However, the tight lattice lacks a semiconducting bandgap, which is essential for electronic devices. Therefore, scientists have been hunting for alternative materials that have bandgaps, but still have a graphene-like structure.



Much focus has been placed on graphene quantum dots, which are small segments of graphene, about 10 to 100 nm carbon hexagons across and less than 30 atomic sheets thick. To make the dots behave more like 2D graphene, research teams have added other molecules to change the structure and function of the material.



For example, one team attached molecular groups containing nitrogen to graphene quantum dots. They found that different molecular combinations altered the electronic structure of the quantum dot in unique ways. This shifted the color of light the material produced when exposed to electricity, which is useful for light emitting diodes and photodetectors. Several teams have built and tested photodetectors using graphene quantum dots with success. The material has also been shown to improve the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells.



Researchers are also investigating silicon and germanium analogs of graphene, called silicene and germanene, and their respective hydrogenated forms, silicane and germanane. They are testing how different preparation methods and structures, such as multiple layers and added molecules, affect performance for potential electronic or photonic devices.



While silicene and germanene have not been prepared without added molecules so far, the modified materials strongly resemble the 2D materials theoretically predicted. Understanding the properties of the modified materials is a "good starting point" for developing future nanomaterials, according to the paper authors.



Ultimately, the reviewers, led by Hideyuki Nakano of Toyota Central R&D Labs in Japan, are optimistic that electronic devices and energy storage materials could be developed using these materials in the near future.
Chesterfield Police make arrest in Labor Day shooting Chesterfield Police have arrested one suspect and are seeking two others in relation to a shooting that occurred in a North Chesterfield apartment complex on Labor Day. Officers responded to...
Guest Commentary Local coalition aspires to achieve smokefree air for all More than 1 in 5 Indiana adults smoke cigarettes (21.5%), one of the highest rates in the nation, while the number of youths using vaping products remains a concern for anti-smoking advocates. Secondhand smoke is estimated...

Voice of the People Well so much for the Tribune allowing only letters focusing on local issues. Tuesdays letter giving Biden a pass on his totally irrational screw-up of the Afghanistan withdrawal, ends if under the circumstances  if they could do better. The answer is  absolutely. The...

Voice of the People Recently four members of Porter County Board of Zoning Appeals approved to give an Iowa company special exceptions and variances to build a THIRD gas station at U.S. 6 and Indiana 149, on the northwest corner adjacent to Liberty Township. In this growing age of...

Voice of the People We havent betrayed the Afghan people; they betrayed us. Monday morning quarterbacks criticizing our government and military are nothing more than cheap shot malcontents. Id like to see or at least hear how, under these same circumstances, they could do better. Joel Sutlin Chesterton September...
Bob Rutkoski, area general manager for First Student, took credit for the idea. The extra day of pay has become popular in contracts he negotiates. It keeps workers from playing hooky, and they love the extra pay, Rutkoski said. (They) get six days pay for five days of work, he said.
This transaction allows us to fully repay our outstanding debt, significantly lower our pension liabilities and have a substantial cash position following the close of the transaction, Tronc CEO Justin Dearborn said in a news release. We will have a versatile balance sheet that will enable us to be even more aggressive in executing on our growth strategy as a leading player in news and digital media. We have a pipeline of robust opportunities and (mergers and acquisitions) will continue to be a significant part of our future.
Jessie Meehan, who is not transgender, said she asked to use the restroom at a Walgreens on Sunset Boulevard after she spent about $20 on items there on her way to the LGBTQ Pride festival last year; a sales associate told her she could not use the womens restroom because she looked like a man.
The teller called police, and Conroyd was spotted a short time later in the parking lot of a church about a half-mile from the bank, according to the bureau. Police recovered the money and Conroyd was also identified by the teller, the bureau said.
Defining "cider" - and creating a language to talk about it - is very much on the agenda of the U.S. Association of Cider Makers, the trade group of more than 1,000 members that puts on CiderCon. Recently, the association released a new "Cider Style Guide" that delineates several categories of cider (including spiced, hopped, pear and other non-apple ciders). Most notably, there are now "modern" ciders, which are made from dessert apples commonly found in supermarkets, such as McIntosh, Jonagold, Gala or Granny Smith. And then there are "heritage" ciders that have "increased complexity" and "complex aromatics." Most significantly, heritage ciders use traditional bittersweet or bittersharp cider apples, older heirloom varieties or perhaps even crab apples or foraged wild varieties.
Stand in front of the offerings at Amor y Amargo ("Love and bitters" in Spanish), a tasting room and cocktail bar in New York's East Village, and you might feel a little overwhelmed. Beverage director Sother Teague estimates he has around 200 bitters on the bar, and guests can taste the bitters on the bar, sample them in drinks, and buy ones they want to use at home. (While few bars have that kind of retail capacity, many friendly bartenders will be all too happy to oblige a guest who politely asks to taste a bitters or two; just don't go overboard or ask to do this when a bar is three deep with customers howling for drinks.)
Grapes have been grown in the Finger Lakes area since the early 19th century, and the areas first commercial winery was established in the middle of that century. But a little less than 100 years later, in 1951, Dr. Konstantin Frank, a professor of plant sciences with a doctorate in viticulture, left the Ukraine for New York, eventually convincing himself, and others, that delicate European grapes (Vitis vinifera) could thrive there alongside the hearty, long-established native Vitis labrusca and hybrid grapes. He was aided in his early experiments by Charles Fournier, a French immigrant, former Champagne-maker and president of a nearby winery. Some of the first vinifera grapes they planted were riesling, and more than a half-century later, the grape variety is the star of the region and the state.
By the time much of the nation got to know Obama, he was a polished politician, White said. Through this project, we hope to shed light on what he had to learn, how he had to grow and how he wasnt on this inevitable path to the presidency. There are a lot of things that happened  some of it just plain old luck  that helped him get there, and Chicago was certainly a conduit to his success.


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When She-Nannigans opened in 1970, the ordinance was still in place. But because the Blue Line used to stop at Clark and Division, Gainer said, dozens of flight attendants working out of OHare lived along Division Street and supplemented their meager incomes with second jobs at the row of bars and restaurants. She-Nannigans wasnt about to turn away good help.
Fagan  who was known for her mink coats, jewelry and Chanel No. 5, as well as for her dedication to her work and colleagues  had no relatives in the state, but in the past year, her friends rallied around, right up until her dying day, making her death a lesson in the value of friendship at the end of a life.
But Wiegert said it would be nearly impossible to give that same pass this time around because of the importance of Ash Wednesday. She noted its rare for the two days to overlap, and its not something that will happen again until 2024, Wiegert said.
He then gave a videotaped statement to the FBI admitting he had sent the threats to the clinics in both 2015 and last year, according to the charges. Wiersma also admitted sending the two tips to the FBI regarding his own criminal activity, the complaint said.
His victims included his aunt and uncle, Judy and Leno Menconi, of Oak Lawn. Their son, Mike Menconi, said his parents, now deceased, were in poor health when his cousin took advantage of them, and that their financial losses may have contributed to his father going to a nursing home rather than receiving home health care.
They were a great, loving people, the couples caretaker, Bernetta Sigler, told WGN-TV. Mr. White, he was always cracking jokes and just being funny, loved to sing. Mrs. White, she was always strong about kids getting an education and staying off the street and just wanted everyone to just be good people. They were real good people, and it's just sad they're gone.
The fact that you cant park your car there doesnt mean that the government can take your car away and never give it back to you, Schwartz said. The issue here is not about whether or not they have the right to be putting a tent there, because regardless of whether they do or dont, the city doesnt have the right to be taking (the couples tent) and destroy it when the reason theyre doing that is theyre motivated to by wanting to get homeless people to just not be in this area.
Hartman, 66, is being held without bail after her arrest Jan. 28 at OHare International Airport just days after Panarese had repeatedly ordered her to stay away from the airport. Two weeks earlier, Hartman got past security at OHare and sneaked onto a jet without a ticket, flying to the United Kingdom in an empty seat.
"Canadians and Americans know we are all better off when we work together to grow the middle class, and create more opportunities for people on both sides of the border," Trudeau said in a statement in January. "I look forward to meeting with government and business leaders in the United States again to explore new opportunities for collaboration and growth, so we can build a more prosperous future for people in both countries."
I think hes a decent person, and I think the efforts to portray him otherwise are misguided and wrong, she said. Weve all had casual conversations, which we might not be happy to see on the front page of the newspaper, and I think this is one of those instances.
Martinez died Nov. 19, hours after he was found badly injured at the bottom of roadside culvert 12 miles east of Van Horn, Texas. Another agent, Stephen Garland, was also found injured nearby but survived serious head injuries and other trauma, officials said. Investigators have said he was unable to recall details about the night.
"Ninety-five percent of long-term smokers start before they turn 21," she said. "Therefore, if a person does not start smoking before the age of 21, it is overwhelmingly likely that they never will."
White House chief of staff John Kelly said later that he's instructed officials to complete an evaluation of the Democratic memo no later than Thursday. After that, Kelly said, "we'll brief the president on it and he will have a decision to make" on whether to declassify it entirely, or perhaps declassify it with some redactions.
President Donald Trump gestures during his State of the Union speech in Capitol on Jan. 30, 2018. Trump called for bipartisan unity in the address, but his words and actions since that day have undermined that stated purpose. (Jonathan Newton / The Washington Post)
Without her, the festival would have been more of a local or regional one rather than one with an international reputation, she said. She was so dedicated. And she loved movies but also was loyal to the University of Illinois, and she and Roger had a very good relationship because she had grown up in Champaign and he was from Urbana and went to the university. She did everything she could to help us in a professional capacity but also personally, it meant a lot to her.
Income tax rates are not the sole determinant of economic fortunes, but everything else being equal, the higher they go the likelier they are to impede growth. Its probably not a coincidence that of the five states with the highest rate of job growth since the Great Recession, two have no income tax.
In reality, the Nunes memo was, as widely noted, a dud. It did not uncover any wrongdoing by the FBI, much less by Mueller. Its central claim  that the FBI and Justice Department obtained a surveillance warrant for Trump campaign adviser Carter Page based on ex-spy Christopher Steele's work, while hiding Steele's Democratic Party funding  is false. The Steele dossier was only one piece of evidence among many, and the Justice Department did reveal that Steele was paid by an anti-Trump political entity, even if it did not name the Democratic National Committee.
Whatever the calendar, it should allow enough time to resolve those ballot conflicts. Or heres an idea: Lets take a hard look at the whole process of challenging a candidate. Many objections are based on nitpicky gotchas that have nothing to do with a candidates qualifications. The pages arent numbered exactly as proscribed, for example, or they arent fastened together a certain way. A suburban candidate once was removed from the ballot for using an ampersand (&) instead of the word and. Of course there are endless arguments, sometimes involving handwriting experts, about whether signatures are valid.
Baghdad has been a prime target for those attacks. But few places in the world are immune. The wars in Syria and Iraq drew fighters from more than 120 countries. Thousands died in battle, but Western officials say its likely that thousands more escaped to their home countries. EU officials think as many as 1,500 militants have returned to their homes in Europe. There were also Americans fighting in Iraq and Syria, though how many were directly affiliated with Islamic State isnt known.
Wow. While most acknowledge that those protected by DACA are predominately well-educated and hard-working young people, Kelly managed to go full cranky-old-white-guy and spit out the immigrants-are-lazy trope. I guess he never considered the barriers some of these immigrants face, from the high cost of applying for DACA protection to the fear some have of sharing personal information on the off chance that xenophobic people who toss around racist stereotypes wind up running the government.
My great-great-grandmother received a widows pension of $8 per month and $2 per month for each of her children until age 16. These benefits ended by 1874, but were enough that the family was able to survive. The descendants of this couple thrived, moved into the middle class and helped build a modern nation. Their grandsons and great-grandsons went on to serve in both World Wars and beyond. Their number includes one who was killed on D-Day and others who are buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Whether you call it Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras or Carnival, the days before the start of Lent mean huge celebrations around the world. Luckily you don't have to travel to Brazil or New Orleans to get in on the fun  these 13 spots are bringing the party to Chicago with food and drink specials, live music, giveaways and more.
Though the school board has not formally voted to have a firm conduct a full search, their decision at a meeting Monday to move in that direction marks the first time they have taken a such a step. The board had previously retained a search firm, Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates, to conduct surveys and gather input as part of a search process, but had shied away from a comprehensive search. Hatchett had previously said the timeline to have a new superintendent in place would depend on the search process.
A: Not yet, but I'm making great progress. In the beginning, the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago needed a priest to come and work to create a blended parish. I had said only one Mass in Spanish before serving at Santa Elena. I've learned on the job using Rosetta Stone and apps on my phone, and the people in the congregation help me a lot. Now I preach, preside and teach every week in both Spanish and English.
Nearly 3,000 people were killed on Sept. 11, 2001, when hijackers took control of four large passenger jets, flying two into the Twin Towers buildings in Manhattan and a third into Pentagon in Washington, D.C. The fourth plane crashed in a Pennsylvania field when passengers prevented it from reaching its destination in Washington, D.C.



Chicago Tribune photographers were on the scene in New York City and Washington D.C., shortly after the initial attacks. They have documented the aftermath and annual commemorations of the event over the past 20 years.
He said that customers "often mention that our genuine hospitality and fast, friendly service are what really set us apart. We call it our 'Freddy Factor'," he said. "We strive to bring more than just another place to eat in the community by making an effort to become familiar with our guests and their stories, as well as their favorite menu items."
Abusers act the way they do because they have very low self-esteem, Senese said. They are trying to build themselves up by making themselves seem bigger, stronger and in control. They have a need to exert power and control over someone else. Often, someone who is abusive at home can seem like a different person at the office, she added.
Jones has no chance of being elected to Congress. That's not understood by people from all over the country who are recoiling in horror at the notion of a Nazi representing the Republican Party in a race for Congress. The national political spotlight shines on the state for all the wrong reasons.
A comment was made in regards to the high crime in Chicago along with our politicians now wanting to legalize marijuana. The majority of crime committed is because of the street selling of marijuana and other drugs. The drug dealers control street corners and districts and if you cross over you have to pay the price. It's not the drug user coming at you driving 70 miles an hour. It's the drug chaser going after his delivery person who didn't come clean with payments or the user who failed to pay after delivery. Therefore, to legalize marijuana would help bring the crime down and also help to clean out the court systems.
About a half-hour after the robbery, the man was arrested by Chicago Police Department officers near the Brickyard Shopping Mall, Elmwood Park Police Chief Frank Fagiano said. Pioneer Press is not naming the man because charges have not yet been filed.
But the village is concerned about the freight train data the three agencies have gathered since the draft environmental assessment was published over a year ago, Owen said. The three agencies have told Glenview staff that they will not hold public meetings regarding the final environmental assessment, Owen said.
Rob Oswald, 44, is the owner of F.U.N Cards and Gifts, which he opened in Glenviews Carillon Square 24 years ago. Before opening the novelty shop, Oswald worked at a print shop. Oswald, a Chicago resident, has three daughters and grew up in Wauconda, Ill. His pomeranian, Charlie, helps greet customers as they enter the store.
Graham added that the fire got into the trailer, which was filled with pallets of coupon mailers, and firefighters had to remove the pallets to put the fire out, causing even more of mess on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 94 at the Route 21 overpass in Gurnee. At 4 p.m., crews were preparing to wash down the roadway and have Illinois Tollway plows salt the lanes before reopening them, Graham said.
The flight down to Texas also had hours of delay caused first by "mechanical" failure, then a "sensor" warning just before take-off as we were seated and then by an airline worker who failed to sign-off that we were OK to take to the wild blue yonder. You know it's frustrating when the pilot comes on the intercom while sitting on a runway awaiting takeoff and notes, "This is painful." For our inconvenience, we received gratis snacky-packs and beverages, along with a $50 voucher for a future flight.
City Manager Bob Kiely acknowledged late last year that he made a series of monthly payments to a lobbying firm from March 2016 to December 2017 as part of the city's effort to get an Amtrak stop and funding for a pedestrian underpass. He said the payments, made in $9,500 increments, were paid to the lobbying firm through the city attorney's law firm.
It doesnt work out with group identity leading in the public forum, the government forum, Rehm said, asking if a precedent gets set for people to complain and get their way. Its unsustainable and its anti-liberty. If you want to identify by a group in a private manner, please do, I think thats what adds to the mixing pot of what this country is.
One problem with such incentives is they tend to encourage communities within the same region to compete against each other in what they can offer to lure businesses, said Carol Portman, president of the Taxpayers' Federation of Illinois. "To the region, it's kind of zero-sum game," she said. "Regional planner types get frustrated when one community is trying to undercut the other."
While the state of Illinois and Cook County impose a hotel tax on online rental companies, not all municipalities do. Cities that have a hotel or vacation rental tax that applies to online rental companies and have an agreement with Airbnb to collect and remit the tax on behalf of the host include Chicago, Oak Park, Evanston, Rockford and Schaumburg, according to Airbnb.
"The last time we had banners up there, they were there for 17 years," Maychruk told the village board on Feb. 5. "We have a quote from Sign Express right here in Oak Park for high-quality, very durable vinyl banners we hope will last for another 17 years. We would put out a call for artists immediately. We want to have these installed by our May festival."
Norwood was found dead in a bedroom, police said. His death was ruled a homicide caused by three stab wounds to the head, jaw and back, the affidavit states. There were also multiple "chopping" and "cutting" wounds to his scalp, head, neck and torso, as well as defensive wounds to his hands, according to the affidavit.
The city reported zero homicides last year, as it did in 2016, but the number of rapes jumped from three to eight according to the statistics, provided by Sgt. Michael Grennes, public information officer for the Valparaiso Police Department.
"A few weeks ago, when I heard this (race) was going to be the topic of discussion, I put the date immediately on my calendar," said Hammond resident Janeen Harris, who was one of the first to arrive in the Community Room. "I have relatives who live in Alaska and they are always talking about the Iditarod Trail event. It's a big thing up there."
The diocese is next considering whether to launch a financial campaign to fund priorities across its schools, which its study concluded would be "broadly supported." It has not yet been determined whether it will pursue it, Hying said.
Mayoral chief of staff Dayna Bennett introduced Angie Hayes to the Common Council. She was put on the city payroll beginning Jan. 22 to become the new city Controller. Celita Green, who has worked for Gary government since 1998, plans to retire later this month. Hayes previously worked 11 years for the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission and four more years for the Indiana State Board of Accounts.
The ordinance will allow for some people who live outside of Gary to continue to be hired if they have special expertise, but city agencies wanting to make hires of people who live outside will have to justify their hiring to the Common Council. The Common Council will have the authority to overrule the hiring.
An Indiana lawmaker is looking to restrict a gun accessory used in the Las Vegas mass shooting last year that killed dozens and injured hundreds.



Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, submitted a bill that would make the possession of a "multiburst trigger activator" a Class A misdemeanor. If a person has a prior conviction, it would be a Level 6 felony, under the proposal.



"I think this is a common sense thing," Taylor said.



These items, which include bump stocks and trigger cranks, pull the trigger on a gun at a faster rate than a person would be able to do so without the device, simulating a fully automatic weapon, according to Taylor and his proposal.



Taylor said the bill was inspired by the the Oct. 1 mass shooting of concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival on the Las Vegas Strip that left 58 people, plus the shooter, dead and more than 800 injured.



"I don't think there's anybody who wants this to happen again," Taylor said.



Taylor's logic is that if such items are prohibited, maybe it'll help save lives in the future, he said.



Greg Maurer, co-owner of South County Guns in Schererville, said he is skeptical of how effective the restriction would actually be.



"If someone really wants to do a tremendous amount of damage, they're going to find a way to do it," Maurer said.



Maurer said that "after the Las Vegas shooting, we had everyone wanting (bump stocks) because they were fearful that they would be banned," but "that's not my interest to serve the customer that wants that real quick."



South County Guns currently doesn't sell bump stocks, Maurer said. There isn't a high interest or demand for them in the area, he said.



"People buy them online," he said.



An online check showed the device sells for hundreds of dollars.
The trooper went outside his home on Harrison Street and saw a bullet hole in his 2005 Chevrolet Aztec, his personal car, and another bullet hole in his 2014 Dodge Charger, his police car, according to Wojas.
For Subscribers Small Business week to celebrate, aid Pueblo businesses

The Pueblo-based Southern Colorado Small Business Development Center is set to honor small business owners and their impact on the economy.
Almost half a million people are expected to visit a stunning exhibition featuring the famous Terracotta Warriors which is to open to the public in Liverpool on Friday.

Ahead of the opening, curators from National Museums Liverpool (NML) and a team from the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Center were on Tuesday putting the finishing touches to an amazing display of artefacts shipped to Liverpool from Xi'an.

The exhibition, China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors, will continue at World Museum, Liverpool until Oct. 28.

NML director David Fleming said: "The Terracotta Warriors exhibition is surely one of the most important exhibitions we have ever held here. We cannot wait to share this spectacular show with the city's people and welcome visitors from across the UK to witness this unmissable opportunity to see some of the Terracotta Army up close."

Fleming said the exhibition was the biggest event held at NML since his arrival 16 years ago.

The exhibition features ten life-size figures, including a terracotta cavalry horse as part of a collection of more than 180 spectacular artefacts.

Wu Haiyun, project manager at Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center, told Xinhua: "We are delighted to bring this exhibition to Liverpool, featuring some artefacts never previously displayed in Britain."

"I hope people who visit the exhibition will have a better understanding of our history and culture. I also hope it will inspire people to visit China, and also Shaanxi where they can see the Terracotta Warriors in the area where they were discovered," said Wu.

British culture secretary Matt Hancock said: "The Terracotta Warriors are an iconic cultural treasure produced by ancient China. Bringing them to Liverpool is a real ...testament to the strength of the UK-China cultural relationship. This exhibition will boost tourism to the region and attract visitors from across the UK and Europe."
The Trans-Caspian East-West Trade and Transit Corridor is the most convenient connection between Asia and Europe, and will bring economic growth and prosperity to countries along the route, said commerce officials and infrastructure builders attending an international conference in Beijing.









The International Conference on the Role of the Trans-Caspian East-West Trade and Transit Corridor in the Realization of the Belt and Road Initiative convened in the Chinese capital on Feb. 6. The conference was initiated by the Azerbaijan government and held by the embassies of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey in China to discuss the construction of the route.

The 6,500-kilometer corridor links Asia and Europe and passes through countries including Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey. Representatives from these four countries met to promote coordinated efforts in its construction.

A flagship project of the corridor, the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) Railway, was inaugurated in October last year. The railway connects Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia in Azerbaijan's capital city of Baku, establishing a freight and passenger link between Europe and China. The China-Europe freight train from China's Urumqi to Europe running through this line has begun operation since January this year.

"Where there is a corridor, there is development," said Javid Gurbanov, chairman of Azerbaijan Railways. He complimented the significance of the Trans-Caspian Corridor as a key route linking two major continents in the world. Europe boasts around 20 percent of the world's economy, but approximately 70 percent of the world's population live in Asia, so it is important to connect the two continents, as the corridor does, he said.

The corridor will cut the transportation time of freight and goods from about 60 days by sea to about 14 days by train, and decrease the cost four times compared with by air. Thus, the corridor offers a more convenient and a more economical alternative to transmit goods from Asia to Europe and the other way round, according to Shahin Mustafayev, minister of economy and chairman of the Transit Council of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Yuksel Joskunyurek, Turkey's deputy minister of transport, maritime and communication, added that the relative warm climate conditions in the region the corridor runs through are conducive for goods transportation.

Other government officials from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey also iterated the significance of the corridor in their speeches, saying that the corridor will boost their economies and bring prosperity and stability to the countries along the route and to the globe.

The four countries enjoyed time-honored relationships with the Chinese nation since the ancient Silk Road, the officials said, and now the new Silk Road, revived under the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is receiving wide support from countries around the world.

Mustafayev said that Azerbaijan is making efforts to upgrade its own infrastructure and getting ready for the operation of the route.

Kazakhstan is also vigorously developing its domestic infrastructure like railway construction to lay a solid foundation for the operation of the corridor, said Roman Sklyar, first deputy minister for investments and development of the Republic of Kazakhstan. He added that he hopes the discussions will lead the countries to find better ways to build the corridor.

According to Giorgi Cherkezishvili, Georgia's deputy minister of economy and sustainable development, his country is open to new initiatives and will contribute to building the corridor, which makes it possible to transport the freight in the shortest possible time, thanks to Georgia's strategic position along the key route between Asia and Europe under the Belt and Road Initiative.

As introduced by Gurbanov of Azerbaijan Railways, Azerbaijan is building its Baku port by the Caspian Sea, which will be able to transmit one million of containers and five million tons of common goods by 2020. The country is also upgrading its existing ports and trains, while the capacity of its railway is expected to increase from 30 million to 55 million tons after the work completes.

Meanwhile, China is ramping up efforts to develop its China-Europe freight trains to meet rising demands from the Belt and Road Initiative, said Li Wenxin, vice general manager of China Railway Corporation. China commissioned 3,673 new trains in 2017, exceeding the total from 2011 to 2016. There are now over 6,600 freight trains serving the route, covering 38 cities in China and 36 cities in 13 foreign countries.

Wang Shouwen, deputy minister of China's Ministry of Commerce, expressed his hope that the four countries could make use of the corridor to transport their products to China. He said China will increasingly open up, and that he looked forward to seeing the railway and logistics organizations of the countries conduct joint construction of the corridor under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Li Wenxin proposed that the countries should cooperate further to set the standards, establish the procedures and decrease the costs, while promoting the advantages of the corridor and working to accommodate more diverse goods with more trains.

In response to the proposals, Gurbanov said that relevant Azerbaijani government departments would work together on facilitating customs clearance. He added that the four countries are meeting every month to discuss business and trade issues.

"I believe in the future of the corridor," he said, inviting more businesses to use the corridor.
You are here: China

A suspect was returned to China from Thailand as part of an ongoing campaign to capture economic fugitives, the public security department of central Hunan Province announced Wednesday.

This was the first suspect that Hunan police have brought back from overseas this year during the Fox Hunt campaign, according to the department.

The suspect, surnamed Yuan, fled with about 200 million yuan (32 million U.S. dollars), which was allegedly illegally obtained from Luzhou Laojiao Co., a well-known liquor maker in China, by using false contracts from 2013 to 2014.

Hunan police started investigating the case in October 2014 and quickly approved his arrest.

Yuan fled China and stayed in several Southeast Asian countries, until he finally settled in Thailand.

Yuan turned himself in on Feb. 3 in Bangkok. With the help of the law enforcement department of Thailand, he was extradited back to Changsha, the provincial capital city, on Tuesday.

The Fox Hunt campaign targets economic suspects and corrupt Party members and government officials who have fled overseas. Enditem
You are here: China

China has recently sent Su-35 fighter jets for a joint combat patrol mission in the South China Sea area, according to the People's Liberation Army (PLA) air force Wednesday.

The deployment is part of the air force's efforts to carry out military training under combat conditions, it said.

The Su-35 fighter jets participating in such training are expected to enhance the air force's combat capability under long-distance or high-sea conditions, it said.

The PLA air force said it would continue to attach importance to science and technology, rule of law and sound planning in its training to improve its ability to win wars in the new era.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday expressed serious concern about the situation in the Maldives, the declaration of a state of emergency and security forces entering Supreme Court premises.

In a statement, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, "The Secretary-General urges the Government of the Maldives to uphold the constitution and rule of law, lift the state of emergency as soon as possible, and take all measures to ensure the safety and security of the people in the country, including members of the judiciary."

Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen on Tuesday said he had declared a 15-day state of emergency because the Supreme Court chief justice had planned to overthrow the government.

Yameen, in an address to the nation which was televised across the island state, said the recent Supreme Court order to release top opposition leaders was "shocking" and threatened to "cripple" the functioning of the state.

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed were arrested shortly after the state of emergency was declared on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.
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China has condemned the murder of a Chinese national in Pakistan, and urged the Pakistani government to take measures to ensure the safety of local Chinese people.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang says China strongly condemns attacks against Chinese nationals, and will closely monitor the situation as it develops and offer its best assistance to the bereaved family to deal with follow-up affairs.

The spokesman has also urged the Pakistani government to take further measures to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals living in Pakistan.

"We have noted that the Pakistani government and military have taken a series of efforts to better combat terrorism and make society safer. We support the Pakistani side in moving ahead with the relevant measures to ensure its domestic security and stability. Meanwhile, we hope and believe that the Pakistani side will take further measures to ensure the safety of Chinese institutions and personnel in Pakistan."

Local media cited police as reporting that the deceased stopped his car near a grocery shop when he was on his way home after lunch.

His friend left the car to buy vegetables, before some unknown gunmen appeared and sprayed bullets at the vehicle.

A local passerby was also injured in the attack.

No group or person has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she was ready to make "painful compromises" as negotiators from her conservative bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) rushed to clinch a coalition government deal after months of political uncertainty.

Merkel's failure to cobble together a government more than four months after a national election has raised concerns among allies and investors at a time when Europe is facing multiple challenges  including the need for euro zone reform and Britain's departure from the EU.

Near finishing lane

Both sides had billed Tuesday as "decision day" but were still negotiating late into the evening on the stance of any future coalition on reform of the healthcare system and job contracts.

SPD leader Martin Schulz told press in Berlin that Tuesday would now be "the day of decision."

CSU regional leader and senior negotiator Alexander Dobrindt said that all parties would have to "leave their trenches" in the final leg of negotiations to ensure their success.

Andreas Scheuer, secretary-general of the Christian Social Union (CSU), Merkel's Bavarian ally, said there was no chance of extending the talks beyond Tuesday. "So we have to come to an agreement tonight. Anything else would be unreasonable for our citizens."

Speaking before the resumption of talks, Merkel had urged the negotiating parties to show willingness for compromise.

"Each of us will have to make painful compromises and I am ready for that," she told reporters.

"When we see the movements on the stock markets over the last hours, we live in turbulent times and what is expected of us as popular parties ... is that we form a government for the good of the people, one that brings stability."

Germany could face a new election or an unprecedented minority government if the SPD's roughly 464,000 members  who must approve any final coalition deal  vote it down.

Narrowing differences

Two negotiating sources later said the parties had come closer together over health policy, but Hans Michelbach, another senior CSU member, cautioned that the talks would probably last a "very, very long" time.

The SPD wants to replace Germany's dual private-public healthcare system with one health insurance for everyone and to ban short-term employment contracts imposed by employers without justification. The conservatives oppose both SPD demands.

The SPD has promised its members it will seek improvements on the two issues compared with a coalition blueprint agreed in January and is keen to show them it has made progress.

Sources involved in the talks said proposals discussed earlier to let companies write down digital investments would not appear in a coalition agreement, along with proposals to progressively abolish Germany's air transport tax.

The two blocs also took an unusual swipe at Israel over its building of settlements on occupied Palestinian land, according to the copy of a draft seen by Reuters, but added: "Israel's right to exist is irrefutable for us and a pillar of German politics."

German governments have made strong relations with Israel a priority since World War Two when six million Jews were killed by the Nazis. But relations have grown tense in recent years as Germany questioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's commitment to a two-state solution with the Palestinians.

Germany has had a caretaker government since the Sept. 24 election returned no clear outcome.
You are here: World

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A British judge on Tuesday ruled that an arrest warrant for Julian Assange remained valid, blocking him from leaving the Ecuadorean Embassy in London.

Assange, founder of the whistle-blower group WikiLeaks, has faced an arrest warrant in the UK since he skipped bail to enter the embassy in 2012 in order to escape a sexual assault charge in Sweden that he has always denied.

He has not set foot outside the building for over five years.

Ecuador announced in January that it had granted citizenship to Assange.
China Aviation Daily | Feb. 07, 2018

Honeywell has signed three contracts with the Singapore Airlines Group to provide the latest Honeywell technologies and solutions to help improve operational capabilities for Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot. As part of the agreement, the airlines have contracted a variety of services and equipment including weather radar, navigation systems, auxiliary power units, predictive maintenance technologies and 24/7 engineering and maintenance support.

Additionally, Singapore Airlines Group and Honeywell have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Feb. 5, 2018. As part of the MOU, both parties will jointly work to implement and expand best practices for Honeywell's connected aircraft technologies to proactively find approaches to reduce Singapore Airlines Group's operational risk, improve efficiencies, and drive predictable and controllable costs through innovative improvements to maximize Honeywell's product performance and explore revenue growth opportunities for both parties through new and expanded partnerships.

"We understand the multiple challenges that are facing the airline industry, from increasing labor expenses to rising fuel and maintenance costs. Honeywell's extensive experience in the aviation industry enables us to deliver product knowledge, technologies and support to meet the current and future requirements of the Singapore Airlines Group," said Brian Davis, vice president, Airlines, Asia Pacific & Aerospace Leader, Honeywell International Sdn Bhd. "Singapore Airlines, SilkAir and Scoot will benefit from Honeywell's mechanical expertise and software technologies, combined with reliable and consistent services across the three carriers. Additionally, the airlines will not only receive better and more predictive maintenance services that will reduce mechanical delays and cancellations, the use of connectivity and analytics will make flying more efficient and cost effective. This will help the Singapore Airlines Group in further strengthening their world-class services that they are well-known for."

Details on the contracts awarded:

Singapore Airlines signs a 12-year Honeywell A350 Performance Base Contract

The agreement between Singapore Airlines and Honeywell is the first Airbus A350 Performance Base Contract in the industry. The contract period extends to 12 years and the service will be deployed to 30 Airbus A350s, with options to be deployed to the rest of the A350 fleet. Singapore Airlines will have 24/7 access to support covering all Honeywell content on the plane, including all mechanical and avionics (electronics) products. The program provides connected, end-to-end maintenance and repair service that will ensure on-time departures, manage unscheduled maintenance and provide a better experience for customers of Singapore Airlines. The groundbreaking design of the A350 demands equally impressive upkeep, repair and overhaul solutions to ensure fleets remain operational and efficient.

SilkAir takes strides in proactive maintenance with Honeywell's Connected Aircraft Services in a 15-year partnership

The 15-year contract with an option to extend for an additional five years is an expanded partnership between SilkAir and Honeywell that leverages Honeywell's Maintenance Service Agreement Program and GoDirect Connected Maintenance for the airline's new fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. GoDirect Connected Maintenance combines the airplane's connectivity with Honeywell's in-depth product knowledge and data analytics to predict when mechanical parts, like an auxiliary power unit (APU), need to be fixed or replaced. The program will better predict and manage maintenance cycles, allowing SilkAir to reduce unscheduled downtime and improve reliability of its fleets.

Honeywell helps Scoot future-proof its Airbus A320neo fleet

Honeywell will supply and maintain the APUs and full avionics suite for all of Scoot's new Airbus A320neo aircrafts. As part of the agreement, Honeywell will also deploy its GoDirect Connected Maintenance Services on the airline's fleet for a period of 12 years. This is the first Airbus A320 family contract for the GoDirect Connected Maintenance Services, which improves maintenance operations while reducing inoperative equipment rates by using connectivity and data analytics.

Scoot is also updating its Airbus A320neo fleet with Honeywell's industry-leading avionics, highlighted by the IntuVue RDR-4000 3D Weather Radar system, which provides accurate weather information up to 320 nautical miles in front of the aircraft. Scoot is also procuring Honeywell's Integrated Multi-Mode Receiver which combines satellite-based and ground-based navigation into one receiver and provides aircraft access to the latest precision navigation and landing capabilities. These upgrades give pilots more accurate and actionable information to make better decisions, ensuring that flights depart and arrive on time. The additional cockpit technologies provided by Honeywell will help Scoot be more efficient with its fleet's communication, navigation and operational capabilities.

Contributed by Honeywell
The Central Archives of the Peruvian Foreign Affairs Ministry verified the said documents and confirmed the information provided by its Russian peer.

According to the documentation, in 1962, the then President of Peru Miguel de San Roman sent a letter to Emperor Alexander II of Russia to inform of his inauguration.

Afterwards, the Russian Emperor replied to the missive, expressing greetings to the Peruvian leader and pledging to consolidate friendship ties between the two nations.

The Tsar's message was signed on 17 January 1863 in Saint Petersburg. Therefore, this date is regarded as the beginning of said diplomatic relations.

The first Peruvian Legation to Russia was led by Jose Antonio de Lavalle the first Ambassador Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Peru, appointed on 7 October 1873.

Lavalle chaired the negotiations on the first Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation Treaty between Peru and Russia inked in Saint Petersburg on 16 May 1874, and passed by Peruvian Congress the same year.

The Peruvian diplomatic mission in Russia was led by prominent personalities such as Jose Antonio de Lavalle, Javier Perez de Cuellar and Jose de la Puente Rabdill.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will visit Ankara in coming days, Turkish media reported.

February 7, 2018, 09:40 Tillerson to visit Turkey next week

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARTSAKHPRESS:Main topic of the talks during the visit is Turkey's actions in Syrian Afrin, as well as the latest developments in Syria.

It is noted that US President's chief council on national security issues will also visit Turkey at the end of next week.
The European Union is concerned over the Turkish military operations in Syrias north, Federica Mogherini  EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said during the session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, TASS reports.

February 7, 2018, 11:22 EU concerned over Turkish operations in Syrias north  Mogherini

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARTSAKHPRESS:We are deeply concerned over the appearance of new military fronts in Syrias north, Mogherini said. The opening of new military fronts is not a solution to the issue, and this will not make Turkey more secure.

Mogherini said stable security can be reached only based on the political settlement, through negotiations.

The High Representative said all military operations should concentrate on fight against terrorist organizations that are included in the UNs respective list, rather than against someone else. According to her, the EU is committed to Syrias unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
A potential sanction list released by the United States that includes more than 200 Russian politicians and business leaders will not affect China's ties and cooperation with Russia, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Wednesday.

"China-Russia ties are mature and stable, and are secure against changes of the external environment," Hua told a daily news conference.

"I believe that under joint efforts by the two countries, the relations will continue to develop at a high level, and that the bilateral pragmatic cooperation in various fields, including military, will continue to develop normally."

The US Treasury Department on Tuesday published a list of 114 Russian politicians and 96 business leaders widely seen as potential targets for new sanctions, although the document specifies that it should not be interpreted as a sanction list.

"China has always been opposed to the act of frequently resorting to or threatening unilateral sanctions," Hua said, adding that she is aware the so-called "Kremlin report" says that the listing of names does not mean sanctions or limits on the people's exchanges with citizens in the US or other countries.

Russia and the US, both major countries that have significant influence in the world and both permanent members of the UN Security Council, shoulder important responsibility for global peace and security, the spokeswoman emphasized.

"We hope the two countries will, on the basis of equality and mutual respect, address properly the difference through friendly consultation," she said.

Jiang Yi, a researcher at the institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Hua's remarks reflect the fact that China-Russia relations are "at the best level in history".

China and Russia have continued cooperation with higher quality and quantity, and have been trying to expand their cooperation, Jiang said.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

wangqingyun@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 02/01/2018 page12)
ISTANBUL - A Chinese modern dance show received a standing ovation on Monday after a performance that was held as part of the "2018 Happy Chinese New Year" events in Turkey.

Oath - Midnight Rain by Beijing Modern Dance Company premiered in Venice, Italy, in 2006.

It tells the story of a bride who died during her wedding and sought to be reborn. But she could not be born again as a human, only as a flower, bird, fish, insect and then a blade of grass.
BUENOS AIRES - The Argentine capital is preparing to celebrate the Chinese New Year from this weekend with cultural, culinary and artistic events, organizers said on Monday.

"Our goal is to recreate the same festive atmosphere as in China during the Spring Festival or, as it's known here, the Chinese New Year," Ana Chen, president of Phoenix Dorada, a private-sector sponsor and organizer, said at a news conference.

Yang Chuanying, the cultural counselor at China's embassy in Argentina, also attended the news conference.
Beijing condemned extremist and violent actions targeting Chinese nationals in Pakistan as one Chinese man was shot dead on Monday in what police said was a targeted attack in Karachi.

The victim, identified as Chen Zhu, 45, who worked with a shipping company, was in his car when he was attacked in an upmarket area of the port city.

At least 10 shots were fired at the car, and Chen suffered a single bullet wound in the head, police told Reuters.

The Chinese consulate general in the city confirmed the incident, Xinhua News Agency reported.

While there was no claim of responsibility and the motive was not immediately clear, China warned its nationals in Pakistan of plans for imminent attacks on Chinese targets there.

China will continue tracking the case and providing assistance to the victim's family in tackling the aftermath, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said during a daily news conference on Tuesday.

The Chinese consulate general immediately sent personnel to the scene and the hospital to follow the situation, he said.

China and Pakistan have maintained close communication about the case, and China demanded the hospital to make full efforts to rescue the victim and urged the Pakistani police to solve the case as soon as possible to bring the criminals to justice.

The Pakistani government and military have taken actions on anti-terrorism and social security governance to safeguard domestic security and stability in recent years, Geng said.

"We hope and believe that Pakistan will continue to take measures to guarantee the security of Chinese institutions and individuals in the country," he said.

Azad Khan, deputy inspector general of Karachi's south zone, said: "The incident appears to be targeted attack, (it) doesn't look like a mugging.... The victim is associated with Cosco Shipping Lines Co, a Chinese shipping company. We are trying to get further details."

Another officer, Javed Akbar Riaz, said that Chen had an employee ID from Cosco.

A company spokeswoman in China said the cause of the incident was unclear and that there had been no impact on operations.

"The company has taken steps, first to ensure the safety of our staff overseas; second, to inform the family so that they can go and make funeral arrangements; and thirdly, we immediately contacted the local consulate and embassy to get their assistance," she said.

Wang Chunguang, a researcher from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, advised Chinese employers provide more trainings to the employees about self protection under dangerous environment, and diplomatic missions there publish detailed security alarms more frequently.

Contact the writers at renqi@chinadaily.com.cn

Pakistani paramedics push a stretcher carrying an injured Chinese national into a hospital after he was shot in Karachi on Monday.Asif Hassan / Agence Francepresse

(China Daily 02/07/2018 page11)
China has sent over 100 Christians to "re-education" camps in the northwestern province of Xinjiang in the last few months to show them how to be loyal to the Communist Party's ideology, according to sources cited by Open Doors.

A number of the Christians sent to the camps in Xinjiang had a Muslim background and were from the Uyghur ethnic minority group. A local church member said some were detained for one month, while others stayed for more than six months, Keep the Faith relayed.

The wife of a Christian community leader who came from a Muslim background has not had any news about her husband since he was taken away. Although she was worried about his condition there, she believes he will still serve God's purpose there.

"I don't know where my husband is right now, but I believe that God still uses him in prisons or camps," the community leader's wife said. "Sometimes I am worried that he doesn't have enough clothes to keep warm in the prison."

The government has reportedly targeted Uyghurs in its "anti-terror" campaign in the last few years. Uyghurs who have embraced the Christian faith have been snagged in the said crackdown.

In the Muslim-majority county of Linxia in Gansu province, the district education bureau has banned kids from participating in religious events during their winter break. The bureau's announcement came amid authorities' effort to gain more control over religious education in the area, Reuters reported last month.

In the city of Wenzhou, which is also referred to as "China's Jerusalem" because of its large Christian population, Sunday School lessons were banned last summer. However, parents resorted other ways to pass on their religious teachings to their children despite the ban.

While the Chinese constitution supposedly ensures religious freedom for all its citizens, there are also rules against using religion to hinder state education.
The main objective of the Convention on Road Signs and Signals is to facilitate international traffic and increase traffic safety level. The Convention specifies a single system of road signs and markings.

February 7, 2018, 14:41 Armenia to transition to international road signs system

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARTSAKHPRESS:Gagik Grigoryan, First Deputy Minister of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies of Armenia, on Wednesday said the abovementioned at the National Assembly debates with respect to the bill on ratification of the Convention.

In his words, by joining this convention, Armenia will have to adopt the road signs system under this agreement and to put it into operation as soon as possible.

To all intents and purposes, this is a transition from the ex-Soviet road signs system to a more modern and internationally-accepted road signs system.

Azerbaijan, however, has joined the Convention with reservations noting that it is impossible for it to carry out the convention requirements in the areas occupied by Armenia.

And Armenia, for its part, has submitted an objection that Azerbaijan is deliberately misrepresenting the essence of the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict, and that it has occupied some territories of Karabakh as a result of large-scale military aggression.
Nepal has debuted this year on Open Doors' World Watch List of countries where Christians face the worst religious persecution, as its secular government is being run mostly by Hindu officials.

Speaking to The Christian Post in an interview, full-time Christian pastor Bharat Giri explained how Nepal landed on the 25th spot of Open Doors' World Watch List. He said the human rights abuses and negligence of religious minorities are now increasing.

"We are dominated by India," Pastor Giri told the Post. "They are promoting only the Hindu people."

In addition, Pastor Giri highlighted Nepal's new law that criminalizes religious conversions as one of the main factors driving the religious persecution in the country. He said the law was being used to punish people who want to embrace the Christian faith.

Pastor Giri cited a few cases where Christians have been targeted by the anti-conversion law. In one instance more than a year ago, a group of believers were jailed for nine months for distributing religious materials. In East Nepal, a woman who had been looking after poor children was imprisoned for three months after being accused of converting other people to the Christian faith.

Christians are not the only ones affected by the situation. There were some Buddhists who were jailed for eating cow meat, as hardline Hindus consider cows to be sacred.

Meanwhile, many Christians in Nepal have petitioned the government to repeal the anti-conversion law. A local minister called Pastor Chhatri (not his real name) said the new measure has sown fear among the believers, but they are still encouraging members of the Christian community to continue sharing the Gospel and adjust to the situation, the Mission Network News reported.

Despite the persecution it faces from the government and from the Hindu majority, the Christian church in Nepal is growing at a rapid rate. In fact, the fast growth of the Christian population has reportedly led to a shortage in church leaders. Still, Pastor Chhatri said they have to continue encouraging one another and spreading the message of Christ's love to others.
A group of Christians in Syria recently gathered at a ravaged church in the city of Deir Ezzor for their first prayer service in almost six years to convey a message of hope to their co-believers.

On Saturday, Feb. 3, Muslim clerics joined less than two dozen Christians for a prayer gathering at the church of St. Mary in the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor. The believers have not been able to hold such a service since rebels overran the city in 2012, and the situation worsened when the Islamic State gained power in 2014, the AFP detailed.

However, residents slowly started returning to Deir Ezzor only after Syrian troops were able to retake the whole city from ISIS in November.

Ignatius Aphrem II, the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, presided over the service on Saturday. Amidst the severely damaged altar, he said the service brings them hope and invites other people to participate in rebuilding their ravaged city.

"It's an indescribable feeling for us to pray in a nearly-destroyed church, which serves as a consolation for our hearts and a message of hope to the people of the city to come back and take part in building it anew," said Patriarch Aphrem II.

Local bishop Maurice Amseeh also called on his fellow believers to return to Deir Ezzor. Addressing the small congregation on Saturday, he underscored the importance of bringing life back to their city.

Last month, the Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Ali Ghanem, conveyed the government's prime interest is restoring Deir Ezzor to normality. He also revealed that there were 27 major projects for the city that are being undertaken, the MEHR News Agency relayed.

In addition, Health Minister Dr. Nizar Yazigi said the budget for rehabilitating their health establishments in Deir Ezzor had already been allocated. He said the government was currently working on restoring all the health institutions in the province.
This time last year, just weeks into Donald Trumps presidency, evangelical leaders spoke out in an unprecedented way against his temporary refugee ban with hundreds signing on to an open letter published in TheWashington Post.

Rallied by World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), the group took out another full-page ad in the newspaper to bring up multiple concerns related to immigration policy in 2018. [The ad appears at the end of this post.]

Yet again, the list contains both vocal advocates as well as pastors not typically known for speaking out on political matters, topped by influential voices like pastor and devotional author Max Lucado, Bible teacher Beth Moore, and Village Church pastor Matt Chandler.

As Christian leaders, we have a commitment to caring for the vulnerable in our churches while also supporting just, compassionate, and welcoming policies toward refugees and other immigrants, the letter opens, going on to request legal protection for the Dreamers who entered the US as children, an increase in the admittance of refugees and persecuted Christians, and quicker priority for immigrants seeking to reunite with their families.

Also listed among the hundred-plus initial signatories are Jen Hatmaker, Ann Voskamp, Willow Creeks Bill and Lynne Hybels, and Christianity Today president Harold Smith. More than 1,300 Christian supporters have signed the letter online.

We believe we represent a convergence of evangelical belief that care for [refugees] is a central part of our Christian faith, said Jenny Yang, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief.

As CT reported last month, when several Trump faith advisers met with Nancy Pelosi, evangelicals are mostly eager to find a solution for the young immigrants once protected from deportation through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:

Nearly 70 percent of evangelicals believe Dreamers should be allowed to stay in the country, with 49 percent supporting a path to citizenship and 20 percent believing they should become legal residents but not citizens, Politico/Morning Consult found. (Overall, 75 percent of registered voters want the Dreamers to stay.)

Our prayer is that these young people would be allowed to continue contributing to our society without fear of deportation, the February 7 letter stated.

The DACA phase-out begins in just less than a month, leaving advocates to push for a Congressional fix before then. Among the 700,000 or so Dreamers are plenty of young church leaders, students at Christian colleges, and even members of World Reliefs own staff.

This is a unique moment that were standing in. Theres a deadline and a requirement to act on a certain issue, said Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, an evangelical who spoke alongside some of the letters signatories at a press conference in Washington on Wednesday.

What Im encouraging my colleagues to do is not stop the work. For these families that are waiting for the moment, they need to know what is the decision and what is the law.

Fellow legislator Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, referred to the ongoing debate over immigration in Congress as a unique opportunity for us to carry out our moral and ethical responsibilities at the same time as we carry out our legal and political responsibilities. He told evangelical leaders, If there was ever a time for prayer, its in the next 24 hours.

Evangelicals have been speaking up for Dreamers in particular since the fall. Dozens of evangelical and Southern Baptist leaders gathered by Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) president Russell Moore signed onto a statement including positions like:

We believe it is unjust to punish children for offenses they did not commit.

We believe we should welcome Dreamers of good moral character and who are working hard to contribute to our country.

We believe our government should provide a pathway to permanent legal status and/or citizenship for eligible Dreamers.

Moore repeated his concern for this group of young immigrants on Wednesday, saying, As Christians, dreamers are not some abstract category for us. Dreamers are teaching Sunday school  Dreamers are leading churches. When we see Dreamers in jeopardy, we see all of us in jeopardy.

Shirley V. Hoogstra spoke as president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU).

We love our DACA students. These students are courageous, they are brave, and they are resilient, she said. These students deserve an opportunity to pursue an education without fear of deportation.

Todays letter also provided an update on the flow of refugees into the US, which fell from 96,874 in 2016 to 33,368 in 2017.

The number of Christian refugees from Iraq, Iran, and Syriawhich have long ranked among the top countries for Christian persecutiondropped by 60 percent last year. (Pew Research Center found that Christians still outpace Muslimsor any other religionamong refugees to America.)

Over the past decade, more of those admitted to the US have been Christians than those of any other faith background, so the dramatic reduction in refugee arrivals this year means far fewer persecuted Christians will have the opportunity to rebuild their lives in safety in the US, World Relief president Scott Arbeiter said last summer.

Based on the arrivals so far, 2018 is on track to bring in the lowest number of refugees since the resettlement program was formalized in 1980.

This, at a time when there are more refugees in the world than ever before in recorded history, the letter said. Our prayer is that the US would continue to be a beacon of hope for those fleeing persecution.

The cap for the 2018 fiscal year, as established by the Trump administration, is 45,000, and some predict arrivals wont even make it close to that. Last year, refugee resettlement agencies reached the 50,000 cap in mid-July, a couple months before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.

Anticipating the drop, World Relief closed five offices and laid off 140 staff members in the wake of last years refugee ban, which ended up disputed back and forth in the courts. The organization has not been forced to make further cuts since.

The organizations director of church mobilization, Matthew Soerens, wrote last week in The New York Times:

The past year has been a disaster for refugees and for those of us who are deeply concerned  many because of the convictions of our faith  with their well-being. But, because of my Christian faith, I also believe that people can repent, turning from a wrong direction and moving in the right way. Its not too late for our leaders to examine the facts, apply the values of the faith traditions that inspire many Americans concern for refugees, and change course.

As the Trump administration has shifted policies on undocumented immigrants and individuals with temporary protected status (TPS), putting more individuals at risk of deportation, Christians have quickly brought up the dilemma of mixed-status families, whose children are US citizens but parents are not.

Last year, World Relief and other agencies saw a spike in inquiries from Christian immigrants concerned about their status and worried about themselves or family members getting deported. CT reported:

Half of all Latino Christians living in the United States are worried that either they or someone close to them will be deported, the Pew Research Center found. This includes 1 in 3 of those born in the US (including Puerto Rico). Among Latino Christians, the concerns are highest among green card holders (71% worry about deportation) and undocumented immigrants (68% worry). Even among Hispanic Christians who were born outside of America but have become US citizens, more than half (55%) fear deportation for themselves or someone close to them.

The letter also asks politicians to consider families waiting for reunification, such as refugees or other immigrants applying to enter the US to be with their spouses, parents, or kids.



God ordained the family as the cornerstone of society, and we believe that our country is stronger when our citizens can be quickly reunited with their close family members, it said. For some US citizens, the waiting period can be years or even decades. We pray you will respect the unity of the family.

Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) and an adviser to President Trump, has repeatedly pled for policies that allow families to stay together.

Moores statement in October also included the line: We believe a just government works to maintain the integrity of families.

CT has recently reported on a ruling on behalf of Indonesian Christians in New England who face deportation, the impact of the end of TPS protections on Salvadoran Christians in the US, and the nomination of an evangelical leader to serve as the next director general of the United Nationss International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Writing in the Journal of Biblical Counseling, an anonymous female counselor describes an experience with Julia, a six-year-old client. Julia experienced a traumatic accident that left her nearly crippled physically and with severe anxiety. Julias case followed the counselor home, distracting the counselor from daily life and infiltrating her dreams as she worried about the girls future.

It took her weeks of prayer and thought to realize that, while God called her to be a good therapist, she could not determine how [Julia] would respond to therapy or think that [she] could erase the impacts of this awful accident. After internalizing that truth, the counselor found fresh ability to show love and care for Julia and for others.

This counselors experience is only one example of the difficulties Christian counselors face in their workplaces. Pastors who counsel their parishioners should pay close attention to experiences like that of Julias counselor; ...

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Celebrating Purity and Respect this Valentine's Day

ORLANDO, Fla., Feb. 7, 2018 / Christian Newswire / -- The 15th annual Day of Purity is a project led by Liberty Counsel on Valentine's Day to promote purity and respect. It encourages and celebrates young people who choose to save sexual intimacy for marriage.

Students are encouraged to wear white on February 14th to help promote abstinence and inspire young people to look past casual sex to lifetime intimacy. The Day of Purity is based on First Timothy 4:12: "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity" (NIV). Young people are also encouraged to wear a special LIVEPURE wristband on that day and throughout the year. This effort has even caught the attention of people in 37 countries who have reached out and supported this special day.

While Hollywood may encourage sexuality activity outside marriage, the #MeToo movement is just one of the devastating consequences of a selfish and overly sexualized culture. In contrast, studies show far-reaching benefits for saving sexual intimacy for marriage. For example:

Women who marry as virgins have a six percent divorce rate rather than the 40-50 percent average.



Teens who are sexually abstinent make an average of $370,000 more during their lifetime.



Each day in America 8,000 teens will be infected with a sexually transmitted disease.



Approximately one million teenage girls will become pregnant this year and 350,000 of them will abort their child.

Holly Meade, Liberty Counsel's director of communications and international director for the Day of Purity said, "In today's culture, young people are bombarded with messages encouraging them to become sexually active at a young age and to experiment with their sexual preferences. When they stand up for sexual purity, they send a message to parents, churches, communities, legislators and the media that they want a different world. The Day of Purity, on February 14, 2018, is an opportunity they have to take a stand for self-respect and publicly communicate they will not be dictated by Hollywood's mirage. And as they make this pledge for purity, they can drastically change the statistics of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases," said Meade.

Learn more at Facebook and Twitter.

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
Kylie Jenner didn't make her fans wait too long to reveal the name of her baby girl after an extremely secretive pregnancy.

Jenner announced the birth over the weekend in a post on social, explaining why she chose to keep her pregnancy hush-hush. Just a few days later, she shared an Instagram post revealing that her daughter's name is 'Stormi.'
Identifying "the last of ... " in any musical realm is a fool's errand. That said, representatives from a robust 1950s and 1960s jazz scenewho could be called "legendary" are scant these days.

Sonny Rollins and Ahmad Jamal are both 87, and both released sessions way back in the '50s. Rollins recently retired, but Jamal released a new album just last year.

So saxophonist, composer and arranger Charles Lloyd isn't the "last" of anything, but at 78, he's in rarefied company, along with some other '60s survivors like Herbie Hancock, 77; Wayne Shorter, 84; and McCoy Tyner, 79.

Lloyd is an interesting and divisive figure because his muse was a fleet-footed creature that led him into alternative musical realms in the '60s. His improvisational music sometimes had a psychedelic bent, which made him a favorite of the '60s counterculture rockers. So Lloyd shared bills with acts like the Grateful Dead, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and others. This came at the expense of the jazz police, who marginalized a compelling composer, interpreter, improviser and also innovator.

Lloyd comes to Houston next Wednesday having outlived almost all the legends whose work has been canonized. Perhaps his youthful work didn't strike the same note with jazz critics as did the work of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus or Thelonious Monk. But Lloyd's path has been more interesting to chart across decades. And his most recent chapter has been particularly interesting for its intersection with musicians from Houston.

From the outset, Lloyd was an outsider. He was born in Memphis in 1938. His ancestry was a fascinating mix: African, Mongolian, Irish and Native American. He cut his teeth playing with Cannon Adderley before starting his own band. That ensemble would set a precedent for Lloyd being a formidable talent scout: It included pianist Keith Jarrett, drummer Jack DeJohnette and bassist Cecil McBee, each of whom would go on to make great recordings as leaders.

Based on the West Coast, Lloyd found appreciative listeners among the expansive music fan base of a burgeoning hippie scene in San Francisco in the 1960s. He became a regular player at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, a hub for numerous rock and psychedelic rock bands. So Lloyd was an unusual jazz performer who got radio airplay and enjoyed a million-selling album.

And then he went on a journey. He laid low for parts of the '70s and '80s, playing on several Beach Boys sessions and tours, but also stepping away from recording as a leader as he dealt with some addictions that accompanied his success.

In the late-'80s, Lloyd returned with renewed vigor, and he's been recording and performing regularly since. His collaborators early on were typically European jazz artists.

In 2005, he made a record, "Jumping the Creek," that featured Eric Harland, a drummer from Houston and one of the notable contemporary jazz performers who came from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Harland has now played and recorded with Lloyd for over a decade, including "Sangam" in 2006, a mesmerizing trio date with Zakir Hussain, the great tabla player from India.

Lloyd's work with Harland opened up another door: HSPVA alum and Houston native Jason Moran was pulled into Lloyd's sphere around 2008 on the album "Rabo de Nube," a trio recording with Harland. They've continued working together since.

Lloyd has cast a long glance out across the world for musical inspiration. Without settling into rote blues, he's again dug into American music - protest music, recently - in a remarkable third act to a career that has proven more rewarding, long after many of his peers have passed. Lloyd has said of jazz, "This indigenous art form is the bedrock of our culture."

He's treated it as a foundation upon which he built a beautiful structure. That work includes "Hagar's Song" in 2013, a duo album with Lloyd and Moran. Last year, Lloyd released "Passin' Thru" with the two Houstonians and bassist Reuben Rogers.

Lloyd turns 80 next month. His recognition from the jazz-crit establishment eventually arrived. In 2015, he was honored with a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, which is about the highest honor available to living jazz musicians. With jazz, the dead are revered. Long overdue, he's considered a master of his form.
A Channelview man used Instagram to send pornographic images to several young boys, authorities said, including a Missouri City 14-year-old he asked to meet for sex.

Travon Michael Putman, 21, is in jail Wednesday on charges of child porn possession and the online solicitation of a minor.

According to court documents, the investigation started in January. Webster police were tipped off by Instagram, which identified child porn being sent across its network by a user in the Houston area and contacted the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

With information from the center, a Webster Police investigator tracked down the Instagram user's email, connected it to Putman's Facebook profile and used law enforcement databases and public records to tie Putman to his brother's IP address at a house in Channelview.

In court documents, the investigator says Putman communicated with "many young boys" online, telling them he lives in Channelview with his brother. Police say he communicated with at least seven boys who were between 13 and 16, using sexually explicit language and sending them pornographic images of oral sex between an adult male and a boy.

Investigators say Putman interacted more than once with the Missouri City boy online, including a conversation in December in which he asked the boy to let him "come over" for sex.

Putman, who has no history of criminal charges in Harris County, is in jail on a $20,000 bond. Should he be released on bond, an emergency protective order prohibits his contact with the victim, access to the internet or proximity to schools or daycare facilities.
A covert Swiss Cold War paramilitary group that operated largely outside civilian oversight until 1990 is back in the news after top-secret documents linked to the organization vanished from official archives.

February 7, 2018, 16:46 Papers on secret Cold War army vanish in Switzerland

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARTSAKHPRESS:The group, called Projekt 26 or P-26, had roots in the 1950s when the Swiss military began assembling a guerrilla-style force to resist a Communist invasion. P-26 was disbanded in 1990 after revelations of its existence prompted a public scandal.

This week the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper reported the Federal Department of Defence could not find 27 unpublished folders and dossiers from an investigation into the group three decades ago.

Critics fear the documents were destroyed or intentionally misplaced to hide embarrassing details about neutral Switzerlands surreptitious advances toward NATO or clandestine ties to foreign spy agencies.

There are three possibilities: The papers were shredded, hidden or lost, in that order of likelihood, said Josef Lang, a historian and former Swiss parliament member.
A Harris County judge has ordered the closing of a Houston strip club after more than 30 arrests for crimes including prostitution were made there over the past four years.

Judge Fredericka Phillips granted a request from the city to have Fantasy Plaza, a club off of North Freeway, closed, Alan Bernstein, director of communications for Mayor Sylvester Turner, told Chron.com Tuesday morning.

The request was filed by the county in December and accuses Fantasy Plaza of numerous violations, including prostitution and employment of minors, Bernstein, said.

IN TROUBLE: Texas police officer arrested and charged with misdemeanor prostitution

Assistant county attorney Rosemarie Donnelly's petition claims that Houston Police officers made six arrests for prostitution and four arrests for violations of the sexually-oriented business regulations over the past eight months alone at Fantasy Plaza.

Since 2014, there have been more than 30 arrests made at Fantasy Plaza, Donnelly stated in her petition.

"The court has ordered that the club close immediately and the club and property owner must each post a $10,000 bond with the registry of the Harris County District Court," Donnelly told Chron.com Tuesday afternoon.

READ MORE: Houston police officer arrested in massive prostitution sting identified

Attorney Albert Van Huff filed a federal lawsuit on the club's behalf Feb. 1, claiming the city of Houston unfairly favors the club's competition by allowing entertainers to "perform topless dancing without having to adhere to the 'no touch' and 'three foot' rules required by city law."

The lawsuit cites a settlement the city reached in 2013 that initially allowed 16 strip clubs to operate outside the provisions of Chapter 28 of the Houston Code of Ordinances, which outlines regulations for sexually oriented businesses, in exchange for a combined $1 million annual donation to a human-trafficking abatement fund. That fund was also used to create a 12-person HPD unit tasked with investigating human trafficking. Five more strip clubs have since been added to the list of 16 since 2013, Bernstein said.

Fantasy Plaza is not one of the clubs included in the 2013 settlement.

The lawsuit brought by Van Huff calls the donation to the fund in exchange for non-enforcement of the law a "commercial bribery scheme."

The agreement was meant to settle a series of costly lawsuits filed against the city by the 16 clubs protesting the regulations outlined in Chapter 28, which prevented dancers from being closer than three feet from patrons while fully topless, among other requirements.

Van Huff claims that most of the cases made against the club involving prostitution were weak and often dismissed. He added that Fantasy Plaza had been working with the city to address their concerns. The "VIP" area was completely sealed off, lighting was made brighter and booth walls were lowered so that undercover officers could better see if anything illegal was happening, according to Van Huff.

"We were dealing with the city... they knew (about the issues) and didn't have a problem with it and we were working things out with the city," Van Huff said. "If there was no agreement, the club owner couldn't complain 'they're being harder on me than everyone else.' But instead if you're not in the agreement, the city is going to come and try to close you down which has the added effect of increasing business at the clubs in the agreement."

READ MORE: Houston's most popular hotels for prostitution busts

HPD declined to comment on this story.



Michael Shively, a senior associate at Abt Associates, a US-based public policy research firm, raised concerns about the settlement.

"What I like least about the settlement is the relaxing of regulations in exchange for the money," Shively said over email Monday evening. "If it was instead, a cash settlement for violations, or simply a surcharge or licensing fee for sexually-oriented business ordinances to cover the costs or investigation and regulation, then OK."

As of Tuesday evening, Fantasy Plaza was still open for business.

Fernando Alfonso III is a digital reporter at Chron.com. Follow him on twitter at @fernalfonso.
Dear Abby:

How old does a child have to be before she is able to choose a relative to live with? I'm the one my granddaughter wants to stay with. Her home life is in turmoil because of her parents' nasty divorce.

Ever since her mother (my daughter) found out my granddaughter wants to live with me, she has forbidden her to talk to me, and me to contact her. Her mother is depressed and angry, but won't seek counseling. She doesn't talk to me unless it's to say ugly things.

My granddaughter said her mother never smiles anymore. We are very close and this hurts my heart. She's a good girl and should be able to be happy.

We haven't spoken to her in months, and we really miss her. Her younger sibling gets most of the positive attention, while she receives mostly negative attention. I have seen this happen many times. She tries so hard to please her mom. I don't know what to do to help her.

Broken Heart in Oklahoma

Dear B.H:

It would have been helpful if you had mentioned why your daughter is angry with you and is preventing your grandchild from contacting you and vice versa. If she's in such bad shape that it is negatively affecting your granddaughter, your questions should be addressed to a lawyer.

If your granddaughter is in her teens, she might be considered mature enough to ask to live with a relative other than her mother. If not, and her mother's hostility is affecting her schoolwork, a trusted teacher or counselor at school might be able to see she gets the emotional support she needs.

Dear Abby:

My husband is very outgoing. He loves chatting on the phone for hours and talks with all the neighbors. He's retired, so it's fine - up to a point.

We have a set time for dinner, which is 6:30, and he knows it. Invariably, he'll be on the phone or up the street when it's close to dinner. I always remind him 10 to 15 minutes ahead, which gives him time to be here to eat, but he'll keep chatting until he's anywhere from 15 minutes to half an hour late.

I put time and effort into preparing my meals. He always comments how great the meals are, so it's not that he doesn't like my food. If it's not eaten promptly, it's overcooked/mushy/wilted, etc., so I go ahead and eat if he's not here. I'd like him to be with me when I sit down at the table.

Short of treating him like a 2-year-old and throwing his food away if he doesn't show up on time, I'm not sure what to do. Can you help?

Fed Up in Napa, Calif.

Dear Fed Up:

Try this: Tell him dinner time is 6:30, but prepare the food as if it's for 6:45 or 7.

DearAbby.comDear AbbyP.O. Box 69440Los Angeles, CA 90069Andrews McMeel Syndication
Apolinar Fonseca/MBR

After previously preaching a future of greener energy, NRG Energy is selling its renewable energy business for nearly $1.4 billion to New York investment fund Global Infrastructure Partners.

As part of an overall slimming down, NRG also will sell its four Louisiana gas and coal power plants, as well as the Cottonwood gas plant in Deweyville, Texas, to Louisiana-based Cleco for $1 billion.
A deputy with a nose for crime has joined the Liberty County Sheriff's Office.

According to Liberty County Sheriff Bobby Rader, a new K-9 deputy named Jack, a 2-year-old Dutch Shepherd, came at no cost to taxpayers of Liberty County. He was purchased through court-awarded drug seizure money obtained by the sheriff's office from recent drug arrests. The irony is that Jack will now be used to catch more drug dealers and users.

Jack recently completed five grueling weeks of intensive training and is now ready to hit the streets with his handler, Sgt. Michelle Deshotel.

Jack was born in Holland before being sent to Abbeville, La., to attend the U.S. K-9 Unlimited Training Academy, a course he completed on Feb. 2.

"During these five weeks, there is no doubt that a bonding developed between Deshotel and Jack as is demonstrated in her verbal commands to Jack and his immediate responses to those commands," reads a statement from the sheriff's office.

Deshotel, a 17-year veteran with the sheriff's office, says that Jack is only the second K-9 to be added to the drug enforcement efforts of the sheriff's office; however, he is the first that is multi-trained in all three fields of tracking, narcotics and apprehension.

There are two major points about Jack that Deshotel wants to stress. Though Jack is normally friendly around people, Deshotel strongly suggests that approaching Jack should only be done in her presence and her discretion. Secondly, in a search and rescue/recovery mission, such as a wooded area or field, the tendency is to have searchers rush into the search area looking for the lost person. This should not be done prior to Jack arriving on the scene.

"To do so will contaminate the smells and odors of not only the person being searched for in the wooded area but in stepping on and causing fresh damage to grass and brush of which any tracking K-9 keys off of, would further hamper the K-9's ability to track a person effectively," the sheriff's office statement reads.
Suburban Sugar Land Women is honoring residents of Fort Bend County during Women's History Month 2018.

The National Women's History Project recognizes and celebrates the diverse and historic accomplishments of women, according to SSLW. Multicultural American women are overlooked in most mainstream approaches to U.S. history, so the National Women's History Project champions their accomplishments and leads the drive to write women back into history. Recognizing the achievements of women in all facets of life  science, community, government, literature, art, sports, medicine  has a huge impact on the development of self-respect and new opportunities for girls and young women.

The Fort Bend County honorees are:

Evelyn Peters Dean  president of Suburban Houston Fort Bend Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

For the past 40 years, the members of Suburban Houston-Fort Bend Alumnae Chapter have demonstrated their commitment to serving the Suburban Houston, Missouri City, and Fort Bend County area.

Cynthia Ginyard  Fort Bend County supporter. Ginyard has a passion for helping others and has worked in the Fort Bend County community for many years. She is described as a passionate leader and public servant. As a retired educator, Ginyard works to promote literacy with our children.

Ammie Blahuta  president of Gigi's Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Centers.

GiGi's Playhouse is a unique Down syndrome organization offering direct educational and therapeutic programs to individuals with Down syndrome, their families and the community.

Tran Pham Rich  president of Cookie Joe's Dancin' School, Sugar Land.

Cookie Joe's made a positive impact on the community by offering a place for students to dance out their frustration after Hurricane Harvey.

Manuela Arroyos  chief executive officer, Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels.

The Fort Bend Seniors Meals on Wheels program includes three types of meal services: home-delivered meals, emergency shelf-stable meals and congregate meals. They also provide activities, recreation, and transportation for our seniors.

Lupe Uresti  Rosenberg Housing Authority director and treasurer for the board of directors of Fort Bend Hispanic Heritage Forum.

As a previous mayor of Rosenberg (199295), Uresti is dedicated her life to helping friends, neighbors, and the community.
An aging courthouse pressed back into service after Hurricane Harvey poses a significant fire risk to the thousands of people who pass through its doors each day, according to the Houston Fire Marshal's office.

The former Harris County Family Law Center has no sprinkler system and poor evacuation routes with few exits and narrow corridors that would limit escape during a fire, officials said.

"It could be a catastrophe," said Clifford Boyd, a senior inspector with the city's Fire Marshal's Office. "When people are trying to jump out of windows or they're trapped, it's too late to talk then. We need a plan of action. We're trying to make this better if there is a fire."

The seven-story building, at 1115 Congress near San Jacinto, has housed 16 Harris County misdemeanor courts since the nearby Harris County Criminal Courthouse flooded during Harvey in August. About 55,000 lawyers, judges, clerks, jurors, defendants and witnesses move through the building each month.

At least one misdemeanor judge learned only Wednesday that his courtroom has no sprinklers.

"It's ridiculous," said Michael Fields, judge of County Court-at-Law #14. "These people who come in here are entitled to the same respect and dignity and safety as anyone anywhere. The fact that a person has been accused of committing a crime or not paying their child support doesn't mean they deserve to burn to death in an unsafe building."

MORE: Harris County officials to get update on closed criminal courthouse

Mayor Sylvester Turner and County Judge Ed Emmett have entered into a written agreement to waive city requirements for a retrofitted sprinkler system and for warning signs to the public, according to a copy of the agreement obtained by the Houston Chronicle.

Instead, county fire inspectors have been assigned to conduct a so-called "fire watch" at the structure, meaning a certified fire inspector is stationed at the building during business hours.

Joe Stinebaker, a spokesman for Emmett, said the building is safe and said the city fire marshal signed off on waivers.

"It's our understanding, through the experts  who are the city fire marshals and the county fire marshal  that the city is entirely convinced that the building is safe and that our plans to remedy any concerns they have are more than satisfactory," he said.

Alan Bernstein, the mayor's communications director, said fire inspectors are regularly placed in high-rises, usually temporarily, to make up for lack of sprinklers.

"The lack of sprinklers, long-term or temporarily, is made up for by having human resources on hand on a 24/7 basis who would be able to call the fire department to hopefully take care of the fire just as fast as a sprinkler would," he said.

In a statement released by the Houston Fire Department, Chief Sam Pena said Harris County has been in full compliance with the Memorandum of Understanding.

"Hurricane Harvey damaged multiple Harris County buildings, including some that housed many courtrooms," he said. "The fire sprinkler requirement for the (Family Law) building was temporarily waived with the understanding that the Harris County Fire Marshal would use certified inspectors to maintain a staffed fire watch program during business hours."

The Family Law Center, which was built in the late 1960s, was largely vacant and slated for demolition when it was re-opened to house the misdemeanor courts after water damage from Harvey flooding shuttered the 20-story Criminal Courthouse at least until 2019.

MORE: Prosecutors, attorneys cut 'Harvey deals' in jail basement as flood-damaged courthouse is repaired

More than two dozen Houston firefighters toured the building Wednesday as part of a special training session. Houston fire marshals who inspected the structure said they had grave concerns over evacuations if a fire were to break out.

Getting people out through two elevators and a pair of narrow staircases in an emergency seemed to present a nightmare scenario for firefighters as they inspected the building Wednesday.

Without a sprinkler system, flames could become unmanageable before firefighters even arrive, Boyd said.

Other firefighters and fire department officials referred questions to HFD's public information office. As they toured the public areas of the building Wednesday, however, they could be heard talking incredulously about the conditions they found.

"This is a recipe for disaster," one high-ranking city firefighter said.

"It's not safe," said another.

They speculated aloud that a ladder truck would likely have to be used to evacuate the building if there were a fire.

The sheer number of people using the cramped building also gave first responders cause for worry.

"The fire watch may not be enough," Boyd said. "Depending on the fire."

Although it is a county building, the Houston Fire Department would respond to any emergency. That means the city fire marshal's office, not the Harris County Fire Marshal's Office, has been working to evaluate the situation.

The county's misdemeanor criminal courts-at-law share courtrooms on floors 2 through 6 by dividing the courts into dockets at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. On the top floor, a courtroom is used for jury trials.

A single docket call can bring in scores of people, jamming into the crowded stairwells as they move from floor to floor. Crowds wait for the packed elevators.

MORE: Hurricane Harvey damage to Harris County criminal courthouse under review

Fields, the judge, said he had seen the fire watchers walking through the courthouse but thought they were there because of the massive volume of people coming through the building.

"They are really hard-working," Fields said of the fire watchers. "They monitor this building well, under some extreme circumstances, but this shouldn't happen."

The sprinkler mandate stems from a 2005 city of Houston ordinance that required half the floors in all high-rise buildings to have automatic sprinkler systems by the end of 2014, and to be fully sprinkled by the end of 2017.

In 2012, Harris County officials decided to vacate most of the courthouse to avoid installing a $2 million sprinkler system because it was scheduled for demolition.

Instead of paying to install a sprinkler system, the county sealed off the vacant space and spent $8 million to build family courtrooms in the modern civil courthouse at 201 Caroline, officials said.

But with Hurricane Harvey knocking out the hub of the criminal justice system, Harris County officials had to scramble for courtroom space. The misdemeanor courts ended up in the old building.

"They're making the best out of a bad situation," Fields said. "Judge Emmett didn't build this building and neither did Mayor Turner. They've got to live with the situation as it is, but that doesn't make it any less ridiculous."

Lawyers who work in the building agreed that full evacuation would be impossible during an emergency.

"People are going to die," said defense attorney Troy McKinney.

Brian Rogers is the legal affairs reporter for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter @brianjrogers or email him at brian.rogers@chron.com.
Two people have been charged with the capital murder of a Richmond man who police say was stabbed to death while trying to sell his car in Houston's Third Ward last year.

Terrell Derrick Funches, 20, and an unidentified 16-year-old female were charged Tuesday for the Dec. 7 death of Altaf Hussain Malik, 44, the Houston Police Department said.
Citing Roy Mease's indictment for allegedly violating open meetings laws when he was president of Pasadena's economic development corporation, two City Council members on Tuesday unsuccessfully demanded an end to his contract for tax collection services.

During a heated council meeting, the two council members, Cody Ray Wheeler and Sammy Casados, also called for Mease's resignation from a Port of Houston Authority commission post.

Mayor Jeff Wagner repeatedly pounded his gavel to bring order to the meeting and alluded to removing Wheeler from the room if the council member did not stop bringing up Mease's indictment.

On Jan. 23, Mease and five other current or former board members of the economic development group were indicted on misdemeanor charges of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act for holding two private meetings in November 2016 with a contractor.

Wagner said that the indictment was not related to city approval of payment to Mease for an existing contract.

Mease, an attorney, provides tax collection services to the city under a contract that Casados said has been in effect for years without being placed for competitive bidding.

Mease has held the contract to collect Pasadena's delinquent taxes and ticket fines since the mid-1990s. His firm has been paid more than $4.4 million, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Casados said at the meeting that the city "should not be making payments to someone who is breaking the law."

Wagner stopped Casados from continuing, saying that the current indictment was irrelevant to an agenda item for payment of $116.84 to Mease's firm, Roy D. Mease and Associates, for attorney fees.

"An indictment is not a conviction," Wagner said.

The alleged violation, he said, has "nothing to do with this meeting or administration."

Wheeler echoed Casado's assertion that Mease should resign from his port commission seat. Mease was appointed to that position by former Mayor Johnny Isbell.

After being admonished by Wagner for not abandoning the issue, Wheeler continued.

"This council wants to shove everything under the rug," Wheeler said, "and I've called for (Mease's) resignation and any member who violated public trust."

After several comments from Wheeler made over the boom of the mayor's gavel, Wagner said, "I'm going to give you one more chance."

However, no one was removed the meeting.

Payment of the $116.84 fee was approved later during the meeting, with Wheeler and Casados casting the only dissenting votes.

Mease was also on Pasadena City Council for eight years, including when the city changed its council system in 2014 to include at-large members. That change led to a voting rights lawsuit that resulted in a federal judge ruling last year that the redistricting had diluted the voting power of Pasadena's significant Hispanic population by switching from a system of all single-member districts.

The ruling reinstated the plan for all positions to represent districts.
It was one line in tiny type, buried amid hundreds of routine payments included in an item on Tuesday's Pasadena City Council agenda:

"Roy D. Mease & Associates. Attorney fees. $116.84."

Mease has held the contract to collect Pasadena's delinquent taxes and ticket fines since the mid-1990s. His law firm has been paid more than $4.4 million, according to reporting by the Chronicle's Susan Carroll.

Mease also is the former chairman of the Pasadena Second Century Corp., the city's economic development agency. On Jan. 23, Mease and five other current or former agency board members were indicted on misdemeanor charges of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act for holding two private meetings in November 2016 with a contractor.

Council members Sammy Casados and Cody Ray Wheeler objected when the item including the payment to Mease came up for a vote.

Casados said the city should seek proposals from other law firms for the contract. When he mentioned Mease's indictment, however, first-year Mayor Jeff Wagner broke in sharply: "That's out of order." He added that "an indictment is not a conviction."

"This individual should resign," Casados shot back.

Wheeler said the city shouldn't be doing business with Mease, who he said had a history of attempting to conceal official business from the public. A friend of former Mayor Johnny Isbell, Mease told reporter Kristi Nix that he had split the Second Century board into two groups to hear a briefing from a contractor, a practice forbidden by the open meetings law.

"No more talk about this subject, period," Wagner said, calling for a vote. The council approved the payments, with Casados and Wheeler voting no.
AUSTIN -- Gov. Greg Abbott released his second campaign ad attacking Houston-area state Rep. Sarah Davis Wednesday, furthering his quest to unseat the popular moderate Republican.

The latest ad echoes sentiments in his previous advertising against Davis, casting her as a liberal. The ad alleges she is not pro-life and that a bill she carried would have drained disaster relief funding. The ad also introduced a new attack, contending out she bottled up an ethics reform bill out of spite.
Russia's Tretyakov Gallery announced today a solo exhibition of the sculptor Nikolai Nikogossian for the first time, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of his birth.

STEPANAKERT, FEBRUARY 7, ARTSAKHPRESS:"This ambitious demonstration will allow museum patrons to appraise N.B. Nikogossian's excellence not only as a sculptor but also as a painter, as the latter persona has been virtually unknown to the general public so far," the Gallery said in a release.

According to the source, the exhibition will include portraits, self-portraits, landscapes, and still-lifes - in all, 60 canvases from the master's family collection.

In addition, 10 graphic sheets will be put on display, as well as 63 sculptured works from the family collection and the Tretyakov Gallery funds.

To note, works of Nikolai Nikogossian - painter, graphic artist, teacher, People's Artist of Armenia (1977) People's Artist of the USSR (1982), winner of USSR State Prize (1977) - have entered the "golden fund" of the Soviet art. They are in the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts of Karelia the State Art gallery of Armenia, in the art museums of former Soviet Union

During his long life, Nikolai Nikogossian created more than 200 busts (in bronze, wood and marble), 600 oil paintings and 3000 charcoal drawings.

Among these works - well-known sculptural portraits of Gorky, G.V.Sviridov, Shostakovich, Komitas, images of Shirakatsi, the composition "Maya Plisetskaya," "toilers of the Ararat Valley" as well as number of outstanding works of monumental sculpture: the monuments of Avetik Isahakyan in Gyumri, Yeghishe Charents in Yerevan, etc.
Any serious follower of the state of the Papua New Guinea economy and discerning observer of the performance of the government with respect to budget implementation would know that what was said, much of which was a regurgitation of ideas and intentions covered in previous speeches, differs from reality.

The prime minister's speech was beautifully written and cleverly pitched. But their lies the problem - it is but a public relations exercise; the product of adroit spin doctors who appear to have gained ascendancy in the executive branch of government.

"Back to Business" should not mean back to conducting business the way we have been accustomed to over the last few years. It should be about identifying mistakes and correcting them.

Im not knocking Papua New Guinea nor being unpatriotic, we just need to be careful not to delude ourselves into believing that all is well and convince ourselves of a false sense of comfort.

The economy is not in good shape and is on life support. Businesses admit this. Kina Bank says businesses are doing it tough and we are seeing signs of stress. Budget implementation has been poor with annual budget appropriations representing nothing more than mirages.

Expenditures are driven more by populist policies and political trade-offs rather than dictated by the need for exercise of fiduciary responsibility and prudent management of limited public funds.

For how long will the government conveniently blame world commodity prices for the continuing lethargic performance of our economy before we do something about it? And yes, we can mitigate the low commodity prices on our economy by seriously diversifying it and in doing so broaden the country's tax base.

The government acknowledges this; echoing the intention to diversify the economy and focus attention on sectors like agriculture and tourism in numerous speeches at business conferences, leaders' summits, political gatherings and ribbon-cutting events and seven years later they are still promising. What is said and what is done never match.

Increased budget appropriations the last few years for sectors that will broaden our economic base have not manifested themselves in any real way.

This is partly due to the inertia of the public service, but in large part it is the result of systemic corruption in our government system that has eroded the checks and balances of financial disbursement allowing for changing goal posts after the budget and resulting in unplanned expenditure and wanton abuse of authority to transfer funds from one vote to another.

The prime minister has called for the super funds in PNG to follow the example of their counterparts in Fiji and invest in the tourism sector. Super funds may consider investing in this sector if only the government would fully pay up what it owes them in members contributions.

On the foreign exchange issue, the prime minister's statement touts possible World Bank and Asian Development Bank financial assistance as a done deal. The proposed US$300 million is still under discussion and the pre-emptive announcement was mischievous, not to mention disrespectful of the due processes of both international institutions.

In an attempt to portray that the government is serious in taking measures to ease the forex issue, the prime minister's statement indicated it wants companies that park money abroad to bring the funds onshore.

The issue here is that these companies need to keep some funds overseas to meet their import requirements and loan repayment obligations. It is hoped that whatever the government is foreshadowing does not unduly penalise businesses for applying prudent measures to meet their obligations. The hypocrisy is that the government also keeps funds outside the country to meet its obligations.

On APEC, the prime minister was ill-advised to make assertions that were untrue while other comments did not represent the full picture or glossed over challenges. The claim that over 10,000 business executives and government leaders will be attending and that they will spend over K200 million is an exaggeration meant to support the government's justification for the huge sums of money being spent on hosting APEC.

It was emphasised that investments made on buildings and other infrastructure for APEC will benefit the country in years to come. What is downplayed is that these facilities will need to be managed and maintained. Our record in this regard is not one that provides comfort. We are good at building new things but so are we at neglecting them to ruins.

Rhetoric cannot replace substance, and real substance was arguably absent in the statement at the Business Council breakfast. Absent was any plan on how to combat corruption which is debilitating our government's ability to serve our people properly and skewing government contracts to the private sector in favour of only a few business houses.

Absent was honesty about how to diversify and broaden the economic base. Absent were details on usage of the revenue from the US$45 million per shipment of gas. Absent was concrete steps to clean up the rampant abuse of PSIP, DSIP and other constitutional grants, and hold to account members of parliament who have squandered peoples' money on political projects and personal enrichment. Absent was truth on APEC expenditure. Absent were specific measures to reform the public service, and absence was how exactly does the Government intend to improve the electoral process.

The well-crafted statement was as usual delivered by the prime minister with political finesse. But the emphasis on public relations over truth undermines the credibility of what was said.

Political posturing must never be allowed to replace the need for real action. The time for talk is over. When the work of spin doctors over-rides substantive issues of concern, we all need to be vigilant against government promises.
With Teach for America, he taught math and science in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. He recalled teaching classes in a trailer provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Following that experience, he decided to go back to school. He attended what is now known as the SUNY Polytechnic Institute, where he earned his bachelor's degree in applied mathematics. He opted to go to graduate school, but was facing a heavy student loan debt burden.

And that's how he wound up in Saudi Arabia.

He earned a master's degree in bioscience at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology. He went to work at Aramco a year later.

"It's not the most accepting or liberal place for a gay man to live," he said. "I spent six-plus years there basically living in fear every day that they'd arrest me or kill me for who I was just so I could pay off my student loans."

With that chapter of his life behind him, he's focused on his congressional bid. He panned Katko's job performance and called his environmental voting record "horrendous."

He doesn't believe Katko represents the values of the 24th district.

"I know he does not represent the values I have grown up with," he said.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand expressed concern about a paid family leave proposal being drafted by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio with the support of Ivanka Trump.

Politico reported Sunday that the plan being developed by Rubio, a Florida Republican, could provide paid family leave by allowing workers to dip into their Social Security benefits after the birth of a child or to care for a sick family member. But if they use Social Security benefits for paid leave early in life, it would delay when they could start receiving checks after retirement.

The example mentioned by Politico: If someone is scheduled to receive full retirement benefits at age 67 but they take six weeks of paid leave, they wouldn't receive Social Security benefits until six weeks after their 67th birthday.

Rubio hasn't finalized his legislation, but Gillibrand, D-N.Y., believes the proposal would weaken Social Security.

"Any plan that robs the Social Security trust fund will hurt low-income workers, seniors and women the most," she said in a statement Wednesday. "Women already receive less Social Security benefits than men, and this plan only exacerbates that problem."
"To me, fighting for this bill is simple. It is about American rights," Helming said. "It is incredibly troubling to me that in 2018, in the United States of America, an individual must be granted protections under state law in order to show their patriotism and support of their country. At the end of the day, proudly flying the American flag from your front porch is a freedom of expression and it is a right every American should have."

Under existing law, landlords could ban tenants from displaying the American flag. Helming's bill would prohibit landlords from imposing such rules on their renters.

There would be certain guidelines in place for tenants to follow. They would be required to contact their landlords before displaying the flag to ensure they are complying with zoning laws. The size of the flag must be "consistent with the size and character of the dwelling unit," according to the bill.

Tenants would be liable for damage caused by displaying the flag inside or outside of their residence.

Helming's bill will be sent to the Assembly for consideration. After the Senate approved the bill last year, the Assembly did not vote on the measure.

"I thank my Senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle for passing this legislation unanimously two years in a row, and I hope the Assembly will join the fight," she said.

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Community members voiced confusion, skepticism and frustration Tuesday evening during the first in a series of meetings to discuss major changes proposed for 14 low-performing Houston ISD campuses, which must improve significantly or undergo major overhauls to avoid a potential state takeover of the district's school board.

About 200 people gathered at Wheatley High School to hear about the recommended changes, which include closing-and-restarting campuses and partnering with outside organizations to bolster student achievement. The plans would have far-reaching impacts for thousands of students, a small percentage of whom would be forced out of their home campus, and the district's control over academics and operations at those 14 schools.

Ahead of an expected vote in mid-April on the proposals, school board trustees and district administrators are holding community meetings at or near all 14 campuses. On Tuesday, they heard from local residents who have grown dispirited with inaction at Wheatley High School, which has been rated "improvement required" under the state's academic accountability system for six consecutive years.

Houston ISD administrators are proposing a partnership with a Baltimore-based nonprofit that specializes in improving graduation rates and achievement in high-poverty areas. The idea did not have significant support among community members who spoke, with several arguing that it's either too little or too late for the eastside school.

"This is nothing that's new," said Jayne McCullough, a member of the high school's alumni association. "We don't trust you because our kids are constantly not getting services."

WHAT'S PLANNED: HISD administrators propose major changes for some campuses

District leaders are proposing the changes in response to a law passed in 2015, commonly known as HB 1842. Under the law, the Texas Education Agency must replace the school board or close campuses in any district with a single school that receives five consecutive "improvement required" ratings for poor academic performance. Ten Houston ISD schools have received at least four straight "improvement required" ratings headed into this year.

Rather than waiting to see if all 10 schools emerge from "improvement required" status  a highly unlikely proposition given their past performance  district officials are preemptively proposing major changes at those campuses to stave off a potential state takeover. They're also including four other low-performing schools in the plans.

Early proposals call for six schools to close and immediately re-open with new programming and an entirely new staff. Those schools would only serve limited grade levels, though district officials are seeking permission from the state to accommodate additional grade levels.

At eight campuses, including Wheatley High, the district would employ another new law, known as SB 1882, to form partnerships with non-profits or higher education institutions. The partnerships would give Houston ISD a two-year reprieve from the threat of state takeover.

Proposed rules related to SB 1882 call for the district to surrender control over hiring, curriculum and governance to the outside organization. Houston ISD officials, for now, aren't planning to hand over control over hiring and governance, though that could change once the SB 1882 rules are finalized in late February.

Houston ISD leaders have stressed that proposals for the 14 schools could change as the state finalizes rules for SB 1882 and community members provide feedback.

"The plans we have put together are flexible. They're not set in stone," Houston ISD Board President Rhonda-Skillern Jones said before the meeting.

The proposals are designed to ensure Houston ISD's Board of Trustees retains local control over the district and the state doesn't shut down any of the 10 schools, all of which are in predominately black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

Historically, school closures in Houston have been concentrated in areas with large minority populations. Community leaders say those shutdowns further decimated neighborhoods already struggling with rampant poverty.

Richard Johnson, a former Wheatley teacher who grew up near the school, said the district needs to provide more programs for students, and the state needs to provide funding for those services. At several low-performing high schools, academic and career opportunities have dwindled as hundreds of students have left their home schools to attend magnet and choice campuses.

"We must not lose sight of academic programming," Johnson said. "We used to have career and technical education, the old 'vocational' education, in our schools. Bring it back to our schools."

FALKENBERG: Carranza's management plan violates Houston ISD's own policy

Several community members railed against state lawmakers who passed HB 1842, which received 85 percent support in the Texas Legislature. Others were critical of Houston ISD leaders who have failed to lift campuses like Wheatley High School out of "improvement required" status.

State Rep. Harold Dutton Jr., D-Houston, who voted in favor of HB 1842 and helped usher the legislation into law, told attendees Tuesday that the law forces school boards to improve low-performing campuses after years of neglect.

"That's criminal because of what it does to the children," Dutton, a Wheatley graduate, said of the failure to bolster student achievement. "And so what the bill did is say, wait a minute, we're going to make sure the whole school board is responsible for what happens at Wheatley."
A routine arrest warrant served by Houston Police officers last month ended with nearly $55,000 in cash and multiple pieces of jewelry being seized from a man who told police he worked as a male stripper, but who court records show is a documented gang member.

Police were serving a felony arrest warrant for Ashley Spriggs at an apartment in the 12000 block of City Park Central Lane on Jan. 7 when Spriggs' brother Terrence answered the door, according to court records.

When the door opened, officers could smell a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside, court records show. Officers also noticed Spriggs had two bulges in his pants, court records show.

During their unsuccessful search for Ashley Spriggs inside the apartment, police discovered narcotics, a gun and cash in plain sight, court records show.

Terrence Spriggs then told officers the apartment belonged to his sister, despite there being only men's clothing and toiletries inside, as well as pictures of Terrence Spriggs and his children hanging inside, court records show.

Read More: The most common drugs seized in each Texas county

After obtaining a warrant, police found various drugs, as well as a money counter, small baggies and five guns, one of which was stolen, court records show.

They also discovered $54,837 in cash in Terrence Spriggs' pockets, court records show, after which he "told officers he worked as a male stripper at 'Hard Bodies,' which officers determined is no longer open."

Police also found two watches with Rolex inscribed on their faces and multiple other pieces of jewelry, according to a seizure approved Tuesday by the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Spriggs, who according to court records is a member of the 2600 McGowen street gang, was charged for being a felon in possession of a firearm, and for felony manufacturing and delivery of a controlled substance.

Robert Downen covers crime for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter or email him at robert.downen@chron.com.
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A store employee in north Houston opened fire on two robbers trying to steal from his store Tuesday evening.

Authorities were called out to a convenience store at the 6600 block of Nordling Drive around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday to help look for the suspects, at least one of whom was struck by the employee's bullets, police said.
AUSTIN -- After months of fighting on social media about Nutella crepes and BBQ, Sid Miller and Trey Blocker faced off in person at a GOP debate Tuesday night.

They spent much of the evening debating the necessity of higher fees at the Texas Department of Agriculture, out of state trips and a $37,000 campaign vehicle.

The bout, with both candidates making jabs at each other, also included attacks against Blocker, a former lobbyist and podcaster who has given Democrats political donations and took heat over whether he is conservative enough.

"Our president, Donald Trump, has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats over the years and I've never heard my opponent call Mr. Trump a Democrat," Blocker said to a room of potential voters in Tyler, 100 miles east of Dallas at the forum hosted and streamed online by Grassroots America We the People, a conservative political group.

"You're helping the other side. There's no running from that," replied Miller. "Donald Trump's a friend of mine, and Trey Blocker is no Donald Trump."

He later added, "lobbyists dole out money for special favors."

Blocker said Miller has a "horrible track record" and hammered him for raising agriculture fees despite opposition from state lawmakers.

Miller defended his decision to raise fees on egg inspections, fuel pumps and pesticide licenses, and said as a businessman his prerogative is to ensure the $6 billion agency is "in the black." He said he is conducting a review of the department to determine whether he can rebate or lower "most" of those fees in the department over the summer.

"Now I could have done that before the election and tried to look like I was all that great and everything, but we don't work that way in the Ag department," Miller said.

Miller also defended his controversial decision to issue employees some $400,000 in bonuses and explained why he took two trips using taxpayer and campaign donor money shortly after he took office.

"When I got elected to ag commissioner, guess what, they don't send you to judge school or sheriff school ... they just hand you the keys and this is a $6 billion agency. Good luck," said the former rodeo cowboy with chronic pain in explaining why he used state and campaign money to fund a trip to Oklahoma.

While there, he sought out a procedure called the "Jesus shot" said to cure all pain. In a second trip to Mississippi, he competed in a rodeo. Miller said he was investigated by the Texas Rangers and paid the state back. No charges were brought.

Blocker said Miller's travel and a past sanction from the Texas Ethics Commission for inaccurate reporting of his campaign finances shows a "a pattern of abuse." He accused Miller of using the state and his campaign account as a personal ATM machine.

Miller bought a 2016 Chevy Tahoe last year to use during his campaign after putting 120,000 miles on his personal vehicle when he last ran for election in 2014.

Miller, who has racked up endorsements from political celebrities largely outside the state, added former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee is backing his bid for reelection.

Miller told the audience his mission is to protect the Texas consumer. He winced when Blocker suggested the department wash its hands of the school lunch program by handing off it's administration to the Health and Human Services Commission.

'War on barbecue'

The forum comes after months of attacks between the two Republicans that have lived largely on social media in the way of sharp-tongued Facebook posts, including one that likened Blocker to a liberal because he was pictured in a restaurant that served banana Nutella crepes.

Blocker fired back by accusing Miller of waging a "war on barbecue" for requiring establishments that serve weighted food to go to keep their certified scales where customers can see them.

The Department of Agriculture regulates items like fuel pumps, weights and measures in grocery stores and some restaurants, offers grants for agricultural research and administers the national school lunch program, among other tasks.

"We're a lot more than plows and sows and cows," said Miller, who added, "we've gt a lot left to do."

Andrea Zelinski covers politics for the Houston Chronicle. As the election season heats up, follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is weighing into one of the biggest primary battles in Houston.

The first-term U.S. Senator has endorsed Houston Republican Kathaleen Wall for Congress. Wall is one of nine Republicans battling to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ted Poe in the 2nd Congressional District.

"Kathaleen is a dedicated activist, and conservative leader, whom I have known for many years," Cruz said in a press release put out by Wall's campaign.

Cruz isn't the first big statewide name to back Wall's campaign. In January, Gov. Greg Abbott also backed Wall.

Wall and her husband Holloway Frost have been significant GOP donors over the years, including both giving the maximum allowable donation to Cruz in his 2016 presidential campaign.

Besides Wall, the race also includes health care CEO David Balat, State Rep. Kevin Roberts, heart surgeon Jon Spiers, Navy veteran Dan Crenshaw, attorney Jonny Havens, investment banker Justin Lurie, patent attorney Malcolm Whittaker and businessman Rick Walker.

Roberts has landed the endorsement of longtime Harris County judge Ed Emmett and Crenshaw has picked up one from legendary astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

Cruz has been active when it comes to getting into Republican Primary battles for Congress. Cruz also backed Republican Van Taylor in the 3rd Congressional District and Chip Roy in the 21st Congressional District.

Poe announced last year he would not seek re-election to the 2nd Congressional District, which includes more than 700,000 people in parts of West Houston, wraps around the northern edges of Harris County and picks up Atascocita and Humble. Poe has been in Congress since 2005.

Poe has so far refused to endorse in the race and has taken to social media to remind voters he is staying out of the race.

"I'm grateful to represent the people of Texas in Congress and believe the decision on who should be the next Representative should be made by the voters. I have not and will not endorse ANYONE in the TX-2 primary," Poe wrote on his Facebook page.

Early voting for the March 6 primary begins Feb. 20.
AUSTIN -- A day after he reported raising a surprise $1.1 million for his underdog gubernatorial campaign. including a $1 million loan from himself, Democrat Andrew White on Monday was having to explain where that cash is.

On his latest campaign-finance report filed posted on the Texas Ethics Commission's website, White reported raising $138,632 in contributions between Jan. 1 and Jan. 25, and having $168,500 in cash in his campaign accounts.

The $1 million was listed only as a loan, not as available cash -- leading White's detractors to immediately question whether the $1 million loan was real, or was just intended to inflate his fundraising total.

The check was written Jan. 25, the last day of the reporting period, White said.

It's real, White told the Houston Chronicle on Tuesday between campaign stops in North Texas.

"It was a check that hadn't cleared by the deadline for the report," he said, noting it was properly reported as a loan. We couldn't list it as available cash on hand because of that. My wife deposited it and it took a few days to clear."

"The money is there," he said.

"This is the first time I've written a million-dollar check -- so it took some time for it to clear. It did."

Two Austin bankers said the deposit into available funds of a check that large would be delayed due to federal rules governing sizable fund transfers.

White said the loan was made by check, not in an electronic transfer between accounts.

Even without the $1 million loan, White still led the eight other Democrats running in the March 6 primary for the chance to challenge incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in the November general election. In his first two months, he reported raising $357,000 in contributions.

Lupe Valdez, the former Dallas County sheriff who is being supported in the primary by the party's elite, reported that she had raised about $48,500 in January, giving her a total of $100,000 since she first announced in December.

The other Democrats have raised much less.
The budget also provides $4 billion to improve veterans' hospitals and clinics. The VA health care system has received more federal support in recent years, but additional funding is needed to update existing buildings.

"Our veterans' facilities are run down and old," Schumer said. "We haven't really upgraded them for over 50 years."

The bipartisan agreement includes $5.8 billion over two years for the Child Care and Development Block Grant program. The program was established in 2014, but Schumer said the necessary funding wasn't there to support its mission. The grants will help increase access to affordable child care.

Dairy farmers will get help in the budget. Farmers have been struggling as milk prices fall . The Dairy Margin Protection Program, which was created with the passage of the 2014 farm bill, hasn't lived up to its promise. The spending plan includes more than $1 billion for a dairy safety net and would aim to develop a better dairy insurance program.

Other highlights of the spending plan include $4 billion for college affordability and $2 billion for medical research. The measure also reauthorizes the Child Health Insurance Program for 10 years.
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Unfortunately, not everything on the checklist of items will fall within the districts allotted budget, even with aid from NYSED. Members of the board of education do the best they can to account for this mandated work with everything else that needs to be budgeted. This process is exactly how capital projects come to fruition. If the district makes improvements that do not fall within the scope of a capital project, the entire cost falls on the district. If the district makes improvements that are included in a capital project, New York state will cover approximately 85 percent of the cost, thus requiring the districts taxpayers to be responsible for only 15 percent of the cost. Furthermore, even though the work is necessary, capital projects still need to be approved by a public vote.

This entire process can take years, starting with the survey all the way to the completion of the capital project. For example, the Auburn school district was required to complete a building condition survey in the 2010-11 school year. From there, a capital project was formulated. After years of conducting the surveys, formulating a capital project, getting approval from district voters, getting approval from NYSED, working with architects and contractors, among many other parts of the process, the district has just finally been able to complete the work outlined in that project.
When an improv workshop with Skaneateles Middle School's jazz ensemble and Brooklyn band The Huntertones began late Friday morning, all of the students' back were straight, their faces stiff.

An hour of jamming and encouragement later, the students' posture thawed and some began moving to the music as they played, like the professionals were doing.

The Huntertones, who have performed internationally, played with the middle school group, the Skaneateles Jazz Lab, in Skaneateles High School's auditorium. The Brooklyn band played with the high school group, the Skaneateles Big Band, later that day, and all three groups hit the stage later that night for a community concert.

After the Jazz Lab played "Work Song" by Nat Adderly, the Huntertones' saxophonist, Dan White, told the students to be undeterred by any mistakes they make, and to improvise.

"Literally everyone who played on stage just now played all the right notes," White said. "Now play the wrong ones, because that's fun."
Auburn police made a quick arrest in the theft of a purse at Wegmans on Tuesday afternoon.

According to a press release, at approximately 2:58 p.m. Auburn police were dispatched to the area of Wegmans at 1 Loop Road on a report that a white male had just stolen a purse from a shopping cart and fled toward Memorial City Hall's parking lot.

A white male matching the description given by the victim and a witness was located running near South Street by police. A subsequent investigation led to the arrest of David Mitchell, 32, of 42 South St., Auburn, after he was identified as the suspect involved in the larceny.

Police said they discovered Mitchell had property belonging to the victim at the time of his arrest. The stolen purse and other contents were later located in the Memorial City Hall lawn.

Mitchell was charged with fourth-degree grand larceny (E felony) and was later turned over to the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office on an unrelated bench warrant.

Mitchell is also under the supervision of the Cayuga County Probation Department until 2022, because of a 2017 conviction of fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.
AKRON, Ohio -- An Akron man was pistol-whipped during a robbery in the city's West Hill neighborhood, police said.

The 29-year-old man was not seriously hurt in the Tuesday incident on North Valley Street at Gold Street, according to an Akron police report.

No arrests have been made.

The man was walking just after 1 a.m. when an unidentified robber came up and pointed a handgun at him. The robber told the man to "give me all you got," the report says.

The man handed over his wallet and Android cellphone before the robber pistol-whipped him on the back of the head, the report says.

Akron Fire Department paramedics took the man to Cleveland Clinic Akron General to be evaluated.

The incident remains under investigation, police said.

To comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments page.
AKRON, Ohio -- Interest is so strong in the vacated Akron School Board seat that officials are opting to take more time than anticipated to select a replacement for John Otterman.

Otterman tendered his resignation Jan. 22, just days after Akron police found him passed out in his SUV in the North Hill neighborhood from a suspected fentanyl drug overdose.

With 57 applicants interested in the school board seat - two to three times more than expected -- the board wants more time to review the applications and decide how to proceed, said School Board President Patrick Bravo.

A likely reason interest is high for the open seat is because of the widely reported nature of Otterman's resignation, making more people aware the seat was open.

The board had planned to interview candidates this Saturday, and name the new member at its Monday night meeting. Now, the board will meet Saturday at the Akron Public Schools administration building for a working session to determine next steps in the process , Bravo said.

"We're very excited at the interest this has generated in the community and the number of qualified individuals that are passionate about Akron Public Schools," he said. "We have a very difficult decision ahead of us but a very important one."

The board had originally planned to interview every applicant. That is unlikely now, although it's something the board will decide this weekend, he said.

Under the Ohio Revised code, the board has 30 days -- through Feb. 21 -- to choose a new board member or it falls to Summit County Probate Court to select the replacement.

Bravo is confident the board will meet that deadline but wants the rest of the board to weigh in before committing to a timeline.

In addition to submitting a resume by the Feb. 1 deadline, applicants also were required to full out a basic online questionnaire that disclosed, among other things, whether they had run for the school board before and their levels of involvement and experience with Akron schools. Many of the 57 applicants are well qualified, he said.

"We're looking for someone who is passionate about helping us move Akron Public Schools forward, however that translates in a resume," Bravo said.

Bravo anticipates a process in which, after conducting interviews, the board holds a special meeting to announce the new board member ahead of the Feb. 21 deadline.

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AKRON, Ohio -- A Summit County judge ruled incriminating statements a man made in an interview with detectives investigating his father's beating death can be used against him at trial.

Judge Alison Breaux ruled Akron detectives read Nathen Moynihan his Miranda rights before he uttered "I did pop his head, though" while discussing the Feb. 20, 2017 assault of his father Daniel Moynihan.

The 47-year-old father died four days later at Summa Akron City Hospital.

Detective John Palmer halted the interview once Nathen Moynihan asked for an attorney, but the suspect offered the statement without provocation, Breaux wrote last week in her ruling.

"While [Moynihan] did in fact invoke his right to counsel, the statements made subsequent to his invocation were made knowingly, voluntarily and without [detectives] eliciting them," Breaux wrote in the ruling.

Nathen Moynihan, 28, of Newark is charged with murder, felonious assault and domestic violence in the incident that happened at his father's house on Harris Court near Vespyr Street.

He remains in custody at the Summit County Jail on $1 million bond, records show.

Nathen Moynihan is accused of striking his father in the head with a blunt object during an argument. Investigators have not said why the two men were fighting.

Shortly after the attack, Akron police officers found Nathen Moynihan walking on East Exchange Street near Cleveland Street. He was arrested and taken to the Akron Police Department, where Palmer and Sgt. Scott Lietke interviewed him for approximately five minutes, court records say.

Palmer read the Miranda rights at the start of the interview. Moynihan replied "yes, sir" when Palmer asked if he understood each of his rights, court records say.

But Moynihan's defense attorneys filed a motion to suppress the interview on Oct. 12, arguing he was not properly advised of his Miranda rights. They also argued the interview continued after he requested an attorney.

"Nathen Moynihan's statements on Feb. 20, 2017 were involuntary and cannot be offered for any purpose consistent with the due process clause," defense attorneys Brian M. Pierce and Daniel Bache wrote in the motion to suppress.

Several minutes into the interview, Moynihan said "Just so I can kind of collect my brain, is it possible I can get a lawyer?" Detectives clarified he wanted an attorney before they ceased asking questions, Summit County prosecutors argued in a response to the motion to suppress.

"Once the defendant indicated he wanted to cease questioning until an attorney was present, detectives immediately ended the interrogation," prosecutors wrote in the response. "All of the statements that the defendant gave to detectives were the product of his knowing and voluntarily waiver of his rights and should not be suppressed."

Lietke clarified Moynihan had a "right" to counsel. Moynihan said he would "go full throttle" but wanted to make sure he was saying the right things, court records say.

Lietke again clarified "that's your right," and Moynihan replied by saying "I did pop his head, though," court records say.

Detectives then took a DNA sample and left the room, court records say.

"The totality of the circumstances surrounding the interrogation of [Moynihan] reveal that he voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived his right to remain silent when he made statements to Detective Palmer," Breaux wrote in her ruling.

To comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments page.
AKRON, Ohio -- An Argentinian man indicted by a federal grand jury in Ohio in 2003 on accusations that he sold and shipped illegal firearms parts is asking a federal judge to toss his case.

Ricardo Deisernia says the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cleveland is content to just allow his case to sit and collect dust, with no hope for resolution.

His attorney Michael Rendon told U.S. District Judge John Adams in Akron during a hearing Wednesday that the decade-and-a-half that passed since Deisernia's indictment has hindered Deisernia's ability to mount a defense.

He had a right to have his case heard in a reasonable amount of time and that right was violated by the government's lack of diligence to bring Deisernia -- who has never lived in the U.S. -- to face the charges, Rendon argued.

"We have an obligation to be fair," Rendon said on behalf of his absent client. "And this is just not fair, your honor."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Patton said the U.S. "exhausted all of its available legal remedies" in trying to extradite Deisernia. He also said prosecutors have an interest in pursuing what they believe are serious charges.

Adams said he would rule through a written opinion.

Deisernia, now 51, was charged in 2003 with shipping parts of a gun silencer from Argentina to Middleburg Heights.

Federal agents here built their case against Deisernia, which stemmed from the 2001 arrests of Maxim Shebelnichenko and Sergey Tomiko in Pepper Pike, authorities said. Shebelnichenko told agents that he bought silencers and kits to convert guns into machine guns from Deisernia.

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent emailed Deisernia and bought a machine gun conversion kit and a silencer, which authorities said was shipped from Argentina to the United States, according to court filings.

After Deisernia's indictment, a judge in Ohio issued an arrest warrant and the U.S. sought his extradition. Federal prosecutors in Florida also brought similar charges that stemmed from a separate investigation.

Instead of sending Deisernia to the U.S., Argentina opened its own investigation and charged him for the same conduct, according to a November court filing from Deisernia.

In 2008, an Argentinian court dismissed the case, citing insufficient evidence. The country also denied the United States' request for extradition in 2009, citing a treaty between the two countries that said neither will send defendants if they have already been convicted or acquitted of the same crime.

In the past few years, Deisernia has worked to try to clear up his legal issues in the U.S., even though he said he wasn't sure of the specific charges against him. Federal prosecutors in Florida agreed to dismiss their case, court filings say.

Deisernia also asked Adams to unseal his criminal case in Ohio, which was kept secret for more than 14 years after an arrest warrant was issued.

Over objections from prosecutors, Adams unsealed the case in September.

At this point, it's only fair for prosecutors to drop the case against Deisernia, since his due process rights were violated, Rendon said Wednesday. Key witnesses that Deisernia would have called to defend himself have passed away, and important evidence is also gone, he said.

Most importantly, the U.S. government did nothing to bring Deisernia to the U.S. after Argentina denied extradition, Rendon said.

Adams wondered, though, what else else the government could have done to bring Deisernia to the U.S. After being questioned several times, Rendon said the U.S. could have made additional diplomatic overtures.

He said the government had an obligation to prosecute Deisernia in a timely fashion "by any means."

Patton, however, argued that there was little the government could do once Argentina denied extradition.

He also said there was one way for Deisernia to find out more about his case, even when it was sealed: he could have come to the U.S. to fight the charges.

While Deisernia may not have known the specific charges he faced, he has known about the U.S. criminal investigations since at least 2004, and the prosecution delay was because Deisernia's decided to stay in Argentina, Patton said.

Adams wondered if that was a fair, since prosecutors also fought Deisernia's request to unseal the criminal case and asked why Deisernia would come to the U.S. for an indictment he had not seen.

Rendon enlisted the First Amendment and the Arts Project at Case Western Reserve University to help argue to make the case public.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Chris Quinn, the editor of cleveland.com, is on the board for the First Amendment project. Its head, Patrick Kabat, also represented Advance Ohio in a separate legal action.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Democratic memo, rebutting the Nunes memo, is now in the hands of President Trump who called Democrats who didn't applaud him, "treasonous."

The memo, written by Democratic House Intelligence Committee members, is being reviewed for public release by the president who also called the committee's ranking Democrat, "Little Adam Schiff" one of "the biggest liars and leakers in Washington."

Will the Dem memo be released by the White House? Will it be released free of partisan redactions?

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders promises the memo will undergo the same review process the Nunes memo did.

"The American people can expect this memo to go through the exact same process that the Republican memo went through, which involved bringing all the stakeholders from a legal and national security perspective to weigh in before making a determination. We didn't release the memo prior to the review process being complete, and were not going to do that this time," Sanders told reporters.

Despite Sander's statement, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly is already responding to the Dem memo differently than he did the Nunes memo, signalling there may be heavy redactions if it's released at all.

"Where the first one was very clean relative to sources and methods, my initial cut is, this one is a lot less clean. But at the end of it all, it'll be guys like Rod Rosenstein, Chris Wray from the FBI, certainly the national security attorneys at the White House giving the president recommendations."

The White House released the Nunes memo over the strong objections of Rosenstein and Wray. Rosenstien has already met with Trump to review "differences between the two memos," according to Sanders. Kelly said he wants the review completed by Thursday.

Compared to the four page Nunes memo, the Dem memo is ten pages. Which means Trump is unlikely to read the memo unless it includes pictures or is in pop-up-book form. Trump prefers audio books/memos narrated by Sean Hannity and "Fox and Friends" hosts.

Republican members of Congress have said the Dem memo is deliberately loaded up with classified information to force Trump to make redactions so it looks like partisan censorship.

Trump put himself in a no-win situation with the Dem memo when he released the Nunes memo over the objections of Rosenstein and Wray.

If the White House refuses to release the Dem memo, now citing the recommendations of Rosenstein and Wray, it will reinforce the perception that the White House-released Nunes memo was nothing but a partisan political ploy.

If they release a memo filled with redactions, Democrats will claim the redactions were made to protect Trump and Nunes, not classified information and sources.

Nunes and Dem memos should not have been written or released.

Neither the Nunes memo or the Dem memo should have been authored by the House Committee or released by the White House.

The proper course of action to address concerns about possible of abuses of the FISA court would be to call for a probe by the Inspector General's office, together with Congressional hearings by the appropriate committees.

The House Intelligence Committee at one time could be counted on to provide nonpartisan oversight. With the dueling Nunes and Dem memo's, the House committee has redacted their credibility to speak on the Russian probe, or anything else.
ELYRIA, Ohio -- A mother and a grandmother have been charged after an 11-month-old girl tested positive for cocaine and marijuana.

Roxie McCall, 38, of Elyria, and Shanice McCall, 20, of Lorain, are charged with endangering children in the incident that happened Thursday on Chestnut Street near 2nd Street, according to a police report.

Officers responded to the home about 2 p.m. after receiving a call from the girl's mother, Shanice McCall, who said her child hit her head and was acting lethargic, the report says.

A dispatcher told the mother to take the child to the hospital if the girl's condition didn't improve.

Paramedics who came to the home to check the child told police that the grandmother, Roxie McCall, was acting odd, the report says. Paramedics contacted police to check on the child.

Police went to the home and found that the child appeared to be OK.

The mother took the child to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center. She again reported her child hit her head, but a scan did not reveal any injuries, the report says.

Roxie McCall

A blood screen revealed cocaine and marijuana in her system, the report says.

The child became unresponsive and was taken to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

During questioning at the hospital, the mother said that she stayed the night at her mother's the night before and left the next day to go to school. She left her child with her mother and sister while she was at school. She told investigators everyone in her mother's home smokes marijuana but would not explain how the child could have cocaine and marijuana in her system, the report says.

The grandmother wouldn't cooperate when investigators spoke to her at the home, stating they needed a search warrant and to leave her home.

While doing a sweep of the home they smelled burnt marijuana in the upstairs of the home. They also located the grandmother's two other children who are 17 and 9.

Lorain County Children Services was notified and responded to the hospital to put a safety plan together for the 11-month-old. They also made arrangements for the children to stay with a relative.

Police took a marijuana pipe, pills and two cellphones into evidence.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The fifth annual Medina Beer Fest is set for Saturday, March 10.

The fest will be 6-10 p.m. at Weymouth Country Club, 3946 Weymouth Road, Medina. The country club is about 2 miles southwest of Interstate 71 and Ohio 3.

Tickets are $35 and include 10 3-ounce samples, a food ticket and commemorative miniature pilsner glass. Designated-driver tickets are $10 and include food, glass and unlimited soda and water.

The fest is the largest fundraiser of the year for the non-profit Main Street Medina. Proceeds support the organization's promotion of the Medina Historic District. The fest will include raffles, music, dancing and a chance to win a cooler full of more than 60 bottles of craft beer.

The first two weeks of March will offer beer lovers several chances to sample suds. Winter Warmer Fest is Saturday, March 3, at Windows on the River in Cleveland while Art & Ale is Friday, March 9, at Akron Art Museum.

Medina's fest used to be held in the fall, but organizers decided to change it, said Matt Wiederhold, director of Main Street Medina.

"We decided to do a late-winter thing," he said. "This time of year people go a little stir crazy with the winter and look forward to it. And it's a warmup to St. Patrick's Day."

Wiederhold, who expects 250 to 300 people for the fest, said the beer list should be out soon.

For info or tickets, go to mainstreetmedina.com or call 330-722-6186.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A 5-year-old boy was inside a car that was stolen Wednesday afternoon from a gas station in the city's Lee-Miles neighborhood, police said.

The incident happened about 2:15 p.m. at the Shell gas station at the busy intersection of Lee Road and Harvard Avenue, according to police.

A woman was with her 5-year-old nephew when she drove to the gas station, police said. She parked her car and left it running, according to police.

A man who works at the gas station said the car, a red Hyundai Sonata, was stolen almost immediately after the woman got out of her car.

He said she took a few steps towards the gas station and a man jumped in the driver's seat and sped off, with the woman running after the car.

A citizen saw the car theft and followed the stolen, according to police. At some point, the driver of the stolen car fired at least one gunshot at the person following him, police said.

Cleveland police spokesperson Sgt. Jennifer Ciaccia said the boy was dropped off on East 140th Street and Glendale Avenue. He was not harmed, she said.

Police are still searching for the car that has Michigan plates and the person who stole it, Ciaccia said.

Prosecutors and police across the county have noted several recent incidents of thieves watching businesses to see if drivers will leave their cars running in order to steal them.

In a few recent cases, children have been inside the stolen car.

Two kids-- ages 6 and 2-- were inside a car stolen Dec. 15 from the parking lot of Chipotle in Highland Heights, according to police reports. The 2-year-old was found safe in Mayfield Village and the 6-year-old was found in Cleveland, Highland Heights police said.

A five-person crew of teens were arrested and charged in connection with conspiring to steal cars from businesses in Cleveland and its surrounding suburbs, according to court records.

That crew on Nov. 18 stole an SUV after a woman left it running outside Chillie's Beverage and Deli on East 116th Street near Forest Avenue, according to prosecutors. The teens pushed the woman's 9-year-old daughter out of the car and sped off with a 4-month-old boy still inside, according to police.

The woman chased after the stolen SUV, grabbed onto the door and was dragged several feet as thieves sped off, police said.

The crew dropped the boy off at a home about a half-mile away on Melba Avenue, according to police. Both kids were unharmed.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A Brooklyn man is accused of selling drugs inside Jack Casino in downtown Cleveland.

Desmond Smith, 27, is charged with fourth-degree drug trafficking in the incident that was captured on casino surveillance at about 5 a.m. Friday, court and police records say.

His bond was set at $10,000 during his Monday arraignment at Cleveland Municipal Court, where his case was bound over to a Cuyahoga County grand jury. Smith's next court appearance is slated for Friday.

Casino surveillance workers contacted a Cleveland police officer working secondary employment at Jack Casino after they saw Smith making a "hand-to-hand drug transaction" inside the building, according to a Cleveland police report.

The exchange happened with an unidentified man as the pair stood at the top of an escalator that leads down to the casino's welcome center, the report says.

The unidentified man left the casino after the transaction. Smith returned to the gaming floor and gambled at a table near the high-limits area, the report says.

Police confronted Smith and found suspected drugs inside his pocket, the report says. They recovered bags containing white powder and an unidentified "rock substance," as well as $274 in cash and two phones, the report says.

Smith has prior convictions in Cuyahoga County for aggravated robbery, burglary and attempted drug possession, court records say.

To comment on this story, visit Wednesday's crime and courts comments page.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - A lasting benefit for Cleveland for hosting the 2016 Republican National Convention is that the city got to keep more than $12 million in equipment and gear for safety forces that was paid for by the federal government.

The purchases were covered under a grant from the federal Justice Department that covered $41.6 million in costs associated with providing security for the convention, city officials said at a Wednesday news conference.

"The things that are left over, we're utilizing them very well," Mayor Frank Jackson said Wednesday.

Among the purchases:

300 bicycles and related gear for the bikes and riders at a cost of about $2,500 per bike.

Five motorcycles for the police department.

Seven mini ambulances for the department of emergency medical services

Light trucks and other vehicles used by fire department command staff, the fire prevention officers and the training academy

Cardiac monitors for EMS crews.

Protective suits and decontamination units for hazardous-material teams

Rehab equipment to help firefighters cool off at fire scenes before returning to action.

Four large vans for the police department, one of which was converted into an ice cream truck that handed out frozen treats over the summer as part of a police outreach program.

A video wall in the city's emergency operations center for use in managing crises.

A tracking-software system that allows the city to keep tabs on all equipment and resources in its safety forces, including when equipment needs maintenance or needs to be replaced.

The bicycles, which police used throughout the convention both for transportation and as part of crowd control, "by far were one of the most significant things purchased," Johnny Johnson, commander of the community policing bureau, said Wednesday.

Bicycle patrols by police officers were a casualty of police layoffs several years ago. The grant for convention security provided a means to bring those patrols back.

The convention, held in July 2016, put Cleveland in the national spotlight for several days, during which the city garnered praise for how it handled the event.

Jackson said the city benefitted in many ways.

"Not just in terms of reputation," the mayor said. "There's the economic benefit, the exposure -- the positive exposure we got - and the equipment."

This week, the federal government released its audit of the grant that the city was awarded to pay for security. Cleveland scored high marks for its administration of the grant -- which allowed for spending of up to $49.9 million.

Jackson noted that initially the federal government wanted the city to spend $2.5 million to hire a consultant to manage the grant spending.

"I had to go to Washington, D.C., to have a conversation with the Department of Justice," Jackson said, to convince federal officials the city could handle managing the grant with its own staff "because it's what we do."

Following the audit, Jackson said, that "has been proven to be so."
The Northbrook Heights assisted living facility in Auburn has a permanent power source again after running on generators for several days.

Power came back to the facility on 170 Murray St. around 2 p.m Tuesday after an issue with a transformer was resolved, said Amanda Henry, who works in office support for the facility. The outage was caused Friday by a smoking transformer outside the short- and long-term residential care facility.

Henry said all of the residents who stayed with family during the power issues are back in the facility. Northbrook has a census of 103 residents. Casey Warner, administrator for the facility, had previously said the building's systems had been maintained by rented generators the size of tractor trailers since Saturday.

While everything in the building is fine now, Henry said, it was "hectic" during the power problems. Instead of working 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, she and 12 to 15 other staff members stayed with residents until around 3:45 a.m. Saturday.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State University spent a total of $126,916 to find its new president, Harlan Sands.

The bulk of the money, $114,000, went to the search firm Wheless Partners to manage the search for the person to replace President Ronald Berkman, who will retire on June 30.

The remainder was spent on transportation, lodging and food for candidates who came to campus to be interviewed, according to a summary provided by Chief Marketing Officer Rob Spademan.

It is not known where the candidates lived because the university did not release the names of anyone being considered.

The six-month process ended Jan. 29, when Sands, vice dean and CFO of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, was introduced as the new president.

Sands plans to visit the campus often before taking office on July 1 and will be paid up to $125,000 for his time, according to his contract.

Here's the breakdown of the search and costs.

The search by the numbers:

171: Candidates who were referred or applied for the position. All were reviewed by Wheless.

17: Candidates presented by Wheless to CSU's 24-member search committee.

10: Candidates interviewed by the search committee via video technology.

5: Candidates brought to Cleveland to be interviewed by the search committee.

3: Candidates brought to Cleveland to be interviewed by the board of trustees.

The costs:

$99,000: Wheless contract.

$15,000: Additional expenses/travel for Wheless (expenses allowed in the contract).

$8,474: Airfare for candidates.

$2,222: Hotel costs for candidates.

$1,346: Food costs for candidates.

$873: Ground transportation for candidates.
HIGHLAND HILLS, Ohio - Cuyahoga Community College will seek a new president for its the Eastern Campus to succeed J. Michael Thomson.

Thomson was named president of Northwest State Community College in Archbold, Ohio on Feb. 2. Thomson, who has been Eastern Campus president since 2013, will leave on Feb. 22.

Lisa Williams, Tri-C's vice president of learning and engagement, will serve as interim president while the college conducts a search for Thomson's successor.

Williams joined Tri-C in 2002 and served in various positions in the health-career programs, eventually becoming the assistant dean of health careers and sciences at Western Campus. She then served as associate dean of health careers at the Eastern Campus for more than four years, the college said.

In 2009, Williams was named vice president for academic affairs at Terra State Community College in Fremont, Ohio.

In 2013, she returned to Tri-C as the vice president of learning and engagement. She oversees a wide variety of areas directly related to academic affairs, including online learning and technology, curriculum development and faculty development.

Williams earned an associate degree from Tri-C. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Akron and a doctorate in higher-education administration from the University of Toledo.

While Williams serves as interim president, Lindsay English, associate vice president of academic professional development and assessment, will serve as interim vice president of learning and engagement.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Four experienced jurists are seeking two open seats on the Ohio Supreme Court.

One Republican and one Democrat filed for each of the two open races for seats held by Justices Terrence O'Donnell and Mary DeGenaro ahead of Wednesday's 2018 candidate filing deadline.

Justices must be nominated in a partisan primary in Ohio, but their party affiliation won't appear on the ballot in November.

Justice Mary DeGenaro

DeGenaro, a Republican, was appointed last month to replace William O'Neill, who resigned to run for governor. Both O'Donnell and O'Neill could not seek reelection because they turned 70 while in office.

Her appointment gave Republicans control of all seven seats on the bench.

DeGenaro will have about nine months of incumbency behind her before the November election. DeGenaro, 56, had served on Ohio's Seventh District Court of Appeals in Youngstown since 2001 and previously served on the Poland Village Council. She has a bachelor's degree from Youngstown State University and a law degree from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law.

Judge Melody Stewart

Judge Melody Stewart, a Democrat on the Eighth District Court of Appeals in Cleveland, will challenge DeGenaro. Stewart, 55, was first elected to the court in 2006 and has served as a visiting justice on the Ohio Supreme Court. Stewart is a member of the Ohio Criminal Justice Recodification Committee, a panel that is examining and suggesting updates to Ohio's criminal code.

Stewart earned a bachelor of music degree from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and a law degree from Cleveland Marshall.

Judge Michael Donnelly

In the other race, Democrat Michael P. Donnelly, a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge, and Republican Craig Baldwin, a state appellate court judge from the Fifth District in Canton, filed as candidates.

Donnelly, 51, has served on the court since 2005 and previously served as a Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor. Donnelly is a member of the Supreme Court's Death Penalty Task Force. He has a bachelor's degree from John Carroll University and a law degree from Cleveland Marshall.

Judge Craig Baldwin

Baldwin, 54, was appointed to the Fifth District in 2013 after serving eight years as a Licking County Common Pleas judge. He previously was the director of the Licking County Child Support Enforcement Agency. Baldwin graduated from Ohio University and Capital University Law School.
KENT, Ohio - Kent State University is paying tribute to the life of Sandy Scheuer, who was on her way to class on May 4, 1970 when she was shot and killed by Ohio National Guardsmen responding to student protestors.

On Feb. 12, almost 50 years after four students were killed and nine wounded, the May 4 Visitors Center will open its newest exhibition, "Sandy's Scrapbook."

The exhibition is based on scrapbooks that Scheuer kept while at Kent State and will feature items and memories provided by her family and her sister, Audrey.

Scheuer was a junior honors student, a speech therapy major and a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, the university said. Outside of the classroom, she was an alumna of Boardman High School in Ohio and an active member of the local Jewish community.

"In researching the exhibit, we found several of Sandy's personal scrapbooks," Mindy Farmer, director of the May 4 Visitors Center, said in a news release. "They were full of candid photos, letters from friends, concert tickets and mementos from major life events. We soon realized that the best way to honor Sandy was to let her curate her own life. The colors, flowers and many of the images come directly from the scrapbook she kept while here at Kent State. And, as much as possible, we have left her original labels."

"Sandy's Scrapbook" is the first in what what is expected to be a series of four exhibitions in tribute to the four people killed on May 4 - Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Scheuer and William Schroeder.

The purpose behind these exhibits is to focus not just on the deaths of these students, but on the lives that they lived and the people that they were, the university said.

"Too often, Sandy, Bill, Allison and Jeff are only known for their tragic deaths," Farmer said. "We want to show that they lived interesting and full lives. And, in many ways, their stories represent the divides of the era. Allison and Jeff were activists. Bill was a member of the ROTC, struggling with the meaning of the Vietnam War. Sandy was an honors student trying to get to class. They were all siblings, children of loving parents and students of Kent State University. They were people with enormous potential, taken way too soon. That is what we hope to convey."

The exhibition was designed by Glyphix Studio, a student-staffed design studio within Kent State's School of Visual Communication Design, and IdeaBase, a student-powered design agency within Kent State's College of Communication and Information.

"Sandy's Scrapbook" is sponsored by the Youngstown Area Jewish Federation, Hillel at Kent State and Kent State's Jewish Studies Program in the College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information about the May 4 Visitors Center visit kent.edu/may4.
PERRY TOWNSHIP, Ohio -- A Lake County man was indicted Tuesday after he ferried several grams of a powerful opioid from China to the United States, prosecutors said.

Karl F. Brewster, 58, of Perry Township, imported 35 grams of methoxyacetyl fentanyl from the People's Republic of China between March 10 and April 25, 2017, according the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of Ohio.

Fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opiate analgesic that is often mixed with heroin, is responsible for thousands of deaths across the state and nationwide, officials have said.

If you would like to comment on this story, please visit Tuesday's crime and courts comments section.
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A member of Ohio's medical marijuana advisory committee who quit last week warned that the new program won't work as legislators intended.

Ted Bibart, a Columbus-area attorney who was appointed to represent patients on the committee, said the advisory panel has had little opportunity to help craft rules and regulations for the program.

"My fear is that, in the absence of a strong commission of the type originally contemplated by House Bill 523, the Ohio program is headed the way of New York and Illinois, programs debilitated by bureaucracy that have failed to provide adequate patient access and physician participation," Bibart wrote in his resignation letter to House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger.

New York and Illinois are frequently cited as examples for having programs with restrictions that limit the eligible patient population, which makes products harder to get and more expensive for patients.

When the medical marijuana bill passed the House in 2016, it created a commission to set up and regulate the program for patients, marijuana businesses and physicians. But the Senate wanted existing state agencies to develop the program.

The final version of the bill compromised by dividing the work among three agencies -- the Ohio State Medical Board, Board of Pharmacy and Department of Commerce -- and establishing an advisory committee to provide feedback to regulators.

The 14-member committee included physicians, pharmacists, a nurse, a county sheriff and representatives for patient and caregiver communities. The committee did not draft rules and regulations and had no authority to make changes.

Bibart was one of the more outspoken and critical members of the committee. He said committee members didn't receive meeting materials in advance and didn't have any working sessions to discuss or debate proposed details of the program.

"The end result is that this strong group of interdisciplinary experts has been left with a forum that is ill-equipped to consider, discuss and develop substantive policy recommendations for presentation to the regulators," Bibart wrote.

In an interview, Bibart said Ohio's program should have been shaped by learning from what's worked and what hasn't worked in other states. He said that hasn't happened with the state's three-pronged approach to writing the rules and regulations.

The Department of Commerce is "responsible for standing up a safe, patient-centered, transparent and sustainable program as outlined in House Bill 523," a spokeswoman said in response to Bibart's opinion of the program.

The law sets a Sept. 8 deadline to get the program up and running, but when legislators passed the law, they anticipated it would would be operational before then.

The Department of Commerce awarded provisional cultivation licenses to 24 companies in November. The Pharmacy Board will award licenses to up to 57 dispensaries statewide; Bibart and others have questioned whether that's enough to serve patients.

Mobile readers, click here to read the resignation letter.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The proposed fix to congressional redistricting Ohio voters will be asked to approve in May might not be the best solution, but it's far better than what exists now.

Think of it this way: should it pass, the politicians will still have their hands in the cookie jar, but Grandma will be lurking around the corner trying to make sure no one gets more than their fair share.

The amendment to the Ohio Constitution the General Assembly is placing on the ballot includes rules designed to keep most counties together, a directive (not precisely defined) to keep districts compact and encouragement for bipartisan approval.

Ultimately, however, it will be up to the politicians - operating for the first time under state-mandated restraints - to make sure Ohio's next congressional map created in 2021 isn't some form of a repeat of the current map that was designed for partisan reasons.

Learn more about gerrymandering, what's wrong with it and potential fixes for Ohio from a cleveland.com series - Out of Line: Impact 2017 and Beyond

The plan has the support of a coalition of good-government groups that had been circulating petitions for their own proposal. It's possible that the petition plan could still go to the voters in November, if the May issue fails.

Here's how the new plan stacks up.

Will the politicians remain in charge?

Yes. Unlike in other states, including Arizona, California and Iowa, an independent commission or a non-partisan state agency will not be in charge of creating the Ohio map.

The chief sponsor in the Ohio Senate, Republican Matt Huffman of Lima, firmly believes this is the work of the state legislature.

That's why the map-drawing will start in the legislature, then possibly be turned over to a seven-member commission of lawmakers and their appointees.

The separate petition plan would give all this authority to the seven-member commission.

Will the minority party have a say?

Yes, for all but a last resort.

Under current law, maps can be approved with a simple majority vote of the legislature and the governor's signature.

When last two maps were approved in 2001 and 2011, Republicans controlled all three steps in the process - the Ohio House, Ohio Senate and governor's office.

The result is a current map that makes little geographic sense and almost no competitive races, leading to Republican wins far exceeding the state's political leanings.

The work on the maps would be much different going forward.

The legislature could approve the maps with a super majority (60 percent), but only if at least 50 percent of the members of the minority party vote yes.

If that fails, the work would go to a new commission made up of the governor, secretary of state, auditor and four appointments from the legislature. This commission could set the map, but only with votes from at least two members of each party.

If that fails, it goes back to the legislature, where approval from 60 percent of the members would be needed, but this time with only one-third of the minority members.

If that fails, the legislature could approve a map for four years - instead of 10 years - by a simple majority.

The legislative actions would require approval from the governor, unless a veto is overridden. And the public could seek to overturn the maps through a referendum.

Richard Gunther, a professor emeritus of political science at Ohio State University, is concerned that the process will fall to one of the last two steps, requiring little or no bipartisan buy-in. He helped craft the separate petition proposal.

Current Ohio congressional districts were designed to heavily favor Republicans in 12 districts and Democrats in four, leaving little opportunity for general election voters to hold their representatives accountable. These results from 2016 show no close races. Rep. Pat Tiberi has since resigned his seat.

Is this method different from what was proposed in the petition?

The Ohio League of Women Voters, Common Cause Ohio, the Ohio Environmental Council and others since last year have been circulating petitions aimed at placing reform on the November ballot.

Their plan calls for handing the work directly to the seven-member commission - bypassing the legislature. The commission would be required to come up with a map, with at least two votes from each party represented on the commission.

The petition plan includes stricter rules on how the maps could be drawn, including limits on when cities, townships and counties could be split, and rules maintaining a political balance in Ohio based on previous statewide election results.

What would the new plan mean for Cleveland?

Cleveland would get a single representative, unlike now where the East Side is represented by Marcia Fudge of Warrensville Heights and the West Side by Marcy Kaptur of Toledo - both Democrats.

Cleveland and Cincinnati could not be split under the new rules.

But since the cities are not large enough for a wholly contained district, their districts would extend into the suburbs. How this is done will be the call of the politicians, hopefully working for a bipartisan solution in the interest of the voters.

Columbus, which currently is larger than a single district, likely would have one wholly contained district, and one shared with neighboring communities.

Otherwise, there generally are no city specific rules in the proposal.

The separate petition proposal sets rules to "minimize the number of splits of counties, municipal corporations and townships, in that order."

Under current law, there are no limits.

What about Cuyahoga and Summit counties?

Fewer splits.

Both Cuyahoga and Summit counties currently are in parts of four districts, all extending into other counties.

The proposal would prevent creating more than three districts in any county.

The congressional map now splits Cuyahoga and Summit counties four ways each, and Lorain and Portage counties three ways each.

How about other counties?

There are no limits now. All 88 counties can be split, if the lawmakers so desire.

Under the proposal going on the May ballot, 65 counties must remain wholly within a single district, 18 counties could be split two ways, and five counties could be split three ways.

The proposal, however, is silent on which counties could be split, raising an objection from Lorain Democrat Rep. Dan Ramos, who complained on the Ohio House floor that nothing was included to prevent Lorain County from being split three ways as it currently is.

One current congressional district extends from a corner of Lorain County to near the Indiana border. Another crosses the northern portion of Lorain County, cutting through on the way from Cleveland to Toledo.

The petition proposal seems to place a higher priority on limiting county splits, but does not specifically say how few counties could be split.

Rep. Dan Ramos of Lorain worries that the proposal leaves open the possibility of a map like this, splitting Lorain County into three far-reaching districts. This is the current map.

What other rules are included involving county splits?

As noted earlier, there are no current restrictions.

Huffman designed some new rules for the May ballot proposal to eliminate some the shenanigans done previously.

For example, if a county is split into two districts, each district must be contiguous within the county.

The example shown below for Hamilton County would no longer be allowed.

Sen. Matt Huffman used this Hamilton County congressional map to highlight one form of map drawing that would not be allowed under the proposal.

What is the status of the petition proposal?

Think of it an insurance policy for those who really want reform.

"We need to discuss our next steps with our coalition partners," Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, told cleveland.com in an email Tuesday. "We will be focusing on the May Primary but I definitely don't want to put those clipboards away unless SJR (Senate Joint Resolution) 5/Issue 1 passes."

The coalition has gathered about 200,000 signatures, two-thirds of what is needed to take its proposal to the November ballot.

Will all this work?

Credit State Sen. Kenny Yuko, Democrat of Richmond Heights, for offering a dose of honesty during his speech on the Senate floor before voting Monday to place the proposal on the May ballot.

"Might not be picture perfect. Might not even work," Yuko said."I can't guarantee it. But I think what we did was create an opportunity that is better today than what we had in the past."

Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner.

Previously:
CLEVELAND, Ohio - President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to put on a parade to show off America's military might, according to reports.

The idea came after the president saw a military display during his trip to France last July - which he called "one of the greatest parades I've ever seen." He was also impressed by the troop display put on in his honor during a November visit to China.

While military parades involving troops and weaponry are common in authoritarian states - such as China and North Korea -- traditionally, the United States has not embraced displays of raw military power.

The last major military parade in the United States was to mark our nation's victory in the Gulf War in 1991 under President George W.H. Bush. Then, opinion was "sharply divided" at the time over the appropriateness of the parade.

Before that, Americans celebrated victories over Germany and Japan at the end of World War II.

What do you think? Is a parade to show off our military might something you support? Let's debate the idea in today's "Talk It Out" segment between noon and 2 pm.

In our Talk it Out pre-curated conversation, comments are published after they are reviewed -- promptly -- to ensure they adhere to our community rules, which prohibit indecent, hateful, abusive or harassing comments, personal attacks, vulgar nicknames, personal information including telephone numbers and addresses, email addresses belonging to others, anything inciting criminal behavior and copyrighted material for which you do not own the rights.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A third man is charged in connection with a home invasion in which a 44-year-old man was shot in the groin.

Dwayne Gilcrease, 23, is charged with aggravated robbery. He is not in police custody and a warrant was issued Tuesday for his arrest.

Two other men were charged in the case.

Rueshawn Gilcrease, 20, is set for trial on March 12 on charges of aggravated burglary, felonious assault and kidnapping. Roderick Gilcrease, 27, previously pleaded guilty to felonious assault and was sentenced to three years in prison.

The three Gilcrease's and a fourth man on April 27 stormed into a home in the 1300 block of Russell Road, south of Superior Avenue, police said. They surrounded three men inside the home and pointed guns at them.

A 41-year-old man inside the home tried to fight with the gunmen, then ran from the home. The gunmen fired about seven gunshots at the fleeing man, with all the bullets missing him, according to police. An 18-year-old man inside the home was not hurt.

The group shot the 44-year-old man in the groin. The man also suffered a head injury, according to police.

Roderick Gilcrease also faces aggravated murder charges in connection with the June 26 fatal shooting of Dominque Robinson, 26.

Dwayne Gilcrease faces felony drug trafficking charges stemming from a June 12 arrest in Euclid. He pleaded not guilty in the case. A warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to show up for a pretrial hearing prior to his trial, which has not yet been scheduled.

To comment on this story, please visit our crime and courts comments section.
COLUMBUS, Ohio--At a time when Republicans hold a record high number of seats in the Ohio General Assembly, Democrats are feeling good about their chances this November.

For the first time in six years, Democrats are fielding candidates in every legislative race this year. And though a lot can happen between now and the general election, Republicans are quietly preparing to lose Statehouse seats for the first time since 2010.

Even if a so-called "blue wave" crashes over Ohio this year, it's unlikely to lift Democrats to majorities in either legislative chamber - Republicans hold 24 of 33 Senate seats and 66 of 99 House seats. But it could help Democrats crack GOP supermajorities: if they win at least four Senate seats or six House seats, Republicans would no longer have the three-fifths majority needed to override gubernatorial vetoes or put measures on the statewide ballot without Democratic votes.

"It's very likely that Democrats pick up seats in the legislature in 2018," said John Green, director of the University of Akron's Bliss Institute of Applied Politics. Historically, the party that doesn't control the White House tends to win midterm elections, Green noted, and this year there are a lot of legislative seats (specifically, 21 in the House and six in the Senate) where Republicans aren't running again, mostly because of term limits or because they're running for higher office.

Even so, because of gerrymandering, only a limited number of seats are in play this year. House Democrats are focusing on about a dozen or so GOP-held House seats they consider vulnerable, including seven districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016 (most of which are currently held by Republicans who can't run again because of term limits). Senate Democrats, meanwhile, are looking to compete in five or six districts held by term-limited Republicans. (Because Senate terms are staggered, only 17 Senate seats are on the ballot this year.)

Meanwhile, no Democratic-held districts appear to be easy Republican pickups this year, though that's mainly because Republicans during the past two election cycles have snapped up every legislative race that was even remotely competitive for them.

One of the Senate seats Democrats are eyeing is District 29, where Republican incumbent Scott Oelslager is term-limited. Running against Republican House Speaker Pro Tem Kirk Schuring for the seat is Lauren Friedman, a 37-year-old U.S. Naval Academy graduate from North Canton who works for the Stark County Board of Developmental Disabilities.

Friedman has never run for political office before. After Donald Trump won the presidency in 2016, she became a political activist, but she said in an interview that she feels that's not enough.

"What I realized over more than a year is that I have to be one of the people who steps up to make the change actually happen," Friedman said. "It's not enough for me to just vote ...and make phone calls or write emails."

Even if 2018 is a Democratic wave year, Ohio legislative Republicans still have a number of advantages. Most Republican Senate and House candidates are either running for re-election or currently hold another office, which gives them invaluable name recognition. The GOP also has way more money to spend on their candidates: the Ohio Senate Republicans' campaign arm, for example, reported last week that it has $2.8 million in its bank account, while the Senate Democrats had just $42,402 on hand.

Kenny Street, who heads the Ohio House Republicans' campaign arm, voiced confidence that Republicans will have a strong showing this year, noting that Democrats entered the 2016 election with similarly high expectations but ended up losing two legislative seats.

"Every election has its challenges, certainly," Street said. "But Republicans' enthusiasm, as I travel district to district, is still as high as it ever has been in my five years around here. I feel good about our shot."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The two Republican candidates for Ohio governor are touting dueling endorsements from major gun-rights groups.

The Buckeye Firearms Association on Wednesday endorsed Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, saying he has fought for gun owners since becoming Ohio's top law enforcement official in 2010. The group's endorsement is notable in that it was vociferously opposed to DeWine when he first ran for the job.

"He's done a lot more than do his job," Buckeye Firearms Association President Jim Irvine said of DeWine. "He's been pro-active. He's been the best attorney general we've ever worked with."

Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor

Meanwhile, Ohioans for Concealed Carry on Tuesday announced it had endorsed Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, saying she was a strong supporter of gun rights during her time as a state legislator. Doug Deeken, a director for the group, said he doesn't believe DeWine's conversion is authentic.

"Mary Taylor historically has been very good for us on these issues, and is good for us today. DeWine's record is extensively bad. We do not believe the 'he's seen the light' mantra that his campaign chants today," Deeken said.

The DeWine campaign likely hopes the group's new endorsement will help provide cover for what Republicans generally view as a political vulnerability with GOP primary voters. The endorsement for Taylor is less surprising, since she, like other DeWine primary opponents in the past, has hoped to exploit the issue to her advantage.

Since he's become attorney general, DeWine helped increase the number of states whose concealed-carry permits are valid in Ohio and vice-versa, Irvine said. Irvine said DeWine also advocated for Ohio updating its background-check system to more quickly check whether someone is legally allowed to buy a gun, and in the aftermath of the 2012 Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, encouraged local school districts to consider arming school employees.

The DeWine campaign released a web video of Irvine explaining his endorsement:

The Buckeye Firearms Association and Irvine previously had repeatedly excoriated DeWine for his record on guns, including DeWine's vote as a U.S. senator in 1999 to require background checks at gun shows. DeWine's record resulted in him landing an endorsement from the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence, a gun-control group, in 2006.

Irvine said he believes DeWine had a change of heart after he left the U.S. Senate in 2006. After moving back to Ohio, DeWine reconnected with friends and family who hunt and fish, Irvine said.

"I think like a lot of other people, he lost his way in DC in the swamp there. But he came home and reconnected with his roots, and he's been outstanding to work with," Irvine said.

Deeken with Ohioans for Concealed Carry said Taylor, as a state representative, sponsored the original law creating the concealed-carry permit system in Ohio in 2003. She also was a co-sponsor on a 2006 bill that set a standard statewide system of regulating guns, overruling tougher regulations from local communities, including Cleveland.

"For her, being around gun folks is not just a photo-op," Deeken said. "It's part of her day-to-day, normal life. Mary Taylor's always been a good friend of the movement... so it was really a no-brainer in this case."

The Buckeye Firearms Association and Ohioans for Concealed Carry have a common history, but the BFA splintered off in 2004 over a philosophical disagreement. Both groups have successfully sued Cleveland, persuading courts to strike down efforts by local officials to pass gun restrictions in an effort to reduce gun-related crimes.
CLEVELAND -- Did you breathe a sigh of relief when 2017, with all its divisiveness, partisan pettiness and political hyperbole, came to a merciful end? Next year has got to be different, you said to yourself ... right?



Well, it's next year, and the political mood will be different all right. It'll be worse - unless you put down the newspaper, turn off the TV and radio, sign off the computer, and go back to a landline phone.



We've only got nine months until the midterm elections. It's going to seem like nine years. With control of Congress, the future of the Supreme Court and likely impeachment of President Donald Trump (if the Democrats prevail) hanging in the balance, this might be the most acrimonious electoral gestation period of our lives. With these high stakes, it will be all-out partisan war, and we'll be up to our eyeballs in polls, threats and predictions of doom from both sides until the final count is tallied after Nov. 6.



Just in the week since the president's State of the Union address, we've seen Trump accusing Democrat leaders of treason for not clapping at his applause lines, the dueling partisan (there's that word again) "classified" memos regarding the Russia investigation, and Trump's bows for his supposed role in the stock market boom, followed quickly by liberal glee when the market turned sour in recent days.



In the wake of all that, we've been treated to long, anguished treatises on the meaning of treason, endless examinations of what the Republican memo meant or didn't mean, what might be in the as-yet-unreleased Democratic memo, and examinations of the causes of the stock slide. (Nobody really knows for sure, but to simplify: If you're a Republican, it wasn't Trump's fault, and if you're a Democrat, it probably was).



Most tiring has been the reaction to Trump's offhand remark in Ohio Monday that the Democrats who failed to cheer the good economic news in his SOTU address were treasonous. The Washington Post, for example, devoted 1,000-plus words of overheated dissection of what constitutes treason, while everyone (except, perhaps, Trump) knows that nine would have sufficed: "Lack of enthusiasm for the president is not treason."



From the minute Trump took office, his scandalized opponents have been focused on next November, energizing their base, rounding up progressive candidates, looking toward the day when they could Take Their Country Back.



They've been heartened by the oft-repeated historical trend that the party controlling the White House gets smacked around in the midterm elections. And they point to the polls that show Trump's approval rating bumping along at around 40 percent. (He got a boost after the tax reform bill passed and after his SOTU address, but who knows what the economic news and ongoing Russia investigation will do to the numbers.)



In short, all indicators point to a Democratic celebration come November.



If the 2016 election taught us anything, however, it's that when it comes to Trump, polls and past indicators are meaningless - so I've got a different theory.



Let me be clear. I didn't like Trump before the election; didn't vote for him; don't like him much now. His boorish approach to negotiations both foreign and domestic, lack of personal integrity, constant unrestrained tweeting, and astounding lack of knowledge put me squarely in the camp of those who still can't believe he's the president of the United States.



But here's the thing: Not once in the last 13 months have I awakened in the morning thinking to myself that I wish Hillary Clinton were president. And I know I've got a lot of company.



We're the group that doesn't care for the man, but likes the changes in our government over the past year.



So I think the 2018 elections are not going to be a referendum on Donald Trump. We'll get to that in 2020. They're going to be about the direction of the country, and which senators and congressfolk are best suited to keep it headed in a positive way.



You want polls? Here's one: A Quinnipiac poll last month showed that 66 percent of voters think the economy is "excellent" or "good" - the highest rating since the poll first asked the question in 2001.



Here's some more: The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Survey remains near a 17-year high, while 58 percent in a Gallup poll were satisfied with the state of the nation's economy at the end of Trump's first year in office - up 12 points from Barack Obama's last days in office. There are lots of other similar signs.



Assuming nothing catastrophic happens in the meantime, people will be voting on those issues when they go to the polls in November - not on Trump's tweets. They'll be considering the laundry list of positives that he ticked off in his address to the nation: the economy, jobs, the tax cut, the judiciary, military preparedness, terrorism, stronger vetting of immigrants, elimination of government regulations, and more.



Think back to that glowering group of Democrats last Tuesday, all dressed in funereal black, with their leader, the once (and future?) Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, looking like she'd just bitten into a lemon as Trump ticked off those issues. Are the American people likely to want to turn things back over to that crew?



I've got my doubts.

Ted Diadiun is a member of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.

***********

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After months of silence, Firaxis has quenched our thirst for details on the Rise and Fall update for Civilization VI (thats 6, in good ol Roman) that was announced last year. Originally revealed back in November 2017, the latest details explain the planned additions in more depth, including religions playing a prominent role, different governors and their influence, the ways a Dark, Golden or Heroic age can diminish or amplify gameplay, and much more.

The newest video on the Rise and Fall expansion can be found below as well as on Firaxis official YouTube channel. Unfortunately, while both trade and the new emergencies (3:20) are mentioned to be tied to Co-Op, details on how they actually work in-game are still scarce and never answered in the video. Thankfully the video also shows new leaders (4:12) and a breakdown of the new Ages features (0:20) so we are given some new information.

The previous Rise and Fall video had emphasized the story-building qualities that this expansion is set to bring by giving the trailer a much more cinematographic feel. The previous trailer can be found here. While these more fleshed out details are exciting, Firaxis ended its official blog post by assuring fans that We have lots more to share before this expansion releases on February 8, 2018 that we cant wait to tell you about. That blog post in its entirety can be found here.

Will you be grabbing this expansion, come February 8th? Or is the sun setting on your civilizations from games past? Let us know in the comments, and as always, for all things Co-Op, stick with your friends here at Co-Optimus.com.

Source: Civilization.com
Remember that in addition to protecting society from dangerous people, the "corrections" aspect of the state prison system recognizes that most inmates will one day be released, so the state has an obligation to help them change their ways and learn from their mistakes whenever possible.

The evolving nature of prisons means working to find the middle ground between allowing too much freedom for inmates and having them isolated for long periods of time.

Having said that, we acknowledge that boots-on-the-ground corrections officers are the ones tasked with implementing whatever rules policymakers put in place. For the sake of those workers, prisons do need mechanisms in place for dealing with prisoners prone to repeated acts of violence. If solitary confinement is going too far, another avenue has to be made available for addressing the behavior of incorrigible inmates.

It's going to be up to the state to closely monitor the effects of these and other policy changes to make sure that the intent and supposition behind them bring about their hoped-for results. The prison system must evolve over time as modern science and technology pave the way for improvements  but care must be taken to identify and correct any unforeseen negative consequences that result from reforms.
Lynk & Co dealership expected to be doubled by end of 2018

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On Tuesday, Geely Auto said its premium brand Lynk & Co delivered 6,137 vehicles in January, increasing 2.68 percent compared with 6,012 units of December, 2017. And according to a local media, Lynk & Co has received a total of almost 10,000 orders for new vehicles.

Yi Han, executive deputy general manager of Lynk & Co Sales Company, said he wouldnt worry about sales performance before the model hit the market, but the production capacity may be a concern. At present, Lynk & Co 01 and Volvos engines are built at the same factory. As Lynk & Co and Volvo have strong market demands, it may be difficult for engine production to meet market demands. It is said that by the first half of this year, the sales will, to some extent, depend on the output. Lynk & CO 02 will make its debut in the first half of this year.

The premium brand has been stepping up efforts to expand the production capacity. The Luqiao factory in Zhejiang province, which mainly builds Lynk & Co 01, is expected to produce 200,000 vehicles per year while the Zhangjiakou factory will start to produce Lynk & Co 02 and 03. Besides, a new engine factory is also under consideration. With the production expansion, the sales of Lynk & CO are expected to increase accordingly.

Lynk & Co has nearly 100 dealerships at present. In accordance with the companys plan, the number will be doubled by the end of this year. The increase in the number of dealership will be key to raise sales as well as to boost the brands publicity.
FAW Besturn plans to launch 2 new SUVs in 2018

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Liu Hongbo, director of FAW Besturn's marketing department revealed that FAW Besturn will release two compact SUVs in 2018. One will be presented in April and the other one will be released in July. With the integration of FAW Besturn, FAW Jilin Automobile and Tianjin FAW, FAW Besturn will have a dealership network of more than 700 dealers. In the future, the new vehicle products under FAW's self-owned brands will be sold across the network.



The new models will be two intelligent connected vehicles. Between them, one is the Besturn Senya R9, Liu Hongbo added. The two compact SUVs will be equipped with D-Life 2.0 connected intelligent-control system.

The Besturn Senya R9 features a big-mouth and three-banner chrome intake grille and a well-rounded rear end. Its bumper is simply designed. And it boasts LED daytime running lamps above the two round fog lights. Featuring reflective stripes on the bottom fender and one rectangular exhaust pipe on both sides, the model looks sportier.

The model boasts a multi-layered interior with a three-spoke steering wheel and an instrument panel featuring a color display. In its center console, the R9 offers a floated screen. Featuring chrome trims around the air conditioner vents on both sides, the model looks more exquisite. In addition, the new model also adopts a variety of high-tech amenities, such as automatic parking and electronic brake.

Powered by a 1.5T turbocharged engine, mated with a manual or an automatic transmission, the Besturn Senya R9 will deliver a maximum power output of 110kW.
NIO to build own factory in Shanghai

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- NIOs second factory will be located in Jiading District, Shanghai, according to a local media. People familiar with the matter said that the factory will cover 800 mu (about 533,333 square meters) and the automaker will begin to construct the factory in the middle of this year.

NIO will build the factory on its own, rather than jointly establishing the factory with Jianghuai Automobile, just like its first factory in Hefei. It is revealed that the first mass-produced model, ES8 will be built in its Hefei factory while the factory in Shanghai will produce its future models.

Actually, early in December, 2016, NIO and NIO Capital entered into strategic partnership with Hubei province and signed agreement with Hubei Yangtze River Industry Fund and Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone. In accordance with the agreement, NIO new energy industry development fund would be launched in Wuhan and the companies would invest no less than RMB 20 billion to build an intelligent new energy vehicle industry park in Wuhan East Lake District. At that time, this cooperation suggested that NIO may build its own factory in Hubei province. But up to now, there is no progress news about the corporation.

Recently, it is reported that NIO will start to deliver its first mass-produced model, ES8, to customers from the end of April. The first 10,000 vehicles of the Founder Edition will all be delivered to customers by September.

The new factory news comes after only one month after the start-up named its quality vice president. In December, 2017, Dr. Feng Shen, former president of Volvo Cars China R&D and president of China Operations for Polestar, joined NIO as quality vice president and the chairman of quality steering committee.
Pennsylvania State Rep. Cris Dush is calling for the impeachment of the justices on the state Supreme Court who ruled in favor of a redrawing of the states congressional map ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. Rep. Dush circulated a letter addressed to the state House on Monday arguing that the five Pennsylvania Supreme Court justices behind the decision violated the state constitution by appointing a special master to draw impartial districts if the legislature and governor fail to approve a map.

Pennsylvanians expect and deserve impartial justice and is disgraceful that Rep. Dush feels entitled to attempt to impeach State Supreme Court Justices simply because he does not agree with their ruling, said Micah Sims, Executive Director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. I trust that the residents of Pennsylvania and the vast majority of his colleagues in the Legislature see through the histrionics of Rep. Dush. Nonetheless, Rep. Dushs conduct is a sad statement on his views of democracy and the separation of powers. His actions provide yet another example of why we must fix congressional maps and I dare say state legislative maps so that constituents can feel that their views, their voices and their votes matter.

The State and U.S. Supreme Courts delivered a victory to the voters of Pennsylvania by striking down these maps and this attack on the justices is yet another callous attempt by a politician to control who votes in his district, said Kathay Feng, Common Cause National Redistricting Director. The State Supreme Court ordered new maps from the legislature by Friday and Pennsylvania voters deserve exactly that. This sideshow should be dismissed as the wild-eyed delusion that it is.

The State Supreme Court ordered the legislature to produce newly drawn maps by February 9th and receive an approval from Governor Tom Wolf by February 15th. If neither perform their duty and complete the task, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania will produce a map by February 19th and allow voters to elect candidates based upon those districts during the 2018 election cycle.
Common Cause Ohio to Put Shoulder Into Passing It.

Following weeks of negotiations among Common Cause Ohio and other members of the Fair Districts=Fair Elections coalition and leaders of the state legislature, a congressional redistricting reform measure will be on the ballot in May. Legislators filed the paperwork with the Secretary of States office this morning to ensure voters will have a chance to pass this reform in the spring.

This referendum is a huge victory for Ohio voters and it is one that Ohioans earned by making their voices heard in Columbus, said Catherine Turcer, Executive Director of Common Cause Ohio. The state legislature did nothing to reform congressional boundaries after we passed state legislative redistricting reform in 2015. It was only when we collected more than 200,000 signatures that the leaders at the Ohio Statehouse started to truly focus on ending congressional gerrymandering. This meaningful reform is all thanks to the passionate, record-breaking work of redistricting reformers all over the state.

This victory shows the power of a committed citizenry working to hold elected officials accountable, said Kathay Feng, Common Cause National Redistricting Director. In a true representative democracy, voters must choose their politicians, and politicians have no business choosing their voters. Too many Ohio voters have been denied a voice in Washington and this ballot measure will help change that.

The measure creates a bipartisan process for drawing congressional district lines and puts important guard rails in place, including rules keeping communities together and opportunities for citizen mapmaking and engagement. For too long, the political party in power manipulated the district lines creating safe districts, making it hard to hold our elected officials accountable.

Ohio voters overwhelmingly passed reform of the state legislative redistricting process in 2015, thanks to the efforts of the Fair Districts=Fair Elections coalition. Common Cause Ohio and the rest of the coalition have committed to throwing their full weight into ensuring congressional redistricting reform passes in May.

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Heart valves are the medical devices which are used in the replacement of defective heart valve. Heart valves are majorly 2 types, they are biological or tissue and mechanical heart valves. Biological heart valves are made up of various tissues such as porcine, bovine and human tissues. Heart valves made from human tissues are known as homografts or allografts. The major advantage of tissue valves over mechanical valve is mechanical heart valves can cause bleeding and increase the chances of reoperations in geriatric people. Since the use of tissue heart valves in people of this age group lowers the risks of bleeding. Physicians are increasingly opting for this method as it able to reduce the use of oral anticoagulation drugs for the management of bleeding complications.

The heart valves market is growing at a significant CAGR due to increase in geriatric population, and increase in the prevalence of heart valve diseases. The increase in demand for stentless tissue valves, implementation of MI procedures expected to fuel the growth of Heart valves market. Rising in preference for tissue heart valve replacement surgeries among the geriatric population is also boosting the growth of Heart valves market over the forecast period. However, lack of skilled professional, the risk of potential complications with tissue valves, and use of alternate products might hamper the growth of Heart valves market over the forecast period. Similarly, the stringent regulatory framework for product approvals expected to dampen the growth of Heart valves market.

A sample of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-heart-valves-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx

The heart valves market is segmented on the basis of product type, valve type, harvesting type, and end users

Based on product type, heart valves market has been segmented into the following:

 Stented tissue heart valves

 Stentless tissue heart valves

Based on valve type, heart valves market has been segmented into the following:

 Aortic tissue valves

 Mitral tissue valves

Based on the harvesting, heart valves market has been segmented into the following:

 Autograft

 Homograft

 Heterograft

Based on end-user, heart valves market has been segmented into the following:

 Hospitals

 Clinics

 Ambulatory surgical centers

To view TOC of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-heart-valves-market/#ulp-c654SbFYO64MsOhu

Global heart valves market is increasing due to rise in the prevalence of cardiac disorders. The most commonly adopted strategies by industry players include new product launches with technological innovations, acquisitions & mergers, agreements, and collaborations to capture significant Heart valves market share. They acquire other companies to enhance their R&D capabilities for manufacturing innovative devices that meet consumer needs. Acquisition of other companies allows vendors access to the product portfolio of the acquired company. For instance, in December 2012, Edwards Lifesciences Corporation and Cook Biotech Incorporated, have collaborated into a technology licensing and supply agreements for the development of tissue-engineered heart valves and related cardiovascular implants.

Need more information about this report @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-heart-valves-market/#ulp-14mlyhjMGhVjZqa3

Geographically, heart valves market has been segmented into following regions Viz. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America is expected to hold a dominant share in Heart valves market owing to increase in the prevalence of heart valve diseases, increasing research and development, favourable medical reimbursement policies increase the growth of Heart valves market in North America. Europe region holds second largest share attributed to increases in the prevalence of heart valve diseases because of changing lifestyle. Increasing government funding for R&D, technological advancements are expected to boost the growth of Heart valves market. Asia-pacific region is expected to hold the large share in forecast period due to increase in awareness regarding tissue valves, increasing geriatric population and rising opportunities in medical tourism.

Some of the players in the heart valves market are Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (U.S.), LivaNova PLC (U.K.), Medtronic (U.S.), St. Jude Medical (Abbott Laboratories) (U.S.), Braile Biomedica (Brazil), CryoLife, Inc. (U.S.), and Laboratory Corporation of America (U.S.) to name a few.

Get access to full summary @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-heart-valves-market/
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Foley catheter is also known as an indwelling catheter, which is inserted into bladder in order to drain the urine. It consists of a balloon which holds catheter inside the bladder at one of the end. The balloon is filled with the sterile water for preventing the catheter from being removed from the bladder. The urine is drained into the collection tube through catheter. Foley catheters are used for long periods. These are used after the urological surgeries in order to help the patients to ease the urination in conditions like prostate hypertrophy nerve-related bladder dysfunction, narrowing of urethra and prostate cancer.

Foley Catheters market is anticipated to show significant growth during forecast period, due to increasing number of surgeries and rising demand of minimal invasive methods. In addition to this growing geriatric population and increasing demand for the sterile and disposable catheters, high reimbursement policies and technological advancements in the catheters are the factors which are fuelling the market growth. However, inadequate quality analysis and price sensitivity at domestic stages are hampering the market growth.

A sample of this report is available upon request @

https://www.precisionbusinessinsights.com/market-reports/global-foley-catheters-market/#ulp-4H8Z4LpNMLEuOnnx

Global Foley Catheters market is segmented on the basis of type, material, end-user and geographical regions.

Based on the material, global foley catheters market is segmented as:

 Latex

 Silicone Elastomer Coated Latex

 Silicone

 Teflon Coated Latex

 Hydrophilic Polymer Coated Latex

Based on the type, global foley catheters market is segmented as:

 Indwelling catheter

 Condom catheter

 Intermittent catheters

Based on the end-user, global foley catheters market is segmented as:

 Hospitals

 Nursing Homes

 Home care

 Clinics

 Ambulatory Surgical Centres

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Globally, huge population is suffering with neurological, urological and cardiovascular, disorders who requires hospitalization in turn needs catheterization for the patients. As per World Health Organization (WHO), about 200 Mn people are suffering from the bladder control problems which require catheterization. As per the National Health Service (NHS) of UK, in 2013 imprecisely 3-6 Mn individuals are suffering from urinary incontinence in UK. Many market players are posing heavy investments in development of differencing products from the competitors products to enhance the competition, and players are focussing on the acquisitions, mergers and collaborations to enhance their market share.

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Based on the geographical regions, foley catheters market is segmented as Latin America, North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Middle East and Africa. North America has the dominating market shares in Foley Catheters Market followed by Europe, especially Germany dominates the market growth while UK is the speedy growing market in Foley catheters market. The Asia-Pacific is anticipated to have rapid growth in foresee period due to high government support, a large pool of geriatric population suffering from various urinary problems which requires immediate catheterization, rise in income levels, and widespread of awareness.

Some of the market players in foley catheters market are Coloplast A/S. (Denmark), B. Braun Melsungen AG (Germany), Becton Dickinson & Co (U.S.), Boston Scientific Corporation (U.S.), Teleflex Incorporation (U.S.), Medtronic (U.S), CooK Medical. (U.S.), Hollister Incorporated (U.S.) and TE Connectivity Corporation (Switzerland).

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Cadillac January sales surges 62.3% YoY

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- General Motors' premium brand Cadillac sold 26,000 units in January this year, surging 62.3% year on year. Four models, XT5, all-new XTS, ATS-L and CT6, all reached a new high for the month. In 2018, Cadillac set a sale goal to hand over 200,000 units.

Specifically, the automaker delivered 10,385 units of XT5 last month, leaping 89.5% from the previous year. 7500 units of XTS were sold in January with an impressive year-on-year growth of 63.8%. The January sales of ATS-L and CT6 reached 5,900 units and 2,215 units respectively.

In 2018, Cadillac plans to launch XT4 in China, a SUV model designed for its global market which is expected to lead the brand into a new auto segment. According to Cadillac's planning, it is ambitious to cover all mainstream segments of luxury vehicles by the end of 2020.

In new energy vehicle (NEV) area, except CT6 plug-in hybrid version and XT5 light hybrid version, Cadillac will roll out and locally produce at least 10 models of NEVs by the end of 2020.

Up to now, Cadillac owns over 200 dealerships around China, covering more than 100 major cities and districts countrywide. The automaker set a blueprint to increase its dealerships to 300 over the next three years.

Cadillac, relatively late to introduce local production in China, the world's largest auto market, is among a second wave of luxury vehicle brand in this country. Its China sales exceeded 100,000 units in 2016 for the first time. Last year, China surpassed the United States as the brand's largest retail market, only behind BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi. Its strong momentum may intensify the competition among second-wave luxury vehicles in sales.
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Genetic analysis is a method of learning and research in genetics and molecular biology fields that involves use of wide group of applications while basic system of the analysis is usually pertained to the orthodox genetics. Customary forms of analysis of genetic includes the gene identification and inherited diseases analysis. Genetic analysis also implicit the patients physical observation and the microscopic evaluation of genetics as it is conducted for the long time. Genetic analysis is also applied in differential diagnosis during the analysis of specific diseases, in mutation detection, copy number changes in DNA.

Factors like advancements in the technologies of genetic testing, rise in prevalence of the genetic diseases, growing in the awareness are boosting the genetic analyser market globally. Furthermore, initiatives taken by the governments and increase in R&D investment and activities in the genetic field are also driving the genetic analyzer market. However, due to certain factors genetic analyzers use is restricted. The operability of such kind of automated advanced machines requires technical expertise leaving little room for human error. Calibration is essentially needed for genetic analyzers. High cost of genetic analyzers resulting in their availability in a limited number of research organizations is also hampering the growth of the genetic analyzers market globally.

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Global genetic analyzer market is segmented on the basis of instruments, consumables, application, end-user and geographical regions.

Based on product type, global genetic analyzer market is segmented as:

 Instruments

o DNA Microarrays

o PCR

o Next Generation Sequencing

o Serial Analysis of Gene Expression

o Northern Blotting

 Consumables

o DNA Chips

o Reagents

Based on the end-user, global genetic analyzer market is segmented as:

 Diagnostics Centres

 Drug Discovery

 Research and Development

 Others

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Increase in the clinical genome sequencing, increase in incidence of neurodegeneration diseases such as Alzheimers, Huntingtons and Parkinsons disease and also cases of cancers prompts the interest in genetic analysis. High swift in the acceptance of pediatric genetic testing used for of screening adult onset disorders are the factors contributing to the genetic analyzer market growth. Some of the government initiatives are improving the healthcare delivery to different sections of population, mergers, acquisitions and product launches of the companies are the factors driving the growth of the genetic analyzer market.

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Geographically, genetic analyzer market is divided into Europe, Asia-Pacific North America, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa. Global genetic analyser market is dominated by North America due to the rise in diseases prevalence by genetic disorders and rise in advancements technologically in the region. Asia-Pacific, is expected to show significant growth during the forecast period in the genetic testing market. India, China and Japan are expected as the fastest growing genetic testing markets in the Asia-Pacific region due to increase in R&D investment, a large pool of patients and rising government funding.

Some of the major companies dealing in genetic testing market are Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (U.S.), BioRad Laboratories (U.S.), Abbott laboratories (U.S.), AutoGenomics Inc.( U.S.), Celera Group (U.S.), PerkinElmer Inc.( U.S.), Quest Diagnostics Inc.( U.S.), ELITech Group (U.S.), Applied Biosystems Inc.( U.S.), F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG (Switzerland), Transgenomic Inc.( U.S.).

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Hereditary angioedema is an inherited condition characterized by re-occurant severe swelling. It affects arms, face, legs, airway and intestinal tract commonly. Having low level of C1 inhibitor, which is a protein that leads to excess activation of bradykinin which is a primary reason for angioedema. There are three types of hereditary angioedema Type-I, Type-II and Type-III. Type-I is characterised by low levels of C-1 inhibitor whereas Type -II characterised by normal or high levels of C-1 inhibitor. Type-III pathology is unknown. Usually symptoms will begin from puberty but may be seen even earlier. Minor trauma or stress may trigger the attack, however, swelling often occurs without a known trigger. Angioedema occurs in intestinal tract may lead to severe abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Swelling in airway can obstruct passage of air and may lead to life threatening condition.

Global hereditary angioedema treatment market is mainly driven by increase in R&D to treat angioedema. In addition, increase in prevalence and promising pipeline are expected to boost the hereditary angioedema treatment market. Furthermore, change in lifestyle, improved reimbursement infrastructure, and healthcare spending are expected to bolster the hereditary angioedema treatment market. However, high cost of prophylaxis and misdiagnosis of the condition are expected to hinder the hereditary angioedema treatment market during the forecast period.

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Hereditary angioedema treatment market has been segmented based on type, drug class, and distribution channel

Base on type, hereditary angioedema treatment market is segmented into

 Type-I

 Type-II

 Type-III

Based on drug class, hereditary angioedema treatment market is segmented into

 C1 esterase inhibitors

 Plasma kallikrein inhibitors (Ecallantide)

 Bradykinin receptor antagonists (Icatibant)

 Corticosteroids

 Antihistamines

 Autoimmune drugs

 Blood protein controllers

 Antifibrinolytic agents

Based on distribution channel, hereditary angioedema treatment market is segmented into

 Hospital Pharmacies

 Retail Pharmacies

 Others

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Hereditary angioedema treatment market has expected to show healthy growth rate during forecast period. The market has many promising pipeline drugs and prophylaxis to treat hereditary angioedema. For instance, BioCryst Pharmaceuticals is in the process of developing a lead molecule known as BCX7353 to prevent an angioedema that attacks especially the patients suffering from hereditary angioedema and it has completed phase-II clinical trials. BioCryst pharmaceuticals received initial regulatory approvals in Europe to initiate the ZENITH-1 (clinical trail to study BCX7353) exploratory clinical trial in 2017. Shire plc is also conducting a post marketing investigation of drug Firazyr in countries where it is approved for hereditary angioedema attacks. Collaborations and acquisitions are key market strategies adopted by the market players. Companies also collaborating with research and non-profit organizations for better outcomes in treatment. For instance, in April 2017, PatientsLikeMe, a patient network and real-time research platform and Shire plc have announced a new collaboration that will support the development of a patient-centered, real world health learning system that expands understanding of patient health and disease. Licensing is also a key strategy in hereditary treatment market. For instance, in August 2016, Pharming Group NV, acquired back all North American commercialization rights to ruconest from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.

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Geographically hereditary angioedema treatment market segmented into following regions viz. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America expected to grow at significant growth rate due to lifestyle changes, increase in prevalence and growth in the diagnosis of hereditary angioedema in U.S. region. According to WHO, incidence rate of HAE is 1/10,00050,000 people in United States and Canada in 2015 and Mortality rates are estimated as 1533%. Asia-Pacific expected to be fastest growing owing to increase in awareness about the disease conditions, developing healthcare infrastructure and lifestyle changes.

Some of the players in hereditary angioedema treatment market are BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (U.S), CSL Limited (Australia), Pharming Group NV (Netherlands), Salix Pharmaceuticals (U.S), and Shire (Republic of Ireland) to name a few.

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Holographic Imaging devices produce a 3D image of objects by recording the split beam of a light from laser. Holographic imaging helps the healthcare professionals to keep their diagnosis infection free and providing a healthy diagnosis. The recorded interference enables to view real 3D image. The existing 3D technologies like 3D rotational angiography, 3D-CT, and 3D-ultrasound revolutionized medicine allow the doctors to observe patients anatomy without any incisions. Holographic systems collect the data from MRI and CT scans and convert into 3-D visualizations and finally creates a virtual object in the actual 3-dimensional space. Holographic imaging helps to examine the heart conditions and colon cancer without cutting the skin. Medical holography images are in high resolution to help to reveal complex, potential information which is unexplored in the alternative conventional imaging.

Increasing awareness about the holographic imaging in medical education, medical research, and medical imaging purposes and rise in holography techniques adoption by the academic medical centres, surgeons, and biomedical researchers expected to propel the holographic imaging market over the forecast period. Moreover, technology advancements in the hologram recording procedures, tools available for the interpretation of interferograms, and endoscopic holography for high resolution with non-invasive measurements inside human organs also drive the holographic imaging market. However, the high computational cost of processing, issues associated with projection under the sunlight, and the requirement for sophisticated and complicated recording methods might restrain the growth of holographic imaging market.

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The holographic imaging market is segmented on the basis of product type, by application, and end users.

Based on product type, holographic imaging market has been segmented into the following:

 Holographic Display

 Laser

 Touchable

 Piston

 Semi-transparent

 Microscopes

 Software

 Holographic Prints

 Others

Based on application, holographic imaging market has been segmented into the following:

 Medical Imaging

 Ophthalmology

 Dentistry

 Urology

 Otology

 Orthopaedics

 Others

 Medical Education

 Biomedical Research

Based on end-user, holographic imaging market has been segmented into the following:

 Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Companies

 Academic Medical Centres

 Research Organizations

 Hospitals and Clinics

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Holographic imaging market is in growth stage with the innovation of newer technologies for the 3D imaging. The most commonly adopted strategies by industry players include new product launches with technological advancements, acquisitions & mergers, agreements, and collaborations to capture significant holographic imaging market share. For instance, in December 2015, Phase Holographic Imaging inked an agreement with the Boston Childrens for the evaluation of HoloMonitor technology in the cancer research. Moreover, in 2015, Phase Holographic Imaging AB collaborated with the Florida International University to provide Holomonitor for the characterization of stem cells in breast cancer. Many companies have been developing holographic technologies for biomedical imaging to capture the holographic imaging market share. For instance, Zebra Imaging, a renowned Texas-based holographic imaging industry player, has developed the ZScape holographic motion display, a technology that is designed to produce true holograms. The company has partnered with the Zygote Media Group with an intention of getting this technology commercialized and deployed at major medical schools across the United States. Rise in clinical applications of the holography imaging in healthcare industry also boosting the holographic imaging market growth. For instance, in January 2014, real view imaging completed the clinical study using the 3D hologram of a beating heart to help surgeon operate the patient.

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Geographically, holographic imaging market has been segmented into following regions Viz. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America anticipated to holds the largest share in holographic imaging market followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. Rise in biomedical research activities, adoption of holographic imaging by research academics centres and laboratories are expected to propel the market in North America region. Europe holds a significant share in holographic imaging market attributed to increase in research and development activities and new products launching in near future. Asia-Pacific is an emerging holographic imaging market due to increase in population, especially in India and China. Moreover, increase in demand for better healthcare infrastructure and changes in the population should increase the holographic imaging market growth in Japan. Brazil holds the considerable share in holographic imaging market share due to increase in preference for the use of holographic imaging technology for medical training and surgeries.

Some of the players in holographic imaging market are EchoPixel, Inc. (U.S.), Mach7 Technologies Ltd. (U.S.), Realview Imaging Ltd. (Israel), Ovizio Imaging systems (Belgium), zSpace, Inc. (U.S.), Holoxica Ltd. (U.K.), Lyncee Tec. (Switzerland), NanoLive SA (Switzerland) Zebra Imaging (U.S.), Eon Reality (U.S.), and Phase Holographic Imaging AB (Sweden) to name a few.

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Infectious disease diagnostics are the procedures for identification and characterization of the causative agent of an infectious disease with the aid of diagnostic tools. These diagnostics provide crucial information for making right medical decisions. Infectious diseases caused by various micro-organisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Infectious diseases transmitted from person to person through either indirect or direct contact. Infectious diseases such as bacterial infections, fungal infections, and viral infections such as respiratory diseases, HPV, HIV, measles, malaria, dengue, cholera, and hepatitis B and C are gradually spreading worldwide. Infectious disease diagnostics can be based solely on clinical presentation or more rigorous diagnostic tests, such as microscopy, biochemical screens, culturing of an infectious agent, and molecular methods.

The key drivers for the growth of the infectious disease diagnostics market increase in the prevalence of dengue, malaria, and HIV, rise in the preference for rapid diagnosis, increase in government funding for the establishment of diagnostic centers, and technological advancements in diagnostic procedures expected to fuel the infectious disease diagnostics market. Furthermore, increase in the R&D activities for newer assays, changing demographics around the globe, and advances in healthcare infrastructure are expected to boost the infectious disease diagnostics market. However, high cost for the diagnostic procedures, lack of awareness about the novel diagnostic procedures, dearth of skilled professionals to perform diagnostic tests, and lack of reimbursement policies for several diagnostic test might hamper the infectious disease diagnostics market growth over the forecast period.

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The infectious disease diagnostics market has been segmented on the basis of test type, technique type, product type, infection type, and the end-user

Based on the test type, infectious disease diagnostics market has been segmented into following:

 Imaging test

 Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

o X-ray

o Computed tomography (C.T)

 Laboratory tests

o Blood test

o Urine test

o Stool test

o Spinal tap

o Throat swabs

 Biopsies

 Others

Based on the product type, infectious disease diagnostics market has been segmented into following:

 Assay kits and consumables

 Instruments

 Services

Based on the infection type, infectious disease diagnostics market has been segmented into following:

 Viral

 Bacterial

 CNS

 Fungal

 Cardiovascular

 Sexually transmitted infectious diseases

 Gastrointestinal

 Others

Based on the end-user, the infectious disease diagnostics market has been segmented into following:

 Hospitals

 Diagnostic laboratories

 Home healthcare

 Ambulatory clinics

 Others

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Geographically, the global infectious disease diagnostics market is in the flourishing stage, with the development of novel technologies by various players in the market. Increasing prevalence of the deadly infectious disease will drive the growth of the global infectious disease diagnostics market over the forecast period. For instance, according to World Health Organisation, global health observatory (GHO) data, in 2013, approximately 34-38 million people suffered from HIV infection worldwide. Innovation of technologically advanced devices with quick results, ease of usage, accuracy, and low-cost are expected to boost global infectious disease diagnostics market. For instance, in 2013, Abbott Molecular introduced a new range of real-time assays for hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus infections on its m2000 platform. The majority of companies are making efforts to develop and commercialize cost-effective tools for the infectious disease diagnostics. Nowadays, the gold standard tests available for sexually transmitted disease and bacterial infection diagnosis, and these tests are expected to replace by molecular techniques in future.

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Geographically, global infectious disease diagnostics market has been segmented into following regions Viz. North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominates the global infectious disease diagnostics market followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. The largest share of North-America region is due to increase in the prevalence of infectious diseases especially in U.S. According to UNAIDS, in 2012, about 1.3 Mn patients were diagnosed with HIV in the U.S. These statistics are likely to increase over the coming years, if suitable treatment options are not provided in time. The European region is expected to emerge as significant market owing to improved healthcare infrastructure, and increase in prevalence of bacterial and viral diseases (according to WHO European Region, at the end of 2015, about 13.3 Mn people live with chronic hepatitis B, an estimated 15 Mn people with hepatitis C, and more than 2 Mn people with HIV), which are expected to fuel the growth of the infectious disease diagnostics market in European region. Moreover, Asia-Pacific is a key region for the growth of global infectious disease diagnostics during the forecast period, due to the high prevalence of infectious diseases, and increasing in healthcare expenditure. Moreover, due to increase in incidence and prevalence of infectious diseases such as bacterial infections and sexually transmitted diseases and rise in population expected to drive significant growth of the infectious disease diagnostics market in Asia-Pacific region.

Some of the players in global infectious disease diagnostics market are F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Switzerland), bioMerieux SA (France), Thermo Fischer Scientific (U.S.), Abbott Laboratories (U.S.), Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (U.S.), Becton, Dickinson & Company (U.S.), and DiaSorin S.p.A. (Italy) to name a few.

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Looking to motivate some competitive defection, Microsoft Tuesday began offering customers of rival cloud storage solutions free OneDrive for Business use until their contracts with their current providers expire.

"Now your organization can switch to OneDrive for free," Ron Markezich, corporate vice president for Microsoft, blogged about the new program around the cloud giant's sharing and file management service, a component of Office 365.

The offer applies to existing storage contracts for Box, Dropbox or Google Drive. It continues until June 30, and is only available to customers who commit to 500 seats.

[Related: The 20 Coolest Cloud Storage Vendors Of The 2018 Cloud 100]

Enterprises that choose to switch providers based on Microsoft's offer can use the free FastTrack migration service offered by Microsoft to on-board to Office 365, Markezich said.

For Microsoft Office 365 resellers, the offer "just removes one last blocker to getting customers to standardize on OneDrive for Business as their preferred storage solution," said Reed Wiedower, CTO of New Signature.

The Washington, D.C.-based solution provider has seen many customers commit to Office 365, begin migrating their email servers to the cloud-based solution, but then halt adoption of SharePoint because they've already paid for a competing product, Wiedower told CRN.

Being able to say that theres no additional cost to move to OneDrive for Business for these organizations allows partners to instantly start migrating data for organizations using traditional file servers, rather than migrating email first, which can be a more complex endeavor.

"That allows us to much more easily convert the rest of the organization and move ahead with a truly transformative experience," Wiedower told CRN.

The latest program will especially appeal to organizations that chose storage from Microsofts competitors because of cost, he said.

"By migrating to OneDrive for Business with far less investment, they can justify moving multiple workloads to Microsoft 365 over time," Wiedower said.
Health-care solution provider Coretek Services is seeing its hospital customers eschew Spectre and Meltdown patches because of the multimillion-dollar cost of adding new hardware to overcome the up to 40 percent application workload hit to electronic health record systems.

"With a 40 percent reduction in CPU cycles based on Meltdown our customers would have to double their hardware footprint to implement the patch," said Brian Barnes, director of solution architecture at Coretek, a Farmington Hills, Mich., solution provider that has more than 100 health care customers grappling with the patch update issue. "A customer with 60 servers today would need 100 to 120 if they were to implement that patch. Most of our customers have put a freeze on the patch because they just don't have the capital budget to acquire the hardware to implement the patch."

[Related: Intel CEO Krzanich Pledges Hardware Fix Later This Year For Spectre, Meltdown Vulnerabilities]

A health-care provider with 60 servers in a redundant data center environment would be looking at adding 40 servers at a cost of $1 million to $3.5 million to compensate for the application workload hit that would come with implementing the patch, said Barnes.

As a consultant, Barnes said he would never recommend that customers avoid required patch updates. The "hope" for customers is that the patch fixes coming down the line will be "better over time," drastically reducing the application workload performance hit, said Barnes.

So far, there have been no known security breaches or data loss that have resulted from Spectre or Meltdown. "Most health-care customers are betting that will continue to be the case. One advantage the health-care providers have is that a hacker would have to breach already rigorous security software before being able to exploit Spectre or Meltdown, said Barnes.

"You are not going to get in the data center door using Spectre and Meltdown," said Barnes. "An attacker would need to take advantage of an existing vulnerability to gain administrative control before they could execute Spectre or Meltdown."

The fear is a "zero-day vulnerability" could open the door to a Spectre or Meltdown breach. "If a zero-day vulnerability hit today, you could get onto a system and then take advantage of Spectre," said Barnes. "So the threat is there. If you could get access to the system, that means you could read everything in the processor memory."

Coretek is working with customers on a case-by-case basis to deal with the Spectre and Meltdown exploits

One of the key pieces of software being used to analyze the application workload hit is from Lakeside Software, a workspace analytics software vendor that has found that the Spectre and Meltodwn patches increase CPU load.

Lakeside, in fact, has found that on average the total impact on Citrix XenApp server was a roughly 20 percent increase in CPU overhead. The newer server architecture with Microsoft 40Windows Server 2012 R2 had a lower hit, coming in at a 16 percent increase in CPU overhead, according to Lakeside.

Lakeside CEO Michael Schumacher said companies must look closely at their own workloads before implementing the Spectre and Meltdown patches. "Everybody needs to evaluate the 'before and after' for their own workloads to know how it affects you," said Schumacher."You need to know whether you are CPU-limited, memory-limited, IO-(Input/Output) limited. You need to know what the limiting factor is in your own IT environment to understand Spectre and Meltdown."

The topic of just how big an application workload and scalability hit customers will see from the Spectre and Meltdown patches is a hot issue among technologists. "It's not the biggest problem we face right now," said one technology specialist, who did not want to be identified. "You need a lot of time and a lot of luck to get information out of memory."

Pete Downing, chief technology marketing officer for XenTegra, a Citrix Platinum solution provider headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., said he sees the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities as threats that cannot be "actively" exploited. The "bigger threat" is from users that are not following proper security protocols, he said.

Downing praised IGEL  an end point management software company which is holding its DISRUPT end user computing forum this week in Austin, Texas, as being the most proactive and secure in the Spectre and Meltdown fight. "IGEL is being very proactive on security at the endpoint, which is key," he said.

IGEL, which was one of the first technology vendors to make Spectre and Meltdown patches available, issued a new patch just last week.

Mathias Huber, a security product manager for IGEL, said Meltdown is fixed in the Linux kernel, but Spectre has yet to be resolved. He said it ultimately remains to be seen what kind of risks and consequences will result from the "fundamental" Spectre flaw. "I know that is not a very satisfying answer, but that is all I have at this moment," he said.
Marthe Montcho started her blog, LAgriculture au feminin or Women in Farming, in October 2013. Despite initially knowing very little about blogging, she quickly became a success as the blog grew in popularity. Montchos desire to fill what she saw as an information gap and empower female farmers, particularly in her home country of Benin, led to her winning the Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo), organised by CTA in 2014.

Her blog provides valuable information about agribusiness opportunities for women involved in farming and winning the award affirmed her decision to highlight the untold opportunities available to female farmers, as well as young people. She used part of the cash prize won to implement activities in that framework.

Montcho is passionate about using ICTs to bring about social change and, to date, her blog has received over 100,000 page views from around the world. It has not all been easy though. Montcho says that at the beginning, "I had [a] fairly limited knowledge about how to use social networks. But today I run a versatile online community." Her desire to help women and young people in Benin encouraged her to learn quickly and, through the use of online discussion groups, she soon had her finger on the pulse of local and global agricultural developments.

"Women in Benin are thirsty for social change, which could be enabled by social media, if [it] could give more visibility to their agricultural activities," argues Montcho. The Women in Farming blog aims to do just that by promoting these women's businesses and highlighting their agricultural skills. Previous posts on the Women in Farming blog have focussed on women who process nere seeds into mustard, and processing technology that helps women to turn palm nuts into a puree, which can be easily packaged and sold. Women remain excluded from value chains, however, and they often have limited access to agricultural information. Montcho hopes that her blog posts will become part of a broader online discussion about female farmers and their integration into the agricultural sector.

Montcho's other projects focus on youth participation in agribusiness. She believes that youth unemployment could be dramatically reduced if young people are shown how to become agricultural entrepreneurs. Alongside finding young people internships and providing start-up training for graduates, she runs a junior farmer training scheme for secondary school children. So far, the scheme has helped 40 students to learn about animal husbandry and how to grow vegetables. It not only supports the students to set up their own business ventures to earn some money, but also helps to foster a love for agriculture among young people in Benin. Her latest youth project, The Rural Way, is a magazine aimed at young people interested in agricultural entrepreneurship.

Empowering women remains Montcho's biggest passion. She now has a team to help train other women to look after small animals and grow vegetables and in the future, she hopes to work with CTA again and build on the success of her blog. She believes that women and ICTs are perfectly matched to support agricultural development, but she is well aware that the fight for social change continues. "My blog has raised awareness among rural women in Benin that they are doing excellent work, and as a result, they have more self-confidence... I plan to continue...helping women farmers through my blog."
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TRUMBULL  As the city of Trumbull has witnessed a trend in bank branch closures over the years, Sikorsky Credit Union is looking to fill the void with the latest addition to its roster.

The Stratford-based company is preparing to open its first Trumbull branch on Monday at 945 White Plains Road.

The new location will be joining nine other branches in Connecticut and Florida. Sikorsky Credit Union has six full-service branches throughout the state along with along with branches inside two Sikorsky plants in Connecticut and one in Florida.

We have members who live or work in Trumbull and nearby communities. I am so pleased that we can provide added convenience for our members and bring our products and services to new members, said President and CEO of Sikorsky Credit Union Vincent Ciambriello in a press release. When two community banks left Trumbull recently, we saw the opportunity to fill a need for a consumer-focused financial institution to serve the Trumbull market.

Sikorsky Credit Unions Trumbull branch will be occupying the former Patriot Bank location that closed last spring. The branch was reportedly replaced with an interactive teller machine inside Westfield Mall.

A year prior, Trumbull saw the exodus of Fairfield County Banks lone Trumbull location along White Plains Road.

Along with opening a new Trumbull branch, Sikorsky Credit Union offers modern banking options, including online and mobile banking, mobile check deposit, and the ability to join the Credit Union online. Members can also apply for checking and savings accounts, auto loans, and mortgages online or on their phones, according to a press release.

The bank will have hours of operation Monday through Saturday and will feature an ATM along with other onsite customer services.

jordan.grice@hearstmediact.com; Twitter: @JordanEGrice
House hunting websites function within the real estate industry similarly to how WebMD affects the medical profession, according to Greenwich Realtor Cynthia De Riemer of Coldwell Banker.

If you have a medical issue, you might check WebMD, but you wouldnt use it as the end-all, be-all recommendation, she said. You consult a doctor.

Similarly, online resources, such as Homesnap, Realtor.com and Zillow, help consumers gather information to which they previously didnt have access. Yet, the abundance of data combined with its potential inaccuracies make local real estate professionals valuable, according to a variety of southwestern Connecticut Realtors surveyed by Hearst Connecticut Media.

Generally, the advent of online consumer real estate websites is a good thing, De Riemer said. But they need to be taken with a grain of salt. Companies like Zillow just use data and algorithms. They never visit the homes, so they dont know the nuances of a community, neighborhood and property. An agent helps demystify and synthesize whats important.

Starting online

Rather than considering websites as competition, most Realtors said they view them as tools to help clients. Zillow, which markets boasting around 160 million monthly visitors, serves as a solid starting point for buyers and sellers, said Daniel Thomas of RE/MAX Right Choice in Bridgeport.

A comparison of active listings for single-family homes in Fairfield County signals that many, if not the majority, of houses on the market can be found on Zillow. On Wednesday afternoon, Zillow showed 3,419 homes for sale while the Connecticut Multiple Listing Service, which can only be accessed by member agents, totaled 3,210. In Greenwich, there were 486 listings on Zillow compared to 475 on the Greenwich MLS. In Norwalk, the numbers were almost identical.

Nearly 90 percent of all home buyers begin their search online, according to a report published by the National Association of Realtors last year. For buyers ages 36 and below, that percentage is even higher. Almost everyone starts online, said Jeffrey Jackson of Centric Property Group in Greenwich.

At the same time, NAR reported roughly 90 percent of buyers opted to purchase a home through an agent, which has increased from 69 percent in 2001. In most cases, home buyers and sellers begin their process online, browsing different resources and developing an understanding of the market before reaching out to a broker.

Frequently, southwestern Connecticut Realtors mention theyre encouraged to stay on top of their game given how much information home buyers can find themselves. Sometimes they know more than we do, said Matt Rose, a Danbury-based real estate agent. Its tough to keep up with it all.

Still, he and other agents agreed well-informed clients is a positive. It helps narrow down the homes they might be adding to their list when you do show clients homes, said Linda Sentementes of William Pitt Sothebys in Stamford. It saves a lot of time, so youre not just sitting across the desk from each other going through properties.

Drawbacks

Some agents in the region acknowledged they use websites including: Facebook, Trulia  which is owned by Zillow  and Zillow to scout for clients. Its an advantage to use them when trying to reach people looking in specific zip codes, according to Jackson at Centric.

In some circumstances, these advertising methods can lead to confusion and frustration, he added. The guidelines constantly change, but most home-search websites favor agents based on how much they pay. That can result in an agent and their contact appearing alongside a home that they dont represent, said De Riemer. Zillow might direct a user to a person who isnt necessarily the listing agent, she said. Its certainly frustrating for the listing agent.

Realtors also expressed frustration with some online resources that, at times, have proven misleading. Zillows home estimate tool, called Zestimate, has prompted several lawsuits in recent years. Thus far, the cases have been dismissed with one judge writing: The word Zestimate  an obvious portmanteau of Zillow and estimate  itself indicates that Zestimates are merely an estimate of the market value of a property.

Despite the name, Jackson at Centric Property Group said hes worked with a buyer who refused to pay more than the Zestimate price even though other resources indicated the property was worth more. Especially with New Englands topography, its tough for an algorithm without local knowledge to accurately assess a homes worth, he said.

Connecticut promotes alternative

In response to some of these issues, rival Homesnap was developed to access similar real estate information provided by Zillow and Trulia, while promising a more up-to-date database of information directly from multiple listing services across the country. Connecticut listing data has been fed into the Homesnap app since February 2017, and it has caught on elsewhere as well  it was ranked the 220th fastest growing technology company in the country last year by Deloitte.

SmartMLS, which manages the backend databases of listing information on properties across most of Connecticut from offices in Norwalk and Wallingford, has been promoting Homesnap through offering tutorials for members.

Its a great tool, SmartMLS CEO Kathy Elson said in an email. We train hundreds of agents every month on Homesnap and have presented before thousands at live events.

Even with their drawbacks, agents broadly expressed their acceptance of home-search websites.

Theres no question we get frustrated with online consumer websites, De Riemer said. But theyre here to stay, so we need to learn to live with them by focusing on the positive and working around the negatives.

Chris Bosak, Jordan Grice, Paul Schott and Alexander Soule contributed to this article.

Contact the writer at mbennett@greenwichtime.com; Twitter @Macaela_
BRIDGEPORT  A Derby bail enforcer pleaded not guilty Wednesday to impersonating a Bridgeport police detective and raping a woman in a vacant garage.

Dressed in a suit, Jorge Santiago, 42, pleaded not guilty before Superior Court Judge Robert Devlin to aggravated first-degree sexual assault, impersonating a police officer and second-degree threatening. He asked for a jury trial.

Mr. Santiago denies the allegations, Santiagos lawyer, Frank Riccio II, said as he and his client left the Fairfield County Courthouse. There are multiple dimensions of this case that will be presented before the court.

Police said on June 13, Santiago, wearing a badge on a chain around his neck and a handgun in a holster on his hip, approached the woman on Park Street in Bridgeport. He told her he was an undercover city police detective and that she matched the description of someone selling drugs in the area, police said. He then allegedly ordered her into the vacant garage for questioning.

But once in the garage, police said, Santiago ordered the woman to lay down on a mattress that was on the floor. Placing the handgun on the mattress next to her, he then raped her, police said.

Police said Santiago told the woman that if she stays on the city streets she will wind up dead.

Pretty girls wont last out here, police said Santiago told the woman.

A real city police officer was initially a suspect in the case, police confirmed. They said the officer was picked out of a lineup by the victim. But surveillance video from the area of the crime and further investigation determined that Santiago, who bears a striking resemblance to the real officer, was the suspect, police said.

When they later questioned Santiago, police said, he admitted to being in the area of the crime on June 13, but claimed he was out looking for bail jumpers and denied assaulting the victim.

Police said a second lineup was conducted with the victim, who this time picked Santiago out as the man who assaulted her.
DERBY-Apparently there was no dust on Mayor Richard Dziekans bartending skills.

In just two hours Tuesday night, the mayor raised $632 for TEAM, the citys non-profit community action agency, while tending bar at Shermans Tap House, 181 Main Street.

The place was packed, said Dziekan, who in his prior life before becoming a Hamden Police officer and now mayor, tended bar at the Grassy Hill Lodge, now HOPS and often helps out at the Catholic War Veterans. I was surprised at the number of people. Apparently I still have the touch.

TEAM, which provides help with education, heating, job counseling, housing and elderly services among others, serves the Valley communities as well as Milford, Orange and Woodbridge.

Shermans, which fills the storefronts vacated by Fratellis and 500 degrees, has 36 taps and serves many of the locally brewed beers. They contributed 10 percent of their take to TEAM while Dziekan turned over all his tips.

Im going to be doing the same thing at Archie Moores March 6 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., said the mayor. That money is going to the Griffin Hospital Cancer Center.

Andrew Baklik, the mayors chief of staff, said the hope is to turn this into a regular monthly event at many of the citys other liquor-dispensing restaurants.

Its way to get money for charitable organizations in the city, Baklik said. We expect the numbers to grow as the word gets out. Plus it gives people an opportunity to meet with the mayor outside of city hall.

Baklik, a professional bartender, said hell only jump behind the bar if the mayor gets overwhelmed.

I dont want to show him up by shaking crazy martinis or mixing some exotic cocktails, he said.
Contributed / Contributed

Would you like to log a frog? Or would you find it a slog, to log a frog? If you are open to dialogue about a frog log, then Connecticuts Beardsley Zoo has an opportunity for you.

The zoo is inviting residents to become citizen scientist volunteers and participate in a FrogWatch census in area wetlands. In a collaboration between the zoo, The Maritime Aquarium, and Yales Peabody Museum of Natural History, volunteers will make regular visits to wetlands in their neighborhoods and keep a frog log to record the frog and toad calls they hear. Working with experts, volunteers will learn about local frog species, then visit wetlands once or twice a week for about 15 minutes each night this spring and summer.
Birthday wishes

Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun.

Happy Birthday Wishes
Top Trump aide Rob Porter resigns after both of his ex wives exclusively tell DailyMail.com about his alleged abusive past, including choking and punching one of the women. Porter continues to call the allegations false, with the White House expressing their faith in him. He is now dating White House Director of Communications Hope Hicks.

Kylie Jenner faced a swift social media backlash yesterday for naming her baby girl Stormi, while some fans were left wondering about the origins of her last name.

The man known as the 'Human Ken Doll' drops by DailyMailTV today to show off the results of his most extreme plastic surgery yet  having four ribs removed! He's letting DailyMailTV measure his new, slim waist. The two-part interview continues tomorrow when Rodrigo Alves reveals his future with plastic surgery.

Also on today's show, DailyMailTV host Jesse Palmer welcomes his fellow Florida Gators pal Tim Tebow to the studio. He's talking about his recent HGTV appearance and this Friday's global Night to Shine event as his foundation rallies 200,000 volunteers to treat special needs kids to their own red carpet and prom.

A New Jersey man using his find my iPhone app to track down his wife ended up discovering she was cheating with her boss. What happened next shocked everyone when her husband ended up in trouble with the law.

And, in another DailyMailTV exclusive, meet a 16-year-old girl who was tormented by bullies as they ripped the wig from her head in a shocking moment. Now she is fighting back and turning torment into triumph in this incredible story of resilience.
A little boy who suffers from refractory epilepsy was granted a trip of a lifetime to the moon - and he didn't even have to leave the country.

Adelaide toddler Dwayne Franke has spent most of his young life in hospital, battling uncontrollable seizures almost daily.

The four-year-old was transformed into a miniature space-cadet and enjoyed an intergalactic adventure at Adelaide Airport in his own custom spaceship made inside a specially-chartered QantasLink Q300 aircraft.

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Adelaide toddler Dwayne Franke (pictured) has spent most of his young life in hospital, battling uncontrollable seizures almost daily

The four-year-old was transformed into a miniature space-cadet and enjoyed an intergalactic adventure at Adelaide Airport in his own custom spaceship made inside a specially chartered QantasLink Q300 aircraft

It was the little boy's simple wish to 'go to the moon and the stars'.

And the team at the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Qantas organised the event and brought Dwayne's epic fantasy to life.

He was over the moon when his day began meeting life-size Storm Troopers and Darth Vader, before being escorted through the terminals to 'mission control'.

Clad in astronaut gear, Dwayne was greeted by a fanfare of cheering crowds as he boarded the aircraft and was given a tour of the cockpit.

His special spacecraft then took flight and the excited toddler was taken into a 'lunar landscape' complete with sand, moon rocks, futuristic projections and even Spiderman.

It was a dream come true for the young boy - and his parents - who have longed for an adventure outside hospital walls.

It was the little boy's simple wish to 'go to the moon and the stars' (Dwayne pictured left and right)

And the team at the Make-A-Wish Foundation and Qantas organised the event and brought Dwayne's epic fantasy to life

Clad in astronaut gear, Dwayne was given a tour of the cockpit

He was also greeted by a fanfare of cheering crowds as he boarded the aircraft

His mother Rebecca said her young son had the time of his life on his mission to the moon.

'Dwayne is absolutely elated after the experience, he looked at the moon early this morning and said "I went there last night!",' she said.

'It has been the most wonderful experience and our family will be forever grateful to Make-A-Wish and Qantas for making our little boy's dream come true.'

Dwayne suffers from refractory epilepsy which means his seizures are generally resistant to medicine.

About one in three people who have epilepsy will develop refractory epilepsy.

He was over the moon when his day began with meeting life-size Storm Troopers and Darth Vader, before being escorted through the terminals to 'mission control'

It was a dream come true for the young boy - and his parents - who have longed for an adventure outside hospital walls

His special spacecraft then took flight and the excited toddler was taken into a 'lunar landscape' (pictured) complete with sand, moon rocks, futuristic projections and even Spiderman
It isn't two names you'd expect to see on the same bill but last night rapper and music producer Naughty Boy teamed up with the Prince of Wales to highlight the success of the British Asian Trust.

The British rap star, 33, admitted he was 'petrified' ahead of a performance for the royal couple at Buckingham Palace - with Bollywood star Kanika Kapoor - to mark the charity's ten-year anniversary.

The Prince, who turns 70 later this year and visited India in November, looked dapper in a sharp dinner suit with a matching bow-tie for the event.

Meanwhile, Camilla donned a glamorous evening gown by Bruce Oldfield in black velour.

Two worlds collide: Rapper and music producer Naughty Boy - real name Shahid Khan - is greeted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening

The British music star, far right, and Indian singer Kanika Kapoor, far left, chat with Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, elegant in Bruce Oldfield, at a reception to mark the 10th anniversary of the British Asian Trust

Burberry model Neelam Gill chats to Prince Charles at the lavish event at Buckingham Palace

The Duchess of Cornwall, 70, wore her blonde hair coiffured away from her face to show off a dazzling pair of diamond earrings, which complimented a beautiful diamond necklace.

Charles, who founded the British Asian Trust in 2007, hosted some 200 guests to celebrate the Trust's 10th anniversary. The Trust works to combat poverty in South Asia.

Naughty Boy - real name Shahid Khan - admitted that he was nervous to be performing in such a regal setting.

Khan is an ambassador for the Trust but shot to fame over his collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Emile Sande, and Tinie Tempah.

Singing tracks Running and La La La for the anniversary dinner of the British Asian Trust, he said: 'I was really petrified initially because there's so much powerful energy here, but it felt right that I should be doing this.'

Royal remix: The glittering reception and dinner was held at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday

Comedian and actor Sanjeev Bhaskar chats with the Prince ahead of the anniversary dinner.

The pair dissolve into laughter as the conversation continues, with Charles, 69, looking particularly animated

Charles used the dinner to discuss the Trust's new 7.2 million Development Impact Bond, aimed at providing education to 200,000 Indian children.

The Prince told the guests: 'The British Asian community has excelled in almost every area of life, whether it be academia, the arts, media, or of course business, and has made a profound and indispensable contribution to the United Kingdom for many decades.'

He continued: 'The diaspora is characterised, perhaps above all, by an extraordinary generosity and deeply held desire to help those who are most vulnerable and in need.

'The passion that my wife and I feel for the work of my British Asian Trust is driven by what we have seen for ourselves during our visits to South Asia when, as most recently in India last November, we have both been so deeply touched by the tremendously positive impact that the Trust is having on the ground.'

British broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake appears impassioned as he converses with the Prince of Wales shortly after arriving at the gala dinner

Kanika Kapooi, wearing a glittering silver dress with a plunging neckline, chats with Prince Charles while Camilla shares a joke with Naughty Boy

Passion: The Prince told the dinner's attendees that he had been deeply touched by Trust's work on the ground in South Asia

Speaking before his performance, Naughty Boy praised the Trust for promoting cultural and racial diversity, and said it was 'amazing' to see Meghan Markle, who is mixed-race, entering the Royal Family.

'I think this is part of the future,' he said. 'The whole culture is shifting to accepting just everything. For the Royal Family to spearhead that - I think that's amazing.'

He also spoke of the grant he received from The Prince's Trust, a charity set up by Charles, in 2005: 'It's helped me with my journey bringing me here, so the prince and me, we have a long history."

The dinner also saw attendance from Matt Hancock, the Culture Secretary, and Sajid Javid, the Communities Secretary.
The King and Queen of the Netherlands have arrived in China for a working visit at the invitation of the country's President.

Queen Maxima and King Willem-Alexander were snapped out and about in Beijing on Wednesday, where they met with China's Dutch Ambassador Ed Kronenburg, 66, and his wife Liliane.

The Dutch Queen looked chic in a checked knee-length dress with a matching coat, teamed with a clutch bag and gloves in an unexpected shade of green.

The quartet headed to breakfast at the Dutch embassy in Beijing on Wednesday morning, where they were joined by the Netherlands' Foreign Minister, Halbe Zijlstra.

Queen Maxima (right) continued her packed social schedule on Wednesday, slipping into a chic checked coordinated ensemble during her two day working visit to China.

Usually a lover of bold colours, Maxima opted for an unusually muted fitted grey pencil dress, with a co-ordinating coat on top.

She did add a striking splash of green with her suede heels and clutch, and matching gloves.

Her blonde locks were blow dried to perfection, and she kept accessories to a minimum, with just a pair of statement earrings.

Maxima, 46, was joined by husband King Willem-Alexander, 50, (centre)Dutch Ambassador Ed Kronenburg, 66, (right) and his wife Liliane Kronenburg (left)

The group head to breakfast at the Netherlands embassy in Beijing, where they met with Foreign Minister Halbe Zijlstra (left)

The Dutch royals are on a two day working tour to China, which will see them attend various official engagements and meetings.

Their visit, at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, is the second for Maxima and Willem-Alexander since the King ascended the Dutch throne in April 2013.

The King is expected to travel on from China to South Korea, to attend the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang.

A lover of bold colours, Maxima instead opted for a fitted grey pencil dress, matching it with a coordinating jacket

Meanwhile Liliane put on a vibrant display in an elegant red cape dress and drop earrings, adding a modest pair of kitten heels as she chatted warmly with Maxima

An international financier by training, Maxima was born in Argentina and married into the Dutch royal family in 2002, three years after meeting her husband-to-be in Seville, Spain.

The King and Queen are parents to three daughters; Catharina-Amalia, 14, Alexia, 12, and Ariane, 10.

Despite reportedly having no inkling that Willem-Alexander was heir to the throne when the pair first met, she eventually became Queen consort when her husband ascended to the throne.

Willem-Alexander became king after his mother, Beatrix, abdicated in April 2013 after 33 years as reigning monarch.

The couple are parents to Princess Amalia, Alexia and Ariane - affectionately dubbed 'the A team' by their doting father.
Princess Estelle of Sweden has posed alongside her mother and in a stunning new portrait.

The five-year-old princess joins her mother Crown Princess Victoria, 40, and grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf, 71, in the photo representing the future of Sweden's monarchy.

The king is, of course, the current ruler with Victoria first in line to the throne and her daughter third in the line of succession.

Princess Estelle poses alongside her mother Crown Princess Victoria and grandfather King Carl XVI Gustaf in a photo marking 200 years of the Swedish monarchy

Standing between her mother and grandfather, Estelle steals the show dressed in a sweet cobalt blue dress with a sky blue peter pan collar.

The charming princess looked especially smart in a pair of black Mary-Jane shoes and a pair of sweet lace ankle socks.

Her blonde hair had been tied back in order for the little girl to showcase her beaming grin.

Also dressed in blue was Crown Princess Victoria, who looked her elegant best in a floor sweeping pleated gown with high-neck collar.

The king also poses with his eldest child and first-in-line to the throne for an individual portrait

The mother-of-two could be seen wearing the family order pins and a ceremonial sash as she smiled for the camera.

It was also a rare occasion upon which we see the princess in a tiara, with Victoria wearing the Swedish Aquamarine Kokoshnik Tiara featuring rows of diamonds and aquamarine stones.

Standing proudly behind her is the current monarch and her father King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The grandfather wore white tie as as well as the family order pins and sash, as his daughter has.

We last saw Princess Estelle during the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit to Stockholm where she was introduced to the royal couple

William and Kate, who is six months pregnant with the couple's third child, met Estelle, and her younger brother Prince Oscar, who turns two in March

The king and Victoria also posed for an individual portrait together as well as the group shot.

The photos were taken by Thron Ullberg, photographer of the Royal Court in Stockholm on December 10, the day of the Nobel ceremonies, but was released on Tuesday to celebrate 200 years of the Swedish monarchy.

We last saw Princess Estelle during the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's visit to Stockholm where she was introduced to the royal couple.

William and Kate, who is six months pregnant with the couple's third child, met Estelle, and her younger brother Prince Oscar, who turns two in March on their second day in Sweden last week.
She spent the festive season at Sandringham, surrounded by visiting friends and family.

But today the Queen returned to London as the traditional winter break came to an end.

The 91-year-old monarch looked in good spirits as she boarded the train at King's Lynn, in Norfolk.

She donned a vibrant orange coat and dress for the occasion, accessorising with a brightly patterned headscarf - and teaming the outfit with a black patent handbag and matching shoes.

Heading home: The Queen looked in good spirits as she boarded the train at King's Lynn, in Norfolk, to return to London after spending the festive season at Sandringham

Spring is here: A policeman was on guard as the Queen boarded the carriage to begin her journey home. She will spend the spring between her residences in the south of England

The coat, in one of springs most popular shades, also featured stylish furry cuffs.

Train passengers took out their camera phones to snap a picture of the monarch as she crossed the platform, chatting amiably with a member of station staff.

A policeman was on guard as the Queen boarded the carriage to begin her trip home. The 1 hour 45 minute journey will take her into King's Cross.

The Queen will spend spring between her residences in south England before heading to Balmoral, in Aberdeenshire, for the summer.

Vibrant: The monarch donned a vibrant orange coat and dress for the occasion, accessorising with a brightly patterned headscarf. She finished the look with a black leather bag and shoes

The monarch has kept a low profile over the festive season, only being seen when she attended church with Prince Philip, 96.

However their children and grandchildren have been busy with a packed schedule of royal duties.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge last week carried out a four-day tour of Scandinavia at the request of the Commonwealth Office, visiting the royal families of Sweden and Norway.

Meanwhile Prince Harry, 33, and his fiancee Meghan Markle, 36, last week stepped out for their first evening engagement together.

Busy: The Duke and Duchess of Cornwall have continued their royal duties over recent weeks. Today Camilla joined Charles as they opened the National Grid's London Power Tunnels project

Warm welcome: Schoolchildren braved the cold to greet Charles as he arrived for the event

The couple, who will tie the knot at Windsor Castle on May 19, attended the Endeavour Fund Awards in the City of London.

Today the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, who have stepped up their royal duties, were on hand to officially open the London Power Tunnels Project at Seven Sisters Road.

Last night the royal couple hosted a glittering Buckingham Palace dinner to celebrate ten years of the British Asian Trust.
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The Duchess of Cambridge found herself in a sticky situation when she got her heel trapped in a grate today.

Kate, who is seven months pregnant with her third child, was nearly stopped in her tracks on arrival at an Action on Addiction treatment centre in Wickford, Essex.

After being greeted by the Vice Lord Lieutenant of Essex Jonathan Douglas-Hughes - who slipped and fell over when he met her and William in 2016 - Kate quipped that she had done 'the same as you'.

Thankfully she managed to extract her black suede heels without too much fuss.

Mr Douglas-Hughes said afterwards: 'I reminded her [about the fall]. 'My wife told her that she would ensure I didn't do it again. Then she caught her heel. She said "oh... [I've done] the same as you!"'

It wasn't the first time the Duchess has suffered a footwear malfunction; in March 2013, she nearly tripped while presenting shamrocks to the officers and guardsmen of the Irish Guards during a St. Patrick's Day Parade in Aldershot.

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Oops! As the Duchess shook hands with charity staff and council officials on arrival in Essex today, she appeared to get into a spot of bother when her heel momentarily got caught in a metal grate on the ground

Blue for a boy? The Duchess of Cambridge opted for royal blue with her Goat coat as she touched down in Essex to open a new addiction treatment centre built by Action On Addiction on Wednesday

Royal blue? Kate, who is seven months pregnant, wrapped up in a vibrant 660 coat from British label Goat as she arrived in Wickford on Wednesday to officially open the new centre built by the addiction charity, of which she is patron

Deja vu! This isn't the first time the Duchess has suffered a footwear malfunction; in March 2013, Kate nearly tripped while presenting shamrocks to the officers and guardsmen of the Irish Guards during a St. Patrick's Day Parade

He said about the visit: 'The young royals are creating a high profile [for good causes] and that is so much appreciated. They come quite frequently and it makes such a difference to people. Everybody so appreciates their interest.'

On arrival at the centre in a residential street in the Essex town, Kate, who was wearing a blue coat by label Goat, went straight into a round table discussion with addiction experts.

She was also carrying a limited edition Aspinal x Beulah London Blue Heart clutch.

At the start of the discussion she was served a cup of tea in a white china cup but did not drink it while the media were in the room.

Then she met people who are currently being helped by the charity's nine-week community-based non-residential recovery programme before unveiling a plaque and making an impromptu speech. In the discussions with clients, Kate pointed out that she thought it was good the treatment centre was 'within the community' rather than 'isolated'.

She also asked them: 'What do you feel is the stigma around treatment centres like this?'

Afterwards Colin, 37, from Tilbury, who is being treated for alcohol addiction, said: 'It was a real honour. This place has basically saved my life.'

He said about Kate: 'For her to come here and sit with us and be so down-to-earth and talk to us. 'It was absolutely unbelievable.'

Star of the show: Once inside, the Duchess gave an impromptu speech in which she thanked patients as well as staff involved in setting up the new community centre and its new non-residential recovery programme

Before leaving the centre today, Kate said: 'Huge congratulations, I believe so passionately in community projects to I wish [Clouds in the Community] all the best of success in the future'

During her visit today, the Duchess joined a round-table discussion with healthcare professionals, met staff and clients at different points of their recovery, and attended a reception to commemorate the opening

Suzanne, 33, from Chelmsford, who is being treated for cocaine and alcohol addiction, said: 'She was asking us about how we're finding the treatment, how it affects us in the community...

'For her to see what she's backing, for her to see the people she's helping.'

She added: 'Addicts are overlooked sometimes and it is a really big problem in England, there are a lot of addicts that haven't got the help. 'So hopefully publicising it, encouraging more people to go and seek them help that they need... 'There is a horrible stigma...So to meet us and realise we are just everyday people...

'Without people backing the charity we would be without the help we are receiving now.' After unveiling a plaque to officially open the Clouds in the Community treatment programme, Kate made a short speech.

She described the charity as having a 'very special place' for her and added about the treatment centre: 'I believe so passionately in community projects.'

The Action on Addiction treatment centre in Wickford first opened to clients in October last year. It hosts nine-week long addiction recovery programmes including community-based recovery programme: 'Clouds in the Community' which is offered as an alternative to residential treatment. Kate, 36, has been Patron of Action on Addiction since 2012.

The Duchess was given a huge bouquet of pink and white roses while chatting to well-wishers outside. During a short reception, she told staff: 'You are very special to me, so it's great to be here as well as seeing the development of where the charity has gone over the years gone past'

The Duchess crouches down to chat to a youngster, just one of the dozens of locals who had crowded outside the treatment centre today to catch a glimpse of the royal. Many came with bouquets to present to Kate (pictured)

The Duchess also gave an impromptu speech in which she thanked patients as well as staff involved in setting up the new community centre.

She said: 'It seems like a long time since I first got involved with Action On Addiction, I think it was six years ago, but they have a very special place for me and were really at the start of my learning, particularly now, with the development [of my work] into mental health.

'You are very special to me, so it's great to be here as well as seeing the development of where the charity has gone over the years gone past. Huge congratulations, I believe so passionately in community projects to I wish [Clouds in the Community] all the best of success in the future.'

The new centre first opened its doors to patients in October 2017 and hosts a rolling cycle of nine-week long addiction recovery programmes.

The Duchess also joined a round-table discussion with healthcare professionals, met staff and clients at different points of their recovery, and attended a reception to commemorate the opening, during her visit today.

Clouds in the Community is a self-help addiction recovery programme (SHARP) that provides an alternative to residential treatment, and enables the charity to provide services for more people in more places.

The programme is designed to be a starting point for long term recovery and abstinence, and leads to improvements in participants' physical and psychological health, self-efficacy, and overall quality of life.

The Duchess was glowing as she left the centre today, clutching colourful bouquets of flowers given to her by well-wishers

Blue on blue: The Duchess's vibrant Goat Ellroy coat is currently half price, down from 660 to 330 in the sale. It matched perfectly with the royal's sapphire engagement ring and matching earrings

All smiles! The Duchess, who is preparing to welcome her third child in two months, looked radiant as she beamed and waved at well-wishers who had gathered outside the centre in Wickford this morning

Important cause: Clouds in the Community is a self-help addiction recovery programme (SHARP) that provides an alternative to residential treatment, and enables the charity to provide services for more people in more places

Thrifty Kate strikes again! The Duchess's vibrant Goat Ellroy coat is currently half price, down from 660 to 330 in the sale. It matched perfectly with the royal's sapphire engagement ring and matching earrings

Solo engagement: During her visit today, the Duchess will join a round-table discussion with healthcare professionals, meet staff and clients at different points of their recovery, and attend a reception to commemorate the opening

Close to her heart: The charity has several sites around the country, including its flagship Clouds House centre in Wiltshire which offers residential treatment, and a further community-based site in Liverpool

Independent evaluation of the programme in Essex showed that almost 80 per cent of clients did not return to any treatment service upon completion of the scheme.

Action on Addiction offers life-saving treatment to individuals and families at its flagship treatment centre, Clouds House in Wiltshire, and at its community-based treatment centres in Essex and Liverpool.

The charity has several sites around the country, including its flagship Clouds House centre in Wiltshire which offers residential treatment, and a further community-based site in Liverpool.

It treats all forms of addiction including alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction, sex addiction and food-related disorders.

It also offers education to degree level at The Centre for Addiction Treatment Studies and funds and promotes research into effective responses to addiction.

Easy does it! The Duchess was careful to avoid a wardrobe malfunction as she stepped out of the car this morning to visit the new centre. The centre opened its doors in October and hosts a rolling cycle of nine-week addiction recovery programmes

The Duchess was escorted from her car by an elderly man in uniform who introduced her to council officials as well as charity staff. After heading inside, Kate met people who have had support from Action on Addiction in Wickford

Hair today, gone tomorrow: The Duchess was sporting a bouncy blow dry as she arrived in Essex this afternoon. She paired her vibrant blue designer coat with a black dress, pointed heels and a small box clutch

Nice to meet you! The Duchess was all smiles as she arrived in Wickford today. While at the centre this afternoon, Kate will learn more about the charity's community-based recovery programme Clouds in the Community

Kate, who has just returned from a royal tour of Sweden and Norway with husband William, is expecting her third child in April.

She became patron of Action on Addiction in January 2012, one of the first four charities she chose to support on an official basis since joining the Royal family the year before.

By choosing patronage of an addiction charity as one of her first official roles Kate follows in the footsteps of the late Princess Diana, who became Patron of Turning Point in 1985.

She has visited a number of their facilities over the past six years, including in Liverpool and Wiltshire, and in October 2013 she held the 100 Women in Hedge Funds philanthropic initiatives reception dinner at Kensington Palace in aid of the charity.

One to remember: The Duchess poses next to a plaque she had just unveiled that commemorates the event on Wednesday

One of the centres patients said of Kate's visit: 'For her to come here and sit with us and be so down-to-earth and talk to us. 'It was absolutely unbelievable.'

She looked deeply engaged in the conversation as she joined in the discussion with the professionals at the event

Another person who had used the centre said: 'She was asking us about how we're finding the treatment, how it affects us in the community.'

The new centre first opened its doors to patients in October 2017 and hosts a rolling cycle of nine-week long addiction recovery programmes
A woman who suffers from the same debilitating chronic pain condition that forced Lady Gaga to cancel major tour dates says a cream that costs less than 10 has had a 'miracle' effect.

Julia Sexton, a charity administrative assistant from Gwent, Wales, was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year after she began suffering with pins and needles in her legs, which quickly deteriorated into a sensation that felt like her skin was being 'slowly burned alive'.

Last week, pop superstar Lady Gaga announced that she was cancelling a string of tour dates - including London's O2 this week - because her long-term condition had left her in agony.

Julia Sexton (pictured) says a cream that costs less than 10 has had a miracle effect on her chronic pain condition

The same chronic pain condition forced Lady Gaga (pictured) to cancel major dates on her tour last week - telling fans she was 'devastated' she could not perform live

The drug-free cream has transformed Julia's life, according to the administrative assistant

A statement released by Live Nation, revealed the 31-year-old songstress 'is suffering from severe pain that has materially impacted her ability to perform live' - the same reason given when she postponed the same dates six months previously.

The star herself put up a statement on Twitter reading: 'I'm so devastated I don't know how to describe it.

'All I know is that if I don't do this I am not standing by the words or meaning of my music.'

Fibromyalgia is a disorder that causes musculoskeletal pain throughout the body.

For 55-year-old Julia, the cream Celafen, a drug-free natural remedy has transformed how the condition affects her life.

So severe were the symptoms at one point, Julia struggled to leave her home and left feeling sick after taking medicine prescribed for the condition.

The divorced mother-of-two told MailOnline that using the cream had made a huge difference.

A statement released by Live Nation, revealed the 31-year-old songstress 'is suffering from severe pain that has materially impacted her ability to perform live'

For 55-year-old Julia, the cream Celafen, a drug-free natural remedy has transformed how the condition affects her life

She said: 'I was fairly amazed to be honest when after about three days of using the Celafen cream twice a day I started to feel an easing of the pain in my legs.'

After using Celafen for three months, she says she's halved the amount of pain she's in, something she calls frankly miraculous considering the cream's ingredients are mostly natural.

Describing her descent into pain, Julia said: 'At first it felt a bit like pins and needles and then over the period of a few weeks it developed into a nagging joint pain in my ankles and knees.'

Julia says she was 'fairly amazed' when 'after about three days of using the Celafen cream twice a day I started to feel an easing of the pain in my legs'

She adds: 'My legs were also very restless and at night it kept me awake. After about a month I was starting to find I was in quite a lot of pain when I walked and the pain was spreading and getting quite rapidly worse week by week.'

Eventually the pain spread to her joints and spine and she says her entire body started to ache.

'At one stage it felt like my whole body was literally on fire. All my joints felt hot and aching.

'It was a kind of pain I have never experienced before, not even in childbirth.'
Ivanka Trump cut a classic figure as she headed this morning in an all-dark outfit and donning eye-catching sunglasses.

The first daughter, 36, left for work a little before 9am, wrapped in a navy Max Mara coat, which retails for $5,242, and a dark turtleneck.

Her large shades added a retro touch to her elegant ensemble, which Ivanka finished off with five-inch black stilettos and a matching bag slung over her shoulder.

Greeting the day: Ivanka Trump cut a classic figure as she headed this morning in an all-dark outfit and donning eye-catching sunglasses

Bundled up: The first daughter, 36, left for work a little before 9, which retails for $5,242.70 at Max Mara, and a dark turtleneck

An air of vintage: Her large black shades brought a retro touch to her elegant ensemble

The White House adviser wore her long hair down and went for minimal make-up as well as discreet earrings, giving her ensemble an air of low-key chic.

While temperatures in Washington, D.C. were in the thirties this morning, Ivanka opted to brave the cold with bare legs.

She kept her eyes trained in front of herself as she walked to the parked Secret Service vehicle waiting for her.

Ivanka's husband and fellow senior White House adviser, Jared Kushner, 37, was also seen this morning leaving their house in the upscale neighborhood of Kalorama, departing a little before 8.

Jared stuck to his usual suit and tie and smiled as he walked towards his own Secret Service car.

Accessories: Ivanka finished off her outfit with five-inch black stilettos and a matching bag slung on her shoulders

Touches: The White House adviser wore her long hair down and went for minimal make-up as well as discreet earrings, giving her ensemble an air of low-key chic

Chilly: While temperatures in Washington, D.C. were in the thirties this morning, Ivanka opted to brave the cold with bare legs

Focused: She kept her eyes trained in front of herself as she walked to the parked Secret Service vehicle waiting for her

Duties: Earlier this week, a White House official said Ivanka will led the presidential delegation during the closing ceremony of the winter Olympics in Pyeongchang

Commute: Jared Kushner, 37, Ivanka's husband and fellow senior White House adviser, was also seen this morning leaving their house, departing a little before 8

Earlier this week, a White House official told CNN that Ivanka will led the presidential delegation during the closing ceremony of the winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Her father was the one who asked her to attend the event, along with the US Olympic Committee, according to the official.

Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, will lead the US delegation during the opening ceremony, scheduled to take place on Friday.

On Monday, Trump didn't waste any time getting back to the grind after spending a relaxing weekend away from Washington with her family.

The first daughter was pictured on Monday morning leaving her house a little before 8am in a Secret Service SUV, holding her phone up to her ear as she took a call during her commute.

While Ivanka is often seen walking from her house to her parked car, she opted to make a more discreet exit, instead leaving straight from the garage of her luxurious D.C. home in the blacked-out vehicle.

Back to business: Ivanka took a morning call on her way to work on Monday morning, after returning from a weekend getaway in Florida with her family

Time to leave: On Sunday, Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, 37, were pictured boarding Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport after sunset

So tired: They were then seen carrying their children out of Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after returning from their getaway in Palm Beach

Family: On Saturday, Ivanka took to Instagram to share this photo of her four-year-old son Joseph staring longingly out of an Air Force One window

She appeared to be wearing a combination of burgundy and black, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail.

Ivanka also kept a bottle of water at the ready during her ride to work.

She and Jared were pictured on Sunday boarding the presidential plane at Palm Beach International Airport after sunset, with Ivanka wearing a black and white off-the-shoulders dress at the close of their weekend stay.

They were then seen carrying their children out of Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after returning from their getaway in Palm Beach, with their little ones having apparently dozed off during the flight.

After landing in Palm Beach, where Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate is located, on Friday, Ivanka shared a photo of her four-year-old son Joseph peering out of the plane while his grandfather disembarked.

Ivanka shared the photo of the moment on Instagram Saturday, writing: 'Joseph watching Grandpa deplane Air Force One.'

The photo sees the little boy leaning on a chair at the edge of the plane with his little face pressed up against the window.
The father and daughter conversation is familiar, one played out in the homes of frustrated teenagers up down the country.

The daughter cant see why her dad is being such a stick-in-the-mud when it comes to curfews and her social life. The dad is not budging. Yes, he is over-protective, he admits, but his rules are his rules.

You should be back by 8pm, he says. She pulls a face and suggests midnight. He seems to soften, suggesting that 10pm might be acceptable in summer.

The confrontation goes on. She points out that shes never been a rebellious sort and that she is actually more thoughtful than most about phoning her dad to tell her she is OK.

He says she never phones enough  if she is out for a few hours in the evening, he should get at least two check-in calls an hour.

Mehreen Baig (pictured), 28, has created a documentary questioning being a good Muslim and modern British woman for the BBC

She looks incredulous. Which is fair enough. How many teenagers check in with their parents every 30 minutes when theyre on a night out?

But the suggestion is even more ridiculous when you consider that this is not a teenage girl who is pleading with her dad to loosen the parental reins. It is a 28-year-old woman, with a respectable job and group of professional nice friends, who happens to be still living with her parents in London.

Mehreen Baig is a teacher-turned-blogger and TV presenter who has done something quite extraordinary and brave  she has turned the TV cameras on her own family in a documentary about what it means to be an independent young Muslim woman in Britain today. Her new BBC film, Islam, Women And Me, is fascinating, given the access she has secured within her community.

Mehreen opens the door on some closed practices, including being allowed to sit in on a Sharia divorce panel, from which she emerges in tears, appalled at how difficult it is for a woman to escape an unhappy marriage.

She talks openly to young British Muslim women, both those who feel empowered by their religion and those who are so appalled by the restraints imposed on them, that they have quit Islam completely.

The point of the programme is personal. Can I be a strong independent women and a good Muslim? Mehreen asks as she embarks on her TV journey. Or does Islam not give me that ability?

Its a quandary the children of many first-generation immigrants find themselves struggling with, often resulting in unhappy and disaffected young people, struggling with their identity  sometimes with tragic consequences. Flick through Mehreens Instagram pages, and her blog, for example, and the conflicts and contradictions are obvious.

Not for her the hijab: she favours figure-hugging dresses and short skirts, that would prompt even the most liberal-minded father to beg his daughter to put a cardigan on. She poses for endless pouting selfies in heavy make-up.

Mehreen Baig (pictured) considers herself a practicing Muslim but says there are those within her parents' community who don't approve of her

Her parents, whom she doesnt name, but describes as liberal are both graduates from Pakistan, but she and her sister were raised in Tottenham, North London.

She considers herself a practising Muslim on the basis that she prays and fasts. But in the TV programme she raises questions not just about culture and religion but about patriarchy, too  her fathers control over her life, a control she sometimes considers comical, sometimes not.

Sometimes his rules drive me crazy, she says. He says they are Islamic. Who am I really obeying? My father or my religion?

There are some within her parents community (the uncles and aunties she says) who dont approve of her. She gets tuts she says, but she has long since reconciled herself to this.

Being a Muslim isnt easy. Sometimes it feels like everyone has an opinion on how you should live your life. The big conflict is over clothes. People tell me Im a bad Muslim. But if the worst thing anyone can find to criticise about me as a Muslim is my clothes, then Im fine with that.

Ive seen many women become shadows of the girl they used to be after they got married

As she has grown up, though, she admits it has been less easy to reconcile her two worlds. At 28 she is still unmarried (thats old in my community), still living at home (she says she wouldnt be allowed to move out) and worried about what lies ahead.

In practice it means my dad lays down the rules, she explains. He says the situation will only change when she gets married. Then it will be the duty of your husband to look after you.

Does Mehreen even want to get married, though? She seems unsure. In her experience it is even harder for a Muslim woman once she marries.

Ive seen many women become shadows of the girl they used to be after they got married, she admits. Im not going to be that girl.

Mehreen (pictured) believes the men she's met using a Muslim dating site prove there isn't one version of a good Muslim wife

Yet she still cannot bring herself to explore the prospect of marriage outside her religion, and signs up for a Muslim dating site. Her prospective husbands include a guy who wants his mother to live with them  and who states quite openly he would always side with his mum if the two women in his life clashed.

Then theres the man whos quite open to the idea of allowing his wife to wear a bikini on the beach  unthinkable to a lot of Muslim men.

What did these encounters prove? There isnt one version of a good Muslim husband, just as there isnt one version of a good Muslim wife, she says.

Mehreen has long styled herself as the voice of the moderate Muslim woman. She took part in BBC Twos Bafta-winning Muslims Like Us programme in 2016, and blogs regularly. This programme gives her a more mainstream platform, though, and the content will doubtless raise eyebrows in both communities.

Womens rights in general are hidden whereas mens rights are emphasised

To the Western audience the conversations between Mehreen and her Pakistani dad, who clearly adores her (and the feeling is mutual) are shocking.

Muslims might be a tad surprised, too, at a conversation she has with a fellow Muslim woman when they both open up about the challenge they have in observing the no-sex-before-marriage rules of Islam.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied, who has worked as an engineer on oil rigs, describes herself as a Muslim feminist activist but says she is holding onto the no-sex-before-marriage rule.

Same, agrees Mehreen. But what if I reach 32 and Im still not married? Is God going to be like: I understand. They both laugh at the misconception that Muslim women dont enjoy sex. Get off it! Im as frisky as the next one, says Yassmin.

The idea that a Muslim upbringing renders a woman meek is one that is shot down in this programme, too.

Mehreen (pictured) admits she struggles with the particular Muslim teachings that a husband may beat his wife 'lightly'

Mehreen admits she struggles with some Islamic teachings, in particular a much-debated section from the Hadith, writings about the life of the Prophet Muhammad, which makes reference to the fact that if a woman disobeys her husband, he can beat her lightly.

She discusses this with a young woman called Sadia who left the faith, unable to reconcile this with her beliefs. Sadias anger over it is clear. What the f*** does lightly mean? she asks. That is not f***ing equality.

Mehreen also struggles with what it means to be a good Muslim wife and sits on the panel at a Sharia divorce hearing where she witnesses two cases.

In one the husband has not been in the family home for five years, and actually has another family. The wife has to explain why this situation is untenable.

In the second, the tearful wife explains her husband left because he wanted children with another woman. The reason? His first wife had produced two autistic boys. Annulments are granted, yes, but the inequality is obvious.

Mehreen (pictured) gained admission to a seminar by a Muslim cleric where she shifted uncomfortably when it was announced a good wife should always make herself available

I was shocked the husbands werent even required to attend, admits Mehreen. If they want a divorce all they have to do is announce it three times at monthly intervals. This was an ordeal the women had to go through but the men could excuse themselves.

There is much that baffles her. As part of the filming she gains admission to a seminar by a Muslim cleric offering advice on marriage, and listens as the imam lists the duties of a good husband  to provide food, accommodation and clothes for his wife.

He should be generous above all things. A woman? She should show her husband love, affection and loyalty. Mehreen shifts uncomfortably as he says a good wife should always make herself available to her husband, unless there is a good excuse.

She must obey and not travel without consent. By the time the imam is declaring that good Muslims should stay off Facebook, she is openly rolling her eyes.

Outside she meets a single woman the same age who admits her brother comes too when she goes on dates. He even meets the man beforehand. The young woman, wearing a headscarf, seems perfectly accepting of this. Mehreen isnt so sure.

Mehreen (pictured) revealed the documentary gave her enough insight to want to confront her father's rules

Perhaps the pivotal point of the programme comes when she questions how much is about Islam and how much of it is about an interpretation of that religion. She seems stunned to discover that some argue there is no religious requirement to obey ones parents, for instance. Women do have rights in Islam but half of these rights I have not heard of before. Why is that? she asks.

Womens rights in general are hidden whereas mens rights are emphasised. What she has to go through daily is brought home in a part-humorous, part-shocking way when she discovers she has missed seven calls from her father and two text messages while out.

She is candid about the feeling of being torn between two cultures. Whatever you pick, you are letting someone down, she says. By the end of the programme, she feels she has gained enough insight to confront her own father on the rules he insists are Islamic, and which she believes are more about him than Islam.

Back at home, she tackles him on his curfews and says it has to stop. It cant happen, says her dad. Ditto the constant text messages. If you are away for ten hours, I must get that message five times, he says.

Is there a breakthrough, though, when she tentatively raises the possibility of her moving out of the family home before she is 30?

He seems oddly accepting, but there is a stinger. I love you sweetheart. I will stay under your stairs. I will come every weekend, twice a week. I will telephone a million times, but I will not become a burden in your life.

Does she ever answer that vital question of whether you can be a good Muslim and a strong independent woman, though? The conclusion must be it depends who is doing the judging.

Islam, Women And Me, available now on BBC iPlayer
Whether you'll be spending this Valentine's Day on a hot date or indulging in wine and chocolate with your best friends, the holiday is the perfect excuse to get creative with your nails.

You don't have to be a professional to create festive nail art that will have you feeling the love.

From the literal (like a cutout heart design) to the understated (like a red stud-embellished mani), read on to get inspired by fun ideas that every skill level can try in time for February 14.

BEGINNER

Think pink: Millie Bobby Brown, 13, matched her simple white and pink nail art to her dress and make-up at the SAG Awards in January, a move we plan on copying this Valentine's Day

Millie Bobby Brown was ready for Valentine's Day a month ago when she walked the SAG Awards red carpet in a pink sequin dress, pink make-up and nail art to match.

'I wanted my nails to play off the white and pink pops in my outfit, so I chose a nail art design with bold pink lines,' Millie told allure.com of the manicure that we plan on recreating this February 14.

Millie's manicurist Steph Stone said that she began by painting nails with two coats of Essie's Blanc, an opaque white shade. Once dry, she used a striping brush dipped in Essie's Cascade Cool, a bubblegum pink, to paint a thin line down the center of each nail. Simple!

BEGINNER

Keep the party going: This glittery look, created by nail artist Hang Nguyen, is one you won't want to take off on February 15

'Perfect for Valentines day and not too Valentinezy cheesy to pull off and rock the days after,' said Los Angeles-based nail artist Hang Nguyen of the glitzy look.

Hang created a light pink manicure using JINsoon nail polish in Blush and then topped the bottom half of nails with the brand's multi-dimensional glitter polish, Fete.

To achieve the gradient effect, apply the glitter polish at the cuticle and then drag the brush up mid-nail. Continue to add more glitter to the base of the nail blending upwards until you're satisfied with the coverage.

INTERMEDIATE

Love is in the nails: This cutout design from YouTube channel Cute Polish is easier than it looks

This heart cutout design created by Sandi from the YouTube channel Cute Polish is minimalist, but looks impressive.

First, choose the nail on each hand you want the cutout design to go on and paint them with two coats of glitter nail polish (Sandi used a sheer gold glitter shade from Modi Glam Nails). While that dries, paint two coats of red polish on the rest of your nails.

Next use a striping brush or a small acrylic brush to draw the outline of a heart in red polish on the two glitter accent nails. Sandi recommends drawing a dot where you want the bottom point of the shape to land and another dot where you want the top point to land to help guide you as you paint.

Once the outline of the heart is done, fill in the areas outside of it with the red polish. It may take several coats to achieve an opaque finish.

INTERMEDIATE

What a stud: Nail artist Madeline Poole used nail studs that she painted red to give a neutral manicure festive flair

The only reason this look by Madeline Poole falls under the intermediate level is because it requires a bit of crafting to achieve.

The Sally Hansen global color ambassador painted silver nail studs red and then used double stick tape to adhere the studs to the base of each nail.

If you're going to apply the studs on top of painted nails, make sure to apply top coat and allow the polish to fully dry so it doesn't smudge while you're embellishing.

ADVANCED

French kisses and nails: YouTube vlogger Hannah Lee of the channel HannahRoxNail created a French tip in the shape of a heart for the upcoming holiday

If you've got a steady hand and can work a nail polish brush, challenge yourself to this sweet take on the French manicure created by YouTube vlogger Hannah Lee of the channel HannahRoxNail for Sally Beauty.

Start by applying a base coat on each nail. Using bright red nail polish, paint a curved shape from the middle left corner of the nail to the center. Repeat this on the other side of the nail to create an upside-down heart shape.

Once dry, repeat the steps using a pink polish further up the nail to allow the red to peek out. Take out your red again to add a final layer (allowing slivers of the red and pink to show).
A British teenager was branded 'lazy' by viewers after she repeatedly turned up late to work after being given a job by a multi-millionaire as part of a TV experiment.

Georgia, 18, from Crosby, Merseyside, revealed how she had lost 10 jobs in the last two years including one at McDonald's, where she only lasted one shift.

The teenager was one of four unemployed Brits taken on by self-made Palestinian millionaire Marwan Koukash for Channel 4 programme My Millionaire Migrant Boss.

Dr Koukash, who arrived in the UK in 1976 with just 200 in his pocket and now has an estimated fortune of up to 2billion, mentored the jobseekers through a two-week work experience at one of his hotels, the Doubletree by Hilton in Liverpool.

His aim was to instill in them the same work ethic that he believes many migrant workers possess. Some 25 per cent of his work force come from outside the UK.

Viewers watched as Georgia struggled with the room service role she was given, cleaning the bathroom quickly before polishing the mirror with a toilet brush - leaving it foggy.

Georgia, 18, from Crosby, Merseyside, was one of four unemployed Brits taken on by self-made Palestinian millionaire Marwan Koukash for Channel 4's My Millionaire Migrant Boss. She shocked viewers when she cleaned the mirror with a toilet brush (above) and repeatedly turned up to work late but others claimed producers only showed the 'worst bits' of her trial

She was also late on her first day and then again on her third day, once blaming her alarm for not going off.

Dr Koukash was eventually forced to fire the teenager, although he was reluctant. 'It's difficult to be a businessman and a human at the same time,' he said.

But viewers were less than impressed by her apparent lack of willing. One tweeted: 'That blonde girl needs a good boot up the rear. Lazy and rude.'

Another posted: 'Georgia thinks its OK to turn up late for work every day. Wasting an opportunity.'

A third ranted: 'Very poor work ethics and OMG Georgia washing mirrors with a toilet brush!! I worked in hotels when I was young it was a good life. Whats the matter with young Brits now!!??'

Georgia was meant to change beds in just four minutes and clean the whole bedroom in half an hour. She was eventually fired by Dr Koukash, although he was reluctant to let her go

Polish manager Julia said she wasn't impressed with the teams efforts and wouldn't offer any of them jobs. Some 25 per cent of the hotel's work force came from outside the UK

Viewers slammed Georgia's efforts in her new job after she turned up late, with many calling her 'lazy'

However some viewers pointed out that the editing of the show made Georgia's behaviour look worse than it actually was.

One posted: 'You shouldnt judge anyone off a few edited clips. Two weeks squeezed into an hour and you dont think they're gonna show the worst bits.'

Georgia, who had previously worked in a call centre, Pontins, and a beauty salon, said she had learnt from the experience and an update at the end of the episode revealed she had gone on to secure a job as a care worker.

She proudly shared that her punctuality had also improved.

The turnaround prompted a flood of support on Twitter, with one posting: 'Knew georgia would prove everyone wrong. Proves you shouldn't judge anyone off a few edited clips.'

Some viewers pointed out that the editing of the show made Georgia's behaviour look worse than it actually was

Viewers praised Georgia for turning herself around and said how well Koukash came across

The programme saw similarly positive outcomes for the three other candidates.

Joe, the only male participant, had seen his confidence and career blighted by depression. But at the end of the programme he was given a job by Dr Koukash as a kitchen porter, putting an end to his life on benefits.

An update showed how he had later put himself forward for a managerial role at a call centre - and his application had been successful.

Dr Koukash also hired Wendy, 49, at the end of the show, giving her a role in his sales team. The candidate proved a hit with viewers, who hailed her 'bubbly' and 'diligent'.

Finally budding entrepreneur Heidi ended the process by launching her own fashion business - bringing on Koukash as her mentor.

Marwan Koukash: The rise of a self-made millionaire

By Katie French for MailOnline

He is estimated to be worth up to 2.15billion after forging a successful career in technical services while chancing his luck as a horserace and sports club owner.

And yet behind the vast wealth of Marwan Koukash lies a tale of labour, good fortune and hard graft.

The 60-year-old businessman, who appeared on My Migrant Millionare Boss on Channel 4 last night, was not born into the luxurious lifestyle he has become accustomed to.

Instead the Liverpool-based entrepreneur grew up on a modest family farm in the troubled West Bank.

He also owns several racehorses which have earned him over 1million in prize money

He was forced to flee his home at the age of eight, alongside his mother and seven siblings, after it was showered with bombs.

For three days they walked until they reached the River Jordan where they lived in a refugee camp. In 1967 after the Six-Day War the family arrived in Britain via Kuwait.

A world away from the Middle East, the family settled in Liverpool where Koukash studied corporate training and financial services at a technical college in St. Helens.

After graduating from Liverpool John Moores University he continued his studies, obtaining a PhD in electrical engineering.

Koukash entered a career of academia, teaching at the university for five years before becoming appointed as the Director of International Business.

Self-made man: Koukash took over rugby team the Salford Red Devils in 2013

But he didnt make his fortune until 1992 when he set up corporate training company EuroMaTech.

Despite his wealth at the time, Koukash said he was at rock bottom until he met his wife Mandy, who was managing a restaurant at a hotel in Liverpool.

Speaking candidly to the Racing Post last year, he said: Id lost everything I had, literally overnight.

Little did he know his fortunes were set to change once again when his bank manager took him out for a day at Haydock Racecourse.

The next day he bought his first horse. It came in last but by the end of the year Terminate at Warwick became his first winner.

By 2012 his strong team of horses - carrying his famous grey and gold silks - brought him 101 winners - and 1m in prize money.

Not satisfied with just having a grip of horseracing, a chance encounter saw the plucky businessman take on a northern rugby team.

A chance meeting on a flight to Dubai with the Rugby Football League Chief Executive alerted him to Salford's financial peril and sowed the seeds of his decision to take over the club.

Salford rebranded from City Reds to Salford Red Devils and Koukash allowed the club to invest in players and coaching staff.

Without his financial backing they could well be out of business, with the club close to liquidation when he took control.

But he courted controversy during his tenure and regularly locked horns with other board members.

He announced his intention to sell the club in 2013, and in February 2018, the Betfred Super League club was taken over by a new not-for-profit holding company, Salford RD Holdings.

He took to Twitter to confirm the deal earlier this month: 'Today I transferred control of @SalfordDevils to a new board and would want to wish them all the very best.

'My involvement with the club will be as a devoted fan and sponsor. I will also be there for the new board whenever they need my advice or support.

'It has been a very emotional day signing away the club I love but I know it is the right thing for the future of the club to do.'

Koukash's net worth is estimated at anywhere between 647million and 2.15billion.
The Duchess of Cornwall praised Britain's 'bold and thriving' press as she attended a reception celebrating women working in journalism tonight.

Addressing the crowd tonight, Camilla, 70, joked she could hear 'pencils sharpening' as she teased that her speech would include 'a royal story you may be unaware of'.

In fact she highlighted Anne Royall, an 18th Century American journalist who is said to have forced then president, John Quincy Adams, to give her an interview about pensions for widows by sitting on the clothes he had left on a river bank while taking a naked swim.

'No one knows if this story is true or not, but I hope it is. I doubt it's the best way to get an interview today but it's a marvellous measure of female guile,' she said to laughter.

Quick change: Camilla changed out of the vibrant pink suit she wore for an engagement and into a dark blue crushed velvet Edina Ronay dress for the event at The Ned hotel in the City of London

Camilla praised Anne Royall (pictured), an 18th Century American journalist who is said to have forced then president, John Quincy Adams, to give her an interview about pensions for widows

Earlier, Camilla attended the official opening The National Grid's London Power Tunnels project in north London, a new electricity superhighway supplying power to the capital from deep below London's streets

The Duchess singled out the Mail's legendary correspondent Dame Anne Leslie for praise as a 'powerhouse force' in journalism, as she reminded the media that it was vital to hear both male and female perspectives in stories.

Speaking to an audience including Lynn Barber, Eve Pollard and Rosie Millard, she said: 'A bold, thriving press is part of what makes Britain great, but it is vital that in stories from around the world we hear both male and female perspectives.

Speaking to an audience including Lynn Barber, Eve Pollard and Rosie Millard, she said: 'A bold, thriving press is part of what makes Britain great, but it is vital that in stories from around the world we hear both male and female perspectives.

'Research by your own organisation shows that it is still not easy for women journalists, and in general stories about women are less likely to be told.'

Camilla, added: 'We should applaud the powerhouse forces in journalism who who make sure no-one is overlooked - from redoubtable veterans like Anne Leslie to the next generation of writers.

'We need to continue to take courage from great women of the past, but we also need to look to the future.

'I am privileged to meet many amazing women in my travels around the world and I know how important it is that we hear their voices and their experiences.

'Thank you for helping us to make sure we record the great women of today so we can inspire the young women of tomorrow.'

The reception, hosted by organisation Women in Journalism (WIJ), brought together women from across the world of media.

Camilla meets Sue Peart, editor of the Mail on Sunday's YOU magazine, during a reception for Women in Journalism at The Ned in London.=

Dressed in a crushed blue velvet dress, the Duchess chats to journalist Jane Gordon (left) and Sue Peart, editor of the Mail on Sunday's YOU magazine

Camilla chats to Eve Pollard and Lynn Barber. During a speech, she singled out the Mail's legendary correspondent Dame Anne Leslie for praise as a 'powerhouse force' in journalism

Addressing the crowd tonight, Camilla reminded the media that it was vital to hear both male and female perspectives in stories

The Duchess of Cornwall meets Sunday Times royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah (right) and Daily Telegraph royal correspondent Hannah Furness. The reception, hosted by organisation Women in Journalism (WIJ), brought together women from across the world of media

WIJ, a networking, campaigning and social group, grew out of a demand for women to be more effectively represented at a senior level in newspapers and magazines.

It has since evolved into a forum for women in journalism at all levels.
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Dramatic images show how a mother of six gave birth to her youngest child in a hospital corridor, when she arrived too late to make it to a bed.

Jesica Hogan, based in Riley, Kansas, welcomed her fifth child and only son Max in July last year and has just opened up about her incredible birth story in a new video shared by her birth photographer Tammy Karin.

The mother, who gave birth at the Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, had contractions for several days before Max's birth, without going into labor. She and her husband Travis even went to the hospital a first time, but ended up coming home for several days of waiting.

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No time to waste: Jesica Hogan, based in Riley, Kansas, can be seen in a series of dramatic images giving birth in a hospital corridor after arriving too late to make it to a bed

Fasle alarms: The mother, who gave birth at the Via Christi Hospital in Manhattan, Kansas, had contractions for several days before the birth of her son Max, without going into labor

Emergency: 'I reached down and could feel his head crowning with my hand. I looked at my husband and said, "Travis catch him!" Jesica recounted

Fast: When Jesica and her husband Travis arrived to the hospital, the mother could tell her son was about to arrive right then and there

Around that time, Jesica began to worry she wouldn't be able to tell when labor would actually start.

'I was losing faith in my ability to tell when I would actually be in labor, and losing faith that my body knew what it was doing,' she explained in a blog post on Tammy's website.

Eventually, one night, Jesica started having contractions again but didn't think they would amount to anything.

She even told her husband that she believed labor would need to be induced, or that she wouldn't realize she was in the early stages of giving birth until it was too late.

'I stayed awake contracting, yet again, until about 2 am. It was at that time that I wrote to a group of other expectant and fellow moms, complaining of those very same contractions and my fears of not making it to the hospital in time,' Jesica added.

Staff: Nurses ran down the hall to help Jesica with the rest of the birth, helping the mother lie down in the corridor and telling her to push

Birth: 'With one more push as instructed by the nurse, and the only intentional push I gave, I felt the rest of his body come out,' Jesica said of Max

Quick: Only a few moments elapsed between the moment Jesica and Travis arrived to the hospital and the moment Max was born

Healthy: Max took a little time before letting out his first cry and was 'incredibly bruised' due to his rapid birth, but he ended up doing just fine

'Oh that intuition is real, if only I had given some credit to that voice in the back of my head that night! Instead I finally decided that I would just drift off to sleep for a bit, assuring myself that I would know when it was time.'

However, the discomfort of the contractions increased, prompting Jesical to tell Travis: 'I think this is it.'

At that point, the mother felt her water break and worried that she and Travis wouldn't make it to the hospital on time.

Travis, however, remained calm and drove her to the hospital around 3 am. Things happened so quickly, Jesica said, she didn't even have time to put shoes on.

On the way to the hospital, the mom felt the baby moving down every time she had a contraction.

When Travis pulled up to the hospital, no one came out, so he ran around the car to help his wife get out of the vehicle.

Bonding: Travis and Jesica were later transferred to a room, where they could get to know their newborn son

Milestone: Jesica said the birth was 'beautiful' and she'll forever treasure her memories of the important day

Intuition: Before Max's birth, Jesica had become worried she wouldn't be able to tell when labor would actually start

Pucker up: The couple are seen boding happily, while their newborn baby breastfeeds

Tiny tot: Despite his rather rushed arrival, doctors said Max was perfectly healthy, although he was incredibly bruised as a result of the quick birth process

'I told him Baby was almost there. I also said I couldn't get out, I felt as if Baby was ready to emerge. That feeling made it nearly impossible to move,' Jesica added.

'He disappeared for a moment into the E.R. doors. I tried to maneuver out of the passenger seat so I could somehow walk inside in the few seconds break I had between contractions.'

Tammy arrived to the hospital right at that time to capture the birth. Travis, meanwhile, helped his wife walk to the E.R. and through the hospital's doors.

'I made it just past the second set of automatic doors, into the next hall, which luckily was not carpeted like the one we had just stepped out of,' Jesica wrote.

'I know at this point I said something to the effect of, "Oh God, he's here." I then started to take my pants off because I could feel my body pushing the baby's head out.

'I reached down and could feel his head crowning with my hand. I looked at my husband and said, "Travis catch him!"

'Without any hesitation he did just that as I felt my body involuntarily pushing his head the rest of the way out.'

Family: Sweet photos show Max's five sisters getting to know their newborn brother next to their proud parents

Together: Jesica and Travis reunited with all their children after Max's birth and happily posed with their little ones

Nurses ran down the hall to help Jesica with the rest of the birth, helping the mother lie down in the corridor and telling her to push.

'With one more push as instructed by the nurse, and the only intentional push I gave, I felt the rest of his body come out,' Jesica said of Max.

'He arrived on the floor just inside the entrance of the emergency room at 3:38 am. Less than 25 minutes from the time my water broke at home, and only a few moments after we stepped inside the hospital.'

Max took a little time before letting out his first cry and was 'incredibly bruised' due to his rapid birth, but he ended up doing just fine and the family was transferred to the labor and delivery department.

Sweet photos show Max's five sisters getting to know their newborn brother next to their proud parents.

'It was my craziest birth, but also, the most perfect,' Jesica added. 'It was not at all what I had planned, but it ended without any intervention, with a healthy baby, and amazing support people by our sides. It was beautiful and I'll forever love every memory of it.'
A heartbroken mother has shared a photograph of a pile of baby clothes for her son who died of whooping cough.

Riley Hughes was just 32 days old when he died as a result of pneumonia-based complications arising from the disease.

Perth mother Catherine Hughes posted the photo of her baby boy's clothes to the Light for Riley Facebook page, where she promotes the need to vaccinate children against preventable diseases.

' I'm looking for somewhere/someone to donate these baby boys clothes to,' she wrote.

Perth mother Catherine Hughes posted the photo of her baby boy's clothes to the Light for Riley Facebook page, where she promotes the need to vaccinate children against preventable diseases

'I can't keep them forever and I'd rather they get some use other than sitting in a box for years. Most are hardly worn, many still have tags,' she added.

'I thought about giving them to friends but thought I might feel strange if I saw their babies in them. I have held onto a few that I can't bear to part with.'

Riley's father, Greg Hughes added a heartfelt comment to the post.

' If you ever want to know what the pain associated with a vaccine preventable disease looks like - this is it,' he said.

The inspiring mother, who advocates of vaccination, has previously shared a photograph of the moment she realised her little boy was going to die of whooping cough

'I can't tell you how many times I've been through this box of clothes and had to turn away before I started sobbing into the box.'

'My heart hurts seeing all these things laid out in picture form, but I hope they see the same love that my son would've seen had he been given the opportunity to wear them. Miss you Rileybear - Dad.'

Speaking previously, Ms Hughes said she didn't think the tragedy could occur to her family as they had always been supportive of vaccination.

' I felt shocked. Shocked that I wouldn't be taking home my baby. Shocked that I would never look into his beautiful blue eyes ever again,' she said.

Perth mother Catherine Hughes lost her baby boy Riley (both pictured) to whooping cough at just 32 days old

But despite thinking her life would be destroyed by her son's death, she said she has managed to persevere through the immense pain.

'Whooping cough had destroyed my son's life and I thought his death would destroy mine. And despite the immense pain, the tears, the heartbreak and the scrutiny, it hasn't,' she wrote.

' I still have bad hours, and bad days, but I know that it's important to appreciate that fact that I am still alive. Riley didn't get his chance at a good life, and I will not waste mine,' she said.

Ms Hughes gave birth to daughter Lucy in August 2016 - 17 months after the death of her little boy Riley.
When it comes to showering, most people do it either first thing in the morning or right before bed.

Advice on the proper time to bathe has varied with some experts saying a shower at night leads to better sleep, while others swear by a morning rinse to kick-start their day.

Daily Mail Online scrolled the annals of shower studies and spoke to New York-based dermatologists to settle the score.

We found that while both have their pros and cons, a shower at night washes off the sweat, oils and allergens of the day, giving you better shut-eye and radiant skin.

A morning shower can kick-start your day and boost creativity, says research. However, a nighttime shower will give you good sleep and better skin

BENEFITS OF A NIGHT SHOWER

You'll wash off the grime of the day

New York-based dermatologist Dr Samer Jaber told Daily Mail Online that a nighttime shower is good to was off the dirt of the day.

'If you're out all day and sweaty or working out you should definitely shower before going to bed,' he said.

He added that by the end of the day your body is covered in all kinds of allergens including pollen which can irritate your skin.

'In the spring you might be covered in allergens like pollen if you've been outside, so you would want to get that off your skin before going to sleep,' Dr Jaber said.

But he said that regardless of a shower, the most important thing to do is wash your face at night before laying on your pillow to prevent oils from building up and causing acne.

However, he said: 'When you showering comes down to everyone's personal preference.'

Nighttime showers help you sleep

Showers regulate your body temperature which can help you get better sleep.

Several studies have shown that taking a shower in the evening and at least 90 minutes before sleep will allow your body to heat up and cool down in time for adequate shut-eye.

Research adds that showers work as a stress reliever because they reduce cortisol levels.

Cortisol is a steroid hormone made by your adrenal glands that helps your body respond to stress, regulate blood sugar and fight infections.

Sleep expert Dr Janet Kennedy told The New York Times: 'The body naturally cools down as bedtime approaches, in sync with the circadian rhythm.'

'Showering artificially raises the temperature again and allows for a faster cool down, which seems to hasten sleep,' she added.

Showering is also a good way to unwind and release muscle tension which can aid in sleep.

You'll have better skin with a shower at night

Your skin regenerates at night, not only on your face but on your entire body.

That means while you sleep you are shedding dead skin cells and building new ones.

This is why Dr Jaber stresses the importance of washing at least you face before going to sleep in order to take off all the grime, make up or pollutants that clog pores.

'You can still wash your face at night without showering,' he said.

However, a full-body shower at night will make it much easier for your skin to get rid of the dead skin cells, which will you radiant come morning time.

Dermatologists told Daily Mail Online that showering twice a day may not be better or worse for you as long as you spend less than 10 minutes under lukewarm water

BENEFITS OF A MORNING SHOWER

Morning showers boost creativity

Dr Jaber said: 'I personally shower in the morning because it wakes me up, but it's really up to everyone's individual preference.'

A study from Harvard found that morning showers can help those who are feeling stressed due to work or under pressure to be creative.

The same way a shower reduces cortisol levels to help you relax at night, releasing that same hormone in the morning can lower stress, opening up the way for creativity, according to research.

'Your cognitive processes relax, renew, and regenerate, and your ideas and solutions will effortlessly present themselves,' said study author and Harvard psychology lecturer Dr Shelley Carson.

If you shave in the morning - shower first

Dr Jaber said that for men who shave, a morning shower may be better.

'It might be better for men to shower first thing in the morning before shaving because the warm water can decrease ingrown hairs,' he said.

Warm water will soften the skin and open up the pores to prevent ingrowns.

The same will work for women who shave.

WHAT ABOUT TWICE A DAY?

Dr Derek V Chan, a New York-based cosmetic and medical dermatologist, advised patients shower once a day.

While hot showers feel great, Dr Chan urged people to opt for warm showers as they're better for the skin.

'Hot showers may feel good, but in general, warm showers are better than hot showers,' he told Daily Mail Online.

'Using very hot water can reduce moisture in the skin and strip away many of the skin's natural lubricants,' he said.

Dr Jaber said that as long as you shower for just a few minutes, no more than 10, twice a day is no problem.

WHICH ONE IS BEST?

Based on expert opinion and research, showering at night may be the best way to unwind after a long day a rejuvenate your skin.

However, if you're not a morning person a blast of water from the shower can get you ready for the day.

If you can't decide, showering in the morning and night is harmless as long as you don't dwell under hot water for too long.

Dr Jaber said: 'Whatever makes you feel better, that's what you should do.'
The water crisis in Flint, Michigan caused an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that killed 12 people and sickened nearly 90 others, according to a new report.

In April 2014, the city's water source was switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River.

This cost-cutting measure led to tainted drinking water that contained lead and other toxins.

New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals the contaminated water also carried Legionella bacteria which triggered an outbreak.

Flint's water crisis began when the city switched its water source in 2014. Since then, several residents have discovered high levels of lead in their blood stream

Legionnaires' disease is a pneumonia-like lung infection that kills one out of 10 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People can contract the disease when they breathe in mist that contains contaminated with Legionella.

For the study researchers analyzed data on Legionnaires' cases in Genesee, Wayne and Oakland Counties from 2011 to 2016.

They found that about 80 percent of Legionnaires' cases during this period are caused by the change in water supply.

Researchers found that months after Flint's water supply started coming from Flint River, people in that city were seven times more likely to be diagnosed with the respiratory disease.

'After public announcements urging residents to boil their water, there was a lower risk of developing the disease, likely because people avoided using the water,' said Dr Sammy Zahran, an associate professor of demography and epidemiology at Colorado State University.

The study also revealed that the risk of the disease was higher in neighborhoods with lower levels of free chlorine  a substance added to water systems for disinfection.

Dr Zahran, lead author of the study said Legionella bacteria are less likely to survive in water with high free chlorine levels.

However, high levels of iron and organic matter in corroding water pipes  an issue with older infrastructure  both feed Legionella and neutralize chlorine.

WHAT IS LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE? Legionnaires' disease is a type of pneumonia caused by bacteria. Most commonly, sufferers inhale mist from a water source - such as cooling towers, air conditioning units and showers - that has been infected with legionella, a form of bacteria. Symptoms include fever, chills, a cough and often aching muscles. It is not spread human-to-human. The illness, which affects 8,000 to 18,000 Americans a year, is most common among smokers, people with a low immune system and the over-50s. Sufferers are treated with antibiotics. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cite a 5 percent to 30 percent risk of death. The first recorded case was in 1976 at a Philadelphia convention for the American Legion, a veterans organization, which left 25 dead and 130 hospitalized. It subsequently became known as Legionnaires' disease. Sources: MedlinePlus and the CDC Advertisement

Researchers discovered that during the water crisis, the likelihood of Legionnaires' disease occurring in communities adjacent to Flint also increased, probably due to the number of people who commuted into Flint.

Researchers reinforced that the outbreak was linked to the water change, by nothing that the Legionnaires' disease risk returned to normal levels when the city went back to using the Detroit water system in 2015.

'This is a big deal,' Janet Stout, research associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, who was not involved with the PNAS study, told BuzzFeed News.

'The link to the impact of the water quality on the outbreak has been something that has never been seen before or explored in the level of depth as this investigation.'

On Monday, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said the study was innacurate.

'By publishing these inaccurate, incomplete studies at this point, FACHEP has done nothing to help the citizens of Flint and has only added to the public confusion on this issue,' Health and Human Services spokeswoman Geralyn Lasher said in a statement.

Most healthy people exposed to Legionella bacteria do not get sick.

However, those with an increased risk of becoming seriously ill include people 50 years or older, people with chronic lung disease, and people with weakened immune systems.
Suicide rates increased by 10 percent after Robin Williams took his own life in 2014, a new study has shown.

The revered comedian committed suicide at 63 years old after being diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia, a Parkinson's-like form of dementia - though his illness wasn't revealed until weeks after the news broke.

Now, an analysis by Columbia University has shown there was a sharp increase in 'copycat' deaths - particularly men aged 30 to 44 using the same method as Williams.

The researchers blame the rise in social media for spreading graphic detail of Williams' suicide to vulnerable fans, highlighting that such an increase wasn't seen after Kurt Cobain's suicide in pre-internet 1994, despite his global popularity.

Columbia University has shown there was a sharp increase in 'copycat' suicides after Williams died at 63 in 2014 - particularly among men aged 30 to 44 using the same method as Williams

'Research has shown that the number of suicides increases following a high profile celebrity suicide, but this is the first study, to our knowledge, that has examined the effect of a high-profile suicide on the general population within the modern era of the 24-hours news cycle,' said David S. Fink, MPH, MPhil, in the Department of Epidemiology.

Williams' unexpected suicide was widely reported in the days and weeks that followed. Aged just 63, he was in the middle of a number of film projects, and had given interviews and appeared at events in the weeks before his death.

Although he had struggles with a form of dementia, that was not disclosed until later.

The researchers said there should have been 16,849 suicides from August to December 2014, but in fact 18,690 suicides were recorded by the monthly reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The monthly increase remained consistent throughout the eight months after Williams's death, they said.

'Although we cannot determine with certainty that these deaths are attributable to the death of Robin Williams, we found both a rapid increase in suicides in August 2014, and specifically suffocation suicides, that paralleled the time and method of Williams' death,' Fink said.

The researchers analyzed monthly suicide rates from January 1999 to December 2015, documenting sex, age, and method.

They also tracked news trends online from June 2013 to January 2015, to see how the suicide rate reflected the amount of information about suicide online.

Social media shares including the terms 'suicide' and 'dead,' and the name 'Robin Williams' drastically increased in the weeks after Williams' suicide.

Williams, pictured with Christopher Reeve in 1981, was still a prominent star at the time of his suicide

It was later disclosed that Williams had been diagnosed with a Parkinson's-like form of dementia

'SuicideWatch' forum, a suicide support platform on Reddit, also saw a rise in the number of posts about considering suicide during that time period.

Analyzing the data, Fink says social media appears to be a clear emerging risk factor for how information is disseminated after the death of a celebrity.

'Williams' death may have provided the necessary stimulus for high-risk segments of the US population, especially middle-aged men in despair, to move from suicidal ideation to attempt,' said Fink.

But avoiding such a spike in suicides is not as easy as just avoiding social media, Bethany Kassar, a licensed clinical social worker, told Daily Mail Online.

Kassar, executive director of Outpatient Services at Summit Behavioral Health, said she is firmly against the idea of censoring ourselves against the world.

Instead, we need to encourage more conversations, and be more aware that some of our loved-ones may need extra support in the wake of high-profile suicides.

'Our world has glamorized these things. But I don't know if there is a way [to avoid them],' Kassar said.

'I think it's down to loved-ones, to families, to parents: it's our responsibility to limit their exposure or talk to them when we notice that they're making [worrying] changes in their life.

'My daughter, for example, she's 16 and she wanted to watch 13 Reasons Why [the Netflix show about a teen who commits suicide] - but then there's a conversation about it after.'

It's harder, though, for the bracket affected by Williams's death.

'For the older adult it's not so easy,' Kassar says.

'These 30- and 40-year-old men who are really desperate look at someone they've admired or looked up to and think that he found his way out. And it's hard to reason with that.

'That's why it's really important to have conversations with your loved ones, and to share more information on social media that balances out the suicide details; more information about the down-sides.'
Before Janeli Saucedo-Castrejana contracted HIV from her college sweetheart, Jake, the two had planned to break the mold, and be a 'mixed status' couple.

Even after they got married in 2010, they used every precaution, but became exceptional in ways they hadn't planned.

They were among the two percent of couples whose condoms break and Janeli contracted HIV.

Two years later, they became among the five percent of Americans for whom birth control fails, leaving her pregnant.

Approaching her 29th birthday, Janeli is a mother-of-three and lives a very different life from what she expected, and from what most people expect the life of someone HIV positive to be like.

She and her husband, Jake, of San Antonio, Texas both, live with undetectable levels of the disease, are the proud parents of three HIV-negative children and ready to be a new family portrait of what living with HIV looks like.

Janeli Saucedo, 28, is an HIV positive mother of (from left to right) Octavius, five, Maximus, four and Ezri, two

When Janeli met Jake, now 33, at Our Lady of the Lake University in 2007 - four years before PrEP was available - she had heard the rumors about him and his status.

'It was a tiny school, everyone knew everyone, but I already had this big crush, and I thought 'you know what, until he tells me something I'm going to go with it,' Janeli laughs.

The two had been friends for about a year, and when they started dating Jake was a perfect gentleman, never pressuring Janeli into sex, and she wasn't the type to rush into it either, so their STD statuses just did not come up for a while.

Then on Valentine's Day ('of all days,' Janeli says), Jake cooked her dinner, but it was clear to Janeli that her boyfriend had something weighing heavily on his conscience.

After dinner, he broke down in tears. Distraught, he told her 'I'm dying.'

When Jake told her that he was HIV positive, Janeli was quick to respond, but she could hardly believe the words coming from her own mouth: 'You're not dying, you're just HIV positive!'

'It was the strangest out of body experience,' Janeli says, 'I was like "who the hell just said that, what are you doing, girlfriend!"'

But she had, and the attitude she adopted so instantly actually had deep roots that would only grow further.

Janeli says that she is not the face of a person living with HIV that most expect as a Latina who 'passes' for white

Janeli contracted HIV from her husband, Jake (right) just months after their 2010 wedding

When Janeli was growing up, her mother had worked in an obstetrician and gyencologist's office and had taught her the ins and outs of sexual education and STDs starting at age seven, around the time the first widely available HIV treatments were coming out.

'She told me to be careful, but she was open and honest, guarding me with that knowledge that you can treat these things.

'I knew people who were positive, and I wasn't scared of them [because] my parents treated people  whomever they were, wherever they came from  with respect and love and taught me that they are a human.'

Janeli confided in her brother who, as a gay man, she was sure would understand. His advice: 'Run away, end it right now.'

She considered it, but not for too long. 'It was too hard to walk away from him  he's hard to walk away from!' Janeli says.

Jake is tall, thin, handsome and straight. He's always been that way, but, like many college students, he went through a rough patch in his early 20s, during which there was a lot of booze, and not a lot of protection during sexual encounters, and he does not know which woman transmitted the virus to him.

'Thats what happens, people get comfortable with idea that it is going to skip them because they are not gay, or not a drug abuser,' Janeli says.

'But the fact is that HIV is a virus and it does not care you who are, who you mess with or who sleep with. It is just a virus, and it will infect any able bodied host.'

For the first several months of their relationship, Janeli and Jake 'didn't have much of a sex life, and it was difficult, but we navigated through it all,' she says.

After Jake proposed to her, Janeli had a moment of clarity, remembering her mother's answer when, at 16 she'd asked how she would know when she met 'the one.'

'She said I would know when I was willing to leave my family for them. And at that moment I was fine with jumping ship and starting a whole new family with Jake,' Janeli recalls.

Janeli and Jake had their youngest child, Ezri, two years ago. By the time she was pregnant with Ezri, Janeli panicked less, but says the couple is done having children

But Janeli had told her mother, all those years ago 'my husband will never make me choose,' and Jake wasn't about to, assuring her that he'd rather call the whole thing off than see her shunned by her big, close Mexican family.

The family cried for their daughter and the man she loved, sad for him and scared for her, but they threw their support behind the couple.

When they did finally start having sex, Janeli and Jake were diligent about their condom use, even on and after their wedding night in July 2010.

So a few months later, when she got called back to the doctor's office after a regular STD check up and pap smear, Janeli was all jokes, teasing her new husband that the cute guy at the doctor's office must just want to see her again.

Janeli does not remember the date of that appointment, or saying much at all when the doctor broke the news that she was HIV positive to her. She couldn't find words to speak to Jake, who was on the verge of panic.

'I made it all the way to the car, in shock, and I couldn't get the door open and I kicked it and screamed and yelled and cried,' Janeli says.

Friends assumed the couple had expected that Jake would eventually transmit the virus to Janeli, but they had been so careful and equally determined to bust the norm and be a mixed status pair.

Jake apologized over and over as Janeli's diagnosis sunk in for them both. She could not help her rage, but knew it wasn't his fault.

One year later, the Food and Drug Administration approved PrEP.

Jake (center) has lived with HIV for more than a decade now, and remains in otherwise perfect health, enabling him to go on outings with his sons, Maximus (left) and Octavius (right)

Janeli was terrified when she got pregnant with her first child in 2012 (left) that the baby would be born with HIV. But she had known since meeting Jake in college (right) that she wanted to have a family with him

WHAT IS PrEP? THE HIV PREVENTION DRUG THAT STOPS 90 PERCENT OF TRANSMISSION

Truvada is the trade name for a certain type of PrEP ('pre-exposure prophylaxis') drug which is used to treat and prevent HIV. This drug in particular is fixed-dose combination of two anti-retroviral drugs, tenofovir and FTC, in one pill. They work together to interfere with an enzyme which HIV uses to infect new cells, slowing down the virus's attack or preventing it altogether. The drug is designed for people that have not yet been exposed to the virus to protect themselves against it. Alternatively, people who have been exposed can take PEP (post-exposure prophylaxis), a month-long course of drugs started within 72 hours of exposure. Advertisement

'It was hard for a while, but this is our life,' Janeli says, remembering telling Jake 'we have to accept it and can't be so sad we got it. You're living fine and I'm going to live fine.'

And for a couple of years they did, until they found out that, in spite of her birth control, Janeli was pregnant.

'I panicked. I thought, "there's no way I can have a baby,"' Janeli remembers.

At that point, Janeli and Jake each had been on treatments for HIV for more than two years and had undetectable viral loads.

Women with untreated HIV have a 25 percent chance of passing the virus to their children. But, with treatment, those odds shrink to under two percent - lower, a nurse counseled Janeli, than the risk that a baby will have any one of scores of other birth defects or diseases.

'I was already in love with the baby,' Janeli says. Her decision was made.

For the next nine months she had to be on six pills a day to keep her viral load down in a way that was safe for the baby and 'the side effects plus the pregnancy was torture, but it was also really beautiful,' she says.

Eighteen months after her first son, Octavius was born in 2013, Janeli and Jake got the best news they could have hoped for: their son had tested negative for HIV.

Five years and two children - Maxiums, four and Ezri, two - later, having three healthy, HIV negative children is the proudest accomplishment of the already accomplished couple's life together.

'I take my medications, I make sure they go to their doctor's appointments,' Janeli says, 'I love my husband, but I did that all on my own and no one can tell me I'm not a good mom when I do everything for my kids and they light up my entire life.'

Coping with HIV even helped the couple to prepare for their middle child, Maximus's autism.

Now, Janeli proudly brings her family to events like the Inclusion Walk fundraiser where they dressed up as gladiators in 'Maximus's great army' for her middle child (right), who is on the autism spectrum

'We knew how not to deal with it,' Janeli says, 'We knew not to blame each other, to let chips fall and put lots of love into it. Its a lot to process, the last almost nine years of my life from start to finish have been crazy, but so much fun,' Janeli says.

And when her children start asking about sex and about the medications their parents take, she will explain her condition and all the rest openly, honestly, and can point proudly to the three sets of negative HIV test results she plans to frame.

'My children are totally healthy and that's 100 percent my doing.'

Now, Janeli works as the director of development at the San Antonio AIDS Foundation. She decided in the last year that she wanted to come forward with her story as an extension of her work to change perceptions about HIV and the people that live with it.

'I'm afforded a lot of privilege as a white-passing Latina woman who was in a straight relationship [when I contracted HIV],' Janeli says. 'Unfortunately, I know that means that people might listen to me before others.

'People think that it's the worst thing that can happen, you get HIV and AIDS, and I'm not going to sugar coat it, it does suck, but it's not a death sentence,' she says.

The virus is, however both preventable and manageable.

Her goal now is 'taking the fear out of testing. People have lived in fear of knowing their status, when they should take it as empowering themselves to take their health and body into their own hands,' Janeli says.

And whatever the results of those tests, Janeli, her husband and their three children are proof positive that 'you can live a happy, healthy life,' she says.

For her part, Janeli is determined that 'my children are going to live long, and I'm going to be an old, happy lady, not dying of HIV or AIDS.'
Aspirin could treat erectile dysfunction, accoring to a new study.

Just one 100mg pill a day for six weeks significantly reduced circulation issues in men, Turkish researchers found.

At the beginning of the study, 70 percent of the 184 men - who had an average age of 48 - could not achieve an erection.

By the end, they found their 'erectile function score' went up from 14.3 out of 30 (less than 50 percent) to 21.3 (more than 75 percent) , based on the universally accepted Index of Erectile Function scale.

Those statistics aren't far off the success rate marketed by Viagra - between 48 percent and 81 percent.

The groundbreaking study is the first to assess how therapy to thin platelets in the blood could impact erectile dysfunction, despite previous studies linking arousal issues with high platelet volume.

Turkish researchers claim 120 men achieved a 75 percent erection success rate after six weeks of one daily aspirin. Viagra, meanwhile, markets a success rate between 48 and 81 percent

Lead author Dr Zeki Bayraktar, of Istanbul Medipol University, explained some men have a larger platelet volume than others.

Those larger platelets, he explains produce more thromboxane, which is known to be 'the most potent' blocking agent to circulation.

The study consisted of 120 men taking aspirin and 64 men taking a placebo.

During the six-week treatment plan, they were routinely asked two questions:

Were you able to insert your penis into partner's vagina?

Did your erection last long enough for you to have successful intercourse?

According to the study, all of the participants started with similar answers.

Fifty percent of the placebo group said 'yes' to the first question, as did 51.3 percent of the aspirin group.

Meanwhile less than a third of each group (31.6 percent and 31.2 percent respectively) said 'yes' to the second question.

By the end of the study, their responses were starkly different.

After six weeks of taking a daily aspirin, 88.3 percent of men answered 'yes' to the first question, and 78.3 percent of them answered 'yes' to the second.

While the placebo group also experienced more erections during the study, it wasn't statistically significant, the authors said (with 59.3 percent answering 'yes' to the first question and 43.5 percent answering 'yes' to the second at the end of the study).

Some urologists have warned men to take the research with a pinch of salt, since the study did not involve a large proportion of patients with conditions that carry the highest risk of erectile dysfunction, such as diabetes, hypertension, and coronary artery disease.

'Although the study adds to the growing body of evidence linking endothelial dysfunction to ED, the results must be reproduced prior to drawing conclusions regarding aspirin therapy for prevention and treatment of ED,' Darshan P. Patel, MD, of the Division of Urology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, told Renal and Urology News.
Jeremy Hunt has ordered a review after a junior doctor was struck off over the death of a child.

The Health and Social Care Secretary believes the General Medical Council was wrong to bar Hadiza Bawa-Garba last month.

Bawa-Garba, a trainee paediatrician, made a series of catastrophic errors while looking after six-year-old Jack Adcock, who later died of sepsis.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (right) believes the General Medical Council was wrong to bar Hadiza Bawa-Garba (left) last month

But experts say many of the mistakes were caused by systemic failures at her hospital, the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Bawa-Garba had just returned from 13 months of maternity leave and was covering the roles of three doctors and looking after patients on six wards.

Midway through her shift, the hospital experienced an IT failure which meant she had to take down vital blood test results over the phone rather than seeing them on the screen.

The case has provoked outcry among doctors who are worried about reporting their own mistakes for fear of suffering the same fate.

Mr Hunt yesterday said he had ordered an urgent review of how doctors are disciplined by the GMC after patients die due to their mistakes.

This will look specifically at Bawa-Garbas case and establish whether the GMC needs to learn any lessons.

Mr Hunt is worried about the implications of the case for patient safety. If doctors stop owning up to their mistakes, he is concerned lessons will not be learned by the hospital to ensure the same errors are not repeated.

Bawa-Garba (right), a trainee paediatrician, made a series of catastrophic errors while looking after six-year-old Jack Adcock (left), who later died of sepsis

Announcing the review in the Commons yesterday, he said: The only way we can reduce mistakes in the NHS is to learn from every single one, and the tragic case of Dr Bawa-Garba raises many important questions about how the health system supports staff to be open and transparent when things go wrong.

Today Ive launched a wide-ranging review to look at the issues raised by this case: nothing matters more than patient safety, and we need to restore doctors confidence to speak out on behalf of their patients.

The review will be led by Professor Sir Norman Williams, former president of the Royal College of Surgeons.

Jack Adcock died on February 18, 2011, only 11 hours after he had been admitted to hospital.

Initially, Bawa-Garba was given a 12-month suspension by an independent panel, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, in a ruling in June.

But the GMC went to the High Court to overturn this ruling and Bawa-Garba was struck off on January 25.

She plans to appeal against this decision and more than 300,000 has been raised by the public to fund her legal costs.
Giving men with advanced prostate cancer a cheap chemotherapy drug soon after they are diagnosed dramatically improves survival chances, a major study has found.

British researchers showed men with the cancer live 25 per cent longer if given docetaxel  an established chemotherapy drug  early on in their treatment.

Up to 10,000 men with prostate cancer could benefit from the findings every year, giving them vital extra time with loved ones.

Giving men with advanced prostate cancer a cheap chemotherapy drug soon after they are diagnosed dramatically improves survival chances, a major study has found

At the moment prostate patients are usually only given docetaxel after standard hormone therapy has failed. But the new research, led by experts at Birmingham University, suggests giving chemotherapy at the same time as hormones is hugely beneficial.

The Daily Mail launched a campaign to end needless prostate deaths almost 20 years ago, calling for earlier diagnosis and better treatments. However, last week official figures revealed that prostate cancer has now become a bigger killer than breast cancer for the first time.

More than 11,800 men are now killed by the disease in Britain every year, compared with 11,400 women dying of breast cancer. Yet over the last 15 years prostate cancer has received less than half the research funding.

Researchers have been trying for decades to find new and better drugs for prostate cancer. But the latest findings suggest simply giving proven treatments earlier on can make a big difference. In the past chemotherapy has been reserved for use after hormone therapy, largely to spare men the side effects of the treatment.

But the researchers found giving the combination early on actually improved quality of life and reduced side effects in the long term.

It cut the chance of the disease coming back by 40 per cent, slashed the risk of side effects such as broken bones or spinal compression, and saved the NHS money.

Up to 10,000 men with prostate cancer (pictured, prostrate cells) could benefit from the findings every year, giving them vital extra time with loved ones

The scientists, who have tracked 9,000 men with prostate cancer since 2005, also found giving men docetaxel early on boosts survival by about 10 months  an additional quarter on top of the three years men would expect to live after receiving hormone therapy alone.

Study leader Professor Nick James, who will present his findings at the 2018 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco this weekend, said the additional life expectancy of chemotherapy makes any additional side effects worthwhile.

How does one measure wanting to live a few more months to see a grandchild born even if the therapy results in difficult side-effects?

Although there is a concern about side-effects, primarily nausea and fatigue, it is clear that avoiding or delaying recurrence outweighs the upfront toxicity of chemotherapy and adds enough to overall quality of life so that using docetaxel is beneficial.

'I was in and out of hospital in a day' Graham Otway is happy he is still alive to celebrate his 65th birthday next month after keyhole surgery stopped his prostate cancer in its tracks. He had suffered pain while urinating for months before a friend in the pub urged him to take a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. Sure enough my PSA levels were very high and my prostate was outsized, he recalls. Graham Otway (pictured) is happy he is still alive to celebrate his 65th birthday next month after keyhole surgery stopped his prostate cancer in its tracks Graham, a father of twin boys from Surrey, had his surgery at Guildford Hospital in March 2010. It was amazing. I was in and out in 24 hours, he says. They put me on pills to lower testosterone. Yes, there were side-effects but you have to weigh that against staying alive. I lost my facial hair and chest hair and started developing breasts. The hair started coming back once I came off them, and the breasts went too, eventually. Along with his birthday, Graham, a sports journalist, celebrates eight years since his surgery next month. Without it, I would not be here having a drink and celebrating becoming an OAP, he says. I really believe that every man over 55 should have the PSA test done every year, whether they think they have a problem or not. Advertisement

He added: The survival gain wipes out the chemotherapy penalty. Someone not having a fracture wipes out the negative cost of chemotherapy.

And a delay in time to relapse by 40 per cent means a delay in further treatment.

We think this is an extremely important new finding.

Docetaxel is particularly attractive to doctors because of its price. The original patent for the drug, which was first made by pharma giant Sanofi, has expired, meaning it can now be made by any firm at a cheaper cost. The treatment, given in six rounds each lasting three weeks, costs the NHS roughly 5,000 a year. In comparison the newest hormone drug, Enzalutamide, costs 33,000 a year.

And Professor James said the 5,000-a-year cost of docetaxel is cost-effective because it reduces need for further treatment.

Your downstream saving almost completely wipes out the upfront cost, he said.

Roughly 47,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the UK every year, with a about 10,000 likely to benefit.
Student Alice Schweigert was wise to turn down the offer of having half her rent paid

It wasn't long after Alice Schweigert moved into her digs at the University of Hertfordshire that she realised how quickly her student loan was being gobbled up by books, bills and the odd night out in nearby Hatfield.

To make ends meet, the 20-year-old decided to travel back to her family home in Charlton, South London, every weekend - a three-hour round trip - and carry on the 7.50-an-hour Saturday sales assistant job she'd had since school.

Then, five weeks into the term, the boyfriend of one of her friends, who was in his third year at the university, made her a lucrative offer.

Josh, whose real name Money Mail has agreed to keep confidential, offered to pay half her 2,000-a-term rent.

All Alice needed to do was to give him her username and password for the university accommodation website where students pay their rent.

Alice would then send 1,000 to Josh and he would stump up the remaining 1,000.

Josh told Alice that he was already doing this for some of her friends and there was nothing to worry about: it was above board, she wouldn't get into any trouble - and, anyway, there was no way the university would ever find out.

But Alice couldn't get a straight answer from Josh about where his half of the rent was coming from.

Surely that would leave him out of pocket? And, most obviously of all, what did he stand to gain?

She politely refused.

'I knew something wasn't right,' she says. 'My family had taught me that if you want money, you have to earn it - there are no shortcuts.'

Alice has since learnt that the scheme Josh was describing was almost certainly a ploy to launder the proceeds of crime.

Fraud experts have told her that if she'd agreed to take part, she would have been unwittingly helping criminals conceal their ill-gotten cash - and she could have faced charges.

These so-called 'money mule' scams are sweeping through Britain's universities, putting cash-strapped and impressionable young students in danger.

Typically, an organised gang of crooks will give someone like Josh money from theft or fraud.

Josh would use 2,000 of this 'dirty' cash to pay university or accommodation fees in full on behalf of a student like Alice.

The 1,000 of 'clean' money he received from Alice - her half of the rent - would be sent on to the gang's bank account, and Josh would receive a fee.

Although the gang would be 1,000 worse off overall, they would still gain 1,000 of clean money that couldn't be traced back to their crimes.

This, according to the police, is a price the gangs are willing to pay to avoid the authorities.

Students such as Alice are rarely told these details: all they know is that they're shaving a massive amount off their bills.

But in the most serious cases, students can face jail terms. Money laundering carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

And even if they acted in good faith, students can be blacklisted by banks, making it impossible to get a mobile phone contract, credit card or mortgage.

Target: So-called 'money mule' scams are sweeping through Britain's universities, putting cash-strapped and impressionable young students in danger

Figures from Cifas, an industry body set up to prevent fraud, found that there was a dramatic surge in the number of young people acting as money mules last year.

In the first nine months of 2017, there were 8,652 cases of 18 to 24 -year-olds who had allowed their bank accounts to be misused. That was up 75 per cent on the 4,958 from the year before.

The figures include a number of variations of the scam Alice uncovered. For example, police say criminals post fake jobs which require students to share their bank details. Money is then paid in and out of their account in exchange for commission.

Simon Dukes, chief executive of Cifas, says: 'The criminals behind money mules often use the cash to fund major crime such as terrorism and people trafficking.

'Young people are being lured into these scams perhaps because they are not so worldly-wise and they may not be aware of the serious consequences.'

Katy Worobec, managing director for economic crime at banking trade body UK Finance, says: 'In the eyes of the law, ignorance is no defence.'

Alice says she found it very difficult when five of her friends took up Josh's offer.

'It was galling to see that they had so much spare money when I was the one commuting back home every weekend to work,' she says.

'One of them bought a brand new Audi - their lifestyle was well beyond what you would expect for a student.'

But in Alice's third term of university, Josh's scheme crumbled. Several of the online payments to the university bounced and the students were left owing the full balance - even though they had already handed over half to Josh.

Some students were left with thousands of pounds of debt. Alice says: 'I felt sorry for my friends but I tried to warn them. They had to work extra shifts all summer to pay back the money.'

Hertfordshire Constabulary says it received a report of fraudulent payments for accommodation at the university between April and May 2014.

An investigation was launched and one 19-year-old woman cautioned.

The University of Hertfordshire says: 'As part of their induction, students are made aware of possible fraudulent activity that may be targeted at them and are advised who to contact for advice and support. This is reinforced throughout the year.'

money.mail@dailymail.co.uk
In September 2016, I sold my car. During the journey to drop it off, I unknowingly drove into the London Congestion Charge zone. I'd never driven in London before and got terribly lost.

The car was registered at my old address in Essex, therefore I didn't receive any notices from Transport for London (TfL).

Last week, I had the most intimidating bailiff knock on my front door in Kent, demanding 513 for unpaid Congestion Charge plus fees. He clamped my car until I had gone to the bank and scraped together the cash.

He refused to allow me to pay in instalments and told me TfL required the money in full immediately.

S. B., Kent.

Taken for a ride: One reader innocently got lost driving through London and almost a year and a half later was clamped and issued with a demand for 513

That sounds thoroughly unpleasant and I have a great deal of sympathy. But I am surprised you didn't see the Congestion Charge signs. From my experience driving in London, they are very prominent.

TfL says you were written to three times at your old address. The problem was that you had not updated your driving licence details with the DVLA.

Incidentally, when you move home, you must tell the DVLA promptly about your new address. You can be fined up to 1,000 for not doing so.

TfL dug around, found your new address and wrote to you twice there. Perhaps you thought this was junk mail and threw it away without reading it properly.

Eventually, bailiffs were put on the case  with the unpleasant consequences you describe.

I am pleased to say that, having considered your case, TfL agrees you seem to have made a genuine mistake. It is therefore refunding the penalty fees and bailiff fees.

But you will still have to pay the original 130 Penalty Charge Notice, as you did drive into the zone on September 12, 2016, and failed to pay the Congestion Charge. Your refund will be 383.

Your letter is a good reminder that not paying the Congestion Charge in London can lead to a sizeable penalty and, eventually, bailiffs knocking on your door.

If you drive into the zone, you must pay by midnight the next day. The charge is between 10.50 and 14, depending on when, and how, you pay. The penalty charge for late payment has also now increased to 160. Visit tfl.gov.uk.

YOU HAVE YOUR SAY Every week, Money Mail receives hundreds of your letters and emails about our stories. Here are some from our report revealing salesmen are being offered up to 50,000 commission to convince homeowners to install smart meters... I have nothing against people earning a living, but those who get the bulk of their income from commission are unlikely to have your best interests at heart. C. G., Gloucester. I will be leaving my energy company when my contract ends, as it keeps trying to push a smart meter on me. I have told it twice I dont want one. The phone calls are relentless  it wont give up. T. S., Southport, Merseyside. I don't understand why people get upset about smart meters  say no if you dont want one. We have one and it has changed our habits. We have switched to more energy-efficient appliances and now use them more sparingly. Our bills are lower, yet we havent noticed a difference to our lives. M. M., Barnsley, S. Yorks. I can't see how smart meters are the digital energy revolution the big suppliers claim they are. Its debatable how effective they are and there are even concerns they may be bad for our health. M. K., Dartford, Kent. I have a sign saying no sales or service calls  it works. I never buy at the door. If I want something, I will go and get it myself. A. N., Kildare, Co. Kildare.

I have a FlexAccount with Nationwide Building Society and have enjoyed its free travel insurance. The main condition to qualify is that a minimum of 750 is paid in each month.

My two pensions, amounting to more than 850, are paid directly into this account.

However, one, which is usually paid on the 1st of each month, can occasionally be paid out just before the end of the previous month.

This means that, on paper, I don't have the requisite 750 minimum going in  and I have now lost my travel insurance.

I talked to Nationwide in August when I received a warning letter and again today, but it is unwavering.

J. G., Larne, Co. Antrim.

I was somewhat surprised by your letter. Nationwide generally adopts a common sense approach to cases such as yours.

But it appears that the person dealing with your case suffered a lapse in this department. In May and July last year, bank holidays and weekends meant your pension went in early, so you did not meet the qualification criteria. This prompted the automated letter you received in August.

Your October credit was, again, paid a couple of days early.

But, as I suspected, Nationwide has an exemptions process to cover people such as yourself who occasionally have pension or benefit credits paid in early  and your name is on this list.

When you called, you should have been transferred to the travel insurance eligibility team, who would have reassured you that your cover was not going to be withdrawn. Regrettably, this didn't happen.

In recognition, Nationwide will pay you 75 compensation. A spokesman says: 'The exception process has been applied and the confirmation of cover letter has now been issued.'
Ocado boss Tim Steiner has come clean about his presence at the sleazy male-only Presidents Club charity do which took place last month.

Speaking for the first time since he was named on the guest list at the City event, Steiner, 48, said he wished he had not attended the bash where hostesses were made to wear skimpy black dresses and high heels and accused guests of groping them.

Others named on the guest list for the event hosted by author and comedian David Walliams included Sir Philip Green, Dragon's Den star Peter Jones, Robert Tchenguiz and MP Nadhim Zahawi.

Regrets: Ocado boss Tim Steiner said he wished he had not attended the sleazy male-only Presidents Club charity do which took place last month

The dinner at the Dorchester Hotel raised money for charities, including Great Ormond Street Hospital. Steiner distanced the online supermarket group from the event saying he attended the dinner in a personal capacity.

He added that he was 'shocked' by what he read when the allegations first came to light after an undercover investigation by the Financial Times. 'With the benefit of hindsight I wouldn't have attended knowing what I do now.

'And to be clear we at Ocado have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to such behaviours, any forms of harassment and the behaviour described by the FT,' he said.

Steiner, a former Goldman Sachs trader, hit the headlines in 2016 after he left Belinda, his wife of 14 years and mother of his four children, and moved in with the Polish lingerie model Patrycja Pyka, 20 years his junior.

When Steiner and Belinda divorced he was forced to divide his 116m fortune with her. Assets divided included a 15million mansion in Highgate, London, and a ski chalet in France.

The Presidents Club Charitable Trust was launched in 1985, but the club flourished as the City prospered from the sweeping financial deregulation encouraged by then prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

It held men-only dinner parties where rich guests were encouraged to make hefty charitable donations through prize auctions.

Following the FT's revelations about the Presidents Club dinner, the charity was forced to close.
Today, Money Mail can reveal the extraordinary excuses that Jet2 uses to weasel out of a scheme that ensures customers get fair compensation for flight delays.

Jet2 is the only one of the ten largest airlines to refuse to join a complaints service set up by the aviation watchdog two years ago to stop firms blocking claims.

More than a million passengers across all airlines suffer flight delays every year  and many are eligible for up to 532 in compensation under EU law.

Companies do not have to pay compensation if the reason for the delay was outside their control, such as bad weather or terrorist attack. But for years firms tried to use this exemption to avoid paying legitimate claims.

Winging it? Jet2 boss Philip Meeson claims he is worried about the 'extraordinarily' high levels of payouts customers are winning and questions whether the adjudicators can be trusted

Now, major players including British Airways, Ryanair and easyJet allow customers to take rejected claims to an independent arbitrator.

But Jet2's refusal to sign up to the service means families who are fobbed off have to go to court to force the airline to pay out, which can be expensive and time-consuming.

Money Mail has seen an eight-page letter to the Civil Aviation Authority, signed by the executive chairman of Britain's fourth biggest airline, which tries to justify Jet2's controversial stance.

In it, Jet2 boss Philip Meeson writes that he is worried about the 'extraordinarily' high levels of payouts customers are winning and questions whether the independent adjudicators can be trusted.

He also accuses customers who use the service of looking for a 'windfall' where none is due and says that the 25 service is too cheap and therefore encourages unscrupulous claims.

And, incredibly, he says his staff would struggle to meet the 15-day time limit on responding to complaints  particularly over the Christmas and New Year holiday period  even though this hasn't proved a problem for rival airlines.

In a thinly veiled threat, he even warns that Jet2 would hike ticket prices if it joined the scheme.

In his response, Andrew Haines, CAA chief executive, accuses Jet2 of disregarding the rights of its customers. He also calls Jet2's stream of excuses a 'transparently narrow and self-interested set of arguments'.

The row is the latest controversy for Jet2, which has been at the forefront of several legal battles to reduce the amount of compensation airlines have to pay to passengers when flights are delayed or cancelled.

Under EU law 261, you are usually entitled to up to 532 if you arrive at your destination more than three hours late.

In 2014, Jet2 tried to argue that airlines should not have to pay for delays caused by technical faults.

But the Court of Appeal ruled that, unlike bad weather, the faults could not be considered an extraordinary circumstance and the Supreme Court refused to hear the airline's appeal.

The following year the CAA found that Jet2 was still trying to wriggle out of paying compensation by classifying ordinary technical faults as hidden manufacturing defects.

The airline also tried to include a rule in its contract that passengers only have two years after a delay to claim  even though the Court of Appeal had already ruled in a separate case that they have six years.

AIRLINE CHIEF WITH A FIERY TEMPER A former RAF pilot and five-time British aerobatics champion, Philip Meeson is the founder and executive chairman of Jet2. Worth an estimated 296 million, he ranked 399th on the 2017 Sunday Times rich list  three spots ahead of Sir Elton John. But he is no stranger to controversy. In 2006, Mr Meeson raised eyebrows when he called striking air traffic controllers in France lazy frogs. Then in 2009 police were called to Manchester airport after receiving reports that the Jet2 boss was being abusive to staff and berating them about long queues that had built up. The 70-year-old was raised in Northampton and educated at Wellingborough School and Northampton Technical College, before joining the Royal Air Force aged 17. Afterwards, he started a business with a friend selling second-hand cars, and earned enough to invest in a BMW dealership. Mr Meeson has been in the aviation business since 1983 when he bought the Channel Express Group, which distributed Channel Islands-grown flowers to wholesale markets in the UK. He developed the firm into a leisure travel provider and logistics operator, and floated it on the London Stock Exchange under a new name, Dart Group, in 1991  where he still has a 38 per cent stake. Mr Meeson, who has a daughter, Jemma, from his first marriage, launched the Leeds-based airline Jet2 in 2002 and his Jet2 holidays firm five years later.

Previously, if customers were unhappy with an airline's decision they could take the complaint to the CAA. But its ruling is not now binding, so airlines can ignore it.

In 2016, after a Money Mail campaign, the CAA set up an alternative dispute resolution scheme where passengers' cases are heard by an independent adjudicator.

You have up to a year after the airline's final rejection letter to refer your case to the service and the adjudicator's decision is final. The scheme is only voluntary at present, but 35 airlines have signed up, covering 80 per centof all journeys.

There are two main dispute services that airlines can sign up to  CEDR and AviationADR. British Airways, for example is with CEDR, while Flybe is with AviationADR.

So far, more than 10,000 passengers have escalated a complaint to one of the two. More than 90 pc were about delays, cancellations and denials of boarding.

On average, complaints were upheld by CEDR in nine in ten cases, and in 71 per cent by AviationADR. The high rates are cited by Jet2 as a reason it won't join.

In his letter to the CAA, Mr Meeson says: 'Based on its experience, Jet2.com considers that such a success rate is extraordinarily high and confirms that Jet2. com's evaluation that ADR is intrinsically unsuitable for EU261 cases.

'Many customers do not understand the intricacies of [these cases] and make claims more out of hope than a justified belief that their claims will be successful,' he adds.

Mr Meeson says it would be better if customers were forced to take cases to court as high fees act as a 'deterrent to unmeritorious claims'.

The maximum charge for taking a complaint to an independent dispute service is just 25  which is refunded if you win. It can cost more than 100 and many months of preparation to take your case to court.

In the CAA's response to Mr Meeson's letter, chief executive Mr Haines, writes: 'Your letter was surprising and extremely disappointing on two fronts: your apparent disregard for the rights of customers when your levels of service fall below that which you say you aspire to, and secondly the poor and inconsistent case you make in seeking to defend, what I regard, as your indefensible position.

'Although you obviously prefer to take your customers to court rather than to give them access to ADR, we feel strongly that such an approach is not in consumers' interests, given the time, cost and stress involved for consumers in taking court action.'

The CAA also suggests it is hypocritical of Jet2 not to sign up to the dispute service when the package holidays side of its business is part of the similar Association of British Travel Agents dispute scheme, also run by CEDR. Jet2 customers can still refer cases to the CAA.

A Jet2 spokeswoman says: 'We have carefully explained to the CAA why we don't consider the scheme to be currently suitable for EU261 delay claims (over three-hour delays), where complex disputes have to be resolved involving difficult factual and technical issues and matters of European law.

We have replied to a recent letter from the CAA, reiterating our position and requesting a meeting, so that we can discuss this matter in a constructive fashion.'

v.bischoff@dailymail.co.uk
One of the seven people charged over an alleged child sex abuse scandal linked to a performing arts school has been revealed as a glamorous performer.

The 29-year-old, three other women, two men and a 17-year-old girl were arrested at various Sydney addresses on Monday by detectives from the Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad.

All seven, who face a total of 127 charges over the rape and kidnapping of three boys under the age of eight, have connections to a performing arts school west of Sydney.

Some of the accused are alleged to have performed sadistic rituals involving taking blood from the young boys before they were forced to drink it, the ABC reported.

The 29-year-old recently took to social media calling for a teacher to cover a class, with the requirement of a Working With Children Check

The 29-year-old has also worked in theatre, television and burlesque, according to her online profiles.

She recently took to social media calling for a music teacher to cover a class, with the requirement of a Working With Children Check.

'Looking for someone to cover a five to eight-year-old music class for two weeks in February. Must have WWCC and insurance,' she wrote.

Earlier, the woman spoke of her challenges in 2017 and her optimism for the future.

'Lots of ups and downs this year. I did a bunch of stuff I'd wanted to do for a long time,' she wrote.

'But this year has also included some of the worst, most challenging days of my life. Ready for 2018 now.'

Her social media pages reveal her love of the limelight, with countless photos showing her performing on stage wearing extravagant outfits and makeup.

In other posts, she has expressed her support for Manus Island refugees and advocated marriage equality.

The woman, from Canterbury in Sydney's south-west, has been charged with five counts of aggravated sexual assault in company, deprive liberty and three counts of common assault.

Her Solicitor Bryan Wrench said the family had been aware of the investigation and all would be pleading not guilty.

'What's happened is they were aware of these offences six months ago,' Mr Wrench told Central Local Court on Tuesday.

The company at the centre of the scandal caters to children, some with disabilities, and describes itself as 'a family friendly environment where students can learn in a safe and fun manor'.

Its owner, a 58-year-old woman, has been charged with 43 offences.

They included aggravated sexual assault of a child under 10, sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and aggravated kidnapping.

This woman, 58, who owns a performing arts school west of Sydney, was charged with 43 offences

Police allege the group participated in the ongoing sexual and physical abuse of the three boys, who were known to them, between 2014 and 2016.

All seven were refused bail to appear in various courts on Tuesday.

A 17-year-old girl, an 18-year-old Katoomba man and a 20-year-old Canterbury woman appeared at a children's court.

Two women, one aged 26 and the 58-year-old woman, as well as a man, 52, appeared at Penrith Local Court.

The charges range from assault and kidnapping to aggravated sexual assault in company (child under 10) to using a child under 14 to make child abuse material.
Entrance to Papua New Guinea's infamous Kokoda Track has been blocked by traditional landowners due to a breakdown in an Australian Government agreement.

The Kokoda Track Landowners Task Force Committee erected signs, ropes and fuel drums around the entrance to the iconic World War II battlefield trek on Sunday, The Australian reports.

The group argued the Australian Government failed to deliver on promises made as part of a Kokoda Initiative Program, including a $2 million payment to the landowners as well as health and education benefits.

Entrance to Papua New Guinea's infamous Kokoda Track has been blocked by traditional landowners due to a breakdown in an Australian Government agreement

In a release sent to trekking companies in January, the committee complained they had been 'economically suppressed, oppressed and exploited' for the past 10 years.

'Since the establishment of the Kokoda Initiative Program, there has been nil general public Kokoda Track Community forum workshops from the CEPA (PNG Conservation and Environment Protection Authority),' it read.

'There is no detailed reporting in terms of funding expenditure which provides some area of concern in terms of their expenditures that require detailed explanation for general public comprehension at present.'

The release demanded a series of amendments be made within 10 days, including restructuring of track management and an investigation of finances.

The Kokoda Track Landowners Task Force Committee erected signs, ropes and fuel drums around the entrance to the iconic World War II battlefield trek on Sunday

Nineteen landowners had signed the release, including task force chairman James Enage.

PNG Tourism and Promotion Authority Jerry Agus sent an email blast Monday calling on a meeting between all concerned government departments.

Trekking company operator Charlie Lynn said the closure should be taken seriously, and anyone who ignored the signs 'would cause a riot'.

'I've been warning of something like this for years. It's compromising the integrity of our most important World War II icon,' he said.
A monster great white shark named George has been spotted lingering in the shallows off the Florida coast near the Everglades and Gulf of Mexico.

Shark-tracking organization OCEARCH have reported George - a 10 foot, 1,000lb beast - was spotted Sunday near the edge of Everglades National Park.

He was tagged in October 2016 off Nantucket in Massachusetts, and has since travelled more than 4,500 miles while migrating north for summer and south in the winters.

His most northerly point was off Nova Scotia in Canada and he has typically made his home the deep waters off South Florida in winter.

But this is the first time George has made his way into the Gulf of Mexico.

It is unusual for sharks to be spotted in the shallow waters off the Everglades and experts are baffled over why George has made his way up Florida's west coast this winter.

A monster great white shark named George (pictured) has been spotted lingering in the shallows off the Florida coast near the Everglades and Gulf of Mexico

The OCEARCH team releasing George the shark back into the water after tagging him in Massachussetts

Epic journey: Shark-tracking organization OCEARCH have reported George - a 10 foot, 1,000lb beast - was spotted Sunday near the edge of Everglades National Park

Sharks generally migrate south in the winter even though they are well adapted to cope with the cold temperatures of the North Atlantic in winter.

But Everglades National Park spokeswoman Denese Canedo told the Miami Herald that it was 'rare' for a shark to make it's way towards the Everglades.

She said: 'Its outside their normal habitat and is is very, very rare that they would occur in our waters or our vicinity.'

George was last recorded as 702 pounds (320 kilograms) and around 10 feet (3 meters) long.

OCEARCH chief science adviser Bob Hueter told The Miami Herald the shark now probably weighs closer to 1,000 pounds (450 kilograms).

As of late Sunday, George appeared to be making his way up Florida's western coast toward Everglades City having been picked up right near the coastline.

It was the first time since he was tagged 2016 the shark had made its way around the south-eastern peninsula and into the Gulf of Mexico.

The tracking system works by sending what OCEARCH calls pings back to its mainframe.

The tracking system works by sending what OCEARCH calls pings back to its mainframe and picked up George here in the shallows just south of Everglades City

An animal research worker helps tag George the great white shark in order to track its movements around the world

A team of workers ensure the shark is kept safe and comfortable while they apply the tag

Pings are recorded when sharks' dorsal fins break the surface of the water, sending a signal to a satellite.

He has been making his way up the East coast of the US and creeping into waters off the Canadian coast, but is most regularly tagged off the coast of North Carolina.

It now appears George is intent on lurking around the waters off the Everglades coast, having only travelled 11 miles in the past 72 hours.

He was named after OCEARCH expedition leader Chris Fischers father.

Chris named a female shark - Mary Lee - after his mother and had been waiting for a male shark to name after his father who has supported Chris and his vision for OCEARCH.

George is not the only shark looming in the Gulf.

A huge 12-and-a-half foot female shark called Miss Costa was just south of the Keys in January, and a younger eight-and-a-half foot called Savannah was spotted off the Crystal River in Tampa at the end of the month.
Notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman will have an anonymous jury at his US trial later this year.

In a written order, US District Judge Brian Cogan agreed with prosecutors who argued that withholding the names of jurors was needed to address any fears that they could be harassed or intimidated.

Jurors also will be escorted to and from the Brooklyn courthouse by deputy US marshals and sequestered from the public while inside, the judge said.

Prosecutors offered 'strong and credible reasons' why the jury needs protections, including Guzman's use of sicarios, or hitmen, to carry out thousands of acts of violence over more than two decades, the judge wrote in the order, released by the prosecutor's office on Tuesday.

Notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman will have an anonymous jury at his US trial later this year. Guzman is seen above during his extradition to the US from Mexico in January 2017

In court papers, prosecutors cited media reports about a YouTube video made last year by a group of federal prisoners in California in which they boasted in Spanish that they were 'hitmen' at the service of El Chapo (seen above in 2016)

On the recording, their faces were concealed with pieces of clothing and sunglasses. One was heard assuring Guzman 'everything is ready for you. What you say is the law. Here you have more than 3,500 soldiers'

That history 'would be sufficient to warrant an anonymous and partially sequestered jury, but that many of the allegations involve murder, assault, kidnapping or torture of potential witnesses or of those suspected of assisting law enforcement makes the government's concerns particularly salient,' he said.

Guzman's attorney, Eduardo Balarezo, said on Tuesday that his client was disappointed by the ruling.

The defense had argued that an anonymous jury would give the false impression that Guzman is dangerous.

'All he is asking for is a fair trial in front of an impartial jury,' Balarezo said in a statement.

Guzman has pleaded not guilty to charges of running a massive international drug trafficking operation.

Since his extradition in January 2017, he has been held in solitary confinement at a high-security federal jail in Manhattan, with US officials mindful of how he twice escaped from prison in Mexico, the second time via a mile-long tunnel dug to the shower in his cell.

In the past, Guzman used his connections to continue to run his drug empire from behind bars, prosecutors said.

Anonymous juries have been used in other high-profile cases, including the trials of Gambino mob boss John Gotti (left) and George Zimmerman (right), the security guard who fatally shot African-American teen Trayvon Martin

They also claim that in the United States, Guzman had the support of criminals who are not under his direct control.

In court papers, prosecutors cited media reports about a YouTube video made last year - and since removed from the internet - by a group of federal prisoners in California in which they boasted in Spanish that they were 'hitmen' at his service.

On the recording, their faces were concealed with pieces of clothing and sunglasses.

One was heard assuring Guzman 'everything is ready for you. What you say is the law. Here you have more than 3,500 soldiers.'

'We are the hitmen who are going to take care of him,' one of the inmates said in Spanish.

Guzman is due back in court on February 15 for a pretrial hearing.

The judge has indicated he expects the trial to begin in the fall.

Anonymous juries have been used in other high-profile cases, including the trial of Gambino mob boss John Gotti; a police officer charged in the murder of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray; and George Zimmerman, the security guard who fatally shot African-American teen Trayvon Martin.

In October of 2016, surveillance video captured horrifying footage of an assassin who shot a Mexican federal judge involved in a case related to El Chapo point blank in the head as he was jogging near his home

There appears to be good reason to keep the jury anonymous in the El Chapo case as well, since the cartels have shown they are willing to use brutal violence to anyone standing in their way.

On Monday, a Mexican woman who used social media to voice her positions against alleged drug traffickers was fatally shot in Acapulco.

Pamela Montenegro del Real, 36, who is best known as Nana Pelucas, was gunned down by two men Monday evening in the beach resort near the Pacific Ocean.

This was the second time in less than two months that a Mexican YouTuber.

Montenegro had a channel on YouTube, called El Sillon Tv, on which she used to interview public officials and express her political views.

Her assailants fled the scene and a motive has not yet been determined.

However, local media reported that Montenegro could have been assassinated by drug cartels because of her social media content.

On Monday, a Mexican woman who used social media to voice her positions against alleged drug traffickers was fatally shot in Acapulco. Pamela Montenegro del Real, 36, who is best known as Nana Pelucas, was gunned down by two men Monday evening

Juan Luis Lagunas Rosales was shot dead in in December 2017 after insulting drug lord El Mencho on his YouTube channel

In late December, a teenage YouTuber who insulted a notorious drug lord was shot dead.

On his video, a drunk 17-year-old Juan Luis Lagunas Rosales is heard saying El Mencho can suck my d**k to Nemesio Ocegera Cervantes.

The drug lord known as 'El Mencho,' one of Mexicos most dangerous, is the leader of the New Generation Cartel in Jalisco.

In October of 2016, surveillance video captured horrifying footage of an assassin who shot a Mexican federal judge involved in a case related to El Chapo point blank in the head as he was jogging near his home.

Judge Vincente Bermudez Zacarias was shot in the head at point blank range while jogging near his home in Metepec, a town located about 43 miles from Mexico City, according to news agencies.

The judge was on the bench during appeals by Guzman, who at the time was in prison for his role as the head of the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as Miguel Trevino, the former leader of the Zetas cartel.

The shooting prompted the Mexican president, Enrique Pena Nieto, to hold a news conference and vowing an investigation by his attorney general.


This is the moment a primary school teacher is snared by vigilante paedophile hunters after trying to meet a 15-year-old boy for sex.

Pervert Shane Shaw, 29, exchanged explicit Grindr messages with a profile he believed belonged to a young boy.

But his attempt to arrange a meeting with the 'teenager' backfired after an online sting by vigilante group N-Force saw him arrested at his home.

N-Force created a fake profile on the dating app then gathered damning evidence, including two photos of Shaw which he had sent to the profile.

The disgraced teacher first made contact on Christmas Eve, prosecutor Andrew Semple told Leeds Crown Court.

He continued to send messages despite being told the person he was speaking to was only 15.

Shaw offered to pay for a taxi so the 'boy' could come to meet him, writing: 'We can spoon, kiss and get naked and see what happens.'

The following day he sent details of his home address in Bramley, West Yorkshire, to the profile before cutting off contact altogether, the court heard.

Members of N-Force went to Shaw's property on New Year's Day and made a citizen's arrest.

Police later seized computer equipment from his home but it did not contain any indecent images of children.

Shaw has since resigned from his job at Southroyd Primary School in Pudsey, West Yorkshire.

He pleaded guilty to causing or inciting a child under 16 to engage in sexual activity and was handed a suspended sentence on Tuesday.

Geraldine Kelly, defending, said he had made contact with the profile on two occasions when he had been drinking.

She described his actions as 'a very short-lived moment of madness' and said her client 'realised that he had made a huge mistake', which prompted him to block the account.

Recorder Joanne Kidd said: 'You were a primary school teacher and will have undertaken a significant amount of training in respect of safeguarding and issues around children and consent.

'You should have known better.'

Pervert Shane Shaw, 29, exchanged explicit Grindr messages with a profile he believed belonged to a young boy

Shaw was given an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to do 100 hours of unpaid work and attend a sex offender programme.

His name has been added to the sex offender register for ten years.

Kate Prior, headteacher at Southroyd Primary School, said: 'This incident has shocked our whole school community.

'As soon as we were made aware of the situation we took immediate action and advice from the appropriate authorities, and the member of staff concerned is no longer an employee.

'The police have confirmed that no child was directly involved in this incident and that there is no evidence to suggest that the safety of any of our children at Southroyd has been compromised in any way.

'The safety and well-being of all our children remain our top priority, and we have rigorous child protection, safeguarding procedures and safe working practices to support this.'
Jennifer Willoughby, the second wife of President Trump's staff secretary Rob Porter has spoken on the record to DailyMail.com about her abusive marriage to the man described as one of the most important players in the Oval Office.

Willoughby, 39, told DailyMail.com she was 'walking on eggshells' during their marriage due to his explosive anger.

Porter's first wife Colbie Holderness confirmed to DailyMail.com: 'He was verbally, emotionally and physically abusive and that is why I left.'

Last week, DailyMail.com revealed that Porter has been dating White House Director of Communications Hope Hicks.

When reached for comment, Porter told DailyMail.com: 'I will not comment about these matters, beyond stating that many of these allegations are slanderous and simply false.'

John Kelly, Chief of Staff, commented: 'Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor, and I can't say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.'

'I have worked directly with Rob Porter nearly every day for the last year and the person I know is someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character,' Press Secretary Sarah Sanders told DailyMail.com.

'Those of us who have the privilege of knowing him are better people because of it.'

Willoughby - who bears more than a passing resemblance to glamorous Hicks - claims that on December 22, 2010, Porter pulled her naked from the shower by the shoulders and yelled at her.

She refused to join his family on a vacation after that.

Jennifer Willoughby, the second wife of President Trump's staff secretary Rob Porter has spoken on the record to DailyMail.com about her abusive marriage

Porter has been described as one of the most important players in the Oval Office

Hope Hicks, 29, was spotted stepping out of her D.C. apartment with White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter ten days ago

'I want to be very clear when I say this,' Willoughby said. 'I don't want to be married to him. I would not recommend anyone to date him or marry him. But I definitely want him in the White House and the position he is in. I think his integrity and ability to do his job is impeccable. And the majority of the issues he suffers from are very personal and intimate.'

The couple married at Thanksgiving 2009.

He called her a 'f**king b***h' on their honeymoon at Myrtle Beach between Christmas and New Year, she says.

'We had already been fighting. I had already seen more extreme versions of the overreactions of anger that I had seen back in August,' which was before they were married.

Willoughby continued: 'I can't remember what triggered it. He lashed out and was really angry, and both under his breath and explicitly to me called me a ''f***ing b***h'' and ''f***ing ridiculous''. He accused me of not caring about him or not caring about his needs.

'That whole week, or however long it was, several days, [of honeymoon] was spent with me trying not to make him upset.'

Jennie, as she's known to her friends, said that his anger would be unpredictable.

She said: 'I frequently would do favors for friends, like watch their dog or go pick up their daughter, and he would be angry that I would do that.

'In the first weeks and months, his explanation for his anger was that his first marriage had been very toxic, rooted in arguments, accusations and manipulation and he was carrying over from that relationship.

'He would say that he was so used to being treated this way by his ex-wife that he was projecting that on to me. That was the explanation.'

Jennie said that she felt manipulated throughout the marriage.

'He's very intelligent, extremely good with his words and is a lawyer by profession and is able to take words that I had said and use them in a way that it would confuse me as to what I meant,' she told DailyMail.com in the bombshell interview.

'He would challenge my intelligence or a statement that I had made by implying that I couldn't have possibly come up with it on my own and that I must have been influenced by someone.

'I would start to doubt myself. He was using words against me. It was his norm in dealing with behavior he didn't like.'

Jennie said that she never saw Rob take his anger out on other people - 'not even road rage'  but that is was all behind closed doors.

'That was something that was interesting to me, from a case study perspective. It does seem to be very much focused in an intimate, romantic relationship. It's almost as though the anger that could have been placed on his father was placed on the romantic partner.'

'Fairly soon after New Year in 2010, I started seeing a therapist and requested that Rob see a therapist because I was so distressed about his anger,' she revealed.

'I also had met with a bishop in the Mormon Church about his anger. It came to a head and in February or March 2010. I was so worn down and exhausted by the anger that I requested we have a separation.

'I never received specific threats from Rob, he was just often angry and it was oppressive. I started to take on the blame and the weight of his lack of self-worth.

'Over the course of the years of our marriage, I can think of several times where I was collapsing on the ground in tears and saying, ''just leave me alone, just stop'' because the anger and the insults were too much.

'[He would say] that I was worthless, that I was a liar. This is not one instance, these are things that he might have said in a rage. That I always got my way, that I was selfish, that I didn't care about him, about his needs. Any version of those types of statements, heard enough times, with enough force behind them are devastating.'

She had a miscarriage at six weeks pregnant towards the end of their marriage.

'The stress of being pregnant in that marriage was hard and then the shame and depression of not being pregnant anymore was also hard,' she said.

On June 19, 2010, she filed a protective order against Rob because he violated their separation agreement at the time, and would not leave their apartment.

According to a complaint filed with the police, he punched the glass on the door to their home, cutting his hand in the process, at which point she called the police. He then left and following that she filed a temporary protective order.

Willoughby claims that on December 22, 2010, Porter pulled her naked from the shower by the shoulders and yelled at her: '[It happened] just after our first anniversary....It was a glass shower door, he opened it and dragged me by my shoulders out of the shower to yell. Immediately upon seeing my reaction to that, he released me and apologized but it doesn't take away that he was angry enough that that happened'

On June 19, 2010, Jennifer filed a protective order against Rob because he violated their separation agreement and refused to leave their apartment

Willoughby wrote in a criminal complaint that Porter would not leave after she asked him to leave her apartment

She claims Porter punched the glass on the door to their home, cutting his hand in the process at which point she called the police

The couple married in 2009, but the marriage ended in divorce in 2013

A physical assault took place on December 22, 2010.

Willoughby said: '[It happened] just after our first anniversary. I cannot remember what the fight was about but I excused myself from the fight in a way that was typical at that time. I certainly was not meek and mild and said, ''I'm not going to fight you anymore'' and stormed off and went to take a shower.

'He was not done fighting with me. It was a glass shower door, he opened it and dragged me by my shoulders out of the shower to yell. Immediately upon seeing my reaction to that, he released me and apologized but it doesn't take away that he was angry enough that that happened.'

The attack upset her so greatly that she refused to join his family on a Christmas vacation that they were leaving for the following day. She also asked him to leave their home.

'He was very contrite and apologetic at that point. In all of the anger and all of the name-calling, he had never been physical with me.'

Willoughby tells DailyMail.com that Porter called her last year and demanded she take down her blog posts that referred to their marriage - she did not name him.

He asked her what she had told the FBI about their relationship during her interview with the agency over his security clearance in February 2017.

She said that his first wife was also interviewed.

'My experience of our entire marriage was being with a man who could be both charming and romantic and fun - and even thoughtful and kind; and horribly angry and manipulative. It was the duality of both of those things existing at the same time and not necessarily knowing what in his life would trigger the anger,' Willoughby said

At that time they talked, she claims, she spoke with his first wife Colbie and she said that they had both experienced the same abuse.

Willoughby also received a message from his previous girlfriend, before Hicks, telling her that Rob was considering hiring a private investigator to look into her and 'employ' a journalist to write about her.

DailyMail.com could not reach Porter's ex-girlfriend for comment.

'My experience of our entire marriage was being with a man who could be both charming and romantic and fun - and even thoughtful and kind; and horribly angry and manipulative. It was the duality of both of those things existing at the same time and not necessarily knowing what in his life would trigger the anger.

'Or what in his life would draw out the kindness and the chivalry. That's a crazy-making space for a spouse to be in, that I somehow have no control over the quality of my relationship.

'The terminology is ''walking on eggshells''  you don't know which man is going to walk in the door. Or you don't know what seemingly innocuous comment is going to be interpreted differently.

'I had a friend's daughter over to carve pumpkins for Halloween and he sulked and pouted and didn't join us. And of course after she left, he was angry  ''why would I have someone over, why would you help her [my friend] out when she could be doing this herself?'' There was no rational explanation as to why that would make him angry at that particular moment.'

Porter is a Massachusetts-born Harvard graduate who went to the Ivy League school with presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Hicks and Porter were seen smiling and laughing over drinks as they enjoyed each other's company at Rosa Mexicano in Washington D.C., hours before they went home together

He also went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and spent two years as a Mormon missionary in London.

Before being tapped to join the new administration, he had been chief of staff for veteran Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. He has also worked for Republican senators Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah.

His job has been described as one of the most important in the Oval Office as he, working with Chief of Staff John Kelly, controls the information that reaches the president.

'Porter, a little-known White House aide who has avoided getting caught up in any of the West Wing drama that has plagued the administration for the better part of seven months, serves to review everything before it makes it to the president's desk,' Business Insider wrote in September.

'Given how the president has shared dubious information at times when aides have presented him with reports from less-than-credible sources, Porter's role has an outsized importance,' the paper added.

'Talk to people who worked with him in the past, and they'll repeatedly mention his intelligence, experience, and team-first attitude.'

His father, Roger Porter, was an aide to President George H.W. Bush.

Hope Hicks, 29, and Porter had doing their best to keep their romance under wraps when they were spotted together with friends at low-key restaurant Rosa Mexicano near downtown Washington two weeks ago.

They did not show any sign of affection and did not sit next to each other at the restaurant.

But the moment they got in the cab to go back to Hicks' D.C. apartment they started cuddling and kissing in the back seat.

At the end of their evening together, Hicks and Porter hailed a cab, but as soon as it took off, the pair moved from their sides of the car to the middle and began kissing

During the taxi ride the secret lovers Hicks and Porter could be seen cuddling in the back seat. One eyewitness said Porter could be seen kissing Hope's neck

Hope exited the taxi while Rob pays for the ride before they both enter her D.C. apartment at the end of the evening

'As soon as the taxi took off they both moved from their sides of the cab to the middle. Rob was kissing Hope's neck all the way home,' an eyewitness to the red-hot White House couple said.

Porter had been living with a willowy blonde political appointee, sources say before he began dating Hicks.

Public records document that the woman was living in his apartment in Arlington, Virginia.

The woman split with Porter around Thanksgiving, a White House source tells DailyMailTV exclusively.

Senator Orrin Hatch, commented: 'It's incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man. Shame on any publication that would print thisand shame on the politically motivated, morally bankrupt character assassins that would attempt to sully a man's good name.

'I know Rob. I've known him for years, both as a close friend and as a personal advisor. He is kind and considerate towards all. The country needs more honest, principled people like Rob Porter, which is why I hope that this cynical campaign to discredit his character ultimately fails.'
A shocking but heartwarming video has shown the moment a serial prankster proposed to his girlfriend after staging his arrest in a fake drug bust.

Gary Aronov, 34, contacted London-based company The Proposers and enlisted in their help in organizing a more unconventional way of popping the question.

The software salesman from Cleveland, Ohio, developed a plan to trick his girlfriend into thinking he had been arrested while they were on their way to dinner in Barcelona.

Aronov was arrested by the fake cops while his partner, 31-year-old Caeom Noeum, sobbed in the back of the mock police car.

The couple was then taken away under the ruse of identifying a local drug dealer, but were actually being led to a beauty spot in the city, Mirador del Alcalde, Mountjuic.

Aronov was then taken from the car to prepare and Noeum was escorted a short while later to find her partner on one knee, surrounded by candles.

'We have planned over 1,000 marriage proposals however nothing was at all like Gary's idea, a spokesperson for The Proposers said.

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Gary Aronov, 34, of Cleveland, Ohio, hired London company The Proposers to organize the ultimate 'prank-posal' for his girlfriend Caeom Noeum, 31

Cheeky: Above Aronov is seen being 'arrested' for drug possession by actors posing as cops while Noeum sobbed in the back of the mock police car

Surprise: The couple was then taken away under the ruse of identifying a local drug dealer, but were actually being led to a picturesque lookout point in Mirador del Alcalde, Mountjuic that Aronov had decorated with flower petals and candles

'Gary and Caeom were staying in a hotel in Barcelona. Earlier in the evening, Gary snuck out of the hotel while Caeom was getting ready, so he could meet the videographer and get his mic attached to his clothes, which was secretly hidden.

'Caeom believed that they were "going out for a fabulous dinner", and at 6pm the couple left their hotel.

'As they were leaving, they were approached by undercover police, who displayed their badges so our couple would instantly stop.'

The fake police officers then began to accuse Aronov of buying drugs from a wanted local drug dealer and searched him. That's when they found a 'mysterious' pot of marijuana, which had been planted in his pocket earlier.

The 'drug' in the pot was actually oregano, the company said.

'The police then gave the couple two options, participate to identify the drug dealer at the police station, or don't participate and they would call for further police officers to assist in the arrest.

'Following the plan, Gary agreed to participate in the identification of the drug dealer which would take place at the police station.

'The police proceeded to pin the couple against the police van and handcuff them both. They explained that because Caeom was with Gary that she had to be taken too for security reasons.

Aronov explained that he knew the stunt was the best way to propose because pranks and hi-jinks had always been part of the couple's relationship

A happy ending: Noeum, described the proposal as the 'scariest and happiest day of my life'

Above, the couple are pictured with the masterminds behind the prank. The Proposers were founded nearly six years ago, and since then have arranged over 1,000 successful marriage proposals

'The couple were escorted into the car, where their reaction were captured by the secret hidden GoPro.

'In the car, Caeom was crying her eyes out and explaining how "she doesn't do drugs" and "she is innocent."

'As they arrived "at the police station," Gary was escorted out of the car to identify the drug dealer,' the Proposers said.

But Aronov was actually being taken to a picturesque lookout point in the city that he had decorated with flower petals and candles.

Noeum was soon guided to the spot and was completely in shock and crying her eyes out to realize the whole thing was all a prank.

Arnov got down on one knee and finally popped the question. The couple, who met on Match.com in 2015, married in an outdoor ceremony at Windows on the River in Cleveland on September 23 last year.

Noeum, who was not expecting her now husband to ask for her hand in marriage, said the event is one she will never forget.

'The proposal day was our final day of the trip. We started our day in Park Guell and Gary supposedly made dinner plans for us at an upscale restaurant,' the registered nurse said.

'I did not see this proposal coming as Gary had been telling me for months not to expect one during our trip.

The couple married in an outdoor ceremony at Windows on the River in Cleveland on September 23 last year

'He was a very good actor as I did not sense anything out of the ordinary.

'He enjoys pranking me and takes a lot of pride in it. It was the scariest and happiest day of my life.

'Our families knew of the plan and Gary's mother did not like the idea of the prank-posal.

'Our wedding day was beautiful, we tied the knot six months later in September.

'We had a beautiful outdoor ceremony on the river with a skyline view of the city. I am truly the luckiest girl in the world.'

Aronov explained that he knew the stunt was the best way to propose because pranks and hi-jinks had always been part of their relationship.

'We have always pranked each other - it has just been part of the relationship. So I just took it one step further and decided to incorporate it into the proposal', he said.

'She did a fake pregnancy prank on me and I've done everything from hiding and scaring her to ice water in the shower.

'I knew I would be proposing and I thought it would be funny. I wasn't worried about her reaction at all and I thought, "The more drama the better." When I told my mom about it she was like, "Oh my gosh, don't do that. She will freak out."

'But my dad was the opposite and he helped me with the plans. I knew it was going to be as raw as it could get and I didn't want her bawling her eyes out but I didn't mind her crying a little bit.

'I knew that the end result would cure everything. I couldn't wait to get it going as I love pranking her and I was excited about asking her to marry me.

The couple are pictured before their engagement. Gary and Caeom met on dating site Match.com in 2015

'I was elated and ecstatic when she said yes. I got what I wanted! And she was very happy as well - or at least she said she was.

'She definitely had the reaction I was going for. Now we are happily married and trying to conceive and start the next chapter in our lives.

'I haven't got any more pranks in store but we will remember the proposal for the rest of our lives.'

The Proposers were founded nearly six years ago, and since then have arranged over 1,000 successful marriage proposals.

But despite arranging proposals for painters, bankers, Arab royalty, and even porn stars, Gary's proposal stands out.

A spokesperson said: 'It was great to work with Gary on such a unique, fresh and completely different proposal.

'A lot of our proposals are crazy and unique and a lot of our clients really want to get creative and personalised - so we really can work with anything!

'Gary's prank proposal was a challenge but we completely took it on board. We knew the end result would work because the couple are pranksters as Gary explained.

'On the day of the event we were all very tense - despite having complete faith and trust in everyone involved in the proposal and knowing it would run perfectly, you just never know how the girlfriend will react.

'Usually we want to make girls cry with happiness and not fear - so it was a very different one for our team of Proposal Planners.'
A principal has sent 17 students home to change after they breached his school's strict uniform policy.

Some of the students at St Albans Secondary College in Melbourne's western suburbs were penalised on Tuesday for wearing the wrong socks.

The uniform crackdown comes after a student in Brisbane was suspended after being put on detention for wearing shoes with the wrong heel height.

Some of the students at St Albans Secondary College in Melbourne's western suburbs were penalised on Tuesday for wearing the wrong socks (pictured are shoes not allowed by a school in Brisbane)

Parents at St Albans Secondary College received phone calls informing them their children had been sent home, The Herald Sun reported.

Some of those students had not worn the correct socks, which must be white and cover the ankles.

Principal Kerrie Dowsley defended her decisions, saying the uniform policy has been around for 20 years.

'The school regularly has uniform checks and we contacted the parents of students who were, for a range of reason, in the wrong uniform today,' she said.

A mother in Perth was furious after her daughter was told she must wear a dress or a skirt, and Gold Coast students were punished for wearing non-leather shoes (stock image)

The uniform crackdown comes after a student in Brisbane was suspended after being put on detention for wearing shoes with the wrong heel height (pictured are shoes banned by one Brisbane school)

'We are proud of our uniform policy, which plays an important role in developing a positive and proud school culture for students.

'The overwhelming majority of parents we have spoken to support the school's policy and the actions we took.'

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The school uniform policy states: 'If a student is at school out of uniform, one of the following practices may be appropriate.

'If the parent/guardian cannot be contacted the student will be provided with emergency clothing for that day and after that shall not return to school until they are in full uniform.

'If the parent/guardian can be contacted the student will be sent home to return in full school uniform.

'The student will be required to attend a detention.

'Where there is a longer term difficulty, the school will consult with parents to find a solution.'

Brisbane mother Karen Bishop was outraged when her daughter was unable to wear a pair of Vans shoes because the heels were the wrong height.

The Gap State High school states shoes must not have a heel higher than 20 millimetres or lower than five millimetres, and bans Dr Martens and Vans.

The issue has divided the school after over 100 students were sent to detention for wearing non-compliant footwear.

Some parents have spoken out to defend the school's enforcement of the uniform policy, which has the support of Education Minister Grace Grace.

Brisbane mother Karen Bishop (pictured) was outraged when her daughter was unable to wear a pair of Vans shoes because the heels were the wrong height

'I support the principal in implementing a school uniform policy ensuring to keep students safe,' Ms Grace said, The Courier Mail reported.

At Upper Coomera State High on the Gold Coast, students were given all-day detentions for wearing non-leather black shoes.

Tracy Kerker - whose son attends nearby Helensvale State High - said her son was forced to borrow shoes another student had been wearing after his $140 plain black Nikes were deemed inappropriate.

In Perth, mother Lizz Clarke said she was 'shocked and horrified' after her eight-year-old daughter was told she had to wear skirts or dresses instead of shorts.

'I think in 2018, the fact we're telling girls they must wear skirts and dresses without a good reason is quite concerning,' Ms Clarke said.

Daily Mail Australia contacted St Albans Secondary College for comment.
The father of three Michigan boys who went missing seven years ago is standing by his story that he gave his children away, but admits he regrets his decision.

Andrew, Alexander and Tanner, disappeared after visiting their father on Thanksgiving Day in 2010. The boys were ages nine, seven and five years old, respectively, when they vanished from their home in Morenci, Michigan

Their father, John Skelton, was supposed to bring the children back to their mother, Tanya Skelton - now Tanya Zuvers - but he never did, police say.

An Amber Alert was issued and the FBI joined the massive search that spanned through both Michigan and Ohio for the boys, but they were never found.

Skeleton told WDIV on Sunday that he gave the boys to an 'underground sanctuary' farm in Ohio along the Indiana border.

He claimed he gave the boys to two women and a man, and said the boys would have a better life there with a new family.

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Andrew, nine (left); Alexander, seven (center) and Tanner, five (right) Skelton were last seen on visiting their father, John Skelton when they vanished from their home in Morenci, Michigan

Skelton (left), was supposed to bring the children back to their mother, Tanya Skelton (right) - now Tanya Zuvers - but he never did, police say. Skelton said he gave the boys to an 'underground sanctuary' farm in Ohio along the Indiana border for 'a better life'

An Amber Alert was issued and the FBI joined the massive search (above) that spanned through both Michigan and Ohio for the boys

At the time of their disappearance, their mother, Zuvers, told WDIV: 'I wonder, are they scared? Are they crying for me?

'It's so hard to imagine them hurting for me and not being able to do anything about it.'

Authorities arrested Skelton and he is serving 10 to 15 years at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan, on an unlawful imprisonment charge.

He spent most of his sentence in segregation, but he was transferred to protective custody in September.

'When you see three boys that were all very close, from a close-knit community, and that the last person that ever saw them was their own father, and seven years later we still don't have them, I mean, that story is pretty tragic,' Lt Detective Jeremy Brewer said.

Skelton (pictured) claimed he gave the boys to two women and a man, and said the boys would have a better life there with a new family but says he regrets the decision

Authorities arrested Skelton and he is serving 10 to 15 years at Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility in Ionia, Michigan, on an unlawful imprisonment charge. John's story about what happened to his young sons has changed over the years, police say

John also claimed that by giving the boys away he was trying to keep them out of harm's way. In the late 1990s, Tanya (above) was charged with fourth-degree criminal misconduct for having sex with a 14-year-old boy

On the last night with the boys, Skelton says he made the boys their favorite meal, fried chicken, and a cake to celebrate Andrew's birthday.

They ate dinner together then watched a karate movie before bed, which was around 10pm,

The next evening, Skelton said he sent the boys to an 'underground sanctuary' near the Indiana and Ohio border to live with two women and a man in their 60s.

Skelton told the news station that he told the boys they would have a better life with a new family who would buy them the farm boots they had been asking for and let them ride on a tractor whenever they wanted.

A group has never been found or come forward to claim they had the children, police say.

'I miss their voices,' he told WDIV reporter Sandra Ali.

The National Center for Missing Children has created age-progressed photos of what they might look like (above). In December, the partial remains of three children were found in the shed of a rental home in Missoula, Montana, and the remains are being tested for DNA

Skelton also claimed that by giving the boys away he was trying to keep them out of harm's way with their mother.

In the late 1990s, she was charged with fourth-degree criminal misconduct for having sex with a 14-year-old boy.

He has alleged that she was abusing her sons, but she claims that's not true.

'That has all been investigated,' Tanya told WDIV.

'My stuff was gone through. My children come first. Always have, always will.

'My dream job was to be a mom, and it is the greatest job in the world. But to say that I abused my sons, [that] kills me.'

The National Center for Missing Children has created age-progressed photos of what they might look like.

In December, the partial remains of three children were found in the shed of a rental home in Missoula, Montana.

Investigators are working to determine whether the remains could be those of the Skelton boys.

The remains have been sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification for DNA testing, which runs the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. According to authorities, this process could take months.
Until Wednesday morning former journalist Vikki Campion had not made headlines since she was The Daily Telegraph's urban affairs reporter.

The 33-year-old had worked quietly behind the scenes for several National Party politicians before taking on her role as a media adviser to Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce.

Ms Campion was employed in Mr Joyce's office from May 2016 until May last year, then moved to the office of Resources Minister Matt Canavan.

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Former journalist Vikki Campion has been keeping a low profile since the middle of last year

Former Telegraph reporter Vikki Campion (right) on the road with Samantha Armytage

Vikki Campion pictured with Barnaby Joyce at the Different Drummer bar at Glebe last year

She had previously worked as a senior adviser to New South Wales Police Minister Troy Grant when the Dubbo MP was deputy premier and was an adviser to Racing Minister Paul Toole when the Bathurst MP had the local government portfolio.

Prior to becoming a political staffer Ms Campion worked for eight years as a journalist with The Daily Telegraph, where she was on the news desk for seven months until July 2014.

Months before it was reported Ms Campion was pregnant to Mr Joyce she began withdrawing from public view.

Ms Campion disappeared from social media and moved house; her address has been removed from the electoral roll.

When the political staffer began shutting down her social media last year she also asked friends to remove pictures of her, saying the request was to do with her 'government job'.

Canberra insiders had been gossiping for months over her relationship with Mr Joyce and the later rumours that Ms Campion was pregnant to him.

Political staffer Vikki Campion is reportedly having Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce's fifth child

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce worked with Vikki Campion (both pictured) for a year

On December 7 the Nationals leader used the parliamentary debate on same sex marriage to confirm he was no longer with Natalie, his wife of 24 years.

'I don't come to this debate pretending to be any saint or anything like that but I do believe in the current definition of marriage, which has stood the test of time,' Mr Joyce said.

'Half of them fail, I acknowledge that, I'm happy to acknowledge that I am currently separated so that is on the record.'

My Joyce's office did not return calls, emails or texts with inquiries about Ms Campion after he announced his separation from his wife.

Ms Campion also proved elusive.

Pregnant political staffer and former reporter Vikki Campion has withdrawn from social media

Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce with wife Natalie and daughters after a victorious campaign

In mid December the Nationals' federal secretariat told Daily Mail Australia Ms Campion was working for the party at Parliament House.

A Parliament House switchboard operator said there was not a Vikki Campion listed anywhere in the building.

A call to the office of Victorian Federal MP Damian Drum at the same time confirmed Ms Campion was working for him in Canberra.

However, a receptionist at Mr Drum's office said Ms Campion was on leave and not expected back until 2018.

Mr Joyce's office continues to decline to comment on Ms Campion but said she was no longer working for the Coalition government due to ministerial changes made during a reshuffle last year.
Young parents made a terrifying discovery when they found a huge black spider in a bunch of grapes their daughter was eating.

The six-year-old girl was snacking on the bunch of green grapes moments before her step-father spotted the creepy crawly.

Matt Honnor was preparing school lunches when he found the spider tucked in the middle of the grapes, according to The West.

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Young parents made a terrifying discovery when they found a huge black spider (pictured) in a bunch of grapes their daughter was eating (pictured left and right)

The six-year-old girl was snacking on the bunch of green grapes moments before her step-father spotted the creepy crawly (pictured)

Matt Honnor was preparing school lunches when he found the spider in the middle of grapes

'It was horrible. What if she had swallowed it? I mean I didn't know what type of spider it was and I wasn't prepared to find out,' he said.

'I just kept thinking, what if it was a redback?'

The video shows green grapes, but on closer inspection, there is a spider - believed to be a common house spider - hidden in a cobweb in the heart of the fruit bunch.

The Perth family returned the bunch of grapes to the IGA store they bought them from.

The young girl's mother, Anna-Lisa Elliott, said the store told her they did not wash fruit before putting it on shelves.

An IGA spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they were disappointed to learn a spider was found in the bunch of grapes.

'IGA stores are subject to high standards around food safety and the store checks stock upon receipt as well as having a thorough pest control program in place,' the spokesperson said.

'However, due to the nature of fresh produce in attracting insects we do recommend that customers thoroughly wash items before consuming.'

'It was horrible. What if she had swallowed it? I mean I didn't know what type of spider it was and I wasn't prepared to find out,' he said
A mother accused of murdering two of her children to collect their life insurance inherited her uncle's house a few months after he changed his will.

Maree Mavis Crabtree was charged with killing her daughter Erin, 18, in 2012 and her son Jonathan, 26, last July and staging them as suicides.

The 51-year-old was also charged with fraud in collecting or trying to collect $1 million in life insurance and other payouts.

Maree Mavis Crabtree, 51, inherited her uncle's house a few months after he changed his will

She was charged with killing her daughter Erin, 18, (L) in 2012 and her son Jonathan, 26, (R) last July and staging them as suicides

Both children died from fatal overdoses of oxycodone in the family home on the Gold Coast, Erin found dead while the rest of the family was on a cruise.

Their mother allegedly kept them medicated to collect their disability payments, then killed them to get their insurance payouts.

Crabtree inherited her uncle Milne Graham's house in Sydney when he died in 1990, according to records seen by the Courier Mail.

He left it to her in a new will lodged in March of that year while she was living with him in the property in the southwest suburb of Peakhurst.

Later Crabtree's mother, who has also since died, moved in and lived in a granny flat out the back of the house.

Mr Graham gave his niece the entire house and its contents, with the rest of his estate used to pay for his funeral and split between four other people.

Crabtree was arrested last month and is facing numerous charges over her children's deaths and other alleged crimes

The 51-year-old inherited her uncle Milne Graham's house in Sydney when he died in 1990 after he left it to her in a will lodged in March that year

Crabtree lived with her children in the house until the early 2000s when it burned down while she was in a financial dispute with an ex-boyfriend.

She sold what was left of the property for $570,000 and moved to regional NSW, where she was described as the 'neighbour from hell', and then the Gold Coast.

Crabtree was also charged with and torturing and causing grevious bodily harm to a 25-year-old female relative over several years.

When she was five in 1997, a NSW doctor wrote a report suggesting the girl was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, police told The Australian.

Dr Michael Ryan from Sydney's Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children said Crabtree had admitted the girl to the hospital with fake illnesses repeatedly since her birth.

He feared she had been subjected to undue testing and medical procedures at the behest of Crabtree.

Munchausen by proxy is a psychological disorder involving a caregiver misleading others into thinking a child has medical problems by fabricating or inducing symptoms.

Crabtree lived with her children in the house until the early 2000s when it burned down while she was in a financial dispute with an ex-boyfriend

Both children died from fatal overdoses of oxycodone in the family home on the Gold Coast

Police alleged the girl had a tube inserted into her stomach because of an allergic condition of the oesophagus, and Crabtree allegedly convincing physicians to prescribe the girl oxycodone.

Officers said the pain medication and feeding tube were not necessary and the girl, now 25, has been able to eat normally since Crabtree was arrested.

Police allege Crabtree gave her son the fatal overdose in a drink they bought from McDonald's on the way home from the psychologist appointment.

Court documents show she allegedly dishonestly received an insurance payout of $567,863, a total permanent disability claim for $238,800 and had attempted to fraudulently obtain a superannuation death benefit of $125,000.

Crabtree's lawyer said she vehemently denied the charges and planned to apply for bail.
Tobacco tycoon Travers 'Candyman' Beynon has been slammed in recent weeks as more and more of his 'girlfriends' begin to sport tattoos of his company logo.

Many said the FreeChoice branding gave the impression he 'owned' the women, but rather than apologise, The Candyman has chosen to continue his new method of advertising.

The latest addition to his group of girlfriends, 21-year-old Krystal Kime, was seen at a tattoo parlour on the Gold Coast on Tuesday having her buttock coloured in with the thick lettering.

Ms Kime and Mr Beynon were joined at the parlour on Broadbeach by the Candyman's wife Taesha and other girlfriend Nisha, who watched on as the pair shared a kiss before Ms Kime's appointment.

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Krystal Kime, 21, leaned in for a kiss with new 'boyfriend' Travers Beynon before having the logo of his tobacconist empire permanently tattooed on her, as his wife Taesha and other girlfriend Nisha watched on

Mr Beynon shared an image of three women with the tattoo permanently marked on their bottoms hours after Ms Kime's appointment. The 21-year-old's (left) appears to be the largest

Mr Beynon was seen holding Ms Kime's hand as she went through the process. She appeared happy with the result as she lowered her pants after her appointment finished for the 45-year-old to take a photo

Ms Kime flashed a smile at her boyfriend as a tattoo artist began working on the design, appearing unperturbed by the sharp needles.

The pair held hands throughout the process, as Beynon's wife and other girlfriend sat in close with the 21-year-old.

When the process was complete, the tobacco entrepreneur was seen filming and taking photographs of Ms Kime's newly branded buttock.

Krystal, who appeared to join the mansion in October last year, was seen cuddling up to Mr Beynon ahead of her appointment at the Gold Coast Parlour

Travers 'Candyman' Beynon took new girlfriend Krystal Kime to have the logo of his tobacconist empire tattooed on her buttock (pictured)

The 21-year-old posed with Mr Beynon (left), his wife Taesha (second from right) and fellow girlfriend Nisha (right)

Mr Beynon paused to inspect the initial design of the tattoo before the block letters were filled in

Sharing the video to Instagram late on Tuesday night, he remarked: 'business is business'.

Almost immediately afterwards, Mr Beynon shared a photograph of three dark-haired women wearing nothing but g-strings, all with the FreeChoice logo tattooed on their right buttock.

'Mixing business with pleasure,' he cheekily captioned the image.

In a bizarre display of marketing ingenuity, the Candyman hosted a competition in 2016 which gifted the first 40 people to sport the tattoo free flights to Australia to attend one of his wild parties.

Tobacco tycoon Travers Beynon attracted criticism on social media after posting an image showing two of his naked girlfriends sporting tattoos of his company logo

It has been revealed the Candyman earlier hosted a bizarre competition which gifted the first 40 people to sport the ink free flights to Australia to attend one of his wild parties

The 45-year-old 'party king' (pictured) is heir to the Free Choice tobacconist retail empire

Dozens of Candyman super-fans were quick to accept Beynon's challenge, which asked participants to tattoo his 1.3cmx6.5cm Free Choice trademark anywhere on their body.

Men and women from as far as Spain and Sweden happily inked their bodies with the Candyman's tobacco logo and were flown to Brisbane with a ticket to his infamous Candy Shop Mansion Party.

One man, from Ludhiana, India, even uploaded a video tattooing himself with the ludicrous company logo in a desperate bid to win the competition.

It is unclear if Beynon was able to find a his complete list of 40 people - 30 women and 10 men - to permanently bear his company logo on their bodies.

The 45-year-old 'party king' is heir to the Free Choice tobacconist retail empire.

Men and women from as far as Spain and Sweden happily inked their bodies with the Candyman's tobacco logo and were flown to Brisbane with a ticket to his infamous Candy Shop Mansion Party

He says he shares his bed with at least four women every night, including his wife Taesha Beynon, who he met at the first Candy Shop party in 2009

Beynon was heavily criticised after sharing the photograph next to two of his naked girlfriends who sported the tattoos on their backsides.

The photo was met with mixed criticism, with many pointing out it creates the image Beynon 'owns' the women.

'Have a go at the f***ing free Choice tattoos' one person commented.

'This guys just so weird, he made these girls get a tattoo of his company Freechoice like he own these girls,' another said.

But Beynon responded to his onslaught of critics by simply sharing a photograph to Instagram of himself smiling with the caption: 'When they criticise me, I be like... #FREECHOICE.'

It is unclear if Beynon was able to find a his complete list of 40 people - 30 women and 10 men - to permanently bear his company logo on their bodies (One Candyman fan with the tattoo pictured)

Dozens of Candyman super fans were quick to ink their bodies with tattoos of his company logo (pictured)

Beynon promised free flights to Australia and a ticket to his infamous party for the first 40 people to get the ink

Beynon was heavily criticised after sharing the photograph next to two of his naked girlfriends who sported the tattoos on their backsides (Pictured at his party)

The photo was met with mixed criticism, with many pointing out it creates the image Beynon 'owns' the women (Pictured are Beynon's girlfriends)

Candyman has forged a highly-publicised and colourful image of himself on the back of his famous mansion parties, luxury cars and playboy lifestyle.

He says he shares his bed with at least four women every night, including his wife Taesha Beynon, who he met at the first Candy Shop party in 2009.

'When you've got one girl, that's one thing. When there's multiple, there's so much going on in my mind,' he told Ocean Road magazine.

'In bed, there's four girls as an average. I often don't get much sleep... I think I come up with a new position every week.

'Bedroom time isn't for me; it's to stimulate the girls. To be good in bed it's not about you.'

He has posted several other images online of his girlfriends with the same tattoos, even captioning images with '#FREECHOICEtattoo'
A woman waiting for her boyfriend outside a Texas gas station was shot dead by two individuals in an attempted carjacking scheme.

Horrific surveillance video shows the moment victim Kiesha Price was sitting in the passenger's seat of a white BMW while her partner and his uncle went inside to pay at Valero located at 11249 Bissonnet St in Houston late Monday night.

Two male suspects are seen riding up to the luxury vehicle on their bicycles, while one opened the driver's door and the other, the passenger's.

The suspects then appear to physically attack the woman as her jacket falls to the ground before several shots were fired at her.

Immediately after hearing the gunshots, store clerk Madhu Kadangura and others rushed out of the convenience store.

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Pictured: The two male suspects who shot dead a woman who was waiting for her boyfriend outside a gas station late Monday night

The two suspects are seen riding up to the luxury vehicle on their bicycles, while one opened the driver's door and the other, the passenger's

Several shots were fired at victim Kiesha Price in the attempted BMW carjacking scheme. She died at the hospital shortly after

The two men have since fled on the bikes. Police warn they are armed and dangerous

'I heard the one shot. Immediately we ran outside... police came and said there were three or four shots in her stomach,' Kadangura told Click 2 Houston.

The two suspects had already fled before authorities were able to track them down.

The woman, who was in her 30s, was transported to a nearby hospital, where she tragically died, police said.

'One main goal here is to get this out to the public,' Houstin Police Detective Lt. L. Meeler. said, according to the news station.

Immediately after hearing the gunshots, store clerk Madhu Kadangura (pictured) and others rushed out of the convenience store

Houstin Police Detective Lt. L. Meeler is asking the public for their help in finding the men

'Somebody knows these guys. Someone saw them out here tonight rolling around, knows exactly what they are wearing, knows their name.

'I absolutely want to appeal to that person or people who saw this... put yourself in the family's situation.'

Police have identified the armed suspects as two black males. One was wearing a red hoodie and blue jeans and the other, a black jacket and patterned pants.

They are asking anyone with further clues to report to the department or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.

'This is just an absolutely senseless, vicious act by two cowards... (let's) bring justice for our victim,' said Meeler.

Anyone with further clues to report to the department or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS

'(Let's) bring justice for our victim,' said detective Meeler in a statement from the scene
A driver has been caught on dash cam footage zooming through a traffic light in wet weather before spinning off the road and into a petrol station.

The white car appears to speed through the traffic lights as they turn red before sliding across two lanes of oncoming traffic.

The car then skids across the footpath and into the petrol pumps at a Coles Express service station near Newcastle, NSW, forcing traffic to slow down.

Incredible dash cam footage captures the moment a white car speeds through traffic lights in a bid to beat them (pictured)

The white car appears to speed through the traffic lights before he slides across two lanes of traffic of oncoming traffic (pictured)

'Drive tried to beat the traffic light but lost control in the wet,' the Facebook post on Dash Cam Owners Australia read.

'The petrol bowsers were damaged and the barricade bent over.'

The video was shared to Facebook and has received more than 87,000 views after being posted less than a day ago.

Hundreds of people shared their opinions online, some commenting that it was time for the driver to 'buy a bicycle'.

'It looks as if the back end comes out (deliberately or accidentally is unknown) and driver thinks he can drive it out. Never once thinking of lifting off the right foot until too late,' one person wrote.

'Fuel was cheap so he decided to fill up,' another wrote.

The car then span over the footpath and into the petrol bowsers at a Coles Express petrol station near Newcastle, NSW, forcing traffic to slow down (pictured)
Burning debris from the trailer was left littered along 20km of the Bruce Highway

A man, 49, has been charged after allegedly pulling burning trailer with no tyres

A man has been charged after allegedly pulling a burning trailer with no tyres down a highway for 20 kilometres.

The man, 49, from Kybong, near Gympie in south-east Queensland, was charged with driving without due care and attention over the January 18 incident.

Dramatic vision from a police dashcam shows a motorist being intercepted after driving with his trailer fully ablaze on the Bruce Highway.

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A man has been charged after allegedly pulling a burning trailer with no tyres down a highway for 20kilometres (pictured)

The Queensland Police Service received reports a trailer being towed by a Holden Rodeo had caught fire between Colosseum and Miriam Vale.

Sparks and flames jumped onto the road as the burning trailer travelled north just before 3am, leaving burning debris in its wake.

Police claim the trailer did not have any wheels and was being dragged along the highway.

The intercepting officer activated his car's lights and sirens in an attempt to get the motorist to pull over, police claim, but driver allegedly did not stop.

The man, 49, from Kybong, near Gympie in south-east Queensland, was charged with driving without due care and attention over the January 18 incident (pictured)

The driver allegedly pulled over at the intersection of the Bruce Highway and Dovedale Road after travelling about 20 kilometres with the trailer engulfed in flames.

Burning debris was littered across the highway in the trailer's wake, which sparked multiple spot fires in bushland adjoining the highway.

The man will face Bundaberg Magistrates Court on May 17
Painkillers may help soothe the heartache of a break-up as well as ease a sore head  but not for men.

Scientists say women who take ibuprofen can feel less upset by failed romance.

A study showed they experienced less hurt from social rejection or while recalling past betrayal.

But the effect did not apply to men.

Painkillers may help soothe the heartache of a break-up as well as ease a sore head  but not for men

Volunteers joined in a virtual game of catch when others stopped throwing a ball to them, or they wrote about a betrayal by someone close.

Women on ibuprofen reported less social pain afterwards.

University of Californa researchers believe the drug blunts female sensitivities but disrupts the male urge to suppress emotional pain.

Scientists say women who take ibuprofen can feel less upset by failed romance

Their report, in the journal Policy Insights from the Behavioural and Brain Sciences, sums up several studies, including tests which found that patients on paracetamol were less distressed by unpleasant images or reading about other peoples suffering.

They talk of using the drugs to help with problems such as depression and social anxiety disorder.

But lead author Dr Kyle Ratner calls the findings alarming because consumers do not anticipate psychological effects from painkillers.

And other experts say that emotional pain if often a healthy response which helps lead to recovery.
A drunk Queensland man committed a sickening attack on a neighbours beloved ragdoll cat, repeatedly hurling it into the pavement by the tail until it died.

Timmy Patrick Sawyer was 24 when he performed the 'extremely cruel' act in Urangan, with a court told he swung the cat around with one hand, while holding a milk bottle filled with wine in the other.

Sawyer, now 26, was sentenced to nine months behind bars in court on Tuesday for his torture of the 12-year-old house cat, Queensland Times reports.

Timmy Sawyer (pictured), 26, brutally tortured his neighbour's rag doll cat in 2016, slamming it repeatedly into the bitumen while yelling 'die you f***ing cat, die'

He pleaded guilty to one count of animal cruelty in Hervey Bay District Court, and will be eligible for parole by May 6.

Sawyer yelled 'die you f***ing cat, die' while slamming its head repeatedly into the bitumen, the court heard in 2016.

Witnesses heard screams from the cat throughout the vicious torture, and said Sawyer - a regular binge drinker - even swung it above his head at one point.

When onlookers demanded he stop, he ditched the feline into the bush before pretending he didn't know 'what the commotion was about'.

Witnesses heard screams from the cat throughout the vicious torture, and said Sawyer - a regular binge drinker - even swung it above his head at one point

Despite being covered in the cat's blood, he looked at the suffering animal and said 'oh no that's a bit sad'.

Judge John Robertson described Sawyer's 'level of determination' to kill the cat as deeply concerning.

'When you attempted to touch the cat, its last movement was to lunge at you and you backed away. Then it died,' Judge Robertson said.

The court heard the neighbour had owned the cat since it was a kitten.
Barnaby Joyce's 'devastated' wife has claimed that the Deputy Prime Minister had a months-long affair with his former staffer, who is now pregnant.

Natalie Joyce said she felt 'deceived' by the news that Vikki Campion, 33, is pregnant with her husband's fifth child and claimed the extramarital fling began when she was a paid staffer.

In a statement, a 'hurt' Mrs Joyce claimed her husband's affair went on for months, while she was sacrificing her own career to support him.

The new of the baby comes just two months after Joyce, 50, formally announced he was separated from his wife.

Natalie Joyce (pictured with Barnaby Joyce) has revealed she feels 'deceived' by the Deputy Prime Minister, and said she sacrificed her own career to support him

Mr Joyce, 50, is expecting a child with his former media advisor Vikki Campion, 33, (together) who he has reportedly fallen 'madly in love' with

Natalie Joyce has revealed she feels 'deceived' by the Deputy Prime Minister, and said she sacrificed her own career to support him (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

Mr Joyce, the Minister for Agriculture, has not been seen publicly with his wife Natalie since the Canberra Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball in June last year

'The situation is devastating, for my girls who are affected by the family breakdown and for me as a wife of 24 years who placed my own career on hold to support Barnaby through his political life,' she said in a statement, The Australian reported.

'Our family has had to be shared during Barnabys political career and it was with trust that we let campaign and office staff into our home and into our lives.

'Naturally we feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved.

Ms Campion (pictured) worked as Mr Joyce's media advisor before she moved into a more senior role with Resources Minister Matt Canavan in April last year

Barnaby Joyce's wife of 24 years said the situation has been devastating for her and their four daughters (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

Pictures have emerged of Mr Joyce looking relaxed with his now reportedly pregnant former staffer Vikki Campion in a Sydney bar (pictured)

In several of the photographs taken last year Ms Campion looks comfortable with Mr Joyce, who revealed in December he had split from his wife

Statement from Natalie Joyce on the Deputy Prime Minister's affair I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member. I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee. This situation is devastating on many fronts. For my girls who are affected by the family breakdown and for me as a wife of 24 years, who placed my own career on hold to support Barnaby through his political life. Our family life has had to be shared during Barnaby's political career and it was with trust that we let campaign and office staff into our homes and into our lives. Naturally we also feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved. The situation for myself and the girls will be made worse by the fact that this will all be played out in public so at this time. I would ask that the girls and I are given some privacy and time to come to terms with the consequences and take steps to plan our future. Advertisement

'I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member.

'I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee.'

Pictures have emerged of Mr Joyce looking relaxed with his now reportedly pregnant former staffer Vikki Campion in a Sydney bar.

In several of the photographs taken last year Ms Campion looks comfortable with Mr Joyce, who revealed in December he had split from his wife.

'I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member,' Mrs Joyce said (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

'I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee,' said Natalie Joyce (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

Witnesses said the pair appeared to be relaxed with each other inside the Different Drummer bar at Glebe in Sydney's inner-west (pictured)

Mr Joyce (pictured, right) was present during House of Representatives Question Time at Parliament House on Wednesday

Witnesses said the pair appeared to be relaxed with each other inside the Different Drummer bar at Glebe in Sydney's inner-west.

Mr Joyce, 50, is in a relationship with his former media advisor Vikki Campion, 33, and has fallen 'madly in love', according to The Daily Telegraph.

While Mr Joyce has previously announced his separation from wife Natalie, he is yet to make a public statement about the rumoured pregnancy.

Mr Joyce and Natalie have four daughters, aged in their late teens and early 20s, from their 24-year marriage.

What Australia's politicians say about Barnaby Joyce's baby news Australia's political leaders have been asked for their views on Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce reportedly expecting a baby with his former staffer, Vikki Campion. 'It's something I view as none of my business,' Labor frontbencher Tony Burke told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. 'This ricochets and affects families. There's a principle here that I've always abided by to not engage in anything that hits the private lives of other members of parliament.' Greens MP Adam Bandt agreed, describing the prominent media coverage as a 'very dark day' for gender equality. 'I don't really care who Barnaby Joyce or anyone else is sleeping with,' he told Sky News. 'Unless it impacts on his job, or unless she chooses voluntarily to step into the public eye, it's not really anyone's business. 'If it's Barnaby Joyce's partner today, who else's will it be tomorrow?' Cabinet minister Dan Tehan said the decision to put such information into the public domain should be up to the individuals involved. However, gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome unloaded both barrels on the 'hypocrite' deputy prime minister, who vehemently opposed same-sex marriage and demanded the issue be put to a national vote. 'You can't put the lives of tens of thousands of your fellow citizens under the microscope and then expect to avoid scrutiny yourself,' Mr Croome said. He argued the scandal exposed what 'traditional marriage' meant for people like Mr Joyce. 'It is not a set of standards for heterosexual couples to live up to. It is a euphemism for prejudice against LGBTI people and our exclusion from the core institutions of society,' Mr Croome said. Advertisement

The new couple have moved in together ahead of the birth of their child in April, the publication reported.

A friend of the Deputy Prime Minister said the pregnancy was shrouded in secrecy because he was concerned about the well-being of his daughters.

'He has been struggling with the family breakup, it's put an enormous pressure on him,' a source told the publication.

'He's had some pretty dark times.'

Mr Joyce and Natalie (pictured) have four daughters, aged in their late teens and early 20s, from their 24-year marriage

A friend of the Deputy Prime Minister (pictured on Wednesday February 7) said the pregnancy was shrouded in secrecy because he was concerned about the well-being of his daughters

Mr Joyce (pictured on Tuesday) has previously announced his separation from wife Natalie, but is yet to make a public statement about the rumoured pregnancy

Ms Campion worked as Mr Joyce's media advisor before she moved into a more senior role with Resources Minister Matt Canavan in April last year.

She later worked for Nationals chief parliamentary Whip Damian Drum but was left without a job when Mr Drum changed roles and became Assistant Minister to Deputy Prime Minister Joyce.

Mr Joyce, who was born in Tamworth, acknowledged he was separated and said he was 'not a saint' in a parliamentary admission last year.

'I do support the current definition of marriage as it stands,' he said in the lead up to the same-sex marriage vote on December 7.

Mr Joyce (centre) and Natalie (left) have four daughters, pictured here claiming an election victory in 2016

'It is a special relationship between a man and a woman, predominantly for the purpose of bringing children into the world.

'I don't come to this debate pretending to be any form of saint, but I do believe in the current definition of marriage, which has stood the test of time.

'I acknowledge that I'm currently separated, so that's on the record.'

Mr Joyce, a Catholic and outspoken economic and social conservative, said he would 'never vote against the view of the Australian people' before he abstained from the final vote on December 7.

Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party Barnaby Joyce, at coffee with his wife Natalie and dog Missty

Barnaby Joyce celebrates at The Nationals Party at West Tamworth Leagues Club in Tamworth on Saturday, December 2, 2017

Mr Joyce's wife Natalie has not been seen publicly with the Deputy Prime Minister since the Canberra Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball in June last year.

The pair met during O Week while Mr Joyce was studying accountancy at the University of New England.

'The last day was a car rally in a ute and he just came up to me and went, "You'll do", Natalie said in an interview in March last year.

Joyce's family were opposed to their marriage, leaving his side of the church empty but for two pews, but changed their minds over time.

The Leader of The Nationals was forced to resign from his position as Deputy Prime Minister in August last year, amid a dual citizenship saga which embroiled Parliament.

The government lost its majority in the lower house after the High Court ruled he was ineligible to sit due to his dual New Zealand citizenship.

Mr Joyce, who has since renounced his New Zealand citizenship, comfortably won the New England by-election on December 2, and resumed his cabinet posts the same day.
For a generation of Britons it was the most important show to have graced a TV set  chronicling the rise of Western Europe through its art.

But, nearly 50 years on from Kenneth Clarks original Civilisation series, the BBCs modern revival will offer a rather different view. Instead of focusing on cultural jewels, it will turn its attention to the rest of the world  and the damage Britain has inflicted on its empire.

Over nine episodes, it will examine Britains dismissive attitude to art in India, and its aggression toward the culture of the peoples it conquered.

Nnearly 50 years on from Kenneth Clarks original Civilisation series, the BBCs modern revival will offer a rather different view

In a dramatic departure from Mr Clarks top-down view of the world, the package of new programmes will also feature performance poetry by a hip hop artist detailing the British Empires collapse.

The Ruins of Empires, by Akala, examines the rise and fall of different conquering nations around the world, and the bloodshed that this entailed.

According to the BBC, the poem follows a fictional knowledge seeker charting the course of human history via astral travel and multiple reincarnations.

The move marks a stark shift from Mr Clarks seminal 1969 broadcasts, which were famed for their sweeping statements and patrician manner.

The new version will have three hosts: historians Mary Beard, Simon Schama and David Olusoga. The trio will offer their personal views  filmed in more than 30 different countries.

The BBCs director of arts, Jonty Claypole, said that they do not want to repeat the story Clark told and that the greatest homage we can make is not to imitate the answers of a predecessor but the questions they asked.

The Ruins of Empires, by Akala (pictured), examines the rise and fall of different conquering nations around the world, and the bloodshed that this entailed

Miss Beard said the nine programmes raised big questions of what [British] civilisation is and the sometimes fine line that separates civilisation from barbarity.

In addition to the rise and fall of empire, the series will look at the first human marks made in a South African cave, depictions of the human body in ancient art and the ways different religions depict their gods.

Mr Schama described the show as a daunting challenge. He added: We live in a time of raw power, the swagger of money, brutal poverty and hard reckonings  precisely the moment when it cant be bad to contemplate again the most enthralling things that human creativity can achieve.

Mr Olusoga said: My family didnt have the money to visit galleries or museums, but my mother was able to open up the worlds of art and culture to me through documentaries on the BBC  programmes that broadened my horizons and transformed my view of the world.

'Civilisations is the next chapter in that tradition with the power to change lives.

The series will launch in March.
As someone who grew up in Italy, a country where every official has their price, I have always been proud of Britains reputation as one of the most honest democracies on the planet.

Today, that reputation is in peril.

Ever since we voted to leave the EU, the true nature of our so-called ruling classes  from the civil service to the judiciary  has become apparent.

And it is clear that far from being humble shepherds of the peoples wishes, they are, in fact, a bunch of egomaniacal control freaks who would sooner lay waste to democracy than assist a process with which they do not agree.

'The BBC, in receipt of millions of pounds of taxpayers money, is so brazen in its bias it hardly registers any more. Theyll happily offer a platform to anyone prepared to bang the anti-Brexit drum. Even Anna Soubry' (pictured)

The BBC, in receipt of millions of pounds of taxpayers money, is so brazen in its bias it hardly registers any more.

Theyll happily offer a platform to anyone prepared to bang the anti-Brexit drum. Even Anna Soubry.

As for the judiciary, I remember well the atmosphere that greeted my husband in the week following the referendum when, in those febrile days after the resignation of David Cameron, he addressed the Guildhall as Lord Chancellor.

The great and the good of Britains justice system were there in all their finery, and made no secret of their feelings.

Give me a shot of what Pammy's on! Its bad enough being a peri-menopausal woman; being a peri-menopausal sex symbol ought to be nigh on impossible  and yet somehow Pamela Anderson manages it. While most women just want to curl up in a corner and give up, our Pammy, 50, is living proof that you dont have to go gently. Not only does she maintain an admirable commitment to high heels and tight dresses, she is also working on a book called Saving Women From Feminism  and has a hunky new lover, 18 years her junior. Whatever her brand of HRT is, I would like some, too, please. Advertisement

Some slow hand-clapped; others were even more openly hostile. Whatever else these people were, they were certainly not impartial.

Now Whitehalls senior mandarins, too, have revealed their true colours.

On Sunday, Andrew Turnbull, who presided over Her Majestys Civil Service between 2002 and 2005, accused politicians of behaving like Nazis for daring to suggest that some Treasury officials might be dragging their feet on Brexit.

His successor, Gus ODonnell, compared Brexit-supporting ministers to snake oil salesmen.

And a third former Civil Service head, Lord Butler, accused rabid Brexiteers of seeking to intimidate the Civil Service.

Even if those accusations were true, the fact that these three high-ranking former officials should feel sufficiently emboldened to speak out with such vehemence beggars belief.

Not only is it thoroughly inappropriate, it also reveals something even more worrying: theyve given up all pretence of impartiality.

'Its bad enough being a peri-menopausal woman; being a peri-menopausal sex symbol ought to be nigh on impossible  and yet somehow Pamela Anderson manages it'

Theyve nailed their colours to the mast, and they dont care who knows.

Lets be clear: we are not talking about ordinary civil servants here, the thousands of good, hard-working people who issue our passports or help the unemployed into jobs.

Were talking about those at the very top of the tree who, after so many years in the orbit of power, have started to believe that they actually hold it.

Why some sisters are more equal than others Im all in favour of marking the 100th anniversary of women winning the vote, but let us not forget it was only given to women over the age of 30 who owned property  in other words a certain class of female. It took another ten years for all women over 21 to be enfranchised. And there are still echoes of this today where older, richer women who think they know better lord it over their younger, working-class sisters. Last weeks juxtaposition between the banned glamour girls of Formula 1 and darts  out of a job thanks to the panic following the so-called Presidents Club scandal  and the equal pay harpies at the BBC brought these divisions into sharp relief. It was these same privileged women who spent most of yesterday back-slapping each other while their glamorous sisters, presumably, were looking for work. To paraphrase George Orwell, the essence of 21st-century feminism seems to be that all women are created equal  but some are more equal than others. Talking of equality, if all-male gatherings are now virtually a hanging offence, where does that leave openly female-biased institutions such as Womans Hour? Surely its high time the controller of Radio 4 set aside a daily slot aimed at addressing mens issues  such as the fact that deaths from prostate cancer have now overtaken breast cancer? Advertisement

Who, instead of making sure that the Governments work is carried out quickly and efficiently, overlay their own judgments on political decisions and either seek to ignore or thwart policy.

As Tony Blair once said of his time in office: If you had a crisis, there is nothing better than that British [Civil Service].

But when it came to how do you do health service reform or education reform, or the early battles I had in reforming asylum and immigration policy, I found it frankly just unresponsive.

Subsequent administrations have suffered from the same problem. When Cameron came to power, one of his missions was root-and-branch reform of the Civil Service, which he appointed Francis Maude to oversee. But as those silver-tongued mandarins slowly spun him in their web, Camerons reforming ardour cooled.

Since then, matters have deteriorated. The Prime Ministers weakness is the current Civil Service head Jeremy Heywoods strength. We now have a situation within government departments where ministers can barely place an order for paperclips, let alone try to implement policy.

Meanwhile, officials continue to leak, thwart and obstruct at every turn. And anyone who dares stand up to them had better be ready.

Because, rather like that other unelected elite in Brussels, there is nothing the British Civil Service is more skilled in these days than the art of self-preservation.

Fergie, more brass than a tuba

Everyone whos planned a wedding will recognise the problem: whether to invite the awkward auntie (or uncle), the one you just know is going to neck all the drinks, or snog the ushers.

Hence all the behind-the- scenes Palace battles over whether to stop Fergie being invited to Harry and Meghans Big Day before the noble Prince stepped in to ensure Fergie will go to the ball.

Once again, this ex-royal with more brass than a tuba has got her way.

But it beggars belief that anyone could be so self-centred.

'Fergie has sought to have her cake and eat it, trading on her connections without stopping to think about the damage she does a Royal Family that has worked so hard to re-cast itself for the modern world'

Isnt it enough that, despite her divorce from Prince Andrew, she still enjoys all the perks of being a royal, continuing to live at Royal Lodge, her ex-husbands home in Windsor, without bearing any of the responsibilities attached to the privilege?

And that the Queen has finally relented and welcomed her back to Balmoral, scene of her fall in 1992 when snaps of her cavorting in the South of France with her financial adviser, John Bryan, emerged?

Ever since, Fergie has sought to have her cake and eat it, trading on her connections without stopping to think about the damage she does a Royal Family that has worked so hard to re-cast itself for the modern world.

What makes matters worse is that she clearly has no respect for the institution she so enjoys milking: just last year she opened up Buckingham Palace to the Beckhams for a birthday party  all presumably to suck up to the celebrity she so desperately craves.

If the woman had an ounce of good grace, she would politely decline Harrys generous invitation. But Im not holding my breath...

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Fresh outrage as it transpires some airlines (well, Ryanair mostly, isnt it always?) are squeezing extra cash out of punters by charging them to sit together. I really cannot see the problem: I would happily pay extra not to sit next to my bickering offspring.

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I simply cant believe the man who invented the Creme Egg pizza is from Wales. Surely Scotland has the monopoly on heart-attack-inducing desserts.

If I were the Scots, I would consider this an act of cultural aggression.

There can be only one response: the deep-fried Creme Egg pizza.
Theresa May last night praised the free Press as a huge force for good as she launched a major review into the future of the industry.

The Prime Minister said the rise of online news had slashed revenues and led to the closure of hundreds of local newspapers in recent years, adding that this was dangerous for democracy.

Announcing a panel of experts to examine how to protect the future of papers, she also warned of the rise of untrustworthy news sources. The review will examine how digital advertising revenue ends up in the pockets of web giants such as Google and Facebook  at the expense of high-quality journalism.

Theresa May announced yesterday a major review into the future of the newspaper industry

Culture secretary Matt Hancock said the review will look at the 'sustainability of the national, regional and local Press' and how content creators can be rewarded for their work online

Mrs May said the panel would ask whether the creators of content are getting their fair share of advertisement revenue. It is expected to report next year.

New technology was having a profound impact on the free Press, which was one of the cornerstones of our public debate.

Good quality journalism provides us with the information and analysis we need to inform our viewpoints and conduct a genuine discussion. It is a huge force for good.

But Mrs May warned that more than 200 local newspapers had closed and even where papers survived, newsrooms had been hollowed out, raising fears about the sustainability of high-quality journalism. She added: A free Press is one of the foundations on which our democracy is built and it must be preserved.

Officials said the review will look at the role and impact of online platforms such as Facebook and Google on advertising revenue and how they use data about users news interests. It will also look at how to tackle so-called clickbait and low-quality news.

Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said: This review will look at the sustainability of the national, regional and local Press [and] how content creators are appropriately rewarded for their online creations.
A fisherman was forced to wait almost two days with a stingray barb stuck 5cm deep into his foot because hospital staff were too busy to operate.

Patrick Lawlor, from Anula, Darwin, stepped on the barb while crabbing on Saturday but was left in agony until Monday when doctors finally removed it.

The 28-year-old was told to fast for surgery before his operation at Royal Darwin Hospital was rescheduled twice, leaving him hungry, frustrated and fearing an infection.

'I was crabbing at Gunn Point when I stood on the barb,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'It was so painful that I couldn't walk.'

A fisherman was forced to wait three days with a stingray barb stuck 5cm deep into his foot because hospital staff were too busy to operate. Pictured: Patrick Lawlor with the barb stuck in his foot

Mr Lawlor (pictured with a friend) went to the nearest clinic in Palmerston but the GP 'freaked out a bit' and sent him to Royal Darwin Hospital

Mr Lawlor's friend then drove him to the nearest clinic in Palmerston but the GP 'freaked out a bit' and sent him to Royal Darwin Hospital.

There were not enough beds available so staff set one up for him in the plaster room where he was told to fast before surgery.

The 28-year-old, who hadn't eaten since breakfast, waited from 5pm to 10.30pm without food before being told his operation was rescheduled for Sunday.

After being moved into a room with another patient, he was woken up at 5.30am and told to fast for surgery.

It was not until 2am on Monday morning - after nearly a whole day without eating - that he was told his operation was rescheduled for later that day.

Mr Lawlor, who works as a horticulturalist for Darwin City Council, said: 'They made me fast for two days in a row but ended up telling me I couldn't have surgery late each night.

Left: The sting ray barb with an arrow showing how far it went into his foot. Right: The X-Ray

'They only fed me a sandwich for dinner and a small packet of rice bubbles for breakfast once.'

Mr Lawlor eventually had the operation at 9am on Monday. The barb was successfully removed from his foot but - after three days of waiting - the fisherman said his faith in Darwin's medical system was lost.

He said: 'I was frustrated and worried about getting an infection. Even after surgery I asked for a pillow to put under my foot and they said they didn't have any.'

A hospital spokesman said: 'While we acknowledge delays can be frustrating for our patients, our clinicians make decisions based on the needs of individual patients, some of whom are very sick.'

Mr Lawlor is now recovering at home, unable to walk for at least a week.
Demands that suffragettes be pardoned for breaking the law while fighting for womens right to vote triggered a fierce debate yesterday.

More than 1,300 women involved in the campaign were arrested in the early 20th century, and hundreds were jailed for arson, criminal damage and civil disobedience.

Yesterday, on the 100th anniversary of the passing of the 1918 Representation of the People Act which gave women the vote, the Fawcett Society said it would be a fitting tribute to pardon them this year.

But other feminist campaigners rejected the idea, saying it would undermine the sacrifices they made.

More than 1,300 women involved in the campaign were arrested in the early 20th century, and hundreds were jailed for arson, criminal damage and civil disobedience. Pictured: a suffragette is arrested by police in 1914

In a speech in Manchester yesterday, Theresa May hailed the suffragettes and the change in the law they brought about, which she called a huge and irreversible step towards creating a truly universal democracy. But she added that issuing pardons was not the best way to honour the women involved in the campaign.

Caroline Criado-Perez  who campaigned to get a woman put on the new 10 note  said pardoning suffragettes would whitewash the past. The women who broke the law in the battle for female suffrage did so knowingly. They were not unwitting victims, she wrote in the New Statesman. Women who had gone on hunger strike and endured the torture of force-feeding were awarded medals.

They were never seen by their sisters as criminals, but as warriors. Pardoning them now erases that and does them a disservice. They dont deserve to be whitewashed and made more palatable.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she would look at the calls but that it was complicated to issue pardons for serious crimes such as arson and violence.

Miss Rudd told Radio 4s Today: I have seen this campaign. I completely understand where its coming from. The extraordinary pained campaign, violence that these women went through in order to deliver the vote, which has been of such benefit to us for generations. So I will look at it, but it is complicated because, if youre going to give a legal pardon for things like arson and violence, its not as straightforward as people think it might be.

Prime Minister Theresa May is pictured with female members of both Houses of Parliament in the central lobby of the Palace of Westminster as they marked the anniversary

Female Labour MPs including Maria Eagle, Harriet Harman and Dianne Abbott are pictured as they celebrated the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage

Campaigners have pointed to the precedent of Turings Law, which pardoned thousands of gay men convicted of now-abolished sexual offences. But while suffragists used peaceful methods to achieve womens suffrage, the suffragettes employed militant and violent tactics.

Green MP Caroline Lucas said: Pardoning suffragettes now is a nice gesture, but I worry it erases their radicalism. They took direct action, they broke the law, because their cause couldnt be won by petitions and letters alone.

Remember them as rule breakers and dont allow their radical actions to be forgotten.

Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, which was named after suffragist Millicent Fawcett and which campaigns for womens rights, said: Suffragette activism was for a noble cause and many of them became political prisoners. It would be a fitting tribute to pardon them now. They made such sacrifices so we could all enjoy the rights we have today. They were not criminals.

Violence, arson, assault... and 1,300 arrests Emmeline (left), with her daughters Christabel (centre), and Sylvia Pankhurst, (right), pictured at Waterloo Station in 1911 The movement began peacefully when Millicent Fawcett founded the National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies in 1897, four years after New Zealand became the first country to give women the right to vote. But followers, including Emmeline Pankhurst, became impatient at its lack of progress, and founded the Womens Social and Political Union in 1903, with the motto Deeds Not Words. The Daily Mail coined the term suffragettes to distinguish Pankhursts militant followers from Fawcetts peaceful group. More than 1,300 women were arrested during their campaign, which included vandalism, arson attacks and assaulting politicians. Hundreds refused to pay fines, preferring to go to jail to highlight their cause. In 1909, Marion Wallace Dunlop became the first to go on hunger strike after she was imprisoned for wilful damage. Many other women adopted the tactic. The government ordered they be force-fed, a brutal practice which involved the woman being held down while a rubber tube was inserted down into her stomach, which often left them with permanent injuries and ill-health. Music hall star and militant suffragette Kitty Marion was force-fed 242 times during multiple jail terms. In 1913, Emily Wilding Davison was hailed as a martyr after she died when she threw herself in front of King George Vs horse at the Epsom Derby. Historians question whether she meant to die, and suggest that she may have been attempting to attach a Votes For Women scarf to the racehorse. The campaigns marches drew huge crowds, and one held in 1908 attracted more than 300,000 protesters. Not all women supported votes for women, and some actively campaigned against it. Queen Victoria had described the idea as a mad, wicked folly. In 1918 the law was changed to allow women over 30 to vote, if they owned property or were married to a homeowner. Advertisement

Mrs May added: What we want to ask is how should we best honour the suffragettes and recognise what they went through. And I think the best way we can do that is by ensuring we encourage more women to come into public life and more women in Parliament.

She also seemed to launch a thinly veiled swipe at her male ministers yesterday  suggesting they are too busy telling everyone what they think to listen to others. In a speech she said, for women, politics was more about listening and learning whereas for men it was about broadcasting their opinions.

The BBC turfed men out of the studio yesterday morning as it aired entirely female editions of the flagship Today and Breakfast programmes. The shows were anchored by female presenters and featured female guests only.

But while many welcomed the move, the corporation faced a backlash from men who complained that it was devoting too much airtime to womens issues.
Jeremy Corbyn yesterday announced that, if he becomes Prime Minister, he will issue an official apology and posthumous pardon to all convicted suffragettes.

Mr Corbyn isnt one for detail, but I would like to know if this will include those women who resorted to violence, who set fire to buildings, set off bombs and who physically attacked MPs, police and anyone else who opposed them.

Unfortunately, the temptation to jump on the bandwagon  and to signal ones virtue  seems to have extended to the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd. Taking part in Radio 4s Today programme celebration to mark 100 years since (some) women got the vote, she too seemed to think she could find a way of pardoning the imprisoned women.

But at least in her case, it was only those women who had got caught up in protests and who hadnt actually damaged anyone or anything.

Police officers are pictured restraining a demonstrator as suffragettes gathered outside Buckingham Palace in 1914

As I listened, I found myself wondering if this business of messing about with our past in the light of our present could get any crazier.

Dont get me wrong, last night I drank a toast to mark this centenary. Had I been around at the time of the suffragettes, Im sure that I would have been one of those who chained themselves to railings.

I hope, though, that I would have realised that Emmeline Pankhurst was nothing more than a militant rabble-rouser, and that Millicent Fawcett, the long-time suffragist who opposed violence, was the woman to follow. Certainly, most women at the time would have agreed with me. Mrs Fawcetts National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies had 100,000 members: Mrs Pankhursts Womens Social and Political Union had 10,000.

I believe that Fawcetts long and patient campaign educated public opinion, while the man-hating Pankhursts endorsement of violence lost the support of many men.

Mrs Fawcett believed that the cause of extending the franchise to women had to take account of the aspirations of five million working-class men denied the vote as well as middle-class women.

But Mrs Pankhurst was a snob, and her equally bigoted daughter Christabel was so extreme that she wrote in 1913 that men were little more than carriers of venereal disease.

Emmeline (left), with her daughters Christabel (centre), and Sylvia Pankhurst, (right), pictured at Waterloo Station in 1911

I was a feminist long before the term was hijacked by half-witted, ignorant, angry activists who want to send us back to the Victorian era when women needed smelling salts if anyone said anything we thought offensive.

And I was brought up in a proud feminist tradition. My father, born in 1909, was wheeled about in a pram from which he waved a flag with the legend Votes for women.

My mother, a scholarship child who worked for a living all her life, ground it into me that women should be economically independent.

At home, my brother was expected to help with the housework just as much as his sisters did.

An academic and a teacher respectively, in an Ireland where the dominant Roman Catholic Church liked women to be subservient and pregnant, my parents encouraged their female students to aspire and succeed.

All my life Ive sought to build on that and expand boundaries for women. But Ive believed in doing so through persuasion, not aggression.

I like men, and throughout my life they have helped and encouraged me, but they can be clumsy when it comes to womens concerns.

Emmeline Pankhurst addresses a crowd at Trafalgar Square in 1909. The Representation of the People Act 1918 gave some women over 30 the right to vote

I remember when the Conservatives in the late Sixties produced a policy document called Fair Shares For The Fair Sex which recommended the removal of discriminatory policies when it came to women applying for mortgages and hire purchase.

I was irritated by the patronising tone, but having read it and realised that a lot of good male Tories were fighting our cause and that the policies would improve our lives greatly, instead of being cross, I laughed at the title and men laughed with me.

But to return to Mr Corbyn and the campaigners who are pushing for a pardon for the suffragettes, this idea that we constantly have to apologise for past deeds is absurd.

Tony Blair started the rot. I cringed when, to curry favour with the IRA, he apologised for the Irish famine of the 1840s.

As far as Gerry Adams & Co were concerned  people who have justified every IRA atrocity theres ever been  the then prime minister had done nothing but show his weakness and give them ammunition for their campaign to have the famine classified as genocide. The famine was the result of a sequence of horrendous potato crop failures in overcrowded landholdings which the government of the day tried, but failed, to resolve  much as well-meaning governments still fail in famines all over the world today.

It was typical of Mr Blair to apologise with a quavering voice for something he hadnt done, while resolutely refusing to apologise for his own errors of judgment over matters such as lying over the reason we went to war in Iraq.

Jeremy Corbyn (left) announced that if he becomes PM he will issue posthumous pardons to suffragettes. Gordon Brown (right) pardoned soldiers shot for desertion during World War I

Then we had Gordon Brown taking it a stage further with pardons for all British soldiers shot for desertion during World War I, regardless of whether they were guilty of cowardice or unjustly condemned.

In 2013, the pardoning of the mathematical genius Alan Turing  to whom we owe so much for his work at Bletchley Park helping to decode Nazi messages during the war but who was persecuted for his homosexuality  was another politically correct and misguided interference with the past.

Three years later, we had the mass pardoning, under the so-called Turing Law, of gay and bisexual men punished for now abolished sexual offences.

Where do we go next? Pardon the 19th-century unfortunates hanged for sheep-stealing? Grovel to Nicola Sturgeon for forgiveness over Elizabeth I dispatching Mary Queen of Scots to the executioners block?

Cave into the mad demands of the Rhodes Must Fall campaign to tear down statues of historic figures we dont today approve of? Why cant we get it into our heads that its daft to judge the past by the standards of the present?

As our present Queen put it in 2011 in a speech during her stunningly successful state visit to Ireland, where the IRA had murdered her cousin and Prince Philips uncle, Lord Mountbatten: With the benefit of historical hindsight we can all see things which we would wish had been done differently or not at all.

A suffragette procession is pictured passing through Parliament Square in 1908. It was not until 1928 that men and women were given equal voting rights

Let us by all means explain to our children that were much kinder these days than we used to be, but in the same breath that theres nothing we can do about the past except try to be better.

At least sense has prevailed in the decision to honour Millicent Fawcett rather than Emmeline Pankhurst with a statue in Parliament Square.

I do, however, deeply regret that the authorities havent yet had the guts to put Margaret Thatcher there. There was a woman who fought her way up without fear or favour, and who proved by her words and deeds that she was the equal of any man.

She certainly would have scoffed at the idea of apologising for anything for which she was not responsible.

It is a shocking condemnation that she hasnt earned the honour she so richly deserves because she isnt the right kind of feminist, and would therefore be a target for violent bigots.

Building on what the suffragettes achieved and becoming the first British female prime minister  a woman who changed the world for the better, not least by helping finish off the Soviet Union  appears to count for naught.
Disabled prisoners have opened up about their horrific experiences behind bars, revealing they have been sexually abused and locked up in tiny cells for 22 hours a day.

People with disabilities make up almost 50 per cent of the prison population in Australia.

Nearly all the disabled prisoners spoken to for a Human Rights Watch report said they had been placed in solitary confinement, locked up in a small cell for up to 22 hours a day with no outside contact.

Disabled prisoners routinely face sexual and physical abuse in prisons, including being locked up in solitary confinement

People with disabilities make up almost 50 per cent of the prison population in Australia

A disabled prisoner who wished to be known as Pete said he was sexually abused and beaten by other inmates aged 14 while in a juvenile correction centre.

'It went from physical to mental to sexual, and that's where I think a lot of my dramas began because I had my self-esteem kicked out of me,' he told the ABC.

He said his intellectual disability, depression and anxiety made him a target.

'They tend to push you around a little bit more and think that you're just not a normal person.'

Pete said the abuse continued when he went to an adult prison aged 20.

'The times that I have been beaten up, there has been no assistance,' he said.

A West Australian prisoner said he was forced to wear a nappy because his wheelchair can't fit in the jail's bathroom or toilet.

'I have to wear a nappy every day. I don't feel like a man; I feel like my dignity is taken away,' he said.

An Aboriginal prisoner had the same issue and had to urinate into a bottle.

Human Rights Watch released a new report on Tuesday entitled 'I Needed Help, Instead I Was Punished' which details the conditions of prisoners with disabilities face in Australian jails.

Researchers interviewed 275 people including 136 current or recently released prisoners with disabilities from Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.

They were given unfettered access to 14 WA and Queensland prisons.

A disabled prisoner who wished to be known as Pete said he was sexually abused and beaten by other inmates aged 14 while in a juvenile correction centre

The report found prisoners with disabilities are often neglected because of staff shortages, a lack of training and resources.

'People with disabilities get lost in bigger prisons. If you're not screaming or kicking, and if your disability isn't visible, you're under the radar,' a WA prison psychiatric nurse was quoted in the report.

It also raises concerns about prisoners with disabilities being locked in solitary confinement as punishment for bad behaviour or after mental illness episodes.

In one case, researchers said a female prisoner with a disability was kept in a windowless, perpetually-lit, padded cell for an entire month.

One Queensland psychologist working on a prison program said it was ethically challenging to make decisions about solitary confinement.

'A (prisoner) is having suicidal thoughts and you stick them in a box with nothing but their thoughts.'

The report found prisoners with disabilities are often neglected because of staff shortages, a lack of training and resources

The report said there was evidence prisoners with disabilities were facing increased bullying, harassment, physical violence and sexual abuse.

'I was sexually assaulted (by other prisoners).... I know at least one of them raped me, but I kind of blacked out,' one prisoner with a cognitive disability told researchers.

Guards were sometimes the perpetrators of abuse, the report found.

'They catch you when you're working by yourself and touch your boobs, bum, or put a hand around your waist. Or they make stupid comments like, 'You've been here a while, you must be horny',' a female prisoner said.

Aboriginal people are over-represented in the Australian prison population and so too are indigenous people with disabilities.
Facebook is revealed to have hired a pollster to monitor the public perception of founder Mark Zuckerberg and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg.

Last year, Tavis McGinn was hired to fill the role that is similar to those held in political campaign, reported The Verge.

Facebook had recently acknowledged that Russia-linked groups had spent more than $100,000 on political advertising after initially discounting the possibility that fake news had contributed to Donald Trump's victory.

Zuckerberg had undertaken a nationwide listening tour meant to 'get a broader perspective' to inform how he runs Facebook.

'It was a very unusual role,' McGinn told the website.

'It was my job to do surveys and focus groups globally to understand why people like Mark Zuckerberg, whether they think they can trust him, and whether they've even heard of him. That's especially important outside of the United States.'

Facebook is revealed to have hired a pollster to monitor the public perception of founder Mark Zuckerberg (left) and chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg (right). Tavis McGinn was asked to track if people liked their speeches, interviews, and Facebook posts

Although, Facebook is not unique among tech companies in conducting surveys to gauge perceptions about its brand, it was unusual for the social media giant to hire a staff person whose sole job was to monitor perceptions of its CEO (Pictured, McGinn)

McGinn said he used several questions to track the public perception.

'Not just him in the abstract, but do people like Mark's speeches? Do they like his interviews with the press? Do people like his posts on Facebook? It's a bit like a political campaign, in the sense that you're constantly measuring how every piece of communication lands,' he said.

It went beyond simple 'thumbs-up' or 'thumbs-down' metrics, McGinn said. The research look at different topics he mentioned in his speeches and seeing what resonated with US audiences.

Aditionally, McGinn was assigned with conducting similar research on behalf of the company's chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg.

The surveys measured awareness about Sandberg, if she was liked and trusted, opinions on her speeches and her public image compared with Zuckerberg's.

McGinn declined to disclose the budget for the project, but described it as 'very, very expensive'.

Although, Facebook is not unique among tech companies in conducting surveys to gauge perceptions about its brand, it was unusual for the social media giant to hire a staff person whose sole job was to monitor perceptions of its CEO.

Because of nondisclosure agreements, McGinn is not allowed to discuss what the results of his polling found.

McGinn (pictured) said he he decided to leave the company after only six months after coming to believe that Facebook had a negative effect on the world

In a poll released by McGinn's company, Honest Data, 32 percent of Americans said Facebook was harmful among tech companies. Facebook, when placed among other large brands including Walmart, McDonald's, and Marlboro, found that 27 percent said it is harmful

However, he did reveal that he decided to leave the company after only six months after coming to believe that Facebook had a negative effect on the world.

After McGinn left Facebook, he founded a company called HonestData. In January, he posted the results of a poll asking 2,000 Americans what they thought of Facebook.

Among tech companies, 32 percent of Americans said Facebook is harmful. A separate survey, which placed Facebook among other large brands including Walmart, McDonald's, and Marlboro, found that 27 percent said it is harmful.

McGinn believes there are 'plenty of good people at Facebook trying to make a difference' and that the He doesn't believe the company has acted with bad intentions. But he does believe the company's priorities have had negative consequences.

'I think Facebook could have a really good impact on society,' McGinn says. 'I think a lot of what this comes down to is how a company chooses to measure success.'
The mother of murdered James Bulger said her son's killers were not punished but 'rewarded' for their horrifying crime.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were given new identities and granted lifelong anonymity once freed in 2001.

But while Denise Fergus saying she never wanted the boys jailed for the rest of their lives, the mother said said 'I've never had justice for James'.

Speaking to Sir Trevor McDonald in a new ITV documentary airing tomorrow night, Ms Fergus added: 'I did say that if they weren't punished properly, then they would go on to re-offend  and that's exactly what's happened.'

During the interview on ITV Mrs Fergus reveals previously unseen pictures of her child in happier times

It comes as Venables, now 36, was jailed for 40 months after police found he was caught with a catalogue of child sex images and a so-called 'paedophiles' manual'.

It is the second time Venables has been caught with child abuse material since he was freed from custody for James' murder.

Ms Fergus, who attended the hearing along with James's father Ralph Bulger, branded the sentence as a 'farce'.

And tomorrow night, ITV viewers will tomorrow night seethe mother discuss the crime that shocked the nation.

James Bulger: A Mother's Story With Trevor McDonald will also explore Ms Fergus' attempt to find justice and learning to forgive herself in an emotional interview with Trevor McDonald to mark the 25th anniversary of the toddler's death.

Denise Fergus has shared photos of herself and her son James, before he was tragically murdered

During the interview Mrs Fergus unveiled previously unseen photos of herself and her child prior to his brutal death.

The 50-year-old mother to three more sons said: 'What I want to do is turn something so negative, that happened to James, into something positive.'

But her appearance on ITV's James Bulger: A Mother's Story comes amid a wave of outrage following Channel 4's controversial documentary 'The Bulger Killers: Was Justice Done?' that aired on Monday night.

Writing on Twitter Mrs Fergus said: 'Just to let you know that even though footage was used of me on the Channel 4 programme, I had no part in it. My documentary is on Thursday on ITV with Sir Trevor McDonald.'

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson were just 10 years old when they brutally murdered the toddler in a crime that shocked Britain in February 1993.

The pair were Britain's youngest killers for 250 years and remain only two of six people with lifetime anonymity in the country.

In an interview marking the 25th anniversary of his death, Ms Fergus tells how she wants to cherish precious memories of her son and back a charity in his name

Ms Fergus hopes to send out a message of hope with James Bulger: A Mother's Story

The C4 documentary featured interviews with the killers' defence solicitors, prosecutors and journalists who covered the case - but many watching took exception to the suggestion the boys were too young to face trial at the age of 10.

Laurence Lee, Venables' solicitor, and Dominic Lloyd, who defended Thompson during the trial at Preston Crown Court, gave their opinions on the case on the show.

Mr Lloyd discussed his attempt to get the trial thrown out after he argued the boys could not have a fair trial because the jury had been prejudiced following media reports.

Ms Fergus' upcoming ITV special on James Bulger has been overshadowed by Channel 4's documentary accused of sympathising with the toddler's killers

James Bulger was abducted and taken to a railway line to be tortured by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson

The 1993 murder of James (pictured) led to an outpouring of public grief and shock

Mrs Fergus discussed her son's tragic death with Sir Trevor McDonald on the 25th anniversary of his death

Mrs Fergus visited the grave of her son with Sir Trevor McDonald for the ITV documentary

He said the boys would not have been prosecuted if they would have committed the crime a few months earlier because the age of criminality in England is 10.

Mr Lloyd said: 'If this offence happened a few months earlier it would not have been possible to prosecute Robert and Jon.

'They were just over the age where you can be prosecuted and I think in that type of case that has to be weighed down firmly in favour of rehabilitation.

'To do the contrary is to effectively condemn them to life at 10 years of age. Not something I'm comfortable with at all.'

Meanwhile, journalist Blake Morrison, who covered the trial for the New Yorker, spoke about his realisation the defendants were just 'two small boys'.

Jon Venables (left) and Robert Thompson (right) were just 10 years old when they carried out one of the most infamous murders in British criminal history

The haunting CCTV image shows James Bulger walking hand-in-hand in the Merseyside shopping centre with his killer

Police search the train track where James Bulger's body was found in 1993

He said: 'To look at them in the court room to hear them on tapes was to realise that they were small boys, however disturbed, they were small boys.

'It hardened my feelings that we should not be treating children in the same way we treat our adults and however we judge their crimes.

'We should not do it in the way it was done in the Bulger case.'

His comment led to anger from viewers who felt he was sympathising with the boys who tortured and killed the toddler after abducting him from the Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside.

Jamie Bulger, pictured, was killed 25 years ago next week. The tale of two 10-year-olds killing the two-year-old shocked the nation

The boys were convicted of brutally murdering two-year-old James after abducting him from a shopping centre in Bootle, Merseyside, in February 1993.

The judge described the murder as an act of 'unparalleled evil and brutality' and the two youngsters were both handed eight-year sentences.

But the programme was slammed by some viewers on Twitter who were perplexed some people on the show appeared to defend the boys.

Footage showed the boys being driven to court after they were charged with murdering James Bulger

Their arrests sparked outrage across the country and people tried to attack the van which was transporting the youngsters
MPs yesterday demanded an inquiry into a public car scheme for the disabled that is hoarding 2.4billion.

The Mail revealed yesterday that Motability had run up the huge surplus  and that its boss was on 1.7million a year, or 11 times the Prime Ministers salary.

Peers and MPs expressed astonishment at the massive pay, perks and luxury lifestyles of the charitable schemes chiefs.

Chair of the Public Accounts Committee Meg Hillier expressed surprise at the level of salaries inside the Motability organisation which provides adapted cars for disabled people

Motability provides specially adapted cars for disabled people, file photograph

The Department of Work and Pensions was accused of losing control over the non-profit firm, which arranges cars for wheelchair users and others in return for their disability allowances.

Meg Hillier, who chairs the Commons public accounts committee, yesterday promised to summon the ministrys top civil servant as soon as possible.

This is all taxpayers money, money given to benefits recipients, and its funding salaries of this scale  its unbelievable, said the Labour MP. Its making a bit of a joke of government oversight when, once again, an organisation is getting away with huge, telephone-number salaries.

The DWP, which pays around 2billion a year to Motability, is said to have been rocked by the revelations.

They were absolutely desperate to shift it away from them, a source claimed. They went straight to the Charity Commission to say You deal with this.

The Charity Commission later released a statement saying it had warned Motability about its finances.

The Mails investigation showed that chief executive Mike Bettss pay and perks have soared in his ten years at the helm. The 55-year-old owns a 5million apartment overlooking Tower Bridge and takes Caribbean holidays.

Motability insists the 2.4billion surplus is a necessary buffer against risks such as changes in car prices. It says its executives are the best in the business and deserve their high pay, which consists mainly of bonuses for high performance.
A young woman is missing after swimming into the ocean in the middle of the night in search for a missing backpack.

The woman vanished after she was seen heading into the water at 12.15am on Wednesday at Belongil Beach, in Byron Bay on the New South Wales north coast.

The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter and Marine Rescue were called in, but couldn't find any trace of the woman, believed to be in her 20s.

A young woman is missing after swimming into the ocean in the middle of the night in search for a missing backpack The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter (pictrued) was called in

She was seen heading into the water at 12.15am on Wednesday at Belongil Beach (file image)

'An extensive search was carried out using night vision goggles and the aircraft search light,' the rescue helicopter organisation said.

'The swimmer was last seen near rocks adjacent the main Byron Beach beach carpark.

'Nothing was found of the swimmer and Police are investigating further into the last known location of the swimmer.'

The search was suspended about 8.30am with no sightings, but investigations were ongoing, police said.

'At this time, no missing persons reports have been received,' a NSW Police statement read.

'The woman is believed to be aged in her 20's with long dark hair. Anyone with any information is being urged to contact Police or Crime Stoppers.'
An elite Christian girls school has welcomed its first transgender student, dividing parents' opinions.

The Glennie School sent an email to parents at the weekend, informing them that a young girl had joined the middle senior years who was 'born into a boy's body'.

The parents of the young girl supported the Toowoomba school's, 124km west of Brisbane, decision to alert the community after rumours arose.

An elite Christian girl school (pictured) has welcomed its first transgender student, dividing parent's opinions

Glennie School principal Kim Cohen said she was unsure how the community would respond

Hundreds of people took to social media sharing opinions towards the controversial decision

'What a beautiful story of respect and acceptance,' one person wrote online (pictured)

'Our daughter was born in a body that does not match her identity,' the parents said according to 7 News.

The Glennie School principal Kim Cohen said the community had mainly supported the decision as she received 80 positive emails and one 'critical' email.

'This is not a new issue for school principals, but it is heartening to see Glennie's core values of compassion, respect, integrity and courage manifest themselves in such kind words and actions,' Ms Cohen said.

'In taking this decision we have remained focused on the best interests of the child and the greater school community and the public response has been overwhelmingly positive.'

Hundreds of people took to social media sharing their opinions towards the controversial decision.

'Born a boy always a boy,' one person wrote.

'Feel sorry for those parents that wanted an all girl school for their daughter(s),' one wrote.

'We had our heart set on Glennie ... but now seeking alternatives,' someone shared.

Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia girl schools were generally free from gender bias and stereotypes.

'Feel sorry for those parents that wanted an all girl school for their daughter(s),' one wrote

Alliance of Girls' Schools Australasia spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia girl schools were generally free from gender bias and stereotypes

People shared support for the school's decision, calling it 'progressive' and a 'powerful' move

'Many girls' schools have had transgender students enrolled and each considers very carefully what will be best for the student and the school community,' she said.

'Girls' schools have been discussing this issue, sharing best practices and making sure that, in partnership with the student, the family and professionals, they are doing all they can to support the students in their care who might be struggling with trans or gender identity issues to ensure that they feel happy, welcome and accepted at school.'

Many people shared their support towards the school's decision, calling it 'progressive' and a 'powerful' move.

'Hats off to Glennie for giving this girl the chance to shine and be all that she can be,' one parent wrote to The Glennie School.

'We welcome you to the Glennie community with open arms. It is wonderful news to hear you have joined The Glennie School. WELCOME,' another wrote.

'What a beautiful story of respect and acceptance,' one person wrote online.

'You don't feel what this child feels or know what it's like living in their shoes so pipe down and let them live their life. Good on this principal and school for being accepting,' another shared online.
Mark Carne, head of Network Rail has announced he is standing down from his 820,000-a-year job after announcing his retirement yesterday

The fat-cat boss of Network Rail  Britains highest-paid public servant  announced his retirement yesterday at the age of 58.

Mark Carne, who takes home 820,000 a year, had become a lightning rod for criticism over excessive public sector pay.

Network Rail is now facing demands from Whitehall to slash the pay of his successor.

Last night a Whitehall source dismissed reports that the Government had pressured Mr Carne to move aside after four years in his post, after becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress of major engineering projects under his watch  not to mention his bumper pay package.

The former Shell oil executives pay was more than five times the prime ministers salary. The second most highly paid civil servant  HS2 boss Mark Thurston  is paid around 170,000 a year less. Mr Carnes basic salary of 675,000 when he joined in 2014 was also 100,000 more than given to his predecessor Sir David Higgins.

The next chief executives pay package must be signed off by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss. Despite yesterday praising Mr Carne for doing an excellent job, Mr Grayling has publicly criticised Network Rail for failing to improve efficiency.

Mr Carne said: I will leave knowing the railway is in good hands and has a great plan for the future.
A woman and her two children were forced to evacuate their home in western Sydney after a man jumped on to her roof and began ripping tiles off on Tuesday night.

Police were called to a home on Cook Road in Oakhurst about 11.45pm after reports a man had barricaded himself in a room.

Smoke soon began to emerge from the room, and the family who lived there were forced to evacuate.

The 26-year-old man was then seen on the roof of a neighbouring home, armed with a knife.

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A man wielding a large knife 'tore tiles off the roof and pulled a chimney apart' as he tried to evade police in western Sydney on Tuesday night

A huge emergency services presence was on scene to help get the man off Ms Muller's roof

Brittany Lee Muller (pictured) had to flee her home with her two young children after the 26-year-old man jumped on to her roof on Tuesday night and began tearing it apart

Brittany Lee Muller, 20, told Daily Mail Australia she was nearly asleep when she heard her dog barking, and got out of bed to see a man 'sitting on my fence with a huge knife'.

'When the cops showed up he jumped straight on the roof and was up there for a good hour and a half, throwing tiles at the cops and ripping of the top of my chimney,' she said.

'They had to evacuate us because it got too dangerous for us to be inside as I had my kids here too.

'We were very shaken up. I told my four-year-old someone was fixing the roof so he wasn't scared, but my 18-month-old is too young to understand.

'We drove to my mums around the corner until it was over.'

When Ms Muller returned home, the man was being loaded into an ambulance.

About an hour into the siege, the man had jumped off the roof and was arrested.

Ms Muller said the man lives just two doors down from her and her young family. Before climbing on to her roof, the woman claims he lit his own home on fire.

Ms Muller said her antenna was torn off the roof (pictured). In the background is the 26-year-old man's home, which he allegedly set on fire before fleeing to her roof

Pictured: Two parts of Ms Muller's chimney, which she alleges was torn into three parts by the 26-year-old man

The man, 26, climbed on to the roof after barricading himself in the bedroom of the home next door and setting it alight

The woman said tiles were ripped off her roof (right) and her chimney was torn into three parts (one part pictured left) but 'overall [the damage] is not too bad'

He was taken to Nepean Hospital under police guard, and will undergo a mental health assessment.

A spokesperson for NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia after he is assessed, he will be released into police custody and 'legal action may be taken'.

The bedroom in the first home, which was set on fire, was left moderately damaged after the blaze was extinguished.

Ms Muller says a 'fair few' tiles are missing from her roof, and the antenna has been ripped off.

'He pulled the top of our chimney off into three pieces, but overall it's not too bad,' she said.

NSW Police are still investigating the incident, and urge anyone with information to contact CrimeStoppers on 1800 333 000.

Firefighters worked to put out the fire in the bedroom of a Cook Road Oakhurst
GPs have been told to use a pricier but more effective flu jab to prevent a repeat of this winters epidemic.

The outbreak  the worst in seven years  was exacerbated as doctors had been strongly encouraged by health trusts to give patients a cheaper vaccine.

This prevented three main strains of flu, despite the availability of a jab that offered protection against four but which was 50 per cent more expensive.

The fourth strain became one of the most widespread this winter, which has affected millions.

GPs have been told to use a pricier but more effective flu jab to prevent a repeat of this winters epidemic

It comes amid reports of crisis conditions at NHS hospitals, with the number of confirmed deaths recorded in January from all causes so far reaching 55,964  almost 13 per cent above average.

According to the Office for National Statistics the majority of deaths were among the elderly, although it will be months before it is confirmed how many succumbed to flu.

Now NHS England and Public Health England have told doctors and pharmacists to ensure that they use the four-strain vaccine to ensure patients get gold standard protection next winter.

The four-strain quadrivalent vaccine costs 8 per dose compared to 5.25 for the three-strain trivalent jab.

The outbreak has been blamed for putting a huge strain on the NHS since the autumn, with experts suggesting the more effective jabs could have prevented hundreds of hospital admissions.

Health officials have now said those aged 18-64 and at risk should routinely get the four-strain jab next winter, which protects against two strains of influenza A and two strains of influenza B.

The four-strain quadrivalent vaccine costs 8 per dose compared to 5.25 for the three-strain trivalent jab

It comes after they admitted the current flu jab is ineffective for over-75s and ordered GPs to switch to a new version called Fluad.

Children aged two to eight will continue to be offered a special nasal spray which protects against four strains of flu.

Last night Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said: Were pleased that we now have definitive guidance from NHS England, and we hope this will build confidence among patients and encourage greater take-up, particularly for those in at-risk groups.

NHS England said suppliers have confirmed that there will be enough influenza vaccine to meet demand.
A homeless California man killed his wife, dismembered her body and carried it aboard a train in a suitcase before lighting her remains on fire in a parking lot, police have said.

Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Justin Eisenberg said Tuesday that investigators believe Valentino Gutierrez, 56, killed his wife last week in an abandoned restaurant in Pasadena and stuffed her remains into a large suitcase.

He says Gutierrez then boarded a light-rail train and after exiting the train, rode his bicycle with the suitcase in tow to the parking lot of a Home Depot store in the Cypress Park neighborhood, where he set it ablaze.

Los Angeles Police Deputy Chief Justin Eisenberg said Tuesday that investigators believe Valentino Gutierrez killed his wife last week in an abandoned restaurant in Pasadena and stuffed her remains into a large suitcase

Coroner's officials have been unable to identify the burned remains, or confirm whether the person is a man or a woman.

But police believe the victim is Gutierrez's 31-year-old wife, Tiana Alfred.

Los Angeles County prosecutors have now charged Valentino Gutierrez with murder and arson.

Prosecutors believe the killing occurred on January 31 inside the restaurant.

The person's body was found early the next morning after firefighters were called to a trash fire outside the home improvement store in Los Angeles.

After firefighters extinguished the blaze, they found the remains.

Gutierrez was awaiting arraignment yesterday afternoon and prosecutors are seeking $2.1 million bail.

Police say investigators used security video to retrace the alleged killer's steps from where the body was found burning to a crime scene several miles away in Pasadena.

Officials say the footage shows the man with a large rolling suitcase on a commuter train.
Bob Katter is the latest public figure to throw his support behind the Crocodile Dundee sequel becoming a real movie - but only if he stars in it.

The maverick Federal Senator claimed to audition to play the Prime Minister in the fake trailer until he was pipped at the post by Hugh Jackman.

'They asked me to audition... I turned up and belted out an excellent rendition of Barnacle Bill the Sailor,' he said via Katter's Australia Party's Facebook.

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Bob Katter is the latest public figure to throw his support behind the Crocodile Dundee sequel becoming a real movie - but only if he stars in it

The maverick federal senator claimed to audition to play the Prime Minister in the fake trailer until he was pipped at the post by Hugh Jackman

'Anyone who has heard me sing knows it is similar to the sound of angels weeping.

'Then some guy called Hugh Jackman showed up and started tap dancing, which is just absurd, I've never known a tap dancing Prime Minister. They gave him the role.'

Senator Katter then joked he could have guided Mick Dundee's fictional son Brian on his journey through Australia instead of Chris Hemsworth.

'I know they wanted me to audition for the part of Wally Jr., but I didn't want to embarrass Chris Hemsworth,' he said.

'I'm obviously far better looking than him.'

Senator Katter then joked he could have guided Mick Dundee's fictional son Brian on his journey through Australia instead of Chris Hemsworth but didn't want to 'embarrass' him

The North Queensland MP later doubled down, claiming he could help lure Hollywood A-listers to the film with his international star power.

'[Hemsworth] should speak to psychologists about working with me because I think he will feel very humbled by that,' he told the Townsville Bulletin.

'I don't want him feel out of his depth with me.'

Senator Katter also offered to help with casting, with a hefty fee to be donated to his local rugby league team, and ring in some of the 'tough blokes' he knew from 'the pub'.

However, the film would need to be shot in his home state, which had the advantage of 'spectacular locations' and plenty of crocodiles.

'The Queensland Government has organised for one of us to be eaten by a crocodile every three months so the film can show the real thing,' he said.

Rumours of a possible fourth Crocodile Dundee film began swirling after Tourism Australia's hilarious 'commercial' aired during the Super Bowl on Monday

In the trailer, Danny McBride (right) stars opposite Chris Hemsworth (left) as the US born son of Mick Dundee

His son, state MP Robbie Katter, said many in his area had a 'special affinity' with Mick Dundee, who 'wouldn't pause for a headcount' if he saw a crocodile.

'He's a knockabout bloke who doesn't pander to political correctness and possesses a strong set of Aussie values,' he said.

The Katters joined a strong chorus calling for the Tourism Australia ad, shown at the Superbowl and in several online teasers, to be made into a real film.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk threw her support behind the film and spruiked her state's film credentials and funding.

More than 5000 people have already signed an NT News #BringBackDundee petition to get the film made for real

'What day do I start shooting?' Judd Apatow says a Dundee movie starring Chris Hemsworth can 'still happen' as he expresses interest in directing the project

Hemsworth was also keen and already checking his shooting schedule to see when he could fit production in, as long as there was a 'great script'.

'Hearing such a positive response from a fan point of view, I would definitely be open to it,' he said.

The potential film already has a willing director, with The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up helmsman Judd Apatow putting his hand up.

'It can still happen. Dundee came to America. Now he has a kid he didnt know about. What day do I start shooting?' he wrote on Twitter.

However, original Mick Dundee actor Paul Hogan believes the franchise had run its course

More than 5000 people have already signed an NT News #BringBackDundee petition to get the film made for real.

'The Northern Territory wants it, Australia wants it, the world wants it. Stop teasing us and make it happen!' it read.

However, one very important piece of the puzzle was not on board as original Mick Dundee actor Paul Hogan believed the franchise had run its course.

'The first one was the most successful independent film ever made. 'The second one did huge business, but the third one sort of died, he said on the Today show.

'I thought the third one was flogging a dead horse so I don't think I will be pushing for a fourth one.'
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Beijing's militarisation of the South China Sea has been revealed in new aerial photos obtained by a newspaper in the Philippines.

In what the news organisation described as an 'unrestrained' show of power China has apparently transformed seven reefs in the Spratly islands into military island fortresses featuring runways and observation towers.

The dramatic military build-up is shown in pictures taken from a height of 1,500m (4,920 feet) in the last six months of 2017, according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

One of the fortresses is situated on Panganiban, a reef which a United Nations-backed court has previously ruled belongs to the Philippines, it is reported.

Beijing's militarisation of the South China Sea has been revealed in new photos obtained by a newspaper in the Philippines

In what was described as an 'unrestrained' show of power China has apparently transformed seven reefs in the Spratly islands into military island fortresses

The military build-up has emerged in pictures taken from 1,500m in the second half of 2017, according to a Filipino paper

China's continued reclamation in the South China Sea has eroded trust among rival claimants and could raise regional tensions, Southeast Asian foreign ministers said on Tuesday

One of the fortresses is situated on Panganiban, a reef which a United Nations-backed court has previously ruled belongs to the Philippines, it is reported. Pictured: a Chinese missile frigate

The pictures show a variety of military installations including missile frigates, observation towers and concrete helipads.

China's continued reclamation in the South China Sea has eroded trust among rival claimants and could raise regional tensions, Southeast Asian foreign ministers said on Tuesday.

Beijing claims nearly all of the waterway and has been turning reefs and islets into islands and installing military facilities such as runways and equipment on them.

ASEAN members Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Vietnam as well as Taiwan also have partial claims in the waterway.

On the three largest reefs, Kagitingan, Panganiban and Zamora, runways appeared to be ready to receive military aircraft.

China had in December defended its construction on disputed islands as 'normal' after a US think tank released new satellite images showing the deployment of radar and other equipment.

The military expansion also ties into a broader Chinese initiative, called One Belt One Road.

The vast infrastructure project, launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is set to build a 'new Silk Road' of ports, railways and roads to expand trade across an arc of countries through Asia, Africa and Europe.

The Spratly islands is an archipelago that lies off the coasts of the Philippines, Malaysia, and southern Vietnam in the South China Sea. The three largest reefs Kagitingan (Fiery Cross), Panganiban (Mischief) and Zamora (Subi) runways now appear to be ready to receive military aircraft

Beijing claims nearly all of the waterway and has been turning reefs and islets into islands and installing military facilities such as runways and equipment on them, such as this radome on Panganiban Reef

China had in December defended its construction on disputed islands as 'normal' after a US think tank released new satellite images showing the deployment of radar and other equipment

The lagoon at Panganiban Reef was among the images in the images made available by a newspaper in the Philippines

The military expansion also ties into a broader Chinese initiative, called One Belt One Road, launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping to expand trade

Chinese naval and coast guard ships including a Nanyun-class replenishment ship were among the military installations pictured

An observation tower, hanger, concrete runway and weather radar are visible on Kagitingan Reef

The military installations on Mabini Reef include observation powers, a concrete helipad and a pair of wind turbines

Military ships have been pictured at Zamora Reef, including a frigate equipped with a primary surface strike weapon

At Panganiban Reef there were troop transport ships pictured as well as an amphibious Chinese transport dock

A Chinese coast guard vessel, three cargo vessels and 15 fishing vessels were visible in the pictures at Zamora Reef

A Chinese coast guard vessel was very clearly visible in the newly revealed pictures at Zamora Reef in the South China Sea

On Kagitingan Reef there were observation towers, radomes, a lighthouse and a 3.1km (1.9 mile) concrete runway
Alyssa Salgado, 19, said she left her 2-year-old daughter, Lilayiah, at the daycare center at the Boys & Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties on Thursday

Two mothers have filed police complaints against a Washington state Boys & Girls Club after claiming their toddler's eyebrows were waxed while they were attending the club's daycare.

Alyssa Salgado, 19, said she left her 2-year-old daughter, Lilayiah, at the daycare center at the Boys & Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties in Pasco on Thursday morning, the Tri-City Herald reports.

After picking her daughter up, Salgado noticed that her toddler had red skin between her eyebrows and appeared to have fewer eyebrow hairs than when she dropped her off.

The concerned mother wrote a Facebook post on February 2 about the ordeal that has been shared more than 20,000 times.

It reads in part: 'I take my daughter to the CBC Daycare to be cared for while I'm at school trying to focus on graduating!

'Then I go pick up my daughter yesterday and saw a red mark in between her eye brows I think it's a scratch but as soon as a get home I get a closer look these WOMEN decided to WAX MY DAUGHTERS uni brow.

'I immediately started to contact the director of the day care in many texts she tried to come up with multiple excuses then this morning I take my daughter in person to the director.

Salgado says her toddler had red skin between her eyebrows and fewer eyebrow hairs than when she had been dropped off. She is alleging daycare center workers waxed her daughter's unibrow

Glenda Marie Cruz says her son (pictured) suffered a similar fate at the hands of the daycare center, which is run out of a 270-student alternative high school called New Horizons High School

'She laughs in my face telling me a bunch of lies and I do get upset!!!

'I AM A MOTHER NOTHING LIKE THIS SHOULD EVER HAPPEN AND THEY HAD NO RIGHT TO TOUCH MY DAUGHTER AT ALL.'

Another woman, Glenda Maria Cruz, also posted on Facebook on the same day that her son appeared to have had his eyebrows waxed while he was in the daycare center.

'Their skin is really delicate and no lady has the right to do this to any kid and when we went to [confront] the leady who is in charge there all she said was that she talked to her staff and they all say the didn't do it and then she asked me what I wanted with a smile on her face and then told me that no one is forcing me to bring my son [to] CBC daycare,' Cruz's post reads in part.

'He's just a baby he can't defend himself he's not even 2 yet and I'm at a point right now that I feel like a bad mom because I can't protect him when he needs me the most.'

Both Cruz (pictured) and Salgado have filed police complaints about the alleged waxing

The mothers have filed a police complaint about the ordeal with the Pasco Police Department, NBC Right Now reports.

The daycare is run out of a 270-student alternative high school called New Horizons High School. Both Salgado and Cruz are students at the school.

Salgado told the Tri-City Herald that she has not attended school since the incident because she has no other means of childcare for her daughter and does not trust the center. Cruz has also taken her son out of the daycare.

She also received a doctor's note that reads in part: 'On exam, Lilayiah has a patch of hair lost between her eyebrows,' WLTX reports.

In a February 5 statement, the Boys & Girls Club said, per NBC Right Now: 'The Boys & Girls Club of Benton and Franklin Counties is investigating a parent complaint at our childcare center operated for the Pasco School District at Columbia Basin College.

'In addition, the Washington State Department of Early Learning, the licensing agency for childcare centers, will be doing its own investigation beginning Monday at the childcare center.

The Boys & Girls Club takes these allegations seriously and will work to support the investigation process. The Boys & Girls Club is committed to operating safe and supportive programs to serve the youth of our community, and has been recognized for providing quality programs serving youth of all ages.'

Both the Boys & Girls Club and the Washington Department of Early Learning are investigating the alleged waxing.
Four people connected to a children's performing arts school west of Sydney were allegedly involved in the repeated rape and abuse of three young boys - some of which was filmed - court documents show.

The alleged abuse of the children, who were all aged under eight at the time, reportedly included sadistic sex acts and 'blood rituals'.

Some, possibly all, of the accused are related to the victims, although it's unclear how many.

The group is collectively facing 69 charges, including kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault of a child under 10 in company and using a child under 14 to make child abuse material.

Four people connected to a children's performing arts school west of Sydney were allegedly involved in the repeated rape and abuse of three young boys

Three women - aged 26, 29 and 58 - and a 52-year-old man were arrested on Monday after a long investigation.

According to the court documents, the 29-year-old and 58-year-old woman are accused of each having sexual intercourse with two boys without consent.

The younger woman is also alleged to have incited the boys to have sex with each other.

A source involved in the investigation told The Daily Telegraph the allegations were 'the most disturbing things I've read in my 24 years in this job'.

The school's 58-year-old owner, her brother, 52, and two daughters, 29 and 26, allegedly carried out the abuse at the facility's warehouse base, the paper reported.

But the lawyer for the four oldest accused claims there's 'another side to this story' and they deny all of the charges.

According to the court documents, the 29-year-old and 58-year-old woman (pictured) are accused of each having sexual intercourse with two boys without consent

A 17-year-old girl, an 18-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman were also arrested.

The four were involved in the school which catered for children with and without disabilities.

Some of the accused have already entered pleas of not guilty following brief mentions at Penrith Local Court on Tuesday.

Four of them are expected to apply for bail next week.

Lawyer Bryan Wrench told the court the alleged offenders said 'we did not do this' and added 'there is another side to this story'.

A shed at the performing arts school at the centre of the child abuse allegations is pictured

'They've always been ready to meet with police and we hope to get them bail,' Mr Wrench said outside court.

Two of the three accused, who had their matters mentioned in children's courts, didn't apply for bail and it was formally refused.

They're next due back in court on March 20.

The arrests were part of Strikeforce Baillieu which was launched in July to investigate reports of sexual and physical abuse of three boys.

This photo gives a look inside the performing arts school

The 29-year-old accused worked in theatre, television and burlesque, according to her online profiles.

She recently took to social media calling for a music teacher to cover a class, with the requirement of a Working With Children Check.

'Looking for someone to cover a five to eight-year-old music class for two weeks in February. Must have WWCC and insurance,' she wrote.

Earlier, the woman spoke of her challenges in 2017 and her optimism for the future.

The 29-year-old accused recently took to social media calling for a teacher to cover a class, with the requirement of a Working With Children Check

'Lots of ups and downs this year. I did a bunch of stuff I'd wanted to do for a long time,' she wrote.

'But this year has also included some of the worst, most challenging days of my life. Ready for 2018 now.'

Her social media pages reveal her love of the limelight, with countless photos showing her performing on stage wearing extravagant outfits and makeup.

In other posts, she has expressed her support for Manus Island refugees and advocated marriage equality.
Shocking footage of a group of teenagers bashing another boy and stomping on his head sparked outrage online.

Filmed on February 1 in Morayfield, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, the Snapchat video shows a group of teenagers in school uniform attacking a boy in shorts.

Queensland Police said a 13-year-old boy was dealt with under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act, but there was more to the story.

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Shocking footage of a group of teenagers bashing another boy (pictured) and stomping on his head sparked outrage online

Police said they identified two males in a suspected stolen car as 'persons of interest' but when they approached on foot the vehicle attempted to escape.

The car allegedly drove onto the footpath and a police officer was injured while trying to open the door.

Two students aged 14 and 15 were struck after the car accelerated, and the 15-year-old suffered a broken wrist.

The injured officer was treated at Caboolture Hospital, and the 14-year-old did not need medical treatment.

A 15-year-old passenger in the suspected stolen car, a male from Narangba, was arrested after being apprehended by the group of teenagers in the video.

Filmed on February 1 in Morayfield, on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, the video shows a group of teenagers in school uniform attacking a boy in shorts (pictured)

He was charged with four counts of enter premises with intent to commit an indictable offence, two counts each of enter premises and commit indictable offence, stealing and unlawful use of a motor vehicle and one count of trespass.

The driver is still at large, and a 13-year-old who helped apprehend the passenger was spoken to in relation to the use of excessive force.

The mother of the boy in the video has slammed the teens who made the citizen's arrest, saying they should have let the police do their job.

'They could have just let him run, the police would have got him eventually,' the teenager's mother told Seven News.

'Later on down the track there would have been fingerprints in the car, these guys aren't heroes, they could have killed my son and they need to learn that.'
A photographer who mysteriously vanished has revealed he crashed a luxury car searching for a shoot location in the wilderness before being bitten by a deadly snake and struggling through extreme temperatures.

Jon Baxter, a Gold Coast local, disappeared in early January sparking concerns and a mass search from family and emergency services.

The 26-year-old was scouting areas for an upcoming project in remote New South Wales when he lost control of his Audi, sending him in search of helping in 40 degree heat.

'I was going around a corner and lost control. I didn't roll or anything but I wrote my car off and I had no phone reception so I needed to find a house,' Jon told the Gold Coast Bulletin.

Jon Baxter, a Gold Coast local, disappeared in early January sparking concerns and a mass search from family and emergency services

The 26-year-old was scouting areas for an upcoming project when he lost control of his Audi, sending him in search of helping in 40 degree heat

Jon, a Burleigh Heads resident, had told friends he was going for a haircut on January 9th. It turned out to be the last time for 48 hours anyone heard from him.

He had instead driven around 300 kilometres to Tenterfield in northern NSW, when his car spun out in an area with no phone reception.

'I was thirsty. I'd been driving all day, looking at locations and then walking and at the time it was like 39C,' Jon said.

'I went into the bush to find water and found a creek, but the water turned out to be stagnant, so that started affecting me as well. I was doing my best to tap into my Bear Grylls skills but that didn't really work.'

He decided to climb up a tree for safety, as darkness swept over the sky, and planned to continue his journey the next day.

Jon, a Burleigh Heads resident, had told friends he was going for a haircut on January 9th. It turned out to be the last time for 48 hours anyone had heard from him

It was Wednesday when things got particularly dire. A severely dehydrated Jon stumbled upon another creek, but while drinking from it he encountered an unwanted and potentially deadly creature.

'That's when I get bitten by the snake. I saw it was a red belly black snake. When it's on your hand you can see it pretty good,' he said.

'I knew to stay calm and wrap it up to not let the poison go through my body, but I felt it (the venom) straight away go through my hands.

The snake bit him on his pinky finger, so he was able to use the draw string from his pants to subdue the venom.

Jon's photography company Jaen Collective posted an image of their founder on January 11, confirming he had been found and was recovering in hospital

Time was now a real concern as Jon's health worsened. He noticed a nearby paddock with cows grazing and thought he could get someone's attention if he spooked them.

'I spotted a farmer who was doing excavating. I see him come through the field and he called for help,' he said.

'Another two farmers came out and they took me to an airlifting spot and I got flown out to Lismore Hospital.'

Jon's photography company Jaen Collective posted an image of their founder on January 11, confirming he had been found and was recovering in hospital.

'*ATTENTION* Jon Baxter HAS BEEN FOUND! Thank you to everyone that has helped us during this time. MUCH LOVE ' the post read.

He says he has been 'humbled' by the concern the public showed for his safety and has written back to everyone who wished him well.
A desperate search is underway for a missing Queensland teenager who disappeared Tuesday.

The 13-year-old girl was last seen in Redland City's Alexandra Hills, south east of Brisbane, in the morning.

The young woman, described to be about 165cm tall with brunette hair, brown eyes and a slim build, has not made contact with family.

A desperate search is underway for a 13-year-old girl (pictured) from Queensland, who was last seen Tuesday

Police are unaware of what clothing she could be wearing and are seeking any information regarding her whereabouts.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or Policelink on 131 444.
Autopsy results: US Border Patrol agent Rogelio Martinez found mortally injured beside a West Texas highway in November died of 'blunt force trauma' to his head, according to an autopsy report

US Border Patrol agent Rogelio Martinez found mortally injured beside a West Texas highway died of 'blunt force trauma' to his head caused by an 'undetermined manner of death', according to an autopsy report.

The report shed little new light on what caused Martinez's head injuries, which has prompted the victim's fiancee to publicly accuse the government of a cover-up.

The 36-year-old agent had multiple bone fractures when he and the other agent were both found hurt on November 18, 2017, in a culvert beside Interstate 10 near Van Horn, Texas.

Dr. Janice Diaz-Cavalliery, assistant El Paso County medical examiner, found that Martinez had a skull fracture, a fractured eye socket, multiple rib fractures and a broken collarbone, according to the 11-page report released on Tuesday night. She found brain hemorrhaging but no other internal injuries.

A barbiturate called Butalbital - often found in drugs combined with aspirin, codeine or caffeine - was in Martinez's system, Diaz-Cavalliery found.

'Signs noted following its administration include drowsiness, sedation and ataxia,' she wrote. Ataxia is an inability to coordinate movements.

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Mystery death: The report shed little new light on what caused Martinez's head injuries, describing his manner of death as 'undetermined.' Pictured: Agent Martinez's funeral procession in El Paso

Martinez was on found November 18 in a culvert along with his seriously injured partner in a rugged area near Van Horn, Texas. He had a skull fracture, a fractured eye socket, multiple rib fractures and a broken collarbone

In an interview with the station KTSM on Tuesday night, Martinez's fiancee, Angie Ochoa, called into question the autopsy's findings, particularly the part concerning the barbiturate allegedly detected in the agent's blood.

'They found Butalbital in his system and when the FBI questioned me about it, I made it very clear to them that Roger would not even take Ibuprofen or Aspirin,' she said.

Ochoa went even farther when addressing the autopsy in a Facebook post early Wednesday morning.

'I'm well aware who I'm going up against after this bulls**t report but I'm not going to sit here with my arms crossed anymore,' the woman wrote. '[Don't tell me to be careful with my words because it's what I've been doing for the last 2 1/2 months. I'm just stating the obvious! And I'm not going stop after this!'

Responding to a supporter's comment, Ochoa suggested that Martinez and his partner could not call for help because of poor reception and accused government officials of hiding the truth because 'they just want to "build a wall."'

Martinez's partner, who had suffered similar injuries, radioed for help while the two were investigating a report of activity outside of Van Horn, about 110 miles of El Paso and about 30 miles from the border with Mexico.

Conspiracy theory: Martinez's fiancee, Angie Ochoa (left), called into question the autopsy's findings and alleged a cover-up

Martinez died at a hospital a few hours later. His partner has recovered, but investigators say he doesn't remember what happened.

Some elected officials, including President Donald Trump, initially called the incident an attack, and FBI officials said they were investigating it as a potential assault.

In a tweet sent out the next day after the incident in Texas, Trump wrote: 'We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!;

A Border Patrol union, the National Border Patrol Council, has said the pair were attacked and struck with a rock or rocks, and that the scene was 'grisly'.

But Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo, one of the first responders at the scene, has said he thinks a semitrailer may have hit Martinez and his partner accidentally.

Blunt: Ochoa suggested that Martinez and his partner could not call for help because of poor reception. She accused government officials of hiding the truth because 'they just want to "build a wall"'

'From the beginning we were radioed to assist in the incident as an injury, not an assault,' Carrillo told The Dallas Morning News.

Following the release of the autopsy report on Tuesday, National Border Patrol Council's spokesman Chris Cabrera maintained that Agent Martinez was murdered, telling The Washington Post 'there's no way he was hit by a vehicle'.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information that would help solve this case. Texas is offering another $20,000 reward for similar information.
The high school secretary at the center of House Speaker Paul Ryan's now-deleted tweet framing her $1.50 per week pay increase as impressive says she was shocked to be used as an example by the Republican congressman.

Ryan quickly came under fire at the weekend when he tweeted out the $1.50 pay rise story as an example of someone benefiting from the Republican tax overhaul.

The secretary, Julia Ketchum, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had been mentioned in an Associated Press story two days earlier saying she 'pleasantly surprised' by the marginal pay rise.

House Speaker Paul Ryan came under fire when he used a high school secretary's $1.50 per week pay rise as an example of someone benefiting from the Republican tax overhaul

Ketchum had said she didn't think her pay would go up at all, but the increase would more than cover her yearly Costco membership.

While other workers were also quoted in the story, Ryan opted to pinpoint the secretary in his tweet.

'A secretary at a public high school in Lancaster, PA, said she was pleasantly surprised her pay went up $1.50 a week... she said [that] will more than cover her Costco membership for the year.'

He later deleted the tweet after facing backlash.

Ketchum told CBS in a Skype interview that she was 'really surprised' Ryan had chosen to highlight her comment.

'I'm really surprised actually because the paragraph above me, and the paragraph below my quote - those people got hundreds more and I got a $1.50 per paycheck more,' she said.

The secretary, Julia Ketchum, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, told CBS in a Skype interview that she was 'really surprised' Ryan had chosen to highlight her comment

Paul Ryan later deleted the above tweet after facing backlash for pegging the $1.50 pay rise as impressive

Ketchum said she did notice the pay increase, even though it was only a $1.50.

'$1.50 is $1.50 - I noticed it, I watch my finances and I noticed it. It didn't go down, so that was good,' she said.

Democrats were quick to round on Ryan following his tweet as they pointed out that wealthier Americans and big corporations benefit much more from the tax cuts.

'Paul Ryan deleted his embarrassing tweet of a blatant admission because he and Republicans dont want you to know the truth: the #GOPTaxScam is a gift to corporate America and the top 1% at your expense,' Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi tweeted.

'He also doesnt want you to know he got $500.000.00 from the Koch family,' she added, referencing a campaign donation Ryan received after the House of Representatives passed their version of the tax reform bill in November, according to data published by ProPublica.

Meanwhile Randy Bryce, a Democrat hoping to unseat Ryan in Wisconsin, saw the blunder as a campaigning opportunity.

'Moments ago, @PRyan deleted this tweet after we told him just how out of touch he was... Chip in $1.50 now to help us repeal and replace Ryan permanently this November,' Bryce tweeted.

Senior staff writer for Upworthy and GOOD, Parker Molloy, thought the figure to be extremely comical when she broke it down into a daily figure

US Representative Eric Swalwell (California )asked over Twitter if Ketchum had all the facts

Patton Oswalt wrote, 'Hey @PRyan, whyd you delete this tweet? You seemed so excited about struggling Americans making an extra DOLLAR AND A HALF A WEEK. You s***-lizard'
He will apply to the Supreme Court in six weeks with a higher surety offered

Police allege he staged a car crash in Lidcombe to buy himself more time

That charge relates to Mehajer allegedly trying to avoid an assault court case

He has been charged with perverting the course of justice

Former deputy mayor of Auburn was arrested at a Sydney home late last month

Salim Mehajer was denied bail for a second time

Salim Mehajer has had his bail application denied a second time, despite his family offering $100,000 as a bond.

The disgraced former deputy mayor of Auburn was arrested at a Vaucluse home last month and charged with perverting the course of justice, and conspiracy to cheat and defraud over an allegedly staged car crash.

He spent four days in a cell at Surry Hills Police Station before he was transferred to Silverwater Correctional Centre.

A friend of Salim told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday he is 'holding up well' behind bars.

His sister Zena, a qualified lawyer, was in court on Wednesday as Salim appeared via video link.

She said her brother would apply to the Supreme Court in six weeks for a third attempt at bail after the Magistrate ruled Salim's charges were 'too serious' on Wednesday.

Zena will offer a higher surety, using property to secure the money if needed.

Salim Mehajer was denied bail for a second time on Wednesday afternoon, even though his family offered a $100,000 surety

His older sister, Zena (left) offered up the large sum of money for her brother's freedom, but it was knocked back

His former solicitor Brett Galloway stood down after he was faced with an 'ethical dilemma'.



Zena has often represented her property developer brother in court over his run-ins with the law, including during 2016, when police alleged demerit points incurred by Mehajer's Ferrari and his then-wife Aysha's BMW were placed on the record of an international student.

In January 2016 Zena also represented Salim, 30, when he was accused of refusing to pay $1 million in taxes to the Australian Tax Office for his first business, SM Projects Developments, reported The Australian.

Salim was arrested along with three others on January 2 over a two-vehicle collision in Sydney's south-west.

The charge of perverting the course of justice relates to Mehajer allegedly trying to prevent the assault case going ahead while the conspiracy charge relates to insurance fraud.

Salim was arrested for perverting the course of justice, and conspiracy to cheat and defraud over a car crash he allegedly staged on his way to court last year

Zena represented Salim twice in 2016, over an unpaid tax bill and when police alleged demerit points incurred by Mehajer's Ferrari and his then-wife Aysha's BMW were placed on the record of an international student

Also arrested was Mehajer's (pictured) friend and business associate, Ahmed Jaghbir, who allegedly said he was instructed to arrange the October collision .

Among those arrested was Mehajer's friend and business associate, Ahmed Jaghbir, who in November was charged with the murder of Hells Angels bikie Kemel 'Blackie' Barakat.

Jaghbir allegedly said he was instructed to arrange the October collision to buy Mehajer some more time before his scheduled court hearing that day.

The strict conditions of his bail mean he will be under house arrest, allowed only to leave his premises to report twice a day to police, for legal visits and for medical emergencies.

His existing bail conditions, imposed after he was charged over the unrelated murder of Hells Angels bikie Kemel 'Blackie' Barakat in November, will stand, as will his $800,000 surety.

Salim Mehajer was refused bail when he appeared before Magistrate Jennifer Giles at Waverley Local Court the morning after his arrest.

Ms Giles said Mehajer's alleged crime struck 'at the very heart of the criminal justice system' and he had not shown cause as to why his detention was unjustified.

Salim was refused bail when he appeared in court the day after his arrest

Salim is reportedly 'holding up well' at Silverwater Correctional Centre




Nicole Eggert has filed a police report against Scott Baio following recent allegations of molestation she made against him.

Eggert was interviewed by the LAPD's Sexual Assault Section on Tuesday morning with her attorney, Lisa Bloom, present, TMZ reports.

TMZ reports she told detectives that Baio molested her from ages 14-16 and had sex with her when she was 17. They had co-starred with each other on Charles in Charge.

Actor Alexander Polinsky apparently was present at the meeting and said he witnessed some of the abuse. A further list of witnesses was also provided.

A representative for Baio told TMZ: 'We've been demanding since last year that Nicole Eggert bring her story to the authorities. It's good that she finally has, even if it's part of a publicity campaign. Perhaps she can explain to them her ever-changing story.'

The news comes after Eggert told media this past Friday that she had made an appointment with special units in Los Angeles to file a report.

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Nicole Eggert said on Friday she had scheduled an appointment with special units to file a report against Scott Baio. On Tuesday, she apparently did so with attorney Lisa Bloom present

The actress, 46, told detectives that Baio molested her from ages 14-16 and had sex with her when she was 17, TMZ reports

The actress was out in Los Angeles on Friday morning where she also revealed that she has received messages from 'five to six' on-set witnesses who could help corroborate her allegations.

She then took a dig at Baio for saying earlier this week that Eggert should stop spreading rumors for the sake of his daughter.

'I would like to see him come clean for the sake of his daughter,' said Eggert.

'I would to see him be a good parent.'

Eggert was also asked on Friday what it was like to get the support of Rose McGowan.

The actress and director posted a tweet last Wednesday in which she applauded Eggert for coming forward and said: 'We hold you in our light.'

Eggert was quick to point out however that McGowan was just one of many women in the industry who have been subjected to sexual assault, before giving an update in her own case.

'I woke up to messages from five or six more on-set witnesses,' said Eggert.

When asked if she believed there might be other victims, Eggert said:'I can't comment, but if there are I hope they have the courage to come forward and I will stand by them.'

Eggert detailed the difficulty she has been having while she tries to come to terms with Baio's alleged molestation of her, which began when she was just 14, on an episode of The Dr Oz Show this week.

'Its, you know...strange. It makes sense...to me it makes sense, but as Im going through this process, Ive never talked about this so much before, you know?' said Eggert of her emotional state during an interview with Dr. Oz on Wednesday.

It wasn't me: Scott Baio appeared on Good Morning America (above) to deny the allegations being made by Nicole Eggert, who says the actor sexually abused her as a minor

'This is something thats...you know, Im also working through it and other memories are coming up for me. Its been a long time.'

Eggert then became emotional, fighting back tears as she said: 'So, you know, to say I have everything down and I have it perfect wrapped up in this tiny little box, its just not...reality. I was 17, Ive always said I was 17, and that still doesnt change the fact that everything happened up until then.'

Lisa Bloom is apparently representing the actress and was present at her meeting with LAPD officers

When asked about the alleged abuse, Eggert said: 'I knew it was wrong, I knew all along all of it was wrong, because I was constantly reminded that it had to be a secret and whenever anybody asks you to keep a secret its wrong, yet being a teenager and going through puberty and all of that it... you...I sort of stayed in it and just keep quiet.'

Baio, meanwhile, appeared on Good Morning America to deny allegations that he sexually abused his Charles in Charge co-star Nicole Eggert.

The actor did not offer any proof to discredit Eggert's claims, but did demand that she stop with her allegations for the sake of his family.

'Why somebody would come after me, my reputation and stop me from doing something that I love doing ... and more important than that is my wife and I have a 10-year-old daughter,' said Baio, who showed no hint of emotion during the interview.

'And my 10-year-old daughter does not need to be hearing about this from friends at school, these false allegations. Her job is not to defend me. My job is to defend my daughter. Her job is to be 10 years old and that's why this has got to stop.'

He also shared a tweet from January 2017 of Eggert responding to a fan asking where Baio was during a Charles in Charge cast reunion by writing: 'Yes - we were missing Scott!'

Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Kristy Swanson also took to Twitter to share her thoughts, writing: 'Shame on you @NicoleEggert to stab @ScottBaio honey you are driven by politics its SO obvious! Stop it now! You are ridiculous!'

All good: Baio is seen leaving the studio after he taped GMA on Wednesday morning (above)

Scott Baio denies sexual misconduct allegations: "My 10-year-old daughter does not need to be hearing about this from friends at school - these false allegations...that's why this has got to stop." pic.twitter.com/5jdJgalA9z  Good Morning America (@GMA) January 31, 2018

Baio, who appeared on GMA alongside his lawyer, began the interview by denying that Eggert was 17 on the one occasion the two both admit to having sex.

The actor says that Eggert herself confirmed this initially in an interview with The Dirty - having said was 18 at the time.

Amy Robach then pushed back on Baio, stating: 'Now she says that she lied at the time to protect the show because that's what she thought she needed to do.'

Baio responded by saying: 'So I'm trying to figure out which time she's lying and which time she's not lying because the story seems to change quite a bit. And I can't keep up with her quite honestly.'

Then Robach again pressed Baio, pointing out the statement given by the founder of The Dirty, who revealed Eggert had broken down and told him all about the alleged assaults after that interview.

'What happened with you and Nicole when she was 14, 15, 16?', asked Robach.

'Absolutely nothing,' said Baio.

'And I find it interesting, Amy, that the moment that her first allegation that we had sex when she was 17 - which is not true - as soon as that was proven to be 100 percent false, she comes up with a new story where something happened once a week for years.'

Baio went on to say a weekly assault would have been impossible on the set of a sitcom, where 'there's teachers, parents, family, crew, producers' and the actor's own father'.

'I don't know how anybody can believe what she's saying when her first allegation of having sex when we were 17 had been proven to be 100% false and her story keeps changing,' said Baio.

'She makes up new things. And by the way, I'm not the first person she's done this to.'

Allegation: The actress claimed she was just 14 when Scott Baio, then 25, 'penetrated me with his finger' (Baio and Eggert above on the show)

Speaking out: Eggert (above) spoke with Megyn Kelly on Tuesday about the alleged sexual abuse she suffered for two years while filming Charles in Charge

Robach then went through each of Eggert's claims and Baio categorized them all as false, but offered up nothing more than a denial.

Then, Robach pointed out that people on set did say they noticed something between Eggert and the sitcom's leading man.

'Alex [Polinsky] who played Nicole's brother reportedly said he witnessed inappropriate cuddling between you and Nicole on the set and then Adam Karl who is credited with one appearance on the show tweeted he remembers her crying about you. Why do you think they're saying that? Are they lying too?', asked Robach.

'I don't know what they're saying. I have no idea. I don't know why they're saying it. I don't - there were so many people on that set,' said Baio.

'Nicole and I were friends after our only sexual encounter. She aggressively sought me out because she wanted me to be her first so that she would be good for her boyfriend, those are her words.'

Slayer: Buffy star Kristy Swanson also defended Baio, tweeting at Eggert: 'Honey you are driven by politics its SO obvious! Stop it now! You are ridiculous!'

The actress said the sexual abuse began when she was 14 back in 1986 on the set of Charles in Charge, the television show she worked on with Baio, who was then 25.

'He immediately took to me and befriended me and earned my trust. And then he started expressing his love for me. And talking about marriage in the future,' said Eggert on Megyn Kelly Today.

'And then I was still 14, before my 15th birthday, we were at his house in his car in his garage. And he reached over and he penetrated me with his finger. And that is when the sexual touching and abuse started after that.'

She went on to claim that these incidents 'probably happened once a week' until she was 16, along with kissing and groping that she believes the pair's co-stars on the program saw at the time.

'I had never experienced anything like that before either, so he was playing on not only my emotions but my hormones and all of those things,' said Eggert, now 46.

'And the issue with him is that he was our boss. And he was telling me, you know, 'You can't tell anybody, this is illegal, I'll go to jail. The show will be over. Everybody will be sued," you know? "You'll be out of a job, you'll ruin everybody's life.'

Eggert then added: 'It's scary. It's intimidating, especially when you're that young.'

As for the producers and other actors on set, Eggert said they had to be aware of the kissing and groping but she does not think they knew about the sexual abuse.

'There was a bit of like -- this person loves me. I trust this person. And that he cares about me and I'm safe,' said Eggert of her feelings for Baio at the time.

'And it wasn't until, you know, getting a little bit older that I started to realize this not -- this is not love.'

Fears: Eggert said she hid the truth because she was ashamed and concerned about the damage it might do to other people who worked on Charles in Charge (Eggert on Baywatch in 1993)

She said that the two did not have sexual intercourse until she was 17 and Baio was 28, and that she only told a few close friends at the time of the initial abuse.

Baio disputes this as well and says Eggert was 18, which is the legal age of consent in the state.

He provided proof of that in the form of an interview that Eggert did with The Dirty, in which she said that it was long after the show wrapped in 1990 when she and Bario had sex.

Eggert explained why she had kept this a secret for so long, and why she stressed in the past that she had never had sexual contact with Baio until she was of age.

'But my truth is I wasn't ready to tell my story and for me it was protecting the show and protecting that whole legacy that nothing happened there,' Eggert told Kelly.

'That was my delusion and that was my cover-up always. And, you know, that's not the first time I covered it up. I always lied about it.'

Now, Eggert wishes she could go back and tell her younger self to not be ashamed of what had happened, and let her know it was not her fault.

'Shame plays a weird part and a strong voice. You lie,' said Eggert.

'I didn't want anybody to look at me and think I was weak. I didn't think anybody to think, oh, victim. It's not until now that I see other people coming forward and how many women I talk to that this has happened to. It's more common than not, unfortunately.'

Baio also insisted he would not have had unsupervised access to Eggert while filming 'Charles In Charge' (Pictured, the cast of 'Charles in Charge' including Eggert, seated far right, and Baio, standing in red)

Eggert said that her interactions and conversations with these women have also helped her realize her alleged assault is not 'gross or embarrassing.'

Kelly then asked Eggert to explain why if she had endured this abuse she agreed to go on Baio's reality show back in 2007, and giving the impression that the two were friends.

'Well, the reality show was about him having therapy for womanizing. That's what people don't understand. I went on there to call him out on some of the women he mistreated on our set,' said Eggert.

'That's what that appearance was about. So, you know, yeah, I appeared on it. But it wasn't a positive oh, let's go, you know, have ice cream. It was about the women.'

She then was asked about why she denied underage relations with Baio while being interviewed by The Dirty.

'I'm good at covering up. I got really good at it. Really good at bearing it and putting it away in a box and saying, no, that's not me. That didn't happen to me,' said Eggert.

It was then revealed that Nik Richie, the founder of The Dirty who conducted that interview, had released a statement backing up Eggert's claim.

Kelly read it on air, pointing out beforehand that the two do share a manager.

'I remember the day that Nicole Eggert did the interview, and she was distraught after the interview. She was an emotional wreck. She said it was much worse than she had described on air,' read the statement.

'She said, he molested as a child and I didn't know any better.'

Kelly then asked Eggert: 'When you left that radio interview, is that true? Were you distraught? What are you feeling?'

Eggert responded by saying it was at that moment she realized she need to tell the truth and stop protecting other people.

She later spoke about the first time she had intercourse with Baio, revealing: 'It was in my house, and in my spare bedroom and he laid down a towel and it happened there.'

The bloom is off the rose: Eggert appeared alongside her lawyer Lisa Bloom (above) later in the show

Baio told a different story in a video posted to Facebook over the weekend.

'I remember her calling me and asking me to come over and coming in my house one time, and seducing me,' said Baio.

'Any normal heterosexual, red-blooded American guy, the outcome would have been the same.'

That video was posted along with what Baio claims is evidence of Eggert's deception on his Facebook account, where he wrote: 'Nicole Eggert has been claiming I had sex with her before she was 18 at least since 2013. She is provably wrong, and because we have been telling her that since last year without results, our only conclusion is that she is deliberately lying.'

Baio's evidence consisted of highlighted dates meant to show that Eggert is lying based on the comments she made to The Dirty and a large number of legal letters demanding silence from Eggert and fellow Charles in Charge castmate Alex Polinsky.

Polinsky said that he saw Baio acting affectionate with Eggert on set together on set in a tweet that was since deleted.

He also said that he was abused on set, but not by Baio.

'I dont know what else to put out there,' said Baio in his Facebook video.

'Shes my best friend in the world, then all of a sudden Im the bogeyman.'
Boris Johnson is set to unveil his winter plan to keep Covid under wraps this winter, with a booster vaccine roll-out on the cards - but no national lockdowns. The Prime Minister is due to set out his proposals at a press conference later this week when, according to reports, he will make that he is 'dead set' against another national shut down. He will rely heavily on an autumn booster jab programme for adults, starting with the elderly and most vulnerable, to steer the country clear of a return to draconian lockdown rules. Children aged 12-15 will also be offered a single dose of the Covid vaccine - pending approval from experts - according to reports. But while some measures will be put in place to limit the spread of Covid this winter, travel restrictions such as the Green and Amber list are likely to be axed. The Government will also look to drop its requirement for double-jabbed Britons to take a PCR test on their return from foreign countries. Other measures, such as mandatory mask-wearing and work from home rules, will be kept in reserve if hospital admissions start to rise in winter - when respiratory illnesses tend to spread quicker. Plans for vaccine passports for nightclubs and major events were sensationally scrapped yesterday - much to the delight of hospitality chiefs. But they too could be brought back in if Covid hospitalisations go up during the winter, Number 10 warned last night. Downing Street insisted the Government had simply decided not to bring them in as planned for nightclubs and other crowded venues at the end of the month. It is understood that Mr Johnson's winter Covid plan will be revealed tommorow. He is expected to announce the plans at a press conference this week, while he is also due to address MPs - before the Commons rises for party conference season.
President Donald Trump said the 'stupidity' of the nation's immigration laws is allowing violent gangs like MS-13 to flourish in the US.

The comment was made at an event at the White House on Tuesday aimed at combating the MS-13 gang.

The president said: 'Not another country in the world has the stupidity of laws that we do.

'And if we don't get them changed, this isn't politics, this isn't Republican and Democrat, this is common sense. So, it has to be taken care of.'

President Donald Trump (pictured, Tuesday) said the 'stupidity' of the nation's immigration laws is allowing violent gangs like MS-13 to flourish in the US at an event at the White House on Tuesday aimed at combating the MS-13 gang

Trump has said that despite thousands of gang members being arrested and deported, many make their way back to the states so stricter laws are needed (Pictured, Snoopy, 20 years, shows off his gang tattoos in January 2006 in Durham, North Carolina)

Trump has said that despite thousands of gang members being arrested and deported, many make their way back to the states.

He says this one of the reasons for the need to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and reform the immigration system.

'We need these immigration laws changed. We are just not going to be able to continue to do this. They just come in so far, so easy,' Trump said.

'And then you have catch and release. You catch people, you have to release them right away.'

He says this one of the reasons for the need to build a wall along the US-Mexico border and reform the immigration system.

The El Salvadorian criminal enterprise MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, is believed to have a presence in 46 states, according to an independent study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania.

The El Salvadorian criminal enterprise MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, is believed to have a presence in 46 states (Pictured, four unidentified members of MS-13 show their tattoos in the unit where they are kept imprisoned in Tamara, Honduras)

MS-13 is the first and only criminal organization in the US to be named as 'transnational' by the FBI and operates on the motto of 'Kill, Rape, Control' (Pictured, weapons on display at the US Attorney's office following the arrests of gang members in Boston, January 2016)

Trump slammed the gang during his first State of the Union address last week (pictured), saying it has 'caused the loss of many innocent lives' and 'took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as unaccompanied alien minors'

MS-13 is the first and only criminal organization in the US to be named as 'transnational' by the FBI and operates on the motto of 'Kill, Rape, Control', former Massachusetts US Attorney Carmen Ortiz said.

The group was started nearly 20 years ago in Los Angeles after millions of immigrants from El Salvador came to the US after a violent civil war left more than 100,000 dead.

The gang has since spread all over the country, and are known widely as the best killers - due to their exceedingly brutal weapon of choice: a machete.

MS -13 has more than 30,000 members worldwide including 10,000 in the US alone.

Trump slammed the gang during his first State of the Union address last week, saying it has 'caused the loss of many innocent lives' and 'took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as unaccompanied alien minors'.
Police have executed a dramatic arrest on a busy highway, pulling over a car in relation to the murder of a beloved mother-of-three.

Police have been desperately searching for Travis Kirchner, 43, following the brutal slaying of his Sally Rothe, 54, on Sunday.

Ms Rothe was found dead at her home in the sleepy town of Murray Bridge, east of Adelaide, South Australia, shortly after 8pm.

Detectives said there was 'no doubt' Ms Rothe had been murdered and pleaded for the public's help finding the heavily inked Kirchner.

The video released on Wednesday afternoon shows several uniformed and plain-clothed officers arresting two men at gunpoint.

South Australian detectives are desperately hunting for Travis Kirchner, 43 - said to have a tiger tattoo and a 'possible' rat's tail

Sally Rothe - described by friends as 'very spiritual' and as a mother-of-three - was found dead at her Albert Terrace, Murray Bridge, home about 8pm on Sunday

Police have executed a dramatic arrest on a busy highway, pulling over a car in relation to the murder of a beloved mother-of-three

The footage was captured near the Murray Bridge just after 10am. Police can be seen closing in on a 90s Holden Commodore, with one man lying prone on the ground.

There appears to be at least five police vehicles surrounding the maroon car, including a paddy wagon, police cruiser and undercover car.

Of the two men arrested, one man matched the description of Mr Kirchner, Nine reported.

It is not clear whether the two men arrested have been formally charged, or if they are directly related to Mr Kirchner or the ongoing investigation.

The footage was captured near the Murray Bridge just after 10am. Police can be seen closing in on a 90s Holden Commodore, with one man lying prone on the ground

It is not clear whether the two men arrested have been formally charged, or if they are directly related to Mr Kirchner or the ongoing investigation

Police issued a warrant for the 43-year-old's arrest on Tuesday, on the charge of murder.

Major Crime investigator Brevet Sergeant Alicia Arkit released a statement from Kirchner's sister Tracy, appealing for him to hand himself in to police.

'Travis I'm really worried about what has been going on over the past few days and I want you to hand yourself into Police,' the statement read.

'Please give me a ring, we can meet somewhere and we can go in together to sort this out.

'I'm not sure what happened on Sunday night but the longer it goes on the harder it will be.

'I'm worried about where you are and just want you to come in safely.

'No matter what has happened - you are my brother, I love you and I'm really worried about you.

'Please come in so I know you're safe.'

Crime scene: Neighbours woke up to shocking scenes in sleepy Murray Bridge on Monday following the slaying death of Sally Rothe

Ms Rothe has been described by friends and family as a 'very spiritual' mother-of-three.

A dog-walking neighbour rang police after spotting a man trying to kick Ms Rothe's door in on Sunday night.

Ms Rothe body was discovered with 'significant injuries', Detective Superintendent Des Bray said.

She and Kirchner were known to each other, he said, and Kirchner was 'well known to police'.

'Any person that discovered that crime scene could be left with no doubt it was a deliberate murder,' he said.

'Multiple people know who is responsible for this murder.'

Kirchner is believed to be wearing a faded red T-shirt and jeans. Police said he had a tiger inked on his chest and a panther on his upper right arm.

Ms Rothe and Kirchner were known to each other and Kirchner is 'well known to police'

He was described as Caucasian, 176cm tall, 81kg, with a slim build, green eyes and short/balding brown hair. He possibly has a 'rat tail' hair style.

The public have been warned to stay away from him if they see him.

'The man obviously committed a brutal murder a short time ago, and is currently fleeing - really anybody in that situation is dangerous and shouldn't be approached by anybody,' Det Supt Bray said.

A crime scene has been established at the woman's home, and the local criminal investigation branch and Major Crime Detectives are investigating.

Detective Superintendent Bray urged the public not to approach Kirchner but to call police immediately on 131 444 if they see him. Anyone with information can also call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 and remain anonymous.
A male teacher has been charged with indecently assaulting three nine-year-old girls at a Christian primary school in Sydney's west.

The 23-year-old man was arrested in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday after a three-month investigation by detectives from the child abuse squad, NSW Police said in a statement on Wednesday.

The teacher, who worked at a Christian school in Blacktown, allegedly indecently assaulted the three girls under his care in 2017.

A young Sydney teacher has been charged for allegedly assaulting three nine-year-old girls at a primary school (stock image)

The school first became aware of the allegations in November and immediately reported them to the police and authorities, the school's principal said in a letter to parents on Wednesday.

The teacher was suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and had no further contact with students.

The accused began teaching at the school on a temporary one-year contract in January 2017.

'I can only reassure you that the school takes child protection extremely seriously on and off the school grounds,' the principal said.

The teacher is facing three counts of aggravated indecent assault on a victim under his authority.

The man has been granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear at Blacktown Local Court on March 27.
A drunk man waved his penis at police officers and threatened to hit them with it, then urinated naked in his cell after they arrested him.

Police attended Kevin Ronald Turner's house in Halls Head, south of Perth, at 9.55pm on Australia Day after neighbours heard yelling and objects being thrown.

The 54-year-old was naked and had been drinking since lunch when he yelled at officers to 'get the f**k out of my address' when they arrived.

When they moved inside, he called them 'fat, ugly f**king c**ts' and refused to put on any clothes, the Mandurah Magistrates Court heard on Tuesday.

A drunk man waved his penis at police officers and threatened to hit them with it, then urinated naked in his cell after they arrested him (stock image)

Then he grabbed his penis, shook it at police, and threatened to hit them with it, according to the Mandurah Coastal Times.

As the mining worker continued to shout at police, he stood so close that his spit hit one of them in the face.

Turner also refused directions to step away from a big knife that was sitting on the kitchen bench near his hand, but didn't try to pick it up.

Police decided to restrain him as they were concerned he would hurt them or himself, and in the process he shoved an officer and was arrested.

As he was being dragged away he turned to an officer and shouted 'you're a fat, ugly mole you f**king c**t' as horrified neighbours watched on.

Once inside the police car he kicked the door repeatedly and continued to hurl abuse until they got him back to the station.

When they moved inside, he called them 'fat, ugly f**king c**ts' and refused to put on any clothes, the Mandurah Magistrates Court (pictured) heard

Turner still refused to put clothes on when they locked him up, once asking to go to the toilet but then refusing and instead urinating on the floor of his cell.

His lawyer Russell Mark told the court Turner took panadine forte for a back injury earlier in the day which, mixed with alcohol, didn't help his behaviour.

He said Turner was embarrassed by his conduct and was naked because he had just gotten out of the shower when police arrived.

Turner pleaded guilty to disorderly behaviour in both public and lockup, and obstructing police officers.

Magistrate Anne Longden noted the defendant admitted his 'unacceptable and criminal' behaviour was appalling.

However, she said he only seemed to remember the parts of the night he wanted to dispute, and fined him $1,500.
Labor MP Susan Lamb broke down in Parliament during a deeply emotional speech about her absent mother and late father.

The Queensland politician was explaining to the chambers the painful reason why she could not provide documents needed for her British citizenship renunciation.

Ms Lamb, 45, tearfully told parliament her mother abandoned her as a six-year-old and never came back, and her British father passed away 20 years ago.

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The Queensland politician (pictured) was explaining to the chambers why she could not provide legal documents needed for her citizenship resignation after she was forced to renounce her British citizenship

Her heartbreaking oration was met with stunned silence as she tearfully told parliament her mother abandoned her as a six-year-old and never came back

Her heartbreaking oration about how her nearly 40-year-long estrangement from her mother prevented her from obtaining her parents' marriage certificate was met with stunned silence.

'It's a complex and a traumatic story and a story that I don't usually share,' Ms Lamb said.

'One day when I was around six years old, my mum dropped me off at school and she never came back to pick me up.

'I don't remember every detail about what happened afterwards, but I remember lots of tears... I remember lots of confusion... I remember my dad trying to explain.'

Ms Lamb (pictured with Labor member Emma Husar) has been staring down the barrel of an impending resignation after she could not provide her parents' marriage certificate in order to renounce her British citizenship

The 45-year-old went into harrowing detail about her non-existent relationship with the woman who gave birth to her

'One day when I was around six years old, my mum dropped me off at school and she never came back to pick me up,' she said.

Under a 117-year-old section of the Australian constitution, persons with dual nationalities are not allowed to stand for parliament.

In 2017, nine Australian MPs were forced to quit after it was discovered that they may be holding dual citizenships, and while two were re-elected, the issue has been plaguing Parliament into 2018.

Last week, Labor MP David Feeney announced he would resign after being unable to prove that he had renounced his UK citizenship before standing for office.

Ms Lamb has been staring down the barrel of an impending resignation after she could not provide her parents' marriage certificate in order to renounce her British citizenship.

Leader of the Opposition, Bill Shorten, is pictured consoling Susan Lamb after her emotional statement

Labor backbench MP Susan Lamb is comforted by Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten after making a statement at the end of House of Representatives Question Time

Despite retaining her dual-citizenship, Ms Lamb remained steadfast she would not resign

Instead, the 45-year-old went into harrowing detail about her non-existent relationship with the woman who gave birth to her.

She emotionally revealed why she could not simply 'ring up' her estranged mother to obtain the crucial document - and sadly explained her father is dead.

'I don't know what was going on in my mum's life back then. I don't know what's going on in her life now. The fact is we don't have a relationship. When people ask why I didn't just call my mother, well this is why,' she added.

Despite retaining her dual-citizenship, Ms Lamb remained steadfast she would not resign.

She implored the Coalition to sympathise with her tragic circumstances before passing the matter onto the High Court.

She implored the Coalition to sympathise with her tragic circumstances before passing the matter onto the High Court (Pictured hugging Labor member Linda Burney)

Ms Lamb emotionally revealed why she could not simply 'ring up' her estranged mother to obtain the crucial document - and sadly explained her father is dead

Ms Lamb broke down after explaining to the chambers why she could not provide her parents' marriage certificate

Ms Lamb (Pictured with Bill Shorten) also told the chambers that she took advice from three independent barristers, including a retired judge of the Federal Court of Australia

'The fact is my mum is not around to grant me access to her marriage certificate. And dad, passed away more than 20 years ago,' she said.

'My mother wasn't there at my 7th birthday or the one after that. Wasn't there when my son was born or when he graduated. They have never met.

For the record, I've never held a British passport. In fact, I've never been to the UK in my life.'

Ms Lamb also told the chambers that she took advice from three independent barristers, including a retired judge of the Federal Court of Australia, who all agreed she took 'reasonable steps' to renounce her citizenship and was validly elected to parliament.

However, despite her emotional speech, the government has said they would pursue Ms Lamb over her citizenship status.

A source told The Guardian that they believe she could have either written to her mother or 'or pursued another legal mechanism to obtain a copy of the document' which would not mean any actual contact with the estranged parent.
A vigilante inmate has told why he poured boiling water over Brett Peter Cowan, the loathed paedophile who murdered schoolboy Daniel Morcombe.

'I did it boss,' Adam Paul Davidson told a prison officer immediately after the attack.

'Only me, no one else was involved. He had it coming. He is a f***ing grub.'

Former tattoo artist Davidson, 31, was released from jail in Brisbane's north last November after spending an extra year in custody for the crime.

Davidson was serving a sentence for robbery and fraud when he tipped a mop bucket of scalding hot water on child killer Cowan's head inside Wolston Correctional Centre.

While Cowan screamed in pain and asked Davidson 'why, why, why?', the younger inmate threw the bucket at him.

Vigilante attacker: Adam Davidson, 31, is seen here arriving at home last November on the day he was released on parole for his brutal attack on Brett Peter Cowan

Davidson told police: 'I didn't want to kill him or nothing.... I just wanted to hurt him ... just wanted him to feel the pain'

'(I wanted him to) feel the pain somebody like Daniel Morcombe has felt,' Adam Davidson told police

Davidson later told police he had planned the assault for a month. 'I didn't want to kill him or nothing,' he said. 'I just wanted to hurt him... just wanted him to feel the pain.

'Feel the pain somebody like Daniel Morcombe has felt.'

Daniel Morcombe disappeared near a bus stop on Queensland's Sunshine Coast in December 2003. He was only 13.

Cowan was arrested almost eight years later and found guilty of murder, indecent treatment of a child and interfering with a corpse.

He had two previous convictions for sexually assaulting children and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 20 years.

The Queensland Supreme Court's Justice Roslyn Atkinson described Cowan's offending as 'entirely abhorrent'.

'You didn't look like a monster, you didn't look like a paedophile, you looked like an ordinary person,' she said.

Davidson rejoined his family at home about 2pm on November 28 after leaving Woodford Correctional Centre in the state's north.

He had earlier reported to a parole office and Centrelink to prepare for life outside. He was moved from Wolston prison, in Wacol, after the attack occurred.

By the time Davidson was finished with him, Cowan looked like he'd come under a napalm attack.

Davidson stepped free from Woodford Correctional Centre, north of Brisbane (pictured)

Cowan (left) screamed 'why, why, why' at Davidson (pictured right), but received no answer from his prison mate

'I didn't want to kill him or nothing, I just wanted to hurt him...' Davidson told police

Cowan, then 46, received severe burns to his head, chest, stomach, back, arms and legs.

Last October District Court Judge Ian Dearden sentenced Davidson to three years' jail after he pleaded guilty to torturing the paedophile. He was ready for parole by November due to time already served.

Judge Deardon had told Davidson every person was entitled to be treated respectfully, no matter how appalling their crimes. 'We are all precious human beings, it doesn't matter who we are,' Judge Dearden said.

'You have no entitlement to act as a vigilante.'

Davidson does not have a long history of serious or violent crime but for the best part of a decade has been a regular in south eastern Queensland courts and in the news pages of the Toowoomba Chronicle.

Missing boy Daniel Morcombe: His killer, Brett Peter Cowan, had two previous convictions for sexually assaulting children

Davidson said he wanted someone to 'feel the pain somebody like Daniel Morcombe has felt'

In one of his less successful crimes, Davidson held up a bottle shop with his finger to pay off a debt to a bikie gang.

His mother Annette Fallbrown said her son suffered serious psychological problems and had been harming himself in prison in recent years.

His stepfather Mark Fallbrown said Davidson's offending started with driving offences.

'The chips were stacked against him too,' Mr Fallbrown said on the eve of his stepson's release.

'He's got a lot of problems, mental problems, that go back a long way.

'I'm not defending Adam but if things were tackled in a different way maybe he wouldn't be in there and the whole Cowan thing wouldn't have happened.'

Back in 2010 Davidson was jailed for racking up $4000 in motel bills over two months when told he would need to wait three months for emergency public housing.

Davidson's stepfather Mark Fallbrown said his Adam's offending started with driving offences

The Queensland Supreme Court's Justice Roslyn Atkinson described Cowan's offending as 'entirely abhorrent'

That fraudulent spree only came to an end when Davidson was arrested for driving while disqualified. That was his ninth driving offence in four years.

Davidson was jailed for seven months but half that sentence was suspended so he could attend the birth of his child.

Two years later the father-of-four was again charged with checking in and out of hotels without paying.

Davidson once robbed a bottle shop to repay a debt to the Bandidos bikie gang which had lent him money to start up a tattoo parlour.

Sticking his finger in his pocket, Davidson told the attendant he had a gun and walked out with $600.

He called police to say he would hand himself in but then chose to spend time with his children and was arrested several days later.

Davidson's record features 11 counts of disqualified driving, five of drink driving and offences of fraud and dishonesty.

He would have remained a relatively unknown repeat offender were it not for his decision to attack one of Australia's most reviled murderers and paedophiles.
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry professionally recommended the daughter of her former bodyguard she admitted to having extramarital affair with, a bombshell new report has revealed.

Barry, who opened up last week about the relationship with her former head of security detail, Sgt Robert Forrest, helped land Forrest's fresh-out-of-law school daughter, Macy Amos, 26, an entry-level attorney job according to The Tennessean.

The Belmont University College of Law graduate was the sole candidate for the 'first newly created job in Nashville's legal department in two years.'

In an email statement to the newspaper, Metro Law Department Director Jon Cooper confirmed Barry sent the recommendation.

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry (pictured right) recommended her bodyguard turned lover Sgt Robert Forrest's daughter Macy Amos, 26 (shown left) an entry-level city attorney job. Ameos landed the job in January 2016

Barry admitted to an affair with Sgt Robert Forrest (pictured), which started several months after she came into her administration. The affair was discovered through talks between their two spouses and other personal conversations

'The mayor did recommend Macy during a meeting I had with her at some point, as did a number of people in the legal community,' he said in the email.

However, Cooper said the ultimate decision was not up to Barry to make - but himself.

Metro Law Department Director Jon Cooper (pictured) confirmed Barry sent the recommendation

He made the decision to hire the young graduate, who had previous experience interning with former mayors, citing Amos to be the 'logical choice' for the position she landed in January 2016.

Last Wednesday, Barry issued a formal apology and said she plans to continue serving in office amid the scandal.

In a news release and press conference, the mayor said she accepts full responsibility for the pain she caused her family and the family of Forrest, her former security chief.

She apologized to her husband, Bruce, whom she said remains committed to their marriage.

Barry also apologized to the people of Nashville, adding that she remains firmly committed to working hard to serve them.

The popular mayor, who was elected in 2015, said progress has been made to offer affordable housing, improve to public education and promote better transportation options, but there's more work to be done.

Barry delivered a shock press conference last Wednesday (left and right) in which she admitted to having an extramarital affair with Forrest just hours after he announced in his retirement

She stood alone in front of TV cameras as she explained herself to reporters for about 15 minutes on Wednesday night, telling them she's embarrassed, sad and sorry for all the pain she has caused.

She continued on to assure that nothing illegal happened and no policies were violated.

Her office released records of her text messages, calendar and travel expenses and records, and Barry said she will be transparent in cooperating with possible investigations.

'I know that God will forgive me, but that Nashville doesn't have to,' Barry said during the news conference.

'And I hope that I can earn their trust and I can earn your trust back, and that you will forgive me.'

Barry (left) also apologized to her husband, Bruce (right), whom she said remains committed to their marriage

Forrest, pictured with wife Penny, said in a statement the affair 'caused great pain' for his family

The first-term mayor's admission follows the painful loss of the Barrys' only son, Max, in July after an overdose on a combination of several drugs, including two opioids.

'This is a very bad day. And I'm going to have several more bad days. But this is not my worst day,' Barry said.

'I will tell you I know the difference between a mistake, I made a serious mistake, but this is not a tragedy.'

She said the affair started several months after she came into her administration and the relationship was discovered through conversations between their two spouses and personal chatter.

She would not say when the affair ended, only saying that it is now over.

She accumulated more than $33,000 in travel expenses combined between her and Forrest from January 2017 to late October 2017, and said all of the trips were 'business-related'.

Barry (pictured, August 2017) would not reveal when the affair ended, just that it was over

Forrest said on January 17 that he would retire Wednesday after 31-plus years with Metro Nashville Police.

He spent 14 years of that tenure supervising the mayor's security detail over three administrations.

In a separate news release on Wednesday, Forrest said he never violated his oath as a police officer or engaged in actions that would abuse the public trust.

The retired officer asked for privacy as he seeks to rebuild the trust of those he loves the most.

'I deeply regret that my professional relationship with Mayor Barry turned into a personal one,' Forrest said in the release.

'This has caused great pain for my wife, my family, friends and colleagues.'
Former Vice President Joe Biden has said he would advise President Donald Trump not to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller for fear he would be caught lying to investigators.

'If I were the president's lawyer I would probably tell him not to sit down with the special counsel,' Biden said in an interview on Tuesday night with CNN's Chris Cuomo.

'The President has some difficulty with precision,' Biden added. 'And one of the things that I would worry about if I were his lawyer is him saying something that was just simply not true without him even planning to be disingenuous.'

'I just marvel at some of the things he says and does, like two days ago anybody who didn't stand up and clap for him was un-American and maybe even treasonous,' Biden said, in reference to Trump's comments about Democrats who remained sitting while he covered positive economic news during the state of the union address.

Former Vice President Joe Biden on President Trump: "He's a joke" https://t.co/Mpwdy4JkRY@ChrisCuomo's full interview with Biden will air at 9p ET. Watch here tonight: https://t.co/UYpqI3w42L pic.twitter.com/g2OkcwnpaK  CNN (@CNN) February 6, 2018

Former Vice President Joe Biden said he doesn't think Trump should speak with investigators

Trump has said publicly that he'd look forward to speaking with Muller under oath, but his lawyers reportedly have the same concern that Biden does

When Cuomo mentioned that the White House has said the treason remark was in jest, Biden replied: 'Well let me tell you, he's a joke.'

Trump has said publicly that he'd look forward to speaking with Muller under oath as part of the special prosecutor's probe into potential Russian interference in the election.

However, on Monday the New York Times reported that Trump's lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements and contradicting himself, could be charged with lying to investigators.

Refusing an interview could lead to Mueller subpoenaing Trump to testify before a grand jury, setting up a potential court fight.

Robert Muller (above) was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein in May 2017 to investigate any potential links between the Russian government and the Trump campaign

Biden also attacked Trump's recent decision to approve the declassification of a House Intelligence Committee memo describing impropriety in the FBI's 2016 court application to eavesdrop on Trump campaign aide Carter Page.

'This is the first president to make a full-throated, unvarnished attack on the entirety of the FBI. Not going after J. Edgar Hoover, who was one person... this was to discredit the FBI and discredit his own Justice Department,' said Biden.

The declassified memo, authored by Republican Congressional staffers, describes actions taken by specific high-level FBI and Justice Department officials, including Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, former Director James Comey and Andrew McCabe, who hastily resigned as FBI deputy director last week.

Biden continued: 'This is doing everything that Putin ever wanted, sowing doubt about whether or not our justice system is fair, sowing doubt about whether or not there is anything that's remotely consistent with our Constitution, is just, it's a disaster.'
A woman and her two sons have been accused of transporting meth from Texas to an Atlanta-area house, hiding the illicit drugs inside the wheels of their car.

San Juana Barrera, 56, and her sons, Alex Perez, 37, and Cresencio Perez, 32, were charged with drug trafficking after they allegedly hid more than 400 grams of methamphetamine inside the tires of an SUV before driving the car from Texas to a home in Norcross, Georgia on January 25.

During their court hearing, however, Barrera said that she didn't know her sons were transporting drugs, she was only there for the ride.

San Juana Barrera, 56, and her sons, Cresencio Perez, 32, and Alex Perez, 37 (left to right), were charged with drug trafficking after allegedly transporting 400 grams of meth from Texas to a Georgia home inside the tires of their SUV

The family allegedly delivered the drugs to this home in Norcross, Georgia, which was under DEA surveillance. More than $1million of meth in solid and liquid form were found inside

San Juana Barrera, 56, said that she did not know that her sons were transporting drugs

However, Gwinnett County Police Department investigator TC Joseph said that Cresencio admitted he brought his mother 'along because he wanted it to look like a family car so that way he wouldn't get pulled over', Channel 2 reported.

Prosecutor Bobby Wolf said that the family's effort to make the the long distance drive appear to be a mere joyride meant that it is 'certainly reasonable to assume these two sons are going to give their mom a piece of a fairly large pie if they get away with this'.

The mother and sons were arrested after DEA agents said they intercepted phone calls about a delivery being made to the Norcross home.

The Norcross home was under DEA surveillance and being raided when Barrera and sons arrived in the SUV, according to Mundo Hispanico.

Investigators said that Cresencio Perez, 32, left, admitted that he and his brother, Alex Perez, right. brought their mother on the ride so that they would look like a family car and avoid raising suspicions

While searching the home, agents discovered more than $1million worth of meth inside - 18 kilos of crystal meth and three gallons of the drug in its liquid form.

The family's defense lawyers said that because DEA agents had not been inside before Barrera and the Perezes were there, agents couldn't know how much meth was inside before the family arrived.

'So there could have been 18,000 grams already there. There could have been 3,000 grams already there,' defense attorney Michael Marr told Channel 2.

All three family members are in jail, being held without bond.

No other arrests in the drug bust have been made, although DEA agents said that Barrera and her sons were not the original targets of their investigation.
Horrifying new details have emerged of the allegations against the four people who have been charged with the 'sadistic' repeated rape of three little boys.

The group - all linked to a performing arts school in Western Sydney - collectively face 69 charges including kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault of a child under 10 in company and using a child under 14 to make child abuse material.

Three women - aged 58, 29 and 23 - and a 52-year-old man were arrested on Monday after a long investigation. Police will allege many of the alleged incidents, which occurred throughout Sydney's greater west over two years, were filmed on mobile phones.

Four people connected to a children's performing arts school have been collectively charged with 69 offences including the sadistic rape of three little boys

Three women - aged 58, 29 and 23 - and a 52-year-old man, were arrested on Monday after a long investigation. All four are alleged by police to have shared a home in Sydney's west (pictured)

A dirty bow tie lay outside the home when visited by Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday

In one of the most sickening allegations, police have accused one of the three women charged, a burlesque performer aged 29, of inciting one little boy to have sex with another young child on Anzac Day 2016.

On that same day she raped both of them in the company of another female, aged 58, court documents alleged.

The 58-year-old began indecently assaulting the boys in early 2015 when one boy was three-years-old and the other was just seven, court documents alleged.

The middle-aged woman, the boss of the performing arts academy, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting the boys, including choking one in order to sexually assault him, and is understood to be a major figure in the police case.

Police allege two of the three boys were held against their will, assaulted, raped and filmed over a period spanning June 2014 until April last year and many of the sexual encounters allegedly had several people present.

The court heard the group was first made aware of the allegations against them last September.

The 58-year-old woman allegedly began indecently assaulting the boys when they were as young as three

A swing set lies broken on the ground outside the rundown western Sydney home

Police have accused one of the three women, aged 29, of inciting one little boy to have sex with another little boy

The adult man has been accused of twice filming sex encounters with the boys on his mobile phone. None of the group member's identities can be revealed for legal reasons.

Bail documents said the 58-year-old performing arts matriarch - who faces 43 charges, the most of the group - claimed to police she should get bail because 'she did not do what she is accused of' and had a 'daughter who is dependent on her'.

But she was denied bail as there was 'a strong prosecution case and the length of time spent in custody is not likely to exceed the sentence imposed after conviction', the documents said.

That same day the 29-year-old woman raped both of them in the company of another female, court documents alleged

The man has been accused of twice filming sex encounters with the boys on his mobile phone

The home where the group members are alleged to have lived was left deserted on Wednesday, with a man's bag left at the front packed to the brim with clothes and dress shoes

Police have expressed horror at the allegations, with a source telling News Corp they were the 'most disturbing things I've read in 24 years'. It has been claimed some of the allegations involving the small boys involve 'blood rituals'.

The group's defence lawyer protested their innocence earlier this week. 'They say we simply didn't do this,' Bryan Wrench said.

'They have been aware of these allegations (since) September last year and have been at liberty since that time.'

The group's western Sydney home was left deserted on Wednesday, with a man's bag left at the front packed to the brim with clothes and dress shoes and what appeared to be circus paraphernalia out the front.

Friends of the group who arrived at the rundown bush property claimed media attention was 'invasive'.
The first NRL player to come out as gay says he has irreversible brain damage after being knocked out on the field 14 times.

Ian Roberts, 52, was one of 25 retired league players who took part in a La Trobe University study into the effects of repeated concussions on the brain.

The men, aged 45 to 60, completed five tasks to test their memory, short-term learning and attention, reaction time, and fine motor skills.

The research, published on Thursday, found the head injuries they suffered left them with long-term impairments compared to the control group.

The first NRL player to come out as gay, Ian Roberts (pictured), says he has irreversible brain damage after being knocked out on the field 14 times

Roberts (pictured in 1994) was one of 25 retired league players who took part in a La Trobe University study into the effects of repeated concussions on the brain

The research, published on Thursday, found the head injuries Roberts (pictured) and other retired league players suffered left them with long-term impairments compared to a control group

Roberts, who suffered his first concussion in his early teens, said he knew something was wrong with him but was surprised to find scarring on his brain.

The former Australian national player said players needed to know so they could make informed decisions about their careers.

'They need to know the consequences of repetitive concussions, because there's a price to pay,' he told the BBC.

The former South Sydney and Manly star, who came out publicly as gay in 1994, said he had 'mental health complications' since his 1998 retirement and noticed memory issues since starting an acting career.

Roberts (pictured), who suffered his first concussion in his early teens, said he knew something was wrong with him but was surprised to find scarring on his brain

'In the last five years I've noticed my recollection of things has slowed down and my memory isn't as sharp as it was,' he said.

'I first realised it at rehearsals for plays because my ability to learn lines has deteriorated. I'm just not as sharp as I was in the past.'

Concussion expert Alan Pearce compared the test results of the players with those of 25 men of similar age with no history of brain injury or concussion.

BRAIN TESTING ON NRL PLAYERS Type of test NRL players versus control group Grabbing, manipulating and placing three pins into holes 20 per cent worse in fine motor skills testing Reaction time to touching a target when it appears on screen 15 per cent slower reaction time Finding location of discrete patterns concealed behind boxes on screen 122 per cent worse in learning a novel task Finding and remembering tokens behind boxes repeatedly 98 per cent worse in working memory Focusing on one figure as two figures are randomly displayed on screen 71 per cent worse in maintaining concentration Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) 76 per cent returned abnormal brain responses Advertisement

'I would have expected the players to outperform the control in the learning of a novel task due to the way they have trained as athletes, but they really struggled in learning new material,' he said.

However, Dr Pearce said the diagnosis 'shouldn't be a death sentence' and brain cognitive training was shown to improve function and slow progression.

Roberts said he did the training for the past few years and felt he was sharper than when he was doing nothing about his injuries.

The NRL said it was 'aware of the study' and added it 'takes concussion seriously and is continuing to adopt international best practice in concussion management'.
Police who tasered a 12-year-old boy have been told to take more care over using the electro-shock weapons on children.

The Northern Territory Territory Police Force were told by the state ombudsman to 'carefully consider' their use after an unarmed boy was stunned by an officer.

But the force has not been banned outright from using tasers by the NT Ombudsman after it released its report into the incident.

A police officer tasered a 12-year-old boy after a car was reported stolen in the Northern Territory in 2016

The boy was shot with the taser gun by a policeman responding to a call in Bakewell in November 2016.

Three boys tried to run away after a car was allegedly stolen and police tracked them down to a petrol station.

When police confronted the boys, a 12-year-old who was a passenger in the car tried to run away and he was tasered by police from just three-metres.

A review into the incident published by the NT Ombudsman Peter Shoyer said a 'rigorous and cautionary approach' was needed, the ABC reports.

The NT Ombudsman has issued a range of recommendations to the police force over using taser guns on children

He said while the risk of death was low the 'severity of the potential outcome is extreme'.

Police were handed nine recommendations from the watchdog which including telling NT Police to 'carefully consider' the use of tasers on children.

The force was told that using them on juveniles despite their age as being a 'special circumstance'.

Mr Shoyer has also said the force should reconsider its policy for vulnerable people including people of a smaller stature or slight build.

The force was told that using them on juveniles despite their age as being a 'special circumstance'

He also advised the police to inform officers about the 'inherent risks' of using tasers and restrictions on chemical sprays and other restraining tactics.

'The Northern Territory Police Force are currently working on amendments to provide additional guidance to officers in the use of tasers, particularly in special circumstances,' the force said in a statement to the ombudsman review.

The officer had been given additional training about taser user, the force said in a briefing.
A winter storm brought snow, ice and rain from Texas all the way up to Maine on Wednesday.

This is the same storm that has killed several people in accidents in the Midwest since Monday - including six in Iowa, two in Missouri and one in Montana.

It's estimated that 83 million Americans are currently under winter storm advisories or warnings today.

While the storm will no doubt cause traffic chaos over a wide stretch of the Eastern U.S. - the upside is that it is a fast-moving storm and should be over completely be Thursday morning when it moves up into Canada.

Before then though, it is expected to dump between six to 12 inches of snow from Pennsylvania up into Maine.

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Icy roads led to vehicles colliding and causing minor injuries on Wednesday in Winchester, Virginia

Motorists traveling along Route 309 in Hazleton, Pennsylvania drive slowly as they venture out during a winter storm on Wednesday

Both lanes on the Mario Cuomo bridge in Tarrytown, New York were shut down Wednesday morning when a tractor-trailor jackknifed on the slippery roads

Above, another view of the multi-car crash on the Mario Cuomo bridge on Wednesday

The heaviest snow was expected to fall inland, in places like Albany, New York; Syracuse, New York; Burlington, Vermont; and Bangor, Maine.

Snow started falling in New York City around 9am, but quickly stopped and rain is expected later in the day. Just outside of the city, in Tarrytown, New York, the snow caused a tractor-trailer to jack-knife on the Mario Cuomo bridge, leading to a multi-car pileup that closed traffic in both directions. There were reports of multiple injuries in including a woman who became entrapped.

Boston will likely see the same mix of snow and rain, but later in the day as the storm works its way up the Eastern seaboard.

A storm brought snow and ice to much of the Eastern U.S. on Wednesday

Snow is expected to fall in much of the Northeast, with areas of freezing rain around the Appalachians and southern New England

Inland Mid-Atlantic and New England is expected to get the most snow, from six to 12 inches

The snow is expected to stop by Wednesday night or Thursday morning, when it moves up into Canada

Parts of the snow storm will cause the perfect conditions for ice, causing traffic chaos for many East Coasters

An estimated 83million Americans are currently under winter weather advisories or warnings

The storm stretches all the way south into Texas and the Gulf states =

Parts of the Philadelphia and Washington, DC areas could see a wintery mix in the morning, but rain will likely predominate in these areas.

However, it will be enough to cause a headache for Eagles fans attending the city's Super Bowl parade on Thursday. Meteorologists say roads may be icy heading into Philadelphia, with slippery conditions on side streets and sidewalks. But a little snow likely won't make an impact on passionate Eagles fans celebrating their first-ever Super Bowl win.

While the fast moving nature of the storm means it will be over quickly, it also means it will make it harder to keep the roads clean.

A woman looks up as snow begins to fall in front of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday morning

Matt Genagey of Lichtenfels Nursery in Johnstown, Pennsylvania shovels a mixture of sleet and snow from the sidewalks in the downtown area on Wednesday

A man uses a snow blower to clean a sidewalk in the Long Island City section of Queens, New York on Wednesday

Traffic is backed up in the west bound lane of U.S. 60 at Kentucky 144 due to an accident in the icy weather conditions on Wednesday morning in Owensboro, Kentucky

The Daviess County Sheriff's Department works the scene of an accident on an overpass in the west bound lane of U. S. 60, just east of Owensboro, Kentucky, during icy conditions Wednesday morning

'Snow and sleet may occur at a very fast rate for a time,' AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Elliot Abrams said. 'As a result, it may be difficult for road crews to keep up, and some motorists may get stuck on the roads.'

Perhaps the most dangerous area to be in on Wednesday is the Appalachians into Southern New England were the snow is expected to turn into freezing rain.

The current ice forecast shows slippery conditions from Cincinnati, Ohio to Pittsburgh and Harrisburg in Pennsylvania, all the way up into western Massachusetts, as well as far south as parts of northeastern West Virginia.

The ice will cause dangerous road conditions and could take down power lines and trees.

The storm is already causing travel chaos at some of the nation's biggest airports

'A significant ice storm with widespread power outages may occur in parts of southern Ohio, northeastern West Virginia, western Maryland, northern Virginia and southern Pennsylvania,' AccuWeather Senior Storm Warning Meteorologist Brian Wimer said.

The weather is already causing delays and cancellations at airports throughout the region.

As of 10am on Wednesday, Atlanta, located at the very bottom of the storm, had the most delays in the nation, followed by Chicago, Detroit, and two NYC-area airports - Newark Liberty and LaGuardia.

Newark Liberty and Boston Logan had the most cancellations in the nation.

At New York's LaGuardia airport, flights were being delayed at their origin airport for an average of more than an hour due to the snow and ice.

Since the cancellations and delays are happening at some of the nation's largest airports, it's likely to have a ripple effect of delays and cancellations across the country.

The storm system is predicted to move into Canada by Wednesday evening, bringing and end to precipitation by the early hours of Thursday.
An 11-year-old boy lost his life after rescuing his friend from a frozen pond in Queens, New York on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said Anthony Perez tragically died while pulling his 12-year-old pal Juan Umpierrez out of the water in Forest Park on Myrtle Avenue during after school hours.

The children had been playing together near the pond when Umpierrez accidentally fell in.

Perez successfully assisted his friend out of the icy water, but while doing so, he tumbled in himself.

When a team hurried to rescue Perez, it was too late, FDNY deputy chief George Healy told the New York Post.

Anthony Perez, 11, tragically died Tuesday afternoon after he rescued his friend, Juan Umpierrez, 12 from a frozen pond in Queens, New York

Healy said the help trudged though water 'up to their chest' to retrieve the child, and when they did, his breathing had already stopped.

He was administered CPR and also transported to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Two firefighters were hospitalized for hypothermia.

His friend, Umpierrez, turned out OK, but Perez 'couldn't save himself,' Healy said sadly.

Neighbor to the late Middle Village boy, Donnamarie Colandro Parlatore, who said Perez often played in the neighborhood with her grand kids, shared a heartbreaking message to Facebook late Tuesday.

The heartbreaking incident happened at Forest Park during after school hours, police said

Neighbor and friend, Donnamarie Colandro Parlatore, took to her Facebook page to share a heartbreaking message

'I am going though very bad day. I got bad news today a child I knew life was taken... he was only 11 years old,' Parlatore wrote.

'He was with his friends. Anthony is his name, he was at the lake at forest park in queens NY. He stood on the ice in the lake and the ice broken. He fell right though the ice and drown.

'I knew him well he play with my grandchildren came in my house. I am lost with words I just cant believe it,' she added, next to, 'R.I.P. My little angel. Anthony you will never be forgotten. I love you little man.'

Neighbor Carmen Rivera told the Post Perez was a friendly, 'nice little kid' and now, a true 'hero'.

Another neighbor who knew him, Leonardo Coraci, also spoke fondly of the boy.

'He's a good kid, he's a really great kid... it's a shame,' Coraci said of the tragic accident.

The New York City Fire Department since released a safety warning to Twitter warning parents about the unsafe conditions of lakes and ponds during winter.
Oleg Deripaska reportedly raised an estimated 1bn through his energy firm EN+

A controversial Russian aluminium magnate has come to the attention of MI6 after his company was floated on the London Stock Exchange.

Oleg Deripaska, who is said to be a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, reportedly raised an estimated 1 billion through his energy firm EN+.

But questions have now been raised about the Russian oligarch's links to military hardware.

Considered one of Russia's wealthiest men, the 49-year-old father-of-two is worth a reported 5 billion.

Born in 1968 in the city of Dzerzhinsk, some 250 miles east of Moscow, Deripaska attended the School of Physics at Moscow State University before graduating from Moscow's School of Economics at Plekhanov Academy of Economics.

He went on to establish himself in the domestic metals industry and in 2008, Forbes magazine listed Deripaska as the ninth-richest man in the world, worth about $28 billion.

But when the financial crisis hit he almost went bankrupt before bouncing back - with the help of the Kremlin, according to some reports.

In 2016, Forbes ranked Deripaska as Russia's 41st wealthiest man.

He hit the headlines in 2017 when he was found to have ties with Paul Manfort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman.

Considered one of Russia 's wealthiest men, Deripaska (pictured in 2010), is worth a reported 5 billion

A report claimed $26million was transferred from Oguster Management Ltd  a company owned by Deripaska  to Yiakora Ventures Ltd - entities linked to Manafort.

Manafort denied that any business he did with Deripaska a decade ago was related to helping the Russian government.

Last year David Cameron's former energy minister Greg Barker was appointed chairman of a Deripaska's aluminium firm EN+.

But critics said the move was further worrying evidence of the 'revolving door' between Whitehall and the City.

The oligarch (pictured in 2017 with Herman Gref, CEO of Sberbank of Russia) hit the headlines in 2017 when he was found to have ties with Paul Manfort, President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman

Deripaska also owns the aluminium company Rusal, which produces a metal powder used 'in the production of military equipment'.

The same type of powder was used to make the missile which investigators said was responsible for downing Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Lord Mandelson is also an intimate friend Deripaska, having in 2005 famously joined him in a 'Banya'  a traditional sauna in which they were thrashed with bunches of birch twigs by a 25-year-old man, before jumping into freezing water.

Deripaska also hosted Lord Mandelson on his super-yacht, where the pair holidayed alongside Nat Rothschild, then shadow chancellor George Osborne and Tory fund-raiser Andrew Feldman in Corfu in 2008.

A spokesman for the EN+ group said: 'The En+ Group IPO was fully compliant with all relevant UKLA and FCA regulations and listing rules. The use of proceeds by En+ did not breach any US and EU sanctions.

'Both En+ Group and UC RUSAL have necessary policies and procedures to ensure full compliance with U.S. and E.U. sanctions applicable to their operations. En+ Group has always been sanction-compliant.'
Two more members of John Ibrahim's family have been charged over their alleged involvement in an international drugs and tobacco syndicate.

Sam Sayour, 26, and his brother Abraham Sayour, 21, John Ibrahim's nephews, both appeared at Central Local Court on Wednesday charged with allegedly possessing tobacco products they knew were imported illegally.

Sam Sayour also faces a charge of dealing with the proceeds of crime, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Sam married disgraced former Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer's sister, Aisha, in November last year.

Sam married disgraced former Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer's sister, Aisha, in November last year

Luxury cars lined the streets outside the wedding venue, as the pair wed in a seemingly low-key event.

Sam and Abraham Sayour had their cases adjourned until May, but both were granted bail on strict conditions.

As part of their bail, the pair needed to surrender their passports.

The charges come six months after John Ibrahim's brother's Michael and Fadi were arrested in Dubai.

The arrests were the result of a string of raids which targeted an alleged drug and tobacco syndicate.

Sam married disgraced former Auburn Deputy Mayor Salim Mehajer's sister, Aisha, in November last year

Abraham Sayour, 21, (pictured) John Ibrahim's nephew, appeared at Central Local Court on Wednesday charged with allegedly possessing tobacco products they knew were imported illegally

Sam and Abraham Sayour (pictured) had their cases adjourned until May, but both were granted bail on strict conditions

Meanwhile, the son of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim has been slapped with a fresh drugs charge.

Daniel Ibrahim, who was among more than a dozen people arrested in Sydney and abroad in 2017 as part of an ongoing police operation, is now accused of possessing a prohibited steroid.

The 27-year-old appeared briefly in Central Local Court on Wednesday, alongside his uncle, Fadi Ibrahim, and several others allegedly linked to the syndicate.

Talal Derbas, Kingsley Marcus Conomos, Ahmad Klink, Abraham Sayour and Hasan Sayour joined 13 others who are already before the courts in connection to the investigation.

Four of the five men are facing charges relating to alleged tobacco importation offences while the other is accused of allegedly dealing with an instrument of crime - money worth $100,000 or more.

Their matters are due to return to court on May 2.

Police arrested more than 15 people in August 2017 but John Ibrahim (pictured) has not been charged

Ibraham Sayour is pictured with Fadi Ibrahim who was arrested in Dubai last year in August

Police arrested more than 15 people in August 2017 across three countries as part of Operation Veyda. They raided dozens of homes across Sydney including John Ibrahim's property in Dover Heights.

Fadi Ibrahim and younger brother Michael Ibrahim were arrested in Dubai, while John's son, Daniel, was arrested for allegedly handing over $2.25 million to buy illegal tobacco.

John Ibrahim has not been charged.

The operation, which was launched in mid-2016, has led to the seizure of 1.8 tonnes of ecstasy, 136 kilograms of cocaine and 15kg of crystal meth.

The Australian Federal Police said investigations remained ongoing and 'further activity by the AFP cannot be ruled out'.
A circus worker has lost his arms after being attacked by the tigers he was feeding in a makeshift cage in Guatemala.

Cipriano Alvarez had his limbs ripped off after putting his hands too far through the metal bars to give the animals a bucket of water to drink from at a circus in the village of El Jocotillo.

Locals saved the 55-year-old's life by throwing stones at the tigers and beating them with sticks so they could free him from the animals clutches.

Circus worker Cipriano Alvarez had his arms ripped off after being attacked by tigers he was feeding in a makeshift cage. He is pictured with his gruesome injuries as medics transferred him to hospital

Locals saved the 55-year-old's life by throwing stones at the tigers (pictured) and beating them with sticks so they could free him from the animals clutches

An ambulance rushed Cipriano to hospital and medics managed to keep him alive with an emergency operation. His arms were eaten by the tigers and couldnt be saved.

Traumatic pictures of him sitting in a municipal ambulance while he was stabilised at the scene were published in local media.

Today it emerged Cipriano had agreed to look after the 13 tigers just two months ago so he could feed his family.

Son Victor Hugo said he normally used metal rods to remove the plates he gave the animals their food on.

He told local media his dad had been instructed to feed the tigers two days and leave them without food on the third.

An ambulance rushed Cipriano to hospital and medics managed to keep him alive with an emergency operation. His arms were eaten by the tigers and couldnt be saved

Local reports said the site was being used temporarily by the circus owners before a permanent move to more suitable accommodation in Belize. Officials are pictured at the scene

Cipriano is now in intensive care at Cuilapa Hospital in Santa Rosa, near the scene of the near-tragedy in the village of El Jocotillo.

Jimmy Navarro, regional director of a government agency called CONAP which is responsible for the conservation and sustainable use of Guatemalas biological diversity, said officials had confirmed 13 big cats, a llama and a camel were being kept in cages on waste ground in the village.

Local reports said the site was being used temporarily by the circus owners before a permanent move to more suitable accommodation in Belize.

The animals owners are said to have agreed to pay Ciprianos medical bills.
State Sen. Jeff Kruse not only subjected two female senators to unwanted touching, he groped or gave lingering hugs to many other women working at the Oregon Capitol, according to a report released Tuesday by an independent investigator.

Dian Rubanoff, the investigator and an employment law attorney in private practice, said in the report that Kruse's actions created a hostile workplace, The Oregonian reported.

Two Democratic Oregon senators, Sara Gelser of Corvallis and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward of Portland, publicly accused twice-divorced Kruse last fall of sexual misconduct, saying he subjected them to unwanted touching and inappropriate close contact. A formal complaint filed by Gelser in November triggered a requirement that a legislative committee arrange for an outside investigation of her claims.

An independent investigation has found that Oregon state Sen. Jeff Kruse groped multiple women working at the Capitol in Salem over the years

Rubanoff found that Kruse engaged in a 'longstanding pattern of unwelcome physical contact' with women at the Capitol and that he was, until 2017, 'oblivious' to the effects of his actions.

Rubanoff wrote in her report that Kruse told her he had 'no recollection' of most of the alleged misdeeds.

Kruse told the investigator that he believed his behavior was 'instinctual' and that although he wanted to change, 'It's not easy to change when you have been doing something for 67 years.'

Kruse last fall said he had never done anything he believed 'anybody could portray as sexual' and said he would not resign.

The Republican from Roseburg didn't immediately return an email from The Associated Press late Tuesday night seeking comment about the report.

Two Democratic Oregon senators, Sara Gelser (left) and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward (right) publicly accused twice-divorced Kruse last fall of sexual misconduct, saying he subjected them to unwanted touching and inappropriate close contact

The report revealed new instances of what it said was misconduct by Kruse against a House member, a third female senator, two law students who used to work for him, Republican and non-partisan staffers, a former legislative aide and a lobbyist. Those women weren't named in the report.

One of the law students told the investigator that Kruse would call her 'little girl' and tell her she was 'sexy' while at work in the Capitol. She also told the investigator that Kruse subjected her to 'a lot of hugging' and would grab her and pull her into a tight hug at least twice per week.

The law student used normal social cues to tell Kruse she did not accept his conduct, the report said, but Kruse didn't pick up on it. The student told investigators she didn't speak up about it because she was 'terrified' how it might affect her career.

Multiple staffers in the Senate Republicans caucus office told Rubanoff that Kruse had grabbed them and pulled them in or wrapped his arms around them.

A few instances of Kruse's contact with female lawmakers were recorded on official Legislative videos of Senate floor sessions and committee meetings.

Kruse's unwanted behaviors 'escalated' after legislative officials warned him to stop, the investigator concluded. The fact that his conduct was widely known yet went unchecked left less powerful women to suffer, certain their complaints would go nowhere, she wrote.

The investigation in Oregon is one of many in statehouses nationwide following a tidal wave of sexual misconduct allegations against men in power since an October expose of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein by the New York Times.

After the sexual misconduct allegations against Weinstein were publicized, Oregon's Senate Republican spokesman Jonathan Lockwood said on Twitter that Gov. Kate Brown and Gelser had received cash linked to the Hollywood producer, and asked if they were going to return the money.

Weinstein donated $5,000 to the Democratic Party of Oregon during the 1995-1996 election cycle, a decade before Gelser was elected to the Legislature.

Gelser denied receiving any Weinstein money. She then named Kruse as the colleague she had previously complained about, saying 'the culture needs to change.'

Gelser was later included in Time Magazine's Person of the Year feature, which focused on 'silence breakers' who spoke out about sexual harassment.

Brown in a statement Tuesday night called for Kruse to resign, saying his behavior is not acceptable in the Capitol or any workplace. Democratic House Speaker Tina Kotek of Portland also called for him to step down.

Senate Republican Leader Jackie Winters of Salem declined to comment to the newspaper. Winters' spokeswoman, Tayleranne Gillespie, said in a statement, 'At this time, we are reviewing the report. The process is still ongoing, and will continue with the Senate Conduct Committee meeting.'

Tuesday's report is scheduled for consideration by the Senate Conduct Committee February 22.

According to his voting profiles, Kruse is the father of two children.
Theresa May dodged raising Donald Trump's condemnation of the NHS when they spoke on the phone last night.

The US president sparked fury earlier this week with a Twitter outburst claiming the health service was 'going broke and not working'.

Downing Street rejected the criticism, while Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt took on Mr Trump by pointing out that millions of Americans have no provision.

The exchanges threatened to undermine efforts to get the Special Relationship back on track after a series of spats - including and extraordinary public row over Mr Trump's retweeting posts from a British far-right group.

Mrs May (pictured giving a speech yesterday) did not mention the NHS when she spoke to Mr Trump (pictured at the White House last night), instead focusing on North Korea and the prospect of a new Transatlantic data-sharing deal

Theresa May and Donald Trump tried to get the Special Relationship back on track with a show of unity when they met in Davos last month

But Mrs May did not mention the NHS when she spoke to Mr Trump last night, instead focusing on North Korea and the prospect of a new Transatlantic data-sharing deal.

A No10 spokesman said Mrs May stressed the 'great importance' of a new US data law, which will also enable reciprocal deals to allow police in the UK to access information across the Atlantic.

'They discussed the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (Cloud) Act, due to be considered by the US Senate later this month,' the spokesman said.

'The act covers how the US can access data stored in another country, when it is needed to prosecute serious crime or to disrupt terrorism.

'It will also authorise the US attorney general to enter into agreements with like-minded allies like the UK to allow reciprocal compliance with US and foreign court orders.

'With it, law enforcement officials in the US and the UK will be empowered to investigate their citizens suspected of terrorism and serious crimes like murder, human trafficking, and the sexual abuse of children regardless of where the suspect's email or messages happen to be stored.

'The Prime Minister stressed the great importance of the legislation to the UK authorities in investigating criminal and terrorist activity in the UK.

'The Prime Minister and President Trump agreed the passage of the act through the US legislative system was vital for our collective security.'

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt took on Mr Trump on Monday by pointing out that millions of Americans have no provision

Asked if the issue of the NHS came up during the telephone call, Downing Street said: 'It did not.'

Triggering the row on Monday, Mr Trump tweeted that 'thousands of people are marching' in the UK because of concerns about the state of the NHS.

The US president made the attack as he targeted Democrats pushing for a British-style universal health system in the US.

Mr Hunt responded with a tweet of his own, saying no-one protesting about the state of the NHS wanted a US-style system.

'NHS may have challenges but I'm proud to be from the country that invented universal coverage - where all get care no matter the size of their bank balance,' he said.

Downing Street said the Prime Minister was 'proud' of the NHS and its funding was 'at a record high'.
Elon Musk has thanked President Trump for his kind words after his SpaceX company successfully launched the world's most powerful rocket to Mars.

Trump tweeted the PayPal billionaire Tuesday to congratulate him on the launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket, saying it shows 'American ingenuity at its best!'

Musk then replied, thanking Trump before adding: 'An exciting future lies ahead.'

Donald Trump tweeted his congratulations to Elon Musk last night after the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy rocket

Musk, one of Trump's former business advisers, thanked the President while promising 'an exciting future lies ahead'

Falcon Heavy, the world's most powerful operational rocket, launched from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral on Tuesday

Falcon Heavy is a modified version of SapceX's Falcon 9 rocket, which is capable of blasting objects into space before returning to earth to be used again.

The Heavy variant features two booster rockets on either side of a modified Falcon Heavy core, meaning it can launch heavier payloads deeper into space, before the boosters and main rocket all return.

Tuesday's launch, which took place at 3.15pm from Cape Canaveral, was a partial success, with both boosters landing in unison.

However, it appears two out of three of the boosters on the core rocket failed as it attempted to land on a drone ship.

This meant the center core missed the ship by around 100m and slammed into the water at 300mph, Musk told Engadget.

'We have the video,' Musk said, adding 'it sounds like some pretty fun footage... if the cameras didn't get blown up as well.'

Spectators at Cocoa Beach record on their smartphones as the Falcon Heavy rocket launches a Tesla Roadster towards Mars

The Falcon Heavy is a modified version of SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket with two boosters strapped to the sides, allowing it to send heavier payloads deeper into space

The Falcon Heavy's boosters land in unison having separated from the main rocket, flipped over on the edge of space, then returned to earth

Even with the failed landing, the Falcon Heavy managed to achieve its primary objective, which was to launch a Tesla Roadster towards Mars - complete with a crash dummy behind the wheel and David Bowie on the radio.

Trump is reported to be an admirer of Musk's mission to colonize other planets, according to an excerpt from Michael Wolff's book Fire And Fury.

Wolff details a meeting between the two at Trump Tower shortly after the election, in which Musk explained his vision to the President-elect.

'Musk pitched Trump on the new administrations joining him in his race to Mars, which Trump jumped at,' he wrote.

The Tesla owner subsequently joined one of Trump's business advisory councils, but quit in June after the President announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord.
These stunning images capture the eerie beauty of a ghost town in the Chernobyl exclusion zone like never before.

Vladimir Migutin, who specialises in infrared photography, travelled to Pripyat - a city in the Ukraine that once housed the families of thousands of men and women who worked at the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.

It's now a UNESCO World Heritage Site after the world's most catastrophic nuclear disaster, which released at least 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, on April 26, 1986.

At least 31 people died in the days after the accident, although the long-term impact of the radiation is harder to quantify - and at least 130,000 people were moved out of a 30km zone around Chernobyl in the months following.

But decades after the fallout, Mr Migutin found that while men continue to stay away  animals and plants are thriving.

So over the course of a two-day trip a few years ago, he took pictures, using a full spectrum camera and a 590-nm infrared filter from Kolari Vision, of everything from wild foxes to abandoned amusement parks.

'We always hear praises of the might of Mother Nature, how it renders useless mans' creations, and bears life above the ruins,' Mr Migutin said.

'Well, it's something that is always felt, but never on such a huge scale. This place IS the place for these contrasts.'

He added: 'It's pretty hard to describe the overall atmosphere I experienced during this trip.

'Despite the events of 1986, the ruins, and the rust, I didn't have grim feelings while traveling there. On the contrary, it felt like I was in a 'kind of' paradise on a different planet.'
Anna Wiles (pictured outside Manchester Magistrates' Court) drank a bottle of vodka after she was made redundant

A former magistrate's wife who downed a bottle of vodka before driving her Mini convertible has been banned from the roads for three years.

Anna Wiles, 54, had just been made redundant when she was almost four times the alcohol limit and slumped in the driver's seat.

The mother of two - a former company buyer - drank a quarter bottle of vodka in 'one go' just hours after learning she would be losing her employment as an administrator at a care home.

Mrs Wiles, from Sale, Greater Manchester, was so intoxicated as her car weaved along the street, and eyewitness called an ambulance thinking she had had suffered a stroke or a heart attack.

At Manchester Magistrates' Court, Wiles admitted drink driving and was disqualified for three years and was also sentenced to eight weeks jail suspended for a year.

Her husband Richard, 56, who sat as JP for seven years watched from the public gallery.

The court heard the incident occurred last month on January 10 after Wiles had bought the bottle of vodka from a local shop before driving home.

Tina Cunnane, prosecuting, said: 'The defendant was spotted by an independent witness who spotted her weaving in her lane.

'She was concerned about her driving and the defendant then stopped in the road.

'The witness approached the car and saw the defendant slumped in the driver's seat with her head back and her mouth open.

'She was concerned that she had suffered a stroke or heart attack. When the paramedics attended they called the police.

'The police arrived and the defendant's husband arrived and indicated that she was intoxicated. She was arrested and taken to the police station.'

Tests showed Wiles had 134 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 mililtres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Wiles (pictured) admitted drink driving and was disqualified for three years and was also sentenced to eight weeks jail suspended for a year

A probation report was read to the court, which said: This is her first offence. She told me about the background to what happened that day on the 10th of January.

'She tells me that she had quite an emotional conversation with her husband the night before.

'On the 10th January she found out that she was being made redundant and was concerned about going home to find her husband in a position that she didn't want to find him in.

'She then made the foolish decision - and she acknowledges that - to buy a quarter bottle of vodka and consumed that in one go.

'She doesn't remember much, she remembers bits and pieces but she remembers the police arriving at the scene and then not a lot before or after that.

'She knows and is upset that she could have killed somebody or herself. Fortunately that didn't happen.

'The reading was quite high - almost four times the legal limit - but she has been cooperative and is very very sorry for what happened.

'She makes no excuses about it. She has lived with her husband in their property since 1996. It is owned by the couple and no one else is living there. They have two grown up daughters.'

The report added: 'She was made redundant in January having been in work for the majority of her adult life and had held an international role selling products to various retailers.

'It is only the last couple of years things have taken a downward turn. The alcohol use in the last few years has been a problem to the point that she has undertaken a couple of detoxes.

The court heard that Wiles - who is married to a former magistrate - had battled anxiety and depression

'She is in the process of obtaining benefits in the form of universal credit. Her husband is self employed and is insured if he ever goes on long term sick. Her two daughters are grown adults.'

The court heard Wiles had previously battled depression and anxiety.

Her lawyer Ravi Sethi said in mitigation: 'She is 54 years old with two children and has worked all her life.

'She has pleaded guilty and has no previous convictions. It is unfortunate she finds herself in this position.

'Her husband is an ex-magistrate and he understands how serious this is and she is taking it very seriously.'

Wiles was also ordered to pay 200 in costs and surcharges.

Passing sentence chairman of the magistrates Phillip Greene told Wiles: 'You are a person of good character but you will not be going to prison today.

'However your alcohol level was so high it does cross the custody threshold and we have to protect the public.

'Your alcohol reading was very very high and it is fortunate no one came to any harm including yourself.'
A Londoner is set to make history by becoming the first non-Brazilian dancer to lead the Rio Carnival.

Samantha Flores has been chosen as the main dancer on the front float, a position which has been reserved for Brazilian performers for all of its 78-year history.

Now, the 37-year-old Brit is set to saunter her way into the record books on Friday at the biggest carnival in the world, with more than two million people in attendance.

Despite having no professional dance training, she will stand atop the prestigious lead float belonging to the Imperio da Tijuca samba school.

Samantha Flores has been chosen as the main dancer on the front float, a position which has been reserved for Brazilian performers for all of its 78-year history

The 37-year-old Brit is set to saunter her way into the record books on Friday at the biggest carnival in the world, with more than two million people in attendance

Despite having no professional dance training, Ms Flores (right) will stand atop the prestigious lead float belonging to the Ingenieros de Tijuca samba school

Ms Flores will fulfill an ambition she has had since arriving in Rio more than a decade ago, after giving up her job as a PR executive in Kentish Town, north London.

She left behind her Jewish family for a new life in Brazil after going on a 'girls' trip' in 2006 and falling in love with Rio de Janeiro.

She told The Times: 'It was literally love at first sight. Within six months I had quit my job and moved here.'

'I do sometimes think 'what's a nice Jewish girl who used to just love a dance, nothing more, doing here?'

Ms Flores said she fell in love with Rio after visiting the city during a girls' holiday in 2006

Ms Flores left behind her Jewish family for a new life in Brazil after going on a 'girls' trip' in 2006 and falling in love with Rio de Janeiro

Ms Flores will fulfill an ambition she has had since arriving in Rio more than a decade ago, after giving up her job as a PR executive in Kentish Town, north London

The Brit has performed at several carvinals throughout Brazil, but this will be her first year as the lead performer

Despite having no professional dance training, the 37-year-old is set to break records this weekend

'I do sometimes think 'what's a nice Jewish girl who used to just love a dance, nothing more, doing here?'

The 2018 Rio Carnival starts a week before Ash Wednesday and runs from this Friday until Wednesday. The Winners Parade will be on Saturday, February 17.

It is considered one of the biggest carnivals in the world with millions of people watching from across the globe.

The Rio Carnival samba schools exhibit their parades in one of the many Sambadromes across Brazil.

The Rio Sambadrome is called Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai and the carnival has taken place here since 1984.

Carnival-goers can also find a street party outside the Sambadrome but will need to go to Cinelandia Square in Rios Centro for the largest organised street dance.
A plaque has been added above the statue of a controversial Michigan mayor which acknowledges that he was racist and 'disparaged African Americans'.

It has been placed alongside the monument to Mayor Orville Hubbard who for 36 years ran public services in the city of Dearborn.

The plaque - which mostly chronicles the events of his life - now has an added sentence which reads: 'A self-described segregationist, he periodically gained negative national attention for comments that disparaged African Americans.'

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Orville Hubbard's statue has been moved several times to less conspicuous locations in Dearborn as public unease over his racist views increases

The added words reflect public embarrassment over Hubbard's legacy. His statue has been moved several times to less conspicuous locations and there has been a growing campaign to get rid of it altogether.

Hubbard's flamboyant 15 terms in office were characterized by municipal efficiency on the one hand and his outspoken segregationist policies on the other.

He was the mayor of Dearborn for 36 years, from 1942 to 1978. and was sometimes referred to as the 'Dictator of Dearborn'.

During his administration, non-whites were aggressively discouraged from residing in Dearborn, - his longstanding campaign to 'Keep Dearborn Clean' was widely interpreted to mean 'Keep Dearborn White.'

He is also reported to have told an Alabama newspaper in 1956 that 'black people cant get in here. Every time we hear of a Negro moving in.We respond quicker than you do a fire'.

But despite the abhorrence of his views, Hubbard is also remembered for delivering a wide range of city services to his constituents. He saw to it that they had had access to a system of public parks and public pools and purchased an eight-story senior citizen tower in Florida - all to be enjoyed by residents of the city.

While denying that he was a racist, in word and deed he expressed his segregationist convictions, The New York Times said in his 1982 obituary.

It said that in 1965, he was indicted under a Federal civil rights statute for allowing the Dearborn police to stand by while a crowd stoned the house of a resident who was mistakenly believed to have sold his property to a black family. Hubbard, acquitted, treated the jury to a steak dinner.

'I'm against anything that's unpopular with the public,' Hubbard once told a reporter. 'I favor Segregation.'

His position on racial issues kept all but a handful of blacks from moving to the Detroit suburb of which he was Mayor, the obituary said, 'even though, in the 1960's, nearly a third of the 36,000 employees of the Ford Motor Company's Dearborn plant were blacks'.

Hubbard, a Republican, ran for political office 19 times over 10 years, competing for everything from justice of the peace to Congressman, before he was elected Mayor in 1941 by 129 votes.

Hubbard (left) was awarded with numerous civic achievement awards during his lengthy tenure in office

During his time in office Dearborn enjoyed considerable municipal wealth - due in part to corporate taxes from the Ford Motor Company, the obituary said, pointing out that his constituents enjoyed such services as free baby-sitting and other benefits such as snow removal that included the plowing of both the streets and sidewalks.

In a commentary in the Detroit Metro Times in September 2015, Michael Jackson said that while Hubbard was a racist who favored government-promoted segregation, many well-meaning Dearbornites argue that a statue commemorating him is not a shrine to bigotry, 'but a monument to a man who retains the record for longest-serving mayor in U.S. history'.

Jackson argued that it is questionable whether Hubbard was any more racist than other politicians of his time - 'including the sainted Franklin Delano Roosevelt' and that he excelled when it came to providing public services for the people of his city.

'Any city administrator who could provide that level of service [he did] would be re-elected year after year, even if his name were Lucifer T. Devil.' he wrote.
An American entrepreneur is opening a holiday retreat on an island in Finland where no men are allowed.

SuperShe Island is under construction in the Helsinki archipelago, and is set to open to female only guests later this year.

Males will be banned from the ten-cabin retreat, which is created as an 'ultra-luxe and health-focused' oasis.

Real-life Lemnos: SuperShe Island is under construction in the Helsinki archipelago in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Finland

Girls allowed: The island retreat in the Baltic Sea is for women only - at least for the time being

Sanctuary: The 8.4-acre island is going to be a retreat for women to focus on health and fitness

It will be available to members of the SuperShe community, a networking group founded by American Kristina Roth.

Ms Roth, a former CEO of a consultancy business, came up with the idea of a 'women-only island after going on holistic retreats in the U.S. where she found that men were a distraction to the female visitors.

'When there was a cute guy, women would put on lipstick,' she told the New York Post.

She had already bought land on Turks and Caicos with the intention of building the SuperShe retreat there when she fell in love with a Finn - and then Finland.

Founder: American former consultant Kristina Roth came up with the idea of a women-only island when she visited holistic retreats in the U.S. and found that men were a distraction

Change of plans: Ms Roth had originally planned her SuperShe Island retreat in Turks and Caicos, but when she fell in love with a Finnish man, she also fell in love with Finland

Nearly there: The island is due to open in June this year, after all ten cabins have been built

Holistic: The SuperShe Island stays will feature yoga and fitness sessions as well as cooking classes

Her partner's parents owns the island next-door, and when the future SuperShe Island went up for sale, he convinced her to go for it.

The 8.4-acre island will feature ten cabins with 'spa-esque amenities', and Ms Roth is promising yoga and fitness sessions as well as cooking classes.

Ms Roth insists that there is no 'man-hating' behind the women-only policy, and that in future, she has no problem with male guests, but the island will first and foremost be for SuperShe community members and women of a similar ilk.
A young boy bitten on the face by a white dog in a Sydney street has suffered facial injuries.

A family member called an ambulance from an address on Dowding Street in Panania, while the man and the dog walked away from the scene.

The boy was taken to Bankstown Hospital for treatment.

A young boy (pictured) bitten on the face by a white dog in Sydney suffered facial injuries

He went to pat the dog and was bitten on the face before the man pulled it away

Police are now appealing for witnesses following the attack after the owner of the animal was unable to be located when emergency services arrived.

It is understood the boy approached a man, who was holding the dog on a leash.

The boy went to pat the dog and was bitten on the face before the man pulled it away.

Bankstown police would like to speak with a man they believe can assist with inquiries.

He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 180cm to 185cm tall with short black hair and wearing a white shirt.

A family member called an ambulance from a Dowding Street address in Panania
A Scottish grandfather died of sepsis after being forced to wait nearly eight hours for an ambulance to take him to hospital.

Electrician Alan Humphrey, 66, from Bearsden, near Glasgow, died on December 21 from sepsis  just two weeks after he was taken to the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

The Scottish Government has this week launched an awareness drive for the public and NHS staff following a campaign by the Scottish Daily Mail.

But the campaign came too late for Mr Humphrey's widow June, who believes he would still be alive today if he had been taken to hospital sooner.

Electrician Alan Humphrey, 66, from Glasgow, died on December 21 from sepsis  just two weeks after he was taken to the city's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (pictured)

She told The Daily Record: 'The damage had been done. The hospital did everything they could but it seems he got there too late.'

Mrs Humphrey said her husband had been feeling unwell for a couple of days, and when he saw their local GP he was diagnosed with gastrointestinal flu.

However, his condition quickly worsened.

She said: 'The doctor came to see him and rang for an ambulance at 4pm but it was 11.45pm before one arrived.

'I kept phoning but they couldn't tell me when one would arrive. The first couple of times I called, his condition hadn't changed. By the third time, they told me he would now be treated as an emergency.

'An hour-and-a-half later, I called again but it was another hour-and-a-quarter before an ambulance arrived.'

WHAT IS SEPSIS? Sepsis, known as the silent killer, strikes when an infection such as blood poisoning sparks a violent immune response in which the body attacks its own organs. It is the leading cause of avoidable death, killing at least 44,000 a year, and the Daily Mail has long campaigned for more awareness. If caught early, the infection can be controlled by antibiotics before the body goes into overdrive - ultimately leading to death within a matter of minutes. But the early symptoms of sepsis can be easily confused with more mild conditions, meaning it can be difficult to diagnose. A patient can rapidly deteriorate if sepsis is missed early on, so quick diagnosis and treatment is vital  yet this rarely happens. Advertisement

Mrs Humphrey said her husband had all the symptoms of sepsis - a rapid pulse, shivering and a high temperature.

When he finally got to hospital he was given four types on antibiotics and transferred to the intensive care unit but died after the sepsis created a thrombosis in his heart and a bleed on the brain.

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: 'We were experiencing an exceptionally high level of demand which meant it took us longer than we would have liked to reach Mr Humphrey. We will contact Mrs Humphrey to apologise and will conduct a full investigation of the circumstances.'

Sepsis kills someone in Scotland every four hours  more than breast and prostate cancer combined  but early detection and treatment can save lives.

The new 70,000 sepsis awareness campaign will see posters and leaflets sent to pharmacies and GP surgeries as well as adverts in print, radio and social media.

Sepsis is a rare but serious complication of an infection and without quick treatment it can lead to multiple organ failure and death. It can also hit the circulation, which means some patients may have to undergo amputation of hands, feet, legs or arms.

Early symptoms can include a very high or low temperature, uncontrolled shivering, a fast heartbeat or fast breathing, confusion, cold or blotchy hands or feet, and not passing urine as frequently as normal.

The campaign was created with the help of FEAT, Scotlands Sepsis Charity, founded in memory of Edinburgh GP Dr Fiona Elizabeth Agnew, who died of the condition along with her unborn daughter in 2012.

Her husband, Craig Stobo, who is the charitys chairman, said: This is a milestone day for sepsis awareness in Scotland.

He added: We have pressed for the need to raise awareness of this killer condition and are confident that this Scotland-wide campaign will be a game-changer in increasing the publics understanding of the symptoms of sepsis and the quick action needed to save lives.

While we cant bring back those lost to the condition, we dedicate this campaign to them and pledge to continue working towards the eradication of sepsis.

The campaign was launched at University Hospital Wishaw, Lanarkshire. Its A&E staff have begun using a sepsis trolley stocked with essential equipment  blood testing kits, oxygen and antibiotics  so vital early treatment of patients can begin in minutes.

Such trolleys are expected to be introduced to hospitals across Scotland. NHS Lanarkshire consultant Dr Calum McGregor said: Sepsis can be difficult to recognise, and many of the symptoms can be attributed to other conditions.

Five symptoms and signs to be aware of are a change in behaviour such as confusion, cold or blotchy hands and feet, uncontrollable shivering, very high or low temperature, and reduced urine.

Recent data suggests that for every hours delay in antibiotics, the chances of dying from sepsis increase so it is vital we get people the treatment they need as quickly as possible.
Chinese police have started wearing high-tech sunglasses that can help them spot suspects within seconds in a crowded train station.

The transport police in Zhengzhou, central China, are given the cutting-edge gadgets as railway hubs around the nation embrace the busiest time of the year: the Lunar New Year travel rush.

With the help of facial-recognition technology, officers donning the digital shades would be able to quickly identify suspicious individuals.

A Chinese police officer wears a pair of smartglasses with a facial recognition system at Zhengzhou East Railway Station in Zhengzhou in China's central Henan province

The high-tech sunglasses would allow officers to quickly identify suspicious targets at the busy station - by taking mugshots and sending them to a database back at their headquarters

The special glasses are being used by four officers positioned at the entrances to Zhengzhou's east station, according to the People's Daily.

A camera connected to the smartphone-like glasses would allow the officers to take mugshots of the individual in question and compare them to a database back at headquarters.

The system would then bring up the suspect's vital information, including name, ethnicity, gender and address. All the information would be transferred back to the officer's glasses.

The glasses would also tell officers whether or not the targets are on the run from the law, the address of the hotel where they are staying and information related to their internet usage.

So far, the gadgets have allowed police to nab seven suspects accused of crimes ranging from human trafficking to hit and runs, as well as another 26 people who were using fake IDs

The Lunar New Year travel rush, dubbed the largest annual human migration, began on February 1 across China.

Around the nation, some 390 million people are expected to travel by train in a 40-day period.

So far, the technology has allowed police in Zhengzhou to nab seven suspects.

They were accused of crimes ranging from human trafficking to hit and runs.

Another 26 people were caught using fake IDs, according to the state-owned People's Daily, quoting the city's police department.

The system is part of China's efforts to build a digital surveillance system able to use a variety of biometric data - from photos and iris scans to fingerprints - to keep close tabs on the movements of the entire population.

The rapid development of the technology has triggered a demand for commercial applications of the technology as well, with gyms, restaurants and even public toilets getting in on the facial recognition game.

Railway hubs around China are embracing the busiest time of the year: the Lunar New Year travel rush. Pictured, passengers wait to board trains in Shanghai on February 1

A policeman keeps order at Yuncheng North railway station in Shanxi Province on February 1

Most of the travellers are migrant workers travelling from major cities to their hometowns

Experts say China is racing ahead of Western countries in deploying facial scanners owing to its comparatively lax privacy laws and because Chinese are used to having their pictures, fingerprints and other personal details taken.

Banks are beginning to use facial recognition instead of cards at cash machines while the travel and leisure industry also sees opportunities - China Southern Airlines this year began doing away with boarding passes in favour of the scheme.

But the programmes have drawn fierce criticism from human rights organisations and privacy advocates, who are concerned by their potential for abuse.

China is deploying facial scanners owing to its comparatively lax privacy laws (file photo)

China has installed a surveillance system with over 20 million AI-equipped street cameras

Last month, China reportedly tested a sophisticated facial recognition system that could closely monitor targeted people in a Muslim-dominant province.

The network was installed at residents' homes and workplaces in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in western China, reported Bloomberg.

Xinjiang is home to about 10 million Uighur people, who follow Islam and look distinctively different from China's majority Han people.

Commenting on the news, William Nee, the China researcher at Amnesty International, said Amnesty International was concerned.

Mr Nee recognised that the Chinese government faces security concerns in the region and has the duty to protect its citizens from harm.

'But there is amble evidence that government is using new technologies, like widespread CCTV cameras combined with facial recognition technology, to create a perfect police state,' said Mr Nee.
Jeremy Corbyn last night shared a platform with a controversial former student leader accused of anti-Semitism.

The Labour leader spoke alongside former NUS President Malia Bouattia - who has previously described Birmingham University as 'something of a Zionist outpost'.

His appearance - which was not pre-announced - risks reigniting the anti-Semitism scandal which has dogged the arty since he was elected leader.

Meanwhile Mr Corbyn's close ally Chris Williamson joked that Labour should issue a 'diktat' to paint the famous No10 Downing Street door red if they are elected.

The Labour leader spoke alongside former NUS President Malia Bouattia - who has previously described Birmingham University as 'something of a Zionist outpost'.

Mr Williamson said: 'The first thing I want Jeremy to do when we carry him across the threshold of Downing Street is to order a diktat, and that is to paint Number 10's door red the important thing is not just to get into power, but to sustain power once we get there.'

What are safe spaces and why have they sparked so much controversy? A number of universities now pledge to create a 'safe space' for their students. Inspired by similar policies in the US, they are meant to protect them from language or behaviour which could be considered 'offensive or threatening'. In recent years, a string of people have fallen foul of policy, which attempt to keep controversial speakers off campus. In October, feminist activists attempted to cancel a talk by Germaine Greer at Cardiff University because of her belief that transgender women are not real women. Historian David Starkey was recently edited out of a Cambridge University fundraising video after students protested over his history of outspoken statements on race and gender. At Warwick University, student George Lawlor became a hate figure because he criticised compulsory anti-rape classes. Oxford University has been targeted by a movement lobbying to remove statues of Cecil Rhodes, the 19th-century imperialist and philanthropist, due to his racist political views. Advertisement

Members of the hard-left fell about laughing at the remark by Mr Williamson - who was recently sacked as fire minister after going pubic with his call to hike council tax.

Mr Corbyn's decision to speak alongside the controversial former student leader is likely to spark anger among many of his moderate backbenchers.

Her time as NUS president was marred by the accusation of anti-Semitism and claims the student union were riven with factionalism and in-fighting.

In her speech she reportedly attacked the Government's Prevent programme - which tries to root out terrorism.

Mr Corbyn is said to have applauded her speech and posed for photos with Ms Bouattia as they left the event.

Ms Bouattia has previously refused to apologise for her comments made about Birmingham University - which was made several years ago.

She has previously told the BBC: 'I would certainly review my language and would definitely want to explain the political context which I was discussing.

'I absolutely was not saying the things that it has been interpreted as, if you will...'

Ms Bouattia also defended 'safe space' and 'no-platform' policies in universities amid widespread concerns they are curtailing free speech.

The photos of the meeting emerged after Theresa May yesterday called for all politicians to unite to tackle abuse within the ranks of their supporters.

Ms Bouattia - who tweeted her thanks to Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell for attending the launch - has previously refused to apologise for her comments made about Birmingham University - which was made several years ago

Who is the former NUS President Malia Bouattia and why was she a controversial student leader? Former NUS President Malia Bouattia became the first black woman to be elected to the position when she was voted in in 2016. But her tenure as student leader was dogged by accusations of anti-semitism and claims the NUS was becoming a less tolerant institution. She called Birmingham University a 'Zionist outpost' and criticised 'mainstream Zionist-led media outlets' before becoming president. Meanwhile, the student union was dogged by claims of factionalism and controversies after supporting safe spaces and no platforming policies - which stopped many people form speaking tat universities. She was ousted in 2017 by Shakira Martin, who was unexpectedly elected NUS president after vowing to unify the union. Advertisement

The Prime Minister also hit out at the left-wing Momentum group for 'hounding' a council leader out of office as she condemned 'outright intimidation' in British politics.

She warned a 'line had been crossed' in recent years as she marked a century since women won the vote.

Mrs May called out the abuse of Claire Kober in Haringey in a partisan attack at the heart of her speech.

Mrs May outlined a package of measures to 'secure our democracy' including a change in the law to protect candidates, a crack down on social media abuse and a review of how the 'sustainability' of the free press.

Speaking in Manchester Mrs May said people with different views must re-learn how to disagree with out debate descending into abuse.

She said 'bitterness and aggression' had entered debate and British politics was 'in danger' as a result.

She added: 'Just last week the leader of Haringey Council resigned citing sexism, bullying, undemocratic behaviour and outright personal attacks which had left her disappointed and disillusioned.

'It's a depressing coincidence that in the week where we are celebrating the first centenary of women's participation in the democratic process, one of the most senior women in local government has been in effect hounded out of office.'

Responding to Mrs May's speech, shadow home secretary Diane Abbott - the subject to the most abuse and harassment during the election according to one study - called on the Tories to 'end their personalised attacks'.
This is the shocking moment a police medic repeatedly punches a man on the ground during a protest in London.

Thousands of Kurds took to the streets of north London to protest against Turkey's military attack on the Kurdish city of Afrin in Syria.

Footage has emerged of a Metropolitan Police officer, wearing a green cross medic badge, punching repeatedly punching a man on the ground, while others try to control the crowds.

This is the shocking moment a police medic repeatedly punches a man on the ground during a protest in London

Footage has emerged of a Metropolitan Police officer, wearing a green cross medic badge, punching repeatedly punching a man on the ground, while others try to control the crowds

In the video a man is on the ground, while two policeman - one of whom is a medic - try to keep him pinned down

The man tries to get up, without using much force but is pushed back down by the medic, who then punches him in the face four times

In the video a man is on the ground, while two policeman - one of whom is a medic - try to keep him pinned down.

The man tries to get up, without using much force but is pushed back down by the medic, who then punches him in the face four times.

The protester doesn't appear to show much resistance and it is not known if he was seriously injured during the incident at the weekend.

It is not known what occurred before the video started. The clip was posted on social media by a Kurdish media outlet.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: 'We are aware of a video posted on social media.

'We are in the process of establishing the circumstances of the incident. The Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed.'

The protest was against the attack the operation 'Olive Branch' in Afrin on January 20 against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey has blacklisted as 'terrorists'.
A candlelit vigil will be held to pay tribute to a young man who went missing and drowned in the sea off Victoria.

Rescuers found a body on a beach on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne, on Wednesday in the search for Khalil Nabizadah.

The 23-year-old was named as the man emergency services were looking for after he got caught in a rip and disappeared on Sunday.

Khalil Nabizadah (pictured right) was visiting the beach at Portsea in Victoria on Sunday when they he was caught in a rip

Police said the body found on Portsea Front Beach had not been formally identified but Mr Nabizadah was named as the missing swimmer

He was visiting the beach with two friends who had to be taken to hospital after getting into difficulty on London Bridge beach in Portsea.

Police said the body was found on Portsea Front Beach but had not been formally identified.

Friends have been paying tribute to Mr Nabizadah, who was from Narre Warren and worked for Telstra, and are planning to hold a candlelit vigil on Wednesday along the beach where he disappeared.

He has been described as a 'great sportsman, wonderful person and a fierce friend'.

Friends have been paying tribute to Mr Nabizadah who was from Narre Warren and a team leader with Telstra

Two of Mr Nabizadah's friends were rescued and flown to hospital in Melbourne on Sunday

Rescue teams spent three days looking for Mr Nabizadah following the call at 5.30pm on Sunday.

They pulled two more people from the water that afternoon and were thought to be his friends.

A 22-year-old Cranbourne West man was rescued and flown to Royal Melbourne Hospital where he remains in a stable condition, while a 23-year-old Cranbourne man was also rescued but did not require treatment.

Ground, air and water police searches took place in the hunt to find him.

Life Saving Victoria said the beach was 'not suitable for safe bathing'.
Shoppers in Folkestone got more than they bargained for when a fight broke out in the town centre - with the pants of one man falling down during the altercation.

The two men were filmed going toe-to-toe outside the Carphone Warehouse in the Kent town last Friday after the homeless man, wearing a green coat with his hood up, allegedly gave the other local man a dirty look.

Things quickly got heated and took a turn for the worst when the pair started to argue about who got more money from the Job Centre.

Threats were then made by each of them as one man threatens to bite the others eat off, while the other shouts 'I'll have ya' and 'come on you c***' back.

The two men appear are locked in battle after exchanging words outside a Carphone Warehouse in Folkestone, Kent

Just as things seem to be calming down with the homeless man walking from outside the Iceland next door towards the Carphone Warehouse, the pair begin to posture up again with the man wearing the green coat urging the other man to 'make a move'.

The Folkestone local then swings for the homeless man, who also swings for his rival, before the pair tie up and fall into the Carphone Warehouse.

The pair fall into the shop, with the homeless man on top and appearing to have come out better from the melee - yet as he goes to stand up his jeans fall to his knees.

One of the workers from the shop tries to push the men apart in an attempt defuse tensions between the pair, although they continue to hurl insults at each other.

Eventually their feud is brought to an end and the filming stops as the local man retreats into the store.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: 'Kent Police received a report of a disturbance in West Terrace, Folkestone at 12.56pm on Friday 2 February 2018.

'Officers attended the scene, the group dispersed prior to their arrival and no further incidents were reported.'
Petra Ecclestone has dissolved her luxury accessory brand after running up debts of 42.million

Petra Ecclestone has dissolved her luxury accessory brand after running up debts of 4.2million.

The Formula One heiress launched her designer company Stark at New York Fashion Week in 2011, one month after marrying ex-husband James Stunt in a 12million ceremony in Italy.

This week the 29-year-old has submitted papers to Companies House seeking to voluntarily dissolve the business, one week after divorce proceedings with Mr Stunt concluded.

To do this, the debts of 4.2 million according to the last accounts  will have been settled.

The inspiration for the line's name came after her father Bernie said her idea was 'stark raving mad'.

Her bags and purses, made from python and alligator skin, were priced between 400 and 3,000.

Petra returned to her maiden name of Ecclestone last week as a vitriolic divorce proceedings between her and Mr Stunt came to an end.

The High Court granted Petra full custody of their three children and gave her permission to relocate to the United States.

It appears the businesswoman is now ready to wrap up other loose ends, including the burden of floundering company Stark.

The accessories line has struggled since its inception, with debts of 4million registered in 2015.

Her bags and purses, made from python and alligator skin, were priced between 400 and 3,000

It appears she is now ready to wrap up the business, which has plunged into debts, having launched the collection in September 2011  one month after she married Stunt in a lavish 12 million affair at Odescalchi Castle in Italy

This is not the first time Petra has seen her efforts fall short, for in 2008 she launched the men's clothing company FORM, which went bust after only 14 months despite financial assistance from Bernie.

At the time of launching Stark, Petra said of FORM's failure: 'It was a very difficult economic climate; when confidence is low, consumers spend their money on established brands rather than taking a punt on an unknown. But I feel Stark handbags have really captured the mood  they're already in Harrods, Harvey Nichols and Selfridges.'

However, earlier this year these retailers stopped selling her collection.

Warning signs that Stark wasn't doing well were obvious when accounts for the year ending 2013 showed her company had amassed debts of 4.44 million, up from 2.65 million the year before.

Petra Ecclestone has been contacted for comment.
British glamour model Chloe Ayling was captured on CCTV cameras walking hand in hand with her alleged kidnapper on the day she was released.

The 20-year-old model, wearing a white T-shirt and jeans, was photographed with Luckas Herba just moments before he left her at the British consulate in Milan.

Miss Ayling had been shopping with her 30-year-old kidnapper but had made no attempt to flee or raise the alarm.

He later accompanied the model to the British consulate where he left her and attempted to walk away. Consulate staff apprehended Herba before he could escape.

Chloe Ayling was pictured on CCTV holding hands with her alleged kidnapper the day before she was released, an Italian court has heard

CCTV footage shows Miss Ayling and her alleged kidnapper walking into the British consulate last year when she was handed over to officials after her ordeal

Polish Luckas Herba is accused of kidnapping British glamour model and offering to sell her on the 'dark web'. He is pictured at court in Milan, Italy, today

Chloe Ayling (pictured) was allegedly kidnapped and held hostage in a remote house in Italy after being lured to the country for a fake photoshoot

A police officer told the court about a phone call Herba (pictured in court today) is alleged to have made to Chloe's agent demanding a ransom of 230,000 for her release

Herba, originally from Poland, but living in Birmingham in the UK, arrived at the courthouse this morning in Milan in a dark blue Italian police coach

Chloe's alleged kidnapper appeared at the court in Milan (pictured) for day one of his trial

Footage of the pair walking into the consulate was also shown at the Milan trial along with other CCTV shots of Herba while he was in Milan.

Miss Ayling claims she was drugged and bundled into the back of a car by Herba when she showed up for a fake photo shoot.

She was eventually released five days later but only after going clothes shopping with Herba, prompting speculation the kidnap was a publicity stunt.

In the first day of Herba's trial in Milan, an Italian police officer told the court he had phoned Miss Ayling's agent Phil Green and demanded 230,000 for her safe return.

The officer told the court: 'He said, 'I am a medium-level killer' and I am working for Black Death. Find the money.'

In a later email Herba told Green he had a deadline to find the money for Ayling's safe return.

Outlining the prosecution cause against Herba, Deputy Police Commissioner Serena Ferrari said the glamour model was to be sold over the internet with the virtual currency Bitcoin to be used to make any payment.

Miss Ayling posted this photo of her on holiday in Switzerland with her pet dog the day before her alleged kidnapper's trial started in Milan

Ferrari said: 'This is a very interesting case and very particular as the kidnapping was over the dark web.

'The ransom was to be paid in Bitcoin. It is interesting because it is so different.'

Ferrari told the court police had emails and phone records that showed the intricate planning behind the kidnapping, as well as computer searches by Herba seeking to get false ID papers.

The court was told that Herba rented a remote farmhouse on the outskirts of Turin telling the owner he was an artist.

He also purchased Italian sim cards for his mobile phone that were only switched on when he was in Milan.

Herba has claimed that Ayling was a willing participant in the kidnapping and it was all a publicity stunt to help boost her modelling career.

The defence claim has been rejected by the court and Ayling is not being called as a witness. Instead prosecutors will rely on her witness testimony.

Meanwhile court documents obtained by MailOnline she that Ms Ayling was in contact with her alleged kidnapper two years before her abduction.

She had accepted a friend request from Luckas Herba on 12th March 2015. A month later in April she sent him two messages.

Chloe is not at the court in Milan where Herba faces trial for kidnapping her

Herba (left) arrived at court in Milan handcuffed and flanked by police officers as the court was told that Chloe (right) was kidnapped as part of a 250,000 ransom plot

The content of the messages are not known but the contact between the pair were found by police when their seized Herbas laptop computer.

Herba faces up to 25 years in jail if he is convicted of kidnap.

During almost an hour on the witness stand police chief Ferrari described the timeline of the kidnap plot.

She said Herba first used a false name to contact Green and book Ayling for a photo shoot in Paris in April.

Ferrari said that following a terrorist attack in the city he decided to scrap his plan Ayling returned to London.

Court documents show that Chloe Ayling made friends with her alleged kidnapper in 2015 - two years before she was abducted

In April 2015 Miss Ayling sent her alleged kidnapper two messages, court documents show

He later made contact with Green and booked Ayling to travel to Milan where he booked her a hotel room and paid in cash.

The police chief described how Herba contacted a Polish website to buy a false ID. The Polish consulate confirmed that the ID issued to Herba and his brother Michal were false.

He also purchased balaclavas and a large bag that would be used to conceal Ayling after she was drugged and thrown into the boot of a car.

Emails seized from Herba's computer after his arrest showed that he was in contact with his brother Michal in planning the alleged kidnapping.

After the purchase of a large bag, he sent an email which said:' You know we are going to use it.'

The court was told that the kidnapping was planned over several weeks and everything was in place when Ayling arrived in Milan on July 10th.

Ferrari said she telephoned her agent and visited the gym before the following day going to a pre-arranged meeting with Herba for a photo shoot.

After arriving at the photo studio she was allegedly drugged with Ketamin and driven to the rented farmhouse about two hours away from Milan.

Two days after Ayling arrived in Italian city her agent contacted police and the British consulate when he failed to hear from her.

He then received emails from Herba warning him he was a killer and demanding the ransom.

Green was sent several photographs of Ayling while she was held captive, Ferrari told the court.

She said police were able to find the remote farmhouse where Ayling was held for six days by using GPS from the Volvo car used in the kidnap.

Handcuffs that were seized by Italian police were among the evidence in the Ayling case

Chloe was allegedly held in this bedroom in a remote Italian farmhouse during her captivity

At the farmhouse they found fingerprints from Herba and his brother.

Ferrari, the first of 50 witnesses at the trial, said emails between Herba and his brother showed that they had discussed how she should be treated.

In one email Michal said Herba should be kind to Ayling as she would be more compliant and cooperative.

Ferrarri ended her evidence by telling the court everything Ayling had told the court had turned out to be true.

The trial will resume on February 19th.
Theresa May, pictured in Downing Street today, is gathering her Brexit war Cabinet

Theresa May gathered herBrexit war Cabinet today to try and hammer out a negotiating strategy - amid warnings that decisions are needed now.

The Prime Minister and her most senior ministers met this afternoon to consider how they want the 'end state' of relations with theEU to look.

Another crunch session is due tomorrow as the government prepares for a crucial stage of talks with Brussels. But there are signs that the war Cabinet will again try to fudge choices over the thorniest issues like customs arrangements with the EU and the Irish border.

One Cabinet minister told MailOnline : 'We are at the point where decisions need to be taken. Business needs certainty, whichever way we decide to go.'

It emerged today that Ireland is upping the pressure by demanding a settled 'legal text' by next month guaranteeing the border will remain 'soft' after Brexit.

Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney has made Dublin's tough line clear to UK ministers, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The Cabinet subcommittee - made up of Mrs May and her top ministers including Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, Boris Johnson and Michael Gove - was discussing the Ireland issue this afternoon.

The talks were also expected to cover the potential immigration arrangements for after we leave - while tomorrow the group is expected to consider future trade arrangements.

But there are deep tensions between the Brexiteer and Remain factions, with Mr Hammond accused of trying to keep the UK tied to the EU customs union for years after we formally leave the bloc.

MailOnline revealed last night that Mr Johnson is risking escalating Tory infighting by planning a big speech on his vision for 'liberal Brexit' for Valentine's Day.

That would be just days before Mrs May is expected to deliver her own keynote address on the future of defence and security ties in Munich.

The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier warned that Britain must provide more 'clarity' on its aims when he came to Downing Street on Monday.

Mrs May took PMQs today before the Cabinet sub-committee meeting. She is flanked by David Lidington (left) and Philip Hammond, who will be taking part in the discussions

Boris Johnson, pictured arriving for Cabinet yesterday, is urging a clean break from the EU

David Davis and Amber Rudd will be at the Brexit war Cabinet meeting in Downing Street today

WHO'S IN BREXIT WAR CABINET AND WHERE DO THEY STAND? Prime Minister Theresa May Backed Remain, has since insisted she will push through Brexit, leaving the single market and customs union. Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington A strong Remainer during the referendum campaign, recently made clear he has not changed his mind about it being better if the country had chosen to stay in the bloc. Chancellor Philip Hammond Seen as one of the main advocates of 'soft' Brexit in the Cabinet. Has been accused of trying to keep the UK tied to key parts of the customs union for years after the transition ends. Home Secretary Sajid Javid Brought in to replace Amber Rudd after she resigned amid the Windrush scandal, Mr Javid was seen as a reluctant Remainer in the referendum. Many thought the former high-flying banker would plump for the Leave campaign, but he eventually claimed to have been won over by the economic case. He is likely to focus be guided by evidence about trade calculations in discussions over how closely aligned the UK should be with the EU. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson The Brexit champion in the Cabinet, has been agitating for a more robust approach and previously played down the problems of leaving with no deal. He is unhappy with plans for a tight customs arrangement with Brussels - warning that it could effectively mean being lashed to the EU indefinitely. Environment Secretary Michael Gove Has buried the hatchet with Mr Johnson after brutally ending his Tory leadership campaign in the wake of David Cameron's resignation. Thought to be less concerned with short term concessions that Mr Johnson, but focused on ensuring the UK is free from Brussels rules in the longer term. Brexit Secretary David Davis A long-time Eurosceptic and veteran of the 1990s Maastricht battles, brought back by Mrs May in 2016 to oversee the day-to-day negotiations. He has said the government will be seeking a 'Canada plus plus plus' deal from the EU. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox Another Brexiteer, his red lines are about the UK's ability to strike trade deals with the rest of the world, and escaping Brussels red tape. Business Secretary Greg Clark On the softer Brexit side of the Cabinet, Mr Clark has supported Mr Hammond's efforts to maintain close links with the customs union. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson A close ally of the Prime Minister and viewed by some as her anointed successor. He is believed to be siding with the Brexiteers on customs arrangements and the need for Britain to be able to diverge from EU rules. Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley Supported Remain but a relatively unknown quantity on the shape of a deal. Replaced James Brokenshire, another May loyalist, after he resigned on health grounds last month. Advertisement

Union wants to put in place a method to rapidly curtail the UK's single market benefits if it breaches agreements on a transition deal.

The plans would see Brussels able to restrict the UK's access to the single market without going through the lengthy European Court of Justice (ECJ) legal process.

A copy of the draft position paper circulating in Brussels said there should be a 'mechanism' allowing the EU to 'suspend certain benefits' of single market membership during the transition period.

Such a move would be considered if referring the matter to the ECJ 'would not bring in time the necessary remedies', according to the document, which sets out the EU's position on a transition deal in legal language.

The document also said the UK would only be 'consulted' when decisions are made on fishing quotas during the period.

Whitehall attempted to play down the significance of the draft text, insisting it would form the basis for a negotiation on the terms of a transitional deal, which is expected to last for around two years after the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019.

A Department for Exiting the European Union spokesman said: 'This is a draft document produced by the EU that simply reflects their stated directives.

'The Secretary of State set out the UK's position in his speech in Teesside last month.

'Together these provide a solid foundation for the negotiations on the implementation period which have begun this week with the aim of reaching agreement by March European Council.'

Irish deputy premier Mr Coveney today has called on the UK Government to drop 'tough talk' on Brexit and stay in the single market.

He said a calm and rational debate on the merits of continued membership of extended customs union and single market structures was overdue.

Addressing a packed audience at a conference in Co Louth, Mr Coveney urged the UK to keep access to the 'world's largest and most successful free market - a market British genius has helped design'.

'Thus far however, as we know, the British Government has not been prepared to seek that type of relationship,' he added.

'My hope is that in the coming weeks, previous red lines and tough talking points will be put to one side and a calm and rational debate about what is in the best interests of the people of Britain and Northern Ireland can prevail.'

Mrs May is chairing the European Union exit and trade (strategy and negotiations) sub-committee in the sessions on Wednesday and Thursday to thrash out the UK's position on crunch issues regarding the future relationship with Brussels.

Earlier this week the PM ruled out forging any kind of customs union with the EU after Brexit.

But shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said today that Labour could back a customs union, even though it could prevent the UK signing trade deals with the rest of the world.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'It is certainly a possibility and we wouldn't rule anything out at all.'
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has been grilled about whether his relationship with a former staffer began while she was under his employ and the recipient of taxpayer money.

The Leader of the Nationals appeared on ABC's 7.30 with Leigh Sales on Wednesday, one day after bombshell reports claimed he was expecting a child with his former staffer, Vikki Campion, 33.

When Sales asked Mr Joyce, 50, if his relationship with Ms Campion started while she was a paid member of staff, he dodged the question and said his private life was not in the public interest.

'What I want to do is make sure private matters remain private, I don't think it profits anybody to drag private matters out into the public arena,' he said.

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'What I want to do is make sure private matters remain private, I don't think it profits anybody to drag private matters out into the public arena,' he said

Mr Joyce, 50, is expecting a child with his former media advisor Vikki Campion, 33, (together) who he has reportedly fallen 'madly in love' with

'I can't quite fathom why a pregnant lady walking across the road deserves a front page.

'I don't think it helps me, I don't think it helps my family, I don't think it helps anybody in the future to start making this part of a public discussion.'

Sales went on to tell Mr Joyce she had no interest in asking him intimate questions about the pregnancy rumours, but wanted to establish if 'personal conduct had any intersection with your professional role as an elected official'.

'Is it accurate that this relationship started when this person was a member of your staff?' she said.

He shut down the question and said he was 'incredibly hurt that private issues were dragged out'.

'Is it accurate that this relationship started when this person was a member of your staff?' Leigh Sales (pictured) said

Barnaby Joyce's wife of 24 years said the situation has been devastating for her and their four daughters (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

Sales asked Mr Joyce if he thought it was appropriate to start a relationship with an employee.

'You were a powerful boss and the woman was on your staff and had everything to lose. Do you think that's the right way for a boss to act?'

Mr Joyce maintained he would not discuss a 'private matter' but said his relationship with Ms Campion was 'nothing beyond consensual'.

Sales continued to prod Mr Joyce, asking him if he blurred the line between professional and personal business.

'If someone did examine your travel records, is there any evidence that you used taxpayer funded trips or hotels to conduct a relationship with a staffer who is now your partner,' she said.

Mr Joyce replied saying a number of Freedom of Information requests had already been lodged and 'nothing's turned up because there's nothing there'.

Ms Campion (pictured) worked as Mr Joyce's media advisor before she moved into a more senior role with Resources Minister Matt Canavan in April last year

He maintained he kept his professional and private life separate.

'Anything on a public account has been to do with my work as a politician,' he said.

'I'm not going to even entertain a discussion about my private life in the public arena.'

While he remained tight lipped about his relationship with Ms Campion and the baby they are reportedly expecting together, he did use the platform to speak about his broken marriage.

'One of the greatest failures of my life was the end of my marriage,' he said.

'That was obviously a tumultuous time, but I'm not going to start disseminating beyond that.

'It is very painful for everyone involved. I'm not proud of it.'

Natalie Joyce (pictured with Barnaby Joyce) has revealed she feels 'deceived' by the Deputy Prime Minister, and said she sacrificed her own career to support him

Meanwhile, Barnaby Joyce's 'devastated' wife has claimed that the Deputy Prime Minister had a months-long affair with Ms Campion.

Natalie Joyce said she felt 'deceived' by the news that Vikki Campion, 33, was pregnant with her husband's fifth child and claimed the extramarital fling began when she was a paid staffer.

In a statement, a 'hurt' Mrs Joyce claimed her husband's affair went on for months, while she was sacrificing her own career to support him.

The news of the baby comes just two months after Joyce, 50, formally announced he was separated from his wife.

Natalie Joyce has revealed she feels 'deceived' by the Deputy Prime Minister, and said she sacrificed her own career to support him (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

Mr Joyce, the Minister for Agriculture, has not been seen publicly with his wife Natalie since the Canberra Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball in June last year

'The situation is devastating, for my girls who are affected by the family breakdown and for me as a wife of 24 years who placed my own career on hold to support Barnaby through his political life,' she said in a statement, The Australian reported.

'Our family has had to be shared during Barnaby's political career and it was with trust that we let campaign and office staff into our home and into our lives.

'Naturally we feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved.

Mr Joyce and Natalie have four daughters, aged in their late teens and early 20s, from their 24-year marriage.

Pictures have emerged of Mr Joyce looking relaxed with his now reportedly pregnant former staffer Vikki Campion in a Sydney bar (pictured)

In several of the photographs taken last year Ms Campion looks comfortable with Mr Joyce, who revealed in December he had split from his wife

Statement from Natalie Joyce on the Deputy Prime Minister's affair I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member. I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee. This situation is devastating on many fronts. For my girls who are affected by the family breakdown and for me as a wife of 24 years, who placed my own career on hold to support Barnaby through his political life. Our family life has had to be shared during Barnaby's political career and it was with trust that we let campaign and office staff into our homes and into our lives. Naturally we also feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved. The situation for myself and the girls will be made worse by the fact that this will all be played out in public so at this time. I would ask that the girls and I are given some privacy and time to come to terms with the consequences and take steps to plan our future. Advertisement

'I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member.

'I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee.'

Pictures have emerged of Mr Joyce looking relaxed with his now reportedly pregnant former staffer Vikki Campion in a Sydney bar.

In several of the photographs taken last year Ms Campion looks comfortable with Mr Joyce, who revealed in December he had split from his wife.

Witnesses said the pair appeared to be relaxed with each other inside the Different Drummer bar at Glebe in Sydney's inner-west.

'I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member,' Mrs Joyce said (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

'I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee,' said Natalie Joyce (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

Witnesses said the pair appeared to be relaxed with each other inside the Different Drummer bar at Glebe in Sydney's inner-west (pictured)

Mr Joyce (pictured, right) was present during House of Representatives Question Time at Parliament House on Wednesday

What Australia's politicians say about Barnaby Joyce's baby news Australia's political leaders have been asked for their views on Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce reportedly expecting a baby with his former staffer, Vikki Campion. 'It's something I view as none of my business,' Labor frontbencher Tony Burke told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. 'This ricochets and affects families. There's a principle here that I've always abided by to not engage in anything that hits the private lives of other members of parliament.' Greens MP Adam Bandt agreed, describing the prominent media coverage as a 'very dark day' for gender equality. 'I don't really care who Barnaby Joyce or anyone else is sleeping with,' he told Sky News. 'Unless it impacts on his job, or unless she chooses voluntarily to step into the public eye, it's not really anyone's business. 'If it's Barnaby Joyce's partner today, who else's will it be tomorrow?' Cabinet minister Dan Tehan said the decision to put such information into the public domain should be up to the individuals involved. However, gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome unloaded both barrels on the 'hypocrite' deputy prime minister, who vehemently opposed same-sex marriage and demanded the issue be put to a national vote. 'You can't put the lives of tens of thousands of your fellow citizens under the microscope and then expect to avoid scrutiny yourself,' Mr Croome said. He argued the scandal exposed what 'traditional marriage' meant for people like Mr Joyce. 'It is not a set of standards for heterosexual couples to live up to. It is a euphemism for prejudice against LGBTI people and our exclusion from the core institutions of society,' Mr Croome said. Advertisement

While Mr Joyce previously announced his separation from wife Natalie, he is yet to make a public statement about the rumoured pregnancy.

Mr Joyce and Ms Campion have reportedly moved in together ahead of the birth of their child in April.

A friend of the Deputy Prime Minister said the pregnancy was shrouded in secrecy because he was concerned about the well-being of his daughters.

'He has been struggling with the family breakup, it's put an enormous pressure on him,' a source told the publication.

'He's had some pretty dark times.'

Mr Joyce and Natalie (pictured) have four daughters, aged in their late teens and early 20s, from their 24-year marriage

A friend of the Deputy Prime Minister (pictured on Wednesday February 7) said the pregnancy was shrouded in secrecy because he was concerned about the well-being of his daughters

Mr Joyce (pictured on Tuesday) has previously announced his separation from wife Natalie, but is yet to make a public statement about the rumoured pregnancy

Ms Campion worked as Mr Joyce's media advisor before she moved into a more senior role with Resources Minister Matt Canavan in April last year.

She later worked for Nationals chief parliamentary Whip Damian Drum but was left without a job when Mr Drum changed roles and became Assistant Minister to Deputy Prime Minister Joyce.

Mr Joyce, who was born in Tamworth, acknowledged he was separated and said he was 'not a saint' in a parliamentary admission last year.

'I do support the current definition of marriage as it stands,' he said in the lead up to the same-sex marriage vote on December 7.

Mr Joyce (centre) and Natalie (left) have four daughters, pictured here claiming an election victory in 2016

'It is a special relationship between a man and a woman, predominantly for the purpose of bringing children into the world.

'I don't come to this debate pretending to be any form of saint, but I do believe in the current definition of marriage, which has stood the test of time.

'I acknowledge that I'm currently separated, so that's on the record.'

Mr Joyce, a Catholic and outspoken economic and social conservative, said he would 'never vote against the view of the Australian people' before he abstained from the final vote on December 7.

Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party Barnaby Joyce, at coffee with his wife Natalie and dog Missty

Barnaby Joyce celebrates at The Nationals Party at West Tamworth Leagues Club in Tamworth on Saturday, December 2, 2017

Mr Joyce's wife Natalie has not been seen publicly with the Deputy Prime Minister since the Canberra Press Gallery Mid-Winter Ball in June last year.

The pair met during O Week while Mr Joyce was studying accountancy at the University of New England.

'The last day was a car rally in a ute and he just came up to me and went, 'You'll do', Natalie said in an interview in March last year.

Joyce's family were opposed to their marriage, leaving his side of the church empty but for two pews, but changed their minds over time.

The Leader of The Nationals was forced to resign from his position as Deputy Prime Minister in August last year, amid a dual citizenship saga which embroiled Parliament.

The government lost its majority in the lower house after the High Court ruled he was ineligible to sit due to his dual New Zealand citizenship.

Mr Joyce, who has since renounced his New Zealand citizenship, comfortably won the New England by-election on December 2, and resumed his cabinet posts the same day.
This plumber in China has shown us what dedication means at work.

After being sent to fix leaked pipes under a manhole on a -1C day, the hard-working worker took off his clothes and dived into the flooded sewer - without a word of complaint.

His devotion to his job has apparently gained him praises as video of his impressive action emerged online.

The plumber is fixing burst water pipes in the sewage system in Hunan, China. To stop the water from flooding, he gets in the flooded sewer after taking off his clothes

The video was filmed in Qiyang county, Yongzhou city of Hunan Province, on the afternoon of February 6, according to Yongzhou Focus, a social media group on Chinese messaging app Wechat.

The plumber, who was topless, braved sub-zero weather and dived into the water several times - until the burst pipes were fixed.

It is claimed that the broken water pipes had caused water to flood onto the street from the sewer, and the local residents had not been able to use tap water.

The worker had been sent to ensure that the nearby residents would have water supply on the day.

The committed worker is pictured putting his head under the water on a -1C day in order to repair the pipes. He had to do it several times to ensure the pipes were completely fixed

The water pipes were fixed on the day and the plumber's hard work was praised by onlookers

Although the plumber's identity remains unknown, he is said to work at the local water supply company, according to Yongzhou Focus.

The pipes were fixed on the day and the worker was praised by onlookers for his hard work in cold weather.

The lowest temperature recorded in Yongzhou on February 6 was minus one degree Celsius.
A driver high on cannabis who killed an elderly woman in Adelaide has been thanked by the victim's family in court.

Timothy Wagner killed grandmother Ethel Boyce while trying to escape police in the city's northern suburb of Elizabeth South in 2016.

The 24-year-old appeared in court on Wednesday as submissions for sentencing were handed to the court.

Ethel Boyce (pictured left) was killed when Timothy Boyce (pictured right) hit her while he was high on cannabis

Wagner was trying to evade police when the smash happened in Elizabeth South in northern Adelaide in 2016

Wagner is due to face sentencing when the judge returns his verdict in March.

Ms Boyce, 74, was returning home from church when she was struck and killed by Wagner, who was driving a Holden sedan, Nine News reported.

But her family dramatically thanked Wagner for his early guilty plea.

In a victim impact statement submitted to the court, Ms Boyce's daughter Fiona Auckram, said: 'Thank you for pleading guilty. I hope one day you can rebuild your life.'

Ms Boyce's daughter thanked Wagner for his early plea in court saying she hoped he be able to rebuild his life

She also expressed her grief and sadness for what had happened as one of three family members to submit statements.

Wagner's mother was present in court as the submissions were read out and he described his own 'overwhelming guilt'.

'I just wish I could go back in time and change my actions,' he added.

The judge is due to deliver his verdict on sentencing Wagner next month as prosecutors called for a prison sentence

Guidelines state Wagner could receive a 30% reduction to his sentence as his early plea is considered by the judge.

His defence also asked for further consideration to be taken for his client's intellectual disability.

The prosecution said they were satisfied for his handicap to be taken under consideration by the judge by called for a prison sentence for the nature of the offence.
A home thought to be the first of its kind in the UK has opened exclusively for transgender residents.

The flat in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, offers a 'safe haven' for young people at risk of homelessness and those in transition who are shunned by their families.

Set up by the charity Trans Aware and the Student Lettings Company, the ten-bedroom property already has seven residents who can enjoy affordable rent.

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The 'Our House' project was set up in a bid to help young people who may have been isolated by society or their loved ones because of their identity

Lexi Hilton, left, and Phoenix Goldwell, right, say moving into the flat has changed their lives

The property boasts individual living spaces, a communal lounge, two bathrooms and a laundry room

The 'Our House' project was set up by Ellie Lowther and Ley Miller from Trans Aware in a bid to help young people who may have been isolated by society or their loved ones because of their identity.

Phoenix Goldwell moved into the property in November. She told MailOnline those living in the flat understand and support one another.

The 21-year-old, who is hoping to study performing arts at university in September, added: 'My family accepted me but they don't really understand the transition process on an emotional level.

'Moving here was the best decision I have ever made. I feel more comfortable and we can all support each other.'

The property boasts individual living spaces, a communal lounge, two bathrooms and a laundry room.

The rent includes gas, electric, water rates, and WiFi, while a project officer from Trans Aware lives on site for added security.

The flat in Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, offers a 'safe haven' for young people at risk of homelessness and those in transition who are shunned by their families

Set up by the charity Trans Aware and the Student Lettings Company, the ten-bedroom property already has seven residents who can enjoy affordable rent

Lexi Hilton, also 21, said she felt 'uncomfortable' when she first moved to the area and lived in her own home.

Lexi said she was still in the early stages of the transition process so received verbal abuse.

She told MailOnline: 'In society you can't really have a conversation with people about being trans - people don't understand the troubles you go through.

'I didn't feel very comfortable in the area - I had to get a taxi to go anywhere.

'Now I'm in the house, I feel so much more confident.'

There are two bathrooms in the ten-bedroom flat, shared by seven residents

The property offers young people a 'stepping stone on their journey to independence'

Trans Aware says on the project website: 'Young people can use this as a stepping stone on their journey towards independence.

'There is no limit to the time of their residence.

'Older people who are living in isolation are able to enjoy the community aspect of living in a well equipped home with like minded people, this removes the stress of having to exist without the constant questioning about their identity that is often faced by those living or coming out as trans.'
This is the moment police caught nine suspected illegal immigrants clambering out the back of a refrigerated lorry at a service station.

Officers were called to Toddington services on the M1 northbound at around 5.30am after the truck driver became suspicious of noises coming from his cargo, an onlooker said.

In footage obtained by MailOnline, the desperate men and women can be heard gasping for air and spluttering after being pulled to safety.

Police were called to Toddington Services on the M1 northbound in the early hours of this morning after suspicions were raised about a European truck (pictured, the scene above)

An onlooker at the scene said he believed the lorry driver called police after becoming suspicious of noises in his truck.

He told MailOnline: 'I could hear banging coming from inside the truck even when I was stood next to it. I could see the driver and his partner wave down police.'

He said officers had to break the seal of the truck to get in. 'I was shocked to see, you know it goes on but you don't expect to see it at Toddington. I didn't see any children but I'm surprised the didn't suffocate. They were gasping for air.

'It's extremely dangerous, one of them could have died. Those types of lorries have to be kept at a certain temperature and won't let any heat in. They would have been in there for around seven hours if the driver had come up from Dover.'

The suspected illegal immigrants were checked over by medics and taken to hospital.

A police spokeswoman said detectives were working to establish the ages, nationalities and identities of those involved, but said the group contained 'a mixture of adults and children'.
Tory Remainer Anna Soubry today revealed she had received a death threat after calling for Jacob Rees-Mogg to be 'slung out' of the party over Brexit.

Ms Soubry's incendiary intervention against Mr Rees-Mogg on Monday night has triggered a new onslaught of Tory infighting.

Amid the furious fall out to her remarks, she told the BBC: 'Of course I have received a number of critical emails and some unpleasant phone calls including one death threat to me and my constituency manager who takes the calls.'

The revelation comes as rumours continue to swirl about the future of Theresa May.

Remain supporting Conservatives were said today be searching for a 'Stop BoMogg' candidate amid fears Mr Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson are leading the race to replace her.

Tory remainer Anna Soubry (pictured yesterday on GMB with Labour's Jess Phillips) today revealed she had received a death threat after calling for Jacob Rees-Mogg to be 'slung out' of the party over Brexit

Tory infighting escalated again today as Remainers launched a search for a 'stop JoMogg' candidate amid fears Boris Johnson (left in Downing Street yesterday) or Jacob Rees-Mogg (right in London on Monday) will seize the leadership

As rumours continue to swirl about the future of Theresa May (pictured yesterday in Manchester), different factions within the Tory party are wrestling for control

Leading Remain supporters are certain to enter the race for Tory leader when a contest comes but the most senior candidates all have challenges.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has a tiny majority of just 346 in Hastings while Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is seen by many as toxic for his long spell running the NHS.

Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson is another Remain voter seen as being in the race but he is inexperienced and MPs have revolted at the prospect of Mrs May choosing an ally as a successor.

As many as 20 Conservative MPs are said to be mulling leadership bids. Tory rules demand MPs whittle the list down to two before an election among party members.

A senior minster told The Times: 'It is easy to keep one person off the final ballot that goes to members.

'It is harder to stop two. We need an ''Anybody but BoMogg'' candidate.'

Leading Remain candidate Home Secretary Amber Rudd has a tiny majority of just 346 in Hastings

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt (left arriving for Cabinet yesterday) is seen by many as toxic for his long spell running the NHS while Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson (right outside No 10 yesterday) is relatively inexperienced

Ms Soubry told Newsnight this week: 'If it comes to it, I am not going to stay in a party which has been taken over by the likes of Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson.

'They are not proper Conservatives.'

Ms Greening, sacked as Education Secretary in the reshuffle, told the Daily Politics being led by Mr Rees-Mogg 'might be a bit of a stretch', adding: 'I think, again, what matters to me, probably, in any of those circumstances is what my own community thinks and who they feel is right.'

Friends of Mr Johnson told The Times he has been caught off guard by the dramatic rise of Mr Rees-Mogg, who has soared in popularity among a section of pro-Brexit Tories.

One cabinet minister said: 'It could all suddenly end tomorrow. If someone texted me now and said she'd resigned I wouldn't be all that surprised. There is a whiff of death about it all.

'It's not absolutely clear who in Downing Street is running things  it's just about getting through to the end of the day. There's no vision, no plan, it's just about survival.'
A telegram sent from Queen Alexandra in which she slammed suffragette Emily Davison as a 'brutal lunatic' has emerged for the first time.

The Royal wrote the damning sentiment about Davison two days after she was killed under horse belonging to her son, King George V, at the Epsom Derby in 1913.

In her message of sympathy to the injured jockey, the Queen described Davison's act as 'abominable conduct.'

The telegram from Buckingham Palace to Herbert Jones said: 'Queen Alexandra was very sorry indeed to hear of your sad accident caused through the abominable conduct of a brutal lunatic woman'

Emily Davison rushed onto the course during the Derby on June 4, 1913, and was hit by the King George V's horse Anmer. She died in hospital four days after the Derby from severe internal injuries and a fractured skull, having never regained consciousness

King George V and his mother Queen Alexandra at the review of American forces at Buckingham Palace in 1918

Barbara Gorna, a film-maker, writer and women's rights campaigner, bought the telegram 22 years ago after the family of jockey Herbert Jones put it up for sale.

But she has never put it on public display so it has only been seen by a handful of people. Ms Gorna has now shown it off to mark the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote.

Davison rushed onto the course during the Derby on June 4, 1913, and was hit by the King George V's horse Anmer. After knocking her to the ground the horse did a complete somersault, sending jockey Jones flying.

He was knocked unconscious, suffered a concussion and had to have his arm in a sling but was back riding Anmer within two weeks.

Davison died in hospital four days after the Derby from severe internal injuries and a fractured skull, having never regained consciousness.

The telegram from Buckingham Palace to Herbert Jones arrived two days after the Epsom Derby when he was recovering at home. It said: 'Queen Alexandra was very sorry indeed to hear of your sad accident caused through the abominable conduct of a brutal lunatic woman.

'I telegraph now by Her Majesty's command to enquire how you are getting on and to express Her Majesty's sincere hope that you may soon be all right.'

Barbara Gorna pictured with the never-seen-before telegram that criticises the suffragette

The telegram adds: 'I telegraph now by Her Majesty's command to enquire how you are getting on and to express Her Majesty's sincere hope that you may soon be all right'

THE FACE OF FREEDOM: WHO WAS DARING SUFFRAGETTE EMILY DAVISON? In 1913, Emily Wilding Davison was hailed as a martyr after she died when she threw herself in front of King George Vs horse at the Epsom Derby. Historians question whether she meant to die, and suggest that she may have been attempting to attach a Votes For Women scarf to the racehorse. The campaigns marches drew huge crowds, and one held in 1908 attracted more than 300,000 protesters. Davison had a reputation as one of the most daring champions of direct action in the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). She was arrested and force-fed dozens of times, admitted setting fire to postboxes, and hid within the Palace of Westminster several times, perhaps most famously in a cupboard on the night of the 1911 census in an attempt to boycott it. Tony Benn MP later placed a plaque in the cupboard himself to commemorate her act. Advertisement

The police, government and media at the time portrayed Davison as a mad woman, intent on committing a reckless act of martyrdom.

Ms Gorna, whose great-grandmother was one of the original mill girl suffragettes, has spent almost 20 years trying to change the public perception and argues that Davison's death was actually an accident.

She believes Davison was not trying to throw herself under the horse in a suicidal act, but was actually trying to attach a suffragette banner to the horse so it would be 'flying the flag for women's votes' as it crossed the finish line.

She studied the film footage of the event and said it was clear Davison was reaching up towards the horse's bridle.

Ms Gorna, who led a campaign that saw a change in the law to bring private members' clubs in line with equality legislation, said: 'Many people thought the militant suffragettes were mad and that's apparent in the press coverage from the time and this telegram.

'I was very struck by the way Emily Davison was reported in the newspapers so I went to the archives at Kew.

'I didn't think it sounded right that she threw herself under the horse as an act of suicide so I did my own research. Watching the film clip of it I thought 'this wasn't suicide'.

'Women were often badly portrayed in the press, they would try to belittle them, I became determined to change the view of her.

'Boni Sones, who founded Women's Parliamentary Radio, helped me but it has taken a long time to change history's view of her.

'It annoys me now when I still see people referring to it as suicide or her 'throwing herself under the horse', but generally the received view now is that she was trying to put the sash on the King's horse.

Ms Gorna also owns the scarf Davison had with her that day, which is on display in the House of Commons

'The reason for that was British subjects can petition the king under British common law and they have a right to do so. But women couldn't do it through their MP because they didn't have the vote so the only way was to go to the King directly.

'It makes sense, he was there watching.

'I have seen and held her racecard - she had marked up races after three o'clock. Generally you don't put a bet on a horse when you expect to be dead after it wins.

'She had a lot of things going on too, she had arranged to meet someone in Paris two days after the race.

'Nobody knows what was in her head but the fact she had a return ticket and arrangements in Paris I think say it was not suicide.

'But the Suffragette Movement highjacked the incident, they then had their martyr and used it to their advantage.

'I've never put this on public display because it's written in pencil, it has to be kept in shade so I've just kept it at my home but I would donate it to a museum.'

Ms Gorna, who is from south west London, also owns the scarf Davison had with her that day, which is on display in the House of Commons.
Exercising in cold weather could make you look decades younger - take it from an age-defying woman who has been billed as the world's 'most youthful' mother.

Liu Yelin, 50, is often mistaken by the others for her 23-year-old son's girlfriend.

The China-born ex-librarian said she was able to stay youthful because she had worked out every winter outdoors for over 30 years.

The super-toned woman said she exercises every day around the year, but it is the sub-zero sessions that have made the difference.

Winter challenge: Liu Yelin pushes her limits and practises yoga outdoors in Harbin at -40C

Fearless: The 50-year-old woman said: 'I wasn't scared at all. As a matter of fact, I felt great'

At full stretch: Ms Liu makes sure she keeps her head and feet warm while exercising in winter

Age-defying: The mother-of-one, from Henan, has stunned the public after revealing her age. She shot to fame after sharing pictures of herself online, which captured her youthful looks

With glowing skin, a ripped torso and not a single wrinkle in sight, Ms Liu really does look half her age.

The fitness fanatic has recently shared pictures and footage showing her doing yoga on a frigid -40C day in one of China's coldest cities.

She said she was invited by a TV programme to practise yoga outdoors in Harbin, China's 'City of Ice', on January 24 when she had the pictures and videos taken.

Ms Liu said she did not find the task challenging.

'I wasn't scared at all. As a matter of fact, I felt great. It was refreshing to do exercises in cold weather,' Ms Liu told MailOnline.

Secret to beauty: Apparently, the ex-librarian's enviable skin comes from her decades of exercising in winter. She is pictured lifting weights in her hometown Xinyang after heavy snow

Devotion: Ms Liu, whose son is 23, swims in the lake come rain or shine, snow or sleet

Exercising companion: She is pictured working out in winter with her pet dog Xiehuang

The mother-of-one explained that as long as one keeps their head and feet warm while outside, doing exercise in sub-zero temperatures isn't as daunting as it sounds.

'But if you swim outdoors in winter and you suddenly feel shivering after a few laps, you must get out of water to warm up,' she warned.

Ms Liu, from central China's Xinyang city, shot to fame last year after posting pictures of herself through her Weibo account on Chinese social media.

The energetic woman, who often appears in bikini, said she felt she was still 15.

Can you believe she is 50? Super energetic Liu Yelin has become a social media star in China

Not a couple: Ms Liu (pictured with her son) said she is often mistaken for her son's girlfriend

Proud mother: Ms Liu said he son, 23, works as an assistant at a film production company

Ms Liu's likes swimming in the lake near her house, and she has done that for over 30 years

The outgoing woman, who has over 150,000 followers, often appears in bikini in her social media pictures. She said: 'My bikini is my armour. With it, I feel confident, healthy and youthful'

Ms Liu told MailOnline that her favourite thing to do in winter is to swim in the lake near her house, and she has done that for more than 30 years.

She said: 'It is true that it is painful to take off your clothes and dive into the water, but you would feel great for an entire day after you finish.

'And more importantly, you would stay healthy for a life time.'

Apparently, swimming in bone-chilling lake has helped Ms Liu have smooth and wrinkle-free skin, which makes her look like she is in her 20s.

On Ms Liu's Weibo account, which has over 150,000 followers, she has documented her tough winter workout regime. In one post, she was lifting weights in her hometown Xinyang in the snow after temperature plunged down to lower than -10C.

Last Thursday, Ms Liu dove into a frozen lake in Harbin. She recalled it was so cold that her bikini was frozen when she came ashore.

Despite that, the outgoing woman said: 'My bikini is my armour. With it, I feel confident, healthy and youthful.'
A prestigious girls' school in Toowoomba, Queensland has welcomed its first transgender student.

Anglican girls school, The Glennie School, sent out a newsletter to parents this week, announcing the enrollment of the young girl.

The letter, penned by principal Kim Cohen, explained the school's decision to accept the enrollment.

'In our middle senior years, we have a young girl, who was born into a boy's body,' the letter said according to The Chronicle.

Anglican girls school, The Glennie School (pictured), sent out a newsletter to parents this week, announcing the enrollment of the young girl

'I know this is a concept many of us may struggle to grasp, but please take time out to think about how much harder it must have been for her to make the realisation.

'I did not hesitate to accept her enrollment as I know within this nurturing community she will be in the very best place for her to excel and be the very best that she can be.'

The letter was sent to the school community with the parents' permission, after rumours of the new student surfaced.

Principal Cohen said she wanted to give the girl time to settle into the school before sharing the news, so people could meet her 'without any preconceived ideas'.

The letter included a message from the girl's parents which further explained their situation.

Principal Cohen (pictured right, with a senior team member) said she wanted to give the girl time to settle into the school before sharing the news

The Glennie School (pictured) received 50 messages in response to the letter, and all but one, were positive

'Our daughter was born in a body that does not match her identity,' they said.

'When she first told us, we were devastated. Devastated not for what she was telling us, but for what her future may hold.'

The school received 50 messages in response to the letter, and all but one, were positive.

'It is wonderful news to hear you have joined The Glennie School. Welcome,' one read.

'Please tell these beautiful, brave parents and their extraordinary daughter that we are with them, standing shoulder to shoulder all the way,' another read.
A father has plunged to his death from the balcony of a 13th floor unit after police officers attempted to arrest him.

Police closed in on Patrick Fisher, 31, at his girlfriend's unit in Waterloo, in Sydney's inner-south, shortly before 11am on Tuesday.

Officers attempted to bring Mr Fisher into custody on outstanding warrants for assault and stealing offences following a tip-off from the public.

But the Indigenous man - who neighbours and relatives claim was taking ice at the time - went over the balcony railing and fell 13 floors to his death, ABC News reported.

Patrick Fisher (pictured), 31, plunged to his death from the balcony of a 13th floor unit in Waterloo, in Sydney's inner-south, after police officers attempted to arrest him shortly before 11am on Tuesday

A critical incident investigation into the death was launched hours later.

The investigation will undergo an independent review and a report will be prepared for the coroner, police said.

Mr Fisher's neighbours and relatives told the ABC that he was trying to climb down to another unit when he slipped and fell.

A relative, only identified as Toya, said she believed he was panicked and was not trying to take his own life.

'I know he wouldn't have killed himself, he had too much to live for,' she told the publication.

'He didn't deserve to die like this, he's only young.'
A Vermont man who has long been eyed as a person of interest in the death of his multimillionaire grandfather and presumed death of his mother is denying allegations of his involvement.

In a lawsuit filed in July, three of Nathan Carman's aunts accuse him of killing his mother and grandfather so he could inherit money left for his mom.

Nathan denied the allegations in a statement released on Wednesday saying his relatives are 'being driven by malice and greed' and are spreading lies about him.

'I did not kill my grandfather or my mother, nor did I engage in the violent behavior in my childhood that has been reported,' Nathan said.

Nathan Carman's relatives filed a lawsuit alleging he killed his mother and grandfather so he could inherit money left for his mom

Linda Carman (left) has been missing since September 2016 after she went on an overnight fishing trip with her son, Nathan (right)

Nathan, 23, was found a week after the incident floating on a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean. His mother has not been seen since and is presumed dead. Pictured is the day Nathan was rescued by the Coast Guard on September 27, 2016

Linda Carman, 54, has been missing since September 2016 after the boat she and her son, Nathan, was on sunk off the coast of Rhode Island. The pair had left around 11pm on September 22 for an overnight fishing trip.

Nathan was discovered a week later floating in the Atlantic Ocean on a life raft. His mother has not been seen since and is presumed dead.

In November 2013, three years before Linda's disappearance, her father was brutally murdered. Police said 87-year-old John Chakalos, a wealthy real estate developer in Windsor, Connecticut, had been shot three times in the head and once in the back.

Nathan, pictured on the left with his grandmother Rita Chakalos, has repeatedly denied his involvement in his mother's disappearance

The last person to see Chakalos alive was Nathan, police said.

Chakalos left more than $29million to his four daughters, including Linda. Each sister was set to inherit around $7million.

Both cases remain unsolved and no one has been arrested, but Nathan's relatives have repeatedly accused him of murdering his mom and grandfather.

Nathan's aunts filed a suit in New Hampshire asking a judge to block the 23-year-old from collecting the money from his grandfather's estate that would have gone to his mother.

The sisters' attorney, Dan Small, accused Nathan of being 'fixated on money' and said the family wants 'justice' for what happened to Chakalos and Linda.

If the family wins the case, they said they would donate Linda's portion of the money to a 'charity in her name'.

'It is my aunts who are being driven by malice and greed to make the vexatious, false, and insupportable allegations which form the basis of their probate lawsuit in New Hampshire,' Nathan said in response.

The Vernon, Vermont native also said in his statement that he was firing his attorneys and would represent himself until he finds new lawyers.



Nathan was also suspected of killing his 87-year-old grandfather. John Chakalos (right), who was a wealthy real estate developer, was found dead in his Connecticut home in November 2013. John is pictured above with his wife, Rita Chakalos

John's murder remains unsolved but family members have accused Nathan of killing the millionaire

'I plan to aggressively pursue all legal avenues available to me for rectifying the injustices which have already been perpetrated and obtaining a just outcome in the matters that are ongoing,' he said.

Last month, an insurance company filed a motion asking a federal judge to declare Nathan's insurance claim on his boat invalid. National Liability & Fire Insurance said it should not have to pay Nathan the $85,000 policy for the boat because he allegedly made suspicious alterations to the boat 'with the intent' of sinking it, the Boston Globe reports.

The company alleges that Nathan enlarged holes at the waterline of the boat hours before he took his mom on a fishing trip. The insurance company also wants a judge to force Nathan to discuss him purchasing a semiautomatic weapon a few days before his grandfather's 2013 death.

Investigators have said that Nathan's Sig Sauer semi-automatic rifle was the same caliber as the one used to kill Chakalos.
Jack the Ripper may have been a sinister Dutch sailor who murdered two ex-wives in his homeland and bludgeoned to death two other women in Belgium, it has emerged.

Crime historian Dr Jan Bondeson has named Hendrik de Jong as a prime suspect for the most notorious set of unsolved murders in history.

At the time of the Whitechapel murders, de Jong is believed to have worked as a steward on board a ship which made frequent trips from Rotterdam to London, providing him with the perfect means of getting out of the country after his heinous crimes.

He later murdered two of his ex-wives in his native Netherlands in 1893 and bludgeoned to death two women above a pub before attempting to set their bodies on fire in Belgium in 1898.

Hendrik de Jong is pictured in a leaflet that was issued by Dutch police in 1893. The killer - who a crime historian says is a credible candidate for Jack the Ripper - murdered two ex-wives

Crime historian Jan Bondeson has name de Jong as a credible suspect in the Whitechapel murders. Pictured are illustrations from the police budget of October 14, 1893

However, he fled to the United States to evade justice and was sentenced for their murders by a court in absence.

Dr Bondeson, a former senior lecturer at Cardiff University, has meticulously poured over Dutch newspapers from the late 1880s and 1890s with the help of Dutch crime historian Bart FM Droog to learn more about de Jongs movements and character.

The conniving de Jong was known to visit prostitutes and described as a pathological liar without empathy or a conscience who was fixated with women.

A leaflet issued in 1898 by the Justice Department of Ghent shows pictures of de Jong, who bludgeoned two women to death in Belgium

A portrait of the killer and the two ex-wives he murdered. He was working on a ship that made regular trips from Rotterdam to London at the time of the Whitechapel murders

Dr Bondeson said: 'Hendrik de Jong had the killer instinct, being able to plan and execute a murder with cunning and skill, and to get away scot-free without having to face the music.

'He was active at the same time as Jack the Ripper, spoke good English and roughly fits the rather rudimentary contemporary descriptions of the Ripper.

'He was familiar with England in general, and London in particular.

'Since he worked as a ships steward on a ship between Rotterdam and London, he was in an ideal position to commit the Ripper murders, and his visits to London coincided with the various atrocities of the autumn of terror.'

Intriguingly, several Dutch newspapers from the time reported blood-stained surgical instruments were found among his effects when he was arrested on suspicion of the murders of two ex-wives in 1893.

It was also claimed a Dutch police inspector investigating de Jong brought his portrait to Whitechapel where several people declared they had seen him on the prowl.

Dr Bondeson said: 'If some of the Dutch newspapers of 1893 are to be believed, blood-stained surgical instruments were found among his effects when he was arrested.

'He possessed several books about surgery and anatomy with a sinister emphasis on the study of the female genitalia and their surgical removal.

'Also according to some of the Dutch newspapers, both men and women in Whitechapel recognised Hendrik de Jong when they were shown his photograph by a Dutch detective and he was known as a notorious customer of prostitutes.'

This police poster was featured in the New York Herald on November 1, 1893 and shows the sinister Dutch sailor who murdered four women

The killer's serial murders featured heavily in illustrated police newsletters of the time. De Jong has been named as a suspect in the notorious murders of prostitutes in East London

The mysterious de Jong was born just outside Amsterdam in 1861 and enlisted in the Dutch army as a volunteer trumpeter before starting a new career as a swindler and career criminal.

He wooed Sarah Ann Juett, a nurse from Maidenhead, Berkshire, while she cared for him in a hospital in Middlesborough in 1892.

He persuaded her to marry him and they moved to his native Netherlands.

But months later she disappeared with de Jong telling her concerned parents she had run off to America with another man.

Shortly after dispersing of Juett, de Jong seduced Maria Schmitz, a wealthy Dutchwoman, and after a whirlwind romance they tied the knot before she too vanished.

Dutch Police strongly suspected they were killed for their money and de Jong had buried their bodies in woodland.

He went on trial for the two murders in 1893 but since their bodies were never found it could not be proved de Jong killed them.

Instead, he was jailed for just three years for a separate lesser offence of swindling a Dutch hotel keeper.

Shortly after his release from prison in 1898, de Jong crossed over the border to Belgium where he bludgeoned to death Philomene Wauters and Jeanne Pauwels in their bedrooms above the Cafe Sorbonne in Ghent.

The murderer was jailed for just three years for a separate lesser offence of swindling a Dutch hotel keeper

After committing the murders, he attempted to set their bodies on fire.

A huge manhunt was launched for de Jong but he successfully fled to the United States, never to be seen again.

The impudent serial killer wrote a mocking letter to his solicitor from an address in Pennsylvania gloating about his escape.

Dr Bondeson, whose book Victorian Murders was published last December, said it is impossible to know for certain if de Jong was Jack the Ripper but he is a more credible candidate than other names forward for the notorious murderer.

He said: 'We cant say for certain he was Jack the Ripper, but he is a credible candidate who until now has been ignored in England yet was seen as a prime suspect in the Dutch newspapers of the time.

'There are many questions that still need answering, not least where did this monster vanish too after killing the two women in Ghent, although I believe it is most likely he went to the United States, a large and then quite undeveloped country where the police were more lax.

'He was a serial killer and having got away with his horrible crimes one must wonder if he went on killing over there and how many murders were committed at his hands.'

Jack the Ripper murdered the prostitutes Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly between August 31 and November 9, 1888 in Whitechapel, East London.
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A book reveals the crucial contribution Royal Marines made to victory in the Falklands War as the government considers reducing the elite unit by 2,000 men.

The Falklands War: From Defeat to Victory, by former Royal Marine John Alden tells the incredible story of the capture of his heroic detachment by Argentinian forces who invaded the British islands in April 1982, only for those same marines to return ten weeks later to retake the territory.

He is telling his story for the first time in the new book, the insight of which offers intimate snapshots of UK and enemy soldiers during at the conclusion of the short war, in which 907 people died.

The Falklands War: From Defeat to Victory tells how the British retook the islands from the Argentinian military junta from the perspective of a vastly outnumbered unit

Butch and Wilf Smith are pictured adopting a defensive position after the attack on Mount Harriet. The Marines were attacked after being deployed on a peaceful mission

Argentinian soldiers are pictured in Stanley following their surrender to the British, who retook the islands they had ruled for 150 years

How the war started Argentina invaded the British Falkland Islands on April 2, 1982. The fascist military junta hoped to regain sovereignty over the UK colony in the South Atlantic. At a time of economic crisis, Argentine leaders believed recapturing the Falklands would restore support for the ruling party. The UK had ruled the islands for 150 years at the time of the invasion, which the junta justified by saying they had inherited the land from Spain in the 1800s, citing the Falklands' proximity to South America as a further reason. But Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher deployed a task force to fight on behalf of the traditionally British residents of the Falklands. In the short war that followed, 649 Argentinians died, along with 255 British servicemen and three islanders. Advertisement

Images from the period show fully armed Royal Marines taking up positions on Mount Harriet on their return to the islands ten weeks after their initial capture, with another showing the grave of an unknown soldier on the same mountain.

Further pictures show a group of Argentinian soldiers looking forlorn shortly after their surrender to British forces, with a further picture showing the victorious British forces lifting the Union Jack flag following their successful recapturing of the islands.

John had not long been a Royal Marine when, in late March 1982, he was sent to East Falkland as part of a detachment of 57 men from Navy Party 8901, a relatively routine assignment at the time.

But just a few weeks after his arrival he found himself thrust into the thick of one of the most unexpected conflicts in recent years when Argentina launched an invasion of the islands late on April 1.

'Our assignment was supposed to be peaceful,' he recalls in his book.

'It was on a Thursday, April the first when Rex Hunt, British Governor of the Falkland Islands, received an ominous telex from Military Intelligence.

'We have apparently reliable evidence that an Argentine task force will gather off Cape Pembroke early tomorrow morning, 2nd April.

'You will wish to make your dispositions accordingly.

Royal Marines lie with their weapons in a defensive position after the attack on Mount Harriet, which happened despite the servicemen being deployed on a peaceful mission

'I was still a fresh face beneath my proud Green Beret. I had yet to engage in any combat during my short Marine career, but I knew what the intelligence call meant. Making our dispositions was a military euphemism for 'get the boys ready to fight'.

'Every one of us was rapt with attention, listening as Boss Major Mike Norman pepped us up with a forceful plan of action. Our Major was a strident man.

'We had already seen that he was given to stormy fits of bluster. His words as he paced back and forth came across as urgent and forceful. To anyone who was listening, what came next was as clear as a bell: "Today you are going to die".

'So go out there and do the job you were trained to do.'

Within hours, Mr Alden and his 21 colleagues found themselves under heavy attack, being vastly outnumbered by the advancing Argentinians.

'With my weapon in hand, I ran forward. Every moment crossing that pitch felt like it took place in a surreal, dream like state. Gaz was beside me.

'Gunfire rained down all around us. I could see a hedgerow rise before me, a place the section could slot in. Thats where I would run to, the hedgerow on a track that led around into the building.

'Then I slammed into the bush. Sweat poured into my eyes and down my face as I drew a few quick breaths. Within seconds, all twelve soldiers had fallen in behind me. Gaz shot me a grin. Then he winced and shook his head gratefully.

The grave of an unknown soldier sits on the slope off Mount Harriet. The Falklands War: From Defeat to Victory tells the tale of Royal Marines who were forced to surrender after putting up a brave fight despite being outnumbered

'Everyone in section one and two had survived and I was, for a moment, in the lead position. Standing in the distant rear of our formation, Lou leaned out and hastily signaled for me to move forward.

'Go, he shouted. And John, fire if anyone fires at you. Fear coursed through my body as I crept forward for the corner of the hedgerow.

'None of us knew what was around the corner. In the heat of a firefight, two factors must take hold in order for a soldier to survive the ordeal. The first is an ability to push through exhaustion and pain, or a shot of adrenaline; the second is the ability to seamlessly access their training.

'Doing both in tandem is a matter of survival. Every one of the Marines lined up along that hedgerow was utterly exhausted. No one had really slept. Gazs flesh was still cooking on my hot gun barrel; his red and bleeding hand was obviously in intense pain.'

Mr Alden and his comrades put up a gallant fight, killing one and wounding six Argentinian troops before, outnumbered from all sides, they were forced to surrender, with the now infamous image of John and his colleagues with guns on the ground and arms in the air seen all over the world the following day.

The Argentinians had struck the first blow, and John and the rest of his unit were transferred back to Britain the following day.

This identity card was found at the top of the defensive position that the Argentinian fighters held at the top of Mount Harriet

A dead Argentinian soldier is pictured at the top of Mount Harriet. The British would go on to win the short war, which was prompted when the junta moved to recapture the islands from UK rule

Light streams through the bullet holes left in a corrugated hangar, which troops took shelter in during the Falklands fighting

What followed was well documented, yet rarely has the story been told in as much detail as in this first-hand account.

A little over two months after being initially captured John and the rest of NP8901 were back at Governor House, where they had initially been forced to surrender.

But this time they held the Union Jack aloft after a successful military campaign in which saw Britain recapture the islands.

The story of how this turnaround came about and the role Mr Alden played in it is a fascinating, intriguing one expertly laid out in one of the most gripping account of the Falklands conflict yet to be committed to paper.

The Falklands War: From Defeat to Victory by John Alden is published by Prominent Books, and is available on Amazon.
A man suspected of the murder of a young Nebraska woman who went missing after Tinder date with his girlfriend has said he accidentally suffocated her - and deserves to did for it.

Sydney Loofe, 24, was found dead in December near Edgar, south-west of Omaha, about a month after she disappeared.

Her date Bailey Boswell and Boswell's 51-year-old boyfriend Aubrey Trail are considered to be persons of interest in the case.

Scroll down for video:

The last time anyone heard from Loofe was on November 15 when she posted a picture of herself to online with the message: 'Ready for my date'

Aubrey Trail (left) has now revealed that he strangled Sydney in a sex game with two other women but that his girlfriend Bailey Boswell (right) was not involved

Trail has now divulged details of what he said happened to Sydney and has said he should be executed for his part in her death.

He told Omaha World-News that Loofe, a clerk from Lincoln, was a willing participant in a sexual fantasy with himself and at least two other women in a room,

But he said Boswell, 23, with whom he lived, was wiped out on drugs and outside of the room when Loofe died.

There was something around Loofe's neck when she died, according to Trail.

'It was suffocation. It happened in Saline County. A life for a life  that's the rules in my world. I should be put to death,' he told Omaha World-News.

Trail has been moved to the Leavenworth Detention Center, a maximum-security facility in Leavenworth, Kansas.

He recent admitted being responsible for Sydney's death and also said his girlfriend had no part in the killing.

Sydney was found dead in December near Edgar, south-west of Omaha, about a month after she disappeared

Aubrey trail has previously admitted responsibility for Sydney's death. Him and Boswell are currently facing fraud charges

So far Boswell and Trail for an alleged fraud scheme that fleeced a Kansas couple out of more than $400,000.

The last time anyone heard from Loofe was on November 15 when she posted a picture of herself to Snapchat, captioning the image: 'Ready for my date'.

She was reported missing the following day when she failed to show up for her cashier job at home improvement store Menards in Lincoln.

According to her family, Loofe was definitely 'planning on coming home that night' after her date given she had left her car and her cat at home.

Investigators said Loofe spent the evening with Boswell and it was a second date for the pair who met on the dating app.

In a bizarre video posted on Facebook prior to their arrests, Boswell and Trail said claims they were not cooperating with the police investigation were false.

Trail said in the video that after Loofe disappeared, the pair tried to contact police but never heard back from investigators.

Boswell said she and Loofe had back-to-back dates the nights of November 14 and 15. She said she picked Loofe up at her home on both nights and they drove around smoking weed.

She said she took Loofe back to her home on the night she went missing and they smoked marijuana wax and shatter - concentrated forms of the drug.

When the date was over, Boswell claims she went to take Loofe home but she asked to be dropped off at a friend's house.

'I haven't heard from her since,' Boswell said in the video, before adding that she 'didn't have anything to do with' her disappearance.
Theresa May vowed a 'robust' response to the EU today amid fury at the bloc's demand for sweeping powers to ground planes and impose punitive tariffs during the Brexit transition.

The Prime Minister dismissed the threat as 'noises off' as she said the government would stay focused on getting a good deal.

The comments came after negotiating guidelines published by Brussels suggested it wants to hold powers to penalise Britain during the two year gap between Brexit in March 2019 and the final deal coming into force.

The EU also wants to strip the UK of the right to challenge decisions made by EU judges in the European Court of Justice during the transition.

If the UK refuses then the Brussels club plans to hit back by blocking sectors from having access to the single market.

This could harm transactions in the City of London, hit cross border trade and stop British airlines from landing their planes in EU airports.

Stefaan De Rynck, an adviser to EU negotiator Michel Barnier, insisted today a sanction for 'foul play' had to be part of any agreement.

But asked about the threats at PMQs in the Commons this afternoon, Mrs May said: 'We will be robust in our arguments.

Theresa May, picured at PMQs today flanked by David Lidington (left) and Philip Hammond, said Britain would be 'robust' about demands made by the EU

Brexiteers Bernard Jenkin and Jacob Rees-Mogg lashed out at 'silly threats' from Brussels after it emerged the EU wants a punishment clause in the transition period

'As I have said right from the beginning, we will hear all sorts of noises off, we will hear all sorts of things about positions are being taken.

'What matters is the positions we take in the negotiations as we sit down and negotiate the best deal.

'We've shown we can do that, we did it in December and we're going to do it again.'

Brexiteers reacted with fury today at the EU's 'silly threat' to ground planes in the UK if it cannot impose new laws during the Brexit transition.

Senior Brexiteer Bernard Jenkin insisted today the threat proved how worried Brussels was about Britain succeeding.

Mr Jenkin told BBC Radio: 'This is an indication of how fearful the EU is that they have to make these silly threats.

'Of course we are going to do rather well outside the EU and we are going to show the EU up as a rather less successful organisation than it is.'

Jacob Rees-Mogg, billed as a possible leadership rival to May, said the British government would find it 'very difficult' to agree with.

'Thank heavens we are leaving an organisation that takes such an aggressive stance when you don't do what you are told,' he told The Times.

But Mr De Rynck replied on Twitter: 'The EU responds to PM May's request to benefit from single market and customs union for a limited time during which all must play by the same rules.

'Foreseeing possibility of sanctions for foul play is of course part of any agreement.'

Mr Verhofstadt listens to Mr Juncker as they have a frank conversation at the European Parliament today

The plans reveal that the EU is worried that Britain will break European law during the transition period.

They fear that the UK will lodge an objection to the law with the ECJ and try to wait out the two years by embarking on a lengthy legal challenge at the Luxembourg based court.

They believe this will create a loophole which will effectively let Britain dodge new rules and regulations f or the transition period - something hey are determined to block.

To stop this happening Brussels wants to create a way of punishing Britain by denying important and lucrative sectors of the economy access to the single market if we do not follow all the new laws.

The hardline stance is major blow for Theresa May (pictured in Manchester today)who was aiming to get a transition deal signed up to by the end of next month.

Brussels is insisting that Britain signs up to all EU laws and ECJ judgements during the two year transition period.

It states: 'In addition, the Governance and Dispute Settlement Part of the Withdrawal Agreement should provide for a mechanism allowing the Union to suspend certain benefits deriving for the United Kingdom from participation in the internal market where it considers that referring the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union would not bring in appropriate time the necessary remedies.'

Peter Ptassek, Germany's top Brexit official, tweeted: 'Now we are talking #transition! Straight forward draft by [the commission] provides the clarity the economy facing Brexit needs. Not so much time left to get a deal on this in March.'

But the move will meet with fierce resistance among Tory Brexiteers who have warned against allowing Britain to become a 'vassal state' during the two-year transition.

Brexit Secretary David Davis, the Brexit Secretary, has called for a clause to ensure that Britain will not be forced to implement laws against its interests.

But it looks as if that demand appears likely to be ignored by Brussels.
A Kansas man has been accused of trying to buy a little girl with cash and drugs so he could have sex with her and then impregnate her and keep the baby.

Ernest Merle Anziana was indicted on Tuesday by a Franklin County grand jury on human trafficking charges.

Franklin Assistant Commonwealth Attorney Zach Becker said the 48-year-old man was arrested after the Kentucky Attorney General's Cyber Crimes Branch launched an investigation pretending that there was an 11-year-old girl for sale, the Lexington Herald-Leader reports.

Ernest Merle Anziana, 48, was charged with human trafficking after he allegedly tried to buy an 11-year-old girl with $250 and meth

Anziana took the bait and allegedly tried to purchase the child for $250 and a quantity of crystal meth.

Becker said Anziana's intent was to have sex with the girl and 'impregnate the 11-year-old and keep that child as well'.

He was also indicted on five counts of unlawful use of electronic means to induce a minor to engage in illegal activities, according to the Lexington Herald Leader. Becker said the devices used to 'procure' the little girl included a cellphone and a tablet.

Anziana is currently being held in Kansas awaiting extradition to Kentucky on a $250,000 bond. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

According to records by the Kansas Department of Corrections, Anziana has three prior convictions for aggravated incest.
This is the dramatic moment a brave fireman saved a cat from certain death after a luxury multi-million-pound yacht went up in flames in an upmarket marina.

The frightened animal was snatched as it teetered on the edge of the 30ft boat which had docked in Alicante, Spain.

At first, it looks as though the black and white cat is totally oblivious to the danger it is in and looks more worried about the fireman who climbed up the ladder to try and reach it.

The frightened animal was rescued by firefighters as it teetered on the edge of the 30ft burning boat. video from INF

At one stage, the cat seems to be thinking about jumping overboard but is grabbed in the nick of time.

Ten people had to be taken to hospital after trying to put the fire out before the arrival of the emergency services.

It is believed the fire in the yacht, worth a cool six million euros, started during some welding work in the engine room but a full investigation is underway.

The flames spread so quickly that the workers started to choke as they inhaled smoke.

Firefighters had difficulty in controlling the blaze because of the fibreglass bodywork and difficulty in accessing the engine room. The operation is likely to continue today to make sure the flames do not spring up again.

The cat survived it's terrifying ordeal. It is not known whether it was a stray or whether it belonged to someone on the yacht

The alarm was raised at around 10.30am on Tuesday morning and a crew of 21 firefighters rushed to the scene.

Water and foam was used to try and control the flames and it was during this that they realised there was a cat on board.

The ten men who needed hospital treatment were aged between 20 and 49. Nine of them were taken by a fleet of ambulances to different hospitals in Alicante and were all discharged later.

A huge crowd gathered to watch the drama in the Alicante port in the district of San Gabriel and the thick plume of smoke was visible from miles away.

The fire crew used more than a million litres of sea water to control the blaze.

The cat survived but it is not known whether it was a stray or whether it belonged to someone on the yacht.

Reports in some of the Spanish press say it ran away after being rescued.
A mayor has agreed to scrap a fine given to an Army veteran for parking in a bus lane so he could help a homeless man on Christmas Day.

Councillor Peter Soulsby made the embarrassing u-turn after initially refusing to overturn the 70 penalty charge handed to 43-year-old Lee Williamson.

But he was slapped with the fine by Leicester City Council and was gobsmacked when the authority refused to cancel it despite explaining his reasons for stopping.

Even after Mr Williamson's story hit the headlines the mayor stood his ground and said the enforcement cameras were there as an 'important safety measure'.

Mr Williamson (pictured) was handing out treats as part of his work with 'Once, We Were Soldiers', which carries out patrols to speak to homeless veterans

Lee Williamson, who works with a charity helping rough sleepers, spotted the man outside Leicester railway station on Christmas morning and stopped in a bus lane (pictured)

Mr Williamson (left) sent an email to the council to explain the situation but they have refused to rescind the fine (right)

Councillor Peter Soulsby made the embarrassing u-turn after initially refusing to overturn the 70 penalty charge handed to 43-year-old Lee Williamson

Mr Williamson, of Evington, Leicester, said he had been 'overwhelmed' by the support after his case received global attention.

'It's been crazy really. I've had people from all over the world offering support and help.

'I'm just glad common sense had prevailed eventually. But its been quite a battle and I don't think it would have happened if I hadn't gone public.'

The mayor was today forced to backtrack on his original decision and revealed he would be making sure the fine was cancelled.

The former squaddie, who served with the Royal Anglian Regiment for five years, blasted jobsworth council workers

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Soulsby said: 'Common sense should prevail in certain situations and this is one of those situations.

'To punish him for doing a good deed on Christmas day is crazy, rules can be taken to an extreme.

'We should do everything we can to make sure Lee isn't punished and the fine is cancelled.

'It's a Good Samaritan doing a good deed and fining him is just an absolute and utter nonsense.'

The carpenter, 43, who served as a private soldier for five years (above), said there was no traffic on the roads at all and he wanted to do something kind

A businessman living in France also contacted Lee to say he would pay the fine for him after being disgusted with his treatment by the council.

David Poole, 42, originally from Nottingham but now works in internet marketing for a company in Cognac, decided to track Lee down and send him the cash.

Mr Williamson vowed that he would not pay the find and was willing to take the matter to court

Mr Williamson added: 'It just goes to show sometimes it pays off to stand up to the big boys and I'm relieved I don't have to pay it now.

'I had the local radio station call me up and asked me to do an interview and speak with the mayor so I was able to directly to tell him my story.

'He said he would overturn the 70 fine because common sense should prevail in certain situations.

'I am glad its all sorted now as its been hanging over me for a couple of months. I'm happy that I wasn't the only one who thought it was completely ridiculous.'

Speaking on Tuesday (6/2) Lee, who works with the charity 'Once, We Were Soldiers', said he had felt like he was being 'punished for doing something good'.

He added: 'I'm pretty disgusted, there should be digression, I could understand if the road was busy but there was no one around.

'They told me it was not safe to park there. How can it be unsafe if there are literally no other road users around?

'The fine is 70 - that money could put someone who is homeless in a home for a week with food.'

Mr Williamson said he had the supplies in his car as he works with 'Once, We Were Soldiers', which carries out patrols to speak to homeless veterans
Phil Gormley, pictured, has resigned with immediate effect, according to the Scottish Police Authority

Police Scotland Chief Constable Phil Gormley has resigned with immediate effect, the Scottish Police Authority said.

The independent Investigations and Review Commissioner (Pirc) announced they were looking into a fifth allegation of gross misconduct against him last month as he fought for his job amid bullying allegations.

Today Mr Gormley said: 'The last eight months have been difficult for me and my family, in particular I would like to thank my wife for her love and loyalty.

'The events since November 2017 have led me to the conclusion that it is impossible for me to resume my duties in a meaningful way prior to the end of my contract.

'I now need to prioritise the health and well-being of my family on whom these events have taken a significant toll.

'The support of colleagues from across the UK with whom I have served during the last 32 years has been a source of great strength.

'As chief constable of Police Scotland I have had the privilege to meet and work with some exceptional people, I wish them well for the future and it is in their interests that I feel it is right to step aside.'

Watchdogs at the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) referred a complaint to investigators, with Commissioner Kate Frame confirming she considered if the allegation was proved it would amount to gross misconduct.

Phil Gormley, pictured with SNP leader and Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, has resigned following allegations of bullying

Claire Gormley, right, branded the investigation a 'fishing expedition' and said her husband had been vilified

Allegations of bullying Phil Gormley took over as Police Scotland head in January 2016. His appointment followed three years of negative headlines following the force's creation in 2013. Mr Gormley went on gardening leave in September the last year, when Police Scotland's head of IT, Martin Leven, complained about his 'behaviour'. The Pirc was already assessing three 'gross misconduct' allegations and the SPA had received two bullying allegations. After two months' leave, Mr Gormley was stopped from returning to work by the justice secretary. In January this year the Pirc confirmed it was looking into another allegation which, if true, would be 'gross misconduct'. Advertisement

A Pirc spokesman said at the time: 'The Commissioner has received five misconduct referrals about the Chief Constable from the SPA in the past six months, all of which are currently being investigated.

'Once each investigation is concluded, the Commissioner will submit a report to the SPA containing a summary of evidence and an opinion on whether the misconduct allegations should be referred to an misconduct hearing.'

Mr Gormley denied all allegations made against him and has been special leave from his post since September.

His wife, Claire Gormley, attacked the justice secretary Michael Matheson in January, complaining her husband had been 'vilified' in a 'disproportionate fishing expedition' designed to stop him returning to work.

Mrs Gormley said she was confident 'justice will prevail' as she slammed 'half-truths and lack of transparency' she claimed surrounded the controversy.

In November, the SPA voted to end Mr Gormleys gardening leave, but reversed the decision when Mr Matheson intervened as the 54-year-old was on his way back to Scotland from his Norfolk home.

Critics say Mr Matheson may have been acting unlawfully by interfering with a supposedly independent body and there are no minutes of a key meeting in November between the minister and former SPA chairman Andrew Flanagan.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said the row was an example of the 'SNP's secret Scotland'

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said the row was an example of the SNPs secret Scotland  and it stinks.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats said Mr Gormley's decision to quit should not lead people to believe that 'all the problems in Police Scotland are solved'.

The Scottish Conservatives and Scottish Labour said questions remain for Justice Secretary Michael Matheson, with the Tories saying the minister should also leave his post.

Tory justice spokesman Liam Kerr MSP said: 'Mr Gormley makes clear in his resignation statement that it was the events of November 2017 - when Michael Matheson intervened to prevent his return to work - that made it impossible for him to carry on.

'It suggests that, less than two years after his appointment, the SNP Government intervened to force him out.

'Michael Matheson may hope that the stink hanging over this affair will clear with Mr Gormley's departure.

'It won't. That will only happen when Mr Matheson does the decent thing and follows the former Chief Constable out of the door.'

Labour's justice spokesman Daniel Johnson said the case of Mr Gormley descended into farce and that Police Scotland had been riddled by crisis and controversy for years now.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said problems remain at the force following Mr Gormley's resignation.

'The rate at which Chief Constables and SPA bosses have come and gone points to a much deeper issue. Problems are hardwired into the structures they are operating within,' he said.

'Powers over policing should be shared across more individuals and communities to avoid these situations, rather than hoarded on the desk of the Justice Secretary.

'An independent expert review of how policing structures are operating is essential to inject accountability, transparency and localism back into the system.'

Commenting on Mr Gormley's departure, SPA chair Susan Deacon said he had made a 'significant contribution' to policing in Scotland.

A former post-graduate student at the University of Cambridge, Mr Gormley started his policing career at Thames Valley Police in 1985.

He became superintendent in 1999 and was assigned responsibility for the Souther Oxfordshire area, before joining the Metropolitan Police in 2003.

Mr Gormley masterminded the merger of the Anti-Terrorist Branch and Special Branch in 2005, with the unit being named Counter Terrorism Command the following year.

He was Deputy Chief Constable of West Midlands Police from 2007 to 2010, when he became the second-highest paid chief constable in the UK with Norfolk Constabulary with a salary of 260,000.

In May 2013 he became the National Crime Agency's deputy director general but left in 2015, becoming the head of Police Scotland the following year.
This is the moment a curry chef appears to throw hot chilli powder into a complaining customer's eyes leaving the man fearing he had been blinded in an acid attack, a court heard today.

CCTV footage was shown to a jury of the agonising moment diner David Evans, 47, had the hot spice thrown into his eyes by chef Kamrul Islam.

The video shows Islam, 47, wearing rubber gloves as he launched a cloud of red powder towards Mr Evans in the restaurant.

David Evans, 47, and his wife Michelle (pictured together above) planned to enjoy a romantic evening at the Prince of Bengal restaurant in Tonypandy, Rhondda, South Wales

David Evans was rushed to hospital where a saline drip and water was used to flush out his eyes

Grandfather Mr Evans told how he was left in 'unbelievable pain' - and feared he would never see again.

Pipe-fitter Mr Evans said: 'It was horrific. That's the only way I can describe it.

'At first I thought you hear about these acid attacks.

'It made me think I just had a grandson two weeks before that and I thought I'm never going to see him again. That's how bad the pain was.'

Kamrul Islam, 47, (pictured outside court today) allegedly hurled the burning chilli into the face of David Evans, 47, while he was on a night out with his wife

Mr Evans had been out for dinner with his college lecturer wife Michelle, 48, when they complained about his 'tough and rubbery' chicken.

But Islam argued with the couple before Mr Evans followed him to the kitchen.

Islam, owner of Prince of Bengal restaurant, claims he acted in self defence after Mr Evans 'formed a fist' as if to punch him.

The footage shown in court showed Mr Evans leaning over in pain clutching his eyes after having the chili thrown in his eyes while his wife comes over to help him.

Mr Evans said: 'I knew I was in trouble. I was screaming get the police and ambulance there.

'I was helpless. My wife took me into the bathroom.'

The court heard Mr Evans splashed cold water into his eyes for 30 to 40 minutes before the police arrived.

He said: 'I had no help from anyone at the restaurant. I was being sick. My throat was burning.'

Mr Evans said he suffered burns to his neck, face, lips, stomach and chest and added: 'The pain was unbelievable.'

He spent between three to four hours at hospital on January 21 before being discharged in the early hours of the next morning.

Giving evidence during the trial, wife Michelle Evans said: 'It was the worst experience I have ever had out with my husband.

'I remember everything and I certainly wasn't drunk.'

Mrs Evans said: 'I was really taken aback (thinking) 'why is he so annoyed, why is he so nasty, why is he so aggressive?'

'What's the worst he thought was going to happen? That we weren't going to pay for our meal?'

Mrs Evans told the jury that she posted on Facebook about the incident the following day because she 'wanted to tell the people of Tonypandy and the surrounding area that if they went there this is what they might be treated like'.

Mr Evans and his wife Michelle (pictured together. leaving court today) complained and said their meal was 'tough and rubbery'

She said her husband 'doesn't shout' and it would be very out of character for him to act aggressively, and that he was asking for an apology over the way Islam spoke to her when the incident happened.

Both Mr and Mrs Evans told the jury Islam only came to their table once and was immediately aggressive.

They were challenged on the sequence of events by Ruth Smith, for Islam, and shown CCTV footage from inside the restaurant.

The footage showed Islam and various other members of staff going to the table, which the Evanses said they could not recall.

Mr Evans previously said he was 'very angry' but was not the aggressor in the situation.

When asked how he would describe the feeling of having chilli powder in his eyes, Mr Evans said: 'Horrific, that's the only way I can describe it.

'At first I thought you hear about these acid attacks. It was that bad a pain. I had just had a grandson two weeks ago and my first thought was I'm never going to see him again.

'That's how bad the pain was.'

Jurors have previously been told that Mr Evans immediately doubled up in pain and was taken to hospital.

A saline drip was used to clean his eyes and he was found to have suffered burns when the spice landed on him.

Islam was arrested later that night.

In an interview, he told officers he acted in self-defence because he thought Mr Evans was going to attack him and denied swearing at the couple, the court was told.

The chef today told the court that he threw chilli into the eyes of a customer after a 'heated' restaurant row.

Islam said he hurled the spice in self-defence because he feared restaurant diner David Evans would attack him.

Islam told the court: 'It is true that it was getting heated. I had a lot of orders coming in.'

Islam said he spoke to Mr and Mrs Evans at their table after they complained about their meal before heading back into the kitchen followed by Mr Evans.

He said: 'I had an understanding that he was going to hit me.

'I was very frightened. I didn't want to show anybody that I was frightened.

'If I didn't move he would have hit me, without a question.

'I thought he was going to come into the kitchen and he was going to attack me. So then I grabbed the chilli.'

Islam, who began to cry giving evidence, said: 'I ran to get the chilli powder because I wanted to get the chilli before he gets me.

'I thought he would grab me before I could grab the chilli.'

Islam told the court that Mrs Evans had been rude to him about her food.

Islam said: 'She said that the chicken was tough. She was punching it with her fork in a rude manner.

'She said just f***ing take it away.'

Islam denies assault.

The trial at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court continues.
A Melbourne mother has been slammed by a school after she packed a lamington in her child's lunchbox.

The tasty treat was returned to the mortified mother uneaten along with a note from the kindergarten, Seven News reported.

The note said the lamington 'did not comply with the school's nutrition policy'.

The note said the lamington 'did not comply with the school's nutrition policy'

The mother was told never to include a lamington in her child's lunch again.

Some social media users agreed, saying not only are lamingtons lacking in nutrition, they could even be dangerous.

'It wasn't calories concern but possible allergen concerns. Kids share food with mates. We expect schools to take reasonable steps to care for kids,' wrote one person.

'No wonder our children develop eating disorders!' said another.

This comes a year after a South Australian mother was left mortified when her three-year-old child's preschool sent home a note about the contents of the lunchbox she had packed that morning.

She had included a piece of chocolate cake for her child to eat during the day, which she quickly learned was against school policy.

A Melbourne mother has been slammed by a school after she packed a lamington in her child's lunchbox

People took to social media to express their shock at the policy.

'That's bad, Australia getting too PC!! It's a bloody lamington,' one person wrote on Twitter.

'Kindergarten needs to keep their noses out of kids lunch box! If the parent gives it to their child it's none of their business!' said another.

When her child arrived home, she came with a note featuring an oversized, red frowning face image.

'Your child has chocolate slice from the red food category today,' the letter read.

'Please choose healthier options for kindy.'
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Meet the dogs of Chernobyl  the descendants of the pets thousands of families were forced to leave behind in the wake of the world's worst nuclear disaster.

After the reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on April 25, 1986  releasing 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki  more than 120,000 people were evacuated.

The hastiness with which they left the Ukrainian city of Pripyat and surrounding villages meant they were only able to take what they could carry  and banned from taking their beloved pets.

Hundreds of stray dogs (pictured, a puppy), the descendants of the pets evacuees were forced to leave behind after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986) live around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant

The stray dogs endure harsh Ukrainian winters and have a shorter life expectancy due to the radiation they carry in their fur

Squads were sent in to kill the animals left behind, but some managed to survive in the woods.

Now, hundreds of strays, the descendants of those dogs, live around the 30km exclusion zone among the foxes, moose, lynx, hares, horses and wolves that are also thriving in the area.

They endure harsh winters in Ukraine and have a shorter life expectancy due to the radiation they carry in their fur.

But they have friendly natures and are willing to approach the visitors who come to see the remnants of the plant and the ghost town that housed the families who worked there.

Hundreds of strays live around the 30km exclusion among the foxes, moose, lynx, hares, horses and wolves that are also thriving in the area. They often linger at security checkpoints approaching visitors for food

After the reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on April 25, 1986  releasing 100 times more radiation than the atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki  more than 120,000 people were evacuated. Pictured, a dog inside an abandoned gym

These pictures, taken by local tour company Solo East Travel , show the stray dogs wandering near and interacting with visitors, particularly those working at the plant.

'Most of the time people find them cute, but some think they might be contaminated and so avoid touching the dogs,' one tour guide said. Pictured, a dog interacts with a woman in the area

These pictures, taken by local tour company Solo East Travel, show the stray dogs wandering near and interacting with visitors, particularly those working at the plant.

Nadezhda Starodub, a Solo East guide, says the visitors to the exclusion zone love the dogs.

'Most of the time people find them cute, but some think they might be contaminated and so avoid touching the dogs,' she told the Guardian.

Although visitors aren't prohibited from handling the dogs, Ms Starodub said she advises them to use the same common sense as when dealing with any stray dog.

Although visitors aren't prohibited from handling the dogs, visitors are advised to use the same common sense as when dealing with any stray dog

The dogs are cared for by The Clean Futures Fund (CFF), a non-profit organisation that provides support for communities affected by industrial accidents

A stray dog sits outside the sarcophagus built to contain the remains of the No. 4 reactor unit at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant near Pripyat

A dog is seen near the New Safe Confinement shelter, built in 2016 to seal in some of the most dangerous waste material in the world for 100 years

The CFF estimates that 'over 250 stray dogs live around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, over 225 stray dogs live in Chernobyl City, and hundreds of other dogs live at the various security checkpoints and roam throughout the exclusion zone'

The dogs are cared for by The Clean Futures Fund (CFF), a non-profit organisation that provides support for communities affected by industrial accidents.

The organisation estimates that 'over 250 stray dogs live around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, over 225 stray dogs live in Chernobyl City, and hundreds of other dogs live at the various security checkpoints and roam throughout the exclusion zone.'

The CFF has set up three veterinary clinics in the area, including one inside the plant, to treat emergencies, provide vaccinations and are also neutering the dogs.

The CFF has set up three veterinary clinics in the area, including one inside the plant, to treat emergencies, provide vaccinations and are also neutering the dogs

The area is now considered one of the world's most unique wildlife sanctuaries with a thriving populations of wolves, deer, lynx, beaver, eagles, boar, elk, bears spotted as well as the wild dogs
French President Emmanuel Macron will be invited to the White House for a state visit in late April, it has been reported.

The trip will see Macron become the first world leader to be granted the honor of a full state visit under the Trump administration.

It comes after Trump struck up an unlikely friendship with Macron last year as he attended Bastille Day celebrations in Paris.

Emmanuel Macron will be granted a state visit to the White House in late April this year, sources say (pictured, the two Presidents watch the Bastille Day parade in Paris last year)

Macron and Trump struck up an unlikely bromance during the Bastille Day parade, with Trump reportedly so impressed he is now planning his own version in America

AfP first reported the date of the visit, attributing it to 'diplomatic sources'.

White House spokesman Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the administration's intentions to extend the invite to Macron back in January.

No formal announcement or official date has yet been released.

Trump first met Macron on the sidelines of a NATO summit in May last year after the President arrived for a tour of Europe, in which he admonished leaders for failing to keep up their spending commitments to the military alliance.

The two have met several times since then, but the defining moment of their 'bromance' came during a 24-hour visit to Paris in July 2017.

There, Trump sat alongside the French President and their wives to watch the annual Bastille Day military parade, which marks the storming of the Bastille and the start of the French Revolution.

The date also coincided with 100th anniversary of the entry of US troops into the First World War, with American personnel featuring in the display.

Macron will become the first world leader granted the privilege of a full state visit if the proposed trip goes ahead

British Prime Minister Theresa May was the first world leader to visit Washington after Trump was elected, but was not given state honors

Trump, who has a well-known penchant for military parades, seemed enthralled and the pair shared a long handshake and embrace.

In fact, the President was so thrilled with the display he has now ordered military chiefs to look into doing a similar annual display in America.

General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, confirmed the news on Wednesday, saying he was 'looking into it'.

Most recently Macron invited Trump to the World Economic Forum in Davos, an invite he accepted - becoming the first President since Clinton to do so.

Things had not always looked so promising for a friendship between America and its oldest ally after Trump openly backed Macron's presidential opponent, nationalist Marine Le Pen, during the French election.

Macron's globalist, internationalist, and liberal outlook did little to encourage expectations of a budding bromance.

But, as Macron told the BBC on Sunday, the pair now have 'a very strong relationship' and talk 'very regularly.'

'I'm always extremely direct and frank. He is. Sometimes I manage to convince him, and sometimes I fail,' he added.
Some surgeries at South Australia's new Royal Adelaide Hospital have been disrupted by a power outage caused by a software failure.

The outage caused a generator to fail for up to 20 minutes on Wednesday morning, effecting two operations the ABC reported.

No patients were adversely affected and the software responsible for the failure was being examined.

A software failure caused a power outage at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (pictured)

Associate Professor William Tam was working on a procedure on a 97-year-old patient when the power dropped out for what he estimated to be around 20 minutes.

'The anaesthetic machines still had access to power, but I was totally in the dark without any information about what was happening to my instrument which was still inside the patient,' Professor Tam said.

'Thank goodness there was a degree of calm amongst the team. We kept thinking the generator would kick back in, it didn't and we had to make the call to ... complete the procedure as quickly as we can.'

He said there was no harm to the patient however was disappointed that the unacceptable situation arose in the first instance.

The outage caused a generator to fail for up to 20 minutes on Wednesday

Professor Tam said it is imperative hospital staff and patients have confidence in the functions of the facility.

'But power reliability is a non-negotiable function.'

The Australian Medical Associate has sought support from SA Health to address the reliability of power.
Brenton Reid, 23, was jailed for 15 years on Monday in Maryland after admitting second degree child abuse

A 23-year-old man has been jailed for 15 years for abusing a two-year-old girl so severely she had tears in her intestines.

Brenton William Reid was given the maximum sentence for second degree child abuse on Monday after pleading guilty in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Washington County Circuit Judge Mark K. Boyer fumed as he handed the sentence down, saying: 'The maximum sentence I can impose is 15 years.

'And you have earned every minute of it.'

The child's relationship to him has not been released in order to protect her identity.

Reid is believed to have abused her over a period of time in 2016 which culminated in her having to be taken to hospital after one particularly brutal episode.

His girlfriend Jennifer Buckler, 26, was also charged with abuse after admitting to hitting the girl.

She was not with them on June 10, 2016, when he called emergency services to claim she had fallen out of the bath and severely injured herself.

When they took her to hospital, she had 18 injuries on her face, head and body that were visible, and further damage had been done to her internal organs.

Brenton Reid was arrested in 2016 along with his girlfriend Jennifer Buckler, 26. She was not at home when the worst of the abuse happened but is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to hitting the child on another occasion

Doctors first discovered she had a tear in her small intestine then, upon further examination, found similar tears on her rectum and large intestine.

They could not tell whether the injuries were as a result of anal rape by penetration or by a foreign object or both.

Judge Mark Boyer said the man had earned 'every minute' of the maximum sentence

The child underwent surgery for the injuries but survived the abuse and is now living with her grandfather.

Buckler pleaded guilty to second-degree abuse and second degree assault last year and will be sentenced next week.

Jennifer Buckler, also had been charged with second-degree child abuse and second-degree assault of the girl.

She pleaded guilty to second-degree assault last year and is set to be sentenced next week, Mollett-Gaumer said.

On Monday, the judge apologized to the girl's relatives for not being able to reverse the abuse.

Buckley, 26, will be sentenced next week

'I can't make this 100 percent perfect,' he said, according to Herald Mail Media which attended the sentencing hearing in Maryland.

The child's grandfather says she now regularly suffers night terrors.

'It's likely (she) will have similar issues the rest of her life,' he said. She is four-years-old now.

Prosecutors said they were frustrated by the pair's 'absolutely ridiculous' explanation for the child's injuries but that plea deals were the best way to guarantee they would be jailed.

Buckler will be sentenced next week.
International Womens Day will be particularly poignant in 2018, being 100 years since the Representation of the People Act was passed allowing women over the age of 30 to vote.

In 2018, sexual harassment and discrimination against women has captured headlines and has been a more prominent part of public discourse and many voicing their desire for change.

With the #MeToo movement in the United States reemerging in other English-speaking countries and #YoTambien in Mexico, Spain, South American and beyond, #QuellaVoltaChe in Italy, #BalanceTonPorc in France and #Ana_kaman in the Arab States, support for womens rights has definitely increased.

IWD provides an opportunity to empower women and celebrate activists working to attain womens rights on a global scale.

Christabel Pankhurst, right, daughter of Emmeline Pankhurst pictured with Annie Kenney

What is International Womens Day?

International Womens Day came into being to support womens rights and their involvement in politics and economics. It's origins stem from North American and European labour movements at the start of the twentieth century

IWD was first marked when women protested working conditions and the subsequent 1908 garment workers strike in New York was honoured by the Socialist Party of America on February 28, 1909.

A year later in Copenhagen, the Socialist International created a global Womens Day that built support for womens suffrage and was approved by over 100 women from 17 countries.

On March 19, 1911, Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland celebrated International Womens Day and rallied for the right to vote, hold public office and womens rights at work.

During the First World War, IWD evolved into a protest against the war and women in Russia held a strike for Bread and Peace on the last Sunday in February, which fell on March 8 on the Gregorian Calendar in 1917.

The Czar then abdicated and the Government granted women the vote in Russia.

On February 6, 1918, the UK passed the Representation of the People Act that allowed women over 30 with certain property and qualifications to vote.

In 1975, the United Nations began officially celebrating International Womens Day on March 8.

In 1995, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was established and signed to encourage women and girls to make choices, get an education, get involved in politics and have an income without being discriminated.

Alongside this, in 2014, the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW58), an annual gathering dedicated to womens rights and gender equality, focused on the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls.

When is International Womens Day?

International Womens Day is marked on March 8 every year and is a worldwide celebration.

The March 8 date was suggested at the 1910 International Womans Conference in New York and after women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, the day became a national holiday.

After being celebrated by communist countries and socialist movements, IWD was adopted by the United Nations in 1975 and officially celebrated on this day.

A female munitions worker is pictured here working in a factory during the First World War

What is the theme for International Womens Day 2018?

The 2018 theme for International Womens Day is Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming womens lives.

According to UN Women, less than 20 percent of landholders worldwide are women and with the global pay gap between men and women standing at 23 percent globally, in rural areas this gap can be as high as 40 percent.

Rural women and their organisations represent an enormous potential, and they are on the move to claim their rights and improve their livelihoods and wellbeing. They are using innovative agricultural methods, setting up successful businesses and acquiring new skills, pursuing their legal entitlements and running for office.

Recently, as hundreds of courageous women from the film, theatre and art industry in the USA started speaking against sexual harassment and assault by powerful men in the industry, they found a powerful ally in Alianza Nacional de Campesinas, the national farm worker womens organisation, no stranger to the abuse of power. UN Women said.

Is there an International Men's Day?

International Mens Day is marked every year in at over 60 countries and is a day on which serious issues that affect men and boys are addressed.

Backed by UNESCO, International Mens Day is observed on the 19th of November every year.

The celebration shares a 48-hour partnership with Universal Childrens Day marked on November 20th, which is endorsed by the United Nations.
The grieving mother of a teenage girl who was found dead just two months after returning from a mysterious abduction, has hit out at the online trolls at targeting her family.

Heaven Ray Cox, 15, was rescued from a Louisiana residence on December 1, five days after going missing from her home in from Mauriceville, Texas. Yet, just a couple of months later, on February 3, her mother Tammy announced that Heaven had died.

Authorities have not yet confirmed her cause of death, her family said that she had been suffering from depression and bipolar disorder.

Now Tammy, a teacher from Orange, Texas, has hit out at the 'hateful, ignorant people' who have been posting on her social media pages about her daughter.

Heaven Ray Cox, 15, (pictured with dark hair, with Santa and members of her family after returning home in December) was rescued from a Louisiana residence on December 1, five days after going missing from her home in from Mauriceville, Texas

A couple of months later, on February 3, her mother Tammy (left) announced that Heaven (right) had died

She urged her family and friends not to engage with trolls, and incredibly, says she even has sympathy for those attacking her family in their time of grief.

The vast majority of messages left on the Cox's social media pages were of support and tributes to their lost daughter.

However, a few people had chosen the Facebook page of a grieving mother to debate wild theories about how and why they thought Heaven, who had dyed her hair since arriving home in December, had died.

One young woman even suggesting that Tammy could be in some way responsible for her daughter's death, or that she could have come from an abusive home.

'I feel so very sorry for them, as they're dealing with a loss themselves,' Tammy wrote on Tuesday. 'A loss of tolerance, a loss of kindness, a loss of compassion and a loss of their own dignity. Without these things, no one can truly be the person that God intends us to be.'

Now Tammy, a teacher from Orange, Texas, has hit out at the 'hateful, ignorant people' who have been posting on her social media pages about her daughter

Tammy also revealed her daughter had been battling with depression, sharing the heartbreaking moment the 15-year-old revealed she'd been suffering.

'She once told me, that though she was smiling on the outside, she wasn't smiling on the inside,' her mom wrote. 'She was struggling. She was trying to overcome things that most people couldn't fathom.'

The family paid tribute to their 'beautiful, smart, loving compassionate' young daughter in a moving Facebook post.

'She was a little sparkplug......who could light up a room by walking into it,' they said in a post.

They described her as as a christian animal lover who dreamed of becoming a marine biologist when she grew up.

'She was a hard worker, she was artistic, she could sing, she loved the water and animals of all kinds,' her mother wrote. 'She loved the outdoors, she could shoot a gun and fish better than most boys. She loved to ride her horse Kit, and ice skate.

Tammy also revealed her daughter (pictured) had been battling with depression

Heaven is seen with her mother left and alone right. It has initially been thought she was heading to California when she disappeared last year

'She was a wonderful daughter, granddaughter, niece, cousin and friend. In short, she was absolutely amazing!

Tammy continued: 'loved to hear Her say "Hi Momma!" When she got off the bus in the afternoon. Her hugs were the best. So, you see, people who say ugly things about her, without knowing her......simply don't matter.

'The world was never meant for one as beautiful as you baby. I'll love you forever and a day. Mom.'

Heaven had initially disappeared from home on November 26, sparking a huge manhunt, after talking to a man on Snapchat.

She took her passport but not the medication needed to treat the bi-polar condition she suffered from, according to Tammy.

Police initially said that a note indicated Heaven might have been heading to California.

'I am asking everyone to share this to their wall, and particularly those who live in California and every state between there and Texas,' wrote Tammy after discovering her daughter was missing.

'This man told her that he would be in San Antonio for Thanksgiving and that he would pick her up.'

Her mother made the announcement that 'sweet Heaven' had died on Facebook on February 3

The multi-state search for Heaven was called off after she was rescued unharmed in December

Tammy said that she didn't find out her daughter was missing until Saturday afternoon because it was usual for her to sleep in late on weekends.

But when she and the girl's father took a look in her room, they found that she was missing and had not taken her medication.

'She left a goodbye note to me and her Dad, and said that she wouldn't have a phone, so I'm sure he has taken it from her, as it isn't here, and I have torn her room apart.'

'The man she has been talking to is a predator, who has apparently been manipulating her for some time, and in her current state of mind, she believes that he is her friend.'

The teen was the subject of a nationwide search before she was found unharmed with a 'relative' of one of her friends. No charges were ever brought over her disappearance and the police did not comment on her family's claims about the 'online predator'.

Heaven's family described her as as a christian animal lover, who loved to hunt and fish, and who dreamed of becoming a marine biologist when she grew up

When she turned up, her elated mother wrote on Facebook: 'She had been found and is safe!!!'

'Thanks to everybody for all you have done for one little girl, please don't forget that there are others out there still missing.'

Tragically, just two months later, her mother posted another Facebook message. This time, it confirmed Heaven had died.

'Our sweet Heaven left us to be with Jesus this afternoon around 4:00. Some bright lights are not meant for this dark and cruel world,' she wrote on Facebook.

'I know that Dusty and Gracie were there to welcome her. Sing with the angels sweet girl. I love you.'

Responding to the many messages of condolence left for her, Tammy wrote: 'Thank you all. My heart is broken, she was the light and life in my home. I'm going to miss her terribly.'

Earlier she had said: 'I need everyone to stop and pray right now for Heaven!! It's and emergency.'
President Donald Trump trumpeted the release of new private texts from a pair of FBI lovers that said former President Obama wanted to know 'everything' about the FBI's Hillary Clinton email probe.

An FBI lawyer wrote in a newly revealed text to her lover in late 2016 that then-president Barack Obama wanted updates on the Hillary Clinton email investigation.

Two months before the presidential election, Lisa Page wrote to fellow FBI official Peter Strzok that she was working on a memo for then-FBI director James Comey because Obama 'wants to know everything we're doing.'

Obama had said five months earlier during a Fox News Channel interview that he could 'guarantee' he wouldn't interfere with that investigation.

President jumped on the news, sending out an all-caps tweet about it. ''NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!' Trump wrote

Lisa Page (left) wrote to her FBI colleague lover Peter Strzok (right) in September 2016 that then-president Barack Obama wanted an update from then-FBI director James Comey about the Hillary Clinton email investigation

'I do not talk to the attorney general about pending investigations. I do not talk to FBI directors about pending investigations. We have a strict line,' he said on April 10, 2016.

'I guarantee it. I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department or the FBI, not just in this case but in any case. Full stop. Period,' he said.'

Obama promised in April 2016 that he wouldn't get involved with FBI investigations and there would be 'no political influence'

As news spread through Washington about the newly revealed text messages, President Trump tweeted that they were 'BOMBSHELLS'

The September 2, 2016 text message was among more 50,000 texts the pair sent during a two-year extramarital affair.

Fox News was first to report on the latest batch, which is to be released by Republicans on the Senate Homeland Security Committee.

The committee members will soon publish a report titled 'The Clinton Email Scandal and the FBI's Investigation of it.'

President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday: 'NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!'

Comey testified to Congress in June 2017: 'As FBI director I interacted with President Obama. I spoke only twice in three years, and didn't document it.'

He didn't address possible memos or other written reports he may have sent to the Obama White House.

But Comey did document his 2017 meetings with President Donald Trump, he said, because he feared Trump would interfere with the Russia probe.

Strzok was the lead investigator on the probe examining Clinton's illicit use of a private email server to handle her official State Department messages while she was America's top diplomat.

He was later a member of special counsel Robert Mueller's team investigating alleged links betwen Donald Trump's presidential campaign and Russia.

Comey was to give Obama an update on the Clinton email investigation before the 2016 election, according to Page; he testified before Congress in 2017 that he only spoke to Obama twice as FBI director  but didn't mention whether he had sent him written reports

Clinton used a private, unsecured email server not accessible by government archivists to send and receive classified information while she was secretary of State; the FBI ultimately cleared her of criminal wrongdoing

Comey announced in July 2016 that he had cleared Clinton of criminal wrongdoing in the email probe, saying that 'we did not find clear evidence that Secretary Clinton or her colleagues intended to violate laws governing the handling of classified information.'

On October 28, 2016, Comey said in a letter to Congress that the FBI was reviewing new emails related to Clinton's tenure as secretary of State.

That revelation threw the presidential election into chaos.

On November 6, 2016, Comey told lawmakers that a review of those newly discovered emails had not altered the agency's view that Clinton should not face criminal charges.

The text messages between Page and Strzok that emerged earlier showed their hatred for Donald Trump.

In August 2016 Strzok wrote to her that he wanted to believe 'that theres no way he gets elected  but I'm afraid we can't take that risk. It's like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you're 40.'

It's unclear what that 'insurance policy' was, but the Justice Department was at the time debating an approach to a federal court for a surveillance warrant against Trump adviser Carter Page.

Strzok was elevated to overseeing the Trump Russia probe a month earlier.

In a text sent on October 20, 2016, Strzok called the Republican presidential nominee a 'f***ing idiot.'

On Election Day, Page wrote to him: 'OMG THIS IS F***ING TERRIFYING.'

Strzok replied, 'Omg, I am so depressed.'

Five days later, Page texted him again: 'I bought all the president's men. Figure I need to brush up on watergate.'
Rob Porter has resigned from his role as White House staff secretary after his first ex-wife told DailyMail.com that he choked and punched her during their marriage.

Colbie Holderness, 37, who is a senior analyst for the U.S. government, spoke on the record to DailyMail.com about her five-year marriage to Porter, detailing physical and mental abuse.

She said he broke down her confidence so badly with his verbal and emotional abuse that she took an extended leave of absence from grad school.

Holderness's revelations follow DailyMail.com's exclusive interview on Tuesday evening with Porter's second wife, Jennifer Willoughby.

She told how Porter, 40, once dragged her wet and naked out of the shower and was verbally abusive, calling her a f***ing b***h' on their honeymoon.

The White House initially gave Porter its full support. But just hours after the second set of revelations, Porter resigned while still protesting his innocence.

'These outrageous allegations are simply false. I took the photos given to the media nearly 15 years ago and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described,' Porter said in a statement Wednesday.

'I have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign.

'My commitment to public service speaks for itself. I have always put duty to country first and treated others with respect. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have served in the Trump Administration and will seek to ensure a smooth transition when I leave the White House.'

SCROLL DOWN FOR VIDEO

Colbie Holderness married Porter in June 2003 at New College Chapel in Oxford, England where Porter was attending as a Rhodes scholar

Holderness, 37, who is a senior analyst for the U.S. government, spoke on the record to DailyMail.com about her five-year marriage following the on-the-record allegations by Rob Porter's second wife, Jennifer Willoughby

Colbie tells DailyMail.com that while she and Porter were on a vacation in Florence, Italy, a couple of years after they married in the early 2000s, Porter punched her in the face

Porter, 40, has been described as one of the most important players in Trump's daily Oval Office orbit, and helped him write last week's State of the Union Address

Hope Hicks, 29, was seen leaving her D.C. apartment with White House Staff Secretary Porter 10 days ago

On Wednesday White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to comment on his security clearance, however, and dodged a question about why President Trump would accept his resignation even though the White House had emphasized the trust and faith the administration had in Porter.

'As has always been our policy when it comes to security clearances, we don't comment on them. I'm not going to change that today,' she said.

'I can tell you that Rob has been an effective in his role as staff secretary. The president and chief of staff have full confidence and trust in his abilities and his performance.'

Sanders then read Porter's full statement on air before adding: 'He is going to be leaving the White House. It won't be immediate. But he is resigning from the White House but is going to stay on to ensure that there's a smooth transition moving forward.'

The two sets of revelations have stunned the White House and led to a dramatic exit for Porter.

In 2010, Jennifer Willoughby  Porter's second ex-wife  filed a protective order against him after he violated their separation agreement and refused to leave their apartment.

Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can't say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him. Chief of Staff John Kelly after being contacted by DailyMail.com Feb. 6

According to a complaint filed with the police, he punched the glass on the door to their home, cutting his hand in the process.

And Porter's first ex-wife, Holderness, revealed to DailyMail.com that she was interviewed by the FBI  as was Willoughby  about their marriage after Porter was tapped for his current White House position as staff secretary. Porter required a security clearance  which he has not received.

Holderness shared the photos of her injuries with the FBI, photos pictured in this story.

Last week, DailyMail.com revealed that Porter, who is Mormon, and White House Director of Communications Hope Hicks are dating, and were seen kissing in a cab on the way back to her apartment from a bar.

When reached for comment about second wife Jennifer Willoughby's story, before he had resigned, Porter told DailyMail.com: 'I will not comment about these matters, beyond stating that many of these allegations are slanderous and simply false.'

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly issued an official statement late Wednesday saying: 'I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter. There is no place for domestic violence in our society.

'I stand by my previous comments of the Rob Porter that I have come to know since becoming Chief of Staff, and believe every individual deserves the right to defend their reputation. I accepted his resignation earlier today, and will ensure a swift and orderly transition.'

Kelly had earlier in the day fiercely backed Porter.

'Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can't say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him,' he said.

But, rather than being a man of integrity, first wife Colbie says Porter is 'a bit of a monster' and has displayed a pattern of abuse with women.

'I was his first wife and it wasn't until there was a second wife and then a long-time girlfriend reaching out to me, who was experiencing some weird things. I started to realize that he keeps getting away with it. It's a pattern now, it hasn't gone away.'

Colbie, whose maiden name is Paulson, met Porter at a Mormon church in 2000 while she was attending Wellesley to double major in American studies and political science. Porter was attending Harvard to study government.

Her first impressions were that he was 'charming and charismatic.'

'Rob is very intelligent  that's what drew me to him,' she said. 'We had a mutual interest in government and public policy. We seemed to be well paired. We got to know each other a little bit at church but he quickly asked me out and we became a couple. We became very serious, very quickly but it was rocky.

'He was never physical with me while we were dating and now I see there were red flags, left and right. He was verbally abusive and emotionally abusive all during that time, which I understand now, and we were fighting a lot.

'He would belittle me constantly about my weight, my sexiness, how good I looked to him or didn't look to him.

'He would always be checking out other women very obviously and would often compare me to other women.

'He was never physical with me while we were dating,' Colbie told DailyMail.com, 'and now I see there were red flags, left and right. He was verbally abusive and emotionally abusive all during that time, which I understand now, and we were fighting a lot

Colby told DailyMail.com: 'I remember crying all through my wedding day, not sure if I wanted to go through with it. But we were already over in England, everybody had flown over there and it was a very high-pressure situation for a 23-year-old and so I went through with it'

Says Colbie: 'We were arguing and he punched me in the face. He left visible marks when he punched me and I have pictures of that. I didn't go the police because I was scared, I was in Italy alone and I didn't know what to do.'

Holderness said that she never went to the police in the U.S. because she did not think that she would be believed

'Our relationship went on for three years until I graduated from college and then we got married two weeks later.'

The wedding was in June 2003 at New College Chapel in Oxford, England where Porter was attending as a Rhodes scholar.

Consistent with the practice of past administrations, issues related to an individual's suitability are reviewed through a thorough and lengthy background check process. Background checks involve a complex investigation run by intelligence and law enforcement agencies. As has always been our policy, we do not comment on security clearances. Rob Porter has been effective in his role as Staff Secretary. The President and Chief of Staff have full confidence in his abilities and his performance. Sarah Sanders, Febraury 7

Holderness said: 'I remember crying all through my wedding day, not sure if I wanted to go through with it. But we were already over in England, everybody had flown over there and it was a very high-pressure situation for a 23-year-old and so I went through with it.

'But he was never physically abusive until our honeymoon and that floored me.'

The incident happened after the couple had arrived on their honeymoon in the Canary Islands.

Holderness said: 'It was a really odd thing that he did. He was angry because we weren't having sex when he wanted to have sex and he kicked me.

'It seems such a juvenile thing at the time, but I remember thinking about words my mother had told me when it happened.

'She had passed away before I graduated from college. She told me that she had once warned my father that if he ever hit her, she would leave him.

'My father never did anything like that because he's a very good man  but I remember those words passing through my head right after Rob kicked me. I was thinking, 'What do I do? I just got married.'

'It was a kick which, although it hurt, was ridiculous at the same time. That was the first time he hurt me and then the doors opened. I didn't do anything and it continued.'

Jennifer Willoughby, the second wife of President Trump's staff secretary Rob Porter, spoke on the record to DailyMail.com about her abusive marriage

The physical abuse escalated from there.

Holderness, who has remarried, said: 'In a sense I couldn't believe it was happening to me  I was a well-educated woman, he was well-educated man, we came from good families. It just didn't seem real, I think I was in denial.

'At times, the way he would be physically violent with me was very odd. He would throw me down on the bed, then put his full body weight on top of me, then grind a knee or elbow into my body, expressing rage.

'It was scary but it wasn't like it was life-threatening. For years, I would go to Mormon bishops and I would try to find the words to explain what was going on but I was at a loss beyond the explanation that he got physical with me.'

The violence escalated to where Porter was choking his wife.

'It was not hard enough for me to pass out but it was scary, humiliating and dehumanizing,' she said.

'It wasn't until I went to a secular counsellor at my work place one summer and told him what was going on that he was the first person, and not a male religious leader, who told me that what was happening was not okay.'

While on a vacation in Florence, Italy, a couple of years after they married, Holderness said that Porter punched her in the face.

Utah senator walks back support of Trump aide accused of wife-beating Rob Porter, who resigned his position on February 7, 2018 as White House staff secretary, initially received strong backing from his former boss, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, following accusations that Porter was abusive toward one of his ex-wives. But that support seemed to evaporate when the second ex came forward with photos that she said showed a black eye Porter gave her. Porter was Hatch's chief of staff from March 2014 until he came to the White House on Inauguration Day. In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com on February 6, Hatch said that it was 'incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man. Shame on any publication that would print this  and shame on the politically motivated, morally bankrupt character assassins that would attempt to sully a man's good name.' Utah Senator Orrin Hatch softened his support for Rob Porter in the hours between his first statement of solidarity and Porter's resignation from the White House 'I know Rob. I've known him for years, both as a close friend and as a personal advisor,' Hatch continued at the time. 'He is kind and considerate towards all.' 'The country needs more honest, principled people like Rob Porter, which is why I hope that this cynical campaign to discredit his character ultimately fails.' Less than 15 hours later, however, after DailyMail.com published the black-eye photos and Porter resigned his position, Hatch backpedaled and said he didn't know what Porter may have done in the years before he knew him. 'I am heartbroken by today's allegations,' Hatch said in a statement to reporters. 'In every interaction I've had with Rob, he has been courteous, professional, and respectful. My staff loved him and he was a trusted advisor.' I do not know the details of Rob's personal life. Domestic violence in any form is abhorrent and unacceptable. I am praying for Rob and those involved,' he said. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly hasn't wavered in his support for Porter, whom he reportedly urged to stay. In a statement to DailyMail.com on February 6, he said that 'Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can't say enough good things about him.' 'He is a friend, a confidante [sic] and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.' White House Chief of Staff John Kelly complained in October 2017 that women were no longer held as 'sacred' in America, but as the Porter scandal unfolded he called the accused spousal abuser 'a man of true integrity and honor' But in October 2017 the retired U.S. Marine Corps general lectured the White House press corps, complaining that women were no longer 'sacred' in America. 'When I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in our country,' he said then. 'Women were sacred and looked upon with great honor.' 'Thats obviously not the case anymore, as we see from recent cases.' Kelly spoke just days after the #MeToo movement took off with sexual abuse allegations against the now-disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein. Statements from White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also semed to evolve as the story grew in intensity and Porter was forced out. 'I have worked directly with Rob Porter nearly every day for the last year and the person I know is someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character,' Sanders said on February 6. 'Those of us who have the privilege of knowing him are better people because of it.' In her office after she announced Porter's resignation, Sanders said that 'of course' the Trump White House condemned domestic violence of any kind. White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that 'of course' the administration condemns domestic violence of all kinds, but wouldn't commit to whether she believes Porter or his two ex-wives Sanders wouldn't, however, say that the White House sided with Porter's ex-wives or believed their accounts of his behavior. 'It's not a matter of "believe" or "don't believe",' she told DailyMail.com, straddling both sides of what had become a heated dispute between a trusted colleague and the women who claimed he abused them. 'I hurt for anyone who's experienced anything like that  I haven't  in whatever degree. But at the same time I can only talk about my personal experience and interactions,' she said. Advertisement

Colbie, here with her current husband, confirmed that she had also been interviewed by the FBI about her marriage after Porter was tapped for his current White House position and required security clearance which he has not received

'We were arguing and he punched me in the face. He left visible marks when he punched me and I have pictures of that. I didn't go the police because I was scared, I was in Italy alone and I didn't know what to do.'

Holderness said that she never went to the police in the U.S. because she did not think that she would be believed.

'I did move out several times because of the abuse. We spent big chunks of our marriage apart. I would keep going back until enough was enough. I could feel myself slipping away as a person.'

She said that others had seen the warning signs but not realized the depth of abuse that she was going through.

'Speaking to friends and family later, it was clear to people that Rob had a temper. He would be very cruel and mean but he was never physically abusive towards anybody else and no one saw it happen to me.

'He knew he had me in a vulnerable position and he could behave that way in private. But he was smart enough and careful enough to never behave that way in public but people did see his anger issues at various times.'

'During the first year of the marriage we were in England and then I took in a job back in Idaho in my home state and was so relieved to get away. He would visit me there but I just remembered thinking that the job would give me the space and distance to think. We both went back to graduate school at Harvard and were living upstairs from his parents, who were masters at Dunster House.

'We were living up in the old servants quarters during the first year of graduate school and the abuse continued. So I moved out the next summer and got my own place for the entire second year of graduate school.

Rob Porter and Hope Hicks were seen smiling and laughing over drinks as they enjoyed each other's company at Rosa Mexicano in Washington D.C., hours before they went home together

Colbie, as her black eye was healing and Colbie today. She has remarried and says it took her years to recover her confidence and sense of self.

'Then he talked me into coming back after that year so I moved back in with him.

'He would insult my intelligence because he knew that was important to me and it is important to him. He would call me a 'f***ing idiot', say 'you are so stupid, you are so dumb, you cannot do anything.'

'I was so distraught and my confidence was so broken that part way through the second year of my graduate program I had to take a leave of absence, go to all my professors and tell them that my marriage was a nightmare and I needed more time to compete my degree and essentially dropped out of school.

'I did finish it after the divorce and I had recovered a bit. I was just broken and its taken me years to recover my confidence and sense of self.

'Pretty shortly after that I cut off all contact with him [Porter] and really haven't talked to him since  with a few exceptions. He would track me down occasionally until I finally had to mail a letter to his parents and say, 'please leave me alone I've asked nicely  it's going to be a problem if he doesn't.'

'Rob might be a bit a monster but he's very smart. I think he knew that was a liability for him if he continued with that behavior. He's not that obsessive.'

On Tuesday, DailyMail.com spoke with Porter's second ex-wife, Jennifer Willoughy. They were married from 2009 until 2013.

Willoughby, 39, said she was 'walking on eggshells' during their marriage due to his explosive anger.

The public speaker and writer claims that on December 22, 2010, Porter pulled her naked from the shower by the shoulders and yelled at her. She refused to join his family on a vacation after that.

Willoughby said : '[It happened] just after our first anniversary. I cannot remember what the fight was about but I excused myself in a way that was typical at that time. I certainly was not meek and mild and said, 'I'm not going to fight you anymore' and stormed off and went to take a shower.

'He was not done fighting with me. It was a glass shower door, he opened it and dragged me by my shoulders out of the shower to yell. Immediately upon seeing my reaction to that, he released me and apologized but it doesn't take away that he was angry enough that that happened.'

The couple had married over Thanksgiving 2009 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They took a short honeymoon over the Christmas break in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina where Willoughby said he verbally abused her.

She said: 'I can't remember what triggered it. He lashed out and was really angry and both under his breath and explicitly to me called me a 'f***ing b***h' and 'f***ing ridiculous'. He accused me of not caring about him or his needs.

During the taxi ride the secret lovers could be seen cuddling in the back seat. One eyewitness said Porter could be seen kissing Hope's neck

Hope exits the taxi while Rob pays for the ride before they both enter her D.C. apartment at the end of the evening

'[The honeymoon] was spent with me trying not to make him upset.'

She added: 'In the first weeks and months, his explanation for his anger was that his first marriage had been very toxic, rooted in arguments, accusations and manipulation and he was carrying over from that relationship.

'He would say that he was so used to being treated this way by his ex-wife that he was projecting that on to me. That was the explanation.'

Several months into the marriage, Willoughby filed a protective order with a court in Alexandria, Virginia, after Porter violated their temporary separation agreement.

A police complaint, filed on June 19, 2010, states that Porter punched the glass on the door to their home, cutting his hand in the process at which point she called the police. He then left and following that she filed a temporary protective order.

Willoughby said: 'My experience of our entire marriage was being with a man who could be both charming and romantic and fun - and even thoughtful and kind; and horribly angry and manipulative.

'It was the duality of both of those things existing at the same time and not necessarily knowing what in his life would trigger the anger; or what in his life would draw out the kindness and the chivalry. That's a crazy-making space for a spouse to be in, that I somehow have no control over the quality of my relationship.

'The terminology is 'walking on eggshells'  you don't know which man is going to walk in the door. Or you don't know what seemingly innocuous comment is going to be interpreted differently.

'I had a friend's daughter over to carve pumpkins for Halloween and he sulked and pouted and didn't join us. And of course after she left, he was angry  'why would I have someone over, why would you help her [my friend] out when she could be doing this herself?' There was no rational explanation as to why that would make him angry at that particular moment.'

Willoughby said that she felt manipulated throughout the marriage.

WHY I STAYED by Jennifer Willoughby: Rob Porter's second ex-wife reveals why she stayed in their 'abusive' marriage On April 24, 2017, Jennifer Willoughby wrote a blog about her marriage, but she did not name Porter. Willoughby tells DailyMail.com that Porter called her last year and demanded she take down her blog posts. The first time he called me a 'f*****g bitch' was on our honeymoon. (I found out years later he had kicked his first wife on theirs.) A month later he physically prevented me from leaving the house. Less than two months after that, I filed a protective order with the police because he punched in the glass on our front door while I was locked inside. We bought a house to make up for it. Just after our one year anniversary, he pulled me, naked and dripping, from the shower to yell at me. Everyone loved him. People commented all the time how lucky I was. Strangers complimented him to me every time we went out. But in my home, the abuse was insidious. The threats were personal. The terror was real. And yet I stayed. Jennifer Willoughby When I tried to get help, I was counseled to consider carefully how what I said might affect his career. And so I kept my mouth shut and stayed. I was told, yes, he was deeply flawed, but then again so was I. And so I worked on myself and stayed. If he was a monster all the time, perhaps it would have been easier to leave. But he could be kind and sensitive. And so I stayed. He cried and apologized. And so I stayed. He offered to get help and even went to a few counseling sessions and therapy groups. And so I stayed. He belittled my intelligence and destroyed my confidence. And so I stayed. I felt ashamed and trapped. And so I stayed. Friends and clergy didn't believe me. And so I stayed. I was pregnant. And so I stayed. I lost the pregnancy and became depressed. And so I stayed. Abuse is indifferent to education level, socio-economic status, race, age, or gender. And no one can ever know the dynamics of another's relationship. My cycle continued for four more years. Afterward, I let go and welcomed the hard work of healing and forgiveness. My experience made me stronger and able to love more deeply. But my heart breaks for him. In the end, who is the real victim of his choices? Advertisement

'He's very intelligent, extremely good with his words and is a lawyer by profession and is able to take words that I had said and use them in a way that it would confuse me as to what I meant,' she told DailyMail.com.

'He would challenge my intelligence or a statement that I had made by implying that I couldn't have possibly come up with it on my own and that I must have been influenced by someone.

'I would start to doubt myself. He was using words against me. It was his norm in dealing with behavior he didn't like.'

Willoughby said that she still believes that Porter was a capable of his White House role as staff secretary, a close aide to President Trump.

'I want to be very clear when I say this,' Willoughby said. 'I don't want to be married to him. I would not recommend anyone to date him or marry him. But I definitely want him in the White House and the position he is in. I think his integrity and ability to do his job is impeccable. And the majority of the issues he suffers from are very personal and intimate.'

Willoughby said that she never saw Rob take his anger out on other people - 'not even road rage'  but that it was all behind closed doors.

'That was something that was interesting to me, from a case study perspective. It does seem to be very much focused in an intimate, romantic relationship. It's almost as though the anger that could have been placed on his father was placed on the romantic partner.'

'Fairly soon after New Year in 2010, I started seeing a therapist and requested that Rob see a therapist because I was so distressed about his anger,' she revealed.

'I also had met with a bishop in the Mormon Church about his anger. It came to a head and in February or March 2010. I was so worn down and exhausted by the anger that I requested we have a separation.

'I never received specific threats from Rob, he was just often angry and it was oppressive. I started to take on the blame and the weight of his lack of self-worth.

'Over the course of the years of our marriage, I can think of several times where I was collapsing on the ground in tears and saying, ''just leave me alone, just stop'' because the anger and the insults were too much.

Willoughby told DailyMail.com that she had a miscarriage at six weeks pregnant towards the end of their marriage. 'The stress of being pregnant in that marriage was hard and then the shame and depression of not being pregnant anymore was also hard,' she said

'[He would say] that I was worthless, that I was a liar. This is not one instance, these are things that he might have said in a rage. That I always got my way, that I was selfish, that I didn't care about him, about his needs. Any version of those types of statements, heard enough times, with enough force behind them are devastating.'

She had a miscarriage at six weeks pregnant towards the end of their marriage.

'The stress of being pregnant in that marriage was hard and then the shame and depression of not being pregnant anymore was also hard,' she said.

The couple divorced in 2013 after several trial separations and attending counselling and therapy.

Since her marriage ended, she left her job as a high school science teacher and has become a full-time writer, educational speaker and motivational coach.

She had written a number of blog posts referring to her marriage - but not using names.

Willoughby told DailyMail.com that Porter called her last year and demanded she take down her blog posts that referred to their marriage.

He asked her what she had told the FBI about their relationship during her interview with the agency over his security clearance in February 2017.

Willoughby also told DailyMail.com that she received a message from Porter's previous girlfriend, before Hicks, telling her that Rob was considering hiring a private investigator to look into her and 'employ' a journalist to write about her.

DailyMail.com could not reach Porter's ex-girlfriend for comment.

Porter is a Massachusetts-born Harvard graduate who went to the Ivy League school with presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.

He also went to Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and spent two years as a Mormon missionary in London.

Before being tapped to join the new administration, he had been chief of staff for veteran Utah Senator Orrin Hatch. He has also worked for Republican senators Rob Portman of Ohio and Mike Lee of Utah.

His job has been described as one of the most important in the Oval Office as he, working with Chief of Staff John Kelly, controls the information that reaches the president.

'Porter, a little-known White House aide who has avoided getting caught up in any of the West Wing drama that has plagued the administration for the better part of seven months, serves to review everything before it makes it to the president's desk,' Business Insider wrote in September.

'Given how the president has shared dubious information at times when aides have presented him with reports from less-than-credible sources, Porter's role has an outsized importance,' the paper added.

'Talk to people who worked with him in the past, and they'll repeatedly mention his intelligence, experience, and team-first attitude.'

Porter was seen opening the door as the couple returned to Hope's D.C. apartment after their dinner

The couple's time at Hope's apartment after dinner comes after they were seen at a church service in early January and prayed together even though they come from different religions. Porter is a Mormon while Hicks is Roman Catholic

His father, Roger Porter, was an aide to President George H.W. Bush.

Hope Hicks, 29, and Porter had doing their best to keep their romance under wraps when they were spotted together with friends at low-key restaurant Rosa Mexicano near downtown Washington two weeks ago.

They did not show any sign of affection and did not sit next to each other at the restaurant.

But the moment they got in the cab to go back to Hicks' D.C. apartment they started cuddling and kissing in the back seat.

As soon as the taxi took off they both moved from their sides of the cab to the middle. Rob was kissing Hope's neck all the way home,' an eyewitness to the red-hot White House couple said.

Porter had been living with a willowy blonde political appointee, sources say before he began dating Hicks.

Public records document that the woman was living in his apartment in Arlington, Virginia.

The woman split with Porter around Thanksgiving, a White House source tells DailyMailTV exclusively.

Senator Orrin Hatch, commented: 'It's incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man. Shame on any publication that would print thisand shame on the politically motivated, morally bankrupt character assassins that would attempt to sully a man's good name.

'I know Rob. I've known him for years, both as a close friend and as a personal advisor. He is kind and considerate towards all. The country needs more honest, principled people like Rob Porter, which is why I hope that this cynical campaign to discredit his character ultimately fails.'
George Washington University student leaders have called for the expulsion of a sorority whose members were involved in a racist Snapchat post.

The school's Student Association Senate unanimously passed a resolution Monday night seeking Alpha Phis removal and a host of new diversity initiatives.

The Snapchat disseminated on January 31 - the eve of Black History Month - depicted two Alpha Phi members posing with a banana peel and featured a caption reading 'I'm 1/16th black'.

University President Thomas LeBlanc told student newspaper The GW Hatchet on Tuesday hes aware of the resolution, but sanctions havent been determined, pending investigation.

The George Washington University student senate voted unanimously Monday night to ban the Alpha Phi sorority from campus after this racist Snapchat emerged late last month

The school's president said the incident is still under investigation. It's unclear who has the real power to kick the sorority off campus. Above, the sorority's townhouse

It's unclear if the student senate has power to bar a sorority from campus. DailyMail.com has reached out to the school and the senate for clarification.

'This is unacceptable,' LeBlanc said of the post. 'This is a racist posting. Were stunned that it came from within our community and it represents a real challenge for our community that we need to come together over.'

LeBlanc pledged to institute new diversity workshops and to look into whether Greek houses are being discriminatory in their recruitment practices.

The universitys Alpha Phi chapter said in a statement Friday it will terminate the memberships of the photographer and the two students shown.

The sorority (pictured) released a statement last week calling the photo 'distinctly racist' and said the three women involved are having their memberships terminated

'We are culpable for this action as a group in which a few felt comfortable making a joke that was distinctly racist, ignorant, and harmful. We are in no way trying to contextualize, excuse, or forgive the events that occurred,' the chapter said in a statement.

They also added they acknowledge they are not a diverse organization and 'are committed to listening to the voices of those who have been harmed by the actions of those individuals and by our actions as a chapter.'

George Washington University Provost Forrest Maltzman said in a statement that the incident was 'disturbing, hurtful and not reflective of who I know we are as a community.'

'As a university, we have emphasized our commitment to inclusion and have made clear that 'You are Welcome Here.' We do this through our actions and our words. Images like the one posted on social media can make people question whether they are welcome at the university, and that is unacceptable to me,' Matlzman said according to WUSA9.

Matlzman said racist language and imagery on college campuses is an issue and there is a 'need for an ongoing discourse about race.'

A 19-year-old woman expelled from the University of Alabama last month for racist Instagram posts was also a member of Alpha Phi.
Burqas have been banned in a courtroom in an unprecedented move by a Victorian Supreme Court judge.

The wife of an accused terrorist was ordered by Justice Christopher Beale this week to remove her niqab and show her face while attending her husband's trial.

She refused to remove the traditional Muslim veil, instead choosing to sit outside, Herald Sun reported.

The burqa ban is believed to be the first implemented in a Victorian court.

Burqas have been banned in court in an unprecedented move by a Victorian Supreme Court judge (stock image)

The wife of an accused terrorist was ordered by Justice Christopher Beale (pictured) this week to remove her niqab and show her face while attending her husband's trial in the Victorian Supreme Court

'I require anybody who comes into the court  and all are welcome  but anybody who comes into the court, for their face to be uncovered,' Justice Beale said.

The Victorian Supreme Court website advises people attending to 'dress appropriately', however it doesn't outline if burqas or niqabs are allowed.

Nonetheless, a court spokesperson told the publication that judges can decide who is allowed to sit in their courts.

Islamic Council of Victoria vice president Adel Salman slammed the ban by Justice Beale, saying it's a violation of the woman's human rights.

He added: 'I think the judge's decision is unreasonable and concerning.

The burqa ban in the Victorian Supreme Court (pictured) is believed to be the state's first

'Women choose to wear it. It's part of their faithfulness to God. To ask them to remove it is quite intrusive and, in some cases, can be traumatic.'

The accused terrorist's supporters refused to follow court protocols last year and wouldn't stand when a magistrate entered the courtroom, according to the Herald Sun.

Last year, the Victorian opposition proposed a law to slap women who refuse to show their face in court with a two-week jail term or a $1,500 fine.

Opposition leader Matthew Guy renewed his call for the policy on Wednesday, saying: 'If you dont respect the court, you dont respect the law.'
A lorry stolen in the Catalonia region of Spain which it was feared may have been used for terrorism purposes has been found, police have revealed.

It was discovered by local police near the town centre of Sant Andreu de la Barca after it was taken from Castellbisba.

No further information was made immediately available. A police spokesman confirmed no arrests had been made.

Earlier police went public to warn that the stolen lorry was similar to the one used in the 2016 Berlin Christmas market terror attack which killed 11 people.

The disappearance of the HGV sparked concern because carnivals are about to start in the region.

The lorry - a 3.5 tonne Volvo with a white cabin and blue trailer - was taken from a haulage firm in Castellbisbal, a 45-minute drive north-west of Barcelona overnight on Sunday.

Police say the stolen truck was a 3.5 tonne Volvo with a white cabin and blue trailer - it was taken from a haulage firm in Castellbisbal, north-west of Barcelona overnight on Sunday

Police say the truck was similar to the vehicle used by terrorists in Berlin in December 2016 to kill 11 people at a market

A theft by common criminals has not been ruled out, but Spain is currently on high terror alert and vehicles have become a favoured weapon of radical Islamic terrorists in the past couple of years.

Moroccan Younes Abouyaaqoub, 22, used a rented van to mow down and kill 22 people including British-born Julian Cadman, seven, in Barcelona's famous Las Ramblas last August.

Police shot Abouyaaqoub dead in vineyards in Subirats an hour's drive west of Barcelona after he went on the run following the Barcelona massacre. He was later buried in an unmarked grave in a funeral held in secret in his homeland.

The alarm was sounded on Tuesday in relation to the stolen lorry.

An internal Mossos document, outlining a detailed description of the vehicle, said: 'Between February 4 and 5 a 3.5 tonne lorry was stolen from the premises of a firm in Castellbisbal.

'Given that we are currently on terror alert level four and next week activities are being held to coincide with annual carnivals, we feel it is appropriate that this information is broadcast as soon as possible.'

The truck was taken from a haulage firm in Castellbisbal, a 45-minute drive north-west of Barcelona overnight on Sunday

The police force confirmed in a tweet just before midday today alongside pictures of the vehicles: 'We are investigating the theft of this lorry in Castellbisbal.'

A spokesman insisted it was part of standard protocol to alert other police forces when a lorry of this sort had been stolen and said there was nothing at this stage to indicate it would be used for the purposes of terrorism.

A truck was deliberately driven into a Christmas market in Berlin on December 19 2016, leaving 12 people dead and 56 others injured.

Perpetrator Anis Amri was killed in a shootout with police near Milan in Italy four days later.

In July 2016 a Tunisian man deliberately drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day in the French city of Nice, killing 86 people.




Senate leaders from the two parties reached a deal on a two-year budget deal that minority leader Sen. Charles Schumer hailed as a 'genuine breakthrough.'

The deal, which is not finalized, came just as government funding was set to expire at the end of the week.

It pumps nearly $300 billion into defense and domestic programs above current budget limits.

'After months of fiscal brinkmanship this budget deal is the first real sprout of bipartisanship and it should break the long cycle of spending crises that have snarled this congress and hampered the middle class,' said Schumer on the Senate floor after his counterpart, majority leader Mitch McConnell, announced the deal.

The deal 'will ensure that for the first time in years our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep America safe,' said McConnell.

'No one would suggest it is perfect,' McConnell added.

Lawmakers are furtively working on another, short-term spending agreement as a shutdown circles once more over the U.S. Capitol

He said it will 'unwind the sequestration cuts that have hamstrung our armed forces and jeopardized our national security.'

The plan also contains almost $90 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

The deal repeals spending caps put in place during a previous budget deal  the so-called sequester that became loathed by members of both parties.

Any deal would still have to make it through the House, where GOP conservatives were already slamming it as a bad deal. House Democrats have already grumbled that it does not include a deal to protect DACA recipients.

But McConnell provided new assurances for how an upcoming immigration debate will proceed.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., center, accompanied by Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., at left, speaks on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

He promised it would have an 'amendment process that will ensure a level playing field at the outset' and be 'fair to all sides,' though he stopped short of guaranteeing any outcome.

While McConnell touted the boost to the military, Schumer lauded other spending increases in infrastructure and other areas.

He said the deal would allow for a $131 increase in domestic non-defense spending by lifting the cap. That includes $57 billion in additional funds including $6 billion to fight the opioid crisis, $5.8 billion for childcare block grants, $4 billion for veterans' hospitals, and $20 billion for existing infrastructure programs.

The deal also includes disaster relief for states and territories that got socked by hurricanes.

Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (L) walks towards the Senate chamber at the Capitol February 7, 2018 in Washington, DC

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., confer as they arrive to meet with reporters following a closed-door GOP strategy session at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. The GOP-controlled House is slated Tuesday to pass a plan to keep the government open for six more weeks while Washington grapples with a potential follow-up budget pact and, perhaps, immigration legislation

The House's top Democrat, however, swung out against the plan.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California announced she would oppose the budget measure unless her chamber's GOP leaders promised a vote on legislation to protect "Dreamer" immigrants who face deportation after being brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

The House on Tuesday passed legislation to keep the government running through March 23, marrying the stopgap spending measure with a $659 billion Pentagon spending plan, but the Senate plan would rewrite that measure.

Schumer, in his floor remarks, called on House Speaker Paul Ryan would follow McConnell's lead and 'allow a fair and open process to debate a dreamers bill on the house floor.'

'Without that commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from leader McConnell, this package does not have my support,' Pelosi said on the House floor, referring to a DREAMers bill.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., smiles as he meets with reporters as work continues on a plan to keep the government as a funding deadline approaches, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018

The deal also raises the federal statutory debt ceiling.

Senate Democratic leaders dropped their strategy of using the funding fight to extract concessions on immigration, specifically on seeking extended protections for the "Dreamer" immigrants.

Instead, Schumer went with a deal that would reap tens of billions of dollars for other priorities - including combatting opioids - while hoping to solve the immigration impasse later.

Lawmakers were simultaneously furtively working on another, short-term spending agreement as a shutdown circles once more over the U.S. Capitol.

The House passed a six-week stopgap measure on Tuesday that fully funds the military for an entire year, fulfilling a budgetary request of the president's.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell walks to the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. February 7, 2018

But senators have other designs for bill that would keep the government running beyond the Thursday deadline until March 23. They're considering a $100 billion rider for disaster relief and debt ceiling hike that will get legislators past that hump until after the November elections.

President Donald Trump nearly derailed a deal on Tuesday as he fumed about Democrats' rejection of his immigration compromise. 'Let's have a shutdown,' he said.

Trump said that Republicans should force a government shutdown unless Democrats agree to all of his immigration demands during a roundtable in which he railed against 'loopholes' in the law that have been taken advantage of by a violent, transnational gang of immigrants.

'Let's have a shutdown. We'll do a shutdown and it's worth it for our country. I'd love to see a shutdown if we don't get this stuff taken care of,' Trump said.

Democrats dropped an earlier bid to hold up government funding unless an immigration deal is brokered after a spending fight with Republicans led to a three-day shutdown in January.

As agreement between Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell necessitates an open debate in the upper chamber on immigration reforms next week.

Trump has slapped down every recent immigration proposal to arise in the Senate, however. Typically, because they have not included the desired funding for his border wall.

Now Trump says he'd be willing to ride out a shutdown to get what he wants out of immigration negotiations.

'I would shut it down over this issue,' Trump said Tuesday. 'I can't speak for everybody at the table but I will tell you, I would shut it down over this issue.'

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Republicans should force a government shutdown unless Democrats agree to close 'loopholes' that allow immigrant gang members to enter the country

Continuing, Trump said, 'If we don't straighten out our border, we don't have a country. Without borders we don't have a country. So would I would shut it down over this issue? Yes.

'I can't speak for our great representatives here but I have a feeling they may agree with me,' he added.

Republican Congresswoman Barbara Comstock, who was present at the meeting, made her position clear after Trump's original assertion that he'd 'love' a shutdown.

'We don't need a government shutdown on this,' she said.

The president fired back: 'We are not getting support from the Democrats.'

The president's spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, claimed that Trump is 'not advocating' for a shutdown at a press conference immediately after.

'The president isn't looking for this, but if the Democratic Party is going to continue to threaten a shutdown because they won't include responsible immigration reforms, including fixing MS-13 loopholes and other issues,' Sanders said, 'then the president welcomes that fight.'

'But let me repeat, our goal is to get a two-year budget deal and to also get a deal on immigration, which we have laid out. The president has generously laid out a plan that addresses both Republicans and Democrats' concerns, and we're hopeful we'll come to an agreement on both of those fronts.'

Sanders reminded that to this point, 'The only people that have caused a shutdown are the Democrats who have repeatedly held the government hostage over their politics.

'Democrats actually shut the government down. Let's not forget that, just a couple weeks ago,' she said, referring to the funding lapse in January.

His blast about a shutdown came on a day when Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer huddled with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in delicate talks over agreeing to raise spending caps on non-defense areas of government spending.

The House would later pass, mostly along party lines in a 245-182 vote, a six-week measure that the White House's Office of Management and Budget said the president would support.

In his rant Tuesday, the president had specifically mentioned military spending as a sticking point in addition to immigration.

'If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don't want safety, and unrelated  but still related  they don't want to take care of our military, then shut it down. We'll go with another shutdown,' he said.

An emerging agreement in the Senate would add disaster spending to the package and deal with the debt ceiling, which is also due for an increase in March.

The behemoth package will let lawmakers off the hook when it comes to raising the debt limit until after they face voters in the midterm elections.

Trump had not taken a stance on the Senate's package as of this morning.
Rail workers will be offered a $1,000 cash bonus in the latest attempt to end the threat of strikes across the Sydney train network.

Services have been slashed and full strike action threatened during a long-running industrial dispute between Sydney Trains, railway staff and the unions.

But in the latest bid to break further potential action across the city's network, train managers are set to present the new deal to workers next week.

Rail workers will be offered a $1,000 cash bonus in the latest attempt to end the threat of strikes across Sydney

This will include a lucrative package featuring a 3% pay rise each year, bonus for each member who accepts the deal and free travel on all public transport.

Staff will be presented with the new offer during a round of meetings at depots next week.

The overall deal is set to be worth 4% per year over the next three years, union bosses told members.

A summary sent to members of the Rail Train and Bus Union (RTBU) was revealed after a meeting between the union and train bosses on Wednesday.

'After the previous offer was overwhelming rejected by your union delegates, management today presented the group with an amended version of their offer,' it said.

Package features 3% pay rise each year, bonus and free travel on public transport across NSW

New deal on the table Immediate 3% pay rise plus ongoing rise after 12 and 24 months

$1,000 bonus payment on acceptance of new agreement

Free travel on all bus services, Sydney Metro and light rail

Management changes

64-week paid redundancy package to remain

Total value of package: 4.06% per year over three years Advertisement

'The updates include changes to some key conditions as well as pay.

'Management at the meeting indicated that they would be presenting the new offer directly to the workforce via depot meetings, with those meetings expected to start as early as next week.

'Together, we will get the wages and conditions you deserve.'

A 24-hour strike - which was planned for January 29 - had to be delayed for six weeks after a ruling by the Fair Work Commission said it was illegal.

Workers had initially been demanding a 6% pay rise over the next four years.

Commuters raised eyebrows over the strike action despite the already attractive remuneration packages offered to current and future employees.

Vacancies for train drivers, guards, customer service attendants and maintenance workers are still being posted online.

Train drivers earn up to $100,000 a year with trainees starting on $70,000 a year with commuters raising concern

Train drivers earn up to $100,000 a year, with trainees starting on $70,000 a year, including free public transport travel, customer service attendants is advertised as between $1000-$1088 a week while maintenance coordinators can earn $92,536 per year.

Union members rejected the previous offer from the state government of a 2.75% pay increase.




The woman who Roman Polanski raped when she was just 13 years old has slammed director Quentin Tarantino, after he said it wasn't rape and she was 'down to party'.

Samantha Geimer is speaking out after a 15-year-old interview resurfaced in which Tarantino defended his fellow director against the rape accusations, despite the fact Polanski pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor before fleeing to France in 1978.

The now 54-year-old said: 'It's not a big deal to me what people think. It doesn't make a difference in my life. I know what happened. I do not need other people weighing in on what it's like getting raped at 13.

Victim: Samantha Geimer, left aged 13, is speaking out after a 15-year-old interview resurfaced in which Tarantino defended Roman Polanski, right, against the rape accusations

Geimer said: 'I'm not upset, but I would probably feel better if he realizes now that he was wrong, after 15 years, after hearing the facts. Nobody has to be pissed off on my behalf'

Claims: The 15-year-old interview started going viral earlier this week after Uma Thurman spoke to the New York Times about Harvey Weinstein and Quentin Tarantino

'I'm not upset, but I would probably feel better if he realizes now that he was wrong, after 15 years, after hearing the facts. Nobody has to be pissed off on my behalf. I'm okay.'

She added to the New York Daily News: 'He was wrong and I bet he knows it. I hope he doesn't make an ass out of himself and keep talking that way.'

Audio from a Howard Stern interview with the director in 2003  in which he spends more than eight minutes defending Polanski - started going viral earlier this week after an interview with Uma Thurman was published in the New York Times about Harvey Weinstein.

In it, she also revealed that Tarantino forced her to perform a deadly car stunt on the set of Kill Bill which has left her permanently injured. It then emerged that Tarantino strangled Uma and Diane Kruger for separate movie scenes.

Geimer said she has since made peace with what happened, especially after writing her 2013 book, 'The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski' in which she details how he plied her with alcohol and a Quaalude before raping and sodomizing her at Jack Nicholson's compound in the Hollywood Hills.

A 15-year-old interview in which Quentin Tarantino (left) passionately defends Roman Polanski (right) has resurfaced

She told the Daily News in another 2015 interview that she believes the time Polanski has already served is enough after he spent six weeks in prison during a court-ordered evaluation before fleeing the country.

She said at the time: 'I have forgiven him and moved on. He pleaded guilty, served his time, and I'm not quite sure what anyone expects beyond that. That's satisfactory to me. It should be to everyone.'

Despite pleading guilty, Tarantino insisted on the Howard Stern show that Polanski was not a rapist and claimed the girl 'was down to party with Roman'  even when co-host Robin Quivers reminded him that she had been drugged and plied with alcohol.

'He didn't rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape, that's not quite the same thing,' Tarantino said.

'He had sex with a minor. That's not rape. To me, when you use the word rape, you're talking about violent, throwing them down... it's like one of the most violent crimes in the world.

'You can't throw the word 'rape' around, it's like throwing the word 'racist' around. It doesn't apply to everything people use it for. He was guilty of having sex with a minor.'

The 2003 interview resurfaced after Uma Thurman spoke about her car crash on the set of Kill Bill, directed by Tarantino (pictured with Thurman in 2003)

Shockingly, Tarantino continued: 'She wanted to have it. Dated the guy and by the way, we're talking about America's morals, we're not talking about the morals in Europe and everything.'

When Stern questioned why a 'grown man' didn't understand that sex with a minor was wrong, Tarantino again jumped to Polanski's defence.

'Look, she was down with it and she's talked about it. I'm right, she's talked about it. Now she's an adult, she's got a whole other story.'

After a transcript of the victim's testimony is read out, Tarantino doubled down.

'Of course she's gonna say this because she knows she was in trouble with her mom,' he said.

'His version sounds more likely, sounds really really more likely.'

When asked why Polanski couldn't just get a woman his own age, Tarantino replied: 'He likes girls!'

And when pushed about why he is offering such an impassioned defense of Polanski, Tarantino claimed: 'I've met him once but he's not a friend or anything.'

'That's not rape!' Tarantino's 2003 interview with Howard Stern HOWARD STERN: How can you defend, see I don't understand this, how come Hollywood embraces this madman, this director, who raped a 13-year-old girl? QUENTIN TARANTINO: He didn't rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape, that's not quite the same thing. It's statutory rape. He had sex with a minor. That's not rape. To me, when you use the word rape, you're talking about violent, throwing them down... it's like one of the most violent crimes in the world. You can't throw the word 'rape' around, it's like throwing the word 'racist' around. It doesn't apply to everything that people use it for. He was guilty of having sex with a minor. ROBIN QUIVERS: That she didn't want to have? QT: No that wasn't the case at all. She wanted to have it. Dated the guy RQ: She was 13! QT: And by the way, we're talking about America's morals, we're not talking about the morals in Europe and everything. HS: Wait a minute. You have sex with a 13-year-old girl and you're a grown man, you know that that's wrong... RQ: Giving her booze and pills... QT: Look, she was down with it... and she's talked about it. She's talked about it. I'm right, she's talked about it since. Like "no, he didn't do anything to me, it was the technicality of being 13." Now she's an adult, she's got a whole other story. Of course she's gonna say this because she knows she was in trouble with her mom. I've met him once, but he's not a friend or anything. His version sounds more likely, sounds really really more likely. HS: He could get a girl his own age QT: He likes girls! HS: If you had a daughter... if he had intercourse with her? QT: Yes, there's be a bullet in Polanski's head... HS: You would kill him? QT: I'd beat the hell out of him, but the situation was not that she was against this, she was down to party with Roman. Lets talk about it the wayt it was. She was down with the party, he was down with the party. I don't believe its rape for these 13-year-old party girls. Advertisement

In an interview with the New York Times last week, Thurman (with Tarantino, second from right) also alleged she was sexually assaulted by disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein (right)

But he admits, that if it had been his daughter in the situation, 'there would have been a bullet in Polanski's head.'

He added: 'I'd beat the hell out of him, but the situation was not that she was against this, she was down to party with Roman.

'I don't believe its rape for these 13-year-old party girls.'

He then questioned the interviewers: 'When did you guys turn into Bill O'Reilly?'

O'Reilly was fired from Fox News last year over allegations of sexual harassment, abuse and racial discrimination from former female colleagues.

Tarantino's interview with Howard Stern resurfaced a day after the New York Times piece in which Thurman spoke about the crash on the set of Kill Bill.

She has since posted footage of it on Instagram, writing that she doesn't believe Tarantino had withheld it maliciously and they are now on good terms.

Tarantino has said that he had not considered the driving shot on the Mexico set to be a stunt at the time, before Thurman lost control of the Karmann Ghia and crashed into a palm tree.

'I am guilty, for putting her in that car, but not the way that people are saying I am guilty of it,' he told Deadline.

'It's the biggest regret of my life, getting her to do that stunt. '
This is the moment a cruel wolf hunter kicked his prey to check it was dead - only to scream in terror when the wounded animal jumped up to attack him.

Footage shows a group of gun-toting men standing over a motionless wolf lying in the snow in a remote part of Kazakhstan with blood coming from an apparent bullet wound in its neck.

One of the smirking hunters then walks over and boots the animal in the back to make sure it is dead. But the wolf immediately springs up and snarls before launching an attack on the man who screams out in terror.

A cruel wolf hunter kicked his prey to check it was dead (pictured) - only to scream in terror when the wounded animal jumped up to attack him

One of the smirking hunters walks over and boots the animal in the back to make sure it is dead. But the wolf immediately springs up (pictured) snarling before launching an attack on the man who screams out in terror

There are chaotic scenes as the hunter runs backwards before toppling over backwards in the snow as the animal goes for his legs

There are chaotic scenes as the hunter runs backwards before toppling over backwards in the snow as the animal goes for his legs.

The camera then goes out of focus and appears to be dropped as the others run in to help him.

But the danger was apparently over within seconds with the wolf either finally dying of its wounds or the hunters subduing it some other way. The men can be heard laughing nervously as the drama ends.

Revenge: The enraged wolf could be seen lunging at the man's leg after he kicked it in the back

The hunter tumbled over backwards into the snow as the wolf launched its attack sparking panic among the group

The danger was apparently over within seconds with the wolf either finally dying of its wounds or the hunters subduing it some other way. The men can be heard laughing nervously as the drama ends

The video appears to show the creature lying motionless in the snow once more.

It is not known if there were any injuries to the men. Furious social media users lashed out at the hunters for their behaviour, condemning them as 'not humans'.

One 'irin9520' said: 'B******s, would be better if it ate you all'.

Another 'dj_mike_mix' said: 'F*****g moron. It is a shame the wolf did not get him.'

It was not reported by local media whether police are investigating the case.
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We need extra quilts in winter to keep warm, but apparently buildings need them too.

A set of dramatic drone images have emerged showing over 200 quilts being placed on the rooftop of a newly built structure in east China.

The colourful cotton quilts cover an area of 2,000 square metres (22,000 square feet) and are supposed to prevent the building from 'freezing' in cold weather, the workers told local reporters.

Over 200 colourful cotton quilts are placed on top of a new building by construction workers in Jinan, China on February 6

It's believed the quilts could keep the concrete at a certain temperature and prevent the material from freezing in winter

It's said that freshly poured cement might not be dried out completely in cold weather, and it could cause frost damage to the building.

Drone pictures taken on February 6 capture hundreds of bed covers being laid out on top of a new building on Liuchangshan Road in Jinan, Shandong Province.

Workers used heavy boards to secure the quilts and prevent them being blown away by the wind.

According to China Economic Net, the layer of protection can ensure the strength of the cement in low temperatures, as well as keep the concrete building from being damaged.

The temperatures of Jinan on the day dropped to nine degrees Celsius, which is a record low.

The cotton covers can trap heat on the surface, keeping the building 'warm' when the temperature drops below zero

The freshly placed concrete would take longer time to settle in winter than in warmer months, therefore it needs protection

Apparently, freshly placed cement would be no fit to use if the works were carried out below zero-degree temperatures, according to post from Wilkinson Construction Consultants, a UK building inspector company.

The post, which quoted leading building material company Cemex, said that the water in the concrete mix would freeze and expand.

But if the weather is below five degree Celsius, it would a longer than normal for the cement to develop strength.

Cemex suggested frost blankets and insulated formwork bed used for protection. They should be placed above the exposed area or erected to ensure the concrete is free from ice and snow.

If precaution is not being taken, the cement would be of no fit to use because the water in the mix would freeze and expand
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has urged Cambodian authorities to release an Australian filmmaker accused of spying in the Southeast Asian nation.

Ms Bishop has made formal diplomatic representations to her Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn this month on behalf of James Ricketson.

The 68-year-old was arrested last June after flying a drone over a political protest in the capital Phnom Penh.

The filmmaker, 68, was arrested last June after flying a drone in Phnom Penh

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has urged Cambodian authorities to release an Australian filmmaker accused of spying in the Southeast Asian nation

He faces five to 10 years behind bars if convicted.

Ricketson had a court appearance in Phnom Penh on Tuesday and arrived shackled and wearing orange prison overalls.

His case has been linked to the dissolution of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party amid a crackdown on dissent in Cambodia.

Ricketson has been denied bail and his family fear he is ill.

More than 68,800 people have signed a petition online urging Ms Bishop to intervene in the case.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ricketson's family thanked Ms Bishop for her assistance.

He faces five to 10 years behind bars if convicted

His son Jesse Ricketson, who has moved to Cambodia with his partner to assist his father, said the family had been seeking high-level Australian government intervention since Ricketson was imprisoned eight months ago.

'We're very glad that she (Ms Bishop) has chosen to initiate this contact because it is this sort of behind-the-scenes diplomacy that's going to make all the difference in a case like this, just as it did with Australian journalist Peter Greste, who was released from an Egyptian prison after 400 days following assistance from the Australian government.'

Jesse Rickeston expressed his gratitude to the foreign affairs minister and for the consular assistance the family had received on the ground in Cambodia.

'We are not experienced politicians or diplomats, we're just regular Australians, so it's really important that we continue to get the Australian government to make representations on our behalf to help us get Dad out of jail. We need all the help we can get.'
Chapman Edward Swindell, 38, from Lewisville, Texas, allegedly sexually assaulted at least 14 women after bribing them with free or cheap tattoos at a parlor in North Richland Hills

A tattoo artist from North Texas allegedly sexually assaulted at least 14 women after bribing them with free or cheap tattoos at a parlor in North Richland Hills.

Chapman Edward Swindell, 38, from Lewisville, Texas, apparently told women he would do it for free as he wanted to 'build his profile' , the Dallas Morning News reported.

Swindell, who calls himself 'Eddie Bigbee', would only fill in some of the tattoo before ordering them to take their clothes off.

If they refused he would offer them drugs or alcohol, such as Hydrocodone, PCP and methamphetamine, and then forcibly hold the women down and rape them.

One woman said she went back to her apartment with Swindell so he could finish a tattoo.

During the inking she told him to stop as it was painful; Swindell said 'it will be fine' and offered her a whiskey and coke to numb the pain, the affidavit stated.

She refused the drink and he asked her 'If I gave you something to take the pain away, that no one would know about but us, would you want that?'

Swindell has been in and out of prison and is pictured here in two separate undated mug shots

According to the report he continued inking her by drawing tattoo designs on the woman's thighs and began sexually assaulting the woman with his fingers and then raped her.

The woman also said he started grabbing her hair and yelling at her. She asked him to stop multiple times but he told her, 'it will be fine.'

After the woman in question reported Swindell to the police. investigators found 13 other women who said they had been sexually assaulted by him, WFAA-TV reported.

The affidavit said Swindell would use his 'size and brute' to pin down the victims and rape them, shouting at the women to 'do what I tell you!'

Swindell was arrested and charged on January 27 on a million dollar bond.

According to authorities, this isn't the first time Swindell has run into trouble with the law.

He was previously accused of aggravated assault and served two years of a six year prison sentence between 2011 and 2013 for unlawful restraint with risk of serious bodily injury.

More recently, in 2017, he spent six months in jail for attempting to injure an elderly person.
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A series of stunning colourised images have brought to light the diversity of the Allied forces fighting in World War Two.

Incredible pictures show a U.S. soldier sharing a cigar with a Gurkha in Italy, British General Bernard L. Montgomery watching his tanks move up in North Africa and Russian sniper Julia Petrovna who is reported to have killed 80 German soldiers.

Other vivid colour photographs show a French Resistance fighter named Nicole who captured 25 Nazis, members of the Doncaster Home Guard training in preparation for an invasion that never came and FBI agents during firearms practice with a Browning R80 in 1936.

The original snaps were painstakingly colourised by design engineer Paul Reynolds, 48, from Birmingham. 'I mostly colourise war photos because each photo usually has a story to tell, stories of real everyday people,' he said.

'A war is just a war but a good cigar is a smoke' - among the images to have benefited from colourisation is this photo of a U.S. soldier sharing a cigar with a Gurkha in Italy in 1944. Among the British and American allied troops fighting in the Italian Campaign were Algerians, Indians, French, Moroccans, Poles, Canadians, New Zealanders, African Americans and Japanese Americans

A Navajo Code Talker relays a message on a field radio. U.S forces in both World Wars used native American languages as a basis to transmit coded messages. The code talkers served in the South Pacific during World War II and were kept a secret until 1968 when the Navajo code was finally declassified

Members of the 'French Squadron SAS' (1ere Compagnie de Chasseurs Parachutistes) during the link-up between advanced units of the 1st and 8th armies in the Gabes-Tozeur area of Tunisia in January 1943. Previously a company of Free French paratroopers, the French SAS squadron were the first of a range of units 'acquired' by Major Stirling as the SAS expanded

Among the diverse collection of fighters that features in Paul Reynolds' collection is this February 1942 image of a Polish soldier in the Western Desert - the campaign took place in the deserts of Egypt and Libya and was the main theatre in the North African Campaign during the Second World War

It is a little known fact that among the diverse group of allies fighting the Nazis in Europe during World War Two were New Zealanders - seen here on top of a German Tiger tank captured at La Romola, Italy, on 31 July 1944. While the key role played by New Zealand servicemen in the Far East is well known, scores of aircrew and troops also perished in Europe

Julia Petrovna, a sniper of the Red Army was by 1943 reported to have killed 80 German soldiers. As this picture shows, she was a highly decorated soldier. Women served in the Russian forces in small numbers in the early stages of the war, but their number increased after heavy Russian losses. They played a major role in pushing back the Nazis at the end of the conflict

Nicole, also known as Simone Segouin, was a French Partisan is reported to have captured 25 Nazis in the Chartres Area, in addition to liquidating may others. In this August 1944 photo she can be seen posing with her automatic rifle. She also derailed trains, blew up bridges and was present at the liberation of Chartres on August 23, 1944, and the liberation of Paris two days later. She was promoted to lieutenant and awarded the Croix de guerre. After the war, Segouin became a nurse

Men of the 2/9th Gurkha Rifles training in the Malayan jungle, October 1941. More than 250,000 Gurkhas served in 40 battalions during WW2, in addition to eight Nepalese Army battalions, and parachute, training, garrison and porter units in almost all theatres of the war. 'If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or is a Gurkha,' one general once remarked

French Resistance fighters man a barricade in Paris in August-1944. The Resistance was a generic name to describe the collection of French movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy regime. The men and women of the Resistance came from all economic levels and political leanings of French society

FBI firearms practice in 1936 with a Browning R80. The Browning Assault Rifle was the first official 'Fighting Rifle' of the FBI and was used in the capture and shooting of famous bandits Bonnie and Clyde, along with a multitude of weapons

King George VI inspects paratroops of 6th Airborne Division, 16 March 1944. A few months later, on 6 June 1944 the Allied invasion of Normandy - otherwise known as the D-Day landings had begun. It was the largest seaborne invasion in history and laid the foundations of the allied victory on the Western Front

Portrait of a soldier from No. 3 Commando armed with a 'Tommy gun' and wearing a balaclava, at Largs in Scotland, 2 May 1942. Commandos fought i different theatres throughout the war, including the Tunisia Campaign, Burma, assaults on Sicily and Normandy, campaigns in the Rhineland and crossing the Rhine

S/Sgt. Maynard Smith was a ball turret gunner in the 423rd Bomb Squadron, 306th Bomb Group, 8th Air Force. He won the Medal of Honor for a 1 May 1943 mission to bomb the submarine pens in Saint-Nazaire, France. In the mission he helped save the lives of six of his wounded comrades, put out a blazing fire and see off wave after wave of German fighters

General Bernard Montgomery watches his tanks in North Africa in November 1942. Monty stayed in the deserts until the final Allied victory in Tunisia in May 1943. He later commanded the British Eighth Army during the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Allied invasion of Italy and was in charge of all Allied ground forces during Operation Overlord from the initial D-Day landings until after the Battle of Normandy

Dick Winters and his Easy Company (Band of Brothers) lounging at Eagle's Nest, Hitler's former residence, 1945. In 2001 a war drama of the same name - based on Stephen Ambrose's non-fiction book - was released which chronicled the progress of Easy Company as it fought its way through Europe and the Far East

United States troops walk down a curved street past the Coliseum in Rome, Italy. A Roman man feels safe enough to walk in the opposite direction, using a cane, casually passing troops carrying their packs and weapons. Italy surrendered to the Allies on September 8, 1943

Dispelling misconceptions: The British Home Guard - set up as a reserve defense organisation with 1.5 million members - are often caricatured as the bumbling amateurs of Dad's Army fame. But here Members of the Doncaster Home Guard show that was anything but the case. Here they can be seen wearing camouflage net veils over their faces to swim across a river during an assault exercise on 20 July 1942

Another Home Guard picture show that some members of the force - contrary to some impressions - were well equipped and carried up-to-date weapons. The Home Guard continued to guard the coastal areas of the United Kingdom and other important places such as airfields, factories and explosives stores until late 1944 when they were stood down

Among the colourised images produced by Paul Reynolds are the first assault waves of Marines taking cover prior to moving inland on Guam in 1944. 'I mostly colourise war photos because each photo usually has a story to tell, stories of real everyday people,' he said

The resolute faces of paratroopers of the 101st Airborne just before they took off for the initial assault of D-Day, June 6, 1944. The paratrooper in the foreground has just read General Eisenhower's message of good luck and clasps his bazooka in the other hand.

Striking images like these are featured in British author Michael D. Carroll's new book, Retrographic, which is available on Amazon now for 16.85.




Ian Lloyd-Owen (pictured) ploughed into the back of another car while driving his powerful Jaguar XF

A motorist who drove for decades without ever passing a test has been was today convicted of killing a woman on the M4 motorway.

Ian Lloyd-Owen, 61, ploughed into the back of another car while driving his powerful Jaguar XF with the cruise control set at 70mph.

The vehicle in front of him was stationary because a bicycle had fallen off another car onto the busy motorway, Reading Crown Court heard.

Lloyd-Owen overtook cars in the slow lane and slammed into the back of the vehicle, killing 36-year-old Gunatharshiga Koneswaran, from Hounslow, west London.

She was in the car with her husband Nadarajamoorthy Koneswaran, their friend Raj Thurai and two children, aged two and four, who both suffered broken legs.

A jury found Ian Lloyd-Owen, of Maidenhead, Berkshire, guilty of causing death by careless driving and of a second charge of causing death while driving without a licence, both of which he denied.

He was released on bail and told by Judge Stephen Lamb that all sentencing options were open, including going to jail, and he would be sentenced on March 7.

CCTV footage from an unmarked police vehicle that had just stopped after seeing the bicycle lying on the M4 near Hungerford, was played to the court.

They were told that the footage showed the still shadow of Mr Koneswaran's parked Volkswagen Touran before the defendant's car crashed into the back of it.

It then showed the pair of vehicles flying forwards whilst spinning 180 degrees, before a van travelling at a high speed amazingly travelled through the middle of the crashed vehicles, unscathed.

Giving evidence through an interpreter, part-time minicab driver Mr Koneswaran said that all he remembered was hearing is a bang before losing consciousness.

The 61-year-old was driving on the M4 (pictured) when he ploughed into the back of a car

He told the jury that he regained consciousness 20 minutes later, before being taken to hospital to be treated for broken ribs and bleeding to the brain.

Mr Koneswaran had only bought the car three weeks prior to the crash, the court was told.

Michael Roques, prosecuting, said: 'A car is driving down the motorway with two bicycles on a rack. One bicycle falls.

'The car in which the deceased is travelling is going into the middle lane towards the bike and cannot move left or right because of other cars.

'It is forced to brake. The defendant's vehicle is in the slow lane. He goes out to overtake the car in front and goes into the back of the stationary car.'

The court was also told that the driver of the vehicle which the bike fell off, had since admitted a summons for having an unsafe load and had been handed the maximum fine and received driving licence points.
Norma Jones (pictured) was shot dead along with her friend in Jamaica last year

The daughter of a British woman murdered while on holiday in Jamaica has demanded answers at her mothers inquest.

Norma Jones, 59, was shot dead in St Andrew, Jamaica in June last year while walking with a friend.

Speaking after her mothers inquest at Southwark Coroners Court daughter Lorraine Jones said: You go on holiday and you come back in a box, its not what you expect.

She slammed the British High Commission and others for not providing her family with enough support or information saying they are useless and have little information'.

We have had to call the detectives ourselves, she said, adding Jamaican detectives still haven't charged anyone with the murder.

'We just want to know what happened, she said. 'We have to live with never knowing the answer.

'Its devastating, its a lot for my community. Mum was loved in her community.

Her mother was walking down Red Hills Road, St Andrew with Lincoln Francis, 26, at around 10pm on 10 June, according to a police report.

Witnesses said they heard loud explosions that sounded like gun shots. Ms Jones and Mr Francis were found lying on the ground.

Southwark Coroner Lorna Tagliavini said: On the arrival of police, both were seen lying along the roadway with what appeared to be gun shot wounds.

Ms Jones had been shot in the side and was pronounced dead at a hospital around an hour later, at 11.25pm. Mr Francis had been shot twice and died in surgery.

A postmortem found Ms Jones had died of shock and haemorrhage from multiple gun shot wounds to the chest and upper body.

Ms Tagliavini said: Police say theres no clear motive at this time, although there are theories.

The police report went on to say that a witness walking ahead of Ms Jones and Mr Francis saw a man walking in the opposite direction towards the pair biting the fingers on his left hand, with his right hand on his waist.

The gun shots were heard a minute after he passed, with Ms Jones and Mr Francis subsequently found on the floor, it was said.

Ms Tagliavini said: I can see that unfortunately Norma Jones was subject to a violent attack by reason of gun shot wounds. No motive has been given on the police report.

Ms Joness daughter told the inquest police had told the family they were looking for two or three people and that one of the suspects had died.

She said the family have also been led to believe there were two people walking ahead of her mother and Mr Francis that day.

Its questionable why theres only one witness statements. Wheres the statement from the other potential witness? Why is that we have to do all the work, and the government are not.

She also claimed the family had seen a video on social media of her mother lying on the ground opening and closing her eyes after she was shot.

Ms Jones's daughter claims the saw footage of her mother (pictured) in her dying moments after she was shot in Jamaica

We have seen a video of our mum because someone felt the need to record it. We have seen our mum lying in a pool of blood.

How was she brought to the hospital? The time frame that we have been given is different from the time frame you have given. Its well over an hour, its an hour and 20 minutes. How was mum moved, why did it take so long?

Ms Tagliavini replied: What Im missing is any information as to whether or not an ambulance crew attended and who called them, when they called them or how long they took to arrive and when they got there.

Thats something we would normally see her in the UK. All that information is not here.

All I know from the police report is that you mother was walking along with her friend along this particular road, there seems to be a couple of friends or acquaintances in front of her.

This person comes up and shoots her and her friend.

Ms Jones was born in Dulwich and worked in childrens homes and schools before becoming a foster carer around five years before she died.

She was coming to the end of a five-week trip to the Caribbean island and was due to leave 11 days after she was killed.

Paying tribute, her daughter Lorraine said she was a 'loving mum'.

She always worked with children, form childrens homes to schools in southeast London, and then she became a foster carer five years before she died,' she said.

She liked the challenging children, especially the naughty ones. At her send off there was so many of her past children, some as old as 40 and some still in school, that she had worked with through the years that kept in contact.

Many will say she taught them to do something and better their lives.

She went to Jamaica quite often to see family and friends.

She had 11 days before she was due to come home from a five week holiday there.

She was a mother to three daughters and a doting grandmother to six grandchildren - three boys and three girls between the ages of one to 24. She was also mother to however many other children who called her mum.

Even if I was to receive all the information I will never get closure but getting the details of what happened to her is important to us. We are just accepting that we will never come to terms with it. You go on holiday and you come back in a box, its not what you expect.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office says it is supporting the family and is in touch with the Jamaican police

Ms Jones also said the family had been planning a surprise party for her mothers 60th birthday which they recently celebrated with a family get together last month.

Her funeral at St Giles Church in Camberwell was attended by hundreds, the family said.

She said: We were going to do a surprise birthday party for her and we were discussing it the day before we got a phone call.

She was loved by many, she will be truly missed. She was a home body but at her send off it was overwhelming. There was a few hundred people there. She was very supportive and loving. She didnt deserve this.

Local media reports state there were 68 murders in Jamaica in the first ten days of June last year. This was just a small proportion of the 639 people that were killed from the start of the year up to Ms Jones murder.

The coroner recorded a verdict of unlawful killing and the a Foreign and Commonwealth spokesperson said it was 'supporting the family' and 'are in contact with the Jamaican police'.
A 65-year-old has been left wondering whether he will ever see again out of one eye after a callous paintball attack.

Michael Fejes was on his nightly walk in Torrance, California, when he heard a shout coming from a car.

When he turned around, two or three pranksters unloaded a hail of pellets at him, hitting him in the eye, and then laughed at the father before driving away.

The wounds were so bad he had to be rushed to hospital where he had surgery, and is still waiting to see if the vision will return to one of his eyes.

A 65-year-old has been left wondering whether he will ever see again out of one eye after a callous paintball attack

Michael Fejes was on his nightly walk in Torrance, California, when he heard a shout coming from a car. When he turned around, two or three men unloaded a hail of pellets at him, hitting him in the eye, and then laughed at the father before running away

Mr Fejes' son, Michael Jr, said police had received other reports of paintball attacks in the South Bay area.

Updating concerned relatives and friends on Facebook, he said: 'He is currently scheduled to undergo surgery to clear up the internal bleeding and any other damage that may have occurred.

'It is unknown as to how his vision will be affected in the future or what complications may arise due to this senseless attack.

'At this time, he is unable to see out of that eye and is in incredible pain.'

'We're uncertain as to what his vision status will be since the blood is still there.'

This paintball gun was confiscated by the Torrance Police Department after the callous attack

Mr Fejes was seen by Dr Steven Schwartz at the Stein Eye Institute - UCLA, who the family thanked.

They also thanked the Torrance Police Department for investigating the incident.

Michael Jr added: 'This attack was on a 65-year old man that was going for a walk and he may now lose his vision and have other long-term consequences as a result of this "prank".

'The laughs that may come out of this are not worth the damage that it causes.

'Thank you for reading and please contact us or the Torrance Police Department if you have any information related to the attack.

'Additionally, if you happen to live near the area of the attack and have CCTV cameras that may have caught any evidence of the vehicle it would be much appreciated if you could review the footage to see if anything could help identify the vehicle or attackers.'

Police told ABC they found three suspects, and recovered several paintballs and a paintball gun.

They were identified as Tyler Walters, 20, of Torrance, Lynn Johnson, 20, of Hawthorne, and Gabriella Semana, 18, of Lomita.
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This is the moment a rare 500,000 Ferrari was towed away in front of stunned onlookers in Mayfair after police seized it for having no insurance.

The Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta, one of only 499 ever made, was stopped just off Berkeley Square in London on Sunday at around 2pm.

The incident attracted a crowd of around 20 or 30 onlookers with people filming the moment the Ferrari was lifted onto a towing vehicle. Police said the driver was reported on suspicion of using the vehicle without insurance.

This is the moment police in Mayfair towed a Ferrari amid allegations he was not insured to drive the 500,000 vehicle

The Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta, one of only 49 ever made with special right hand-drives, was seized just off Berkeley Square in the capital on Sunday at around 2pm

Pictured: The rare vehicle, in a metallic blue hue, was lifted up by a crane and placed onto a recovery truck on Sunday afternoon

The car in front of the Ferrari is a silver Porsche 918. It retails at a cool 1.1 million. It was pictured pulling onto the kerb

An onlooker said: 'The young man was in a baby blue Ferrari worth probably around 600,000. He was driving in convoy through Mayfair with his dad who was in a Porsche 918.

'The driver of the Porsche parked and the other man was trying to park the Ferrari behind it.

'He was blocking the road and police pulled him over. The officer said they couldn't find the driver's name on the insurance.'

One eyewitness said: 'Everyone was shocked as the car was seized. It's not everyday you see a vehicle worth over half a million pounds - and you definitely don't expect to see it towed away.'

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'On Sunday 4 February, Westminster Safer Transport Team seized a vehicle on Davies Street, W1 at approximately 14:51hrs for having no insurance.

'The driver has been reported on suspicion of using the vehicle without insurance.'

Stunned onlookers watched as the Ferrari was scooped up off the street and placed on the back of a recovery truck

The incident attracted a crowd of around 20 or 30 onlookers with people filming the moment the Ferrari was lifted onto a towing vehicle
This is the moment brave volunteers rescued a 2.5ft-long - and highly venomous -Indian cobra after it got stuck in a steel mesh.

The snake had swallowed a toad and tried to escape through a drainage outlet by a temple when it got trapped in the mesh due to its bloated abdomen.

Caretakers from the holy site, in Rajarani colony, Bhubaneshwar, in India's eastern state of Odisha, immediately called the Snake Helpline - an organisation which focuses on the health of snakes and assists in rescues.

This Indian cobra became bloated after swallowing a toad and then got stuck in a steel mesh drainage outlet at a temple

Caretakers from the temple, in Rajarani colony, Bhubaneshwar, in India's eastern state of Odisha, called the Snake Helpline - an organisation which focuses on the health of snakes and assists in rescues

Two volunteers rescued the reptile by digging the drainage outlet for almost 15 minutes. With the metal ring still around its abdomen, the snake was taken to the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, in Bhubaneshwar, where it was freed with a metal cutter

Indian cobra: Deadly snake that kills 10,000 a year The Indian cobra is a highly venomous snake found on the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the most dangerous snakes in the country and kills around 10,000 people a year. A bite can cause paralysis, respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. Such symptoms are manifested between 15 minutes and two hours after the bite - leading to death unless treated. They are found in several countries including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Bangladesh. The cobra does not usually attack humans unless threatened. If confronted by one, it is best to stay calm as they react aggressively to sudden movements. Advertisement

Two volunteers, Atul Baral and Subhendu Mallik, rushed to the spot and managed to rescue the reptile by digging the drainage outlet for almost 15 minutes.

With the metal ring still around its abdomen, the snake was taken to the College of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry, in Bhubaneshwar, where doctors, along with the volunteers, freed it with a metal cutter.

Dr Biswadip Jena said: 'Since the snake had struggled to pull itself out, the metal had cut through the skin.

'After freeing the snake from the mesh, we stitched its wound.'

After being freed, the snake can be seen spewing out the toad which had caused its abdomen to swell.

Dr Jena added: 'The snake was given antibiotics and kept under observation.

'Now it has resumed its normal movement and will be very soon released into its natural habitat.'

The Indian cobra is one of the most dangerous snakes found on the Indian subcontinent - and kills around 10,000 people a year.
Meghan Markle denied knowing her own half-brother when he reached out to her for help, according to his lawyer.

Tom Markle Jr., said his half-sister's response was 'harsh' and a 'slap in the face' after he asked Meghan for assistance in dealing with the press since her royal engagement.

The 51-year-old, who was 14 and living with his and Meghan's father Thomas Markle Sr., when she was born in 1981, admits they haven't been in touch since his actress sister moved to Toronto, Canada, in 2011, to take up a role in Suits.

But he insists he 'spent a lot of time with her growing up,' telling InTouch claims he didn't know her, were 'ridiculous'.

'We were as close as we could be, as tight as we could be, that's what we were.'

Meghan Markle (left with her fiance Prince Harry) allegedly denied knowing her half-brother Tom Markle Jr. (right)

Tom, who shares a father with Meghan, pictured with his half-sister when she was a baby

Tom Markle said he reached out to his half-sister in a touching letter, to congratulate her on her engagement to Prince Harry, 33, and apologize if his personal had 'caused you any embarrassment'.

But Markle says Meghan, 36, never responded to his heartfelt note.

And when her half-brother attempted to reach her by contacting the palace of her soon-to-be-in-laws, he learned she wanted nothing to do with him.

He told InTouch that his lawyer, who had been communicating with the palace to ask for assistance with dealing with the press, had forwarded him Meghan's reply.

'My lawyer had a phone meeting with her lawyer, and he emailed me some of her direct words. She said, 'That's distant family and I don't know those people.' That's pretty harsh,' he said.

Markle believes that news of his recent brushes with the law may have embarrassed his half sister who is avoiding him.

'Never my intentions whatsoever,' he said in his letter to her. 'I've only ever tried to silence vonnie(sic) from the start. Those tabloid mags, reporters and articles are sick. Untrue.'

Markle was in the news recently when he was thrown in jail for two days for a drunken brawl with his fiancee Darlene Blount on New Year's Eve. Last year he was also arrested for brandishing a gun at his fiancee during another drunken fracas, although the charges were later dropped.

He blamed his behaviour on struggling to cope with the extra pressure and scrutiny he and the rest of his family have faced since Meghan's royal engagement.

Last month he said: 'It hasn't been easy. Meghan's relationship with Prince Harry has shone a spotlight on our family. It doesn't help when you have issues and your sister is engaged to Royalty. It adds a whole new level of scrutiny.

Tom Markle Jr. insists he 'spent a lot of time with (Meghan) and that claims he didn't know her, were 'ridiculous'. Childhood photos provided by her half-brother Thomas Jr show 11-year-old Meghan with her father Thomas Sr, her nephews, and sister-in-law

'We've been under a lot of stress because of all the attention. At some point you find yourself drinking too much to escape the pressure.'

In his letter to the Suits star, Markle said he'd had a hard enough time starting over and had no interest in becoming another headline ever again.

Tom Markle's letter to his half-sister Meghan Dear meg, First thing I want to say is congratulations on your wedding engagement. And I'm so proud of you, you're awesome. Next thing is that I'm truly sorry that my personal life my(sic) have caused you any embarrassment, never my intentions whatsoever. I've only ever tried to silence vonnie(sic) from the start. Those tabloid mags, reporters and articles are sick. Untrue. I've had enough difficulty starting life over in grants pass(sic) as it is, with no luck. Truly i don't want to be in the papers or media again, just want to move to the country and start my animal rescue farm and do what I love for the rest of my life. I wish you and harry all the best, you guys look amazing and happy together. Sincerely, Tom Markle Jr. Love you meg. Advertisement

'Truly i don't want to be in the papers or media again, just want to move to the country and start my animal rescue farm and do what I love for the rest of my life,' he wrote.

'I wish you and harry all the best, you guys look amazing and happy together,' he added. 'I'm so proud of you, you're awesome. Love you meg.'

Markle claims he's been forced to move three times since Meghan and Harry announced their engagement in November. He also said he's 'lost a lot of work' because he's allegedly being hounded by the press.

'There was a time where people were following me around at work, taking pictures and posting horrible stories about me and my family saying I'm a white supremacist, a drug addict and a dealer, all this crap that just isn't true,' he told the magazine.

He wanted the royal palace to help him seek retractions for stories he feels are defamatory and damaging.

It appears a palace spokesperson put him in touch with a lawyer, but Markle told him that he could not afford their recommended legal representation after moving house so many times.

Tom Markle's own lawyer had previously warned him in October that: 'I don't think there will be any improvement with the media unless you talk to your sister.'

Prince Harry and fiance Meghan Markle (pictured leaving the Endeavour Fund Awards in London on February 1) are due to tie the knot in May

Tom said: 'I don't believe Tracy [his ex-wife] or my sons have the right to call themselves Markles. If this embarrasses Meghan then I am sorry, but Tracy can't go on claiming to be a Markle'

Markle, who currently lives in a bungalow in Grants Pass, Oregon, with his fiancee Darlene Blount, shares a father with Meghan.

While he has not seen or spoken to his 36-year-old half-sister since 2011, he insists they are not estranged, and revealed he would be honored if she would invite him to her wedding in May.

'She got to the point where she got busier and busier so it was really hard to nail her down,' he told the DailyMail.com, of them losing touch after she moved for her role in Suits.

'It's not really that we grew apart, it was she was out there [in Toronto] doing her job  it was the biggest deal she got on TV so she had no time.

Last month Tom got into a drunk NYE brawl with his fiancee, which he blamed on the stress from the added attention and scrutiny from being related to Ms Markle

'But we spent a lot of weekends together with our grandmother [Doris Markle] before she left.'

'We'd get together on Christmases, on holidays, on birthdays, on Thanksgivings It was always somewhere, even though we lived in different parts of the city [Los Angeles]  we still all got together.

'Obviously, she had a family. She was very privileged. She got everything she ever wanted. We did the best that we could in terms of getting together for holidays and whatnot.'

He is still hoping that the Markle clan will one day be reunited for Christmas and says that while he doesn't expect an invitation to Meghan and Harry's May wedding, it would mean a lot to get one.

The 51-year-old, who was arrested last January for putting a gun to his fiancee's head but released without charge, added: 'I don't know if she gets to invite who she wants. But she'll reach out if she wants me there - she'll call me. She knows where to find me.

'But that's up to her, there's no pressure. I wouldn't mind seeing my little sister have the biggest wedding in the world  that would be incredible.

Tom Markle, of Grants Pass, Oregon, isn't the only one to be hurt by Meghan's apparent dismissal of her family.

Their father, Thomas, was 'deeply hurt' by recent remarks by Prince Harry, who suggested, after his fiance spent Christmas with the royals, that they the big 'family I suppose that she's never had.'

Thomas Markle Jr old DailyMail.com that Meghan Markle had enjoyed spending time at Christmas with her father (left), him (center) and her nephews including Tyler Dooley (right), having become his aunt when she was just 10

Thomas Markle Snr. (pictured with his daughter Meghan as a baby) was also said to be hurt after his daughter's husband-to-be Prince Harry suggested the royals were the big 'family I suppose that she's never had'

The prince has still to meet his fiancee's father, who lives inMexico, although he has met her mother, Doria Ragland, who lives in Los Angeles. The couple divorced when Meghan Markle was six.

Thomas Jr's comments echo those made by his estranged sister Samantha Grant, 53, of Ocala, Florida, who also spoke of a 'large family who were always there with her'.

'No one was estranged, she was just too busy. Meg's family (our family) [sic] is complete with sister, brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and the glue of our family, our amazing completely self-sacrificing father.;

She previously criticized her famous half-sister for allegedly not supporting their dad.

'If you can spend $75,000 on a dress, you can spend $75,000 on your dad,' she told InTouch, referencing the pricey gown that Meghan wore to pose alongside future husband Prince Harry in their recently-released engagement photos.
India and Pakistan are heading for war over the disputed border region of Kashmir, the former Chief Minister for the state has claimed.

Indian politician Farooq Abdullah, 80, said officials on both sides needed to stop blaming each other for the recent flare-up in the state, and start a dialogue before war breaks out.

Violence in Kashmir, a state divided between Pakistan and India, has escalated in recent weeks, with at least 15 civilians and 13 soldiers killed and dozens injured on the two sides.

Farooq Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, said India and Pakistan are heading for war in Kashmir unless the two sides stop blaming each other and start talking

The fighting also has caused extensive damage and sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing from their border homes.

Mr Abdullah, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir and now MP for the Srinagar constituency in the Indian state slammed officials for putting the blame on Pakistan.

'Are they the only ones who're firing? We're firing too,' he said according to ZeeNews.

'Both sides are doing this. This has led to destruction of people. This is leading to a war like situation.

'War is never a solution to anything. The only solution is dialogues.'

Victims: The son of an Indian civilian killed in Pakistani firing and shelling in the Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India, mourns his father during a funeral service last month

His comments came after four Indian soldiers and one Pakistani civilian were killed during an exchange of gunfire along the highly militarized de-facto border on Sunday.

Two Pakistani children and two Indian soldiers were injured, officials said.

An Indian official says Pakistan started firing artillery and small arms onto Indian positions, while a Pakistani official says Indian forces started the violence by firing onto the Pakistani side. Each said their forces returned fire only in retaliation.

On January 27, Indian soldiers opened fire on Pakistani protesters who had been throwing stones at a passing military convoy, killing two young men and wounding several others, police said.

Indians walk near a wall with marks of mortar shells that landed allegedly in firing from the Pakistan side of the border in Kanachack district of Jammu and Kashmir, India last month

Earlier that week, an exchange of gunfire and shelling killed at least one civilian and injured three on the Indian side.

India and Pakistan often accuse each other of violating a 2003 cease-fire agreement.

Both countries accuse the other of initiating border skirmishes leading to the deaths of soldiers and civilians.

Tensions have increased since the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in India in 2014.

India and Pakistan have a long history of bitter relations over Kashmir, a Himalayan territory divided between them and claimed by both in its entirety.

The have fought two wars over Kashmir's control since they won independence from Britain in 1947.
Two Maltese-mix dogs that were living with the 'House of Horrors' family have been adopted after being well-fed and healthy while 12 of the 13 rescued children were malnourished and abused.

The dogs belonging to David and Louise Turpin, who were arrested and charged with several counts of torture and abuse last month, were given to their new family on Monday.

Animal Control received two applications to adopt the one-year-old females.

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Two Maltese-mix dogs (left and right) that were living with the 'House of Horrors' family have been adopted after being well-fed and healthy while 12 of the 13 rescued children were malnourished and abused

The dogs belonging to David and Louise Turpin (pictured with their 13 children), who were arrested and charged with several counts of torture and abuse last month, were given to their new family on Monday

Twelve of the 13 Turpin children, ranging in age from 2 to 29, were described as so malnourished that their physical and mental development were impaired. The dogs were in much better health than the children who were rescued from the home (pictured)

Last month, David and Louise Turpin's 17-year-old daughter escaped the home and brought police back to rescue her 12 siblings - some of whom were chained to their beds as punishment by their ultra-religious parents. Pictured are investigators at the home in January

The city held a raffle and inspected the home before handing over the dogs city spokesman Joe Vargo told Mercury News.

Vargo said the family requested to remain anonymous because of all of the media coverage surrounding the Turpins.

'We are pleased to know the two dogs will go to a home where they will be well treated and loved,' Vargo said.

Twelve of the 13 Turpin children, ranging in age from two to 29, were described by Riverside County District Attorney Mike Hestrin as so malnourished that their physical and mental development were impaired. The Turpins' two-year-old was treated well.

But according to Perris senior animal control officer Christina Avila, the dogs were quite healthy.

Since their rescue, community members have banded together to raise more than $400,000 for the 13 children who were abused for years by their parents at the 'House of Horrors' in Perris, California

The case shocked the nation, even more so those who lived near the Turpins and never guessed the torture that was happening inside the respectable-looking home (pictured)

Community members have banded together to raise more than $400,000 for the 13 children who were abused for years by their parents at the 'House of Horrors' in Perris.

Last month, David and Louise Turpin's 17-year-old daughter escaped the home and brought police back to rescue her 12 siblings - some of whom were chained to their beds as punishment by their ultra-religious parents.

Except for the youngest child, the rest of the children were malnourished and had to be hospitalized.

The case shocked the nation, even more so those who lived near the Turpins and never guessed the torture that was happening inside the respectable-looking home.

It inspired many in the community to band together to raise money for the children, who will no doubt struggle to deal with the abuse for the rest of their lives.

Two main funds have been set up to collect money for the children, one with the Riverside University Health System Foundation and the other with the Corona Chamber of Commerce. Eventually the funds will be merged and put into a single account.

As of Wednesday, the foundation had collected $249,365 and the Chamber of Commerce had collected $178,000.

The foundation said their donations came from as far away as Germany and Singapore.

Two main funds have been set up to collect money for the children, one with the Riverside University Health System Foundation and the other with the Corona Chamber of Commerce. Bobby Spiegel (pictured) helped organize a 'dine out' fundraiser last Wednesday

A GoFundMe fundraiser for the children under the title 'Perris Victims of Neglect Fund' has also exceeded its goal of $10,000.

The fund stood at $29,460 as of Tuesday morning, and the city has announced plans to donate $10,000 more.

'The community response has been fantastic,' said Mayor Michael Vargas in a news release. 'It shows that Perris is a caring community.'

That number is expected to grow since the Chamber of Commerce organized a 'dine out' fundraiser last Wednesday involving 40 local restaurants.

The restaurants who participated in the fundraiser agreed to donate 15 to 20 per cent of each bill to the children, with diners' permission.

DailyMail.com reached out to the Chamber of Commerce to learn how much they had made in the fundraiser, but did not immediately receive a response.

The Chamber of Commerce hoped to raise $10,000 during the event. While the total amount certainly is a large number, it's not nearly enough.

'We're talking about 13 lives. $400,000 is not going to be much in the long scheme of things, so that's why we did this dine out event,' Corona Chamber of Commerce President Bobby Spiegel told ABC 7 last week.

David and Louise Turpin (pictured with their 13 children) face 12 charges of torture, 12 charges of false imprisonment, seven charges of abuse on a dependent adult and six charges of child abuse

The Turpins remain jailed in lieu of $12 million bail each. They are due back in court on February 23 for a routine hearing. They are both pictured in court on January 18

According to a 2010 study by the Centers for Disease Control, the average lifetime cost for a victim of child maltreatment is $210,000 when you figure in the costs of healthcare, productivity losses, child welfare, criminal justice and special education.

The children's medical bills alone are going to be astronomical, since they are still recovering in the hospital from their years of abuse. The adults are being cared for at one hospital, and the minors at another.

Meanwhile, the children's parents remain behind bars, awaiting trial.

David and Louise Turpin face 12 charges of torture, 12 charges of false imprisonment, seven charges of abuse on a dependent adult and six charges of child abuse.

David Turpin faces an additional charge of a lewd act on a child under 14 years old.

They face the possibility of spending the rest of their lives in prison if convicted.

The Turpins remain jailed in lieu of $12 million bail each. They are due back in court on February 23 for a routine hearing.
The sex attacker, seen in public for the first time since he was convicted in 2009, appeared grey and haggard as he sat in a caged dock of the Royal Courts of Justice

The chairman of the Parole Board has outlined radical proposals to make the reasoning behind its decision public in the wake of outrage over John Worboys.

Two of the black cab rapist's victims were forced to launch a bid for a judicial review after the Parole Board refused to divulge why it had decided to free the sex attacker.

The victim's lawyer today said that part of their challenge is that the rule preventing the Parole Board from telling the public any of the reasons for its decision 'is itself unlawful'.

Professor Nick Hardwick called it 'undignified' that two women had to make an online appeal to raise funds for the judicial review and hoped to make it easier for the public to challenge the decisions of the Parole Board in future.

Speaking to the Commons Justice Committee, he said there should be a multi-stage review mechanism before resorting to judicial review.

He said: 'It seems to me that it's undignified that people have to go and crowdsource to fund a review. I don't think that's an acceptable situation.'

Mr Hardwick told MPs there could be a system similar to the scheme where members of the public can complain to the Attorney General about unduly lenient jail sentences.

Professor Nick Hardwick (pictured) has outlined radical proposals to make the reasoning behind its decision public in the wake of outrage over John Worboys

Black taxi rapist John Worboys came face to face with two of his victims in court today as they challenged the decision to allow him to be released from prison

When Sir Brian Leveson said he was 'minded' to agree to a judicial review, Worboys (pictured) - now known as John Radford - nodded and replied: 'That's fine'

Under current rules the Parole Board is barred from releasing the reasons for its decisions, but the chairman wants information published about a wide range of cases, particularly for victims.

This could be those where oral hearings take place - currently a third of cases.

Mr Hardwick said: 'One of the things we should look at is victims, who want to get one, getting a summary of the parole board's decisions. I certainly think they should know more about licence conditions.

'The presumption should be that we tell victims as much as we can.'

He added: 'It should be possible to provide some statements publicly about the reasons for a decision.'

The Parole Board chief favours publishing an online register of cases so that any member of the public can track developments.

Chief Inspector of Probation Dame Glenys Stacey (pictured) was asked by the Government to carry out an urgent review of the 'victim contact scheme' last month

The prison van containing Black cab rapist John Worboys leaves the Royal Courts of Justice as he makes his way back to HMP Wakefield

Justice Secretary David Lidington has ordered a review of the transparency of the board's decisions and said planned changes could be laid out by Easter.

Today, Worboys was dragged to the High Court as two of his victims launched their legal fight to stop the 60-year-old's impending release from prison.

Worboys, who sat emotionless in a caged dock at the Royal Courts of Justice, looked over to the victim occasionally as the judges ruled to allow a judicial review into the Parole Board's decision to set him free.

Despite being 'very, very scared' at the prospect of being in the same courtroom as her attacker, the victim told her lawyer that she 'refused to be frightened'.

Meanwhile, Worboys was informed that a temporary order would see him remain behind bars until the review into why he was set for release was heard.

A two-day hearing will be held on March 13 to determine whether or not the Parole Board made an 'irrational' and illegal decision to free the predator.
A group of Britons who want to keep their EU citizenship after Brexit have today won a landmark legal case.

The group of five have had their case referred up to the European Court of Justice where it will be heard in the coming months.

Five British expats last month took the Dutch government to court arguing their legal rights - including free movement - should be enforced and protected by the Netherlands after Brexit.

They argue they have EU rights that must be protected no matter what Britain's future relationship with the Brussels club is.

If they win the case then it could pave the way for other Brits living abroad to retain their EU rights after Brexit.

The group of five have had their case referred up to the European Court of Justice where it will be heard in the coming months (pictured - Chris, Molly and Deborah Williams, who are part of the case)

Dutch judge Floris Bakels today said: 'We refer the questions to the European Court of Justice.'

Who is the barrister Jolyon Maugham QC and what cases has he brought on Brexit? Jolyon Maugham QC is a remain-backing barrister and newspaper columnist who has been behind a string of legal challenges to Brexit. He backed Gina Miller's High Court battle to force the Government to give MPs a vote on triggering Article 50 and formally triggering Brexit. He spearheaded a campaign to try to mount a legal challenge to see if Brexit can be reversed. He had planned to take the case to the Dublin courts but abandoned it after they signalled they would not refer it to the ECJ. And he is also the brains behind the latest challenge for a group of British expats to try to keep all their EU rights after Brexit. The lawyer is also an occasional columnist for the liberal, Remain-baking Guardian newspaper. Advertisement

The case that was funded and supported by Jolyon Maugham, a Remain-backing British barrister behind a series of legal cases challenging Brexit in the UK.

The case could have far-reaching implications for about a million British citizens living in Europe.

The judges are referring two preliminary questions to the Luxembourg-based ECJ for an answer about the group's rights as EU citizens after Brexit.

The questions are: 'Does Brexit mean that Britons automatically lose their European citizenship or do they maintain their rights, and if so, under what conditions?'

Speaking afterward, Stephen Huyton - one of the Brits who brought the case - said: 'I am shocked and delighted with the decision. But we have to realise that this is just the first step to eventually getting clarity about our status.'

Judge Bakels gave lawyers a week to comment on the decision and to add any other preliminary questions to be put to the ECJ.

Theresa May has said all 3.2 million EU citizens currently living in the UK can apply for settled status here.

And she is pressing for Britons living abroad in the bloc to have their rights guaranteed too.

However, it remains unclear what new immigration restrictions will be brought in after Brexit day in March 2019 - and what that will mean for Britons living abroad.
A woman who says her ex-boyfriend moved out of their house just a day after he won a $6.1 million Lotto jackpot is now suing him for half the jackpot plus $500,000 in punitive damages.

Denise Robertson has said she wants a jury trial in the $3.5 million case against Maurice Thibeault, who was her live-in boyfriend for more than two years.

Thibeault lived with Robertson and her teenage daughter in Chatham from July 2015 to September 2017.

Maurice Thibeault won a $6.1million jackpot in September 2017. But he has so far only been given half of his winnings because his ex-girlfriend is claiming that she is owed half

'It's a question of morality,' Steven Pickard told The Star estimating it could take 12 to 18 months for the case to be heard.

Denise Robertson was in a relationship with Thibeault for two years and lived with her and her teenage daughter

'They always agreed that if they had a winning ticket, the proceeds would be theirs, together as a couple,' says a statement filed in court.

'Maurice and Denise have been buying Lotto 6/49 tickets together for almost their entire relationship. Sometimes he would purchase the tickets and sometimes Denise would. Sometimes Denise would give him money, and he would buy the tickets when he went to pick up cigarettes,' the statement continued.

Thibeault has so far not commented on the case however friends have told The Star that there was no such ticket arrangement.

Acquaintances told the paper that he had been planning to end the relationship with Robertson for months and only managed to do so when he 'got lucky' by winning the lottery.

The lawsuit against Thibeault has so far prevented her from receiving a penny of the winnings after a court injunction stopped the Ontario Lottery and Gaming's Toronto prize center from paying him the full amount.

Pickard, Roberton's lawyer, accused him in the statement of claim of 'deceit, arrogance, high-handedness and a callous disregard for Denise and her rights.'

The lucky ticket with the numbers 6, 17, 29, 37, 45, and 47 was one of two winners in the September 20 jackpot of $12.2 million.

Robertson, right, claims that the couple had an agreement to split any big lottery win prizes

Robertson, a federal public servant, is also seeking accrued interest on what she says is her share of the winnings and money to cover her legal costs.

The day after the draw, Robertson heard on a local radio station that there were winning tickets in Chatham and Quebec, and texted Thibeault, a granite installer at the time, asking if he bought a 6/49 for it, according to the statement of claim.

'Yes,' he wrote.

'OMG check it!!!' Robertson replied.

Thibeault, left, moved out of the home the couple shared the day following his big lottery win

Robertson then decided to sue the lottery company for half of the winnings which she claims are in fact hers

When they both got home later that day Thibeault then allegedly lied to her and 'made it clear to Denise that they did not have the winning ticket,' the claim continues.

The following day, she got home and was 'shocked to see that Maurice had packed up and removed all of his clothes, his toiletries and most of his other personal items and his Canadian passport.'

Thibeault then texted his boss to say he had quit, saying 'Denise and I are no longer together. Since I left her Monday another life-changing thing has happened', posting a picture of the lottery ticket.

OLG has paid Thibeault half the proceeds and is holding on to the other half, which a lottery spokesman said would be paid to the court pending a decision in the case.
A huge crater in a busy road has been branded the worst pothole in the capital after a desperate local wedged a bin in it to warn drivers about the hazard.

The 3ft hole was seen outside Deptford Green Secondary School in New Cross, south east London, several days ago, but has still not been fixed.

The council appear to be aware of the hole because it has now been surrounded by bollards.

One fuming local resident said: 'The hole is about a foot-and-a-half wide and looks like it's a couple of feet deep.

One local was so concerned about the giant pothole they wedged a large blue bin in the 3ft deep crater

It seems the council are now aware of the pothole after it was surrounded by bollards in New Cross

'It's got temporary barriers around it now but the bin is still there. It looks like they're going to fix it, but they still haven't.'

Catherine Jones, who spotted the bizarre bodge job on Friday, said: 'It's been there a while, but I couldn't say how long exactly.

'There's been previous work done on the lights crossing recently because of another hole, but I noticed this because the bin was obviously in the road.

'The roads are constantly having work done - I've never seen any this big before, but they've definitely been big enough to think 'wow'.'

According to figures from the Department for Transport, Lewisham has some of the worst roads in the country.

Six per cent of the borough's 24 miles of council-run A roads are in need of maintenance, with five per cent of B and C roads likely to need repairs.

The huge pothole could well be the largest in the capital and one local said it has 'been there for a while'

The large blue Lewisham Council bin was wedged in the pothole which has now been surrounded by bollards

Road conditions are better than they were five years ago, when seven per cent of A roads were likely in need of repairs.

Every pothole costs around 60 to fix, but in January, The Local Government Association said that motorways and major trunk roads in England are receiving 52 times more government funding per mile than local roads maintained by councils.

It called on the Government to reduce the disparity so councils can tackle the 12 billion repair bill to bring local roads up to scratch, including fixing more potholes.

The LGA's transport spokesman, Martin Tett, said: 'Councils are fixing a pothole every 19 seconds despite funding pressures.

'They want to do more but are trapped in an endless cycle of patching up our deteriorating network.'

Lewisham Council have been contacted for a comment.
Theresa May revealed today she would like to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing - but admitted she cannot dance.

The Prime Minister said would like to try the 'nice costumes' on the show and would prefer to dance rather than take part in Great British Bake Off.

Mrs May made her admission in an interview with 13-year-old Nikki Lilly, due to be broadcast on CBBC tomorrow.

Theresa May revealed today to 13-year-old Nikki Lilly on CBBC (pictured) she would like to be a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing - but admitted she cannot dance

Asked whether she would rather appear on The Great British Bake Off or Strictly Come Dancing, Mrs May said: 'Oh gosh, what a choice. Very difficult in different ways.

'I enjoy watching Strictly - I'm not sure I would do very well at either, but Strictly has some nice costumes.'

The Prime Minister said she was leaning towards choosing Strictly, but when asked if she could dance, Mrs May laughed and replied: 'No - this might be an impediment being on Strictly.'

In the interview with Nikki Lilly, Mrs May also told how she was quite shy as a child. She said: 'I was a teenager who actually enjoyed school, enjoyed reading books. I was quite quiet, quite shy. I was an only child.'

Asked about how she deals with negative comments made about her, she said: 'In politics, you develop quite a thick skin. You get used to it. It is difficult and it happens all the time.'

The Prime Minister said would like to try the 'nice costumes' on the hit BBC One show (file image of Gorka Marquez and Alexandra Burke on the show)

Mrs May said she had made plenty of fashion faux pas when Miss Lilly complimented her on her leopard print kitten heel shoes.

'Probably too many,' she added. 'One comes to mind which was probably when I was a bit older.

'You know I like shoes, these are fine, I'm not sure you would say the same about the bright yellow, high platform slingbacks that I remember having at one stage.

'I don't think I wore them that often actually. I think I bought them and thought 'why did I buy these?'.'

She also told how she had a poodle as a child, but that it lost one of his legs when he was hit by a car. Mrs May said: 'Yes, we always had a dog. At that stage it was a little poodle but he was knocked over by a car in front of the house and had to have one of his legs amputated so he ended up having three legs but he adapted.'

Mrs May previously picked Abba's Dancing Queen as one of her songs on Desert Island Discs as it 'gets me up and going'.

The Prime Minister said would like to try the 'nice costumes' on the show and would prefer to dance rather than take part in Great British Bake Off

If she goes on Strictly, she will follow in the footsteps of Labour's former shadow chance

It is possible the 61-year-old has been inspired to want to take part after cheering on her constituent Debbie McGee when she was a contestant last year.

At the time, Mrs May confessed that she was glued to the Saturday night television show as she supported the former magician's assistant, who is the widow of Paul Daniels.

Miss Lilly has a debilitating rare medical condition AVM, which causes headaches, nosebleeds and swelling on one side of her face requiring frequent hospital visits and operations in Denver and at Great Ormond Street.

Last year she won CBBC's Junior Bake Off and was the recipient of a Pride of Britain Award.
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This tree is visibly strained under the weight of fourteen goats, who all clambered up its branches in search of tasty fruit.

These Moroccan goats are definitely no ordinary goats, they use their cloven hooves to climb the branches of the Argan tree and eat its fruit, spitting out the seeds, which helps to propagate the trees.

Local farmers encourage and even help the goats climb these 36 feet tall trees, after they eat the pulp of the fruit the animals spit out seeds which helps speed up the process of producing Argan oil.

These fourteen goats are certainly enjoying a feast after a steep climb.

Moroccan goats are not like normal goats. They climb to the tops of the trees, which measure up to 36 feet tall, using their cloven feet which are well suited for climbing steep places

The fruit's pulp is what attracts the goats to these Argan trees. The farmers encourage the goats to climb the trees as soon as the fruit is ripe.

Southwestern Morocco doesn't get a lot of rain, so sometimes the only food the goats can find is at the tops of the trees

The farmers sometimes help to teach the younger goats how to climb up and get down from the trees
Elliot Rodger, who was 22-years-old when he killed six students near the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2014, is the first 'alt-right killer' in recent years, according to a new report.

The report by the Southern Poverty Law Center counts 13 'alt-right' killers that have left 43 dead and more than 60 injured since 2014.

According to the report, all 13 of the alleged perpetrators shared a common thread, they all participated in the 'far-right ecosystem that defines the alt-right.'

Kelly Hoover, public information officer for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office, told the Sacramento Bee that while she she had not read the report she noted that investigators were aware of Rodger's interest in Nazi figures.

Elliot Rodger was 22-years-old when he killed six students at University of California Santa Barbara in May of 2014. A new report out says he is the first 'alt-right killer' in recent years

Dylann Roof (pictured) was 20-years-old, in June of 2017 when he killed nine members of a black bible study group in South Carolina. The report lists him among the alleged 'alt-right killers'

Christopher Harper Mercer, 26, killed nine people in Roseburg, Oregon in Oct, 2015. Authorities believe Harper-Mercer, was motivated by white supremacist ideas. The Government Accountability Office categorized the Roseburg killings as 'white supremacist' motivated murders

Alexandre Bissonnette, 27, allegedly walked into the Quebec Islamic Cultural Center in February of 2017 during evening prayers and allegedly fired indiscriminately into the crowd of men, women and children. Six men were killed in the deadly attack

'That's something that did come out as part of the investigation,' Hoover said.

A 2015 report by the sheriff's office revealed Rodger's research of Nazis, including some of the main architects of the Holocaust. The report does not mention the alt-right.

'Upon review of the suspect's internet search history, investigators have learned that the suspect was very interested in some of the practices and techniques of the Third Reich,' the sheriff's report said.

'The suspect's in-depth research included information about Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler, two infamous members of the Nazi hierarchy,' the sheriff's report continued.

The report by the Southern Poverty Law Center lists 13 people on its list of what they call 'alt-right killers'

William Edward Atchison, 21, who killed two students in a New Mexico high school on December 7 before taking his own life used the pseudonym of 'Elliot Rodger.'

He also called Rodger the 'supreme gentleman,' a nickname Rodger gave himself that became an alt-right meme, according to the report.

The report also lists Dylann Roof among the 'alt-right killers.' Roof, a white supremacist, was convicted of fatally shooting nine black members of a Bible study class in South Carolina in 2015 when he was 20-years-old.

All of the 13 people listed in the report are males under 30-years-old at the time of the alleged murders, and all were American with the exception of Alexandre Bissonnette, who is Canadian.

According to Poverty Law, some displayed a history of mental illness, but all were active in alt-right communities, either online or in real life.

'White supremacist groups, particularly those considered to be part of the alt-right, are becoming increasingly decentralized' the report says.

The internet has made it easier than ever for those with like minded alt-right tendencies to connect, and disperse information on events.

What once were groups with leaders and membership lists are now social networks organized around propaganda websites, the report says.

'The white nationalist movement's sprawling online presence which metastasized, drawing in more  and at times less stable  adherents. Now, they have moved into the streets,' according to the Law Center.

THE REST OF THE ALT-RIGHT KILLERS

James Alex Fields Jr., 20, was arrested in August, 2017 after ramming his car into a crowd of counter-protesters to an alt-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, killing Heather Heyer, 32

William Atchison, 21, the gunman who killed two students at a New Mexico high school in December of 2017, and then took his own life. Authorities say he used the pseudonym of 'Elliot Rodger' the first 'alt-right killer'

Jeremy Christian, 35 (left) was arrested in May of 2017 after allegedly fatally stabbing to men on a train in a racist attack and Samuel Lincoln Woodward, 20 (right) allegedly killed an Ivy league student Blaze Bernstein, who was gay and Jewish and was reported missing on January 2, 2018 Woodward was a committed neo-Nazi and member of Atomwaffen

Nicholas Giampa, is the youngest on the list. He was 17-years-old when he killed his girlfriend's parents in December of 2017, before turning the gun on himself. According to reports, the parents had facilitated the break-up after learning that Giampa held neo-Nazi beliefs. Giampa was known in the neighborhood as the person who mowed a swastika into a community field

James Harris Jackson , 28 (left) police say in March of 2017 traveled to New York City and fatally stabbed an African-American man in a racially motivated attack, Sean Christopher Urbanski, 22 (right) in May of 2017 was arrested in the stabbing death of a black second lieutenant in the Army, as police are investigating what they say was a racially motivated attack by Urbanski who was a member of alt-right groups
Faiz Siddiqui (pictured outside High Court in London) was seeking a 1m compensation claim from Oxford University because he believed bad tuition and staff shortages were to blame for his lower 2:1 degree and not getting a top lawyer job

An Oxford graduate who tried to sue the university for 'appallingly bad' teaching that cost him a top degree and lucrative legal career has had his 1million compensation claim thrown out.

Faiz Siddiqui, 39, was today told by a High Court judge the tuition he received at Brazenose College was of a 'perfectly adequate standard' and his failure to get a first class degree was more likely to do with a severe bout of hay fever.

Mr Siddiqui had claimed 'boring' tuition and staff being on extended sabbatical leave had meant he only got a lower 2:1 instead of the higher upper second or first he was hoping for.

He maintained this cost him a place on a law course at a top Ivy League university like Yale or Harvard and subsequent high-flying legal career.

But today Mr Justice Foskett ruled Mr Siddiqui's 'inadequate preparation' and 'lack of academic discipline' towards his modern history degree were the reasons he under performed in his June 2000 exams.

The university admitted it had 'difficulties' teaching students like Mr Siddiqui who specialised in Asian history during his final year - because more than half of the faculty teaching staff were on sabbatical leave at the same time.

And Mr Siddiqui said the standard of tuition he received from Professor David Washbrook suffered badly as a result of the 'intolerable' pressure he was under, the court heard.

But the judge described Professor Washbrook as 'an excellent teacher' who manfully 'put his shoulder to the wheel' to make up for staff shortages.

The 39-year-old (pictured) was today told by a High Court judge the tuition he received at Brazenose College was of a 'perfectly adequate standard' and his failure to get a first class degree was more likely to do with a severe bout of hay fever and his 'lack of preparation'

He said the teaching Mr Siddiqui received was 'of a perfectly adequate standard' and his poor result in one paper was more likely to have been caused by his own 'inadequate preparation', a 'lack of academic discipline' or his 'general anxiety about taking exams'.

The judge added a 'severe episode of hay fever' may also have contributed to Mr Sidiqqui's failure to get the grade he wanted.

The judge rejected claims Mr Siddiqui's personal tutor at Brasenose had failed to alert exam authorities that he was suffering from 'insomnia, depression and anxiety' when he sat a paper on the history of imperial India.

While expressing 'sympathy and understanding' for Mr Siddiqui's intermittent bouts of severe depression, the judge said there was no evidence he was suffering from mental health problems when he took his finals.

Mr Siddiqui and his barrister Roger Mallalieu had valued his loss of earnings claim at least 1 million, against the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford

On top of his depression and 'perceived failure' to win a first, there were 'other reasons' for his inability to hold down various jobs since university - let alone the top international commercial lawyer one he dreamed of, the judge added.

Mr Siddiqui and his barrister Roger Mallalieu had valued his loss of earnings claim at least 1 million, against the Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford.

But the judge said: 'Mr Siddiqui does now possess a firmly entrenched belief that his post-Oxford problems lie with what occured here. I have been unable to accept that that is so.

'Mr Siddiqui's claim fails and must be dismissed. I recognise that this will come as a great disappointment to him.

'It is to be hoped that he can re-focus, perhaps lower his expectations at least for the time being and start using his undoubted intelligence to create a worthwhile future for himself.'
Maryland has finally joined most states in allowing impregnated rape victims to deny their attackers parental rights to the fetus, it was reported on Wednesday.

More than 10 years after supporters began pushing for it, Maryland's legislature has decided - with unanimous votes in the Senate and House - to enable impregnated rape victims to ask judges to end the parental rights of their rapists.

Supporters say it has become embarrassing that a state known for its progressive politics is one of the last to adopt such a law.

They also credit a growing sense of female empowerment for making the issue a priority.

'I think we were moving in the direction of getting done this year, period, but I think the #MeToo movement certainly helped,' said Del. Kathleen Dumais, a Democrat who practices family law.

All 188 seats in the General Assembly, where senators and delegates serve simultaneous four-year terms, are on November's ballot. So is the governor's office.

Maryland has finally joined most states in allowing impregnated rape victims to deny their attackers parental rights to the fetus, it was reported on Wednesday [stock photo]

Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, expressed early support and noted during his State of the State speech last week that he would sign it.

Crafted as an emergency bill, it will take effect with his signature, potentially within days.

'Ten years is a milestone number,' said Sen. Cheryl Kagan, a Democrat, adding: 'The fact that it's an election year, I think, can't be minimized.'

The measure will enable a woman who becomes pregnant by her assailant to ask a court to end the attacker's parental rights.

The woman must provide 'clear and convincing' proof that the man raped her.

That is lower than the 'beyond a reasonable doubt' threshold needed for criminal convictions, and some civil liberties-minded lawmakers had opposed the idea for years to avoid revoking the rights of people who have not been criminally convicted.

Dumais said the delay in getting the measure approved was partly because there haven't been enough women on the House and Senate judicial committees.

Women lawmakers now comprise 32 percent of Maryland's legislature, ranking 10th in the nation for female participation, and have never held more than 36 percent of the seats, according to the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

'There were certainly times, particularly in my first few years, that it always seemed like it was the men versus the women on some of these issues, but as I've been on this committee and become more involved in the issues, really what my committee battles with all the time is a balance between victims' rights and due process,' said Dumais.

She has often worked on domestic violence legislation in her 16 years in the assembly, and now serves as vice chair of the House Judiciary Committee.

Del. Joseph Vallario, a Democrat who chairs the committee, said the law will be better now that they've worked out disagreements.

'It was a complicated subject,' Vallario said.

'Each side gave a little bit, and it finally came to a conclusion.'

More than 10 years after supporters began pushing for it, Maryland's legislature (seen in the above stock image) has decided - with unanimous votes in the Senate and House - to enable impregnated rape victims to ask judges to end the parental rights of their rapists

About 45 states and the District of Columbia limit parental rights of rapists, according to the National Conference of State Legislators.

About 30 allow or require the complete termination of rights.

The other states and the District of Columbia deny or restrict some aspect, such as custody or visitation.

Lawmakers came close to approving it last year, but a panel of lawmakers failed to reconcile differences between the House and Senate before that session adjourned. Women made a point of noting that the panel was all-male.

The president of the Senate and the Speaker of the House - also male - 'made it abundantly clear that this was the year that it was going to be a top priority, and it must come out early in the session, so there's no risk of waiting like we did last year until the final minutes before adjournment,' Kagan said.

With unanimous votes in both chambers and more than two months left in the 90-day session, there's ample time for the technical votes needed to put it on Hogan's desk.

Various studies over the last two decades estimate that between 17,000 and 32,000 rape-related pregnancies occur in the United States every year, according to the NCSL.

Studies vary widely on the outcome of such pregnancies, according to an analysis of the bill by the Maryland Department of Legislative Services.

Dumais said 'I don't think there's going to be a flood at the courthouse door of new applications to terminate parental rights,' but it's critical to have a legal mechanism in place for those who need it.
Inmate's victory: Convicted murderer William Cordoba, 57 (pictured) has been awarded $65,000 in damages after a federal jury found that a female prison worker had turned him into her sex slave

A federal jury has awarded $65,000 to a convicted murderer in California's San Quentin State Prison after finding he was turned into a 'sex slave' by a female prison worker.

Inmate William Cordoba sued vocational instructor Silvia Pulido. He claimed the woman coerced him into trading sex acts after promising to get him a lawyer to help him get out of prison.

The 57-year-old said the sexual abuse began in 2010 when he became her clerk.

Cordoba claimed that when he tried to end his relationship with the prison staffer after learning that she was allegedly involved with another prisoner, Pulido retaliated by accusing him of disciplinary violations that put him in solitary confinement for nine months, reported San Francisco Chronicle.

Cordoba argued that the experience left him in need of psychiatric help and in 2012 sued Pulido, alleging cruel and unusual punishment.

The 57-year-old said the sexual abuse began in 2010 when he became a clerk at Silvia Pulidos' office at San Quentin State Prison in California (pictured)

The unusual civil rights case went to trial last month. After six days of testimony, an eight-person jury found for Cordoba, awarding to him more than $15,000 in compensatory damages and $50,000 in punitive damages.

'All people have a right to be free from sexual abuse, that includes women and that includes men, and that doesn't change because the person is incarcerated,' said attorney Julia Allen, who helped represent Cordoba.

Pulido no longer works at the prison. During the trial, her defense lawyer claimed the plaintiff was 'delusional.'

Cordoba is serving a life sentence for a 1981 second-degree murder and robbery in San Francisco.


This is the shocking moment a raging bull used its horn to fling a pushchair through the air during a Spanish festival.

The animal smashed through safety barriers and gored a pram during the 'running of the bulls' event.

Luckily the pushchair was empty when the bull attacked in the streets of Iriepal, in the central Spanish province of Guadalajara, Castilla La Mancha region.

The event was cancelled after the shocking near-miss which was captured on film.

A man is helped by a police officer as he crawls beneath the barrier after the aggressive animal broke through safety barriers during the 'running of the bulls' event

Terrified crowds, including young children, try to flee the scene as the bull whips the empty pushchair into the air using his horn

Mobile phone footage shows how bull got into the spectator area during the event, which had been organised by the local council.

Adults and children can be seen frantically fleeing from the bull as it stomps through the streets.

Onlookers have climbed onto balconies, windowsills and walls to keep a safe distance from the animal.

The bull was eventually brought under control but not before one person suffered a broken arm while attempting to restrain it.

The authorities called the event off, claiming that appropriate safety measures had not been put in place.

Locals were disappointed with the cancellation and some even suggested used their own cars as safety barriers.

Adults and children clambered onto balconies, window sills and walls to keep a safe distance from the animal as it stomped through the streets before being brought under control

Small disturbances were reported after the cancellation with insults about the organisers being shouted in streets.

Local councillor Francisco Ubeda defended the organisation of the event claiming that appropriate safety checks had been made.

Bull runs are held in nearly 16,000 Spanish towns, where streets are cordoned-off to create a path for the animal.

Most years there are reports of deaths at these events which are popular with both locals and tourists.
President Donald Trump is signaling he wants to sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller despite his lawyers urging him he avoid doing so to protect himself.

Mueller's Russia probe has gone on for months, and has already led to charges against two top Trump campaign associates as well as guilty pleas for lying to the FBI.

Trump's lawyers are concerned that the president, who has a history of making false statements during depositions, could get tripped up going toe-to-toe with some of the nation's most seasoned prosecutors

But Trump 'thinks he can work this,' a person familiar with his thinking told CNN. 'He doesn't realize how high the stakes are,' said the person, cautioning against it.

I GOT THIS: President Trump believes he can sit for an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, a close familiar with his thinking is saying

Describing the reality of an FBI interview, the source said: 'You can't get up and walk away. It's not that easy.'

Trump has repeatedly railed against the Russia probe as a 'witch hunt.' But refusing to cooperate has its own political risks, and could imply guilt. Trump has repeatedly said there was 'no collusion,' while also denying any effort to obstruct justice.

As Mueller has made his way through Trump campaign aides and associates, he has used statutes against lying to government investigators to his advantage. Former Trump foreign policy advisor Carter Page, for example, pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with a professor in London who had Kremlin contacts.

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci appeared to be arguing for transparency in an appearance Tuesday on CNN.

'He's basically saying that I'm wide open as a book. I've done absolutely nothing wrong and I'm willing to say so under oath,' former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci told CNN's Jake Tapper Tuesday. 'So again, I still think that that is on the table.'

30 is the new 50: The Washington Post catalogued a 2007 deposition where under questioning by lawyers Trump made 30 false statements by the paper's count, including misstating his ownership stake in a partnership

The New York Times reported that Trump's lawyers are fearful that if the president submits to an interview and takes a wrong step, he could be charged with lying to investigators.

John Dowd, a seasoned Washington defense attorney who was hired last summer to represent Trump in the investigation, wants him to rebuff a Mueller interview request, according to the report.

Dowd believes the special counsel might be unwilling to subpoena the president and set off a showdown with the White House that Mueller could lose in court, reported The Times.

Ty Cobb, the White House lawyer whom Trump also brought on for Mueller's investigation, has argued that the White House should do everything possible to cooperate with the investigation to show transparency

John Dowd, a seasoned Washington defense attorney who was hired last summer to represent Trump in the investigation, wants him to rebuff an interview request. Dowd believes the special counsel might be unwilling to subpoena the president

Marc Kasowitz, the president's longtime personal attorney from New York has also concurred on this matter.

Both Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey and a Trump campaign confidante, and Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and an informal adviser to Trump, echoed that advice.

'The idea of putting Trump in a room with five or six hardened, very clever lawyers, all of whom are trying to trick him and trap him, would be a very, very bad idea,' Gingrich said last month on 'Fox and Friends'.

Trump told reporters last month: 'I'm looking forward to it, actually.'

White House lawyer Ty Cobb has been urging transparency and cooperation, and has provided repeated reassurances to Trump that the probe will end soon.

The Washington Post catalogued a 2007 deposition where under questioning by lawyers Trump made 30 false statements by the paper's count.

Making false statements to FBI investigators can expose the president to criminal charges  although it would have to be settled in the courts whether he could be prosecuted for such a crime while in office.
iStock/Thinkstock(LOS ANGELES) -- Military veterans, parents and students are demanding that a California high school teacher be fired after he told students that the U.S. Armed Forces are for the "lowest of the low."



Hundreds of people packed a school board meeting in Pico Rivera, a suburb of Los Angeles, on Tuesday night to call for the immediate dismissal of history teacher Gregory Salcido, whose classroom rant last month has even caught the attention of the White House.



Well, I think the guy ought to go to hell. I just hope he enjoys the liberties and the lifestyles that we fought for, White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general, said of Salcido during a Fox News Radio interview last week.



Kelly's opinion was echoed at the El Rancho School Board meeting Tuesday night as parents, students and military veterans called the teacher a "bully" who does not belong in a classroom.



"I know you have due process. Do your thing and then shake his ass out of here," Dewey Fisher, a veteran, told the school board.



Robert Mejia, another military veteran, told the board, "To allow him back into the classroom would be to endorse his comments."



Victor Quinonez, a senior at El Rancho High School, secretly recorded the 49-year-old Salcido's anti-military rant in January that he says started when the teacher confronted him in front of his classmates about a Marine shirt he was wearing.



"Why are you wearing that Marine shirt. I thought you were going to college?" Salcido is heard in a series of three videos that were posted on Facebook and have been viewed nearly 8 million times.



Salcido then slams military recruiters, telling the students, "I don't understand why we let the freakin' military guys come over here and recruit you at school. We don't let pimps come into school."



He went on to tell the class that the U.S. military hasn't won a war since World War II, and lambasted presidents, including Barack Obama, for always saying "we have the best military in the world."



"Because we have a bunch of dumbs---- over there," Salcido was recorded saying, interspersing his remarks with profanity. "Think about the people you know who are over there. Your freakin' stupid Uncle Louie or whatever ... They're not like high-level thinkers. They're not academic people. They're not intellectual people. They're the lowest of the low."



And he didn't stop there, telling the class that students who join the military do so "because you have no other options."



"Because you didn't take care of business academically, because your parents didn't love you enough to push you, you didn't love yourself enough to push yourself," he said.



The school district has placed Salcido on paid administrative leave and its legal team is conducting an investigation.



"The District has stepped forward to conduct a full and complete investigation into our professional standards which mandate that the values of students, their parents, and other family members are to be respected in the classroom at all times," school district officials said in a statement.



"Due process requires the District to investigate the facts, decide what action, if any, should be taken based on those facts, and use procedures set forth in law and contract before imposing any discipline," the statement continues. "We are already deeply engaged in that process."



Salcido, who is also a Pico Rivera city councilman, did not respond to phone calls and email from ABC News seeking comment.



"We haven't been able to talk to him either," Pico Rivera Mayor Gustavo Camacho told ABC News on Wednesday. "Myself, my colleagues, staff have all been trying to reach him."



Camacho said Salcido's comments about the military were "offensive and unfortunate."



"I have denounced his comments. I disagree with Mr. Salcido wholeheartedly," Camacho said. "I've removed him from all city committees, which I have the authority to do."



He pointed out that there are two Veterans of Foreign Wars posts and two military auxiliary posts in Pico Rivera, a city of 63,000 residents.



"We're exploring our options on what to do about Mr. Salcido," Camacho said. "There is strong will in the community that Mr. Salcido step down. We're not going to let one individual define our community."



Victor Quinonez, the student who took the videos of Salcido's classroom rant, was among those who addressed the school board Tuesday night.



"Salcido should be fired and his credentials should be taken away because I don't believe students should be hurt anymore and to be scared to go inside his classroom," Victor told ABC station KABC in Los Angeles.



Victor's father, Vincent Quinonez, added that he was "truly disgusted" by Salcido's comments.



"I could not believe that we allow educators to talk to our children like this," he told KABC. "It's just unbelievable."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg believes that the #MeToo movement hasn't gone far enough.

'The question is not if #MeToo has gone too far, but if #MeToo has gone far enough,' Sandberg said on Bloomberg Television.

'Because it can't just be a moment in time, where people raise their voice. These brave women who have raised their voices, they want longstanding change.'

Facebook's Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg (pictured on Tuesday) believes that the #MeToo movement hasn't gone far enough

The #MeToo phrase was created by social activist and community organizer, Tarana Burke (left) in 2006, but Alyssa Milano (right) resurrected the phrase shortly after the numerous sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations came out against Harvey Weinstein

The viral campaign #MeToo has gone global as victims of sexual assault and harassment used the hashtag to share their harrowing experiences online.

Sandberg, who helped propel Facebook to $41billion in revenue last year, called for the need to have the 'right institutional policies' in place to prevent harassment.

'Those policies have to include due process and investigations. Things need to be investigated and swift action needs to be taken and importantly we need to end the culture of complicity,' Sandberg said.

'We're all responsible for what goes on in the workforce,' she added.

Sandberg has been a major advocate for women in leadership roles and in her 2013 best-selling book, Lean In, she gives advice to women on how to succeed in a male-dominated business world.

Most women would probably agree with Sandberg but there is a handful of women who have admitted that they have now grown skeptical of the movement as the number of people speaking out continues to grow.

Sharing their views anonymously via social app Whisper, users from around the world - including a victim of assault - shared their true thoughts on the campaign.

Many confessed they believe the hashtag is a distraction from real women's issues and attention seeking individuals who may overshadow real victims.

The movement began in October after actress-activist Alyssa Milano tweeted: 'If you've been sexually harassed or assaulted write 'me too' as a reply to this tweet.'

The hashtag was tweeted nearly a million times in 48 hours.

Actresses Ashley Judd (left in January) and Rose McGowan (right in February) were two of the first women to come forward

Shortly after, actress Asia Argento (pictured at the Women's March in January) accused the media mogul of rape

Salma Hayek (second from right) accused Weinstein of sexual harassment. Reese Witherspoon also revealed that she was assaulted by a director when she was 16

However, the #MeToo phrase was created by social activist and community organizer, Tarana Burke in 2006 as a part of a grassroots campaign to promote 'empowerment through empathy' among women of color who have experienced sexual abuse, particularly within underprivileged communities.

Milano resurrected the phrase shortly after the numerous sexual harassment and sexual assault allegations came out against Harvey Weinstein.

Actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan were two of the first women to come forward.

Shortly after, actress Asia Argento accused the media mogul of rape.

Then Hollywood A-listers Gwyneth Paltrow, Salma Hayek and Angelina Jolie claimed that they were also harassed by Weinstein early on in their careers.

Reese Witherspoon also revealed that she was assaulted by a director when she was 16.

Following the Weinstein allegations, numerous women, and some men, came forward about alleged sexual harassment incidents in Hollywood.

Former Today host, Matt Lauer, music mogul Russell Simmons and former CBS anchor and TV legend Charlie Rose were all accused of sexual harassment. All were either fired or forced to step down from their positions.

Kill Bill actress Uma Thurman most recently claimed that Weinstein tried to sexually assault her in a London hotel room.

Following the Weinstein (pictured) allegations, numerous women, and some men, came forward about alleged sexual harassment incidents in Hollywood

Former Today host, Matt Lauer and music mogul, Russell Simmons, were both accused of sexual harassment
Justin Trudeau said today he was just joking when he interrupted a woman to tell her to use the term 'peoplekind' instead of 'mankind' during a Q&A session.

'You all know that I don't necessarily have the best of track records on jokes. I made a dumb joke a few days ago that seems to have gone a little viral,' Trudeau told reporters on Wednesday, as he boarded a plane in Ottawa to begin his US tour.

'It played well in the room and in context. Out of context it doesn't play so well and it's a little reminder to me that I shouldn't be making jokes even when I think they're funny.'

Trudeau, who is embarking on a four-day US tour with the first stop in Chicago to discuss how public service can strengthen ties between the two countries, faced criticism yesterday after he interrupted a woman during a Q&A session.

Justin Trudeau told reporters, as he boarded a plane in Ottawa to begin his US tour (pictured) that he was just joking when he made his 'peoplekind' comment

The Canadian Prime Minister was hosting a Q&A at MacEwan University in Edmonton on Thursday, when Aimee Forestier, from the World Mission Society Church of God, a controversial feminist church founded in South Korea, stood to ask a question about volunteering.

Canadian regulations place restrictions on volunteering with religious organizations, and the young woman wanted Trudeau to make it easier for her church to do volunteer work.

'We have received the Queen's Award in the UK, we have received many awards,' she said. 'We have received many awards, however, unfortunately in Canada, our volunteering as a religious charitable organization is extremely difficult.

'We came here today to ask you to also look into the policies that religious charitable organizations have in our legislations so that it can also be changed because maternal love is the love that's going to change the future of mankind.'

At this point, Trudeau interrupted her and said: 'We like to say peoplekind, not necessarily mankind 'cause it's more inclusive.'

Justin Trudeau told the woman that 'peoplekind' was more inclusive at a town hall event in Edmonton on Thursday

The Canadian Prime Minister made the comment while hosting a Q&A at MacEwan University in Edmonton on Thursday

'There you go!' Aimee responded, as the audience broke into applause.

'We can all learn from each other,' Trudeau added.

Aimee insists she wasn't offended by the comments, telling DailyMail.com: 'It wasn't negative. Did it look like I was bothered by it?'

But although Trudeau's comment was well-received at the town hall, on Twitter, it elicited a flurry of criticism accusing him of mansplaining and taking political correctness a step too far.

'Is Justin Trudeau mansplaining feminism?' wrote one Twitter user, while another added: 'That's one woke himbo.'

Ben McDonald wrote: 'Justin Trudeau correcting a girl for saying 'mankind' is truly amazing.'

'Justin Trudeau is what would happen if the song 'Imagine' took human form and then ate a Tide Pod,' mocked Ben Shapiro.

Trudeau doesn't have a great track record with making jokes, which conservative critics often seize upon as proof that the 46-year-old lacks the gravitas needed to be a national leader.

On Twitter, Trudeau's comment elicited a flurry of criticism as well as jokes at his expense

In his first public remarks after a devastating wildfire ripped through an Albertan oil-producing region in 2016, he began with a quip about the 'Star Wars' movie franchise.

WHAT IS THE WORLD MISSION SOCIETY CHURCH OF GOD? The World Mission Society of God was founded in South Korea in 1964 and believes in both God the Father and God the Mother. Volunteering is also very important to its members. It's come under fire in recent years, with former members branding it a 'profit-making cult' although the church strongly refuted the claims, calling them 'religious intolerance'. Advertisement

In October 2014, when he was still in opposition, Trudeau criticized the then Conservative government for joining the coalition against Islamic State. He said humanitarian aid was better than 'trying to whip out our (fighter jets) and show them how big they are'.

The Canadian prime minister is expected to appear Wednesday afternoon at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics for a conversation with its founder and director, David Axelrod, who was once an adviser to former President Barack Obama.

Trudeau is also expected to meet with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

After Chicago, he's scheduled to stop in San Francisco, where he's set to meet with local business leaders and entrepreneurs, and Los Angeles, where he'll speak at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute.

The visit comes as talks to rewrite the North American Free Trade Agreement are underway.

Some accused the Prime Minister of mansplaining and taking political correctness too far
Summer Thyme Creel, 34, of Oklahoma, underwent a sterilization procedure in November, five months after a federal judge told her he might consider her decision in her sentencing

An Oklahoma mom-of-seven has undergone an elective sterilization procedure after a federal judge said that he would factor her decision to do so into sentencing her in a counterfeit check case.

Summer Thyme Creel, 34, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, received the sterilization procedure in November, after being told by US District Judge Stephen Friot in June that if she went through with it, he might factor it into her sentencing, according to NewsOK.

It was revealed she underwent the procedure ahead of her sentencing in an Oklahoma City federal court on Thursday.

Creel - a mother of seven children from different men and an admitted drug user - has already given up the parental rights to six of her kids after a 2012 Oklahoma Department of Human Services investigation showed that she had failed to adequately protect her children from harm.

Creel has a lengthy rap sheet, including theft and counterfeit check writing charges. In 2016, she pleaded guilty to a single count in a federal grand jury indictment for her participation in an alleged counterfeit ring that used information stolen from mailboxes for actions including fraudulently making purchases at stores.

Creed pleaded guilty to having used a $202.22 counterfeit check at a Walmart in Moore, Oklahoma, in 2014.

In 2016, Creel pleaded guilty in a federal grand jury indictment for her participation in an alleged counterfeit ring that used information stolen from mailboxes

After a 2012 Oklahoma Department of Human Services investigation, Creel gave up parental rights to six of her seven children. Her seventh child was born in 2016

Her seventh child was born four years after the investigation.

Friot also noted that Creel had likely partaken of crack cocaine and methamphetamine while she was pregnant with at least some of her children.

In June, US District Judge Stephen Friot noted that Creel had given up parental rights to six of her seven children and was an admitted drug user who likely used while she was pregnant

At the time, Friot wrote that Creel could, if she chose to, 'present medical evidence to the court establishing that she has been rendered incapable of procreation' and that he can take into consideration any information about her background, character and actions during her sentencing.

Creel's defense attorney, Brett Behenna, said that after speaking with Creel at length about the sterilization decision, 'she voluntarily wanted to do it'.

A prosecutor, however, is urging Friot not to give any positive weight to her sterilization when sentencing her.

In a memo, Assistant US Attorney Jessica Perry told Jude Friot that Creel had expressed an interest in being sterilized prior to the judge's statement.

Perry also noted that Creel's decision to undergo sterilization was irrelevant to any sentencing decisions because having more children has no relationship to the nature of the crimes that she was charged with.
The United States' surging production of crude oil is now making it a seller of petroleum in the Middle East.

The United Arab Emirates bought oil directly from the US in December of last year, Bloomberg News reported.

A tanker carrying very light crude oil set sail from Houston to the Persian Gulf last month.

Abu Dhabi reportedly decided on the purchase of 700,000 barrels of light domestic crude because of the high quality of American condensate, which is more suitable to the Arab nation's refineries.

But this isn't the first time the unlikely scenario of America selling oil to the oil-rich Middle East has happened - it also occurred a few months earlier when the US sold oil to Abu Dhabi.

In July, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) bought a shipment of American condensate, which was delivered in September.

In the last three years, the US has seen huge growth in the production of shale, particularly after the federal government decided in 2015 to end the ban on US exports of crude oil.

Surging shale production is poised to push US oil output to more than 10 million barrels per day - toppling a record set in 1970 and crossing a threshold few could have imagined even a decade ago

This has led to a sharp increase in the amount of petroleum that America sells abroad.

In 2013, the US shipped just over 100,000 barrels a day.

This past November, American firms exported 1.53 million barrels a day.

The US now exports up to 1.7 million barrels per day of crude, and this year will have the capacity to export 3.8 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.

Terminals conceived for importing liquefied natural gas have now been overhauled to allow exports.

Surging shale production is poised to push US oil output to more than 10 million barrels per day - toppling a record set in 1970 and crossing a threshold few could have imagined even a decade ago.

And this new record, expected within days, likely won't last long.

The US government forecasts that the nation's production will climb to 11 million barrels a day by late 2019, a level that would rival Russia, the world's top producer.

The economic and political impacts of soaring US output are breathtaking, cutting the nation's oil imports by a fifth over a decade, providing high-paying jobs in rural communities and lowering consumer prices for domestic gasoline by 37 percent from a 2008 peak.

Fears of dire energy shortages that gripped the country in the 1970s have been replaced by a presidential policy of global 'energy dominance.'

'It has had incredibly positive impacts for the US economy, for the workforce and even our reduced carbon footprint' as shale natural gas has displaced coal at power plants, said John England, head of consultancy Deloitte's US energy and resources practice.

A tanker carrying very light crude oil set sail from Houston to the Persian Gulf nation of the United Arab Emirates last month. The image above shows a deepwater oil and gas field near Ingleside, Texas in May 2017

US energy exports now compete with Middle East oil for buyers in Asia.

Daily trading volumes of US oil futures contracts have more doubled in the past decade, averaging more than 1.2 billion barrels per day in 2017, according to exchange operator CME Group.

The US oil price benchmark, West Texas Intermediate crude, is now watched closely worldwide by foreign customers of US gasoline, diesel and crude.

The question of whether the shale sector can continue at this pace remains an open debate.

The rapid growth has stirred concerns that the industry is already peaking and that production forecasts are too optimistic.

The costs of labor and contracted services have recently risen sharply in the most active oilfields; drillable land prices have soared; and some shale financiers are calling on producers to focus on improving short-term returns rather than expanding drilling.

But US producers have already far outpaced expectations and overcome serious challenges, including the recent effort by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to sink shale firms by flooding global markets with oil.

The cartel of oil-producing nations backed down in November 2016 and enacted production cuts amid pressure from their own members over low prices - which had plunged to below $27 earlier that year from more than $100 a barrel in 2014.

Shale producers won the price war through aggressive cost-cutting and rapid advances in drilling technology.

Oil now trades above $64 a barrel, enough for many US producers to finance both expanded drilling and dividends for shareholders.
A Southwest Airlines jet slid on a taxiway while preparing to take off from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport on Wednesday, but no injuries were reported, officials said.

The incident happened shortly after 10 a.m. Eastern and involved Southwest Flight 906, a Boeing 737 bound for Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The aircraft remained on the pavement, according to officials with the airport and the Federal Aviation Administration.

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A Southwest Airlines jet slid on a taxiway while preparing to take off from Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport on Wednesday, but no injuries were reported

Light, freezing rain was reported at the airport early on Wednesday by The National Weather Service.

But airport spokesman Jonathan Dean said airfield pavement temperatures were above freezing at the time of the accident.

Dean added that 75 flights had departed earlier in the day from the same runway Flight 906 was using when it slid on its way to the runway.

Crew are seen here at left preparing to unload passengers from Flight 906; Passenger are seen here at right deplaning after the airplane slide on the taxiway at BWI Airport on Wednesday

The incident happened shortly after 10 a.m. Eastern and involved Southwest Flight 906, a Boeing 737 bound for Montego Bay, Jamaica

'The pavement surface condition was tested immediately following the incident,' Dean said in an email.

'The pavement condition tested within FAA standards.'

This comes as Winter Storm Liam has brought a mix of snow, sleet, ice and rain to the northeast.

Airport crew are seen here helping passengers board a bus back to the terminal

Nearly 80 flights had departed earlier in the day from the same runway Flight 906 was using when it slid on its way to the runway

Freezing rain had accumulated up to nearly one-quarter inch in western Maryland on Wednesday, The Weather Channel reported

Freezing rain had accumulated up to nearly one-quarter inch in western Maryland on Wednesday, as well as in northern West Virginia, southwestern Pennsylvania, around the Cincinnati metro area, and in other parts of southern and eastern Ohio, The Weather Channel reported.

A small amount of ice accumulation was also reported on elevated surfaces in parts of Washington, DC, New York City, Philadelphia metro areas, and in Harrisburg, Reading and Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Wednesday morning.

It wasn't just ice, either, making a mess of things on the east coast.

Parts of New York and Pennsylvania saw nearly 9 inches of snow by late Wednesday afternoon, while parts of Ohio and Vermont saw 7 inches, or slightly more.

Parts of New York and Pennsylvania saw nearly 9 inches of snow by late Wednesday afternoon, while parts of Ohio and Vermont saw 7 inches, or slightly more

BWI Airport officials tweeted that there were no reported injuries resulting from the incident

The 143 passengers and six crew members aboard Flight 906 out of BWI on Wednesday morning safely climbed down stairs and were bussed to the airport terminal

The 143 passengers and six crew members aboard Flight 906 out of BWI on Wednesday morning safely climbed down stairs and were bussed to the airport terminal following the incident, Southwest officials said.

Passengers were to be accommodated on a different aircraft and were scheduled to arrive in Montego Bay about three hours behind schedule, the airline said.

The incident remains under investigation.
A prestigious flute professor and flutist from Ohio has been accused of inappropriately touching his female students, sending them explicit text messages and photos of his genitals and secretly recording himself having sex with them in his classroom.

Bradley Garner was at the center of an investigation by the University of Cincinnati in October 2016 after two students reported that they had been sexually harassed by the 61-year-old professor.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the school's investigation revealed that Garner made 'unwanted sexual advances and verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature' with the students and created a 'hostile environment' in the classroom by engaging in 'severe, persistent or pervasive' conduct.

Bradley Garner, who taught a flute class at the University of Cincinnati, is accused of sexually harassing several female students

The 61-year-old flutist is said to have kissed and inappropriately touched students. An investigation by the school alleges that Garner also sent sexually explicit messages to students including photos of his genitals

The allegations against Garner date back to the 1990s, the University of Cincinnati said

Garner retired from the school in December before he could be fired

The allegations date back to the 1990s.

The school said that nine students accused Garner of kissing them, touching them inappropriately and sending them explicit text messages. A former professor who was interviewed by investigators alleged that Garner had sex with two students on school property.

One student told school investigators that Garner allegedly smacked her on the butt during class as she bent down to pick up her flute. When she stood up, he asked her to bend down again.

One student alleged that Garner slapped her on the butt during class as she bent down to pick up her flute

Another victim said Garner would text students sexually explicit messages and would send pictures of his genitals. When a student would have a negative reaction to receiving the message, Garner would apologize claiming the X-rated photo was an accident and meant for his wife.

Garner, who retired from the University of Cincinnati in December before he could be fired, denied the allegations in a sworn affidavit sent to the school.

'The report shook me to my core,' Garner wrote , according to the Enquirer. 'I have never struck any student on the buttocks  I have never kissed (name retracted) inappropriately  I have never discussed my sexual life with (name retracted) nor have I made any sexual comments to her.'

The school's investigation also found that Garner allegedly set up hidden cameras in his classroom and would secretly film himself having sex with students. Former professor Randy Bowman told investigators Garner showed him videos of himself engaging in sexual activity with two students.

Garner also allegedly hid cameras in his classroom and secretly filmed himself having sex with students. A former University of Cincinnati professor told investigators that Garner had a sexual relationship with at least six girls at the school

Garner has denied the allegations writing in a sworn affidavit that the school's investigation into false reports turned into a 'rumor-seeking witch hunt'

Garner also taught at Julliard's Pre-College. A spokesman said he was employed at the school up until June

Bowman also said that Garner was having sex with at least six girls at the school. He told the Enquirer he never reported the relationships because he thought they were consensual.

'I was in a quandary as to what I should do,' Bowman said. 'I'm relieved in a way that it's all come out.'

In response, Garner told the school that its investigation into the allegations turned into a 'witch hunt'.

'What should have been a simple investigation into false statements by two students instead turned into a wide-ranging, rumor-seeking, undisciplined witch hunt,' he wrote in the affidavit.

The University of Cincinnati did not release the identities of the students who reported Garner but said the former professor seemed to target Asian women and younger girls, some who were under 18. Investigators also said students did not report Garner because they were afraid.

One student, who graduated from the school's music program in 2016, told the Enquirer that Garner 'could trash your career' if you got on his bad side.

'He makes the girls in the studio feel extremely uncomfortable and sexualized,' she said.

The victim, who did not want to be identified, said whenever she would have a one-on-one lesson with Garner he would try to kiss her.

Besides working at the University of Cincinnati, Garner worked with students, some minors, at Julliard Pre-College in New York and the Wildacres Flute Retreat in North Carolina.

A spokesman for Julliard said Garner was employed at the school up until June.
The younger sister of Sharon Tate has spoken out against a new film about her sister's 1969 murder.

In an interview with People, Tate calls the film, The Haunting of Sharon Tate, which stars Hilary Duff as Debra's famous sister, Sharon, 'classless' and 'exploitative.'

She was 26 when she was brutally murdered by Charles Manson's followers.

Sharon (left), was eight months pregnant when she was tortured and murdered at the age of 26, was one of the victims of the Manson Family. Hillary Duff, right, portrays her in a new film

Debra Tate, sister of slain actress Sharon Tate says the new films about her sister's death is 'tacky' and 'tasteless'

Younger sister, Debra was 16 at the time the actress and model was murdered.

'It doesn't matter who it is acting in it  it's just tasteless,' Tate said. 'It's classless how everyone is rushing to release something for the 50th anniversary of this horrific event,' she explained.

Duff, 31, announced on her Instagram that she portrays the late actress who was the victim of one of America's most gruesome crimes.

'Had the incredible opportunity of playing Sharon Tate the past two weeks in an independent movie. She was an amazing woman and it was a true honor,' Duff captioned a recent Instagram photo of herself in full Sharon Tate hair and makeup

But Tate's young sibling also said that she had other issues with the film including a dream sequence where Sharon had a premonition that she and her celebrity hairstylist ex-boyfriend, Jay Sebring, would die after having their throats slit - an eerie similarity to how their actual deaths occurred.

The dream is used in the film to set up the murders as the premise for the film.

The couple: At the time of her murder, Sharon was at the home she shared with her husband Roman Polanski, with whom she is pictured in 1968 at their wedding in London

The lady herself: Hilary referred to Sharon Tate (pictured) as 'an amazing woman' on Instagram

Tate didn't hold back as she called the dream fabricated and 'tacky.'

'I know for a fact she did not have a premonition  awake or in a dream  that she and Jay would have their throat cut,' she said to People. 'I checked with all of her living friends. None of her friends had any knowledge of this. Tacky, tacky, tacky. It's a total fabrication.'

In 1970, one Daniel Kleiner - writing in a splashy paranormal-themed magazine called Fate - claimed that he had spoken to Sharon in 1968 and that she had told him all about a 'psychic experience' she had undergone.

This included her having a dreamlike vision of a ghost and of someone - either her or Jay - 'tied to the staircase' and 'cut open at the throat,' as Daniel quoted Sharon.

The new movie was apparently influenced by this magazine which which was 'an interview published a year before her death, wherein she reveals having dreams about ghosts haunting her house and foreseeing her own death at the hands of a satanic cult.'

Debra also complains that nobody from the production contacted her to ask for advice or for her opinions on the gruesome tale: 'It would have been nice if someone had contacted me,' she said, explaining that she owns the rights to her sister's likeness.

Sharon's friends who had dinner with the actress prior to the murders, were also killed at the house she shared with director Roman Polanski.

Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski and Steven Parent were found stabbed to death along with the young actress, who was married to Polanski.

Tate was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with their first child when she was killed.

Manson Family members Charles 'Tex' Watson, Susan Atkins and Patricia Krenwinkel butchered Sharon at LA s home in August 1969 - leaving the word 'PIG' scrawled on the front door in Sharon's blood.

After being convicted of the murders, Manson was sent to California's Corcoran State Prison to serve time for nine life sentences.

Charles Manson himself served life in prison and only died this past November, exactly a week after his 83rd birthday.

Debra Tate said on the day of Manson's death she received a call from the prison to inform her of the news. 'I said a prayer for his soul.'
Two skiers who went missing overnight in the Scottish mountains survived sub-zero temperatures by huddling together in a snow hole as they waited to be rescued.

Footage shows the incredible moment the two men, both in their late 40s, were spotted by mountain rescue teams on the Cairngorm plateau at 8am today.

The alarm was raised after one text his wife begging her to call the emergency services at 8.30pm yesterday.

An operation was put into action at 9pm, with rescue teams searching far and wide until 3.45am.

The hunt resumed at 6am with the help of the RAF and neighbouring search teams, two hours before they were finally airlifted to safety.

Two cross country skiers were rescued by a mountain rescue team in the Cairngorms this morning after getting lost in poor visibility late yesterday. Pictured is a member of the rescue team in a snow-covered all-terrain vehicle

All-terrain vehicles (pictured) battled to get as far up the mountain as they could last night

The cross country skiers got lost in poor visibility south of Ben Macdui as they fought their way across the peak.

They managed to dig a small snow hole just below the 4,295ft summit where they braved -10C (14F) by huddling together for warmth.

Four members of Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) searched tirelessly until the early hours when they forced to retire.

At 6am their colleagues, accompanied by rescue teams from Braemar and RAF Lossiemouth got back to work.

Two hours later they were finally spotted by an Inverness coastguard helicopter and airlifted to safety at Glenmore Lodge, near Aviemore.

Willie Anderson, leader of the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team, said the men were experienced and suitably equipped.

Astounding footage (pictured) shows the moment the two men, both in their late 40s, were spotted by mountain rescue teams on the Cairngorm plateau at 8am today

One (pictured from above) managed to text his wife asking her to call the emergency services

Their route appeared to have followed the path coming up from Loch Etchachan, reached from Loch Avon.

Mr Anderson said: 'The ski tourers got caught out by the weather. The visibility deteriorated and it got dark.

'One texted his wife at 8.30pm to say to contact the emergency services.

HOW TWO MEN SURVIVED SUB-ZERO TEMPERATURES FOR OVER 12 HOURS Yesterday just after 8.30pm the Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) were alerted to two men, believed to be in their late 40s, stranded somewhere in the Scottish mountain range. One of the men had text his wife asking her to call the emergency services. Four members of Cairngorm MRT were dispatched and worked tirelessly in difficult conditions from 9pm to 3.45am trying to find them. After they were forced to retire, they were replaced at 6am by other rescuers from Cairngorm, Braemar and RAF Lossiemouth. Two hours later an Inverness coastguard helicopter spotted the men south of the Ben Macdui summit. While they were missing they fought desperately to survive bitter temperatures as low as -10C (14F) by digging a small hole beneath the 4,295ft where they huddled together for warmth. Advertisement

'They dug a small hole in the snow - a few feet wide - but it was enough to help them survive the conditions and keep warm. It was easily -10C there last night - easily.

'They were experienced, had all the right equipment, and did the right thing.

'One of them had done the route before.

'They huddled together and kept warm and survived the night.

'They were fine when they were airlifted by the helicopter to our base.

'We gave them a cup of tea to warm them up.

'But they did not need any medical treatment. They certainly have had a night to remember.'

The team posted on Facebook: 'A happy conclusion this morning with yesterdays Navigationally challenged ski tourers located after a cold night out in a snow hole on the Plateau. Picked up by R951 this morning.

'Both CMRT, R951 & Glenmore Lodge team members were out until the early hours searching the plateau in poor visibility and difficult deep snow underfoot conditions after leaving our Can Am at the summit of Cairngorm.

'Search resumed at first light with CMRT, Glenmore Lodge, Braemar, RAF Lossiemouth teams and R951, casualties located South of Ben Macdui summit.'

Last month two skiers were airlifted to safety after being discovered in a 'precarious position' on a similar Highland mountain ridge.

The pair had survived a night without shelter in sub-zero temperatures after becoming stuck at 3,000 ft at Bidean nam Bian in Glen Coe.

The cross country skiers got lost in poor visibility as they fought their way across the peak (Cairngorms pictured)

They managed to dig a small snow hole just below the 4,295ft summit (pictured) where they braved -10C (14F) by huddling together for warmth

A map shows where the two men got lost and had to huddle together for warmth as they waited for hours to be rescued

Blizzard conditions prevented a mountain rescue team from reaching them after they raised the alarm on January 19.

They were finally winched to safety by a HM Coastguard helicopter at about 8.30am the next day.

Both men were taken to Torlundy, Fort William, before being handed over to the Scottish Ambulance Service.

In a statement at the time, HM Coastguard urged people not to put themselves in any 'unnecessary danger' if they venture into the mountains.

'Remember to be prepared, UK mountains should not be underestimated as they can be unforgiving for even the most experienced people,' it added.

'Severe weather conditions could mean a change in your environment within minutes and navigation could be difficult.

They managed to dig a small snow hole just below the 4,295ft summit where they braved -10C (14F) by huddling together for warmth as they waited for the Inverness coastguard helicopter (pictured)

'White-out snow conditions could also make paths and tracks dangerously impassable.'

Meanwhile a hill walker is still missing on Ben Nevis, the UK's highest mountain.

He is believed to be buried under avalanche debris.

The man fell through a cornice, an overhanging ledge of snow, into Observatory Gully below on January 21.

Rescuers were able reach two other men who were with him, but bad weather and avalanches on the day and since have limited searches for the missing man.

Members of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team have been checking Observatory Gully whenever conditions have allowed.

Lochaber MRT said some of the ice blocks involved were the size of household fridges, and in some places the debris was of a depth of up 49ft (15m).
A neighbor who walked in on a frat boy eating his neighbors' faces after he had stabbed them to death has retraced his steps in the garage where they were savaged as part of the young man's trial.

On August 15, 2016, John Stevens, 59, and Michelle Mishcon, 53, were stabbed to death by 21-year-old Austin Harrouff in a random attack at their home in Tequesta, Florida.

The couple's neighbor Jeffrey Fisher witnessed the attack and confronted the crazed attacker after hearing screams coming from the house.

What drove the him to carry out the grisly killings, which were some of the most gruesome in recent history, remains unclear.

Austin Harrouff was found by eating Michelle Mishcon and John Stevens (right together) in the garage of their home in Tequesta, Florida, in 2016

Jeffrey Fisher, a neighbor of the murdered couple, walked into their garage to find Harrouff mauling them. He is shown above reliving it for prosecutors in the very garage where it happened, gesturing to the spot on the ground where he found Harrouff standing over Michelle

It was suggested at first that he may have been high on flakka or bath salts because the substances had been linked to other murders in the area that had similarly gory details.

He was tearing his cheek like a dog

A toxicology report however found neither of those things in Harrouff's system.

He had a small amount of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but others were from drugs he was given in hospital after he was arrested.

He remains in custody awaiting trial for the killings. Last year, he entered a not guilty plea and his lawyers filed an intent to use an insanity defense.

They admit that he carried out the killings but say he should not be held responsible for them because he was not in control of his behavior at the time.

As part of the prosecution's case, they asked Fisher to go on camera and retrace his steps on the night of the killing.

Fisher is shown pointing to where Harrouff had been mauling the woman. His face was not shown in the video which prosecutors will submit as evidence

Fisher fought with the attacker then ran past him, into the house to run through it and get back onto the street

He is seen in a video which was released on Wednesday by TCPalm standing where he did on the night of the attack when he first approached the house after seeing Harrouff throw Michele to the ground.

'He was standing sort of like this and I actually saw Michelle laying here.

'I got to be right there. He turned, looked at me and said: "You want no part of this, you want no part of me. One of the two. Then, from his right hand, swung,' he said.

The pair then fought or, as Fisher described it, 'pitter patter'.

'It's not like we were going toe to toe. He was flinging and I was blocking,' he said, explaining how he blocked the man's blows.

He then brought Harrouff to the ground.

Sheriff's deputy Wayne Trocan was one of the officers who responded to the attack. He demonstrated how he arrived to find Harrouff straddling Stevens, attacking him

Trocan kicked the man several times in the head to get him off his victim. He also tasered him and had a dog bite his arm but it took several attempts to break his grip

Harrouff was found with some of his victim's flesh still in his teeth. He was taken to hospital in restraints. The former University of Florida student is pictured immediately after he was arrested

According to police, Harrouff told them he'd been 'eating humans' when he was arrested and begged to be killed

Harrouff spent seven weeks in the hospital after the attack. He had no bath salts of flakka in his system as had been suspected but had small traces of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana

'I was able to get a hold of his shirt and yanked him. He lost his balance and went down to the ground right there face first.'

Fisher ran out of the garage through the door which connected the house to it. He then went back out front and tried to catch his breath and heard screaming from inside the garage, presumably from Michelle.

'The words were not making sense,' he said.

He then watched from the front of his property as police arrived.

Martin County Deputy Wayne Trocan was one of the first on the scene.

He arrived to find Harrouff straddling Stevens in the driveway, a few yards from where he had just attacked his knife.

There was a large trail of blood in the driveway, he said.

'He was growling,' Trocan told investigators as he recalled the noises Harrouff was making.

He had his fingers in Stevens' mouth and was pulling it to one side 'like a fish hook'.

The knife that was used in the attack. When police found Stevens, he had been so badly savaged that his ribs were exposed

This was the scene inside the couple's home after the attack. A trail of blood led through the kitchen. It is not clear whose blood it is

This was found in Harrouff's possessions afterwards. His lawyers say he suffered a 'psychotic episode' and was not in control of his behavior

Harrouff is a former student of the University of Florida

Trocan kicked him several times in the head and used a taser to try to get him off of the victim but it nothing to stop his rampage.

Stevens, who was still alive at this point, whimpered: 'Help me! Get him off!'

He even brought in a dog which bit Harrouff's arm but he brushed the animal off.

'The dog grabbed his arm and pulled it back but he ripped it out of the dog's mouth,' he said.

What finally tore him off the victim was one of 10 kicks to the head which sent it 'swinging back, off his shoulder.'

It caused his arm to fly back, giving Trocan the opportunity to handcuff him.

'I smacked the cuff on his hand and I dragged him to about here,' he explained.

Deputy Trocan revealed that one of his colleagues, a female police officer, was standing over Harrouff as he fought with Stevens and wanted to shoot him but could not get a clear enough shot.

'I didnt want [her] taking a shot, the way he was grappled up into him, there was no good shot.

'It would have went into him, into the victim.'

Mischon and Stevens both died of their injuries. They did not know Harrouff

Harrouff is shown in a recent court appearance. His lawyers are arguing an insanity defense. Picture courtesy of WPTV

By the time they pulled him off of Stevens, he had been so badly stabbed they could see his ribs and Harrouff was chewing on his cheek, 'tearing like a dog.'

Harrouff's lawyers filed papers in court in December which claimed he was suffering from a 'full blown psychotic episode' when he launched the attack.

They are asking that he should not be convicted of murder.

The former student gave a tearful interview to Dr. Phil while he was still in hospital recovering from injuries he sustained during his rampage.

He said he was not a bad person and did not mean to carry out the killings.

It was previously reported that after he told police he had been 'eating humans' when he was arrested and begged them to kill him.

Harrouff's trial date is not known but lawyers are in the discovery process, which is why the videos were released this week.

His parents have since told how he was behaving strangely for weeks before the attack but that they thought he would 'snap out of it'.
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis backed off military action against North Korea on Wednesday ahead of the opening session of the Winter Olympics just across the border in Pyeongchang.

'This is firmly in the diplomatic lane,' he said from the White House podium.

Vice President Mike Pence is representing the United States in South Korea this week. He and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have each signaled their openness to talks with representatives of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un while Pence is on the continent.

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U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis backed off military action against North Korea on Wednesday ahead of the opening session of the Winter Olympics just across the border in Pyeongchang

Vice President Mike Pence is representing the United States in South Korea this week (left). Pence (left, today in Japan) and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (right, yesterday in Columbia) have each signaled their openness to talks with representatives of North Korea while the VP is on the continent

The proximity of Pyeongchang Games has led to an easing in tensions between South Korea and North Korea and North Korea and the United States.

North Korea has not conducted any nuclear or missile tests in 2018, and a hotline between the Koreas reopened just after the New Year holiday.

The two countries will march under one, united flag at the Opening Ceremony of Winter Olympics this Friday and the border nations will compete as one team in the women's ice hockey division.

Kim Jong-un, in a surprise move, was said on Wednesday to be sending his sister, Kim Yo Jong, to cheer on North Korea's Olympic teams at the international sporting competition.

The move mirrors a White House announcement that the president's daughter, Ivanka Trump, would represent the U.S. at the games' Closing Ceremony.

President Trump said Friday that he believes it's a 'good thing, not a bad thing' that the Olympics put North and Korea back on speaking terms. 'And after that, who knows,' he said.

'You know, we ran out of road,' the president assessed during an Oval Office meet-and-greet with North Korean defectors. 'The road really ended. They couldve done it 12 years ago. They could have done it 20 years ago. They couldve done it four years ago and two years ago. We have no road left.'

Kim Jong-un, in a surprise move, was said on Wednesday to be sending his sister, Kim Yo Jong, to cheer on North Korea's Olympic teams at the international sporting competition

Trump indicated that he was waiting until the Winter Games were over until to make a decision on North Korea.

'Well see what happens. But, in the meantime, well get through the Olympics and maybe something good can come out of the Olympics. Who knows,' he said.

Pence told reporters on Monday that his trip to South Korea was double-sided.

On one hand, he said he would be present for the Olympic Games to cheer on American athletes. But it is also his intention, the vice president said, 'to make sure that North Korea doesnt use the powerful symbolism and the backdrop of the Winter Olympics to paper over the truth about their regime.'

'Well be telling the truth about North Korea at every stop. Well be ensuring that whatever cooperation thats existing between North and South Korea today on Olympic teams does not cloud the reality of a regime that must continue to be isolated by the world community and it must be brought to a place where it ends its provocations and ends its development and possession of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile weapons,' Pence stated.

At a press avail earlier in the day on Monday in Peru, a reporter had asked Tillerson whether the period of calm was enough for direct talks with North Korea to begin  maybe even this week while Pence is on the Korean Peninsula.

'Well, with respect to the Vice Presidents trip to the Olympics and whether or not there would be an opportunity for any kind of a meeting with North Korea, I think well just see. Well see what happens,' he said.

The proximity of Pyeongchang Games has led to an easing in tensions between South Korea and North Korea and North Korea and the United States

North Korean cheerleaders arrive at a rest stop, or service station, as their bus convoy carrying a 280-member delegation on its way to the 2018 Pyeongchang winter Olympic games, makes its way past Gapyeong on Wednesday

President Trump said Friday that he believes it's a 'good thing, not a bad thing' that the Olympics put North and Korea back on speaking terms. 'And after that, who knows,' he said

Pence offered a similar response when he was subsequently asked about talks by his traveling press during a refueling stop in Anchorage.

'With regard to any interaction with the North Korean delegation, I have not requested a meeting. But well see what happens,' he said.

Mattis told White House reporters Wednesday that the vice president is 'quite capable of making the call' on talks while he's in Korea.

'As far as the situation with Korea, it is firmly in the diplomatic lane. We have seen much stronger diplomatic action,' the Pentagon chief said during a news conference at 1600 Penn.

The United States' top military general pointed to three unanimous United Nations Security Council resolutions punishing North Korea for its illicit development of nuclear weapons.

'How often do you see France and Russia...China and the United States, Great Britain all voting -- and other countries -- all voting unanimously?' Mattis stated. 'I think that makes it very clear this is firmly in the diplomatic lane.'

He was quick to add that the Pentagon was 'of course' backing up Tillerson's 'foreign policy efforts, as guided by the president, with viable military options.'

On Wednesday in Japan, Pence said the United States would be unveiling its 'toughest and most aggressive' sanctions yet on North Korea soon.

He did not say when the United States planned to drop the hammer or what sectors would be hit, though the sanctions are anticipated to come before the Closing Ceremony on Feb. 25.

'We will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all,' Pence said.
A hundred years ago, a band of brave women fought to get the vote.

They were prepared to go to jail, to endure humiliating strip searches, brutal force feeding and public outrage, all in the name of their cause.

In 2018, a determined and ambitious woman who fought her way up to the very top of government says shes worried that modern women cant cope with the raucous and brutal world of social media.

Are we really such thin-skinned sensitive flowers?

More than 1,300 suffrage campaigners were arrested in the early 20th century. Pictured: a suffragette is arrested by police in 1914

Theresa May is extremely tough - her job requires that she is pleasant to arch plotters in her own party like Boris Johnson and Co, plus she has to deal with toady to oily misogynists like Trump, and endure sneering from frosty EU negotiators who want to hang her out to dry - and yet, the PM is concerned that online abuse is turning women (and men) away from jobs in public life.

Whats a spot of trolling on Twitter compared to having a rubber tube shoved down your throat by a male warder in Pentonville?

In my own experience, social media has become a shouty and brutal place, the modern equivalent of gladiatorial sport, but I can handle it.

A few days ago I dared to suggest that militant vegans were prissy and po-faced. Cue online trashing.

When I refused to back down, I was bombarded with hysterical tweets about raping cows, and I told my actions would cause the suffering and death of millions of sentient beings.

I think they meant chickens.

Apparently, factory farming has very strong similarities to the holocaust and farmers pump animals full of valium.

Theresa May is extremely tough - her job requires that she is pleasant to arch plotters in her own party like Boris Johnson and Co

Half-baked semi-untrue twaddle, but I will defend the right of anyone to hold those views.

Sadly, some vegans wont rest until everyone on the planet eats quorn or whatever that yellow rubbery rubbish is they try to pretend tastes like scrambled eggs and all cows have been granted the right to roam freely.

We seem to have forgotten that in a democracy, people are entitled to disagree.

Perhaps not in North Korea, but in most civilized countries it is perfectly acceptable for people to hold opposing viewpoints.

When its election time, we can vote for whoever is going to work towards our goals.

In theory thats how free speech works in the modern world - but increasingly, if someone expresses a view on a touchy subject - like immigration, veganism or wearing the veil, they do so at their own risk.

Mrs May might want social media users to revert back to polite conversations and nice manners, but that is totally unrealistic - the genie is out of the bottle.

Later this year, the Government is going to publish a social media code of conduct setting out the standards expected of social media platforms, but it will be completely ineffectual, especially as so many people actively use Facebook and Instagram to showcase every aspect of their lives without any regard for loss of privacy, or the rights of their children.

We seem to want to use social media for friends but cant cope with the inevitable fallout resulting from placing the most intimate details of our lives in the public domain, i.e available for criticism along with praise.

Joey Carbstrong (pictured), 31, an Australian 'celebrity' vegan activist, claimed that rearing methods for dairy cows were equivalent to 'sexual abuse' during an interview on This Morning

The big dilemma nowadays is how to have any conversation without feeling you are stirring up hatred.

People reach boiling point very quickly, fuelled by watching reality shows like Big Brother where inmates and participants routinely rant at each other.

Television offers us detective series involving serial killers every night, and the rape and abuse of women is considered perfect prime time drama material - and we wonder why people cant converse in hushed tones.

Watching this kind of designer brutality for relaxation has a cumulative effect, just as watching porn coarsens and distorts your view of what sex and relationships are all about.

Instead of handwringing and complaining, those in public life should be fronting up the trolls, but instead they are crying wolf.

Emmeline (left), with her daughters Christabel (centre), and Sylvia Pankhurst, (right), pictured at Waterloo Station in 1911

Passing new laws, wasting public funds on official inquiries and telling the tech companies to self-police their output is not going to make much difference.

This week, the British governments womens minister revealed shes quit Twitter, fed up with death threats and nastiness.

The murder of MP Jo Cox, by a right wing fanatic, is obviously extremely upsetting, but she would not have wanted women to be scared of entering politics.

The aggressive tactics used by far left supporters to spout their views has seen some Labour women (and men) step down, claiming they feel intimidated and threatened.

Politics has always involved bullyboys on one side or another.

One female columnist wrote this week that the politics of grumpy old men turned her off and she regretted that women had to have thicker skins than men.

The suffragettes were willing to commit violent acts, to shout down anyone who disagreed - and it will take that level of aggression if women are to be represented 50% in parliament and at board level in the UK - power is not going to be handed over by men without a dirty fight.

The MeToo campaign- is in danger of promoting the idea of women as victims, but the new battle for real equality (as opposed to tokenism) is going to be a dirty one. So its time to toughen up.
Disgraced Subway pitchman Jared Fogle continues to fight his 15 year prison sentence for child porn and having sex with minors.

Less than a month after trying to get his sentence shortened, Fogle has filed new court documents, arguing that the judge who tried his case should be recused because she's a mother of two teen daughters and therefore biased towards child molesters.

Indiana federal court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt sentenced Fogle to 15 years in prison in 2015 after he pleaded guilty to charges of distribution and receipt of child pornography and travelling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor.

Jared Fogle (pictured on the left during his sentencing in 2015) is trying to get the judge who tried his child pornography case recused because she has two teen daughters. Judge Tanya Walton Pratt pictured on the right

Fogle was arrested in 2015 after a raid on his Zionsville, Indiana home turned up a large cache of child pornography. They later learned that he paid to have sex with a 17-year-old girl.

He faced the possibility of up to 50 years in prison, but decided to plead guilty to two charges so that prosecutors would suggest a lower sentence. Prosecutors suggested 12.5 years in prison, but their suggestion was non-binding on the judge, who instead decided on 15 years and eight moths.

Fogle, who is serving more than 15 years in prison for conspiring to receive child pornography, is pictured here with his ex-wife Kathleen McLaughlin

Fogle became Subway's spokesman in 2000 after losing 200lbs eating their sandwiches

Fogle's 15 year sentence is lenient considering he faced up to 50 years

'The level of perversion and lawlessness exhibited by Mr. Fogle is extreme,' Pratt said during sentencing.

Pratt has yet to respond to Fogle's latest request, but she made her feelings about Fogle's continued complaints last month, when he argued that she didn't have jurisdiction to try his case.

Pratt denied his January request to have his sentence shortened and called his argument 'frivolous'.

Fogle became Subway's spokesman in 2000 when he lost 200 pounds eating the chain's hoagies in college.

He went on to amass a $13million fortune. At the time of his arrest, he was married with two kids.

Soon after the raid, his wife filed for divorce and and Fogle agreed to pay her $7million. As part of the plea deal, Fogle agreed to pay 14 of his victims $100,000 each, for a total of $1.4million.

Fogle is currently serving his sentence at the Federal Corrections Institute, Englewood in Colorado where they have a program for pedophiles.

The soonest he will be up for parole is July 11, 2029.
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Top Tory ministers were up for auction for the first time in two years last night as the party stepped up its lavish Black and White ball fundraiser.

Theresa May turned out to loosen donors' wallets with a speech vowing to defeat socialism and deliver Brexit Britain.

And in the vastly expensive auction big money donors were able to buy dinner with Environment Secretary Michael Gove for a mere 12,000 - while a night out with Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson was rated even higher at 15,000.

The Tory social hierarchy was laid bare by Liam Fox's entry in the auction book - with lunch with the International Trade Secretary listed at just 2,000.

The party's top donors rubbed shoulders with top Cabinet ministers and leading lights among Tory campaigners at the opulent party in London's Natural History Museum.

A three course dinner was accompanied by English sparkling wine at the Tory Party's most exclusive night of the year.

Labour party chairman Ian Lavery slammed the event and accused the Tories of being more interested in 'stuffing party coffers' than sorting out Brexit and ailing public services.

I'm a Celebrity winner Georgia Toffolo - a leading light among new Tory campaigners - was among the guests at last night's Lavish Black and White Ball

Made in Chelsea star Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo looked glamorous in a flowing gown as she left the Conservative ball last night

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson waved to cameras as he left the glamorous event at London's Natural History Museum

Jacob Rees-Mogg was seen hailing a cab outside the ball, while Amber Rudd was seen on her way out of the event

Education minister Michael Gove stopped to enjoy a cigarette outside the glitzy bash in the freezing cold last night

In the vastly expensive auction big money donors were able to buy dinner with Environment Secretary Michael Gove for a mere 12,000

A night out with Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson was rated even higher at 15,000 but the Tory social hierarchy was laid bare by Liam Fox's entry in the auction book - with lunch with the International Trade Secretary listed at just 2,000

I'm a Celebrity star Georgia Toffolo turned out alongside Stanley Johnson, Boris' father, after they appeared together on the show.

ON THE MENU AT THE TORY BALL STARTER Cured confit sea trout, pickled pumpkin, charred cucumber, kohlrabi, horseradish, fennel, purple kale, mustard leaves, cracker bread, tarragon emulsion MAIN Slow cooked blade of beef, boulangere, charred onion petal, mushrooms, lovage and smoked dripping jus DESSERTS A mix of dessert canapes WINES Nyetimber classic cuvee multi vintage, West Sussex 2016 Chablis, Domaine Louus Moreau 2014 Chateu Calvimont, Graves Advertisement

A private dinner with the pair was on offer for a group of 12 people willing to pay up.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, the darling of the Tory grassroots, was also at the annual fundraiser alongside his wife Helena.

Unfortunately for Tory fundraisers the night got off to a bad start as the black tie-clad diners were left waiting outside in the cold for 40 minutes, the Daily Mirror revealed.

Other lots on offer in the auction included a chance 'to walk in the footsteps of Churchill' on a private tour of the Cabinet War Rooms with Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson.

A weekend stay at at a barnhouse designed by Kate Moss was also up grabs - as was a 1,000 gift voucher, complete with private shopping experience, at Mrs May's favourite store, Amanda Wakeley, where she famously bought a 995 pair of brown leather trousers.

Smaller lots included a Labour isn't Working poster signed by Margaret Thatcher - one of just five left at Tory headquarters - and an eight gun shoot at the Maristow and Bickleigh Estate.

Another lot on offer was a 'Morning on the gallops at Newmarket', while party goers also had the chance to buy box seats for the Cirque de Soleil at the Royal Albert Hall.

A 100 a ticket raffle offered a long weekend in Berline for one lucky reveller.

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary - who was offered as an auction prize in a private tour of the Churchill war rooms - was pictured leaving the venue in a black Land Rover

Women took off their Louboutins and walked barefoot across the freezing pavements as temperatures plummeted

Millionaire businessman Gary Goldsmith, 52 - the younger brother of Carole Middleton and uncle to Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge - leaving the fundraiser

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond sped away from the black and white Tory ball in a taxi

Education minister Michael Gove was seen talking to friends as he left the fundraising ball this evening

Mrs May spoke at the dinner to try and inspire donations, outlinining her vision of Brexit Britain as she attempted to loosen wallets.

She said: 'We will forge a completely new alliance with our European partners to advance our interests around the world. As permanent members of the Security Council, and with Europe's biggest defence budget, we will always remain steadfast in protecting Europe's security.

'And we will raise our horizons beyond our near neighbours across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans to nations far and wide to broaden and deepen our trade and security relationships across the world.

'Building a modern economy fit for the future. Innovative, entrepreneurial and dynamic. Harnessing the skills, talents and indomitable spirit of the British people. And it has never been more important to do so.'

Mr Lavery said: 'At a time when the Tories are squabbling over Brexit negotiations, the NHS is experiencing its worst winter on record, and working people continue to suffer through a crisis in living standards - it is deeply worrying that the Cabinet seem more preoccupied with stuffing Tory Party coffers than sorting out the mess they've left us in.

'Instead of standing up to the privileged few, Theresa May continues to wine and dine them. Only Labour will create a society that truly works for the many, not the few.'

Tory MP Philip Davies arrived arm in arm with Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey, who sported an eye-catching leopard print coat and red heels

Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who wore a pair of velvet trousers and a cream blouse, smiled for the cameras as she left, while Boris Johnson left the party into the cold without an overcoat

Boris' father Stanley waves to cameras on his way out of the ball as another guess, donning a sequined top hat, makes her way out with a friend

Back cab taxi drivers gather and sound their horns outside as guests leave the Conservative party Black and White Ball

Fresh from his stint in the I'm A Celebrity jungle, Stanley Johnson turned up at the party with winner of the reality TV series, Georgia Toffolo and right, Jacob Rees-Mogg dons a black bow tie for the event

Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis smiled as he left the annual Conservative party ball this evening

Left, Duchess of Cambridge's uncle Gary Goldsmith cuts an awkward figure as he arrives at the Conservatives black and white ball in a white blazer and right, trade minister Liam Fox dons a blue scarf with his tuxedo for the event

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson gets out of a black BMW as he arrives at the museum in Kensington, west London

Left, housing minister Sajid Javid beams at cameras as he arrives with his wife Laura, and right, Zac Goldsmith enters the venue

North-East Somerset MP Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg - who came out top on a recent poll for the next Conservative leader - was also there

Left, Tory grandee Norman Lamont arrives at the glamorous event this evening and right, entertainment entrepreneur Sally Greene dons a green floral dress as she attends
The father of Barnaby Joyce's pregnant staffer has delivered an extraordinary message to the Deputy Prime Minister.

Retired firefighter Peter Campion, estranged father of Vikki Campion, 33, referred to Mr Joyce, 50, as his 'future son-in-law' in his statement.

Mr Campion first heard of his daughter's relationship with Mr Joyce from media reports on Wednesday revealing the couple are expecting a baby in April.

The father of Barnaby Joyce's pregnant staffer Vikki Campion (pictured) has delivered an extraordinary message to the Deputy Prime Minister

Retired firefighter Peter Campion, estranged father of Vikki Campion (pictured, left, right), 33, referred to Mr Joyce (pictured, right), 50, as his 'future son-in-law' in his statement

Mr Campion first heard of his daughter's relationship with Mr Joyce (pictured) from media reports on Wednesday revealing the couple are expecting a baby in April

'Vikki's mother and I think that with Baaa-naby [sic] as dad the kid will probably be a perfect little lamb,' he said in a statement made to the Cairns Post.

'Politics sure does make for strange bedfellows. We just never imagined our daughter would hop into one with a former Kiwi.

'Our future son-in-law should give himself an uppercut for failing to give one to the PM.'

Mr Campion said he has not spoken to his daughter, a former journalist and Mr Joyce's media adviser, for years.

'Vikki's mother and I think that with Baaa-naby [sic] as dad the kid will probably be a perfect little lamb,' Mr Campion said in a statement (pictured is Mr Joyce on Wednesday)

'Politics sure does make for strange bedfellows. We just never imagined our daughter would hop into one with a former Kiwi,' said Mr Campion (pictured is Ms Campion, right, with Samantha Armytage, left)

'Our future son-in-law should give himself an uppercut for failing to give one to the PM,' said Mr Campion (pictured are Barnaby and Natalie Joyce in 2015)

Ms Campion attended high school in Tolga, in the Tablelands Region of Far North Queensland, and her father writes regular letters to the regional newspaper.

A critic of the Turnbull Government, Mr Campion said in his statement he hopes Mr Joyce 'can find a respectable job' and referred to the prime minister as 'Mr Talkbull'.

The Deputy Prime Minister first announced his separation from his wife of 24-years, Natalie Joyce, in December last year.

Mr Joyce broke his silence about Ms Campion's pregnancy on Wednesday night, saying the breakdown of his marriage was painful for everyone involved.

'One of the greatest failures of my life was the end of my marriage,' he said during an interview with the ABC.

Mr Campion said he has not spoken to his daughter (pictured), a former journalist and Mr Joyce's media adviser, for years

Ms Campion attended high school in Tolga, in the Tablelands Region of Far North Queensland, and her father writes regular letters to the regional newspaper (pictured are Barnaby and Natalie Joyce)

Just hours earlier Natalie Joyce made a statement to the media saying she felt 'hurt and deceived' by the Deputy Prime Minister.

'The situation is devastating, for my girls who are affected by the family breakdown and for me as a wife of 24 years who placed my own career on hold to support Barnaby through his political life,' she said.

'Our family has had to be shared during Barnaby's political career and it was with trust that we let campaign and office staff into our home and into our lives.

'Naturally we feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved.

'I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member.

A critic of the Turnbull Government, Mr Campion said in his statement he hopes Mr Joyce 'can find a respectable job' and referred to the prime minister as 'Mr Talkbull' (pictured are Mr Joyce and Ms Campion)

The Deputy Prime Minister (pictured with Ms Campion) first announced his separation from his wife of 24-years, Natalie Joyce, in December last year

Mr Joyce (pictured with his wife Natalie) broke his silence about Ms Campion's pregnancy on Wednesday night, saying the breakdown of his marriage was painful for everyone involved

'I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee.'

Mr Joyce refused to comment on whether his relationship with Ms Campion began when she was a paid staff member.

He shut down the question, saying he was 'incredibly hurt that private issues were dragged out'.

The separated couple have four daughters, aged in their late teens and early 20s, from their 24-year marriage.

They met during O Week while Mr Joyce was studying accountancy at the University of New England.

'One of the greatest failures of my life was the end of my marriage,' Mr Joyce (pictured with his wife and daughters) said during an interview with the ABC

Mr Joyce (pictured with his wife and daughters) refused to comment on whether his relationship with Ms Campion began when she was a paid staff member

What Australia's politicians said about Barnaby Joyce's baby news Australia's political leaders have been asked for their views on Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce reportedly expecting a baby with his former staffer, Vikki Campion. 'It's something I view as none of my business,' Labor frontbencher Tony Burke told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. 'This ricochets and affects families. There's a principle here that I've always abided by to not engage in anything that hits the private lives of other members of parliament.' Greens MP Adam Bandt agreed, describing the prominent media coverage as a 'very dark day' for gender equality. 'I don't really care who Barnaby Joyce or anyone else is sleeping with,' he told Sky News. 'Unless it impacts on his job, or unless she chooses voluntarily to step into the public eye, it's not really anyone's business. 'If it's Barnaby Joyce's partner today, who else's will it be tomorrow?' Cabinet minister Dan Tehan said the decision to put such information into the public domain should be up to the individuals involved. However, gay rights campaigner Rodney Croome unloaded both barrels on the 'hypocrite' deputy prime minister, who vehemently opposed same-sex marriage and demanded the issue be put to a national vote. 'You can't put the lives of tens of thousands of your fellow citizens under the microscope and then expect to avoid scrutiny yourself,' Mr Croome said. He argued the scandal exposed what 'traditional marriage' meant for people like Mr Joyce. 'It is not a set of standards for heterosexual couples to live up to. It is a euphemism for prejudice against LGBTI people and our exclusion from the core institutions of society,' Mr Croome said. Advertisement

'The last day was a car rally in a ute and he just came up to me and went, "You'll do",' Natalie said in an interview in March last year.

Joyce's family were opposed to their marriage, leaving his side of the church empty but for two pews, but changed their minds over time.

The Leader of The Nationals was forced to resign from his position as Deputy Prime Minister in August last year, amid a dual citizenship saga which embroiled Parliament.

The government lost its majority in the lower house after the High Court ruled he was ineligible to sit due to his dual New Zealand citizenship.

Mr Joyce, who has since renounced his New Zealand citizenship, comfortably won the New England by-election on December 2, and resumed his cabinet posts the same day.
Rob Porter, who resigned his position Wednesday as White House staff secretary, initially received strong backing from his former boss, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, following accusations that Porter was abusive toward one of his ex-wives.

But that support seemed to evaporate when the second ex came forward with photos that she said showed a black eye Porter gave her.

Porter was Hatch's chief of staff from March 2014 until he came to the White House on Inauguration Day.

In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com on Tuesday, Hatch said that it was 'incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man. Shame on any publication that would print this  and shame on the politically motivated, morally bankrupt character assassins that would attempt to sully a man's good name.'

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch softened his support for Rob Porter in the hours between his first statement of solidarity and Porter's resignation from the White House

The 40-year-old Porter (right) has been described as one of the most important players in Trump's daily Oval Office orbit, and helped him write last week's State of the Union Address

Colbie Holderness, Porter's first wife, told DailyMail.com that while the two were married, Porter repeatedly punched and choked her

'I know Rob. I've known him for years, both as a close friend and as a personal advisor,' Hatch continued at the time. 'He is kind and considerate towards all.'

'The country needs more honest, principled people like Rob Porter, which is why I hope that this cynical campaign to discredit his character ultimately fails.'

Less than 15 hours later, however, after DailyMail.com published the black-eye photos and Porter resigned his position, Hatch backpedaled and said he didn't know what Porter may have done in the years before he knew him.

'I am heartbroken by today's allegations,' Hatch said in a statement to reporters.

'In every interaction I've had with Rob, he has been courteous, professional, and respectful. My staff loved him and he was a trusted advisor.'

I do not know the details of Rob's personal life. Domestic violence in any form is abhorrent and unacceptable. I am praying for Rob and those involved,' he said.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly hasn't wavered in his support for Porter, whom he reportedly urged to stay.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly complained in October 2017 that women were no longer held as 'sacred' in America, but as the Porter scandal unfolded he called the accused spousal abuser 'a man of true integrity and honor'

Porter's second wife Jennifer Willoughby said her abusive marriage included one gterrifying moment when Porter dragged her, naked, out of the shower

In a statement to DailyMail.com on Tuesday, he said that 'Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can't say enough good things about him.'

'He is a friend, a confidante [sic] and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.'

But in October 2017 the retired U.S. Marine Corps general lectured the White House press corps, complaining that women were no longer 'sacred' in America.

'When I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in our country,' he said then. 'Women were sacred and looked upon with great honor.'

'Thats obviously not the case anymore, as we see from recent cases.'

Kelly spoke just days after the #MeToo movement took off with sexual abuse allegations against the now-disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Statements from White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also semed to evolve as the story grew in intensity and Porter was forced out.

Hours after Porter resigned, the White House said in a statement that President Donald Trump still had 'full confidence in his abilities and his performance'

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that 'of course' the administration condemns domestic violence of all kinds, but wouldn't commit to whether she believes Porter or his two ex-wives

Porter is dating White House Communications Director Hope Hicks, 29. the two were seen leaving her D.C. apartment 10 days ago

'I have worked directly with Rob Porter nearly every day for the last year and the person I know is someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character,' Sanders said Tuesday.

'Those of us who have the privilege of knowing him are better people because of it.'

In her office after she announced Porter's resignation, Sanders said that 'of course' the Trump White House condemned domestic violence of any kind.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that 'of course' the administration condemns domestic violence of all kinds, but wouldn't commit to whether she believes Porter or his two ex-wives

Sanders wouldn't, however, say that the White House sided with Porter's ex-wives or believed their accounts of his behavior.

'It's not a matter of "believe" or "don't believe",' she told DailyMail.com, straddling both sides of what had become a heated dispute between a trusted colleague and the women who claimed he abused them.

'I hurt for anyone who's experienced anything like that  I haven't  in whatever degree. But at the same time I can only talk about my personal experience and interactions,' she said.

Hours after Porter's resignation was made public, Sanders released a statement in which she said has had been 'effective in his role.'

'The President and Chief of Staff have full confidence in his abilities and his performance,' she continued, while not commenting on his character.
Mandarins at the Foreign Office invited staff to wear Islamic headscarves for the day, claiming they symbolised liberation, respect and security.

The department was accused of backing the institutional oppression of women by giving away taxpayer-funded headscarves at a walk-in event to mark World Hijab Day.

The event was held as women in ultra-conservative Iran burned their headscarves in protest at being forced to wear them or face arrest and prison.

Mandarins at the Foreign Office invited staff to wear Islamic headscarves for the day, claiming they symbolised liberation, respect and security. They now face a backlash by giving away headscarves at an event to mark World Hijab Day (pictured: MSP Maree Todd wearing a hijab)

Many Muslim women across the world have shunned the hijab  which covers the hair and neck but not the face  as an antiquated, oppressive, religious tool.

The event was last Thursday, just days before Britain marked the 100th anniversary of women being given the vote.

Maajid Nawaz, who heads the counter-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation, criticised the department for supporting World Hijab Day and the institutional oppression of women through modesty culture, while brave Iranian women risk all to remove hijab tyranny.

Anti-hijab activist Masih Alinejad told Reuters: We are fighting against the most visible symbol of oppression. These women are saying, It is enough  it is the 21st century and we want to be our true selves.

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said: Id like to know whose bright idea this was. It is ridiculous, a complete waste of taxpayers money and not the business of a Government department.

I cant see the Foreign Office promoting Christianity or the handing out of crosses.

An internal email to Foreign Office staff said the event was taking place on February 1 between midday and 2pm inside the departments headquarters at Whitehall.

It read: Would you like to try on a hijab or learn why Muslim women wear the headscarf? Come along to our walk-in event. Free scarves for all those that choose to wear it for the day or part of the day.

Muslim women, along with followers of many other religions, choose to wear the hijab. Many find liberation, respect and security through wearing it. #StrongInHijab. Join us for #WorldHijabDay. Posters for the event, featuring Foreign Office branding, were circulated. World Hijab Day, an annual event, was also marked in the Scottish Parliament.

The event was held as women in ultra-conservative Iran burned their headscarves in protest at being forced to wear them or face arrest and prison. Many Muslim women across the world have shunned the hijab as an antiquated, oppressive, religious tool

In mainstream Muslim teaching, the hijab is commonly worn by girls after they hit puberty.

But critics have claimed the garment is a symbol of male oppression, citing the compulsory veiling of women in hard-line Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia.

Videos showing women burning the hijab have been posted on social media in solidarity with a protest movement against enforced headscarf in Iran. They were posted online with the hashtag #NoHijabDay, a response to last weeks World Hijab Day event.

Last Friday, Iranian media reported that Tehran police had arrested 29 women for appearing in public without a headscarf.

The Islamic dress code, in place since the 1979 revolution, considers veiling obligatory for any female above 13 in Iran and says they should cover themselves from head to toe while disavowing any figure-hugging dress.

Last Friday, Iranian media reported that Tehran police had arrested 29 women for appearing in public without a headscarf. The Islamic dress code, in place since the 1979 revolution, considers veiling obligatory for any female above 13 in Iran and says they should cover themselves from head to toe while disavowing any figure-hugging dress

A Foreign Office spokesman said: This was an internal event for staff in London who wished to gain a better understanding of the different cultural and social issues they may face when working overseas.

A row over the hijab has been rumbling after a primary school headmistress who was subjected to vile abuse for trying to ban the veil. Neena Lall set uniform policies which promote cohesion at St Stephens, a secular state school in Newham, east London.

But the head was compared to Hitler in an online video circulated by parents after she said girls under eight should not have to wear the veil in class.

Following a backlash from local councillors, the policy was reversed.

The Foreign Office employs about 4,200 staff in the UK, according to its latest equality and diversity report.

Of those, around 43 per cent  or 1,800  are women.
Have you seen this man?

At least, that was the hope of Lancaster police when a witness attempted to draw a picture of a thief who stole cash from a shop in the town.

But visitors to the Facebook page of Lancaster, Pennsylvania police department thought cops were having a laugh and ended up mocking the image on social media.

The posting of the sketch came after cops sought help in catching the man accused of stealing cash from a vendor at a nearby market.

The cartoon was drawn by a witness rather than a professional sketch artist and appeared to resemble more Waldo than a would-be thief.

Have you seen this man? Cops released the unintentionally side-splitting image as part of an investigation into a case of theft. Officers said the crime happened on January 30

Officers said the crime happened on January 30 and stated they hoped 'someone recognize him'.

The crook is said to have stolen takings from a stand while an employee wasn't looking - and then fled on foot.

The man's eyes were represented by two dots with a single line for a nose and some squiggles for a hair and hat.

Police said in reality the suspect was about 5ft 4in tall and between 30 and 40 years of age.

'We released all of those details together in our police log in the hope that someone recognizes the suspect,' officials said, according to Lancaster Online. 'This was not done in jest,' the department insisted.

The crook is said to have stolen cash from a shop in Lancaster, Pennsylvania while the employee was away. The man then fled on foot with the witness left to draw the suspect sketch

The suspect was also believed to be Asian or South American. Police said the suspect had black hair and wide cheekbones - although such characteristics are not immediately apparently from the initial drawing.

On social media users ended up taking the opportunity to use the sketch to poke fun at the ridiculousness of the image.

''Here's hoping the police don't need to question him - he looks pretty tight lipped,' wrote one. 'So we are playing Where's Waldo?' added another.

Another user quipped: 'That guy does look pretty sketchy.'
A Utah man was arrested after allegedly attacking his cousin with an electric drill during a dispute over housing.

Christopher J. Gallegos, 35, of Roy, Utah, was arrested on February 1 and charged with aggravated assault and criminal mischief.

The probable cause statement revealed that Gallegos, a passenger in another person's car, arrived at his cousin Tyrell Voeltz's home on that day, according to the Gephardt Daily.

Christopher J. Gallegos, 35, of Roy, Utah, was arrested on February 1 and charged with aggravated assault and criminal mischief

Gallegos (left) allegedly attacked his cousin, Tyrell Voeltz, with a handheld drill while they were arguing about renting the same house. Gallegos is said to have drilled Voeltz's tires and broken his car window during the attack

Voeltz was in his own car at the time and Gallegos' car was used to block Voeltz from moving.

Gallegos then allegedly exited his car while holding a DeWalt hand drill. He walked up to Voeltz, sitting in the driver's seat, and confronted him about the fact that they were trying to rent the same home.

During the argument, Gallegos was said to have drilled holes into the back tires of Voeltz's car. He also allegedly smashed the driver's seat window and tried to assault Voeltz with the drill.

Gallegos was arrested by the Layton Police Department and booked into jail on a $5,000 bond, according to KUTV.

No injuries were reported.




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A run-down corrugated iron home and a brick hall are at the centre of the police investigation into an alleged performing arts group sex ring.

Horrifying details have emerged of the allegations of repeated rape, assault and filming of three little boys aged as young as three in greater western Sydney.

Four adults - three women, aged 58, 29 and 23 and a man, 56 - have been charged over the sickening allegations spanning June 2014 until April last year.

The adults are alleged to have lived together in two homesteads on a dilapidated rural property next to a dog pound on the outer reaches of Sydney.

A polka dot bow tie sat at the front gate, hounds howled and windows were left opened at the deserted estate when Daily Mail Australia visited this week.

The only sign of life was a packed Country Road bag sitting at the front door - no doubt a sign an occupant was ready to leave.

All four members of the alleged ring shared this property in Sydney's greater west

A dirty polka-dot bow tie laid next to the front gate when Daily Mail Australia visited the property on Wednesday

The remains of a swing set sits collapsed on the ground outside the bush property, which sits next to a dog pound

Sitting on the expansive property were two homesteads, a large storage shed for bikes and a cargo container

The home - which includes a bungalow out the back- was left totally deserted except for a pair of sleeping dogs.

Friends of the group who visited the property claimed the media attention had been 'invasive'.

But they were perhaps unaware of the scale of the allegations faced by the group.

In one of the most sickening allegations, contained within court documents, a burlesque performer, 29, is accused of inciting one little boy to have sex with another on Anzac Day last year.

On that same day police allege she raped both of them in the company of another female, aged 58.

The 58-year-old began indecently assaulting the boys in early 2015 when one boy was three-years-old and the other was just seven, court documents alleged.

The middle-aged woman, the boss of the performing arts academy, is accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting the boys, including choking one in order to sexually assault him.

She is understood to be the central figure in the police case.

A Sydney court has heard the group was first made aware of the allegations against them last September.

The home where all four members of the group are alleged to have lived was left completely deserted on Wednesday

This is one view of the hall where the performing arts group operated. It was eerily quiet during a visit on Wednesday

Pottery and craft supplies were on display inside the western Sydney hall where the group worked

There was no sign of life at the hall following the arrests of four adult members of the performing arts group

The accused: A 29-year-old burlesque performer (left) and a 58-year-old woman (right) were among the arrested

Police have accused one of the three women, aged 29, of inciting one little boy to have sex with another little boy

The man has been accused of twice filming sex encounters with the boys on his mobile phone

None of the group member's identities can be revealed for legal reasons.

Bail documents said the 58-year-old performing arts matriarch - who faces 43 charges, the most of the group - claimed to police she should get bail because 'she did not do what she is accused of'.

She also told police she had a 'daughter who is dependent on her'.

But she was denied bail as there was 'a strong prosecution case and the length of time spent in custody is not likely to exceed the sentence imposed after conviction', the documents said.

Police have expressed horror at the allegations, with a source telling News Corp they were the 'most disturbing things I've read in 24 years'.

It has been claimed some of the allegations involving the small boys included 'blood rituals'.

The group's defence lawyer protested their innocence earlier this week.

'They say we simply didn't do this,' Bryan Wrench said.

'They have been aware of these allegations (since) September last year and have been at liberty since that time.'

Not guilty pleas have been entered to every charge.

The four will apply to be released on bail late next week.
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Theresa May last night vowed to use Brexit to raise our horizons beyond our near neighbours, as she confirmed Britain will leave the EUs single market and customs union.

The Prime Minister used a speech to a Tory fundraising dinner to set out an upbeat vision of life outside the EU.

Following criticism that her government lacks political direction, Mrs May also vowed to take on Jeremy Corbyn and defeat socialism today as we have defeated it before. It came amid renewed signs that Tory Remainers are prepared to join forces with Labour in a bid to keep Britain in the customs union.

Theresa May last night vowed to use Brexit to raise our horizons beyond our near neighbours, as she confirmed Britain will leave the EUs single market and customs union (pictured, the PM speaking at Westminster Hall today)

Speaking at the Tories annual Black and White Ball in London last night, Mrs May said it was essential to leave both the customs union and the single market in order to deliver the benefits of Brexit.

She said Britain would no longer send vast annual subscriptions to the EU, and would regain control of our borders and laws.

But she added: My vision of the UK outside of the EU is so much more ambitious than that. Taking back control means leaving the single market and customs union, and constructing a completely new trading partnership with the EU  to protect and promote the interests of British businesses trading in Europe, and EU businesses trading here.

Mrs May said she wanted a completely new alliance with our European partners to advance our interests around the world.

And we will raise our horizons beyond our near neighbours across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans to nations far and wide to broaden and deepen our trade and security relationships across the world.

In an outspoken attack on Labour, she accused Mr Corbyn of pandering to populism. Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour Party are exploiting populist politics, Mrs May said. And what do they offer? Massive renationalisation. Capital flight. A run on the pound. That all leads to a bankrupt Britain.

Thats why as Conservatives, we are on a renewed mission to fight and win the battle of ideas and to defeat socialism today as we have defeated it before.

Tory Remainers yesterday indicated they were willing to team up with Labour to frustrate Mrs Mays plans for a clean break with the EU.

Former ministers Anna Soubry (right) and Kenneth Clarke (left) have tabled an amendment to the Taxation ( Bill which would make it impossible for the Government to leave the customs union unless it could show it had made every effort to keep Britain in

Former ministers Anna Soubry and Kenneth Clarke have tabled an amendment to the Taxation (Cross Border Trade) Bill which would make it impossible for the Government to leave the customs union unless it could show it had made every effort to keep Britain in. It would make it a negotiating objective of Her Majestys Government to maintain the United Kingdoms participation in the EU customs union.

If the amendment is passed, Britain could leave the customs union only if ministers presented a report to parliament setting out why it was impossible to remain in. The amendment has been signed by more than 30 MPs, most of them from Labour. Meanwhile, ten Tory MPs yesterday signalled support for the UK joining the European Free Trade Area (Efta), all but one of whose members are part of the EUs single market.

The moves came as Labour gave the strongest hint yet it will back continued membership of the customs union after Brexit  despite the fact it would make it impossible for the UK to strike independent trade deals.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said Labour would look to remain in a customs union with the EU on a permanent basis, adding: I dont see how the Prime Minister can achieve the frictionless movement she desires without looking at the option of a form of customs union with the EU.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said Labour would look to remain in a customs union with the EU on a permanent basis

Miss Long-Bailey said it was certainly a possibility that remaining in a customs union with the EU would make it impossible for Britain to strike new trade deals around the world.

Mr Clarke said he and Miss Soubry were in talks with Labour MPs about forcing the Government to back continued membership of the customs union. We could defeat the government on this, he said, adding: The vast majority of MPs would prefer to stay in the EU.

Eurosceptic MP John Redwood accused Labour of turning its back on party supporters who backed Brexit. He said remaining in the customs union would fatally undermine Brexit. It is totally unrealistic, he said. It would prevent you from realising one of the big gains from Brexit, and I dont think its on offer from the EU in any case.

Mr Redwood said he remained confident the Government had the numbers to defeat any rebellion. But pro-Remain Tories yesterday lined up to back the idea of remaining in the European Free Trade Area, whose current members comprise Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Former minister Stephen Hammond said he would table amendments to the Trade Bill, which would enable MPs to debate the Efta option and potentially lead to a vote.

Mr Hammond branded Brexit a time of national crisis, and claimed the Efta approach would satisfy the overwhelming majority of the public.

Toff, Tories and Uncle Gary...

They struck up an unlikely friendship in the Australian outback during Im a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here.

And Stanley Johnson and Georgia Toffolo still appeared to be close as they arrived at the Conservative Partys Black and White Ball together.

They were in high spirits as they made their way into the Natural History Museum last night. Miss Toffolo, 23, nicknamed Toff won the reality show in December.

Fresh from his stint in the I'm A Celebrity jungle, Stanley Johnson turned up at the party with winner of the reality TV series, Georgia Toffolo and right, Duchess of Cambridges uncle Gary Goldsmith cuts an awkward figure as he arrives

Left, Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg arrives at the ball alone and right, trade minister Liam Fox dons a blue scarf with his tuxedo for the event

In contrast to her red and green jungle fatigues, she wore a sheer embroidered and tiered dress, featuring a plunging neckline.

She carried a fur wrap in her left arm as she strode in front of the former MEP.

Mr Johnson, 77, arrived at the elite fundraiser in a black tuxedo and appeared to have a book tucked in his pocket.

Miss Toffolo had revealed Mr Johnson would be taking her as his guest last Sunday, saying there would be definitely no jagerbombs.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cambridges uncle Gary Goldsmith cut a lonely figure as he arrived on the chilly night.

Left, housing minister Sajid Javid beams at cameras as he arrives with his wife Laura, and right, Zac Goldsmith enters the venue

The event is a prominent fixture in the Tory social calendar, with tables known to go for as much as 15,000, and the highlight is its auction, which involves an experience event with ministers

The entrepreneur, 52, who was fined 5,000 for knocking his wife Julie-Ann to the ground in October, arrived without her.

The brother of Carole Middleton, known for his sharp dress sense, accessorised his white double-breasted outfit with a black tie decorated with skulls and crossbones.

A prominent fixture in the Conservative social calendar, the ball sees the partys most generous donors rubbing shoulders with its elite.

Tables have previously sold for as much as 15,000.

MPs: Whitehalls forecasts as reliable as astrology

Whitehall forecasts suggesting every region of the country would lose out from Brexit were dismissed last night as being as reliable as astrology.

MPs were shown details from leaked Brexit impact assessments yesterday, suggesting the North East would be the biggest loser, with growth up to 16 per cent lower than it would have been over a 15-year period.

London was forecast to be the least affected, with growth in the capital just 3.5 per cent lower than it would have been over the same period, even if Britain left without a deal.

Pro-Remain MPs seized on the forecasts as evidence that Britain should stay in the EUs single market  or even abandon efforts to leave the EU. But Eurosceptic MPs dismissed the findings.

Former Tory Cabinet minister John Redwood said the figures were complete nonsense. Democratic Unionist Party Ian Paisley said the analysis, carried out by Whitehall officials was as reliable as astrology.

The figures were released as Theresa May convened her Brexit war cabinet to discuss the shape of the UKs future relationship with Europe. The three-hour meeting focused on Northern Ireland and immigration and will be followed by another meeting of the 11-strong committee today.

The Prime Minister is expected to summon the group for a final meeting at her country retreat Chequers later this month ahead of the start of trade talks with the EU last month. Todays meeting is expected to focus on the degree to which the UK should diverge from EU rules after Brexit.

Chancellor Philip Hammond enraged pro-Brexit MPs last month when he said leaving the EU would lead to only very modest changes. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is pushing for much more flexibility for Britain to strike out on its own, as is international trade secretary Liam Fox. But Cabinet sources insist ministers are more united than they are portrayed, with even Mr Hammond accepting the case for some divergence to help release the potential of emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence.

The decision to release details of the Whitehall forecasts yesterday followed the leak of the conclusions to the Buzzfeed last week.

The analysis sparked a huge row between ministers and Whitehall mandarins, with Brexit minister Steve Baker saying he had never known the Civil Service get a forecast right. Jacob Rees-Mogg accused the Treasury of fiddling the figures in an attempt to change public opinion on Brexit.

Downing Street said the analysis had not been signed off by ministers. The Prime Ministers official spokesman yesterday pointed out that the study had failed to look at the option of a bespoke trade deal and close customs arrangements, which Mrs May is pursuing.

Former attorney general Dominic Grieve, the unofficial leader of Tory Remainers, claimed the figures showed leaving without a deal would hurt the poorest and most vulnerable in society.
Britain today is the land of the vigilante pack. Innocent people are being hounded over horrific allegations, brought without any evidence or credibility, and stoked to fever pitch on social media.

The police should be doing all they can to control this volatile, dangerous situation. More than anyone, they should be the bulwark of our ancient justice system, where the accused are treated as innocent until proven guilty.

Instead, especially in the case of the Metropolitan Police, I believe their actions have incited and provoked this vigilante mentality  stirring up hatred, encouraging wild allegations.

This week we learned that the man known only as Nick  one of the most influential figures in the police investigation into what eventually proved to be a non-existent VIP Westminster paedophile ring, which has tarnished the names of some of our most respected former politicians  is now himself facing child sex offence charges.

Former Lib Dem MP John Hemming (pictured here with his partner Emily Cox) has accused the police, social media giants, the BBC and the CPS of behaving like a lynch mob

Nick is a proven fantasist and serial liar, yet the Metropolitan Police chose to treat him as an unimpeachable source.

Following his bogus claims that he was raped by the Tory former Home Secretary Lord Brittan, D-Day hero Lord Bramall and former Tory MP Harvey Proctor among others, the Met raided both Brittans and Bramalls homes and launched an inquiry into Proctor, trashing all these individuals reputations.

Its a sorry state of affairs that brings shame upon our country. And one with a terrible personal cost to individuals who have been falsely accused, as I know only too well.

On a Saturday morning during the 2015 General Election campaign, I had a phone call from a journalist telling me that allegations had been made against me, accusing me of sexual abuse in the forest at Cannock Chase in Staffordshire many years previously.

Knowing this was nonsense, at first I was inclined to dismiss it. The police didnt seem to be too concerned either. But when my accuser, a woman called Esther Baker who is now 35, went public with her ludicrous claims, in an interview with Sky TV in late May, the story was in the open. For my family and I, it was the start of a nightmare.

Discredited allegations: Ester Baker accused Mr Hemming of abuse in 2015. It was September 2017 before the case was finally dismissed

I was not named publicly by Baker or by the police, but piecemeal clues soon revealed the suspect as a 55-year-old piano-playing Liberal MP who had lost his seat that month  and there was only one person who fitted that profile.

I would far prefer to be accused of bank robbery, or even murder, than of child abuse. Nothing is more repellent to me, or stirs up more hatred among the public. When I say that later this month I will be giving evidence against a person on trial for threatening to kill me, readers will understand how poisonous life became for me.

My children were traumatised. A journalist from a Sunday red-top laid siege to my home. Though the mainstream media behaved with restraint for the most part, social media certainly did not.

I was unable to go ahead with business investments. I even had to avoid performing with my jazz band (my favourite form of relaxation) because of concerns that someone might physically assault me.

For a time I drank heavily, to escape the stress. That didnt help matters for anyone. My only excuse is that alcohol helped me to sleep, which otherwise was impossible.

So much misery, all from the deluded or malicious claims of one woman, whom Ive never met  a woman who had even declared on Twitter only a few months earlier that she had never met a politician in her life.

Mr Hemming accused Labour MP Jess Phillips of using the allegations as political ammunition

Yet when she claimed to reporters and police that she had been repeatedly raped, between the ages of six and 11, by me as well as by a well-known, much-respected politician, now dead (I wont dignify the lie by repeating his name), her story was taken seriously.

I could disprove it easily. My diaries, my bank records, my receipts from that period all showed it was nonsense. But the case dragged on for more than two years because of Crown Prosecution Service delays and procedural problems, and it was September 2017 before the case was finally dismissed.

Even today, my accuser is somehow regarded as such a credible witness that she has been awarded core participant status at the Independent Inquiry into Child Sex Abuse  the investigation into historic allegations, set up in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal. (Core participants are individuals or organisations who are given special legal powers and privileges to help shape proceedings.)

My problem was that, however strong my defence, and however weak the lies, slime like that sticks. There is an automatic assumption in the public mind that the allegations must be true  otherwise, the police and justice system wouldnt be treating them so seriously.

One colleague, a local councillor, told me that hed heard I had been charged, convicted and imprisoned. That made me angry, but not as angry as I felt when my rival Labour candidate Jess Phillips (who unseated me in Birmingham Yardley in the 2015 election), used the rumours as political ammunition in a nakedly cynical exercise to promote her own interests.

Twenty police raided the home of war hero Lord Bramall, pictured alongside his late wife Avril

She not only supported Esther Baker on Twitter, calling her brave, but encouraged others to speak out. That was a cold-blooded attack on me and my family, and she should be held accountable, for assuming my guilt and for inciting hatred.

Twitter is guilty, too, though its directors regard themselves as above any sort of law  legal or moral. As I learnt to my cost, if one complains that people online are making up allegations of child rape, and stirring up mob hatred, Twitter executives will argue that this does not contravene their terms and conditions.

Other web-based organisations, such as the short-lived and highly damaging Exaro news site, which ran so-called journalistic investigations and ludicrously treated Nick as a credible source, appeared to work on the premise that many politicians were paedophiles.

Thats not simply stupid, its dangerous, to individuals and to society.

Former MP who lost his home: Harvey Proctor also had his home raided

Technology has advanced in huge strides this century, but human nature has not. The problem with social media is that it is not policed and provides liars, fantasists and malcontents with huge audiences.

The police should be doing all they can to control this situation.

I have few complaints about the overall professionalism of the Staffordshire force that investigated the claims against me, but the behaviour of Londons Metropolitan Police is a different story. I believe their irresponsible behaviour has incited people to come forward with false allegations.

The BBC also behaved with reckless irresponsibility when BBC News allowed Nick to tell his lurid claims of rape and abuse in Westminster in an interview in November 2014, and when false allegations were made against Cliff Richard.

Never forget how the Corporation filmed a raid on his home. By broadcasting aerial footage of police surrounding the property, in effect turning it into an action movie, the BBC virtually hung, drew and quartered poor old Cliff.

To add insult to injury, these fantasists are offered rewards, with the promise of criminal injuries compensation. Many of the accusers are mentally ill or psychologically unbalanced, and need no motive other than attention, but many more are attracted by the possibility of making some money courtesy of the state and the taxpayer.

Put all these things together  the financial incentives, the thirst for publicity and attention, the rabble-rousing of amoral politicians, the unbridled appetite of social media for salacious rumour  and you have a toxic mix.

Now add the shocking behaviour of the Metropolitan Police, who seemed hell-bent on pursuing a vendetta against public figures with no regard for that age-old British tradition that every man and woman is presumed innocent unless found guilty, and you can see why so many lives have been destroyed and whole families subjected to the cruellest torments.

It has to stop. Legislation must be used to prevent spurious cases from dragging on for years, and to hold social media giants accountable for spreading lies.

Above all, the Metropolitan Police have to resume their role as guardians of the peace, and stop behaving like a Wild West lynch mob.
Chief Constable Simon Byrne has been suspended from his role at Cheshire Police

A top-ranking police officer was yesterday accused of being an aggressive bully who intimidated junior staff.

Chief Constable Simon Byrne, who was described as a Jekyll and Hyde character, was allegedly prone to angry outbursts and exhibited volatile and offensive behaviour.

On one occasion he was so angry over plans for an awards ceremony he began to spit and wave his arms in the air, turning red in the face, witnesses said.

The officer, suspended from Cheshire Police last August following complaints, was particularly moody for a fortnight after he failed to secure the position of chief constable at Greater Manchester Police in 2015, documents claim.

He is also accused of repeatedly missing vital meetings and events, including the National Police Bravery Awards and a Remembrance Day ceremony in London, without good reason. The missed engagements are said to have cost the public purse more than 1,000, documents say.

Mr Byrne, a protege of former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Hogan-Howe, faces 74 charges alleging gross misconduct between May 2014 and March 2017. If they are upheld he could be sacked.

Yesterday details of the allegations were revealed by Cheshire police and crime commissioner David Keane, on his public website ahead of a two-week disciplinary hearing in April.

They state: You [Mr Byrne] lacked self-control and exhibited volatile, unpredictable and offensive behaviour. You displayed a short temper and a lack of tolerance and engaged in angry outbursts and aggressive attacks upon subordinate staff which created an intimidating, hostile and humiliating environment  which you knew or ought to have known would cause distress and anxiety.

Byrne was suspended from Cheshire Police pending a disciplinary investigation

Mr Byrne is accused of bullying junior members of staff at Cheshire Police, file photograph

The bullying allegations have been made by five female staff members, the forces IT department and its Association of Chief Police Officers office. At least one female employee quit her job as a consequence, it is claimed.

The list of allegations Regularly bullied and subjected junior staff to angry and aggressive outbursts

Missed appointments and conferences to watch son play sport or take him to school after he had a bad dream

Inappropriately asked a junior colleague to talk to a deputy constable about a hair clip she was wearing which he claimed breached uniform standards

Intervened to arrest a suspect so he could win a competition he was taking part in with other senior police officers

Downloaded apps on to his work iPad for his children and belittled the forces IT department

Sent nasty emails to humiliate and cause anxiety among staff Advertisement

Mr Byrne is also accused of allowing his children to download apps on his work iPad and missing meetings to take his son to school or watch him play sport or, on one occasion, because his son had had a bad dream.

It is claimed Mr Byrne asked an inspector to speak to Assistant Chief Constable Janette McCormick about a hair clip she wore.

The charges state: You knew or ought to have known it was unfair and inappropriate to direct an officer of inspector rank to speak to an assistant chief constable about the appropriateness of her hairstyle or dress code.

Unusually for such a high-ranking officer, Mr Byrne allegedly intervened to arrest a suspect in July 2014 to succeed in a competition between senior chief police officers. He is accused of being curt with employees, questioning staff abilities in front of colleagues and being patronising. He allegedly lost key documents, constantly berated a female inspector and sent nasty emails belittling staff.

After the suspension, Mr Keane said there was a case to answer for gross misconduct with regards to authority, respect and courtesy and discreditable conduct.

Mr Byrne took over the Cheshire force in 2014 after roles in the Met Police, GMP and Merseyside Police. The father of two was recently awarded the Queens Police Medal. In December 2016, he said: I am aware an allegation about my conduct is being investigated  I do not know the detail  so am unable to make any further comment at the moment.
The wingman of a Russian fighter pilot who was downed by an terrorist-fired missile and chose to detonate a grenade on himself rather than be captured has revealed he tried in vain to save his fallen commander.

The unnamed gunner of the second Sukhoi-25 jet accompanying Major Roman Filipov on the routine patrol in Syria, continued defending his comrade from the air while his doomed commander fought the terrorists on foot.

Giving his firsthand account of the deadly battle, Filipov's wingman revealed the brave commander urged him to fly to safety after taking a direct hit from a missile.

But despite ignoring his commander's orders and firing on the Al Nusra Front fighters, he was unable to save Filipov, who detonated his own hand grenade in a last act of defiance.

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The wingman of a Russian fighter pilot who was downed by an terrorist-fired missile and chose to detonate a grenade on himself rather tried in vane to save his fallen commander (pictured: Major Filipov's last moments before blowing himself up)

Video footage, filmed by the rebels themselves, sees Filipov shouting 'This is for our guys!' before detonating the explosives as the fighters surround him.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the 33-year-old was 'fighting the rebels until the last minute' and detonated the grenade when they approached.

Filipov, from Vladivostok, east Russia was awarded Kremlin's highest honour - the Hero of Russia medal - posthumously.

Maj. Filipov's last words caught on the video, filmed by the Al-Qaeda linked group Al-Nusra Front, were: 'This is for our guys'

It has now emerged that brave Filipov had ordered his wingman to 'head for the clouds' but the pilot stuck by his commander.

The pilot, who was interviewed by the Russian army daily Krasnaya Zvezda, said: 'His voice was firm when I warned him "You're under attack. Evasive action! Keep pitching! Keep maneuvering!" according to a Russian news agency.

Filipov is said to have replied: 'I can see that,' before going on calmly with the controls.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to say who had supplied the weapons system which rebels had used to shoot down the plane

The surviving pilot continued: 'He went on quite calmly, as if he was talking about something very routine, of secondary importance.'

Filipov's final words from his aircraft are said to have been: 'I've been hit real hard... the right engine's on fire... trying to head south... the left one is about to die...'

About 20 seconds later, there was the emergency message: 'Call the CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue team),' Filipov's wingman said.

In a statement seen by Russia Today, the Ministry said the pilot had ejected from his Sukhoi 25SM fighter jet after being hit with a missile from a portable surface-to-air system in Idlib, Syria.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was too early to say who had supplied the weapons system which rebels had used to shoot down the plane, but that it was extremely worrying that such rockets were falling into the hands of 'terrorists.'

After landing, Filipov remained in radio contact with the Russian airbase in Khmeimim, Syria, and reported shooting and killing two jihadist fighters with his hand gun as they closed in on him.

But realising his situation was hopeless, he pulled the pin on his grenade to kill himself, reportedly killing more rebels in the blast.

'Brave' pilot praised by his teacher Hero pilot Roman Filipov was 'brave as a lion' and had followed in the footsteps of his father as a combat air force man, it was revealed. As the Kremlin saluted him, Russian defence officials vowed to support his widow Olga and their two young children, along with his parents. The 33 year old had wanted to be a pilot from the moment he first went to school, said his class teacher. He came from a military family and his father Nikolay was a decorated air force pilot who flew combat missions during the war in Chechnya. His mother Elena and younger sister Marina also served in the Russian military. The director of School No. 85 in Voronezh, Galina Klepikova, said: 'He got mainly the highest marks His class teacher Lyudmila Lazareva (pictured) said: 'He was never childish, but adult, serious, reasonable, and balanced. He was among the best' 'Teachers speak of him only well: he was fit, modest, blue-eyed, fair-haired, neat. The boy was fond of sports, he studied well. He dreamed of being a pilot.' His class teacher Lyudmila Lazareva said: 'He was never childish, but adult, serious, reasonable, and balanced. He was among the best. 'He had a sense of justice. That was how he behaved - he knew what was right.' When she heard to his heroic death she said: 'I was so shocked. I was just in panic. For me, my pupils are always children. 'This poor child - that's what I think now.' His classmate Roman Dudin said his father had been his inspiration. 'When we were studying [at school], there was a conflict in Chechnya and his father took part in hostilities. He was a combat pilot.' Major Filipov lived with his wife and two children in the Far East off Russia in Chernigovka, Primorsky region. Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu called on Vladimir Putin to posthumously grant the Su-25 pilot the Hero of Russia honour, the country's highest award. A spokesman for Shoigu said the defence ministry 'will fully support' his widow and children and also his parents. Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: 'The pilot died heroically. We are proud of our heroes.' His commanders saw him as a 'brave pilot' who 'enjoyed well-deserved authority in his regiment and amongst his subordinates in the squadron' A military source said: 'He was brave as a lion and died a hero. We have only pride in him.' A spokesman said: 'The pilot did his best to keep the plane in the air as long as he could. He managed to report to his commanders he had been attacked with a missile. 'Filipov ejected himself and landed near the terrorists-held village of Tell-Debes. Until the last moments of his life he fought agianst the terrorists with his hand weapon. 'Filipov blew himself up with a grenade after being heavily injured and surrounded by terrorists when the attackers were meters away.' He was 'an experienced pilot - it was not his first tour in Syria.' 'Major Roman Filipov accomplished dozens of combat missions in Syria with flying colours to destroy international terrorist fighters and escort humanitarian convoys of the Russian centre for reconciliation of opposing sides to populated localities liberated from terrorists.' His commanders saw him as a 'brave pilot' who 'enjoyed well-deserved authority in his regiment and amongst his subordinates in the squadron.' He was a graduate of the Krasnodar Military Aviation Institute, and had climbed every step of the career ladder, from a senior pilot to a squadron deputy commander, said the defence ministry. Advertisement

Maj. Filipov's last words caught on the video, filmed by the Al-Qaeda linked group Al-Nusra Front, were: 'This is for our guys'.

Maj Filipov, who leaves behind a wife and a four-year-old daughter, was flying at 4,000 metres (13,123ft) when he was hit, and the jet crashed nearby.

Downed: The 33-year-old old pilot had come under fire from rebel fighters from the Al-Qaeda linked group as he flew over the Idlib province in Syria

Crashed: A Rebel fighter is seen taking a picture of the downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in the the Syrian city of Saraqib, southwest of Aleppo

Different stories: It was initially reported that Maj Filipov had been captured after his fighter jet was shot down over Idlib

Video and photos from the scene shows rebel fighters celebrating as the wreckage burns on the ground.

Fighter: Maj. Filipov reportedly shot and killed two rebel fighters with this handgun before he killed himself

Earlier reports suggested Maj. Filipov had been captured by rebels and separately that he had been killed in fighting.

But later it became clear that he had exploded his grenade to take his own life rather than be captured.

Syrian and Russian forces were reported to be on the ground at the scene of the incident aiming to retrieve the pilot's remains.

Russia's defence ministry confirmed the pilot had been shot down, saying: 'A Russian Su-25 aircraft crashed during a flight over the Idlib de-escalation zone.

'The pilot had enough time to announce he had ejected into the zone, under the control of al-Nusra Front fighters.

'The pilot was killed in fighting against terrorists.'

Russia has been supporting the Syrian government in Idlib where President Bashar Al-Assad's forces have been fighting against the Al-Nusra Front.

After Maj Filipov was shot down on Saturday, Russian jets intensified their raids on rebel-held towns and cities in the province

Proof: Documents belonging to Maj. Filipov appeared in footage shot by the jihadist rebels

Honoured: Maj Filipov, from Vladivostok, has been posthumously nominated for the Kremlin's highest honour - the Hero of Russia

Russia's Defence Ministry denies aiming at civilians and says it targets only hardline Islamist militants in Syria. Pictured: Maj Filippov

Civil defence sources in Idlib said air raids struck the towns of Kafr Nubl and Maasran, as well as the cities of Saraqeb, Maarat al Numan and Idlib, and that several deaths and dozens of injuries were reported as rescuers dug through the rubble.

A hospital was hit in Maarat al Numan, witnesses and residents said, and at least five people were feared killed in another attack that damaged a residential building in Kafr Nubl.

Video recorded by rescuers showed babies on stretchers being rushed by civil defence workers out of the damaged hospital while other rescuers fought to extinguish a fire.

In Idlib city, the provincial capital, one witness said a five-storey building was leveled and that at least fifteen people were feared dead.

Russia's Defence Ministry denies aiming at civilians and says it targets only hardline Islamist militants in Syria.
Commuters screamed for help after a packed London train caught fire during rush hour.

Hundreds of passengers were evacuated from the South Western Railway service to Woking, after it burst into flames from an electrical fault during this evening.

The blaze is believed to have been sparked by an electrical fault.

Hundreds of passengers were evacuated from the South Western Railway service to Woking, after it burst into flames from an electrical fault during this evening

Firefighters rush onto the platform at Berrylands, near Surbiton, south London after an electrical fire this evening

South Western said 'specialist teams' were dealing with a 'side fire' on its Twitter account.

One shocked resident, who lived nearby to where the train stopped at Berrylands, south London, told the Sun: 'It shook my living room. Three big booms.'

Dramatic pictures posted on social media show flames shooting up the side of the train's front carriage.

Media Consultant Graham Lovelace, 55, was travelling home to Hampton Court when he was caught up in the scare.

He said: '[The] train was busy, front carriages packed, passengers standing - including me.

'Just after we left New Malden station there were loud bangs and bright white sparks.

Passengers hurry up a platform at Berrylands Station after a fire on a South Western train

Commuters crowd on the platform and ring loved ones after being evacuated from their train

'I was in the front carriage where the electrical fault seemed to be located.

'There was a strong smell of smoke and passengers shouted to open the windows.

'Soon after there were more large sparks and more smoke.

'As the train pulled into Berrylands station people left the train, but that was when the biggest explosions happened. Everyone got off the train and stood on the platform.'

Fire crews soon arrived on the scene and ordered everyone off the platform, he added.

Stranded passengers are left staring at their phones for updates after their train was grounded at Berrylands Station in south London

In statement posted on Twitter, South Western wrote: 'A side fire has been reported near Berrylands station.

'This is temporarily blocking one of the country bound lines. Specialist teams are in the process of attending to resolve the issue.'

Passengers posted frantic tweets about the blaze as they were stranded on the platform.

Alongside a picture of smoke billowing from the carriage, Graham Lovelace said: 'My train home hit by major electrical fault and fire. Scene now at Berrylands near Surbiton.'
A South Australian almond farmer faces a potential jail sentence for hiring shooters to kill birds, including a native species, for 'destroying' his crop.

Phillip Costa has been under investigation by the Environment Department after bird rescue volunteers reported collecting up to 100 dead lorikeets, galahs and corellas from around his property in a week, The Advertiser reports.

The Costa Produce farmer admitted his gunmen shot down about 12 birds each evening because they were eating his nuts before their hard shell had formed.

Up to 100 birds, including a protected species, were found dead around the property of South Australian almond farmer, Phillip Costa

The Costa Produce farmer admitted his gunmen shot down about 12 birds each evening because they were eating his nuts before their hard shell had formed

Mr Costa didn't require a permit to shoot galahs or corellas, but needed one to shoot lorikeets because they were a protected species.

He was due to meet with the Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources this week and could face six months in jail or $2500 in fines.

Founder of bird rescue group Casper's Rescue, Sarah King, was horrified to discover the amount of birds surrounding the Angle Vale property, including one still alive suffering from a broken back.

'When an injustice is occurring we have a right to stand up for those without a voice,' Ms King wrote on Facebook.

Terese Scarlett was among several members of Casper's Rescue to discover the carnage surrounding the almond farm

Mr Costa didn't require a permit to shoot galahs or corellas, but needed one to shoot lorikeets because they were a protected species

Founder of bird rescue group Casper's Rescue, Sarah King, was horrified to discover the amount of birds surrounding the Angle Vale property with gunshot wounds

'It's now in the proper hands. I'm proud of Casper's as a whole. We are not here to destroy farmers or anything. We are here for the love of birds.'

Environment department species ecologist Jason van Weenen told the publication lorikeets had a special likeness for almonds, despite them being known for eating nectar.

'They can eat them just in that development stage. Any time before that shell really hardens is fine for them,' he said.

Mr Costa said he had invited members of Casper's Rescue to witness the damage lorikeets had caused to his almond crop.

'When an injustice is occuring we have a right to stand up for those without a voice,' Sarah King (pictured) wrote on Facebook

Mr Costa did not require a permit to shoot galahs (pictured) or corellas
A Sydney local council will formally consider scrapping its Australia Day celebration and replacing it with an 'indigenous commemorative event'.

The proposal to the Inner West Council by Greens politicians will likely be the first item on the list at the council's first meeting of the year next Tuesday.

They want the council to 'cease referring to the January 26 public holiday as Australia Day in its communications' and lobby the Federal Government to change the date.

A Sydney local council will formally consider scrapping its Australia Day celebration and replacing it with an 'indigenous commemorative event' (Redfern protests pictured)

The proposal to the Inner West Council by Greens politicians will likely be the first item on the list at the council's first meeting of the year next Tuesday

Greens councillor Tom Kiat will move the motion and call for January 26 to instead be an 'indigenous-led commemorative event'.

'I want to hear from the Indigenous community what we should do instead. It's about listening,' he told the Sydney Morning Herald.

He said it would be fitting for the Inner West to be the first to dump Australia Day as it was on its native people's land that the British colony was founded.

Cr Kiat is following national Greens policy, as federal leader Richard di Natale declared changing the date was a top priority for this year.

However, the proposal will almost certainly fail as the Greens don't have the numbers to and Mayor Darcy Byrne and his Labor councillors won't support it.

Mayor Byrne was concerned the council would be stripped of its ability to hold citizenship ceremonies, as happened to others in Melbourne and Perth.

Greens councillor Tom Kiat will move the motion and call for January 26 to instead be an 'indigenous-led commemorative event'

However, the proposal will almost certainly fail as the Greens don't have the numbers to and Mayor Darcy Byrne (pictured) and his Labor councillors won't support it

He instead wants the day to be one of 'reflection and commemoration', and will call for it to be kept as such using his 'mayoral minute' at the meeting.

That meant it would be the first motion considered and have the support of his four other councillors, two Liberals, and at least one of three independents.

'I'm not going to play into [Home Affairs Minister] Peter Dutton's hands and have migrants in the inner west, the birthplace of Australian multiculturalism, being prevented from becoming Australian citizens in our community,' he said.

Mayor Byrne wants the council to erect a Frontier War Memorial for slain Aboriginals and spend $5,000 on an Aboriginal languages pilot program.

The Greens would need the support of all three independents, plus its five councillors, to get the eight votes needed on the 15-member council.

One of the independents already ruled out his support, and the other two are open to change but thought it was moving too fast and didn't have community support.

Newspoll earlier this week found poll found 65 per cent of Australians were in favour of Australia Day remaining on its current date.
Crouch End is a leafy and trendy suburb of north London is home to many celebrities.

Food shopping and restaurant options abound, locals are never short of exotic dining options - including plenty of vegan establishments.

Locals take advantage of the many excellent Turkish grocery stores in the area.

Walter Purkis & Sons is excellent for fresh seafood and fish smoked on the premises. There is also Gails bakery for homemade loaves and pastries and the family run Dunns bakery for cakes and buns.

One of the landmarks is the the striking red brick clock tower at the centre of Crouch End Broadway, which was erected in memory of local politician Henry Reader Williams who died in 1897

Walter Purkis & Sons is excellent for fresh seafood and fish smoked on the premises. There is also Gails bakery for homemade loaves and pastries and the family run Dunns bakery for cakes and buns

Around 40 per cent of Crouch Enders are employed in the creative industries.

Packed with attractive architecture, good schools, lively shopping streets and leafy surrounding parks, this pocket of Haringey borough is thriving, and shows no signs of declining in popularity.

Crouch End is home to celebrities including Eastenders actress Tamzin Outhwaite, Hollywood actor James McAvoy, and columnist Caitlin Moran.

Bob Dylan used to be spotted the area, where he recorded at The Church Studios on Crouch Hill. He dined at Banners restaurant, where there is now a plaque commemorating his visit

Packed with attractive architecture, good schools, lively shopping streets and leafy surrounding parks, this pocket of Haringey borough is thriving, and shows no signs of declining in popularity

Bob Dylan used to be spotted the area, where he recorded at The Church Studios on Crouch Hill.

He dined at Banners restaurant, where there is now a plaque commemorating his visit.

One of the landmarks is the the striking red brick clock tower at the centre of Crouch End Broadway, which was erected in memory of local politician Henry Reader Williams who died in 1897.
Rob Porter, who resigned his position on February 7, 2018 as White House staff secretary, initially received strong backing from his former boss, Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, following accusations that Porter was abusive toward one of his ex-wives.

But that support seemed to evaporate when the second ex came forward with photos that she said showed a black eye Porter gave her.

Porter was Hatch's chief of staff from March 2014 until he came to the White House on Inauguration Day.

In an exclusive statement to DailyMail.com on February 6, Hatch said that it was 'incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man. Shame on any publication that would print this  and shame on the politically motivated, morally bankrupt character assassins that would attempt to sully a man's good name.'

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch softened his support for Rob Porter in the hours between his first statement of solidarity and Porter's resignation from the White House

'I know Rob. I've known him for years, both as a close friend and as a personal advisor,' Hatch continued at the time. 'He is kind and considerate towards all.'

'The country needs more honest, principled people like Rob Porter, which is why I hope that this cynical campaign to discredit his character ultimately fails.'

Less than 15 hours later, however, after DailyMail.com published the black-eye photos and Porter resigned his position, Hatch backpedaled and said he didn't know what Porter may have done in the years before he knew him.

'I am heartbroken by today's allegations,' Hatch said in a statement to reporters.

'In every interaction I've had with Rob, he has been courteous, professional, and respectful. My staff loved him and he was a trusted advisor.'

I do not know the details of Rob's personal life. Domestic violence in any form is abhorrent and unacceptable. I am praying for Rob and those involved,' he said.

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly hasn't wavered in his support for Porter, whom he reportedly urged to stay.

In a statement to DailyMail.com on February 6, he said that 'Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I can't say enough good things about him.'

'He is a friend, a confidante [sic] and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.'

White House Chief of Staff John Kelly complained in October 2017 that women were no longer held as 'sacred' in America, but as the Porter scandal unfolded he called the accused spousal abuser 'a man of true integrity and honor'

But in October 2017 the retired U.S. Marine Corps general lectured the White House press corps, complaining that women were no longer 'sacred' in America.

'When I was a kid growing up, a lot of things were sacred in our country,' he said then. 'Women were sacred and looked upon with great honor.'

'Thats obviously not the case anymore, as we see from recent cases.'

Kelly spoke just days after the #MeToo movement took off with sexual abuse allegations against the now-disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein.

Statements from White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders also semed to evolve as the story grew in intensity and Porter was forced out.

'I have worked directly with Rob Porter nearly every day for the last year and the person I know is someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character,' Sanders said on February 6.

'Those of us who have the privilege of knowing him are better people because of it.'

In her office after she announced Porter's resignation, Sanders said that 'of course' the Trump White House condemned domestic violence of any kind.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders insisted that 'of course' the administration condemns domestic violence of all kinds, but wouldn't commit to whether she believes Porter or his two ex-wives

Sanders wouldn't, however, say that the White House sided with Porter's ex-wives or believed their accounts of his behavior.

'It's not a matter of "believe" or "don't believe",' she told DailyMail.com, straddling both sides of what had become a heated dispute between a trusted colleague and the women who claimed he abused them.

'I hurt for anyone who's experienced anything like that  I haven't  in whatever degree. But at the same time I can only talk about my personal experience and interactions,' she said.
While cyber bulling may be all too familiar to young people, many parents may have no idea what it feels like.

In an article for The Conversation, Dr Larisa McLoughlin, a researcher based at Australia's University of the Sunshine Coast, outlines eight different forms of cyberbullying.

These include stalking, flaming, catfishing and exclusion - all of which can make innocent people feel vulnerable and victimised.

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According to Dr Larisa McLoughlin, a researcher at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, cyberbullying can include both overt (name calling, mocking, shaming) or covert (exclusion, isolation) aspects

We hear a lot about cyberbullying, but we hear less about what it actually constitutes.

Cyberbullying is defined as an aggressive, intentional act using electronic forms, repeatedly and over time, against a victim who can't easily defend against it.

As technology evolves continuously, cyberbullying originally was restricted to the sending of emails and texts.

But now it can include image-sharing, online communities, blogs and forums, and sharing of personal information.

While cyberbullying is an iteration of traditional bullying, victims of cyberbullying often have worse outcomes than victims of traditional bullying.

And a combination of traditional bullying and cyberbullying has the most severe negative impact on mental health.

Cyberbullying can include both overt (name calling, mocking, shaming) or covert (exclusion, isolation) aspects.

Cyberbullying can involve written-verbal behaviours such as phone calls, text messages and comments on social media.

WHAT ARE THE EIGHT DIFFERENT WAYS PEOPLE CAN BE CYBERBULLIED? According to Dr Larisa McLoughlin, a researcher at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia, cyberbullying can include both overt (name calling, mocking, shaming) or covert (exclusion, isolation) aspects. Cyberbullying can involve written-verbal behaviours such as phone calls, text messages and comments on social media. Eight examples of cyberbullying involve: Trolling : purposefully posting hurtful comments to provoke a response. Flaming : an array of aggressive comments from one to another. Visual Behaviors : posting, sending or sharing pictures or videos, usually to cause embarrassment. Exclusion : intentionally excluding someone from an online group or, in the case of online gaming, excluding a player from groups or teams. Catfishing : falsifying online identities to trick the victim into romantic relationships. Impersonation : using the victim's name and account to damage the victim. Stalking : for example sending multiple text messages to the victim to show the bully knows exactly what they are doing, where they have been. Threatening violence : for example threatening some form of traditional bullying, such as a physical fight. Advertisement

Two specific examples of written forms of cyberbullying are the well-known 'trolling' (purposefully posting hurtful comments to provoke a response), and flaming (an array of aggressive comments from one to another).

Other forms of cyberbullying involve:

Visual behaviours: posting, sending or sharing pictures or videos, usually to cause embarrassment

Exclusion: intentionally excluding someone from an online group or, in the case of online gaming, excluding a player from groups or teams

Catfishing: falsifying online identities to trick the victim into romantic relationships

Impersonation: using the victim's name and account to damage the victim

Stalking: for example sending multiple text messages to the victim to show the bully knows exactly what they are doing, where they have been

Threatening violence: for example threatening some form of traditional bullying, such as a physical fight.

These forms of cyberbullying occur in one of three ways: direct, by proxy, or by public post (to a wide audience).

Direct attacks are between the bully and victim only, and the identity of the former is known by the latter.

Whereas 'by proxy' attacks are indirect, and the bully typically tricks someone else into cyberbullying the victim.

This means the bully convinces someone else to post something online about the victim, with that person not realising it's intended to hurt or embarrass the victim.

Cyberbullying may also involve the posting of the above-mentioned behaviours to a wide audience via social media, a website or a blog.

This can include creating a false social media account of another person.

Cyberbullying can occur on any number of platforms.

It can occur via social networking sites such as Facebook or Instagram, or through popular apps such as Snapchat.

It can also occur through text messages and emails, or via question-and-answer type platforms such as askFM (an anonymous platform for asking people questions).

There's no way of knowing which platform could be used to cyberbully someone and there's not always a preference.

Though direct and public cyberbullying are both very serious, young people perceive public cyberbullying to be worse than the private form, with anonymous attacks being more severe than non-anonymous.

Why do young people cyberbully each other?

There are many reasons young people cyberbully each other.

While traditional bullies lack empathy, technology tends to magnify this due to the anonymity it can provide, as well as the lack of an immediate visible response from the victim that is often evident in traditional bullying.

Cyberbullying can occur on any number of platforms. It can occur via social networking sites such as Facebook or Instagram, or through popular apps such as Snapchat. It can occur through texts and emails, or via anonymous question-and-answer platforms such as askFM

So cyberbullying can often be considered 'easier', as the bully does not have to face the victim or see their response.

In a sense, it may involve 'less effort' than traditional bullying.

It's well documented that victims of cyberbullying can have serious mental health concerns.

Similarly, being a cyberbully is linked to more maladaptive behaviours (inability to cope with certain environments) and social anxiety problems.

But those who are categorised as cyberbully-victims (individuals who engage in cyberbullying both as victims and as bullies) experience the most severe problems, being more depressed and anxious than those who are solely cybervictims or cyberbullies, or not involved in cyberbullying.

It's obvious cyberbullying among young people needs to be stamped out.

While banning social media altogether is not a practical solution, educating young people about respectful behaviour towards others, and reminding them about the terrible consequences associated with cyberbullying, may one day sink in.
Gruesome footage has revealed how bombardier beetles cause toads to vomit them up after being eaten alive.

These remarkable beetles eject 100C (212F) toxic chemicals from their abdomen into the toad's stomach, causing them to regurgitate their meal.

Researchers found that 43 per cent of beetles in their study were able to escape unharmed from the digestive juices of the toad's stomach within 12 to 107 minutes.

Scientists believe this beetle has also developed greater tolerance to toad digestive juices, meaning it can survive while it's waiting for the toad to vomit.

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Plucky little bombardier beetles eject 100C chemicals from their abdomen after being eaten by toads (pictured) in order to force the amphibians to throw them up

Experts led by Kobe University found the bombardier beetle, scientific name Pheropsophus jessoensis, discharged boiling chemicals called quinones and water vapour.

They studied a toad, a species of the Bufo genus, who 'readily swallowed the beetle' under lab conditions.

On average, the toad vomited the beetle 44 minutes after swallowing it and the regurgitated beetle was still alive and active, researchers found.

'All toads avoided the bombardier beetles just after vomiting them', lead researcher Dr Shinji Sugiura from Kobe University told MailOnline.

'Therefore, toads can learn the body colour and shape of bombardier beetles, although some toads may have a poor memory.'

Bombardier beetles have two separate sections that contain chemicals that are harmless on their own, but when they react together have a devastating effect.

When threatened, the beetles can force the chemicals into the same chamber of their body.

This starts a series of events that involves enzymes, hydrogen peroxide and chemicals called hydroquinones.

Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into boiling water and gas, whilst the hydroquinones break down into benzoquinones.

Forty-three per cent of beetles escaped from the digestive juices of the toad's stomach between 12 to 107 minutes, according to the study. Pictured is a toad about to swallow a beetle

These are highly irritating chemicals that have been known to stain human skin and irritate the eyes.

When these chemicals come together, a large amount of energy is released which vaporises some of the liquid as well raising its temperature to around 100C (212F).

Toads have to invert their stomachs to vomit, which is why it takes such a long time for them to regurgitate the beetle.

Only a few animals escape from inside amphibians, probably because strong acids kill most prey in their stomachs shortly after they are swallowed.

'The bombardier beetle species may have evolved a high tolerance for toads digestive juices', Dr Sugiura added.

Remarkably, they were all alive and well after their ordeal, researchers found. Scientists believe this beetle has also developed greater tolerance to toad digestive juices meaning it can survive while it's waiting for the toad to vomit

They studied a toad, a species of Bufo, who 'readily swallowed the beetle' under lab conditions. On average the toad vomited the beetle (pictured) 44 minutes after swallowing it and the regurgitated beetle was still alive and active, researchers found

It's also possible, however, that the chemical secretions from the beetle reduced the potency of the toads' digestive fluids and enzymes.

This would mean the toad's stomach was less well equipped to kill the beetle.

Researchers found large beetles escaped more frequently than small beetles, and small toads vomited the beetles more frequently than large toads.

They believe this could be because large beetles can eject more defensive chemicals and small toads have a lower tolerance to toxins.

Bombardier beetles (pictured, left) have two separate sections that contain chemicals that are harmless on their own, but when they react together have a devastating effect. When threatened, the beetles can force the chemicals into the same chamber

WHAT ARE BOMBARDIER BEETLES? Bombardier beetles are found all over the world on every continent except Antarctica. In the US alone, there are more than 40 species of bombardier beetle. They thrive in temperate locations and are often found in woodlands and grasslands. There are hundreds of different species of bombardier beetles around the world and they all tend to be small, no larger than 2.5 cm (one inch) in length. They tend to have blue wing coverings and a red head and limbs. Bombardier beetles are found all over the world on every continent except Antarctica Populations of the beetles are very stable and they are not thought to be a conservation concern. The beetles are carnivorous (even the larvae) and their diet consists predominantly of small insects. They tend to hunt at night and when they are not looking for food, they tend to gather in small groups with others of their species. Bombardier beetles have a unique ability to shoot a corrosive, boiling chemical spray at potential predators. The beetles have two separate sections that contain chemicals that are harmless on their own, but when they react together have a devastating effect. When threatened, the beetles can force the chemicals into the same chamber. This starts a series of events that involves enzymes, hydrogen peroxide and chemicals called hydroquinones. The hydrogen peroxide breaks down into boiling water and gas whilst the hydroquinones break down into benzoquinones - highly irritating chemicals that have been known to stain human skin and irritate the eyes. When these come together, a large amount of energy is released and vaporises some of the liquid as well raising the temperature to around 100C (212F). This huge increase in pressure forces the noxious, pungent chemical out of a small outlet at the tip of the abdomen. Some African bombardier beetles can even rotate the tip up to 270 degrees to better aim the spray of the potent chemical. Advertisement

'Our results demonstrate the importance of the preypredator size relationship in the successful escape of prey from inside a predator', researchers wrote in a paper outlining their findings.

More than 600 species of bombardier beetles can discharge the hot chemicals.

However, this is the only species to have been seen to successfully use the spray to escape from the inside of a predator.

'Successful escape from predators digestive systems has been reported in several animal species: a blind snake from a toad, adult diving beetles from a toad, a carabid beetle larva from a frog, horsehair worms from fishes and frogs and land snails from birds', researchers wrote.

'However, the ecological factors determining successful escape remain unexplored.

'We showed that the bombardier beetle P. jessoensis ejects toxic chemicals inside the toad, thereby forcing the toad to vomit', they wrote.

The full results of the study were published in the journal Biology Letters.
Experts believe that a depleted ozone layer contributed to the largest mass extinction ever on Earth, which took place 252 million years ago.

Now, a new study has shown that extreme levels of ultraviolet rays, emanating from the sun and passing through the atmosphere, can cause trees to become sterile.

They believe this may have led to a catastrophic shortage of nutrition, which affected every level of the food chain, during the end-Permian crisis.

Since the 1980s, the ozone has been damaged by man-made chemicals and is at risk of again being destroyed, leaving the planet vulnerable to the harmful radiation.

While the main culprit for ozone depletion has since been banned, the finding suggests stricter measures may be needed for other industrial chemicals.

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Extreme levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation can cause trees to become sterile, says a new study. When subjected to high levels of UV radiation, the pine cones of bonsai trees (left) became shrivelled and infertile (right)

Researchers from the University of California Berkeley found that radiation levels similar to those at the time of the end-Permian crisis were enough to stop the plants reproducing.

They recreated the high UV levels in a lab to see how modern-day plants would cope, irradiating 18-inch (45cm) tall, bonsai-like pines with UV-B dosages up to 13 times stronger than on Earth today.

Experts found that, while the radiation doesn't kill the plants, it deforms pollen and damages pine cones, making reproduction impossible.

The most intense levels of UV radiation on Earth occurred at the start of the Triassic period.

At this time, nearly 70 per cent of known land animals and 95 per cent of marine life went extinct.

The experiment was designed to simulate the effects of ozone depletion, believed to have been caused by immense volcanic eruptions that occurred at the end of the Permian Period.

Jeffrey Benca, the graduate student who conducted the experiment, said: 'During the end-Permian crisis, the forests may have disappeared in part or fully because of increased UV exposure.

'With pulses of volcanic eruptions happening, we would expect pulsed ozone shield weakening, which may have led to forest declines previously observed in the fossil record.

Bonsai trees were placed in a special UV chamber at the University of California Berkeley (pictured) for two months to see the effect the ultraviolet waves had on the small pine trees. Researchers found they survived, but were sterile

'If you disrupt some of the dominant plant lineages globally repeatedly, you could trigger trophic cascades by destabilising the food web base, which doesn't work out very well for land animals.'

During the two-month experiment, none of the trees died but all seed cones, or pine cones, shrivelled up only days after emerging.

In three separate indoor UV chambers, Mr Benca exposed the bonsai trees to 7.5, 10 and 13 times normal UV-B intensity.

When placed outside, the trees regained the ability to produce healthy seed cones in later years.

By subjecting the bonsai trees to the same levels of radiation as Earth experienced 250 million years ago, researchers saw that although the trees survived, they couldn't reproduce. None of the trees died but all seed cones, or pine cones, shrivelled up only days after emerging

The research team found that the pines produced malformed pollen.

At the medium and extreme exposure range, 12 to 15 per cent of pollen grains were misshapen, versus three per cent in normal and low-exposure trees.

Their seed cones shrivelled up before they had a chance to be fertilised.

This seemed to be a systemic reaction to the UV-B stress, since even seed cones hidden among foliage died.

Researchers found that although the high levels of UV light severely damaged the trees and halted reproduction, the trees did not die. The lack of growth and reproduction could have been enough to disrupt ecosystems and kill animals that depend on plants as a food source

Scientists have proposed that ozone depletion caused by periodic volcanic eruptions over nearly a million years was one cause of the end-Permian extinction, but how has been unclear.

The lack of ozone at the end of the Permian period is thought to have been caused by volcanic eruptions in Siberia over hundreds of thousands of years.

These eruptions produced what are known today as the Siberian Traps: lava fields covering much of northern Russia.

They originally encompassed nearly 3 million square miles with an average thickness of about 1,000 feet (300 metres).

The high levels of UV-B radiation caused healthy pollen grains (left) to become malformed and distorted (right). This meant the plants could not reproduce effectively and as a result they became sterile

Acid rain would have been a local effect, but the mass extinction of land animals, marine life and many plant lineages was global.

Although plants could have survived through huge levels of radiation, the damaging effect on growth and reproduction may have had a huge impact on the food chain.

Previous paleoclimate modelling studies suggest the volcanic spurts could have wiped out the ozone layer worldwide, though temporarily.

Nevertheless, even if ancient trees regained their fertility, repeated bouts of sterility could have hampered population growth over time, leading to collapse of the biosphere planet-wide.

Co-author professor Cindy Looy added: 'Paleontologists have come up with various kill scenarios for mass extinctions.

Regular pollen grains have a regular and predictable appearance, the radiation caused them to mutate and deform to the point where the plant was incapable of reproducing at all

'But plant life may not be affected by dying suddenly as much as through interrupting one part of the life cycle, such as reproduction, over a long period of time, causing the population to dwindle and potentially disappear.'

The current ozone depletion is as a result of an influx of damaging chemicals into the atmosphere since the 1980s.

Carbon fluorocarbons - CFCs - were common in fridges, aerosol cans and many other products.

These created a huge hole in the ozone layer over the poles, which has been associated with increased rates of cancer and other health concerns.

WHAT WAS THE PERMIAN MASS EXTINCTION, KNOWN AS 'THE GREAT DYING'? Around 248 million years ago, the Permian period ended and the Triassic period started on Earth. Marking the boundary between these two geologic eras is the Permian mass extinction, nicknamed 'The Great Dying'. This catastrophic event saw almost all life on Earth wiped out. Scientists believe around 95 per cent of all marine life perished during the mass extinction, and less than a third of life on land survived the event. In total, it is believed that 90 per cent of all life was wiped out. All life on Earth today is descended from the roughly ten per cent of animals, plants and microbes that survived the Permian mass extinction. Previously, it was believed a huge eruption blanketed the Earth in thick smog, blocking the sun's rays from reaching the planet's surface. However, new findings suggest a massive volcanic eruption that ran for almost one million years released a huge reservoir of deadly chemicals into the atmosphere that stripped Earth of its ozone layer. This eradicated the only protection Earth's inhabitants had against the sun's deadly UV rays. This high-energy form of radiation can cause significant damage to living organisms, causing the death toll to skyrocket. Advertisement

Since a global ban on the damaging chemicals, the ozone layer has slowly started to repair itself.

But the surprise findings tell scientists something about past extinctions and Earth's future prospects as climate change, habitat destruction and pollution set us up for Earth's sixth mass extinction.

The full findings of the research were published in the journal Science Advances.
A technology that allows firefighters to fight flames that are behind barriers has been developed and is being used by the Air Force and the Navy.

The PyroLance is a water gun that can pierce through steel, concrete, brick or bulletproof glass before pelting a fire behind such obstacles with water.

The contraption penetrates materials with pressurized water and granite, puncturing them with a three-millimeter hole.

Water can then be sprayed through that hole onto flames that are on the other side.

So far the technology has been picked up by a handful of airports and fire services across the globe, in addition to the Navy and the Air Force, according to CNNMoney.

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This 'water gun', called the PyroLance, can break through steel, concrete, brick or bulletproof glass using pressurized water and granite. Once the machine has penetrated a barrier it can spray flames in an enclosed area. It is being used by the Navy and the Air Force

Among the establishments that have invested in the technology are Houston Airport, Rolls Royce Engine Factory, AMT Canada Train Tunnel and Charleston Harbor Pilots.

But the president of PyroLance, Scott Alexander, told CNNMoney that he finds it difficult to convince firefighters that his company is not going to put them out of a job.

'The reality is we're trying to keep them safe,' Alexander said. The PyroLance system costs from $15,000 to $80,000 dollars.

The PyroLance can get through strong materials that are encasing a fire in as little as three seconds, according to the company's website.

It states that the equipment can puncture a double brick faced wall or plywood in 30 seconds, a concrete block in 35 seconds, a sheet of aluminium in ten seconds and a FedEx cargo plane in three seconds.

Ultra-High Pressure (UHP) technology is what allows the 'gun' to break barriers this quickly. UHP pelts the materials with tiny droplets of water repetitively, and this, eventually, breaks through the layer.

UHP also conserves water, PyroLance has said. 'UHP routinely outperforms traditional attack lines while using only about ten percent of the water. A full 90 percent of normal pressure flow becomes run-off and is effectively wasted.

'By contrast, 90 percent of UHP flow is effective in knocking down and containing fires.'

The above diagram explains how the PyroLance works. After the gun has pierced a barrier, it can cool down a flaming room by 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit in less than one minute

The machinery can cool down an enclosed space that has caught on fire remarkably fast, bringing down the temperature from about 1,500 degrees Fahrenheit to 200 degrees Fahrenheit in less than 60 seconds.

When the gun pierces a barrier and then sprays flames in an enclosed space with water, moderate amounts of oxygen are pumped in to reduce the chance of a backdraft, the company said.

Alexander told CNNMoney that his company is the sole manufacturer of the technology that can pierce barriers to get to a fire using pressurized water.

HOW MANY AMERICANS ARE AFFECTED BY HOME FIRES? A new technology called the PyroLance can cut through steel, brick and other materials quickly to fight flames enclosed in tight space. The machinery has been adopted by the US Navy and Air Force as well as a number of airports and fire services around the world According to the National Fire Protection Association, 50 percent of deaths caused by home fires occur between 11pm and 7am, but only a fifth of home fires are reported during that time frame. A fourth of these deaths occur after a fire starts in a bedroom, and another fourth are caused by fires that originate in the living room, den or family room. Three-fifths of deaths caused by home fires occur in spaces that are either not equipped with a smoke alarm or equipped with a non-functioning smoke alarm. US fire departments tackled about 365,500 home fires in 2015, which caused 2,560 deaths and 11,075 injuries. Additionally, these fires caused $7billion worth of damage. About seven people in the US die from a home fire each day. The leading cause of injuries resulting from home fires is cooking. The second largest cause is heating equipment. The leading cause of deaths resulting from home fires is smoking materials. The majority of fatal fires take one or two lives. Advertisement

He also shared that the goal of the technology is to prevent toxic smoke environments, deadly backdrafts and intense heat from limiting firefighters' abilities on the job.

'Firefighters can manage the thermal layer while remaining outside in a safe, shielded, defensive position,' PyroLance's website states.

The gun does not create sparks when it is used and it is also non-heat producing.

'This gives PyroLance the ability to quickly breach and/or cut most types of materials without creating any additional heat or sparks.

'In addition, without the requirement of any other tools, it becomes both a defensive and offensive fire attack tool,' the website explains.
Footage tracking center core cut out before it could be seen landing, reports claim it missed the drone ship

Powered by 27 engines, the rocket features three reusable cores, two of which were filmed returning to Earth

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As if SpaceX's successful Falcon Heavy launch wasn't impressive enough, the firm managed to complete another remarkable feat as the megarocket blasted off to Mars.

Stunning video from today's launch shows the twin boosters returning to Cape Canaveral in a synchronized landing.

The massive rocket launched at 3:45 p.m. ET, carrying Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster on board.

Just over three minutes into the launch, the side boosters detached from the rocket and launch operators confirmed the rocket was on the right trajectory.

After shedding from the core section of the rocket, the two reusable side boosters landed seamlessly back on Earth about eight minutes into the launch.

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In a groundbreaking first for SpaceX, the firm said it would attempt a triple landing of the Falcon Heavy's booster engines.

The third booster, which is the rocket's center stage, was supposed to detach from the rocket, cut back through the atmosphere and land itself on an autonomous drone ship, dubbed 'Of Course I Still Love You,' that's stationed out in the Atlantic Ocean.

The rocket appeared to have successfully jettisoned the core, but SpaceX's live stream cut out before it was able to show the center stage returning to the sea-faring platform.

A source told the Verge that the middle core missed the drone ship where it was supposed to land, but SpaceX has yet to confirm this publicly.

In an incredible accomplishment, the Falcon Heavy's side boosters landed smoothly back down to Earth on two separate launchpads about 8 minutes in. 'The Falcons have landed' the announcers said, as people cheered and whooped wildly in the background

In an unlisted stream of the launch, an announcer was heard saying 'We lost the center core.'

SpaceX has said it still plans to recover the middle core as planned.

Today's successful launch marked the maiden flight of what's now the most powerful operational rocket in the world.

'You've heard the call out - vehicle is supersonic' the announcer said, as the rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below.

'The Falcons have landed' the announcers said, as onlookers cheered and whooped wildly in the background.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy megarocket has finally blasted off from the launchpad at Cape Canaveral, carrying Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla Roadster

For now, it remains unclear what has happened with the center core, as the cameras tracking its journey cut out.

But, the firm is expecting it to touch back down to Earth as well.

'Meanwhile, the second stage is continuing its trajectory towards Mars,' the SpaceX team said.

'It was an outstanding test flight of the Falcon Heavy.'

'Everything that you could want in a test flight - we got here,' the team said.

The Falcon Heavy successfully lifted off on Tuesday afternoon. It can be seen above soaring high over the Cape Canaveral site. 'You've heard the call out - vehicle is supersonic' the announcer said, as the rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below

After leaving Earth, the Roadster and its passenger 'Star Man' are now off to travel alone on a 250 million mile (400m km) journey into deep space, propelled by the main module, which separated from the Falcon Heavy shortly after launch. The dummy and the car can be seen above far above Earth following today's successful launch

A view inside the Roadster showed one last look at the dummy, dubbed Starman, behind the wheel on its journey to Mars.

Displayed on the dashboard display, the firm has written: Don't Panic.

And, as promised, David Bowie's 1969 hit could be heard playing in the background.

If all goes according to plan, the rocket will carry Elon Musk's 2008 cherry red Tesla Roadster - blasting David Bowie's hit Space Oddity - to an Earth-Mars orbit around the sun.

Upper stage restart nominal, apogee raised to 7000km, Musk tweeted shortly after the launch.

Will spend 5 hours getting zapped in Van Allen belts & then attempt final burn for Mars.

After pushing back the launch time twice today due to wind speeds, the massive rocket launched at 3:45 p.m. ET, just before the launch window was set to close. Above, a view of the main module can be seen just after the side boosters split off

The SpaceX team confirmed immediately after launch that the massive rocket was operating according to plan. Just minutes later, it prepared for its side boosters to split off from the central core, as seen above

The SpaceX CEO also shared an update on Starmans journey beyond Earth.

View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth, Musk quipped.

After five years of setbacks, the massive rocket capable of achieving a thrust equivalent to more than 18 Boeing 747 jetliners finally took its maiden flight today.

According to Musk, it will take roughly six months for the car to complete the more than 200 million mile journey to reach the red planet.

And, it's expected to remain in orbit for about a billion years.

A view inside the Roadster showed one last look at the dummy behind the wheel on its journey to Mars. Displayed on the dashboard display, the firm has written: Don't Panic

Ahead of the launch today, Musk released a stunning animation revealing how the plan would work.

The billionaire SpaceX CEO said the firm's Falcon Heavy spacecraft will carry his Roadster on a billion-year journey through space 'if it doesn't explode into tiny pieces'.

A video posted to Musk's Instagram account shows how the huge rocket will lift off from Florida in its first ever test flight today.

The craft's three reusable cores will separate from the main module, containing Musk's car, after launch and return to Earth, the animation shows.

Elon Musk's Roadster and its solitary passenger, the mannequin 'Starman,' can be seen soaring through the sky after the Falcon Heavy launched today. They're now on their way to Mars

Now that the Tesla Roadster has been launched, it will carry out a 200 million mile journey to Earth-Mars orbit. Its path is illustrated in the graphic above. It will continue to circle this path, theoretically, for billions of years, Musk says

Once beyond Earth's orbit, the main module will break apart, leaving the roadster and its passenger, a mannequin Musk has named 'Star Man', to travel alone on a 250 million mile (400m km) journey into deep space.

Musk assured spectators that cameras on the vehicle will provide 'epic views' as it travels to Mars.

Most new rockets carry concrete or steel blocks on test flights to simulate the weight of a real payload, but Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, has previously said that this method is 'extremely boring', adding that SpaceX decided to send Musk's car as it was 'something unusual, something that made us feel.'

In yesterday's Instagram post, Musk wrote: 'Falcon Heavy launches to Mars orbit tomorrow.

'If it doesn't explode into tiny pieces, it will carry Starman in Roadster over 400 million km from Earth at 11 km/sec on a billion year journey through deep space.'

SpaceX has spent weeks preparing for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world's most powerful rocket in operation, with the capacity to one day take payloads to the moon or Mars

HOW DOES THE SPACEX FALCON HEAVY MEASURE UP? Height: 70 meters (229.6 feet) Stages: Two Boosters: Two Re-usable Cores: Three Engines: 27 Payload to Low Earth Orbit: 63,800kg (140,660 lb) Payload to Mars: 16,800kg (37,040 lb) Total width: 12.2m (39.9 ft) Mass: 1,420,788kg (3,125,735 lb) Total thrust at lift-off: 22,819 kilonewtons (5.13 million pounds) When it launches, Falcon Heavy (left) will be the world's most powerful rocket, capable of carrying payloads far greater than even the Apollo 11 space shuttle (second from left) Advertisement

Musk has also said David Bowie's 1969 hit 'Space Oddity' would play in the vehicle during the launch.

SpaceX has spent weeks preparing for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world's most powerful rocket in operation, with the capacity to one day take payloads to the moon or Mars.

It has been hailed by industry experts as a game-changer because of its potential to propel the California-based company to the very forefront of the modern day space race.

Today's successful launch marked the maiden flight of what's now the most powerful operational rocket in the world

'Meanwhile, the second stage is continuing its trajectory towards Mars,' the SpaceX team said. 'It was an outstanding test flight of the Falcon Heavy'

Elon Musk shared a graphic on Twitter today to illustrate the flight path of the Falcon Heavy after launch. The 70-metre- (230-foot) long rocket's central core will then detach from the main module and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on the firm's 'Of Course I Still Love You' drone ship in the Pacific Ocean

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy megarocket is scheduled to lift off from the Cape Canaveral launchpad today, in what will be the firm's most ambitious launch yet. The megarocket can be seen sitting on Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its demonstration mission

The launch follows months of delays and build-up to the historic flight, with Musk frequently posting updates across his social media profiles.

On January 5, the billionaire wrote on Instagram: 'Falcon Heavy now vertical on the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad.

'At 2,500 tons of thrust, equal to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle, it will be the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two. Excitement on launch day guaranteed, one way or another.

'Hold-down test fire next week. Launch end of the month.'

The 46-year-old South African, who co-founded PayPal with venture capitalist Peter Thiel, predicts the Falcon Heavy's payload will stay in deep space for a while.

The red Tesla Roadster can be seen above, during preparations ahead of launch

Tesla founder Elon Musk has released a new animation revealing how he will fire his car toward Mars today aboard the world's most powerful rocket. The car has already been fitted into the huge rocket's main module (pictured)

The billionaire, who is CEO of private rocket company SpaceX, said the firm's Falcon Heavy spacecraft will carry his 2008 cherry red Tesla Roadster on a billion-year journey through space 'if it doesn't explode into tiny pieces'. Pictured is an artist's impression of the car strapped into the rocket's main module before launch later today

Once the Falcon Heavy enters space, two of the 70-metre- (230-foot) long craft's booster rockets will separate off and return to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings (pictured)

A photo of its unusual cargo - Musk's cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster - was released last month.

Images released by SpaceX show an original Roadster perched on a large cone inside the Falcon Heavy on what appears to be a secure mount to keep it stationary as the rocket makes its maiden flight.

'Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. That seemed extremely boring,' Musk said in December.

'Of course, anything boring is terrible, especially companies, so we decided to send something unusual, something that made us feel.

'The payload will be an original Tesla Roadster, playing Space Oddity, on a billion year elliptic Mars orbit.'

The mission marks SpaceX's most ambitious project to date.

Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, with the aim of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonisation of Mars.

In a Washington, D.C., speech last July the Tesla founder said Falcon Heavy is one of the most difficult and technically complex projects SpaceX has ever undertaken.

'There's a lot of risk associated with Falcon Heavy,' he said during the 2017 International Space Station Research and Development Conference.

'Real good chance that the vehicle doesn't make it to orbit. I want to make sure to set expectations accordingly.'

Musk has spent the proceeding months building up hype for the historic launch with a series of social media posts.

Last month he posted an image to Twitter of people stoof next to a landed Falcon Heavy rocket to give an idea of the vehicle's scale.

Once the Falcon Heavy enters space, two of the 70-metre- (230-foot) long craft's booster rockets will separate off (left and right) and return to Earth, with the central core and main module (centre) continuing into space

He tweeted: 'Falcon Heavy launching from same @NASA pad as the Saturn V Apollo 11 moon rocket.

'It was 50% higher thrust with five F-1 engines at 7.5M lb-F.

'I love that rocket so much.'

He also confirmed the rocket will have a 'max thrust at lift-off is 5.1 million pounds or 2300 metric tons,' adding the first mission will run at 92 per cent capacity.

'Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape.

'Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another,' Musk originally posted.
Apple is developing a futuristic stylus that lets users draw on nearly any surface -- including in mid-air.

In a recently filed patent, the Silicon Valley giant describes how the pen-like device can be operated without a touch-sensitive device, such as a touchscreen tablet or smartphone.

A device, such as a computer, would be wirelessly tethered to the stylus and a camera would track the pen's movements via sensors, according to the filing.

As a result, users wouldn't just be limited to 2D drawings, they could also create 3D doodles drawn in mid-air.

Pictured, the patent describes a next-generation stylus that would be able to draw in mid-air, thanks to sensors that communicate with a tracking camera on a laptop or desktop computer

The patent was filed in July 2016, but was only made public January 18.

The stylus would also be able to write on typical surfaces like a MacBook laptop or Mac desktop computer, as well as on new devices like the Apple Watch or the iPhone.

Apple already has a stylus, called the Apple Pencil, that was released in September 2015.

However, the Apple Pencil, which costs $99 (79), can only draw on the iPad Pro.

Motion and orientation sensors would track the path of the stylus. As a result, the stylus doesn't need a solid surface to write on, such as a tablet or computer.

According to the patent, the next-generation stylus could be controlled using two different methods.

The filing also notes that the stylus could be used to draw on surfaces like an iPhone, MacBook, an Apple Watch and what appears to be an iPod.

The pen would have a force sensor in the tip of the device that detects whether it's lifting off or touching on a device.

A 'motion and orientation sensor,' such as a camera, would track the movement of the stylus. It seems plausible that the camera feed could come from a computer webcam.

It could also be tracked using an electromagnetic or sound-based receiver, the patent notes.

The application shows the stylus being used to draw 3D objects, shapes, lines and handwritten words.

When a user draws a shape in the air, they might be able to receive feedback from the tethered device in the form of buzzes or LED lights, New Atlas noted.

Apple patents many technologies that never actually get built, so it's unclear if the stylus will ever see the light of day.

If Apple does release a stylus that can draw in mid-air, it would certainly put the firm ahead of rivals' devices, such as Microsoft's Surface Pen or Google's Pixelbook Pen.

Currently, the Apple Pencil can only draw on the iPad Pro (pictured). However, Apple's patent suggests that the next-generation stylus can draw on devices like the Apple Watch

IS APPLE BUILDING A STYLUS THAT CAN DRAW IN MID-AIR? Apple recently filed a patent that shows off a stylus that can draw in mid-air. The patent was originally filed in July 2016, but was made public January 18, 2018. The pen-like device can be operated without a touch-sensitive device, such as a touchscreen tablet or smartphone . It would have a force sensor in the tip of the device that detects whether it's lifting off or touching on a device. A 'motion and orientation sensor,' such as a camera, would track the movement of the stylus. It seems plausible that the camera feed could come from a computer webcam. Apple's current stylus, the Apple Pencil, is due for an upgrade since being released in September 2015. It's unclear if Apple is actually building a stylus that draws in mid-air, but if it is, this could be the next generation stylus to follow the original Apple Pencil. Advertisement

That said, Google now has the competitive edge of being a part of the Universal Stylus Initiative (USI), an initiative aiming to create a stylus that can write or draw on almost any device.

USI wants to create a standard stylus design that manufacturers can use to create pens that are compatible with touch screen devices from different gadget makers, such as tablets and computers.

It counts 30 companies as members, including tech bigwigs Intel, LG, Dell and tablet maker Wacom.

Apple, Microsoft and Samsung have yet to join USI.
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The most powerful rocket to leave Earth since the Apollo missions launched from Florida yesterday.

The Falcon Heavy jumbo rocket, developed by flamboyant SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk, had a sole 'passenger' onboard - a mannequin named 'Starman' - who rode to space inside a Tesla roadster.

Incredible real-time footage has emerged from inside the car which is now travelling at 24,500mph (39,400km/h) as David Bowie's Life on Mars plays in the background.

Starman was meant to be on a 250-million-mile (400 million km) journey to orbit the red planet, but the dummy is heading further out into the solar system towards the asteroid belt as one of Falcon Heavy's boosters burned for too long.

Musk said the 'silly and fun' mission was a success because it will 'get people excited around the world', although the rocket's central booster failed to return to Earth as planned.

Falcon Heavy's flight could open up the prospect of far cheaper space launches, making travel to Mars more achievable.

Cosmic radiation will now gradually tear the car to pieces, with the Roadster's seat leather and plastics expected to fall apart in the next year - provided the vehicle avoids collisions with space junk and micrometeorites.

SpaceX's Starman dummy launched into space on the maiden voyage of Falcon Heavy, the world's most powerful rocket. This still image taken from a real-time SpaceX video shows Starman sitting in CEO Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster after the rocket delivered it into orbit around the Earth. It is currently travelling through space at 24,500mph (39,400km/h)

Viewers of yesterday's launch livestream were left with video images beamed from space of Musk's red Roadster circling the blue planet after its protective covering had dropped away and exposed the car.

In the middle of the vehicle, on the centre screen, the words 'Don't Panic' were printed - a reference to the book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, about an accidental space traveller, Arthur Dent.

'It's kind of silly and fun, but I think that silly and fun things are important,' said Musk, who is CEO of both SpaceX and electric car firm Tesla.

'The imagery of it is something that's going to get people excited around the world.'

Despite the rocket's success, it ultimately missed the target set by Musk before the big day to perform a close flyby of Mars as it reached the red planet's orbital path around the sun.

The billionaire tweeted about the error during the flight, writing: 'Third burn successful. Exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the Asteroid Belt.'

Soon after the launch, Elon Musk tweeted a live feed of the car, and its 'Starman' dummy driver with Australia in the background. The roadster was still attached to the rocket module in this image as it floated above the planet shortly after launch

Elon Musk admitted SpaceX overshot Falcon Heavy's third booster burn, sending Starman (green line) beyond the orbit of Mars and further into the solar system than was originally planned. He tweeted this graphic with the caption: 'Third burn successful. Exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the Asteroid Belt'

In the middle of this live stream image of the car, on the center screen, are the words 'Don't Panic'. This a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the 1979 book that was first in a series by Douglas Adams about an accidental space traveler, Arthur Dent. In the story, the Guide has the words 'Don't Panic' on its cover

Two of the Falcon Heavy's reusable boosters - both recycled from previous launches - returned minutes after lift-off for on-the-mark touchdowns at Cape Canaveral.

Sonic booms rumbled across the region with the synchronised vertical landings.

However, the craft's third and final booster missed its target - a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean - by about 328 feet (100 metres).

In a press conference after the historic launch, Musk said early reports show the rocket's central core 'hit the water at 300 miles per hour (480kph) and sprayed the drone ship with shrapnel'.

The Tesla containing Starman was used as a 'mass simulator' to test how the rocket's flight fared while carrying a payload. When Musk first posed the idea, most people assumed he was joking. The car was then released from the rocket module it was attached to as it passed through the Van Allen radiation belt at around 3.46am GMT today (10pm ET Tuesday)

WHY DID SPACEX LAUNCH A CAR INTO SPACE AND WAS ITS FALCON HEAVY FLIGHT SUCCESSFUL? What was the launch trying to achieve? The Falcon Heavy test flight was mostly a proof-of-concept, showing the world it is possible to successfully fly a rocket with thee re-usable boosters beyond orbit. SpaceX has previously only launched what it calls 'Falcon 9' rockets, which each have a single re-usable booster. Rockets are normally loaded with concrete or steel blocks during test flights to see how spacecraft perform with a payload, but in December SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said the firm would load their rocket with his Tesla Roadster instead. Musk said that the company planned to aim the rocket so the electric car reached Mars' orbital path around the sun about six months after launch. The billionaire added that the car could pass close to the red planet as it crossed its orbit, though he admitted this was 'extremely unlikely'. What does SpaceX gain from the flight? SpaceX was built around the idea that reusable rockets could drastically reduce the cost of carrying cargo into space for paying customers, such as satellites or space station resupplies. Showing that the huge Falcon Heavy rocket actually works is important if SpaceX plans to sell cargo space on the craft in future, with the company planning to charge customers $90 million (65 million) per flight. Now Falcon Heavy has launched, it could soon begin missions for SpaceX's clients, which include Nasa, Nato and the US National Reconnaissance Office. As with previous SpaceX rocket launches, the test also generated a flurry of media attention for the company, helped along by Musk's quirky social media posts. Has SpaceX achieved its goals? Elon Musk repeatedly warned that Falcon Heavy would likely explode on the launchpad as a result of its sheer power, so by getting it beyond Earth's orbit SpaceX has already surpassed the billionaire's expectations. The rocket took its unusual cargo into space before its three cores separated from the main module, leaving Musk's Tesla on a mission into deep space. Two of the craft's three re-usable cores landed successfully back at Cape Canaveral, Florida, while the third crashed into the ocean and exploded when two of its re-entry boosters failed during its return to Earth. Musk later said that SpaceX had slightly overcooked one of the rocket's booster burns, sending the main module out of its planned trajectory. He said the car will likely end up further into the solar system than intended, missing Mars. In short, the rocket made it beyond Earth's orbit - SpaceX's primary goal - but missed its targets to re-land all three cores and send Musk's Tesla to Mars. Does that matter? SpaceX's failure to re-land all three of its boosters will be a concern for potential customers, man of whom may want to see a fully successful test flight before buying a slot on a Falcon Heavy mission. Ultimately, the hiccup is unlikely to cut demand for commercial Falcon Heavy flights when they begin in the near future. In 2016, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket exploded on its launchpad, destroying a $200 million (145 million) Israeli satellite, but the firm has since launched more than 20 Falcon 9 craft carrying cargo for paying customers. Despite the faults, the launch has still been hailed by industry experts as a game-changer because of its potential to propel the California-based company to the very forefront of the modern day space race. Once it irons out the errors, SpaceX will offer cargo rides aboard the most powerful operational rocket in the world, capable of carrying twice the capacity of any other spacecraft. Where is Musk's Tesla now? The Falcon Heavy's unusual cargo was sent into an unplanned trajectory when SpaceX accidentally over-fired the rocket's third booster stage. The booster stages were supposed to make small adjustments to the vehicle's path before it disconnected from the final rocket component and began to coast unaided through space at around 7 miles per second (11 km/s). Instead of intersecting with Mars' orbit around the sun, the Tesla missed by some distance, flying past the planet at an unknown distance and continuing deep into the solar system. On Twitter, Musk said the car 'exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the Asteroid Belt', referring to the disk of asteroids in the solar system between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. SpaceX had said before launch that they had no plans to track the Tesla, and with the firm's cameras running out of battery 12 hours into the vehicle's journey, it's almost impossible to tell where Starman is now. Advertisement

Rumours had already surfaced that the central core had missed its target after SpaceX cut its live video feed of the autonomous drone ship, named Of Course I Still Love You, minutes before the booster was due to land.

Musk said the landing failed after just one of core's three engines re-lit for the landing burn, causing it to crash into the surface of the ocean.

Musk told reporters there were no plans to re-use the booster, even if it had been recovered.

Test flights of new rockets usually contain mass simulators in the form of concrete or steel blocks. Elon Musk said in December that these simulators are 'extremely boring', adding that SpaceX had decided to send his Tesla up instead. A series of live camera feeds gave viewers stunning views of Earth as seen from the payload

Starman was meant to be on a 250-million-mile (400 million km) journey to Mars' orbit, propelled by the main module, which separated from Falcon Heavy shortly after launch. This image shows Starman behind the wheel of the Tesla as it spins through space above the Earth after escaping the planet's atmosphere

SpaceX failed to align the Tesla with Mars' orbit after one of its boosters burned for too long, instead sending the Roadster on a journey into the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. This image shows the view back toward Earth from the live feed

With the car's trajectory now 'off-script', it's unclear what will happen to the vehicle. Before Falcon Heavy launched, Musk said there was only a small chance that his Tesla would ever reach Mars. The firm has now stopped tracking the vehicle, pictured here in the live stream

SpaceX has not confirmed whether the car's new trajectory means it is likely to hit a different planet. Planetary scientists on Twitter have asked the firm for its cargo's exact orbit to calculate the Tesla's odds of collision. Here, Starman can be seen behind the wheel of the Tesla in an image from the live video

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ELON MUSK'S STARMAN AND HIS TESLA ROADSTER NOW THEY ARE IN SPACE? Where is the roadster going? Starman was meant to be on a 250-million-mile (400m km) journey to Mars' orbit, propelled by the main module, which separated from Falcon Heavy shortly after launch. But in a slight hiccup, Elon Musk admitted SpaceX overshot Falcon Heavy's third booster burn, sending Starman further into the solar system than was originally planned. The new orbit will sent the Roadster on a journey into the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. What will happen to it? The main force that will tear the car apart over hundreds of millions of years in space is radiation. This will particularly affect the plastics and carbon-fibre frame. '[Those materials] are made up largely of carbon-carbon bonds and carbon-hydrogen bonds,' Dr William Carroll, a chemist at Indiana University told Live Science. Starman was meant to be on a 250-million-mile (400m km) journey to Mars' orbit, propelled by the main module, which separated from Falcon Heavy shortly after launch On Earth we are protected by a powerful magnetic field and atmosphere that shields us from the worst of radiation from the sun and cosmic rays. Radiation in space causes those bonds to break which will eventually cause the car to fall to pieces. 'When you cut something with a knife, in the end, you're cutting some chemical bonds,' Dr Carroll said. 'All of the organics will be subjected to degradation by the various kinds of radiation that you will run into there,' he said. How long will it last? 'Those organics, in that environment, I wouldn't give them a year,' Dr Carroll said. The well-secured inorganic materials, such as the aluminium frame and internal metals, would last longer, meaning it could still be recognisable in at least a million years. However, it is unlikely it will avoid all collisions with micrometeorites and other space junk in the meantime. Before the launch Musk said there was a chance the car might hit Mars. Now on its new path it's not clear whether the car might run into some other space object. Advertisement

SpaceX technicians were overheard saying 'we lost the centre core' in a clip of live video taken during launch at the firm's Mission Control centre near Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Despite the central booster malfunction, the firm did manage to complete the remarkable feat of landing Falcon Heavy's other two reusable boosters simultaneously.

Stunning video from yesterday's launch shows the twin boosters returning to Cape Canaveral in a synchronised landing.

The massive rocket launched at 3:45 p.m. ET, carrying Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster on board.

The rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below . Hundreds gathered to watch the historic event at Cape Canaveral, Florida, yesterday

Spectators at Cocoa Beach, Florida, looked up in amazement at the Falcon Heavy launch yesterday from the Kennedy Space Center

SpaceX's successful Falcon Heavy launch might have been impressive, but the firm lost one of the enormous rocket's reusable boosters, CEO Elon Musk has confirmed. Pictured is the rocket as it launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, yesterday

Falcon Heavy launched with three reusable rocket cores that were supposed to return to Earth, but the craft's central booster missed its target - a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean - by about 328 feet (100 metres). The drone ship, dubbed Of Course I Still Love You (pictured in 2015), has previously been used by SpaceX to successfully land Falcon 9 rockets

Just over three minutes into the launch, the side boosters detached from the rocket and launch operators confirmed the rocket was on the right trajectory.

After shedding from the core section of the rocket, the two reusable side boosters landed seamlessly back on Earth about eight minutes into the launch.

The rocket appeared to have successfully jettisoned its third and final core, but SpaceX's live stream cut out before it landed, with the firm later confirming it had lost the booster.

In an incredible accomplishment, Falcon Heavy's side boosters landed smoothly back down to Earth on two separate launchpads about eight minutes in. 'The Falcons have landed' the announcers said, as people cheered and whooped wildly in the background

Yesterday's successful launch marked the maiden flight of what's now the most powerful operational rocket in the world.

'You've heard the call out - vehicle is supersonic' the announcer said, as the rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below.

'The Falcons have landed' the announcers said, as onlookers cheered and whooped wildly in the background.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy megarocket finally blasted off from the launchpad at Cape Canaveral, carrying Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla Roadster yesterday

In a statement, SpaceX said: 'It was an outstanding test flight of the Falcon Heavy.

'Everything that you could want in a test flight - we got here,' the team said.

A view inside the Roadster showed one last look at the dummy, dubbed Starman, behind the wheel on its journey to Mars.

'Upper stage restart nominal, apogee raised to 7000km,' Musk tweeted shortly after the launch.

'Will spend 5 hours getting zapped in Van Allen belts & then attempt final burn for Mars.'

Falcon Heavy successfully lifted off on Tuesday afternoon. It can be seen above soaring high over the Cape Canaveral site. 'You've heard the call out - vehicle is supersonic' the announcer said, as the rocket soared through the sky to massive cheers from the crowd below

After leaving Earth, the Roadster and its passenger 'Star Man' are now off to travel alone on a 250 million mile (400m km) journey into deep space. It was propelled by the main module, which separated from Falcon Heavy shortly after launch. The dummy and the car can be seen above far above Earth in this live stream image taken following yesterday's successful launch

After pushing back the launch time twice yesterday due to wind speeds, the massive rocket launched at 3:45 pm ET (8:45pm GMT), just before the launch window was set to close. Above, a view of the main module can be seen just after the side boosters split off

The SpaceX team confirmed immediately after launch that the massive rocket was operating according to plan. Just minutes later, it prepared for its side boosters to split off from the central core, as seen above

The SpaceX CEO also shared an update on Starman's journey beyond Earth.

'View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth,' Musk quipped yesterday.

After five years of setbacks, the massive rocket capable of achieving a thrust equivalent to more than 18 Boeing 747 jetliners finally took its maiden flight.

According to Musk, it will take roughly six months for the car to complete the more than 200 million mile journey to reach the red planet.

And, it's expected to remain in orbit for about a billion years.

This view inside the Roadster show the dummy behind the wheel on its journey to Mars, around four minutes after launch. The progress of the journey can be seen at the bottom of the image readouts from various monitoring instruments can be seen top right

Ahead of yesteerday's launch, Musk released a stunning animation revealing how the plan would work.

The billionaire SpaceX CEO said the firm's Falcon Heavy spacecraft would carry his Roadster on a billion-year journey through space 'if it doesn't explode into tiny pieces'.

A video posted to Musk's Instagram account showed how the huge rocket would lift off from Florida in its first ever test flight.

Elon Musk's Roadster and its solitary passenger, the mannequin 'Starman,' can be seen soaring through the sky after Falcon Heavy launched yesterday in this live captured image. The beautiful blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean can be seen in the background

The Tesla Roadster was due to carry out a 200 million mile journey to Earth-Mars orbit. Its planned path is illustrated in the graphic above. Had it been successful, it would have continued to circle this path, in theory, for billions of years, according to Musk. Plans went awry when the rockets boosters burned for too long and the vehicle will no longer reach the red planet

Yesterday Musk assured spectators cameras on the vehicle would provide 'epic views' as it travels to Mars.

Most new rockets carry concrete or steel blocks on test flights to simulate the weight of a real payload, but Musk, who is also CEO of Tesla, has previously said that this method is 'extremely boring'.

He said SpaceX decided to send Musk's car as it was 'something unusual, something that made us feel.'

In yesterday's Instagram post, Musk wrote: 'Falcon Heavy launches to Mars orbit tomorrow.

'If it doesn't explode into tiny pieces, it will carry Starman in Roadster over 400 million km from Earth at 11 km/sec on a billion year journey through deep space', he wrote yesterday.

SpaceX spent weeks preparing for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to one day take payloads to the moon or Mars.

It has been hailed by industry experts as a game-changer because of its potential to propel the California-based company to the very forefront of the modern day space race.

SpaceX spent weeks preparing for the first test launch of its Falcon Heavy, which aims to become the world's most powerful rocket in operation, with the capacity to one day take payloads to the moon or Mars

HOW DOES THE SPACEX FALCON HEAVY MEASURE UP? Height: 70 meters (229.6 feet) Stages: Two Boosters: Two Re-usable Cores: Three Engines: 27 Payload to Low Earth Orbit: 63,800kg (140,660 lb) Payload to Mars: 16,800kg (37,040 lb) Total width: 12.2m (39.9 ft) Mass: 1,420,788kg (3,125,735 lb) Total thrust at lift-off: 22,819 kilonewtons (5.13 million pounds) When it launches, Falcon Heavy (left) will be the world's most powerful rocket, capable of carrying payloads far greater than even the Apollo 11 space shuttle (second from left) Advertisement

Yesterday's successful launch marked the maiden flight of what's now the most powerful operational rocket in the world. This image shows the moment the rocket blasted off the launchpad

This image shows the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket trailing smoke after lifting off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral

Elon Musk shared a graphic on Twitter on Tuesday to illustrate the flight path of Falcon Heavy after launch. The 70-metre- (230-foot) long rocket's central core was meant to detach from the main module and begin its own controlled descent back to Earth, landing on the firm's Of Course I Still Love You drone ship in the Pacific Ocean, but this failed to happen

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy megarocket is the firm's most ambitious launch yet. The megarocket can be seen sitting on Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its demonstration mission

The launch followed months of delays and build-up to the historic flight, with Musk frequently posting updates across his social media profiles.

On January 5, the billionaire wrote on Instagram: 'Falcon Heavy now vertical on the former Apollo 11 moon rocket launchpad.

'At 2,500 tons of thrust, equal to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle, it will be the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor of two. Excitement on launch day guaranteed, one way or another.

'Hold-down test fire next week. Launch end of the month.'

The 46-year-old South African, who co-founded PayPal with venture capitalist Peter Thiel, predicts Falcon Heavy's payload will stay in deep space for a while.

This image, taken on December 6, 2017, shows the red Tesla Roadster during preparations ahead of launch.

Tesla founder Elon Musk previously released an animation revealing how he would fire his car toward Mars aboard the world's most powerful rocket

The billionaire said the firm's Falcon Heavy spacecraft would carry his 2008 cherry red Tesla Roadster on a billion-year journey through space 'if it doesn't explode into tiny pieces'. Pictured is an artist's impression of the car strapped into the rocket's main module before launch yesterday

Once Falcon Heavy entered space, two of the 70-metre- (230-foot) long craft's booster rockets separated off and returned to Earth at Cape Canaveral in controlled landings (pictured)

A photo of its unusual cargo - Musk's cherry red 2008 Tesla Roadster - was first released last month.

The images showed an original Roadster perched on a large cone inside Falcon Heavy on what appeared to be a secure mount to keep it stationary.

The mission marks SpaceX's most ambitious project to date.

Musk founded SpaceX in 2002, with the aim of reducing space transportation costs and enabling the colonisation of Mars.

In a Washington, D.C., speech last July the Tesla founder said Falcon Heavy is one of the most difficult and technically complex projects SpaceX has ever undertaken.

'There's a lot of risk associated with Falcon Heavy,' he said during the 2017 International Space Station Research and Development Conference.

'Real good chance that the vehicle doesn't make it to orbit. I want to make sure to set expectations accordingly.'

Musk has spent the proceeding months building up hype for the historic launch with a series of social media posts.

Last month he posted an image to Twitter of people stoof next to a landed Falcon Heavy rocket to give an idea of the vehicle's scale.

Musk confirmed the rocket has a 'max thrust at lift-off is 5.1 million pounds or 2300 metric tons,' adding the first mission was run at 92 per cent capacity

He tweeted: 'Falcon Heavy launching from same @NASA pad as the Saturn V Apollo 11 moon rocket.

'It was 50% higher thrust with five F-1 engines at 7.5M lb-F.

'I love that rocket so much.'

He also confirmed the rocket will have a 'max thrust at lift-off is 5.1 million pounds or 2300 metric tons,' adding the first mission will run at 92 per cent capacity.

'Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape.

'Will have double thrust of next largest rocket. Guaranteed to be exciting, one way or another,' Musk originally posted.
2018 could be one of the most exciting years for the modern space race, with Elon Musks SpaceX company leading the charge.

On February 6, the billionaire Tesla owners aerospace company successfully launched a rocket called Falcon Heavy towards the orbit of Mars 140 million miles away.

Prior to SpaceXs February 6 launch, analysts said the Tesla owners aerospace company could change the landscape of the space industry.

On February 6, 2018, SpaceX launched its three-booster, 27-engine Falcon Heavy rocket

'NASA may decide to use it (the Falcon Heavy) as a way of fast-tracking its plans to get to the Moon and Mars,' Erik Seedhouse, assistant professor of applied aviation sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, told AFP.

But what is SpaceX? Heres all the information on Elon Musks company, including what it does, its rockets such as Falcon and Dragon, and SpaceX launches.

What is SpaceX?

Founded by Tesla owner Elon Musk, SpaceXs mission statement is 'to revolutionize space technology with the ultimate goal of enabling people to live on other planets'.

The company, also known as Space Exploration Technologies Corp, was conceived by Elon Musk on a flight back from Moscow, where hed been looking to buy an intercontinental ballistic missile at a low price, in order to send mice and some plants to Mars, and thus begin to fulfill his lifelong passion for space travel.

Disappointed by the Russians response and pricey quotes, Musk calculated that he could build the rockets himself, faster and cheaper than the competition.

SpaceX started to take shape in early 2002 when Musk brought on-board Tom Mueller, a propulsion engineer.

Mueller, now the CTO of Propulsion at SpaceX, was tasked with building affordable rockets, which Musk decided was the best way forward after discovering that it would be more expensive to launch a spacecraft to Mars than it would be to build it.

Unlike its competitors, which source materials from hundreds of suppliers and separate engineers from welders and machinists, SpaceX did things differently.

As of December 2017, SpaceX has flown 13 missions to the International Space Station (ISS)

Software and hardware specialists shared the same space. This was all so the company could achieve its goal of building as much of the launch hardware in-house.

The company grew quickly: from 160 employees in 2005 to 3,800 in 2013 and is currently more than 5,000.

In 2008, NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract.

In 2011, NASA awarded SpaceX a $75 million contract to 'develop a revolutionary launch escape system that will enable the companys Dragon spacecraft to carry astronauts'.

SpaceX live-streams launches on its website and is live-streaming its Falcon Heavy journey

In 2014, another NASA contract saw Musks company receive $2.6 billion to construct one of its Dragon V2 spacecrafts.

As of December 2017, SpaceX has flown 13 missions to the International Space Station (ISS) under a commercial cargo resupply mission contract.

Who is Elon Musk?

Elon Musk is a South African-American billionaire whose companies include SpaceX and Tesla. Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 28, 1971.

As a child, Musk taught himself computer coding and at the age of just 12 he sold a game he had written, Blastar, to PC and Office Technology magazine for $500.

Musk went to Queens University in Canada as an undergraduate aged 17, but transferred to the University of Pennsylvania after two years.

SpaceX was conceived by billionaire Elon Musk in 2001 when he wanted to buy a rocket

Musk graduated in 1997 with Bachelors of Science degrees in physics and economics.

In 1995, along with his brother Kimbal, Musk started an internet company called Zip2, which provided city guides and directories to newspapers online services. In the 1999 $307 million sale to Compaq, Musk received $22 million.

With that Money, Musk co-founded X.com, an email payment company that later merged with Confinity, a company that owned PayPal. Musk became PayPals biggest shareholder and received $165 million when it was sold to eBay.

As well as SpaceX, Musk also founded the electric car company, Tesla, which is currently valued at $50 billion.

Musk was married to fellow Queen's University graduate Justine Wilson for eight years between 2000-2008.

In 2008, Musk began a relationship with English actress Talulah Riley, and have married and remarried before parting ways in 2016.

Musk has an off-again-on-again relationship with Hollywood actress Amber Heard, but the two are reported to have split up again.

SpaceX Launches

In September 2008, SpaceXs Falcon 1 became the first privately-developed liquid fuel rocket to reach the Earths orbit.

Falcon Heavy side cores have landed pic.twitter.com/lMqZ8tqclK  Meteos (@Meteos_) February 6, 2018

SpaceX followed up with the Falcon 1 flight 5, which became the first privately-developed liquid fuel rocket to deliver a commercial satellite to Earth orbit.

2010 was a huge year for SpaceX because it became the first ever private company to send a spacecraft into orbit and bring it back to Earth in one piece.

In 2012, SpaceX became the first private company to reach a space station when its Dragon craft visited the ISS. Prior to SpaceX, it was only four countries - the US, Japan, Russia and the European Space Agency - that accomplished that feat.

In December 2015, SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket achieved the first-ever orbital class rocket landing, when it returned from delivering 11 communications satellites.

Falcon Heavy launch

On February 6, 2018, SpaceX successfully launched Falcon Heavy. With three boosters and 27 engines, Falcon Heavy is now the heaviest rocket in current use.

At the top of the rocket, Musk, a Bowie fan, attached a mannequin named Starman inside a cherry red Tesla Roadster.

On top of the Falcon 9 rocket is a mannequin named Starman in a cherry red Tesla Roadster

The car is currently playing David Bowies Starman on a loop. You can even watch the live-stream of Starman on YouTube.

'Its kind of silly and fun, but I think that silly and fun things are important,' Elon Musk said.

'The imagery of it is something thats going to get people excited around the world.'

How to watch SpaceX launches

SpaceX live-streams its launches on its website. The Falcon Heavy launch was live-streamed via YouTube on SpaceXs webcast page.

When is the next SpaceX launch?

SpaceX's next launch is scheduled for February 17, 2018. SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch a Paz satellite from a California launch site.

On February 22, 2018 another SpaceX Falcon 9 will launch a Hispasat communications satellite from a Madrid launch site.

More information on SpaceX's future missions can be found on their official website.
An asteroid larger than a blue whale will skim past Earth on Friday at less than one-fifth the distance between our planet and the moon.

The asteroid, 2018 CB, was only discovered by Nasa on Sunday and will blaze by Earth at just 39,000 miles (64,000 kilometres).

It is between 50 and 130 feet (15 and 40 metres) wide and an expert has warned that an asteroid of this size would only get this close to our planet 'once or twice a year'.

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An asteroid that is larger than a blue whale will skim past Earth on Friday at less than one lunar distance from our planet (stock image)

According to Nasa the asteroid will pass by at around 17:30 EST (22:30 GMT).

The space agency describes asteroids as 'hazardous' if they come within 4,600,000 miles (7,403,00km) of our planet.

It was first spotted by the Nasa-funded Catalina Sky Survey (CSS) near Tucson, Arizona.

The space agency has assured people it does not pose an actual threat of colliding with our planet.

'Although 2018 CB is quite small, it might well be larger than the asteroid that entered the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, almost exactly five years ago, in 2013,' said Paul Chodas, manager of the Center for Near-Earth Object Studies at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.

'Asteroids of this size do not often approach this close to our planet - maybe only once or twice a year.'

In February 2013 a 19-metre meter (62-feet) meteor exploded in the skies above Chelyabinsk in Russia.

The meteorite broke up into multiple pieces as it entered the atmosphere, scattering space debris and creating a shock wave estimated to be as strong as 20 Hiroshima atomic bombs.

According to Nasa the asteroid will pass by at around 2:30 p.m. PST (5:30 p.m. EST) at just 39,000 miles (64,000 kilometres)

The asteroid is between 50 and 130 feet (15 and 40 metres) wide and experts warn that an asteroid of this size would only get this close to our planet 'once or twice a year'

It caused a a shock wave that smashed windows, damaged buildings and injured 1,600 people.

The energy - which was equivalent to 500,000 tonnes of TNT - and injured more than 1,000 people

Currently Nasa would not be able to deflect an asteroid if it were heading for Earth but it could mitigate the impact and take measures that would protect lives and property.

This would include evacuating the impact area and moving key infrastructure.

WHAT COULD WE DO TO STOP AN ASTEROID COLLIDING WITH EARTH? Currently Nasa would not be able to deflect an asteroid if it were heading for Earth but it could mitigate the impact and take measures that would protect lives and property. This would include evacuating the impact area and moving key infrastructure. Finding out about the orbit trajectory, size, shape, mass, composition and rotational dynamics would help experts determine the severity of a potential impact. However, the key to mitigating damage is to find any potential threat as early as possible. Nasa is currently moving forward with a refrigerator-sized spacecraft capable of preventing asteroids from colliding with Earth. A test with a small, nonthreatening asteroid is planned for 2024. This is the first-ever mission to demonstrate an asteroid deflection technique for planetary defence. The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) would use what is known as a kinetic impactor techniquestriking the asteroid to shift its orbit. The impact would change the speed of a threatening asteroid by a small fraction of its total velocity, but by doing so well before the predicted impact, this small nudge will add up over time to a big shift of the asteroid's path away from Earth. Advertisement

Finding out about the orbit trajectory, size, shape, mass, composition and rotational dynamics would help experts determine the severity of a potential impact.

However, the key to mitigating damage is to find any potential threat as early as possible.

Nasa is currently moving forward with a refrigerator-sized spacecraft capable of preventing asteroids from colliding with Earth. A test with a small, nonthreatening asteroid is planned for 2024.

This is the first-ever mission to demonstrate an asteroid deflection technique for planetary defence.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) would use what is known as a kinetic impactor techniquestriking the asteroid to shift its orbit.

The impact would change the speed of a threatening asteroid by a small fraction of its total velocity, but by doing so well before the predicted impact, this small nudge will add up over time to a big shift of the asteroid's path away from Earth.
Great spotted woodpeckers communicate with 'talking drums', new research suggests.

Patterns of drum rolls from their pecking beaks are used to identify individual birds, scientists believe.

The distinctive patterns can even be used by woodpeckers to pick out potential lovers, the study claims.

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Great spotted woodpeckers communicate with 'talking drums', new research suggests. Patterns of drum rolls from their pecking beaks are used to identify individual birds, scientists believe

Researchers in Poland recorded the sounds of 41 woodpeckers drumming against dead tree trunks and branches, including 26 males and nine females.

The drum rolls were studied by comparing the interval length between strokes as well as the number of 'hits' within a roll.

Computer analysis showed that 86 per cent of the rolls were specific to individual birds.

However, drum patterns could not be used to distinguish males and females.

Signature drum rolls may help the woodpeckers keep track of one another or their mates, said the team led by Dr Michal Budka, from Adam Mickiewicz University.

Both male and female woodpeckers use drumming to attract mates and ward off rivals.

The researchers wrote in the journal Public Library of Science ONE: 'The results of our study suggest that the specific temporal pattern of drumming may be important in the discrimination of nearest neighbours or mates within a pair. However, experimental studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.'

The great spotted woodpecker (pictured) are around 9 inches long (22-23 cm) and are commonly found across Europe and parts of Asia. The rate and duration of the drumming can give an indication of the strength of the bird's well-developed muscles

Rate or duration of drumming may also signal fitness quality, the scientists speculated.

This was because strong back and neck muscles were needed to produce fast, long-lasting drum rolls.

Many woodpecker species are rare and live in small, isolated populations, the researchers pointed out.

Some of the birds defended large territories and drummed from locations hundreds of metres apart, making accurate estimations of population size difficult.

Identification of individual drum patterns could improve census accuracy and aid the conservation of rare woodpecker species, said the scientists.

The research was published in PLOS ONE.
Lockheed Martin is developing a powerful new pair of cannons that can shoot down drones using high energy laser beams.

Under a $150 million contract from the US Navy, the firm plans to develop, manufacture, and test the new weapons by 2020.

The goal is to demonstrate one on land, and the second aboard an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, according to Motherboard.

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Under the new contract, Lockheed Martin will develop the laser weapons for land and for an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. A file photo of tests on another laser, the Navy-sponsored Laser Weapon System (LaWS) is pictured above

Lockheed Martins newest weapons will come under a contract with the US Navy to build a High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical-dazzler with surveillance system, the Department of Defense says.

The weapons will use as much as 150 kilowatts of power per shot, allowing them to take out, boats, and if upgraded, even missiles, according to Motherboard.

For the latter, however, the system would need to be boosted to 300 kilowatts.

In a recent announcement, the Department of Defense detailed the timeline and some of the requirements for the Lockheed Martin's new contract.

And, while it now stands at $150 million, the contract's value could increase dramatically.

'Lockheed Martin Aculight Corp. will develop, manufacture, and deliver two test units in fiscal 2020 (one unit for DDG 51 FLT IIA, and one for land-based testing),' according to the Department of Defense.

'This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $942,818,114.'

The new High Energy Laser is just the latest effort by Lockheed Martin to harness directed energy for more efficient weapons.

The firm is also working to develop a high-power fiber laser for fighter jets, and has tested similar systems to be mounted on vehicles or fired from the ground.

Lockheed Martin is working to develop a high-power fiber laser for fighter jets. Under a $26.3 million contract from the Air Force Research Lab, the firm will design and produce a directed energy system for aircraft, with plans to test it by 2021. Artist's impression pictured

Under another $26.3 million contract from the Air Force Research Lab, the firm will design and produce a directed energy system for aircraft, with plans to test the technology by 2021.

The move comes after a series of successful tests with similar systems in ground-based platforms  but, the experts say developing a laser for a smaller, airborne design will be a challenge.

The AFRL awarded the contract last year as part of its Self-protect High Energy Laser Demonstrator program.

This program includes three subsystems, addressing beam control to direct a laser to the target, a pod mounted on the jet to cool the laser, and the laser itself.

The new laser system would allow fighter jets to take down targets from the air, in contrast to previous systems, which were mounted on vehicles or ships.

We have demonstrated our ability to use directed energy to counter threats from the ground, and look forward to future tests from the air as part of the SHiELD system, said Dr Rob Afzal, senior fellow of laser weapon systems at Lockheed Martin.

WHAT IS LOCKHEED MARTIN'S ATHENA LASER? Lockheed Martin's laser is a beam combined fiber laser, meaning it brings together individual lasers, generated through fiber optics, to generate a single, intense laser beam. This allows for a scalable laser system that can be made more powerful by adding more fiber laser subunits. Athena uses Lockheed Martins company's 30-kW Accelerated Laser Demonstration Initiative (ALADIN). Its powered by a compact Rolls-Royce turbo generator. Army bosses hope the radical weapon will give protection against threats such as swarms of drones or large numbers of rockets and mortars. Advertisement

The Laser Advancements for the Next-generation Compact Environments (LANCE) aims to be a high energy laser that can be trained on, and disable, an enemy target.

The LANCE contract will build upon the technology used in other recent projects, including the Athena system and Aladin laser.

Earlier this year, we delivered a 60 kW-class laser to be installed on a US Army Ground vehicle, said Afzal.

Its a completely new and different challenge to get a laser system into a smaller, airborne test platform.

Its exciting to see this technology mature enough to embed in an aircraft.

The development of high power laser systems like SHiELD show laser weapon system technologies are becoming real.

The technologies are ready to be produced, tested, and deployed on aircraft, ground vehicles, and ships.

In September, Lockheed Martin released footage from tests with its 'Athena' laser weapon system, revealing how it can deliver an invisible killing blow to take down an enemy drone.

In the tests conducted at New Mexicos White Sands Missile Range, the prototype weapon successfully shot down five unmanned Outlaw aircraft.

The hair-raising footage shows the moment flames burst from the tails of the flying drones one by one before they plummet toward the ground, as the silent attack causes both loss of control and structural failure.

The hair-raising footage shows the moment flames burst from the tails of the flying drones one by one before they plummet toward the ground, as the silent attack causes both loss of control and structural failure

Lockheed Martin has released new footage from tests with its laser weapon system, revealing how Athena can deliver an invisible killing blow to take down an enemy drone. In the tests, the prototype weapon successfully shot down five unmanned Outlaw aircraft

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Army's Space and Missile Defense Command conducted the tests in August, using the 30-kilowatt class Advanced Test High Energy Asset (Athena) system.

Athena is a ground-based system that can be mounted atop tanks and other vehicles.

But, one day, it could even be installed on military planes, helicopters, and ships.

Back in 2015, the company used the 30kW fiber laser weapon to disable a truck from a mile away.

Last months tests saw Athena up against five Outlaw unmanned drones, each with a 10.8-foot wingspan. Using its advanced beam control technology and fiber laser, it managed to take down all five in an invisible attack from below

And, this past March, Lockheed Martin completed the design, development and demonstration of a radical 60 kW laser weapon for the U.S. Army.

In testing earlier that month, the Lockheed Martin laser produced a single beam of 58 kW, representing a world record for a laser of this type.

Army bosses hope the radical weapon will give protection against threats such as swarms of drones or large numbers of rockets and mortars.
The history of the modern day recreational snowmobile is fairly recent, however, travel over snow goes back many years, although man actually flew before he could master snow travel.

While the Wright Brothers flew in 1903, the very first vehicle that was built to go in snow wasn't created until 1908.

That was the Lombard log hauler designed and built in Waterville, Maine. It was a large cumbersome machine that resembled a steam locomotive, only it had a half track design and front skis.

In 1909, a man named O.C. Johnson built an over the snow machine that went on top of the snow, when it worked. It was roughly ten feet long, used a track design, "one lunger engine", and was capable of rudimentary steering.

In 1913, Virgil White, a Ford dealer in New Hampshire, invented a track and ski unit conversion for the Model T Ford.

Early in the winter of 1922, fifteen year old J. Armand Bombardier designed a wind driven sleigh with a Model T engine. This was to be the first of many snowmobiles designed by Bombardier.

One of the most amazing snowmobiles was built in 1924 in Sayner, Wisconsin. It was the invention of Earl Eliason, who called it his motor toboggan.

It was a wooden toboggan fitted with two skis, which were steered with ropes, powered by a 2.5 horsepower Johnson outboard motor, and was pushed by an endless steel cleated track.

It was a front mounted, liquid cooled engine that used a jack shaft. All these are qualities that are credited to modern day snowmobiles.

Mr Eliason patented and manufactured his machine until 1939 when he sold out to FWD Corporation in Canada, who continued to built them until 1960.

It wasn't until 1954 that the modern day recreational snowmobile was born. David Johnson was a partner with Alan and Edgar Hetteen of Polaris Industries.

Mr. Johnson made his design of a snowmobile during a weekend adventure, unknown to the other two partners. This became the very first Polaris, which has remained a leading name in snowmobile design until the present day.
Researchers from the University of Chicago recently discovered two ancient buildings in southern Egypt.

They reveal much about the country's history, but they also left archaeologists with new questions.

The preservation of one of the buildings is curious to the researchers, who find it odd that the building wasn't stripped of its materials after they believe it was abandoned.

Pictured is an archaeologist from University of Chicago examining remains from ancient Egypt. Researchers recently found two buildings that were built during a turning point in the country's history: when pharaohs became interested in provincial regions

The trend at the time was to take from buildings any useful materials when abandoning them, but the building was left untouched. This is strange considering that wood was a rarity in the region.

Researcher Nadine Moeller said: 'It's such a unique site. We've had a hard time finding architectural parallels because no other settlement in Upper Egypt has such extensive remains from this time period. We've learned so much, and there's still more to come.'
Lockheed Martin's laser is a beam combined fiber laser, meaning it brings together individual lasers, generated through fiber optics, to generate a single, intense laser beam.

This allows for a scalable laser system that can be made more powerful by adding more fiber laser subunits.

Athena uses Lockheed Martins company's 30-kW Accelerated Laser Demonstration Initiative (ALADIN).

Its powered by a compact Rolls-Royce turbo generator.

Army bosses hope the radical weapon will give protection against threats such as swarms of drones or large numbers of rockets and mortars.
Amsterdam is the kind of city you can visit a thousand times and still discover something new. Famous for its Old Masters museums, atmospheric canals and buzzy Red Light District, we seek out some of the lesser-known hotspots which could make your next trip feel like the first.

Find out about the best hidden places to dine out in Amsterdam

Eat

Wink

This charming family run restaurant opened in 2013 and has been wooing locals with its top-notch Mediterranean-inspired dishes ever since. The use of local, small-batch produce, from the beer to the beef, is the key to its success. The menu at Wink changes weekly, but it can include delights such as smoked red beet with Jerusalem artichokes and buttermilk, and succulent Beemster pig with roasted carrots and a cardamom gravy. The restaurant is open TuesdaySaturday, 18002200.

Tram: Stadhouderskade

Elmar

Located south of Central in the trendy De Pijp district, this charming restaurant is another locals favourite. Chef Elmar Gerekinks dishes are all influenced by classic French and Mediterranean flavours and he uses local and organic produce. Dishes at Elmar include wild goose served with Serrano ham stuffed cannelloni, and rouleaux of Dover sole, all complimented by an exemplary wine list. The restaurant is open TuesdaySaturday, 12002200.

Tram: Ceintuurbaan

Coffee & Coconuts

Housed in the old Ceintuur Theatre, this stylish tri-level coffee bar is like hanging out at your cool best friends house. Think bare brick walls, slouchy sofas and retro furnishings, its a real gem of place that attracts a largely local crowd. Coffee & Coconuts serves everything from breakfast burritos to late-night suppers, but its the wide range of speciality coffees, fancy cakes and chilled vibes that makes it so special. The cafe is open daily 08002300.

Tram: Ceintuurbaan

Drink

Amsterdam is full of wine bars and breweries for your beverage needs

The Wine Cellar at Wijnhuis Belgerette

Hidden in the catacombs under the historic Nieuwe Kerk church, this cool wine cellar and pop-up bar is a real hidden gem in Amsterdam. Run by wine expert Jose Belgerette, you enter the bar through a cookie shop and down a spiral staircase. Joses range and knowledge of New World wines is exemplary. He also hosts a series of exquisite wine tasting events and sells an extensive range of wine by the bottle (or case) for taking away. Wine tastings are by appointment, seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

Tram: Dam

Brouwerijt IJ

Known as the windmill brewery, the Brouwerijt IJ is a craft beer brewery popular with local beer enthusiasts. Housed in a former bathhouse next to the De Gooyer Windmill, the bar is only open from 1400 to 2000 (although its open every day of the year) and serves a wide range of its own home-brewed organic beers, both bottled and draft, for a surprisingly reasonable price. It also offers brewery tours and great beer snacks, such as cheese and sausage platters.

Tram: Hoogtekadijk

Hiding in Plain Sight (HPS)

Although not quite a locals secret, this speakeasy style cocktail bar is well worth a mention as folk flock from all over Amsterdam to sample its pleasing wares. The bar itself is compact and oh-so bijou, with opulent chandeliers, Chesterfield armchairs and crystal glassware bringing a real flavour of the 20s to the Canal District. HPS offers an extensive range of well-mixed cocktails, including house favourite, the Voodoo Child. The bar is open MondayThursday, 18000100, Friday and Saturday, 18000300, and Sunday, 18000100.

Metro: Nieuwmarkt

And relax...

Hollandsche Manege

Perched next to Vondelpark, the Hollandsche Manege is a Dutch riding school and stables housed in a neoclassical building dating back to 1882. Open to the public, it was inspired by the famous Spanish Riding School of Vienna. It has a small but buzzy bar overlooking the indoor school and a fascinating pony museum. If you feel inspired to hop on a horse, you can even book riding lessons. Open daily, 1000-1700.

Tram: 1e Con. Huygensstraat

De Pijp Neighbourhood, South Amsterdam

Fancy something a little different to Dam Square and the Red Light District? Head south of Central to De Pijp in the Latin Quarter of Amsterdam  the citys buzzy, bohemian neighbourhood. In addition to the dozens of hip bars, art spaces and live music clubs, there are plenty of neighbourhood restaurants to choose from, serving up numerous international dishes from places like Syria, Morocco and Turkey.

Before you leave the area, potter around De Pijps Albert Cuypmarkt, which is open six days a week (MondaySaturday). Its one of the oldest markets in the Netherlands and locals flock to pick up everything from freshly baked stroopwafels to awesome vintage threads.

Head to Albert Cuypmarkt to try Dutch delicacies like local cheese

Schellingwouderpark

Fancy escaping the hustle and bustle of the city for an hour or so? Head over to Amsterdam Noord and the charming Schellingwouderpark, which can actually be reached by boat. Sandwiched between the Orange Locks and the Oranjewerf, this 10-hectare park is strewn with walking paths and wildflowers  perfect for a quiet, leisurely waterfront picnic away from the masses.

Bus: Schellingwouderdijk
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Air travel can be an exhausting experience, yet there is no respite from being in transit quite like a tasty meal.

RewardExpert - a free service that helps users take full advantage of credit card and travel rewards - recently went about rating and ranking the 15 busiest airports outside of America based on their dining options, having ranked America's airports for fodder in 2017 (see box below), with Denver International Airport coming out on top in that investigation.

Scores have been given based on restaurant quality, price and menu variety with Narita International Airport in Tokyo coming out on top in the non-U.S list, with its Sushiden eatery winning the most intense approval from diners. Scroll down to read the full round-up of some of the tastiest spots to hit while in transit, from the USA to London and on to Taipei...

1. Narita International Airport, Tokyo. Top-rated restaurant - Sushiden

Narita International Airport in Tokyo came out on top, partly thanks to its Sushiden eatery

Narita International Airport in Tokyo came out on top with its Sushiden eatery deemed the best place to dine there.

The spot specialises in traditional Japanese sushi and is described as being both 'spacious' and 'sedate'.

Narita Airport scored five out of five for quality and price when it came to food, with a 3.46 rating given for diversity. Its total equaled 4.77.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'You can get some great Japanese food that will leave both your tummy and your wallet satisfied.'

2. Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei. Top-rated restaurant - Chun Shui Tang

Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, came second with Chun Shui Tang, a casual eatery known for its speedy service and traditional bubble tea, ranked as the top spot

Taoyuan International Airport in Taipei came second with Chun Shui Tang, a casual eatery known for its speedy service and traditional bubble tea, ranked as the top spot there.

Taoyuan Airport scored 4.40 out of five for food quality, 4.10 for price and was served a 2.69 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 4.10.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'Lower diversity in cuisine choice is the only thing keeping this Taiwanese airport from its score skyrocketing even further in our ranking. With the second-lowest prices and second-highest rated food, Taoyuan is no slouch in the culinary department.'

3. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong. Top-rated restaurant - Saboten

Hong Kong International Airport came in number three, with its fast food diner Saboten praised for being a splendid spot

Hong Kong International Airport came in at number three, with its fast food diner Saboten praised for being a top spot.

The famous Japanese fried pork cutlet chain opened its first store in Hong Kong at the airport and its specialties include a meaty tenderloin dish and katsu curry set.

Hong Kong Airport scored 4.17 out of five for food quality, 3.35 for price and was served a 4.04 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 4.03.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'You wont find many bad places to eat in this airport, and the consistency in positive reviews is quite remarkable. No matter where you stop, youre bound to get a good, affordable bite, but its Hong Kong specialties are definitely its best reviewed.'

4. Changi Airport, Singapore. Top-rated restaurant - Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine

Changi Airport in Singapore edged up to fourth place, with the Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine restaurant helping it win points

Changi Airport in Singapore edged up to fourth place, with the Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine restaurant helping it win points.

Must-try dishes at the traditional Chinese restaurant include classic sweet and sour pork and braised fish.

Changi Airport scored 3.96 out of five for food quality, 3.95 for price and was served a 3.85 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.94.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'Changi Airport particularly shines when with its top-notch Cantonese food, which travelers can experience while dining at Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine.'

5. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Top-rated restaurant - Bowery Restaurant

Amsterdam Airport Schiphol's Bowery Restaurant has been rated as a top spot, with delicious Dutch, European and Asian fusion dishes on offer

Amsterdam Airport Schipol proved to be not too hot when it came to value for money, but it still bagged fifth place for its good quality and diverse range of cuisine.

Adjudicators rated its Bowery Restaurant as a top spot, with delicious Dutch, European and Asian fusion dishes on offer.

Amsterdam Airport scored 3.95 out of five for food quality, 3.01 for price and was served a 4.42 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.88.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'With a solid range of restaurants, from cheap eats to fine dining, Schiphol is one of our top international airports to eat at.'

6. Gatwick Airport, London. Top-rated restaurant - Comptoir Libanais

Gatwick's Lebanese restaurant Comptoir Libanais - a firm favourite on the London food scene - got a big thumbs up for its assortment of breakfast plates, dips, mezze bites, savoury flatbreads and tagines

It doesnt have the same name recognition of Heathrow Airport, but Gatwick came out with a higher overall cuisine ranking than its counterpart.

Its Lebanese restaurant Comptoir Libanais - a firm favourite on the London food scene - got a big thumbs up for its assortment of breakfast plates, dips, mezze bites, savoury flatbreads and tagines.

Gatwick scored 4.11 out of five for food quality, 3.01 for price and was served a 3.65 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.88.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'The quality is only 4.0 per cent lower than Heathrow on our scale, yet its average price rating is significantly lower. Its a real win for Gatwick travelers.'

7. Kingsford-Smith Airport, Sydney, Australia. Top-rated restaurant - Chur Burger

Gourmet fast food joint Chur Burger was tipped as the best place to dine at Sydney airport, with spiced chickpea fritters and crumbed fish fillets jazzing things up

If you find yourself at Sydney Airport, you'll be spoiled for choice on the food front. The complex was given top points for diversity with everything from burgers to burritos on offer.

Gourmet fast food joint Chur Burger was tipped as the best place to dine, with spiced chickpea fritters and crumbed fish fillets jazzing things up.

Sydney Airport scored 3.90 out of five for food quality, 2.36 for price and was served a 5.00 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.84.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'The airport in Sydney ranks the highest of all 15 airports on our list when it comes to culinary diversity.

'The prices arent always great, but the food is and you can get a quality bite in a number of cuisines.'

8. Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport. Top-rated restaurant - Vinea

For the best Mediterranean and Spanish nibbles at Madrid Airport, Vinea was revealed as the top rated restaurant

Madrid Airport is a haven for delectable Spanish foods and tapas, but offers little else for hungry travelers without a taste for either.

Therefore, the commuter hub ambled in at eighth place. For the best Mediterranean and Spanish nibbles, Vinea was revealed as the top rated restaurant.

Overall, Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport scored 3.96 out of five for food quality, 3.77 for price and was served a mediocre 2.88 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.77.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'Low diversity in choice puts this airport in the middle of the pack, despite solid scores in the quality and price categories.'

9. Munich Airport. Top-rated restaurant - Airbrau

Airbrau was rated as the best restaurant at Munich Airport. Along with giant sausages and generous servings of cabbage, the spot is also known for being home to one of the world's only airport breweries in the world

Expensive menus all round - almost 40 per cent higher than the average prices among all 15 airports - brought down the rankings for Munich Airport to number nine despite its quality food offerings.

However, Airbrau helped to cheer the judges up and it was rated as the best restaurant. Along with giant sausages and generous servings of cabbage, the spot is also known for being home to one of the world's only airport breweries.

Munich Airport scored 4.20 out of five for food quality, 1.83 for price and was served a 3.65 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.76.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'Munichs choice diversity is middle-of-the-road, however the prices are second-highest among the airports in this ranking.'

10. Heathrow Airport, London. Top-rated restaurant - Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food

Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food was revealed as Heathrow's best place to eat, with a nice balanced menu including everything from a full English breakfast to steamed sea bass. And superb eggs Benedict

More than 75 million hungry travelers have passed through Heathrows gates, making it the second-most traveled international airport.

Its also the most expensive airport to eat at by a large margin, making its overall ranking rather low and it was bumped to tenth place. Overall, Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food was revealed as the best place to eat, with a nice balanced menu including everything from a tasty full English breakfast to delicious steamed sea bass. The eggs Benedict is also a class act and the service is always speedy and friendly.

Heathrow scored 4.29 out of five for food quality, 1.33 for price and was served a 3.65 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.74.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'Its the third-highest rated airport in terms of cuisine quality and is home to restaurants from chefs like Gordon Ramsay.'

11. Frankfurt Airport. Top-rated restaurant - Paulaner in the Squaire

Paulaner in the Squaire was named the best place to eat at Frankfurt Airport with a wide selection of comforting German cuisine on offer

Frankfurt Airport is more well-trafficked than its sister hub in Munich, but it doesnt quite stack up in terms of the rankings.

As the fourth-most expensive airport to eat at, its overall score took a beating and it flew in at 11th place. Paulaner in the Squaire was named the best place to eat with a wide selection of comforting German cuisine.

It is also celebrated for its rustic, casual atmosphere and genuine Bavarian hospitality.

Frankfurt Airport scored 5.00 out of five for food quality, 5.00 for price and was served a 3.46 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.71.

12. Pierson Airport, Toronto. Top-rated restaurant - Fetta

Fetta was deemed Toronto Airport's best eatery, with a mouth-watering selection of paninis on offer

Toronto is one of the largest cities in Canada and its multicultural population and plethora of cuisine choices make it a hot destination for foodies.

Unfortunately, the culinary culture is not well reflected in the capitals airport and it rolled in at number 12.

Fetta was deemed its best eatery, with a mouth-watering selection of paninis on offer with flavours including grilled cheese, marinated chicken and shaved beef.

Toronto Airport scored 3.39 out of five for food quality, 2.31 for price and was served a 4.42 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.49.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'Sunk by a wide range of low-rated restaurant choices, Pierson airport ranks the lowest of any airport in terms of quality, yet its ranking is bolstered to fourth-lowest by its high diversity in cuisine choice.'

13. Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris. Top-rated restaurant - I Love Paris by Guy Martin

Visitors rated I Love Paris by Guy Martin at Paris' Charles De Gaulle Airport as the top place to eat with offerings including top-of-the-range sandwiches, a champagne bar and 70-seat restaurant

Paris is widely-known as one of the great culinary cities of the world.

However, Charles De Gaulle Airport does not quite live up to its home city's kitchen prestige and it sashayed in at number 13 in the rankings.

Visitors rated I Love Paris by Guy Martin as the top place to eat with offerings including top-of-the-range sandwiches, a champagne bar and a 70-seat restaurant.

Charles De Gaulle Airport scored 3.63 out of five for food quality, 2.56 for price and was served a 3.08 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.39.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'De Gaulle has the third-lowest quality ranking and fifth-lowest culinary diversity standing of the 15 airports reviewed. However, it is a bastion for high-end dining. Sushirama and Caviar House are quality options, but theyre far from cheap.'

14. Barcelona-El Prat Airport. Top-rated restaurant - Porta Gaig

Porta Gaig, which is run by famed Catalan chef Carles Gaig, was lauded for being Barcelona's airport's 'saving grace'. The spot attracts foodies from all over the world, with menu staples including roast chicken, croquettes, and veal

Barcelona's airport was found to have limited options on the food front and it came out with the third-worst cuisine diversity on the list, dragging it down to 14th place.

Porta Gaig, which is run by famed Catalan chef Carles Gaig, was lauded for being its 'saving grace'. The spot attracts foodies from all over the world, with menu staples including roast chicken, croquettes, and veal.

Barcelona-El Prat Airport scored 3.51 out of five for food quality, 2.78 for price and was served a 2.88 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.31.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'Barelona's airport boasts more than a handful of well-reviewed tapas and Spanish restaurants, cashing in on the national cuisine. However, options are limited.'

15. Leonardo Da Vinci-Fuimicino Airport, Rome. Top-rated restaurant - Antonello Colonna Open Bistro

Rome's airport was given top marks for its Antonello Colonna Open Bistro. Along with having a mouth-watering a la carte menu, there is an all-you-can-eat buffet for a reasonable 20 euros

Non-U.S airports ranked and rated for food by RewardExpert's 2018 Dining Scorecard The final rankings were determined using three indicators: quality, price and cuisine diversity. Quality rankings were determined with a weighted average of Yelp and TripAdvisor scores for each airports restaurants and cross-checked with Zagat and JD Power rankings. Price scores were calculated using Yelp pricing data. Cuisine diversity was evaluated using the primary cuisine categories noted in Yelp Reviews and the individual airports restaurants listing in their directories. Commenting on the ranking process Roman Shteyn, RewardExpert's CEO and co-founder, said: 'In 2017, we analyzed food options available to travelers in domestic (U.S) airports in our RewardExpert 2017 Airport Dining Scorecard. 'This year we widened the lens by analyzing thousands of reviews, menus and pricing data from the busiest hubs outside of the United States to determine the best international airports in terms of overall restaurant quality, price and variety to help travelers find culinary refuge from their long layovers overseas.' Below is the full ranking with the best restaurants marked in bold: 1. Narita International Airport, Tokyo - Sushiden 2. Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei - Chun Shui Tang 3. Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong - Saboten 4. Changi Airport, Changi, Singapore - Imperial Treasure Cantonese Cuisine 5. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Amsterdam, The Netherlands - Bowery Restaurant 6. Gatwick Airport, London - Comptoir Libanais 7. Kingsford-Smith Airport, Sydney, Australia - Chur Burger 8. Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain - Vinea 9. Munich Airport, Munich, Germany - Airbrau 10. Heathrow Airport, London - Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food 11. Frankfurt Airport, Frankfurt, Germany - Paulaner in the Squaire 12. Pierson Airport, Toronto, Canada - Fetta 13. Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, France - I Love Paris by Guy Martin 14. Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Barcelona, Spa in - Porta Gaig 15. Leonardo Da Vinci-Fuimicino Airport, Rome - Antonello Colonna Open Bistro Advertisement

The lack of food diversity dragged Rome's airport down to last place.

However, the commuter hub was given top marks for its Antonello Colonna Open Bistro. Along with having a mouth-watering a la carte menu - featuring Italian delicacies such as gnocci and tender servings of sea bass - there is an all-you-can-eat buffet for a reasonable 20 euros.

Leonardo Da Vinci-Fuimicino Airport scored 3.83 out of five for food quality, 2.20 for price and was served a 1.92 rating for diversity. Its total equaled 3.30.

Experts at RewardExpert remarked: 'If youre looking for an Italian meal before you leave Rome, this isnt a bad place to eat.

'Where this airport gets dinged for quality is in the areas outside of Italian cuisine. For those looking to get a burger, maybe save it. If pasta or pizza is the goal, go wild here.'
He's being billed as the sexy, smooth-talking Italian on My Kitchen Rules.

But while his chiseled features might be quickly gaining him a legion of female admirers, Nic Sama has revealed his already found the one.

Speaking to New Idea magazine on Monday, the Italian stallion confirmed he's been in a serious relationship for the past four years - adding it was time for some big decisions.

Not so single! My Kitchen Rules Italian stallion Nic Sama reveals his secret American girlfriend of four years and could be in for a move stateside

'We've been having a long distance relationship and now I've got to make the decision about whether I'm going to live there or not' he told the publication.

He revealed his ladylove Molly is a doctor based in the U.S. state of Florida.

The hunky at-home chef said the pair met in Las Vegas while he was on a bucks night, but now with things getting more serious, the decision is weighing on his mind.

'I was there [last] Christmas to check out where she lives and to see if I can live there or not,' he added to the publication.

Disappointing his new legion of female fans, handsome Nic added that he thinks his ladylove is the one.

It comes after Nic, 33, and his brother came under fire after it was revealed the pair operate a food truck together - giving them an unfair advantage in the instant restaurant round.

Not so amateur: The handsome MKR contestant has come under fire for having an unfair advantage, with the him and brother Josh already operating a food truck

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Nic said: 'This is our career, we have a food truck called Frittoandco and we hope to win to develop our business.'

Talking up their chances of winning the series, 36-year-old Josh added: 'We are front of house [in their family restaurant] and that's what we are good at,' he said.

Then adding: 'But being brought up in the restaurant and an Italian household, we lived food.'
Kelsey Grammer paid tribute Tuesday to his Frasier co-star John Mahoney who died Monday in a Chicago hospital.

In a brief statement, Grammer, 62, said: 'He was my father. I loved him.'

The two worked together from 1993 to 2004 on the hugely popular sitcom with Mahoney playing Marty Crane, the somewhat cantankerous father of Seattle psychiatrist and radio host Frasier.

'He was my father. I loved him': In a brief statement Tuesday, Kelsey Grammer, 62, paid tribute to his Frasier co-star John Mahoney who died Monday age 77. They're pictured in 2002

Famous roles: Grammer and Mahoney starred as Frasier and Marty Crane starred on the hit NBC series from 1993 to 2004

The England-born Mahoney got the role after making an appearance on Grammer's previous sitcom Cheers as a jingle creator in an episode from the show's 11th and final season in 1992.

He passed away from complications due to cancer. He was 77.

Jane Leeves, the English actress who played Daphne Moon on the NBC show, described her fellow countryman as 'the dearest sweetest man I have ever known.'

She told TheWrap.com: 'His wicked sense of humor, usually whispered in your ear or spoken just loud enough that only you could hear could bring you to tears. And his smile. Oh my god. He was lit from within.'

'How lucky I am to have had him in my life. I loved him so much and will miss him so terribly.'

Mahoney was godfather to her son and the two reunited on screen in TVLand's Hot In Cleveland from 2011 to 2014.

The way they were: Mahoney played Marty Crane, the somewhat cantankerous father of Seattle psychiatrist and radio host Frasier, and Niles, played by David Hyde Pierce. The cast also included Peri Gilpin as radio producer Roz, Dan Butler as radio personality 'Bulldog' and Janes Leeves as Marty's caretaker Daphne Moon

After Frasier ended, Mahoney revealed he kept in constant touch with Leeves, Peri Gilpin who played Roz and David Hyde Pierce who played his other son Niles.

He was not in frequent contact with Grammer, however, saying the actor 'is so busy.'

'But it's always a pleasure when we do finally meet up or call each other,' he added.

Gilpin took to Twitter to pay tribute to Mahoney asking fans to 'raise a glass to him' and 'remember him well.'

Farewell performance: Mahoney made his home in Oak Park, Illinois, where he was a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. His last role was on stage last fall in a production of The Rembrandt, pictured

Mahoney, who moved to the U.S. as a teen with his sister who was a war bride, made his home in Oak Park, Illinois and was a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company for almost 40 years.

He was twice diagnosed with cancer during his career and twice beat the disease, something he was very proud of.

In a final interview a few months before his death he said he thought his love of acting is what helped him through.

He was first diagnosed with colon cancer in the mid-1980s and then with throat cancer in 2014.

In an interview with Fox last October, he explained: 'I refused to yield to it because I love what I'm doing so much. And I refuse to sit at home and feel sorry for myself. Instead, I just want to get out there and do another job.'

His last role turned out to be on stage in The Rembrandt for Steppenwolf.

His friend Anna Shapiro said he was 'fragile,' at the time of his death.

'He was supposed to be having a routine procedure. But having just beat stage three throat cancer, I think he was just too weak,' she said.
Kylie Jenner revealed on Tuesday that her daughter's name is Stormi Webster.

And since she dropped the bombshell announcement on her Instagram, fans flocked to Twitter to share their reactions about her choice in name.

One fan joked that family gatherings at the Kardashian/Jenner households will 'sound like a weather report when wrangling the kids. Is it Stormi? Naw its just Reign Over by North Chicago.'

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My girl: Kylie Jenner has named her baby girl Stormi Webster. She revealed the unusual moniker on Instagram on Tuesday along with a sweet photo

Reign is Kourtney's son while North and Chicago are Kim Kardashian's daughters.

Others chimed in agreeing that their names combined resembled a weather report about a storm in North Chicago.

One of the biggest stories this year is a porn star named Stormy Daniels, who claims she had an alleged affair with President Donald Trump.

One Twitter user thought it was 'cruel' Kylie, 20, named her after a person that 'reminds people of Trump's porn star affair.'

New mum: Jenner, 20, was seen posing and showing off her baby bump in never-before-seen footage

Hilarious: Since she dropped the bombshell announcement on her Instagram, fans flocked to Twitter to share their reactions about her choice in name

They went even further, claiming that it will forever be a question on people's mind 'whether she was named after Stormy Daniels.'

Others seemed to think Kylie's young age made her name choice more understandable.

One Twitter user wrote: 'When you let a 20 yr old have a baby, you get the name Stormi.'

Some joked that Kylie's future children will probably also be weather related monikers, including 'Cloudi, Raini, Snowi and Scattered Showers.'

Awkward: One of the biggest stories this year is a porn star named Stormy Daniels who claims she had an alleged affair with President Donald Trump

Model Stormi Bree seemingly wasn't impressed about Kylie's name choice for her daughter.

Stormi, who is also a former Miss USA, posted a pictured of herself from a modeling shoot with an annoyed look on her face; she added the caption: 'Current mood.'

She welcomed a daughter named Gravity with fellow model, Lucky Blue Smith, last July.

Several Twitter users predicted Stormi's name before Kylie even gave birth.

Stephanie Frosch wrote on January 12th that her sister announced that Kylie is in labor and thinks the baby's name will be Storm, adding that it's 'big news.'

She wrote the tweet: 'Kylie Jenner is in labor and I just called my entire family to tell them as if I was in labor... This is big news.'

The big reveal: The 20-year-old TV star revealed on Sunday that she welcomed her baby girl with Travis Scott on Thursday

Adding: 'And that Kylie Jenner named her baby, Storm. Shoutout to my sister for keeping me up to date in celebrity news. You heard it here first, folks.'

Stephanie tweeted again on January 12 correcting herself writing simply: 'Stormie*.'

After news of the name being Stormi was revealed on Tuesday, the Twitter user wrote: '"People are going to think we're wizards." - my sister regarding our tweets predicting Kylie's baby.'

Another fan, with the handle @amandapac wrote on January 12 as well: @KylieJenner is in labor rn. I can feel it. Storm is coming!!!!!!!!'

Impressive: Several Twitter users predicted Stormi's name before Kylie even gave birth

The Keeping Up With The Kardashians star gave birth to her first child with Travis Scott last Thursday, February 1.

On Tuesday, she originally just wrote her daughter's first name - Stormi - in the Instagram caption.

Hours later, Kylie edited it and added her baby's last name - Webster - making her full moniker: Stormi Webster.

Travis Scott's birth name is Jacques Webster.

Fans believed that the child's name could be Butterfly as the E! star wore a butterfly necklace and had butterfly stickers on the wall in the nursery during her 11-minute baby reveal video shared on Sunday.

Others suggested it could be Mariposa, which is Spanish for butterfly, or the shortened Posie.

She had kept her pregnancy under wraps and went into hiding after she found out she was expecting but finally announced the birth of her little girl on Sunday with a lengthy post online and a video clip titled 'To Our Daughter' shot over the past nine months.

She said: 'I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark through all the assumptions. I understand you're used to me bringing you along on all my journeys.

Bumping along: She retreated from the spotlight during her pregnancy, but finally gave fans a look at her changing form in her 11-minute baby reveal video

How sweet! She also shared a glimpse of her newborn daughter in the clip

Reclusive: Kylie was out of the spotlight but still in front of the camera

What's in a name? 'Stormi' is an alternative spelling of the Greenlandic 'Storme' or the English 'Stormy'both are derived from the Old English word, 'storm,' and the Old Norse origin, 'Stormr.'

Merriam-Webster defines the word storm as 'a disturbance of the atmosphere marked by wind and usually by rain, snow, hail, sleet, or thunder and lightning,' or 'a serious disturbance of any element of nature.'

Notable Stormi/Stormy's include: Adult actress Stormy Daniels, Miss Teen USA 2009 Stormi Henley, American sprinter Stormy Kendrick and Rainbow Brite character Stormy.

Stormy Daniels recently denied an alleged affair with president Donald Trump nearly one decade ago, just months after it was revealed the actress received a $130,000 settlement before his 2016 campaign run

Her full moniker has yet to be revealed, but could likely be Stormi Webster, named after her father Jacques Webster aka Travis Scott. Advertisement

'My pregnancy was one I chose not to do in front of the world. I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress free, and healthy way I knew how.

'There was no gotcha moment, no big paid reveal I had planned. I knew my baby would feel every stress and every emotion so I chose to do it this way for my little life and our happiness.'

Kylie's sister Kim Kardashian was one of the first to react to the baby name announcement as she tweeted a simple emoji of a rain cloud with bolt of lightning.

Her mom Kris Jenner shared Kylie's post and wrote: 'Meet my precious granddaughter Stormi! I love you endlessly' adding numerous pink heart emojis.

'Sorry for keeping you in the dark': The E! star had a heartfelt message for her fans when made they big reveal on Instagram

No words needed: Kylie's sister Kim, 37, tweeted a simple storm cloud emoji after the baby name announcement

After the happy news was revealed on Sunday Kris Jenner told E! News at Rachel Zoe's Fall 2018 presentation: 'She's really great! Kylie did it her way, which I thought was really beautiful. She just really wanted to take the time for her baby and herself,'

Recalling the first time she watched the 11-minute montage of never-before-seen images from Kylie's pregnancy and labor, Kris admitted: 'I was bawling! I was crying so hard, especially at the end. And I still cried.'

She added: 'Any mum just wants her family to be happy, healthy, peaceful, joyful and thats my joy. Theyre my heart!'

Kylie and Travis, 25, were first linked back in April 2017 following the KUWTK star's split from rapper Tyga after three years together.

Gorgeous! The new mother took to Snapchat on Monday to share snaps of the masses of flowers she's received from friends and family as she thanked her love ones for their gifts
Prince William got to grips with a Mexican Red-Kneed tarantula at the National History Museum

Protection officers strain every sinew to keep the Royal Family safe from terrorists and oddballs.

And, when it comes to the animal world, Palace officials are not taking any chances, either.

The Natural History Museums senior curator of arachnida, Jan Beccaloni, has revealed that her plan to hand Prince William a tarantula as part of his visit to open its newest space, the 78 million Darwin Centre, provoked a major inquest.

There was a lot of toing and froing from the Palace, as they were concerned for the Princes safety, Mrs Beccaloni now discloses.

But I assured them that if the spider was dangerous, I wouldnt want to handle it myself, let alone hand it to a member of the Royal Family.

The visit went ahead in 2009 and a reluctant-looking William was given the 8in Mexican red-kneed tarantula, which eats mice, to hold.

Mrs Beccaloni recalls: There was a running joke that there would be a police marksman hidden somewhere with a rifle trained on the spider, and on the day the Prince was clearly a bit worried: he had very sweaty palms as I passed him the tarantula. Before his speech, William joked: Ive just lost a tarantula. If you see it, it goes by the name of Sarah.

Prince William handled the large tarantula when he visited the museum in September 2009

At the event, William recalled how he was first brought to the museum by his mother. Millions of others will have shared with me that same sense of awe and wonder, he said.

That whole experience sparked in me a love of the natural world. Encouraged by my father, this boyhood fascination has developed into an interest in how we meet the challenges now facing us and our planet.

Miriam OReilly, the former Countryfile presenter who won an ageism battle against the BBC, was unimpressed with the broadcasters blanket coverage of the centenary of the first women winning the vote.

Irony in BBC covering the extraordinary sacrifice of suffragettes fight for equality when BBC management cant pay its own female staff equal pay for equal work, the 60-year-old says.

Baronness Bra's Bitcoin tip falls flat after value plunges

Baroness Mone was controversially appointed by David Cameron as his business tsar in 2015, however some people may regret following her advice in recent weeks.

In December the Ultimo bra tycoon was urging the public to buy bitcoins, which she predicted would soon be worth 72,000 per coin. The price of Bitcoin has, in fact fallen from 14,000 to around 5,000, a 65 per cent drop in its value since the beginning of the year.

Michelle Mone, 46, has a vested interest in talking up the virtual currency. Last year, she started selling 192 million of property in Dubai that could be bought using bitcoins. Baroness Mone of Mayfair launched the project with her boyfriend, businessman Doug Barrowman.

Ewan's a no-show for his daughter's big day

Ewan McGregors model daughter Clara was overcome with nostalgia on her 22nd birthday this Sunday when she posted an old family snap of her parents  whose marriage ended last year  with her as a baby.

Now the NYU student has revealed she marked the special occasion with her mother, French film producer Eve Mavrakis, in LA, while the Trainspotting star was nowhere to be seen.

McGregor, 46, split from Eve, 51, after being caught kissing 33-year-old actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, his co-star in Fargo, at a restaurant in North London.

TV presenter Kate Garraway would rather eat chocolate than get up close and personal with her husband, Labour spin doctor-turned therapist Derek Draper.

Asked whats better than sex for her Kate, 50, replies: I think hed like me to say Nothing is better than that, but Im going to say a bag of chocolate buttons.

The mother-of-two adds: Weve been together for 14 years. No one is more surprised than me.
She officially confirmed her engagement to Today show host Karl Stefanovic, 43, last Friday.

And over the past week, Jasmine Yarbrough hasn't been shy about parading her impressive $120,000 diamond ring, proudly displaying it at every opportunity.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the shoe designer, 34, grinned from ear-to-ear as she showed off her sparkler in a photo with friends at a Harper's Bazaar party in Sydney.

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She's not shy! Jasmine Yarbrough strategically parades $120,000 diamond ring in snap with friends... after confirming engagement with Today show host Karl Stefanovic

Sitting with her legs delicately crossed, she appeared to strategically place her hand over her knee to keep the ring in clear view.

It was Jasmine's first formal appearance since confirming her engagement to Today co-host Karl on Friday.

Jasmine - who first met Karl in December 2016, just months after he separated from his wife-of-21-years Cassandra Thorburn - looked suitably glamorous as she posed up a storm on the red carpet in a semi-sheer black dress.

Placing her left hand on her svelte waist, the sparkler again commanded attention.

She clearly enjoyed her time in the spotlight, smiling for the cameras without her television star fiance by her side.

Happy couple: The lovebirds confirmed the news last Friday, when the bride-to-be flashed her engagement ring at a celebratory lunch in Woolloomooloo. It's believed Karl proposed to Jasmine while the couple were on holiday in Fiji last month

Bride-to-be! Jasmine (pictured) made her first public appearance on Tuesday night at a Harper's Bazaar event... after confirming her engagement to Today co-host Karl last Friday

Sparkler: The former model, 34, proudly showed off her $120,000 diamond ring while posing up a storm solo on the media wall

Reports suggested the Mara & Mine founder happily posed solo on the media wall, after her fiancee 'dodged photographers' on arrival.

However, while Karl avoided posing for loved-up snaps with his bride-to-be on the red carpet, the pair were inseparable inside.

Insiders at the event claimed he was 'very close and intimate' with his lady love away from the cameras, and were seen 'huddled in a corner together, holding hands and laughing.'

Daily Mail Australia have reached out to Karl Stefanovic for comment.

Jasmine and Karl got engaged last month, with New Idea magazine reporting that the Channel Nine star proposed while the couple were on holiday in Fiji.

After asking Jasmine to be his wife, they returned to Sydney to celebrate with family and friends at a 'nine-hour party' held at Karl's brother Peter's house, it was claimed.

Stunning: Jasmine, who first met Karl in December 2016 just months after he separated from his wife-of-21-years Cassandra Thorburn, looked very glamorous in a semi-sheer black dress

The lovebirds confirmed the news last Friday, when the bride-to-be flashed her engagement ring at a celebratory lunch in Woolloomooloo with Karl and several pals.

It is understood that Karl and Jasmine met in late 2016, just a matter of months after his marriage to TV producer and journalist Cassandra fell apart.

Cassandra has previously described her ex-husband as 'dead to (her)'. The former couple share three children - Jackson, River, and Ava.
She's shortly set to welcome a baby boy into the world with her partner Tony.

And Big Brother star Laura Carter has posed for a stunning nude photoshoot to commemorate her pregnancy, stripping off for a series of arty black and white images.

The redhead - who previously enjoyed a flirtation with Marco Pierre White Jr. - can be seen topless, covering her modesty with her hands as she strikes a pose.

Baby joy: Big Brother star Laura Carter has posed for a stunning nude photoshoot to commemorate her pregnancy, stripping off for a series of arty black and white images

Laura shows off her bump in all its glory, cradling her blossoming figure as she peers out from behind her long locks.

In another shot, the reality star is seen sensually draping herself with a sheet.

This comes after Laura revealed she's missing her pre-pregnancy figure, admitting she was worried about getting back into shape.

Beautiful: The redhead - who previously enjoyed a flirtation with Marco Pierre White Jr. - can be seen topless, covering her modesty with her hands as she strikes a pose

Stunning: Laura shows off her bump in all its glory, cradling her blossoming figure as she peers out from behind her long locks

Embracing her new shape: This comes after Laura revealed she's missing her pre-pregnancy figure, admitting she was worried about getting back into shape

Sharing snaps of her baby bump next to her previously taut stomach, the 31-year-old reality star, who has also been linked to Justin Bieber, took to Instagram to voice her fears.

Alongside the picture, she wrote: 'Use protection kids #willievergetmywaistback? #nobutseriously #26weekspregnant #3monthstogo #howthef**k #timesflying #helpme'.

Clad in a cream bra and briefs, the radiant redhead was seen resting her hand on her baby bump as she posed for the camera.

The first shot showed off her toned figure in a white bikini - which was taken when Laura was three weeks pregnant, so not showing.

Bumping along: Laura recently revealed she's missing her pre-pregnancy figure

In a throwback snap of her pre-pregnancy figure, Laura responded to a fan asking if it was a recent image by quipping that she is 'resembling a whale right now'.

Last month, Laura she revealed she was expecting a baby boy, and shared the news on Instagram by sharing a nude snap with her 96,000 followers.

Showing off her baby bump whilst she protected her modesty with her hands, the expectant starlet looked sensational as she posed for the selfie.

It's a boy! Last month, Laura she revealed she was expecting a baby boy, and shared the news on Instagram by sharing a nude snap with her 96,000 followers.

Laura wrote: 'I know its late in the day to post this! Ive been absolutely BURSTING to tell you our news......

'Me & my @tonyplifestyle are so SO excited and proud to announce....were having a baby BOY!!! If your following my baby blog Ill be posting another in the next few days!

'Now to figure out what to do with a boy Im used to little girls!'

Former flame: Laura famously enjoyed a fling with Marco Pierre White Jr during her time on Big Brother last year

Last month, Laura revealed she conceived the baby during a trip to Las Vegas over the summer, sharing her first ultrasound on Friday, the dancer gushed that she and Tony are 'ridiculously happy' and joked that she might have to call the baby 'Vegas'.

Laura wrote on Instagram: 'So at 16 weeks & nearly half way through I think it's about time I share our little surprise with the world!

'They say what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas but not this time! We brought something back with us..... We're having a baby!'

The red-haired beauty then touched upon her relationship with Tony, revealing they had been through their fair share of fights after years of friendship.

'After years of being mates, (and we've defo had some arguments, mainly him shaking his head at my antics) (turns out he loved me really),' she wrote.

Parents-to-be: The 31-year-old, who has been linked to Justin Bieber and Marco Pierre White Junior, revealed they conceived the baby during a trip to Las Vegas over the summer

Excited: Sharing her first ultrasound, the dancer gushed that she and Tony are 'ridiculously happy' and joked that she will have to call the baby 'Vegas'

'No I'm joking, in all seriousness I think if anyone had told us we would end up together we'd have thought it was crazy... but turns out it was our fate and we are both so ridiculously happy!

'I keep having to pinch myself... but this is real, it's actually happening! I'm so excited to be a mummy & have already had the most incredible support from all our family & friends.'

The reality star concluded: 'Thanks to those who have kept our secret!!! You all get major brownie points for the roles of godmother/father.

'Actually no, scrap that, I can't cope with the thought of a christening...but there's definitely gonna be a party!! I won't have had a drink for 9 months!

Happy news: She continued: 'I think if anyone had told us we would end up together we'd have thought it was crazy...but turns out it was our fate and we are both so ridiculously happy!'

'So here I am cheersing with a large glass of ginger beer (I think it's a craving)......Here's to the next chapter! LC & TP. PS Does this mean we have to call it Vegas?!'

Laura, who has boasted about having a threesome with Canadian pop sensation Justin, romped with controversial contestant Marco Pierre Jnr on last year's Big Brother.

Their screen trysts raised eyebrows all the more as Marco was in a relationship with Kim Melville-Smith outside of the famous Hertfordshire house.

Thankful: Laura said she was 'so excited' to be a mother and thanked her family and friends for their 'incredible support'

After Marco was voted out of the Big Brother house, Laura was reunited with her handsome Mexican former flame Bernardo Belmar, after producers brought him into the house as part of a shopping task.

Speaking of her excitement in the Diary Room, Laura, said: 'I want to thank you so much. This guy, I met in Miami two years ago, I was still engaged.

'We met in a club and it was pretty much love at first sight. He walked towards me - it was the strongest connection I've ever felt in my whole life.
It can be difficult to arrange a family gathering at the best of times, so consider the problems for Clint Eastwood.

The 87-year-old veteran actor and director has at least seven children by four different women and his tangled love life has involved acrimonious bust-ups.

But six of his children were happy to share the red carpet for the premiere of his latest film.

Kyle, Alison, Scott, Kathryn, Francesca and Morgan were at the Warner Brothers Studios in Los Angeles on Monday evening for a showing of The 15:17 To Paris, which is based on the true story of three Americans who stopped an Islamist terrorist attack on a train in 2015.

Clint Eastwood's tangled love life has involved acrimonious bust-ups. But six of his children were happy to share the red carpet for the premiere of his latest film. From left: Morgan Eastwood, Clint Eastwood, Kathryn Eastwood, Francesca Eastwood

Clint and his current girlfriend Christina Sandera stand on the carpet with Stacy Poitras, his wife Alison Eastwood and Scott Eastwood

Quality time: Scott and Alison were snapped together as a sibling duo

Troika: Francesca, Morgan and Kathryn Eastwood, three more of Clint's brood, also attended

Family outing: (from left) Clint Eastwood posed with his family- (from left) Stacy Poitras, Alison and Scott - at Monday's The 15:17 To Paris Los Angeles premiere

Kyle, 49, and Alison, 45, are the product of Eastwoods relationship with his first wife, model Maggie Johnson. He fathered Scott, 31, and Kathryn, 30, with flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves, with whom he had a secret relationship while living with actress Sondra Locke.

Francesca, 24, is Eastwoods daughter from his relationship with actress Frances Fisher, while Morgan, 21, is the only child he had with his second wife, Dina Luiz, which ended in divorce in 2014.

The siblings are often seen at events together but missing was daughter Kimber, 52, the result of an affair with dancer Roxanne Tunis during Eastwoods marriage to Miss Johnson. Her existence was not even acknowledged until 1989.

Eastwood is currently dating Christina Sandera, 54, a restaurant hostess. Despite enjoying a string of high-profile relationships, he has had only two wives.

He was still an unknown actor, when he married Miss Johnson, a former swimwear model, in 1953.

And it was not until 1996 that Eastwood married again  to Miss Ruiz, a TV presenter. The pair divorced after a year-long custody battle.

Hobnobbing: Jenna was also snapped on the carpet talking to her director

Scott, 31, the son of Jacelyn Reeves, is pictured with Alison, 45, and Kyle, 49, the children of Maggie Johnson

Sextet: Jeanne Goursaud (left) and Jenna Fischer (second from left), who are also in the film, were photographed at the premiere alongside Alek, Clint, Spencer and Anthony

Clint Eastwood pictured with Dina Ruiz, who is the mother of Morgan Eastwood, 21

Scott Eastwood is pictured with Jacelyn Reeves, his mother. She and Clint Eastwood also had a daughter, Kathryn, now 30

Frances Fisher, the mother of Francesca, 24, is pictured with Clint Eastwood in 1994

Latest movie: Spencer Stone, from left, Anthony Sadler and Alex Skarlatos in a scene from 'The 15:17" To Paris'

Eastwoods most notable relationship was with Miss Locke. It lasted 14 years but ended in acrimony in 1989. She accused him of being a cruel man with a vile temper who dumped her by locking her out of the home she believed he had given her.

Eastwood lived briefly with British-born Miss Fisher after they met on the set of the action comedy Pink Cadillac. The couple are believed to have split in 1993 and Miss Fisher went on to play the mother of Kate Winslets character in Titanic.

The ensemble: Arnold - the action movie star and ex-Governor Of California - wore a charcoal suit over a checked blue dress shirt with no tie

Eastwoods children have followed him into the film industry.

Kathryn is an actress and writer, while Scott is also an actor and model, appearing in films and one of American pop star Taylor Swifts music videos. Francesca has had TV roles and a small part in the 2014 remake of Jersey Boys, which her father directed. Kyle had a role in Eastwoods film Honkytonk Man but has made more of a mark as a jazz musician.
Society girls will do anything to stand out from the crowd these days.

Tatler pin-up Jemima Cadbury, scion of the chocolate dynasty founded in the 19th century, has been showing off her eyecatching sunbathing technique in South Africa this week.

The 25-year-old daughter of Justin Cadbury and ex-girlfriend of Lord Brockets son, Alexander Nall-Cain, posted this picture, above left, online from her holiday, in which she demonstrates her balancing skills while doing a handstand in a 100 Marysia Swim black bikini.

Getting an even tan, she explains in the caption.

Tatler pin-up Jemima Cadbury, scion of the chocolate dynasty founded in the 19th century, has been showing off her eyecatching sunbathing technique in South Africa this week

Greater love hath no man than he lose weight for his offspring. Celebrity chef Aldo Zilli is determined to shed two stone before his daughter Lauras wedding in America in April.

I am under pressure to lose the pounds because I have to walk my daughter down the aisle at Easter, he tells me.

I was with her last night and we had a big blow out and curry is not the right thing to eat, but at least I didnt eat the rice.

Zilli, 62, who has created a new soup for Centrepoints The Big Broth, aims to cut out cheese and not drink alcohol.

Basically I need to get into the same suit that I wore on my wedding when I got married 12 years ago.

There is no spare room in it for my protruding stomach at the moment.

Is party girl Kate Moss turning over a new leaf? After turning 44 last month, the supermodel is embarking on a spiritual journey which includes reading Hermann Hesses Siddhartha  a novel about Buddhism and self-discovery  following a trip to Asia.

I was just in Thailand and learning to meditate with monks, so somebody bought it for me, she explains.

The Croydon-born blonde, who has a 15-year-old daughter by publisher Jefferson Hack, is also ready to quit smoking. Ive got to do it, she insists.

Strictly judge Shirley Ballas, 57, has praised the Duchess of Cornwalls dancing skills after the pair met recently when Camilla hosted a charity dance event.

It was absolutely lovely, she says. I was at a tea dance with her at Buckingham Palace.

Craig Revel Horwood taught her and, I have to say, she had a little rhythm in her feet. Id give her 11 out of ten.

Brotherly love of the mini Moggs

Father-of-six Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg played down the prospect of becoming PM this week, saying that he had too many children.

But judging by this sweet picture, his offspring can look after themselves. Rees-Mogg, 48, posted this image of his son Alfred, who turns two later this month, feeding his sibling Sixtus, the latest addition to the Mogg brood.

Jacob captioned the image: Brotherly love or is Alfred more domesticated than his father.
PR Maven Roxy Jacenko previously joked her six-year-old daughter was worth more than she was.

And with her hair accessories business continuing to boom, over the weekend Pixie Curtis was seen shooting her new range of bows.

Taking to Instagram, the year-one schoolgirl, who has over 108,000 Instagram followers, revealed she had added a new line to her range.

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Kidtrepreneur! Roxy Jacenko's daughter Pixie Curtis debuts new range of hair bows in adorable shoot for her multi-million dollar business... and she's only six years old

'I am very excited to share the first of two limited edition bows which match back with the new collection available now for PRE-ORDER,' she wrote.

Collaborating with former fashion magazine editor Fiona Kowalski and her kids brand Print Bebe, momager Roxy told Daily Mail Australia that it was a very exciting step in the company.

'This is the first colab for the brands which we are very excited about,' she said.

Latest range! Collaborating with former fashion magazine editor Fiona Kowalski and her kids brand Print Bebe, momager Roxy told Daily Mail Australia that it was a very exciting step in the multi-million dollar company

Young star: The shoot that was styled by Roxy herself sees the young entrepreneur pose in a variety of designer outfits including Dolce & Gabana

The shoot that was styled by Roxy herself, sees the young entrepreneur pose in a variety of designer outfits including Dolce & Gabana.

With her hair professionally styled both out and into sleek topknots, she ensures all attention was on her various coloured bows.

Receiving international acclaim for the range, her fan base extends beyond Australian fans such as Rebecca Judd's daughter Billie, four.

Stylish! With her hair professionally styled both out and into sleek topknots, she ensures all attention was on her various coloured bows

Surprise! 'I am very excited to share the first of two limited edition bows which match back with the new collection available now for PRE-ORDER,' wrote Pixie on her Instagram page

Started her young! Last year Roxy joked to KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O that her daughter would be retiring at age seven

Some of Pixie's other fans include Katie Holmes's daughter Suri Cruise, 11, Jessica Alba's daughter Haven, six, Jenna Dewan-Tatum's daughter Everly, four, and Sarah Jessica Parker's eight-year-old twin daughters, Marion Loretta and Tabitha.

Speaking to KIIS FM's Kyle and Jackie O show recently about the success of the hair accessories business, Roxy joked that her daughter was worth more than she was.

'She'll be retiring at seven years of age,' she laughed, with news.com.au reporting in 2015 it was already a multi-million dollar business.

Last year, Roxy also confessed to Daily Mail Australia that her eldest offspring could earn upwards of $600 for a sponsored Instagram post.

'Someone like Pixie can achieve $600 plus per post, at this time,' Roxy said, with Pixie being a client as part of her brand Ministry of Talent.'

And if the six-year-old didn't have enough on her plate, the mother-daughter duo are also in the midst of writing their first children's book together.
She's been branching out from modelling into acting of late.

And Suki Waterhouse was spotted hitting the town in New York City on Thursday night, shortly after it was revealed she has been cast opposite Matt Smith in a new film about psychopathic serial killer Charles Manson.

The 26-year-old British beauty turned heads in a bright pink coat, wrapping up warm in the faux fur number as she headed off home.

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Girl about town: Suki Waterhouse was spotted partying in New York City on Thursday night, shortly after it was revealed she has been cast opposite Matt Smith in a new film about psychopathic serial killer Charles Manson

Suki layered her eye-catching garment over a silk slip, which she paired with matching heels.

The fashion forward beauty went all out with her hair and beauty look, highlighting her eyes with neon pink shadow and pinning her hair back with a kitsch grip.

Her outing comes amid reports she's set to star opposite Matt Smith as serial killer Charles Manson in a new film, which will focus on the female Manson family members.

Boudoir chic: Suki layered her eye-catching garment over a silk slip, which she paired with matching heels

Cute: The fashion forward beauty went all out with her hair and beauty look, highlighting her eyes with neon pink shadow and pinning her hair back with a kitsch grip

The Crown Star, 35, will transform into the sadistic hippie cult leader for drama Charlie Says, the new feature from American Psycho director Mary Harron, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

Manson was behind bars for more than four decades, since 1969, after he ordered members of his cult - which he dubbed 'the family' - to go on a murderous two-day rampage.

The film from American Psycho director Mary Harron and writing partner Guinevere Turner is based on material from Ed Sanders 1971 book The Family, along with the 2001 book The Long Prison Journey of Leslie Van Houten, written by Faith.

New venture: Her outing comes amid reports she's set to star opposite Matt Smith as serial killer Charles Manson in a new film, which will focus on the female Manson family members

Turning over a new leaf: Suki has been branching out from modelling into acting of late

Faith was a firm supporter of Van Houten until her death last year.

Director Mary Harrin said the Charlie Says team had found the ultimate cast to tell the horriying tale, saying 'Guinevere Turners script brings a fresh and unique perspective to the infamous story of the Manson murders and we have now found the perfect cast to bring it to life.

Manson died of natural causes at the age of 83 on November 19, 2017, after serving nearly 50 years in prison.
She is fast becoming one of Britain's most stylish young stars.

And Tallia Storm lived up to her fashionista status as she arrived at the InStyle BAFTA EE Rising Star Party at Granary Square Brasserie, London on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old Scottish songstress oozed glamour in her figure-hugging tiger-print dress which fell slightly above her knees and flaunted her toned stems.

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Wild thing! Tallia Storm, 19, lived up to her fashionista status as she arrived at the InStyle BAFTA EE Rising Star Party at Granary Square Brasserie, London on Tuesday

Tallia looked in her element as she worked her angles in the fun and flirty dress which cinched in her tiny waist with a chunky black belt.

The number went on to skim the rest of her figure before offering a glance at her envy-inducing legs.

The Good Lie hitmaker boosted her height in a pair of towering black stilettos heels as she showcased her peachy posterior by posing sexily over her shoulder.

Tallia clashed her prints, as she teamed the eye-catching number with a red printed boxy clutch.

Funky: The Scottish songstress oozed glamour in her figure-hugging tiger-print dress which fell slightly above her knees and flaunted her toned stems

Fashionista: Tallia looked in her element as she worked her angles in the fun and flirty dress which cinched in her tiny waist with a chunky black belt

Pins on parade! The number went on to skim the rest of her figure before offering a glance at her envy-inducing legs

Ensuring that she was fully primped and preened for the occasion, the beauty opted for a bronzed make-up look which focused on mascara-laden eyes and a sexy, matte lip.

Tallia's striking features were effortlessly framed by her luscious blonde locks which sported a glamorous blowdry.

Her appearance comes after she generated rumours that she was being romanced by 'Muggy' Mike Thalassitis during their time together on Celebs Go Dating.

An insider told MailOnline that Tallia and 'Muggy' Mike embarked on their own romance during the trip to Cape Verde.

Bottoms up: The Good Lie hitmaker boosted her height in a pair of towering black stilettos heels as she showcased her peachy posterior by posing sexily over her shoulder

Taking risks: Tallia clashed her prints, as she teamed the eye-catching number with a red printed boxy clutch

Beauty: Ensuring that she was fully primped and preened for the occasion, the beauty opted for a bronzed make-up look which focused on mascara-laden eyes and a sexy, matte lip

Mike garnered attention for his 'Muggy' persona during his time in the Love Island villa but show sources claim he is 'very protective' of Tallia.

During the trip, the pair were seen getting cosy, sneaking off together on the beach and they even cuddled up together on the flight back to the UK.

An insider said: There is clearly something going on behind the scenes between Tallia and Muggy Mike.

'They were cosy on many occasions, sneaking off to the beach together and even spotted sitting together on the long haul flight home from Cape Verde.'

The insider added: He seemed very protective of her and not his usual Muggy self.

Wild thing: Tallia layered a black wool coat over her animal-print dress as she left the bash

Plenty to smile about: The singer and reality star looked happy as she stepped out fresh off the back of claims she's dating Love Island's 'Muggy Mike'
The reviews for Marvel's upcoming Black Panther film are in - and it has won near-universal praise from critics and a coveted 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Starring Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan and Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o, the movie has been praised for turning racial stereotypes on their head.

The Associated Press' Jake Coyle called the film - which reunites Jordan with his Creed director Ryan Coogler - 'glittering and galvanizing.'

Coyle said: 'For those of us who have sometimes felt pummeled by the parade of previous Marvel movies, the sheer richness of Coogler's film is almost disorienting.'

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Fanfare: The review embargo for Marvel's upcoming film Black Panther, starring Chadwick Boseman (pictured) lifted on Tuesday - and the raves are pouring in

Kevin Maher wrote in The Times of London that 'The director Ryan Coogler (Creed) and a charismatic cast led by Chadwick Boseman (as Black Panther) and Lupita Nyong'o (as secret agent Nakia) turn racial cliches on their head and drag in some heavy Shakespearean conflict to create a vivid yarn that's entirely new, frequently startling and, at every step along the way, all Marvel.'

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times wrote that 'in its emphasis on black imagination, creation and liberation, the movie becomes an emblem of a past that was denied and a future that feels very present.

'And in doing so opens up its world, and yours, beautifully.'

She had noted earlier: 'Part of the movie's pleasure and its ethos - which wends through its visuals - is how it dispenses with familiar either/or divides, including the binary opposition that tends to shape our discourse on race.'

Over on the west coast, the LA Times' Kenneth Turan called Black Panther the movie 'we didn't know we'd been yearning for' but said now that it's here, 'the wait has been way longer than it should have been.'

Turan goes on to enthuse about the film's characters, plot, world, social commentary and 'wicked laughs', calling it 'the model of what an involving popular entertainment should be.'

Straight to the top: Also starring Danai Gurira and Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o, the movie currently boasts a 100% rating on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes

Black Panther first arrived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, but the new film is his first stand-alone release in the current franchise.

The character itself was the brainchild of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, and made his first comic book appearance 52 years ago in 1966 - the year the actual Black Panther Party formed in the United States.

The upcoming Black Panther film will open in Britain on February 13 and in America three days later.

Marc Bernardin of The Nerdist wrote in his review of it: 'As a nerd and as a black man, I've been waiting for this movie for my entire life, whether I knew it or not.

'The fact that Black Panther gets so much right, but one crucial thing wrong, is both thrilling and maddening.'

What it got 'wrong,' Bernardin argued, was the title character himself.

'For too much of Black Panther, the Black Panther has everything he wants,' the reviewer noted, adding that 'he is almost entirely devoid of flaws' and that the script 'has trouble finding ways to emotionally engage with the character, all the way through to an action climax whose humanity is outweighed by its CGI.'

Jim Vejvoda of IGN found the character development to be a plus, saying that watching the protagonist try to maintain his authority rather than achieve it was a refreshing take on the usual superhero quest narrative.

He did find fault with the film's 'cartoonish' special effects and its slow start, but said it 'delivers the goods as an adventure film, a political statement, and a cultural celebration.'

Writing in The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy enthused: 'With uncanny timing, Marvel takes its superheroes into a domain they've never inhabited before and is all the better for it in Black Panther.'

High praise: The Associated Press ' Jake Coyle called the film - which reunites Michael B. Jordan (left) with his Creed director Ryan Coogler (not pictured) - 'glittering and galvanizing'

Peter Debruge struck a similar note in Variety, averring: 'Virtually everything that distinguishes Black Panther from past Marvel pics works to this standalone entry's advantage.'

Rolling Stone's Peter Travers gushingly called the film 'an exhilarating triumph on every level from writing, directing, acting, production design, costumes, music, special effects to you name it.'

Olive Pometsey, writing for GQ, was equally complementary, calling it a 'cinematic revolution'.

'Black Panther is the superhero film we need to remind ourselves that all races are capable of greatness and that theres room for everyones stories to be told,' she says.

At the risk of offering spoilers, Stephanie Zacharek of Time magazine noticed with relief that 'this is that rare superhero movie in which absolutely zero cities are destroyed, or are even in danger of being destroyed.'

She vaunted Black Panther as 'smart, lavish and fun without being assaultive.'

Empire's Jimi Famurewa gave the film four stars, calling it 'a giddily enjoyable, convention-bucking 134-minute epic that somehow manages to simultaneously be a comic-book blockbuster, a pulsating espionage thriller and an Afro-futurist family saga.'

Writing for The Verge, Bryan Bishop called Black Panther 'the grown up Marvel movie we've been waiting for' saying it is the first in the cinematic universe 'that actually has something to say'.

Arriving soon: The upcoming Black Panther film will open in Britain on February 13 and in America three days later

'It's gripping, funny, and full of spectacle, but it also feels like a turning point,' he writes, 'one where the studio has finally recognized that its movies can be about more than just selling the next installment.

'In the process, the studio has ended up with one of the most enthralling entries in its entire universe.'

The American movie - with a formidable cast including Angela Bassett, Letitia Wright, Danai Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman - has also drawn praise abroad.

The Toronto Sun's Liz Braum trilled: 'A terrific screenplay from Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole elevates this thing way beyond the usual boundaries of the Marvel Universe; there's nothing like a superhero who is also a king to permit storytelling layered with contemporary social, economic and political elements.'

Radio Times writer Emma Simmonds rhapsodized: 'Passionately performed and lavish in its love for African culture, Black Panther is a franchise film with a distinct individual identity, and one that wants to mean something to those who watch it.'

'Coogler touches on deeper subjects regarding race and oppression while still realising that the main purpose of a Marvel movie is to entertain a mass audience. The result is a film that works just fine as an old-fashioned ripping yarn without ever forgetting its social conscience,' wrote Geoffrey Macnab in the Independent.

Over at The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw writes that 'it doesn't look like a superhero film  more a wide-eyed fantasy romance: exciting, subversive and funny.'

Even as far afield as the Times Of India, Neil Soans praised the movie as 'Inspiring and empowering in equal measure' and predicted that 'the Marvel Cinematic Universe will definitely benefit from the presence of King T'Challa and his kingdom of Wakanda well down the line.'
She recently made the move to Hollywood to try her hand at acting in Tinseltown.

And it appears Olympia Valance is fitting right in, embracing the healthy Californian lifestyle.

On Tuesday, the actress wasted no time in catching up with former Neighbours pal Ashleigh Brewer, over a sweaty gym session.

God damn that was a sweaty sesh! Olympia Valance posts sweaty makeup-free gym selfie from her new Hollywood home... following her departure from Neighbours



Taking to Instagram stories, the brunette beauty posted a makeup-free red-faced selfie alongside Ash, after completing a gym workout.

She added the caption: Lucky I had the best sweaty angel to train with @ashbrewer.

Ash too had a stint on Neighbours, having recently announced that she has quit The Bold And The Beautiful after starring on the soap for over three years.

LA will suit her just fine! Olympia wrapped up filming for Neighbours last November, with her character set to depart from the show in March of this year

After making her mark on Neighbours for four years running, Olympia wrapped up filming for the series last November, with her character set to depart from the show in March of this year.

Relocating to the hills of Hollywood, Olympia hopes to follow in the footsteps of fellow Aussie actors who paved their way to Hollywood fame from local soap gigs, themselves.

I feel very lucky and very blessed to have been given this chance, she told Herald Sun.

The next Margot Robbie? I feel very lucky and very blessed to have been given this chance, Olympia said on making her big LA move

It was previously revealed that the on-the-rise actress signed a contract with the same US management company, Roar, who also represent the Hemsworth brothers.

Olympias stepfather, rock musician Ross Wilson, spoke with the Herald Sun earlier last month, sharing that he and Olympias mother, Tania, would be flying over with her to help with the big move.

He also told the publication: I know she will do really well.
Her ex-husband Karl Stefanovic's new fiancee Jasmine Yarbrough has spent the past week flaunting her new engagement ring wherever she goes.

But the couple's flagrant display of their newfound love doesn't seem to be bothering the Today show's former wife Cassandra Thorburn.

The accomplished journalist, who has worked for the likes of Sunrise, Channel Ten and the Today show, was spotted looking fit and fabulous while running errands on Wednesday, without a care in the world.

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Moving on! Karl Stefanovic's ex wife Cassandra Thorburn looks fabulous in a mini dress as she's seen for the first time since her former husband went public with his engagement with Jasmine Yarbrough

The 46-year-old mother-of-three kept her look casual, donning an off-the-shoulder navy and grey blue dress that ended just above her knees to flaunt her trim pins.

Cassandra kept her brunette bob simple and sported a healthy tanned-complexion, which she highlighted with a slick of light pink blush.

She kept her jewelry simple, wearing a thin silver chain around her neck and two silver bracelets on either wrist,.

Cassandra completed her look with a pair of stylish leopard-print sandals that appeared to be embellished with jewels.

Deep in thought: The accomplished journalist was spotted looking fit and fabulous while running errands on Wednesday without a care in the world

Keeping busy: The 46-year-old mother-of-three kept her look casual, donning an off-the-shoulder navy and grey blue dress that ended just above her knees

Toned and tanned: Cassandra kept her brunette bob simple and sported a healthy tanned-complexion on her face, which she highlighted with a slick of light pink blush

In her hands Cassandra carried a number of documents, the contents of which remain a mystery.

It's the first time Cassandra has been seen in public since 43-year-old Karl and Jasmine went public with their engagement.

Meantime Karl and Jasmine, 34, made their first public appearance on Wednesday night at Harper's Bazaar Australia 20th anniversary party since confirming their engagement, last Friday.

Walk this way: It's the first time Cassandra has been seen in public since Karl and Jasmine went public with their engagement.

Mystery documents: In her hands Cassandra carried a number of documents, the contents of which remain a mystery

Despite both appearing in high-spirits after confirming their engagement last week, they chose not to pose for official photos at the event.

The 43-year-old apparently refused to pose in front of the media wall and tried to avoid photographers inside the venue, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

Photographer Christian Gilles even told The Daily Telegraph that he asked Karl for a 'do up' snap but said 'Karl would not do it'

Christian then said: 'The couple didnt want to do any photos and every time they turned away.'

Daily Mail Australia have reached out to Karl Stefanovic for comment.

'They were huddled in a corner together, holding hands and laughing': Karl, who looked suave in a tailored navy suit, was pictured with an ear-to-ear grin as his blonde fiancee placed her delicate hand around his shoulder at the celebration, as sources confirmed they were 'very close and intimate' away from the cameras
Sarah Jessica Parker turned the sidewalk into a runway on Tuesday while heading to a chat show taping in New York City.

The 52-year-old actress was headed to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in a shiny silver top, white skinny jeans and grey high heels from her SJP collection.

Sarah stepped out after her Sex And The City colleague Kim Cattrall publicly thanked colleagues from the HBO show, fans and friends for their support following the unexpected death of her brother.

Runway ready: Sarah Jessica Parker shimmered in a silver top on Tuesday while making her way to a chat show taping in New York City

'I would like to thank my fans, friends, and my #SexandtheCity colleagues for the outpouring of support for myself and family over the past 72 hours,' Kim, 61, posted on Instagram.

Kim took to social media on Sunday to announce the death of her 55-year-old brother Christopher Cattrall.

'It is with great sadness that myself and my family announce the unexpected passing of our son and brother, Chris Cattrall. At this time we ask for privacy. We want to thank you all on social media for your outpouring of love and support in this trying time,' she posted to Twitter and Instagram along with a photo of her and Chris.

Sarah and SATC co-star Cynthia Nixon, 51, reached out to Kim on social media following the announcement.

TV star: The 52-year-old actress stars in HBO's Divorce currently in its second season

Showing support: Sarah sent her 'love and condolences' to former Sex And The City co-star Kim Cattrall following the unexpected death of her brother Christopher Cattrall

'Dearest Kim, my love and condolences to you and yours and Godspeed to your beloved brother. Xx,' Sarah wrote in the comments section of Kim's heartbreaking announcement.

Cynthia also sent Kim her condolences, writing to her: 'Hey Kim such awful news. So sorry to hear. Sending you love. XO.'

Kim turned to social media over the weekend to alert her followers that her brother had been missing since January 30.

Giving thanks: Kim publicly thanked her SATC co-stars, fans and friends on Tuesday for their support after announcing her brother's death on Sunday

The actress last October appeared on the show Life Stories in the UK with DailyMail.com Editor-at-Large Piers Morgan. When asked if she was friends in real life with the SATC gang, Kim was adamant that they weren't.

'We've never been friends. We've been colleagues and in some ways it's a very healthy place to be because then you have a clear line between your professional life and relationship and your personal,' she said.

Sarah admitted she found the comments that they were not friends hurtful.

Brother and sisgter: The star announced the passing of her brother Christopher on Sunday

Sending support: Cattrall's former Sex And The City co-stars sent their love to the actress

'I found it very upsetting because thats not the way I recall our experience,' she told Andy Cohen last week on Watch What Happens Live, adding that she was 'heartbroken' after reading what Kim had said.

Sarah said she had been upset about it 'that whole week' and had spoken about it to a number of friends.

'It's sad, but... I always think that what ties us together was this singular experience,' she said. 'It was a professional experience but it became personal because it was years and years of our lives, so I'm hoping that that sort of eclipses anything thats been recently spoken.

'That many years spent doing something so special that people had a connection with it is such a privilege,' she added.
She had been using a walking stick since undergoing surgery, following a 10-year battle with a 'spine issue'.

But on Tuesday, Ruby Rose, 31, was seen for the first time without the stick and with lifted spirits.

The Australian-born DJ was spotted at Hollywood hotspot, Alfred Coffee on Melrose Ave.

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Well and truly on the mend! Ruby Rose steps out in Hollywood without a walking stick for the first time... since undergoing surgery for her decade-long 'spine issue'

Stepping out assistance-free, she looked chic in red and green plaid three-quarter trousers and a hoodie, paired with bright white sneakers.

She teamed her look with a chic plaid Burberry backpack which she draped over her shoulder while covering her trademark raven locks with her Givenchy hoodie.

The Pitch Perfect star took to Instagram to announce she underwent a spinal surgery in January, following a decade-long battle with her spine.

Smiles for miles! The Australian-born DJ was spotted at Hollywood hotspot, Alfred Coffee on Melrose Ave

'So.. for the past few years (decade) I've been dealing with a spine issue,' Ruby shared to her social platform of her 1.3 million followers.

She continued: 'I am now recovering from a back procedure, but I do need to stay active, so before I get seen with my cane and wheelchair in public, I'd rather put it out there that I'm fine and going to be fine.'

Wearing a strong female lead printed shirt and snapped in a wheelchair post-surgery, Ruby kept her temporary disability from disheartening her spirits.

Casual chic: Stepping out assistance-free, she looked chic in red and green plaid three-quarter trousers and a hoodie, paired with bright white sneakers

Rather than dwelling, the Orange Is The New Black star sought humour in her situation, posing for a sexy Instagram picture while embracing her walking stick.

She captioned the post: 'Ive grown accustomed to my cane.'

Injured: The Pitch Perfect star took to Instagram to announce she underwent a spinal surgery in January, following a decade-long battle with her spine
Most 16-year-old children can only dream of getting their first car, let alone a high-end model by Tesla.

But Lisa Rinna's daughter Amelia reversed the usual pattern of badgering her parents - and instead begged her mother during Tuesday's episode of The Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills not to make her get her driver's license.

The 54-year-old soap actress had been pushing her daughter to apply for her permit because 'the Tesla should be coming soon.'

Model daughters: Lisa Rinna received unexpected push back from her daughter Amelia, 16, who was in no rush to get her driver's license on Tuesday's episode of RHOBH

Amelia, who like older sister Delilah, 19, has been starting to take the modeling world by storm, instead complained that her parents were pushing her to grow up too fast.

'I'm already home-schooled, I already travel the world, I already am 16 years old and work - I don't want that much freedom,' she complained, insisting she was 'not ready' to drive, too.

'I want a little bit of childhood!' she complained as her older sister watched on.

Lisa was clearly shocked at her daughter, having earlier pointed out that 'Amelia is not scared to do anything' and assuming she would want to drive 'straight away.'

Teen model: Amelia pointed out that she's 16 and works and wanted 'a little bit of childhood'

Growing fast: The 16-year-old said she's home-schooled and travels the world and wasn't ready for even more freedom

Rising stars: Delilah, 19, listened as Amelia said she wasn't ready for more freedom

But the teen's words clearly hit home, with Lisa saying later to camera: 'With all of her modeling and traveling and whatnot I think we all forget Amelia is just a kid.'

'In this day and age, of course, I worry about whether my girls grow up too fast. So if you're not ready, let's take two steps back and hang. We can take our time with Amelia.'

However, she insisted that Delilah was 'ready' for the big world - even though she had earlier admitted to freaking out at her impending move to New York.

Stepping back: Lisa was glad to step back and take her time with Amelia

Teen models: Amelia and Delilah earlier this season had modeling jobs in Tokyo

'I am just like every other mother - I don't know what the f*** I'm doing,' she admitted. 'But I'm a good actor.'

She insisted her most important role as an actress had to be convincing her daughters that she was in control of her own emotions at their major milestones in life.

''My kids need to see me feeling good and confident about letting them go. I'm a f***ing mess inside, but they need to see me going like this,' she said, giving the thumbs up sign to the camera during her confessional.

Catching up: Erika Girardi caught up with Lisa over lunch

Thumb up: Lisa said she had to convince her children that she was ready to let them go

Delilah while talking about moving insisted 'I literally just need a bed, I don't even need the bed frame yet' to make the move to New York, while her mother wanted to get her fully furnished.

The 19-year-old left her mother open-mouthed when she told her she was going to a spa for a 'non-surgical facelift' that 'just keeps you young.'

'You are young!' Lisa laughed at the baby-faced beauty.

Forever young: Delilah told her mother she was getting a 'non-surgical facelift' to stay young

Lisa had other nerves, too, as she returned to the set of Days Of Our Lives to once again play Billie, the character she first appeared as 25 years ago and who has since been played by two other actresses in-between her return.

'Before I booked Days Of Our Lives I was on unemployment,' she admitted, saying had just done Taco Bell commercials. 'It changed my life. It was huge.'

She said returning to the show was 'like going back home' as she nervously rehearsed her lines, saying it was 'a lot of pressure' to get everything right.

Soap star: Lisa was getting ready for a return to Days Of Our Lives

Dramatic moment: The actress was shown in a still from her stint on the soap opera

Long history: Lisa played Billie Reed starting in 1992 and Krista Allen and Julie Pinson later played the character

'As we know this brain is not as sharp as it once used to be,' she said.

Lisa Vanderpump, meanwhile, had good news when she learned that a lawsuit filed against her, causing her huge stress in the previous episode, had been dismissed.

Her excitement at getting to celebrate at dinner with Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley was short lived when the two women quickly changed the subject to rehash a previous fight.

Case dismissed: Ken Todd and wife Lisa Vanderpump were relieved when a lawsuit filed against them was dismissed

Lisa looked hurt and confused as Dorit accused Kyle of not being loyal by defending show newcomer Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave over her in a petty fight over what glasses to drink their wine from - and Kyle soon started sobbing.

Vanderpump, already upset that they were both late for the dinner, instead stormed off, telling them as they ran out to stop her: 'I'm not dealing with this bulls***.'

As she was being driven away, she told them through the open rear passenger window: 'I'm going home to my husband who would rather spend time with me tonight than you would.'

Taking off: Vanderpump left a dinner early after getting fed up with Dorit Kemsley and Kyle Richards

Totally shocked: Dorit and Kyle were shocked when Lisa suddenly left

Dorit and Kyle started gossiping about how Lisa was just upset that the conversation was not about her - with Kyle then getting jealous herself as she realized close friend Lisa had told Dorit lots of key things about her life that she had not also shared with her.

The bickering in the episode titled Petty Mess continued as the women went to stay at Teddi's beach house in Dana Point, California, with Lisa admitting she felt 'brushed aside' with her lawsuit news, and Kyle also admitting she felt neglected in their friendship.

'I don't favor Dorit over you in any shape or form,' Lisa reassured her longtime friend.

Beach house: Dorit, Kyle and Vanderpump talked about the drama at Teddi Mellencamp's beach house

Apology offered: Vanderpump eventually apologized to Kyle

They eventually both apologized, with Kyle saying: 'I actually did not expect Lisa to apologize at all. I'm getting an apology and I'll take it!'

Erika Girardi, meanwhile, later insisted of the women's bickering: 'What can I say: we're petty. I tell you, this whole thing boils down to three b****es who are competitive over friendship.'

Teddi was quick to end her war of words with Dorit, who had been horrified at wine being served in champagne flutes at an earlier event.

Taking it: Kyle admitted that she wasn't expecting an apology from Vanderpump and gladly accepted it

The host: Teddi despite some reservations welcomed the women to her beach house in Dana Point

Beach access: The beach house offered wonderful views of the Pacific Ocean

Nice shot: Camille Grammer took photos on her phone

Open sea: The sun set on the Pacific Ocean as the ladies hashed out their differences

The daughter of rocker John Mellencamp teased her of the glasses at her beach house: 'Dorit, just for you I skipped stems.'

Dorit then went overboard in bringing food for the getaway.

She admitted later: 'If that's not an olive branch I don't know what is. It's more like an olive forest for crying out loud!'

Big hug: Teddi and Dorit put their past drama behind them

Olive forest: Dorit brought a bunch of food for the getaway and claimed it was an 'olive forest' more than an 'olive branch'

The episode opened with Dorit giving her husband Paul 'PK' Kemsley another gift for his 50th birthday.

She gave him a $1,500 action figure of herself with their two young children Jagger and Phoenix.

Dorit accidentally broke the figurine and her daughter's head snapped off.

RHOBH will return next week on Bravo.

Action figure: The episode started with Dorit giving her husband PK an action figure of herself with their two children
She's the Australian model-turned-actress whose who has starred alongside the likes of Bruce Willis and Mark Wahlberg during her short Hollywood career.

And Jessica Gomes, 33, has now received the praise of her latest co-star Owen Wilson, after the pair played a married couple in the new comedy flick Father Figures.

Speaking to AAP this week, comedian Owen gushed over the brunette bombshell, saying: 'It was great having Jessica because like a lot of Australians she has a good sense of humour and is such a beautiful girl who doesn't take herself too seriously.'

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'She has a good sense of humour and is such a beautiful girl': Jessica Gomes, 33, has received the praise of her latest co-star Owen Wilson after the pair played a married couple in the new comedy flick Father Figures

Indeed, Jessica plays the tongue-in-cheek role of Owen's Hawaiian Wife, who prefers to greet people with a traditional Polynesian kiss (known as a honi).

In one scene, a character played by actor Ed Helms attempts to greet Jessica's character with a kiss on the cheek.

However, his attempts are thwarted by Jessica's character, who decides to railroad him into a three-way honi with Owen's character.

All in! In one scene, Jessica's character railroads Ed Helms' character into an unexpected Polynesian kiss

'Honi is a way to greet someone,' Owen told AAP while reminiscing about the scene.

'Instead of a handshake or kiss on the cheek you lean in and touch foreheads and feel the other person's energy. 'It really is an intimate and sweet way to say hello to somebody.'

Father Figures opens in Australia on Thursday February 8.

Intimate: 'Honi is a way to greet someone,' Owen told AAP while reminiscing about the scene

Last year, Jessica revealed that she almost 'quit' her quest for Hollywood fame after receiving endless rejections.

Speaking to BW Magazine she said: 'I started acting at a young age, I would get calls to audition for television series filming in Perth, so it was always on the cards for me.

'But it's a tough industry, all the rejection is hard and before I landed Transformers I was pretty much ready to quit.'

It was being cast in Transformers: Age of Extinction in 2014 that gave her big screen career the boost she needed.

'I really love acting, but I also love modelling and fashion and beauty, what I really love is being around creative people because it adds other dimensions to me and my brand,' she said.
Palm Beach is one of Australia's most iconic beaches thanks to long running soap Home And Away.

And it looks like Hollywood will be taking over Summer Bay after it was announced Aussie actor Bryan Brown and Kiwi Sam Neill will star in a comedy set on the famous shore line.

Aptly titled Palm Beach, the film centers itself around old friends reuniting in the seaside suburb where the drama will ensue, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Taking over The Bay! Hollywood heavyweights Bryan Brown (right) and Sam Neill (left) are set to star in a comedy set on the iconic Palm Beach

The movie, which is due to begin filming later this year, will also star Australian actress Greta Scacchi from Looking for Alibrandi and Jacqueline McKenzie, from Romper Stomper.

Acclaimed director Rachel Ward at the helm of the silver screen production.

NSW state Minister for the Arts Don Harwin told the publication: 'I am particularly pleased to see the hugely-talented Rachel Ward at the helm, directing an incredibly acclaimed cast and crew.'

'Closer each day': Palm Beach is one of Australia's most iconic beaches thanks to long running soap Home And Away

Local talent: The movie, which is due to begin filming later this year, will also star Australian actress Greta Scacchi, from Looking for Alibrandi (right), and Jacqueline McKenzie, from Romper Stomper (left)

He also said the Hollywood production it will bring over $5million and 80 jobs to the local movie industry during filming.

Meanwhile Tourism and Major Events minister Adam Marshall said he was delighted to see the iconic beach play an integral role to the narrative.

'We're delighted to be supporting this New Australian comedy which will showcase Sydney's picturesque Palm Beach and surrounding Pittwater region to a worldwide audience,' Mr Marshall said.

Acclaimed: NSW state Minister for the Arts Don Harwin told the publication: 'I am particularly pleased to see the hugely-talented Rachel Ward at the helm, directing an incredibly acclaimed cast and crew'

The film's producers Deb Balderstone and actor Bryan Brown said they were excited to work on the project.

'In the capable hands of Rachel Ward, the irresistible world of Palm Beach is set to become a future classic,' they added.

It is unknown when exactly Palm Beach will begin filming and if it will clash with Home And Away's filming schedule, which is said to usually occur on Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesdays according to Tours To Go.
He's the spikey-haired Tinder lothario who claims to have slept with a whopping 200 women.

And new throwback snaps of Sean Thomsen, 34, has revealed a rare glimpse into the wild-child past about which he has spoken so fondly.

Back in 2008, the reality star sported a very different look, including a pair of spectacles and an usual cowlick-style 'do.

My how you've changed! Back in 2008, Married At First Sight's self-proclaimed lothario sported a very different look, including a pair of spectacles and an usual cowlick-style 'do

In one image taken at the time, an almost unrecognsable Sean is seen modelling a button-up shirt while posing in front of a sun-lit building.

Sporting a flushed complexion, the self-proclaimed casanova swapped his frosted-tipped blonde mane for a dark shaggy style with honeycomb highlights.

In another photo, he is seen brandishing a menacing-looking water-gun while partying at a crowded venue.

Super soaker! In another photo, he is seen brandishing a menacing-looking water-gun while partying at a crowded venue

Then and now!The self-proclaimed casanova swapped his frosted-tipped blonde mane for a dark shaggy style with honeycomb highlights in throwback snaps from 2008

Meanwhile, another photo shows Sean sporting a star-shaped marking on his forehead while chowing down on a bread roll.

Earlier this week, Sean hit back at his detractors, claiming he doesn't understand why women would take issue with his enthusiasm for jumping into bed.

'I was single at the time, and it was in the past, so it shouldn't impact the future,' the Perth-based FIFO worker told TheFix on Wednesday.

Loud and proud! During Tuesday's episode, Sean was quizzed by Channel Nine producers about his colourful dating past

'I've always been upfront telling women, if they ask. I find most women aren't concerned with it because it's in my past,' he added.

During Tuesday's episode, Sean was quizzed by Channel Nine producers about his colourful dating past.

When asked how many sexual partners he has had, Sean replied: 'I don't know. It's definitely over 200.'

Losing count? When asked how many sexual partners he has had, Sean replied: 'I don't know. It's definitely over 200'

Looking decidedly pleased with himself, Sean told the cameras: 'Some people might judge me and think that's a lot of girls... but as long as you're safe, what's the problem?'

Lucky for Sean, Married At First Sight's relationship experts paired him off with Blair- a woman who enjoys sex just as much as he does.

'My friend started calling me Blair Rabbit because I have a lot of sex,' the blonde singleton told the cameras on Tuesday's episode.

'My friend started calling me Blair Rabbit because I have a lot of sex': Lucky for Sean, Married At First Sight's relationship experts paired him off with Blair- a woman who enjoys sex just as much as he does

'I'm not doing the virginal white thing - doesn't really apply,' she cheekily said of her wedding dress.

'I'm not going to wear underwear on my wedding night, the only underwear is going to be a garter belt.'

Married At First Sight Season 5 continues Thursday night on Nine.
Katie Holmes and Sienna Miller wore white to celebrate the Zimmermann Fall Winter 2018 collection at New York Fashion Week Tuesday night.

While NYFW officially kicks off on Thursday, the Australian brand celebrated opening its store with a celebrity event.

Katie, 39, opted for a floaty dress with a sash at the waist while Sienna, 36, chose a long-sleeved shirt dress.

Bohemian style: Katie Holmes and Sienna Miller wore white to celebrate the Zimmermann Fall Winter 2018 collection at New York Fashion Week Tuesday night

Katie wore her cropped brunette hair swept back from her face.

Her eyes were rimmed with kohl and mascara while her cheeks were highlighted with dark blush.

She added dark pink lip color and added more color with a pair of burgundy leather boots.

Pretty look: Katie, 39, opted for a floaty dress with a sash at the waist and half sleeves and she wore her cropped brunette hair swept back from her face

Leather and lace: The actress's eyes were rimmed with kohl and mascara. She added dark pink lipstick and added more color with a pair of burgundy leather boots

Sienna paired her buttoned-up-to-the-neck dress with a jaunty ponytail.

She was made-up with black mascara, rosy blush and cerise lip color.

The shirt cut of the dress allowed her to flash her legs and she added cream ankle boots with laces and buckles.

Embroidered number: Sienna, 36, chose a long-sleeved shirt dress buttoned-up-to-the-neck and with long sleeves

Leggy look: The shirt cut of the dress allowed Sienna to flash her legs and she added cream ankle boots with laces and buckles

Both stars seemed to enjoy the bohemian style of Zimmermann.

They chatted away with each other as they posed for photos in front of a large colorful floral display.

Sienna resides in New York where she is a regular on Broadway and where she raises five-year-old daughter Marlowe from her relationship with actor Tom Sturridge.

Katie, on the other hand, divides her time between the Big Apple and a home in Los Angeles as she raises 11-year-old daughter Suri from her marriage to Tom Cruise.

Catching up: The two actresses chatted away with each other as they posed for photos in front of a large colorful floral display

Something in common: Each is mother to a daughter - Sienna to five-year-old Marlowe from her romance with Tom Sturridge and Katie to 11-year-old Suri from her marriage to Tom Cruise

Model Hilary Rhoda was also on hand for the fashion event.

The striking brunette, 30, paired a cropped turtleneck striped sweater with wide-legged floral pants with a beige belt.

She added beige aandals that revealed her dark red pedicure and wore her long hair loose.

Hilary completed her look with black mascara and bright red lipstick.

Natural beauty: Model Hilary Rhoda was also on hand for the fashion event. The striking brunette, 30, paired a cropped turtleneck striped sweater with wide-legged floral pants
He might not know how to treat his 'wife' while on their honeymoon, but Married At First Sight's Justin Fischer sure knows how to party.

The self-described entrepreneur was spotted buying up a festive assortment of alcohol and a packet of cigarettes on Tuesday night at liquor chain Dan Murphy's.

The 41-year-old 'millionaire' kept his look simple matching a well-worn blue-polo shirt with a pair of jeans.

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Where the party at? Married At First Sight's millionaire 'groom' Justin Fischer shows off his tribal arm tattoo as he's spotted buying a four pack of Smirnoff Ice at liquor chain

The shirt, which also featured a fetching grey collar, showed-off just a hint of his classic '90s inspired tribal armband tattoo.

Dangling from his jeans pocket was just a hint of bling in the shape of a pocket chain, which had been fastened to his belt.

Among his choice of lubrication for the night appeared to be a four-pack of Smirnoff Ice Double Black, which retails for $24.99, and a bottle of red wine.

Justin copped widespread criticism online after Tuesday night's episode of Married At First Sight, which saw him and 'wife' Carly Bowyer 'honeymooning' in Vanuatu.

Who's all that for? The self-described entrepreneur was spotted buying up a festive assortment of alcohol on Tuesday night at liquor chain Dan Murphy's

Keeping it simple: The 41-year-old millionaire kept his look simple matching a worn blue-polo shirt with a pair of jeans

Boxed up: The shirt, which also featured a fetching grey collar, showed-off just a hint of his classic '90s inspired tribal armband tattoo

The episode began with Carly, 32, waking up on the first day of her honeymoon  but instead of being greeted with her new 'grooms' face, she was met with a pillow fort.

During the night 41-year-old Justin had built an 'impenetrable' barrier between himself and Carly, leaving his new wife rightly questioning his attraction for her.

'Run, Carly. Run': Justin has been mercilessly trolled online after building a pillow fort and spending his 'honeymoon' with 'wife' Carly trying to do business deals

Carly's fears were gradually realised when the pair landed in Vanuatu for their 'honeymoon'.

Instead of working towards getting to know his new 'wife' better Justin was simply working.

Pillow talk: The episode began with Carly, 32, waking up on the first day of her honeymoon  but instead of being greeted with her new 'grooms' face, she was met with a pillow fort

While the pair were enjoying a meal Justin disappeared and was later spotted chatting to a manager at the hotel while trying to spruik his products.

During her private on-camera chat with producers Carly expressed concern that Justin hadn't been showing her much affection.

'We're not really touching or holding hands,' she said.

The Honeymooners: During her private on-camera chat with producers Carly expressed concern that Justin hadn't been showing her much affection

Business man: While the pair were enjoying a meal Justin disappeared and was later spotted chatting to a manager at the hotel while trying to spruik his products

Why are you here? Carly was quick to ask Justin about his intentions after he spent most of their honeymoon wheeling and dealing

His bizarre behaviour wasn't missed by fans who took to Twitter to accuse Justin of using the show as a marketing tool.

'It appears Justin played the experts, he's here for Business At First Sight people,' wrote one.

While another simply wrote: 'RUN CARLY'.

Money maker: His bizarre behaviour wasn't missed by fans who took to Twitter to accuse Justin of using the show as a marketing tool.

'Justin is using the show to sell ice cream machines': Justin is the CEO and founder of Brullen, which makes the soft-serve ice cream and frozen yoghurt machines

Justin is the CEO and founder of Brullen, which makes the soft-serve ice cream and frozen yoghurt machines.

The father of two established the business in 1998 and works on it with his brother, Scott.

He also owns Ruggito Coffee, a coffee supplier with clients including McDonald's, and Cafequip, which provides equipment for hospitality businesses.
Corinne Olympios sent social media into a frenzy on Monday when she posted a photo of herself snuggling up to Nick Viall.

It led fans to ask if the two former Bachelor contestants had got back together.

But it turns out she had simply shared a throwback snap with Viall who commented: 'This pic reminds me of your home town date oh wait because it was.'

Instagram tease: Corinne Olympios sent social media into a frenzy on Monday when she posted a photo of herself snuggling up to Nick Viall prompting rumors they're dating

Olympios, 25, competed on season 21 of the ABC reality series and was sent home by Viall in February 2017.

Viall ended up proposing to Vanessa Grimaldi and the two got engaged, only to break up last August.

Olympios hasn't explained why she chose to post the photo of the two of them together.

Setting the record straight: But Olympios had shared a throwback snap with Viall, pictured, who commented: 'This pic reminds me of your home town date oh wait because it was'

Stating shtum: Olympios, 25, pictured in an Instagram snap Tuesday, hasn't explained why she shared the photo of herself with Viall

After sharing the pic, Olympios was photographed out and about Monday with some friends in West Hollywood.

She wore a red polka dot sweater with a pair of distressed jeans and white ankle boots.

The Miami native put on a smile for the cameras as she fidgeted with one of her earrings.

Reality star: Olympios was photographed out and about Monday with some friends in West Hollywood. She wore a red polka dot sweater with distressed jeans and white ankle boots

Recently on her podcast So Random with Corinne, the blonde bombshell hinted to a steady new man in her life.

'I've been dating this guy who I've been talking about sporadically over different podcasts and he's really cool,' she said while chatting with co-host Meagan Grainger. 'Things are still going well knock on wood.'

Corinne didn't mention her new boo's name nor is there any evidence on social media of their new romance.

Meanwhile Nick was rumored to be dating former Mad Men star January Jones after his split from Grimaldi.
They've both risen to the top of their respective fields.

And on Tuesday, Sofia Vergara and Cindy Crawford posted snaps to social media of the two women collaborating on a TV commercial.

The 45-year-old Modern Family star and the 51-year-old Guess model were pictured sitting in a car in front of a green screen backdrop for the Rooms To Go ad.

Say cheese! On Tuesday, Sofia Vergara and Cindy Crawford posted snaps to social media of the two women collaborating on a TV commercial

In an Instagram story posted to Crawford's account, the former supermodel is seen waiting patiently for the shoot to begin.

In one picture captioned 'Set Life', the statuesque beauty holds a coffee while in her bathrobe.

In another she's stretched her long legs across two chairs by a set of monitors, with the words 'GETTING CLOSER...' emblazoned on the photo.

'Set Life.': In an Instagram story posted to Crawford's account, the former supermodel is seen waiting patiently for the shoot to begin

Killing time: In another she's stretched her long legs across two chairs by a set of monitors, with the words 'GETTING CLOSER...' emblazoned on the photo

The shoot itself involved the two women sitting in a car as it was filmed in front of a green screen.

Such screens are often used in film and television so that visual effects, like footage of moving scenery for driving shots, can be easily added in later.

The Hot pursuit actress captioned the photo of her with Crawford: 'Driving Miss @cindycrawford to the nearest @roomstogo'.

Action: The shoot itself involved the two women sitting in a car as it was filmed in front of a green screen
She joined the bevy of beauties at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in 2017.

And Nadine Leopold looked heavenly when she strutted her stuff in a series of beachwear for a photoshoot on the beach in Miami, Florida on Tuesday.

Harry Styles' rumoured ex-girlfriend, 24, showed off her sexy figure in a very skimpy burnt orange bikini which barely covered her modesty.

How heavenly! Victoria's Secret Angel Nadine Leopold paraded her sexy figure in a burnt orange costume as she strutted her stuff for Miami beach shoot, in Florida on Tuesday

Nadine then slipped her amazing figure into a colourful striped swimsuit to ensure all eyes were on her sensational frame.

The one-piece clung to every inch of her curves to best showcase the underwear model's peachy posterior in the high-cut garment.

Nadine worked all angles for the shoot and in turn showed off some serious skin as her second costume was backless, secured to her petite figure with a simple string.

The Austrian born beauty also teased a glimpse of her cleavage in the plunging one-piece, which drew further attention to her with its vibrant colours.

Bold and beautiful: Nadine then slipped her amazing figure into a colourful striped swimsuit to ensure all eyes were on her sensational frame

On the move: The catwalk queen raced around the beach in the skimpy two-piece as she lapped up the sizzling rays of the sunshine

Camera, lights, action: In front of the camera, the catwalk queen pulled off a surprised pose while she donned her burnt orange bikini

Racy lady: The Austrian born beauty also teased a glimpse of her cleavage in the plunging one-piece, which drew further attention to her with its vibrant colours

The lingerie star pulled her dirty blonde locks into a messy bun on the top of her head to ensure her long glossy tresses didn't detract away from her figure.

Keen to add something extra to her look, the model tied a patterned ribbon to her golden locks to show off her eye for style.

But it wasn't plain sailing for the Victoria's Secret Angel who revealed she had been stung by a jellyfish and rushed to urgent care with sunburn after her long day.

Cheeky side: The one-piece clung to every inch of her curves to best showcase the underwear model's peachy posterior in the high-cut garment

Posing queen: Nadine worked all angles for the shoot and in turn showed off some serious skin as her second costume was backless, secured to her petite figure with a simple string

In the evening, she penned on Twitter: 'For everyone whos wondering how my day has been.. I got stung by a jellyfish...

'Went to urgent care because of the worst sunburn and last but not least lost my AirPods. Ok bye...' (sic)

Despite her difficult day, it is no surprise the model commanded attention as she walked in the lingerie brand's famous fashion show, in Shanghai, China in November.

Bright bikini looks: Harry Styles' rumoured ex-girlfriend, 24, paraded her amazing figure in a colourful striped swimsuit to ensure all eyes were on her sensational frame

It's a wrap! The golden-haired model wrapped herself in a canary yellow beach towel between the takes of the fashion shoot

Rainbow queen: The one-piece garment clung to every inch of her slender figure and showcased her peachy posterior

Pout and about: The model showcased her pretty features, accentuated with a light dusting of make-up to enhance her looks

Pulling out all the stops: The lingerie star pulled her dirty blonde locks into a messy bun on the top of her head to ensure her long glossy tresses didn't detract away from her figure

Nadine was one of the three exes Harry Styles performed alongside during the underwear extravaganza.

The reported former flames were romantically linked in 2015 and Harry has now been linked to six Victoria's Secret models.

Nadine has posed up a storm for a string of even racier fashion shoots for Victoria's Secret over the years.

Admiration: The golden-haired beauty looked out onto the picturesque ocean and admired the natural beauty of the seagulls at the beach

Dancing along: The Austrian model put on a very leggy display in the canary yellow crocheted dress, which skimmed her thighs to give onlookers a peek at her slender legs

Leggy lady: The crocheted garment featured a keyhole neckline to tease a glimpse of her cleavage and long tassels down to front to catch the eye

Different Styles: The Victoria's Secret model showcased her petite figure in the burgundy jumpsuit which was cinched with a ribbon tie to draw further attention to her waist

Vision in white: Nadine let her hair down when she strolled across the white sands in her two-piece to show off her toned tummy

Ouch! But it wasn't plain sailing for the Victoria's Secret Angel who revealed she had been stung by a jellyfish and rushed to urgent care with sunburn after her long day.




He excitedly confirmed his engagement to Jasmine Yarbrough during a celebratory lunch last Friday.

And Karl Stefanovic, 43, looked utterly smitten with his bride-to-be, 34, as they attended the David Jones Autumn/Winter '18 collections launch in Sydney on Wednesday.

The Today host couldn't stop smiling as he cuddled up to the blonde bombshell, who proudly paraded her impressive $120,000 diamond ring at the star-studded bash.

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Like the cat who got the cream! Karl Stefanovic , 43, looked utterly smitten with Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, as they attended the David Jones Autumn/Winter '18 collections launch in Sydney on Wednesday

Jasmine certainly turned heads in a plunging Bardot top and quirky $1,095 MaxMara trousers as she posed with Tamie Ingham, the co-founder of Mara & Mine.

She dazzled in her floaty white top, which featured a sweetheart neckline and romantic trumpet sleeves.

The injected a dose of sparkle into her look with a chic pair of silver mules, accessorising with a Gucci monogrammed bag.

Sweeping her glossy tresses into a stylish chignon, she added further glamour with some statement drop earrings.

Loving life: The Today host couldn't stop smiling as he cuddled up to the blonde bombshell, who proudly paraded her impressive $120,000 diamond ring at the star-studded bash

Reunited: Karl avoided posing with Jasmine on the red carpet but packed on the PDA with her as he rejoined her inside the event

Inseperable: The blonde bombshell was not joined by her fiance Karl on the red carpet, with reports suggesting he dodged photographers

Jasmine was not joined by her fiance Karl on the red carpet, with reports suggesting he dodged photographers.

Karl was also camera-shy at the Harper's Bazaar Australia 20th anniversary party on Tuesday.

Reports claimed Karl, 43, 'dodged photographers' on arrival to the Sydney event, but was 'very close and intimate' with his lady love away from the cameras.

What's so funny? Karl smiled as he pointed something out to Jasmine on his phone, as Phoebe Burgess and Ksenija Lukich whipped out their mobiles to snap models strutting down the catwalk

Hmm: Karl was also camera-shy at the Harper's Bazaar Australia 20th anniversary party on Tuesday, and reportedly 'dodged photographers' on arrival to the Sydney event

He apparently refused to pose in front of the media wall and tried to avoid photographers inside the venue, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

Photographer Christian Gilles even told The Daily Telegraph that he asked Karl for a 'do up' snap but said 'Karl would not do it'.

Claims: He apparently refused to pose in front of the media wall and tried to avoid photographers inside the venue, reported The Sydney Morning Herald

Camera-shy: Photographer Christian Gilles even told The Daily Telegraph that he asked Karl for a 'do up' snap but said 'Karl would not do it'

Having a whale of a time: Karl looked every inch the social butterfly as he mingled with guests inside the event

'He refused. I also tried really hard to get one of Jasmine as well but she would not do it apart from the media wall,' he claimed.

Christian then said: 'The couple didnt want to do any photos and every time they turned away.' Daily Mail Australia had reached out to Karl Stefanovic for comment at the time.

Jasmine and Karl got engaged last month, with New Idea magazine reporting that the Channel Nine star proposed while the couple were on holiday in Fiji.

After asking Jasmine to be his wife, they returned to Sydney to celebrate with family and friends at a 'nine-hour party' held at Karl's brother Peter's house, it was claimed.

Looking good: Jasmine posed up a storm on the red carpet earlier in the night alongside Tamie Ingham, the co-founder of Mara & Mine

Chic: The 34-year-old blonde beauty certainly turned heads in a plunging Bardot top and $1,095 MaxMara trousers as she posed with Tamie Ingham, the co-founder of Mara & Mine

Turning heads: The blonde beauty dazzled in her floaty white top, which featured a sweetheart neckline and romantic trumpet sleeves

Dazzling: She injected a dose of sparkle into her look with a chic pair of silver mules, accessorising with a Gucci monogrammed bag

What a sparkler! Jasmine ensured her engagement ring was on full display as she attended the show

The lovebirds confirmed the news last Friday, when the bride-to-be flashed her engagement ring at a celebratory lunch in Woolloomooloo with Karl and several pals.

It is understood that Karl and Jasmine met in late 2016, just a matter of months after his marriage to TV producer and journalist Cassandra fell apart.

Cassandra has previously described her ex-husband as 'dead to (her)'. The former couple share three children - Jackson, River, and Ava.

Budding beauty: Lindy Klim looked showstopping in a floral pinafore dress with a tiered hemline

Yummy mummy! The 39-year-old showed off her remarkably svelte physique just two months after giving birth to her fourth child, daughter Goldie

Killer footwear: She completed her colourful look with scarlet frayed edge heeled sandals

Double trouble: The brunette beauty struck a sultry pose alongside Tanja Gacic, who stunned in a one-shoulder dress

Meanwhile, Jasmine was joined by a series of stars at the fashion show on Wednesday, including Lindy Klim, Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Terry Biviano.

Lindy looked showstopping on the night, exuding Sicilian chic in a floral pinafore dress with a tiered hemline.

The 39-year-old showed off her remarkably svelte physique just two months after giving birth to her fourth child, daughter Goldie.

All white on the night! Kerri-Anne Kennerley, 64, showed off her age-defying looks in a plunging white tuxedo jumpsuit

Tasking centre-stage: The media icon cemented her sartorial credentials in the dazzling all-in-one, which featured double-breasted gold buttons and sharp accentuated shoulders

Bold look: The much-loved personality teased her golden tresses into a sleek side-parting and a straight choppy bob

Ready for her close-up: She injected a dose of colour into the look with a bold slick of fuchsia lipstick

Bronzed beauty: Australia's Next Top Model star Tahnee Atkinson stunned in a strapless dress with a flamenco-inspired hem

Hot on her tails was Kerri-Anne, 64, who showed off her age-defying looks in a plunging white tuxedo jumpsuit.

The media icon cemented her sartorial credentials in the dazzling all-in-one, which featured double-breasted gold buttons and sharp accentuated shoulders.

The much-loved personality teased her golden tresses into a sleek side-parting and a straight choppy bob and injected a dose of colour with a bold slick of fuchsia lipstick.

Cute couple: NRL star Sam Burgess was also in attendance with his stunning wife Phoebe, who opted for a chic navy stretch-knit dress with an asymmetric hem

Monochrome maven: Phoebe, who formerly worked as a journalist, added height to her look with pointed ankle-strap courts

Smitten: The couple, who have a one-year-old daughter Poppy Alice together, seemed to be in great spirits as they posed on the red carpet

Bold look: NRL legend Anthony Minichiello and his wife Terry Biviano were hot on their tails, with Terry catching the eye in a bizarre silver-trim minidress

Walk the line: The bronzed beauty showcased her toned and tanned limbs in vertiginous Perspex heels

Dramatic: Terry, who has a four-year-old daughter Azura with Anthony, completed her eccentric look with heavy smokey shadow and wet-look hair

NRL star Sam Burgess was also in attendance with his stunning wife Phoebe, who opted for a chic navy stretch-knit dress with an asymmetric hem.

Phoebe, who formerly worked as a journalist, added height to her look with pointed ankle-strap courts.

The couple, who have a one-year-old daughter Poppy Alice together, seemed to be in great spirits as they posed on the red carpet.

Man of the moment: Male model Jordan Barrett cut a dapper figure in a tweed double-breasted blazer and suede-trim brogues

Quirky: Christian Wilkins did not disappoint in the fashion stakes on Wednesday night when he attended with BFF Andrew Kelly
They are doting parents to their beloved one-year-old daughter Poppy.

But George and Phoebe Burgess took a night off parental duties on Wednesday evening to attend the David Jones Autumn Winter 2018 Collection Launch in Sydney.

The pair cut a very handsome couple as they stepped out in designer attire.

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Nifty in navy! Phoebe Burgess shows off a hint of cleavage in a chic blue dress as she enjoys a date night with her equally hot hubby Sam Burgess at the David Jones Catwalk show

Phoebe was absolutely glowing, showing off a hint of cleavage in a chic navy blue dress by Dion Lee.

She teamed the fabulous frock with a pair of patent pointed black heels and a Gucci clutch.

Meanwhile, George looked dapper in a pair of navy trousers, a navy fine knit polo and a checked jacket.

Cute: The loved-up couple cuddle up to one another as they posed for photographs outside of the event

The loved-up couple cuddled up to one another as they posed for photographs outside of the event.

Phoebe and Sam tied the knot in a lavish ceremony, two years ago.

In December, they celebrated their two-year marriage anniversary.

Happy family: Phoebe and Sam tied the knot in a lavish ceremony, two years ago and they welcomed their daughter Poppy into the world in January last year

The pair married at Phoebe's parents' sprawling home in Bowral, in the NSW Southern Highlands.

They exchanged vows in front of 200 guests, including actor Russell Crowe, and a number of Sydney Rabbitohs players.

They welcomed their daughter Poppy into the world in January last year.
She is one of the most heavenly Victoria's Secret Angels to walk the catwalk for the lingerie brand.

But Lily Aldridge looked red hot on arrival in Tribeca, New York, when she joined fellow supermodels Nina Agdal and Jourdan Dunn on Tuesday.

The Victoria's Secret Angel, 32, was devilishly sexy in her scarlet gown as she went braless in the dangerously low-cut neckline which was cut to just above her navel.

Red hot! Lily Aldridge looked devilishly sexy in a perilously plunging gown as she joined leggy Victoria's Secret Angels Nina Agdal and Jourdan Dunn in Tribeca, New York City on Tuesday

It is no surprise the model made the streets of the Big Apple her catwalk as the perilously plunging garment was neat to best show off her envy-inducing figure.

The wife of Kings of Leon's frontman Caleb Followill wore a shade of red lipstick as she kept the same colour palette for her make-up to show off her dramatic looks.

Mother-of-one Lily, who took the night off mummy duties to little Dixie, accessorised with a deep crimson handbag adorned with a golden chain.

Scarlet siren: It is no surprise the model made the streets of the Big Apple her catwalk as the perilously plunging garment was neat to best show off her envy-inducing figure

Fabulous looks: Nina Agdal (L) and Jourdan Dunn (R) put on equally sizzling displays when they were hot on the mother-of-one's heels

Hot on Lily's heels, Nina wore her raciest denim dress which featured golden buttons to catch the eye and a plunging neckline to show off her eye-popping assets.

Nina risked a wardrobe malfunction in the plunging dress which showed off a hefty amount of sideboob when she went braless in the garment.

The Victoria's Secret Angel model held onto her beige clutch bag which held all of her essentials for the evening's festivities.

How risque! Nina risked a wardrobe malfunction in the plunging dress which showed off a hefty amount of sideboob when she went braless in the garment

Cheeky side: The Victoria's Secret Angel model held onto her beige clutch bag which held all of her essentials for the evening's festivities

Leonardo DiCaprio's much younger ex-girlfriend, who split from the movie star in May 2017, drew attention to her model-honed legs in the thigh-skimming garment.

The Victoria's Secret Angel put on a pin-credible display when she stepped out in sky-scraper stilettos which were attached to sheer stockings for added sex appeal.

Nina enhanced her youthful features with deftly touches of make-up and she scraped her golden locks into a ponytail.

Movie star quality! Leonardo DiCaprio's much younger ex-girlfriend, who split from the movie star in May 2017, drew attention to her model-honed legs in the thigh-skimming garment

Sheer delight! The Victoria's Secret Angel put on a pin-credible display when she stepped out in sky-scraper stilettos which were attached to sheer stockings for added sex appeal

Jourdan, 27, pulled off an equally sensational look in her one-shoulder slinky golden garment which hung from her incredible physique.

Of course the bold yet beautiful garment with one billowing sleeve was a wardrobe staple for the star who is recognised for pulling off dramatic looks on the runway.

The model donned clashing fuchsia pink stilettos to drew attention to her toned legs which she paraded in the cheeky split of her dress.

For the frill of it: Of course the bold yet beautiful garment with one billowing sleeve was a wardrobe staple for the star who is recognised for pulling off dramatic looks on the runway

Leggy lady: The model donned clashing fuchsia pink stilettos to drew attention to her toned legs which she paraded in the cheeky split of her dress

Toni Garrn, who also dated Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo, was also hot on the scene when she made a leggy arrival in her lace-up miniskirt.

The Victoria's Secret Angel, 25, draped her coat over her shoulders and wrapped a scarf around her neck to keep off the frosty chill to the evening air in the Big Apple.

Golden-haired Toni accessorised with huge hoop earrings for a hint of sparkle and clutched hold of her iPhone when she made her heavenly entrance.

Steamy on arrival! Toni Garrn, who also dated Hollywood heartthrob Leonardo, was also hot on the scene when she made a leggy arrival in her lace-up miniskirt

Brrr-illiant looks: The Victoria's Secret Angel draped her coat over her shoulders and wrapped a scarf around her neck to keep off the frosty chill to the evening air in the Big Apple

Fashion foot forward: Golden-haired Toni accessorised with huge hoop earrings for a hint of sparkle and clutched hold of her iPhone when she made her heavenly entrance

Elsa Hosk ensured she didn't miss out on the party as she joined her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels and supermodels in true fashionista style.

The catwalk queen paraded her incredibly petite figure in a form-fitting black dress, adorned with puff sleeves, which caressed every inch of her amazing body.

Elegant and sexy, the runway beauty slipped a fur jacket over her dress which added genuine style to her look while being practical for the weather.

Standing tall: Elsa Hosk ensured she didn't miss out on the party as she joined her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels in true fashionista style

Fur-ever impressive: The catwalk queen paraded her incredibly petite figure in a form-fitting black dress, adorned with puff sleeves, which caressed every inch of her amazing body

Fur-ever elegant and sexy: The runway beauty slipped a fur jacket over her dress which added genuine style to her look while being practical for the weather

Top woman! Lily rubbed shoulders with Natasha Poly on arrival at the Victoria's Secret Angel event at Tribeca

Back in 2015, Lily admitted what it takes to train to be the best fit for the famous Victoria's Secret annual fashion show.

The model, who has had her wings since 2010, made the candid confession in an interview to MailOnline's Femail.

At the time, she told us: 'I'm eating healthy. Lots of roast chicken and vegetables, eating clean. I mostly cook my own food so I know everything that's going into it. And I do a lot of Ballet Beautiful. I usually do two workouts a day leading up to the show.'

Of her double workouts, she revealed: 'I do an hour in the morning, and thirty minutes in the afternoon. Or, I'll switch it around. I'll do 30 minutes of cardio, and then do Ballet Beautiful for an hour.'

Sensational lady: Natasha bundled up in style in her caramel-coloured coat which she wore over her ivory jumpsuit and silver stilettos

Shimmering along: Barbara Palvin dazzled when she arrived in a shiny thigh-skimming garment which gave a glimpse to her cleavage thanks to the low-cut neckline

From catwalk to New York: The Victoria's Secret Angel accessorised with sparkling sky-scraper stilettos which were fastened to her feet with a number of straps for further sparkle

Wrap up! The model slipped on a light raincoat as she proved prepared for the chilly temperatures threatening the Big Apple in the evening

Casual chic: Eniko Mihalik stepped out in cut-off denim jeans and bright white heels with a matching handbag for the occasion

Fur-ever sexy: Lais Ribeiro mixed up her look as she teamed her fur jacket with PVC trousers for a different look

Oops! Elizabeth Sulcer suffered a wardrobe malfunction when she gave onlookers a flash of her lace bra thanks to her very plunging silk jumpsuit

Sizzling siren: Vanessa Moody went for a deep blue dress which was edged with elegant lace for a hint of sex appeal

Biker chic: Carolyn Murphy paraded her slender figure in skintight trousers and a leather jacket when she stepped out in towering heels

Pin-credible style: Ruby Aldridge flaunted her long legs when she headed to the party in her thigh-skimming white dress, teamed with a black coat for warmth

Those boots are made for walking: Victoria Lee went for a racy look in her thigh-skimming suede boots which really added to her looks

Pretty in plaid: Isabeli Fontana showcased her sensational winter wardrobe when she stepped out in a plaid long coat

Hot couple! Max Papendieck and Julia van Os arrived holding hands as they enjoyed each other's charming company

Suits you! Hailey Clauson power dressed in a blazer which perfectly framed her petite figure for her star-studded outing
She recently joked that she was 'long overdue losing her lesbian virginity'.

Now moving on from her titillating comments, Alexa Chung, 34, puts her best foot forward as attended the launch of How To Be An Overnight Success at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York on Tuesday night.

The model-turned-designer highlighted her slender figure as she slipped into a pair of stylish mid wash denims for the occasion alongside beauty entrepreneur Maria Hatzistefanis.

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Style savvy: Alexa Chung, 34, puts her best foot forward as attended the launch of How To Be An Overnight Success at the Crosby Street Hotel in New York on Tuesday night

The fashionista teamed her high-waisted trousers with a seventies-inspired semi-sheer polka dot blouse that teased at her decolletage with her keyhole silhouette.

Always effortlessly chic, Alexa accessorised her striking look with a statement leather Coach Riley bag while she posed in her must-have Gucci heels.

She accentuated her flawless complexion with minimal make-up while she styled her brunette tresses into a centre parting and tousled into wave.

Style it out: The model-turned-designer highlighted her slender figure as she slipped into a pair of stylish mid wash denims for the occasion and accessorised her striking look with a statement leather Coach Riley bag clutch

Picture perfect: Alexa posed alongside founder and CEO of Rodial Maria Hatzistefani

Her stylish appearance comes after Alexa has claimed she would not rule out a relationship with a woman.

Speaking to PORTER magazine for its Spring 2018 issue, Alexa revealed she would consider dating woman and even joked that she was 'long overdue' having lesbian sex.

The model has had a string of high-profile relationships - from actor Alexander Skarsgard to Artic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner - but insists she 'doesn't get' why people choose to get married.

Spot the difference: The fashionista teamed her high-waisted trousers with a seventies-inspired semi-sheer polka dot blouse that teased at her decolletage with her keyhole silhouette

Mane attraction: She accentuated her flawless complexion with minimal make-up while she styled her brunette tresses into a centre parting and tousled into wave

In the remarkably candid interview, Alexa modelled pieces from her new clothing range as she spoke about everything from her love life to dealing with 'creepy' casting agents in her early days as a model.

Alexa, who split from Swedish star Alexander Skarsgard last summer, admitted that she'd never been attracted to a woman but refused to rule out falling in love with one in the future.

She explained: 'I'm long overdue losing my lesbian virginity, but I just think it's super old-fashioned to expect anything from anyone, I think everyone is on a spectrum of whatever they prefer.

Chit chat: She chatted to the Nip and Fab founder

Romance: Her stylish appearance comes after Alexa has claimed she would not rule out a relationship with a woman

'I would never discount the idea that I could have a relationship with a woman at some point. I haven't been sexually attracted to one yet.'

Alexa says she is currently dating 'several people' and doesn't have a desire to get married.

She added: 'I just don't get why marriage is different from non-marriage  I just don't get it. I don't subscribe to the fact that you need one man to be happy: I think it's a really crappy, anti-feminist sentiment.'
Diane Kruger made a chic appearance at the Trophees du Film Francais 25th Ceremony on Tuesday, amidst the drama surrounding director Quentin Tarantino.

The actress, 41, was the picture of sophistication in a frilly white slip dress and smart checked blazer, as she posed for cameras at the Palais Brongniart in Paris.

It is the first time the German star has been seen since she defended Tarantino, 54, on social media - after it emerged he had choked her on the set of Inglourious Basterds.

Staying strong: Diane Kruger made a chic appearance at the Trophees du Film Francais 25th Ceremony on Tuesday, amidst the drama surrounding director Quentin Tarantino

The National Treasure star was effortlessly chic as she posed in her billowing white dress, featuring a saucy plunging neckline and a striking multi-length hem.

Making the look more striking, Diane then layered a formal checked blazer on top, which she cinched in at the waist with a sleek black belt.

The blonde injected pops of colour into the look with bright pink heels and red lipstick, and slicked her hair back into a soft up-do in a classically glamorous finishing touch.

Stunning: The National Treasure star was effortlessly chic as she posed in her billowing white dress, featuring a saucy plunging neckline and a striking multi-length hem

Suits you: Making the look more striking, Diane then layered a formal checked blazer on top, which she cinched in at the waist with a sleek black belt

Radiant: The blonde injected pops of colour into the look with bright pink heels and red lipstick, and slicked her hair back into a soft up-do

Dreams do come true: Most eye-catching of all however was her accessory of choice - a clutch bag styled like a vintage copy of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Most eye-catching of all however was her accessory of choice - a clutch bag styled like a vintage copy of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The blonde posed coolly and confidently at the event, before heading inside to mingle with a number of French stars, including Nicolas Duvauchelle.

Diane's appearance at the awards comes after it emerged Quentin Tarantino had choked her on set of Inglourious Basterds - just days after it was revealed he had strangled Uma Thurman during filming for Kill Bill.

Star-studded: The blonde posed coolly and confidently at the event, before heading inside to mingle with a number of French stars, including Nicolas Duvauchelle

Controversy: Diane's appearance at the awards comes after it emerged Quentin Tarantino had choked her on set of Inglourious Basterds

Tarantino has been feeling the heat ever since Uma shared details of a life-threatening crash and the injuries she suffered for a New York Times article over the weekend. The same piece revealed he asked to choke her for a movie scene.

Since then, a 2013 interview with Graham Norton has resurfaced, in which the director was asked about strangling Diane in a similar fashion.

In the clip, the director explains the situation to the chat show host and his guests, James McEvoy and Alan Davies, which he tells like a comedic anecdote.

Accusations: The director (L) was asked about strangling Diane in a resurfaced interview on Tuesday - just days after it was revealed he had done the same to Uma Thurman for Kill Bill

He explained: 'What I said to Diane is, "Im going to be the hands, and Im going to just strangle you, all right? Im going to cut off your air, for just a little bit of time'

No drama: However Diane later came out to defend Tarantino posting on Instagram today that working with him was 'pure joy'

He explained: 'Whenever you do a close-up of somebody being strangled in a film, I never buy it, because when somebodys actually being strangled theres a thing that happens to their face  they turn a certain color and their veins pop out.

'What I said to Diane is, "Im going to be the hands, and Im going to just strangle you, all right? Im going to cut off your air, for just a little bit of time, were going to see the reaction in your face, and then well cut, okay?"' adding that 'she trusted him'.

Diane also personally talked about the incident in a 2009 interview with Parade magazine, in which she revealed Tarantino thought actor Christopher Waltz, whose character was the person strangling her in the movie, wouldn't be capable of doing a good job.

She recalled him telling her: 'I know exactly what I need, and I think I should just do it.'

She said: 'I have to say it was very strange being strangled by the director.'

Diane has since come out to defend Tarantino, and took to Instagram on Tuesday to reveal that working with him was 'pure joy'.

'In light of the recent allegations made by Uma Thurman against Harvey Weinstein and her terrifying work experience on Kill Bill, my name has been mentioned in numerous articles in regards to the choking scene in Inglourious Basterds,' she wrote.

'This is an important moment in time and my heart goes out to Uma and anyone who has ever been the victim of sexual assault and abuse. I stand with you.

'For the record however, I would like to say that my work experience with Quentin Tarantino was pure joy. He treated me with utter respect and never abused his power or forced me to do anything I wasnt comfortable with.'

In a subsequent interview with Deadline about the New York Times piece, Tarantino explained and defended his actions, saying that he asked the actress and she agreed to it.

He claims he asked Diane: 'What I would like to do, with your permission, is justcommit to choking you, with my hands, in a closeup. We do it for 30 seconds or so, and then I stop. If we need to do it a second time, we will. After that, thats it.

Tarantino asked Diane: 'Are you down to committing to it so we can get a really good look? Itll be twice, and only for this amount of time, and the stunt guy will monitor the whole thing'

Diane said of the director: 'He treated me with utter respect and never abused his power or forced me to do anything I wasnt comfortable with'

Cast: The 2009 movie also stars Brad Pitt, Christopher Waltz and Samuel L. Jackson

'Are you down to committing to it so we can get a really good look? Itll be twice, and only for this amount of time, and the stunt guy will monitor the whole thing.

'Diane said, "yeah sure." She even said on film in an interview, it was a strange request but by that point I trusted Quentin so much that, sure.'

According to the New York Times story, in the case where he choked Uma, 'Tarantino had done the honors with some of the sadistic flourishes himself, spitting in her face in the scene where Michael Madsen is seen on screen doing it and choking her with a chain in the scene where a teenager named Gogo is on screen doing it'.

Tarantino also pointed out to Deadline that this part in the New York Times article were not direct quotes from Uma but 'prose written by the author' after interviews with other cast members.

A 15-year-old interview in which he defended Roman Polanski has also resurfaced amid the controversy.

Polanski was charged with drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He pleaded guilty to unlawful sex with a minor, but fled to France before his sentencing.

Despite this, Tarantino insisted Polanski was not a rapist and claimed the girl 'was down to party with Roman'  despite co-host Robin Quivers reminding him that she had been drugged and plied with alcohol.

Actress Busy Philipps posted a flurry of angry tweets on Monday night slamming the Pulp Fiction director and saying she's sorry she ever auditioned for him.

She wrote: 'F**K this guy. F**k anyone who works with him. I'm embarrassed that I ever auditioned for him. F**k him.'

Though much of Uma Thurman's interview to the Times was about being attacked by Harvey Weinstein, Tarantino has been facing most of the flack since it was published, so much so that the actress defended him on her Instagram on Monday.

Uma also posted the footage of the moment she crashed into a tree while filming Kill Bill in Mexico, clarifying that he had given it to her and that he was 'deeply regretful and remains remorseful' over the incident.

Thurman shared a photograph from the scene which made it into the movie on Thanksgiving when she alluded to how Weinstein had sexually attacked her

Pictured in 2003: Tarantino has broken his silence on the brutal crash involving Uma Thurman on the set of Kill Bill 15 years ago, saying the stunt has been the biggest regret of his life

She made it clear that she blames producer Harvey Weinstein and accused him of lying and destroying evidence.

Tarantino confirmed to Deadline that he was the one who gave the footage to Uma to help her with the Times article.

He said he dug up the 15-year-old footage after speaking to the actress for some time about how she was going to reveal her encounters with Weinstein.

'Uma and I had talked about it, for a long period of time, deciding how she was going to do it. She wanted clarity on what happened in that car crash, after all these years,' he said.

Tarantino added the he 'ended up taking the hit and taking the heat' when the Times article was published.

The Kill Bill director recalled in great detail the day Thurman was injured while filming the driving scene.

He said no one considered it a stunt given it was just driving, but when Thurman voiced concerns he personally drove down the road to test it out and informed her it was safe.

'I came in there all happy telling her she could totally do it, it was a straight line, you will have no problem. Uma's response was 'Okay.' Because she believed me. Because she trusted me.

'I told her it would be okay. I told her the road was a straight line. I told her it would be safe. And it wasn't. I was wrong. I didn't force her into the car. She got into it because she trusted me. And she believed me,' he said.

'We did the shot. And she crashed. At first, no one really knew what happened. After the crash, when Uma went to the hospital, I was feeling in total anguish at what had happened.

'Watching her fight for the wheel remembering me hammering about how it was safe and she could do it. Emphasizing that it was a straight road, a straight road the fact that she believed me, and I literally watched this little S curve pop up. And it spins her like a top,' Tarantino said in the interview.

'It was heartbreaking. Beyond one of the biggest regrets of my career, it is one of the biggest regrets of my life.'

The Bride's ride: Uma Thurman released the video footage of her 2002 crash on the set of Kill Bill, showing the moment of impact and aftermath (still from Kill Bill of the footage of ride)

He added that the crash affected their relationship for the next few years, saying: 'It wasn't like we didn't talk. But a trust was broken.'

In her Instagram post, Uma said the director did the 'right thing' by sharing the footage.

'Quentin Tarantino, was deeply regretful and remains remorseful about this sorry event, and gave me the footage years later so i could expose it and let it see the light of day, regardless of it most likely being an event for which justice will never be possible,' Thurman wrote.

'He also did so with full knowledge it could cause him personal harm, and i am proud of him for doing the right thing and for his courage.

'THE COVER UP after the fact is UNFORGIVABLE.'

Uma then went on to accuse Weinstein and her agents at CAA for the 'cover up'.

'For this I hold Lawrence Bender, E. Bennett Walsh, and the notorious Harvey Weinstein solely responsible,' Uma wrote.

'They lied, destroyed evidence, and continue to lie about the permanent harm they caused and then chose to suppress.'

She goes on to note: 'The cover up did have malicious intent, and shame on these three for all eternity.'

She finishes by laying into her agency at the time: 'CAA never sent anyone to Mexico. I hope they look after other clients more respectfully if they in fact want to do the job for which they take money with any decency.'

Pictured in 2004: Thurman claims Weinstein forced himself on her in a hotel room in London between Pulp Fiction (1994) and Kill Bill (2003)

The incident occurred as they finished filming for Kill Bill Vol. 1. It would later be split into two parts by Weinstein who was the producer (Thurman is pictured above in a scene from the film)

The footage shows the actress struggling to control the car as she careens off a dirt road and into a tree. She can be seen lying motionless and limp in the driver's seat until she is pulled out by members of the crew.

Uma said she thought she was paralyzed by the stunt and has permanent injuries.

The incident occurred as they finished filming for Kill Bill Vol. 1. It would later be split into two parts by Weinstein who was the producer.

The scene in question is the famous moment Thurman's character at the end of the first film along a winding road.

Thurman said in the Times article that she was hesitant about filming it herself and wanted a stunt double to do the difficult driving because, she claimed, the car was unsafe.

It had been reconfigured from a stick-shift to an automatic and Thurman claimed a crew member expressed concern to her that it was not working properly.

'Quentin came in my trailer and didn't like to hear no, like any director.

'He was furious because I'd cost them a lot of time. But I was scared. He said: 'I promise you the car is fine. It's a straight piece of road. Hit 40 miles per hour or your hair won't blow the right way and I'll make you do it again'.

'But that was a deathbox that I was in. The seat wasn't screwed down properly. It was a sand road and it was not a straight road,' she said.

She said once she returned to set: 'Quentin and I had an enormous fight, and I accused him of trying to kill me. And he was very angry at that, I guess understandably, because he didnt feel he had tried to kill me.'

For years, she said they continued to fight over it and she begged him to show her the footage but he always refused.

Afterwards, Thurman's lawyer sent a letter to Miramax demanding a copy of the video.

They refused to give it to her unless she agreed that she would not hold the production company accountable for 'future pain or suffering'.

Thurman refused to agree to those terms and has, for the last 15 years, been trying to get the footage from Tarantino himself.

'We were in a terrible fight for years. We had to then go through promoting the movies. It was all very thin ice.

'We had a fateful fight at Soho House in New York in 2004 and we were shouting at each other because he wouldnt let me see the footage and he told me that was what they had all decided,' she said.

After the Weinstein scandal broke, Tarantino gave it to her. She equates it with him 'atoning' for the danger he put her in and the pair are on good terms.

'Quentin finally atoned by giving it to me after 15 years, right? Not that it matters now, with my permanently damaged neck and my screwed-up knees.'

She has since handed it, along with her correspondence with Miramax, to police in the hope they will be held accountable.
She has graced endless runways for David Jones as an ambassador for the Australian retail giant.

So it's no wonder Jessica Gomes pulled out all the sartorial stops on Wednesday for the chain's star-studded Autumn/Winter '18 collections launch in Sydney on Wednesday.

The 33-year-old brunette bombshell oozed sex appeal in a slinky scarlet backless gown as she joined footy WAG Terry Biviano, who flashed her bronzed limbs in a leather mini dress.

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Bringing sexy back! Jessica Gomes sizzled in a racy red backless gown while Terry Biviano (R) rocked a daring leather minidress at the David Jones Autumn/Winter '18 collections launch in Sydney on Wednesday

Jessica looked every inch the red carpet siren in her pillarbox red velvet gown, which featured a dramatic floor-sweeping hemline.

Styling her glossy raven tresses in tousled waves, the catwalk star framed her features with smouldering iridescent shadow and nude lipstick.

Letting her statement gown do all the talking, she injected a dose of sparkle to her ensemble with gold multi-strap barely-there heels.

Meanwhile, Terry arrived at the event with her husband, NRL legend Anthony Minichiello, who looked dapper in an all-black look.

Scarlet siren: Jessica looked every inch the red carpet siren in her pillarbox red velvet gown, which featured a dramatic floor-sweeping hemline

Preened to perfection: Styling her glossy raven tresses in tousled waves, the catwalk star framed her features with smouldering iridescent shadow and nude lipstick

Going for gold: Letting her statement gown do all the talking, she injected a dose of sparkle to her ensemble with gold multi-strap barely-there heels

Bold look: Terry was joined by her husband, NRL legend Anthony Minichiello, who looked dapper in an all-black look

Walk the line: The bronzed beauty showcased her toned and tanned limbs in vertiginous Perspex heels

Terry, who has a four-year-old daughter Azura with Anthony, completed her eccentric look with heavy smokey shadow and wet-look hair.

The bronzed beauty showcased her toned and tanned limbs in vertiginous Perspex heels.

They were also joined by Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, and her fiance Karl Stefanovic, 43, at the bash.

The Today host couldn't stop smiling as he cuddled up to the blonde bombshell, who proudly paraded her impressive $120,000 diamond ring.

Ready for bed? Anna Heinrich looked casually chic in pyjama-inspired silky green co-ords

Dazzling couple: She was joined by her Bachelor fiance Tim Robards, who cut a suave figure in a leather jacket

'I'm sure they will do an amazing job': Anna revealed her sisters are planning her hens party

Matching: At the fashion show, Tim and Anna both stepped out in green outfits

All in the details! Anna flaunted her gleaming diamond engagement ring, and wore gold accessories including oversized hoops and a necklace

Jasmine turned heads in a plunging Bardot top and $1,095 trousers as she posed with Tamie Ingham, the co-founder of Mara & Mine.

The blonde beauty dazzled in her floaty white top, which featured a sweetheart neckline and romantic trumpet sleeves.

She injected a dose of sparkle into her look with a chic pair of silver mules, accessorising with a Gucci monogrammed bag.

Bronzed beauty: Australia's Next Top Model star Tahnee Atkinson stunned in a strapless dress with a flamenco-inspired hem

Shimmering: Cheyenne Tozzi stuck to a monochrome aesthetic, donning a glittering black gown

Working her angles: The 27-year-old model smouldered in her dramatic pleated gown

Avert your eyes! Cheyenne threatened to spill out of her perilously plunging gown as she posed with male model Jordan Barrett

Cheeky! The model was seen grabbing Jordan's bottom in a playful move on the red carpet - while maintaining an utterly deadpan poker face

Sweeping her glossy tresses into a stylish chignon, she added further glamour with some statement drop earrings.

Jasmine was not joined by her fiance Karl on the red carpet, with reports suggesting he dodged photographers.

Karl had been camera-shy the night before, at the Harper's Bazaar Australia 20th anniversary party on Tuesday.

Flashing the flesh: Victoria Lee replaced Jesinta Campbell on the David Jones catwalk after the star controversially parted ways with the brand in December

Victoriana chic: The 21-year-old brunette beauty flaunted her lithe frame in a cut-out dress with elaborate lace embroidery and romantic ruched shoulders

Budding beauty: Lindy Klim looked showstopping in a floral pinafore dress with a tiered hemline

Yummy mummy! The 39-year-old showed off her remarkably svelte physique just two months after giving birth to her fourth child, daughter Goldie

Killer footwear: She completed her colourful look with scarlet frayed edge heeled sandals

Double trouble: The brunette beauty struck a sultry pose alongside Tanja Gacic, who stunned in a one-shoulder dress

Reports claimed Karl 'dodged photographers' on arrival to the Sydney event, but was 'very close and intimate' with his lady love away from the cameras.

Jasmine first met Karl in December 2016, just months after he separated from his wife-of-21-years Cassandra Thorburn.

He apparently refused to pose in front of the media wall and tried to avoid photographers inside the venue, reported The Sydney Morning Herald.

Photographer Christian Gilles even told The Daily Telegraph that he asked Karl for a 'do up' snap but said 'Karl would not do it'.

Like the cat who got the cream! Karl Stefanovic , 43, looked utterly smitten with Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, as they attended the David Jones Autumn/Winter '18 collections launch in Sydney on Wednesday

Loving life: The Today host couldn't stop smiling as he cuddled up to the blonde bombshell, who proudly paraded her impressive $120,000 diamond ring at the star-studded bash

Reunited: Karl avoided posing with Jasmine on the red carpet but packed on the PDA with her as he rejoined her inside the event

Inseperable: The blonde bombshell was not joined by her fiance Karl on the red carpet, with reports suggesting he dodged photographers

Hmm: Karl was camera-shy once again at the Harper's Bazaar Australia 20th anniversary party on Tuesday and reportedly 'dodged photographers' on arrival to the Sydney event

'He refused. I also tried really hard to get one of Jasmine as well but she would not do it apart from the media wall,' he claimed.

Christian then said: 'The couple didnt want to do any photos and every time they turned away.'

Jasmine and Karl got engaged last month, with New Idea magazine reporting that the Channel Nine star proposed while the couple were on holiday in Fiji.

After asking Jasmine to be his wife, they returned to Sydney to celebrate with family and friends at a 'nine-hour party' held at Karl's brother Peter's house, it was claimed.

Claims: He apparently refused to pose in front of the media wall and tried to avoid photographers inside the venue, reported The Sydney Morning Herald

Camera-shy: Photographer Christian Gilles even told The Daily Telegraph that he asked Karl for a 'do up' snap but said 'Karl would not do it'

Having a whale of a time: Karl looked every inch the social butterfly as he mingled with guests inside the event

The lovebirds confirmed the news last Friday, when the bride-to-be flashed her engagement ring at a celebratory lunch in Woolloomooloo with Karl and several pals.

It is understood that Karl and Jasmine met in late 2016, just a few months after his marriage to TV producer and journalist Cassandra fell apart.

Cassandra has previously described her ex-husband as 'dead to (her)'. The former couple share three children - Jackson, River, and Ava.

Looking good: Jasmine posed up a storm on the red carpet earlier in the night alongside Tamie Ingham, the co-founder of Mara & Mine

Chic: The 34-year-old blonde beauty certainly turned heads in a plunging Bardot top and $1,095 MaxMara trousers as she posed with Tamie Ingham, the co-founder of Mara & Mine

Turning heads: The blonde beauty dazzled in her floaty white top, which featured a sweetheart neckline and romantic trumpet sleeves

Dazzling: She injected a dose of sparkle into her look with a chic pair of silver mules, accessorising with a Gucci monogrammed bag

What a sparkler! Jasmine ensured her engagement ring was on full display as she attended the show

Jasmine was joined by a host of local celebrities at the fashion show on Wednesday, including Lindy Klim, Kerri-Anne Kennerley and Terry Biviano.

Lindy looked showstopping on the night, exuding Sicilian chic in a floral pinafore dress with a tiered hemline.

The 39-year-old showed off her remarkably svelte physique just two months after giving birth to her fourth child, daughter Goldie.

Say it in stripes: Ksenija Lukich flashed a peek of her enviably toned abs in a crop top and high-waisted striped trousers

Stunning: The 27-year-old E! Australia presenter completed her look with a ruffled blazer and patent boots

Hot on her tails was Kerri-Anne, 64, who showed off her age-defying looks in a plunging white tuxedo jumpsuit.

The media icon cemented her sartorial credentials in the dazzling all-in-one, which featured double-breasted gold buttons and sharp accentuated shoulders.

The much-loved personality teased her golden tresses into a sleek side-parting and a straight choppy bob and injected a dose of colour with a bold slick of fuchsia lipstick.

All white on the night! Kerri-Anne Kennerley, 64, showed off her age-defying looks in a plunging white tuxedo jumpsuit

Tasking centre-stage: The media icon cemented her sartorial credentials in the dazzling all-in-one, which featured double-breasted gold buttons and sharp accentuated shoulders

Bold look: The much-loved personality teased her golden tresses into a sleek side-parting and a straight choppy bob

Ready for her close-up: She injected a dose of colour into the look with a bold slick of fuchsia lipstick

NRL star Sam Burgess was also in attendance with his stunning wife Phoebe, who opted for a chic navy stretch-knit dress with an asymmetric hem.

Phoebe, who formerly worked as a journalist, added height to her look with pointed ankle-strap courts.

The couple, who share a one-year-old daughter Poppy Alice, seemed to be in great spirits as they posed on the red carpet.

Cute couple: NRL star Sam Burgess was also in attendance with his stunning wife Phoebe, who opted for a chic navy stretch-knit dress with an asymmetric hem

Monochrome maven: Phoebe, who formerly worked as a journalist, added height to her look with pointed ankle-strap courts

Smitten: The couple, who have a one-year-old daughter Poppy Alice together, seemed to be in great spirits as they posed on the red carpet

Man of the moment: Male model Jordan Barrett cut a dapper figure in a tweed double-breasted blazer and suede-trim brogues

Quirky: Christian Wilkins did not disappoint in the fashion stakes on Wednesday night when he attended with BFF Andrew Kelly

See-through: The 22-year-old model and reality star turned more than a few heads, wearing a pair of bizarre clear plastic shorts

The catwalk show itself was awash with a mixture of bold black and grey palettes, over-sized suits and crisp highly structured designs - as well as an array of fiercely feminine and conservative designs stamped with florals, lace and pretty pastels.

Among the pieces were cutesy lace-embellished pieces by Zimmermann and Alice McCall, high frilled necklines, countless maxi dresses, over-sized pastel trenches, Poppy print dresses by Thurley and felt jackets by Marcs.

Stand-out looks included a stunning $6,999 high neck lace dress by Valentino and a beautiful nude dress by Dion Lee which retails at $670.

The model in Valentino paired her lace dress with a showstopping $11,099 leather trench by the designer.

The feminine designs broke up what was largely a darker, edgier runway theme - the campaign aptly named 'Take the Leap'.

Ruling the runway: Jessica Gomes and Victoria led models down what was for the most part a very dark, edgy and season-appropriate David Jones Autumn/Winter 18 runway - but not entirely

Romantic: Romance Was Born showcased a series of pink designs stamped with quirky prints

Pretty in prints: True to her signature style, Camilla's designs were fun, flirty and featured eye-popping prints

Blushing pink: Among the bold blacks and over-sized suits were an array of fiercely feminine and conservative designs (pictured is a $6,999 high neck lace dress by Valentino paired with the designer's matching $11,099 leather trench)
Georgia May Foote has hinted she may have been dumped by ex George Alsford, after posting a cryptic message on Instagram.

The former Coronation Street star wrote that she needs to 'protect her heart', on the social media site.

26-year-old Georgia's post came just days after she blasted former beau Sean Ward on Twitter, with a rather scathing message.'

Something to say? Actress Georgia May Foote, 26, has hinted she may have been dumped by ex George Alsford, posting a cryptic message on Instagram on Monday

Saying it straight: The former Coronation Street star wrote that she needs to 'protect her heart', on the social media site (pictured with George)

On Monday Georgia wrote on Instagram stories, with the words saying: 'Sometimes you just gotta be your own hero and save your own little heart.

'Because sometimes the people you can't imagine living without, can actually live without you.'

Georgia and George's split was confirmed last week, with sources telling The Sun that the couple called it quits after a slew of rows.

The brunette beauty's post came days after she appeared to throw shade towards ex Sean, in response to a scathing tweet he posted last week saying: 'Karma's a patient b***h' alongside a laughing cry emoji.

On her social media channel, Georgia seemingly called out her ex, kicking her diatribe off with: 'karma aint a b***h to people who do nothing wrong'.

Cryptic: Georgia posted the message on her Instagram stories on Monday, implying that perhaps George had ended the couples relationship

'Karma ain't a b***h to people who do nothing wrong': Georgia May Foote also hit back at her ex Sean Ward last week after he threw serious shade in a cryptic tweet

Georgia - who split with Sean in 2015 before moving on to Strictly Come Dancing professional Giovanni Pernice - continued her rambling message: 'Guilt makes people do/say funny things doesn't it.

'I always have to keep my mouth shut and i'm the one who gets the s**t'

She finished by declaring: 'Say what u want cz i really dont care what u all think. I know everything about MY life.

Georgia and Giovanni went on to enjoy a seven-month long romance after they were spotted kissing on a New Year's trip to Disney following the breakdown of her romance with Sean.

'I know everything about MY life': Georgia - who split with Sean in 2015 - has been rather vocal on social media about how she feels about her exes

Georgia and Sean ended their eight-month romance shortly after the Strictly final amidst the actor's 'insecurity' over their relationship, according to the Daily Mirror at the time.

Sources on the BBC reality show at the time claimed Sean struggled with Georgia's closeness with her partner Giovanni with the pair spending most of their time together in rehearsals.

Now three years on from their split, the screen star cryptically shared on his Twitter feed after news broke, which left some of his followers replying in support: 'Sure is'.

The ominous tweet comes after it was reported that the actress is reportedly 'struggling' after a split from boyfriend George Alsford, following 18 months together.

The brunette beauty and her now ex called it quits after repeated arguments, a source told The Sun newspaper.

The split came just days after Georgia left fans worried with a slew of downcast snaps and cryptic Instagram posts, hinting all was not well in her love life.

The source said: 'They tried to make it work but called it quits after a series of arguments.

'Georgia has been left devastated, as she really thought he was The One. She's been struggling.' A representative for Georgia had been contacted for comment at the time.

The former Strictly Come Dancing left fans speculating whether her and George had called it quits earlier this week, after posting a series of cryptic snaps on social media.

Fans first fuelled the speculation when Georgia posted a moody snap alongside a sad face emoji last week.

Failing to raise a smile, the former Coronation Street star looked close to tears as she covered up her gym-honed figure in a fluffy white dressing gown.

The former Strictly Come Dancing star has previously flooded Instagram with pictures of herself with her then boyfriend, who is signed to Select Model Management - the same agency she is signed to.

However, Georgia hadn't uploaded a picture of herself with the model since December.
He's the model and socialite known for his flamboyant sense of style.

And Christian Wilkins did not disappoint on Wednesday night when he attended the David Jones Autumn Winter Collections launch in Sydney with his BFF Andrew Kelly.

The 22-year-old son of Channel Nine's Richard Wilkins had onlookers scratching their heads when he arrived at the event in a pair of bizarre see-through plastic shorts.

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Quirky: Christian Wilkins did not disappoint on Wednesday night when he attended the David Jones Autumn Winter Collections launch in Sydney with his BFF Andrew Kelly

The shorts featured an oversized, silver elastic waistband emblazoned with the phrase: 'The King is naked. It's my fashion.'

Christian also wore a long white shirt with a high, rounded Nehru-style collar.

Clearly enjoying his moment in the spotlight, the former Cleo Bachelor Of The Year nominee flaunted his muscular and well-toned legs for the cameras.

How unusual! The 22-year-old model and reality TV star turned more than a few heads, wearing a pair of bizarre see-through plastic shorts

Unique: The shorts featured an oversized, silver elastic waistband emblazoned with the phrase, 'The King is naked. It's my fashion'

He finished off his quirky outfit with a simple black leather jacket and a pair of black leather boots.

Andrew opted for an equally bizarre ensemble, wearing a translucent striped vest over a ripped white shirt.

He also wore a pair of large black shorts, patent leather boots with white socks and a beanie hat.

Fashion statement: Christian is known for his elaborate and extravagant sense of style

Matching: Andrew (right) opted for an equally bizarre ensemble, wearing a translucent striped vest over a ripped white shirt

Christian recently came out as gay in the March issue of Cosmopolitan.

Speaking to the magazine, Christian admitted: 'I've now taken it upon myself to become the best damn gay I can be!'

He added: 'It's taken me a while to really celebrate my own sexual identity.'
Laura Carmichael, 31, and Elizabeth McGovern, 56, joined their former Downton Abbey co-stars for a mini reunion as they attended a charity gala on Tuesday night.

The duo were joined by several other cast members from the ITV period drama, as well as show creator Julian Fellowes, as they attended the star-studded Walking With The Wounded event at BAFTA headquarters in London's Piccadilly.

Laura - who portrayed the aristocratic Lady Edith Crawley - looked effortlessly chic in a black midi skirt and top with a heart and arrow emblazoned on the front.

Reunited: Laura Carmichael, 31, and Elizabeth McGovern, 56, joined their former Downton Abbey co-stars for a mini reunion as they attended a charity gala on Tuesday night

The actress finished her look with sparkling pointed-toe heels and kept all other accessories to a minimum.

Laura kept her shoulder-length tresses in a relaxed waved style, with barely-there mascara and lip gloss complementing the look.

The star was also joined by her boyfriend Michael C Fox, 29, who played footman Andy Parker, as they both arrived and made their exit together.

Elizabeth looked as glamorous as her on-screen counterpart Countess Cora Grantham, sporting a grey silk bustier top, along with a matching black skirt and tie waistcoat.

The brunette styled her bob into bouncy curls and only sported several rings with the look.

Stylish: The actress showed off her effortless fashion sense in a black and white skirt and top emblazoned with a heart and arrow symbol

Loved-up: Laura was joined at the gala by her boyfriend Michael C Fox, 29, who also appeared on Downton Abbey as footman Andrew (Andy) Parker

Happy: After keeping their romance private for a year after the series wrapped in 2015, the couple have been seen out and about together on numerous occasions

Favourite: Laura played Lady Edith Grantham on the ITV period drama throughout its six year run, concluding with her marriage to Bertie Pelham

Beaming: Laura looked happeir than ever as she arrived at the event, sporting a black overcoat with her look to block out the winter chill

Elizabeth look thrilled to be reunited with her former co-stars, as she was also seen posing with Lord Grantham himself, Hugh Bonneville, 54.

The stars were in force to support the charity, which helps injured military servicemen in getting back into work following their time in the army.

Series creator Julian Fellowes, 68, was also in attendance at the event, joined by his glamorous wife Emma.

The reunion came as rumours of a Downton Abbey movie continue to heat up, despite Phyllis Logan confessing she and most of her co-stars had been 'left in the dark' over plans.

Chic: Elizabeth looked as glamorous as her on-screen counterpart, sporting a black silk skirt and grey bustier, along with a matching waistcoat

Flawless: Elizabeth attended the event that supports injured military servicemen as they transition back into civilian work

Fancy seeing you here! Elizabeth was also seen reuniting with her on-screen husband Hugh Bonneville, who played Lord Grantham in the drama

Man of the words: Elizabeth also posed with Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes, who was all suited and booted for the event

Showcase: The American actress also posed for a snap with some of the servicemen at the gala, who were dressed in their complete uniforms

Speaking on Loose Women on Tuesday, Phyllis said she had just as much knowledge of a proposed film as anyone else.

She said: 'Do you know what they call actors? We're like mushrooms, we are kept in the dark and occasionally popped in the manure.

'I feel so bad because I would love to say we start shooting next week. You should get in touch with the producers for god sake's. You know as much as I do.'

In December 2017, the actress revealed to The Mail on Sunday that a new script has been completed and filming dates arranged for 2018.

Glamorous: Julian was joined at the gala by his wife Lady Emma

Home time: The couple were also seen making their exit from the gala, keeping warm in the freezing February weather

'Theres a potential script coming our way, slightly rewritten, said Logan. 'Everyones been asked whats going on between this date and that date.

'So we just hope that all the elements  because there are so many  come together.

'To have a last hurrah with all the characters, going back to the castle and seeing all the old muckers will be fantastic. Im certainly up for it.'

It is understood Highclere Castle, near Newbury in Berkshire, where the original series was filmed, will be closed to visitors from May 30 to July 7, thought to be for exterior and interior filming.

Is it happening? The cast's mini-reunion came as rumours of a Downton Abbey movie heated up, after the show's old filming location was booked to be closed over the summer

Suave: Hugh was also joined at the gala by wife Lulu Williams, who looked stylish in a silver printed dress

She added: 'It was a great show to do and a great character to play and I will forever think fondly of Mrs Hughes.

'In fact, it was one of the best gigs of my life and opened up so many other avenues and put a different spin on my career.'

Downton Abbey shut its doors for the last time on Christmas Day 2015, but millions of fans have been hoping for a movie version of the drama.

NBC Universal International Studios had hoped to start filming in 2017 with 20 of the original cast members, including Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery, who played Lady Mary Crawley.

Pop princess: Pixie Lott showed off her incredible figure in a fitted corset-style dress, which she teamed with silver strappy heels and a pink clutch bag

Glam: Pixie kept her straight blonde tresses out of the way with a pearly hairclip, and sported barely-there makeup to accentuate her flawless complexion

Couples night: Star Wars legend Anthony Daniels was also in attendance at the gala, along with his wife Christine Savage
She faced backlash for deciding to sell her second-hand goods, including previously worn bikinis, online.

And it was certainly out with the old and in with the new for Danielle Lloyd on Wednesday, as she modelled a swimsuit from her recently released collection on Instagram.

The 34-year-old showed off her enviably trim figure in a plunging white two-piece, as she shared a playful clip of herself dancing during a shoot for her swimwear range.

A bit of all-white! Danielle Lloyd showed off her trim figure in a plunging swimsuit on Wednesday, as she danced around in a playful clip posted on Instagram

Having given birth in September, Danielle showed off her impressive post-baby body in the white swimsuit, which clung to her slender frame all the way down.

The one-piece plunged into a low neckline and cinched in at her waist with a gold band, before cutting off high at her thigh to leave her long legs on show.

Sweeping her hair back into a bun, secured by a chic white headband, the former beauty queen's beaming smile was clear for all to see as she danced and writhed around for cameras at the shoot.

Hot mama: Having given birth in September, Danielle showed off her impressive post-baby body in the white swimsuit, which clung to her slender frame all the way down

Clearly excited for her new collection, she captioned the giggly post: 'So much fun on the shoot for my new swimwear range with @bikinigeniesswimwear get yours now ready for the pool parties this summer. '

Danielle was the picture of confidence at the shoot, having recently revealed she prioritises being fit and healthy over slim and toned.

She explained to Now last month: 'Ive never wanted to be a size 8 and I still dont. Im not even desperate to lose weight because Im happy being a healthy size 10.

Skimpy: The one-piece plunged into a low neckline and cinched in at her waist with a gold band, before cutting off high at her thigh to leave her long legs on show

Bust a move: Sweeping her hair into a bun, secured by a chic headband, the former beauty queen's beaming smile was clear for all to see as she danced for cameras at the shoot

'My body goal is to feel stronger, fitter and healthy, so that I can run around with the boys without feeling knackered.'

The reality star's swimwear range was released in late January, with Danielle gushing of her pride that she has created 'a collection to fit all shapes and sizes' on Instagram.

The video comes after Danielle decided to sell son Ronnie's second hand baby clothes, as well as her own used bikinis and shoes, online for a costly sum.

The model advertised her online shop via Instagram on Monday as she told fans to 'check out' the items online.

For sale: The playful display comes after Danielle decided to sell son Ronnie's second hand baby clothes, as well as her own used bikinis and shoes, online for a costly sum

She shared a picture of some of Ronnie's items that she captioned: 'Check out my @depop selling all Ronnies designer baby clothes makes me sad he is growing so quick @missdlloyd'.

Danielle's account blurb reads: 'Hope you all have fun shopping! All sales are final no refunds available will always listen to offers so DM me x.'

The items on sale include a Missoni babygrow that she is selling for 120 and describes as 'worn twice like new 3-6 but small sizing'.

Similar styles vary from between 97 and 260 online.

Her own best advert: Among her store items include baby clothes, used bikinis and second hand shoes

Ready to wear: Danielle shared a picture of items that she captioned: 'Check out my @depop selling all Ronnies designer baby clothes makes me sad he is growing so quick @missdlloyd'

She is also flogging a Moschino babygrow 'worn a couple of times' for 60, while a similar style can be bought new from Harrods for 79.95.

Other items on sale include bikinis that she has worn in the past, with one pink bandeau bikini from Beach Bunny described as being 'a little stained with suntan oil but not really noticeable' listed at 55.

Another swimwear piece was snapped up for 40 after being described as being a 'Stunning Mara Hoffman bikini worn a couple of times'.

A particularly pricey item up for a sale was a diamond engagement ring that she revealed she was selling for a friend.

'Gorgeous 3.12ct diamond ring with diamond halo band. Selling for my friend please DM me for more info no time wasters please' she described the gem.

For sale: The items on sale include a Missoni babygrow that she is selling for 120 and describes as 'worn twice like new 3-6 but small sizing'

Up for grabs: Danielle is also flogging a Moschino babygrow 'worn a couple of times' for 60, while a similar style can be bought new from Harrods for 79.95

Whilst the item was listed as sold, it's possible that there was a typo on the page, as the listing asked for a price of 10,000,000 (10 million).

After Danielle's online store was targeted by trolls, a spokesperson for Danielle told MailOnline: 'Danielle is a normal mum. Like normal mums, she sells clothes on websites just like mums, (including other celebrity ones) do. This includes outgrown baby clothes.

'This is just more idle trolling from the total morons that have nothing better to do, trolls are obsessed with Danielle'.

Stained: Other items on sale include a pink bandeau bikini from Beach Bunny described as being 'a little stained with suntan oil but not really noticeable' listed at 55

Sold: Another swimwear piece was snapped up for 40 after being described as being a 'Stunning Mara Hoffman bikini worn a couple of times'

Last month, Danielle revealed plans to travel to Cyprus, where parents are able to choose the gender of their next child.

Speaking to Emma Barnett about her controversial decision, she confessed: 'It's always been my dream to have a little girl.

'It's about having that mix and bringing up a little girl. I know she might not be "girlie"  she probably won't be with four brothers  but it's just about having a little mini-me almost.'

She added: 'I could continue to have babies and hope I'd have a girl but I want to be realistic. I've got four boys at the moment and they are a handful.'

While the process of having a 'designer baby' is illegal in the UK, Danielle admitted she had chosen to take the bold step of going public with her decision because 'a lot of people are doing it but they keep it quiet, and that is what is so frustrating for me'.
Her uncle is King of Denpasar and her late father Oak Rama was a Balinese prince, making Lindy Klim a princess.

And the former model, 40, has revealed her eight-week-old daughter Goldie also shares the royal title - Agung - which is a nod to her family's palace in her home country.

She exclusively told Daily Mail Australia: 'Her name is Agung Goldie Ellis. It tells you about where we are and our family, there's a lot of us. It's a nice title to have.'

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'It's a nice title to have!' Lindy Klim, 40, has revealed her eight-week-old daughter Goldie is a Balinese princess just like her

Lindy shares Goldie with her British property developer fiance Adam Ellis and has three other kids - Stella, 11, Rocco, nine, Frankie, six - with her Olympian ex Michael Klim.

She revealed her three other children also get the royal treatment, explaining: 'That's my family name. All my children have that. They're all princes and princesses.'

The brunette beauty added that Adam wasn't so keen on having a Balinese name.

'He does get a title, he can definitely have a Balinese name if he wants to but I don't think he will.'

Cute couple: Lindy shares Goldie with her British property developer fiance Adam Ellis (pictured) and has three other kids - Stella, 11, Rocco, nine, Frankie, six - with her Olympian ex Michael Klim

The couple welcomed Goldie into the world in December and Lindy has been sharing endless sweet snaps of Adam cuddling her ever since.

'He does everything it's unbelievable, he is so obsessed with Goldie that occasionally I'll be like "Oh my God, I'm around too! I'm here as well!' she told Daily Mail Australia.

'But it is really beautiful to see and he's waited such a long time for a baby. I couldn't ask for a better dad for Goldie.'

She added: 'She's his first child, she's such a lucky girl to have him as a father and the rest of the kids love having him as a stepdad.

Your highness: She revealed her three other children also get the royal treatment, explaining: 'That's my family name. All my children have that. They're all princes and princesses' (seen with her four children and Adam)

'He's just won their hearts and I think you can see in my Insta stories how much he loves the kids and he's just a fun guy to have around.'

Lindy became engaged to Adam in October 2016 - eight months after she and Michael announced their split.

She was married to the former Olympic swimmer for almost 10 years when a representative confirmed the split.

Lindy was first spotted with Adam at London's Heathrow Airport in March, just two weeks after the break-up was announced.

Cute: Lindy said Adam is relishing the role of stepdad to her three kids and is 'obsessed' with Goldie (pictured)

Discussing her current relationship with Michael, she revealed they stay in contact for their three children.

'I don't really speak to him, I haven't seen him for a long time, we try to make do,' she said.

The mum-of-four also revealed she and Adam had plans to marry this winter - but complained that her breasts are too big right now.

'I want to fit into an amazing dress. My boobs are so massive!' she said, laughing. 'It will probably be at the end of the year, when I'm in a calm headspace.'
The popular Foxtel show is notorious for its catfights.

And Real Housewives Of Melbourne didn't disappoint on Wednesday after Gamble Breaux reduced Venus Behbahani-Clark to tears over a comment about her physical appearance.

The Housewives were gathered at Venus' house as she was throwing a lavish birthday party for her four-year-old daughter Sophie, when Gamble told Venus she looked 'feline' in makeup.

'You look feline!' Real Housewives Of Melbourne's Gamble Breaux reduced Venus Behbahani-Clark to tears after saying she looks like a cat and openly discussing her 'extreme' surgery

'Before I saw you with no makeup on, I thought you'd had, like, this extreme cosmetic surgery, right?' Gamble said to Venus, who instantly looked uncomfortable.

Gamble continued: 'And then... I saw your makeup artist put on all this sort of contouring to make you look quite feline.'

The tension then became palpable with the other Housewives falling completely silent as Venus looked like she was about to cry.

Faux pas: Gamble admitted she thought Venus had undergone 'extreme surgery' to achieve a 'feline' look, before seeing her without makeup and realising it was mostly just cosmetics

Unperturbed, or perhaps just unaware of her faux pas, Gamble continued: 'No, until I saw Venus without makeup on, I thought she'd had all this extreme work.

'And then when you had no makeup on, you actually looked fresh and beautiful!'

With that, Venus burst into tears and walked away from the group, with Jackie Gillies following to console her.

Awkward! The discussion of plastic surgery and suggestion she looked like a cat upset Venus, who walked away from the conversation in tears and had to be comforted by Jackie Gillies

A clearly surprised Gamble appeared on the verge of tears herself, before asking the assembled Housewives: 'What have I done now?'

Later, in an on-camera confessional, Venus said that she was tired of the other women's obsession with appearance.

'I get upset that we're constantly talking about looks,' she said. 'I don't need a grown woman in my kitchen around children talking about plastic surgery. I don't need her validation.'

But speaking to Jackie at the party, Venus put it more succinctly, saying: 'I'm not about just f**king looks. I've had a f**king nose job, for God's sake.'

Thankfully the fracas was sorted out with Gamble offering the olive branch to Venus.

Accepting her apology, Venus said: 'It's not you Gamble, I'm just over the whole looks thing. I just got a little bit emotional because we're constantly talking about looks.'
He was nicknamed 'Muggy' Mike after his Lothario behaviour by his fellow Islanders in the Love Island villa.

And Mike Thalassitis, 25, confessed he was 'muggy' to his date when he watched back his televised evening out on reality series Celebs Go Dating.

Confident in his good looks as he flaunted his muscular body in Cape Verde in recent weeks, so it's a surprise Mike found himself 'cringing' while watching his date back.

'I cringed when I watched it back': Shirtless Mike Thalassitis showed off his abs on Cape Verde trip in recent weeks as he confessed he's 'muggy' after date aired on Celebs Go Dating

The hunk, who has already faced a backlash for his behaviour on the show, defended himself as he claimed he wasn't 'nasty' and people took the date 'too seriously'.

Mike added he was pie-eyed thanks to downing two bottles of wine, which he was keen to point out wasn't shown on the show.

Of his actions, he told BUILD series in London: 'I cringed when I watched it back. I was drunk, I done two bottles of wine on that date and they didn't show that.

He's a hunk: He was nicknamed 'Muggy' Mike after his Lothario behaviour by his fellow Islanders in the Love Island villa

Revealed: Confident in his good looks as he flaunted his muscular body in Cape Verde in recent weeks, so it's a surprise Mike found himself 'cringing' while watching his date back

'I wouldn't say I was nasty to her or anything like that. I think people have taken it too seriously and saying I'm this nasty person and I'm not. I admit I watch back that date and I cringe.

'My mum and dad haven't spoken to me yet since they watched it either. I definitely could have been more of a gent but at the end of the day, I didn't fancy her.'

The Lothario come under fire during Monday night's episode because he kissed another girl behind his date's back before he propositioned sex when she was drunk.

'I wasn't nasty': The hunk, who has already faced a backlash for his behaviour on the show, defended himself as he claimed he wasn't 'nasty' and people took the date 'too seriously'

He told his date Emma: 'You're drunk so I'll put you in a cab home unless you want to do something you regret tomorrow, like have sex.'

Ahead of the date, he confided in dating guru Eden Blackwell that he had asked Emma out but kissed another girl just hours later.

Mike has also been hit by claims that he has been secretly romancing his co-star and songstress Tallia Storm.

Confession: Mike added he was pie-eyed thanks to downing two bottles of wine, which he was keen to point out wasn't shown on the show

Experience: Of his actions, he told BUILD series in London: 'I cringed when I watched it back. I was drunk, I done two bottles of wine on that date and they didn't show that'

Insiders told MailOnline the pair were seen getting cosy and even cuddled up together on the flight back to the UK.

An insider said: There is clearly something going on behind the scenes between Tallia and Muggy Mike.

'They were cosy on many occasions, sneaking off to the beach together and even spotted sitting together on the long haul flight home from Cape Verde.'

The insider added: He seemed very protective of her and not his usual Muggy self.

Shocking scenes: Mike has also been hit by claims that he has been secretly romancing his co-star and songstress Tallia Storm (pictured together in London, February 2018)

Close relationship: Insiders told MailOnline the pair were seen getting cosy and even cuddled up together on the flight back to the UK

MailOnline has previously approached Tallia Storm and Mike Thalassitis' representatives for comment.

Ahead of Celebs Go Dating, Tallia had told MailOnline she was keeping her eyes peeled for 'tall, dark and handsome' men.

And Mike described himself as exactly that when he burst onto the reality scene in the idyllic Love Island villa in summer 2017.
Elsa Hosk has been modeling for over 10 years.

But it was only now that she was asked to design an item of clothing she was paid to model.

The clever people at Solid & Striped Swim Team hired the 29-year-old Swedish siren to drum up her dream bathing suit as part of their new campaign.

The results are riveting as the 5ft10in knockout crafted a clever black bikini with thin straps and high-waited briefs.

Model... and now designer: Elsa Hosk has been modeling for 10 years. But it was only now that she was asked to design an item of clothing she was paid to model

A 10: The clever people at Solid & Striped Swim Team hired the 29-year-old Swedish siren to drum up her dream bathing suit as part of their new campaign

The star shared one of the images to her Instagram account with the caption: '#swimteam2018. The suits I designed for @solidandstriped is here.'

She is seen from the backside looking at the ocean in the image she selected.

'I wanted to create a suit inspired by 90s cotton underwear, that perfectly simple, chic and flattering suit you can always rely on,' explained the Vogue favorite.

Heating it up: The results are riveting as the 5ft10in knockout crafted a clever black bikini with thin straps and high-waited briefs

Proud of her work: The star shared one of the images to her Instagram account with the caption: '#swimteam2018. The suits I designed for @solidandstriped is here'

Work it: She is seen from the backside looking at the ocean in the image she selected. 'I wanted to create a suit inspired by 90s cotton underwear, that perfectly simple, chic and flattering suit you can always rely on,' explained the Vogue favorite

They went to the most beautiful place on earth: The breathtaking shoot was done on Harbor Island in the Bahamas

Top peeps: The team behind the stunning images are photographer Bjorn Iooss with Vogue vet and CR editor Carine Roitfeld doing the styling

Namaste in H2O: The Stockholm siren did some yoga moves in the tranquil water

The breathtaking shoot was done on Harbor Island in the Bahamas.

The team behind the stunning images are photographer Bjorn Iooss with Vogue vet and CR editor Carine Roitfeld doing the styling.

There were 12 other models that showed off the sporty swimwear.

The other team members include stars Lily Aldridge, Hailey Clauson, Jourdan Dunn, Hannah Ferguson, Isabeli Fontana, Toni Garrn, Jessica Hart, Eniko Mihalik, Carolyn Murphy, Barbara Palvin, Natasha Poly and Josephine Skriver.

Haute stuff in the surf: Josephine Skriver looked incredible in a white bikini she modeled for the Solid & Striped Swim Team

More to love: The ladies, who have worked for Sports Illustrated and Victoria's Secret, got to work on the designs

All pulling off their best Vogue moves: The team members include stars Lily Aldridge, Hailey Clauson, Jourdan Dunn, Hannah Ferguson, Isabeli Fontana, Toni Garrn, Jessica Hart, Hosk, Eniko Mihalik, Carolyn Murphy, Barbara Palvin, Natasha Poly and Skriver

Babe in the Bahamas: The ocean looked like a vast watery desert in this snap which was high on arty appeal

Solid & Striped's swimsuits is already a hit with models.

And now 13 of the top names have been asked to design her own swimsuit, whether it be a bikini or one-piece.

They used a variety of three colors: red, blue and white.

Australian sensation Hart said she had an inspiration when drumming up her unique red and blue design.

We Hart that: Australian sensation Jessica Hart said she had an inspiration when drumming up her unique red and blue design

Good choices, mate: 'I wanted it to have a vintage vibe, be wearable and comfortable. I think a high wasted brief is flattering on most figures and If I could only design one swimsuit I wanted it to be something that would appeal to more than one body type,' said the head-turner

They look like a very pretty Olympic team: All of the suits looked sporty as if the ladies could work out in them

So much perfection: All the women looked to be in top shape with nice golden tans

'I wanted it to have a vintage vibe, be wearable and comfortable.

'I think a high wasted brief is flattering on most figures and If I could only design one swimsuit I wanted it to be something that would appeal to more than one body type.'

Aldridge added, 'Its great as a suit and looks super cool leaving beach with a pair of old Levis.'

Smart move: Clausson got up on her toes to extend her legs as she wore a black and blue suit

More black suits: Aldridge had on a black suit over a white tank top, left, while Palvin wore a black one piece with a clever criss-cross design in the mid-section

From Brazil with love: Fontana, a 5ft10in knockout, looked ready to marathon in this pose

Palvin said she wanted to 'create a sexy, comfortable and ageless piece, that fits every single body type!'

Hosk said she was trying to remind her fans of 'sporty '90s editorials of Claudia Schiffer, Elle Macpherson, Naomi Campbell.

'I was also inspired by simple white cotton underwear, like understated, simple, crisp and sexy.'

All tied up! This model wore a maroon and black string bikini that wrapped around her waist

Straight from Hungary: Eniko Mihalik wore this sizzling haute red one piece that flashed her backside

Solid & Striped founder Isaac Ross said he hopes to work on something group-oriented.

So he came up with the idea of a very gorgeous swim team, sort of like an all-female Baywatch squad.

'I wanted to work with women who had a perspective on bathing suits and had spent parts of their career modeling bathing suits and sort of reimagine the model/brand dynamic,' he told WWD.

Now in white: Two more models were side by side as they looked like Wonder Woman knockoffs

Don't mess with these ladies: The poses were strong and the expressions were serious as they oozed sex appeal

Pull this, pull that: Here a model yanked at the bottom of her suit, which had a cut out under the chest

Expert at this: Vet Dunn looked comfortable on the beach as she held on to her knees

Now in black and white: These catwalk queens made a bold expression in their monochrome shot

'Usually we pay someone to model our bathing suits but I thought it would be interesting to have some of these women to create the perfect bathing suit for them.'

One-pieces are $168. Bikinis are $176 - that's $88 for a top and $88 for a bottom.

The collection launches February 6. The calendar will be available at solidandstriped.com for $98.

On the run in the Bahamas: German star Garrn, who has been linked to Leonardo DiCaprio, had on a maroon one piece
Disgraced vlogger Logan Paul made a citizens arrest Tuesday night after finding an intruder in his living room, charging his phone.

Paul, 22, performed the arrest after returning to his San Fernando Valley home at around 10pm, when he allegedly discovered the man sitting on his couch, according to TMZ.

Police were notified and the man was booked for criminal trespass.

Citizen's arrest: Disgraced vlogger Logan Paul made a citizens arrest Tuesday night after finding an intruder charging his phone in his living room (pictured at his Encino home in the San Fernando Valley)

The man reportedly knew he had entered Paul's home, and had actually wanted to meet the YouTube star, law enforcement told the website.

Several people were upstairs at the time the alleged intruder entered the home through an unlocked front door.

However, the individuals inside the home thought they had actually heard Paul entering the residence.

Paul has taken a three week hiatus after being universally slammed for picturing a suicide victim and laughing as they hung from a tree in Japan last year.

Fan: The man reportedly knew he had entered Paul's home, and had actually wanted to meet the YouTube star, law enforcement told the website (Logan pictured 2017)

On December 31, he appalled viewers by uploading footage of a suicide victim hanging from a tree in a forest in Japan.

Paul and his friends had jokingly gone to spend the night in the woodland and giggled how they told viewers that it was 'haunted' by the souls of the thousands who take their lives there.

They came across the man by accident but continued rolling and zoomed in on his dead body as Paul shouted: 'Are you f**** with us bro?' before calling police.

Apology: He dedicated his first video back to suicide prevention and pledged $1million to charities which support the issue (pictured 2017)

He was universally condemned and took the footage down not long after it was posted, later posting a grovelling Twitter apology before signing off.

He dedicated his first video back to suicide prevention and pledged $1million to charities which support the issue.

Paul sparked controversy again in his latest video posted Monday, in which he tasered two dead rats.
Heidi Klum was flashing a very large sapphire ring on her wedding finger on Wednesday in New York City. The beauty, 44, did nothing to hide the expensive bauble as she headed into the rain.

This sighting comes after claims the Ella Enchanted actress is dating her art curator beau Vito Schnabel again after a September split.

But a source tells DailyMail.com that the rock is not an engagement ring. 'It's a cocktail ring, she owns tons of them!' said a friend. 'She was just having fun with the ring. It's not from a beau.'

Engaged? Heidi Klum wore a large blue rock on her wedding finger when leaving a building in NYC on Wednesday

Here too: When shooting Germany's Next Top Model in LA on Tuesday, she flashed the piece of jewelry, but this time it was on her right hand

The ring looked to have three stones and was set in platinum.

The former Victoria's Secret star wore a blue wool jacket over a black T-shirt with dark denim jeans. And the TV darling had a small tan MCM box purse that was worn cross-body style.

The cover girl's hair was down and she had on brown sunglasses. And she finished off her look with pointy, lace up boots.

More: The 44-year-old star, in a fuzzy green jacket, also posed with her team when she flashed the ring again; a friend tells DailyMail.com it's not an engagement ring

She also had the ring on when in Los Angeles earlier this week to shoot season 13 of Germany's Next Top Model, but it was on her right hand, not her left.

The Blow Dry star sported a fluffy electric green coat and skin-tight denim jeans hemmed just below her calves.

Vibrant hot pink velvet heels with bright orange straps wrapped around her ankles added glam.

Back with VS? This sighting comes after claims the mother of four is dating her art dealer beau Vito Schnabel again after a 2017 split

It's chic: The former Victoria's Secret star wore a blue wool jacket over a black T-shirt with dark denim jeans

And in two Instagram photos she is also seen with the ring - in one shot she even shoved the rock up to the camera.

Heidi split with Schnabel in September after three years together.

But it looks like love has called again for this couple. The model is said to have rung in the New Year in Bali, Indonesia with the 31-year-old art curator according to a report from Star Magazine.

According to the tabloid weekly, the former lovers welcomed 2018 together at the Nihi Sumba Resort.

It may not be the happiest of love stories though, as some close to the Project Runway star have expressed reservations about the reconciliation according to Star.

Strut: And the TV darling had a small tan MCM box purse that was worn cross-body style

'The last thing anyone wants to see is Heidi reuniting with Vito,' an friend to the German supermodel told the magazine. 'But she always goes running back to him.'

Heidi shared several photos on Instagram from her getaway as one intimate snap even showed her laying in a bathtub on the balcony of her room.

'No one understands why Heidi keeps turning a blind eye,' said the source. 'She deserves better.'

Back in the day: The Vogue model split from Vito in September; seen in February 2017

They can't quit each other: The couple, seen in Paris in 2016, have been off and on for years

In September Heidi confirmed the two were 'taking time apart.'

The America's Got Talent judge said: 'I believe that it is important to take time to pause and reflect.'

Heidi and Vito have not been photographed together since August 20 in NYC.

In June eyebrows were raised when he was pictured kissing a mystery brunette.

Vito was spotted in an embrace with the woman in the early hours of in London. This comes while Klum was in New York filming new episodes of America's Next Top Model.

Once so close: Heidi and Seal with two of their four kids in NYC in 2009

Schnabel sent a statement to People: 'The claims that have been made are a misinterpretation of an entirely innocent situation.

'There is nothing more to this than I was simply saying goodnight to a family friend and we went on our separate ways.'

Vito was spotted leaving popular eatery Chiltern Firehouse with the unknown female, around 3:30 am.

The brunette appeared enamored with Vito, and the couple reportedly kissed for around 30 seconds before jumping into a black cab and continuing their passionate display.

According to reports, Vito then left the taxi and entered his hotel alone, while she continued to another address.

Heidi was married to Seal for nine years as they share four children together. He chose for her a large diamond engagement ring.
She has two projects to promote.

And AnnaLynne McCord seemed in a bright, cheerful mood when she was spotted on Wednesday stepping out in New York City.

The 30-year-old actress cut a chic figure, pounding the pavement in a long black overcoat that was fitted to her enviably svelte figure.

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On the go: AnnaLynne McCord seemed in a bright, cheerful mood when she was spotted on Wednesday stepping out in New York City

While under a black and red umbrella, she let her blonde curls down and accessorized with a gleaming pair of black butterfly shades.

AnnaLynne, whose sister is the social media personality Rachel McCord, clashed her coat with a white blouse and dark maroon leggings.

She emphasized her pins by slipping into a black pair of low-top stiletto boots.

The Georgia-born thespian accented her striking features with heavy makeup, including a slick of dark lipstick, and she carried an ovular purse.

Smile and wave: The 30-year-old actress cut a chic figure, pounding the pavement in a long black overcoat that was fitted to her enviably svelte figure

While out and about in New York City, AnnaLynne was snapped having a chat with her First We Take Brooklyn co-star and director Danny Abeckaser.

Danny left several buttons of his shirt open over his chest, revealing a shining medallion pendant dangling between his collar.

He kept cozy in a black leather jacket, complementing his wrap with charcoal jeans and modeling sand-toned boots that appeared to be suede.

AnnaLynne posted some social media footage of herself walking around New York City in this outfit.

Stepping out: Sheltering beneath a black and red umbrella, she let her blonde curls down and accessorized with a gleaming pair of black butterfly shades

She credited Whyte Studio for 'keeping me warm.' A sign behind her indicated she had visited FOX5.

The cast of First We Take Brooklyn also features Harvey Keitel, Charlotte McKinney, Kathrine Narducci and Edoardo Ballerini.

Danny stars as a criminal who, upon his release from an Israeli jail, relocates to Brooklyn and becomes enmeshed in the local organized crime, per the trailer.

Jon Carlo, who plays a character called Vlad in First They Take Brooklyn, has co-written the screenplay with Danny.

Coworkers: While out and about in New York City, AnnaLynne was snapped having a chat with her First We Take Brooklyn co-star and director Danny Abeckaser

In addition to spending time with her First They Take Brooklyn director, Charlotte also found time on Wednesday to plug her sitcom Let's Get Physical.

She uploaded a social media post of herself chatting into the mic at a SiriusXM radio show, captioning: '#LetsGetPhysical Tonight on #PopTV'.

According to Deadline, the 1980s-influenced show takes place in the current aerobic scene and is headlined by Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman legend Jane Seymour.

On The Wendy Williams Show this Tuesday, AnnaLynne confided that she and Shenae 'were literally at each other's throats for five years' while they did 90210.

Wrapped up: AnnaLynne McCord posted some social media footage of herself walking around New York City in this outfit

On the publicity rounds?: Text on the screen credited Whyte Studio for 'keeping me warm; a sign behind her indicated she had visited FOX5

'And the day before we wrapped, Shenae calls me and she's like: [tearful] "Hey, I can't believe it's ever - ". I'm like: "B****! Ooh, am I allowed to say that? Beep!'

Wendy recalled that based on 'our conversation,' AnnaLynne had been 'the mean girl' on the set, 'and you regret it.'

AnnaLynne concurred, and offered that 'I just was removed from everything. I had social anxiety and I didn't know it, so it makes you seem like a real little piece of work. But you know, Shenae and I - it was so funny.'

To hear AnnaLynne tell it: 'I end up like - we hash it out, the day before we wrap the whole - all five years, and I end up at her wedding in England and now we're friends. We have, you know, dinner dates.'

In response to appreciative applause, she said: 'Yeah, it's awesome. I love her.'

Promoting: In addition to spending time with her First They Take Brooklyn director, Charlotte also found time on Wednesday to plug her sitcom Let's Get Physical
Newly-engaged Gwyneth Paltrow donned unflattering double denim for a photo shoot in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

The 45-year-old bride-to-be - who relies on stylist Elizabeth Saltzman - wore a chambray bow blouse tucked into matching baggy wide-leg pleated jeans with black sandals.

The Oscar, Golden Globe, and Emmy winner wore her flaxen straight locks down as usual along with her signature kohl-rimmed eyeliner and nude lipstick.

Modeling gig: Newly-engaged Gwyneth Paltrow donned unflattering double denim for a photo shoot in Los Angeles on Tuesday

Gwyneth's street sighting came a day after her mother Blythe Danner officially approved of her fiance - Emmy winner Brad Falchuk - who popped the question last month.

'Oh, more than approve! Yes, I love, I love Brad. I love [her first husband Chris Martin]! Love them all!' the 75-year-old Golden Globe nominee told ET on Monday.

'I really adore him.'

Paltrow has known the 46-year-old executive producer as far back as 2010 when she filmed her first of five guest stints on Fox's Glee, which Brad co-created with Ryan Murphy.

Baggy: The 45-year-old bride-to-be - who relies on stylist Elizabeth Saltzman - wore a chambray bow blouse tucked into matching wide-leg pleated jeans with black sandals

Minimalist: The Oscar, Golden Globe, and Emmy winner wore her flaxen straight locks down as usual along with her signature kohl-rimmed eyeliner and nude lipstick

The Goop founder is very 'excited' to throw her first real wedding having originally eloped with the 40-year-old Coldplay frontman back in 2003 before welcoming their daughter Apple, 13; and son Moses, 11.

'I think I'm [too] old to have a big wedding and a big ole white dress and all that,' Gwyneth admitted to ET last month. 'I gotta dial it back.'

It will also be Falchuk's second time down the aisle as he has a son Brody and daughter Isabella with his first wife Suzanne, whom he divorced in 2013.

According to Deadline, the preppy Brentwood blonde and Barbra Streisand are 'in negotiations' to join Tony winner Ben Platt (Dear Evan Hansen) in Brad's Netflix series The Politician, which shoots in late summer.

'Oh, more than approve!' Gwyneth's sighting came a day after her mother Blythe Danner approved of her fiance - Emmy winner Brad Falchuk - who popped the question last month

'I love Brad!' Paltrow has known the 46-year-old executive producer as far back as 2010 when she filmed her first of five guest stints on Fox's Glee, which Brad co-created with Ryan Murphy

'I love Chris [too]! Love them all!' The Goop founder is very 'excited' to throw her first real wedding having originally eloped with first husband Chris Martin (R) back in 2003 before welcoming their daughter Apple, 13; and son Moses, 11

'I think I'm [too] old to have a big wedding and a big ole white dress': It will also be Falchuk's second time down the aisle as he has a son Brody and daughter Isabella (R) with his first wife Suzanne, whom he divorced in 2013

But first, audiences can catch Gwyneth reprising her role as Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts for Avengers: Infinity War, which hits UK theaters April 27 and US theaters May 4.

Paltrow will produce the new musical comedy Head Over Heels - featuring songs from The Go-Gos - which premieres April 10 in San Francisco before beginning Broadway previews June 23 in Manhattan.

And the Spider-Man: Homecoming actress is also slated to headline Sophia Amoruso's Girlboss Rally happening in Los Angeles April 28 where tickets range from $95-$700.

'Back in the chair!' But first, audiences can catch Gwyneth reprising her role as Stark Industries CEO Pepper Potts for Avengers: Infinity War, which hits UK theaters April 27 and US theaters May 4 (pictured January 3)
She always turns heads on an outing.

And Pamela Anderson ensured she'd have all eyes on her as she headed to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Wednesday.

The 50-year-old actress oozed glamour as she stepped out in a little black dress that clung to her famous curves.

Glamorous: She always turns heads on an outing. And Pamela Anderson ensured she'd have all eyes on her as she headed to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London on Wednesday

The one-shouldered dress showed off her decotellage and toned arms while the garment cinched in at her slender waist.

The gown flared out to knee length and offered a look at her lean legs, which were boosted with a pair of patent black heels.

Pamela finished off the look by styling her glossy golden locks in a chignon bun whilst she accessorised with cat eye shades.

Dressed to impress: The 50-year-old actress oozed glamour as she stepped out in a little black dress that clung to her famous curves

Glamorous: The one-shouldered dress showed off her decotellage and toned arms while the garment cinched in at her slender waist

Pamela was at the embassy to meet with Julian Assange, the Wikileaks founder who was accused of rape in Sweden.

The pair were introduced by Dame Vivienne Westwood, and Pamela began visiting at his hideaway in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in late 2016.

Shes always been coy about the exact nature of her friendship with Assange, but she sees him every time she is in the capital, most recently just a few weeks ago.

Legs eleven! The gown flared out to knee length and offered a look at her lean legs, which were boosted with a pair of patent black heels

Blonde beauty: Pamela finished off the look by styling her glossy golden locks in a chignon bun whilst she accessorised with cat eye shades

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Pamela admitted that she thinks he is a genius and that the rape charges (now dropped) against him were a set-up.

Once upon a time she would insist that she loved him and found him romantic and brave. Now she admits that they never had sex.

I have such a connection to him but it isnt a physical relationship, no, she confirmed.
Winter is coming to the south, too.

New photos from the set of Game Of Thrones reveal Jon Snow in King's landing  and he is dressed for the cold.

The snaps show Kit Harington filming for the first time ever in the Croatian town of Dubrovnik, which has traditionally serves as the Westerosi capital.

The King In The South! Kit Harington has been spotted filming Game Of Thrones in King's Landing for first time

And while the southern city normally enjoys a warmer climate, Jon's thick fur coat suggests the entire continent has fallen under an icy grip as the Night King advances southward for the final season.

In the final episode of the penultimate season, Jon did make it as far as King's Landing with an undead wight in tow to prove to Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) they had a common enemy; but he never set foot inside the city.

The city is still under Lannister control; however the last episode also revealed Snow's true lineage and name to be Aegon Targaryen, true heir to the Iron Throne  and his presence in the city might suggest him reclaiming it.

The scene showed the 31-year-old actor descending the steep steps, flanked by two guards who were wearing all black, possibly old brothers from Night's Watch.

My town: New pictures show Kit Harington filming for the first time ever in the Croatian town of Dubrovnik, which has traditionally serves as the Westerosi capital

No smoke without fire: In between takes, Harington relaxed and broke character with a sneaky cigarette and a cup of hot coffee

Cold: And while the southern city normally enjoys a warmer climate, Jon's thick fur coat suggests the entire continent has fallen under an icy grip as the Night King advances southward for the final season

Brief visit: In the final episode of the penultimate season, Jon did make it as far as King's Landing with an undead wight in tow to prove to Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) they had a common enemy; but he never set foot inside the city

In between takes, Harington relaxed and broke character with a sneaky cigarette and a cup of hot coffee.

Last week a leaked video from the Northern Ireland set  which supplies the backdrop for the Westerosi North  which appeared to show Winterfell on fire.

Fan site Watchers On The Wall shared a Facebook clip showing the enormous set in the Moneyglass estate in flames.

Watch your step: The scene showed the 31-year-old actor descending the steep steps

Enemy's back garden: The city is still under Lannister control; however the last episode also revealed Snow's true lineage and name to be Aegon Targaryen, true heir to the Iron Throne  and his presence in the city might suggest him reclaiming it

Kingsguard: He was flanked by two guards who were wearing all black, possibly old brothers from Night's Watch

Is that you Faramir? One of the actors looked like David Wenham, who played Ned Stark AKA Sean Bean's brother in Lord Of The Rings. Some Redditors have suggested he be cast as Howland Reed, who is set to appear this season

According to Belfast Live, the fire was part of a huge battle scene involving some 400 - 500 extras.

Fans theorized the ancestral Stark home either fell victim to Lannister Wildfire, Daenerys Targaryen's dragons, or  most likely  the Night King's resurrected steed Viserion.

The eighth season will the the last for the smash hit HBO fantasy series, which is based on George R R Martin's epic novels, A Song Of Ice And Fire.
Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott do not live together.

That's the claim being made by People magazine about the couple of one year that welcomed daughter Stormi on Thursday.

Instead, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star, 20, resides in her roomy Hidden Hills, California mansion while the Texas-born rapper, 25, is believed to have a residence 45-minutes away in the Hollywood Hills.

Slow going: Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott do not live together. That's the claim being made by People magazine about the couple of one year that welcomed daughter Stormi on Thursday

Her crib: The 20-year-old has a mansion in Hidden Hills, California

Their little girl: Together the beauty and the singer have daughter Stormi

'Kylie and Travis are not officially living together. He has his own place.

' They are co-parenting though, and things are going great. They are together and happy,' a source told the publication.

And there is no pressure to get engaged: 'Theyre just enjoying their little family. There's no rush.'

But he sure likes being a father. The insider said he is 'sweet' with the little child.

Family: Stormi is Kylie and boyfriend Travis Scott's first child. They have been dating since April 2017

Gaga: The two appeared very happy together in her 11-minute baby reveal video

And he knows how to treat the makeup mogul.

'He's very protective of Kylie, and his family embraced her, too,' said the source.

In her 11-minute baby reveal video, Kylie can be seen hugging his family as she serves them dinner.

Sweet love: He appeared protective as he put his arms around the star at the beach

She's a fan too: She often goes to his concerts, as she did her during the video

The star is also spotted hugging, holding hands with and kissing Travis.

The two seem very smitten with each other.

Scott also seems to be a generous fellow who is grateful for his success. In December 2016, he bought his family a mansion.

He shared the story on Instagram with the caption, 'Merry Christmas. Gave my family a present I been working on my whole life. A home. Very thankful.'

He added on Twitter, 'Use to sleep on floors. Now we walk on marble.'

The friends also said that Kylie has come a long way since her romance with Tyga - who has a child with Blac Chyna - which was riddled with insecurity and obsession.

He was always there: Scott is seen in the hospital with Kylie before she gave birth

'Kylie has matured a lot since becoming pregnant. Shes much less dramatic than when she was with Tyga,' said the source.

And in another show that she is serious about Travis, Jenner has given her new girl his last name, Webster.

Travis' real name is Jacques Webster.

Kylie and Travis were first linked back in April 2017 following the KUWTK star's split from rapper Tyga after three years together.

The big reveal: She showed off her bump for the first time on Sunday, after Stormi was born

Bumping along: She retreated from the spotlight during her pregnancy, but finally gave fans a look at her changing form

Reclusive: Kylie was out of the spotlight but still in front of the camera

In her video, Kylie was quite candid.

'My pregnancy was one I chose not to do in front of the world. I knew for myself I needed to prepare for this role of a lifetime in the most positive, stress free, and healthy way I knew how,' Kylie said in her video.

'There was no gotcha moment, no big paid reveal I had planned. I knew my baby would feel every stress and every emotion so I chose to do it this way for my little life and our happiness.'
They formed an unlikely friendship during their time in the Australian jungle on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

And Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo, 23, attended the Conservative Party's Black and White Ball on the arm of her new BFF Stanley Johnson, 77, on Wednesday night, arriving at the Natural History Museum in style.

Toff - whose political opinions are firmly right wing - was certainly dressed to impress, donning a beautiful silver gown with a tiered skirt.

Close bond: Georgia 'Toff' Toffolo attended the Conservative Party's Black and White Ball on the arm of her new BFF Stanley Johnson on Wednesday night, arriving at the Natural History Museum in style

The plunging number showed off a hint of cleavage and featured intricate embroidery and a silk sash cinching in the waist.

She wore her blonde locks down loose and carried a fur stole in one hand for added warmth.

Stanley looked delighted to reunite with his Jungle pal, beaming as he strolled along in a very dapper suit and bow tie.

Tory twosome: Toff - whose political opinions are firmly right wing - was certainly dressed to impress, donning a beautiful silver gown with a tiered skirt

Delighted: Stanley looked delighted to reunite with his Jungle pal, beaming as he strolled along in a very dapper suit and bow tie

Charity event: The ball is a fundraising event for the political party where donors pay to spend the evening with cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister

The ball is a fundraising event for the political party where donors pay to spend the evening with cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister.

The pair's outing comes after Toff shared an Instagram from her first lunch date with her former campmate,

The jungle queen cosied up to her number one crush and former Conservative MEP as they were reunited for the first time since leaving the jungle.

Loving life: Stanley was on fine form as he left the venue, flashing a big smile

Fit for a princess: Toff looked incredible in her tired dress as she headed home

'No snakes in sight': The pair's outing comes after Toff shared an Instagram from her first lunch date with her former campmate

It was as if no time had passed between the I'm A Celebrity duo when they posed up a storm for the cosy Instagram post.

Former Made In Chelsea beauty Toff showcased her incredibly petite figure in a slim-fit cream turtleneck, teamed with black jeans for an overall stylish look.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson's dad dressed to catch the eye in a teal green dinner jacket worn over his jumper.

Just the two of us: They forged an unlikely friendship in the jungle, with Georgia confessing she has a 'thing for older politicians'

They courted attention for their playful relationship in the jungle, so it's no surprise the I'm A Celebrity winner confessed Stanley was her 'favourite person'.

Reality star Toff gushed about how the pair had been 'laughing non stop' when they enjoyed their first 'proper long' catch up.

Toff penned on Instagram: 'Our first proper long lunch lunch after the jungle, first of many! Weve been laughing non stop haha favourite person  TOFFLEY IS BACK!!!! On home ground no snakes in sight.' (sic)

Good pals: The pair courted attention for their playful relationship in the jungle, so it's no surprise the I'm A Celebrity winner confessed Stanley was her 'favourite person'

In the jungle, the single blonde coyly admitted she has always had a soft spot for older politicians.

She confessed : 'I have always said I do have a thing for older politicians before I came in here... and can confirm that is still standing!'

Their lunch comes after Georgia's latest venture will see her reunite with her I'm A Celebrity co-star and politician Stanley.

The best fun! Reality star Toff gushed about how the pair had been 'laughing non stop' when they enjoyed their first 'proper long' catch up

Former Conservative MEP Stanley was delighted his close pal went onto win the show after winning the hearts of the nation with her kindness and bubbly spirit.

The politician explained ITV feel the good friends would be a 'natural duo' in an interview with The Sun.

He told the newspaper: 'I haven't seen Toff since we got out of the jungle but I've absolutely kept in touch with her.

'In fact, we're lined up to present a show together for ITV. They think we're a natural TV duo. I can't reveal too much about it, but I have a really good feeling about it.'
She signed an exclusive deal to stock her footwear label, Mara and Mine, in David Jones last year.

But Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, turned away interviews to promote her brand at the David Jones Autumn Winter 2018 Collections Launch in Sydney on Wednesday.

The shoe designer, who is newly engaged to Today host Karl Stefanovic, happily flaunted her diamond sparkler for photographers, but told reporters: 'I don't want to do any interviews!'

'I don't want to do any interviews': Shoe designer Jasmine Yarbrough refuses to speak to media at David Jones fashion show but flaunts $120,000 diamond ring from Today fiance Karl Stefanovic on red carpet

Jasmine sped through her red carpet entrance alongside Mara and Mine co-founder Tamara Ingham, with fiance Karl, 43, slipping into the event undetected.

The shoe designer was spotted being filmed for a Studio Ten interview with Angela Bishop, before turning away other requests.

An insider at the event overheard Jasmine's pal and E! presenter Ksenija Lukich plead with the blonde beauty to appear on her show for a chat.

Jasmine hesitantly declined, while Ksenija ensured she would only ask questions about her successful shoe brand, which was being featured in the show.

Getting down to business: Jasmine sped through her red carpet entrance alongside Mara and Mine co-founder Tamara Ingham, with fiance Karl, 43, slipping into the event undetected

Sparkle! Jasmine also reluctantly posed on her own against the media wall, but when the camera flashes began she made sure her $120,000 engagement ring was in view

Pressed for time? The shoe designer was spotted being filmed for a Studio Ten interview with Angela Bishop, before turning away other requests and heading into the event

Despite her friend's reassuring words, Jasmine declined and told her what she had told many other reporters on the night: 'I don't want to do interviews.'

Jasmine also reluctantly posed on her own against the media wall, but when the camera flashes began she made sure her $120,000 engagement ring was in view.

There appeared to be no hard feelings between Ksenija and Jasmine later in the evening, as they shared a table in a prime spot for the runway show.

No special treatment? An insider at the event overheard Jasmine's pal and E! presenter Ksenija Lukich plead with the blonde beauty to appear on her show for a chat. However, despite Ksenija ensuring she would only ask questions about her successful shoe brand, which was being featured in the show, Jasmine hesitantly declined the offer

Happy as ever! There appeared to be no hard feelings between Ksenija and Jasmine later in the evening, as they shared a table in a prime spot for the runway show

While Jasmine and her media personality beau Karl didn't walk the red carpet together on the night, they were spotted cuddled up, holding hands and giggling throughout the evening.

Their decision to arrive separately follows their attendance at a Harper's Bazaar party in Sydney on Tuesday, which was their debut public appearance since confirming their engagement.

At the event Karl avoided posing for loved-up snaps with his bride-to-be on the red carpet, while the pair were inseparable inside.

All smiles! While Jasmine and her media personality beau Karl didn't walk the red carpet together on the night, they were spotted cuddled up, holding hands and giggling throughout the evening

Bling! The lovebirds confirmed the news last Friday, when the bride-to-be flashed her engagement ring at a celebratory lunch in Woolloomooloo with Karl and several pals

Jasmine and Karl got engaged last month, with New Idea magazine reporting that the Channel Nine star proposed while the couple were on holiday in Fiji.

The lovebirds confirmed the news last Friday, when the bride-to-be flashed her engagement ring at a celebratory lunch in Woolloomooloo with Karl and several pals.

It is understood that Karl and Jasmine met in late 2016, just a matter of months after his marriage to TV producer and journalist Cassandra fell apart.

Cassandra has previously described her ex-husband as 'dead to (her)'. The former couple share three children - Jackson, River, and Ava.
Kate Beckinsale took a smoke break while sporting a pregnant prosthetic belly on the set of Amazon and ITV's upcoming eight-episode thriller The Widow in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The 44-year-old SAG Award nominee puffed away on a cigarette while clad in a large white hospital gown and black Ugg boots in between scenes of the show, which will also shoot in Wales and Rotterdam.

According to Deadline, the Only Living Boy in New York actress portrays Georgia Wells, a woman who returns to the African Congo and her old life when she sees her 'late' husband on the news.

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Action! Kate Beckinsale took a smoke break while sporting a pregnant prosthetic belly on the set of Amazon and ITV's upcoming eight-episode thriller The Widow in Cape Town on Tuesday

On Wednesday, wisecracking Beckinsale - who boasts 2.3M social media followers - shared a behind-the-scenes snap of herself 'culling unsolicited penis photos from her DMs.'

When Kate gifted her comedian gal pal Sarah Silverman custom M&M's emblazoned with their (shared) ex-partner Michael Sheen as a gag gift following their Christmas split, some took it too seriously.

'THIS WAS A JOKE!' the 47-year-old funnywoman clarified of previously calling the London-born lady 'cruel.'

Bad habit: The 44-year-old SAG Award nominee puffed away on a cigarette while clad in a large white hospital gown and black Ugg boots in between scenes of the show

Resurfaces: According to Deadline, the Only Living Boy in New York actress portrays Georgia Wells, a woman who returns to the African Congo and her old life when she sees her 'late' husband on the news

South Africa: On Wednesday, Kate (born Kathrin) sported her signature perky ponytail, black skinny jeans, and a large umbrella to shield her alabaster complexion

Anything for a laugh! Later, wisecracking Beckinsale shared a behind-the-scenes snap of herself 'culling unsolicited penis photos from her DMs'

'Good grief kids - Kate gave me this gift FOR CHRISTMAS - it was the sweetest - it was before M & I broke up! Oy. JOKES.'

Beckinsale - who's romancing 22-year-old TRL host Matt Rife - famously remained amicable with the 49-year-old Welshman, whom she split with in 2003 after welcoming daughter Lily Mo.

The Underworld: Blood Wars star wished their 'magical hilarious beauty creature' a happy 19th birthday last week since she's in Manhattan attending her freshman year at New York University.

'This was a joke!' When Kate gifted comedian Sarah Silverman custom M&M's emblazoned with their (shared) ex-partner Michael Sheen as a gag gift following their Christmas split, some took it too seriously

'Very cruel': The 47-year-old funnywoman had previously calling the London-born lady 'cruel' for the sugary present, which she received before her three-year split

Three's company: Beckinsale famously remained amicable with the 49-year-old Welshman, whom she split with in 2003 after welcoming daughter Lily Mo (pictured in 2016)
Richard Pryor's widow has confirmed her late husband slept with Marlon Brando.

It comes just days after Quincy Jones made the claim in an astonishing interview with Vulture.

The multi-Grammy-winning producer was discussing Brando in the wildly digressing chat, when he claimed the Godfather actor would 'f*ck anything.'

Strange bedfellows: Richard Pryor's widow has confirmed her late husband slept with Marlon Brando

'Anything! Hed f*ck a mailbox. James Baldwin. Richard Pryor. Marvin Gaye.'

Jennifer Lee Pryor, who was married to Richard twice from 1981 to 1982 and from 2001 to 2005, corroborated the story on Wednesday.

'It was the '70s! Drugs were still good, especially quaaludes,' she told TMZ.

'If you did enough cocaine, you'd f*ck a radiator and send it flowers in the morning.'

Confirmed: Jennifer Lee Pryor, who was married to Richard twice corroborated the story on Wednesday

Richard Pryor and his wife Jennifer Lee are seen here in Hollywood in 1979. He married her in 1981 and divorced her in 1982. They later remarried in 2001 and stayed together until his death

She insisted her late husband would have no shame in Quincy's revelation and would find it very funny, adding he was always very open about his sexuality with his friends.

She said he documented his sexual escapades extensively in his diaries, which she plans to publish later this year.

The Marlon Brando Richard Pryor revelation was just one of many outrageous claims made by music veteran in recent interviews.

Wild: Quincy Jones made the claim in an astonishing interview with Vulture

'An offer he couldn't refuse': Jones claimed Brando would f*ck 'Anything' including a mailbox

He also claimed to have dated Ivanka Trump 12 years ago and that he knew who assassinated JFK.

He described Michael Jackson as a thief who stole a lot of songs, Elvis couldn't sing and The Beatles were among the 'worst musicians in the world.'

He also claimed to have bought drugs from Malcolm X, and accused Prince of trying to run over Jackson in a limo.
The federal government has introduced legislation that would allow facial recognition technology to be used by government agencies, banks and phone companies to officially identify Australians.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says the proposed identity matching services laws were agreed in a meeting of all Australian state and territory leaders with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in October.

Drivers' licence, passport and visa images would be stored by the Department of Home Affairs.

The department won't conduct facial matching, but would operate as a central router for external services.

Mr Dutton said certain types of information are excluded from collection, including a person's political opinions and religious beliefs.

"This is to ensure the department may only collect and use and disclose those types of information that are reasonably necessary in order to provide the identity matching services," Mr Dutton told parliament on Wednesday.

The service would initially be used by the public sector, but later be rolled out to private services including banks and phone companies, but only with the consent of the person whose identity is being verified.
The government has failed Australian women fighting for equal pay in the early education sector, Labor says.

The Fair Work Commission dismissed an application by early educators union United Voice for equal remuneration on Tuesday.

"These women do important work that is undervalued simply because it is women's work," Labor senator Jenny McAllister told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.

"This is one of the key causes of the gender pay gap."

Australia's national gender pay gap is 15.3 per cent, calculated as the difference between women's and men's average weekly full-time base salary earnings.

More than seven in 10 employees in the national preschool and school education sector are female.

Senator McAllister said the decision indicated serious limitations in Australia's industrial relations system to address the gender pay gap.

"The government's been worse than useless in this process. They have not lifted a finger to assist these women," she said.

"They are willing to fight up hill and down dale for a $65 billion (corporate) tax cut, but they will not move one inch to assist women doing important work seeking equal pay for their efforts."

In a statement on Tuesday, assistant national secretary of United Voice Helen Gibbons said the case was made more difficult with the government refusing to support the application.

"We have jumped through every legal hoop required and we briefed one of the best legal teams in the country," Ms Gibbons said.

"This will only ramp up the campaign and the resolve of educators to get the government to prioritise fairness and equality for early educators."
Bill Shorten has written to Malcolm Turnbull asking that senior ministers are held to account for any role they played in the major cabinet leak.

Labor wants the investigation into how hundreds of top-secret documents ended up in a filing cabinet at a Canberra second-hand shop to be wide-reaching and followed up by a comprehensive overhaul.

"The end result cannot be simply to slate blame to a middle-ranking or departmental officer deemed to be expendable," Mr Shorten wrote in the letter to the prime minister on Wednesday.
A spike in the number of NSW teenagers jailed for terrorism offences has prompted the creation a "countering violent extremism unit" inside the juvenile justice system to try and deradicalise young offenders.

The NSW government says it's also open to toughening laws so high-risk young prisoners can be kept locked up for longer if necessary.

Over the past three years, the number of juveniles imprisoned for terror-related offences has jumped from zero to five.

Law enforcement agencies predict "the number will continue to increase".

"This has tragedy written all over it in every aspect," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

Under the new policy, inmates deemed a risk will be given a "national security interest" designation, which means they'll be subject to increased screening and restrictions.

Deradicalisation programs, similar to those in adult prisons, will also be rolled out to inmates on the advice of the countering violent extremism unit which will identify at-risk juveniles.

Ms Berejiklian says the government was compelled to act. It was an unfortunate sign of the times that the new measures had been implemented, she added.

The Commonwealth is monitoring about 100 foreign fighters and their families in the Middle East and their eventual return to Australia may pose a threat to national security, NSW Counter Terrorism Minister David Elliott says.

"The war against terror will probably go on for 20 years," he said on Wednesday noting that not since the Japanese kamikaze pilots of WWII has the government faced fighters willing to commit suicide attacks.

Despite a handful of historic successes in deradicalisation programs, Mr Elliott admitted: "There is no evidence that deradicalisation programs work en masse at the moment."

"The only way is to stop them getting radicalised in the first place," he said.

Mr Elliott said the release of young prisoners who were considered radicalised was a matter for the courts.

However, he said the government was open-minded to a policy similar to the one in adult prisons which allows radicalised offenders to be locked up indefinitely.
Hundreds of young offenders have been arrested across Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews has told parliament, after being questioned about Melbourne's gang crisis.

After a spate of crimes, including riots, home invasions, attacks on police and armed robberies since early December, with many linked to offenders of African appearance, Mr Andrews was asked on Wednesday: "Isn't it the fact that only half-a-dozen arrests have been made?"

"Since May 2016 there's been something in the order of 850 arrests of youth offenders," the premier replied.
The domestic cost of energy in Australia is on track to be the cheapest in the world, one of the country's leading economists says.

Ross Garnaut says Australia has the richest per capita resources of renewable energy and is in a position to capitalise as the world moves towards a low-carbon economy.

"The cost of developing renewable energy is mainly the cost of capital... and the costs of capital are lower in the developed than in the developing world," Professor Garnaut told the annual conference of Australasian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society in Adelaide.
A man is in police custody accused of indecently assaulting at least seven women on separate occasions in the past month while riding his bicycle in inner Sydney.

The 27-year-old rode up behind the women and indecently assaulted them in Redfern, Waterloo and Kensington between January 6 and February 1, police said on Wednesday.

Police are appealing for victims to come forward after an eighth woman was targeted by a man on a bike in similar circumstances in Redfern on Saturday night.

A man was arrested at a property on Amelia Street in Waterloo on Tuesday before being refused bail to appear at Central Local Court on Wednesday where he's facing seven counts of assault with act of indecency.
A 23-year-old male teacher has been charged with indecently assaulting three nine-year-old girls at a primary school in Sydney's west.

The man was arrested in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday after a three-month investigation by detectives from the Child Abuse Squad.

Police say the teacher indecently assaulted the three girls under his care at a Blacktown primary school last year.

He's facing three counts of aggravated indecent assault - victim under authority of offender.

The man has been granted conditional bail and will appear at Blacktown Local Court on March 27.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has urged Cambodian authorities to release an Australian filmmaker accused of spying in the Southeast Asian nation.

Ms Bishop has made formal diplomatic representations to her Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn this month on behalf of James Ricketson.

The 68-year-old was arrested last June after flying a drone over a political protest in the capital Phnom Penh.

He faces five-to-10 years behind bars if convicted.

Ricketson had a court appearance in Phnom Penh on Tuesday and arrived shackled and wearing orange prison overalls.

His case has been linked to the dissolution of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party amid a crackdown on dissent in Cambodia.

Ricketson has been denied bail and his family fear he is ill.

More than 68,800 people have signed a petition online urging Ms Bishop to intervene in the case.
Former Liberal minister Richard Colbeck looks set to be declared elected as early as Friday to replace ousted speaker Stephen Parry.

Mr Colbeck won a recount in December to replace Mr Parry after he was disqualified over dual citizenship.

But his case was held up when it emerged Steve Martin, who was due to replace Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie in a separate citizenship snafu, would need to have his own eligibility tested before a court.

Mr Martin faced a constitutional challenge over whether he held an "office of profit under the Crown" as the mayor of Devonport.

However, the High Court unanimously ruled on Tuesday afternoon that Mr Martin was eligible to sit in parliament, meaning Mr Colbeck was in the clear.

Earlier, a mathematician was enlisted to help the High Court determine whether Mr Colbeck should return to parliament, in the latest quirky twist to the long-running dual citizenship saga.

Mr Colbeck told AAP the maths was now a moot point.

Mr Colbeck finished above Mr Martin and another Jacqui Lambie Network candidate in the December recount.

Lawyers for the commonwealth and Mr Colbeck both argued that given his strong primary vote and preference flows from Liberal Party running mates, his position was effectively unassailable.

However, the court heard there was a remote possibility the "transfer value" of Mr Colbeck's votes may diminish if the men were disqualified, leaving him short of the quota of votes required for a seat in the upper house.

Justice Geoffrey Nettle ordered computer simulations be run to determine whether the disqualification of either man could potentially exclude Mr Colbeck.

Justice Nettle said there was at least a theoretical possibility the Tasmanian Liberal could be affected.

The court heard the Australian Electoral Commission would be reluctant to run such a simulation, concerned that doing so may stray into the hypothetical realm and exceed their charter obligations.

Justice Nettle asked a lay mathematician who developed the software required to perform the task instead.

It was not clear whether the simulations would still be required given the outcome in Mr Martin's case.

Mr Colbeck's case was adjourned to Friday morning in Melbourne, with Justice Nettle indicating he hoped to gather the required evidence and make a declaration then.
Federal Labor MP Susan Lamb says she has been unable to access documents to renounce her dual citizenship because her mother left her when she was a child.

The member for the Queensland seat of Longman has faced calls from the government to resign because she has no evidence of renouncing her dual British citizenship by descent, and is therefore constitutionally ineligible for parliament.

However, in a tearful explanation, Ms Lamb told parliament on Wednesday she was unable to obtain a crucial copy of her parents' marriage certificate - which the UK Home Office requires to complete its paperwork - because of her estrangement from her mother.
Logan City Council chief executive Sharon Kelsey has been stood down after a vote by councillors during a special meeting on Wednesday.

Councillors voted seven to five to remove Ms Kelsey from the role she had taken up in June following a probe by Queensland's Crime and Corruption Commission into local government corruption.

The special meeting was chaired by Acting Mayor Cherie Dalley with Mayor Luke Smith, who had been investigated by the CCC, not present.

Silvio Trinca, the longest serving member of the council's executive, will fill the role until a replacement is appointed.
Victoria's firefighter union is urging members to reject a controversial new pay deal because of staffing and rostering concerns.

Under the agreement, the United Firefighters Union claims staffing and rosters could be changed at the last minute and the chief fire officer would have unfettered control over wages.

"The union expects that the MFB (Metropolitan Fire Brigade) will now seek to try and deceive and mislead employees by putting the enterprise agreement and the corrupt explanatory memorandum out to members to vote on," reads a union statement to members on Wednesday.
A 34-year-old mother who broke her leg during an overseas fall died after surgery in a Melbourne hospital, an inquest has been told.

Anna Bowditch broke her leg on July 30, 2014 during a holiday in Hawaii and had to prop up her bandaged leg on a tray table on the cramped flight back home to Melbourne.

She died just three weeks later, following surgery at the St Vincent's Private Hospital.

Steve Bowditch said his wife, who was previously very fit, complained of tiredness and was short of breath the day before surgery and had been in constant pain since breaking her leg.

Her condition was concerning and it was raised with the anaesthetist and hospital staff prior to surgery, he added.

"She was breathing really quickly to the point where I thought she was having an asthma attack," Mr Bowditch told the first day of her inquest on Wednesday.

Maurice Blackburn Lawyers medical negligence principal Tom Ballantyne said the death was a "tragic and unexpected outcome", and the family saw the inquest as an important step in determining what happened.
Two members of a criminal gang have been charged after police raided their Perth clubhouse and seized more than 100 grams of methamphetamine.

A police raid on the Naala Moort gang headquarters in Midland on Tuesday allegedly uncovered about 112 grams of ice.

Police released pictures of the clubhouse after the raid, which include Naala Moort branding in the colours of the Aboriginal flag and a depiction of an indigenous man holding a spear in front of the flag.

The search was part of a police operation into suspected drug dealing by criminal gangs in the Geraldton, Carnarvon, Karratha and Port Hedland areas of WA.

Both men, including the Naala Mort club president, have been charged with three counts of selling or supplying a trafficable quantity of methamphetamine and conspiracy to sell or supply a prohibited drug.

The 44-year-old man has also been charged with possessing a trafficable quantity of methamphetamine and is expected to appear in South Hedland Magistrates Court later on Wednesday.

The 43-year-old club president has been remanded in custody and is next due in Midland Magistrates Court on February 15.
American Luke Rockhold hopes it's just a matter of time before he takes the UFC middleweight title off Australian Robert Whittaker but first he needs to take down a man known as the 'soldier of god'.

Rockhold was initially to fight Whittaker for the title at UFC 221 at Perth Arena on Sunday.

But Whittaker was forced to withdraw after being cut down by a serious infection and then chicken pox.

Rockhold will now fight Cuban Yoel Romero for the interim middleweight title with the winner expected fight Whittaker later this year for the world title.

Rockhold already has one eye on a potential bout with Whittaker but insists he isn't taking anything for granted against Romero.

"This is as dangerous as it gets," Rockhold said of the No.1 ranked middleweight contender.

"Yoel calls himself the soldier of god, yet he talks about crippling and hospitalising his opponent. That makes it a lot more real.

"We're not playing games. This is for keeps. This is the real f***ing deal. I'm ready to go."

Whittaker, who became Australia's first UFC champion in December when Canadian Georges St-Pierre vacated the belt, was forced to take antibiotics after contracting an abscess infection on his buttocks.

The antibiotics left him bedridden for several weeks and his health deteriorated further after contracting chickenpox.

Whittaker said it had been the sickest he had ever been but he was still keen to push through and fight Rockhold before being convinced otherwise.

Rockhold said it was a shame he couldn't fight Whittaker for the belt this Sunday.

Whittaker beat Romero last July in a closely-fought contest.

Rockhold wants to beat Romero more comprehensively to show he's better than Whittaker.

"He won but I can do it better," Rockhold said.

Another highlight of UFC 221 will be Australian Mark Hunt's heavyweight fight against rising star Curtis Blaydes.

Hunt is ranked fifth in the world, Blaydes ninth.
PASCAGOULA, Miss. -- Moss Point Police Chief Calvin Hutchins will be the newest Chief of Law Enforcement for the Pascagoula-Gautier School District, according to District Superintendent, Wayne Rodolfich.

Hutchins announced on Jan. 26 in a press conference with Mayor Mario King and aldermen Robert Byrd and Sherwood Bradford that he would be resigning as chief, effective this Friday.

Calvin Hutchins is the PGSDs new Chief of Law Enforcement. Hutchins was approved at the Feb. 6, 2018, PGSD Board of Trustees meeting, and takes over for Chief Michael Whitmore, who has retired. Hutchins will begin with the district on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018. pic.twitter.com/HzsdMYietc  PascagoulaGautier SD (@GoulaGautierSD) February 7, 2018

"We are excited to have Chief Hutchins on the PGSD team," said Superintendent Wayne Rodolfich. "I look forward to working with him to continue to provide a safe environment for our students and staff."

Hutchins has a total of 24 years of experience in the field of law enforcement, all of which has been in the cities of Moss Point and Pascagoula.

Hutchins and his wife reside in Pascagoula and he serves as pastor of New Generation Christian Fellowship Church in Pascagoula.

As a member of the Mississippi Police Chiefs Association, Hutchins has extensive experience in training police officers for local departments and extensive institutional knowledge of Jackson County, Moss Point, and Pascagoula, as the Chief of Law Enforcement.

While Moss Point searches for another top cop to lead their police department, Hutchins said he will help train officers and help to find the best candidate to replace him.

Rodolfich said he felt Hutchins was the right man for the job because of his investment in the community.

"We need people who are invested in the future of Jackson County," Rodolfich said. "He has made that investment over his entire career."

Per King, Dep. Chief Brandon Ashley will serve as Interim Chief of the Moss Point Police Department.

Hutchins will start with the PGSD on Monday, Feb. 12.
The Commonwealth is being "pretty nasty" by slashing funding for remote housing, WA Premier Mark McGowan says.

The premier plans to raise the National Partnership Agreement on Remote Housing issue with the prime minister at the Council of Australian Governments meeting later this week.

"It's pretty nasty for the Commonwealth government to walk away from their obligations to the most disadvantaged Australians," he told reporters.

Mr McGowan said WA had about 200 remote communities and the Commonwealth was planning to cut the financial support it had been providing for 50 years.

"That's clearly not acceptable to Western Australia, South Australia or Queensland," he said.

"They already walked away from funding services, so that's an enormous cost that they've put on West Australian taxpayers.

"If they walk away from providing housing, that means that we won't have that Commonwealth support in upgrading and building new housing in remote communities."

The federal government has previously said it would not be intimidated after being accused of turning its back on indigenous Australians.

Mr McGowan said he also planned to again raise the GST issue with the prime minister.

"It's simply unacceptable that they continue to cut, cut, cut our state and they don't seem to care," he said.
Embattled major WA builder Cooper and Oxley's suspension of operations has sparked criticism of the WA government for not having kept its pre-election promise to protect subcontractors.

Even one of the government's MPs, Kate Doust, who was one of Labor's most vocal campaigners on the issue in opposition said she would have liked more action to ensure subcontractors get paid.

Subcontractors were shocked to be locked out of WA building sites and unable to collect machinery this week after Cooper and Oxley stopped operating.

Managing director George Hampel ordered them in a letter to stop work, informing subcontractors they would not be paid as the company "reviewed its financial viability", with many complaining they are owed money.

Cooper and Oxley has revealed little about its situation, which is believed to involve cashflow problems with Mr Hampel did release a statement saying the company was owed $5 million by a developer that it had been seeking for nearly two years.

A $101 million commercial development in Subiaco is believed to have contributed most to its financial woes.

Comment is being sought from the developer, Singapore-registered company Dradgin, which bought the property for $67 million in 2011.

Subcontractors WA spokeswoman Louise Stewart, who has been lobbying for affected businesses who have not been paid, said she was disappointed after a meeting with Department of Premier and Cabinet officials on Wednesday that they had not moved sooner.

She said the government was taking too long to introduce measures such as project bank accounts that ring-fence funds, which Queensland has done.

The former Labor opposition attacked the previous Barnett government when complaints about late and non-payments to subcontractors on major projects such as the Perth Children's Hospital were rampant in WA.

"I am disappointed ... the purpose of the meeting was to discuss with the Department of Premier and Cabinet the priorities in terms of implementing the election promises made prior to the last state election," she told 6PR radio.

"There's certainly steps that can be taken - and I feel the government could have moved on this a lot quicker - that can be implemented and prevent subcontractors losing payments they are entitled to as a result of builder going into administration."

Critics of project bank accounts say they can stifle business investment.

Ms Doust said she hoped that "for both Ben Wyatt (treasurer) and (Premier) Mark McGowan I think that the events of this last couple of weeks ... hopefully will enable them to refocus on how government contracts are reorganised and afforded better protection for subcontractors."

Coincidentally, the ministers with oversight of the issue is Ms Doust's husband, Commerce and Industrial Relations Minister Bill Johnston who is involved in setting up an industry advisory group.

He is overseas and a spokeswoman for him said an announcement would be made soon.
Adelaide's Brendan Teys has won a charge downgrade but Perth's Dexter Kernich-Drew will still have to serve a two-match suspension following an ugly melee between the NBL sides last Friday night.

Independent Tribunal Chair Andrew Coleman heard appeals by the pair on Wednesday evening to their two game bans arising from the stoush, which overshadowed Perth's 21-point win at Perth Arena.

Teys' charge of unduly rough play was downgraded from high impact to medium impact, resulting in his suspension being reduced to one game.

He will miss the 36ers' game against Illawarra on Sunday.

Kernich-Drew's appeal was dismissed and his two-game suspension will stand.

He will miss the Wildcats' next two games against Cairns and Melbourne.

Ten other players from both teams were offered $375 fines for their roles in the incident.
Today's birthday, February 8: Australian politician Larissa Waters (1977 - ).

Former deputy Greens leader Larissa Waters resigned from the Senate last year after realising she had not renounced her dual citizenship before running for office.

Now no longer a Canadian citizen, she has declared her intent to stand for Greens preselection and return to parliament at the next federal election.

Waters was born in 1977 in Winnipeg, Canada to Australian parents and grew up in Brisbane.

She studied a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Laws at Griffith University before going on to complete a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the New South Wales College of Law.

From 2000 to 2001 Waters worked as a Legal Researcher at the Queensland Land and Resources Tribunal.

She then worked as a Lawyer with the Environmental Defenders Office from 2002 to 2011.

In 2010 Waters was named Australian Young Environmental Lawyer of the Year by the Law Council of Australia.

That same year she was elected to the Senate for Queensland representing the Greens and started her first term on 1 July 2011. She was then re-elected in 2016.

While in office Waters established a Senate inquiry on the Great Barrier Reef which led to new laws prohibiting the dumping of dredge spoil in the Reef.

She also championed equality for women and established a Senate inquiry on domestic violence.

In May 2017, the Greens senator made headlines around the world when her daughter Alia became the first baby to be fed on the floor of federal parliament.

A month later she made history again when she put forward a motion on black lung disease in the Senate while breastfeeding, and was praised widely on social media for paving the way for more women to breastfeed at work.

Waters was replaced by former senator Andrew Bartlett after her resignation.

She lives in Brisbane with her husband and daughter.
Acne is not just a 'skin issue', it can lead to serious mental health concerns.

A large study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, has found patients with acne are at a significantly increased risk of developing major depression within the first five years of being diagnosed with the skin condition.

The analysis of UK electronic medical records from between 1986-2012 found the risk for major depression was highest within a year of acne diagnosis, with those individuals at a 63 per cent higher risk compared with individuals without acne.

The authors of the study say the results indicate a "critical" need for physicians to monitor mood symptoms in patients with acne and initiate prompt treatment for depression or seek consultation from a psychiatrist when needed.

"This study highlights an important link between skin disease and mental illness. Given the risk of depression was highest in the period right after the first time a patient presented to a physician for acne concerns, it shows just how impactful our skin can be towards our overall mental health" said lead author Dr Isabelle Vallerand, of the University of Calgary in Canada.

"For these patients with acne, it is more than a skin blemish, it can impose significant mental health concerns and should be taken seriously," Dr Vallerand said.

Australian specialist Dr Deshan Sebaratnam, a member of the Australasian College of Dermatologists, says many people think of acne as a minor problem or just "part of life" but for sufferers it can be a very negative experience for them.

"It's not just the cosmetic impact, it impacts social functioning and relationships - all those things and they have knock-on effects," he said.

And the acne doesn't have to be severe to impact a person's quality of life, says Dr Sebaratnam.

"Severity as you would kind of measure it objectively doesn't necessarily correlate with the impact on quality of life. You might have someone with severe acne and they're not too bothered but you might have someone with much, much milder acne but it exerts a significant impact on their quality of life," he said.

"A massive part of skin disease is quality of life and it's something that people don't always recognise. When you see patients with acne and then once they are on the right treatment and their skin gets much better they are completely different people when you see them for their follow-up visit; so much brighter, so much happier."

Australian readers seeking support and information about depression can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
A third woman has come forward alleging sexual harassment while working at Victoria's gold rush museum Sovereign Hill.

The women say they've experienced inappropriate behaviour including groping and exposure while working at the open-air tourist drawcard.

Sovereign Hill says two male staff members were investigated over their behaviour in 2016 and 2017, with one stood down.

A man accused of sexual misconduct on Wednesday was on leave, Sovereign Hill Museums Association boss Jeremy Johnson said.

The media and arts union says the museum fell short of its duty to provide a safe workplace but Sovereign Hill has defended its handling of the allegations.

"The potential for discrimination and harassment to arise in the workplace is a threat for any organisation and Sovereign Hill takes the issue extremely seriously," Mr Johnson told reporters on Wednesday.

Police say they're investigating multiple complaints from staff and it's inappropriate to comment further.
Queensland's top tourist destinations are under threat from climate change, according to the latest report from the Climate Council.

The "Icons at Risk: Climate Change Threatening Australian Tourism" report released on Thursday claims the state's iconic beaches, wilderness areas and in particular the Great Barrier Reef are under imminent threat due to changes in the Earth's climate.

Ecologist Professor Lesley Hughes said in addition to the environmental concerns surrounding climate change, it was also threatening the state's billion-dollar industry.

"In 2016 alone, more than 2.5 million international visitors arrived in the state, bringing in more than $5.2 billion dollars," Prof Hughes said.

"The back-to-back mass coral bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef should serve as a serious warning to the federal and Queensland governments that tackling climate change through cutting pollution is essential to protect this billion-dollar asset."

The reef is still reeling from coral bleaching events in 2016 and 2017, while UNESCO recently expressed serious concern about bleaching.

It warned climate change remained the most significant threat and urged Australia to work faster to improve water quality.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull last month announced a $60 million plan to protect the Great Barrier Reef against coral-eating crown-of-thorns starfish and farm run-off.

Separately, the Queensland government has earmarked $256 million over the next five years to improve reef water quality.

The Climate Council report also said climate change was increasing health risks for visitors to Queensland, pointing to recent sightings of deadly irukandji jellyfish as far south as Fraser Island.
State premiers will head to Canberra on Thursday ahead of Friday's Council of Australian Governments meeting which has a focus on indigenous issues.

The premiers and chief ministers will be briefed by indigenous leaders who have been meeting in Canberra since Wednesday, as the federal government reviews the Closing the Gap program.

They will then have dinner with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to informally discuss issues of the day.

Indigenous leaders have been given 30 minutes to brief the full COAG on Friday on key issues of concern with Closing the Gap, which was introduced 10 years ago but is struggling to meets its targets.

The COAG agenda also includes a new hospital funding agreement, which will reportedly see the Turnbull government take a tough line on capping health spending.

Under the deal, Canberra will continue to pay 45 per cent of the cost of hospital funding and keep growth in federal spending capped at 6.5 per cent per year.

"Our public hospitals, our emergency departments are absolutely stretched to the maximum," opposition health spokeswoman Catherine King told reporters on Wednesday.

"It's a deal the states should reject."

But Health Minister Greg Hunt said the proposal was a genuine and generous offer locking in funding until 2025.

Premiers will also discuss the protection of children and cyber-bullying, with Queensland leading the charge.

"I am fundamentally concerned about the emotional impact that this is having on our students and the tragic consequences," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Wednesday.

The meeting will address school funding arrangements, and the new Home Affairs security portfolio.

NSW will take the lead on "dynamic federalism", while WA wants to push for a greater share of GST returns after a report the state would see a drop in funding.

"They continue to cut, cut, cut our state and don't care," WA Premier Mark McGowan said.
Australia's newest senator Steve Martin looks set to be booted out of Jacqui Lambie's political party.

The Devonport mayor is taking over Ms Lambie's seat in the Senate after weathering pressure from the former senator to stand aside so she could reclaim her spot.

Ms Lambie was caught up in the dual citizenship saga and had to resign from parliament.

She's now moved to expel Mr Martin from her party, saying the Devonport mayor hasn't shown mateship or been honest with her.

Ms Lambie released a statement on Wednesday night claiming his actions hadn't been in keeping with her party after he had sacked staff and had been out of contact.

She said the management committee had moved to expel him from the party.

"The Jacqui Lambie Network prides itself on mateship, respect and integrity. I do not believe that your actions have been in keeping with these values," the open letter to Mr Martin reads.

Ms Lambie said he had given her a commitment that the Canberra staff would be retained but that he had sacked them on Wednesday.

"I don't feel you've been honest and upfront with me since my resignation," she said.

The High Court on Tuesday ruled Mr Martin eligible to sit in the Senate, just days after Ms Lambie told Sky News if she was in his position she would be "extremely loyal and step down".

Mr Martin owned Mexican restaurant Three Amigos and a newsagency in Devonport when he became the face of a campaign to save the local Mersey hospital in 2003.

The federal government bought the hospital to defuse the issue and Mr Martin later became mayor of Devonport.

Mr Martin will be sworn in on Monday.
The prime minister will discuss the response to the child sexual abuse royal commission with premiers and chief ministers at COAG.

Malcolm Turnbull wants all states, territories and churches to sign up to a national redress scheme, for which the government has already provided $52.1 million for administration and initial counselling costs.

A task force is examining the recommendations of the $500 million royal commission, and a parliamentary committee will oversee the national response.

Mr Turnbull will also use a speech to federal parliament on Thursday to provide an update on how the government is responding to the royal commission.

The national redress scheme is expected to be open to submissions from July 1, offering a maximum payment of $150,000 per person.

The government has already changed legal limitations periods where the commonwealth is a defendant, come up with a nationally agreed set of principles to make organisations safer for the participation of children and begun work on a national database to share "working with children" data.

As well, late last year a new criminal offence came into force to deal with people who travel overseas to commit child sex offences and last September laws to toughen sentences for child sex crimes were introduced.

The 17-volume report contained a total of 409 recommendations.
Updated at 6:05 p.m. with more details

The fight to control the spread of the spotted lanternfly, which has the potential to cripple Pennsylvania's hardwood and fruit industries, including grapes, has received a double-barreled shot of good news over the past 24 hours.

It started with Gov. Tom Wolf's request during his budget address Tuesday for $1.6 million in dedicated funding for the state Department of Agriculture to continue trying to control the pest, which was found in Berks County in 2014 and has spread not only throughout eastern Pennsylvania but also to at least three other states: Delaware, New York and Virginia.

That request still has to be approved by the state Legislature.

A little more than 24 hours later, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced $17.5 million in emergency funding to stop the spread of the spotted lanternfly in Pennsylvania, considered the state most affected and threatened.

This is not connected to the request made Jan. 18, 2018, by the Pennsylvania House delegation, led by Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-16th District, in writing to House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota) seeking to secure $20 to $40 million to use in trying to eradicate the spotted lanternfly. You can read that letter here.

READ MORE: As Pa. asks for additional help to combat insect, more states report sightings

"Today's announcement by Secretary Perdue is welcomed news," Smucker said in a press release Wednesday afternoon. "Since the spotted lanternfly was first found in Berks County, there has been an effective, coordinated response from local municipalities, the Pennsylvania state government, and the federal government to stop the spread of this dangerous invasive species. The $17.5 million response from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will go a long way in supporting that effort and protecting the livelihoods of farmers and homeowners in our communities. I will continue my ongoing efforts to help ensure the necessary resources are available to combat the spotted lanternfly, and am thankful Secretary Perdue recognizes the serious threat posed to the people I represent."

According to his release, Smucker participated in a roundtable discussion at the Pennsylvania Farm Show on Jan. 6, where he heard directly from farmers and Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Redding about the impact of the spotted lanternfly. Other state legislators as well as Greg Ibach, Under Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, participated.

The emergency funding, which was made available through existing Commodity Credit Corporation balances, will allow for a two-pronged approach with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) managing the outer perimeter of the infestation and the state's Department of Agriculture focusing on a 3-mile perimeter surrounding the core infested area. The release said that "the goal of this expanded surveillance and control program is to stop the leading edge of the infestation and start pushing it inward while at the same time reducing the density of spotted lanternfly populations in the core-infested area."

In addition to emergency activities in Pennsylvania, APHIS will use existing resources to conduct surveys, and control measures if necessary, in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia, where there is growing concern about the potential spread of the insect.

"Since the spotted lanternfly was first detected in Berks County, Pennsylvania, we have benefited from strong community involvement and support," Perdue said. "Continued outreach and education will be critical to the success of our ongoing efforts. We need the help of producers, businesses and the public to look for this pest and take actions to control it."

READ MORE: Quarantine expanded to 13 counties in battle against invading insect

Currently, the Pennsylvania Agriculture Department has placed a quarantine on 13 counties - including Berks, Schuylkill, Montgomery, Lancaster, Lehigh, Lebanon, Northampton, Chester and Philadelphia - to stop the insect from spreading.

Smucker noted in his Jan. 18 letter that the spotted lanternfly was discovered in Philadelphia, "which greatly increases the possibility of the invasive species impacting the Port of Philadelphia - one of the largest gateways in the United States."

One of the hardest-hit fruits have been grapes, with several vineyard managers and winery owners in Berks County reporting considerable damage to some of their vines in 2017. The insect feeds on and ultimately kills grapevines.

Calvin Beekman, one of Berks County's prominent growers of grapes, apples and peaches, told the Reading Eagle in November 2017 that the spotted lanternflies began to swarm his vineyard in August.

"They just kept coming and coming and coming," Beekman told reporter Jim Lewis. "It was unbelievable, swarms and swarms and swarms of them by the thousands."

Beekman said the insect, a pest in 2016, had become a plague just a year later, covering vines, buildings and even nearby houses.

Many fear that the what's being seen, both in Pennsylvania and other East Coast states, is a sampling of the severity of the problem, with a potential to spread quickly over the next couple years.

Indeed, what happens in Pennsylvania this year with this committed funding will be crucial to keeping this insect form becoming a problem for the East Coast wine industry.

"This new federal funding comes with clear expectations on what role we as a commonwealth will play in eradicating this pest," Pa. Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said Wednesday afternoon in a press release. "For three years now, we have relied almost exclusively on federal funding to mount our response, but the magnitude of this challenge now requires the state to dedicate resources. Governor Wolf recognizes the disastrous consequences this pest could pose for our agriculture industry, our export industry, and the quality of life of our residents, which is why he included this funding in his budget request. In the coming weeks, we'll be making our case to the General Assembly to include this funding in the final budget."
Jim Molan may sue Greens MP Adam Bandt for defamation over comments that questioned the new Liberal Party senator's military record in Iraq.

Senator Molan is caught up in a row for reposting anti-Islam videos by far-right group Britain First on his Facebook page last year.

Mr Bandt claimed in an interview on Wednesday that the senator had committed war crimes during the battle for Fallujah, The Australian reports.

Senator Molan, a retired major-general with a military career spanning four decades, was the chief of operations of the US-led coalition forces in Iraq for a year.

The senator told The Australian he would forget taking legal action if Mr Bandt offered him a public apology.

"I would invite Mr Bandt to offer me a public apology," Senator Molan told the newspaper.

"If he publicly apologised to me for the statements that he made, then that would end the problem."
The demands of a busy social life will make you smarter and increase the chance of raising a healthy baby, if you're a West Australian magpie, a study has found.

A series of intelligence tests on wild suburban Perth magpies has found birds that nest in larger groups are smarter than those from smaller families.

In female birds, higher intelligence also increases the chances of successful reproduction.

The joint University of WA and University of Essex study conducted tests with 56 magpies from 14 groups, ranging in number from three to 12 birds.

The magpies completed four tasks designed to test the theory of social intelligence, or social brain hypothesis, which suggests the balancing act of forming and maintaining relationships, anticipating other's actions and keeping track of who knows who drives cognitive evolution.

Lead researcher Ben Ashton says the magpies' test results suggest social environment plays a key role in the development of cognition.

"They also suggest a positive relationship between female cognitive performance and reproductive success, indicating there is the potential for natural selection to act on cognition," Dr Ashton said.

The magpies completed puzzle tasks including foraging for cheese hidden in a transparent cylinder and in different coloured containers to test associative learning, and a memory task where food was hidden in the same place many times.

Dr Ashton says differences in energy intake and task attention can also affect cognitive performance, so the study took into account body weight, foraging efficiency and the magpies' enthusiasm, or lack of, towards the task.

The study is one of the first to conduct large-scale cognitive tests on wild populations and find a strong link between cognition, group size and reproductive success.
The family of Australian filmmaker James Ricketson, accused of spying by the Cambodian government, are grateful the federal government is finally lobbying Phnom Penh on his behalf.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop revealed on Wednesday she had made formal diplomatic representations to her Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhonn this month on behalf of Ricketson, 68.

He was arrested last June after flying a drone over a political protest in the capital Phnom Penh and faces five to 10 years behind bars if convicted.

In a statement late on Wednesday, Ricketson's son Jesse said the family had been seeking high-level Australian government intervention since Ricketson was imprisoned eight months ago.

"We're very glad that she (Ms Bishop) has chosen to initiate this contact because it is this sort of behind-the-scenes diplomacy that's going to make all the difference in a case like this, just as it did with Australian journalist Peter Greste, who was released from an Egyptian prison after 400 days following assistance from the Australian government," Mr Ricketson said.

He expressed his gratitude to Ms Bishop and for the consular assistance the family had received on the ground in Cambodia, and hoped she would keep up the pressure.

"... We hope that this is the first of many steps Minister Bishop will take to support my father. We know this is not going to be an easy matter to resolve," he said.
A man has woken to find an intruder in his southwest Sydney home and his house on fire.

Fire crews were called to the Mitchell Street home at Condell Park about 3am on Thursday after the man woke to find a stranger inside and the house on fire.

As the intruder fled, the man woke two other men inside and they all escaped with minor lacerations and smoke inhalation.

The home has fire, smoke and water damage and police have established a crime scene.

Anyone who saw a dark coloured hatchback driving from nearby Leemon Street, shortly after the fire was discovered has been asked to contact police.
A mould scandal that put lives at risk and made staff sick at the Nauru immigration detention centre also affected the now mothballed facility at Manus Island.

Air-conditioning caused water damage and mould to grow in the fire-resistant plasterboard walls and ceilings and the magnesium oxide board floors of modular buildings at the staff accommodation, kitchen and mess hall on Nauru, AAP reported this week following a 15-month investigation.

The compromised fire-rated boards could have put lives at risk in the event of a blaze and the same buildings were used in the Nauru Hospital upgrade and community centre where there were also mould problems.

At least a dozen former Nauru detention centre workers developed health problems from mould exposure in their bedrooms including toxic mould syndrome, cognitive and neurological symptoms, chronic pain, chest infections, and persistent coughs.

AAP can now reveal similar modular buildings used for staff accommodation on Manus Island also rotted with mould.

Construction firm Decmil had the $247 million contract to expand the detention centre in Papua New Guinea.

The contract included accommodation for staff and detainees, dining and recreation facilities and administration offices and warehouses.

The start date for construction work was December 2013 and the job was completed in April 2015.

AAP understands the mould problem on Manus Island "was not even one-tenth as bad as it was on Nauru".

On Nauru, building contractors conducted a "band-aid" rectification program at a "cost plus variation" to their contract because one building contractor was allegedly commercially exposed, a source said.

Whereas on Manus, Decmil wore an estimated $25 million loss because the modular buildings had to be gutted and rebuilt entirely, a source said.

The company took legal action against its subcontractor Ark Modular Australia which was referred to arbitration.

"The dispute has arisen due to the deficiencies in the material supplied and work performed by Ark Modular," the Decmil annual report of 2015 stated.

The case ended up in the Queensland Supreme Court in 2016.

Court documents obtained by AAP, show Ark's Australian arm was ordered to be wound up in insolvency.

A Decmil company spokesman insisted the deficiencies had nothing to do with mould and the dispute related to commercial matters and engineering disagreements.

"On the question of mould, this is principally a factor of how the infrastructure was operated, managed and maintained including appropriate humidity management," the company spokesman told AAP, adding Decmil did not operate the facility.

In 2015, it emerged three staffers from Decmil and a department official went on a $44,000 four day junket to China which included first class airfares, a $400 bottle of scotch and female escorts. The trip was to inspect Ark China's factory.

A Home Affairs Department spokesman said construction work on both islands was carried out and certified to relevant building codes and standards including fire compliance.

"Any problems have been promptly rectified," the spokesman said.

The Australian Greens have called for an urgent investigation by Comcare, the public service workers compensation authority.

"The government has abjectly failed in its duty of care," Greens senator Nick McKim told AAP.
Labor has hit back at Turnbull government figures who continue to call for the dual citizenship status of MP Susan Lamb to be referred to the High Court for a ruling.

"What kind of people are they?" shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus told ABC radio on Thursday, a day after Ms Lamb tearfully revealed that because her mother walked out on her when she was six years old she can't prove her UK citizenship has been renounced.

"It's time we moved on from this."
Beauty-item bandits with an eye for an expensive coiffure have made off with a suitcase full of hair products after an early morning robbery in Melbourne's northwest.

Police are combing for clues after the two male offenders threw a rock through the front door of an Essendon salon early on Wednesday morning and filled a suitcase with a large number of pricey haircare products.

The duo, wearing face covers, black clothes and gloves, fled the scene in a new-model silver Toyota Corolla and police are still hunting for the bad-hair-day burglars.
Emergency services are trying to retrieve the body of a man who drowned after he was swept out to sea at a notorious northern NSW beach.

Police marine divers and surf lifesavers on jetskis resumed the recovery operation at Fingal Head near Tweed Heads at 7am on Thursday, police told AAP.

Rescuers had suspended the operation on Wednesday due to dangerous surf conditions.

The man, believed to be in his 20s, was last seen alive at 3.10pm about 50m from the beach, where three people have died in the past two years.

Fingal Head beach has a reputation for dangerous conditions and locals say water searches are not uncommon.

"When you hear the helicopter stationary and in one spot for a long time your alarm bells go off," one local told Nine Network.

"It strikes your belly because you're thinking of who it is and their family."
Perth's first UFC promotion will have special significance for world-ranked Australian light heavyweight Tyson Pedro.

The No.13-ranked Pedro and his fellow Sydneysider and brother-in-law, emerging heavyweight Tai Tuivasa, are two of the Australians fighting on the UFC 221 main card at Perth Arena on Sunday.

Pedro fights Russian Saparbek Safarov and former Sydney Roosters junior Tuivasa takes on Frenchman Cyril Asker.

That Pedro gravitated towards mixed martial arts should come as no surprise given his family background.

"My dad ran King of the Cage, which was one of the first cage fights in Perth, so just to go back there and fight is pretty big," Pedro told AAP.

"I used to hold the cage door and open it for fighters so that's when I was like 'OK, this is what I'm going to do'."

Pedro is looking to rebound from a decision loss in his last fight to Sweden's Ilir Latifi in Canada in September, which was his first defeat in seven MMA bouts.

"I was doing the opposite of what I should have been doing with a wrestler of his ability and just concentrating more on my strengths this fight, rather than my opponent's," Pedro said.

"I was so fixated on how good a wrestler he was, I forgot to work on my strengths.

"Safarov is not ranked, so it (a win) won't do much for me rankings-wise. but after that I'm going for top 10.

"Within two years, Ill be top five and having a shot at that title."

Unranked Tuivasa, who has won all eight of his MMA fights by first round KO, including his UFC debut in Sydney last November, has similar aspirations.

"The quicker I'm out of there, the quicker I'm off to the pub or the quicker I get a feed," Tuivasa said.

"By the end of this year, I want to be knocking on the top-10, or top-15 door, and then start really having a crack at the best fighters in the world."
A senior federal politician does not want to see Australia follow the US and formally ban sexual relationships between politicians and staff members.

The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution banning members from engaging in sexual relationships with their staff.

The move was part of a package of legislation aimed at improving the reporting of sexual harassment, but a resolution is effectively a rule of the chamber and has no legal force.

Shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says legislating about such matters is fraught with difficulty.

"Sex in the office is always going to present problems, but whether we need to legislate, that's quite another question," he told ABC radio on Thursday.

"People's private lives are complicated ... and I think that we should think long and hard before we pass a law that seeks to criminalise particular sexual relations between anyone in any part of society."

However, the Labor frontbencher thinks there should be codes of conduct governing such matters, saying "people have got to behave themselves".

The issue of relationships between politicians and staffers has become the subject of debate in Australian political circles after News Corp papers published photos of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce's pregnant partner, who used to work in his office.
Want to know where the White House and Congress might go next on school choice? Watch three populations that the federal government has a special responsibility for: children of military personnel, Native American students, and kids living in the District of Columbia.

President Donald Trump ran on creating a $20 billion voucher program , but so far, Republicans in Congress arent exactly chomping at the bit to make that a reality. Thats partly because fears from many in the GOP about federal overreacheven in the service of school choice, a policy that most Republicans favor.

But focusing on these particular groups is a different story.

What is appropriate is for the federal government to advance choice for populations where the federal government has a special obligation, said Lindsey Burke, the director of the Center on Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

There are several proposals and pieces of legislation seeking to offer Education Savings Accounts, or ESAs, to military-connected or Native students. In fact, theres some speculation that this could even be a part of President Trumps fiscal year 2019 budget proposal, which is expected to be released soon.

The problem? Many groups that would be directly impacted by these proposals arent clamoring for a big school choice initiative, their advocates say.

Conservative think tanks are trying to solve problems that families and communities arent asking them to solve through school choice, said Sasha Pudelski, the advocacy director at AASA, the School Superintendents Association. When you talk to stakeholders, you dont hear, Please provide our families with more educational options;' they want their own schools to be better. They are not looking for an alternative. Its a solution without a problem.

Heres a quick round-up of proposals to watch, and a look at what advocates for the students who would be affected by them think:

Education savings accounts for the Bureau of Indian Education

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., introduced a bill in last year that would offer Education Savings Accounts , which could be used for tutoring, private school tuition, and other educational expenses, to Native American K-12 students living on Indian reservations. The idea is to offer an alternative to BIE schools, which face serious problems . Under McCains proposal, states with existing ESA programsArizona, Florida, Mississippi, and Nevadawould administer the accounts.

Several national and state groupsincluding the American Federation for Children, a school choice advocacy organization started by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVoshave lauded the proposal.

But Ahniwake Rose, the executive director of the National Indian Education Association, worries that such a change could end up diverting resources from the already strapped BIE schools.

They would be pulling dollars out of something thats already underfunded, she said

And she noted that, right now, there arent many private school options on reservations. Shed like to see a proposal that requires much more consultation with tribal communities.

We knew that they would be looking at [Bureau of Indian Education] schools as any opportunity to create an experiment, on choice, Rose said. The federal government has been experimenting on our school districts for hundreds of years ... We know nothing works in Indian country unless Native people are a part of it.

That doesnt mean shes opposed to all forms of choice, especially options that are developed in partnership the people they aim to serve. There are promising ideas, like charter schools that offer cultural immersion for Native American students, and online Advanced Placement courses, she said,.

Using Impact Aid Dollars to Offer ESAs to Military-Connected and Native American Students

The $1.3 billion Impact Aid program helps school districts make up for tax revenue lost because of a federal presence, such as a military base or Native American reservation.

The Heritage Foundation released a proposal last year to direct all Impact Aid funds to ESAs for students, rather than to the districts. The proposal appears to have gotten some attention from the White House and could be introduced as a bill soon. Burke pointed to a survey from Ed Choice, a school choice advocacy organization showing that about two-thirds of military families support the idea of vouchers.

We really do see this as a national security issue. If were losing members of our Armed Services because of the lackluster district schools that their kids will have to attend, thats a real problem, Burke said.

But groups representing military families and Impact Aid districtsincluding the Military Child Education Coalition, the Military Officers Association of America, National Military Family Association, the National Association of Federally Impacted Schools, and the Military Impacted Schools Associationsay this would hurt public schools serving vulnerable populations.

Proposals to divert Impact Aid from schools that educate concentrations of military-connected students are short sighted and will only reduce opportunities for all students in these school districts, they said in a statement released in December. (Read the full statement here .)

Using Pentagon Funds to Create a Voucher Program for Military Kids

Theres speculation that the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress could push to create a school choice program using Pentagon dollars, that would be operated by the Defense Department. For instance, legislation introduced Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., would create a pilot program on at least five bases . Military families would be eligible for scholarships of up to $8,000 for elementary and $12,000 for high school.

There have also been efforts to add similar language to defense bills. So far, none of them have passed.

Advocates for military families say theyll take a close and cautious look at any proposals released.

Mary M. Keller, the president and CEO of the Military Child Education, said that her organization is in favor of informed choice for military parents. But it wants to make sure choice proposals wont leave out students with special needs, and will benefit low-income families as well as wealthier students. She also wants to see significant oversight and transparency so that parents can make an informed decision.

Whats more, Keller has big practical questions, about things like transportation and how vouchers would work if a child switched schools in the middle of the year because his or her parents assignment changed.

Education Savings Accounts for the District of Columbia

The District of Columbia already has a private school voucher program and a blooming charter sector.

But Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, wants to go even further. He and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. have introduced legislation that would offer ESAs to every student in Washington, D.C . That means parents would each get $9,500 annually that could be used as a voucher for private school tuition, or taken to a charter or public school.

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat who represents the District in Congress, is adamantly opposed to the idea.

Who is Ted Cruz to tell the D.C. government how to spend their own taxpayer funds on education, a great priority in this city?, she said in a statement . It is one thing for the federal government to meddle with D.C.'s local affairs and set up a private school voucher program with federal funds; it is quite another to force a local jurisdiction to use its own finite funds to pay for an unaccountable voucher program, taking away funding from our traditional public schools and public charter schools.

Bonus: The emphasis on these populations doesnt mean that the school choice community has necessarily given up on something with broader reach.

The American Federation for Children, for one, would still like to see Congress and the administration move forward on a federal tax credit scholarshipsomething lawmakers opted not to include in the recent tax overhaul legislation.

Well see if it gathers legs this year, said John Schillling, the president of the advocacy group, which was founded by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

School choice is one of the biggest topics we cover. See a sample of our top stories:

Follow us on Twitter at @PoliticsK12 .
Indigenous Labor senator Pat Dodson has hit out at Malcolm Turnbull for walking out of a Closing the Gap event in Parliament House early.

Senator Dodson criticised the prime minister for leaving the function, which was hearing about the need to work together with indigenous communities to improve health outcomes and life expectancy, before it wrapped up.

"It's indicative of the deafness, the absolute derision and the contempt which this government is meting out to the Aboriginal people," the senator told reporters afterwards on Thursday.
How whale poo affects the Antarctic eco-system will be one of many studies New Zealand scientists hope to undertake during an expedition to the world's largest marine reserve.

The multidisciplinary science expedition by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research was set to leave New Zealand on Thursday for a week-long journey to the Ross Sea shelf break, about 3400km south of Wellington.

A focus will be mapping the ocean floor of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area as it is affected by global climate change, NIWA Oceanographer Dr Mike Williams says.

"The highest priority is the physical oceanography work where we'll be looking at the outflow of the cold dense water from the Ross Sea into the global ocean," he said.

This will include travelling into new areas to collect data, Dr Wiliams said.

"Part of the marine protected area is an area where we basically don't have any observations about - the more northern areas - we don't even know what the temperature is," he said.

"That kind of information is really really useful in understanding how it will all change."

The 23 scientists onboard will also look at the atmosphere, biology and marine ecosystems of the area.

The job of seeing how whale poo affects eco systems has fallen to Auckland University whale biologist Rochelle Constantine, with preliminary research suggesting plankton rely on it for their iron source.

This week's expedition is the Tangaroa's 12 Antarctic voyage.

Voyage leader Dr David Bowden says sea ice conditions look good but they are expecting some choppiness over the 7500km six-week journey, which may limit data collection.

The Ross Sea Marine Protected area came into effect in December last year and is subject to three-yearly data collection to ensure it meets a number of aims.

These include protecting sea life, measuring the effect of climate change and protecting the area from toothfish fishing.
Confronting footage has emerged of protective service officers using force to detain a Melbourne train passenger who allegedly threatened to throw one of them on the tracks.

The two PSOs used pepper-spray and repeatedly struck the 26-year-old man, of no fixed address, at Merri station in Melbourne's north during the course of the arrest on Wednesday night.

"(The man) was making threats to the PSO, including threatening to throw the PSO ... off the platform onto the tracks," Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton told ABC Radio on Thursday, noting one of the officers sustained minor facial injuries.
Many ANC members are pushing for Cyril Ramaphosa, the new head of the party, to replace the scandal-tainted Jacob Zuma as president immediately

Scandal-tainted South African President Jacob Zuma, who is under growing pressure to resign, held "fruitful" talks on Tuesday with his likely successor Cyril Ramaphosa, the ruling ANC party said.

The ANC said that the talks meant that a special party meeting scheduled for Wednesday that could have forced Zuma out of office had been postponed to next week, but it gave no details about any possible resignation deal.

The African National Congress, which has ruled since Nelson Mandela won the post-apartheid 1994 election, has been plunged into chaos over the transition of power from Zuma to his deputy Ramaphosa.

As president, Zuma had been due to deliver the State of the Nation address to parliament in Cape Town on Thursday -- a closely-watched event that shapes the political agenda for the coming year.

But, in an unprecedented move, the speech was also postponed on Tuesday, heightening speculation that Zuma could finally yield to calls to step down.

Many ANC members are pushing for Cyril Ramaphosa, the new head of the party, to replace Zuma, 75, as president immediately.

But Zuma loyalists have said that the serving president should complete his second and final term in office, which would end when elections are held next year.

"After fruitful and constructive discussions... Cyril Ramaphosa has postponed the special NEC (national executive committee) meeting," the ANC said in a statement.

- Power struggle -

Parliamentary Speaker Baleka Mbete told reporters that the State of the Nation address -- a grand political event -- would be re-scheduled because there was "little likelihood" that it would be held without disruption.

In previous years, opposition lawmakers have shouted Zuma down and been ejected from the chamber by security guards in a melee of flying fists.

"We thought that we needed to create room for establishing a much more conducive political atmosphere in parliament," Mbete added, saying a new date would be announced shortly.

Zuma said he had made the unprecedented request for the delay "due to certain developments" but gave no further details.

Deputy president Ramaphosa would automatically take office if Zuma resigns.

South Africa's Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa would automatically assuming replace Jacob Zuma if the president resigns

"Ramaphosa will look weak if he can't get Zuma out now. He won't be able to back down now without losing face," Ben Payton, analyst for the London-based Maplecroft consultancy, told AFP.

The power struggle has rocked the ANC, the storied liberation party which led the fight against white-minority rule but has since lost much of its public support.

Despite the attacks on him, Zuma still enjoys some backing within the party, particularly among rural members and within his own Zulu community.

- Zuma's troubled reign -

His presidency has been dominated by an economic slowdown, record unemployment and allegations of corruption.

He faces several court cases, including action relating to 783 payments he received allegedly linked to an arms deal before he came to power in 2009.

Many graft allegations against him have centred on the wealthy Gupta family, who are accused of unfairly obtaining lucrative government contracts and even being able to choose ministerial appointments.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation, which promotes the legacy of South Africa's anti-apartheid icon, has called for Zuma to go as he had "demonstrated that he is not fit to govern".

In a damning statement, it said there was "overwhelming evidence that systematic looting by patronage networks linked to President Zuma have betrayed the country Nelson Mandela dreamed of."

Ramaphosa, 65, is a former trade unionist who led talks to end apartheid rule in the early 1990s and then became a multi-millionaire businessman before returning to politics.
Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket sent one of his Tesla cars into orbit

From cars to rockets, Elon Musk dreams big.

On Tuesday, the South African-born entrepreneur combined both of those passions, blasting one of his Tesla electric cars into space aboard his own rocket.

It was the latest feat for the 46-year-old Silicon Valley billionaire who has been hailed as a leading innovator and visionary.

Born in Pretoria, on June 28, 1971, the son of an engineer father and a Canadian-born model mother, Musk left South Africa in his late teens to attend Queen's University in Ontario.

He transferred to the University of Pennsylvania after two years and earned bachelor's degrees in physics and business.

After graduating from the prestigious Ivy League school, Musk abandoned plans to pursue further studies at Stanford University.

Instead, he dropped out of school and started Zip2, a company that made online publishing software for the media industry.

He banked his first millions before the age of 30 when he sold Zip2 to US computer maker Compaq for more than $300 million in 1999.

Musk's next company, X.com, eventually merged with PayPal, the online payments firm bought by internet auction giant eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

After leaving PayPal, Musk embarked on a series of ever more ambitious ventures.

He became the chairman of electric carmaker Tesla in 2004 and it was a Tesla roadster that was sent into orbit on Tuesday from a Cape Canaveral launchpad.

SpaceX's webcast showed Musk's cherry red car soaring into space, as David Bowie's "Space Oddity" played in the background -- with the words "DON'T PANIC" visible on the dashboard, in an apparent nod to the sci-fi classic the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Powering the car on its journey towards an orbit near Mars was a massive Falcon Heavy rocket built by Musk's space exploration company SpaceX, founded in 2002.

- SolarCity and Hyperloop -

Musk serves as chief executive officer and chief technology officer of SpaceX, which has become a leading supplier of private space launches.

In 2012, SpaceX sent its Dragon cargo ship to the orbiting International Space Station.

After some early crashes and near-misses, SpaceX has also perfected the art of landing booster engines on solid ground and on ocean platforms, rendering them reusable.

SpaceX recently announced that two private citizens have paid money to be sent around the Moon in what would be the farthest humans have ever traveled to deep space since the 1970s.

Besides being the head of SpaceX and Tesla, Musk is the chairman of SolarCity, a solar panel installer recently bought by Tesla.

Musk has also promoted research into an ultra-fast "Hyperloop" rail transport system that would transport people at near supersonic speeds.

Musk's jokingly-named The Boring Company aims to potentially build tunnels for the Hyperloop One super-high-speed transport project.

"He is a visionary who has some key passions which he pursues with vigor," Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson said of Musk.

"He doesn't sit around and wait for people to do something about them; he goes out and does it himself."

Some of his ideas have prompted questions and he has raised eyebrows with a theory that the world as it is known may be a computer simulation.

Musk has also said he wants to make humans an "interplanetary species" by establishing a colony of people living on the Mars.

The first tests of a massive rocket that could reach Mars may come as early 2019, with orbital tests in 2020.

Musk lives in Los Angeles and holds US, Canadian and South African citizenship.

Married and divorced three times, he has five children. A sixth child died in infancy.

Forbes estimates Musk's current net worth at $20.3 billion.
US President Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of a parade in Washington to showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief since before being sworn in

US President Donald Trump has asked for a large-scale military parade, the White House said Tuesday, an unconventional move that would showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief.

Trump -- who has toyed with the idea of a parade in Washington since before being sworn in -- has made the request to top officers, who are looking for a date.

"President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

"He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation."

The Pentagon confirmed it was "in the process of determining specific details."

Trump's new request, first reported by The Washington Post, immediately fueled comparisons to similar events in more autocratic countries.

"What an absurd waste of money! Trump acts more like dictator than president. Americans deserve better," said Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern.

When US President Donald Trump visited Paris last July for Bastille Day, he made no secret of his awe for the pomp and ceremony of the occasion

The idea has had a long gestation period. When Trump visited Paris last July for Bastille Day, he made no secret of his awe for the pomp and ceremony of the occasion.

Sitting on the Champs-Elysees, the American president marveled at the Republican Guard on horseback and jets flying overhead, and greeted President Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in an open-topped camouflaged military jeep.

Months after that meeting, Trump publicly remarked: "So we're actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength."

But even before becoming president, aides reported that Trump had considered a military parade to mark his inauguration. The idea was eventually scrapped.

- 'Hail to the chief' -

Trump has already prompted fears about his respect for democratic freedoms once this week by suggesting Democrats were "un-American" and "treasonous" for not applauding his State of the Union address.

The White House claimed Trump was joking.

Military veteran and Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth (C) fired back at President Donald Trump's suggestion Democrats were "treasonous" while lampooning Trump's medical deferments from military service during the Vietnam War

"The president was clearly joking with his comments, but what isn't a joke is that Democrats refuse to celebrate the accomplishments of last year that have helped all Americans," Sanders said.

But the quip did not go down well with lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats.

"I have seen the president's most ardent defenders use the now-weary argument that the president's comments were meant as a joke, just sarcasm, only tongue in cheek," said Republican Senator Jeff Flake.

"But treason is not a punchline, Mr President."

Military veteran and Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth also fired back at Trump, while lampooning his medical deferments from military service during the Vietnam War.

"We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy," she said.

"I swore an oath -- in the military and in the Senate -- to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap."
The Vestas 11th Hour Racing yacht is being transported to New Zealand for repairs after a collision with a fishing boat in waters just outside Hong Kong

The round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race will resume without Vestas 11th Hour Racing when the sixth leg from Hong Kong to Auckland begins Wednesday.

The American-Danish entry is being transported to New Zealand for repairs after a collision with a fishing boat in waters just outside Hong Kong last month that left one fisherman dead.

"We have all offered our sincere condolences to all those affected by the incident," Vestas 11th Hour Racing co-founder Mark Towill said on the eve of the 5,600 nautical mile leg (10,400 kilometres) to Auckland.

"Now with a seriously damaged boat and a new set of challenges to surmount, we have had to map out the necessary steps that will enable our team to get back in the race."

Vestas collided with a Chinese fishing boat in the early hours of January 20 about 30 nautical miles from the Victoria Harbour finishing line in Hong Kong.

Crew helped with the search and rescue effort that saw one Chinese fisherman airlifted to a local hospital where he later died. Nine other fishermen were rescued by a commercial vessel.

The incident cast a pall over the famous race's first stopover in Hong Kong, with the leg from Melbourne having being won by the city's first-ever Volvo Ocean Race entrant -- Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, skippered by David Witt.

Spain's Mapfre, with Xabier Fernandez at the helm, lead the overall standings as the fleet sets out for the 6,100 nautical mile trip to Auckland.

Mapfre are four points in front of the China-backed Dongfeng Race Team, skippered by Frenchman Charles Caudrelier.

Vestas were lying third of the seven-boat fleet contesting the 13th edition of the race.

Yachts and crews have had 18 days of rest and in-port racing both in Hong Kong and in the nearby southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

The race will end in Gothenberg in June after 11 legs and 44,900 nautical miles (83,150 kilometres) of ocean racing.

"We hope to see Vestas back soon," said Mapfre's Fernandez. "Sailing in front of shipping is the most dangerous thing we face and [the collision] was very sad. It could have happened to anyone.

"The big challenge ahead is 20-plus days of sailing again and a little bit of everything. But the boat is great shape, we're rested and we're strong."
Baghdad Mayor Thikra Alwash, 60, has given herself 10 years to revive a city that was once the heart of the Abassid Caliphate and the centre of Arab and Muslim civilisation for five centuries

The mayor of Baghdad wants to revive her war-torn city, fix its decrepit infrastructure and twin it with Paris -- another female-led metropolis.

Thikra Alwash, a 60-year-old civil engineer and only woman mayor of a Middle East capital, faces a mountainous task.

She has given herself 10 years to revive the city, heart of the Abassid Caliphate and the centre of Arab and Muslim civilisation for five centuries.

Alwash has prioritised repairing war-scarred infrastructure and restoring the city's heritage -- but to do so, she needs to find the money.

"When I took up my post in 2015, the municipality was bankrupt. I was told that I had to find the financing myself," she told AFP.

"They chose a woman because we know how to pay attention to expenses."

Elegantly dressed with a red headscarf at her expansive city centre office, she said Baghdad was heading in the right direction.

"I am not saying that the services we offer the population are enough, but we are on the right track," she said.

Baghdad Mayor Thikra Alwash (R) says her priority is ensuring drinking water and functioning sewerage and garbage collection in the city of more than seven million

A former director general at Iraq's higher education ministry, Alwash was appointed by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

She said her budget, drawn from various taxes, fines and private investment, is 110 billion dinars ($90 million, 72 million euros).

That is set to increase, thanks to a new law under which the finance ministry will pump extra tax revenues into the municipality.

The budget "needs to double to make basic services work properly", Alwash said.

- Decades of decline -

Even with adequate funding, that is no small task in a city that sprawls over 900 square kilometres (350 square miles).

Baghdad's infrastructure was laid to waste by a 13-year international embargo against the regime of late dictator Saddam Hussein, the 2003 United States-led invasion that toppled him and the subsequent years of sectarian violence, culminating in the blood-soaked rise and fall of the Islamic State group.

Mayor Thikra Alwash also hopes to build a new ring road, widen the streets and develop public transport infrastructure including a metro system

Today, it has more than seven million inhabitants, up 45 percent since 2015, a year after IS seized a third of Iraq and triggered a rural exodus.

"Our priority is the proper functioning of drinking water, sewerage and garbage collection," said Alwash, who is in charge of some 36,000 employees.

Also in the pipeline is a $210 million, World Bank-funded water and wastewater project to tackle Baghdad's chronic water-related illnesses.

The Iraqi capital has been on the decline for decades, with many districts abandoned -- although that hasn't eased chronic traffic jams that pump out suffocating pollution.

Alwash hopes to build a new ring road, widen the streets and develop public transport infrastructure including a metro system.

"All this is provided for in our 2030 master plan, which we are putting the final touches on, taking into account that the city will have grown by 10 kilometres on each side" by then, doubling its surface area, she said.

- Dreams of twinning -

Another priority is the city's Islamic heritage, including plans to rehabilitate two of its iconic arteries, Al-Rashid Street and Abu Nawas Avenue.

The first was built during World War I and until the 1970s was Baghdad's answer to the Champs-Elysees, while the second girds the Tigris river, the city's green lung.

Down on Rashid Street, the mayor receives mixed reviews. Street vendors reproach her for removing their pavement stalls, while others praise her efforts to restore the promenade to its former charm.

Alwash is hoping international ties will help her in her mission to revive the city.

With that in mind, she plans to enlist the help of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Thikra Alwash is hoping international ties will help her in her mission to revive the city and plans to enlist the help of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo

"I would like to sign a twinning agreement with her because I hope to benefit from her experience in heritage rehabilitation," she said.

Caecilia Pieri, a researcher at the French Institute of the Near East and author of a book on Baghdad's history since World War I, said both cities had experienced urban destruction -- Paris had seen "four revolutions and three wars".

"It's a capital city where professionals know how to practice reconstruction," she said.

But Iraq's notorious problem of graft could threaten Alwash's ambitious plans.

She said she "doesn't like" speaking about corruption.

"I prefer to talk about mistakes," she said.

But she added: "I hope that under my mandate, this scourge will be reduced, especially by using modern technologies, and by choosing the appropriate people."
Holot detention centre is set to be shut down on April 1 as part of the Israeli government's policy to expel thousands of Eritreans and Sudanese who entered illegally

At a detention centre in Israel's Negev desert, African migrants facing deportation say they would rather be imprisoned than sent to a country they know nothing about.

"I won't go there," Abda Ishmael, a 28-year-old Eritrean, said in excellent Hebrew outside Holot, an open facility housing some 1,200 migrants and set to be shut down on April 1 as part of the government's expulsion policy.

"Guys who were here and went to Rwanda and Uganda -- we saw what happened to them."

Israel is working to expel thousands of Eritreans and Sudanese who entered illegally over the years, giving them an ultimatum: leave by April 1 or risk being imprisoned indefinitely.

As the migrants could face danger or imprisonment if returned to their homelands, Israel is offering to relocate them to an unnamed third country, which aid workers say is Rwanda or Uganda.

Israel has given detained African migrants an ultimatum: leave by April 1 or risk being imprisoned indefinitely

Those who choose to leave by the end of March are being offered a cash incentive of $3,500.

The plan has drawn criticism from the United Nations' refugee agency as well as some in Israel, including Holocaust survivors who say the country has a special duty to protect migrants.

Eritreans at Holot say Rwanda and Uganda hold no prospects for them, and they'd rather be imprisoned in Israel than embark on another journey into the unknown.

- 'Just seeking asylum' -

Ishmael, who reached Israel in 2011 after a terrifying journey from Eritrea, has heard about the fates of others sent to Rwanda or Uganda.

He said they have faced hardships in their new homes and gone on to take dangerous routes to Europe in hope of winning refugee status.

He vowed he would not voluntarily step back into the unknown.

"We know of people who were killed by (the Islamic State group), who were killed on their way to Libya, who starved and died of thirst in the desert," he said.

"These people were just seeking asylum."

Shishay Tewelde Medihin, 24, plans to stay in prison rather than face deportation from Israel

To Shishay Tewelde Medihin, 24, Rwanda and Uganda are "death countries" and Israel is "risking my life".

He slammed an aid package Israel is reportedly planning to offer African countries in return for absorbing the migrants.

Tewelde Medihin said he planned to stay "indefinitely" in Saharonim prison, where migrants are expected to be sent if they refuse to leave.

According to interior ministry figures, there are currently some 42,000 African migrants in Israel, half of them children, women or men with families, who are not facing the April deportation deadline.

Israeli officials stress that no one they classify as a refugee or asylum seeker will be deported.

But out of some 15,400 asylum requests filed, 6,600 have been processed and just 11 have received positive answers.

Holot detention centre, in the Negev desert, houses around 1,200 migrants

Another 1,000 Sudanese from Darfur have received special status preventing their deportation.

Other men whose requests have been denied could face deportation.

Migrants began entering Israel through what was then a porous Egyptian border in 2007. The border has since been strengthened, all but ending illegal crossings.

Many migrants ended up in southern Tel Aviv, where they found work as dishwashers and cooks. But their growing community angered some Israelis.

- 'Infiltrators' -

Religious and conservative politicians have portrayed the presence of Muslim and Christian Africans as a threat to Israel's Jewish character.

Calling them "infiltrators," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly called for their expulsion.

Rights groups have rallied to the migrants' cause, saying they should be recognised in Israel as refugees and arguing they will face grave dangers if they are deported.

Others argue that conditions in Rwanda and Uganda are acceptable and it is not Israel's duty to care for them.

"I'll ensure all the rights we promised them, and at the same time, I'll rehabilitate south Tel Aviv," Interior Minister Arye Deri said.

The migrants located at Holot are allowed to leave during the day.

Waiting for a bus outside the facility, a defiant Ahmad Jamal, 25, said the government's plan was a ploy by Netanyahu to divert attention from corruption probes.

"We're wise to his tricks," he said bitterly.

Ishmael asked how he could be considered an economic migrant if he cannot be deported to his country of origin because of the dangers there.

Some of the migrants say they would rather be imprisoned in Israel than embark on another journey into the unknown

"If the government really thinks I infiltrated to become a work migrant, it should have returned me to my country of origin," he said.

Both Ishmael and Tewelde Medihin miss their home country, but say they had no choice but to flee what they describe as a dictatorship.

"If things were better there, I wouldn't stay another minute here. I miss my country, my mother, my people," Tewelde Medihin said. "I didn't want to be a refugee."

Like the other Eritreans at the centre, Jamal's route to Israel involved an arduous trek through African countries and the Sinai desert, where he and his peers were at the mercy of Bedouin smugglers.

He also said he would refuse a cash payoff and hope for the best.

"God will watch over me, nobody else does," he said. "We're not afraid of anything. We've been through much worse."
Donald Trump, shown here on May 23, 2005, holds a press conference to announce the establishment of Trump University in New York

A federal appeals court cleared the way Tuesday for students who claim they were duped by the now-defunct Trump University to get most of their money back.

The $25 million settlement, approved in March, had been threatened by a lone objector, Florida lawyer and Trump University attendee Sherri Simpson, who wanted to opt out and take President Donald Trump to court on her own.

Simpson, along with thousands of other class members, had initially agreed to take part in the settlement, but then objected that she was denied a second opportunity to opt out of the case.

But the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco said the US District Court for the Southern District of California that approved the deal had "acted well within its discretion," given the fairness of the settlement as a whole.

The original ruling from Judge Gonzalo Curiel -- who Trump would later claim was biased against the president due to his Mexican heritage -- ended three lawsuits relating to Trump University, affecting around 4,000 claimants.

Two class-action suits were launched in California in 2010 by former students who claimed they had been deceived by false marketing, and a suit was brought by New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman in 2013.

- 'Aggressively encouraged to invest' -

Students paid as much as $35,000 to enroll at Trump University -- in operation from 2005 to 2011 -- wrongly believing they would make it big in real estate after being taught by the Manhattan property tycoon's hand-picked experts.

"Instead of receiving the promised training, attendees were aggressively encouraged to invest tens of thousands of dollars more in a so-called mentorship program that included resources, real estate guidance and a host of other benefits, none of which ever materialized," Tuesday's opinion reads.

After months of insisting he was ready to go court to establish his innocence, Trump made an about-face after his November 2016 election and agreed to pay up to save him the embarrassment of further legal wrangling.

"We're obviously thrilled that the Ninth Circuit rejected Ms Simpson's objection and agreed with Judge Curiel that our $25 million settlement -- which we reached nearly a year and a half ago -- is fair and reasonable," said Amber Eck, a lawyer representing some of the plaintiffs.

The attorney said Simpson had run out of options to further stall disbursement of the settlement "to the thousands of class members anxiously awaiting recovery," who are slated to receive 90 percent or more of what they paid.

"This has been an incredibly long, hard fight -- and today's ruling brings thousands of Americans one step closer to finally putting Trump University behind them," she added.
Editors Note: Recently, Cleary Vaughan-Lee, Executive Director at Global Oneness Project , traveled to Helsinki to participate in and present at HundrEDs 2017 Innovation Summit. HundrED is a Finland-based education organization, whose mission is to help schools change and evolve by seeking and sharing inspiring innovations in K-12 education globally. While there, she learned about 9 innovative education organizations.

Connect with Cleary during #Globaledchat on Thursday, February 8, 2018, at 8pmET on Twitter.

Finland is known as a global leader in education with pioneering approaches and highly successful schools . During an informative workshop at the Finnish National Agency for Education , I was given a comprehensive overview of the Finnish education system and a few pedagogical components stood out to me. They put students first and highly value the following: the strength and health of school culture, cross-curricular and collaborative learning, equity, and student and teacher voice.

The following two questions were explored in the workshop, both of which get to the heart of student learning and global education:



How can we lead students to reach their human potential?

What kind of people do we want living in the world?

Participating global educators responded to these questions by saying that students will need to be confident, multi-skilled, critical/analytical thinkers, and be appreciative of others. If we want students to become engaged global citizens, we need to support them in embodying these skills, which are essential to becoming innovative thinkers.

In her book, Bringing Innovation to School: Empowering Students to Thrive in a Changing World , author Suzie Boss agrees and adds that action-oriented, risk-taking, and forward-thinking students are often able to recognize problems, collaborate, and consider unconventional solutions. All of these skills, which get to the essence of 21st century learning , are key when addressing the future of education from a global perspective.

How can students and teachers use technological advancements in education to address local and global challenges? What are some ways these advancements can support positive student change-makers? The following 9 organizations provide some answers and solutions. Each one, part of HundrEDs 100 Global Innovations, offers creative approaches to education while connecting students to the world.

Real World Learning

THINK Global School

Location: Global

A traveling high school, THINK Global Schools students venture to four countries for an eight-week term each school year. Students immerse themselves in the local language and culture using place and project-based learning to explore real world issues. This year, students travel to Botswana, Japan, India, and Spain.

Student Agency

Traffic Agent

Location: Norway

Traffic Agent is a student-designed app that promotes road safety to and from school. Students contribute to the app by observing their own communities. The project encourages biking and walking to school, design thinking , and problem-solving skills while creating active students and community citizens.

Deconstruct Technology for Young Learners

Hello Ruby

Location: Finland

Hello Ruby teaches computational thinking to children using art and helps students learn about algorithms in a fun and playful way. Founder Linda Liukas said, To prepare kids for the future, its important to give them a robust understanding of what a computer is good at and what a human is good at.

Encourage Conversations About Race and Diversity

Interactive Diversity

Location: U.S.A.

Looking for a way to discuss race and identity in a thoughtful way? Interactive Diversity developed (Dont) Guess My Race, a web-based program aimed at teenagers to encourage critical thinking about race and identity. The goal is to reduce bias, stereotypes, and assumptions.

Emotional Storytelling

Global Oneness Project

Location: U.S.A.

The Global Oneness Project brings the world to the classroom with free multicultural storiesthrough essays, short documentary, films and photographyand accompanying lesson plans to explore cultural, social, and environmental issues through a humanistic lens. Their stories connect the local human experience to global meta-level issues, such as climate change, water scarcity, food insecurity, poverty, endangered cultures, migration, and sustainability.

Power of Play

Playground Ideas

Location: Australia

Located in Australia and used around the world, Playground Ideas empowers communities by providing free, downloadable designs to build playgrounds with local materials. The organization also provides evidence on the importance of play . In 11 years, they have supported communities in 85 mainly developing countries to build thousands of playgrounds.

Bringing Education to Children Living in Poverty

BRAC Boat Schools

Location: Bangladesh

The mission of BRAC is to empower people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, disease and social injustice. BRAC Boat Schools brings education to disadvantaged children. Across Bangladesh and the Philippines, more than 14,500 students are enrolled in over 500 BRAC Boat Schools.

Learning to Care

Roots of Empathy

Location: U.S.A.

Roots of Empathy helps create caring, peaceful, and civil societies through the development of empathy in children and adults. The program, established in eleven countries, works with local families who come into elementary classrooms with their infants to learn empathy and emotional literacy. Founder Mary Gordon said, Babies respond intuitively to love. They are blind to the differences as defined by the world.

Developing a Worldview

Universe Awareness

Location: Netherlands

Universe Awareness is an international project that provides high-quality, engaging, and easy-to-use astronomy resources for young learners. Theyve created an international network active in 63 countries, organize teacher-training sessions, and provide free resources.

Access the complete list of HundrEDs 100 global innovations . Saku Tuominen, creative director of HundrED, said that these innovations need to be shared with the world. Being able to showcase these innovations, he said, marks the beginning of a drive to get all teachers involved in revolutionizing education.

The best innovations in the world strive toward the betterment of humanity. After all, as expressed on the HundrED website, our children deserve it.

Connect with Cleary , Global Oneness Project , Heather , and the Center for Global Education on Twitter.

Photo by: Melanie Gordon.

Quote image created on Pablo .
For centuries, the nomadic Kyrgyz people travelled freely across Central and South Asia, fording rivers and cutting across snow-capped mountains with their herds of livestock. Today they are trapped on the "roof of the world".

For centuries, the nomadic Kyrgyz people travelled freely across Central and South Asia, fording rivers and cutting across snow-capped mountains with their herds of livestock. Today they are stuck on the "roof of the world" -- caught in Afghanistan's remote and mountainous Wakhan Corridor with little hope of a way out.

Political upheaval and violence in the region has slowly boxed them in. There are no roads, and one by one the nearest borders have closed, condemning the Kyrgyz to a treacherous life.

"We are accidental Afghans," says Jo Boi, the frail Kyrgyz chief with heavy-lidded eyes and a somnolent voice.

"We didn't choose this land but we have no other place to go," he explains of his tribe, which numbers just 1,100 according to analysts.

An inhospitable place where temperatures rarely rise above freezing and crops cannot grow, life expectancy here is low.

One in three women die from complications in childbirth while 53 percent of children do not survive beyond age five, says Jeff Walkes, the Bishek-based director of NGO Crosslink Development International.

He told AFP: "They live on a precipice between survival and succumbing to the realities of living in such a remote area."

"They continue to exist... as they have for hundreds of years," he added,

In the absence of doctors or clinics even minor ailments can be deadly.

"Death is more frequent than birth," agrees local shepherd Tilo, his hands so chapped the skin is cracked and bloodied, a common feature among inhabitants of the corridor.

- 'Roof of the world' -

The Wakhan Corridor consists mainly of arid valleys and craggy mountain passes. It was carved out as result of the 19th century Great Game, when the British and Russian Empires fought for influence in Central Asia -- the long, narrow strip of territory serving as a buffer zone between the expanding powers.

Its inhabitants, the Kyrgyz and the larger Wakhi tribe at the other end of the corridor, call their land Bam-e-Dunya, the "roof of the world", due to its location at the convergence of three of Asia's highest mountain ranges -- the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram and the Pamir, together forming the famed Pamir Knot.

Political upheaval and violence in the region has slowly boxed them in. There are no roads, and one by one the nearest borders have closed, condemning the nomadic Kyrgyz to a treacherous life

The nearest town of Ishkashim is a three-day journey by horse or yak on a trail that cuts through sharp mountain passes and narrow valleys, where one wrong step can be deadly.

Previously the Kyrgyz only stopped in Wakhan for the summer, says Kate Clark of the Afghanistan Anaysts Network (AAN), travelling to Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and the Xinjiang region of China to escape the harsh winters.

"After the 1917 Russian and 1949 Communist revolutions, many fled to Wakhan preferring the numbing cold to communist-enforced collectivisation," she told AFP.

The independence of British India and creation of Pakistan in 1947 hardened another boundary to the south, and by the mid-20th century the group was cut off in the northern portion of the corridor.

- 'We die young' -

A communist coup in Kabul in 1978 spurred them to flee, led by their leader Haji Rehman Qul over the 16,300-foot Irshad pass into Pakistan.

But after several hundred died due to water-borne diseases, most of the group returned to Wakhan.

Following the disastrous exodus, Rehman begged the US government to resettle the group in "yak friendly" Alaska, but their requests were denied by Washington.

A small group of Kyrgyz was later given aslyum in Turkey, but the rest still battle for survival in Wakhan.

"We are stuck," says Tilo.

The Afghan government considers the Kyrgyz citizens, but the group view it as a foreign land and have been lobbying to be relocated to Kyrgyzstan since the USSR collapsed.

Their resettlement is not seen as a burning problem in Kyrgyzstan. Successive governments have announced initiatives over the years to assist repatriation and provide citizenship for some 22,000 ethnic Kyrgyz abroad, including the group in the Wakhan Corridor, but securing such a move remains rare.

In Afghanistan's remote Wakhan Corridor, one in three women die from complications in childbirth while 53 percent of children do not survive beyond age five, according to NGO Crosslink Development International.

"Finally the government of Kyrgyzstan has started repatriation and some families moved this year," says Jo Boi.

The Kyrgyzstan embassy in Kabul, however, denied any efforts to repatriate the community, insisting that the small number taken to Kyrgyzstan were sent for educational purposes only.

"The ethnic Kyrgyz are citizens of Afghanistan," Uchkun Eraliev, charge d'affaires at the Kyrgyzstan Embassy in Afghanistan told AFP, adding that his government simply provides humanitarian assistance including food, warm clothes and medicine to them annually.

But for Tilo, securing a future in Kyrgyzstan is his peoples' best hope for survival.

"Who would like to live here, but there is no other way... We never become old because we die young," he says with a bitter smile.
The difficulty of transferring money in sub-Saharan Africa has made cryptocurrencies attractive for Nigerians despite the volatility of bitcoin

While bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have suffered precipitous falls in recent weeks, the units remain popular in Nigeria where they make it easier to do business.

On the surface, digital coins may not seem like a good idea in a country where corruption is rampant and stacks of hard cash are often smuggled overseas.

Yet West Africa's biggest economy has the world's third-largest bitcoin holdings as a percentage of gross domestic (GDP), behind Russia and New Zealand, according to Citigroup.

That may be because blockchain technology -- public, online ledgers that underpin cryptocurrencies -- is liberating Nigerians sidelined by the global financial system as it dramatically improves the ease of doing business.

Olaoluwa Samuel-Biyi, a slight 27-year-old entrepreneur, looks the part of an aspiring corporate disrupter, dressed in skinny jeans with dishevelled hair.

He first considered using cryptocurrency when credit card firms and other established payment providers refused to partner with his global remittance company, deeming the venture too risky.

"They said the markets were too high risk and that people could finance terrorism," he told AFP, laughing. "It's ridiculous."

He realised that the only way he could solve the problem was to use cryptocurrency.

"It's so hard to send money from Nigeria to Zimbabwe, or from the United States to Sudan," he explained. Banks were "very tedious" and payment companies "generally exploitative", he said.

"There's heavy discrimination, definitely. We have to go all around them to succeed."

- 'Financial inclusion' -

Samuel-Biyi's company, SureRemit, developed its own virtual token -- a kind of custom cryptocurrency like bitcoin or one of the many alternatives such as ether.

The tokens are used to buy vouchers, which may be used to purchase goods and pay bills at participating merchants anywhere in the world, cutting out cumbersome middlemen and eliminating fees.

In January, SureRemit held its "initial coin offering" (ICO), a form of online crowdfunding where people purchase the tokens to be put in circulation for use in eight countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East.

The 500 million tokens, each worth two US cents, sold out in just two days and were snapped up by major cryptocurrency players, including South Korea's Hashed, raising $7 million for the company.

"We were expecting scam allegations," said Samuel-Biyi, referring to Nigeria's unenviable reputation for online financial fraud. "But the world really accepted it."

If the token system works, SureRemit stands to take a chunk of the world's remittance market, which was worth $429 billion in 2016, according to the World Bank.

It's hardly surprising that SureRemit was conceived in Nigeria: remittance flows that year were worth $19 billion -- more than four percent of GDP.

Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the highest remittance costs in the world, with the most expensive fees seen within the continent.

To send money from France to Mali incurs a five percent fee, a quarter of how much it costs to send from Nigeria to Mali.

Such high fees have for years forced Nigerians to find alternative, sometimes risky, ways to transfer money.

Cryptocurrencies are a way for Africans to make payments online and abroad when banks or transfer companies won't, or only for high fees

"I remember back in 2004, e-gold (a defunct digital currency) was the only option anyone in Nigeria had to make online payments," said Tim Akinbo, the founder of Tanjalo, a Nigerian exchange where people can buy bitcoin with the local naira currency.

"There are still African countries cut off from international commerce online. Bitcoin is technology that allows financial inclusion."

- Naira volatility -

The depreciation of the naira, which has sunk to 305 against the US dollar from 169 in 2015, has made cryptocurrencies even more attractive -- and the authorities are paying attention.

Nigeria's central bank governor Godwin Emefiele warned recently that "cryptocurrency or bitcoin is like a gamble", though the Senate has launched an investigation into "the viability of bitcoin as a form of investment".

Stern warnings haven't made an impact on trading, said Owenizi Odia, Nigeria spokesman for Luno, another cryptocurrency exchange operating in the country.

"I think there's an acknowledgement that this technology is the future, going beyond bricks and mortar to improve cost efficiency," added Muyiwa Oni, an analyst at Stanbic IBTC Holdings in Lagos.

"For now we're still trying to distinguish who the main players will be."

Samuel-Biyi hopes to be one of them.

"Whether or not the authorities call it gambling, Nigerians are just looking for any opportunity to get ahead of the curve," he said. "It's part of the hustle."
New York-based Elliott Advisors commissioned a report that found a restructure would deliver more than US$22bn in value to shareholders if BHP's British and Australian entities were unified

Mining giant BHP would reap US$22 billion in value for shareholders if it restructures into one Australian entity and scraps its dual-listing, a key US hedge fund and activist investor has said.

New York-based Elliott Advisors, a significant shareholder in the world's biggest miner, has been pushing hard for the Anglo-Australian firm to dissolve its costly dual-listed structure.

But unlike its previous proposal of a new company incorporated and listed in Britain, which was rejected by BHP, Elliott has now suggested a single entity incorporated and headquartered in Australia.

"It is beyond serious doubt that unifying BHP's current, inefficient DLC (dual-listed company) structure would create significant value for shareholders," Elliott said in a statement late Tuesday.

Elliott commissioned a report by FTI Consulting that found a restructure would deliver more than US$22 billion in value to shareholders if BHP's British and Australian entities were unified, with US$391 million in costs.

In a letter to chairman Ken MacKenzie, it called on the board to publicly commit during its half-year results announcement on February 20 that the firm would "undertake an immediate, independent and transparent review of unification".

Under the suggested structure, a new Australian umbrella company would acquire the two existing halves of BHP -- BHP Ltd (Australia) and BHP plc (Britain).

It would have a unified shareholder base with a primary listing on the Australian Securities Exchange.

The miner did not have any immediate comment, but previously said the initial proposal would attract significantly more costs than benefits.

David Lennox, a resources analyst at Fat Prophets, said the dual-listing was something of an anachronism.

"There's no doubt with modern technology, the structure is probably a little antiquated. We don't need to have two sets of management on either side of the globe anymore," he told AFP.

"The structure serves them well... it's outlived its life but that doesn't mean it's broken."

BHP's Australian roots stretch back to the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, which began operations in the Outback in 1885.

It opened its head offices in Melbourne the same year, but became BHP Billiton in a merger with the South African company that bore that name in 2001.

In May last year, the miner dropped the name Billiton in a rebranding exercise to build its standing as a major Australian company rather than a multinational giant.
German automaker Mercedes-Benz has apologised for "hurting the feelings" of people in China after its Instagram account quoted Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama

German automaker Mercedes-Benz has apologised for "hurting the feelings" of people in China after its Instagram account quoted Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, seen as a separatist by Beijing.

The apology marks the latest backpedalling by a foreign company for offending Chinese consumers with advertising or information that clashes with Beijing's official position.

Mercedes's seemingly benign post to its official Instagram account showed a Benz on a beach before rolling white capped waves.

"Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open," the ad copy ran, citing the Dalai Lama.

"Start your week with a fresh perspective on life from the Dalai Lama," the carmaker wrote in the tagline.

The post immediately drew criticism from Chinese internet users for quoting the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, whom Beijing accuses of being a "wolf in monk's robes" seeking Tibetan independence through "spiritual terrorism".

The Dalai Lama has called for granting Tibetans greater autonomy within China, but not independence.

While Instagram is blocked in China and inaccessible to most Chinese, and the Instagram post was penned in English, Mercedes-Benz quickly deleted the photo after the outcry and issued an apology on China's Twitter-like Weibo social media platform.

"Even though we deleted the related information as soon as possible, we know this has hurt the feelings of people of this country," Mercedes said on its verified Weibo statement.

The post "published extremely incorrect information, for this we are sincerely sorry", Mercedes wrote.

"We have immediately taken real action to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values, including among our colleagues abroad, and in this way regulate our behaviour."

The online edition of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily did not let up, running an editorial attacking Mercedes on Tuesday.

"Mercedes-Benz, you've made yourself an enemy of the Chinese people!" the headline of the editorial read.

"Some foreign companies are dredging up gold in China's market at the same time as they are harming the Chinese people, what do they want to do?" it added.

Offending the sensitivities of Beijing has proven a problem for a number of foreign companies tapping the lucrative Chinese market.

Earlier this year, a spate of brands came under government criticism for online material that listed Chinese regions such as Tibet and Hong Kong as separate countries.

Marriott hotels even had its Chinese website and app blocked for a week by mainland authorities, while Spanish clothing giant Zara and Delta Air Lines were also called out.

Nor is this the first Dalai Lama Instagram post to provoke a backlash in China.

Last summer, British band Placebo was scheduled to perform at the Summer Sonic Festival in Shanghai -- until they posted a photo of the Nobel winner on Instagram.

The picture resulted "in a lifetime ban by the Ministry of Culture in China," the band said in another post acknowledging they would be unable to perform.

"We apologise to all the fans who were hoping to see Placebo perform," the band wrote.
Migrant workers from Myanmar gesture defiantly for the media before entering court to face defamation charges by a Thammakaset chicken farm, after they accused the company of labour abuses, at Don Muang Magistrates Court in Bangkok

A Bangkok court began a defamation trial Wednesday against 14 Myanmar migrant workers who accused a Thai chicken farm of labour abuses, a case rights groups say is an effort to silence whistleblowers.

The poultry farm in Lopburi province charged the workers with criminal defamation after they filed a complaint to a national rights commission in 2016 alleging they had been overworked and underpaid.

The labourers said they were forced to work gruelling 20 hour days without compensation for overtime among other abuses on the farm owned by Thammakaset, a company that supplied meat to the Thai food conglomerate Betagro.

Betagro, a food giant that sells to clients around the globe, later cut ties with the supplier farm.

But Thammasaket chased the Myanmar workers with charges -- defamation and giving false information to public officials -- that carry up 1.5 years in prison.

On Wednesday the migrant workers arrived at a Bangkok court for the start of the three-day trial.

"The workers just filed a complaint because they thought their rights were violated and asked for an independent body to investigate," defence lawyer Nakhon Chomphuchat told AFP ahead of the hearing.

"This case shouldn't happen," he added.

Thammasaket was not immediately available for comment.

Thailand has a grim reputation for exploiting the millions of migrant workers who staff the country's fishing fleets, farms and factories but are treated like second-class citizens.

Much of the workforce remains undocumented, leaving them highly vulnerable to unscrupulous employers, police and human traffickers.

Workers from Myanmar, which borders Thailand to the west, make up the majority of foreign labourers.

While trafficked labour and slave-like conditions on Thai fishing trawlers have grabbed headlines around the globe, the kingdom's multi-billion-dollar poultry sector has largely evaded scrutiny.

Thailand does not allow migrant workers to form trade unions and those that complain often find themselves out of work or prosecuted under defamation laws -- a weapon frequently wielded by powerful interests to silence critics.

Ahead of the trial rights groups urged Thammasaket to drop the charges and called for a reform to the kingdom's criminal defamation law.

"These types of cases are all too common in Thailand. They're a mark of the high costs paid by whistleblowers and truthtellers for simply exercising their right," said Amy Smith from Fortify Rights.

Finnwatch, a Finnish civil rights group that has reported on labour issues in Thailand, said the workers were being punished for going public about the abuses they suffered.

"It is simply wrong and points to serious problems in Thailand's defamation laws," said Finnwatch director Sonja Vartiala.
A decade after he swept to power in the Maldives' first democratic elections, exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed is again pushing for change -- by force if necessary -- as his island homeland spirals into crisis

A decade after he swept to power in the Maldives' first democratic elections, exiled opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed is again pushing for change -- by force if necessary -- as his island homeland spirals into crisis.

Nasheed made history in 2008 when he defeated Maumoon Abdul Gayoom -- then Asia's longest-serving leader -- after three decades of unchallenged rule.

In the years that followed, the charismatic young president won international renown as a campaigner against climate change and the rising sea levels posing an existential threat to the low-lying Indian Ocean archipelago.

But he fled into exile after he was convicted and jailed in 2015 on a terrorism charge widely seen as politically motivated.

Now Nasheed, whose tumultuous life in prison and politics has earned comparisons to Nelson Mandela, is back in the global spotlight after a Supreme Court ruling that has plunged his homeland into chaos.

He is calling for help to depose President Abdulla Yameen, whose refusal to comply with the court's order to release high-profile political prisoners drew international censure.

The surprise court ruling -- since overturned after the president declared a state of emergency and arrested two top judges -- opened a new chapter for the veteran opposition leader, who has appealed to regional superpower India to send in troops and restore democracy.

Nasheed spent decades building a pro-democracy movement in exile before his 2008 election.

He was repeatedly arrested for speaking out against the government in the 1990s and he established the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), now the main opposition, in exile in Sri Lanka and Britain after leaving the Maldives in 2003.

He returned in 2005 and was elected president three years later on a promise to make the holiday paradise islands carbon neutral within a decade.

In 2009, he held an underwater cabinet meeting in an effort to press the world to cap carbon emissions. He also raised eyebrows by announcing his intention to buy a new homeland to relocate the Maldives' entire population.

But he was pushed aside in 2012 after weeks of street protests over the sacking of a judge, and a year later lost a controversial run-off against Yameen -- half-brother to his old foe Gayoom.

By 2016 he was again in exile in London, securing political asylum with the help of high-profile human rights lawyer Amal Clooney.

Yameen's regime, furious, tore up his passport. Nasheed insisted he was "a refugee" but still a Maldivian national.

In early 2017, he announced from Colombo his intention to challenge Yameen for the presidency -- even though stepping foot in the Maldives would result in his arrest.

Yameen has slowly ratcheted up his crackdown on dissent, using troops to shut down parliament and jailing critics, as the Maldives' battered image as an idyllic island paradise fades into mirage.
Rafizi pictured speaking at a meeting in 2013: he faces a new jail term

A senior Malaysian opposition politician was jailed for 30 months on Wednesday after he was found guilty of leaking confidential banking details, disqualififying him from elections expected to be called within months.

Rafizi Ramli, vice-president of the People's Justice party of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, was found guilty of illegally releasing six years ago financial details related to the National Feedlot Corporation, which was set up to promote the beef industry. He alleged the details proved corruption.

Since the sentence is more than one year, he is barred by law from contesting elections for five years.

Political analysts expect Prime Minister Najib Razak to call a general election within months to seek a new mandate after weathering allegations of massive corruption linked to state investment fund 1MDB.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has emerged from retirement to lead an opposition coalition to challenge Najib.

For Rafizi, it was his second conviction for an offence punishable by more than one year in jail.

In November 2016 he was given an 18-month prison term for leaking classified documents linked to 1MDB, but the case is under appeal.

Rafizi has angered authorities by releasing secret documents or making allegations about government abuses.

At the court hearing on Wednesday he was convicted along with Johari Mohamad, a fomer bank clerk.

Rafizi told AFP the sentence was a "political punishment" for speaking the truth.

"I think those in power are sending the strongest signal to everyone that it doesn't pay to speak the truth," he said.

Both Rafizi and Johari were freed on bail pending an appeal to the High Court.

The Lawyers for Liberty rights group described the sentence as "harsh" and warned it would have "a chilling effect on would-be whistleblowers".

"Rafizi as an MP was performing his higher duties: that is, to hold the government accountable and expose any corruption," Eric Paulsen, director of the group, told AFP.

"It is unfortunate that the 30-month jail sentence disqualifies Rafizi from running in the elections at a time when the opposition is seriously challenging the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition," he added.
President Rodrigo Duterte has angrily turned down an invitation to an Asia-Europe summit in Brussels as he again lashed out at the EU

President Rodrigo Duterte has angrily turned down an invitation to an Asia-Europe summit in Brussels as he again lashed out at the EU and accused the bloc of insulting him over his deadly war on drugs.

The maverick leader labelled the 28-country European Union -- the Philippines' second most important trading partner -- "stupid" and warned he would not stay silent in the face of Western condemnation of his anti-crime crackdown.

Europe has been vocal in its criticism of Duterte's hallmark policy, which has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead and seen human rights groups claim he was responsible for a crime against humanity.

Duterte hit out after saying European Council President Donald Tusk had invited him to the biennial Asia-Europe meeting in October.

"I've been invited by the EU, that stupid organisation," Duterte told government workers late Tuesday.

"I said, 'For what? You thought of me as that kind of person then, so why change your assessment?'"

He continued: "So you get to insult me? I will use whore-speak on you too. Don't ever do that to me."

Despite widespread criticism over alleged "extrajudicial killings" in the drugs war, Duterte has vowed to pursue the campaign until the end of his six-year term.

The issue had risked threatening the duty-free privileges of billions of dollars in annual Philippine exports to the EU, but Brussels announced last month Manila will retain the trade perks.

The EU mission in Manila confirmed Wednesday that Duterte had been "invited like other leaders from Asia and Europe" to the summit, but declined to comment on the president's latest outburst.

Duterte said he was "not like other presidents" and would not take perceived slights in his stride, adding he also disliked travelling.

He recalled an invitation from President Donald Trump to visit the United States, which he said provoked a threat from American senators to protest if he stepped foot on US soil.

"I said, you know guys, you are too presumptuous. Whoever told you that I would visit your place? What is there to see?" he added.

Duterte has branded Trump's predecessor Barack Obama a "son of a whore" for criticising his drugs campaign, but enjoys a better rapport with the current American leader who also has a reputation for being outspoken.

Trump declared at a Manila summit in November he had a "great relationship" with his Philippine counterpart.

However, Duterte also said Tuesday he preferred not to visit places where he would be criticised as "sexist" for speaking out.
Rio Tinto reported a bumper annual net profit of US$8.76 billion in 2017, up from US$4.62 billion in the previous financial year

Rio Tinto rewarded shareholders Wednesday with a record dividend as the mining giant reported a bumper annual net profit of US$8.76 billion in 2017, a 90 percent jump as commodity prices strengthened.

The Anglo-Australian firm had posted US$4.62 billion in annual profit in the previous financial year, turning around a loss in 2015 when key metals prices slumped and the growth in Chinese demand slowed.

"The strength of our cash flow is a result of resilient prices during the year coupled with a robust operational performance and a focus on mine to market productivity," chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in a statement.

He added that the firm's strong position had allowed it to "invest in high-value growth through the cycle, and consistently deliver superior cash returns to shareholders".

Underlying profit for the year to December 31 -- a measure preferred by the world's second-largest miner -- was US$8.63 billion, a 69 percent rise from the previous period and broadly matching analysts' expectations.

The bulk of underlying earnings came from its main commodity, iron ore, at US$6.69 billion.

The company issued a record full-year dividend of US$5.2 billion -- US$2.90 per share -- and announced a billion-dollar share buyback.

Shares in Rio closed 3.82 percent higher at Aus$78.31 in Sydney ahead of the results, alongside a rising market.

Rio said improving prices in all its commodities increased underlying earnings by US$4.11 billion compared to 2016.

The miner reduced net debt to US$3.8 billion, and made US$2.7 billion in divestments last year, including the sale of most of its Australian coal assets to China-backed Yancoal.
The seabird, also known as "no-mates Nigel", spent years living among a colony of fake concrete birds set up by conservationists in a bid to attract wildlife

New Zealand wildlife lovers are mourning the death of a gannet named Nigel, dubbed "the loneliest bird in the world" due to the absence of any feathered friends on his island home.

Instead the seabird, also known as "no-mates Nigel", spent years living among a colony of fake concrete birds set up by conservationists in a bid to attract wildlife.

The antisocial avian fell in love with one of the decoys on Mana Island, off the Wellington coast, and was seen preening, nestling and even trying to mate with it.

"Nigel chose to live on Mana, and we know he was happy there because he could have left any time and didn't," Department of Conservation ranger Chris Bell said Wednesday.

"It was odd behaviour for a gannet, but every group has their individuals."

Sadly, Nigel may have died just as the fake colony was having its desired effect, with Bell reporting that three gannets began visiting Mana in late December

Bell found Nigel's body lying next to his stony sweetheart late last month and believes he died of old age, although an autopsy is yet to confirm the theory.

Sadly, Nigel may have died just as the fake colony was having its desired effect, with Bell reporting that three gannets began visiting Mana in late December.

Bell said Australasian gannets like Nigel, while not endangered, needed nesting sites that were not vulnerable to introduced pests such as rats and stoats.

"Gannets are extremely social birds and they make their decisions on where to live based on that," he said.

"The decoys are our way of telling passing-by gannets that this place is safe, its predator free and it would be a good place for them to live."

He said the three gannet newcomers were now regular visitors to the island and may yet set up a colony that could act as Nigel's legacy.

"We are conscious that without Nigel the other three might not choose to nest here but only time will tell. We're optimistic," he said.
The debate over vouchers will likely never end, but that does not mean its useless taking a closer look at the birthplace of this innovation (Do School Vouchers Work? Milwaukees Experiment Suggests an Answer , The Wall Street Journal, Jan. 29).

Since 1990, parents in Wisconsin have been given state-funded vouchers to be used to educate their children in private schools. (The initial plan barred religious schools.) To date, about one-quarter of students - nearly 29,000 - have participated. Have vouchers worked as intended? According to an analysis conducted by The Wall Street Journal, they have as long as enrollment of voucher students has been kept low. In short, there is a tipping point beyond which there is little difference in performance between public and private schools.

What the study did not explain, however, is what criteria were used by private and religious schools in admitting students. Thats an important question because the bulk of schools with the highest voucher enrollments were in the bottom quartiles of private schools for results on state exams. In order to look good, private and religious schools will quite naturally want to cherry pick students. Traditional public schools, on the other hand, by law must enroll all who show up at their door regardless of ability or motivation. As a result, Im surprised that private and religious schools didnt far surpass their competition.

Its important to note that Milwaukee has been studied before (The original name was the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.) Paul Peterson and John Witte looked at the same student data in 1996 and reached opposite conclusions. How is that possible? Actually, its not uncommon to find experts differing on the available evidence. Its hard to prevent ideology from seeping into investigations. What surprises me is that so many years after vouchers began, we still cant agree on their benefits. I doubt we ever will.
The fleet leaves Hong Kong for Auckland at the start of the sixth leg of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race

Skipper Simeon Tienpont's team AkzoNobel led the Volvo Ocean Race fleet away from Hong Kong start line on Wednesday as the sixth leg to Auckland began.

AkzoNobel, SHK/Scallywag and Team Brunel were first across the line but the round-the-world fleet left the southern Chinese city without Vestas 11th Hour Racing.

The American-Danish entry is being transported to New Zealand for repairs after a collision with a fishing boat in waters just outside Hong Kong last month that left one fisherman dead.

Shortly after clearing the city's famous Victoria Harbour and heading into the South China Sea, the wind increased to 15-20 knots with conditions forecast to deteriorate over the next 24 hours.

"It could be quite rough out of Hong Kong," said Tienpont. "I wouldn't be surprised to see some pretty strong winds."

The fleet leaves Hong Kong for Auckland at the start of the sixth leg of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race

The leg will take the fleet through the Luzon Strait and then on an easterly heading before the boats dive south through the Doldrums and then southeast to the northern tip of New Zealand.

"Its a long leg to Auckland, around 6,000 nautical miles," said Xabi Fernandez, the skipper of the overall race leader Mapfre.

"If we look at the weather models then it will immediately be full-on for the first 36 to 48 hours," said Brunel skipper Bouwe Bekking.

Vestas 11th Hour Racing co-founder Mark Towill referred to the fatal accident when he said Tuesday: "We have all offered our sincere condolences to all those affected by the incident.

"Now with a seriously damaged boat and a new set of challenges to surmount, we have had to map out the necessary steps that will enable our team to get back in the race."

Vestas collided with a Chinese fishing boat in the early hours of January 20 about 30 nautical miles from the Victoria Harbour finishing line in Hong Kong.

One Chinese fisherman was airlifted to a local hospital where he later died. Nine other fishermen were rescued by a commercial vessel.

Spain's Mapfre lead the overall standings, four points in front of the China-backed Dongfeng Race Team, skippered by Frenchman Charles Caudrelier.

The fleet leaves Hong Kong for Auckland at the start of the sixth leg of the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race

Vestas were lying third of the seven-boat fleet contesting the 13th edition of the race.

Yachts and crews have had 18 days of rest and in-port racing both in Hong Kong and in the nearby southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.

The race will end in The Hague in June after 11 legs and 44,900 nautical miles (83,150 kilometres) of ocean racing.
Israeli security forces inspect the entrance to the Jewish settlement of Karmei Tzur where a Palestinian stabbed a security guard and was shot dead on February 7, 2018 in the latest violence in the occupied West Bank

A Palestinian stabbed a security guard at the entrance to an Israeli settlement and was shot dead on Wednesday, the army said, in the latest violence in the occupied West Bank.

The guard was lightly wounded at the entrance to the Karmei Tzur settlement north of Hebron, the army said in a statement. Another security guard opened fire on the assailant and killed him, it added.

Palestinian security sources named him as Hamza Zamareh, 17, from Halhul, near the scene of the attack.

Local residents said that Israeli troops arrived at the family home shortly after the attack and began interrogating relatives, while young villagers hurled stones at the soldiers.

The Karmei Tzur attack was the fourth deadly incident in the West Bank since Israeli rabbi Itamar Ben Gal was stabbed to death on Monday near the settlement of Ariel.

In an apparent search for his attacker, Israeli forces raided the West Bank city of Nablus late Tuesday, sparking clashes that left a Palestinian dead.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces shot dead the suspected Palestinian mastermind of a fatal January ambush on another settler rabbi, Raziel Shevach.

In a pre-dawn raid on the village of Yamoun, near Jenin, troops shot dead 22-year-old suspect Ahmad Jarrar, a member of the militant Islamist group Hamas.

The Shin Bet Israeli security agency said that he was armed.

Jarrar was the son of a Hamas figure killed by Israeli forces during the second intifada of the early 2000s.

- 'Qassam bullet' -

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed Jarrar as a member and welcomed the January 9 attack in which Shevach was shot dead in what Israeli media said was a hail of 22 bullets.

"Our heroes in the occupied West Bank wrote a heroic epic that made the Zionists lose sleep and put their security establishment on alert," the al-Qassam Brigades said in a statement.

It said a "Qassam bullet" was responsible for the murder, though it was unclear if the Hamas leadership was claiming direct responsibility for the attack or whether the cell acted on its own.

Israeli forces had been hunting for the assailants since the murder, with roadblocks and checkpoints set up following the attack.

Two Palestinians were killed during earlier raids which Israeli security services said were launched to find Shevach's killers.

Protesters throw stones at Israeli troops who entered the West Bank town of Halhul on February 7, 2018 to interrogate relatives of a Palestinian who stabbed a security guard at nearby Jewish settlement before being shot dead

Tensions have risen since US President Donald Trump's controversial recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital on December 6.

At least 23 Palestinians have been killed since then, most in clashes with Israeli forces. Two Israelis have been killed in that timeframe.

Israeli settlements are seen as illegal under international law and a major obstacle to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.

Israel faced sharp criticism from the administration of former US president Barack Obama over settlement construction, but that has not been the case with Trump's White House.
A model of a Bell 412 helicopter on display at the Singapore Airshow: the Philippines is to buy 16 of the helicopters

The Philippines has bought 16 new Bell helicopters from Canada for about US$235 million to strengthen its fight against Islamic militants and other domestic insurgencies, defence officials said Wednesday.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clashed with host President Rodrigo Duterte over Philippine drug war killings, on the sidelines of a Manila summit.

The Philippine defence department signed the 12- billion-peso (US$234.8 million) Bell 412EPI deal with the state-run Canadian Commercial Corp, with deliveries set to start in nine months, ministry spokesman Arsenio Andolong told AFP.

"These are multi-purpose aircraft for anti-terrorism as well as HADR," he said, using military lingo that refers to disaster response and humanitarian missions.

Philippine troops and police, beset by Islamist and communist insurgencies, fought a five-month battle last year against Islamic State group supporters in the southern city of Marawi.

It is also faced with rising tensions over rival territorial claims in the South China Sea and has been upgrading its navy and air force in recent years. The country is also regularly battered by typhoons.

"These (helicopters) are a real benefit to Filipinos," Canadian ambassador John Holmes said on the mission's Facebook page, adding it would boost Manila's "search and rescue and disaster relief capabilities".

The Philippine defence department acquired eight of the same Bell aircraft model in 2015, which it said went mostly to an air force unit assigned with providing air transport for the Philippine president.

The Filipino military also uses derivations of the Bell-UH-1H helicopter, which first saw service for the US military in the Vietnam War in the early 1960s.

The two governments announced the deal less than three months after Duterte and Trudeau clashed.

Trudeau said during the November summit that he called out Duterte over "human rights, the rule of law, and specifically extrajudicial killings".

Duterte, who has overseen a crackdown that has left nearly 4,000 drug suspects dead at the hands of the police, later described Trudeau's comments as "a personal and official insult", adding he would only answer to his Filipino electorate.

The Philippine government says police only shot the suspects in self-defence and rejects human rights monitors' description of the crackdown as a crime against humanity.
A photo released by the South African presidency showed Jacob Zuma (L) with Cyril Ramaphosa at a Cabinet Committee meeting in Cape Town

South Africa's deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, on Wednesday vowed a "speedy resolution" to talks on the future of embattled leader Jacob Zuma, expected to step down after mounting political turmoil.

President Zuma is under growing pressure to quit in favour of Ramaphosa, his deputy and African National Congress (ANC) party leader, with local media suggesting an exit deal is being hammered out.

Ramaphosa said that postponing a meeting on Wednesday of top ANC officials would "enable President Zuma and myself to conclude our discussions... in the coming days".

The presidency released pictures of the two men sitting together and smiling at a cabinet committee meeting in Cape Town.

"The discussions were constructive and lay the basis for a speedy resolution of the matter in the interests of the country and the people," Ramaphosa said.

The announcement that the ANC's national executive, which has the power to recall Zuma, would not meet as scheduled on Wednesday followed the dramatic cancellation of a key parliament speech by the president.

- Showpiece speech delayed -

Zuma had been due to deliver the State of the Nation address on Thursday -- the centrepiece of the political calendar that sets the government's priorities for the year ahead.

Profile of South African President Jacob Zuma

The president asked to postpone it, apparently fearing his continuing hold on the presidency would enrage some of his own ANC lawmakers as well as opposition parties.

The delay heightened speculation that Zuma could finally yield to calls to step down.

Many ANC members are pushing for Cyril Ramaphosa, the new head of the party since December, to replace Zuma, 75, as president immediately.

But Zuma loyalists have said that the serving president should complete his second and final term in office, which would end when elections are held next year.

The Business Day newspaper said in its editorial that postponement of the presidential speech showed "the resolve that now exists in the ANC to remove Zuma and install Cyril Ramaphosa in his place".

Parliament speaker Baleka Mbete said that the address had been delayed because there was "little likelihood" that it would be held without disruption.

In previous years, opposition lawmakers have shouted Zuma down and been ejected from parliament by security guards in chaotic scenes.

Julius Malema, leader of the radical opposition Economic Freedom Fighters party which has been at the forefront of disrupting Zuma's previous state-of-the-nation addresses, said in a tweet that "the postponement... is a declaration of a crisis, the masses must take over now".

Independent political analyst Ralph Mathekga told AFP that Zuma's departure had been mishandled by the ANC.

"Unfortunately the reality caught up with them, so now the ANC is trying to take control," he said.

"The fact that they cancelled Wednesday's ANC meeting probably means there is an agreement for him to go."

- Zuma's legal troubles -

The power struggle has rocked the ANC, the renowned liberation movement that led the fight against white-minority rule but has since lost much public support.

Cyril Ramaphosa's long and eventful career has taken him from trade union activist to multi-millionaire and now to within touching distance of the South African presidency

Despite the attacks on him, Zuma still enjoys some backing within the party, particularly among rural members and within his own Zulu community.

His presidency has been dominated by an economic slowdown, record unemployment and allegations of corruption.

He faces several court cases, including action relating to 783 payments he received allegedly linked to an arms deal before he came to power in 2009.

Many graft allegations against him have centred on the wealthy Gupta family, who are accused of unfairly obtaining lucrative government contracts and even being able to choose ministerial appointments.

The local rand currency, which has been the world's best performing unit since Ramaphosa's election as ANC chief on December 18, was slightly down on the day, recording a fall of 0.2 percent against the dollar at 11.95.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation, which promotes the legacy of South Africa's anti-apartheid icon, has called for Zuma to go as he had "demonstrated that he is not fit to govern".

Ramaphosa, 65, is a former trade unionist who led talks to end apartheid rule in the early 1990s and then became a multi-millionaire businessman before returning to politics.
Embraer E190-E2 private jets at the Singapore Airshow: the company is still in talks with Boeing about a possible merger

Brazil's Embraer said Wednesday it was still in talks with US aerospace giant Boeing on combining their commercial air operations into a new company.

The comments by Embraer's commercial chief executive followed a Brazil newspaper report Tuesday that Boeing had presented a plan to Brazils government which would give it a stake of up to 90 percent in the new venture.

"At this stage, Embraer has not received a proposal," John Slattery told a media briefing on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.

"The reason is that parties continue to act identifying structures that might work."

Boeing and Embraer have been in talks to combine their operations, which would see Boeing holding up to 90 percent of the new company to be based in Chicago, a person familiar with the talks told AFP Tuesday.

Embraer's military operations would not be affected by the transaction and would remain under Brazilian control, that person said.

Both companies in December confirmed the talks in a filing to the Brazilian securities exchange.

It follows the deal struck by Boeing rival Airbus last year with Canada's Bombardier, which saw the European giant take over the C Series aircraft programme.

Should both deals go ahead, it could extend the Boeing-Airbus duopoly into the regional jet market.

However, the talk of a merger drew immediate objections from the government in Brazil, which holds a so-called golden share with veto power over Embraer transactions.

"We need to allow the working group to surface something that will work for the golden shareholder and work for the other parties that are at the table," Slattery said, adding that there is "good cultural synergies" between the companies.

Embraer, the world's third-largest aircraft manufacturer with nearly $6 billion in sales, was privatised in 1994 and is one of Brazil's success stories. It offers a range of civil and military aircraft as well as business jets.

At the same briefing, Slattery said the jetmaker is looking to expand its footprint in Southeast Asia by targeting flag carriers and low-cost airlines.
A stock market investor leaves a brokerage house in Shanghai

Much of China's stock trading is conducted remotely via high-tech systems in banks and brokerages or on mobile phones, but the country's masses of mom-and-pop investors still cling to older ways.

In scenes that recall an earlier era, pensioners have gathered as usual this week in the countless public trading rooms at Chinese brokerages, frowning at electronic price boards and chattering tensely as markets tumbled.

"It has dropped so much and I lost 70,000 yuan ($11,000) just yesterday," a 63-year-old woman surnamed Xu said at a branch of Hongta Securities in Shanghai.

Concern was etched on Xu's face as the city's main index fell another 1.82 percent, following a 3.35-percent drop on Tuesday -- dragged down by panic on global markets.

"We were heartbroken yesterday. Our hearts can't stand this," said Xu, who retired from her job at a cement factory two decades ago.

Authorities have taken measures to steady China's stock markets following a 2015 boom-and-bust that devastated the holdings of countless investors and underlined frequent comparisons of the country's markets to casinos.

But elderly retirees still throng trading rooms with riches in their eyes, exclaiming loudly when their favourite stocks tank.

Despite the government's preference for stability, Xu likes the opportunity offered by large price swings -- preferring volatile tech stocks over blue chips like banks or oil giants.

"We don't like these blue chips, they never rise much. Your money is just sitting there doing nothing," she said.

"I have to come. My heart won't calm down if I sit at home."

- 'Everyone is gambling' -

China's silver-haired investors are said to account for the lion's share of stock turnover, often at brokerages like Hongta where prices flash in green or red on big black screens.

While many younger investors trade via mobile phone, at traditional brokerages elderly punters punch in their orders on boxy 1980s-style computer terminals.

Sitting in the rows of plastic chairs and watching the prices flicker is a daily ritual for people like 65-year-old Tang Shunfu.

Tang lost around 250,000 yuan over the past three months as markets whipsawed. His family eventually demanded that he pull out, which he did last week.

To keep calm amid the chaos, Tang -- an amateur calligraphist -- would obsessively write the Chinese character for "endure", which combines the symbols for "knife" and "heart".

The stress also made him quit drinking and has soured his mood. But he still comes regularly to keep an eye on prices.

Investors monitor stock prices on computer screens at a brokerage house in Shanghai

"I need to come and keep an eye on it. Im not beaten. I want to make my money back," Tang said animatedly.

"Our market is like a casino. Chinese like to gamble. Look at all these people: man, woman, young, old, everyone is gambling."
Iraqi fighters flash the victory sign from an armoured personnel carrier in Anbar province on November 25, 2017

Iraqi forces backed by a US-led coalition advanced in a major operation Wednesday against Islamic State group jihadists hiding out in a northeastern desert region, the military said.

The army, rapid intervention and paramilitary forces, in coordination with Kurdish fighters and with Iraqi and coalition air cover, launched the operation east of Tuz Khurmatu "to chase away IS remnants," Iraq's Security Information Centre said.

"Air strikes targeted the Hamrin mountain range, destroying 50 targets, including two fortified hideouts, 20 terrorist caches, weapons warehouses, ammunition as well as communication networks, mortar positions and 24 tunnels," it added.

Iraqi forces took control of 80 square kilometres (30 square miles), three oil wells and two gas fields, according to the rapid intervention forces.

They also retook five villages and stormed an IS camp.

Iraq declared victory against IS in December, more than three years after the extremist group seized a third of its territory and swathes of neighbouring Syria, declaring a "caliphate" ruling over millions of people.

The jihadists are still active, however, and there have been several attacks against government forces in the Khurmatu region.

Authorities have blamed not just IS but also pro-independence Kurds, who are accused of seeking revenge after government forces seized control of Kirkuk province, during which many Kurds were expelled from the Tuz Khurmatu area.

The town is home to a mix of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmens. It was the scene of deadly violence in mid-October when Iraqi forces retook it in response to a Kurdish independence referendum bitterly opposed by Baghdad.
Unrest flared in Guinea after Sunday's local elections

Five young children perished in an arson attack on Tuesday during clashes in central Guinea following weekend local elections, a government minister said.

Huts and houses were set on fire in the town of Kalinko, and "five Guinean infants died in the flames", the minister Boureima Conde said on television on Tuesday, without specifying their age or identity.

Unrest flared in the West African country after Sunday's ballot.

One person was killed when opposition party supporters clashed with security forces in Guinea during vote counting on Monday, as activists alleged fraud.

Guinean opposition leaders have denounced the west African country's long-delayed local elections, saying vote rigging with proxy ballots occurred at several polling stations.

Political distrust is high in Guinea, where ethnic tensions often turn deadly around election time.

The last local election was held in 2005 under the decades-long rule of authoritarian leader General Lansane Conte, who died in 2008.
Child soldiers face many hurdles when they return to normal life, headed by stigma and lack of education and job skills

More than 300 child soldiers have been released in South Sudan's war-torn region of Yambio under a programme to help reintegrate them into society, the UN said on Wednesday.

Of the 311 children freed by armed groups, 87 are girls, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) said.

"This is the first time so many young women have been involved in a release like this in South Sudan," said David Shearer, the UN's secretary general's special representative and head of UNMISS.

"They will have endured suffering, including sexual abuse. It is vital that they receive the support they need to rejoin their communities and that they are welcomed home by family and friends without any sense of stigma," he said in a statement.

South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, the result of a 2005 agreement that brought the curtain down on Africa's longest-running civil war.

But little more than two years later, conflict erupted again when President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy and political rival Riek Machar of planning a coup.

The war has caused tens of thousands of deaths, uprooted nearly four million people -- roughly a third of the population -- and triggered sporadic outbreaks of famine.

The integration programme in Yambio, which is located in the south of the country, aims at helping 700 child soldiers return to normal life.

Of these, 563 are part of Kiir's force and 137 are with the rebels.

The UN peacekeeping force, acting in unison with the UN children's agency UNICEF, is negotiating for the release of child soldiers in other regions, particularly in the east and north of the country.

"Children should not be carrying guns and killing each other. They should be playing, learning, having fun with friends, protected and cherished by the adults around them," Shearer said.
Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga swore himself in as the 'people's president' during a mock ceremony in Nairobi on January 30, 2018

An outspoken member of Kenya's opposition accused of treason for taking part in a mock swearing-in of opposition leader Raila Odinga was deported to Canada late Tuesday.

The move came in defiance of a High Court order that he be presented before a judge on Wednesday.

Miguna Miguna, a provocative firebrand and member of the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, was forced onto an international flight on Tuesday night.

"Miguna denounced his Kenyan citizenship years back, acquired Canadian citizenship and never bothered to reclaim Kenyan citizenship in the legally prescribed manner neither did he disclose that he had another country's citizenship despite being a lawyer who should have known better," said interior ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka in a tweet Wednesday.

Holding dual citizenship is legal in Kenya, and in August, Miguna ran for political office, with proof of Kenyan citizenship a key criteria for all candidates.

Miguna was put on a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight to Toronto via Amsterdam, a security officer at Nairobi's Jomo Kenyatta International Airport said.

"He was driven in by heavily armed police officers who forced him into a flight to Canada. All deportation procedures have been followed," the officer said.

Miguna's lawyer, Nelson Havi, confirmed his client had been "forced into a KLM flight for 'deportation' to Canada. Now, how do you deport a Kenyan?" he asked.

On January 30, Miguna played a prominent role in Odinga's mock inauguration and three days later was arrested in a dawn raid on his Nairobi home.

Since then, there has been much speculation about his whereabouts and his treatment by authorities.

Police and government officials defied two court orders to produce Miguna before a High Court judge earlier this week, instead taking him to a minor court in a small town 80 kilometres (50 miles) to the south on Tuesday.

There, Miguna refused to plea to charges of treason and unlawful assembly.

A subsequent High Court order demanded Miguna be presented for release on Wednesday morning, but his deportation means that order too has been ignored.

High Court judge Luka Kimaru has warned Kenya's Inspector General of Police and Director of Criminal Investigations that they may be charged with contempt.

Miguna holds no elected office, but has styled himself "general" of the opposition's "National Resistance Movement" (NRM) wing, in charge of implementing a threatened programme of civil disobedience and boycotts.

Following Odinga's pretend inauguration last week, Kenya's government designated the NRM as an "organised criminal group".

Miguna's enforced exile is the latest twist in the long saga of Kenya's disputed elections which saw the Supreme Court annul the result of the initial August poll and Odinga boycott the October rerun, handing victory to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

However, Odinga continues to insist he was the real winner and therefore the legitimate president of Kenya.
The lynching of Mashal Khan over blasphemy accusations sent shockwaves through Pakistan

A Pakistani court sentenced one person to death and five others to life imprisonment on Wednesday for lynching a student accused of blasphemy, a crime which sent shockwaves through the conservative Muslim country.

Mashal Khan, 23, was stripped, beaten and shot by a gang made up mostly of students last April before being thrown from the second floor of his dormitory at Abdul Wali Khan University in the northwestern city of Mardan.

The brutality of the attack, which was recorded on mobile phone cameras and posted online, stunned the public and led to widespread condemnation -- including from prominent Islamic clerics. Protests erupted in several cities.

"One of the accused has been awarded a death sentence, (five) were given life imprisonment while 26 have been acquitted," Saad Abbasi, a defence lawyer, told AFP at the prison where the verdict was announced.

An additional 25 were given three-year sentences, he added, saying he planned to file an appeal against the decision.

The court sentenced Imran Sultan Mohammad to death over his role in shooting Khan during the lynching, a crime he confessed to earlier.

Ahead of the verdict, heavy security was enforced at the jail in the city of Haripur where the accused were detained, with the area cordoned off by police and elite commandos.

The proceedings were held in an anti-terrorism court inside the jail for security reasons.

Around 100 relatives of the accused students waited outside the prison walls as news of the verdict trickled out.

"A day will come that the judge will answer the God. The verdict he has announced is unjust," said Waheedullah, whose son was given a three-year sentence.

Soon after the court handed down the punishments, members of hardline religious groups who supported the accused circulated messages on social media appealing to the public to welcome the "heroes".

Around two thousand people gathered at the main entrance of Mardan city, Khan's hometown, showering the acquitted students with flowers, chanting slogans against the provincial government and demanding the release of those convicted.

Students who took part in the attack had been rounded up after being identified through CCTV footage from the university and video clips.

An official report released months later concluded Khan was falsely accused, saying the murder was instigated by members of a secular student group who felt threatened by Khan's growing prominence as a critic of rising fees and of alleged corruption at the university.

Blasphemy is an enormously sensitive charge in Pakistan, and a criminal offence that can carry the death penalty.

While the state has never executed anyone under blasphemy laws, mere allegations have prompted mob lynchings and lesser violence.

Since 1990 vigilantes have been accused of murdering 65 people tied to blasphemy, according to research compiled by the Center for Research and Security Studies.
Macron hosted Trump in Paris with great pomp in July for the Bastille Day national holiday.

French President Emmanuel Macron will head to the United States in April for the first state visit announced by Donald Trump's White House, officials said Wednesday.

Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television that the visit would take place in April, with diplomatic sources telling AFP that Macron would leave around April 24.

The two leaders, who have met several times, have good relations despite fundamental disagreements on such issues as climate change.

Macron hosted Trump in Paris with great pomp in July for the Bastille Day national holiday -- when the US leader was impressed by the huge traditional military parade on the Champs-Elysees.

On Tuesday, the White House said Trump had asked for a similar large-scale military parade in an unconventional move that would showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief.

In Paris, Trump had marvelled at the French Republican Guard on horseback and jets flying overhead, with Macron arriving in an open-topped camouflaged military jeep.

Months after that meeting, Trump publicly remarked: "So we're actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength."

Even before becoming president, aides reported that Trump had considered a military parade to mark his inauguration, but the idea was eventually scrapped.

Macron, who deplored Trump's announced intent to pull out of the 2015 Paris climate accord on curbing global warming emissions, has openly expressed hope that his "friend" will change his mind.
A Syrian shows remnants of improvised ground-launched rockets with suspected chlorine-filled heads reportedly fired by regime forces on the rebel-held town of Douma in the Eastern Ghouta enclave on January 22, 2018

The latest fighting in Syria has seen an uptick in the alleged use of chemical weapons by the regime, including on the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta.

The fresh violence has sparked wide concern and threats of military action from the United States.

It was in the Eastern Ghouta enclave in August 2013 that a chemical attack, the biggest of any conflict in years, killed hundreds of people.

Damascus has since ratified the UN Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons but the investigating body subsequently created saw its mandate expire in November last year.

The Islamic State group has used chlorine and mustard gas in the past, to limited effect, but the jihadist group has now lost the vast majority of the territory it once controlled.

- TYPES OF ATTACKS -

+ One of the deadliest types of chemical attacks uses sarin, which was detected in an April 2017 attack on Khan Sheikhun that killed more than 80 people. The nerve agent was released after an air strike.

The death toll was the highest in a chemical attack since the 2013 Ghouta attack, which also involved sarin and which the US says killed 1,429 people, including children.

+ Helicopter-dropped chlorine-filled munitions have been increasingly used by the regime as the conflict has dragged on, according to a 2017 report by Human Rights Watch.

+ Government forces or allied militia groups also started using improvised ground-launched rockets, some of which were photographed by AFP, fitted with cylinders that witnesses and medics said contained chlorine.

They are know as IRAMs, Improvised Rocket Assisted Munitions, and tend to be Iranian 107mm rockets modified with stabilising fins and larger warheads that increase firepower but reduce range, according to open source investigation website Bellingcat.

- RECENT CASES -

The United States spoke of six suspected cases of chemical attacks in Syria over the past month. Below are some of the most significant:

+ January 13: A suspected chlorine attack in an area between Douma and Harasta in Eastern Ghouta, using ground-launched rockets, caused a small number of civilians to be hospitalised for breathing difficulties, according to medics and human rights groups.

+ January 22: A suspected chlorine attack in Douma, also using a ground-launched rocket, led to at least 21 cases of respiratory problems, including children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

+ February 5: A bomb believed to contain chlorine was dropped from a helicopter on Saraqeb, in the largely jihadist-controlled northwestern province of Idlib, leading to cases of breathing difficulties, the Observatory said.

- REACTION -

+ GLOBAL WATCHDOG

The Organisation for the Prohibition fo Chemical weapons (OPCW) said Wednesday it is probing "all credible allegations" of chemical attacks in Syria.

+ UNITED STATES

The United States has ramped up the rhetoric over the suspected use of chemical weapons by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said this week there was "obvious evidence" of chlorine gas attacks, including in Eastern Ghouta.

On February 2, Defence Secretary Jim Mattis voiced concern that sarin had been used.

A US official said that "using military force is something that is still considered" and that President Donald Trump had not ruled out the kind of cruise missile strikes that followed the Khan Sheikhun attack last year.

+ FRANCE

France has taken the lead on the issue by launching an initiative called "No Impunity" in the aftermath of the January 22 attack.

Last month, it blacklisted companies and individuals it suspects of links to Syria's alleged chemical programme.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said "all indications" pointed to Syria's government using chlorine gas.

"I'm weighing my words because as long as we haven't completely documented this we have to stay prudent," he said.

+ SYRIA

On January 24, Syria flatly denied using chemical weapons and condemned "the lies and allegations" levelled by the West.

Moscow, which is Damascus's staunchest ally, also fought back against what it described as a "propaganda campaign", arguing during a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday that "no perpetrators have been identified".
Uganda outlawed the ritual of female genital mutilation (FGM) in 2010 but it continues in some rural communities

Thirty cows sealed 12-year-old Joyce's fate. In exchange she became the third wife to a man as elderly as her father who traded her, never mind she had barely reached puberty.

Joyce was sent from her home in western Kenya, across the nearby border to Uganda. Appalled, she soon ran from her husband and her new life, but she did not return home.

Instead she sought refuge at Kalas Girls Primary School in northeast Uganda, alongside over 100 other young girls who have fled child marriage and the ritual of female genital mutilation (FGM) marking the transition from girl to woman.

Here she is safe, but still afraid. "I live in fear," she says.

Kalas Girls Primary School in northeast Uganda offers girls refuge who have fled child marriage and the ritual of female genital mutilation (FGM)

FGM -- the slicing off of the external genitalia, including the clitoris -- was outlawed in Uganda in 2010, but continues in some rural communities where it is a tradition with deep roots signalling a girl's readiness to marry.

Joyce avoided the ritual, but Rose was less fortunate. She too was married off young and, as she gave birth to her first child, she was cut. "I was in pain because of the delivery, but that did not stop them," she says.

- Fighting tradition with tradition -

Among Joyce and Rose's Pokot tribe FGM is intended "to make women clean and as a way of killing the sexual appetite," says James Apollo Bakan, of the local Vision Care Foundation charity, which works to stop FGM. Among semi-nomadic pastoralists, such as the Pokot, men use it to keep their women faithful while they are away herding cattle because it makes sex painful.

"They cut off the clitoris so that the women don't go for other men," says Bakan.

Among the Pokot tribe, Pokot spiritual healers and elders have been enlisted to wipe out the practice, in which the external genitalia, including the clitoris, are sliced off

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) estimates that 95 percent of Pokot women and girls have suffered the mutilation.

Fighting tradition with tradition, Pokot spiritual healers and elders have been enlisted to wipe out the practice.

Monica Cheptilak, a 70-year-old who performed FGM for half a century, has given it up. She tearfully recalled how sometimes young girls would die from disease or bleeding, after the ceremony.

On one occasion, she said, six age-mate girls contracted HIV from a dirty blade.

"When I recall how the six girls died and the pain these young girls go though, I feel hurt and sorry for them," she says.

Paulina Isura Chepar, a local government official suffered FGM when she was a girl, and watched as her sister died as a result of the procedure. Now, she is fighting to end it. "I saw my sister die at the hands of a cutter. I don't want my children to go through the same," she says.

Last week, 78-year-old healer Jeremia Labur participated in a ceremony seeking forgiveness for FGM and child marriage. A male goat was slaughtered close to a cave where young girls were taught about being a woman, and then cut.

"Instead of blessing those who have undergone FGM, they are the ones now cursing the practice and calling on the community to abandon it," Bakan says.
Unrest flared in Guinea after Sunday's local elections

A Guinean minister and the international community appealed for calm on Wednesday after seven people were killed, including five young children, in violence linked to fraud allegations that marred local elections at the weekend.

Sunday's vote was the first of its kind since the end of the era of military dictatorship, and followed eight years of delays blamed on a lack of funds, political infighting and the 2013-16 Ebola crisis.

But unrest has flared in the West African country after the ballot, with the death toll climbing following a night of violence.

Huts and houses were set on fire in the central town of Kalinko, Territorial Administration Minister Boureima Conde said on television on Tuesday. Five infants died in an incident he said was deliberate.

A 23-year-old student named as Mamadou Diakouane Diallo also died on Wednesday from wounds sustained in gunfire on Tuesday in a Conakry suburb.

It followed a similar death in the western city of Kindia when opposition party supporters clashed with security forces on Monday.

Diallo's brother said rifle shots were fired as the pair drank tea in front of their home.

Although calm returned to the capital on Wednesday, leaders asked Guineans to wait patiently for results due by Friday.

"I am appealing to a sense of civility," minister Conde said following the arson incident.

"We must wait until the results are known to bring a complaint, for it to be properly referred, and for justice to be delivered," he added.

The UN special representative for West Africa has deplored the post-election violence in Guinea

The UN's special representative for West Africa, Mohamed Ibn Chambas, on Wednesday urged all sides to use legal channels to resolve their differences, and deplored "violence that has cost human lives".

Chambas praised the "smooth running" of the election but said he was aware of "imperfections here and there".

- 'Ballot box hold-ups' -

Opposition leaders have denounced the long-delayed local elections, saying vote rigging with proxy ballots occurred at several polling stations in favour of the party of President Alpha Conde.

Former prime minister Cellou Dalein Diallo, leader of the opposition Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG), told the press on Tuesday his party had "all the proof of victory".

"It's up to Alpha Conde now, as president of the republic, to know what he wants. Because we cannot continue to accept hold-ups at the ballot box," he said.

Presidential elections in 2010 and 2015 were also marred by violence and fraud accusations, as well as a legislative ballot in 2013.

Diallo said his party had stayed "calm" during those votes, but added "this time, for local elections, we have to mobilise".

Activists have erected barricades in several neighbourhoods in the capital, Conakry, calling for the results to be published while accusing the ruling Rally for the Guinean People (RPG) of fixing the ballot.

President Conde himself told supporters to "stay mobilised to reject fraud" after casting his vote on Sunday.

Minister Conde said that while votes were being counted, "some candidates are declaring themselves victorious, which goes against our political agreements".

Political distrust is high in Guinea, where ethnic tensions often turn deadly around election time.

The last local election was held in 2005 under the decades-long rule of authoritarian leader General Lansane Conte, who died in 2008.
Maia Deguito, manager of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC) branch in Manila's financial district, gestures as she answers a question during a senate hearing in Manila in April 2016

Bangladesh's central bank will file a lawsuit in New York against a Philippine bank over the world's largest cyber heist, the finance minister said Wednesday.

Unidentified hackers stole $81 million in February 2016 from the Bangladesh central bank's account with the US Federal Reserve in New York.

The money was transferred to a Manila branch of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp (RCBC), then quickly withdrawn and laundered through local casinos.

With only a small amount of the stolen money recovered and frustration growing in Dhaka, Bangladesh's Finance Minister A.M.A Muhith said last year he wanted to "wipe out" RCBC.

On Wednesday he said Bangladesh Bank lawyers were discussing the case in New York and may file a joint lawsuit against the RCBC with the US Federal Reserve.

"It will be (filed) in New York. Fed may be a party," he told reporters in Dhaka.

The deputy central bank governor Razee Hassan told AFP the case would be filed in April.

"They (RCBC) are the main accused," he said.

"Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and its various officials are involved in money heist from Bangladesh Bank's reserve account and the bank is liable in this regard," Hassan said in a written statement.

The Philippines in 2016 imposed a record $21 million fine on RCBC after investigating its role in the audacious cyber heist.

Philippine authorities have also filed money-laundering charges against the RCBC branch manager.

The bank has rejected the allegations and last year accused Bangladesh's central bank of a "massive cover-up".

The hackers bombarded the US Federal Reserve with dozens of transfer requests, attempting to steal a further $850 million.

But the bank's security systems and typing errors in some requests prevented the full theft.

The hack took place on a Friday, when Bangladesh Bank is closed. The Federal Reserve Bank in New York is closed on Saturday and Sunday, slowing the response.

The US reserve bank, which manages the Bangladesh Bank reserve account, has denied its own systems were breached.
Yemen's prime minister has appealed for reconciliation with southern separatists after deadly clashes last month in which they seized almost all of second city Aden where his government has its base

Yemen's prime minister appealed on Wednesday for reconciliation with southern separatists after deadly clashes last month in which they seized almost all of Aden where his government has its base.

Mediation efforts by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have persuaded the separatists to lift their siege of the presidential palace and hand back three military camps to government troops, security sources told AFP.

But they remain in control of the rest of Yemen's second city as well as swathes of neighbouring provinces.

Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher called for an end to the infighting between the rival sides, which had previously fought together against Shiite rebels who control the capital Sanaa and much of the north.

"The mission today is to bridge the gap, heal the wounds and abandon political escalation," Dagher told the first cabinet meeting since the fighting.

"Based on directives from the president, we will work for social reconciliation in Aden and neighbouring provinces to pave the way for comprehensive national reconciliation," government-run media quoted him as saying.

President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, who is based in exile in Saudi Arabia, has struggled to keep together a disparate loyalist alliance, which has relied heavily on southern separatist forces.

South Yemen was an independent country until its unification with the north in 1990.

The three days of clashes last month, in which 38 people were killed and 222 wounded, erupted after government troops tried to prevent a rally calling for its restoration.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the main contributors to a military coalition that has been supporting Hadi's forces against the Huthi rebels since 2015.
(From Left to Right) Mauritania's President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou, Mali's President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Chad's President Idriss Deby and Burkina Faso's President Roch Marc Christian Kabore attended the G5 Sahel summit in Niamey, Niger

Five countries in the Sahel have made a pitch for further funds for a joint force to fight jihadism in their fragile region.

The presidents of Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger made the appeal after a summit Tuesday in the Niger capital of Niamey, ahead of a fund-raising meeting in Europe later this month.

"Given the pressure that the current security situation is placing on the public finances of member states, the heads of state invite the international financial institutions... to put in place additional resources to face it," their statement said.

The five countries, along with Nigeria and Cameroon, are at the brunt of jihadist attacks in west Africa that have left thousands dead, unleashed a humanitarian crisis and sapped economies that are already among the poorest in the world.

The goal is to have a pooled "G5 Sahel" force of 5,000 men by mid-2018 that would patrol hotspots and restore authority in lawless areas.

It would operate alongside France's 4,000 troops, deployed across the Sahel, and the UN's 12,000-strong MINUSMA peacekeeping operation in Mali.

So far, 294 million euros ($360 million) has been pledged, led by 100 million euros committed by Saudi Arabia.

This has provided support for two initial operations, which have taken place in the volatile "tri-border" area where the frontiers of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso converge, and to set up a headquarters, located in Sevare, Mali.

On Sunday, Malian Defence Minister Tieman Hubert Coulibaly said the G5 force "will be operational by the end of March".

Funding, though, is needed for the force's longer-term future, including training and equipment. A new round of talks takes place in Brussels on February 23.

The initiative's major backer is France, whose defence minister, Florence Parly, took part in Tuesday's summit.
Zia (L) leaves a court in Dhaka last December

Bangladesh opposition leader Khaleda Zia on Wednesday proclaimed her innocence on the eve of a verdict that authorities fear could spark violence if the former prime minister is jailed for corruption.

Police have banned street protests and rounded up what opposition figures say is thousands of their supporters in a crackdown ahead of Thursday's court ruling in the capital Dhaka.

A guilty verdict could prevent Zia, a former ally turned arch-nemesis of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, from contesting a general election slated for December.

Prosecutors are seeking life imprisonment for Zia -- a two-time former prime minister and head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party -- for allegedly embezzling 21 million taka ($252,000) through a charity trust fund.

On the eve of the verdict the 72-year-old decried the charges as "false" and insisted "not a penny" had been stolen.

"This is an attempt to use the court against me, in an effort to sideline me from politics and elections and to isolate me from the people," Zia told a packed news conference.

"I am ready to face all outcomes. I am not afraid of jail or punishment. I am not going to bow down my head."

Her party's spokesman Rizvi Ahmed told AFP that "approximately 3,500" opposition activists and officials had been arrested in a sweep by police and other security forces.

A former minister has been detained and a senior official has vanished, raising fears that security forces could be "disappearing" key opposition figures in the lead-up to the verdict.

The national police chief described the arrests as "routine work".

Political demonstrations by Zia's centre-right BNP and its Islamist allies in 2014 and 2015 left nearly 200 people dead.

The BNP boycotted 2014 polls in which Hasina was re-elected but is expected to contest the upcoming general election.

Zia faces dozens of separate charges related to violence and corruption.

Her son Tarique Rahman, who is in exile in London, is a co-defendant in the case. He was convicted of money-laundering in 2016.

Last month prosecutors sought the death penalty for Rahman over his alleged role in a deadly 2004 grenade attack that injured Hasina.
Tunisian police stand guard during protests on January 9, 2018 over an austerity budget and tax hikes

Tunisians risk being prosecuted for exercising basic rights despite progress towards democracy following its 2011 uprising, rights groups said Wednesday.

The North African country is seen as the only success story to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings after its 2011 ouster of dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali sparked upheaval across the region.

But four years since it adopted a landmark constitution, its rights record has come under the spotlight again for alleged police abuses following demonstrations last month over economic grievances.

In a review of the 2014 constitution that enshrined key freedoms, local and international civil society groups said outmoded laws remain a major issue.

"Intrusive police practices" persist and courts continue to deliver "decisions based on obsolete and repressive legal texts", the rights coalition said.

Last year at least 70 people were sentenced to prison for homosexuality, said Wahid Ferchichi, president of the Tunisian Association Defending Individual Liberties.

Homosexual practices can see people face three years in prison, with judges and investigators subjecting those accused of being gay to anal examinations.

In September Tunisia agreed to stop the invasive procedures but has not set a deadline for doing so.

The rights coalition warned that legislation on public morality remains "vague" and saw people detained last year for eating and smoking during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

It said numerous non-Muslims reported intimidation from the security services.

Despite the concerns there were some bright spots.

Last year a law was passed on violence against women and President Beji Caid Essebsi established a rights commission that is expected this month to propose major reforms.
Pall bearers carry coffins during a funeral service last month for people killed during clashes between cattle herders and farmers in Nigeria's Benue state

Nigeria's army on Wednesday said it would send troops into the country's volatile central states to quell violence between farmers and herders that has killed hundreds in recent weeks.

Major General David Ahmadu said the deployment from February 15 would crack down on "herdsmen/farmers clashes and attacks on innocent members of our communities, particularly in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa state by armed militias".

The operation will also target "armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling" in Kaduna and Niger, plus other crimes in Kogi, he added.

Ahmadu, who is the army's head of training and operations, said criminal activities had "continued unabatedly in these states despite the efforts by sister security agencies to curb them".

There was no immediate indication of the number of troops involved.

But Ahmadu said operations would include "raids, cordon and search operations, anti-kidnapping drills, road blocks, check points and show of force as well as humanitarian activities".

Amnesty International said last week that 168 people have been killed in communal violence between herders and farmers this year alone, with about 100 in Benue state.

The global watchdog warned the violence was "spiralling" out of control.

The International Crisis Group warned in a report published last September said some 2,500 people were killed on both sides in 2016.

It warned the conflict was becoming "as potentially dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast".

Political opponents of President Muhammadu Buhari have seized on the issue because of his perceived inaction towards the violence -- and his own ethnicity.

Like the herders, Buhari is an ethnic Fulani from the mainly Muslim north, while the farming communities are in the largely Christian south.

The police have also been accused of not doing enough to end the violence, which has seen tit-for-tat attacks between farmers and herders.

Thousands of people have been killed in recent decades in a dispute, mainly over land and grazing rights.

But the violence has become increasingly politicised and exacerbated by religious and ethnic rivalries.

Desertification has pushed the cattle drivers further south in search of land and water for their livestock, leading to accusations from farmers that herds have ruined their fields.

Cattle rustling and kidnapping for ransom have become a problem in state such as Kaduna and Niger as a result of Nigeria's wider economic troubles, that have forced some into criminality.

Last month, two Americans and two Canadians were kidnapped on the Kaduna to Abuja road but later released.
During Mugabe's 37 years in power, Zimbabwe's health system nearly collapsed

The World Health Organization's chief lamented Wednesday the "emotional" response to his short-lived appointment last year of Robert Mugabe as the WHO's goodwill ambassador, insisting the decision had been "in good faith".

"There was no judgement problem," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva, acknowledging though that the situation was "unfortunate".

Tedros, who took over as the UN health agency's director-general last July, sparked an outcry just a few months into his term when he appointed Zimbabwe's authoritarian president as goodwill ambassador.

In October, Tedros asked the 93-year-old -- who would be pushed from power a month later -- to serve in the role to help tackle non-communicable diseases like heart attacks, strokes and asthma across Africa.

The decision triggered confusion and anger among key WHO member states.

Activists noted that Zimbabwe's health care system, like many of its public services, all but collapsed under Mugabe's regime.

In announcing the appointment, Tedros had hailed Zimbabwe as "a country that places universal health coverage and health promotion at the centre of its policies to provide health care to all".

But after four days of international uproar, Tedros, who is the first African at the helm of the WHO, rescinded the appointment.

While Tedros was hailed for listening to his critics and backing down, the Mugabe storm raised questions about his leadership.

Asked about the crisis Wednesday during his first official press conference since taking office, the WHO chief insisted that the appointment "was done in good faith."

He said "some countries" had suggested the appointment would be useful for Africa, and pointed out that Mugabe had been one of a few leaders who attended a conference on non-communicable diseases, "and he came the whole way to Uruguay to attend... so he showed a strong commitment."

He also stressed that the criticism of the appointment had exploded before the vetting process had begun and therefore before it had formally taken effect.

Mugabe "never even represented us even half an hour based on this appointment," he said.

Tedros said there was a need to balance "emotion and reason" in the response, adding that the reaction appeared to be "more emotion".

The WHO chief, who has served as Ethiopia's minister of health an foreign affairs, pointed to the many challenges facing the world, insisting there is a need to "build bridges", even with leaders deemed problematic.

"I prefer to work with people even if they have some problems on some issues, to work on areas that you can work with," he said.

"I prefer to build bridges, even with the most difficult ones."
Diamonds are displayed during the International Diamond Week (IDW) in the Israeli town of Ramat Gan, east of Tel Aviv, on February 5, 2018

Israel's Diamond Exchange, one of the three largest worldwide, is launching cryptocurrency in what it said Wednesday is a bid to increase trade and make transactions more efficient and transparent.

The cryptocurrency, to be called Carat, is expected to hit the market around May and will be used by investors and the general public.

A separate one, called Cut, is being launched this week for use between dealers in a market that has often been opaque.

Blockchain technology -- essentially a digitised ledger -- will be used for the cryptocurrencies.

Twenty-five percent of the value of the Carat would be backed by diamonds listed on the exchange in a bid to reassure investors, said Eli Avidar, the exchange's managing director.

That "should make it attractive in comparison to the 1,400 cryptocurrencies that exist globally," he said. The most popular of the digital currencies has been bitcoin.

The arrangement could also help reassure sceptical regulators in Israel concerned over the potential for speculative bubbles.

The three main diamond exchanges worldwide are located in Mumbai, Antwerp and Ramat Gan, a suburb of the Israeli city of Tel Aviv.

Israeli exports of rough and polished diamonds amounted to some $7 billion in 2017.

The Israeli exchange also launched a "get.diamonds" index in recent days that serves as a reference and reflects daily market fluctuations.
US President Donald Trump has toyed with the idea of a parade in Washington to showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief since before being sworn in

President Donald Trump's dream of hosting a military parade in Washington was met with widespread derision Wednesday, with critics seeing evidence of creeping authoritarianism.

White House and military officials confirmed preliminary planning was already underway, but said a date had not yet been decided.

"I think we're all aware, in this country, of the president's affection and respect for the military," said Defense Secretary James Mattis.

"We've been putting together some options. We'll send them up to the White House for a decision."

Democratic lawmakers leaped to pillory Trump's plan as an "idiot" and "authoritarian" idea from a "Napoleon in the making."

Meanwhile support was thin on the ground, even among Trump's advocates in Congress.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill that a parade "makes sense," with some caveats.

"I'm not looking for a Soviet-style hardware display. That's not who we are. It's kind of cheesy, and I think shows weakness quite frankly," he said.

"But have a parade where we can display our finest and we can all say 'thank you' and honor them would be fine."

Republican congressman Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally, suggested further deliberation was needed. "We'll have that debate," he said.

- Fireworks and hotdogs -

While military parades are a highlight of the calendar in Moscow, Pyongyang and Paris, they are rare in the United States, where displays of patriotism usually take the form of flag-waving, fireworks and grilled hotdogs.

The last major parade in Washington was in 1991 after the Gulf War, when missiles and tanks rolled through the streets of the capital.

As commander-in-chief, Trump could order the military to carry out a parade without any further debate.

But in a sign of possible tensions between Trump and his own staff, White House officials stressed the idea was still in "discussion."

"We haven't made a final decision," said press secretary Sarah Sanders. "We are simply exploring options."

Trump's parade might be a showcase of American muscle, but would also undoubtedly focus on his role as commander-in-chief.

Since taking office, Trump has frequently touted his support for the US military and placed high-ranking generals in top White House and Cabinet posts.

Even before being president he had mulled the possibility of a parade for his inauguration in January 2017, but the plan was scrapped.

When US President Donald Trump visited Paris last July for Bastille Day, he made no secret of his awe for the pomp and ceremony of the occasion

The idea appears to have been rekindled when Trump visited Paris last July for Bastille Day, when the 45th president made no secret of his awe for the pomp and ceremony of the occasion.

Sitting on the Champs-Elysees, Trump marveled at the Republican Guard on horseback, jets flying overhead, and warmly greeted President Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in an open-topped camouflaged military jeep.

Months after that meeting, Trump publicly remarked: "So we're actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength."

Sanders said Trump's intention was to have "a celebration" of the military.

Still, Trump's request immediately fueled comparisons to similar events in autocratic countries.

Democratic congressman Keith Ellison described it as "the Exalted Leader's latest idiot (and authoritarian) idea."

"We have a Napoleon in the making here," said congresswoman Jackie Speier.

Republican Senator John Kennedy also piled on: "I don't think it's a particularly good idea. Confidence is silent. Insecurities are loud."

- 'Cadet Bone Spurs' -

Trump has already prompted fears about his respect for democratic freedoms once this week by suggesting Democrats were "un-American" and "treasonous" for not applauding his recent State of the Union address.

The White House said Trump was "clearly joking."

Military veteran and Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth (C) fired back at President Donald Trump's suggestion Democrats were "treasonous" while lampooning Trump's medical deferments from military service during the Vietnam War

"But what isn't a joke is that Democrats refuse to celebrate the accomplishments of last year that have helped all Americans," added Sanders.

The quip did not go down well with lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats.

"I have seen the president's most ardent defenders use the now-weary argument that the president's comments were meant as a joke, just sarcasm, only tongue in cheek," said Republican Senator Jeff Flake.

"But treason is not a punchline, Mr President."

Military veteran and Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth also fired back at Trump, lampooning his medical deferments from service during the Vietnam War.

"We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy," she said.

"I swore an oath -- in the military and in the Senate -- to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap."
Ben Enwonwu's 1974 painting of the daughter of a Yoruba king has taken on almost mythical status in Nigeria

"I think of it as the African Mona Lisa," said award-winning novelist Ben Okri, gazing at the long-lost portrait of a Nigerian princess which recently turned up in a London flat.

Ben Enwonwu's 1974 painting of Adetutu "Tutu" Ademiluyi, daughter of a Yoruba king, has taken on almost mythical status in the painter's native Nigeria.

It was last seen in 1975 but is now up for sale after its surprise rediscovery.

"It has been a legendary painting for 40 years, everybody keeps talking about Tutu, saying 'where is Tutu?'," the Booker Prize-winning writer Okri told AFP.

As a prominent Nigerian cultural figure on the world stage, Okri viewed the painting at prestigious London auction house Bonhams, where the work will be sold on February 28.

"He wasn't just painting the girl, he was painting the whole tradition. It's a symbol of hope and regeneration to Nigeria, it's a symbol of the phoenix rising," he said.

"I spent hours looking at it, making up for the time that we hadn't seen it. It's been a work of rumour, but here it is, crystallised."

- Missing masterpiece -

Writer Ben Okri called Ben Enwonwu's "Tutu" painting "a symbol of hope and regeneration" for Nigeria

The work was uncovered by Giles Peppiatt, director of Modern African Art at Bonhams, after a north London family contacted him following lucrative recent sales of Nigerian artworks.

"It was quite remarkable when I walked into this flat in north London and saw it hanging on the wall, it was about the last thing I expected to see," he explained.

"As soon as I saw it I knew it was authentic, but I couldn't say that at the time to the owners because you can't just blurt that out."

After confirming the search for "Tutu" was over, the family "were, not surprisingly, pretty astounded," he revealed. "It's a missing masterpiece."

- 'Prize work' -

Ben Enwonwu's "Tutu" painting is expected to fetch up to 300,000 (417,000 USD) at auction

Enwonwu, who died in 1994, is considered the father of Nigerian modernism. He made three paintings of "Tutu", the locations of all of which had been a mystery until the recent discovery.

The works became symbols of peace following the clash of ethnic groups in the Nigerian-Biafran conflict of the late 1960s.

"The sitter is Yoruba and Ben Enwonwu was Ibo, so they were of different ethnic tribes," said Eliza Sawyer, specialist in Bonhams' African Art department.

"It was an important symbol of reconciliation."

Enwonwu was from a politically-connected Ibo family and his father was a traditional sculptor. The painter stumbled upon his most famous muse by accident.

"He would go around local villages and sketch local scenes and figures, and he encountered this young woman whom he thought was just entrancing and requested to paint her, not knowing her stature," explained Sawyer.

"She was a little taken back by the request," she added.

"It is the peak of the artist's career, there's also the sitter's status as a princess and thirdly the painting had been lost. That all creates an awful lot of mystery."

The rediscovered painting was last displayed at the Italian embassy in Lagos in 1975, and was bought by the father of the north London family during a business trip.

"It was pretty much regarded as his prize work," explained Peppiatt.

"I think he was secretly in love with the sitter. She is a very pretty lady.

"It's pretty audacious, with the light under the chin, which focuses you on the head. As a bit of painting it stands on its own anyway, without any of the other stories," he added.

The painting is expected to sell for around 250,000 ($347,000, 282,000 euros) when it goes on sale jointly in London and Lagos on February 28, but Okri argued that its worth was more than financial.

"It gives us a glimpse of an important African reconfiguration of the art of portraiture," he said.

"It's going to start a fire, start a debate. Never have they given proper due to African painters. This is the perfect work to start" to ask why, he added.
US President Donald Trump says he would "love" a government shutdown if lawmakers do not approve his controversial immigration plan

US lawmakers sought to clinch a sweeping budget deal Wednesday that would set spending levels for two years and end the immediate threat of another government shutdown, on the eve of a new deadline for federal funding.

But the sensitive issue of immigration -- which has been mired in congressional gridlock for weeks as lawmakers and the White House negotiate over the fate of millions of undocumented migrants -- is not expected to be in the latest compromise agreement.

The Senate and House of Representatives have until midnight Thursday (0500 GMT Friday) to pass a stopgap spending measure and send it to the president for his signature, or risk a second shutdown in three weeks.

The top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell and opposition Democrat Chuck Schumer said Tuesday they were close to reaching an elusive deal that would set spending caps for 2018 and 2019, in what would be a victory of sorts for Democrats, who have angled for parity in military and non-military funding.

"I don't think the government will shut down. Nobody wants the government to shut down," number two House Democrat Steny Hoyer told CNN.

On Tuesday, the House passed a partisan bill that would fund government for six weeks -- but fund the military through the remainder of fiscal year 2018.

The Senate is expected to rewrite the measure by stripping out military funding and including leadership language on spending caps before passing it and sending it back for House approval by Thursday.

But President Donald Trump's provocative outburst that he would "love to see a shutdown" if he did not get his way on immigration -- just as lawmakers sought to reach an understanding that would keep the lights on in Washington -- sent aides scrambling to downplay his remarks.

"We are not advocating for the shutdown," insisted White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders.

"The president wants a long-term deal, and he wants to get a deal on immigration."

Trump's remarks threw a monkey wrench into his Republican Party's negotiating position that immigration should be handled separately from budget issues.

Democrats have long pursued a strategy to tie immigration to the debate over federal funding -- and last month implicitly threatened to bring government to a standstill absent a permanent solution for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children.

The so-called "Dreamers" were shielded from deportation under the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. But Trump ended the program last September, and set March 5 as a deadline for resolving the issue.

- Protecting 'Dreamers' -

Top US lawmakers in Washington say they are close to a budget deal that would avert a government shutdown, but other issues such as immigration are complicating the negotiations

With less than a month before the DACA deadline, no solution was in sight.

The White House plan -- which would put 1.8 million immigrants on a path to citizenship, boost border security, and dramatically curtail legal immigration -- has been panned by Democrats. A series of bipartisan efforts have stalled.

In the meantime, McConnell has pledged to allow open debate on immigration on the Senate floor after Thursday.

The process will be "fair to everyone," with any senator allowed to bring proposals to the floor, he said.

Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi was again demanding action on immigration from House Speaker Paul Ryan in order to get her Democrats on board for the budget deal.

"The package does nothing to advance bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers," Pelosi said in a statement.

"Without a commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support."

It remained unclear whether any of the competing proposals would be able to win the 60 votes necessary to advance in the 100-member Senate, clear the House and earn Trump's backing.
The United States and Iran have had no diplomatic relations since April 1980 in the wake of the Islamic revolution, and tensions have sharpened under US President Donald Trump after a brief warming under his predecessor, Barack Obama

The White House on Wednesday warned Iran that it will be held responsible for the health of 81-year-old American citizen Baquer Namazi, who was recently sent back to prison after medical treatment.

Namazi and his son Siamak were sentenced to 10 years in prison for "espionage and collaboration with the American government" in October -- a charge denied by the family and dismissed by US authorities.

The elder Namazi "has been hospitalized four times in the last year and continues to suffer from life-threatening heart problems," a statement from the White House read.

"He remains in urgent need of sustained medical care, and the United States government holds Iran fully accountable for his well-being."

"The Trump administration again calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all unjustly detained and missing United States citizens in Iran, including Baquer Namazi, his son Siamak Namazi, Xiyue Wang, and Robert Levinson."

Namazi was rushed to a hospital on January 15 -- the fourth time in the last year -- after a "severe" drop in his blood pressure, and irregular heartbeat.

On Sunday, Iranian authorities granted Namazi, a dual US-Iranian citizen, leave from prison on humanitarian grounds. In September, he underwent emergency heart surgery to install a pacemaker.

His lawyer, Jared Genser, said then that under the terms of the leave, he could not leave Iran. His son, a business consultant and also a dual national, is also still in jail.

Wang, a Chinese-American researcher from Princeton University, has also been given a 10-year sentence for espionage.

Former FBI agent and CIA contractor Levinson went missing in March 2007 after apparently traveling to an Iranian coastal island.

Washington and Tehran have had no diplomatic relations since April 1980 in the wake of the Islamic revolution, and tensions have sharpened under Trump after a brief warming under his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Smoke billows near Mosul's Al-Shifa hospital in 2017 during battles to retake the city from IS fighters; "While violence has subsided, less than 10 percent of health facilities in Nineveh governorate are functioning at full capacity," UNICEF said

The United Nations launched an appeal Wednesday for $17 million to rebuild essential health facilities for children in Iraq after a devastating three-year battle to expel the Islamic State group.

The UN children's fund, UNICEF, said next week's reconstruction conference for Iraq to be staged in Kuwait, with Baghdad estimating the overall cost at $100 billion, would be "a unique opportunity... to put children at the heart" of the process.

"The state of Iraqs healthcare system is alarming," Peter Hawkins, UNICEF representative in Iraq, said in a statement after a visit to the northern city of Mosul which was recaptured last July.

"For pregnant women, newborn babies, and children, preventable and treatable conditions can quickly escalate into a matter of life and death," he said.

Appealing for $17 million to help rebuild health facilities in Iraq, UNICEF said 750,000 children in the Mosul region, the worst affected in the battle against IS jihadists, were "struggling to access basic health services".

"While violence has subsided, less than 10 percent of health facilities in Nineveh governorate (of which Mosul is the capital) are functioning at full capacity. Those that are operational are stretched to breaking point," it said.
A Syrian man carries two children in the rubble of buildings following regime air strikes on the rebel-held besieged town of Douma in the eastern Ghouta region, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, on February 7, 2018

The UN Security Council will hold a closed-door meeting on Thursday to discuss an appeal from UN aid officials for a month-long humanitarian ceasefire in Syria, diplomats said.

Sweden and Kuwait requested the meeting of the top UN body on Wednesday as Syrian government forces continued to shell rebel-held Eastern Ghouta, killing scores in some of the worst bloodshed in years.

The UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, Panos Moumtzis, has called for a month-long ceasefire to allow aid convoys to reach civilians in Eastern Ghouta.

"We are particularly concerned about attacks against civilians and civilian objects, such as hospitals. These attacks further compound civilian suffering, and are leading to large numbers of new displacements," said Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog.

Senior UN aid official Ursula Mueller told the council last month that the Syrian government blocked all aid convoys to besieged areas in January.

"There has been no progress on cross-line humanitarian access for the UN and its partners to besieged and hard to reach areas," said the Swedish ambassador.

"A humanitarian ceasefire would enable the delivery of life-saving assistance and the evacuation of hundreds of critically ill patients urgently needing medical treatment" in Eastern Ghouta, he said.

More than 13.1 million Syrians are in need of humanitarian aid including 6.1 million who have been displaced within the country.
A Pakistani man buys balloons for his family on Valentine's Day in Karachi on February 14, 2016

Pakistan's media regulator has warned television channels and radio stations to refrain from promoting Valentine's Day after a court banned celebrations last year.

Valentine's Day is increasingly popular among younger Pakistanis, with many taking up the custom of giving cards, chocolates and gifts to their sweethearts to mark the occasion.

But the country remains a deeply traditional Muslim society and many disapprove of the holiday as a Western import.

Pakistan's President Mamnoon Hussain told a crowd of students in 2016 that the day had no place in the Muslim-majority nation and urged young people to focus on their studies instead.

Last year, the Islamabad High Court prohibited celebrations in public spaces and government offices across the country.

In a Twitter post Wednesday, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) said last year's ban was still in place and urged the media to "desist from promoting" the festivities.

Social media users were quick to respond, with some mocking the regulatory body.

"Hate preechers who incite violence in name of Islam are back on air. These hate monger are promoted & protected by the state of #Pakistan. But love speak and red heart balloon and flower vendors are a danger to this republic and Islam", journalist Ahmad Noorani posted on Twitter.

Another user Adnan Sami commented on Facebook: "PEMRA directs media to refrain from promoting Valentines Day, PEMRA never directs media from promoting hate monger Mullahs".

Others lauded the decision, echoing the views of officials who have previously blasted the celebrations as "vulgar and indecent".

Ali Danish said on Twitter: "Pemra did right. What sort of love do you want to spread via Valentine's day? Us distancing ourselves from islam is haunting us big-time".
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In successfully sending the world's most powerful rocket into space, SpaceX founder Elon Musk has pulled off yet another spectacular gamble.

The question now is what's next for SpaceX and the space industry following the launch of Musk's Tesla roadster into space aboard a Falcon Heavy rocket?

Falcon Heavy can launch far heavier payloads than other rockets -- more than twice as much as its closest rival, the Delta IV Heavy rocket built by United Launch Alliance, the joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Musk now says yesterday's success has given him confidence in his plans for the BFR, or the Big F***ing Rocket, which could one day send humans to the moon and Mars.

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Falcon Heavy's successor -- and the SpaceX rocket that could make an unmanned mission to Mars -- would be the irreverently-named rocket currently known as BFR, or 'Big F***ing Rocket.' BFR would eventually replace SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and the Dragon capsule. An artist's impression of the BFR is pictured

'It gives me confidence that BFR is really quite workable,' Musk said. 'It's given me a lot of confidence that we can make the BFR design work.'

'Most of our engineering resources will be dedicated to BFR and so I think that will make things go quite quickly,' Musk said.

A first test flight of the Falcon Heavy's successor could take place in 2019 with orbital tests in 2020 and the delivery of the first cargo to Mars in 2022, Musk says.

The rocket will be bigger than any other in existence, and will take satellites to orbit, crew and cargo to the International Space Station and even lead manned missions to the moon.

Musk first revealed his plans for a future moon base back in September. The top part of BFR rocket has 40 cabins, which could hold 5 or 6 people.

'This will enable the creation of a lunar base. It's 2017  we should have a lunar base by now,' he said at the time.

'And then of course Mars, becoming a multi-planet species. Beats the hell out of being a single-planet species.'

With the latest accomplishment, the SpaceX CEO is now another step closer to the goal.

'Falcon Heavy opens up a new class of payload,' Musk told reporters following Tuesday's launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida.

By blasting his electric car into space, Musk not only pulled off a publicity coup but also showed potential clients that SpaceX can deliver the goods.

Elon Musk's latest comments came after the successful launch of the Falcon Heavy yesterday (pictured left). The SpaceX CEO (right) said the launch has now given him 'a lot of confidence that we can make the BFR design work'

Using reusable boosters, SpaceX has a cost advantage -- at 90 million dollars a launch it is three times cheaper than its rivals.

It has already lured two clients: the US Air Force and Arabsat, a consortium of Arab nations seeking to have communications satellites put into orbit.

The market, however, has changed significantly since Musk announced the Falcon Heavy project in 2011.

The top part of BFR rocket has 40 cabins, which could hold 5 or 6 people. According to Musk, this could one day allow humans to set up a base on the moon. Artist's impression of the BFR is pictured

BFR would be nearly as big and even more powerful than NASA's Saturn V which sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s. A first test flight could take place in 2019 with orbital tests in 2020 and the delivery of the first cargo to Mars in 2022. It's the basis for Musk's plans for future lunar and Mars bases. An artist's impression of a Mars base is pictured

STARSHIP: ELON MUSK'S 'BIG F***ING ROCKET' The BFR (Big F***ing Rocket), now known as Starship, will complete all missions and is smaller than the ones Musk announced in 2016. The SpaceX CEO said the rocket would take its first trip to the red planet in 2024, carrying only cargo, followed by a manned mission in 2026 and claimed other SpaceX's products would be 'cannibalised' to pay for it. The rocket would be partially reusable and capable of flight directly from Earth to Mars. Once built, Musk believes the rocket could be used for travel on Earth  saying that passengers would be able to get anywhere in under an hour. To date, the Starship series of rockets have seen 9 test flights  some resulting in successful short-distance hops, while others led to explosions or crash landings. The most recent experimental launch  involving the Starship SN15 prototype  took place on May 5, 2021 and saw the craft complete a 33,000 feet high-altitude flight test into low-lying clouds, complete with successful ascent, engine cut-offs, flip manoeuvre, flap control and soft touchdown. A small fire did erupt at the base of the rocket following its landing, but this was later extinguished. Advertisement

SpaceX took a lot of time to develop its powerful rocket, and spent more than half a billion dollars doing so, according to Musk.

During that time, a lot of progress been made in increasing the capability of smaller rockets -- including SpaceX's own Falcon 9 -- and reducing the size of satellites.

'There is a part of the commercial market that requires Falcon Heavy,' SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell told the Los Angeles Times last year. 'It's there, and it's going to be consistent, but it's much smaller than we thought.'

One year ago, SpaceX announced that it had signed a contract to send two paying passengers into orbit around the moon, something which hasn't been done since NASA's Apollo 17 mission in December 1972.

The space tourists would ride aboard a passenger version of SpaceX's Dragon 2 capsule, which has already been used by NASA to send cargo to the International Space Station.

This still image taken from a SpaceX livestream video shows 'Starman' sitting in the cherry red Tesla roadster after the Falcon Heavy rocket delivered it into orbit. Musk now says he's turning his sights to the BFR after the Falcon Heavy's success

Falcon Heavy can launch far heavier payloads than other rockets -- more than twice as much as its closest rival, the Delta IV Heavy rocket built by United Launch Alliance, the joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin. It can be seen compared to other rockets, above. The BFR will be even bigger

Space tourism is a promising industry but the costs will limit its availability for some time to the super-rich. The moonshot was planned for late this year but SpaceX has yet to commit to that timeline.

SpaceX is also not the only one eyeing the moon. In December, President Donald Trump directed NASA to set up a lunar base as a first step in a mission to Mars.

Trump was vague, however, with details, financing or a calendar for sending men to the moon or the Red Planet.

Hooking up with a private partner such as SpaceX or Blue Origin, the space company founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos, could be on the cards.

Establishing a colony on Mars is Musk's stated long-term goal and Falcon Heavy is one step in the ambitious project he outlined last year.

The BFR rocket will be bigger than any other in existence, and will take satellites to orbit, crew and cargo to the International Space Station and even lead manned missions to the moon. An artist's impression of a crew module in the ship is pictured

Falcon Heavy's successor -- and the SpaceX rocket that could make an unmanned mission to Mars -- would be the irreverently-named rocket currently known as BFR, or 'Big F***ing Rocket.'

BFR would eventually replace SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets and the Dragon capsule.

Around 350 feet (103 meters) tall, BFR would be nearly as big and even more powerful than NASA's Saturn V which sent astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and 1970s.

A first test flight could take place in 2019 with orbital tests in 2020 and the delivery of the first cargo to Mars in 2022.

Musk said the successful Falcon Heavy launch left him encouraged about the future of BFR.
US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) and top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer (L) -- shown here in November -- announced the compromise deal on the Senate floor

US Senate leaders said Wednesday they had reached a bipartisan budget deal for 2018 and 2019 -- a move which, if approved by Congress, would avert a second government shutdown in just three weeks.

The deal, months in the making, was seen as a major achievement for both the ruling Republicans and opposition Democrats in a deeply divided Washington.

The breakthrough came on the eve of a midnight Thursday deadline for Congress to pass a stopgap spending measure -- its fifth since October -- or once again turn the lights out on the federal government.

The proposal would lift caps on federal spending that were mandated under a 2011 law, boosting military and non-military funding by some $300 billion in total, aides said.

"The compromise we've reached will ensure that, for the first time in years, our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep America safe," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a defense hawk, said it was the "best news for the military... since 2011."

The agreement would also ensure funding for domestic priorities pushed by Democrats including disaster relief, health centers and fighting a surging opioid epidemic.

"The budget deal doesn't have everything Democrats want, it doesn't have everything the Republicans want, but it has a great deal of what the American people want," top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer told his colleagues.

The deal raises the debt ceiling until March 2019, postponing a potential fiery clash within President Donald Trump's own Republican Party, and essentially clears the decks for Congress to address other thorny issues such as immigration and infrastructure.

Before the deal was announced, the House passed a partisan bill that would fund government for six weeks and the military through the remainder of fiscal year 2018.

The Senate is now expected to rewrite that measure, pass it and send it back for House approval before Thursday's funding deadline -- provided there are no efforts to slow the process in the Senate.

- 'Happy' White House -

McConnell and Schumer said the deal was the product of extensive negotiations between both parties and the White House, which reacted positively to developments on Capitol Hill.

"We're certainly happy with the direction that it's moving," press secretary Sarah Sanders said, adding that the White House would need to see the final components.

US President Donald Trump had said he would "love" a government shutdown if lawmakers did not approve his controversial immigration plan

That was a turnaround from Tuesday, when Trump had said he would "love" a shutdown if he did not get his way on immigration.

Several Senate Democrats, including John Tester of Montana, said they were buoyed by the deal but wanted to study the details before signing on.

House Speaker Paul Ryan urged all House members to support the deal, saying it breaks the "logjam" on public priorities and "will ensure that America's armed forces have more of the resources they need to keep America safe."

In a statement, he also said the agreement includes investments in infrastructure and resources to combat the opioid crisis, as well as nearly $90 billion in disaster relief for hurricane-stricken Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and the US Virgin Islands.

But the compromise could face stiff blowback in the lower chamber of Congress, where fiscal conservatives may balk at adding $300 billion to the national debt just months after passing a $1.5 trillion tax cut package.

But liberal stalwarts might also revolt, over the sensitive issue of immigration and the fate of millions of undocumented migrants.

- Immigration at issue -

Immigration is not part of the compromise. Instead, McConnell will allow an open debate on possible immigration solutions on the Senate floor, beginning as early as next week -- a promise he made to end a three-day shutdown last month.

Democrats have long pursued a strategy to link the federal funding debate to a solution for hundreds of thousands of "Dreamer" immigrants who were brought to the country illegally as children.

Top US lawmakers in Washington have reached a budget deal that would avert a government shutdown, but other issues such as immigration are still unresolved

Top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi highlighted the approach Wednesday with an extraordinary day-long address -- the Chamber's longest in more than a century -- to her House colleagues in which she read dozens of testimonials from "Dreamers" and called on Ryan to take action on immigration.

"Our Dreamers hang in limbo, with a cruel cloud of fear and uncertainty above them," Pelosi said.

"The Republican moral cowardice must end."

The Dreamers were shielded from deportation under the Obama-era program called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. But Trump ended the program last September, and set March 5 as a deadline for resolving the issue.

The White House plan -- which would put 1.8 million immigrants on a path to citizenship, boost border security, and dramatically curtail legal immigration -- has been panned by Democrats. A series of bipartisan efforts have stalled.
The Ganj madrassa in Peshawar, Pakistan: the US designated three associates of the school's founder, Shakyh Aminullah, as terrorists

The United States named three Pakistanis Wednesday as key "terrorist facilitators", saying they worked closely with a well-known backer of Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Taliban known as Shaykh Aminullah.

The US Treasury placed Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan, and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan on its blacklist of "Specially Designated Global Terrorists," in an effort to disrupt the group's ability to obtain and distribute financing.

All three were tied to Shaykh Aminullah, who has been on international terror blacklists since 2009.

US officials allege that Shaykh Aminullah turned the Ganj madrassa, a boys school in Peshawar, into a training and recruiting base by Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The three men were involved in providing financial and logistical support, explosives, and technological aid to the three Pakistan and Afghanistan-based extremist groups, the Treasury said.

Rahman Zeb, it said, has been in charge of raising funds and materials for Lashkar-e-Taiba in the Gulf region, and helped Shaykh Aminullah travel to the Gulf in 2014.

Hizb Ullah was involved in Shaykh Aminullah's madrassa and helped him on various trips to the Gulf.

Dilawar, meanwhile, was a close assistant to Shaykh Aminullah, arranging his travel around Pakistan and handling his correspondence and financial transactions.

"Treasury continues to aggressively pursue and expose radicals who support terrorist organizations and run illicit financial networks across South Asia," said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
White House staff secretary Rob Porter (R), seen walking to Marine One last August with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly (L), and Senior Adviser Jared Kushner

White House staff secretary Rob Porter -- a near-constant fixture at President Donald Trump's side -- has resigned from his post, after two ex-wives publicly accused him of domestic abuse.

The White House said Porter denied the allegations and retains the confidence of Trump and his chief of staff John Kelly, but would be leaving his post at an undetermined time.

His resignation comes after reports in the Daily Mail and The Intercept, in which Porter's ex-wives Colbie Holderness and Jennifer Willoughby documented alleged physical and psychological abuse.

A pair of photos showed Holderness with a badly bruised eye, which she claimed was the result of being punched by Porter.

The Intercept reported that the FBI became aware of the allegations when conducting background checks for Porter's security clearance.

Porter is not well known publicly but is often seen on travels with the president outside Washington and in White House meetings.

In recent weeks, he was closely involved in preparations for Trump's address to business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.

The Daily Mail had recently suggested he was in a relationship with Trump's communications advisor Hope Hicks.

"The President and chief of staff have had full confidence and trust in his abilities and his performance," Sanders said Wednesday.

She then read a statement from Porter, in which he said "these outrageous allegations are simply false."

"I took the photos given to the media nearly 15 years ago, and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described."

"I've been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign."

The White House denied suggestions that it ignored security concerns flagged by the FBI.

"Consistent with the practice of past administrations, issues related to an individual's suitability are reviewed through a thorough and lengthy background check process," said Sanders.

"Background checks involve a complex investigation run by intelligence and law enforcement agencies."
Ghassan Salame, UN special envoy for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), speaks during a news conference in the capital Tripoli

UN envoy Ghassan Salame said Wednesday he hoped for elections in Libya by the end of 2018 but that conditions in the strife-torn country were not yet ready for polling.

"There are several conditions. For the time being, we have only achieved one: the start of voter registration," the UN envoy for Libya told a news conference in Tripoli.

Last September, Salame submitted an action plan to stabilise Libya centred on holding legislative and presidential elections this year.

"All the conditions have not been met," he said, stressing an electoral law still needed to be adopted and the security situation was not ready.

"The most important thing is to secure the acceptance of all parties of the election results" ahead of polling, which he hoped could be held "by the end of 2018".

Salame played down the prospects of a disarmament programme, estimating at 20 million the number of weapons in the hands of Libya's six million population.

A 2015 UN-brokered deal that saw the establishment of a Government of National Accord was meant to calm years of chaos that followed the ouster of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

But Libya has remained mired in violent turmoil as the country is riven by divisions between the GNA in Tripoli and a rival administration backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar in the east.
Infraud was a key hub for card fraud, touting itself with the motto "In Fraud We Trust"

The US Justice Department announced indictments Wednesday for 36 people accused of running a transnational ring stealing and selling credit card and personal identity data, causing $530 million in losses.

Thirteen members of the "Infraud Organization" were arrested in the United States, Australia, Britain, France, Italy, Kosovo and Serbia, it said.

Created in Ukraine in 2010 by Svyatoslav Bondarenko, Infraud was a key hub for card fraud, touting itself with the motto "In Fraud We Trust."

It was "the premier one-stop shop for cybercriminals worldwide," said Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Rybicki.

Members could buy and sell card and personal data for use to buy goods on the internet, defrauding the card owners, card issuers and vendors.

Infraud operated automated vending sites to make it easy for someone to buy card and identity data from them. It had 10,901 approved "members" registered to buy and sell with them in early 2017, and maintained a rating and feedback system for members.

The senior administrators continuously screened the products and services of vendors "to ensure quality products," said the indictment.

The group operated moderated web forums to share advice among customers, and operated an "escrow" service for payments in digital currencies like Bitcoin, the Justice Department said.

"As alleged in the indictment, Infraud operated like a business to facilitate cyberfraud on a global scale," said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan.

The network of indicted Infraud leaders included people from the United States, France, Britain, Egypt, Pakistan, Kosovo, Serbia, Bangladesh, Canada and Australia.

Bondarenko remains at large, but the number two figure in the organization, Russian co-founder Sergey Medvedev has been arrested, according to US officials.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - Rapper Travis Scott has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for an incident last year at a concert in northwestern Arkansas.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that he entered the plea as part of a deal in which misdemeanor charges of inciting a riot and endangering the welfare of a minor were dismissed. His attorney, Doug Norwood, says the case was resolved last month.

The rapper, whose real name is Jacques Webster, was arrested following a concert May 13 in Rogers. The Rogers Police Department claimed that he "encouraged people to rush the stage" during his show, but his lawyer says video footage of the concert did not support those allegations and that authorities overcharged the rapper.

Norwood says he believes the charge can be expunged from his client's record later.

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Information from: Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, http://www.nwaonline.com
MEXICO CITY (AP) - One of two priests shot to death in a road ambush had been photographed earlier holding an assault rifle in the company of armed, masked men, a prosecutor in southern Mexico said Tuesday.

Xavier Olea, the head prosecutor for Guerrero state, said the two priests went to an open-air concert Monday attended by members of various drug gangs. Olea said the priests were drinking, which he called "an indiscretion."

The two were shot to death along with four other people when gunmen attacked their truck as they returned home from the concert.

Olea said that there was a fight at the concert involving the priests' group of acquaintances and that the priests were killed apparently by gunmen from one of the gangs.

He said the photograph of the priest, the Rev. Germain Muniz Garcia, with the assault rifle led the gunmen to think he was associated with a rival gang. He said the photo circulated on social media with messages, presumably from other gangs.

Bishop Salvador Rangel, who oversees the diocese where Muniz was assigned, criticized the prosecutor's comments.

"I do not agree that they want to link Father Germain with drug traffickers because of one photograph that is circulating out there," he said.

Rangel said Muniz Garcia worked in an area where mines controlled by drug gangs abound. He said the priest "had to greet them" in order to enter the area.

The bishop also told The Associated Press that he personally had been in contact with the leaders of some gangs trying to keep his priests safe.

"I have said it openly: I have talked to the capos, with the leaders of these groups, in order to take care of the priests, nuns and seminary students," Rangel said. "I have always talked about dialogue in the search for peace."

Later, Rangel did say that Muniz's posing for a photo holding an assault rifle was "an indiscretion by the priest," but he called the distribution of the picture "a dirty war by somebody."

Rangel called on authorities to thoroughly investigate the killings.

In previous killings of priests, Mexican prosecutors have been accused of rushing to associate the slayings with the victims' use of alcohol. Church leaders have called some of those comments an attempt to smear slain priests.

Mexico has been an exceedingly dangerous place for priests, especially in Veracruz, Guerrero and Michoacan states. Mexico's Catholic Media Center says 21 priests have been killed in Mexico since December 2012, including the two priests killed Monday near the tourist town of Taxco, south of Mexico City.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - The Latest on online sales site Etsy terminating the accounts of some Alaska Native artists (all times local):

2:20 p.m.

The online sales website Etsy says it no longer allows Alaska Natives to sell such animal products as ivory.

The company made the comments in response to criticism prompted by the removal of such items from accounts held by Alaska Native artists who have been selling ivory and other animal parts that Etsy says are prohibited from the site.

The company says in an email it has updated its policies to reflect the global nature of its business and says the artists' accounts remain active.

Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan asked Etsy's chief executive officer to reconsider the policy and allow Alaska Natives to continue to sell products made from walrus tusks or from petrified wooly mammoth remains found in the state.

Those items can legally be sold by Alaska Natives.

Sullivan spokesman Matt Shuckerow says Etsy has not responded to Sullivan's letter.

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This item has been corrected to show that accounts of Alaska Native artists have had ivory items removed, not that the accounts were canceled.

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12:35 p.m.

A policy aimed at protecting against the illegal ivory trade has prompted an online sales website to remove such items from accounts held by Alaska Native artists who can legally use ivory in their artwork.

Republican U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan asked the chief executive officer of Etsy to reconsider its policy to allow Alaska Natives to continue to sell products made from walrus tusks or from petrified wooly mammoth remains found in the nation's most remote state.

Sullivan spokesman Matt Shuckerow says Etsy has not responded to a letter sent Friday to the Brooklyn, New York-based company. Etsy representatives did not immediately respond to requests from The Associated Press on Monday for comment.

Shuckerow says Sullivan heard about the issue from Alaska Native leaders.

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This item has been corrected to show that accounts of Alaska Native artists have had ivory items removed, not that the accounts were canceled.
TORONTO (AP) - Kyrie Irving returned to Boston's lineup for Tuesday night's game against Toronto after missing the previous three games because of a bruised right quad.

Irving suffered the injury in a Jan. 29 win at Denver. The Celtics went 3-0 with Terry Rozier starting in place of the five-time All-Star guard, with Rozier scoring a career-high 31 points against Atlanta last Friday. Irving is averaging a team-high 24.9 points per game.

Forward Marcus Morris was also active for the Celtics after missing the past two games because of a bruised left hip.

The Eastern Conference-leading Celtics had won four straight entering Tuesday night's game but had lost their past four in Toronto. The Raptors entered the night second in the East, trailing Boston by two games.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court told North Carolina officials late Tuesday they must use some but not all of the state's legislative districts that other federal judges redrew for this year's elections.

The justices partially granted the request of Republican lawmakers who contend the House and Senate maps they voted for last summer were legal and didn't need to be altered.

A three-judge panel determined those GOP-approved boundaries contained racial bias left over from maps originally approved in 2011 and violated the state constitution. So the lower-court judges hired a special master who changed about two dozen districts in all. The judges approved them last month.

The Supreme Court's order means more than half of those districts redrawn by Stanford University law professor Nathaniel Persily will revert to their shapes from last summer. The order said House district changes made in the counties that include Charlotte and Raleigh because of state constitutional concerns are blocked while the full case is appealed, but changes made elsewhere to alleviate racial bias must be used.

The maps containing the partial changes will be used when candidate filing for all 170 General Assembly seats begins next Monday.

Boundaries approved by the General Assembly last August kept Republicans in a position to retain veto-proof majorities in the chambers, which has helped them advance their conservative-leaning agenda this decade. But Democrats are bolstered after successful elections in other states last year. Tuesday's ruling means Democrats could find it harder to win more House districts than they hoped.

Dozens of North Carolina voters originally were successful in overturning the 2011 districts as racial gerrymanders. They subsequently asked Chief Justice John Roberts, who receives appeals from the state, to allow the lower court's directive and require the changes approved by the three judges be used.

The Republicans' request was considered by the entire court and the order reflected division among the justices. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito would have agreed to block all of the changes to the maps approved by the lower-court panel. Yet Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor would have denied the GOP's request entirely, according to the order.

The three-judge panel had agreed the changes the Republicans made to five Charlotte- and Raleigh-area House districts had violated the state constitution's provision against mid-decade redistricting. But GOP legislative leaders argued the issue was an issue that needed to be settled in state court and not by the federal judges.

Still, lawyers for the voters who had filed suit praised the Supreme Court's decision to allow the elections to go on with districts that Persily drew to reflect continued racial bias in two House and two Senate districts. In court filings, they pointed out three previous elections this decade - 2012, 2014 and 2016 - occurred under what have been deemed unconstitutional maps, and blocking the judges' orders would have meant another election under unlawful boundaries.

"Finally, after years of litigation, North Carolinians will be able to elect their state legislators from districts that do not discriminate against voters based on their race," said Allison Riggs, the lead attorney for the voters. "This decision represents a major victory for all North Carolinians who value fair elections and democratic principles."

Republican Rep. David Lewis, the House redistricting committee chairman, said he was pleased the Supreme Court blocked "the lower court's egregious attempt to rule on purely state-law claims" and most of Persily's districts. "I am confident that the court's full review of this case on the merits will ultimately vindicate the General Assembly's entirely enacted plans." Riggs also predicted full victory from the Supreme Court or in state court.

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of North Carolina Republicans last month when the justices delayed enforcement of another three-judge panel's decision that struck down the state's congressional map for excessive partisanship. Republicans have been in the courts most of this decade trying to defend their redistricting decisions against challenges by Democrats or their allies.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A federal indictment returned Tuesday accuses a Saudi Arabian man of falsifying immigration paperwork when he failed to disclose he attended a terrorist training camp before entering the United States.

A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City handed up the indictment against Naif Abdulaziz M. Alfallaj, 34, of Weatherford, Oklahoma, who is charged with two counts of visa fraud and one count of making false statements. He has lived in Oklahoma since 2012.

Court records do not indicate whether Alfallaj is represented by an attorney.

The indictment alleges Alfallaj attended the al-Qaida-operated al Farooq terrorist training camp near Kandahar, Afghanistan, around September 2000 and filled out a form using a nickname. The FBI later found 15 of Alfallaj's fingerprints on the document after it was recovered by the U.S. military from an al-Qaida safe house in Afghanistan.

The document is also alleged to include an emergency contact number associated with Alfallaj's father in Saudi Arabia.

Authorities said Alfallaj entered the U.S. in late 2011 on a nonimmigrant visa based on his wife's status as a foreign student. The indictment said Alfallaj answered "no" on an immigration application when asked if he supported terrorist organizations or had received firearms or other specialized training.

Alfallaj is accused of obtaining his visa fraudulently and using the visa to apply for lessons at a private flight school in Oklahoma in October 2016, authorities said. Alfallaj is also accused of making a false statement during an FBI terrorism investigation when he denied associating with anyone from a foreign terrorist group.

Kathryn Peterson, head of the FBI in Oklahoma, said the charges are an isolated incident and the investigation has not uncovered other potential threats.

Alfallaj was arrested on Monday. He faces up to 10 years in prison on each count of visa fraud and up to eight years for making false statements. Authorities said Alfallaj is expected to face deportation proceedings once the criminal case is concluded.
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Tuesday he is encouraged by Colombia's efforts to slash the amount of cocaine produced in the South American nation but cautioned that "we need to see results."

In a joint appearance with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, Tillerson said that as a primary consumer of illicit drugs the U.S. shares a responsibility in combatting the narcotics trade and will continue to support Colombia's efforts.

His conciliatory remarks came months after President Donald Trump threatened to decertify Colombia as a partner in the war against drugs unless the nation reversed a record surge in cocaine production.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, left, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson during a joint press conference after a meeting at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

"We need to see the metrics going in the right way," Tillerson said. "That's all President Trump wants as well."

A White House report found cultivation of the plant used to make cocaine rose to levels unseen in Colombia in nearly two decades of U.S. eradication efforts in 2016. The coca boom has tested the relationship between the staunch allies. The U.S. has spent more than $10 billion in counter-narcotics work in Colombia.

The rise in coca growth coincided with Colombia's peace deal with leftist rebels that provides benefits to coca farmers who agree to substitute their crops and a decision by Santos to stop the use of crop-destroying herbicides over health concerns.

Santos defended Colombia's work in reducing coca production, telling Tillerson that the nation has forcibly eradicated 54,000 hectares of the crop and signed collective agreements with 120,000 families to substitute coca.

He also stressed that U.S. efforts in reducing demand are key to resolving the problem. The U.S. is the world's largest consumer of cocaine originating from Colombia.

"We are working together on a problem and challenge that needs cooperation from both countries," Santos said.

Tillerson is on a five-nation tour of the region that thus far has been dominated by concerns about Venezuela's mounting political and economic crisis.

The secretary of state said Tuesday that he had a "very extensive exchange" with Santos on how the U.S. and Colombia can work with others in the region to restore democracy in Venezuela, which he described as "our only objective."

Last week, Tillerson remarked in a speech at the University of Texas that throughout the course of Latin America's history it has often been the military that has stepped in to "manage a peaceful transition." On Sunday, Tillerson said the U.S. is considering restricting oil sales from Venezuela.

Both remarks drew swift rebuke from Venezuelan officials, who accuse Tillerson of using his trip to increase pressure on governments around the region to join the U.S. in what they call a "perverse plan of aggressions against Venezuela."

During his stop in Colombia, Tillerson said the U.S. would consider re-allocating resources earmarked to address Venezuela's humanitarian ordeal to help Venezuelans who fled and are now in Colombia.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has long refused to accept humanitarian aid, seeing it as a potential means for foreign nations like the United States to intervene in the struggling nation's affairs.

Colombia is dealing with a mounting influx of Venezuelans, many of whom arrive illegally and with little more than the clothes on their backs. The nation recently opened its first border shelter for Venezuelans fleeing the crisis.

"We are all heartbroken by what we see happening in Venezuela," Tillerson said. "And we are also heartbroken to see the impact it is having in Colombia."

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a joint press conference with Colombia's President Juan Manuel after they met at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) - A woman found slain in Acapulco had been threatened by a drug gang over her YouTube channel and its commentary on local events in the resort city, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Guerrero state chief prosecutor Xavier Olea said a gang whose leader split from the Independent Cartel of Acapulco killed Leslie Ann Pamela Montenegro on Monday because she revealed inside information about drug gangs in her videos.

Olea said five drug-gang banners had appeared in Acapulco in recent months referring to Montenegro, 36, who was better known by the name of her YouTube persona, "Nana Pelucas."

Gangs in Mexico frequently use such banners to accuse public figures of links to rival groups.

Olea said the killing was apparently ordered by Javi Daniel Cervantes, a former member of the Acapulco cartel.

Olea also said an Acapulco government employee with links to the gang that killed Montenegro had also threatened her.

She was shot to death by men who walked into a restaurant she ran near Acapulco's tourist zone.

Montenegro used a big wig and glasses to deliver chatty, comic commentary and criticisms, some concerning the local government.

She had worked in radio and other media and belonged to the local journalists' organization, and Olea said his office wasn't ruling out any possible motive in the killing.

The once-glamorous resort of Acapulco has been hit hard by drug gang violence.

In other Mexican cities, bloggers and other people who post on social media have been targeted by drug gangs, for allegedly revealing information about their activities.
A college student will serve 18 years in prison after he admitted to plotting a bomb attack in New York for ISIS.

Munther Omar Saleh, 22, admitted to scheming to help the terror group hit New York landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty.

He was sentenced on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn.

The 22-year-old pleaded guilty last year to charges of supporting terrorism.

As part of his guilty plea, Saleh admitted that he had sought to communicate with and support the group and assaulted a federal officer.

Munther Omar Saleh (pictured right with his father in this undated photo) was sentenced on Tuesday in federal court in Brooklyn. He pleaded guilty to helping ISIS plot a terrorist attack in New York

Prosecutors said he escorted a co-defendant to an airport for a planned trip to join the Islamic State group overseas (the co-defendant was arrested before he could join the group), researched how to build a pressure-cooker bomb and discussed potential landmarks as targets with an Islamic State recruiter.

'I'm in NY and trying to do an Op,' Saleh told a confidential source in an intercepted conversation, according to court papers.

Later, Saleh charged, while armed with a knife, at a federal officer who was watching him, prosecutors said.

'Saleh attempted to turn our city into a staging ground for violent attacks,' William Sweeney, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office, said in a statement.

Brooklyn US Attorney Richard Donoghue said Saleh's sentence would deter 'those who contemplate waging violent jihad in New York City at the direction of a foreign terrorist organization.'

Saleh's lawyer, Deborah Colson, said her client was relieved that the case was concluded.

'Mr. Saleh is sincerely remorseful, and he is committed to making amends,' she said in an email.

In March 2015, a police officer observed Saleh on successive days on foot at the George Washington Bridge - which connects New Jersey and New York - acting suspiciously

Saleh, an American citizen, was a college student when he was arrested in 2015.

His case was linked to five other conspirators in New York and New Jersey.

At least four of them have also pleaded guilty.

In a letter to the judge earlier this year, Saleh said he was drawn to the Islamic State group because he saw it as an 'Islamic resistance movement' amid the Syrian civil war.

He said he became alarmed and 'started exercising very bad judgment' when he noticed law enforcement following him.

'I am sorry for my shameful behavior,' he wrote.

In March of 2015, a police officer observed Saleh on successive days on foot at the George Washington Bridge - which connects New Jersey and New York - seemingly looking around, court papers said.

The behavior prompted officers to interview Saleh, who denied sympathizing with Islamic State and also granted them permission to examine his computer, authorities said.

Investigators found the computer contained Islamic State propaganda, according to court filings.

Saleh's father defended his son, saying that it was a misunderstanding and he had been set up by informants.

The father said Saleh had been conducting simple internet searches.

Federal authorities said that Saleh, a resident of Flushing in the New York City borough of Queens, spent hours online researching how to build a pressure-cooker bomb and reading accounts of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.

Before his arrest, Saleh was enrolled at a college in Queens N.Y. and was studying electrical circuitry.
CHICAGO (AP) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his nation will not be pushed into any redo of the North American Free Trade Agreement that does not benefit Canada.

Speaking Wednesday at the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics, Trudeau said Canada will engage "thoughtfully and constructively" in talks with the U.S. and Mexico. He added his nation will not be pushed into any deal, going on to say it may be that "no deal is better for Canada."

President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw from the 24-year-old pact. Among his desires for the agreement are requiring that more auto production be made-in-America, and shifting more government contracts to U.S. companies.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, responds to a question from founder and director, David Axelrod, left, at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Trudeau says Canada has a stake in a good U.S. economy.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question from founder and director, David Axelrod, at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, responds to a question from founder and director, David Axelrod, left, at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Founder and director, David Axelrod, left, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, acknowledges the audience's applause after Trudeau's appearance at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question from founder and director, David Axelrod, at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responds to a question during a visit to the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, right, responds to a question from founder and director, David Axelrod, at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
JERUSALEM (AP) - The Israeli military says a security guard has shot dead a Palestinian attacker after he stabbed another guard at a West Bank settlement.

Israeli paramedics say a security guard was lightly wounded in Wednesday's incident near Hebron, and the Palestinian assailant was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the West Bank city of Nablus, Palestinian officials say two Palestinians were killed and dozens more wounded in clashes overnight with Israeli soldiers conducting searches for a Palestinian suspected of killing an Israeli man on Monday.

There has been a spike in violence since President Donald Trump's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Palestinian demonstrators have clashed with Israeli troops in the West Bank and along the Gaza-Israeli border, and 21 Palestinians have been killed since Trump's announcement.
PARIS (AP) - Rape accusations have abruptly transformed the image of renowned, outspoken Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who went from being an Oxford professor to being stuck in a French jail with no clear exit date in sight.

A French judge decided on Tuesday to keep Ramadan in detention, four days after he was handed preliminary rape charges following allegations by two women who sought his counsel.

The charges, compounded by French press reports featuring claims of violent and perverse sexual acts, have jolted the well-groomed reputation of an intellectual who is admired throughout Europe and beyond, above all among Muslims.

FILE - In this Feb.7 2016 file photo, Muslim scholar Tariq Ramadan delivers a speech during a French Muslim organizations meeting in Lille, northern France. A French judge has decided to keep prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan in detention, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, four days after he was charged with two alleged cases of rape by women who sought his counsel. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler, File)

Oxford University, where Ramadan is a professor of contemporary Islamic studies, has given him a leave of absence while his legal situation remains in doubt.

The Swiss scholar, who is married and has four children, was taken into custody on Jan. 31 and a formal criminal inquiry was opened two days later. One of the alleged rapes results from a 2009 encounter, while the other preliminary charge involves the alleged rape of a vulnerable person in 2012.

Both women filed complaints in October. Ramadan denies any wrongdoing. He is being investigated by French authorities because the rapes are alleged to have taken place in Paris and Lyon.

Ramadan, 55, lectures on what he says is a reform-minded Islam. His career has given him entree with some French intellectuals and made him a star with his Muslim following. He has published numerous books - including one last year co-authored with noted French philosopher Edgar Morin - and speaks at conferences far and wide.

"I mean to build bridges between two universes," Islam and the West, Ramadan wrote last month on his website.

But Ramadan has drawn detractors, too. Critics accuse him of engaging in "doublespeak" - a word he used himself in describing the assessments of his "selective, prejudiced" judges.

Ramadan blames his lineage for part of the problem. He is the grandson of the founder of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Hassan al-Banna. His grandfather's work makes him by definition "dangerous," Ramadan wrote in another post last month, just days before he was taken into custody.

His detractors, he went on, consider him adept at "taqiyah," an Arabic word for dissimulation to protect oneself or the Islamic faith, and think he has a "far more obscure hidden agenda."

It is unclear how long he could remain locked up. Under French law, the order to hold him in "provisional detention" can last up to one year and then be renewed for another six months twice. However, a suspect's time in custody can be cut short at any time if a judge agrees detention is no longer warranted.

The preliminary charges filed Feb. 2 could be dropped if the probe proves inconclusive or the allegations are without merit, or be upgraded to formal charges that would send him to trial.

Judicial investigators will have to ferret out the facts behind the double charges facing a man who is hard to read.

There is a dose of mystery behind the two women, who brought the complaints separately in October.

One has chosen not to be identified. French news outlets have reported that she had a nearly three-hour faceoff with Ramadan last week in the investigative judges' offices. The confrontation was about her alleged 2009 encounter with Ramadan at a Hilton Hotel in Lyon before being charged, the press reports said. The information could not be officially confirmed.

Henda Ayari, who threw off a Muslim veil to become an advocate for secularism, castigates Ramadan publicly. However, Le Parisien newspaper reported in November that Ayari at one point tried to renew contact with Ramadan after the alleged 2012 incident that forms the basis of her rape complaint.

Her lawyers confirmed the exchange and said Ayari was "in the grip of" a manipulative Ramadan. The lawyers, Jonas Haddad and Gregoire Leclerc, also claimed Ayari has received death threats from Ramadan backers.

A bitter clash between Ramadan's supporters and critics is being played out on social media, highlighting just how divisive the man who came to the fore in France as a potential unifier during the 1990s is today.

There are hints that the profile of Ramadan, who clearly loves the limelight, may be ebbing. For years, he was a headliner at Europe's largest Muslim gathering, outside Paris, but he wasn't at the 2017 event.

However, he has remained busy. On Jan. 20, he launched a movement, Resistance and Alternative. Last year, he opened a school in Paris, the Islamic Institute for Training and Ethics. In December, he traveled to India and, a Facebook post suggests, to camps for Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

Ramadan's U.S. visa was revoked in 2004 - and restored in 2010 - preventing him at the time from taking a teaching job at the University of Notre Dame. Authorities had said he donated $1,336 to a charity that gave money to a Palestinian militant group.

"I remain calm and place my full confidence in justice," Ramadan wrote in November on Facebook, part of a particularly personal post addressed "To you" and signed "Tariq."

"Patience is imperative, along with determination... our behavior must be marked by wisdom and dignity," the post said.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - An extremist attack in Kenya inspired a short film that is in the running for an Academy Award.

"Watu Wote" means "All of Us" in Swahili. The film depicts the true story of an al-Shabab extremist assault on a bus in northern Kenya just before Christmas in 2015. Muslim passengers helped to save the lives of Christian passengers by refusing to separate into groups.

German film students read about the attack and decided to tell the story for its message of humanity and solidarity. Director Katja Benrath called the Oscar nomination "surreal."

In this photo taken Thursday, Aug. 25, 2016, cast and crew of the short film "Watu Wote", meaning "All of Us" in Swahili, enact the terror attack sequence, at a location in Magadi, Kenya. The true story of an al-Shabab extremist attack on a bus in Kenya just before Christmas in 2015 inspired the short film, that is in the running for an Academy Award. (Eric Mwangi/Hamburg Media School via AP)

The film used many young first-time actors, most of them Somalis. Thousands of people have left Somalia for neighboring Kenya over the years as al-Shabab roams large parts of their homeland, carrying out attacks including the October bombing in the capital, Mogadishu, that killed more than 500 people.

"A lot of them already had traumatizing events in their past, also including terrorist attacks, so it was very, very emotional," Benrath said. She said the crew tried their best not to re-traumatize people.

Kenyan producer Bramwel Iro said the film shares the courage of the people on the bus with the world at large. The East African nation has been the target of a number of al-Shabab attacks, especially after Kenya sent troops to Somalia in 2011 to combat the extremist group. The attacks, some seeking to separate Christians and Muslims, have caused tensions at times between Kenyans and Somalis.

"When I was introduced to this particular story I was like, 'This is how I contribute. This is how I do my part in spreading a message of peace, spreading a message of love," Iro said.

The film competes against four others in the Best Live Action Short Film category at the 90th Academy Awards on March 4 in Los Angeles.

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For full coverage of awards season, visit: https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason

In this photo taken Wednesday, Aug. 17, 2016, producer Tobias Rosen, left, director Katja Benrath, center, and cinematographer Felix Striegel discuss on location during the filming of the short film "Watu Wote", meaning "All of Us" in Swahili, in Ngomeni, Kenya. The true story of an al-Shabab extremist attack on a bus in Kenya just before Christmas in 2015 inspired the short film, that is in the running for an Academy Award on March 4. (Eric Mwangi/Hamburg Media School via AP)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued four people from a downed plane in Louisiana.

A U.S. Coast Guard release says four people were traveling in the Piper PA-34 twin-engine plane from the Louisiana towns of Slidell to Patterson on Tuesday when the plane began to run low on fuel.

Authorities say the pilot shut the engines down to conserve fuel and made an emergency landing in the Atchafalaya River, about 17 miles (27 kilometers) south of Patterson.

A helicopter was dispatched from the Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, hoisted the four people into the chopper, and took them to Patterson.

One person suffered a minor arm injury.
GENEVA (AP) - A Swiss mobile phone operator says its data systems were breached late last year and the contact details of about 800,000 customers were compromised.

Swisscom said Wednesday that the names, addresses, telephone numbers and date of birth of the customers was accessed by an unknown party, which got the data through a sales partner of Swisscom.

It said that passwords, conversations and payment data were not affected and that it has not received any reports of customers suffering as a result.

Swisscom said it discovered the incident through a routine check of its activities and is carrying out an in-depth investigation.

The 800,000 customers represent almost 10 percent of Switzerland's overall population.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Police and military forces arrested 23 people Wednesday in a series of raids in violence-plagued parts of Rio de Janeiro two days before the city's famed Carnival celebrations.

Rio police said most of the arrests were made in City of God, a violent area in the west end of the city.

Security forces also staged operations in two slums that are strategic to drug traffickers - the Rocinha favela close to the posh neighborhoods of Ipanema and Leblon and the Complexo da Mare district by Rio's international airport.

Locals walk past soldiers during a surprise army operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Police and military forces took part in a series of raids two days before Rio de Janeiro kicks off its world famous Carnival celebrations. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

The raids came a day after three key arteries of the city were blocked by rival gangs fighting over territory.

Rio will host Brazil's most famous Carnival bash from Friday to Tuesday.

Soldiers and police officers stand next to three suspects, detained during a surprise operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Police and military forces took part in a series of raids two days before Rio de Janeiro kicks off its world famous Carnival celebrations. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A man rides his horse cart past soldiers and an armored vehicle during a surprise operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Police and military forces took part in a series of raids two days before Rio de Janeiro kicks off its world famous Carnival celebrations. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Soldiers stand guard over the Linha Amarela road in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Police and military forces took part in a series of raids two days before Rio de Janeiro kicks off its world famous Carnival celebrations. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A man covers a baby's face as a soldier patrols the street in a surprise operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Police and military forces took part in a series of raids two days before Rio de Janeiro kicks off its world famous Carnival celebrations. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A handcuffed suspected stands next to police officers during a surprise security operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Police and military forces took part in a series of raids two days before Rio de Janeiro kicks off its world famous Carnival celebrations. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
CATSKILL, N.Y. (AP) - A body tentatively identified as a New York man who disappeared last year has been found at the man's Hudson Valley home.

State police investigating the Jan. 30, 2017, disappearance of 31-year-old Brandyn Foster found the body on Tuesday at Foster's home in Catskill, New York. Foster was a rapper and the son of jazz drummer Al Foster.

The Times Union of Albany reports that state police searched the property in October. Troopers returned to the house on Tuesday and discovered the body.

An autopsy is being performed.

Foster's mother, Bonnie Steinberg, tells the Times Union that her son was "a great human being" and an "exceptional father" to his 10-year-old son.

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Information from: Times Union, http://www.timesunion.com
VATICAN CITY (AP) - Retired Pope Benedict XVI has commemorated the fifth anniversary of his historic decision to retire by assuring that while his physical strength is waning, he is "on a pilgrimage home."

Benedict wrote a brief letter to Italian daily Corriere della Sera after readers inquired how he was doing. The paper published the note Wednesday, just a few days before the anniversary of Benedict's stunning resignation announcement on Feb. 11, 2013.

The 90-year-old pope wrote that he was moved by such concern: "I can only say that in the slow decline of my physical strength, internally I am on a pilgrimage home."

He thanked the readers for their concern, saying it was a "grace" to be surrounded by such love "on this final stretch of the road, that's sometimes difficult."
NEW YORK (AP) - A lawyer attacked the credibility of a key government witness on Wednesday at the bribery trial of a former top aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo before the witness lashed back, calling it insulting to suggest he would lie to avoid prison.

Attorney Barry Bohrer was defending longtime Cuomo confidante Joseph Percoco when he repeatedly highlighted for several hours lies and crimes committed by government witness Todd Howe before Howe responded angrily.

Howe, a longtime close friend of Percoco before Howe pleaded guilty to multiple charges, said he found it "a bit insulting" that Bohrer was suggesting the only reason he would tell the truth was to earn a "get-out-of-jail-free card."

"I have done nothing but try to tell the truth since my come-to-Jesus moment" when he agreed to tell the truth and cooperate, the witness said.

The government has used Howe's testimony to try to prove Percoco accepted over $300,000 in bribes to give three businessmen an advantage over others in their dealings with the state of New York.

Howe's outburst came after he calmly submitted to Bohrer's moment-by-moment recounting of how he ripped off lenders, businesses, relatives and friends over more than a decade, ranging from mortgage companies to a dog walker.

Repeatedly, Howe conceded, he forced them to sue and garnish his wages. Only one entity or person at a time could get a share of his paycheck though.

Percoco has pleaded not guilty to charges he accepted bribes from an energy consultant and two real estate developers.

Howe was questioned for two days by a prosecutor before Bohrer began cross examination with questions about the truth.

"Are you an honest man?" the lawyer asked.

"I am today," Howe responded.

"Are you a truthful man?" Bohrer asked.

"I try to be," Howe said.

Bohrer showed it was not always so, confronting the witness with over a million dollars Howe had embezzled from the consulting company that employed him. The lawyer noted that even now, Howe's cooperation agreement calls for him to pay back over $1 million by paying $1,000 each month.

Bohrer also forced Howe to acknowledge that he lost a $985,000 home he purchased in 2002 and a $1.6 million home he bought in 2006 because he failed to make payments on mortgages and equity loans or to pay others, including companies that helped him remodel the homes and even a tutor for his son.

The lawyer noted that Howe reneged on the debts even as he vacations at popular resorts in the Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia, Martha's Vineyard and Palm Beach, Florida.

After pleading guilty to a felony bank fraud count in 2010 and avoiding serving prison time, Howe knew he was in serious trouble when he was arrested in the Percoco case in 2016, the witness admitted.

"I realized I needed to take responsibility and step up and be honest," he said.

Howe said he met with his lawyer and "we had a come-to-Jesus discussion."
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - An officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Puerto Rico has been indicted on charges of child pornography, authorities said Wednesday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Alfredo Maysonet Galarza is accused of possessing more than 1,000 images and videos of girls younger than 12 involved in sexually explicit conduct. He also is accused of advertising, receiving and distributing child pornography.

Maysonet faces 15 to 30 years in prison if found guilty. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.

Jeffrey Quinones, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the agency is cooperating with the federal investigation, and that any employee charged with a felony is place on indefinite suspension based on the indictment.

"CBP employees who ... choose to violate the trust of the citizens they swore to protect will be held accountable," he said.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats are heading into the November elections with an energized party base, an unpopular president to rail against and a growing wave of GOP retirements. Now they just need a clear message.

In recent weeks, lawmakers have zigzagged from digging in against President Donald Trump - even forcing a government shutdown - to trying to cut deals. They've played to their core supporters on immigration, only to shift quickly to the middle on spending. They've amplified news about the Russia investigation and dueling classified memos, at the risk of drowning out their objections to Trump's economic policies.

Democrats had planned to retreat to Maryland's Eastern Shore to discuss 2018 strategy Wednesday, but instead were stuck in Washington locked in an immigration and spending debate that put their divisions on full display.

Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks to the House Democratic Issues Conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

As Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called a two-year, bipartisan budget deal the "best thing" lawmakers have done for the middle class, his counterpart in the House was nearly three hours in to a marathon speech protesting the deal. Backed by progressives and immigration activists, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi held the floor for eight hours as she sought to force a House vote on legislation to protect young immigrants known as "Dreamers," who face deportation after Trump threatened to remove protections established by President Barack Obama.

Senate Democrats tried a similar hard-line strategy, only to back off as Republicans accused them of shutting down the government over immigrants. Pelosi yielded Wednesday night without an agreement from GOP leaders for a vote on immigration, but her talkathon was met with cheers and high-fives from fellow Democrats.

Former Vice President Joe Biden also drew cheers as he told Democrats they have "a real opportunity to take back" the majority in the House and even the Senate. Biden said Democrats must focus on middle-class families while standing up for the nation's core values, which he said are under "direct assault" from Trump and congressional Republicans.

"The president is looking out for himself only, and the Republican Party seems to be only looking out for the president, so it's our job as Democrats to remind the American people somebody's looking out for them," Biden said, drawing applause from Democrats gathered under the theme "United for A Better Tomorrow."

New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who is part of the House Democratic messaging operation, said the goal of the meetings was to "further develop an affirmative vision for how Democrats will improve the lives of the American people."

That vision is now captured in the "A Better Deal" policy statement, which includes traditional causes as a higher minimum wage, paid leave for employees and lower costs for prescription drugs and college.

Still, Democrats end up spending much of their time lambasting Trump - whether it's his policies, special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation or Trump's tweets.

"It's tough to ignore the elephant in the room. The Bob Mueller investigation goes to the heart of the Trump candidacy and presidency," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat.

In many ways, Trump's presidency has been good for Democrats. They've felt growing momentum at the end of last year after winning the Virginia governor's race and a special election for a Senate seat in Alabama, as well some down-ballot contests. They feeling increasingly optimistic about the fall elections, particularly in the House, where they must flip 24 GOP-held seats to gain control.

In the Senate, Democrats are defending 26 seats, including 10 seats in states Trump won. Republicans are defending just eight seats as they try to hold their 51-49 advantage.

But the wounds from the last war remain. A significant wing of the party continues to push for sharpened focus on a more populist economic message.

"We need an agenda that speaks to an angry middle class that wants the government representing them and not just the Koch brothers and other billionaires," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats.

"There is an essential agreement on what has to be talked about," he said.

There is no agreement on how to talk about it.

This week Republicans targeted Pelosi's comment that $1,000 bonuses resulting from the GOP tax bill are "crumbs." They seized on the comment to claim Democrats are out of touch with working-class voters who flocked to Trump in 2016.

Republicans had their own slip-up over the weekend, when House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin highlighted on Twitter a school secretary benefiting from the Republican tax overhaul, then deleted the tweet after online criticism that he was cheering a paltry pay increase of $1.50 a week. Democrats rushed to slam Ryan for the move.

Democrats also argue they benefit because Trump is an inconsistent foil. They noted that during his tax speech this week, he accused Democrats of being "un-American" and maybe even treasonous for failing to applaud him during his State of the Union address.

Even as Democrats talk about the need to press an economic message, Russia is never far from mind.

Senate Democrats trooped to the Senate floor this week to attack Trump and other Republicans for what they called a smear of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. After a Republican memo released last week criticized the FBI's handing of the investigation, Democrats have offered their own memo and pushed for its release.

Some Democrats stressed that anti-Trump was a winning message.

"There is so much antipathy to Trump where I live, that I don't think you can (put) his name up enough," said Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, whose Northern Virginia district is just outside Washington.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said she doesn't spend much time worrying about national politics.

"Frankly, I'm not really counting on the Democrats being able to help me," said McCaskill, who is seeking her third term in a state Trump won by 18 points. "I'm counting on me getting out and listening to Missourians and talking about things that matter to them."

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Associated Press writer Kevin Freking contributed to this report.

FILE - In this Jan. 11, 2018, file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., gestures as she speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. On the heels of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address, Pelosi is expected to target the recently approved federal tax overhaul during a town hall-style meeting in Massachusetts. Her appearance at the event in Cambridge on Thursday, Feb. 1, is part of what organizers say is a nationwide tour featuring members of Congress and others to call attention to the Republican tax plan. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., flanked by Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, left, and Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks with reporters as work continues on a plan to keep the government open as a funding deadline approaches, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

From left, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., chat as they pass in the Senate subway on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., is shown on television as she speaks from the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, as a news conference that she was supposed to attend goes on in the background. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Senate has approved a resolution condemning pornography, saying it causes infidelity and erectile dysfunction.

The Wichita Eagle reports that measure passed Tuesday on a 35-4 vote. The resolution has no legal effect. The House passed a similar measure last year.

Republican Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, of Shawnee, says pornography "exploits and humiliates those being used and it dehumanizes the user at the same time." The resolution says pornography is potentially biologically addictive and is linked to lessened desire.

Republican Sen. Barbara Bollier, of Mission Hills, mocked the resolution. She responded by saying: "Seriously? We'll see how excited they are about public health when it comes to guns."

Some lawmakers also raised concerns about freedom of expression.

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Information from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com
BASTIA, Corsica (AP) - French President Emmanuel Macron stood firm in the face of growing nationalist demands in Corsica Wednesday, rejecting calls for increasing autonomy in the once-restive Mediterranean island.

Wrapping up his first visit there since Corsican nationalists swept elections in December, Macron projected the image of a strong unified France and said "non" to demands to recognize Corsican as a second official language. He also ruled out the creation of the status of "Corsican resident."

"There is one official language - it's French," he said in a speech in Corsica's second town of Bastia. His address received scant applause.

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Alb'Oru cultural centre in Bastia, on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Macron arrived Tuesday in Corsica for a two-day visit, at a time when nationalists on the Mediterranean island are gaining influence. (Benoit Tessier,POOL via AP)

The language recognition was one of the key wishes of nationalist leaders such as Gilles Simeoni and Jean-Guy Talamoni who reportedly boycotted a Wednesday lunch with Macron.

Unlike many in the nearby Spanish region of Catalonia, the French island's leaders aren't seeking full independence - but some believe it's only a matter of time before they do.

On Tuesday, Macron also refused to release Corsican prisoners held in mainland prisons, two days after thousands of nationalists demonstrated Sunday ahead of the president's visit.

But Macron did give the nationalist leaders an olive-branch Wednesday by saying he was open to adding a specific mention of Corsica in the French Constitution.

Some moves have already been taken to increase independence, including the creation in January of a new regional assembly that Macron called "the most decentralized in mainland France."

"I'm for that everyone in the republic can express their identity," he said.

Macron also used his speech to lavish praise on the natural beauty of the island, saying it must be cherished and protected. The land the French refer to as the "Island of Beauty" is rich in history and famed as Napoleon's birthplace.

Macron pledged to bolster police and security for the 320,000 residents in the territory, which has long had problems with drugs and gang crime - including mafia involvement.

A campaign of separatist violence began in the mid-1970s but nationalists have since laid down weapons to focus on political means.

The new strategy paid dividends. In December, the coalition of moderate and harder-line nationalists won 56.5 percent of the vote in regional elections, while candidates from Macron's Republic on the Move! party won just six seats.

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Adamson reported from Paris.

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, talks as he visits a orange plantation at the National Institute for Agronomic Research of San-Giuliano near Bastia, Wednesday Feb.7, 2018. Macron arrived Tuesday in Corsica for a two-day visit, at a time when nationalists on the Mediterranean island are gaining influence. (AP Photo/Raphel Poletti, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, left, listens to scientists as he visits the National Institute for Agronomic Research of San-Giuliano near Bastia, Wednesday Feb.7, 2018. Macron arrived Tuesday in Corsica for a two-day visit, at a time when nationalists on the Mediterranean island are gaining influence. (AP Photo/Raphel Poletti, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, center, and French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb, second left, visit a laboratory at the National Institute for Agronomic Research of San-Giuliano near Bastia, Wednesday Feb.7, 2018. Macron arrived Tuesday in Corsica for a two-day visit, at a time when nationalists on the Mediterranean island are gaining influence. (AP Photo/Raphel Poletti, Pool)

French President Emmanuel Macron, second right, visits a orange plantation at the National Institute for Agronomic Research of San-Giuliano near Bastia, Wednesday Feb.7, 2018. Macron arrived Tuesday in Corsica for a two-day visit, at a time when nationalists on the Mediterranean island are gaining influence. (AP Photo/Raphel Poletti, Pool)

FILE - In this July 13, 2017 file photo French President Emmanuel Macron listens to U.S. President Donald Trump, right, in the courtyard of Les Invalides after a welcoming ceremony in Paris. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron will get another chance to test their tough handshakes and argue over climate change when the French president visits Washington in April. (Yves Herman, Pool via AP, File)

FILE - In this July 13 , 2017 file photo, U.S President Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron after a press confrence at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron will get another chance to test their tough handshakes and argue over climate change when the French president visits Washington in April. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)

French President Emmanuel Macron talks to President of the Corsican executive council, Gilles Simeoni, left, after delivering a speech at the Alb'Oru cultural centre in Bastia, on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Macron arrived Tuesday in Corsica for a two-day visit, at a time when nationalists on the Mediterranean island are gaining influence. (Benoit Tessier,POOL via AP)

French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech at the Alb'Oru cultural centre in Bastia, on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Macron arrived Tuesday in Corsica for a two-day visit, at a time when nationalists on the Mediterranean island are gaining influence. (Benoit Tessier,POOL via AP)
MORENCI, Mich. (AP) - The father of three missing Michigan brothers says teeth and bone fragments found in September in Missoula, Montana, don't belong to them.

WDIV-TV reports John Skelton said those are not his "boys" when asked about the remains during an interview at a Michigan prison where he is serving 10 to 15 years for unlawful imprisonment.

Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton were 9, 7 and 5 when they were last seen in 2010. Skelton failed to return them to his estranged wife in southern Michigan on Thanksgiving.

Skelton has said he gave the boys to a group to protect them from their mother.

DNA testing is being done on the remains.

Sgt. Travis Welsh says Missoula detectives have not spoken with Skelton, and there's "no known connection" to the boys' disappearance.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A man fatally shot in New Orleans has been identified as a Black Lives Matter activist known for his leap through police tape at a South Carolina demonstration last year as he attempted to seize a Confederate battle flag from a protester.

A police officer answering a call about gunfire early Tuesday found Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, 32, on the ground, asking for help near the Treme neighborhood, about eight blocks from the French Quarter, according to a police report.

He was better known as Muhiyidin d'Baha. Moye's family told South Carolina news outlets Muhiyidin Elamin Moye was his legal name.

FILE - In this April 9, 2015 file photo, Muhiyidin d'Baha speaks during a meeting with North Charleston city council about the killing of Walter Scott by a North Charleston police officer after a traffic stop in North Charleston, S.C. Muhiyidin d'Baha, whose legal name was Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, was shot in the thigh, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, and died in a hospital, New Orleans police spokesman Beau Tidwell said Wednesday. The circumstances of the shooting were not immediately clear. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

The report says a bloody trail to the body circled two blocks, and a bloody bicycle lay across the street.

Moye was shot in the thigh about 1:30 a.m. and died in a hospital, New Orleans police spokesman Beau Tidwell said Wednesday. It was not immediately clear what led to the shooting.

"No further information on this incident is currently available," police spokesman Gary Scheets said in an email.

The responding officer saw a traffic camera and a car repair business's surveillance camera in the area, according to the police report. Officials did not say if the camera captured images that might help the investigation.

Last February, a news camera recorded Moye jumping through police tape in Charleston, South Carolina, as he tried to take a protester's large Confederate battle flag before being tackled by police and arrested. At the time, demonstrations were going on outside a theater at the College of Charleston for a speech by Bree Newsome, an activist who climbed a flagpole and temporarily removed a Confederate flag from in front of the South Carolina Statehouse in 2015.

DeRay Mckesson, a prominent figure in the Black Lives Matter movement, said Moye was a fearless, kind man whose death is a big loss for Charleston and the movement. He said they met in 2015, after the highly publicized fatal shooting of Walter Scott by a white North Charleston police officer.

"He was a strong leader who deeply understood the role of community and the power of helping other people recognize that role," Mckesson said.

Moye was taking a personal trip to New Orleans, niece Camille Weaver told the Post and Courier of Charleston.

She told the newspaper that her uncle was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, and grew up in Hollywood, South Carolina, just west of Charleston.

"He loved Charleston and loved fighting for what's right," she said. "I've never met anyone more committed and hardworking than him. He was an asset to the Charleston community and will be greatly missed."

As word of Moye's death spread, members of the Black Lives Matter movement in Charleston, South Carolina, gathered outside of North Charleston City Hall.

It was the same place Moye first made a name for himself with passionate speeches in the days after Scott, an unarmed black man, was killed by a white North Charleston police officer as he ran from a traffic stop. Moye would later interrupt City Council meetings to demand leaders change policies to give the public more power to assure police accountability.

"What better place than where he actually catapulted the justice mission and message to the world," Thomas Dixon, a pastor and activist who worked with Moye, said of the place for the vigil.

Another activist at the vigil said Moye is irreplaceable.

"The intellectualism, the fire, the desire, the motivation, the way he rallied people in the city was just second to none," Johnathan Thrower said.

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Associated Press reporters Michael Kunzelman in Baton Rouge and Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this story.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Lawyers for a brother and sister sentenced to life in prison on cyberstalking charges related to the shooting death of the brother's ex-wife say the convictions should not stand.

Attorneys for David Matusiewicz and Amy Gonzalez on Wednesday told a panel of federal appeals judges in Philadelphia the conviction violates freedom of speech rules.

Matusiewicz, Gonzalez and their mother were given life sentences on conspiracy and cyberstalking charges after Matusiewicz's father fatally shot his son's ex-wife inside a Delaware courthouse amid a bitter custody battle.

Authorities say the family engaged in a three-year campaign of tormenting and stalking the ex-wife in an effort to regain custody of the three children she had with Matusiewicz.

Matusiewicz's father killed himself after the fatal shooting. His mother died in prison.
NEW YORK (AP) - It was reasonable for a jury to conclude that a Turkish banker helped Iran evade U.S. economic sanctions based on the evidence it was shown, a judge ruled Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman made the conclusion as he rejected a defense request to toss out the jury's findings against Mehmet Hakan Atilla.

The deputy general manager at Turkey's state-run Halkbank was convicted last month of multiple conspiracy charges and bank fraud. He was acquitted of a money laundering charge. He awaits sentencing.

His lawyers had asked the judge to overturn the verdict on grounds that prosecutors failed to prove Atilla knew of a U.S. connection to the sanctions-evading scheme or that adequate evidence was shown to jurors that could link him to multiple conspiracies.

Berman said he carefully reviewed the trial record and concluded the evidence was "clearly sufficient" for reasonable jurors to convict Atilla beyond a reasonable doubt. The judge noted that the government's case included 13 witnesses and hundreds of exhibits.

The judge cited the testimony of Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab at length and included in his ruling copies of two diagrams Zarrab had drawn explaining how the conspiracy was carried out.

Zarrab had testified that Atilla was the most knowledgeable person at Halkbank about rules banks must followed to adhere to U.S. sanctions involving Iranian money.

Prosecutors said Atilla was the architect of the conspiracy that began in 2011. Atilla's lawyer contended his client was a humble civil servant at the state-owned bank, one of Turkey's largest.

After the verdict, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said it was an "unfair and unfortunate" development and had resulted because U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen had influenced the proceedings with false claims and false evidence.

The government of Turkey has maintained that the conviction was obtained through evidence collected during Turkish corruption investigations in 2013. It blames those probes on efforts by Gulen's followers to bring down the government.

In his written ruling, Berman did not address comments made by Turkish officials about the prosecution but he recounted relevant evidence that was presented to the jury at trial.
The number of sexual assaults reported at the U.S. Military Academy roughly doubled during the last school year, according to data reviewed by The Associated Press, in the latest example of the armed forces' persistent struggle to root out such misbehavior.

It's the fourth year in a row that sexual assault reports increased at the school in West Point, New York. There were 50 cases in the school year that ended last summer, compared with 26 made during the 2015-2016 school year. By comparison, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, saw only slight increases.

Defense Department and West Point officials said the big jump at the Military Academy resulted from a concerted effort to encourage victims to come forward. But the dramatic and consistent increases may suggest more assaults are happening.

Sexual assault reports at the U.S. Military Academy have increased from 26 to 50 in the most recent school year

'I'm very encouraged by the reporting,' said Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, superintendent at West Point.

'I recognize that people are not going to understand' the desire for increased reporting, he said. But, he added, 'I've got the steel stomach to take the criticism.'

The annual report on sexual assaults at the three military academies is due out this month. The Naval Academy's reports increased to 29 last year from 28. The Air Force Academy's edged up by one, to 33.

About 12,000 students are enrolled across all three institutions. The AP reviewed the data ahead of its public release.

Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen, superintendent at West Point, says he is encouraged by the increase of reports

The report highlights persistent problems within the Air Force Academy's sexual assault prevention office that emerged late last year. Staffing and management issues led to sweeping disciplinary actions, the resignation of the director and an office restructuring.

Those problems could cast doubt on a sharp decline in reported sexual assaults at the Air Force Academy for the 2015-16 school year, considering a widespread loss of confidence in the office. Students may have been reluctant to file reports.

There have been worrying trends.

An anonymous survey released last year suggested there were more sexual assaults, unwanted sexual contact and other bad behavior at all three academies. It found 12 percent of women and nearly 2 percent of men said they experienced unwanted sexual contact. The largest increases were at the Army and Navy academies.

In response, West Point leaders took steps to get more victims to come forward. 'When we saw that, we did a complete review of our strategy,' Caslen said. 'We went after increased reporting.'

Officials moved the sexual assault reporting center to a more accessible area on campus with a private entrance. It had been in a building where students facing discipline had to go.

'I've been telling them to do that for years,' said Nate Galbreath, deputy director of the Pentagon's sexual assault prevention office.

'Walking into the building where lots of people who are getting in trouble go, that is a real disincentive for people to come forward and make a report.'

West Point also loosened regulations forcing cadets to publicly report sexual assaults. Now they can seek help anonymously without filing a formal report, which many victims are reluctant to do.

At West Point, Air Force Academy and the Naval Academy 12 percent of women and nearly 2 percent of men said they experienced unwanted sexual contact. Pictured: The Air Force Academy

Military leaders have said that an increase in sexual assault reports is good because it shows that students are aware of treatment programs and showing confidence in the system. Officials say they want to see the number of reports more closely mirror the higher levels of bad behavior suggested in their annual anonymous surveys.

The overall goal, however, is more prevention, fewer assaults and effective help for victims.

Brig. Gen. Omar Jones, the Army's public affairs chief, said this year's increase resulted from 'proactive and deliberate initiatives' to help victims report incidents.

There was an overall decline in reports over the 2015-16 school year at the three academies because Army and Navy increases were offset by a sharp drop at the Air Force Academy. But the Air Force Academy's subsequent controversies raise questions about whether many victims avoided the office and didn't file reports.

Last year, the Air Force Academy released a scathing report saying its Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office suffered from infighting, rumors and shoddy record keeping. It recommended firing the director, Teresa Beasley. She resigned.

'Are there people that are out there that weren't able to make the report that they wanted to? Probably,' said Galbreath. 'We stopped everything and I wrote a get-well plan.'

It included returning to the cadets who visited the office in the past year to ensure they got the necessary help.

The Air Force Academy's superintendent, Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria, is increasing staff from five to eight. He added a separate sexual assault response coordinator for the 10th Air Wing, which includes active duty forces nearby who had used the academy's office.

Air Force Capt. Matthew Chism, an academy spokesman, said leaders are confident they have addressed the issues in the office. He said they will 'continue to scrutinize our efforts and remain transparent as we strive to develop a culture of dignity and respect at the academy.'

Galbreath said he recommended all military service leaders increase oversight of sexual assault prevention offices.

There are five U.S. military academies in all. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, which is in Kings Point, New York, and run by the Transportation Department, aren't included in this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) - For generations, as America's authoritarian rivals strutted their tanks, troops and jets through main thoroughfares in dramatic displays of strength, the United States watched from afar, but did not emulate.

Widely accepted as the world's mightiest, the U.S. military has no tradition of putting itself on parade like in Russia, North Korea or China. But President Donald Trump does not often stand on tradition. So Trump's directive to the Pentagon to draft options for a massive march reverberated across Washington on Wednesday like the thud of a discharged cannon, as lawmakers and military leaders mused about the cost, the risk and the purpose.

"People will wonder, 'Well, what are they afraid of now? What are they trying to prove?'" Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the District of Columbia in Congress, said in an interview. "We don't have to show off to make a point."

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with law enforcement officials on the MS-13 street gang and border security, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

It was a critique voiced by both Democrats and Republicans the day after The Washington Post revealed Trump wants an elaborate parade this year to rival the Bastille Day celebration in Paris that made a distinct impression on him in July. Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin called it a "fantastic waste of money," while Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham told CNN that the parade risked being "kind of cheesy and a sign of weakness" if it's just about showing off military muscle.

The president did not seem deterred, although his aides rushed to downplay the notion that it was anything beyond an idea Trump had floated "in a brainstorming session" to help Americans express gratitude and pride for the military. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there had been no final decision. And Trump's legislative director said it was too early to even guess about potential costs, though it's assumed it would cost millions.

"We've been putting together some options. We'll send them up to the White House for a decision," said Defense Secretary Jim Mattis as reporters peppered him with questions at the White House. "The president's respect, his fondness for the military I think is reflected in him asking for these options."

In the nation's capital, officials were scrambling to identify potential implications for such a parade, such as whether D.C. streets could even accommodate heavyweight tanks and other equipment. On its official Twitter account, Washington's city council openly trolled the commander in chief, declaring that despite wintery weather, "DC Public Schools will open on time today. Sadly, the Giant Tank Parade is cancelled. Permanently."

Holmes Norton told The Associated Press that she was already preparing steps to ensure that "if Trump wants a parade, he pays for it." Still, she conceded there was little chance of blocking a parade permit from being issued, given the First Amendment right to free assembly.

Although U.S. troops commonly participate in parades on the Fourth of July and other holidays, especially those honoring veterans, the United States has never embraced raw displays of military power, such as North Korea's parading of ballistic missiles. The idea is that the world's pre-eminent military is strongest when its might is inferred, not shown off in boastful fashion or in an implicit threat to foreign powers.

"We have avoided doing this kind of display, in part to emphasize that contrast because this has been so commonplace in authoritarian countries," said Julian Zelizer, a presidential historian at Princeton University. "For some presidents, it's sometimes a strategic act: Speak quietly while carrying a big stick," as President Theodore Roosevelt famously advised.

The last time Washington saw anything similar to what Trump is considering was in June 1991, after the Gulf War, as Americans gave veterans of Operation Desert Storm a triumphant welcome home. Some 8,000 veterans marched along with tanks that trudged down a flag-festooned Constitution Avenue as fighter planes roared over the National Mall.

Some 800,000 gathered in the crowd, the U.S. Park Police said at the time. President George H.W. Bush declared it a "great day."

Although Trump's critics argued his parade idea was rooted in a need for self-aggrandizement, the White House said it was squarely an attempt to venerate America's military. Jonny Havens, a U.S. army veteran who said he served in Iraq, called that sentiment "right on."

"I trust President Trump, Defense Department, Secretary Mattis to do it in the right way, and do it in a way that makes sense and is cost effective," Havens said.

But Shaun Theriot-Smith, another Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the idea smacked "of the very things we make fun of North Korea for."

"We had bombings in Kabul just last week," Theriot-Smith said. "We're not even sure what we're intending to celebrate here. We still have wars going on that we need to fight."

Trump first publicly floated his idea last September at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, as he reminisced about watching France's Bastille Day military parade. He said the two-hour parade was a "tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France," and said he wanted one on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington on July 4 - grander than the one he saw in Paris.

When Trump first suggested the idea to top aides aboard Air Force One after the parade, staff debated the best time of year to have it, and noted the tanks in Paris had chewed up the city's pavement, throwing up chunks of concrete as they moved.

Trump, however, dismissed that concern, according to one person familiar with the conversation who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the president's thinking.

That's ok, Trump told them. We can fix the streets.

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Associated Press writers Elizabeth Kennedy, Robert Burns, Catherine Lucey, Ashraf Khalil and Jill Colvin in Washington and AP videojournalist John Mone in Houston contributed to this report.

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Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP
The mother-in-law of the gunman who fatally shot more than two dozen worshipers at a Texas church has spoken out about her anguish at bringing the devil to the door of her congregation.

Michelle Shields learned of the massacre just minutes after shooter Devin Patrick Kelley stormed the First Baptist Church in Southerland Springs, Texas on November 5, she revealed in an interview published on Tuesday in the San Antonio Express-News.

Her daughter Danielle called her frantic with worry that morning, after getting a phone call from her husband Kelley, 26, as he lay dying from a hero Good Samaritan's bullets to tell her he had done 'something horrible' and didn't think he'd make it.

Now Shields has revealed the diabolical, controlling personality of her son-in-law in the months leading up to the shooting, and the signs she fears she missed.

'I still feel responsible. I feel responsible for trying to reach out and try to bring him closer to the Lord,' Shields said in the interview, her voice shaking with grief. 'Because I feel like all I did was bring the devil closer to our church.'

Michelle Shields embraces a friend after the service in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs on Sunday. She has spoken out about her shooter son-in-law

Church shooter Devin Patrick Kelley (left) was obsessive and controlling with Shields' daughter Danielle (right), keeping his mother-in-law from seeing their newborn baby for six months

Moments after killing 26 in the Sutherland Springs First Baptist Church, Kelley called Danielle as he lay dying from a hero citizen's bullets, telling her he had done 'something awful'

Six months before the shooting, Kelley, who had a history of domestic violence, sent a series of enraged texts to his mother-in-law.

He told her he would 'destroy your entire life' if she came to the hospital where her daughter was giving birth to the couple's second child.

'I suggest you don't test my resolve,' read one of several texts to Shields. In another, 'You think this is a (expletive) game? It's not.'

Shields said she heeded Kelley's warning and stayed away from the hospital where her daughter Danielle was giving birth.

'I wasn't going to disobey. I didn't want to disrespect because I don't know where the anger would have gone from there,' Shields told the newspaper.

'If he would have forbidden us from seeing her permanently, or where he would take my daughter. So we just didn't go in.'

Wearing her mother's sweater, Michelle Shields sits in the new temporary sanctuary for First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, where she has been a member since 2004

After Danielle (left) gave birth, Shields says Kelley (right) became obsessive and controlling, making her speak to her mother on speakerphone and hanging up if he disliked what was said

Neighbors pray at a memorial near the First Baptist Church the day after the shooting

After the baby was born, Shields didn't see Kelley or her daughter until a fall festival held at the church five days before the shooting.

Witnesses at the fall festival have said that Kelley was dressed in all black and acting strangely, prompting them to keep a cautious eye on him.

'We walked around and talked and enjoyed everything, and ate some food together. And he went walking around without us. Which I didn't think anything of, I thought he was just letting me and Danielle have time with the baby,' said Shields.

Looking back, she now thinks that Kelley may have been plotting his next move.

The following week, Kelley killed 25 people at the church. Authorities put the toll at 26 because one of the victims was pregnant. Another 20 were injured. One of those killed was Shields' mother.

Kelley died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound after he was shot and chased by two men, now regarded as heroes, who heard the gunfire at the church.

Investigators have said the attack appeared to stem from a domestic dispute involving Kelley and Shields, who sometimes attended services at the church but wasn't there the day of the shooting. The investigation is ongoing.

An aerial photo showing the site of the mass shooting the day after Kelley killed 26

The route taken by Kelley after he was confronted and subsequently chased by two heroes

A trail of violence seemed to follow Kelley for years.

In New Mexico, he was kicked out of the Air Force following a court-martial in 2012 for abusing his first wife and reportedly hitting her child hard enough to fracture his skull. In Colorado, he was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty after someone saw him punch a dog several times.

And in Texas, sheriff's deputies were called to his parents' house after his girlfriend told a friend he was abusing her.

Shields said over the course of their short marriage, Kelley made her daughter turn on the speakerphone so he could listen in when they spoke. If he didn't like what was being said, he made her hang up.

'You had to walk on egg shells around him all the time because you're afraid of saying something to upset him,' Shields said.

Looking back, Shields wants to warn other parents not to let their children slip away in a troubling relationship.

'I want people to never lose contact with their children, because you never know whats going on in their relationship. Just stay focused on their lives,' she said.

You dont have to pry into their lives, but just let them know that youre there and you love them,' Shields continued.

'That way if they are ever in a relationship like this, they know that they can always turn to a parent or friend. And Danielle knew that, but she was afraid, I think. Just let them know not to be afraid.'
MANBIJ, Syria (AP) - On the ground in Syria, the top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group pledged on Wednesday that American troops would remain in the northern Syrian town of Manbij despite Ankara's demands for a U.S. pullout.

"We're here to ensure the lasting defeat of ISIS is maintained in this area," Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk said during a visit to U.S. forces in Manbij. ISIS is an alternative acronym for the Islamic State group.

The U.S.-backed opposition Syrian Democratic Forces, led mainly by a Syrian Kurdish militia which Turkey is now fighting in Syria, liberated the town of Manbij from the Islamic State group in 2016.

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk speaks to the Associated Press at an American outpost in the northern Kurdish town of Manbij, Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. The top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group pledged American troops would remain in the town despite Ankara's demands for a U.S. pullout. Turkey launched an offensive last month to drive Syrian Kurdish militiamen out of the enclave of Afrin and has threatened to extend its operation to Manbij. (AP Photo/Susannah George)

Manbij was hailed as an early success story in the American-backed fight against IS, but is now the scene of escalating regional tensions on the heels of military victories against the extremists.

Funk's visit came amid rising tensions between Turkey and the United States - NATO allies that have ended up on opposing sides in some aspects of the multi-layered war in Syria.

Today, a small U.S. base near Manbij - a cluster of a handful of tents, prefab housing units and American armored vehicles - reflects deepening American involvement in Syria. Since the ouster of IS from the border town, the U.S. has maintained a military presence there and regularly conducts patrols in the area.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish militia, known as the People's Protection Units or YPG, made up the backbone of the fight against IS in Syria. But Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish fighters "terrorists" and allied with Kurdish insurgents within Turkey, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. The YPG.

Funk told reporters in Manbij that the U.S. would continue to support the SDF allies, despite tensions with Turkey and that a continued U.S. presence in Syria's north is aimed at deescalating tensions.

"I don't worry," Funk said when asked about recent Turkish threats, "It's not in my job description to worry, my job is to fight."

On Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on the U.S. to withdraw its troops from Manbij and renewed a threat to expand Ankara's military offensive in Syria to this town.

"Why are you staying there (in Manbij)? Leave," Erdogan said, referring to American troops. "We will come to return the lands to their real owners."

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched a cross-border offensive into the northwestern enclave of Afrin to drive out the Syrian Kurdish militia from there and subsequently threatened to extend its operation to Manbij, over 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the east.

"I'm very confident in the (Syrian Democratic Forces) leadership," Funk said.

"When nobody else could do it they retook Raqqa," Funk added, referring to the former capital of the self-proclaimed IS caliphate in Syria. "I think that has earned them a seat at the table."

The U.S.-backed forces retook Raqqa last October. The defeat marked a major blow to IS and was followed by a string of swift territorial victories in Syria that retook nearly all the territory the extremists once held. Pockets of IS fighters, however, remain in eastern Syria between the Euphrates River and the Iraqi border.

Last month, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the U.S. would maintain a military presence in Syria after the conclusion of the fight against IS there, pledging that the Trump administration would not to repeat former President Barack Obama's "mistake" when he withdrew U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011.

"There's no way to tell" how long U.S. troops will need to remain in Syria, said Army Maj. Gen. James Jarrard, who heads the U.S.-led special operations task force fighting IS in Syria and Iraq.

"Right now the military role is clearly defined and right now that's to support the SDF," said Jarrard, who gathered with other American troops and commanders at the Manbij outpost.

American and Syrian Kurdish commanders in Manbij said that low-level clashes between Turkish-backed forces and the U.S.-backed fighters were a regular occurrence.

"Every 10 or 15 days there are some shots fired," said Judie Ibrahim, an 18 year old fighter with the Manbij Military Council stationed at the outpost alongside American troops.

"But the clashes are very small, it doesn't scare us," he said, then added why the troops are not afraid: "It's not because of the American presence ... it's because we have God with us."

Funk also downplayed the significance of the attacks, describing them as just "harassing."

___

El Deeb reported from Beirut.

US Army Capt. Timothy Skinner, left and Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk consult at an American outpost in the northern Kurdish town of Manbij, Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Funk, the top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group pledged American troops would remain in the town despite Ankara's demands for a U.S. pullout. Turkey launched an offensive last month to drive Syrian Kurdish militiamen out of the enclave of Afrin and has threatened to extend its operation to Manbij. (AP Photo/Susannah George)

American troops look out toward the border with Turkey from a small outpost near the town of Manbij, northern Syria, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk, the top U.S. general in the coalition fighting the Islamic State group pledged American troops would remain in the town despite Ankara's demands for a U.S. pullout. Turkey launched an offensive last month to drive Syrian Kurdish militiamen out of the enclave of Afrin and has threatened to extend its operation to Manbij. (AP Photo/Susannah George)
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke about the nation's opioid crisis during a visit to Florida on Wednesday, praising the response of President Donald Trump, federal agents and prosecutors to the crisis while acknowledging that prescription drug abuse has hit the state hard.

During his 25-minute remarks in Tampa at the U.S. Attorney's Office, Sessions highlighted several overdose cases in Central Florida and said federal investigators continue to crack down on "darknet" marketplaces, a computer network used primarily for illegal file sharing where people sometimes buy illegal drugs.

He added that the Drug Enforcement Agency is now asking medical practitioners whether they have received continuing medical education on prescribing or dispensing opioids when they apply for a license or renew.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session gestures during a speech on the efforts to combat drug trafficking and end the opioid crisis Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Sessions was scheduled to visit Key West to meet with federal officials about anti-drug trafficking efforts in the Caribbean and elsewhere. On Thursday, he is expected to attend a drug summit with military leaders at Southern Command in Miami.

In Tampa, Sessions said that too many opioids are prescribed in the United States.

"People need to take some aspirin sometimes," he said.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session gestures during a speech on the efforts to combat drug trafficking and end the opioid crisis Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions gestures during a speech on the efforts to combat drug trafficking and end the opioid crisis Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session gestures during a speech on the efforts to combat drug trafficking and end the opioid crisis Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Session gestures during a speech on the efforts to combat drug trafficking and end the opioid crisis Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The pay gap between women and men for the same work is one of the biggest issues the nation faces, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told a crowd Wednesday at Brown University in Rhode Island.

Sotomayor spoke to hundreds of students and others assembled in a gymnasium on the Ivy League campus, spending most of the talk roaming among them as she answered their questions.

One Brown student asked the justice what she considers the top challenges women now face. Sotomayor said the challenges haven't changed from when she was growing up.

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, right, talks with Brown University President Christina Paxson during an appearance at Brown University's Pizzitola Sports Center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

"Women doing the same work still earn less than men. You can't fight the facts," she said. "Pay equality is one of the biggest issues our nation faces."

"When I started, (law) firms of 300 and 400 had one or two female partners, and they were touting how progressive they were. What a joke, right?" she continued. "They told me that over time, we would reach equality. Well, I started in 1979, and there's still only one-third women as federal judges, and we're a lot of women in the profession. So, what's happening?"

An Associated Press analysis of President Donald Trump's judicial nominees in November found that 81 percent of them were men.

Sotomayor was not asked about Trump and did not bring up the Republican president. But one student asked her about political polarization and how everyday Americans can "fight for truth in an era of misinformation."

"So many people start fighting about the facts, and the importance of the facts, as opposed to the importance of the principles that are motivating the discussion," she said. "You got to get back to that before you can get to facts."

She said understanding the other side's guiding principles is the beginning of compromise, although compromise isn't always possible on the Supreme Court.

"When it's big, big constitutional issues there are really big, big differences in how justices view the guiding principles," she said. "That's why we end up dissenting from one another, because we have a different view of what's important to protect."

Sotomayor became the first Hispanic and third woman on the nation's highest court when President Barack Obama appointed her in 2009.

She stopped and took pictures with every student who asked her a question and with two grade school-aged girls who wore custom shirts bearing pictures of Sotomayor and the other two female justices: Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan. The shirts read "Squad Goals."

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks during an appearance at Brown University's Pizzitola Sports Center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor speaks during an appearance at Brown University's Pizzitola Sports Center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor greets Brown University student Ana Sophia Velazquez after she introduced Sotomayor before her appearance at Brown University's Pizzitola Sports Center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Providence, R.I. Brown University President Christina Paxson, right, looks on. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor greets Brown University student Ana Sophia Velazquez a his after she introduced Sotomayor before her appearance at Brown University's Pizzitola Sports Center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Providence, R.I. Brown University President Christina Paxson, right, looks on. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor walks through the crowd in attendance while she answers questions at Brown University's Pizzitola Sports Center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor walks through the crowd in attendance while answering questions at Brown University's Pizzitola Sports Center Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers are demanding Myanmar's exclusion from U.S.-led military exercises in neighboring Thailand next week amid pressure for more American sanctions in response to atrocities against Rohingya Muslims.

Myanmar's planned participation in the Cobra Gold exercise, which starts Feb. 13, comes as its security forces are accused of killing hundreds if not thousands of civilians and burning down villages after Rohingya militant attacks last summer. More than 680,000 Rohingya - loathed in majority Buddhist Myanmar and denied citizenship - have fled to Bangladesh, joining hundreds of thousands more already sheltering there. They are unlikely to return any time soon.

That makes the country's involvement in Cobra Gold, America's largest, annual multi-nation drills in the Asia-Pacific, all the more controversial, although Myanmar has taken part before. Up to three officers from Myanmar are being invited to observe the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief portion of the drills, Pentagon spokesman Marine Lt. Col. Christopher Logan said. He said the identity and ranks of the officers participating is still under discussion.

"Simply put, militaries engaged in ethnic cleansing should not be honing their skills alongside U.S. troops," Sen. John McCain, the Republican chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told The Associated Press.

The criticism by Democrats and Republicans in Congress reflects the souring view of the Southeast Asian nation's transformation from decades of army rule to democracy as evidence of widespread abuses has mounted. Myanmar's siege-like denial it's done anything wrong has only furthered its estrangement from much of the world. Before last year's crackdown, McCain was advocating more U.S.-Myanmar military ties, not less. Now he's one of the sponsors of a new sanctions bill.

The Trump administration already has imposed sanctions on the chief of Myanmar's western military command and says it's considering blacklisting others. It maintains restrictions on visas and assistance to Myanmar's military.

But the Senate's bipartisan bill, approved Wednesday by the Foreign Relations Committee, would turn the screw by pushing for more targeted sanctions and by reinforcing restrictions on military engagement with Myanmar. A partner bill has been introduced in the House.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has described the attacks on Rohingya as "ethnic cleansing." U.N.-appointed investigator Yanghee Lee has gone further, saying it "bears the hallmarks of a genocide," which the world body defines as acts committed with intent to destroy a national, ethnic or religious group. Unlike ethnic cleansing, genocide is a crime under international law.

Rep. Ed Royce, the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Republican chairman, and Democrat Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, architect of a law prohibiting U.S. assistance to foreign military units implicated in serious human rights abuses, also said Myanmar had no business taking part in the drills in Thailand. They include 29 nations. About 20 are observers.

"We should not be rewarding those who flagrantly violate international law with impunity," Leahy said.

The plight of the Rohingya has highlighted the Myanmar military's unchallenged authority over security operations despite ceding power to a civilian government after 2015 elections.

Myanmar staunchly denies that its security forces have targeted civilians in its "clearance operations" in Rakhine State on Myanmar's west coast. Even civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, has bristled at the international criticism. But Myanmar's denials have appeared increasingly tenuous as horrific accounts from refugees have accumulated.

The Associated Press last week documented through video and witness accounts at least five mass graves of Rohingya civilians. Witnesses reported the military used acid to erase the identity of victims. The government denied it, maintaining that only "terrorists" were killed and then "carefully buried."

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis added his voice to the U.S. criticism. Visiting Asia late last month, he said the Rohingya have suffered "a tragedy that's worse than anything" the media have been able to portray.

And yet the Pentagon sees benefits in sustaining lower-level ties with Myanmar's military. Although the U.S. primarily engages Myanmar's civilian leaders, it still hopes to shape the attitudes of military officers and help counter China's strategic influence, said Murray Hiebert, a Southeast Asia expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Katina Adams, a State Department spokeswoman for East Asia, said the Cobra Gold invite reflected a U.S. effort to "save lives" by improving regional coordination for disasters like Cyclone Nargis. The storm killed more than 100,000 Burmese in 2008.

Thailand extended the invite, Pentagon spokesman Logan said.

"That's a dodge," retorted John Sifton of Human Rights Watch, who wants Myanmar treated as a pariah again. "If the U.S. had strongly objected to their participation, they wouldn't have been invited. Everyone knows that."

____

Associated Press writer Richard Lardner contributed to this report.
CHICAGO (AP) - A decade after the FBI began secretly recording then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's profanity-laced conversations, the investigation that sent him to prison is still causing political problems for some Democrats.

The latest forced to do damage control is billionaire governor candidate J.B. Pritzker, who's heard on newly released wiretaps making disparaging comments about prominent Chicago African-Americans in a 2008 call with Blagojevich.

Pritzker apologized but the fallout has been harsh, with an African-American minister withdrawing an invitation to speak at his church.

Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, with Democratic gubernatorial candidate J.B. Pritzker looking on at right, speaks at an event in Chicago on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. Pritzker apologized for newly released FBI wiretaps capturing him making racially insensitive comments during a call with then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, including saying White was the "least offensive" African American to appoint to a Senate seat. (Marcus DiPaola/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner already has been running ads attacking Pritzker that feature wiretaps previously released by the Chicago Tribune.

Rauner also invoked Blagojevich in his successful 2014 campaign against Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn.

A former Illinois GOP official calls Blagojevich "the gift that keeps on giving for Republicans."
YARMOUTH, Mass. (AP) - Researchers are examining whether human bones found in a Cape Cod shipwreck are those of the infamous pirate Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy.

The Whydah Pirate Museum in Yarmouth, Massachusetts, says Wednesday that archeologists uncovered the remains in the wreck last year, near what they believe to be Bellamy's pistol.

They've enlisted forensic scientists from the University of New Haven in Connecticut to compare DNA from the bones to a DNA sample given by one of Bellamy's living descendants in the United Kingdom.

The Whydah Gally (WIH'-duh GAH'-lee) went down in stormy seas off Wellfleet in 1717, killing nearly all its 150-person crew, including Bellamy, and leaving its ill-gotten riches at the bottom of the ocean.

It was discovered in 1984 by Barry Clifford, an explorer who owns the pirate museum.
DENVER (AP) - Victor Sidel, a physician who campaigned to bring attention to the medical consequences of nuclear war, poverty and other social issues, has died. He was 86.

Sidel (Sie-DELL') died Jan. 30 in suburban Denver. His son, Mark Sidel, said his father had moved to Greenwood Village from New York last year to be closer to family following the death of his wife Ruth.

Sidel was a founding member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, the U.S. branch of a worldwide group that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for working to prevent nuclear war. He also served as president of the American Public Health Association.

Sidel worked for many years at Montefiore Medical Center, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.
Suffragettes who were given criminal records in their battle for equality would be pardoned under Labour, Jeremy Corbyn has pledged.

The Opposition leader said an official apology for the miscarriages of justice and persecution the campaigners suffered would also be made if he took power.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said she will look at calls to pardon suffragettes but suggested it would be a complicated to carry out.

Labour is launching a 12-month campaign to celebrate womens suffrage and to look at what steps can be taken to end the grotesque levels of inequality in society as well as the gender pay gap.

The party held its shadow cabinet meeting at the Museum of London, which is holding a year-long exhibition to mark the first women securing the right to vote in Britain.

One hundred years ago today, for the first time in our country's history, some women gained the right to vote.



The actions of the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison, and other campaigners, stay with us as the struggle for womens equality continues. #Suffragette100 #100years pic.twitter.com/GLhKfhhgIc  Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) February 6, 2018

Mr Corbyn told his top team: As a country, we must recognise and honour the enormous contribution and sacrifice made by women who campaigned for the right to vote.

Many of those women were treated appallingly by society and the state. Convictions of suffragettes were politically motivated and bore no relation to the acts committed.

Some were severely mistreated and force-fed in prison post-conviction so a pardon could mean something to their families.

Female MPs at the launch of Labours campaign to celebrate 100 years of womens suffrage (Stefan Rosseau/PA)

He added: Labour in government will both pardon the suffragettes and give an official apology for the miscarriages of justice and wider persecution they suffered.

Mr Corbyn said the reforms secured in 1918 were not gifted by MPs.

Change did not come from above, it was won by the suffragettes who forced the government to act.
Dick Pound has condemned the International Olympic Committees response to the Russian doping problem which has overshadowed preparations for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The IOC banned Russia over evidence it ran a systemic state-sponsored doping programme at the Sochi Games in 2014 but also said Russian athletes who proved they were clean would be allowed to compete as neutrals in the Pyeongchang Games, which open on Friday.

The 168 Olympic Athletes of Russia (OAR) will compete under the Olympic flag and the Olympic anthem will be played at any medal ceremonies they feature in.

The International Olympic Committees response to Russian doping at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games has been criticised (EMPICS)

Canadian IOC member Pound, speaking during the 132nd IOC session, said: The whistleblowers have been left with no protection from the Olympic movement and every effort has been made to give a distinctly Russian profile to the (OAR) team here.

I agree we need to get Russia back in the Olympic family but on our terms, not on its terms of denial and attack.

A large proportion of the world believes the IOC have failed and let down clean athletes. We talk more than we walk and, with respect, I dont think we can talk our way out of this. Our future depends on what we do but not what we say.

I speak not as an enemy but as someone wanting to help the fight against doping. The fact that I have an opinion different to the all-powerful executive board does not mean that I am not entitled to an opinion.

The number of OAR athletes could increase, with the Court of Arbitration for Sport announcing, as the IOC session was ongoing, that 32 Russian athletes have begun a procedure against the decision not to invite them to the Pyeongchang Games.

CAS announced 32 athletes were challenging the decision of the IOC not to invite them to Pyeongchang. The case is likely to be heard in South Korea on Wednesday.

Among the athletes making the case is South Korea-born Victor Ahn, the most decorated short-track speedskater in Olympic history with six gold medals. He became a Russian citizen to represent the hosts at the Sochi Games.

A statement from CAS read: The applicants challenge the IOC decision refusing to invite them to participate in the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

They request that CAS overturn the IOC decision and allow them to participate in these Games as Olympic Athletes from Russia.

Speaking later on Tuesday, IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the organisation was confident in its processes.

Adams told a media conference: A huge amount of work has gone in to making sure we can ensure that there can be a path for clean athletes from Russia to compete in these Games here.

We await the decision as everyone else does, but most importantly were very confident of our position.

Earlier, IOC disciplinary commission chair Denis Oswald made reference to the decision by CAS last week to clear 28 Russian athletes of doping at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics.

Oswald said: The decision that CAS took is surprising and shocking for us as we were convinced we had very solid evidence to present.

The decision is difficult to explain. I dont understand it myself. We can only speculate as we have not received yet the motivation.

The World Anti-Doping Agencys athlete committee said it reacted with profound disappointment and dismay to the CAS decision.

The committee added: We share the distress, uncertainty and frustration expressed by many athletes on the news of this ruling and believe this decision to be a massive setback for clean sport.
Emoji symbols are being used to construct secret languages that allow personalised communication between colleagues, friends and family members, say researchers.

In the new lexicon, pictures of pizza or wedges of cheese popping up on a smartphone might mean I love you.

A bathtub symbol delivered a somewhat different message, according to one example cited by the scientists. It translated as coffin.

An even more obscure meaning was attached to a thinking face emoji. Because of the position of the thumb and forefinger on the chin, it mirrored the American sign language symbol for lesbian.

Apple faced a backlash after changing its peach emoji (Yui Mok/PA)

Other examples included an octopus emoji for cuddles and a devil image for Im feeling sexy.

Emojis used in combination took the place of whole sentences, the scientists found.

In once instance, a balloon followed by a comma and a teddy bear meant Im thinking of you but dont have the words to say it.

The team from Goldsmiths University of London and the University of Birmingham conducted an online survey to investigate how people used emoji to convey secret meanings.

Of the 134 participants, 74 reported repurposing 69 different emoji for private communication.

Dr Sarah Wiseman, a lecturer in computer science at Goldsmiths, said: Our study shows that people use emoji in a similar way to nicknames or slang, as a handy shortcut to what they mean, which through consistent use creates an intimate secret language others dont understand.

Creators of emoji need to bear in mind the subtle way that people repurpose them and the impact even small visual changes to them could have on these alternative meanings.

In 2016, Apple faced a furious customer backlash after changing the appearance of its peach emoji.

An investigation found that most Apple users were using the emoji to refer to buttocks, with only 7% employing it to describe a fruit.

The re-drawn emoji did not fit the alternative meaning as well as the original.

Dr Wiseman added: While we know some fruit and vegetable emoji have been repurposed by many people to mean something else, we were intrigued to find out about personal instances of this  examples of emoji that have a special meaning for just two people.

Often this was about more than just typing something more quickly: people found that by using emoji they could convey very complex meanings and thoughts with them that could not be described in words.

The findings are due to be presented at the Computer Human Interaction 2018 conference in Montreal, Canada, in April.
Poundlands controversial Elf Behaving Badly campaign featuring a childs elf toy in a series of sexualised poses has been banned for being irresponsible and likely to cause widespread offence.

The Christmas campaign on the retailers Twitter and Facebook pages, which helped the business to achieve its most successful December since it began trading in 1990, included images of the elf playing strip poker and sitting in a tub with naked dolls.

During the December campaign, tea company Twinings accused Poundland of misusing its product after the retailer tweeted an image of an elf dangling a Twinings teabag over a female doll in a simulation of a sex act. The tweet was accompanied by the caption: How do you take your tea? One lump or two?

We are aware of an image that is circulating that misuses our product. This is to confirm that we had no involvement in this and that it is obviously not reflective of our brand values.  Twinings UK (@TwiningsUK) December 21, 2017

Another ad on December 20 showed the elf playing a game of strip poker with three unclothed dolls with the caption: Joker, joker. I really want to poker.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 85 complaints that the ads were offensive for their depiction of toy characters and other items in a sexualised manner and were unsuitable to appear where children could see them.

Poundland said the double entendres used throughout the campaign would not have been understood by children, adding that Twitter and Facebook had policies preventing under-13s from creating accounts with them.

They said a large number of people found the campaign to be humorous, engaging, and in line with what it meant to be British, adding that they did not intend to offend anyone.

The ASA noted that the campaign was based on a toy elf, which resembled the popular childrens Christmas tradition known as Elf on the Shelf from the book of the same name.

Poundland Elf Behaving Badly campaign

It noted that Poundlands Facebook and Twitter pages were not age-gated and could therefore be seen by anyone.

The ASA said other campaign images, including a pair of breasts drawn on a car windscreen, the elf beside a sketch of a penis-shaped tree and the elf waving a vibrator, were obvious sexual references.

It also noted that the strip poker and teabag images presented the female dolls in a manner which could be seen as demeaning to women.

It said: We considered these ads were irresponsible and likely to cause serious or widespread offence by depicting a childs toy in relation to such sexual acts, therefore breaching the Code.

It ruled that the ads must not appear again and told Poundland to ensure that their advertising was presented with a sense of responsibility and did not cause serious or widespread offence.

In a statement on behalf of its naughty elf, Poundland said: Britains the home of saucy postcards, Carry On films and panto, so Im sad the ASA found my double entendres hard to swallow.

At least its only 84 people who had a sense of humour failure compared to the tens of thousands who got the joke and liked and shared my posts online.
A mother locked in a court fight over the future of her seriously ill 20-month-old son has told of the pain she feels at the thought of his death.

Kate James, 20, and her 21-year-old partner Tom Evans are challenging medics who say little Alfies life support should be ended.

The couple want to take the child, who is in a deep coma, to the Vatican-linked Bambino Gesu Paediatric Hospital in Rome for treatment which may prolong his life.

Alfie Evans is at Alder Hey Childrens Hospital in Liverpool (Alfies Army Official/PA)

But the boys medical team, at Alder Hey Childrens Hospital in Liverpool, believes that continuing life support is unkind, unfair and inhumane and says ventilation that helps him breathe should be withdrawn.

Ms James told the Mirror: The pain that you feel when you get told your child is going to die. It is physical.

You can feel it all over you body, it is not just in your head. Your body aches. I dont know how to explain it, it is an unbelievable feeling, it comes from all over.

The medics say none of Alfies senses are intact, there is no hope for a cure and further treatment is futile.

The court case, being heard at the High Court in Liverpool, is in its second week.

Ms James said the couple will be distraught if they do not win their court fight, but told the newspaper: If it does not go our way we will appeal.
Dementia care for elderly people living in care homes is improved by just one hour of social interaction each week, a study suggests.

A large-scale trial found that increasing the amount of social interaction improves quality of life when combined with personalised care, and also saves money.

Previous research has found that in many care homes, residents have as little as two minutes of social interaction per day.

Dementia care for elderly people living in care homes is improved by just one hour of social interaction each week, a University of Exeter study has found (Joe Giddens/PA)

The research  which was led by the University of Exeter, Kings College London and Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust  trained key care home staff to deliver person-centred care, such as talking to residents about their interests.

When combined with just one hour a week of social interaction, the programme improved quality of life and reduced agitation and aggression in people with dementia, the study found.

Professor Clive Ballard, of the University of Exeter Medical School, said: While many care homes are excellent, standards still vary hugely.

We have previously found that the average amount of social interaction for people with dementia was just two minutes a day. Its hardly surprising when that has a knock-on effect on quality of life and agitation.

Our approach improves care and saves money. We must roll out approaches that work to do justice to some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Incredibly, of 170 carer training manuals available on the market, only four are based on evidence that they really work. That is simply not good enough  it has to change.

The trial involved more than 800 people with dementia across 69 care homes in south London, north London and Buckinghamshire.

Two care staff champions at each home were trained over four day-long sessions, to take simple measures that involve talking to residents about their interests and decisions around their own care.

Importantly, the approach also saved money compared to standard care. Researchers say the next key challenge is to roll out the programme to the 28,000 care homes in the UK to benefit the lives of the 300,000 people with dementia living in these facilities.

Dr Jane Fossey, from the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, said: Taking a person-centred approach is about getting to know each resident as an individual  their interests and preferences  and reflecting these in all aspects of care.

Weve shown that this approach significantly reduces agitation and saves money. Rolling out the training nationwide could benefit many other people.

Dr Doug Brown, director of research at Alzheimers Society, added: This study shows that training to provide this type of individualised care, activities and social interactions can have a significant impact of the well-being of people living with dementia in care homes.

It also shows that this kind of effective care can reduce costs, which the stretched social care system desperately needs.

 The study  Impact of person-centred care training and person-centred activities on quality of life, agitation, and antipsychotic use in people with dementia living in nursing homes: A cluster-randomised controlled trial  was funded by the National Institute of Health Research and is published in the journal PLOS Medicine.
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Theresa Mays inner war cabinet of senior ministers will meet on Wednesday to chart a course through some of the most difficult issues in the Brexit process.

The Brexit sub-committee meeting comes after it emerged the European Union wants to put in place a method to rapidly curtail the UKs single market benefits if it breaches agreements on a transition deal.

The plans would see Brussels able to restrict the UKs access to the single market without going through the lengthy European Court of Justice (ECJ) legal process.

A copy of the draft position paper circulating in Brussels said there should be a mechanism allowing the EU to suspend certain benefits of single market membership during the transition period.

Theresa May will chair a meeting of the Brexit Cabinet sub-committee (Paul Ellis/PA)

Such a move would be considered if referring the matter to the ECJ would not bring in time the necessary remedies, according to the document, which sets out the EUs position on a transition deal in legal language.

The document also said the UK would only be consulted when decisions are made on fishing quotas during the period.

Whitehall attempted to play down the significance of the draft text, insisting it would form the basis for a negotiation on the terms of a transitional deal, which is expected to last for around two years after the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019.

A Department for Exiting the European Union spokesman said: This is a draft document produced by the EU that simply reflects their stated directives.

The Secretary of State set out the UKs position in his speech in Teesside last month.

Together these provide a solid foundation for the negotiations on the implementation period which have begun this week with the aim of reaching agreement by March European Council.

Mrs May will chair the European Union exit and trade (strategy and negotiations) sub-committee in sessions on Wednesday and Thursday to thrash out the UKs position on crunch issues regarding the future relationship with Brussels.

Wednesdays talks are expected to focus on immigration and Northern Ireland, with the future partnership being considered on Thursday.

Shadow business secretary Rebecca Long-Bailey said Labour wants a customs union, which could prevent the UK signing trade deals with the rest of the world.

She told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: It is certainly a possibility and we wouldnt rule anything out at all.
A paedophile who blackmailed his internet victims into carrying out degrading sex acts is to be sentenced.

Cambridge graduate Matthew Falder admitted more than 100 offences, including encouraging a teenager to rape a four-year-old boy, at a court hearing in October last year.

Posing as a female artist he used dozens of aliases to contact more than 50 victims over seven years, but was brought to justice after the UKs first successful prosecution relating to the so-called hurtcore online underworld.

Paedophile Dr Matthew Falder will be sentenced for more than 100 offences (National Crime Agency/PA)

Falder duped those he contacted into sending compromising images of themselves, before blackmailing them with the material and then sharing his efforts with others in hidden forums on the internets secretive dark web.

Falder, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, a former geophysicist researcher at Birmingham University, has admitted 137 charges in all.

The 28-year-olds sentencing begins at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, and is expected to take three days.
Supermarket giant Tesco is reportedly facing Britains largest ever equal pay claim with a bill potentially running to 4 billion.

Law firm Leigh Day has launched legal action against the company on behalf of nearly 100 shop assistants who claim they are paid up to 3 an hour less than their male warehouse workers, the Guardian reported.

The paper said that up to 200,000 staff could be affected by the claim, but Tesco said they work hard to ensure all staff are paid fairly and equally.

The legal action has been launched by Leigh Day (Nick Ansell/PA)

It is reported that claims have been submitted to conciliation body Acas and it follows similar claims against Asda and Sainsburys which are currently being dealt with by the employment tribunal process.

A Tesco spokesman said: We are unable to comment on a claim that we have not received.

Tesco has always been a place for people to get on in their career, regardless of their gender, background or education, and we work hard to make sure all our colleagues are paid fairly and equally for the jobs they do.
Irelands deputy premier has called on the UK Government to drop its red lines and tough talk on its future relationship with the EU.

Simon Coveney said a calm and rational debate on the merits of continued membership of extended customs union and single market structures was overdue.

Addressing a packed audience at a conference bringing together concerned business representatives on both sides of the Irish border, he warned that the clock was ticking on a decision on what future trading relations will look like after Brexit.

Simon Coveney

The Tanaiste and foreign affairs minister told the event in Co Louth that the best interests of the UK, Ireland and the wider EU would be served by an arrangement as close as possible to the current free-flowing status quo.

In our view this is best accomplished by the UK indicating that it wishes to be part of an extended single market and customs unions, allowing it to continue to access the worlds largest and most successful free market  a market British genius has helped design, he said.

Thus far however, as we know, the British Government has not been prepared to seek that type of relationship.

My hope is that in the coming weeks, previous red lines and tough talking points will be put to one side and a calm and rational debate about what is in the best interests of the people of Britain and Northern Ireland can prevail.

That deliberation is overdue.

And the clock is now ticking closer to the time when a decision on the future direction is needed.

The closest possible customs and regulatory partnership is in the best interests of everybody, in my view, across these islands, and indeed in the best interests of the European Union and its future also.

Mr Coveney said despite some media commentary on the phase one deal struck between the UK and the EU, there was no uncertainty over what had been agreed in relation to the alignment of regulations in key economic sectors on both sides of the border after Brexit.

He said other EU nations remained unstinting in their support of Irelands stance on that issue.
At least 18 schoolchildren have been injured after a bus they were on crashed into a ditch.

The collision, also involving at least one car, occurred at about 8.50am as pupils were being transported to classes in rural Limerick.

They were on their way to St John the Baptist Community School in the village of Hospital in the south of the county.

There were about 46 pupils on the 57-seater bus and it is understood more than a dozen were rushed to University Hospital Limerick for treatment.

We have several City & County Fire Crews in attendance at a multi vehicle collision at Connellys Cross, Caherconlish. Several @HSELive Ambulance, Gardai & Medivac112 also in attendance.  Limerick Fire & Rescue (@LimerickFire) February 7, 2018

Noreen Rafferty, principal of the school, said the injuries were mostly confined to bruises and scrapes.

It is minor injuries, she said. They are being checked out at the minute.

Gardai at the scene where a school bus crashed in Caherconlish, Co Limerick (Niall Carson/PA)

Other children who were on the bus at the time of the crash were taken to schools in the local area where they were being met by parents and relatives.

They are very shocked and we are organising counselling, Ms Rafferty said.

Gardai said injuries to pupils were mostly minor and the drivers of both the bus and the car were also taken to hospital.

Bus Eireann Statement on school bus accident in Limerick - https://t.co/Xoa2hTORcy  Bus Eireann (@Buseireann) February 7, 2018

The crash happened at Connollys Cross on the R513 road near Caherconlish in Co Limerick. The bus ended up in the ditch and turned on to its side.

The school transport service was operated by a sub-contractor on behalf of Bus Eireann.

Bus Eireann are currently assisting the relevant authorities with their investigations into the incident, the company said.

Gardai said injuries to pupils were mostly minor (Niall Carson/PA)

We would like to express our gratitude to all the emergency services for their rapid response and we will continue to liaise with the school and parents of the injured students.

At least seven ambulances and a number of fire brigades attended the scene, along with gardai.

Traffic Alert Limerick - Diversions are currently in place on the R513 between Caherconlish & Herbertstown due to a collision. Gardai & Emergency Services are at the scene.  An Garda Siochana (@GardaTraffic) February 7, 2018

An Air Corps helicopter, operating the emergency air medical service, was along dispatched from Athlone to the crash site but no-one was airlifted.

The road between Herbertstown and Caherline was closed following the accident and it was expected to remain shut to traffic for a number of hours.
French foreign minister Jean-Yves le Drian has said French citizens who fought with Islamic State before being arrested in Syria or Iraq will be tried by local authorities.

Mr le Drian said about 100 fighters have been captured in north-eastern Syria by Kurdish fighters.

He told BFM TV they will face justice before local authorities and will not be repatriated to France because they are enemies who fought against Syrian citizens, Turkish people. They have raped and committed barbarian acts.

About 100 fighters were captured in north-eastern Syria (AP)

The minister added that Frances doctrine regarding children was different, with the French government aiming to send them back to their country with the help of the Red Cross.

According to Mr le Drian, six families of French fighters have also been arrested in Iraq.
Bradley Walsh has sent out a plea to Stormzy, asking for him to call so they can plan a collaboration.

The Chase host and the grime artist first met at last years Brit Awards where they struck up an unlikely friendship, and they later joked about working together on some music.

Since 57-year-old Walsh joined Instagram last month, he has called upon Stormzy a few times.

In his latest video post, Walsh dances to a Stormzy track while in his car on the way to work.

He wrote: Come on Stormzy old love !!! You dont ring , you dont write wheres my collab ??

I could do rap with a capital C ! Get jiggy wiv it Instas . Only 3 days til the weekend Shuuut Uuuup !

In the clip, Walsh shouts to his driver somethings on the radio, who is it Joey?, to which the driver replies: Stormzy Brad!

After joining Instagram recently, Walsh posted a video asking the London-born music star when they were going to team up.

Following their first meeting at the music awards ceremony in 2017, where they embraced on the red carpet and called each other legends, the duo have spoken about working together on a track.

Stormzy (PA)

Walsh, who was named the UKs most successful debut artist of 2016 after his album of covers went gold, joked they could work together on an album covering American composer Nelson Riddle arrangements in grime form.

In October, the pair appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show together, where 24-year-old Stormzy said he would work with Walsh as the TV presenter sang his own version of some of the rappers songs.
The school system in the UK is failing to put enough focus on the arts, Dan Haggis, drummer with The Wombats, has said.

The musician revealed he would like schools to put as much emphasis on theatre and music as they did on academic classes.

He told the Press Association: Whether its the government or whoever decides on the curriculum, they are really missing out on something.

The Wombats (Peter Byrne/PA)

In Norway there is a lot of focus on playtime and creativity, they get a year to experiment with music, dance, photography, with no exams and it gives them the chance to learn an instrument.

I would love to see in schools that yes it is important to learn history and maths but I would love to see encouragement with music and theatre.

It helps you in so many ways. Maths gave me no way to express myself. Of course you have to learn it, but music should be compulsory even if you arent good at it.

You shouldnt be made to feel you arent good enough.

He added: In school it was very much like if you couldnt sing or play an instrument it was a bit of a doss, no-one paid attention, it wasnt practical enough.

The Wombats are supporting charity Youth Musics Give A Gig Week, from March 16 to March 25, in which artists take part in concerts around the world helping raise funds for music projects for children and young people in challenging circumstances.

Have you signed up for @GiveaGig week yet? If not, what you waiting for? Be part of something fun and impactful  - https://t.co/8UEsH6DRiR pic.twitter.com/Ah05FqpOB5  Youth Music (@youthmusic) February 7, 2018

The charity is aiming to have at least 100 fundraising gigs taking place over the week.

Haggis said: As a charity, its such an amazing idea. Its such a great thing, music has meant so much to me. It has always been such a relief and so therapeutic.

He added: We already had our tour booked in for a show at Alexandra Palace in London so we are putting on the guest list that everyone has to make a 5 donation and we always have a big guest list.

Calling all CHOIRS! We need your help! Would you be interested in performing at a national train station near you? See link in bio for more details on how to get involved  https://t.co/U28sNi6ZTr pic.twitter.com/9bjMvMy8A4  Give a Gig (@GiveaGig) January 31, 2018

The band are currently touring their new album Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life, out on Friday, and Haggis said playing the new music was like nothing else.

He added: Youre cooped up recording and then you play the song live and its much bigger and louder and it brings the song to life.

Other musical acts supporting Give A Gig week include Craig David, Pixie Lott, Newton Faulkner and Dream Wife.

To register a gig visit www.giveagig.org.uk.
A review of undercover policing in Scotland found no evidence that officers operated outwith the parameters of the authorisation.

Her Majestys Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS) examined the practice between 2000 and 2016, following on from the Pitchford Inquiry which was set up in England and Wales to investigate allegations of misconduct by undercover officers.

The Scottish review found undercover officers were involved in 423 operations since 2000, mainly concerning drugs, trafficking and child sexual exploitation investigations.

HMICS said undercover policing had been used effectively and that Police Scotland had not infiltrated social justice campaigns, as had been suggested by some.

It found the use of undercover operations was not widespread but that the Metropolitan Polices controversial Special Demonstration Squad (SDS) and National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU) had both deployed officers to Scotland.

The report said: The purpose of these visits was connected with activities elsewhere in the UK and often in regard to legend building and maintaining their covert status within the target group.

The review also found there was no recognised cross border provision for advising Police Scotland when undercover officers from England and Wales are deployed to Scotland or if Scottish officers go south of the Border.

Protestors clashed with police at the G8 summit in Gleneagles in 2005 (David Cheskin/PA)

At the G8 Summit at Gleneagles in 2005 there were 18 undercover officers deployed, with six from SDS and six from NPIOU.

The HMICS review found on that occasion they were authorised by Tayside Police.

The report said: We are satisfied that the deployment of undercover officers to support the police security operation at the G8 Summit was undertaken with the full knowledge, co-operation and the authorisation of Tayside Police.

Outwith the G8 policing operation all other undercover operations conducted by the SDS and NPOIU in Scotland was the responsibility of the SDS and NPOIU.

Our Strategic Review of Undercover Policing in Scotland has now been published and is available on our website at https://t.co/CVXTMqQQOw pic.twitter.com/A6mM7dvWYs  HMICS (@hmics) February 7, 2018

Derek Penman, Chief Inspector of Constabulary in Scotland, said undercover policing raises complex ethical questions and must be controlled with effective safeguards and supervision.

He said: During the course of our review, we spoke with all of Police Scotlands qualified undercover officers who were available for deployment.

We found them to be professional and dedicated police officers with a clear understanding of their ethical responsibilities.

They were acutely aware of the concerns around the use of undercover policing that have been legitimately highlighted by the media, social justice campaigns, reviews and the UCPI.

They fully supported the need for safeguards and welcomed intrusive supervision of their use and conduct whilst deployed on undercover policing operations.

The review made 19 recommendations for Police Scotland to strengthen the future delivery of undercover policing including regular audits, better record keeping and psychological support and counselling for officers.
A row has broken out in a courtroom during the appearance of a man charged in connection with an alleged hammer attack on an 11-week-old puppy.

The 23-year-old mans mother clashed with animal rights activists inside the court after angry remarks were shouted at her son.

Kyle Keegan, of Gilpins Manor, Lurgan, Co Armagh, appeared before Craigavon Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with animal cruelty.

11-week-old Sparky (PSNI/PA)

Standing in the dock, Keegan simply nodded to confirm his name and the charge against him.

No details of the alleged attack were offered in court.

As he was remanded in custody, a number of animal rights activists shouted angrily at him.

His mother approached one of the activists, and said: He was brought up decent. He was brought up well, before leaving the courtroom.

Keegan was arrested on Tuesday after police were made aware that a puppy had been killed in an alleged hammer attack on Saturday at a flat in Ailsbury Park, Lurgan.

The officer in charge of the case told the court she believed she could connect Keegan with the charge.

No bail application was made, and Keegan was remanded in custody for four weeks.

During a discussion with his defence lawyer about a possible future bail application, District Judge Bernadette Kelly said there may not be a suitable address for him in Northern Ireland given recent coverage of the case on social media.

When Keegans lawyer said he was looking for an address outside Lurgan, Ms Kelly responded: Somewhere about the Azores I reckon. Have you checked social media this morning?

She added: Social media extends from the west coast of America to the east coast of Japan.

The case was adjourned to March 2 when Keegan will appear before the court via videolink.
070218STONES WILL REMAIN STONES SAYS MINING MINISTER

By Aloysius Laukai



The ABG Vice President and Minister for Mining, RAYMOND MASONO has praised the people of ISINA and KOKODA for putting up their hands to do mining exploration in their areas.



Speaking at the Launch of the KOKODA mining Exploration on Monday, Minister MASONO said that Bougainville will remain poor so long as the landowners forbid their land from any development.



He said that the people must understand that trees will remain trees and stones will remain stones and fish will remain fish unless we change them into valuable commodities that we all can benefit from.



MR. MASONO said that he has been talking about mining in Bougainville for many years as he knows that Bougainville can be a better place to live in if we could develop them in a sustainable way.



Ends
A male orangutan on the Indonesian portion of Borneo has died after being stabbed, clubbed and shot at least 130 times with an air gun.

It is the second known killing of a critically endangered orangutan this year.

Villagers spotted the wounded creature in a lake in the Kutai Timur district of East Kalimantan province.

The creatures are killed to protect crops, and for meat

Local police chief Teddy Ristiawan said the great ape was still alive when it was taken to a hospital in the town of Bontang.

A statement from the Centre for Orangutan Protection said the orangutan died early on Tuesday.

An X-ray showed at least 130 air gun pellets in its body, including more than 70 in its head, the centre said.

It said tests found the animal had been blinded as a result of the shooting and also had 17 open wounds, believed to be caused by sharp objects. Its left thigh, right chest and left hand were also bruised from blunt object trauma.

Ramadhani, a manager of habitat protection at the centre who goes by one name, said the death was a terrible event in the history of conflict between orangutans and humans in Indonesia.

The 130 pellets within the body of a primate is a new record, the most ever, he said.

In mid-January, an orangutan was found decapitated and shot more than a dozen times with an air gun in Central Kalimantan, environmental news website Mongabay reported. Police arrested two rubber farmers suspected in the killing.

The number of orangutans in Borneo and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, recognised as separate species and both classified as critically endangered, has fallen precipitously since the 1970s.

Orangutans are a protected species in Indonesia and Malaysia, but deforestation has dramatically reduced their habitat and brought them into contact with farmers and plantation workers who kill them to protect crops and for meat.

About 40% of Borneos forests have been lost since the early 1970s and another huge swathe of forest is expected to be converted to plantation agriculture in the next decade.
A Labour MP has apologised for using deeply offensive language during a Burns Supper speech.

Hugh Gaffney, who represents Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill, has been reprimanded by the party and is to attend equality and diversity training.

He is reported to have made a joke about Robert Burns not being bent, and used a racist term when referring to a Chinese meal.

Labour MP Hugh Gaffney has apologised for his comments (Nick Ansell/PA)

Today is sadly another example of why we need to recognise that everyday racism is a reality. I published an 8-point plan yesterday on how @scottishlabour can lead by example.... Deeds not words. https://t.co/TLuSaQGLrW  Anas Sarwar (@AnasSarwar) February 7, 2018

In a statement Mr Gaffney said: Last week I attended a Labour Students Burns Supper in Edinburgh.

At that event I used certain language relating to the Chinese and LGBT communities that was wrong and completely inappropriate.

I want to offer my unreserved apologies for what I said; my remarks were deeply offensive and unacceptable.

I will be taking part in equality and diversity training at the earliest opportunity.

I will do everything possible to make amends with both the Chinese community and the LGBT community.

A Labour spokesman said: Hugh Gaffney MP has been reprimanded for using inappropriate and offensive language.

He has apologised unreservedly and referred himself for equality and diversity training.

The Labour Party is clear that this language is unacceptable.

This is utterly awful. A simple apology and diversity training does NOT cut it! In fact it is a slap in the face to suggest this absolves him.



Hope @LabourRichard takes serious action against Hugh Gaffney. At very least he should be suspended from the party & whip withdrawn. https://t.co/LZxHYucIeh  Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) February 7, 2018

Labour MSP Anas Sarwar drew up an eight-point plan on how the party can tackle everyday racism and Islamophobia after speaking out on the abuse he received during the Scottish leadership campaign.

He tweeted: Today is sadly another example of why we need to recognise that everyday racism is a reality.

SNP minister Humza Yousaf said Mr Gaffney should be suspended.

He tweeted: This is utterly awful. A simple apology and diversity training does NOT cut it! In fact it is a slap in the face to suggest this absolves him.

Hope @LabourRichard takes serious action against Hugh Gaffney. At very least he should be suspended from the party and whip withdrawn.
Theresa May has raised fears the NHS is for sale after refusing to rule out allowing US firms to compete for health service contracts after Brexit.

Critics accused the Prime Minister of giving Donald Trump the green light to get his hands on the NHS after she sidestepped calls to exclude it from trade talks.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable, who quizzed Mrs May on the issue during Prime Ministers Questions, said her response had been pathetic.

Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during PMQs (PA)

Asked if PM would give an assurance that shes told President Trump #NHS business not for sale in any trade deal with the US. All she has to say is that @GOVUK wants to increase trade with US. Can only infer that NHS is indeed for sale under @Conservatives. #PMQs.  Vince Cable (@vincecable) February 7, 2018

Mr Trump described the NHS as going broke and not working in a tweet on Monday.

But Mrs May failed to raise the UK Presidents attack on the health service when they spoke by telephone on Tuesday.

Pathetic non-committal response to my question at #PMQs stands in stark contrast to guarantees given by EU trade negotiator with US that #NHS would be protected. Brexit Britain in a far weaker negotiating position. https://t.co/saEFz8z7RL  Vince Cable (@vincecable) February 7, 2018

During PMQs, Sir Vince Cable asked Mrs May to confirm that in her conversations with President Trump she had made it absolutely clear the NHS is not for sale.

The Prime Minister knows that one of the key objectives of American trade negotiators in any future deal after Brexit is to secure access for American companies to business in the NHS, he said.

Can she give an absolute guarantee that in those negotiations the NHS will be excluded from their scope, and can she confirm that in her conversations with President Trump shes made it absolutely clear to him that the NHS is not for sale?

Is Theresa May going to sell the NHS to Donald Trump? We are none the wiser. @vincecable: Can The PM confirm that in her conversations with President Trump she made clear to him the NHS is not for sale? pic.twitter.com/jK9TOAPOgx  Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) February 7, 2018

Mrs May replied: We are starting the discussions with the American administration first of all looking at what we can do to increase trade between the US and the United Kingdom already, even before the possibility of any free trade agreement.

Labour MP Peter Kyle, a supporter of the Open Britain campaign against a hard Brexit, said: Theresa May just gave Donald Trump the green light to get his hands on our National Health Service.

Just days after the US President took to Twitter to insult the NHS, the Prime Minister was given a clear opportunity to rule out opening up our health service to private competition from US companies.

Her clear refusal to do so underlines her weakness in trade negotiations and should concern us all.

Green party co-leader Caroline Lucas warned of a profound threat to the health service.

She tweeted: Today in #PMQs the Prime Minister refused to guarantee protection for the #NHS in a US trade deal. Make no mistake, an extreme Brexit is a profound threat to our health service  and MPs who love the NHS need to oppose the Tory Brexit plans.

Today in #PMQs the Prime Minister refused to guarantee protection for the #NHS in a US trade deal.



Make no mistake, an extreme Brexit is a profound threat to our health service - and MPs who love the NHS need to oppose the Tory Brexit plans.  Caroline Lucas (@CarolineLucas) February 7, 2018

Asked whether Mrs May would rule out the inclusion of the NHS in any US trade deal, a senior Downing Street source said discussions were still at their outset, but pointed out the Government ensured the health service was excluded from earlier discussions on the failed TTIP trans-Atlantic trade agreement.

What she said is that we are at the outset of these discussions, said the source. We are not into the detail of these negotiations.

When you look at the debate on TTIP, we were very clear from our side that the NHS had specific protections and wouldnt be included.

A spokesman for Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was a matter of great concern Mrs May had not felt able to rule out the inclusion of the NHS in a future deal.
The Jon Venables case raises the issue of whether notorious criminals should be given the chance to rebuild their lives beneath a cloak of anonymity.

Since his release on licence, the child killer has now twice been convicted and sent back to jail over indecent images of children.

According to a probation report, he remains at serious risk of re-offending as his interest in children is a profound and lifelong issue.

Jon Venables had lived in the community for nine years before his recall (Nick Ansell/PA)

Denise Fergus, mother of his victim James Bulger, accused authorities of hushing up his behaviour by way of a police caution when he tried to access the internet in 2015.

But Edward Fitzgerald QC, representing Venables, said he still had the capacity for good and the capacity for change.

He urged society not to give up on the defendant as he argued against a crushing sentence for his latest relapse.

Venables remains in constant fear of reprisals, the Old Bailey was told.

And despite his disturbing past, he had lived in the community for nine years before his recall.

Mr Fitzgerald told the court: He lived a relatively normal life where he worked hard for a living.

In that time, he never attempted to come into contact with any children and worked hard on his rehabilitation, he said.

The lawyer said his relapse had been swiftly detected and acted upon by authorities.

Mr Fitzgerald said Venables had acknowledged he had urges to access indecent material and needed help to understand why.

And he admitted to his parole officer that he had a serious problem, the lawyer said.

As he was led away by police last November, Venables said: This is my own fault. I have let people down again.

I have had stupid urges, inquisitive. Im not going to be seeing this for a lot of years.

Its not going to be a slap on the wrist for me.
Welsh MPs hailed a historic milestone in the House of Commons, as the countrys language was used for the first time in a committee on which they all sit.

The Welsh Grand Committee heard speeches in both English and Welsh as MPs discussed the impact of last years Budget on Wales.

The committee, whose members include all 40 Welsh MPs and several from elsewhere in the UK, gives members an opportunity to debate issues relevant to Wales, and was meeting for the first time in two years.

The Welsh Grand Committee heard speeches in both English and Welsh (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Opening the debate, Wales Secretary Alun Cairns stated: I am proud to be speaking to you all today in the Welsh language  the language that is important to me and the community that I represent and which is integral to the history and culture of Wales.

Privilege to sit by @susanelanjones at Welsh Grand Committee as she addresses the chamber in Welsh  Carolyn Harris MP (@carolynharris24) February 7, 2018

This historic day for the parliament and for Wales, as Mr Cairns later called it, was made possible by a resolution of the House of Commons on January 9 this year.

The resolution is part of a wider move to relax rules surrounding the use of the Welsh language in the UK Parliament, following a campaign led by Labours MP for Clwyd South Susan Elan Jones.

Ms Jones declared: This momentous milestone required significant persistence on our part to bring this to pass. I am proud to have been so involved and to have received such tremendous support.
German chancellor Angela Merkel has finally reached a deal to form a new coalition government.

The powerful finance ministry has been handed to the countrys main centre-left party, the Social Democrats, in an agreement aimed at ending months of political gridlock.

Social Democrat leaders now have one last major hurdle to overcome  winning their sceptical members approval over the deal.

Mrs Merkels conservative Christian Democratic Union, its Bavaria-only sister, the Christian Social Union, and the Social Democrats shook hands on a 177-page deal that leads off with the promise of a new awakening for Europe after a gruelling 24 hours of negotiations.

Martin Schulz must now convince his own partys members in order for the new government to be formed (AP)

Mrs Merkel said: I know that millions of citizens have been watching us closely on this long road over recent weeks.

They had two justified demands of us: First, finally form a government  a stable government  and second, think of peoples real needs and interests.

The coalition deal could be the foundation of a good and stable government, which our country needs and many in the world expect of us, she added.

Germany has already broken its post-Second World War record for the longest time taken between its latest election on September 24 and the swearing-in of a new government. That is still at least several weeks away.

Mrs Merkel currently leads a caretaker government, which is not in a position to launch major initiatives or play any significant role in the debate on the European Unions future, led so far by French president Emmanuel Macron.

Horst Seehofers Christian Social Union is also part of the proposed coalition (AP)

A key role in the EU is a particular goal of Social Democrat leader Martin Schulz, a former European Parliament president.

On Wednesday he declared that, with the coalition deal, Germany will return to an active and leading role in the European Union. The agreement states, among other things, that Germany is prepared to pay more into the EU budget.

The coalition accord will be put to a ballot of the Social Democrats 460,000 members, a process that will take a few weeks. Germanys highest court said on Wednesday it had dismissed a series of complaints against the ballot.

Many Social Democrats are sceptical after the partys disastrous election result, which followed four years of serving as the junior partner to Mrs Merkels conservatives in a so-called grand coalition. The partys youth wing vehemently opposes a repeat of that alliance.

If Social Democrat members say no, the new coalition government cannot be formed. That would leave only an unprecedented minority government under Mrs Merkel or a new election as the remaining options.
A Dutch judge has said he will ask the European Court of Justice to answer key questions about the rights of UK citizens on the continent post-Brexit, in a decision that could provide clarity for some one million Britons living in the EU.

Judge Floris Bakels said in a written ruling that there has to be more clarity about the consequences of Brexit for EU citizenship, according to a statement by the court in Amsterdam.

A group of British citizens who live in the Netherlands had asked the court to refer their case to the European Court of Justice last month in a bid to protect their EU citizenship rights after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.

Britons living in the Netherlands had asked the Dutch court to refer the matter of EU citizenship to the European Court of Justice

Officials negotiating Britains exit have made progress on the protection of rights of EU citizens living in Britain and UK citizens living on the continent, but no full agreement has yet been reached on the issue.

According to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, any person who is a citizen of an EU nation is automatically also an EU citizen. EU citizenship grants rights including the ability to move, work and live freely within the bloc.

Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm, the Dutch lawyer who represented the Britons in the Amsterdam court, welcomed the ruling.

He said: Theresa May famously said Brexit means Brexit, but the Brits currently living on the continent have no idea what that means for them.

Are you an EU citizen for life, or can your citizenship be taken away from you? That is the fundamental question that will be put forward to the European Court.

One of the Britons who filed the case, Stephen Huyton, who has lived in the Netherlands for 24 years, said he was delighted with the decision.

However, this is but the first step to clarity about what Brexit means for our EU citizenship, he said in a statement. This case has always been about seeking clarification.

It was not immediately clear when the European Court of Justice would deliver answers to the questions.
A Tory backbencher has called on the Government to commit to a wholesale investment in policing as MPs approved forces budgets for next year.

Richard Drax told ministers there were clearly issues with police funding after Labour accused the Government of putting the public at risk.

MPs voted through the 2018/19 police grant by 295 votes to 239, majority 56, with minister Nick Hurd insisting funding was on the rise and accusing Labour of being in the scaremongering, fake news business.

MPs have approved police budgets for next year (Peter Byrne/PA)

Conservative MP Philip Davies joined Labour in voting against the motion.

During the debate, South Dorset MP Mr Drax shared his concern that new crimes such as modern slavery, human trafficking, sexual exploitation and cyber crime were taking officers off the beat.

Shocked that Labour today voted against police increasing funding #labourfail pic.twitter.com/V1vPimrcmO  Brandon Lewis (@BrandonLewis) February 7, 2018

He said: I am a former solider and thats where information and intelligence and holding the land if you like, or certainly dominating it in the case of Northern Ireland, patrolling in very troubled spots, thats where the information came.

Thats where the deterrent was formed on the streets and while all these other crimes are being investigated and the police officers, I give all credit to them, we must not lose sight of the fact that we do need, in my humble opinion, more officers the ground.

He added: The wholesale investment in policing, I do believe is needed.

Speaking earlier in the debate, shadow policing minister Louise Haigh said the settlement on offer left communities exposed and the public at risk.

Ms Haigh added: 21,000 fewer police officers on our streets than there were when Labour left office in 2010, 17,000 fewer police staff who perform vital functions in investigations and 6,000 fewer PCSOs.

Neighbourhood policing, the absolute bedrock of our model of policing has been decimated, an appalling legacy of this Government.

Tories have already cut 21,000 police officers. Today they voted once again to cut police budget in real terms. This at a time when recorded crime and violent crime are rising. Voters will remember.  Diane Abbott MP (@HackneyAbbott) February 7, 2018

Policing Minister Nick Hurd earlier dismissed the accusation however, saying the proposed measures would see more money for every police force.

Money from the Government would be maintained at its current levels, he said, while police and crime commissioners would then have greater flexibility to raise their council tax precepts by an extra 1 per month.

He said police forces would have more than 1 billion extra in 2018/19 compared to 2015/16 as a result of the changes, and could maintain their funding in real terms.

It sounds very much like Labour now are very much in the scaremongering, fake news business, totally detached from reality, said Mr Hurd.

Tonight, Labour MPs will vote against 450 million of increased funding for policing, including a 70 million uplift on counter-terrorism in the face of the worst terrorist threat for a generation.

Today we've heard from across the country the impact of vast police cuts since 2010. Communities are being put at risk - yet Government persists with 100m real terms cut. pic.twitter.com/z0fpLCIQhc  Louise Haigh (@LouHaigh) February 7, 2018

Shipley MP Mr Davies, who has urged the Government to put more resources into policing, was the only Tory MP to vote against the motion.

Labours Wes Streeting told the Commons: The flat cash settlement that (Mr Hurd) is announcing today means that any increase in the precept will be wholly spent on additional resources for the police.

That is simply not true. The truth is the Government is cutting the resources theyre giving to every police force in the country, and theyre asking residents to foot the bill for a poorer service.

Thats a total disgrace and he should stop attempting to misdirect people who are following this debate.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange received another visit from actress Pamela Anderson, a day after launching a legal fight against a UK arrest warrant.

The former Baywatch star carried two takeaway coffee cups into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where Mr Assange has been living for over five years.

Wearing a black dress and dark glasses, she smiled but made no comment as she was let into the embassy building.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel meets Julian Assange (Sunshine Press/PA)

Honored to meet today with tough Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel who was jailed in Argentina, Ecuador & Brazil. Unlike some, Adolfo actually met the requirements to win. He is an inspiration to me and many others and continues to do impressive work. pic.twitter.com/2R8jGbdXd9  Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) February 7, 2018

An earlier visitor to the embassy was Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel.

Mr Assange said in a message: Honoured to meet today with tough Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel who was jailed in Argentina, Ecuador & Brazil.

Unlike some, Adolfo actually met the requirements to win. He is an inspiration to me and many others and continues to do impressive work.

At Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected Mr Assanges legal teams argument that a warrant issued in 2012 was no longer valid because an investigation by the Swedish authorities into a sex-related allegation has been dropped.

His lawyers went on to argue it was no longer proportionate or in the public interest to pursue him for failing to answer bail at a police station as he fought extradition to Sweden.

Judge Arbuthnot adjourned the case until Tuesday February 13 at 2pm at the same court, when she will give her judgment on the public interest argument.
A British man accused of being a key player in an international cyber crime gang behind frauds exceeding 380 million is facing racketeering charges in the US.

Anthony Nnamdi Okeakpu, 29, was arrested by British police on behalf of US authorities for allegedly being a member of the Infraud Organisation, the countrys Department for Justice said.

He is one of 36 suspects from across the globe indicted over their roles within the group, which is said to have committed large-scale acquisition, sale and dissemination of stolen identities, debit and credit cards and other sensitive information.

One advert posted on Infrauds online forum in 2011 claimed to have 795,000 log-ins for British customers of HSBC, the indictment says.

The alleged cyber criminal from Britain, who used aliases including Aslike1, Aslike, Moneymafia and Shilonng, could face up to 20 years in a US jail if he is extradited, the countrys authorities say.

The US Department of Justice described the operation as one of the largest cyber fraud enterprise prosecutions it had ever undertaken.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General David Rybicki told a press briefing in Washington that Okeakpu had been arrested in the UK and faces racketeering conspiracy charges.

Mr Rybicki said: He joined the organisation in 2010  he was a VIP member, he was promoted to that level by one of the administrators and leaders of the organisation, Svyatoslav Bondarenko.

Okeakpu was promoted to VIP member status in April 2014.

He also held other posts in the organisation, among those were moderator and super-moderator.

We discuss at length the structure of the organisation and the hierarchical organisation that it had in terms of administrators and vendors and other members like Okeakpu who were moderators of certain forums that were featured on the website.

Super moderators on the site oversaw and administered specific subject matter areas within their expertise, according to US authorities.

The fraudsters claimed to have targeted 795,000 log-ins for British customers of HSBC (Tim Ireland/PA)

A VIP member used the forum to gather information to facilitate their criminal activities.

Under the slogan in fraud we trust, Infraud attempted to inflict 1.5 billion of losses on financial institutions, businesses and individuals over seven years, it is claimed.

Its members defrauded victims of more than 380 million (560 million US dollars) after it targeted more than 4.3 million debit cards, credit cards and bank accounts globally.

The criminal group operated from an online forum, through which users could offer or buy illicit services, including malware capable of data breaches.

Infraud is said to have 10,901 registered members and was founded by Bondarenko, a 34-year-old Ukranian man.

A total of 13 arrests have been made so far from the US, Australia, France, Italy, Kosovo, Serbia and the UK, US prosecutors said.

Mr Rybicki told the briefing: Infraud was truly the premiere, one-stop shop for cyber criminals worldwide.

Members used the forum to co-ordinate and commit online crimes including identity theft, bank fraud, wire fraud and computer crimes, he said.

The US official continued: That makes this case one of the largest cyber fraud enterprise prosecutions ever undertaken by the Department of Justice.

This case reflects the alarming and increasing threat posed by cyber crime.

The City of London Police are credited alongside other international police forces for siginificant efforts and timely cooperation.
Posted 2/6/18

Citizens Memorial Hospital and Shannon Calvert, M.D., board-certified pediatrician with Butterfield Park Pediatrics, will host a free girls only event for tweens from 5:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, 
The Duchess of Cornwall praised Britains bold and thriving press as she attended a reception celebrating women working in journalism.

Camilla joked she could hear pencils sharpening as she teased a room full of journalists that her speech would include a royal story you may be unaware of.

The reception, hosted by organisation Women in Journalism (WIJ), brought together women from across the world of media.

The Duchess of Cornwall speaks during a reception for Women in Journalism at The Ned in London (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

The Duchess of Cornwall addresses our wonderful committee, advisory board, mentors and mentees at @TheNedLondon. pic.twitter.com/EzNfF22V97  Women in Journalism (@WIJ_UK) February 7, 2018

Addressing the event at The Ned hotel in the City of London, the Duchess said: A bold, thriving press is part of what makes Britain great, but it is vital that in stories from around the world we hear both male and female perspectives.

Research by your own organisation shows that it is still not easy for women journalists, and in general stories about women are less likely to be told.

Camilla, who was wearing a dark blue crushed velvet Edina Ronay dress, added: We need to continue to take courage from great women of the past, but we also need to look to the future.

I am privileged to meet many amazing women in my travels around the world and I know how important it is that we hear their voices and their experiences.

Thank you for helping us to make sure we record the great women of today so we can inspire the young women of tomorrow.

WIJ, a networking, campaigning and social group, grew out of a demand for women to be more effectively represented at a senior level in newspapers and magazines.

It has since evolved into a forum for women in journalism at all levels.
Sri Lanka Bangladesh Business Co-operation Council of the National Chamber of Commerce, will host the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Sri Lanka , Riaz Hamidullah, as a Special Guest Speaker on Bilateral Trade Between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on February 8th at the Chamber, from 3.00 p.m. to 4.30 p.m.



The participants will get an opportunity to have a close dialogue with the High Commissioner and officials and get information on trade with Bangladesh.



Bangladesh is one of the oldest civilization dating back to 4000 years ago, and is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 166 million, as big as France, Germany, Netherlands, put together. Capital Dhakas population alone is 17 ml, almost the whole population of

Sri Lanka.



According to the Asian Development Bank, Bangladeshs economy grew by 7.1 percent in 2016, the fastest expansion in 30 years and the countrys recent economic boom must rank as one of the worlds best economics.



Garment exports are the backbone of Bangladeshs industrial sector, accounting for more than 80 percent of total exports.



Main industries: Jute, cotton, garments, pharmaceuticals, drugs , fertilizer, iron and steel, cement, petroleum products, tobacco, fabricated metal products, and natural gas.



Agriculture products : Rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, spices.



Sri Lanka exports to Bangladesh: Clothing apparel, rubber products, textiles, chemical products, tea.

Sri Lanka imports from Bangladesh: Pharmaceutical products; apparel clothing, jute bags, vegetables.
Seven Afghan army officers, including two generals, have been sacked over a deadly attack on a Kabul military base, President Ashraf Ghani said Tuesday, as the Afghan capital braces for further assaults. At least five attackers --gunmen and suicide bombers-- launched the pre-dawn raid claimed by the Islamic State group on January 29, killing 11 soldiers and



wounding 16. Seven high-ranking officers including two generals committed professional negligence. All seven are sacked and referred for further investigations, Ghani said on Twitter after a probe into the incident.



Ghanis US-backed government is under growing public pressure to improve security in the capital after a series of attacks demonstrated the ability of the Taliban and Islamic State group to strike at the heart of the country.



Since January 20, militants have stormed a luxury hotel, bombed a crowded street and raided the military compound in Kabul, killing more than 130 people.



The assaults, including a devastating ambulance bomb attack that killed more than 100 people and wounded hundreds, have left already war-weary citizens grief-stricken and angry as the Taliban and IS escalate their offensives.



Kabul remains on high alert for more attacks.



The National Directorate of Security, Afghanistans spy agency, on Tuesday seized a truck it said was carrying two tonnes of material which could be used to make bombs.



The truck was travelling from Kabul to the northern province of Parwan where the US Bagram airbase is located, an official said.

KABUL AFP Feb 6, 2018
Stephen Renna, Director, Advocacy Center, U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration will meet with members of the American Chamber of Commerce in Sri Lanka this Friday.



The meeting will focus on initiatives being carried out by the Advocacy Center to boost business for U.S. companies as well as an open discussion on current challenges faced by U.S. businesses operating in Sri Lanka.



Stephen Renna has over 30 years of experience working in the legal, policy and trade association professions. He previously served as a trade association executive having led two trade associations and been a senior executive in a third. Renna also is a subject matter expert in complex real estate equity and finance structures and capital markets.



Facilitated by the AmCham in Sri Lanka and the U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka, this meeting is open to members of the business community.



For registrations, contact the AmCham Secretariat on T: 2300116/7 or E: info@amcham.lk
British Prime Minister Theresa May has appointed Ranil Jayawardena, MP, as her trade envoy for Sri Lanka.



Jayawardenas role as trade envoy will be to support and enhance the development of Britains trade and investment with Sri Lanka.



The prime ministers trade envoy will be visiting Sri Lanka from February 15 to 17 to meet with the senior members of the government and engage with British businesses working in Sri Lanka.



Jayawardena was elected as Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire in May 2015 and was re-elected in 2017. He has a degree in government from the London School of Economics. In parliament, he is the chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Sri Lanka.

Jayawardenas father is of Sri Lankan origin.

Given the shared history and close bonds of friendship between Britain and Sri Lanka  and with my family ties to Sri Lanka  I am looking forward to serving as the prime ministers trade envoy at an exciting time for both our countries.



Theres lot of scope for further trade and investment between Britain and Sri Lanka. I recently visited Port City, one among many initiatives that the Sri Lankan government is pushing forward that demonstrates its commitment to creating the right conditions for economic growth, Jayawardena said.

He also noted that Port City will provide a range of opportunities for UK-based professional services to work with Sri Lankan partners to take forward our shared ambitions to develop international business. I am confident that engagement by the UKs professional services sector will help Port City to attract international investment and build its reputation. With the Sri Lankan economy growing, British High Commissioner in Colombo James Dauris said the number of British companies to do business in Sri Lanka is on the rise.



Jayawardanas appointment will help us to encourage more UK firms to look at options for doing business in and with Sri Lanka and to boost bilateral trade, he said.
Todays world requires a successful career man or a woman to be at the top of their game to reach the pinnacle of success. With everything available at a single click, the knowledge of Digital Marketing is vital for making waves in a field which is already thriving and competitive.

The Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the renowned National Marketing body for Marketing with nearly 50 years of experience is setting the precedent for Marketing education in the country. SLIM recognizes the necessity for future Digital Marketers to hone their skills and take on the future with confidence, and as a result introduced an innovative programme to their extensive educational portfolio this year, known as the Certificate in Digital Marketing (CDM). The first intake of the inaugural CDM Batch successfully completed the programme and was recognised for their efforts at the SLIM Certification Ceremony held recently.

Digital Marketing is also known as the marketing of products or services using digital media and technologies, mainly on the Internet, but also including mobile phones, display advertising, and any other digital medium. This branch of Marketing, which promotes products or brands via digital media, differs from traditional Marketing as it involves the use of channels and methods which enable an organization to analyse Marketing campaigns and understand what works and what doesnt for each particular promotion. Digital Marketing facilitates customer relationships across all channels both digital and traditional, and is thus an integrated approach towards Marketing.

The Certificate in Digital Marketing (CDM) is a preliminary course designed by SLIM to help students understand the fundamentals and various aspects of Digital Marketing and the online communication ecosystem. Students gain essential skills in planning, organizing, leading, controlling and decision-making within the innovative, three month-long programme which consists of five Modules. While 50% of the content emphasize on theoretical concepts, the remainder concentrate on professional practices with project-based learning opportunities.

The Certificate in Digital Marketing is delivered with a blended focus on academic and professional orientation. The programme caters to varied segments; it is ideal for Marketing practitioners using Digital Marketing to meet their objectives, Web Marketers who intend to enhance professional prospects in the Digital Marketing domain, entrepreneurs looking for online sources to enhance their business prospects and performances, Advanced Level students looking for career opportunities in Digital Marketing, and professionals who seek to excel in this sphere to become employees in the corporate sector.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Pradeep Edward, Vice President of Education at SLIM said, We at SLIM introduced the Certificate in Digital Marketing programme after well-conducted market research, being aware of the massive demand in Digital Marketing at present, he stated. Students can be assured of guidance by well-qualified resource persons, including visiting lecturers who are practicing Digital Marketers, holding senior positions in top corporate industries who will provide insights on the big picture by using examples from the local and international arena.

Also commenting on the programme , Mr. Sanath Senanayake, SLIM CEO and Executive Director noted, I am positive that candidates even with preliminary Marketing know-how would be keen to gain Digital Marketing knowledge by following the CDM course. The Certificate in Digital Marketing by SLIM is going to be one of the most sought-after programmes in the island as time goes on. Our syllabus, textbooks and course content are prepared to suit current industry requirements. The programme is crafted with the right blend of a Group case study and , an online examination. The programme will be reviewed frequently according to industry requirements in order to produce well-qualified Marketers who would be able to adapt to any situation, he concluded.
A Ceylon Hotels Corporation (CHC) subsidiary will be forming a joint venture with a subsidiary of the China Harbour Engineering Company Limited (CHEC) to develop a US$ 50 million, 85-100 room resort in the Maldives.



The joint venture agreement is between CHEC subsidiary Zhen Hua Engineering Company Limited and Ceylon Hotels Maldives (Pvt) Ltd., which is a fully owned subsidiary of United Hotels Co Ltd, in which CHC has a 67 percent stake.



The resort will be developed in the Ambara Island situated in the Vaavu Atoll, and will be operational in 2020.



CHC in 2015 had announced that it was investing US$ 27.7 million to develop a 50-room resort in the Maldives. The Gardiner familys Galle Face Hotel Group controls 60.31 percent of CHC.
Perfetti Van Melle (PVM) Sri Lanka recently announced that they are commencing local manufacturing of its much loved brand Mentos for the first time in Sri Lanka, enabling them to offer consumers a wider range of products under the Mentos brand at affordable prices.



As a first step, consumers will now be able to purchase the Mentos Mono at a lower price of Rs. 2, actively helping them break the ice in their day-to-day interactions.



Commenting on the project, Mohit Bhalla, Country Manager of PVM Sri Lanka said, Mentos has been a leading brand for PVM Worldwide and is well-accepted and omnipresent among Sri Lankans for many years. Mentos has helped people make fresh connections across all ages and social strata. The Mentos production line is the latest in Perfetti Van Melles significant investments in Sri Lanka. We hope with Mentos being proudly made in Sri Lanka, we will be able to delight Sri Lankan consumers for many more years to come.



This milestone was marked at a recent launch event presided over by Huub Sanders, President - PVM Business Unit for South Asia, Middle East & Africa; Ramesh Jayaraman, Managing Director - PVM India; and also attended by other distinguished invitees and business partners including distributors, sales personnel, company representatives and well-wishers.



Mentos is one of PVMs most recognized and loved brands globally, and was made popular in Sri Lanka in the late 90s.First produced in 1948 in Netherlands, Mentos is currently being sold in over 130 countries.



PVM Sri Lanka has been introducing new and innovative products to Sri Lanka ever since it was established, and the installation of this new line which manufactures Mentos and Mentos Marbels, among others, is yet another great addition to this range. Other well established brands manufactured at PVMs state-of-the-art factory in Seeduwa include Center Fresh, Center Fruit, Center Shock, Alpenliebe, and Alpenliebe Creamfills. PVM group is a privately owned global company that manufactures and distributes sugar confectionery and chewing gum products in over 150 countries. PVM Group, through its 100 percent owned subsidiary - Perfetti Van Melle Lanka (Pvt.) Ltd. set up a manufacturing base in Seeduwa, Sri Lanka since 2007, to manufacture sugar confectionery products primarily for the local market. In Sri Lanka, PVM markets products under the brand names of Mentos, Center Fruit, Center Fresh, Center Shock, Alpenliebe, Chupa Chups, Happydent and Big Babol. In the last 10 years PVM Sri Lanka has grown to become one of the foremost in the confectionery industry in Sri Lanka, and it continues to delight over a million consumers everyday with their products.
Sri Lanka has ratified the United Nations Convention against Corruption. However, in 2016, Sri Lanka ranked 95 in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), dropped down the rank by 12 slots when compared to 2015, a report released by Transparency International said. The report indicated that high levels of perceived public sector corruption prevails throughout the country.

The current Government assumed power sporting the slogan that corruption would be eliminated. Yet, its hard to see effective measures being taken by the current authorities in order to prevent corruption by promoting transparency through effective implementation, enhancing a healthy environment for civil society to operate in and enacting codes of conduct for public servants.

The civil society is repeatedly demanding the Government to punish the corrupt by immediately adopting a zero-tolerance policy regarding corruption in public services, pursuing prosecutions and enforcing the law without further delay.

Former Head of the Sociology Department at the University of Colombo, Prof. Siri Hettige opined that the growing inequality, persistent poverty and the exclusion of the most vulnerable have worsened over time due to the alarming corruption issues in Sri Lanka. He stated that its essential for the country to achieve sustainable and equitable development by addressing real needs of the people, but mismanagement due to corruption prevents us from doing so.

According to him, unequal development, unsustainable consumption, poor governance and increasing inequality are the main courses and consequences of corruption

According to him, unequal development, unsustainable consumption, poor governance and increasing inequality are the main courses and consequences of corruption. Corruption is prevalent in all areas of public life. As a result, we are unable to solve critical problems faced by the wider public, he said.

Abusing positions



Corruption is basically abuse of power or position, whatever that position is, to make private gains and benefits. It may be petty corruption or manipulation of the whole financial system. If everybody is trying to use their positions and trying to take something that is not theirs, there would be anarchy, lawlessness and injustice in the country, he opined.

He added that the whole discussion regarding corruption is two dimensional. The first is the legal dimension where emphasis is on the need to enforce the law and strengthen the legal institutions as a remedy. Some see corruption as a moral issue which should be morally condemned by naming and shaming those who are involved in it.

He further remarked that both the above mentioned approaches are limited in terms of their impact. It is the sad truth that corruption in this country has become endemic and pervasive. It has also penetrated the entire socio-economic, political and cultural systems in the country. No one has been spared, he said. Corruption is present even in religious establishments. There is corruption in the law enforcement sector and the business world. Corruption has made significant inroads in politics, public service and also in academia.

It is hard to pinpoint a certain group of people as entirely responsible for corruption. When a cancer has spread across your body, you cannot remove one part of the body and save the rest because the damage has already been done to the whole body. People need to understand why it happened in that way, pointed out Prof. Hettige.

He stressed that the authorities should take a rational and scientific approach towards addressing the corruption problem.

Failed leaders



Asked how the previous Governments have failed to take the necessary steps, he replied that none of the leaders has been able to manage public affairs in this country in a rational manner over the past several decades. Politicians have taken the upper hand in all decision making and others have been sidelined. The result has been ad hoc decision making, with no effort been made to develop and implement policies based on scientific evidence.

The economy in this country has not been managed well. The authorities have just let the economy evolve on its own according to the market forces without any state management. People are forced to do anything to increase their income, in order to cope with growing economic and social pressure caused by poor governance, he said.

Had we adopted a policy of zero tolerance during corruption, like Singapore, we would have arrested this crisis earlier, Prof. Hettige said. In the early 1970s, there was so much intolerance of corruption on the parts of some of the leaders at that time. But, this situation has changed since the late 1970s.

The successive Governments in the recent past didnt manage the development sector in a systematic fashion. The country needs strong productive sectors. Otherwise, the country cannot produce basic necessities of the people. For instance, if the agricultural sector isnt strong enough, it isnt going to produce agricultural goods in order to meet the peoples requirements for food. The same is true with industrial production, he added.

He was of the view that Sri Lanka now has a stagnant agriculture sector and a weak industrial sector

He was of the view that Sri Lanka now has a stagnant agriculture sector and a weak industrial sector. He said that the people have been moving away from these two sectors and are increasingly concentrated in the services. In fact, there are too many people in some services such as transport, retail trade and education.

The financial sector is bloated. Many companies import stuff from other countries without producing anything within the country, he said. But, ironically, they receive awards for their so-called innovativeness.

Speaking on the health sector, he emphasised that coherent public policies based on evidence should be developed and implemented in order to overcome health problems of the country.

When it comes to the transport sector, there are many problems that arent addressed. The number of vehicles has increased exponentially in recent years calling for continuous expansion of the road network. The Government needs to take bold decisions to solve these problems, he said. In conclusion, its necessary to emphasise that no amount of moralising is going to help arrest the present trends in corruption, he stated.

As long as our Governments refuse or fail to adopt sound, long- term measures to solve economic and social issues, more and more people will be tempted to rely on illegitimate ways to achieve their life goals. A clear case in point is transport. As long as public transport continues to be in its present sorry state, more and more people will be forced to earn enough money to buy their own vehicles, he added.
Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama, International Trade State Minister Sujeewa, Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure Ministry Secretary Wasantha Deshapriya, Acting IECD Controller General T. V. D. Damayanthi S. Karunrathna and ICTA, Director Special Project Kanchana Thudugala

The Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) in collaboration with the Import and Export Control Department (IECD) has developed an online license issuing and debiting system to further simplify and accelerate import/export procedures.



Via the system, importers and exporters can now apply for an import/export license, debit note or an amendment online and the department records will be

updated accordingly.



The new online portal was launched by Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama and International Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe in the presence of other government officials.

Addressing the gathering, State Minister Senasinghe said, As we journey towards taking this country to great heights, developing the import and export climate is paramount. The government has taken major steps to increase international trade for Sri Lanka.



The IECD plays an important role in this. The department not only greatly benefits by being online but helps all those involved due to it being convenient and computerised. Especially individuals can benefit, as they do not have to personally meet people, but can proceed with their requirements online.



Senasinghe said the government is also hoping to digitise several key agencies and ensure that they are interconnected.



We hope these improvements will result in our Ease of Doing Business reaching 70 and the momentum drive the country to great heights and increase our exports further, he said.



Prior to the launch both importers and exporters and the department faced numerous challenges including time spent on manual applications, the requirement of personally being present at the department to lodge applications and fill documentation, time lost due to tedious back and forth communication, crowded offices and increasing importer complaints.



As Phase One of the project, the portal provides importers/exporters easy access to information, lodging of applications at ones convenience even 24/7, quicker approvals, online receipt of import licenses, ease in monitoring the process and receiving timely email notifications.



The new system will help streamline processes, improve transparency, showcase IECDs commitment and efficiency and contribute to generate more revenue as a result of increased importer compliance levels, and also a possible increase in the volumes of imported goods as a result of reduced delays.

Phase Two of the system, which is expected to be launched mid-2018, will integrate all recommendation agencies to the single window ecosystem.



To ensure a more smoother and convenient process in obtaining licenses, Phase Two will offer a single window concept, where applicants do not have to visit other agencies but submit and receive their permits through a one stop shop model.



This will also include integrating the Customs procedures. Through the debiting and amendment process the information will then update and trigger Customs databases as well. As a result all manual procedures will no longer be required and importers/exporters can submit all requisite information via the IECD online portal.



The analytical data will further assist trade officials in decision making.



Phase Two will also provide for online payments where applicants can pay the fees via credit cards, bank drafts or transfers and inform the department accordingly.
Posted 2/7/18

After special training to identify nonfiction text features, Katie Allens third-grade students at Macks Creek Elementary School gowned up and headed for surgery. No, not surgery on people, but 
The Sweden-based global asset management company, Tundra Fonders Tundra Sustainable Frontier Fund, has identified Sri Lanka as a core market and is planning to hold an investor forum in Colombo this March.



The forum titled CSE-Tundra Sustainability Forum will be held on March 5, at The Kingsbury Hotel, in collaboration with the Colombo Stock Exchange. In its latest update, Tundra Sustainable Frontier Fund said Sri Lanka is among its core frontier markets along with Egypt, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Kenya.

We will enter 2018 with a crystal clear focus on our seven core markets: Egypt 23 percent, Vietnam 22 percent, Pakistan 18 percent, Bangladesh 10 percent, Nigeria 10 percent and Sri Lanka 8 percent, the frontier market fund said.



Together, these countries have a population of over 800 million people and an average GDP/capita of less than US $ 3,000. Although we have invested and will from time to time invest, a portion of the portfolio outside these countries, this should be seen as exploiting temporary opportunities, it added.



Dubbed as the worlds first frontier market fund with a sustainable profile, Tundra Sustainable Frontier Fund also said it has taken position in Nestle Sri Lanka. Finally, we have taken a position in Nestle Sri Lanka, which after four years of stagnant stock price now has become attractive enough for us to take an initial position. Nestle Sri Lanka intends to commission a larger new facility in 2018, which will allow for healthy growth in the coming years. Nestle Lanka is yet to release its December quarter (4Q17) interim financial accounts to the market and the Tundra Sustainable Frontier Fund did not appear among the top 20 shareholders of the company as at September 30, 2017.
From left: Czech Republic Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Sri Lanka Milan Hovorka and Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama at the agreement signing

Pic by Kushan Pathiraja

By Harshana Sellahewa

The Development Strategies and International Trade Ministry of Sri Lanka and Industry and Trade Ministry of the Czech Republic entered into an agreement of mutual cooperation yesterday.



Both countries have agreed to expand friendly relations ranging from investment to deeper bilateral exchanges and cooperation on a platform that allows both countries to gain benefits from new forms of dynamism.

The mutual cooperation agreement will enhance bilateral trade and economic cooperation as well as create opportunities for investment flows through exchange of information on laws and regulations governing foreign investments.



The agreement was signed between Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrama and Czech Republic Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Sri Lanka Milan Hovorka, who was authorised to sign on behalf of the Industry and Trade Minister of the Czech Republic.



In formulating the action framework under this agreement, special emphasis is to be given to encourage investment cooperation in economic sectors through non-traditional financial instruments. This ministerial joint committee will be co-chaired by International Trade State Minister Sujeewa Senasinghe. The Czech Republic is known as the knowledge and technological hub in Europe while it has a robust democratic tradition and rich cultural heritage. It emerged from over 40 years of communist rule in 1990 and was the former Eastern Bloc state to acquire the status of a developed economy, as it joined the European Union (EU) in 2004.



Recognising the Czech Republic as a fast-growing economy in the EU, it houses the potential to become an important export destination for Sri Lanka and is highly likely to produce benefits through an effective cooperation on investment towards local (Sri Lankan) industrial development, as specifically highlighted by the observations of President Maithripala Sirisena, hence the cabinet had approved signing for the agreement in 2017. Sri Lankas exports to the Czech Republic amounted to around US $ 55 million with a positive trade balance in 2017. Sri Lankas exports to the Czech Republic have been mainly confined in the sectors of rubber and rubber-based products, tea, coconut and coconut-based products, along with apparel. Being a tea exporting country, Sri Lanka has the potential to widen the exports of value-added tea to the Czech Republic. Since the Czech Republic has a developed automobile industry, Sri Lanka can explore the market opportunity in the Czech Republic for rubber finished products like tyres and other automobile parts. Sri Lanka has an opportunity to export to the Czech Republic from others sectors such as electronic and electrical, insulated wires, chemical products, essential oils, processed foods, edible fruits and vegetables, tobacco, ceramic products and seafood.
Most. Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Anunayake Thera (Left) the Chancellor of Sri Lanka Jayawardhanapura University of Sri Lanka, attending the 30th Anniversary of Inter-religious Gathering of Prayer for World Peace held at Japan Kyoto International Conference Centre, Mt Hiel and Seiryuken on 3-4 August 2017. The late Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera is seen with the representative of the Pope.

Today the Buddhist World, other religious heads, eminent local and international dignitaries and the lay public have been shocked on hearing of the demise of Ven. Prof Bellanwila Wimalaratana Nayaka Thera, who was the Chief incumbent of the Bellanwila Rajamaha Viharaya.

Sri Lanka and the world have lost a great Buddhist Leader and most sought after preacher in Buddha Dhamma both locally and overseas. The Thera worked tirelessly to instill human qualities, human values and harmony in people belonging to all religions.

Ven. Prof Bellanwila Wimalaratne Nayaka Thero won great respect from the community at large, was of pleasing character, approachable, charming, held high-profile responsibilities, provided community services and was a voice of reason for national reconciliation- a need of the hour.

The brother of the Thera, Ven Dr Bellanwila Dharmaratana Nayaka Thera, the present Religious Adviser for The Buddhist Library Singapore and Sanghanayake of Singapore was also a tower of strength and a guiding light for the late Ven. Thera.

Scholarly monk

Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera, a scholarly monk, obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree offering Sinhala, Pali and Economics from the Vidyalankara University of Kelaniya and in 1972 obtained an Honours Degree in Pali language and Literature from the University of Sri Lanka Vidyodaya Campus. He thereafter progressed in his academic achievement by obtaining a PhD from the university of Lancaster, U.K.in 1982.

With these academic and professional achievements the Thera went on to be the Principal at Paramadhamma Chetiya Pirivena, Ratmalana and lecturer at Teacher Training College for Buddhist monks at Ratmalana. At Sri Jayawardenapura University he served as a visiting lecturer, lecturer, Associate Professor and Professor. The Thera also served as a visiting professor at the school of Oriental and African Studies  University of London U.K.

Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratne Thera was the Chancellor of the Sri Jayawardenapura University which he had served in different positions since 1980.

This scholarly monk also held many high-profile responsibilities and served on many Boards of Management at Academic Institutions.

He was a member of University Senate  University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Member Board of Management National Institute of Education  NIE, Academic Committee  Buddhist and Pali University and Academic Committee Postgraduate Institute of Pali and Buddhist Studies University of Kelaniya. He was also a member of the National Education Commission, beginning his service in 2006. He was also a member of the Advisory Council of the All Ceylon Buddhist Congress.

Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Nayaka Thero served as the Secretary General  Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha of Sriyomopali Mahanikaya and thereafter as the Anunayaka Thero. During this period the Ven. Thera was a tower strength to the Mahanayake Thera Ven. Ittepana Dhammalankara Thera, Ven. Prof. Kotapitiye Rahula Anu Nayaka Thero and the Nayaka Theras of the Kotte Chapter Temples which included the Sri Jayawardenarama Viharaya at Cotta Road. The priest was closely associated with Nayaka Thera Ven. Shastrapathi Devahandiye Sri Pangnasekera Thera. This also gave me an opportunity to meet the priest and other high priests of the Kotte Chapter including the Late Ven Sobhitha Nayaka Thera. Theese priests were always present at various pinkamas and almsgivings at the temple.

The late Ven. Prof Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera

Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera, a scholarly monk, obtained a Bachelor of Arts Degree offering Sinhala, Pali and Economics from the Vidyalankara University of Kelaniya and in 1972 obtained an Honours Degree in Pali language and Literature from the University of Sri Lanka Vidyodaya Campus

This scholarly monk also held many high-profile responsibilities and served on many Boards of Management at Academic Institutions

The funeral of late prelate Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Thera, will be held today at the Sri Jayewardenepura University grounds

Fearless Ven. Wimalaratana Thera never stood for communal politics nor got onto any such stage during his illustrious life, full of spirits. Nor did he play hosannas to anyone how much mighty he would be since he did not expect any personal

favours from any person

International recognition

In the international arena Ven. Prof. (Dr) Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera served as the Secretary General of the World Buddhist Sangha Council. He was also a frequent invitee among those who addressed many Buddhist and inter-religious conferences. These included the Inter-religious conference in New Delhi, India in 2009, General Assembly of Religions in Peace in New York in 2008, South Asia Interfaith Harmony Conclave in New Delhi in 2007, 7th General Conference of World Buddhist Sangha Council in Chinese Taipei in 2000 and Global Hindu Buddhist Initiative on Conflict Avoidance and Environment in Septmeber 2015.

The Ven. Thera was also a frequent visitor to the London Buddhist Viharaya and a close associate of Late Head monk Most Ven. Medagama Vajiragnana Nayaka Thera, the head of London Buddhist Vihara. He delivered the Anagarika Dharmapala 150th Birth Anniversary Oration at the London Buddhist Vihara.

Buddhist literature

Another noteworthy contribution of this great monk is the contribution he made during his monkhood to enrich Buddhist literature. Not only is he a voracious reader, reputed orator and Dhamma preacher, but also a brilliant writer in both Sinhala and English languages. The Ven. Thera published many books on Buddhism in English and Sinhalese which included: Buddhism Society and Environment, Concept of great Man in Buddhist literature and Iconography, Buddhism among other religions and Facts of Buddhism. He also translated to English Volume 1 of Anguttara Nikaya. Manasa, the Sinhala Translation of Mind Unshaken penned by Ohn Valters, Sanyutta Nikaya and Minisage Aagam are some of his other works.

Social service

The Ven. Thera served as Chairman of the Sri Lanka Community Department Foundation, Bellanwila which assists the people in the village in various community development projects and offers vocational guidance to young school leavers. In 1984 I remember as the Chairman of Peoples Bank attending a function at the temple where the bank provided loans for those starting small businesses and helped in the purchase of three wheeled vehicles for the purpose of self-employment. There was also a gift of computers from Singapore to educate the youth in computer applications.

This was only a fraction of the many social service projects carried out under the guidance of the late Thera in the fields of providing education, training, skills development and providing job opportunities for the youth.

Inter-religious activities

In inter-religious activities the priest played his role as the Co-President and founder Member of the Congress of Religions and was the President of Religion for Peace. He always stood for a unitary state and national unity.

He also worked very closely with all religious dignitaries to achieve peace and harmony.

The tributes paid by many religious leaders show the great respect they have for the lead role the late Thera played in inter-religious activities and in his attempts to bring people from all religions together.

The Ven. Thera came to the rescue of the business community at a time of a national crisis. This was the time when there was tension between Sinhalese and Muslims over the Halal registration. This became a very hot issue and was a threat which could have destroyed local businesses and the economy of the country. This was ultimately settled by both parties. Businessmen were assisted by their respective religious leaders with Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thero playing a lead role to ensure there was a peaceful solution to the problem.

The Ven. Thera also participated at the Sri Lanka Economic Summit organized by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce in the year 2008 and gave expert comments as a panelist. The priest also offered guidance to business leaders at all times.

Grand Esala Perehera

The Esala Perahera (Pageant) of the Bellanwila Viharaya commenced in 1950 under the guidance of Ven. Bellanwila Sri Somaratana Nayaka Thera. This was a very difficult period. However the pageant organised by this temple has now developed as a leading Esala Perahera in the Colombo District. The pageant is held with the participation of many traditional dancers, elephants and other processions; all displaying the rich cultural traditions of Sri Lanka. Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalaratna Thera was responsible for the Esala Perehera developing into one of the most looked forward to pageants in Colombo.

Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha -

The Maha Nayaka Thera of Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha Ven. Dr. Iththepane Dhammalankara Thera, Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Anu Nayaka Thera, Ven. Prof. Kotapitiye Rahula Anu Nayaka Thera, the Committee of the Kotte Maha Sangha, Late Ven Madhuluwawe Sobhitha Nayaka thera, a key member of the Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha all combined to be a strong force for all Buddhists. The passing away of the Ven. Prof. Bellanwila Wimalarathana Annunayake Thera has left great voids in the Buddha Sasana, Kotte Sri Kalyani Samagri Dharma Maha Sangha Sabha and the Maha Sanga. The late Thera who was the voice of Sinhala Buddhists, spoke fearlessly in support of activities of national interest and was a guiding light for the youth of this country will be missed by all.

May the Ven. Thera attain the supreme bliss of Nirvana!

(This article is authored by Prof. Lakshman R Watawala, President Sri Jayawardenaramaya Temple, Vice President All Ceylon Buddhist Congress and Vice President of the Sasana Sevaka Society (Colombo Branch) Narada Dharmayathanaya)
Tokyo (dpa)  US Vice President Mike Pence is set to arrive in Japan on Tuesday to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe amid signs of easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.



Speaking during a refuelling stop in Alaska, Pence did not rule out the possibility of meeting with North Korean officials during his trip to South Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on February 9.



With regard to any interaction with the North Korean delegation, I have not requested a meeting, but well see what happens, the vice president said.



Let me say President Trump has said he always believes in talking, he added. Pence and Abe are expected to discuss bilateral trade and North Koreas nuclear missile programmes on Wednesday before heading to

South Korea.



The two are likely to agree that the United States and South Korea will conduct a planned joint military drill without scaling it down after the Winter Games, the Kyodo News agency reported, citing an unnamed Japanese government official.
This special interview with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe centres around the forthcoming Local Government Elections and the current political situation in the country.

Excerpts:

Was there transparency like now?

Now it appears that the talk on frauds committed by the Rajapaksas has been set aside

Our aim is to keep on increasing our votes at every election

We have never received a black mark

The UNP is striving to win a majority stake

The two parties joined together to rule the country and not to fight during elections

Our first attempt is to establish a Govt. answerable to Parliament

The UNP is striving to win a majority stake

Every party is faced with a problem of independent groups contesting in electorates

Q Its just a few days before the elections. Shall we start on that topic? What will happen at the elections, Mr Prime Minister?

Now the election heat is on. Casting of votes would be in the region of 50 to 60%. Even last time it was around 50%. The candidate who can muster the largest number of supporters to cast their votes would win. Judging from the present trend I can say that the UNP is ahead of all other parties. All signs indicate that we will secure more power.

Q Though you say this, there are many serious allegations levelled at the UNP presently. Do you think it will be easy?

Despite all these there is every possibility that we will gain power. This election is held under a new system. It is the first time an election is held under that system. During this election one needs to observe what the result would be under the Electoral and Preferential System. Every party is faced with a problem of independent groups contesting in electorates where the recognized parties nomination lists were rejected. The more you attempt to limit their influence, we gain.

Their votes would be split among the two groups. At the same time there will be votes that would not be cast for these two groups. There is a keen competition among these two groups. We arent hoping to receive these votes as a result of the split

Q Some observe that the split in the SLFP will favour the UNP. Are you also anticipating this?

Their votes would be split among the two groups. At the same time there will be votes that would not be cast for these two groups. There is a keen competition among these two groups. We arent hoping to receive these votes as a result of the split. The UNP is striving to win a majority stake.These two groups were together during the last election, but we obtained more votes. It is a temporary manifestation that the split in the SLFP is beneficial to the UNP. Our aim is to keep on increasing our votes at every election.

Q Despite you saying that the UNP is increasing its vote base at every election, some are expressing the view that with the Central Bank Bond Scam the Elephant has lost its balance and fallen flat.Your comments?

The alleged Central Bank Bond Scam has been discussed over the past two years. It is I who started the investigations regarding this allegation. I handed over the matter to the Parliament and when it was being probed, an opposition MP was appointed to head the COPE. When they issued their report it was sent to the Attorney General. They had recommended that a different machinery be set up to investigate into Perpetual Treasuries. When the President appointed a commission to look into this matter we agreed. I also gave evidence before the commission. We displayed transparency. The Attorney General informed that he is acting on the recommendations of the commission. Weve extended our fullest cooperation during investigations. We never made any unnecessary intervention in this matter. The Commission had noted that Perpetual Treasuries had earned an undue profits while a loss of Rs 600 million had been incurred. The total figure estimated by them is Rs 9 Billion. As a result of our actions, funds worth Rs 12 Billion in the account of Perpetual Treasuries have been retained. The loss could be recovered by taking action in keeping with the recommendations of the commission.

Q Despite what you say, it is apparent that it isnt easy to get rid of the black mark on the UNP. Your comments?

We have never received a black mark. During this issue we displayed transparency. If we did not act in that manner there would have been many more issues. Despite having power we didnt attempt to hush up the matter. You must well remember how the former government acted during similar situations. Was there transparency like now? The black mark you refer to is the creation of the media. The media is bent on attacking the UNP.

Q What were your reasons for appointing Arjuna Mahendran as the Governor of the Central Bank.

He was appointed as he satisfied the requirements for the post. But with the surfacing of this incident we took necessary action. These actions are now duly proceeding in a transparent manner. If any irregularities had taken place anywhere the whole country could now what happened. We will never allow room for fraud and corruption, nor support such activities.

Q Are you attempting to put the entire blame on Ravi Karunanayake? The Thilak Marapona Committee had recommended that Ravi Karunanayake be stripped of his position of Deputy Leader of the party.

There is no such thing. No UNP member is connected to the alleged Bond Scam and none of them are responsible. We accept the commission report. Former Minister Karunanayakes issue is connected with the evidence given by him before the Commission. The commission has recommended that a final decision has to be taken by the Attorney General, Commission to Investigate Bribery or Corruption. We await its decision. Injustice wont be caused to anyone. Everyone is equal before the law and necessary steps would be taken as required.

The highest amount of investments came in 2017. We received 1  Billion. We know how investors were treated during the Rajapaksa Government. The investors had to meet the President or a Minister to commence work. Now it is through the Board of Investments that they commence work

Q Even for President Maithripala Sirisena the best trump card on the election platforms had been the Bond Scam. Prior to January 08th 2015 you all were vociferous in slating the Rajapaksas as thieves, but now it appears that the talk on frauds committed by the Rajapaksas has been set aside. What has happened to the investigations now?

We have traced a number of acts of fraud committed during the Mahinda Rajapaksa era. The President speaks about them during election meetings. He also speaks about the Bond Scam. The issue is why the media always highlights what he says about the Bond Scam and not what he says about the Rajapaksas. Even the President asked me about this. I dont know why they do it. You should know better than me what the reasons are. The media isnt depicting the correct position. We wonder whether the media is attempting to portray that there is a big dispute between me and the President and also whether they are not taking the maximum out of the freedom given to them.

Q Do you infer that President Maithripala Sirisena, whom you and your group installed in office after making many sacrifices and fighting a severe battle, is not criticising the UNP? Or is it mere deception?

This is a common thing thats happening on election platforms. They criticize us and we criticize them. The two parties joined to rule the country and not to fight during elections. During an election we must safeguard the identity of our party. This happens in other countries as well. They come together to govern, but fight elections separately. Both parties believe in this type of strategy. This is no deception.

Q President Sirisena invited the Joint Opposition to join him in forming a SLFP Government and requested them to visit his house to have further discussions. If that happens how will it affect the UNP? Has the President had enough being with the UNP and governing the country?

This Government will remain as it is. Nothing will happen to it. We will wait and see whether the invited groups are coming. We may have to appoint them also as Ministers. There is no alternative. Anyway I read (In the newspaper) that Mahinda Rajapaksa isnt willing to come.

Q Minister Lakshman Kiriella had said that regardless of whether anyone wins or loses, allocations will be made only to those local bodies which are controlled by the UNP. Its the Prime Minister who allocates funds. Are things going to take place in the manner in which Kiriella has implied? If its so its going to be a questionable issue. Your response?

We have several projects. Funds are allocated accordingly. Some dont accept them. We will work with those who accept these allocations. If we secure power the allocation of funds would be done much easily. Other than this no one would be left out. Even provincial councils had been allocated money. If there are alternate good proposals, we could consider them as well.

Q Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa asks where the investors are as promised. He says that some investors have withdrawn from these projects according to information he has received.

The highest amount of investments came in 2017. We received 1  Billion. We know how investors were treated during the Rajapaksa Government. The investors had to meet the President or a Minister to commence work. Now it is through the Board of Investments that they commence work. None of us demand commissions. We never ask arriving investors to meet us first. This was the habit during the Rajapaksa Government.

Q There are many who are giving serious thought to what the future holds when the term of this Government concludes. There are many who are making forecasts. Mr. Prime Minister what will actually happen?

Were moving ahead to obtain majority power at the Parliamentary Elections. After that we will form a government by ourselves.

Q Are you going to come forward as a candidate at the next Presidential elections?

Our party, TNA and the JVP agreed before the Presidential Elections to abolish the Executive Presidency and work for a power sharing system without damaging the Unitary state concept. We are rooted firmly on that stand. Other parties arent taking the same stand. Those in the Pohottuwa hadnt intimated their standing on this matter, while the SLFP says they are against the abolition of the Executive Presidency. We hope to discuss further in this regard. Our first attempt is to establish a Government answerable to the Parliament and focus on what powers should be given to the President. We would agree in due course about the most suitable decision we should arrive at.

Q The opposition always claims that the manner in which you accepted the post of Premier was unacceptable and that you had no moral right to accept this post. Your comments?

In our Election Manifesto we mentioned that I would become the Prime Minister and the people voted for us knowing this well. During the presidential elections we wanted to dissolve Parliament. No one expected Maithripala Sirisena to appoint someone from the alliance as the Prime Minister after he assumed duties as president. That can never happen.

Q While President Sirisena keeps taking swipes at the UNP and blaming it on election platforms how is it that you continue to keep your balance and stay calm?

He says what he has to say and I say what I have to say.

Q Are the UNP backbenchers criticising the President with your knowledge?

We have told them not to engage in public criticism. Some are responding to matters raised by the President. We advise them not to criticise because though we have split during the elections this Government has to continue. We have admonished those who exceed the limits of criticism.

Q It was believed that the UNP has veterans in the field of Economics, but recently the President announced that Economic development during the past three years under the UNP has failed and therefore he intends taking it over.Your comments?

These comments werent aimed at frustrating us. Only the UNP has the capability to deal with economics. The Economy of the country has advanced. The president says that the progress is not sufficient. I too discussed this matter with him. We are ready to discuss this matter further at the National Economic Council. It is not an issue for us.

Q Those UNP party members who slave for the progress of the party say that they have been overlooked and it is only a dream for them to expect state employment.What do have to say to this?

We are continuing to assist everybody, but there are priorities. We are aware that we could not provide them all with jobs. There are jobs in the state sector and our aim is to increase the intake of labour by the private sector.

We are continuing to assist everybody, but there are priorities. We are aware that we could not provide them all with jobs. There are jobs in the state sector and our aim is to increase the intake of labour by the private sector

Q The artistes and civil society members who were in the forefront of setting up this Government are now frustrated about the regime because of your lacklustre attitude towards arts and culture.

There were a large number of Artistes and those involved in cultural activities. They wanted a free country. We have given it. We have directed our attention to all cultural activities. The understanding we built up with them is still there. The activities centred around the Culture Hub based in Colombo are continuing and we are now in search of allocations. By this no Sri Lankan cultural activity will be threatened. We continue to support our traditional cultural activities. In other countries these activities are highly patronized by the private sector.

Q Are you content with the attention given by you to the education and health sectors?

There are many changes envisaged in the field of education. Earlier most of it was highly politicized. Now there are ministers who are well informed and keen on bringing new proposals. It will take about three to four years to realize the fruits of these projects.

Q People believe that the UNP doesnt gain publicity despite what it is doing. Your response?

We have that defect and we accept it. The individual Ministries should take the responsibility. Our attention has been drawn towards this and action is been taken to rectify it.

Q Do you browse the Face Book and other Social Media?

Yes when ever time permits. I remain in the correct position in every situation. There is no offence in dancing a bit during a party!

Q What are your future ambitions as the Leader of the UNP ?

Before we think of the future we should deal with the present situation. Its now only that the second generation of leaders is being formed. They will secure more responsibility in the party in due course. A capable person would emerge as the leader. Patience and experience are necessary leadership qualities.

Q Are you frustrated about the fact that you were Prime Minister on four occasions, but never the President?

No nothing of that sort. Every time I became Prime Minister I have performed well.

Courtesy

Sunday Lankadeepa
Sri Lankan media has found in its new found freedom under yahapalanaya an open cheque to attack wherever

and whoever they wish with almost absolute impunity

Politics, elections and the media are necessarily entwined in any democracy. This intertwine has witnessed new dimensions altogether with persons who would otherwise have not got through more than a few words earlier, now having the luxury of taking in all that is churned out on media.

The Media, politics and elections alignment is particularly striking in Sri Lanka where a multitude of media fiercely compete with each other to give priority to politics at the expense of news. In addition the social media engages in political escapades of its own with blatant disregard for norms of media conduct.

Interestingly, in Sri Lanka the media, which was docile in general and even servile in certain instances during the previous regime, has found in its new found freedom under yahapalanaya an open cheque to attack wherever and whoever they wish with almost absolute impunity. Never in the contemporary history of Sri Lanka has a newly elected Government been at the receiving end of so much flak from the media; never was there a shorter honeymoon between media and a Government! Of course one may argue that with the honeymoon between the principal parties to the Government going sour early into its marriage, it is the Government that has made itself easy prey to a predator media.

Never in the contemporary history of Sri Lanka has a newly elected Government been at the receiving end of so much flak from the media

Regardless of the truth the fact is that the leading party in the Government has no real friend in the media

Prime Minister must in fact hold an honoured place in the media history of contemporary Sri Lanka

Regardless of the truth the fact is that the leading party in the Government has no real friend in the media today, save the state players. It would be idealistic to believe that our media is living up to the high expectations of the public. To this they have to keep the Government on its toes, and hopefully this is correct.

In this background and in the run up to the forthcoming Local Polls next month, with many touting it as a referendum in relation to 3 years of Yahapalanaya, it is not strange that all media are riding the political waves to reach out to the public in an unparalleled manner which at times however, raises questions regarding agendas of some.

However, when sections of media target democratically elected political leaders in attempts to remove them from the national political landscape, does it not give rise to concerns among a politically vigilant public?

It is no doubt an established fact that media institutions the world over have agendas of their own though with varying degrees of enthusiasm in prosecuting such agendas. However, when sections of media target democratically elected political leaders in attempts to remove them from the national political landscape, does it not give rise to concerns among a politically vigilant public? It was under the leadership of this Prime Minister that the offence of Criminal Defamation, a dreaded weapon against the media in the armoury of a Government was removed from the Sri Lankan statute Book (2002). He has also played a pivotal role in ensuring the media freedom that prevails in Sri Lanka today. The Prime Minister must in fact hold an honoured place in the media history of contemporary Sri Lanka. This is not to say that such honour should confer on the PM any form of immunity from criticism or place him on an elevated pedestal for soft glove treatment - CERTAINLY NO. To extend however, soft glove treatment to those who blatantly suppressed the rights and freedom of the media in ghastly fashion at times and instead, target and an elected political leader who respects the right to freedom of expression, is reprehensible.

Could such conduct on the part of certain media institutions give credence to an age old adage, The more you kick the more they lick? If that be so, is this conduct not an invitation by the media to be kicked?

In discussing this state of affairs with a legal personality, the attention of the writer was drawn to a judgment of our Court of Appeal in 2000, ironically in relation to an Election Petition.

In the case of Gunasinghe Banda Vs Nawinna & others reported in SLR 2000 Volume 3, the learned Judge has stated inter alia as follows regarding legal action based on media reports If one is to base legal action on news items appearing in newspapers no one will be safe in this country.

The present day print and electronic media make very serious allegations or statements bordering on defamation against persons in every strata of society including religious leaders and judges

Present day media are hell-bent only on exposures rather than keeping the nation informed of the news.

The truth or otherwise of news items depends on the integrity, impartiality, consistency and credibility of a journalist.

The present day print and electronic media make very serious allegations or statements bordering on defamation against persons in every strata of society including religious leaders and judges to demean such persons standing in society These words echo the views and concerns of a discerning public. It is time for the Media to turn the search on itself if it is to retain credibility.
Posted 2/6/18

Dallas County lends itself to a diverse combination of hunting and fishing opportunities.

The county has approximately 82 miles of the Niangua River, as well as smaller creeks and streams such as 
Posted 2/6/18

Nestled in a narrow valley in the Missouri Ozarks, Bennett Spring State Park offers fishing, camping, hiking, canoeing and other outdoors activities for the whole family.

A short drive from 
Posted 2/7/18

The Dallas County R-1 School District consists of Buffalo High School, Buffalo Prairie Middle School and D.A. Mallory Elementary School, all in Buffalo, and Dallas County Technical Center in 
Posted 2/7/18

Dallas Countians have a long tradition of being generous when it comes to medical causes and helping those in need.

Two food pantries serve Dallas County for those who are in need. The Dallas 
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Hickory County R-1 Schools, locally known as Skyline, are located just across the county line, and 40 percent of the students are from Dallas County. Dallas County students from Urbana and some from 
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. DAVID CORSON, Petitioner - Appellant, v. STATE OF COLORADO; COLORADO ATTORNEY GENERAL, Respondents - Appellees. No. 17-1204 Decided: February 06, 2018

Before PHILLIPS, McKAY, and McHUGH, Circuit Judges.

ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY *

Petitioner David Corson seeks a certificate of appealability to appeal the district court's dismissal of his 28 U.S.C.  2254 petition as time-barred.

Petitioner pled guilty in Colorado state court to the crime of sexual assault on a child. He was sentenced to probation for ten years to life. He successfully challenged his plea and conviction on the ground that the state had withheld information it had about the juvenile adjudication of his accuser (K.B.) for falsely reporting sexual assault in a prior unrelated case, arguing that this rendered his guilty plea involuntary. The state then appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court, which overturned the appellate court's decision.

After various proceedings, including a four-day evidentiary hearing, the state post-conviction court determined that Petitioner, in fact, already knew about the false reporting before he pled guilty. This finding is presumed correct. 28 U.S.C.  2254(e)(1) (In a [ 2254 proceeding], a determination of a factual issue made by a State court shall be presumed to be correct. The applicant shall have the burden of rebutting the presumption of correctness by clear and convincing evidence.); see also Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 340 (2003). Petitioner has not presented any clear and convincing evidence that this finding was incorrect.

After exhausting his state court remedies, Petitioner filed a federal habeas corpus application claiming that the state violated his right to due process of law under the Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution by concealing exculpatory information in order to coerce a plea. Under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (AEDPA), a habeas applicant has a one-year limitation period in which to file a  2254 action, which is triggered by one or more of the subsections under 28 U.S.C.  2244(d)(1). The question at issue here is whether the AEDPA time clock started pursuant to subsection (A), in which case Petitioner's habeas application was time barred, or whether the limitations period began pursuant to subsections (B) or (D), in which case Petitioner's application was timely.

Respondents argue that the habeas action was untimely under subsection (A), which sets a one-year time limit beginning on the date the judgment became final. Here, the judgment became final on November 10, 2003, which was Petitioner's last day to file a direct appeal. Petitioner's one-year habeas clock expired on November 11, 2004, but Petitioner did not file this application until December 20, 2016. Under subsection (A), the action was untimely.

Petitioner, in turn, argues that the time limit to file should be governed by subsections (B) and (D), which provide that the one-year clock starts on:

(B) the date on which the impediment to filing an application created by State action in violation of the Constitution or laws of the United States is removed, if the applicant was prevented from filing by such State action; [or]

(D) the date on which the factual predicate of the claim or claims presented could have been discovered through the exercise of due diligence.

28 U.S.C.  2244(d)(1)(B), (D). As the trial court summarized: Petitioner argues that under subsections (B) and (D), the limitation period began to run on May 3, 2007, when he first learned of K.B.'s false-reporting adjudication. If the time clock began to run on May 3, 2007, it was tolled on that same day because there was a properly filed post-conviction Crim. P. 35(c) motion pending. See 28 U.S.C.  2244(d)(2) (The time during which a properly filed application for State post-conviction or other collateral review with respect to the pertinent judgment or claim is pending shall not be counted toward any period of limitation under this subsection.). According to Petitioner, the AEDPA time clock was tolled until the Colorado Supreme Court issued its opinion on the post-conviction motion on May 16, 2016. Therefore, the time clock started running again on May 17, 2016, and ran for 217 days, until December 20, 2016, when Petitioner filed the instant habeas application. Under such a calculation, the habeas application was timely filed.

The unconstitutional state-created impediment referenced in [subsection (B) ] relates to an impediment that prevents the filing of a federal court action. Campbell v. Milyard, 2009 WL 1916273, at *4 (D. Colo. June 30, 2009). In this case, Petitioner argues that the state-created impediment was the prosecution lying to the Court and to the defense by withholding exculpatory and impeachment evidence, and representing that all such evidence had been turned over[.] This was in direct violation of my constitutional rights. (Appellant's App. at 237.) The state court's finding that Petitioner, in fact, knew of the evidence before he pled guilty makes this section inapplicable. See, e.g., Irons v. Estep, 291 F. App'x 136, 138 (10th Cir. 2008) (internal citation omitted).

The same is true for subsection (D). Because Petitioner had knowledge of K.B.'s juvenile adjudication prior to pleading guilty, there was no new evidence discovered and subsection (D) does not apply. See, e.g., Jackson v. Symmes, 2008 WL 1733122, at *3-4 (D. Minn. Apr. 10, 2008). Petitioner did not discover facts he already knew.

Petitioner's contention that he is entitled to equitable tolling is similarly unavailing. Petitioner fails to allege any facts in the application or the reply that might justify equitable tolling of the one-year limitation period with respect to his claims. Petitioner has not demonstrated that he pursued his claims diligently or that some extraordinary circumstances stood in his way preventing him from doing so. See Holland v. Florida, 560 U.S. 631, 649 (2010). He also fails to demonstrate a claim of actual innocence. The instant action, therefore, is barred by the one-year limitation period under subsection (A).

After thoroughly reviewing Petitioner's brief and the record on appeal, we conclude that reasonable jurists would not debate the correctness of the district court's procedural ruling. See Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 478 (2000). We therefore DENY Petitioner's request for a certificate of appealability and DISMISS the appeal. We GRANT Petitioner's motion to proceed in forma pauperis.

Entered for the Court

FOOTNOTES

. This order is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.

. It is undisputed that subsection (C) does not apply in this case.

Monroe G. McKay Circuit Judge
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. UNITED STATES of America, PlaintiffAppellee, v. Joseph Wayne LYNCH, II, DefendantAppellant. No. 16-1242 Decided: February 05, 2018

Before KELLY, McKAY, and McHUGH, Circuit Judges. Lynn C. Hartfield, Law Office of Lynn C. Hartfield, LLC, Denver, Colorado, for DefendantAppellant. Jason St. Julien, Assistant United States Attorney (Robert C. Troyer, Acting United States Attorney, with him on the brief), Office of the United States Attorney, Denver, Colorado, for PlaintiffAppellee.

A jury found Defendant Joseph Wayne Lynch II guilty of violating 49 U.S.C.  46504, which prohibits the in-flight assault or intimidation of a flight crew member or flight attendant that interferes with his or her duties. He received a sentence of four months, followed by a three-year term of supervised release. On appeal, Defendant challenges the district court's interpretation of the statute, the constitutionality of the statute, and the length of his sentence.

I.

The conduct at issue occurred in 2015 when Defendant was a first-class passenger on a flight from Philadelphia to Denver. Defendant, who had consumed at least six beers prior to boarding, began behaving in a loud, unruly manner. He repeatedly placed his hands on first-class flight attendant Kimberly Ander's lower back as she was serving him beverages, which made her feel very uncomfortable, and she tried to move out of his reach each time. (Appellant's App. Vol. IV at 181.) Later in the flight, Defendant hugged [Attendant Ander] and kissed [her] on the neck on his way back from the bathroom, causing her to push him away and ask him not to do that. (Id. at 18182, 184.) Even after Attendant Ander verbally asked Defendant not to place his hand on her lower back, he continued to do so. She testified that this unwanted touching emotionally impacted her ability to do her duties.

Defendant's behavior led Attendant Ander to refuse to serve him a third in-flight drink, at which point he became irate, started yelling at her, stood up from his seat, and shouted profanities such as f* * * this airline. (Id. at 18485.) Fearful that the situation was going to go over the edge and become physical or violent at any moment, Attendant Ander called one of the other flight attendants to come help her in first-class. (Id. at 18485, 194.) She also prepared a rubber ice mallet, handcuffs, and a pot of hot coffee to use in case Defendant became violent. Main cabin flight attendant Carolyn Scott then came to assist Attendant Ander in attempting to calm Defendant, leaving the third flight attendant in charge of the remaining 138 main cabin passengers, including an unaccompanied minor who had been in Attendant Scott's care. Attendant Scott asked Defendant to calm down, at which point he repeatedly yelled, F* * * you, c* * *. (Id. at 230.) Defendant also shouted let's go at Attendant Scott and threatened to take this airline down through a lawsuit and negative social media. (Id. at 186.)

The attendants stayed in communication with the flight crew throughout Defendant's tirade, which the pilots could hear over the ambient noise of the slipstream and engine, even with their headphones on. As Defendant's behavior escalated, the captain gave the radios to his co-pilot so he could call ahead to dispatch and apprise them of the situationan action that [took] one half of the safety margin away since the co-pilot had to fly the plane, man the radios, and receive weather updates without assistance during that period. (Id. at 29394.) Defendant's volatile behavior lasted for roughly the last hour and a half of the flight. Attendant Scott testified that she never returned to the main cabin to help the third attendant with the main cabin duties because she was afraid to leave Attendant Ander alone with Defendant in first class. Likewise, because of Defendant's behavior, Attendant Ander was not able to perform all her duties as the lead flight attendant.

Defendant was arrested upon landing. While in custody, he continued his vulgar exclamations and verbal attacks on the authorities. Defendant was prosecuted for violation of 49 U.S.C.  46504 and found guilty after a jury trial. The district court denied Defendant's request for reduced sentencing based on acceptance of responsibility. Defendant now appeals.

II.

Defendant contends that the district court erred in finding that 49 U.S.C.  46504 does not require specific intent, and in instructing the jury to that effect. Issues of statutory interpretation are reviewed de novo, United States v. Jackson, 248 F.3d 1028, 102930 (10th Cir. 2001), as are questions as to whether jury instructions correctly stated the law, United States v. Sharp, 749 F.3d 1267, 1280 (10th Cir. 2014).

In determining whether  46504 is a general or specific intent statute, we look first to the plain language of the statute. See, e.g., United States v. SaenzGomez, 472 F.3d 791, 79394 (10th Cir. 2007); United States v. Morgan, 922 F.2d 1495, 1496 (10th Cir. 1991). If the statutory language is clear, our analysis ordinarily ends. Jackson, 248 F.3d at 1030. In relevant part,  46504 provides:

An individual on an aircraft in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States who, by assaulting or intimidating a flight crew member or flight attendant of the aircraft, interferes with the performance of the duties of the member or attendant or lessens the ability of the member or attendant to perform those duties, or attempts or conspires to do such an act, shall be fined under title 18, imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or both.

49 U.S.C.  46504. For general intent crimes, the act need only be done voluntarily and intentionally, and not because of mistake or accident. United States v. Blair, 54 F.3d 639, 642 (10th Cir. 1995) (internal quotation marks omitted). In contrast, specific intent crimes require that a defendant act not only with knowledge of what he is doing, but [also] with the objective of completing some unlawful act. Id. Here, nothing in  46504 describes a specific mens rea. Where specific intent is not required, criminal statutes are usually read to require only that a defendant know the facts that make his conduct illegal. Jackson, 248 F.3d at 1030. It appears from the plain-language analysis that the district court correctly characterized  46504 as a general intent statute.

Reading  46504 as a general intent statute is consistent with previous interpretations of this law throughout our sister circuits and among our district courts. See, e.g., United States v. Persing, 318 F.Appx. 152, 154 (4th Cir. 2008) ([Section] 46504 does not require specific intent.); United States v. Grossman, 131 F.3d 1449, 1452 (11th Cir. 1997) (Section 46504 defines a general intent crime); United States v. Compton, 5 F.3d 358, 360 (9th Cir. 1993) ([Section 46504's predecessor statute ] does not require a specific intent.); United States v. Hicks, 980 F.2d 963, 974 (5th Cir. 1992) (General intent is all that Congress required, as is evident from  Congress' failure to use a term such as willfully, intentionally, or knowingly. ); United States v. Meeker, 527 F.2d 12, 14 (9th Cir. 1975); United States v. Murphy, 556 F.Supp.2d 1232, 123536 (D. Colo. 2008). Moreover, a general intent interpretation of  46504 best achieves the statute's legislative purpose of protecting air-travel safety. As the Ninth Circuit explained with respect to  46504's predecessor statute:

[T]he goal which Congress sought in this provision of the statute was to deter the commission of crimes which, if committed on the terrain below, might be considered relatively minor, but when perpetrated on an aircraft in flight would endanger the lives of many. The primary danger to be averted is not the formation of a specific intent to interfere with aircraft operations but the criminal act of an assault [or] intimidation  upon airline personnel during flight. We therefore construe [ 46504's predecessor statute] as a general intent crime, in harmony with the statutory purpose of safeguarding flight personnel from any statutorily described acts which would interfere with their efficient functioning.

Meeker, 527 F.2d at 14 (internal citations omitted). Defendant argues, however, that this legislative history and the prior decisions interpreting  46504 as a general intent statute are no longer relevant after Elonis v. United States,  U.S. , 135 S.Ct. 2001, 192 L.Ed.2d 1 (2015). Elonis concerned a challenge to a jury instruction explaining the elements of 18 U.S.C.  875(c), which prohibits transmitting in interstate commerce any communication containing any threat  to injure the person of another. Id. at 2004. Defendant reads Elonis as requiring specific intent before a defendant's words can be construed as a criminally actionable threat under  46504.

In rejecting this exact argument, the Fifth Circuit explained, [t]he mental state required [under  875(c) ] is not in the crime here. United States v. Ziba, 653 F.Appx. 809, 810 (5th Cir. 2016). We share this view. To the extent that Elonis addresses criminal statutory interpretation beyond  875(c), it merely reiterates existing precedent that we read into the statute only that mens rea which is necessary to separate wrongful conduct from otherwise innocent conduct. Elonis, 135 S.Ct. at 2010 (internal quotation marks omitted). A general intent reading of  46504, which still requires that a defendant's conduct be voluntary and deliberate, readily satisfies Elonis' mens rea standard.

Defendant attempts to distinguish his arguments from those considered in previous cases by focusing on the mens rea requirements of the assault or intimidation elements of  46504. He asserts that previous cases that focused solely on the interference with flight crew as a stand-alone element (e.g., Persing, Grossman)  do not answer the questions posed here. (Appellant's Br. at 20.) As the district court's jury instruction correctly explained, assault has two commonly recognized legal meanings: (1) when a person intentionally threatens to hurt someone else and has the apparent ability to do so, and (2) when a person commits a voluntary, deliberate act which constitutes an offensive touching. (Appellant's App. Vol. IV at 455.) This second type of assault, or common law battery, does not require specific intentonly that the touching is unwanted by the person touched and offensive to persons of ordinary sensibilities. Id.; see, e.g, United States v. Mason,  Fed.Appx. , , 2017 WL 4479371, at *56 (10th Cir. Oct. 5, 2017) (holding that common law battery can be accomplished by the slightest offensive touching). Defendant acknowledges that the [district] court was correct with respect to the interference with flight crew duties by assault formulation of the offense, but then argues that the same statutory interpretation does not apply to intimidation because it is not a stand-alone offense. (Appellant's Br. at 18.)

Defendant's reading of the statute asks too much. Nothing in the plain language of the statute implies that an additional specific intent mens rea should be read into the intimidation element. Indeed, doing so would create a cumbersome interpretation of the statute in which a different mens rea applied to separate means of committing the same crime without any textual support that Congress intended such a division. We are loath to read a mens rea requirement into the statute that could potentially undermine Congress's regulatory purpose of promoting airline safety. See Hicks, 980 F.2d at 971 (Assuring the utmost in airline safety is the clear purpose behind [ 46504's predecessor statute].). Flight attendants and crew are trained on how to handle unpleasant passengers and deescalate tensions. If a passenger's behavior is intimidating enough to prevent an attendant or crew member from fully performing his or her duties as usual, this moves beyond normal aircraft protocol and undermines the safety of everyone on the aircraft. The offending passenger should not be able to avoid culpability for this dangerous behavior by simply arguing that he or she did not intend to intimidate the flight crew or attendants. Yet, a specific intent reading of the intimidation element would do just that. For the reasons discussed, we conclude that  46504 is a general intent statute, as the district court's jury instructions properly explained.

Defendant also argues that  46504 is unconstitutionally overbroad, both facially and as applied, because it punishes a substantial amount of protected free speech. Challenges to the constitutionality of a statute are reviewed de novo. United States v. Brune, 767 F.3d 1009, 1015 (10th Cir. 2014). The court begins its review with the presumption that the statute is constitutional. Id. at 1023.

Defendant asserts that  46504 is facially overbroad because it focuses on speech or conduct that causes a person of ordinary sensibilities to fear bodily harm or alter his or her duties. Because conflicts frequently arise between airline customers and flight attendants, Defendant contends that this could give rise to arbitrary prosecution under the statute for nothing more than voicing a complaint, which is protected speech. With respect to his as-applied challenge, Defendant maintains that all of the things he said during the flight (e.g., demanding more alcohol, calling the flight attendants foul names, threatening to take down the airline with negative publicity) were protected speech under the First Amendment. He acknowledges that his speech was offensive, but argues that it did not provoke immediate violence or communicate a serious threat of harm.

Section 46504 prohibits assault or intimidation of a flight crew member that interferes with that person's duties on an airplane during flight. In doing so, the statute sets out a content-neutral prohibition on conduct in a specific time, place, and manner. Content-neutral restrictions are constitutional if they are narrowly tailored to serve a significant governmental interest and leave open ample channels for communicating. See, e.g., Ward v. Rock Against Racism, 491 U.S. 781, 791, 109 S.Ct. 2746, 105 L.Ed.2d 661 (1989). Here, the statute serves the significant governmental interest of prohibiting conduct that could otherwise present a significant threat to public safety for airline passengers and employees. See Hicks, 980 F.2d at 97172; Meeker, 527 F.2d at 14. Moreover, nothing in the statute prohibits profanity or any other content, per se. See Hicks, 980 F.2d at 970 (Rather than discriminating against protected profanity or vulgarity, the statute reasonably regulates the time, place, and manner of speech, irrespective of its particular content.). Section 46504 is not facially overbroad.

Likewise, there is no constitutional problem with the statute's application to Defendant's case. His conduct falls squarely in the type of behavior prohibited under the statute. Screaming in flight attendants' faces, shouting vile insults at them, and refusing to calm down all combined to intimidate the flight attendants to a degree that interfered with the performance of their duties. Moreover, his repeated offensive touching of Attendant Ander caused her extreme discomfort and emotionally interfered with her ability to do her duties.

Defendant also argues that  46504 is unconstitutionally vague because it does not adequately inform a passenger what constitutes criminal behavior. Challenges to a statute for being unconstitutionally vague are reviewed de novo. United States v. Wenger, 427 F.3d 840, 851 (10th Cir. 2005).

Defendant asserts that there is no clear line between impolite conduct and criminal conduct because the district court's reading of the statute turns on whether the flight crew member or attendant feels threatened and changes his or her behavior as a result. With respect to his own conduct, Mr. Lynch argues that [i]n a case such as this, where a touching is slight, involving merely touch[ing] a flight attendant, or even kiss[ing] her without her consent, it is difficult for an ordinary person to tell whether he ha[d] just committed a felony. (Appellant's Br. at 3840.) He further suggests that the only interference with the flight attendant duties this conduct may have caused was that someone in row 16 has to wait five minutes before getting a soda refill. Id. Lastly, Mr. Lynch disputes the district court's assertion that it could only find the statute to be unconstitutionally vague if it were vague in all of its applications and that the vagueness challenge must be rejected if some improper conduct clearly fell within the scope of the statute, as was the case here. Mr. Lynch argues that this holding was incorrect under the Supreme Court's reasoning in Johnson v. United States,  U.S. , 135 S.Ct. 2551, 256061, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015) (citations omitted).

In Johnson, the Supreme Court rejected as mere tautology the view that in order for a statute to be vague, it [must be] vague in all its applications. Id. at 2561. Thus, we undertake a full vagueness analysis.

To withstand a vagueness challenge, a penal statute must define the criminal offense with sufficient definiteness that ordinary people can understand what conduct is prohibited and in a manner that does not encourage arbitrary or discriminatory enforcement. United States v. Orona, 724 F.3d 1297, 1310 (10th Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted). Section 46504 readily satisfies this standard. A person of ordinary intelligence could read it and know what type of conduct is prohibited (assault or intimidation of flight crew or attendants), where it is prohibited (on a plane, in-flight), and what result the statute is intended to prevent (reduction in aircraft safety). The statute also makes clear when this law would be enforced: if an in-flight act of assault or intimidation against flight crew members or attendants interferes with or lessens the ability of the crew to perform their duties.

Looking at the particular circumstances of this case, a person of ordinary intelligence could foresee that repeatedly touching a flight attendant on her lower back, hugging her and kissing her neck without her permission, screaming profanities in her face, threatening economic harm to the airline, and refusing to calm down are actions which could inhibit the performance of an attendant's duties. United States v. Tabacca, 924 F.2d 906, 913 (9th Cir. 1991).

Finally, the statute is narrowly tailored to serve a substantial government interest and does not cast a sweeping net at amorphous categories of speech or reach a substantial amount of constitutionally protected speech. Hicks, 980 F.2d at 972. For all these reasons, we conclude that  46504 is not unconstitutionally vague.

Lastly, Defendant claims that the district court erred in not adjusting his sentencing level on the basis of acceptance of responsibility. Denials of a sentencing adjustment for acceptance of responsibility are reviewed for clear error and are entitled to great deference. United States v. Sarracino, 340 F.3d 1148, 117374 (10th Cir. 2003).

The Sentencing Guidelines allow for a two-level decrease in the offense level [i]f the defendant clearly demonstrates acceptance of responsibility for his offense. U.S.S.G.  3E1.1(a). Relying on United States v. Gauvin, Defendant maintains that he meets the acceptance-of-responsibility requirements because he did not contest the facts of his conviction, only the legal issue of whether these actions violated the statute. 173 F.3d 798, 806 (10th Cir. 1999). Defendant insists that the district court's error was not harmless because the bottom end of the lower sentencing level would have allowed for less prison time than he received.

After reviewing the district court's sentencing decision, we find no evidence of error. Defendant did not clearly demonstrate acceptance of responsibility because he disputed several factual contentions at trialarguing, for instance, that his touching of Attendant Ander was meant only to get her attention and, later, as a conciliatory gesture. (Appellant's Br. at 8); (contra Appellant's App. Vol. IV at 18182 (Attendant Ander testifying that Defendant's hand on her back wasn't just like trying to get my attention.) ); see also U.S.S.G.  3E1.1(a) cmt. n.1(A) ([A] defendant who falsely denies, or frivolously contests, relevant conduct that the court determines to be true has acted in a manner inconsistent with acceptance of responsibility.). As the district court explained, [Defendant] presented a defense that was not an acceptance of responsibility. It was, in essence, This stuff is just [a] loud, drunk guy, and It is not intimidation, and it is not assault. In other words, He is not guilty  (Appellant's App. Vol. IV at 486.)

The district court also correctly considered Defendant's pre-trial conduct, which included continued profanity, screaming, and aggression toward the arresting officers who met him at the gate once the plane landed. (Appellant's App. Vol. II at 43); see also U.S.S.G.  3E1.1(a) cmt. n.2 ([A] determination that a defendant has accepted responsibility will be based primarily upon pre-trial statements and conduct.). This was not the behavior of a person who had accepted responsibility for his actions.

Finally, Defendant's reliance on Gauvin is unpersuasive. As discussed above, unlike the defendant in Gauvin, Defendant has not admitted to all the conduct with which he was charged. 173 F.3d at 806. It should also be noted that in our decision to uphold the acceptance of responsibility reduction in Gauvin, we merely accorded the district court the requisite deference and did not indicate that other sentencing courts would be obliged to reach the same conclusion on similar facts. United States v. McGehee, 672 F.3d 860, 877 (10th Cir. 2012). Thus, in light of the operative deferential standard of review, Gauvin's outcome does not dictate the appropriate resolution here  even if the facts were similar. United States v. Herriman, 739 F.3d 1250, 1257 (10th Cir. 2014) (emphasis omitted). Instead, we must look to the general legal principles animating Sentencing Guideline  3E1.1, as the district court properly did. Ultimately, this is not the rare situation[ ] in which a defendant has clearly demonstrate[d] an acceptance of responsibility for his criminal conduct even though he exercises his constitutional right to a trial. U.S.S.G.  3E1.1(a) cmt. n.2. For this reason, we defer to the district court's sentencing decision.

III.

For the foregoing reasons, we AFFIRM Defendant's conviction and sentence.

FOOTNOTES

. Cases decided prior to 1994 address  46504's predecessor statute, 49 U.S.C.  1472(j), which prohibited assaulting, intimidating, or threatening any crew member or flight attendant so as to interfere with the performance by such member or attendant of his duties or lessen the ability of such member or attendant to perform his duties. As the Eleventh Circuit noted, [t]here is no indication of any congressional intent to change the meaning of the statutory language [from  1472(j) to  46504] as it relates to th[e] issue [of intent]. Grossman, 131 F.3d at 145152; see also H.R. Rep. No. 103180, at 5 (1993) ([T]his bill makes no substantive change in the law.).

McKAY, Circuit Judge.
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. LAMAR ATU BLACKWELL, Petitioner - Appellant, v. MATTHEW HANSEN; THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF COLORADO, Respondents - Appellees. No. 17-1266 Decided: February 05, 2018

Before BALDOCK, KELLY, and O'BRIEN, Circuit Judges.

ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY *

Lamar Atu Blackwell seeks a certificate of appealability (COA) allowing him to appeal the district court's order denying habeas relief. But Blackwell has not shown reasonable jurists could debate the district court's ruling, so we deny a COA and dismiss his appeal.

I. Background

After leaving a nightclub, Blackwell and fellow gang member C.W. followed a rival gang member to his car and shot him several times at close range. The two fled in Blackwell's car and soon found themselves in a high-speed chase that ended with Blackwell crashing into a police car. A Colorado jury convicted Blackwell of first degree murder and vehicular eluding. The trial court convicted him of two habitual criminal counts and sentenced Blackwell to life in prison plus 18 years.

The Colorado Court of Appeals (CCA) affirmed Blackwell's convictions on direct appeal, and both the Colorado Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court denied certiorari. Blackwell then sought postconviction relief, but the trial court denied his motion, the CCA affirmed, and the Colorado Supreme Court denied certiorari. This led Blackwell to federal court, where he petitioned for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C.  2254. The district court denied relief and Blackwell timely appealed.

II. Relevant Law

To appeal the district court's order denying habeas relief, Blackwell must first obtain a COA. 28 U.S.C.  2253(c)(1)(A). This requires him to make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.  2253(c)(2). Because the district court rejected Blackwell's claims on the merits, he must show reasonable jurists would find the district court's assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or wrong. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000).

The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA) required the district court to deny habeas relief unless Blackwell showed the CCA's decision (1) was contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law, as determined by the Supreme Court of the United States; or (2) was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding.  2254(d).

III. Analysis

Blackwell requests a COA on three claims: (1) the prosecutor violated due process by interfering with a defense witness' decision whether to testify; (2) his trial attorneys were ineffective because they failed to adequately investigate certain witnesses; and (3) the state court violated due process by denying his motion for postconviction relief based on newly discovered evidence without a hearing. Because reasonable jurists could not debate the district court's assessment of these claims, we deny a COA and dismiss this appeal.

A. Interference With Defense Witness

Blackwell subpoenaed J.N. to testify about an alleged confession C.W. made while he and J.N. were cellmates. J.N. told police C.W. confessed to killing the victim and said he blamed a codefendant (presumably Blackwell) in exchange for a plea bargain. But J.N. was reluctant to testify. He told Blackwell's attorney he would not testify and told the prosecutor he planned to invoke his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.

There were reasons to question J.N.'s account. J.N. sought leniency in his own cases and his description of C.W.'s statements contained several inaccuracies. At the prosecutor's suggestion, the trial court appointed independent counsel to represent J.N. Outside J.N.'s presence, the prosecutor told J.N.'s counsel that, in his opinion, J.N. had a legitimate Fifth Amendment privilege because he had lied to detectives and could be charged with perjury or false reporting if he testified. People v. Blackwell, 251 P.3d 468, 472, 473 (Colo. Ct. App. 2010). J.N.'s attorney agreed and advised J.N. not to testify. When Blackwell called J.N. as a witness, he invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify. Id.

The CCA rejected Blackwell's argument that the prosecutor violated due process. It reasoned that (1) the prosecutor merely advised J.N.'s counsel that he could be prosecuted for perjury, which was not per se improper; (2) there was no indication the prosecutor raised the issue at an inappropriate time, used inappropriate language, or attempted to badger J.N. into refusing to testify; (3) the prosecutor acted properly by requesting that the court appoint independent counsel to advise J.N.; (4) J.N.'s attorney believed J.N. had a legitimate basis for invoking his Fifth Amendment privilege and advised his client not to testify; (5) the prosecutor did not warn J.N. about criminal charges before he had counsel and then only warned counsel outside J.N.'s presence; (6) J.N. had repeatedly indicated that he would invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege before the prosecutor warned him about potential criminal liability; (7) the inaccuracies in J.N.'s statement and his attempt to procure leniency in his pending felony cases furnished the prosecutor with a legitimate basis for believing that he had fabricated the alleged confession; and (8) the totality of the circumstances indicate[d] that J.N. was not coerced into refusing to testify. Id. at 473-74.

Blackwell suggests the CCA unreasonably applied the Supreme Court's decision in Webb v. Texas, 409 U.S. 95 (1972). In that case, a trial judge gave the defendant's only witness a lengthy admonition on the dangers of perjury. Webb, 409 U.S. at 97. [T]he judge implied that he expected [the witness] to lie, and went on to assure him that if he lied, he would be prosecuted and probably convicted for perjury, that the sentence for that conviction would be added on to his present sentence, and that the result would be to impair his chances for parole. Id. The witness, who had been willing to testify in the petitioner's behalf, refus[ed] to do so only after the judge's lengthy and intimidating warning. Id. The Supreme Court concluded the judge's threatening remarks  effectively drove th[e] witness off the stand, and thus deprived the petitioner of due process of law under the Fourteenth Amendment. Id. at 98.

The district court concluded Webb did not provide clearly established law governing a prosecutor's (as opposed to a judge's) interference with a defense witness' decision whether to testify. But even if it did, the district court concluded the CCA reasonably applied Webb.

To satisfy  2254(d)(1)'s unreasonable application clause, Blackwell must show the CCA's application of Supreme Court precedent was objectively unreasonable. Virginia v. LeBlanc, 137 S. Ct. 1726, 1728 (2017). This requires showing the [CCA's] ruling was so lacking in justification that there was an error well understood and comprehended in existing law beyond any possibility for fairminded disagreement. Id. (ellipsis and internal quotation marks omitted).

This case is easily distinguishable from Webb. The prosecutor's statement to J.N.'s attorneyoutside J.N.'s presencethat he believed J.N. had a legitimate Fifth Amendment privilege bears little resemblance to the judge's threatening comments in Webb. And unlike the witness in Webb, J.N. repeatedly expressed his intent not to testify before the prosecutor's conversation with his attorney. For these reasons, reasonable jurists could not debate the district court's conclusion that the CCA reasonably applied the Supreme Court's holding in Webb. We therefore deny a COA on this claim.

B. Ineffective Assistance

Blackwell claims his trial attorneys were ineffective because they failed to adequately investigate certain witnesses. To prevail on an ineffective assistance claim, a petitioner must show his attorneys' performance was deficient and he was prejudiced as a result. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). To be constitutionally deficient, an attorney's performance must be objectively unreasonable. Id. at 687-88. And any deficiency is prejudicial only if there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Id. at 694.

On habeas review, the question is not whether the Strickland test is satisfied, but whether the state court's application of the Strickland standard was unreasonable. Harrington v. Richter, 562 U.S. 86, 101 (2011). If fairminded jurists could disagree on the correctness of the state court's decision, habeas relief is inappropriate. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

The CCA concluded Blackwell failed to establish either prong of the Strickland test. It found his attorneys were not deficient because the witnesses Blackwell claimed they should have interviewed could have provided only tangential testimony, and it was well within counsel's range of reasonable professional judgment not to investigate them further. R. at 298. The CCA also found Blackwell failed to prove prejudice because the evidence of his guilt was overwhelming. Specifically, the CCA cited evidence that (1) four eyewitnesses testified Blackwell shot the victim at point-blank range; (2) Blackwell fled the scene and tried to elude police; (3) an off-duty police officer identified Blackwell as one of the men he chased from the scene; (4) the murder weapon was recovered from a trash can along the route Blackwell took when fleeing the scene; and (5) Blackwell's glove had gunshot residue.

The district court concluded the CCA reasonably applied Strickland and denied habeas relief. First, it found Blackwell had not shown his attorneys' investigation-related decisions were objectively unreasonable. Second, the district court reviewed the evidence of Blackwell's guilt and concluded the CCA's determination that he failed to establish prejudice did not run afoul of Strickland. Id. at 414.

Blackwell challenges the first part of the district court's analysis, but not the second. He does not argue the CCA unreasonably applied Strickland by finding the overwhelming evidence of his guilt precluded Blackwell from establishing prejudice. Because this is reason enough to deny habeas relief, see Turrentine v. Mullin, 390 F.3d 1181, 1208-09 (10th Cir. 2004) (denying habeas relief when the record revealed overwhelming evidence of the petitioner's guilt and, therefore, the petitioner failed to show prejudice under Strickland), Blackwell has not shown reasonable jurists could debate the district court's decision. We therefore deny a COA on Blackwell's ineffective assistance claim.

C. Evidentiary Hearing

Blackwell claims the state court violated due process by denying his motion for postconviction relief based on newly discovered evidence without a hearing. The district court rejected this argument, concluding Blackwell's constitutional challenge to the state's postconviction remedy was not a cognizable habeas claim.

Reasonable jurists could not debate this conclusion. As the district court recognized, a claim of constitutional error that focuses only on the State's post-conviction remedy and not the judgment which provides the basis for his incarceration  states no cognizable federal habeas claim. Sellers v. Ward, 135 F.3d 1333, 1339 (10th Cir. 1998). We therefore deny a COA on this claim as well.

IV. Conclusion

We deny Blackwell's request for a COA and dismiss this appeal. Nonetheless, we grant his request to proceed without prepayment of fees. See Watkins v. Leyba, 543 F.3d 624, 627 (10th Cir. 2008) (granting the petitioner's request to proceed in forma pauperis despite denying a COA and dismissing his appeal). Because 28 U.S.C.  1915(a)(1) allows us to excuse only prepayment of fees, we remind Blackwell that he remains obligated to pay all filing and docketing fees to the Clerk of the District Court for the District of Colorado.

Entered for the Court

FOOTNOTES

. This order is not binding precedent except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.

. Blackwell's notice of appeal is timely under the prisoner mailbox rule. A habeas petitioner's notice of appeal must generally be filed within 30 days after judgment enters. See Fed. R. App. P. 4(a)(1)(A); Rule 11(b), Rules Governing  2254 Cases. But for an inmate confined to an institution, the notice is timely if it is deposited in the institution's internal mail system on or before the last day for filing and includes a sworn declaration setting out the date of deposit and stating that first-class postage is being prepaid. Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1)(A)(i). Blackwell deposited his notice in the prison mail system exactly 30 days after the June 27, 2017, judgment. See R. at 420 (reflecting a Restricted Inspection Mail Stamp dated July 27, 2017). And his notice includes a declaration under penalty of perjury that on July 27, 2017, Blackwell served the notice through United States mail, first class with postage prepaid. Id. at 419. His notice is therefore timely under Fed. R. App. P. 4(c)(1)(A)(i).

. There is no dispute that the CCA denied Blackwell's claims on the merits, so the district court was required to apply AEDPA's deferential standard of review. See  2254(d); Hanson v. Sherrod, 797 F.3d 810, 843 (10th Cir. 2015) (Where the state court has adjudicated [the petitioner's claim] on the merits, we apply AEDPA's deferential standard of review.).

Bobby R. Baldock Circuit Judge
United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit. UNITED STATES of America, PlaintiffAppellee, v. James Wardell QUARY, DefendantAppellant. No. 17-3193 Decided: February 06, 2018

Before TYMKOVICH, Chief Judge, LUCERO and HARTZ, Circuit Judges.

ORDER DENYING CERTIFICATE OF APPEALABILITY

James Wardell Quary, a federal prisoner appearing pro se, seeks a certificate of appealability (COA) to challenge the district court's dismissal of his motion for relief under 28 U.S.C.  2255 for lack of jurisdiction. We deny a COA and dismiss this matter.

After a jury convicted Quary of multiple drug offenses, he received a life sentence. He also received a consecutive term of 60 months' imprisonment for a firearm offense. See 18 U.S.C.  924(c). His convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal. See United States v. Quary, 188 F.3d 520, 1999 WL 546999 (10th Cir. July 28, 1999) (unpublished table decision).

After the district court denied his first  2255 motion, we denied a COA. See United States v. Quary, 60 Fed.Appx. 188 (10th Cir. 2003). In August 2015, the district court granted Quary's motion for a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C.  3582(c)(2) and reduced his life sentence to a 360month sentence, resulting in a total sentence of 420 months' imprisonment including the consecutive term for the firearm offense.

Almost two years later, Quary filed another  2255 motion. He argued that the motion was not second or successive because his sentence reduction constituted a new judgment. The district court rejected this argumentnoting the absence of Tenth Circuit authority on the issue but also the exclusive line of precedent from other circuitsand determined that Quary's motion was a second or successive motion for which he needed authorization. Quary now seeks a COA to appeal that ruling, arguing, as he did in the district court, that his  2255 motion is not second or successive due to his intervening sentence reduction.

To establish his entitlement to a COA, Quary must make a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.C.  2253(c)(2). Where, as here, the district court denies a  2255 motion on procedural grounds, a COA may issue only if the prisoner shows, at least, that jurists of reason would find it debatable whether the petition states a valid claim of the denial of a constitutional right and  whether the district court was correct in its procedural ruling. Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484, 120 S.Ct. 1595, 146 L.Ed.2d 542 (2000).

Not every  2255 motion filed second in time qualifies as second or successive under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act; [t]he Supreme Court has described the phrase as a term of art. Stanko v. Davis, 617 F.3d 1262, 1265 n.2 (10th Cir. 2010) (internal quotation marks omitted). If there is a new judgment intervening between the two habeas petitions, an application challenging the resulting new judgment is not second or successive. Magwood v. Patterson, 561 U.S. 320, 34142, 130 S.Ct. 2788, 177 L.Ed.2d 592 (2010) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted).

This court has not addressed the precise issue of whether an order reducing a sentence under  3582(c)(2) constitutes a new, intervening judgment for purposes of determining whether a  2255 motion is second or successive. However, the Supreme Court has made clear that  3582(c)(2) establishes a narrow exception to the rule that [a] federal court generally may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed. Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817, 819, 130 S.Ct. 2683, 177 L.Ed.2d 271 (2010) (internal quotation marks omitted). [A] district court proceeding under  3582(c)(2) does not impose a new sentence in the usual sense. Id. at 827, 130 S.Ct. 2683. Rather, by its plain language, the statute authorize[s] only a limited adjustment to an otherwise final sentence and not a plenary resentencing proceeding. Id. at 826, 130 S.Ct. 2683.

In United States v. Piper, 839 F.3d 1261, 1266 (10th Cir. 2016), and United States v. VerdinGarcia, 824 F.3d 1218, 1222 (10th Cir. 2016), we applied Dillon in deciding that a district court does not abuse its discretion when it denies a sentence reduction under  3582(c)(2) without addressing a prisoner's policy-based arguments. We noted that in a sentencing proceeding, a court is required to explain its reasons for the sentence it imposes, see 18 U.S.C.  3553(c), yet in a sentence-reduction proceeding, a court is required merely to consider the relevant factors, see id.  3553(a), whether or not it grants a reduction. Piper, 839 F.3d at 1267. Thus, with respect to motions for a sentence reduction, we found no basis to impose upon the district court a requirement to address every nonfrivolous, material argument raised by the defendant in such proceedings. VerdinGarcia, 824 F.3d at 1222. The established principle of distinguishing sentence reductions from sentencings in this court supports our holding today that the former do not qualify as new, intervening judgments.

Other circuits that have addressed this issue have uniformly reached the same conclusion. See, e.g., Sherrod v. United States, 858 F.3d 1240, 1242 (9th Cir. 2017); United States v. Jones, 796 F.3d 483, 487 (5th Cir. 2015); White v. United States, 745 F.3d 834, 837 (7th Cir. 2014).

In White, the Seventh Circuit distinguished White's  3582(c) sentence reduction from Magwood's resentencing. 745 F.3d at 836. White requested and received a sentence reduction after the Sentencing Commission adopted a retroactive amendment cutting the offense levels for crack-cocaine offenses (as did Quary), while Magwood was sentenced anew after demonstrating in his initial collateral attack that his original sentence violated the Constitution. Id. at 83536. The White court observed that at a resentencing, a district judge may receive evidence and reopen issues decided in the original sentencing before holding a hearing and pronouncing a new sentence. Id. at 836. By contrast, a court granting a sentence reduction takes as established the findings and calculations that led to the sentence and changes only the revised Guideline, leaving everything else the same. Id. In other words, [t]he penalty goes down, but the original judgment is not declared invalid. Id. Therefore, the Seventh Circuit concluded, Magwood does not reset the clock or the count, for purposes of  2244 and  2255, when a prisoner's sentence is reduced as the result of a retroactive change to the Sentencing Guidelines. Id. at 837.

In Jones, the Fifth Circuit noted that Magwood does not define the term new judgment but held that Jones received a reduced sentence [under  3582(c)(2) ], not a new one. 796 F.3d at 485. The court determined that the sentence-reduction procedure does not in any way resemble a full resentencing because it leaves undisturbed the findings and calculations that formed the recommended sentencing range, changing only the revised Guideline. Id. at 486.

And in Sherrod, the Ninth Circuit reasoned that a sentence reduction under  3582(c)(2) is not akin to a resentencing, stating that [t]he Supreme Court has cautioned that the exception to sentencing finality in  3582(c)(2) is narrow in scope and is intended to authorize only a limited adjustment to an otherwise final sentence and not a plenary resentencing proceeding. 858 F.3d at 1242 (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted). Noting the decisions from other circuits discussed above, the Ninth Circuit decided it would join our sister circuits in holding that a  3582(c)(2) sentence reduction does not qualify as a new, intervening judgment. Id.

The rationale of these opinions is persuasive. Moreover, given this court's precedents distinguishing sentence reductions from sentencings as well as the uniform rejection of Quary's argument in other circuits, we conclude that jurists of reason would not find the district court's procedural ruling debatable.

Accordingly, we deny a COA. Quary's motion for leave to proceed on appeal without prepayment of costs or fees is granted.

FOOTNOTES

. Because we conclude that the district court did not have jurisdiction to consider Quary's motion, we need not address his argument that he is entitled to equitable tolling.

PER CURIAM.
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School Seedling Program

The application period is now closed, please check back next year.

Planting and caring for tree seedlings can help young people learn about ecosystems and the valuable role trees play. Schools and youth organizations are eligible to receive free trees or shrubs by participating in this educational program. Participants receive seedlings from the Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery along with guidance on how to plant and care for them.

Meeting Next Generation Science Standards

Provide young people with a hands-on way to understand natural systems, observe their environment, and learn key vocabulary. When students plant tree seedlings they can discover the structure and function of trees while building their awareness about conservation.

As the trees mature they can serve as an ongoing living laboratory for young people to learn from. The experience can help students make informed decisions about the conservation and use of natural resources.

Eligible Organizations

All schools located within New York State - public, private, nursery, elementary, secondary, vocational, college or university.

Any youth education-based organization.

Homeschool groups, but not individual family homeschools.

Limit of one application per school or organization.

Planting can be related to a wide variety of scholastic programs - it is not confined to any given subject, purpose or age level. We encourage planting on-site so students can be responsible for the care and protection of the seedlings.

How to Apply

The application period is now closed. Please check back next year.

Species available

If you have questions about what species might be right for your site, contact your Regional DEC Forestry Office. A forester will be available to advise you on the appropriate species of trees to choose and proper planting technique.

White Spruce (Picea glauca): Native, short-needled evergreen. Grows in clay and/or loamy soils and reaches 70 feet at maturity. Can be planted statewide. Fifty (50) seedlings will be given to each participating organization. You will need 1,800 square feet of open space for 50 seedlings. Each needs a growing space about 6 feet in diameter.

Native, short-needled evergreen. Grows in clay and/or loamy soils and reaches 70 feet at maturity. Can be planted statewide. Fifty (50) seedlings will be given to each participating organization. You will need 1,800 square feet of open space for 50 seedlings. Each needs a growing space about 6 feet in diameter. White Pine (Pinus strobus): Native long-needled evergreen. Grows best in well-drained soils and reaches 100 feet at maturity. Can be planted statewide. Fifty (50) seedlings will be given to each participating school. You will need 1,800 square feet of open space for 50 seedlings. Each needs a growing space about 6 feet in diameter.

Native long-needled evergreen. Grows best in well-drained soils and reaches 100 feet at maturity. Can be planted statewide. Fifty (50) seedlings will be given to each participating school. You will need 1,800 square feet of open space for 50 seedlings. Each needs a growing space about 6 feet in diameter. Wildlife Packet (Packet #2): Out of stock.

Seedling Shipment

The seedlings are 2 to 3 years old, about 4"-12" tall, and bare-root. They are light enough for young children to carry and plant. Shipment is by UPS, beginning April 14th and running through the third week in May. Select a shipping date at least 3 days prior to the planting date. Shipping takes place on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday only.

For schools: Do not schedule shipment during school vacation.

Planting Instructions

Seedlings are perishable. Keep in a cool, shaded place until planting. Do not let the roots dry out.

TOOLS REQUIRED: Shovel and bucket

Place seedlings in a bucket and fill with water until all roots are covered. Remove all vegetation for at least one foot around the planting spot for each seedling to reduce competition with other plants. Dig a hole deep and wide enough to contain the tree's roots. Place the roots of the seedling in the hole and carefully spread them out. The root collar (where roots join the stem) should be at the ground's surface. The seedling should stand straight. Fill the hole with soil and gently compact to remove air pockets that could dry out the roots and kill the seedling. Reposition the seedling as necessary to keep it straight and to prevent the root collar from being buried. Water the seedling slowly and thoroughly after planting to settle the soil. If rainfall is not adequate, water weekly for the first year after planting. Mark the seedlings with a stake or flagging so they won't be cut off by a mower or stepped on. Fertilizer is not recommended at planting time. It can be applied two or three years after planting when the root system has developed.

Resources for Educators

The School Seedling program can easily be paired with a curriculum of your choice, check out some of our recommended curriculums:

Support the School Seedling Program

You can support the School Seedling Program through a donation to the Natural Heritage Trust's Tree Fund by clicking the "Donate to Help Plant Trees" button on the right. Just $20 can support 40 bare-root trees and shrubs that will be given to school programs across the state to teach young people about the natural world.




United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. JILL ALEXANDER, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Mitchell Brad Martinez, deceased, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. SHERIFF OF INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, FLORIDA, Deryl Loar, CHRISTOPHER SHARKEY, in his official capacity as a deputy of the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, Defendants - Appellees. No. 17-13080 Decided: February 06, 2018

Before WILSON, JORDAN and DUBINA, Circuit Judges.

Appellant, Jill Alexander (Alexander), as personal representative of Mitchell Brad Martinez's estate (Martinez or decedent), appeals the district court's order granting summary judgment to Appellees, Indian River County Sheriff Deryl Loar (Sheriff Loar), and Indian River County Deputy Christopher Sharkey (Deputy Sharkey), on Alexander's civil rights, negligence and wrongful death actions. Alexander's original complaint alleged seven counts: (1) intentional battery against Deputy Sharkey; (2) negligence against Deputy Sharkey; (3) negligence against Sheriff Loar; (4) a Section 1983 claim against Deputy Sharkey for excessive force; (5) a Section 1983 action against Sheriff Loar; (6) a wrongful death action against Deputy Sharkey; and (7) a wrongful death action against Sheriff Loar. After Alexander voluntarily dismissed two counts and the district court dismissed the wrongful death claim against Sheriff Loar, the district court's order disposed of the negligence counts against both appellees, the Section 1983 count against Sheriff Loar, and the wrongful death count against Deputy Sharkey. After reading the parties' briefs and reviewing the record, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Martinez appeared for a bond hearing at the Indian River Courthouse, where the court revoked his bond and remanded him into the custody of the Indian River County Sheriff's Office for transport to the Indian River County Jail (Jail). An officer took Martinez to the intake area, where the officer handcuffed Martinez in the front of his body with a handcuff belt, shackled his legs, and placed him in a holding cell to await transport to the Jail. Deputy Sharkey arrived at the sally port in a van to transport Martinez and seven other inmates to the Jail. There was a video camera recording activities in the sally port area. The recording shows Deputy Sharkey loading seven shackled individuals in prison uniform into the back of the van. The recording shows Martinez walking out of the holding area to the side door of the van, which opens into the forward compartment of the van. As Deputy Sharkey opens the door to the forward compartment, the recording freezes. After a 14 second delay, another video camera from the holding area shows Deputy Sharkey walking back inside the holding area. The sally port video resumes and shows Deputy Sharkey exiting the holding area with a female inmate and escorting her to another transport vehicle. Neither video records anyone else entering or exiting the sally port area via the holding area before the van left the courthouse.

Although the front compartment of the van contains several lap belts, Deputy Sharkey did not restrain Martinez. Per usual practice, the transport deputies do not buckle the prisoners but give them the option of buckling themselves. Deputy Sharkey could not recall if he mentioned this option to Martinez. The drive from the courthouse to the Jail took approximately eight minutes and occurred without any stops or detours. During the drive, Deputy Sharkey did not hear Martinez make any noises of distress and did not hear any inmates in the back compartment making noise to get his attention. Deputy Sharkey could not see Martinez through the window into the front compartment because several years prior, for security reasons, someone in the Sheriff's Office had taped a black plastic bag over the window to prevent inmates from seeing where they were going. Deputy Sharkey thought this was a departmental decision.

Four of the seven inmates in the back compartment averred that they heard Martinez coughing and hacking during the ride and that it sounded like Martinez was struggling to breathe. The other three inmates stated that they did not hear any noises from the front compartment. No inmate made an attempt to get Deputy Sharkey's attention or to alert him to a potential problem. Upon arriving at the Jail, Deputy Sharkey first escorted the seven inmates inside. When he opened the door to the front compartment, he saw Martinez halfway seated on the floor area, slumped over and making gurgling noises. After attempting to rouse Martinez, Deputy Sharkey called for assistance. With the help of another deputy, Deputy Sharkey performed CPR on Martinez until medical staff arrived. At that time, there were no cuts, abrasions, scratches or bleeding on Martinez.

After transport to the Indian River County Medical Center Emergency Room, a nurse conducted a physical examination of Martinez and did not note any marks around his neck. The next morning, a nurse noticed two reddish lines around Martinez's neck, bruising on his neck, but no bleeding. Several days later, Martinez died. The chief medical examiner conducted an autopsy and opined that the cause of death was cardiac dysrhythmia due to adverse drug reaction. Two months later, Martinez's mother hired Dr. William Anderson, M.D., to conduct an autopsy. He opined that the cause of death was hypoxic encephalopathy, diffuse, post-respiratory arrest secondary to blunt force trauma, neck. Dr. Anderson observed abrasions extending circumferentially, involving most of the neck, and a fractured larynx with associated hemorrhage. He opined that his injuries most likely resulted from moving around or being thrown around the van because he was not restrained. Martinez's mother also hired a biomechanical engineer who agreed with Dr. Anderson's opinions.

II. DISCUSSION

Alexander contends that the district court erred in granting summary judgment to the Appellees because (1) it failed to consider Alexander's vicarious liability allegations in the complaint; (2) it found that the facts implicate operational functions, not discretionary ones; (3) it found that Deputy Sharkey's actions were not in willful and wanton disregard of Martinez's safety and well-being; and (4) it held that no constitutional violation existed to support a Section 1983 claim. Based upon a de novo review, we conclude none of Alexander's arguments have merit. See Quik Cash Pawn & Jewelry, Inc. v. Sheriff of Broward Cnty., 279 F.3d 1316, 1319 (11th Cir. 2002) (We review the trial court's grant of summary judgment de novo, viewing the record and drawing all reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the non-moving party.).

First, we conclude that the district court did not err by failing to consider a vicarious liability allegation because Alexander did not plead such a claim. At summary judgment, the only remaining state law claim against Sheriff Loar in his official capacity was a state law negligence count premised on a theory of negligent training and supervision. There was no alleged cause of action for negligence based upon vicarious liability. Similarly, the district court properly refused to revive Alexander's wrongful death count against Sheriff Loar when it found that Deputy Sharkey did not act with bad faith, malicious purpose or with wanton or willful disregard. The district court dismissed this claim at the motion to dismiss stage, and the claim was not pled in the alternative to the wrongful death claim against Deputy Sharkey. Hence, the district court properly did not revive the wrongful death count against Sheriff Loar. See Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida v. United States, 716 F.3d 535, 559 (11th Cir. 2013) (stating that a district court is barred from amending a plaintiff's claim on summary judgment).

Second, although Alexander challenges the district court's judgment with regard to her claims against Sheriff Loar on her theory of negligent training and negligent supervision of Deputy Sharkey as it related to the Sheriff's Office's policy of transporting inmates within its custody, she does not mention in her appellate brief any argument on the negligent supervision claim. As such, she has waived any challenge to that ruling. See United States v. Ardley, 242 F.3d 989, 990 (11th Cir. 2001) (reaffirming circuit rule that the court does not consider issues not timely raised in the briefs). Hence, we affirm the district court's disposition of that claim.

As to the negligent training claim against Sheriff Loar, the district court properly found that based on the undisputed facts, there was no evidence that the Sheriff's Office negligently implemented its training on the transport of those in its custody. Alexander asserts on appeal that the Sheriff's decision with regard to the transportation of inmates is an operational function, not a discretionary one, and therefore, Sheriff Loar is not entitled to sovereign immunity under Florida law. See Mercado v. City of Orlando, 407 F.3d 1152, 1162 (11th Cir. 2005) (waiver of sovereign immunity only applies to operational acts). However, Alexander challenges the reasonableness of basic policy decisions made by Sheriff Loar regarding what to include in the training of the deputies as it related to the safe and humane transport of persons in its custody. This is clearly an exercise of governmental discretion regarding fundamental questions of policy and planning. Lewis v. City of St. Petersburg, 260 F.3d 1260, 1266 (11th Cir. 2001). Accordingly, we conclude that the district court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Sheriff Loar on the negligent training claim was proper.

Third, we conclude that the district court properly granted summary judgment to Deputy Sharkey based on statutory immunity pursuant to Florida Statute  768.28(9). Deputy Sharkey is immune from suit unless he acted in bad faith, or with malicious purpose, or with willful and wanton disregard of human rights, safety or property. See O'Boyle v. Thrasher, 638 F. App'x 873, 879 (11th Cir. 2016) (noting that Florida courts have held that the language in the statute connotes conduct much more reprehensible and unacceptable than mere intentional conduct (citation omitted)). On appeal, Alexander contends that Deputy Sharkey's failure to hear Martinez through the black opaque obstruction was a wanton and willful disregard of Martinez's safety. This argument is meritless. Any obstruction to sight for Deputy Sharkey had no bearing on his ability to hear any commotion. Furthermore, Alexander proffers no evidence to show that Deputy Sharkey performed any action that rose to the level of wanton or willful disregard as to Martinez's safety, nor that any causal nexus exists between any action of Deputy Sharkey and Martinez's injury, as the injury and subsequent death were not reasonably foreseeable under the circumstances. Accordingly, we conclude that the district court properly granted summary judgment to Deputy Sharkey on this claim.

Fourth, we conclude that the district court properly granted summary judgment in favor of Sheriff Loar on the Section 1983 claim. The only constitutional claim Alexander alleged was a claim for excessive force against Deputy Sharkey. Eventually, Alexander abandoned that claim, which meant that she had no underlying constitutional violation to form the basis for the Section 1983 claim against Sheriff Loar in his official capacity. Alexander asserted a new theory at the summary judgment stage, which is improper. See Gilmour v. Gates, McDonald & Co., 382 F.3d 1312, 1315 (11th Cir. 2004) (stating that at summary judgment stage, the proper procedure for a plaintiff to assert a new claim is to amend the complaint). Although the district court acknowledged that the complaint does not allege a Section 1983 claim against Sheriff Loar based on the Eighth Amendment, it analyzed the claim on the merits and properly denied it. The record is devoid of any evidence that Deputy Sharkey acted with deliberate indifference in transporting Martinez to the Jail. The district court properly found that this claim fails as a matter of law.

For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the district court's grant of summary judgment to Deputy Sharkey and Sheriff Loar.

AFFIRMED.

PER CURIAM
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Spring Seedling Sale

The 2021 spring seedling sale is now closed. Thank you to all who supported us this year! We look forward to another sale in 2022.

DEC operates the Colonel William F. Fox Memorial Saratoga Tree Nursery, which produces tree and shrub seedlings for conservation plantings on public and private lands. Native New York seed sources are used when available. The nursery's annual spring seedling sale is open to all interested customers in New York and bordering states.

SALE MATERIALS:

Before ordering, consider specific space requirements for each type of tree:

Species Spacing in Feet Trees/Acre Wildlife 6 x 6 1,210 Conifer 8 x 8 680 Hardwood 12 x 12 300

How to Order



Sandbar willow makes a great visual screen

and live snow fence Sandbar willow makes a great visual screenand live snow fence

BY PHONE: Order seedlings from January 4 until May 12 by calling (518) 587-1120, Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 4 PM. This is the recommended way to order since operators have the latest availability information.

Operators can answer questions or direct you to the proper office for other information. An order will be completed over the phone and sent to you via mail or e-mail for your signature and payment.

For all other inquiries call the Nursery office at (518) 581-1439, Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

BY MAIL OR E-MAIL: Complete the order form (PDF).

Send the order form to:

NYS Department of Environmental Conservation

Saratoga Tree Nursery

2369 Rt. 50 S

Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-4771

Or e-mail to nysnursery@dec.ny.gov



Red oak seedlings Red oak seedlings

Do not send payment at this time. DEC will send you an invoice for you to sign and return within 10 days along with your check or money order to complete the purchase, unless other arrangements have been made. DO NOT SEND CASH. Instructions on how to complete the order are on the invoice. We do not accept credit cards at this time.

All requests are filled after January 4 in the order received. Some species sell out quickly, so order early.

Shipping Options and Instructions

Please make shipping arrangements when you place your order. Orders placed after May 1 must be picked up at the Nursery. There are three (3) options available:

1. Pick up your order at the Saratoga Tree Nursery, located just south of Saratoga Springs on Route 50, approximately 30 miles north of Albany. You will be notified by mail when your order is ready. Pay no shipping.

2. Preferred method: For a fee, seedlings are shipped by designated truckers to a single location within certain counties. Customers pick up their orders at designated locations on specified dates, which are not set until early April. Do not choose this option if you need delivery by or on a specific date. Orders shipped this way are given preference over option #3. Customers will be notified of the shipping charges when the order is made. Orders MUST be placed by March 31 for this option.

3. UPS delivery: Limited to customers who do not have the "designated trucker" option, or who place an order after March 31. Fee per order: $5.00 plus 20% of the total bill or $20.00, whichever is higher. Minimum UPS fee is $25.

Shipments are made from mid-April through early May. Seedlings should be planted as soon as possible. Until planted, keep seedlings cool and out of direct sunlight. Do not let roots dry out.





More about Spring Seedling Sale:
Company, plans to launch an electric vehicle next year and is also gearing up for the possible comeback of its popular model Santro.

Greater Noida: South Korean automaker Hyundai on Wednesday launched a new version of its premium compact hatchback Elite i20 priced between Rs 5.34 lakh and Rs 9.15 lakh (ex- showroom Delhi).

The company, which operates here through its wholly-owned arm Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), also unveiled its global electric vehicle Ioniq.

"The new 2018 Elite i20 is a product of our continuous R&D efforts ... the product is aesthetically designed with premium interiors and modern looks that make it truly appealing," HMIL MD and CEO YK Koo told reporters here.

The petrol versions of the car are priced between Rs 5.34 lakh and Rs 7.9 lakh while the diesel trims are tagged between Rs 6.73 lakh and Rs 9.15 lakh.

The car comes with various safety features like dual airbags as standard feature. The petrol version is powered by 1.2 litre engine while the diesel trims come with 1.4 litre powertrains.

The company also plans to launch an automatic (CVT) version of the petrol model later during the year. Koo said that HMIL contributed 15 per cent to the overall global sales of the South Korean firm last year.

In 2016, the sales contribution from India was 13.6 per cent to overall global sales. The company has already announced its plans to invest over USD 1 billion (around Rs 6,300 crore) in India in the next three years on new products, development of powertrain and setting up of a new office building.

The company, plans to launch an electric vehicle next year and is also gearing up for the possible comeback of its popular model Santro around Diwali this year.

HMIL has lined up nine products to be introduced between 2018 and 2020.

The company, which is completing 20 years in the Indian market, sold 6.78 lakh units last year in the country with a market share of around 16.5 per cent in the passenger vehicle segment.
GREATER NOIDA: With the government and consumer mood shifting towards cleaner technology, Auto Expo 2018 saw a slew of concept electric vehicle launches from car makers, including Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Mercedes, Renault and Tata Motors.

Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai on Wednes-day announced their plans to launch electric vehicles in India. Maruti Suzuki said that it will launch its first electric vehicle in India by 2020 and Hyundai said that it plans to bring its electric vehicle in 2019 itself.

Renault showcased its two concept electric vehicles a two-seater electric coupe TREZOR and ZOE e-Sport Concept to showcase its commitment to bring e-vehicles them in Indian market.

Mercedes Benz lau-nched its concept electric SUV Concept EQ. The company said it was looking to to garner 25 per cent of its revenue from electric vehicles by 2025.

I am very happy to share that in line with the governments vision, we will launch our first electric vehicle in 2020 in India which will be locally manufactu-red. We are studying aspects of the electric vehicle ecosystem, to make the governme-nts vision of electric mobility a reality, said Kenichi Ayuk-awa, MD and CEO, Maruti Suzuki. It is likely to introduce the electric vehicle in India in tie up with Toyota Motor.

We are planning to unveil and launch an electric vehicle in India by 2019. This is our target, Hyundai India CEO and MD Y. K. Koo said.
The latest inflow has been mainly driven by contributions from liquid or money market funds, and equity, equity-linked saving schemes.

New Delhi: Investors have pumped over Rs 1 lakh crore into mutual funds in January, driving the industry assets base to an all-time high of Rs 22.41 lakh crore, latest update with Amfi showed.

Industry experts attributed the surge in assets under management (AUM) to 'aggressive' investor awareness campaign both at the individual player level as well as at industry level.

In addition, investors are moving towards financial asset class for investment instead of buying traditional asset classes such as real estate and gold, which also helped in increasing the penetration of mutual funds.

According to Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi) data, investors have poured in a net Rs 1.06 lakh crore in mutual fund schemes last month as compared to a pullout of Rs 1.75 lakh crore in December.

The latest inflow has been mainly driven by contributions from liquid or money market funds, and equity, equity-linked saving schemes.

Individually, liquid funds - investments in cash assets such as Treasury Bills, certificates of deposit and commercial paper for shorter horizon - witnessed an inflow of Rs 96,552 crore. Besides, equity and equity-linked schemes attracted over Rs 15,000 crore.

In contrast, income funds saw an outflow of over Rs 9,800 crore and gold ETFs continued to see a pullout of Rs 110 crore.

The latest inflow has also helped in pushing the AUM of the country's 42-player mutual fund industry to a historic high of Rs 22.41 lakh crore at the end of January from Rs 21.26 lakh crore at December-end 2017.

Bajaj Capital CEO Rahul Parikh said going ahead, digital investment platforms are going to be a big driver for the industry.

"These platforms are the best bet to attract the young salaried generation of millennials - who otherwise are humongous spenders on gadgets, cars and bikes - and inculcate in them the virtues of saving and investing," he added.
Theres been a lot of speculation after Ben Afflecks divorce from Jennifer Garner, about his alcoholism. Fans are wondering what caused it, and it seems like the actors own father has some answers! Talking to Grazia magazine, Timothy Affleck, Bens dad blamed his sons stardom for whats happened to him.

Timothy said, It has taken a toll on both my sons. Hollywood is a disgusting place. I think thats been a major factor in Bens drinking. Youre kind of forced to develop a persona that is hard to shed and go home to your family. It affects your whole life. I think thats one of the dangers of the film industry.
Move represents a life-line for Novo as it tries to differentiate itself in diabetes.

London: After nearly a century building a company worth $125 billion based on injectable drugs, Denmarks Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO) - the worlds biggest insulin maker - wants to prove this year it can transform the diabetes market with a pill.

Novos oral semaglutide medicine is important for ensuring the groups long-term growth - a critical mission after 2017 results last week revealed mounting price pressure in a crowded market targeting the worlds 450 million diabetics.

Rivals, especially Eli Lilly (LLY.N), are watching Novos final-stage oral semaglutide trials closely, ahead of the drugs potential 2020 launch.

The once-daily pill belongs to a blockbuster class of treatments known as GLP-1s that stimulate insulin production, the first of which were derived from the venomous bite of North Americas Gila monster lizard. So far, all have been injections.

While diabetics with advanced disease need daily insulin shots, those at a less serious stage start on simple tablets, with GLP-1s added as a potent new option since 2005.

Today, GLP-1s are embraced as a highly effective diabetes therapy and semaglutide, which was approved as a once-weekly injection in December, has out-gunned rivals in efficacy. But the needle is still a barrier.

There is resistance in some patients to move to an injectable medication, said Dr. Jason Gaglia, a diabetes expert at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. Once an oral is available I think there will be significant interest in it.

If the data stack up from 10 pivotal Phase III studies reporting results in 2018, the new drug could grab more than $5 billion in annual sales, Deutsche Bank analysts believe.

Others are more cautious but investors overall are betting oral and injectable semaglutide combined will supply around two-thirds of Novos revenue growth over the next five years, according to Thomson Reuters consensus data.

That represents a life-line for Novo as it tries to differentiate itself in diabetes at a time when its smaller biopharma division is also struggling, prompting last months abortive attempt to buy Belgian biotech Ablynx (ABLX.BR).

What is oral semaglutide?

But oral semaglutide is no simple tablet. This is a big, complex molecule, known as a peptide, which would normally be destroyed by stomach acid and it requires protection with a special compound to boost absorption.

Whats more, the drug must be in close contact with the stomach wall, which means patients cannot eat for 30 minutes after taking it and the pill can also cause nausea, raising questions about its practicality.

Eli Lilly research chief Jan Lundberg told analysts last week: Its really a sub-optimal oral agent.

That may be sour grapes by Novos arch-rival, whose own work on developing an oral GLP-1 is only at the preclinical stage.

But making patients wait half an hour for breakfast could affect adherence and is a concern for investors - as is the question of what Novo will charge for a drug that may perform as well as a pricey injection but looks like rival pills that cost half as much.

Chief Science Officer Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen said Novo would pay close attention to such factors as it tries to reach the three-quarters of diabetics who are not yet on injections.

If we get the balance between the drugs profile and the drugs price and market access right then we can do phenomenally well, he told Reuters.

Getting this far with oral GLP is already a notable achievement, especially after an earlier oral insulin project was abandoned as uneconomic in 2016.

Still, the devil will be in the details of the 10 Phase III trials, the first of which will deliver results this quarter. Key trials against Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheims pill Jardiance and Merck & Cos (MRK.N) Januvia will report later in 2018.

Most analysts expect oral semaglutide to beat these rivals in controlling both blood sugar and weight. The size of the benefit will feed into Novos final pricing decision.

The highest limit of where we could consider taking the pricing would be injectable GLP-1 and the lowest level would be somewhere in between current oral drugs and injectable GLP-1, Thomsen said.

A new treatment

Doctors hope oral semaglutide will provide a new weapon to tackle diabetes earlier with a highly effective therapy.

But Clifford Bailey, professor of clinical science at Britains Aston University and Dr. Gaglia in Boston said price would be critical in determining its uptake both among U.S. insurers and cost-conscious European healthcare systems.

If Novo gets over the pricing hurdle, Bailey and Gaglia believe the new pill is set to reshuffle treatment regimens, with oral semaglutide being used as a second or third treatment option after cheap, generic metformin.

It will certainly be welcomed by those patients who prefer to go without their breakfast for half an hour rather than have an injection, said Bailey.

Novos nearest rival in developing an oral GLP-1 is Israels Oramed (ORMP.O), which has a product in early-stage trials.
Swallowed button batteries from flashing fidget spinners can lead to severe injuries in young children, doctors warn.

The fidget spinner is a toy made of metal or plastic and consists of a central bearing surrounded by three arm-pods, which rotate around the center. Some types of fidget spinners include light emitting diodes (LED) that run on button batteries. A new report details two cases in which young children suffered burns to the esophagus after ingesting batteries from the toys.

After treating our 4-year-old patient with significant injury (from) ingestion of a fidget spinner disc containing a button battery, we were immediately of the mindset that this was an important advocacy opportunity because of how common this toy is in households with kids of all ages, and how poorly marked many of the toys packaging is regarding any warnings, Dr. Yoseph Gurevich told Reuters Health in an email.

We were also wondering if anyone else at other medical centers around the country has seen ingestion injuries from fidget spinners. Once we connected with our colleagues in Denver, Colorado, who also had a child with a similar injury, we knew this needed to reach the medical and lay public communities, said Gurevich, who is a pediatric gastroenterologist at Steven & Alexandra Cohen Childrens Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York.

Reports of isolated non-ingestion injuries related to use and misuse of fidget spinners had already led the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to issue formal public safety tips related to its use, said Gurevich.

However, the focus was not particularly on ingestion risk, which is the most dangerous risk of any related to this toy if there is a button battery involved, he said.

Gurevich and his colleagues described the two childrens cases in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

One child swallowed the central disk cap of a broken fidget spinner, including a small button battery, while the other youngster swallowed a battery released from a damaged disk.

One child required emergency surgery to remove a piece of the broken toy, including a one-inch button battery, and remained in the hospital for nearly three weeks.

Any toy, and just as important any household object, that is powered by a button battery can be dangerous in the hands of children, Gurevich said.

Many battery ingestions in small children occur after a battery is dislodged from a product not intended for children, such as a watch, hearing aid, or adult electronic device, said Gurevich.

It is important for caregivers to evaluate what objects around the house are not intended for child use, but could be reached by kids and lead to accidental ingestion, he said. If it is in the house and not in a locked cabinet or drawer, children will find it.

With toys, its important to check the compartment housing the battery to make sure it is completely secure and the battery cover is tight, without chance of being removed by the child, said Gurevich.

Dr. Athos Bousvaros, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Boston Childrens Hospital who coauthored an editorial published with the report, told Reuters Health by phone, Most button batteries have warnings, theyre difficult to open up and people are aware of them. But it sounds like with these cases of fidget spinners, the spinners were easy to break, the batteries were inside, (and) there wasnt any warning about the battery.

A swallowed battery could potentially tear a hole in the esophagus connected to the aorta, and the child could bleed to death, said Bousvaros.

Thats really the risk of these button batteries. Basically its very severely caustic, he said. In the worst case scenario, which none of these cases had, you get the feared complication of the aorta-esophageal fistula, which is a well known, though rare complication of button batteries ingestion and almost always results in death.
Japan's Princess Mako has postponed her wedding to her college sweetheart until 2020, sparking speculation that alleged money trouble involving the fiance's mother could have thrown a spanner in the works.

In an announcement that came completely out of the blue, the 26-year-old eldest granddaughter of Emperor Akihito cited time constraints as the reason to delay the formal engagement. "We have come to realise that we do not have enough time to prepare for the ceremonies and our new life before the wedding planned in autumn," she said in a statement released through the imperial household agency Wednesday.

Mako and Kei Komuro, also 26, had been scheduled to be formally engaged in a traditional court ceremony next month before their wedding on November 4. The imperial household agency insisted the couple still want to wed and flatly denied any connection between the postponement and a series of recent magazine articles about the alleged money trouble of the Komuro family.

But speculation is swirling that there could be more than meets the eye to the postponement, which was leading Wednesday's television news programmes. For weeks, gossip magazines have been delving into the finances of Komuro's mother, who is widowed.

In late January, Japan's two biggest weeklies, each quoting an acquaintance of "a former fiance" of the mother, reported she had not repaid more than four million yen ($37,000) she had loaned from him. The man called off the engagement after she asked for money so often, the reports said.

The money was reportedly spent on supporting the living of the single-parent household and the son's school tuition, including a half-year study at a US university. But the Komuros argued they thought the money was "a gift", according to the Shukan Shincho weekly.

Worried voices

The liberal Asahi daily said "there have been worried voices in the imperial household agency since the money trouble was reported."

"Even an ordinary family would have cold feet over their beloved daughter's marriage if weekly magazines wrote this much," tabloids quoted an anonymous "top official of the imperial household agency" as saying. Kei Komuro declined to comment late Tuesday, merely bowing deeply to a swarm of reporters waiting for him to finish work.

In her statement, the princess noted the couple needed to announce their informal engagement "much earlier than planned" after the news leaked out in May. Schedules for events concerned were then announced in November but she admitted this may have been done "too hastily".

"We should have thought twice carefully whether the pace was actually right for us... Now, we'd like to have the marriage, a major life event, in a better way."

She apologised to those planning the royal wedding, blaming the young couple's "immaturity". They have already informed the emperor and empress that wedding-related ceremonies will be delayed until 2020.

The imperial family has a packed schedule next year as the 84-year-old Emperor Akihito abdicates on April 30, 2019 -- the first time for more than two centuries that a Japanese emperor has stepped down.

His eldest son Naruhito, who will turn 58 this month, is set to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne a day later. Mako is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino, Naruhito's brother, and Princess Kiko.

The Nikkei business daily warned against labelling Kei Komuro as not suitable as a partner for the royal. "It would be a shame for a democratic country if concerns and criticism about family lineage or economic resources caused pressure," it said, warning it could create serious problems for future royal marriages.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Joseph A. PARKER, Jr., Defendant-Appellant. No. 16-4619 Decided: February 05, 2018

Before NIEMEYER, KEENAN, and WYNN, Circuit Judges. Geremy C. Kamens, Federal Public Defender, Caroline S. Platt, Appellate Attorney, Kirsten R. Kmet, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant. Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney, Richard D. Cooke, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.

Joseph A. Parker, Jr., pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  922(g)(1) (2012). The district court sentenced him to 66 months' imprisonment. On appeal, Parker argues that the district court erred in calculating his Sentencing Guidelines range because the district court incorrectly concluded that his prior conviction for Virginia common law robbery qualified as a crime of violence conviction for purposes of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual  2K2.1(a)(4)(A), 4B1.2(a) (2015). We affirm.

If a defendant has been previously convicted of a crime of violence, as defined in USSG  4B1.2(a), then the Guidelines require an increase in the base offense level for the crime of possessing a firearm as a felon. USSG  2K2.1(a)(4)(A). In August 2016, the Sentencing Commission amended USSG  4B1.2(a)'s crime of violence definition, and that amendment was in effect at the time of Parker's sentencing hearing. Under the amended definition, a crime of violence is an offense punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year that (1) has an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another, or (2) is murder, voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault, a forcible sex offense, robbery, arson, extortion, or the use or unlawful possession of [certain types of firearms or explosive material]. USSG  4B1.2(a). The first clause is known as the force clause, and the second clause is known as the enumerated offenses clause.

Parker argues that Virginia robbery cannot qualify as a crime of violence under USSG  4B1.2(a)'s force clause because we held in United States v. Winston, 850 F.3d 677, 679 (4th Cir. 2017), that Virginia robbery is not a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act's (ACCA) force clause, 18 U.S.C.  924(e)(2)(B)(i) (2012). Because [w]e rely on precedents evaluating whether an offense constitutes a crime of violence under the Guidelines interchangeably with precedents evaluating whether an offense constitutes a violent felony under the [ACCA], United States v. Montes-Flores, 736 F.3d 357, 363 (4th Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted), we agree with Parker that Virginia robbery does not qualify as a crime of violence under USSG  4B1.2(a)'s force clause.

Thus, we are left with USSG  4B1.2(a)'s enumerated offenses clause. When comparing a potential predicate offense to an enumerated crime, we must first ascertain the generally accepted contemporary meaning of the enumerated crime. United States v. Gattis, 877 F.3d 150, 156 (4th Cir. 2017) (internal quotation marks omitted). In Gattis, we determined the generic, contemporary meaning of robbery, id. at 155 (internal quotation marks omitted), and held that generic robbery is defined as the misappropriation of property under circumstances involving [immediate] danger to the person,  id. at 156 (quoting 3 Wayne R. LaFave, Substantive Criminal Law  20.3, at 173 (2d ed. 2003) (alteration in original) ). We further explained that the immediate danger element in that definition is categorically satisfied by the taking of property from a person or a person's presence by means of force or putting in fear. Id. at 157 (internal quotation marks omitted).

After determining the meaning of generic robbery, the next step in the inquiry is to compare the generic robbery definition with the particular state's definition of robbery. See id. at 156. For instance, in Gattis, we observed that North Carolina defines robbery as the felonious, non-consensual taking of money or personal property from the person or presence of another by means of violence or fear. Id. at 158 (internal quotation marks omitted). Comparing generic robbery to North Carolina robbery, we found a clean match. Id. In doing so, we rejected the argument that North Carolina robbery swept more broadly than generic robbery because robbery may be committed in North Carolina using less force than is necessary to commit generic robbery by force. Id. We acknowledged our prior holding that North Carolina robbery does not constitute a violent felony under the ACCA's force clause, United States v. Gardner, 823 F.3d 793, 804 (4th Cir. 2016), but we explained that the ACCA's force clause encompasses crimes that have as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person, while, to commit generic robbery by taking property through the use of force, the defendant need not use a level of force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person. Gattis, 877 F.3d at 158 (internal quotation marks omitted). We further explained that the force necessary to commit generic robbery exists if the defendant jostles the owner or uses only that force which is sufficient to overcome the victim's resistance. Id. (internal quotation marks omitted).

In this case, we must compare the generic robbery definition adopted in Gattis with Virginia's definition of common law robbery. Virginia defines common law robbery as the taking, with intent to steal, of the personal property of another, from his person or in his presence, against his will, by violence or intimidation. Williams v. Commonwealth, 685 S.E.2d 178, 180 (Va. 2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). The Virginia Court of Appeals has adopted the view that the offense of robbery is not related to the force used on the object taken but to the force or intimidation directed at the person of the victim. Winn v. Commonwealth, 462 S.E.2d 911, 912 (Va. Ct. App. 1995) (ellipsis and internal quotation marks omitted). Furthermore, the Virginia Court of Appeals has explained that [i]ntimidation results when words or conduct of the accused exercise such domination and control over the victim as to overcome the victim's mind and overbear the victim's will, placing the victim in fear of bodily harm. Jones v. Commonwealth, 496 S.E.2d 668, 670 (Va. Ct. App. 1998) (internal quotation marks omitted).

Comparing Virginia's definition of robbery with the generic meaning, we conclude that Virginia robbery is a crime of violence under USSG  4B1.2(a)' s enumerated offenses clause. Like generic robbery, Virginia robbery requires the taking of property from a person or a person's presence by means of force or putting in fear. Compare Gattis, 877 F.3d at 157, with Williams, 685 S.E.2d at 180. While Virginia's common law definition uses the term intimidation, the Virginia Court of Appeals has explained that the term is synonymous with striking fear in the victim. See Jones, 496 S.E.2d at 670.

Parker seeks to avoid this result by arguing that Virginia robbery is broader than generic robbery because Virginia robbery can be committed through de minimis contact. But, we rejected a nearly identical argument in Gattis, 877 F.3d at 158. Parker fails to acknowledge that the amount of force necessary for a robbery offense to meet USSG  4B1.2(a)'s force clause differs from the amount of force necessary for a robbery offense to meet generic robbery as contemplated by USSG  4B1.2(a)'s enumerated offenses clause. Indeed, the amount of force required to sustain a Virginia robbery conviction matches the amount of force required to meet the definition of generic robbery that we have adopted. Compare Maxwell v. Commonwealth, 183 S.E. 452, 454 (Va. 1936) (stating that violence need only be slight, for anything which calls out resistance is sufficient) (internal quotation marks omitted), with Gattis, 877 F.3d at 158 (stating that generic robbery requires only that force which is sufficient to overcome the victim's resistance). We thus conclude that Parker's force argument fails to show that Virginia defines robbery in a manner that is broader than generic robbery.

Because the district court did not err in concluding that Virginia robbery is a crime of violence under USSG  4B1.2(a) and correctly applied an enhanced base offense level under USSG  2K2.1(a)(4)(A), we affirm the district court's judgment. See United States ex rel. Drakeford v. Tuomey, 792 F.3d 364, 375 (4th Cir. 2015) (We may affirm a district court's ruling on any ground apparent in the record.). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

FOOTNOTES

. Although the Code of Virginia provides the penalty for robbery, Va. Code Ann.  18.2-58 (2014), it does not define robbery. Robbery is a common law crime in Virginia. Ali v. Commonwealth, 701 S.E.2d 64, 66 (Va. 2010).

. Before the amendment, robbery was listed as a crime of violence in USSG  4B1.2's commentary. USSG  4B1.2 cmt. n.1 (2015).

. Our conclusion is supported by Gattis because we have previously recognized that Virginia and North Carolina similarly define robbery. See Winston, 850 F.3d at 685.

PER CURIAM:

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
BEIRUT: Ancient sculptures that were missing for decades after being stolen during Lebanons civil war are to go on display in Beirut thanks to a global fight against antiquities smuggling that has been stepped up since wartime looting in Iraq and Syria.

The five marble statues were among a haul of hundreds that Lebanese militiamen took from a storehouse in 1981, some of which are only now emerging onto the shadowy global arts market and even into the worlds greatest museums. Three of the five sculptures unveiled at a ceremony in Beirut on Friday were spotted in New Yorks Metropolitan Museum - where they were on loan from a private collector - by a curator who identified them using the Art Loss Register, an online database of stolen artefacts.

One of the people instrumental in getting them sent back to Lebanon was Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Matthew Bogdanos, an Iraq war veteran who led the investigation into looting at the national museum in Baghdad during the chaos of the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein. Outrage at looting there and in Syria, and fear that art trafficking was funding militant groups, has driven countries to work together to stop it, said Bogdanos, who was in Beirut on Friday for a ceremony to unveil the statues.

It has resulted in greater attention, greater scrutiny and greater resources, all of which we desperately need in order to fight such an entrenched global network, Bogdanos, whose office has recovered thousands of stolen antiquities in recent years, told Reuters at the ceremony at Beiruts National Museum.

One of the other statues was identified last year by a gallery in Germany, which noticed it on the Art Loss Register. The fifth was seized in a container entering Lebanons port of Tripoli last month. Archaeologists excavated all the statues in the 1960s and 1970s in Sidon at the Temple of Eshmoun, a god of healing.

They were carved between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, when Lebanons Phoenician civilization was ruled by the Persian empire but influenced by Greek art and culture. One of the statues, a bulls head, was from the capital of a pillar in the temple. The other statues, of youths and children, included one dedicated to the temple by fond relatives in thanks for the recovery from illness of their child.

HERITAGE IS NOT FOR SALE

They will be added to the Beirut museums display of Eshmoun sculptures, which include a complete capital with bull heads facing in each direction and marble statues of babies and children. Only a handful of more than 500 Eshmoun statues pillaged from the storerooms of Byblos citadel in 1981 have been identified and returned to Lebanon.

We will put every resource that we have to recover any piece wherever it is and whoever thinks it belongs to him. Our heritage is not for sale, said Lebanons Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury.

Like these pieces, items smuggled from Iraq and Syria may stay hidden for decades before traffickers start selling them to collectors. It is rare that we would see anything on the market for 10 or 20 or even 30 years, because they do have the patience. They stockpile these pieces, said Bogdanos.

The international nature of the trade makes it hard to trace them. If you would follow the pieces which we have here, there was a kind of ping-pong between Europe, America, Europe again ... its a globalization, said Rolf Stucky, a Swiss archaeologist who registered many of the looted Eshmoun statues on Art Loss in the 1990s, allowing them to be identified now. But countries now share information and help train authorities, both in the main markets for stolen artefacts and in the regions from which they come.

Lebanon itself has stopped many foreign pieces from being shipped through Beirut, said Ghattas. As a neighbor of Syria, it is a major route for items looted from there. In many respects (smugglers) didnt have to be smart in their trafficking behavior simply because no countries were cooperating enough, were devoting enough resources to stop it, said Bogdanos. That has all changed.
The Berlin Wall has been down, for as long as it was up: 10316 days. (Photo: Facebook/Howard Griffin Gallery)

The Berlin wall, the symbol of divide between East and West Germany has been down for as long as it was standing tall: 10316 days to be precise.

Communist East Germany began erecting the Wall on August 13, 1961, in the process, successfully sealing off West Berlin off from East Berlin and the surrounding East German countryside, thus separating East Berliners from their family, friends and the free world.

According to records, around 5,000 people are estimated to have attempted to escape over the wall, with at least 200 people dying in the process.

So they took to the streets on the night of November 9, 1989, unafraid of guards, taking it down once and for all. Leading to the reunification of Germany on October 3, 1990.

All that remains now, are the ruins of the wall which are partially used as an open-air art gallery, known to be the longest of its kind, in the world.

French artist, Thierry Noir was the first ever to paint the Wall (and he did so for five years), which became a political statement in years to come.

His work is still visible at the East Side Gallery of the Wall.

Speaking about his artwork, the 60-year-old Thierry said, "Painting on the Berlin wall was a political statement, because it was forbidden to paint on the wall. So everything we did on the wall- even peeing on the wall- it was already a political statement.

He went on to add, From that point on I realised I didn't need to do anything illegal, because nothing would have more impact than painting the Berlin wall.

Thierry's aim was to paint the Wall so that it looked like a deformity and stood out, not to beautify it.

This is when Thierry developed his painting style -what he calls the 'Fast Form Manifest'- as he was always afraid of getting caught by guards, or German Democratic Republic soldiers.

When Germany reunitied and the Cold War ended, Thierry's works became symbols of new found freedom.

"I have been often asked: 'are you going to Israel to paint the Jerusalem wall?' I think to myself, I painted the Berlin wall because it was at my doorstep.

"The youth must fight like I fought for the Berlin wall, says Noir while talking about the Palestinian conflict.

Thierry has been working as an international public and private artist for over three decades.

His artwork, collections and murals are displayed in cities around the world including Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Dubai, New York, Dayton and Washington D.C.

Between May to December of 2016, the prestigious Howard Griffin Gallery displayed a full scale, immersive installation dedicated to the work of Noir called the 'Thierry Noir Museum'.
Hitting two targets with a single blow, Modi referred to an incident where Rajiv Gandhi called T Anjaiah the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, a 'buffoon' at Hyderabad's Begumpet airport in 1982. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is indeed a smart politician and his statements on "Telugu Pride" in Lok Sabha has proved that.

Even after being continually attacked by BJP's biggest ally in the South, the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) over the allocation of funds to Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget, Modi kept quiet only to speak out in the Lok Sabha targetting the Congress.

Hitting two targets with a single blow, Modi referred to an incident where Rajiv Gandhi called T Anjaiah the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, a "buffoon" at Hyderabad's Begumpet airport in 1982.

Rajiv Gandhi had arrived at Hyderabad for a private visit. He reportedly shouted at Anjaiah for bringing a huge crowd of party workers to the airport.

The chief minister who did not understand Gandhi's reason for annoyance did not do anything to disperse the crowd. In a fit of anger, Gandhi called him a "buffoon" in public.

This proved costly for the Congress as the legendary actor NT Rama Rao started the TDP to save "Telugu Pride".

Modi took the opportunity to say that this was how a "Dalit chief minister" was insulted in public by the Congress.

Modi tore into the Congress for "dividing" the state of Andhra Pradesh. He said the people of Telangana were suffering because of the hurried division of Andhra Pradesh by Congress, which took only politics into consideration during the deed.

Also Read: Have proof of how Cong looted India, they will pay for their sins: Modi

This is the first time Prime Minister Modi has spoken, albeit indirectly, on the ongoing tussle with the TDP, where the Andhra Pradesh's political party is alleging that the government has done injustice in allocating funds to the southern state in the Budget 2018-19.

Chandrababu Naidu-led TDP was highly disappointed with the Government at the Centre stating that no funds were allotted for various projects in the state and also for the construction of APs capital city, Amaravati.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) in a meeting to review its alliance, on Sunday decided to not break alliance with ally BJP-led NDA.

However, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has fixed the end of the current Budget session as the deadline for the Central government to take action on pending issues of the state.

(With agency inputs)
KHAMMAM: Land to the extent of 65 acres around Lord Sitramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam is required for the execution of any one of the three plans designed for the temple development.

It is estimated that about 210 structures around the temple have to be demolished for the implementation of the plan. Providing land to the displaced people is not possible in the present scenario because of the non-availability of land in the temple town.

The government should get back the villages that were handed over to the Andhra Pradesh. Each family has to be given 200 to 300 square yards land along with the compensation", said one of the persons whose land will have to be given. Then only, the displaced people can be satisfied, he added.

It is learnt that the government is clear that the land is acquired after the displaced persons are shifted willingly. There are nearly 1,500 displaced people. The extent of Bhadrachalam town after handing over the surrounding villages to the Andhra Pradesh to facilitate Polavaram project is around 2,100 acres. The temple plan needs 65 acres of this land. Also, there are several more private structures in 150 feet distance of the temple.

If the Government wants to build the thousand pillar mandapam in the premises of the temple, the officials will have to acquire the land till Srikrishna Temple. The Kalyana Mandapam will be extended to the Ammavari Sannidanam in Silpinagar. The proposed budget of Rs 100 crore is not sufficient with the new plans and it is likely to be hiked up to Rs 400 crore.

The government is willing to give whatever funds are required for the temple development. There is a need for new satrams and choultries to provide accommodation to the devotees. With this, the officials are searching for available government lands for it in Bhadrachalam.

Some clarity will come after the government gets back the five villages such as Kannaigudem, Pichukalapadu, Purushothapatnam, Gundala and Etapaka villages from Andhra Pradesh.

The temple had 900 acres in Purushothampatnam and it is not right to provide rehabilitation to the evacuees there. Sending Telangana people to Andhra Pradesh will not be right and may pass across the wrong message", said a senior temple official.
Dissenting BJP leader and former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha also criticised the Finance Bill, saying the government was making several amendments through it, which should not have been the case. (Photo: PTI)

Kolkata: Dissenting BJP leader and former Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Tuesday criticised the 2018-19 Union Budget presented by Arun Jaitley, saying there was no application of mind while preparing it.

Sinha, who was the finance minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet, said the budget did not keep in mind the global and domestic contexts under which it was being thought out.

"It seems that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley did not apply his mind to the budget speech. If that be so, then he must not have applied his mind while preparing the budget itself," he said at a seminar organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce in Kolkata.

Sinha said the budget had announced a number of schemes, particularly in the health sector, which were not properly thought out.

Pointing out that this was the last full budget of the present government as Lok Sabha polls were due in 2019, he said the decision to recapitalise the banks was announced very late and the backlog of stalled projects was not eliminated.

Sinha also criticised the Finance Bill, saying the government was making several amendments through it, which should not have been the case.

The budget did not follow the FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management) Act as well, he said.

Sinha also criticised Jaitley for being dismayed with the role of the GST Council.
ALAPPUZHA: A horrific incident in which a temple elephant ripped off the right arm of a mahout near here on Sunday brings the focus once again on their unsafe living conditions. There are 2,000 mahouts in the state, and 12 of them are getting treated at various hospitals as a result of 65 such incidents during the last 35 days. Many maimed by elephants live in poverty with no help from authorities or elephant owners. Temple elephant Narayanankutty attacked Prathapan, 48, of Kanjikuzhi on Sunday as he tried to feed him a banana. He needs to spend the rest of his life with a prosthetic hand.

Maniyan Pillai, 52, of Muthukulam, is bed-ridden for the last five years. He rues he had got benefit neither from the government nor the elephant's owner. Manoj Ayyappan of Akhila Kerala Aana Thozhilali Union (AKATU), says they were fighting for insurance coverage for long. A year ago owners agreed a Rs 10 lakh insurance for life, but not for the maimed. "Though we demanded a welfare fund, there's no favourable decision," he said. "Many are fed by their wives or other family members."

A proposal for improving service conditions of mahouts is gathering dust since 2010. The villain behind the deadly incidents is the stress of mahouts, and the only remedy is upgrading their standards of living," said V.K. Venkitachalam, of Heritage Animal Task Force, a Thrissur-based NGO. Mahouts in private service need to be paid at par with those in government service. All mahouts should get hardship allowance, accident insurance and bonus for well kept and healthy elephants. They should also undergo the forest department training to obtain a license.
Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter. (Photo: Facebook)

New Delhi: The opposition parties have decided to write to the President demanding a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) to enquire into the alleged mysterious death of special CBI judge B H Loya.

More than 100 opposition members of Parliament have signed the letter which will be sent to President Ram Nath Kovind on Thursday.

"The opposition parties have decided to write to the president demanding a Supreme Court-monitored SIT to look into the death of Justice Loya. More than 100 members of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have signed a letter," Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien told reporters.

The opposition said that there is a need to know how Justice Loya died as there are "many theories" going around and only a Supreme Court-monitored SIT can "solve the issue".

Loya, who was hearing the sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh fake encounter case, had died of cardiac arrest in Nagpur on December 1, 2014, when he had gone to attend the wedding of a colleague's daughter.

The issue came under the spotlight in November last year after media reports quoting his sister fuelled suspicion about the circumstances surrounding his death and its link to the Sohrabuddin case.
Rahul Gandhi also targeted Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her remarks that the details on Rafale Deal cannot be disclosed since it is classified. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)

New Delhi: Reacting to the Prime Minister's motion of thanks speech in Lok Sabha, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday questioned Modis silence on Rafale deal, plight of farmers and employment opportunities for youth in his over one-hour speech.

He spoke for more than 1 hour but didn't speak a word on Rafale deal, or on farmers or on employment for youth. It was a totally political speech, Rahul said.

He further criticised the Prime Minister for accusing the Opposition and not answering the publics questions.

Rahul said, I think Modiji has forgotten that he is the PM now, he should answer questions and not always accuse the Opposition.

The Congress president also targeted Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her remarks that the details on Rafale Deal cannot be disclosed since it is classified.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also accused Modi of speaking half truth and giving misleading details.

PM might be a terrific orator but this speech is a farrago of misrepresentations and half truth, Tharoor said.

Shiv Sena, a long-time ally of ruling BJP, also asked Modi to talk about governments policies in Parliament and not criticise the Congress party.

It is time that Modi ji realises it has been 4 years now. People were fed up because of Congress and that is why they chose you. People want to hear your schemes and not criticism of Congress, Shiv Sena leader Manisha Kayande said.

Opposition MPs, including from Congress, staged walk out of Lok Sabha while the Prime Minister was delivering his speech in the house. The Opposition MPs also said that Modis speech had no mention of the Andhra Reorganisation Act.
The AICC headquarters will be open for those on the list of appointments with the Congress president Rahul Gandhi from 9:30 am to 11 am. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Congress chief Rahul Gandhi revived an old tradition of the party on Wednesday when he met and interacted with delegations of its leaders and workers from across the country at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters in Delhi.

According to party sources, Gandhi came to the party headquarters at 24 Akbar Road at around 9:15 am and met delegations of workers from various states, including Delhi, Rajasthan and poll-bound Karnataka.

These delegations were listed for appointments with the party chief earlier.

Easy accessibility of the Congress president was an issue of debate in the past.

The Congress chief's office at the AICC headquarters has, for several years, remained closed. It was opened once in a while when former party chief Sonia Gandhi came to attend a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting or an important event like the party's foundation day.

Rahul started sitting in the office for weekly interactions with party workers and people from Wednesday after it was recently cleaned up and refurbished.

Senior Congress leaders said the plan is for Rahul Gandhi to spare one hour for the mass outreach every week at the party's headquarters at 24 Akbar Road.

In the past, former Congress presidents like Indira Gandhi used to meet the party workers at a 'janata durbar' there.

(With inputs from agency)
The AICC headquarters will be open for those on the list of appointments with the Congress president Rahul Gandhi from 9:30 am to 11 am. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: Reviving the old party tradition, Congress president Rahul Gandhi will interact with delegations of party leaders and workers from across the country from Wednesday at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters at Akbar Road in Delhi.

According to party sources, the AICC headquarters will be open for those on the list of appointments with the Congress chief from 9:30 am to 11 am.

According to news agency IANS, Rahul Gandhi will also meet and interact with the general public. "Rahul Gandhiji will meet and interact with the general public from Wednesday," a party leader told IANS.

The media, however, will not be allowed to be present during these interactions.

Easy accessibility of the Congress president has been an issue of debate in the past.

The Congress president's office at the AICC headquarters has, for several years, remained closed. It was opened once in a while when former party chief Sonia Gandhi came to attend the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting or an important event like the party's foundation day.

The office has recently been cleaned up and refurbished for Rahul Gandhi to sit there.

In the past, former Congress presidents like Indira Gandhi used to meet the party workers at a "janta durbar" there.
The Supreme Court said mining activity will be allowed only till March 16 and new licenses would be issued only after obtaining an environment clearance. (Photo: File/Representational)

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed the second renewal of 88 iron ore mining leases in Goa.

The apex court also said that mining activity will be allowed only till March 16 and new licenses would be issued only after obtaining an environment clearance.

The court further directed the Central government to start a fresh process of auction for mining companies in Goa.

The top court had suspended mining in the state in October 2012 following a report submitted by the Justice MB Shah Commission, which found that millions of tonnes of iron ore were being extracted illegally.

However, the state government in 2015 renewed 88 mining leases owned by the same holders accused of illegal mining.
Police pulled down the ashram on Monday and got the land encroached by 'godman' Rajendra Prasad for nearly four months in Natwa village freed. (Representational Image)

Bhadohi (Uttar Pradesh): A self-styled godman was arrested and six minor girls were rescued from his "ashram" built allegedly on an encroached land of the gram sabha in Bhadohi district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Tuesday.

Police pulled down the ashram on Monday and got the land encroached by "godman" Rajendra Prasad for nearly four months in Natwa village freed, District Magistrate Vishakh G said.

Five people, including Prasad, have been arrested from the ashram from where six minor girls have been freed and sent to Bal Kalyan Samiti for counselling, the magistrate said.

The DM said that like Ram Vriksha of Jawaharbagh Mathura, Prasad had also prepared a team of lathi-wielding youths, scripted his own "constitution" and had collected nearly Rs 20 lakh in donation. He was also running his writ among illegal land grabbers and admitted it before the media.

A case has been registered against nine named and 50 unnamed people, the officer added.

SP Shachindra Patel said Prasad is a resident of Dattipurva village in Vindhyachal area of Mirzapur district and had earlier been arrested for immoral acts.

He had been residing in Natwa village since his release on bail, the SP said, adding that preliminary inquiry suggests that the girls were being used for immoral activities.

Prasad's involvement in criminal activities as well as his links with naxalites will also be probed, the SP said.

According to Patel, several of his supporters fled the scene when the police team reached there and were hiding in nearby areas and a vigil is being maintained to ensure that they do not regroup again.

The issue had come to light when the mother of one of the girls complained against Prasad that she had been kidnapped after which police had raided the ashram and got her freed.

Prasad and his supporters had also staged a protest on the National Highway 2 to free the 16-year-old girl and indulged in brick batting in which three policemen including an inspector were injured. The girl was freed two days ago.
Hassan: It's a mega event held only once in 12 years. Not surprisingly, it has drawn thousands of Jain munis ,and devotees from around the country to Shravanabelagola, the temple town that is home to the towering statue of Bahubali.

Wednesday will see 20-day Mahamastakabhisheka (head anointing ceremony) of Bahubali take off with President Ram Nath Kovind lighting the lamp on a massive stage erected specially for the inaugural event on the outskirts of the town.

Also present will be Governor Vajubhai Vala, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Janata Dal(S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda, and Hassan district in-charge and Minister A Manju among others. As many as 11 satellite towns have been created to temporarily accommodate the tyagis/matajis, visitors, police personnel and others arriving for the ceremony. Special drinking water and power supply arrangements too have been made for all those who will stay in Shravanabelagola for the duration of the ceremony, says Special Officer for the Mahamastakabhisheka, Varaprasad Reddy.

Around 5,500 police personnel will be deployed and bike-borne police will keep a constant watch on the people, reveals Hassan Superintendent of Police, Rahul Kumar Shahapurwad. A 12-member core team will provide security to the Mahamastakabhisheka head and a contingent of the mounted police from Mysuru besides an Anti-Terrorist squad will be on call at the venue.

In addition, Agni, a motorbike squad, equipped with Mist Technology Fire Extinguishers will roam the town 24x7, according to District Fire Officer, Ranganath. Stretchers and ropes will be available to help people, who may find themselves stuck in the crowd on their way to the Vindhyagiri Hill and one fire station has been opened in all satellite towns as a precaution. Rescue vehicles will also be on call, he adds. Since temporary tents have been built using plywood and cloth, and electric board panels and LPG cylinders have been put in place, we will keep a constant watch on the situation, he assures.

HD Deve Gowda to share dais with Siddaramaiah?

Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, who had not so long back stated that he will not attend any function which Chief Minister Siddaramaiah attends, seems to have put his decision on hold and decided to share the dais with the Chief Minister at the inaugural function of Mahamastakabhisheka-2018 at Chavundaraya Sabha Mantapa in Shravanabelagola of Hassan district.

The ceremony will be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday.

An official communication from the JD(S) stated that Mr Gowda will arrive in Hassan in a chopper and reach Shravanabelagola by road.

An annoyed Mr Deve Gowda had expressed his ire over the style of functioning of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently especially with regard the transfer of Hassan Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri and had asserted that he would not share the dais with the CM.

But, as per protocol, the state government has printed in the invite and programmes schedule that Mr Deve Gowda, representing Hassan in the Lok Sabha, is scheduled to attend the inaugural function of Mahamastakabhisheka along with Mr Siddaramaiah and other dignitaries on Wednesday.
The MoD also reminded the Opposition that it was under the rule of the Congress government that there an alarming decline in IAFs fighter strength. (Photo: AFP/File)

New Delhi: The Ministry of Defence on Wednesday said that "unfounded allegations" were being made regarding the 2016 Inter-Governmental Agreement to procure 36 Rafale aircraft from France.

It said a massive damage was being done by misleading statements, sought to be repeatedly perpetrated on matter of national security.

The MoD in a statement said that the demand by the opposition parties to disclose details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 was "unrealistic".

"The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to the Parliament," the MoD statement said.

The ministry asserted that such a provision would impact the nation's military preparedness and compromise national security.

"The provision of exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal details regarding various customizations and weapons systems specially designed to augment effectiveness and lethality of assets," the statement read.

Such details would also come under ambit of security agreement signed in 2008, it said.

It said that in 2012, the then Defence Minister AK Antony exercised unprecedented personal veto on laid down institutional process then underway for procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft.

The MoD also reminded the Opposition that it was under the rule of the Congress government that there an alarming decline in IAFs fighter strength.

In not revealing item-wise details of contract, the ministry said, the Govt was merely following in letter and spirit the confidentiality provisions of bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the Congress-led government.

The statement also maintained that there was no provision for transfer of technology but only to manufacture under licence.

It said the Government was unable to agree on terms for even that in its negotiations with the vendor, resulting in a long-drawn exercise under earlier government, ultimately turning futile.

Reacting to the Congress allegation on why an Indian private company with zero experience in aviation was chosen as an offset partner to manufacture Rafale jets, the MoD said no offset partners has been selected so far.

"No Indian Offset Partner for '16 deal for 36 Rafale Aircraft so far selected by vendor (DA) bcoz as per guidelines, DA is free to select Indian Offset Partners & provide their details at the time of seeking offset credits, or 1 year prior to discharge of offset obligation," it said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on questioned Modis silence on Rafale deal. He also targeted Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her remarks that the details on Rafale Deal cannot be disclosed since it is "classified".

Gandhi attacked the Government for not making public the prices of Rafale fighter aircraft, and charged that there was a "scam" in the deal.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi calls Rafale deal a scam, says Modi personally got it done

Gandhi's attack comes two days after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had refused to share the details of the deal on the grounds of security agreement signed between India and France.
Whatever one thinks of the specifics about this years Union Budget, there is one issue on which there is consensus. It has made health a topic of national conversation.

Given that this is the Narendra Modi governments last full-fledged Budget before next years general election, it is obviously politically-loaded. It comes as no surprise that Modi supporters, critics, and ruling party and Opposition talking heads are sparring with each other in newspaper columns and television studios on the merits and demerits of Modicare and other health-related proposals.

While one has reservations about some of the proposals, as someone who has been tracking global and national debates on healthcare for decades, I am thrilled we have finally elevated health to a key political issue. Let state governments, who will play a major role in execution, also wade in. Let the fireworks begin.

Look at other major economies  the United States and Britain, to name just two. Battles over health policies dominate their national discourse. Tens of thousands march on the streets to make their voice heard. This week, Twitter is buzzing with comments about the online exchanges between US President Donald Trump and UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt about Britains famous publicly-funded national healthcare system, the NHS. In his trademark style, Mr Trump recently tweeted: The Democrats are pushing for Universal Healthcare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working. Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and nonpersonal medical care. No thanks.

Even a Conservative government in Britain felt compelled to retort. British PM Theresa May was not amused by Mr Trumps comments on the NHS. And the UK health secretary testily noted: I may disagree with claims made on that march but not ONE of them wants to live in a system where 28m (million) people have no cover. NHS may have challenges but Im proud to be from the country that invented universal coverage  where all get care no matter the size of their bank balance.

I dont see Mr Modi or health minister J.P. Nadda jousting with world leaders about healthcare anytime soon. But health is now on the policy high table, and we should seize the moment. If the Modi government is making Modicare one of the key pieces of its political campaign rhetoric in the run-up to the general election, nothing prevents us from continuously tracking the finances and implementation architecture, and pushing the ruling party and the Opposition towards a system that ensures that whether you live or die, stay sick or healthy doesnt depend on the size of your wallet.

India has been the outlier among major economies so far as healthcare is concerned. Despite impressive economic growth in recent decades, it spends a measly amount (about one per cent of GDP) on health. This despite the fact that the vast majority of this country are forced to pay for medical care out of their pockets, and millions go bankrupt in the process. Even middle-class people live in perennial fear of falling sick as insurance doesnt pay for everything, specially not medicines, which comprise a huge chunk of out-of-pocket expenditure on healthcare. Most bureaucrats and politicians dont have to worry  the government takes care of their medical expenses.

So why have not we, the aam aadmi/aurat, been banging our fists about it? Blame it on our passivity when it comes to the real issues.

The showpiece of the Modi governments health-related plans  National Health Prot-ection Scheme (NHPS)  will at best provide partial relief to the poor struggling with high healthcare costs. As pointed out by several other commentators, the proposed health insurance scheme for 500 million poor and vulnerable Indians, which finance minister Arun Jaitley called the worlds biggest government-fun-ded healthcare scheme may be a big bonanza for the healthcare industry but wont help ordinary Indians weighed down by out-of-pocket medical expenses which dont entail hospitalisation.

I have nothing against the healthcare industry. But right now what we have is an unregulated private healthcare indu-stry. J.V. Prasada Rao, a former Union health secretary, says he has seen incidents where pati-ents who walked into a private hospital with normal ailments were put on saline drip immediately, without any real diagnosis. Many private hospitals do that, as we know.

If we want the healthcare industry to be a part of the health reforms story, there must be greater accountability and strengthening of the public health system. The main focus should be on the foundation: primary healthcare.

The Union Budget talks about upgrading some 150,000 sub-centres to health and wellness centres which will provide comprehensive healthcare at the primary level. This sounds swish. But as a recent report by the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability pointed out, where will the manpower come from? Some telling indicators, culled from the report  about 6.371 sub-centres are functioning without auxiliary nurses and midwives; even if the posts have been sanctioned, many are lying vacant.

With Modicare emerging as a critical political issue, we are also witnessing a debate about the benefits or otherwise of an insurance-based model. The fact is that even in states that have government-supported health insurance schemes, out-of-pocket expenses havent gone down. Even in the United States, where healthcare is a corrosively polarising issue, polling has seen increased support for a single-payer, government-run healthcare, although it remains a contentious issue largely opposed by Republicans and supported by Democrats.

Mr Prasada Rao, who worked with the United Nations for years after his stint as Union health secretary, points to models nearer home, in countries like Thailand and Sri Lanka, which have achieved universal health coverage through an excellent primary health infrastructure and provision of referrals to secondary and tertiary care in cases of need.

Now that we have the opportunity, it would be silly to rest till we get a good deal  universal access to health coverage  irrespective of who is voted to power.
A boon for the poor and downtrodden

Harish Khurana

On February 1, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley announced a big scheme for the health sector in his Budget speech. He said the government would implement a national health protection scheme targeted at 10 crore poor and vulnerable families (50 crore beneficiaries). It will offer reimbursement of up to Rs 5 lakhs per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation. This accounts for nearly 40 per cent of Indias population, making it the worlds largest government-funded health programme.

The finance minister said the programme would take public healthcare in the worlds largest democracy to a new aspiration level, adding that his government was steadily but surely progressing towards a goal of universal health coverage. This will be the worlds largest government-funded healthcare programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his address soon after the Budget speech. The government will also establish 1.5 lakh health and wellness centres under the Ayushman Bharat programme. We are all aware that lakhs of families in our country have to borrow or sell assets to receive indoor treatment in hospitals. The government is seriously concerned about such impoverishment of poor and vulnerable families. These measures, Mr Jaitley believes, will be crucial to building an efficient and productive new India, and would create additional jobs, especially for women. He further stated that schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana will now expandto cover the lower strata of society.

Apart from the above, Mr Jaitley announced that a sum of `600 crores will be provided for nutritional support to tuberculosis patients at a rate of `500 per month. Additionally, 24 new government medical colleges and hospitals will be set up by upgrading existing district hospitals, thus moving towards achieving universal healthcare.

It is a hard fact that the health sector in our country has always been a neglected area. Indias public spending on healthcare has been dismal, accounting for just 1.13 per cent of GDP in 2014-15, according to the National Health Accounts Estimates report released in October 2017. This is far below what countries such as China and the US spend, and even less than the global average.

While countries like France heavily subsidise healthcare for the poor, Indias existing Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana scheme, implemented in 2008, only offers low-income Indians hospitalisation coverage of up to `30,000 per year.

As a result, many Indians have been forced to rely on their own funds: Out-of-pocket expenditure accounts for nearly 63 per cent of the countrys total health expenditure, and both urban and rural patients have struggled to pay for the care they deserve. We are all aware that lakhs of families in our country have to borrow or sell assets to receive indoor treatment in hospitals, Mr Jaitley said in his speech.

The Opposition is in a state of shock. They are worried that these type of welfare schemes for the poor will further increase the popularity of Mr Modi. So some leaders are trying to oppose it by raising the questions like where this money will comes from.

I am not able to understand their objection as we require around `12,000 crores to fund this. For this, the finance minister has allocated `2,000 crores and one per cent cess which is expected to raise around `11,000 crore. I think this scheme is a revolutionary step in the health sector and it will will surely be a game-changer.

The writer is a Delhi BJP spokesperson

Announced with an eye on 2019 polls

Abhishek Dutt

Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre has broken multiple norms in his tenure, including deglamourising the Budget exercise. His governance has consistently announced reforms across the year. Another consistent characteristic of this tenure has been the perpetual struggle to implement these reforms. With a battery of technocrats at his disposal, it is rather disappointing to observe a great leader not having adequate resources to walk the talk.

Lets leave the implementation woes for another day; the past one week has been the one of reading between the lines for accountants and economists. The health budget saw 11 per cent increase in allocation, at 1.4 per cent, a far cry from espoused 2.5 per cent. The National Health Protection Scheme, gives rise to hope and also casts aspersions. Hope for 10 crore Indians who believe their family will be covered by Rs 5 lakh health insurance every year and aspersions by those who have a list of questions, including those on the novelty of this scheme!

The scheme is not a first-of-its-kind. Before 2014, it existed in the form of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana and had an allocation of Rs 30,000 per family. In 2016, the government revised this amount to Rs 1.5 lakh. However, why the scheme remained dormant is anybodys guess.

This may be because most states already have their own health insurance policies, that, taken together, provide cover to around 40 crore citizens. This means that the government is already an enabler in providing healthcare at the state level. Unfortunately, it is due to the abysmal failure of these schemes, and not lack of them, that we are afflicted with such poor healthcare. Doesnt it make sense to continue with existing policies, and strengthen them than to introduce fresh schemes? On second thoughts, did they abdicate from the responsibility of enabling healthcare for past four years so that a mega reform could be announced just before the 2019 General Elections? It would augur well to fix the existing system and provide resources to achieve efficiency by using the Rs 2,000 crores as an icing over the already existing state schemes. An ongoing issue in the realm of public healthcare that stands unaddressed is the crippling healthcare centres at district and ward levels. Anyone who has been to a public healthcare center would agree that availability of drugs and an efficient infrastructure is a huge problem which drives the poor to private healthcare centres where they are fleeced off their savings.

The fact that households spent four times less in government hospitals as compared to private hospitals speaks volumes about the inefficiency that has settled in the sector. The insurance would be applicable on hospitalisation, which is in contradiction with the fact that around 62 per cent of spending is out of pocket.

Providing an insurance cover will hardly help address this issue. Most illnesses aggravate when not seized at their conception stage.

Prevention should be the states priority and cure its last resort. Insured patients will obviously be offered higher prices for admission and treatment but quality of healthcare to these patients yet remains an uncertain territory.

Another trend that caught up hours after the announcement of this scheme was its name. While the Budget documents call it National Health Protection Scheme under the title Ayushman Bharat, the BJP leaders have been calling it NaMo Care. Proof of the pudding is in the eating and proof a scheme is in its ability to be implemented.

The writer is the Congress leader in the South Delhi Municipal Corporation
Chinas foreign minister Wang Yi has, once again, made his countrys position succinctly clear: China always values ties with India but is firm on sovereign rights. This statement has two dimensions  ties with India are of value but Chinas sovereign rights, interests and territorial integrity are paramount. The question is thus how valuable is this value.

While it seems perfect for China, it will soon become not-so-perfect if the other side of the hill too adopts the same strategy!

Who decides the perfect median: the average, central point of agreement  a unilateral diktat from Beijing or a mutually agreeable agreement? This is the crux as one sees the evolution of Chinese sovereign rights, post-1949.

The scenario is somewhat like the post-World War I French quest for security that pertained to the frontier, finance, firepower and the franc to undermine the provisions of the 1919 Paris Peace Treaty to regain the old 19th century glory of Napoleonic days when France overran Europe, where non-French nation states and dependencies, duchies and republics were like vassals and satellites. Guarantee was the password.

From security to expansion, France sought a guarantee from both current contracting and past confronting parties.

To establish its (extra)-territorial grip on soil which might not necessarily have been its own in the past, China began quite early. It began its quest for territory stabilisation process after a long war and a still longer civil war, and at the behest of its weak and small neighbour like Burma (now Myanmar). The Sino-Burmese frontier has a turbulent past as China claimed Burmese territory.

Nevertheless, to show how peaceful, peace-loving, tolerant, just, fair and flexible international model big brother it can be, China signed the Sino-Burmese border agreement on January 28, 1960 and ceded a small portion of its claimed land of Nam-Wan assigned tract and Panghung and Pangloo Tribal Area to Myanmar. With this Beijings pretence to be the good boy of Asia came full circle. It sent a message to the international community that a strong, yet sensible and sensitive China surrendered its avowed sovereign rights to the small and weak.

Taking this further, a year after the Sino-Burmese Boundary Treaty, the Sino-Nepalese Boundary Treaty was signed on October 5, 1961. Here, Chinas softness stiffened as it claimed sovereignty over Mount Everest.

Though Nepals then PM B.P. Koirala summarily rejected Beijings claim, China was in its sovereign element in pointing out that Chinese climbers had scaled Mount Everest (without the customary permission of Nepal) and placed a bust of Mao wrapped in a Chinese flag on the summit, asserting Chinas sovereign right to not compromise with its territorial ambition and claim; it outright rejected the Nepalese point.

Thus, the assertion or desertion of Chinese sovereign rights in friendly boundary-agreements with Myanmar and Nepal (achieved by the Chinese Communist governments acceptance of principles which it had rejected in the case of India) were used for isolating India as New Delhi proved to be an intransigent renegade from the Bandung spirit. Sovereign rights for China thus was a tool for accepting or rejecting an opponents claim in line with Beijings national interest and convenience alone. And theres no reason to believe anything contrary will happen today or in future in Chinas attitude and actions toward India. The buck now stops at Chinas unilateral traffic of sovereign rights.

Coming back to China values ties with India, a question arises. Since when exactly did China begin doing that? In 1949, when the Peoples Republic of China was born? In 1950, when Tibet was forcibly captured? In 1959, when the fugitive Dalai Lama took refuge in India? In 1962 (when China attacked India on Maos order, without provocation)? In 1971, when India was invaded by the Pakistan Army and (then) Pakistani citizens as refugees? In 1978, when the then foreign minister Atal Behari Vajpayee visited China? In the late 1980s, when then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi visited China? Or in 2017, when China had a comfortable surplus trade balance of $52 billion?

Today there are several serious issues which lie pending for a solution. If not a solution, at least some kind of diplomatic or political resolution. Why? One gets the eerie feeling that China is comfortable only with a unilateral than a bilateral resolution of issues.

Lets then be honest with ourselves. Sooner or later, this values ties with India is bound to come into conflict with the real non-addressed issues  that both sides appear to be underestimating. Its bound to get more serious. Remember Neville Chamberlains meeting with Adolf Hitler in Munich on September 29, 1938  that was the prologue to a tragedy?

The core Sino-Indian issue is territory and geography, on the basis of which every sovereign state stands. Just a cursory look at the words of the Chinese foreign minister  We handled the Indian border troops trespass into Chinas Dong Long area in our national interest  is enough to explain the gravity of the situation. This implies there were no Chinese troops there. India is the wrongdoer and China the victim! As if China never trespassed before? As if China is the ultimate paragon of peace, prosperity, virtue, wisdom, wealth and prosperity, and India just the opposite. Does this really corroborate with China values ties with India?

Theres no doubt that even in the best of times the Sino-Indian bilateral situation is fraught with ups and downs, given its turbulent past and complicated present. But the most peculiar things appear to have either been forgotten or ignored. Usually, a war ends with a meeting or a declaration. The 22-day India-Pakistan war of 1965 ended with the 1966 Tashkent Declaration. The 17-day India-Pakistan war of 1971 ended with the 1972 Shimla Agreement. The 1999 Kargil war ended with several India-Pak bilateral treaties.

How come till date nothing appears to have officially happened after the 1962 Sino-Indian war? China objects to Japanese leaders going to pay tribute to their fallen heroes during the war. Has China ever apologised to India for the 1962 aggression? Has India insisted on the expression of at least token regret by China? This single factor of unilateralism is a reflection of the Han psyche of one-way diplomacy  from commerce, economics to defence; the sooner the Chinese realise and rectify this, the better would be the prospect of Sino-Indian bilateral ties.
Uber disclosed the breach of 57 million worldwide users in November, about a year after it occurred.

The two people who hacked ride-hailing firm Ubers data in 2016 were in Canada and Florida at the time, a company security executive told a US congressional committee.

About 25 million people whose data was compromised in the breach live in the United States, Uber Technologies Inc chief information security officer John Flynn said in written testimony to a Senate Commerce Committee panel.

Of those, 4.1 million were drivers, said Flynn, whose testimony described new details about the hack, the handling of which prompted newly appointed Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi to fire two top security officials.

Uber disclosed the breach of 57 million worldwide users in November, about a year after it occurred. In December a 20-year-old man was primarily behind the breach, and that he was paid by Uber to destroy the data through a so-called bug bounty program, which is designed to reward researchers for uncovering security vulnerabilities.

Flynn confirmed the man who obtained data from Uber was in Florida and revealed that his partner, who first contacted the company on November 14, 2016, to demand a six-figure payment, was in Canada.

Ubers security team made contact with both people and received assurances the pilfered data had been destroyed before paying them $100,000, Flynn said. Sources familiar with the breach told Reuters in December the company did a forensic analysis of the Florida hackers computer to verify the deletions. A Canadian Royal Canadian Mounted Police representative said she had no immediate comment on the case.

Flynn said Uber had made mistakes, including paying the hackers through its bug bounty program. We made a misstep in not reporting to consumers, and we made a misstep in not reporting to law enforcement, Flynn said. Republican and Democratic lawmakers admonished Uber for its delay in disclosing the breach.

The fact that the company took approximately a year to notify impacted users raises red flags within this committee as to what systemic issues prevented such time-sensitive information from being made available to those left vulnerable, Republican Jerry Moran said.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said Ubers management of the hack was morally wrong and legally reprehensible, and that the company appeared to violate state rules for data breach disclosure.

Compromised data includes names, phone numbers and email addresses but not Social Security numbers or credit card information of Uber users. Drivers license numbers of 600,000 drivers were also compromised.

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Singh says he came to America from India in the early 1990s to pursue the American dream, but what happened at his store is more of a nightmare. (Representational Image)

Washington: A gas station owned by a Sikh in the US state of Kentucky has been vandalised by a masked man with racist slurs and vulgar phrases, according to media reports.

The station in Greenup County was hit by vandals last weeks, sending shock waves among community members. The vandals spray-painted vulgar phrases and symbols such as white power, swastikas, and language too vulgar to air, the local WSAZ TV said.

Store owner Gary Singh said he was shocked by the incident. Kentucky State Police is investigating the incident.

The TV channel said security footage showed a person wearing a ski mask approaching the store just after 11:30 pm. I was really nervous about that. It happened to me for the first time in this store in four years time. Ive never done wrong to the community here. I try to help the community all the time, Singh said.

According to local Daily Mail, there were obscenities and other crudely-lettered markings on the store that appear to say leave. Singh says he came to America from India in the early 1990s to pursue the American dream, but what happened at his store is more of a nightmare.

Kentucky State Police say they are investigating the case as criminal mischief but they do plan on working with county prosecutors to discuss a hate crime charge on those responsible.

Customers hope the disturbing images and hateful act do not reflect on their community. But despite the hateful comments, Singh says he could forgive the vandals, and hopes they do not strike again.
Colombo/Male: Exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday asked India to play its role of "liberators" and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

China has warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges.

"Saying 'resolve things internally' is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see India's role positively: in '88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now," Nasheed tweeted on Wednesday.

Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) functions from Colombo, had appealed for India's help on Tuesday.

"We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are

asking for a physical presence," Nasheed said in a tweet.

In 1988, the then president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had sought India's help to defeat a coup by mercenaries. India responded to his call and dispatched troops to the Maldives to restore order in the country. Most of the Indian soldiers

returned home after order was restored in the island nation.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Concerned over political crisis in Maldives, India, which is monitoring the situation very "closely", on Tuesday said it was "disturbed" on the declaration of the emergency by the Maldivian government and described as a matter of "concern" the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

Weighing its options in the fast deteriorating crisis in the Maldives, China has asked political parties in Maldives to find a solution without external intervention after UN, the US and India stepped pressure on Yameen to implement the Supreme Court ruling of setting the detained opposition leaders free.

"The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," China's Foreign Ministry

spokesman Geng Shuang said on Wednesday.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The remaining three judges of the Supreme Court Tuesday night amended an order to release nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed.

In a statement, the judges said they were revoking the order to release the prisoners "in light of the concerns raised by the President".

The amendment to the ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1 also omits the part that says the case against the Supreme Court judges was not received by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

President Yameen on Wednesday welcomed the court's move to reinstate the convictions of political prisoners. He had accused the detained judges of plotting to overthrow him.

"I had to declare a national emergency because there was no other way to investigate these judges," Yameen said in a televised address to the nation last evening.

"We had to find out how thick the plot or coup was," he said, adding that the chief justice was trying to illegally impeach him and sack the attorney general.

Meanwhile, Acting police chief Abdulla Nawaz told reporters that police had found evidence that millions of dollars were given as bribes to Saeed and Hameed of the Supreme Court, and to court official Hassan Saeed.

Nawaz said police had reason to believe Gayoom had bribed politicians and influenced judges in order to overthrow the government, the Maldives Independent news website reported.

Gayoom, president for 30 years until the country's first democratic elections in 2008, was also detained at his home hours after the emergency was declared on Monday night. Gayoom has allied himself with the Opposition.

Nawaz claimed that police had found "lots of cash" that was connected to Hameed and that "lots of cash" had been found under Hassan Saeed's mattress.

All four are being charged with attempting to unlawfully overthrow the government, he added.

Nasheed, 50, the first democratically elected leader of the Maldives, has accused President Yameen of acting illegally and asked the US to ensure that all American financial institutions stop all transactions of the regime's leaders.

He was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terror charges in March 2015 over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency. He was granted asylum in the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure.

Nasheed was narrowly defeated in 2013 by Yameen. Nasheed says his conviction on terror charges was politically motivated.

The Maldivian government holds that Nasheed is convicted for a crime and is wanted in the Maldives to serve a jail sentence. Nasheed said he will seek UN support to ensure he is allowed to contest this year's election.
Mark Zuckerberg has offered fresh self-criticism, acknowledging making numerous mistakes in building the world's biggest social network as Facebook marked its 14th birthday.



"Over the years, I've made almost every mistake you can imagine," the Facebook co-founder said on his personal page.

"I've made dozens of technical errors and bad deals. I've trusted the wrong people and I've put talented people in the wrong roles. I've missed important trends and I've been slow to others. I've launched product after product that failed."

The post, a reflection of the 14 years since Zuckerberg launched Facebook as a Harvard student, was the latest to acknowledge problems in the social network that has grown to some two billion users but has also been criticized for enabling misinformation and manipulation.

In recent weeks, Facebook has unveiled steps to refocus on family and friends, even if that means people spend less time on the network.

Yesterday's post suggested a continual re-evaluation of how Facebook works.

"The reason our community exists today is not that we avoided mistakes," Zuckerberg wrote.

"It's because we believe what we're doing matters enough to keep trying to solve our greatest challenges -- knowing full well that we'll fail again and again, but that it's the only way to make progress."
UN chief Antonio Guterres has expressed serious concern over the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives and asked the government led by President Abdulla Yameen to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.



Guterres' statement comes after President Abdulla Yameen ordered a state of emergency in the country and gave sweeping powers to the law enforcement agencies and the military.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago plunged into a political chaos last week when the country's Supreme Court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric in a statement said, "The Secretary-General urges the Government of the Maldives to uphold the constitution and the rule of law, lift the state of emergency as soon as possible, and take all measures to ensure the safety and security of the people in the country, including members of the judiciary."

Assistant Secretary-General of the UN for Political Affairs Miroslav Jenca spoke by phone with the Maldives' Foreign Minister and reiterated the Secretary-Generals serious concern about the unfolding situation in the country, in particular, the arrest of the Chief Justice.

"Jenca stressed the importance of upholding the Constitution and the rule of law, in particular, the need to preserve the independence of the judiciary. He urged the Government of Maldives to release the Chief Justice and Supreme Court judges urgently," Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.

He asked the Maldivian government to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety and security of all people in the country and to resolve the political crisis through all-party talks, which the UN stands ready to facilitate, Haq said.

The declaration of emergency and arrest of judges by Yameen has attracted worldwide condemnation which is likely to quell the ambition of the island nation to be elected as non-permanent member of UN Security Council later this summer.

Indonesia is the other country in the race.

"Given the backlash that the Maldives is facing from across the world in the aftermath of the declaration of emergency by its president," UN observers said.

However, the Permanent Representative of Maldives to the UN, Ali Naseer Mohamed, still has hopes.

"The Maldives hopes to get elected to the Council at the election to be held in June this year for the term 2019 to 2020," he told a meeting of the Security Council on Tuesday.

"We will bring fresh views to the Council, and lead the discussions in finding innovative and long-term solutions to these emerging issues," he said.

"We believe that creating an accountable, transparent, and a coherent Security Council is a clear way to lead this Organisation into the 21st century," Mohamed told the powerful Security Council, which has 15 members.

The Maldives has never been elected as members of the Security Council.
A special court today sent Indrani Mukerjea, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, to 14 days judicial custody in connection with a case related to INX Media.



Special CBI Judge Sunil Rana remanded Indrani to judicial custody after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said she was not required for further custodial interrogation in this case.

Indrani, who was produced before the court after two-day CBI custody ended, will be taken to Mumbai today itself.

Indrani is one of the founders of INX Media.

INX Media has been accused of violating FIPB guidelines while receiving investments from Mauritius.
Jashodaben had a narrow escape. She and other relatives were rushed to the government district hospital in Chittorgarh. One of her relatives, identified as Basantbhai Modi, succumbed to injuries on the spot.

According to police, the accident took place around 10 am near Katunda, 55 km from Chittorgarh on the Kota-Chittor highway.

The sub divisional magistrate of Chittorgarh, Suresh Khatik, confirmed that "Jasodaben was fine and doctors who treated her and others referred them to Ahmedabad doctors. She was travelling in an Innova along with her relatives when the accident took place near Katunda." Jashodaben was on her way to Gujarat after attending a wedding at her relative's house in Atru in Baran district near Kota.

Critical

A case has been registered and the truck driver has been detained. Out of nine persons in the SUV with Jashodaben, a gunman Jayendra and another relative Bimlaben are critical. Shyam Singh, Station House Officer, Parsoli police station, Chittorgarh said, "The SUV was badly damaged in the accident. Preliminary investigation suggested that the car was moving behind a truck, which was being driven recklessly. When the truck driver steered the vehicle to the side, the SUV collided with the truck". The detained truck driver has been identified as Pooran Yadav, a resident of Hazaribag in Jharkhand.

A case was registered under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of IPC. Police said that the truck was going from Jamshedpur to Ahmedabad with a consignment of iron pipes.

A teacher by profession, 66-year-old Jashodaben was married to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 1968. She is provided security by the Mehsana police and lives with her brother Ashok Modi at Unjha town of Mehsana district.
A black flag demonstration before the AICC President Rahul Gandhi (who is slated to arrive in Karnataka), to press for the implementation of the Justice Sadashiva Committee report recommendations, will be held on February 10, said activists Marasandra Muniyappa and N Murthy.



The activists said that they would demonstrate at all venues where Rahul Gandhi is planned to address gatherings in the state.

The protests will be held in front of the deputy commissioners' offices, said Muniyappa at a press meet here.

If the state government does not recommend the implementation of the Justice Sadashiva report and write to the Centre, the activist organisation would campaign against the Congress in the upcoming Assembly polls, Murthy said.
Lord Bahubali's tenets of sacrifice and non-violence are beacons for the world said President of India Ram Nath Kovind.



He spoke after inaugurating the 20-day, 88th Mahamastakabhisheka celebrations at Shravanbelagola in Hassan district, Karnataka, on Wednesday.

The President who greeted the gathering in Kannada said that he was participating in the event with joy in his heart.

"This is my third visit to Karnataka and I am pleased to be a part of the Mahamastakabhisheka celebrations which signify a heritage of non-violence," the first citizen of India said.

"The tenets of Lord Bahubali breathe life into the stone statue. Jain values of sacrifice and non-violence are guiding lights for the entire world. The smile on Bahubali's face can calm every anxious mind. I wish the event every success and congratulate those responsible for making it possible," Kovind added.




In a coordinated attack, opposition parties on Wednesday charged BJP for painting a rosy picture inside the Parliament, while the ground realities are in stark contrast.



"While BJP president Amit Shah painted a rosy picture on the government's achievements, the party's allies in Maharashtra, Punjab and Andhra Pradesh sang a different tune," senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said in the Rajya Sabha while speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address.



Shah initiated the debate on the motion on Monday.



"It's an arrogant government with no tolerance. Its only agenda is to discredit the Gandhi family," said Patel, who is the political secretary of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi.



The Congress leader received support from several other opposition leaders, who closed ranks in coming down heavily on the NDA government on unfulfilled promises.



"By 2022, the Oxford Dictionary would have a new word to denote making tall claims without any delivery. That word would be jumla," Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'brien said. "I can write a book on false claims (of the government)."



The opposition leaders cited the examples of Ujjwala scheme (on free LPG connections), budget announcement of giving 1.5 times Minimum Support Price (MSP) of farm produce and the much talked about national health protection scheme as cases where the government misled the people.



"Farmers were defrauded as the government changed the way to calculate the MSP and then making the promise of 1.5 times more than the production cost as the MSP. In the Ujjwala scheme, no one is buying the gas cylinders any more as the cylinder prices went up. They returned to the old cook stoves," said Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav.



On BJP's claim of providing an honest government, Patel wondered why the government stopped furnishing responses to RTI queries if it is so honest. "RTI budget has also been slashed and the department (CIC) was facing a staff crunch," he added.










The Law Ministry has said it has no record spelling out the legal action which can be taken against those forcing a citizen to chant "Bharat mata ki jai".



The case pertains to one RTI applicant Mohammed Irfan Quadri who had sought to know from the ministry whether there is any legal obligation of a citizen to chant "Bharat mata ki jai" and whether a citizen can take legal action against those forcing him to chant this slogan among others.

"The respondent (Law Ministry) referred to the CPIO's reply dated April 19, 2016 and stated that they have informed the appellant that 'information sought by him construes neither any material information defined under Section 2(f) of the RTI Act, 2005 nor part of any record as defined under clause (i) of Section 2 of the RTI Act," Chief Information Commissioner R K Mathur said.

Mathur, however, refused to intervene in the matter, saying the response of the ministry was satisfactory.
As many as 108 people were arrested in 90 cases of attacks on journalists across the country in 2015-17, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.



Union minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said that the data was compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for the last three years.

He said that in 2017, there were 15 cases of attacks on journalists in which 26 people were arrested.

Last year, the highest 22 people were arrested in Rajasthan in three such cases while in Tripura, one person was arrested in three cases of attacks on journalists, the minister said.

In 2016, he said that 41 people were arrested in 47 such cases -- the highest of which were reported from Madhya Pradesh where 12 people were arrested in 41 cases.

There were six cases of attacks on journalists in Andhra Pradesh in 2016 in which nine people were arrested and five cases in Tripura where four people were arrested.

In 2015, 41 people were arrested for 28 cases of attacks on media persons, the minister said.

He, however, said that the Home Ministry has no information on whether any organisation or organisations were responsible for attacks on media persons.


On Tuesday as the proceedings of the Assembly began, opposition legislators of National Conference, Congress and CPI (M) stood up, demanding a statement from the government over the escape of the militant. "This is a security lapse. This has never happened before. It should be thoroughly probed," NC legislator Ali Muhammad Sagar, said.



He was supported by the lone CPI (M) MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, who also termed the attack as a "serious security lapse."



Later, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Abdul Rehman Veeri made a statement about the attack in the House saying the government would investigate 'security lapses' into the incident.



Naveed Jatt alias Abu Hanzulla, a Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) commander, escaped after militants opened fire inside Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar, where he had been brought along with five other prisoners for a check-up. In the audacious attack, two policemen died while Naveed escaped in the melee.



Naveed, a resident of Multan in Pakistan's Punjab province, was a close aide of LeT commanders Abu Qasim and Abu Dujana - killed in separate encounters with security forces in 2015 and 2017 respectively. He was arrested by the police in June 2014 from south Kashmir's Kulgam area and it had been termed as a major setback for the LeT and success for security forces then.



According to a police report Naveed had infiltrated into Kashmir along with seven other militants between October and November 2012 through Athmuqam-Farkian sector in northern Kupwara district.



Terming the attack on policemen in a Srinagar hospital on Tuesday as a 'security lapse', Opposition parties in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday demanded a statement from the government over the escape of a Pakistani militant in the attack.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted protection from arrest to Milind Ramakant Ekbote, the prime accused in the January 1 Bhima-Koregaon violence.



The court, however, asked the Maharashtra government to apprise it about the law and order situation in the village.

A bench of Justices Kurian Joseph and Mohan M Shantanagoudar issued notice to the Maharashtra government and others on Ekbote's plea for anticipatory bail.

The court protected Ekbote from arrest till February 20, saying if he is arrested, he shall be granted bail on furnishing a personal and surety bond of Rs 1 lakh each.

It also directed the petitioner-accused to cooperate with the investigation. The petitioner challenged the February 2 order of Bombay High Court, dismissing his plea for anticipatory bail.

As senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the petitioner, contended that Ekbote was nowhere near the place of violence and was confined to his residence, the bench asked him, "Has peace been restored?" To this, he responded in affirmative, saying there was no likelihood of breach of peace.

A counsel, appearing for the victims, however, countered him, saying the situation was still tense due to non-arrest of the prime accused, who had even issued threats to Maharashtra chief minister. He also submitted that a Pune court had already issued a non-bailable warrant against Ekbote.

Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who headed the Hindu Ekta Aghadi and Shivraj Pratishthan respectively, were booked for reportedly inciting violence on January 1 during an event to commemorate the bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.
India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha, Defence sources said.



The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near here at around 11.35 am, they said.

Describing the trial as a complete success, they said all mission objectives were met during the test launch.

The perfect test launch came after the successful trial of Agni-5 on January 18 and Agni-1 missile conducted from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast yesterday.

Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with maneuvering trajectory to hit its target, they said.

The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the Army and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise, they said.

"The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha," the sources said.

The downrange teams onboard the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown.

In salvo mode, on November 21, 2016, two missiles were successfully test fired in quick succession from the same base and the last trial was successful on June 2, 2017 from the same base.

Inducted into the Armed forces of the country in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), sources said.
Town Station police arrested on Tuesday, Pradeep, a lecturer and resident of Perasandra, in connection with the filming and uploading 'derogatory' videos of MLA Dr K Sudhakar on to social networks. He was later released on bail.



The lecturer was arrested in Vijayapura and brought to Chikkaballapur. He was produced before the taluk magistrate and tahsildar who ordered the accused to produce a Rs 5 lakh bond and released him on bail under IPC section 107.

On getting to know of the arrest, fans of Pradeep, Naveen Kiran, BJP and JD(S) workers gathered by the hundreds to oppose it.

Pradeep told media people on being released, that a corruption-free Chikkaballapur was his goal. I will continue to fight against corrupt activities of Sudhakar. The MLA has tried to stop me from going to Sri Lanka where he owns illegal property," Pradeep alleged.

"So far Sudhakar has not answered the seven questions I have asked. I don't mind losing my life in my fight against corruption. I will pose the eighth question to the MLA on social media. Let him answer if he has the guts," challenged the accused lecturer shouting the slogan 'Sudhakar hatao, Chikkaballapur bachao'.

Pradeep's fans burst crackers when he came out of the taluk office after being released on bail and took him out on a procession with Naveen Kiran.
A meet and greet reception for artists Charlie and Iantha Newton will be held at the North River Civic Center on Friday form 6-8 p.m.

Sponsored by an Equity in the Arts Grant from ArtsBuild, the artists have produced several works of art culminating in this exhibition. The artists' talk will begin at 7 p.m.

"Recent Works' will be on display at the North River Civic Center through March 31.






The Congress today dubbed as "disappointing" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha.



The main opposition party, whose MPs walked out of the House over Modi's reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the president for his address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament, said it did not address the issues raised by lawmakers, including that on the Rafale deal.

Hitting out at Modi for his "don't give BJP sermons on democracy" remark directed at his party, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the prime minister himself does not respect democracy. He said people like Modi "speak something and do something else".

Responding to the prime minister's accusation that the Congress bifurcated Andhra Pradesh because of "political considerations", Kharge said Modi did not keep his word on doing justice to Telangana and giving an economic package to the residual Andhra Pradesh after the NDA came to power.

Speaking to journalists outside Parliament, the Congress leader assailed Modi for not touching upon the issues of giving minimum support price (MSP) to farmers and doubling their income by 2022.

"The prime minister did not say anything new in his speech. He also did not mention anything new in the interest of the country. He also did not give satisfactory reply to issues we raised," Kharge said.

"This was his political speech, election speech. We are disappointed by the speech. He backtracked from fulfilling our demands. Hence, we staged walkout," he added.

Referring to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Kharge said Modi, in the run up to the 2014 general elections, had said a separate Telangana state would be created if the BJP came to power. Kharge also recalled that the BJP, while in the opposition, had supported the demand for dividing Andhra Pradesh.

Let the prime minister at least say that he was not in favour of creating Telangana and giving an economic package to Andhra Pradesh, he said.

"He is neither supporting (the bifurcation) and on the other (hand), is speaking such a language (accusing the Congress of dividing the state). Hence, I feel saddened that the prime minister is not keeping his words," Kharge said.

He said the MPs of Andhra Pradesh's ruling TDP, a BJP ally, staged protests in Lok Sabha yesterday over issues concerning the state when he flagged the matter of Rafale deal in the House.

Today, the TDP MPs were, however, requested not to raise their issues when the prime minister was to address the House. Kharge alleged the government did not allow him to press his demands.

"The prime minister talked about being large-hearted. He also read out (former Prime Minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayee ji's poem. Despite reading Vajpayee ji's poem, the prime minister did not become large-hearted (person)," the Congress leader said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also attacked the prime minister, saying his speech was a "farrago (a confused mixture) of misrepresentation and half truths".

"The problem was that all the facts and figures given were simply not the kind of figures that can stand up the detailed scrutiny, and I think the public would realise this," Tharoor added.
Mercedes-Benz apologized to Chinese consumers on Tuesday for an Instagram post showing one of its luxury cars along with a quote from exiled Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama, whom Beijing considers a dangerous separatist.



In a statement on its official Weibo, the German car maker said it had deleted the controversial post immediately, and offered its sincerest apology to Chinese people, in a sign that foreign brands are growing more wary of the reputational damage that missteps on touchy political issues can bring.

In a "MondayMotivation" hashtagged post on Instagram, Mercedes showed one of its white cars on a beach along with a quote attributed to the Dalai Lama: "Look at the situations from all angles, and you will become more open."

The post soon drew criticism from eagled-eyed Chinese netizens. The Dalai Lama fled into exile in India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule, though the Nobel Peace Prize-winning monk says he simply seeks genuine autonomy for his Himalayan homeland.

"We will promptly take steps to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values, our international staff included, to help standardize our actions to ensure this sort of issue doesn't happen again," the Daimler-owned company said in the statement.

Foreign brands in China are trying to court Chinese shoppers who have growing purchasing power, but consumers and regulators are increasingly willing to challenge brands over actions that go against what Beijing deems appropriate.

Last month, firms including Delta Air Lines and Spanish apparel maker Zara were reprimanded by authorities for listing Taiwan and Tibet as countries on their websites. China claims sovereignty over both areas.

Marriott International had its website in China shut down by regulators after it caused a similar uproar, inviting boycotts from Chinese consumers.

China is the biggest overseas market for many international brands and the government is pivoting to a new economic growth model that is driven more by consumption rather than manufacturing and investment.
China today warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation, amid repeated calls for India's military intervention by exiled former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed to resolve the political crisis.



The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago plunged into a political chaos last week when the country's Supreme Court ordered the release of nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Nasheed, who is currently in exile in Sri Lanka, had yesterday tweeted that India should send an envoy, backed by its military, to release judges and leaders of political parties detained by President Abdulla Yameen.

When asked to comment on Nasheed's call to India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the international community should "play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the Maldives sovereignty instead of taking measures that could complicate the current situation."

Asked how the situation could resolved internally when Yameen has arrested the Supreme Court judges as well as former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Geng said China's stand is that relevant parties should find a solution internally.

"I made myself clear. We hope relevant parties in the Maldives can properly resolve the issue through consultation and restore national stability and social order as soon as possible. We believe they (have) wisdom and capability to address the situation independently," he said without mentioning India.

Geng skirted a question whether China is asking Yameen to hold talks with political parties to resolve the crisis.

He also sought to refute allegations by the Maldives opposition parties that China is backing Yameen because he has approved several Chinese projects and signed the controversial Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China during his visit to Beijing in December.

"China maintains friendly cooperation with the Maldives including the FTA which serves the common interests of the two countries. The facts have proven that after signing of the FTA cooperation has benefited the two peoples," Geng said.

"The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," he said.

Opposition party leaders in the Maldives allege that China is tacitly backing Yameen, which emboldened him to resort to unconstitutional actions like arresting top judges.

China, which has huge investments in the Maldives, however has asked thousands of its nationals to cancel their holiday travel plans for this months week-long Chinese New Year Holiday which begins on February 15.

China views the Maldives as key to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has already acquired Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti in the Horn of Africa.

The Chinese official media which was silent since the crisis broke out in Maldives last week today came out in support of Yameen's regime.

The Global Times, a part of the ruling Communist Party of Chinas publications, came out with an editorial saying 'India must stop intervening in Male'.

"Political struggles are supposed to be internal affairs, and New Delhi has no justification to intervene in Male's affairs. The Maldives must be under huge pressure from India," it said.

"The Maldives' sovereignty should be respected. The political unrest should be left to the Maldivian people to address. We urge all sides in the country to exercise restraint and end the crisis at the minimum cost, striking the correct balance between legal and governmental authority," it said.

Read More: UN chief asks Maldives to uphold rule of law
Telugu Desam Party MP C M Ramesh was evicted from Rajya Sabha on Wednesday evening after he ignored the Chair's advice not to continue protest in Well when the discussion of the Budget was to start.

Soon after the Upper House voted on the motion of thanks to the President's address, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien called for the discussion on the budget. Three TDP MPs, including Ramesh, rushed to the Well of the House protesting against inadequate allocation for Andhra Pradesh.

Kurien then asked the MPs to return to their seats but the MPs continued their protest, forcing the deputy chairman to name the MP by invoking Rule 255 of Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha).

According to Rule 255, the chairman may direct any member whose conduct is in his opinion grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately from the council and any member so ordered to withdraw shall do so forthwith and shall absent himself during the

remainder of the day's meeting.

As Ramesh did not leave the House, Kurien directed the marshalls to forcibly remove him from the House. While the marshalls were removing him, Kurien adjourned the House for 15 minutes. The treasury benches, meanwhile, urged Kurien to be lenient.

When Rajya Sabha re-assembled, Ramesh was present and this irked Kurien who said he cannot go ahead with business as Ramesh has not left the House. He again adjourned the House for another 15 minutes.

Again, when the House re-convened, the situation continued and Kurien adjourned the House for the day saying the episode does not augur well for the prestige of the House.
The CBI has shared with the Income Tax department records relating to properties and cash seizures that are allegedly linked to Delhi Minister Satyendar Jain and were recovered during searches at the residence of a Delhi Dental Council official.



The searches at the home of Council Registrar Rishi Raj were related to a separate bribery case.

The Income Tax department is probing Jain's alleged benami assets, tax evasion and property dealings.

Last year, the CBI had also registered a case of allegedly amassing disproportionate assets based on a probe against the Delhi minister.

According to agency sources, during the searches at Rishi Raj's residence last week, the CBI recovered crucial documents related to two properties and photo copy of power attorney of a property--all in Karala village in Delhi.

The agency also recovered 41 cheque books, deposit slips of IDBI bank showing deposits of over Rs 2 crore, and also documents related to a bank account in ICICI bank, they said.

The CBI sources had claimed that these property and bank documents are linked to Jain, his companies and his wife Poonam.

All these documents and information about property dealings and deposits have been shared with the Income Tax department which is also probing the matter against Jain, they said.

The agency has also rebutted the Delhi government's claims that these documents had already been seized during searches at Jain's residence last year.

It said no such property or bank document was seized by the CBI.

Rishi Raj and a lawyer from the council were nabbed by the agency on Saturday for allegedly demanding Rs 1.1 crore from a doctor for relaxing proceedings against him which were initiated after a complaint from a patient.
The BJP-led government was saved from an embarrassment in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday when the Opposition failed to muster numbers to force an amendment on Women's Bill in the motion of thanks to the President's address.



The joint Opposition had managed to include their amendment in the President's address in the past two years but the Samajwadi Party jumped the ship this time over its disagreement on the Women's Reservation Bill. The SP refused to support the amendment moved by CPM MP T K Rangarajan.

Sources said the choice of an amendment for voting was faulty. They said it was clear that the SP would not support such a move, as it is opposed to the Bill on the pretext that they want a sub-quota for OBCs in the Bill. The Rajya Sabha had passed the Bill on March 9, 2010, but it is pending in the Lok Sabha since then owing to the opposition from parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal, SP and others.

While parties like the Congress, the NCP and the BJD among others supported the amendment, the BJP managed to defeat it 86-57 after the AIADMK and the TDP joined the SP to support the ruling party. The voting came after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley urged Rangarajan not to press for voting, saying the government was willing to call a meeting of parties to build a consensus on the Bill.

"There is some agreement about the Bill (as there are three amendments on this issue). We will try and evolve a consensus...In principle, we accept the Bill...We had voted in favour of the Bill in Rajya Sabha," Jaitley said.

SP's Naresh Agarwal also supported Jaitley and said that the Rajya Sabha has already passed the Bill and it was not proper to consider the amendment in the Upper House.

When Jaitley said the UPA could not pass the Bill despite it being in government, Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said some of their coalition partners did not support and the Congress did not have a majority. "You have the majority on your own. Pass the Bill," Azad said.

Deputy Chairman P J Kurien also urged him not to demand voting, saying the government has already assured that they would call a meeting but Rangarajan was unmoved. After the results of the voting were displayed on the board, some women opposition members shouted "shame, shame".

In 2015, Rajya Sabha had cleared an amendment moved by then CPM MP Sitaram Yechury on the failure of the government to curb high-level corruption and to bring back black money and in 2016, Azad's amendment on the government not committing to support to rights of all citizens to contest panchayat elections also went through.
The killing of a senior Algerian militant by special forces soon after he slipped into Tunisia has raised concern that al Qaeda is trying to regroup in the North African state as rival Islamic State has suffered major setbacks, security sources say.



Last month, Tunisian special forces killed Bilel Kobi, a top aide to Abdelmalek Droukdel, better known as Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, the leader of al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), in a mountainous region along the Tunisian-Algerian border.

Kobi was on an apparent mission to reunite splinter groups of al Qaeda fighters in Tunisia, putting the army on alert for more infiltrations, a senior Tunisian security source said.

AQIM was the dominant jihadist force in North Africa, staging several high-profile deadly attacks until 2013 when it fractured as many militants flocked to the more extremist Islamic State as it seized territory in Iraq, Syria and Libya.

IS became a major recruiter for disaffected, often unemployed young men especially from Tunisia, where poverty has spread since the uprising that toppled Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali in 2011 and induced protracted turmoil.

But Islamic State's appeal has waned since it lost all its territorial strongholds in neighbouring Libya as well as in Iraq and Syria to counter-offensives by security forces, with fighters returning home or looking for new causes to join.

That has prompted AQIM to try to lure new talent from among IS veterans, two Tunisian security sources told Reuters.

"Al Qaeda wants to invest in a recent decline of Islamic State to reorganise and re-emerge as it seeks to restructure especially in Algeria, Libya and Tunisia by naming new local leaders on the ground," one of the security sources said.

Kobi was not the only senior militant sent to reorganise al Qaeda in Tunisia. Hamza al-Nimr, an Algerian who joined al Qaeda in 2003, was dispatched to lead a cell in Tunisia but was killed with Kobi in the same operation, Tunisian security sources say.

Beefed up by Western countries, Tunisia's security forces have managed to pre-empt any major attack since an IS militant shot dead 39 foreigners on a Mediterranean beach in June 2015, but authorities remain on alert.

In December the United Arab Emirates briefly banned Tunisian women from boarding flights to Dubai over a perceived Islamist threat.

Hundreds of Tunisians have joined jihadist groups abroad but it is unclear how many have returned as significant numbers of them were killed in Syria combat and elsewhere, officials say.

LIBYA

AQIM has remained active in North Africa's largely desert and often scarcely governed Sahel region, such as in Mali where it focused its activities after Islamic State emerged in force to the north in Libya and Tunisia.

AQIM's Tunisian branch, called Okba Ibn Nafaa, is fractured into four groups based in the remote, northwestern Kasserine and Kef mountains region near Algeria.

Their command structure is dominated by Algerians while a rival group loosely associated with Islamic State based in the same region is run by Tunisians, Tunisian security sources say.

Kobi, among others before, had been sent to bring the al Qaeda spinoff groupings back together, they said.

"Okba has dozens of fighters; each group is comprised of up to 20 terrorists," one Tunisian source said.

Okba had targeted police and army forces, he said, unlike the IS focus on killing civilians, such as on the Sousse beach.

Tunisia is monitoring the border in close cooperation with Algeria, which prides itself in having prevented any attack since a veteran AQIM commander, Mokhtar Belmokhtar, claimed a strike on a desert natural gas plant in 2013.

There are indications of AQIM fighters trying to cross into Tunisia as Algeria's army has cracked down on AQIM in the past two weeks, killing eight militants east of the capital Algiers and then the group's media chief a few days later.

"AQIM is in decline (in Algeria), it can't restructure or redeploy here," an Algerian security source said.

But a Tunisian security source said a regional AQIM commander remained in eastern Algeria intent on revamping the organisation across North Africa, not just in Tunisia.
The defence ministry on Wednesday asserted that the Congress was making "unfounded allegation" on the Rafale fighter aircraft deal and its demand to disclose the aircraft price was unrealistic.



"The demand that the government disclose the details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic. The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to the Parliament," the ministry said.



On November 18, 2016, the Minister of State for Defence Subhash Bhamre informed the Lok Sabha that cost of each Rafale aircraft was approximately Rs 670 crore and all the aircraft would be delivered by April 2022.



However, the sources said this doesn't include the prices of the weapon systems, simulation, training and maintenance of the two squadrons of combat jets that would come fitted with Meteor air-to-air beyond visual range missile.



In September 2016, India secured its biggest defence deal when the defence ministry under Manohar Parrikar inked a a7.87 billion (nearly Rs 59,000 crore) contract with France to purchase 36 Rafale fighter jets.



Accusing the Congress of misleading the people on the combat jet deal, the defence ministry said the Congress-led UPA government couldn't conclude the deal in 10 years and in 2012, then defence minister (A K Antony) exercised an unprecedented personal veto on the laid down institutional process then underway for procurement of 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft.



Rejecting Congress president Rahul Gandhi's persistent demand of disclosing the fighter jet's price, the defence ministry stated that the UPA government too didn't disclose the price of various defence procurements even in Parliament questions.



"Provision of exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal, inter alia, details regarding the various customisations and weapons systems specially designed to augment the effectiveness and lethality of the assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our national security," said the defence ministry statement.



Reacting to the Congress allegation of the Rafale deal favouring big industrial houses close to the prime minister, the defence ministry clarified that the vendor Dassault Aviation is yet to select an Indian offset partner to execute the project.


The Supreme Court on Wednesday told three former law students of O P Jindal Global University in Haryana to share password of their 'ICloud' account where they are claimed to have stored nude photographs of an MBA student.



The court told them to show their bona fide to remain on bail, saying it cannot accept and tolerate continuous blackmail.

In 2015, all the three were convicted and awarded varying jail terms for gang-rape and other offences.

However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had on September 13 last year suspended their sentence by concluding that the girl's testimony offered an "alternate casual relationship with her friends, acquaintances, adventurism and experimentation in sexual encounters."

Hearing a plea by the victim against bail to the three accused, a bench of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao told their counsel that they have to share the password and must give access to her to ensure that those photographs would never be circulated.

"Some of the photographs were unfortunately sent by the girl herself. We are not deciding the moral issue here. Somebody is released from jail. The complainant is before, it is troubling her that password is still with them. We are not going to relent on this aspect. You can't exercise this threat. You have to allay her apprehension and remove any fear or threat," the bench told senior advocates Shanti Bhushan, Mukul Rohatgi and Huzefa Ahmadi, representing the accused.

The counsel also submitted that the victim had herself sent those photographs to her friends. Rohatgi maintained that it was all consensual.

They also claimed the girl has now gone to Australia but the victim's advocate denied it saying she was very much here.

Senior advocate Colin Gonsalves, however, contended that this was not a case where the accused could be released on bail after admitting the appeal.

He urged the court to have a look at a WhatsApp chat to understand the "gut-wrenching" threats that they put her under to extract the objectionable photographs.

The counsel maintained that even if they shared the password, he would still like to argue the case on merit, challenging their release from jail.

"This is the big thing for you if you get the password. We can understand your feelings. We are objectively trying to ascertain your security. After all, they are kids and might have grown a moustache. We will decide later if such kind of crimes hurts society," the bench told Gonsalves.

The court put the matter for consideration on February 15.

The girl, now 20 years of age, had claimed Hardik Sikri, Vikas Garg and Karan Chhabra had blackmailed her on the basis of some nude photographs for one and half years and sexually assaulted her repeatedly.
The opportunity for gaming and immersive technologies is tremendous in Bengaluru, according to a top UK official.



"I think the opportunity for gaming and immersive technologies is huge -- and Bengaluru is at the centre of it," UK's Trade Minister Rona Fairhead, said in an exclusive interview to DH.

Incidentally, Karnataka became the first and the only state in India to come out with an official Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comics (AVGC) policy in August last year.

As part of her visit to India, Rona oversaw the signing of the deals worth whopping 58 million (approximately Rs 518 crore) on Tuesday.

She has been in India for a three-day IndiaaUK Createch Summit. The first leg of the Summit took place in Mumbai on Tuesday, followed by second leg in Bengaluru on Wednesday. The summit is aimed at exploring how the technology and creative industries are converging to produce a new wave of innovation which is leading to the development of new products and businesses.

She also said that after her visit to India, she is hopeful of accelerated collaboration between India and UK in coming days.

Brexit uncertainity

Rona confessed that there is a degree of business uncertainty associated with much awaited Brexit, but assured everything will be fine with time.

"Yes there is certain degree of uncertainty. But, I think that we are still continuing to see rise of investments into UK over the time," Rona said.
China will again allow pilgrims from India to visit Kailash-Mansarovar through Nathu La in Sikkim  a route, which it had shut in June 2017 in the wake of the face-off in Doklam Plateau.



New Delhi and Beijing are in touch to arrange the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra in summer this year, as both sides are trying to bring the bilateral ties back on track. The Ministry of External Affairs will soon seek applications from people for the pilgrimage to the holy place in Tibet Autonomous Region. The 'yatra' is likely to take place between June and September this year.



V K Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs, informed the Lok Sabha on Wednesday that Chinese Government had already confirmed resumption of the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through Nathu La route this year.



China last year had not allowed the pilgrims from India to travel to Kailash Mansarovar through Nathu La in Sikkim. The first batch comprising 44 of the total 350 pilgrims with visas issued by the Embassy of China in New Delhi had reached near Nathu La and would have had entered the communist country's Tibet Autonomous Region on June 20 last year. But after the face-off between Indian Army and People's Liberation Army of China in Doklam Plateau in western Bhutan had started on June 18, Beijing had declined to allow the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrims to enter into China through this route. The pilgrims, who had opted the old route through Lipulekh Pass in Uttarakhand, however, had been allowed to carry on the 'yatra' without any hassle.



The face-off ended on August 28 after both sides agreed to withdraw additional troops from the face-off site as well as to restore the status quo on the scene near India-China-Bhutan tri-junction boundary point.



External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took it up with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi when they had a bilateral meeting on the sideline of a Russia-India-China trilateral meeting in New Delhi in December 2017.



This matter was raised by the Government with the Chinese government, including during the meeting of the External Affairs Minister with the Chinese Foreign Minister in December 2017, Singh informed the Lok Sabha in a written response to a query. Subsequently, he added, the Chinese Government has confirmed resumption of Yatra on this route.



Since 1980s, the MEA has been organizing an official Kailash Mansarovar Yatra every year, in accordance with bilateral pacts between India and China.



Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in New Delhi in September 2014 saw China finally accepting the long-pending request from India to open another route for Kailash Manasarovar Yatra as an alternative to the one via Lipulekh Pass, which not only requires trekking for several days, but also turns worse if the weather turns inclement.



The new route for the pilgrimage through Nathu La was opened in 2015. It was then hailed by both New Delhi and Beijing as an important confidence building measure initiated by the both governments.
Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa on Wednesday said he will seek a detailed report on how a 24.37-acre land estimated to be worth Rs 250 crore in Kengeri continues to be "misused" despite recovery by the government.



Revenue authorities had taken possession of the land in Survey No. 47 in Pantharapalya, Kengeri, Bengaluru South taluk in June 2016 and had cleared encroachments.

Congress MLC P R Ramesh, a former Bengaluru mayor, raised the issue in the Legislative Council. "How is it that a private person continues to use land to his benefit despite the government having recovered the land? The land is being used to dump mud, there's construction taking place, gas lorries are parked there and sheds have come up. This land is worth Rs 250 crore," Ramesh said.

Thimmappa said that one A C Ananthaswamy had moved high court after the government cleared the encroachment. "There is a stay order from the court. So, although the land is in our possession, we are unable to do anything further. But this misuse is wrong. I will immediately seek a detailed report from the authorities," Thimmappa said.

The land is B-karab, which is non-cultivable land belonging to the government. Abutting this is survey number 59, a 2.01-acre land that is identified as a lake. Lake land cannot be used for any other purpose, Thimmappa said.

'I'm ashamed'

In a candid outburst, Revenue Minister Kagodu Thimmappa told the Legislative Council he was "ashamed" that legislators were not showing interest towards clearing applications seeking regularisation of 'bagair hukum' cultivation land. "My head hangs in shame. I appeal to all legislators, who chair the committee to look into this, to hold meetings even if just two people attend."
For the first time, the Congress is planning to bring out three separate manifestoes- state, region, and district wise- for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.



The state-level manifesto will list out programmes which will be applicable across the state while zonal-level manifesto will have details of the projects targeting the particular region or zone, senior Congress leader and Congress Manifesto Committee chairman M Veerappa Moily told DH here on Wednesday.

The district-level manifesto will comprise the projects which are going to to be implemented in that particular district if the party comes to power, the Congress leader said.

The state manifesto will be released by party president Rahul Gandhi in Bengaluru at a big event. Simultaneously, in zonal levels important leaders of that region will release the zonal manifesto. Subsequently, senior local leaders will release the district-wise manifesto, Moily said.

Manifesto release function will be a grand event that will be shown live at party offices across the the state via video conferencing.

"Already, I have held over a dozen meetings in various regions and with representatives of different sectors. Again, we will ask the party workers and public to provide their inputs. Taking everything into account, we will prepare comprehensive manifestoes, Moily said. Though demand for separate religion tag for Lingayat is a long standing one of that community, the Congress will not mention this in the manifesto, the former chief minister.

No promises

The proposed Congress manifesto will cover several socio-economic and political subjects and it will not make promises to any particular community as our organisation is a secular one, he said.

The Congress manifesto will focus on the party's achievements in its current term and its promises for the next five years, the manifesto committee chairman added.
About 112 students will receive gold medals and 268 will be given cash prizes at the 53rd convocation ceremony of the Bangalore University on Thursday.



As usual, girls far outnumbered boys in grabbing the medals and cash prizes.

In addition, 23,846 students have cleared their courses with distinction; 19,704 have got first class; 6,168 secured second class; and 5,904 scraped through with a pass score. All of them will receive their degrees at the function, to be held in the Central College campus, where 158 students will also be given their PhD certificates.

University vice chancellor in-charge V Sudesh told a press conference that 55,780 students will graduate this year.

Thursday's function will be presided over by Governor Vajubhai Vala and Minister for Higher Education Basavaraj Rayareddy. Former chairman of the Indian Space research Organisation A S Kiran Kumar will deliver the convocation address.

Sai Jyoti Sanmathi, who finished her BCom at VVS First Grade College for Women, has received nine cash prizes, the vice chancellor in-charge said. Bhagyalakshmi, recipient of three gold medals for MCom from Presidency College, said her hard work has paid off.

Bhagyalakshmi continued to pursue her masters after her marriage and commuted from Electronics City to Hebbal to attend classes. "I spent a lot of time travelling," she said. She also had a tough time balancing studies with family life.

The varsity has spent Rs 4.8 lakh on gold medals for 79 first rank holders and a further Rs 2 lakh for cash prizes, Sudesh said.
Canyon Crest Academys Envision theatre program will explore right and wrong, and good versus evil, in its two productions in the upcoming season.

Antigone, presented as a drama, and Jekyll and Hyde, performed as a musical, each aim to make actors and audiences question who and what they should believe in.

In the Greek mythology story Antigone, the main protagonist and title character fights and defies the law in order for her brother to receive a proper burial. However, the powerful King Creon does not share the same beliefs.

Guest director Steve Lipinsky, a former professional equity theatre actor, chose for the students to perform an adaptation of the play that is set in 1940s Germany during World War II.

He said his students can relate to the production because its like a teenage rebellion, in which Antigone does everything she can to stand up for what she believes in. But what happens when someones end game ends up being the wrong choice?

Lapinsky also wants viewers to decide whether they completely side with Antigone or if they can also sympathize with Creon, who offers an alternate point of view.

Its really for the audience to decide between that black and white, he said.

Because teenagers are often faced with distinguishing between right and wrong, and standing up for their beliefs, Lipinksy said he hopes the show resonates with his students.

A lot of these kids  hopefully all of them  have something they want to make better in the world, he said. They might not agree with some kind of injustice, whether its politically, environmentally or whatever it is. This is an example of someone who, maybe, has gone too far and who does not see the big picture. I want Antigone to be a morality lesson.

Jeannine Marquie, CCAs theatre teacher, regularly brings in guest directors, such as Lapinsky, to offer her students an advantage in the theatre world. Shell often bring in experts in performing arts fields like stage combat, dancing and accents to help her students shape their crafts.

In the past, Broadway stars such as Susan Egan have shared their talents with students. On Feb. 10, Christian Hoff of Broadways Jersey Boys will perform with students for the schools annual gala, Oh! What a Night!

I think this rounds out their education in a way that most schools dont offer their students, she said. They get to see theres more than just the applause at the end of this process.

For Jekyll and Hyde, which tells the classic tale of internal struggle and is loosely based on the book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Marquie brought in musical director Leigh Scarritt and choreographer Shirley Johnston.

While the title roles are traditionally played by a single performer, Marquie wanted to highlight two students by casting two different boys as Jekyll and Hyde.

She said this decision not only provides more opportunities for her students, but also allows the audience to fully explore the two sides.

In the book, Hyde is described as hunched over, smaller than Jekyll, diminished and grotesque, Marquie said. It would be impossible to have one actor do that effectively. I really want the audience to get the idea that while Hyde has taken over, Jekyll is still in there and cant get out.

Tickets for each show range from $6 to $15. Antigone is presented on various days from March 15 to March 30 in CCAs Black Box Theatre. Jekyll and Hyde will be performed on various days from March 16 to March 31 in the schools Proscenium Theatre.

For more information about the theatre program, visit www.cca-envision.org/events.
In response to abnormally high water bills from the San Diego Public Utilities Department, San Diego City Councilmember Barbara Bry has called for an audit of water bill procedures and a policy change to protect ratepayers and maintain water service.

SD City Councilmember Barbara Bry (Ashley Mackin-Solomon )

We are hearing from San Diego residents who have complained about inexplicably high water bills and are now at risk of losing service if they do not pay their bills within the normal billing timeline. Some ratepayers have received bills that are thousands of dollars higher than what they normally pay, Bry said in a release. My office is committed to helping San Diego ratepayers resolve their cases and discovering the reasons for these recent water bill spikes.

Brys office began receiving complaints from District 1 residents about abnormally high water bills back in November. Bry and her team began meeting with constituents and connecting them with the Public Utilities Department (PUD) to have their individual situations investigated.

In many cases, the PUD found no leaks or clear reasons to account for the increased water usage, so we are still seeking answers as to why these hikes are occurring, Bry said.

In order to ensure the water bills San Diegans are receiving are accurate and precise, Bry has asked City Auditor Eduardo Luna to conduct a comprehensive audit of the PUDs data acquisitions and billing procedures.Luna has agreed to expand the scope of an already scheduled audit of the PUDs Customer Support Division to include this additional reviewthe results are expected by June.

Bry has requested that the PUD not require full payment if the account holder is contesting the amount of their bill until the department completes its investigation and provides a response.

At that time, Bry said customers should be given a minimum of 30 days to pay or make arrangements for payment. If the customer still believes the billing is inaccurate, they should be allowed to delay full payment until the city auditor has completed their report.

During this time, residents who are challenging their bills should pay an amount based on their average usage or the usage reported for that particular billing cycle during the previous year, Bry said. We must ensure that San Diegans retain access to water during this investigation.
Julia Day, a sophomore at La Jolla Country Day School, is hoping to make a difference in her community and the world through her non-profit Support All Kids.

The Carmel Valley teenager is working to raise funds and awareness for the Monarch School, a San Diego education center for homeless youth that serves up to 350 students a day, as well as a school in her hometown of Changsha, China.

Julia Day with volunteers at Monarch School. (Courtesy )

Julia got the idea for her organization while living in China last July, spending the summer with her father who lives there. Walking down the street, she saw children selling keychains among all the street vendors.

.I was interested because Id never seen someone so young selling something, Julia said.

She stopped to talk to the kids and learned they lived in the Changsha No. 1 Social Welfare Institute, an orphanage and school that is low on funding so kids took to selling money to buy clothing and school supplies.

I was shocked and I didnt know there was such a thing, she said.Julia was invited to come to the school for a visit, meeting the orphaned and abandoned children at the institute, many of whom have disabilities.

It was touching, Julia said. I was in awe so I felt the need to try and help them.

Julia took some of the kids keychains and sold them in her fathers building, making about $200 on her first day. Throughout a sweltering summer in China, she raised a total of $5,000 and presented the school with shoes, clothing, school supplies, a washer and dryer, and basic necessities that they needed. She also donated money that she had earned working to sponsor one of the students to go to college.

Julia returned to San Diego inspired, determined to find a place to direct her efforts at home.

I found Monarch School downtown and just started helping them. They need as much help as they can get, Julia said.

Through hosting garage sales, clothing drives and general fundraising drives, Julia has raised money and donated clothing to Monarch, last visiting the school in December. She has most enjoyed seeing the excitement on the childrens faces when she gave them items such as crayons and markers.

What she has noticed most is the stark difference between Monarch Schools small playground and classroom compared to her own campus at La Jolla Country Day.

Its crazy to me because not even 25 minutes away from my school theres a school like that, Julia said.

Julias goal is to keep supporting Monarch School as long as she can and continue to expand her efforts with Support All Kids internationally. She already has five student members working with her organization in China. And she hopes to inspire others to help those in need when they can.

I want to raise awareness about the Monarch School because everyone needs to be more knowledgeable about our city and whats going on, Julia said. I wouldnt have known if I didnt look.

Learn more at supportkidsforall.org
By Patricia Mazzei And Agustin Armendariz 6 February 2018 (The New York Times)  The mission for the Federal Emergency Management Agency was clear: Hurricane Maria had torn through Puerto Rico, and hungry people needed food. Thirty million meals needed to be delivered as soon as possible. For this huge task, FEMA tapped Tiffany Brown, an Atlanta entrepreneur with no experience in large-scale disaster relief and at least five canceled government contracts in her past. FEMA awarded her $156 million for the job, and Ms. Brown, who is the sole owner and employee of her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, set out to find some help. Ms. Brown, who is adept at navigating the federal contracting system, hired a wedding caterer in Atlanta with a staff of 11 to freeze-dry wild mushrooms and rice, chicken and rice, and vegetable soup. She found a nonprofit in Texas that had shipped food aid overseas and domestically, including to a Houston food bank after Hurricane Harvey. By the time 18.5 million meals were due, Tribute had delivered only 50,000. And FEMA inspectors discovered a problem: The food had been packaged separately from the pouches used to heat them. FEMAs solicitation required self-heating meals. Do not ship another meal. Your contract is terminated, Carolyn Ward, the FEMA contracting officer who handled Tributes agreement, wrote to Ms. Brown in an email dated 19 October 2018 that Ms. Brown provided to The New York Times. This is a logistical nightmare.Four months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, a picture is emerging of the contracts awarded in the earliest days of the crisis. And examples like the Tribute contract are causing lawmakers to raise questions about FEMAs handling of the disaster and whether the agency was adequately prepared to respond. On Tuesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which has been investigating the contract, asked Representative Trey Gowdy, the committee chairman, to subpoena FEMA for all documents relating to the agreement. Lawmakers fear the agency is not lining up potential contractors in advance of natural disasters, leading it to scramble to award multimillion-dollar agreements in the middle of a crisis. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a bipartisan congressional investigation found that a failure to secure advance contracts led to chaos and potential for waste and fraud. Democrats asserted that FEMA was similarly inept preparing for this storm. It appears that the Trump Administrations response to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico in 2017 suffered from the same flaws as the Bush Administrations response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, wrote Representatives Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland and Stacey E. Plaskett, the nonvoting delegate from the United States Virgin Islands. [ more ]

FEMA Contract Called for 30 Million Meals for Puerto Ricans. 50,000 Were Delivered.

(Esquire)  Seventy years ago this coming June, in an effort to get the Western allies to abandon entirely the city of Berlin, the occupying forces of the Soviet Union embarked upon a rigid blockade of the city, cutting off the citys water supply and blocking all deliveries of food from the outside. They also cut off the citys electric power. A million and a half Soviet troops surrounded the city.It was decided by the allied powers that the city would be supplied by air. Led by the United States, the air forces of Canada, France, Great Britain, Australia, South Africa all combined to deliver nearly $2.5 million worth of suppliesincluding coalto Berlin over the next year. This was the Berlin Airlift. This is what we used to be able to do. This is what we used to be proud of being able to do. Now, almost 70 years on, we get this, from CNN.

US Rep. Elijah Cummings and Stacey Plaskett, the congressional delegate from the US Virgin Islands, signed a letter to House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy on Tuesday morning, calling into question a $156 million contract awarded to a small Atlanta-based company, Tribute Contracting LLC. The company delivered 50,000 of the 30 million meals promised in a contract signed October 3, less than 0.25 percent, according to Tribute Contracting owner Tiffany Brown.

According to documents that Brown provided to CNN, FEMA terminated the agreement  the largest direct meals contract during the 2017 hurricane season  due to late delivery of the approved heater meals. The contract was terminated October 23, 20 days after it was signed. One of the primary reasons FEMA failed to deliver these meals is because it inexplicably awarded a contract worth approximately $156 million to deliver 30 million emergency meals to a tiny, one-person company with a history of struggling with much smaller contracts, Cummings and Plaskett said in the letter. []

If this reminds you of that tiny Montana company that got the really big contract to restore power in Puerto Rico, thats only because it should. Seventy years ago, 70 airmen lost their lives in the effort that saved Berlin. Today, we have substituted profiteering and ineptitude for sacrifice and creativity. Running the country like a business, as it were. [more]
Should BLM headquarters be in the West?

More than 99 percent of the land the federal agency oversees is in 12 Western states, hundreds of miles from the nation's capital.



By DAN ELLIOTT

Associated Press

DENVER  From its headquarters in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Bureau of Land Management oversees some of the nation's most prized natural resources: vast expanses of public lands rich in oil, gas, coal, grazing for livestock, habitat for wildlife, hunting ranges, fishing streams and hiking trails.

But more than 99 percent of that land is in 12 Western states, hundreds of miles from the nation's capital.



Here's what BLM oversees The U.S. Bureau of Land Management oversees about 385,000 square miles in 12 Western states. Here is the area the bureau managed in those states in 2016, and the share of those states' total area under bureau administration, according to the Associated Press: Alaska: 112,845 square miles, 17 percent Arizona: 19,069 square miles, 16.7 percent California: 24,016 square miles, 14.7 percent Colorado: 13,027 square miles, 12.5 percent Idaho: 18,150 square miles, 21.7 percent Montana: 12,484 square miles, 8.5 percent Nevada: 73,395 square miles, 66.4 percent New Mexico: 22,026 square miles, 18.1 percent Oregon: 25,226 square miles, 25.6 percent Utah: 35,658 square miles, 42 percent Washington: 670 square miles, 0.9 percent Wyoming: 28,711 square miles, 29.4 percent





Some Western politicians  both Republicans and Democrats  are asking why the bureau's headquarters isn't in the West as well.

You're dealing with an agency that basically has no business in Washington, D.C., said Colorado Republican Sen. Cory Gardner, who introduced a bill to move the headquarters to any of those dozen states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington or Wyoming. The Bureau of Land Management manages a combined 385,000 square miles in those states.

Colorado Republican Rep. Scott Tipton introduced a similar measure in the House, and three Democrats signed up as co-sponsors: Reps. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Jared Polis of Colorado and Ed Perlmutter of Colorado.

Some Westerners have long argued federal land managers should be closer to the land they oversee, saying Washington doesn't understand the region. Now they have a powerful ally in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, a Montanan who is leading President Donald Trump's charge to roll back environmental regulations and encourage energy development on public land.

Zinke said in September he wants to move much of the Interior Department's decision-making to the West, including the Bureau of Land Management, which is part of the agency.

The Washington Post reported last month Zinke's plan includes dividing his department's regions along river systems and other natural features instead of state borders, and using them to restructure oversight.

A big part of the bureau's job is to lease drilling, mining and grazing rights on public land to private companies and individuals. That puts it at the center of a heated national debate over how those lands should be managed, and by whom.

Some recent disputes:

 Much of Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, created by President Barack Obama and greatly reduced by Trump, is on Bureau of Land Management land.

 Rancher Cliven Bundy's long battle against federal control of public land, which culminated in a 2014 armed standoff in Nevada, began on bureau acreage.

 More than 50,000 square miles of Bureau of Land Management land in the West is at the heart of a debate among conservationists, ranchers and energy companies over how much protection to give the shrinking population of the greater sage grouse, a ground-dwelling bird.

The bureau manages more public land than any other federal agency, ranging from about 1 square mile in Virginia to nearly 113,000 square miles in Alaska. That doesn't include national parks or national forests, which are managed by other agencies.

It has about 9,000 employees, with fewer than 400 in Washington. The rest are scattered among 140 state, district or field offices.

The larger issue is that states and counties that are predominated by public lands are deeply affected by decisions made by BLM, said Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance in Denver, which represents the oil and gas industry. So it makes sense (for the headquarters) to be in a state where there are a high percentage of public lands.

In Nevada, where the Bureau of Land Management manages 66 percent of the land  a bigger share than any other state  Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei called the idea intriguing but stopped short of endorsing it.

I'm excited about the fact that they're looking at it, he said.

Amodei said he has spoken with bureau officials in Washington who know so little about Nevada they thought the land under a highway interchange was wildlife habitat.

Few say moving the bureau's headquarters would tilt its decision-making toward commercial use or preservation and recreation.

But some environmental groups question whether it would produce real benefits.

Aaron Weiss, media director for the Center for Western Priorities, said Zinke has been limiting opportunities for local comment on national monuments and BLM planning, and moving the headquarters West wouldn't reverse that.

Weiss also suggested Zinke could use a headquarters move as a cover to get rid of employees he considers disloyal.

We absolutely question his motives, Weiss said.

Zinke's spokeswoman, Heather Swift, said Weiss's claims are false. More than 2 million people submitted comments during the Interior Department review of Bears Ears and other national monuments, and Zinke held more than 60 meetings with local people, she said.

Zinke doesn't believe his proposed reorganization will result in job cuts, Swift said.

Athan Manuel, director of the Sierra Club's public lands program, said the Bureau of Land Management is already decentralized, and moving the headquarters would waste money.

It's a solution in search of a problem, he said.

Some Bureau of Land Management retirees also are skeptical of the move.

The bureau needs a strong presence in Washington for budget and policy talks, said Steve Ellis, who was the agency's deputy director when he retired in 2016 after 38 years in civil service, both in Washington and the West.

The relationships in the West are so important, but the relationships in Washington are also important, Ellis said. You need the both for the agency to be successful and thrive.




India is apparently keeping its troops ready to respond to the crisis in the Maldives, with the Indian government saying it was "disturbed by the declaration of a state of emergency" in the archipelago. Troop movement was seen at a key air base in southern India, news agency PTI reported, though there was no indication that it was preparing to get directly involved. India follows certain procedural steps to keep its troops ready to respond to a crisis or a call for help, the PTI report noted. India on Tuesday officially said it was "disturbed" by Maldives President Abdulla Yameen's move to impose a state of emergency in the nation amid a deepening confrontation between the government and the judiciary. India's mininistry of external affairs issued a brief statement expressing concern at the arrest of the Supreme Court chief justice and political figures in the wake of Monday's declaration of emergency. However, it gave no indication that India will directly intervene in the Maldives. "We are disturbed by the declaration of a State of Emergency in the Maldives following the refusal of the Government to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court on 1 February, and also by the suspension of Constitutional rights of the people of Maldives," said the MEA. India said it will continue monitoring the situation in Maldives, which can now be fairly described as a full-blown political crisis. The ministry's statement comes after exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed urged India to send military intervention to resolve the political stand-off. India has already asked its citizens not to visit "Male, Maldives' capital, and other atolls until further notice". Indian intervention in the Maldives would not be unprecedented, as New Delhi sent troops in 1988 to foil a coup apparently involving foreign mercenaries. After defying the court's ruling to release political prisoners, President Yameen declared a 15-day emergency, which suspends all basic rights and gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain suspects. Following this, Yameen ordered security forces to seize control of the Supreme Court and arrest chief justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, without giving details about the investigation or any charges against them. Justifying the clamping of emergency, Yameen on Tuesday said it was done to investigate a "coup" by the Supreme Court judges and opposition leaders - in directly disobeying his orders, including making moves to impeach him. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged the Maldivian government "to uphold the constitution and rule of law, lift the state of emergency as soon as possible, and take all measures to ensure the safety and security of the people in the country, including members of the judiciary." The Maldives plunged into a crisis after President Abdulla Yameen refused to abide by a Supreme Court ruling that quashed terrorism convictions against nine leading opposition figures, including the exiled Mohamed Nasheed, who was the first democratically elected president in the Indian Ocean's archipelago. The former Maldivian president has urged India to send an envoy backed by military to secure the release of political prisoners. Yameen, who came to power in 2013 after winning a controversial run-off against Nasheed, has presided over an escalating crackdown on dissent, jailing almost all the political opposition. The Supreme Court ruling gives the opposition the majority in the assembly, meaning they could potentially impeach the president. It also paves the way for Mohamed Nasheed to return and run for President. Nasheed, who was president from 2008 to 2013, was controversially convicted of terrorism in 2015 and sentenced to 13 years in jail. He was allowed to go to Britain for medical treatment in January 2016. He has lived in exile since and is currently in Sri Lanka. The Indian Navy conducts routine peacetime patrols in the sea lanes around the Maldives. Yameen has drawn close to China and Saudi Arabia during his time in office, with both countries investing heavily in the tiny nation. Located near key shipping lanes, Maldives has assumed greater importance to China after it began building political and economic ties as part of its so-called "String of Pearls" strategy to build a network of ports in the Indian Ocean region. China, which is closely allied to the Yameen regime, has called for resolution of the political stand-off through dialogue without external intervention. Without directly commenting on the UN, the US and India's criticism of the handling of situation by Yameen, Beijing said it believes that the Maldives government, political parties and people have the wisdom and the capability to deal with their current situation on their own. However, in a move that could hurt the picturesque island nation's booming tourism industry, China upgraded its travel advisory, asking its citizens to cancel their plans to visit the Maldives in view of the emergency.








Life after oil: Saudi Arabia betting big on renewables

Life in Saudi Arabia has long been defined by oil, which has so far been its most abundant resource. Over decades, the vast wealth it pumped out paid not just for gleaming towers and shopping malls but also for a government sector that employs a majority of working Saudis.

Now, Saudi Arabia is trying to tie its future to another natural resource it has in abundance: sunlight.

As The New York Times reports, the world's largest oil exporter is embarking, under Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on an ambitious effort to diversify its economy and reinvigorate growth, in part by ploughing money into renewable energy. The Saudi government wants not just to reshape its energy mix at home but also to emerge as a global force in clean power.

Reaching that goal is a big if. But the strategy is finally making progress after fits and starts.

Riyadh on Monday tapped ACWA Power, a Saudi energy company, to build a solar farm that would generate enough electricity to power up to 200,000 homes. The project will cost $300 million and create hundreds of jobs, according to Turki al-Shehri, head of the kingdom's renewable energy programme.

By the end of the year, Saudi Arabia aims to invest up to $7 billion to develop seven new solar plants and a big wind farm. The country hopes that renewables, which now represent a negligible amount of the energy it uses, will be able to provide as much as 10 per cent of its power generation by the end of 2023.

"All the big developers are watching Saudi," said Jenny Chase, an analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a market research firm.

"The country has made grand plans and pronouncements, but various bodies within it have failed to agree on the new way forward," Chase added. She referred to the agreement as "the first step in creating what is widely expected to be a major market".

Saudi Arabia adopted ambitious targets for green power several years ago, but no major projects were carried out, and little changed  so far.

The country's biggest solar farm in operation covers a parking lot of the national oil company, Saudi Aramco, in Dhahran. Lying just a couple of miles from a fenced-off area honouring the country's first commercially viable oil well, it generates enough power for a nearby office block.

Still, the experiment with solar power has been an important catalyst, and the company has built a team of experts in renewable power. The experience helped Saudi Arabia focus on convection panels over another system, known as concentrated solar, in which mirrors focus sunlight to create heat.

The renewables strategy finally started to take real shape when Khaled al-Falih took over as energy minister in 2016. Falih made solar and wind a priority for the kingdom, and set up a new unit last year to expedite the work. Much of the staff was drawn from Aramco.

Shehri, who had worked at Aramco before leading the kingdom's renewables programme, said he faced an "extremely challenging" task. Meeting Saudi Arabia's targets would require contracts for a series of new facilities to be awarded by the end of 2020. "The only way this was possible," he said, "was because we have done previous work."

Saudi Arabia, with its vast oil resources, would seem an unlikely champion for renewables. But the country's location and climate mean it has plenty of promising sites for solar and wind farms.

The costs of installing and operating those two technologies have fallen drastically around the world in recent years. That means that even in a country where oil is plentiful, renewables beckon as a cheap, and clean, alternative to traditional fossil fuels.

For the project announced on Monday, Riyadh received bids for the solar farm, which will be built in Sakaka, in northern Saudi Arabia, that rivalled the lowest ever submitted at auctions anywhere. At 2 to 3 cents per kilowatt-hour, a wholesale measure of electricity, solar power here would be below the cost of fossil fuel-generated electricity, Shehri said.

"Just look at the prices," Chase said. "That is why they are doing it."

A big push into wind and solar power would also have other benefits, notably allowing Saudi Arabia to sell more of its oil.

Saudis rely on air-conditioners for much of the year, and the scorching Arabian summer sends demand for power soaring. Much of that electricity today is generated at power plants fuelled by oil. Last June, the facilities burned an average of 680,000 barrels of oil a day, according to data supplied by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative, a monitoring group.

That figure - comparable to the output of a modest-size oil-producing country like Egypt - was down from nearly 900,000 barrels a day in 2015, but it still essentially represents wasted cash. Had it been sold overseas, that crude could have added $47 million a day to government revenue, at current prices.

Selling oil internationally is central to funding the Saudi budget. The terms of the Sakaka project's auction required that developers pay the upfront cost of the solar farm, return for payments for the power they supply to the grid. That would allow Saudi Arabia to continue focusing on producing and exporting oil while it makes the shift to cleaner power.

In the 1920s, the area surrounding the Aramco offices here was little more than a series of rocky hills. But then a team of American geologists discovered crude, and everything changed.

Still, despite the ambitious goals and positive language, the process by which Saudi Arabia has looked to expand its wind and solar capacity has raised concerns.

Analysts have pointed in particular to how Saudi leaders have chosen their preferred companies. When Riyadh produced a short list of two firms for the Sakaka project this month, it passed over one that had presented a lower bid than the finalists, leaving some experts worried about the transparency of the bidding process.

Local-supplier requirements might also deter some bidders. Shehri insisted that companies interested in the Sakaka project agree to spend 30 percent of the costs on domestic suppliers and expected that proportion to rise in subsequent bidding rounds. Many companies may find it difficult to justify building factories in Saudi Arabia just to construct one power plant.

The Saudi market's sheer size, however, means it merits the attention of the world's renewable energy companies.
Its far from a secret that macroeconomic trends can have a major impact on small businesses. Among the trends that typically has the greatest impact on these small enterprises is volatility in the market. When markets become unstable, the results can make or break the small businesses that make up the core of most economies. Heres what you need to know about how different types of volatility in the market can affect smaller and medium-sized business enterprises.

Price Volatility

There are many different kinds of volatility that can emerge as trends within various global markets. One of the most obvious examples that has a direct impact on smaller businesses is that of price volatility in commodity and raw materials markets. When prices rise quickly, small businesses are often left in the position of accepting lower profit margins or charging their customers more. Though volatile prices for raw materials can negatively impact larger businesses as well, the fact that small enterprises rarely have enough warehouse space to buy their materials in bulk leaves them more vulnerable to rapid price increases. In the case of price decreases, however, small businesses can also benefit from volatility.

Currency Strength

Another market in which high levels of volatility can affect small businesses is the Forex, or foreign exchange market. According online FX experts Compare Forex Brokers, the Forex market is effectively the sum of all global currency markets. In the Forex market, currencies are typically considered in pairs, with the value of the pair expressed as the ratio of the value between the two currencies. Though major currencies like the US dollar and British pound make up the largest share of the Forex market, all world currencies are, to some degree at least, represented in it.

Forex volatility is important for small businesses because of the effect that the value of different currencies relative to one another can have on international trade. A small business importing goods from a country with a weak currency into one with a stronger currency, for instance, is in a good position to make a profit because of the low comparative costs of the goods it is importing. When currencies become too volatile, the relationship between the purchasing power of different currencies may become unpredictable. This, in turn, can affect the regular affairs of a small business that imports or exports products. Just as with price volatility, currency market volatility can work either in favour of or against a business.

Domestic Downturns and Upturns

A final type of market volatility to be considered is that which presents itself in domestic markets in the form of general economic downturns or upturns. Though such trends rarely have direct effects on small businesses themselves, they can have a considerable effect on the customer bases those businesses rely on.

Market downturns often result in job losses and depressed wages, leading customers to be more frugal with their spending. Depending on the model of a given small business, the effect from this can take different forms. Restaurants and businesses that sell non-essentials will generally see the worst outcomes during a domestic downturn. Providers of essential goods and services may see decreased revenues but will usually not lose an appreciable amount of business.

Economic booms, by contrast, have precisely the opposite effect on businesses. Increases in employment and upward pressure on wages typically raise consumer spending, benefiting businesses of all sorts. This, in turn, allows businesses to invest in their own operations.

Why Volatility is Usually Regarded as Negative

Despite its potential to benefit businesses under the right conditions, market volatility is generally seen as a net negative for enterprises. The simple reason for this is the fact that long-term predictability is usually better for businesses than volatile conditions that temporarily favour them. Since business decisions usually reflect long-term planning, highly volatile conditions, even those that may work in the best interest of a business temporarily, are rarely desirable.
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
According to a court report, published on Tuesday, Assange's lawyer Mark Summers requested that the Court of Judges of Westminster suspended the arrest warrant that does not allow the computer expert going out freely of the Ecuadorian embassy.

"The item was assessed by specialist officers and deemed to be non-suspicious".

Since being granted political asylum by Ecuador in 2012, Assange has been living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since then.

If he walks out the doors of the Embassy he faces arrest for skipping bail over sexual assault allegations which have since been dropped.

Judge Arbuthnot adjourned the case until February 13, when she will give her judgment on the public interest argument.

But even if Assange wins, he might decide to remain in the embassy because of fears over a possible secret USA indictment against him.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected a call from Assange's lawyers for the warrant to be revoked because he is no longer wanted for questioning in Sweden over alleged sex crimes.

"The last five-and-a-half years that he has spent may be thought to be adequate, if not severe punishment, for the actions that he took", Summers said.

"The proper approach is that when a discrete, standalone offence of failing to surrender occurs, it always remains open to this court to secure the arrest", he said.

"The decisions that the court makes definitely have an effect, but they do not determine our decision and we will continue to provide our protection to Mr Assange", Moreno said at a meeting in Quito with the foreign press. But Assange was still subject to the British warrant for breaching his bail conditions in 2012.

"Today we finally had the opportunity to put before this court the background to this case".

"I'm not persuaded that the warrant should be withdrawn".

The WikiLeaks website gained fame after it released thousands of confidential diplomatic cables showing the USA manipulation of foreign governments and video footage of a US military strike on civilians in Iraq, moves that angered Washington.
Trumbull, CT- February 5, 2018  TMC, a global, integrated media company helping clients build communities in print, in person and online, today announced the recipients of the 2017 Backup and Disaster Recovery Awards, presented by Cloud Computing magazine.

The Cloud Computing Backup and Disaster Recovery Award recognizes technologies and vendors that have built cloud solutions empowering businesses small or large to remain active and productive under even the most challenging conditions, minimizing lost business opportunities.

I offer congratulations to the winners of the 2017 Cloud Computing Backup and Disaster Recovery Award, said Rich Tehrani, CEO, TMC (News - Alert) . The winning solutions are enabling organizations to feel confident during regular business, and reassured in stressful situations. I look forward to seeing continued innovation from these award recipients.

2017 Cloud Computing Backup and Disaster Recovery Award Winners:

For more than 20 years, TMC has been honoring technology companies with awards in various categories. These awards are regarded as some of the most prestigious and respected honors in the communications and technology sector worldwide. Winners represent prominent players in the market who consistently demonstrate the advancement of technologies. Each recipient is a verifiable leader in the marketplace.

About Cloud Computing Magazine:



Cloud Computing magazine is the industry's definitive source for all things cloud - from public, community, hybrid and private cloud to security and business continuity, and everything in between. This quarterly magazine published by TMC assesses the most important developments in cloud computing not only as they relate to IT, but to the business landscape as a whole.

About TMC

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and bolster brand reputations. Custom Content provides expertly ghost-crafted blogs, press releases, articles and marketing collateral to help with SEO, branding, and overall marketing efforts.

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Aviagen LLC hosts Arbor Acres School in Egypt

Last November, Arbor Acres customers from Russia and Kazakhstan gathered in Cairo, Egypt, to share knowledge, gain practical experience and learn about the latest poultry industry advancements at the annual Arbor Acres School.



One particular highlight of the gathering was a ceremony to award the latest members of the Arbor Acres 140 and 400 Clubs.



Each year, Aviagen LLC welcomes customers to its Arbor Acres School to present current hot topics, such as biosecurity, and also advises customers on how to get the highest performance from their Arbor Acres broiler breeding stock based on local environments and conditions.



For the Egypt session of the school, the major topic was optimum management of poultry produced in hot climates with extreme fluctuations of daily temperatures and humidity.



Biosecurity at all farms, hatcheries and facilities is also a key focus of the School due to its significant impact on poultry health and welfare. Presentations offered useful information on the use of dry disinfectants and other biosecurity measures.



Discussions also centered on achieving and maintaining success amid changing market landscapes in the region. Participants benefited from in-depth discussions and an exchange of ideas.



The school provided an ideal forum to welcome high achievers to the Arbor Acres 140 and 400 Clubs. The clubs were introduced to recognise customers who, through hard work and dedication, along with expertise and excellent stockmanship, have succeeded in maximising the genetic potential of Arbor Acres parent stock.



Arbor Acres 140 Club membership is awarded to customers who have achieved a breeder performance of greater than 140 chicks per hen housed. Russian hatchery Bashkirski Broiler Ao earned membership into this prestigious club by attaining 140.7 chicks per hen housed.

Arbor Acres 400 Club members have tipped the scale on performance by meeting or exceeding a European Performance Efficiency Factor (EPEF) score of 400. Other factors taken into account are body weight and feed efficiency. This honor was given to Alel Agro Ao, one of Kazakhstan's largest poultry enterprises.



This year's students expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to share ideas and increase their knowledge.



NadezhdaSpichka, chief technologist of Bashkirski Broiler, said: "Aviagen LLC once again trained Arbor Acres customers in the Confederation of Independent States (CIS) at a very high level. Representatives from poultry farms in Russia and Kazakhstan were able to gain knowledge that they will then use to increase their productivity and performance."



Vladimir Pankratov, sales manager of CIS for Aviagen LLC, said: "The Arbor Acres School attracts an increasing number of poultry professionals from different regions of Russia and Kazakhstan each year. As one of the fastest-growing breeds in the industry, Arbor Acres genetics contribute to the success of our customers by enabling them to achieve excellent production and economic results. I feel this year the school achieved its objective of addressing issues affecting all students present. I would like to wish this year's participants success and high performance, and look forward to seeing them next year."



Aviagen is committed to sharing its latest R&D developments and expertise with customers to help them maintain a competitive advantage in a dynamic and every-changing global marketplace. The Arbor Acres School is one of many educational opportunities extended to Aviagen customers throughout the world.
The 2018 Guangzhou Culture Week, designed to increase global exposure to Guangzhou culture, began in Auckland, New Zealand on Feb 2 with a series of unique artistic performances by the Guangzhou International Friendship Art Troupe at the local Skycity Theatre.

The troupe was formed in 2017 by the Guangzhou municipal bureau of press, publication, radio, film and television and the foreign affairs office of the Guangzhou municipal government. The performance held on Feb 2 were the troupe's first of the year and marked the beginning of a series of celebrations leading up to the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Guangzhou and Auckland next year.

Performers from the Guangzhou International Friendship Art Troupe perform a special dance at Skycity Theatre in Auckland on Feb 2. [Photo/Xinhua]

Over 800 people attended the performances, which included Cantonese Opera, Lingnan acrobatics, folk dance, and five-stringed pipa playing. The fan favorite was famous Chinese jazz musician Wang Cong, who adroitly combined jazz and Cantonese Opera in his one-of-a-kind performance.

In the lead up to the Chinese New Year, the Guangzhou International Friendship Art Troupe will continue to give the world a taste of Guangzhou culture with performances in countries such as France, Germany, and Indonesia.

A Cantonese Opera show is held at Skycity Theatre in Auckland on Feb 2. [Photo/Xinhua]




Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  Iconic 80s love team Sharon Cuneta and Gabby Concepcion are making a comeback for a new advertisement!

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, fast food chain Mcdonalds teased netizens with a cryptic photo that had fans of the love team giddy with excitement.

The photo said "Dear Heart, Kita kits! P.S. I love you"-- a nod to two films starring the former lovers.

It was captioned "MEGA kilig, umaga't GABI. Soon."

The post confirmed what netizens had been speculating-- that the two would soon reunite in a project.

Both stars have been active on social media lately, tagging and replying to each other in Instagram comments.

Sharon-Gabby fans were quick to comment on the post.

'Yes Sharon, Gabby dear heart and ps i love and my only love my favorite movies of all time," Instagram user rhyxallaine_nicole said.

Another user, mhel miranda commented on Cuneta's repost of the photo, saying "I'm so excited idol.... Sharon Gabby forever."

Mcdonald's post has more than 3,000 likes as of writing, while Cuneta's repost has gained nearly 7,000 likes.

Meanwhile, Cuneta's husband, Sen. Francis Pangilinan told CNN Philippines' The Source he would support Cuneta if she does a reunion project with her ex-husband.

"Maybe they should ask Sharon. I'm not at liberty to say anything," he said when asked if the two would have a project in the works.

"She's a professional. It's her craft. I will support her. It's her decision, and she's a professional," he added.

Cuneta and Concepcion were married in the 1980s, but the marriage were annulled in 1993.

They have a daughter, Kristina Cassandra "KC" Concepcion.
(CNN Money)  If you have space-obsessed friends, you might have heard the words "Falcon Heavy" used a lot lately.

Falcon Heavy is the name of a highly anticipated SpaceX rocket that's set to launch for the first time on Tuesday.

Liftoff can happen anytime between 1:30 pm and 4 pm ET.

You can attribute the buzz to the Falcon Heavy's size: It will be the most powerful rocket in the world. It's built by the industry disrupting rocket company started by billionaire Elon Musk.

If you're just catching up to the action, we've answered all the questions you need to know before next month's launch.

Why does it matter?

This rocket will have thrust equal to 18 Boeing 747 jetliners.

SpaceX has said the rocket will be capable of sending humans to Mars, even though SpaceX is planning to build an entirely different system for Mars travel, called the BFR.

It'll also be the most powerful rocket currently in operation -- and one of the most powerful ever built. The most powerful rocket in history was NASA's Saturn V rocket, which was used for the Apollo moon landings and was retired in the 1970s.

The more thrust a rocket has, the farther it can travel and the bigger the satellite, spacecraft or other payload it can send into orbit.

That opens up a whole range of business opportunities for SpaceX, which has been leading a new era of spaceflight in which companies -- not just governments -- drive the industry forward.

What is it sending to space?

For this test mission, the Falcon Heavy will launch a dummy payload. Specifically, it'll send a cherry red Tesla roadster from Musk's personal collection into deep space. There's no scientific reason to send the car to space. But it does serve as self-promotion for Musk, who is also the CEO of Tesla.

When asked on Twitter why he wanted to throw away a $100,000 car, he replied, "I love the thought of a car drifting apparently endlessly through space and perhaps being discovered by an alien race millions of years in the future."

Once the Falcon Heavy has proven it can fly, the rocket can start doing its real job of hauling satellites and other payloads into orbit.

The rocket is already signed up to carry three hefty telecommunications satellites into orbit.

The U.S. Air Force also plans to use a Falcon Heavy to launch a payload dubbed STP-2 that includes some weather forecasting satellites.

SpaceX also said in early 2017 that two space tourists put down a deposit to ride on a Falcon Heavy for a trip around the moon. At the time, SpaceX said that trip could occur in 2018, though the company hasn't offered any updates.

How much does it cost?

The Falcon Heavy has a $90 million sticker price. That's 45% more expensive than the Falcon 9 rocket SpaceX has used for every mission going back to 2012.

But the Falcon Heavy is essentially three Falcon 9s strapped together, and it'll boast about three times the thrust of the Falcon 9.

And, compared to rockets that better rival the Falcon Heavy's power, it's a bargain.

The Delta IV Heavy, which is built by legacy aerospace firm United Launch Alliance and is currently the world's most powerful rocket, can reportedly cost as much as $400 million per launch.

It should also be noted that the Falcon Heavy will out-power the Delta IV Heavy by a factor of two.

Why is it so cheap?

SpaceX says it's been able to undercut the competition on price because of its reusable rocket parts.

The company is the only rocket builder in the world that safely returns first-stage rocket boosters back to Earth.

The first Falcon Heavy flight will even use two refurbished boosters from previous Falcon 9 missions.

And, in what promises to be a stunning spectacle, SpaceX says it will attempt to guide all three of the Falcon Heavy's first-stage boosters back to Earth after launch. Two of them will make a synchronized landing back at Kennedy Space Center. The third booster will land on a droneship, which is a remote controlled platform that catches rockets out at sea.

Will it work?

SpaceX is taking its sweet time preparing for launch. The company said back in 2011 that the rocket would be ready in 2013. That target eventually moved to November 2017, then December. Now, SpaceX is finally ready to launch.

But even with all that careful preparation, things could still go haywire.

"Falcon Heavy requires the simultaneous ignition of 27 orbital-class engines. There's a lot that could go wrong there," Musk said at a conference last year. "This is one of those things that's very difficult to test on the ground ... real good chance that vehicle does not make it to orbit."

What happens if it explodes?

An explosion, apart from an eruption of flames and smoke, would destroy Musk's Tesla -- and, potentially, the launch pad.

A SpaceX rocket explosion has destroyed a launch pad before. In September 2016, a Falcon 9 rocket spontaneously erupted in flames and caused significant damage to a launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. It took more than a year to refurbish the pad.

The Falcon Heavy is ready to fly from Kennedy Space Center's historic Launch Complex 39A. It's the same pad that hosted Apollo and Space Shuttle missions going back to the heyday of human spaceflight.

How do I watch the launch?

Thousands of people are expected to watch the launch from the ground, according to local news reports.

For VIP treatment, buy a launch viewing ticket at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor's Complex.

If you can't make it to Florida, SpaceX offers a webcast of their launches here.

This story was first published on CNN.com, SpaceX Falcon Heavy: Everything you need to know."
Turkish tanks thwarted YPG suicide attack in Afrin

Turkish Armed Forces on Wednesday thwarted YPG suicide attack targeting a Free Syrian Army position in Syria's northwestern Afrin region.

Operation Olive Branch has been launched by Turkey along with the Free Syrian Army to clear the PKK terror group's Syrian affiliates the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing the YPG as well as Daesh terrorists from Afrin countinues.

Turkish Armed Forces on Wednesday thwarted a PKK/YPG terror attack targeting a Free Syrian Army (FSA) position in Syrias northwestern Afrin region.

Turkish tanks struck down an explosive-laden truck advancing towards an FSA position after the troops spotted it through thermal cameras.

Turkish tanks thwarted a YPG suicide attack with artillery shooting WATCH

Turkish forces artillery shooting carried out on a strategic hill in the west of Afrin was filmed by Turkish Anadolu Agency.
US sets up military base in Duhok

US, acts in unison with terror organizations for its own hand in Middle East, plans to set up a military base in Duhok province, Afrin.

US is planning to establish a puppet state in Syria by collaborating with PKK terror organization.

For nearly 2 years, US military has been providing guns and ammunitions to PKK/YPG. And now, US military forces are making provision for setting up a base in Duhok.

STRATEGIC LOCATION FOR WEAPON TRANSPORT

Duhok province has a strategic location for weapon transports to Kandil region, where PKKs main terror camps are located.

With that military base, it will be easier for US providing weapons to PKK terrorists.
Quentin Tarantino addressed the controversy surrounding Uma Thurman's car crash during filming for Kill Bill and recalled what happened prior to the incident in an exclusive interview.

Tarantino clarified that he did not force Thurman to get in the car for one of the stunts in the film contrary to what reports are saying he is guilty of. However, he admitted that he is guilty of putting her in the vehicle. The filmmaker considered the stunt as the greatest regret in his life.

The Kill Bill director went into detail on what transpired before Thurman's car crash. He remembered that it happened in one of the last days of filming and the second day of filming Michael Parks' Esteban Vihaio scene. Tarantino recalled that after they wrapped up Parks' scene, Thurman, who played The Bride, was supposed to do a driving stunt.

However, Bennet Walsh, the production manager, said that Thurman was hesitant to do the stunt even though she knows how to drive and that she has a driver's license. Tarantino remembered being irritated but he is certain that he was not angry contrary to what the New York Times reported.

"I'm sure I wasn't in a rage and I wasn't livid. I didn't go barging into Uma's trailer, screaming at her to get into the car. I can imagine maybe rolling my eyes and thinking, 'we spent all this money taking this stick shift Karmann Ghia and changing the transmission, just for this shot,'" Tarantino told Deadline.

Instead of screaming at her and forcing her to do the stunt, the director took the car for a drive himself to test the road. Tarantino remembered driving on a straight road with "no weird dips, there were no gully kinds of things, no hidden S-curves."

Confident that it would be an easy feat for the actress, Tarantino talked to Thurman in her trailer and assured her that she would just be driving down a straight road. He remembered that he was all smiles while he explained how she can get from point one to point three at a speed of 30-45 mph. However, when filming rolled, they had to change direction because of the lighting.

"We changed our number one, so the car would be driving in the opposite direction from the way I had gone down. And that was the beginning of where the crash happened," the director explained.

Tarantino also denied claims that someone from transportation reported that the car did not work. He said that if this had happened, then the First AD, the production manager or the producer would have decided against using the vehicle that led to Thurman's car crash in Kill Bill.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might not be a married couple yet, but that doesn't mean they won't be celebrating the most romantic holiday before their wedding. On Tuesday, the Kensington Palace announced that the soon-to be royal couple would be spending Valentine's Day eve in Scotland. This will be their first joint visit to the state.

The two will start the day by visiting the Esplanade in front of the famous Edinburgh Castle, where they will be greeted by the Royal Marines Scotland Band. Following their visit, they will watch the firing of the One O'Clock Gun, a tradition that began in 1861.

Watching a gun firing would make anyone hungry, which is why the pair will then head to the Social Bite, a sandwich shop that donates to social causes such as homelessness.

They will complete their trip by attending a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where they will celebrate the accomplishments of the country's youth for Scotland's Year of Young People 2018. The organization gives to people between the ages of 8 to 26 years old a platform to voice out their opinions and showcase their talents.

While Kensington Palace did not confirm whether Prince Harry and Markle would actually spend Valentine's Day in Edinburgh, sources believe that Harry definitely has something special planned for his future bride.

It's safe to say that Harry knows the way to the actress's heart, because she posted several photos of bouquets of her favorite flowers before deactivating her Instagram.

Markle Spreads Love

Markle has made it known that she is a big fan of the holiday and has always encouraged others to celebrate Valentine's Day even if they are single.

"I think you need to cook that beautiful dinner even when it's just you, wear your favorite outfit, buy yourself some flowers and celebrate the self-love that often gets muddled when we focus on what we don't have," Markle wrote.

Markle's joint trip with Harry to Scotland won't be the first time the 36-year-old traveled for the holiday. In a post on The Tig in 2016, she revealed that she would be spending V-Day with her friends in the West Village in New York City.

As previously reported, Harry and Markle will tie the knot on May 19 at the St. George's Chapel at the Windsor Castle.
Normally, many people are asleep in their beds at around 3 a.m. However, you might find Kim Kardashian West awake at that time.

An On-Call Crew

While Saint, North, and Chicago West are sleeping soundly, their mom is usually working hard on ways for the world to talk about her. Throughout the past few years, Kardashian has been shocking the world and her social media followers through her provocative photos.

To help her make these irresistible pieces of eye candy, Kardashian West has reportedly hired a dozen experts to assist the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star and fashion entrepreneur towards photography perfection.

A Kardashian West insider told The Daily Mirror that she goes through hundreds of photographs before she selects the one to be uploaded onto her social media account.

The crew also has a special ringtone on their phones. If the social media powerhouse is ready to pose, the style squad must be ready with everything that Kardashian West needs to perfect her modeling skills.

The Latest Photo Shoot

Kardashian's latest photoshoot that stirred heads was on Monday, Jan. 29. Wearing only a white top that showcased her cleavage and white underwear, Kardashian declared herself "Bo West." She wore her hair in braids that paid homage to actress Bo Derek.

However, social media was unhappy with the new hairstyle and gave her harsh criticism on Instagram.

"They are Fulani braids, Kim. Stop making up names for something that was there before your existence...no need for the name change just wear the d--- weave without trying to take credit for creating something that was already here," wrote one Instagram user.

"I don't know what your kids are going to grow up and think," wrote another Instagram user.

Actress Bo Derek inserted herself into the conversation and stated that Kardashian West was wearing the same hairstyle that she wore for a movie. Derek said that she loved the tribute.

As Kim's World Turns

While Kardashian West continues to use her photo squad, the television personality has numerous items on her agenda.

Kardashian West made her first public appearance with her daughter, Chicago West, in Los Angeles on Feb.1.

She also mailed out several valentine gifts to numerous critics including longtime nemeses. Blac Chyna, Taylor Swift, and Wendy Williams are among the "lucky" recipients.

Meanwhile, Kardashian West's mother recently banned her and the entire Kardashian-Jenner family to appear on Williams's daytime show: The Wendy Williams Show.
This story was updated with statements from Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's Spokesperson, Atty. Josa Deinla.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Wednesday said it will begin investigating Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno's alleged failure to pay taxes.

BIR Deputy Commissioner for Operations Arnel Guballa made this commitment in response to an order from the House Committee on Justice.

"You are hereby directed to submit before this committee the results of your investigation on the tax payments, incomes, revenues, and the compliance by the Chief Justice. So ordered," House Justice Committee Chairperson Reynaldo Umali told the BIR official.

Umali asked the BIR to submit the results before February 19, saying he hopes to finish hearing Sereno's impeachment case by the end of the month.

Guballa answered, "We will do [our] best to find supposed deficiency or whatever we can find regarding the income the Chief Justice has made."

He asked permission to leave while the hearing was ongoing so he can formally launch the probe. He was allowed to go.

Earlier, Rep. Eugene De Vera asked Guballa if the BIR has ever investigated Sereno's alleged tax evasion, in connection with her supposed failure to file her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) for 17 years, when she was still a professor at the University of the Philippines.

RELATED: Chief Justice Sereno faces criminal complaint over 'failure to file SALNs'

"We all know in taxation that all income, whether legal or illegal is subject to tax," De Vera said.

In the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon, Sereno is accused of "failing to report her extortionate attorney's fees and pay the appropriate taxes." Gadon said this constitutes a violation of the Constitution and other high crimes, grounds for officials to be impeached under the Constitution.

Gadon said Sereno earned P37 million (US$725,500) in lawyers' fees for representing the government in a controversial case against the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. in 2003. The BIR said it will look into the actual amount received by Sereno.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Sereno's camp maintained the Chief Justice accurately declared all her earnings in the PIATCO cases.

"During the years CJ Sereno filed her income tax returns with the BIR, there was no deficiency assessment notice from the BIR nor any question surrounding her ITR filings," Sereno spokesman Atty. Josa Deinla said.

"This only means one thing: All her income tax filings when she was a private lawyer were accurate and proper. Tama, sakto at walang hokus-pokus [accurate, exact, and without any hocus-pocus]."

Deinla said their camp is "confident" the BIR's review of Sereno's ITRs will prove she has paid corresponding taxes for income earned before.

She added the fees, like any other income, were gradually spent over time.

"All assets and investments bought or acquired from the remainder of these fees were truthfully reflected in her SALNs when she became a member of the judiciary," said Deinla

Sereno's lawyers earlier said she received P30 million in tranches. Since it was not received in full, the full amount does not appear in any of her SALNs, her lawyers said.

In the impeachment case, the Chief Justice is also accused of committing corruption and betrayal of public trust. Sereno has denied the allegations, and asked for the complaint to be junked.
Kristen Doute isn't thrilled with Jax Taylor and Brittany Cartwright's romance and wishes her longtime friend would move on from the infamous cheater of Vanderpump Rules.

Although Taylor and Cartwright are currently involved in a committed relationship with one another and are discussing the possibility of getting married, Taylor recently cheated on Cartwright and Doute believes they are moving too fast towards a permanent commitment.

I mean, you just had a crazy cheating scandal happen months ago. I think you need to pump the breaks, Doute told Us Weekly magazine on Feb. 5. Like, things dont change overnight. Marriage is forever. Its not just like a fun party favor.

Taylor admitted he cheated on Cartwright during an early episode of Vanderpump Rules season 6 and a short time later, he was heard blasting her in an audio clip made by Faith Stowers. In the shocking clip, Taylor informed Stowers that he wasn't attracted to Cartwright physically and told her he would never walk down the aisle with her. He even said he refused to have kids with Cartwright.

In the months since he cheated, Taylor has been attempting to make things right with Cartwright and at the end of Dec. 2017, he confirmed he was taking her and her family to visit the Kentucky castle where she hopes to have a fairy tale winter wedding. Still, Doute isn't so sure that Taylor is capable of monogamy.

I would love to hope so, because I love Brittany. And honestly, I love Jax. Ive known Jax for over 10 years. Its family, she explained. But I cant respect anybody whos going to be treating someone the way he treats her. Especially so undeservingly. I dont know if I think that he can. I just really hope. Fingers crossed.

Although Taylor and Cartwright's relationship was a bit strained last year, they have gotten much closer in recent weeks due to the December 2017 death of Taylor's father, Ronald Cauchi, after a cancer battle.

To see more of Kristen Doute, Jax Taylor, Brittany Cartwright, and their co-stars, including James Kennedy, Lala Kent, Lisa Vanderpump, Tom Sandoval, Tom Schwartz, Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Stassi Schroeder, and Scheana Marie, don't miss new episodes of Vanderpump Rules season 6 on Monday nights at 9 p.m. on Bravo TV.
Comedian Jim Carrey is firm about leaving Facebook as well as his stocks in the company. He is also urging everyone to do the same.

Carrey took to Facebook, via his page Jim Carrey is Here, to inform his followers that he would be deleting his account and selling his stocks from the company. As of writing, his page has over 5.1 million followers and is still active.

"I'm dumping my @facebook stock and deleting my page because @facebook profited from Russian interference in our elections and they're still not doing enough to stop it," Carrey explained.

The 56-year-old Bruce Almighty star further called on other investors to mimic his actions. His post also included #unfriendfacebook. All of this, according to him, was because of the alleged role of Facebook in the 2016 elections.

To make his stand more solid, Carrey changed his Facebook cover photo to an artwork. The art, signed by the actor himself, shows a cartoon of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and "fakebook." It also featured a thumbs down, an alteration of the platform's signature thumbs up icon for liking.

Carrey was keen on his statements, though, as he posted it on his Twitter account as well. In a statement, he underlined the importance of the roles of social media owners nowadays.

"We must encourage more oversight by the owners of these social media platforms. This easy access has to be more responsibly handled," Carrey added.

Carrey's Actions

This was not the first time Carrey had been vocal about his beliefs, especially about the elections. He was known to be a critic of U.S. President Donald Trump, as evident on his tweets.

Carrey called the Republican congress "corrupt" and explained that their rule would lead to chaos and "we are headed for suffering beyond all imagination."

Facebook

Facebook is just one of the social media channels that had been dragged into the supposed role of Russians during the 2016 election. At first, Zuckerberg dismissed the idea of this but later confessed that it was actually a pressing issue and then apologized for disregarding this.

Late last year, the platform admitted that there were more than 125 million ads seen by Americans that could affect the elections. These ads were Russian-backed.

After this, Facebook promised to be more responsible in what its users see. It added "Paid for by," a feature that promotes transparency.

"When it comes to advertising on Facebook, people should be able to tell who the advertiser is and see the ads they're running, especially for political ads," Facebook's Rob Goldman said.
There is trouble brewing in the Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott paradise with multiple reports claiming that the couple could be headed for splitsville.

The news comes days after the reality star and the rapper welcomed their baby daughter, Stormi Webster, into the world.

Jenner Can Legally Keep Scott Away From The Baby

The new mom has every legal right to keep custody of the baby and disallow Scott from seeing their daughter, according to California Family attorney David Pisarra.

According to TMZ, Jenner and Scott do not have a custody agreement, which works in Jenner's favor. Because of the fact that there is no custody arrangement, Scott has to take a "leap of faith" and rely on the belief that Jenner is going to be nice and allow him to spend adequate time with the child.

"If there isn't any formal custody arrangement in place, this means that she is behaving on good will with the father and allow time for him to be a good dad," Pisarra said before pointing out that the 20-year-old mother can keep Scott away from Stormi as and when she pleases.

Jenner And Scott's Blowout Fight

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star and the Butterfly Effect hitmaker had a major showdown just four days after they became parents. Although the reason behind their argument is not yet known, eyewitnesses spotted the rapper leaving Jenner's Calabasas house in a fit of rage and speeding back to his Beverly Hills residence.

"Travis left Kylie and their new baby in a raging fury, and began speeding home, illegally passing cars, driving recklessly and was very visibly mad as he drove to back to his place," a source told Hollywood Life. This comes a week after reports emerged that the couple was having arguments over baby names.

Scott Does Not Want To Be A 'Model' Dad

Jenner's rapper boyfriend may have looked like a proud father in the video she posted on YouTube chronicling her pregnancy journey, but he has no intentions to play the role of a "model" father.

According to an insider, Scott in enjoying his life at the moment, and with his career on the rise, he wants to make the most of it.

"This is the lifestyle that Travis has always wanted  performing in front of thousands of screaming fans, private jets, champagne, parties  he's really living the high life," a source told the publication.

The insider noted that even after Jenner got pregnant, he made his intentions very clear that he would not put his career on hold in order to spend time with her.
Clint Eastwood has revealed why he decided to cast real-life heroes in his upcoming terrorism thriller, The 15:17 to Paris.

The 15:17 to Paris is based on the true story of three American friends, Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler, who prevented a terrorist attack on board a French train in 2015.

Eastwood Explains Casting Decision

Eastwood has previously helmed films based on real-life heroes, including American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper as Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, and Sully, featuring Tom Hanks as heroic airline pilot Capt. Chesley Sullenberger.

However, Eastwood's upcoming film, which is inspired by a book penned by the three Americans, took many by surprise when it was announced that after a lengthy search, Eastwood was going to cast the real-life heroes in his film.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the director revealed the reason behind his unconventional decision to choose the non-actors for the film.

The director said he was going through the details of the Thalys train attack with Stone, Skarlatos, and Sadler repeatedly to make sure the events were accurately depicted in the film and, one day, it just hit him that the trio would be a perfect fit for the role.

"I think there are some wonderful actors around that could've played this, but there's something about this particular project and the heroism that was involved and the way they handled the thing that is just kind of unique, so I thought I'd try that here. And I just said, 'I think I'll take a shot at it,'" he added.

The 15:17 to Paris

Stone, Skarlatos, and Sadler will play themselves in the film, which will document the events that took place on a Thalys train traveling from Amsterdam to Paris on Aug. 21, 2015.

The 15:17 to Paris will tell the backstory of the three friends who grew up together in Sacramento right from their childhood to the incident that made them American heroes.

The three tourists saved countless lives by overpowering and subduing an armed ISIS gunman carrying more than 300 rounds of ammunition, who opened fire on the train.

Two other men who helped thwart the attack, British national Chris Norman and Armenian-American professor Mark Moogalian, will also play themselves in the upcoming film. In the attack, Norman was stabbed several times in the neck while Moogalian was shot in the back.

The 15:17 to Paris is slated to hit theaters on Friday, Feb. 9. Check out the film's trailer below.
Alexander Skarsgard got candid about his opinions on inequality and expressed his belief that that gender bias does not happen in the film industry alone but also in other professions.

A Feminist

Skarsgard was blunt when he pointed out that there is a double standard in the film industry, which affects the women in Hollywood. The actor shared that he has actress friends who are affected by what he described as a "disgusting" gender bias.

The 41-year-old Big Little Lies star added that the inequality does not happen in Hollywood alone. It happens in other work environments.

"It's not a problem that's specific to Hollywood. I think you see this in many professions, where men in power think they're entitled. So these women are very brave to talk about it, and I do believe it will fundamentally change things," Skarsgard said in his interview with Elle UK.

The actor also admitted to being 100 percent feminist. He credits growing up in Sweden for his social views. Skarsgard pointed out that his home country is ahead in terms of equal rights and called Sweden "very progressive."

Time's Up

In the wake of the Time's Up movement that swept Hollywood, more women are speaking up against their abusers, mostly men of higher authority or power. Skarsgard is speaking up for the women who face gender bias in the workplace.

It is obvious that the Golden Globe winner is also a supporter of the movement, which helps provide legal aid to the victims of sexual abuse and assault. Skarsgard's Big Little Lies costars Reese Witherspoon, Margot Robbie, and Nicole Kidman all support the Time's Up initiative. They have also shared their personal experience of abuse.

Skarsgard's views on gender inequality contradict the behavior of the character he plays in Big Little Lies. In the HBO series, the actor plays the role of Perry Wright, an abusive husband to Celeste Wright (Kidman). Wright would often hurt his wife by choking her or pulling at her hair. The drama features several scenes of domestic violence where Skarsgard's character is involved.

The actor previously received criticisms for not talking about domestic abuse and violence in his speech at the Golden Globes and at the Screen Actors Guild Awards in January. Viewers thought that his acceptance speech would have been a great venue to address the sensitive topic.

However, Skarsgard clearly made his support for women in his interview with Elle UK. The actor admitted being a self-confessed woman's man.
The war of words between Scott Baio and Nicole Eggert may finally boil over in court. Eggert reportedly decides to move forward with her allegations against Baio and officially filed a police report.

According to Eggert's attorney, Lisa Bloom, Eggert met with the LAPD on Tuesday, Feb. 6 and is now looking into the actress' allegations.

"Today Nicole Eggert and I met with two police detectives from the sexual assault unit at my law firm. Nicole answered all of their questions and told her story of sexual abuse by Scott Baio when she was a minor," Bloom stated.

Bloom continued that the LAPD was very interested in the Baywatch actress' story and more witnesses have come forward to corroborate with Eggert's story.

On the other hand, Baio wasted no time in responding to the news of Eggert going to the police with her story.

"We've been demanding since last year that Nicole Eggert bring her story to the authorities. It's good that she finally has, even if it's part of a publicity campaign. Perhaps she can explain to them her ever-changing story," Baio's rep stated.

Recently, the two former costars have been engaged in a battle of "he said, she said" since Eggert resurrected her allegations against Baio on her Twitter account. The actress responded to another user's post about Baio's questionable loyalty to President Trump and continued talking about the alleged molestation that occurred while the two were on set together.

Eggert then visited the Megyn Kelly Today show where she elaborated that Baio abused her starting when she was only 14 until she turned 17 and others on set were aware of the inappropriate behavior.

Baio responded to Eggert's claims during an interview with Good Morning America where the actor slammed Eggert's allegations. The actor stated that it would've been impossible to even conduct such behavior as there were too many chaperons on set. Baio further stated that Eggert's story changed since drastically over the years and there were too many inconsistency in what she claimed happened.

Baio and Eggert did briefly date after the show ended, however Baio stated that Eggert was of age at the time. The two actors have exchanged bitter words to each other since the allegations made headlines. Baio challenged Eggert to go to the police with her story and Eggert in return told Baio to come clean for his daughter's sake.

Baio and Eggert starred in the popular 1980's sitcom Charles in Charge. Baio portrayed the lead character Charles while Eggert portrayed Jamie Powell.
Rapper Travis Scott has been on a roller coaster of emotions this year. However, he is about to face the consequences from his past.

The Courtroom Drama

The "Butterfly Effect" rapper pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct involving a May 13, 2017 concert at the Walmart Arkansas Music Pavilion.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Scott, whose real name is Jacques Webster, and his legal team have cooperated with prosecutors and decided to accept several misdemeanor charges.

The charges include inciting a riot and endangering the welfare of a minor. Scott must also pay a fine of $6,825.31 to the people injured at the concert and $640 in court fees.

During his May 13, 2017 concert in Arkansas, Scott wanted his audience members to join him on stage. His announcement nearly created a riot and he was arrested for his action.

A Stormi Is Coming

Scott's legal issues came days after social media entrepreneur Kylie Jenner gave birth to their daughter, Stormi Webster. According to E! News, Stormi Webster came into the world on Thursday, Feb. 1, and immediately the Kardashian-Jenner world was changed forever.

As Stormi continues to adjust to the world, there may be a situation brewing between her parents. The duo does not have a custody agreement and according to California law, Jenner may have the upper edge if she decides that Stormi would not be safe around the "Goosebumps" rapper.

If that is the case, Jenner would have the power to dictate when Scott could see Stormi and how long the visits could be.

Bickering And Fighting

As Scott prepares to pay his legal fees and add misdemeanor charges to his name, the rapper could be thinking about the months that led up to Stormi's birth, in which he had uncomfortable fights with Jenner.

One fight that happened involved the opportunity to name their baby girl. Jenner preselected the names and did not wish to hear Scott's suggestions. Another argument that the couple had involved a dustup where Jenner accused Scott of cheating on her during different portions of her pregnancy.

"She flipped out on him and accused him of cheating on her with several women during her pregnancy, including a girl that she is friends with," a source told Radar Online.

The source also revealed that Scott was also trying to pushing win Jenner over again through unbelievable gestures, but Jenner would not have any of his actions.
7 February 2018

EPO President Benoit Battistelli met with Damaso Pardo, President of INPI on 5 February in Buenos Aires to discuss recent developments in patents and innovation and the co-operation between the two regions in this field. On this occasion, the EPO also signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Institute of Industrial Property of Argentina (INPI) on the introduction of the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) by INPI.

"I am pleased to see that the strategic partnership between the EPO and INPI, which started in 2017, is already producing very tangible results," said EPO President Benoit Battistelli. "This MoU on CPC is only one of the many activities INPI is undertaking with EPO support to progress in the modernisation of the Argentinian patent system. The ultimate goal of our co-operation is to support innovation and economic growth between our regions. We are looking forward to the next step of this co-operation, which we expect will lead to an enhanced co-operation between our offices. For European companies, increased harmonisation of patent procedures means that they will be able to expect similar conditions for protecting their inventions in Europe and Argentina."

"We continue working to insert our country intelligence into the world, based on the best international practices," said Argentina's Commerce Secretary Miguel Braun, adding: "We are taking another step in the co-operation between Europe and Argentina, providing more tools to Argentina and creating new investment opportunities."

"The signature of this MoU responds to the strategic objective to simplify all the procedures of the public administration which is being brought forward by President Macri," said Damaso Pardo, President of INPI. "The use of the CPC will lead to a more efficient search process and will facilitate the substantive examination done by INPI examiners. This will bring a significant benefit to the public, as it will improve the timeliness of the patent granting process."

Towards a common classification scheme for patents

In deciding to adopt the Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC), INPI joins other Latin American countries which already use the CPC, including Mexico, Brazil and Chile. Officially launched by the EPO and the USPTO in January 2013, the CPC is now considered the new global standard for refined patent classification. It is already in use, or will soon be used, by 26 patent offices around the world. Applying the same classification scheme can facilitate access for users and experts alike to technical information contained in patent documents, and improve the quality of patents. Under the agreement signed yesterday, Argentina's IP office will start classifying its publications in the CPC by January 2019. The EPO and the INPI will co-operate on IT aspects and training, including the provision of training to all INPI patent examiners.

At the meeting, the EPO and INPI presidents also discussed progress on other joint projects laid out in a memorandum of understanding on bilateral co-operation signed by the two offices in May 2017. This agreement covers areas such as access to information, sharing data and tools, improved patent procedures, and training.

Argentina is an important destination for trade and investment from European companies. The EU is Argentina's biggest foreign investor and second most important trading partner (after Brazil), accounting for 15.7% of total Argentinean trade in 2016. The European Union is currently negotiating a free trade agreement with the four founding members of Mercosur, namely Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

More information:
The European Union has just inaugurated the Bulgarian semester of EU Presidency, making the next six months particularly important for shaping the relations between the EU and the Balkans. The main goal still remains to consolidate the six Balkan partners towards the EU so that it becomes an irreversible process. The gathering of European leaders in Sofia was, however, also characterized by an intense work to preserve the nuclear deal with Iran.

The deal is working and the International Atomic Energy has certified it nine times, it is key for the European security and the security around the world. Federica Mogherini, head of EU diplomacy, appreciated that US President Donald Trump had confirmed that the United States would respect their commitments but he also extended the waiver on nuclear-related sanctions. Mrs. Mogherini nonetheless expressed her concerns over the latest wave of protests in Iran as well as the countrys ballistic missiles program.

For the EU, the Middle East is a strategic region: its stability, peace and security are connected directly to European stability, peace and security. To support the region, the EU has convened an extraordinary meeting of the Ad Hoc Liaison Committee, the group of international donors for Palestine and it is the first time that this happens. The main objective of this meeting is to support the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and thus grant peace and stability for both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Mrs. Mogherini also underlined the importance of Jewish culture to European identity and admitted that the rise of anti-Semitism was a growing concern.
The European Union is concerned over a sharp decline in human rights in Equatorial Guinea as corruption, poverty, and repression continue to plague the country under President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, who has been in power since 1979. Since the 2016 elections that most opposition groups boycotted, citing procedural irregularities and intimidation, more than 130 people have been detained. President Nguema, who is the worlds longest serving non-royal head of state, has faced numerous coup attempts during almost 40 decades in office.

The restrictions on freedom and arrests, particularly those of political opponents  since the elections in November 2017 arouse grave concern, commented Catherine Ray, EU spokeswoman for foreign affairs and security policy. The death in custody of Mr Ebee Ela, a member of the opposition party Ciudadanos por la Innovacion (CI, Citizens for Innovation), confirms the sharp decline in the human rights situation, she added.

Santiago Ebee Ela was detained on 2 January and died at the police headquarters in the capital Malabo of cruel torture, the CI informed. President Nguema, however, commented that Mr. Ebee Ela was sick and that his death was not a result of ill-treatment. Competent authorities in Equatorial Guinea should investigate in appropriate fashion without delay to clarify the reasons for the death, the EUs Ray responded.

Since the mid-1990s, Equatorial Guinea has become one of sub-Saharan Africas biggest oil producers, but about two-thirds of its 1.2 million population live in poverty. Abundant oil revenues fund lavish lifestyles for the selected few surrounding President Nguema. Mismanagement of public funds, allegations of high-level corruption and other abuses including torture, arbitrary detention and disappearances coupled with repression of civil society organizations are day-to-day business in the small Western African country.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The Commission on Appointments confirmed Francisco Duque III's appointment as Department of Health (DOH) Secretary.

An emotional Duque faced the CA for the second time on Wednesday for his confirmation.

Lawmakers grilled Duque for issues hounding the DOH, including the controversy on Dengvaxia, the measles outbreak in Davao City, and corruption allegations within the state health insurance company PhilHealth.

"During my time, in 2005 to 2010 your honor, when our budget was like a measly 10, 11 billion, we had much better immunization coverage, we enjoyed consistent public trust and satisfaction ratings, availment and public awareness of our programs," Duque said.

Duque, who served as DOH secretary under former President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo, teared up in the middle of answering questions.

"I said, 'What happened?' Now that we have so much budget. I think we have to recapture the glorious days of the DOH back then," he said.

After the hearing, Duque explained himself.

"The DOH is fighting too many battles in too many fronts," he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Duque in October 2017, replacing Paulyn Ubial who was rejected by the CA on October 10.

In December, when Dengvaxia maker Sanofi Pasteur announced the risks posed by the vaccine, Duque immediately canceled the dengue vaccination program.

The vaccine  which can be more risky for those who have not had prior dengue  had been administered to more than 800,000 students since April 2016.

Duque had called on Sanofi to refund more than 3.5 billion worth of vaccines. As of January 2018, the company has refunded 1.16 billion.

The Health Chief also served as chairperson of the Civil Service Commission in 2010, and former president and director of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation in 2001 and 1999.

The doctor earned his undergraduate and post-graduate degree from the University of Santo Tomas. He also took Executive Education in Health Program Management course at the Harvard University in 1992.

This is a developing story. Please refresh the page for updates.
Renewable energy is poised to generate up to 50% of the European Unions energy by 2030 as more offshore capacity is being installed, especially in wind power. The whole sector has been growing in general and it was for the very first time that the EU generated more electricity from clean sources than coal. Europes wind power production got a boost last year after 3,148 MW had been installed at sea and connected to the grid, twice the total for 2016. WindEurope, a wind power advocacy, forecasts that the coming two years will also set records for connected capacity thanks to large-scale pending projects in Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

In a long term, the future looks promising for the industry as member states are working to meet their 2020 deadline. Current laws and regulations will no longer apply and negotiations are pending for the 2020-2030 period. An independent analysis jointly published by think tanks Sandbag and Agora Energiewende shows that renewables outstripped coal power for the first time when it comes to electricity generation. Their report  The European Power Sector in 2017  called that progress incredible, emphasizing that coal generation was more than twice that of wind, solar and biomass in 2010.

Last year, wind, solar and biomass generated almost 21% of Europes electricity, contributing to a third of the mix. The study based its findings on the fact that the renewables grew 1.7% since 2010, which could yield their contribution to Europes electricity to 50% by 2030. However, the analysis also pointed out that the growth was not universal across the bloc after it had been revealed that the UK and Germany had accounted for more than half of the growth in the past three years.
Tinku,



1. I am getting about 420-430 points ( including spouse points ) and I checked that the current cut-off is about 445. So I am not sure that whether I will get ITA or not. What is the probability of getting PNP nomination from any province ?



the application pool is constantly receiving new applications and the cutoff appears to have settled at the 440-450 range. at 430 it may be unlikely you get an ITA. Each province is different for PnP, and depending on the PnP stream you apply for. You will not get a lot of advice as the experience from the forum is limited.



2. Is it worth coming to Canada leaving my current job and invest all my savings for PR process and then search for a job over there in Canada after getting PR ?



This is a decision only you can make, no sensible forummer will make this decision for you.



3. Also, I am a bit confused about Canada and Australia both as I am not sure where it will be relatively easy to get a job. Can anyone please put some light on this based on their experience ?



Getting a job will be dependent on how you adapt to Canada. You'll need to adapt your resume to expected Canadian styles. The major factor will be your ability to communicate clearly, concisely and knowledgeably to the interviewer(s). I have sat on a number of interview panels where the interviewee is highly qualified and knowledgeable but totally unable to communicate effectively.



Also, employers may not always be looking for the most intelligent or the most qualified candidate. They are looking for the one who will fit best with the existing team.
Agree with Kostik ...... AR 2 is a good option at the moment.



Lots of villas have just been released to owners and therefore the rental market is very competitive. Plenty of 3/4 bed villas at sensible prices.



DEWA for us, lowest is 1300 per month highest 3000 this is for a 4 bed Villa in AR2. We have a garden with auto watering so this keeps the water bill fairly high.



The villas are very modern and we have certainly had no issues of note.



Very good facilities here, pools and play areas for the kids in each part of the community, good shopping area with all the essentials/restaurants that you can either walk to or 2 min car ride (depending where you are sited), Primary School here as well although we don't have kids so have no idea what its like. Fitness First gym.



As for Agents, we used House Hunters who were excellent, they don't thrive on BS, they listened to what we wanted and found us what we wanted and were extremely helpful in the whole process of us moving over.



Easy access from the D63 in and out, the new access road opening soon will give access straight in to the top part of AR2.



All in all a nice place to live, we have just renewed for another year !
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No. of job openings are definitely more in USA, no doubt about that. and same goes with affordability (House prizes, cost of living etc) as well. But weather wise, Australia is much better when compared to some of the colder places in USA.



It is tough to get a job from abroad as Aussie recruiters wont entertain international candidates much unless it is a niche skill (or locally not many candidates are available). But this is not impossible though, some companies might contact you after you apply a job (mostly direct application and not through a recruiter).



I was in USA before and I left because i realized i cant get US green card quickly. If you are in such a situation, it is definitely a good bet to consider other countries like Canada or Australia.
Senior U.S District Judge David Ezra denied requests by lawyers for state Sen. Carlos Uresti and co-defendant Gary Cain to acquit the two men accused of defrauding investors, saying there was a lot of telling evidence against Uresti.

The motions for acquittal came Wednesday outside the jurys presence after federal prosecutors rested their case on Day 13 of the criminal trial against the two.

Ezra, in issuing his ruling, said the law requires him to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government at this stage of the trial.

We have a witness who said Mr. Uresti flat out said he put his own money into oilfield company FourWinds Logistics, Ezra said.

The judge also said there were documents that, if believed by a jury, could find Uresti, as well as Cain, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Im not saying the defendants are guilty, Ezra said. It is up to the jury to decide. But at this point, the government has presented enough evidence for the trial to continue.

Such requests for acquittal mid-trial are rarely granted, Ezra said.

Uresti was indicted last year on 11 felony charges, including securities fraud and money laundering, for his role in FourWinds, a now-defunct company that bought and sold sand used in fracking for oil production. Cain, a FourWinds consultant, is charged with nine felonies. Each has denied the charges.

Uresti served as FourWinds legal counsel, a 1 percent owner and he recruited investors. The company went bankrupt in 2015 amid allegations that it defrauded investors.

Four company officials already have pleaded guilty, including CEO Stan Bates, who was accused of misusing investors money to support a lavish lifestyle and to pay personal bills.

Michael McCrum, Urestis lead lawyer, in his request for an acquittal, said the lawmaker had no knowledge of the wrongdoing committed by Bates or other company officials.

Afterwards, during a break, McCrum said judges just never grant acquittal motions.

In 33 years, I think Ive seen a judge grant it only two times, and then it was only for a couple of charges, not all, he said. Its no surprise, but Im still confident about our case. Im still confident the government hasnt proven its case.

John Muller, a lawyer for Cain, also asked that his client be acquitted. Cain is charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

He came to work with his lunch pail and did his job, Muller said of Cain. He believed he was being paid with clean money.

Lead prosecutor Joseph Blackwell countered that all of the money that came through FourWinds was the result of fraud and, therefore, tainted.

There was no owner capital, no bank loans, Blackwell said. Everything came from investor funds and from the result of fraud.

Charles Chad Muller, Cains lead lawyer, declined to comment on the judges ruling.

After Ezras ruling, McCrum called as his first witness Guillermo Hoyos, a friend of Urestis who also helped recruit potential investors for FourWinds.

Hoyos testified he thought FourWinds was a successful and impressive company but said he never asked to review its financial records or speak with company officials.

Blackwell questioned Hoyos about telling FBI agents that Uresti had seen Bates using cocaine in a mens restroom.

I remember he was using drugs, but I dont remember what drug, Hoyos said.

The conversation with Uresti happened during a meeting in Austin where the lawmaker said he didnt want anything more to do with Bates because of his drug use, Hoyos said.

That and (Bates) was extremely unrespectful, Hoyos added.

Blackwell also asked Hoyos if he remembered telling FBI agents Ursesti had said he invested his own money with FourWinds and that it was very lucrative.

I do not recall (saying that), because that was not true, Hoyos said. Uresti never invested any of his own money in FourWinds.

The governments 23rd and final witness, FBI special agent Monroe Giese, completed his testimony Wednesday.

Giese had testified Tuesday that Hoyos sent Uresti an email in July 2014 questioning the ways Bates promoted FourWinds. Bates falsely claimed retired Spurs star Tim Duncan and actor Matthew McConaughey were considering investing with FourWinds, previous testimony indicated.

Bates also was telling investors about his exotic cars and that he had a $200 million offer for FourWinds, according to Hoyos email.

That doesnt impress anybody, Hoyos said of Bates bragging.

Defense lawyers also called Kevin Roddy, a New Jersey attorney who specializes in securities-fraud litigation. He testified about the differences between a securities broker and a finder.

Urestis lawyers contend he didnt act as an unregistered securities broker when recruiting potential investors for FourWinds. Rather, they say he merely introduced potential investors to the company.

Prosecutors also called a securities lawyer during their case. Expert witnesses who arent directly involved in a case are prohibited from testifying about specific facts.

The judge, citing a scheduling conflict, said the trial will resume Monday.

pdanner@express-news.net
The Alamo Colleges board of trustees could name a lone finalist for chancellor as early as Thursday, after a three-month national search dogged by accusations that the public  and one of the districts largest colleges  has been excluded from the process.

Trustees were scheduled to interview candidates Tuesday and Thursday night in closed session. The board revised its agenda Monday to possibly name a finalist Thursday, said Yvonne Katz, board chairwoman. If trustees do not come to a decision Thursday, they will likely name a lone finalist during a Feb. 20 meeting, Katz said.

If were ready, were ready, Katz said.

Chancellor Bruce Leslie announced last fall that he planned to retire in September of this year, leaving a vacancy at the top of the district of five community colleges. Combined, the Alamo Colleges has more than 61,000 students. Its budget this year is about $630 million, with a property tax base encompassing all of Bexar County.

Many Alamo Colleges students are low-income and older than the average undergraduate, leading them to community college for a career change. Part of the chancellors job is to form partnerships with local businesses and workforce development agencies.

Its important for us to have an open process, State Sen. Jose Menendez said in a recent interview. The Alamo Colleges chancellor is a tremendously important person for our community.

Katz declined to say how many candidates applied to replace Leslie or how many the board is interviewing this week.

Leslie led the district through a tumultuous 11 years, earning praise for standardizing processes across the colleges and prioritizing student transfer to four-year universities. But some faculty and community members repeatedly accused him and the board of disregard for the public and a lack of transparency. Now the board is facing the same criticisms concerning to the search process for a new chancellor.

Some faculty at Palo Alto and Northwest Vista Colleges have complained that they lack representation on the 20-member advisory committee that recommended candidates to trustees for final interviews. No employees or students from Northwest Vista  fast-growing and the second-largest college in the district  were on the advisory committee. Trustees chose the panels members, who include Katz and two other board members, three faculty members, an academic adviser, two students, a university president, a community organizer and leaders from local businesses and school districts.

Paul Martinez, a U.S. history professor at Northwest Vista and president of the faculty senate there, said faculty representation from three out of the five colleges is not enough.

The colleges are really the touch point for the students, Martinez said. We have an understanding of whats going on in the academic world and we should be part of the process to bring on a new leader.

Palo Altos faculty senate president, English professor Mathilda Staudt, wrote a letter asking trustees to add one faculty representative each from PAC and Northwest Vista to the committee. Prompted by faculty and community complaints, Menendez also started meeting with trustees in December to air his concerns.

This process leaves very little opportunity for those outside of the existing Board and its network from even being considered, Menendez wrote last month in a four-paragraph letter to trustees. He added, It is crucial to remember that each college campus has its own unique history and composition, and that faculty and student engagement would further cement the mutual vested interest in the outcome of this important selection process.

Katz sent a two-paragraph reply six days later. The Board of Trustees received your letter and did not take any action to augment the Advisory Search Committee at their recent Board Meeting, she wrote, then thanked him for helping secure funding for veterans facilities at the colleges.

Katz said Tuesday that the president of the Faculty Super Senate, Cynthia Katz, a St. Philips College professor, represented all five colleges on the advisory committee. A search consultant held a focus group with faculty from all the colleges, Yvonne Katz noted.

Staudt said she attended the focus group meeting, in early December, and said it felt like a meaningless formality. Martinez said he spoke to attendees who had the same impression. The Faculty Super Senate president cannot represent the concerns of all individual colleges, the two said.

In his letter, Menendez also asked trustees to name multiple finalists for vetting through community forums, a request Katz rejected.

You dont bring your people out and parade them around, Katz said. Theyve been told its a confidential search.

Alia Malik is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | amalik@express-news.net | @AliaAtSAEN
HOUSTON  Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled a $40 million plan that would change the way state law and police agencies combat sex crimes  including sexual harassers at the Texas Capitol, child predators and human traffickers  while protecting the victims.

The governors proposal, announced Tuesday in Houston, would represent a significant change to state criminal laws and enforcement of sex crimes. Its the latest move by Texas officials to curb the continuing scourge of human trafficking, which researchers have found affects thousands of underage victims across the state.

Texas must do more to protect the survivors of these crimes and to punish the perpetrators, Abbott said at a news event for law enforcement, legislators and community advocates at Harris Countys Childrens Assessment Center.

The governor highlighted the case of former United Airlines pilot Bruce Wallis, who was convicted in 2017 of running and profiting from a string of brothels in Harris County and sentenced to probation, a $2,000 fine and 150 hours of community service. Abbott also referred to a KHOU television investigation that showed that two-thirds of defendants charged with sex-trafficking offenses between June 2014 and December 2016 received probation instead of jail or prison time.

The penalties for promoting prostitution are simply too lenient, Abbott said. Anyone who commits these crimes should be behind bars; but the fact of the matter, far too often, is that criminals who promote prostitution are right back out on the streets with little more than a slap on the wrist.

Abbott proposed that the punishment for running a prostitution operation be incarceration and said offenders should be forced to register as sex offenders upon their release. And he proposed allowing trafficking victims the opportunity to clear their records if they were forced to engage in sex crimes.

A major change would allow sexual assault claims against legislators, state elected officials, agency directors, state board members and state employees working in the Capitol complex to be reported to and investigated by the Texas Rangers, instead of legislative officials, agencies and local police.

While that change could cost an additional $2 million, a briefing paper accompanying Abbotts plan states that no administrative arm of government has the relevant training and expertise to investigate sexual assault claims.

This significant shift in handling of claims would provide more accountability, he said, allowing victims to report to an outside agency without fearing retribution from an internal investigation.

The governors proposal also calls for an additional $22 million in funding for the Texas Department of Public Safety to establish regional human-trafficking squads designed to address chronic problems in key areas of the state.

Abbott said he would also provide $1 million from his offices criminal justice division grants to kick-start the testing of 15,000 rape kits that have stacked up in evidence rooms across the state. His plan calls for an additional $14 million to be allocated to address the backlog.

Also under Abbotts plan, state employees would have to undergo training on preventing human and sex trafficking.

Several of the proposals could put more Texans in prison, and for considerably longer sentences.

The penalty for kidnapping of children under the age of 18  in cases where a child is held for ransom  would be increased from a third-degree felony, carrying prison time from two to 10 years, to a first-degree felony with a possible five- to 99-year sentence.

The crime of authorizing or allowing the sexual performance involving a child would be upped from second degree to first degree, while possession of child pornography would carry an enhanced penalty of two to 20 years in prison, double the current sentence. Repeat offenders could face first-degree felony charges.

The current law that covers only children 15 and under would be expanded to include anyone under age 18, a change that would cover tens of thousands more Texas teenagers.

In related proposals to curb trafficking, convicted sex offenders caught in a vehicle with minors who are not family members could be charged with a new crime. And the minimum age for workers at sexually oriented businesses would be raised from 18 to 21; minors under 18 would be prohibited from going into those businesses.

GPS monitoring of Texans charged with domestic abuse, from the time they make bond until they go to trial, would be made mandatory. That would require millions in state funds, but the initiative, Abbott said, is designed to better protect victims and keep high-risk offenders more closely supervised if they are covered by court orders to stay away from their victims.

Abbott said the state would also create a do not hire registry to bar teachers and school employees who have been convicted of predatory relationships with students from getting hired by another school district.

The governor also wants to allow a state board that certifies educators to suspend a teaching license of anyone charged with a sex crime thats substantiated if they pose a continuing threat to students or school personnel.

Abbotts plan was welcomed by Houston officials, including state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston.

We have a problem that is of a magnitude that is unacceptable, its just unthinkable, said Huffman, a former prosecutor. Every Texan should want to be a warrior in this battle.
San Antonios tap dancing great-grandmother went to a standing appointment with her physician, Dr. Jorge Alvarez, on Tuesday, unaware that a surprise awaited her in the wings.

As they walked from his North Side office, the 94-year-old hoofer was was brought to a dead stop by the rush of snapping cameras, lights and a cheering crowd.

The San Antonio Spurs Coyote, bearing balloons and a candle-lit birthday cake, led the way, followed by Silver Dancer Alexis B., who was shaking poms-poms. Aided by the Spurs mascot, Jeanne Froman sat down, slipped on a pair of black tap shoes and tapped out a staccato beat that echoed across the ceramic tile floor.

This is the biggest surprise Ive ever had, Froman said, lit by the glare of flashing lights. Im walking around in a daze!

Alvarez, medical staff, Spurs representatives and family gathered at the South Texas Heart Valve Center to celebrate inducting Froman as a honorary Silver dancer for her 95th birthday, which is Friday .

About a year and a half ago, Fromans physician diagnosed her with a heart murmur that almost brought her dancing to a halt.

My quality of life had gone down the tubes, she said, I told him lets give it a try.

In April 2016, Alvarez performed a heart procedure that Froman credits for still being able to quick-step into an old soft-shoe routine. Froman was 93 when she underwent a transcatheter aortic valve replacement procedure designed for older patients.

Its not just the physician, Alvarez said, its really a team effort to take care of this procedure. It really is a large conglomeration of people that come together. Everybody has to know their position. Im very proud of what were doing here.

One month after the operation, Froman was tapping out rhythms at rehabilitation sessions.

It did save my life, Froman said.

She said shes always had rhythm flowing through her bones. Growing up in Colfax, Washington, dancing was always on her mind, but at the age of 9 she fell in love with tap dancing after watching actor and dancer Gene Kelly on the silver screen. From that point on, she focused her energy into quick shuffles, slides and stutter steps that crowds have applauded at banquets, conventions and talent contests.

And the dancing continued as a member of the Edgar Grabinski Troupe, continued as she raised five children, held jobs as clothing designer and greeting card letterer, and a hobby as a illustrative painter.

Fromans daughter, Julie Mascilli, 65, said friends and family members are traveling from across the country to help Froman celebrate her birthday. Mascilli said she took up dancing as a child after peeking through a cracked dance studio door and watching Fromans lively steps.

As the crowd left, the lifelong tap dancer and first-year Silver dancer, shook poms-poms and shimmied.

I wish I was 18 again, Froman said, Id sign up to dance with the Spurs.

Well, Alexis said with a broad smile, now youre an honorary Silver dancer.

vtdavis@express-news.net
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  China said the research done in collaboration with Filipinos was done not in Benham Rise, adding the country respects the Philippines' rights entitled by law.

"I would like to point out that this joint research is carried out in waters under the Philippines' jurisdiction, but not in the Benham Rise," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said in a press conference in China on February 6.

Shuang said it conducted its research "to the east of the Philippine islands."

The University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI), however, earlier said the research was conducted in the "northeastern Philippines where the Philippine Rise (Benham Rise) is located."

Benham Rise, located 135 miles off the coast of Aurora province, is part of the Philippines' extended continental shelf and exclusive economic zone.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said they submitted the application for a scientific expedition to the Philippines under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which was approved by the Philippines.

"China respects the Philippines' sovereign rights to and jurisdiction over relevant waters and hopes to work with the Philippines to maintain the sound momentum of development in bilateral relations," Shuang said.

The statement came after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered only Filipinos can conduct research in Benham Rise. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, however, clarified foreign entities may still hold scientific research in Benham Rise, if they meet newly imposed requirements.

READ: Palace: No ban on foreign research in Philippine Rise

The Department of Foreign Affairs on January 19 said China was allowed to study the area since the team included a Filipino scientist on board and that they agreed to share data.

READ: China allowed to conduct research in Benham Rise, Cayetano confirms

Shuang said the research vessel "Ke Xue" of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has already finished the joint maritime research with four Philippine researchers.

"The relevant scientific research data will be shared by relevant research institutions in China and the Philippines," he added.

China's exploration of Benham Rise has drawn criticism, as it refuses to comply with the arbitral ruling on its rights in the disputed South China Sea.

Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio earlier said as long as China refuses to accept the ruling, the Philippines should deny China's request to conduct any marine scientific research in Benham Rise.

READ: Carpio: PH should refuse China's request for marine research in Philippine Rise

UP maritime expert Jay Batongbacal said a "mere assertion that the area 'is ours' is not reason enough" to withhold consent or disapprove maritime research applications.

Under the UNCLOS, reasons to disallow research include implications for the exploration and exploitation of natural resources; drilling into continental shelf, use of explosives, and the introduction of harmful substances into the marine environment, among others.

"A 'blanket' prohibition on (maritime scientific research or MSR) by 'foreign scientists' or 'foreign vessels' doesn't really make much sense. What it would indicate is a government unable or unwilling to manage both the risks and benefits of MSR," said Batongbacal, who is also the director of the UP Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea.

The UP MSI, in an earlier statement, said international collaboration in these kinds of research are important as data and information from all countries involved "will enable us (them) to acquire a better understanding of what is really happening.

"Understanding the dynamics of these major ocean current systems is complex and requires extensive resources," the MSI statement read.

READ: UP maritime expert disputes Palace claim Filipinos can't afford Benham Rise research
The San Antonio Water System board has hired consultants to analyze the salary and bonuses for SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente  a subject of scrutiny in recent years as water and sewer rates have increased.

Three-year contracts totaling $193,000 were awarded to ScottMadden Inc. and Paradox Compensation Advisors in connection with the annual evaluation and compensation review of the chief executive. The contracts were approved Tuesday as part of a consent agenda by the SAWS board, which later met in an executive session to discuss the employment, evaluation and duties of the president/CEO.

SAWS trustees were behind closed doors for nearly an hour, but did not make any decisions in the executive session. Mayor Ron Nirenberg, who serves on the boards of SAWS and CPS Energy in his capacity as mayor, said SAWS is making important progress by hiring consultants, and he would like the City Council to approve similar contracts by the end of March to revamp the citys evaluations and compensation processes for the city manager, clerk and auditor.

We want to be good stewards of public resources and have the best people leading public agencies, Nirenberg said.

The SAWS consulting contracts follow a board decision last August to raise Puentes salary from $445,894.43 to $468,194.40, starting Jan. 1, and provide a $99,285.71 bonus  the largest one he has received since taking the CEO position in 2008. Nirenberg cast a lone dissenting vote in August on Puentes raise and bonus.

A day earlier, the mayor had voted in favor of a 10.5 percent raise for CPS Energy CEO Paula Gold-Williams, raising her total compensation to $735,000  higher than any other municipal employee, yet below a high of $1,237,097 for her predecessor, Doyle Beneby.

At the time, Nirenberg said he was deeply troubled with the process for awarding Puentes raise and bonus, and cant justify voting for it. He called for a re-examination of objectives used in the performance review. CPS Energy based its raise for Gold-Williams on clear metrics that are periodically reviewed and updated, the mayor said in August.

On Tuesday, the mayor reiterated his concerns about the SAWS evaluation process. Even though he feels Puente has been a solid CEO, the criteria for his evaluation were too mathematically based, and not suitable for a board member to evaluate the CEO in a way that gave discretion and judgment to the trustee. The board has since improved the process to add more criteria aligned with broader goals of the organization and will use the consultants input to make it more meaningful and beneficial for SAWS customers, Nirenberg said.

SAWS Trustee David McGee, who leads a compensation task force that includes trustees Louis Rowe and Pat Merritt, said discussion of such a re-examination had gone on at SAWS for a better part of a year  since before Nirenberg unseated former Mayor Ivy Taylor last June.

But the mayor came in, and he was very supportive of what we had already been talking about, McGee said.

Puentes raise and bonus in August were based on his 2016 performance. Any similar board action this year will consider his work in 2017. In years past, board members have cited his efforts to lead the utility in diversifying its water supply, with additions such as desalinated water and the Vista Ridge pipeline project, while overseeing sewer system upgrades in compliance with a federal consent decree, among reasons for Puentes raises and bonuses.

But critics have called them inappropriate in light of water rate increases being phased in, with City Council approval, in recent years, to fund Vista Ridge and replacement, maintenance and upgrades of aging water and sewer infrastructure. Last month, in the latest development putting a spotlight on public managers compensation, the City Council approved a $75,000 bonus for City Manager Sheryl Sculley, whose current salary is $475,000.

By hiring national strategic energy consultant ScottMadden to work with Paradox, a Dallas-based consultant, SAWS can draw comparisons with public and private water utilities and top executive duties and compensation across the country, McGee said. ScottMadden will help refine SAWS strategic plan as it relates to the CEOs performance metrics, while Paradox will help compare all aspects of compensation, he added.

They have access through all of their industry contacts to information that we just otherwise wouldnt have on our own, McGee said.

He said he hopes the board will have new metrics and goals, based on the consultants input, in place by the fall.

Were in the process of doing a current evaluation of 2017, and weve established goals for 2018, which the consultant will then help us evaluate. But the 2019 goals will be completely new and established through a process of comparing ourselves across the industry, McGee said.

We can go from good to great by doing that, he said. If we get lined up strategically in terms of our performance, we believe thats an opportunity to benefit the ratepayers of San Antonio.

shuddleston@express-news.net

Twitter: @shuddlestonSA
Former Congressman Ciro Rodriguez took a lot of grief during his 12 years on Capitol Hill.

Republicans (and even some of Rodriguezs fellow Democrats) mockingly called him Zero. He lost an intraparty challenge to Henry Cuellar in 2004 and doomed his second stint in Congress in 2010 when a video camera caught him angrily slamming some rolled-up papers against a restaurant table after a constituent accused him of lying.

But one thing I appreciated about Rodriguez was his willingness to defend earmarks.

During the 2008 election cycle, it was super trendy to rage about how congressional earmarks  itemized budget add-ons that get tucked into spending bills  were sleazy and emblematic of all that was wrong with the federal lawmaking process.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, Republican nominee John McCain vowed to eliminate earmarks, while Democratic nominee Barack Obama took aim at McCains running mate, Sarah Palin, for seeking nearly $200 million of earmarks that year for her state of Alaska.

When Rodriguezs 2008 GOP challenger, Lyle Larson, pushed for an earmark ban, Rodriguez lauded them as effective tools for lawmakers to fund key projects in their districts.

When the president submits a budget, they dont know all the local interests, Rodriguez told me, by way of touting the $10 million in earmarks he helped procure for UTSAs cybersecurity program.

Ultimately, earmarks became so politically toxic that Congress banned them in 2011.

But theres been some recent re-evaluation on the issue, as congressional polarization and dysfunction reach unprecedented levels.

In January, President Donald Trump told a bipartisan congressional group, Maybe all of you should start thinking about going back to a form of earmarks. Democrats nearly fainted from shock at finding themselves in agreement with Trump.

Nonetheless, any possibility of a return to earmarks must wait until after this years midterm elections because its too dicey for congressional incumbents to trumpet the idea in our drain-the-swamp environment.

With that in mind, I recently asked the Democratic candidates for U.S. District 23 how they viewed earmarks.

The earmark, I believe, is an acceptable practice, said Judy Canales, a former Agriculture Department administrator based in Eagle Pass. You dont run the entire government that way, but I think it can be a tool.

Before Congress instituted its earmarks moratorium, earmarks accounted for less than 1 percent of the federal budget. Earmarks enabled lawmakers to bargain with congressional leadership for pet projects, a questionable exercise in theory, but one that in practice meant lawmakers could fund local infrastructure needs through the legislative process, rather than having to beg executive-branch bureaucrats.

In the fall of 2011, then-House Speaker John Boehner pondered Congress inability to handle even basic tasks  such as keeping the government funded  and shared his frustration with elderly Texas Republican Ralph Hall.

Its not like the old days, Ralph, Boehner said, according to Robert Drapers book, When the Tea Party Came to Town. He added: Without earmarks to offer, its hard to herd the cats.

Jay Hulings, a San Antonio-based former federal prosecutor, saw the earmark process up close during his time as a legislative director for former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif.

I think theres sort of a happy medium, Hulings said. I think there was a point where earmarks  particularly in the Defense Department process  went way too far. And it became the subject of real corruption.

Hulings said earmarks make more sense for transportation projects because elected officials working with local elected officials often have a better sense of what roads need to be fixed, what bridges need to be fixed, what ports of entry need to be improved and can help drive the right kind of investments in the right places.

Rick Trevino, a local Bernie Sanders enthusiast, said, Theres a role for representatives to get things from working in Congress for their districts, especially in a rural district like ours, that has so many needs.

Gina Ortiz Jones, a former Air Force intelligence officer and senior adviser for trade enforcement, said the effect of the earmark all comes down to the intent of the public servant.

Its just a tool that we have in our toolbox, she said. I can use a hammer for good or I can use a hammer for bad.

At this point, Congress toolbox is looking pretty empty.

ggarcia@express-news.net | @gilgamesh470
Re: State GOP executive panel censures Straus; House speaker didnt go along with agenda, State, Jan. 28:

I was astounded by the actions of the Republican Executive Committee and their members when they voted to censure House Speaker Joe Straus. He is one of the very few astute and judicious legislators in our state who is in touch with what Texas citizens really need and want. The reason he was censured? Speaker Straus didnt march to the tune of Republican leaders and stood in the way of the stupid bathroom bill.

A bill promoted by our fear-mongerers, Lt. Gov. Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott, who amazingly cant muzzle Patrick from making a fool of himself. Mr. Straus should be our next governor, and if his name were on the ballot, I would vote for him. I hope he runs as an independent, with a strong person like himself for lieutenant governor, so we can make a clean sweep of the misfits currently occupying those positions. Gov. Abbotts and Lt. Governor Patricks Machiavellian approach to running our state is a disaster. Mr. Joe Straus is our man for the future of Texas. Go for it Joe!

Mike Horridge

No joke

Re: Wolff pens letter of contrition to Sculley, Brian Chasnoff, Jan. 25:

I dont think County Judge Nelson Wolffs statement about city manager Sheryl Sculleys salary was merely just kidding. The salary is exorbitant, and she is grossly overpaid. As for a huge bonus, what has she really done? San Antonios streets are like driving down a cattle trail. In my neighborhood, inside loop 410 by the airport and North Star Mall, the streets are horrendous. Taxi drivers avoid Jones Maltsberger whenever possible.

Please print what all these great things she has accomplished are, because everyone I talk to would like to know. The voters are definitely paying attention.

Michael B. White

Gift from God

My wife was admitted to Methodist Hospital for congestive heart failure with pneumonia. Shortly after her arrival there, she was diagnosed with the flu. With lungs that were already devastated by two rounds of cancer, compounded by emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, it set up a real challenge to get her well. During her stay at Methodist, she had unbelievable care administered by the nurses and staff. Five nurses cared for her throughout. The nurses (Mallory, Hope, Briana, Nathan and Mary) were a gift from God. They did the impossible in helping my wife overcome all the obstacles to get well. I just want to thank them, all of the backup staff and other nurses and doctors who did such an outstanding job. Prayers do get answered in many different ways.

Nick DeLouis, Fair Oaks Ranch
Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin with the Working Group in Dingle.





Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin joined with the new Working Group established to progress Failte Irelands Visitor Experience Development Plan for the Dingle Peninsula as they met in Brenners Hotel, Dingle.



The new Visitor Experience Development Plan will ultimately enable continued growth in visitor numbers, dwell time and spend, helping to extend the tourism season and spread business across all parts of the peninsula. Similar plans have been developed successfully for the Skellig Coast and for the Burren and Cliffs of Moher, as well as for Connemara and the Aran islands.



Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin said;



Im delighted to be part of the Working Group for the new Visitor Experience Development Plan for the Dingle Peninsula. Kerry has already benefitted enormously from the Wild Atlantic Way but we need to continue to harness its potential and focus on trying to grow and build on that success year on year with new projects and initiatives.



With members including Kerry County Council, Uduras Na Gaeltachta and a range of local tourism stakeholders, the Working Group will play an active role in developing and collaboratively guiding the Visitor Experience Development Plan and its implementation. A series of workshops for local tourism businesses, tourism and community group members and interested individuals is also running this week (from 7th-8th February) across the region to pull together stories, ideas, and opportunities that could be used to boost tourism in the area.

Events and dates:Wednesday, 7th February10am-12pm: Nano Nagle Room, An Diseart, Dingle, Industry Workshop A2-4pm: Nano Nagle Room, An Diseart, Dingle [Drop-In Session A2-4pm: Club Rooms, Castlegregory [Drop-In Session BThursday, 8th February10:30am-12:30pm: Halla Le Cheile, Cloghane, Industry Workshop B2:30-4:30pm: Aras Bhreanainn Chorca Dhuibhne, Ballyferriter Drop-in Session C2:30-4:30pm: South Pole Inn, Annascaul [Drop-in Session D]

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Connecticuts former top election official, Susan Bysiewicz, is closing in on a run for governor and has abandoned her pursuit of a state Senate seat, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned.

The Middletown Democrat, who served three terms as secretary of the state, officially announced an exploratory bid for governor on Thursday, after signaling a shift in focus of her exploratory committee a day earlier.

Since last April, Bysiewicz had been gearing up for a challenge of Meriden Republican Len Suzio in the 13th Senate District, but left the door open to a bid for higher office.

And now Bysiewicz, who has been out of office since 2010 and has run for governor, the U.S. Senate and state attorney general, is about to walk through it.

Bysiewicz gave up a safe seat as a constitutional officer to run for first for governor and then state attorney general in 2010. Her prospects of becoming the heir apparent to Richard Blumenthal, who stepped forward to run for U.S. Senate, were derailed when the state Supreme Court ruled she was ineligible to be attorney general. Bysiewicz did not meet the job requirements of having practiced law for 10 years.

In 2012, Bysiewicz fell to then-Congressman Chris Murphy in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate, with Murphy going on to topple Linda McMahon in the general election. She has been practicing law since then and helped raise more than $250,000 in the 2016 presidential election for Hillary Clinton.

Editors note: Susan Bysiewicz ruled out a run for the state Senate to focus on the governors race Thursday. An earlier version of this story mischaracterized Bysiewiczs election/political status.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  President Rodrigo Duterte hosted more than 200 former rebels in Malacanang Wednesday, the first of three batches to lay down arms and return to normal lives.

These are former members of the New People's Army (NPA), a group declared by the President as terrorists in December last year.

The President met with the former rebels following his decision to scrap peace talks with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the political arm of the NPA, and amid threats from its leadership of more attacks against soldiers.

Wednesday's meeting was meant as a message to NPA rebels, letting them know that by laying down their arms, they can start anew with the help of government.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said 40 of the former rebels have met the basic entry requirements for enlistment as members of the Citizen Armed Force Geographical Unit, or CAFGUs, the AFP's civilian auxiliary force.

Some of the former NPA members will be offered training for livelihood programs as a way for them to earn a living.

Duterte previously said that he would give full protection for rebels who surrender, saying it was his obligation to do so.

RELATED: Duterte: It's my obligation to protect rebels who surrender

But the President has been consistent in his stance to get rid of the NPA, once saying they should be treated with as much force as the fight against illegal drugs.

RELATED: Duterte: Destroy the NPA

He has also not minced words when talking about the group's founder, Joma Sison, saying he would slap him if they were to meet.

The government in November ended the peace talks with the CPP-NPA-NDFP, following the escalation of attacks and violence.

READ: Duterte formally ends talks with Reds

CNN Philippines Senior Correspondent Ina Andolong, and Digital Producer Pia Garcia contributed to this report.
Free college programs have sprung up in New York, Tennessee, Oregon, Rhode Island and California and now Connecticut lawmakers are looking into a similar plan to help students complete their degree.

Connecticut has a lot of residents stuck in the pipeline, state Sen. Beth Bye, co-chair of the legislatures Higher Education committee said. It is a real issue. So many students dont matriculate.

As a result, she said skilled jobs that employers need go unfilled.

Take the financial burden away, Bye said, and more students would leave college with a degree.

The idea, which has yet to have a fiscal note attached to it, would be to offer free tuition to Connecticut residents who earn enough credits and maintain a certain grade point average so they can complete their degree.

The idea did not get a mention Wednesday during Gov. Dannel P. Malloys final State of the State address which carried a theme of fairness. Education  an early focus of the Malloy administration  got barely a mention during the 40-minute speech.

The omission did not go unnoticed.

His budget proposal is anything but fair for Connecticuts students and public schools, said Shelia Cohen, president of the Connecticut Education Association, the states largest teachers union.

On Monday, Malloy released details of a budget proposal which would cut state education aid entirely to 33 communities and pull back on promised increases to many others.

Also absent from what traditionally is a budget address was any mention of the states budget crisis.

Not a scintilla, Pat ONeill, spokesman for House Minority Leader Themis Klaridis, R-Derby, said. There were a number of good ideas but not a word about how to pay for them.

The free tuition plan announced by House and Senate Democratic leaders on Tuesday, meanwhile, came with few specifics like how a state that is deep in the red would pay for it. So much so that officials from both the University of Connecticut and Connecticut State Colleges and Universities said they needed more details before they could comment.

Whether the concept would apply to just community colleges, or four-year institutions as well, has yet to be determined. Bye said research on the concept is under way. She also promised public hearings on the issue.

State Rep. Gail Lavielle, R-Wilton, said she wonders if there isnt a better approach.

First we have to iron out K-12 and make sure all are getting the same good education. That is not happening, Lavielle said.

Then, Lavielle supports exploring programs like one in Norwalk that allows some high school students to graduate with a high school diploma and an associates degree.

Student dont pay for any of it, said Lavielle. Instead, the Norwalk Early College Academy program is partially funded by private businesses.

Shed like other districts to emulate the program and explore the possibility of partial state funding in the future.

To me something like that is probably more worth looking at than, Lavielle said, make this free, that free.

During last years legislative session, State Rep. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown proposed a bill to study the feasibility of implementing a debt-free higher education program for in-state students attending public colleges.

Sen. Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said having more residents with degrees would attract more business to the state. Some 25,000 jobs go unfilled because of a lack of employees skilled enough to fill them, according to estimates, Duff said.

Democrats also want to invest more in the states technical high schools as a way to create a stronger pipeline to skilled jobs, but have yet to offer details.

State. Rep. Caroline Simmons, D-Stamford, said the effort was essential to supporting workforce development and regrowing the economy.

We have a ways to go, Simmons said. Lets keep our kids here in Connecticut.
What better way to show your valentine and loved ones how special they are on Feb. 14 than by giving the gift of chocolate truffles, bean-to-bar artisan chocolate, or confections you made especially for them?

Speaking of bean-to-bar, while going up and down the aisles at the Fancy Food Show last summer, I was overwhelmed by the number of bean-to-bar chocolatiers. I predict this is the next movement in the artisanal food world. Like craft beer, specialty coffee and bread before it, this small-batch industry is growing by leaps and bounds. American craft chocolate sales are $100 million annually and growing.

During my food travels, Ive had opportunities to see how chocolatiers such as Norman Love (yes, this is his last name) Confections and William Dean create their renowned chocolates. I visited Art Eatables in Louisville, Ky., while attending the 2017 International Association of Culinary Professionals conference. Their specialty is matching chocolate that accents the character of bourbons (and there are many, being Kentuckys most famous spirit) they use to create small-batch bourbon truffles. During my Asheville, N.C., food exploration, a visit was made to French Broad Chocolates (named after one of the oldest rivers in the world, which runs through Asheville). In their small factory, they roast, crack, winnow, grind and temper chocolate in small batches, using cacao that originates from small farmers. This process and relationship with growers create a deeper connection with the sources. At their chocolate lounge I found myself putting my nose to glass cases showcasing their confections made with their chocolates. This is something that I have been doing recently at chocolate shops as Valentines Day approaches. I guess I am that kid in the candy store.

Most recently, while working on 2018s Hidden Gems of Florida feature (keep an eye out for it), I visited Castronovo Chocolate Factory in Stuart, Fla. Denise Castronovo has taken home the gold medal several times in the International Chocolate Awards for her bean-to-bar chocolate bars. One bite of the Colombia Sierra Nevada bar, and no wonder it was the gold winner of the International Chocolate Awards World Finals in 2016 and gold winner of the 2016 Academy of Chocolate Awards.

Books that Castronovo has on display caught my attention (in addition to her decadent chocolates), since it was a book I was planning to feature here for Valentines Day. A sample copy for visitors to peruse, complete with sticky notes, piqued my curiosity. Those highlighted pages showcased the winning bar and information about this chocolatier.

Bean to Bar: Americas Craft Chocolate Revolution, the Origins, the Makers, the Mind-Blowing Flavors, by Megan Giller (2017, Storey Publishing, $19.95), is your primer to everything you wanted to know about chocolate but were afraid to ask. Her blog, Chocolate Noise, was a 2016 Saveur Food Blog Awards Finalist. Megan offers private chocolate tasting classes, hosts underground Chocolate Salons, teaches classes at shops across the U.S. and judges at chocolate competitions.

If you are curious about the bean-to-bar movement, she demystifies it and explains the process. I learned what to look for in a chocolate bar and chocolatiers to watch. Wonder how cocoa beans from Venezuela differ from beans from Madagascar, or what is dark milk chocolate, and who makes the best? Giller has you covered. Heres a fun idea  take her suggestions on how to hold a chocolate tasting, with advice on pairing chocolate with coffee, tea, beer, spirits, bread and cheese. I enjoyed her explanation of why chocolate shouldnt cost a dollar. Her answer?, she writes, $14 can still seem like a big investment. However, Id say thats a pretty low price point to buy the best food of its kind in the world. The best wines retail for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars. Caviar? Forget about it. Spending an average of $10 on a bar that Ill taste over the course of several days or a week seems well worth it to me. I must agree with her food (or should I say chocolate) for thought; the Castronovo bars that I purchased weeks ago are still being savored. Of course the bars are works of art, but so, too, are the distinctive wrappings, many worthy of framing.

And now, what youve been waiting for  the recipes. Several top chefs and chocolatiers have contributed some of the recipes. You just might decide to make one for your valentine. From Champurrado drinking chocolate to olive oil sourdough truffles to Devil Dogs and the recipes below for Ceylon tea fudge sauce and Mayan chocolate mousse, these decadent treats defy expectations of what chocolate should taste like. For recipes for Balsamic Strawberries in Mini Chocolate Cups and Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies visit http://bit.ly/2DP3YnH.

Ceylon Tea Fudge Sauce

Adapted from Earl Grey Fudge Sauce in the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook, by Christina Tosi

The headnote says, Chocolate and Teago together like Beyonce and Jay Z: great on their own, unstoppable together. Thats why I love this recipe, which uses a tea that pairs well with chocolate to make a delicious fudge sauce with a twist. I based the recipe on one from Christina Tosi, one of my favorite pastry chefs and the amazing force behind Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City. This fudge sauce has a strong tea flavor, so it isnt strictly necessary to use a single-origin chocolate, as unique flavors will be hidden behind the taste of the tea. If you do, Id go with something mild and very chocolaty, like Venezuela, but a blend will work just as well. Pour this on top of the next sundae you make and youll never go back to that stuff in a bottle again.

1 tablespoon Ceylon tea

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1/4 cup heavy cream, plus a few tablespoons extra

2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

1 ounce chocolate (65 to 70 percent cocoa), chopped

1/4 cup glucose syrup

Combine the tea and cinnamon in a heatproof bowl. Heat  cup of the heavy cream in a saucepan just to boiling. Pour the hot cream over the tea and cinnamon and let infuse for 5 minutes. Strain the cream into a measuring cup. Add enough fresh heavy cream to bring the volume back up to 1/4 cup. Pour the cream back into the saucepan and warm over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Combine the chopped chocolate and glucose syrup in a bowl. Pour in the warm cream mixture and let sit for 1 minute to soften. Using a spatula, start slowly stirring the sauce from the center in concentric circles, speeding up as it starts to get shinier and shinier, until it achieves a fudge sauce consistency, about 2 to 4 minutes. Pour over ice cream, brownies, or whatever you desire, and enjoy! The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. Do not freeze. Serves 2-4

Mayan Chocolate Mousse

Recipe from Lauren Adler, chief chocophile, and the Chocolopolis team.

The headnote says, Lauren recommends using chocolate made with cocoa from Belize (especially Tazas single-origin bar), though any fruity chocolate will work.

Mousse

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1  teaspoons whole allspice berries

4 tablespoons cultured butter (preferably 84 percent butterfat, softened)

4  ounces dark chocolate (70 to 77 percent cocoa, chopped)

5 eggs

3 tablespoons ultrafine sugar

Whipped cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream, very cold

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ground allspice or black pepper, for garnish

To make the mousse, combine the cream and allspice berries in a small saucepan and warm over low heat until the cream around the edge of the saucepan begins to boil. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Cover the top of the pan tightly with plastic wrap to hold in the flavorful vapors of the allspice. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the flavors infuse. Then remove the plastic wrap and fish out the allspice berries.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a medium bowl and microwave at high power for 30 seconds. Check to see if they have melted. If not, microwave in intervals of 10 seconds until they are melted. Add the cream to the melted chocolate and mix well.

Separate the eggs into yolks and whites. Set the whites in the refrigerator to keep them chilled. Whip the egg yolks into the chocolate and cream mixture until theyre just incorporated. With a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the ultra-fine sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold one-quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Dish the mousse into six 4-ounce ramekins, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.

Immediately before serving, make the whipped cream: Combine the whipping cream with the sugar and vanilla in a bowl. With a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Be careful not to over-whip or youll end up with a butter-like consistency. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the ramekins. Garnish with a sprinkle of allspice or black pepper. Serves 6

Send your requests: Which restaurant recipes or other recipes would you like to have? Which food products are you having difficulty finding? Do you have cooking questions? Send them to: Stephen Fries, professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, at gw-stephen.fries@gwcc.commnet.edu or Dept. FC, Gateway Community College, 20 Church St., 06510. Include your full name, address and phone number. Due to volume, he might not be able to publish every request. For more, go to stephenfries.com.

CULINARY CALENDAR

5th annual Febtoberfest, Feb. 8, 6-9 p.m., Mattituck Museum, 144 West Main St. Waterbury, 203-753-0381. $35 in advance, $40 at the door. In addition to local breweries, guests will have the opportunity to sample American wine from the region and beyond. Tickets at http://bit.ly/2ncHF5k.

Food & Wine Tasting, Feb. 8, 5:30 p.m., Fletcher Cameron Kitchens, 91 Orange St., New Haven, 203-777-7707. $35. Chef Anne Gallagher, owner of a farm-to-table catering company in Litchfield demonstrates how to make winter soups. An educational guided wine tasting by The Wine Thief will be offered. Info and tickets at http://bit.ly/2Dr7dWF.

CT Craft Beer Fest presented by CT Brewers Guild., Feb. 17, 4-8 p.m. Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Road., Wallingford. General admission $30, designated driver tickets $15. Guests receive a commemorative tasting glass. More than 40 Connecticut breweries. Food available for purchase. Live Music performed by Cleo Blue. Must be 21 or older to consume alcohol. For participating breweries, more information and tickets visit http://bit.ly/2rVPOQk

Consiglios Cooking Demonstration and Dinner: Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m., Consiglios Restaurant, 165 Wooster St., New Haven, 203-865-4489 (reservations required), $65 (beverages, tax and gratuity not included). Preparation of a 4-course meal is demonstrated. Each course is shown, step-by-step, and then served. Learn how to make some of Consiglios trademark dishes: Oysters Rockefeller, baby spinach bacon orange pine nut vinaigrette, homemade lobster ravioli plum tomato cream sauce, white chocolate creme brulee.

Wines and More of Milford: Fratelli's 6-course Italian Wine Dinner, Feb. 26, 6:30 pm, Fratelli's Italian Restaurant, 248 New Haven Ave., Milford. 203-876-1600. $75 includes tax and gratuity. http://bit.ly/2nth0k7
The Manager of Industry and Policy Analysis with the Saskatchewan Pork Development Board says, while Canada's pork producers and processors remain hopeful the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement will conclude successfully, our pork sector has viable alternatives available.

Negotiations aimed at updating the North American Free Trade Agreement will move to Mexico for round 7 later this month.

Mark Ferguson, the Manager of Industry and Policy Analysis with Sask Pork, says the processors and many hog producers in the United States don't want to see NAFTA come to an end and he remains optimistic a new deal will be agreed to.

Mark Ferguson-Saskatchewan Pork Development Board:

The U.S. is our most important trading partner for many different commodities and, in the case of pork, they're our largest export market and we export both pork and live hogs into the U.S. so we're very hopeful that any disruption to the market can be avoided and I think this is especially the case for live pigs.

With that being said, in the case of pork, we have other trade deals in place.

We've got CETA, the CPTPP that will hopefully be coming into force so we have viable alternative markets for pork if the U.S. does pull out of the deal.

On a cost basis Canada can compete with any country across the world.

Source : Farmscape
CanFax Market Analyst Dallas Rodger gave a beef market update and forecast last week at Manitoba Agriculture's Beef and Forage Day in Vita.

He said the demand for Canadian beef is strong.

"What's been huge, has been on the export markets," explained Rodger. "We've been able to move more beef at higher prices...just insatiable demand from key markets. China's been really key."

Rodger notes Canada has an advantage over the U.S. when exporting to China, because of our ractopamine-free beef.

Source : Steinbachonline
Varieties from Syngenta help grower earn first place in two Illinois Soybean Association yield challenges

In a dry season, S27-M8X and S26-P3 brands outperformed other varieties in the area

Grower credits deliberate management decisions, including proper product positioning and effective use of irrigation, for the achievement

Dan Luepkes had much to celebrate at the end of 2017, securing two first-place rankings in the Illinois Soybean Association (ISA) yield contest. Overcoming a dry growing season, the Chana, Illinois-based grower credited careful management decisions and NK varieties from Syngenta with his victories in the District 1 and Double Crop challenges.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted Illinois soybeans to average around 58 bushels per acre (bu/A) in 2017, but Luepkes yields reached much higher  producing 95.32 bu/A with NK variety S27-M8X brand in the District 1 Challenge and 75.54 bu/A with NK variety S26-P3 brand in the Double Crop Challenge.

The high yields were a result of a mixture of management practices and advanced seed technology, Luepkes said. The varieties grown had good stand establishment alongside solid genetics with disease resistance and produced high yields.

Luepkes success came despite less rain than usual, a challenge he overcame through an advanced irrigation system. With sandy soil and uneven land, subsurface drip irrigation allowed him to spread water and nutrients underground, directly to the roots.

Dan is not afraid to challenge himself and take risks, said Mike Friedlund, an Illinois-based NK sales representative. He is a leader in his local area when it comes to adapting and challenging his own operation.

Friedlund helped Luepkes select S27-M8X and S26-P3 brand varieties, which are both notable for being consistently high performers. The NK seeds lineup includes unique and innovative options driven by the latest scientific advances. Originating from a proprietary pool of genetics, they help growers truly spread risk and maximize returns.

I put faith in our soybean breeders and the NK soybean pedigrees that we work with, Friedlund said. After talking to Dan, we worked with him to match varieties within his desired maturity rating that we knew would work in his yield environment and with his management tactics. As his victories in the contest showed, we found a good fit.

ISA established the Yield Challenge to help build Illinois position as a global leader in soybean production. The contest drew in 35 participants this year, the best of whom were recognized in January at an awards banquet before the annual Soybean Summit in Springfield, Illinois. Winners in each region also received a monetary award of $500.

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AN INNOCUOUS change of name to Kubota Australia, signalled change ahead for the Australian subsidiary of Kubota Corporation.

Dropping tractor from the name, aligns with Kubotas plans to expand and innovate its product mix.

Kubota Australia managing director Shigeo (George) Koto said the timing for the name change was fitting, with the company recently launching a new range of professional farming equipment, including the M7-1 tractor, implements and exclusive products from American seeding and tillage specialist Great Plains.

Over the past four decades, we have grown significantly as a company, and through our commitment to invest in advanced and innovative technologies that can excel in Australias tough and diverse conditions, he said.

We have built a reputation for high performance, quality and reliability.

We are so much more than tractors, and we are fully committed to the expansion of our brand.

We want our name to represent the scale of our goals, the variety of our product mix, our dealer network, and customer base.

We want our brand to transparently represent our intent in continuing to grow with our customers.

Mr Koto said Kubota Australia intends to grow the companys footprint in the region.

Kubota Tractor Australia has evolved with the changing needs of our customers and the industry, he said.

We look forward to growing a brand that exceeds expectations, by strengthening each and every one of our product groups.

p Great Plains

This year will see the first major deliveries of stock from Kubotas American subsidiary Great Plains Manufacturing.

Great Plains are a sowing and tillage implement specialist.

The range includes precision planters designed for broadacre machinery as well as smaller equipment suited to the European and small landholder market.

Great Plains Manufacturing president Linda Salem said the launch of the product range through Kubota Australia was part of a global strategy to integrate the two companies.

We were fortunate we had worked with Kubota for over 10 years before the acquisition with our Landpride compact tractor equipment attachments, she said.

I think Australia is a place where we can really expand our sales and take advantage of the Kubota network that is here.

Kubota Australia senior product manager Lars Pasedag said the company would continue to invest in solutions to combat the challenges faced by farmers.

From trailblazing mining operations in WA using our Krone machinery, to dairy farmers in Gippsland, Victoria, using variable rate Kubota spreaders, he said.

Our customers are passionate, progressive people who are looking to us to ensure that they remain at the forefront of agricultural innovation.

We are focused on evolving with our customers.

Helping them improve their productivity and profitability by continuing to collaborate with the worlds best.

Supplying them with not only the highest quality equipment and machinery, but also the highest quality service.

p Kubota tractors

While Kubota may have changed its name, it has actually strengthened its offering of tractors over the past year.

In 2017, Kubota launched a new range of mid-sized farm tractors, including the largest tractor the company has ever made, the M7-1.

At 125 kilowatt (170 horsepower), the M7-1 signals Kubota recognise the trend towards rationalisation of Australian farmland means it will need to appeal more broadly than the smallholding market.

The premium M7-1 features continuously variable transmission (CVT) and other bells an whistles associated with premium mid-range tractors these days, such as integrated touch screen terminals and emission technologies.

p More information: visit www.rosher.com.au or phone (08) 9459 4166.
Story updated to include statements from IT consultant Helen Macasaet.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The controversial information technology (IT) consultant involved in the impeachment case against the Supreme Court chief justice denied allegations her salary was excessive.

During the Wednesday hearing at the Lower House, Helen Macasaet said she received a monthly fee of 250,000 as consultant from October 2013 to November 2017, for a total of over 11 million. She was hired to help out in the court's computerization program or Enterprise Information Systems Plan.

Macasaet said her pay at the Supreme Court was a lot lower than any of the salaries she received from working with big companies here and abroad in her three decades of professional experience.

She said she earned P925,000 monthly as consultant of the Government Service Insurance System from November 2008 to June 2010, amid a database crash which she described as a "major IT crisis." Macasaet said it was a successful project as she was able to help fix the country's pension fund system.

Prior to working for the Supreme Court, she was earning an annual salary package of P3 million as president and chief executive officer of local IT consultant company Pentathlon Systems Inc., "excluding other expenses for my car, gasoline, telephone and others."

Siquijor Rep. Ramon Rocamora asked her, "You gave this up for your work in the Supreme Court?"

"(For) much less," Macasaet answered. She said she had to step down as president of Pentathlon after realizing there may be a conflict of interest with her job at the High Court.

"Excluding all those personal expenses which are related to performing my work, I would be getting more or less a net of P80,000," she said. She mentioned paying for her own Internet, gasoline and toll fees, and other expenses including buying some "decent clothes" to face Supreme Court judges and justices.

"It's not comparable to any of the salaries or the salary packages received by employees of the courts or government," she said.

But lawmakers have pointed out this was even bigger than Sereno's monthly salary of P233,857.

House Justice Committee Chair Reynaldo Umali also said Macasaet cannot compare her pay at the Supreme Court from salaries she received in private companies and even the GSIS, a government-owned and controlled corporation, because the High Court has limited budget.

It was the first time Macasaet appeared at the House Committee on Justice's hearing of probable cause in the impeachment case against the Chief Justice. In the impeachment complaint filed by lawyer Larry Gadon, Sereno is accused of betraying public trust when she hired Macasaet "with an excessive compensation without public bidding."

Sereno's chief of staff, Maria Lourdes Oliveros, admitted she has been friends with Macasaet but denied any hand in the hiring process.

"I have no knowledge of the contract, I have not seen the contract. I distanced myself out of my delicadeza because of my personal friendship with Ms. Macasaet," Oliveros said. She added choosing Macasaet was purely the Chief Justice's decision.

"I cannot influence the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice cannot even be influenced by presidents," Oliveros said.

Macasaet, meanwhile, denied reports she had been hiding. She said she had even asked a friend to arrange an appointment with House Majority Floor Leader Rudy Farinas so she could present herself.

"That's just to show that in all good faith, I'm never in hiding," said Macasaet.

Justice Committee Chairman Umali has directed Macasaet to submit a written report of all her accomplishments.

"We want to hear your viewpoint... So we also direct you to submit to us your viewpoint of how the work impacted the IT system of the Supreme Court," he said.

Sereno's camp earlier said there was nothing irregular in Macasaet's hiring which was done through "negotiated procurement."

"Her services are highly technical in nature and, therefore, exempted from public bidding under Section 53.7 of the 2009 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of R.A. 9184," Jojo Lacanilao, one of Sereno's spokespersons, said.

In the impeachment case, the Chief Justice is also accused of violating the Constitution, corruption, betrayal of public trust, and other high crimes. Sereno has denied the allegations, and asked for the complaint to be junked.
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Im more likely to send you a letter than to email you. Okay, thats not quite true. But my phone is decidedly un-smart, Im not on instagram or twitter, Ive forgotten my facebook password and I dont check my email every day. If I can avoid electronic devices, I do.

Eleanor Bass

My first degree was in Theology and Religious Studies. I love the scope of this subject  encompassing history, philosophy, literature, biblical studies, languages and the social sciences  and the fundamental nature of the questions it raises.

The cultural and creative history of warfare fascinates me. After a number of years away from academia I returned to study English Literature at Kings College London. My PhD focussed on writing of the Second World War, with a particular emphasis on three groups of people  civilians, nurses and prisoners of war. The thesis asked how the human body was described and conceptualised in literature, at a time when it found itself under immense threat.

My studies taught me the value of letters. Alongside other forms of life-writing, letters can provide a wonderfully subjective, human perspective upon moments of historical importance. They also offer a glimpse into an individuals life; the writers relationships, concerns, ideas and emotions reveal themselves to us, if only briefly. During my research I spent many hours sifting through personal papers in various archives. There is something magical about handling original documents; it feels like a connection, an intimacy, is established through the material item.

My writing process is rather torturous. When researching and writing Im never quite able to believe that a project is going to come together until the last minute. I think best through writing, so ideas are often unsettlingly undeveloped until a late stage. As a result the otherwise enjoyable process of composition is punctuated by moments of considerable panic!

I like muddy boots and log fires. Although I have lived in London for over ten years I grew up in Wiltshire and am still, at heart, a country girl.

I have an affinity with Germany and all things German. I love the spiky medieval towns, the vineyard-clad sweep of the Rhine, the densely-wooded Schwarzwald; the sexiness of Berlin and the easy-going refinement of Munich. Set me down in a Bavarian Biergarten with a Currywurst and a Weissbier and Im more than happy.

I have a weakness for crime writing. There is something peculiarly comforting about curling up with a good whodunnit. Perhaps my enthusiasm can be traced back to my old school, which boasts some top-notch crime writers amongst its alumni, including Dorothy L. Sayers and Minette Walters.

In contrast to the stories I write about in Yours Always, my own romantic history is pretty tame: the obligatory awkward fumbles of adolescence followed by a string of unrequited attachments. Then in my final year at university I met a nice man, who I married eight years later.

I was pregnant whilst working on the book. Completion of the manuscript thus became a battle between intellectual endeavour and biological necessity. Luckily for me, my daughter eased matters by arriving late.
The Hollywood Vampires will tour the UK for the first time ever this summer.

Hollywood Vampires

Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp and Joe Perry's legendary supergroup are bringing their electric show to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow this June, topping off the short run at London's The SSE Arena, Wembley on June 20.

The trio will be joined by The Darkness and The Dammed at the four concerts.

The Vampires began on Hollywood's Sunset Strip at the iconic Rainbow Bar & Grill's upstairs bar, and over the years has featured the likes of the late John Lennon and The Who's Keith Moon.

Shock rocker Cooper, actor and guitarist Depp and Aerosmith star Perry released their self-titled LP in 2015, which featured guest appearances from Sir Paul McCartney and Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl.

Speaking about what rock star credentials are required to be a member, 'Poison' hitmaker Cooper - who founded the group - said: "To join the club, one simply had to out drink all of the members.

"I would walk in on a typical night and John Lennon, Harry Nilsson, Keith Moon - who would usually be in a costume like a maid or a chauffeur - Bernie Taupin, Jim Morrison and Mickey Dolenz would be there. The next week might be Bernie Taupin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Mickey Dolenz."

And on what to expect from the forthcoming shows, 'Pirates of the Caribbean' star Depp warned it could get bloody.

He added: "There will be rumbling in ears and there might be blood trickling out of one ear."

And Perry concluded: "I don't say things like this often, but this band is (bleeping) good."

The UK tour announcement comes after Cooper said he'd love to have the band play Somerset's Glastonbury festival in the future.

Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz last year, he said "I would love to. I would love to bring a little vampirism to Glastonbury. I'm just saying, we're open to it. The Alice Cooper show might scare everyone to death but the Vampires I think would be OK."

'Pirates of the Caribbean' star Depp, 54, is no stranger to Glastonbury, having already performed a surprise warm up with Kris Kristofferson at the music extravaganza last weekend.

But whilst Cooper acknowledges the fact Depp is able to jam with anyone, he thinks Hollywood Vampires' usual set list would be too long.

He continued: "He [Johnny] plays with everybody. Johnny will go and play with [Paul] McCartney, he'll play with the [Rolling] Stones, he'll play with everybody. But when he's with our band it's a full on show. It's 28 songs."

Tickets for the tour go on sale on Friday (09.02.18).

The Hollywood Vampires' UK tour dates are as follows:

June 16, Birmingham Genting Arena

June 17, Manchester Arena

June 19, Glasgow The SSE Hydro

June 20, London - The SSE Arena, Wembley
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to conduct their first official joint visit to Scotland next week.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The royal couple - who are set to tie the knot in the spring - are to visit Edinburgh on Tuesday (13.02.18) to join locals in marking the Scottish Year of Young People 2018.

The pair will visit the Esplanade near Edinburgh Castle to start with, and will be welcomed by the Royal Marines Scotland Band and then will be shown the One O'clock Gun being fired inside the castle. Prince Harry - who recently became Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Marines - and the 'Suits' actress will then head over to Social Bite, a social enterprise cafe that helps to give out 100,000 items of food and hot drinks to homeless people across the country every single year. The cafe also employs people who have been homeless in the past to help give them that break they need.

Social Bite offers many schemes to help the homeless, including adopting a 'Pay it Forward' system so customers can purchase food or drinks in advance for homeless people.

Harry and Meghan will then head to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where a reception will be held to mark young people's achievements in Scotland's Year of Young People. Representatives from charities and organisations will be present at the reception, where they will have a chance to discuss their plans for the years ahead and what they have undertaken so far.
Queen Elizabeth's 66 years on the throne was marked with a royal gun salute in London on Tuesday (06.02.18).

Queen Elizabeth

The 91-year-old monarch celebrated the anniversary of her accession to the throne quietly in Norfolk but there was also an official gun salute in Green Park in London.

The King's Troop Horse Artillery made their way into the park at midday before firing their cannons whilst the Honourable Artillery Company did a 62 gun salute at the Tower of London at 1pm.

For Queen Elizabeth, the anniversary of her accession to the throne has never been much of a celebration for her as it reminds her of how she lost her father King George VI when he was just 56-years-old.

Royal historian Robert Lacey said previously: "She's naturally shy and is the opposite of showy. And, of course, the anniversaries of the accession remind her of her father's premature death. There is only so many of these landmark dates that people will want to mark. I'm sure she would rather people were asking why isn't it being celebrated rather than, 'Oh no, not another royal anniversary.' She always plays safe - and that is a good instinct. The Queen is always wary of the commercial aspects, and doesn't want to appear 'on the make' - though she doesn't mind if charities use anniversaries to raise money. She's got a well-developed sense of not wanting to exploit these royal anniversaries."

When Queen Elizabeth celebrated her Sapphire anniversary last year, the Royal Mint honoured the record-breaking reign with a series of commemorative coins.

One was a 5 coin, which has been designed by Glyn Davies, and he had made the decision to shift the crown around to make the Blue Sapphire stone visible.

Of his design, he said: "I drew inspiration from the regalia associated with the Queen's coronation. As opposed to many traditional designs, I've rotated the crown to make a feature of the Stuart sapphire.

"I have also included a quotation from Her Majesty's 21st birthday speech, which makes the design more personal. I used computer-aided design to create the inscription, but sculpted elements of the crown in clay."

The Royal Mint had also commissioned a 10 coin, 500 coin and 1,000 coin to mark the occasion.
Laila Morse has teased that her alter ego 'Big' Mo Harris will be returning to 'EastEnders' "soon."

Laila Morse

The 72-year-old actress is set to reprise her role as the Slater family matriarch - a part she first played in 2000 - and will be returning to Walford alongside Jean Slater, who is played by Gillian Wright, and granddaughter Kat Moon (Jessie Wallace).

Laila tweeted last night (06.02.18): "Big Mo will be back soon... Not too long to wait now! #EastEnders (sic)"

Laila previously revealed her excitement at returning to the BBC One soap for the first time in almost three years.

She said: "I'm really excited to be coming back.

"It's the one question I'm constantly asked. I can't wait to see everyone and get stuck back into life in Walford."

And Jean - who plays Stacey Slater's mother - is "delighted" to be back in Albert Square again, after leaving in 2013, though she's made a string of guest appearances since then.

She said: "I am delighted the Slater women are to be reunited once more.

"I have always adored working alongside Lacey, Jessie and Laila and I am looking forward to being reacquainted with everyone at EastEnders again."

Meanwhile, Jessie, 46, was "thrilled" to be able to confirm reports she's returning to the popular show, despite fans fearing her beloved alter ego was dead following a boat accident in spin-off show 'Redwater'.

She said: "I am thrilled to be returning to 'EastEnders' next year and knowing what John Yorke has in store for the Slaters is incredibly exciting.

"I love Kat and Walford dearly and I cannot wait to get started - watch out Walford, Kat's coming home."

Executive producer John Yorke - who created the Slater family during his previous stint on the show - is overjoyed to be bringing his favourite characters back together.

He said: "The Slaters are one of the all-time great families in EastEnders and Albert Square has never felt quite the same since they scattered to different ends of the country, and in some cases beyond.

"It has been a real joy to find a way to bring them back together and we're incredibly excited about where we are taking them next.

"It won't just be familiar Slaters either as there are a couple of twists and characters to add fresh spice to an iconic creation."
Fethiye isnt just about beaches, bars and restaurants. Even after a short stay, its hard not to notice the mountains and forests which surround the town waiting to be explored and, for the adventurous, it probably seems as simple as slipping on a stout pair of shoes and heading out.

But, just like the Cumbrian fells or the glens of Scotland, if youre not properly prepared, there can be some unpleasant surprises in the woods.

STEVE PARSLEY has been walking dogs in the forests around Fethiye just about every day for over three years and offers his own advice on precautions which can be taken to keep both you and any furry companions out of trouble should you head for the hills.

Equipment

It may seem a little melodramatic but, if youre heading for the mountains and forests alone, its not a bad idea to let someone know where youre going and how long you expect to be.

Back in the UK, youve probably read dozens of times of a man walking his dog discovering all sorts of things but there are far fewer of them around in Turkey. Its a much bigger country and therefore by no means crowded.

Even just a short distance from Fethiye, you can find yourself in some wild countryside which is rarely visited. If you fall or have some other sort of medical emergency it could be some time before anyone stumbles across you so a fully-charged phone, a power pack if you have one, and a whistle to attract attention are probably not a bad idea. Plenty of water is also essential.

The weather

If youre used to the UK, obviously theres far more of it to worry about but, in Turkey, the heat of high summer is best avoided. Temperatures can exceed 50C in July and August and, when its that hot, you need to be drinking almost constantly to avoid dehydration.

Water is heavy so, on a long hike, its not easy to carry enough with you. If you have to go out as you have a dog to walk, its best to stick to the cool of the morning and evening. Even so, if you feel a headache coming on, feel a little nauseous or irritable, make sure you drink something as soon as you can.

Thunderstorms are the main concern in the winter months. They can arrive quite suddenly or be prolonged and pretty violent. A decent weather app on your phone which gives your real-time data on the location of nearby storm systems is a good idea.

Things that slither, bite and sting

Theres a season for most so theyre not necessarily a risk all year round but be aware that snakes are pretty common, particularly in May and June.

By far the majority will try to avoid you just as much as you them but, if you were to step on one, they can strike. Few are venomous enough to kill a human adult but thats unlikely to be much reassurance if youve just been bitten.

Hospital treatment is probably still a good idea  and as soon as possible  but, obviously, its even better to try to avoid being bitten in the first place.

Stout walking boots are a better bet than sandals or trainers without socks. Watch where you place your feet when crossing rocky hillsides exposed to the sun with shadowy crevices between them, although you can still find snakes in the sunnier patches of forest too.

If you do come across one, by far the best thing to do is stand still or, if you have to move, to do so slowly; if you dont appear to pose a threat, theres a good chance a snake will make good its escape and leave you alone.

Scorpions are also pretty common in Turkey, particularly in more open ground. Theyre fast-moving, often well-camouflaged, small  some no bigger than a 10p piece  and, if youre wearing boots and on the move, little real threat.

However, if you decide to sit somewhere for a breather or take a picnic, its not a bad idea to do a quick sweep of your intended perch first. A scorpion sting can be extremely painful, cause severe swelling and poses a far more serious risk to some.

The pine processionary caterpillar is also worth keeping an eye open for in late spring, particularly if youre accompanied by a dog.

They hatch in late spring from eggs laid by larvae wrapped in silken nests which resemble cotton wool hanging in the branches of pine trees. Most are on the march within a few weeks of each other, the caterpillars forming long chains which give them their name as they hunt a suitable place to burrow underground, emerging as moths in late summer.

They may appear harmless and, left alone, they pose no threat but they are adorned with tiny hairs which can be a significant irritant for humans and can even prove fatal to dogs. Should you come across them, its best to steer clear. In April and early May, its probably advisable to keep any canine companions on a lead.

Wild boar are also fairly widespread. By and large, if you spot them in the forest, they are less likely to be a threat; they are hunted so frequently they will probably run in the opposite direction as soon as theyre aware of you.

However, some also live close to human habitation, scavenging from bins and raiding crops and there have been reports of protective mothers with young showing aggression towards people, particularly if they feel cornered or threatened.

If you come across one and it hunches its shoulders and utters a growl or low grunt, its a warning so move away. Its not a good idea to run; try to appear confident  but keep an eye open for something you can climb up just in case.

Shepherds and their dogs 

Shepherds and shepherdesses have been herding sheep and goats on the Turkish mountains for countless generations and, sometimes when you come across them, its easy to believe little has changed.

You can often hear their distinctive calls and whistles to their animals well before you see them, some also carrying plastic bottles filled with stones and tied to sticks which they use as rattles to drive their herds.

Weve come across one shepherd who belts out folk songs at the top of his voice, one who insisted we share her meagre lunch, one old lady who regularly berates us like a demented witch every time our paths cross and others who simply scowl from beneath lowered brows.

But its worth remembering where theres a shepherd or shepherdess theres often a dog  or more than one  and theyre not always friendly.

Traditionally, they were used to deter things like bears or leopards from attacking the herd but, even though such big predators are now rare, the dogs remain  and some will still attack anything they perceive as a threat. They often range a fair distance from the herd, so you may come across them before youve even seen sheep or goats and, if you have your own a dog with you, its wise to be ready for the eventuality.

Kangal mastiffs are a popular breed among the shepherds; theyre both fearless and often huge. However, you can also encounter herds protected by a screen of ragtag mongrels who quickly converge to become a pack as soon as any individual barks a warning.

Extricating your own dog from a seething pile of fur and teeth is both risky and stressful so wed recommend carrying pepper spray. Using a stick as a weapon isnt a good idea; it antagonises an aggressive dog and would be no good against a fully-grown kangal anyway. Its true that pepper spray can also be difficult to deploy if youre trying to restrain your own dog on a lead at the same time  but at least it seems to work, even from a little distance.

If you dont have a dog with you, the chances of being attacked by one owned by a shepherd are reduced significantly. Its still probably a good idea to be cautious if you come across one but, like the boar, if you appear confident and dont seem to pose a direct threat, its less likely that they will show any aggression. If they do, you can keep them at bay with the pepper spray and, if they persist, look for something you can climb.

Poison

Poison is a negligible threat to humans but, if youre walking with a dog, its a different story. Sadly, it is used by shepherds and farmers, sometimes to control boar which have been raiding crops, sometimes against other predators which are deemed to be a risk to lambs or kids and sometimes specifically to kill dogs seen walking in the areas where shepherds drive their herds.

It is illegal and, as a result of laws going through government at the moment, could soon carry a maximum prison sentence of four years should it result in the death of an animal. But, in the more far-flung rural areas, the reality is that it would be almost impossible to prove who was responsible.

As a result, when we walk our own dog, we always carry a needle, syringe and a supply of atropine  an antidote that, in an emergency, can buy you enough time to get your animal to a vet for treatment. Its available over the counter from most surgeries along with information on how to administer it and the correct dosage for your pet.

Poison is a nasty, insidious threat and, sadly, one which needs to be considered every time you walk your dog off a lead. It can kill quickly and can be left anywhere, even adjacent to roads or well-trodden paths.

Symptoms vary but are evident within minutes. A loss of control of the limbs is usually the first sign; your dog may appear dazed and unsteady on its feet. Rapid heartbeat, violent trembling and laboured breathing, retching and coughing may follow, before collapse. Frothing from the mouth and blue gums may occur in the latter stages and, if not treated quickly, death is almost inevitable.

We always keep our own dog on a lead  particularly in areas where we have come across sheep and goats before  and will demonstrate that to any shepherds we see. We will sit and wait patiently if a herd crosses our path and stay well clear if we can hear them along the route ahead.

We have trained our dog as best we can not to react or to bark if we come across livestock and do our best to show respect for the shepherds and shepherdesses and their lifestyle which, after all, has been unchanged for centuries.

In the eyes of some who make their living off the land or in the forests, recreational walkers are still the interlopers and, if they bring along dogs which can be a threat to their livestock, their instinct is to protect them.

It would be impossible for many to condone or countenance the indiscriminate use of poison but, if a shepherd has half a dozen animals unaccounted for and a stranger with a dog has been seen in the same area recently, it is easy to understand their reasoning, if not their solution.

People

The further you go from centres of population the less likely it is that youll see anyone else. You can sometimes walk for hours without hearing or seeing another human being and, for some, thats the attraction of the forests and mountains.

But, although even woods closer to habitation can still be deserted, there is more of a chance that youll encounter people. The noise of engines from a quad bike safari, the slow, plodding clip-clop of hooves from a pony trek or even a shouted conversation between other walkers will mean that sense of isolation vanishes.

But its also worth remembering the forests are also every Turks hunting ground and, sometimes, as evening falls or over the weekends, some will head into the woods with their guns. More than once, Ive felt the need to make my location obvious after hearing a shotgun blast which seemed dangerously close. For the hunters, your whistle is also a handy way of making your presence a bit more obvious; failing that, just make a lot of noise.

After listing so many hazards, some may wonder if its safe to leave the towns and villages at all but, of the hundreds of walks weve done, 90% have been uneventful. The views are incredible, the peace and tranquillity palpable and, even if you do encounter wildlife, you dont have to be Bear Grylls to survive.

It really is just a matter being aware of the potential pitfalls and taking sensible precautions to either deal with them or avoid them  just as you would anywhere else. By and large the benefits  both physical and mental  far outweigh the risks so, if you like to explore, strap on the boots and get out there.

Rebecca & Steve Parsley are both former journalists with experience in newspapers, magazines and on radio. Since 2006 they have run their own communications agency, specialising in social media and online content writing. They moved to Turkey just over three years ago and live in Kayakoy with their German Shepherd dog, Dillon  formerly a street dog  and two cats. When not slaving over their keyboards or walking in the local countryside, they enjoy watching motorsport  especially Formula 1  and are also salsa dance addicts.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The National Food Authority (NFA) Council is allaying fears of a possible rice shortage in the country, saying supply is coming in.

Speaking to CNN Philippines Wednesday, NFA Council Chair Jun Evasco said 325,000 metric tons of rice are still being delivered to the country until the end of the month.

When asked about reports that certain stores have run out of NFA rice supply, Evasco said he would still have to look into it, adding he has set another meeting with the Council "to look into the veracity" behind such claims, however they are studying whether or not there is a need to import rice.

"NFA management is proposing to the council to buy rice, to import rice that is G to G (government to government). But we are still holding on to that, we're still suspending that because the importation of rice done by the private traders as I have said, is ongoing. Matatapos yung 325,000 metric tons at the end of this month. So meaning to say, there is rice," he clarified.

The NFA is also not putting a limit on how much NFA rice can be bought by a person or a family as there is no emergency that warrants such action.

In a press briefing earlier, NFA Administrator Jason Aquino said the inventory of NFA rice was low.

"Very low ang inventory sa NFA pero ang commercial at household mataas pa. Hindi kulang ang bigas, wala lang mabigay ang NFA sa poorest of the poor," Aquino said.

[Translation: The inventory of NFA rice is very low, but we have high supplies in the commercial and household. There is no rice shortage, but we don't have much to give to the poorest of the poor.]

READ: NFA: Low supply of affordable rice, but no rice shortage in PH

He said with the NFA rice shortage, the masses will be forced to buy commercial rice  the price of which has already hiked up due to the lack of supply.

NFA rice is more affordable at P27 to P32 per kilo compared to commercial rice, which sells from P36 to P65 per kilo.

CNN Philippines' digital producer Lara Tan contributed to this report.
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BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - France has banned the use of smartphones in car, even if the driver has pulled over on the side of the road. According to a new report from Le Figaro, under the new ban on smartphone use behind the wheel, a driver has to be parked in a designated spot and the engine should be off before he could touch his phone. A driver can not simply pull over on the side of the road and turn off the ignition to respond to a call or text message. The changes to use of smartphone while in the was made by France's high court. Driver could face fines of up to 135 euros in addition to having points added to their driving record if caught breaking the law. However, a driver can use his phone if he is involved in an accident or breakdown. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The following are some of today's top gainers in the pharma/biotech sector.



1. Array BioPharma Inc. (ARRY)



Gained 15.54% to close Tuesday's (Feb.6) trading at $16.28.



News: The Company provided an update on the progress of its key clinical development programs.



In a phase III trial evaluating a combination of Encorafenib 450 mg daily and Binimetinib 45 mg twice daily (COMBO450), dubbed COLUMBUS, the median overall survival (mOS) was 33.6 months in patients with BRAF-mutant melanoma compared to 16.9 months for patients treated with Roche's Zelboraf as a monotherapy.



The New Drug Applications for Encorafenib and Binimetinib are already under FDA review - with a decision date set for June 30, 2018.



Another ongoing phase III trial, known as BEACON, is evaluating the triplet combination of Encorafenib, Binimetinib, and Cetuximab, in patients with BRAF-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer.



This triplet combination has demonstrated an 8 month median progression-free survival (mPFS) with a 48% confirmed overall response rate, including 3 complete responses in patients with BRAF-mutant colorectal cancer, according to the updated BEACON study results.



The Company announced that it has strengthened its immuno-oncology strategy to develop Binimetinib in combination with PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint inhibitors through collaborations with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Merck and now Pfizer.



2. MediciNova Inc. (MNOV)



Gained 13.76% to close Tuesday's trading at $10.75. The stock is up 66% year-to-date.



News: No news



Recent event:



-- On Feb.1, 2018, the Company reported additional positive clinical data from its phase 2b trial of MN-166, also known as Ibudilast, in progressive multiple sclerosis, dubbed SPRINT-MS.



3. Menlo Therapeutics Inc. (MNLO)



Gained 13.12% to close Tuesday's trading at $34.74.



News: No news



Recent event:



On January 29, 2018, the Company announced the closing of its IPO of 8.05 million shares of common stock at a public offering price of $17.00 each, including the full exercise of underwriters' option to purchase additional shares.



Pipeline:



The Company's lead drug candidate is Serlopitant, and phase III trials for the treatment of pruritus associated with prurigo nodularis are expected to be initiated in the first half of 2018.



Serlopitant is also under phase II studies for the treatment of pruritus associated with atopic dermatitis, pruritus associated with psoriasis, and refractory chronic cough.



4. Urogen Pharma Ltd. (URGN)



Gained 12.78% to close Tuesday's trading at $51.00.



News: No news



Recent events:



On January 18, 2018, the Company priced its public offering of 1.46 million ordinary shares at a price of $41.00 each for gross proceeds of about $60.0 million. The offering closed on January 23, 2018.



Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:



-- The Company's lead drug candidate is MitoGel, which is in a phase III trial for the treatment of low-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma, dubbed OLYMPUS. Top line data from this trial are expected to be available in the third quarter of 2018.



The other clinical programs are:



-- VesiGel, for the treatment of low grade non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (LG-NMIBC), which has completed phase IIa study. A phase IIb study of VesiGel is planned for the first half of 2018. -- Vesimune, for the treatment of Carcinoma In-Situ (CIS), a high-grade form of NMIBC, which has completed phase Ib study. A phase II study of Vesimune is planned for the first half of 2018. -- Botugel, a novel intravesical sustained release formulation of botulinum toxin for Overactive Bladder (OAB) and Interstitial Cystitis (IC). In October 2016, the Company licensed the BotuGel program to Allergan for further development. A phase II trial of Botugel in Overactive Bladder, initiated by Allergan in November 2017, is underway.



5. Zafgen Inc. (ZFGN)



Gained 12.73% to close Tuesday's trading at $8.41.



News: No news



Clinical Trials & Near-term Catalysts:



-- A phase II trial of ZGN-1061 in patients with type 2 diabetes has completed enrollment. Top line data are expected mid-year 2018. -- An investigational new drug (IND) application-enabling work for ZGN-1258 for Prader-Willi Syndrome has commenced. If all goes well as planned, ZGN-1258 may advance into Phase 1 clinical development by the end of this year.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / February 6, 2018 / The Schall Law Firm, a national shareholder rights litigation firm, announces that it is investigating claims on behalf of investors of NQ Mobile, Inc. ("NQ Mobile" or "the Company") (NYSE: NQ) for violations of 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

On February 6, 2018, a report was published by Rota Fortunae on the investment website SeekingAlpha.com stating, among other things, that "Chinese corporate records lead us to believe that insiders control Tongfang Investment Fund, the firm that recently acquired NQ's mobile gaming and video businesses." On this news, shares of NQ Mobile fell sharply over 40% during intra-day trading.

If you are a shareholder who suffered a loss, click here to participate.

We also encourage you to contact Brian Schall, or Sherin Mahdavian, of the Schall Law Firm, 1880 Century Park East, Suite 404, Los Angeles, CA 90067, at 424-303-1964, to discuss your rights free of charge. You can also reach us through the firm's website at www.schallfirm.com, or by email at brian@schallfirm.com.

The class in this case has not yet been certified, and until certification occurs, you are not represented by an attorney. If you choose to take no action, you can remain an absent class member.

The Schall Law Firm represents investors around the world, and specializes in securities class action lawsuits and shareholder rights litigation.

This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and rules of ethics.

CONTACT:

The Schall Law Firm

Brian Schall, Esq.,

Sherin Mahdavian, Esq.,

www.schallfirm.com

SOURCE: The Schall Law Firm
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  Opposition senator Kiko Pangilinan respects the Supreme Court's decision to uphold martial law in Mindanao  but he hopes it will be overturned.

"I do not agree with the Supreme Court, but they have spoken, we will have to respect it," Pangilinan told CNN Philippines' The Source on Wednesday.

"Hopefully there is a motion for reconsideration... at least for purposes of record. Hopefully, by some miracle something happens, and some of them really change their minds," he added.

On Tuesday, the High Court, voting 10-5, ruled the martial law extension in Mindanao until December 31, 2018 was constitutional.

Related: SC upholds martial law extension in Mindanao

The Supreme Court rejected the four consolidated petitions questioning the factual basis of the extension, where petitioners cited the absence of actual firefights in the south.

Under the 1987 Constitution, martial rule is allowed "in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it" for a period not exceeding 60 days. The Congress, however, may extend such proclamation or suspension "if the invasion or rebellion shall persist and public safety requires it."

Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao on May 23, 2017 in response to a terror attack on Marawi City. After it lapsed on July 23, the initial extension was set to end on December 31 that year.

The declaration was extended again, with government officials arguing that rebellion was still taking place in the southern region. However, critics pointed out the clash between the military and Maute terrorists was already over.

"We believe that martial law should be the exception  an extraordinary measure  it should not be the norm. Imposing it for such a long period in Mindanao, such a huge area, you are making it a norm," said Pangilinan.

CNN Philippines digital producer Eimor Santos contributed to this story.
Regulatory News:

Ipsen (Euronext: IPN; ADR: IPSEY) today announced that results from its Neurosciences portfolio are the subject of eight oral presentations at the World Congress for Neurorehabilitation (WCNR 2018). The presentations focus on improvements in care for patients with spasticity and spasticity management with abobotulinumtoxinA (Dysport). The meeting takes place in Mumbai, India, February 7-10, 2018.

"Ipsen has a very strong presence at WCNR 2018 with eight abstracts accepted as oral presentations, and we look forward to reporting these important data on spasticity management with Dysport. We are notably pleased to present the first milestone in one of the largest patient-centred spasticity management observational studies, ULIS-III which has enrolled over 1,000 patients to be followed up for two years. These presentations demonstrate the commitment of Ipsen to improving the lives of patients with spasticity." said Alexandre Lebeaut, MD, Executive Vice-President R&D and Chief Scientific Officer, Ipsen.

Since its inception, the Upper Limb International Spasticity (ULIS) programme has involved more than 2,400 patients living with upper limb spasticity in 31 countries. The objective of the ULIS program is to develop a comprehensive and patient-centred approach to spasticity management to be implemented internationally.

"Since the start of the program ten years ago, we have participated in significant training and standardisation efforts, developed and refined methods of outcomes assessment and learned a lot about how we use botulinum toxins in routine clinical practice." said Professor Lynne Turner-Stokes, DM FRCP MBE, Northwick Park Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine, King's College London, and Director, Regional Hyper-acute Rehabilitation Unit, Northwick Park Hospital and Coordinating investigator of the ULIS program.

"Ipsen's long-lasting partnership with the WFNR confirms Ipsen's commitment to both neurorehabilitation research and the daily care of patients with spasticity. WFNR, in collaboration with Ipsen, conducted the first International survey related to "Patients living with Spasticity", which was published in Disability and Rehabilitation in 2016. This survey gave our patients the opportunity to let clinicians hear their voice." said Professor Mike Barnes, Founding President of the WFNR, Honorary Professor of Neurological rehabilitation at Newcastle University.

At WCNR 2018 in Mumbai, abstracts on the following topics will be presented from Thursday 8th February 2018 to Saturday 10th February:

_______________

Barnes M. et al, An international survey of patients living with spasticity. Disability and Rehabilitation. 2016; Volume 39, 2017 -issue 14

The Upper Limb International Spasticity (ULIS) programme:

Title: Time to retreatment with botulinum toxin A in upper limb spasticity management: initial data from the Upper Limb International Spasticity (ULIS)-III study

Presenter: Lynne Turner-Stokes, UK

Thursday 8th February, 14:00 14:08; Hall D

Title: Relief of spasticity-related pain with Botulinum neurotoxin-A (BoNT-A) in real life practice. Post-hoc analysis from a large international cohort series

Presenter: Lynne Turner-Stokes, UK

Thursday 8th February, 15:12 15:20; Hall F

Title: Botulinum Toxin A in Upper Limb Spasticity Management: Baseline Data from the Upper Limb International Spasticity (ULIS)-III Study

Presenter: Lynne Turner-Stokes, UK

Friday 9th February, 14:36 14:44; Hall A

The ONTIME Pilot study:

Title: Effect of early use of abobotulinumtoxinA (Dysport) on time to post-stroke spasticity progression: Results of the ONTIME pilot study

Presenter: Raymond L Rosales, Philippines

Thursday 8th February, 15:03 15:11; Hall A

The ENGAGE study:

Title: Effect on voluntary movements of simultaneous upper and lower limb abobotulinumtoxinA injections in conjunction with Guided Self-rehabilitation Contracts in adults with spastic hemiparesis: methodology of the ENGAGE study

Presenter: Jean-Michel Gracies, France

Saturday 10th February, 14:09 14:17; Hall A

The Adult Upper Limb Spasticity, Adult Lower Limb Spasticity, and ULIS-2 studies:

Title: AbobotulinumtoxinA injections in shoulder muscles: results from a real world and phase 3 studies

Presenter: Thierry Lejeune, Belgium

Thursday 8th February, 15:12 15:20; Hall D

Title: AbobotulinumtoxinA injections in the upper and lower limb in patients with spastic paresis and impaired function following stroke or traumatic brain injury

Presenter: Jean-Michel Gracies, France

Friday 9th February, 14:18 14:26; Hall A

Title: Continuous Improvement in Composite Active Range of Motion Across Repeated Injections with AbobotulinumtoxinA (Dysport) for Upper and Lower Limb Spasticity

Presenter: Jean-Michel Gracies, France

Saturday 10th February, 14:00 14:08; Hall A

About Dysport

Dysport is an injectable form of a botulinum neurotoxin type A product, which is a substance derived from Clostridium bacteria producing BoNT-A that inhibits the effective transmission of nerve impulses and thereby reduces muscular contractions. It is supplied as a lyophilized powder. As of 31 December 2017, Dysport had marketing authorization in more than 85 countries.

About Spasticity

Spasticity is a condition in which there is an abnormal increase in muscle tone or stiffness in one or more muscles, which might interfere with movement. Spasticity is usually caused by damage to nerve pathways in the brain or spinal cord that control muscle movement, and may occur in association with cerebral palsy, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, stroke, and brain or head trauma.3 In adults, approximately one in three stroke patients, one in three patients with spinal cord injury, one in six patients with traumatic brain injury, and two in three patients with MS will develop lower limb spasticity.1,2

INDICATIONS AND IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION for the United States

INDICATIONS

Dysport(abobotulinumtoxinA) for injection is indicated for the treatment of:

Adults with cervical dystonia

Spasticity in adult patients

Lower limb spasticity in pediatric patients 2 years of age and older

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Warning: Distant Spread of Toxin Effect

Postmarketing reports indicate that the effects of Dysportand all botulinum toxin products may spread from the area of injection to produce symptoms consistent with botulinum toxin effects. These may include asthenia, generalized muscle weakness, diplopia, blurred vision, ptosis, dysphagia, dysphonia, dysarthria, urinary incontinence, and breathing difficulties. These symptoms have been reported hours to weeks after injection. Swallowing and breathing difficulties can be life threatening and there have been reports of death. The risk of symptoms is probably greatest in children treated for spasticity, but symptoms can also occur in adults treated for spasticity and other conditions, particularly in those patients who have underlying conditions that would predispose them to these symptoms. In unapproved uses, including upper limb spasticity in children, and in approved indications, cases of spread of effect have been reported at doses comparable to or lower than the maximum recommended total dose.

Contraindications

Dysportis contraindicated in patients with known hypersensitivity to any botulinum toxin preparation or to any of the components; or in the presence of infection at the proposed injection site(s); or in patients known to be allergic to cow's milk protein. Hypersensitivity reactions including anaphylaxis have been reported.

Warnings and Precautions

Lack of Interchangeability Between Botulinum Toxin Products

The potency Units of Dysport are specific to the preparation and assay method utilized. They are not interchangeable with other preparations of botulinum toxin products, and, therefore, units of biological activity of Dysport cannot be compared to or converted into units of any other botulinum toxin products assessed with any other specific assay method.

Dysphagia and Breathing Difficulties

Treatment with Dysport and other botulinum toxin products can result in swallowing or breathing difficulties. Patients with pre-existing swallowing or breathing difficulties may be more susceptible to these complications. In most cases, this is a consequence of weakening of muscles in the area of injection that are involved in breathing or swallowing. When distant side effects occur, additional respiratory muscles may be involved Deaths as a complication of severe dysphagia have been reported after treatment with botulinum toxin. Dysphagia may persist for several weeks, and require use of a feeding tube to maintain adequate nutrition and hydration. Aspiration may result from severe dysphagia and is a particular risk when treating patients in whom swallowing or respiratory function is already compromised. Patients treated with botulinum toxin may require immediate medical attention should they develop problems with swallowing, speech, or respiratory disorders. These reactions can occur within hours to weeks after injection with botulinum toxin.

Pre-existing Neuromuscular Disorders

Individuals with peripheral motor neuropathic diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or neuromuscular junction disorders (e.g., myasthenia gravis or Lambert-Eaton syndrome) should be monitored particularly closely when given botulinum toxin. Patients with neuromuscular disorders may be at increased risk of clinically significant effects including severe dysphagia and respiratory compromise from typical doses of Dysport

Human Albumin and Transmission of Viral Diseases

This product contains albumin, a derivative of human blood. Based on effective donor screening and product manufacturing processes, it carries an extremely remote risk for transmission of viral diseases and variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD). There is a theoretical risk for transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), but if that risk actually exists, the risk of transmission would also be considered extremely remote. No cases of transmission of viral diseases, CJD, or vCJD have ever been identified for licensed albumin or albumin contained in other licensed products.

Intradermal Immune Reaction

The possibility of an immune reaction when injected intradermally is unknown. The safety of Dysport for the treatment of hyperhidrosis has not been established. Dysport is approved only for intramuscular injection.

Most Common Adverse Reactions

Adults with upper limb spasticity (=2% and greater than placebo): nasopharyngitis, urinary tract infection, muscular weakness, musculoskeletal pain, dizziness, fall, and depression.

Adults with lower limb spasticity (= 5% and greater than placebo): falls, muscular weakness, and pain in extremity.

Adults with cervical dystonia (=5% and greater than placebo): muscular weakness, dysphagia, dry mouth, injection site discomfort, fatigue, headache, musculoskeletal pain, dysphonia, injection site pain, and eye disorders.

Pediatric patients with lower limb spasticity (=10% and greater than placebo): upper respiratory tract infection, nasopharyngitis, influenza, pharyngitis, cough, and pyrexia.

Drug Interactions

Co-administration of Dysport and aminoglycosides or other agents interfering with neuromuscular transmission (e.g., curare-like agents), or muscle relaxants, should be observed closely because the effect of botulinum toxin may be potentiated. Use of anticholinergic drugs after administration of Dysport may potentiate systemic anticholinergic effects, such as blurred vision. The effect of administering different botulinum neurotoxins at the same time or within several months of each other is unknown. Excessive weakness may be exacerbated by another administration of botulinum toxin prior to the resolution of the effects of a previously administered botulinum toxin. Excessive weakness may also be exaggerated by administration of a muscle relaxant before or after administration of Dysport

Use in Pregnancy

Based on animal data, Dysport may cause fetal harm. There are no adequate and well-controlled studies in pregnant women. Dysport should be used during pregnancy only if the potential benefit justifies the potential risk to the fetus.

Pediatric Use

Based on animal data Dysport may cause atrophy of injected and adjacent muscles; decreased bone growth, length, and mineral content; delayed sexual maturation; and decreased fertility.

Geriatric Use

In general, elderly patients should be observed to evaluate their tolerability of Dysport, due to the greater frequency of concomitant disease and other drug therapy. Subjects aged 65 years and over who were treated with Dysport for lower limb spasticity reported a greater percentage of fall and asthenia as compared to those younger (10% vs. 6% and 4% vs. 2%, respectively).

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS or product complaints in the United States, contact Ipsen at 1-855-463-5127. You may also report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS to the FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Please see Full Prescribing Information, including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide.

About Ipsen

Ipsen is a global specialty-driven biopharmaceutical group focused on innovation and specialty care. The group develops and commercializes innovative medicines in three key therapeutic areas Oncology, Neurosciences and Rare Diseases. Its commitment to oncology is exemplified through its growing portfolio of key therapies for prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, renal cell carcinoma and pancreatic cancer. Ipsen also has a well-established Consumer Healthcare business. With total sales close to 1.6 billion in 2016, Ipsen sells more than 20 drugs in over 115 countries, with a direct commercial presence in more than 30 countries. Ipsen's R&D is focused on its innovative and differentiated technological platforms located in the heart of the leading biotechnological and life sciences hubs (Paris-Saclay, France; Oxford, UK; Cambridge, US). The Group has about 5,100 employees worldwide. Ipsen is listed in Paris (Euronext: IPN) and in the United States through a Sponsored Level I American Depositary Receipt program (ADR: IPSEY). For more information on Ipsen, visit www.ipsen.com.

Ipsen Forward Looking Statement

The forward-looking statements, objectives and targets contained herein are based on the Group's management strategy, current views and assumptions. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those anticipated herein. All of the above risks could affect the Group's future ability to achieve its financial targets, which were set assuming reasonable macroeconomic conditions based on the information available today. Use of the words "believes," "anticipates" and "expects" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, including the Group's expectations regarding future events, including regulatory filings and determinations. Moreover, the targets described in this document were prepared without taking into account external growth assumptions and potential future acquisitions, which may alter these parameters. These objectives are based on data and assumptions regarded as reasonable by the Group. These targets depend on conditions or facts likely to happen in the future, and not exclusively on historical data. Actual results may depart significantly from these targets given the occurrence of certain risks and uncertainties, notably the fact that a promising product in early development phase or clinical trial may end up never being launched on the market or reaching its commercial targets, notably for regulatory or competition reasons. The Group must face or might face competition from generic products that might translate into a loss of market share. Furthermore, the Research and Development process involves several stages each of which involves the substantial risk that the Group may fail to achieve its objectives and be forced to abandon its efforts with regards to a product in which it has invested significant sums. Therefore, the Group cannot be certain that favourable results obtained during pre-clinical trials will be confirmed subsequently during clinical trials, or that the results of clinical trials will be sufficient to demonstrate the safe and effective nature of the product concerned. There can be no guarantees a product will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that the product will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Other risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the Group's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the Group's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions. The Group also depends on third parties to develop and market some of its products which could potentially generate substantial royalties; these partners could behave in such ways which could cause damage to the Group's activities and financial results. The Group cannot be certain that its partners will fulfil their obligations. It might be unable to obtain any benefit from those agreements. A default by any of the Group's partners could generate lower revenues than expected. Such situations could have a negative impact on the Group's business, financial position or performance. The Group expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward looking statements, targets or estimates contained in this press release to reflect any change in events, conditions, assumptions or circumstances on which any such statements are based, unless so required by applicable law. The Group's business is subject to the risk factors outlined in its registration documents filed with the French Autorite des Marches Financiers.

The risks and uncertainties set out are not exhaustive and the reader is advised to refer to the Group's 2016 Registration Document available on its website (www.ipsen.com).

References:

1. Martin A, et al. Epidemiological, humanistic, and economic burden of illness of lower limb spasticity in adults: a systematic review. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. 2014; 10 (111-122)

2. Skold A, et al. Spasticity after traumatic spinal cord injury: nature, severity, and location. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. 1999; 80 (1548-57)

3. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Spasticity Information Page. https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/All-Disorders/Spasticity-Information-Page Accessed May 16, 2017.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180206006262/en/

Contacts:

Ipsen

Media

Ian Weatherhead, +44 (0) 1753 627733

Vice President, Corporate External Communications

ian.weatherhead@ipsen.com

or

Brigitte Le Guennec, +33 (0)1 58 33 51 17

Senior Manager, Global External Communications

brigitte.le.guennec@ipsen.com

or

Financial Community

Eugenia Litz, +44 (0) 1753 627721

Vice-President Investor Relations

eugenia.litz@ipsen.com

or

Come de La Tour du Pin, +33 (0)1 58 33 53 31

Investor Relations Executive

come.de.la.tour.du.pin@ipsen.com
PARIS, Feb. 7, 2018 /CNW/ - Pharmapack Europe Expo - SCHOTT AG and ARaymond Life are announcing that SCHOTT adaptiQ vials and ARaymondlife RayDyLyo plastic press-fit closures are confirmed as a Product Set for use with Vanrx Pharmasystems' Aseptic Filling Workcells. This Product Set is fully commercially available and ready-to-use (RTU), with closure integrity performance results available from the suppliers.

The compatibility testing was part of the Matrix Alliance-an industry initiative of leading packaging and component suppliers, which aims at providing pre-validated container/closure solutions to work on Vanrx's Aseptic Filling Workcells.

Using this Product Set, pharmaceutical companies have the assurance that the combination will function as a high-performance primary packaging system for sterile injectables. Companies can move drug products to market faster, by establishing flexible manufacturing operations using pre-sterilized, nested ready-to-use vials and press-fit closures with integrated stoppers in combination with Vanrx's robotic aseptic filling systems.

A specific advantage of RayDyLyo plastic press-fit caps is that they stopper and seal containers in one step, replacing aluminum crimp caps and eliminating their particle risk.

In selecting a Product Set, pharmaceutical companies receive assurance that all elements of the set, vials and caps, have been proven for compatibility and machinability with Vanrx aseptic filling systems.

As of this date, Product Set combinations are available in ISO standard 6R, and 10R vials, and corresponding 20 mm press-fit closures. Contacts to request samples and performance specifications are listed below. These products are certified to work with Vanrx's Microcell Vial Filler and SA25 Aseptic Filling Workcell.

Speaking on behalf of the three companies, Vanrx's vice president of marketing Greg Speakman said:

"All three of our companies have seen how pharmaceutical companies are shifting toward building flexible manufacturing operations. SCHOTT, ARaymondlife and Vanrx are helping bring new products to market faster, benefiting the patient and our customers' ability to respond to uncertain market conditions."

The testing leading to this product set was completed as part of the Matrix Alliance, a collaboration between leading pharmaceutical packaging companies, of which Vanrx, SCHOTT, and ARaymondlife are members. The Alliance was created because next-generation drugs require highly aligned manufacturing processes and packaging solutions.

Media & Product Information Contacts

Members of the three companies will be attending Pharmapack in Paris from 7-8 February 2018, and are available for interviews. To request information on this product set, please contact:

About SCHOTT AG

SCHOTT is a leading international technology group in the areas of specialty glass and glass-ceramics. The company has more than 130 years of outstanding development, materials and technology expertise and offers a broad portfolio of high-quality products and intelligent solutions. SCHOTT is an innovative enabler for many industries, including the home appliance, pharma, electronics, optics, life sciences, automotive and aviation industries. SCHOTT strives to play an important part of everyone's life and is committed to innovation and sustainable success. The group maintains a global presence with production sites and sales offices in 33 countries. With its workforce of approximately 15,000 employees, sales of 2.05 billion euros were generated in fiscal year 2016/2017. The parent company, SCHOTT AG, has its headquarters in Mainz (Germany) and is solely owned by the Carl Zeiss Foundation. As a foundation company, SCHOTT assumes special responsibility for its employees, society and the environment.

About ARaymondlife

ARaymondlife is a GMP EU pharmaceutical establishment, specializing in plastic injection and fasteners. Its technological expertise enables it to develop innovative solutions for the healthcare market. The company is equipped with automated industrial equipment and ISO 5 to 7 certified cleanrooms. Three market sectors are targeted today: medical devices, the delivery of active ingredients and packaging-technical solutions as well as components for pharmaceutical packaging - standard or customized.

The company is based in Saint-Egreve, France, in the Grenoble, Isere region. ARaymondlife is part of the ARaymond Network, a worldwide leader in fastening and assembly solutions for the automotive industry. ARaymond is a family company which accounts 6,800 collaborators spread over 26 manufacturing sites in 25 countries. Sales of 1.2 billion  were achieved in 2017.

For further information about ARaymondlife and the ARaymond Network, visit www.araymond-life.com and www.araymond.com.

About Vanrx Pharmasystems

Vanrx Pharmasystems makes the most technologically advanced sterile filling solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. Vanrx fill-finish machines use isolated robotics and machine vision to automate the packaging of injectable drugs into nested vials, syringes, or cartridges. The company was founded by pharmaceutical industry veterans to create the systems needed to make the next generation of innovative therapies. For more information, visitwww.vanrx.com.

Trademarks

adaptiQis a registered trademark of SCHOTT AG.

RayDyLyois a registered trademark of ARaymondlife.

CONTACT: For SCHOTT adaptiQvials: Gregor Deutschle, Global Business Development Manager, SCHOTT AG, E-mail: gregor.deutschle@schott.com, Phone: +49 151 14803464; Media contact: Christina Rettig, E-mail: christina.rettig@schott.com, Phone: +49 151 54374595; For RayDyLyoplastic press-fit closures, Stephanie Pellet, Marketing Manager, ARaymondlife, E-mail: stephanie.Pellet@araymond.com, Phone: +33 6 33 92 96 71; For Vanrx Aseptic Filling Workcells: Eric Petz, Senior Marketing Manager, Vanrx Pharmasystems, E-mail: epetz@vanrx.com, Phone: +1.778.228.4177



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Fiskars Corporation Stock Exchange Release February 7, 2018 at 9:00 (EET) New share-based Long-term Incentive Plan for Fiskars Group's key employees The Board of Directors of Fiskars Corporation has decided on a new share-based Long-term Incentive Plan for the Fiskars Group Leadership Team and other key employees. The plan will form a part of Fiskars remuneration program for its key employees, and the aim of the plan is to support the implementation of the company's strategy and to align the objectives of key employees with the shareholders to increase the value of the company. The Long-term Incentive Plan has three performance periods of three calendar years each, 2018-2020, 2019-2021 and 2020-2022. The Board of Directors will decide separately for each performance period the participants in the incentive plan and the minimum, target and maximum rewards for each participant, as well as the performance criteria and related targets. The amount of the reward paid to a key employee depends on achieving the pre-established targets. No reward will be paid if targets are not met or if the participant's employment or service ends before reward payment. For the first performance period, the plan has 48 participants at most and the targets for the Long-term Incentive Plan relate to the company's total shareholder return, Group EBITA and net sales. If the targets of the plan are reached, rewards will be paid to participants after the end of each performance period. The reward will be paid in the company's shares, after the deduction of the relevant cash proportion that is required for covering taxes and tax-related costs due on the basis of the reward. However, the company has the right to pay the reward fully in cash under certain circumstances. If all maximum targets are reached, the maximum reward payable in shares on the basis of the 2018-2020 performance period would amount to a total gross maximum of 314,321 shares in the company. As a starting point, shares to be awarded to key employees will be paid as existing shares of the company and thus the Long-term Incentive Plan is not expected to have a diluting effect on the ownership of the company's shareholders. Members of the Fiskars Group Leadership Team participating in the long-term incentive plan are subject to a shareholding requirement and must retain at least 50% of the net shares received based on plan until their share ownership in Fiskars corresponds to at least 50% (and for the President and CEO at least 100%) of their annual gross base salary. FISKARS CORPORATION Board of Directors Media and investor contacts: VP, Corporate Communications and Sustainability Maija Taimi, tel. +358 204 39 5031, communications@fiskars.com Fiskars - Making the everyday extraordinary Fiskars serves consumers and customers around the world with globally recognized brands including Fiskars, Gerber, Iittala, Royal Copenhagen, Waterford, and Wedgwood. Building on our mission to create a family of iconic lifestyle brands, Fiskars' vision is to create a positive, lasting impact on our quality of life. Please visit www.fiskarsgroup.com for more information. Attachment: https://cns.omxgroup.com/cds/DisclosureAttachmentServlet?messageAttachmentId=662257
PARIS (dpa-AFX) - French drug giant Sanofi SA (SNYNF, SNY) reported Wednesday that its fourth-quarter IFRS net income declined 83.7 percent to 129 million euros from 790 million euros last year. Earnings per share were 0.10 euro, down from 0.62 euro a year ago. Business net income was 1.33 billion euros or 1.06 euros per share, compared to 1.61 billion euros or 1.25 euros per share a year ago. IFRS net sales declined 2 percent to 8.691 billion euros from 8.867 billion euros last year, reflecting strong Dupixent launch offset by anticipated declines in U.S. diabetes and Renagel. Net sales grew 4.1% at constant exchange rates. Further, the company's board proposed dividend of 3.03 euros, an increase of 2.4%. Looking ahead, Sanofi expects fiscal 2018 business earnings per share to grow between 2% and 5% at constant exchange rates, including the anticipated contribution from the recently announced acquisitions Sanofi Chief Executive Officer, Olivier Brandicourt, said, 'In 2017, we continued to execute on our strategic goals with the strong launch of Dupixent, the positive pivotal data for cemiplimab and for dupilumab in asthma. At the same time, we managed the challenges in U.S. diabetes as well as the impact from sevelamer generics and Dengvaxia...... Overall, after a period of significant reshaping since 2015, we are positioned to drive growth in 2018.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Thomas Berglund has informed the Capio Board of Directors that he wishes to leave his position as President and CEO of Capio. Thomas has been with Capio for more than 10 years, of which the first three years as working Chairman of the Board and since 2011 in his current position.

The Board of Directors has today agreed with Thomas Berglund, notwithstanding his current employment agreement that he will continue his work with unabated power until a successor is in place. The Board of Directors has also decided to start a recruitment process supported by an external executive search company to find a new President and CEO.

"It is exiting and a privilege to develop Swedish and international healthcare together with all knowledgeable and dedicated people in Capio. I know that we make a difference, both within and outside of Sweden. After more than 30 years as a business executive, of which 10 years with Capio, it is time to hand over responsibility. Capio is now developing into a new phase where the digital breakthrough will provide healthcare professionals with new and fantastic tools and for the patient, digitalization will mean improved accessibility and influence over its own care" says Thomas Berglund.

"Under the management of Thomas Berglund, Capio has been leading the development of Modern Medicine and Rapid Recovery with a clear patient focus. The Board of Directors and the management will now leverage the strong platform built to increase focus on growth through further specialization and digitalization of the business. This will also be reflected in the recruitment process ahead", says Michael Wolf, Chairman of the Board in Capio AB.

For information:

Michael Wolf

Chairman of the Board

Capio AB

Telephone: +46-761-11-34-14

This is information that Capio AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 08.01 (CET) on February 7, 2018.

Capio AB (publ) is a leading, pan-European healthcare provider offering a broad range of high quality medical, surgical and psychiatric healthcare services through its hospitals, specialist clinics and primary care units. Capio operates in five countries; Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France and Germany. In 2017, Capio's 13,314 employees (average full-time equivalents) provided healthcare services during 5.1 million patient visits across the Group's facilities, generating net sales of MSEK 15,327. Capio operates across three geographic segments: Nordic (57% of Group net sales 2017), France (35% of Group net sales 2017) and Germany (8% of Group net sales 2017). For more information about Capio, please see www.capio.com.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/capio-ab/r/capio-s-ceo-thomas-berglund-to-leave-his-position-when-successor-is-in-place,c2446620

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GOTHENBURG, Sweden, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --October - December 2017

Net salesMSEK 4,077 (3,725). Organic sales growth 3.4% (2.9) and total sales growth 9.4% (6.1)

AEBITDA[1] MSEK 348 (289) and margin 8.5% (7.8). EBITDA increased by 20.4%

AEBITA[1] MSEK 232 (183) and margin 5.7% (4.9). EBITA increased by 26.8%

AOperating result (EBIT) MSEK 205 (153) and margin 5.0% (4.1). EBIT increased by 34.0%

AProfit for the period[2] MSEK 155 (135). Earnings per share after dilution[2] SEK 1.09 (0.96)

January - December 2017

ANet sales MSEK 15,327 (14,069). Organic sales growth 2.4% (3.3) and total sales growth 8.9% (4.3)

AEBITDA[1] MSEK 1,114 (1,061) and margin 7.3% (7.5). EBITDA increased by 5.0%

AEBITA[1] MSEK 659 (644) and margin 4.3% (4.6). EBITA increased by 2.3%

AOperating result (EBIT) MSEK 540 (558) and margin 3.5% (4.0). EBIT decreased by 3.2%

AProfit for the period[2] MSEK 370 (404). Earnings per share after dilution[2] SEK 2.62 (2.86)

(2.86) AProposed dividend SEK 0.95 per share (0.90)

[1] Refer to page 34 in full year report January - December 2017 for definitions of EBITDA and EBITA.

[2] Profit for the period refers to profit attributable to parent company shareholders. Refer to note 2 in full year report January - December 2017 for calculation of earnings per share (before and after dilution).

CEO comments:

"Solid Q4 - now speeding up the journey of specialization and digitalization."

In October we set two targets: to reach a Group EBITDA growth for the full year 2017 of 5-7% and to increase the French EBITA margin in Q4 2017 compared with Q4 2016. We are now delivering a 5% full year EBITDA increase for the Group and a 100 basis points Q4 EBITA margin increase for France. Organic sales growth increased in Q4, especially in France, which contributed to the margin improvements.

The solid result growth in Q4 for the Group (20%+ of both EBITDA and EBITA) was mainly driven by actions taken in the French hospitals for improved productivity, supported by a positive calendar effect, and a continued solid development in the Nordic business. The Nordic development was supported by a positive trend change in the Stockholm primary care and contributions from acquisitions. The German segment has underperformed our expectations due to a continued weaker sales growth than expected. Actions are being taken both to improve sales and adjust costs. There is a continued strong focus on improvements in all segments and we pay special attention to France that now has to demonstrate and confirm a continued ability to compensate for the price reductions and develop the business further.

As a Group, we are now prepared to accelerate specialization in all geographies. Below, France and Sweden are in focus.

Specialization will further develop Capio France

Since 2015, we have met the price decreases in France with productivity improvements, enabled by modernization of the healthcare provided - Rapid Recovery. We are seen as a leader in this area.

We now start another transition - from a fully geographical organization to a specialized organization that can be more efficient in attracting patients and doctors to our Rapid Recovery offering, driving growth and synergies of scale.

The five largest Capio hospitals, representing more than 50% of the French net sales, are now organized under one management team led by the country president. This increases focus and facilitates knowledge sharing in core activities, improves processes, and coordinates important specialties between the hospitals.

The smaller hospitals will be focused on fewer specialties, increasing quality, productivity and volume. Certain specialties will also be gathered in separate organizations to have full focus on providing the best and most efficient care to patients in these areas of care. In addition, we are upgrading the IT environment, to increase automation and facilitate digitalization, and are strengthening procurement management to improve performance.

Digitalization transforms healthcare provision in Sweden

The obvious effect from digital consultations in primary care is improved availability, while the most important medical outcome of the way Capio drives digitalization is improved quality. Capio's unique feature is also the implementation of digital consultations combined with our 83 physical primary care centers in Sweden. This creates a coherent patient pathway to Capio's 750,000 listed patients and increases Capio's attractiveness to patients, hence representing a growth driver for our primary care business in Sweden over the coming years.

Going forward

The specialization of the French organization and the digital transformation in Sweden will support organic sales growth and operating margin going forward. Acquisitions will continue to contribute to the total growth of the Group.

Thomas Berglund

President and CEO



Presentation of the full year report

Investors, analysts and media are invited to participate in a telephone conference on February 7, 2018 at 09.30 am (CET). President and CEO ThomasBerglund and CFO Olof Bengtsson will present the report and answer questions. The telephone conference will be audio casted live on www.capio.com. To participate in the telephone conference, please register at www.capio.com and dial in five minutes prior to the start of the conference call.

Sweden: +46-8-566-426-93

UK: +44-20-3008-9804

US: +1-855-753-2237

Finland: +35-898-171-04-93

France: +33-170-75-07-12

Prior to the start of the telephone conference, presentation slides will be available at www.capio.com.

A recorded version of the audio cast will be available at www.capio.com during the afternoon (CET).

For further information

Thomas Berglund, President and CEO

Telephone: +46-733-88-86-00, E-mail: thomas.berglund@capio.com

Olof Bengtsson, CFO

Telephone: +46-761-18-74-69, E-mail: olof.bengtsson@capio.com

Kristina Ekeblad, Investor Relations Manager

Telephone: +46-708-31-19-40, E-mail: kristina.ekeblad@capio.com

Henrik Brehmer, SVP Group Communication and Public Affairs

Telephone: +46-761-11-34-14, E-mail: henrik.brehmer@capio.com

For further information regarding Capio's IR activities, refer to www.capio.com

This is information that Capio AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person Henrik Brehmer set out above, at 08.00 (CET) on February 7, 2018.

About Capio

Capio AB (publ) is a leading, pan-European healthcare provider offering a broad range of high quality medical, surgical and psychiatric healthcare services through its hospitals, specialist clinics and primary care units. Capio operates in five countries; Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France and Germany. In 2017, Capio's 13,314 employees (average full-time equivalents) provided healthcare services during 5.1 million patient visits across the Group's facilities, generating net sales of MSEK 15,327. Capio operates across three geographic segments: Nordic (57% of Group net sales 2017), France (35% of Group net sales 2017) and Germany (8% of Group net sales 2017). For more information about Capio, please see www.capio.com.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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Healthcare workflow platform offers one solution for clinical system integrations and care team communication

Vocera Communications UK, Ltd. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognised leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, announced today that the company's Vocera Engage solution is now available across the UK. The software solution, which enables multiple clinical systems integrations, workflow efficiency, and care team communication, is registered with the Medicines Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency.

Vocera software integrates with more than 120 clinical systems, including electronic health records, nurse call, cardiac monitors, ventilators, and many other systems. The solution supports clinical decisions by aggregating and prioritizing relevant information from multiple systems and sending contextual alerts, notifications or text messages to the right caregiver based on location, role, group or other patient assignment set up within the system. Multiple variables can be used to trigger actionable alarm and alert notifications, and to filter out non-actionable ones, helping reduce interruption and alarm fatigue.

"We are excited to offer Vocera Engage to healthcare facilities across the UK," said Brent Lang, president and CEO of Vocera. "The solution will make it much easier for hospitals and clinics to connect clinical systems, information and people. We look forward to seeing Vocera Engage simplify care team communication and workflows to help improve the lives of patients and their families."

About Vocera

The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals and patients, while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency. In 2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way care teams communicate. Today, Vocera continues to offer the leading platform for clinical communication and workflow. More than 1,400 hospitals and health systems around the world have selected our solutions for care teams to text securely using smartphones or make calls with our hands-free, wearable Vocera Badge. Interoperability between Vocera and more than 120 clinical systems helps reduce alarm fatigue, speed up staff response times, and improve patient care, safety and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera is at home in luxury hotels, aged care facilities, nuclear facilities, libraries, retail stores and more. Vocera makes a difference in any industry where workers are on the move and need to connect instantly with team members and access resources or information quickly. In 2017, Vocera made the list of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America. Learn more at www.vocera.com, and follow @VoceraComm on Twitter.

The Vocera logo is a trademark of Vocera Communications, Inc. Vocera is a trademark of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005130/en/

Contacts:

Vocera Communications, Inc.

Shanna Hearon, 865-769-2028

shearon@vocera.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2018) - Cruz Cobalt Corp. (TSXV: CUZ) (OTC Pink: BKTPF) (FSE: A2DMG8) continues to build on its position as the foremost cobalt project generator and developer in North America with the recent acquisition of the "Lorraine Cobalt Prospect" in the Cobalt district of Ontario. The Lorraine Cobalt Prospect consists of 8,935 contiguous acres bordering First Cobalt Corp in the direct vicinity of the town of Cobalt, approximately 500 kilometres north of Toronto, Ontario.

InvestmentPitch Media has produced a "video" which discusses this news. If this link is not enabled, please visit www.InvestmentPitch.com and enter "Cruz" in the search box.





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This area is historically the most prolific cobalt mining camp in Canada, having produced 50 million pounds of cobalt and 600 million ounces of silver over a 60-year period.

James Nelson, President, stated: "This new acreage makes Cruz one of the single largest landholders behind First Cobalt Corp (TSXV:FCC) in the historic cobalt camp in Ontario. This now gives Cruz 5 separate cobalt prospects in the region. The Ontario cobalt district has become one of the global focal points for cobalt exploration and Cruz was positioned very early giving Cruz a first mover advantage and now is one of the single largest landholders in the region. Cruz currently has more cash on hand than any other point and management is planning to deploy that cash strategically and efficiently in 2018. The cobalt demand has never been more in focus as the world is moving towards full scale electric car adoption. The demand for battery metals appears to be at the start of long term super cycle and Cruz is positioning itself early for this cycle."

The company recently increased the acreage on its 100% owned Purcell cobalt prospects from 671 acres to 11,821 acres, consolidating the two separate Purcell prospects into one much larger contiguous prospect. This follows the recent tripling in size of its War Eagle cobalt prospects from 4,935 acres to 15,219 acres. Cruz recently completed an airborne survey over the War Eagle and Purcell cobalt prospects in BC and uncovered strong magnetic anomalies, and is working diligently on advancing these two prospects.

As an early mover in the Cobalt space Cruz was able to acquire several of the best available, under-developed, historically high-grade Cobalt prospects across North America, and now holds five properties in Ontario, two in British Columbia, and two in the United States.

Cruz's other Ontario projects include the 1,265-acre Coleman cobalt prospect, the 900-acre Johnson cobalt prospect, the 4,980-acre Hector cobalt prospect and the 1,580-acre Bucke cobalt prospect.

Cruz has mobilized crews and commenced work programs on its 100-per-cent-owned 1,940-acre Chicken Hawk cobalt prospect in Montana, USA. The company has also mobilized crews and commenced work programs on its 100-per-cent-owned 880-acre Idaho Star cobalt prospect.

For more information, please visit www.cruzcobaltcorp.com, contact James Nelson, President, at 604-899-9150 or toll free at 1-855-599-9150 or email info@cruzcobaltcorp.com.

About InvestmentPitch Media

InvestmentPitch Media leverages the power of video, which together with its extensive distribution, positions a company's story ahead of the 1,000's of companies seeking awareness and funding from the financial community. The company specializes in producing short videos based on significant news releases, research reports and other content of interest to investors.

CONTACT:

InvestmentPitch Media

Barry Morgan, CFO

bmorgan@investmentpitch.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2018) - Spearmint Resources Inc. (TSXV: SRJ) (OTCBB: SPMTF) (FSE: A2AHL5) ("SRJ" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received the NOI (Notice of Intent to Drill) from the State of Nevada Commission On Mineral Resources to drill it's 100 percent owned Clayton Valley lithium prospect.

James Nelson, President States, "Now that we have closed our financing we are able to commence operations on multiple projects. We are pleased that we have received the approval for our drilling in Clayton Valley for Lithium. We anticipate commencing work in the first quarter 2018."





Clayton Valley Ownership Map



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4360/32652_a1517972902952_29.jpg

Spearmint's current projects include a portfolio of lithium prospects. The 'Clayton Valley Lithium Prospects' in Nevada comprise of two claim blocks totalling 800-acres bordering Pure Energy Minerals & Cypress Development Corp. Spearmint also has three lithium projects in Quebec, including the 4,485-acre 'Pressiac Lithium Prospect', the 524-acre 'Whabouchi Lakes Lithium Prospect', and the 2,636-acre 'Whabouchi Lakes West Lithium Prospect' in the vicinity of Nemaska Lithium Inc. & Critical Elements Corp. Spearmint's 'Chibougamau Vanadium Prospects' comprise of five separate claim blocks totalling 9,735-acres bordering, or in the direct vicinity of, the vanadium deposit of BlackRock Metal's (private) Ilmenite vanadium project, Vanadiumcorp Resource Inc. and Vanadium One Energy Corp.

Spearmint's current projects also include three areas of focus on gold in British Columbia; the 'Golden Triangle Gold Prospects' comprising of four separate claim blocks totaling 4,095-acres bordering GT Gold Corp, the 'Gold Mountain Prospects' comprising of three separate claim blocks totaling 1,245-acres bordering Barkerville Gold Mines, and the 3,052 acre 'Neba Prospect' bordering Aben Resources Ltd. Spearmint's 8,482 acre 'EL North' Nickel-Copper Prospect is a contiguous land package that includes the 'EL North, EL North 2 and the BUDDY claims' in the Eskay Creek Camp bordering Garibaldi Resources Corp. Spearmint's 1,500 acre 'WHY WEST' Magnesium project near Rossland, BC directly borders West High Yield Resources.

If you would like to be added to Spearmint's news distribution list, please send your email address to info@spearmintresources.ca.

Contact Information

Tel: 1604646-6903

www.spearmintresources.ca

"James Nelson"

President

Spearmint Resources Inc.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange Inc.) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Modelling, simulation and training solutions provider SimiGon has been awarded a 28 month contract by the United States Air Force, it announced on Wednesday, to provide additional contractor logistics support for SIMbox-based T-6A Level 5 FAA-compliant flight training devices. The AIM-traded firm said that, under the contract's period of performance of 28 months, SimiGon would provide warranty support for the additional six simulators delivered as part of the task order with Booz Allen in 2016, ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  Vice President Leni Robredo's lawyer on Wednesday signed the joint motion to withdraw all pending motions at the Presidential Electoral Tribunal for the vote recount, but it was not the one already signed by former Senator Bongbong Marcos.

Romulo Macalintal, Robredo's lead counsel, said Marcos committed a "great blunder" by sending them a wrong document.

"Mister Marcos changed his mind. Nagbago siya ng isip, mukhang natakot siya sa joint motion," Macalintal said.

Macalintal said Marcos prepared a joint manifestation, and not a joint motion.

"Ang manifestation is just that-a manifestation. You are just telling the Court, 'meron po sana kaming kasunduan'," he said.

Macalintal also cited a Supreme Court decision stating that manifestations are made "merely for the information of the Court."

Marcos' Spokesperson Vic Rodriguez challenged Robredo on Sunday to withdraw all outstanding motions so they could "go straight to the recount."

Robredo's camp on Tuesday accepted the challenge, saying they also do not want to delay the ballot recount.

On the same day, Marcos said he had already signed the joint motion, further daring Robredo to do the same.

Macalintal also insisted they don't have any pending motion before the tribunal.

"Sino ba ang may pending motion? Si Mr. Marcos! Siya ang nagde-delay! Bakit? Because he has a pending motion for reconsideration on the resolution of the Supreme Court allowing us to have copies of the ballot images," he said.

The ballot images allegedly show irregularities in the counting of votes in favor of Robredo.

Macalintal added part of their motion is to ask the tribunal to drop Marcos' appeal, throwing the challenge to sign the correct motion back to the former senator's camp.

On June 29, 2016, Marcos filed the election protest versus Robredo before the Supreme Court, sitting as the PET.

In its grant of Marcos' plea, the PET decided upon Camarines Sur, Iloilo, and Negros Oriental as the pilot provinces for the ballot recount.

Earlier, Marcos identified the three provinces as "best exemplifying fraud or irregularities" in his protest brief.

Robredo also listed three provinces in her own counter-protest brief: Capiz, Sulu, and North Cotabato.

Her camp maintained the election protest of Marcos is based on general allegations and manufactured evidence designed to sway the results in his favor.

The PET has required Marcos to pay P66 million and Robredo P15 million in two tranches to fund their protests and counter-protests. A petitioner needs to pay P500 per contested precinct.


LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Mining giant Rio Tinto plc (RTPPF.PK, RIO.L, RIO, RTNTF.PK) reported Wednesday significantly higher profit in its fiscal 2017, as sales revenues were benefited by higher average commodity prices as well as increased sales volumes. Further, the company announced higher dividend, and an additional share buy-back of $1.0 billion in Rio Tinto plc shares.



Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques said, 'Today we have announced a strong set of results with operating cash flow of $13.9 billion, a record full year dividend of $5.2 billion and an additional $1 billion share buy-back. This brings total cash returns to shareholders to $9.7 billion declared for 2017. The strength of our cash flow is a result of resilient prices during the year coupled with a robust operational performance and a focus on mine to market productivity.'



In fiscal 2017, net profit to owners of the company totaled $8.76 billion, 90 percent higher than last year's $4.62 billion. Earnings per share grew 91 percent to 486.9 US cents from 255.3 US cents last year.



Underlying earnings were $8.63 billion, compared to $5.10 billion a year ago. 69 percent higher than prior year, driven by $4.1 billion impact of higher prices. Basic underlying earnings per share in US cents was 482.8 compared to 283.8.



The company noted that the effect of all price movements on its commodities in 2017 increased underlying earnings by $4.11 billion compared with 2016.



Further, movements in sales volumes increased earnings by $114 million compared with 2016. The main contributors were higher iron ore shipments from the Pilbara, a 20 percent increase in titanium dioxide slag feedstock sales volumes and a 6 percent rise in bauxite sales.



In the year, EBITDA margin was 44 percent, compared with 38 percent in 2016.



Underlying EBITDA, a key earnings metric, climbed 38 percent from last year to $18.58 billion. Iron Ore group's underlying EBITDA were up 35 percent to $11.52 billion.



Underlying EBITDA of Aluminium group increased 38 percent, Copper & Diamonds climbed 37 percent and that of Energy & Minerals grew 55 percent, benefited from higher prices, primarily coal, iron ore.



Consolidated full-year sales revenues were $40.03 billion compared to $33.78 billion last year, primarily due to higher average commodity prices.



Rio Tinto announced a final dividend of 180 US cents per share, making the ordinary dividend for the year of 290 US cents per share, up 71 percent. The company also announced an additional share buy-back of $1.0 billion in Rio Tinto plc shares, to be completed by the end of 2018.



Looking ahead, the company expects capital expenditure to remain at around $5.5 billion in 2018 and around $6.0 billion in each of 2019 and 2020. Each year includes approximately $2.0 to 2.5 billion of sustaining capex.



Further, the company maintained production guidance for fiscal 2018.



In London, Rio Tinto shares were trading at 3,849 pence, up 0.10 percent.



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GCAP

7 February 2018

Globe Capital Limited

(The Company)

Notice of AGM

THIS DOCUMENT IS IMPORTANT AND REQUIRES YOUR IMMEDIATE ATTENTION

If you are in any doubt as to what action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own financial advice from your stockbroker or other independent adviser authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

If you have recently sold or transferred all of your shares in Globe Capital Limited, please forward this document, together with the accompanying documents, as soon as possible either to the purchaser or transferee or to the person who arranged the sale or transfer so they can pass these documents to the person who now holds the shares.

GLOBE CAPITAL LIMITED



Directors:

David Barnett (Chairman)

Darren Edmonston



To the Shareholders of Globe Capital Limited





Dear Shareholder

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - 10.00 a.m. on 5 March 2018

I am pleased to enclose the notice of the Company's Annual General Meeting, to be held at 10.00 a.m. on 5 March 2018.

The ordinary business of the Annual General Meeting will be to receive and adopt the accounts of the Company to 31st December 2015 & 2016, approve voting of no dividend to re-appoint the auditors, and to re-elect directors.

You will find set out at the end of this document a notice convening the AGM to be held at

c/o Bushwood Accountants, The Barn, Tednambury Farm, Tednmabury, Sawbridgeworth, Herts CM23 4BD.

1. ACTION TO BE TAKEN

A Form of Proxy is enclosed, for use at the AGM. Whether or not you intend to be present at the AGM, you are asked to complete, sign and return the Form of Proxy to the Company's registrars, c/o Bushwood Accountants, The Barn, Tednambury Farm, Tednambury, Sawbridgeworth, Herts CM23 4BD, as soon as possible but in any event, so as to arrive no later than 6.00 p.m. on 2 March 2018. The completion and return of a Form of Proxy will not preclude you from attending the AGM and voting in person should you wish to do so. Accordingly, whether or not you intend to attend the AGM in person, you are urged to complete and return the Form of Proxy as soon as possible.

2. RECOMMENDATIONS

The Directors consider that the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM are in the best interests of the Company and Shareholders as a whole. Accordingly, the Directors unanimously recommend Shareholders to vote in favour of the resolutions to be proposed at the AGM.

Finally, the directors would like to take this opportunity to announce that the company will be looking to open an office in Dubai alongside its address in Hong Kong and to support its future plans



Yours faithfully

David Barnett

Chairman





Annual General Meeting

__________________________________________________________________________________________

On Monday 5 March 2018 at 10.00am (GMT)



This document is important and requires your immediate attention. If you are in any doubt as to what action you should take, you should consult your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant or other professional advisor immediately. If you have sold or otherwise transferred all of your shares, please pass this document, together with the accompanying documents, to the purchaser or transferee, or to the person who arranged the sale or transfer so they can pass these documents to the person who now holds the shares. The Notice of Annual General Meeting and a Proxy Form are being sent to all shareholders. The Annual Report 2015 and Annual Report 2016 are being sent to all shareholders.





NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Annual General Meeting of Globe Capital Limited will be held at c/o Bushwood Accountants, Tednambury Farm, Tednambury, Sawbridgeworth, Herts CM23 4BD on 5 March 2018 (Monday) at 10:00a.m. (GMT) for, inter alia, the following purposes:-

ORDINARY BUSINESS

To consider, and if thought fit, pass the following resolutions which will be proposed as ordinary resolutions and require that more than half of the votes cast must be in favour of each resolution for it to be passed.

1. To approve the directors' remuneration for 2015; 2. To receive and adopt the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2015; 3. To declare no final dividend on the ordinary shares for 2015; 4. To approve the directors' remuneration for 2016; 5. To receive and adopt the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2016; 6. To declare no final dividend on the ordinary shares for 2016; 7 To elect Darren Edmonston as a director according to Article 143.3; 8. To re-appoint PKF Hong Kong as the Company's auditors and authorise the board of directors of the Company to fix auditors' remuneration; and 9. THAT, the directors of the Company ("Directors") be generally and unconditionally authorised to allot shares in the Company and to grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares in the Company ("Rights") up to 125,000,000 Ordinary shares provided that this authority shall, unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company, expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2019 or, if earlier, 15 months after the date on which this resolution has been passed, provided that the Company may, before such expiry, make an offer or agreement which would or might require shares to be allotted or Rights to be granted and the Directors may allot shares or grant Rights in pursuance of such offer or agreement notwithstanding that the authority conferred by this resolution has expired. This authority is in substitution for all previous authorities conferred on the Directors in accordance with Article 23.

SPECIAL BUSINESS

To consider, and if thought fit, pass the following resolutions which will be proposed as special resolutions and require that more than three-quarters of the votes cast must be in favour of each resolution for it to be passed.

10. THAT, subject to the passing of resolution 9 the Directors be generally empowered to allot equity securities for cash pursuant to the authority conferred by resolution 9 above, as if any pre-emption provisions in the Company's articles of association or other rights did not apply to any such allotment, provided that the power conferred by this resolution shall be limited to: 10.1 any allotment of equity securities where such securities have been offered whether by way of rights issue, open offer, or otherwise to holders of equity securities in proportion as nearly as may be practicable to their then holdings of such securities but subject to the directors having the right to make such exclusions or other arrangements in connection with such offer as they deem necessary or expedient to deal with fractional entitlements or legal or practical problems arising in, or pursuant to, the laws of any territory or the requirements of any regulatory body or stock exchange in any territory or otherwise howsoever, 10.2 the allotment (otherwise then pursuant to sub-paragraph (1) above) of equity securities up to 125,000,000 Ordinary Shares such authority and power shall, unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company, expire on the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held in 2019 or, if earlier, 15 months after the date on which this resolution has been passed, provided that the Company may, before such expiry, make any offer or agreement or other arrangement which would or might require equity securities to be allotted after such expiry and the Directors may allot equity securities in pursuance of such offer or agreement or other arrangement as if the power hereby conferred had not expired.

By Order of the Board

Christopher Neo

Company Secretary

London, 5 February 2018





Notes for Notice of Annual General Meeting

1. To be entitled to attend and vote at the AGM (and for the purpose of the determination by the Company of the votes they may cast), shareholders must be registered in the register of members of the Company at 6.00pm (GMT) on Friday 2 March 2018 (or, in the event of any adjournment of the AGM, at least forty-eight (48) hours before the time of the adjourned meeting). Changes to the register of members after the relevant deadline shall be disregarded in determining the rights of any person to attend and vote at the meeting.

2. Shareholders are entitled to appoint a proxy to exercise all or any of their rights to attend, to speak and to vote on their behalf at the meeting. A shareholder may appoint more than one proxy in relation to the AGM provided that each proxy is appointed to exercise the rights attached to a different share or shares held by that shareholder. A proxy need not be a shareholder of the Company. A Proxy Form which may be used to makes such appointment and gives proxy instructions accompanies this document.

3. To vote by post, please complete the Proxy Form in accordance with the instructions printed thereon. The Proxy Form or other instrument appointing a proxy must be received by post or (during normal business hours only) by hand at c/o Bushwood Accountants, Tednambury Farm, Tednambury, Sawbridgeworth, Herts CM23 4BD.

4. To be valid, a Proxy Form or other instrument appointing a proxy that has been sent by post or hand delivered must be received no later than 6.00pm (GMT) on Friday 2 March 2018. A shareholder must inform the Company in witting of any termination of the authority of a proxy.

5. The return of a completed proxy form, or other such instrument, will not prevent a shareholder attending the AGM and voting in person if he/she wishes to do so.

6. Any corporation which is a member can appoint one or more corporate representatives who may exercise on its behalf all of its powers as a member provided that they do not do so in relation to the same shares.

7. Any member attending the AGM has the right to ask questions. The Company must cause to be answered any such question relating to the business being dealt with at the AGM but no such answer need be given if (a) to do so would interfere unduly with the preparation for the AGM or involve the disclosure of confidential information, (b) the answer has already been given on the Company's website in the form of an answer to a question, or (c) it is not desirable in the interests of the Company or the good order of the AGM that the question be answered.

8. All resolutions to be proposed at the AGM will be put to vote on a poll. This will result in a more accurate reflection of the views of shareholders by ensuing that every vote is recognized, including the votes of those shareholders who are unable to attend the meeting but who have appointed a proxy for the meeting. On a poll, each shareholder has one vote for every share held.

As at the date of this notice, the Board of the Company comprises David Barnett and Darren Edmonston.

GLOBE CAPITAL LIMITED

Proxy Form for use at the Annual General Meeting (or any adjournment thereof)

I/We (Note 1) ........................................................................................................................................................ of .............................................................................................................................................................................being holder(s) of ...................................... (Note 2) shares of 0.01 pence each in the capital of GLOBE CAPITAL LIMITED (the "Company") HEREBY APPOINT (Note 3) .......................................................................... of..............................................................................................................................................................................or failing him ....................................................................................................................................................... of ............................................................................................................................................................................or failing him, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MEETING as my/our proxy(ies) to attend and vote for me/us on my/our behalf at the Annual General Meeting 2018 of the Company to be held on Monday 5 March 2018 at 10:00am (GMT) at c/o Bushwood Accountants, Tednambury Farm, Tednambury, Sawbridgeworth, Herts CM23 4BD (or any adjournment thereof) and to vote at such meeting or any adjournment thereof in respect of the resolutions as hereunder indicated or, if no such indication is given, as my/our proxy(ies) thinks fit.

ORDINARY RESOLUTIONS For (Note 4) Against (Note 4)

1. To approve the directors' remuneration for 2015

2. To receive and adopt the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2015

3. To declare no final dividend on the ordinary shares for 2015

4. To approve the directors' remuneration for 2016

5. To receive and adopt the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2016

6. To declare no final dividend on the ordinary shares for 2016

7. To elect Darren Edmonston as a director according to Article 143.3

8. To re-appoint PKF Hong Kong as the Company's auditors and authorise the board of directors of the Company to fix auditors' remuneration

9. To authorise the directors to allot shares

SPECIAL RESOLUTIONS For (Note 4) Against (Note 4)

10. To authorise the directors to disapply pre-emption rights and allot equity securities for cash

Dated this................................... day of .................................. 2018. Signature(s) (Note 5) .........................

Notes:

1. Please insert the full name(s) and address(es) (as shown in the register of the members) in BLOCK CAPITALS.

2. Please insert the number of all the shares in the Company registered in your name(s) and delete if inappropriate.

3. Please insert the name and address of the proxy desired. IF NO NAME IS INSERTED, THE CHAIRMAN OF THE MEETING WILL ACT AS YOUR PROXY. A proxy need not be a shareholder of the Company. ANY ALTERNATION MADE TO THIS FORM OF PROXY MUST BE INITIALLED BY THE PERSON WHO SIGNS IT.

4. IMPORTANT: IF YOU WISH TO VOTE FOR ANY RESOLUTION, TICK IN THE BOX MARKED "FOR". IF YOU WISH TO VOTE AGAINST ANY RESOLUTION, TICK IN THE BOX MARKED "AGAINST". Failure to tick or state the exact number of shares in any box will entitle your proxy to cast your vote at his discretion. Your proxy will also be entitled to vote at his discretion on any resolution properly put to the meeting other than that referred to in the notice convening the meeting.

5. This form of proxy must be signed by you or your attorney duly authorised in writing or, in the case of a corporation, must either be executed under its common seal or under the hand of an officer or attorney or other person duly authorised.

6. In the case of joint registered holders, the vote of the senior who renders a vote, whether in person or by proxy, shall be accepted to the exclusion of the vote(s) of other joint holder(s) and for this purpose seniority shall be determined by the order in which the names stand in the register of members of the Company in respect of joint holding.

7. To be valid, a proxy form, together with the power of attorney or other authority, if any, under which it is signed or a certified copy of that power or authority must be lodged with the Company at Unit A, 18/F, Epoch Industrial Building, No.8 Cheung Ho Street, Tsing Yi, New Territories, Hong Kong not less than 48 hours before the time appointed for holding the meeting or any adjournment thereof; and an instrument of proxy which is not deposited or delivered in a manner so permitted shall be invalid.

8. Completion and delivery of the form of proxy will not preclude you from attending and voting at the meeting if you so wish.
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/18 -- Note to editors: There is a photo associated with this press release.

Air India's regional carrier Alliance Air has signed a three-year agreement with Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) to deliver fleet maintenance services and support for PW127M engines. P&WC is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX).

"We continue to deliver highly flexible solutions, personalized to the needs of each fleet and airline," said Frederic Lefebvre, Vice President, Regional Airlines, P&WC. "With every tailored maintenance solution, we focus on maximized aircraft availability and optimized maintenance operations. Alliance Air is an important regional carrier serving the Indian population. We are thrilled to support them and play a part in helping strengthen the country's aviation sector through our engines and maintenance services that create high levels of dispatch availability for airlines."

Customized specifically to Alliance Air, the engine maintenance agreement will support the company's technical and business needs as well as help lock in lower maintenance costs and simplify fleet operations management. They also enable airlines to focus on their core business of passenger and cargo transportation.

"The PW127M engines powering Alliance Air's ATR aircraft will be maintained at our facility located in Singapore which this year is celebrating its 35th anniversary of operation," adds Lefebvre.

P&WC will be at the Singapore Airshow, Pratt & Whitney Exhibit L39. Interested operators are invited to drop by the booth to speak with a marketing or customer service representative.

About Pratt & Whitney Canada

Founded in 1928, and a global leader in aerospace, P&WC is shaping the future of aviation with dependable, high-technology engines. Based in Longueuil, Quebec (Canada), P&WC is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. United Technologies Corp., based in Farmington, Connecticut, provides high-technology systems and services to the building and aerospace industries.

Note to Editors

Follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/pwcanada) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/PrattWhitneyCanada) for our latest news and updates.

To view the photo associated with this press release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/Alliance_Air_Agreement_Singapore.jpg

Contacts:

Jennifer Barron

Pratt & Whitney Canada

1-450-677-9411 ext. 75009

Jennifer.barron@pwc.ca

www.pwc.ca






BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The pound dropped against its major rivals in the European session on Wednesday, weighed by uncertainty around Brexit deal, as a senior U.K. official warned that the U.K. cabinet is unlikely to forge the Brexit plan that European Union requires by the end of this week.



Amid divisions within the government, the PM Theresa May may not offer the required clarity on her government's Brexit blueprint sought by the EU, Bloomberg reported, citing a senior U.K. official.



Although top ministers are convening meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, they are unlikely to agree on plans for future trading relationship due to internal split.



Data from Halifax and IHS Markit showed that UK house prices decreased for the second straight month in January.



House prices fell unexpectedly by 0.6 percent in January from December, when they were down 0.8 percent. Prices were forecast to climb 0.2 percent.



The pound showed mixed trading against its major opponents in the Asian session. While it held steady against the euro and the franc, it rose against the greenback. Against the yen, it dropped.



The pound weakened to 1.3892 against the greenback, after advancing to 1.3993 at 2:15 am ET. The pound is seen finding support around the 1.37 level.



The pound edged down to 1.3026 against the franc, from a high of 1.3073 set at 2:15 am ET. The pound is likely to challenge support around the 1.285 region.



The pound reversed from an early 2-day high of 153.13 against the yen, falling to 151.41. On the downside, 149.00 is possibly seen as the next support level for the pound.



Preliminary figures from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index declined more-than-expected at the end of the year.



The leading index, which measures the future economic activity, dropped to 107.9 in December from 108.2 in November. Economists had expected the index to fall to 108.1.



The pound weakened to 0.8892 against the euro, reversing from an early high of 0.8860. Continuation of the pound's downtrend may see it challenging support around the 0.90 area.



Data from Destatis showed that Germany's industrial production declined in December.



Industrial output slid 0.6 percent month-on-month in December, in contrast to a revised 3.1 percent rise in November. Output was forecast to drop 0.5 percent.



Looking ahead, Canada building permits for December are set for release in the New York session.



New York Fed President William Dudley speaks about banking culture at an event jointly hosted by Thomson Reuters and the European American Chamber of Commerce, in New York.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/18 -- Orca Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ORG) ("Orca" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has received from the Government of The Republic of The Sudan an exclusive permit for the exploitation of water from the Area 5 aquifer (the "Water Permit"), first discovered by the Company in May 2017 (see Company News Release dated May 30, 2017).

The Water Permit is a strategic permit in the development of a gold mine on Block 14. It entitles the Company to extract the necessary water to support a 6 Mtpa mining and processing operation, which is the basis of the Feasibility Study in progress.

The Water Permit covers an area of 980km2. Through drilling and pump testing, Orca defined a resource of 100 million cubic metres of fresh water within an area of 135km2. The aquifer is open in all directions and would be available for additional production, if required (See Figure 1).

Commenting on the receipt of the Water Permit, Rick Clark, CEO and Director of Orca said: "A determining factor in developing a mine in the desert, in addition to finding an ore body, is water. With the granting of this exclusive water rights over the Area 5 aquifer, the Government of Sudan has confirmed its full support of Orca and the development of a commercial gold operation at Block 14. With this key permit, we will now move towards the completion of a Feasibility Study, which contemplates a processing operation of 6 Mtpa. As we continue to expand the gold resources at Block 14 through ongoing drilling, we look forward to delivering the results of the Feasibility Study based on this robust water supply."

To view the map associated with this release, please visit the following link: http://media3.marketwire.com/docs/1107064_fig1.jpg

About Orca Gold Inc.

Orca Gold Inc. (TSX VENTURE: ORG) is a Canadian resource company focused on exploration opportunities in Africa, where it is currently focused on its 70%-owned Block 14 Gold Project in the Republic of the Sudan. Block 14 is situated on a 2,170 km2 concession. The Company is currently conducting a Feasibility Study on the project.

The technical contents of this release have been approved by Hugh Stuart, BSc, MSc, a Qualified Person pursuant to NI 43-101. Mr. Stuart is President of the Company and a Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including statements regarding Orca's (the "Company", the "Corporation", "we" or "our") plans and expectations relating to the Block 14 project ("Block 14") in northern Sudan and the revised Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "Revised PEA") and Feasibility Study ("FS") currently being completed and/or conducted by the Corporation. These statements relate to analyses and other information that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management. Statements concerning mineral resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute "forward-looking statements" to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered if the property is developed. The assumptions, risk and uncertainties outlined below are non-exhaustive. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation, or industry results, may vary materially from those described in this press release.

Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, identified by words or phrases such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategy", "goals", "objectives", "potential", "possible" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events, conditions or results "may", "could", "would", "should", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are not guarantees of future performance and are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made including without limitation, assumptions about the following (the "Forward-Looking Factors"): future prices of gold and other metals; successful exploration, development, and production of Block 14; the timing and completion of the DFS; the timing and likelihood of a production decision; performance of contractual obligations by counterparties; operating conditions; political stability; obtaining governmental approvals and financing on time; financial projections and budgets; obtaining licenses and permits; government regulation of the Corporation's mining activities; environmental risks and expenses; market conditions; the securities market; price volatility of the Corporation's securities; currency exchange rates; foreign mining tax regimes; insurance and uninsured risks; financial projections and results; competition; availability of sufficient capital, infrastructure, equipment and labour; dependence on key personnel; dependence on outside parties; conflicts of interest; litigation; land title issues; local community issues; estimation of mineral resources; realization of mineral resources; timing and amount of estimated future production; the life of Block 14; reclamation obligations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated; and anticipated costs and expenditures and our ability to achieve the Corporation's goals. While we consider these assumptions to be reasonable, the assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, social, economic, political, regulatory, competitive and other risks and uncertainties, and contingencies, many of which are based on factors and events that are not within the control of the Corporation and there is no assurance they will prove to be correct.

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors relating to the Forward-Looking Factors above, and those factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Corporation's documents filed from time to time with the securities regulators in the provinces of Canada.

In addition, a number of other factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, and there is no assurance that the actual results, performance or achievements of the Corporation will be consistent with them. For further details, reference is made to the risk factors discussed or referred to in the Corporation's annual and interim management's discussion and analyses on file with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available electronically on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. Although the Corporation has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, results, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements or information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Such forward-looking statements and information are made or given as at the date of this press release and the Corporation disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or forward-looking information.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Elina Chow

Investor Relations

Catch Advisory Group Inc.

416.645.0935 x 226




COPENHAGEN (dpa-AFX) - Denmark's industrial production grew for the third straight month in December, though at a weaker pace than in the previous two months, figures from Statistics Denmark showed Wednesday. Industrial production climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.7 percent month-over-month in December, following a 2.7 percent rise in November. Production in the textile and leather industry advanced the most by 10.5 percent monthly in December, closely followed by pharmaceutical industry with 10.0 percent gain. At the same time, production in the electronics industry registered a sharp decline of 22.4 percent. On a yearly basis, industrial output contracted 3.2 percent at the end of the year. During the whole year 2017, total industrial production expanded 2.2 percent compared with 2016. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
EDMONTON, Alberta, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), on behalf of certain of its clients, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a partnership with Enel Green Power North America, Inc. (EGPNA), the U.S.-based renewables subsidiary of Enel S.p.A. (Enel), for the operations of two renewable energy projects located in Pincher Creek, Alberta.

By way of the partnership, AIMCo will acquire a 49.0% equity interest in EGPNA's two Alberta-based wind energy projects, Riverview and Castle Rock Ridge II Wind Farms. Castle Rock Ridge II Wind Farm is a 30.6MW expansion of the currently operating 76MW Castle Rock Ridge facility owned by EGPNA, and the Riverview Wind Farm is a 115MW greenfield project located adjacent to the Castle Rock Ridge site. On December 13, 2017, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) announced the results of Round 1 of the Alberta Renewable Electricity Program (REP), a competitive tender process launched in support of the Province's Climate Change Leadership Plan. Through this process, the Projects were awarded with two 20-year Renewable Energy Support Agreements (RESA) for new wind capacity with the AESO, which is rated AA- by S&P. Construction and commercial operations of the projects are expected in 2019.

"We believe this is an exciting investment opportunity to partner on behalf of AIMCo's clients in these high-quality infrastructure assets," states Ben Hawkins, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure & Timber at AIMCo. "Once constructed, these facilities will deliver renewable power to the Alberta electrical grid for many years, helping to meet the long-term energy needs of Albertans. We are pleased to be partnered in these facilities with a global leader in the industry, and confident in their development and operating capabilities for renewable facilities."

Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel's Global Renewable Energies Division, Enel Green Power, said: "In Canada and Alberta we see tremendous opportunity for renewables growth, including through these partnerships with renowned local investors."

Following the closing of the transaction, EGPNA will manage, operate and perform asset management activities at both wind farms while retaining a majority ownership of the interest in the projects.

EGPNA operates two wind facilities in Canada, the 76.2 MW Castle Rock Ridge wind farm in Pincher Creek, which began operations in 2012, and the 27 MW St. Lawrence wind farm in Newfoundland, which began operations in 2009. Riverview Wind and Phase 2 of Castle Rock Ridge, which is an expansion of EGPNA's existing 76.2 MW Castle Rock Ridge wind farm, are both located in Pincher Creek, Alberta and are due to enter into service by 2019. Once operational, the two facilities are expected to generate around 555 GWh per year.

About Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo)

AIMCo is one of Canada's largest and most diversified institutional investment managers with more than CAD 100 billion of assets under management. AIMCo was established on January 1, 2008 with a mandate to provide superior long-term investment results for its clients. AIMCo operates at arms-length from the Government of Alberta and invests globally on behalf of 32 pension, endowment and government funds in the Province of Alberta.

For more information, please visit http://www.aimco.alberta.ca.

About Enel Green Power North America, Inc.

EGPNA is present in 23 U.S. states and two Canadian provinces with more than 4.2 GW of managed capacity spread across four different renewable energy technologies: wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower. Enel Green Power, the renewable energies division of the Enel Group, is dedicated to the development and operation of renewables across the world, with a presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Enel Green Power is a global leader in the green energy sector with a managed capacity of nearly 40 GW across a generation mix that includes wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and hydropower, and is at the forefront of integrating innovative technologies into renewable power plants.

For more information, please visit http://www.enelgreenpower.com.

Media Contact:

Denes Nemeth

Corporate Communication

O: +1-780-392-3857

M: +1-780-932-4013,

E: denes.nemeth@aimco.alberta.ca
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/18 -- Highlights:

-- Upon approval, the new 1 million square foot greenhouse will be located on government owned land in Uruguay. -- THC plants will be produced exclusively for medicinal purposes to export to various countries including Germany, Canada and Australia, subject to regulatory approval. -- ICC Labs intends to become the largest cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) producer in Latin America combining indoor and outdoor cultivation methods.

ICC Labs Inc. ("ICC Labs" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: ICC) is pleased to announce that it has applied to the Government of Uruguay for approval to commence the assembly of a 1 million square foot greenhouse on government land located in San Jose, Uruguay, just 50 kilometers from ICC Labs' headquarters. The assembly of this greenhouse will advance ICC Labs' intention to become the largest THC producer in Latin America.

"We feel highly confident in getting into the large scale indoor production because of the know-how developed over the past 18 months. Once fully operational, this new greenhouse could produce an annual yield of 120 million grams of dry flower which will allow the Company to produce THC related products. Subject to regulatory approval and according to international demand, we will determinate the amount of THC dry flowers to be exported and the amount to produce THC derivatives", commented Alejandro Antalich, Chief Executive Officer of ICC Labs.

ICC Labs expects to commence the assembly of the new greenhouse as soon as it receives regulatory approval which is anticipated in May 2018. The assembly of the greenhouse is then expected to take approximately eight months. New technologies and organic nutrients will be used to get the highest levels of quality and yield in each plant. Once harvested, extraction to produce THC derivatives will take place at ICC Labs' previously announced state of the art extraction laboratory in compliance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) guidelines.

"Since we are expecting to create many new skilled job opportunities, the Government of Uruguay is planning to create specific courses to train people for this new industry that is growing in Uruguay through our company", concluded Alejandro Antalich, Chief Executive Officer of ICC Labs.

ABOUT ICC LABS INC.

ICC Labs is a fully licensed producer and distributor of medicinal cannabinoid extracts, recreational cannabis and industrial hemp products in Uruguay and a licensed producer of medicinal cannabis in Colombia. The Company has operations in Uruguay, and is focused on becoming the worldwide leading producer of cannabinoids extracts, giving support and promoting the responsible use for medicinal purposes, backed by scientific research and innovation, while following strict compliance and the highest standards for quality and safety. For more information, please see the Company's filings on www.sedar.com and www.icclabs.com.

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX-V) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements in this press release constitute forward-looking information. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's future production and sales, results of operations, strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, and any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "believe", "expect", "aim", "intend", "plan", "continue", "will", "may", "would", "anticipate", "estimate", "forecast", "predict", "project", "seek", "should" or similar expressions or the negative thereof, are forward-looking statements. These statements are not historical facts but instead represent only the Company's expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially from what is expressed, implied or forecasted in such forward-looking statements.

Additional factors that could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially include, but are not limited to: the receipt of requisite regulatory approval for the assembly of the new greenhouse, the Company's ability to assemble the greenhouse in a timely and cost effective manner, the Company's ability to obtain all requisite regulatory approvals for the production and export of THC based products from Uruguay and to produce various THC based products in a cost-effective manner. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, and available at www.sedar.com. Management provides forward-looking statements because it believes they provide useful information to investors when considering their investment objectives and cautions investors not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Consequently, all of the forward-looking statements made in this press release are qualified by these cautionary statements and other cautionary statements or factors contained herein, and there can be no assurance that the actual results or developments will be realized or, even if substantially realized, that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, the Company. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by law.

Contacts:

ICC Labs Inc.

Alejandro Antalich

Chief Executive Officer

598-2900-0000

ir@icclabs.com




New Scala hardware for media acceleration and reliable deployment will also be on display

SITTARD, Netherlands, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --Scala announced it is demonstrating interactive shopper solutions at Integrated Systems Europe 2018, while capturing and displaying retail solution interactions and analytics in real time, a key part in creating memorable, personal experiences. The booth itself has been transformed into a store environment, showing innovation teams how using marketing technology, sensors and artificial intelligence directly improve audience engagement. Additionally, new Scala hardware will be on display for the first time in Europe - Scala media players and Scala Content Accelerator - devices that ensure reliable, timely delivery of rich media experiences, rounding out Scala's full digital signage suite. Scala, part of the STRATACACHE family of digital media/ad tech companies, can be found in booth 8-E160 for discussions on how the combined knowledge and technology from the STRATACACHE family can exceed the needs of digital projects of any size or scope.

In Scala's booth 8-E160 at ISE 2018, being held 6-9 February in Amsterdam, visitors will find solutions including:

Fashion:As brand value and sense of community become increasingly relevant and important to shoppers, digital can play a pivotal role in conveying the message. This solution invites shoppers to learn more about quality and brand story by interacting with the apparel, which triggers embedded sensors to display detailed information on a nearby screen.

Electronics Razer:This interactive experience, featuring high-performance Razer gaming mice, highlights guided selling strategies for high end speciality products. Shoppers control the product discovery process, either by filtering choices or building their personal search criteria, to learn more about the features and compare multiple gaming mice.

Cafe: Ordering - and waiting for! - coffee is as entertaining as it is efficient with our cafe experience. Shoppers use a tablet to send baristas their gourmet coffee order and take a selfie, which pops up on displays when their order is ready for pick up. Guests are entertained while waiting by using tablets to play a quick, fun game on large format screens behind the counter.

Wellness:Our in-aisle wellness kiosk provides shoppers with a convenient way to navigate the medicine aisle and quickly identify the most appropriate OTC medications for their needs. Using an intuitive touchscreen interface, shoppers select their symptoms and medication preferences, and are presented with a list of relevant OTC results and detailed medication information as well as the option to receive the results via text message.

Beauty:Transform the in-store experience with an engaging, interactive solution that guides shoppers through the product selection process while creating new sales opportunities. Touching an interactive display mirror triggers a series of questions about the shopper's personal skin type and preferences, ultimately displaying a list of curated recommendations that best fit their skincare needs.Shoppers can also lift products from the display shelf which triggers the screen to update with detailed information. Lifting a second product helps the shopper compare the products and, when an upsell opportunity exists, triggers content to promote the higher-margin item.

Grocery:Improve store operations and optimize pricing in a high-volume retail environment. This solution allows store managers to use a mobile device to monitor and manage store products via inventory database integration. When alerted to low or expiring stock, the price can be instantly, easily adjusted directly from the tablet, promoting faster sales and reduced food waste while mitigating revenue loss.

The back wall of the booth features a persona-building visualization technology demonstration and highlights STRATACACHE's real-time analytics capabilities, strengthened by last year's acquisition of the Walkbase in-store marketing and analytics platform. "Shopper insights and analytics play a key part in enhancing and personalizing a measurable customer experience, empowering retailers to counter the deep intelligence competitors like Amazon use to compete," said Chris Riegel, CEO of the STRATACACHE family of digital media/ad tech companies. "In the 'back office' retailers will get a look into the analytics behind the solutions running on the show floor and how applying that knowledge lets them close the loop on marketing campaigns and sales conversion data - better serving their shoppers through relevant personalization."

Additionally, Harry Horn, VP of Marketing/GM EMEA, will present on how a high touch experience helps shoppers to make better buying decisions, using in-store marketing technology for smarter signage and engagement. Harry's presentation takes place 6 February at 15:00 CET at stand 13-N110 as part of the Flashtrack. Visitwww.scala.com/ISE-2018 for details.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/457388/Scala_Logo.jpg
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Crude oil futures continued to fall Wednesday morning despite a report showing a surprising drawdown in U.S. inventories. The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a draw of 1.050 million barrels of United States crude oil inventories for the week ending January 30, according to the API data. Analysts had expected a build of 3 million barrels in crude oil inventories. The Energy Information Administrations releases the government's data later this morning. WTI light sweet oil was down 20 cents at $63.10 a barrel, having tumbled from a 4-year high near $66 over the past week. Oil has been hurt by a stronger dollar and demand concerns in the wake of big losses for U.S. stocks. Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro has called on his OPEC counterparts to join him for the creation of a common cryptocurrency mechanism for the oil cartel. Addressing the media after meeting with Secretary General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Tuesday, Maduro said he will officially propose to the OPEC and non-OPEC countries that they work out a joint cryptocurrency mechanism backed by oil. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  Officials of the National Food Authority (NFA) on Wednesday assured the public there is no nationwide rice shortage, but warned the poor will suffer from the lack of supply of affordable rice.

"Very low ang inventory sa NFA pero ang commercial at household mataas pa. Hindi kulang ang bigas, wala lang mabigay ang NFA sa poorest of the poor," NFA Administrator Jason Aquino said in a media briefing.

[Translation: The inventory of NFA rice is very low, but we have high supplies in the commercial and household. There is no rice shortage, but we don't have much to give to the poorest of the poor.]

The NFA caters to 10 percent of the total rice consumption of the country. It serves Classes D and E, or around 8 to 10 million Filipinos.

From the 64,000 bags of rice it used to release, the NFA is now down to 34,000 bags due to the depletion of stocks. It has also stopped sending stocks to retailers to be able to focus on providing rice for the calamity-stricken Legazpi City.

Aquino said with the only 1.2 million bags of rice remaining with the NFA, their stocks can only assist the poor for 18 days.

"At the rate of 34,000 bags daily na dini-distribute, 'yung buong inventory ng NFA will last 35 days na lang. Kung sa 10 percent participation, ang stocks ng NFA 18 days na lang," he said.

[Translation: At the rate of 34,000 bags being distributed, our inventory will last 35 days. If the 10 percent of the population buys NFA rice, our stocks will only last 18 days.]

He said with the NFA rice shortage, the masses have to resort to buying commercial rice  the price of which has already hiked up due to the lack of supply.

NFA rice is more affordable at P27 to P32 per kilo compared to commercial rice, which sells from P36 to P65 per kilo.

Agriculture Secretary Manny Pinol has accused private rice traders of resorting to spreading rumors of a shortage.

"Rice traders who make money from importing rice are trying to scare government policymakers by making it appear that there is a rice shortage, to justify the entry of additional imported rice. It would also serve as a convenient excuse to increase the selling price of rice in the market which hurts Filipino consumers," he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.

NFA Region III Director Rex Estoperez told CNN Philippines NFA's buffer stock is only good for two days due to the deferment of the approval of rice importation.

The current two-day buffer stock is way below the required 15-day buffer stock or around 400,000 metric tons that the NFA should have in store at any given time.

The buffer supply is required to stabilize rice prices in the country. It is also supposed to serve as back-up in case the supply in commercial outlets and households deplete.

The required buffer stock is raised to 30 days or 800,000 metric tons from July to September every year, when there is almost no rice production due to the storms that hit the country around that time.

NFA: Grant rice importation request

Aquino appealed to the NFA Council, headed by Cabinet Secretary Leoncio "Jun" Evasco Jr., to approve their rice importation request to serve the poor.

"As early as November, we already requested to import 250,000 metric tons of rice. The approval has not been given until now. Council lahat nagde-decide [It is the council that decides]," he said.

Aquino said the National Food Security committee gives its recommendation to the NFA Council, which is made up of 10 members from several agencies.

"We have submitted all our recommendations, they heard our arguments," he said.

Aquino said that based on their meetings, the council finds no urgent need for the NFA to get imported rice because there is enough supply among commercial rice traders.

While the council is urged to approve the emergency purchase of rice, Aquino admitted it will not immediately address the problem.

"Kung at this moment aaprubahan ng council 'yung importation, it will take 45 days. (That's) 45 minus 35 days (of remaining stocks). Merong 10 days tayong walang stocks ang NFA," he said.

[Translation: If they approve the importation right now, it will take 45 days. Subtract that from the remaining days our stock can supply. It will leave us 10 days without stocks.]

Aquino added buying grains from local farmers is not an option because the NFA is mandated to purchase grains for only P17 per kilo, but the farmers are selling it from P19 to 22 per kilo to traders.

The NFA rice shortage prompted Senator Nancy Binay to call on the NFA to come up with measures to maintain the required buffer stocks.

"The NFA should make sure that the government's rice stock always meets the 15-day stockpile requirement," she said in a statement. "Since the agency is expecting the rice imports to be delivered in April or May, it should make sure that we have ample supply of rice should the need arise earlier."

Senator Cynthia Villar filed on Wednesday a resolution to conduct an inquiry on NFA's role in ensuring the stability of supply and price of rice.
China's foreign exchange reserves increased in January for the twelfth month in a row, but analysts are divided on whether Beijing has been intervening to brake recent strength in the yuan. According to the People's Bank of China, the Asian giant's reserves increased by $22bn from December to reach $3.161trn (consensus: $3.170trn). Last month's increase was likely entirely the result of the yuan's recent 3.5% appreciation against the greenback - its biggest gain for a single month since China's ...

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
LONDON, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Fineqia International Inc. (the "Company" or "Fineqia") (CSE: FNQ) (OTCPink: FNQQF) (Frankfurt: FNQA) is pleased to announce the formation of an advisory group of experts on distributed ledger technologies, commonly referred to as the blockchain.

The set up of this group is in line with the Company's strategic shift towards investments in and acquisitions of companies developing and propagating blockchain based financial solutions that are adjunct to the Company's core business of placing debt and equity securities.

Rudra Dalmia, one of Fineqia's current advisors, is setting up the investment advisory group. He was previously the Managing Director of Danish investment bank Saxo Bank's India entity, Saxo Financial Services Private Limited. Mr Dalmia is also an advisor to family investment offices in Europe and India and a consultant to Swordfish Investments LLP, a London-based private equity fund.

"Blockchain technologies represent a paradigm shift in the functioning of financial services," said Fineqia advisor, Rudra Dalmia. "The long term value of this new technology is still being mapped out and we want to actively participate in the architecture of this new landscape."

The Company is investigating the set up of a subsidiary to focus on effectively managing and growing its portfolio of blockchain-related investments such as the investment in London-based Nivaura, made along with New York-based Digital Currency Group, announced last month.

Fineqia also announces the departure of Karolina Komarnicka as Chief Marketing Officer ("CMO"). The Company is actively looking for a new CMO with expertise in blockchain technologies and crypto currencies.

About Fineqia International

Fineqia International is a listed entity in the Canada (CSE: FNQ), US (OTCPink: FNQQF) and Europe (Frankfurt: FNQA). Fineqia International outlines the Company's corporate governance, culture, processes and relations by which the Company and its subsidiaries are controlled, directed and governed. Fineqia International oversees and ensures the overall success, planning and growth of the Company and all of its subsidiaries, including its adoption of blockchain technologies. For more information, visit https://investors.fineqia.com/news.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some statements in this release may contain forward-looking information (as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws) ("forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than of historical fact, that address activities, events or developments that Fineqia (the "Company") believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future (including, without limitation, statements regarding potential acquisitions and financings) are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words "may", "will", "should", "continue", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "plan" or "project" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control or predict, that may cause the actual results of the Company to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, without limitation, the failure to obtain sufficient financing, and other risks disclosed in the Company's public disclosure record on file with the relevant securities regulatory authorities. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement except to the extent required by applicable securities laws.

W: http://www.fineqia.com

Media Contact:

Bundeep Singh Rangar

CEO

Bundeep.Rangar@Fineqia.com

Tel: +44-203-500-3462


TOKYO (dpa-AFX) - Vice President Mike Pence has announced that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea. 'We have brought unprecedented diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on North Korea through our maximum pressure campaign,' the Vice President said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Wednesday. Pence made it clear that Washington will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all. Pence completed his first day in Japan where he met with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, participated in a bilateral meeting and a joint press conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and reaffirmed the United States' unwavering commitment to the United States-Japan alliance. The Vice President's day began with a visit to the Japanese Ministry of Defense. Thursday, the Vice President will travel to Yokota Air Base to receive a briefing on US-Japan bilateral ballistic defense capabilities and address the members of both the Armed Forces. He will then travel to Seoul to further discuss security and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Vice President Pence and the Second Lady will also lead the U.S. Delegation to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeonchang to reinforce the strong U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear message of American resolve to the North Korean regime, the White House said. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
DUBLIN, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Fungicides Market - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast (2017-2022)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Global Fungicides Market is expected to reach USD 17,210.8 million by 2022 supported by a CAGR of 5.0% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022.

The global fungicides market is mainly driven by the reduction in fertile and arable land, improving resistance to fungi, increasing crop losses due to fungi, advancement in agricultural technologies and practices, growing need of higher crop quality and yield, and increasing post-harvest losses. However, stringent regulations for food safety and quality, increasing awareness regarding the side-effects of crop protection chemicals, increasing cases of soil toxicity, and lengthy product registration process are the major factors restraining growth of this market to some extent.

Market Segmentation

Global fungicides market is mainly segmented by type (chemical and biological), by crop type (cereals and grains, oilseeds and pulses, fruits and vegetables, turfs and ornaments, and others), by application (spraying, dusting, seed treatment, soil treatment, volatilization, post-harvest, and others), by form (liquid and solid), and by geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa).

Geographic Overview

Geographically, the global fungicides market is segmented into five major regions, namely North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa. These regions are further analyzed at a country level with the detailed qualitative and quantitative analysis. Latin America accounted for the major share in the global fungicides market in 2016, followed by Asia-Pacific and Europe region.

The geographical analysis provides detailed insights on the key trends of the industry in the listed regions & countries, identifying the demographic & economic impact, government & private investments, and regulatory scenario. The geographical analysis section also comments on the key market players shaping the growth of the industry in the respective countries.



Key questions answered in the report

Which are the high growth market segments in terms of type, mode of action, formulation, mode of application, crop type, and regions/countries?

What is the historical market for fungicides across the globe?

What are the market forecasts and estimates from the period 2015-2022?

What are the major drivers, restrains, opportunities, and trends in the global fungicides market?

Who are the major players in the global fungicides market and what share of the market do they hold?

Who are the major players in various countries and what share of the market do they hold?

What are the competitive landscapes and who are the market leaders by sub-region in the global fungicides market?

What are the recent developments in the global fungicides market?

What are the different strategies adopted by the major players in the global fungicides market?

What are the geographical trends and high growth regions/ countries?

Who are the local emerging players in the global fungicides market and how do they compete with the global players?

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction

1.1. Market Ecosystem

1.2. Currency and Limitations

1.3. Key Stakeholders



2. Research Methodology



3. Executive Summary



4. Market Insights

4.1. Introduction

4.2. Drivers

4.3. Restraints

4.4. Opportunities



5. Global Fungicides Market, by Type

5.1. Introduction

5.2. Chemical

5.2.1. Triazoles

5.2.2. Strobilurins

5.2.3. Chloronitriles

5.2.4. Dithiocarbamates

5.2.5. Phenylamides

5.2.6. Benzimidazoles

5.2.7. Others

5.3. Biological

5.3.1. Gliocladium

5.3.2. Trichoderma

5.3.3. Streptomyces

5.3.4. Hay Bacillus

5.3.5. Ampelomyces

5.3.6. Others



6. Global Fungicides Market, by Crop Type

6.1. Introduction

6.2. Grains and Cereals

6.3. Fruits and Vegetables

6.4. Oilseeds and Pulses

6.5. Turfs and Ornamentals

6.6. Other Crops



7. Global Fungicides Market, by Application

7.1. Introduction

7.2. Spraying

7.3. Dusting

7.4. Seed Treatment

7.5. Soil Treatment

7.6. Volatilization

7.7. Post-Harvest

7.8. Others



8. Global Fungicides Market, by Formulation

8.1. Introduction

8.2. Solid Formulation

8.2.1. Water Dispersible Granule

8.2.2. Wettable Powder

8.3. Liquid Formulation

8.3.1. Emulsifiable Concentrate

8.3.2. Suspension Concentrate

8.3.3. Soluble Liquid Concentrate



9. Global Fungicides Market, by Geography

9.1. Introduction

9.2. North America

9.2.1. U.S.

9.2.2. Canada

9.2.3. Mexico

9.3. Europe

9.3.1. France

9.3.2. Germany

9.3.3. Spain

9.3.4. Italy

9.3.5. U.K.

9.3.6. Rest of Europe

9.4. Asia-Pacific

9.4.1. China

9.4.2. Japan

9.4.3. India

9.4.4. Australia

9.4.5. Rest of Asia Pacific

9.5. Rest of World

9.5.1. Latin America

9.5.1.1. Brazil

9.5.1.2. Argentina

9.5.1.3. Rest of Latin America

9.5.2. Middle-East & Africa



10. Competitive Landscape

10.1. Introduction

10.2. Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements

10.3. Acquisitions, Mergers, and Alliances

10.4. New Product Launches

10.5. Expansions



11. Appendix



12. Company Profiles



Adama Agricultural Solutions Ltd. (A Subsidiary of China National Agrochemical Corporation)

Arysta Lifescience Corporation (A Subsidiary of Platform Specialty Products Corporation)

BASF Corporation

Bayer Crop Science Ag

Biostadt India Limited

Drexel Chemical Company

E.I. Dupont De Nemours and Company

FMC Corporation

Heranba Industries Ltd

Monsanto Company

Nufarm Limited

Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd.

Syngenta (Part of China National Chemical Corporation/Chemchina)

The Dow Chemical Company

UPL Limited

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The House of Representatives has approved a short-term extension of federal spending bill that would increase military spending through September. As the ruling Republican party has a majority in the House, the bill passed by a 245-182 vote Tuesday night. But in the Senate, GOP does not have 60 votes required for procedural votes leading to the actual vote. Democrats insist that an increase in military funds be matched with additional domestic spending. If the Republicans are not ready for a compromise, the House measure is unlikely to pass the Senate, which will prevent funds flowing to the rest of the government for six weeks. And on Tuesday, Trump said he preferred another government shutdown if the Democrats do not agree to his immigration reforms. 'I'd love to see a shut down if we can't get this stuff taken care of. If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don't want safety...Let's shut it down,' Trump said at a White House meeting with lawmakers and law enforcement officials to discuss gang violence. Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer said Trump's comment 'speaks for itself'. 'We had one Trump shutdown, nobody wants another, maybe except him'. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

CSE: CRL

FSE: 7C5

OTC: CDTAF

Carl Data Solutions Inc.'s (CSE: CRL; FSE: 7C5; OTC: CDTAF) ("Carl Data" or the "Company"), Polish subsidiary will be working closely with a team of engineering and roboticsmasters students at the Gdansk University of Technology to continue R&D for its wastewater infrastructure monitoring machine learning features. Lead by a PhD with over ten year's experience coordinating teams researching automated control and decision systems, and robotics, these technology specialists will help Carl Data's Polish data science centre remain at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) applications for this sector.

Tomasz BiaAaszewski, PhD, has been fascinated with applying advanced robotics and automated control systems to water and wastewater infrastructure since he began his master's thesis in 1997. By the time he finished his PhD in 2006, he had shifted his focus to applying machine learning (AI) algorithms to gain insight from the data gathered by his mobile robotics systems.

"Poland has many problems optimizing its waste water infrastructure," said BiaAaszewski. "These issues are associated with huge costs, especially where leaks and overflows occur."

By working closely with the Carl Data Poland's data scientists, BiaAaszewski and his team are helping create a fast, logical machine learning system to address a very complex engineering problem. Carl Data is combining their big data sets acquired from over a dozen years monitoring wastewater infrastructure with data from a specially designed control system, and then using the university's super computers to build breakthrough precision for its predictive analytic features.

"An additional product of this research is sensor anomaly detection," said Piotr Stepinski. "These tools are extremely valuable across North America and the EU in monitoring aging infrastructure which is vital for the safety of the environment and the public."

Greg Johnston, Carl Data CEO, commented, "These new products and features will further set Carl Data apart from its competition by dramatically increasing operational efficiency in sensor monitoring analysis. This advantage that will help Carl Data achieve its revenue targets by offering a superior product from its Big Data as a Service (BDaaS) Platform."

About Carl Data Solutions Inc.

Carl Data Solutions Inc. an Industrial IoT (IIoT) company focused on providing next generation information collection, storage and analytics solutions for data-centric companies. Building on its recent acquisitions, Carl helps its clients analyze and understand all forms of environmental data through a powerful platform of data collection, monitoring, reporting, and predictive analysis tools.

Carl Data continues to develop applications to work with new cloud-based mass storage services and analytics tools (Big-Data-as-a-Service (BDaaS) to provide scalability for municipalities, utilities and other industrial verticals. These data collection and storage methods allow the company to build smart Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)-based applications that can collect data from many diverse sources and provide deep insight for decision-making purposes. More information can be found athttp://www.CarlSolutions.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors:

Greg Johnston

President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Carl Data Solutions Inc.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (operated by CNSX Markets Inc.) has neither approved nor disapproved of the contents of this press release.

Kimberly Bruce, Corporate Communications, Carl Data Solutions Inc., Telephone: +1-778-379-0275, Email: kimberly@carlsolutions.com
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Ozzy Osbourne has announced he will embark on his final world tour in April. The two-year series of gigs is dubbed 'No More Tours 2,' with apparent reference to his ill-fated retirement bid called 'No More Tours' in the early Nineties. The Prince of Darkness made it clear at a press conference at his LA home that this is not retirement but he will be going on tour for one final time. 'I'm not going on tour for six months at a time anymore. I'd like to spend some time at home,' he told Rolling Stones separately. The world tour kicks off this summer in Florida on April 29 before crossing to Mexico. Then comes the Latin American leg, in which he will tour Chile, Argentina and Brazil. There will be a timeout in Europe over the summer playing a string of festivals including Rockfest, Impact and Download. The 69-year-old pop star will return to US in August with a show in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and will wrap up in Las Vegas in October. Ozzy, with a music career spanning half a century, says he couldn't believe it is 40 years since he has been performing solo. Sale of tickets for the North American leg will begin on February 17, with pre-sales beginning Valentine's Day. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2018) - Wamco Technology Group Ltd. (the "Company") announces that it has filed articles of amendment giving effect to the consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares on a 1 for 2.2 basis (the "Consolidation"), resulting in its previously outstanding 6,603,344 common shares of the Company being consolidated into approximately 3,001,520 common shares. No fractional common shares will be issued pursuant to the Consolidation and any fractional shares that would have otherwise been issued have been rounded down to the nearest whole number. The Consolidation was approved by shareholders at an annual and special meeting held on November 30, 2018.

Letters of transmittal with respect to the Consolidation are being mailed to the Company's registered shareholders. All registered shareholders will be required to send their share certificates representing pre-Consolidation common shares, along with a properly executed letter of transmittal, to the Company's registrar and transfer agent, Capital Transfer Agency, in accordance with the instructions provided in the letter of transmittal. Shareholders who hold their common shares through a broker, investment dealer, bank or trust company should contact that nominee or intermediary for assistance in depositing their common shares in connection with the Consolidation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

Lisa McCormack

President, Secretary & Director

Tel: (416) 361-2515

Fax: (416) 361-2519

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "would", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is provided, and is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For a description of the risks and uncertainties facing the Company and its business and affairs, readers should refer to the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change, unless required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
PUNE, India, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new research report "Artillery Systems Market by Type (Howitzer, Mortar, Anti-air, Rocket), Component (Gun Turret, Engine, Fire Control System, Ammunition Handling System, Chassis, Auxiliary System), Caliber (Small, Medium, Heavy), Range, Region - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets', the market is projected to grow from USD 9.83 Billion in 2017 to USD 13.94 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 7.23% from 2017 to 2022. Increasing demand for artillery systems from the military sector and ongoing military modernization programs worldwide are driving the growth of the market for artillery system.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )

Browse 121 tables and 61 figures spread through 164 pages and in-depth TOC on"Artillery Systems Market - Global Forecast to 2022"

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/artillery-system-market-69844596.html

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Based on type, the howitzer segment is leading the artillery system market

Based on type, the howitzer segment is leading the artillery system market and is expected to continue its dominance till 2022. Howitzers are widely used for long range bombardment and for supporting ground forces. The demand for towed howitzer as well as self-propelled howitzer is increasing among various regions.

Based on caliber, the medium caliber segment of the artillery system market is expected to grow at a high rate during the forecast period

Based on caliber, the artillery system market has been segmented into small caliber, medium caliber, and heavy caliber. The medium caliber segment leads the artillery system market and is also projected to grow at a high rate during the forecast period. Medium caliber segment consists of artillery systems having caliber in between 105mm to 155mm. This growth can be attributed to the increase in procurement of 155mm artillery guns, 120 mm mortars, and other medium caliber artillery guns.

Download PDF Brochure : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=69844596

The market for artillery system in Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the highest rate during the forecast period

The rapid growth of the artillery system market in Asia Pacific can be attributed to the increased defense spending of emerging countries such as India and China in this region. India is upgrading its old artillery systems with indigenously produced towed artillery guns. South Korea is also rapidly expanding its fleet of artillery due to threat from North Korea.

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Major players operating in the artillery system market are BAE Systems (UK), Lockheed Martin (US), Elbit System (Israel), General Dynamics (US), NORINCO (China), Hanwha Techwin (South Korea), and others.

Browse Related Reports

Turret System Market by Platform (Land, Naval, Airborne), Type (Manned, Unmanned), Component (Turret Drive, Turret Control Unit, Stabilization Control), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/turret-system-market-33751132.html

Armored Vehicles Market by Application (Defense, Commercial), Defense Products (MBT, LPV, AAV, MRAP, IFV, APC, Others), Commercial Products (SUV, Sedan, Limousine, Bus/Van, Others), Technology (Active, Passive), Type, & Region - Global Forecast to 2021

https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/armored-vehicle-market-6322755.html

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7)  The Senate is eyeing releasing its report on charter change by next month, Constitutional Amendments Committee Chair Kiko Pangilinan said Wednesday.

However, he clarified that it was a "working target" discussed between him and Senate President Koko Pimentel. Other senators have yet to weigh in on the timetable.

"We're working on a March timetable wherein the committee would have completed its hearings and we will be working on a committee report," Pangilinan told CNN Philippines' The Source.

"If other senators feel otherwise, we will have to do the necessary pencil pushing and going back to the drawing board," he added.

The Senate is still conducting its hearings on charter change, as the House of Representatives pushed for a constituent assembly. The two chambers are debating as to whether they should vote jointly or separately.

Related: Alvarez: Word war with senators not serious, just for fun

However, Pangilinan said the target date also depends on the Lower House's decision.

"If the House of Representatives insists it should be voting jointly, what's there to work for in terms of a target? The Senate will simply not agree on voting jointly, if it is a constituent assembly," he said.

The Senate is still ironing out possible consultations with communities or sectors in the cities of Baguio, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, Pangilinan added.

This comes on top of potential input from the 19-member consultative committee set to review the 1987 Constitution. The committee is led by former Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

Related: Senators welcome consultative committee to review Constitution

Pangilinan said the hearings and report will not be rushed, adding he was even willing to lose his position amid pressure to deliver charter change as soon as possible.

"Well, my commitment is to process it correctly... Ang sa akin in the end, kung hindi sila natutuwa [For me... if they're not pleased], they can always remove me," the opposition lawmaker said.

"And I don't mind... I will do what is right. Hindi natin mamadaliin, pero hindi natin pipilitin at pupuwersahin [We won't rush it, but we won't force it]," he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte campaiged on a promise of a shift to federalism, a form of government that allows for more autonomy in local government units. However, critics point out it could strengthen political dynasties, and not be economically sustainable for poorer regions.

Related: Prioritize fiscal decentralization, reform before federalism - expert

The House of Representatives pushed for a May 2018 plebiscite, which the Commission on Elections has since said was not feasible.

Related: Comelec: May 2018 charter change plebiscite impossible

Watch The Source's full interview with Pangilinan here.
On a comparable basis, revenue is up by 5 percent on the prior-year quarter

Company registers fifth consecutive quarter of growth

Adjusted EBITDA margin remains high at around 17 percent

Q1 impacted by currency effects and rising research and development expenses

"We had a solid first quarter. Despite the significant headwind from currency effects, we managed to generate further growth while maintaining high margins. From the current perspective, we expect to gain momentum in the second half of the fiscal year," said Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG. "The strong and sustained level of demand for our products shows that our expansion of capacity and investment in new technologies was absolutely the right decision because it is enabling us to improve opportunities for long-term growth."

In the first quarter of fiscal year 2018, Osram continued to grow while increasing capital expenditure. Demand for high-tech products, particularly opto semiconductors, remained strong. At 1.03 billion, the group's revenue on a comparable basis was up by 5 percent relative to the prior-year quarter. EBITDA adjusted for special items amounted to 172 million, which was nearly the same level as a year earlier. The adjusted EBITDA-margin reached 16.7 percent. Due to the strong growth of its operations, the company was able to almost fully offset the negative impact from currency effects, continued increase in spending on research and development, and temporary increase in capital expenditures due to production expansions, such as the new facility in Kulim, Malaysia. Research and development expenses now equate to 9.4 percent of revenue. Osram remains on track with the implementation of its growth strategy.

As previously announced, fiscal year 2018 will be influenced by capital expenditure and impacts from currency effects. The recent exchange rate movements negatively impacted consolidated revenue by more than 60 million in the first quarter alone. To lay the foundation for sustained profitable growth, Osram is continuing to invest in its production and future technologies. Products based on novel LED-related technology already account for two-thirds of actual revenue.

On a segment basis, the first quarter confirmed that the growth trends and operational strength of Osram Opto Semiconductors (OS) are fully intact. In the first quarter, ramp-up costs for new capacity softened margins, as had been anticipated.

To meet the high demand for LEDs, particularly those used in general lighting, Osram opened its new plant in Kulim, Malaysia, in November 2017. Production ramp-up is going according to plan, and productivity is very encouraging. It is expected that additional capacity of this Phase 1 investment will be realized by the end of the fiscal year.

Revenue in the largest segment, Specialty Lighting (SP) also was burdened by exchange rate effects. Looking at global car production, we see a mixed picture. Our view on the automotive market has not changed since Q4, and we anticipate continued growth, though at a lower level than FY2017.

However, the trend of increasing penetration of LED lighting continues, particularly in the automotive industry. LEDs will increasingly replace traditional technologies in new vehicles, supporting our strategy with this business.

When looking at the Lighting Solutions Systems (LSS) segment, we saw no fundamental improvement in the business environment. Construction activity for new industrial and office buildings continued to be sluggish, especially in the North American market. As a result, demand for luminaires, electronic ballasts, and services remains weak in this segment. The Board has taken corrective actions and is exploring all options in the Lighting Solutions (LS) business unit. A decision will be made this fiscal year.

In fiscal year 2018, Osram will continue to build on its foundations for the future. The company budgets a revenue increase of between 5.5 and 7.5 percent. The EBITDA adjusted for special items is likely to be around 700 million and will be influenced by factors such as currency effects, ramp-up costs for Kulim and increased capital expenditure on research and development, which adds up to a three digit million Euro amount. For the current fiscal year, Osram expects earnings per share to be between 2.40 and 2.60. We are expecting a free cash flow between minus 50 million and minus 150 million. The Managing Board is confident about Osram's positive medium-term prospects and is therefore aiming for a dividend of at least 1.11 per share again in fiscal year 2018.

During the past three months, the exchange rate of the Euro gained significantly especially against the U.S. dollar. This development weighs on the key figures of Osram. The forecast for the current fiscal year from November was based on an exchange rate of $1.18 to the Euro at that time.

A recording of the Managing Board's conference for analysts, held Feb. 7 in Munich, can be found online at http://services.choruscall.eu/links/osram180207ir.html

Selected key figures for the OSRAM Light Group in the first quarter 1st quarter 2018 1st quarter 2017 Change (nominal) Revenue 1,026 991 3.5% EBITDA 157 188 (16.7%) margin 15.3% 18.9% (370 bps) Adjusted EBITDA1 172 179 (4.0%) margin 16.7% 18.0% (130 bps) Profit after tax 70 92 (24.7%) Free cash flow (119) 83 (243.7%) '000 employees 26.6 25.7 3.5%

(Provisional, unaudited figures. Items stated in million, margin in %, employees as at December 31; negative values in brackets.)

(1 Adjusted for special items, e.g. transformation costs, significant legal and regulatory matters, and M&A-related costs.)

Performance of the reporting segments in the first quarter 1st quarter 2018 1st quarter 2017 Change (nominal) Opto Semiconductors Total revenue 410 387 5.9% EBITDA 102 101 1.0% Adjusted EBITDA 102 101 1.0% Specialty Lighting Total revenue 563 588 (4.2%) EBITDA 93 93 0.3% Adjusted EBITDA 96 96 0.0% Lighting Solutions Systems Total revenue 244 251 (2.6%) EBITDA (13) (1) n/a Adjusted EBITDA (4) 1 n/a

(Provisional, unaudited figures, stated in million; negative values in brackets.)

ABOUT OSRAM

OSRAM, based in Munich, is a leading global high-tech company with a history dating back more than 110 years. Primarily focused on semiconductor-based technologies, our products are used in highly diverse applications ranging from virtual reality to autonomous driving and from smartphones to networked, intelligent lighting solutions in buildings and cities. OSRAM utilizes the infinite possibilities of light to improve the quality of life for individuals and communities. OSRAM's innovations will enable people all over the world not only to see better, but also to communicate, travel, work, and live better. As of the end of fiscal year 2017 (September 30), OSRAM had approximately 26,400 employees worldwide. It generated revenue of more than 4.1 billion in fiscal year 2017. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Munich (ISIN: DE000LED4000; WKN: LED400; trading symbol: OSR). Additional information can be found at www.osram.com.

Disclaimer

This document contains forward-looking statements and information, i.e. statements about events that lie in the future rather than the past. These forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as 'expect', 'want', 'anticipate', 'intend', 'plan', 'believe', 'seek', 'estimate', 'will', and 'predict'. Such statements are based on current expectations and certain assumptions made by OSRAM's management, so they are subject to various risks and uncertainties. A wide range of factors, many of which are beyond OSRAM's control, have an influence on the business activities, success, business strategy, and results of OSRAM. These factors may cause the actual results, success, and performance of OSRAM to differ significantly from those expressly or implicitly communicated in the forward-looking statements or from those that are expected on the basis of past trends. In particular, these factors include, but are not limited to, the circumstances described in the report on risks and opportunities contained in the annual report of the OSRAM Licht Group. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materializes, or should the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, the actual results, performance, and success of OSRAM may differ significantly from those described in forward-looking statements as being expected, anticipated, intended, planned, believed, sought, estimated, or projected. OSRAM assumes no obligation, nor does it intend, to update these forward-looking statements above and beyond the legal requirements or to adjust them in light of unexpected developments. Due to rounding, numbers presented in this and other reports may not add up precisely to the totals provided and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures to which they relate.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005887/en/

Contacts:

Osram

For U.S. Media Inquiries:

Ellen Slingsby, 978-854-7794

e.slingsby@osram.com

or

For International Media Inquiries:

Stefan Schmidt, +49 (0)89 6213 4680

stefan.schmidt@osram.com

or

Jens Hack, +49 (0)89 6213 2129

j.hack@osram.com

or

Torsten Wolf, +49 (0)89 6213 2506

torsten.wolf@osram.com
Regulatory News:

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005885/en/

Showroomprive, Europe's second-largest online private sales player, announced that Carrefour Group (Paris:CA) had finalized the acquisition of a c17% strategic stake in the capital of Showroomprive from Conforama, as announced on January 11 20181

Following the completion of this operation, Carrefour Group replaces Conforama in the existing shareholders' agreement between the founders of Showroomprive and Conforama. The founders retain a stake representing 27.17% of the capital and 40.42% of the voting rights of Showroomprive and Carrefour Group acquires a 16.86% stake in the capital and 13.67% of the voting rights.

This operation was granted an exemption from the obligation to file a takeover bid by the Autorite des Marches Financiers2

Carrefour Group will be represented on the Board of Directors of SRP Groupe, Showroomprive's head company, by Marie Cheval, Executive Director Customers, Services and Digital Transformation of Carrefour Group and Carrefour France, who will be a member of the Board3 and Frederic Haffner, Executive Director Strategy and M&A of Carrefour Group, who will be censor of the Board of Directors4

About Carrefour

With a multiformat network of 12,300 stores in over 30 countries, Carrefour Group is one of the world's leading food retailers. Carrefour serves 105 million customers worldwide and posted sales of 88.24 billion euros in 2017. The Group has more than 380,000 employees who contribute to making Carrefour the world leader in the food transition for all, offering quality food every day, accessible everywhere and at a reasonable price.

For more information, visit www.carrefour.com, Twitter (@CarrefourGroup) and LinkedIn (Carrefour).

About Showroomprive.com

Showroomprive.com is an innovative European player in the online private sales industry, specialized in fashion. Showroomprive offers a daily selection of close to 2,000 brand partners on its mobile app or online in France and in eight of its European country markets. Since its launch in 2006, the company has enjoyed quick and profitable growth. Showroomprive is listed on Euronext Paris (code: SRP), and reported gross turnover of over 750 million euros in 2016, corresponding to net sales of 540 million euros, up 22% versus the previous year. The company employs close to 1,000 people. For more information: www.showroomprivegroup.com

Marie CHEVAL Executive Director Customers, Services and Digital Transformation of Carrefour Group and Carrefour France

Marie Cheval, born in 1974, is a graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Studies and of France's national school of administration (ENA). In 1999, Marie Cheval joined the Inspectorate General of Finances. From 2002 until 2011, she occupied a number of positions with the La Poste Group: Director of financial services strategy for La Poste, and then La Banque Postale; Marketing and Sales Director (2006 2009), then Director of Operations for La Banque Postale (2009 2011). In 2011, Marie Cheval joined the Societe Generale Group as Director of Global Transactions and Payment Services. She was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Boursorama in 2013.

On October 2nd 2017, Marie Cheval joined Carrefour group and was appointed Group and France Executive Director Customers, Services and Digital Transformation.

Frederic HAFFNER Executive Director Strategy and M&A of Carrefour Group

Frederic Haffner, born in 1976, is a graduate of the HEC business school. In 1999 he joined Rothschild Cie, where he led on a number of mergers and acquisitions and financing operations to assist major French and European corporate in their international development. He joined Carrefour in 2014 as Director of Mergers and Acquisitions. In 2017, he coordinated the IPO of Carmila, Carrefour shopping malls' arm in Europe and Grupo Carrefour Brasil.

Since October 2nd 2017, Frederic Haffner has been Executive Director Strategies M&A.

1 See press release of 11 January 2018.

2 See decision AMF 218C0201 of 23 January 2018.

3 Replacing Alexandre Nodale.

4 Replacing Andrew Bond.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005885/en/

Contacts:

Carrefour

Group Communications

Tel: +33 (0) 1 41 04 26 17

or

Investor Relations

Tel: +33 (0) 1 41 04 28 83

or

Showroomprive

Investor Relations

Tel: +33 (0) 1 49 46 05 67

or

Communications

Tel: +33 (0) 1 76 21 19 46

or

Taddeo, press

Tel: +33 (0) 1 80 05 82 87
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2018) - Diamond Fields Resources Inc. (TSXV: DFR) ("DFR" or the "Company") is pleased to confirm that it is undertaking re-assay, metallurgical and certain material processing work in relation to its recently acquired Beravina zircon project in Madagascar ("Beravina" or the "Project").

The Project covers 625 hectares and is located approximately 220km east of the port of Maintirano along a state road that passes within 7km of the Project area. Previous work on the Project by Badger Mining and Consulting confirmed a pegmatite hosted hard rock zircon deposit with a JORC-compliant Indicated Mineral Resource of 1.8 million tons at 29.5% zircon (~530,000 tons of contained zircon) published in 2012.*

The current work program includes:

Re-assaying of all core samples to confirm prior results and to assess previously untested transitional material that shows evidence of zircon enrichment; Testing of all core samples from across the ore body for metamictization (or fusion of uranium/thorium molecules with zircon molecules) to determine the possible distribution of metamictization across the orebody; and Preliminary processing tests of representative composite samples to determine their amenability to heavy mineral separation and other processing techniques.

Once the results of the preliminary processing tests have been received, the Company intends to provide samples to selected potential customers for feedback on suitability and potential usage.

It is expected that this work will be completed by the end of Q2 2018. Assuming the results of this work program are favourable, the Company intends to complete a further drill program aimed at enabling the publication of a NI 43-101 resource statement later in 2018.

Sybrand Van Der Spuy, CEO of DFR, said: "Beravina is an exceptionally high-grade zircon deposit with significant development potential. This program will help shape the next phase of the Project, which will include further drilling, metallurgical and material processing tests."

* The Company cautions that the resource estimate is historical in nature and the Company is not treating such resources as a current resource under NI 43-101. Investors are further cautioned that a qualified person has not yet completed sufficient work to be able to verify the historical resource estimate, and therefore these should not be relied upon. Data from a current DFR logging and assaying project, the historic diamond drill core produced from drilling campaigns in 2006 and 2012, and potentially a further drilling campaign, will be used to produce a NI 43-101 compliant resource statement.

Qualified Person

The technical and scientific information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Michael Cronright, Pr.Sci.Nat, FGSSA, who is a Qualified Person as identified by National Instrument 43-101.

DIAMOND FIELDS RESOURCES INC.



SIGNED: "Sybrand van der Spuy"

Sybrand van der Spuy, CEO and Director

Contact: Earl Young at +1 214 566 3709



Michael Oke/Andy Mills

Aura Financial LLP

www.aura-financial.com

+44 20 7321 0000

Website: www.diamondfields.com



The Company's public documents may be accessed at www.sedar.com



Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements:

Statements in this release that are forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties concerning the specific factors identified in DFR's periodic filings with Canadian Securities Regulators. Such forward-looking information represents management's best judgment based on information currently available. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed and actual future results may vary materially. The Company does not assume the obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as otherwise required by law.
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2018 / While there are still hurdles to overcome before blockchain completely transforms finance and banking, the potential cost and labor savings it could create for the global financial market are so appealing that many major institutions are investing millions in resources to research how best to implement it. Essentially a "distributed, digital ledger," organizations have found that the blockchain allows them to become more democratic, decentralized, efficient, and secure. Avalon Life, a leading global crypto community, discusses the wide-reaching implications of the technological advancement and how it will upend the financial services industry for the better.

To help gain a better understanding of the recent technology, Avalon Life explained that the blockchain is similar to a traditional database - one kept in a specific location and accessible by a small number of users - but everyone within the community can see when a transaction occurs. The records are stored on tens of thousands of computers, including both home and business servers, providing an unparalleled level of transparency. The immense visibility generates trust and honesty among participants, who use virtual currencies to transfer ownership of soft products including photographs, songs, and other files in a peer-to-peer network. Members will have an account to store their cryptocurrency, similar to one at a bank, but protected with a complex, secret code to give the individual owner control over only their own transactions.

In the financial world, banks traditionally act as central intermediaries for financial exchanges. They store funds, track transactions and offer additional services including credit cards, loan consolidation and credit monitoring. By undermining the entire concept of a community needing a central authority to control funds, blockchain is beginning to eliminate the need for a middleman in the form of brick and mortar banks. Users can complete exchanges immediately and trust that it is secure because of increased transparency and advanced encryptions. In the near future, expect traditional financial institutions to adjust their current services to meet the new needs of customers using blockchain. This can already be seen in The World Bank, who recently appointed economist Rosanna Chan to lead a team of 60 employees in researching global blockchain solutions. As of April 2017, 75 banks around the world had signed with a blockchain service community. As society begins the process of disintermediation, as the need for a central authority is decreasing, banks will need to provide more services to compete within the current financial industry.

Avalon Life is a novel, dynamic company with fresh ideas and innovation based on blockchain technology and decentralization. Driven by the goal to achieve financial independence for all people, they offer state of the art blockchain technology solutions and global education programs on cryptocurrencies and the shifting financial landscape. With over 168,000 members, Avalon Life's crypto community is one of the most robust, fastest growing blockchain programs in the world.

Avalon Life - Blockchain Technology Solutions & Global Education Programs: http://avalonlifenews.com

AvalonLifeOfficial (@AvalonLifeSA) - Twitter: https://twitter.com/avalonlifesa

Avalon Life - Home - Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AvalonLifeOfficial/

Contact Information:

AvalonLifeNews.com

http://avalonlifenews.com

contact@avalonlifenews.com

SOURCE: Avalon Life
MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 02/07/18 -- Critical Elements Corporation (the "Company" or "Critical Elements") (TSX VENTURE: CRE)(OTCQX: CRECF)(FRANKFURT: F12) is pleased to provide an update to its shareholders on the most recent discussions with strategic partners and a review of 2017 accomplishments and recent lithium market developments.

Strategic Partner and Project Financing Discussion

Critical Elements continues to work closely with its financial advisor, Canaccord Genuity Corp., to evaluate ongoing interest from global strategic partners that seek to accelerate the Rose Lithium-Tantalum project to production.

The process is organized, competitive and the interest is strong, in parallel we are working with banks and financial institutions to accelerate the debt financing portion of the project.

In a recent trip to Asia, the company met with several OEMs, cathode manufacturers, trading houses and cell manufacturers. More than 12 non-disclosure agreements with strategic parties are now in place and currently in the process of reviewing the data room, illustrating the competitive tension in the lithium market.

The end-users recognize our management abilities to successfully deliver lithium products, and our development strategy gives the flexibility to meet all major end-users current and future needs.

Lithium Market Update

Global demand for lithium products has recently intensified with the aggressive launch of OEM Electric Vehicle platforms and government mandates for vehicle electrification. This has been accompanied by significant equity and project financings as well as strategic investment and merger and acquisition activities in the lithium sector.

2017 has certainly been an exciting year in the lithium sector. Regulators across the globe continue to make strides to curb greenhouse emissions and pave the way for electric vehicles by establishing plans to phase-out internal combustion engines and instead rely on lithium-ion batteries as an energy alternative. Of particular note, some of the world's largest car markets, most notably China, have announced significant policy changes and target dates to stop the production and sales of traditional energy vehicles within their borders. Automakers are responding to this movement by repurposing their manufacturing platforms in preparation for significant electric vehicle sales. In fact, over the past twelve months major automakers collectively announced that they would spend over US$100 billion on establishing electric vehicle platforms by 2030 to keep pace with forecast demand.

Key announcements by some of the world's largest auto manufacturers include:

-- US$11.0 billion investment by 2022 supporting 40 electric models (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-autoshow-detroit-ford-motor/ford- plans-11-billion-investment-40-electrified-vehicles-by-2022- idUSKBN1F30YZ) -- US$21.5 billion investment in electric vehicles over the next five years (http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2018/01/17/0502000000AEN201801 17008651320.html) -- US$40 billion in electric vehicle investments by 2020 (https://www.reuters.com/article/us-volkswagen-investment- electric/volkswagen-accelerates-push-into-electric-cars-with-40-billion- spending-plan-idUSKBN1DH1M8)

In attempts to secure lithium supply in anticipation of significant electric vehicle demand, downstream users of lithium are increasingly partnering with and making strategic investments in developers of lithium projects.

2017 Developments

Numerous important milestones were achieved in 2017 including the appointment of Dr. Steffen Haber as President of the Company. Dr. Haber was previously President and CEO of Rockwood Lithium which was acquired by Albemarle for US$6.2B.

In March 2017, we successfully completed our spodumene pilot plant work with outstanding results compared to industry standards. Our low iron and mica deposit yielded recoveries up to 89% in Lock cycle and we consistently achieved concentrate grades of up to 6.56% Li2O. Those results confirmed the metallurgical advantages of our deposit and the "tried and true" / low risk flowsheet for the feasibility study and future spodumene plant. (https://www.cecorp.ca/en/critical-elements-successfully-completes-pilot-plant-work-produce-spodumene-concentrate-grading-6-56-li2o/)

In May 2017, we announced the results of our lithium carbonate pilot plant which again proved the unique quality of our ore yielding 88.4% recovery rates with a 99.9% purity and overall recoveries from ore to lithium carbonate of 81.4%. These results compare favourably to overall recovery benchmarks for the market of 60% to 70% from spodumene to lithium carbonate. (https://www.cecorp.ca/en/critical-elements-successfully-completes-pilot-plant-work-lithium-carbonate-conversion/)

In June 2017, the former CFO at Rockwood Lithium and colleague of Dr. Steffen Haber, Dr. Marcus Brune, joined the Company as a director. The appointment of Dr. Brune also increased the lithium market know-how of our team. We also hired Mr. Lloyd Mayappo to join our team as Cree Relation Coordinator to increase our local activities and facilitate communication in the Eastmain community. (https://www.cecorp.ca/en/critical-elements-appoints-ex-rockwood-lithium-cfo-board-directors/) (https://www.cecorp.ca/en/lloyd-mayappo-joins-critical-elements-cree-relation-coordinator/)

In July 2017, we submitted our Environmental Impact Study to the Environmental & Social Impact Review Committee (COMEX) and to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA). This was an important step to maintain our development timeline. (https://www.cecorp.ca/en/critical-elements-submits-environmental-impact-study-rose-lithium-tantalum-project/)

In August 2017, our joint-venture partner Lepidico Ltd. ("Lepidico") announced positive drilling results from the Lemare Project and that supports future potential beyond our current development plans. Our exploration team continued to demonstrate the geological potential of our strategic land position in James- Bay. (https://www.cecorp.ca/en/wide-spodumene-intercepts-at-lemare-lithium-project/)

Lemare Project Drilling Highlights:

-- 33.7 m @ 0.94% Li2O (LE-17-29) -- 18.0 m @ 2.00% Li2O (LE-17-30) -- 28.5 m @ 2.15% Li2O (LE-16-13) -- 24.0 m @ 1.87% Li2O (LE-16-14) -- 21.0 m @ 1.75% Li2O (LE-16-03)

In September 2017, we welcomed the results of our Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) on the Rose Lithium-Tantalum project. The resultsreturned Pre-tax IRR of 48.2% and an NPV8 of $1.25B. (https://www.cecorp.ca/en/critical-elements-announces-positive-feasibility-study-pre-tax-npv-8-1-257-b-pre-tax-irr-48-2-rose-lithium-project/

Feasibility Study Highlights (press release of September 6th 2017)

-- Average annual production of 186,327 tonnes of chemical grade lithium concentrate -- Average annual production of 50,205 tonnes of technical grade lithium concentrate -- Average annual production of 429 tonnes of tantalum concentrate -- Expected life of mine of 17 years -- Average operating costs of $66.56 per tonne milled, $458 (US$344) per tonne of concentrate (all concentrate production combined) -- Estimated initial capital cost $341.2 million before working capital -- 100% equity basis for project -- Average gross margin 63.6% -- After-tax NPV of $726 million (at 8% discount rate), after-tax IRR of 34.9% and price assumption of US$1,500 per tonne technical grade lithium concentrate, US$750 per tonne chemical grade lithium concentrate, US$130 per kg tantalum pentoxide -- Anticipated construction time to start of production of 21 months

Financial Advisor Appointment

In December 2017, we appointed Canaccord Genuity as financial advisors to evaluate and coordinate the currently in progress project financing and off-take negotiations. The Critical Elements team and our advisors are currently in a competitive process of negotiation with multiple parties for the project financing, including off-take agreements. (https://www.cecorp.ca/en/update-strategic-partner-retention-financial-advisor-operational-update/)

Jean-Sebastien Lavallee (OGQ # 773), geologist, shareholder, Chairman and CEO of the Corporation, and "Qualified Person" under Regulation 43-101, revised and approved the technical content of this press release.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is described in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Contacts:

Investor relations:

Jean-Sebastien Lavallee, P. Geo.

Chairman and CEO

819-354-5146

jslavallee@cecorp.ca

www.cecorp.ca



Paradox Public Relations

514-341-0408




DEERFIELD BEACH, FL / ACCESSWIRE / February 7, 2018 / After more than doubling company revenue from 2016 to 2017, Richard and Rice Construction is ready to dominate the industry once again. The company was founded in 2004, but nearly shut down through no fault of their own. In January of 2016, owners Gaetan Richard and Murray Rice were surprised and shocked when their Deerfield Beach offices were raided. The raid, seizure, and arrests took place before the government had examined their computers, cell phones, and office files and documents. Richard, Rice, and four other colleagues were taken into custody on suspicion of workers compensation fraud. Their pictures were plastered on local newspapers and TV.

Richard & Rice immediately proclaimed their innocence and would later learn that the actions of a sub-contractor is what roped them into the mess. Richard & Rice Construction and its owners had no reason to believe there was any wrongdoing and believed the sub-contractors they were working with were following all laws. As it turned out, the sub-contractor had been caught in workers compensation fraud and mislead the police into believing Richard & Rice had knowledge of this, when in fact they did not.

Richard & Rice retained counsel and confronted the allegations, ultimately forcing the state to announce that there was "no smoking gun" and decide not to pursue the case. Meanwhile, Richard & Rice spent money on attorney's fees, lost millions of dollars in contracts, and their pristine reputation was compromised.

"After 25 years in the industry, I was shocked that everything we worked so hard for could be taken away in mere hours solely based on the accusation of another," said Murray Rice, President of Richard & Rice. "I knew we did nothing wrong, but the damage was done."

Now, Richard & Rice is ready to kick off 2018 with a fresh start. The company is leading the industry by taking extra precautions when working with sub-contractors. After consultation with experts in the workers compensation field, they have hired a full-time employee whose sole responsibility it is to vet sub-contractors and manage all workers compensation and insurance issues to insure full compliance with the all applicable laws. The company conducts surprise audits at its construction sites to ensure that all sub-contractor workers are vetted and on the payroll roster.

"We go above and beyond when it comes to what is required. We are very clear when hiring sub-contractors about how strict our policies are," said Gaetan Richard. "If they are not willing to hand over the information requested, then we will not hire them; it's as simple as that."

Richard and Rice is based in Deerfield Beach but has projects all across the state of Florida.

About Richard and Rice Construction

Founded in 2004, Richard and Rice Construction is a full-service general contracting company that specializes in foundations, masonry, and carpentry. Co-founders Gaetan Richard and Murray Rice have nearly 40 years of combined leadership experience and strongly believe in giving every customer the maximum value for their investment.

Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida, R&R job sites pan across the state, ranging from Miami to Naples and Pensacola. Since the inception of their business, the client list has grown to include Pulte Group, D.R. Horton, Lennar Homes, Standard Homes, Toll Brothers, Taylor Morrison, Beazer Homes, K. Hovnanian, David Weekley, Kolter Homes, Minto Homes, Mattamy Homes, Centerline Homes, WCI Communities, and many other regional custom builders and General Contractors.

For more information, visit http://richardandrice.com or call 866-343-9831.

SOURCE: Richard and Rice Construction
Located contiguous to Falcon's recently optioned cobalt, gold and copper claims in historic Atikokan mining camp;

Property contains past producing Central Canada gold mine;

Close to major mines and developments such as the Agnico Eagle's Hammond Reef gold project;

Strategically close to important infrastructure including highway, and electrical power and natural gas pipeline; and,

Increases Falcon's interest in over 10.5 km of the Quetico Fault Zone & key Cobalt and Gold targets.

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2018) - Falcon Gold Corp. (TSXV: FG) ("Falcon" or the "Company") reports it has signed a letter agreement to acquire a 100% interest in seven mining claims in Hutchinson Township in northwest Ontario. The claims comprise 25 claim units, an area of approximately 390 hectares.

Stephen Wilkinson, Falcon's CEO commented, "The Central Canada Property adds to our strategic land position in a largely overlooked greenstone belt where there has been economically significant historical mining. In addition to the past producing gold mine, the Property covers about 2 kilometres ("km") of our target Cobalt bearing iron formation - on strike from the Staines Cobalt Occurrence reported in Falcon's news release dated January 23, 2018."

The Central Canada Property

The Property is contiguous with the 6 mining claims recently optioned by Falcon approximately 21.5 kilometres ("km") east of Atikokan, Ontario and is about 160 km west of Thunder Bay. Access to the Property is by road from Provincial Highway 11 to Highway 623 to the mine access road on the north side of Sapawe Lake.

The Property can be divided into two geological regimes. The northern claims are underlain by Archean age greenstone rocks that include mafic volcanic flows, gabbroic intrusions and quartz feldspar porphyries in which the gold mineralization is hosted. The south part of the Property is covered by Sapawe Lake and is underlain by iron formation and greenstone rock units that host Falcon's targeted cobalt and gold occurrences. The Staines Cobalt Occurrence is 1.5 km west of the Property's western boundary.

The history of mining and exploration work on the Central Canada Property is summarised as follows:

1901 to 1907 - J. J. Walsh sank a shaft to a depth of 40 feet ("ft") (12 meters ["m"]) and recovered 27 ounces of gold from 18 tons using a stamp mill.

1930 to 1935 - Central Canada Mines Ltd. deepened the shaft to a depth of 130 ft (40 m) with about 140 ft (42 m) and a 75 ton per day gold mill. An unknown quantity of mineralized rock was processed before the company ceased operations.

1965 - Anjamin Mines Limited completed trenching and 3 diamond drill holes for 1,025 m. Hole S1 intersected 6.9 g/t Au across 1.4 ft, hole S2 returned a 2 ft section of 37.0 g/t Au and hole S3 assayed 44.0 g/t Au across 7 ft.

1984 - Kenergy Resource Corp. optioned the property and conducted a surface program of line cutting, geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys.

1985 - Interquest Resources Corp. drilled 13 diamond holes totaling 1,840 m in which a 3.8 ft intersection showed 30.0 g/t Au.

2002 and 2004 - Freewest Resources Canada Inc. conducted work programs of prospecting and mechanical and manual stripping.

Option Terms

To earn a 100% interest in the Property, Falcon has agreed to make escalating payments over a 4-year option period to the vendor totaling 325,000 common shares and cash payments totaling $141,500, and to incur minimum exploration expenditures of $100,000. Once Falcon acquires its 100% interest, the vendor will retain a 2% Net Smelter Return ("NSR"). Falcon will have the right to purchase 1% for $1,000,000 at any time up to commencement of production. The agreement is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert T. Chataway, P.Geo. who is a member of the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Falcon Gold Corp.

Falcon is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on generating, acquiring, and exploring opportunities in the Americas. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture exchange with the trading symbol: "FG". For information on the Company, please visit our website: www.falcongold.ca.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Falcon Gold Corp.

David Tafel

Chairman

Stephen Wilkinson

CEO & Director

Email: info@falcongold.ca

Telephone: 604-683-1991

Cautionary Language and Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward looking statements including but not limited to comments regarding the timing and content of upcoming work programs, geological interpretations, receipt of property titles, etc. Forward looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore, involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
DUBLIN, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Polymer Concrete Market by Class (PMC, PC, PIC), Type (Epoxy, Polyester, Latex), Application (Containments, Pump Bases, Wastewater Containers), End-Use Industries (Infrastructures, Non-Residential Structures), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global polymer concrete market is estimated at USD 448.1 Million in 2017 and is projected to reach USD 641.9 Million by 2022, at a CAGR of 7.5% between 2017 and 2022.

The market is witnessing growth due to the growing awareness regarding the use of polymers in concrete due to their high performance and multifunctionality. Increase in spending on repair & maintenance and growth in infrastructural activities in emerging economies are some of the factors driving the market for polymer concrete.

Based on class, polymer modified concrete was the largest segment in 2016. Polymer modified concrete is required in less quantity and is cost effective in nature. It has process technology quite similar to the conventional cement concrete which makes it the largest segment in the polymer concrete market.

Based on type, epoxy was the largest segment of the global polymer concrete market in 2016. The large market size of epoxy is due to its great adhesion, high resistivity to chemicals, and appreciable fatigue and creep resistance. It is used for special applications such as industrial flooring, skid-resistant overlays in highways, exterior walls, and resurfacing material for deteriorated areas to give superior finishing. These factors are responsible for making epoxy-based polymer concrete the largest segment by type.

Containments was the largest application of polymer concrete in 2016. Growing industrialization gives a boost to chemical manufacturing industries which uses containments to store fluids. The growth in industrial sector due to high scale economic expansion, especially in Asia Pacific and Middle East & Africa regions, is expected to drive the polymer concrete market for containments.

Based on end-use industry, infrastructure was the largest segment of the polymer concrete market in 2016. Increasing use of polymer concrete in repair & maintenance activities and increase in building & construction operations to support the growing industrialization makes infrastructure the largest end-use industry for the polymer concrete market.

Asia Pacific was the largest market for polymer concrete in 2016. The region's flourishing manufacturing sector, ample availability of labor, competitive cost base, and increasing consumer demand are expected to drive the market for polymer concrete across the region. Furthermore, the influence of macroeconomic stimuli such as population growth, rise in disposable income, and most importantly the increasing investments for building & construction activities in Southeast Asian countries is also expected to make the region one of the most promising markets for polymer concrete.

The global polymer concrete market is witnessing significant growth. Factors restraining and challenging the growth of the polymer concrete market are the higher cost of polymer concrete than the traditional Portland cement concrete, high cost of raw materials used to manufacture polymer concrete, and unstable economic cycles.

BASF (Germany), Sika (Switzerland), Mapei (Italy), Fosroc (UK), and Dow Chemical (US) lead the global polymer concrete market.



Key Topics Covered:



1 Introduction



2 Research Methodology



3 Executive Summary



4 Premium Insights



5 Market Overview



6 Polymer Concrete Market, By Class



7 Polymer Concrete Market, By Type



8 Polymer Concrete Market, By Application



9 Polymer Concrete Market, By End-Use Industry



10 Polymer Concrete Market, By Region



11 Competitive Landscape



12 Company Profiles



Aco Group

Armorcast

Armorock

Basetek

Basf

Civilworks Group

Cornerstone Construction Material

Crown Polymers

Dow Chemical

Dudick

DWD System

Ergonarmor

Forte Composites

Fosroc

Jiangsu Polycon

Kwik Bond Polymers

Mapei

Mea Group

Sauereisen

Sika

Ulma Group

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/s7fnhx/2018_polymer?w=5

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

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WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson affirmed that his country would cooperate so that Colombia complies with the technical requirements and achieves its membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). 'I wanted to finally emphasize the process of Colombia's entry into the OECD, and also to underscore our efforts so that Colombia can meet the technical requirements to enter the OECD,' Tillerson said in a joint statement with the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, after a meeting in Bogota. On March 22, Colombia's accession process to the organization is expected to come to an end with the opinion of the last two outstanding committees, according to the Colombian Labor Ministry. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2018) - Metals Creek Resources Corp. (TSXV: MEK) (Metals Creek) is pleased to announce that they have been advised by their option partner, Sokoman Iron Corp (Sokoman) that it has commenced Phase II drilling on the Clarks Brook Gold Property, located in central Newfoundland. The road accessible Clarks Brook prospect was staked by Metals Creek Resources Corporation (MEK) in late 2016 and subsequently optioned by Sokoman in late 2017 (see News Release August 23, 2017).

The Clarks Brook prospect consists of a number of large (up to 1-2 m square) angular boulders from which previous operators had returned grab sample gold values ranging from 2.98 to 24.5 g/t gold (Altius Minerals Corp. (ALS) in 2004), and from the property vendor Metals Creek Resources (MEK) in 2016, where thirteen (13) of the large angular blocks were grab sampled and yielded assays ranging from 0.24 g/t to 10.4 g/t gold. In addition, a single outcrop of bedrock mineralization of similar style to that of the boulders, returned a grab sample assay of 19.24 g/t gold.

Note: The historical assay results mentioned in this news release were grab samples which are selective by nature and are unlikely to represent average grades of the property.

Sokoman's four hole, 515 m Phase I program, with hole depths ranging from 105 to 143 m (-40 to -52 degree dips), was the first drilling to be completed on the property and all four holes intersected a variably mineralized structural zone carrying widespread and locally significant gold grades. Based on the four holes completed, the mineralization remains open along strike and to depth.

Selected Phase I highlights include (true thicknesses are believed to be 70% - 80% of reported widths):



CB-17-1

1.65 g/t Au over 2.40 m (from 100.84 - 103.25 m)

CB-17-2

3.37 g/t Au over3.00 m (from 127.75 - 130.75 m)

incl. 4.63 g/t Au over1.65 m (from 127.75 - 129.40 m)

incl. 26.9 g/t Au over0.25 m (from 127.75 - 128.00 m)

CB-17-4

2.34 g/t Au over 1.55 m (from 117.00 - 118.55 m)

The Phase II program will test the mineralization along strike to the northeast, as well as a coincidental magnetic and IP chargeability anomaly 100 m east of the area drilled in Phase I, and similar in strength to the anomaly tested by Phase I (see attached map).

Timothy Froude, P. Geo., Interim CEO states; "Phase I verified the existence of locally significant in situ gold mineralization at Clarks Brook, the first holes to be completed on the property. The geophysical signature of the known mineralization appears to extend for several hundred metres to the edge of the surveyed area, and quite possibly beyond, and we have only tested 100 metres of the structure to date."

To earn an initial 75% interest, Sokoman must make cash payments of $45,000 over three years (no cash on signing) and issue a total of 3,000,000 Sokoman common shares over three years (500,000 due upon regulatory approval) and incur work expenditures of $800,000 over three years ($100,000 by 1st anniversary). Sokoman will be the operator during the earn-in period. Once a 75% interest is earned by Sokoman, either a 75/25 joint venture will be formed, or Sokoman may elect to earn an additional 25% interest to bring its total property interest to 100%. The terms to increase its interest from 75% to 100% include payments of $100,000 and the issuance of an additional 2,000,000 Sokoman shares within 60 days of the 3rd anniversary date. This agreement is subject to regulatory approval.

Metals Creek is also pleased to announce that it has acquired by staking a 100% interest in 132 claim units (11,497 ha) in 2 licenses, on Newfoundland's Great Northern Peninsula. The New Claims were staked to cover anomalous gold in lake sediment sampling by the Newfoundland Government (5 parts per billion gold), as well as geological units with similar geology to that of White Metal Resources Corp's new black shale discovery, and the company's Great Brehat project located approximately 28 kilometers to the north east of the new claims.

The Clarks Brook Portion of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Timothy Froude, P. Geo., a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101 and Interim CEO for Sokoman Iron Corp.

About Metals Creek Resources Corp.

Metals Creek Resources Corp. is a junior exploration company incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario, is a reporting issuer in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario, and has its common shares listed for trading on the Exchange under the symbol "MEK". Metals Creek has earned a 50% interest in the Ogden Gold Property, including the former Naybob Gold mine, located 6 km south of Timmins, Ontario and has a 8 km strike length of the prolific Porcupine-Destor Fault (P-DF) that stretches between Timmins, Ontario and Val d'Or, Quebec. Metals Creek also has an option agreement with Quadro Resources on Metals Creeks and Benton Resources Staghorn Gold Project in Newfoundland as well as two option agreements with Anaconda Mining Inc. on Metals Creek's Jacksons Arm and Tilt Cove Properties also in Newfoundland. The company have also signed a LOI on its Clarks Brook property with Sokoman Iron Corp. and is engaged in the identification, acquisition, exploration and development of other mineral resource properties, and presently has mining interests in Ontario, Yukon and Newfoundland and Labrador including the recently acquired Great Brehat project on the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland. Additional information concerning the Corporation is contained in documents filed by the Corporation with securities regulators, available under its profile at www.sedar.com.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Alexander (Sandy) Stares, President and CEO



Metals Creek Resources Corp

telephone: (709)-256-6060

fax: (709)-256-6061

email: astares@metalscreek.com

MetalsCreek.com

Twitter.com/MetalsCreekRes

Facebook.com/MetalsCreek





Phase II Target Map





To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

http://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/943/32672_figure.jpg
(CNN)  On the surface, there is nothing remarkable about this sleepy fishing port in Maputo.

But hidden from view, wedged between the other boats and ships docked there, are the rusty Susan 1 and Susan 2. These are not ordinary fishing vessels, but sanctions-busting trawlers manned by crews from North Korea.

Pyongyang's interest in a couple of aging African trawlers may seem odd at first. But fishing is big business in Mozambique -- it's one of the country's most lucrative industries. North Korea wants a slice of that much-needed cash, and boats are easy to move and conceal.

Joint fishing ventures are just one area of illicit trade the two countries are engaged in. In a months-long investigation, CNN uncovered a secret web of front companies, military cooperation and elite-forces training deals between North Korea and Mozambique, all in violation of international sanctions, according to United Nations investigators.

Documents reviewed by CNN show that the cooperation is sealed with illegal contracts worth millions of dollars. The money is funneled through regionally based North Korean diplomats to Pyongyang, some 7,500 miles away.

US officials have long maintained that the money from ventures like this goes straight into North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's notorious nuclear slush fund, known as Office 39.

With crippling sanctions squeezing the pariah state, Kim needs hard currency to further develop his nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

The Trump administration wants to stop the money flowing. Tougher UN and US sanctions, sustained pressure on China and executive orders are all part of Washington's playbook to squeeze North Korea.

The plan, so far, doesn't appear to be working.

North Korea earned nearly $200 million by exporting coal and other banned commodities between January and September 2017 in violation of UN sanctions, according to an unpublished UN report.

The report, sections of which have been obtained by CNN, found that North Korea "is already flouting the most recent resolutions by exploiting global oil supply chains, complicit foreign nationals, offshore company registries and the international banking system."

The report is still confidential and has been sent to the UN Security Council sanctions committee on North Korea.

Radars and rangers

CNN gained access to official communications between the Mozambican military leadership and North Korean representatives. In 2015, Mozambican officials invited North Korean military technicians to the country, the documents show.

North Korea is severely restricted from bringing hard cash into its coffers, and longstanding sanctions make military profits nearly impossible for the country. Other tough financial sanctions severely restrict its transactions with other nations.

The UN revealed its investigation into military links between Mozambique and North Korea in a 2017 report, but cooperation between the two countries is more substantial than earlier thought.

Two Mozambican military sources told CNN North Koreans have been training elite forces at a base in Maputo for at least two years.

That comes with a price tag.

Hugh Griffiths, chief investigator of the UN Panel of Experts, listed a number of military activities between the countries, all of which have been banned under sanctions since 2006.

"Air missiles, manned portable surface-to-air missiles, military radar, air defense systems, the refurbishment of tanks -- it's a long list," he said.

The UN panel produces biannual reports to name and shame alleged sanctions violators. They have previously reported alleged North Korean military links to Mozambique worth at least $6 million. A shady front company called Haegeumgang was used to run the operation.

The report states that North Koreans have bolstered Mozambique's Soviet-era technology and capabilities, used in a long-running and intermittent armed conflict with rebel forces in the northern half of the country.

Officials at Mozambique's ministry of defense declined to be interviewed on camera and didn't respond to specific queries on military ties.

Griffiths said it was vital to cut these revenue streams.

"The foreign currency generated and the revenues generated from all of this conventional military activity can be used to fund the DPRK -- that's North Korea's -- prohibited nuclear and ballistic missile programs," he said.

The North Korean embassy in South Africa could not be reached for comment.

A house on Mao Tse-tung Ave

Through the correspondence between Mozambican military officials and North Korean representatives, CNN also discovered a two-story building in downtown Maputo where Haegeumgang had set up shop. The peach-colored house sits on Mao Tse-tung Avenue.

A rental agent for the now-abandoned house was hanging around outside on a recent morning, waiting to show it to new clients.

"There were some Asians living and working here. They left three or four months ago," he said, adding that they left because they couldn't afford the rent.

Nobody knows where they went.

A report from a UN panel of experts from September 2017 alleges that Haegeumgang was instrumental in providing the military support to Mozambique.

As North Korea's biggest trading partner, China is often singled out by US President Donald Trump for not severing ties. But UN and US investigators are taking a much closer look at African countries' relationship to North Korea, investigating at least 11 different nations.

Many African liberation movements had ties and support from the North Korean regime before independence and through the Cold War, though the extent of the connections has been questioned by some.

Mozambique is no different. Every day around Maputo's main traffic circle, yellow-and-green taxis skirt a North Korean-made bronze statue of Samora Machel, Mozambique's founding president. One hand points to the sky, the other is hitched to a military belt.

The statue, unveiled in 2011, bears only a passing resemblance to the man. The UN Security Council passed sanctions targeting Pyongyang's statue-making business in late 2016.

Just a couple of miles away, a leafy road in the city still bears the name Kim Il Sung Avenue, after North Korea's founding dictator.

Mozambique faces the difficult choice between lucrative North Korean contracts and keeping the US and UN happy. Mozambique is one of the world's poorest countries and received more than half a billion dollars from US agencies in 2016 alone.

"I think we have every reason to believe that our relationship with the United States is great," said Alvaro O'da Silva, a director at Mozambique's foreign ministry.

O'da Silva says that the North Koreans still in Mozambique are legitimately engaged in "social and technical" fields, saying they are not breaking UN sanctions.

"At this moment, we are implementing all the sanctions that were declared by the United Nations against North Korea," he said. He later backtracked, saying he didn't have "detailed information" about sanctions.

But based on CNN's investigations, the evidence of sanctions violations is clear. And North Korea's attempts to keep funding flowing are always shifting in new directions, said Griffiths, the UN investigator.

Shipping records show the Susan 1 used to be registered under a North Korean flag. Now it flies the flag of Namibia -- another country implicated in sanctions-busting trade, a recent CNN report found.

The Namibian government did not respond to CNN's queries regarding the re-flagged trawler.

But the North Korean fishermen are still there in their boats. In the evenings, they sometimes wander into town to shop, unfazed by the geopolitical implications of their stay.

This story was first published on CNN.com, North Korea is dodging sanctions with fish and front firms in Mozambique."
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2018) - Alliance Growers Corp. (CSE: ACG) (FSE: 1LA) (WKN: A2DFYX) ("Alliance Growers" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the completion of the Company's strategic $300,000 investment in Pharmagreen. The equity investment is a private placement in Pharmagreen for a total of $300,000 at a price of CAD $0.25/ share.

Pharmagreen operations will be in British Columbia, Canada with the construction of the Cannabis Botany Center as a wholly owned subsidiary of Pharmagreen. In the US, Pharmagreen currently holds a 100% interest in Canna Companion Products Inc. Pharmagreen on behalf of BC Newco has commenced multiple applications for Health Canada licenses with their consulting group Cannabis Compliance Inc. Alliance Growers as a strategic partner with Pharmagreen is investing $3 Million dollars for a 30% interest in the Cannabis Botany Center in Mission, B.C., having already made a deposit of $250,000.

The investment is important to Alliance Growers' growth and success for two reasons:

1. Accelerates the development of the Cannabis Botany Centre

2. Provides a profitable investment that has near-term liquidity

Commenting on the strategic investment in Pharmagreen, Dennis Petke, Alliance Growers' President and CEO, noted "We are very fortunate to be able to strategically invest in Pharmagreen at such a discounted price to the anticipated opening public market price of $1/ share. Finalizing the BC Newco investment of $3M in the Cannabis Botany Centre is the most significant milestone in the Company's business plan. Now that Alliance is capitalized, we will be working closely with Pharmagreen to accelerate the development of the Cannabis Botany Centre. It represents the beginning of the execution of multiple initiatives that Alliance Growers has been developing over the last year. Alliance Growers has already acquired interests in two ACMPR applicants, notably Biocannatech, whereby Alliance recently acquired 100% ownership of this late-stage Quebec ACMPR applicant; and Canwe, a private company based in Ontario that has applied for its ACMPR license and is currently in the review and security clearance stage. Alliance continues to negotiate further acquisitions in the grow space in Canada and Australia. The Company will be executing on additional acquisitions of interests in ACMPR applicants, development of the Canna-App and finalization of its Pharmaceutical Grade CDB Oil partnership with the Israeli Medical Cannabis Company. Alliance Growers intends to live long and prosper by building a global cannabis company for where the market is going".

About Alliance Growers

Alliance Growers Corp is a diversified cannabis company driven by the Company's 'Four Pillars' Organization Plan -Cannabis Botany Centre, Strategic ACMPR Investments, CBD Oil Supply and Distribution, and Research and Development.

Alliance Growers has finalized its a new business partnership with WFS Pharmagreen Inc., to jointly develop and operate a 40,000-square foot facility to be the first of its kind in Western Canada to house a DNA Botany lab, extraction facility and Tissue Culture Plantlet Production facility to service the Cannabis market and agriculture market in general. The proposed Cannabis Botany Centre will grow Cannabis plantlets using proprietary tissue culture propagation, specifically the "Chibafreen Invitro Plant Production System", which assures consistent composition and purity of each plantlet for the growers.

Alliance Growers has entered into an exclusive agreement to acquire a late stage licensed producer applicant, Biocannatech, to become a licensed producer under Health Canada's access to cannabis for medical purposes regulations ("ACMPR") in Quebec. Alliance Growers will supply financing and resources to build out the medical marijuana facility in preparation for the inspection required to obtain a growing license. Once Health Canada is satisfied with a successful crop, Alliance Growers will be granted its distribution license.

This acquisition allows the Company an opportunity to become a licensed producer in the Province of Quebec and gain an in-road to provide tissue culture plantlets to all licensed producers in Quebec.

Further, Alliance Growers has been negotiating to obtain other exclusive Canadian distribution agreements for certain proprietary products for support of the Cannabis growing industry in addition to possible partnerships with Licensed Producer Applicants at various stages in the Health Canada License process.

For further information, please visit the Company's website at www.alliancegrowers.com or the Company's profile at www.sedar.com.

If you would like to be added to Alliance Growers' news distribution list, please send your email address to newsletter@alliancegrowers.com

On behalf of the board of directors of

ALLIANCE GROWERS CORP.



"Dennis Petke"

Dennis Petke

President and CEO

For more information contact:

Dennis Petke

Tel: 778-331-4266

DennisPetke@alliancegrowers.com

Rob Grace

Communications Consultant

Tel: 778-998-5431

RobGrace@alliancegrowers.com

THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT REVIEWED AND DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS RELEASE.

FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION

This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. These statements relate to future events or future performance. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking statements or information. More particularly and without limitation, the news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to Company's corporate strategy. The forward-looking statements and information are based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by management of the Company, including, without limitation, the Company's ability to carry out its business plan. Although management of the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking statements and information are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements and information since no assurance can be given that they will prove to be correct.

Forward-looking statements and information are provided for the purpose of providing information about the current expectations and plans of management of the Company relating to the future. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such statements and information may not be appropriate for other purposes, such as making investment decisions. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. These include, but are not limited to, the Company's ability to identify and complete additional suitable acquisitions to further the Company's growth as well as risks associated with the medical marijuana industry in general, such as operational risks in development and production delays or changes in plans with respect to development projects or capital expenditures; the uncertainty of the capital markets; the uncertainty of receiving the required licenses, production, costs and expenses; health, safety and environmental risks; marketing and transportation; loss of markets; environmental risks; competition; incorrect assessment of the value of the potential market; ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; failure to obtain required regulatory and other approvals and changes in legislation, including but not limited to tax laws and regulated regulations. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, timelines and information contained in this news release. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive.

The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and no undertaking is given to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws or the Canadian Securities Exchange. The forward-looking statements or information contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Acquisition provides deep roots to UK and European licensing, bank accounts and integrations

BitPesa, the first and largest blockchain payments platform for Africa and Europe, announced today their acquisition of TransferZero, an international, online money transfer platform that specializes in sending money to consumers and companies in 200 countries using over 50 different currencies.

TransferZero, the first fintech company licensed by the Bank of Spain as an authorized payment institution, was founded in May 2016 by Luis Cambronero, CEO. The company is a partner of Bankia, Spain's third largest bank and has pioneered a number of innovations in the European FinTech sector. As BitPesa is one of the few global companies to have licensing and infrastructure in Africa and Europe, the partnership enables the fast-growing platform to plant deeper roots through UK and European licensing, bank accounts, and integrations.

"Europe is a hub for global remittance and payments companies," said Elizabeth Rossiello, founder and CEO of BitPesa. "Digital currencies and decentralized technology have hit critical mass in the financial services and payments space. It is no longer a question of whether this technology will have staying power---rather, which specific technology and what product iteration will launch and scale first. This past year was groundbreaking for digital payments and blockchain, as we saw Japan and Korea, two major Asian economies, come out with clear regulation that supported a booming sector. The UK, Europe, and Switzerland also solidified their position in support of payment companies using this technology," added Rossiello.

"BitPesa has the support of top-tier, institutional investors and a network that will help to bring TransferZero's technology to the next level," said Luis Cambronero, former CEO of TransferZero and current MD at BitPesa. "Traditionally, residents would have to go to an agency or office to send money in cash. We enable our customers to quickly send money across the globe for free. Our new smart phone application is designed for the next generation of users," said Cambronero.

TransferZero has network integrations on four continents, and a team with decades of experience working with enterprise clients in need of global payment solutions. They are the only remittance company that does not charge a fee, aside from a small percentage in the FX.

Under the acquisition, TransferZero will continue to operate under the same brand name and all of its employees will stay with BitPesa. The headquarter will remain in Madrid.

"This is truly a partnership where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts, allowing BitPesa to solidify our leadership in this space," said Rossiello. "By bringing our regional and technological expertise together, we will further accelerate our month-to-month growth," Rossiello concluded.

About BitPesa

BitPesa is an online payment platform that leverages Blockchain settlement to significantly lower the cost and increase the speed of business payments to and from frontier markets. BitPesa's clients range from African businesses and multinational companies paying suppliers as far as China and Dubai to international remittance companies using our API services for white-label payments to dozens of bank networks and mobile money operators across Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal, and the DRC.

BitPesa was launched on November 1, 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya, Ghana with offices in Lagos, London, Luxembourg and Dakar.

About TransferZero

TransferZero is the first Spanish Fintech platform to send money online to the rest of the world, under the regulation of the Bank of Spain. The platform enables international remittances and B2B services, autonomously or through the management of a personal advisor, in more than 200 countries and 34 currencies.

TransferZero offers unparalleled security in transactions with an innovative model of segregated and exclusive bank accounts for its clients. The management and issuance of the transfer is free and the currency exchange rate is significantly more favorable than that of the banks and the traditional money transfer companies.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005997/en/

Contacts:

For BitPesa

Morgan Borer, 419-346-3619

morgan@bevelpr.com
Canada Marijuana Stocks Find a Home in SwedenTwo of the top 10 most-traded shares in Sweden in January 2018 were Canada marijuana stocks, adding further proof that the marijuana market is growing more global with each passing day."Out of nowhere, the interest for Canadian cannabis shares has completely exploded in Sweden," said Joakim Bornold from Nordnet AB, an online broker bank. "That's where the money is, if there's a will to continue legalizing markets." ("Canadian cannabis stocks are latest fad for Swedish.

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
INVISTA Performance Technologies (IPT) and Jiaxing Petrochemical Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of Tongkun Group Co., Ltd, announce the successful start-up of Jiaxing Petrochemical's second PTA Line, utilising INVISTA's latest P8 technology. The first reaction train reached 100 percent design rate in just 10 days from the first introduction of feedstock.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207006240/en/

A night view of Jiaxing Petrochemical's second PTA line. (Photo: Business Wire)

P8 is the very latest PTA technology platform from INVISTA, representing industry-leading capital productivity, variable cost and environmental footprint. It is the latest demonstration of INVISTA's 30-year track record in successfully deploying new generations of PTA technology that create competitive advantage for licensees.

A ceremonial session was held by Jiaxing Petrochemical to celebrate the outstanding achievement. Mr. Xu, president of Tongkun Group, expressed his trust in INVISTA's PTA technology and the capability of its engineers and scientists. He said, "We are pleased to see the successful start-up of our second PTA line and the operations are currently running very well."

"We recognize that INVISTA's P8 technology is a world-class PTA technology. And the successful start-up is an outcome of close collaboration between the teams of both companies. We look forward to continuous cooperation in the future," Mr. Xu added.

Mike Pickens, president of INVISTA Performance Technologies, commented in his speech at the ceremony, "We are honored that the first deployment of our latest P8 technology has been in partnership with Jiaxing Petrochemical and it is appropriate that they will be rewarded by the superior project returns made possible by the advanced P8 technology platform."

The achievement represents yet another major milestone for Jiaxing Petrochemical and INVISTA, following the start-up of the first PTA line in 2012.

INVISTA's latest PTA technology is available as a license package from INVISTA Performance Technologies. For more information, please visit www.ipt.INVISTA.com.

About INVISTA

With leading brands including LYCRA, COOLMAX, CORDURA, STAINMASTER and ANTRON, INVISTA is one of the world's largest integrated producers of chemical intermediates, polymers and fibers. The company's advantaged technologies for nylon, spandex and polyester are used to produce clothing, carpet, air bags and countless other everyday products. A wholly owned subsidiary of Koch Industries and headquartered in the United States, INVISTA has more than 50 locations around the world. For more information, visit INVISTA.comFacebook.com/INVISTAglobal and Twitter.com/INVISTA

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207006240/en/

Contacts:

INVISTA

Jodie Stutzman, +1-316-828-1786

Jodie.stutzman@invista.com


BRASILIA (dpa-AFX) - The world steel industry may be under the threat of new import taxes from the United States, but the Brazilian Steel Institute (IABr), an association of steelmakers from Brazil, expects opposition to higher tariffs from the country and plans to send a new mission to the United States this month to avoid new trade barriers.



On January 12, the U.S. Department of Commerce concluded an investigation to verify if steel imports threaten the U.S. national security. The White House received the probe results, and President Donald Trump has 90 days to make a decision based on the reported conclusions.



Analysts see the investigation as a way for Trump to adopt barriers to steel imports using the Article 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which grants the country's head of state authority to prevent certain products from entering the territory for reasons of national security.



'Behind the scenes, the U.S. government wants to close its market to protect the industry, but Brazil is not part of this problem, since more than 80% of our steel exports to the country are of semi-finished products, which are used and processed by the U.S. Industry,' argues the IABr chairman, Marco Polo de Mello Lopes.



In 2017, Brazil steel exports totaled 15.353 million tons, of which 9,757 million was of semi-finished steel. The United States was among the main export destinations.



Mello Lopes noted that IABr already tried to argue for Brazil's exclusion from new trade barriers in September when the organization promoted a visit to the U.S. that included government officials and Brazilian business people. The mission took part in a series of meetings with U.S. lawmakers and the country's steel producers and consumers.



There was also an attempt to articulate a new mission in October 2017, but efforts to do so failed. Now, a new trade mission is being organized for this month.



'We are trying to consolidate the second trip with the minister to talk to Wilbur Ross [U.S. trade secretary],' Lopes told Agencia CMA.



IABr's chairman expects Trump to either give up on new barriers for imported steel or to acknowledge local steel consumer's demands and apply soft obstacles for the commodity.



Wagner Parente, director superintendent of the foreign trade consulting Barral M. Jorge, said that China would be the first to retaliate against the U.S. in the case of new measures against steel.



'There is a lot of room for the Chinese to retaliate, whether in agricultural products, meat, or in manufactured goods, or in areas such as aviation,' he noted.



Another possible consequence would be for some country to question the ruling in the World Trade Organization (WTO), which would open a consultation on the issue and could result in the opening of a panel.



To avoid a major showdown, Parente believes that Trump could also choose to place a barrier only on steel imported from individual countries and select the type of restriction, be it a surcharge, quotas, and other measures. However, he points out that the president has adopted a protectionist stance and that the steel sector has been a historical target of trade measures.



According to an IABr report, steel products are the target of a third of the trade defense measures in the world and this movement may continue to occur due to the global steel surplus.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

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Weekly net asset value ("NAV") is calculated as of the close of business on each Tuesday and posted on the following business day. In the event that Tuesday is not a business day, the Company will calculate the close-of-business NAV as of the business day immediately preceding that Tuesday. The end-of-month NAV is calculated as of the close of business on the last day of the month and posted on the following business day. For weeks that include a month-end NAV report, PSH will provide only the month-end NAV and not report the Tuesday NAV. Monthly NAVs are published in accordance with the Decree on Conduct of Business Supervision of Financial Undertakings under the Wft (Besluit Gedragstoezicht financiele ondernemingen Wft).

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
PARIS, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

World's biggest food companies to discuss advancing food safety and consumer trust at GFSI 2018 in Tokyo

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) aims to improve food safety through industry collaboration and knowledge sharing

Senior representatives from Amazon, McDonald's, Costco, AEON and Danone are just some of the speakers at Tokyo conference 5 th -8 th March

conference 5 -8 March Key focus this year is "implementation" and "action"

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), a worldwide project to advance food safety and improve consumer trust, is holding its annual conference in Tokyo, Japan, on 5th-8th March 2018, bringing representatives of the world's biggest food companies together to discuss industry challenges. The theme for 2018 is "safe food for consumers everywhere". The event will take a stronger implementation approach, aiming to provide practical insights for attendees.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160614/379055LOGO )



Speakers will include the CEOs of AEON, Costco, McDonald's Japan, DeVries Global and the UK Food Safety Agency. The event promises to offer a diverse range of perspectives on the most pressing food safety issues. Topics on the agenda include shifting food trends, millennial consumption patterns, artisan foods, supply chain management and Japanese food culture. The annual GFSI conference aims to generate awareness of food safety and encourage innovation, while enabling attendees to network with the most important figures in the FMCG sector. It is a must-attend event for anyone seeking to understand more about food safety.

Consumer trust has never been more important, which is why food safety is now top of the agenda for FMCG giants. Scandals over food quality can pose serious reputational risks to brands and result in consumers looking elsewhere for their goods. Since 2000, the GFSI has focussed on fostering industry collaboration, driving change through strategic initiatives involving representatives from across the food industry, providing expert consultancy and encouraging industry excellence through its Benchmarking Requirements.

Veronique Discours-Buhot, GFSI Director at The Consumer Goods Forum, expressed excitement about the event. "We're looking forward to holding the GFSI conference in Tokyo; a global city renowned for its booming food industry and fine cuisine. The event provides us with the opportunity to engage with business leaders about the importance of product safety and delivering safe food for consumers everywhere. We're looking forward to hearing about the most innovative initiatives and our members' perceptions of what the future holds."

Ken Theriault, CEO, Costco, stated, "We're looking forward to this year's Global Food Safety Conference and learning more about the great food safety work that's been going on over the last year across the sector. We have worked with GFSI for many years now and have found it to be a unique forum for understanding more about food safety and learning about the most innovative approaches to the relevant issues. Whether it's managing supply chains, engaging with regulators, or responding to new consumption patterns, GFSI is a critical voice for our industry."

Motoya Okada, CEO, AEON, also expressed optimism about this year's Global Food Safety Conference, commenting, "At AEON we take food safety very seriously, which is why I'm delighted to be speaking at this year's event. While we are seeing a lot of progress made on the issue, more work needs to be done. Corporate leaders have a huge role to play, which is why I'm looking forward to discussing the potential for CEOs to drive cultural change, as well as the impact of food safety culture."

In addition to its annual global conference, GFSI hosts regional events throughout the year that foster knowledge sharing and food safety capability building on a local level. GFSI's upcoming Mexico Focus Day, taking place on 3rd May, 2018, is posed to address industry hot topics against a backdrop of regulatory shifts and new challenges to international trade.

Contact: Lisa Prevert, l.prevert@theconsumergoodsforum.com
CloudBees, Inc., a San Jose, CA-based the hub of enterprise Jenkins and DevOps, acquired Codeship, a Boston, MA-based provider of a SaaS continuous delivery platform.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed.

The deal aims to strengthen CloudBees market position as the de facto vendor of continuous integration (CI) and continuous delivery (CD), adding a fully automated platform for individual developers and project teams to seamlessly test, integrate and deploy code.

Founded in 2011, Codeship offers cloud-based continuous integration and delivery products in the cloud that integrate with the existing DevOps stack and enables clients to accelerate time-to-market of products and features. Its two solutions are Codeship Basic and Codeship Pro. Both provide cloud-based CI/CD services for development teams and include free and paid tiers. Codeship also offers the option for organizations to run their builds in the cloud, while hosting their code on-premise.

The company, which has satellite offices in Berlin, Germany and Vienna, Austria, has more than 2,400 customers and more than 100,000 developers using its platform.

Codeship has raised more than $11m in venture funding.

Led by Sacha Labourey, CEO and co-founder, and backed by Matrix Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Verizon Ventures, CloudBees is the hub of enterprise Jenkins and DevOps, providing companies with smarter solutions for automating software development and delivery.

The company starts with Jenkins, a continuous delivery platform, and adds enterprise-grade security, scalability, manageability and expert-level support. Following the acquisition, CloudBees will retain Codeship executives and employees, including Codeship CEO and founder Moritz Plassnig, who is working closely with Labourey on the smooth integration of the two companies.

FinSMEs

07/02/2018
Magma Partners, an early stage venture capital firm with offices in the U.S. and Latin America, has held the first close of its second $15M fund.

The new fund will continue supporting the growth of U.S. incorporated startups with technology and sales teams based in Latin America. Magma Fund II plans to invest in 60 pre-seed and seed-stage companies over the next three years in the Latin American region.

The firm specializes in companies with technology and sales teams based in Latin America who target the US market and B2B companies that target the Latin American market. Magma invests between $25k and $2m in each company.

The firm also launched the Sino-Latin America Accelerator in partnership with Chinese co-working space Kr Space and with the support of the Chinese government, the first accelerator from China to Latin America.

The Sino-Latin America accelerator will have a physical presence within Kr Space in Shanghai and Beijing, host monthly events, and provide a space for both investors and Chinese and Latin American entrepreneurs to come together. In addition to helping Chinese entrepreneurs access the Latin American market, the accelerator program will be an opportunity for Latin American entrepreneurs to learn about doing business in China and will help entrepreneurs source products, services, technology, and investment from China.

Companies can apply at http://www.magmapartners.com/apply.

Founded in 2014 by Nathan Lustig, Francisco Saenz and Diego Philippi, Magma Partners is a fully private US/Latin American venture capital fund that invests in startups targeting the U.S. market that have technology and sales teams in Latin America. Magma Fund I invested in 32 pre-seed and seed-stage companies with founders from ten countries.

The firm has offices in California, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and China.

FinSMEs

07/02/2018
MeMed Ltd., a Tirat Carmel, Israel-based provider of a point of care platform that distinguishes bacterial from viral infections, has been awarded a $4,079,159 grant by the DoDs Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

The CDMRP grant, which complements a $9.2M contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency awarded last year, will support transition of the prototype point-of-care (POC) platform towards a final product, including transfer to manufacturing and implementation of cloud connectivity.

Led by Eran Eden, PhD, CEO, and Kfir Oved, MD/PhD, CTO, MeMed focuses on improving patient care through research, development and commercialization of solutions that decode the immune systems distinct responses to different health and disease states.

The company focuses on providing rapid, accurate and actionable tests for acute infectious diseases and inflammatory disorders to be used in the hospital and community. Its first-generation test, ImmunoXpert, measures three blood borne immune markers to accurately detect whether a patient has a bacterial or viral infection, with the aim of empowering physicians to make more informed antibiotic treatment decisions. ImmunoXpert is cleared for clinical use in the EU (CE-IVD certified), Switzerland and Israel. It is currently in pilot distribution in these territories with a broader commercial roll-out underway.

MeMeds second-generation test will provide rapid (within minutes) results at the point-of-care. The company is partnering with international stakeholders from industry and government to facilitate global availability of its tests.

FinSMEs

07/02/2018
(CNN)  North Korea has been acquiring technology for its nuclear weapons program through its Berlin embassy, according to Germany's intelligence chief.

"We determined that from there (the North Korean embassy in Berlin) weapons procurement took place, in our view, with an eye toward the missile program and in part also the nuclear program," the head of Germany's Security Agency (BfV), Hans-Georg Maassen, told CNN affiliate ARD.

"If we find such things, we stop it, but we cannot guarantee that this can be prevented in all cases," he said in a press release from the public broadcaster ahead of a documentary about North Korea's missile program to be aired Monday.

Maassen said authorities believe parts for North Korea's weapons program were "acquired through shadow buyers or shadow markets abroad, which they then bought in Germany."

Many of the purchases were so-called dual-use goods that could be used for both civil and military purposes, he said.

German authorities received evidence of product purchases destined for North Korea's missile program in 2016 and 2017, according to the documentary.

The report alleges a North Korean diplomat tried in 2014 to acquire a monitor that measures gas emissions during the production of chemical weapons.

A spokesman from the North Korean embassy in Berlin told CNN the report was "simply not true."

''We reject and distance ourselves from local media reports over the weekend that our embassy was used to obtain technology secretly for any nuclear weapons program," the spokesman said.

The German Foreign Ministry said it's "aware that North Korea basically uses embassies to advance its illegal programs." But the ministry said it was unaware of any current such activities.

"To our knowledge, statements quoted in the local media refer to cases in the past," the ministry said in a statement. "We take this very seriously. The Foreign Ministry has cracked down on any illegal activities at the North Korean Embassy we were made aware of. ''

Maassen's comments come as the United Nations revealed North Korea earned almost $200 million (about 10.3 billion) from exporting banned commodities last year, in violation of international sanctions.

The rogue regime's repeated weapons tests saw the UN Security Council pass increasingly strict resolutions against Pyongyang in 2017.

The measures, passed after intense lobbying by Washington, targeted energy, money transfers and shipping.

However, UN Investigators in a recent report found that North Korea "is already flouting the most recent resolutions by exploiting global oil supply chains, complicit foreign nationals, offshore company registries and the international banking system."

This story was first published on cnn.com, "North Korea using its Berlin embassy to acquire nuclear tech, intel chief says."
MineralSoft, an Austin, Texas-based software company focused on developing solutions to manage oil & gas investments, raised $4M in Series A funding.

The round was led by Cottonwood Venture Partners (CVP), with participation from earlier investors Blue Bear Capital, an energy technology fund, and Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley seed investor.

The company intends to use the funds to accelerate development of its core software platform and expand its marketing and sales efforts.

followed the signing of an exclusive partnership with oil and gas data provider DrillingInfo, and comes amid rapid growth for MineralSofts software platform, which helps mineral, royalty, and non-operated working interest owners and investors manage their assets. The announcement was made today at the North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) Summit in Houston, the industrys largest event for the buying and selling of oil & gas assets, where MineralSoft is exhibiting.

Led by Gabe Wilcox, CEO, MineralSoft provides a cloud-based software platform that includes portfolio management and analytics tools to serve the needs of oil & gas investors, to manage large portfolios, track payback and ROI, audit revenue and expenses, and verify income. The platform also provides an exclusive integration with DrillingInfos data source for public oil & gas information, giving investors access to production volumes, permits, and rig activity within MineralSofts platform.

Clients span private equity, investment funds, family offices, endowments, foundations, E&P companies, and individuals.

FinSMEs

07/02/2018
This is Not a Sushi Bar, a Milan, Italy-based Japanese food restaurant chain delivery service, raised 450k in funding.

The deal includes 400k from Mega Holding and other food sector angels, as well as 50k in replacement capital.

The company intends to use the funds to expand opening new facilities in Italy and abroad as well as to continue to consolidate the tech infratructure.

Founded in 2007 by President Matteo Pittarello, This is Not a Sushi Bar is a sushi delivery chain of restaurants that currently operates 4 locations in Milan that leverages a tech platform to manage orders on more sales points. In the latest 12 months, the company has managed over 40.000 online orders recording a turnover of nearly 1.4m.

Nuvolab, the venture accelerator founded by Francesco Inguscio, advised This is Not a Sushi Bar in the fundraising process.

FinSMEs

07/02/2018
Lack of clarity about the manner of disbursal of the Rs 1,290 crore outlay announced in the Budget 2018 is making bamboo farmers and other players skeptical about the revival of the sector that has been long ignored

Lack of clarity about the manner of disbursal of the Rs 1,290 crore outlay announced in Budget 2018 is making bamboo farmers and other players skeptical about the revival of the sector that has been long ignored. The rural economy has been given a boost with Finance Minister Arun Jaitleys allocation for a Restructured National Bamboo Mission. The National Bamboo Mission is a wholly-sponsored central scheme.

There is a tinge of skepticism in the people for whom the allocation has been announced. Though the Budget has allocated a total outlay of Rs 1,290 crore under the revised bamboo mission, the money is to be paid over a three-year period. On an average, Rs 430 crore will be spent annually. The big challenge this poses is to know how the money will be disbursed, who will qualify for it, and how can people apply for it, says Kedar Krushna Panda, assistant vice president, ILFS, in-charge of Tripura Bamboo Mission. Panda says the government has to give more clarity on how farmers can apply for the funds.

Manna Roy, who has been in bamboo cultivation for three generation in the family says that the forest officials themselves are not clear about the status of bamboo as a grass or a tree. In November, President Ram Nath Kovind had through an ordinance amended the Indian Forest Act omitting bamboo grown on non-forest areas from the definition of a tree. This exempted it from requiring permits for felling or transportation. Until then, the definition of 'tree' under the Act included palm, bamboo, brushwood and cane.

Three months after the ordinance was passed, Roy says he still has to pay money to get his truck filled with bamboo to be sold to be cleared by forest officials who continue to term it as a tree. I am treated like a thief who has grown a tree without a licence and cut it for which I have to pay a fine every time I want to transport it. Given that this is what I am facing even after the ordinance was passed, I am keenly awaiting to see how the governments allocation to bamboo cultivators will help us and the sector, he says.

In Tripura, says Roy, there is no clarity about the word export which also means anything that is sold or transported outside of the state. The government needs to give clarity on the term export so that forest officials are in the know of what is a grass and a tree, he says.

Around 80 percent of bamboo forests lie in Asia with India, China and Myanmar having 19.8 million hectares of bamboo. Though India is the worlds second largest grower of bamboo with 136 species, 23 genera spreading over 13.96 million hectares, the countrys share in the global bamboo trade and commerce is only 4 percent in spite of having 45 percent of global bamboo growth .

Eight North Eastern states account for 65 percent of the total bamboo plantation in the country, as per the National Bamboo Mission statistics. During 2006-2017, the North East cultivated bamboo in 2,36,425 hectares of land out of 3,61,791 hectares in the country.

China scores over India in bamboo cultivation and is the worlds leading manufacturer of bamboo on account of its research and development which has led to Moso bamboo that grows in China and the Far East. Moso bamboo's physical properties boast an average breaking tenacity more than three times that of cotton, wool, rayon, or polyester and is used in a variety of products from floor and wall paneling to furniture to its fibre being used in clothing.

Though the government gave recognition for bamboo and set up the National Bamboo Mission in 2006-07, there hasnt been much research done on the grass per se, say industry observers. However, a few entrepreneurs have taken the lead to work on the grass and use it for a wide range of goods. Anil Mutha, an entrepreneur who has set up a unit in Tripura buys bamboo from the cultivators and says has done R&D on it so as to increase its usage to a wide variety of goods from wood paneling to furniture.

Roy who has a bamboo plantation and also a furniture outlet in Tripura says that he had approached the Bamboo Mission for funds which he alleges was not given to him. I then approached Prof M P Ranjan, who helped us with programs particularly for people in the North East and taught us new techniques on other products to be made with bamboo, says Roy. Ranjan was the head for bamboo initiatives at National Institute of Design (NID) till 2010.

The Tripura government is the only state government mission that is proactive towards the sector from plantation to value addition including marketing and setting up of bamboo-based industries in the state, says Kedar Panda of Tripura Bamboo Mission. The state follows the public-private-partnership (PPP) model with ILFS (Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited, an Indian infrastructure development and finance company) as its implementing agency at the ground-level for the past 11 years. We work with various government, non-government bodies including CSR (corporate social responsibility) arm of companies. In the past 11 years, we were able to raise Rs 90 crore for different projects.

Bamboo sticks are predominantly used in India for making agarbattis for which the sticks are imported from Vietnam and China. The Tripura Bamboo Mission has drawn up a Rs 120 crore project to make round-stick making unit for agarbattis with 63 MT production per month. However, the project is strapped for funds. We have been able to raise Rs 10 crores so far. We are encouraging farmers to plant bamboo, inviting entrepreneurs to the state and encouraging them to invest in bamboo farming and set up factories. With the 2018 Budget outlay for the National Bamboo Mission, we hope we will be able to get some help from the government towards the setting up of the unit, says Panda.

Entrepreneur Anil Mutha, one of the earliest to invest in bamboo cultivation and who has units in Tripura says like Roy that the allocation to bamboo is a provisional one. He is diffident about what will transpire on the ground. The National Bamboo Mission was dormant earlier and did not fulfill the expectations for which it was set up, he says.

The National Bamboo Mission was set up to harness the potential of the bamboo crop by adopting area-based, regionally differentiated strategy and to increase the area under bamboo cultivation and marketing. Though new nurseries were set up and steps taken to strengthen the marketing of bamboo products, especially handicraft items, bamboo cultivators feel it has not met with it stated target. It is only after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke at length about bamboo and its importance as a livelihood for people in the North East ahead of the Assembly elections in Mizoram and Meghalaya that we can see some action in the form of an allocation specifically for it in the Budget, said Neeraj Mutha, an entrepreneur.

Sector specialists say that the government will have to look at the bamboo industry as a source of employment generation for the rural economy in the North East, help out with schemes that encourage the growth of bamboo and understand and enhance the potential of the bamboo sector for exports.

Bamboo takes four years to mature after it is planted before it can provide a steady stream of revenue for farmers. It is during this period that the government needs to hand-hold farmers so that they do not cut down the grass from the second year onwards before it reaches its full potential from the fourth year. The problem is that there are no buyers for bamboo until now as it is treated as a forest product in a majority of states, says Anil Mutha.

All that is set to change with the allocation in Budget 2018 to harness what Jaitley calls, Green Gold. The outlay will help buoy up the value chain in the bamboo sector, says Dr Rajpal Deswal, additional commissioner in the Ministry of Agriculture. He admits that though the Planning Commission had recommended about Rs 2,300 crore for the National Bamboo Mission, only Rs 880 crore was released.

With the increased funds at their disposal, the National Bamboo Commission will cover an area of one lakh hectares and provide 50 percent subsidy for farmers for cultivation. Plans are afoot to encourage making of bamboo products for export and also promote the use of bamboo fibre in clothes as a fashion product.

Not all are diffident about the Budget allocation. It is only a matter of time before bamboo receives wide acceptance, says Ravishankar Mantha, CEO, Agrisk Data Analytics. As of now, bamboo is a premium and niche product, but once it grows widely like wheat did in the Punjab, bamboo will be a win-win product for farmers, industry and the common man, says Mantha. He is confident that the massive stroke given to the bamboo sector will lead to it getting a mass appeal.
Both Sensex and Nifty recovered up to 0.94 percent at open on value buying in frontline stocks led by banking, auto and metal

The markets on Wednesday broke from the falling streak that lasted for six consecutive days and resulted in loss of almost Rs 5 lakh crore investor wealth.

In opening trade, the benchmark Sensex was trading 238.41 points up at 34,434.35. Broader Nifty too was in the green at the open. Nifty surged 89.50 points to trade at 10,587.75.

According to PTI, The benchmark Sensex rose by over 470 points in opening trade, breaking its six-session long losing streak on value-buying in select blue-chips by domestic investors triggered by a recovery in global markets.

In early morning, PTI reported that both Sensex and Nifty recovered up to 0.94 percent at the open on value buying in frontline stocks led by banking, auto and metal.

All sectoral indices, including realty, metal, consumer durables and banking advanced up to 2.56 percent. The gauge had lost 2,087.31 points in the previous six sessions following a global rout in equities inflicted by inflation worries and imposition of a 10 percent long-term capital gains tax on equities.

Wednesdays market recovery may give a sigh of relief to investors as the markets saw Sensex falling 1,250 points thus eating out a huge investor money.

Global turmoil in markets triggered by the sell-offs in large numbers mostly due to the fears that central banks across the world adopt a more hawkish stance in their respective monetary policy reviews.

The Reserve Bank of India is holding its two days monetary policy committee meet on 6 and 7 February to take a call on the repo rate which is at 6 perecent presently.

On Tuesday, Sensex fell more than 1,200 points thus sending the investors in tizzy and making most of them worry about today's market turns.

Later, in the day the RBI will reveal outcome of sixth bimonthly policy (2017-18) review meeting which is expected to keep the repo rate unchanged.

(With inputs from PTI)
The Mamta Banerjee government was putting forth its arguments before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra which is hearing a clutch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme and the enabling 2016 law.

New Delhi: West Bengal on Tuesday used Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at Davos that one who controls data would control the world to assail in the Supreme Court the ambitious Aadhaar scheme, saying the Centre would control personal information of citizens to have a grip over them.

The Mamta Banerjee government was putting forth its arguments before a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra which is hearing a clutch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme and the enabling 2016 law.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, referred to parts of Modi's recent speech at the World Economic Forum at Davos.

"Whoever controls data is the most powerful and can shape the world," Sibal said quoting the prime minister. Using the statement to buttress his submissions against the Aadhaar scheme, Sibal said it meant that "who controls data in India will control India" and the state will use the power like "never before".

He told the bench, also comprising justices AK Sikri, AM Khanwilkar, DY Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan, that Aadhaar was nothing but the Right to Information of the State and the question was can it be held as constitutional?

"The answer is 'no'," Sibal added.

He said that it was the most important case to be decided by the apex court since independence and it was not the issue as to how much money the government was going to save, rather, the key point was whether citizens can be deprived of their fundamentals rights including the right to have choices.

"Digital world is far more susceptible to manipulations than the physical world," he said, adding "no legislation can or should allow an individual's personal data to put at risk".

Sibal further said that no technology was safe and moreover, no assurance can be given that personal data of citizens would remain safe in digital space.

"Biometric, core biometric and demographic information of an individual is irretrievable once it becomes part of the digital world," he said, adding that such information, if put in digital domain, were like "genie which is out of the bottle" and can never be put back.

He said that the digital world was a vehicle to benefit "information economy" and the present move of the government in the form of Aadhaar would create an architecture of "an informational polity having "far-reaching consequences impacting most of personal rights which are constitutionally protected".

Referring to provisions on deactivation of Aadhaar, Sibal said, "what kind of power is this? This is the power to cause civil and digital death (of a person)."

He gave an example of a woman being denied widow pension on the ground that she does not have Aadhaar and said, "I am entitled for widow's pension because of my status and my entitlement has noting to do with my identity."

The bench said the constitutionality of a law has to be judged on generality of cases and not on exceptional cases. "How does the court decide what level of risk is proper or not? Should the court get into this or should it be left to the legislature," the bench asked.

Sibal would resume his submissions tomorrow. Earlier in the day, senior advocate Shyam Divan, who appeared for those opposed to Aadhaar scheme, referred to a report on deaths caused due to starvation in Jharkhand as the ration cards of the victims were not linked with Aadhaar and said that the issue pertained to exclusion, death and dignity.

These reports were about "extreme situations" and in a democracy, there has to be an element of choice and Aadhaar should not be imposed, he said, adding there were other ways to weed out leakages in welfare schemes.

Divan said persons, who cannot authenticate identities under the scheme, are often treated as "ghosts" and this cannot be tested on the parameters of fundamental rights.

He said once an individual is enrolled, he is not allowed an opt-out and a person should be given a right to opt out, if he finds out that his biometric data is being misused.

"Many people, who now wants to opt-out had said that there was no genuine informed consent at the time of enrolment or they were not even aware that there is need for consent..," he said.

Citizens' data have been made available to private firms for commercial purpose and architectural design of UIDAI was such that it has very little control over this, he said, adding that there is no fiduciary relationship between the individual and the person collecting the data.

The bench took an example of credit card fraud and wanted to know whether this can be possible with Aadhaar. It is possible to hack into these systems, which are not as secure as the central depository, Divan responded.

"Some of these leaks can be plugged but the basic architectural design of UIDAI is faulty and biometric data is easily compromisable," he said.

Referring to an RTI reply, Divan said that enrolment of 6.23 crore people for Aadhaar was rejected because of duplicates as the UIDAI system works on robabilistic system.

Divan concluded his submissions and said the State may say that "I will choose to recognise you only in this manner, otherwise you cease to exist? The body cannot be used as a marker for every service".

The apex court had on 15 December last year extended till March 31 the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes of all ministries and departments of the Centre, states and Union territories.
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi asked that the central government to introduce a law to punish anyone who calls an Indian Muslim 'a Pakistani'

All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday asked the central government to introduce a law that would punish anyone who calls an Indian Muslim "a Pakistani", according to media reports.

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi demanded today in Lok Sabha that the Centre bring a law to punish with three-year jail term any person who calls an Indian Muslim "a Pakistani" (file pic) pic.twitter.com/RUzjCdit0e  ANI (@ANI) February 6, 2018

In a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday, Owaisi said those found guilty under the new legislation should be sentenced to three years in jail, a Business Standard report said.

However, he added that the Narendra Modi-led government was unlikely to bring in such a bill in Parliament.

Owaisi, who was taking part in a debate in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's Address, also said the triple talaq bill was "anti-women".

Meanwhile, Zee News reported that the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is all set to hold its plenary meeting of general and executive members on 9 and 10 February in Hyderabad's Owaisi Hospital, where over 50 of its members are expected to take part and discuss the issue of triple talaq.
Chopade is at present the vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.

New Delhi: The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has appointed BA Chopade the vice-chancellor of Banaras Hindu University (BHU), varsity sources said.

HRD Ministry officials, however, did not confirm the development, indicating that the process of appointment was still on.

Chopade is at present the vice-chancellor of Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University.

President Ram Nath Kovind, who is the Visitor to the university, approved Chopade's appointment this week. He will take charge from BHU Registrar Neeraj Tripathi, who had been holding the additional charge of the top post since October last year.

Chopade's predecessor, Girish Chandra Tripathi had gone on leave two months before his tenure came to an end, following a ruckus on campus in September last year.

The development came amid indications from HRD Ministry sources that the central government was upset with the manner in which the former vice-chancellor had handled the entire episode, including a protest by women students following an incident of alleged harassment.

The ruckus started when a number of students, including women, and two journalists were injured in a baton-charge by the police after a protest against an alleged eve-teasing incident turned violent in BHU, one of the 43 central universities in the country.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday protected Milind Ekbote, the prime accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence in Maharashtra, from arrest.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday protected Milind Ekbote, the prime accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence in Maharashtra, from arrest.

The violence on 1 January had left one person dead.

A bench headed by Justice Kurain Joseph granted Ekbote interim protection from arrest till February 20 in the case.

The apex court also sought a response from the Maharashtra government on his plea for anticipatory bail.

The apex court asked the Maharashtra government to apprise it about the law and order situation in the state.

It said that in the event of Ekbote's arrest, he should be released on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh.

According to the police, a court in Pune yesterday issued an arrest warrant against right-wing leader Ekbote, who was booked for allegedly inciting violence on January 1 during an event to commemorate the bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.

A case was registered against Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who head the Hindu Ekta Aghadi and Shivraj Pratishthan respectively, for allegedly "inciting" violence that left a man dead near Bhima Koregaon on 1 January.

Subsequent protests had disrupted normal life in Mumbai.

The Bombay High Court had on 2 February rejected Ekbote's anticipatory bail plea. Before that, a Pune court had also rejected his similar plea.
(CNN)  Political unrest in the Republic of Maldives prompted the Asian nation's President on Monday to declare a state of emergency for 15 days.

The move, which gives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom power to arrest and detain people, reflects a power struggle between the island nation's Supreme Court and its government.

"During this time, though certain rights will be restricted, general movements, services and businesses will not be affected," said a statement from the office of the President.

The country's court last week ordered the release of political prisoners and the reinstatement of elected members of Parliament that would give the political opposition majority power. But President Yameen has rejected adhering to the court order.

Situated to the southwest of India and Sri Lanka, the Maldives are a chain of atolls home to almost 400,000 people and hugely popular as a tourist destination, especially for Chinese visitors.

The Maldives attorney general on Sunday advised law enforcement to uphold the constitution and warned that the Supreme Court may "issue a ruling to impeach the President," according to a press release from the Foreign Ministry.

On Monday, the tension escalated when Maldives National Defense Forces reportedly broke into the Supreme Court in the capital city of Male.

Security forces "blockaded and locked the Supreme Court building from outside and hence the justices are without any food," Maldives' former Attorney General Husnu Al Suood tweeted.

Former leader arrested

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was also arrested on Monday, according to his family. The former leader stated earlier in the day that police has surrounded his residence. "To protect me or to arrest me? No idea," he tweeted before reportedly being taken into custody.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is the half-brother of the current President, Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, and ruled the country for 30 years until 2008.

Opposition supporters have staged street protests lobbying the government to obey the court order and have urged the international community to do what it can to persuade the government to obey the ruling.

"Once again, dissent and critical voices are coming under attack in the Maldives," said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International's South Asia deputy director. "Instead of respecting and implementing the Supreme Court's ruling, the government is riding roughshod over any notion of justice and arbitrarily detaining members of the opposition."

During the emergency period, the Maldives President said, "the safety of all Maldivians and foreigners living in and visiting the Maldives will be ensured."

The US State Department said in a press release that it supports the Supreme Court's decision and "it is imperative that the Maldivian President, government, and security services uphold the constitution and rule of law and implement the court's ruling in full."

Peak travel season

Almost 1.4 million tourists from across the world visited the Maldives in 2017, according to government statistics, including hundreds of thousands from China and the United Kingdom.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Monday the country had issued a travel warning for the island chain ahead of the Lunar New Year, which begins February 16 and is China's peak travel season.

"We suggest the Chinese tourists who plan to travel to Maldives should not go there before the situation calms down," he said Monday.

He added that there had been no reports of Chinese citizens being attacked.

India and the United Kingdom also issued travel warnings for archipelago.

"Security forces have been deployed in the capital Male in response to political developments. If you're in Male, you should exercise caution and avoid any protests or rallies," said the UK in their advisory.

A July 2017 population estimate in the CIA World Factbook said more than 392,000 live on the Indian Ocean archipelago, a popular tourist destination.
Exiled former Maldives president Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday sought India's diplomatic and military intervention to resolve the country's political crisis.

The political crisis in Maldives continued as exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed on Tuesday sought India's diplomatic and military intervention to resolve the matter.

Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) functions from Colombo, appealed for India's help. In a statement issued by the MDP, Nasheed said, "We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence".

Nasheed said President Abdulla Yameen has illegally declared martial law. "President Yameen's announcement  which declares a state of emergency, the banning of fundamental freedoms, and the suspension of the Supreme Court  is tantamount to a declaration of martial law in the Maldives. This declaration is unconstitutional and illegal. Nobody in the Maldives is required to, nor should, follow this unlawful order," Nasheed said. "We must remove him from power. The people of the Maldives have a legitimate request to world governments, especially to India and the United States".

Nasheed, 50, the country's first democratically-elected leader was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terror charges in March 2015 over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency. He was granted asylum in the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure.

Nasheed also wrote an editorial in The Indian Express asking for India's help. Claiming that democracy was at stake in the country and the spectre of radical Islam loomed large, he said that Yameen has shown total disregard for democracy and has imperilled the Maldivian Constitution. Detailing the Supreme Court ruling which freed him, he said that Yameen has sold off the nation's sovereignty in an endless quest to enrich himself.

Nasheed also wrote about China's interest in Maldives in light of the One Belt, One Road project. He insisted that perks were being given the Chinese and that piece by piece, Maldives is being sold off to China. He then went on to say that there is now a state within a state which is waiting to overrun the country.

Finally, he asked India to lead the international community's efforts to force Yameen to comply with the Supreme Court's order as it would allow for free and fair elections with international monitors. He feared that if the ruling was not implemented, the nation would fall into chaos and this would not be in the interests of the Maldivian people and their well-wishers. He ended with a plea to India, asking it "to act soon, and to act firmly".

Government sources indicated on Wednesday that India is expected to follow a standard operating procedure (SOP) that includes keeping the troops in readiness. India, which said it was "disturbed" over the situation in the archipelago nation, has already issued a travel advisory as part of the SOP but officials would not confirm one of its crucial aspects pertaining to keeping troops on standby.

Sources said troop movement has been seen at a key air-base in Southern India. According to the SOP, the troops are kept ready to meet any eventuality, crisis or requirement for help, sources said, adding there is nothing unusual about such SOPs.

With inputs from agencies
A major fire broke out in a cloth mill at the Italian Industrial Estate near the Oberoi mall in suburban Goregaon on Wednesday morning

Mumbai: A major fire broke out in a cloth mill at the Italian Industrial Estate near the Oberoi mall in suburban Goregaon on Wednesday morning, an official said.

No injury or casualty was reported so far in the blaze which broke out on ground floor of the three-storey building located in the industrial estate on Mulund Link Road, he said.

The fire brigade control room received information about it around 7.19 am, the official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's disaster management unit said.

Eight fire engines along with water tankers and ambulance rushed to the spot, he said.

Efforts were on to douse the flames, he said.

The cause of the fire was not yet known and further details were awaited, he added.

On 19 January, a massive fire had broken out at the Navrang studio in the Todi Mills Compound in Lower Parel area.

On 8 January, there was a fire on the third floor of the sessions court building which had been accorded a heritage status.

Prior to it, on 6 January, a huge fire broke out at the Cinevista studio in suburban Kanjurmarg, claiming one life.

In yet another incident on 4 January, four persons, including two children, were killed and five others seriously injured after an upper floor of a residential building in suburban Marol caught fire.
India on Tuesday criticised the UN Security Council's veto-wielding members for obstructing the designation of terrorists without giving any explanation, apparently hitting out at China for repeatedly blocking its bid to list Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

United Nations: India on Tuesday criticised the UN Security Council's veto-wielding members for obstructing the designation of terrorists without giving any explanation, apparently hitting out at China for repeatedly blocking its bid to list Pakistan-based Masood Azhar as a global terrorist.

Participating in an open debate of the Security Council on its working methods, India's Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said, "Most of the time, one does not even know which countries have exercised their veto."

He said the veto power being exercised by members of the Security Council who have been anonymously blocking the designation of several terrorist without giving any explanation.

Though Akbaruddin did not mention the name of any country, it is well known that China in the past has used its veto power when it came to designating terrorists or extremist groups having links with the Pakistani establishment.

A veto-wielding permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has repeatedly blocked India's move at the UN to designate Azhar a terrorist under the Al-Qaeda Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council.

Akbaruddin said there were 14 sanctions committees, which cumulatively listed 678 individuals and 385 entities subject to such measures.

Yet, each of those decisions had been made "beyond the gaze" of public knowledge, with no explanation of the inputs that had informed them, he said.

"For example, in practical terms, decisions of these sanctions committees can be placed on hold or blocked by any of the 15 Member States of these Committees," he said.

"The challenges related to the working methods of the sanctions committees were not merely related to transparency and accountability and in that context a case existed for the Council to address the anomalies in the committees working methods," he said.

The anomalies not only affected the efficiency and credibility of the work of the Council, but also impacted the larger membership that was required to implement its decisions, he said.

"It is in this spirit that my country along with so many others have called for the reform of the Security Council," Akbaruddin said.

His view was shared by Bolivias representative, who said the success of sanctions hinged on cooperation by all Member States.

Yet the details of those regimes were not easily accessible or transparent, including for States being sanctioned.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday used his traditional motion of thanks to launch an attack on the Congress.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday slammed the Congress in his motion of thanks address, claiming the country suffered due to Congress' policies as it only spent time singing paeans to one family while ignoring the people's welfare.

Speaking in the Lok Sabha to the motion of thanks on the president's address, Modi also criticised the Opposition party over bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, alleging that it did so only for "political" considerations without any preparation for which the people were facing hardships. "When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how far sighted decision-making is done," the prime minister said amidst protests by Congress members who shouted slogans for Andhra Pradesh.

He also said that when the army was engaged in standoff at Doka La, Congress leaders preferred to meet Chinese officials.

Modi's speech came only a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi slammed the government over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal and raised raised doubts about the "secrecy" surrounding the negotiations and cost of the France-made fighter jet. Gandhi took to Twitter to mock the Centre, saying it was attempting to deflect questions related to public spending by dubbing it a state secret

'Country suffered due to poison sowed by you'

Modi said whenever his government was criticised by select Opposition parties, substance was lacking in their arguments as they would go back to saying "when we were in power". "This is the same party that divided India. For decades, one party devoted all their energies in singing paeans to one family. The interests of the nation were over-looked just for the interests of one family," he said.

Modi said the Partition was result of the Congress' policies. "Not a single day has passed when the country has not suffered due to the poison sowed by you," he said. Had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been the first prime minister, a part of Kashmir would not have been under control of Pakistan, he added.

Questioning the Congress' commitment to democracy, Modi asked, "How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will? This is no commitment to democracy."

Taking the UPA to task over non-performing assets (NPA), Modi said, "I want to tell people. What is this NPA issue? They should know that it is UPA which is responsible for the NPAs. They made such laws which created pressure on banks to give loans to cronies in India. These cronies used to restructure debts but banks never got any money back. If I had to play politics, then I would have done it on the first day itself. But that would have created a crisis in India. So, I was silent for the sake of the country. This NPA is your deeds."

Addressing the criticism around the Budget, he said, "There are rumours and disinformation about BJP being against the middle class. They are aspirational class. They want best quality education, quality of life, housing and other facilities. This is my government's endeavour. We have given various tax benefits to the middle class."

He also addressed the Opposition's statements regarding the government. "The more you spill dirt over us, the more BJP will strengthen. I urge the Opposition to continue to do so. I don't mind," said Modi.

"You doubt that farmer incomes will increase by 2022 because you never thought of such a scheme. Such ideas cannot happen with a small and parochial mind," Narendra Modi said while answering Opposition's criticism over farmer issues.

'Opposition has right to protest but not disrupt'

The prime minister said Opposition had the right to protest but not disrupt. This statement came even as Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan told protesting members from Andhra Pradesh, "When you go home, you will not be even able to teach discipline to your children." For the second straight day, ruling NDA ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress continued with their protest demanding various facilities and funds for Andhra Pradesh. Around 15 members from both parties trooped into the Well, displaying placards and shouting slogans during the Question Hour.

Modi ended his speech asking everyone to work together to create a new India. "Let us work together to fulfill the dreams of the people," said Modi while hailing the presence of ASEAN leaders during Republic Day.

The motion of thanks to the President's Address passed in the Lok Sabha by a voice vote and all amendments by Opposition were negated.

With inputs from agencies

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Over a month since they first set foot in parched Newlands, Cape Town to kick-start their tour of South Africa, Virat Kohli and his troops return to the venue that served them a 72-run humbling. Back then, India, after a dream start, were decisively thwarted by a determined South African middle-order in the first innings. Despite taps in Cape Town running dry, the pitch showed little signs of dryness and Indian pacers claimed 18 of the 20 South African wickets that fell.

This is a different day and a different format though, one that India have bossed over for a while now. Their home dominance over the course of last year was built over the rather fortuitous discovery of two wonderful wrist-spinners, who have shown in their two outings that they dont really need responsive pitches to be effective.

The results of One Day Internationals (ODIs) these days are determined in the middle overs, and India must thank Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav for snuffing the life out of South African batting in overs 11-40. In the two ODIs that they have bowled here, Chahal and Yadav have already picked 13 wickets between them; each of their wickets coming in this phase.

The Proteas have been unable to pick spin off the hand, and the slowness and loop with which Indian spinners operate have left their minds muddled with more doubts.

Not surprisingly, South Africa have ramped up their preparations against wrist-spinners; they employed five of them in net practice on match-eve. Problems such as these cannot possibly be addressed during a series, but if South Africa manage to lose fewer wickets in middle overs, they can perhaps target the fifth bowler, Hardik Pandya, with greater conviction.

Apart from spin, injuries have been the hosts nemesis in the series. Having already lost AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, they will now have to deal with the absence of wicketkeeper and opener Quinton de Kock. His absence means Heinrich Klaasen will get his ODI debut. A right-handed batsman with a List A strike rate of 90.11, Klaasen has 53 dismissals to his name from 42 matches.

De Kocks absence means stand-in skipper Aiden Markram will open the innings with the experienced Hashim Amla, who will once again be the fulcrum of his side in the absence of De Villiers and Du Plessis.

The Newlands track, like most pitches in South Africa, offers good pace and bounce, and the inherent nature of the track, as seen in the first Test, is not likely to change much. What it translates into is another batting-friendly pitch, and the in-form Indian top-order would certainly not mind that.

The average score here batting first in last five ODIs is 311, and team batting first has won on each occasion. The last ODI here  played exactly a year back against Sri Lanka  saw the hosts plunder 367/5, with Du Plessis scoring a fine 185, the second-highest by the Proteas in the 50-over format.

While winning does paper over certain cracks, India would want Rohit Sharma to return to his big-scoring ways. After a dismal Test series, the Mumbai right-hander has looked in better control in the ODIs, getting starts in both his outings. His opening partner Shikhar Dhawan, who helped himself to a fine fifty in Centurion, feels Rohit needs just one innings to get back in form. India would be well served if that innings happen to be in Cape Town, the venue where he was picked over Ajinkya Rahane in the first Test.

The inclusion of Rahane in the playing XI, meanwhile, has sparked off a turnaround of sorts in India's fortunes. He played an important, and typically understated, hand in Indias win on a dangerous Johannesburg pitch in the third Test, and was part of the match-winning partnership with Kohli in the first ODI in Durban.

India have never won a bilateral ODI series in South Africa. The last time they beat Proteas in a two-nation 50-over series was in February 2010  a series that saw the first-ever double hundred in this format. Virat Kohli was a part of that squad, and he would surely want that winning feeling after all those years. A win in Cape Town, where the hosts have won 28 of 33 matches, would mean India cant lose the six-match series. More than that, it would reiterate their burgeoning reputation as an all-conditions limited-overs squad.

Teams (from):

India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Jean-Paul Duminy, Aiden Markram (c), David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Khaya Zondo, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Heinrich Klaasen, Lungisani Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Farhaan Behardien
Three army personnel were among six people injured on Wednesday evening in a mine explosion along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, an army official said.

Three army personnel were among six people injured on Wednesday evening in a mine explosion along the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district, an army official said.

An army team was engaged in a security clearance operation along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Sundarban Sector when a mine exploded, a senior army officer told PTI.

In the blast, three army personnel and as many porters were injured. They were hospitalised, he said.

Earlier on Sunday, four Indian soldiers, including a 22-year-old officer, were killed and four other persons were injured on Sunday in Pakistani firing on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri and Poonch districts.

With inputs from agencies
Opposition parties have decided to ask President Ram Nath Kovind to intervene in the investigation around CBI special judge BH Loya's death.

Despite the Supreme Court hearing petitions on the circumstances surrounding CBI special judge BH Loya's death, Opposition parties have decided to ask for President Ram Nath Kovind's intervention in the matter, said media outlets.

A three-page letter has been prepared and several Opposition leaders and Members of Parliament from both Houses have already signed it, reported The Indian Express. The Congress party is reportedly at the forefront of the move. The leaders will meet the President regarding the matter by the end of this week.

The report also said that the letter spoke of the need for an independent probe. It explains the case in detail and mentions the new "revelations" related to the case.

The Hindu reports the number of signatories of the petition at over 100. It also quoted a senior Opposition leader as saying, "The government is eager to brush the incident under the carpet. The president of the republic is the highest authority, so we decided to knock at his door."

The Congress had earlier demanded a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team probe into Judge Loya's death, saying there seemed to be a "cover-up" and "some serious questions were unanswered".

Addressing a press conference, Congress leader Kapil Sibal had said the party was putting out some hitherto unknown "facts" in the public domain, including that Judge Loya, who was holding the trial into the alleged staged shootout death of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and two others, had told a lawyer-activist in a video conversation about "a draft order" which he was being "pressurised to sign".

BJP president Amit Shah was an accused in the case but was later acquitted.

"This is happening in India. If the lawyer community, which stands to defend people's rights, if that is targeted, where judges who are adjudicating on serious issues, if they are targeted, how will be democracy be saved. This issue of democracy being in danger was also raised by the four judges of the Supreme Court," Sibal had added.

"When journalists are facing danger, lawyers are facing danger, judges are facing danger, there is a danger to democracy," Sibal had said, demanding the whole matter should be referred to an independent SIT which should not have any Central Bureau of Investigation or National Investigation Agency officer.

He had said the party would protest in every village if an independent probe was not ordered. "Injustice is being done, something is being shown, some people are being protected... This has never happened in the history of India," he had said.

The petitioners in the case have also urged the Supreme Court to order an independent in the case citing contradictions in the report submitted by the Maharashtra government and discrepancies in the statements of judicial officers who were present on the spot.

Telling the court that Judge Loya's death was too serious a matter to be ignored, senior counsel Dushyant Dave had described as "self-serving" the report submitted by the Maharashtra government.

"All these are self-serving documents. All these people should be interrogated during further investigation" of the Loya case," he had said, asking the court to call Loya's father, sister and other family members in their chamber and if they say "they don't (want an) investigation, then close the case".

With inputs from agencies
Gupta was killed in communal violence that broke out in Kasganj on the Republic Day.

Kasganj: Police on Tuesday arrested one more person accused in the murder of Chandan Gupta in Kasganj, a senior official said.

"One of the accused persons in Chandan Gupta murder case  Salman  has been arrested. We have recovered a country-made pistol and two cartridges from him. The arrested accused is a resident of Mohalla Nawab of Kasganj," Superintendent of Police Piyush Srivastava said on Tuesday.

Earlier, on 31 January, the police claimed to have held Saleem, the prime accused in the Chandan Gupta murder case.

Subsequently, on 3 February, one more person, Rahat, was arrested in connection with the killing. Gupta was killed in communal violence that broke out in Kasganj on the Republic Day. He died of gunshot wounds. The killing led to a spiral of violence in the western UP town in which at least three shops, two buses and a car were torched.

The administration also cracked the whip on a WhatsApp group operating in Kasganj.

"Police have registered cases under various sections of the IPC against WhatsApp group administrator Ram Singh for posting objectionable and communally inciting messages and pictures, and against group member Ajay Gupta for spreading enmity between people from two communities. A case has been registered against them at Ganjdudwara police station," District Magistrate RP Singh said.

The DM added that Ram Singh had been arrested while Ajay Gupta was absconding.

The police had got information that some people were posting objectionable and communally inciting messages and pictures on a WhatsApp group. Both, the accused group administrator and member are believed to be the residents of Ganjdudwara.
A day after the Supreme Court called for protection of inter-caste and interfaith couples, Naresh Tikait, the head of the Balyan Khap, told the apex court that they would 'not give birth to girls at all'. Tikait's remarks  which naturally ticked off the court  will inspire only those who believe that women are inferior. But for everyone else, this is a medieval mindset which pours liquid agony on good people and needs to be ended.

Male chauvinism is not just alive, but kicking.

A day after the Supreme Court called for protection of inter-caste and interfaith couples, Naresh Tikait, the head of the Balyan Khap, told the apex court that they would "not give birth to girls at all". Tikait's remarks  which naturally ticked off the court  will inspire only those who believe that women are inferior. But for everyone else, this is a medieval mindset which pours liquid agony on good people and needs to be ended.

This stable genius, irked by the apex body cutting these khap panchayats and their gross hostility to gender equality down to size, reportedly told the Supreme Court that it could not interfere with traditions.

Tikait added that if by mistake, if a girl was born and allowed to live, she would be disallowed from studying and, therefore, not have a mind of her own or exercise anything but blind obedience.

Perhaps Tikait believes  with what might be seen as a whoop of ecstasy  that he has thumbed his nose at the court and the nation and triumphed. However, his threat might yet have some upside (hear me out). If he and his ilk stop producing girl babies, sooner or later, Tikait and his tribe will waste away. Where does Tikait think he comes from if not his mother's womb? Not having girl children. Indeed. How laughable and yet, how cruel.

And Tikait isn't alone. Hear the words of wisdom of Rajbir Singh Malik, head of Malik Khap. "Maybe the Supreme Court has taken this stand influenced by the vulgar exhibition of modernity in cosmopolitan cities, but they must understand that village life is different, and we are bound by our traditions." Really? In which village in this world is rape sanctified? For example in 2015, in Baghpat, Meerut, two sisters were ordered raped as punishment simply because their brother eloped with a woman from another caste. What sort of tradition is this?

Merely because Tikait added the mandatory line of having respect for the honourable Supreme Court, he does not have a defence against contempt of court. Actually, not just contempt of the judiciary, but of all Indians of right mind, men and women alike.

These khap panchyatas are the Indian equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan. They encourage honour killings and sit around passing pious judgement on any inter-caste affair of the heart. They perpetuate caste differences and divide the community by religion. To be honest, they are worse than those that practiced apartheid because they exist and flourish without government sanction or legal approval.

The Supreme Court has banned these khaps. So why are they still functioning and assuming quasi-legal authority to hound people and cause anguish and pain? The process of dismantling them must begin in earnest immediately. Not one adult, man or woman, in love should have to face the terror of being shamed, maimed and even killed because these ghastly men poison Cupids arrow.

Though they are largely active in northern India and Uttar Pradesh, these anachronistic village gangsters  usually from higher castes  have similar set ups in other states and command attention by the spread of fear and retribution.

If Tikait was pulled up by the Supreme Court for refusing to obey a legal fiat and subsequently had a case of contempt registered against him, it would send a message. For all intents and purposes, Tikait has left himself wide open for this. When he spoke of 'we are unable to tolerate the interference of the court in matters of tradition, the 'we' he is referring to is a bunch of thugs.

It's time to put an end to this brutal regime. In whatever form it may exist.
The Government of India needs to approach this situation in the Maldives tactfully and must avoid bowing down to popular sentiment.

The crisis in the tiny Indian Ocean republic of the Maldives continues to escalate. The latest developments being the declaration of a state of emergency by the country's president Abdulla Yameen which was followed by the arrest of two of the judges of the Supreme Court. The declaration of emergency is unique in the sense that it suspends articles in the Maldivian Constitution that give the Supreme Court its jurisdiction effectively suspending human rights and the rule of law in the country.

While ordinarily, India is not actively concerned about such developments in another country, the Maldives falls under what India ordinarily considers her geopolitical sphere of influence. The Maldivian Opposition Leader and its first democratically elected President tweeted calling for an Indian Envoy to intervene with a physical military presence in the country in order to restore the rule of law:

On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request:

1. India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges & pol. detainees inc. Prez. Gayoom. We request a physical presence.

2. The US to stop all financial transactions of Maldives regime leaders going through US banks.  Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) February 6, 2018

This is not without precedent because, in 1988, India did send a contingent of paratroopers to help the then Maldivian government survive a coup d'etat. We know it as Operation Cactus.

However, this time the circumstances are quite different. Yameen who is at the centre of this current crisis has been engaged in a long drawn-out courtship with both the Chinese and the Saudi Arabians. In fact, apart from Pakistan, the Maldives is the only other South Asian country to have signed a free trade agreement with the Chinese. An agreement that has been seen by some to be an open snub at India.

This makes the situation in the Maldives complicated. In the midst of the global power struggle between India and China, the recent crisis in the Maldives means the country is in play and therefore, any overtures that the Government of India makes right now will be very crucial in determining not just its future relationship with the Maldives but will also have external ramifications on its broader foreign policy objectives.

Indian foreign policy has been undergirded by a fundamental principle. This principle is that India believes in International Law and a rules-based order when it comes to international relations. Currently, International Law prohibits unilateral military intervention into the affairs of other nations except in self-defence.

There is a certain amount of ambiguity about whether an intervention would be permissible in order to avoid a humanitarian crisis from escalating, but there appears to be no humanitarian crisis right now in the Maldives.

An intervention to remedy a breach of human rights though is something that is not permissible under International Law. If this were the case, then it would become legal to invade countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia as they are notorious for violating the human rights of their citizens. International Law is yet to arrive at the point where "preserving democracy" is grounds for intervening in another country.

This is something India ought to consider before it considers military options in the Maldives. It has already placed its forces on standby, but it has not issued orders yet. India's case against China on the international stage is founded on International Law.

The dispute in Arunachal Pradesh, its right to defend Bhutanese interests in Doka La and the Aksai Chin disputes all hinge on demanding that the Chinese abide by International Law and respect concluded treaties.

India's dispute with Pakistan calls upon them to abide by the terms of the Shimla Agreement and respect the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. In fact, India is currently in litigation before the ICJ seeking to enforce International Law when it concerns the case of Kulbushan Jadhav.

India's view of the South China Sea situation also similarly calls upon the Chinese to abide by International Law and to respect the law of the sea. The need to maintain a harmonious stance when it concerns International Law cannot be understated and India should resist overtures to unilaterally intervene in the Maldives.

However, this does not mean that India is out of options when it concerns the Maldives. India always has sanctions at its disposal. India is free to impose unilateral sanctions on the Maldives to favourably resolve the situation.

India may also take the dispute to and lobby the UN Security Council. While China can always exercise the veto, India can take the route the US did with its invasion of Iraq.

Attempting a bypass of the UNSC through a legal justification that involves no longer recognising Yameen's government as the legitimate Government in the Maldives. This can only be done though after India manages to establish a complete failure of diplomacy and manages to build an international consensus or at least a broad diplomatic coalition against Yameen.

Then it may choose to recognise the Opposition as a legitimate Government and provide some form of legal cover for an intervention and term it as restoring Nasheed to power in the Maldives. This may save India's moral high ground in international affairs should a military solution be required to resolve the present crisis. But an outright show of military strength will only weaken India's hand as far as the Chinese and the Pakistanis are concerned. The Government of India needs to approach this situation tactfully and must avoid bowing down to popular sentiment.
In regards to neighbourhood situation and the Maldives crisis, it will be a wise move on India's part to nip trouble in the bud before violence escalates.

Another round of political instability has hit the Maldives. The present crisis is hardly unexpected. After all, President Abdulla Yameen has pitted himself against the Judiciary, politicians, sections of the bureaucracy, and in recent times, even the police.

The Maldives is no stranger to political instability. When President Abdul Gayoom voluntarily gave up his seat as president after more than three decades, Maldives earned the honour of being one of the few states to adopt democracy in a time of the so-called "Arab Spring". That the transition happened after considerable pressure from the Opposition is a historical footnote, since it remained a relatively peaceful transition in comparison to the bloodletting in countries like Tunisia. Matters however soon turned awry when the elected President Nasheed was forced to resign after protests against his arrest of a judge.

The presidential election that followed brought Yameen to power. The arrest of Nasheed on terrorism charges and a sentence of 13 years of imprisonment followed shortly thereafter. This, in turn, led to a wave of protests, and the imposition of emergency. To make matters even more complicated, the vice-president was also impeached on alleged attempts to assassinate the president. To round things off, the head of the Adhalaat Party Sheikh Imran Abdulla was also arrested on terrorism charges.

All this arresting of all and sundry expectedly brought together some strange bedfellows. An Opposition coalition was formed that included former presidents Gayoom, Nasheed  who had been arrested at least 20 times  the Adhalaat Party, and Jamhoori Party leader Gasim Ibrahim.

This combined grouping tried to force a no-confidence motion against the Speaker Abdullah Maseeh Mohammed at least twice. The second time was just before the Maldivian independence day when Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif was the chief invitee. The Opposition was able to get the support of disgruntled members of the ruling party, thus winning the numbers to carry its motion.

The president and his group retaliated by disqualifying its rebellious members. The situation came to a head when the Supreme Court ordered the release on 2 February, 2018, of nine jailed Opposition leaders and reinstated the 12 parliamentarians who had been expelled from the ruling party.

While the president publicly swore to follow all constitutional rules and obligations, the numbers were against him. Reinstatement of the parliamentarians would have meant enough numbers for not just a vote against the Speaker but also allowed eventual impeachment proceedings against the president himself.

The court's order for a retrial of former President Nasheed also ran against him, particularly with presidential elections due this year. Caught in a pincer movement, he resorted to precisely the mistakes made by dictators of periods past, by arresting Opposition leaders including former President Gayoom, his son in law, a former defence minister and several other Opposition leaders.

He even dismissed the police chief for trying to implement the court's orders. As the situation began to worsen, he declared a state of emergency, pleading that this was the only way to save the situation. Its unlikely anyone will buy that argument, but as of the time of writing, it appears that the army is standing behind the embattled president. And in the Maldives, the army is a force to reckon with.

Expectedly, both former President Gayoom and Nasheed have called for Indian intervention a la Operation Cactus of 1988, when Indian forces dramatically and effectively ended a coup attempt launched ostensibly by outside forces. At that time, a group of Sri Lankan Tamil militants  for want of a better term  were launched from a freighter off the Maldives, and effectively took over vital installations, while the president took shelter from house to house while appealing for help.

That particular group owed allegiance to the People Liberation Organisation for Tamil Eelam, lost the show for the simple reason that they omitted to close down the airport, allowing Indian paratroopers to land and reverse the situation. That operation has long been suspected to have been masterminded by former President Abdulla Nasir, in the same way, that leader after leader has plotted and planned against his competitor. History repeats itself ad nauseam, and yet to no effect.

Hopefully, history will not need to repeat itself again in terms of a dramatic Indian intervention. Given that officials and garrulous seminarists have been talking about India being the 'net security provider' at every available forum, this might be somewhat difficult. Besides, it's not just us. Other countries like the United States have also christened us similarly, clearly expecting a regional power to flex its muscles when necessary.

It can be argued that notwithstanding the urgent appeals from former presidents, the whole situation is purely an internal matter of the shaky but undoubtedly the sovereign Republic of Maldives.

However, the point is this: If things turn ugly  and it well might  then some 'intervention' may well be needed. Second, if we don't lend a hand, someone else might.

It's no secret that China has taken a giant leap into the tiny island nation with its maritime version of Belt and Road Initiative. Since 2013, when the present government came to power, Beijing's influence has only increased. Apart from assistance to expand the international airport, and development of Hulhule Island and corresponding connecting roads, Beijing chose to send three naval ships to the Maldives last August. Most notably, the present government also chose to hurry through a Free Trade Agreement with China through Parliament in an emergency session.

Parliamentarians argued that they had no chance to go over the 500-page document much less discuss it. The rush was due to the fact that the president was due to visit China shortly thereafter. In the event, the Joint Statement between China and Maldives called for more Chinese investment, language centres, and notably, support from Male for enhancement of a Chinese role in SAARC. China, in turn, agreed not to interfere in the internal affairs of the country, which in plain English meant that it supported the government at a time of severe political turmoil and opposition.

It seems therefore that the Maldives has learnt from Kautilya in befriending China, as a balance against the near 'not quite enemy' India. The fact that the Narendra Modi government has stonily refused to visit the country at a time of 'neighbourhood first' policy is hardly lost on the leadership in Male. At a second level, it has also chosen to befriend Pakistan, who has offered a $10 million defence credit line to the Maldivian Armed Forces.

There is also an MOU between the training institutions of the respective foreign services. The chief of Maldivian National Forces major general Ahmed Shiyam is a product of the National Defense College as well as an alumnus of the Command and Staff College at Quetta. While the chief is a man of considerable stature, there has been persistent worry that the army may plan to take over power itself, a choice that is likely to be applauded by their counterparts in China and Pakistan.

India has, therefore, two choices. A military intervention at this time will seem  and will be  outright interference in the internal matters of a sovereign country. However, India does not have the luxury of not doing anything, particularly if violence escalates. A first choice is the obvious one, of diplomatic heavy lifting.

The US and other major powers are willing to weigh in to pressure the president to follow constitutional norms, together with assurances of his safety. Saudi Arabia may also be persuaded to join the call. If violence escalates significantly, a second choice  or lack of it  may be forced on Delhi.

New Delhi may consider consultation with the Maldivian Defence Forces and police in restoring order, with the objective of setting up the mechanism for a government of national unity under whom new elections can be held. Indian support for such a Maldivian initiative that brings together designated civilian and military leaders, may be emphasised with a naval 'visit', carrying a contingent of commandos.

There are however several lessons to be learnt for the longer term. For one, as regards to the neighbourhood, it is wise to nip trouble in the bud. You don't need to read 'The Godfather' to remember that. A second one is, build your own bridges  made up of several hundred ships that trade in everything the Maldives needs, including drinking water. Kickstart container operations by the Shipping Corporation of India as a beginning. Otherwise, a certain faraway nation will be building its own bridges instead.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the president's address in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, BJP sources said on Tuesday.

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The Budget Session of the Parliament is set to resume on Monday after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tabled the Union Budget 2018-19 on 1 February, the Narendra Modi's government's last full Budget before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"People (of Andhra Pradesh) are looking forward with anticipation. They (the Centre) have done something, but much more needs to be done. We will discuss these things in the next two-three days and try to work out a solution," Chowdary added on Sunday.

Some of the issues over which TDP is miffed are the implementation of a special financial package for the state, setting up of a railway zone, deficit finance, and schemes related to the development of Amaravati as the state capital.

"Our state is in a disadvantageous position due to bifurcation (of united Andhra Pradesh). People are dissatisfied because there is no specific mention of state issues in the Union Budget. All this was discussed," TDP leader and Union minister Y Satyanarayana Chowdary said.

The dissatisfied Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Sunday decided to retain alliance with BJP after top leaders from the saffron party, including Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, called up Andhra Pradesh chief minister and TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu and brokered peace, for now.

The Lok Sabha had passed the bill seeking imprisonment for Muslim men convicted of practising instant triple talaq, but a united Opposition had stalled it in the Rajya Sabha, where the NDA lacks a majority.

According to reports , the Narendra Modi government has said it hopes to get the controversial triple talaq bill passed in the Rajya Sabha this Budget Session.

The government on Friday made it clear in Parliament that it will keep away from the tussle between the Chief Justice of India and the four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court, saying the judiciary is capable of handling its "internal matters".

According to reports, the Congress and some Opposition parties have made it clear that they will press for discussion in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the "crisis in judiciary" following the issues raised by four senior judges of the Supreme Court in an unprecedented press conference in January this year.

The following members will take oath in the Lok Sabha today: Dr. Karan Singh Yadav (Alwar Parliamentary Constituency, Rajasthan); Raghu Sharma (Ajmer Parliamentary Constituency, Rajasthan); and Sajda Ahmed (Uluberia Parliamentary Constituency, West Bengal).

The BJP hopes to consolidate its support among backward classes by according constitutional status to the OBC commission, which, it believes, will give it more teeth.

Besides the triple talaq legislation, which criminalises instant talaq by Muslim men, the government is also likely to make a pitch for the passage of the OBC bill, which seeks to give a constitutional status to the OBC commission.

The six-member PAC sub-committee on defence is looking into the non-compliance of certain aspects of the CAG report of 1989 and 1990 on the Bofors Howitzer gun deal. The report has been delayed as action taken notes were not submitted before the panel by the concerned ministry and government organisations, said a member of the sub-committee, chaired by the BJD's Bhartruhari Mahtab.

A parliamentary panel looking into the Bofors gun deal for almost 27 years is likely to finalise its report on the issue in the current Budget Session, members said. The CAG report on Bofors is the oldest "pending" matter before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), PTI reported.

There have been reports of about 15 police shootouts from 10 districts of the state in 48 hours.

The family of one of the victims, Jitendra Yadav said that caste animosity might have been a cause behind the 'fake encounter'.

The case in point is here is that two men in Noida Sector-122 were allegedly shot at by a sub-inspector of the Uttar Pradesh police on Saturday, leading to the suspension of four policemen on Sunday. While one has sustained injuries on the leg, the other one is critically injured.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Monday gave a notice for suspension of all businesses in the Rajya Sabha, demanding a special discussion on the reorganisation package for Andhra Pradesh, reported News18 .

Sloganeering demanding adjournment of the Rajya Sabha takes place in the House. Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu admonishes MPs. Meanwhile, TMC Derek O'Brien begins speaking while Opposition members continue shouting in the House.

Admonishing the protesting Samajwadi Party MPs, Rajya Sabha Chair M Venkaiah Naidu said: "You have just come to seek publicity," thus, adjourning the Rajya Sabha.

Last year, he had stirred up a major controversy by claiming that 346 families had to flee Kairana in Uttar Pradesh because of threats from a 'particular community' and also released a list of Hindus who had to leave the town. However, he later claimed that the exodus was not communal in nature.

He had reportedly been undergoing treatment at the hospital for a month and that he had been facing breathing difficulties.

The Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day after the House paid a tribute to late BJP MP Hukum Singh. Bharatiya Janata Party leader and member of Parliament (MP) from Kairana, Hukum Singh , passed away at the JP Hospital in Noida on Saturday.

"This government works for the upliftment of the poor. And the first thing we did is introduce the 'Jan Dhan' bank accounts," said Shah.

"It's been three and a half years and looking back, we are surprised. Our democratic history is 70 years. Many governments have come and gone. The Narendra Modi government has achieved a lot in this short span of time," said Shah.

"When Modi was elected a house leader, he gave a historic speech, stating that these governments would be the government of Gandhi and the Deendayal. I am proud to say that for three and a half years, this government has been running on the principle of Antyodaya," says Amit Shah.

"I am elated to say that one crore 30 lakh people given up their gas subsidy on the request of Prime Minister Narendra Modi," says Shah.

"What sort of mentality is this? There is no shame in selling pakodas. Comparing him to a beggar is shameful," says Shah.

'It's better to sell pakodas, than not work at all': Amit Shah

"I believe there is a problem of unemployment in the country... We just had eight years of rule but why you (Congress) could not solve this problem in your 55 year-rule?" says Amit Shah.

"The Congress, backed by the left-government, did not even increase the minimum wage as much as the Narendra Modi government has done," says Shah.

"Delivering electricity to every poor household, delivering health services, delivering toilets, delivering employment... I am proud that this government is moving in that direction," says Amit Shah.

"So many people came to power from the slogan of 'Garibi Hatao' but the task of removing poverty and raising the living standards of the poor has been done by the Modi government," claims Shah.

"14% revenue growth was not an empty promise. Its a constitutional guarantee we have given. People revolted against GST because people had no faith, but we created that faith. I have studied about GST in-depth and I can tell you businesses are going to grow," says Shah.

"We are in power today, tomorrow you can be too. Our mentality is not such that we don't believe it can't happen. It is a democracy. I want to appeal to everybody that GST is an excellent economic reform. What is Gabbar Singh Tax? Gabbar Singh was a villain in Sholay. This Gabbar Singh Tax is used to pay people their pensions, schemes etc," says Amit Shah.

"One can go through all the democracies in the world, but none of them had the courage to give health insurance of Rs 5 lakh to 50 crore people," said Shah. "I know some people will make noise about this but we have decided to call Ayushmaan Bharat as Namo healthcare now."

"No one dared touch the subject of One Rank One Pension except around elections. When NDA came to power, we introduced One Rank, One Pension within one year," says Shah.

"Sleeping jawans lost their lives. People were enraged. Narendra Modi made no statement but within 10 days, he decided upon the surgical strike and took revenge upon the erring agents," says Shah.

"For India, Kashmir is a very important issue. Today, Kashmir is the most secure state in the country. Terrorists are spending their days behind Tihar jail's bars. We have handled the Kashmir issue very well," says Shah.

"Triple talaq was challenged several times in the various courts across the country. When Narendra Modi government brought the triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha, the Opposition stalled it. If you don't protest, we will bring it back tomorrow," says Shah as members erupt in protest.

'When we go to Congress, people will ask them why they opposed the OBC bill': Amit Shah

World saw India from a different perspective at the time of surgical strikes, says Amit Shah

"Every year from DBT, the country has saved Rs 57,000 crores. I believe that this is a very big achievement," says Shah.

'Some people see victory even in defeat': Shah takes a jibe at Congress' electoral defeats across the country

Speaking of demonetisation, Amit Shah said: "Notebandi is a huge jab at black money. We have worked to close over 3 lakh shell companies".

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad countered the claims made in Amit Shah's speech. He said that the BJP government has only rebranded the schemes made by UPA government.

If this is your new India, we are ashamed of this new India: Ghulam Nabi Azad tells BJP

He said that the Swacchh Bharat scheme was a rebranded version of the Nirmal Bharat scheme introduced by the UPA, and its state is such that 550 Crore rupees were spent on just publicity.

"You are so adept at repackaging that we are impressed. We were idiots, we didn't know anything about packaging, forget repackaging. We have just known how to work, politics of press conferences and publicity is your speciality," Azad said.

He also said that the much touted Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme was being strangled in the lack of fund. Citing data he said, when the scheme was to be implemented in 161 districts the Budget was 200 crore, now when you plan to expand it to 640 districts, it is 280 crore. "What is the math," he said.

Slamming the flagship schemes of the NDA government, Azad said that the healthcare scheme introduced in the Budget is not going to yield any results for the common man. He said that the healthcare scheme was, in essence, a health insurance scheme which would benefit insurance companies and not the common man. He said that looking at the preceding examples of much richer nations, he can predict that the scheme will prove to be another hollow promise.

Concluding his speech, Azad taunted the BJP on its promise of new India. "We don't need your new India. We are better off without it. Please return our old India where there was no fear, Gandhi's Bharat where Hindus and Muslims could die for each other," Azad said.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee palyed a key role in creating new states in India. We created Chhattisgrah, Uttarakhand and Jharkhand. His deft handling of the creation meant there were no issues with the separation.

Hitting back at the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Congress has been responsible for dividing the country for politcal gains. "We too supported Telangana and the bifurication of Andhra Pradesh. But we never did it for political gains." He said that Congress's actions have led to issues between the two states.

"You had no Opposition at your time. you had the opportunity to do something for the country. But you (Congress) spent your time in serving only the Nehru-Gandhi family. Had you worked for the people, we would have been an advanced country by now," Modi said.

"When your former PM Rajiv Gandhi insulted T Anjiah at Hyderabad airport. You people should not talk about democracy. Your leader says that if Jehangir goes, then there is Shah Jahan. If not Shah Jahan, then you will have Aurangazeb. Is this democracy?" Modi said while criticising it over the lack of democracy in the party.

"India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants us to believe. Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries ago. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture," Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha during motion of thanks speech.

"In the previous government, 11 kilometres of national highway was created everyday. In the last three years, we have created 22 kilometres national highways. every day, When it comes to railway lines too, we created 2100 kilometres of new lines in three years, while UPA created only 1,100 kilometres of line in their final three years," Modi said.

Modi ups the ante and said that if Sardar Patel had been Indias first leader, Jammu and Kashmir wouldnt be divided today. He said ruckus created by the Opposition won't be able to suppress my speech in Lok Sabha.

"How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will. This is no commitment to democracy," Modi in Lok Sabha.

"In December, did we witness an 'election' or coronation for the post of Congress President?" Modi taunts Rahul Gandhi over his elevation as Congress party president.

"We cannot deny that every party has contributed to the country. But Congress Prime Ministers have not said it during their speech in Red Fort. But I, as the prime minister, have always said that even Congress governments have helped in developing the country.

"The West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala and Karnataka governments claim that nearly 1 crore Indians have got employment in these states. So will you not consider that employment. I am not talking of BJP or NDA government. But will you ever say that the employment stats provided by non-BJP governments are wrong?" Modi said while talking about employment issue in India.

"Irrespective of who heads the government, the aspirations of the brimming middle class youth should always be the top priority," says Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha.

"Those who were talking of 21st Century India in the1980s could not bring an aviation policy for the country despite being in power. We converted 16 airstrips for operational use. We have seen the potential in bringing aviation in Tier I and II cities too. India has given order to buy over 900 aircrafts in India. We use technology to fasten the pace of development," says Modi

Employment is increasing but you had closed your eyes as you are busy singing your songs. Atal ji has said chhote Mann se koi bada nahi hota aur toote Mann se koi khada nahi hota: Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha during motion of thanks speech.

Modi said that the Congress feared that he would scrap the programme. However, after he continued with the programme, the Opposition is raising issues of poor implementation.

"You doubt that farmer incomes will increase by 2022 because you never though of such a scheme. Such ideas cannot happen with a small and parochial mind," Narendra Modi said while answering Opposition's criticism over farmer issues.

"There are rumours and disinformation about BJP being against the middle class. They are aspirational class. They want best quality education, quality of life, housing and other facilities. This is my government's endeavour. We have given various tax benefits to the middle class" says Narendra Modi over reports of middle-class being angry over the Budget 2018.

"We distributed 28 crores led bulbs to middle-class families which saved their electricity bill by Rs 15,000 crore, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Lok Sabha during motion of thanks speech.

"I want to tell people. What is this NPA issue. They should know that it is UPA which is responsible for the NPAs. They made such laws which created pressure on banks to give loans to cronies in India. These cronies used to restructure debts but banks never got any money back. If I had to play politics, then I would have done it on the first day itself. But that would have created a crisis in India. So, I was silent for the sake of the country. This NPA is your deeds," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

"The more you spill dirt over us, the more BJP will strengthen. I urge the Opposition to continue to do so. I don't mind," Modi said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

"When there was standoff at Doka La, you (Congress) were talking to the Chinese," says Narendra Modi while hitting back at the Congress.

While referring to the 1972 Shimla Agreement, he said that Indira Gandhi negotiated the deal with Benazir Bhutto. However, it was her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who negotiated the deal.

"We have to create a New India. Let us work together to fulfill the dreams of the people," said Modi while hailing ASEAN leaders presence during Republic Day. With that Modi concluded his speech in the Lok Sabha.

Reacting to the speech made by the prime minister in the Lok Sabha, Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that there was nothing new in Modi's statements. "We wanted to listen to Modi's speech. One is Andhra issue which we raised. Then there is the issue of Rafale deal. Something has gone wrong there. He spoke for over an hour but did not talk on it. He gave a political and campaign type speech. He did not talk on employment crisis. he did not talk of farmer distress. This is about protecting the poor. His speech are basically focussed on Congress party," he said.

"The two hours speech was historic.The data he had was a black and white data to show what the Congress has done. It is appalling that the Congress continued to shout and create ruckus in the Parliament. This happened when the prime minister was giving a vote of thanks to the president's speech," Babul Supriyo told News18.

"Arun Jaitley had said that protest is a form of democracy. So we are doing the same thing now. We have raised some pertinent points on various issues. May be the BJP needs to do some research to know how the Parliament functioned during Vajpayee era," Congress spokesperson Priyanka Chaturvedi said.

We are following what Arun Jaitley said in Opposition, says Congress

"Narendra Modi left the MPs in lurch over the Andhra Pradesh issue. We thought the MPs will get some respite in Budget 2018. But yet nothing happened. Congress works for the sake of some ideals. BJP leaders do not walk the talk," Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge said on Wednesday.

"Nothing new in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said...People are interested to know about the questions," said Sonia Gandhi reacting to prime minister's speech

"Questions are being asked by the country from the prime minister, but he is not answering... here (in Parliament) you have to give answers and not ask questions to the country instead," he said.

He seems to have forgotten that he is the prime minister not an opposition leader, Gandhi told reporters after Modi's reply in the Lok Sabha to the motion of thanks on the president's address, PTI reported.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to answer the country on questions posed to him on the Rafale deal, farmers and jobs instead of making allegations in Parliament.

Reacting to the President's address, Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the address was the most dry speech by a president since Independence. "Devoid of prose or comment on concrete achievements, the President's address was only making new promises," Sharma said.

Sharma said that the JP wants only to speak not to hear. They don't want to hear any Opposition or be answerable to any questions. All they talk about is new schemes that will only yield result by 2022. Has the BJP forgotten math? You are answerable in 2019, who will report to the people in 2022, only time will tell.

'BJP's math of five years seems to have gone wrong,' says Congress leader Anand Sharma

Listing out accomplishments of Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira gandhi, Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the BJP is too arrogant to actually acknowledge the contribution made by his predecessors but India has not forgotten. He wondered when Modi said that he inherited a stagnant economy and a 'pichda bharat', was he talking about a different India.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, Congress leader Anand Sharma raised the issue of Rafale deal. "Are there two different definitions of corruption, one for Congress and one for you," Sharma said. He said that the government was using the government machinery to act against its opponents. Questioning why the government was shying away from revealing basic facts about the Rafale deal, Sharma said that scrapping the old deal has not been sufficiently justified.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his speech in Rajya Saha. He thanked the members for debating on the President's address. Modi said that as many as 38 members have expressed their views and he listened to all of them.

"Ghulam Nabi Azad ji mentioned Ayushman Bharat in his speech and compared it to the models tried in Britain and US. This is wrong. Somethings that have failed there can work in our nation and vice versa. The scheme is for the nation and all Opposition parties are invited to form task forces and give us any suggestions for the scheme's improvement," Modi said.

Prime minister said that in introducing new healthcare schemes, his intention was to improve on the existing infrastructure. He said that this does not mean Ghulam Nabi Azad or previous governments, did not do anything. But no one can deny that a lot more needs to be done in the healthcare sector," Modi said.

"Opposition has the political right to criticise me, but in the enthusiasm to criticise BJP, they cross the line and inadvertently criticise India. This is not good for nation," Modi said.

'Opposition obsessed with Modi but in criticising me they cross the line,' says PM

He said that the BJP wants the nation run on Gandhi's idols. The prime minister then added on a lighter vein that it was Mahatma Gandhi who had once remarked that after Independence, Congress has lost its relevance, it should be disbanded. Modi said that when his party talks about Congress-mukt bharat, they are building upon Gandhi's ideals only.

"Congress was taking about the old India and new India. They said that they wanted the old India back, I want to ask them what India do they want. The India where army's jeep scam happened or the one where submarine corruption took place," Modi said.

He said that the past governments implemented schemes in a hurry due to political compulsions. "You said that we are name-changers and not game-changers, but I would add we are actually aim-chasers," Modi said.

"You complain that I don't give enough credit to your party and its legacy. Well, starting projects and then putting them on the backburner is your legacy and I give you credit for it," Modi said.

He also asked the Opposition why it took them so long to honour Patel and Ambedkar with a Bharat Ratna.

"During Gujarat elections, I could see that everywhere Congress used Sardar Patel's name. I was actually happy that we got to see the day when the Congress party actually valued him, Modi said as BJP members chuckled. But after the elections, in none of the programs, you mentioned or used Patel's or Dr. Ambedkar's name. When you accuse us for something, when you point one finger at us, remember that four fingers are pointing at you too," Modi said.

"I have heard Congress party vociforously batting for change in triple talaq law, what specific changes nobody knows. But if you feel so strongly about bringing changes to the triple talaq Bill, then you should have brought the law yourself when you were in power for so many years. What stopped you," Modi said.

"Look at what all you (Congress) mocked - Swachh Bharat, Make in India, surgical strikes, Yoga Day. You are free to mock as you please, you are bound by your politics. But why are you blocking the bill for OBC Commission? Why are you blocking Triple Talaq Bill? Are you not sensitive to the aspirations of OBCs,' PM Modi asks the Congress," Modi said.

"We are not able to take the real benefit of federal structure because of repeated elections. Polls draw near in one or another state every six months and it creates undue pressure on both state and central governments. Politcal calculations take over policy decisins that shoudl be made for welfare," Modi said.

Ruckus in Rajya Sabha as House votes on amendments to Motion of Thanks on President's address

"The Prime Minister's speech was factually wrong when he said One Rank One Pension scheme for retired soldiers was an NDA scheme. It was initiated by former prime minister Manmohan Singh," Antony said.

A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vote of thanks speech in Parliament, session in both the Houses is expected to be stormy. Launching a tirade against the Congress, Modi on Wednesday said he was pursuing Mahatma Gandhi's dream of a ' Congress-mukt Bharat ' and accused the grand old party of eulogising the Gandhi family when in power, at the cost of India's development.

Today, MPs of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) are expected to hold protests in the Parliament complex over financial allocation for Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget 2018-19, according to media reports.

The ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) has also called for protests across the state to express solidarity with its MPs, who have been trying to stall the proceedings in both the Houses of Parliament to demand justice to the state.

Authorities in Andhra Pradesh have tightened the security in view of the shutdown called by the Left parties on Thursday to protest the injustice meted out to the state in the Union Budget 2018-19. The Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India-Marxist and several other smaller parties have called for the shutdown. YSR Congress and Congress have backed the shutdown call.

Galla hinted that if the party's demands are not meant, the TDP will leave the alliance. "We are allies - we fought the 2014 general elections together, based on the promises made to the people of Andhra Pradesh," he said. - IANS

Participating in a debate on the Union Budget in the Lok Sabha, Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP Jayadev Galla said they have been fulfilling the "alliance dharma" (with the National Democratic Alliance) since 2014, and after five Union Budgets have been presented, this is the last chance for Andhra Pradesh to get what it was promised ahead of its bifurcation to carve out a separate state of Telangana.

Smiling broadly, Modi requested Naidu not to restrain the Congress MP. "It is for the first time after the Ramayana serial that we are having the good fortune of hearing such laughter today," Modi said without elaborating, but apparently hinting at a negative character in the serial.

As Modi sought to shear the previous Congress government of the credit for Aadhaar, Chowdhury burst into a guffaw, drawing disapproval of Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu. "If you have some problem, go to a doctor, please," an irritated Naidu told Chowdhury.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a dig at fiesty Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury , saying her laughter reminded him of epic serial 'Ramayana'.

Rajya Sabha chair M Venkaiah Naidu leads the session with an obituary reference to the deceased MP Frida Topno, who passed away on 6 February.

Modi on Wednesday took a dig at fiesty Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury, saying her laughter reminded him of epic serial 'Ramayana'.

The Congress MPs in the Rajya Sabha raised a protest over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's comments on MP Renuka Chowdhury on Wednesday. Due to this, the House chair adjourned the session till 12 pm.

Congress MPs in the Rajya Sabha seek an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his comments on MP Renuka Chowdhury on Wednesday.

TDP, YSR Congress MPs still continue to raise slogans in the Lower House, shouting "We want justice" for Andhra Pradesh.

AP Jeetendra Reddy, an MP from Telangana says roads in Telangana have not been constructed with safety in mind. Road accidents in the state have been on a rise. In 2014, 4,89,400 accidents took place in the state. In Mehboobnagar district, at least one person dies on the roads every day.

In response, Road and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari says, in 2017, 4,60,000 accidents took place in the country. Most accidents occur due to riders not wearing helmets on bikes. Education, engineering, enforcement and emergency clear  these are four aspects we take into account. 787 black spots have been identified.

"As a chairman, I will not suspend Question Hour. But since there is a broad consensus, we will move on to discussion on the General Budget," says Venkaiah Naidu.

YS Chowdary, MoS said in the Rajya Sabha: "The AP Reorganisation Act was passed unscientifically. It cannot be partly cooperative. In last three and half years, we could not fulfill some promises."

KVP Ramachandra Rao, Congress MP says in the Rajya Sabha, "I'm representing the anguished people of Andhra Pradesh. I'm worried about the propriety. The House that passed the AP Reorganisation Act, is incapable protecting the rights of our own people, what are we supposed to do sitting here?"

'If we are incapable of protecting rights of Andhra people, why are we sitting here?'

Parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar asks TDP, YSR Congress MPs, protesting in the Lok Sabha, to go back to their seats and proceed with the discussion on the Union Budget, amid loud protests.

"You ask me to suspend Question Hour but then ask me to hold it. You can't eat the cake and have it again," said Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.

'You can't eat the cake and have it again': Rajya Sabha chair

Meanwhile, TDP MPs increase the volume of their protests saying they don't believe them.

Ananth Kumar, Parliamentary Affairs minister in the Lok Sabha said, "Narendra Modi is very sensitive to the issues raised by the people of the Andhra Pradesh. The finance minister Arun Jaitley will address his concerns in his reply to the House. I request TDP MPs, led by Chandrababu Naidu, to have a healthy debate."

TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi says in the Lok Sabha, "Every body is against notebandi. It is not going to be good for the poor. Raghuram Rajan predicted the 2008 meltdown. If you want to have 'sabka saath, sabka vikas', you have to have the trust of the people. I must tell you, in West Bengal we live and deliver with this slogan. What Bengal thinks today, the rest of the country thinks of it tomorrow."

"Entire needs lot of incentive that if we don't have pure air, water, our next generation will be affected. None of this has been mentioned in this year's Budget," says Trivedi.

"Muslims are also citizens of this country. They are also loyal," says TMC leader Dinesh Trivedi in the Lok Sabha.

"I also request the Government of India to allocate funds to open an AIIMS in Tamil Nadu. Also, the Centre has not provided any allocation for Cyclone Ockhi relief in this Budget," he added.

AIADMK MP J Jayavardhan says in the Lok Sabha, "I oppose GST imposed on projects executed by states. It is an additional burden."

BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar says in the Lok Sabha, "In all its years of existence, Aligarh Muslim University doesn't provide reservation to SCs. When Indira Gandhi annoucned nationalisation of banks, she said it would benfit the poor. But it wasn't until the Jan Dhan scheme was announced that 30 lakh people had a bank account."

SAD MP Prem Singh Chandumajura says, "73 percent of wealth is with the one percent rich. The rich are getting richer and the poor, poorer".

"With relation to income tax, people from the middle classes faced disappointment. Meanwhile, the government provided a five percent tax reduction for corporates," he said.

Samajwadi MP from Uttar Pradesh, Tej Pratap Yadav said, "More than a Budget, it sounds like sounding the poll bugle for 2019 general election."

"In 2017, there were situations where citizens didn't feel safe. Defence has received very less allocation in the Union Budget 2017-18. In times like this when China is all set in the border areas, the governement should be more considerate towards security."

"Opposition is unnecessarily is accusing that the government does not want to run the House. We want to discuss the General Budget," says Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar.

"It is a total failure of the government to run this House," says Ghulam Nabi Azad, Leader of Opposition.

"BJP MPs are disrupting the House because they have no answers to the Budget questions," says TMC leader Derek O'Brien.

Congress MP Anand Sharma said, "It is unprecendented in the history of Parliament that the Parliamentary Affairs Minister is leading the disruption of the Rajya Sabha. He is not the right person to tell us we are not supporting democracy. We cannot be bullied."

At this, the Chair requested the MPs to restore order to the House. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar stood up and said that the members' are agitated and will continue to register there grievances, but this should not deter the former finance minister and Congress member from speaking. He said that after all the prime minister's speech was disrupted all through on Wednesday.

The ruckus in Rajya Sabha continued even after the House was reconvened. The BJP leaders were seen protesting and raising slogans in the time allotted to P Chidambaram to speak.

Meanwhile, from whatever we could make out of the former finance minister's speech, he asked 12 questions related to the state of the economy as he claimed that the real GDP of the country, in various sectors, has not changed since 2014. The real GDP values are adjusted for inflation, while the nominal GDP figures are not.

Chidambaram started speaking, using the economic growth metric's used in the prime minister's speech as a takeoff point, his voice barely audible on television over slogans of "Pradhan mantri ka apman nahi sahega Hindustan" and "Congress Valo Maafi mango Maafi mango."

On Tuesday, during the reply, Modi had questioned the Congress's claim of being the originator of the biometric national ID Aadhaar when he said that the then home minister LK Advani had in 1998 spoken about an all-purpose national ID in Rajya Sabha. This led to Chowdhury bursting into loud laughter.

Hitting out at the PM outside Parliament, Chowdhury said, My party is with me. I will continue to laugh as there is no GST on laughter.

"Where have all the jobs gone? what is this mystery? I will tell you," Chidambaram said as he read out a data about a slew of vacancies across government departments.

Mocking the government's economic policies, Chidambaram said that we are the only country that claims that the jobs have gone down but the GDP has gone up.

Quoting a report published in The Pioneer , Yadav said that Chidamabaram should have answered the allegations against him instead of questioning the government. He said that the Congress was an opportunist party which feasted on Hindu and Muslim vote bank when it suited its political goals.

Yadav said that the former finance minister was heard complaining about the fiscal deficits in the BJP's regime. Quoting a poetic verse, Yadav said that Chidambaram should look in the mirror and pay some attention to the fiscal deficit figures of his government before complaining about ours.

On one hand, TDP MPs stormed the Well in Rajya Sabha seeking special package for Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, BJP members continued there sloganeering against the Congress party seeking their apology.

TMC MP Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday criticised the Union Budget calling it a "jumla" (rhetoric) and alleged that several issues like the plight of farmers, better health services and education are yet to be addressed. Disapproving of remarks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi against his predecessors Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi in the Lok Sabha while replying to the debate on presidential address on Wednesday, Trivedi said there could be a difference of opinion but there should not be biases.

His party colleague Abhishek Singh asked the Congress to refrain from insulting those selling pakoras or else they will be reduced to just five seats in Lok Sabha.

BJP MP Ganesh Singh defended the budget and said the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi should reply to the issues raised by the prime minister on Wednesday. "You are asking about the Rafale deal but who will reply on Bofors and the submarine scam. "There have been many misdeeds during the Congress rule and the prime minister is trying to taking the country on the path of the development. People of the country are looking towards the prime minister," Singh said.

"The narratives which we had inherited & the narrative which we have now is entirely different. Nobody at that time mentioned that India is the fastest growing economy. It has only happened now. Data speaks for itself," Jaitley said.

Arun Jaitley, responding to the discussion on the Union Budget, said "You (Congress) have been talking about Aadhaar but all you could achieve was formulate how such an ID would be created. You were not able to pass a law, you had no vision whatsoever to use it in the way we have, Your draft law was silent on privacy, whereas we have a full chapter on citizens' privacy and the iron balls around Aadhaar," Jaitley argued.

India's growth was 7.1 % before demonetisation and now the GDP fallen. This is also the impact of GST. On Budget, Jaitley says in every Budget he has tried to give relief to the middle class.

We know how to bite the bullet when tough decisions have to be taken, says Jaitley

Within a matter of months, we have been able to stabilise GST; we reduced rate with increase in revenue.

Ruckus begins in the Parliament as Sumitra Mahajan requests members to let Jaitley finish. Jaitley says,"They must learn to listen if they have questions."

Jaitley says the government is extremely sympathetic to issues of the people of Andhra Pradesh amid ruckus in the House.

Hitting out at Congress president Rahul Gandhi over the Rafale deal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar said : "Amit Shah ji said Rahul ji's style of politics is undemocratic. Hence, such kind of disruption during Prime Minister Modi's speech." BJP president reportedly said this during the BJP Parliamentary meet that took place on Friday morning.

In protest TMC leader Derek O'Brien said that the Opposition wants to discuss the Budget and should be given the opportunity to do so.

Rajya Sabha chair M Venkaiah Naidu says: "I don't want these scenes to be viewed by the entire country. I can't do anything if this becomes competitive politics."

Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan continued with legislative business even as TDP MPs gathered around the Well with placards in hand demanding a special package for Andhra Pradesh. Protests can also be heard in the Rajya Sabha.

Even as Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan attempted to continue with legislative business for the day, Congress MPs could be heard shouting slogans over the Rafale deal. demanding answers from Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Lok Sabha adjourned for the day over disruptions; will resume session on 5 March at 11 am

In protest TMC leader Derek O'Brien said that the Opposition wants to discuss the Budget and should be given the opportunity to do so.

Rajya Sabha chair M Venkaiah Naidu says: "I don't want these scenes to be viewed by the entire country. I can't do anything if this becomes competitive politics."

Lok Sabha speaker Sumitra Mahajan continued with legislative business even as TDP MPs gathered around the Well with placards in hand demanding a special package for Andhra Pradesh. Protests can also be heard in the Rajya Sabha.

Even as Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan attempted to continue with legislative business for the day, Congress MPs could be heard shouting slogans over the Rafale deal. demanding answers from Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Lok Sabha adjourned for the day over disruptions; will resume session on 5 March at 11 am

Odisha MP AV Swamy fell down in the Parliament premises, he has been moved to the hospital, reason being ascertained: Venkaiah Naidu in Rajya Sabha pic.twitter.com/Pm2hnzu64M

Latest Updates: "During Gujarat elections, I could see that everywhere Congress used Sardar Patel's name. I was actually happy that we got to see the day when the Congress party actually valued him, Modi said as BJP members chuckled. But after the elections, in none of the programs, you mentioned or used Patel's or Dr. Ambedkar's name. When you accuse us for something, when you point one finger at us, remember that four fingers are pointing at you too," Modi said. He also asked the Opposition why it took them so long to honour Patel and Ambedkar with a Bharat Ratna.

Reacting to the President's address, Congress leader Anand Sharma said that the address was the most dry speech by a president since Independence. "Devoid of prose or comment on concrete achievements, the President's address was only making new promises," Sharma said.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has reacted to the speech made by Prime Minister Narendra Moid. She said: "PM said nothing new, he is repeating old things, people are interested about their jobs , they want to know about their future."

Rahul Gandhi said country asking PM questions on Rafale deal, farmers and jobs, he needs to answer them in Parl and not make allegations instead. Rahul called the prime minister's speech as "political."

Reacting to Modi's speech, Union minister Babul Supriyo said, "The two hours speech was historic.The data he had was a black and white data to show what the Congress has done. It is appalling that the Congress continued to shout and create ruckus in the Parliament. This happened when the prime minister was giving a vote of thanks to the president's speech."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has completed his speech in the Lok Sabha, where he took potshots at the Congress party, while enumerating the achievements of his government.

A combative Prime Minister Narendra Modi has blamed the Congress for "forcing" Partition on India and decades later in Telangana, saying future generations are bearing the brunt of the political decision.

The prime minister is delivering his reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the lower house, even as TDP and Congress MPs continue to raise slogans against him and the BJP. Modi is also scheduled to speak in the Rajya Sabha later.

Modi also raked up a 1982 incident when then Congress leader Rajiv Gandhi allegedly insulted Dalit Andhra CM Tantuguri Anjaiah in front of supporters. The PM said that if Sardar Patel were leading India in 1947, Kashmir wouldnt be divided today.

Amid din by Opposition, Modi says if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was India's leader in 1947, the country would have never been divided. Opposition has been continuously raising slogans in Lok Sabha. Modi is replying to the debate on the motion of thanks to the president's address in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, BJP sources said on Tuesday.

As TDP and Congress MPs protest and raise slogans for a special package for Andhra Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi says it was the Grand Old Partys decision to divide the state into Telangana and Andhra which led to chaos. Going back in history, Modi also attacks the Congress over the Partition of India, saying the country is still suffering because of it.

The discussion started on Monday and the motion is likely to be adopted by the House, where the ruling NDA has a big majority, on Wednesday, following the prime minister's reply.

The BJP has issued a whip asking its members to be present in the House on Wednesday and the day after. The government may introduce some important bill on Thursday, sources said.

In his reply, Modi is expected to respond to the opposition attack on his government over a host of issues, including alleged tardy employment generation, the state of economy, agriculture and foreign affairs, among others, and will list its achievements.

BJP members in their speech have hailed the government for its work in curbing black money, strengthening economy and boosting agriculture, claims refuted by opposition lawmakers in their address.

The debate on the motion of thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind's address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament on the opening day of the Budget Session began on Tuesday. It was initiated by the BJP's chief whip Rakesh Singh.

With inputs from PTI
The National Investigation Agency has arrested an alleged hawala operator from Uttarakhand in connection with its probe into the activities of Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT).

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency has arrested an alleged hawala operator from Uttarakhand in connection with its probe into the activities of Pakistan-based Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT) in India, an official spokesperson said on New Delhi.

Abdul Samad, the fifth person arrested in the case, was nabbed in Haridwar on Tuesday and brought to Delhi where he was produced before a designated court.

The court on Tuesday sent the suspected LeT member, a resident of Bukkanpur village in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, to six days NIA custody in the case of alleged fund raising for terror activities.

Special Judge Tarun Sahrawat remanded 22-year-old Samad to the custody of the agency, which said he was required for sustained custodial interrogation. Samad is a leading hawala operator, operating in the area of Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Roorkee, who was acting as the conduit of an LeT financier based in Saudi Arabia through his cousin in that country, the NIA spokesperson alleged.

In November 2017, he allegedly collected Rs 3.5 lakh from hawala operators in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to deliver it to Shaikh Abdul Naeem, an active LeT member. Shaikh visited and established bases in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on the directions of his handler Abdul alias Rehan based in Pakistan, the NIA said.

Besides Samad, the NIA has arrested Shaikh as well as Dhannu Raja and Mahfooz Alam, both residents of Gopal Gunj in Bihar, and Touseef Ahmed Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

The case started with Shaikh, a resident of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, being arrested from Lucknow in November 2017. Investigations revealed that he had spent time in troubled south Kashmir and photographed some Army installations, officials said Central security agencies, which interrogated Shaikh at length, told investigators about his accomplice, Tauseef Ahmed Malik, in Pulwama district. He was placed under arrest by the NIA on 9 December.

Shaikh also disclosed during questioning that he had stayed in Pulwama, moved to various places with the help of Malik and even photographed some Army and paramilitary camps, the officials claimed. Wanted in connection with a 2014 terror case and on the run since then, Shaikh told investigators that some important power projects and railway tracks in the Valley were surveyed, they said. He also visited places in Himachal Pradesh, particularly Kasol, which is frequented by Israeli nationals, according to the officials.

Security agencies claimed that Shaikh was roped in for a recce mission similar to that undertaken by Pakistani-American David Headley, who is serving a 35-year prison sentence in a US jail for his involvement in terror activities and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008.
Hitting out at the Opposition's allegations against the NDA government over the deal with France to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets, the Minister of Defence on Wednesday called the demand to disclose the details and value of the contract 'unrealistic'.

Denying the Congress' allegations of graft over the Rs 58,000-crore deal with France to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets, the Minister of Defence on Wednesday called the demand to disclose the details and value of the contract "unrealistic".

"Unfounded allegations are being made regarding the 2016 Inter-Governmental Agreement to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition from France," the ministry said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

The ministry added that the allegations merited a response because of the "serious damage" they were causing. "It ought to be remembered that it was under the ten-year tenure of the previous government at the Centre that the earlier initiative of 2002 to meet requirement of the Indian Air Force for much needed augmentation of its fighter strength ran aground," it said.

Stressing that it could not reveal details of the deal, the defence ministry said the procurement of the aircraft "is strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects."

Giving an item-wise cost and other information would reveal details about weapons systems and customisation of the jet, it said, adding that the government was bound by the confidentiality provisions of a 2008 Indo-France pact in not sharing details of the deal.

It further mentioned that the UPA government had also expressed its inability to disclose the price of various defence procurements.

The inter-government agreement for buying the Rafale fighters was signed between the two nations on 23 September, 2016, after being agreed upon during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to France in April 2015.

The defence ministry insisted that the deal secured by the government was better in terms of capability, price, equipment and delivery than the one "notionally" negotiated by the UPA regime in a process which it could not conclude even in 10 years.

Clarifying on the initial proposal to procure Rafale which had ended "in a stalemate", the ministry said there was "no provision for transfer of technology but only to manufacture under licence."

"The government was unable to agree on the terms for even that in its negotiations with the vendor, resulting in the long-drawn exercise under the earlier government ultimately turning futile," it said.

The defence ministry's statement comes a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi questioned Centre's "secrecy" on the deal. Rahul tweeted:

Top Secret (Not for Distribution) RM says the price negotiated for each RAFALE jet by the PM and his "reliable" buddy is a state secret. Action Points 1.Informing Parliament about the price is a national security threat 2.Brand all who ask, Anti National#TheGreatRafaleMystery  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 6, 2018

Rahul's tweet followed Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman causing an uproar in the Rajya Sabha when she refused to divulge details of the deal by citing a "secrecy clause" in the agreement.
Echoing Rahul's views, Congress parliamentary party leader Sonia Gandhi asserted that the prime minister has said nothing new and he is repeating old things.

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of protecting those behind alleged corruption in the Rafale deal and said he needs to answer the country on questions posed to him on it and on farmers and jobs instead of making allegations in Parliament.

Rahul made the accusation while reacting to Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha, which, he dubbed as a "political and campaign speech".

"We expected a vision. Instead we got a visionless election speech. It didn't have the gravitas or maturity you would expect of the prime minister," he said in a statement.

Echoing Rahul's views, Congress parliamentary party leader Sonia Gandhi asserted that the prime minister has said nothing new and he is repeating old things.

"People are interested about their jobs, they want to know about their future," she said after Modi's reply to the debate in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks on the president's address.

The Congress chief also accused the prime minister of being obsessed with the Congress party, saying it is doing disservice to the nation by not focussing on its future.

"We are happy with the prime minister to be obsessed with the Congress party, but it is a disservice for our prime minister to spend so much time on the Congress and so little on the future of the nation.

"The nation has reposed its trust in the prime minister. It expects the prime minister to respond with seriousness towards its problems," he said in his first official statement.

Describing the prime minister's speech as a "political and campaign" speech, Rahul said Modi seems to have forgotten that he is the prime minister and not an opposition leader.

Alleging that something wrong has happened in the Rafale jet deal with France, the Congress chief noted that the country has to understand that the prime minister talked about corruption and had said he will launch an attack on it.

"But in the Rafale deal, there has been corruption and the prime minister is protecting those who have done corruption," Rahul alleged without elaborating.

"He made a political speech, a campaign speech, but did not speak on the issues before the country...The prime minister talked for one hour, but did not utter a single word about the Rafale deal... Questions are being asked by the country from the prime minister, but he is not answering... here (in Parliament) you have to give answers and not ask questions to the country instead," he said outside Parliament.

According to Rahul, the prime minister can talk against the Congress party at a public meeting, but not in Parliament where he needs to answer questions posed to him by the country.

"He is right in talking about the Congress party, but this is not the place to raise it. You can raise this issue at a public meeting, but not here. Here, you have to answer to the country. You are not to make accusations here... Every time there is a speech about Congress party and leaders of Congress party and about Narendra Modi," he said.

Rahul said the nation is faced with three criticial problems of jobs and employment, agriculture with lack of government support breaking the will of farmers who are driven towards suicide, and new dangers on India's borders as "the security of our nation is at peril".

"The nation expected the Prime Minister to address these three issues and provide us with a vision. We were waiting to support and applaud him for such a vision. Instead the prime minister's speech today was an attempt at diverting the nation's attention from these three problems. The truth is the prime minister does not know how to take India forward. That is why he always reaches into the past," he said.

The Congress chief said there are three-four issues before the country - what future do farmers have, how to provide employment to youth and whether there was a scam in the Rafale deal.

"We had three clear questions  You changed the contract in Paris, did you ask the Cabinet Committee on security and what price have you paid for the aircraft," he said.

Rahul noted that it is for the first time that the defence minister is saying "we will not tell the country".

"This is the biggest deal for the backbone of the air force, but defence minister says we will not tell the country as it is a secret, under a deal struck in Paris".

He said the Congress party is only asking questions but not getting answers. "Please answer whether you changed the deal yourself. Whether you paid more or less and whether you took permission that you were to take. It is simple. But answers are not coming," he said.

Countering Modi on corruption, he said he has spoken time and again about his commitment to rooting it out. "Now when confronted with Rafale, in which he directly intervened, he is completely silent".

Instead of talking about farmers, providing them right prices and waiving of their debt, the prime minister is talking about bamboo and honey bees, he added.

"Look this is not an issue of bamboo and honey bees, it is about providing right prices to farmers and protecting their future. The prime minister did not talk about this," he said.
Al Janadria, the national cultural festival of Saudi Arabia that has India as the 'Guest of Honour' country this year, is being inaugurated on Wednesday by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Riyadh: Al Janadria, the national cultural festival of Saudi Arabia that has India as the 'Guest of Honour' country this year, is being inaugurated on Wednesday by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

The festival was begun in 1985 under the patronage of the ruling monarch. This year too King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the patron of the festival, the biggest cultural festival of the Gulf that brings to life the culture and heritage of the oil-rich desert kingdom of 32 million people.

From the rich tapestry of colours, aroma of delicacies, reverberating sound of music to insightful intellectual debates, the two-week long festival has something for all.

2018 marks the 32nd edition of the festival. Organised every year by the Saudi National Guard, a primary goal of this festival is to highlight Saudi Arabia's Islamic identity, display its national heritage and help preserve it for generations to come.

However, Al Janadria is not only aiming to educate its own citizens on its culture, it also aims to acquaint its people with the cultures of other countries. For this purpose, every year the country nominates a "Guest of Honour" at its festival. This year the chosen country is India. The country that has been accorded this honour gets to present facets of its culture, business opportunities and scientific, technological, medical and military progress.

The invitation to India for this prestigious festival is a testament to the growing relationship between Saudi Arabia and India.

Swaraj, who is leading a large delegation that includes Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh, will be accompanied by members of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), who are the Industry and Execution partner for the Indian Pavilion at the Janadria festival named after the place outside the national capital, where it is held.

The India Pavilion will provide glimpses of traditional and modern India. There will be displays and presentations by ministries/departments such as Indian Ordnance Factories Board, Indian Space Research Organisation, Ministry of AYUSH, India Tourism board, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Textiles, Handicrafts Promotion Council, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Skill Development, Digital India, and Make in India, among others.

On the traditional front, the pavilion will represent India's socio-cultural heritage, folklore, traditional costumes, Indian perfumes, bridal costumes, artefacts, calligraphy and food.

The festival features a variety of activities including a camel race, horse race, sports, dance, arts, history, falconry, and traditional arts and crafts.

This year, with India the guest of honour, the festival will witness a display of Indian cultural performances such as Kathakali, Kalariyaptu, Kathak, Manipuri, Chhau, Bangra, Bollywood, Gujarati and Rajasthani. Yoga performances have also been arranged.

Various Indian companies like L&T, Tata Motors, Lulu Group, TCIL, Al Abeer Medical Group, ITL Group, Jet Airways, Shapoorji Pallonji, Virat, Aster Med city, KRBL Rice, Toshi Electronic etc are putting up their stalls in the Indian Pavilion. The festival is expected to draw millions of visitors from Saudi Arabia and abroad.
EAM Sushma Swaraj arrived in Riyadh on her maiden visit to Saudi Arabia during which she will inaugurate the Janadriyah festival of the Gulf Kingdom

Riyadh: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj arrived in Riyadh on her maiden visit to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday during which she will inaugurate the Janadriyah festival of the Gulf Kingdom, which is home to over three million Indians.

During the three-day visit, Swaraj will meet with the Saudi leadership and discuss bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest.

After her arrival, Swaraj in her first engagement addressed Indian community members at a reception in Riyadh, and spoke about the relations between the two countries.

Indian Embassy - home away from home for Indian diaspora, EAM @SushmaSwaraj while addressing enthusiastic Indian community members at a reception in #Riyadh. First engagement on her visit to Saudi Arabia. #IndiaAtJanadriya pic.twitter.com/9UudEmkGVo  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) February 6, 2018

"EAM spoke in length the growing relations between the two countries," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. Swaraj thanked the Indian community for the good will it has earned for the country and lauded the Indian embassy for its promptness.

EAM thanked all the parvasis for the good will they have earned for themselves and the country @SushmaSwaraj @MEAIndia @ajxtopcop @suhel44 pic.twitter.com/YBD9PLOHA0  India in SaudiArabia (@IndianEmbRiyadh) February 6, 2018

"EAM praised the Indian Embassy for responding to the Indian Community promptly," he said in a tweet.

During her visit, Swaraj will also participate at the inauguration of the prestigious National Heritage and Culture Festival 'Janadriyah', at which India is the guest of honour country.

Swaraj will inaugurate the Janadriyah festival on Wednesday.

The festival, organised by the National Guard, exhibits Saudi Arabia's rich tapestry of culture and heritage.

"Warm welcome reflecting our relationship! EAM @SushmaSwaraj received by Saudi officials and Indian Ambassador Ahmad Javed on her arrival at Riyadh airport. Saudi Arabia is India's valued strategic partner," Kumar said in a tweet earlier.

Minister of State for External Affairs VK Singh had earlier said that India's participation in the festival will be multi-faceted.

"We will have an Indian pavilion where we will project a number of Indian themes and projects. The pavilion will comprise glimpses of traditional and modern India," he said.

Saudi Arabia is home to more than 3 million Indian people and ties between the two countries are on an upswing in the last few years especially after the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Gulf Kingdom in April 2016.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trade partner after China, the US and the UAE. The country is a major source of India's energy requirement as it accounts for almost one-fifth of India's crude oil requirement.

The volume of bilateral trade during 2016-17 was recorded at $25.079 billion, a slight decrease from the $26.71 billion in 2015-16.
The THE rankings for the Asian region found that the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, the country's highest-ranked institution

Indian higher education institutes had a mixed performance in the prestigious Times Higher Education (THE) rankings for Asian universities 2018. While India's representation improved to 42 from last year's 33, several of its top-notch institutions registered a decline. The National University of Singapore maintained its streak since 2016 and once again topped the list.

THE rankings for the Asian region found that the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, the country's highest-ranked institution, and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay each dropped two places to 29th and 44th respectively due to a fall in scores. IIT Madras saw the biggest decline in the top 200, dropping 41 places to 103 in the Asia University Rankings 2018. IISc became India's top ranking institute.

"It is a fantastic achievement that India now has 42 universities in the Asia rankings and that the country has improved on 12 of the 13 metrics underlying the rankings," said Phil Baty, editorial director of global rankings at THE.

"While it has not experienced the same rapid improvement as East Asian nations such as China and while some of its institutions faced declines, India's overall rise proves that it can make advances year on year," he said.

Baty said India was still among the region's leading higher education countries even as several of its institutions have registered a decline.

China the 'star' of THE Asia rankings 2018

The main trend of this year's rankings is the continued rise of China, which now claims almost one in five places on the table. Even though India's East Asian neighbour fell short of claiming the top stop, it grabbed five out of the top 10 spots on the list.

"Mainland China, together with its special administrative region of Hong Kong, claims the second, third, fourth and fifth positions. Overall, China and Hong Kong have five of the top 10 institutions in Asia, 12 of the top 20 and 30 of the top 100," THE report on China read.

Tsinghua University, the country's top-ranked institution, comes in at number two in the overall list.

India's performance

India's rise is partly due to an expansion of the table to include over 350 universities this year, up from around 300 last year. Two of the country's newcomers to make the top 200 in the list include the Indian School of Mines ranked 141 and Banaras Hindu University which is jointly ranked 194 along with Japan's Tokushima University.

India achieved a higher average score this year and, on average, its universities saw an improvement in their citation performance.

It also picked up points in other areas such as research productivity, even though it tends to lag behind on research environment. Its only area of decline was teaching reputation, the rankings analysis found.

In world rankings, 42 Indian institutes were included in the overall list, while two higher education institutes could make it in first 500 spots. IISc was ranked between 251 to 300, while IIT Bombay was ranked between 351 to 400. Britain's Oxford University topped the world ranking chart.

In the Asia rankings, while India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey have all increased their representation, several of their universities have fallen down on the list. Japan (82) had the most number of universities in the Asia rankings, followed by China (63) and India (42). Pakistan this time had 10 of its universities represented in THE Asia rankings, up from last years' seven.

"The South Asian region has increased its representation in the 2018 'THE' Asia University Rankings, but is struggling to maintain its standing in the face of competition from the east and south-east Asia," Baty said.

"South Asia will need to work hard to stand out among the heavy competition in the world's largest continent," Baty said.

The rankings are structured as global performance tables that judge research-intensive universities across all their core missions: teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

With inputs from agencies
The US appreciates India's contributions in Afghanistan and looks forward for more ways to work with New Delhi to promote economic growth and security in the war-torn nation, a senior Trump administration official has said.

Washington: The US appreciates India's contributions in Afghanistan and looks forward for more ways to work with New Delhi to promote economic growth and security in the war-torn nation, a senior Trump administration official has said.

The US and India share economic and humanitarian interest in Afghanistan, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan.

India has allocated more than $3 billion in assistance to Afghanistan since 2001.

"India further strengthened ties with Afghanistan, with the signing of a development partnership agreement last year. We appreciate these contributions, and we look forward for more ways to work with India to promote economic growth and security in Afghanistan," Sullivan said.

But at the same time, Sullivan said the Afghan crisis cannot be resolved without improvement in ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"Indians want to do business in Afghanistan, and ultimately as we've urged (Afghan) President (Ashraf) Ghani, the bilateral relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has to improve. If that does, then we think that there is a viable future economically for Afghanistan," he said.

"The key, in my opinion, is the relationship between Afghanistan and Pakistan. If we can't solve that, this problem isn't going to go away. And it's in Pakistan's interest to solve the situation in Afghanistan as well," Sullivan said.
More than 1.8 lakh students did not appear for Uttar Pradesh board examinations on the first day following the strict measures initiated by the Yogi Adityanath-led government.

Lucknow: More than 1.8 lakh students did not appear for Uttar Pradesh board examinations on the first day following the strict measures initiated by the Yogi Adityanath-led government to check copying in the exams.

The Uttar Pradesh board examination for Class X and Class XII commenced on Tuesday and will continue till 12 March.

"On the first day of examinations, over 1,80,826 students did not appear. It included over 53,100 high school and over 1.27 lakh intermediate students," Deputy Director Education Vikas Srivastava said.

An education department official said this number was due to the number of measures initiated by the state government, including installation of CCTV cameras in exam halls and using STF and local intelligence to check activities of education mafia.

A total of 66,37,018 students were registered to appear in 2018's Uttar Pradesh board exam. These include 36,55,691 appearing for class 10 exams and 29,81,327 students for class 12 exams.

In Hardoi, 11,141 students  3,065 of high school and 8,076 of intermediate  were absent, in Azamgarh 8,842 students  6,754 of intermediate  were absent, Jaunpur 6,330 students  4,516 of intermediate  and Gonda 6299 students  4376 of intermediate  did not appear for the exams.

In Firozabad, 5,214 students were absent, Mainpuri 4,922, Hathras 5,567, Moradabad 6,034, Gorakhpur 4,193, Sant Kabir Nagar 5,160 did not appear for exams.

In 2017, the overall pass percentage for Class X was recorded at 81.18 percent and in Class XII, 82.62 percent students were declared successful.

Over 60.61 lakh candidates  34.04 lakh for Class X and 26.56 lakh for Class XII were registered for the high school and intermediate exams in 2017.

However, due to strict measures 5.94 lakh candidates left the exams and 1,862 examinees were caught copying.

With a view to clamp down on cheating in the state board examinations, the state government took help from the Special Task Force (STF) and local intelligence agencies to keep an eye on the "education mafia".

The objective was "copying-free examinations" and preventing the education mafia from doing mischief, Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said.

He said the government had taken the help of the STF and local intelligence agents in doing away with education centres infamous for mass cheating. The number of examination centres have also come down from over 12,000 to 8,500.

The deputy chief minister, who also holds the portfolio of the secondary education department, had made it clear that no unfair means would be tolerated and anyone found copying or promoting it would be dealt with strictly.

"We have studied all the possible ways and means of unfair means during the examinations. Those appearing in an exam impersonating someone else or involved in changing answer sheets before they reach evaluation centres will not be able to do so. Effective measures have been taken," Sharma said.

The measures to prevent cheating include frisking students before they enter the examination halls, dividing centres in sectors, appointing administrative officers as sector magistrates and issuing prohibitory orders within 100 metres of the centre.
Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit suspended A Ganapathi, vice-chancellor of Coimbatore-based Bharathiyar University, who was arrested for alleged graft, saying the charges levelled against him were 'serious'

Chennai: Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit suspended a vice-chancellor who was arrested for alleged graft, saying the charges levelled against him were "serious".

A Ganapathi, vice-chancellor of Coimbatore-based Bharathiyar University, was arrested by the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption last week for alleged graft in relation to teacher appointment.

"In exercise of the inherent powers vested in the Governor of Tamil Nadu, in his capacity as the Chancellor of the University, A Ganapathy has been placed under suspension with effect from 6 February, 2018," a Raj Bhavan release said. The suspension will continue until further orders, it added.

The release recalled that Ganapathi was arrested by DVAC "on charges of bribery and he has been subsequently remanded to judicial custody". The higher education department of the government has reported the arrest of Ganapathi to the governor, who is the Chancellor of the University. "The charges levelled against Ganapathi are serious in nature," it said.

On 3 February, Ganapathy was arrested from his residence at Coimbatore for allegedly accepting Rs 30 lakh as bribe from an aspirant for the post of an assistant professor.

Ganapathy allegedly demanded Rs 35 lakh for the post and finally agreed to take Rs 30 lakh from the complainant. He was produced in a special court in that city on 4 February and remanded to judicial custody till 16 February.
BJP leader Mukul Roy on Wednesday requested the Election Commission to send 50 observers to West Bengal during the panchayat polls to learn how the Trinamool Congress rigged the poll process.

New Delhi: BJP leader Mukul Roy on Wednesday requested the Election Commission to send 50 observers to West Bengal during the panchayat polls to learn how the Trinamool Congress rigged the poll process.

Roy along with other state BJP leaders met Chief Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat on Wednesday and urged the body to create a separate model of poll security for West Bengal.

"We know that panchayat elections are not conducted under the Election Commission. But we have requested them to send a group of central observers to study and analyse how polls are being rigged in Bengal. So that they can learn and create a separate poll security model for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections for West Bengal," Roy said.

The state BJP leaders said the way West Bengal polls were conducted, it could not be compared with other states.

"We have showed them the last bypoll result data. In some booths, the TMC got 100 percent votes. Where as the Congress, the Left and the BJP did not even get a single vote. We told the Election Commission to analyse such abnormalities and compare them with a list of sensitive booths," Roy claimed.

State BJP leaders expressed confidence that since there was enough time in hand before the Lok Sabha elections, the commission would create a poll security system specially for West Bengal to ensure free and fair elections.
Manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation, rafale jets are twin-engine Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

Congress president Rahul Gandhi slammed the Narendra Modi government for maintaining "secrecy" over the deal with France for 36 Rafale fighter jets after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharam told Parliament on Tuesday that its details were "classified information" and could not be disclosed. The Congress also termed the deal as "the great Indian mystery", and claimed that a "huge scam" was brewing as due procedures in the purchase of aircraft were not followed and the jets were bought off the shelf "like oranges".

Top Secret

(Not for Distribution) RM says the price negotiated for each RAFALE jet by the PM and his "reliable" buddy is a state secret. Action Points

1.Informing Parliament about the price is a national security threat

2.Brand all who ask, Anti National#TheGreatRafaleMystery  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) February 6, 2018

While the Opposition has levied charges of corruption against Modi and the BJP, here is all you need to know about the Rafale deal.

What are Rafale jets?

Manufactured by French company Dassault Aviation, Rafale is a twin-engine medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA). Rafale fighter jets are positioned as 'omni-role' aircrafts that are capable of performing a wide range of combat roles, such as air supremacy, interdiction, aerial reconnaissance, ground support, in-depth strike, anti-ship strike and nuclear deterrence.

The Indian Air Force (IAF), which requires a minimum of 42 fighter squadrons to achieve optimal capability, declined down to 34 squadrons between 2000-2012 due to obsolescence. The original proposal to buy 126 fighter aircraft was first mooted during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee's NDA government. The RFP for procurement of 126 MMRCA was finally issued in 2007. Reportedly, IAF conducted technical evaluations and flight evaluations and declared that Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon had met its criteria in 2011.

Why does India want the Rafale jets

According to a report in The Hindu, Rafale jets weren't India's only option, several international aviation manufacturers expressed interest when they got to know about the Indian government's "mammoth" plan to revamp its IAF fleet by introducing MMRCAs.

In order to replace the existing MiG-21 aircraft, a case to procure 126 Mirage-2000 aircraft was initiated in 2000, which was later converted to a procurement of 126 MMRCAs. A Request For Proposal (RFP) was issued in 2007. The RFP was formally withdrawn on 24 June, 2015.

Six well-known aircraft manufacturers bid to bag the contract of 126 fighter jets which was dubbed as the largest-ever defence procurement deal of India. The initial bidders were Lockheed Martins F-16s, Boeings F/A-18s, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russia's MiG-35, Sweden's Saab's Gripen and Dassault's Rafale.

IAF tested all aircraft and after a thorough analysis, Eurofighter and Rafale were shortlisted. Dassault got the contract as they were the lowest bidders and their aircraft was low maintenance compared to others.

India and France signed the inter-government agreement for buying 36 Rafale fighters, off the shelf, on 23 September, 2016, following long negotiations on the deal, agreed upon during Modi's visit to France in April 2015.

The BJP-led NDA began negotiating the Project 75 Scorpene contract with France in 2001, but the succeeding Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance eventually concluded the purchase in October 2005, 18 months after forming the government. Discussions between Dassault and the UPA began in early 2012 for 126 Rafales.

There was no deal under the UPA government as Transfer of Technology remained the primary issue of concern between the two sides. Moreover, Dassault Aviation was unwilling to take responsibility of quality control for the production of 108 aircraft in India. While Dassault provisioned for three crore man-hours for production of the aircraft in India, HAL's estimate was nearly three times higher, escalating costs manifold, reports said.

Procurement process

A demand for additional fighter jets was put forward by IAF in 2001. The current IAF fleet, reportedly, largely consists of heavy and light-weight combat aircraft. So, the Ministry of Defence considered bringing in intermediate medium-weight fighter jets. The actual process of procurement began only in 2007. Headed by the then Defence Minister AK Antony, the Defence Acquisition Council approved the RFP to buy 126 aircraft in August 2007, which kickstarted the bidding process.

Why a delay in finalising the deal?

Initially, the Rafale deal was estimated to be worth $10.2 billion (Rs 54,000 crore). The deal included acquiring 126 aircraft, 18 of them in fly-away condition and the rest to be made in India at the HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) facility under transfer of technology.

However, after they won the contract in 2001, India and Dassault started the negotiations in 2012. The negotiations have stretched on for almost four years now.

Due to elections in both the countries and the subsequent change in governments in both the countries, negotiations were in a limbo. Pricing was another issue. Even during the signing of the purchase agreement, both the sides couldn't reach a conclusion on the financial aspects. The Economic Times reported that the price of an aircraft was about Rs 740 crore and India wanted them for at least 20 percent lesser cost.

This was one of the questions posed by the Congress in Parliament on Tuesday. "Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon were both found equals on all technical requirements. On 4 July, 2014, Eurofighter Typhoon offered to reduce prices by 20 percent. Why did Modi and the defence minister not take notice of this subsisting offer?"

The Congress asked, "Is it correct that per aircraft pricing of Rafale as per UPA negotiation comes to $ 80.95 million (Rs 526.1 crore) as against Modi government's per aircraft negotiated price of $241.66 million (Rs 1570.8 crore) as per current exchange rate? Who is responsible for 'loss to exchequer'?"

Though the Indian government had initially planned to buy 126 jets, they scaled it down to 36, that too in ready condition.

NDA government, however, insisted that it got a better deal than the UPA government (price wise) with a total reported saving of more than 1,600 million (350 million on the cost of aircraft with a further reported saving on weapons, allied maintenance and training package amounting to an around 1,300 million or Rs 12,600 crores), The Times of India reported.

A cost breakdown of Rafale in the original bid under UPA and in the 36 aircraft in the government-to-government deal under NDA are not in the public domain.

Rafale deal is important for both India and France: Here's why

At a time when India and the US were aiming at better relations, New Delhi picked French company Dassault over US' Lockheed and Russia's MiG, which was India's traditional partner. For the French, Rafale jets are being used mostly by France, and a few by Egypt and Qatar.

Dassault is hoping that export of the fighter jets will help the company meet its revenue targets. Meanwhile, procurement of combat aircraft is long overdue for the IAF. Experts have said that further delay can only make things worse. This deal is India's biggest-ever procurement. In the effectiveness of the Rafale deal lies the future of other defence procurements.

Rafale jets were also used in Libyan airstrikes but since India is the first country which agreed to buy the fighter jets, the French hope that once the deal is sealed other nations could express its willingness to buy more Rafales.

With inputs from agencies
In Surat: Fall of a Port, Rise of a Prince, Moin Mir chronicles how Meer Jafar Ali Khan battled the East India Company in British Parliament for violating the terms of the Treaty of 1800 | #FirstCulture

The ships of the English East India Company first docked at Indias shores in Surat in the early 17th century. In time, the Company  through astute politics and superior naval power  would become masters of this great port. The objective, however, was not to build on Surat's legacy as Indias emporia of maritime trade but with the single-minded goal of destroying its trading prowess. They did this by overcoming the local princes and fostering corrupt practices.

By 1800, the port had been completely annexed and a Treaty signed with the Nawab that would guarantee his familys security from generation to generation. But the Company violated the treaty by stopping the familys income, usurping the palaces, estates, jewellery

and all that was part of the private estates of the Nawab, leaving the infant granddaughters of the last Nawab on the brink of destitution.

In a riveting counterattack, Meer Jafar Ali Khan, father of the two infant girls, stood to defy an Empire and expose the corrupt practices of the Company in Victorian England. Spearheading a legal offensive that would shatter the Companys reputation, Meer Jafar Ali Khans campaign for justice generated great heat and debate in British Parliament. Fighting against all odds, the prince won it all back for his daughters while also finding true love in Victorian England.

 From the synopsis for 'Surat: Fall of a Port, Rise of a Prince' by Moin Mir

***

On his 15th birthday, Moin Mir received an unusual gift from his grandfather: an antique book titled 'Debate of the Nawab of Surat Treaty Bill 1856'. The volume detailed the dramatic debates that took place in the British Parliament in 1856, when Meer Jafar Ali Khan of Surat successfully campaigned against the East India Company for violating the Treaty of 1800, that assured the financial security of the Nawab of Surat's descendants.

Moin had grown up on stories of his illustrious ancestor Meer Jafar Ali Khan. Of particular interest was how the latter challenged the East India Company on its home grounds, for usurping the private estates and income of the Nawab of Surat's family in 1842. But there were few details about how Khan had actually accomplished his quest for justice. Moin recalls poring over the family archives in his growing up years, knowing they contained a story worth unravelling. Finally, it was in London  where Moin moved as a student  that he finally found the resources that would help fill in the gaps.

"The British Library at Kings Cross  particularly The India Office in the library  has vast amounts of manuscripts, letters, and documents that highlighted the dealings of the English East India Company in Surat," says Moin. "They revealed a fascinating story of how the East India Company annexed Surat from the local nawabs in 1800, then subsequently violated a treaty with the Nawab's family and left its descendants on the verge of poverty."

Surat at one time had been India's greatest maritime port. Moin describes it as a "cosmopolitan giant" where traders from various communities  Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Jains, the Portuguese, Dutch, English and Turks  thrived. The city had survived a sacking by Shivaji in the 1600s, but by the 1800s had passed into English and Dutch hands. By Meer Jafar Ali Khan's time, the fortunes of the nawab's family had taken a severe blow at the hands of the East India Company, which had reneged on the terms of the treaty they signed at the time of annexing the port. His fight in the British parliament, to safeguard the birthright of his two girls, made him  in Moin's words  "a symbol of Indian legal resistance against the East India Company on their home soil". It also made for a riveting story  one that Moin documents in his recently published book, Surat: Fall of a Port, Rise of a Prince.

Moin spent over six years working on this account of Meer Jafar Ali Khan's battle against the Company. Apart from the British Library, the Asiatic Library Mumbai and his family archives proved to be a fount of information as Moin drew on correspondence between the Nawab's family and the English East India Company, the official Treaty of 1800, antique manuscripts and the detailed minutes of the debate in parliament. Hansard Online, which chronicles all parliamentary affairs in Britain, proved to be an invaluable resource.

Moin found that the British press of the time had extensively covered Khan's campaign. And as he delved deeper into the story, there were several moments that stood out:

"The dark moment when the English violated the treaty made with Meer Jafar Ali Khan's family, leaving his little infant daughters on the brink of poverty... They confiscated the family's houses, stopped their income and confined the family to minuscule quarters," Moin enumerates. "The moment when Meer Jafar Ali Khan's first wife died in his arms, urging him to continue his fight for justice... The moment when Meer Jafar Ali Khan sold all he had to go to England to fight for his little girls. The moment when his campaign called for the end of British rule on the floor of British parliament in 1856. And finally, after 14 years of struggle when he defeated the East India Company in their home country. Within a year of his successful campaign in the House of Commons, the Company seized to exist as a colonising corporation. All these discoveries were absolutely striking to me."

While the story of Meer Jafar Ali Khan's legal campaign isn't widely known, Moin says he is glad to have had this chance to bring it to a wider audience.

"Meer Jafar Ali Khan boldly went where no other Indian prince had gone  the heart of British political establishment, its parliament, and challenged the malpractices of the East India Company. Everything has its time. His fight for justice may have been confined to the archives of the British Library, but I am pleased that I have told his story," he says.

It's a story we can learn much from, Moin adds: "This is a story of grit, determination and fearless belief in one's convictions. It teaches us to never give into injustice and most importantly, to persevere  even when a fight seems unwinnable."
In a veiled attack on Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, sulking BJP leader Eknath Khadse on Wednesday said ministers in the state are 'afraid' of speaking up.

Mumbai: In a veiled attack on Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, sulking BJP leader Eknath Khadse on Wednesday said ministers in the state are "afraid" of speaking up.

Khadse, who resigned as revenue minister in 2016 owing to allegations of corruption and conflict of interest in a land deal, has been struggling for his political rehabilitation and had often taken potshots at Fadnavis.

At the same time, Khadse hailed the BJP and the Maharashtra government for successfully rolling out a number of "good" schemes.

"Ministers and party cadres look up to Fadnavis for directions and are afraid to speak for the fear of being caught on the wrong foot," he said in an informal chat with reporters on Wednesday.

Khadse said despite announcing good schemes, including a mega loan waiver, the BJP and the state government are falling short of taking them to the people.

"So far the government has disbursed over Rs 20,000 crore directly to the bank accounts of farmers and the figure is bound to increase in the coming days," he said.

Khadse said the Nanaji Deshmukh Krushi Sanjeevani Yojana is being implemented in the 15 suicide-prone districts of the state.

"The scheme is designed to change the lives of the farmers. Under the scheme, farmers are being given farm implements like shed-nets, green houses, tractors and other implements on 100 percent subsidy," the Muktainagar MLA said.

Those farmers who have small farm land holdings or who cannot afford them are offered these farm implements on a nominal rent, he said.

"However, the government, the ministers, the party MLAs and party cadres are falling short in informing the farmers about the benefits of the scheme," the BJP veteran said.

Citing the case of Madhya Pradesh, he said all villages in the neighbouring state are now connected by roads, enabling farmers to bring their produce to cities.

Despite being a power surplus state, Maharashtra is unable to provide 14 hours of uninterrupted power supply to farmers and separating electricity feeders.

"In Madhya Pradesh, the government has done feeder separation whereby both farmers and villages get assured uninterrupted power supply," he said.

However, despite the World Bank allocating Rs 65,000 crore for feeder separation in the country in the last ten years, Maharashtra could not fully implement the programme across the state, he said.

Khadse admitted that the party has become lethargic after coming to power and is unable to encash on the implementation of the schemes "that have really been a success on the ground".
The head of the BJP's Kota district OBC wing, Ashok Choudhary, has written to Amit Shah, seeking replacement for Vasundhara Raje and state party chief Ashok Parnami.

Kota: The head of the BJP's Kota district OBC wing, Ashok Choudhary, has written to party chief Amit Shah, seeking replacement for Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and state party chief Ashok Parnami, ahead of the state Assembly polls due in 2018.

The BJP lost two Lok Sabha seats and one Assembly seat in the recently held bypolls in Rajasthan, the results of which were declared on 1 February.

The next day, Choudhary wrote to Shah in his party letterhead, saying, "The people of the state are not happy with Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje's style of functioning. The party workers are losing confidence due to her working style." Describing Parnami as a "slave of Raje", Choudhary said he was continuously causing damage to the organisation.

The ground-level party workers like him were well aware that the bypoll results would not go in the saffron party's favour, Choudhary added. Claiming that Raje had fallen into the bureaucracy "trap", he said the chief minister was leading the party on to a path that headed nowhere but towards defeat.

There was anger against the Raje government among all sections of the society, including the farmers, Choudhary said, adding that the general opinion among the party workers was that the state leadership should immediately be changed to infuse energy into the organisation ahead of the Assembly polls.

Kota is known as a BJP bastion. The saffron party had lost in only one of the 17 seats in the district in the 2013 state Assembly polls.

When contacted, Choudhary admitted that he had written the letter to Shah. Maintaining that he had put forward the plight of the workers to the party's national head, he said, "Each and every word in the letter is that of the party workers."

Bundi district BJP spokesperson Sanjay Lathi echoed the views expressed by Choudhary and admitted that there was a deep unrest among the party workers against the state leadership. He suggested that the government and the party jointly probed the reasons of its bypoll defeat and worked towards gaining the lost confidence and energy of the party workers.
The CPM on Wednesday criticised the defence minister's statement in Parliament regarding the Rafale deal and alleged that the Centre was hiding facts from Parliament.

New Delhi: The CPM on Wednesday criticised the defence minister's statement in Parliament regarding the Rafale deal and alleged that the Centre was hiding facts from Parliament.

On Monday, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had refused to share the details of the deal on the grounds of the security agreement signed between India and France.

Her response had come on a written question in the Rajya Sabha from Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agrawal, who had asked why the government did not want to put the details of

the agreement between India and France for purchasing the fighter aircraft in the public domain.

Stating that the defence minister's statement in Parliament was "completely unacceptable", the Left party accused her of suppressing information about the deal.

It also alleged that since the deal was re-negotiated, there were reports that the price paid for the planes was much higher than what had been decided in the previous agreement.

"The stance of the defence minister that the details of the inter-governmental agreement is 'classified information' is untenable. A defence deal involving billions of dollars cannot be kept confidential. Why is it that the government is hiding this information from the sovereign authority of the country, the Parliament?" the CPM said in a statement.

Alleging that the Centre had refused to share information in Parliament about a deal that had created a "huge and unjustified burden" on the national exchequer, the Left party also claimed that the deal had "grave implications" for both the defence sector and public sector units involved in defence production.

It urged the government to reveal the details of the Rafale deal in Parliament in the interest of transparency and probity.
The Delhi chief ministers mouth hung open in awe as Siddaramaiah inched towards Yeddyurappas look-alike and shook the sword.

.@ArvindKejriwal may have picked up the trick of @siddaramaiah to use #Tipusultan to get the @BJP4India to resort to more polarisation

https://t.co/sPzZ34ES8y  THE WEEK (@TheWeekLive) January 27, 2018

Kejriwal read the tweet once again and twirled his moustache with a satisfied smirk, as his car rumbled its way from Bengaluru airport to the home of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The Delhi chief minister was visiting his Karnataka counterpart to thank him for inspiring him with the idea of hanging Tipus portrait in the assembly in the national capital.

When the car finally came to a halt, surviving potholes the size of babies swimming pools, the AAP leader congratulated himself on the uneventful journey. And his smile widened when his eyes fell on the newly painted sign on Siddaramaiahs home: Tipu Nilaya.

Inside, a posse of guards draped in the finery of Tipus soldiers escorted Kejriwal to a massive door with a plaque on it that read: Tipu Hall. As the door opened, drums were beaten and bugles blared to welcome the guest. Above all this ceremonial din could be heard the noise of Siddaramaiah swishing a sword in the air. It was a mock attack against a man dressed like Karnataka BJP president BS Yeddyurappa.

"Hello Kej, I am so glad you made it at the right time," Siddaramaiah yelled, pausing in his assault and turning to the visitor.

"The pleasure is all mine, Sid," Kejriwal cooed like a teenager on his first date.

The Delhi chief ministers mouth hung open in awe as Siddaramaiah inched towards Yeddyurappas look-alike and shook the sword.

"I have vanquished him," announced Siddaramaiah, watching the man pretending to squirm in agony on the Persian carpet.

"You ... got ... a ... sword?" Kejriwal said, pausing after each word to regain his lost breath. He accepted tea poured in an antique jug by a burqa-clad maid.

"Yes," Siddaramaiah said. And this is not just any sword. Its Tipus swordauthentic stuff. He held it aloft perhaps with more pride than the erstwhile Muslim ruler might have ever had in owning it.

All this came as a surprise to Kejriwal, who nearly dropped the tea jug.

"Bought the sword from Vijay Mallya who had bought it at Sothebys in London," Siddaramaiah explained.

Kejriwal remembered reading about Mallya's acquisition.

"This sword kills two birds with one stroke. One, Muslims are mighty thrilled and they cant wait to vote en masse for the Congress in the coming elections. Two, I can use it to make a fine chop suey of Sangh Parivar ruffians. State Congress leaders will later take turns to use it to finish off the saffron guys. There is no surer way to win this election."

Kejriwals face lit up. "Sid," he said, his voice trembling with excitement, "nobody was ever born on this planet, who was equipped with more political sagacity and electoral cunning than you."

Siddaramaiah beamed. "What youve heard is just the tip of a sword. I have other plans. I want to celebrate the birth anniversaries of 50 other Muslim rulers of India and spend the entire state budget to acquire their personal possessions. On my list are Babar, Humayun, Aurangzeb, Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Ibrahim Lodi, Ghazni Khan, Shah Jahan, Safdar Jang, Ghaziuddin Haider, Hyder Ali etc., etc.

Kejriwal smiled and then was lost in thought as he remembered a tweet.

Addressing a rally in Karnataka, Yogi Adityanath has said that the Congress government worships Tipu Sultan in the land of Hanuman.https://t.co/T071IbvhWW  India Today (@IndiaToday) December 22, 2017

"You must remember Sid," the Delhi chief minister said, "that, according to Yogi Adityanath, Karnataka is the land of Hanuman and that hero-worshipping Tipu is nothing but a bucket of buffalo dung."

Siddaramaiah nodded.

Yeddy gets Hanumans gada

"Sid, you also know that Yeddyurappa recently got himself the mace that Lord Hanuman had used to make khima of Ravanas soldiers in Lanka. He got it by digging up land at the bottom of Anjaneya Hill in Koppal in Karnataka. He says its a perfect weapon to bludgeon Congressmen with."

A naughty smile crossed Siddaramaiahs face as he said, "Yes, Kej. I know all about it. Well demand Lord Hanumans Aadhaar card to prove his Karnataka address. And as for his gada..."

Siddaramaiah placed a hand on Kejriwals shoulder and walked him to a cupboard at the far end of Tipu Hall. After looking to his right and left and over his shoulder to make sure nobody was watching, he pulled open the door of this cupboard. Perched on a shelf inside was a gigantic mace.

"This," the Karnataka chief minister said, "is the real gada used by Hanuman."

"What about the one found by Yeddy?"

"Oh, thats a fake one. I thank actor Prakash Raj for it. Prakash dug up at Anjaneya Hill before Yeddy did, took out the real gada and put in its place a duplicate one that had been used in some Kannada films. Yeddy fell for itgada, line and sinker.

"And what do you do with this real gada?"

"I secretly do pooja for it with tulsi leaves, milk, honey and marigolds thrice a day to bring good luck to myself. I am a Hindu, arent I?"

"You are a genius, Sid," Kejriwal remarked.

"Yes, I know," Siddaramaiah replied and slapped his thigh.

###

"This is the real sword of Tipu Sultan," Yogi Adityanath announced, waving it in the air. Yeddyurappas eyes nearly dropped out of their sockets.

"And the one Siddaramaiah has got, sir?"

"Oh, thats a fake one," the Uttar Pradesh chief minister said, sitting back in a plush sofa draped in genuine tiger skin at his official residence in Lucknow. "I got to know well in time that Siddaramaiah was buying the sword from Mallya. I paid Mallya Rs 10 crore more and got the real one. Mallya then sold a phony one to the Karnataka CM."

Yeddyurappa bowed in respect, and the Yogi went on. "I am going to address a massive rally in Mysuru, for which you will organise 10,000 truckloads of people, on the last day of the campaign. Then I will produce this sword and publicly smash it into several pieces to prove Hindu supremacy over the erstwhile Muslim rulers of Hindustan.

"You are a genius, Yogiji," Yeddyurappa remarked.

"Yes, I know," the Yogi replied and slapped his thigh.

###

This is a piece of satire.

The author wrote a weekly satire column called True Lies in The Times of India from 1996 to 2001. He tweets at @sprasadindia
In jail following his conviction in fodder scam cases, RJD chief Lalu Prasad has constituted the party's new national executive, which includes eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani but omits don-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, a party release said on Wednesday.

Patna: In jail following his conviction in fodder scam cases, RJD chief Lalu Prasad has constituted the party's new national executive, which includes eminent lawyer Ram Jethmalani but omits don-turned-politician Mohammad Shahabuddin, a party release said on Wednesday.

The release issued by RJD general secretary SM Qamar Alam said the appointments were made by Prasad.

Lalu's three childrenTej Pratap Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and Misa Bhartihave also made it to the panel.

Jethmalani is an RJD member of the Rajya Sabha from Bihar.

Though Shahabuddin has been dropped, his wife Heena Shahab has found a place in the executive.

Shahabuddin, a four-time former MP from Siwan, has over three dozen criminal cases against him, and is lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail.

Prasad was re-elected as party president in November last year, and his tenure would end in 2020. His wife Rabri Devi, a former chief minister, has been named vice president alongside party veterans Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, Mangni Lal Mandal, Mohammad Iliyas Hussain and Shivanand Tiwari.

JD(U) spokesman and MLC Sanjay Singh took a dig at Prasad over nominating the party executive from behind the bars. "In the history of Indian democracy, this is the first example of a party's national president constituting its national executive from jail," he said.

Prasad is lodged in a Ranchi jail since 23 December last when he was convicted in a fodder scam case. Within days he was convicted in another case of the Rs 900 crore scam.

"The new national executive has established that RJD belongs to one family.....it would be better if the party is named after Lalu Prasad and his sons-in-law too are inducted into the national executive," Singh said.

"Lalu is running the party from jail. He should have also included in the national executive Raj Ballabh Yadav," Singh said referring to a suspended RJD MLA who is in jail in a rape case.

Another JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar accused the RJD chief of adopting "double standards" by dropping Shahabuddin from the national executive but retaining his own position.

"When law enforcing agencies were acting against Shahabuddin and Raj Ballabh Yadav, Prasad was singing paeans to these tainted figures. Now he has sidelined these men, retaining the party president's post and securing the position of his sons and daughter in the party," Kumar said.

"Even a senior leader like Abdul Bari Siddiqui has been made to look like an also ran. So much for the RJD leadership's claims of championing secularism and rights of the minorities," Kumar said.
The Congress on Wednesday dubbed as 'disappointing' Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha.

New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday dubbed as "disappointing" Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha.

The main Opposition party, whose MPs walked out of the House over Modi's reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the president for his address to the joint sitting of the two Houses of Parliament, said it did not address the issues raised by lawmakers, including that on the Rafale deal.

Hitting out at Modi for his "don't give BJP sermons on democracy" remark directed at his party, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the prime minister himself does not respect democracy. He said people like Modi "speak something and do something else".

Responding to the prime minister's accusation that the Congress bifurcated Andhra Pradesh because of "political considerations", Kharge said Modi did not keep his word on doing justice to Telangana and giving an economic package to the residual Andhra Pradesh after the NDA came to power.

Speaking to journalists outside Parliament, the Congress leader assailed Modi for not touching upon the issues of giving minimum support price (MSP) to farmers and doubling their income by 2022.

"The prime minister did not say anything new in his speech. He also did not mention anything new in the interest of the country. He also did not give satisfactory reply to issues we raised," Kharge said.

"This was his political speech, election speechWe are disappointed by the speech. He backtracked from fulfilling our demands. Hence, we staged walkout," he added.

Referring to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Kharge said Modi, in the run up to the 2014 general elections, had said a separate Telangana state would be created if the BJP came to power. Kharge also recalled that the BJP, while in the opposition, had supported the demand for dividing Andhra Pradesh.

Let the prime minister at least say that he was not in favour of creating Telangana and giving an economic package to Andhra Pradesh, he said.

"He is neither supporting (the bifurcation), and on the other (hand), is speaking such a language (accusing the Congress of dividing the state). Hence, I feel saddened that the prime minister is not keeping his words," Kharge said.

He said the MPs of Andhra Pradesh's ruling TDP, a BJP ally, staged protests in Lok Sabha yesterday over issues concerning the state when he flagged the matter of Rafale deal in the House.

On Wednesday, the TDP MPs were, however, requested not to raise their issues when the prime minister was to address the House.

Kharge alleged the government did not allow him to press his demands.

"The prime minister talked about being large-hearted. He also read out (former prime minister Atal Bihari) Vajpayeeji's poem. Despite reading Vajpayeeji's poem, the prime minister did not become large-hearted (person)," the Congress leader said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also attacked the prime minister, saying his speech was a "farrago (a confused mixture) of misrepresentation and half truths".

"The problem was that all the facts and figures given were simply not the kind of figures that can stand up the detailed scrutiny, and I think the public would realise this," Tharoor added.
It is the time the people of Meghalaya to utter themselves that they need a dignified life, Alphons Kannanthanam tells Firstpost.

Before spring sets in and the flora in the Khasi, Garo and Jaintia hills of Meghalaya are replenished in March, the state is all set to vote for a new Assembly. Voting will take place on 27 February, and results will be out on 3 March. With the Model Code of Conduct now in place, political parties are all busy preparing for a gruelling month of campaigning.

Chief Minister Mukul Sangma will try to fight off the numerous allegations of corruptions against his government to ensure the Congress party gets another term to rule, while the BJP will use its development agenda, strategic cajoling of the majority Christian population of the state, and will ride on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's charisma to have the hill state under its belt.

Soon after Alphons Kannanthanam took charge as Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Culture and Tourism on 3 September last year, BJP president Amit Shah appointed him the party's election in-charge for Meghalaya.

The move was largely seen as an attempt to build up a cordial relationship with the state's majority Christian population. With his party now readying to lock horns with the Congress on another turf, Alphons spoke exclusively with Firstpost about the prospects of the BJP in the northeastern state. Edited excerpts:

How does the BJP's ideology apply to the North East in general and states like Meghalaya in particular, where the influence of the Church is high? And secondly, how does the BJP's ideology square with a culture that views eating beef as integral to its identity?

I think the issue is  do the people of Meghalaya want a dignified life? That is the fundamental issue. Successive governments have looted the people and ruined their money  there are no schools, no healthcare, no jobs in Meghalaya. A lot of people are starving there. And everything is a huge mess. It's time the people of Meghalaya tell themselves that they want a dignified life. And it's time they decide to throw the most corrupt government. Basically, it is an opportunity. And what is BJP's ideology? It is very simple. Our ideology is that we want a dignified life for everybody. We want people to decide things for themselves. We want food on every table; we want every child to go to school; we want a house and a toilet for everybody. And we want everybody to have a job. These are the basic objectives of the BJP government.

We saw Yogi Adityanath campaigning in Kerala and now in Karnataka, strengthening the Hindutva voterbase in these states. Is your appointment as BJP in-charge in Meghalaya on similar lines, where your job is to allay fears of the Christian population?

The prime minister has made it very clear that this country belongs to everybody. He said in Parliament that this country belongs to everybody. You believe in whatever you want to believe in. There is no doubt about the approach of the prime minister or the BJP. It is very clear.

In the first week of January, your ministry sanctioned Rs 61 crore to improve infrastructure in 37 churches, and Rs 9 crore for similar projects for 11 other religious groups including indigenous religions of the Khasi Jaintia tribals in Shillong. People see it as an appeasement before the election. Your thoughts?

Christians are also part of the country. They are also citizens of India. And we have been sanctioning a lot of projects for the country. So we have the Krishna Circuit. We have the Ramayana Circuit. We have the Buddha Circuit. We have been providing money for the last many years for building infrastructure around religious places. In Meghalaya, since the state has a large Christian majority, it is only appropriate that we will provide infrastructure around Christian religious sites. We are doing exactly what we have always been doing before.

Even Conrad Sangma's NPP is wary of partnering the BJP before the election because of the kind of politics your party practices. He specifically talked about "compulsions on the ground". What do you have to say about that?

Well, you will have to ask Conrad Sangma why he said what he did. We are fine contesting by ourselves. We don't have a problem. It's fine for us. Conrad is part of a larger alliance. And certainly, we wish him all the very best. We are happy to fight the elections on our own.

Meghalaya shares a border with Bangladesh? Will your campaign address the issue of illegal immigrants in the state?

This is one of the issues which makes me think. The state will decide. The state leadership will decide what are issues that are important to the state. These issues are not decided in Delhi. There is only one issue about which we are all in agreement: Corruption. We will have a corruption-free government. That is the one issue we are always concerned about. Other issues, which are local, will be decided by the state unit.

There was a buzz that Congress minister Mazel Ampareen Lyngdoh, against whom the CBI filed a case regarding a teacher appointment scam, was to join the BJP. What do you have to say to that?

Everyone has an idea about what the Mukul Sangma government is. Everybody knows that the government is one of the most corrupt governments in the history of the country. There is no doubt in anybody's mind that the Congress needs to be thrown out. These things are very clear to the people of Meghalaya and I am sure they will act accordingly. The most important thing is to get rid of the most corrupt government. That is the big priority. And look at the work done by the Narendra Modi government. The Modi government has worked. The BJP has worked wherever it has been in power. We should judge a person and a party by the work they have done. Modi as chief minister of Gujarat for 14 years and as prime minister of India for three-and-a-half years has done miracles for the poor people of India. Such miracles are necessary for Meghalaya as well.
It seems Congress forgot to check its own history before the party unleashed a tirade on the Modi government.

It requires a good deal of homework, oratorical flair and presence of mind to make two different speeches with differing contents in two Houses of Parliament within the space of an hour when the subject remained the same. Modi through his concluding remarks on Motion of thanks to Presidents address in both Houses of Parliament displayed his mastery over that art.

His long speeches provided enough talking points for political leaders of different hues to pick up multiple issues to set the right momentum for 2019 Lok Sabha election. His speech in Lok Sabha lasted over 90 minutes while in Rajya Sabha it went on for more than an hour.

Modi used the occasion to deliver his message on five broad points.

First, the prime minister chose to go ballistic against the Congress on an array of subjects. While in Rajya Sabha, he reminded the opposition benches that Mahatma Gandhi wanted a Congress-mukht Bharat in post-Independent India, in Lok Sabha he drew parallels between the dynasty rule of the (Nehru-Gandhi) family and democratic principles of the Congress seeking to convey the message that the people of India are no longer charmed by dynastic politics.

Second, the prime minister sought to mitigate the angst of the BJP's southern ally Telugu Desam Party on the allocation of funds to Andhra Pradesh as compensation for bifurcation of Telangana.

Third, Modi catered to the concerns of his party's social constituency -- the middle class, OBCs, farmers and Dalits.

Fourth, he went at length on the developmental schemes initiated by his government in the last three and half years and compared them to those launched by his predecessor Manmohan Singh during his 10 years in office as the prime minister between 2004-14.

Fifth, Modi exploited the opportunity to counter his political rivals and critics.

Chhote man se koi bada nahi hota, tute man se koi khada nahi hota. The prime minister referred to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees poetic lines to target the Congress and argued why it was futile for the Rahul Gandhi-led Congress to dream of returning to power in near future.

The former prime minister, the first from BJPs ranks, came in for reference right in the beginning of Modis speech. During the Vajpayee era, the three states of Jharkhand, Uttrakhand and Chhattisgarh were carved out of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. But the creation, transfer of power and allocation of resources to the parent state and the newly created states were such that the whole process was smoothly concluded. In contrast to that Congress' Manmohan Singh government created Telangana out of Andhra Pradesh in haste, when the house was not in order and on election eve. It is because of Congresss divisive character that nation is still suffering after 70 years of Independence, Modi said.

Even as he charged Congress he assuaged feelings of ally TDP. He recalled how NT Rama Rao founded TDP in 1980, at a time when there was all round anger over the way Rajiv Gandhi had treated the then chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, T Anjaiah.

Modi also quoted LK Advani in Rajya Sabha to prove a point against Congress on Aadhaar.

The ferocity with which Modi delivered his political punch against the Congress in his concluding remarks on the presidential address debate, the lawmakers of the stunned main opposition party badly protested against the contents of the prime minister's speech even after he left both the Houses. In Lok Sabha, the Congress made a strategic mistake of letting its members create a ruckus in the House and go on shouting slogans but Modi outsmarted them by speaking in the din. Ye awaz dabane ki itni koshish nakam rahne wali hai. Sunane ki takat rakho (this effort to silence my voice is going to be a futile exercise. Have the courage to listen to me).

Modi referred to the speeches of Congres leader in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to launch a full-throttled attack on the main opposition party and its first family. Two days ago Azad had basked in glory, at least among his supporters, for saying that he does not want "New India" but wanted the return of "Old India" and that the various schemes of the Modi government were "no game changers" but only "name changers" (of schemes initiated by UPA government), Modi responded by saying unlike the UPA regime, the NDA government is "aim chaser" focused on last mile delivery.

Azad's wish to return to good old India came in for sharp sarcasm from Modi. "Which old India do you want, India of Jeep, Bofors, Submarine and such other scams, old India of Emergency days, old India when the then prime minister said after a big tree falls earth shakes leading to killing of thousands of innocent Sikhs, old India of Tandoor case or old India where Warren Anderson was allowed to flee country after the Bhopal gas tragedy, old India where everyone was forced to sing songs for one family?"

In Lok Sabha, Modi took on Kharge for saying that Nehru and Congress gave India democracy. Modi's contention was that India existed long before it became Independent and Nehru became prime minister.

Modi said that an overwhelming number of Congress Working Committee members wanted Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to become the prime minister but Jawaharlal Nehru was selected over him to lead the country.

"What kind of democracy was that?" the prime minister asked.

It seems Congress forgot to check its own history before the party unleashed a tirade on the Modi government.
Continuing its tirade against Maharashtra Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal, the NCP on Wednesday raised the charge of a 'conflict of interest' against the BJP leader vis-a-vis a hill resort in Nandurbar.

Mumbai: Continuing its tirade against Maharashtra Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal, the NCP on Wednesday raised the charge of a "conflict of interest" against the BJP leader vis-a-vis a hill resort in Nandurbar.

NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik alleged that Rawal's company Toranmal Hill Resorts Private Ltd was operating the resort in Nandurbar district in north Maharashtra despite the company being blacklisted by the state-run tourism development corporation (MTDC).

"From 1998 to 2006, Rawal's company Toranmal Hill Resorts Private Ltd. was given an MTDC resort on lease. The company did not pay the lease rent to the MTDC, which in turn invoked provisions of the Eviction of Public Premises Act, in 2011 and sent a notice to the company.

"However, MTDC officials were not allowed to do their work and were forcibly turned away," Malik alleged while addressing a press conference here.

The NCP leader claimed that the Toranmal Hill Resorts Pvt Ltd is among the two lakh companies that were blacklisted by the Registrar of Companies after demonetisation.

He said the company was deregistered in June last year.

"However, the company purchased five-acre land in Dondaicha (in Dhule district) last year. As per land records, the company belongs to Jaykumar Rawal. This is a conflict of interest as Rawal is chairman of the MTDC in his capacity as Tourism Minister," Malik said.

He alleged that the company continues to function even after it was blacklisted and the hill resort is still accepting bookings.

Malik said the competent authorities of the MTDC had issued an eviction notice against the resort which has not been stayed.

"Rawal's company kept the issue alive in court claiming that it had spent Rs 60 lakh on repairs of the resort while denying to pay the rent," he alleged.

Malik had last month accused Rawal of indulging in dubious land deals in his home district Dhule in the wake of suicide committed by 84-year-old farmer Dharma Patil, who was seeking adequate compensation for his land which was acquired for a solar project.

Rawal had denied the allegations against him.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) may hold its next session in Punjab under the leadership of Congress president Rahul Gandhi

The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is most likely to hold the next session in Punjab under the leadership of Congress president Rahul Gandhi, media reports said, adding that Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is currently in New Delhi to discuss its preparations with the party chief.

It is now on Rahul to decide whether the meeting in Punjab will be a primary or a full session, The Indian Express quoted party sources as saying. Primary session is attended by AICC delegates only, while a full session witnesses participation of AICC as well as 'Pradesh Congress Committee' delegates.

The report added that the two-day session is usually held in a Congress-ruled state, and entails expenditure worth crores. The last session, called Chintan Shivir, was organised in Jaipur in January 2013.

At the time when Chintan Shivir was organised, Rahul was yet to even take office as Congress vice-president. An India Today report says that the conclave, which witnessed the attendance of 350 delegates from across the country, had set the stage for Rahul to take on a more proactive role in the party.

Reviving party traditions, Rahul is scheduled to interact with delegations of party leaders and workers from across the country on Wednesday at the AICC headquarters at Akbar Road in New Delhi.

The Congress president's office at the AICC headquarters has remained closed for several years, and used to be only opened for important occasions like the party's foundation day. The office has recently been cleaned up and refurbished for Rahul to begin work.

Punjab is one of only five states in India where Congress is still in power. The Congress swept even the municipal elections in December 2017 in Punjab, with the results coming as a boost for the state government. The Opposition alliance, however, alleged gross poll code violations and demanded countermanding of the Patiala corporation elections.

The Tribune reported that Amarinder will also discuss details of reallocation of portfolios and Cabinet expansion with Rahul on Wednesday. The chief minister is aiming to expand the Cabinet in the first week of March, ahead of the Budget session which will begin on 8 March, the report said.

On Tuesday, Rahul slammed the Narendra Modi government over the Rafale fighter aircraft deal, raising doubts about the "secrecy" surrounding the negotiations and cost of the France-made fighter jet.

Congress' attack came after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman created an uproar after she told the Rajya Sabha she could not divulge details of the deal citing a "secrecy clause" in the agreement signed with the French government.
The court was hearing Kejriwal' plea challenging the EC's 29 January order in which it had directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa to lodge an FIR against Kejriwal for his remarks about bribes made at poll rallies in the state on January 7-8 last year.

New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that no FIR has been lodged against him in Goa on the Election Commission's (EC) direction for his bribery remarks during assembly polls there in January 2017.

The court was hearing Kejriwal' plea challenging the EC's 29 January order in which it had directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Goa to lodge an FIR against Kejriwal for his remarks about bribes made at poll rallies in the state on 7-8 January last year.

Kejriwal's lawyer told Justice Rekha Palli today that according to information received under the RTI Act, no FIR has been lodged against him anywhere in Goa in connection with the remarks.

The court, thereafter, asked the lawyer for the EC to take instructions on whether any FIR has been lodged, since during the last hearing the Commission had said such an action has been taken.

The court also said whether an FIR has been lodged or not, Kejriwal's plea challenging the EC's letter was infructuous.

With the observation, the court listed the matter for further hearing on 26 February.

Kejriwal in his plea has alleged that the poll panel's 29 January, 2017 order had curtailed his right to free speech.

During his series of rallies in Goa between 7-8 January, Kejriwal had appealed to voters to "accept money from the Congress and BJP candidates but vote for the AAP."

The BJP had filed two complaints against Kejriwal seeking his prosecution under various sections of Indian Penal Code for asking voters to accept money. Congress too had condemned his statement.

The poll panel had, thereafter, directed that a complaint be lodged against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act dealing with bribing voters and relevant sections of the IPC.
IANS

US based tech giant Apple will build another data centre in north China, after its first data centre in Guizhou Province, the local government has announced.

As Apple's first data centre in north China's Ulanqab City, it will be put into operation in 2020 and offer iCloud services on the Chinese mainland, Xinhua reported.

The project will use 100 percent renewable energy sources, according to the cooperation agreement between the city government and the company.

Inner Mongolia, where the data centre is coming up, was listed as one of the country's big data development zones in 2016, and Ulanqab is now home to a big data centre of Chinese technology giant Huawei.

In July 2017, Apple announced plans to build its first Chinese data centre in Guizhou. The project will also be put into operation in 2020.
Israeli forces on Tuesday shot dead a Hamas member suspected of killing a rabbi as two deadly attacks against Israeli settlers.

Nablus, Palestinian Territories: Israeli forces on Tuesday shot dead a Hamas member suspected of killing a rabbi as two deadly attacks against Israeli settlers in a month increased tensions in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian suspect in the murder of the rabbi on 9 January was shot dead in a pre-dawn raid hours after another Israeli was killed in a stabbing in the West Bank.

Several hundred mourners attended the funeral today for Itamar Ben Gal, the 29-year-old man killed a day earlier who was also a rabbi. There was no indication of a direct link between the two attacks, with violence common in the West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli settlers or security forces.

Islamist movement Hamas said the suspect killed overnight was a member of its armed wing. The 19-year-old believed to have committed Monday's stabbing remained at large. "The security forces will catch whoever tries to attack Israeli citizens and we will deal with them to the fullest extent of the law," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.

Both attacks have led to Israeli calls for more settlement building in the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation for more than 50 years.

Earlier this week in response to the rabbi's murder on 9 January, Israel's government in a rare move decided to "legalise" the rogue West Bank outpost where he lived, Havat Gilad, essentially creating a new settlement. There were further calls for more settlement construction at today's funeral for Ben Gal held at the Har Bracha settlement where he lived, Israeli media reported.

The overnight raid occurred in the village of Yamoun near Jenin, where the 22-year-old suspect, Ahmad Jarrar, was said to be hiding. It came after a weeks-long manhunt for Jarrar, the son of a Hamas figure killed by Israeli forces during the second intifada of the early 2000s.

Beginning late Monday and into early Tuesday, dozens of Israeli army jeeps entered Yamoun and besieged a part of the town. Heavy clashes broke out with live fire, according to a Palestinian security source.

Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency said that "during the attempted arrest, the terrorist came out of a building where he was hiding armed. "Security forces fired in his direction. An M-16 assault rifle and a bag containing explosives were found near his body," it said.

Hamas's armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, claimed Jarrar as a member and welcomed the attack on 9 January that saw Raziel Shevach, 35, shot dead. It said a "Qassam bullet" was responsible for the murder, though it was unclear if the Hamas leadership was claiming direct responsibility for the attack or whether the cell acted on its own.

Israeli forces had been hunting for the assailants since the murder, with roadblocks and checkpoints set up following the attack. Two Palestinians were killed during earlier raids which Israeli security services said were launched to find Shevach's killers.
However, what is lost in the back and forth between interventionism and calls for India to let the citizens of Maldives sort out their own affairs is the perennial question: Is 'humanitarian intervention' ever justified? And if so, when?

As President Abdulla Yameen cracks down on the judiciary, the media and the Opposition, the Maldives crisis is heating up. Indian soldiers have been reportedly placed on standby and are prepared for "any eventuality".

Some have made the case for military intervention, arguing that India must use all tools in its basket  coercive, tactical and military  to secure its strategic interests. Others have argued that a repeat of 1988, when India sent in paratroopers to help safeguard former president Abdul Gayoom's regime from Sri Lankan Tamil militants financed by Maldivian businessman Abdullah Luthufi would perhaps yield a short-term advantage for India, but create a problem in the long run.

However, what is lost in the back and forth between interventionism and calls for India to let the citizens of Maldives sort out their own affairs is the perennial question: Is "humanitarian intervention" ever justified? And if so, when?

Genesis

That was the question the international community was pondering in the 90s, during the genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia. Indeed, it was the then United Nations secretary-general Kofi Annan, in his Millennium Report of 2000, who wondered: "If humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to a Rwanda, to a Srebrenica to gross and systematic violation of human rights that offend every precept of our common humanity?"

Attempting to Annan's question, in September 2000, the Canadian government set up the the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS), which, in a report entitled Responsibility to Protect, found that sovereignty not only gave a State the right to "control" its affairs, it also conferred on the State primary "responsibility" for protecting the people within its borders. However, it stated that when a State failed to protect its people  either through lack of ability or a lack of willingness  the responsibility shifted to the broader international community.

The reports stated that the foundations of the responsibility to protect, as a guiding principle for the international community of states, lie in its obligations inherent in the concept of sovereignty; the responsibility of the Security Council, under Article 24 of the UN Charter, for the maintenance of international peace and security; specific legal obligations under human rights and human protection declarations, covenants and treaties, international humanitarian law and national law and the developing practice of states, regional organisations and the Security Council itself.

Prevent, react, rebuild

The responsibility to protect embraced three specific responsibilities: Prevention, reaction and rebuilding. Prevention sought to address both the root causes and direct causes of internal conflict and other man-made crises putting populations at risk, reaction sought to respond to situations of compelling human need with appropriate measures, which may include coercive measures like sanctions and international prosecution, and in extreme cases military intervention. Rebuilding sought to provide particularly after a military intervention, full assistance with recovery, reconstruction and reconciliation, addressing the causes of the harm the intervention was designed to halt or avert.

The report singled out prevention as the most important dimension of the of the responsibility to protect, it stated that prevention options should always be exhausted before intervention is contemplated, and more commitment and resources must be devoted to it. The report added that the exercise of the responsibility to both prevent and react should always involve less intrusive and coercive measures being considered before more coercive and intrusive ones are applied

'Military intervention'

The report also laid out certain parameters to assess when military intervention is appropriate:

The Just Cause Threshold: Military intervention for human protection purposes is an exceptional and extraordinary measure. To be warranted, there must be serious and irreparable harm occurring to human beings, or imminently likely to occur, such as large-scale loss of life, actual or apprehended, with genocidal intent or not, which is the product either of deliberate state action, or state neglect or inability to act, or a failed State situation; or large scale ethnic cleansing, actual or apprehended, whether carried out by killing, forced expulsion, acts of terror or rape.

The Precautionary Principles:

Right intention, where the primary purpose must be to halt or avert human suffering. This intention is better assured with multilateral operations, clearly supported by regional opinion and the victims concerned. Last resort: Military intervention can only be justified when every non-military option for the prevention or peaceful resolution of the crisis has been explored, with reasonable grounds for believing lesser measures would not have succeeded. Proportional means: The scale, duration and intensity of the planned military intervention should be the minimum necessary to secure the defined human protection objective. Reasonable prospects: There must be a reasonable chance of success in halting or averting the suffering which has justified the intervention, with the consequences of action not likely to be worse than the consequences of inaction.

Right Authority:

There is no better or more appropriate body than the United Nations Security Council to authorise military intervention for human protection purposes, the report argued. The task is not to find alternatives to the Security Council as a source of authority, but to make the Security Council work better than it has, it stated. Security Council authorisation should in all cases be sought prior to any military intervention action being carried out. Those calling for an intervention should formally request such authorisation, or have the Council raise the matter on its own initiative, or have the Secretary-General raise it under Article 99 of the UN Charter. The Security Council should deal promptly with any request for authority to intervene where there are allegations of large-scale loss of human life or ethnic cleansing. It should in this context seek adequate verification of facts or conditions on the ground that might support a military intervention. The Permanent Five members of the Security Council should agree not to apply their veto power, in matters where their vital state interests are not involved, to obstruct the passage of resolutions authorizing military intervention for human protection purposes for which there is otherwise majority support. If the Security Council rejects a proposal or fails to deal with it in a reasonable time, alternative options are:

1. Consideration of the matter by the General Assembly in Emergency Special Session under the Uniting for Peace procedure. 2. Action within area of jurisdiction by regional or sub-regional organizations under Chapter VIII of the Charter, subject to their seeking subsequent authorisation from the Security Council. The Security Council should take into account in all its deliberations that, if it fails to discharge its responsibility to protect in conscience shocking situations crying out for action, concerned states may not rule out other means to meet the gravity and urgency of that situation  and that the stature and credibility of the United Nations may suffer thereby.

Operational Principles:

Clear objectives; clear and unambiguous mandate at all times; and resources to match. . Common military approach among involved partners; unity of command; clear and unequivocal communications and chain of command. Acceptance of limitations, incrementalism and gradualism in the application of force, the objective being protection of a population, not defeat of a state. Rules of engagement which fit the operational concept; are precise; reflect the principle of proportionality; and involve total adherence to international humanitarian law. Acceptance that force protection cannot become the principal objective. Maximum possible coordination with humanitarian organisations.

Member States adopt responsibility to protect

In September 2005, at the United Nations World Summit, all Member States formally accepted the responsibility of each State to protect its population from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. World leaders also agreed that when any State fails to meet that responsibility, all States (the "international community") are responsible for helping to protect people threatened with such crimes. Should peaceful means  including diplomatic, humanitarian and others  be inadequate and national authorities "manifestly fail" to protect their populations, the international community should act collectively in a "timely and decisive manner"  through the UN Security Council and in accordance with the UN Charter  on a case-by-case basis and in cooperation with regional organizations as appropriate.

Responsibility to protect in action

According to the United Nations website, the first time the Security Council made official reference to the responsibility to protect was in April 2006 when it authorised the deployment of peacekeeping troops to Darfur.

Libya (2011)

The United Nations Security Council made explicit reference to the responsibility to protect the Libyan government targetted its own people. The council imposed international sanctions, demanded an end to violence and referred the situation to the International Criminal Court.

On 17 March, 2011, the Security Council demanded an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to ongoing attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute "crimes against humanity" and authorised Member States to take "all necessary measures" to protect civilians under threat of attack in the country, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory. A few days later, NATO planes began attacking Muammar Gaddafis forces.

Cote dIvoire (2011)

The UN Security Council condemned human rights violations committed by supporters of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo and President Ouattara against the civilian population and citing "the primary responsibility of each State to protect civilians," called for the immediate transfer of power to President Ouattara, the victor in the elections, and reaffirmed that the UN Operation in Cote dIvoire (UNOCI) could use "all necessary means to protect life and property."

On 4 April, 2011, UNOCI began military operations, and Gbagbo was arrested by President Ouattaras forces. Gbagbo was later transferred to the International Criminal Court to face charges of crimes against humanity as an indirect co-perpetrator of murder, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts.

Yemen (2011)

On 21 October, 2011, the United Nations condemned human rights violations by the Yemeni authorities and encouraged an inclusive Yemeni-led political process of transition of power, including the holding of early Presidential elections. This resolution explicitly recalled the Yemeni Governments "primary responsibility to protect its population."
It will be a mistake on Indias part to see the Maldives crisis in isolation, as an internal struggle for power which doesnt have any geopolitical spill

Writing in an Indian newspaper on Wednesday, former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed has again urged India to intervene and restore democracy in the Maldives. While New Delhi is still calibrating its response amid media reports that it has kept the military on standby and is mulling over imposing some sanctions, it is worth remembering that the turmoil in the atoll nation is not just internal politics, it has deep strategic ramifications for India.

Some commentators have argued that the 1988 Operation Cactus-style military op cannot be replicated in 2018 and India would do well to bide its time as the political theatre unfolds. The contention is that any Indian intervention at this stage could be strategically counterproductive and morally indefensible. This argument rests on an assumption that the Maldivian flux is essentially domestic.

It is not. It will be a mistake on Indias part to see the crisis in isolation, as a context-free internal struggle for power which doesnt have any geopolitical spill. That is the certainly the line China wants the international community to take. Its state-controlled Global Times has already fired the first salvo, warning India against meddling in Males internal affairs.

The unrest in the archipelago is in equal parts strategic and political and has been a long time coming. China lies in the thick of it. Beijing has wormed its way into the Maldives and now threatens to permanently alter the balance of power in South Asia by co-opting the island nation into its aggressive maritime expansion strategy.

Chinas long-term strategic objectives in Maldivian thrust involve laying a string of pearls around India by acquiring naval bases, exercising hegemonic control over key shipping lanes stretching from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean and throwing around its global military might.

As this column has argued in the past, letting panda-hugging Abdulla Yameen get away with his authoritarian excesses wont just be detrimental to Maldivian and Indias interests, it will be tantamount to endorsing the actions of a president who is complicit in Chinas efforts to turn the atoll nation into another of its vassal states.

Incidentally, a major part of Nasheeds column in The Indian Express agonises over the deep Chinese influence in Maldivian economy which is rapidly turning into strategic muscle. The former president writes: Foreign powers, among them China, are engaged in a land grab of Maldivian islands, key infrastructure, and even essential utilities. Shrouded in secrecy, all manner of projects have been awarded to foreign state-run companies.

In an earlier interview to Reuters, Nasheed had said China has already seized around 16-17 islands through an opaque leasing process in the Maldives that consists of around 1190 islets scattered over the Indian Ocean. Only a handful of these is inhabited by the locals.

It always starts with a real estate project, but it can be turned into something (else)... that China has actually grabbed more land, the news agency quoted him, as saying.

Allowing for some exaggeration from an exiled former president at odds with the current regime, Nasheed isnt too far from the truth.

For a country that didnt have even an embassy presence in the Maldives up until 2011, China has acquired a massive amount of sway into Maldivian economy and is now moulding the nations politics in its favour.

President Yameen has defied international pressure to promulgate emergency and martial law in the faraway islands, jailed a former president after letting cops break into his residence at the dead of night, let loose security forces in Supreme Court complex, arrested the chief justice and another Supreme Court judge and forced the apex court to revoke its decision of setting free key political prisoners.

For a leader who apparently enjoys little grassroots support and international credibility, Yameens wanton excesses and stubborn defiance raised speculation that China is giving him tacit support. It may be noted that Beijing, unlike the international community, has gone out of its way not to comment on the political instability the in the Maldives or censure Yameens undermining of the Constitution or crushing of civil liberties, rule of law and democracy. A pliant figure as the head of state in a strategically important location certainly serves its purpose.

Nobody should underestimate the influence of China over Yameen. We saw that in the manner in which he recently signed the FTA with China. I think it (support from China) has allowed him to be bold, Abdulla Shahid, former speaker of the Maldivian Parliament, was quoted as saying in The Times of India.

As Anand Kumar had argued in a 2012 paper 'Chinese Engagement with the Maldives: Impact on Security Environment in the Indian Ocean Region', Chinas strategic objectives in the Maldives hadnt been very successful due to President Nasheed, who was perceived to be India friendly.

However, as Chinese economic engagement in the Maldives increases, it might affect the close relationship between India and the Maldives, he wrote rather presciently in academic journal Taylor and Francis Online.

Chinas engagement with Yameen regime has been vast and swift. The measure of its influence lies not merely in the fact that Chinese influence is ubiquitous in the paradisiacal islands from rush of tourists (more than 30 percent of total footfalls), signboards, restaurants, menu cards, contractors, enterprises, hutments, inter-island bridges, ports and other mega infrastructure, Beijing has been able to co-opt Indias close neighbour as a key member of its Belt and Road Initiative and even weigh upon the political establishment to amend the Constitution and change land-holding clause.

It is not a coincidence that following the announcement of China-Maldives maritime silk road partnership in 2014, a year later the Yameen regime amended the Constitution to allow foreigners to own land in the country on freehold basis on condition that the investment should be to the tune of at least $1 billion and 70 percent of the project should be on reclaimed land. It's no surprise that these two clauses looked like they were tailored for China.

Chinese expansionism is also evident in the way it has taken over the Maldivian economy. The free-trade agreement, Maldivess maiden, allows its fishermen access to worlds largest consumer market. But the balance of trade is hopelessly skewed. The FTA has seen Maldivian imports rise 200 times of the export figure with China and Hong Kong.

Yet another island nations sad descent into Chinese debt-trap has begun. From a trade surplus, the country now runs a deficit. The debt-to-GDP ratio now stands at 34.7 percent, and is slated to cross the 50 percent mark within the next three years, reckons IMF.

The two-kilometre China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, linking capital Male with an airport island is being funded by China and is being developed by a Chinese firm, reports Yuji Kuronuma in Nikkei Asian Review. On Hulhumale, a reclaimed island, another Chinese company is constructing 7,000 homes. The contractor has taken out a loan from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China... More projects are underway elsewhere, like a housing complex surrounded by a forest on Addu Atoll.

Along with Chinese presence, a simultaneous churn has seen lessening of Indian footprint. The volume of Chinese imports has crossed Indian goods, and Indian companies are being kicked out of Maldives. GMR, for instance, was asked to leave after its contract to develop the Male International Airport was prematurely cancelled by the Yameen regime.

GMR moved an international tribunal, but the compensation of $270 million was promptly paid by the Maldivian government leading to suspicion in India that China had filled Yameens purse. As Indrani Bagchi had reported in The Times of India, in August last year, Yameen disregarded India's request to deny permission to three Chinese warships from docking in the Maldives.

In his newspaper column, Nasheed mentions the airport deal as indicative of the hold China has over the Maldivian economy. The development of the Ibrahim Nasir international airport is a case in point. President Yameen has revealed a plan to finance the project through $800 million worth of foreign loans  in 2014, Chinas EXIM Bank gave a $373 million concessionary loan to upgrade and develop the airport... As I watch my country in exile, I fear that piece by piece, island by island, the Maldives is being sold off to China, the exiled president writes.

The economic hegemony is being translated into a strategic grip. The totality of Chinese neo-colonial tactics in the Maldives cant be understood if we disregard the military objective. As Professor N Manoharan writes in an Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies article, Maldives has emerged as an important 'pearl' in Chinas String of Pearls construct in South Asia. Given (its) strategic location in the Indian Ocean, Beijing has been vying for a maritime base in the atoll with the primary motive of ensuring the security of its sea lanes, especially the unhindered flow of critically-needed energy supplies from Africa and West Asia through the Indian Ocean.

As China ramps up its infrastructure projects through a predatory pricing mechanism, like many other South Asian nations including Sri Lanka and Pakistan, Maldives will also be forced to lease or sell its real estate to tide over the debt-trap. This is post-Cold War-era colonialism, where economic tools have replaced military instruments.

Monika Chansoria writes in Sunday Guardian how China is developing the iHavan Integrated Development Project in the northernmost main sea line of communication joining Southeast Asia and China to West Asia and Europe. This project is being run on huge concessional loans/aid financing from China and it is being forecast that the Maldives shall almost certainly default on payments, thereby allowing China to seize a few berthing facilities there.

Indias actions in the Maldives will have a larger bearing on how smaller South Asian nations adjust themselves in relation to China and India. The dynamic is in a flux. Underlined by Gandhian principles, India foreign policy has a strong moral component. At times, however, it is immoral not to act in self-defence. Great powers must exercise its rights, or risk being trampled over by other great powers.
The political crisis in the Maldives deepened this week after embattled President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and ordered the arrest of top judges and a former president

Male: The political crisis in the Maldives deepened this week after embattled President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and ordered the arrest of top judges and a former president.

The upmarket holiday paradise does not often find itself in the news but a shock Supreme Court decision last week ordering the release of top opposition politicians has triggered a furious response from authoritarian ruler Yameen.

How will the latest round of political strife play out in the Indian Ocean archipelago?

What's going on?

Yameen, who came to power in 2013, has presided over an escalating crackdown on dissent that has battered the Maldives' reputation. He has jailed almost all the political opposition.

The Maldives was plunged into fresh chaos this week after the president refused to comply with the Supreme Court's Thursday order to release nine dissidents and restore the seats of 12 legislators sacked for defecting from Yameen's party.

The Supreme Court ruling gives the opposition the majority in the assembly  meaning they could potentially impeach the president.

In a stunning blow to the regime, it also paves the way for exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed  the first democratically elected leader who was controversially convicted of terrorism in 2015  to return and run for president this year.

On Monday, Yameen sent soldiers to storm the court and arrest judges, with Maldives police also detaining Yameen's estranged half-brother and former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who had sided with the main opposition.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the court complex and police used pepper spray to disperse the crowds.

Where do the security forces stand?

The head of the armed forces is publicly backing Yameen.

"The Maldives military will not stand by and watch the Maldives go into a crisis," military chief Ahmed Shiyam said Sunday, warning he would not obey "unlawful orders" from the Supreme Court.

But as ex-president Gayoom  who ruled for 30 years until 2008 elections  was led out of his house, riot police saluted him, according to the local Maldives Independent website, and analysts have warned his arrest could split the security forces as he still commands deep respect.

The emergency declaration gives sweeping powers to security forces to arrest and detain individuals, curtails the powers of the judiciary and bars parliament from impeaching Yameen.

The opposition says it shows Yameen is "desperate" and Nasheed, who has previously expressed fears of unrest in the troubled Indian Ocean nation, said it amounted to imposing martial law.

Yameen has drawn close to China and Saudi Arabia during his time in office, with both countries investing heavily in the tiny tourist archipelago in the Indian Ocean, and may feel he has enough support to weather the storm.

How did we get here?

Mohamed Nasheed became the country's first democratically elected president in 2008 and swiftly became an international celebrity because of his urgent pleas to address climate change. He held a cabinet meeting underwater to highlight the low-lying archipelago's plight.

The country has been locked in a slow-burn political crisis since Yameen won a controversial run-off against Nasheed in 2013 presidential elections.

During his time in power "President Yameen has systematically alienated his coalition, jailed or exiled every major opposition political figure, deprived elected Members of Parliament of their right to represent their voters... revised laws to erode human rights (and fired) any officials who refuse orders," the US State Department said.

What about the tourists?

The tensions have already hurt the tourism industry  the largest contributor to the country's economy  despite government assurances that visitors are safe.

China  the number one source of tourists for the Maldives  and neighbouring India have already warned their national to defer all non-essential travel, and the UK and the US have warned their nationals to exercise caution in Male.

In 2015, when the government declared a state of emergency because of fears of terrorism, tourist booking plummeted which hit economic growth hard.

Nearly 1.4 million foreigners visited the Maldives last year, up from 1.28 million the previous year.

What happens next?

All eyes are on the security forces to see what will happen now that Gayoom is in detention and whether further street protests will break out despite the state of emergency.

Nasheed has already said he will run again in elections scheduled for this year and has called for regional superpower India to intervene.

Yameen, who has previously faced several unsuccessful opposition attempts to impeach him for alleged corruption, looks determined to fight off all challenges to his rule

Opposition legislators have also called on the international community to pressure Yameen.
The Maldives, a tiny Indian Ocean country of less than a million people, has been facing political turmoil for the last week, ever since President Abdulla Yameen declared State of Emergency

The Maldives, a tiny Indian Ocean country, has been facing political turmoil for the last week, ever since President Abdulla Yameen declared a State of Emergency and ordered the arrest of former president and his half-brother Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Yameen, who has ruled the Maldives with an iron fist since winning democratic elections in November 2013, has put in place a string of extreme legislation, including criminalising defamation, stifling the press, even summoning armed forces to discipline MPs in Parliament.

However, it's his courting of Islamist groups and parties that is of the most concern, given the country's entire population is Muslim and has a history of being a fertile breeding ground for Islamic State recruits.

Islam in Maldivian politics

Using Islam as a tool in Maldivian politics started way back in 2012 when then president Mohamed Nasheed was forced to step down in what his party described was a "coup d'etat" following months of protests by Islamists against his version of "Liberal Islam". At the time, with the Arab Spring toppling several liberal governments in the Muslim world, Maldives also went the way of the protesters.

Two years later, Nasheed gave an interview to the Independent, where he said that up to 200 Maldivians are currently fighting for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. "Radical Islam is getting very, very strong in the Maldives. Their strength in the military and in the police is very significant. They are using the Maldives military to train their people," Nasheed was quoted as saying in the report.

The Maldivian Muslims owe their allegiance to the Sunni sect and several international experts have warned of the disastrous consequences the Yameen government's decision of being soft on terror could have. For a country with a population of less than half a million people, the mushrooming of even small-scale terror cells could have major repercussions.

Nasheed also gave an interview to the Foreign Policy magazine last year, where he said his administration did "everything it could" do to curb the spread of extremist Islam, but rued that the pendulum has swung since Yameen took charge. "When we were younger, a very liberal Islam was the mainstream in the Maldives. We've now accepted Wahhabism as the mainstream and Islamic State as the extreme. We will soon accept Islamic State as the mainstream, and God help us where the extreme would be," he had said.

He accused the Yameen government of playing with fire for short-term political gains. "Yameen feels he can deal with the Islamist threat later but first he wants to consolidate power. He has the Islamists with him and he can't do away with them," Nasheed alleged, in the interview to Independent.

"I don't see the government taking any measures against the Islamic State flag being displayed on the streets and all the indoctrination going on. They are very short-sighted. Their thinking is that Islam has a lot of support and you can whip up more (political) support with religion," he added.

Social changes

And it's not just the politics of Maldives that's being influenced by the Islamists, there are also social changes being witnessed on the streets. Society for Health Organization, an NGO working on women's issues in Male, told Huffington Post that the rise of Islam in the country has not been good for women. "The veil and the burqa are things that are becoming more forced. When we were growing up, we didn't see this so much. We have started to see women covering up more and more," they said.

The Islamists are already insisting that women remain subservient to men in the archipelago, which has been 100 percent Muslim for centuries. What's more, they are even taking to social media to spread the message. As one anonymous source told the Huffington Post, "There's no freedom here, no freedom of speech, no freedom of religion. You have to be Sunni. The Constitution says that if you are not Muslim then you are not Maldivan."

The silver lining

However, all is not lost yet. Despite gaining much ground, the Islamists haven't been able to crack the political puzzle. As reported by The Conversation, the main Islamist party, Adalat, has never succeeded in elections. It is currently in the Opposition, incidentally in an alliance with Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which actively pursues a form of "Liberal Islam".

Moreover, unlike in other Islamist countries, Maldivians are solidly in favour of democracy. In a 2015 survey, 62 percent Maldivians said democracy was the best form of governance and 77 percent said it was best suited for the Maldives. They also associated democracy with freedom of speech and assembly.

It's an indication that despite a history of dictatorship and despite a coup d'etat throwing out the previous elected government, the citizens insist on having a democracy. It's also a suggestion that President Yameen's attempts of having an authoritarian form of government may not last as long as initially thought.
The Indian Navy patrols sea lanes around Maldives as naval cooperation between the two countries are robust.

New Delhi: With Maldives in turmoil following a face off between the government and its Supreme Court, India is expected to follow a standard operating procedure (SOP) that includes keeping the troops in readiness, government sources indicated on Wednesday.

India, which said it was "disturbed" over the situation in the archipelago nation, has already issued a travel advisory as part of the SOP but officials would not confirm one of its crucial aspects pertaining to keeping troops on standby.

Sources said troop movement has been seen at a key air-base in Southern India. According to the SOP, the troops are kept ready to meet any eventuality, crisis or requirement for help, sources said, adding there is nothing unusual about such SOPs.

Significantly, exiled former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed sought India's diplomatic and military intervention to resolve the crisis in the country after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency and got arrested the top judge of the country's apex court.

The Indian Navy patrols sea lanes around Maldives as naval cooperation between the two countries are robust. India had on Tuesday asked its nationals to defer all non-essential travels to the Indian Ocean nation until further notice.

In an advisory, the external affairs ministry also asked Indian expatriates in Maldives to maintain heightened security awareness.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crises since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into chaos on Thursday last when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

The nine political leaders included Nasheed.

The Yameen government refused to implement the order, prompting a wave of protests in capital Male, with clashes between police and demonstrators.

Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after President Yameen declared a state of emergency yesterday. No details were given about the investigation or charges against them.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has allied himself with the opposition, was also detained at his home.
The United States has asked Pakistan to expel terrorists, especially the Taliban leaders, operating from terror safe havens within its soil, a top Trump administration official said on Tuesday.

Washington: The United States has asked Pakistan to expel terrorists, especially the Taliban leaders, operating from terror safe havens within its soil, a top Trump administration official said on Tuesday.

"We've had a number of discussions with our Pakistani partners on expectations for change and expelling terrorists from areas in which they've been allowed to operate," Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan.

He was responding to questions from lawmakers expressing concerns over Pakistan's approach fighting terrorism.

"They (Pakistan) understand what we expect...Our suspension of security assistance continues until we see more evidence that they are in fact taking action," Sullivan said.

He said the US has been in discussions with Pakistan but there has been not a "sufficient amount of action" from it against terrorists.

Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, supported the South Asia Policy of the Trump administration.

"This administration has rightly drawn a clear line with Pakistan, suspending security assistance of over $2 billion as long as Islamabad continues to shelter Haqqani, and other terror groups that target innocent civilians, as well as the US and allied forces," he said.

Corker had blocked the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan during the previous Obama administration.

He said this "pointed approach" is designed to confront Pakistan's "duplicity" and its actions to provide safe harbour to the "greatest threat to our efforts in Afghanistan".

Last month, the Trump administration had suspended nearly $2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan because of its inability to take actions against terror groups.

Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said such a policy might not work.

"Does the administration really believe that a simple suspension of security assistance is going to bring about a lasting commitment by Pakistan to drop support for the Afghan Taliban or the Haqqani Network. It hasn't before," he said.

"We've tried it several times over the past 16 years. I have little confidence that such behavioural change is coming. So are we prepared to do more to elicit the behavioural change we want or is this just more about the same?" Cardin asked.

Sullivan said the Trump administration may consider lifting the suspension, when it sees decisive and sustained actions from Pakistan to address the US concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory, without distinction.

"The US is committed to doing our part to reduce tensions in the region in ways that address Pakistan's legitimate concerns," he said.

Sullivan said the US opposes the use of terrorist proxies by any country against another country anywhere in the world.

"The use of terrorism has no place in a rules-based international system. We hope the Pakistanis will also help to convince the Taliban to enter into a peace process," he said.

Sullivan told lawmakers that it was the assessment of the US that Pakistan has not done enough to expel elements of the Taliban that have been operating in sanctuaries in Pakistan and easily able to cross the border into Afghanistan.

Pakistan, he said, certainly have the ability to urge the Taliban to do come to the peace talks.

"What we believe they do have the ability to do also is to expel them from sanctuaries in their country. They may not be able to actually drive them to the negotiating table, but they can help and they can eliminate sanctuaries in their country where they currently operate," he said.

Noting that Pakistan has suffered grievously from terrorist attacks, Sullivan said what the US is looking for from Pakistan is more support against terrorist organisations.

"I understand it's a delicate balance for Pakistan. We want to do all we can to support them in that effort, and we have provided an enormous amount of assistance, monetary and otherwise, to the Pakistani government.

"What we're looking for is an indication from them, more support directed at those outward-focused terrorist organisations," he said.
Pakistan has brought up the Kashmir issue in the Security Council, accusing it of 'selective implementation' of its resolutions.

United Nations: Pakistan has brought up the Kashmir issue in the Security Council, accusing it of "selective implementation" of its resolutions.

"Nothing undermines the credibility of the Council more than selective implementation of its resolutions," Pakistan's Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi said on Tuesday during a session on its working methods.

"The Council should therefore periodically review implementation of its resolutions, especially on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute," she added. "Failure to enforce its own resolutions undercuts not just the Council's standing in the world, but the UN as well."

Her reference was to a 1948 Council resolution that called for a plebiscite to determine the future of Kashmir, while also demanding the withdrawal of Pakistani "tribesmen" who entered the state.

India has said that the "tribesmen" were Pakistani troops who tried to annex Kashmir.

Given Pakistan's refusal to withdraw its troops, India could not hold hold a plebiscite and New Delhi maintains that by participating in the elections in the state the Kashmiri people have exercised their democratic rights integrating with India.

Other Council resolutions relating to Kashmir were about a commission to oversee the plebiscite and, in 1957, on a UN representative mediating between the two neighbours.

India also maintains that under the 1972 Simla Agreement signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was then the President of Pakistan, the two countries have agreed to sort out their disputes between themselves without the intervention of third parties.

In 2010, the Council removed Kashmir from its list of unresolved international disputes.

At the beginning of every year, Pakistan also asks the Council to keep alive the question of the Hyderabad's integration with India based on a telegram from Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi Asaf Jah VII asking it to keep India out of the princely state. The Nizam, however, withdrew the complaint after the princely state's integration into India.

Two other issues it attempts to revive in its annual ritual are resolutions relating to the 1965 India-Pakistan War and the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence.
Scandal-tainted South African president Jacob Zuma, who is under growing pressure to resign, held 'fruitful' talks today with his likely successor Cyril Ramaphosa.

Cape Town: Scandal-tainted South African president Jacob Zuma, who is under growing pressure to resign, held "fruitful" talks today with his likely successor Cyril Ramaphosa, the ruling ANC party said.

The ANC said that the talks meant that a special party meeting scheduled for Wednesday that could have forced Zuma out of office had been postponed to next week, but it gave no details about any possible resignation deal.

The African National Congress, which has ruled since Nelson Mandela won the post-apartheid 1994 election, has been plunged into chaos over the transition of power from Zuma to his deputy Ramaphosa.

As president, Zuma had been due to deliver the State of the Nation address to parliament in Cape Town on Thursday  a closely-watched event that shapes the political agenda for the coming year. But, in an unprecedented move, the speech was also postponed on Tuesday, heightening speculation that Zuma could finally yield to calls to step down.

Many ANC members are pushing for Cyril Ramaphosa, the new head of the party, to replace Zuma, 75, as president immediately.

But Zuma loyalists have said that the serving president should complete his second and final term in office, which would end when elections are held in 2019. "After fruitful and constructive discussions... Cyril Ramaphosa has postponed the special NEC (national executive committee) meeting," the ANC said in a statement.
Fresh regime strikes on a besieged rebel-held enclave near Damascus killed close to 70 civilians on Tuesday despite mounting Western pressure on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad

Saqba: Fresh regime strikes on a besieged rebel-held enclave near Damascus killed close to 70 civilians on Tuesday despite mounting Western pressure on Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

The bloodshed came a day after another 31 civilians were killed in Eastern Ghouta and as the United Nations pleaded for a truce in the seven-year-old war to allow for aid deliveries. Eastern Ghouta and Idlib, a northern province where violence also flared this week, are both so-called de-escalation zones under a deal last year intended to pave the way towards an end to the conflict.

A UN-mandated committee, however, said the recent escalation in violence "made a mockery" of the deal, which has failed to stem the fighting as the Syrian government continues its nationwide military reconquest.

The latest casualties in Ghouta came as Washington threatened military action over the reported use of chemical weapons in the enclave, which regime and allied forces have besieged since 2013.

The death toll has risen from an initial report of 16 to around 70, including 18 children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. Around 100 people were wounded, it said. All too familiar scenes of chaos engulfed towns scattered across the semi-rural rebel-held area of Ghouta which lies just east of Damascus.

Rescuers from the White Helmets, an award-winning organisation featured in an Oscar-nominated documentary, could be seen rushing shredded bodies covered in white dust to ambulances hurtling down streets littered with rubble.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman added that few rebels were among the dead because they rarely left their tunnels and had better protection from air strikes than civilians, estimated to number around 400,000 in Ghouta.

He described the bloodshed as the deadliest since efforts to broker a truce in Ghouta failed and the government intensified its operations against the enclave six weeks ago. In apparent retaliation, rockets were fired on several Damascus neighbourhoods, killing three civilians, Syria's state news agency SANA reported.

Several schools in Damascus announced they were suspending classes for the next few days due to the upsurge in violence.
The political crisis enveloping Maldives is showing no signs of easing up, with the Indian military being asked to remain on 'standby' mode

The political crisis enveloping Maldives is showing no signs of easing up, with the Indian military being asked to remain on "standby" mode. As reported by The Times of India, the Indian armed forces were "prepared for any eventuality" and "deployment at short notice". The Indian Navy has warships which can be diverted to Maldives if required, the report said. "India also has some defence personnel in Maldives due to defence cooperation; our warships, aircraft and copters often patrol its exclusive economic zone," a source told the report.

Even if it comes to a military intervention, it won't be the first time India has done so in Maldives. In 1988, India intervened in the political crisis of the island nation to prevent an attempted coup by mercenaries against the then president Abdul Gayoom.

However, things have changed in the 30 years since. The 1998 coup was carried out by Sri Lankan Tamil militants on behalf of Maldivian businessman Abdulla Luthufi, as Sushant Singh explains in his book, Operation Cactus: Mission Impossible In The Maldives. Then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi dispatched 1,600 troops and it was only a matter of hours before order was restored.

In the current situation, however, the sitting president Abdulla Yameen has not specifically asked for India's help. In fact, doing so would be tantamount to overthrowing a democratically elected government. If India "does something" in the name of saving democracy, it would be acting on a request made by former president Mohammad Nasheed, who had said "democracy is at stake".

"Declaration (of State of Emergency) is unconstitutional and illegal. Nobody in the Maldives is required to, nor should, follow this unlawful order. We must remove him from power. The people of the Maldives have a legitimate request to world governments, especially to India and the United States," Nasheed had said.

The only problem is Yameen isn't a self-appointed dictator. He won democratic elections in 2013, defeating Nasheed in a controversial run-off. As reported by the BBC in November 2013, Nasheed won the elections with 45 percent of the vote, falling just short of an outright majority. Yameen came in distant second with just 25 percent of the vote.

However, the Supreme Court then annulled the results and ordered for a run-off vote between the two following complaints of irregularities, with votes allegedly being cast in the name of ineligible voters, children and even dead people. The run-off vote was then organised, and Yameen's Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) finally proved triumphant.

Yameen's presidency

Upon assuming power, Yameen had said he would usher in a new form of functioning. He said he will draw only half his salary, and continue living in his own house. "God willing, just the way I have promised, I will not stick by the pledges I made. So my salary will be just half of what I am supposed to get," he had said.

His predecessor, Mohammad Nasheed, had made climate change a key priority of his regime, even holding an underwater Cabinet meeting to highlight the low-lying archipelago's plight. But Yameen said the focus of his regime will be the upturn of the beleaguered economy, and since the Maldivian economy was heavily dependent on tourism, on improving the tourist infrastructure in place.

However, he has often adopted a conservative approach towards political office, taking steps to restrain Opposition, critics of his government and even the media.

Yameen, half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ruled Maldives for over three decades, passed a law in 2016 that criminalised defamation, a move Opposition said was aimed at stifling dissent. The law criminalised defamatory speech, remarks, writings and actions that include gestures deemed to be against "any tenet of Islam".

Those found guilty of breaking the new law will be fined between 50,000 Maldivian rufiya and 2 million rufiya or face a jail term of between three and six months. Publications, including websites, found carrying "defamatory" comments could also have their licences revoked.

And that was not all. As reported by the Observer Research Foundation, Yameen also summoned armed forces to "discipline unruly Opposition MPs in Parliament".

In 2017, upon orders from Yameen to prevent lawmakers from taking part in a vote to impeach the parliamentary Speaker, the government had the military lock down gates to Parliament, and and "lawmakers were forcibly prevented from entering the parliamentary compound", Associated Press reported.

When the Commonwealth threatened him with disciplinary action following these moves, Maldives quit the Commonwealth altogether.

Growing closeness with China

Then there is the China equation. The Maldives, under Yameen, has allowed Beijing to court it with increasing aggressiveness. Especially with New Delhi dragging its feet over whether to support the Yameen front or the Nasheed front in Male, China has picked sides with alacrity.

As reported in The Diplomat, Yameen visited China last year, and the two nations signed 12 pacts, including a free trade agreement. Yameen also fully endorsed China's ambitious Maritime Silk Road initiative. President Xi Jinping declared that "China deems the Maldives as an important partner" in this initiative, and Yameen repaid the favor by claiming that the Maldives viewed China as "among (its) closest friends". He said the "Belt and Road Initiative has greatly helped the development of many small and medium countries".

At a time when the Belt and Road Initiative is beginning to attract scrutiny around the world, with even erstwhile supporters calling for a reassessment, such an endorsement was much sought after by Beijing, the report said.

China has also quickly expanded its economic profile in the Maldives by building mega infrastructure projects, including the development of Hulhule island and a bridge connecting it to Male as well as the country's main international airport.

A constitutional amendment allowing foreign ownership of freehold land was passed in 2015, which can potentially enhance China's military presence on the island nation. Already, Chinese naval ships have become regular visitors to Male, The Diplomat wrote.

Already, Maldives' imports from China now exceed those from India, as pointed out by a report on the Nikkei Asian Review. Beijing has also become the Yameen government's biggest lender. And debt owed to China is surging at a worrisome rate. Nasheed had already said the Maldives was falling deeper into a Chinese debt trap. "Already more than 70 percent of our foreign debt is owed to Beijing, which gives it huge leverage over us, undermining Maldivian sovereignty and independence," he had said.

But Yameen and China seem set on continuing on their path of mutual convenience.

With inputs from agencies
The US needs to encourage India and Pakistan to address their tensions in order to reduce the risk of a nuclear war, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers on Tuesday

Washington: The US needs to encourage India and Pakistan to address their tensions in order to reduce the risk of a nuclear war, a top Pentagon official told lawmakers on Tuesday, while seeking to restrain Pakistan's nuclear programme.

Assistant secretary of defence for Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, Randall Schriver, stressed that the US must see a change in Pakistan's behaviour in the areas of greatest concern to the US. "America's interests are clear: We must stop the resurgence of safe havens that enable terrorists to threaten America, we must encourage restraint in Pakistan's nuclear weapons programme and prevent nuclear weapons and materials from falling into the hands of terrorists," Schriver said.

"We must also encourage India and Pakistan to address tensions, in order to reduce the risk of nuclear war," he said during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan held by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Schriver said during Defence Secretary Jim Mattis' first trip to Pakistan in December, he engaged directly with Pakistan's Army chief Qamar Javed Bajwa on the objectives of the South Asia Strategy.

Mattis underscored that the US appreciated Pakistan's significant sacrifices in the war against terrorism, and that Pakistan can play a vital role in working with America and others to facilitate a peace process in Afghanistan.

"Since the announcement of the South Asia Strategy in August, Pakistan has taken some positive steps. The steps to date, however, do not reflect the type of decisive action that is necessary to restore regional stability," he said.

He said the defence department will continue to press Pakistan to make positive changes in its approach, and will provide clear and consistent feedback in response to Islamabad's action or inaction.

The Department of Defence wants to ensure that Pakistan has a "bridge back" to enhanced cooperation if it takes decisive action on US requests, the official said. Schriver said the new South Asia strategy focused primarily on the challenges in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but recognises that addressing these challenges effectively requires a broader regional approach.

It seeks to discourage hedging behaviour by regional states, puts pressure on the Taliban to join a peace process, and emphasises the importance of regional cooperation to reduce the threat of terrorism and nuclear conflict, he said.

"We are in Afghanistan to make America safer, to protect our citizens, and to ensure that Afghanistan and Pakistan do not serve as safe havens from which terrorists can support and launch attacks against our homeland, American citizens, and our allies. Now, more than ever, the US' vision and leadership must remain clear and steady," Schriver said.

He said the strategy sought to deliver greater stability in the region by focusing on the region as a whole, and shifting from a time-based approach to one based on conditions on the ground in Afghanistan. "It is important that we send a strong message to all actors that the United States remains committed to the continued development of the Afghan security forces, and that we are focused on promoting a political settlement that protects the interests of the US, Afghanistan, and our international partners," the top Pentagon official said.
A court in central Vietnam jailed a prominent environmental blogger on Tuesday for 14 years for abusing his democratic freedom and opposing officials on duty

A court in central Vietnam jailed a prominent environmental blogger on Tuesday for 14 years for abusing his democratic freedom and opposing officials on duty, his lawyer said.

Vietnamese activist Hoang Duc Binh, commonly known as Hoang Binh, led several protests against authorities over the handling of a major environmental disaster caused by a steel plant being developed by Taiwans Formosa Plastics Corp in 2016.

Despite sweeping economic reform and increasing openness towards social change, including gay, lesbian and transgender rights, Vietnams ruling Communist Party retains tight media censorship and does not tolerate criticism.

Binh received two seven-year prison sentences for abusing democratic freedoms to infringe state interests and for opposing officials on duty, while a fellow activist Nguyen Nam Phong received a two-year term, their lawyer Ha Huy Son told Reuters by telephone.

Binh said he was innocent, while Phong asked for a reduction of the sentence... The trial was conducted without evidence and objectivity; it was imposed, Son said.

The 14-year jail term for Binh, 35, is one of the toughest sentences to have been delivered against an activist in Vietnam.

Another prominent blogger, Nguyen Ngoc Nhu Quynh, known as Me Nam (Mother Mushroom), received a 10-year term in 2017.

The sentences have been more and more severe, perhaps because of weaker interventions from the outsiders and foreigners, and also because the power holders think this sentence could have deterrence effect, said Son, who has defended many more rights activists.

The US State Department said in a statement it was deeply troubled by the convictions and sentences handed down to Binh and Phong.

The trend of increased arrests, convictions, and harsh sentences of peaceful activists since early 2016 is very concerning, the statement said.

Last week, Vietnam listed a US-based group still loyal to the now defunct state of South Vietnam as a terrorist organisation while the Communist nation jailed four men for flying the South Vietnamese flag in January.

Besides advocating on environmental issues, Binh also participated and called people to join an independent union in 2015, local news website Baonghean (Nghe An Newspaper) reported, citing authorities documents on Binh.
The #MeToo campaign against sexual abuse should include the stories of survivors of (FGM), activists said ahead of a global day on Tuesday.

London: The #MeToo campaign against sexual abuse should include the stories of survivors of (FGM), activists said ahead of a global day on Tuesday to raise awareness about the internationally condemned ritual.

Leyla Hussein, one of the first FGM survivors to come forward in Britain, urged people to use the #MeToo hashtag when posting about the practice on social media on 6 February, the annual International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM.

Its a shame the #MeToo campaign doesnt include FGM, said Hussein, founder of the London-based Dahlia Project, which provides counselling for women who have been cut. FGM is a form of sexual abuse, but yet again weve been left out, she told the Reuters.

At least 200 million women and girls globally have undergone FGM, UN data shows. The ritual, involving the partial or total removal of the external genitalia, is practised in about 30 African countries and parts of Asia and the Middle East. Campaigners say the tradition  often justified for cultural or religious reasons  is underpinned by the desire to control female sexuality. It can cause serious health problems.

Hibo Wardere, a British activist who was cut as a child in Somalia, said both the #MeToo campaign and the global drive to end FGM were about women having ownership of their bodies.

Countless women and girls have taken to social media in recent months using the #MeToo hashtag to talk about their experiences of sexual harassment, abuse and rape.

The campaign was sparked in 2017 after a slew of sexual harassment and assault allegations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein. The scandal has since engulfed many other celebrity figures across various industries.

FGM is a form of sexual violence  of course it should be part of #MeToo, Wardere said. Being attacked because of our gender unites us. FGM is a way of controlling our sexuality, our bodies, our thoughts, she added. Its a way to make you feel like nothing but a commodity that belongs to a man ... Thats what were all fighting against.

Some campaigners said conflating FGM with the sexual abuse highlighted by the #MeToo campaign could wrongly imply there was sexual gratification involved with the ritual. They said FGM should be seen as child abuse, not sex abuse.

But Hussein said sexual assault was not about gratification.

Its about having power over someone, she said. When someone does FGM, its all about power.
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Google has been working on the new Chrome Home interface with bottom address bar design for over a year now. The interface with bottom address bar first appeared in October 2016 and later in August 2017, the company changed the U.I again. However, it now looks like Google is canceling the Chrome Home.

Despite being in testing for quite some time, the redesigned interface never made it to the public and was only limited to beta and Canary. Though the Chrome 64 put pieces together, it still didnt. Now Google might be finally giving up on it. A few days ago, several bug reports related to the interface were marked as WontFix on the Chromium bug tracker.

The bug report also added a comment saying We are ending the current Chrome Home experiment and closing the corresponding Chrome Home bugs. Thanks for the feedback and support! However, the comment can be taken in multiple ways, it could also mean that Google is finally ready to roll out the new U.I, or could also mean that Google is ending the experiment.

Adding to the fuel, the Chrome Home with bottom address bar which was previously enabled for canary and beta users is now disabled. Even re-installing the app didnt help either. The only way to enable is to manually enable the #enable-chrome-home flag. There are reports of a new Chrome Duplex which would be a split toolbar of Chrome Home. Either way, we will know more details in the coming days and weeks, but for now, it looks like the Chrome Home will never make it.

Source
[February 07, 2018] MightyHive Opens Offices in London and Singapore SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- MightyHive, the premier Programmatic Solutions Partner, announced the opening of two new offices in London and Singapore which will strengthen the company's partnerships with marketers and agencies in those markets. This global expansion positions MightyHive as the only full-stack DoubleClick Certified Marketing Partner with a presence in North America, Europe, and APAC. The company has a previously established office in Sydney. "The decision to expand into Europe and open a second office in Asia Pacific was a logical step in our business growth strategy," said Pete Kim, CEO, MightyHive. "Some of the most sophisticated programmatic markets in the world are in these regions and it' critical that we meet clients where they live to service them most effectively." As the industry's premier Programmatic Solutions Partner, and one of the largest and fastest-growing programmatic buyers in the world, MightyHive's goal is to empower brands and agencies to take control of their digital futures through world-class support and service of advertising platforms. A new breed of marketing service provider, the company has doubled in size over the last year and counts some of the world's leading brands, including Sprint, Yamaha Motor Corporation, and The Wall Street Journal as customers. "Thanks to our presence in London, MightyHive can establish even closer ties with our UK and European clients and is better positioned to introduce our flexible programmatic service offerings to marketers throughout the region," said Paolo Pironi, Managing Director EMEA, Sales for MightyHive. "Opening an office in Singapore in addition to our presence in Sydney will further strengthen our service capabilities in the fast-growing market of APAC," said Kenny Griffiths, Managing Director Asia Pacific, MightyHive."We are seeing exponential demand in this region for programmatic expertise that companies can eventually take in-house." For more information or to get in contact with a MightyHive representative in your region, contact questions@mightyhive.com. About MightyHive

MightyHive is the premier Programmatic Solutions Partner for forward-thinking marketers and agencies, wherever they are on the path to programmatic self-sufficiency. MightyHive empowers marketers to take control of their digital futures through world-class support and service of advertising platform technologies. We are defining a new services space for marketers that combines enterprise systems integration, and media and advertising technology expertise. Our offerings include programmatic insourcing, full-service management, and strategic advisory services. One of the largest and fastest-growing programmatic buyers in the world, MightyHive has helped hundreds of clients adopt programmatic, and has a global presence with offices in San Francisco, New York, London, Singapore and Sydney. Jenny Mulholland

Gull Rock PR/East Coast

732-245-0021

jenny@gullrock.com Andrea Boren

Gull Rock PR/West Coast

650-644-1700

andrea@gullrock.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mightyhive-opens-offices-in-london-and-singapore-300594676.html SOURCE MightyHive

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Maruti Suzuki and Google have teamed up to offer AI-enabled voice assistant for auto enthusiasts attending the 14th edition of Auto Expo that is happening in India. The Google Assistant on smartphones lets access various kinds of information regarding the expo, along with details about the MSIL exhibit.

It is the first-of-its-kind collaboration and you need is to have Google Assistant installed on your Android device. To access Maruti Suzuki assistance, users need to fire up Assistant by saying the hot word Hey Google followed by Go to Maruti Suzuki. Post which the Maruti Suzuki voice helper starts a conversation in which you can request for information such as What are the timings of Auto Expo? The Assistant answers query on the basic details of the Auto Expo, MSIL showcase of cars, and more.

User can simply ask what they want, or tap the popular query tabs on the screen. The various suggestion that can be asked to Maruti Suzuki voice helper includes, book me a pass for the auto expo, how to reach auto expo, what are the new launches at Auto expo and much more.
In six days, the much-anticipated TPI Hospitality Times Square Resort will go under the Local Planning Agencys lens for the first time.

The plan, and an extensive staff review, are available now on the Town of Fort Myers Beachs website.

Part of the staff review includes insight and comment from Bill Spikowski, a local planner who was brought on as a consultant to the town for the project. Spikowski has a long history with the town, being the planner who helped develop the towns comprehensive plan when it incorporated.

But rather than make a recommendation, these comments break down the councils options.

In a simple case, staff recommendation is a yes or no. but the way that comp plan and LDC are written, council has some discretion, Spikowski said. Im not telling them what they should do. I

helped them with the information they need to make a decision.

TPIs proposal to town requires a rezoning of the property to a commercial planned development zoning district. It does not require any amendments or deviations to the comprehensive plan. But, the project is asking for deviations from the land development code.

They (TPI) are following the comprehensive plan and the code, the LDC contemplated that theyre allowed to ask for deviations, Spikowski said. Ive heard arguments about why people disagree with what I say, but Im confident the project would be consistent. The council has discretion.

TPIs resort and beach club project asks for the following deviations:

1. To allow up to 290 rooms based on an adjusted density calculation for rooms smaller than 450 square feet;

2. To allow the resort building to be 40 feet tall with four stories;

3. To allow a floor ratio area of 1.6; and

4. To allow a different buffer and sidewalk plan than the 15-foot buffer plan required for Estero, Crescent and Fifth.

The first deviation requires than deviations 2 and 3 also be approved. The LDC determines the maximum intensity for a hotel or resort based on a calculation: one to three hotel units for every single-family dwelling unit that could be built on the same property. The one-to-three calculation depends on a sites place on the future land use map, and the highest number is used on sites within the Pedestrian Commercial category, which includes the TPI projects 5.07-acre footprint.

If TPI wanted to build a hotel by right, or without having to ask for deviations, it could build an 84-unit hotel, according to the staff report.

The LDC does allow for a request for a higher multiplier than three  hence, TPIs deviation request. TPI is asking that since a majority of its rooms will be under the 450-square-feet calculation, that it get a higher multiplier of 12 for the smaller rooms.

Spikowski provides pros and cons for this set of deviations; for example, by placing the bulk of the resort on the bay side of Estero Boulevard, TPI is providing a view corridor to the beach, but but approving four stories at 40 feet along Crescent street might be alarming.

The subject property includes some of the most blighted parcels in town, presenting a poor impression to residents and visitors as they arrive, the comments read, adding later in the cons: The design of this resort achieves some but not all of the benefits of promising redevelopment concepts for this immediate area.

They can have 84 units by right. They have to ask for the 290, Spikowski said. Thats up to the council. They have to look at the whole package.

While traffic and parking are always the first concern expressed, Spikowski said he doesnt believe the impacts will be negatively significant on either issue.

This development does not exceed the level of service standard for traffic, he said.

Traffic counts are generated by the number of trips to and from a development, and because of its location, trips can include pedestrians, bicyclists and trolley riders as well as vehicles.

The proposal would add 56 trips to the current trip level during peak morning hours; 17 to peak evening hours and 853 to weekday trips.

Its surprisingly low, Spikowski said. Its not because the hotel is small, but because of the current trips going to that property.

The current development has the 70-unit Pierview Hotel and and shops and a parking lot at Helmerich Plaza  which draws a lot of vehicles, he said. But the flipside to that is, the current parking lot will be eliminated and people who parked there will now be traveling elsewhere to find a spot.

And, the 366 spaces for parking in the proposal are nearly sufficient for both the resort and the beach club.

Spikowski said the development might be five spaces short based on his calculation, but thats it. Parking is otherwise accounted for, for both the resort and the beach club concept.

By making the ground level of the resort a valet-only lot, TPI can stack cars tighter into the lot. The developer is also going to utilize mechanical lifts that allows cars to be lofted and placed over the top of each other, granting even more space  a good thing. Spikowski said the town doesnt want a big, expansive parking lot.

(A lift) is common a lot of places. You do it in cities where parking is scarce, Spikowski said. It will be the first on Fort Myers Beach, maybe first in Lee County.

The valet lot includes enough spots for the paying public who want to go to the beach club across the street.

If the development were outside the downtown area, it would have to provide 553 spots. But because the denser commercial district uses a different calculation, its a smaller requirement.

Throughout his and staffs review, Spikowski analyzes the application, the development and its deviations and provides options to the council based on each analysis. Those options include an option to approve as applied, to approve with amendments or to deny. The application will go under review by the LPA before going to council, and the public can comment at the LPA meetings and the town council meetings to bring forward their thoughts and opinions about the TPI proposal.

Its what we have been looking forward to, a public setting where the community can actually evaluate the plan and make their feelings known, said John Gucciardo, the project spokesman, TPI consultant and former deputy town manager.

Taking sides

The TPI proposal goes before the LPA Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 9 a.m. It will be the only item on the agenda and the first opportunity for public comment.

But many residents and business owners have already made up their minds about the project.

Carla Pine is a Fort Myers Beach resident and owner of Salty Dog Gallery and Gifts. Shes had her business on the island for 12 years, and shes ready to see something change.

Our town is very tired-looking. It looks worn out, like no body loves it anymore, she said. We need some fresh blood. We need to put some life back into it.

Pine believes some of those against the project have their mindsets stuck: get out of the 1950s, she said. She doesnt want to hear complaints about potential traffic issues, either. She compares Fort Myers Beach traffic complaints to 14 lanes of road rage in Miami  and also, the beach cant expand to fix the back up, she said.

I get annoyed with people and the traffic issue, she said. Its an island. I dont want to hear it. You know what youre getting into.

Pines concerned that turning away something that would attract visitors could start a trend. There are a few empty storefronts on Estero Boulevard, and Pine doesnt want to watch Fort Myers Beachs industry die.

Typically I dont put myself out there for these political discussions, but this is our livelihood. People dont realize that the backbone of our island is tourism, she said. Our beautiful island is not so beautiful right now. Town Council needs to get their head out of the sand and help (Torgerson) get this done.

Steve Duello, also a beach resident, thinks the timing is right for Torgerson to uplift the downtown area. Since Hurricane Charley, the commercial areas seen a lot of empty storefronts.

Hes happy to see that Torgerson has pulled together several of the dilapidated properties under one ownership and brought them together to propose something that makes sense for the beach.

I know theres a faction on the island that say keep everything its fine, but i dont know how you can say that with a clear vision, he said.

While hes a proud resident of the island, he thinks the entrance needs help to look better.

Duello supports the deviation requests to add more rooms. While he thinks the traffic impacts will be the most talked-about issue, he doesnt think the impact will be significant enough to justify halting the project, and hes worried that the council will spook Torgerson with too much push-back.

Hes done an exceptional job of listening to the island, sat down with numbers of individuals and entities, Duello said. It scares me to think of if the Town Council gets together and turns it down.

Pine and Duello are both members of the TPI Facebook page, TPI-FMB, in which the developer has gathered supporters to help spread their opinions and pick up banners and yard signs to display their pro-TPI stance.

However, another group opposing the TPI proposal as it is now is also rustling up support.

The Voice of FMB started up when Torgerson originally unveiled the Grand Resorts plan, which faced immediate backlash. Now that the Times Square plan is nearing the LPA, The Voice has been getting more vocal in its opposition. The organization of business owners and residents hired a public relations firm, CONRIC PR & Marketing*, to manage and reach out to the local area to spread information.

In its press releases, the Voice claims we say yes to development, no to overdevelopment.

Robert Boykin, a Voice member and co-owner of the Pink Shell Resort, said the group isnt against TPI Hospitality or Tom Torgerson: they only object to the requests to deviate from the LDC and increase the hotels density and intensity.

Candidly, I hope that Torgerson can figure out a project that will improve that park of town, he said. It desperately needs something.

But he considers the requested deviations as a pretty material variance to the LDC.

The parking plan has to include parking for employees, but Boykin doesnt think it will be enough. TPI has suggested it will encourage employees to take public transportation from an off-island location to get to work, so as to mitigate parking constraints. But Boykin said that just looks good on paper.

I get it, ask for what you can and take what you can get, he said. Being a hotel operator myself, it looks good on paper but not what will happen.

Doug Speirn-Smith, owner of Matanzas Inn, said hes not against change, but thinks the beach is built out.

It would be nice to see new development there, a positive change, he said. I dont think the beach needs a lot of a lot more. Its already built out.

The original Grand Resorts plan was intense, but Speirn-Smith said this plan is in many cases equally extreme. With all of the deviations, its adding more intensity. He would prefer to see something like the old Seafarers CPD, which was a two-story building with retail shops over parking. With the by right allowances, a developer could also put in an interesting, profitable boutique resort, too.

Its not a good place to put an urban intensity resort, he said. I think we could do better.

Both Speirn-Smith and Boykin said they didnt have a problem with good competition from a new hotel. Both also said having a new hotel would be good  The beach could use some new inventory, Boykin said. We support a new hotel. He appears to be a good operator.

But, they, and presumably the rest of The Voice, want a TPI proposal that sticks to the code.

If (the town) gets this wrong, its going to be wrong for a very long time, Boykin said. It comes down to a couple big items. If he addresses those, well stand up and clap for him.

Correction: *In a previous version of this article, the name of the PR firm hired by Voice of FMB was incorrect. We apologize for this error.
Town Council welcomes the Pilsen folk group to Fort Myers Beach. The Town Council recognized retired Lee County Sheriff's Office Captain Matt Powell for his work on Fort Myers Beach. The Pilsen folk group performed at the Woman's Club Monday. Photo by Jacki Liszak.

Newsracks regulated: After going through multiple revisions, the town council passed the newsrack ordinance in a 3 to 2 vote. The newsrack ordinance will regulate where news and other publications can place distribution boxes within the town right of way and establishes aesthetic and hurricane safety guidelines. Vice Mayor Tracey Gore motioned to approve the ordinance with added language that would include other publications and periodicals into the definition of newsrack; added four allowed newspaper racks on town right of way location to include all four local and Lee County newspapers; and did not opt to include a fee for registering racks with the town. Council Member Anita Cereceda voted no, as she did not support the ordinance as a whole; Mayor Dennis Boback also voted no, as he did not support the ordinance without a registration and annual renewal fee.

Powell power: The Town Council recognized retired Lee County Sheriffs Office Captain Matt Powell for his work on Fort Myers Beach. Powell was a member of the Sheriffs Office for 30 years and spent much of that time working on the beach to ensure the safety and satisfaction of its constituents.

Pilsen Days: The Town Council also welcomed a group of travelers from the Pilsen region of the Czech Republic, who spent Feb. 2 Feb. 5 sharing their culture with the town through a variety of events at the Mound House, the Library and the Womans Club. The group, which included Alena Svobodova, Director of the Pilsen Region Cultural Dept, Ivana Bartosova, Commissioner for Education and Cultural Affairs, and Marcela Krejsova, Commissioner for Economy of the Pilsen Region of the Czech Republic, put on a variety of festivities to highlight the Pilsen regions unique culture in folk music, dance, traditional costumes and other presentations. The town presented to the group a proclamation declaring the time of their stay as Pilsen Days and officially welcomed their presence in town.
Support S.B. 348 to allow a plastic bag ban

To the Editor:

I would like to bring to your attention the proposed Plastic Bag Ban that is currently submitted to this legislative session for approval. It is SB 348 and was submitted by Florida Senator Jose Havier Rodriguez of Miami-Dade for the third year in a row. It has died in subcommittee review the past two years.

It proposes allowing local municipalities to create a pilot program that would allow a temporary ban on the distribution of plastic bags in coastal communities of less than 100,000 population. It requires before and after environmental impact studies whether or not this is a benefit to the beaches and marine life. There already are studies indicating the harm plastics cause in these areas including the recent emphasis on microplastics  and there are many residents along the Florida coast who are in favor of such a ban and anticipate the improvement of beach trash and the positive affect said ban would have on marine mammals.

The Plastic Bag Ban has been in effect since one coastal town banned plastic bags and there was a complaint made to the State Legislature regarding a negative financial impact this was creating at a retail business. Customers were not shopping at certain retailers because they were not given plastic bags and did not want to purchase a reusable shopping bag, did not want to bring their own bag, or did not want to carry their purchases without them being placed in a plastic bag. Therefore, the reasoning behind this Ban was originally to safeguard the financial security of certain retailers.

The Senate Bill 348 can be found easily through a Google search SB 348 Florida State and the members of each subcommittee that is reviewing this bill are available. The phone number and email of each senator on each committee can be contacted and informed that you are in favor of this bill, live in a coastal community and are willing to forgo plastic bags and use reusable shopping bags or bring your own.

If possible, or if you are so inclined, please send a message to any or all of the subcommittee senators and show your interest in Senate Bill 348.

It starts with US locally. This is something we can do right HERE. Right NOW.

Thank you,

Shannon Mapes

Fort Myers Beach
Great dividend stocks can provide investors with regular sources of income, and the opportunity to leverage the power of compounding through dividend reinvestment and long-term holding. The best of these companies will allow you to invest with a set-it-and-forget-it mindset, delivering steadily increasing dividends that can be harnessed to achieve your financial goals.

For a survey of trusty dividend stocks that look primed to keep cash flowing back to shareholders, we put together a panel of Motley Fool contributors and asked each to profile a stock that's on track to keep the checks coming indefinitely. Here's why they think that ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM), Enbridge (NYSE: ENB), and Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE: FRT) are stocks with serious dividend longevity.

150 years young, and still going strong

Rich Smith (ExxonMobil): A successor to John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company founded in 1870, ExxonMobil will turn 150 next year. That's about six generations, or two human lifespans. But what are the chances that ExxonMobil, and its generous 4.7% dividend yield, will stick around for the rest of your life?

Honestly, I'd say the odds look pretty good. Not only is Exxon stock a fine pick for dividend income, and a decent value stock as well -- Exxon shares cost less than 17 times earnings, when the average stock on the S&P 500 costs more than 20 times earnings -- but I also think Exxon has a bright future whatever happens to the oil economy.

Consider: There's a lot of talk these days about global warming and a "Green New Deal" -- which sounds like bad news for an oil company. But even if oil does go out of fashion (I personally don't see this happening anytime soon), oil and natural gas aren't just useful as fuel sources. Exxon's chemical unit, for example, produces olefins, polyolefins, aromatics, and various other petrochemicals from the oil and gas Exxon extracts from the ground.

Granted, the chemicals unit isn't as profitable as Exxon's better-known upstream oil production business, but it's much less capital-intensive as well. And as for the energy business, well, worst case -- if the world one day decides to "go green" and abandon oil and gasoline as fuel sources entirely, Exxon can always just buy a green energy business or two, and go from there. With $307 billion in market cap, Exxon has a lot of value to deploy wherever it wants to.

If Exxon ends up defying the oil skeptics, and remains in business for another 150 years, I wouldn't be surprised.

A critical part of the continent's energy infrastructure

Chuck Saletta (Enbridge): The beauty of Enbridge is that it runs an absolutely critical business that virtually everyone needs, but nobody particularly wants in their backyards. It moves oil and natural gas around in pipelines, getting paid to take energy from where it's produced and processed to where it's used. Generally less expensive and a safer way to move energy around than trucks or trains, pipelines are in demand by the industry.

But because nobody particularly wants a pipeline in their backyard, right-of-way permissions are often expensive and time-consuming to get. In addition, once one pipeline secures permission to travel through an area, people are often reluctant to approve another, or even expand the capacity of one already in place. As a result, pipeline companies like Enbridge can often price their services at a high enough level to reliably earn solid returns on their investments, once their pipelines are operating.

A Canada-based company, albeit one with substantial U.S.-based assets, Enbridge has increased its dividend in Canadian dollars on an annualized basis for decades. With its dividend well-covered by its operating cash flow, and its business so critical to the infrastructure of the continent, Enbridge looks capable of continuing its payments for decades to come.

While there are no guarantees in investing, Enbridge is among a small pool of companies that truly looks capable of paying its investors a dividend for the rest of their lives.

Dividends beyond "the death of the mall"

Keith Noonan (Federal Realty Investment Trust): As the name makes explicit, Federal Realty Investment Trust is a real estate investment trust (REIT). It generates rental income from over a hundred large commercial properties located in high-value markets. Its stock yields a solid 3.1%, and barring any huge shakeups for the value of its assets, the company will likely continue its dividend.

By virtue of its status as a REIT, Federal Realty is actually required by law to pay out at least 90% of its income to shareholders in the form of cash dividends. That means that whether the company continues to pay its dividend depends only on its portfolio of commercial properties remaining profitable.

The company has avenues to steady long-term growth as it acquires new properties, redevelops existing properties, and continues to hike rents. E-commerce is a powerful force that will continue to weigh on traditional brick-and-mortar businesses, and this threat is likely a significant factor in Federal Realty stock posting more muted gains as leading REITs have taken off this year.

It's reasonable to expect that a significant fraction of large malls will fold in the coming decades, and the e-commerce shift is one that Federal Realty will have to contend with, and keep in mind with its redevelopment projects. However, many of the company's properties are located in desirable neighborhoods and urban areas that will likely see more favorable dynamics for large commercial centers. Federal Realty also owns residential properties and mixed-use properties that combine lodging, shopping, spa, and dining outlets.

The company has increased its payout each year for 51 years straight -- putting it among the elite ranks of the Dividend Kings, and making it the REIT with the longest record of consecutive annual payout growth. Federal Realty has also raised its dividend 50% over the last decade; that's not exactly rapid expansion, but it's still solid, normal for its industry, and enough to handily outpace inflation.

10 stocks we like better than ExxonMobilWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has quadrupled the market.*

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Chuck Saletta owns shares of Enbridge. Keith Noonan has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Enbridge. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
SINGAPORE, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Canada's Bombardier believes there has been a "bit of a pause" in orders of its C Series jet as airlines wait for it to complete a partnership deal with Airbus SE, its commercial sales head said on Tuesday.

The Canadian manufacturer in October agreed to sell a majority stake in the C Series program, but the deal is awaiting regulatory approval. In the meantime, Bombardier and Airbus cannot coordinate on sales campaigns for the 110-130 seat jets.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft sales head Colin Bole said the long-term sales prospects for the C Series had strengthened as a result of the Airbus deal, but it could be causing some temporary delays in order decisions.

"I won't deny it does create probably a bit of a pause in the meantime," he told Reuters at the Singapore Airshow. "Most airlines at least are trying to understand what this means in the long run."

Bombardier agreed the joint venture with Airbus when it was fighting off a move by rival Boeing Co to have the U.S. levy heavy duties against the C Series jet.

The Canadian firm won an unexpected victory against Boeing in the trade dispute last month, but it is pushing ahead with plans to assemble the jet for U.S. customers in Alabama regardless, Bole said.

As Airbus and Bombardier work to complete the C Series deal this year, the Canadian firm's Brazilian rival Embraer SA is discussing a tie-up with Boeing.

U.S. carrier JetBlue Airways Corp last month said it had extended a review on the future of its Embraer E-190 jet fleet due to the evolving commercial landscape.

"The market for smaller and mid-size aircraft is going through tremendous change with the recent Airbus-Bombardier deal and Boeing-Embraer talks," it said in an email to its staff reviewed by Reuters.

With the Airbus deal yet to be completed, Bombardier is hoping for a strong year of sales for its Q400 turboprops after having received 41 orders last year.

The Q400 turboprop has a lower market share than Franco-Italian rival ATR.

"Last year was a very successful year for the Q400," Bole said. "I expect a similar year or even better year this year. We are building that market share."

(Reporting by Jamie Freed and Tim Hepher in Singapore; additional reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman/Keith Weir)
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One of the hottest trades in recent memory, shorting volatility, evaporated in a heartbeat Monday. In the aftermath of an unexpected volatility explosion, Credit Suisse is moving to terminate the VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSEArca: XIV).

The VIX, or so-called fear index, is a widely observed indicator for investor sentiment in the stock market and measures the expected or implied volatility of large-cap stock options traded on the S&P 500 index. ETPs that track VIX futures allow investors to profit during rising volatility or hedge against short-term turns.

Amid Mondays plunge in U.S. stocks, the VIX surged, but volatility exchange traded notes, such as XIV have a unique feature: The indexes these products track settle after the close of U.S. markets. In after-hours trading Monday, XIV suffered catastrophic losses. The ETNs market closing Monday was $99, but its closing indicative price as listed on the VelocityShares website was just $4.22.

Intraday drops of 80% or more trigger termination events with XIV.

If the price of the underlying futures contracts increases by more than 80 percent in a day, it is extremely likely that the Inverse ETNs will depreciate to an Intraday Indicative Value or Closing Indicative Value equal to or less than 20 percent of the prior days Closing Indicative Value and will be subject to acceleration, according to a prospectus. If an Acceleration Event occurs at any time with respect to any series of the ETNs, we will have the right, and under certain circumstances as described herein the obligation, to accelerate all of the outstanding ETNs of such series.

Credit Suisse  which is the largest holder of the ETN  issued a statement saying the bank has not suffered any trading losses due to the XIV implosion. Nevertheless, the Swiss lender this morning set a redemption date of Feb. 20, for the volatility note, well ahead of the Dec. 4, 2030, maturity date, according to Schaeffers Investment Research.

Last year, traders argued that the VIX remained depressed because realized volatility in U.S. equities has diminished and economic fundamentals remain supportive. That sentiment sent traders scrambling into XIV and rival inverse volatility products. For example, XIV doubled in size in August.

ETNs are not exchange traded funds. Similar to index-based ETFs, ETNs also track some sort of index as part of their investment strategy. However, an exchange traded note, like the name implies, is a type of debt note that trades on an exchange. Consequently, investors are exposed to the credit risk or the possibility the underwriting bank.

For more information on the CBOE Volatility Index, visit our VIX category.

Read more at ETFtrends.com >
Senate leaders announced Wednesday they have sealed agreement on a two-year budget pact that would shower the Pentagon and domestic programs with almost $300 billion above existing limits, giving wins to both GOP defense hawks and Democrats seeking billions for infrastructure projects and combatting opioid abuse.

The agreement is likely to be added to a stopgap spending bill that passed the House on Tuesday, aimed at averting a government shutdown Thursday at midnight. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York called the Senate agreement "a genuine breakthrough."

The White House announced its support despite huge increases for domestic programs sought by President Donald Trump's Democratic rivals.

"This bill achieves our top priority, a much needed increase in funding for our national defense," said White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. "The bottom line is that thanks to President Trump we can now have the strongest military we have ever had."

However, it would not resolve the plight of immigrant "Dreamers" who face deportation after being brought to the U.S. illegally as children. As the Senate leaders were announcing their agreement, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California was holding the floor in the House, declaring she would oppose the measure unless her chamber's GOP leaders promised a vote on legislation to protect the younger immigrants.

That introduced doubts as to whether the plan could pass in House, where prominent GOP conservatives are also opposed to the higher spending.

The Senate agreement also contains almost $90 billion in overdue disaster aid for hurricane-slammed Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. That would bring the total appropriated for disaster aid in the wake of last year's disastrous hurricane season to almost $140 billion.

The agreement would increase the government's borrowing cap to prevent a first-ever default on U.S. obligations that looms in just a few weeks. The debt limit would be suspended through March of 2019, Sanders said, putting the next vote on it safely past this year's midterm elections.

The House Tuesday passed legislation to keep the government running through March 23, marrying the stopgap spending measure with a $659 billion Pentagon spending plan, but the Senate plan would rewrite that measure.

Senate Democratic leaders have dropped their strategy of using the funding fight to extract concessions on immigration, specifically on seeking extended protections for the "Dreamer" immigrants. Instead, Senate Minority Leader Schumer, D-N.Y., went with a deal that would reap tens of billions of dollars for other priorities while hoping to solve the immigration impasse later.

The budget agreement would give both the Pentagon and domestic agencies relief from a budget freeze that lawmakers say threatens military readiness and training as well as domestic priorities such as combating opioid abuse and repairing the troubled health care system for veterans.

The core of the agreement would shatter tight "caps" on defense and domestic programs funded by Congress each year. They are a hangover from a failed 2011 budget agreement and have led to military readiness problems and caused hardship at domestic agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the IRS.

The agreement would give the Pentagon an $80 billion increase for the current budget year for core defense programs, a 14 percent increase over current limits that exceeds Trump's budget request by $26 billion. Nondefense programs would receive about $60 billion over current levels. Those figures would be slightly increased for the 2019 budget year beginning Oct. 1.

"For the first time in years, our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep America safe," said Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "It will help us serve the veterans who have bravely served us. And it will ensure funding for important efforts such as disaster relief, infrastructure, and building on our work to fight opioid abuse and drug addiction."

Trump's budget last year proposed a $54 billion increase for defense, proposing to slash nondefense accounts by the same amount.

Pelosi took to the House floor for more than three hours, and said she would oppose that almost-completed budget pact even though it would boost funding for many domestic priorities favored by Democrats. She declared the agreement "does not have my support, nor does it have the support of a large number of members of our caucus."

Pelosi said the House should debate immigration legislation and noted that Senate Republicans have slated a debate on the politically freighted subject starting next week. At issue is legislation to address the dilemma of immigrants left vulnerable by Trump's move to end former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

"Let Congress work its will," Pelosi said. "What are you afraid of?"

Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., a member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, said the Latino community thinks Senate Democratic leaders have "turned their back."

But other Democrats said their party in the House may simply not have the leverage to force a DACA solution on conservative Republicans controlling that chamber.

"DACA's important and it ought to get done. But what's the path?" said Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash.

Schumer said the plan would contain $20 billion dedicated to infrastructure such as highways and bridge construction and repair, water and wastewater projects, and rural broadband.

There's also $4 billion for construction for veterans hospitals and clinics, $6 billion to fight the opioid crisis and fund mental health programs, and $4 billion for college aid.

Schumer also touted the creation of a special committee that would try to solve a looming shortfall in union pension plans sought by Democrats from Ohio, Wisconsin, West Virginia, and other states.
A top European financial supervisor said that so far a dozen banks are making definite plans to expand their business in the eurozone ahead of Britain's departure from the European Union  and that time is getting short for others that may want to make the same move.

Sabine Lautenschlaeger warned Wednesday that banks both in Britain and the European Union need to be ready for a so-called hard Brexit, in which the U.K. leaves the bloc without a transitional period to ease the changeover.

Under a hard Brexit, Britain would exit the 28-country EU and its free-trade zone completely when the deadline arrives in March 2019. That means banks that have been operating in London would lose their automatic right to do business throughout the rest of the bloc. That includes non-U.K. banks that had been using London as their gateway to Europe. A transition period could provide time for banks to adjust to new rules of trade.

"We cannot be sure whether the transitional period will really happen," said Sabine Lautenschlaeger, the vice chair of the European Central Bank's banking supervisory board. "Banks must continue to prepare for any outcome, including a hard Brexit."

Prime Minister Theresa May's government is preparing to negotiate new terms of trade with EU officials and it remains unclear whether the parties will agree on transitional arrangements or make an abrupt break.

Lautenschlaeger said at a news conference in Frankfurt, Germany, that banks that want to relocate from London to the 19 EU countries that use the euro currency should have submitted their license application already.

She said eight banks have already applied and four others have indicated they plan to substantially increase their activities in the 19-country currency union, of which Britain has not been a member. She said European supervisors had had preliminary meetings with more than 50 banks.

She said that depending on how Brexit negotiations go, banks might get more time to relocate  but only those that have already presented "credible plans" to do so.

She said eurozone banks that want to do business in Britain also need to get ready for Brexit by submitting license applications to the British supervisor, the Prudential Regulatory Authority.

Lautenschlaeger warned banks that want to move that they cannot simply set up a shell company in the eurozone. "Banks must be real banks if they want to operate in the euro area," she said.
HCA Midwest Health will move its headquarters from Kansas City, Missouri, to Overland Park, Kansas, in the latest move in a business "border war" between the two states.

The Kansas City Star reports the company, which owns eight hospitals in the Kansas City area, will receive tax incentives from Kansas. State officials say the details of the incentives aren't final.

The Kansas Department of Commerce announced the move Wednesday, saying HCA Midwest plans to invest $10.8 million in its new headquarters.

The new Kansas governor, Jeff Colyer, a plastic surgeon, is the associate clinical director of a burn center at Research Medical Center, which HCA Medical owns.

The headquarters will relocate about four miles this summer when the lease expires at its Missouri location.
The Latest on Congress and spending legislation (all times local):

1:12 p.m.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is celebrating a new a budget agreement as providing needed funding for health, drug abuse and social service programs.

But the New York Democrat made little mention about what isn't coming with the new two-year agreement  a plan to protect the "Dreamer" immigrants.

The Democratic leader has dropped his push to use the budget talks to extract concessions on immigration from Republicans, leaving aside threats to shut down the government over the issue.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Schumer focused on the new agreement as a rare moment of bipartisanship and cooperation. He called it "the best thing we've done" for the middle class and the economy.

"We have reached the budget deal that neither side loves but both sides can be proud of," Schumer said.

__

12:55 p.m.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is ignoring a request by White House officials to use President Donald Trump's immigration proposal to begin Senate debate on the issue.

Instead, the Kentucky Republican says the initial measure before lawmakers will be a bill that doesn't address the politically charged subject. He says the two parties will then alternate offering immigration plans in a battle that has no clear outcome.

McConnell said Wednesday he's following through on his promise for a debate that "will be fair to all sides."

Trump would create a path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. It would also provide money for his border wall and curb legal immigration.

__

12:50 p.m.

The Senate's top Republican says there's Senate agreement on a two-year, almost $400 billion budget deal that would provide Pentagon and domestic programs with huge spending increases.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced the pact, joined on the Senate floor by top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York. It would contain almost $300 billion over current limits on defense and domestic accounts.

McConnell said the measure would rewrite existing defense limits that have "hamstrung our armed forces and jeopardized our national security."

The measure, aides said, also contains almost $90 billion in overdue disaster aid and an increase in the government borrowing cap that would prevent a first-ever U.S. government default on its obligations.

__

10:30 a.m.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says she and many fellow Democrats will oppose an expected bipartisan budget deal unless Republicans allow the chamber to vote on legislation protecting immigrants.

The California Democrat's remarks potentially jeopardize the prospects that Congress will pass legislation this week preventing a government shutdown starting after midnight Thursday.

The Senate's two top leaders have been nearing a bipartisan deal that would avert a shutdown, provide spending boosts for the Pentagon and domestic programs over the next two years.

But Pelosi said on the House floor that because House Speaker Paul Ryan has yet to promise an immigration vote, the emerging budget pact "does not have my support, nor does it have the support of a large number of members of our caucus."

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9 a.m.

A group of hard-right House conservatives opposes the big budget deal emerging in Congress, but the group's leader says he expects it to pass anyway because of increases in defense and other spending that will appeal to many lawmakers.

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said his Freedom Caucus will fight it, but "I'm afraid the numbers will get so high and the debt ceiling will get added and it will be a Christmas tree of spending  that a lot of votes will be bought."

Meadows told MSNBC Wednesday that a bipartisan deal will draw "120 or 140 Democrats and maybe about the same on Republicans sending this to the president's desk."

The Freedom Caucus includes roughly three dozen GOP conservatives opposed to spending that balloons the federal deficit.

Congress is on the verge of a long-term budget pact that would provide whopping spending increases to the Pentagon and domestic federal programs, overdue disaster relief money and, perhaps, legislation to increase the government's borrowing limit.

In the meantime, Congress is also working on a short-term spending measure to keep the government open past a Thursday night deadline.

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12:39 a.m.

A short-term spending measure in the House and a budget pact evolving in the Senate make it less likely the federal government will shut down Thursday night.

At the White House, President Donald Trump appeared to hold out the possibility of a shutdown if lawmakers don't come up with a deal on immigration. Trump said Tuesday he'd "love to see a shutdown if we can't get this stuff taken care of."

The broader agreement in the Senate would award whopping spending increases to both the Pentagon and domestic federal programs, as well as approve overdue disaster relief money. It also might approve crucial legislation to increase the government's borrowing limit to avoid possible default.

Democratic leaders have dropped their strategy of using the funding fight to extract concessions on immigration..

___

This story has been corrected to show that Meadows spoke on MSNBC, not CNN.
A biotech billionaire struck a $500 million deal Wednesday to buy the Los Angeles Times, ending the paper's quarrelsome relationship with its Chicago-based corporate overseers and bringing it under local ownership for the first time in 18 years.

The agreement between Los Angeles medical entrepreneur Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Tronc Inc. represents the latest instance of a rich, civic-minded individual purchasing a newspaper from a big corporation.

Soon-Shiong, 65, amassed his fortune in part by developing a cancer drug in 1991. He was already a major shareholder in Tronc, one of the richest men in Los Angeles and the nation's wealthiest doctor by Forbes' estimate, with a net worth put at $7.8 billion.

The deal includes the purchase of The San Diego Union-Tribune and some other publications and the assumption of $90 million in pension liabilities.

Soon-Shiong takes over at a time of turmoil at the paper. The Times just replaced its top editor, the third such switch in six months, and publisher Ross Levinsohn had been on unpaid leave after it was learned he was a defendant in two sexual harassment lawsuits elsewhere. Tronc said Wednesday he was cleared of any wrongdoing.

Also, journalists voted last month to unionize for the first time in the paper's 136-year history.

Tronc, formerly known as the Tribune Co., owns the Chicago Tribune and several other U.S. newspapers, including the Baltimore Sun and New York Daily News.

Clashes between the Times and its Chicago-based owner erupted not long after it acquired the West Coast paper in 2000. Staff at the Times bristled over what it considered a string of bad decisions made from hundreds of miles away in Chicago, and the paper went through a succession of top editors and publishers.

Among them was editor John Carroll, who led the paper to 13 Pulitzer Prizes but resigned under heavy pressure to cut staff. His successor, Dean Baquet, left after 15 months and is now executive editor at The New York Times.

Reporters at the Times were also alarmed by the recent hiring of several news executives who reported to business executives, and not to news editors. Traditionally, the editorial and business sides of a paper are kept separate to maintain journalistic credibility.

As news spread of a potential sale Tuesday, cheering erupted in the Times newsroom. After the deal was announced, the union representing the paper's journalists said it "looks forward to working with a local owner who can help us preserve The Times as a guardian of our community and as the voice of the American West."

Maya Lau, a Times law enforcement reporter, tweeted: "Congratulations to Patrick Soon-Shiong and hooray for a return to local ownership of the Los Angeles Times & San Diego Union Tribune."

With the newspaper industry thrown into deep turmoil by the internet, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post in 2013 for $250 million. The same year, Boston Red Sox owner John Henry purchased The Boston Globe for $70 million.

"We find ourselves returning to where we were a century ago when a handful of wealthy owners controlled big, influential newspapers," said Al Tompkins, a senior faculty member at the Poynter Institute, a journalism think tank in St. Petersburg, Florida.

"Here's the difference: The ownership today does not promise lucrative returns. You take it over knowing it isn't nearly as profitable as it might have been 20 or 50 years ago. Today it's a thinner margin, and it gets thinner every day."

Soon-Shiong, who also holds a minority interest in the Los Angeles Lakers, said in an interview with the Times last year that as a major stockholder in the paper, he was unhappy with the way it was being run.

"I am concerned there are other agendas, independent of the newspaper's needs or the fiduciary obligations to the viability of the organization," he said. "My goal is to try and preserve the integrity and the viability of the newspaper."

Tronc said the sale will allow the Chicago company to follow a more aggressive growth strategy focused on news and digital media. It said it is buying a majority stake in online product review company BestReviews for an undisclosed amount.

Veteran media business analyst Ken Doctor said a return to local ownership will restore pride at the Times.

The question is whether a new owner will do more than halt cutbacks by reinvesting, as Bezos and Henry did at their newspapers, and set the Times on a new path.

"Given the huge challenges still faced by news publishing in the age of Google/Facebook ad duopoly and still-onrushing digital disruption, even a billionaire has his work cut out for him," Doctor said.

___

Christopher Weber and John Rogers contributed to this report.
The Trump administrations new tariffs on solar module imports take effect on Wednesday, the result of yet another contentious trade case from recent months.

At the end of January, President Trump approved the imposition of a 30% tariff on imported equipment used in solar panels, a duty that will be halved over the course of four years before phasing out entirely. The announcement was cheered by those who produce panels domestically, but criticized by some companies that install solar systems.

The White Houses stated goal is to protect and promote domestic manufacturing, though some power players in the sector argue it will have the exact opposite effect. The tariffs were recommended by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

Sunnova Energy Corporations CEO John Berger expressed his disappointment with the administrations decision, and said that the industry represents innovation, resiliency and job creation. Despite the tariffs, Berger expected solar costs would continue to decline.

Meanwhile, SunPower Corp said it would temporarily halt a planned $20 million expansion of one of its U.S. factories until its panels were officially excluded from the tariffs. The company uses different technology in its products and has therefore argued it should not be compared to more conventional manufacturers. The U.S. investment was scheduled to create hundreds of domestic jobs.

The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the national solar trade lobby, said the tariffs could result in the loss of 23,000 American jobs this year alone.

The trade case was born out of a complaint from Suniva and SolarWorld, which argued that cheap foreign imports from China have decimated U.S. companies and eliminated jobs. The duo called for tariffs as steep as 50% to rectify trade imbalances.

In reaction to the federal governments resolution to impose a 30% tariff, the two companies hinted that may not be steep enough.

We are still reviewing these remedies, and are hopeful they will be enough to address the import surge and to rebuild solar manufacturing in the United States. We will work with the U.S. government to implement these remedies, including future negotiations, in the strongest way possible to benefit solar manufacturing and its thousands of American workers to ensure that U.S. solar manufacturing is world-class competitive for the long-term, Juergen Stein, CEO and president of SolarWorld Americas Inc., said in a statement.

The Trump administration has weighed in on a number of other high-profile trade complaints throughout recent months, including on imported residential washing machines and Bombardiers CSeries jets.

The government called for a 20% tariff on the first 1.2 million imported washers for the current year, and will increase that fee to 50% for each additional unit.

And while the administration supported Boeings (NYSE:BA) suggested 300% tariff against Canadian rival Bombardier over complaints it was dumping its CSeries jet into the U.S. market at unfairly low prices, the tariffs were ultimately not upheld by the U.S. International Trade Court.
Now that Chris Hemsworth has finished filming his role as Thor in the next two Avengers films, the Australian actor may have his sights set on a very English role. In a recent interview, the Ragnarok star revealed that hed jump at the chance to play James Bond.

Hemsworth appeared on the Australian daytime talk show, Sunrise where he was asked about his future as the God of Thunder. He noted that his contract is coming to a close with the conclusion of the two-part Avengers: Infinity War saga. However, despite that, the star says that the third movie in his standalone franchise was such a reinvention that hed be open to reprising the role of Thorr a fourth time (eighth if you count the Avengers films) if the right script came along.

My contract is coming to an end. Weve just finished the last two Avengers so who knows what the future holds? he told the hosts. It felt like we reinvented that last one in a big way. It felt refreshed and re-energized so yeah, we might have conversations if theres another great script that comes along, but at the moment thats it.

While that may be welcomed news to Marvel fans, the hosts couldnt resist speculating about where Hemsworth will take his talents next. When asked if hed be open to replacing Daniel Craig as the next 007, the Australian star said he would like to, but reminded them that Bond exists in sort of an English world.

Yeah, I mean, I think any actor would jump at that opportunity. Im certainly a fan. A whole lot of pressure comes with that, though, he said. I think the Bond fan base is probably more critical than the comic book fanbase. I dont know, theres plenty of guys who could do a better job than I would. Plenty of English men, and women.

At this time, there are no immediate plans to move Hemsworth into the Bond role, as Craig is reportedly set to star in his fifth film as the title character in Bond 25. Hemsworth recently captured the publics attention when it looked like hed co-star alongside Danny McBride in a reboot of the Crocodile Dundee franchise, it turned out to be a very elaborate viral campaign for Australian tourism geared at American travelers.
What happens in Vegas doesnt stay in Vegas.

Haley Joel Osment missed his American Airlines flight on Sunday and was allegedly told he could fly standby on the next day. He returned the next day, but the flight was full. Then, he allegedly got feisty with the gate agent and the cops were called.

A passenger on the evening of Sunday, Feb. 4, missed their flight at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, a representative for American Airlines told Page Six on Tuesday. As a courtesy, they were placed on standby for another flight Monday morning from Las Vegas. Due to the passengers behavior toward our team members on Monday morning, law enforcement was summoned to the gate. The passenger was upset we would not confirm him on a flight, after he missed his flight the previous evening.

An airport official confirmed to Page Six that around 7:05 a.m. local time they received a call requesting assistance for an unruly passenger but the person had left by the time the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police department arrived at the gate. The police were called again an hour later when he made verbal threats, but he left before being confronted. Officers never made contact with Osment.

Osment, 29, never made his 8:47 a.m. flight either.

His reps didnt get back to us.

This article originally appeared in Page Six.
Days after actress Kim Cattrall announced the untimely death of her brother, her Sex and the City co-stars are putting aside their ongoing feud with the actress to give their condolences.

Cattralls co-stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Cynthia Nixon joined the chorus of hundreds who took to social media to show their support for her during this difficult time. As previously reported, the 61-year-old star asked her followers for help earlier this week when her brother, Christopher, went missing. Hours later, she posted an image of her posing with her brother announcing that he had been found dead.

It is with great sadness that myself and my family announce the unexpected passing of our son and brother, Chris Cattrall, she wrote. At this time we ask for privacy. We want to thank you all on social media for your outpouring of love and support in this trying time.

Parker was the first Sex and the City actress to comment on the post, sharing a brief note of condolence with Cattrall.

Dearest Kim, my love and condolences to you and yours and Godspeed to your beloved brother, she wrote.

Nixon commented soon after saying, Hey Kim such awful news. So sorry to hear. Sending you love. XO.

Later in the day, Cattrall posted a follow up in which she thanked both her fans and co-stars for their kind words.

"I would like to thank my fans, friends and my #SexandtheCity colleagues for the outpouring of support for myself and family over the past 72 hours."

The well wishes from the stars come as the entire cast of the hit HBO series is embattled in a very public war of words. As previously reported, Cattrall told Piers Morgan that she was never anything but professional colleagues with the other girls on the show during an October 2017 interview.

Weve never been friends, she said. Weve been colleagues and in some ways its a very healthy place to be because then you have a clear line between your professional life and relationship and your persona.

They all have children and I am 10 years older and since specifically the series ended, I have been spending most of my time outside New York so I dont see them. The common ground that we had was the series and the series is over.

The quote also came with a confession that she turned down the chance to reprise her role as Samantha Jones in a third Sex and the City movie. It's worth noting that, even in her "thank you" post, she referred to the ladies as her colleagues, not friends.

Its sad, but I always think that what ties us together is this singular experience, Parker told Andy Cohen soon after. It was a professional experience, but it became personal because it was years and years of our lives, so Im hoping that that eclipses anything thats been recently spoken.  That many years spent doing something so special that people had a connection with, it is such a privilege.
Nicole Eggert reportedly has taken her complaints of molestation against actor Scott Baio to the police, after she first made the accusations public weeks ago.

TMZ reported that Eggert filed a police report claiming she was sexually abused as a minor on the set of Baios show Charles in Charge between 1986 and 1990. Earlier, Baio had urged her to present her claims to the proper authorities.

The outlet noted that, unlike in her previous claims, Eggert compiled a list of witnesses who said they observed inappropriate behavior by Baio during this time. Among the witnesses: Alexander Polinsky, who played Adam Powell on the show, according to TMZ. Polinsky reportedly went with Eggert to file her police report.

The law in California regarding sex crimes committed against a minor recently changed. The new law, signed in Sept. 2016, states there is no statute of limitations for sex crimes against a minor committed after Jan. 1, 2017. However, for crimes that date years before that, "prosecution for the crimes of rape, sodomy, lewd or lascivious acts, continuous sexual abuse of a child, oral copulation, and sexual penetration, if committed against a victim who was under 18 years of age, may be commenced at any time prior to the victims 40th birthday."

Eggert is 46.

As previously reported, Eggert first came forward last month with a series of tweets alleging that Baio, now 57, molested her from the time she was 14 to the age of 17. Baio said he had consensual sex with her once, but only after she had turned 18, the legal age of consent.

Baio was quick to come forward with a denial of the accusations against him, first taking to Facebook Live to explain his side of the story, calling Eggerts credibility into question.

These false claims are part of a regular pattern of making and then deleting outrageous and untrue statements, Baio previously told Fox News. Nicole Eggert, on national television today, acknowledged that she had no answer to the fact that her core claim of having underage sex was proven to be untrue in a 2013 radio interview, not just in her own words, but actually in her own voice."

In a statement to TMZ, Baios reps said he's pleased Eggert has taken her claims to the police because he feels shell now have to explain her ever-changing story on the record.

Reps for Baio and Eggert did not immediately respond to Fox News request for comment.
Bill Cosby's legal defense team admitted they wrongly accused prosecutors of withholding evidence from the comedian's trail.

On Monday, Cosby's lawyers admitted that they were not aware that the actor's former attorney Brian McMonagle had been informed of the evidence that was thought to be withheld, according to the Associated Press.

The evidence in question was a 2017 interview with a woman who claimed to have spoken with Cosby accuser Andrea Constand about plans to blackmail the actor. In a Jan. 26 filing, Cosby's defense team tried to argue that they had just recently been informed about the evidence and also said they believed detectives had destroyed notes from the interview.

Prosecutors in the Cosby case called the claims outrageous and reckless and rebutted the Jan. 26 filing and said, "Facts Matter. The facts and the truth were easily ascertainable [and the defense team] just did not care to find them.

While Cosby's defense team has since admitted their wrong-doing, they continued to make headlines Tuesday after stating that they would seek to delay Cosby's April 2 sexual assault retrial if some of his other accusers are given a chance to testify.

The 80-year-old's legal team raised the prospect of postponing the retrial in court papers that opposed a prosecution bid to let jurors hear from up to 19 other women who say Cosby drugged and molested them.

If the 19 women are allowed to stand trial, Cosby's lawyers argued they would need extra time to look into the women's allegations if any of them were permitted to testify.

Prosecutors tried to call as many as 13 other accusers as witnesses at Cosby's first trial, which ended in a deadlock last June, but O'Neill allowed only one to take the stand.

But now, prosecutors are counting on other accusers testifying to show that an alleged assault in 2004 that led to Cosby's only criminal charges was part of a five-decade pattern of drugging and harming women.

Judge Steven O'Neill is expected to rule next month on whether any of the accusers will be allowed to testify at the second trial. Jury selection is slated to begin March 29.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Now-former FBI agent Josh Campbell publicly claimed he was leaving the bureau because of relentless attacks" on it, but he really had a cushy gig at CNN lined up  and now media watchdogs are questioning the ethics behind the the entire affair.

The situation surrounding Campbell is a perfect example of perceptions impact on whether we trust what people say, the University of North Carolinas Parr Center for Ethics fellow Lois Boynton told Fox News.

In a New York Times op-ed published Friday, Campbell pinned his departure from the FBI on attacks that undermine not just Americas premier law enforcement agency but also the nations security. He never mentioned that he already had accepted a high-profile role as CNNs newest law enforcement analyst.

The ethical challenge is when the words and the actions seem to diverge, and particularly when the words are written and the actions are taken on the public stage, so to speak. We tend to raise our eyebrows at big coincidences, Boynton said. There are people who have doubts and are challenging Mr. Campbells credibility as a newly minted CNN news analyst, and others are wondering if they should also explore his credibility while in the employ of the FBI.

Campbell, who was special assistant to former FBI Director James Comey, penned his essay amid increased scrutiny of the FBI from Republicans following the release of the surveillance memo from Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

Sources believe Campbell was attractive to CNN executives because he will be able to help with the networks coverage of his old boss' upcoming book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies and Leadership, which is scheduled to hit stores May 1.

A CNN insider told Fox News that Comey will simply speak through Campbell and the network wont use him to discuss matters such as mass shootings or terror attacks.

CNN did not respond to a request for comment.

When CNN casually mentioned on air that Campbell would join the network on Monday morning, industry insiders quickly pointed out that cable news jobs typically take weeks to come to fruition, making it implausible that Campbell could step down from the FBI on a Friday and suddenly land on CNN by the next business day.

Now there is proof that Campbell knew of his CNN gig when he wrote the Times op-ed.

The Daily Caller obtained a flyer for Campbells farewell party that was handed out to all FBI employees at the Los Angeles bureau on Jan. 29. The flyer specifically stated the shindig was to celebrate Campbells new endeavor defending the Bureau as a CNN law enforcement analyst. The flyer was distributed five days before Campbells op-ed appeared in the Times.

Meanwhile, a government employee who asked not to be named told Fox News that Campbell mentioned leaving the FBI to join CNN back on Jan. 17, when he moderated a panel at a Federal Executive Board event in Arcadia, Calif.  more than two weeks before the op-ed was published.

Boynton said transparency isnt a magic potion but would have preempted attacks on Campbells credibility, such as former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarkes tweet that Campbells move doesnt pass the smell test.

At minimum, if individuals arent transparent about their intentions, they should be prepared for skeptics to publicly challenge them. Once trust is compromised, it takes significant effort to rebuild what is lost, Boynton said. Had Mr. Campbell chosen to be transparent and reveal his career plans, he might have lessened the heated spotlight he is now under.

Michael Clark, who was an FBI agent for 22 years and now teaches criminal justice at the University of New Haven, told Fox News that if Campbell left the FBI over political considerations then he has truly missed the essence of what the FBI is all about, which is serving the public and keeping our nation and its citizens safe.

Clark predicted that Campbell would come to regret leaving the FBI for CNN.

His falling on his sword doesn't look so noble if one infers he was angling for his CNN gig while still on the FBI payroll.  DePauw University professor Jeffrey McCall

Once the crisis of the moment passes and the news media does not need a shrill voice to criticize the FBI, Clark said. Our client, the United States of America, with all of its issues, remains the greatest nation on this planet.

He also warned that Campbells colleagues shouldnt aim to follow in the footsteps of CNNs newest signee.

We have enough political voices chirping in Washington, we dont need a young on-board agent doing the same in the field, Clark said.

Former FBI agent James Gagliano, who is also a CNN contributor, even penned an open letter to Campbell that was published in The Hill. In it, Gagliano mocked Campbells complaints that criticism of the FBI could impact national security, calling it utter nonsense.

Viewers have a right to suspect all CNN reporting from that point was impacted by potential conflicts of interest involving both the agent and the network.  Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor

Media analyst and DePauw University professor Jeffrey McCall told Fox News, This is the kind of shenanigans that not only leaves many Americans scratching their heads, but also makes them cynical towards both the government and the mainstream media.

Campbell is welcome to quit the FBI and go contribute to a media organization, he said, but added the timing of the entire transition looks very curious.

Campbell was a hero of the liberal media after he claimed his resignation was painful but necessary. Meanwhile, others have pondered whether he was supplying CNN with information while auditioning for the job.

Crisis management guru Arthur Schwartz said it merits investigation and asked, Was he negotiating with CNN while working for the FBI? Did he leak to CNN while working for the FBI?

The cable news network has relied on anonymous sources within the federal law enforcement agency during the Trump administration, Daily Caller media reporter Joe Simonson wrote before detailing examples.

In the past week alone, CNN relied on FBI sources for stories regarding now-former deputy FBI director Andrew McCabes resignation and an internal video sent to staffers by FBI Director Christopher Wray. Both of these stories almost certainly were reported after Campbell had agreed to join the network but before his op-ed ran in the Times.

Will CNN be open and reveal when negotiations started with their new hire? Viewers have a right to suspect all CNN reporting from that point was impacted by potential conflicts of interest involving both the agent and the network, Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor told Fox News.

Gainor said that conservatives have long criticized just this kind of coziness between members of government and the press but CNN embraces it.

His falling on his sword doesn't look so noble if one infers he was angling for his CNN gig while still on the FBI payroll. If the Times knew of Campbell's upcoming CNN status at the time of this op-ed, then shame on the Times for not disclosing that situation, McCall said. If Campbell withheld that information from the NYT as he was submitting his oped, then shame on Campbell.

A New York Times spokesperson offered the following statement when asked if the paper knew about Campbells role at CNN when the op-ed was published: Campbell's op-ed focused on why he retired from the FBI. Signing on as a contributor to a cable news show does not disqualify someone from contributing to The Times Op-Ed page nor does it conflict in any way with the message of his op-ed.

The FBI declined comment when reached by Fox News.
Rapper and new father Travis Scott has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct following his arrest at a concert in Arkansas nine months ago.

During one of Scott's concerts in May 2017, the rapper was arrested after allegedly inciting a riot resulting in the endangerment of a minor, according to People.

A spokesman for the Arkansas Rogers Police Department told People that during the concert, Scott encouraged people to rush the stage and bypass security protocols to ensure concert goer safety.

The spokesman continued to say that, During the rush to the stage several people were injured, including an employee from the security company hired to help monitor and control the crowd, and a member of the police department. The injured subjects were treated at the AMP by members of the Rogers Fire Department and Mercy Medical.

Scott's attorney, Doug Norwood, spoke with the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and explained that even though the rapper and new father pleaded guilty to the two misdemeanors he was charged with, the charges were dismissed through plea negotiations in January and the charge for disorderly conduct is hoped to be expunged from the rappers record.

They overcharged him, Norwood told the local paper. They tried to get him for inciting a riot. The video did not show any of that.

Scott's guilty plea came after the news that Jenner had broken the internet after revealing the name of their daughter in her first shared photo of the baby on Instagram.

Scott, who was charged under his real name Jacques Webster, shares the last name Webster with baby daughter, Stormi, who Jenner gave birth to on Feb.1.

Since the birth of Stormi, Jenner has shared many intimate posts on social media about her pregnancy journey. The first image of the new mom and Stormi, which Jenner shared on Instagram on Tuesday evening, has gained more than 12 million likes and 420 thousand comments.

Stars from Bella Hadid to Paris Hilton have congratulated the new mom on her baby news.
The mainstream media have suddenly taken a drastic stance against parades.

President Trump reportedly ordered the Pentagon and White House staffers to look into holding a military parade in Washington, D.C., and the mainstream media quickly went bananas with scolding and stock video of soldiers from enemy regimes marching alongside tanks and missiles.

For the most part, U.S. presidents have avoided displays of military power that are often associated with the former Soviet Unions Red Square celebrations, or more recently, Kim Jong Uns parades in North Korea, NBC News Hans Nichols said on Today as fear-inducing footage rolled.

North Korea and the former Soviet Union typically have been referenced when discussing the idea of a military parade in America, but Trump reportedly was inspired when by Bastille Day celebrations in France.

CNN has devoted significant coverage to the parade since it was floated as an idea. Jeffrey Toobin even declared, Were getting more North Korean every day.

MSNBCs Morning Joe namesake Joe Scarborough repeated that somebody had better say no to Trumps idea, while the panel on ABCs The View mocked it relentlessly.

If he wants to emulate the French, how about some national health care, Joy Behar suggested before Sunny Hostin said Washingtons existing infrastructure couldnt even handle a lavish parade.

Whoopi Goldberg said Trump should kick some money in if he wanted a parade so badly.

The Washington Post called it a dumb idea and countless people took to Twitter to express frustration with the idea. America, traditionally shows off its freedoms, not its military. The weak do that, CNNs Chris Cuomo tweeted.

The media have proven repeatedly that they could create hysteria whenever Trump simply considered something, which was evident when pundits appeared outraged over reports that Trump thought about possibly firing special counsel Robert Mueller. The parade is no different.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday the White House hasnt made a final decision on holding the parade but Trump is exploring different ways to highlight the countrys pride for the military. A parade also would require various permits and a ton of planning, so its not happening anytime soon either way  but that hasnt stopped the hysteria from liberal media members.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have popped up on cable news to condemn the idea and Fox News Shepard Smith joked that Trump could be given mini replicas of tanks.

Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce noted that a parade celebrating our troops and their work is apparently the only parade liberals dont like and declared that shes all for the celebration.

One sure way you know this is a great idea is by how upset liberals have already become, Bruce wrote.
Pressure is building for Sony Pictures to cancel its upcoming Quentin Tarantino-directed Charlies Manson movie after audio of the famed director defending Roman Polanski resurfaced.

In a 2003 Howard Stern interview, Tarantino said the 13-year-old girl Polanksi was convicted of raping "wanted to have" sex with Roman Polanski. The tape resurfaced one day after Tarantino had to defend himself against Uma Thurman's claims that the director almost killed her in a "Kill Bill" stunt that went wrong in 2003.

"He had sex with a minor," Tarantino said in 2003. "Thats not rape. To me, when you use the word rape, youre talking about violent, throwing them down  its like one of the most violent crimes in the world  she wanted to have [sex]! Dated the guy!"

Tarantino's alleged violent behavior while directing films -- including spitting at and choking Thurman for a scene in "Kill Bill" -- and his defense of Polanski's actions have many people calling for his downfall.

Polanski will be a significant character in Tarantino's yet-to-be-titled Sony Pictures film about the Manson murders, slated to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the murders next year. Sharon Tate, who was killed in the famed crime, was married to Polanski. The Tarantino movie is one of several coming out about the subject ahead of the milestone anniversary.

Now Tarantino is going to make a movie about Polanski. Why is someone financing this? director Judd Apatow tweeted.

Others on social media echoed Apatow's outrage.

The best way to show your disgust at Quentin Tarantino is to not go to see his movies. Hes got one coming out which purportedly glorifies the murder of Sharon Tate by Charles Manson. Dont see it. Make him unbankable #Weinstein #UmaThurman  LouisTherouxsEyebrow (@Lewis2012Davis) February 6, 2018 Why do I get the feeling Quentin Tarantino will come out of this unscathed? This Charles Manson movie shouldn't be happening. If it does, we must boycott it.  Sadie Berlin  (@ArtySadie) February 3, 2018 After the latest revelations about #QuentinTarantino, @MargotRobbie should maybe reconsider playing Sharon Tate in his upcoming Manson Movie...  Cindy Armstrong (@CindyArmy) February 3, 2018 Not at all surprised to read that Quentin Tarantino forced Uma Thurman to actually crash a car and injured her. This is the same man making a movie depicting the stabbing murder of Sharon Tate and her unborn baby.  The Bitch Goddess Temple (@BitchGodTemple) February 3, 2018 Quentin Tarantino is GARBAGE and i hope his exploitative GARBAGE Sharon Tate film is killed  Natalie (@wednesdaydreams) February 3, 2018 Someone's really gonna pay Quentin Tarantino make a movie about Charles Manson?  eleeevabet (@wallewallebitch) February 3, 2018

Sony Pictures reportedly bought Tarantino's Manson film for $100 million. Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie are rumored to star in the film and a Care2 petition for DiCaprio to drop out of the movie has garnered thousands of signatures.

Reps for the actors and for Sony did not return Fox News' requests for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Recording legend Quincy Jones claimed that he once dated Ivanka Trump, who is 48 years his junior, in a lengthy, outrageous interview with Vulture Magazine.

Of course, the record producer also claimed that Jimi Hendrix was afraid to play with his band, The Beatles were "the worst musicians in the world," and that he knows who really killed John F. Kennedy.

But let's start with Ivanka.

The winner of 28 Grammys told Vulture he and the first daughter dated in 2006, "I used to date Ivanka, you know."

"Tommy Hilfiger, who was working with my daughter Kidada, said, 'Ivanka wants to have dinner with you. I said, No problem. Shes a fine motherf-er."

"She had the most beautiful legs I ever saw in my life. Wrong father, though."  Quincy Jones on Ivanka Trump

"She had the most beautiful legs I ever saw in my life," Jones continued. "Wrong father, though."

Jones did not hold back on his views about her dad, either.

"I used to hang out with him," Jones stated. "Hes a crazy motherf-er. Limited mentally  a megalomaniac, narcissistic. I cant stand him.

Fox News reached out to the White House but did not receive comment at the time of this story's publication.

But the Trumps were not the only famous names caught in Jones' crossfire.

The Grammy winner commented on Michael Jackson's multiple plastic surgery procedures.

"Hed always justify it and say it was because of some disease he had. Bulls---," said Jones.

He also accused the deceased pop star of stealing songs, calling him "Machiavellian" as well as "greedy."

"I hate to get into this publicly, but Michael stole a lot of stuff. He stole a lot of songs," said Jones.

Jones said he knew who killed President Kennedy, alleging that it was mobster Sam Giancana.

"The connection was there between Sinatra and the Mafia and Kennedy. Joe Kennedy  he was a bad man  he came to Frank to have him talk to Giancana about getting votes," Jones claimed.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee also claimed that Jimi Hendrix, thought by many to be the best rock guitarist who ever lived, was too nervous to play with his band.

"He was supposed to play on my album, and he chickened out. He was nervous to play with Toots Thielemans, Herbie Hancock, Hubert Laws, Roland Kirk  those are some scary motherf---ers. Toots was one of the greatest soloists that ever f---ing lived.... The cats on my records were the baddest cats in the world and Hendrix didnt want to play with them."

Adding oddity to insult, Jones said there was one man who he thought was close to Hendrix's equal when it came to playing guitar.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, of course!

"I went on a trip on his yacht, and he had David Crosby, Joe Walsh, Sean Lennon  all those crazy motherf---ers," Jones said. "Then on the last two days, Stevie Wonder came on with his band and made Paul come up and play with him  hes good, man."

But when it came to sexual assault allegations against his friend Bill Cosby, Jones became suddenly silent.

"We can't talk about this in public, man."
A very special guest will reportedly attend the most talked-about wedding of the year.

Us Weekly reported Wednesday that Sarah Ferguson is expected to attend the marriage ceremony of Prince Harry and Suits star Meghan Markle.

Reps for the British royal, 33, and his American fiancee, 36, told Fox News they have no comment.

Invitations for Harry and Meghans wedding are expected to go out the first week of March, a source told the celebrity news magazine. Despite reports to the contrary, Sarah Ferguson will be receiving one and attending.

"Harry has always intended to invite Sarah to the wedding. He is very close to Eugenie and Beatrice and their mother is just as much family as their father. Harry and Meghan have total control over who goes to the wedding and there was never an issue at the Palace about Sarah being invited. No push back from anyone.

The couple will wed on May 19 at St. Georges Chapel within Windsor Castle in England.

Ferguson and Prince Andrew legally separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996.

Since the pair called it quits, Ferguson, now 58, has been left out of several royal engagements, including the wedding of Prince Harrys older brother Prince William and Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton in 2011. However, the couples daughters did attend the big day with their father, 57.

I was not invited, Ferguson told Oprah Winfrey at the time. I chose to go and be in Thailand in a place called Camelia the jungle embraced me. [The snub] was so difficult because I wanted to be there with my girls to be getting them dressed and to go as a family. Also, it was so hard, because the last bride up that aisle was me.

That same year, Ferguson told Harpers Bazaar she was incredibly close with Prince Harrys mother, the late Princess Diana, and she regretted not staying in touch with the beloved royal before her death in 1997 at age 36.

I really miss Diana, she explained. I loved her so much. Diana was one of the quickest wits I knew; nobody made me laugh like her.

"And the saddest thing, at the end, we hadnt spoken for a year, though I never knew the reason, except that once Diana got something in her head I tried, wrote letters, thinking whatever happened didnt matter, lets sort it out. And I knew shed come back. In fact, the day before she died she rang a friend of mine and said, Wheres that Red? I want to talk to her.

And it looks like Prince Harry and Markles wedding wont be the only one Ferguson will be attending this year.

Just two months after the pair revealed their engagement, Princess Eugenie announced she will also walk down the aisle just months after her cousins nuptials.
Yale University has no plan to rescind the honorary degree it gave disgraced comedian Bill Cosby in 2003.

Yale has never rescinded an honorary degree, Yale spokeswoman Karen Peart told Fox News in a statement.

This comes after the University of Pennsylvania rescinded 80-year-old Cosbys degree due to credible sexual assault allegations from more than 60 women, the first time the school had withdrawn an honorary degree in 100 years.

BILL COSBY TALKES #METOO MOVEMENT DURING DINNER IN PHILADELPHIA

Yale students started calling for Cobys honor to be rescinded in 2014 when allegations against the former Cosby Show star surfaced, and more recently, in light of the emergence of the Me Too movement, students have asked the Ivy League school to break precedent  a move the university said is not being considered.

Any change to this longstanding practice would have to be taken up by the Board of Trustees (which is the body that confers degrees) and it is not under active discussion, Peart said.

FACULTY AT PA COLLEGE PUSHING TRUSTEES TO RESCIND TRUMPS HONORARY DEGREE

Multiple universities, including Penn and the University of Connecticut, have rescinded Cosbys degrees, an honor he has received nearly 60 times.

Several students point to Penns decision to encourage Yale to do the same.

UPENN SCRUBS WYNN NAME, RESCINDS HIS AND COSBYS DEGREES

The fact that Penn hasnt taken away an honorary degree in a century says a lot about their decision, one student told the Yale Daily News.

While Cosbys criminal sex assault case ended in a mistrial in June 2017, he is scheduled for a retrial in April.
An Oregon hospital who denied an illegal immigrant a liver transplant due to her lack of citizenship later terminated the policy.

Silvia Lesama-Santos, 46, who's said to be in "critical condition," was denied a liver transplant on Monday from the Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU) in Portland, Fox 12 Oregon reported, citing a press release from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Oregon.

TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION DEMANDS AND WHAT'S AT STAKE IN 2018

The hospital sent the stay-at-home mother of four a letter explaining that since she does not have a lawful presence or immigration documentation in the U.S., she could not receive the transplant as hospital policy requires proof for transplant operations.

Lesama-Santos, a resident of the Portland area for more than 30 years, has health insurance through her husbands employer, according to a copy of the letter published by the ACLU.

The hospital stated that Lesama-Santos could restart the process for requesting a liver transplant when your situation has changed and you meet the above requirements.

On the same day the ACLU released its statement  and called for the hospital to change its rules  OHSU terminated its policy barring illegal immigrants from receiving transplants.

It was brought to our attention this evening that an archaic transplant policy was preventing an undocumented individual from being evaluated at OHSU, a hospital statement read. Upon learning of the policy, OHSU leaders acted immediately and terminated the policy. We deeply regret the pain this has caused the family."

The hospital said that all are welcome at OHSU, and this policy does not reflect our values.

The OHSU transplant team is informing the family of our change in policy... OHSU's legal team has begun a system-wide audit to ensure no other such policies exist, the statement read.

A GoFundMe account created by Lesama-Santos oldest son said that his mother will start the transplant process, which an ACLU spokesperson confirmed to OregonLive.com on Wednesday.

Lesama-Santos was reportedly accepted to undergo the transplant at a Seattle hospital, but the ACLU said its unclear whether shes healthy enough to travel to Washington, or to even get the transplant in Portland.
When a military member becomes injured, their whole world is turned upside down and they  along with their family members  are in need of support.

A non-profit founded in 2005 called The Yellow Ribbon Fund is an organization that aids wounded warriors and ill service members recovering at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia. The organization offers lodging and transportation for family, events on-base and off to help handle the stress and anxiety that come along with emergency financial help, plus mentoring for success in post-military life.



Gina Harrow, who oversees the Yellow Ribbon Funds Caregiver, is the wife of Captain Ben Harrow, U.S. Army Special Forces and a double amputee West Point graduate.

When Ginas husband was gravely injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) in May 2012, she rushed to his side where he was being treated at Walter Reed, leaving behind her 14-month-old son in the care of her parents.

Gina recalled the days in the hospital with her husband as he fought for his life.

I slept by his side in a chair and would keep track of doctors, nurses and everyone that passed through his door. Ben was fighting four bacterial and two fungal infections, which kept infecting healthy tissue, and lets face it, when you have only a half of a leg to work with, it becomes a numbers game on how many inches you can keep to hold a prosthetic in place, Gina said.

Ben was able to make enough of a recovery to return home. Once Ben was settled at home, Gina had the itch to go back to work, and found herself with the opportunity to work for the YRF.

When I took the position, we were only offering services at Walter Reed and Fort Campbell. In the two years Ive been there, we have expanded to Southern California, Northern California, eastern Tenn., central Ky., San Antonio, Texas, and Fort Belvoir, Va., she said.

We have created a private fitness group that offers caregivers a place of inspiration and motivation to help with healthy lifestyle options, healthy recipes, and fitness routines, she continued. We have also redefined the YRF Caregiver Program, and now affectionately call it the Keystone program to recognize how important the caregiver truly is in the recovery process, and we continue to expand our reach and offerings through partnering with other organizations with similar missions. 

The mother has found immense intrinsic value in her new career path.

I am grateful I have the opportunity to have a job that allows me to give back to a community that has become family to me.

For Gina, her greatest message for families going through the difficult journey of coping with injury and sickness is to let them know they are not alone and there are people who know exactly what they are going through. To offer hope when at times it feels like there is nothing but despair.

The YRF will be hosting an event on February 21 called Duty and Devotion, where it will host wounded, injured service members, veterans and their Caregivers for a date night while raising awareness and charitable donations for their organization at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. To get tickets or make a donation visit their website http://www.yellowribbonfund.org/donate
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It should be a matter of concern to everyonenot just Roman Catholics-- that Pope Francis I is considering an agreement with Beijing that would give the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) effective control over all Roman Catholics in mainland China and Hong Kong. Every governmental and private organization that values religious freedom  especially our American Catholic bishops  need to urge him to reverse course and join in defending religious freedom.

This is just the latest of the Communist Partys attempts to remove religion as an independent force in Chinabut the first in which the Vatican has cooperated, after decades of resistance to state-controlled religion.

Currently there are two communities in China with the word Catholic in their name. One is the Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA), led by bishops appointed by the Chinese government with neither input nor approval from the Vatican. Indeed, these self-anointed bishops have all been excommunicated in Rome.

The CPA toes the line for the government that, among other things, forbids all attempts at evangelizationthat is, spreading the word of God that is the Churchs fundamental mission. Instead, the CPA allows the government to register places of worship and membership lists and to manage theological contentand gives Chinas secret police a means of keeping tabs on those who consider God a higher moral authority than the party.

The true Catholic Church in China, in communion with the Holy See and in the line of apostolic succession  things that are crucial to Catholics  is an underground church led by bishops who have been consecrated and sent to it from the Vatican. It meets in secret and under constant threat of suppression and jail time for its priests.

The violent persecution of all Christians by the Communist regime drove it underground 70 years ago, and its estimated 10 million members have preferred to remain faithful to the pope rather than accept the governments counterfeit.

During the time of Mao Zedong, churches were leveled and priests and members of religious orders were regularly tortured and executed. These practices have largely been replaced these days by administrative discrimination and penalties for those who practice their faiths outside the structures and ways approved by the government.

Nevertheless, persecution of Church leaders who refuse to acknowledge the authority of the illegitimate bishops continues. During his ordination as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai in July, 2012, for example, Bishop Ma Daqin allowed the three consecrating bishops who are in communion with the Holy See to lay hands on him, but refused to be touched by an illegitimate, state-supported bishop. He then announced his resignation from the CPA, to hearty applause from the large congregation.

Shortly thereafter Bishop Ma was arrested. He was reportedly detained in an official Catholic seminary and re-educated.

Recently the CPA released photos of a show Mass that Bishop Ma had been coerced into concelebrating with an excommunicated bishop.

According to Reuters, the Vatican is agreeing to appoint previously excommunicated bishops chosen by the Chinese government to replace two bishops chosen and consecrated by the Vatican. Going further, the Vatican would pardon and legitimize all current government-appointed bishops.

In exchange the Chinese government would give the replaced bishops lower-level official positions in the state-controlled CPA, and in the future give the Vatican some unspecified say in negotiations over the appointment of bishops.

It is hard to see what the Roman Catholic Church gains from this agreement. It grants to the state-sponsored organization the very recognition that the heroic Bishop Ma refused to give it.

What it gives away is immensethe spiritual assets of the Church in China, which are, after all, its only real patrimony.

The spiritual authority of a recognized Roman Catholic bishop over his flock is absolute, subject only to his removal by the Vatican. Bishops chosen for loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party and outside Vatican authority could deny the sacraments to anyone seen as a political dissident, an extraordinary power over faithful Catholics. They could create their own catechisms and establish an order for the Mass that taught Communist values rather than the faith that has been handed down by the Church.

This almost happened in Nicaragua, where dissident priests tried to set up a Peoples Church to support the Russian-backed Sandinistas, until Pope St. John Paul II stepped in.

We remember Saint Thomas More for putting his loyalty to the teaching of the Catholic Church and the pope above his life and loyalty to his King, yet the Vatican is agreeing to an arrangement in which Henry VIII could have appointed his own bishop to get the divorce he wantedthe basis of a separate Church known as Anglican.

But at least Henry VIII and his bishops and archbishops believed in God. Chinas communists believe the oppositea fact that just as much as Vatican authority has played a historic role in the Churchs opposition to a puppet Chinese church.

Cardinal Joseph Zen, former bishop of Hong Kong, has sharply criticized the bruited agreement: So, do I think that the Vatican is selling out the Catholic Church in China? Yes, definitely, if they go in the direction which is obvious from all they are doing in recent years and months.

Maybe the pope is a little naive, he doesnt have the background to know the Communists in China, Zen continued. The pope used to know the persecuted Communists [in Latin America], but he may not know the Communist persecutors who have killed hundreds of thousands.

Putting all Catholics under the control of the CPA seems a betrayal of those martyrs who suffered Maos atrocities, as well as the priests and bishops who were jailed and tortured for maintaining allegiance to the Pope rather than the CCP.

The Vatican needs to be told by those who value religious freedom that allowing Chinese Communists to choose who will run the Roman Catholic Church in China is a violation of the most basic of human rightsand of the spiritual history of the Church itself.
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Under President Trump, the United States has gone from uneasy observer to tacit supporter of populist insurgencies sweeping the globe.

President Trump himself was elected on the heels of the historic Brexit vote, which saw Britons vote to leave the European Union, potentially at great cost to their own economy.

Similar populist insurgencies have arisen in France with Marine Le Pens National Front gaining more clout, in Germany with Angela Merkels struggle to fend off nationalist challenges while forming her government, and in Spain with the vote by Catalan lawmakers who tried unsuccessfully to have Catalonia secede last year.

Much of the world is restlessness and frustrations are understandable. However, overturning domestic institutions and international relationships overnight carries risks. The challenge becomes: how can leaders be responsive to their citizens, while still being mindful of the unintended consequences of change?

Individuals and political parties in Europe, the U.S. and beyond that were once on the margins are now ready to storm the barricades. How this radical departure from convention will play out remains to be see, but it could backfire.

President Trump relishes disruption. He has vowed to rip up trade agreements and scrutinize alliances. He is rattling nerves with his aggressive approach to North Korea. The change in tide has seen once marginalized individuals and political parties gain far greater influence.

For example, President Trump is threatening to redo the U.S.s free-trade agreement with South Korea. Neither Washington nor Seoul got everything it wanted with the deal, but the U.S. gained much broader and deeper access to one of the worlds largest economies.

If President Trump were to pull back from the deal with South Korea, after already having withdrawn the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, American businesses and their employees would lose more than they would gain.

South Koreas populists have also been energized over the last year. In March they ousted President Park Geun-hye amid corruption charges over a bribery scandal involving Samsungs next-in-line chief, Lee Jae-yong.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, elected in June, is committed to a national housecleaning, focusing in part on the chaebols  the small group of conglomerates, such as Samsung and LG, that underpin the country's economy.

But real reforms should be measured, not political. To that end, this week the South Koreans prudently avoided a self-inflicted populist blunder when a court overturned Lees conviction and five-year prison sentence. The sentence was handed down last fall, based only on intent, without any evidence of conduct or a communication showing bribery.

The aim of populism should be to build something better and not merely tear down the old. Rather than spending the next five years in jail, Lee can resume his work as vice chairman of South Koreas most important company and pick up where he left off in reforming Samsung, making it more transparent and agile internationally.

Whatever antagonism South Koreans have for their countrys large corporate powerhouses, the countrys fortunes remain inextricably linked to these companies success. South Koreans eager to clean house should be careful not to undermine the houses very foundation in the process.

Lee now has a chance to demonstrate even a large chaebol can be part of South Koreas efforts at reform and renewal.

Without due deliberation over possible consequences, politicians in Europe, Asia and the United States who have benefitted from or encouraged resurgent populism could easily be consumed by populist forces. The people will see quickly that symbolism is not enough.
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The University of Central Oklahoma has opened its arms to drag queen shows and safe sex carnivals but they draw the line at Christians who believe God created the Heavens and the Earth in six days.

The university apparently has no problem with students tossing dildos through cardboard vaginas, but they draw the line at exposing impressionable young minds to the teachings of a creationist.

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Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis and founder of the popular Creation Museum and Ark Encounter, was disinvited from speaking on the public university campus after an ugly campaign of bullying by LGBT activists.

The Todd Starnes Radio Show obtained exclusive emails between the UCO Student Association and Answers in Genesis explaining why they had to rescind the invitation and opt out of a signed and legally binding contract.

We are currently getting bombarded with complaints from our LGBT community about Ken Ham speaking on our campus, student body president Stockton Duvall wrote on Jan 25. I was going to request that Mr. Ham refrains from talking on this issue, even if asked his views during the Q&A.

Ham was scheduled to deliver his remarks on March 5 in the universitys Constitution Hall.

I find it highly ironic that after being booked to speak in the schools Constitution Hall, our constitutional right to free speech and the exercise of religion, guaranteed under the First Amendment, have been denied, Ham said.

Click here for a copy of Todds new book  The Deplorables Guide to Making America Great Again  a must-read handbook for restoring traditional American values.

While I know this looks awful censoring certain parts of Mr. Hams views, I want to ensure that we stay on topic of the research Mr. Ham and his team have done over creationism, Duvall wrote.

For the record, Hams university lecture was titled, Genesis and the State of the Culture.

Paul Blair, the pastor of a local church that sponsors a student ministry called Valid Worldview, told me Hams speech had nothing to do with LGBT issues.

The backlash we are already receiving is quite immense and I do not want this event to be spoiled due to a topic that isnt relative to Mr. Hams research of creationism, Duvall wrote.

On Jan. 27, the universitys student government group canceled the speaking engagement.

A small but vocal group on campus put up a fuss about my talk and the university caved in, tearing up the contract and contradicting its policies of promoting free inquiry and inclusiveness on campus, Ham said.

Pastor Blair told me he does not fault the student government association president for caving in to the LGBT mob.

I think this young man was bullied and intimidated, Blair said. I think he succumbed to the bullying that these LGBTQ groups are known for. Those that scream out and demand tolerance are in actuality the least tolerant group of individuals on the planet.

A university spokesman told me there had been no complaints of LGBT bullying.

The UCO community is an inclusive environment that encourages the civil expression of diverse thoughts and ideas, while also keeping the safety of our students a top priority, the spokesman said.

Blair, the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church, pointed out the universitys blatant hypocrisy and what he called the obvious discrimination against Christianity on campus.

I am beside myself with frustration that our tax dollars go to promote a drag queen show and safe sex events with carnival games that are obscene and graphic, he said. Yet when it comes to something like debating Darwinian evolution or talking about the literal Creation account of Genesis  well that kind of speech must be censored.

The pastor has a valid point.

If the University of Central Oklahoma expects Christian students to be tolerant of LGBT-themed events, why arent they demanding that same expectation from LGBT students when it comes to Christian events?
A Democratic candidate for governor of Illinois is apologizing for racially insensitive comments captured on an FBI wiretap between him and then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The billionaire businessman candidate, J.B. Pritzker, was heard suggesting Blagojevich appoint Secretary of State Jesse White to a Senate seat, calling him the least offensive African-American.

Pritzker, whos considered the frontrunner in the March 20 primary, said Tuesday he regretted portions of the conversations recorded during a decade-old investigation of Blagojevich, whos now imprisoned for convictions that included trying to trade an appointment to Barack Obamas vacated Senate seat for campaign cash.

I regret the conversations in many ways, the words that I used, and the things that I didnt say on that call that I would have preferred to have said. ... I can do better and I have, Pritzker said. I clearly made a mistake that day and I clearly wasnt my best self.

Pritzer's family has influenced Chicago politics for decades. His sister, Penny, served as commerce secretary under Obama.

White, whos supported J.B. Pritzkers candidacy, stood beside him during Tuesdays news conference. Other black lawmakers joined them.

Pritzker has said he did nothing wrong and noted he never was accused of wrongdoing. He said Tuesday he believed people were leaking the tapes to damage his campaign and he would contemplate possible legal action.

The Chicago Tribune published the previously unreleased recording from a decade-old investigation of Blagojevich late Monday.

The Tribune has not disclosed how the newspaper obtained the recordings, which were not among the wiretap audio played in court that formed the core of the evidence against Blagojevich.

Pritzkers opponents condemned the remarks, with businessman Chris Kennedy calling them disqualifying.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, whos seeking a second term, already has been running ads attacking Pritzker that feature wiretap audio the Chicago Tribune released last year. In those ads Pritzker and Blagojevich were heard discussing the Senate appointment and a possible state job appointment.

On the recording, Pritzker suggests Blagojevich appoint White rather than other African-Americans, including Jesse Jackson Jr. or Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. He says doing so covers you on the African-American thing.

He continued, Of all the African-Americans that I can think that are sort of like qualified ... and people will say Oh  thats, you know thats, thats a pretty good pick, the one thats least offensive and maybe gets you the most because it gets you that secretary of state appointment is Jesse White.

Later in the call, Pritzker was heard laughing as Blagojevich joked about appointing Obamas former minister, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, whose comments dogged Obamas 2008 campaign. Among other things, Wright said the U.S. brought on the Sept. 11 attacks by committing terrorism against others and that people should sing God Damn America rather than God Bless America.

On the call, Blagojevich mimicked Wright, imagining him saying God Damn America on the floor of the Senate.

Thats funny, Pritzker said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., strongly implied to Fox News Tuesday night that Clinton family confidant Sidney Blumenthal was a key link in a chain of information that helped create the controversial Trump-Russia dossier.

Gowdy told Fox News' "The Story" that "when you hear who ... one of the sources of that information is, you're going to think, 'Oh my gosh, I've heard that name somewhere before.'"

When host Martha MacCallum asked if he was referring to Blumenthal, Gowdy answered, "That'd be really warm. You're warm, yeah."

Gowdy, who is among a host of Republican lawmakers not running for re-election is November, played a key role in the drafting of a recently declassified memo detailing alleged surveillance abuses by the federal government. The memo took specific issue with the FBI's use of information from the dossier, which was compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele and claimed to reveal deep ties between President Trump and Russian officials.

Last month, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., made a criminal referral regarding Steele to the FBI. The referral, parts of which were declassified Monday, included a reference to "a foreign source [who] gave information to an unnamed associate of Hillary and Bill Clinton, who then gave information to an unnamed official in the Obama State Department, who then gave the information to Steele."

In another section, the referral stated that Steele received information from "a foreign sub-source who is in touch with (redacted), a contact of (redacted), a friend of the Clintons, who passed it to (redacted).'"

Gowdy told MacCallum that "there is a State Department component" to the dossier that "needs to be investigated."

"I'm pretty troubled by what I read in the documents with respect to the role the State Department played in the fall of 2016 with including information that was used in a [FISA] court proceeding," Gowdy said. "I am troubled by that."

However, Gowdy admitted that special counsel Robert Mueller would have been called in to investigate Russian actions during the 2016 election "regardless of whether or not there's a dossier."

"The dossier has nothing to do with the fact that someone tried to hack into the [Democratic National Committee] server," he said. "The dossier has nothing do with the meeting George Papadopoulos had in Great Britain. The dossier has nothing to do with [Donald Trump Jr.] meeting at Trump Tower [with a Russian lawyer]. The dossier has nothing to do with allegations of obstruction of justice."

Gowdy also addressed his decision to leave Congress, saying it was "just the right time."

"I won't ever run for office again," he promised. "When you leave politics, to me, it's important that you leave. And I'm at peace with that."
The House of Representatives on Tuesday night approved a stopgap spending bill to run the government through March 23 and bolster defense funding, sending the bill to the Senate for consideration.

The vote was 245 to 182. Eight Republicans voted no, while 17 Democrats voted yes.

This is the first step in averting a possible government shutdown before 11:59:59 p.m. ET Thursday.

It's unclear how the bill may fare in the Senate, although lawmakers there could strike the defense spending plan and zap the package back to the House.

Both parties are in negotiations trying to secure an agreement on raising caps for both defense and non-defense spending, which could be the key to unlock Congress' fiscal issues, while also funding the government.

Democratic leaders have dropped their strategy of using the funding fight to extract concessions on immigration, specifically on seeking extended protections for the "Dreamer" immigrants who have lived in the country illegally since they were children. Instead, the Democrats prepared to cut a deal that would reap tens of billions of dollars for other priorities -- including combatting opioids -- while taking their chances on solving the immigration impasse later.

The Senate is slated next week to begin a debate to address the dilemma of immigrants left vulnerable by the looming expiration of former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA.

Fox News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday warned the United States is ill-prepared to prevent Russian interference in the upcoming midterms, as it was in the 2016 general election.

I don't know that I would say we are better prepared, because the Russians will adapt as well, Tillerson said in an exclusive interview with Fox News in Bogota, Colombia. The point is, if it's their intention to interfere, they are going to find ways to do that. We can take steps we can take but this is something that, once they decide they are going to do it, it's very difficult to preempt it.

Russia is already attempting to interfere in the U.S. in 2018 ahead of congressional midterm elections as it did in the 2016 general election, he said.

I think it's important we just continue to say to Russia, Look, you think we don't see what you're doing. We do see it and you need to stop. If you don't, you're going to just continue to invite consequences for yourself, said Tillerson.

The secretary also condemned the Russian governments activities in Syria - supporting the Assad regime as it kills civilians with chemical and conventional weapons.

They are supporting the Assad regime, they are providing the air cover for the regime. Russia is responsible, they agreed that they would take care of the chemical weapons in Syria, clearly they failed to do that, said Tillerson. Russia really needs to move to a different place on this, and they can deny it all they want to, but facts are facts and they need to go to another spot.

As Vice President Mike Pence attends the opening of the Olympics this week in South Korea, the Trump administration refuses to rule out whether Pence will speak with North Korean officials there. When asked whether the U.S. would initiate those conversations, Tillerson said, the vice president's there and we'll just have to see what happens.

The secretary, when asked, also had a message for those in the White House pushing for his departure: I'm still here. Nothing has changed.

When asked whether he believed members of the administration are still advocating that the president replace him, the secretary replied, I have no idea.
President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to plan a military celebration in Washington, D.C. to show appreciation for the U.S. Armed Forces.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed on Tuesday that Trump requested such an event.

President Trump is incredibly supportive of Americas great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation, Sanders said.

Trump had previously considered the idea of a military parade through the streets of the nations capital after attending Frances Bastille Day as the guest of honor in July. The president admired the countrys celebrations, and called the parade magnificent.

Trump made the order in a Jan. 18 meeting with top generals, The Washington Post reported.

The president reportedly ordered: I want a parade like the one in France, with soldiers marching and tanks rolling.

Months after Trumps inauguration in early 2017, The Huffington Post reported, citing an email from a Pentagon official, that Trumps Inaugural Committee was seriously considering adding military vehicles to the Inaugural Parade.

Despite confirmation of the order, a White House official told The Washington Post that the event is just in a brainstorming phase right now. Pentagon spokesperson Charlie Summers said officials are looking at options.

Frances Bastille Day  an annual July 14 holiday to celebrate a turning point in the French Revolution, similar to celebrations held on Americas Fourth of July  showcases its militarys strength by parading its tanks and fighter jets, followed by a fireworks display.

The last time a military parade marched through Washington, D.C. was at the conclusion of the Gulf War in June 1991. The National Victory Celebration Parade, which strolled down Constitution Avenue, reportedly cost more than $12 million.

Fox News Jenny Buchholz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former Vice President Joe Biden on Wednesday described President Trump as the neighborhood bully while touting his own liberal credentials during a speech to Democratic lawmakers that appeared aimed at keeping his foot in the door for a potential 2020 run for president.

Since when do we give hate safe harbor in America? Biden said in a speech to Democrats at the Capitol. Since when are we leaving so many people behind? Guys, this president is doing great damage.

The former Democratic senator and vice president under former President Barack Obama accused Trump of pushing a closed and clannish nationalism and an ugly and phony populism. He also called out the president for his trademark derogatory nicknames to political critics.

Dont act like the neighborhood bully, talking down to Little so and so or Fat so and so, Biden said. I mean, my God. Hes the president of the United States of America.

2020 DEMS PLAY TO THE BASE BY VOTING TO EXTEND GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

He accused Trump of viewing everything through a selfish lens.

We have a president who is consumed by his political survival, Biden said. Its the beginning, the middle and the end. Everything is run through the filter of how it affects Donald Trump in Donald Trumps mind.

Since when do we give hate safe harbor in America? Since when are we leaving so many people behind? Guys, this president is doing great damage.  Joe Biden

Biden also accused Trump of shredding some of our core values and cited the presidents attacks on the press.

I mean theres an all-out attack on the guys wearing the striped shirts: the press and the courts, he said. It is a technique thats been used repeatedly throughout history by those who want to clear the field so theyre in a position to be able to abuse power.

Biden unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 1988 and 2008 but opted against a campaign in 2016. The 75-year-old, who has not ruled out a run in 2020, called for Democrats to remain united as a party, and not be divided.

I will challenge any of you to put my progressive credentials of 36 years in the Senate up against any of you, Biden said. Any of you. Ill also suggest that my commitment to growth of the middle class is as strong as any of you.

Biden also pointed out how he and Obama won in places that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton lost during the 2016 election.

By the way, you know, all these so-called racists who voted against us last time out? Biden asked, telling Democrats to remember a black man and an Irish Catholic kid won in many of the places where Trump beat Clinton.

But for 72,000 votes, we wouldnt be having this discussion, he said. 72,000 votes.
Funding for a health insurance program for children became front and center as lawmakers struggled to reach deals to keep the government funded in 2018.

The federal funds for the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) expired at the end of September, and a permanent solution had not been passed by the beginning of this year.

However, the Senate reached a budget agreement Wednesday that reportedly funds the program for 10 years.

Heres a look at the CHIP program and what it does.

What is it?

Created in 1997, the Childrens Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is low-cost insurance for families with incomes too high for Medicaid but potentially too low to afford private insurance plans.

CHIP covers routine check-ups, doctor visits, prescriptions, emergency services and hospital care, among other things, according to HealthCare.gov.

Every state has a CHIP program, but the rules and qualifications vary state by state.

Nearly 9 million children in the U.S. were enrolled in the CHIP program for the fiscal year 2016, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

Whats going on with its funding?

The program expired on Sept. 30, and a short-term funding extension was passed by Congress shortly before Christmas.

Many states have nearly exhausted their funds.

Some families have already been informed or received notice that their childrens coverage could be reduced in the future, Samantha Artiga, an analyst at KFF, told Fox News earlier this year. Already families are feeling a lot of worry, concern and stress right now  particularly families with children who have ongoing health conditions who rely on insurance for treatments to keep them healthy and give them the care that they need.

Artiga added that the earlier uncertainty around CHIP funding presented administrative and economic headaches for states that try to plan for the programs future in an uncertain environment.

What have healthcare experts said about it?

"Without this program, these children are caught in a dangerous gap that would deny them access to needed care," the Council for Affordable Health Coverage President Joel White told Fox News. "Every day that CHIP remains without a long-term reauthorization is a day that access to health care is threatened for the most deserving and vulnerable among us."

During the budget talks, White urged lawmakers to vote for a spending bill that included the funding.

Every day that CHIP remains without a long-term reauthorization is a day that access to health care is threatened for the most deserving and vulnerable among us.  Joel White, president of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage

"Senate Democrats have rightfully advocated for CHIP funding in recent months, and it would be the height of hypocrisy for them to oppose a spending bill with this included now."

Joan Alker, the executive director of Georgetown Universitys Center for Children & Families, argued that Congress should pass CHIP reauthorization as a standalone bill so its future is not in limbo every few years.

Whats especially frustrating is that theres no disagreement on the policy, Alker told Fox News, adding that lawmakers on both sides of the aisle support funding CHIP. Its become a bargaining chip.

The right thing to do would be to take CHIP out of [the] political fight and pass it by itself, she said.

What has Trump said?

Trump urged lawmakers to make CHIP part of a long-term solution, not a 30-day, or short-term, extension, in a tweet last month.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A newly released version of GOP senators criminal referral for Trump dossier author Christopher Steele appears to support key claims from the controversial memo on alleged surveillance abuse released last week by House Republicans and the White House.

That memo, commissioned by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., continues to fuel a firestorm on Capitol Hill, where Democrats are pushing for the release of their own counter-memo. A central point of dispute is the Nunes documents claim that the salacious, anti-Trump dossier was crucial to the FBIs efforts to seek a surveillance warrant for a Trump associate and that the applications omitted the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaigns funding for the research via Glenn Simpsons Fusion GPS firm  which hired Steele.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., appeared to back up those claims, though, in a criminal referral sent in early January to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

The surveillance applications, they said, relied heavily on Mr. Steeles dossier claims.

CLINTON ASSOCIATES FED INFO TO TRUMP DOSSIER AUTHOR, SENATORS SAY

Further, they said the application failed to disclose that the identities of Mr. Simpsons ultimate clients were the Clinton campaign and the DNC.

The referral also helps explain a point of contention in recent days, after Nunes seemed to admit on Fox & Friends after the release of his memo that the FBI application did include a footnote acknowledging some political origins of the dossier. This admission helped fueled Democratic claims, from ranking Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and others, that the dossiers political connection was not concealed from the surveillance court as alleged.

According to Grassley and Grahams referral, the FBI noted to a vaguely limited extent the political origins of the dossier in a footnote that said the information was compiled at the direction of a law firm who had hired an identified U.S. person  now known as Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS. A subsequent passage in the letter is redacted. But they said the DNC and Clinton campaign were not mentioned.

Fox News first reported on the letters contents on Monday.

Following a request from Grassley, the FBI on Tuesday removed some redactions, and a cleaner version was posted online.

As Fox News previously reported, the referral also revealed that a Clinton contact was feeding allegations to Steele while he was working on the dossier.

While that portion is still partly redacted, the referral stated another Steele memo said his firm received a report from someone at the State Department  with information that came from "a foreign sub-source who 'is in touch with (redacted), a contact of (redacted), a friend of the Clintons, who passed it to (redacted).

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., strongly implied to Fox News on Tuesday night that Clinton family confidant Sidney Blumenthal was a key figure for Steele.

Gowdy told Fox News' "The Story" that "when you hear who ... one of the sources of that information is, you're going to think, 'Oh my gosh, I've heard that name somewhere before.'"

When host Martha MacCallum asked if he was referring to Blumenthal, Gowdy answered, "That'd be really warm. You're warm, yeah."

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that Blumenthal indeed was involved.

According to the report, another document was written by Clinton friend Cody Shearer, who gave it to Blumenthal, who gave it to a State Department official.

Grassley and Graham originally asked the Justice Department in January to investigate Steele based on evidence they say suggests he lied to the FBI about his contacts with the media -- or the FBI misrepresented Steeles statements.

The referral detailed Steeles many contacts with the media, which ultimately led to him being cut off as an FBI source. But the referral said Steeles known media contacts were at odds with the FBIs initial application saying Steele told the bureau he had no unauthorized press contacts about the dossier before October 2016. The senators said the applications, then, either are materially false or Steele made false statements to the FBI.

Mr. Steeles apparent deception seems to have posed significant material consequences on the FBIs investigation decisions and representations to the court, they wrote.

Amid the ongoing debate over the Nunes memo, the White House is now reviewing the Democrats rebuttal memo for possible release.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged President Trump to make that memo public.

The president decided the public deserved to see the Nunes memo before hed even read it, so he ought to be similarly eager for the American people to see this memo. Given the Schiff memo is based on the same underlying documents as the Republicans partisan memo, there should be no question as to whether or not the president will approve the new memos release. If he refuses, the American people will be forced to wonder: what is the president trying to hide? he said in a statement.

Fox News Catherine Herridge and Samuel Chamberlain contributed to this report.
Democratic officials in the District of Columbia are mocking fragile man President Trumps desire to hold a massive parade to show off the United States' military, suggesting they will take steps to prevent it from taking place in the nations capital.

I'd be hard pressed to find someone that doesn't think this is really about one thing and one thing only -- a fragile man trying to feed his own ego, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen told Fox News on Wednesday.

The Democratic councilmember suggested that D.C. could refuse to cooperate.

The District partners with federal agencies all the time for major national events - from security, street closures, crowd management, and more, Allen said. Until we have a more specific proposal to work with, we'll consider all our options to ensure any national event fits with the vision, values, and operations of the District of Columbia.

He added: "The idea of tanks and missiles rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue doesn't line up with my vision of D.C. values. If this were a proposal that truly sought to honor the men and women that serve our country, then I think many people would support such an event."

Press secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday the White House hasnt made a final decision on holding the parade but Trump is exploring different ways to highlight the countrys pride for the military.

Defense Secretary James Mattis, during Wednesdays press briefing at the White House, said Trumps fondness for the military is reflected" in his request for a parade.

I think we are all aware in this country of the president's affection and respect for the military, Mattis said. We have been putting together some options. We'll send them up to the White House for a decision."

Since the idea was first made public Tuesday, the D.C. council has mocked the idea in several tweets, including one with an image of fake road signing prohibiting military tanks. No Republicans serve on the council.

Tanks but No Tanks! the council tweeted.

Sadly, the Giant Tank Parade is cancelled, the account also tweeted. Permanently.

TRUMP ORDERS MILITARY CELEBRATION IN WASHINGTON

Despots call their opponents traitors and treasonous, Phil Mendelson, the chairman of the D.C. Council, tweeted. And despots like military parades. A military parade in our District of Columbia is not part of our country's democratic ideals.

Lindsey Walton, a spokesman for Mendelson, told Fox News that parades in Washington require a permit through the DC Department of Transportation and the Metropolitan Police Department. The inaugural committee files for a permit every four years after a president is sworn into office, she said.

Walton said Mendelson does not wish to speculate on action that could be taken before a permit for Trumps parade is filed. But she acknowledged that the council does not have to approve permits.

Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser indicated Wednesday that D.C. would refuse to pay for a military parade.

Were tracking media reports about the proposed parade and will have more to say when formal outreach begins, Anu Rangappa, a spokesperson for Bowser, told Fox 5. In the meantime, we do know that just like the wall, he will have to pay for it.

Trump, according to a story in the Washington Post, considered the idea of a military parade through the streets of the nations capital after attending Frances Bastille Day as the guest of honor in July. The president admired the countrys celebrations, and called the parade magnificent.

The newspaper reported that Trump made the order in a Jan. 18 meeting with top generals.

Congressional Democrats are also mobilizing against the idea. Democratic Reps. Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Ted Lieu of California sent a letter Wednesday to Mattis asking him to convince the president that the frivolous, unnecessary exercise could harm Americas image.

But Republicans have argued such a parade would be popular with Americans across the country.

Ds and most media will decry this, objecting to the costs, Ari Fleischer, the former White House press secretary under George W. Bush, tweeted Wednesday. When it happens, many Ds wont like it because its militaristic. But most Americans will eat it up. Theyll love the pomp and will take pride in the show of force/honor of the troops."

The last time a military parade marched through Washington, D.C. was at the conclusion of the Gulf War in June 1991. The National Victory Celebration Parade, which strolled down Constitution Avenue, reportedly cost more than $12 million.

Fox News Jenny Buchholz, Nicole Darrah and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Democrats flipped a Missouri House seat in Tuesdays special election in a district that President Trump won by 28 points in 2016, signaling problems for the GOP ahead of the 2018 midterm elections.

Democrat Mike Revis won the election with nearly 52 percent of the vote while Republican David Linton received 48 percent. Tuesdays election marks a 31-point swing to Democrats in the district compared to the 2016 presidential election.

Representative-elect Mike Reviss victory tonight will undoubtedly send another shockwave through the GOP as we continue to run the best candidates focused on addressing local issues and improving their neighbors quality of life, Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee Executive Director Jessica Post said in a statement.

The DLCC continues to be impressed by our dedicated and talented slate of candidates, who have stepped up to run in these precedent-setting special elections."

Revis, a 27-year-old procurement manager, ran on a platform as a centrist Democrat with particular focus on education, access to health care and support for the labor community, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, told the newspaper that Revis win was enormous and made possible only due to a lot of grass-roots support and a hardworking, authentic moderate candidate from his community.

The election result might signal the changing tide for the GOP that is heading into the midterm elections this year against a highly-mobilized Democratic opposition united against the president.

In December, embattled Republican Roy Moore lost a deep-red Senate seat in Alabama to Democrat Doug Jones, making him the first Democrat in a decade to win any statewide office in the state.

Last month, Democrat Patty Schachtner flipped a state Senate seat in Wisconsin that had been held by Republicans since the start of the century in a district that Trump carried by 17 points in the presidential election.

Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called the results a wake up call for the party.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said the party should take interest in why it lost the election. Typically, weve held this seat, and we lost this seat last night. So, yeah, I think we should pay attention to it, Ryan told reporters last month, The New York Times reported.

But as problems continue to mount for the Republicans, in three other special elections in Missouri on Tuesday, Republicans held their seats  continuing the GOPs supermajority in the state House.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The controversial memo purportedly detailing federal surveillance abuses was declassified and released Friday following approval from President Trump.

Compiled by the House Intelligence Committee leadership, the memo states that surveillance warrants used on an American citizen was largely requested due to controversial dossier produced by Fusion GPS, a firm that was at one point hired by the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons presidential campaign. The dossier contained colorful but unverifiable information about Trump.

Democrats, the FBI and the Department of Justice objected to the release of the memo. In part, Democratic lawmakers suggested that the memo was selectively edited by Republicans to push an agenda of derailing the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Intelligence officials have stressed the memo is incomplete.

The day after the memo was released, Trump tweeted that the "memo totally vindicates 'Trump' in probe."

Here is what the newly released memo contained:

The dossier was key to warrant requests

Christopher Steele, who compiled the controversial dossier containing colorful but unverifiable claims about Trump, confirmed to former associate deputy attorney general Bruce Ohr that he was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president.

FISA warrants are not easy to obtain, but the memo suggests that intelligence officials relied heavily on the dossier as well as a 2016 report from Michael Isikoff to obtain the warrants. Isikoffs Yahoo News report, according to the memo, was derived from information leaked by Steele himself.

The FBI and DOJ officials were able to obtain a FISA warrant to electronically target Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to Trump.

Former deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe told the House Intelligence Committee in December 2017 that a surveillance warrant would not have been sought without the dossier and what it purportedly revealed, the memo stated.

The dossiers funding was not recorded in surveillance warrant requests

The surveillance warrants and renewals did not mention that the dossier was paid for, at least in part, by the Democratic National Committee and the campaign for Hillary Clinton. The memo says the DOJ was aware at the time of the initial FISA application that political actors were involved with the Steele dossier.

Neither the initial application in October 2016, nor any of the renewals, disclose or reference the role of the DNC, Clinton campaign, or any party/campaign in funding Steeles efforts, even though the political origins of the Steele dossier were known to senior DOJ and FBI officials, the memo alleged.

Instead, according to the memo, the FISA application said Steele was working for a "named U.S. person"  but did not specifically include Fusion GPS, the firm behind the project, or its co-founder, Glenn Simpson. Fusion GPS was hired by law firm Perkins Coie, which represented the DNC and Clinton campaign.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Former Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters on Wednesday that he hasn't ruled out a run for political office, during a D.C. breakfast where he also took swipes at the controversial Nunes memo on alleged surveillance abuse during the Obama administration.

During a Christian Science Monitor Newsmaker breakfast, the Obama-era attorney general said he would make a decision by the end of the year on whether there may be "another chapter" in his government service.

Holder has kept a high political profile since leaving the Obama administration, advising California on Trump administration legal challenges and diving into the debate over the gerrymandering of congressional districts. Holder opened his remarks Wednesday with the latter subject, saying he "sat down with President Obama" for a few hours recently to discuss ways to combat gerrymandering  which Holder sees as an obstacle to getting African-Americans to the ballot box.

Meanwhile, Holder slammed the memo commissioned by Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., that alleged problems with how a surveillance warrant was obtained for a Trump associate in 2016. Holder called the memo "inaccurate in a number of ways" and added that he hoped the Schiff memo would be released, a reference to Democratic Rep. Adam Schiffs rebuttal.

He mocked the Trump White House for saying it wants to hear from the DOJ and FBI before releasing the Schiff memo. Really? Did you do that with the Nunes memo? In spite of the fact the DOJ called it extremely reckless?" Holder said, referring to the "rare" statement the FBI made in opposition to releasing the Nunes memo.

"You didn't listen to them then, but now you will listen? It will be interesting to see how that works out," he said.

Holder also touched on the ongoing Russia collusion probe.

Fox News' John Roberts has reported that lawyers close to President Trump are counseling him to avoid an interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Holder said that's "a determination that he and his lawyers will make," adding that Trump could use the Fifth Amendment, "which would be fatal for any other politician, but he said he can shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not suffer the consequences."

Holder also commented on former FBI Director James Comey, who frequently trolls the Trump administration on Twitter, but was criticized by Hillary Clinton and her allies for announcing the reopening of her email probe in the closing days of the 2016 race.

Holder called Comey, "a good man who made a wrong decision in the way he dealt with the end of the Hillary Clinton inquiry."
The Kansas Senate voted Tuesday on a resolution that declared pornography a public health crisis, citing issues ranging from erectile dysfunction to a a possible gateway to human trafficking.

Senate Resolution 1762which has no legal effectwas passed in a 35-4 vote and attempted to show the consequences of pornography both personally and for society as a whole, The Topeka-Capital Journal reported.

The resolution said that exposure to pornography teaches girls that they are to be used and teaches boys to be users. It also stated that it increases sexual abuse and violence towards women and children by treating them as objects.

Some lawmakers were skeptical of the sudden concern over public health.

"Seriously? Well see how excited they are about public health when it comes to guns," Republican Sen. Barbara Bollier told The Witchita Eagle.

Opponents of the resolution voiced concerns regarding freedom of expression under the First Amendment and whether it was accurate to call pornography a public health crisis.

Democratic Sen. David Haley told the Eagle that he holds the First Amendment sacrosanct and fears that if the language is affirmed it could cause unintended consequences.

The Kansas House approved a similar resolution in 2017, which cited scientific research showing that pornography contributed to low self-esteem, problematic sexual activity at younger ages, and increased sexual abuse and demand for human trafficking.

As simple resolutions, neither have the force of law.
Newly revealed text messages between FBI paramours Peter Strzok and Lisa Page include an exchange about preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey to give to President Obama, who wanted to know everything were doing."

The message, from Page to Strzok, was among thousands of texts between the lovers reviewed by Fox News. The pair both worked at one point for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Page wrote to Strzok on Sept. 2, 2016, about prepping Comey because "potus wants to know everything we're doing." According to a newly released Senate report, this text raises questions about Obama's personal involvement in the Clinton email investigation.

In texts previously revealed, Strzok and Page have shown their disdain for Republicans in general, as well as Trump, calling him a "f---ing idiot," among other insults.

Among the newly disclosed texts, Strzok also calls Virginians who voted against then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe's wife for a state Senate seat "ignorant hillbillys." (sic)

That text came from Strzok to Page on Nov. 4, 2015, the day after Jill McCabe lost a hotly contested Virginia state Senate election. Strzok said of the result, "Disappointing, but look at the district map. Loudon is being gentrified, but it's still largely ignorant hillbillys. Good for her for running, but curious if she's energized or never again."

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., along with majority staff from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is releasing the texts, along with a report titled, The Clinton Email Scandal and the FBI's Investigation of it.

The newly uncovered texts reveal a bit more about the timing of the discovery of "hundreds of thousands" of emails on former Congressman Anthony Weiner's laptop, ultimately leading to Comey's infamous letter to Congress just days before the 2016 presidential election.

On Sept. 28, 2016, Strzok wrote to Page, "Got called up to Andy's [McCabe] earlier.. hundreds of thousands of emails turned over by Weiner's atty to sdny [Southern District of New York], includes a ton of material from spouse [Huma Abedin]. Sending team up tomorrow to review... this will never end." According to the Senate report, this text message raises questions about when FBI officials learned of emails relevant to the Hillary Clinton email investigation on the laptop belonging to Weiner, the husband to Clinton aide Huma Abedin.

It was a full month later, on Oct. 28, 2016, when Comey informed Congress that, "Due to recent developments," the FBI was re-opening its Clinton email investigation.

"In connection with an unrelated case, the FBI has learned of the existence of emails that appear to be pertinent to the investigation. I am writing to inform you that the investigative team briefed me on this yesterday..." Comey said at the time.

The question becomes why Comey was only informed by his investigative team on Oct. 27, if the Clinton emails on Weiners laptop were discovered by Sept. 28, at the latest.

Other texts show more examples of the officials' opposition to Trump.

On Election Day 2016, Strzok wrote, "OMG THIS IS F***ING TERRIFYING." Page replied, "Omg, I am so depressed." Later that month, on Nov. 13, 2016, Page wrote, "I bought all the president's men. Figure I need to brush up on watergate."

The next day, Nov. 14, 2016, Page wrote, God, being here makes me angry. Lots of high fallutin national security talk. Meanwhile we have OUR task ahead of us.

Pages meaning here is unclear, but according to the Senate report, coupled with Strzoks Aug. 15 text about an insurance policy, further investigation is warranted to find out what actions the two may have taken.

The last text is from Page to Strzok, and comes on June 23, 2017, when she wrote, "Please don't ever text me again."

It's unclear whether she was mad at her friend, or if she suddenly became aware that they, and their thousands of texts, had been discovered.
The House Intelligence Committee, investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, fell into further partisan divide after the release of a controversial memo that alleged federal surveillance abuses in the spying of President Trumps former associates.

The initial memo released by Republicans on the committee detailed purported improper surveillance by the FBI and Justice Department officials to spy on Carter Page, a foreign adviser for Trump during his campaign.

Less than a month later, Democrats on the committee released their own memo, although it contained heavy redactions. The rebuttal memo was meant to counter claims in the Republicans document.

As the memo clash continues, here are the names you should know.

Devin Nunes

Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, serving in that role since 2015.

Nunes, 44, was one of the authors of the GOP memo released earlier this month that detailed the alleged surveillance abuses. He told Fox News he had an obligation to the American people to make FISA abuses public.

I think the American people understand that the FBI should not go to secret courts using information that was paid for by the Democrats to open up investigations, get warrants on people of the other political party. Thats the type of stuff that happens in banana republics, Nunes said.

Before the memo was released, Congress voted to reauthorize Section 702 of FISA. While that particular section wasnt used to obtain the warrant detailed in the memo, lawmakers have still pointed to it as a dangerous example of how FISA can lead to violations against Americans Fourth Amendment rights.

Nunes voted to reauthorize that section earlier this year.

Trump has said Nunes "may someday be recognized as a Great American hero for what he has exposed and what he has had to endure."

Adam Schiff

As the top Democrat on the committee, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., came out swinging at the GOPs memo, calling it misleading.

Schiff, 57, and other Democrats on the committee created their own rebuttal memo which was released  along with heavy redactions  in late February. The memo countered the GOP narrative that the FBI and Justice Department conspired against Trump as they investigated his ties to Russia.

Schiff said his partys memo is the product of good faith negotiation between the Minority and the FBI and DOJ.

Schiff is a former assistant U.S. attorney who helped prosecute the first FBI agent to be convicted of espionage for leaking secret documents to the Soviets.

Trump has lambasted the lawmaker, whom he called Little Adam Schiff, claiming he is desperate for higher office and one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington.

Christopher Steele

At the heart of the GOP memos surveillance abuse claims is the now-infamous dossier compiled by ex-British spy Christopher Steele.

The GOP memo alleged that the dossier was key to the FBIs FISA warrant in targeting Page. It also said the political origins of the dossier were not disclosed to the FISA court in the application or renewal process  something critics of the memo have denied.

The Democratic memo contended the Justice Department disclosed the assessed political motivation of those who hired him and that Steele was likely hired by someone looking for information that could be used to discredit then-candidate Trump's campaign.

Steele was hired by political firm Fusion GPS to compile opposition research on Trump, leading to the colorful but unverified dossier. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the presidential campaign for Hillary Clinton hired Fusion GPS through law firm Perkins Coie.

However, Clinton reportedly was unaware of the dossier until BuzzFeed News published it in January 2017.

Prior to the dossier dustup, Steele was an intelligence officer with Britains MI6 agency, serving in various countries, including Russia and France. Eventually, he co-founded Orbis Business Intelligence, an intelligence consulting agency.

Carter Page

FBI and Justice Department officials were able to obtain a FISA surveillance warrant on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser, due to the controversial dossier, according to the GOP memo.

Page served as a foreign policy adviser to the campaign for a few months, although White House officials have sought to downplay the role he played.

He told Fox News he became a liability pretty quick for the campaign because of his Russian connections.

Page spent several years in Moscow, where he opened a Merrill Lynch office, according to the biography on the companys website. He bragged in a 2013 letter that he was an informal adviser to the Kremlin, Time reported.

And Russian intelligence agents once unsuccessfully tried to recruit Page as a spy in 2013, Foreign Policy reported.

Page has told Fox News that he did nothing that could even possibly be viewed in helping [Russians] in any way.

But in a statement following the release of the Democrats memo, Schiff said, The FBI had ample reason to believe that Carter Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power based on his history, including the fact that he had previously been a target of Russian recruitment, his travel to Russia, and other information.

Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley

Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham and Chuck Grassley sent a criminal referral in early January for Steele, which was recently released. The pairs referral appears to support some of the claims made in the GOP memo.

In their criminal referral, Graham and Grassley said the surveillance applications relied heavily on Mr. Steeles dossier claims. They also said the applications failed to disclose that the identities of Mr. Simpsons ultimate clients were the Clinton campaign and the DNC.

Grassley, the 84-year-old who represents Iowa, is the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman. Graham is a member of the committee as well.

The American people now have some context for what they have been reading in the press for months, including some of which served as the basis of the criminal referral of Mr. Steele made by Senator Grassley and me, Graham, the 62-year-old from South Carolina, said in a statement. Through my service on the Senate Judiciary Committee, I have been investigating this matter for months, and will continue to do so.

Michael Horowitz

The inspector general of the Department of Justice was appointed to investigate allegations of government surveillance abuse following the release of the memos.

Michael Horowitz has already been conducting a review of the FBI and Justice Departments handling of the investigation into Hillary Clintons personal email server.

We believe the Department of Justice must adhere to the high standards in the FISA court, Attorney Gen. Jeff Sessions said in February. Yes it will be investigated. And I think that's just the appropriate thing the inspector general will take that as one of the matters he'll deal with.

Bob Goodlatte and Trey Gowdy

Republican Reps. Bob Goodlatte and Trey Gowdy have requested Sessions appoint a special counselor to investigate certain decisions made by Justice Department officials in 2016 and 2017.

The call for a special counsel appears to have stemmed from the FISA memos.

Goodlatte, from Virginia, told Fox News the case for which the FISA warrant was obtained was highly suspect.

In their request to Sessions, the congressmen wrote, There is evidence of bias, trending toward animus, among those charged with investigating serious cases.

There is evidence political opposition research was used in court filings. There is evidence this political opposition research was neither vetted before it was used nor fully revealed to the relevant tribunal, they added.

Gowdy is the chairman of the House Oversight Committee; Goodlatte chairs the House Judiciary Committee. Both men are not seeking re-election in 2018.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A California city plagued by financial woes is testing a new welfare plan to give families a universal basic income of $500 every month.

While critics question whether this is the best move in post-bankruptcy Stockton, for now the program is being funded with private money -- as a possible first step toward expanding a concept touted by tech CEOs.

I think it will make people work better and smarter and harder and also be able to do things like spend time with their families because we're not robots. We're not just designed just to work all day and run a rat race, Mayor Michael Tubbs told NPR.

The plan is mostly funded by The Economic Security Project, which is contributing $1 million to the yearlong pilot. Several-dozen families will be given $500 a month, and monitored to see what they do with the money and how it affects self-esteem and identity.



The city, which declared bankruptcy in 2012, is looking for solutions to its ongoing poverty problem. One in four residents lives below the poverty line, and the city is grappling with rising home prices and wage stagnation.

Tubbs told NPR that he was not concerned by claims that it would encourage people not to work, arguing the opposite could in fact be true.

As to whether the program could evolve into a broader policy, Tubbs said a state or national policy would be necessary for it to be implemented at the city level.



But again, before we can even call for that, we need to see if it works and we need to try it and if it doesn't work, there's a conversation about, OK, well, why didn't it work and how can this apply to the next solution we need to implement? he said.



According to the Economic Security Project, Stockton is highly diverse, with foreign-born individuals making up 26 percent of the population and 45 percent of households speaking a language other than English.



Robert Rector, a welfare expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said that ideas like the Stockton plan are a sign of the failure of Californias own open-border immigration policies, which he said kicks low-skilled American workers out of the labor force and keeps wages down.



Essentially it says we will let the illegals come in and take all of the jobs and then well put American workers onto a kind of welfare reservation where they can live out their lives on that reservation, he said on a Daily Signal podcast.

Stockton isnt the only liberal stronghold flirting with such a broad welfare program. In Oakland, a startup is giving around $1,500 a month to a handful of selected recipients, with the aim also to study how financial health and well-being are affected.



The idea of a universal guaranteed income has been picking up support among tech CEOs as they grapple with the problem of sweeping automation in the tech and manufacturing sectors.



The Economic Security Project funding the Stockton project is co-led by Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg last year said such a scheme could mark a new contract between government and citizenry in the face of broader automation.

Yet the program also has seen limited support from some on the right. The late Nobel laureate and libertarian economist Milton Friedman years ago spoke approvingly of a guaranteed income, but only as a replacement for existing welfare systems and not as an addition to them.

In his 1976 book The Politics of A Guaranteed Income, liberal adviser Daniel Patrick Moynihan recounted how he persuaded President Richard Nixon to embrace the idea, in the form of the 1970 Family Assistance Plan, a measure which died in the Senate.



But critics say that any plan that would transfer money from traditional welfare programs to a new guaranteed universal income program could actually hurt the poor while helping those who dont need the money.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee said Wednesday that lawmakers would take new steps to force former top Trump aides Steve Bannon and Corey Lewandowski to testify for the panel's Russia investigation.

It will therefore be necessary for our committee to enforce the subpoena on Bannon, and now move to compel Lewandowskis testimony, among other outstanding steps needed to advance the investigation, California Rep. Adam Schiff said in a statement.

BANNON WILL DECLINE TO APPEAR BEFORE HOUSE INTEL COMMITTEE DESPITE SUBPOENA

Schiff added, Neither Bannon nor Lewandowski have articulated legitimate grounds for refusing to appear and answer questions before Congress, and we fully expect them to return.

Bannon is a former White House chief strategist who also served as chief executive of Trumps campaign during the presidential election.

Steve Bannon has indicated through his counsel that the White House will not allow him to discuss matters that occurred as a member of the transition, during his service in the White House, and even certain matters that occurred after he left the White House  indeed the White House has limited his testimony to a set of 14 yes-or-no questions they preapproved, Schiff said. At no point has the president invoked executive privilege.

Lewandowski served as campaign manager during the Republican primaries, but was not tapped for a White House job.

Yesterday, the committee was informed by counsel for Corey Lewandowski that he would be refusing to reappear before the committee to testify any further, despite an earlier pledge to do so, Schiff said. Lewandowski had earlier likewise refused to discuss the period following his departure from Trumps campaign.

In January, Bannon sat for an hourslong interview with investigators at the committee. At the meeting, Bannons attorney told lawmakers that the White House had directed his client not to answer questions about his time in the White House or during the transition.

Sources told Fox News at the time that Bannon did not specifically invoke any sort of legal privilege, including executive privilege, to support his refusal to answer questions.

Fox News Gregg Re and Jason Donner contributed to this report.
Republican and Democratic Senate leaders announced a budget agreement Wednesday that includes a big boost in spending for the Pentagon and would keep the government running past a looming deadline.

I am pleased to announce that our bipartisan, bicameral negotiations on defense spending and other priorities have yielded a significant agreement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a floor speech.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said, We have reached a budget deal that neither side loves, but both sides can be proud of.

Congress has until Feb. 8 to pass a spending bill, and the deal would fund the government through March 23. While Congress would still have to pass another spending measure before that deadline, the agreement announced Wednesday includes a longer-term pact to lift spending caps by roughly $400 billion for Pentagon and domestic programs over two years.

"The Budget Agreement today is so important for our great Military," President Trump tweeted Wednesday. "It ends the dangerous sequester and gives Secretary Mattis what he needs to keep America Great. Republicans and Democrats must support our troops and support this bill!"

Defense Secretary James Mattis said Wednesday he was encouraged by the deal.

I'm heartened that Congress recognizes the sobering effect of budgetary uncertainty on America's military and on the men and women who provide for our nation's defense, Mattis said during the White House briefing.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also expressed optimism about the deal, though wouldnt explicitly say whether the president would sign the agreement if passed.

Look, we applaud the steps forward that they have made, but we're going to need to see what is in the final bill. We are certainly happy with the direction that it's moving, particularly that we're moving away from the crisis budgeting that we have been on in the past, she said.

McConnell said the measure would rewrite existing defense limits that have "hamstrung our armed forces and jeopardized our national security."

The bill removes automatic spending cuts  known as sequestration caps  for both defense and nondefense programs. The caps were put in place in 2011 as part of the Budget Control Act to lift the debt limit.

The deal would lift the debt limit and also includes disaster relief for hurricane-stricken areas as well as a four-year extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The agreement, though, does not tackle immigration -- at a time when Congress is debating how to address those affected by the looming expiration of former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The program gave a deportation reprieve to young illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children.

McConnell has committed to a freewheeling debate on immigration if the Senate is still open after Feb. 8.

The House of Representatives on Tuesday night approved their version of a stopgap spending bill to run the government through March 23 and bolster defense funding.

The House's top Democrat swung out against the latest plan.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California announced she would oppose the budget measure unless her chamber's GOP leaders promised a vote on legislation to protect "Dreamer" immigrants.

Fox News' Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
An initial draft of a Department of Homeland Security report from last month called for authorities to carefully monitor large numbers of Sunni Muslim immigrants fitting a broad "at-risk" profile, saying it might be necessary to continuously evaluate persons of interest even after they are living in the United States.

The document, obtained exclusively by Foreign Policy magazine, analyzed 25 terrorist attacks in the U.S. from 2001 to 2017 to determine which kind of immigrants should be tracked on a long-term basis."

Risk factors identified in the report, which focused specifically on Sunni Muslims, included being young, male and hailing from countries in South Asia, the Middle East or Africa.

The draft report, which was created for U.S. Customs and Border Protection acting commissioner Kevin McAleenan, caused consternation among current and former DHS officials, Foreign Policy reported.

Some told the magazine the results were misleading in part because the report focused only on Sunnis, rather than other religious groups.

First, this report would steer policymakers to implement unfair and discriminatory surveillance of particular ethnic groups, a DHS official told the magazine. Second, the analysis, which is misleadingly packaged as a comprehensive analysis of post-9/11 terrorism, could lead policymakers to overlook significant national security threats.

"This report would steer policymakers to implement unfair and discriminatory surveillance of particular ethnic groups."  DHS official

In a strongly worded statement, CBP officials emphasized that the document was an initial draft and not a final intelligence assessment.

The initial draft assessment  not only is still undergoing internal CBP review, but, at the time of its improper disclosure, did not reflect a large number of substantive comments and revisions that have since been made to subsequent versions of the document as a result of CBPs internal and external review process, a CBP spokesperson told Foreign Policy.

Last month, the DHS and DOJ released a report that revealed nearly three out of four individuals convicted on international terrorism charges in the U.S. were foreign-born.

President Trump reacted to that report by tweeting: "We have submitted to Congress a list of resources and reforms we need to keep America safe, including moving away from a random chain migration and lottery system, to one that is merit-based.
As Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian influence in the 2016 election continues, two former members of his team are under scrutiny for text messages they exchanged about President Trump and the probe.

In the messages, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were romantically involved, bashed Trump and discussed concerns about being too tough on Hillary Clinton during an investigation into the use of her private email server.

Overall, the pair exchanged some 50,000 text messages throughout the presidential election and first year of the Trump administration, many of them with anti-Trump sentiments.

In one particular message, when Page asked if Trump would ever become president, Strzok reportedly replied, No. No he won't. We'll stop it.

Other text messages showed an allegiance for fired FBI Director James Comey.

The messages have not gone unnoticed by GOP lawmakers or Trump. Republicans have argued that their messages color the outcome of the Clinton email investigation and undercut the FBIs ongoing investigation into Russian election interference. The president has often tweeted personal attacks at Page and Strzok and called the texts hate filled and biased.

The Justice Department's inspector general has criticized Strzok and Page for creating the appearance of impropriety through the texts. But the report said it found no evidence of political bias in the FBI's decision to not pursue criminal charges against Clinton.

Heres a look at who exchanged the text messages  and who would eventually leave the FBI.

Peter Strzok

A veteran counterintelligence agent, Peter Strzok was assigned to both the investigation into Clintons personal email server and the special counsels probe into potential collusion between Trump officials and Russia during the election.

Strzok was removed from the Russia investigation after it was revealed that he exchanged anti-Trump text messages with Page, then a senior FBI lawyer.

Months later, in August 2018, Strzok was fired from the FBI, his attorney said.

According to the text messages, Strzok was hesitant to join Muellers investigation because of his gut sense that there was no big there there.

MUELLER PROBE ONE YEAR LATER: HOW THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION BECAME DCS BIGGEST POLITICAL FOOTBALL

Strzok previously worked on investigations pertaining to Chinese and Russian espionage, according to The New York Times. ABC first reported that Strzok left the probe and was reassigned to the human resources division in August 2017.

After he was fired, Trump said "finally" and again criticized the legitimacy of the Russia investigation.

Lisa Page

A lawyer for the FBI, Lisa Page was only temporarily on Muellers team, but she discussed the investigation with Strzok.

Page warned Strzok via text about the FBIs investigation into Clintons use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state, saying in February 2016 that she might be our next president.

The last thing you need [is] going in there loaded for bear, Page continued. You think shes going to remember or care that it was more [DOJ] than [FBI]?

Page, who has "deep experience [in] money laundering and organized crime cases," was removed from the investigation in September 2017. She left the FBI in May.

House lawmakers subpoenaed her to appear for a private interview in July. They said she was "cooperative" and "credible" in her closed-door interview that lasted for hours.

Andrew McCabe

A controversial figure at the FBI, deputy director Andrew McCabe was seemingly referenced by Page and Strzok in their text messages.

I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andys office - that theres no way he gets elected - but Im afraid we cant take that risk, Strzok texted in August 2016. Its like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before youre 40.

US MARSHALS SERVED SUBPOENA ON FBI LAWYER LISA PAGE, LAWMAKER SAYS

Some lawmakers believed Andy to be a reference to McCabe.

In another text that same month, Strzok told Page that McCabe was concerned with information control about the investigation into Trumps campaign.

McCabe, whose wife ran as a Democrat for a Virginia Senate seat with financial assistance from a group tied to Clinton, repeatedly faced criticism from Trump.

How can FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the man in charge, along with leakin' James Comey, of the Phony Hillary Clinton investigation (including her 33,000 illegally deleted emails) be given $700,000 for wife's campaign by Clinton Puppets during investigation? Trump asked in a December 2017 tweet.

In January, McCabe was removed from his post, taking terminal leave until his planned retirement in March. However, he was ultimately fired before he was set to leave his post.

Robert Mueller

Special Counsel Robert Mueller was tasked with overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself.

A LOOK AT TRUMPS LAWYERS WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THE RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

Mueller led the FBI through the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and served under presidential administrations of both parties.

His Russia probe has led to charges for four former Trump campaign officials, although none of the charges directly stem from misconduct during the election.

Fox News Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump passed a $400 budget deal on Friday, ending an hours-long shutdown and funding the government through March 23.

The deal includes an increase in military spending, an extension for the Childrens Health Insurance Program and additional funds for disaster relief, among other issues.

"Our Military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our Military and gave them everything  and more," Trump tweeted shortly after signing the bill. "First time this has happened in a long time. Also means JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!

But not everyone was a fan of the deal.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., slammed the plan for not addressing immigration.

"[The] package does nothing to advance bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers in the House," said Pelosi, as she shared the stories of "Dreamers" on the House floor for more than eight hours. "Without a commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support."

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also voiced his frustration with the deal, which he said irresponsibly busted through budget caps and increased the country's deficit even more.

"I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama's trillion-dollar deficits," Paul said. "Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I can't in all honesty look the other way."

A last-minute maneuver by Paul led to an hours-long shutdown.

But in the end, Congress came to an agreement.

Here are 6 things that stand out from the budget deal.

It doesn't address DACA, leaving "Dreamers" in limbo

Schumer said Democratic leaders are shifting their strategy in order to prvent another government shutdown over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), an Obama-era program that protects the nearly 800,000 undocumented people who were brought into the U.S. as children.

Instead, Schumer said the party would focus on fighting for a deal that would solve several other areas of concern, including funding for existing infrastructure projects and a plan to combat the opioid epidemic. Democrats are hoping to solve the immigration debate at a later date, Schumer explained.

But Schumer doesn't speak on behalf of all Democratic lawmakers, according to Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Ca.

"This morning, we took a measure of our Caucus because the package does nothing to advance bipartisan legislation to protect Dreamers in the House," said Pelosi, as she shared the stories of "Dreamers" on the House floor for more than five hours Wednesday. "Without a commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support."

McConnell said he would agree to a debate on immigration after the stopgap spending bill passes.

Ryan echoed McConnel, saying he was determined to bring a Trump-approved immigration bill to the floor this year.

"We will solve this DACA problem," Ryan said Thursday. "Once we get this budget agreement done ... we will focus on bringing that debate to this floor and finding a solution."

It provides much-needed disaster relief

The agreement contains about $90 billion in overdue disaster aid, providing relief to hurricane-ravaged Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, in addition to areas destroyed by wildfires, specifically in California.

That would bring the total appropriated for disaster aid in the wake of the 2017 hurricane season to nearly $140 billion.

President Trump met with Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello in the White House in October.

The pair discussed relief efforts and Trump told reporters that he gave his approval to Congress for a funding plan to address damage to the island caused by Hurricane Maria.

"I think we've done a really great job and have had tremendous cooperation from the governor, and we're getting there," Trump said. "Step by step, it's taken care of and I say we have a wonderful, and the people of Puerto Rico have, a wonderful representative..."

It increases domestic and military spending

The deal would give a major boost -- an $80 billion increase -- to the Pentagon for military spending for the current budget year.

Nondefense programs would receive about $60 billion over current levels. Those figures would be slightly increased for the 2019 budget year beginning Oct. 1.

"For the first time in years, our armed forces will have more of the resources they need to keep America safe," McConnell said. "It will help us serve the veterans who have bravely served us. And it will ensure funding for important efforts such as disaster relief, infrastructure, and building on our work to fight opioid abuse and drug addiction."

It extends the Children's Health Insurance Program

The budget deal also extends the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a system created in 1997 that provides low-cost health coverage to children in families with incomes too high to qualify for Medicaid, from ages six to 10.

CHIP covers routine check-ups, doctor visits, prescriptions, emergency services and hospital care, among other things, according to HealthCare.gov.

Every state has a CHIP program, but the rules and qualifications vary state by state.

Nearly 9 million children in the U.S. were enrolled in the CHIP program for the fiscal year 2016, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

It aids the fight against the opioid crisis

The deal also takes a large step forward in the national fight against the opioid epidemic -- a problem that Trump has been adamant about combatting since he took office. It will dedicate $6 billion toward mental health and the fight against opioid abuse.

This agreement will also bolster our ongoing national struggle against opioid addiction and substance abuse, McConnell said. It will fund new grants, prevention programs and law enforcement efforts in vulnerable communities all across our country.

Trump declared the nations opioid epidemic to be a public health emergency in October.

As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue, Trump said during a speech in the White House on Oct. 26, 2017. It is time to liberate our communities from the scourge. ... We can be the generation that ends the opioid epidemic.

It increases funding for infrastructure projects

Democrats are especially happy about this part of the deal.

Schumer said $20 billion will go toward infrastructure such as highways and bridge construction and repair, water and wastewater projects, and rural broadband.

There's also $4 billion for construction for veterans hospitals and $4 billion for college aid.

Fox News' Kaitlyn Schallhorn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter announced his resignation Wednesday following a report that he had allegedly abused two of his ex-wives.

While White House senior staff, including Chief of Staff John Kelly, initially defended Porter, the latest report from the DailyMail.com included a photo of one ex-wifes bruised face. She told the outlet that Porter choked and punched her during their marriage.

Senior staff and press staff were meeting throughout the day on the matter, White House sources said. During the White House briefing on Wednesday, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Porter had been effective in his role and the president had confidence in his performance.

Sanders also said that Porter would not leave immediately.

Hes resigning from the White House but will stay on to ensure a smooth transition forward, Sanders told reporters.

Porter, meanwhile, pushed back strongly on the allegations in the press.

"These outrageous allegations are simply false. I took the photos given to the media nearly 15 years ago and the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described. I have been transparent and truthful about these vile claims, but I will not further engage publicly with a coordinated smear campaign, Porter said in a statement provided by the White House.

My commitment to public service speaks for itself. I have always put duty to country first and treated others with respect. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have served in the Trump Administration and will seek to ensure a smooth transition when I leave the White House.

The same publication recently reported that Porter had been dating White House Communications Director Hope Hicks.

As staff secretary, Porter was a senior aide in Trumps White House working in large part to manage the documents crossing the presidents desk.

Kelly later issued another statement. I was shocked by the new allegations released today against Rob Porter. There is no place for domestic violence in our society, he said, according to The Hill.

Fox News' John Roberts contributed to this report.
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has been leading the charge against the GOP's memo, calling it a "political hit job" on the FBI.

"If the memo was really about oversight, committee members would want to read the underlying documents and bring in the FBI. Republicans voted against both," Schiff tweeted on Feb. 4, two days after the panel released the "surveillance" memo.

The four-page memo, released by the House Intelligence Committee chairman Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., on Feb. 2 claimed the infamous Trump dossier "formed an essential part" of applications by the FBI and Justice Department to spy on onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

Schiff has called the Republicans' memo "shoddy" and "misleading," claiming it was released only to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation.

"The presidents decision to publicly release a misleading memo attacking DOJ & FBI is a transparent attempt to discredit these institutions," Schiff added. "We'll fight to release our classified response."

Schiff requested the committee release Democratic members own 10-page memo, with the promise to send it to the Justice Department for redactions  and the committee did just that on Feb. 24.

In a statement, Schiff said the Democratic memo should "put to rest" any concerns about conduct by the intelligence agencies.

"Our extensive review of the initial FISA application and three subsequent renewals failed to uncover any evidence of illegal, unethical, or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement and instead revealed that both the FBI and DOJ made extensive showings to justify all four requests," Schiff said.

The memo's release comes after the White House told Democratic lawmakers the memo required certain redactions before it could be made public.

"The Democrats sent a very political and long response memo which they knew, because of sources and methods (and more), would have to be heavily redacted, whereupon they would blame the White House for lack of transparency. Told them to re-do and send back in proper form!" Trump tweeted after the rubuttal's release was halted earlier this month.

Here's what you need to know about Schiff, his notable career moves and his recent Twitter exchanges with the president.

Who is Adam Schiff?

As a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School, Schiff started his career in law. He spent six years working in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles.

During his time as assistant U.S. attorney, Schiff prosecuted the first FBI agent ever to be convicted of espionage for passing secret documents to the Soviets.

"This is a betrayal tinged with hypocrisy," Schiff said at the trial for former FBI agent Richard Miller, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, The New York Times reported. "We have here an agent who did just exactly what he was supposed to protect against."

Eventually, Schiff moved on to politics.

He was elected to the California State Senate in 1996, serving four terms before heading to the House of Representatives. The Democrat has been serving in Congress since 2001.

In recent years, Schiff has shifted his focus to foreign policy and national security. He now sits as a ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee and was a member of the Benghazi Select Committee, according to a biography on his official website.

Schiff's reaction to the FISA memo

Schiff recently said he believed the White House may have been behind the memo in an attempt to interfere with the Russia probe.

"I think its very possible his staff worked with the White House and coordinated the whole effort with the White House," Schiff said in an interview with ABC's "This Week."

The president said the memo completely "vindicates" him in the Russia investigation, though he said the "Russian witch hunt" would most likely continue.

"There was no collusion and there was no obstruction (the word now used because, after one year of looking endlessly and finding NOTHING, collusion is dead)," Trump tweeted on Feb. 2. "This is an American disgrace!"

But Schiff said, while misleading, the memo was proof there was collusion with the Russians.

"Quite the opposite, Mr. President," Schiff replied on Twitter. "The most important fact disclosed in this otherwise shoddy memo was that FBI investigation began July 2016 with your advisor, Papadopoulos, who was secretly discussing stolen Clinton emails with the Russians."

Schiff versus Trump: The Twitter war continues

Trump targeted "Little Adam Schiff" on Feb. 5, calling him one of the "biggest liars and leakers in Washington," as both parties continued to argue over the newly released FISA memo.

"Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper!" Trump tweeted. "Adam leaves closed committee hearings to illegally leak confidential information. Must be stopped!"

Within minutes, Schiff fired back, tweeting: "Mr. President, I see youve had a busy morning of 'Executive Time.' Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or...really anything else."

Trump's tweet came shortly before Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., told "Fox & Friends" that there have been "almost 100 leaks" by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee related to the Russia investigation.

Trump's tweet also reflected frustration with a host of figures, including Schiff's Senate counterpart  Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who sits as ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which conducted its own Russia probe. He also named former FBI Director James Comey, former CIA Director John Brennan, and former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

When the Democratic rebuttal memo was released on Feb. 24, Trump, once again, took to Twitter to criticize the document.

"The Democrat memo response on government surveillance abuses is a total political and legal BUST," Trump wrote. "Just confirms all of the terrible things that were done. SO ILLEGAL!"

Schiff countered by saying it confirmed that intelligence officials acted appropriately.

"Wrong again, Mr. President. It confirms the FBI acted appropriately and that Russian agents approached two of your advisors, and informed your campaign that Russia was prepared to help you by disseminating stolen Clinton emails," he replied.

Fox News' Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nearly a decade after retiring from Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, Christopher Steele stepped into the world of politics  and what an entrance he made.

The ex-spy, who spent two decades working as an agent in various countries overseas, is now best known in the U.S. for compiling a dossier on President Trump.

Here's what you need to know about Steele, the infamous Trump dossier and a recently released GOP memo that mentions Steele several times by name.

Who is Christopher Steele?

Christopher Steele served as an intelligence officer with MI6, Britains equivalent to the CIA, for more than two decades. He joined as soon as he graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1986.

He had a variety of roles within M16. He worked as a field agent and the head of M16s Russia desk in Moscow in the early '90s, spent four years in Paris and transitioned to adviser to the British Special Forces on capture-or-kill ops in Afghanistan," Variety reported.

After his retirement from M16 in 2009, Steele moved to Farnham, England, and co-founded Orbis Business Intelligence, a London-based corporate intelligence consultancy, with other retired colleagues. According to a profile of Steele in The New Yorker, the company "grossed approximately $20 million in its first nine years."

"The team...draws on extensive experience at boardroom level in government, multilateral diplomacy and international business to develop bespoke solutions for clients," according to a description on the company's website.

He has not been back to Russia  or any other Soviet States  since his retirement, The New Yorker reports.

Steele may have had an extensive career, but these days, the former spy is best known for compiling a dossier on Trump for private Washington research firm, Fusion GPS.

What is his connection to Fusion GPS?

Fusion GPS was hired in 2015 by an anti-Trump Republican donor to research then-presidential hopeful Donald Trump.

But as Trump continued to climb the political ladder, winning the Republican nomination, the donor told the firm to drop the project, according to a report from The New York Times.

A year later, in the spring of 2016, Fusion GPS convinced Democrats to invest in the project. Fox News learned in the fall of 2017 that the Clinton campaign and Democratic National Committee (DNC) paid for Steele's research through the law firm Perkins Coie.

Fusion GPS hired Steele to investigate allegations that Trump had ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign. Steele drafted a memo, now known as the infamous Trump dossier, that was published by BuzzFeed News in January 2017, and quickly made its way into the hands of FBI officials.

Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson told the House Intelligence Committee in a private interview in November that his firm asked Steele "to figure out what Trump's been up to" in Russia "because he's gone over a bunch of times" and "said some weird things about [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., strongly implied to Fox News on Feb. 6 that Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime associate of the Clintons, leaked information to Steele that helped create the controversial dossier.

"When you hear who...one of the sources of that information is, you're going to think, 'Oh my gosh, I've heard that name somewhere before,'" Gowdy said in an interview with Fox News' "The Story."

When asked if he was referring to Blumenthal, Gowdy answered, "That'd be really warm. You're warm, yeah."

What did we learn about Steele in memos released by the House Intelligence Committee?

A memo released by the House Intelligence Committee on Feb. 2 says the dossier "formed an essential part" of applications by the FBI and DOJ to spy on onetime Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.

The memo claims then-FBI director Andrew McCabe testified before the Committee in December 2017 that no surveillance warrant would have been sought from the FISA court without the Steele dossier information.

On Oct. 30, 2016, Steele was cut off as a source for the FBI for what the FBI defines as the most serious of violations  an unauthorized disclosure to the media of his relationship with the FBI," the memo states, mentioning an interview with Mother Jones.

"Steele should have been terminated for his previous undisclosed contacts with Yahoo and other outlets in September  before the Page application was submitted to the FISC in October  but Steele improperly concealed from and lied to the FBI about those contacts," the memo states.

But even after his termination from the FBI, Steele remained in close contact with then-Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, a senior DOJ official. Ohrs wife Nellie began working for Fusion GPS, the firm behind the dossier, as early as May 2016.

"While the FISA application relied on Steele's past record of credible reporting on other unrelated matters, it ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations."  - FISA memo

According to the memo, Steele told Ohr he was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president.

Steele's conversations revealed "clear evidence of Steele's bias," the memo says, but they were not disclosed in any of the Page FISA applications.

"While the FISA application relied on Steele's past record of credible reporting on other unrelated matters, it ignored or concealed his anti-Trump financial and ideological motivations," the memo continues.

The House Intelligence Committee later released the Democrats' 10-page rebuttal memo  with heavy redactions  that outlined alleged government surveillance abuses during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The memo redacts information related to compensation that the FBI considered giving to Steele. And outlines additional information obtained through multiple independent sources" that corroborated Steeles reporting. It then provides three bullet-pointed paragraphs, almost all of which are redacted.

The application to warrant Carter Page was not based on the Steele dossier, Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, the second-ranking Democrat on the committee, told Fox News Sunday. The dossier was just a small part of the application.

Himes also argued that Steele was unaware of who was paying for the opposition research he was compiling.

Fox News' Adam Shaw, Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A brand new species of arachnid that looks like a spider with a tail has been discovered in Myanmar.

The eight-legged creepy crawly is estimated to have scuttled along the forest floors as far back as 100 million years ago.

Scientists found the creature trapped in a piece of amber from the mid-Cretaceous period, and now believe that it's an entirely new species.

The freaky discovery was made by an international team that included the University of Kansas, and was published in Monday's Nature Ecology & Evolution journal.

KU's Paul Selden said: "There's been a lot of amber being produced from northern Myanmar and its interest stepped up about ten years ago when it was discovered this amber was mid-Cretaceous; therefore, all the insects found in it were much older than first thought."

"It's been coming into China where dealers have been selling to research institutions."

The new creature looks just like a spider, with common body parts including fangs and four legs that are specifically used for walking.

But it's unique in that it has a "long flagellum, or tail", which is not something found on any living spider.

Four new specimens of this mysterious species  which has been dubbed Chimerarachne Yingi  have been found so far.

Their bodies measure around 2.5 millimetres, but their tales are even longer at around 3 millimetres.

Explaining the tail, Selden says: "Any sort of flagelliform appendage tends to be like an antenna."

"It's for sensing the environment. Animals that have a long whippy tail tend to have it for sensory purposes."

According to Selden, it's difficult to work out how the tailed spider spent its days, but there are some clues.

"We can only speculate that, because it was trapped in amber, we assume it was living on or around tree trunks."

"Amber is fossilised resin, so for a spider to have become trapped, it may well have lived under bark or in the moss at the foot of a tree."

We do know that the spider has spinnerets, which can be used to produce silk.

But Selden says this doesn't necessarily mean the ancient spider built and lived on webs.

"Spinnerets are used to produce silk but for a whole host of reasons  to wrap eggs, to make burrows, to make sleeping hammocks or just to leave behind trails."

"If they live in burrows and leave, they leave a trail so they can find their way back. These all evolved before spiders made it up into the air and made insect traps."

"Spiders went up into the air when the insects went up into the air. I presume that it didn't make webs that stretched across bushes."

"However, like all spiders it would have been a carnivore and would have eaten insect eggs, I imagine."

It's also possible that tailed spiders aren't completely extinct  they just might not have been discovered yet.

"We know a lot about the Burmese biota during the Cretaceous."

"It was a pretty good tropical rainforest, and there are a great many other arachnids we know were there, particularly spiders, that are very similar to the ones you find today in the southeast Asian rainforest."

"It makes us wonder if these may still be alive today. We haven't found them, but some of these forests aren't that well-studied, and it's only a tiny creature."

This story originally appeared in The Sun.
Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster apparently took a wrong turn in space, apparently overshooting the Mars orbit, and is headed instead for the asteroid belt.

The plan was for the rockets second stage ignition to put it on an elliptical orbit around the Sun, that extends out to Mars  however, it looks like SpaceX miscalculated its strength.

The final engine burn that was supposed to put the vehicle on its pre-desired orbit was stronger than expected and propelled the payload on an orbit through the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, The Verge reported.

Musk previously told The New York Times there is an extremely tiny chance it could crash into the Red Planet, but with the new trajectory, its unclear if another obstacle in space will cross the cars path.

Despite the new orbit, the successful Heavy launched offered a glimpse into the reenergized future of space travel, with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) calling it testament to the hard work of the U.S. commercial launch sector.

"The test launch of the Falcon Heavy is a spectacular demonstration of the comeback of Floridas Space Coast and of the U.S. commercial launch sector, which is succeeding in a big way.," said Nelson on the Senate floor, discussing the launch.

President Donald Trump also offered his praise on the achievement via Twitter, saying the launch continues to show American ingenuity at its best.

Fox News Chris Ciaccia and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A snorkeler nearly lost his toes when he was attacked by a shark off the Galapagos Islands but escaped after repeatedly punching the terrifying ocean predator.

Andrew Newman, a 45-year-old British advertising manager suffered severed ligaments and a broken bone when the 13-foot shark sank its jaws into his right foot, SWNS reports. Newman was snorkeling off the Galapagos Island of Santa Fe on Saturday afternoon when the shark attacked.

I have a long term fear of sharks and water, after I had watched Jaws and The Beach when he punches the shark I had recalled it in my head because I was so fearful, he said, from the Galapagos.

SHARK SINKS TEETH INTO SURFER'S LEG IN TERRIFYING HAWAII ATTACK

The holidaymaker was coming to the end of his vacation on the famous islands when the horrific attack happened.

"We saw small sharks on the bottom and lots of sea lion pups and a turtle, all 16 of us got into two dinghies and our leader said 'this is your last activity of the whole holiday,' so we went back to the start to film more sea lion pups; but when we got there, the dad was barking away like an alarm, so I don't know if he had seen the shark, he said.

"Within a minute of being in the water as I swam to the rocks there was this clamp-like vice around my foot.

SHARK ATTACKS NEWLYWED ON HER HONEYMOON, VIDEO GOES VIRAL

I immediately thought it was a friend having a joke because I had spent a lot of time grabbing other people's feet as a joke and I thought they were getting me back," he said.

When he looked back, the sharks eyes were about three feet away from him.

"That was when I turned around and my foot was in the shark's mouth, his eyes were no more than a meter away from me - this massive shark head with white eyes, we were just staring at each other with my whole foot in its mouth, he wouldn't let go, Newman explained.

"It was a thought of utter fear but then my reactions came to, which was to punch the living daylights out of it, I must have punched it about four or five times, then it let go, he added.

HERO WHALE SAVES SNORKELER FROM TIGER SHARK IN THE PACIFIC OCEAN

"Half my foot looked like it was hanging off, I didn't feel any pain when I saw my bones and tendons, I could just see the blood pumping.

When I close my eyes all I can see is the shark's white eye and my foot in his mouth."

A fellow swimmer dragged Newman onto some nearby rocks. He then had to endure a three-hour journey to the nearest hospital, combating excruciating pain with a mix of tequila shots and a mojito.

'JAWS' SPOTTED? MASSIVE GREAT WHITE SHARK SIGHTED OFF AUSTRALIAN COAST

"During the whole journey I feared for my life, I did not know whether I would be able to keep some of my toes and I did not know if I was facing amputation, he said.

At the hospital, Newman watched doctors stitch his tendons back together and his leg is now in plaster cast to reset a broken bone in his foot. He received 12 stitches in his foot and will likely require surgery after his arrival in the U.K. on Wednesday.

Newman, the CEO of digital advertising agency DOOH.com, travelled to the Galapagos Islands to "find my faith in life again through nature" after the sudden death of his husband Damon in 2016.

GREAT WHITE SHARKS FACE OFF AGAINST ORCAS IN

OCEAN BATTLEGROUND



Other shark attacks have made headlines recently. A surfer in Hawaii was left with a large gash in her leg after she was attacked by a shark on New Years Eve.
A Massachusetts couple who keep receiving mystery packages from Amazon fear they are the next victims in what is believed to be an elaborate fake reviews scam that is impacting the e-commerce giant.

Mike and Kelly Gallivan, of Acton, told The Boston Globe the first package arrived in October. They have continued to arrive at a rate of one or two a week, about 25 in all. The cheap items inside the boxes range from USB-powered humidifiers to rechargeable dog collars.

Were just plain, ordinary people, Kelly Gallivan told the newspaper. We dont want any part of this. But the packages just keep coming.

AMAZON PATENTS WRISTBAND TO TRACK WAREHOUSE WORKERS

The couple, both retired nurses, say it was fun at first when they started receiving the packages from Amazon that they hadn't ordered. Now they think it's annoying and want it to stop, and fear they are being used in a scam, the newspaper says.

The Gallivans say Amazon told them the merchandise was paid for with a gift card with no sender's name. But two former Amazon employees say the Gallivans are likely unwittingly being used in a ruse to manipulate Amazon buyer reviews. The anonymous sender is likely writing glowing reviews of their own product.

Heres how the scam works: a seller trying to boost the ratings of their own merchandise sets up a fake email account to create an Amazon profile, then purchases the items with a gift card and ships them to the address of a random person. Once the package is delivered, the owner of the Amazon account is then listed as a verified buyer of the product and can write a positive review of it that gets higher placement on product pages because of their status, James Thomson, a former business consultant for Amazon, told the Boston Globe.

AMAZON SHOWS OFF ITS BUBBLE GREENHOUSES AT

SEATTLE HQ

The key is to get something delivered somewhere, Thomson said, noting that Amazon gives products with a greater number of verified reviews a higher ranking in search results, making them more noticeable to shoppers.

Mike Gallivan said the packages are being delivered to his home in a white van and they have no invoices or receipts inside. He told the Boston Globe that one of the packages had a return address to Xiamen Paji Trading Co. in Fujian, China.

The Gallivans home isnt the only address where random Amazon deliveries are piling up.

AMAZON GO, AMAZON'S CHECKOUT-FREE GROCERY STORE, IS HERE

Student union centers at seven universities across Canada also have been receiving mystery packages since the fall, according to the CBC.

Shawn Wiskar, University of Regina Students' Union vice-president of student affairs, says his facility has received at least 15 random packages with products ranging from iPad cases to male sex toys. He said his staff very discreetly went door to door in their offices and in other student centers to see if anyone had ordered the items.

"The kind of the question that we have is, is this going to stop and why are these packages coming?" he said. "Our first guess was perhaps this was an elaborate hoax from one of our partner universities, but it seems like an awful lot of money to be spending on this elaborate prank."

TECH Q&A: EAVESDROPPING ECHO, FLAMMABLE LAPTOPS, SWITCHING TO ANDROID AND MORE

A student union president at Ryerson University in Toronto  another recipient of the mystery packages  told the CBC that Amazon would not say who is sending the items, citing privacy reasons.

We are investigating inquiries from consumers who have received unsolicited packages as this would violate our policies, the company told the Boston Globe in a statement. We remove sellers in violation of our policies, withhold payments, and work with law enforcement to take appropriate action.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A T-Mobile customer is suing the carrier over a cryptocurrency heist.

Carlos Tapang claims that hackers broke into his cryptocurrency account because T-Mobile was fooled into transferring his account to AT&T. The hackers then used Tapang's wireless account to access his cryptocurrency account and sell virtual currencies for 2.875 in bitcoin.

Bitcoin was worth around $8,000 around the time of the account transfer, but reached a high of $19,000 the following month.

The lawsuit, filed on Sunday and first spotted by Law360, seeks damages.

The incident is a classic case of identity theft. Hackers who obtain your personal informationlike birth date, Social Security number, and addresscan go to a company and sometimes successfully impersonate you. In this case, the hackers targeted Tapang's wireless account, which was registered with one of his cryptocurrency accounts.

Tapang, a resident of King County, Washington, noticed the theft when his phone lost its connection to T-Mobile on Nov. 7. He called the carrier, and learned that T-Mobile had canceled the service and transferred his phone number to AT&T.

"More specifically, unbeknownst to Mr. Tapang, T-Mobile had transferred control of his phone number to a device under the control of someone else," the lawsuit claims.

It took T-Mobile a day or two to retrieve the phone number from AT&T, the lawsuit says. But by then it was too late. The hackers had changed the passwords on one of Tapang's cryptocurrency accounts, and drained the funds inside.

The lawsuit accuses T-Mobile of failing to stop the identity theft, even as Tapang had placed a security measure on his phone number that should have thwarted the hackers. Prior to the heist, Tapang had enabled a PIN number that was supposedly needed to transfer his phone number to another carrier. But despite this, the hackers still tricked T-Mobile agents into porting Tapang's phone number to AT&T.

As a result, the lawsuit accuses T-Mobile of failing to train its employees to prevent the identity theft schemes. It also notes that other T-Mobile customers have complained online about similar scams.

So far, the carrier hasn't commented on the lawsuit. But in recent weeks, T-Mobile has reportedly been warning customers about identity theft schemes that involve transferring a phone number to another carrier. To ward off the threat, the company has been encouraging customers to create a PIN/passcode with their T-Mobile accounts  the same safeguard Tapang used to protect his phone number. Nevertheless, enabling the PIN is still a good idea.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
This is a rush transcript from "Your World," February 7, 2018. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we don't change it, let's have a shutdown. We will do a shutdown. And it's worth it for our country. I would love to see a shutdown if we don't get this stuff taken care of.

REP. BARBARA COMSTOCK, R-VIRGINIA: We don't need a government shutdown on this. We really do -- I think both sides have learned that a government shutdown was bad. It wasn't good for them. And we do have bipartisan support on these things.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: You know, you have to admire Congresswoman Barbara Comstock telling that to the president's face. A lot of people obsequiously leave the room and then, then start airing those grievances, not this congresswoman.

So, whether you're on the left or right, you got to admire that.

Congresswoman Barbara Comstock with us right now.

Very good to have you, Congresswoman. Thank you.

COMSTOCK: Good to have be with you, Neil.

CAVUTO: What was the president's reaction when you said that?

COMSTOCK: Well, first, let me back up a little.

We were talking about the MS-13 gang problem.

CAVUTO: Right.

COMSTOCK: Which is a problem in my region. And that was the purpose of the whole meeting.

So, the president is understandably frustrated that right now it's not illegal to -- we can't remove people who are MS-13 gang members here automatically. And I have a bill that has already passed in the House with bipartisan support to make gang participation or activity a removable offense, and not allow you in the country in the first place.

So, transnational gang members, MS-13, can't come in the country, and we can get them out quickly.

CAVUTO: And you were rightfully ticked off about it, and the president was rightfully...

(CROSSTALK)

COMSTOCK: Exactly. And we were all -- yes.

CAVUTO: You get impatient, exasperated with this, but you said not to the point of risking shutting down the government.

COMSTOCK: Right.

Well, what we're all agreeing on that we can do this. And my point was, I think there's certainly a lot of senator who he can impose upon in red Trump states, even Democrats, to support removal of MS-13 gang members.

So, my point was, we don't need to shut down the government to get these MS-13 removed, because we already have this one bill that I have. I also have another bill to work with our ICE agents and our gang task forces that are cracking down and removing people now. And administration has been doing a good job of it.

But I have always been opposed to government shutdowns for kind of the reasons Secretary Mattis stated today or yesterday, I think it was. He also came up to our conference. And Secretary Mattis said it's very destructive to the military. It's destructive overall to the continuity of government.

CAVUTO: Right.

COMSTOCK: It ends up being costly. So, it's bad policy.

And I think the Schumer shutdown -- or Democrats learned that a shutdown was bad. I think Republicans have learned that in the past.

CAVUTO: Well, not all Democrats, and maybe not one Republican right now, on the fear that it is still a powerful incentive to get what you want.

Nancy Pelosi seems to be intimating that in this talkathon going on in the House.

COMSTOCK: Well, I oppose the Pelosi shutdown, too.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: I understand where you're coming from.

But the president, by using that as a bargaining chip, do you worry that it sets another precedent and cycle that could be bad for both parties?

COMSTOCK: No, I think the conversation was a civil one.

CAVUTO: Right.

COMSTOCK: I think the president certainly was expressing a frustration that we all have that MS-13 gang members can still get into the country.

I hope the Senate will take up my bill quickly and get it on the president's desk and then also...

CAVUTO: I don't know. That looks dicey there. But could I ask you this?

COMSTOCK: No, it's a very simple bill that is -- yes, yes.

CAVUTO: No, it's a great bill. It's a great bill. I take nothing away from it.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: But, in this environment, it's pretty toxic right now. Do you think we will be looking at a shutdown for one reason or the other?

COMSTOCK: I don't.

I think we have -- today, you have seen the two-year budget that we have worked out, bicameral, bipartisan. And I do think we will have support for that.

And one of the things that I have said from the beginning since I have been in office, ending this defense sequestration. Secretary Mattis said that sequestration is one of the most destructive things to our military. And we have heard that from so many of our...

CAVUTO: You know what is even more destructive? Ignoring any types of caps at all or any type of fiscal restraint at all.

Don't you think, whatever your views on the military -- and they're sound and well-regarded -- that now, with all of that gone, obviously, the caps on defense spending, they go. The caps on non-defense spending, they go.

That an objective observer here says, well, gone are the days they even pretended to have fiscal resolve.

COMSTOCK: Well, look at what we have done in putting more money back into the hands of our families with our tax cuts and with our businesses, so they can now invest and grow the economy.

We're going to have new welfare reforms, work force development reforms.

CAVUTO: Yes, but we're also going to be looking at a trillion -dollar deficit. I'm not blaming that exclusively on you, Congresswoman, or Republicans, it but says something about our inability to get a handle on spending.

COMSTOCK: Well, I think when you grow the economy, and we put in mechanisms in place, like we're also going to have this commission to reform the budget and do more long-term budgeting, then you can do things like -- defense has been spending more than they need to on certain things, because when you have the start-and-stop short continuing resolutions, they don't get to do the long-term planning.

The same thing on infrastructure. So, some of this domestic money is going to go to things like transportation and infrastructure, have longer-term contracts there, so that we can save money.

And our businesses now that have lower tax rates can do long-term investment, knowing they have a long-term budget in place, as well as long- term tax relief, tax cuts that are really business-friendly.

And then you look at our regulatory changes that we have made over the past year, which have been very pro-business-friendly.

CAVUTO: And that might turn things around.

(CROSSTALK)

COMSTOCK: I think that will help turn around the economy, too.

CAVUTO: We shall see. Knock on whatever.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: Congresswoman, thank you very, very much. Very good seeing you.

COMSTOCK: OK. Thank you.

CAVUTO: All right.

END

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A former Alaska Airlines pilot has pleaded guilty to piloting a plane while under the influence of alcohol.

On June 20, 2014, pilot David Hans Arnston flew from San Diego, CA, to Portland, OR, with 160 passengers on board, and then returned to San Diego by piloting a second Alaska Airlines flight carrying 80 passengers.

Upon landing back at John Wayne Airport in California, Arnston was randomly selected for drug and alcohol testing by the airline. According to the plea agreement, both breathalyzer tests performed on Arnston were well above the federal limit of 0.04 percent for pilots.

FLIGHT DIVERTED BECAUSE PILOT 'FELL ILL'

The tests showed Arnston had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.134 and 0.142 percent, over three times the legal limit.

Arnston was removed from all safety-sensitive duties by Alaska Airlines once the airline was informed of Arnston's test. The Federal Aviation Administration also revoked his ability to pilot a plane. Arnston retired from Alaska Airlines following the June 2014 incident.

"This pilot worked for the airline for more than 20 years, and we now know that he was an alcoholic who flew commercial flights while under the influence of alcohol," said United States Attorney Nicola T. Hanna. "When he was finally caught, the evidence indicates that he had flown with an alcohol level more than three times the legal limit. Thankfully, Mr. Arntson was never involved in an accident, but his conduct could have resulted in tragic consequences. Very few people will ever hold the lives of so many people in their hands at one time."

Now the 62-year-old retired pilot has pleaded guilty to operating a common carrier while under the influence for the two flights on June 20, 2014.

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According to the plea agreement filed by the United States District Court Tuesday, both parties have agreed to a sentence of one year and one day in federal prison, following by three years of supervised release.

"This guilty plea demonstrates that ensuring the safety of the travelling public within the nation's air transportation system remains a high priority for both the Office of Inspector General (OIG) and the Department of Transportation (DOT)," said William Swallow, DOT-OIG Regional Special Agent-in-Charge, in a news release. "Working with the Federal Aviation Administration and prosecutorial partners, we will continue our efforts to prevent and punish those who seek to compromise the safety of our national airspace system."

The United States District Judge Cormac J. Carney will schedule a hearing for Arnston to enter in his guilty plea.
Avid flyers know that airlines are increasingly charging fees to secure in-flight seats next to family and friends, spurring one national aviation authority to launch a formal investigation.

The U.K.s Civil Aviation Authority has formally launched an inquiry into allocated airline seating policies, as passengers have been paying more fees than ever to sit near those they are traveling with, reports the Metro.

In an initial survey, the CAA found that not only are 30 percent of families being split up by airlines random algorithms that allocate seats, but people are spending around $542 million in additional fees to sit near loved ones.

FORMER ALASKA AIRLINES PILOT PLEADS GUILTY TO FLYING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

We will be looking into how airlines decide where to seat passengers that have booked as part of a group and whether any airlines are pro-actively splitting up groups of passengers when, in fact, they could be sat together, CAA chief executive Andrew Haines confirmed in a statement.

The research shows that it is the uncertainty around whether their group will be split up by the airline that is driving consumers to pay for an allocated seat, he explained.

We will not hesitate to take any necessary enforcement action should it be required at the end of the review.

Of the phenomenon the Daily Mail has dubbed airline seat splitting, the CAAs initial survey found that 35 percent of Ryannair passengers who did not pay additional fees were separated from their group, with Emirates close behind at 22 percent and Virgin Atlantic at 18 percent.

Travel + Leisure notes that every airline has its own unique computer algorithm which assigns flyers seating patterns.

JENNIFER LAWRENCE SHUT DOWN BY DELTA CREW AFTER GRABBING LOUDSPEAKER TO LEAD PLANE IN EAGLES CHANT

Across various airlines, many Twitter users have voiced concern that this is a larger issue beyond the U.K.



Meanwhile, Tracey Spicer of Australian travel blog Traveller noted, noted though buzz around this topic usually is focused around children, theres more to the equation.

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How about someone travelling with an autistic adult, or a parent suffering from dementia? What are the implications for safety, in the case of an emergency? And would parents ignore evacuation procedures in desperate attempts to be with their children? she mused.
A Southwest Airlines plane carrying 143 passengers slid off a taxiway at an airport near Baltimore on Wednesday morning, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed.

The Southwest flight was preparing to take off for Montego Bay in Jamaica when the incident occurred, according to Southwest. The Baltimore-Washington International Airport in Maryland has said passengers were transported from the outbound aircraft shortly afterward, but only wrote that the plane had "stopped on the taxiway pavement." BWI further stated that there were no reported injuries.

FORMER ALASKA AIRLINES PILOT PLEADS GUILTY TO FLYING UNDER THE INFLUENCE

The Federal Aviation Administration reported that the incident occurred at around 10 a.m. EST, and added that the agency intends to investigate what caused the plane to slide "sideways" while preparing to depart.

According to social media posts from passengers, the Jamaica-bound flight was taxiing to the runway when it skidded off into the grass. A passenger on the plane also claimed that the pilot attributed the incident to an icy spot on the taxiway, though she wasn't convinced that was accurate.

What was pilot thinking? Hitting the throttle before making the turn with only grass in front of him?! wrote Instagram user Donna Edmonds.

Footage taken by Twitter user Lilith Christiansen further shows passengers disembarking the plane via a ladder, while emergency crews and airport personnel stand nearby.

Emergency crews were also said to be everywhere by observer Todd Miller, who posted a photo of the aircraft on Facebook shortly before 11 a.m. In it, the Southwest aircraft appeard to be slumped forward toward its nose.

Both the FAA and BWI say the airplane will be towed off the taxiway and back to a gate, although WBAL reported that the plane was still sitting on the runway as of 11:30 a.m. Other flights out of BWI are continuing to operate, the airport said via Twitter.

A representative for Southwest Airlines echoed BWI's statement that there were no injuries to report, adding that customers will be continuing on to their intended destination of Montego Bay on a different plane.

"At approximately 10:00 a.m. local time on Tuesday, February 7, the front of the aircraft operating Southwest flight 906 from Baltimore Washington to Montego Bay International Airport traveled to the edge, but did not exit, the taxiway prior to departure," a spokesperson for Southwest said in a statement obtained by Fox News. "The 143 passengers and six crew members safely deplaned via airstairs and were bussed to the airport terminal. There are no injuries to report.

"The Customers onboard the flight will be accommodated on a different aircraft and are scheduled to arrive in Montego Bay approximately three hours behind schedule. As always, the safety and support of our customers and employees remains our primary focus and we are working to get them on their way as quickly as possible," the statement read.

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This is the second time a commercial plane skidded off a runway or taxiway in recent months. In January, a Pegasus Airlines flight skidded down a small cliff after landing at a Turkish airport.
Craig Ormiston is a chronic adventurer. So it comes as no surprise that he signed up to camp on the ice in Antarctica with Quark Expeditions, a company that focuses on polar adventures. To him, it was a bucket-list item that absolutely had to be checked off.

It all began just after dinner on a mid-November evening. He and a few dozen of his fellow Ocean Endeavor passengers boarded Zodiac boats and made their way to the campsite. The skies were clear. The temperature was 32 degrees Farenheit. And there was next to no wind.

We arrived right around sunset, so everything started to glow with warm pinks and yellows, he recalls.

THE 10 BEST GIFTS FOR CAMPERS, HIKERS AND OUTDOORSY TYPES

The snow-covered campsite, right next to the water, was quite a sight. There were snowy peaks as far as the eye could see. And it was blissfully quiet. The only noises were the occasional petrel squawking as it passed by, gentle waves washing over pebbles on shore, and chunks of ice bobbing up and down in the beautiful but frigid water.

Camping prep

Ormiston, a resident of Denver, Colo., is no newbie when it comes to life in the outdoors. With the Rockies right in his backyard, hes spent many nights on top of mountain peaks. Plus, hes camped in deserts and in Yellowstone National Park with geysers as the backdrop. However, he had never camped in the coldest, driest, windiest place on the planet. Until now.

That said, when it comes to spending a night on the ice, what exactly does one pack? Surprisingly enough, his supplies only amounted to a bivy sack, a heavy-duty sleeping bag made to withstand sub-zero temps, a sleeping mat, his phone, a few heat packs and his camera.

There were no tents and no snacks. In fact, no food whatsoever, so as not to disturb the delicate ecosystem. And the bathroom facility was simply a bucket surrounded by snow. The point here was not to make an impact on the pristine landscape and to experience nature at its best.

NO MEN ARE ALLOWED AT THIS EXOTIC WELLNESS ISLAND IN FINLAND

The first step was to dig a coffin-sized hole in the snow to help block himself from wind. Antarctica is known for its strong katabatic winds that seem to pop up out of nowhere and sweep down the glaciers. Once that's done, Ormiston soaks up the solitude that is Antarctica. Its one of the few places in the world to truly escape manmade noises. No cellphone ringtones, Facebook updates, or any such distractions to ruin the moment.

It's simply a special experience few people get to have, he adds.

Camping among the penguins

As with most things in Antarctica, you never know what youre gonna get. While campin,g you might hear seals throughout the night, whales feeding or glaciers calving. Better yet, its not uncommon to wake up with a penguin or two staring at you.

I remember waking up Christmas day, and there were penguins scattered in between almost every bivy sack, says Jimmy MacDonald, an expedition guide with Quark Expeditions. They were just taking the night off there, too. Weve had Weddell seals within 15 meters (about 50 feet) of people sleeping. And you havent lived until youve heard the seals singing and making those strange burping noises. It sounds crazy spooky.

Although Ormiston didnt have any wildlife encounters during his excursion, he says there were plenty of memorable moments. We did wake up around 1 a.m. to the epically dramatic thunder of avalanches directly above us, he says. For about five minutes, ice calved in sequence and had little sign of stopping.

Fortunately, there was a ridge separating the campers from the slopes. Never fear, though: The guides prepare for any situation and only lead trips when the conditions are 100 percent safe. Theyve led camping trips for more than a decade, and come prepared with a shore barrel filled with shelters, emergency food, water, climbing rope, long-range radios and flares. Plus, the cruise ship (loaded with hot chocolate, a hot tub and sauna) is always nearby.

Of course, camping isnt the only draw during an Antarctic cruise. Ormiston was also busy getting one-on-one time with penguins, riding in Zodiac boats and whale-watching. Earlier that day, in fact, Ormiston was on an intense mountaineering excursion. So by the time 11 p.m. rolled around, he had no problem drifting to sleep.

I cannot say that it was restful sleep and it did not last very long  maybe 5 hours  but I definitely slept, he says.

5 WAYS TO SCREW UP YOUR SPRING BREAK VACATION

Anyone can do this

The good news? You dont need to be in excellent shape to cross this unusual camping trip off your bucket list. Its something most anyone can do, from 8-year-olds to grandparents, no experience necessary.

Digging your own hole and crawling into your bivy sack presents the only physical challenge, but otherwise, it's an entirely tame experience, Ormiston explains.

For a lot of people, its the fist camping experience in their life, MacDonald says. Its not like camping in winter snow in North America where temperatures are way below zero. The weather here is often quite mild. A warm night here is plus 3 degrees (about 37 degrees Farenheit).

I think most sign up for the bragging rights, MacDonald adds. To be able to say that Ive spend the night in Antarctica is pretty cool.

Stephanie Cherng, who was on the same camping excursion with Ormiston, concurs. I think it was a combination of my love for the outdoors and camping, as well as a fear that if I didn't try something so once-in-a-lifetime, I'd regret it.

Its such a rare opportunity to get to camp in Antarctica, she says, that many people jumped at the chance.

Consider this: Only about 40,000 people make the trek to Antarctica each year, let alone go camping on the ice. Its still pretty uncommon to meet people whove visited this wild and mysterious continent.

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Ormiston says its really impossible to put the experience into words. The scenery is grander than anything you could possibly conjure up in your imagination. In other words, to really snag the wow factor, its something you must see for yourself.

Ormiston sums it up well: There are two types of people in this world: those who opted out of camping because they prefer their regular dose of beauty sleep and others who take advantage of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities as they present themselves, he says. If you're considering camping in Antarctica, you should just do it.

If you go

Be sure to pre-book a spot. Camping is a popular activity, and there are only 60 spots available during any particular voyage.

The Antarctic cruising season is from mid-October to late March. Not all voyages offer camping, so be sure to check this ahead of time.

For more information, visit quarkexpeditions.com.
At least 16,000 cruise ship passengers may qualify for compensation after eight consecutive voyages on the Sun Princess cruise liner left people feeling "violently ill"  or at least that's what one Australian firm is hoping in filing a lawsuit against Princess Cruises for the string of norovirus outbreaks.

Shine Lawyers announced it is preparing a large scale action against Carnival Australia, the operator of Princess Cruises, after thousands of passengers claimed they caught norovirus while attempting to enjoy a nice vacation, Australias 9News reported. The eight consecutive voyages leaving from Australia occurred between December 2016 and February 2017.

WATCH: COAST GUARD RESCUES TWO DIFFERENT CARNIVAL CRUISE PASSENGERS IN SAME DAY

On my deck, every third cabin had a do not disturb sign on it and there was constant cleaning of the ship, William Noney, a passenger on the Sun Princess cruise said. On one of the lunchtimes, an elderly passenger vomited with people all around him.

Noney told 9News he was on a 14-day New Years Day cruise to Bali. He also got extremely ill and said it definitely spoiled our holiday.

I must have vomited for about five minutes constantly, everything, he recalled. Later that night, early morning, I started getting diarrhea. Even after leaving the ship and for the next few weeks, I still had symptoms.

Noney said the cruise company never offered to reimburse them for the horrible trip.

He added, They never admitted that it was their fault nor that norovirus was on the ship prior to sailing. They tended to blame the passengers for it. I only get four weeks (annual leave) a year and my holiday was ruined.

HARRY POTTER-THEMED CRUISE WILL COST YOU $36,000

The law firm believes the 16,000 passengers sickened during the voyages could receive compensation from the company. Thomas Janson of Shine Lawyers said it is investigating how the cruise ship failed to properly sanitize the vessel before each trip. The firm was also told crew members only had two hours to clean the ship before the next voyage, according to the Miami Herald.

Thats manifestly inadequate to sanitize a ship thats the size of a skyscraper, Janson said.

Princess Cruises declined to comment on the investigation, according to the Miami Herald.

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Several norovirus outbreaks have been reported on international cruise ships over the years. The Center for Disease Control reported eight known norovirus outbreaks on cruise ships in 2017. A norovirus outbreak on the Princess Cruises Island Princess was also reported in January 2018.
An ISIS-loving Queens, N.Y., college student who planned terror attacks on Big Apple landmarks will spend almost two decades behind bars, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.

Munther Omar Saleh, 22, was sentenced to 18 years in prison and 10 years supervised release in Brooklyn federal court after pleading guilty last year to conspiring to help the jihadist group and assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.

Saleh, a student at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in Queens, worked with late British ISIS recruiter Junaid Hussain to construct a pressure-cooker bomb and also discussed potential New York targets with him  including the Statue of Liberty.

They also plotted for Salehs co-defendant, Fareed Mumuni, to use a similar bomb in a suicide attack on law enforcement officers who had been following the pair around.

CLICK MORE FROM THE NEW YORK POST.
An Ohio liberal arts college has been criticized for attacking "liberal education" after a faculty member canceled a production of a play she wrote that discussed illegal immigration over criticism from students and faculty.

According to The Weekly Standard, Wendy MacLeod's drama, "The Good Samaritan," centered on the experience of illegal immigrants from Guatemala working on an egg farm near the Kenyon College campus northeast of Columbus. The play focuses on the misadventures of a 15-year-old immigrant who escapes the egg farm and ends up at a school resembling Kenyon.

MacLeod, who is white, circulated the script in an email to the campus last month. The college's own newspaper, The Kenyon Collegian, described it as a "comedy [where] much of the plays humor is told through the cultural insensitivity of the white students."

Nevertheless, students and faculty called for the play to be withdrawn, citing insensitivity toward immigrants.

According to the Kenyon Thrill blog, one student emailed administrators complaining that "The Good Samaritan" was "yet another narrative written about a person of color from the uninformed perspective of a white academic," and "an exercise in cultural hegemony with heavy notes of white savior complex." A teaching assistant called it "act of violence, dehumanizing and degrading the suffering that immigrants endure in coming to this country."

Faculty were not immune from the hysteria. Spanish professor Clara Roman-Odio told The Kenyon Collegian that she had identified 40 instances of ethnic insensitivity, including multiple references to the main character as "illegal," and the mistaken impression by the white characters that the Guatemalan immigrant was from Argentina.

On Jan. 31, MacLeod announced that she was canceling a production scheduled for this April "out of respect for the concerns of students and members of the faculty."

The following day, political science professor Fred Baumann defended MacLeod and the play at a campus forum. He said that the criticism of his colleague had become "too personal, far too personal," and added that "today is the end of Kenyon as a school where liberal education goes on."

The Thrill reported that his remark prompted laughter from students in attendance.

The cancellation of "The Good Samaritan" coincided with the creation of a "whiteness group." According to The Collegian, the rules of the group founded by a junior, Juniper Cruz, include the following: "No white person can ask a person of color questions; white people must try to answer their questions for themselves."

The paper reported that abouty 50 students, most of them white, attended the group's first two meetings. The second gathering included a discussion of MacLeod's "Good Samaritan."

"White allies have a reputation of talking a lot, putting a lot on social media, but not really doing anything about it," Cruz told the paper. "Not doing much besides default sharing. Im really pleasantly surprised so many came to take a good hour out of their day to come here."

Click for more from The Weekly Standard.
A Massachusetts mother who was arrested after she allegedly stabbed her two sons to death with a kitchen knife told police that she attacked them as part of a voodoo ritual, an official said Tuesday.

Latarsha L. Sanders, 43, claimed she first stabbed her eldest son Edson "Marlon" Brito, 8, during the ritual but "it came out 'wrong,'" assistant Plymouth District Attorney Jessica Kenny said during an arraignment hearing, according to the Boston Herald. Sanders then reportedly went after her 5-year-old son, Larson Brito.

"She said she had stabbed him because she had 'failed' in the ritual with Marlon (Edson)," Kenny said. "She responded to police that she felt bad about what she had done."

An early autopsy report showed the 8-year-old was stabbed 50 times, Kenny said, according to the Herald. She added that Sanders admitted to the killings.

The suspect also reportedly told authorities the type of weapon she used, that she "mopped up the blood" and that she "cleaned up both of the children and placed them in separate beds," Kenny said.

Sanders pleaded not guilty after being charged with two counts of murder. She was ordered held without bail.

Police arrived at the mothers Brockton home Monday afternoon after a neighbor called 911 to report a medical emergency. The boys were found dead with multiple stab wounds.

All crime scenes are grisly. But these victims were innocent children. This was a gruesome and disturbing and, most of all, a heartbreaking crime, Plymouth District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz told reporters on Monday, according to the Boston Herald.

NEW YORK NANNY ACCUSED OF STABBING KIDS TO DEATH FACES LIFE SENTENCE AS TRIAL BEGINS

The mother was arrested after police said she gave statements that can be construed as admission on this crime. Police believe the fatal stabbing took place within the last 48 hours. The boys were last seen on Saturday by their grandmother, prosecutors said.

Vin Lalli, a neighbor, told the Boston Herald that she saw Sanders sitting down and telling another resident to call the ambulance Monday afternoon.

The ambulance driver put her on the stretcher and all of a sudden she started screaming and kicking around, Lalli recalled. And a woman [also living in the building] came out and said, I think she killed her babies.

JURORS TO HEAR DETAILS ON VIRGINIA GIRL'S 2016 KILLING

Lalli said Sanders was kind of hysterical and believed the mother snapped or something.

Another resident Sherri Alaboh also told Boston25: You never know what people are going through. Maybe she needed help and didnt know where to turn, or just gave up.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Gov. Pete Ricketts has revoked an honorary admiralship from a University of Nebraska-Lincoln associate professor and lecturer who were involved in a protest against a conservative student group.

The Republican governor withdrew the Nebraska Navy admiralships for Amanda Gailey and Courtney Lawton on Jan. 31, less than a month after granting them at the request of one of their allies.

Lawton, a university lecturer, was told her contract wouldnt be renewed after she was filmed protesting a campus recruiting event for Turning Point USA, a conservative group that maintains a public watchlist of professors that it alleges are biased.

In the Aug. 25 video, Lawton referred to second-year student Kaitlyn Mullen as a neo-fascist and accused her of advocating for the destruction of public schools and universities. Mullen, who was trying to recruit students to the groups local chapter, began to cry, and campus police eventually took her home.

An accompanying photo of the incident shows Lawton making an obscene hand gesture while holding a sign that said, Just say NO! to Neo-Fascism. Lawton was fired in November. Gailey, an associate English professor, was photographed with a sign that said, Turning Point: Please put me on your watchlist.

Admiralships to the Nebraska Navy are a lighthearted award often granted to people who are retiring, changing jobs, or have reached a milestone in their lives.

The honor is a joking reference to the fact that Nebraska is the nations only triply landlocked state and has no navy or seas to defend. Admiralships are granted at the governors discretion and can only be given when the nominee or nominator is a Nebraska resident.

Ricketts spokesman Taylor Gage said Lawton and Gailey were disqualified because of the recent controversy and Lawtons behavior. In a letter to Jay Grabow, an Omaha man who nominated Gailey and Lawton, Ricketts said the admiralships are issued as a courtesy for special occasions and that the women received them due to a clerical error.

In his nomination letters, Grabow said Gailey and Lawton both deserve the honor because of their advocacy for free speech.

Gage said the governors office routinely fulfills requests for admiralships for residents of all political stripes, including those made by state senators from both parties.

Courtney Lawtons behavior does not embody Nebraska values, which the original request represented, he said.

The awards were rescinded one day after a legislative hearing on a campus free speech bill that was inspired by the university incident. Gailey and Grabow testified against the measure, which would require Nebraskas universities and colleges to develop campus free-speech guidelines.
Vice President Mike Pence is seeking to reassure and refocus American allies on the growing nuclear threat from North Korea with visits to Japan and South Korea this week.

In meetings with government leaders, military officials and U.S. service members, Pence says he wants to make sure the Winter Olympics don't distract from the bellicose government's human rights abuses and nuclear program. He is set to meet Wednesday with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (shin-zoh AH'-bay) to discuss increasing pressure on the North.

Pence watched Japanese troops demonstrate the simulated deployment of Japan's surface-to-air missile defense system, which would attempt to intercept a North Korean missile. He also participated in a briefing at Japan's Ministry of Defense on the threat.
A Charleston Black Lives Matter leader who made headlines for attempting to steal a Confederate flag died Tuesday after being shot in New Orleans, his family said.

Muhiyyidin Moye, 32, of Charleston, was shot in the leg while riding his bike around 1 a.m. in the Louisiana city, his niece told WCSC-TV. She said Moye tried to keep riding his bike after being shot but eventually died at a nearby hospital.

Other circumstances surrounding the shooting, including a possible motive, were unclear.

In February 2017, Moye was arrested after trying to snatch a Confederate flag from a protester in downtown Charleston after jumping over yellow police tape  an incident that was recorded during a live broadcast.

He was charged with disorderly conduct and malicious injury to real property, The Post and Courier reported.

More than two years earlier, the activist was arrested after being removed from a North Charleston city council meeting for disorderly conduct after reportedly disrupting the meeting.

Moye was a prominent activist in Charlestons Black Lives Matter group.

He organized rallies for civil rights and demanded increased oversight of law enforcement after Walter Scott was fatally shot by former South Carolina police officer Michael Slager.
The mother of a young Virginia girl who was allegedly murdered in 2016 by a former Virginia Tech student faced her daughters accused killer in court Tuesday as she described how she learned her daughter was missing.

Tammy Weeks, mother of 13-year-old Nicole Lovell, told the court in 20-year-old David Eisenhauers murder trial that on the night of Jan. 27, 2016, she went to her daughters bedroom, where she found a nightstand pushed against the door and a window open.

Weeks said she immediately started calling Lovells friends, and then drove to a police station. She told the Montgomery County Circuit Court that the next time she saw her daughter  a middle school student from Blacksburg  was in a coffin.

Eisenhauer, a former engineering student at the prestigious university from Columbia, Maryland, was charged with first-degree murder and abduction in Lovell's death.

Prosecutors allege Eisenhauer stabbed Lovell  who he met through instant messaging app Kik  14 times after planning a secret date, and cut her throat because he was worried his relationship with the underage girl would be exposed.

Eisenhauer's DNA was found under Nicole's fingernails and her blood was found in the trunk of his car, according to the prosecutor.

But when Eisenhauers trial began on Monday, his defense tried to shift blame to his alleged accomplice, Natalie Keepers, another Virginia Tech student.

"The evidence in the case will be that the presence of someone else at that scene and the presence of someone else who was deeply motivated to commit that murder will leave you with that reasonable doubt," Eisenhauers attorney John Lichtenstein said.

Eisenhauers lawyer told jurors that his client wanted to wipe his phone history clean, but it was Keepers who "wanted to talk" about killing Lovell. She was "exhilarated" and "excited" when she discussed killing Lovell with Eisenhauer, the attorney said.

"It was Natalie Keepers who said she wanted a more permanent solution," Lichtenstein said.

Keepers, who was also studying engineering at Virginia Tech, told authorities Eisenhauer claimed he met Lovell at a party and may have had sex with her, but couldnt remember because he blacked out. She also told police Eisenhauer feared the girl may have been pregnant.

Keepers, of Laurel, Maryland, has been charged as an accessory before the fact in Lovell's death.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A 33-year-old Texas man seeking join the Islamic State sent a cover letter along with his resume to the terror group explaining why he is the best candidate to teach English in the Caliphate, according to a report compiled by George Washington University.

"I am looking to get a position teaching English to students in the Islamic State," Warren Clark, a University of Houston graduate, wrote in the letter addressed to Director, The New York Daily News reported, citing the school.

Clark used his jihadi name  Abu Muhammad al-Ameriki  to apply for the position at a university in Mosul in Northern Iraq . The city was held by ISIS until July 2017 when the Iraqi forces liberated the city.

"I was born and raised in the United States and have always loved teaching others and learning from others as well, he reportedly continued in the letter. My work background is largely in English and I consider working at the University of Mosul to be a great way of continuing my career."

The job application was revealed by the George Washington University report on American jihadists in Syria and Iraq.

The universitys researchers said they confirmed Abu Muhammad was Clark after looking into his resume, according to The Daily News. His past experience claims work as a substitute teacher in Texas before leaving the U.S. for Saudi Arabia to teach English.

The report says Clark likely joined the Islamic militants in Iraq and is still believed to be alive. It is unclear what his role in the terror group is.

At least 64 Americans have travelled to Iraq and Syria to join ISIS, most of them male and aged around 27-years-old.
A slew of cities and states have pushed to pass laws banning the so-called bump stock recoil devices that authorities say shooter Stephen Paddock used when he opened fire at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds of others.

Local officials say they have grown frustrated with the federal government's inaction and have begun taking matters into their own hands.

But the local efforts have found mixed success.

The aftermath of the nations deadliest mass shooting sparked a frenzy to ban the so-called bump stock recoil devices Paddock used. A month after the Oct. 1, 2017 shooting, Massachusetts became the first state to pass legislation banning the device, which allows semi-automatic rifles to mimic the rapid-fire of machine guns and are currently legal under federal law.

The Massachusetts law, which went into effect last Thursday, prohibits possession of the device under all circumstances. It also bans the possession of trigger cranks.

As of today, if you privately own a bump stock or trigger crank in Mass., youre subject to criminal prosecution and could be up to life in prison, state Rep. David Linsky told 25 Boston.

But Massachusetts is just one of the handful of states and cities trying to pass legislation to ban the devices.

New Jersey, as well as large cities such as Denver and Columbia, S.C., have enacted laws prohibiting the sale and possession of bump stocks.

We are drawing a line in the sand in our city and hoping that cities and states and eventually the U.S. Congress will also seek to make these devices illegal, Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin told Fox News in December.

"There is no legitimate reason to have a bump stock. It is not used for hunting, it is not used for self-defense."  Jeremy Stein

Connecticut, home to some of the worlds most legendary gun makers and some of the toughest gun safety laws in the nation, is among other states considering a ban.

There is no legitimate reason to have a bump stock, Jeremy Stein, executive director of Connecticut Against Gun Violence, told a local NBC affiliate. It is not used for hunting, it is not used for self-defense.

But some local and state efforts to ban the devices have either stalled or failed.

Las Vegas officials have also sought to ban the device but face a major roadblock: state law.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Nevada Legislature passed a law in 2015 putting control over firearms, accessories and ammunition in the exclusive domain of the Legislature, and renders any local law to the contrary null and void.

I cant believe my hands are tied by a legislature thats going to meet every other year, Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Coffin told the newspaper. This tramples on local governments requirement to provide for the safety of citizens.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval said he would consider a statewide ban on bump stocks, however, he believes the federal government is the best arena for these discussions because this is the jurisdiction where bump stock regulations currently exist and this would be the most direct path for a thoughtful, swift and uniform change.

Bump stocks were originally intended to help people who had disabilities and were little known -- and little sold -- until the Las Vegas shooting. The device fits over the stock and pistol grip of a semi-automatic rifle and allows the weapon to fire rapidly, as many as 400 to 800 rounds per minute, mimicking a fully automatic firearm.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reviewed the devices and approved them under the Obama administration in 2010.

At the time, ATF determined bump stocks didn't convert a semi-automatic firearm into one that is fully automatic, meaning it did not amount to machine guns that are regulated under the National Firearms Act that dates to the 1930s.

The National Firearms Act prohibits the sale, manufacture, and transfer of automatic weapons to the general public.

In a rare break from its traditional opposition to gun-related regulations, the National Rifle Association called for a federal review and suggested new rules might be needed.

The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations, the NRA said in an October statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Border Patrol Agent who was killed near the U.S.-Mexico border in November died from head injuries, an autopsy report released Tuesday showed.

Agent Rogelio Martinez, who was killed in the line of duty, was found in a culvert near Van Horn, about 30 miles from the border with Mexico and 110 miles Southeast of El Paso. His partner was also seriously injured.

The autopsy report stated that the agents skull and ribs were fractured, in addition to cuts found on his scalp. The other agent has since recovered from the injuries but has no recollection of the events that led to the death of Martinez.

The FBI launched an investigation into the death, treating the incident as potential assault, although not ruling out that the agents might have been injured in some other way.

An official at the FBI reportedly said the incident occurred in a dark area known for drug activity. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that the agents were responding to activity."

A Border Patrol union, the National Border Patrol Council, claimed the agents were attacked with a rock or rocks, adding that the scene was grisly.

The mysterious death prompted a response from President Donald Trump who said the death of Martinez stresses the need for a border wall along the border with Mexico.

Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt. We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall! the president tweeted.

But according to Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo, the agents may have been sideswiped by a tractor-trailer.

"From the beginning we were radioed to assist in the incident as an injury, not an assault," Carrillo told The Dallas Morning News.

"If this was an assault, believe me, as sheriff, I'd be the first one out there emphasizing safety in our community and with our deputies, pairing them up, he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Cornell University fraternity chapter has been put on two-year probation for holding a sex contest that members dubbed the pig roast in reference to the weight of the women they slept with, the New York Post reported.

University officials launched an investigation of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity last year after hearing reports about the secret game, in which members could get points by having sex with women.

In the case of a tie in the contest, the win would go to the member who had sex with the heavier woman. The new members were told not to inform the women about the contest.

Cornell's fraternity and sorority review board determined the chapter was in violation of policies against hazing and sexually abusive behavior.

The fraternity said that the allegations were contrary to its values and mission and that the chapter's leadership and brotherhood at large were "shocked and appalled" about the unsanctioned activities.

The fraternity said it will conduct a membership review in partnership with its international headquarters and expel any members found to be not committed to the fraternity's ideals and values. It said it will host multiple educational programs on healthy relationships.

As part of the two-year probation, the university said the fraternity will be required to hire a live-in adviser, be subject to external reviews, and participate in ongoing education about sexual violence.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sheriffs deputies fatally shot a man who led authorities on a wrong-way chase on a Florida interstate Wednesday, leading to a crash that killed two people.

Authorities in Palm Beach County said the suspect reportedly shot a woman in the parking lot of a Lake Worth shopping center around 9:30 a.m. before stealing her car, a black Nissan Rogue.

A white male suspect shot a white female, put her in a vehicle and fled the scene, Sheriff Ric Bradshaw told reporters.

Bradshaw said deputies caught up to the suspect about 15 minutes after the shooting as he went south in the northbound lanes of Interstate 95, sparking a multi-vehicle crash in Lantana, between West Palm Beach and For Lauderdale.

Cars were running off the road and so accidents were occurring...there were three separate accidents, Bradshaw said.

He said the deputies approached the vehicle, before opening fire and fatally wounding the suspect, who was sitting in the drivers seat.

Authorities told reporters the woman shot in Lake Worth died in the car during the chase.

The deputy who shot at the suspect was not injured, a Palm Beach County sheriffs spokesperson told the Associated Press.

The suspect was not immediately identified, pending notification to next of kin.

Bradshaw said the suspect may also have been involved in a shooting in West Palm Beach on Tuesday night.

The Palm Beach Post reported the man shot Tuesday night suffered non-life threatening injuries.

The sheriffs office is handling the original homicide. We are handling all the traffic accidents. We are handling the crime scene, he said. Thats what we know right now.

I-95 was closed in both directions in the area following the shooting.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The twice-deported Guatemalan illegal immigrant who is accused of killing Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and another man in a drunken driving crash over the weekend is now facing four felony charges, prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Manuel Orrego-Savala, wearing an orange jail suit during a court appearance, was charged with two counts of failing to remain at the scene of an accident and two counts of causing death while operating a vehicle above the legal alcohol limit.

Wednesdays announcement came after Orrego-Savala, 37, was charged Tuesday in a federal criminal complaint with illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien.

Federal prosecutors spell his name as Orrego-Zavala, but the federal criminal compliant lists "Orrego-Savala" as among his aliases, according to the Associated Press. Through a lawyer Wednesday, however, he said his correct name is Manuel Orrego-Savala, and a pretrial hearing was scheduled for March 27, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Orrego-Savala otherwise spoke little during the Wednesday hearing, responding through an interpreter as the judge explained the proceedings and charges.

"He's very distraught to say the least," the Associated Press quoted his lawyer, Jorge Torres, as saying. "He's very confused."

Orrego-Savala faces up to 10 years in prison on the immigration charge, which the U.S. attorney's office said would be handled after any state charges are resolved.

He was arrested following the crash early Sunday along Interstate 70 in Indianapolis. Investigators said Jackson, 26, and his Uber driver, 54-year-old Jeffrey Monroe, were standing outside Monroe's car when they were struck and killed by a pickup truck driven by Orrego-Savala.

Orrego-Savala was deported in 2007 and 2009, and was again living illegally in the U.S. at the time of the crash, according to investigators.

In a series of tweets Tuesday, President Trump offered his prayers and sympathies for Jackson's family while emphasizing his argument on the need for immigration reform.

"So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson," Trump tweeted. "This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!"

He continued: "We need a 21st century MERIT-BASED immigration system. Chain migration and the visa lottery are outdated programs that hurt our economic and national security."

A spokesman for Jackson's family has said his relatives are devastated.

"The family is in shock, as you can imagine. This obviously happened so unexpectedly," Atlanta attorney Daniel Meachum said.

Orrego-Savala's blood alcohol level was 0.239 at the time of the crash  three times the legal limit  The Indianapolis Star reported, citing a probable cause affidavit. Drivers in Indiana are presumed intoxicated with a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level.

Orrego-Savala previously had a 2005 conviction for driving under the influence in Redwood City, California. He also has numerous other misdemeanor convictions and arrests in California and Indiana, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Nicole Alberico.

In the 2005 case, he pleaded no contest to two separate drunken-driving offenses and was given a brief jail sentence, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Tuesday.

Orrego-Savala remains jailed in Indianapolis. He appeared Tuesday before a judge who advised him of his rights.

"I wasn't driving the car. I don't know why I am here," he was quoted as saying by WIBC.

The radio station said the judge responded by saying the matter would be sorted out in court."

Fox News Nicole Darrah and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nevada police were told by a judge Wednesday that they must release a slew of records pertaining to the investigation into the deadly mass shooting carried out by Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock on Oct. 1, 2017.

Included in the records are 911 calls and body camera video. But the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was told to redact any information that could potentially identify individuals including names, Social Security numbers and portions of video that someone could be recognized in.

The order was placed by Judge Richard Scotti of the Nevada state court after media outlets filed information inquiries with the department following the incident.

Paddock opened fired from his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino into a crowd of concertgoers attending a country music festival, ultimately killing 58 people and injuring more than 500 others. The massacre is considered the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

This is not the first time an involved agency was required by a court to release information about the investigation. Autopsy reports of those killed during the event were released on Jan. 31 by the coroners office in Clark County, Nevada in accordance with an order.

The reports contained information on the location of wounds, time and date of death and when the autopsies were performed  although the victims names were redacted.

Fox News Stephen Sorace and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Latest on Dutch lender Rabobank's California unit pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States after an investigation into the laundering of Mexican drug proceeds (all times local):

11:30 a.m.

Dutch lender Rabobank's California subsidiary has agreed for forfeit $368 million after an investigation into whether it was used to launder millions of dollars in Mexican drug money.

The subsidiary, Rabobank National Association, pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Rabobank said last month that the subsidiary would likely acknowledge that employees hid information from regulators nearly five years ago.

The forfeiture is one of the largest U.S. settlements involving the laundering of Mexican drug money, though it's still only a fraction of the $1.9 billion that Britain's HSBC agreed to pay in 2012.

Rabobank attorney James Cavoli declined to speak with reporters after a brief hearing.

___

1 a.m.

Dutch lender Rabobank's California subsidiary is scheduled to enter a plea in a long-running investigation that led to allegations the bank was used to launder millions of dollars in Mexican drug money.

Rabobank said last month that it set aside about 310 million euros ($384 million) to settle. And it said the subsidiary, Rabobank National Association, would likely plead guilty to a charge that employees hid information from regulators nearly five years ago. It would be one of the largest U.S. settlements involving Mexican money laundering.

A calendar for U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill Burkhardt in San Diego says an arraignment and plea were scheduled Wednesday. No additional information was publicly available.
An 11-year-old boy from New York died Tuesday after he rescued a friend who fell through the ice of a frozen pond in Queens, authorities said.

He was on land, he only went out to the ice after the other kid fell through, a law enforcement source told The New York Post.

Anthony Perez, 11, died after he managed to push his friend to safety, law enforcement told the paper. He reportedly fell through the ice and could not get out.

It took a fire crew four minutes to arrive at the scene after the 911 call, but Perez was not breathing when pulled from the pond. Paramedics performed CPR and Perez was rushed to nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead, The Post reported..

FDNY deputy chief George Healy, during a press conference, warned parents of the risks of playing on frozen water during the winter.

We implore you: Tell your children, the ice is not safe, Healy said according to the paper. Its not gonna support your weight. And there can be tragic consequences.

Two firefighters had to be treated for hypothermia after they fell through the ice while attempting to save Perez, Healy said.

Im going to call him a hero: Hes a hero, Carmen Rivera, 51, who lives downstairs from the Perez family, told the paper.
Recent Court Decision Causes Wisconsin Workers Comp Conundrum For Temporary Agencies

A recent Wisconsin Workers Comp Appeals Court decision redefines the definition of an employer and employee. My definition of exclusive remedy is  Employers cannot be sued in tort/civil court if a valid workers comp policy that covers an injured employee for an incident is in effect.

Exclusive remedy articles I have written over the years usually mentions a court affirming the doctrine can be found in this article search.

The case is:

IN RE THE ESTATE OF CARLOS ESTERLEY CERRATO RIVERA:

RAOUL R. EHR, SPECIAL ADMINISTRATOR, GUINIFER LIZETH

CERRATO NUNEZ AND YULY MELISSA CERRATO NUNEZ,

PLAINTIFFS-APPELLANTS,

V.

WEST BEND MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY AND ALPINE INSULATION,

D/B/A A&B DRYWALL ROCK SOLID,

DEFENDANTS-RESPONDENTS.

You can find the full decision here.

This case stirred a large amount of Workers Comp press buzz over the last week. I usually do not mention well worn stories unless they may apply to your specific Workers Comp situation. As I have often said  Coming to a State Near You.

Wisconsin Workers Comp remains unto itself. Many major differences exist between the Badger State and other states. The lack of a medical fee schedule remains one of the major differences in Wisconsin Workers Comp and most of the US.

Another reason I am mentioning this case is this is not an isolated incident. Many court systems have ruled that what was thought to be a non-employee as a direct employee. Stats such as South Carolina were the subjects of articles on this situation. (See above article search link)

One area that I noticed was the reaction by the PEO community. PEOs are different than temp agencies. However, NAPEO (PEO National Association) published an article yesterday which directly referenced this matter.

The Courts final conclusion is below (emphasis in bold):

CONCLUSION

31 In summary, we conclude the exclusive remedy provision does not bar a temporary employee from bringing tort claims against his or her temporary employer. We further conclude, based on the statutes plain language, that WIS.STAT.  102.29(6)(b)1. bars only those temporary employees who make claims for compensation under the Act from pursuing tort claims against their temporary employers. In this case, it is undisputed the Estate has not made any claim for compensation under the Act. As a result,  102.29(6)(b)1. does not bar the Estate from pursuing tort claims against Alpine and West Bend. Similarly, even if Rivera was a loaned employee of Alpine,  102.29(7) does not bar the Estates tort claims. The circuit court therefore erred by granting Alpine and West Bend summary judgment.

By the Court.Judgment reversed and cause remanded.

This case will likely end up in the Wisconsin State Supreme Court on appeal. You may want to download the PDF  see first link above- and read it for your own reference. The court decision is not a very long document.

If any new developments occur, I will provide any updates on this Wisconsin Workers Comp case.

J&L Risk Management Inc Copyright Notice
An off-duty New Jersey state trooper saved a choking two-week-old infant after a neighbor ran to his door looking for help, police said.

Trooper Robert Meyer woke up to a knock at his door Saturday afternoon after returning from a night shift, police said. The neighbor went to Meyers house when he noticed a marked law enforcement vehicle parked outside.

The neighbor, who Meyer never met and but lives four houses down from, told the off-duty officer her two-week-old granddaughter Elizabeth was choking.

"While she was feeding, she vomited, and it was vomit and mucus that got caught in her nose and throat," Meyer said at a news conference on Monday. "And we saw a lot of babies getting suction, they're all small, there are a lot of complications."

Police said Meyer dashed out of the door without shoes on.

"I saw him flying out of the front door with no shoes on, just bed clothes on," Peter Jackey, a neighbor, told ABC7NY.

Police said the newborn was blue and struggling to breathe when the trooper arrived. Meyer told reporters he attempted to pat the babys back to free up her airway, but it didnt work.

"I asked if anyone had any suction that I'd be able to use to clear her airways. Luckily, the dad did have one, Meyer said.

The bulb syringe cleared up Elizabeths airways and she began breathing. She was taken to the hospital and released later Saturday.

The infant suffered no serious injuries and is expected to make a full recovery, police said.
Jurors convicted an Oklahoma man of murder and hate crime charges Wednesday for fatally shooting his Lebanese neighbor after bombarding him with racial and anti-Muslim insults in a long-running feud with his family, who are Christian.



Stanley Vernon Majors, 63, was found guilty in the August 2016 shooting death of Khalid Jabara, 37, outside his Tulsa home. Majors also was convicted of threatening an act of violence.

Prosecutors said Majors spent years in conflict with the Jabara family, often hurling racial and religious epithets at his next-door neighbors.



The conflict between the neighbors escalated to the point where the victim's mother, Haifa Jabara, obtained a protective order in 2013 that required Majors to stay 300 yards away and prohibited him from possessing any firearms until 2018.



But prosecutors said Majors, who also had a 2009 felony conviction from California for threatening a crime with intent to terrorize, was undeterred.



Despite the court order, Majors was accused of plowing his car into Haifa Jabara in 2015. She suffered a broken shoulder, among other injuries. Authorities said Majors kept driving after he struck her. Officers who stopped him later reported that he was intoxicated.



While awaiting trial on assault and battery charges, a judge freed Majors from jail on $60,000 bond, overruling strong objections by Tulsa County prosecutors, who called him "a substantial risk to the public" and pleaded with the court to set a higher bond of $300,000.



Authorities said Majors shot Khalid Jabara on his own front porch while out on bond.



Majors' conflict with the Jabara family also put him at odds with his late husband, Stephen Schmauss, who came to befriend Khalid and thought of him as an apprentice, teaching him how to use power tools and computer circuitry.



Schmauss told The Associated Press in 2016 that his husband was "textbook bipolar" and a diabetic who refused to take any medication. Schmauss said then that anything Majors said to the Jabara family was "done under the bipolar situation."



Khalid Jabara's slaying drew national attention, including a mention from then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said her "heart breaks" for Jabara's loved ones.



Jury selection for Majors' trial began Jan. 22. He had previously undergone a mental competency examination and been found competent to stand trial. But defense attorneys had argued in court papers that Majors showed signs of dementia and appeared to have problems with his long-term memory -- issues that they said interfered with their ability to prepare a defense.
A Tennessee widow is suing a county sheriff who was caught on a body camera ordering police to shoot her late husband during a vehicle chase because ramming him would "tear up my cars.

They said, were ramming him, White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe said, according to the tape. I said, Dont ram him, shoot him. F--- that s---. Aint gonna tear up my cars.

Shoupe made the disturbing comments before he ordered the shooting of Michael Dial, according to video obtained by News Channel 5.

Dial, who had a suspended license but was unarmed, led Smithville police on a low-speed chase after officers tried to pull him over last April. Dial gave chase in his 1976 truck, which was hauling a trailer, at speeds that never exceeded 50 miles per hour.

After Dial crossed county line, White County deputies took over the chase. Shoupe, who was not involved in the chase, gave the radio dispatcher orders to take him out.

BOY FOUND IN IMPOUNDED VAN 7 WEEKS AFTER TENNESSEE SHOOTING

"Per 59 (the sheriff), use deadly force, if necessary. Take the subject out by any means necessary, News Channel 5 reported he said.

Deputy Adam West, who was following Dial in his own pickup truck, and Officer Charlie Simms opened fire, killing Dial.

When Shoupe arrived on the scene, he was heard boasting about what happened.

I love this s---, he said, according to the tape. God, I tell you what, I thrive on it.

Then hes heard laughing.

If they dont think Ill give the damn order to kill that motherf----- theyre full of s---, he said, according to the tape. Take him out. Im here on the damn wrong end of the county.

It did not appear Shoupe was aware that he was being recorded. But he was defiant in an interview with SpartaLive.

I hate that this happened," he said. "But we are not going to tolerate people coming into this county and running over our citizens and our officers, and we will deal with them severely.

BOY PULLED FROM TENNESSEE CREEK AMID SEARCH FOR ALABAMA MAN

The District Attorney Office ruled the shooting was justified but admitted it did not know about Shoupes comments during its investigation.

Robyn Dial, the mans widow, filed a federal lawsuit alleging the use of excessive force against her late husband.

It was not only inappropriate but also unconscionable for Defendant Shoupe to give the order to use deadly force, the filing said.

The widows attorney, David Weissman, told The Guardian the recording left him in disbelief.

The comments as seen on the video are extremely disturbing, Weissman said. Im not sure how anybody can thrive on the taking of a life, let alone somebody in law enforcement.

Robyn Dial said her husband would still be alive if not for Shoupes order, which she said was excessive and unnecessary.

"They could have let him go 10 more miles down the road, he probably would have run out of gas, she told News Channel 5. I just hope he knows I loved him.
A tattoo artist from North Texas has been accused of luring at least a dozen women with free or cheap tattoos before he sexually assaulted them, the Dallas Morning News reported Tuesday, citing police.

Chapman Edward Swindell, 38, of Lewisville, Texas, reportedly offered women tattoos for free or low prices under the pretext of building his profile. Swindell would partially ink the women and then would then allegedly order them to remove their clothes. If they resisted, he would offer them alcohol or drugs, police said. Swindell would then forcibly hold the women down and rape them, paper reported.

A woman told police she drove Swindell back to her apartment in September so he could complete a tattoo. Midway through, the woman told Swindell to stop because the procedure was painful. According to the affidavit, Swindell suggested she drink a whisky and Coke to quell the pain.

When she refused he asked, If I gave you something to take the pain away, that no one would know about but us, would you want that?

Swindell briefly resumed work then raped her, authorities said. The woman reported Swindell to police. Investigators found 13 additional women who said they had been sexually assaulted by Swindell, WFAA-TV reported. Swindell was arrested and charged on Jan. 27, the station reported.

According to authorities, Swindell has a history of legal issues. He had previously been accused of aggravated assault, and served 2 years of a six-year prison sentence between 2011 and 2013 for unlawful restraint with risk of serious bodily injury. In 2017, he spent six months in jail for attempting to injure an elderly person.
Up to 4,000 gallons of petroleum fuel spilled into a North Carolina river on Sunday  and officials are warning residents to stay away.

Authorities in Asheville, N.C., said thousands of gallons of oil spilled from an above-ground storage tank into the French Broad River. The fuel tank was at the Mountain Energy Bulk Fuel Facility, which is about 100 feet from the waterway.

Officials said locals should stay away.

There are no reports of fish kills in the river. However, an oil sheen, odor, and discoloration can be observed in areas affected by the spill, the Buncombe County Health and Human Services said in a statement Monday.

The Asheville Fire Department placed a magnetic patch over the hole in the tank and salvage drums under the tank to contain the flow, spokeswoman Kelly Klope told the Asheville-Citizen Times.

We got it to a very slow drip and allowed Mountain Environmental Services to offload the rest of the fuel into two other trucks, she said.

She said the fire department estimated that 4,000 gallons spewed into the river. But a spokeswoman with the North Carolina Division of Waste Management, who is overseeing the cleanup, told the Asheville-Citizen Times the estimate was closer to 1,000 gallons. The tank holds up to 20,000 gallons of oil.

Max Kimel, owner of Mountain Environmental, told the newspaper that he estimates the remediation company removed about 16,000 gallons of oil remaining in the tank.

People and pets should avoid all contact with water in the French Broad River starting around Jean Webb Park in the River Arts District to downstream areas as far as the Town of Marshall, the Health Department said in a statement. This includes activities such as swimming, wading, canoeing or rafting.
A woman was found holding her own eyeball outside a South Carolina church Tuesday after removing it herself, authorities said.

Rev. Terry Mitchell, a retired minister, assisted the woman and said it appeared that she had intentionally hurt herself on nearby railroad tracks. He said the woman was young-looking, and fought against anyone who tried to help her, FOX Carolina reported.

"It took two or three of our guys and two ENTs, I believe, to kind of subdue her enough for them to start rendering aid," Sheriff Chad McBride told the station.

Once the woman was restrained, she was airlifted to a hospital and received medical treatment.

Authorities said no charges will be filed since no crime had been committed. Any details regarding why the woman hurt herself have not been disclosed.

Church member Lee Harris told the Independent Mail that congregants who watched the event unfold had been traumatized by the experience and were able to receive counseling at the church.

"We are a strong community and we will continue to help, Harris said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Amnesty International has accused the Assad regime of showing utter contempt of international law following a chlorine gas attack on the town of Saraqib Sunday. This latest chemical attack comes just one day before the U.N. Security Council failed to agree on a U.S.-proposed statement Monday condemning the continued use of chemical weapons in the war-torn nation. Russia was blamed by some diplomats for its failure.

Amnesty International, in a press release issued earlier Tuesday, said that testimony gathered from the scene showed evidence that the Syrian government internationally used banned chemical weapons.

Once again, Syrias government has shown its utter contempt for international law by deploying illegal chemical weapons, Lynn Malouf said in the press release. Malouf is the Director of Research for the Middle East at Amnesty International.

Meanwhile, another Syrian opposition group has claimed that yet another attack happened Tuesday by an armed militia supported by the Assad regime. That attack, they claim, occurred in Afrin and injured 20 people, seven of them seriously. They claim the Assad-linked group used chlorine gas, something Fox News has not independently been able to verify at time of publication.

Opposition groups have accused Russia, which has stepped up its bombing campaign in the last few days, of clearing the way for the Syrian regime to use chemical weapons by bombing specifically targeted routes.

Wasim Al-Khatib is the director of the office for documentation and media based in Ghouta. He answered email questions through an interpreter given by Fox News to the Syrian American Council.

Russian Airplanes have not left the skies of East Ghouta, he said. I watched more than three airplanes going specifically after civilians and after civilian marketplaces.

He continued, I also watched missiles that look like they were made locally being dropped carrying chemicals targeting civilians specifically in Douma, another city in the suburbs of Damascus. The fear is difficult to comprehend. Women and children are running in chaos.

Injured are all over the place with blood all over. A very scary scenes after such a civilian massacre. And then once people gather to rescue, the airplanes come back to target the rescuers.

The smell of chlorine is all over. Watching people take their last breath is very disturbing. I cannot tell you what it feels to watch all these things happening at once. Im at a loss, Al-Khatib said.

This weekend a Russian pilot was killed after his Su-25 plane was shot down over Idlib by an Al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group. In response Russian and Syrian forces reportedly have continued with severe air strikes in Idlib and other areas, which activists say resulted in many deaths. The attacks also reportedly include strikes on medical facilities.

Bassam Rifai of the Syrian American Council called on the Trump administration to take more action to save Syrian civilians following the recent spate of chemical attacks.

President Trump showed laudable leadership in striking the Shayrat Airbase after the Khan Shaykhun chemical massacre in April. It is therefore surprising that he has not even made a statement regarding the recent chemical attacks. These ongoing attacks are a direct violation of the 2013 chemical deal and merit a direct response from the White House. The president himself should address these attacks to show that they are a matter of priority and urgency at the highest levels.

A day after the Security Council failed to condemn chemical weapons use in Syria, Britains deputy United Nations Ambassador Jonathan Allen told reporters that reports of increased attacks on medical facilities is clearly unacceptable. The U.N. Commission of Inquiry Report said recently, any attacks on medical facilities are, of course, a violation of international humanitarian law. And it seems that thats exactly what pro-regime forces are doing, so we call on the regime and those with influence over them to stop all such attacks. It is outrageous.

It was just Monday when an American-led push to condemn the use of chemical weapons was withdrawn. One Security Council diplomat told Fox News: Russia added unhelpful amendments that diverted from the main purpose of the statement, which was to condemn the chemical weapons attacks. For example, they called on Syria to play a primary role in the investigations. The United States withdrew the text.

At Mondays Security Council meeting, United States Ambassador Nikki Haley condemned Russia for propping up the Syrian regime. Haley told fellow councilmembers that it was a true tragedy that Russia sent us back to square one in the effort to end chemical weapons use in Syria.

Russia has vetoed three Security Council draft resolutions that eventually killed off the joint U.N. Security Council and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) investigation known as the Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) to investigate the perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria. The JIM had found that both the Assad regime and ISIS had used chemical weapons.
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President Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron will get another chance to test their tough handshakes and argue over climate change when the French president visits Washington in April.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Wednesday on BFM television that Macron will visit Washington in late April, on Trump's invitation.

Le Drian called it an "official visit," short of the state visit that the White House had earlier promised. Macron's office wouldn't comment or confirm a date for the trip.

Macron has struck up a friendly rivalry with Trump, starting from their first white-knuckle handshake last year. Macron has vocally opposed Trump on the Paris climate agreement and the Iran nuclear accord, but also made Trump the guest of honor at France's elaborate Bastille Day celebration.
An Army veteran is speaking out for the first time about his dramatic actions to thwart an armed robbery at a small German casino where he worked.

Elliot Montalvan, 35, said he thought someone was pranking him when a man wearing a Batman mask, a ski mask, gloves and a scarf entered the gambling hall in the small Bavarian town of Heidingsfeld, about 72 miles south of Frankfurt, last summer.

But then he saw a gun and heard the man saying in German: "Give me the money. Lets go to the register."

It was at that moment Montalvan, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom in Iraq, said he knew he had to get control of the situation before anyone got hurt.

As he turned away from me, I saw my opportunity to try to take the revolver out of his hands, Montalvan told Fox News on Tuesday.

Surveillance video showed Montalvan jumping on the would-be thief from behind before the men struggled on the floor.

He went down with such a force that, I [thought] the robber was for a moment unconscious or shocked, he told Stars and Stripes, who first reported the story Monday. I started pounding him with a closed palm.

The scuffle ended when Montalvan used a wrestling hold to choke the man until he lost consciousness.

He said that, after checking the mans pulse and turning him facedown, he asked his wife to call the police.

I made sure he was rolled over on his side and face so we would not choke on his blood, Montalvan told Fox News.

When police arrived, Montalvan said he went outside, knelt down, held his hands up and told police he was not the suspect. The only time I panicked was when the whole ordeal was over."

Local German media reported the suspect, who was not identified due to German privacy laws, sustained broken cheekbones from the incident.

On Jan. 30, the man was sentenced to three years and three months in prison for attempted armed robbery. He was convicted thanks to testimony by Montalvan.

The former Arkansas soldier, who served in several infantry units during his Army service from 2004 to 2010, said he was actually not supposed to work the night of the robbery. He was covering for his wife, who had to stay home because their children got sick.

I never thought that what I learned could one day really save your life, he told Stars and Stripes. I never realized it until this night.
The European Parliament has voted to dismiss one of its vice presidents, Ryszard Czarnecki of Poland, after he compared a rival Polish parliament member to a Nazi collaborator.

Last month Czarnecki called Roza Thun, a European Parliament lawmaker from Poland's opposition Civic Platform party, a "szmalcownik," a derogatory term for the Poles who blackmailed Jews during the Nazi German occupation of Poland, after she had criticized Poland's government. Parliamentary party leaders called for his dismissal over "serious misconduct."

Poland's nationalist-conservative Law and Justice party has been criticized by Israel and the U.S., among others, for measures including a new law penalizing certain statements about the Holocaust.

Poland's Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said Tuesday that Czarnecki went "too far" but that dismissing him would violate freedom of speech.
Finnish police say the Moroccan asylum-seeker who killed two people and injured eight others in last year's stabbing attack in southwestern Finland identified strongly with the Islamic State group and was motivated largely by hatred after heavy bombardments by the Western alliance in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

Olli Toyras of the National Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday that Abderrahman Bouanane became radicalized some three months before the Aug. 18 attack and although he acted alone, he thought of himself as an IS fighter.

Toyras said Bouanane had followed earlier terror incidents in Belgium and France and was willing to die for "a martyr cause."

The suspect earlier saw his asylum in Finland rejected but that was not considered the motive for the stabbing, in which he used two knives.
French foreign minister Jean-Yves le Drian says the French citizens who fought with the Islamic State group before being arrested in Syria or Iraq will be judged by local authorities.

Speaking to BFM TV channel, Le Drian said on Wednesday that about 100 fighters have been captured in northeastern Syria by Kurdish fighters.

Le Drian said they will be tried by "local authorities" and won't be repatriated to France "because they are enemies who fought against Syrian citizens, Turkish people. They have raped and committed barbarian acts."

He added that France's doctrine regarding children was different, with the French government aiming to send them back to their country with the help of the Red Cross.

According to Le Drian, six families of French fighters have also been arrested in Iraq.
Nearly three months after an Argentine submarine vanished with 44 crew members aboard, officials on Tuesday announced a multimillion-dollar reward as part of a renewed effort to find the vessel.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri made the announcement at his official residence while speaking to relatives of the ARA San Juan crew, Sky News reported.

Defense Minister Oscar Aguad later said the reward could be around $4 million, but the exact figure will be known in the next couple of days.

Family members at the hour-long meeting pushed for Macri to expand the search area, and for private companies to be allowed to look for the naval vessel.

"We propose [to the president] that the search area be expanded, including public and private companies, Itai Leguizamon, wife of crew member German Oscar Suarez, told reporters.

The TR-1700 electric diesel submarine disappeared on Nov. 15 when sailing from Ushuaia, in the extreme south of Argentina, to its base in Mar del Plata, located south of Buenos Aires, after participating in a training exercise.

NEW CONTACT DETECTED IN SEARCH FOR MISSING ARGENTINE SUBMARINE IN SOUTH ATLANTIC

There have been 18 countries involved in the search for the vessel, but families were told in late November to abandon hope of finding the crew alive after the captain's last message reported seawater in the ventilation system, a development which is believed to have caused a battery to short-circuit and start a fire.

The government and the Navy have so far ruled out the possibility the submarine was the target of an attack by a foreign fleet, and said the sub's mission was to detect the presence of vessels in the illegal fishing zone.

"We want to know what happened: if there was corruption in the arrangement of the ship, if there was negligence, and if it was an accident we also want to know...It would be very helpful to find the submarine to know all that," Aguad told reporters.

FAMILIES OF MISSING SUB CREW ASK RUSSIA TO CONTINUE SEARCH

Previous detected contacts in the search for the sub have been false alarms, with one coming from a sunken fishing boat.

The sub's disappearance has led to the head of Argentina's navy, Admiral Marcelo Srur, being fired in December.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rape accusations have abruptly transformed the image of renowned, outspoken Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan, who went from being an Oxford professor to being stuck in a French jail with no clear exit date in sight.

A French judge decided on Tuesday to keep Ramadan in detention, four days after he was handed preliminary rape charges following allegations by two women who sought his counsel.

The charges, compounded by French press reports featuring claims of violent and perverse sexual acts, have jolted the well-groomed reputation of an intellectual who is admired throughout Europe and beyond, above all among Muslims.

Oxford University, where Ramadan is a professor of contemporary Islamic studies, has given him a leave of absence while his legal situation remains in doubt.

The Swiss scholar, who is married and has four children, was taken into custody on Jan. 31 and a formal criminal inquiry was opened two days later. One of the alleged rapes results from a 2009 encounter, while the other preliminary charge involves the alleged rape of a vulnerable person in 2012.

Both women filed complaints in October. Ramadan denies any wrongdoing. He is being investigated by French authorities because the rapes are alleged to have taken place in Paris and Lyon.

Ramadan, 55, lectures on what he says is a reform-minded Islam. His career has given him entree with some French intellectuals and made him a star with his Muslim following. He has published numerous books  including one last year co-authored with noted French philosopher Edgar Morin  and speaks at conferences far and wide.

"I mean to build bridges between two universes," Islam and the West, Ramadan wrote last month on his website.

But Ramadan has drawn detractors, too. Critics accuse him of engaging in "doublespeak"  a word he used himself in describing the assessments of his "selective, prejudiced" judges.

Ramadan blames his lineage for part of the problem. He is the grandson of the founder of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Hassan al-Banna. His grandfather's work makes him by definition "dangerous," Ramadan wrote in another post last month, just days before he was taken into custody.

His detractors, he went on, consider him adept at "taqiyah," an Arabic word for dissimulation to protect oneself or the Islamic faith, and think he has a "far more obscure hidden agenda."

It is unclear how long he could remain locked up. Under French law, the order to hold him in "provisional detention" can last up to one year and then be renewed for another six months twice. However, a suspect's time in custody can be cut short at any time if a judge agrees detention is no longer warranted.

The preliminary charges filed Feb. 2 could be dropped if the probe proves inconclusive or the allegations are without merit, or be upgraded to formal charges that would send him to trial.

Judicial investigators will have to ferret out the facts behind the double charges facing a man who is hard to read.

There is a dose of mystery behind the two women, who brought the complaints separately in October.

One has chosen not to be identified. French news outlets have reported that she had a nearly three-hour faceoff with Ramadan last week in the investigative judges' offices. The confrontation was about her alleged 2009 encounter with Ramadan at a Hilton Hotel in Lyon before being charged, the press reports said. The information could not be officially confirmed.

Henda Ayari, who threw off a Muslim veil to become an advocate for secularism, castigates Ramadan publicly. However, Le Parisien newspaper reported in November that Ayari at one point tried to renew contact with Ramadan after the alleged 2012 incident that forms the basis of her rape complaint.

Her lawyers confirmed the exchange and said Ayari was "in the grip of" a manipulative Ramadan. The lawyers, Jonas Haddad and Gregoire Leclerc, also claimed Ayari has received death threats from Ramadan backers.

A bitter clash between Ramadan's supporters and critics is being played out on social media, highlighting just how divisive the man who came to the fore in France as a potential unifier during the 1990s is today.

There are hints that the profile of Ramadan, who clearly loves the limelight, may be ebbing. For years, he was a headliner at Europe's largest Muslim gathering, outside Paris, but he wasn't at the 2017 event.

However, he has remained busy. On Jan. 20, he launched a movement, Resistance and Alternative. Last year, he opened a school in Paris, the Islamic Institute for Training and Ethics. In December, he traveled to India and, a Facebook post suggests, to camps for Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

Ramadan's U.S. visa was revoked in 2004  and restored in 2010  preventing him at the time from taking a teaching job at the University of Notre Dame. Authorities had said he donated $1,336 to a charity that gave money to a Palestinian militant group.

"I remain calm and place my full confidence in justice," Ramadan wrote in November on Facebook, part of a particularly personal post addressed "To you" and signed "Tariq."

"Patience is imperative, along with determination... our behavior must be marked by wisdom and dignity," the post said.
The Latest on relations between Turkey and the European Union (all times local):

2:45 p.m.

The European Commission says top EU officials will meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on March 26 to discuss their ties, as tensions simmer between the bloc and its membership candidate country.

Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein said Wednesday that the talks will focus on "subjects of mutual interest and recent developments in Turkey. That includes obviously the rule of law and fundamental rights."

The EU is concerned about a media and justice crackdown in Turkey that followed the failed coup in 2015, but is wary of angering a country it depends on to limit the flow of migrants into Europe.

The talks in Varna, Bulgaria, will involve Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk, who chairs meetings of EU leaders, and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

___

2:30 p.m.

A senior official in Turkey says the country has fulfilled all 72 requirements set by the European Union to secure visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to the bloc.

Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Wednesday that Turkey had submitted all related documents to EU officials ahead of an EU-Turkey summit in March.

Kalin said he hoped the right to visa free travel would be implemented in 2018, adding that it would give "a new momentum to Turkish-EU relations."

Visa liberation was a key part of a 2016 EU-Turkey deal aimed at stemming the flow of migrants to Europe, but Turkey had failed to meet the 72 criteria, including amending antiterror laws.

Kalin said all outstanding criteria had been met, without providing details.
At least six people were killed and 88 others were missing as rescue workers sifted through the rubble Wednesday after a strong earthquakes near Taiwans east coast caused several buildings to collapse.

Videos and photos showed several buildings in the worst-hit Hualien county leaning at sharp angles, shattered glass, crushed foundations and other debris. Rescue workers could be seen climbing ladders as they sought to help residents stuck inside apartments.

The magnitude-6.4 earthquake was reported at around 11:50 p.m. local, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Preliminary reports stated the quake was about six miles deep. Another 5.1 tremor was felt shortly after.

Dramatic photos of damage after the quake showed Marshal Hotel in Hualien partially collapsed, according to the Taiwan Observer.

"At first it wasn't that big ... we get this sort of thing all the time and it's really nothing. But then it got really terrifying," the worker, Chen Ming-hui, told Taiwan's official Central News Agency after he was reunited with his son and grandson following the quake. "It was really scary."

One employee of the hotel was killed in the disaster, CNA said. Taiwan's National Fire Agency said rescuers freed another employee from the rubble, while a third hotel worker was also freed but did not show any vital signs.

Six people were killed in the quake, while 256 others were injured and 88 unaccounted for, according to Taiwans fire agency.

The force of the tremor buckled roads and disrupted electricity and water supplies to thousands of households, the fire agency said.

Japan's Foreign Ministry said nine Japanese were among the injured. CNA reported that 16 foreigners were sent to various hospitals with injuries.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen reassured citizens that every effort would be made to rescue survivors. She said Wednesday she arrived in Hualien to review rescue efforts.

"This is when the Taiwanese people show their calm, resilience and love," Tsai wrote in a Facebook message. "The government will work with everyone to guard their homeland."

China's official Xinhua News Agency reported that the director of China's Taiwan Affairs office, Zhang Zhijun, said China was "willing to send a rescue team to Taiwan" to help with relief efforts, adding that he was aware of a shortage of rescue workers in the disaster area.

China Central Television reported that more than 40 of the missing people were trapped in the Yunmen Cuiti building, a 12-story apartment building.

Tuesdays earthquake also comes two years after another 6.4 magnitude quake struck southern Taiwan, killing 116 people.

A magnitude-7.6 quake in central Taiwan killed more than 2,300 people in 1999.

Taiwan is located along the famed Pacific "Ring of Fire," known for seismic activity from Alaska to Southeast Asia.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Ana Lobo, who is six months pregnant, was at a pre-Carnival street party last weekend when a man started yelling and calling her names.

"Whore!," she remembered him saying, apparently because she was wearing a revealing top.

"Some men have this feeling that they can do whatever to your body," said Lobo, a 29-year-old artist who later that night attended one of the many feminist-themed parties. "It's time for women to take advantage of this moment" to push back.

Many women in Latin America's largest nation are doing exactly that during this year's Carnival celebrations, with block parties of all-female musicians, shirts, necklaces and crowns with messages like "my breasts, my rules" and several campaigns to report and crackdown on harassment.

The #metoo movement against harassment that is roiling the U.S. has yet to catch on in Brazil, which has one of the world's highest homicide rates for women, according to the Brazilian nonprofit Mapa da Violencia.

But while women's groups say that Brazil has a long way to go to address inequality and ingrained machismo, they see glimmers of a potentially bigger movement in the public dialogue about harassment during Carnival and what authorities and several organizations are doing to crack down on it.

The massive party officially begins Friday and goes through Wednesday, but in some cities, such as Rio de Janeiro, it's a multi-week event. The hundreds of block parties often include heavy drinking and round-the-clock samba dancing and they come during the Southern Hemisphere's sweaty summer month of February, when the heat drives many to wear few clothes.

Debora Thome, who in 2015 co-organized a block party called "Mulheres Rodadas," or "Women Who Get Around," says Carnival is a good time to focus on fighting harassment because it forces the question of respect amid scantily dressed partygoers.

"A woman can be naked in the street and nobody should be allowed to touch her," said Thome, a former reporter currently working on a doctorate on female participation in Brazilian politics.

Mulheres Rodadas began as a reaction to photo that went viral on Facebook of a man holding a sign in Portuguese saying he "didn't deserve a woman who gets around."

Thome and co-founder Renata Rodrigues announced plans for a block party protest as a joke, and within 24 hours more than 1,000 women said would attend. They knew they had struck a nerve.

"Carnival is just a small piece of a much larger problem," said Rodrigues.

Since then, several other feminist-themed street party groups have been formed in cities nationwide.

They include all-female bands and edgy themes that push back at traditional gender roles and even make fun of derogatory names. At one recent feminist-themed block party, hundreds of women dressed up as animals they said they had been called on the streets: cows, piranhas, hens and cobras, among others.

Roma Neptune, a 29-year-old high school sociology teacher, says learning to play the agogo  a percussion instrument that, like all others during Carnival, is usually played by men  has been empowering. However, she is disillusioned by men who claim to be supportive but are not.

"They say they are against machismo but won't put their hands in the fire when a woman is in dangerous situation," said Neptune, who dressed as a cow and played in the band.

Anderson Semme, one of a few dozen men at the same block party, agreed.

"Men's role is to recognize we were wrong for a long time and now do the right thing," said Semme, a 34-year-old computer technician.

As she listened to the music with her 3-year-old daughter, Maria Marzal reflected on why she wanted to join the party. The emergency room nurse said that every shift she sees at least one woman who has been raped.

"It's a real fear, a cruel fear," said Marzal, 27.

Last year, military police in Rio received 2,154 calls about violence against women during Carnival. Noting that figure means one woman was assaulted every few minutes, security officials and several non-government groups that have launched campaigns against harassment.

Thousands of stickers are being handed out with messages like "'No' is 'no!'" and "Grabbing me won't get you a kiss!" Websites encourage women report harassment and direct them to police stations.

Maj. Claudia Morais, a Rio police officer who focuses on crimes against women, says the discussion is a step in the right direction, but that women must go beyond that and make reports when incidents happen.

Recent changes in the law have made it easier to prosecute aggressors for rape even if there wasn't intercourse, added Morais, who gave the example of a man who has been charged with rape for recently ejaculating on a woman in a public bus.

"At the very least, a guy who gets arrested and goes before a judge will think twice" about assaulting a woman in the future, she said.

_____

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Representatives of the 5 Pacific Parliaments - Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu - at the recent PPEI Strategy Meeting. Vanuatu representative, Acting Clerk of Parliament Leon Teter (seated 3rd from R). (Photo: UNDP/Jone Raqauqau)
The Black Farmer will mark the royal wedding by launching a special edition sausage celebrating the mixed heritage of the founders daughter and Meghan Markle.

The royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is due to take place on 19 May at St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The brands limited edition celebration sausage will feature The Black Farmer founder Wilfred Emmanuel-Jones mixed race daughter, Scarlett, offering a moreish pork sausage with a sweet kiss.

See also: New Black Farmer TV ad celebrates rural Britain

Packets will display an image of Mr Emmanuel-Jones smiling daughter alongside the Union Jack and the American flag.

The sausages, which will be priced at 3.15/400g, will become the first in a line of products celebrating Britains diversity, known as the Taste of History range.

The marriage between Harry and Meghan is a momentous occasion for black communities in the UK, said Mr Emmanuel-Jones. For many black people, the wedding signifies that colour is now part of the mainstream rather than being on the sidelines.

West Country farmer

The Black Farmer, which is best known for its gluten-free and RSPCA Assured meat products, has also expanded its range of eggs with two new varieties, White and Protein Plus Eggs.

Mr Emmanuel-Jones farms at West Kitcham Farm, St Giles on the Heath, on the Devon/Cornwall border.
Gaffney native retiring from BMW executive position BMW Manufacturing announced today that Nathalie Bauters, Head of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for BMW Group France, will become the new Head of Communications at BMW Manufacturing. Bauters will...

Gaffney resident credited with creating Iowa State nickname Longtime Gaffney resident Warren Floogie Ariail not only kept numerous college and professional athletes health, but he was well-known for his witticisms. He was a retired Professional Athletic Trainer, working...

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Veterans Last Patrol honors Joe Buice Serving in the U.S. Navy changed the rest of Joes life.

Korean War veteran Joe Buice almost lost his life on the USS Princeton aircraft carrier when a fire broke out after a plane missed his landing and crashed into the...
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Defense attorneys grill dead child's mother

jenniferreynolds / JENNIFER REYNOLDS/ The Daily News Evan David Nolan, left, waits for his capital murder trial to start Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, in Judge Lonnie Coxs 56th District Court in Galveston. Nolan is accused of beating his 6-year-old stepdaughter, Whitney Williams, to death in 2016 while he was watching her in the familys apartment. jenniferreynolds / JENNIFER REYNOLDS/The Daily News Evan David Nolan, right, is escorted into the 56th District Court on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, by one of his attorneys, Adam Banks Brown. Nolan is facing a capital murder charge in the 2016 beating death of his 6-year-old stepdaughter, Whitney Williams. jenniferreynolds / JENNIFER REYNOLDS/ The Daily News Evan David Nolan, left, waits for his capital murder trial in Judge Lonnie Cox's 56th District Court to start Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. Nolan is accused of beating his 6-year-old stepdaughter, Whitney Williams, to death in 2016 while he was watching her in the familys apartment.

The capital murder trial of a League City man accused of beating his 6-year-old stepdaughter to death took an emotional turn Tuesday as the childs mother testified and defense attorneys attempted to pin the killing on her.

My child is dead and isnt coming back, Brithony Williams said. It happened after I left her with someone I trust. I have no answers and I deal with it daily. It is time I get answers.

Brithony Williams testimony came on Day 2 in the trial of Evan David Nolan, 28, who is accused of beating Whitney Williams, 6, to death in 2016 while he was watching the girl and Williams 1-year-old daughter in the familys apartment.

Defense attorneys, meanwhile, took the opportunity to accuse Williams of severely beating her daughter and causing her death.

You lied to the police when you had no reason to suspect Evan, attorney Adam Banks Brown said. It was because the night before you beat that girl and were worried those injuries had come manifest.

A Galveston County grand jury in 2016 indicted Nolan after viewing evidence from the homicide. Whitney Williams died from severe injuries, including brain trauma, a lacerated liver and internal bleeding.

Nolans attorneys argued Tuesday that Nolan was never known to be violent and that it was actually an incident Aug. 16, during which Brithony Williams spanked her daughter, that led to her death.

You decided to whip her repeatedly and, at some point, did he have to tell you to stop? Banks asked.

Williams denied that account, saying she had only spanked the daughter three or four times.

Tuesdays testimony focused on events between Aug. 16, 2016, and Aug. 18, 2016, when Whitney Williams died.

Nolan texted Brithony Williams Aug. 16 to tell her about her daughter misbehaving at home, records show.

Williams returned home that night and spanked Whitney Williams, Brithony Williams said.

When Williams left for work the next morning, everything was apparently fine, she said.

The couple chatted back-and-forth via text message while she was at work and he was watching the children, records show.

There was no sense of animosity or anger in any of the text messages, Brown said.

After a one-hour gap in conversation, Nolan sent Williams a text asking her to come home.

He was calm on the phone, Williams said. He mostly just kept asking where I was at. He kept saying Whitney was fine and that it was nothing serious.

Williams arrived home to find her daughter unconscious on a blanket and rushed her out the door before speaking with anyone else, she said.

A League City police officer driving to work the evening of Aug. 17 spotted a motorist driving recklessly and stopped the vehicle in the 1500 block of East Main Street.

Williams got out of the vehicle carrying her unconscious daughter, police said.

Emergency medical personnel took the girl to Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, and later to Texas Childrens Hospital in Houston, where she died the next day.

Brown cast Williams actions while speaking to detectives as further evidence that the death was her fault.

Williams initially told detectives a baby sitter had been watching her children, but she could not provide police with a phone number for the caretaker, according to the affidavits.

Williams told police the baby sitter had called her at work to tell her Whitney had suffered a seizure and hit her head, according to the affidavits.

When detectives questioned Williams about text messages with Nolan, indicating he was watching the girl, she told investigators Nolan had been watching her daughters at the couples League City apartment, according to the affidavits.

Officials had considered pursuing false report charges against Williams, but eventually had decided not to, she said.

League City police and U.S. Marshals arrested Nolan after a traffic stop the day after officers encountered the girl, police said.

Williams has moved to Louisiana since Nolan was arrested, but is in town to testify.

Williams learned she was pregnant with twins days after her daughter succumbed to her injuries, she said.

The trial is expected to last through the week, Chief Assistant District Attorney Adam Poole said.
Galveston, TX (77553)

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Mrs. Myriam Malau, a member of Tagabe community speaking at the launching and handover of the trash bin for Erakor Bridge community.
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
Time file photo: Firefighters from Kerrville and Comfort along with Kerr County Sheriffs department responded to a grass fire at 310 Green Oak Dr. Thursday afternoon. Firefighters were able to contain the fire with minimua damage to property.
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BREAKING News: Nigeria Police Force Begins 2018 Recruitment, Says Exercise Is Free

felicilin at 7-02-2018 01:12 PM (3 years ago) (f)

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF), has commenced its 2018 recruitment drive to get new officers, just as the law enforcement agency is warning prospective applicants for the job opening not to make payments to anybody while applying.

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF), has commenced its 2018 recruitment drive to get new officers, just as the law enforcement agency is warning prospective applicants for the job opening not to make payments to anybody while applying.

In a shot message on social media in the morning of Wednesday, February 7, the agency said: The Nigeria Police Force invites applications from suitably qualified Nigerians for enlistment into the Nigeria Police Force as police constables (recruits)."



It urged members of the public to check the full details of this recruitment advert on the following National Dailies of today, Wednesday, February 7, 2018.



Leadership Newspaper - Page 33

Daily Trust Newspaper - Page 11

The Nation Newspaper - Page 45

Daily Sun Newspaper - Page 8



Application closes six weeks from the date of this publication, the short statement said.



In a shot message on social media in the morning of Wednesday, February 7, the agency said:It urged members of the public to check the full details of this recruitment advert on the following National Dailies of today, Wednesday, February 7, 2018.the short statement said.

Post Reply Posted: at 7-02-2018 01:12 PM (3 years ago) | Hero

ruthie at 7-02-2018 01:25 PM (3 years ago)

(f) great news for freethinker and co.. i heard he was just released from prison...abeg go divert your anger and rage and put it to good use! Posted: at 7-02-2018 01:25 PM (3 years ago) | Hero great news for freethinker and co.. i heard he was just released from prison...abeg go divert your anger and rage and put it to good use! Reply

ruthie at 7-02-2018 01:27 PM (3 years ago)

(f) i like this....all those spoiling for war....oya, go and join....liver-less honeypots.... Posted: at 7-02-2018 01:27 PM (3 years ago) | Hero i like this....all those spoiling for war....oya, go and join....liver-less honeypots.... Reply

cypanyahucha at 7-02-2018 01:30 PM (3 years ago)

(m) Job creation. That's good. Posted: at 7-02-2018 01:30 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Job creation. That's good. Reply

Otikadinje at 7-02-2018 01:37 PM (3 years ago)

(m) Who wants that bloody and dirty job. Oscardeejay Posted: at 7-02-2018 01:37 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac Who wants that bloody and dirty job. Reply

slimber at 7-02-2018 03:35 PM (3 years ago)

(f) For wetin nah am not interested Posted: at 7-02-2018 03:35 PM (3 years ago) | Hero For wetin nah am not interested Reply

SOGaiya at 7-02-2018 04:08 PM (3 years ago)

(m) D job is jeopardy Posted: at 7-02-2018 04:08 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac D job is jeopardy Reply

nature7888 at 7-02-2018 04:54 PM (3 years ago)

(m) LOL. Job alert Posted: at 7-02-2018 04:54 PM (3 years ago) | Gistmaniac LOL. Job alert Reply

gogoman at 7-02-2018 10:54 PM (3 years ago)

(m) who go do your work now Posted: at 7-02-2018 10:54 PM (3 years ago) | Addicted Hero who go do your work now Reply
English Norwegian

NOT FOR RELEASE IN OR INTO CANADA, JAPAN, AUSTRIA, POLAND, ESTONIA, ICELAND OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL

Based on the authorisation granted by the annual general meeting 11 May 2017, the board of directors of Statoil ASA (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) has on 6 February 2018 resolved to increase the share capital in connection with the payment of dividend for the third quarter 2017 on the following terms and conditions:

1. The share capital is increased with an amount of minimum NOK 2.50 and maximum NOK 400,000,000. The new shares shall have a nominal value of NOK 2.50.

2. Subscription price:

a) For shareholders on Oslo Brs (Oslo Stock Exchange) the subscription price is equal to the volume-weighted average share price on Oslo Brs of the last two trading days of the subscription period for the dividend issue, with a deduction for a discount of 5 %.

b) For holders of American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) holders under the ADR program in the US, the subscription price is equal to the subscription price for the shareholders on Oslo Brs converted into USD based on an average of the Central Bank of Norway's USD exchange rate over the last two trading days of the subscription period.

3. Only shareholders of Statoil on Oslo Brs and holders of ADRs on New York Stock Exchange as of expiry of 7 Februar 2018 and as registered in Statoil's shareholder register with the Norwegian Central Securities Depository (VPS) as of expiry of 9 February 2018, are entitled to subscribe for shares.

4. The new shares may not be subscribed for by shareholders in jurisdictions in which an offer to subscribe would be unlawful for the relevant shareholder.

5. Subscription of the new shares shall be carried out in accordance with the following:

a) Each of these shareholders can choose to receive their dividend wholly or partially in cash or newly issued shares and therefore are entitled to use in whole or in part the net dividends that the relevant shareholder is entitled to for the third quarter of 2017, to subscribe for shares in the company. The contribution will be settled by way of set-off against the subscribers' entitlement to net dividend from the company. Dividend in USD which shall be used as contribution shall be converted into NOK by using the same exchange rate between USD and NOK as set out under item 2 b) above. All subscriptions will be rounded down to the nearest whole number of shares. Any part of the net dividend not used to settle the subscribed shares, shall be paid in cash.

b) The Norwegian State has undertaken to participate in the dividend offer by using the part of its quarterly dividend to subscribe for the number of shares that is required to maintain its ownership interest of 67% in Statoil.

6. Each shareholder will be allocated the number of shares equal to the amount each shareholder has subscribed for during the subscription period, cf. item 5 above, divided by the subscription price, cf. item 2 above. No fractional shares will be allocated.

7. The subscription period shall commence at the latest on or about 26 February 2018. The subscription period shall be at least 10 business days for ordinary shareholders. Subscription of shares shall take place electronically or on a designated subscription form within the expiry of the subscription period.

8. ADR-holders under the ADR program in the US may make their election through Deutsche Bank as the depositary and receiving agent for the ADR program.

9. The new shares give shareholders rights in the company, including the right to dividends, from the registration of the share capital increase in the Norwegian Register of Business Enterprises. At the same time, section 3 of the Articles of Association shall be amended to reflect the new share capital.

10. The estimated costs for the share capital increase are NOK 5 million.

KPMG has prepared a statement according to the Norwegian Public Limited Liability Companies Act section 2-6 first and second paragraph, cf. section 10-2 third paragraph.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This announcement and the information contained herein does not constitute or form a part of, and should not be construed as, an offer for sale or subscription for or solicitation or invitation of any offer to subscribe for or purchase of dividend shares or any other securities of the Company and cannot be relied on for any investment contract or decision.

It may be unlawful to distribute this announcement in certain jurisdictions. This announcement is not for distribution in any jurisdiction in which prior registration or approval is required for that purpose. No steps have been taken or will be taken in any jurisdiction outside of Norway in which such steps would be required. No competent authority or any other regulatory body has passed upon the adequacy of this document or approved or disapproved the distribution of dividend shares outside of Norway. Any representation to the contrary may be a criminal offense.
With recent agreements already in place within Canada, Israel and Oman, the hire emphasizes corporate focus on continued international expansion.



SAN DIEGO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc., parent company to subsidiary brand Reis & Irvys, the worlds first frozen yogurt robot franchise, announced today that it has hired Andrew Beach as Director of International Licensing for the companys flagship frozen yogurt franchise concept. With an extensive background in business management and franchise operations as well as international licensing, Beach will lead the continued expansion of the Reis & Irvys brand around the world through its master license partnerships.

The high-tech robotic vending machines, which serve frozen yogurt, ice creams and sorbets, topped with six delicious toppings in under 60 seconds, have seen a tremendous response from the market. Since its debut in April of 2016, Reis & Irvys has grown to over 200 franchisees across U.S. and international markets, representing more than 1,000 pending robot installations. The popularity of the Froyo Robots has expanded exponentially and is sparking demand from entrepreneurs inspired to be part of the newest innovation in on-demand vending robotics, both domestically and around the world. In late 2017, the franchise took aim at the international market, securing its first global agreements within Canada, Oman and Israel representing more than $22.6 million in potential revenue if certain purchase objectives are met from vending robot sales. Beach, whose previous experience includes international licensing for United Franchise Group (representing Signarama, Transworld Business Advisors, Experimac, Venture X, Jon Smith Subs, Paramount Tax & Accounting and Accurate Franchising) will now focus on accelerating the Reis & Irvys international expansion efforts.

As the Reis & Irvys Franchise continues to grow within the United States, it became apparent through our first international agreements, that its popularity has global potential, said Nick Yates, Chairman of Generation NEXT Franchise Brands. That being said, our focus is to capitalize and expand the reach of this amazing opportunity to every corner of the world. Andrew brings the expertise and knowledge of international markets that will make that happen.

Beach, originally a native of New York, has settled into his role within the Generation NEXT Franchise Brands San Diego headquarters, but has his eye on global opportunities.

Reis & Irvys is a brand that is transforming and disrupting the frozen dessert industry as a whole, not just within the United States, but on a global level, said Beach. Individuals around the world that have the infrastructure to replicate our successful model here in the U.S., now have the opportunity to be the first within their respective countries to provide consumers with a technology that has never been seen before.

For more information on the revolutionary Reis & Irvys Froyo Robots or to learn more about Master Licensing opportunities, visit the Reis & Irvys website at http://www.reisandirvys.com To learn more about Generation NEXT Franchise Brands or their family of brands, including Reis & Irvys, please visit www.gennextbrands.com or call toll free 888-902-7558.

# # #

This information is not intended as an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy, a franchise. It is for information purposes only. No Reis & Irvy's franchises will be sold to any resident of any state until the offering has been exempted from the requirements of, or duly registered in and declared effective by, such state and the required FDD (if any) has been delivered to the prospective franchisee before the sale in compliance with applicable law. Currently, the following states in the United States regulate the offer and sale of franchises: California, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. If you reside in one of these states, or even if you reside elsewhere, you may have certain rights under applicable franchise laws or regulations.

About Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc.

Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc., based in San Diego, California, is a publicly traded company on the OTC Markets trading under the symbol: VEND. Generation NEXT Franchise Brands is parent company to Fresh Healthy Vending LLC, the markets leading healthy-choice vending machine franchise, Reis and Irvy's, Inc., the worlds first robotic frozen yogurt vending kiosk, 19 Degrees, a corporate-focused frozen yogurt robot brand and Generation NEXT Vending Robots, our newly established owner/operator model. The Company has sold over 600 franchises throughout the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas, and continually looks to partner with like-minded entrepreneurs who share its vision.

About Reis & Irvys, Inc.

Reis & Irvys, Inc., is a subsidiary franchise concept of Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, Inc. (OTCB: VEND). Launched in early 2016, the revolutionary Reis & Irvys Froyo Robot vending machine serves seven different flavors of frozen yogurt, ice cream, sorbets and gelatos, a choice of up to six custom toppings and to customers within 60 seconds or less at the point of sale. The unique franchise opportunity has since established itself as a high-demand product and currently showcases a franchise network both domestically as well as internationally.

Cautionary note on forward-looking statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements concerning our future financial performance, including statements regarding our ability to timely launch delivery and installation of our Froyo Robots and our ability to grow our franchising and licensing divisions and launch our corporate-owned and direct sales platforms. The Company bases these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, estimates and projections about future events and the industry in which it operates using information currently available to it. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe," "anticipate," "propose," "expect," "intend," "plan," "will," "may," "estimates," variations of such words and other similar expressions. In addition, any statements that refer to expectations, projections or other characterizations of future events or circumstances are forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this press release are set forth in our fillings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2017, our Quarterly Reports, and our Current Reports on Form 8-K. Be advised that developments subsequent to this press release are likely to cause these statements to become outdated and the Company is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any such obligation) to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
RENO, Nev., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OnTrac, a logistics company specializing in delivery services in the Western United States, has witnessed significant growth in Northern Nevada. Announced in early October, OnTrac had 200 available positions at the Sparks, Nevada facility and plans have been put in place to expand the current facility into a hub, which is over 150,000 square feet. The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) recognized this positive change created by OnTrac in Northern Nevada and honored the company at the annual New and Expanded Companies Event.



The event took place on December 7, 2017 at the Peppermill Resort, Spa and Casino. A total of 29 companies including OnTrac were recognized at the event along with over 400 business and community guests in attendance. EDAWN Executive Vice President of Business Development Stan Thomas and City of Reno Bill Thomas presented an award on stage to OnTrac Chief Financial Officer Thomas Fischer and OnTrac Corporate Account Manager Erin Metscher.

EDAWN CEO and President Mike Kazmierski says, 2017 has been an exciting year of growth and positive change in the Greater Reno-Sparks area and most certainly for OnTrac. EDAWNs annual event is all about new and expanded companies in our region this year. We are very excited to honor them at the celebration this year and look forward to seeing their company growth.

EDAWN was established in 1983 and is committed to positively impacting the quality of life in Greater Reno-Sparks by diversifying the economy through recruiting new companies, supporting existing companies and assisting newly forming companies in the region. OnTrac is a Presidential Gold Investor with EDAWN and Erin Metscher serves on the EDAWN Board of Trustees.

About OnTrac

OnTrac specializes in delivery services throughout the eight western area states, an area that is home to over 65 million people. OnTrac was founded in 1991, and has grown to become a top choice for e-commerce and companies looking to speed up parcel distribution without the cost of express shipping. In 2014, OnTrac launched DirectPost, and became the first regional logistics company to offer a USPS Package Consolidation Service. OnTrac is a SmartWay Transport Partner, a USPS Workshare Partner, and is integrated with over thirty different multi-carrier software providers. OnTrac is comprised of three divisions based on service offerings; overnight, messenger, and international. For more information on overnight services, call 800.334.5000 or visit ontrac.com. For more information on messenger services, call 888.334.5001 or visit ontracmessenger.com. For more information on international services, call 800.628.4868 or visit ontracinternational.com .

Katrina Fox

OnTrac

602-333-4579

kfox@ontrac.com
Waukesha, WI (53187)

Today

Variable clouds with scattered thunderstorms. High near 70F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms developing overnight. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 63F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
When we talk about good management, we're really talking about two things: Doing the right things and doing them in the right way. The vast majority of management advice is about the second part, doing things in the right way. But what about the first? How does a government know the right things to do? And what can you do if a government loses its way?It isn't a hypothetical question. I've seen governments that were lost. Many cities staggered through the 1960s and 1970s, attempting one half-hearted solution after another as their middle classes fled, downtowns declined and businesses moved to the suburbs. It took decades to find a set of strategies for turning things around.And today, it seems to me, it is states that are most at risk, due not so much to overwhelming problems as to politics and ideology. We've seen it recently in places like Kansas, North Carolina and Wisconsin, where narrowly elected legislative majorities rammed through laws punishing labor unions or gay citizens, inadvisably outsourcing public services or cutting taxes to the point that education funding was in jeopardy. I've detailed elsewhere why some states have lost their way. But a more interesting question is, what can we do now? How do you put a government back on track once its elected officials have jumped the track?My answer: Take a page from what local governments learned about turning to the citizens. Starting in the 1980s, some cities started convening residents in open-ended discussions about what they needed and wanted, using a process known as "visioning."It was based on two principles: First, you ask citizens things they know from their own experiences, such as the kind of city or neighborhood they want to live in. Second, you let them talk about these things first in small groups, and then report out their ideas. The process tends to refine the ideas and ground them in reality.Out of this process came demands for many of the things that make cities work today: walkable neighborhoods, lively downtowns, new investments in parks and trails, greater collaboration between schools and local government, transit improvements and bike lanes. In recent years, these conversations have turned up a new concern: that urban success is depriving cities of the human diversity that fuels them.Could such conversations be held across an entire state? And if so, who should hold them? State legislatures would hardly be the ones to ask citizens how to fix the problems they've played such a large role in creating.The answer to the first question is yes, there's no reason we can't scale visioning to the size of a state. As for the second question, I would like to nominate a surprising convener: state political parties.My reason is simple: Bad politics are at the heart of what ails state governments today. And the way to fix bad politics is with good politics. If one party -- probably the minority party -- listens to citizens in a systematic way, reports honestly what they say, and builds its legislative agenda around those desires, it will change politics for the better  and possibly make a majority out of the minority party. Warning: Running a dishonest visioning process, one in which you stack the meetings with partisans or report only the ideas you like, is worse than running no process at all. My advice: Trust the process.But trust it to do what? What is it that citizens are likely to say in these meetings? Well, no one can know for sure until the meetings are held, but based on my experience at the local level, they'll mostly ask for things that can make their lives and communities better. Sensible things like better public schools, greater access to vocational and higher education, more transportation options, help with economic development, and amenities that might help their cities or towns hold on to their young people. For the most part, they won't demand things that punish other citizens, satisfy extremist groups or reward special interests.In this way, citizens can help focus states once more on their serious work in human development, economic development and infrastructure. This won't thrill the ideologues. But it'll delight the citizens.
Great Barrington, a pretty town in the hilly Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, is a tad closer to Boston than it is to New York City, which is about 140 miles to the south. But if you walk along the main street lined with prosperous stores and restaurants, as I recently did, you mostly meet people from around New York City, those with second homes in the Berkshires or those who once were part-time residents and now live there full time.This is probably because for most of the last century New Yorkers came to the Berkshires via multiple train lines. The last direct one to Great Barrington shut down in 1971. But the cultural patterns still exist. New Yorkers continue to come to enjoy the scenery, good restaurants and vibrant arts scene. Now they just mostly come by car, about three hours on a good day.But regular passenger train service may be on the way back to Great Barrington and neighboring towns. Rail advocates, government leaders and planners are working to revive the Housatonic line, whose tracks are now operated by a freight company with the same name. Its a complicated endeavor, mostly because three states -- Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York -- must get on board.The Berkshires train revival advocates have had some initial success. Massachusetts has spent $12.1 million to buy its portion of the line from the freight company, which in turn has backed the project with studies and design work. The chief obstacle now is Connecticut, whose governor, Dannel Malloy, has not embraced the project, perhaps because he has been busy reviving train lines in another part of his state. Theres also a competing proposal being studied by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation. The Berkshire Flyer would bring trains in from the west, starting in Albany, N.Y. This would be less useful to Great Barrington because the trains wouldnt stop there, but it might be less expensive because the tracks are in better shape.Whatever happens in Massachusetts, people are working all over the country to bring back regional passenger train service. Elsewhere in New England, the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority has had great success with its CapeFlyer, a summer weekend train that restored service to Hyannis, allowing beachgoers to avoid sitting in traffic in the summer sun. Maine, through its Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, has set up the Downeaster, operated by Amtrak. It runs 145 miles from Boston up to Portland and beyond, and is used by about half a million people a year.Over on the other coast, trains run by the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit take passengers about 70 miles into Sonoma Wine Country, making 10 stops, with more planned. In New Mexico, the Rail Runner Express travels between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. All Aboard Florida, a private company, has its so-called Brightline under construction to offer service between Orlando and Miami (see All Aboard?, page 32). And Amtrak has expanded its own service in several regions, including between Seattle and Portland where Decembers fatal derailment occurred.Service on these lines is aimed at commuters, sometimes business travelers, sometimes tourists, often a mix. But the bottom line is the same: We have a transportation capacity challenge, and trains are a prominent piece of the solution.An interstate-style highway can only fit about 1,800 to 2,000 vehicles per lane per hour. A train can easily carry 10 or even 20 times the number of people who can fit into private cars on a highway lane. A double-track railroad can handle the same amount of traffic as a 16-lane highway, says James Abram Abe Zumwalt, director of policy research for the National Association of Railroad Passengers.This countrys secret resource is the thousands of miles of unused railroad right-of-way concealed mostly beneath weeds. At its peak back around 1920, the United States had more than 300,000 miles of active track. Many, if not most, of these rights-of-way go straight into the middle of towns and cities in a manner thats almost impossible, or at least extremely costly, to do anew. And some of these lines include pieces of fabulous infrastructure that would be prohibitively expensive to build today, such as the magnificent arched bridge north of Scranton, Pa.Theres more at stake than just moving people. As transportation scholar John Stilgoe noted in his 2007 book Train Time, private interests have been quietly buying up land around railroad rights of way, convinced that they are future gold mines. Karen Christensen, who is leading the campaign to revive service from New York to the Berkshires, says bringing back the Housatonic line would invigorate economic activity in the region. And theres a more community-oriented goal, she says: This line would restore the old connections between the towns along the line.The political difficulty, as always, is money. The capital costs of restoring the Housatonic line to passenger-grade service are estimated at more than $200 million. Thats hefty. But ultimately this resource is too valuable not to be used. A balanced transportation system, supported with public funds where needed, is best. Perhaps someday Ill ride a train from Grand Central Terminal to Great Barrington, where a driverless car will carry me the last mile to my lodgings. Its a future I can see.
More Money? Or Even Bigger Reforms?

Connecticut is the richest state in the country . And like all affluent states, Connecticut pours billions into education each year. Only the District of Columbia and two other states (Alaska and New York) spend more per student But for all the money Connecticut spends, it can't seem to close the gap between students in the richest districts in the state (places like Greenwich, Westport, Avon and Farmington) and the poorest districts in the largest cities like Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport.Student achievement also breaks sharply along racial lines. In math and English, twice as many of the states white students test at grade level than do black and Latino students, according to statewide assessment test results from 2017.For more than a decade, the state has been locked in a fierce debate over how it pays for public education, thanks to a lawsuit claiming the state's funding formula was broken. Indeed, back in 2016, a superior court judge ruled that the state's formula was " irrational" and unconstitutional , and failed to adequately fund urban and poor school districts. He ordered the state to initiate changes.But then, last month, the state Supreme Court overturned that ruling . Now, advocates and government officials alike are struggling to figure a solution for the persistent achievement gaps across the state.In Connecticut, as in many other places, schools rely primarily on property tax revenue for funding. That means poorer urban districts often don't have nearly the same resources as their affluent suburban counterparts.To help level the playing field, Connecticut has long had a statewide Education Cost Sharing program that distributes additional funds to struggling urban districts. It's currently a $2 billion bucket of money, which brings urban school funding in line with other parts of the state. In fact, dollar for dollar, urban schools in Connecticut are funded at levels equal to or in some cases higher than their suburban counterparts.But advocates say that's still not enough to mitigate the effects poverty can have on a child's education.The case decided on by the state Supreme Court last month was originally filed in 2005 by dozen school districts and localities that had organized as the Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding. The CCJEF claimed that the states cost-sharing program was insufficient. To properly fund education, they said, Connecticut would have to pump some $600 million in additional money to low-income districts to help them meet their needs.Part of the states contention was that it was an equitable formula because if we get one dollar more to urban school districts, it shows we are equitable, says Jim Finley, CCJEF principal consultant for operations and government relations.But an equal formula isn't the same as an equitable one.Advocates of additional funding say students in low-income districts need the state to account for paying social workers, counselors, after-school programs and other costs necessary to mitigate the impacts of poverty.Connecticut has the lowest bar I have ever seen in what constitutes a minimally adequate education in any state constitution," says Wendy Lecker, a senior attorney at the Education Law Center, which advocates for education equity across the country. "These districts are lacking in services for these students."In its decision last month, the state Supreme Court didn't dispute the notion that Connecticut's educational landscape was tilted in favor of students in affluent areas.We acknowledge that the plaintiffs have painted a vivid picture of an imperfect public educational system in this state that is straining to serve many students who, because their basic needs for, among other things, adequate parenting, financial resources, housing, nutrition and care for their physical and psychological health are not being met, cannot take advantage of the educational opportunities that the state is offering, the court said in its ruling.But that doesn't mean the funding formula is to blame, the court maintained: The plaintiffs have not shown that this gap is the result of the states unlawful discrimination against poor and needy students in its provision of educational resources as opposed to the complex web of disadvantaging societal conditions over which the schools have no control.Everyone knows Connecticut's education system is broken. The state education commissioner acknowledges the achievement gap, as does the attorney general and even Gov. Dannel Malloy, who went from plaintiff in the CCJEF lawsuit when he was mayor of Stamford to defendant in the case when he became governor in 2011.As governor, Malloy has boosted funding to poorer schools, launching the Alliance School Districts program in 2012, which has since spent $500 million on 33 of the states lowest performing districts. And last year he proposed a restructuring of Connecticuts education finance scheme, one that more heavily weighs poverty as a factor in receiving state funding.The new formula would decrease funding at 138 of the states school districts and increase funding at 31 of the districts, shifting money from the haves to the have-nots. Hartford and Waterbury, districts with high concentrations of poverty, would be the biggest winners in Malloys proposal. Each would get more than $40 million in additional state support. State lawmakers adopted a version of Malloys proposal when Connecticut passed its biennial budget in October.But what if more money isn't enough?Connecticut has among the nation's highest rates of school segregation. Some reform advocates say the state won't ever be able to fix its funding problems without addressing the underlying issue of segregated schools.Take Bridgeport, the states largest city and one of its poorest.One third of the children there live below the poverty line. And the citys population is nearly three-quarters black and Latino. Nearby Westport is 87 percent white, with a median household income almost four times as high as Bridgeport. Only 3 percent of Westports children live at or below the poverty line. The towns are 12 miles apart.When we are talking about equity, we are talking about Bridgeport versus a Westport, says former Bridgeport schools superintendent Fran Rabinowitz.Currently, Connecticut has 169 independent school districts, one for each town in the state. That Balkinization contributes to segregated systems as well as educational disparities, says state Education Commissioner Dianna Wentzell."The governance structure in Connecticut and New England encourages that kind of separation between towns that may not be so far apart in terms of distance but can be far apart in terms of demographics."In contrast to Connecticut, the state of Maryland has nearly double the population but only 23 school districts, one for each county and one for Baltimore city. If Connecticut had a regional system more akin to Maryland's, it's possible that students from Bridgeport and Westport would attend the same schools.Many people, including the CCJEF's Finley, say Connecticut would benefit from consolidating into fewer districts, perhaps even as few as eight, one for each county in the state. One such advocate is Lincoln Caplan, a senior researcher and lecturer at Yale Law School. Caplan laid out his argument in a 2016 New Yorker piece With careful planning, a countywide school district could benefit poorer students from Bridgeport academically, and richer students would not suffer. Students in both groups would benefit from the type of diversity that, as a compelling interest of the government, is the sole reason the U.S. Supreme Court continues to allow affirmative action in admissions at public universities," Caplan wrote.The Connecticut Council for Education Reform suggests such a move would also save money. Currently, the 169 school districts means 169 superintendents and 169 complete teams of administrative and support personnel.Caplan says he got pushback when he published his argument.When that piece came out in theI got scathing remarks, especially in the Gold Coast [the upscale communities in Fairfield County along the Connecticut coastline] who thought their kids were going to be penalized for being rich, Caplan says.Such a response doesnt surprise Finley and CCJEF advocates. The political culture of Connecticut has long made it nearly impossible to work across town boundaries.The third rail in Connecticut is local control, and schools are at the epicenter of that," says Finley. "Its difficult for people to see the benefit of their children attending schools with more diverse student bodies.
Reasons Behind Rising Suicide Rates

Seeking Solutions

Suicide Rates by County

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For years, confronting mental health issues has been a persistent challenge in a sparsely populated part of Alaska known as the Kusilvak Census Area. Most of its remote villages, which are home primarily to Alaska Natives who mostly work in the fishing industry, lack health clinics, and the closest hospital is a long plane ride away.This and other factors have contributed to an alarmingly high number of residents taking their own lives. The area of approximately 8,000 people recorded a staggering 49 suicide deaths between 2012 and 2016 -- the highest rate of any county-level jurisdiction in the country.Suicide is a perennial problem throughout the nation. The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows the 2016 national age-adjusted suicide rate reached the highest level seen in decades.A review of the federal data, however, shows that it's rural America that is sustaining the largest increases. The aggregate suicide rate for counties outside of metropolitan areas climbed about 14 percent over the five-year period ending in 2016. By comparison, the rate within metro areas also increased -- but only by 8 percent. The largest metro areas, in particular, experienced relatively small increases compared to everywhere else.The suicide rate is highest in the Western U.S., with Montana (26 deaths per 100,000), Alaska (25.4 deaths per 100,000) and Wyoming (25.2 deaths per 100,000) recording the highest rates. Rates were about three times lower in the more urban states of Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.Regional differences are largely a function of demographics.White men die at the highest rates -- roughly 10 times that of Hispanic women and black women -- because they tend to have greater access to firearms. Women, on the other hand, carry out more suicide attempts but generally do so using less lethal means.Gun ownership, which is more prevalent in rural areas, also explains why certain regions have higher suicide rates. Firearms account for about half of all suicide deaths. Research has found that mandating waiting periods, gun locks and other gun control laws are associated with fewer deaths.Alaska's Statewide Suicide Prevention Council recently published a five-year plan outlining problem areas and strategies. Like other rural parts of the country, many of the state's communities are without access to mental health care. Cultural attitudes can pose challenges, too: The stigma associated with mental health may dissuade individuals from seeking care.Among Alaska's indigenous villages, Eric Morrison of the council says a loss of culture or language, as well as the trauma associated with decades of colonization, may also be affecting older natives and their descendants. The web of causality differs from place to place, he says. If there was one simple answer, we would have solved this years ago.The fact that suicides occur more frequently in rural areas isnt new. Recent CDC data, though, shows the disparity between rural and urban areas has slowly widened in recent years.Whats actually driving up overall suicide rates isnt fully understood. But theres general consensus that it's a range of things. One often-cited factor is the economy.For a few years, some assumed that higher suicides were largely a consequence of the Great Recession. But even after several years of economic growth, mounting death tolls havent subsided. The national rate has now increased for 11 consecutive years.Still, not all parts of the country have experienced the same economic growth, and its many of these struggling regions that are experiencing larger losses to suicide.Princeton University professors Anne Case and Angus Deaton have conducted extensive research around what they call deaths by despair -- suicides, drug overdoses and alcohol-related fatalities. They found mortality among non-Hispanic whites to be rising for those without college degrees, and improving for more educated whites, blacks and Hispanics. The cumulative effects of few labor market opportunities and weakening social structures have largely contributed to worsening mortality for less-educated whites, although the authors note that economics alone dont fully explain increasing suicide rates.Its not the economics itself but the associated stress that leads to physical or mental effects on health, says Jill Harkavy-Friedman of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The unemployed may lose health insurance or be unable to pay for treatment. More Americans are also likely, Harkavy-Friedman adds, to be living with chronic pain or other conditions today that influence mood or behavior.Studies have singled out other issues compounding the problem. Marriage rates, for instance, have declined, and unmarried middle-aged men have been shown to be at particularly high risks of suicide.Alternatively, part of the longer-term increase may simply have to do with how suicides are reported. Advocates say state reporting has improved, and suicide deaths are now better counted in state and federal data.West Virginias suicide rate -- historically one of the nations highest -- has continued its slow upward ascent in recent years. About two-thirds of the states fatalities involve firearms, so Barri Faucett, director of Prevent Suicide West Virginia, says her group is working to distribute gun locks and promote the idea that those suffering from mental health problems shouldnt have immediate access to firearms. Were not telling people to get rid of their guns, she says. Were just wanting to ensure that theyre kept safe during a critical time.Alaska's five-year plan seeks to prevent suicides through several layers: promoting wellness to lessen suicide risks, improving awareness and understanding of suicide, and strengthening the services and supports provided to a person who is experiencing a mental or emotional crisis.In Wyoming, Gov. Matt Mead hosts an annual symposium on suicide prevention.And the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is pushing an approach known as  Zero Suicide  that aims to improve care and outcomes for individuals at risk of suicide in health-care systems. The group is also focusing its efforts on emergency rooms and correctional facilities, two other places where people are at higher risk. The vast majority of suicide victims, in fact, suffer from a diagnosable mental health issue.By increasing public awareness of risk factors and warning signs, we can do something to stave off some of the deaths, says Harkavy-Friedman of the foundation.
Supporters of the nations health law condemn them. A few states, including California and New York, have banned them. Other states limit them.But to some insurance brokers and consumers, short-term insurance plans are an enticing, low-cost alternative for healthy people.Now, with new federal rules allowing short-term plans that last up to three years, agents said, some consumers are opting for these more risky policies. Adding to the appeal is the elimination of a federal tax penalty for those without comprehensive insurance, effective next year. Short-term health plans often exclude people with preexisting conditions and do not cover services mandated by the Affordable Care Act.Colorado resident Gene Ferry, 66, purchased a short-term health plan this month for his wife, Stephanie, who will become eligible for Medicare when she turns 65 in August. The difference in the monthly premium price for her new, cheaper plan through LifeShield National Insurance Co. and the policy he had through the ACA is $650.Thats a no-brainer, said Ferry, who considers the ACA atrocious and supports President Donald Trumps efforts to lower costs. I was paying $1,000 a month and I got tired of it.He signed up his wife for a three-month plan and said that if she is still healthy in January, he will purchase another one to last six months. But Ferry, who is covered under Medicare, said if something happens to her before open enrollment ends  which in Colorado is in January  he would buy a policy through the exchange.Theres a lot of political jockeying over the value of short-term plans, said Dan Walterman, owner of Premier Health Insurance of Iowa, which offers such policies. I think people can make their own choices.Walterman, 42, said he chose a short-term policy for himself, his wife and their 3-year-old daughter  at a sixth of the price of more comprehensive insurance. The plan isnt for everybody, but it works for me, he said, adding that he gets accident coverage but doesnt need such things as maternity care or prescriptions.Essentially, short-term plans cost less because they cover less.Some plans have exclusions that could blindside consumers, such as not covering hospitalizations that occur on a Friday or Saturday or any injuries from sports or exercise, said Claire McAndrew, director of campaigns and partnership for Families USA, a consumer advocacy group.People may see a low premium on a short-term plan and think that it is a good option, she said. But when people actually go to use a short-term plan, it will not actually pay for many  or any  of their medical expenses.The plans can exclude people with preexisting conditions such as cancer or asthma and often dont cover the essential benefits required under the health law, including maternity care, prescription drugs or substance abuse treatment. They also can have ceilings on what they will pay for any type of care. Insurers offering such plans can choose to cover  or not cover  what they want.Democrats are condemning them as junk plans, but the adequacy of the health plan is in the eye of the beholder, said Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies for the libertarian Cato Institute. The only junk insurance is a plan that doesnt pay as it was promised.The plans originally were designed to fill brief gaps in insurance coverage for people in the individual market. When the ACA went into effect, the Obama administration limited short-term plans to three months, but the Trump administration this year expanded that to 364 days, with possible extensions of up to three years. Critics fear healthy people may abandon the ACA-compliant market to buy cheaper short-term plans, leaving sicker people in the insurers risk pool, which raises premiums for those customers.But some agents said the policies may be good for healthy people as they transition between jobs, near Medicare eligibility or go to college  despite significant limitations.Its hard to encourage those types of people to spend hundreds of dollars extra on a health insurance plan that they are rarely using, said Cody Michael, director of client and broker services for Independent Health Agents in Chicago.Michael said agents also get a higher commission on the plans, providing them with more of an incentive to sell them. But he advises clients that if they do have a chronic illness, they may face denials for coverage. This is old-world insurance, he said. You basically have to be in perfect health.Dania Palanker, assistant research professor at Georgetown Universitys Center on Health Insurance Reforms, said preexisting conditions arent always well understood  or well explained. A person might discover too late that, for example, they arent covered if they have a stroke because an old blood test showed they had high cholesterol.But Ryan Ellis, a 40-year-old lobbyist and tax preparer in Alexandria, Va., who is considering a short-term plan for himself, his wife and his three children, said his decision will be made very deliberately, with my eyes wide open knowing the advantages and disadvantages.Some agents said they offer the short-term plan as a last resort  only after warning clients that if they have an accident or get sick, they might not be able to renew their plan. That means they could be stuck without insurance while waiting for the next open-enrollment period.They could really be in a world of hurt, said Colorado insurance agent Eric Smith. This is just a ticking time bomb.Roger Abel, of Marion, Iowa, said hes willing to take the risk. He has a short-term plan for his 2-year-old daughter. Abel said he pays about $90 a month for her, compared with more than $450 that he would have paid for comprehensive coverage. He and his wife have a separate policy from before the Affordable Care Act took effect.But Abel, who is an investment adviser, has a backup option. He said he could always start a group health plan under his company that would provide his daughter with more coverage.Neena Moorjani, 45, said she wanted to buy a short-term plan but cant because she lives in California, where they were prohibited under a law signed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown this year. Moorjani, a tax preparer in Sacramento, said she rarely gets sick and doesnt need an ACA plan.She decided on religious-based health coverage known as a Christian ministry plan. These cost-sharing programs use members fees to pay for others medical bills. Such programs are not regulated by government agencies and may not cover preexisting conditions or preventive care.When California banned short-term plans, I was really, really upset, Moorjani said. I wish I had the freedom to choose what health care insurance is appropriate for me.
Abortion clinics in Toledo and Cleveland have lost their attempts before the Ohio Supreme Court to challenge state restrictions on abortion.In a pair of 5-2 votes, the justices ruled that the Ohio Department of Health legally moved to revoke the operating license of Capital Care Network of Toledo and that Pre-Term Cleveland Inc. lacked standing to challenge abortion restrictions inserted in the 2013 state budget bill.Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, a Republican, and William M. O'Neill, the court's lone Democrat who resigned on Jan. 26 to run for governor, cast the dissenting votes in both cases.The justices overturned lower court rulings in finding state health officials had properly moved to rescind the license of Capital Care Network for its failure to obtain an emergency patient transfer agreement with a "local" hospital.The University of Toledo Medical Center did not renew its transfer agreement with the clinic after language in the 2013 state budget prohibited public hospitals from entering such agreements with abortion clinics.The Toledo clinic then entered a transfer agreement with the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor, but the state ruled the hospital was not "local" and moved to yank Capital Care's license. Testimony indicated a patient could not be taken to the hospital by ambulance in less than 30 minutes, as required by health rules.The court majority rejected grounds of constitutional violations asserted by the clinic and upheld at the trial court and appellate court level. The court found "reliable, probative and substantial evidence" that the clinic's transfer agreement with the Michigan hospital did not comply with state rules.In her dissent, O'Connor said the new abortion requirements violated the "single subject" rule in the Ohio Constitution when they were inserted in the state budget bill. She and O'Neill both said the transfer agreement requirement placed an undue burden on a woman's right to access abortion services as recognized by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.The closure of the Toledo clinic would leave Ohio with seven abortion providers. In 2010, the state had 16 clinics, with increasing state restrictions on their operations prompting many to close.Jennifer Branch, a Cincinnati lawyer who represented Capital Care Network, said she and her client were "very disappointed" with the court's ruling."It really makes it impossible for the clinic to comply with written transfer agreement regulations -- not a single hospital in Toledo will enter one," she said.Instead, the clinic is working to find a local physician with patient-admission privileges at a non-public local hospital to serve as a "backup" in emergencies, Branch said. The Department of Health granted such a variance to an abortion clinic in Dayton, she said. "Otherwise, the clinic will not be able to continue services."In the Cleveland clinic case, Pre-Term had claimed that GOP lawmakers violated the "single subject" rule by inserting abortion regulations into the 2013 budget bill, including the transfer agreement language and public-hospital prohibition, and conducting ultrasounds to establish the presence of a fetal heartbeat, requiring more visits by a a woman seeking an abortion.Lawmakers violated the constitutional language by including matters not involving the budget into the law, the clinic contended.However, the justices ruled that Pre-Term did not have a legal right to sue the state because it could not prove it suffered or was threatened with "direct and concrete injury." The clinic has had a transfer agreement with University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center since 2005 and only presented "speculation" how it might be harmed, the majority found.Jessie Hill, a volunteer attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio, said, "These abortion restrictions were slipped into a 3,000 page budget bill at the last minute with no public comment. This is a blow to government transparency and women across Ohio will suffer as a result of this decision."O'Connor's dissent said the heartbeat-protection provision did injure Pre-Term because it incurred additional expenses in conducting a second appointment for women seeking abortions.The ruling overturned an appellate court finding that the clinic had standing to challenge the abortion restrictions.In a statement, Ohio Right to Life President Michael Gonidakis said: "Today, the court affirmed what a vast majority of Ohioans expected -- abortion should not be advanced at the expense of women's health and safety ... the Court, like our pro-life government, got it right. Now that this issue is settled, Ohio Right to Life expects that this abortion clinic in Toledo will be closed immediately by the Ohio Department of Health."NARAL Pro-Choice Ohio Executive Director Kellie Copeland said: "Once a woman has made the decision to end a pregnancy, she needs access to safe and legal health care in her community. I can't emphasize that enough -- In. Her. Community. I am gravely concerned about the impact this will have on women in Northwest Ohio. Today's politically-motivated decision is devastating to women who can't afford to leave town, who can't find childcare for an extended time, or can't pay for the increased costs that come with delayed care...this decision pushes abortion out of reach and punishes women for their decision to end a pregnancy."Melanie Amato, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health, said state officials had no comment on the ruling or how soon it may move to close the clinic.The number of abortions in Ohio reached a record low of 20,672 in 2016 -- the fewest in the 40 years the state health department has kept records.
Gov. Phil Murphy on Monday unveiled his latest effort combatting President Donald Trump's administration: two moves he said will help protect "open" internet access for New Jerseyans in the wake of the federal government's controversial decision to repeal net-neutrality rules.Murphy signed an executive order making New Jersey the third state that requires internet service providers "adhere to the principles of net neutrality" if they want a contract to do business with the state.The Democratic governor also said New Jersey is joining 21 other states and Washington, D.C., in a lawsuit challenging the Federal Communications Commission's decision late last year to roll back the rules."Our intent is clear: New Jerseyans deserve free, open, and equal access to the internet," Murphy said during a news conference in Newark. "The internet is no longer a curious plaything available only to a select few. It is now a vital part of everyday life."
Following reports of sexual harassment in the Kansas Capitol, Gov. Jeff Colyer on Monday signed an executive order requiring all executive branch employees to receive sexual harassment training each year.The order was Colyer's first since he became governor last week."We will be fierce about it," he said.The order applies to thousands of executive branch employees. It won't apply to the offices of other elected officials such as the secretary of state, the attorney general or lawmakers, Colyer's office said, but his team is expected to encourage other offices to consider a similar move.The order also requires every state agency to review its sexual harassment policies every three years, or sooner if issues arise.Every employee, intern and contractor will receive sexual harassment policies, and every employee and intern under the executive branch will receive sexual harassment training. The training, Colyer said, will happen before the end of the fiscal year."I think it's very important that people see that we're transparent, that we're responsive," he said.The Star revealed last year that legislative interns and other young women in the Kansas Capitol have faced sexual advances and lewd comments from lawmakers of both parties.Legislative leaders condemned harassment, and Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican, brought in the Women's Foundation to recommend policy changes.Colyer's order puts Kansas in a leadership role, said Wendy Doyle, the president and CEO of the Women's Foundation."We couldn't be more pleased with the outcome and the leadership of Gov. Colyer so early in his tenure to be able to do this executive order," said Doyle, who attended the signing.Lawmakers were strongly encouraged to attend sexual harassment training last month, though it was not mandatory."We've been working on this issue and trying to find ways to make this a better place," said House Speaker Ron Ryckman, an Olathe Republican. "And we will continue to review our policies and look at the results so far, especially with the training that we have had both with our internship program and also the Legislature's."Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, a Kansas City, Kan., Democrat, said she was pleased Colyer was taking this step."I absolutely hope that the Legislature also follows (Colyer's) lead and does something that applies to our branch of government," she said.
I am going to say what no one else is right now - we (Missouri Republicans) just lost a MO House seat because of @EricGreitens and his refusal to put our party over his ego. @RobertKnodell and the @Missouri_HRCC team ran a hell of a race and deserved a win.  Scott Dieckhaus (@sdieckhaus) February 7, 2018

Since news of his extramarital affair broke last month, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has sought to characterize it as a "personal mistake" and put it behind him.That hasn't been possible.A grand jury is investigating possible crimes connected with the affair. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have called for the Republican governor to resign, and his standing with the legislature, which is dominated by his own party, appears to have been permanently weakened. Some Republicans are even blaming him for the loss of a state House seat in a special election on Tuesday.Scott Dieckhaus, a former executive director of the Missouri House Republican Campaign Committee, tweeted Wednesday morning:Greitens has been touring the state to promote his tax proposal (a tour that was postponed when news of his affair broke). Greitens wants to cut personal and corporate income taxes while making changes to sales tax collections and the deductibility of federal income taxes.It's his top legislative priority for the year, but it appears to be dead on arrival. Legislators don't seem inclined to take up much of anything that the governor has to offer."He doesn't have a whole lot of support in the legislature that I can tell," says Nate Walker, one of five House Republicans who has called on Greitens to step down.Walker was an early supporter of Greitens, a former Navy SEAL who overcame a large field in the 2016 GOP gubernatorial primary to win his first campaign for public office. Greitens' background made him look like a potential star, one who appeared in an ad touting neighboring Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner.Greitens never got out of campaign mode. He ran as an outsider vowing to clean up Jefferson City, and he never let up his attacks after arriving there. He called out individual legislators on social media, and outside groups affiliated with the governor ran negative ads against those who crossed him. Greitens quickly signed a bill turning Missouri into a right-to-work state, but his own priority legislation rarely got far.That was last year, before his affair became public. Now that he's in deeper trouble, Republicans appear to be even less inclined to support the governor's agenda."His relationship with the GOP-dominated state legislature is fractured and there appears to be little desire on the part of legislators to repair it," says Peverill Squire, a political scientist at the University of Missouri. "At this point, the governor is without many friends in Jefferson City."Lawmakers are nervous about what further news might break regarding his affair. The woman's husband secretly tape-recorded her saying that Greitens had threatened to release a compromising photo of her if she went public. The husband's attorney said Monday that he had been asked to testify before a grand jury investigating the possible blackmail scheme, which Greitens has denied. (He has not specifically confirmed or denied taking a picture of the woman.)"Now a grand jury has been empanelled and it will be a drip, drip, drip," Rep. Walker says. "Lots more is going to come. I've been around long enough to observe or watch these things happen."Greitens' troubles come at a time when allegations of sexual misconduct have ended the careers of numerous politicians around the country.In his successful state House race in this week's special election, Democrat Mike Revis featured damaging headlines about Greitens in a web ad . Revis carried a Jefferson County district where President Trump had taken 61 percent of the vote in 2016. Republicans held the three other House seats at stake on Tuesday, but the Democratic candidates outperformed Hillary Clinton's 2016 showing in the districts by margins of 18, 25 and 53 percentage points."Certainly, Gov. Greitens was a factor," says Democratic state Sen. Jill Schupp. "I think Republicans are doing everything they can to distance themselves from the governor, and I don't blame them."Nothing hurts a politician's standing like the sense that he's a drag on the party as a whole. Perhaps Greitens' troubles will clear up by November, but Missouri Republicans aren't yet ready to bet on it."He's damaged," says David Robertson, who chairs the political science department at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. "Maybe he can ride it out, but his political future is a whole lot dimmer than it used to be."
For years, a glitch in a Washington Department of Licensing (DOL) system caused thousands of people to be left off the state's voter rolls.The software issue prevented thousands of registrations in the motor-voter program from being transmitted to the Secretary of State's Office, officials for the two agencies said Tuesday.Now, election officials are rushing to get ballots to nearly 7,000 people who didn't already register through other means before the Feb. 13 special election for local ballot issues across the state.Those 7,000 were identified from about 25,000 people who since 2011 tried to register to vote through DOL's motor-voter system but didn't have their names sent on to the voter rolls. Most of those 25,000 were registered to vote in some other way.The problem mainly involved people who changed their names on their driver's licenses and got a new driver's license number. Most of those impacted were women, according to the Secretary of State's Office.The software problem may have affected some voter registrations as far back as 2006, but officials say they haven't analyzed data that old.In a news conference Tuesday, DOL Director Pat Kohler attributed the problem to a decades-old driver-database system that is scheduled to be replaced this year.Because of the mistake, 1,574 King County voters have been left off the voter rolls, with an additional 768 left off in Snohomish County.County election officials Tuesday were processing those registrations with the aim of mailing ballots Wednesday morning, according to Kendall Hodson, chief of staff for King County Elections.Voters can also go online and download their ballots to print out, she said.Hodson said it's too soon to know all the details, but "certainly any time that we aren't mailing ballots to voters, that's alarming to us."On Dec. 4, a Skamania County elections worker who made a driver's license change notified state election officials of a possible problem, said Lori Augino, elections director for the Secretary of State's Office.Augino said her office contacted DOL and was first told the issue was a one-time error.But Secretary of State officials suspected there was a wider problem, Augino said, "pushing and prodding" DOL staff almost daily to figure out what happened.At one point in late December, Augino said, two DOL staff members gave different answers in response to an election official's question about the problem."And those different answers led my staff to believe that there was something bigger going on," she said.DOL officials didn't identify the glitch as a systemwide problem until Jan. 26, a situation Augino called "frustrating."The Secretary of State's Office intends to undertake an extensive review of DOL's motor-voter data to check for other issues, she said.The motor-voter program allows people to register to vote when completing any transaction at a DOL office.DOL spokeswoman Krista Carlson said the agency responded quickly once management was alerted to the issue. The agency released a software fix Jan. 30."We will be investigating what occurred here," Carlson said.In an email, Tara Lee, spokeswoman for Gov. Jay Inslee, said the office is "concerned about any potential disenfranchisement of voters."But, "It's unknown at this point what the impact to previous elections has been, and DOL and SOS are doing everything possible to make sure voters are able to participate in next week's election," Lee wrote.The Feb. 13 elections around the state include school-district tax levies and other local tax questions.Many of the 7,000 voters now being registered will likely have ballot issues in their county to vote on, Augino said.Tuesday's announcement by DOL comes a month after it was revealed that the agency was giving federal immigration-enforcement agents personal information on state some residents.Federal agents could use that information to arrest and deport people who entered the country without proper documentation.DOL has since said it won't release personal information to federal officials without a court order, unless required by law.
Sen. Jeff Kruse not only subjected two female senators to unwanted touching, he groped or gave lingering hugs to many other women working at the Oregon Capitol, an independent investigator concluded in a damning report released Tuesday.Kruse's actions created a hostile workplace, the investigator said. And the fact his conduct was widely known yet went unchecked left women less powerful than he was to suffer, certain their complaints would go nowhere, she wrote.The investigator, Dian Rubanoff, an employment law attorney in private practice, found that Kruse engaged in a "longstanding pattern of unwelcome physical contact" with women at the Capitol and that he was, until 2017, "oblivious" to the effects of his actions. Kruse's unwanted behaviors "escalated" after legislative officials warned him to stop, the investigator concluded.A few instances of Kruse's close contact with female lawmakers were recorded on official Legislative videos of Senate floor sessions and committee meetings.The report revealed new instances of what it said was misconduct by Kruse against a member of the House, a third female senator, two law students who used to work for him, Republican and non-partisan staffers, a former legislative aide and a lobbyist. Those women were not named in the report.One of the law students told the investigator that the senator would call her "little girl" and tell her she was "sexy" while at work in the Capitol. She also said Kruse would come up behind her, put his hands on her shoulder and rest his head on hers. The woman told the investigator Kruse subjected her to "a lot of hugging" and would grab her and pull her in to a tight hug at least twice per week.The law student used normal social cues to tell Kruse she did not accept his conduct, the report said, but Kruse did not pick up on it. The student told the investigator she did not speak up about the harassment because she was "terrified" how it might affect her career.Another law student who worked for Kruse told the investigator the senator would tightly hug her or put his hands on her hips when they were near each other. Kruse's fingers would occasionally slide over the bottoms of her breasts while he hugged her, the student reported. The student "felt trapped" by Kruse's conduct, the report said.A lobbyist told the investigator that Kruse "cupped her buttocks" when the two met for a photo-op in Gov. Kate Brown's office in 2017. The lobbyist said she did not initially make a complaint about Kruse because she worried it could damage her career, the report said.A non-partisan committee staffer told the investigator that Kruse once kissed her on the cheek, close to her mouth, and that he would often hug her or touch his head to hers. Multiple staffers in the Senate Republicans caucus office told the investigator that Kruse had grabbed them and pulled them in or wrapped his arms around them.Two Democratic Oregon senators, Sara Gelser of Corvallis and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward of Portland, went public last fall with allegations Kruse subjected them to unwanted touching and inappropriate close contact.The report details new allegations of misconduct by two other elected lawmakers -- one in the House and one in the Senate. Kruse was "very physical" with the representative, the report said. He would grab her hands when they talked and pull her in to the point she felt trapped, it said.The report also detailed Kruse's treatment of a new female Democratic senator during lawmakers' 2017 workplace harassment training session. According to the report, Kruse gave her a hug, pulled her in closely and joked that his hug may violate the workplace conduct rules. Only one woman joined the Senate that year: Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Milwaukie. She was not immediately available for comment Tuesday evening.Many Capitol staff members who said Kruse touched them or made them uncomfortable said they did not report his conduct or confront him, the report said. It said those women explained that staffers are expected to show deference to elected lawmakers and Kruse's reputation for touching women seemed well-known and widely accepted at the Capitol.The report is slated to be considered by the Senate Conduct Committee, a four-member panel which has scheduled a public hearing to review her investigation on Feb. 22.Kruse has acknowledged that he touched women in the Capitol but said the contact was not sexual in nature. He said prior to the report going public that he would not resign, despite public statements from several lawmakers, most of them Republicans, that he should leave office.He was not available for comment Tuesday. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive in October, "I have never done anything that I believe anybody could portray as being sexual."Senate Republican Leader Jackie Winters, R-Salem, declined to comment. Winters' spokeswoman, Tayleranne Gillespie, said in a statement, "At this time, we are reviewing the report. The process is still ongoing, and will continue with the Senate Conduct Committee meeting."Jonathan Lockwood, who was the spokesman for the Senate Republicans in 2017, said, "The fact that state Sen. Jeff Kruse has not resigned is a disgrace to the Republican Party. It is a moral outrage."The governor called on Kruse to resign in a statement released Tuesday evening. "Senator Kruse's behavior is not acceptable in the Capitol or any workplace, and he should step down," Brown said.House Speaker Tina Kotek also issued a statement calling on Kruse to resign. "The people of Oregon and the women who work in the Capitol deserve better. He should resign, and if he chooses not to, the Senate should expel him," Kotek said.Rubanoff wrote in her report that Kruse cooperated with the investigation and did not deny most of the accusations against him. Instead, he told her he had "no recollection" of most of the alleged misdeeds. Kruse also said he did not take seriously warnings to stop touching women at the Capitol, according to Rubanoff's report, and only began to realize his behavior was inappropriate after he attended an hour of counseling in December.Kruse told the investigator that he believed his behavior was "instinctual" and that although he wanted to change, "It's not easy to change when you have been doing something for 67 years."Allegations first surfaced against Kruse in October, amid the #MeToo movement, when women across the nation began to speak publicly about sexual harassment by politicians, members of the news media and other powerful figures.Gelser tweeted October 16 that a member of the Senate Republican Caucus had groped "female members and staff" at the Capitol. That evening, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, relieved Kruse of his committee assignments, a drastic form of discipline that effectively keeps him from shaping legislation.Gelser told The Oregonian/OregonLive October 23 that Kruse had sexually harassed her for years and not stopped despite warnings by legislative officials. She later said in a formal complaint that Kruse had touched her breast and thigh while both were working in the Capitol. She also alleged that Kruse sexually harassed up to 15 other women who worked at the Capitol and called for senators to expel Kruse from their chamber.Gelser was later included in Time Magazine's Person of the Year feature, which focused on "silence breakers" who spoke out about sexual harassment. She was not available for comment Tuesday.Steiner Hayward went public with allegations against Kruse in November, saying in a formal complaint that he gave her inappropriately close hugs and sat so close to her that he made her uncomfortable. Steiner Hayward declined to comment Tuesday.The senators' complaints sparked Rubanoff's investigation -- the first time in memory the Legislature's formal sexual harassment reporting policy and conduct committee process has been invoked.If the conduct committee finds Rubanoff's investigation has merit, it can recommend the full Senate discipline Kruse by reprimand, censure or expulsion. If the committee makes such a recommendation, the Senate must vote on discipline the next time it meets. Discipline requires a two-thirds majority, and Democrats are three vote shy of that margin.Rubanoff wrote in her report that she worries that women may feel it is futile to speak up about sexual harassment if Kruse does not face "meaningful consequences."
A Pennsylvania state representative called for five Democratic justices to be impeached after they struck down the state's congressional map for gerrymandering.The state high court ruled last month that the 18 districts violated Pennsylvania's constitution because they unfairly benefited Republicans.And U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Monday rejected emergency appeals from Republicans to block an order from the state supreme court to devise new congressional districts.Rep. Cris Dush sent out a statement on Monday calling for legislation to impeach the five Justices who threw out the congressional map drawn in 2011."The five Justices who signed this order...engaged in misbehavior in office. Wherefore, each is guilty of an impeachable offense warranting removal from office and disqualification to hold any office or trust or profit under this Commonwealth," Dush wrote.The state's Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, and House Speaker Mike Turzai also issued a joint statement saying they "may be compelled to pursue further legal action in federal court."Lawmakers and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf have three weeks to submit a replacement plan, after which the state justices might draw up their own map.The U.S. Supreme Court typically does not review state court decisions based on a state's constitution.But the Republicans asked the high court to make an exception and Alito handles emergency appeals from Pennsylvania.A new map might help Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections."I think a fair map in Pennsylvania can give Democrats an opportunity to win up to five seats in Pennsylvania," Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez told NPR.
Governor's Program

The Governors Official Program is comprised of a wide range of constitutional and legal duties and ceremonial and community engagements. Each year, the Governor hosts thousands of visitors to Government House to take part in investiture and award ceremonies, Open Days, receptions and meetings, and travels widely throughout Queensland to support the activities of Patron groups. View a chronological record of the Governors daily program below.
Description

GIS  07 February, 2018: A Brainstorming Meeting on the deepening of the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (iEPA) opened this morning at the Voila Hotel Bagatelle, in Moka.

The one-day event, organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, is bringing together delegates from the five iEPA signatory States, that is, Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe.

In his opening remarks, the Director, International Trade Division, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Sunil Boodhoo, indicated that the meeting being held is a two-legged one, that is, the present one focusing on the deepening of the iEPA, while the second one scheduled over the next two days will bring together high officials from the Eastern and Southern African States (ESA) and the UK for discussions.

The objectives are two-fold, Mr Boodhoo highlighted, namely: for the first meeting, to prepare to negotiate with the European Union (EU) so as to deepen the existing iEPA; and, for the second meeting, to hold talks with the UK to transpose the current existing iEPA into an arrangement between ESA and the UK to ensure continuity and preserve access on the UK trade market after Brexit.

The Director recalled that already two consultations have been held with the UK and a broad agreement has been reached with regards to the changes that may have to be brought to the existing iEPA so that it is customised into an agreement between ESA and the EU. This is important because we need to send a very strong signal to the business and export community so that they are aware that once UK leaves EU there will be no disruptions to trade, and, so at least we will trade with the UK on the same basis as we are trading now with the EU, he emphasised. For the sake of predictability, it is important for us to do that before the UK leaves the EU to ensure continuity of trade and ensure that there is absolutely no disruptions, Mr Boodhoo added.

About iEPA

Mauritius, along with three ESA namely Seychelles, Madagascar and Zimbabwe signed an iEPA with the EU on 14 May 2012. Comoros signed the Agreement in June 2017.

At the last Economic Partnership Agreement committee held in October 2017 in Madagascar, the EU and the five iEPA Signatory states agreed to deepen and widen the IEPA. Accordingly, both sides have prepared scoping papers which are expected to be discussed in due course.

The Mauritiuss brainstorming meeting aims at finalising ESAs position with respect to the priority areas for discussions with the EU. The objective is also to examine EUs scoping paper so as to find areas of convergence between the two positions.
Description

GIS  07 February, 2018: A workshop, endorsing a safer internet environment where technology is used responsibly, was held yesterday at Sir Abdool Raman Osman State College, Phoenix, in the context of Safer Internet Day (SID) 2018. The Minister of Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Yogida Sawmynaden, and the Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, were present for the event.

In his opening address, Minister Sawmynaden highlighted the overarching place which the Internet holds in the daily lives of people. Along with the positive aspects of internet usage, there are risks to safety and exposure of illegal content, he pointed out.

He stated that children and young people are among the most vulnerable groups which are exposed to dangers such as cyber bullying and online predators while using the Internet and other digital technologies. O ne of the key risks of using the Internet, email or chat rooms is the exposure to inappropriate material which may be pornographic, hateful, violent, dangerous or illegal, he emphasised. Moreover, Mr Sawmynaden highlighted the importance of sensitising the younger generation on the proper usage of internet.

For her part, the Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, underlined that technological innovation is vital but learners should also know how to use the Internet in the best and safest way possible. She recalled that various actions are being initiated to provide additional technological devices in schools for learners to make the most of a wide array of learning resources online. The Education Minister urged the youth to become the digital ambassadors of Mauritius and to avoid falling prey to cyber dangers.

The workshop and SID-related activities

The workshop was organised by the Computer Emergency Response Team of Mauritius (CERT-MU) in collaboration with the Ministry of Technology, Communication and Innovation and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research.

Additionally, CERT-MU is organising several activities to mark SID 2018 as from the month of February. These are: awareness sessions on Internet Safety for Secondary School students in Mauritius and Rodrigues; awareness sessions on internet safety for parents, grandparents and housewives through the National Computer Boards cyber caravans and Community Welfare Centres; training of teachers on the use of social media such as Facebook; and distribution of leaflets on internet safety and cyber security issues.

A dedicated website ( sid.ncb.mu ) has also been developed, where various information can be obtained related to the workshop and related activities.

The SID, annually observed on 06 February, is an international education and awareness-raising effort spanning in more than 100 countries around the world. The aim is to promote positive opportunities online while encouraging safe and responsible behavior. The theme retained this year is "Create, connect and share respect: A better internet starts with you.
Twenty-seven Texas agencies would like the Texas Legislature to allocate $898.6 million to address risks related to cybersecurity and legacy systems, according to the 2020 Prioritized Cybersecurity and Legacy Systems (PCLS) report To comply with state law, the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) produces a PCLS report during every even-numbered year. Information is collected through a survey, and roughly 80 agencies have the opportunity to participate.The funding requested in this latest report, which was submitted in October 2020 and released last month, eclipses the amount requested in the 2018 PCLS report, which included a $482 million request from 28 agencies.The $898.6 million would cover 59 different projects. Enterprise Solution Services Director Krishna Edathil, who conducted the survey and published the report, said in an email that additional details about the projects and how the funding breaks down by project wouldn't be disclosed.While it is unknown how much of the requested money would go toward cybersecurity projects versus legacy modernization projects, Edathil provided a brief explanation as to why the current funding request was so much more than the 2018 request."Several agencies submitted modernization projects of larger applications which impacted the overall request," he said."As this is the third report, many agencies engaged early and had teams allocated to work on developing their projects," he added. "The growth seems to align with the ongoing agency prioritization of modernization and cybersecurity."One can only speculate that COVID-19 had an impact on the 2020 report by putting a bigger spotlight on technology shortcomings among Texas agencies.It's also impossible to predict how much money the Texas Legislature would provide for the cybersecurity and legacy modernization projects. In his email, Edathil indicated that the state approved more than $200 million for projects requested in 2018.In related news, DIR has issued a far-reaching Request for Offer (RFO) for technology related to the modernization of the Texas Agency Network (TEX-AN), which manages voice and data communications. According to DIR documentation, the RFO proposals should outline an expansive portfolio of data and voice services to improve workflows, security and scalability in order to address needs around remote work, cloud computing, next-gen 911, automatic billing and other functions.DIR estimates the contract will span four years, with four one-year optional renewals. DIR will hold a webinar to address questions on Jan. 19.
(TNS)  The Oregon Liquor Control Commission lacks "robust" monitoring and enforcement controls to track the state's $480 million marijuana industry, making illegal sales difficult to detect, a new audit concludes The Secretary of State's review raises alarms about how effectively the agency oversees the flourishing marijuana market in Oregon.The report comes as Oregon finds itself in the federal crosshairs for its role as an illegal exporter of cannabis to other states. Just last week, Billy Williams, the U.S. attorney for Oregon, convened a summit to discuss the illicit marijuana trade.Gov. Kate Brown, a steadfast defender of the industry, told Williams and others at the summit that the state has focused on instituting "extensive safety and tracking measures." In a letter last year to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Brown highlighted the state's tight regulation of the burgeoning market.But the audit, made public Wednesday, found that while the information systems themselves function well, monitoring and security are inadequate. The report cited a host of problems  from not enough inspectors to a reliance on marijuana businesses to report their own data.Auditors, who also uncovered errors and outdated information in the agency's tracking systems, made 17 recommendations for improvements and noted that the liquor commission "generally agreed" with the findings."Until these issues are resolved," auditors noted, "the agency may not be able to detect noncompliance or illegal activity occurring in the recreational marijuana program."They questioned the agency's practice of allowing Oregon's nearly 1,700 licensed marijuana businesses to self-report highly detailed information, including the number of plants in a grow operation and the weight of each harvest.In a letter to the state's audits division, Steve Marks, the liquor commission's executive director, said the agency is following up on "all aspects" of the audit.Marks on Wednesday called the audit "very helpful" and said the state's regulatory system for marijuana is "a work in progress.""It's our highest value to stop black market diversion, to create a good consumer market," Marks said, adding that the agency has so far referred to police about 100 cases of potential criminal violations by marijuana businesses. "Those are fundamental to our mission. We have been building out staff and systems to do that."Added Marks: "You are not going to magically move from zero to complete control over a new emerging industry in a short period of time."It is the first audit of the systems that the liquor commission uses to regulate cannabis.The agency last year sought money to hire an information technology officer, but lawmakers denied the request. Marks said the agency will again ask the Legislature for $197,000 during the current session to fund the position.In addition to identifying numerous technical problems, auditors concluded that the liquor commission doesn't have enough inspectors to make occasional on-site visits to licensed cannabis businesses.The agency has 23 inspector positions; 18 are filled. Auditors said Oregon fares poorly compared to Alaska and Nevada, where there's one inspector for every 18 marijuana licenses. In Oregon, auditors estimated that the state has one inspector for every 83 pot businesses."Until investigation standards and protocols are developed and a sufficient number of staff are trained, OLCC will not be able to perform needed on-site inspections with sufficient guidance and scrutiny to ensure marijuana businesses are complying with the law," auditors wrote.Marks said the agency is budgeted to deply one inspector for every 100 licensed businesses, a ratio similar to states like Colorado and Washington, both home to legal marijuana markets. The agency employs one inspector for every 400 liquor licenses, said Marks.The Secretary of State's Office identified a wide range of what it described as "significant weaknesses" in the agency's security practices related to Internet technology, including relying on a decade-old security plan and the failure to keep track of the hardware and software used by employees.It also slapped the agency for failing to protect servers and workstations from viruses and malware, saying the lapse "significantly increases the risk that OLCC systems and its data could be compromised."Auditors also called out the liquor commission for failing to perform "due diligence" on companies it hired to help license marijuana businesses and track cannabis at various stages.For instance, they noted that the liquor commission failed to confirm that one of the companies, Florida-based Franwell, meets minimum security standards.The company helped develop a seed-to-sale system that tracks the movement of marijuana among growers, processors, wholesalers, testing labs and retailers. The process is intended to ensure marijuana isn't diverted into the black market. Data about Oregon's marijuana businesses  from plant counts to retail sales figures  are stored on Franwell's servers.The state so far has paid Franwell $1.8 million for its services, said liquor commission spokesman Mark Pettinger.Auditors said the lack of assurance that the data hosted by Franwell is safe from disclosure or changes is "particularly significant" because the information is essential to regulating the marijuana industry.The audit points out that the liquor commission has a history of "ineffective action" in response to security problems with its computer systems. Auditors said two outside reviews and one internal audit identified numerous problems, most of which weren't addressed."These long-standing issues significantly increase the risk that OLCC's network, systems, and data could be compromised," the audit notes. "While multiple individuals have responsibility for the IT systems and processes associated with these weaknesses, we found that OLCC lacks clear leadership and direction for its IT department."
(TNS) - Did you survive the Destin tsunami of 2018?Thankfully, all of us did. A false tsunami warning alert was sent out to people all along the East Coast, Gulf Coast and Caribbean Sea on Tuesday morning, including Dan Collins, a Destin resident who got the alert as he was getting his kids ready for school."It just popped up on my phone and I was like, 'What?'" Collins said. "So of course, I sprung into action. The first thing was to turn on The Weather Channel to see if they had anything about it, 'cause my other apps weren't showing anything."The alert Collins received was from AccuWeather, a private weather company. It read, "Severe Weather Alert. Tsunami warning in effect for Destin, FL until 8:28 a.m. CST. Source: U.S. National Weather Service.""It seemed a little fishy," Collins admitted, adding a quick Google search showed the alert was false.According to the National Weather Service. AccuWeather sent out the blast to thousands of people Tuesday morning warning them a tsunami was headed to each of their areas. In a recorded statement, an NWS spokeswoman said the tsunami alert was false and part of a routine internal test that was inadvertently made public by another company."There is currently no tsunami threat," the spokeswoman said. "The National Tsunami Warning Center, part of the National Weather Service, issued a routine tsunami test message at approximately 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time this morning. The tsunami test message was released by at least one private sector weather company as an official tsunami warning ... we are currently looking into why the text message was distributed by at least one private sector company and will provide more information as soon as we have it."AccuWeather, for its part, sent out a statement mid-day Monday blasting the National Weather Service for what it said was "miscoding" the test message."This morning, AccuWeather passed on a National Weather Service Tsunami Warning that was intended by the NWS to be a test but was miscoded by the NWS as a real warning," the statement read. "AccuWeather has the most sophisticated system for passing on NWS tsunami warnings...while the words 'TEST' were in the header, the actual codes read by computers used coding for (a) real warning, indicating it was a real warning."Collins said he received the alert at 7:30 a.m. When he opened the app on his phone and clicked through for a little while, a message inside the app said the alert had been a test.But Collins, who said he has survived F5 tornadoes in Ohio and hurricanes on the Gulf Coast, said he experienced "a little panic" in the first moments after receiving the alerts."It seemed a little fishy," he said. "I was just trying to investigate for myself until I knew for sure."Okaloosa County Emergency Management officials confirmed there was no tsunami threat.People on social media shared their own screenshots of the alert, with the location reflecting the city or town they were in when they received it, from Shalimar to Pensacola."I was laying on my surfboard, in the parking lot at work, waiting, waiting, waiting," one person on Facebook said. "To my disappointment and a bit of embarrassment, false alarm.""Would (have) cleared (U.S. Highway) 98 had it hit yesterday," another person said.Collins ultimately got a chuckle out of the whole thing, saying he was glad he "survived the Destin tsunami.""It's a great way to prove you can reach people and keep them safe," Collins said of the mass alert system. "But you also don't want to send too many false alarms where people stop taking them seriously."2018 the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.)Visit the Northwest Florida Daily News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.) at www.nwfdailynews.comDistributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Making Assumptions About Attacks

Monitoring On the Go

Identifying a Location

U.S. military officials were recently caught off guard by revelations that servicemembers digital fitness trackers were storing the locations of their workouts  including at or near military bases and clandestine sites around the world. But this threat is not limited to Fitbits and similar devices. My groups recent research has shown how mobile phones can also track their users through stores and cities and around the world  even when users turn off their phones location-tracking services.The vulnerability comes from the wide range of sensors phones are equipped with  not just GPS and communications interfaces, but gyroscopes and accelerometers that can tell whether a phone is being held upright or on its side and can measure other movements too. Apps on the phone can use those sensors to perform tasks users arent expecting  like following a users movements turn by turn along city streets.Most people expect that turning their phones location services off disables this sort of mobile surveillance. But the research I conduct with my colleagues Sashank Narain Ken Block and Amirali Sanatinia at Northeastern University, in a field called  side-channel attacks , uncovers ways that apps can avoid or escape those restrictions. We have revealed how a phone can listen in on a users finger-typing to discover a secret password  and how simply carrying a phone in your pocket can tell data companies where you are and where youre going.When designing protection for a device or a system, people make assumptions about what threats will occur. Cars, for instance, are designed to protect their occupants from crashes with other cars, buildings, guardrails, telephone poles and other objects commonly found in or near roads. Theyre not designed to keep people safe in cars driven off a cliff or smashed by huge rocks dropped on them. Its just not cost-effective to engineer defenses against those threats, because theyre assumed to be extremely uncommon.Similarly, people designing software and hardware make assumptions about what hackers might do. But that doesnt mean devices are safe. One of the first side-channel attacks was identified back in 1996 by cryptographer Paul Kocher, who showed he could break popular and supposedly secure cryptosystems by carefully timing how long it took a computer to decrypt an encrypted message. The cryptosystem designers hadnt imagined that an attacker would take that approach, so their system was vulnerable to it.There have been many other attacks through the years using all sorts of different approaches. The recent Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities that exploit design flaws in computer processors, are also side-channel attacks. They enable malicious applications to snoop on other applications data in the computer memory.Mobile devices are perfect targets for this sort of attack from an unexpected direction. They are stuffed with sensors , usually including at least one accelerometer, a gyroscope, a magnetometer, a barometer, up to four microphones, one or two cameras, a thermometer, a pedometer, a light sensor and a humidity sensor.Apps can access most of these sensors without asking for permission from the user. And by combining readings from two or more devices, its often possible to do things that users, phone designers and app creators alike may not expect.In one recent project , we developed an app that could determine what letters a user was typing on a mobile phones on-screen keyboard  without reading inputs from the keyboard. Rather, we combined information from the phones gyroscope and its microphones.When a user taps on the screen in different locations, the phone itself rotates slightly in ways that can be measured by the three-axis micromechanical gyroscopes found in most current phones. Further, tapping on a phone screen produces a sound that can be recorded on each of a phones multiple microphones. A tap close to the center of the screen will not move the phone much, will reach both microphones at the same time, and will sound roughly the same to all the microphones. However, a tap at the bottom left edge of the screen will rotate the phone left and down; it will reach the left microphone faster; and it will sound louder to microphones near the bottom of the screen and quieter to microphones elsewhere on the device.Processing the movement and sound data together let us determine what key a user pressed, and we were right over 90 percent of the time. This sort of function could be added secretly to any app and could run unnoticed by a user.We then wondered whether a malicious application could infer a users whereabouts, including where they lived and worked, and what routes they traveled  information most people consider very private.We wanted to find out whether a users location could be identified using only sensors that dont require users permission. The route taken by a driver, for instance, can be simplified into a series of turns, each in a certain direction and with a certain angle. With another app, we used a phones compass to observe the persons direction of travel. That app also used the phones gyroscope, measuring the sequence of turn angles of the route traveled by the user. And the accelerometer showed whether a user was stopped, or moving.By measuring a sequence of turns, and stringing them together as a person travels, we could make a map of their movements. (In our work, we knew which city we were tracking people through, but a similar approach could be used to figure out what city a person was in.)Imagine we observe a person in Boston heading southwest , turning 100 degrees to the right, making a sharp U-turn to the left to head southeast, turning slightly to the right, continuing straight, then following a shallow curve to the left, a quick jog to the right, bumping up and down more than usual on a road, turning 55 degrees right, and turning 97 degrees left and then making a slight curve right before stopping.We developed an algorithm to match those movements up against a digitized map of the streets of the city the user was in, and determined which were the most likely routes a person might take. Those movements could identify a route driving from Fenway Park, along the Back Bay Fens, past the Museum of Fine Arts and arriving at Northeastern University.We were even able to refine our algorithm to incorporate information about curves in roads and speed limits to help narrow options. We produced our results as a list of possible paths ranked by how likely the algorithm thought they were to match the actual route. About half the time, in most cities we tried, the real path a user followed was in the top 10 items on the list. Further refining the map data, sensor readings and the matching algorithm could substantially improve our accuracy. Again, this type of capability could be added to any app by a malicious developer, letting innocent-appearing apps snoop on their users.Our research group is continuing to investigate how side-channel attacks can be used to reveal a variety of private information. For instance, measuring how a phone moves when its owner is walking could suggest how old a person is, whether they are male (with the phone in a pocket) or female (typically with the phone in a purse), or even health information about how steady a person is on his feet or how often she stumbles. We assume there is more your phone can tell a snoop  and we hope to find out what, and how, to protect against that sort of spying.
Frederic Vasseur has played down two of the biggest controversies in F1 at present.

Many believe that the introduction of the 'Halo' and the banning of 'grid girls' means that 2018 could be a particularly ugly season at the pinnacle of motor sport.

"They are two different things," Sauber boss Vasseur told the Swiss newspaper Blick.

"The grid girls are replaced by grid kids and I like that," the Frenchman said. "And Halo is about safety, and in a serious accident we will be very grateful for it."

So when asked if Liberty Media is destroying the DNA of F1, Vasseur answered: "Nothing has changed on the track so far. Only in marketing.

"Even the new start times will not turn F1 upside down."

As for the Swiss team he leads, Vasseur said the Hinwil factory is working overtime to put the 2018 car together ahead of the first test in just under three weeks.

"We will be faster, but in 2017 we were far behind," said the Sauber team principal.

"We want to fight in the midfield but we must not forget that this is a long-term project."

Vasseur said 50 new staff are being added to the workforce of 420, amid great optimism about the new title sponsorship by Ferrari-linked Alfa Romeo.

"They identify with us and want to keep Sauber as a brand," he said. "It is probably the first time since the BMW time that Sauber has such a good opportunity."

(GMM)
Former McLaren team coordinator Jo Ramirez has slammed Liberty Media's decision to ban grid girls.

Throughout the 80s and 90s, the now 76-year-old Mexican was a leading figure in F1.

Ramirez now hits out at Liberty's decision to ban grid girls, replacing them with 'grid kids' from 2018.

"F1 is losing its way. They try to change something for the sake of changing," he told Spanish radio Cadena Cope.

"It would have been enough to dress them a little more modestly but in many countries they were wearing the national costume," he added.

"This (ban) is a discrimination against women -- tomorrow they will be prohibited from coming into the circuit altogether. In my opinion, the grid girls offended no one," said Ramirez.

(GMM)
Former F1 driver Jean Alesi says he is no fan of Liberty Media's new "grid kids" initiative.

F1's new owners caused an international storm when it was announced that grid girls will be banned in 2018. In their place, children will hold the drivers' grid boards instead.

Former Ferrari driver Alesi weighed into the controversy when asked by Italy's Motorbox what he thinks about the introduction of Halo this year.

"I can state absolutely that I am in favour of the Halo," said the Frenchman. "It is a pity that the aesthetics of the cars will be affected, but the most important thing is the safety of the drivers.

"On the other hand, I am not in favour of either the abolition of the grid girls or the new grid kid project," Alesi admitted.

"By abolishing the grid girls, we have eliminated a well-oiled system that allowed many women to work.

"I am in favour of highlighting young athletes and drivers, but not in this way," he added.

Finally, Alesi commented on the fact that his son Giuliano has been re-signed not only by the Ferrari junior academy for 2018, but also by the GP3 team Trident.

"I expect good results," Alesi snr said. "Working with the academy is a guarantee -- Giuliano can thrive without rushing."

However, when asked if he would like to see his 18-year-old son test a formula one car soon, Alesi answered: "I would lie down in front of the pit exit!

"Giuliano must only think about GP3. If he wants to sit in a formula one car, then he can jump in one at home and I'll take a picture."

(GMM)
Blockchaina technology used for verifying and recording digital transactionscould transform the way governments, global industries and science research operate, in addition to providing the foundation for cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Several banks, corporations, governments and scientists have already implemented some form of blockchain to inexpensively, securely and expediently store and share information. Over the past few years, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), University of California at Davis (UC Davis) and University of Stavanger in Norway have developed a new protocol, called BChain, which makes blockchain even more robust.

Building on chain replication, BChain achieves high throughput and low latency under high client load. At the core of BChain is an efficient Byzantine failure detection mechanism called re-chaining, where faulty replicas are placed out of harms way at the end of the chain, until they can be replaced. Duan et al.

A paper describing the basics of BChain was published in 2014 the Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Principles of Distributed Systems. The researchers are also working with colleagues at Berkeley Lab and beyond to adapt this tool to support applications that are of strategic importance to the Department of Energys (DOE) Office of Science.

A blockchain is essentially a fault-tolerant, decentralized collection of records, or blocks, that are connected and secured by cryptography. Instead of one organization managing all of this information, blockchains store data via a network of personal computers. Each block contains a timestamp and a link to a previous block, which forms a chronological chain.

In the case of Bitcoin, whenever a new block is added to the chain, computers will automatically verify whether the previous transactions actually occurred, down to the original block. Any new block that looks different from the other, potentially created by someone aiming to cheat the system, is thrown out. And while users can see and add information to the blocks, they cannot modify the information thats already there, which ensures transparency.

In most cases, blockchains rely on Byzantine fault-tolerant strategies to protect them from arbitrary failures. This is typically achieved through replicating servers and a replication protocol that requires all commands to be ordered before they are processed. Because all servers running the protocol must agree on the order of commands, this protocol is often referred to as a consensus protocol, and it generally comes in two forms. The classical approach uses broadcasting where a server sends messages to all of its replicas; the other approach is chain replication where servers send messages to each other along a chain, similar to a game of telephone.

Chain replication is a viable security solution as long as you can trust the leaderthe server at the head of the chainto behave correctly. However, if the leader cannot be trusted, all kinds of bad things can happen. The leader can delay or drop messages at will, leading to poor throughput, or it can send different messages to different servers, leading to inconsistent data on the different servers. The main novelty of our BChain protocol was to significantly reduce the impact that a misbehaving server, especially the leader, can have on the system. This was accomplished by making the other servers in the chain monitor each other, and if misbehavior is detected, the suspected server can be moved to the end of the chain, where it wont have any impact. Sean Peisert, a Berkeley Lab computer scientist, an adjunct associate professor at UC Davis and one of the papers co-authors

Unlike the public blockchain employed by Bitcoin transactions, BChain is a private blockchain. The main difference between the two is who can participate. Anyone can join a public blockchain, whereas a private blockchain requires an invitation to join and validation by either the network starter or a set of rules put in place by the originator.

One main disadvantage to a public blockchain is the substantial amount of computational resources required to verify and record transactions at a large scale. To achieve a consensus, each node on the network must solve a complex, computationally expensive, cryptographic problem, called proof of work, to ensure that everyone is in sync. Additionally, all transactions are recorded on a public ledger.

In contrast, a private blockchain essentially leverages the same tamper-resistance and Byzantine fault-tolerant properties of the public chain without requiring the brute-force solving of a computationally hard problem each time new data is added because the ability to write to the blockchain is based on pre-determined access control permissions. More importantly, transaction records are only available to a small group of invited memberswhich is why financial and medical industries, as well as science research, tend to favor the private blockchain.

A private blockchain represents a more suitable approach for tracking data integrity over time. This can apply to the integrity of raw data or the integrity of events such as a record of who viewed or modified the data. In the case of science research, this tracking can be extremely valuable for reproducibility and transparency. Hein Meling, a computer science professor at the University of Stavanger and co-author of the paper

Since the first blockchain was conceptualized in 2009, primarily to power Bitcoin, Meling notes that that numerous other applications have been inspired by its potential. The Linux Foundation is currently hosting an open-source collaboration called Hyperledger to develop blockchain technologies that will be useful for a variety of applications in healthcare, finance, supply chain and science research, among others. One of the Hyperledgers private blockchain offeringsa tool called Hyperledger Irohautilizes BChains fault-tolerant consensus algorithm in its underlying protocol. The Iroha team details the BChain connection in its development documents.

Peisert notes that researchers at Berkeley Lab are currently exploring applications for blockchain areas that are strategically important for DOE, such as tracking data used in scientific research, or tracking energy generation and consumption on the US power grid.

As more and more people install rooftop solar panels on their homes and businesses, we will need to have a provable mechanism to track how much energy people are generating and consuming so that nobody can lie about their use. Blockchain could be a part of a solution for this problem. Sean Peisert

Peisert is working with researchers in Berkeley Labs Computational Research Division to explore this possibility.

In addition to Peisert and Meling, two former UC Davis graduate students Sisi Duan and Haibin Zhang also contributed to the development of BChain. Both are now faculty members at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In addition to his roles at Berkeley Lab and UC Davis, Peisert is also director of the CENIC/ESnet Joint Cybersecurity Initiative.

BChain was developed with funding from the National Science Foundation and the Research Council of Norway.

Resources
The special properties of Ionic Materials polymer electrolyte allow the use of high-energy materials and support solid-state lithium-ion cells with little to no cobalt in their cathodes. Further advancements made possible by Ionic Materials polymer will support very inexpensive and low-cost rechargeable alkaline batteries as well.

Ionic Materials has secured $65 million in a Series C financing round from a leading group of financial and strategic investors. The investors include companies from the battery manufacturing, consumer electronic and electric vehicle ecosystem which will be working with the company to speed the development of its solid polymer electrolyte battery material.

Key properties of Ionic Materials polymer include:

Up to 1.3 mS/cm at room temperature

Lithium transference number of 0.7

High voltage capability (5 volts)

Can accommodate high loadings in the cathode

High elastic modulus

Low cost precursors

Stable against Lithium

Conducts multiple ions





The Ionic Materials polymer is truly groundbreaking. Its no surprise that so many of the leading companies in the battery industry and their key customers are working to incorporate the Ionic Materials polymer in their next-generation products. The many innovations in electrochemistry that the polymer unlocks will change the future of renewable energy. Products from our partners using Ionic Materials technology will lead the charge to safely power everyday products with eco-friendly, high-capacity batteries. Bill Joy, personal investor and a founding member of the Ionic Materials Board of Directors

(As a Berkeley graduate student, Joy was a seminal figure in the creation, support, and rollout of BSD UNIX, an open-source operating system that was the first to have built-in TCP/IP networking. Bill Joy co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 along with Vinod Khosla, Scott McNealy and Andreas von Bechtolsheim. Joy served as chief scientist there until 2003. Joy is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a lifetime trustee of the Aspen Institute.)

Ionic Materials will provide its polymer to the battery industry as an advanced materials supplier. Through this approach, it will reach the broadest market segments and establish a complete ecosystem of cell manufacturers serving the consumer electronic, electric vehicle and energy storage markets.
GREENWICH  In the throes of the Cold War, James B. Donovans hand was in everything at once.

It was in New York City, where he shielded Soviet spy Rudolf Abel from the death penalty, just as the Red Scare trailed off into posterity.

It was in Berlin, where he negotiated the swap of Abel for two Americans  a graduate student and a shot-down pilot named Francis Gary Powers.

And it was in Cuba, where he bargained for the release of thousands of Bay of Pigs captives.

Five decades later, Donovans son, John, revisited the history his father actively shaped with a Cold War cruise around Europe during a 45th-anniversary celebration with his wife. Onboard, he reminisced not only about the role his dad played in all the tumult, but also about his own.

On Wednesday morning, the younger Donovan stopped by First Presbyterian Church for the weekly lecture at the Retired Mens Association to share some of his insights about the mid-20th century. Titled Berlin, Cuba and Vietnam in the Sixties: Connections with Todays Culture, Donovans talk launched into anecdotes from his younger years, when his father pursued cases of international importance and he went along for the ride.

Donovan chose to use his cruise as connective tissue, relating yesteryear to today and underscoring how history molds both the past and present.

I want to take you on something of an excursion, if you will, and I want to start it on the Eastern Baltic, Donovan told the RMA crowd.

During his trip, Lech Waesa, Polands former president, boarded the ship for a talk.

The most important thing he said was this: Stop thinking about politics and policies and politicians  and start thinking about values, Donovan remembered.

For someone who grew up at a time of tremendous conflict as the son of a supposed insurance lawyer who had served as general counsel to the Office of Strategic Services, the CIAs precursor, those words struck a chord with Donovan.

Indeed, as his boat went past Germany, Donovan thought of the plot for Bridge of Spies, the Academy Award-winning film where his father was portrayed by Tom Hanks, and where he was mysteriously renamed Roger. And he remembered his own shenanigans in East Berlin after his father settled the high-profile swap of Abel and Powers.

He and a friend traveled to Germany together, but after visiting a few tourist haunts, Donovan chose to branch out on his own in East Berlin to see how the common citizen lived. There, he was approached by a German man who spoke English. The stranger asked whether Donovan had any difficulty passing through Checkpoint Charlie, and Donovan said he hadnt. Then, the German gave him a package and asked him to postmark it once he got back to West Berlin. It wouldnt reach its recipient if he tried to send it on this side of the city, he reasoned.

Donovan naively accepted.

When he tried to pass back through Checkpoint Charlie, he was arrested and confined to a room for hours. Afraid he might be sent to a labor camp for his misstep, Donovan racked his brain trying to recall what his father had told him about the Abel-Powers exchange the year before.

He told the officers that his father knew Ivan Shishkin and was aware that he worked for the KGB. With the brashness of a teenage boy, he demanded to see Shishkin.

Moments later, he was set free.

All I know is that I was out the door and on the right side of that wall, saying Thank you, Dad! Donovan remembered.

He also spoke about his travels to Cuba alongside his father. Even after Donovan Sr. secured the release of the Bay of Pigs mercenaries, he wasnt satisfied. He knew the Cuban government had Americans in captivity who had nothing to do with the 1961 CIA-led aggression, and he was determined to free them.

Donovan Sr. took his teenage son to Havanas shores for a firsthand tour from Fidel Castro himself, who housed them in his own beach house. Escorted by armed forces whose presence announced the stature of el Comandante, Donovan and his dad toured Cuba.

Of course, there was a snag. Donovan Sr. was accustomed to asking the CIA for presents to give officials of foreign governments, and because of plans for a fishing trip, he requested that the agency buy a wetsuit for Castro. Then, he got a warning call.

During Operation Mongoose, some guys on the fourth floor had ideas for that wetsuit. Ideas that would have changed history. Ideas that would have ended a life.

My father was really a defender of CIA, but there were some rogue elements in these agencies, Donovan said.

Of course, the crisis was averted, Castro lived for decades after, and the Donovan family returned safely home with American prisoners in tow.

At the time, Donovan Sr. explained the psychology of bringing his son along: Castro had a young boy, too.

A few days ago, that boy  now a 68-year-old man named for his father  died by suicide.

While Donovan focused on stories related to his father, he also delved into his own biography with the Vietnam War. As the draft board breathed down his neck, the Marines recruited him as a combat correspondent, at least in theory. Though he eventually occupied that position, he started as a machine gunner. Decades later, the hearing aid in his ear reminds him of that.

He remembered how, during Operation Dover, he kept watch at night and marched during the day through swamps much like the ones he, his father and Castro had waded through only a few years earlier.

But this time, things were a little different. Donovan was not a guest in the country; he was the enemy. And he was tired.

We were asleep standing up, he remembered.

A child of the early-Bohemian movement, it was in Vietnam that Donovan had the epiphany that an objective reality does indeed exist. If he said sniper fire was coming from one place, and another GI disputed that, one or both of them were wrong, but both could not be right.

To close, Donovan summarized a passage from William Faulkner, upon receiving the Nobel Prize. The words focus on the importance of memory and remembrance, and how both shape modern man.

It is (the writers) privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, Faulkner said, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past.

Along with Waesas message, the quote was, in sum, what Donovan hoped to communicate over his 45-minute talk.
Canada gets the headlines for its plan to legalize marijuana nationwide in 2018. So does anti-marijuana rhetoric from some officials in the Trump Administration.

Meanwhile, in the South American country of Uruguay, the sale and possession of marijuana has been legal since last July. Citizens there can grow their own marijuana and buy it over the counter without fear of arrest. So far, about the only major complaint about the law is that it doesnt go far enough.

Related: Study Suggests Legal Pot Would Make Border Safer Than a Massive Wall

Crime Rate Drop

The most eye-popping result from Uruguays legal marijuana market has been the plunge in crime. Drug-related crime has dropped 20 percent in the country since marijuana became legal in 2017, according to Latin American news service Telesur.

But there are issues. Telesur reports that the government has had to crack down on locals selling to tourists. While marijuana is legal for Uruguay citizens, that right does not extend to those visiting the country.

The law allows for residents to grow six plants at home. They can also buy cannabis from a local pharmacy or create cannabis clubs. Members of the clubs, with a maximum membership of 45 people, can withdraw 40 grams per month of marijuana from the clubs cannabis crop. All of this requires registration with the government.

Also, in Uruguay it is permissible to use marijuana in public. Eduardo Blasina, director of the Cannabis Museum in the nations capital, Montevideo, told The Guardian that the law gives Uruguay residents access to certified, unadulterated marijuana. He also said the law has ended Uruguays participation in South Americas war on drugs.

He said that war has been absurd, with catastrophic results no matter which indicators you consider, including consumption. He said legalization in Uruguay could open the door to other countries that are beleaguered by drug trafficking, such as Colombia and Mexico, to follow their lead and make marijuana legal.

Related: The Opioid Crisis Is Forcing Open Minds About the Lifesaving Potential of Medical Marijuana

The arrest that started it all.

There has long been a strong advocacy for legal marijuana in Uruguay, a country that prides itself on openness and liberal laws. But it all reached a head with the 2011 arrest of Alicia Castilla, a 66-year-old author and intellectual who was growing cannabis in her home.

Her arrest ignited huge protests and eventually led to laws that allowed some cultivation of cannabis at home. That, in turn, paved the way for the nationwide legalization that happened in 2017. The case against Castilla was also dismissed last year.

Castilla said during her arrest she was treated like the female version of Pablo Escobar, she told the Guardian. Now, she is free to grow plants in her home.

However, some still have concerns that the law didnt go far enough to legalize marijuana. They dislike the provision that requires cannabis buyers to register with the government, according to The Guardian. They fear it stigmatizes marijuana users by forcing them to register unlike, for example, those who drink alcohol.

Still, Uruguay is far ahead of the rest of the world on marijuana legalization, and certainly its leaders have a different attitude toward the issue than many in the U.S. How legalization plays out there -- and if that crime rate drop holds -- will be something both marijuana advocates and opponents will watch in the coming months.

To stay up to date on the latest marijuana related news make sure to like dispensaries.com on Facebook

Related:

Uruguay Legalized Marijuana and the Crime Rate Has Plummetted

Study Suggests Legal Pot Would Make Border Safer Than a Massive Wall

The Opioid Crisis Is Forcing Open Minds About the Lifesaving Potential of Medical Marijuana



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


How about pasta at Don Angie? Photo: Noah Fecks

Valentines Day is right around the corner. Its a huge night for dining out, of course, but restaurants in New York arent all that easy to navigate on February 14. Many offer overpriced set menus and make other changes that generally turn the dining experience into something thats less than stellar. What you really want when you make that Valentines reservation, likely, is a guarantee that the restaurant wont mess up things too bad. With that in mind, heres a list of 16 Grub-approved places that will serve their regular menus  the Valentines Day equivalent of a dining miracle.

Annicka

If youre a carnivore whose idea of romance is a butcher steak, but your better half is a vegan who prefers charred cauliflower, head to this Greenpoint spot that wants to offer something for everyone.

Atla

How about a low-key Mexican meal at Adam Platts Best New Restaurant 2018? A good plan of attack for this evening would be a mushroom quesadilla, enfrijoladas, and some very good mezcal.

Don Angie

If you want to go somewhere thats currently buzzy, a lot of people are talking about this West Village spot. Why not share some of the restaurants bicolored caramelle pasta, or some lasagna for two, because whats sexier than sheets of pasta baked with red sauce and cheese?

Emily

Pizza shouldnt be fussy, and Matt and Emily Hyland keep it fun with toppings like cheddar curds, bacon, and ranch; pepperoni, pickled jalapeno, and honey; and more. Itll be the same at sister-restaurant Emmy Squared, where theyll also offer half-priced Champagne.

Ivan Ramen

The Lower East Side spot makes some of the citys tastiest ramen, so head here if you want to reenact Lady and the Tramp, but prefer triple-garlic mazemen to spaghetti and meatballs.

Karasu

Tucked into the back of Walters, Karasu feels like a place where you can disappear. Maybe split some koji rib eye for two, or go lighter with sashimi and sake-steamed clams. (Sister-restaurants Walters and Walter Foods will also serve their usual menus.)

Lalito

There is a special menu, but no one will force you into it. Instead, you can split your usual order off of the California-Mexican menu. Think grilled short-rib steak, chickpea guacamole, and queso frito.

Metta

Maybe your ideal date night is cooking wood-fired meats in the country. Short of that, you can head to this Fort Greene spot, where they do great things with meats and wine.

Nur

If youre looking for a modern spin on Middle Eastern food, you cant go wrong here. Fight over the kubaneh and get the rest of the breads while youre at it; share the Palestinian tartare, and maybe get your own horias (lamb kebab grilled in pita).

Oka

There are no reservations here, so if you want to just pop into a place in midtown, this creative izakaya serves dishes like tonkatsu with yuzu vinaigrette, blowfish tails with tosazu, and grilled squid with black-garlic oil.

Ops

Theres nothing not to love about Ops: Its all about pizza and wine, with some cocktails and antipasti thrown in for good measure, in a space thats comfortable and well-run, but not overly earnest.

Popina

This Brooklyn restaurant blends the best of Italian and Southern cooking. If all you want is hot chicken Milanese with ranch dressing and a glass of sparkling Pinot Noir, head here.

Tokyo Record Bar

An homage to Tokyos, well, record bars, this West Village spot serves a seven-course izakaya menu (think caviar sushi, nori chips) and guests pick the vinyl. If youre looking for something more casual, you can pop in after 10:30 p.m. when the menu is a la carte and the music is selected by a DJ.

West~bourne

Maybe you didnt have time for breakfast in bed, but West~bourne serves its crispy tacos with onion-pepper-potato and an English muffin with egg, avocado, and shallot labneh until 10 p.m.

Wildair

If your main concern is drinking good wine that wont break the bank, Wildair fits the bill and then some, with inventive food like fried squid with lemon.

Win Son

The modern Taiwanese food here is fun, the vibe unpretentious, and you can just walk in (reservations are only for parties of five or more). Get you hands messy with a sloppy bao with stewed pork, snack on fried eggplant with kefir cheese, or munch on a big chicken bun.
UK drops below the global average in use of industrial robots

The UK has fallen below the global average in its use of industrial robots  the only G7 country to be in this position. Figures just released by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reveal that the UK had 71 robots per 10,000 people employed in manufacturing industry during 2016, putting it below the global average of 74, and in 22nd position behind countries such as Slovenia (on 137 per 10,000), Slovakia (135) and the Czech Republic (101).

The worlds biggest user of industrial robots, South Korea, had 631 robots for every 10,000 people employed in its manufacturing sector in 2016, putting it ahead of Singapore (on 488), Germany (309), Japan (303), Sweden (223), Denmark (211) and the US (189).

While the global average robot population density increased from 66 robots per 10,000 in 2015 to 74 in 2016, the UK remained static on 71, taking it below the global average for the first time.

The IFR says that UK industry is highly in need of necessary investment in order to modernise and increase productivity. The low robot density rate is indicative of this fact. Despite the UKs decision to leave the EU, it adds, there are currently many suggested investment plans for capacity expansion and modernisation of foreign and local automotive companies. It is not evident though whether companies will hold back investments due to uncertainties concerning customs duties.

The UK was probably overtaken during 2017 by China, whose robot density rose from 25 per 10,000 in 2013 to 68 by 2016, putting it in 23rd position, just behind the UK. The Chinese government is aiming to make the country one of the worlds ten most intensively automated nations by 2010, with a target robot population density of 150. It wants 100,000 of these robots to come from Chinese manufacturers, compared to the 27,000 supplied last year when China bought 60,000 industrial robots from foreign suppliers.

Europe is still the region with the highest average robot density of 99 robots per 10,000 employees, followed by the Americas on 84 and Asia on 63. But Asia is the fastest-expanding region with an average annual growth rate of 9% between 2010 and 2016, compared to 7% in the Americas and 5% in Europe.

In 2016, Germany accounted for 41% of all industrial robots bought in Europe and supplied 36% of the robots sold in the region. Between 2018 and 2020, the annual supply in Germany is forecast to grow by at least 5% per year due to an increasing demand for robots from both general industry and the automotive sector.

The 21 countries with the highest numbers of industrial robots installed per 10,000 manufacturing employees during 2016. Source: IFR

France has a robot density of 132 robots per 10,000 (putting it in 18th position globally). It is ahead of the global average of 74 robots, but behind other EU member countries such as Sweden (223), Denmark (211), Italy (185) and Spain (160). But, says the IFR, under its new government, France is regaining competitiveness in its manufacturing sector, with the number of robot installations thought to have expanded by about 10% last year. Between 2018 and 2020, an average annual growth rate of 510% is predicted for France.

In the US, the industrial robot density increased from 176 per 10,000 in 2015 to 189 in 2016  putting it in seventh position globally. Robot sales in the US have been boosted since 2010 by the modernisation of domestic production, driven by a desire to strengthen American industries on the global market and to keep manufacturing at home. In some cases, manufacturing that had previously been sent abroad has been brought back to the US. The automotive industry is still the main customer for industrial robots in the US, accounting for about 52% of sales in 2016. Robot sales in the US are forecast to expand by an average of at least 15% per year between 2017 and 2020.

South Korea has had the worlds highest density of industrial robots since 2010. In 2016, it had 631 robots per 10,000 employees  more than eight times higher than the global average. Large numbers of robots are being installed in the electrical/electronics and automotive industries, in particular.

Singapore, in second place globally, had 488 robots per 10,000 employees in 2016  about 90% of them being used in the electronics industry.

Japan is still the worlds leading manufacturer of industrial robots, producing a record 153,000 machines in 2016. Japanese manufacturers are responsible for 52% of the global supply of industrial robots, but the countrys own installed robot density was almost unchanged between 2015 and 2016.
Calabria promotes Emma Norbiato to chief winemaker

By Lisa Riley

Australian winery Calabria has promoted Emma Norbiato to the role of chief winemaker.

Norbiato, who takes over from Bill Calabria, will in her new role take on responsibility for the winemaking and stylistic direction of the Calabria Family's wine portfolio, working together with its team of winemakers and grape growers.

Taking on the role with immediate effect Norbiato, who joined Calabria in 2009, takes over from Bill Calabria. During her time with the winery, she was named Australia's Women in Wine Winemaker of the Year in 2016.

The appointment reinforced the "strong investment" Calabria would be making in its portfolio moving forward, said Bill Calabria, adding her passion had allowed Norbiato to shine through the ranks at Calabria Family Wines right up to chief winemaker.

Her extensive knowledge of the Australian wine industry, together with the strength of her award winning winemaking will be a credit to our brand brand and I know that she will continue to nurture the future direction of our portfolio, he said.

Norbiato said she was truly excited about the upcoming wine developments Calabria had planned for 2018 from multiple regions around Australia.

She also paid tribute to Bill Calabrias legacy: Bill has been a great asset of our region and mentor to many and I am deeply honoured to take on this position and share the Calabria family story and wines.

With 18 vintages of winemaking experience, Norbiato is also a senior wine show judge with over 15 years experience across both regional and capital city shows.
Honolulu County Chair Testimony in Opposition to SB-2290

News Release from Honolulu County GOP, February 5, 2018

Senate Committee on Public Safety, Intergovernmental, and Military Affairs

RE: SB-2290 Federal Immigration Enforcement; Law Enforcement Agencies; United States Customs and Border Protection; United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Dear Chair Nishihara, Vice Chair Wakai, and Committee Members,

The Honolulu County Republican Party STRONGLY OPPOSES SB-2290.

Hawaii citizens welcome people from all nations, races all cultures who enter our country legally and support the freedoms, principles and language of the United States of America. America and by extension Hawaii is a stronger and better because of the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of legal immigrants.

The Honolulu County Republican Party believes that the most fundamental function of government is to keep its citizens safe and their property secure. The implementation of SB-2290 would make our legislature as well as our local law enforcement officers culpable in the commission of a Federal crime for failing to cooperate with an investigation under 8 U S. C.  1373.

SB-2290 will facilitate and encourage illegal immigration. It is unfair to legal immigrants, who waited in line, followed the rules and showed respect for our laws. Our citizens and legal immigrants deserve better than this.

We are a Nation and State of Laws, and you were elected and took an oath to support and defend those laws, as well as protect the citizens of this State. SB-2290 is in opposition of your constitutional duties.

Furthermore, the Department of Justice requires that most recipients of federal grant money certify their compliance with all federal laws. SB-2290 would jeopardize those grants depriving our local law enforcement agencies from thousands of dollars in grant money, which could limit their ability to protect and serve, putting Hawaii citizens in harms way.

Finally, we believe the Hawaii Law Enforcement Community not only has a right, but has a duty to work with their federal law enforcement counterparts, in any and all areas that protect the interests of our state and our citizens. The function of law enforcement is to enforce the duly enacted laws of our state and our nation. SB-2290 violates this function.

Respectfully,

Brett Kulbis

Chairman
Pacific Islanders Displaced by US Nuclear Tests Decry New Imperialism

by Britain Eakin, Court House News, February 6, 2018

WASHINGTON (CN)  Members of Congress grappled Tuesday with the fate of a trust set up for Pacific Islanders who were displaced by dozens of Cold War nuclear tests conducted by the United States in the Bikini Atoll.

Residents of the tiny atoll in the Marshall Islands were scattered among other islands, including Ejit and Kili, when radioactive fallout from the nuclear blasts conducted between 1946 and 1958 during the height of the nuclear arms race rendered Bikini uninhabitable.

One of those tests, known as Bravo, constituted the largest thermonuclear bomb the U.S. ever detonated.

U.S. officials promised the people of Bikini that they could someday return home, but contaminated soil and water have largely prevented that from happening. In 1982 the U.S. established the Bikini Resettlement Trust Fund to help care for the displaced Pacific islanders.

Though there is about $57 million left in it today, the fund held about $129 million at its peak. Typically, the local government draws about $5 million to $10 million annually from the fund to fund rehabilitation and resettlement projects.

The U.S. Department of Interior held a veto power for more than three decades over how much the people of Bikini could withdraw each year, but the agency abruptly announced that it was relinquishing that power in November 2017.

Anderson Jibas, the mayor of Kili-Bikini-Ejit, testified on Feb. 6, 2018, before Congress.

After the Congressional Budget Office determined the money in the fund was not federal money but belonged to the people of Bikini, the mayor of Kili-Bikini-Ejit passed a resolution in conjunction with the local government council to take control of all spending decisions related to the fund.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, who introduced a bill that would limit expenditures from the fund to $2 million a year, voiced concern at a hearing Tuesday about the funds continued viability.

Seeking to restore some oversight of expenditures, Murkowski voiced alarm that the resolution passed by Mayor Anderson Jibas led to the immediate withdrawal of $11 million from the fund.

Weve heard reports of large sums being spent on things such as an airplane, two landing craft, an elaborate function in Hawaii, and cash payments to households on Ejit and Kili in the name of disaster relief, but without any damage assessment being conducted, said Murkowski, an Alaska Republican.

Testifying this morning before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Mayor Jibas soundly rejected the $2 million cap as grossly inadequate.

Now, in retaliation against the Department of the Interiors recognition that the department has no legal mandate to control the KBE Resettlement Trust Fund, this committee has introduced this legislation which frankly takes us back to a colonialist and paternalistic system that says the bureaucrats in a federal agency know what is best for the people of Bikini, Jibas said, abbreviating Kili-Bikini-Ejit.

Researchers from Columbia University determined in 2016 that Bikini and other atolls in the Marshall Islands were still too contaminated for human habitation. Noting the $361 million price tag attached to a rehabilitation plan, which includes money in the trust fund in addition to $251 million awarded by the Nuclear Claims Tribunal, Jibas said Congress has failed to follow through on funding the award.

Be assured we cannot move back with our families until the islands are cleaned up, Jibas said.

After Murkowski warned Jibas that he had exceeded his time limit to give testimony, the mayor noted he had three more pages to read to the committee after traveling 8,000 miles to Washington.

When the U.S. told my ancestors that they would take care of us until we returned to our safe and clean land, Bikini Atoll, our ancestors actually believed the United States and allowed the United States to bomb our islands! the written testimony by Jibas says. Do we really think the U.S. Congress is going to fund the clean up and restoration of Bikini? No, we dont.

We stopped believing in the U.S. Congress, Jibas added.

Jibas said that he and the local government council voted to take control of spending decisions to allow them to fund projects that will generate future income for the islands. He said Bikini Atoll has world-class scuba diving, but stopped drawing visitors 15 years ago due to unreliable air transportation.

We plan to fix that, he said.

Compounding all of this are issues posed by climate change. Jibas said some of the recent $11 million withdrawal from the fund was spent on renovating and building new houses damaged by high tides.

But Jack Niedenthal, a U.S. citizen who received honorary Marshall Islands citizenship in 2000 and has worked to help preserve the trust, painted a darker picture Tuesday of how control over the fund shifted.

Not understanding why the change was made, Niedenthal said he tried to ask a Department of Interior official directly during a town hall in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, with assistant secretary of insular affairs Doug Domenech and other U.S. officials.

A stairwell full of police refused to let me  or any other Bikinian with questions, including elected members of the council  up the stairs of the town hall even just to listen, Niedenthal testified.

All prior meetings with U.S. officials had been open to the public, he said.

I can tell you that the trust fund that I worked for for over 30 years, and which has provided over $220 million to help the people of Bikini  is in danger of disappearing, Niedenthal added.

Domenech with the Department of Interior testified alongside Jibas and Niedenthal Tuesday. He said the department does not support Murkowskis bill, known as the Bikini Resettlement and Relocation Act.

It is the departments position that the people of Bikini, through their elected leaders, have the right to amend the agreement in order to restore their local control over the funds provided to them as restitution for the U.S. Governments nuclear testing on Bikini Atoll, Domenech said. Further the Department believes that it does not have the right to veto the use of non-Federal funds that are not under our purview or jurisdiction.
(HedgeCo.Net) The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that the Miami-based businessman behind an alleged scheme involving investments in a Vermont-based ski resort has agreed to pay back more than $81 million of investor money that he used illegally.

According to an SEC complaint filed in 2016 in federal court in Miami, Ariel Quiros allegedly misused more than $50 million in investor funds to purchase a different ski resort and to fund personal expenses such as income taxes and two luxury New York City condominium purchases. Investors were told their money would specifically be used for construction projects at the Jay Peak Resort and a nearby proposed biomedical research facility.

Companies owned by Quiros also allegedly failed to contribute approximately $30 million in investor funds toward Jay Peak construction, with two projects going uncompleted. This jeopardized investors investments as well as their participation in the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program under which Quiros and his businesses solicited the money.

In a settlement subject to court approval, Quiros agreed to be held liable for more than $81 million in disgorgement of ill-gotten gains plus a $1 million penalty, and he must forfeit approximately $417,000 in cash that was frozen after the SEC filed the case. Quiros also agreed to surrender ownership of the two condos and ski resort he purchased with investor funds and give up his stake in more than a dozen other properties, including the Jay Peak Resort. Under the proposed settlement, the properties would be turned over to the court-appointed receiver in the case for the purpose of selling them for the benefit of defrauded investors.

In pursuing fraudulent actors, we seek not only to hold wrongdoers accountable, but also to return as much money as possible to victims, said Eric I. Bustillo, Director of the SECs Miami Regional Office. This settlement achieves both objectives by stripping Quiros of the proceeds of his fraudulent scheme and requiring him to turn over valuable property for the benefit of harmed investors.

The SECs emergency action halted an alleged massive fraud that Jay Peak, Quiros, and Stenger perpetrated on more than 700 investors from at least 74 countries, said Stephanie Avakian, Co-Director of the SECs Enforcement Division.

As a result of the SECs action, a court-appointed receiver has successfully turned around the resorts finances, and the case will result in hundreds of investors receiving significant portions and, in some cases, all of their investments returned to them, said Steven Peikin, Co-Director of the SECs Enforcement Division.

The SEC also announced that a business associate of Quiros, William Stenger of Newport, Vermont, agreed to settle the charges against him in the SECs complaint. While Stenger was not alleged to have personally profited from the fraud, he agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty and be barred along with Quiros from participating in any future EB-5 offerings. Quiros and Stenger agreed to their settlements without admitting or denying the allegations in the SECs complaint.
Europe will also face pressure caused by future migration, probably to a growing extent and particularly from Africa, he stated in his speech at the opening ceremony of the parliamentary session in Helsinki on Tuesday, 6 February.

President Sauli Niinisto has reiterated his concerns about the impact of intense flow of migrants on the cohesiveness and functioning of the asylum system of the European Union.

The best way to alleviate this pressure is to improve living conditions in the countries of origin. The EU member states and the union itself have their respective development cooperation programmes, which need to be better coordinated, added Niinisto.

The EU, he said, must not only ensure the functioning of its asylum system but also establish common practices for border control, the processing of asylum applications and the returns of unsuccessful applicants.

Niinisto caused commotion on the same occasion two years ago by estimating in his speech that neither Finland nor Europe is capable of fulfilling its obligations under international agreements due to the influx of asylum seekers. He consequently proposed that the agreements be re-interpreted in order to ensure they reflect the prevalent circumstances.

This year, he encouraged lawmakers to respond to the challenges arising from migration and climate change, as well as the sense of insecurity caused by such developments.

It is your demanding task to understand global change. To understand the fact that we cannot stop that change, and to understand how to best keep this country and its people up with the change. There is much talk about the breakup of the coherent culture. But we are still one people, one nation and therefore a community with our common interest to defend, he stated.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Martti Kainulainen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
President Sauli Niinisto stated yesterday in his speech at the opening ceremony of the new parliamentary session that the euro is clearly not without its problems, estimating that a discussion on the principles is warranted.

I hope for a discussion with the caveat that the euro is unequivocally a positive thing for Finland, replied Orpo. Its our currency. Finns accept the fact that were part of the euro by a vast majority. The discussion Id like to have is how can the common currency be strengthened to make the euro a stronger and better currency for Finns.

Li Andersson, the chairperson of the Left Alliance, has similarly called for a discussion on the euro membership and the integration of Europe. She believes the questions will be addressed after the presidency of the union has been handed over to Finland in 2019.

The governments approach seems to be to reject greater solidarity. But as we know based on the eurozone crisis, solidarity is a feature of the monetary union in many respects. It was evident also during the previous crisis, when we resorted to burden-sharing to keep German and French banks afloat, says Andersson.

We want greater flexibility, not stricter fiscal policies that reduce the leeway of our own government. Itd be a smart thing to make reforms in the eurozone and cut the fateful ties between the banking sector and states, she continues.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Roni Rekomaa  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
He revealed that he is humbled to have the opportunity to tackle one of the most important issues of this generation: the question of how immigration and changes in the security environment in Europe are visible in Finland.

Kai Mykkanen (NCP) shed light on his views on immigration and asylum seekers in his first press conference as the Minister of the Interior in Helsinki on Tuesday.

Mykkanen estimated that the fact that some 10,000 unsuccessful asylum seekers are currently residing in reception centres is one of the acute challenges faced by the country. How do we face them humanely, as persons, while making sure that we dont create a divide between legal and illegal residents in Finland, he explained.

He also drew attention to the importance of not only attracting foreign skilled workers but also guaranteeing the successful integration of all legal immigrants in Finland.

The issue, he viewed, extends far beyond the quantitative treatment of asylum seekers  onto the psychological climate in Finland and whether Finland is perceived as an international or an insular country.

Related posts: Risikko appointed new Speaker of Parliament (06 February, 2018)

He stressed that the country must continue its efforts to become the safest country in the world while also fostering openness and internationalisation.

His predecessor as the Minister of the Interior, Paula Risikko (NCP), was elected as the Speaker of the Parliament on Monday. Mykkanen, in turn, handed over his duties as the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development to Anne-Mari Virolainen (NCP).

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Martti Kainulainen  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
1 / 5 Fanny Hammy co-creators Brandon Berrett, center, and Xim McMillan, right, seat their kids, from left, Kalai Hughes, 1, Hadley McMillan, 8, Graycie McMillan, 6, and Archer Berrett, 3, into a Fanny Hammy before posing for a portrait Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, outside of the Quarry Indoor Climbing Center in Provo. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald Isaac Hale, Daily Herald 2 / 5 Fanny Hammy co-creator Xim McMillan loads the hammock portion of the invention into the fanny pack Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, outside of the Quarry Indoor Climbing Center in Provo. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald Isaac Hale, Daily Herald 3 / 5 Fanny Hammy co-creator, Brandon Berrett, climbs Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, at the Quarry Indoor Climbing Center in Provo. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald Isaac Hale, Daily Herald 4 / 5 Fanny Hammy co-creators Brandon Berrett and Xim McMillan talk with their kids after climbing Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, at the Quarry Indoor Climbing Center in Provo. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald Isaac Hale, Daily Herald 5 / 5 Archer Berrett, 3, peeks out of a Fanny Hammy, a creation his father, Brandon Berrett, co-created Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, outside of the Quarry Indoor Climbing Center in Provo. Isaac Hale, Daily Herald Isaac Hale, Daily Herald  

Brandon Berrett learned resistance from watching trees spurt from nothing in Rock Canyon.

It healed me; it made me who I am today, Berrett said.

Berrett would go to the canyon or a park after being abused by his parents. Since then, he spent time in a foster home, was later adopted as a teen and was even a finalist on American Ninja Warrior.

Now, the Provo man is a teacher at a charter school in Salt Lake City and still finds healing in nature. He hopes a new product hes developed will help others do the same.

The Kickstarter for the Fanny Hammy, a fanny pack with a hammock sewn into its large pocket, has raised about $700 of its $30,000 all-or-nothing goal as of Tuesday afternoon. The campaign ends in the month.

Theres also a version of the Fanny Hammy people can easily stuff their hammocks into.

He was inspired to create the product after a 14-year-old student asked him how to open a plastic bag.

It dawned on me theres a huge disconnect between reality, Berrett said.

He said his students see their worth through social media and need to return to whats real.

He was in Rock Canyon when the idea came to him.

Our theme is let nature hold you,' Berrett said. We really do believe you can find reconnection with yourself, reconnection with loved ones and nature, and in doing that you will find the true version of yourself.

His students have been with him throughout the development of the product and a friend helped with the sewing.

But the Fanny Hammy itself isnt the end. Berrett has aspirations to create an app to connect people with Hammy Hangouts so people can hang up their hammocks and connect with each other. After that, he wants to create his own school in Ogden and Provo, called The Creative Cure, where students would start their day with meditation and work out how theyre feeling through yoga and meditation. Students would attend school for four hours a day for four months and would be able to access the school the rest of the time to work on projects.
Arpine Hovhannisyan: In the case of administrative proceedings an additional burden shall be imposed on the administrative body, latter will have to reasonably justify the court why he disagrees (video)

Today the National Assembly discussed the draft law, suggested by Arpine Hovhannisyan, the NA Deputy Speaker, the HHK (Republican Party of Armenia) MP, on making amendments to the Code of Administrative Procedure. Video recording and recording of the court session, as well as broadcasting on the radio, television and the internet, shall be carried out through the motion of the trial participant with the permission of the court. "The term of the "trial participant" has caused quite anxiety, particularly among the journalists who cover of court sessions. The point is that in principle a situation creates when the journalist, willingly or unwillingly, appears on the side of one of the participants of the trial and, in essence, his/her impartiality is put into question. This project is also aimed at disseminating journalists' concerns. Accordingly, the same procedure, as in the Civil and Criminal Procedure Codes exists, is suggested. In other words, the ideology comes to mean that there should be a motion of this or that participant in the proceedings, and the agreement of both parties should be the result of which the court will grant permission. " The next amendment, according to Arpine Hovhannisyan, is that one of the parties to the administrative proceedings is a state body, in which case there will be some restrictions. "For example, one of the parties to the civil trial says that he/she does not want to be shot. It is enough for the court to accept the motion. In the case of administrative proceedings an additional burden shall be imposed on the administrative body, latter will have to reasonably justify the court why he disagrees if the person participating in the proceedings is not against it. In other words, the administrative body cannot say that I'm a little nervous today; I do not have a mood, it's a matter of my personal life here, I do not want to be seen with this facial expression in the photos."
Sergey Bagratyan against bill on fixing rights of journalists (video)

Sergey Bagratyan,a member of the Tsarukyan alliance, addressing the discussion of the draft law on making amendments to the Code of Administrative Procedure, authored by Arpine Hovhannisyan, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly today, quoted Arpine Hovhannisyan, saying that the current regulation was more objective than what the author of the project was offering. "The point is that the project's administrative body can, in many cases, with very simple explanations, prevent the court from shooting the trial. Video surveillance cannot lead to prejudicial approach, as this is an impartial process. This edit was permanently bidding on public access. This edit violates the right of public access." In response, Arpine Hovhannisyan said that she had a principled disagreement with the MP and disagreed with his comments noting that the administrative body could very quietly reject the journalist's request for a petition, saying that he did not want to. "And happens something that you mentioned: no shooting. Or the opposite picture, if the administrative body mediates the court to shoot the trial, the other party may have suspicions on why the journalist was permitted to take a video. So, the consent of both parties is needed. If I do not get concerns from the journalist community, believe me, I'm not the person who makes changes without any reason." Sergey Bagratyan was stuck to his point. "It is the same as the fact that you want to conduct the Government's meetings behind the closed doors. That is, you will do the things you have already decided in the shortest ways: not publicizing sittings and thus, violating human rights. I think there is no need to make any changes and the current regulation is a very good one." Arpine Hovhannisyan responded, "Mr. Bagratyan, no one has given you the right to question my words on me having such applications from the journalist community. The issue of closing the Government sessions will still be discussed in this hall, but it does not refer to any settlement suggested by me. If the current setting is good then you will vote against this project."
Future of State Language Inspectorate unknown (video)

The State Language Inspectorate of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Armenia will be either reorganized into a committee or the State Committee will be created. We will have a final answer when the Government holds discussions on the issue, Sergo Yeritsyan, Head of the RA State Language Inspectorate, told journalists today. For the past three years, the functions of the State Language Inspectorate have been suspended, in particular, it has been deprived of the authority to impose fines, but the structure has continued to carry out certain work. "It has been done so that businesses had little to worry and not to interfere with their work, but we have not interfered them, but helped to make public statements sound Armenian." Sergo Yeritsyan is against fines. According to him, sometimes warnings are more effective. In spite of this, the State Language Inspectorate has filed 70-75 lawsuits every year against the economic entities, and now there are 12 continuing cases. "Only during this year, there were 900 letters from citizens regarding the names and documents of economic entities." Sergo Yeritsyan hopes that after the creation of the State Language Committee, the language will be better protected and the direction of control will also change.
Irish band Stoat release their barking new track 'Dog King', sure to get your tail a wagg'in!

3 piece Irish indie pop band Stoat have released their new hilarious song 'Dog King', accompanied by an equally hilarious animated video. This up beat, fast paced tune will definitely one that will linger in your mind, as will the video, which contains drawings of dogs because lets be honest, everyone enjoys anything dog related.
In the spring of 2011, the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) and the city's residents found themselves in an uncomfortable position: They were facing deep budget cuts and needed to confront how best to utilize scarce financial resources.

The panorama was not an easy one. Against a backdrop of criticism, Superintendent Michael Hinojosa and DISD officials had to make the tough decision of redistributing financial resources across the district and choosing which programs would suffer the consequences of this financial shortfall.

The answer for them was to inflict massive cuts to the magnet school system, especially the Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center  a complex that houses several college preparatory and career-oriented high schools in science and engineering, health professions, law enforcement and gifted and talented.

The move was not popular, and it deeply divided the community and residents of Dallas. Angry parents accused Superintendent Hinosoja of advancing an agenda against magnets in favor of comprehensive schools. These parents argued that magnets provided better educational opportunities for these students.

But critics of magnets argued that the school district was siphoning money from the regular schools to the magnets, which they viewed as elitist and the places where the urban affluent sent their children.

In the end, nobody was happy, and the school district was in a new place: There was no magic money hidden somewhere, and the cuts were real.

Today, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) is in the same position DISD was in 2011: short of cash and nowhere to run for help.

RELATED: Sit up and listen, folks: HISD is about to make big changes

There are several reasons for this. For one, Harvey's devastation to Houston brought several "whammies" to the residents of the Bayou City, including property depreciation, which translates into a loss of tax revenue for the city and school districts.

In addition, HISD is dealing with the state demands for "recapture" payments  funds that affluent districts have to share with less affluent districts. District officials are forecasting a projected loss of at least $200 million.

As a result, HISD Superintendent Richard Carranza unveiled the new proposed budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year 2018-2019, revealing massive funding cuts throughout the school district, affecting schools, teachers and students.

The school of choice program

Magnets and the school of choice program have been the pride and joy of HISD. The district has been a national champion on this front  a system of dedicated and specialized schools which the district aggressively pursued over the last three decades. Today, HISD offers more than 40 vocational and college preparation programs.

But HISD's new budget plans propose a massive overhaul and restructuring of its magnets and school of choice program. The new plan to restructure the district's magnets includes the rezoning of some schools from districtwide enrollment to local-zone enrollment, the redesignation of some schools from magnet to regular and the simple elimination of some programs altogether.

Steve Gonzales/Houston Chronicle

School of choice programs, such as magnets, come with critics and supporters. The idea was introduced in the 1970s to counteract the effects of de facto segregation and erase school districts' zone lines, offering an equal opportunity of a quality education to low-income students. In most cases, these schools became very successful vocational career centers and college preparatory programs.

Over the years, though, magnets have been criticized for siphoning money from struggling schools and low-performing programs to benefit a small group of high-achieving students in elite, specialized curricula.

Others have criticized these programs for not addressing and solving educational segregation  the very problem that these schools were originally designed to solve. For many, magnets are the places where urban upper-class whites can send their children.

For supporters, however, magnets offer low-income students the opportunity to excel in top-quality school programs, giving every student in a given school district a shot at obtaining an excellent education and a chance for a better future.

RELATED: HISD administrators propose major changes for some campuses

And they are not wrong. Some of these programs, such as HISD's Andrew Carnegie Vanguard High School and Michael E. DeBakey High School for Health Professions, have achieved national recognition and prominent rankings.

Though it is too early to tell what this new reality and budget plan hold for HISD's parents, students, staff and administrators, there is a new reality that many districts across the state and the nation will have to face: decreasing budgets, financial strains and the end of a magic life jacket hidden somewhere deep in the district's vault.

For now, the city must be careful and aware that previous attempts to reform and redesign magnets have gone awfully wrong, and Superintendent Carranza and other officials must pay close attention if they want to succeed.

Things to consider

These days, HISD faces many battles. For one, it's very doubtful that Austin will let HISD off the hook easily this time around. In addition to a looming financial crisis, the district is facing a state takeover of 15 of its low-performing schools.

Translation: It will have to produce good results on many fronts and fast, or face the consequences.

For another, the national call for more educational choices and reforms are louder than ever, thanks to the new political landscape, led on the educational sector by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos  an avid proponent of school vouchers and everything private, including for-profit management of public schools. Superintendent Carranza and his colleagues will have to walk this new road, and they will have to deliver the goods.

Ted S. Warren /Associated Press

If district officials want their plan to succeed, first and foremost, these new reforms will have to properly respond to the new reality of Houston as a 21st-century city. Houston is an international center, and HISD's educational programs must respond, once and for all, to the new demands of the global market and a globalized city.

In fact, Houston is becoming more international than ever, not less. Any new budget cut must be carefully tailored to address this fact. If we have learned something about the failure of school reforms, it's that they often address problems that no longer exist with old formulas that no longer apply. Budget cuts and educational reforms that are based on antiquated practice from 60 years ago will not work for today's city.

The largest district in the state is facing the new normal of doing more with less, just like any other district in the state and the nation.

But the HISD Board of Trustees must demand from district officials that budget cuts and school restructuring come along with new, bold management ideas that allocate the district's available resources in the best possible way. Cuts for the sake of cuts will not work. Giving every student the chance to a quality education must continue to be a priority, and the board owes it to their constituents to ensure that. This will require new measures and fresh ingenuity, not rehashing what did not work in the past.

RELATED: Houston ISD administrators should do their homework before proposing changes to school funding

When it comes to magnets, HISD officials must avoid the mistakes made by other cities that tried to reform and restructure during a budget crisis: a mixture of half-baked ideas of salary cuts, school closures or redesignations and reductions in personnel that has gone awfully wrong.

Reforms of magnets in Dallas and New York City have shown us what happens when districts ignore the reality of the cities they serve: a large number of students living in poverty, a large number of minority students in low-performing schools and a never-ending diaspora to the suburbs for those who can afford to do so. Ignore this basic reality, and you will have a recipe for disaster on your hands.

Budget cuts and school reforms in urban schools tend to fail not because of the shortages of cash and resources themselves; they fail because everything quickly degenerates into a messy political battle involving administrators and disgruntled parents, angry taxpayers, demoralized teachers, opportunistic union representatives, incompetent politicians and city officials and sarcastic journalists.

For Superintendent Carranza and HISD officials, the best bet is to ignore the political and media sideshows and not to lose focus of what is at stake: the precious education of thousands of students. Their best chance for success will be to counteract cuts with better and innovative allocation of available resources, keeping the process as apolitical as possible and showing the city that there are ways to do more with less.

Make this another political power grab between district trustees, city officials, parents and teacher organizations, and Superintendent Carranza will become, sooner or later, the latest who will have to leave HISD in disgrace, unable to solve the problems and perils of the largest school district in the state.

Dr. Bernardo Pohl is an assistant professor of education at the University of Houston-Downtown.

Bookmark Gray Matters. Ignore this basic reality, and you will have a recipe for disaster on your hands.
Less than a month before a fiercely contested Republican primary election, a state appeals court on Wednesday reinstated indictments alleging that two elected Montgomery County officials and a consultant violated the state's open meetings law.

The 9th Court of Appeals reversed a decision by state District Judge Randy Clapp, who had dismissed the indictments last April in a ruling that found a portion of the Texas Open Meetings Act unconstitutional. The appeals court ordered Clapp to reconsider the indictments against County Judge Craig Doyal, Commissioner Charlie Riley and political consultant Marc Davenport.

The decision is a setback for Doyal and Riley in the final weeks before the March 6 Republican primary, which is decisive in the conservative suburban stronghold north of Houston. Doyal's primary opponent, state Rep. Mark Keough of The Woodlands, has lent his campaign more than $230,000 and secured the backing of populist groups such as Empower Texans and a local tea party organization.

Related: 'Movement conservative' Keough challenges Doyal for Montgomery County leadership

"Without question, this is a significant blow for the Doyal campaign," said Rice University political science professor Mark P. Jones. "With the initial decision, he felt he could put this behind him."

Doyal's attorney, Rusty Hardin, said he would appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. And Doyal noted that no court has ruled on the facts of the case.

"The important thing for people to understand is, it doesn't have anything to do with guilt or innocence," Doyal said. "It's strictly about the constitutional questions."

Related: In Montgomery County, far-right group Empower Texans sees chance for more power

A grand jury indicted Doyal, Riley, Davenport and Commissioner Jim Clark on June 24, 2016, on misdemeanor charges of violating the open meetings law during discussions of a November 2015 road bond election. The charges are punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $500.

The indictment against Clark was dismissed after he agreed to cooperate with prosecutors.

Riley and Davenport could not be reached for comment. Riley, who represents Precinct 2 on Montgomery County's west side, holds a wide fundraising advantage over his two primary opponents, Greg Parker and Brian Dawson.

Keough said he was "sad for the individuals involved but most importantly for the reputation of Montgomery County."

"The people of Montgomery County want leaders who will honor their oath, honor the law and honor the will of the people," he added.

Even before the appeals court decision, signs were emerging that the county judge campaign would intensify in its final weeks.

Campaign finance reports filed this week showed that Doyal, 56, seeking a second term as the county's chief executive, raised more than $63,000 in January  almost as much as he raised in the previous six months. The sum included a $15,000 contribution from Kim Marling of The Woodlands.

Keough, 64, a two-term state representative, raised just under $5,000 in January. Largely because of personal funds he has lent his campaign, he entered the final weeks with about $80,000 on hand, compared with about $90,000 for Doyal.

Doyal spent only about $3,000 in January. "We do have a plan for a push" in the final weeks, he said, declining to provide details.

Beyond its local political impact, the case has been closely watched by open-government advocates concerned about potential weakening of the open meetings law.

Doyal's challenge focused on a section of the law that prohibits a so-called "walking quorum," a circumstance in which members of a governmental body confer about public business without a quorum gathering at one place and time. Six current or former members of Pasadena's economic development board were indicted in January under the same provision.

Prosecutors in Montgomery County initially alleged that Doyal, Riley, Clark and Davenport conspired to consult with tea party representatives during last-minute negotiations to get a road bond proposal on the November 2015 ballot; the $280 million package passed after a larger one had failed months earlier. Doyal's motion alleged that the applicable section of the law infringed on free speech and was vague and overly broad.

The appeals court found these arguments unpersuasive.

Its opinion said the section of the law in question did not seek to restrict the content of deliberations, which might be seen as a free-speech issue. Instead, the court said, the section "targets the act of knowingly conspiring to engage in deliberations that circumvent the requirements" of the open meetings law.

Paul Watler, a Dallas attorney who serves on the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas board, said the open meetings law has faced other constitutional challenges. But the Doyal case, he said, yielded the first written opinion by a state appeals court in a case involving the "walking quorum" clause.

"This opinion by the 9th court is a ringing endorsement of government in the sunshine in Texas," Watler said. "There's been somewhat of a movement among some government officials who have complaints about the Open Meetings Act to render it invalid by challenging its constitutionality. Here you have a very well-considered and persuasively written opinion that shows that it does pass constitutional muster."
The indictments against two members of Montgomery County Commissioners Court and a political consultant alleging they violated a portion of the Texas Open Meetings Act have been reinstated by an appeals court and sent back to district court for trial court proceedings.

The Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont released its decision early Wednesday morning to reverse the ruling by 221st state District Court visiting Judge Randy Clapp, of Wharton County, that a portion of TOMA is unconstitutional. In his ruling, Clapp had dismissed the charges against County Judge Craig Doyal, Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley and political consultant Marc Davenport.

However, Justices Steve McKeithen, Hollis Horton and Leanne Johnson determined that Clapp's ruling should be reversed and that the trial court's order dismissing the indictment is reversed.

PAST COVERAGE: Charges dismissed in open meetings case

The charge is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and a maximum $500 fine.

Doyal, Riley and Davenport were indicted June 24, 2016, on charges of conspiring to circumvent TOMA regarding negotiations of the November 2015 $280 million road bond referendum. Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark also was indicted on the same charge. But in an agreement with the state, Clark's charge was dismissed in December in exchange for his testimony against the other three men if those cases go to trial.

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Section 551.143 of the act states, "... a member or group of members of a governmental body commits an offense if the member or group of members knowingly conspires to circumvent this chapter by meeting in numbers less than a quorum for the purpose of secret deliberations in violation of this chapter.

However, Doyal and his counsel challenged the constitutionality of Section 551.143 of the act.

In April, Clapp, of the 329th state District Court in Wharton County, ruled at least part of the act is unconstitutional because it is vague, overbroad and violates free speech. With his ruling, Clapp, who was acting as visiting judge in the 221st state District Court in Montgomery County, dismissed charges of conspiring to circumvent the act against Doyal, Riley and Davenport regarding negotiations to place the road bond referendum on the November 2015 ballot.

Special prosecutor Chris Downey appealed the trial court ruling to the Ninth Court of Appeals maintaining the district judge erred by dismissing the indictments on grounds that Section 551.143 of the Texas Government Code is facially unconstitutional, vague and ambiguous. It also claims the trial court erred in dismissing the indictments on grounds the code violates the First Amendment.

In early October, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an amicus brief encouraging the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont to reverse the lower court judge's ruling.

Paxton filed the 18-page amicus brief Oct. 13 stating " the Office of Attorney General has a specific and heightened interest in this litigation because the Texas Open Meetings Act is a predominately civil law that is vital to the open functioning of all levels of government in Texas."

"(Section 551.143) does not restrict, suppress, or prohibit speech. Nor does it alter or limit the content of any speaker's message. It instead expands the information available to Texans about public affairs. Ironically, then, Defendants ask this Court to strike down in its entirety a law that furthers First Amendment values," Paxton stated.

Rusty Hardin, representing Doyal, has maintained the section is unconstitutionally overbroad.

"Far from being overbroad, it applies only to those who knowingly seek to circumvent TOMA's disclosure requirements," Paxton stated. "(Section 551.143) enforces disclosure by making it a misdemeanor to knowingly and secretly deliberate with a walking quorum."

Hardin also argues the section is content-based.

But Paxton disagrees.

"(Section 551.143) is content-neutral aimed at the 'secondary effects' of hiding information from the public," Paxton stated. "It does not concern what is said, but only whether it is said in private, away from voters who need that information to their elected officials accountable."

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jim Clark, who also was indicted on the charge, had his charge dismissed after agreeing to testify in the case against the other three defendants. The dismissal was signed in December.

"The case was dismissed in the interest of justice, which is extremely accurate," Clark's attorney E. Tay Bond previouisly said. "Mr. Clark testified truthfully before the grand jury and has agreed to continue to tell the truth."

Doyal, Riley and Clark all are up for re-election this year and have drawn at least one challenger in the March 6 Republican Party primary; while Doyal and Riley, if victorious in the primary, also would have Democratic challengers in the November 2018 general election.

No further proceedings have been scheduled in the 221st District Court yet.
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BERLIN - Russian President Vladimir Putin has them. So do North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Now, President Donald Trump wants his own military parade in Washington, with soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards. Officials told The Washington Post on Tuesday they had begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America's armed forces.

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told my colleagues, who also noted that shows of military strength are not typical in the United States - the last of its kind took place in June 1991 as 8,800 U.S. troops and the weapons that helped the United States win the 1991 Persian Gulf War against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein were celebrated in Washington.

But in Europe, defense scholars immediately raised questions whether Trump's desired military parade would really fall into the same category as France's Bastille Day parade, which is held annually and is deeply rooted in the country's history and values. Both parades would feature the respective nation's military might, but they might still send very different messages, some European defense analysts and columnists cautioned.

"For the record: France's Bastille Day military parade is an old tradition, going back to 1880. Its longevity and popularity have many historical reasons. Probably different from Trump's motivations," wrote Sylvie Kauffmann, an editorial director and columnist with French newspaper Le Monde and a contributing writer to the New York Times, summarizing a widely shared sentiment in Europe on Wednesday.

Whereas France's Bastille Day - founded to celebrate the turning point of the French Revolution - has been associated with an annual military parade for more than a century now, efforts to combine a similarly patriotic holiday with a military parade in Washington might strike many foreign observers as an odd timing. Why now?

To White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the answer to that question appeared clear on Tuesday evening: "President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe," Sanders said. "He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation."

But what has long been understood to be a national, historic tradition in France would likely be perceived by many as a more timely political message from a single U.S. individual to the nation, and indeed to the world, along the lines of: Look at how strong we (and I) are.

Not only did France's Bastille Day parade evolve in a different context, persisting through two world wars and Nazi occupation, but it has also often been used to emphasize a very different message that could be summarized as: We are only strong together. What Trump may have missed while watching the Paris parade last July was that its organizers have frequently invited foreign troops - from Morocco, Britain, Germany to India - to march alongside French soldiers or to even lead it. Instead of the French flag, French soldiers sometimes wave the European Union flag, even though the political bloc does not have its own army.

On a continent where Trump has never had many supporters, defense analysts worried on Wednesday whether the president's alleged misunderstanding of military traditions was a sign of a broader problem. "At what point does healthy appreciation for the military turn into unhealthy obsession?" asked German defense expert Marcel Dirsus.

Wednesday's remarks echoed similar European responses that have repeatedly emerged throughout the first year of Trump in office. When Trump warned North Korea of "fire and fury" last summer, his remarks made analysts wonder whether Trump is aware of the catastrophic effect an activation of nuclear weapons would have.

After Trump emphasized the size of his "nuclear button," in January, observers from the United States and elsewhere criticized the remarks as "infantile" and ill-advised.

"Trump plays with the subject so carelessly and recklessly as if it were some kind of video game," Aaron David Miller, a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars who has advised several secretaries of state, said on Twitter. "My head's exploding."

The way Trump discusses nuclear weapons may fall into a pattern at times observed among military officials in the past, as researchers pointed out at the time. They were referring to a 1985 study by Carol Cohn, who analyzed military remarks that compared nuclear war with "an act of boyish mischief."

Cohn said that such remarks were an expression of a "competition for manhood" and "a way of minimizing the seriousness of militarist endeavors, of denying their deadly consequences." She concluded that they posed a "tremendous danger" in real life.

But size appears to have mattered in Trump's desire to organize a military parade in Washington, too.

"It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen," Trump told reporters last year, referring to the Bastille Day in Paris. "It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France."

"We're going to have to try to top it," Trump added.

- - -

The Post's James McAuley contributed from Paris.
Abortion regulation. Vaccines. Harvey disaster relief funding. Even the question of whether rape is non-existent in marriage.

The Republican primary race for state representative District 134, between moderate incumbent Sarah Davis of West University Place and far-right challenger Susanna Dokupil, isn't short on contentious issues.

It should be noted that the rape issue surfaced as part of a Twitter spat, not between the two female candidates, but between Davis and a fellow Republican lawmaker campaigning against her. Davis unearthed a comment state Rep. Jonathan Stickland made in 2008 about rape not existing in marriage, and he responded that he had long since apologized for it.

But there's one hot-button issue that's been notably absent: the bathroom bill.

And actually, it has been notably absent from just about every Republican primary contest this season, as the Texas Tribune reported this week.

That is interesting, seeing as how the divisive provision regulating transgender bathroom use distracted from serious legislation and even triggered a special session. I asked those closely involved in fighting the bill for a ballpark figure on the hours wasted in hearings, negotiations, stakeholder meetings and floor debate.

Hundreds, they said.

RELATED: Texas lawmakers should focus on important things like roads and taxes

The fact that the burning issue is now a non-issue is a bit surprising, seeing as how Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick warned lawmakers who worked successfully to thwart it that they would face consequences, namely the wrath of their constituents.

"Let them go home and face the voters for the next 90 days," Patrick was quoted saying on the last day of the special session in reference to bill opponents.

Certainly, plenty of political observers, myself included, expected that the bill that launched protests, hours of debate among lawmakers and stoked fear in the hearts of parents and transgender Texans would play a role on the stump, whether employed as a strict litmus test or a mere dog whistle.

Now, it seems all but forgotten. The question is why.

The optimist in me would like to believe that Texans have wised up, and forced the candidates, no matter how conservative, to follow suit. I'm hopeful that the tool used to distract from pressing priorities such as public school finance and property tax reform is finally flushed.

I tried to ask Dokupil her reasons for not bringing it up, but the candidate has been somewhat elusive to media. Messages I left for her and a campaign staffer were not returned. A number listed in her campaign finance report for her treasurer was a nonworking number.

The Tribune article cited a Houston TV interview with Dokupil in which she was quoted saying, "The bathroom bill was also a bill that got a lot of attention, consumed a lot of energy, but you know, I don't know if (it's) going to come back or not." Then she shifted the conversation to Gov. Greg Abbott's property tax reform proposal.

I asked Davis why she thought her opponent avoided the issue.

"She is smart enough to know campaigning on a social agenda isn't going to give her a win against me," Davis said. "It's been tried and lost many times."

RELATED: Dear state legislators, please flush the second bathroom bill, too

That may be the case in Davis' district, which is highly educated, more moderate, and less inclined to be influenced by culture war skirmishes. But what about the other Republican primary races?

Mark Jones, political science professor at Rice University, says the issue just didn't have the staying power among the Republican base as issues such as illegal immigration, abortion and taxes. He said most GOP primary voters have largely forgotten about the issue, which was never a priority for them anyway.

Jones says he suspects one reason that potty politics have quieted is that "even for most conservative activists the bathroom bill was something of a manufactured issue, where some members of the GOP elite converted a relatively non-issue into an issue among the base, but one that absent a constant stoking of the fire by the GOP elite has for all intents been extinguished."

He added, "Until such time that Dan Patrick decides to pour some gasoline on the remaining embers."

RELATED: This legislative session feels like a Hollywood movie: Dumb and dumber

Despite the silence on the issue, that gasoline may be readily available after the election. There's a proposition on the Republican primary ballot that tests the waters on the bathroom bill, asking whether "Texas should protect the privacy and safety of women and children in spaces such as bathrooms, locker rooms, and showers in all Texas schools and government buildings."

If enough voters say "yes" to this leading question, Patrick and his ilk may revive the bathroom bill  this time declaring it a voter mandate.

But maybe voters will be smarter than that. Maybe, as I proposed in a previous column, we'll stop fixating on the squirrels and zero in on the substance. Maybe Texans have finally realized there was no issue with transgender bathroom access, no public safety concerns, no risk of emboldening sexual predators.

It was a game, one to help a few politicians burnish social conservative credentials. It was a game that nobody won, but many still lost. From the lawmakers and citizens who sat in pointless hearings until 4:30 a.m. to the transgender students and parents who were further marginalized and stigmatized by the debate.

Next time they try to game us, and there will be a next time, I hope we're smart enough not to play.
A retired Houston oilfield services executive and his wife are giving $25 million to the School of Nursing at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the largest donation in the school's 45-year history.

The gift from Robert and Jane Cizik, announced Wednesday, will fund initiatives to address the shortage of nurses, projected to get worse in coming years. In recognition of the donation, the school will be renamed the Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth.

"The need is so great now that so many people are getting older," said Jane Cizik, whose sister is a registered nurse. "We believe in nursing so much and hope that this gift results in better care for everyone."

Texas is expected to have a shortage of 30,00 registered nurses by 2030 if it does not increase its graduate numbers, said Lorraine Frazier, dean of the UTHealth nursing school. She said millennials are stepping up to take on "the increasingly complex jobs of retiring nurses," but many need significant scholarship assistance.

Frazier added that statistics project a need for 35 percent more faculty members to make up for instructors scheduled to retire in coming years and to meet the expected increase in demand.

Frazier said the gift will shape the school's future of nursing education. The money will be used to endow scholarships for top students; recruit and retain faculty members; support innovative research that drives patient care; and create a distinguished lecture series.

"This is just a great match," Frazier said. "The Ciziks have a history of spirited support of service and compassion, and nurses are all about service and compassion."

The $25 million is a pledge, to be given over several years, UTHealth officials said.

Robert Cizik was president of Cooper Industries, a manufacturer of engines, turbines and compressors for the oil and natural gas industry, from 1973 until his retirement in 1996. He chaired a $10 million philanthropic campaign to build a new $57 million home for UTHealth's nursing school that opened in 2002.

The Ciziks previously made a gift to the Hermann Eye Fund to name the Robert Cizik Eye Clinic, where UTHealth ophthalmologists practice. They also have given to the Wortham Theater Center, the University of Houston, the Women's Home, Harvard, the University of Connecticut, Citizens for Animal Protection and the National Audubon Society.
AUSTIN - Donald Trump Jr. waded into the Texas Land Commissioner race Tuesday, endorsing incumbent George P. Bush.

Bush is running against three Republicans - including former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who has been no big fan of the president - in the March 6 primary.

"Elections are about choices," Trump wrote in a tweet. "In 2016 George P. Bush endorsed Donald J. Trump and campaigned for him. His opponent attacked Trump and urged him to quit the race. Texas conservatives have a clear choice: Bush for Texas Land Commissioner."

Some far right Republicans accuse Bush of being a moderate Republican who doesn't fully support conservative ideals. Bush used Trump's endorsement to tout his conservatism.

"I'm honored to be endorsed by my friend, Donald Trump Jr. I was proud to endorse Trump in 2016. And I have worked closely with the Trump administration to bring real conservative results to the people of Texas including our successful effort to stop the illegal Obama land grab," said Bush, referring to a land dispute over a 116-mile stretch along the Red River.

Bush noted that Patterson called Trump a "pig" during the 2016 campaign and said that anyone who voted for Trump was "an idiot."

"Patterson refused to even vote for Trump in 2016," said Bush, whose father Jeb was trounced by Trump in the GOP presidential primaries.

In response to Bush's comments, Patterson said Bush is "losing it."

Patterson, who was elected land commissioner in 2003, wants to return to the agency, which manages state-owned lands, the Alamo and housing recovery efforts following natural disasters. Patterson gave up the job in 2014 to run for lieutenant governor. Bush then won the land office seat.

Patterson has been critical of Bush, mainly for the way he has handled Hurricane Harvey housing recovery efforts.

In January, Patterson raised $18,000 in his bid to unseat Bush, who raised $180,000 in the same time period. Patterson has spent about $26,000, leaving him with about $98,000 in his coffers. Bush has about $3 million in cash on hand, according to Bush's political director.

"I am going to be in a runoff with George P. Bush, and he's going to lose," Patterson told the Chronicle Monday.

Two other Republicans - Davey Edwards and Rick Range - are also challenging Bush.
Harris County Sheriff's Ofice

Detectives believe a robbery turned deadly Friday night and are asking for the public's help in finding those responsible.

Deputies with the Harris County Precinct 2 Constable's Office were called out to the Clear Creek Landing Apartments in the 11700 block of Beamer Road around 6:45 p.m. Friday to check on a man found in a vehicle, who was later identified as Jarrett Scales-LeGare.
SUTHERLAND SPRINGS  Six months before Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 people at the First Baptist Church here, he threatened to harm his mother-in-law, Michelle Shields, and her family if she entered the hospital room where his wife, Danielle, was giving birth to their second child.

I will personally make it my mission to destroy your entire life. I suggest you dont test my resolve, read one of several text messages to Shields, who was at the hospital. And in another: You think this is a (expletive) game? Its not.

Authorities later said the threatening texts were a possible motive for Kelleys shooting spree Nov. 5 in the small town southeast of San Antonio.

I wasnt going to disobey. I didnt want to disrespect, because I dont know where the anger would have gone from there, Shields said. If he would have forbidden us from seeing her permanently, or where he would take my daughter. So we just didnt go in.

In an exclusive interview in the community room at the First Baptist Church, Shields described her daughters marriage to Kelley, how he kept Danielle estranged from her family and how she learned about the massacre moments after Kelley opened fire in the church.

The states investigation into the shooting is ongoing, said Lt. Jason Reyes, spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety.

Shields, a Sutherland Springs local who was born and raised in San Antonio, was one of a handful of regular members who didnt attend church that day, a fateful decision that saved her life. Her mother, Lula Woicinski White, was one of the victims. The ages of the dead ranged from an unborn child, to toddlers, adults and elderly.

Tears fell from her luminous green eyes as Shields recounted the way Kelley controlled and manipulated her daughter in the 31/2 years they were married.

I wasnt going to cry, she said, her silver Texas-shaped necklace reading Sutherland Springs Strong shaking as she sobbed.

After the baby was born in May, Shields didnt see Kelley or her daughter until the fall festival at the church  five days before the massacre.

We just tried to keep the peace, she said. It took him six months to come to us, him letting us see her. But then I think it was all a plot.

Kelley killed Shields mother and one of her best friends, Karla Holcombe. They used to take trips to the Gulf Coast together  Shields, White, Holcombe and Sherri Pomeroy, the church pastors wife  where they would sing and dance to the YMCA song on the beach. It always was those four women, together. They had made plans to go the weekend after Nov. 5. They never did.

Sherri and her husband, Frank Pomeroy, were traveling and not at the church the day of the shooting.

Shields still watches videos on her phone of her mother dancing in the living room with her husband and dogs. They were so close.

Throughout their short marriage, Kelley controlled how and when Shields and her daughter could communicate. Whenever Shields called, he made Danielle turn on the speakerphone so he could listen in. If he didnt like what was being said, he made her hang up. Sometimes, he wouldnt let them talk at all, she said.

You had to walk on egg shells around him all the time because youre afraid of saying something to upset him, Shields said.

We never realized that it was domestic violence, the way he treated us. But after you go back and look, he was abusive, mentally, in the way he treated us.

Kelley was easily offended, quick to anger, and consistently used control tactics and manipulation to keep Danielle away from her family.

He was afraid I was going to try to talk her out of the relationship, I guess. Which Im not going to do. I just wanted her happy, I just wanted to talk to her, she said.

Kelley had lived a life riddled with violence. He was sentenced to confinement for abusing his first wife and fracturing his stepsons skull in 2012. Kelley received a bad conduct discharge and was kicked out of the Air Force in 2014, the same year he married Danielle.

The Air Force later admitted it had failed to report his convictions to federal law enforcement, which would have prevented him from purchasing the gun he used in the massacre.

A few months later, in August 2014, Kelley was charged with a misdemeanor for cruelty to animals after abusing his pet dog in Colorado. But he told Shields and her husband that those stories werent true.

They didnt know what to believe. But there wasnt much they could do, anyway.

That was the trap in which he put Shields. The more she tried to reach out to her daughter, the more he withdrew his wife from their lives. But when she didnt reach out, how could she know that her daughter was happy? That she was OK?

Now that she sees their relationship for what it was, Shields wants to spread the word about domestic violence.

I want people to never lose contact with their children, because you never know whats going on in their relationship. Just stay focused on their lives. You dont have to pry into their lives, but just let them know that youre there and you love them. That a parents love for their child is unconditional and never-ending, and that youll always be there for them.

That way if they are ever in a relationship like this, they know that they can always turn to a parent or friend. And Danielle knew that, but she was afraid, I think. Just let them know not to be afraid.

Days after the shooting, Shields met Gov. Greg Abbott and Vice President Mike Pence when both came to visit. She said they were kind and offered to help her if she wanted to be more involved with domestic violence advocacy, but she doubted they would have time for her with their busy schedules.

At the churchs fall festival, Shields saw her 6-month-old granddaughter for the first time. She was so happy to see them, to hold her granddaughter, to catch up with Danielle.

She learned Kelley was taking medication for his mental health. She thought maybe, just maybe, Kelley was coming around.

We walked around and talked and enjoyed everything, and ate some food together. And he went walking around without us. Which I didnt think anything of, I thought he was just letting me and Danielle have time with the baby.

Now, she thinks otherwise. She cant be sure, but he may have been plotting his next move.

I didnt know his problems were that deep, that he had that many problems, she said.

Guilt and grief plague Shields. She barely sleeps. When her head hits the pillow, when her body goes still, her mind runs rampant. She sees her church family hiding under pews. She sees Devin Kelley coming after her, murder in his eyes. She hears the screams of her friends and family as if she had been there that day.

I still feel responsible. I feel responsible for trying to reach out and try to bring him closer to the Lord, Shields said, her voice and body shaking with grief. Because I feel like all I did was bring the devil closer to our church.

Danielle is living in a town nearby, but has visited her mother only on a few occasions since the massacre. When she visited the memorial, which was once the churchs sanctuary, a man heckled her and her mother. He told them he knew who they were, and that they should be ashamed of themselves.

Shes got a lot to think about.  How she wants to raise her children and what shes going to tell them later. Because theyre going to read it sometime or another, Shields said.

On Nov. 5, Devin Kelley called his wife right before he died. Sutherland Springs resident Stephen Willeford, now regarded as a local hero, had shot him after he exited the church and a car chase ensued that eventually led to his death.

He told Danielle he wasnt going to make it, that he had done something horrible in the church, Shields said. Danielle then frantically called her mother, asking if she had gone to the church, if she was OK.

When I (told) her yes, because she was crying, I said, Are you OK?

But Danielle hung up the phone. Shields heard helicopters. She drove to the church, and discovered the unimaginable.

I couldnt believe that my son-in-law would do such a thing, she said, breaking down into sobs.

Three months later, letters have poured in from across the world offering condolences and prayers to the victims of Sutherland Springs.

Ive actually gone through reading the notes and, I could just feel the love as theyre writing it, you know? Shields said.

Theres a lot of good people in the world, that have a lot of kindness and care for each other. You dont see it until something really happens, and then it makes you realize that they are out there, that people do pray, and people do care.

On Monday morning, Shields helped clean the home of shooting survivor Juan Gunny Macias to prepare it for his return home from rehab for the first time.

Shields has left her job of 25 years at a bank, and said she hopes to work for the Federal Emergency Management Agencys disaster relief teams in Houston and Puerto Rico.

I want to go over there and give other people a hand that have different types of pain, or different types of troubles. Just to know there are people out there that care. Thats something I feel like I need to do, because so many people have done that for us.

sfosterfrau@express-news.net
As the Houston region nears the six-month mark after Hurricane Harvey's devastation, pressure is building on public officials to make meaningful changes to the area's flood control strategy and better prepare for the next storm.

Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and other members of Commissioners Court sought to do that when, as Harvey's floodwaters were still receding in September, they pledged to call a bond election to issue upwards of $1 billion in debt to pay for wide-ranging flood control projects. The bonds likely would come with an uptick in property taxes for county residents.

Now, however the picture has become murkier.

READ: Majority of Commissioner's Court backs proposed flood control bond

In an interview with the Chronicle, Emmett described the various factors that are at play as the county grapples with the possible bond referendum, which would be one of the biggest ever proposed by the county.

What's in it?

Elizabeth Conley/Staff

There isn't a clear picture yet of what would be part of the bond referendum. At a recent Commissioners Court meeting, officials emphasize the need to keep the language vague enough to give them flexibility in how to spend the money, but specific enough to make sure the voters know what they are buying.

Emmett said the construction of a highly-anticipated third dam and reservoir northwest of the city would not be part of the measure.

County officials previously have described buyouts and improvements to Houston-area bayous as things that could be paid for with the bonds.

What is included depends, in part, on what happens in Congress, and whether the state is willing to pay for any projects.

Congress creates confusion

The timing and content of what will be included in the referendum have, thus far, hinged on knowing what the federal government is willing to pay for. That will not become clear until Congress passes legislation that could fund at least some flood control projects, such as improvements to Brays, White Oak, Hunting bayous or Clear Creek.

Congress, of course, hasn't yet acted, and it's unclear when it will. The U.S. Senate currently is deliberating an $81 billion disaster relief bill that would provide for significant local upgrades, but tertiary political issues have clouded that bill's passage.

READ: Long-sought Addicks, Barker revamp hinge on congressional politics

Meanwhile, Emmett said, the county in the coming weeks will have to decide when to give up on the feds and act on its own, which in turn could impact Congressional action.

"You have some in Washington who say if the local government calls a bond election before they act, that will send a signal that 'Well they don't necessarily need as much money because they're doing it locally,'" he said. "There's another group up there that says if a local government calls a bond election, that shows they are real partners."

Politics in play

Emmett said the county also will have to decide when to place the bond measure on the ballot.

The county will have to decide by mid-February if it will try to call the election in May, but Emmett said Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart has expressed concerns about having enough voting machines during that election to accommodate such a bond election.

Emmett said the county also could call the election as a standalone vote on another day this year, but he said turnout in standalone elections tends to skew toward a small, passionate minority, one that could more easily defeat the measure, especially if voters rally behind an anti-tax sentiment.

"You've got to get somebody who cares enough to actually take the time to go vote," Emmett said.

County budget officials estimate that if a $1 billion bond measure is passed, and all of the debt was issued at once, it would likely cost the average homeowner $35 more in property taxes per year. Spreading the debt out over several years, however, could reduce the impact to tax bills, at least in the first few years, budget officials said.

The county also could put the measure on during the November election, when turnout will be larger.

Mihir Zaveri covers flood control and Harris County government. Follow him on Twitter @mihirzaveri, and send him tips at mihir.zaveri@chron.com.
Jon Shapley/Staff

AUSTIN - Attorney General Ken Paxton's political campaign guaranteed a $2 million loan to help his wife fuel her bid for a state Senate seat in North Texas, a staffer confirmed Tuesday.

The Bank of the Ozarks loaned the money to Angela Paxton, a Collin County Republican, with the help of Ken Paxton's campaign operating as a guarantor, according to the attorney general's campaign spokesman. That means if Paxton's wife's campaign cannot pay the loan back, Ken Paxton's campaign is responsible for paying off the debt.
Businessmen against "Ashtarak Kat"

"Ashtarak Kat" company's salesmen are facing serious problems. The company has filed a suit against 200 merchants, demanding to pay for goods purchased in 2015. Arthur Atoyan, Managing Director of Armenian Center for Human Rights and Consumers' Rights NGO, Eduard Koshtoyan and Lusia Harutyunyan told reporters today. "200 businessmen have applied to our organization to protect their interests. Our goal is to be more vigilant in the business circles than in other businesses, confidence should be indicated on the paper as a record," said NGO President Artur Atoyan. "Ashtarak Kat" Company has not provided receipts to businesses for sale of goods. They stated that almost all companies implemented similar policies. "Small businesses pay cash for the goods, otherwise they do not provide goods. We did not receive an invoice, we gave money cash to the distributors. All the distributors are ready to testify that they have paid the money to the casier," said Lusya Harutyunyan. The businessmen are worried that this case can be an example for other companies. "I demanded from all companies an act in which it will be mentioned that we have no debt and no demand. There are companies that refuse to provide the act with different reasons," said Eduard Koshtoyan. A group of businessmen appealed to the authorities for their support.
One year ago, as President Donald Trump took office, the legislative session was getting underway here in Texas. Looking back, no one could have predicted the scale of the tumult in our state and country last year.

Federal policy proposals singled out refugees, immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ Americans and women for ill treatment. Assaults on the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid put health care for millions of Texans at risk. An irresponsible tax giveaway added at least $1.4 trillion to our federal debt, making it highly likely that Congress will cut critical public services such as health care, nutrition and environmental protection.

Bad policies from Washington fueled equally bad policy proposals from state leaders in Austin. Though many terrible ideas were narrowly avoided, the passage of Senate Bill 4 pushes immigrants into the shadows and harms the Texas economy.

STRAUS: Texans, make your voices heard in primaries

Then Hurricane Harvey brought unprecedented flooding and destruction to our state. The resilient Texas spirit was on full display after the storm, but low-income Texans continue to face especially daunting challenges in rebuilding their homes and their lives.

So what's on the public policy horizon for Texas in 2018? There is no reliable crystal ball in today's unruly climate. But this being Texas, and not my first rodeo, here are some of the policy battles likely in 2018:

Attacks on anti-poverty programs: To pay for tax giveaways for corporations and the super-rich, congressional leaders will try to cut critical programs that help families put food on the table, find affordable housing and get health care. Too many Texas families are one lay-off, accident or catastrophe away from financial disaster. Attacks on anti-poverty programs are imminent, and we need to guarantee that when people face hard times, they can access housing, food and medical care.

Starkly opposing views on immigration policy: As too many elected leaders continue to spout racist and xenophobic rhetoric, state business leaders are waking up and joining immigrants and their allies to call for common sense policies. Immigrants drive the Texas economy, and generations of newcomers helped to make this state what it is today. Documenting the harm from Senate Bill 4, fighting for DACA recipients and sharing the facts on immigrant economic contributions will be critical.

School finance reform versus school vouchers: With a new state-appointed commission, Texas has a chance to advance a long-overdue remodel of our public school finance system. Better funded schools mean smaller classes, more science labs and expanded teacher training. But zealots will push school vouchers that would siphon public money to pay for private tuition. Everyone concerned about the future of our children and workforce should be ready to fight for school finance reform and against vouchers.

More threats to health care: Texas starts 2018 as the state with the most uninsured residents (both by percentage and by number) of any state in the country. Ongoing federal threats to the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid could make those numbers even worse, and put health care at risk for the many Texans newly covered through the ACA and millions more in Medicaid. We must resist these federal threats while continuing to pressure state leaders to expand health care coverage, accept federal funding to expand Medicaid or come up with another plan to cover the uninsured.

While many of these battles are not new, this time I expect Texans to stand up, stronger than ever, to demand fact-based policies that help more Texans reach their full potential. While not all of Texas is woke yet, there's a palpable change in the air.

Look around. More women, from both parties, are running for office than ever. There's been a sharp increase in civic engagement across the state, especially at the local level.

Schoolteachers are registering to vote in larger numbers, taking their concern for the future of our children to the polls.

Immigrant Dreamers are refusing to give up on their futures here in America.

And businesses are ramping up their support for education, health care, and immigration policies they need to continue to thrive.

I don't want to sugarcoat the challenges ahead of us. But as we saw after Hurricane Harvey, we can harness our collective power, compassion and resilience in 2018 to demand a more just and prosperous Texas.

Beeson is executive director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin.
Educators always try to keep an open mind about new ideas, and we are trying to keep an open mind about the state's new school finance study. Although previous studies have failed to produce results for Texas' 5.3 million public school children, we still have hope. But at the outset, we have reasons for concern.

The two main drivers behind this study were Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who, during last year's legislative sessions, were more interested in siphoning tax dollars for private school vouchers than providing adequate and equitable state funding for neighborhood public schools.

CARRANZA: HISD faces changes, challenges in financial storm

They promoted the creation of the Texas Commission on School Finance during last summer's special session instead of supporting legislation overwhelmingly approved by the House to appropriate an additional $1.9 billion for public education and take a first step toward improving the school finance system.

GINN, MATTHEWS: Texans deserve a better deal on education

The governor and the lieutenant governor weren't ready to do the right thing for our students and educators then, and it remains to be seen if this new study will be any different. In the time since they were elected in 2014, the state's share of the Foundation School Program has slipped from 45 percent to a projected 38 percent in 2019, forcing local property taxpayers to foot more of the bill. And per-student funding in Texas is $2,555 a year below the national average.

RHETORIC VS. ACTION: The budget from Dan Patrick's Senate all but guarantees higher property taxes

Patrick also tried to pass a voucher bill for a limited number of special education students. The House refused, recognizing that his proposal, supported by Abbott, would have been a waste of tax money because most private schools aren't staffed or equipped to give special education students the services they need.

The 13-member school finance commission is a mix of legislators, a State Board of Education member and public members, including educators, and is chaired by former Texas Supreme Court Justice Scott Brister. Judging from remarks at its first meeting, the sharp differences over funding between the House and the Senate remain.

AIYER: Make Houston magnet schools diverse again

House members, including Public Education Chairman Dan Huberty, made it clear they wanted more state funding for public education and changes in law to distribute it more fairly among rich and poor school districts. But Senate Education Chairman Larry Taylor spoke of finding "efficiencies" and getting the "most bang for the buck."

This kind of political jargon has forced districts to foot more of the bill and, as a result, local taxpayers will pay 62 percent of Texas' basic public education costs (excluding federal funds) next year, according to the Legislative Budget Board. The only way to relieve that property tax burden is for the Legislature to increase state education funding and pay its fair share for schools, instead of imposing crippling limits on local governments and school boards, as Abbott and Patrick have proposed.

HISD PLAGUES: Carranza must ensure that everyone understands the changes in our schools

The Texas State Teachers Association hopes the commission's work doesn't become a revitalized campaign to promote vouchers, corporate charters and other privatization plans that would undermine the public schools, where the vast majority of Texas children will continue to be educated. We can't help but be suspicious, and we will continue to fight those efforts.

We challenge the commission and lawmakers to find equitable ways to spend our education dollars and to recognize that more resources are needed when student enrollment is growing by about 80,000 a year. We hope our challenge will be heard, because we work every day to give every child an opportunity to succeed.

Candelaria is president of the Texas State Teachers Association.
Diana  a U.S. citizen since birth  was one of thousands swept out of her home when Hurricane Harvey hit. Unfortunately, her beloved husband was not with her; he was in Mexico, waiting the 10 long years required before he could ask permission to legally immigrate back to this country.

The family had been living together in Mexico until Diana found out she was facing a high-risk birth, and she returned to the U.S. for the sake of her son, who requires a feeding tube and other special care.

Sadly, Diana was caring for their children alone because her husband had to move away from the U.S. for a decade, though he was married to a U.S. citizen and had lived, worked and paid taxes in the U.S. for many years without immigration status.

After Harvey, Diana was referred to Catholic Charities' Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance, and expert staff and volunteer attorneys were able to bring the family back together again. Very recently, Diana's husband arrived in Texas with a permanent residence card in hard  ready to work to support his family and care for his children.

Diana's story highlights a few of the roadblocks created by U.S. immigration policies over the past two decades. Unauthorized immigrants working to gain legal status in the U.S. have found the process difficult or impossible, and families have endured painful separation. Recognizing situations like Diana's  and thousands of others that play out each year across our nation  the Catholic Church has made immigration reform a high priority.

Our country is strengthened by unified families. In a 2003 pastoral letter issued by the U.S. and Mexican Catholic bishops, Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, they made suggestions for an overhaul of the U.S. immigration system. One aspect of the change they called for was reform of the family-based immigration system to allow family members to reunite with loved ones in the United States.

Immigrating to the U.S. is a long, careful process. Migration to our country through the family-based route is slow and measured, and it is controlled by the per-country quota. For example, a sibling of a U.S. citizen has to wait more than 13 years to receive an immigrant visa to come to the U.S. For someone from Mexico or the Philippines, the wait is 20 and 23 years, respectively. A child of a U.S. citizen who is older than 21 has to wait almost eight years to receive an immigrant visa and the examples could continue.

Immigrants bring energy, talent and resources to our nation. As of 2016, immigrants comprised 13.5 percent of the U.S. population. They arrive here through family petition, employment, the diversity visa program or humanitarian paths. Three out of four adult immigrants are employed, and they started more than a quarter of all new U.S. businesses in 2011  contributing more than $1.3 trillion dollars annually to the U.S. economy through taxation, consumption and business launches.

Immigration happens for many reasons. Recognizing that people leave their homes out of desperation and lack of opportunities to provide for themselves and their families, the Justice for Immigrants campaign is working closely with the Catholic Campaign Against Global Poverty to reduce poverty through trade, aid and debt reforms. A related campaign is addressing the rights and needs of migrants in the U.S.

We believe the pastoral letter's title, Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, invites us to recognize that the individuals and families who have come to this country for a better life are just like you and me. They are moms and dads, brothers and sisters, seeking hope  and seeking to build strong, unified families.

At Catholic Charities, we provide help and create hope for all those who come to us in need. We are a voice for the vulnerable and for those who seek justice  and sometimes that means helping a family like Diana's reunite. We pray that we can all come together to find ways to emphasize the family as the strength of our nation  wherever that family originates. The current immigration system is not perfect, but emphasizing family unity is not the flaw.

Colbert is president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Lai is program director of St. Frances Cabrini Center for Immigrant Legal Assistance.
Washington is debating the significance of the memo released by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, but this much should not be debatable: The effort by the FBI to prevent its release was scandalous.

The ostensible reason for suppressing the memo was that it was classified. But now that we have seen the memo, it is hard to see anything that justifies a national security classification, much less the highest level of classification - top secret. No diplomatic secrets were revealed, and no sources or methods were exposed by making it public. If that is the case, then what was the real reason the FBI opposed the memo's release? The bureau's public statements made clear that their real concern was something other than the release of national security information, when the FBI declared it had "grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy."

LETTERS: Interpreting the memo

But there is nothing in the law that allows the government to suppress the release of a document simply because it has "material omissions of fact." The only justification for classifying information is to protect national security. Indeed, government officials are explicitly prohibited from preventing the release of a document under the guise of "classified information" because they believe it is politically biased or may embarrass the government. Executive Order 13526, signed by President Obama on Dec. 29, 2009, clearly states: "In no case shall information be classified, continue to be maintained as classified, or fail to be declassified in order to: conceal violations of law, inefficiency, or administrative error; prevent embarrassment to a person, organization, or agency  or prevent or delay the release of information that does not require protection in the interest of the national security."

HURD: Why I voted to release the Nunes memo

Recall that in 2014, then-Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein released a document prepared by committee Democrats about the CIA's terrorist interrogation program that was rife with "material omissions of fact." Indeed, Feinstein and her staff did not interview a single CIA official involved in the interrogation program, because they did not want to hear inconvenient facts that might undermine their predetermined narrative. Former Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey of Nebraska, who had sat on the Intelligence Committee, decried "the partisan nature of this report." Yet no one in the media decried its release, nor did the Obama administration suppress it. Instead, the Republican minority was allowed to publish a separate report and the CIA released a document of its own rebutting Feinstein's many falsehoods - and then left it to the public to judge.

RUBIN: Rep. Nunes drops his cherry-picked memo: This is it?

If the FBI thinks the Republican memo is incomplete or misleading, then, by all means, the bureau should prepare and release a rebuttal. But under no circumstances did they have the right to try to suppress it.

Not only were they wrong on legal grounds to oppose the memo's release, they were politically stupid for doing so. All they accomplished was to draw more attention to the document and its recitation of the bureau's failings.

RELATED: Releasing the Nunes memo is Trump's most unethical act since firing Comey

If the FBI knew the Christopher Steele dossier was paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee when they submitted it as (in the words of the Nunes memo) "an essential part" of the FISA application for a warrant to spy on an American citizen, and failed to tell the court its provenance, then that is corrupt. This revelation is embarrassing. But in a democracy, that does not allow them to use government classification laws to keep it from the American people.

The real threat to national security came not from the memo's release, but from the FBI effort to suppress it. We depend on FISA warrants to obtain critical intelligence on terrorist threats to the American homeland. If the FBI's actions cause Americans to lose trust in the FISA process, then their elected representatives may impose greater restrictions on it, making it harder for the intelligence community to protect America.

The only way to restore that trust is full transparency. Democrats and the FBI should be able to offer their versions of story. But trying to keep this information from the public is corrupt, undemocratic and arguably unlawful. Let the American people see the evidence and decide who is right.

Thiessen is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and the former chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush.
Most people can avoid criminal courts if they stay out of trouble, and a harmonious marriage will generally keep folks away from the family courts. Barring any major accidents or business conflicts, most Houstonians will find little reason to end up in the civil courts.

But everyone ends up in probate court.

When people in Harris County pass away, their wills, trusts, estates and end-of-life issues are settled in these four specialty courts dedicated specifically to issues of inheritance, guardianship and mental health.

Judges must be reliable and predictable in their rulings, with a firm grasp of both specific probate law and the broad range of other issues that can be pulled into these courts. Early voting runs from Tuesday, Feb. 20 through Friday, March 2. Election Day is Tuesday, March 6.

ENDORSEMENTS: See which candidates the Houston Chronicle editorial board supports

Judge, County Probate Court No. 2: Michael Newman

Candidate Jim Peacock told us that temperament is the key issue in this race, and it's true that good judges should be courteous, calm and respectful. But whether a candidate's experience prepares him to don the black robe is easier to ferret out than whether his temperament is suited for it.

While Peacock and his opponent, Michael Newman, 61, have each been practicing law for more than three decades, Newman has handled more cases in the probate courts. The University of Houston Law Center graduate has practiced probate law for 19 years, and he's running because he is tired of appearing before judges who don't know the law, don't know how to apply the law or who have prejudged his case.

"Our clients are not perfect people by any means," but all people deserve respect, Newman told us.

Peacock is a capable lawyer who appears to enjoy legal challenges, but Newman's deep experience in the probate courts trumps Peacock's diverse experience in litigation.

Voters should cast their votes for Newman in this primary contest, and Peacock should run again. The winner in this race will face Republican candidate Ray Black in the general election.

Judge, County Probate Court No. 4: James Horwitz

James Horwitz worked early in his career as a social worker, and he's running for this bench because it helps with the probate courts' mental health docket. In his family law, estate planning and probate practice, Horwitz, 68, spent 40 years dealing with the grieving, the divorced and the disabled. The University of Houston Law Center graduate also wants to use the bench as a bully pulpit to help the community.

"Judges should be impartial but they shouldn't be isolated," Horwitz told us.

His opponent, the talented Michael Galligan, has seven years of experience exclusively in the probate courts. He's running in part to promote better coordination among the judges. You can't walk into all the courts and get the same set of results, according to Galligan. This is a worthwhile goal, and Galligan should run again. But for this race, Democratic voters should unite behind Horwitz who will run against incumbent Republican Judge Christine Riddle Butts if he wins.
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Newly appointed Malta Ambassador hands credentials to Serzh Sargsyan

Today, newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Malta to the Republic of Armenia Natasha Meli Daudey (residence in Warsaw) presented her credentials to Serzh Sargsyan. Serzh Sargsyan first congratulated the Ambassador on assuming office and wished her every success in her diplomatic mission in our country. The President evoked his warm recollections of last years visit to Malta on the margins of the EPP Summit and reaffirmed Armenias willingness to deepen relations with the Republic of Malta. Serzh Sargsyan noted that the huge potential of interstate relations has not been tapped in full over the past 25 years, especially considering that a solid basis for cooperation is provided by historically deeply rooted ties between the two friendly nations which date as far back as to the 14th century. Serzh Sargsyan expressed the hope that Natasha Meli Daudey and Armenias Ambassador to Malta will be able to complete that gap through their active efforts. The Maltese Ambassador thanked Serzh Sargsyan for reception and assured that she would do her utmost to develop interstate relations in both bilateral and multilateral formats. The interlocutors stressed the importance of reciprocated high-level visits which could help promote cooperation in various spheres and upgrade bilateral relations. Serzh Sargsyan stressed the need for holding political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries, as well as expanding the legal framework which, in his opinion, will give a strong impetus to economic exchanges. The parties emphasized the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the strengthening of interstate relations. Noting that an Armenia-Malta friendship is up at the National Assembly of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan expressed the hope that a similar parliamentary group will be set up in Malta, too. Both sides made a point of deepening and strengthening cooperation within the EU framework in addition to bilateral relations.
Comment by Spokesperson of Foreign Ministry of Artsakh Ani Sargsyan

Question: How would you comment on the statement by the France-Artsakh Friendship Circle condemning Azerbaijan's call on the Government of France to prevent the entry of Artsakh citizens into this country? Answer: The statement by the France-Artsakh Friendship Circle attests that Azerbaijan`s attempts to impose on France its dubious standards are unacceptable for the French society and run counter to democratic norms. It is obvious that Azerbaijani policy of isolation of Artsakh has an opposite effect. Suffice it to note that in two of the three co-chairing states of the OSCE Minsk Group in France and USA, representatives of the political circles have called on their Governments to establish direct contacts with the authorities of Artsakh. We are convinced that the conflict cannot serve as a pretext for refusing to establish direct ties with the authorities of Artsakh. On the contrary, the involvement of Artsakh in international processes will give a new impetus to the settlement of the conflict between Azerbaijan and Karabakh.
Charlie Walks Lawyer Tells Bob Lefsetz To Back Off

Respected music industry commentator Bob Lefestz suggested in a post that Charlie Walk "get bounced" as a judge on Fox's The Four, after the accusations of a former staffer of sexual misconduct by the UMG Republic executive were published. Now, Walk's lawyer is demanding a full retraction.

___________________________

Last week, blogger Bob Lefsetz suggested that UMG Republic Records executive Charlie Walk should "get bounced" from his role as a judge on Fox reality music contest The Four. Lefsetz's article followed a public accusation of sexual misconduct from a former Walk staffer, which he linked to in his own piece.

On Tuesday, Walk's attorney Thomas Clare set the stage for a defamation suit with a letter to Lefsetz claiming that a post was both false and published with a reckless disregard for the truth.

"It was especially reckless that, contrary to well-established journalistic standards and basic considerations of fairness, you did not even bother to contact Mr. Walk before publishing these false and damaging allegations and validating them with your own imprimatur," wrote Clare in a letter obtained by the Hollywood Reporter. "Surely your readers would have been glad to know what has really been taking place, including a criminal report to the authorities."

The real reason for Walk's departure from The Four was not the accusations swirling around him, claims Claire, but rather that someone was sending "menacing" text messages and voicemails, threatening to "weaponize the #MeToo movement" against Walk.

"The scheme involved increasingly erratic text messages and voicemails accusing Mr. Walk of somehow affecting Gilligans relationship with Jon Bon Jovi and threatening to leverage the #MeToo movement to damage Mr. Walk, if Mr. Walk did not act promptly to repair this disturbed individuals supposed relationship with Jon Bon Jovi," wrote Clare.

Thus far, the usually outspoken Lefsetz has not commented.

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SoundClouds Uncertain Future

A unique and valued platform for both creators and consumers of music since its creation in 2007, SoundCloud has grown to become an integral part of the world of digital music. Once expected to surpass a billion dollars in value, however, the service's future has now become uncertain.

________________________





Guest post by Alexander Stewart from Berklee's Music Business Journal.

Berlin-based streaming service SoundCloud has enabled its users to upload, record, promote, and share their original content online since it was founded by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss in 2007. With a valuation that at one point was expected to surpass $1 billion, SoundCloud was an inimitable start-up with great potential. As the ingenious combination of an audio streaming service and social network, it provided an online space for creators to upload, share, and discuss nearly any kind of sound. It hosted bootleg remixes, spontaneously recorded Drake tracks, and transmitted podcasts; not to mention the millions of independent music creators sharing their musical voice with the online community. It provided a vast library of content for users with interests outside of the standardized catalogues of streaming giants like Spotify and Apple Music. In February of this year, the company proudly expressed a total of 150 million tracks on the platform, about five times the amount on Spotify or Apple Music.

Now SoundClouds future is uncertain. In 2014, Twitter expressed public interest in a potential acquisition of the streaming platform, as did Sony the following year and Spotify too, soon after. All found various issues with the state of SoundCloud at the time and decided against the acquisition. Sony was quoted stating the reason being a lack of monetization opportunities. The companys valuation has sunk immensely and is still sinking. On July 6th, it announced it had laid off 173 employees, which is 40% of its workforce, and shut down its London and San Francisco offices.

Many of SoundClouds problems began in 2012 with the introduction of reposts, along with the services surging popularity, began to attract bad actors who flooded the site with what amounted to undisclosed advertising. SoundCloud finally instituted reposting limits in 2015, suspending or even banning users who abused the feature, but it was arguably too late. Years of unchecked abuse had flooded users SoundCloud feeds with mediocre music pushed through by artists, labels, and blog accounts, much of it paid for.

Furthermore, a very major issue for SoundCloud presented itself in 2012. The launch of Spotify in Europe in 2008 and the United States in 2011 quickly started a race within the music steaming market. Spotify emerged offering new users a six-month free trial of unlimited major label music. For millions of SoundCloud users, Spotify proved irresistible. It also offered record labels the business model that they would come to insist on everywhere else, this being fully licensed tracks in exchange for guaranteed royalties. And while Spotify has had its own combats with labels, the basic structure of its deals with the labels set a template that SoundCloud was pressured to follow going into their negotiations with the majors.

It took until 2014 for SoundCloud to finally complete its first label deal with Warner. In August of that year, British licensing company Performing Rights Society For Music (PRS) sued SoundCloud for unpaid royalties. This then became a major concern for the company as so much of their content was either a derivative work or uploaded without the rights holders permission. That December, the Wall Street Journal reported that the company was looking to raise $150 million with a valuation of $1.2 billion; however, the round never closed.

During 2014, SoundCloud introduced On SoundCloud and later On SoundCloud Premier, programs similar to YouTubes partner program. On SoundCloud Premier offers members a way to make money from their music directly. SoundCloud never specifically provided the public with details about how these programs work, but it seems to concerned content-related ads, as well as working with brands to create sponsorship packages, which are then offered to On SoundCloud Premier artists. These programs are still in operation but very little has been shared about their success.





In January 2016, SoundCloud was able to raise $35 million in financing. Along with a round of layoffs later in the year, this transaction pushed the company a little further away from bankruptcy. It also wasnt until 2016 that all the label deals were finally secured, which gave the company the opportunity to introduce SoundCloud Go and Go Plus, a paid monthly subscription that grants users access to all 150 million tracks in the library, essentially designed to compete directly with the music streaming giants.

SoundCloud Go includes the derivative works like remixes and original songs containing samples of popular songs that labels and PROs were finding troublesome, but it was still only about half of the major label content found on Spotify. Many of the big names in popular music including Katy Perry, Rihanna, The Beatles, and Radiohead were not present on the service. Although many of these were later added, to many users, this new Go service was a failure, with many criticizing its confusing interface as a major issue. Furthermore, SoundCloud was a latecomer to this ferociously competitive streaming music space and with a selection of services that offered no real differentiation from that of Spotify and Apple Music.

The SoundCloud Go subscription went on to shift the primary focus of the company away from what really made them successful in the first place. SoundClouds embrace of the major labels had the side effect of dispiriting the remix culture that had originally helped the site grow and thrive. Though a content identification system had technically been in place since 2011, SoundCloud began to enforce it much more severely once deals were in place with labels. Suddenly, long-time accounts were being suspended, tracks were being removed, and copyright infringement strikes were being issued. Artists that were issued strikes had little recourse and were often directed to take their problem up with the original rights holders.

There are still possibilities for acquisition or further funding that could save the company. Ljung wrote in a blog post earlier in the year that the company raised $70 million in debt this past March to stay in operation while it pursued a reported $100 million in additional investment. It has yet to secure that investment and is once again rumoured to be looking for a buyer. There has even been talk of an IPO for SoundCloud in the future; however, this seems very unlikely at this point in time.

In a music era dominated by steaming giants such as Spotify and Apple Music, SoundCloud has been a start-up in stagnation. Though the company found substance with the major labels and was able to launch a subscription as an attempt to compete in the market, this came at the cost of a huge opportunity by losing sight of what made it unique in the first place; serving as a listening platform for non-label controlled content. Many very successful artists today owe their success to SoundCloud. Artists like Lorde, Post Malone, Don Monique, as well as a large percentage of the hip-hop scene today all started their musical endeavours on the streaming platform. Once with the aspiration to become the YouTube of sound, the Berlin-based company has fought to remain viable, challenged by an unproductive business strategy, management problems, and a tenacious music industry.

Bibliography

Deahl, Dani and Casey Newton. How SoundClouds Broken Business Model Drove Artists Away. 21 July 2017. <https://www.theverge.com/2017/7/21/15999172/soundcloud-business-model-future-spotify-streaming>.

Feldman, Brian. The Potential Death of SoundCloud Should Scare Music Lovers. 13 July 2017. New York Magazine. <http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/07/soundcloud-shutting-down-what-happens-to-the-music.html>.

Hogan, Marc. The SoundCloud You Loved in Doomed. n.d. <https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/the-soundcloud-you-loved-is-doomed/>.

Ljung, Alexander. A note from Alex Ljung. 6 July 2017. The SoundCloud Blog. <https://blog.soundcloud.com/2017/07/06/note-alex-ljung/>.

Mac, Ryan. The Inside Story Of SoundClouds Collapse. 28 July 2017. <https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanmac/inside-the-storm-at-soundcloud?utm_term=.fhKOo3YRl#.yxbbxnM8v>.

Titlow, John Paul. Is SoundCloud Doomed? Heres How It Can Be Saved. 7 July 2017. <https://www.fastcompany.com/40438186/after-major-shakeup-where-does-soundcloud-go-from-here>.

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Singapore  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) is growing its presence in Singapore with the move to a larger office that is able to accommodate 40% more employees, including a Global Delivery Center (GDC).

"2018 marks IATA's 49th year in Singapore. From a small office in 1969, today Singapore is one of five regional offices and is our headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region. All of IATA's activities and services to its members and stakeholders are represented in this office. We currently have over 150 employees and we are adding more resources," said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's Director General and CEO during the inauguration of the new Asia-Pacific Regional Office at Mapletree Business City. The event was graced by the presence of Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Minister for Transport Khaw Boon Wan.

In 2017, the IATA Singapore office became one of four Global Delivery Center (GDC) locations where the back office functions for IATA's Financial Settlement Systems (FSS) have been consolidated. With the GDC located in Beijing, Madrid, Montreal and Singapore, IATA is better positioned to meet increasing expectations of airlines, travel agents, and freight forwarders using the FSS for 24/7 customer service. The GDC will also support the roll out of the products associated with the New Generation of IATA Settlement Systems (NewGen ISS). The Singapore GDC operations team handles customers speaking 12 languages from over 16 time zones. Twenty three new jobs have been added as a result of the GDC in Singapore. In 2017, the IATA office in Singapore processed close to US$70 billion in settlements for the Asia-Pacific region.

There is an agreement with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) to establish, in partnership, a Global Safety Predictive Analytics Research Center (SPARC) in Singapore. SPARC is a new initiative which uses predictive analytics to improve aviation safety.

"Singapore is home to over 150 employees represented by 27 nationalities. With this larger office, we are able to accommodate an increase in our headcount, an expansion of training opportunities for aviation professionals, and an improvement in our capacity to host more regional industry meetings," said Conrad Clifford, IATA's Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific. "The IATA team continues to be committed to working with our many partners in Singapore and in the region to drive a safe, secure, profitable and sustainable air transport industry." Some 1,700 aviation professionals from 25 countries participated in courses at the IATA training center in 2017.

The Asia-Pacific region is center stage of the industry's overall growth. By 2036 7.8 billion people are expected to travel (up from 4.3 billion expected in 2018). Of that, 3.5 billion trips will be to, from or within the Asia-Pacific region



Read Alexandre's full speech now.



For more information, please contact:

Corporate Communications

Tel: +41 22 770 2967

Email: corpcomms@iata.org



Notes for Editors:
Why We Must Speak for the Three Million Who Cant

The Fellowship | February 7, 2018 Why We Must Speak for the Three Million Who Can't

When I was eighteen, I went to Poland on a program designed for Jewish teenagers to learn about and bear witness to the atrocities of the Holocaust. It was a lot for a granddaughter of Holocaust survivors to take in. I clearly remember the day that we went to Treblinka, a Nazi death camp where most of my relatives were murdered. Our tour guide said something that haunts me to this day. He said that the murderers of the Holocaust victims committed their crime twice  once when they killed their victims and a second time when they attempted to erase all evidence of their crimes. The Nazis worked hard in the final months of World War II to destroy anything and everything that could tell the tale of their horrific crimes against humanity.

This week, however, Polish President Andrzej Duda signed legislation making it a crime to blame the Polish Nation or Polish State for culpability in the Holocaust, despite a furious reaction from Israel and warnings from the United States. Such a crime would be met with a fine or even imprisonment, whether committed in Poland or elsewhere around the world.

This law would whitewash and rewrite the narrative of the Holocaust, covering up the cruel and inhumane acts of many Polish citizens. Perhaps I should be quiet. Perhaps I should be intimidated and stop myself from saying what Im about to say. But as many here in Israel are saying, The blood of our relatives cries out from the ground, a reference to Genesis 4:10 when God says to Cain after he refused to take responsibility for murdering Abel, What have you done? Listen! Your brothers blood cries out to me from the ground.

I can hear those cries and I cannot remain silent.

Just to be clear, I understand Polands concern. Poland was invaded by Germany and fought valiantly against the Third Reich, a fight in which they didnt stand a chance. Germany attacked with tanks, Poland came out on horses. More Polish men and women risked their own lives to save Jewish lives during the Holocaust than any other nationality, and each one (that we know about) is recognized and honored by name in Israel. Using the term Polish death camps in place of Nazi death camps in Poland is indeed unfair and misleading. But to say that the Polish nation had nothing to do with the extermination of three million of its 3.2 million Jews is irrefutably false.

Historians and Holocaust scholars have written about the role that the Polish people played in the murder of their countrys Jews, of how they aided and abetted the Nazi murderers. I am neither a historian nor a Holocaust scholar. But I am the granddaughter of Max and Sala Grinblatt (of blessed memory), formerly of Poland, survivors of the Holocaust, and in their lifetimes, advocates for those who were murdered by telling their stories so the world would not forget.

They spoke of anti-Semitism in Poland before the war, during the war, and most telling, after the war. Before the war, Jewish children were often beat up in school and adults were discriminated against, if not persecuted. During the war, many Poles pointed the Germans to the homes of the Jews, returned Jews who had managed to flee, and stole the possessions of Jews who were deported by the Nazis. After the war, they continued to persecute the surviving Jews, most notably in the Kielce Pogrom of 1946.

When telling my grandfathers story through The Fellowship a few years ago, I wrote this:

The two brothers (my grandfather and his brother) tried to return home. But after one day back in their Polish hometown, they discovered that there was nothing and no one left for them. The only home they had ever known was gone forever. Caring former Polish neighbors pointed them in the direction of a neighboring town were other Jewish survivors had gathered, and indeed my grandfather found a cousin in that town. Yet, after some time there one of the most telling and tragic episodes of my grandfathers saga occurred.

The survivors, all men, found shelter in a synagogue. They stayed there as they struggled to find food and continue to live. One day some of the local Polish residents decided to attack them. The assumption is that they feared that the Jews might try to reclaim their property which many Poles had already taken for themselves. The other possibility is that they were simply Anti-Semitic and felt that it was their job to finish what Hitler had started. But for whatever reasons, they broke into the synagogue, and began to murder the survivors causing my grandfather and the others to flee. As for the newly discovered cousin, he and my grandfather both thought the other had been killed. It wasnt until 1980 that they discovered each other and were reunited.

While this episode pales in comparison to the atrocities committed during the Holocaust, it is so terribly tragic because it occurred after the Holocaust, and not by Nazis, but by citizens of Poland.

Not for nothing did my sweet, loving grandfather sadly and bitterly refer to Poland as Pigland after the war. He had been betrayed in the most heinous way by his own countrymen.

I am all for reconciliation. I am willing to forgive even as I promise to never forget. However, forgiveness has to be earned. Remembrance must be based on truth. I am deeply grateful to all of the righteous Polish people who stood with God and stood with the Jewish people during our darkest hour. May God bless them!

And yet, the blood of my relatives cries from the ground. The murdered Jews of Poland beckon us all to tell the truth  not just so that their own stories will be preserved but so that history will never again repeat itself.

Perhaps this message is one that the entire world must hear today: Those who do nothing to stop evil, when it is in their power to do so, are guilty. Those who aid terrorists and murderers are responsible for the death of innocents. We have a responsibility as a global community to pursue justice, to take responsibility for our past misdeeds, and to commit to creating a better future.
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The press has been so full of stories recently about the alleged abusive behaviour of American producer Harvey Weinstein towards women that it is easy to forget he also had a reputation for bullying male filmmakers. They were often forced by Weinstein (nicknamed Harvey Scissorhands) and his brother, Bob, to make, remake, edit and re-edit films to the Weinsteins minutest specifications.

Guillermo del Toros Oscar-nominated, Golden Globe-winning The Shape Of Water boasts some wonderfully fluid cinematography: shots in which the camera glides through flooded apartments or roams through the underground corridors of the secret government laboratory where the mute heroine Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) works as a cleaner. It turns out that Del Toros filmmaking style, with its very long takes, evolved as a direct result of the unhappy experiences he had 20 years ago with the Weinsteins on his Miramax-backed sci-fi movie Mimic, starring Mira Sorvino and Jeremy Northam.

The 53-year-old Mexican director has worked with many of the most powerful executives in Hollywood, but says that only once has he felt his creative freedom threatened.

The only time I have experienced bad behaviour, and It remains one of the worst experiences of my life, was in 1997, when I did Mimic for Miramax, Del Toro remembers. It was a horrible, horrible, horrible experience.

Del Torro on the set of The Shape of Water (20th Century Fox) (Twentieth Century Fox)

Del Toro is a Falstaffian figure, a larger-than-life polymath who loves movies, knows everything about them and can hold forth equally eloquently about horror pictures or animation. He has a very strong personal vision  and that is why it was such a struggle working with the Weinsteins on his New York-set yarn about deadly cockroaches.

I was interfered with in plot, in casting, in the type of action. They second-guessed all the time. I never had a single day that was pleasant.

Del Toro adds that this was not Harvey Weinsteins doing but that of his brother, Bob, who oversaw Miramaxs genre label, Dimension.

In response to the gruelling experiences he endured on Mimic, Del Toro learned to shoot in a style that defies cutting and front-office interference. I learned to make my camera more fluid, more a storytelling character; it really helped me develop the language that now I practice on The Shape Of Water. It taught me to edit every day because I was always expecting to be fired. Ill have a cut of the movie six days after wrap. I think adversity is good... that is very Catholic of me.

The Shape of Water stars Sally Hawkins as a mute, isolated woman who works as a cleaning lady in a high-security government laboratory in 1962 Baltimore (Fox)

Like Orson Welles a generation ago, Del Toro can justly be called a one-man orchestra. He writes, directs and produces. His friend and mentor Jeffrey Katzenberg used him as a consultant/fixer on Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss In Boots. He is as passionate about animation as he is about live action and he is an expert on make-up and visual effects. At any given times, he will have multiple different projects on the boil.

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When Del Toro enjoyed his international breakthrough with 2006 fantasy Pans Labyrinth (billed as Alice In Wonderland for grown-ups), he challenged himself. I said that in the next 10 years I am going to direct animation, direct a video game, write a novel and do a TV series. I wanted to learn every narrative aspect of the business.

Of course, Del Toro hit all his targets. He wrote the novel (vampire yarn The Strain); he directed a number of TV series (Trollhunters among them); he designed the computer games (even if they were never produced) and he found time to take on plenty of other projects too.

The Shape Of Water brings many of Del Toros pet obsessions together. It is a fantasy horror piece with an obvious debt to Creature from the Black Lagoon but it is also a very tender love story. Its typical of his subversive approach that the heroine (played with Chaplinesque grace and humour by Sally Hawkins) is no passive fairy princess. Early in the film, we see her masturbating in the bath  not something that Snow White or Cinderella ever got up to in Disney movies.

Del Torro 1997s film Mimic featured Charles S Dutton, Giancarlo Giannini, Mira Sorvino and Jeremy Northam, and was produced by the Weinstein company Miramax (Miramax/Kobal/Rex) (Miramax/Kobal/REX)

When we were in pre-production. I gave her [Hawkins] a box with the entire Laurel and Hardy, the entire Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Chaplin, and I said to her, study them because youre basically a silent comedian, Del Toro remembers. He first saw the British actress in TV drama, Fingersmith, in which she played a lesbian pickpocket in Victorian England. He also enjoyed her performance in Mike Leighs Happy Go Lucky. (I thought she was radiant) and realised that Hawkins could carry a movie in which she would be silent throughout.

As for what Hawkins does with her hand in the bath and her trysts with the very feral. lusty, cat-eating monster, Del Toro was determined not to make a film about a Disney princess. I wanted her to cook eggs, shine her shoes, masturbate and then go to work. I thought it was important that there was that dimension to her. I didnt want her to be a demure girl waiting for a prince to rescue her. I didnt want to her to be a puritan princess who kisses a guy who turns into a dude.

The Mexican has always embraced new media and storytelling styles but he still believes in the potency of cinema. TV is long-arc. It is offering characters, plot and stories. Movies can offer vistas, images, moments that are larger than life. I adore TV and I do binge-watch, but with most of the series I love, I can quote you a moment, a line, a character gesture but I cannot quote you a single image that is memorable as an image in the way that the elevator is opening and the blood pouring in the corridor in The Shining or the space baby in 2001.

TV and film, he concludes, are mediums catering to different needs. The former still cant match the visual impact of the latter.

A still from Del Toros Pans Labyrinth (Warner Bros) (Warner Bros.)

Del Toro is still trying to hatch his long gestating Pinocchio film. Another of his long-term goals is to make a film adaptation of Frankenstein  one that will be faithful to Mary Shelleys novel. As a kid, I saw the movie and I read the book and I thought, dear Lord, no one has made this. To this day, no one has made the book. Every Frankenstein adaptation goes off at a tangent.

The one Frankenstein film that registers with him most strongly, albeit not a remotely faithful one, is the TV movie version from the 1970s starring James Mason, Leonard Whiting and Jane Seymour, and with Michael Sarrazin as the creature. This was written by Christopher Isherwood (of Goodbye To Berlin/Cabaret fame). It was a beautiful, erudite, strange recreation of the myth of Frankenstein, says Del Toro.

His Catholic upbringing has turned out to be very useful for his work as a director of horror fantasies. He talks about how, after the Spanish invaded Mexico, there was syncretism: Christian beliefs were blended with Pagan myths. Thats what happens to me with monsters. There is a syncretism of Catholic dogma and the idea of sacrifice into a profane iconography, which is the monster. To me, the creature of Frankenstein is in may ways similar to a crucifixion  a martyr who dies for his sins.

The Mexican director is no longer strictly a believer but, as he puts it, once a Catholic, always a Catholic.

As for his breakneck work schedule, that doesnt exhaust him.

The way I see it, a change is a break. Lets say that youre mowing the lawn and you take a break to read, then you are rested. If you take a break to eat, youre not mowing the lawn, youre not reading. Thats how I feel about doing these projects. In other words, if he is working very hard on one film, the best way to escape it all and relax is to work on another, and to get some rest from the second one, to take on a third.

He adds, without a trace of self pity, that it helps his productivity that he currently has zero social life. The one regret he will admit to is not putting more time into his family. (He married Lorenza Newton, whom he had known since student days, in 1986 but, according to his IMDB entry, they were divorced last year.)

It is the sign of youth that when you are a young man, you think your worth is work but, as you get older, you realise your worth is your worth. I wish I had realised that at 30, he says, showing a hint of doubt about the toll that his prodigious career has taken on his private life.

The Shape Of Water is released on 14 February
The Mercy (12A)



Dir James Marsh, 102 mins, starring: Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, David Thewlis, Genevieve Gaunt

The Mercy stands as a darker, sadder version of those many stories about bumbling British underdogs trying to beat the odds through their sheer good nature and force of character. Here, round-the-world yachtsman Donald Crowhurst (Colin Firth), who had never previously sailed much further than Falmouth, ends up all alone on a wide, wide sea, despairing and suicidal.

Crowhurst was the middle-class family man who entered a Sunday Times-sponsored yacht race in 1968. He was singularly ill-prepared, an inventor and small businessman who took to sea partly to pay off his debts and partly to follow his dreams. Depending on which way you come at him, Crowhurst is either a hero in the Captain Scott mould or a self-deluded fool who abandoned his wife and children in pursuit of a pipe dream.

The Mercy has certain similarities with Brett Morgens recent documentary, Jane, about Jane Goodall, the young British woman from an equally stifling middle-class English background who set off to Tanzania to study and live with chimpanzees. Both films deal with their protagonists desire to escape. Theyre quintessentially British figures whom we see a very long way from home.

Scott Z Burns screenplay suggests that, quite possibly, Crowhust didnt want to enter the race at all. Once he had borrowed money to build his boat from local sponsor Stanley Best (Ken Stott) and had agreed to take part in the advertising campaigns dreamed up on his behalf by his relentless press agent, Rodney (David Thewlis), he felt too embarrassed to abandon his voyage.

There is a wonderful moment when he is shown on board his boat, just about to leave port. Director James Marsh throws in a close up of him looking utterly dejected and miserable. Marsh also shows us his wife Clare (Rachel Weisz) chic and beautiful in a 1960s British housewife way in her scarf and coat, wearing an expression of sadness and extreme bemusement as her husband sails off into the great blue yonder.

 The Mercy - Trailer

Early on, Firth plays Crowhurst much as he did King George VI in The Kings Speech, portraying him as a thoroughly decent and likeable type who is biting off more than he can chew. The scenes set in Teignmouth, where he built his boat, have a gentle comedy about them that belies what happens later.

Stott is in scene-stealing form as the bespectacled, pipe-smoking businessman who becomes the reluctant sailors patron. Thewlis has an engaging, spiv-like quality as the publicist, forever trying to dream up new angles with which to sell Crowhursts voyage to the public. Both men have a sinister aspect too. Whether wittingly or not, they put pressure on then reluctant sailor to continue on his ill-fated journey.

Ive never set out to sea in such a completely unprepared state in my life, Crowhurst confides to his diary, an extraordinary confession given the potential danger he is putting himself in. Right from the outset, things start to break and leaks appear everywhere. He is in a state of continual, miserable dampness.

The film is as much about Britishness, class and codes of honour as it is about sailing. The greatest shame for Crowhurst isnt that the voyage doesnt go to plan but that he lies about his progress.

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Perhaps because the film itself is such a downer, Firth has been overlooked for major awards. His performance, though, ranks with his very finest work. He shows us a dependable English family man going slowly mad and coming closer and closer to despair. In his diary and messages home, he talks a good show, coming up with cliches about putting his best foot forward when we know that he is heading for the reefs.

Crowhursts story has already been told in a documentary (Deep Water) and in another feature film. It remains a puzzling and ambiguous tale. In Marshs hands, it is part comedy, part adventure, part love story and a large part horror movie. At times, the boat itself seems to turn against its hapless occupant.

The filmmakers take a sadistic pleasure in contrasting Crowhursts wretched existence at sea with flashbacks to the cosy domestic life he has left behind, He is in an invidious situation, aware that if he turns back, he faces financial ruin but pragmatic enough to realise that carrying on, at least without taking a shortcut or two, is likely to kill him.

His misery is matched by that of his wife Clare, trying to keep the family together, reduced to living on social security. Her love for him is self-evident, even if he has just sailed out of her life, potentially for good. In a understated and affecting performance, Weisz plays her with a mix of melancholy and bafflement.

Crowhurst doesnt even really fit into the British tradition of noble failure. He cheats. That only adds to the pathos in this strange and unsettling film. We all know that Captain Scott didnt get to the South Pole first and that he didnt make it home. The facts cant be changed here either, much as most audiences will surely wish that they could be.

Loveless (15)



Dir Andrey Zvyagintsev, 124 mins, starring: Maryana Spivak, Aleksey Rozin, Varvara Shmykova, Matvey Novikov

One of the fascinations of Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsevs masterful new feature is its combination of the old and the new. Its characters  the Moscow couple separating in bitter circumstances, the sneering mother-in-law, the callous police officer  arent so different from those found in Chekhov short stories or 19th-century Dostoevsky novels.

In their suffering and their fatalism, they seem quintessentially old Russian and yet they are living in a very modern world. They all use smartphones and laptops. They are prey to the narcissism and insecurity of the social media age.

In its account of the breakup of Zhenya (Maryana Spivak) and Boris (Aleksey Rozin), the film is barbed, vicious and darkly humorous. The couple tear strips off one another with a malice that rekindles memories of both Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Ingmar Bergmans Scenes From a Marriage (an influence the director has acknowledged).

Zhenya taunts her ex-husband, telling him she never loved him and only married him to escape her abusive mother. Boris is desperate to hold on to his well-paid white-collar job but knows his employers look askance at staff members who dont have happy families. Both have new partners.

The discontent and bad faith of the bickering couple is reflected in society at large. The news carries stories of predictions of impending catastrophe. Low-level corruption appears to be everywhere. The real victim here is Alyosha, the son of Zhenya and Boris, a withdrawn 12-year-old boy who witnesses his parents rows.

Worse, he hears them as they argue who should have custody of him. Neither wants him. His mother resents the pain he caused her during his birth and seems to despise him. The father is too busy trying to begin a family with his new partner to deal with the distraction of a son from a previous marriage.

They speak of him with contempt. At one stage, Zhenya even complains that as the boy reaches puberty, he is beginning to smell like his father  and its an aroma she cant stand.

In the early scenes, the approach is satirical. The director is exposing the shallowness and selfishness of his protagonists, who are so bent on their own pleasure and gratification that they dont notice the pain of others. It isnt just Zhenya and Boris who are unhappy. Their new lovers have their own insecurities and miseries too.

Zhenyas boyfriend, who is older than she is, is pining for his grown-up daughter. She left Russia at the first opportunity and now the only communication between father and daughter appears to be through Skype. Boriss new girlfriend is very insecure. She is terrified that he will leave her, just as he did Zhenya.

The tone of the storytelling changes completely when Alyosha goes missing. Zhenya and Boris may regard him as a burden and distraction when he is there  but theyre devastated when he vanishes. His disappearance makes them horribly aware of their own selfishness and irresponsibility.

Zvyagintsev shares the late Krzysztof Kieslowskis ability to take everyday stories about unhappy families and to give them a tragic and universal dimension. The most banal scenes  lunches in the office cafeteria, Zhenya berating her child because he wont drink his hot chocolate  take on a fraught quality.

Loveless isnt cheerful viewing at all but it is virtuoso filmmaking from one of the few contemporary directors whose work bears comparison with that of the great auteurs from an older era in arthouse cinema.

Tad the Lost Explorer and the Secret of King Midas (U)



Dirs Enrique Gato, David Alonso, 85 mins, voiced by: Oscar Barberan, Michelle Jenner, Adriana Ugarte

This underwhelming Spanish-made animated feature, released in time for the half-term, will at least teach the kids a little about ancient history, archaeology and the myth of King Midas. Whether it will entertain them much is another matter. Some of its humour is very forced  clunky jokes about Egyptian mummies impersonating Elvis or dogs chewing on skeletons bones.

The storyline follows the familiar Jewel of the Nile/Indiana Jones-style formula. Tadeo is a humble but rugged archaeology student working to pay his college fees on a Chicago building site. He is pining after the beautiful, flame-haired professor, Sara Lavrov, who has stumbled on the Midas papyrus.

She in on the verge of discovering the lost temple of Baal and of bringing together the sacred rings that will revive Midass power to turn everything into gold. Jack Rackham is the master-villain, determined to steal the rings for himself. In other words, it is the usual hokum.

Some of the plotting seems completely random. For no reason in particular, Sara announces her discovery in a swanky hotel in Las Vegas. There is then a lengthy interlude in Spain which plays like a commercial for the local tourist board, complete with flamenco and paella references.

Some of the visual gags are witty enough but for audiences spoilt in recent times by the gleaming brilliance of Pixar and Aardman animated features, this is very thin gruel.
Johnny Depp is setting out on a tour of the UK with his supergroup The Hollywood Vampires, taking in dates in London, Manchester and Glasgow.

The rock band is fronted by Alice Cooper and features Depp and Aerosmith's Joe Perry on guitar.

They will make their live UK debut in June and have support from bands The Darkness and The Damned, with predictions for several surprise appearances from Depp's other rock star friends.

He said of the upcoming tour: "There will be rumbling in ears and there might be blood trickling out of one ear." Perry added: "I don't say things like this often, but this band is [bleeping] good."

The Hollywood Vampires were formed in the 70s on LA's Sunset Strip and has seen a number of high profile stars on its rotating lineup. Cooper, who founded the band, explained: "To join the club, one simply had to out-drink all of the members."

The band play the following dates:

16 June - Birmingham Genting Arena

17 June - Manchester Arena

19 June - Glasgow The SSE Hydro

20 June - London SSE Arena, Wembley

Tickets are available from 9am on Friday 9 February.
This year's Cinco de Mayo may be a bleak one - as an agave shortage threatens to halt tequila production worldwide.

The result of an increased demand for the plant used to create the popular spirit, tequila producers are in crisis mode as the price of agave rises - with an estimated mass shortage predicted to last until at least 2021.

The growth has overtaken us, Francisco Soltero, director of strategic planning at Patron Spirits International, told Reuters. Its a crisis of success of the industry.

According to the Tequila Regulatory Council and the National Tequila Industry Chamber, 42m agave plants would be needed to supply tequila makers for this year alone.

But of the crops planted in 2011, only 17.7m are ready for harvest.

This shortage of mature agave has led farmers to harvest the blue plants early - which only makes the shortage worse, as agave plants take seven to eight years to fully mature - and harvesting them early means poor quality tequila.

Marco Polo Magdalena, a worker in Guanajuata, Mexico, confirmed the early harvest to Reuters: Markets are using four-year-old plants because there arent any others, a fact he is aware of because he has sold them.

But in addition to an increase in price, with the price of agave rising from 21 cents a kilo in 2016 to a current price of $1.18 according to Newsweek, the agave crisis is already threatening shortages of tequila.

And the ever-increasing demand, increased likelihood of crop theft, and rise in prices means many tequila distilleries will be forced out of business - as they will no longer be able to compete with other spirits.

Salvador Rosales, the manager of Tequila Cascahuin, told Reuters: Its impossible to compete with other spirits like vodka and whiskey. If we continue like this, a lot of companies will disappear.

The issue is one caused by the popularity of tequila - but one with no clear solution.

And although distilleries are doing everything they can to stay afloat as the shortage worsens, it looks like those tequila shots are about to get a lot more expensive.
Two New York politicians are calling for a new state law that, if passed, would force Procter & Gamble to make Tide pods look less appetising, and follows nationwide disgust at the Tide Pod Challenge.

State Senator Brad Hoylman and Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas, both New York City Democrats, announced their proposal on Tuesday - in the hopes the new law would discourage people from eating the laundry detergent pods.

According to the politicians, the gooey, squishy, bright coloured pods look too similar to candy.

Recommended Teenagers are risking death to film themselves eating Tide pods

However, the politicians letter is in response to accidental consumption - and not the Tide Pod Challenge, which saw a disturbing amount of teenagers consuming poisonous tide pods for fun on social media.

On Twitter, Assemblywoman Simotas tweeted: Read our letter to Procter & Gamble urging them to stop making laundry pods that look like candy or else remove the product from store shelves.

In the letter addressed to Procter & Gamble, the politicians address their concerns about accidental poisonings among young children and people suffering from dementia and suggest the Tide Pod Challenge has created a renewed opportunity - and urgency - at this moment in time to change the packaging of Tide Pods.

According to the data referenced in the letter, 10,570 laundry pod injuries were reported in 2017 - and six deaths in people with dementia have been attributed to Tide pods since 2012.

Politicians claim Tide Pods too closely resemble candy (Getty Images)

And although the politicians found the brand's recent campaign in response to the viral challenge commendable, they insist there is more that needs to be done: While your recent public service campaign to stem the video Tide Pod Challenge is to be commended, it falls far short of what is needed to prevent the continuing problem of accidental poisonings, as opposed to intentional ingestion by teenagers.

With the proposed legislation, the politicians aim to create pods less visually appealing to children, teens, and adults with dementia by requiring manufacturers to change the design of laundry detergent packets to a uniform colour, as well as introduce a less pleasant smell and a firmer feel.

The Tide Pod Challenge inspired tide-pod food (Wake N Bake Donuts Instagram) (Instagram)

According to Mr Hoylman and Ms Simotas, this new packaging would make the pods less appealing - and protect people from accidentally consuming the candy-like laundry detergent pods.

And although teenagers were consuming Tide pods by choice, a representative for Assemblywoman Simotas told The Independent: "we do think that if the Tide pods weren't brightly multi-coloured they would not have been so attractive to teenagers."

Senator Hoylman has not yet responded to The Independent's request for comment.
Former presidential candidate Ben Carson, now the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, is said to have expressed concerns that the US could look like the film The Purge if North Korea wiped out Americas electrical grid.

Mr Carson made the reported comment at a Capitol Hill holiday party, at a time when tensions were rising between President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Did you know that if North Korea detonated a nuclear weapon into our exosphere, it could take out our entire electrical grid? Mr Carson asked his acting chief of staff, according to the Washington Post.

Whats that movie where theres complete lawlessness and anarchy for one night a year? he continued.  The Purge! It will be like The Purge all the time.

Mr Kim has continued to vex Mr Trump and the international community as North Korea has continued to defy United Nations resolutions by developing its nuclear weapons programme.

The regime announced in November launched a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the whole mainland of the US, claiming the nation had achieved its aim of becoming a nuclear state.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

In his speech on New Years Day, Mr Kim warned that he has a nuclear launch button on his desk.

Mr Trump retorted on Twitter that his button was much bigger and more powerful.

Vice President Mike Pence has signalled he is open to meeting with North Korean officials on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics in South Korea this month.
Tesco is facing what may turn out to be Britains largest ever equal pay claim, which could cost the supermarket giant up to 4bn.

Leigh Day, the law firm acting on behalf of those bringing the claim, said that the underpayment of workers could apply to more than 200,000 Tesco employees. Estimated pay shortfalls could be as high as 20,000.

The firm said that it had already started submitting claims on behalf of clients through the Governments Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service  or Acas. That marks the first stage in the Employment Tribunal process.

The lawyers case rests on the argument that employees working in Tescos predominantly male-dominated distribution centres are paid considerably more than the largely female-staffed stores. Those in the distribution centres may earn in excess of 11 an hour whereas the most common pay grade for store staff is around 8 per hour, Leigh Day said.

It said that anyone  female or male  who has worked at a Tesco store in England, Northern Ireland or Wales in the last six years, or Scotland in the last five years, is eligible to make a claim.

Those who have worked for Tesco for more than six years may be entitled to the maximum amount of back pay.

This disparity could see a full-time distribution worker on the same hours earning over 100 a week, or 5,000 a year more than female based store staff, the firm said, adding that it had already been approached by over 1,000 employees and ex-employees of the supermarket about the issue.

In addition to the Tesco claim, Leigh Day is currently representing over 20,000 shop-floor workers in equal pay claims against Sainsburys and Asda. Both face similar claims of discrimination between the pay in male-dominated distribution centres and the mainly female-staffed stores.

We believe an inherent bias has allowed store workers to be underpaid for many years, said Paula Lee, the lawyer from Leigh Days employment team representing the female Tesco workers.

In terms of equal worth to the company there really should be no argument that workers in stores, compared to those working in distribution centres, contribute at least equal value to the vast profits made by Tesco which last year had group sales of 49.9bn, she added.

Ms Lee said that, according to Tescos latest annual report, the remuneration package for the chief executive and chief financial officer totalled 7.3m, yet figures show that Tesco employees are having to claim millions of pounds in working tax credits, paying people fairly benefits the whole of society.

Under new regulation, all UK companies employing at least 250 people will have to publish a full gender pay gap report by early April this year.

A spokesperson for Tesco on Wednesday said that it was unable to comment on a claim that it had not received.

Tesco has always been a place for people to get on in their career, regardless of their gender, background or education, and we work hard to make sure all our colleagues are paid fairly and equally for the jobs they do, the spokesperson added.
Turnover in the UK oilfield services sector fell 15.5 per cent in 2016 though the sector came "back from the brink" last year, according to a report.

The sector reported a decline in turnover for the second consecutive year, from 35.7bn in 2015 to 30.2bn (down 15.5 per cent) in 2016, the last full year for which figures are available.

There were reductions across each of the supply chain categories - facilities, marine and subsea, reservoirs, support and services and wells - EY's Review of the UK Oilfield services industry said.

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The report said demand, both from the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) and overseas locations, continued to be affected by the lower oil price restricting capital budgets and discretionary spend, leading to oversupply and intense pricing competition.

Figures for 2017 are also expected to show a decline when they become available, but the outlook for 2018 is more positive.

However the report warns that the industry's approach to recovery in 2018 could prove critical for long-term success.

Andy Brogan, EY Global Oil & Gas leader, said: "While 2017 is the year that the oil and gas and the OFS sectors came back from the brink, the OFS market is likely to remain challenging for the foreseeable future, and only those who can build and defend competitive advantages are going to deliver the returns their stakeholders expect."

The majority of UK OFS companies experienced a difficult 2016 with less than 2 per cent achieving growth in excess of 10m, the report said.

However there were companies that grew as a result of acquisitions, growth in overseas activity or diversifying into other sectors.

Export figures show a slight increase in activity with exports as a percentage of turnover from UK OFS companies rising from 40 per cent in 2015 to 41 per cent in 2016.

However, there was an absolute decline of 2bn as a result of the overall contraction in the sector.

Derek Leith, EY partner and head of Oil and Gas Tax, said: "Industry leaders have taken action to make operations as lean and efficient as possible which has helped them ride out this downturn.

"However, cost cutting and headcount reduction cannot continue indefinitely. A shift towards greater innovation in systems, processes and technologies could help drive operational costs down further while also enabling the sector to respond to an increase in activity which appears to be on the horizon.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

"The industry is entering a more positive environment where oil price is rising and production is increasing as a result of both improved efficiencies and new fields coming on line, but this cannot give licence for old habits to creep back in.

"Long-term success for the UK oilfield services sector will rely not only on the continued application of greater efficiencies but an active commitment to a sustainable future for the industry.

"UK OFS companies cannot rely on growth in the UK alone to increase revenues and must both internationalise and diversify their operations to ensure long-term survival.

"While it is encouraging to see a rise in export activity it is concerning that access in overseas markets is still very modest."

PA
New research is rewriting the history of the worlds most famous early medieval manuscript  a lavishly illustrated 1,200-year-old copy of the Gospels known today as the Book of Kells.

It had always been assumed that the work  which includes 150 square feet of spectacular coloured illustrations  was conceived and created as one book, containing all four Gospels.

But a detailed analysis of the texts has led a leading expert on early medieval illuminated manuscripts, Dr Bernard Meehan of Trinity College, Dublin, to conclude that the book was originally two separate works that were, in the main, created up to half a century apart.

Dr Meehan's new hypothesis suggests that the last part of the Book of Kells (namely St Johns Gospel) and the first few pages of St Marks Gospel were created by a potentially quite elderly scribe on the Scottish island of Iona sometime during the last quarter of the eighth century.

But he believes the rest of St Marks Gospel and the Kells copies of the Gospels of St Luke and St Matthew were created up to 50 years later in Ireland  in Kells itself.

It was previously thought by many that work on all four books had started on Iona and had been fairly rapidly completed in Kells, all as one continuous project.

Dr Meehan now thinks that it is more likely that the first work  St Johns Gospel  had originally been intended as a stand-alone single Gospel book .

Historical evidence suggests that, in the very late eighth century and at the beginning of the ninth, a series of political and other events disrupted Ionas Gospel book production activity.

Their troubles started in 795 AD, when Viking raiders attacked the monastery.

it is also probable that the community was hit by some sort of major epidemic  possibly smallpox. Seven abbots at major monasteries in Ireland and western Britain all died in 801 and 802  including two abbots (and one ex-abbot) of Iona.

A second Viking raid on the community took place in 802 and four years later, a third saw 68 monks and others were slaughtered.

Battered by the violence and the scourge of epidemic disease, much of the community decided to relocate by establishing a successor monastery in a safer place  an inland site across the sea at Kells in Ireland.

It was there that Dr Meehan believes that scribes ultimately finished off the copy of St Marks Gospel and set to work making their copies of St Matthews and St Lukes gospels.

These, he said, were then combined with the St Johns Gospel manuscript to create the Book of Kells as it survives to this day.

Evangelist John portrayed in the Book of Kells as a scribe (The Board of Trinity College, The University of Dublin) ((c) The Board of Trinity College, The University of Dublin)

Handwriting evidence suggests that the Iona monk who created his spectacular copy of St Johns Gospel was, stylistically, a very traditional scribe who had learned his craft at some stage in the mid eighth century. His scribal activity appears to have ceased abruptly, after he completed verse 26 of the fourth chapter of St Marks Gospel.

He may well have been one of the three very senior monks who died on Iona in 801 and 802  either the newly appointed abbot, Bresal mac Segeni, who died 801, or his successor Connachtach who died 802. It could also be the former abbot, Suibne who died in 801. He had resigned as head of the community 30 years earlier.

But why did that stylistically very traditional scribe decide to produce the fourth Gospel - that of St John - first rather than last? That decision potentially helps shed important light on the early history of Christianity in Ireland and Scotland.

Of the four Christian gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) only the fourth (John) was, and still is, traditionally believed to have been written by somebody who actually knew Jesus  namely, John, one of Jesus twelve most senior disciples.

His gospel was therefore privileged by some above the others in the very early Christian church. Whats more, according to tradition, John emigrated from Palestine to Ephesus (in what is now Turkey) around a decade after Jesus crucifixion. Traditionally, he was said to be the disciple Jesus was closest to.

At roughly the same time another disciple, St Peter, went to Rome where he became the first Pope.

Although all early Christians recognised the authority of successive popes (Peters successors) in Rome, some  because of Johns role in Ephesus  regarded Asia Minor (modern Turkey) as an equally key original Christian epicentre. The Irish recognised Rome as the home of the papacy  but the citys past imperial glories had no resonance for them because Ireland had never been politically or culturally part of the Roman Empire.

Because they were less impressed by Romes glorious past, they were therefore more inclined to privilege John  a disciple who was not in any way associated with it.

Whats more, back in the third to seventh centuries, there had been, throughout the Christian world, ferocious disagreements as to the best way of calculating the correct date for Easter, for the anniversary date of Jesus resurrection. Again the Irish churchs view on that issue had been partly based on information specifically from Johns Gospel. That may have been another reason why the fourth gospel had such a special place in the hearts of Celtic Christians.

St Johns Gospel was therefore particularly relevant to Celtic Christian monks  like those on Iona.

We know of four Celtic tradition St Johns Gospel books that survived into early modern or modern times  and I suspect that originally there must have been literally hundreds produced in the seventh and eighth centuries  an indication of just how important that particular gospel was from their perspective, says Dr Meehan, who, through the London publishers Thames & Hudson, is this week publishing a new official guide to the Book of Kells.

Today, the great 680-page illuminated manuscript itself (now divided into four volumes) is owned by Trinity College, Dublin. It is on public display there  and every three months the pages are turned and four new pages are put on view.

This unparalleled treasure has been at Trinity for around 350 years (and for half of that time it has been on public display).

But its earlier history was substantially more dramatic. Almost 200 years after its completion, thieves stole it (and probably its gold and jewel-encrusted container) and buried the book itself under a sod of grass, almost certainly in a nearby field. Fortunately, after almost three months, its hiding place was revealed to the monks of Kells who then succeeded in retrieving it. It is not known whether the community had to pay a ransom to learn of its whereabouts.

Today, the first 10 pages and the last 12 pages of the original Gospel book are missing  and its very likely that they were so badly damaged by being buried in the ground, that they were disposed of after recovery, but never replaced. Indeed, on the surviving current first and last pages of the book, one can still see water damage that would be consistent with that brief, yet destructive, period of burial.

More than six centuries later, during a major Irish rebellion against English rule, Kells and its ancient abbey were partially destroyed. A few years later, the great gospel book was removed by the English to the more secure environment of the ecclesiastical authorities in Dublin. The Irish capitals Welsh-born Anglican bishop, a fervent Protestant called Henry Jones, who had studied at Trinity and had subsequently become its vice-chancellor (but had also been Oliver Cromwells head of military intelligence!), then donated the book to the college, where it still resides.
A crayfish species that came into existence less than 25 years ago has spread around the world by cloning itself.

The entire global population of marbled crayfish has been traced to a single female held in a German aquarium, which was born with the ability to reproduce without having its eggs fertilised by males.

Every marbled crayfish is female, and every egg laid is an exact clone of its mother.

The ability to reproduce quickly and with such ease made the crustaceans popular in the aquarium trade, but when they found their way into the wild the crayfish got out of control.

It was known that the crayfish can establish itself in the wild after releases from the aquarium, said Dr Frank Lyko, a researcher at the German Cancer Research Centre who has sequenced the genome of the marbled crayfish to understand its abilities. But the news was that it can spread so rapidly and massively.

Science news in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Science news in pictures Science news in pictures Pluto has 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen Pluto has a 'beating heart' of frozen nitrogen that is doing strange things to its surface, Nasa has found. The mysterious core seems to be the cause of features on its surface that have fascinated scientists since they were spotted by Nasa's New Horizons mission. "Before New Horizons, everyone thought Pluto was going to be a netball - completely flat, almost no diversity," said Tanguy Bertrand, an astrophysicist and planetary scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center and the lead author on the new study. "But it's completely different. It has a lot of different landscapes and we are trying to understand what's going on there." Getty Science news in pictures Over 400 species discovered this year by Natural History Museum The ancient invertabrate worm-like species rhenopyrgus viviani (pictured) is one of over 400 species previously unknown to science that were discovered by experts at the Natural History Museum this year PA Science news in pictures Jackdaws can identify 'dangerous' humans Jackdaws can identify dangerous humans from listening to each others warning calls, scientists say. The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter. In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or contact calls (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average. Getty Science news in pictures Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females. But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the Goldilocks Zone which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal Ye et al/Current Biology Science news in pictures Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found. It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017. Reuters Science news in pictures Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planets oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago A. Gennari Science news in pictures Animal with transient anus discovered A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a transient anus that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste Steven G Johnson Science news in pictures Giant bee spotted Feared extinct, the Wallace's Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands Clay Bolt Science news in pictures New mammal species found inside crocodile Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal New Mexico Museum of Natural History Science news in pictures Fabric that changes according to temperature created Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold Faye Levine, University of Maryland Science news in pictures Baby mice tears could be used in pest control A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males Getty Science news in pictures Final warning to limit "climate catastrophe" The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase Getty Science news in pictures Nobel prize for evolution chemists The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies Getty/AFP Science news in pictures Nobel prize for laser physicists The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his "optical tweezers" which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers Reuters/AP Science news in pictures Discovery of a new species of dinosaur The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means "a giant thunderclap at dawn" Viktor Radermacher / SWNS Science news in pictures Birth of a planet Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever. This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star. ESO/A. Muller et al Science news in pictures New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the interstitium. These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins Getty Science news in pictures Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest. These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs Jose Iriarte Science news in pictures One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test. Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly. Getty Science news in pictures Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter's great red spot The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image's colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth. Pictures by: Tom Momary

While the rapid reproduction rates of the crayfish at first made them an appealing prospect as pets, it has also led to many of them being dumped in the wild.

The first known marbled crayfish appeared in 1995. Since then, they have spread into the wild and established populations in freshwater ecosystems around the world, in countries as diverse as Ukraine, Japan and Madagascar.

Scientists studying this invasive animal have raised the alarm about its likely impact on local wildlife, ecosystems and agriculture as it spreads in to new regions.

Successful non-native species like the marbled crayfish often cause trouble when they arrive in new environments, as they can feed on local wildlife or compete with it for resources.

One study documenting the crayfishs spread across the Czech Republic described it as the potentially most dangerous non-indigenous crayfish species spreading in European countries and elsewhere.

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Genetic analysis by a Dr Lyko and his team has confirmed the first marbled crayfish, which split from a species called the slough crayfish found in the Florida Everglades, arose due to a mutation in its parents sex cells that bestowed it with the power of virgin birth.

Their work also provided proof that the all-female offspring of the crayfish are genetically identical, barring a few natural mutations.

We could detect only a few hundred variants in a genome that is larger than the human genome. That is an incredibly small number, said Dr Lyko.

Their research was published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Dr Lyko had another motive for understanding the genome of this crayfish, as he said it was an animal that reproduces clonally and therefore represents a model of a central aspect in tumour development.

Tumour genomes also evolve clonally, because they go back to a single original cell, he said.

However, both crayfish and tumours are still capable of adapting to their environments through a process termed clonal evolution, and in both cases this is a bad thing.

In crayfish, their ability to adapt means they can spread to a variety of different habitats and climates, and in tumours this means they can develop resistance against cancer-targeting drugs.

The traditional view of evolution holds that adaptation is aided by sex, because when two animals reproduce, their genomes are mixed up into new combinations in their offspring, allowing for adaptation to adverse conditions.

But the crayfish are able to adapt via epigenetic mechanisms  chemical changes that affect DNA, but are independent of a creatures genes. This is what allows the clones to inhabit such diverse environments, despite all sharing the same basic genetic code.
Elon Musks SpaceX has managed to pull off the stunning feat of shooting aboard the most powerful rocket on Earth. But its just the beginning.

The mission is a test of a rocket that could come to define the coming decades. And the battle to make that happen  to become the defining and most efficient way of carrying things and people into our solar system  could be the beginning of a new space race.

For now, the world is incredibly excited by the successful launch of the rocket. In a test that SpaceX founder Elon Musk suggested could just become the greatest firework show ever seen if it went wrong, the rocket actually managed to lift off, with all of the mission going entirely to plan.

 Elon Musk tweets video of the view from the car Falcon Heavy took into space

But part of the excitement is the strange feeling of living in science fiction that it provoked. Watching livestreams of an electric car floating in space, while the boosters that carried it there softly land themselves back on Earth, its hard not to feel that were living in the future.

The ways that the mission and the rocket at the centre of it are used will come to define our future, too. It is the beginning of the most important market in the universe, and some of the most spectacular trips ever seen; we are going to leave the Earth and explore the planets of our solar system, it seems, and a Tesla car and the dummy inside it have had a taste of that future.

Why is there all this excitement?

Partly, its natural. The rocket is tremendously powerful. Thats not just important in itself: its also a marker of the fact that the US is moving back to pulling its weight in terms of rockets, and a reminder that variations on this kit could eventually be used to take people to the moon and Mars.

Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Show all 30 1 /30 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An image from Nasa's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) shows a 200,000 mile long solar filament ripping through the Sun's corona in September 2013 Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Nasa Celebrates 50 Years of Spacewalking For 50 years, NASA has been "suiting up" for spacewalking. In this 1984 photograph of the first untethered spacewalk, NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless is in the midst of the first "field" tryout of a nitrogen-propelled backpack device called the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Hubble Cosmic Couple The spectacular cosmic pairing of the star Hen 2-427  more commonly known as WR 124  and the nebula M1-67 which surrounds it ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Veil Nebula Supernova Remnant Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope has unveiled in stunning detail a small section of the Veil Nebula - expanding remains of a massive star that exploded about 8,000 years ago Nasa's most stunning pictures of space The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launch The Soyuz TMA-15M rocket launches from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Monday, Nov. 24, 2014, carrying three new astronauts to the International Space Station. It also took caviar, ready for the satellite's inhabitants to celebrate the holidays Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth from the ISS From the International Space Station, Expedition 42 Flight Engineer Terry W. Virts took this photograph of the Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Gulf Coast at sunset Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Black Hole Friday Nasa celebrated Black Friday by looking into space instead  sharing pictures of black holes Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space NuSTAR X-rays stream off the sun in this image showing observations from by NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, overlaid on a picture taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Cassiopeia A c A false colour image of Cassiopeia A comprised with data from the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes and the Chandra X-Ray observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Orion Capsule splashes down The Orion capsule jetted off into space before heading back a few hours later  having proved that it can be used, one day, to carry humans to Mars Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Earth Observations From Gemini IV in 1965 This photograph of the Florida Straits and Grand Bahama Bank was taken during the Gemini IV mission during orbit no. 19 in 1965. The Gemini IV crew conducted scientific experiments, including photography of Earth's weather and terrain, for the remainder of their four-day mission following Ed White's historic spacewalk on June 3 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Frosty slopes of Mars This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. The image was taken by Nasa's HiRISE camera, which is mounted on its Mars Reconaissance Orbiter Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Yellowstone from space NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman shared this image of Yellowstone via his twitter account Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Saturn This near-infrared color image shows a specular reflection, or sunglint, off of a hydrocarbon lake named Kivu Lacus on Saturn's moon Titan Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Worlds Apart Although Mimas and Pandora, shown here, both orbit Saturn, they are very different moons. Pandora, "small" by moon standards (50 miles or 81 kilometers across) is elongated and irregular in shape. Mimas (246 miles or 396 kilometers across), a "medium-sized" moon, formed into a sphere due to self-gravity imposed by its higher mass Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Solar Flare An X1.6 class solar flare flashes in the middle of the sun in this image taken 10 September, captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Mars Rover Spirit Nasa's Mars Rover Spirit took the first picture from Spirit since problems with communications began a week earlier. The image shows the robotic arm extended to the rock called Adirondack Nasa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Morning Aurora From the Space Station Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station Nasa/Scott Kelly Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Launch of History - Making STS-41G Mission in 1984 The Space Shuttle Challenger launches from Florida at dawn. On this mission, Kathryn Sullivan became the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk and Marc Garneau became the first Canadian in space. The crew of seven was the largest to fly on a spacecraft at that time, and STS-41G was the first flight to include two female astronauts Nasa's most stunning pictures of space A Fresh Perspective on an Extraordinary Cluster of Galaxies Galaxy clusters are often described by superlatives. After all, they are huge conglomerations of galaxies, hot gas, and dark matter and represent the largest structures in the Universe held together by gravity Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Sees a Galactic Sunflower The arrangement of the spiral arms in the galaxy Messier 63, seen here in an image from the Nasa Hubble Space Telescope, recall the pattern at the center of a sunflower ESA/Hubble & NASA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Pluto image Four images from New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) were combined with colour data from the Ralph instrument to create this enhanced colour global view of Pluto Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Fresh Crater Near Sirenum Fossae Region of Mars The HiRISE camera aboard Nasa's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Hubble Peers into the Most Crowded Place in the Milky Way This Nasa Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way NASA & ESA Nasa's most stunning pictures of space An Astronaut's View from Space Nasa astronaut Reid Wiseman tweeted this photo from the International Space Station on 2 September 2014 Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Giant Landform on Mars On Mars, we can observe four classes of sandy landforms formed by the wind, or aeolian bedforms: ripples, transverse aeolian ridges, dunes, and what are called draa Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Expedition 39 Landing A sokol suit helmet can be seen against the window of the Soyuz TMA-11M capsule shortly after the spacecraft landed with Expedition 39 Commander Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin of Roscosmos, and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan (NASA/Bill Ingalls) Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Jupiter's Great Red Spot Viewed by Voyager I Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and perhaps the most majestic. Vibrant bands of clouds carried by winds that can exceed 400 mph continuously circle the planet's atmosphere Nasa's most stunning pictures of space Chandra Observatory Sees a Heart in the Darkness This Chandra X-Ray Observatory image of the young star cluster NGC 346 highlights a heart-shaped cloud of 8 million-degree Celsius gas in the central region

The rocket is a tremendous piece of work, by the researchers at SpaceX. Its not the most powerful rocket ever made, and Nasas Space Launch System will beat it when it finally launches. But it runs very cheaply, for a rocket; the fact that it can be re-used, at relatively little expense, could launch an exciting future of much more regular space launches.

But ultimately none of this explains everything. What does is that SpaceX is owned by Elon Musk, a man who has cultivated a whole brand around his commitment to sometimes important, often overblown new projects.

The installation of Mr Musks own car in the rocket is a sign of the real reason this launch is such a big deal: it is being done by a man with a flair for a story, and the desire to make people talk about him and what hes doing. Theres no reason for the car to be going to space apart from as a talking point  indeed, the rocket could carry some important scientific instruments instead  but when viewed as a publicity stunt for a private space company that hopes to be the future of corporate space travel, everything makes a little more sense.

Why did SpaceX send the rocket up, not Nasa?

There has been a gradual move, in recent years, to allow private companies to take on more of the hard work of space travel. Much of that is still co-ordinated by Nasa  it decides which US astronauts to send up, and prepares them  but the actual lifting is done by private companies like SpaceX.

The idea behind that plan is that it makes such missions much cheaper, since private companies can develop and build the rockets and allow the US government simply to borrow them. The firms can then supplement their income with other private satellite launches and other work, cutting down the cost of space travel.

So SpaceXs latest mission is just the natural consequence of that. A very powerful rocket will be needed if we want the power to get people back to the moon or onto Mars; that will need to be re-usable if we want to do it without spending too much money.

Where is all this leading?

Into space, in some form. But who will get to follow it there, on whose orders, and where  those are all still up for debate.

The US government and Nasa, for instance, definitely want to head to Mars. Theyll likely do that by heading to the moon first, in part because we can then use that as a stop-off on our way to the Red Planet. SpaceX  or some other company  is likely to build the rocket to carry them there, though Nasa is also working on its own incredibly powerful rocket, called the Space Launch System. (When built, that will be even more powerful than the Falcon Heavy, though still not as powerful as Saturn V.)

Thats not the only space work going on today, though. SpaceX has suggested that it will explore raising money through space tourism  initially through a trip around the moon  where members of the public, albeit very rich ones, will be able to pay for trips out of Earths atmosphere. The Falcon Heavy and the information it gives SpaceX will be key to that work.

So what now?

The rockets are, probably, going to keep getting bigger. Musk has a plan for the BFR  his Big F**** Rocket. As does just about everyone else, including Nasa.

All of those rockets will only be as trustworthy and as useful as their manufacturers prove them to be. So expect to see many more of these grand tests, with ever more powerful rockets.

We could easily be on the cusp of another space race. But this time around, it wont be a battle between coldly warring countries; instead, it will be a far more traditional one, between companies and governments that are battling to become the most efficient and quickest provider of trips away from our Earth.
Volcanic activity caused by the impact of an enormous meteor may have contributed to the demise of the dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

There has been much debate in scientific circles about the role played by volcanoes in the massive exaction event that wiped out much of life on Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period. Volcanoes in Indias Deccan Traps have been implicated, but have been ruled out by many geologists owing to a mismatch between their increased activity and the extinction date.

However, analysis of the sea floor has revealed a whole new source of volcanic activity at the bottom of the ocean that could have played a key role in the event.

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We found evidence for a previously unknown period of globally heightened volcanic activity during the mass-extinction event, said Dr Joseph Byrnes, a geophysicist at the University of Minnesota who led the study.

The researchers think the impact of the Chicxulub meteorite triggered the release of magma stored in underwater ridges. Seismic waves sent through the Earth by the meteorite could have exacerbated volcanic activity that was already going on at these ridges, adding further to the environmental disruption caused by the initial impact.

Our work suggests a connection between these exceedingly rare and catastrophic events, distributed over the entire planet, said Professor Leif Karlstrom, a volcanologist at the University of Oregon. The meteorites impact may have influenced volcanic eruptions that were already going on, making for a one-two punch.

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To determine ancient volcanic activity in the oceans, Dr Byrnes and his colleagues analysed data derived from satellite observations to look for excess matter on the sea floor.

They found evidence for changes in the sea floor crust resulting from magma emerging from it, around the time of the extinction event 66 million years ago. Their results were published in the journal Science Advances.

The scientists proposed that the pulse of marine volcanic activity could therefore have played a key role in the environmental crisis that led to the extinction of 75 per cent of all species on Earth at that point  including the dinosaurs.

Volcanic eruptions have been linked with other extinction events. Changes to the global environment such as the release of large quantities of toxic gases into the atmosphere and ocean acidification can all contribute to species extinction.

Besides providing evidence of previously unknown volcanic activity, the new research also supports a potential role for the Deccan Trap volcanoes. While eruptions may have already been going on in the Deccan Traps at the time of the Chicxulub meteorite impact, they too could have been made more intense after it struck.

Dr Byrnes noted that while the study does not provide a direct link between volcanic activity and the death of the dinosaurs, he said it added another factor to the global catastrophe that took place around 66 million years ago. What we are adding to the conversation is global volcanic activity during the known environmental crisis, he said.
A former British Army soldier who fought against Isis in Syria is to be charged with a terror offence.

James (Jim) Matthews has been ordered to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 14 February to be formally accused of attending a place used for terrorist training.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said the 43-year-old would be charged with travelling to a place or places in Iraq and Syria where instruction or training was provided for purposes connected to the commission or preparation of terrorism on or before 15 February 2016.

Friends of Mr Matthews told The Independent he was taking "time to process" the development and seeking legal advice.

The Government has repeatedly warned that anyone travelling to join a foreign conflict may be prosecuted but the case is the first of its kind.

Other anti-Isis volunteers have been arrested and questioned, with former volunteer Joshua Walker acquitted of unrelated terror charges over possessing a copy of the Anarchists Cookbook.

Mr Matthews was among three British volunteers with the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) who featured in a television documentary in 2015.

He was shown fighting on the frontline against Isis militants with the support of the US-led coalition, which backed advances by the YPG and other regional groups with air strikes, weapons and training.

Mr Matthews appeared in a documentary alongside 24-year-old fellow volunteer Jac Holmes, who died in Raqqa in November (Instagram)

Mr Matthews, originally from Stoke-on-Trent, said he was jolted to join the fight against Isis after seeing a photograph of a jihadi holding a womans severed head on Facebook.

It seemed like one of the most evil single images Ive ever seen in my life, he said.

Weve got to take this territory back and weve got to do it by force, were fighting against a movement almost like it belongs to another age committing all these barbaric atrocities.

Mr Matthews said he had a few arbitrary jobs before joining the Army aged 19, then leaving service to study English and European Philosophy and Literature at university.

He was teaching English to military cadets in Saudi Arabia when he decided to join the YPG in Syria, he added.

Also featured in the documentary was Jac Holmes, a 24-year-old former IT worker from Bournemouth who died while clearing landmines in the former Isis stronghold of Raqqa last year.

Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate victory in Raqqa atop of military vehicles REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces march past destroyed buildings as they celebrate victory REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the "V" sign in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces evacuate a civilian from the stadium REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures A civilian prays after she was rescued by fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces from the stadium REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters ride atop of military vehicles as they celebrate victory in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures Syrian Democratic Forces fighters celebrate victory in Raqqa REUTERS Syrian Democratic Forces take Raqqa from Isis  in pictures A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces celebrates in Raqqa Reuters

Seven British volunteers with the YPG have so far been killed, with 24-year-old Ollie Hall from Portsmouth killed by an IED blast in November, just a month after Mr Holmes.

Their deaths followed those of Mehmet Aksoy, 32, Luke Rutter, 22, Ryan Lock, 20, Dean Evans, 22 and Konstandinos Erik Scurfield, 25.

The names of Mr Matthews, Mr Holmes and Macer Gifford appear with more than a dozen British anti-Isis fighters in an open letter sent following the Westminster attack in March.

The only way to defeat the Islamic State, and groups like it, is with ordinary, moderate Muslims on-side, it said. The only way to defeat hate and extremism is to not give in to it.

The dozens of British volunteers believed to be fighting against Isis are vastly outnumbered by around 850 extremists who travelled from the UK to join the terrorist group.

Around half have returned to Britain and an unknown number have been killed amid the destruction of Isis former caliphate in Iraq and Syria.

The group has retreated to border areas while attempting to gather strength in countries including Afghanistan, Libya and Egypt.

The YPG is considered a terrorist organisation by the Turkish government and is battling to retain territory taken from Isis in northern Syria amid a huge air and ground advance by Ankara-backed forces.

Allegations of war crimes during the assault on Afrin has sparked diplomatic tensions amid protests around the world.
Victims of John Worboys have been granted permission to launch a legal challenge that could prevent the black cab rapists release.

They argue the Parole Boards decision to free the serial sex attacker after serving just nine years of an indefinite term is irrational and puts women at risk.

They also say a rule meaning the reasons for its decision cannot be made public violates the principle of open justice.

Sir Brian Leveson and Mr Justice Garnham ruled that judicial review cases brought by two victims and the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan will be linked and will proceed to a full hearing in March.

Sir Brian ordered the Parole Board to disclose the reasons for the decision and a redacted dossier of evidence to parties in the case.

It is appropriate for permission to grant permission in relation to each of the challenges brought, he added.

The judges confirmed that a stay put on Worboys release by another judge will remain in place.

Black cab rapist John Worboys, is led into a prison van following an appearance at the High Court in London (PA)

Phillippa Kaufmann QC, who represents two of Worboys victims, told the High Court they were launching the challenge on behalf of the British public.

They bring this challenge because it appears to them it is a case in which something has gone very wrong, she said.

They are very concerned not just for themselves, but for the wider public and women in particular that this decision is properly tested.

Worboys was unexpectedly brought to the courtroom to hear proceedings due to fears a prison video link could break down, arriving in the barred dock wearing a grey and blue zip-up jumper and flanked by four guards.

A solicitor put himself forward to represent the drawn-looking convict after the judge raised concerns.

When asked if he wanted to say anything against the Parole Boards dossier of evidence being given to parties, Worboys shook his head and said: Thats fine.

Barristers representing the Justice Secretary and Parole Board did not argue against the judicial review going forwards.

One of his victims was in the court throughout the three-hour hearing, with her solicitor saying she found it very, very difficult to be in the same room as her abuser.

She felt it was really necessary to be there and to say she wasnt going to be frightened of him being there, said Harriet Wistrich, of Birnberg Peirce.

The black cab of London cabbie rapist John Worboys, who is to be released from prison (Metropolitan Police/PA)

We are obviously very pleased that permission has been granted to proceed.

We are looking forward to being able to understand and scrutinise all the material before the Parole Board, to consider how to bring forward a challenge.

Mr Khan said victims and all Londoners would be relieved at the ruling.

Im pleased that there will now be an opportunity for thorough scrutiny of this decision by the Parole Board, he added.

A separate challenge to the blanket secrecy imposed in Parole Board proceedings by Rule 25 is being brought by News Group Newspapers Ltd and will be heard after the judicial review.

David Gauke, the Justice Secretary, has supported an ongoing probe into the transparency of the Parole Board and its processes amid widespread outrage over Worboys potential release.

The two women bringing the judicial review said they first learned the news through media reports and the case sparked a review of how victims are consulted.

Worboys was convicted of 19 offences against 12 victims in 2009, but has been linked to more than 100 complaints in total.

His convictions included one count of rape, five sexual assaults, one attempted sexual assault and 12 of administering a substance with intent, while police are investigating a fresh allegation of historical sexual assault from 1997.

 Government abandons plan to challenge release of 'Black Cab' rapist John Worboys

Lawyers representing 93 women whose allegations did not reach court have called for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to reassess the cases, saying some victims had been told Worboys would not be coming out for a long time and so a fresh trial was not necessary.

A woman called Fiona said the police told her she was not believable when she reported being raped by Worboys in 2003.

The mother was on her way home to her young baby when she was picked up by his Hackney cab and offered a very strong orange liqueur.

I remember him getting in the back of the cab with me but that was it, thats all I remember anything other than waking up in hospital the next morning, she told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

I knew as soon as I woke up that Id been raped.

Another woman called Deborah said she was raped by Worboys in the same year after being picked up after a work function.

The mother-of-two remembers the driver claiming he had won the lottery and only has flashbacks of what happened until she woke up the following afternoon.

Deborah said she went to police but was told hes already going to prison so just give your statement in.

They said the CPS is not going to press charges because hes already in prison and its a waste of public money, she added.

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It made me suicidal, it made me very, very ill no woman is safe, no matter where she lives. No one is safe if hes out there.

The Government considered launching its own judicial review on the Parole Boards decision but the Justice Secretary found the move would not be appropriate last month.

His announcement sparked renewed efforts by victims, who have crowdfunded more than 62,000 for the case.

In a report released on Wednesday, Dame Glenys Stacey said the procedure as it currently stands had mostly been followed in the Worboys case as only five women had opted into the Victim Contact Scheme.

Recommended Government abandons plan to challenge release of Worboys

But she said the quality of correspondence was poor, with letters containing errors in victims names and addresses and messages inviting them to contribute views for the parole hearing unclear.

Dame Glenys said officials went beyond their responsibility by trying to contact women who had not opted into the scheme but did not leave enough time for them to respond to letters that lacked clarity and urgency.

When the decision was made to release Worboys, five women were alerted by the Victim Contact Scheme but the news broke before some of them had received letters and calls.

Those women not in contact with the scheme  the majority  learnt of the decision through the media, Dame Glenys said. All who spoke to us described their shock and distress.

Mr Gauke said: I fully accept that there are things we can do much better.

Thats why we have already changed the letters we send to victims to make them more compassionate, clearer and more informative, but there is more to do. We will take these findings and improve the system.
James Bulgers killer Jon Venables has been sentenced to 40 months in prison for having indecent images of children for a second time.

He pleaded guilty to having more than 1,000 pictures and also admitted via video link on Wednesday morning to having a child abuse manual.

Venables, who was released on licence in 2001 after serving eight years for the murder of two-year-old James, was returned to prison last November after he was caught with the pictures.

Jamess mother Denise Fergus and father Ralph Bulger were at the Old Bailey to hear the latest guilty pleas.

In 2010, Venables pleaded guilty at the same court to charges of downloading and distributing child pornography and was jailed for two years.

In September 2008, he was arrested on suspicion of affray after a drunken brawl and was given a formal warning by the probation service.

Later the same year he was cautioned for possession of cocaine after he was found with a small amount of the class A drug.

Bulger killer reveals his identity as strain proves too much Show all 2 1 /2 Bulger killer reveals his identity as strain proves too much Bulger killer reveals his identity as strain proves too much 333256.bin BWPMEDIA/ GETTY IMAGES Bulger killer reveals his identity as strain proves too much 333750.bin PA

Prosecutor Louis Mably QC told the court how Venables computer was seized in November last year.

Officers uncovered images of children mainly aged between six and 13, although some were younger. They found a paedophile manual aimed at teaching how to have sex with children safely.

As he was being taken to a police station, the court heard that Venables admitted he had let people down.

He said: This is my own fault. I have let people down again. I have had stupid urges, inquisitive. Im not going to be seeing this for a lot of years.

Its not going to be a slap on the wrist for me.

Venables and his friend Robert Thompson tortured and killed James in Liverpool in 1993 when they were both aged 10.

They were granted lifelong anonymity with new identities when they were freed on licence.

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), a charity which tackles child sexual abuse images in the UK, said Venables guilty plea made clear how easily offenders can access this content and why it is vital that illegal images and videos are removed as quickly as possible.

The work of the IWF has managed to reduce the proportion of these images hosted in the UK from 18 per cent in 1996 to less than one per cent today but this case only serves to highlight how important the fight against online child sexual abuse images is and how much more there remains to be done, Susie Hargreaves, chief executive at IWF, said.

Its vital to remember that every one of these images is of a real child and every time someone views that image the child is revictimised again and again.

Additional reporting by PA
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in London for almost six years, and there is no clear end to the saga after a court said a warrant for his arrest still stands.

Westminster Magistrates court upheld the UK arrest warrant, saying despite the fact that rape and sexual assault charges Mr Assange was originally wanted for in Sweden had now been dropped, he was still wanted for refusing to surrender to bail without reasonable cause, which is a criminal offence.

Why hasnt Julian Assange faced justice?

Mr Assange has frequently said he would happily face British and Swedish justice if he is given a guarantee he will not be extradited to the United States.

This demand has never been overtly agreed to by the UK.

It is unclear how strong the appetite to prosecute Mr Assange is in America. In the past, his organisation has been a source of deeply embarrassing revelations for the US.

But Wikileaks recent activity has benefited the current administration  including the leak of Hillary Clintons campaign emails obtained by Russian-backed hackers.

The move lead Donald Trump to declare during his presidential bid: I love Wikileaks.

But since then the tone has changed. Last year US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Mr Assanges arrest was a priority, while CIA director Mike Pompeo said: Its time to call out WikiLeaks for what it really is: a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia.

Despite the strong words, there remains no public criminal case against either Mr Assange or his organisation.

Mr Assanges lawyers maintain the US would seek to extradite and prosecute him.

What is next for the Wikileaks founder?

Following Tuesdays ruling, Jennifer Robinson, a member of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks legal team since 2010, said: For more than seven years we have been fighting to end the restrictions placed on Julian Assanges liberty without charge. After today, we will continue to fight to ensure his freedom.

We will also continue to seek assurances that the UK does not have a US extradition warrant, and will let him leave the country freely and without interference."

She added: We must confront the real issue in this case: if Julian Assange walks out of the embassy today he risks facing extradition to the US to face prosecution for publishing information in the public interest with Wikileaks.

"The British authorities failure to provide assurance against that risk is the reason he sought asylum in the embassy in the first place.

This is and has always been our overriding concern. This is why Ecuador has provided him with protection and why Ecuador has sought mediation with the UK government to resolve the situation.

The UK Government refuses to confirm or deny whether there is an extradition request or give an assurance against extradition, which means we cannot be confident he can walk out of the embassy without being arrested and extradited to the US.

In the immediate future, questions remain over Mr Assanges health, which along with public interest issues, will be subject to a separate judgment on Tuesday.

What are Wikileaks biggest revelations?

Mr Assange gained international notoriety after his anti-secrecy organisation published classified military documents revealing tens of thousands of civilian deaths at the hands of the US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of Wikileaks biggest releases of information came in 2010 from US Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning, who later changed her name to Chelsea.

Ms Manning leaked more than 250,000 diplomatic cables, including military logs that included footage of an Apache gunship crew shooting dead a group of men they thought had a rocket launcher. It turned out to be journalists for Reuters carrying a television camera.

At the time, Ms Clinton, then Secretary of State, said the leaks tore at the fabric of government and pledged aggressive steps to hold responsible those who stole this information.

Wikileaks later released a cache of diplomatic cables from US embassies, including embarrassing and personal assessments of international figures.

More recently the organisation has claimed the UK and the USs CIA worked together to use Samsung televisions as microphones.

Arrest

In August 2010, the first arrest warrant was issued for Mr Assange for two separate allegations  one of rape and one of molestation  after he visited Sweden. He was questioned by police in Stockholm and denied the allegations.

Later that year, an international arrest warrant was issued by Swedish police through Interpol, and in February 2011 a British judge ruled Mr Assange should be extradited to Sweden to face the charges.

After losing an appeal against the decision, Mr Assange entered the Ecuadorian embassy in London demanding asylum, which was subsequently granted.

Scotland Yard stood down the 24/7 police presence outside the Ecuadorian embassy building in 2015 but pledged to make every effort to arrest Mr Assange if he left.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. 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There had been controversy over the escalating cost of the exercise, which was believed to be over 12m.

In May, Swedens director of public prosecutions said the preliminary rape and sexual assault probe was discontinued for logistical reasons.

The decision to discontinue the investigation is not because weve been able to make a full assessment of the evidence, but because we didnt see possibilities to advance the investigation, Marianne Ny added, saying no judgment on guilt or innocence could be made.
Cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower will only be removed from another south London block of flats if residents pay up to 500,000 or the Government provides funding, a tribunal has heard.

Leaseholders of the Citiscape block in Croydon were handed a combined 2m bill to replace the aluminium composite material (ACM) panels last month  the same type as those believed to have aided the spread of the fire in north Kensington, which claimed the lives of 71 people in June.

Management company First Port has gone to a first-tier property tribunal in an effort to make residents pay.

It is estimated that the total cost to replace the cladding will be 2m, and at least 500,000 is required to strip it from the flats.

One of the leaseholders, a 95-year-old man, is being treated in hospital due to stress, his son told the tribunal.

Richard Low-Foon, whose elderly father Luc lived in the block, said he was trapped in a catch 22.

He told the hearing: I cannot see a way out of it at this stage unless through a miracle we get some funding. At the moment he is staying in hospital because of all this  it got too much for him.

I had to put him in a care home before Christmas on the understanding that I would defer payment until I sell the property, not that I am able to sell the property because of this.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 September 2021 Arsenals Takehiro Tomiyasu attempts to control the ball during the Premier League match at The Emirates Stadium PA UK news in pictures 10 September 2021 People paddle board during a misty morning in Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District, Cumbria PA UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. 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PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. 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She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA

The management firm suggested it was denied a loan by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which said it would only deal with individual leaseholders.

FirstPort is also seeking to recoup the cost of hiring fire wardens to monitor the blocks full time at 4,000 a week  so far running up bills of approximately 128,000 since 26 June 2017.

FirstPort regional director Paul Atkinson told the hearing: We have no other funding options.

He added: I know we have discussed with RBS  but I wasnt privy to that conversation  the bank wouldnt be willing to loan it to us but they would be willing to talk to individual leaseholders.

FirstPort subsequently contacted The Independent to deny it had sought funding from RBS, saying in a statement: FirstPort has not applied for or been refused a loan by RBS. We have had many conversations, including with our bank, to understand how best to advise and provide options for residents at Citiscape.

FirstPort originally told leaseholders they would owe 500,000 in service charges, later quadrupling the estimate to 2m. But at the time of the deadline for last years service charges  September 2017  they had only put the 500,000 estimate to residents.

This means full work to replace the cladding post-removal cannot begin until they formally levy the remaining 1.5m costs, which will happen this year.

By getting a very sketchy estimate, FirstPort has lost a year in being able to carry out the work, Amanda Gourlay, representing leaseholders, said.

Judge Angus Andrew, who is chairing the panel at the tribunal, said it was an uncomfortable issue and asked: What happens if the money doesnt come?

Mr Atkinson replied: It is difficult. We know we dont have the capacity to loan as much as required. We were with the MP for Croydon a few weeks ago urging him to speak to a [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government] minister, which he did.

Leaseholders had feared any ruling at the Citiscape tribunal could set a precedent for other private blocks across the country.

But Mr Andrew stressed the decision should not be interpreted as such, saying in his opening remarks: Any decision we come to cannot be read across to another block of flats. It doesnt set a precedent.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: As ministers have made clear, we want to see private sector landlords follow the lead of the social sector and not pass on the costs of essential cladding replacement to leaseholders.

The Government is not in a position to comment on individual legal cases. We are keeping the situation under review.

The tribunal continues.

Additional reporting by agencies
A visually impaired BBC journalist from Blackburn with a phobia of dogs is to become the UKs first person ever to be given a guide horse.

Mohammed Salim Patel is to due to receive Digby, an eight-month-old American miniature horse who stands two feet tall, who will help with improving his mobility and carrying out daily tasks.

Mr Patel suffers from a degenerative eye condition called retinis pigmentosa, but does not want a guide dog to a long-standing phobia.

Digby is currently in training before he can help Mr Patel on the streets of Blackburn.

Mr Patel told the Lancashire Telegraph: I have a big phobia of dogs that I was not able to work out and it was good when I heard about horses being trained.

I have always loved horses but it is good to see the benefits to people who are visually impaired.

Speaking about Digbys training, which will take two years, Mr Patel added: He needs to get used to being out and about in Blackburn.

I also think I will have to give myself an extra hour to try to get around my daily routine as people will all want to come and see it and touch it.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA UK news in pictures 21 July 2021 A man walks past an artwork by Will Blood on the end of a property in Bedminster, Bristol, as the 75 murals project reaches the halfway point and various graffiti pieces are sprayed onto walls and buildings across the city over the Summer PA UK news in pictures 20 July 2021 People during morning prayer during Eid ul-Adha, or Festival of Sacrifice, in Southall Park, Uxbridge, London PA UK news in pictures 19 July 2021 Commuters, some not wearing facemasks, at Westminster Underground station, at 08:38 in London after the final legal Coronavirus restrictions were lifted in England PA UK news in pictures 18 July 2021 A view of spectators by the 2nd green during day four of The Open at The Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 July 2021 Cyclists ride over the Hammersmith Bridge in London. The bridge was closed last year after cracks in it worsened during a heatwave Getty UK news in pictures 16 July 2021 The sun rises behind the Sefton Park Palm House, in Sefton Park, Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 15 July 2021 Sir Nicholas Serota watches a short film about sea monsters as he opens a 7.6 million, 360 immersive dome at Devonport's Market Hall in Plymouth, which is the first of its type to be built in Europe PA UK news in pictures 14 July 2021 Heidi Street, playing a gothic character, looks at a brain suspended in glass at the worlds first attraction dedicated to the author of Frankenstein inside the Mary Shelleys House of Frankenstein experience, located in a Georgian terraced house in Bath, as it prepares to open to the public on 19 July PA UK news in pictures 13 July 2021 Rehearsals are held in a car park in Glasgow for a parade scene ahead of filming for what is thought to be the new Indiana Jones 5 movie starring Harrison Ford PA

Guide horses are already used by some visually impaired people in the US. Proponents say the animals are arguably better than guide dogs due to their longevity, as they can live to be 30 years old.

Digby will join Mr Patel at work at BBC North West, where he will reportedly wear thunderpants so he doesnt make a mess in the office.

During a radio appearance on BBC Lancashire on Monday, Digby endeared himself to listeners by munching on a microphone  footage of which was broadcast by the BBC.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is due to visit London in early March, it is understood.

The visit was previously set to take place in February, but now appears to have been pushed back amid fears it could be disrupted by activists protesting the kingdoms role in the ongoing war in Yemen.

Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), which opposes UK sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia, said police had confirmed that they expect Prince Mohammed to visit from 7 to 9 March. It is planning to protest the visit.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police would not confirm the specific dates to The Independent. A Downing Street press officer would also not confirm the dates of Prince Mohammed's visit, saying only that No 10 would set out the plans in due course.

The prince had been expected to travel to the UK this month, with Boris Johnson confirming the visit in principle after he returned from his own trip to Saudi Arabia in January. "An invitation has certainly been issued, and all Ill say is that were very hopeful that he and others will come, the Foreign Secretary said.

But Saudi diplomats were upset by a three-part BBC documentary that aired last month, The Middle East Eye reported. House of Saud: A Family At War explored a moment of unprecedented instability in the rule of the Saudi royal family and an unprecedented crackdown on hundreds of the richest Saudis by Prince Mohammed.

 House of Saud: A Family at War- trailer

Although the exact itinerary of the three-day visit to London is not known, the prince is set to conduct a series of high-profile meetings.

The conservative kingdom has pushed to modernise its economy and make it less dependent on oil, an initiative the UK has been keen to endorse.

It has also rolled out social changes that include better rights for women - who will be allowed to drive for the first time in June.

But Prince Mohammed in particular has attracted international criticism for leading Saudi Arabia into a bloody intervention in the Yemeni civil war in March 2015, aimed at preventing Shia Houthi rebels taking control of the strategically placed neighbour.

The Saudi-led coalition bombing campaign, as well as blockades of air and sea access to the country, have compounded the impacts of the civil war and left 70 per cent of Yemens 27-million-strong population reliant on some form of humanitarian aid, 7.3 million on the brink of famine and suffering the worst cholera outbreak in modern history.

Since the bombing began in Yemen, Britain has licensed over 4.6bn worth of fighter jets and bombs to the Saudi military, according to CAAT. Human Rights Watch has linked UK-made weapons to the destruction of civilian infrastructure.

The kingdom is the biggest buyer of UK-made arms of any country.

10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Show all 10 1 /10 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In October 2014, three lawyers, Dr Abdulrahman al-Subaihi, Bander al-Nogaithan and Abdulrahman al-Rumaih , were sentenced to up to eight years in prison for using Twitter to criticize the Ministry of Justice. AFP/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2015, Yemens Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi was forced into exile after a Shia-led insurgency. A Saudi Arabia-led coalition has responded with air strikes in order to reinstate Mr Hadi. It has since been accused of committing war crimes in the country. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Women who supported the Women2Drive campaign, launched in 2011 to challenge the ban on women driving vehicles, faced harassment and intimidation by the authorities. The government warned that women drivers would face arrest. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Members of the Kingdoms Shia minority, most of whom live in the oil-rich Eastern Province, continue to face discrimination that limits their access to government services and employment. Activists have received death sentences or long prison terms for their alleged participation in protests in 2011 and 2012. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses All public gatherings are prohibited under an order issued by the Interior Ministry in 2011. Those defy the ban face arrest, prosecution and imprisonment on charges such as inciting people against the authorities. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses In March 2014, the Interior Ministry stated that authorities had deported over 370,000 foreign migrants and that 18,000 others were in detention. Thousands of workers were returned to Somalia and other states where they were at risk of human rights abuses, with large numbers also returned to Yemen, in order to open more jobs to Saudi Arabians. Many migrants reported that prior to their deportation they had been packed into overcrowded makeshift detention facilities where they received little food and water and were abused by guards. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses The Saudi Arabian authorities continue to deny access to independent human rights organisations like Amnesty International, and they have been known to take punitive action, including through the courts, against activists and family members of victims who contact Amnesty. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison for using his liberal blog to criticise Saudi Arabias clerics. He has already received 50 lashes, which have reportedly left him in poor health. Carsten Koall/Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Dawood al-Marhoon was arrested aged 17 for participating in an anti-government protest. After refusing to spy on his fellow protestors, he was tortured and forced to sign a blank document that would later contain his confession. At Dawoods trial, the prosecution requested death by crucifixion while refusing him a lawyer. Getty Images 10 examples of Saudi Arabia's human rights abuses Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 aged either 16 or 17 for participating in protests during the Arab spring. His sentence includes beheading and crucifixion. The international community has spoken out against the punishment and has called on Saudi Arabia to stop. He is the nephew of a prominent government dissident. Getty

Writing in The Independent on Tuesday, CAATs media coordinator Andrew Smith said: The Saudi Crown Prince might be a PR-friendly figurehead for one of the most authoritarian regimes in the world, but he has been the lead architect of the devastating three yearlong bombardment of Yemen.

He added: The response of Theresa May and her colleagues hasnt been to condemn the bombing and call for a much-needed ceasefire. On the contrary, the UK government has armed and supported the bombing campaign since day one.

The UN estimates $2.1bn (1.6bn) is needed to stop Yemen turning into a completely failed state, but donor governments only pledged half that amount at an aid conference in Geneva in April last year.
One hundred years ago, eight million British women secured the right to vote after a long struggle by the Suffragette movement.

It was not until a decade later that universal suffrage was introduced, but the 1918 Representation of the People Bill was still a major step forward that put the the country ahead of other nations, such as France.

However, Britain was not the first to make that step.

Several countries, including former British colonies, outpaced the UK's rate of progress by introducing votes for women earlier.

New Zealand (1893)

The Pacific island nation, then a self-governing colony of the British Empire, was the first country to allow all women to vote in parliamentary elections. Women were not allowed to stand in the elections until 1919. New Zealand elected its first female Prime Minister Jenny Shipley in 1997.

Australia (1902)

The Australian Constitution extended voting rights to non-Aboriginal women across the country. Women in Southern and Western Australia had been able to vote in federal elections since the previous year. However, Aboriginal women and men were barred from voting in national elections until 1962.

Finland (1906)

The Nordic state, then part of Russia, blazed a trail for gender equality by becoming the first in the world to five women unrestricted rights to both vote and stand in parliamentary elections. Nineteen women became MPs in elections the next year.

Women demanding the right to vote in a march during the Russian Revolution (Getty Images)

Norway (1913)

Middle-class women had won the right to vote in parliamentary elections in 1907. Six years later a motion to introduce universal suffrage was passed unanimously by MPs.

Denmark (1915)

Danish women won the right to vote in parliamentary elections following decades of increasingly disruptive campaigning. Suffrage was extended at the same time to women in Iceland, which was then part of the Kingdom of Denmark.

Russia (1917)

The government gave women the right to vote following months of suffragist rallies, including a 40,000-person march on the Tauride Palace.
The number of English prisoners jailed in Wales has risen dramatically over the past year, prompting concern that the country is being used by the UK Government as a centre of incarceration to alleviate a growing prison crisis.

Figures published in response to a written parliamentary question show 1,256 prisoners with a recorded address in England were being held in Welsh prisons  a 76 per cent rise since last March, when freedom of information figures showed there were 714.

It follows the opening of a new super prison on an industrial estate in Wrexham last year. HMP Berwyn, with a capacity for 2,106 prisoners, is the largest prison in the UK and the second biggest in Europe.

The jail was widely expected to be a "prison for North Wales", but six months after it opened, figures showed just 8 per cent of prisoners were from the region, with the majority from England. Campaigners have said this is detrimental for inmates and their families who are often further from home as a result.

Plaid Cymru is now calling on Westminster to urgently drop plans for a new super prison on the other side of Wales in Port Talbot, which would house an additional 1,600 inmates, warning that it would "only exaggerate" an "already unacceptable" situation.

Liz Saville Roberts MP, Plaid Cymrus justice spokesperson, told The Independent: It is evident that prisoners with postcodes in England are being transported considerable distances from their families.

It is generally recognised that maintaining family connections is a critical factor in the rehabilitation of prisoners and preventing their return to crime upon release.

That the number of English prisoners in Wales has jumped by 76 per cent in just nine months serves to underline that Wales is being used by Westminster as a centre for incarceration which neither suits Waless economic needs nor the needs of the public, who expect to be protected from crime.

There is an increased burden on Welsh public services from prisoners who remain in Wales following their release. The imposition of a super prison on Port Talbot for an estimated 1,600 additional prisoners will only exaggerate this already unacceptable position.

Decisions about prison capacity in Wales should be designed solely with Welsh needs in mind, and by the National Assembly for Wales, not by Westminster.

Although it was widely believed HMP Berwyn was built to house many prisoners from the region, documents released by the Ministry of Justice under freedom of information powers last year show that the plan was always to also transfer around 1,400 English prisoners to the site.

A planning report stated: There was a shortage of around 800 places for prisoners originating from North Wales. This is a strategic need that must be addressed and the Wrexham site does this.

Recommended Prison crisis laid bare as Government issued unprecedented warning

The balance of around 1,400 places could be met through the closure of a similar number of places at old or inefficient sites in the North-west region.

Dr Robert Jones, lecturer in criminology at the University of South Wales, who obtained the documents, questioned why the decision was not discussed and debated more at the time.

This is not an accident. The Government knew full well that this was a prison that was going to be almost two-thirds prisoners from England and not Wales, he told The Independent.

"Even before the decision to build the new prison in North Wales was made, it was purposefully designed to hold prisoners from Liverpool and Manchester. The question is now: what was the logic for that? Why wasnt this discussed and debated at the time?

The benefits to Welsh prisoners are somewhat dubious. And of course, if youre displacing English prisoners in Wales we also need to think about English communities. The greatest effect is arguably prisoners from the North-west of England.

Would those prisoners who are now being held in Berwyn have previously been held closer to home?

Dr Jones said the significant rise in English prisoners jailed in Wales raised all kinds of questions about the Governments commitment to supersize prisons and the blind spot in their thinking about the impact distances have on communities.

Theres an oxymoron in the Government's policy on supporting prisoners and their families and at the same time opening supersize prisons which are underpinned by a one-size-fits-all mindset, he said.

When you put so many people in one prison, there is of course a large number of people who are going to be placed far from home as a result. And all of the research shows that keeping family links and prisoners as close to home as possible is beneficial to resettlement upon release.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. 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Andrew Neilson, director of campaigns for the Howard League for Penal Reform, said the new figures were not a surprise but said they confirmed HMP Berwyn was not really a Welsh solution to a Welsh problem.

He added: It is all about trying to create capacity for what is an overcrowded English prison system. Within Wales it was sold as being good for the economy. There wasnt a prison in North Wales so it was thought this would help Welsh prisoners who are jailed in England.

But ultimately, that is not why these prisons are being built in Wales. Theyre being built in Wales to service an English issue.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: Closeness to home is one of a number of factors considered when choosing where to place prisoners.

"We also consider other factors such as length of sentence, security category and offending behaviour requirements as well as the level of demand on regional prison capacity.
Germany is now the biggest breaker of EU rules, according to new statistics on enforcement actions started by Brussels against member states.

The figures come despite the countrys leading role in the European project and claims from some quarters that Angela Merkels government dominates proceedings in the bloc.

Numbers provided to German newspaper Handelsblatt by the countrys economics ministry show the countrys government is subject to 74 infringement proceedings by the European Commission for failing to implement EU regulations properly in German law.

Recommended David Davis signals UK will not refuse new EU rules after Brexit

German Green party politician Markus Tressel told the newspaper Germany was now bottom of the class for following EU rules and far from the model pupil it was sometimes portrayed as.

The infringements against Germany, which can be started for delayed implementation or inadequate conversion into national laws, relate to policy areas like air pollution, water quality and fire protection.

The new statistics echo the latest available EU-wide figures on enforcement actions from the end of 2016, provided by the European Commission, which found Germany joint top with Spain.

Those countries were followed closely by Belgium, Greece, Portugal and France  all longstanding fans of the European project.

The European Court of Justice ultimately has the final say over whether rules have been broken (REUTERS) (Reuters)

Despite Brexit and higher levels of euroscepticism generally, the UK was relatively good at implementing EU rules compared to its neighbours and was down in 14th place in the hall of shame  joint with Bulgaria.

Estonia, Malta and Denmark were the most compliant countries, according to those figures from the end of 2016.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

Enforcement procedures mean that a country has broken EU rules in the estimation of the European Commission  though ultimately the European Court of Justice has the final say on whether a country has infringed European law.

A UK environment minister Therese Coffey was summoned to Brussels in January for a dressing down after the UK broke EU air quality rules. Her German counterpart was also made to attend.
North-east England, the West Midlands and Northern Ireland will suffer the biggest hit to economic growth after the UKs withdrawal from the EU, according to secret Brexit impact studies released to MPs by the Government.

London will see the least damage, according to the controversial forecasts which ministers were forced to release amid pressure from Labour and pro-EU Tories.

MPs have been reading the documents, prepared by Whitehall officials for the Department for Exiting the EU, under controlled conditions, but the figures have been leaked.

It has previously emerged that officials expect the UK as a whole to be worse off after Brexit regardless of the terms of its departure from the EU.

According to regional forecasts, every area of the UK will suffer a decline in GDP.

The North-east would take an 11 per cent hit to economic growth under the Governments preferred outcome of a free trade deal with the EU, while leaving with no deal will result in a 16 per cent dip, and staying in the single market would cause a 3 per cent decline.

The north-east overwhelmingly voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.

In the West Midlands, a free trade deal would result in an 8 per cent hit to growth, compared with 13 per cent under no deal, and 2.5 per cent if the UK stays in the single market.

Northern Ireland would suffer an 8 per cent dip in growth after a free trade deal, a 12 per cent dip in the event of no deal, and a 2.5 per cent fall in the single market.

Brexit so far: in pictures Show all 53 1 /53 Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson led the VoteLeave campaign PA Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit campaign Boris Johnson MP, Labour MP Gisela Stuart and UKIP MP Douglas Carswell address the people of Stafford in Market Square during the Vote Leave Brexit Battle Bus tour on 17 May 2016. Their lead line on the tour was: We send the EU 350 million a week, let's fund our NHS instead. Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Voting day A man shelters from the rain as he arrives at a polling station in London on 23 June 2016. Millions of Britons voted in the referendum on whether to stay in or leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Referendum results Leader of Ukip, Nigel Farage, reacts at the Leave EU referendum party at Millbank Tower in central London as results indicated that it was likely the UK would leave the European Union AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Protesting the result A young couple painted as EU flags and a man with a sign reading Im not leaving protest outside Downing Street against the voters decision to leave the EU on 24 June 2016 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures David Cameron resigns British Prime Minister David Cameron resigns on the steps of 10 Downing Street on 24 June 2016 after the results of the EU referendum were declared and the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Theresa May Becomes the new Conservative Party leader Theresa May receives a kiss from her husband Philip, after becoming the new Conservative Party leader on 11 July 2016. May became Prime Minister two days later and although she voted to remain in the referendum was keen to lead Britains Brexit talks after her only rival in the race to succeed David Cameron pulled out unexpectedly. May was left as the only contender standing after the withdrawal from the leadership race of Andrea Leadsom, who faced criticism for suggesting she was more qualified to be prime minister because she had children AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Lancaster House keynote speech on Brexit British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her keynote speech on Brexit at Lancaster House in London on 17 January 2017. Where she spoke about her offer to introduce a transition period after the UK formally leaves the European Union in March 2019. Despite repeating the pro-Brexit mantra of no deal is better than a bad deal, the Prime Minister claimed she wanted a tone of trust between the negotiators and said Britain was leaving the EU but not Europe. She said there should be a clear double lock needed for the transitional period to make sure businesses had time to prepare for changes to their trading relationships with the EU Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Triggering of Article 50 British Prime Minister Theresa May in the cabinet, sitting below a painting of Britain's first Prime Minister Robert Walpole, signs the official letter to European Council President Donald Tusk invoking Article 50 and the United Kingdom's intention to leave the EU on 29 March 2017 Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Gibraltar nonsense Tensions have risen over Brexit negotiations for the Rock of Gibraltar. The European Council has said Gibraltar would be included in a trade deal between London and Brussels only with the agreement of Spain. While former Conservative leader Michael Howard claimed that Theresa May would be prepared to go to war to protect the territory. Spain's foreign minister stepped in only to assert that there was no need for the dispute Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Shock snap election Soon after triggering Article 50, Theresa May called on 18 April 2017 for a snap general election. The election would be on 8 June and it came as a shock move to many, with her reasoning to try to bolster her position before tough talks on leaving the EU AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Dissolution of Parliament for General Election Campaign Prime Minister Theresa May makes a statement in Downing Street after returning from Buckingham Palace on 3 May 2017. The Prime Minister visited the Queen to ask for the dissolution of Parliament signalling the official start to the general election campaign Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Conservatives lose parliamentary majority An arrangement of British daily newspapers showing front page stories about the exit poll results of the snap general election. British Prime Minister Theresa May faced pressure to resign on 9 June 2017 after losing her parliamentary majority, plunging the country into uncertainty as Brexit talks loomed. The pound fell sharply amid fears the Conservative leader would be unable to form a government AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Labour gains Britains opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gives a tumbs up as he arrives at Labour headquarters in central London on 9 June 2017 after the snap general election results showed a hung parliament with Labour gains and the Conservatives losing their majority AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit negotiations begin Brexit Minister David Davis and European Commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations Michel Barnier address a press conference at the end of the first day of Brexit negotiations in Brussels on 19 June 2017 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May speaks in Florence British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks on 22 September 2017, in Florence. May sought to unlock Brexit talks after Brussels demanded more clarity on the crunch issues of budget payments and EU citizens' rights AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit  insufficient progress German Chancellor Angela Merkel joins other EU leaders for a breakfast meeting during an EU summit in Brussels on 20 October 2017. The EU spoke about Brexit and announced that insufficient progress had been made AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures DUP derails settlement on the withdrawal part of Brexit DUP Deputy Leader Nigel Dodds walks off after speaking to members of the media as a protester holding flags shouts after him outside the Houses of Parliament on 5 December 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May was forced to pull out of a deal with Brussels after the DUP said it would not accept terms which see Northern Ireland treated differently from the rest of the UK Getty Brexit so far: in pictures May suffers defeat over EU (Withdrawal) Bill Theresa May suffers defeat in parliament over EU (Withdrawal) Bill on 13 December 2017. The Government was defeated by Conservative rebels and Labour MPs in a vote on its key piece of Brexit legislation. MPs amended the EU (Withdrawal) Bill against Theresa May's will, guaranteeing Parliament a meaningful vote on any Brexit deal she agrees with Brussels. Ms May's whips applied pressure on Conservative rebels who remained defiant in the Commons throughout the day and in the end the Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305 Brexit so far: in pictures EU council summit  sufficient progress Britain's Prime minister Theresa May arrives to attend the first day of a European union summit in Brussels on 14 December 2017. European leaders discussed Brexit and announced there was finally sufficient progress at the end of the two days AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures The game moves to transition Brexit Secretary David Davis gives evidence on developments in European Union divorce talks to the Commons Exiting the EU Committee in Portcullis House, London, on 24 January 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures Trade deal is what May wants French President Emmanuel Macron gestures to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May after they hold a press conference at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, on 18 January 2018. May and Macron agreed a new border security deal, through which the UK will pay more to France to stop migrants trying to reach British shores on 18 January 2018 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Transition period agreed The UK and EU agree terms for Brexit transition period on 19 March, 2018 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures No agreement on Irish border The EU and UK however failed to reach an agreement on the Irish border during the successful talks on other Brexit issues AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU attacks Mays fantasy strategy For months after the March deal is struck there is little significant progress in talks. One senior EU official tears into Britains fantasy negotiating strategy and accuses Theresa May of not even having a position on a variety of important issue Getty Brexit so far: in pictures UK releases Ireland plan Britain releases a new customs plan to solve the Northern Ireland border but Michel Barnier says it leaves unanswered questions and would not prevent a hard border EbS Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan agreed The cabinet agrees on a plan known as the "Chequers deal" on July 6 2018. The plan seeks regulatory alignment on goods and food, divergence on services, freedom from the European Courts of Justice and an end to free movement. Many were surprised that the hard Brexiteers of the cabinet would agree to this plan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Chequers plan sparks resignations Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and numerous ministers resign in the days following the Chequers agreement Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Davis out, Raab in On 9 July, Dominic Raab replaces David Davis as Brexit Secretary. Raab is a keen Brexiteer and was a housing minister before taking over from Davis Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Barnier's "deal like no other" EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier claims on August 29 2018 that they are prepared to offer Britain a trade deal like no other, though he stressed that they will not divide or change the single market to accommodate Britain AP Brexit so far: in pictures "My deal or no deal" In an interview on Panorama on September 17, the Prime Minister insists that any Brexit deal will be offered to the EU on her terms. She asserts this amongst continued attacks on her approach to Brexit by Boris Johnson and the European Research Group, headed by Jacob Rees Mogg BBC/Jeff Overs Brexit so far: in pictures EU leaders reject Chequers Quite the blow was dealt to the Prime Minister at a EU leaders summit in Salzburg on September 20. European Council President Donald Tusk stated that the Chequers deal "will not work" Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures May demands respect Following the rejection of her Chequers plan the day before, the Prime Minister voiced her anger that the EU had dismissed it without offering an alternative. She stated that throughout this process, I have treated the EU with nothing but respect. The UK expects the same. A good relationship at the end of this process depends on it." Getty Brexit so far: in pictures People's Vote march As the People's Vote campaign and The Independent's Final Say campaign gain traction, 700,000 people turn out in London to demand a final say on the UK's Brexit deal on October 20 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures More resignations As the Prime Minister settles on a Brexit deal, Brexit secretary Dominic Raab resigns along with Work and Pensions secretary Esther McVey and many other ministers Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Final Say petitions delivered to Downing Street People's Vote supporting MPs Chukka Umunna, Justine Greening and Caroline Lucas and The Independent editor Christian Broughton deliver over a million signatures in favour of a People's Vote to the Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street on December 3 2018 PA Brexit so far: in pictures May delays vote On December 10, the Prime Minister delayed the vote on her Brexit deal as it was near certain not to pass through the Commons due to Tory rebels and lack of DUP support AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures No confidence motion Tory MPs triggered a confidence vote in the Prime Minister on December 12. She won by 200 votes to 117 Reuters Brexit so far: in pictures Commons rejects the deal Following the delay, the Prime Minister's deal was rejected in the Commons by a historic 230 votes AFP Brexit so far: in pictures Corbyn tables a no confidence motion Following the rejection of the Prime Minister's deal, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tabled a motion of no confidence in the government, which the government won by a margin of 19 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Plan B The Prime Minister won the support of the commons to return to Brussels to renegotiate the backstop on January 29. In the same sitting, MPs also voted against a no-deal Brexit in a non-legally binding motion PA Brexit so far: in pictures EU council president savages Brexit campaigners who failed to plan for departure: Special place in hell There is a special place in hell for pro-Brexit campaigners who demanded Britain leave the EU without explaining how it should happen, Donald Tusk has said. The European Council president launched the scathing attack as he accused anti-EU campaigners of pushing for Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. Mr Tusk also dismissed suggestions that the EU could reopen negotiations over the controversial Northern Ireland backstop, dealing a blow to Theresa Mays hopes of securing fresh concessions as she tries to get her exit deal through parliament. Speaking in Brussels alongside Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Mr Tusk said: Ive been wondering what a special place in hell looks like for people who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely. He also tweeted the accusation moments later Getty Brexit so far: in pictures EU and UK announce talks to restart after Theresa May visits Brussels Both have agreed to restart Brexit talks to find a way through the deadlock in Westminster, following a visit by Theresa May to Brussels. In a joint statement the British government and European Commission said Ms May had had a robust but constructive meeting with president Jean-Claude Juncker, and that the pair would meet again before the end of the month. But the EU again refused to reopen the withdrawal agreement and its controversial backstop  with any negotiations expected to focus on the future relationship between the UK and EU instead Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brexit strategy lost MPs voted down May's Brext plans, with a majority of 45. The prime minister did not appear in parliament to see another defeat PA Brexit so far: in pictures Labour and Conservative MPs resign and create the Independent Group Back row of Chris Leslie, Gavin Shuker, Chuka Umunna and Mike Gapes, middle row of Angela Smith, Luciana Berger and Ann Coffey and front row of Sarah Wollaston, Heidi Allen, Anna Soubry and Joan Ryan PA Brexit so far: in pictures Non-biding votes on amendments to Brexit motion On February 27 he house held a series of votes, unanimously calling for the UK and EU to guarantee citizens rights in a no-deal scenario AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Attorney General publishes legal advice A hammer blow for May as Geoffrey Cox said her renegotiated deal can still leave UK in backstop against its will. Mr Cox did say the prime ministers efforts had reduced the risk of the UK being trapped in the backstop indefinitely. MPs went on to vote against her deal by 391 to 242 UK Parliament/PA Brexit so far: in pictures No-deal off the table MPs rejected a no-deal Brexit by 43 votes on March 13, with cabinet ministers rebelling in another humiliating defeat for Theresa May. A day later they voted in favour of the prime minister seeking an extension to Article 50 AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures House speaker bans May from third Commons vote on same Brexit deal John Bercow sensationally told Theresa May he would stop her making another attempt to pass her Brexit deal unless she has secured changes. The Speaker said a further meaningful vote would be ruled out of order if the motion was the same or substantially the same  under an ancient convention to stop the government bullying parliament on issues MPs have rejected Parliament Live Brexit so far: in pictures May writes to Tusk The prime minister wrote to Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, to ask for a three-month extension to give her more time to try to get her deal through parliament. However the European Commission advises the EU27 should offer a short extension to May 23 or a longer one meaning the UK would participate in European elections 10 Downing Street/AFP/Getty Brexit so far: in pictures European Council summit Theresa Mays request to extend triggering Article 50 until the end of June was rejected by the EU, and instead offered a shorter time frame. She accepted the offer of a delay until May 22 if her withdrawal deal is approved by Parliament. If MPs rejected it for a third time, the EU said Britain must propose a new plan by April 12. Ms May said she will not support a long delay because it would mean Britain participating in elections for the European Parliament Getty Brexit so far: in pictures Brussels confirms preparations for a no-deal Brexit are completed They warned that it is increasingly likely the UK will crash out. In a statement the European Commission (EC) said preparedness and contingency work, which the EC has been conducting since December 2017, was now finished. The announcement came days after EU leaders agreed to a request by Theresa May to extend the UKs Brexit date AFP Brexit so far: in pictures May resigns Reuters

By comparison, London would sustain just a 2 per cent hit to growth if the UK gets a free trade deal, 3.5 per cent in a no deal scenario, and just 1 per cent if the country stays in the single market.

The details of the economic damage Brexit could do to the UK came as Theresa May spoke at a lavish black-tie event about her "ambitious" vision for the UK outside the bloc.

At the Tory party's annual Black and White Ball in London, Ms May told the assembled donors, celebrities and politicians: "Ever since the British people delivered their vote in the referendum, I have had no doubts about what our new relationship with the EU must mean for the United Kingdom.

"It will mean taking control of our money - so we are not sending vast annual subscriptions to the EU.

"It also means control of our borders - so we decide on our own immigration policy; one which attracts the brightest and the best to come to these shores, and one which also ensures we are investing in our own talent here at home.

"And it means control of our laws - so British courts are supreme and the European Court of Justice no longer overrules them."

She stressed her plan would mean leaving the single market and customs union but "constructing a completely new trading partnership with the EU".

Elsewhere in the secret report, it was revealed the UK retail sector  which is the countrys biggest private sector employer  could see its costs rise by 20 per cent after Brexit.

It also revealed the price of food and drink could rise by 16 per cent.

These costs are non-tariff barriers  meaning these are costs businesses will have to factor in before they pay any import or export taxes.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

This means costs could potentially rise higher in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

The analysis said the potential no-deal Brexit could blow a 80bn hole in the public finances.

The papers suggest the government will need to borrow 120bn more over the next 15 years to make up the shortfall. When factoring in a 40bn in potential net gains from leaving the union  including 11bn in saved payments  this leaves a total cost of 80bn.

The Liberal Democrat's Brexit spokesman, Tom Brake, said: This is a damning outlook for Britain. The Tories are putting everything on the line because they do not care about the lives and livelihoods of the people of the UK.

The Government need to start being clear what they are fighting for. They are still keeping no deal on the table despite how crippling it would be to the regional economy.

People did not vote to make themselves poorer. They should be allowed a vote on the final deal and a chance to exit from Brexit.

Labour MP Stephen Doughty, a leading supporter of the Open Britain campaign for close ties with the EU, said: It is utterly shameful that people all across this country are having to rely on leaks to find out how much damage a hard, destructive Brexit will do to their local economies and the country as a whole.

The Government cannot continue to try and hide taxpayer-funded analysis from the public, just because theyre afraid of the political consequences. The full Brexit impact assessments, along with any other economic analysis of Brexit outcomes, must be published in full, now.

And as people learn new facts about the costs of Brexit for their communities and their industries, everyone is entitled to keep an open mind about whether or not its the right path for the country.

Earlier, Brussels released papers showing it wants to put in place a method to rapidly curtail the UKs single market benefits if it breaches agreements on a transition deal.

But the Prime Minister insisted she would be robust in Brexit talks and dismissed noises off from the EU.

Asked during Prime Ministers Questions if she would see off any threats from the EU, Ms May said: We will be robust in our arguments.

As I have said right from the very beginning we will hear noises off, we will hear all sorts of things being said about positions that are being taken.

What matters is the positions we take in the negotiations as we sit down and negotiate the best deal. Weve shown we can do that. We did it in December and we are going to do it again.

 Theresa May says the pessimistic analysis of post-Brexit trade is incomplete

Ministers in the European Union Exit and Trade (Strategy and Negotiations) Sub-committee considered the issues of immigration and Northern Ireland on Wednesday and are expected to discuss the crucial issue of the UKs future relationship with Brussels on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been asked to consider whether Britons living in the 27 other EU member states can retain their rights as EU citizens following Brexit after a case was brought by expats in the Netherlands.

A Government spokesman said of the regional impact studies: This document does not represent Government policy and does not consider the outcome we are seeking in the negotiations.

As ministers clearly set out in the House, this is provisional internal analysis, part of a broad ongoing programme of analysis, and further work is in progress.

We are seeking an unprecedented, comprehensive and ambitious economic partnership  one that works for all parts of the UK. We are not expecting a no deal scenario.
A meeting of the Brexit war Cabinet today is unlikely to achieve a breakthrough on Britains aims for its end state relationship with the EU, a senior minister has admitted.

Theresa May is under huge pressure to end the confusion over her negotiating stance, with business leaders threatening to pull investment from the UK if she dithers for more than a fortnight longer.

But, speaking ahead of the two-day meeting, Business Secretary Greg Clark twice failed to say that senior Cabinet ministers  who have been rowing in public  would be able to end their divisions.

Instead, he argued that business leaders had been given the reassurance they needed with the decision to pursue a transition period, keeping existing trading rules for about two years.

Mr Clark said a series of meetings of the inner Cabinet would be needed before agreement was reached on a long-term deal that meets our objectives.

Pointing instead to the certainty to be provided by the transition period, he said: That was a very important request from business and we were able to achieve that.

The comments suggest that this weeks get-togethers  discussing immigration and Northern Ireland today and trade tomorrow  are merely a taster for further intense talks later this month.

The Prime Minister has been accused of still trying to have her cake and eat it, by vowing to leave the EUs single market and customs union while demanding tariff-free and frictionless trade.

Her task is to somehow achieve a consensus among the ten other ministers in the war Cabinet, who include big figures from both sides of the bitter Tory civil war on Europe.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

Pro-EU ministers include Chancellor Philip Hammond, Home Secretary Amber Rudd and Mr Clark  but with arch-Brexiteers Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, and Trade Secretary Liam Fox also around the table.

Mr Hammond has openly called for only very modest changes after Brexit, while Mr Johnson and Dr Fox have attacked anything short of a clean break from EUs economic structures.

As The Independent reveals today, Mr Johnson is also planning a big speech on Brexit next week, which may trigger further damaging public fall-outs.

Overnight, the British Chambers of Commerce published an open letter to Mrs May, making clear its patience was wearing thin and setting a deadline of two weeks for a decision.

Businesses need those elected to govern our country to make choices  and to deliver a clear, unequivocal statement of intent, the organisations director general and president wrote.

Brussels has also laid bare its frustration over Britains failure to spell out what it wants. The time has come to make a choice, Michel Barnier, the EUs chief Brexit negotiator, said in No 10 this week.

And Keir Starmer, Labours spokesman, said: Sixteen months after Theresa May set out her red lines on Brexit, it is obvious they stand in the way of a progressive partnership with the EU capable of delivering the benefits of the single market and the customs union.

Now is time for the prime minister to deal with the divisions in her Cabinet, and rethink her reckless approach.
The European Commission has defended a plan to impose sanctions on Britain during the Brexit transition period if the UK engages in foul play against EU wishes.

Stefaan De Rynck, an adviser to EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier, said such a power to deal with the UK stepping out of line was part of any agreement that the EU might sign.

Tory Eurosceptics reacted angrily to the inclusion of the power in the EUs draft transition agreement, describing the move as part of a series of silly threats from Brussels.

The legal text, released officially on Wednesday after being leaked the night before, says EU leaders want a mechanism to suspend certain benefits including participation in the internal market if the UK does not abide by the blocs laws and regulations during the two-year transition period after it leaves.

But Mr De Rynck tweeted on Wednesday: The EU responds to PM [Theresa] Mays request to benefit from single market and customs union for a limited time during which all must play by the same rules.

 Can Brexit be reversed?

Foreseeing possibility of sanctions for foul play is of course part of any agreement.

Tory MP Bernard Jenkin had told the BBC the power was an indication of how fearful the EU is that they have to make these silly threats, while Jacob Rees-Mogg said it would be difficult to agree with such measures.

Thank heavens we are leaving an organisation that takes such an aggressive stance when you dont do what you are told, he told The Times newspaper.

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage said: Mrs Mays transition period will be a worse form of EU membership during which the bully boys of Brussels can do what they want to us. We be in Vichy Britain.

Demands for enforcement powers signal growing fears in Brussels that Britain will not abide by its rules during the two-year period, as suspension of single market access would hit financial services, trade of goods and even agreements with airline operators.

The leaked paper states: In addition, the Governance and Dispute Settlement Part of the Withdrawal Agreement should provide for a mechanism allowing the Union to suspend certain benefits deriving for the United Kingdom from participation in the internal market where it considers that referring the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union would not bring in appropriate time the necessary remedies.

Whitehall attempted to play down the significance of the draft text, insisting it would form the basis for a negotiation.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

A Department for Exiting the European Union spokesperson said: This is a draft document produced by the EU that simply reflects their stated directives.

The Secretary of State [David Davis] set out the UKs position in his speech in Teesside last month.

Together these provide a solid foundation for the negotiations on the implementation period which have begun this week with the aim of reaching agreement by the European Council meeting in March.
Brexit preparations risk becoming a "damaging and unmanageable muddle" unless the Government steps up its efforts to get ready for leaving the EU, an influential Commons committee has warned.

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said Whitehall departments have been "too slow" to face up to the realities of leaving the European Union, and "lack a credible plan" on how to cope with more than 300 Brexit-related projects.

Urgent action is needed to recruit staff, streamline decision-making and reduce other commitments, MPs warned, adding: "The real world will not wait for the Government to get its house in order."

It comes as Theresa May geared up for two days of tense meetings with her Brexit "war Cabinet" where senior ministers will thrash out the UK's position on its future relationship with Europe.

With 14 months to go until exit day, the committee said David Davis' Brexit department needed to take the lead by coming up with a "credible" plan to recruit skilled civil servants needed to deliver Brexit and to prevent decisions being mired in "potentially unwieldy and overly-complicated" bureaucracy.

The cross-party MPs demanded "greater transparency" on the costs of delivering Brexit and what progress had been made, as they found the lack of information was "undermining" Parliament's attempts to scrutinise the process.

Eurosceptic Tory Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the committee's deputy chairman, said: The Government has identified over 300 work streams to complete as a consequence of the UKs departure from the EU  a byzantinely complicated task with the potential to become a damaging and unmanageable muddle.

It is concerning that Government departments still have so far to go to put their plans into practice.

DExEU and the Cabinet Office accept the pace of work must accelerate, a point underlined by DExEUs senior civil servant when he told us that there needs to be a sharp focus on the world of the real.

That real world will not wait for the Government to get its house in order.

Civil servants will also have to cope with delivering more than 1,000 new laws before Britain leaves the bloc, prompting warnings from Brexit officials that there will be "minimal room" for any other domestic matters.

Labour MP Ian Murray, a supporter of the Open Britain campaign for a soft Brexit, said the report laid bare how the EU divorce will be a "monumental distraction" from domestic policy for years to come.

He said: "Once again, today we have evidence of how completely unprepared the Government are for delivering it.

The Prime Minister launched the Article 50 process almost a year ago and yet she and her Cabinet still havent discussed, let alone agreed, what they want from the negotiations. The fact is, Brexit on the terms it was promised during the referendum is not deliverable.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

Given the mess the Government is making of the negotiations, it would make much more sense to extend the Article 50 process than to continue stumbling around in the dark.

A Government spokesperson said: "The Government is committed to ensuring that the right skills and resources are available across all departments to deliver a successful Brexit.

"We have built two new departments, the Department for Exiting the EU and the Department for International Trade, to help deliver a smooth and orderly exit from the European Union and forge new bold and ambitious trade agreements across the world.

"And we have repeatedly set out that we are determined to continue recruiting the brightest and the best talent from the public and private sectors and the capability of all departments is regularly reviewed.

"This was made clear by Philip Rycroft, Permanent Secretary at DExEU, who told the Committee that resourcing in his department is kept under constant review, and that is not just about numbers; it is also about the sorts of people recruited by the Department. And we will continue to adapt as need arises.
Theresa May has announced plans to overhaul the rights of millions of workers including those in the UKs gig-economy, promising them better holiday and sick pay rights and stronger contracts.

The Prime Minister also pledged a crackdown on firms using unpaid interns and to hike fines companies face if they mistreat staff.

One business group branded it the biggest shake-up of employment law in generations, but unions gave it a frosty reception and Labour said it did not go far enough.

Recommended UK employment at record high but real wages still falling

The new policies were set out in the Governments response to a review headed by ex-Tony Blair adviser Matthew Taylor, commissioned to explore Britains changing labour market and how workers rights could be better protected.

Ms May said: We recognise the world of work is changing and we have to make sure we have the right structures in place to reflect those changes, enhancing the UKs position as one of the best places in the world to do business.

We are proud to have record levels of employment in this country, but we must also ensure that workers rights are always upheld.

The Taylor Review made 53 recommendations in total, with Ms May confirming on Wednesday that the Government will act on all but one, and would go further than the report suggested in others.

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It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. 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The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA

Measures planned include a list of day one rights, such as holiday and sick pay entitlements and a new right to a payslip, guaranteed for all employees including casual and zero-hours contract workers.

All workers will also gain a new right to request a more stable contract, with the aim of providing more financial security for those on flexible terms.

For the first time workers holiday and sick pay will be enforced, a measure that officials told The Independent could see a government agency actively rooting out and punishing employers who fail to meet standards.

Ministers will also launch a crackdown across sectors where unpaid interns are exploited by being asked to do the job of a worker.

Some employers currently manage to evade paying employment tribunal awards, with officials having little power to do more than chase them for payment.

But under a new scheme, ministers will launch a naming and shaming list of those who have not paid up, in the same way that employers who fail to pay the minimum wage are outed.

The Government will also quadruple to 20,000 employment tribunal fines for employers showing malice, spite or gross oversight towards staff and consider increasing penalties for repeat offenders.

 Uber ordered to treat drivers as workers with employment rights after losing appeal

All 1.2 million British agency workers will be given a clear breakdown of who pays them and any costs or charges deducted from their wages.

The Low Pay Commission will be asked to consider higher minimum-wage rates for workers on zero-hour contracts and ministers will consider repealing laws allowing agencies to employ workers on cheaper rates.

The Government has taken a baby step  when it needed to take a giant leap TUC General Secretary Frances OGrady

There will also be a drive to promote awareness and take-up of the right to flexible working, to make sure new mothers know their workplace rights and raise awareness among employers of their obligations.

A new campaign to encourage more working parents to share childcare through the shared parental leave initiative introduced in 2015 will be launched.

Four consultations to flesh out the measures proposed by the Government will be launched immediately, to be completed in coming months.

Labours Rebecca Long Bailey said the measures do not go nearly far enough (Rex)

Director general of the Institute of Directors Stephen Martin said: This could be the biggest shake-up of employment law in generations.

It is right, therefore, that Government proceeds cautiously by consulting widely.

But TUC general secretary Frances OGrady said the Government had taken a baby step  when it needed to take a giant leap.

She added: These plans wont stop the hire and fire culture of zero-hours contracts or sham self-employment, and they will still leave 1.8 million workers excluded from key protections.

Frances OGrady, the general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said a giant leap, rather than a baby step, was needed (AFP)

Ministers need to up their game. At the very least they must end the undercutters charter that means agency workers can be paid less than permanent staff doing the same job.

Shadow Business Secretary Rebecca Long Bailey said launching consultations and considering proposals is not good enough.

She went on: Todays response is just more words with no real action to improve the lives of the millions of people in insecure work.

Theresa Mays failure to strengthen workers rights is having a real impact on peoples lives.

Labour warned that the review did not go far enough, and yet the Government has failed to adequately meet even the most basic of recommendations.
A cabinet minister has warned that the Conservatives do not have a proper campaign plan in place, despite facing wipeout in London at the coming local elections.

The frontbencher told The Independent the situation the party faced was really bad, confirming the findings of polling released earlier this year.

He also confirmed the party is taking seriously the possibility it will lose the flagship council Wandsworth in the capital, along with Westminster and Barnet.

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It comes as others in the party have warned that a dire show in the local elections in May could lead to a fresh assault on Theresa Mays leadership.

Polling undertaken by the Conservative election analyst Lord Hayward showed in January that the Conservatives could lose more than half their London boroughs in crucial elections in May.

The Independent reported more than two weeks ago that Labour had launched its London campaign, with Mayor Sadiq Khan citing Barnet and Wandsworth as key targets.

But the Conservative Cabinet minister told The Independent: Things are looking really bad in London.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 September 2021 Troops from Wiltshire based 4 Armoured Close Support Battalion Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers during final inspection at Wellington Barracks in London, ahead of providing troops for the Queens Guard PA UK news in pictures 8 September 2021 Workers cross London Bridge during the morning rush hour in London Reuters UK news in pictures Mixing it up: Painting it up press view in London A gallery employee poses for photographers next to a painting entitled Prairie by British artist, Louise Giovanelli during the exhibition 'Mixing it up: Painting it up' at the Hayward Gallery in London EPA UK news in pictures 6 September 2021 Traders in the Ring at the London Metal Exchange, in the City of London, after open-outcry trading returned for the first time since March 2020, when the Ring was temporarily closed due to the pandemic PA UK news in pictures 5 September 2021 People enjoy the warm weather on Sandbanks beach, Poole PA UK news in pictures 4 September 2021 Demonstrators from Animal Rebellion and Nature Rebellion protest in Trafalgar Square in London. PA UK news in pictures 3 September 2021 South Africa's Ntando Mahlangu (centre) wins the Men's 200 metres T61 Final ahead of second placed Great Britain's Richard Whitehead at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games PA UK news in pictures 2 September 2021 A young common seal on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as hundreds of pregnant grey seals come ashore ready for the start of the pupping season. PA UK news in pictures 1 September 2021 Goldfinches fighting over food in a garden in Strensham, Worcestershire PA UK news in pictures 31 August 2021 Gold Medallist Sarah Storey of Britain celebrates on the podium Reuters UK news in pictures 30 August 2021 Extinction Rebellion protesters hold a a tea party on Tower Bridge in London EPA UK news in pictures 29 August 2021 A police office tussles with a demonstrator on Cromwell Road outside the Natural History Museum during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion in London PA UK news in pictures 28 August 2021 Members of the British armed forces 16 Air Assault Brigade walk to the air terminal after disembarking a Royal Airforce Voyager aircraft at Brize Norton, Oxfordshire POOL/AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 27 August 2021 Fabio Quartararo crashes during a MotoGP practice session at the British Grand Prix, Silverstone Circuit Action Images via Reuters UK news in pictures 26 August 2021 An Extinction Rebellion activist holds a placard in a fountain surrounded by police officers, during a protest next to Buckingham Palace in London Reuters UK news in pictures 25 August 2021 Gold Medallist Great Britains cyclist, Sarah Storey, celebrates after winning the Womens C5 3000m Individual Pursuit Final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. It was her 15th Paralympic gold Reuters UK news in pictures 24 August 2021 A demonstrator dressed as bee during a protest by members of Extinction Rebellion on Whitehall, in central London PA UK news in pictures 23 August 2021 Former interpreters for the British forces in Afghanistan demonstrate outside the Home Office in central London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 22 August 2021 Police officers form a line in front of the entrance to the Guildhall, London, where protesters have climbed onto a ledge above the entrance during an Extinction Rebellion stage a protest PA UK news in pictures 21 August 2021 People take part in a demonstration in solidarity with people of Afghanistan, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 20 August 2021 People zip wire across the sea from Bournemouth pier towards the beach. PA UK news in pictures 19 August 2021 Supporters of Geronimo the alpaca gather outside Shepherds Close Farm in Wooton Under Edge, Gloucestershire PA UK news in pictures 18 August 2021 Former Afghan interpreters and veterans hold a demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for support and protection for Afghan interpreters and their families PA UK news in pictures 17 August 2021 Military personnel board the RAF Airbus A400M at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, where evacuation flights from Afghanistan have been landing Reuters UK news in pictures 16 August 2021 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer takes part in a minute's silence at Wolverhampton police station for the victims of the Plymouth mass shooting last week PA UK news in pictures 15 August 2021 2Storm, a ten-metre tall puppet of a mythical goddess of the sea created by Edinburgh-based visual theatre company Vision Mechanics, makes its way alongside the seafront at North Berwick, East Lothian, during a performance at the Fringe By The Sea festival PA UK news in pictures 14 August 2021 A woman and two young girls look at floral tributes in Plymouth where six people, including the offender, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident PA UK news in pictures 13 August 2021 Forensic officers in the Keyham area of Plymouth where six people, including the shooter, died of gunshot wounds in a firearms incident on Thursday evening PA UK news in pictures 12 August 2021 Children ride horses in the River Eden in Appleby, Cumbria, during the annual gathering of travellers for the Appleby Horse Fair PA UK news in pictures 11 August 2021 Stella Moris (left) reacts after talking to the media outside the High Court in London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal, n London, following the first hearing in the Julian Assange extradition appeal. The US government has won the latest round in its High Court bid to appeal against the decision not to extradite Julian Assange on espionage charges PA UK news in pictures 10 August 2021 Students react after they receive their A-Level results at the Ark Academy, in London Reuters UK news in pictures 9 August 2021 The final athletes from Great Britain arrive home including Jason Kenny, Laura Kenny and Katie Archibald (front left-right) at Heathrow Airport, London following the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games PA UK news in pictures 8 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny during the closing ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Olympic stadium in Japan PA UK news in pictures 7 August 2021 People from the Glasgow Southside community take part in the Govanhill Carnival, an anti-racist celebration of pride, unity and the contributions immigrants have made to the community in Govanhill, at Queen's Park, Glasgow PA UK news in pictures 6 August 2021 Chijindu Ujah of Britain, Zharnel Hughes of Britain, Richard Kilty of Britain and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake of Britain celebrate winning silver as they pose with Asha Philip of Britain, Imani Lansiquot of Britain, Dina Asher-Smith of Britain and Daryll Neita of Britain after they won bronze in the women's 4 x 100m relay during Olympic Games Day 14 Getty UK news in pictures 5 August 2021 A protester places flowers on a photograph of an executed man during a demonstration organised by supporters of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) to protest against the inauguration of Iran's new president Ebrahim Raisi in central London AFP via Getty UK news in pictures 4 August 2021 England's Joe Root looks on as India's KL Rahul doesn't make it to a catch during day one of Cinch First Test match at Trent Bridge, Nottingham PA UK news in pictures 3 August 2021 Great Britain's Laura Kenny and Jason Kenny with their silver medals for the Women's Team Pursuit and Mens Team Sprint during the Track Cycling at the Izu Velodrome on the eleventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 2 August 2021 Great Britains Charlotte Worthington competes during the Womens BMX Freestyle Final at the Tokyo Olympics PA UK news in pictures 1 August 2021 EPA UK news in pictures 31 July 2021 James Guy, Adam Peaty and Kathleen Dawson celebrate winning the gold medal in the mixed 4x100m medley relay final at the Tokyo Olympics AP UK news in pictures 30 July 2021 Great Britain's Bethany Shriever and Kye Whyte celebrate their Gold and Silver medals respectively for the Cycling BMX Racing at the Ariake Urban Sports Park on the seventh day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Japan PA UK news in pictures 29 July 2021 Team GB's Mallory Franklin during the Womens Canoe Slalom Final on day six of the Tokyo Olympic Games. She went on to win the silver medal Getty UK news in pictures 28 July 2021 Canoers on Llyn Padarn lake in Snowdonia, Gwynedd. It was announced that the north-west Wales slate landscape has been granted UNESCO World Heritage Status PA UK news in pictures 27 July 2021 A view of one of two areas now being used at a warehouse facility in Dover, Kent, for boats used by people thought to be migrants. PA UK news in pictures 26 July 2021 A woman is helped by Border Force officers as a group of people thought to be migrants are brought in to Dover, Kent, onboard a Border Force vessel, following a small boat incident in the Channel PA UK news in pictures 25 July 2021 Vehicles drive through deep water on a flooded road in Nine Elms, London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 24 July 2021 Utilities workers inspect a 15x20ft sinkhole on Green Lane, Liverpool, which is suspected to have been caused by ruptured water main PA UK news in pictures 23 July 2021 Children interact with Mega Please Draw Freely by artist Ei Arakawa inside the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern in London, part of UNIQLO Tate Play the gallery's new free programme of art-inspired activities for families PA UK news in pictures 22 July 2021 Festivalgoers in the campsite at the Latitude festival in Henham Park, Southwold, Suffolk PA

We havent yet got our campaign plans in place for the local elections.

Asked if they seriously believed the Conservatives will lose strongholds Barnet and Wandsworth, the minister said: Yes.

Wandsworth has been a Tory flagship council since Margaret Thatchers heyday and in the 1980s pioneered the contracting out of council services, which is at the heart of Jeremy Corbyns attack on Government policy.

The council has also consistently had among the lowest levels of council tax in the country, making any victory for Labour there hugely symbolic.

The 2014 election left Barnet on a knife edge with 32 Tory seats and 30 Labour seats, making it ripe for a Labour victory, while losing Westminster would also be a political kick in the teeth for Ms Mays party.

A string of high-profile defeats is likely to make key London MPs begin to worry about their own constituencies, including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, given Labour activists have launched a campaign to unseat him in Uxbridge.

Conservative MPs have said that if the local elections lead to a complete meltdown, with Tories losing out in both London and Birmingham to Labour, then Ms May could face a further leadership challenge.
A pro-EU Tory has vowed to challenge Theresa Mays Brexit policy by giving MPs the chance to vote for the Norway option, to keep the UK inside the single market.

Stephen Hammond  who has been branded a mutineer by pro-Brexit newspapers  announced he would table amendments to the Trade Bill.

It will give the whole house the opportunity to discuss EFTA (staying in the European Free Trade Association), Mr Hammond said.

The Government has repeatedly ruled out a Norway-style arrangement  under which Britain would join EFTA at least in the short term  because it would require retaining free movement of EU citizens.

But a growing number of Conservative backbenchers have suggested it as an option, to avoid a damaging cliff edge for businesses if the talks to agree a transition period falter.

Mr Hammond revealed his move at the end of a debate on EFTA in Westminster Hall, the second Commons chamber, during which he described the Governments stance as disappointing.

The feeling I detect from the chamber is that the whole house would like to have the chance to reflect upon this, he said, stating his amendment would be tabled later on Wednesday.

During the debate, a further nine Tory MPs expressed some support for the EFTA option  potentially enough to defeat the Government, if Labour also voted for it.

James Cartlidge, MP for South Suffolk, said EFTA offered the best transition, adding: If Carlsberg did off-the-shelf, last-minute Brexit deals that pleased everybody, it would look an awful lot like EEA-EFTA.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

Another Conservative MP, Paul Masterton, told ministers that EFTA did not have to be a final destination, but offered a safe harbour, a staging point while a free trade agreement was reached.

And Antoinette Sandbach, also a Tory MP, argued that EFTA would provide a soft landing if a deal was not reached with the EU before the 2019 exit date.

The amendment will be the second Conservative challenge to the Prime Ministers strategy, using the Trade Bill  needed to set in place post-Brexit trading rules  as the vehicle.

Two rebel Tories, Ken Clarke and Anna Soubry, will support a cross-party amendment to keep the UK inside the customs union.

Responding in the EFTA debate, Brexit minister Robin Walker said the Government also opposed the idea because the UK would have to accept new EU rules with no say over them.

But he added that ministers do not currently plan to seek membership of EFTA  the word currently immediately raising eyebrows.

The EFTA is made up of Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, plus Switzerland, with all but the latter also members of the European Economic Area (EEA)  and therefore, in the single market.

The Independent revealed, last year, that Britain risks a fight in international courts if it tries to quit the EEA without formally telling its other members 12 months in advance, to avoid disrupting their trade.

Meanwhile, Mr Clarke said the vast majority of MPs supported staying in the single market and the customs union.

If you introduce tariffs, if you introduce customs barriers, train customs officers, start introducing checks, if you start having regulatory differences either side of the border, you damage your economy, the former Chancellor said.
Theresa May has stoked fears that the NHS will be for sale in a trade deal with the US after Brexit, after refusing to say it will be excluded from the talks.

The Prime Minister was warned that a key objective for Washington would be gaining access to the health service, which is being opened up to more private firms.

Can she give an absolute guarantee that, in those negotiations, the NHS will be excluded from their scope asked Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat leader.

Can she confirm that, in her conversations with President Trump, she has made it absolutely clear to him the NHS is not for sale?

But, in her reply, during Prime Ministers Questions in the Commons, Ms May said it was too early to judge what requirements the US would have in those post-Brexit trade talks.

Her answer failed to mention the NHS at all, instead saying negotiations were already starting to try to boost trans-Atlantic trade, even before Britain leaves the EU.

The Prime Minister added: He doesnt know what they are going to say are their requirements for that free trade agreement.

We will go into those negotiations to get the best possible deal for the United Kingdom.

The comments were seized on by Peter Kyle, a Labour MP and supporter of the pro-EU Open Britain campaign, who said: Theresa May just gave Donald Trump the green light to get his hands on our National Health Service.

The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Show all 8 1 /8 The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Post-Brexit immigration workers sorting radishes on a production line at a farm in Norfolk. One possible post-Brexit immigration scheme could struggle to channel workers towards less attractive roles - while another may heighten the risk of labour exploitation, a new report warns. PA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Customs union A key point in the negotiations remains Britain's access to, or withdrawal from, the EU customs union. Since the referendum there has been hot debate over the meaning of Brexit: would it entail a full withdrawal from the existing agreement, known as hard Brexit, or the soft version in which we would remain part of a common customs area for most goods, as Turkey does? No 10 has so far insisted that Brexit means Brexit and that Britain will be leaving the customs union, but may be inclined to change its position once the potential risks to the UKs economic outlook become clearer. Alamy The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Northern Ireland-Irish border Though progress was made last year, there has still been no solid agreement on whether there should be a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. To ensure borderless travel on the island, the countries must be in regulatory alignment and therefore adhere to the same rules as the customs union. In December, the Conservative Partys coalition partners, the DUP, refused a draft agreement that would place the UK/EU border in the Irish Sea due to its potential to undermine the union. May has promised that would not be the case and has suggested that a specific solution would need to be found. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Transition period Despite protests from a small number of Conservative MPs, the Government and the EU are largely in agreement that a transitional period is needed after Brexit. The talks, however, have reached an impasse. Though May has agreed that the UK will continue to contribute to the EU budget until 2021, the PM wants to be able to select which laws made during this time the UK will have to adhere to. Chief negotiator Michel Barnier has said the UK must adopt all of the laws passed during the transition, without any input from British ministers or MEPs. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Rights of EU citizens living the UK The Prime Minister has promised EU citizens already living in the UK the right to live and work here after Brexit, but the rights of those who arrive after Brexit day remains unclear. May insists that those who arrive during the transition period should not be allowed to stay, whereas the EU believe the cut-off point should be later. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreement (with the EU) Despite this being a key issue in negotiations, the Government has yet to lay out exactly what it wants from a trade deal with the EU. Infighting within the Cabinet has prevented a solid position from being reached, with some MPs content that "no deal is better than a bad deal" while others rally behind single market access. The EU has already confirmed that access to the single market would be impossible without the UK remaining in the customs union. Getty The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Future trade agreements (internationally) The Government has already begun trying to woo foreign leaders into prospective trade agreements, with various high profile state visits to China, India and Canada for May, and the now infamous invitation to US President Donald Trump to visit London. However the UK cannot make trade agreements with another country while it is still a member of the EU, and the potential loss of trade with the world's major powers is a source of anxiety for the PM. The EU has said the UK cannot secure trade deals during the transition period. EPA The biggest issues facing UK on leaving EU Financial services Banks in the UK will be hit hard regardless of the Brexit outcome. The EU has refused to give British banks passporting rights to trade within the EU, dashing hopes of a special City deal. However according to new reports Germany has suggested allowing trade on the condition that the UK continues paying into the EU budget even after the transition period. Getty

Her refusal to rule out opening up the NHS to US health giants underlines her weakness in trade negotiations and should concern us all, Mr Kyle added.

And the Green Party co-leader, and champion of the pro-EU Best for Britain group, Caroline Lucas said: The Prime Ministers refusal to guarantee protection for the NHS in a US trade deal was truly shocking.

Make no mistake, an extreme Brexit is a profound threat to our health service  and MPs who love the NHS need to oppose the Tory Brexit plans.

Later, No 10 tried to repair the damage done, insisting any trade deals after Brexit would ensure decisions about public services continue to be made by UK governments, not trade partners.

As we leave the EU, the UK will continue to ensure that rigorous protections for the NHS are included in all trade agreements it is party to, the Prime Ministers spokesman added.

He pointed out that Ms May had previously pledged that the NHS is not for sale and it never will be.

However, the clash over the US potentially targeting the NHS comes after research found that the proportion of health service contracts being won by non-NHS firms ballooned to almost 70 per cent last year.

Private care providers were awarded 267 out of a total of 386 contracts made available in 2016-17  taking spending up by 700m to 3.1bn.

Critics say this rising privatisation has opened the door to US health firms, who already view the NHS as a gold mine  even before talks on a trade deal after Brexit.

Furthermore, Ms May is already under fire for failing to challenge the US President after he mounted an attack on the NHS describing it broke and not working.

The two leaders shared a phone call on Tuesday night, discussing a new US law allowing American authorities to access data held overseas in order to tackle crime and terrorism.

However, No 10 confirmed the Prime Minister did not raise Mr Trumps Twitter outburst against the health service  despite Jeremy Hunt, the Health Secretary, condemning it.
One in five people working in Westminster have experienced sexual harassment in the last 12 months, a shocking report has revealed.

The explosive document, leaked to The Independent ahead of publication, lays bare the extent of the bullying and harassment in Parliament, following a slew of allegations in British politics that ranged from inappropriate behaviour to groping and rape.

The figures now in the public domain were compiled in a survey commissioned by MPs which questioned all types of worker on the parliamentary estate, as party leaders looked for evidence to inform proposals to stamp out abuse.

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The survey  which found women reporting twice as many incidents as men  was released by Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom on Thursday, along with recommendations for a new independent grievance procedure for staff working in Westminster.

It comes after Parliament celebrated the centenary of giving some women the vote, and amid the ongoing allegations about Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, which triggered the #MeToo movement to expose sexual harassment across the world.

A source close to the MPs working group that produced the report, said: What is critically important for whether [new measures] succeed or not is that it changes culture, and people who work in Parliament feel that they are able to come forward without risking their future careers.

You have a situation where 19 per cent, almost a fifth of people, are complaining that they have experienced or witnessed sexual harassment or inappropriate sexual behaviour here, versus the fact that the present respect policy has never had a complaint about sexual harassment.

Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Show all 42 1 /42 Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Harvey Weinstein Harry Weinsteins reputation as one of Hollywoods leading executives was long cemented in stone. The acclaimed movie mogul, who produced Oscar-winning films Shakespeare in Love, The English Patient, and The Artist, clocked up box office successes and accolades aplenty. But this has quickly changed since a chorus of women have come forward to accuse the Hollywood producer of sexual harassment and assault. Since the New York Times bombshell report disclosed sexual harassment and rape allegations against the film mogul dating back decades, Weinstein has been fired from his namesake company, expelled from the Oscars and has had his wife leave him. Weinstein has apologised for having caused a lot of pain but has denied all allegations of nonconsensual sex. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Annabella Sciorra The Sopranos actor alleged Weinstein raped her after shooting The Night We Never Met, a 1993 movie that Weinstein produced. Similar to the stories told by other women, Weinstein drove the actor home, only to reportedly burst into Sciorra's apartment and start unbuttoning his shirt. He shoved me onto the bed, and he got on top of me, Sciorra said. I kicked and I yelled. Weinstein then allegedly locked her arms and forced sexual intercourse on her. After the incident, Sciorra found it increasingly hard to get work, many filmmakers saying 'We heard you were difficult', something the actor claims was because of the 'Weinstein-machine'. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Natassia Malthe The model and actress, who has appeared in around 50 films, said she met Weinstein at a BAFTA after party in 2008 while she was working as a spokeswoman for LG. She told a press conference in New York that she felt pressured into telling Weinstein she was staying at the Sanderson Hotel after being put on the spot. Malthe, now 43, said after her shift on February 10 she went back to her room and went to sleep, but was awoken by "repeated pounding" on her door, from someone yelling: "Open the door Natassia Malthe, it's Harvey Weinstein." Feeling humiliated, she said she opened the door. She alleged Weinstein began implying sex would get her a role in an upcoming film while semi-undressed and then he began to masturbate. "I was sitting on the bed talking to Harvey when he pushed me back and forced himself onto me. It was not consensual. He did not use a condom," she said. AP Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Sean Young The actor, best known for her role in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, said that Weinstein exposed himself to her in the early 1990s, when she was starring in the Miramax-produced Love Crimes - a production company that Weinstein headed at the time. "I personally experienced him pulling his you-know-what out of his pants to shock me," she said. "My basic response was, 'You know, Harvey, I really dont think you should be pulling that thing out, its not very pretty.'" Young never worked with Weinstein again after the incident. Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Mimi Haleyi Mimi Haleyi said she was assaulted by Weinstein in what appeared to be a child's bedroom in his New York City apartment in 2006 when she was in her 20s. She said she was aspiring to work in television and film production when she was first introduced to him at the London premiere of The Aviator around two years earlier and he helped her get experience on the set of a TV show being produced by The Weinstein Company. But, she added, he repeatedly hassled her and even tried to force himself through her front door in an effort to get her to join him on a trip to Paris. At one point he allegedly forcibly performed oral sex on an aspiring production assistant while she was on her period. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lupita Nyong'o In an op-ed for The New York Times, the Oscar-winning actor said she was invited to Weinsteins family home in Connecticut on the premise of watching a film shortly after they met in 2011. But she said shortly after it started he "insisted" in front of his children that she follow him and she was led to his bedroom. The Kenyan-Mexican actress, now 34, said she felt pressured into giving him a massage after he offered her one. "Before long he said he wanted to take off his pants," she wrote."I told him not to do that and informed him that it would make me extremely uncomfortable. He got up anyway to do so and I headed for the door, saying that I was not at all comfortable with that." Over the years that followed, he continued to get in touch, Nyong'o said, and when she declined another proposition she felt her career was threatened. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lena Headey Writing on social media, the Game of Thrones actor claims she first met Weinstein at the Venice Film Festival in 2005 where, after taking her for a walk by the water, he made some suggestive comment and gesture. Headey claims she bumped into Weinstein years later where he kept asking her questions about her love life. She alleges that, when Weinstein invited her to his hotel room to show her a script, the "energy shifted. The actor notes how, after saying she was not interesting in anything but the work, Weinstein was furious, apparently marching her back to a lift, "grabbing and holding tightly to the back of [her] arm." She claims that, after paying for her car, he whispered in her ear: "Don't tell anyone about this, not your manager, not your agent. Headey finished the post, writing: I got in the car and I cried. Getty Images Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lucia Evans The actor told The New Yorker that after a meeting to discuss casting her in various projects, Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him. I said, over and over, I dont want to do this, stop, dont. She added: Hes a big guy. He overpowered me. I just sort of gave up. Thats the most horrible part of it, and thats why hes been able to do this for so long to so many women: people give up, and then they feel like its their fault. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Laura Madden Madden, a production assistant who worked at Miramax for a decade, told the Times that Weinstein allegedly prodded her for massages at hotels, a common theme among the sources the Timess reporters spoke with. On one occasion, she claims she locked herself in his hotel bathroom, sobbing Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Ashley Judd Judd recounted for the Times how Weinstein allegedly harassed her while she was filming Kiss the Girls in 1996, inviting her to his hotel room and asking her for a massage, then inviting her to watch him shower. Judd first went public with the allegations in a 2015 interview with Variety during which she discussed the experience without naming the producer involved. She described Weinsteins alleged behaviour as coercive bargaining; I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask, she told the Times AFP/Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Rose McGowan McGowan reportedly reached a previously undisclosed $100,000 settlement with Weinstein in 1997, over an incident that occurred in a hotel room Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Mimi Haleyi Mimi Haleyi said she was assaulted by Weinstein in what appeared to be a child's bedroom in his New York City apartment in 2006 when she was in her 20s. She said she was aspiring to work in television and film production when she was first introduced to him at the London premiere of The Aviator around two years earlier and he helped her get experience on the set of a TV show being produced by The Weinstein Company. But, she added, he repeatedly hassled her and even tried to force himself through her front door in an effort to get her to join him on a trip to Paris. At one point he allegedly forcibly performed oral sex on an aspiring production assistant while she was on her period. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Emily Nestor Nestor had been temping at the Weinstein Company for only one day in 2014 when Weinstein allegedly offered to boost her career in return for sexual favours, according to the Times. She declined and reportedly complained of his behaviour to colleagues, who later passed the information on to senior executives. An internal Weinstein Company document cited by the Times describes Nestors encounter with Weinstein as follows: She said he was very persistent and focused though she kept saying no for over an hour Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Ambra Battilana In March 2015, Battilana, an aspiring model and actress, was reportedly summoned to Weinsteins office on a Friday night to discuss her career. According to a police report cited by the Times, Battilana claimed she was assaulted by Weinstein, who grabbed her breasts after asking if they were real and put his hands up her skirt. Weinstein later claimed that Battilana had set him up, according to colleagues of his who were interviewed by the Times. The Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, later declined to press charges, and according to the Times, made a payment to Battilana. On 5 October, the International Business Times reported that after Vance dropped the charges, he received $10,000 from Weinsteins lawyer Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lauren OConnor Lauren OConnor, an employee of the Weinstein Company, penned a memo to executives alleging a toxic environment for women at the company. The memo cited numerous incidents of Weinstein harassing or coercing women who worked for him. She expressed fear that Weinstein was using her and other female employees to facilitate liaisons with vulnerable women who hope he will get them work. That same year, Weinstein allegedly reached a settlement with OConnor Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Kate Beckinsale The actor, who starred in the Weinstein Company films Serendipity and The Aviator, alleges that she was invited to Weinsteins hotel room at the age of just 17. When she approached the door, the producer reportedly greeted her dressed in just a dressing gown. I was incredibly naive and young and it did not cross my mind that this older, unattractive man would expect me to have any sexual interest in him, she wrote on Instagram. After declining alcohol and announcing that I had school in the morning I left, uneasy but unscathed. Theo Wargo/Getty Images Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Gwyneth Paltrow The actor alleges that after he cast her in the title role of the film Emma when she was 22, he took her to his hotel room, placed his hands on her and suggested massages. I was a kid, I was signed up, I was petrified, Paltrow told the New York Times. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Asia Argento Italian actress Asia Argento has alleged that in 1997 Weinstein forcibly performed oral sex on her as she repeatedly told him to stop. When I see him, it makes me feel little and stupid and weak, Argento told The New Yorker. After the rape, he won. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Cara Delevigne The British model and actress penning an Instagram post claiming that Weinstein had ordered her to kiss another woman in his hotel room, and tried to kiss her on the lips. AFP/Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Ashley Judd Ashley Judd said she rebuffed Harvey Weinsteins unwanted sexual advances by offering to consent only after she had won an Oscar. When she was initially invited to a meeting with Weinstein, Judd said, she was surprised to learn the producer was in his hotel room - a tactic that recurs in other womens accounts. Echoing the accounts of other women, Judd said Weinstein suggested she give him a massage and then invited her to watch him shower. After a volley of nos she said she would only after she wins an Oscar, fleeing after making the comments. Reuters/Mike Segar Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Judith Godreche French actress Judith Godreche said when she was 24 Weinstein invited her to his hotel room and asked to give her a massage. The next thing I know, hes pressing against me and pulling off my sweater, she told the New York Times. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Mira Sorvino The Oscar-winning actor said she found herself in a hotel room with Weinstein in 1995 where he started massaging my shoulders, which made me very uncomfortable, and then tried to get more physical, sort of chasing me around. According to an interview in The New Yorker Weinstein subsequently arrived at her apartment late at night and she had to call a friend to come over to pose as her boyfriend in order to get Weinstein out of the house. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Katherine Kendall The actress said Weinstein undressed and chased her around a living room when she was just 23. She subsequently felt that telling others meant Ill never work again and no one is going to care or believe me, she told the New York Times. WireImage Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Tomi-Anne Roberts As an aspiring actress and working in a restaurant in New York, Tomi-Ann Roberts encountered Weinstein who encouraged her to audition for one of his films back in 1984. She subsequently went to meet him and found him naked in the bath and invited her to get naked and get into the bath with him, she told the New York Times. She said she left feeling manipulated. Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Myleen Klass It has also been alleged that the disgraced film producer propositioned Myleene Klass with a sex contract at Cannes Film Festival in 2010. One of the singer and television personalitys friends reportedly told The Sun, Klass had told Weinstein to f*** off. Getty Images Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Sophie Dix Sophie Dix, best known for her role as Captain Sadie Williams in Soldier Soldier, described her encounter with Weinstein when she was 23 as the single most damaging thing thats happened in my life. She told The Guardian Weinstein had pushed her to her bed and was tugging at her clothes. She rushed to the bathroom to escape, but when she came out she found him standing there masturbating. I quickly closed the door again and locked it, she said. Then when I heard room service come to the door I just ran. Rex Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lea Seydoux The actor and director claims she had to fight off Weinstein after he brought her to his hotel room during what she remembers to be 2012. He suddenly jumped on me and tried to kiss me. I had to defend myself. Hes big and fat, so I had to be forceful to resist him. I left his room, thoroughly disgusted, she wrote in The Guardian. AFP/Getty Images Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Claire Forlani British actress Claire Forlani wrote on Twitter that she had evaded Weinsteins advances on five occasions at the age of 25. At meetings with the Hollywood a-lister, she says massage was suggested, and that Weinstein had boasted of all the women hed had sex with. Mark Douet Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Florence Darel French actress Florence Darel claimed Weinstein relentlessly pursued her in the mid 1990's and propositioned her while Eve Chilton, his wife at the time, was in the hotel room next door. I was astonished, she told People magazine. When you have someone so physically disgusting in front of you, continuing and continuing as though this was all perfectly normal What happened to me may not be illegal but it was inappropriate. Very inappropriate. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lysette Anthony Lysette Anthony, who starred as Marnie Nightingale in Hollyoaks, has claimed Weinstein raped her in the late 1980's after turning up to her London home in the late 1980s. She described the disgraced film producers alleged attack as pathetic and revolting and said it left her feeling disgusted and embarrassed. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Dawn Dunning Dunning said she met Weinstein in 2003 when she was 24-years-old and the disgraced film producer suggested she have a threesome with him and someone else. She told the New York Times Weinstein got angry when she refused. Youll never make it in this business, she said he told her as she left. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Arquette was already well known for her role in Desperately Seeking Susan, when she said she met Weinstein at his hotel to pick up a script in the early nineties. Weinstein was dressed only in a dressing gown, and tried to put her hand on his erect penis. Speaking to the New York Times, Arquette said as she left she told him: I will never be that girl. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Emma de Caunes Caunes, a French actor, claimed Weinstein took her to his hotel room in 2010 supposedly to retrieve a book he was making into a film, but once there he went into the bathroom. De Caunes said he then emerged naked, with an erection and told her to lie on the bed. She fled the room. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Zoe Brock Model Zoe claimed that she had to lock herself in a bathroom at Weinsteins hotel in 1997, after the mogul had sent all of the assistants out of the room, and then appeared naked. I was alone with Weinstein, she told ITVs This Morning programme. He very quickly left the room and came back naked. He chased me naked. Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Jessica Barth Actress Jessica Barth described an encounter with Weinstein in 2011 in an interview with The New Yorker in which she said Weinstein veered between offering her roles in films and demanding a naked massage. She alleges the producer said to her: So, what would happen if, say, were having some champagne and I take my clothes off and you give me a massage? When she tried to leave, he then promised to give her the number of a female executive at the company. He gave me her number, and I walked out and I started bawling, Barth said. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Romola Garai The actress told The Guardian she felt violated after she went to a meeting with Weinstein at the age of 18 and he met her in his hotel room wearing nothing but a dressing gown. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Heather Graham Graham claimed that during a casting opportunity in the early 2000's Weinstein had told her he had an open relationship with his wife. He could sleep with whomever he wanted when he was out of town. I walked out of the meeting feeling uneasy, Graham told Variety. There was no explicit mention that to star in one of those films I had to sleep with him, but the subtext was there. Graham was never hired to work in a Weinstein film. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Jessica Hynes Spaced and W1A star Jessica Hynes tweeted about an encounter with Weinstein earlier this week, but subsequently deleted the tweet. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Lucia Evans The actor told The New Yorker that after a meeting to discuss casting her in various projects, Weinstein forced her to perform oral sex on him. I said, over and over, I dont want to do this, stop, dont. She added: Hes a big guy. He overpowered me. I just sort of gave up. Thats the most horrible part of it, and thats why hes been able to do this for so long to so many women: people give up, and then they feel like its their fault. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Louisette Geiss The former actress said she met Weinstein to pitch a film script she was working on. During the meeting, Weinstein allegedly went out and reappeared naked and got into a jacuzzi where he masturbated in front of her and said he would make the script into a film if she stayed and watched. Getty Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Liza Campbell Liza Campbell, a British writer and artist, alleged that Olympically ugly Weinstein asked her to join him in the bath and began getting undressed at a hotel. In a piece for The Times, Campbell claimed she was forced to sprint to the door to escape. Rex Features Harvey Weinstein: his accusers Louise Godbold Writing in a blog post, Louise Godbold, a non-profit director in Los Angeles, said her encounter with Weinstein took the form of an office tour that became an occasion to trap me in an empty meeting room. She said then Weinstein was begging for a massage, his hands on my shoulders as I attempted to beat a retreat.

Theresa May set up the cross-party working group of MPs and staff to root out abuse in Parliament amid growing pressure to curb sexual harassment in industries ranging from Hollywood to the hospitality sector.

The parliament-wide survey, which spoke to 1,377 workers, also revealed 39 per cent of staff, MPs and peers had experienced bullying and harassment of some sort while on the estate.

Of those suffering bullying or harassment, 45 per cent were women and 35 per cent were male.

The proposals, published with the survey by Ms Leadsom on Thursday, recommended establishing an independent grievance procedure to make it easier for victims to report complaints.

There is also expected to be a new HR system for MPs staff, who are currently directly employed by politicians, making it difficult for staffers to complain about their bosses.

The report recommended considering tougher sanctions against those who have behaved inappropriately - such as suspension or expulsion for MPs and peers - while the independent parliamentary commissioner for standards would make final decisions on cases.

 'Me Too' movement - thousands of women take to social media

There would also be training for MPs and staff around better employment practices.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon was forced to resign last year when the Westminster scandal was at its height following allegations of sexual misconduct.

MPs Stephen Crabb, Chris Pincher and Daniel Kawczynski were all investigated by the Conservative Party over allegations of sexual misconduct. They were all cleared by the partys new disciplinary panel.

However, outstanding allegations are still being considered against Tory MP Dan Poulter and Dover MP Charlie Elphicke, who has had the whip removed.

 Michael Fallon announces resignation as Defence Secretary

Labour MPs Ivan Lewis and Kelvin Hopkins have both been referred to the partys ruling body following allegations of inappropriate behaviour. They both deny the claims.

Unveiling the report, Ms Leadsom said: "This is a big day for Parliament and our politics. The new independent procedure will demonstrate that we want to be the best parliament in the world when it comes to treating everyone who works here with dignity and respect.

"This is a major step in bringing about the culture change that Parliament needs."

After the Weinstein allegations emerged, the #MeToo phenomenon went viral across the globe, as a hashtag used on social media to help demonstrate the prevalence of sexual assault and harassment.

It has led to wide-ranging allegations being made, including in Hollywood and the UK, in politics, business and universities.
A Kenyan opposition lawyer charged with treason over the symbolic presidential "swearing in" of opposition leader Raila Odinga has left the country, a government agency said, while his lawyer said he had been deported.

Miguna Miguna was arrested on Friday. He was granted bail of 50,000 Kenyan shillings ($500) but had remained in police custody with his whereabouts unknown until he appeared in court in Kajiado County, neighbouring Nairobi, on Tuesday to hear the charges.

Miguna refused to enter a plea, saying his case should be heard in a court in Nairobi. On Tuesday, High Court judge Luka Kimaru ordered that all proceedings against Miguna be stopped until police brought him to a Nairobi court, as ordered, on Wednesday.

"Miguna is headed home. The court ordered he gets released and @InteriorKE obeyed the orders and even assisted him with a flight ticket home. Please note he renewed his Canadian Passport on 16th June 2017," Nexus, an official government news site based in the president's office, said on Twitter.

Miguna's lawyer, Nelson Havi, said Miguna had been deported and questioned the move since he also holds Kenyan citizenship.

"Deportation is in the nature of proceedings. So if the government of the Republic of Kenya is undertaking the deportation of Miguna, that is a clear contravention of the order that was issued by Justice Kimaru," Havi said on KTN News.

"We will still appear before court tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11 am to get confirmation as to why the police have decided to disobey this court order."

Miguna ran for elected office in 2017, which would have required that he have Kenyan citizenship.

Reuters
South Africas ruling party has delayed a key meeting due to discuss Jacob Zumas future, amid reports the President is ready to quit if certain conditions are met.

The African National Congress (ANC) had called a special meeting of its executive committee for Wednesday in Cape Town, possibly heralding a bid to unseat the 75-year-old leader, who is beset by corruption allegations and damaged by an economic decline.

Mr Zuma has been in a weakened position since he was replaced as leader of the ANC by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa in a vote in December.

The President no longer holds a top position in the party, which has faced uncertainty over how its dual power structure will function.

Mr Zumas tenure as President officially runs until mid-2019.

The scheduled meeting of the National Executive Committee, which has the power to demand that Mr Zuma step down, was expectedly moved on Tuesday to the weekend of 17 February.

Party Secretary-General Ace Magashule said the meeting had been put back to allow the President and Mr Ramaphosa to keep talking constructively on a transition.

South Africas The Times, citing unnamed sources, said Mr Zuma would resign as soon as a list of preconditions has been finalised by the two men.

Mr Magashule, who attended the meeting between the two leaders, would not confirm whether Mr Zuma had agreed to resign, although other ANC leaders said the agreed deal would see the President go in a dignified way.

Mr Zuma has been South Africas most controversial president since the end of white minority rule in 1994, enwrapped in scandal during a tumultuous nine years in power.

He has faced multiple allegations of corruption. Some within the ANC and the opposition say the Gupta family, an Indian-born businessmen who are friends of Mr Zuma, have used their links with the president to win work with the state. The Guptas and Mr Zuma have denied any wrongdoing.

Cyril Ramaphosa became the ANC's President at an elective conference in Johannesburg in December (AP)

Mr Zuma waved to reporters after meeting Mr Ramaphosa at his office in Cape Town, where the President also chaired routine meetings, his spokesman said.

In a statement, the Presidency denied claims by the South African Communist Party, a key ally of the ruling party, that Mr Zuma was preparing to fire Mr Ramaphosa as Deputy President and replace him with ex-wife, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma.

The ANC had earlier heavily flagged Wednesdays scheduled meeting of its leaders by saying they would decide a matter of serious concern.

Mr Zuma is facing a no-confidence vote in parliament on 22 February. He has survived several attempts to oust him in the past, but this time around a significant part of the ANC wants him to step down well before his second term ends next year.

A vote of no-confidence is not desirable, under any circumstances, ANC Deputy Secretary-General Jessie Duarte told a news conference.

She added: Our most important consideration is that we dont believe South Africa should wish for us to embarrass the President of the republic, in any way whatsoever.

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In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. 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Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The speaker of parliament, Baleka Mbete, postponed a speech Mr Zuma had been due to give on Thursday, though she said a new date would be fixed soon.

Opposition parties have demanded that the speech be postponed until Mr Zuma was removed from the leadership.

The rand, which has tended to strengthen on signs that Mr Zuma could step down before his second term as president ends next year, was firmer on Tuesday.

The ANCs top six most powerful officials met Mr Zuma late on Sunday at his official residence in Pretoria. There was no announcement of the outcome though sources told Reuters he had refused a demand to go.

Mr Zuma has also resisted a call to go by Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini, the influential head of South Africas biggest ethnic group in the Presidents home province of KwaZulu-Natal, according to the newspaper Business Day.

The influential Nelson Mandela Foundation said in a statement that time is of the essence  Zuma must go.

Leader of the official opposition and head of the Democratic Alliance party Mmusi Maimane added: We need a new beginning.
Gerber has announced its first spokesbaby with Down syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects some 6,000 babies born in the US every year.

The popular baby food company awarded the coveted prize of 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby to Lucas Warren, a 1-year-old from Dalton, Georgia. Lucas was diagnosed with Down syndrome when he was born, but his parents say it never affected their love for him.

My biggest concern always with Lucas was how people were going to treat him. I was always afraid he would be bullied or people would be scared of him, his mother, Courtney, told the Today Show. Its never once changed how we felt about him. He was always our son.

Ms Warren said she submitted her babys photo to the Gerber Baby Photo Search on a whim, after a friend tipped her off to the social media contest. She posted a photo of Lucas on Instagram with the contest hashtag, and says she was shocked when she found out he had won.

We had just walked into the house and we opened the mail and she started screaming, Ms Warrens husband, Jason, said. Shes like, He won! He actually won!

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Gerber selected Lucas out of more than 140,00 contest entrants. He is the first baby with Down syndrome to be selected in the contest's eight-year history. Along with being featured on Gerbers social media pages, Lucas will be awarded $50,000, which his parents hope to put towards his education.

"Every year, we choose the baby who best exemplifies Gerber's longstanding heritage of recognising that every baby is a Gerber baby," Gerber CEO and President Bill Partyka said in a statement. "This year, Lucas is the perfect fit."

Down syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes developmental delays and intellectual disability. People with Down syndrome also commonly experience low muscle tone and a small stature. Approximately one in every 700 babies in the US is born with Down syndrome, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Ms Warren said she hopes Lucass win can raise awareness about Down syndrome and those living with it.

I hope it shines light to the special needs community, showing that they are just like you and me, she said. They should be accepted, not based on their looks, but based on who they are.
A limousine taxi driver has killed himself outside New Yorks City Hall  hours after accusing politicians in a Facebook post of failing to protect traditional drivers from the impact of ride hailing services such as Lyft and Uber.

Douglas Schifter, 61, drove himself to the east gate of the citys government administration and shot himself. Drivers groups say he was the third cabbie to kill himself in the city in recent months over concerns about the state of the citys taxi industry.

Hours before, the man who had worked as a limousine, or livery, driver for the best part of four decades, had posted a lengthy note, in which he railed against city and state politicians for failing to protect the traditional taxi industry, and allowing companies such as Uber and Lyft to drive down drivers wages, even as they made prices more competitive for customers.

Mr Schifter had been a driver for four decades (Facebook)

I worked 100-120 consecutive hours almost every week for the past fourteen plus years, wrote Mr Schifter, who travelled into New York every day from Pennsylvania.

When the industry started in 1981, I averaged 40-50 hours. I cannot survive any longer with working 120 hours! I am not a slave and I refuse to be one.

In his message, Mr Schifter criticised former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, the current mayor Bill de Blasio, and New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo.

Bloomberg, De Blasio and Andrew Cuomo have each had their part in destroying a once thriving industry, he wrote. There are over 100,000 of us suffering daily now. It is the new slavery.

Taxi driver groups say the last few years have been a massive increase in the number of cars for hire on the streets of New York, many of them who drive for Lyft or Uber in their spare time. While consumer organisations say this has reduced prices for consumers, the impact has been to make it harder for full-time, professional taxi drivers to make a living.

Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, told The Independent that over the last four years, the total number of for-hire vehicles had risen from around 52,000 to 137,000. She said Mr Schifter was the third cab driver to kill himself in three months because of economic concerns about the plight of the industry.

Ms Desai said companies such as Lyft and Uber lobbied heavily at both federal at state level to persuade local politicians to allow them to avoid the regulations imposed on yellow or green taxis. (Data provided by FollowMoney.org suggests that while the companies lobbying at state level was similar to that of Microsoft and Mal-Wart in 2016, at federal level it was less than 20 per cent.)

She said such firms, also did not have to provide healthcare or other payments to the drivers working for them.

 European Union categorises Uber as a taxi company forcing strict regulations

They get away with it because its Silicon Valley and everything about Silicon Valley is supposed to be shiny and cool, she said.

Neil Weiss, the editor of Black Car News, said Mr Schifter had written a regular column for the news site and frequently talked about the economic challenges facing drivers. He said Mr Schifter was describing an accurate situation.

I heard yesterday that other people have also taken their lives, but perhaps not so dramatically, he said. Its been getting worse for some years. There are too many drivers and the traffic is terrible.

Mr Weisss website reported that two vigils were held for Mr Schifter following his death on Monday and that a funeral service for him is due to be held in the city.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

During his long and distinguished career as a driver, and also more recently as a writer, Doug connected with a lot of people. His words rang true, and they saw themselves in him  they knew all too well his rage and despair, it said.

Mr Schifter, who claimed to have driven more than five million miles during his career, finished his post by saying he feared the country was on a downward spiral.

We are not doing enough to fight ignorance and hatred. We are not a great country if we cannot afford to care for those in need, he wrote.

Recommended Uber to introduce compulsory rest breaks for UK drivers

We are not a great country if we allow politicians to destroy lives. We are not a great country if we allow hatred of others because of where they were born or who they are.

A spokesman for City Hall told local media: Its incredibly sad. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones in what is undoubtedly the most painful of times.

Mr de Blasio said: Its a horrible tragedy. This man was obviously going through a lot.

The New York Post said cab driver Danilo Corporan, 57, wrote a note on the back of a summons he received before killing himself in December.

Days before, he had a hearing at an administrative law court for accepting an illegal street hail and killed himself after being told he could lose his license, the paper said.

Uber did not immediately responded to enquiries. In a statement, a spokesperson for Lyft, said: Were incredibly saddened by this tragic news, and extend our condolences to Mr Schifters family.
Senate leaders have struck a deal on a far-reaching budget to raise spending over the next two years, seeking to end what has become the regular threat of a government shutdown and providing a rare moment of bipartisanship in Congress.

But the agreement in the upper chamber does not include protections for young undocumented immigrants  a red line for some senior House Democrats  raising the question of whether the budget bill will receive enough votes to pass in the House of Representatives and keep the government open.

I hope we can build on this bipartisan momentum and make 2018 a year of significant achievement for Congress, for our constituents and for the country that we all love, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer was also enthusiastic.

After months of legislative logjams, this budget deal is a genuine breakthrough, Mr Schumer said. After months of fiscal brinkmanship, this budget deal is the first real sprout of bipartisanship.

The deal would raise the spending caps by about $300bn over two years, a congressional aide told the New York Times, with large boosts to military and non-defence spending.

The agreement would also lead to larger federal budget deficits, on top of the deficits already stemming from the Republican tax cuts passed in December. This could spark opposition from conservatives in the House, meaning House Speaker Paul Ryan may need the help of Democrats to pass the bill in the lower chamber.

The Senate agreement also includes commitments to dedicate billions of dollars to areas such as infrastructure, the opioid crisis and health research, the Times reported.

Mr Schumers counterpart in the House, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, has already expressed opposition to the deal because it was not accompanied by a debate over legislation to provide a permanent fix to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme. The House and Senate must past the same version of the bill before it can head to the Presidents desk to be signed.

The Obama era-policy, which Mr Trump rescinded in September, granted protection of deportation to illegal immigrants brought to the US as children  so-called Dreamers.

On Wednesday, it appeared that Ms Pelosi set the record for the longest-continuous speech in the House, according to the House's Historian office, to try and force Republicans to bring up an immigration bill in the chamber. If Mr Ryan does indeed need Democratic votes to avert a government shutdown, the Democratic leader is likely to use the DACA issue as leverage.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Ms Pelosi stood in the House chamber for more than six hours to defend Dreamers, saying that Democrats would oppose any government funding bill unless Mr Ryan agrees to take up a bipartisan immigration bill.

Theres nothing partisan or political about protecting dreamers. If a DREAM Act were brought to the floor, it would pass immediately with strong bipartisan support, Ms Pelosi said early in her speech after noting that polls show there is bipartisan support among Americans for legislation to protect Dreamers.

And, I commend my Republican colleagues for their courage in speaking out on this, yet our Dreamers hang in limbo with a cruel cloud of fear and uncertainty above them. The Republican moral cowardice must end, she continued, referring to Republican leaderships reluctance to bring a bill to the floor.

While Mr Trump has suggested we would welcome a shutdown, many members of Congress appear to have little appetite for a repeat of Januarys three-day closure, which was largely the result of an impasse on immigration.

Democrats last month had demanded that Republican leaders agree to the rough outlines of legislation that would provide protections for dreamers before they voted for a spending bill. While this did not happen, the shutdown ended after Mr McConnell promised to bring a DACA measure to the Senate floor for debate.

But Mr Ryan in the House has made no such promise, which Ms Pelosi is now seeking to secure.

Time is running out for a DREAM Act to be passed for nearly 700,000 Dreamers who have received protected status and the ability to work under DACA. President Donald Trump has given Congress a March deadline to agree to a legislative fix.

If there is no fix, those previously covered under DACA would face potential deportations or arrests from American immigration forces.
US President Donald Trump is launching a new National Vetting Centre with the aim of increasing checks on visitors to the US.

A memo being signed by the President will give the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies six months to establish the facility, which is aimed at improving communication between different federal bodies and implement what the President has called extreme vetting.

It is not clear how it will affect the way visitors and immigrants are assessed when they enter the country but during the presidential campaign vowed he would tighten regulations that activists say are already incredibly script.

The centre will not require any new funding and no new authority will be established, according to CNN.

An official told the network the centre would focus on individuals inside the US, including those who were subject to deportation proceedings, as well as visitors.

A privacy and civil liberties panel to oversee the new centres activities is also supposed to be established.

Mr Trump has prioritised immigration reform since entering the White House. He had called for extreme vetting while on the presidential campaign trail, claiming that current immigration controls and investigations of peoples backgrounds do not go far enough to control influx.

 Trump during election campaign: "The truth is, our immigration system is worse than anyone ever realised"

After becoming president, he has scaled back and toughened refugee admissions. He has also worked to severely restrict travel and immigration from certain Muslim-majority countries through the controversial travel ban that he issued during his first week in office in 2017, which triggered thousands of protests at US airports.

The order has since been revised twice following objections from federal district courts, which called it unconstitutional since it discriminated on the basis of religion. According to the third version of the travel ban that the Supreme Court allowed to go into effect in December, most citizens of Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea will be barred from entering the US, along with some groups of people from Venezuela.

Critics argue those policies are inhumane or discriminatory, pointing out that the refugee admissions process already involved thorough vetting.

The US leader ramped up his rhetoric in the aftermath of a number of terrorist attacks.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

After a truck was used to mow down pedestrians in New York November 2017, Mr Trump tweeted: I have just ordered Homeland Security to step up our already Extreme Vetting Programme. Being politically correct is fine, but not for this!

Deepa Iyer, a civil rights activist and author of We Too, Sing America told The Independent the centre is just another tool for this administration to profile, target, and discriminate against brown and black immigrants.

Ms Iyer said it was part and parcel of the administrations overall immigration agenda which has included a proposed 2,000-mile border wall with Mexico in addition to the travel bans and a number of deportations of immigrants who have been living in the US for decades and had received reprieves to stay under previous administrations.

David Bier, an immigration policy analyst for the libertarian think tank Cato Institute, said the establishment of the centre does not exactly jive with the Presidents focus on a strong economy.

The focus on stemming terrorism, which is such a small threat in terms of immigration, will inevitably harm the economy a significant amount given the economic contributions of immigrants.

He also noted that measures such as the centre and extreme vetting also discourages travel, another hit to the US economy.
Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to hold a military parade, showcasing Americas martial might in the type of display Mr Trump has publicly praised.

The White House said in a statement that Mr Trump had asked the Department of Defence to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation, confirming a report in the Washington Post.

President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

The proposal was also verified by the Pentagon, with a spokesman saying We are aware of the request and are in the process of determining specific details.

The President has repeatedly expressed admiration after being witnessing of military strength in other countries, calling a procession in China magnificent and a Bastille Day parade in France one of the greatest parades I've ever seen.

Because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4th in Washington, down Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr Trump said during a September press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

France's spectacle in particular inspired the President, according to an unnamed official who told the Post that This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, the official said.

While Mr Trump has shown enthusiasm for such demonstrations of martial strength, they are historically rare in America.
A top aide to Donald Trump provoked an outcry after saying some immigrants were too lazy to sign up for a contested immigration programme.

As Congress and Mr Trump work to craft an immigration deal, a key factor is the fate of an Obama-era initiative that allowed young immigrants in the country illegally to secure work permits and shield themselves from deportation.

Mr Trump let the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme expire and has dangled it as a bargaining chip in negotiations.

Nearly 700,000 unauthorised immigrants who signed up for the initiative stand to lose legal status. White House Chief of Staff John Kelly noted that some 1.8 million were eligible, and he attributed the discrepancy in part to indolence.

The difference between 690 [thousand] and 1.8 million were the people that some would say were too afraid to sign up, others would say too lazy to get off their asses, Mr Kelly told reporters.

Democrats have spent months accusing Republicans of cruelty for leaving the fates of DACA recipients in limbo, and they pounced on Mr Kellys comment.

Sen Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, called the remark extremely offensive.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

I'm sorry for that characterisation, Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, who sponsored and for well over a decade offered legislation to give young immigrants legal status, told the Associated Press.

Asked if Mr Kelly was articulating the official White House position, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders sought to deflect blame to Democrats.

Mr Trump has regularly assailed Democratic leaders Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer for impeding a deal.

If anybodys lazy its probably Democrats who arent showing up to work and arent actually getting to the table to make a deal on this, Ms Sanders said.
President Donald Trump has claimed that recently released texts between two FBI employees are a bombshell".

The texts in question show that FBI lawyer Lisa Page wrote to agent Peter Strzok  her alleged lover  in September 2016 about preparing talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey.

"Potus wants to know everything we're doing, she said, using shorthand for then-President Barack Obama.

Fox released a report early Wednesday morning claiming the message "raises questions about Obama's personal involvement" in the FBI's probe of Hillary Clinton's private email server.

Mr Trump broadcast his thoughts on the issue that morning, tweeting: NEW FBI TEXTS ARE BOMBSHELLS!

It is unclear, however, whether the texts actually refer to the Clinton email investigation. The FBI investigation of Ms Clinton's use of a private email server as Secretary of State was closed in July of 2016, and only re-opened in October of that year. The text in question was sent on 2 September, 2016.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Congressional Republicans have descended on previous texts between Mr Strzok and Ms Page as evidence of anti-Trump bias in the FBI. Mr Strzok worked on the Clinton email investigation, and both he and Ms Page worked briefly on Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of possible Trump campaign ties to Russia.

Thousands of texts between the two were discovered during a Justice Department review of the Clinton email investigation. The Department released hundreds of these messages to Congress in December, and hundreds more last month.

Senator Ron Johnson, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Committee, released the latest text messages to the public on Wednesday. Mr Johnson has previously claimed that Mr Stzrok and Ms Page's text messages showed they were plotting a "secret society" within the FBI. He later admitted the messages were likely a joke.

Mr Johnson's most recent report cites Ms Page's text from September 2016, and suggests that it had something to do with the email server investigation.

"This text raises additional questions about the type and extent of President Obamas personal involvement in the Clinton email scandal and the FBI investigation of it," the report says.

Mr Johnson's office did not respond to a request for comment.

 Trump: 'Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI. Nothing happened to her. Flynn lied and they destroyed his life.'

Mr Obama told Fox in April of 2016 that he would not talk to Justice Department and FBI leaders about pending investigations.

I do not talk to the attorney general about pending investigations. I do not talk to FBI directors about pending investigations. We have a strict line, he said. "I guarantee that there is no political influence in any investigation conducted by the Justice Department or the FBI, not just in this case but in any case."

The September 2016 message from Ms Page came three days before Mr Obama confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin about alleged meddling in the US election  suggesting Mr Obama may have been interested in the FBI's investigation of that issue, instead.

Other texts reviewed by the Associated Press show the FBI employees expressing admiration for Mr Comey and contempt for Mr Trump. The pair used words like "idiot," ''loathsome," ''menace," and "disaster" to describe Mr Trump as a candidate, according to the AP.

Mr Trump, meanwhile, has repeatedly disparaged the FBI, and called the special counsel's investigation into his campaign a "witch hunt".

"After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters - worst in History!" he tweeted in December. "But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness."
A Democratic lawmaker has mocked President Donald Trump for his reported interest in a military parade, trolling the President for his Inauguration Day crowd turnout.

Rep Rick Larsen tweeted in response to recent reports that Mr Trump has been asking for a military parade in Washington  an event that would be rare for the United States, which hasnt conducted one in decades.

There was already a #TrumpParade in DC. Not very well attended the first time, would be a waste of Pentagon time and resources the second time, Mr Larsen tweeted alongside a photo of Mr Trumps inauguration parade, which showed several rows of bleachers empty as the motorcade passed by.

The Washington Post recently reported that Mr Trump has asked the Pentagon to take a look into holding a military parade. The White House subsequently confirmed the report, as did the Pentagon.

Critics of such a parade say that it would cost millions of dollars to conduct a parade like that, which Mr Trump has indicated he would like to see along Pennsylvania Avenue, which connects the White House to the Capitol building. And, the millions of dollars in expenses would come at a time when Republicans are seeking more funding for the military.

Mr Trump has frequently discussed the idea of having a military parade during his presidency, and was reportedly inspired when he attended one in France last year.

Mr Larsen was referring to a running joke sparked by former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer when he said during his first briefing that Mr Trump had received the largest global audience to ever witness the inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

The statement was followed by ridicule from people  including a government agency  who made side-by-side photo comparisons of the crowd Mr Trump drew to that of his predecessor Barack Obama. Mr Obamas crowd, in this photos, was clearly larger.
Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to plan a grand parade of the US armed forces in Washington to celebrate the countrys military strength.

The US President wants an elaborate parade later this year with marching soldiers and rolling tanks, similar to the Bastille Day parade he witnessed in Paris in July, according to Washington Post.

A White House statement said Mr Trump has asked the Department of Defence to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.

Traditionally, the US has not embraced ostentatious displays of raw military power. Such demonstrations are common in authoritarian states such as North Korea and China.

North Korea

 North Korea shows new missiles in huge parade amid nuclear fears

North Korea regularly stages huge military parades in Pyongyang, where it has shown off its ballistic missiles as a claim of international prestige and influence.

Last year, the authoritarian regime used the occasion to reveal new long-range and submarine-launched missiles.

Parades are typically organised to commemorate key dates on the North Korean calendar, and last years parade marked the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, who founded the states totalitarian system and Juche ideology.

In pictures: North Korea military drill Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: North Korea military drill In pictures: North Korea military drill North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) is seen in this handout photo by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill A military drill marking the 85th anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) KCNA/Handout via REUTERS In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video In pictures: North Korea military drill This image made from video of still images broadcast in a news bulletin by North Korea's KRT, shows what was said to be a 'Combined Fire Demonstration' held to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the North Korean army, in Wonsan, North Korea. KRT via AP Video

During the parade, tanks and missile systems rolled through the streets of Pyongyang, while goose-stepping soldiers filled Kim Il-sung square and planes flew in formation overhead.

This week could see a similar display, as Kim Jong-un has ordered the military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Korean Peoples Army to be brought forward to the day before the opening of the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

China

Chinese troops march past military vehicles in a massive show of firepower (AP)

China also regularly seeks to show off its military might and parades have become more common since Xi Jinping became President in 2012.

As part of the celebrations to mark the 90th anniversary of the Peoples Liberation Army last July, Mr Xi inspected 12,000 troops along with tanks and missile launchers.

More than 100 fighter jets flew overhead and almost 600 types of heavy weaponry were put on display.

A month before, the President inspected 20 PLA squads in Hong Kong to mark 20 years since Beijing took over the city.

During a military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in 2016, 12,000 soldiers, 200 aircraft and 500 types of military hardware were paraded through the streets of Beijing.

Russia

 Russia displays military might in Moscow Victory Day parade

Each year, Russia demonstrates its military capabilities in Moscow during an event celebrating Victory Day, which marks the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

In 2015, Moscow hosted its biggest ever military parade to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, with around 16,000 soldiers, 200 armoured vehicles and 150 aircraft taking part.

In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Show all 10 1 /10 In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Russian troops march during a Victory Day parade, which commemorates the 1945 defeat of Nazi Germany, at Red Square in Moscow In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu inspects the troops during a Victory Day parade in Moscow In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a Victory Day Parade in Moscow In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Russian Air Force helicopter Mi-26, center, with Mi-8, flies over Red Square during a Victory Day parade in Moscow In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Russian air force Su-25 jets fly in formation during a Victory Day Parade in Moscow In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Russian soldiers ride horses during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Russian troops ride an APC with a Crimean flag during the Victory Day Parade in Moscow In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Thousands of Russian troops marched on Red Square in the annual Victory Day parade in a proud display of the nation's military might amid escalating tensions over Ukraine In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Russia Russian WWII veteran Ivan Bobarykin poses for photographers after the Victory Day parade in the Red Square in Moscow In pictures: Russia celebrates the Victory Day Crimea Local residents carry a giant Russian flag as they march through the city after the Victory Day military parade in Sevastopol

Last year, Moscow showcased more than 10,000 troops, along with tanks and intercontinental ballistic missiles last year, though thick cloud cover forced the cancellation of a flyover by military aircraft.

During his parade address, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, called for the consolidation of the entire international community to combat terrorism and extremism.

Historic T-34 tanks, which played an influential role on the battlefields of the Second World War, were also displayed.

France

 Donald Trump salutes US troops in Bastille Day parade

Last September, at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mr Trump announced his idea of staging a grand parade of the armed forces in Washington on 4 July.

He reminisced about watching Frances Bastille Day military parade when he visited Paris in July, and called the two-hour parade a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France."

Mr Trump went on to say he wanted one on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington that would be grander than the one he saw in Paris.

Emmanuel Macron, the French President, shakes hands with Donald Trump, the President of the United States, next to Melania Trump, the First Lady of the US, during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees (AFP/Getty Images)

During the parade, US and French soldiers marched together to mark 100 years since the United States entered the First World War.

It included tanks, armoured vehicles and a flyover of US and French military jets.

To a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4 in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr Trump told reporters in September. Were actually looking into it.

The United States

A Navy A-7 Corsair jet is pulled down Broadway Avenue as sailors rejoice on the wings during the Operation Welcome Home parade for returning Gulf War troops, when an estimated one million people came to welcome some 24,000 Desert Storm veterans (DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images)

Washington has held large military displays to mark significant occasions, including victories in war, with the last major military display marking the US victory in the Gulf War in 1991.

However, rolling tanks and marching troops down Pennsylvania Avenue is not typically done on the US Independence Day holiday.

US military members commonly participate in parades on the Fourth of July and other holidays to mark appreciation and remembrance of military veterans, but these typically do not include showy displays of military hardware.

It has long been considered conventional wisdom that the US does not need to boast of its military strength because it already is recognised as the leader of the Nato alliance and a model of military professionalism countries across the global seek to emulate.
Members of Donald Trump's Republican Party have criticised their leader for calling Democrats who refused to applaud his State of the Union address, "treasonous".

The US President told a crowd in Blue Ash, Ohio, that his rivals gave off bad energy by failing to clap, even after his comments on the good performance of the US economy.

Democrats would rather see Trump do badly than our country do well, he said, calling the reception un-American, he told the crowd.

Recommended Donald Trump has inspired more scientists to run for than ever before

Somebody said, Treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? I mean they certainly didnt seem to love our country that much.

He added the response was very, very sad.

Treason is a capital offence and punishable by death in the US and Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican who frequently criticises Mr Trump and his policies, was unimpressed by his leader's comments.

Treason is not a punchline, Mr President. Applause is approval of an idea, not loyalty to ones country," he said.

Mr Flake, who accused Mr Trump of the "regular and casual undermining of our democratic norms," when he announced his retirement last year, added: Our Democratic colleagues love this country as much as we do. To suggest otherwise is simply unconscionable.

Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Show all 29 1 /29 Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump acknowledges the audience after taking the oath of office as his wife Melania (L) and daughter Tiffany watch during inauguration ceremonies swearing in Trump as the 45th president of the United States on the West Front of the US capital in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jim Bourg: "This photo was shot with one of two remote cameras. The cameras were monitored and triggered remotely and the pictures were transmitted to clients worldwide within minutes of being taken." Reuters/Jim Bourg Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Obama farewell address - 10 January 2017 US President Barack Obama wipes away tears as he delivers his farewell address in Chicago on 10 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "In his final days in office, Obama made a visit home to Chicago. As he spoke from the stage to his wife and daughter in the audience, he became emotional when he talked about what they had sacrificed during his time in office. I turned from photographing the Obama women embracing to find him onstage wiping away tears." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inauguration - 20 January 2017 A combination of photos shows the crowds attending the inauguration ceremonies to swear in U.S. President Donald Trump at 12:01pm (left) on January 20, 2017 and President Barack Obama sometime between 12:07pm and 12:26pm on January 20, 2009. Reuters/ Lucas Jackson/Stelios Varias Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Liberty Ball - 20 January 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the Liberty Ball in honour of his inauguration in Washington on 20 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "What I see when I look at this picture is the end of a very long day, not to mention weeks and months of preparation by many photographers, editors and network experts and the beginning of everything since." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception - 22 January 2017 US President Donald Trump greets Director of the FBI James Comey as Director of the Secret Service Joseph Clancy (L), watches during the Inaugural Law Enforcement Officers and First Responders Reception in the Blue Room of the White House on 22 January, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "I have covered the White House for 16 years and normally either the President or the pool is in position when an event starts. In this case the President was not where anyone expected him to be. In fact, he was almost blocking the door when the pool came in. We had to scramble to find a position without bumping him or the furniture as he greeted and thanked members of law enforcement for their security efforts during the inauguration. Luckily, he greeted FBI Director James Comey a few seconds after the pool had made its way into the room." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Private phone calls to world leaders - 28 January 2017 US President Donald Trump, is joined by his staff, as he speaks by phone with Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the Oval Office on 28 January, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Very early in the Trump administration, weekends were as busy as weekdays. On Trump's second Saturday the official schedule said he would be making private phone calls to a number of world leaders including Russia's Vladimir Putin. I arrived early and, before sitting down at my desk walked up to Press Secretary Sean Spicer's office. He, too, was just taking his coat off. I gingerly made the suggestion that previous administrations had sometimes allowed photos of such phone calls through the Oval Office windows on the colonnade. To my mild shock, he didn't even think about it twice. "We'll do it!" he said. In truth, I really only expected the Putin call, but we were outside the windows multiple times throughout the day as the calls went on." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway - 27 February 2017 Senior advisor Kellyanne Conway (L) attends as US President Donald Trump welcomes the leaders of dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCU) in the Oval Office on 27 February, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "We're often asked how much access we have to the Trump administration, and the answer is we have an awful lot. President Trump himself is very comfortable in the spotlight, and his aides are similarly unfazed by cameras. In this instance, senior advisor Kellyanne Conway was so comfortable in our presence she seemed not to consider the optics of kneeling on a Oval Office sofa to take pictures with her phone." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Angela Merkel heads to Washington - 17 March 2017 Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump hold a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House on 17 March, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Chancellor Merkel made one of the earliest important visits of any US allies to meet Trump in his first months in office. When world leaders give joint news conferences they don't always tend to give each other their full attention - but Merkel watched Trump intently at several key moments, and here seemed particularly rapt." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump welcomes truckers to the White House - 23 March 2017 President Trump reacts as he sits on a truck while he welcomes truckers and CEOs to attend a meeting regarding healthcare at the White House on 23 March, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "The White House organised a listening session with truckers and CEO's of major American companies, regarding healthcare reform. An 18-wheeler tow truck was parked on the South Lawn of the White House and as Trump welcomed the truckers someone invited the him to come and sit in the driver's seat. Trump jumped into the cab and started yelling and pretending to drive - creating one of the most memorable pictures of the year. A lesson learned, always be prepared for the unexpected." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 6 April 2017 US President Donald Trump talks to journalists members of the travel pool on board the Air Force One during his trip to Palm Beach, Florida on 6 April, 2017. Carlos Barria: "During the many trips to President Trump's residence in Florida it is usual to see the president coming to the back of the plane to chat with journalists. During one of the trips to the so called 'Winter White House', Trump had a long talk with reporters while the Air Force One entertainment system was playing one of the latest Star Wars movies. As I was listening to Trump talk I was also looking at the movie waiting for a part of the movie to frame the mood of the day. Of the many scenes, I choose the one with Darth Vader." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump speaks during an interview with Reuters in the Oval Office of the White House on 27 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "A day before President Trump's hundred days in office I was part of the team that interviewed the commander-in-chief in the Oval Office. I was only allowed to photograph Trump during the last five minutes of the interview. The time was very tight so I had to move fast as I had pictures in mind that I wanted to shoot. I walked into the Oval Office and saw that the President had printed maps of the country showing areas in red where he won. I raised my hands holding my camera as high as possible to get the best view of the scene using a 16mm wide angle lens." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures 100 Days - 27 April 2017 US President Donald Trump reacts as he arrives at Harrisburg international airport, before attending a rally marking his first 100 days in office in Pennsylvania on 29 April, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to celebrate his hundred days in office with a victory rally. He was in friendly territory as he won with a big difference over his opponent Hillary Clinton in Pennsylvania, during the November elections. As usual when the commander-in-chief arrives local residents gather to greet him. This time a small group of military personnel attended the arrival. Surrounded by secret service agents Trump walked from the Air Force One and raised his hand in a sign of victory as the crowd cheered him on." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 2 May 2017 White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer (L) and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch as US President Donald Trump presents the U.S. Air Force Academy football team with the Commander-in-Chief trophy in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on 2 May, 2017. Photographer Joshua Roberts: "Covering the White House does not just mean covering the President. White House staffers are an important part of the story and their relationship with the President and each other is an indicator of how things are going in the West Wing. The tendency is to focus exclusively on the President once an event starts but I always try to look around to see how people are reacting as things unfold." Reuters/Joshua Roberts Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Secret Service - 4 May 2017 Secret Service agents use a presidential limousine as cover from spraying water as US President Donald Trump lands via Marine One helicopter in New York on 4 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "The best part of any trip to New York City with the sitting US President is the helicopter ride into Manhattan. The ride out at night can be stunning. Here, Secret Service agents protect themselves from the spray from the East River as Trump lands on the helipad." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures NATO Summit - 25 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wait the arrival of French President Emmanuel Macron (unseen) before a lunch ahead of a NATO Summit in Brussels on 25 May, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "One of the best parts of travelling overseas for White House coverage is the chance to see the U.S. president in different environments and (literally) a different light. Here, Trump and his wife came out of the shadows to greet France's President Macron." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump meets Putin at G20 summit - 7 July 2017 US President Donald Trump meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany on 7 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "On July 7, I witnessed one of the most important meetings of President Trump's first year in office. Trump met Russian President Vladimir Putin during a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Germany. The world's eyes were on these two leaders after speculation about Russian interference during the 2016 US elections. We entered the room for less than two minutes, where I took dozens of pictures. But there was this very interesting moment when Trump extended his hand to Putin for a handshake. Putin paused for a second and looked at Trump's hand. That was the picture that I was looking for, a little moment that seemed to say a lot." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures First lady - 8 July 2017 First lady Melania Trump chats with US President Donald Trump during their return from Germany at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland on 8 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "After President Trump's trip to Germany he arrived back at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. First Lady Melania Trump said goodbye to Trump as she was heading off in a different direction that day. While chatting a breeze blew Melania's hair up in the air." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Made in America product showcase - 17 July 2017 Vice President Mike Pence laughs as President Donald Trump holds a baseball bat as they attend a Made in America product showcase event at the White House on 17 July, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "This summer the White House organized an event to showcase 'Made in America' products. All kinds of exhibitors brought their products as the President and Vice President toured the event. One of the companies was Marucci Sport, a manufacturer of baseball bats based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As Trump approached a table full of baseball bats, photographers at the event, including me, rushed to get a good angle hoping that he would pick up a bat. As we predicted, he did. He took one and joked around as though he was hitting something hard. The only thing closer to him right there, was the media." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House staffers - 25 July 2017 Former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski says hello to reporters as he and White House advisors including Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci accompany President Trump for an event celebrating veterans at AMVETS Post 44 in Ohio, July 25, 2017. Jonathan Ernst: "The most visible person in any White House is naturally the President, followed by the press secretary. But there are also the staff who support them. For those of us covering the Trump administration, there seem to be more compelling figures in the West Wing than ever before. It's crucial to know who's who and why they're important. When I raised my camera and back-pedalled ahead of the group to take this image Lewandowski gave me a hello. I liked the photo, but had no idea it would go a little bit viral, especially since Scaramucci, who was the biggest mover and shaker that week, was hidden back in the pack. But I guess the image catches a glimpse of what it's like to be a West Wing staffer on the road." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Campaign rally - 3 August 2017 US President Donald Trump arrives at a rally in West Virginia on 3 August, 2017. Photographer Carlos Barria: "President Trump travelled to Huntington for one of his usual campaign rallies. While members of his family spoke to the crowd he was waiting under a black curtain to be introduced. Suddenly he walked onto the stage, one of the first frames that I took was of his hand. I set my exposure for the light on the stage hoping to create this dark background and it worked." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Staring into the solar eclipse - 21 August 2017 Without his protective glasses on, US President Donald Trump looks up towards the solar eclipse while viewing with his wife Melania and son Barron at the White House on 21 August, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "On a day when everyone, and I mean everyone, was told not to look at the eclipse without protective glasses, Trump, President of the United States, couldn't help himself." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Harvey - 2 September 2017 US President Donald Trump poses for a photo as he and first lady Melania Trump help volunteers hand out meals during a visit with flood survivors of Hurricane Harvey at a relief centre in Houston, Texas on 2 September, 2017. Photohrapher Kevin Lamarque: "Trump, eager to deliver the image of a hands-on response to Hurricane Harvey, made this visit to a relief centre and obliged this woman with a selfie as Melania continued to work." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures White House - 15 September 2017 Donald Trump welcomes 11-year-old Frank Giaccio as he cuts the Rose Garden grass at the White House on 15 September. Frank, who wrote a letter to Trump offering to mow the lawn, was invited to work for a day at the White House along the National Park Service staff. Frank was so focused on his task that he did not notice the President arrive to surprise him. He took his father jumping in to grab his attention and point Trump out. Photographer Carlos Barria said: The image of Trump shouting at a kid who is mowing his lawn might have many interpretations in today's politically polarized United States. But for me it was just a kid who loved what he was doing, to the point he almost appeared to ignore the President." Reuters/Carlos Barria Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Take a knee - 27 September 2017 A man kneels with a folded U.S. flag as the motorcade of U.S. President Donald Trump passes him after an event at the state fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., September 27, 2017. In September, soon after Trump had made comments condemning NFL players who kneel during the national anthem, he made a day trip to a rally in Indianapolis. Jonathan Ernst managed to capture a man on one knee with a tri-folded flag and was able to use a portion of the sign on the building he was kneeling in front of to track the man down and tell his story in full. US Army veteran Marvin Boatright wanted to send a message against social injustice. Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Hurricane Maria - 3 October 2017 President Donald Trump throws rolls of paper towels into a crowd of local residents affected by Hurricane Maria as he visits Calgary Chapel in San Juan, Puerto Rico on 3 October, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "During an afternoon visit to Puerto Rico for President Trump to survey damage from Hurricane Maria and greet some of its victims, Trump made a stop at a church where food and supplies were being distributed. Among the items were paper towels and Trump, apparently caught up in the moment, decided to distribute some of the rolls." Reuters Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Jared Kushner - 1 November 2017 White House Senior adviser Jared Kushner sits behind President Trump during a cabinet meeting in Washington on 1 November, 2017. Photographer Kevin Lamarque: "The role of Jared Kushner has gone through a series of changes. He began front and centre as a high profile adviser, but as time has passed and issues surrounding him have surfaced, he has become more of a background figure." Reuters/Kevin Lamarque Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Trump in China - 9 November 2017 Donald Trump and China's President Xi Jinping shake hands after making joint statements at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on 9 November, 2017. Photographer Damir Sagolj: "It's one of those "how to make a better or at least different shot when two presidents shake hands several times a day, several days in row". If I'm not mistaken in calculation, presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump shook their hands at least six times in events I covered during Trump's recent visit to China. I would imagine there were some more handshakes I haven't seen but other photographers did. And they all look similar - two big men, smiling and heartily greeting each other until everyone gets their shot. But then there is always something that can make it special - in this case the background made of US and Chinese flags. The first time it didn't work for me. The second time I positioned myself lower and centrally, and used the longest lens I have to capture only hands reaching for a handshake." Reuters/Damir Sagolj Donald Trump's first year: in pictures Air Force One - 10 November 2017 US President Donald Trump boards Air Force One to depart for Vietnam from Beijing Airport in Beijing, China, November 10, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "There is a Reuters photographer in the tight pool covering the US president for every appearance he makes 365 days a year. This was just one of 32 images of mine that were transmitted on the Reuters wire of President Trump visiting China and Vietnam that day. You never know when a sudden interaction, a gust of wind or a unique facial expression will lead to a striking image that grabs peoples' attention." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst Donald Trump's first year: in pictures ASEAN handshake - 13 November 2017 Donald Trump registers his surprise as he realises other leaders, including Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte and Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, are crossing their arms for the traditional "ASEAN handshake" as he participates in the opening ceremony of the summit in Manila on 13 November, 2017. Photographer Jonathan Ernst: "Having covered a few ASEAN summits, I knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. Not everyone in the room knew to expect the ASEAN handshake. A lot was written about this unscripted moment, and what deeper meaning it might have. The simple truth is that sometimes in life there are unscripted moments." Reuters/Jonathan Ernst

Republican Congressman, Mark Meadows also took issue with the his leader's comments.

Although his known to be closely allied with his party's leader, he told CNN: Certainly saying that someones un-American because of their unwillingness to clap is not something that most Americans would agree with.

Democrats also criticised Mt Trump's use of the word.

We dont live in a dictatorship or a monarchy, Illinois Senator Tammy Duckworth, who lost both her legs in the Iraq War in 2004, said.

I swore an oath  in the military and in the Senate  to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap.

Mr Trump received five deferments from service in the Vietnam War: four for academic reasons and one for bone spurs  calcium formations  in his heels.

She later said: To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.

White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Mr Trump was obviously joking during the speech at the Ohio plant.

The president was obviously joking. But whats serious is the Democrats seem to put their personal hatred for this president above their desire to see America succeed, he said in a statement.

Reuters contributed to this report
The ship carrying out the search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 vanished from tracking screens for three days, prompting a stream of speculation after no initial explanation was initially given for its disappearance.

US-based firm Ocean Infinity began searching for the missing Boeing 777 aircraft - which disappeared with 239 people aboard en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 - on 22 January.

After 10 days of searching, the companys ship switched off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) on Thursday and disappeared from tracking screens.

The reason for the unexpected three-day outage initially remained unclear - prompting a raft of conspiracy theories and online speculation.

But Ocean Infinity told The Independent the decision was taken to switch the tracking system off because the crew had located some points of interest.

They said the firm did not want to raise false hopes by remaining in the same area for an extended period - and in the process alerting those closely tracking the vessel's movements.

As highlighted in the weekly report there were a couple of points of interest identified last week. These turned out to be of no significance," a spokesperson for the firm said.

Ocean Infinity did not want to give the impression they had found the wreckage.

The Malaysian government, which hired the firm to search for the missing plane, had not provided an explanation for the disappearance.

Three days after it vanished from radars, Seabed Constructor, the companys ship, reappeared outside the search area and on its way to a scheduled refuelling stop at the Australian port of Fremantle.

Seabed Constructor has 90 days to find MH370 - whose disappearance is one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history - on a no-find no-fee basis.

This means the firm will only be paid if the plane if recovered - a reward of between US$20m and $70m is available depending on the area searched.

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A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

KS Narendran, who had a relative on MH370, said he deserved an explanation for the disappearance.

I found the development quite odd, and worrying. If this silence and becoming invisible was intentional, to ward off suspicion, a satisfactory explanation is due," he told The Guardian.

If it was for other reasons, then in the interests of transparency, we ought to be told what caused it.

There are no journalists and no family members on board the search ship. I wish there were some ... We watch on in good faith. I hope ongoing official disclosure is of such a high order that there is little room for speculation, controversy or a whiff of conspiracy.

A source at the firm dismissed rumours about what the vessel was doing in the temporary blackout - including one that Seabed Constructor took a secret detour to recover sunken treasure from the wreckage of what is believed to be the SV Inca, a Peruvian ship that vanished en route to Sydney in 1911.

Malaysian officials said MH370 had not been found in the first week of the search - between 22 and 30 January.

MH370 disappeared after its communication systems were switched off just an hour after taking off. Investigators from China, Australia and Malaysia ended one of the largest surface and underwater searches in aviation history last January without recovering the plane.

The operation covered 46,332 sq miles at an estimated cost of around 120m before it was suspended after 1,046 days. While several pieces of aircraft debris have been recovered the passenger jet's final resting place continues to be a mystery.

The Independent contacted Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian government for comment.
A Thai business magnate has been charged after he was allegedly caught poaching animals, including a black panther, in one of the country's protected wildlife sanctuaries.

Premchai Karnasuta, the largest shareholder of one of Thailands biggest construction firms, was arrested with three other suspects by park rangers at Thungyai Naresuan national park.

His three companions are believed to be employees at the 63-year-olds company, Italian-Thai Development, according to local media.

All four face charges of illegal hunting and illegal possession of carcasses of protected animals.

Mr Karnasuta was granted bail of 150,000 baht (3,420) after being detained for two days, local media reported.

Thailands Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said the businessman was found with the skinned carcasses of the black panther, as well as a Kalij pheasant and a barking deer.

All three are protected species under Thai law.

Authorities, who released images of Mr Karnasuta with hunting gear, also seized three rifles and 143 bullets.

Officials measure the pelt of a black panther in the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary (AP)

Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is situated in the west of the country at the border with Myanmar.

The reserve is home to a diverse range of animal species, including tigers, leopards, bears and elephants.

Police Lieutenant General Kittipong Ngaomuk said all four denied all charges.

At this stage, we learned Mr Premchai had sought approval to visit the park in one of the allowed zones," he told the Bangkok Post newspaper.

The women hunting big-game poachers Show all 8 1 /8 The women hunting big-game poachers The women hunting big-game poachers The Black Mambas are a specially trained team of rangers who police the park night and day to protect the animals from illegal hunting Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Lukie, 26, says, 'The next generation must know rhinos in life. If poaching is allowed they will only see them in a picture' Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Proud finds and disables a snare laid by poachers Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers During a scouting trip, the Mambas examine an impala horn Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Qolile, 21, learned about wildlife and conservation at Timbavati Bush School. She would like go further both with her studies and with the Black Mambas Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Mambas on the march. The unit has so far removed more than 1,000 poachers snares, and been awarded the UNs Champions of the Earth award Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Yenzekile reports the location of a young, slain kudu to the control room Julia Gunther The women hunting big-game poachers Black Mambas Mirren, 26, Winnie, 22, Belinda, 27, and Dedeya, 26 Julia Gunther

"However, he went in before getting the approval and entered a prohibited zone."

Shares in Italian-Thai Development dropped 3.63 per cent following news of Mr Karnasutas arrest, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.

The firm has been in charge of projects including the construction of Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi International Airport, and the capitals elevated metro system commonly known as the Skytrain.
Angela Merkels conservatives have reached a coalition agreement with their main centre-left rivals, in a move that could keep the Chancellor in power for another four years.

Under the deal the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), led by former European Parliament president Martin Schulz, would gain control of large parts of government including the foreign ministry, finance ministry, and the work and welfare ministry.

The SPDs membership, which is thought to be sceptical of another so-called grand coalition with their adversaries after taking a bruising at the polls in September, will have to vote on the deal to confirm it  with the result far from certain.

The promise of both the finance ministry and the social ministry could be enough to tempt 460,000 members back into government, however. The combination of the two would allow the SPD to both design and finance left-wing social policies while in government.

Speaking on Wednesday Mr Schulz declared the new coalition would bring about an end of forced austerity in a bid to appeal to his members. He added that the new government would be prepared to put more into the EU budget, and said he would work with French president Emmanuel Macron for a better and fairer Europe.

Following Septembers elections, the SPD leader previously ruled out another grand coalition and said his party would return to opposition to lick its wounds. Talks, however, reopened after negotiations between Ms Merkels Christian Democratic Union of Germany/Christian Social Union in Bavaria parties (CDU/CSU), the liberal Free Democratic Party and the Greens collapsed.

The finance ministry in particular is a big win for the social democrats; it has been controlled by the CDU for the last eight years.

Martin Schulz, the leader of the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), at a campaign event in Nuremberg, Germany (EPA)

Control of the countrys foreign ministry would also give the extremely europhile SPD a platform from which to push further European Union integration, though Ms Merkel would retain Germanys seat on the European Council.

The conservative CDU would get to run departments including business, defence and the interior ministry under the deal  which could see Mr Schulz step down as party leader so that he can take a ministerial position in the government.

However, the SPD entering government would make the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), which won seats in the Bundestag for the first time last year, the official opposition and give it an unusually high profile.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The deal is the last possible coalition for Ms Merkel; failure to sign it off would leave her with the option of either calling fresh elections, or governing as a minority. Minority governments, where a party must seek support from part of the opposition to pass any legislation, are highly unusual in German politics.

The SPD crashed to a historic low at the last elections, taking just 20.5 per cent of the vote. Polls show the party has fallen even further since considering a deal with the CDU, perhaps even close to being overtaken by the AfD.
The Irish parliament was temporarily shut down following a furious row between several of its members over the new speaking system.

Marc MacSharry, of the opposition Fianna Fail party, started a shouting match with brothers and independent members of the lower house, Michael and Danny Healy-Rae, after he objected to Michael Healy-Raes request to speak in the chamber.

He was objecting to what he saw as the flouting of a new system where TDs - or MPs - take a numbered card when they enter the chamber in order to get selected for speaking time.

If a TD also wants to speak on the same topic as a previous speaker they can interject.

But Mr MacSharry said TDs were flouting the rules and repeatedly skipping the queue for speaking time.

He said they had 44 politicians in the house and Mr Michael Healy-Rae was up every day to speak, shouting that it was a disgrace, the Irish Independent reported.

But the brothers were furious at the suggestion of favouritism and began shouting back.

Mr Michael Healy-Rae was heard shouting that the accusation was outrageous.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The furore forced the chambers Leas-Cheann Comhairle  the Irish equivalent of the UK parliaments Speaker  Pat Gallagher to suspend the session for five minutes to calm proceedings.

When they resumed, Mr Gallagher said the card system was being used as a pilot scheme until Easter.

The reason I had to suspend was nothing to do with cards. It wasnt a question of me showing favouritism to anybody, he added.
Silvio Berlusconis pledge to deport more than half a million migrants from Italy should his coalition enter government in March would simply not be possible, a range of experts have said.

These 600,000 people, we will pick them up using police, law enforcement and the military...everyone can help identify them by pointing them out, and they will be picked up, Italys former prime minister said, claiming immigration was a social bomb linked to crime.

The 81-year-old made the comments just days after anti-immigrant sentiment spilled over in the city of Macerata, 125 miles east of Rome, when six African migrants were shot in a racially-motivated incident.

Surveys show Italians are increasingly uneasy over the numbers of migrants that have reached Italian shores by boat over the past four years. And politicians are keen to get on the right side of public opinion ahead of the 4 March parliamentary elections.

Mr Berlusconi is banned from running for office after being convicted of tax fraud. But his party, Forza Italia (Go Italy!), has entered a coalition with the Northern League and the smaller Brothers of Italy in the upcoming elections, which could allow him a seat at the table.

The centre-right coalition is currently leading in the polls, but many have accused the group of gross exaggeration over their claims they will purge hundreds of thousands of migrants from the country.

Throughout history, far-fetched rhetoric takes the place of realism in an election campaign, Salvatore Fachile, a Rome lawyer who specialises in immigration, said. Theres nothing realistic about mass deportations.

Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the United Nations International Organisation for Migration in Rome, said it was simply impossible to deport that many people.

For many years people have been saying more irregular migrants should be sent home, but in fact it has not been possible, he said.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

League leader Matteo Salvini claimed irregular migrants would be rounded up and sent home in 15 minutes if he and his allies take power, after just 6,500 were deported in 2017.

If we wanted to repatriate 600,000 irregular migrants, and we could send 200 per working day, it would take more than 15 years, said Senator Luigi Manconi, a member of the ruling Democratic Party (PD) who next month will take charge of the countrys anti-racism office.

The cost of deportations is also high. Forced returns require that migrants be put in detention centres before departure, planes must be chartered and wages paid  two guards for each migrant.

In 2016, the repatriation of 29 Tunisians from Italy cost 115,000 euros (100,000). On average, repatriations conducted jointly with EU border agency Frontex cost 6,500 euros each, an EU observer study found last year.

Italy has bilateral agreements with 24 non-European countries allowing for returns, but migrants often avoid being identified or countries refuse to recognise them as citizens.

Anis Amri, a Tunisian migrant who mowed down 12 people with a truck at a Berlin Christmas market in December 2016, was meant to be deported when freed from an Italian prison in 2015. But Tunisia, with which Italy has a return agreement, did not recognise him as a citizen within the given timeframe, so he was ordered to leave the country and released.

It comes after authorities named the far-right extremist suspected of carrying out the Macerata attack as Luca Traina and claimed he was lucid and determined, aware of what he had done.

The 28-year-old Italian, who was an unsuccessful candidate last year in a local election for the Northern League, was arrested on suspicion of multiple counts of attempted murder aggravated by racial hatred following the drive-by attack.

Just days earlier, the body of 18-year-old Italian Pamela Mastropietro was discovered cut up and hidden in two suitcases and a Nigerian migrant was arrested in connection with her death.

More than 200 people took to the streets of Macerata on Tuesday in a candlelit vigil of remembrance for the woman.

Additional reporting by agencies
Martin Schulz, the leader of Germany's Social Democrats (SPD), has said he will step down as leader following the party's coalition agreement with Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU).

Mr Schulz indicated he wanted to be the country's foreign minister if the SPD's members vote to approve the coalition deal.

Ms Merkel's conservative CDU, its Bavaria-only sister the Christian Social Union, and the SPD shook hands on a 177-page deal that leads off with the promise of "a new awakening for Europe" after a gruelling 24 hours of negotiations.

Social Democrat leaders now have one last major hurdle to overcome - winning their sceptical members' approval over the deal.

Mr Schulz said that pending members' approval he would "fight for the renewal" of the European Union as foreign minister.

The coalition accord will be put to a ballot of the Social Democrats' 460,000 members, a process that will take a few weeks.

Germany's highest court said on Wednesday it had dismissed a series of complaints against the ballot.

Many Social Democrats are sceptical after the party's disastrous election result, which followed four years of serving as the junior partner to Mrs Merkel's conservatives in a so-called "grand coalition". The party's youth wing vehemently opposes a repeat of that alliance.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

If Social Democrat members say no, the new coalition government cannot be formed. That would leave only an unprecedented minority government under Mrs Merkel or a new election as the remaining options.

Germany has already broken its post-Second World War record for the longest time taken between its latest election on September 24 and the swearing-in of a new government. That is still at least several weeks away.

Mrs Merkel currently leads a caretaker government, which is not in a position to launch major initiatives or play any significant role in the debate on the European Union's future, led so far by French president Emmanuel Macron.

Additional reporting by agencies
Russia has said it has the sovereign right to deploy weapons anywhere within its own borders after sending nuclear-capable missiles to its territory between Poland and Lithuania.

The Kremlin deployed advanced Iskander missiles to its Kaliningrad exclave on the Baltic Sea, within striking distance of large swathes of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia  all members of Nato.

The head of the Russian parliaments defence committee, Vladimir Shamanov, confirmed the missiles deployment in remarks carried by Russian news agencies.

He said the move was a response to a Nato buildup near Russias borders, with the number of US weapons in Poland being a particular irritation to Moscow.

 Royal Navy tracks Russian warship through North Sea on Christmas Day

When asked about reports of the deployment on a conference call with reporters, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said: The deployment of one weapon or another, the deployment of military units and so forth on Russian territory, is exclusively a sovereign issue for the Russian Federation.

Russia has never threatened anyone and is not threatening anyone. Naturally, Russia has this sovereign right [to deploy weapons on its own territory]. It should hardly be cause for anyone to worry.

Dalia Grybauskaite, president of Lithuania, said the missiles would be deployed on a permanent basis and called them a threat to Europe.

Ms Grybauskaite told reporters: Iskander missiles are being stationed in Kaliningrad for permanent presence as we speak, after visiting Nato troops in the central Lithuanian town of Tukla.

She called the deployment a threat not only to Lithuania but to half of all European countries.

Latvias foreign minister, Edgars Rinkevics, said the deployment added fresh impetus to discussions already underway inside Nato about improving the alliances capabilities.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

It means that what we have been talking about  the necessity to discuss strengthening air-defence elements during the Nato summit in July; strengthening the chain of command, to talk about many questions that affect defence of our region and Latvia specifically...  it all has been confirmed by the practical actions of Russia, the minister said.

Reports of the Kaliningrad deployment so close to Nato territory are perceived by some alliance members as a threat at a time when tensions between Russia and its Western neighbours are running high over Moscows illegal annexation of Ukraines Crimea.

Washington has said placing such missile systems near the Baltic states and Nato member Poland is destabilising, while US officials have expressed concern the deployments represent a permanent upgrade to Russias forces in the area.

The Kremlin has often said it would place Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad as a challenge to a US missile shield being developed in eastern Europe. Washington says the shield is designed to counter possible missile attacks by Iran, but Moscow says it is directed against Russia.

The high-precision Iskander missiles deployed in Kaliningrad can be fitted with a conventional or nuclear warhead and have a range of up to 310 miles (500km). In the past, Moscow deployed them to Kaliningrad temporarily for military drills.

A Nato official, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said: Any deployment close to our borders of missiles that can carry nuclear warheads does not help to lower tensions. In the spirit of transparency, we look forward to hearing more from Russia on this.

It is important to determine the exact situation. Nato is alert, we understand the capability, but we also understand that the Russians have been moving equipment in and out of Kaliningrad for a long time.

Additional reporting by agencies
Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron have agreed a date for the French presidents state visit to the US, it has been announced.

Mr Macron is expected to visit Mr Trump in late April, according to Agence France-Presse  making him the first world leader to break ranks and visit Mr Trump in such an official manner since the US presidents inauguration over a year ago.

Theresa May invited Mr Trump to visit the UK in the hope of building close trade relations with the far-right presidents administration, but the trip has apparently been repeatedly delayed amid the threat of protests.

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Despite Ms Mays overtures to the US president, she was snubbed earlier this year when the White House announced that Mr Macron would be the first official visitor.

Ms May confirmed the visit was still going ahead in an interview last month, despite reports that it had been cancelled because of possible bad publicity.

She said she believed he was somebody who is taking decisions on what he believes is in the best interests on the US.

Mr Macron has been more publicly critical of Mr Trumps policies and comments than Ms May. The French president criticised the US president for allegedly calling African countries sh***ole countries, saying it was not a word you can use, and urging respect.

I am always extremely direct and frank, he said in an interview with the BBC in which he discussed the issue.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Trump visited France on Bastille Day last year where he watched a military parade. Describing the spectacle as one of the greatest parades Ive ever seen Mr Trump has since ordered the Pentagon to hold a similar military march through Washington DC.

He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation, his spokesperson told reporters in Washington DC.
At least three minors have been executed by hanging in Iran so far this year, rights organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.

18-year-old Amirhossein Pourjafa was hanged on 4 January in the northern town of Karaj for the alleged rape and murder of a three-year-old girl when he was 16.

On 30 January, 20-year-old Mahboubeh Mofidi of Nowshahr - married off at 13 - was executed for allegedly killing her husband at the age of 17.

 Nikki Haley: Iranians have become "so fed up with their oppressive government"

Also on 30 January, in Bushehr in Irans south, Ali Kazemi was hanged for killing someone in a street fight when he was 15.

Data collected by local rights groups, HRW and Amnesty International found significant flaws in all three cases, which HRW says should have led the authorities to reconsider the use of the death penalty.

The use of capital punishment for child offenders in January alone makes for a bloody start to 2018, Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Iran's 'Trumpism' contest Show all 10 1 /10 Iran's 'Trumpism' contest Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images Iran's 'Trumpism' contest AFP/Getty Images

Iran seems intent on erasing any positive impression gained from modest reforms to its drug execution laws last year.

When will Irans judiciary actually carry out its alleged mission, ensuring justice, and end this deplorable practice of executing children?

Iran has implemented the death penalty for a wide variety of charges since the 1979 Revolution, including drug trafficking and religious offences. It is one of only four countries, along with Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen, known to have executed child offenders since 2013.

Iran is a signatory of the UNs Convention on the Rights of the Child, which forbids use of the death penalty.

Despite that, at least 25 people have been executed for offences allegedly committed when they were children in Iran since 2014, Iran Human Rights says.

In 2013 changes to the penal code designed to protect minors in Irans criminal justice system were introduced allowing judges to use discretion in sentencing for capital punishment crimes.

However, a 2015 report from Amnesty International found that the changes had not been meaningfully implemented, allowing the authorities to whitewash their continuing violations of childrens rights and deflect criticism of their appalling record as one of the worlds last executioners of juvenile offenders.

Iranian officials did not immediately respond to The Independent's request for comment.
At the closing ceremony of the King Abdul Aziz camel festival in the desert village of Rumah, 130 kilometres (81 miles) from Riyadh, ardah dancers in two rows wave their swords to the drumbeat.

From behind the glass of the royal box, King Salman of Saudi Arabia beckons for his own sword, and with some effort rises to his feet. He lifts it over his head to join in with the performers.

His son, newly appointed Crown Prince Mohammed, stays seated with his arms folded, nodding his head to the music.

 Women in Saudi Arabia are learning to kick-box, in this underground gym in Jeddah

The stands at the race track are almost empty because of the tight security restrictions put in place for the royal party. But the spectators roar when the king stands up.

One man walks up as close as he can get to the glass walls of the VIP section, where dozens of middle aged men in white thobes and keffiyehs surround the king and his heir.

He uses his phone to take a photo through the glass but the inside light and reflection of the sun make for a poor picture. He sends it to about a dozen WhatsApp contacts anyway.

In your country, you have movie stars, celebrities, he said. In Saudi, we have the royal family.

Salman ascended to the throne after his 90-year-old half-brother Abdullah died of pneumonia in 2015.

He appointed Mohammed, his eldest son by his third wife, as his successor last June, and the young prince is now by some stretch the second most powerful person in the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia's camel festival Show all 11 1 /11 Saudi Arabia's camel festival Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival The camel is a symbol of Saudi Arabia. The annual King Abdulaziz Camel Festival celebrates all things camel, with beauty contests and races. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival This year, the massive 30-day event drew 600,000 people and more than 30,000 camels. When not rooting for the most beautiful camel or cheering along the fastest ones, theres plenty of other entertainment. Here people gather to watch a live music display. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival This year the camel festival made international news when 12 camels were disqualified after receiving lip-plumping botox injections. Amid the scandal, theres more pressure than ever to make sure camels are all-natural and healthy. Here, men roam between camels to check theyre fit for display. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival Camels are judged by the shape of their head, their height, their noses and more. In one enclosure, particularly rare and beautiful camels are on show. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival Moving camels from one part of the festival to another is no simple task. A driver escorts an entire group. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival Now theres a three-step process involving vets and camel experts to ensure no beauty beast gets a botox bias, said Dr. Fahd bin Abdullah Al-Sammari, general supervisor of the King Abdulaziz Foundation. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival Men wait for the camel races to start. With 6,120 camels participating in the races in 2018, the festival set a new Guinness World Record. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival A blue-eyed camel is placed into a separate enclosure, marked for its beauty. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival Camel trainers relax beside racing camels before the excitement starts. This year the festival rolled out a brand new 8km track that accommodates 100 camels and 200 cars. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival While most people watch the camel races from the outdoor stands, a special VIP tent is available for more luxurious viewing. Thuymi Do Saudi Arabia's camel festival Camel festival As the national anthem is played, festival attendees stand respectfully. Thuymi Do

The state of 81-year-old Salman's health is a fiercely guarded secret, but when he dies, MbS, as he is known, will be the youngest king the modern state has ever seen. At just 32, he is expected to effectively set the tone for Saudi policy for decades.

MbSs rise has electrified Saudi society. Unlike older generations of the royal family, he has embraced media attention and his face beams down from billboards and television screens everywhere.

To the young, the crown princes rapid ascent to power was taken as as sign that things in the conservative kingdom are changing. Now, reforms are being implemented quicker than even the most daring could have imagined a few years ago.

This country needs someone like him, 25-year-old Yousif el Helw, from Jeddah, told The Independent.

I definitely think he is genuine [about reform], because he doesnt have a reason not to be, Mr Helw added.

He doesnt need to do this for show, because the people have no say.

MbS is the driving force behind Vision 2030, the kingdoms long-term economic plan to wean itself off dependence on oil, and has helped write a raft of socially liberal royal decrees allowing women to drive, reining in the notorious religious police and reopening cinemas. He has also promised a return to a more "moderate" Islam.

His ideas are wildly popular in a country where 70 per cent of the 80 million strong population is under 30. Young people in the kingdom are hungry for the freedoms the growth of the internet and smartphones now allows them to see peers enjoying elsewhere.

Mohammed bin Salman genuinely seems to believe the country has been stuck in its old conservative ways for too long, said Daniel Byman, a senior fellow at the Centre for Middle East Policy in Washington DC.

Education and driving for women  these moves are about more than just helping the population swallow the recent economic woes. But theres always the question: Why now?

The rapid reforms do not stretch as far as addressing Saudi Arabias lack of freedoms of expression, assembly, or its liberal use of capital punishment.

They also do not fundamentally change the guardianship system which effectively makes Saudi women second-class citizens.

And in November, more than 200 members of the Saudi elite were locked up in Riyadhs Ritz-Carlton as part of an anti-corruption drive, a move that showed the new crown prince is as ruthless as he is charming.

By consolidating his power base at home MbS hopes to be able to realise the kingdoms vision of realigning the Middle East away from regional rival Iran. Domestic reform is also an indicator of good behaviour and progress - a potential pathway to gain international support for the new Saudi playbook.

Under US President Donald Trumps administration, Washington and Riyadh are now united by the idea that Iran is a definitive evil the world must stand against.

The US and Saudi have not been this closely aligned in years, Mr Byman said. There is a personal relationship and rhetorical harmony.

 Saudi Arabia king's golden escalator get stuck as he tries to descend from his plane in Russia

But the 32-year-old didnt earn the dubious epithet the most dangerous man in the world for nothing.

Western diplomatic sources say he has a reputation for recklessness. His policy within the Middle East to date has ranged from embarrassing to disastrous.

Attempts to influence events in Lebanon and Qatar have for the most part backfired; and the kingdoms involvement in Yemens civil war has stagnated to the point it is now being referred to as Saudis Vietnam.

Despite everything weve seen from Trump himself, its still actually quite hard to be friends with the Saudis right now, said Farea al Muslimi, a Yemeni analyst and non-resident fellow at Londons Chatham House.

You cant barefacedly sell arms [that are fuelling Yemens war]. No matter how much cleaning up the Saudis do of their image Yemen is still an ugly truth they are partly responsible for.

You could let dead people drive, not just women, but that fact is the same.

MbSs strategy at home is bold and, like his foreign policy adventures, it isnt guaranteed to work.

Saudi Arabia is going through more upheaval at the moment than the modern kingdom has ever seen. Not everyone is ready for social change, and members of the House of Saud sidelined by the crown princes recent power grab could yet form blocs of opposition against him.

The average Saudi citizen is suffering from fuel subsidy cuts and rising unemployment  factors which in the Arab Spring led to uprisings and war elsewhere in the region.

Saudi Arabia stands on the cusp of real change  but with it comes the inherent risk of instability.

Whether the new crown prince will be able to control the myriad forces he has unleashed both at home and abroad remains to be seen.
At least 23 people, including five children, have been killed in a regime air strike in Syria's Eastern Ghouta, amid an intense period of bombing in the Damascus suburb.

Russian and Syrian government forces have launched a new wave of air strikes and shelling, plunging the besieged area just outside the country's capital into a spiral of violence and despair.

Around 60 civilians were killed on Tuesday in air strikes and shelling that overwhelmed rescue workers and prompted the United Nations to call call for an immediate cease-fire in order to deliver critical medical care to civilians across the country.

In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Show all 30 1 /30 In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian family arrives at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian woman, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, reacts as she stands with her children in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past resident fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood , after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-regime fighters, gesture as they drive past residents fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood, after regime troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian residents, fleeing violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood, arrive in Aleppo's Fardos neighbourhood Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-regime fighter speaks with a child, as residents flee violence in the restive Bustan al-Qasr neighbourhood. Syrian rebels withdrew from six more neighbourhoods in their one-time bastion of east Aleppo in the face of advancing government troops AFP/Getty Images In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Smoke rises as seen from a governement-held area of Aleppo, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers targeting rebels-held areas in the eastern neighborhoods in Aleppo, Syria. According to media reports, the army is now holding on 99 percent of Aleppois eastern neighborhoods EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian pro-government forces patrol Aleppo's eastern al-Salihin neighbourhood after troops retook the area from rebel fighters Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian soldiers rest following the battle at al-Sheik Saeed neighborhood in Aleppo, Syria EPA In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian pro-government fighter walking past closed shops in the Bab al-Nasr district of Aleppo's Old City. Once renowned for its bustling souks, grand citadel and historic gates, Aleppo's Old City has been rendered virtually unrecognisable by some of the worst violence of Syria's war Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The crucial battle for Aleppo entered its 'final phase' after Syrian rebels retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The retreat leaves opposition fighters confined to just a handful of neighbourhoods in southeast Aleppo, the largest of them Sukkari and Mashhad Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilans arrive at a checkpoint, manned by pro-government forces, at the al-Hawoz street roundabout, after leaving Aleppo's eastern neighbourhoods. Syria's government has retaken at least 85 percent of east Aleppo, which fell to rebels in 2012, since beginning its operation Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian civilians flee the Sukkari neighbourhood towards safer rebel-held areas in southeastern Aleppo Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrians celebrate in the government-held Mogambo neighbourhood of the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, after rebel fighters retreated into a small pocket of their former bastion in the face of new army advances. The fall of Aleppo would be the worst rebel defeat since Syria's conflict began in 2011, and leave the government in control of the country's five major cities Getty In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee Aliya inside the tent where she lives with her husband and ten children in a camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Syrian refugee women and children outside the entrance to their tents in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA Wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A Syrian refugee woman outside the entrance to the tent where her family live, in the refugee camp in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, close to the Syrian border PA wire In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria A vehicle drives past a mosque at night in Idlib, Syria. Picture taken with a long exposure Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria The night sky is seen through damaged windows in the rebel-controlled town of Binnish in Idlib province, Syria Reuters In Pictures: The crisis unfolding in Syria Damaged buildings stand in the rebel-controlled area of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province, Syria Reuters

The punishing campaign by the Syrian government and its ally has also battered the northwestern province of Idlib, the largest area under opposition control in Syria.

The Idlib offensive hit hospitals and residential buildings and has intensified after militants shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet near the town of Saraqeb over the weekend.

Video later surfaced which is said to show the final moments of the pilot as he detonated a grenade to avoid being captured by fighters from Hayet Tahrir al-Sham, an al-Qaeda affiliated group.

 Video purports to show final moments of Russian pilot shot down in Syria

The UN mission in Damascus warned of "dire consequences" to the humanitarian crises in Syria, identifying seven areas needing urgent relief.

The ongoing fighting and deliberate obstructions by forces were preventing aid organisations from reaching civilians, it said.

A Syrian man looks at the rubble following air strikes on the rebel-held besieged town of Douma in the Eastern Ghouta region, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus (HAMZA AL-AJWEH/AFP/Getty Images) (Getty)

The lead investigator of a UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry on Syria said his team was looking into the reports bombs allegedly containing weaponised chlorine were used on two recent occasions in the town of Saraqeb, in Idlib, and Douma, in Eastern Ghouta.

In a statement, Paulo Pinheiro said the spiraling violence had made "a mockery of the so-called 'de-escalation zones"'  an agreement reached last year among Russia, Iran and Turkey to stabilise the lines of conflict and open corridors for humanitarian aid.

He described the government's siege and indiscriminate bombardment of eastern Ghouta as "international crimes."

On Wednesday, France's foreign minister said "all indications show us today that the Syrian regime is using chlorine gas at the moment."

Jean-Yves Le Drian added: "An investigation has been opened on that matter by the United Nations.

"The threat of using chemical weapons remains, this is a very serious situation."

Meanwhile, Syria said it had responded to "a new Israeli aggression" on Wednesday, after aircraft targeted a military outpost near Damascus.

State news agency SANA said air defences confronted the Israeli planes, which it said were flying over Lebanese territory when they fired the missiles and the army claimed its air defence system destroyed most of the missiles.

"Our air defence systems responded to missiles fired by the Israeli enemy air force from over Lebanese territory on a military outpost in Damascus countryside and destroyed most of them," an army statement said.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the air strike targeted positions of the Syrian army and its allies in the area of Jamraya, northwest of Damascus, which is home to a government research centre and was also hit in December.

Syria's multisided war has drawn in armies and insurgents from around the world, aggravating a conflict that began in 2011 as an uprising against its President, Bashar al-Assad.

Though he appears to have survived the insurgency, his forces continue to bomb and besiege opposition pockets across Syria, including in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib.

Additional reporting by agencies
New satellite images showed that North Korea is building two new bases as well as upgrading two other facilities that could put troops in South Korea within 30 minutes.

The bases will house the secretive countrys hovercraft and a fleet of assault vehicles according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), who published the images as part of a new study.

Leader Kim Jong-uns latest move comes just ahead of the Winter Olympics taking place in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

The hermit kingdom is also preparing to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its military on 8 February, just one day before the Olympics begins.

Celebrations had originally been scheduled for 25 April, but North Korea moved the date up.

Joseph Bermudez, author of the study and an imagery analyst for the 38 North website, which is run by the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University, said the base at Yonbong-ni will be the closest to the border and is set to be finished next year.

From there, the South Korean port of Incheon is just 90 minutes away, but the South Korean island of Daecheong-do is only a half hour away for hovercraft to make land.

However, thus far the Korean Peoples Navy has not significantly increased the number of hovercraft deployed along the West Sea and has not forward deployed the hovercraft units from older bases, CSIS wrote.

 North Korea announce high level delegation will attend Winter Olympics opening ceremony

Other satellite imagery showed that 13,000 troops were rehearsing at a training facility outside the capital Pyongyang.

Amid growing concerns that North Korea is continuing to build its nuclear weapons programme despite strict US and United Nations sanctions, US President Donald Trump has agreed to delay joint military exercises with South Korea until after the Winter Olympics.

North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Show all 21 1 /21 North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Pukguksong-2 missile - 2 May 2017 A solid-fuel "Pukguksong-2" missile lifts off during its launch test in North Korea on May 22, 2017. They said that it was examining operational plans for attacking Guam, an angry reaction to UN punishment for previous North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile tests and a US suggestion about preparations for possible preventive attacks to stop the North's nuclear weapons program. Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-12 -16 September 2017 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un inspecting a launching drill of the medium-and-long range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 at an undisclosed location. Kim vowed to complete North Korea's nuclear force despite sanctions, saying the final goal of his country's weapons development is "equilibrium of real force" with the United States, state media reported on September 16, 2017. AFP/Getty Images North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Donald Trump address South Korean assembly - 7 November 2017 President Donald Trump talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-In during their joint press conference at the presidential Blue House on November 7, 2017 in Seoul.Trump was the first US President to address the South Korean National Assembly since President Clinton in 1993. He addressed Kim Jong Un warning him to not underestimate the US and that for talks to materialize then Pyongyang would need to take steps into denuclearization. Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Demilitarized Zone Haean-Myeon, is a small military town near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and border between North and South Korea, in Gangwon province. The zone is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula and was created after the 'Korean Armistice Agreement'. Any negotiations between the two countries tend to take place in this zone. AFP/Getty Images North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Declared state sponsor of terrorism by Trump - 20 November 2017 President Donald Trump speaks to the media during a cabinet meeting at the White House on November 20, 2017, where he officially designated North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism. North Korea had previously been on the list, however was removed in 2008. Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - 29 November 2017 The North Korean government launches it's Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile at an undisclosed location in North Korea on November 29, 2017. It is supposedly capable of reaching all parts of the US. Korean Central News Agency via AP North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile - 29 November 2017 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un celebrating the launch of the Hwasong-15 missile on November 29, 2017. AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Kim Jong-Un New Year's speech - 1 January 2018 North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un delivering his New Year's speech. He vowed North Korea would mass-produce nuclear warheads and missiles in a defiant New Year message on January 1 suggesting he would continue to accelerate a rogue weapons programme that has stoked international tensions. Korean Central News Agency via AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Intercontinental ballistic missile ice sculpture - 1 January 2018 Fireworks are seen above the Taedong River during New Year celebrations as visitors pose for a photo in front of an ice sculpture of an intercontinental ballistic missile at the Pyongyang Ice Sculpture Festival in Kim Il Sung Square in North Korea on 1 January, 2018. REUTERS North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures US-South Korean military drills postponed - 4 January 2018 South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks with US President Donald Trump on January 4, 2018 in Seoul. South Korea and US agreed to delay the annual "Foal Eagle" military drills until after the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games in an effort to "de-conflict" the Games and "focus on ensuring the security" of the event. South Korean Presidential Blue House via Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North and South Korea have first official talks in over two years - 9 January 2018 Vehicles transporting the South Korean delegation, led by South Korean Unification Ministrer Cho Myoung-Gyon, drive past a checkpoint on the road connecting South and North Korea at the Unification Bridge, near the Demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating them both on January 9, 2018 in Paju. They began their first official face-to-face talks in two years. Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North and South Korea have first official talks in over two years - 9 January 2018 Members of the South Korea delegation (R) shake hands with members of the North Korean delegation (L) during their meeting at the border truce village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) dividing the two Koreas on January 9, 2018. They focused on the forthcoming Winter Olympics after months of tensions over Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme. AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Foreign Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula - 16 January 2018 Foreign Ministers from twenty countries from North and South America, Asia, and Europe pose for a photo at the Vancouver Foreign Ministers Meeting on Security and Stability on the Korean Peninsula, in Vancouver on January 16, 2018. The US urged an escalation in pressure on North Korea over its nuclear missile program, despite a more cautious tone from key US ally South Korea. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, co-hosted the event with Canada's foreign minister Chrystia Freeland, and called for North Korean ships to be intercepted and for new punitive measures to be implemented every time Pyongyang tests new weapons. AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea and South Korea to march together at Winter Olympics - 20 January 2018 PyeongChang 2018 Olympics President Lee Hee-beom, North Korea's Sports Minister and Olympic Committee president Kim Il Guk, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Do Jong-hwan and South Korea's National Olympic Committee President Lee Kee-heung join their hands as they pose during a signing ceremony at the Olympic Museum on January 20, 2018 in Lausanne. North Korea will send 22 athletes to the Winter Games in the South. The two nations will also march together at the opening ceremony. AFP/Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Anti-North Korea activists protest delegation arrival - 22 January 2018 Anti-North Korea activists burn a portrait of leader Kim Jong-Un during a rally Seoul Station as a North Korean delegation arrived to check out performance venues for the Winter Olympics on January 22, 2018. Protesters led by the Korean Patriots Party gathered and complained that the talks to encourage North Korea's participation is stealing the spotlight from their country to the benefit of the regime. Donga Daily via Getty North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Panmunjom - 7 February 2018 South Korean soldiers stand guard at the border village of Panmunjom in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea on February 7, 2018. In a sign of thawing bilateral ties, North Korea today announced that Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, will attend the opening ceremony of the PyeongChang Winter Olympic Games. Getty Images North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North Korean ferry arrives in South Korea - 6 February 2018 North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 carrying a 140-strong orchestra approaches a port in Donghae, South Korea, February 6, 2018. REUTERS North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Anti-North Korea protest - 6 February 2018 A member of a conservative civic group tears a portrait of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an anti-North Korea protest as the North Korean ferry Mangyongbong-92 carrying a 140-strong orchestra approached. REUTERS North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures North Korea at the athletes village - 8 February 2018 A North Korean flag is seen hanging on a building at the Winter Olympics athletes village in Gangneung, South Korea. REUTERS North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Olympic Welcome ceremony - 8 February 2018 Democratic People's Republic of Korea Vice Sports Minister Won Gil-woo receives a gift from mayor of the Olympic Village Kim Ki-hoon during the welcome ceremony ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 Games at the Olympic Village on 8 February, 2018 in South Korea. Getty Images North Korea  South Korea relations: in pictures Mike Pence meets Moon Jae-in - 8 February 2018 US Vice President Mike Pence shakes hands with South Korean President Moon Jae-in before their meeting at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea on 8 February, 2018. REUTERS

Mr Trump consulted with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the matter, according to Pentagon spokesman Colonel Rob Manning.

The decision pushes back a set of annual military exercises known as Foal Eagle, which are usually held between February and April. Foal Eagle is a series of exercises designed to test the readiness of the US and South Korean militaries.

Seoul also announced that it would begin direct talks with Pyongyang.

Mr Moon ran his presidential campaign last year with the promise and goal of a "sunshine policy" towards North Korea; more open economic relations and direct negotiating to achieve peace.
Large antelopes called hartebeests, which were formerly widespread in Africa, have over the years declined in numbers with some sub-species being declared extinct, according to the International Union for Conservation and Nature.

Hartebeest is a large African antelope, also known as Kongoni, which has eight sub-species of which one is entirely extinct while others are facing imminent danger.

Hartebeests have significant numbers. The main threat to these species is habitat degradation and diseases but we have put in place measures to conduct more researches for the purposes of treatment of these rare African antelopes, said Samuel Mutisya, head of Wildlife at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in central Kenyas Laikipia area.

Kenya is a home of Cokes and Lewels hartebeests, which have cross-bred producing Jacksons species, whose numbers are also declining. The conservation status of Cokes hartebeest falls under least concerned and the numbers are noted to be decreasing while the Lewel hartebeest is categorized as Endangered. The numbers, according to the IUCN red list, is also in the decline.

The Bubal hartebeest, which was majorly found within the North of Sahara desert, was declared extinct in 1994 by the IUCN while the Tora hartebeest has been classified under Critically endangered species, meaning it faces very high risk of extinction.

Critically endangered category is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN red list for the wild species. And while the Jacksons hartebeest has significant numbers and is largely found in the Mount Kenya region, with significant numbers in Laikipia and Lewa conservancies, the populations have been drastically been reducing, a situation which researches are pointing it to predation, diseases and also habitat loss.

It is presumed that Jacksons hartebeest has significant numbers, with those in Laikipia having declined by more than 80 percent in the past 15 years.

Mr Mutisya said Jacksons hartebeests are under key monitoring within the conservancies in Laikipia. Lungworm disease, erratic rainfall as a result of climate change form part of the factors threatening the existence of hartebeests.

Reports from the IUCN indicates that nearly 70 per cent of antelope species are classified as Near Threatened or Least Concern. The hartebeest is extinct in Algeria, Egypt, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, and Tunisia; but has been introduced into Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

Reports further indicates that hunting threatens hartebeest due to its highly-regarded meat. Wildlife conservationists, however, say the extinction of the Bubal hartebeest should serve as a warning about the vulnerability of hartebeests.

African Wildlife Foundation has also been working with governments and residents to designate wildlife corridors, especially in areas where hartebeest use to roam freely and safely from one park or country to another. Corridors link protected areas and allow wildlife to follow rains or travel to their calving grounds in safety, AWF stated in its website.

This article is reproduced here as part of the Giants Club African Conservation Journalism Fellowships, a programme of the charity Space for Giants and supported by the owner of ESI Media, which includes independent.co.uk. It aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate. Read the original story here
A tombstone marking the final resting place of a 12-month pregnant rhino felled by poachers stands conspicuously amid 15 others, under a tree at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya's central Laikipia County.

Ishrini was 20 years old, on the verge of giving birth, when it fell victim to poaching on February 22, 2016. It was buried in a cemetery purposely set aside for rhinos killed by poachers in the past 13 years.

The continued decline in rhino population size because of poaching led to the opening of the cemetery in 2004, in a move to raise awareness.

The tombstones are a stark reminder of how illegal poaching is fast depleting the rhinos and of the devastation of the illegal wildlife trade.

They are also an inspiration to all who visit to continue supporting rhino conservation, Samuel Mutisya, the head of Wildlife at Ol Pejeta Conservancy, said. Although rhino horns are made up primarily of keratin, a protein found in hair, fingernails and animal hooves, the misconception about rhino horn products continues to fuel the animals killing.

Morani was the first rhino to be buried in the cemetery and was an ambassador in the conservancy, an icon used to raise awareness on the endangered species.

Morani was an ambassador. It was among the first 20 batch of rhinos brought in to Ol Pejeta. And when it died in 2004 of age-related ailments, it was buried at the cemetery. However, we thought it fit for Morani to continue with raising awareness on the dangers of poaching, said Mr Mutisya.

(Frank AF Petersens (Frank AF Petersens)

Ol Pejeta is home to the worlds last remaining three northern white rhinos and 113 endangered black rhinos.

Morani became an icon in raising awareness about the plight of black rhinos and other vulnerable species in the wild. And to further commemorate it, an information centre in its name was also put up.

According to Mr Mutisya, some rhinos are not necessarily buried in the cemetery due to distance and ferrying the carcasses but tombstones bearing their names, cause of death and ages are put up. Reading the epitaphs on the tombstones paints a grim picture on poaching, with indications that some were felled with poisoned arrows while others were killed on the verge of giving birth.

Awareness is a key pillar against poaching. We educate the communities living around, who will also help us even with intelligence in cases of suspicious movements. We are also using technology in conservation of these animals, Mutisya said.

Ishrini, according to its tombstone, was found writhing in pain after being attacked with poisoned arrows. Its horns had also been chopped off.

Maxs grave is also among those in the cemetery. Despite efforts to dehorn it to curb poaching, it was killed in 2011, with its small regenerated horns chopped off. It died aged six. It is emotional. It paints a critical picture of how poaching is a threat to existence of these endangered wild animals. Rather than just putting down statistics, it is better for the world to see for themselves how devastating poaching is, said Mutisya.

Before burying a fallen giant, horns are removed in cases where poachers did not get away with them and handed over to the Kenya Wildlife Service as trophies.

However, with an anti-poaching operations, Ol Pejetas rhino population has grown steadily towards our maximum carrying capacity. In 2016, we hit 111 black rhinos and 23 white rhinos, and were well on target to achieve our goal of 120 black rhinos before 2020, added Mutisya.

For more information visit www.olpejetaconservancy.org

This article is reproduced here as part of the Giants Club African Conservation Journalism Fellowships, a programme of the charity Space for Giants and supported by the owner of ESI Media, which includes independent.co.uk. It aims to expand the reach of conservation and environmental journalism in Africa, and bring more African voices into the international conservation debate. Read the original story here
The outburst from Anna Soubry, the Conservative MP for Broxtowe, was one of those moments that lit up the changing political landscape. She said it is about time the Prime Minister stood up to the hard ideological Brexiteers, who are, she said, not the Tory party I joined 40 years ago  and slung em out.

It would be tempting for her opponents in the Tory party  and she named them as Jacob Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson  to dismiss her words as a howl of despair from the long-retreating tradition of pro-European Conservatism.

The party of Ted Heath that took Britain into the European Community 45 years ago now has just two representatives in the House of Commons prepared to vote against the Government consistently on the question of Brexit: Kenneth Clarke, who voted as an MP in 1971 to join, and Ms Soubry.

But Ms Soubrys call on Theresa May to hold firm against the hard Brexiteers is nevertheless significant. It should remind the Prime Minister  and the rest of us  of two things. One is that a narrow majority of Conservative MPs voted, as Ms May did, to remain in the European Union in the referendum.

The hearts of Conservative Party members in the country, a dwindling band whose numbers may now be as low as 70,000 compared with the 550,000 members of Jeremy Corbyns Labour Party, beat in the opposite direction. About two thirds of Conservative members voted to leave.

That means that if there were a contest now, Ms May would probably be replaced as Conservative leader and prime minister by a hard ideological Brexiteer. It is hard to predict which of Mr Rees-Mogg, Mr Johnson and Michael Gove  the dream team reported by The Sunday Times at the weekend to be readying themselves  would emerge victorious from the chaos of a Tory leadership election. But, if the members were asked to choose before the final shape of Brexit had become clear, it is unlikely that they would opt, for example, for the common-sense pragmatism of Amber Rudd, the arch-Remainer.

Ms May remains, therefore, the best hope of what might be called the soft Brexit majority among Conservative MPs.

The second fact of which Ms Soubry should remind us is that there is also a majority for a soft Brexit in the whole House of Commons. The Labour Party is just as divided as the Conservatives, and its leaderships policy on Brexit is indistinguishable from that of the Government. But there is a majority in the House for keeping as close a relationship with the EU as possible.

It is easy to lose sight of these facts at this stage of the Brexit talks, when Michel Barnier, the EU negotiator, has an incentive to present the UKs choice as being one between a hard Brexit or no Brexit at all.

However, in the negotiations over the next few months it is possible that the EU and the UK could find a middle way that would allow both sides to benefit from a close trading relationship.

Ms Soubrys tirade may have been intemperate. There is certainly no prospect of either side in the Tory civil war expelling their opponents.

But she provided a public service to everyone who wants to mitigate the damaging effects of leaving the EU. She reminded them that Ms May, for all her faults, stands a better chance of negotiating a soft Brexit than any of her likely replacements. And she reminded them that, if Ms May succeeds, she would have more support in Parliament than any of the dream team could hope to.
Chinese solar panel manufacturer Longi Solar Technology Ltd. announced it will begin manufacturing solar panels in India to avoid trade controls imposed by the U.S. and other markets. (Longi Solar Technology Ltd. Twitter photo)
Indian paramilitary troops stand guard at a hospital in Srinagar Feb. 6. Two gunmen opened fire Feb. 6 in a hospital in India-administered Kashmir where a Pakistani militant was brought for treatment, an official said, escaping with the high-profile prisoner and killing a police officer in the daring assault. A manhunt is underway after the assailants stormed the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital in Srinagar and opened fire on police guarding Naveed Jutt, a Pakistani rebel imprisoned in the restive province since 2014. (Tauseef Mustafa/AFP/Getty Images)
Visiting European Commissioner Pierre, one of the more pro-Greek leaders in the EU, told his hosts on Wednesday that there's "light at the end of the tunnel," in referring to the end of the third - and last - bailout for the country in August 2018.
Ex-spy Chief Claims Palestinian Officials Worked With CIA to Wiretap Opponents

By Palestine News Network

February 07, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - President Mahmoud Abbas and his government are facing lawsuits filed against them by a former intelligence chief and a ranking member of the bar association who allege to have been targeted in a large-scale wiretapping and electronic monitoring operation supported by the CIA.

Tawfiq Tirawi, who was the intelligence chief between 1994 and 2008, and Jawad Obeidat, the current chairman of the Palestinian Bar Association, claim to have been targeted over criticism levelled at the regime under President Abbas.

Tirawi and Obediat both appear in a series of documents leaked in January and shared on social media. The author of the documents claims to be a former employee of the Palestinian Security Service who opposed the monitoring program and grew disillusioned.

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The documents allege that the Palestinian Security Services set-up and coordinated the electronic surveillance and wiretapping of thousands of members of the Palestinian public as well as high ranking officials.

The documents reportedly show evidence of extrajudicial surveillance conducted by security forces, including the monitoring of senior military officials in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, legal authorities, and members of Fatah and the PLO, including those allied with, and opposed to, rule under President Abbas.

The documents include names of supporters of President Abbas principal rival, Mohammed Dahlan.

The Palestinian Authority allegedly approached the CIA in late-2013 for assistance in a wiretapping program. The CIA agreed on the stipulation that they would have oversight of the operation.

The documents included a copy of an alleged invitation letter issued by TeleStrategies to two senior Palestinian security officers to attend an ISS World Middle East Intelligence Support Systems Conference in Dubai in March 2014.

ISS purportedly provided the equipment for the surveillance operation.

ISS and its parent company TeleStratergies offer security and technology system solutions to law enforcement agencies and are based out of Virginia in the United States.

The lawsuit comes at a time of heightened tensions between President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority and the United States after President Trumps decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

President Abbas will also face a long overdue election later this year though a date is yet to be set.

This article was originally published by " Palestine News Network " -

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Drones 'Used to Kill Terror Suspects Outside Warzones', Bombshell MoD Document States

By Paul Hutcheon



February 07, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - THE UK Government has been urged to make an urgent statement after an official defence document declared that lethal drone strikes had been used to kill terror suspects outside warzones.



Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials published a report which claimed that the UK has a practice of using remotely-piloted aircraft to target terrorists outwith armed conflicts.



However, when the inflammatory claim was brought to the MoDs attention by SNP MP Stewart McDonald, officials then deleted the section and described its inclusion as a mistake.

The backtracking has led to fears that the Government risks a US-style policy of using drone attacks wherever it wants across the globe.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), otherwise known as a drones, operate without a human pilot aboard and are used in conflicts throughout the world. Armed with missiles, they have been deployed in Syria and Iraq to kill senior figures in Isis, including British-born individuals suspected of joining the terror group.

However, there are major human rights concerns about drones, with critics arguing that innocent people have been killed by the strikes and that the defence strategy amounts to the death penalty without trial.

A key part of the controversy in the UK is whether drones have been restricted to warzones, or, more controversially, outside armed conflicts. Critics fear that conducting drone attacks outside conflict areas could lead to the type of targeted killings approach adopted by the US in Pakistan and Yemen.

In August 2015, British jihadi Reyaad Khan was killed by an RAF drone strike in Syria after he appeared in a recruitment video for Isis/Daesh. Khan was believed to be involved in plotting and directing terrorist attacks in the UK.

However, when the attack took place military action against targets in Syria had not then been authorised by the UK Parliament . David Cameron, who was Prime Minister at the time, said the intervention had been part of the Governments counter-terrorism strategy.

A Joint Committee on Human Rights, comprised of peers and MPs, considered the attack and its broader implications.

The committee concluded: We accept that the drone strike in Syria was part of that wider armed conflict in which the UK was already engaged, to which the Law of War applies, and that the Government therefore did not use lethal force outside of armed conflict when it targeted and killed Reyaad Khan on 21 August.

In September, the MoD published its Joint Doctrine on unmanned aircraft, an 84-page document which covered issues raised by the widespread adoption of the aircraft, as well as legal, moral and ethical issues. It stated that arguments against using the aircraft are centred on worries that systems will be misused, or used illegally.

However, in a little-read section that could have huge consequences, the document added: They may also arise from the recent UK, and other states, practice of targeting suspected terrorists outside of the armed conflict itself and the meaning and application of a states right to self defence.

SNP defence spokesman McDonald spotted the line on the UK Government having a practice of targeting terror suspects outside of the armed conflict itself.

In a letter to new Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson on December 11, he wrote: Is the Government now acknowledging that it has applied lethal force against terror suspects outside of armed conflict and/or has a policy on this matter?

After the letter was sent, a new version of the document was uploaded on the MoD website on December 22. The sentence had vanished.

Instead, the new doctrine stated: Such concerns are not unique to UAS [drones and the ground-based communications systems], and the use of armed force  whether delivered by manned or unmanned systems  will always be consistent with the UKs national and international legal rights and obligations.

An examination of the PDF reveals the new version of the drones document was created on December 11  the day on which McDonald wrote to the MOD  and the last edit was eight days later.

In his response last month, Williamsons colleague, Armed Forces Minister Mark Lancaster, said: You raise a sentence on page 39 of the document that misleadingly suggests that the UK Government applies a policy of using lethal force outside armed conflict. Let me reassure you that there is no such policy, and that the erroneous drafting was removed from the document at the start of December.

However, the Government response denied applying a policy on lethal force outside armed conflict, when in fact the original document referred to a practice.

McDonald, who represents Glasgow South for the SNP, said: The Government has always been mysteriously vague about the use of drones outside of a warzone, so I was amazed to see its policy document refer to a practice of doing so  and that is why I sought clarification on what the practice is and how it is legally overseen.

My suspicions were raised further when the Government then removed the document from the MoD website, after receiving my letter, and then reproduced it the day after Parliament stopped for Christmas recess with that crucial sentence removed.

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A document of this nature will have gone through an incredible amount of vetting and redrafting, and will presumably have been cleared by senior officials, legal experts and ministers to ensure accuracy and accordance with the law, before it is put into the public domain. To claim that this was just an erroneous drafting error just wont cut it."

He added: "The Government must assure Parliament and the public that it is acting in accordance with the law and attempts to brush this off are not good enough.

Oliver Feeley-Sprague, Amnesty International UKs Arms Control Programme Director, said: Although this may be a case of ministers getting the original text wrong, it does act as a reminder that there are serious concerns over how the UK uses drones overseas.

Weve long been concerned that the UK Government has been less than transparent over how and when drones are used to kill."

He added: In recent months, UK Government ministers have made a series of worryingly gung-ho remarks about eliminating people with such attacks  yet we still have very little information about the legal basis for drone attacks, the oversight measures in place for attacks, or the processes for monitoring civilian casualties.

Nobody would question the seriousness of the security threats the UK faces, nor of the need for the UK Government to respond to those threats, but that shouldnt mean the UK is operating outside of the law in places like Iraq and Syria.

Jen Gibson of Reprieve, a leading human rights group, said: The public has a right to know the Governments policy on taking lethal strikes in our name. And our armed forces deserve the protection of greater legal clarity and guidance."

Gibson, who heads the charity's Extrajudicial Killings team, team, said: The Government appears to be in complete chaos over this. We had the Defence Secretary vowing to hunt people down anywhere. Then we had a long overdue, official document saying the Government have a practice of killing people outside of armed conflict zones. And now we have a minister claiming there is no policy at all and their own document was misleading.

Unless Government publishes its policy, we risk being dragged on President Trumps coattails into unending conflicts around the world, from Yemen to Niger.

Asked whether the MoD had admitted to a practice of using drones to kill terror suspects outside of armed conflicts, a spokesman said Lancasters letter reflects the departments position.

This article was originally published by " The Herald " -

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In Words and Deeds: The Genesis of Israeli Violence

By Ramzy Baroud

February 07, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Not a day passes without a prominent Israeli politician or intellectual making an outrageous statement against Palestinians. Many of these statements tend to garner little attention or evoke rightly deserved outrage.

Just recently, Israels Minister of Agriculture, Uri Ariel, called for more death and injuries on Palestinians in Gaza.

What is this special weapon we have that we fire and see pillars of smoke and fire, but nobody gets hurt? It is time for there to be injuries and deaths as well, he said.

Ariels calling for the killing of more Palestinians came on the heels of other repugnant statements concerning a 16-year-old teenager girl, Ahed Tamimi. Ahed was arrested in a violent Israeli army raid at her home in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh.

A video recording showed her slapping an Israeli soldier a day after the Israeli army shot her cousin in the head, placing him in a coma.

Israeli Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, known for his extremist political views, demanded that Ahed and other Palestinian girls should spend the rest of their days in prison.

A prominent Israeli journalist, Ben Caspit, sought yet more punishment. He suggested that Ahed and girls like her should be raped in jail.

In the case of the girls, we should exact a price at some other opportunity, in the dark, without witnesses and cameras, he wrote in Hebrew .

This violent and revolting mindset, however, is not new. It is an extension of an old, entrenched belief system that is predicated on a long history of violence.

Undeniably, the views of Ariel, Bennett and Caspit are not angry statements uttered in a moment of rage. They are all reflections of real policies that have been carried out for over 70 years. Indeed, killing, raping and imprisoning for life are features that have accompanied the state of Israel since the very beginning.

This violent legacy continues to define Israel to this day, through the use of what Israeli historian Ilan Pappe describes as incremental genocide.

Throughout this long legacy, little has changed except for names and titles. The Zionist militias that orchestrated the genocide of the Palestinians prior to the establishment of Israel in 1948 merged together to form the Israeli army; and the leaders of these groups became Israels leaders.

Israels violent birth in 1947- 48 was the culmination of the violent discourse that preceded it for many years. It was the time when Zionist teachings of prior years were put into practice and the outcome was simply horrifying.

The tactic of isolating and attacking a certain village or town and executing its population in a horrible, indiscriminate massacre was a strategy employed, time and again, by Zionist bands to compel the population of surrounding villages and towns to flee, Ahmad Al-Haaj told me when I asked him to reflect on Israels past and present.

Al-Haaj is a Palestinian historian and an expert on the Nakba, the Catastrophe that had befallen Palestinians in 1948.

The 85-year-old intellectuals proficiency in the subject began 70 years ago, when, as a 15-year-old, he witnessed the massacre of Beit Daras at the hands of Jewish Haganah militia.

The destruction of the southern Palestinian village and the killing of dozens of its inhabitants resulted in the depopulation of many adjacent villages, including al-Sawafir, Al-Haajs home village.

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The notorious Deir Yasin massacre was the first example of such wanton killing, a model that was duplicated in other parts of Palestine, Al-Haaj said.

The ethnic cleansing of Palestine at the time was orchestrated by several Zionist militias. The mainstream Jewish militia was the Haganah which belonged to the Jewish Agency.

The latter functioned as a semi-government, under the auspices of the British Mandate Government, while the Haganah served as its army.

However, other breakaway groups also operated according to their own agenda. Two leading bands amongst them were the Irgun (National Military Organization) and Lehi (also known as the Stern Gang). These groups carried out numerous terrorist attacks, including bus bombings and targeted assassinations.

Russian-born Menachem Begin was the leader of the Irgun which, along with the Stern Gang and other Jewish militants, massacred hundreds of civilians in Deir Yassin.

Tell the soldiers: you have made history in Israel with your attack and your conquest. Continue this until victory. As in Deir Yassin, so everywhere, we will attack and smite the enemy. God, God, Thou has chosen us for conquest, Begin wrote at the time. He described the massacre as a splendid act of conquest.

The intrinsic link between words and actions remain unchanged.

Nearly 30 years later, a once wanted terrorist , Begin became Prime Minister of Israel. He accelerated land theft of the newly-occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, launched a war on Lebanon, annexed Occupied Jerusalem to Israel and carried out the massacre of Sabra and Shatilla in 1982.

Some of the other terrorists-turned-politicians and top army brass include Begin, Moshe Dayan, Yitzhak Rabin, Ariel Sharon, Rafael Eitan and Yitzhak Shamir. Each one of these leaders has a record dotted with violence.

Shamir served as the Prime Minister of Israel from 1986  1992. In 1941, Shamir was imprisoned by the British for his role in the Stern Gang. Later, as Prime Minister, he ordered a violent crackdown against a mostly non-violent Palestinian uprising in 1987, purposely breaking the limbs of kids accused of throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers.

So, when government ministers like Ariel and Bennett call for wanton violence against Palestinians, they are simply carrying on with a bloody legacy that has defined every single Israeli leader in the past. It is the violent mindset that continues to control the Israeli government and its relationship with Palestinians; in fact, with all of its neighbors.

 Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and editor of Palestine Chronicle. His forthcoming book is  The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story  (Pluto Press, London). Baroud has a Ph.D. in Palestine Studies from the University of Exeter and is a Non-Resident Scholar at Orfalea Center for Global and International Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. His website is www.ramzybaroud.net .

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'Bringing Humankind Closer to Annihilation': World Leaders Denounce Trump's New Nuclear Posture



"The public is right to distrust Trump with nuclear weapons, and we all need to speak up and oppose these new, dangerous policies."



By Jon Queally

February 07, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - As the Chinese government on Sunday urged the U.S. government to drop its "Cold War mentality" and criticized the Trump administration's new nuclear weapons posture, released Friday, other world leaders also expressed alarm that the new policy for expanded development of "smaller" atomic weapons and reduced restrictions on their use was leading "humankind closer to annihilation."

Beijing expressed alarm over how the U.S. characterized the Chinese military buildup as it reminded the world that nuclear weapons should not be considered "first strike" weapons.

"China has always exercised the utmost restraint in the development of nuclear weapons and limited its nuclear capabilities to the minimum level required for national security," said Ren Guoqiang, a spokesperson of the Chinese defense ministry, in a statement.

"We hope the US side will discard its 'cold-war mentality,' shoulder its own special and primary responsibility for nuclear disarmament, understand correctly China's strategic intentions and take a fair view of China's national defense and military development," Guoqiang added.

When the Pentagon on Friday released its new Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) (pdf), as Common Dreams reported , peace and disarmament groups in the U.S. and around the world expressed immediate alarm at the document and its implications.

"Who in their right mind thinks we should expand the list of scenarios in which we might launch nuclear weapons?" asked Peace Action in a statement. "Who let Dr. Strangelove write the Nuclear Posture Review?"

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In a column for CNNtitled " Give Trump more nuclear weapons and more ways to use them? Not a good idea "Tom Collina, policy director of the anti-nuclear Ploughshares Fund, noted a recent poll showing that 60 percent of Americans do not trust Trump with nuclear weapons and argued:

The public is right to distrust Trump with nuclear weapons, and we all need to speak up and oppose these new, dangerous policies. People don't tend to think of nuclear war as a policy choice, but it is, just like health care or immigration. The Trump administration's policies are increasing the risk of nuclear war. Sure, you could build a bomb shelter and hide, but that does not lower the risk of war, and it is highly unlikely to save you. Instead, we need to prevent nuclear war in the first place by changing government policy.

In a televised speech on Sunday, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani cited the Trump administration's new posture and accused the U.S. of "shamelessly threatening Russia with a new atomic weapon."

"The same people who supposedly believe that using weapons of mass destruction is a crime against humanity," he added, "are talking about new weapons to threaten or use against rivals."

Separately, in a tweet, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Trump of moving in a "dangerous" direction that was bringing "humankind closer to annihilation":

The US Nuclear Posture Review reflects greater reliance on nukes in violation of the #NPT , bringing humankind closer to annihilation. No wonder the Doomsday Clock is at its most dangerous since 1953. Trumps obduracy in killing the #JCPOA stems from the same dangerous imprudence.  Javad Zarif (@JZarif) February 3, 2018

On Saturday, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergie Lavrov also expressed alarm over the new NPR.

"While just having a flick through the document, one can notice that its confrontational charge and anti-Russian focus stare in the face," Lavrov, quoted by the TASS News Agency, stated. "We state with regret that the US justifies its policy for a massive buildup of nuclear forces and an alleged increasing role of nuclear weapons in Russia's doctrines. We are accused of lowering a threshold of nuclear weapon use and of some 'aggressive strategies'." He disputed that characterization, but said Moscow would have not choice but to reassess, and possibly alter, its military and nuclear calculations accordingly.

Like China, Lavrov said the change of nuclear posture by the U.S. under Trump contrasts sharply with its own, in which atomic weapons are considered a strictly defensive deterrent, not a weapon they would consider using against a non-nuclear state or in a "first-strike" capacity.

"Russia's military policy has unambiguously limited the threshold of use of nuclear weapons to twolet us put it bluntlyhypothetical, entirely defensive scenarios," Lavrov stated. "They are as follows: in response to an act of aggression against Russia and (or) against our allies if nuclear or other types of mass destruction weapons are used, and alsothat is the second scenariowith use of conventional arms but only in case our state's very existence would be in danger."

This article was originally published by " Common Dreams " -

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Trump Considers Bloody Nose Strike On North Korea

By Peter Symonds



February 07, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The Trump administration, or a powerful military-intelligence faction within it, is pushing for a pre-emptive military strike on North Korea, in the wake of, or possibly even during, the Winter Olympics due to start in South Korea on Friday.



The bloody nose optiona limited attack on the North Korean nuclear missile arsenal and infrastructureis supposed to overawe the Pyongyang regime and bully it into surrendering to Washingtons demands to denuclearise.



Unprovoked US aggression, however, would almost certainly trigger retaliation, rather than submission, with incalculable consequences. Even if nuclear weapons were not immediately used, the death toll in South Korea alone is estimated in the tens of thousands on the first day, in a conflict that could rapidly draw in nuclear-armed powers such as China and Russia.



Yet, such an act of recklessness and savagery is precisely what is being discussed, debated and prepared in the upper echelons of the White House and the US security-intelligence apparatus. Within top military-foreign policy circles, the advanced nature of the plans is so well known that it is generating fears and opposition.



Last week, the Trump administration abruptly dumped its appointee for US ambassador to South Korea, Victor Cha, after he voiced opposition to a pre-emptive strike on North Korea. Cha subsequently went public, penning a comment in the Washington Post in which he warned that a US attack would put 230,000 Americans in South Korea at riskequivalent to a medium-sized city like Pittsburgh or Cincinnati.



A letter to Trump last Friday signed by 18 Democratic senators, including Martin Heinrich, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed concern that Cha had been passed over. It declared that to take military action before exhausting diplomatic options would be not only extremely irresponsible but would lack either a Constitutional basis or legal authority.



The letter warned that it is an enormous gamble to believe that a particular type of limited, pre-emptive strike will not be met with an escalatory response from [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un. It pointed out that each of the expert witnesses to a January 30 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee believed that a bloody nose strategy carried extreme risks.



The Democrats letter, far from expressing genuine opposition to war, is part of the intense debate raging within the US political establishment over whether Russia or China represents the greater immediate danger. The escalating campaign against Trump over alleged collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential race is aimed at placing Moscow first in the cross-hairs, rather than North Korea and China.

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The bitter political infighting over foreign policy is compounding the instability of the Trump administration, which is confronting a worsening economic crisis, share market volatility and mounting working class resistance to deteriorating living standards. Far from this making war less likely, Trump could launch a military attack on North Korea in a desperate attempt to turn these acute political and social tensions outward against an external enemy.



Trump has warned repeatedly that time is running out to resolve the confrontation with North Korea peacefully. As he met with North Korean defectors in the White House last Fridayitself a provocation that undermines a peaceful resolutionTrump again blamed previous administrations for failing to confront North Korea and bluntly declared: We have no road left.



Vice-President Mike Pence is currently heading to South Korea for the Winter Olympics, but will use his trip to tour US anti-ballistic missile bases in Alaska and hold talks with Japanese and South Korean leaders. A White House official made clear that Pences brief was to ensure there would be no easing of the US campaign of maximum pressure on North Korea. Weve seen it all before, the official said, charm offensives by the North that lead to a period of fruitless talks that bought more time for the North.



Following the Olympics, the US and South Korea will proceed with massive joint war games known as Foal Eagle and Key Resolve, which were temporarily delayed. Last years exercises involved more than 300,000 troops, along with a substantial naval presence and the most advanced American warplanes, in a thinly disguised rehearsal for war with North Korea. The Pentagon also recently stationed nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 strategic bombers on Guam within easy striking distance of the Korean Peninsula.



As Victor Cha hinted in his Washington Post comment, a bloody nose strike is not the only military option under consideration. There is a forceful military option available that can address the [North Korean] threat without escalating into a war that would likely kill tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of Americans, he wrote. The only military alternative to a limited attack is an all-out assault with nuclear and/or conventional weapons that would obliterate North Koreas capacity to retaliate.



While couched in defensive terms, the Trump administrations Nuclear Posture Review, released last Friday, foreshadows exactly such an attack. Any North Korean nuclear attack on the US or its allies, it states, is unacceptable and will result in the end of that regime. There is no scenario in which the Kim regime could employ nuclear weapons and survive.



The danger that a mistake or miscalculation could lead to Trump ordering the total destruction of North Korea is underscored by last months false alarm on Hawaii of an incoming nuclear missile. Moreover, US imperialism has a long history of concocting events to justify warsuch as the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident that was used as the pretext for direct American military intervention in Vietnam.



Any pre-emptive US military strike on North Korea would send shock waves around the world and provoke an outpouring of anti-war sentiment. But opposition to war, which is already widespread, must be galvanised into a unified movement of the international working class on the basis of a socialist program directed against the root cause of warthe capitalist system.

This article was originally published by " WSWS " -

 1998-2018 World Socialist Web Site

- See Also -

North Korea: US planning 'bloody nose' first strike

US threatens N. Korea with sanctions & force, but war could claim 1mn lives

Kissinger Says Chance For Pre-Emptive Attack Is Strong On North Korea

Mattis Cites Kissinger to Call for New Nukes

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If Theres a War in Korea, Blame Trump



By Mike Whitney

February 07, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Brainwashed Americans believe that Kim Jong-un is responsible for the confrontation between Pyongyang and Washington, but nothing could be further from the truth. The real problem is not Kims nuclear weapons but Washingtons 65 year-long military occupation that continues to reinforce a political solution that was arbitrarily imposed on a sovereign nation in order to split the country in two, install a puppet regime in the south, establish a permanent military presence to defend US commercial interests, and maintain control of a strategically-located territory that is a critical part of Washingtons plan to encircle Russia and China to remain the dominant global power throughout the century. Simply put, Washington is 100 percent responsible for the current confrontation just as it has been responsible for every flare-up for the last 7 decades.

Even so, fighting back against the relentless outpouring of US-backed state propaganda is no easy task. So allow me to defend the position of the DPRK with just one, brief analogy that will help to put things into perspective:

Imagine if the Korean army decided to deploy tens of thousands of combat troops to fight on the side of the South during the Civil War. And lets say, that these forces were so successful that they were able to kill 3 million Americans while reducing every business and factory, every home and hospital, every church and university, to smoldering rubble. As a result of Korean meddling, the North was unable to win the war, but was forced to settle for an armistice that permanently split the US into North and South allowing Korea to install its stooges in the capitol of Richmond while it established military bases in every southern state from Virginia to Louisiana.

Lets say this arrangement worked for over 6 decades due mainly to the efforts of Korean propagandists who derided any attempt at reconciliation, dialogue or reunification. Lets say, activists and politicians in the North pushed for a Sunshine Policy that would foster communication and better relations between the two sides, but their efforts were constantly sabotaged by self-serving imperial overlords who saw any move towards dialogue as a threat to their continued presence in the South, so they engaged in the same illicit practices the US engages in today, that is, sowing dissension, discord and division between the two sides, always provoking more trouble, more disharmony, more acrimony. Always and everywhere pushing forward the imperial agenda by turning the bulk of the worlds population into Shia and Sunni.

Isnt that the Grand Plan; divide and conquer, pit one brother against the other, keep all of us at each others throats in order to justify the ongoing occupation, in order to justify the ongoing meddling, in order to justify the ongoing economic exploitation?

Of course, it is. The United States has never lifted its sanctions on North Korea, never treated their leaders with anything except contempt and brutality, and never made any sincere attempt to end the hostilities. Washington will not even sit down with a delegation from the DPRK to air their differences or discuss a path forward.

Why?

Is it because the DPRK is a Communist state? Is that it?

Heck, no. The US has open trade relations with China and Vietnam both of who share a similar Marxist ideology. Even more shocking, the US now employs an openly Utopian Marxist militia (the Kurdish YPG) in East Syria as its proxy-army in its fight to topple the government in Damascus. Think about that for a minute: Washingtons shock troops in Syria are basically a bunch of commies. I dont say that to criticize the Kurds (who share a similar ideology to my own) but to illustrate the contemptible lack of principle and utter hypocrisy of everything Washington says or does. Washington doesnt care what ones personal philosophy is. Washington cares about power. And anything that helps to enhance Washingtons grip on global power, is the supreme good.

The United States refuses to sign a treaty with the North ending the war, refuses to sit down with delegates from the North, and refuses to provide any security assurances that they wont attack the North at anytime for any reason. This is Washingtons policy towards the North, and yet we continue to read almost daily in the New York Times and Washington Post and the other trusted elite media, that the North is threatening the US, that the North is impulsive and violent, and that the North must be punished for its defiance.

Baloney! The North is NOT responsible for the crisis on the peninsula. The US is responsible. 100 percent responsible! Check out this excerpt from an article by David William Pear

Fearing that peace might break out with the two Koreas talking to each other, Washington instructed South Korean President Moon Jae-in to keep the message about anything but peace.It is not just Trump. A former top official for the Obama administration warned Moon that South Korea was not going to get anywhere with the North Koreans unless they have the US behind them The official went on to say, If South Koreans are viewed as running off the leash, it will exacerbate tension within the alliance. (U.S. Humiliates South Korea, Threatens North Korea, The Unz Review)

So South Korea is off the lash like a pathetic little poodle? Is that what hes saying?

This flippant quote deserves careful consideration mainly because it is not just a one-off, but rather summarizes the fundamental master-slave relationship between leaders in the South and their colonial Bossman in Washington.

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Its Washington thats calling the shots in the south, Washington that controls the Korean military and Washington that sets the policy. This is essentially how the system works. Conversely, countries that defend their own sovereignty (like Russia, Iran, North Korea, or Venezuela) remain outside the US-run system, making them Washingtons de facto enemies to be demonized and threatened. But its not ideology that Washington cares about, its independence. Thats the big no-no. Check out this excerpt from an article at Liberation News:

U.S. military occupation following World War II was more hostile and brutal than the Japanese colonial government. In fact from 1945 to 1948, the U.S. military continued to employ Japanese colonists, and Japanese law remained in effect. The prostitution of Korean women was official government policy for the purpose of now entertaining U.S. soldiers. Meanwhile, in North Korea, the Soviet Civil Authority supported the peasant organizations and workers councils. In March 1946, land reform was instituted in which land owned by Japanese colonizers and their Korean collaborators was divided and handed over to poor formers. The rule of the land-owning class was broken, and landlords were allowed to keep only the same amount of land as their former tenants. Soviet forces left the peninsula in 1948. U.S. occupation troops remain in South Korea to this day. Washington continues to falsely claim that North Korea is to blame for the continued division of Korea. However, U.S. imperialism and the 32,000 U.S. troops that are stationed in South Korea to enforce the border between the North and South remain the predominant obstacle to reunification of the Korean Peninsula. U.S. imperialism, from the beginning of Japanese colonization to today, has never had the interests of the Korean people in mind. (U.S. liberators turned South Korea into a neo-colony, Liberation News)

For years the US kept the same savage colonial system in place in order to partition the country and to prevent the Korean people from deciding their own future. That basic system is still in place today thanks largely to Washingtons oppressive military presence. Check out this excerpt from North Korean state news blasting the sovereignty-eviscerating Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that allows Washington to control the South Korean military:

The National Peace Committee of Korea blasted the 64-year-old South Korea-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) as an aggressive and traitorous war document that has allowed U.S. forces to control the South Korean army and to continue joint military operations, according to the KCNA. The committee called SOFA the symbol of the U.S. military occupation of South Korea and said that the defense treaty has reduced South Korea into advanced base for a nuclear war among other things, the KCNA said. The South Korean people cannot evade the tragedy of a nuclear war as long as the U.S. military occupation of South Korea continues, given that the three-year Korean War ended in a ceasefire in 1953, not a peace treaty, it said. (N. Korean committee calls for end to U.S. domination in S.K., Yonhap News)

(Note: Do I have more confidence in North Korean state news than the filthy fishwrap Washington Post? Youre damn right, I do!)

There are of course, peaceful remedies to the current stand-off, the most reasonable of which is the Moon-Putin Plan named after South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Heres a brief summary of the plan:

The Moon-Putin plan is a plan to bring South and North Korea together through physical infrastructure and trade mechanisms, involving the neighboring countries of Russia and China. Bridges of cooperation linking South Korea to Russia via North Korea: gas, railroads, ports, electricity, a northern sea route, shipbuilding, jobs, agriculture, and fisheries. Siberian oil and gas pipelines would be extended to Korea, both North and South, as well as to Japan. Both Koreas would be linked up with the vast rail networks of Beijings Belt and Road Initiative, including high-speed rail, and the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes the Trans-Siberian Railway. According to Gavan McCormack, North Korea would accept the security guarantee of the five (Japan included), refrain from any further nuclear or missile testing, shelve (freeze) its existing programs and gain its longed for normalization in the form of incorporation in regional groupings, the lifting of sanctions and normalized relations with its neighbor states, without surrender. (North Korea War Plan: Chrystia Freeland is more dangerous than Tony Blair, Off-Guardian)

Sounds reasonable, doesnt it? What better way to reduce the chance of another bloody war than economic integration, which is why the Trump administration not only opposes the idea, but its also why the entire western media have made sure that no one even hears about it. Coverage of The Moon-Putin plan has been completely blacked out in our vaunted free media. As it happens, policy options that dont jibe with Washingtons chronic warmongering never see the light of day.

Finally, the Trump administration opposes any plan that involves open dialogue, economic integration, reunification or a peaceful resolution to the crisis. What Washington wants is to preserve the status quo, they want Korea that is divided, occupied, powerless and languishing in a permanent state of colonial dependency.

Trump is ready to go to war to preserve the existing state of affairs. God help us all.

Mike Whitney lives in Washington state. He is a contributor to Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion (AK Press). Hopeless is also available in a Kindle edition . He can be reached at fergiewhitney@msn.com .

This article was originally published by " Counterpunch " -

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Congress Keeps Funding a War Machine That the Public Should Divest From



Both parties line their pockets with profits from the arms trade.



By Medea Benjamin, Elliot Swain

February 07, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - In recent budget negotiations, Senate Democrats agreed to a boost in military spending that exceeded the cap for fiscal 2018 by $70 billion, bringing the total request to an enormous $716 billion. Inevitably, this means more Pentagon contracts will be awarded to private corporations that use endless war to line their pockets. Democrats capitulated to this massive increase without so much as a scuffle. But the move hardly comes as a surprise, given how much money flows from weapons makers to the coffers of congressional campaigns for both parties.

While the majority of the weapons money goes to Republicans, Democratic Senators Tim Kaine and Bill Nelson appear in the top ten recipients of campaign contributions--in both chambers and parties--from military contractors in 2017 and 2018. Northrop Grumman gave $785,000 to Democratic candidates since 2017.Hillary Clinton took over $1 million from the industry in 2016. Even progressive darlings like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders take money from weapons manufacturers, and Sanders supported Boeings disastrous F-35 because his home state had a financial stake in the program.

If neither major political party will stand up to this status quo, what can be done?

One answer might be found in the recent push to divest from fossil fuel companies undertaken by, among others, Norway and New York City . By December of 2016, 688 institutions , representing over $5 trillion in assets, had divested from fossil fuels. In an interview with The Guardian , author Naomi Klein described the fossil fuel divestment effort as a process of delegitimizing the sector and of affirming that it yields odious profits.

An analogous campaign to delegitimize beneficiaries of war is long overdue. In addition to pressuring our members of Congress to refuse campaign donations from weapons manufacturers and war profiteers, we must mount a divestment effort at the institutional and municipal level. Investment in war must come at the cost of public disgrace.

University students can request holdings information from their schools. Often, investments in military corporations are bundled into more complex financial instruments whose investments are not publicly disclosed. The content of these instruments can be determined by contacting a university board of trustees or endowment manager. Then a divestment campaign can be launched, building campus coalitions, creating petitions, organizing direct actions and passing resolutions through student government bodies. A helpful guide for student activists can be found here .

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Activists can launch municipal divestment efforts by determining the holdings of city pension, utility, or insurance funds. In 2017 the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the national association of cities with populations over 30,000, adopted a resolution acknowledging the need to transform funding priorities away from war-making and into local communities. Divestment campaigns can leverage this resolution in order to hold city leaders to their word. More information for activists at the city level is available here .

Divestment offers an alternate means of addressing the blight of war profiteering in an era in which traditional political routes have been closed by our craven representatives. It also brings the message into smaller communities--communities that crumble while defense contractors live in luxury .

A new coalition of about 70 groups across the country has formed to launch a Divest From the War Machine campaign. The coalition is inviting all those who are disgusted by the war profiteers to help galvanize university, city, pension and faith institutions to divest from war. Learn more at: //www.divestfromwarmachine.org/

In a 2015 speech to the U.S. Congress, the very Congress that is so beholden to the war machine, Pope Francis asked why deadly weapons were being sold to those who inflict untold suffering on society. The answer, he said, was money, money that is drenched in blood, often innocent blood. Looking at a room full of congresspeople who benefit from what he called merchants of death, the Pope called for the elimination of the arms trade. One way to heed the Popes call is to eat away at the profits of those who make a killing on killing.

Medea Benjamin is cofounder of the peace group CodePink. Her latest book is Kingdom of the Unjust : Behind the U.S.-Saudi Connection (OR Books, September 2016). Elliot Swain is a Baltimore-based activist, public policy graduate student and researcher for CODEPINK.

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Alexis Sanchez has been sentenced to 16 months in prison  but will not serve any time behind bars as it has been suspended.

Alexis Sanchez was found guilty of the defrauding the Spanish government of 890,000 in image rights, while playing for Barcelona between 2012 and 2013.

The Manchester United striker reached an agreement whereby he will repay the money owed, plus interest, and recognised that he falsified the sale of his image rights to a foreign company in order to avoid paying tax.

He has now accepted his sentence, and has two years to pay the money back, before the suspension is lifted and he will be forced to spend time behind bars.

Sanchez, 29, is the latest in a long line of high-profile players to have been prosecuted by the Spanish court for alleged tax evasion.

Sanchez is the fifth player to have been on the books of Barcelona and involved in a tax case in the Spanish courts.

In July 2016, Lionel Messi was found guilty of three counts of tax fraud, fined and given a suspended 21-month sentence.

Javier Mascherano pleaded guilty to concealing part of his earnings from image rights and was fined and given a suspended one-year sentence.

Samuel Etoo and Brazilian defender Adriano also have open cases against them over alleged tax evasion in Spain.

Source  360Nobs
Punch

President Muhammadu Buhari has recalled the Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, who was suspended by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, on July 6, 2017, has learnt.

Vanguard

ABUJA-THE Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, yesterday, hinted that a secret investigation was ongoing in alleged low remittances made past registrars of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.

The Sun

The first step for actualization of the Aba Drug Mart and Coordinated Wholesale Centre (CWC), was taken on January 26, 2018, when the Minister of Health, Prof Isaac Folorunso Adewole, performed its ground-breaking ceremony at Osisioma, near Aba, the commercial capital of Abia State. The Aba CWC being one of the four the Federal Government was planning to establish across the country would serve parts of the South-East and the South-South zones. Others are in Kano, Lagos and Onitsha.

Thisday

The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, has questioned the sudden turnaround by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over its decision to file corruption charges against the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), Mr. Danladi Umar, after the same commission had cleared him of corruption allegations in April 2016.

The Nation

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged victims of herdsmen attacks not to engage in reprisals.

Guardian

Daily Trust

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the chances of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) retaining power in 2019 have vanished.

Tribune

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose has said the controversial Federal High Court Judge, Okon Abang, ridiculed Nigeria by causing an accused, former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, to be brought to court on a stretcher.

Leadership

Barely 4 days after the Nigerian Military said it has completely defeated Boko Haram, the sect leader, Shekau has appeared in a new video saying they are still in Sambisa with abducted Police wives.
Toronto, Ontario - February 7, 2018 (Newsfile Corp.) (Investorideas.com Newswire) The Jenex Corporation (TSXV: JEN), ("Jenex" or the "Company"), a progressive medical device technology company, announces that it will be continued from the laws of Alberta to the laws of British Columbia under the Business Corporation Act (BC) effective February 8, 2018 (the "Continuation"). The Continuation was approved by the shareholders of the Company at the annual general and special meeting of shareholders held on November 15, 2017 (the "Meeting"). The principal effects of the Continuation are set out in detail in the information circular for the Meeting. Charter documents for the Continuation will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com on February 8, 2018.

The Company is also pleased to announce that it will be changing its name to "Therma Bright Inc." effective February 8, 2018.

The common shares of the Company will commence trading under the new name on the TSX Venture Exchange with the new trading symbol "THRM" at the opening of trading on February 8, 2018.

There is no change in the share capital of the Company, and shareholders are not required to exchange their existing share certificates for new certificates. The Company's new CUSIP number is 883426108 and its new ISIN number is CA8834261080.

ABOUT JENEX:

Jenex is a progressive medical device technology company focused on providing consumers with quality medical devices that address their dermatological needs. Clear and healthy skin for all is at the core of Jenex's philosophy as is the belief that such outcomes should not be a privilege for only those who can afford costly procedures and treatments. The Company's breakthrough proprietary technology delivers effective, non-invasive and pain free skin care.

Jenex received a Class II medical device status from the FDA for its platform technology that is indicated for the relief of the pain, itch, and inflammation from over 20,000 different insect stings and bites, (including bees, wasps, hornets, mosquitoes, black flies and jellyfish). Jenex received approval for the above claims from FDA (United States) in 1997.

The Jenex Corporation trades on the (TSXV:JEN.). For more information visit: www.thejenexcorporation.com or www.therozap.com.

For further information please contact:

The Jenex Corporation

Rob Fia

CEO

rfia@thejenexcorporation.com

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking" statements. These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance and include the proposed continuation to the laws of British Columbia and the proposed name change, as described in the news release. All such statements involve substantial known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to vary from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether or not such results will be achieved. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, the Company cannot assure investors that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof and the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable securities regulations.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

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February 6, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Experts discussed the reasons this company merits an increased target price: a rising cobalt price, the market's openness to an even higher one and the firm's strengthening its balance sheet to likely acquire more of the physical metal and, ultimately, engage in a streaming deal.

Analyst David Talbot noted in a Feb. 1, 2018, research report that Eight Capital increased its share target price nearly 50% on Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. (KBLT:TSX.V; CBLLF:OTC; 27O:FSE) to CA$15.90 from CA$10.90. "We believe the premium valuation is warranted given 1) current and long-term cobalt market dynamics, 2) reduced conventional mining risk typically associated with exploration and development mining companies and 3) management's perceived ability and relationships to source potential streaming opportunities."

As for market dynamics, Talbot anticipates the cobalt price to continue appreciating over the next few years, thereby bolstering Cobalt 27's net asset value (NAV). The market is giving the company "premium value for future goals of generating cash flow from streaming deals" that represent potential additional upside. "Management has a mandate to pursue income stream or royalty arrangements with advanced developers and producers, to generate attractive returns while limiting risk," the analyst explained.

The premium value the market is attributing to Cobalt 27 has helped it raise equity "with minimal dilution in an effort to bulk up its balance sheet," and will continue to do so. "We believe Cobalt 27 can leverage an amount of ~5060% of net assets for debt to allow future purchases," Talbot said.

Such purchases are anticipated. "We look for continued additions to its holdings when management believes physical cobalt is undervalued and while the market is paying a NAV premium for Cobalt 27 stock," Talbot relayed. "We expect the company would raise capital for purchases opportunistically."

Ultimately, a cash-flowing streaming royalty deal is likely, Talbot indicated. "With ever more critical mass supported by physical cobalt and cash, management hurdles decline to obtain debt financing to support" such an arrangement.

Canaccord Genuity analyst Eric Zaunscherb, in a Jan. 31, 2018, research note, echoed Talbot's comments. He, too, highlighted the increasing cobalt price. He noted it rose "260% since the beginning of 2016 on accelerating electric vehicle and grid energy storage applications," and some experts believe it will surpass $70 a pound. "We expect a cobalt demand compound annual growth rate of 14% and ongoing supply deficits to 2025."

Cobalt 27 has been boosting its balance sheet, said Zaunscherb. In December 2017, the stockpiler raised $97 million ($97M) and bought an additional 825 tons of physical cobalt. The company's stock responded, closing as high as $13.20, which indicates "the market is clearly willing to attribute a higher metal holdings multiple in anticipation of even stronger cobalt pricing."

These recent efforts on the part of Cobalt 27 "increase the likelihood that the company may participate in a streaming agreement," added Zaunscherb. "Management intends to enhance exposure to potential cobalt price appreciation and provide potential growth via acquisitions of meaningful royalties, streams and direct property interests."

Like Eight Capital, Canaccord Genuity raised its target price on Cobalt 27. The jump to CA$14 from CA$10 came "on the back of stronger-than-expected cobalt pricing and the market's willingness to anticipate even higher pricing, and the potential for the addition of streaming deals to the company's portfolio," Zaunscherb explained. "Our new price target reflects spot pricing and a price:NAV multiple more in line with the market."

Journalist Scott Patterson, in his Jan. 29, 2018, article in The Wall Street Journal, reiterated some of the points analysts Talbot and Zaunscherb made.

He reported that Cobalt 27's stock price has quadrupled since the company went public in June, "giving it a market value of about $370M."

He also indicated the company "says it is in talks to purchase more cobalt from miners around the world" and that its "stockpile is a steppingstone toward other deals, since he [CEO Anthony Milewski] can use it as collateral for loans for other cobalt investments. He also thinks Cobalt 27 could become an acquisition target for a car maker or battery company that covets the metal."

The reporter noted that cobalt prices have "risen 270% on the London Metal Exchange to about $80,000 a metric ton since early 2016," Patterson wrote. Driving the demand surge for the metal is primarily "auto makers trying to lock down supplies of an essential ingredient for their coming electric-vehicle fleets." He added that annual demand for cobalt for use in lithium-ion batteries, by 2030, "will be triple the roughly 100,000 metric tons a year produced globally today," as estimated by the CRU Group, a London-based commodities research firm.

Cobalt 27's shares are currently trading at $11.10.

Read what other experts are saying about:

Disclosure:

1) Doresa Banning compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise reports as an independent contractor. She or members of her household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. She or members of her household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. Streetwise Reports does not accept stock in exchange for its services. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.

3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the interview or the decision to write an article, until one week after the publication of the interview or article.

Additional disclosures:

Disclosures from Eight Capital, Cobalt 27 Capital Corp., Target Revision, Feb. 1, 2018

Conflicts of Interest: Eight Capital has written procedures designed to identify and manage potential conflicts of interest that arise in connection with its research and other businesses. The compensation of each Research Analyst/Associate involved in the preparation of this research report is based competitively upon several criteria, including performance assessment criteria, the quality of research and the value of the services they provide to clients of Eight Capital. The Research Analyst compensation pool includes revenues from several sources, including sales, trading and investment banking. Research analysts and associates do not receive compensation based upon revenues from specific investment banking transactions.

Eight Capital generally restricts any research analyst/associate and any member of his or her household from executing trades in the securities of a company that such research analyst covers, with limited exception.

Research Analyst Certification

Each Research Analyst and/or Associate who is involved in the preparation of this research report hereby certifies that:

the views and recommendations expressed herein accurately reflect his/her personal views about any and all of the securities or issuers that are the subject matter of this research report;

his/her compensation is not and will not be directly related to the specific recommendations or views expressed by the Research Analyst in this research report;

they have not affected a trade in a security of any class of the issuer whether directly or indirectly through derivatives within the 30-day period prior to the publication of this research report;

they have not distributed or discussed this Research Report to/with the issuer, investment banking at Eight Capital or any other third party except for the sole purpose of verifying factual information; and

they are unaware of any other potential conflicts of interest.

The Research Analyst involved in the preparation of this research report does not have any authority whatsoever (actual, implied or apparent) to act on behalf of any issuer mentioned in this research report.

IIROC Rule 3400 Disclosures: available here.

Disclosures from Canaccord Genuity, Cobalt 27 Capital Corp., Raising Target Price, Jan. 31, 2018

Analyst Certification: Each authoring analyst of Canaccord Genuity whose name appears on the front page of this research hereby certifies that (i) the recommendations and opinions expressed in this research accurately reflect the authoring analysts personal, independent and objective views about any and all of the designated investments or relevant issuers discussed herein that are within such authoring analysts coverage universe and (ii) no part of the authoring analysts compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed by the authoring analyst in the research.

Analysts employed outside the US are not registered as research analysts with FINRA. These analysts may not be associated persons of Canaccord Genuity Inc. and therefore may not be subject to the FINRA Rule 2241 and NYSE Rule 472 restrictions on communications with a subject company, public appearances and trading securities held by a research analyst account.

Required Company-Specific Disclosures (as of date of this publication)

Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. currently is, or in the past 12 months was, a client of Canaccord Genuity or its affiliated companies. During this period, Canaccord Genuity or its affiliated companies provided investment banking services to Cobalt 27 Capital Corp.

In the past 12 months, Canaccord Genuity or its affiliated companies have received compensation for Investment Banking services from Cobalt 27 Capital Corp.

In the past 12 months, Canaccord Genuity or any of its affiliated companies have been lead manager, co-lead manager or co-manager of a public offering of securities of Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. or any publicly disclosed offer of securities of Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. or in any related derivatives.

Canaccord Genuity or one or more of its affiliated companies intend to seek or expect to receive compensation for Investment Banking services from Cobalt 27 Capital Corp. in the next three months.

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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BOSTON, MA - February 7, 2018 (Investorideas.com Newswire) As the Commonwealth's solar industry continues to fend off attacks at the state and federal levels, a report released today by The Solar Foundation notes that Massachusetts solar jobs saw a double-digit decline in 2017, marking the second year in a row of solar job losses.

In response, six industry organizations and leading advocates representing Massachusetts' 488 solar employers are joining forces to call on Governor Baker to redouble his commitment to the Commonwealth's clean energy economy by taking measures to protect the state's solar industry from federal tariffs on imported solar products, supporting legislation to reverse new solar surcharges on Eversource customers, providing relief from net metering caps (limits on the credit solar energy system owners receive), and ensuring the state Solar Massachusetts Renewable Targets (SMART) program enables all sectors of the Commonwealth's solar industry to thrive. These steps are critical to orient Massachusetts back toward clean energy progress.

"The undersigned organizations, representing thousands of Massachusetts workers and customers and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment, urge you to take action to address the headwinds facing Massachusetts' businesses by reaffirming the commitment to the solar industry that your Administration has cultivated over the last several years," states a letter delivered to the Governor today and signed by leaders of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), Vote Solar, the Northeast Clean Energy Council (NECEC), the Coalition for Community Solar Access (CCSA), the Solar Energy Business Association of New England (SEBANE), and MassSolar.

In addition to federal solar tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration, which SEIA estimates will cost 23,000 solar jobs nationally and nearly 700 in Massachusetts, the letter singles out as particular threats Eversource's imposition of new charges on solar customers, and net metering caps that have maxed out in 230 communities - effectively stalling hundreds of projects.

The advocates' letter outlines threats facing Massachusetts' solar industry and ways the Commonwealth can protect hundreds of solar companies and the nearly 15,000 full-time solar workers building the clean energy economy in Massachusetts.

At the federal level, President Trump's new 30 percent tariff on all imported solar modules and cells, which goes into effect today, along with recent federal tax changes, have created uncertainty around the financing of solar projects, costing thousands of American jobs and billions of dollars in industry retraction across the country.

The Solar Foundation's 2017 jobs census shows Massachusetts has again lost solar jobs on a year-to-year basis, in part due to the uncertainty surrounding the President's actions on tariffs. There are now 11,530 solar jobs in Massachusetts, a 21 percent decline from 2016.

In its letter, the coalition is asking the Governor specifically to act on two areas:

1. To direct the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to consider measures to modify the draft SMART tariff to fix several serious flaws prior to Department of Public Utilities (DPU) approval, and facilitating a smooth, on-time opening for the next 1,600 megawatts of home-grown solar power;

2. To work with the Legislature to act on, and to sign, legislation to reverse the Eversource solar charges and provide much needed relief from net metering caps. The letter notes that, in our current political climate, state-level solar policies are more important than ever to continue the Commonwealth's strong record of solar job creation. Leading states like Massachusetts stand to lose the most if immediate action is not taken.

"We Bay Staters take great pride in our state's leadership on many fronts, including in our commitment to building a modern, job-creating clean energy economy," said Sean Garren, Northeast Senior Director at Vote Solar. "Sadly, that leadership is being thwarted by a number of attacks on solar. We need Governor Baker to get the Commonwealth back on track by standing up to President Trump's tariffs, reversing Eversource's solar tax, and removing arbitrary limits on residents who can enjoy the benefits of solar through net metering."

"Now it is more critical than ever to redouble our efforts to ensure Massachusetts maintains its leadership in community shared solar," said CCSA Executive Director Jeff Cramer. "Thanks to the support of the Baker Administration, we have made significant strides in developing a robust solar industry and expanding solar access to thousands of Massachusetts consumers. However, with approximately two-thirds of Massachusetts' households and businesses still unable to access solar, we still have a long way to go to ensure all energy consumers across the state have the option to choose local, clean, and affordable solar. We urge the Governor to support the solar industry and help us ensure solar access for all."

"We are a national leader in solar; now is not the time to change course" said Mark Sylvia, President of SEBANE. "A united solar industry calls on the Baker Administration to take action to protect us from the negative effects of the new federal tariff and Eversource solar charge. Together, we created 15,000 good paying, sustainable jobs, generated millions in savings to Massachusetts citizens and helped tackle climate change. We've made progress together, let's not go back."

"Eversource's proposed demand charges are complex, confusing and create extraordinary uncertainty for residential customers. Their cumulative impact will add between $4,000 and $12,750 to the cost of going solar, effectively doubling or tripling solar's cost for smaller customers, and potentially much more if demand charges rise over the next 20 years," said Mark Sandeen, President and co-founder of MassSolar. "We need to be accelerating our transition to a clean energy economy, not putting the brakes on."

"It is more important than ever for states to stand up in support of the jobs, investment dollars and consumer opportunities that the solar industry provides communities across the country," said Sean Gallagher, SEIA's Vice President of State Affairs. "Massachusetts has been a long-time clean energy leader and that trailblazing progress and job growth can resume with smart policies in place."

"With mounting headwinds for solar at the federal level and in recent state decisions, it is critical for Governor Baker to take corrective action to ensure continued growth in the Commonwealth's solar industry," said NECEC Executive Vice President Janet Gail Besser. "Massachusetts policymakers have the opportunity to act and protect the Commonwealth's solar workforce from further declines through action on the SMART program tariff, the net metering caps, and undoing the poorly designed MMRC charge on new solar customers."

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Disclaimer/Disclosure: Investorideas.com is a digital publisher of third party sourced news, articles and equity research as well as creates original content, including video, interviews and articles. Original content created by investorideas is protected by copyright laws other than syndication rights. Our site does not make recommendations for purchases or sale of stocks, services or products. Nothing on our sites should be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell products or securities. All investing involves risk and possible losses. This site is currently compensated for news publication and distribution, social media and marketing, content creation and more. Disclosure is posted for each compensated news release, content published /created if required but otherwise the news was not compensated for and was published for the sole interest of our readers and followers. Contact management and IR of each company directly regarding specific questions.

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This collection features the arguments in favor of and against the renaming of Catt Hall on Iowa State's campus, which was named in 
Trips abroad that are sponsored by Iowa State are now required to register beforehand. The Office of Risk Management provides resources to help reduce risk and increase safety.
Apple will soon start accepting Alipay mobile payment system across its retail stores in China. Alipay is offered by Alibaba, the e-commerce giant of the country. Alipay would become the first third-party mobile payment system to be accepted by Apple at its retail stores worldwide.

Apple already accepts Alipay as a payment system on the iTunes Store, App Store, and its online store in China for over a year. However, post this new announcement from Alibaba, Apple will also be accepting Alipay across its 40+ retail stores in China. Apple also accepts Apple Pay, its own mobile payment service, across its retail stores in China but the response to it has been lukewarm. The Chinese mobile payment segment is dominated by Alipay which commands a lions share of the market.

Apple is doubling down on its efforts in China to help regain some of its lost momentum in China. The company is also looking to open its second data center in China located in the Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia. It recently started moving data of Chinese iCloud accounts to a server located in China and operated by a local company.

[Via Reuters
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Emily Mieure covers criminal justice and emergency news. She also leads the News&Guides investigative efforts. She has reported for WDRB TV in Louisville, Ky., WFIE TV in Evansville, Ind., and WEIU TV in Charleston, Ill.
Mike has reported on the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem's wildlife, wildlands and the agencies that manage them since 2012. A native Minnesotan, he arrived in the West to study environmental journalism at the University of Colorado.


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Secretary of Defense James Mattis [official website] on Monday fired two Guantanamo Bay officials responsible for overseeing the trials of accused war criminals including the planners of the 9/11 attack.

The officials are Harvey Rishikof, designated [text] by Mattis as the convening authority for military commissions in April 2017, and Gary Brown, the commissions legal advisor.

An attorney who previously served as legal counsel to the deputy director of the FBI, Richikof specialized in national security, civil and military courts, terrorism, and international law. He also held multiple positions in government focusing on cybersecurity investigations.

President Donald Trump has been critical [Miami Herald report] of the speed at which trials by the military commission moved, and Rishikof had been responsible for several controversial decisions. Recently, he rejected a proposed charge sheet for three former CIA captives held at Guantanamo on suspicion of plotting terror attacks in Southeast Asia, including the 2002 Bali nightclub bombing.

Replacing the two officials are retired Army colonel and Defense Logistics Agency [official website] attorney Jim Coyne as acting convening authority, and long-serving commission deputy Mark Toole as acting legal advisor. However, this decision comes just two weeks before a captive turned government witness is due to return to Saudi Arabia to serve a terrorism sentence under a plea agreement approved by an earlier convening authority under the Obama administration.

The Office of the Convening Authority [official website] is responsible for the overall management of the military commissions process, including logistics and personnel support. The Convening Authority is empowered to convene military commissions, refer charges to trial, negotiate pre-trial agreements, and review records of trial. They also provide the accused an opportunity for clemency before taking action on the findings and sentence of all military commission cases.
Three justices of the Maldives Supreme Court [official website] on Tuesday annulled [order, PDF] a controversial ruling [text] the court had issued last Thursday that required the government to immediately release a number of political prisoners.

The reversal came a few hours after government forces arrested [press release] the two other justices of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, on corruption charges.

The order to release the prisoners sparked a political crisis [JURIST report] over the weekend as protests erupted throughout the countrys capital, Male, urging the government to comply with the order and leading President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom [official profile] to declare [press release] a 15-day state of emergency.

The small ocean archipelago country has recently assumed a larger geopolitical role, as China has increased its political and economic ties with the country as part of its String of Pearls strategy aimed at the creation of a port network in the Indian Ocean. As such, the Chinese have cautioned against [press release] the use of international force to address the political crisis. However, former President Mohammed Nasheed, currently exiled in Sri Lanka, has publicly requested [tweet] India send a military convoy in order to free the detained judges and political leaders. On Wednesday the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] called [press release] the recent actions by Yameen an all-out assault on democracy.

Yameen was elected in 2013 and is up for election this year, but remains virtually unopposed as his political opponents have all been jailed or exiled.
President Tran Dai Quang hosts Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam Hong Xiaoyong (Source: VNA)



He spoke highly of Hongs positive and effective contributions to boosting the Vietnam-China friendship and comprehensive cooperation.

Consolidating and developing the bilateral ties in a stable and healthy manner is not only the responsibility but also an objective requirement suitable for the basic and long-term interests of the two countries people and for peace, stability and development in the region and the world, Quang said, adding that this is a consistent policy and a strategic selection of Vietnam.

He suggested both sides continue maintaining high-level visits and meetings to intensify political trust, increase the efficiency of existing cooperation mechanisms, pursue satisfactory settlement of disagreements, and maintain peace and stability in the East Sea.

The Vietnamese State leader expressed his hope that in any positions, the ambassador will continue contributing to the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

Ambassador Hong affirmed that the Chinese Party, State and people attach importance to their relations with the Vietnamese counterparts.

China is willing to work with Vietnam to deepen the traditional friendship, expand win-win cooperation, and further boost the bilateral partnership, he added./.
In this combination photo, TV personality Kylie Jenner, left, attends Harper's Bazaar Icons celebration on Sept. 9, 2016, in New York and rapper Travis Scott performs at the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Festival on Sept. 23, 2017, in Las Vegas. In an Instagram post Sunday, Feb. 4, Jenner announced the birth of her baby girl born Thursday. ItAos the first child for the 20-year-old reality star and the 25-year-old rapper. (Photos by Andy Kropa, left, and John Salangsang/Invision/AP)
About 30 per cent of all wine sold in Alberta is bottled or produced in B.C., from vineyards like those owned by Cedar Creek Winery in Kelowna.
At a Holland Trade reception on February 6th, Minister Kaag and Vietnamese Vice Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son launched the celebrations of the 45 years diplomatic relations, and unveiled the logo for this occasion. Vietnam and the Netherlands established diplomatic relations on April 9th, 1973, followed by four decades of tireless efforts to strengthen the relationship as development partners.

The Dutch Government supported Vietnam in the fields of water management, women economic empowerment, sanitation, health care, labor conditions in the garment sector, and nature preservation. When Vietnam reached its middle-income country status in 2010, the bilateral relations entered a new phase of deeper equal economic cooperation.

The visiting Minister travelled on the Saigon river

She had talks with Vietnamese Ministry of Transport

B2B meeting between the two sides

She met with Vietnamese Ministry of Construction

Launching ceremony of the 45 years diplomatic relations, and unveiled the logo for this occasion.

Press conference in Ho Chi Minh city (Photos: Hoai Linh)

With the two Strategic Partnership Agreements on agriculture and on water and climate change, the two sides continue to work alongside towards sustainability. The Netherlands is now not only the second biggest EU trading partner, but also the number one EU investor in Vietnam with more than USD8 billion of registered investment.

The Minister was accompanied by 45 companies of different sectors who are most interested in cooperation opportunities in water management, agriculture, maritime, aviation, logistics, smart cities, and energy. Various meetings took place within just two days, both at governmental level and working level.

Especially the match-making sessions brought both new contacts, and new contracts. The visiting Minister was also able to see the challenges of Vietnam on water management first-hand during a boat trip on the Saigon river - and could immediately link Dutch companies and knowledge institutions with relevant innovative solutions to the Vietnamese counterparts.

Sharing her thoughts on the events, Minister Sigrid Kaag stated: As we expand our trading and investment ties with Vietnam in various sectors, the Government of the Netherlands gives priority to promoting sustainability and inclusiveness. Im pleased to note the strong contribution that Dutch companies can make in this area.

Numerous deals and agreement were made, thus enhancing economic ties between the two countries. Having shared the vision of a sustainable future where both the economy and the environment can thrive, the two nations will continue working closely to deepen their relations and look forward to many other milestones in their partnership./.
This dock washed up in late January on the shore of Okanagan Lake next to the Imperial strata building at 4058 Lakeshore Rd. in Kelowna. Nearby residents would like the dock's owner to come retrieve it.
Minister of Health Ginette Petitpas Taylor speaks as she appears as a witness along with Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Jody Wilson-Raybould and Bill Blair, M.P., Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada and the Minister of Health, at a Senate Committee of the Whole, in the Senate Chamber, on Bill C-45, the Cannabis Act, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland meets for a trilateral meeting with Mexico's Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, left, and Ambassador Robert E. Lighthizer, United States Trade Representative, during the final day of the third round of NAFTA negotiations at Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa on September 27, 2017. The United States trade czar is expressing frustration with Canada in the NAFTA negotiations. That's according to a U.S. lawmaker who attended a meeting with him today.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
It is not a bad thing for us, that the route known as the Goldene Strae or the Golden Road as we will get to know it- has escaped the attention of so many. It has been spared being overrun by hordes of tourists and as you will discover
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to the crowd during the annual India day parade in Montreal, Sunday, August 20, 2017. Less than two weeks before Trudeau is set to land in India, a popular Indian magazine has dedicated an issue to stories accusing Canada of being complicit in a rise in Sikh terrorism. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
This undated photo shows hats trimmed with sea otter fur, offered by Alaska Native Marcus Gho's Tuvraqtuq online retail store based in Juneau, Alaska. A policy intended to deter the illegal trade of ivory and items made with the parts of endangered or threatened animals led the online sales website Etsy to remove such artwork sold by Alaska Native artists, who can legally use ivory in their pieces. A senator is asking Etsy.com to reconsider, but Etsy is citing the "global nature" of its business. (Marcus Gho via AP)
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wis., left, and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., confer as they arrive to meet with reporters following a closed-door GOP strategy session at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. The GOP-controlled House is slated Tuesday to pass a plan to keep the government open for six more weeks while Washington grapples with a potential follow-up budget pact and, perhaps, immigration legislation. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Snow covers flowers at the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising memorial in Warsaw, Poland, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018. Poland's president Andrzej Duda said Tuesday he will sign into law a controversial proposal to outlaw blaming Poland as a nation for crimes committed by Nazi Germany during the Holocaust, despite strong criticism from Israel and the United States, but he will ask the country's constitutional court to evaluate the bill. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)
FILE - In this Sept. 3, 2017, file photo, Japan's Princess Mako, the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her fiance Kei Komuro, look at each other during a press conference at Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo. According to Japanese media, the Imperial Household Agency said Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018 that Princess Mako's wedding, planned for November, will be delayed until 2020, citing lack of time for preparations. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, Pool, File)
In this Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018 photo, paleontologist Sanaa al-Sayed, who was involved in Mansoura university's excavation of a Cretaceous period dinosaur, looks through a microscope at a laboratory in Mansoura, Egypt. Researchers from the university discovered a new species of long-necked herbivore, which is around the size of a city bus, in the western desert of Egypt. It could be just the tip of the iceberg of other finds and experts say the discovery could shed light on a particularly obscure period of history for the African continent. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Applications now open to become a New York State Trooper Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that applications are now open for the next New York State Police Trooper Entrance Exam. The exam, which will be administered from January through April of...

DEC adopts new deer and bear hunting regulations, update dress codes Western New York hunters will have additional hours in the woods at their disposal, as well as some new rules by which to abide, after the New York State Department...

Asbury Pointe continues its open houses through October As more and more seniors embrace the independence that comes with the maintenance free lifestyle of retirement community living, Asbury Pointe Retirement Community announces additional open house dates in September...

News Briefs Two North Tonawanda residents received awards at the recent Erie County Fair in the Creative Arts Exhibit area, which was located in the lower grandstand. Tri-Color Awards were handed out...

News Briefs One way to express your opinion is to write a letter to the editor and email it to arizzo@beenews.com. The Bees policy states that letters to the editor cannot exceed...
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. -- Police are looking for the suspect who they said broke into two homes Tuesday morning.

The suspect first broke into a home on the 5000 block of D Street around 9:40 a.m., police said. It is unknown if anything was taken.

Police said when the suspect left that home, they broke into another home on the 4900 block of Daisy Street. Officer said the homeowner returned home around 2 p.m. and found their chainsaw, that they had stored in their shed, in a closet.

Officers said it appeared that the suspect used the resident's chainsaw to try and break open a safe.

They do not have a description of the suspect but are asking people to keep an eye out for your neighbor and report any suspicious activity.
EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio said he is still getting reports of retaliation against whistleblowers at the Roseburg VA and he wants something done about it.

There are multiple ongoing investigations into these issues. But, DeFazio said he is still hearing about punishment and abuse against employees who speak out.

In a letter to the VA Secretary, DeFazio said he is concerned about the peer review process among doctors being used to threaten and punish staff, and even former employees.

KEZI 9 News interviewed Dr. Scott Russi in 2017. Russi said he was fired from the Eugene VA for speaking out about his concerns.

In January, DeFazio said then-director Doug Paxton told Dr. Russi the VA was going to send a negative peer review to the Oregon State Licensing Board.

DeFazio said there has already been enough evidence to show that negative claims about Russi are not true. DeFazio was able to convince VA leadership to not send the peer review, for the time being.

Five nurses also spoke to KEZI 9 News in November about retaliation and bullying they claim was happening at the VA.

DeFazio helped pass a whistleblower protection act into law last year, and he wants the VA to extend these protections to all VA employees.

This comes after several Roseburg VA leaders stepped down, including Director Paxton.

Read DeFazio's letter to the VA Secretary below:


PORTLAND, Ore.-- One small town girl got a chance of a lifetime last weekend as she saw her idol live in concert.

Jasmine Maddox from Klamath County was pulled on stage at Katy Perry's concert in Portland. Katy Perry asked Maddox to make a wish and she wished for something big.

"It turned into the night of a lifetime," said Jasmine's mom, Amanda Graham.

Maddox has been asking to see Katy Perry in concert for four years. On February 2, that wish finally came true.

"We are from a tiny town of 800 people. We did not go there thinking that this was going to happen." said Graham.

Maddox was called up on stage and was asked to make a wish.

"What's your wish, Jasmine?" Perry asked her.

"For me and my mom to get a house," Maddox replied.

Graham said in that moment, she was the proudest mom in the world.

"In the moment I thought back into my 12-year-old brain as to what I would have wished for and certainly at the time it would not have been for a house for me and my mom," Graham added.

The two currently live with Graham's parents.

The videos have blown up on social media. The Instagram video alone, Graham said has over 300,000 views and her own personal Facebook video from that moment, almost 10,000.
PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) - A thousand Portland culinary school students are finally getting some tuition money back, as part of a class-action lawsuit against the Le Cordon Bleu cooking school.

Carrie Rios is a shift supervisor for Round Table Pizza and a graduate of the now-closed cooking school. She said it's a far cry from her dream of being a chef and owning her own restaurant.

She claims she was misled into believing Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School in downtown Portland was a prestigious culinary school, with several big Portland chefs having graduated from the school.

"The whole application process, that was a complete lie they let in anybody," said Rios.

At the time of her acceptance, she said she was then pressured to sign up for their $40,000 loan to pay for it.

"As long as they had money or approval for a loan, they took them," said Rios, who claims the promise of a good salary, in a chef-type job was not happening.

"Instead these are jobs people could get off the street without ever going to culinary school that pays minimum wage," said attorney David Sugerman, who has been working on this case for ten years.

"Schools aren't allowed to sell education to someone who's not likely to benefit," said Sugerman. He said he eventually discovered a backroom deal between the school and a loan company, that overcharged students by 44%. He said the loan company then pocketed the money.

"Now all you have is $40,000 of high-interest debt," said Sugarman.

Rios said she will now get $17,000 back if everything gets approved with the settlement.

"I just hope this is an awareness for other people," she said.

If you were a student at Le Cordon Bleu and want to see if you get some money back, you can check the law firm's website here.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A Mason City man is facing three felony burglary charges for allegedly breaking into storage units and additional drug charges.

Brandon Hufstedler, 32, is being held in the Cerro Gordo County Jail on three third-degree felony charges and an additional felony charge for possession of a controlled substance. He is also facing a misdemeanor charge for drug possession.

According to court documents, Hufstedler used a bolt cutter to break into three storage units at 1620 Highway 18 West in Clear Lake on Nov. 3 or 4 of 2017.

Authorities say in once instance, he stole more than $10,000 in construction tools and personal possessions from a storage locker.

While performing a search warrant at 1230 Plymouth Rd. in Mason City, Hufstedler was also found to have methamphetamine and marijuana in his residence. He is being held on $15,000 bond.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Family and friends are mourning the death of a 7-year-old St. Paul boy who died after crashing into a tree while sledding in Wisconsin.

Simon Caquelin was a first-grader at Central Lutheran School in St. Paul. He was injured at a Boy Scout sledding hill in Houlton on Jan. 27. He remained in critical condition at Gillette Children's Hospital in St. Paul until his death Monday.

The Star Tribune says a funeral will be held Thursday at St. Stephanus Lutheran Church in St. Paul. Simon is survived by his parents and two siblings, ages 11 and 13.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa  A Chicago man is now facing a federal drug charge.

22-year-old Lashawn Phillip Stewart was booked into the Floyd County Jail on January 29 after authorities say he sold heroin to undercover law enforcement personnel in Charles City on January 16 and 17. A state charge of controlled substance violation has been dismissed, however, to allow Stewart to be prosecuted in Cedar Rapids Federal Court for distribution of heroin.

According to court documents, an informant says they purchased heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine from Stewart on multiple occasions over three years. An agent of the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement also says he paid Stewart $250 for about 3.5 grams of heroin on January 16 in Charles City, while the informant says Stewart was paid an additional $420 for 5.2 grams of heroin on January 17.

Stewart was arrested on January 28 as he was returning from Chicago to Waterloo by bus. The informant says Stewart made the trip to bring more heroin back to Charles City. Authorities say Stewart was found with two powder-filled baggies that are being analyzed by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation lab.
MASON CITY, Iowa  The Globe Gazette in Mason City has announced that its publications will be printed at Gannett Publishing Services in Des Moines beginning Monday, Feb. 12.

Publisher Roy Biondi cited costs and a labor pool shortage as the reasons for the move from Mason City's printing facility to Des Moines.

"This will enhance the printing quality that comes with using a larger press," Biondi was quoted as saying in the Globe Gazette. "This will allow us more opportunities at packaging our products with inserts, special sections and more color pages."

The Globe Gazette said about a dozen workers will be affected and those who qualify will receive severance packages.

KIMT reached out to the Globe Gazette for further comment Wednesday morning but was declined.

The Globe Gazette is owned by Lee Enterprises.
WINNESHIEK COUNTY, Iowa  A GoFundMe page has been established for a family that had two teenagers die during a crash Monday morning.

Avery Arneson, 17, and Aiden Arneson, 13, were killed during an auto crash on their way to school Monday morning. Three Arneson brothers were also injured in the crash.

A total of six people were injured in the two-vehicle crash.

The Arneson kids are students at Mabel-Canton schools in southern Minnesota

Gary Kuphal, the superintendent, released the following statement.

"The staff at Mabel Canton Schools along with area clergy were available for students today and will continue to be available. Please look for the attachment that was emailed out about dealing with loss provided by our school psychologist. As a general rule routine is good for our children please encourage your children to come to school to be with and support their friends," he said.

The Iowa State Patrol says the crash happened around 8:30 a.m. Monday on County Road W40, about  mile south of 173rd Ave. Avery Arneson, of Decorah, was driving north in a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero and 15-year-old Gage Dahlberg of Decorah was driving south in a 2008 Ford F150. The State Patrol says Arneson lost control, crossed the center line and slid sideways. Dahlbergs pickup truck smashed into the passenger side of Arensons car. Dahlberg was also injured in the crash.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Some school superintendents in Iowa say a K-12 education spending plan moving through the Legislature will not keep up with rising annual costs for their districts and will lead to budget cuts.

Lawmakers in the Republican-controlled chambers scheduled floor votes Wednesday to approve $32 million in new funding. That's a 1 percent increase to Iowa's $3.2 billion K-12 education budget, the largest expenditure in a roughly $7.2 billion state budget.

Officials in the Des Moines school district, the state's largest, say it will lead to more than $11 million in cuts. In more rural school districts, superintendents warned financial obligations like putting new money toward employee retirement plans will eat up a lot of the new appropriations.

Republicans say public education is a priority at the Capitol amid budget constraints.
ROCHESTER, Minn.  One of two men allegedly involved in this weeks Cold Stone Creamery robbery has been arrested.

Rochester police say 18-year-old Keshawn Howell, of Rochester, has been charged with first-degree aggravated robbery of two employees Monday night when the store was about to close.

Howell was taken into custody at 1958 8  St. SE, Apartment D on Tuesday morning.

Police are still working to identify the second suspect.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A man accused of threatening a woman with a gun is pleading not guilty.

27-year-old Brandon Lee Hadacek of Mason City is charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, false imprisonment, and possession of marijuana  first offense.

Hadacek was arrested on January 15 after Mason City police were called to an apartment in the 1600 block of 10th Street SE on a report of a male threatening a female with a handgun. Hadacek reportedly pointed a .22 cailber semi-automatic pistol at the head of his victim.

His trial is set to begin April 17. Hadacek remains in the Cerro Gordo County Jail.
MASON CITY, Iowa  Trial has been postponed again for the man accused of killing his grandparents.

25-year-old Codie Michael Matz is charged with two counts of 1st degree murder for the deaths of Kenneth and Kathleen Hackbart. Their bodies were found on November 7, 2017 in the Mason City home they shared with Matz.

Trials had previously been scheduled to begin on January 23 and then February 20 but is being delayed as Matz undergoes a psychological evaluation to see if he is fit to stand trial.

His trial is now set to start March 27 in Cerro Gordo County District Court.
WASIOJA TOWNSHIP, Minn.  A rollover accident sent one person to the hospital Wednesday morning.

The Minnesota State Patrol says it happened around 8:34 am in Dodge County on the ramp from Highway 56 south to eastbound Highway 14. 25-year-old Cara Jane Schleusner of Dodge Center was driving a 2007 Chevy Impala that left the road and rolled over.

Schleusner suffered a non-life threatening injury and was taken to St. Marys Hospital for treatment.

The Dodge County Sheriffs Office and Dodge Center Ambulance assisted at the scene. The State Patrol says Schleusner was wearing her seat belt.

Road conditions were described as snowy and icy at the time of the crash.
GARNER, Iowa  Two teens have now been sentenced for a gunpoint robbery.

Authorities say 20-year-old Kyren-Ray Valentine, 19-year-old Samuel Christopher Swanson, and 17-year-old Isaiah Zion Lewis robbed several people at a party near Klemme on July 31, 2017. No one was hurt but law enforcement says an AF15 rifle and a handgun were used in the crime and shots were fired.



Samuel Swanson Samuel Swanson

Kyren-Ray Valentine Kyren-Ray Valentine

Lewis was sentenced Tuesday to up to 25 years in prison for pleading guilty to 1st degree robbery. He must serve at least five years before being eligible for parole.

Swanson previously pleaded guilty to 2nd and 3rd degree burglary and accessory after the fact. He got five years of probation for each burglary count and two years for being an accessory.

Valentine is charged with seven counts of 1st degree robbery, three counts of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, one count of intimidation with a dangerous weapon, and one count of 2nd degree burglary. His next court appearance is scheduled for February 20 in Hancock County District Court.
BRITT, Iowa, - A Level 3 Visitation Restriction is in effect for Hancock County Health System.

That means no visitors with respiratory or influenza-like symptoms; no visitors 18 and younger unless a child is visiting a parent in the hospital; Emergency Department patients are asked to bring only one person with them when seeking treatment; and only significant others and parents of patients may visit.

"We want to protect our patients, visitors and our own colleagues the best way we can from spreading the flu. Limiting visitation is one effective method we know does work," said Laura Zwiefel, Hancock County Health System CEO/Administrator. "Many of our network hospitals also have adopted similar policies."

All Health System workers were given the flu vaccine unless they had an approved exemption. Under Level 3 Restriction rules, all those who could not be vaccinated must wear a facemask for their entire shift.

Hancock County Health System says these restrictions are in place because school absenteeism was greater than 15 percent in any school in Hancock County; the number of HCHS Emergency Department patients is greater than 150 percent of what is was the same time the previous year; influenza like illness present in 15-20 percent of total HCHS Emergency Department visits; and influenza like illnesses present in 15-20 percent of total HCHS Clinic visits.

"As you have probably seen on TV or read about millions of Americans are now unfortunately suffering from the influenza virus. While our number one priority is your health, we want to help you prepare for the flu if you or a loved one does get it," Lacy Halsrud, ARNP, Hancock County Health System Clinics.
SHANGHAI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Finance auctioned 120 billion yuan ($19.18 billion) of three-month deposits at an average yield of 4.50 percent on Wednesday, traders said.

That was slightly lower than the yield of 4.70 percent in the previous auction.

The sale, like previous auctions, is part of the ministry's cash-management programme. Banks bid for the right to take the deposits. ($1 = 6.2562 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom; Editing by Sunil Nair)
HANOI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Here's a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0441 GMT.

February 7 USD/VND mid-point 22,445 USD/VND interbank 22,700/22,702 USD/VND unofficial 22,700/22,715 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.68/36.87

Interbank offered rates Overnight 2.3-4.0

1 week 2.5-4.0

1 month 3.5-4.2

3 months 4.0-4.8

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom)
BANGKOK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Thailand's exports may grow more than 6 percent this year, the commerce minister said on Wednesday, despite a strong baht hovering at more than four-year highs against the U.S. dollar.

Business operators are talking about export growth of 6 percent, but the commerce ministry still sees room to increase it, Sontirat Sontijirawong told a business seminar.

The ministry's final export target will definitely be higher than 6 percent after meeting with officials later this month, he said.

Exports, a key driver of Thai growth, jumped 9.9 percent last year after a modest 0.5 percent gain in 2016 following three years of contraction.

(Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Sam Holmes)
* Premier Investments failed in push for board seats at AGM

* Now presses to vacate entire board

* Myer shares down 0.8 pct, Premier shares down 0.6 pct

(Adds Premier quote, shares, background and analyst quote)

SYDNEY, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The largest shareholder of embattled Australian department store operator Myer Holdings Ltd on Wednesday proposed a meeting of shareholders to vote on replacing the company's entire board.

The move escalates a battle between the 117-year-old department store chain and its biggest shareholder, Premier Investments Ltd , which has been scathing in criticism of the board's response to new online competitors and stagnant retail sales growth. Premier, controlled by billionaire investor Solomon Lew, owns 10.8 percent of Myer and failed in a push to secure three board seats at Myer's annual general meeting last November.

Since then the company has issued an earnings downgrade due to disappointing pre-Christmas trading and its shares have fallen to near record lows, while national retail sales data showed a weaker-than-expected December for retailers across the board. Premier wants to spill the entire board, and said in a statement it has requested a list of Myer shareholders to facilitate a meeting "to reconstitute the incumbent, failed board".

"It is not in the best interests of shareholders that the current Myer board be allowed to preside over another year of declining sales, eroding profits and further share price deterioration," the Premier statement said.

"It should now be abundantly clear to all stakeholders in the company that a significant circuit-breaker is needed for the company to have any sustainable future."

A Myer spokesman declined to comment.

Shareholders who control more than 5 percent of a company in Australia can call general meetings under Australian law. Resolutions, such as vacating the board and installing new members, require majority support to pass.

Once a dominant force in Australian retailing, Myer's business model has buckled under pressure from new foreign "fast fashion" rivals, lacklustre consumer spending and flat wage growth.

"I think Solly's got everything going for him at this point," said Mathan Somasundaram, Market Portfolio Strategist at stockbroker Blue Ocean Equities.

"If you're holding that stock right now, you're probably hoping that he could do something," he said.

Myer shares fell 0.8 percent in mid-session trading on Wednesday, while the broader market rose. Premier shares were down 0.6 percent.

Myer shares have never traded over their A$4.10 issue price when the company was floated in 2009.

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook and Byron Kaye; Editing by Richard Pullin)
LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - BlackRock , the world's biggest fund manager, saw the largest inflows in the European asset management sector in 2017 at 62.7 billion euros ($77.42 billion), according to data from Morningstar. Record net inflows across the sector took European-domiciled open-end funds to 8.9 trillion euros under management, up 12 percent from 7.96 trillion in 2016, Morningstar said in a statement on Wednesday. Standard Life's global absolute return strategies fund saw net outflows of 9 billion euros. Standard Life merged last year with Aberdeen Asset Management to form Standard Life Aberdeen . ($1 = 0.8099 euros)

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn, editing by Maiya Keidan)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
* Shipments seen at 93.7 mln T in Jan, sixth-biggest on record

* Mills boosting stocks ahead of holiday, lifting of output curbs

* China to release trade figures on Thursday

By Manolo Serapio Jr and Ruby Lian

MANILA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China's iron ore imports recovered in January to one of the highest levels on record, Thomson Reuters ship-tracking data showed, as steel producers replenished inventories ahead of a week-long holiday and the end of steel output curbs next month.

Seaborne shipments of the steelmaking raw material rose to 93.7 million tonnes last month, according to data compiled by Thomson Reuters Supply Chain and Commodity Forecasts. Shipments in February have already surpassed 70 million tonnes, the Supply Chain data showed.

The January figure is up from December's 84.14 million tonnes reported by China's General Administration of Customs, and is the sixth-highest on record, just below the 94.54 million tonnes that arrived in November.

The monthly data released by Customs reflects when the cargoes are cleared by officials and therefore the figures may differ from the ship-tracking numbers.

"Some Chinese steel mills have already sold out orders for February, so they made bookings for iron ore to lock in profit, in case prices would go up after the holiday," said Hu Hao, a business manager who works for Shanxi Jianbang Group.

China will release its January trade figures on Thursday.

"There was some restocking by mills in the run-up to the Lunar New Year holiday and miners have also increased shipments to China, mainly bought by traders," said an iron ore trader in Qingdao, China's second-biggest iron ore importing port in 2017.

The week-long Lunar New Year break starts on Feb. 15.

The sustained increase in imports so far this month also shows steel mills, particularly in the northern region, were preparing to ramp up output when production curbs are lifted next month.

China ordered 28 northern cities to cut steel output by up to half from mid-November as part of efforts to fight smog. The curbs will be lifted after March 15, when the winter heating season ends.

"Steel mills are still earning good profit so they will continue to produce as much as they can," said a Shanghai-based trader.

China's top steel-producing Hebei province said last week it will not extend production curbs beyond mid-March. Top iron ore suppliers Australia and Brazil also shipped out large volumes in January. Exports from Australia's Port Hedland reached 41.1 million tonnes and shipments from Brazil hit 30.4 million tonnes, both record highs for January, said Argonaut Securities analyst Helen Lau.

Iron ore shipments from Iran, China's fifth-biggest supplier last year, rose 29 percent to 1.54 million tonnes in January as exporters pushed more cargoes ahead of planned export duties next month, said Keyvan Jafari Tehrani, managing director at Iranian iron ore trader Jame Tejarat Co.

China imported a record 1.074 billion tonnes of iron ore in 2017, with Australia supplying more than 60 percent of the total and Brazil about 20 percent.

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ China's iron ore imports ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr. in MANILA and Ruby Lian in SHANGHAI Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
BOGOTA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Colombian holding company Valorem has asked regulators to allow it to buy back its own shares, the country's financial regulator said on Wednesday.

The company is willing to pay 909 pesos per share, the regulator said in an open letter to the stock exchange, but did not specify how many shares it is looking to purchase.

Valorem was not immediately available for comment.

The move may be a step toward removing the company, which owns a chain of movie theaters, Caracol television network and the El Espectador newspaper, among other holdings, from public trading.

Valorem shares were removed from trading on Wednesday pending a public buy-back offer from the company. The shares closed Tuesday trading at 680 pesos per share.

(Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra; Writing by Julia Symmes Cobb)
SAO PAULO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Latin American equities markets were steady or in the black across the region on Wednesday, as traders showed cautious optimism after an equities rout on Wall Street appeared to putter out.

Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index showed little change, down 0.03 percent in afternoon trade, while Chile's benchmark IPSA jumped 0.44 percent.

Among major regional equities markets, only Mexico's IPC was significantly in the red, falling 0.17 percent after government data showed a contraction in investment in November.

Argentina's small and volatile Merval index led gains, popping 2.65 percent, due to optimism about the end of a slide in major markets as well as an ongoing rally in local energy stocks.

"The U.S. market stopped sliding, and that helped the Merval," said one Buenos Aires-based trader. "The recovery in the short-term could last a few days."

Among currency markets, the Chilean peso was the major winner, jumping 0.87 percent after the central bank posted a January trade surplus of $1.21 billion, up 7 percent from the previous year as prices for key export copper improved. The Mexican and Argentine peso currencies, as well as the Brazilian real , all slumped fairly modestly, thanks to a strengthening global dollar .

Key Latin American stock indexes and currencies at 1548 GMT:

Stock indexes daily % YTD %

Latest change change MSCI Emerging Markets 1177,38 0,1 1,53 MSCI LatAm 3087,77 0,29 8,87

Brazil Bovespa 83871,22 -0,03 9,78

Mexico IPC 49220,15 -0,17 -0,27

Chile IPSA 5722,62 0,44 2,84

Chile IGPA 28819,34 0,35 3,00

Argentina MerVal 32462,50 2,65 7,97

Colombia IGBC 11848,75 0,75 4,20

Venezuela IBC 0,00 0 -100,00

Currencies daily % YTD %

change change

Latest Brazil real 3,2553 -0,33 1,78

Mexico peso 18,6580 -0,31 5,58

Chile peso 594,3 0,87 3,42

Colombia peso 2827,6 0,04 5,46 Peru sol 3,241 0,09 -0,12

Argentina peso (interbank) 19,6200 -0,15 -5,20 Argentina peso (parallel) 19,83 0,30 -3,03 (Reporting by Gram Slattery; Additional reporting by Walter Bianchi in Buenos Aires; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
ATHENS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Greece sold 1.138 billion euros ($1.41 billion) of three-month treasury bills to refinance a maturing issue at an unchanged yield compared to a previous sale last month, the country's debt agency PDMA said on Wednesday.

The debt agency sold the new paper at a yield of 0.99 percent. The amount raised included 263 million euros in non-competitive bids.

In a rollover, T-bill holders renew their positions instead of getting paid on the maturing paper they hold.

The sale's bid-to-cover ratio was 1.55, down from 3.44 in the previous auction. Settlement date is Feb. 12. ($1 = 0.8099 euros)

(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)
By Bernadette Christina Munthe

JAKARTA, Feb 7 (Reuters) -

* Indonesia state food procurement agency Bulog said in a statement on Wednesday it has signed contracts with six companies for 281,000 tonnes of rice imports.

* Bulog will import 141,000 tonnes from Vietnam, 120,000 tonnes from Thailand and 20,000 tonnes from India, it said.

* The Indonesian government issued a permit in January for 500,000 tonnes of rice imports to improve local supplies and cool prices. * Bulog was in talks with eight companies for the supply of 346,000 tonnes of grain, for arrival in Indonesia by Feb. 28, after an international tender in January * However, several suppliers from Pakistan dropped out during price negotiations, Bulog corporate secretary Siti Kuwati said in the statement on Wednesday, citing "time constraints".

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina Munthe; Writing by Fergus Jensen, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
ULAANBAATAR, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Mongolian lawmakers have proposed a new immigration cap, looking to protect domestic workers, even as citizens increasingly seek opportunities abroad.

A parliamentary panel this week approved a proposal to limit to just 100 each year the number of new resident permits granted to foreign or stateless people over the period from 2018 to 2020, with just 30 each from China and Russia, legislator Tsend Nyamdorj said.

The measure will now be considered by parliament.

"If the standing committee approves the bill, it makes it very likely the parliament would have no problem passing it," said Mogi Badral Bontoi, chief executive of market intelligence group Cover Mongolia.

Although open to foreign trade, the former communist, one-party state has been careful to prevent an influx of foreign labour.

Mongolians especially mistrust Chinese workers, not only because of long-standing geopolitical tension with their giant neighbour, but also because they can be hired cheaper and work longer hours.

Unemployment in Mongolia stands at 9.1 percent, the National Statistics Office says.

The strain with China can be traced back to centuries of subjugation, with Mongolia only achieving formal independence in 1921. The Soviet satellite state served as a buffer between China and the Soviet Union until 1990, when it peacefully transitioned to democracy.

Rapid economic growth, driven by immense resource wealth, has prompted interest from foreign nationals. Though foreigners now make up less than 0.4 percent of the population, Ulaanbaatar has used high fees and quotas to rein in immigration.

Last year, Mongolia cut its foreign workforce in half, and sent home about 1,200 North Korean workers to comply with the sanctions.

The Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, run by mining conglomerate Rio Tinto , has also been under scrutiny for its use of Chinese labourers.

About 93 percent of the Oyu Tolgoi workforce is Mongolian, exceeding a lower limit of 90 percent set in a 2009 investment pact. During construction, no more than 40 percent of workers could come from overseas.

After an inspection of Oyu Tolgoi last month, immigration officials deported foreign contractors with Australian engineering firm Hofmann Engineering for visa violations.

With just 3.1 million people in an area almost the size of Alaska, Mongolia is the world's least densely populated country.

Many Mongolians are leaving home for work and education elsewhere, including China, and South Korea has eased their pathway to jobs.

"More Mongolians are leaving to work abroad, which means fewer people in the local labour pool," said Bontoi.

"Mongolia capping foreign labour seems very paradoxical."

(Reporting by Terrence Edwards Editing by David Stanway and Clarence Fernandez)
TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks pared early gains to end a notch higher in volatile trade on Wednesday, as investors stayed on guard for more losses in global equity markets after U.S. futures slipped.

The Nikkei 225 share average ended 0.2 percent lower at 21,645.37, after climbing as high as 22,353.87 in early trade.

Investors turned wary in the late afternoon in the wake of softening U.S. futures. At 0614 GMT, S&P 500 e-mini futures dropped 1.0 percent.

Mining companies, drugmakers and automakers outperformed.

Eisai Co rose 2.4 percent, Astellas Pharma gained 2.5 percent, and Inpex Corp added 1.4 percent.

Toyota Motor Corp rose 1.2 percent after the automaker said that it expects a record net profit this year. The broader Topix gained 0.4 percent to 1,749.91.

(Reporting by Ayai Tomisawa; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Carmaker Nissan said it and other Japanese companies would meet Prime Minister Theresa May and Finance Minister Philip Hammond on Thursday to discuss their business in the country, as concerns about Brexit mount.

Japanese firms have spent billions of dollars in Britain over recent decades, encouraged to set up in the country by successive governments promising a business-friendly base from which to trade across the continent.

Carmakers Nissan , Toyota and Honda began their operations in Britain in the 1980s and now build nearly half of all of Britain's 1.67 million cars, the vast majority of which were exported overseas.

But like the rest of the industry, they are concerned that their exports could face tariffs of up to 10 percent and be subject to lengthy customs delays after Brexit.

"Nissan Europe Chairman Paul Willcox will join representatives from other Japanese companies in meeting the Prime Minister and Chancellor on Thursday to discuss our operations and investments in the UK," the firm said in a statement.

"We will not be disclosing details of the discussions."

(Reporting by Costas Pitas, editing by Guy Faulconbridge)
MOSCOW, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Russian Economy Minister Maxim Oreshkin said on Wednesday that the Russian government is now more cautious over its privatisation programme, as there is no need to fill major budget gaps. Speaking in the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, Oreshkin added that the year would see a budget surplus.

(Reporting by Darya Korsunskaya; Writing by Polina Ivanova; Editing by Maria Kiselyova)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
By Tatiana Voronova and Yves Clarisse

MOSCOW/PARIS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Russian businessman and lawmaker Suleiman Kerimov is in talks with the majority shareholders of Russia's Vozrozhdenie bank about buying their stake in the lender, two sources close to the talks told Reuters on Wednesday.

The bank's majority owners, brothers Dmitry and Alexei Ananyev, are required by the Russian central bank to reduce their stake to 10 percent, under the terms of a bailout for another lender the brothers controlled. The two sources said Kerimov, whose family control Russia's top gold producer Polyus, is one of the possible buyers of Vozrozhdenie in talks with the Ananyev brothers, and that no deal had yet been signed.

Vozrozhdenie is Russia's 36th biggest bank by assets.

One of the sources said that Kerimov, who is under investigation by French prosecutors for tax fraud, planned to travel from France to Russia to finalise the deal. Kerimov has denied the prosecutors' allegations, Russian media have reported.

Kerimov was arrested at Nice airport in the south of France in November last year. A judge said he could be released while his case is being investigated, but he would have to seek permission to travel outside the Nice region.

Jean-Michel Pretre, the Nice prosecutor, told Reuters that Kerimov has asked to go back to Russia for personal reasons. The prosecutor did not specify the dates or whether Kerimov had already left France but said prosecutors had no objections for the trip.

A representative for Kerimov in Russia's upper house of parliament, where Kerimov is a lawmaker, did not reply to a Reuters request for a comment. Both Dmitry and Alexei Ananyev declined to comment on the talks.

The two sources, and a third banking source, said that Russian pension fund Blagosostoyanie was another contender to buy Vozrozhdenie.

Last week, Vozrozhdenie published a list of candidates for its board of directors that included the name of Yury Novozhilov, executive director of Blagosostoyanie. The list was later withdrawn. Both Blagosostoyanie and Vozrozhdenie did not reply to a Reuters request seeking a comment. VTB , Russia's No.2 bank, last month publicly expressed its interest in buying Vozrozhdenie. (Additional reporting by Oksana Kobzeva and Polina Devitt; writing by Katya Golubkova; editing by Christian Lowe)
By Marja Novak

LJUBLJANA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Slovenia should reduce taxes on labour and cut red tape to encourage faster development and long-term economic growth, the general director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Wednesday.

Sonja Smuc said the next government, which will be established after parliamentary elections expected in June, will also have to act on pension reform to cope with a rapidly ageing population.

"The retirement age will have to be prolonged ... while jobs will have to be re-organised in a way that older people will want to keep working," Smuc told Reuters in an interview. Slovenians can now retire at the age of 60.

She also said Slovenia's largest bank, Nova Ljubljanska Banka, must be partly privatised, as agreed with the European Commission in 2013 in exchange for state aid. And the government should not keep a majority stake, she said, because no government can resist politically influencing its bank.

Slovenia plans to sell 75 percent of the bank and keep a stake of 25 percent to have a say in key business decisions.

HIGH TAXATION

Smuc said that people with the highest wages pay taxes on wages and personal income that together reach a rate as high as 70 percent, which is not acceptable.

"It is hard to attract professionals from abroad after they calculate what would be the difference between their gross and net income," she said. "On top of that, young Slovenians are leaving the country, also due to high taxes.

She rejected public-sector demands for a large increase in wages, saying most public services have not improved enough in recent years to warrant the increases.

Waiting on an exam at a doctor-specialist has lengthened and the average waiting time for a construction permit is about 270 days, 43 days more than 10 years ago.

Next week, police, nurses and teachers are planning separate strikes to demand higher wages. In January, about 30,000 other public servants held a one-day strike for wage increases .

Smuc said the public-sector wage bill should not increase by more than 4.4 percent this year, as the government's budget plan calls for.

The government expects the economy to expand 3.9 percent this year, boosted by higher exports and investments. The European Commission earlier on Wednesday raised its forecast for growth to 4.2 percent from an earlier 4 percent.

(Reporting By Marja Novak, editing by Larry King)
JOHANNESBURG, Feb 7 (Reuters) - South Africa's rand opened weaker in local trade on Wednesday following volatile overnight trade caused by uncertainty over President Jacob Zuma's future.

* At 0645 GMT the rand was 0.4 percent softer at 11.9600 per dollar, having rallied as far as 11.8900 as trading in New York approached close before Asia trade knocked it back toward the 12.00 mark.

* News that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) had postponed Zuma's state of the nation address scheduled for Thursday spurred bets his resignation was imminent, but the cancellation of a party meeting where his future would be discussed dimmed hopes of an early exit.

* Short sellers took profits at the 11.95 level on technical indications the rand will regain momentum and push towards 11.85 level and break even lower when Zuma eventually steps down.

* On Wednesday the ANC's effort to unseat Zuma moved towards the end game with the speaker of parliament saying party leader Cyril Ramaphosa would outline the scandal-plagued president's fate shortly. * Bonds were firmer with the yield on the benchmark paper due in 2026 down 6.5 basis points to 8.405 percent.

* Stocks opened lower at 0700 GMT, with the JSE securities exchange's All Share index down 0.15 percent.

(Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky)
MADRID, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Spain has proposed Economy Minister Luis de Guindos as candidate for the post of European Central Bank vice president, the Economy Ministry said on Wednesday.

(Reporting By Paul Day; Editing by Sonya Dowsett)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
ZURICH, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Swiss blue-chip SMI was seen opening 0.48 percent higher at 8,879 points on Wednesday, according to premarket indications by bank Julius Baer .

The following are some of the main factors expected to affect Swiss stocks.

SWISSCOM Switzerland's government-controlled communications company is stepping up cost cutting and expects operating profit to stagnate or fall in 2018 as it faces increasing competition from global, Internet-based rivals with competitive cost structures. Net income in 2017 fell 2.2 percent to 1.6 billion Swiss francs($1.71 billion). For more click NESTLE The multinational food and beverage company said on Tuesday that it would stop buying palm oil from a Guatemalan company that has been accused by the country's prosecutor of corruption. For more click COMPANY STATEMENTS * Meyer Burger said it filed a patent infringement lawsuit in China. * Addex Therapeutics said Jean-Philippe Rocher was named co-head of discovery and a member of executive management. * HNA's Gategroup said it struck a longterm deal with Norwegian. ECONOMY ($1 = 0.9345 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Zurich newsroom)

Daily Swiss stock market report in German................ All SMI constituent stocks............................ News on major Swiss stock price moves.................. FTSE Eurotop 300 index................................ DJ STOXX index........................................ Top 10 STOXX sectors............................. Top 10 EUROSTOXX sectors........................ Top 10 Eurotop 300 sectors....................... Top 25 European pct gainers... , losers... Swiss mid-cap index SMI futures Swiss all-share index Market statistics Swiss market digest Sector overview All Swiss news Swiss research news All equity news INTERNET ADDRESSES: Swiss Exchange / Eurex STOXX Ltd SPEED GUIDES: ))

Keywords: MARKETS SWISS STOCKS/


OSLO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Norway's central bank sold the following government bond (NST 474) in an auction on Wednesday: Coupon: 3.75 pct Maturity: May 25, 2021 Settlement date: Feb 9, 2018 AUCTION DATE Feb 7, 2018 Oct 18, 2017 YIELD (pct) 1.06 0.92 ALLOTMENT PRICE 108.65 109.96 SCHEDULED OFFER (bln NOK) 3.00 3.00 TOTAL BIDS (bln NOK) 11.631 7.949 ALLOTED (bln NOK) 3.00 3.00 BID COVER RATIO 3.88 2.65 NOTE: The central bank said that there was about 49 percent allotment on lowest accepted bids.

(Reporting by Oslo newsroom)

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
ISTANBUL, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Here are news, reports and events that may affect Turkish financial markets on Wednesday.

The lira stood at 3.7700 against the U.S. dollar at 0501 GMT, firming from a close of 3.7700 on Tuesday.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond was at 11.85 percent in spot trade on Tuesday and rose to 11.88 percent in Wednesday-dated trade.

The main BIST 100 share index fell 1.19 percent to 115,457.30 points on Tuesday.

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian share markets were trying to find their footing on Wednesday as a semblance of calm returned to Wall Street where major indices bounced into the black after days of deep losses. Analysts said distressed selling by leveraged funds looked to have run its course for the moment, allowing volatility to abate a little, though the prospect of monetary tightening across the globe remained a challenge for the long term. TURKISH BURGER KING

Turkish fast-food chain operator TFI Tab Food Investments postponed its planned $220 million initial public offering in New York on Tuesday, as the recent stock market volatility makes such stock market flotations challenging. ERDOGAN

President Tayyip Erdogan will hold talks with the head of the religious directorate Ali Erbas (1530 GMT).

U.S. RELATIONS

The United States said on Tuesday it was "deeply troubled" by Turkey's re-arrest of the chairman of the local arm of Amnesty International, and called on its NATO ally to end its state of emergency and safeguard the rule of law. Turkey will tell U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the two countries must repair damaged mutual trust, its foreign minister said on Tuesday, following a series of disagreements, especially over the Syria crisis. RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA

Turkey and Russia have no disagreements over Ankara's air and ground offensive into northern Syria's Afrin region and the two countries are in close contact over the operation, the Turkish foreign minister said on Tuesday. EU RELATIONS

Top European Union officials will meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in Bulgaria on March 26 to discuss EU-Turkey relations as well as regional and international issues, an EU spokesman said on Tuesday. ECONOMY MINISTER

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci will hold talks with the Bulgarian prime minister and his Bulgarian counterpart and will hold a news conference.

CASH BALANCE The Treasury will announce cash balance data for January (1430 GMT).

For other related news, double click on:

Turkish politics Turkish equities Turkish money Turkish debt Turkish hot stocks Forex news All emerging market news All Turkish news For real-time quotes, double click on:

Istanbul National-100 stock index , interbank lira trading , lira bond trading 0 ($1 = 3.7712 liras)

(Writing by Daren Butler)
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sold $24 billion in 10-year government notes at a yield of 2.811 percent, which was the highest yield at a 10-year auction in four years, Treasury data showed. FILE PHOTO: Bundles of banknotes of U.S. Dollar are pictured at a currency exchange shop in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico January 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez/File Photo

The ratio of bids to the amount offered 9128283W8= was 2.34, which was the lowest reading since September. This gauge on overall auction demand was 2.69 at the prior 10-year note sale in January. US10YINV=RR Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Paul Simao

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.
LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Britain's markets watchdog warned banks on Wednesday it would intervene if they use concerns over customer account security as an excuse to stifle competition on the high street.

The European Union introduced rules in January that would allow licensed start-ups or retailers to take payments directly from a bank account, or tap transaction history from an account in order to recommend cheaper overdrafts or loans offered elsewhere. The aim is to open up banking to competition via smartphone apps, particularly from financial technology or fintech firms.

Several lenders have been given more time by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to put in place new rules, delaying the ability of fintech firms to compete straight away in some cases. The banks say they needed more time to ensure the technology for sharing data with rivals is secure, but Andrew Bailey, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, told lawmakers on Wednesday this could not be used as an excuse to fend off competitors.

"One thing that we and the CMA will be very alert to (is) that if the banks seek to use the security argument to suppress competition as opposed to raising standards of security, then clearly that would require intervention by one or both of us," Bailey said.

The FCA has already authorised 40 firms under the new rules, with more applications for licences in the pipeline.

"It will frankly take a while to take off," Bailey said.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Adrian Croft)
(Adds details on request for asset sales, supplier comments)

By Leonardo Goy

BRASILIA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Brazil's antitrust watchdog CADE gave the green light on Wednesday for the takeover of Votorantim Siderurgia SA by ArcelorMittal Brasil SA, but conditioned the approval on asset sales.

Cade demanded ArcelorMittal sell assets including a long steel producing unit in Espirito Santo state.

Arcelor has indicated a possible buyer for that asset to the antitrust watchdog to get the deal approved, according to the rapporteur on the case Polyanna Vilanova. The buyer's name was not disclosed.

If Arcelor is unable to reach a deal for the assets, they will be auctioned, Vilanova added.

Vilanova voted in favor of the tie-up, along with three CADE councilors. Two councilors voted against the deal.

A lawyer representing suppliers to steelmakers, Leonardo Palhares, said the decision adds concentration to the long steel market in Brazil. "Gerdau SA and Arcelor now hold 80 percent of the market," Palhares said after CADE's approval.

ArcelorMittal's Brazil unit and Votorantim SA announced in February last year a deal to combine their long steel operations in the country. Votorantim will hold an undisclosed minority stake in the resulting business.

(Reporting by Leonardo Goy; Writing by Tatiana Bautzer; Editing by Andrew Hay)
(Recasts to lead with cause of trade surplus)

SANTIAGO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Chile posted a trade surplus of $1.21 billion in January, thanks in part to a sharp rise in copper exports, central bank data showed on Wednesday.

Copper exports increased by 7.0 percent over the same month the previous year, boosted by rising prices of the red metal.

Copper prices jumped more than 30 percent in 2017, sharply boosting export revenues in the world's top copper producer.

January December January

2018 2017 2017 Trade balance (millions $1.210 bn $1.057 bn $687 of dollars) Exports (billions of $6.656 $6.752 $5.593 dollars) Imports (billions of $5.446 $6.032 $5.202 dollars) Copper export revenue $2.583 $3.865 $2.415 (billions of dollars) (Reporting by Dave Sherwood; Editing by Alison Williams and Chizu Nomiyama)
(Adds quotes, detail)

CAPE TOWN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Minister of Mines for Democratic Republic of Congo Martin Kabwelulu declined on Wednesday to say whether President Joseph Kabila had signed a new mining code into law that the industry opposes because it will raise royalties and taxes.

The new code, which parliament approved late last month, could see royalties on cobalt, a vital component in electric car batteries, increase five-fold to 10 percent. It also removes a clause in the current law protecting miners from changes to the fiscal and customs regime for 10 years.

"Journalists ask me whether the president has promulgated the code. I won't answer that question here. The code is with the president," Kabwelulu told reporters and mining executives at a conference in Cape Town.

International mining companies in Congo, which include Randgold , Glencore and China Molybdenum , have said they will challenge the new law through international arbitration and are lobbying Kabila not to sign it. Congo is the world's biggest source of cobalt and Africa's largest copper producer.

Kabwelulu likened the new code to a "bush fire", saying: "The fire is not going to destroy everything. There are plants that will keep their roots. New plants will grow."

Speaking after him, Randgold's Chief Executive Officer Mark Bristow responded by saying, "I will stand back and start a bush fire and see what it does to the jungle," and urged the government to re-open negotiations with the companies.

(Reporting By Barbara Lewis; Writing by Aaron Ross, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Christian Schmollinger)
(Adds quotes, details)

By Jan Lopatka

PRAGUE, Feb 7 (Reuters) - The Czech government will appoint an expert team to assess a proposal to split majority state-owned electricity firm CEZ into a traditional generation firm and a new company housing distribution and renewables, Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Wednesday.

Splitting CEZ, the biggest Czech listed company with market capitalisation of $13.4 billion, is one of several options being considered for financing the construction of a new nuclear power plant and would be a major event on the country's business and political scene.

The new nuclear plant would be built by the traditional energy unit which would be fully state-owned and thus able take on the risks of high costs that CEZ as an enterprise with private owners cannot.

CEZ has long insisted it must have some form of state guarantee if it is to develop a new nuclear power station as favoured by the country's energy strategy. In 2014 a lack of state support scuppered a previous tender.

If the proposal goes ahead, CEZ would follow the likes of Germany's RWE which has split off its renewables, network and retail assets into Innogy in 2016.

"We discussed the question of splitting CEZ," Babis told a news conference after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

"We are hearing this from all sides, so we more or less agreed that the government will appoint an expert team officially, that will communicate with CEZ about their proposals," he said.

He said the team would include energy and financial experts.

Babis, who lost a vote of confidence in parliament last month and is negotiating to form a new cabinet, has in the past spoken against splitting the company and criticised actions by CEZ's management led by Chief Executive Daniel Benes.

He said in a newspaper interview days after he was appointed prime minister in December that splitting the firm would be "totally unacceptable". Czech President Milos Zeman has said he would re-appoint Babis but asked him to find parliamentary backing.

CEZ CEO Benes took the unusual step last month of appearing on a podium side by side with Zeman at the celebration of Zeman's re-election for another five-year term.

CEZ said Benes and the firm were strictly apolitical.

The newly separated distribution and renewables company proposed in the plan floated by the firm would have larger private holdings than the current 30 percent at CEZ. At least some minority share holders support the proposal.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
(Adds details, background)

By Chijioke Ohuocha

LAGOS, Feb 7 (Reuters) - MTN Nigeria discussed plans to list on the Lagos stock exchange at a board meeting on Wednesday and aims to launch the IPO this year, a company source told Reuters.

Africa's biggest mobile phone operator had planned to list its Nigerian unit in 2017, as part of an agreement with the Nigerian government, but delayed the IPO due to market conditions.

The telecoms firm has now revived those plans and is considering hiring a public relations firm to manage communications ahead of the listing in Nigeria in addition to its South African advisers, the source said.

MTN has about 51.4 million subscribers in Nigeria, which accounts for about a third of its revenue.

"There's a lot of preparation going on due to the listing, which is expected to happen this year," the source said.

Group Chief Executive Rob Shuter was attending the two-day meeting, which began on Wednesday, the source said.

In 2016 the telecom firm said it would list its local unit on the Nigerian Stock Exchange after agreeing to pay a reduced fine of $1.7 billion in a settlement with the Nigerian government over unregistered SIM cards.

It has appointed Stanbic IBTC Capital, Standard Bank of South Africa, Standard Advisory London and Citigroup Global Markets, as joint transaction advisors and global coordinators, with Stanbic acting as lead issuer.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange has said it was working with MTN on the listing while the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has discussed the IPO and how it could be structured.

(Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Alexander Smith and Susan Fenton)
(Adds detail, context)

By Tom Arnold

DUBAI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Qatar National Bank said on Wednesday it had secured a $3.5 billion three-year syndicated loan for general corporate purposes, one of the first such deals by a Qatari government-owned firm since a regional diplomatic crisis erupted.

The syndication, which comprised 21 international banks, comes as QNB seeks to secure new funding lines in the wake of a dispute between Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt.

QNB said it had already repaid in full an earlier $3 bln syndicated loan. That facility, which matured this year, was originally signed in 2015.

The loan to refinance the previous debt was increased to $3.5 billion due to strong demand from the market, it said.

The deal was "a reflection of the strong demand by the top tier global banks that want to continue to partner with QNB," said chief executive Ali al-Kuwari.

QNB said the loan was fully underwritten by: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Barclays Bank, Deutsche Bank, Intesa Sanpaolo, Mizuho Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and United Overseas Bank.

HSBC, which was one of the mandated lead arrangers in the 2015 loan, was not among the underwriters this time. It has also turned down a leading role in Qatar's new dollar bond, sources familiar with the decision told Reuters. International banks are treading cautiously in order to maintain relations with both sides following June's diplomatic rift, when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar. They accused it of backing terrorism, something Doha denies.

Regional power Saudi Arabia is opening up to foreign investors as part of ambitious economic reforms driven by its new crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, including the sale of a stake in oil giant Aramco. Its IPO could be worth $100 billion.

QNB has recently used various types of debt instruments, including Kangaroo and Formosa bonds, to refill its coffers in an effort to diversify funding resources amid the embargo imposed on Qatar by other Arab states.

The bank also recently priced a private note of $1 bln, which sources told Reuters this week that Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In addition, is raised $1.38 billion through a privately placed bond, a QNB spokesperson said on Tuesday. (Editing by Susan Fenton)
* CEO says wants to list this year if possible

* Q3 operating profit falls 2.8 pct yr/yr

(Recasts with IPO announcement)

TOKYO, Feb 7 (Reuters) - SoftBank Group Corp said on Wednesday that it wants to list its Japanese telecoms unit this year, a move towards completing its transformation from a domestic telecoms upstart into one of the world's biggest technology investors.

SoftBank said it started preparations to list shares of its core Japanese telecoms unit, SoftBank Corp. The company flagged last month that it was considering listing the business, seeking to raise a reported $18 billion. SoftBank has long relied on its domestic telecoms business, which makes up a third of overall sales but two-thirds of profit, as a stable source of cash that can be diverted to its growing number of investments around the world.

Founder and CEO Masayoshi Son established the more than $93 billion Vision Fund, the world's largest private-equity fund, which has funnelled more than $9 billion into global startups since its inception in 2016, Thomson Reuters data showed.

Separately on Wednesday, the company reported a 2.8 percent fall in third-quarter operating profit, due in part to higher costs. It did not release a forecast for the current business year, saying there were too many uncertain factors.

($1 = 109.1500 yen)

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ SoftBank considers IPO for Japan wireless unit, said to seek $18 bln ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Sam Nussey Editing by Christopher Cushing)
* Govt to boost trade in growing markets - minister

* FinMin sees economy "taking off" this year

(Adds details, finance minister's comment)

BANGKOK, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Thailand's exports are likely to grow more than 6 percent this year, the country's commerce minister said on Wednesday, despite the baht hovering at more than four-year highs against the U.S. dollar.

Corporates are talking about an export growth of 6 percent, but the commerce ministry still sees room for an increase by boosting trade in growing markets, Sontirat Sontijirawong said at a business seminar.

The ministry's export target is likely to be set at more than 6 percent, after consultations with officials later this month on measures to step up trade, he said.

"The baht's strength is just one factor for exports and that will not impede our trade promotion in markets with good potential," Sontirat said.

The baht traded at 31.53 per dollar at 0905 GMT, having appreciated by 3.3 percent against the greenback so far this year. It gained 9 percent last year.

Exports, a key driver of Thailand's economic growth, jumped 9.9 percent last year after rising just 0.5 percent in 2016.

However, the Thai National Shippers' Council said on Tuesday export growth could slow to just 3.5 percent this year. Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong told reporters on Wednesday that a higher 550-billion-baht ($17.47 billion) budget deficit will help the economy "take off" this year, with "higher and sustainable growth".

The deficit, including an extra 100-billion-baht borrowing, is projected for investment in infrastructure projects and developing the rural economy, he said.

The finance ministry expects Southeast Asia's second-largest economy to have grown 4.0 percent in 2017 - the fastest pace since 2012 - and to expand 4.2 percent this year. Official 2017 GDP data is due on Feb. 19.

($1 = 31.49 baht)

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Thai GDP, exports ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Kitiphong Thaichareon and Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Sunil Nair)
* About 9 billion rand available

* Number of claimants unknown

* Miners contracted disease in gold mines

(Adds details, quotes)

By Ed Stoddard

CAPE TOWN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - A 9 billion rand ($755 million) class action suit brought against gold producers in South Africa by miners suffering from fatal lung disease is likely to be settled "within months", the chair of an industry group said on Wednesday.

The suit was launched almost six years ago on behalf of miners suffering from silicosis, a fatal lung disease contacted by inhaling silica dust in gold mines.

Almost all of the claimants are black miners from South Africa and neighbouring countries such as Lesotho, whom critics say were not provided with adequate protection during and even after apartheid rule ended in 1994.

""Within a few months we should have a deal ... There's been great progress," Graham Briggs, chair of the Working Group on Occupational Lung Disease, told Reuters ahead of a presentation on the topic he was to give at the Mining Indaba 2018 conference in Cape Town.

"The faster we settle, the faster we can pay compensation to those who are entitled to it," he said.

The six companies involved are Harmony Gold , Gold Fields , African Rainbow Minerals , Sibanye-Stillwater , AngloGold Ashanti and Anglo American .

Anglo American no longer has gold assets but historically was a bullion producer.

The six companies said late last year they were making provisions for about 5 billion rand and Briggs said there was close to 4 billion rand in a compensation fund which companies have been contributing to for years. "Close to 9 billion rand will be paid to sufferers of silicosis and occupational tuberculosis," he said. Silicosis causes shortness of breath, a persistent cough and chest pains, and makes people highly susceptible to tuberculosis.

Graham said the looming settlement was a "compromise".

Gold companies have said there are limits to what they can pay in the face of rising costs and often thin margins.

The logistics of the payouts will not be easy as many of the affected miners are in remote rural regions.

"The biggest issue is finding these people so they can be paid," said Briggs, a former chief executive of Harmony.

He said the industry still not know exactly how many claimants were entitled to compensation and estimates have run from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands.

(Reporting by Ed Stoddard; editing by Alexander Winning and Jason Neely)
An installation view of "UFAN x KUSAMA" exhibition at Seoul Auction's new Hong Kong space SA+ / Courtesy of Seoul Auction



By Kwon Mee-yoo





Lee Ok-kyung, CEO and vice chairwoman of Seoul Auction / Yonhap
GS Caltex factory in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province / Courtesy of GS Caltex



By Rha Hae-sung



GS Caltex is eyeing the Olefin industry for future business, the oil refiner announced Wednesday. The company is set to build an olefin production plant on 43,000 square meters of land in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province.



Olefin is a petrochemical class that includes ethylene, propylene and butadiene. Ethylene and propylene are necessary materials for industrial chemicals and plastics.





GS Caltex CEO Huh Jin-soo
By Kim Yoo-chul



A senior U.S. government official asked Korea's financial authorities to take measures to block attempts by North Korea to steal crypto-assets, sources at the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said.



"Sigal Mandelker, who serves as under-secretary of the treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence of the United States, asked FSC Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom to respond swiftly to counter hacking attempts by North Korea into domestic cryptocurrency exchanges," a source at FSC said asking not to be identified because he wasn't authorized to officially speak to the media.



Mandelker visited Korea last week, though it's unknown whether the visit was mainly aimed at expanding cooperation between the two countries to prevent those in the cryptocurrency sector from becoming facilitators of money laundering and a number of other "criminal activities." She reportedly had discussions with officials in China and Japan about the issue during her separate visits to the neighboring countries.



Mandelker was also briefed about details of the latest measures taken by Korean financial authorities to crack down on cryptocurrency trading, said the official. Only investors who passed the identification-screening process are currently allowed to sell and trade crypto-assets here as the anonymous nature of all cryptocurrency transactions is vulnerable to abuse by criminals.



Such requests, which the FSC declined to confirm, came at a time when cybersecurity experts warned that the North has "master-minded" a growing number of crypto-heists in the last few years as the North's regime hungered for capital to bankroll its nuclear weapons program and circumvent tough international sanctions.



The official said the authorities' recent decision to mandate a real name-based cryptocurrency trading system was based on its beliefs that cryptocurrencies need to be properly regulated because they are speculative assets, not financial products.



"If North Korea steals cryptocurrencies and transfers them into overseas cryptocurrency exchanges, a real name-based transaction system makes tracking them much easier," said the FSC source.



The National Intelligence Service (NIS), Korea's top spy agency, said it has recently begun investigating the possibility that North Korean hackers stole an estimated $500 million worth of cryptocurrencies from the Japanese exchange Coincheck, according to a lawmaker who attended a meeting with the head of the NIS on Feb. 5.



Kim Byeong-ki of the country's ruling Democratic Party said the Coincheck hacking has some similarities with previous cases which are associated with the North's cyberattack apparatus.



Last year, North Korea's "cybercriminals" began focusing their priority on cryptocurrencies as part of efforts to get funds for the regime.



The first officially reported North Korean hacking of a top-tier Korean cryptocurrency exchange _ Bithumb _ happened in February last year. About $7 million worth of cryptocurrency was hacked from the exchange at that time. Youbit declared its bankruptcy after 17 percent of its total assets were stolen. North Korea was suspected of the theft.



Korea is cooperating with China and Japan regarding an issue on how to further regulate cryptocurrency markets. FSC Chairman Choi Jong-ku said finance ministers from the three countries agreed to go over their separate findings and exchange ideas about the issue.


By Kim Yoo-chul



Woori Bank is testing Ripple's blockchain technology as part of its efforts to develop technologies for easier overseas remittances.



The private lender is partnering with several banks in Japan in a test of this technology and extended the trial period to Feb. 14 after an additional bank in Japan joined the experiment.



Ripple is a U.S.-based startup and Woori said it has no plans to use a cryptocurrency selected by Ripple for the experiment.



Blockchain's existence stems from software developers who see flaws in the current banking network. These flaws include significant wait times for payments to be settled, including multiday waits for cross-border transactions, as well as exorbitant transaction fees tied to banks that act as middlemen during transactions.



Woori said blockchain eliminates this middleman and constantly proofs transactions with the goal of settling payments within a few seconds or minutes, as opposed to days.



"Overseas remittances using Ripple's blockchain technology are more cost-effective and time-efficient than using existing international remittances within the SWIFT network system," an official at Woori said, adding the bank has continued testing systems for overseas remittances that will be operational within Ripple-owned blockchain technology.



"Woori plans to test a one-on-one money transfer with a bank in Japan. The bank wants to make sure the Ripple technology is stable enough to send Korean won to a bank in Japan and have the money converted into Japanese yen instantly, and vice versa," the official said.



The transaction fees would come to a fraction of "a penny," and the settlement of the entire transaction could be done within a matter of seconds.



"It's too early to say whether the technology will be commercially available. The timing is dependent upon the developments of talks with our Japanese partners," the official said. "Even if the test is done, it will take time for Woori to apply it to overseas remittances."



Woori Bank expects it will take five to six months to come up with a policy decision, which will be based on the evaluation of the test results by related units.



Many local lenders are testing blockchain-based technologies in close collaboration with software engineers.



James Carlyle, chief engineer at blockchain software firm R3, was recently in Seoul to promote Corda, R3's blockchain platform. The Bank of Korea, KEB Hana Bank and Shinhan Bank are R3 members.



"Woori is one of many local lenders which has keen interest in how blockchain technology works with its systems," the official said.






By Jung Min-ho







The government has issued a safety warning for Koreans traveling or living in Taiwan after a 6.4-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of the country late Tuesday.



Fourteen Koreans and dozens of Japanese were reportedly among the injured.





"We advise those who are traveling or living in Taiwan not to visit the quake-affected region," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday. "As more aftershocks are expected to occur, please pay extra attention to your safety."





The quake struck about 22 kilometers northeast of Hualien, a popular city for tourists, killing at least four people and injuring 202 others. The injured are largely from the Marshal Hotel.





Rescue workers are searching for people who are believed to be trapped inside a collapsed building. It is unclear how many are missing.





Aftershocks, including a 5.4-magnitude tremor, hit near the city after the quake, according to the United States Geological Survey. More are expected.





The quake occurred after smaller tremors shook the area in the past few days. It comes exactly two years after a quake of the same magnitude struck the country's southern city of Tainan, where more than 100 people were killed.




By Jung Min-ho





A police officer is accused of forcing conscripted policemen to watch porn last year.





According to the Center for Military Human Rights Korea (CMHRK) Tuesday, a police officer surnamed Kim, who works at a police station in North Gyeongsang Province, forced 100 conscripted policemen to watch porn on buses several times from June to September.





Citing multiple whistleblowers, the CMHRK accused Kim of acting against the conscripts' will during their travel and waiting time while on duty.





The motive is unclear.





"Kim harassed conscripted policemen by showing indecent videos. This is a serious violation of the law on such content," said CMHRK head Lim Tae-hoon.





The center also accused Kim of assaulting the juniors and mobilizing them for personal use.





Lim said he hopes the revelation will ignite the #MeToo movement among police officers, urging the National Police Agency (NPA) to investigate immediately.





"The NPA needs to think about why the conscripted policemen had to wait such a long time before reporting it," Lim said.





"Human rights abuses against conscripted policemen should not be overlooked any longer."


Choi Young-mi

By Kim Se-jeong



Famous poet Choi Young-mi claimed Tuesday she had been sexually harassed by a famous older male poet, spreading the #MeToo movement into the literary community.



Appearing on JTBC News, a prime time news program, she said, "He repeatedly harassed female writers _ I was a victim and witnessed many other women being harassed. There are so many victims across Korea."



Social media outlets were full of suspicions that the offender might be poet Ko Un, a renowned figure often put forward for the Nobel Prize in literature.



Following 2016, it is the second time the literary community has been rattled by sexual harassment allegations.



Choi didn't say how she was harassed during the interview but provided a few details in her recent poem, "Monster," published last December in a literary magazine.



"I was told not to sit next to En. Poet K warned me so when I was a young poet. En always gropes when he sees a young woman.'"






By Kim Se-jeong



A man in his 30s from Seoul hung himself at his home recently, in an apparent suicide in connection with his investment in cryptocurrency, police said Wednesday.



According to the Dongjak Police Station, the body of the man was found by his mother in his room, along with soju bottles and cigarette packs. He didn't leave any suicide note, the police said.



The police didn't specify the time of his death but said it occurred when the government was pouring out regulatory measures against the overheated cryptocurrency market.



It marked the second suicide case among cryptocurrency investors.



On Feb. 2, the Busan police found the body of a 20-year-old college student who took his own life out of despair after a loss in cryptocurrency investment.



The Dongjak police said the victim had invested more than 10 million won in cryptocurrency. Given that he had no record of mental illness, the police said the likelihood was high that his suicide was related to his investment in cryptocurrency.



"To confirm the cause of the death, we will look into his bank account more carefully," the police said.



Having worked in the IT industry, the mother told the police, the man spent most of his time at home during the day in front of the computer.



The cryptocurrency market took Korean investors on a rollercoaster ride.



At its peak, bitcoin was being traded for close to 30 million won. This week, the price dropped below 10 million won and continues to fall.



In order to cool the overheated market, the government introduced different measures and warned investors with regulations.



On Jan. 11, the government said it was even considering closing cryptocurrency trading centers but withdrew the proposal. A few days later, the government warned the investors closing the centers was still a viable option.






From left, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Polish President Andrzej Duda and Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila

The leaders of Germany, Poland and Finland will become honorary citizens of Seoul when they visit South Korea to attend the PyeongChang Winter Olympics this week, city officials said Wednesday.

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon plans to award the honorary citizenships when he meets with Polish President Andrzej Duda on Thursday, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Friday and Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipila on Feb. 19, the officials said.

Park plans to use the meetings to discuss ways to increase exchanges and friendship with the countries.

He will also meet Cai Qi, secretary of China's Communist Party and president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Winter Olympics, to discuss cooperation between the two capitals, which mark the 25th anniversary of friendship ties this year.

Other foreign dignitaries Park will meet on the sidelines of the Olympics include the mayors of Istanbul, Tashkent and Ulaanbaatar,

The Seoul government has invited 61 dignitaries from 16 foreign cities with friendship links with Seoul to the Feb. 9-25 Olympics. (Yonhap)




By Oh Young-jin







GM Korea will undergo drastic restructuring, which will most likely entail the closure of Gunsan operations and much more.







The Gunsan factory is the smallest of the automaker's three assembly lines that also include its mainstay in Bupyeong and the second largest in Changwon. The Gunsan employs 1,500, about one 10th of the automaker's workforce of 16,000 and is now on temporary shutdown for increasing inventories.







Already, the Gunsan factory is seen as a basket case with little chance of recovery.





But the restructuring won't stop at Gunsan and will surely affect other factories because of the dismal outlook facing the automaker. Gunsan accounted for 30,000 of 500,000 units GM Korea produced last year.







A Korean spokesman said, "No decision has been made," although a review about the money-losing Korean operations has been underway for some time.







The drastic restructuring on GM Korea was confirmed by GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra during her conference call with analysts.







"Clearly, Korea is a challenge for us the current cost structure has become challenging and we are going to have to take actions going forward to have a viable business," Barra was quoted by WardsAuto, the online news outlet specializing in auto industry. "Korea is the one we are most focused on."







GM Korea domestic sales fell 26.6 percent last year compared with 2016. Exports to other countries, which account for the lion's share of GM Korea's business, tumbled 6 percent. Analysts blame uncompetitive pricing for the Chevrolet brand, a result of the unit's high manufacturing costs and low productivity from underutilized assembly plants.






By Oh Young-jin







Progressive people close to President Moon Jae-in have heaped criticism on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.







Rep. Lee Seok-hyun of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea said on Twitter: "Mike Pence is trying to make the festival a funeral." It is a reference to Pence's plan to meet North Korean defectors and visit the site where the ROK Navy's frigate Cheonan is displayed after it was torpedoed by North Korea.







Pence is coming to the PyeongChang Winter Games, reconfirming the hard-line U.S. stance on the North.







Lee, a six-term lawmaker of the National Assembly's foreign affairs and unification committee, accused Abe of using the PyeongChang Games to push his country's agenda.







"Abe's demand for the resumption of ROK-U.S. military drills is an act of intervening in Korea's internal affairs," he said.







Former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun, regarded as a member of a group of mentors for President Moon, said on a radio show: "It's the U.S.'s fault that Abe acts unreasonably." Jeong served under late President Kim Dae-jung, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for inter-Korean detente.







"He (Abe) tries to raise the tension on the Korean Peninsula in order to create momentum for the revision of his country's pacifist constitution so its military will be able to engage in reckless adventurism," Jeong said.







Lee Jong-seok, unification minister under late President Roh Moo-hyun, who was Moon's mentor, said in his podcast: "North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is in the process of making his country normal. The reason why he moved the military parade to the eve of the PyeongChang Olympic opening is attributable to his sense of pragmatism."






By Sun Xi





China and Singapore share a long history of relations, among which friendly cooperation has always been the mainstream.



In recent years, although the two countries experienced certain unpleasant twists and turns, their bilateral relations were eventually brought back "on track" in late 2007. And 2018 will be a good year to warm up China-Singapore relations.



This year marks the 15th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).



Coincidentally, Singapore assumes the ASEAN chairmanship this year, and it will also continue to be the ASEAN coordinator for ASEAN-China relations until this August.



Obviously, 2018 should be a perfect year for Singapore to fully demonstrate its role of an "honest broker" between ASEAN and China again.



Last September, during a "surprising" but fruitful visit to China, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that as ASEAN chair in 2018, Singapore would promote stronger cooperation between ASEAN and China.



One month later in Manila, Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen and his Chinese counterpart General Chang Wanquan discussed "further practical initiatives to advance ASEAN-China relations," especially "planning for conduct of an inaugural ASEAN-China maritime exercise in 2018."



Lee Hsien Loong has declared that under the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2018, Singapore would focus on (i) promoting and upholding a rules-based regional order; (ii) stepping up cooperation to better deal with emerging security challenges; (iii) pursuing deeper regional economic integration and enhancing regional connectivity; and (iv) finding innovative ways to manage and benefit from digital technologies.



Singapore's suggested key initiatives include building up an e-commerce framework, cyber capabilities and creating an ASEAN Network of Smart Cities. Meanwhile, Lee urged ASEAN to join hands with the Plus Three countries, China, Japan and South Korea, which are already at the forefront of technological adoption, especially in e-commerce and smart cities.



China has always regarded ASEAN as a priority in its neighborhood diplomacy and a key region in promoting the "Belt and Road" initiative. China has become the largest trading partner of ASEAN for nine consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China's third largest trading partner for seven consecutive years.



At the same time, China is the largest trading partner of nine of the 10-member countries of ASEAN, and it is also the fourth largest source of foreign direct investment for ASEAN.



In recent years, both China and ASEAN have been enjoying sustained and rapid economic growth. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang described China and ASEAN as the shining "twin stars" in the constellation of development and "front-runners" of economic globalization, providing positive energy to building an open world economy.



This year has been designated as "China-ASEAN Year of Innovation," and it provides an important opportunity for the upgrading of relations between China and ASEAN.



It is conceivable that there will surely be new momentum in cooperation between China and ASEAN in 2018, which will certainly create considerable business opportunities in this region. To make such cooperation more fruitful, Singapore's role as an effective and efficient coordinator will be crucial.



In 2018, as ASEAN chair, Singapore will host the ASEAN Summit and a series of important conferences and events, some of which Chinese leaders are expected to come to Singapore personally to attend.



Also this year, Singapore's fourth-generation leadership has been gradually coming onto the stage. Therefore, Singapore's 4G leaders will have better opportunities to more closely engage with Chinese leaders in Singapore to forge and deepen their personal friendship, which would be beneficial for the healthy development of the bilateral relations.



China and Singapore are two independent sovereign states, but the ties between the two countries have been traditionally unique.



Chinese President Xi Jinping described the two countries as "close and special partners." Although Singapore was the second-to-last ASEAN country to establish full diplomatic relations with China in 1990, only one year earlier than Brunei (1991), China-Singapore relations have been developing rapidly and extensively.



So far, bilateral trade volume and personnel exchange visits between the two countries have increased more than 20 times. Nowadays, China is Singapore's largest trading partner, while Singapore is China's largest foreign investor. The two countries have already formed inseparable economic and trade relations.



Looking back at history, the China-Singapore friendship was initiated by China's former leader Deng Xiaoping and Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew and has been inherited and developed by their successors, going through many difficulties hand in hand. Currently, China-Singapore relations are "more than stable" and "in a good state" after a rough patch last year. That is encouraging.



In such a rapidly changing era of globalization, the relations between Singapore and China must keep up with the dynamitic.



In the future, China and Singapore can continue to generate more and more win-win outcomes, by seeking common ground while shelving differences, and by taking care of each other's core interests and major concerns with full understanding and respect.



Sun Xi, a China-born alumnus of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, is an independent commentary writer based in Singapore. Write to sunshinelkyspp@gmail.com.


By Tom Plate





In the pantheon of American movies, 1985's "Back to the Future" does not rank at the top of temple Hollywood, as do canonical masterpieces such as "Casablanca," "Gone With the Wind," "Lawrence of Arabia," etc.



Yet the movie title alone enriched American argot, and works perfectly to capture the latest turn in U.S. foreign policy. Yes, it looks like it may be "back to the future" again, as in ... war preparation.



The Trump administration has revealed defense priorities that have the chilling feel of a Cold War emphasis  rather than a no-war aspiration. The world has just been told that the 2019 Pentagon budget  topped up at $716 billion  comes packaged as an "aggressive defense strategy."



Defense Secretary James "Mad Dog" Mattis, viewed as one of this bizarre administration's more balanced brains, cites threats from China and Russia. Both political left and right, argue some U.S. think-tank types, seem in increasing concurrence on two nostrums. One is that the Indo-Pacific region is the globe's No. 1 geopolitical theater (agree). The second is that America must do much more to counter an "increasingly authoritarian, mercantilist and aggressive" China.



Who knows what the U.S. now wants, but what is worrisome is the ever-hovering Law of Unintended Consequences: One builds up for peace but winds up with war.



This depressing drift reflects conceptual minimalism  an ideology of win-lose, the default of us-vs.-them, and rejection of visionary global leadership for petty policy provincialism. "America first' does not mean America alone." President Donald Trump insisted at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, Switzerland. "When the United States grows, so does the world." But how can that be the case if it grows small-minded?



Small minds tend not to beget big ideas. One of America's great diplomats was the late George Kennan, who coined  and mostly even defined  the iconic policy of "containment" as the needed antidote to the poison of the former Soviet Union.



And though Kennan's excoriation of Soviet communism never waned one bit at Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School, where he retired to become an unforgettable teacher, the true genius of the containment notion was its aim: not to provoke uncertainty but offer a bedrock of predictability.



But when the USSR collapsed from internal decay, the simplicity of this organizing idea went poof as well. One day, out of frustration, a few Washington influentials trekked to Princeton hoping the master might give birth to a new trope, as it were, to reframe U.S. policy.



But according to dinner participants (alas, I was not present), Kennan resisted the challenge with the sigh that world was exploding in too many directions for conceptual miniaturization. At the same time Kennan, who died in 1995 aged 101, had little appetite to advise anyone to go "back to the future".



The provincialism of Trump is a symptom of the current default to the past, including tariff tantrums and potential trade wars that will harm U.S. consumers as well as foreign producers; but he is not the core cause. The new provincialism goes deep: after all, Trump's more thoughtful predecessor preferred "leading from behind."



But whether from the back or front, Asian nations from the Philippines to Vietnam  and perhaps also Singapore and Malaysia  need the U.S. to act with intelligence and foresight. What is needed is a committed effort to formulate a cosmopolitan internationalism, fiendishly multisided; but rarely is anything truly important easy to achieve.



The problem with the win-lose paradigm is that someone always loses; the argument for win-win is, "why risk being a loser"? It should not be hard to decide which of these two approaches offers the best odds for geopolitical and economic stability.



This outlook would prove less difficult to realize were it matched by an expansive dose of cosmopolitanism from China. Americans worry  and increasingly so  that Beijing is striking a more global posture than Washington but the new "nice" hegemon profile is but a pose. One Harvard professor even titled his latest book (superb, other than the awful title): "Destined for War."



China will stumble if it needlessly brews its own Cold War rumble. Big powers advance best with little steps. This sensitive point was conveyed at Davos. Singapore's tactful minister, Chan Chun Sing, came across as more than happy to accept China's imaginative and ambitious New Silk Road program as a credible potential trigger for our world economy's "next phase of growth."



But  seemed the minister's subtext  Beijing needs to stop scaring people in the Asian neighborhood half out of their wits if it proposes to begin "leading from the front" with elan. Said Chan: "I can understand and I have heard theories where people are afraid, hesitant about China's growth. But this is an important historical opportunity for China to convince the rest of the world that actually its actions have a broader perspective ... The Chinese have a saying: yi de fu ren  use your benevolence to bring about a global community."



This felicitous phrase was the one trumpeted by President Xi Jinping in his Davos speech last year. The optics of the current Chinese government plumping for an expansive internationalism contrasted brilliantly  and cleverly  with the self-centered darkness of the then newly inaugurated American president. And it still does.



Back to the future  if America is prepared to go small conceptually, while blowing up militarily? Or boldly into the future goes China ? yi de fu ren? That's the daunting, haunting mystery of our era.





Columnist Tom Plate, author of "Yo-Yo Diplomacy," is Loyola Marymount University's distinguished scholar of Asian and Pacific affairs, and the vice-president of the Pacific Century Institute. The above article appeared in the South China Morning Post.






By Stephen Costello





The key to any progress on Korea has always been to first address sanctions and military exercises. Now that Kim Jung-un has begun to talk with his South Korean counterpart, President Moon Jae-in must decide how much he wants to impact South-North relations.



If he continues to uphold the Park Guen-hye and George W. Bush assumptions that North Korea rejected working deals in the 1990s, and prefers guns to butter, then progress is likely to await another leader in some other years down the road.



If instead he wants to have some real impact on the peninsula's security and economic development, then he will have to confront and squarely address those two sticking points. Four questions are worth considering.



First, why were sanctions applied? The story has been that since 2006 they were applied in reaction to the North's nuclear weapons program. But that's only half the story. After all, in 2001 when George W. Bush became U.S. president, there were no nuclear weapons. None. Missile development at the time was being contained.



The U.S. effort to reverse its previous policy and destroy the structure of the Agreed Framework, against the wishes of its ally South Korea and its nonproliferation partners _ China, Russia and the Europeans _ took years. But why was that done?



Helpfully, then U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney was clearer than anyone else when he reportedly said, "We don't negotiate with evil. We defeat it." This rejection of any negotiated settlement with Pyongyang, with its political and ideological need for the appearance of capitulation or surrender, continues to be U.S. policy.



Second, what is the real U.N. and South Korean interest in using sanctions? Both have said, like the U.S., that their aim is to bring North Korea "back to the table." But that is clearly not the U.S. aim. Instead, today the U.S. is doing everything possible to prevent sanctions relief or serious negotiations.



Three U.S. administrations, Bush, Obama and Trump, have refused to return to the win-win formula that anchored and allowed the previous agreements. Even if they had, why would the North Koreans believe them?



Unlike the U.S., South Korea's new pragmatic administration and the U.N.'s new secretary-general would only see sanctions as a tool to be suspended or eliminated if new agreements were made with Pyongyang. That would be their purpose: to be suspended or eliminated.



Third, what would happen if President Moon Jae-in were to gather a coalition of U.N. members and work to pause a broad range of sanctions while serious North-South negotiations were underway? He would have broad support from almost all members of the U.N., certainly from members of the Security Council.



The U.S. may be opposed, but their aim is now different from that of the U.N. and South Korea. It is easy to predict that President Trump, facing another example of his marginalization as middle powers move on to do what they need to do, would embrace the new strategy and claim credit for it.



Fourth, why would Moon make such a bold move, which requires that his government make rare use of coordinated and sophisticated diplomatic capabilities? A simple answer is that the sanctions, as they are being used today to bring the North Koreans to their knees and capitulate, prevent all sincere negotiations.



They are a clear and absolute block on South Korea's ability to return to mutually-beneficial talks, exchanges and negotiations. It is also clear how the Trump administration is using them. Try as he might, Moon can't get around this.



Similarly, South Korea has every right and responsibility to pause, scale back or relocate military exercises. This has been done in the past for exactly the purpose of relieving pressure on the North. Nothing is easier to do.



If the South accepts the line that exercises are somehow immune from use as a diplomatic tool, even as part of a "freeze for freeze" arrangement, they would look shockingly naive, and unable to advance the country's interests. That assessment of the Moon government is the premise of U.S. policy today. Soon we will see if it is correct.





Stephen Costello (scost55@gmail.com) is a producer of AsiaEast, a web and broadcast-based policy roundtable focused on security, development and politics in Northeast Asia. He writes from Washington, D.C. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial policy of The Korea Times.








By Kang Seung-woo







Samsung Electronics plans to spend 30 trillion won ($27.8 billion) to set up a second chip-production line in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province amid surging demand for memory chips, according to industry sources, Wednesday.







"Samsung is in talks with officials in Pyeongtaek over a new chip-production line in that city," said a source who asked not to be named.







However, the source added detailed plans have yet to be determined.







Samsung held a meeting of management committee members early today to discuss it.







"The meeting finished but we cannot talk about what was discussed. We talk about investments but the details are not decided yet," a Samsung official said.







Pyeongtaek, located some 70 kilometers south of Seoul, is already home to the production line of the world's largest chipmaker that mass-produces 64-layer V-NAND flashes. Samsung opened the plant last July.







The decision, if made, would mark Samsung's first major investment since Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Le Jae-yong was released from prison, Monday, after the appeals court gave a suspended jail term. Lee had remained in detention for a year over a corruption scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye.


By Jun Ji-hye



Samsung Electronics plans to build a second chip-production line in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, to better meet surging global demand for semiconductors, industry sources said Wednesday.



If the second production line is similar in size to the first, the cost is estimated to be about 30 trillion won ($27.8 billion)



Earlier in the day, a management committee of the tech giant approved a preliminary investment to establish the second fabrication line at its semiconductor base in the city, 70 kilometers south of Seoul, sources said.



The committee, composed of three top executives _ Kwon Oh-hyun, Yoon Boo-keun and Shin Jong-Kyun _ agreed to start the construction, according to sources.



"The plan received endorsement without opposition," a source said.



The decision is drawing attention as it is the first investment decision since Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was released from prison, Monday, after an appeals court reduced his prison sentence to a suspended term.



Lee had been in detention for about a year, and was given a five-year jail term Aug. 25 after being found guilty on five charges, including bribery, embezzlement and hiding assets overseas. The case was part of former President Park Geun-hye's massive corruption and influence-peddling scandal that led to her impeachment.



The world's largest chipmaker opened the first production line, which mass-produces 64-layer 3D NAND-Flash chips, in Pyeongtaek in July. At the time, the firm spent 15.6 trillion won on the construction, and later decided to spend an additional 14.4 trillion won to extend the line for DRAM manufacturing.



NAND-Flash chip is used for mobile devices such as smartphones while DRAM is a crucial part of computers.



Sources said Samsung had discussed construction of a second production line for months, based on the belief that high demand for memory chips will continue for the time being.



They added that officials have been in talks with Pyeongtaek local government over the construction of the new production line.



A Samsung official said the firm has yet to determine details such as end products at the second line and the amount of investment.



"Such decisions will be made later in accordance with market conditions," he said on condition of anonymity.



Lee Jong-wook, an analyst at Samsung Securities, noted that the second production line is expected to mass-produce both NAND flash and DRAM chips like the first one.



"In addition, the company is expected to install clean rooms at the second line for extreme ultraviolet (EUV) exposure processes," he said.



The analyst added the firm would continue to increase its investment in memory chips, raising the possibility for the company to announce the construction of a third production line in Pyeongtaek later in the year.



Eo Kyu-jin, an analyst at eBest Investment & Securities, echoed Lee's view, saying it was quite obvious that new clean rooms will need to be installed.



Other analysts said Samsung's latest decision was proof that the booming cycles of the semiconductor industry will continue, saying it will positively impact chip-making-related businesses in general.



Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Lee has kept a low profile since being released from prison.



He was seen leaving his residence in Hannam-dong at about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, but his destination was unknown.



Samsung insiders noted that Lee met executives somewhere in Seoul.


Rome, January 31 - The reality of Amsterdam's readiness to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) does not correspond to what it said in its bid, the Italian government says in its appeal to the European Court of Justice aiming to have the agency re-assigned to Milan, a copy of the appeal obtained by ANSA says. The document is based on a single reason for appeal, that is, misleading the EU on how ready the Dutch city was to receive the agency. Italy has appealed after EMA chief Guido Rasi called a stopgap solution proposed by Amsterdam, which would halve the office space compared to its current London seat, "not optimal". EMA is moving from the British capital after Brexit. In its appeal, the Italian government asked the ECJ to use its investigative powers. It said the court "will certainly be able to ascertain, in greater detail, what the situation effectively is". The government voiced the hope that this probe would end in only one conclusion: "the invalidity of the assignation to Amsterdam". Milan lost out to Amsterdam in a tie-break lottery at the end of voting by the EU-27 last November.
Brussels, February 7 - The city of Milan has presented a petition to the European Court of Justice for it to suspend the transfer of the European Medicines Agency from London to Amsterdam pending its appeal, sources said Wednesday. Milan lost out to Amsterdam to host the EMA, which is moving from London due to Brexit, after lots were drawn as a vote among EU member States ended in a draw. The city and the Italian government are appealing after EMA's chief suggested Amsterdam was not ready to host the agency. Milan requested the suspension, alongside the main appeal, using special procedure for urgent requests requiring intervention to avoid serious, irreparable damage. "I don't want to give up on EMA," said Milan Mayor Beppe Sala. "It seems to me that the doubts about the Dutch proposal increase every day. "The first step now is a visit to the Commission on the 12th". The European Medicines Agency, however, said Wednesday that the temporary home Amsterdam plans to provide it while it prepares new, tailor-made premises will enable it to keep working as it moves from London. "The interim solution ensures EMA's business continuity in Amsterdam for the limited time until its new permanent building is completed on 15 November 2019," the EMA said in a statement after an extraordinary meeting of its management board on Tuesday.
Rome, February 6 - A magistrate was among 15 people arrested on Tuesday in a probe into two alleged criminal associations devoted to tax fraud, crimes against the public administration and corruption in judicial processes, sources said. Former Siracusa prosecutor Giancarlo Longo is accused of being a "public official who sold off his role". Lawyer Piero Amara and businessmen Fabrizio Centofanti and Enzo Bigotti are also implicated in the case. Riccardo Virgilio, a retired official of top administrative court the Council of State, is under investigation too, the sources said. Among other things, Longo is suspected of concocting a false probe into an alleged plan to destabilise fuels group ENI along with Amara, who was one of the petrochemicals giant's lawyers. The aim of the fake probe was to derail an investigation into alleged Nigerian kickbacks allegedly involving ENI CEO Claudio Descalzi, judicial sources said.
Bari, February 4 - Italian police on Wednesday seized four million euros in assets from the heirs of a late Puglia mafia boss. Assets including a bar on the Molfetta seafront and the fruit and vegetables firm where boss Alfredo Fiore was shot and killed in 2014 were seized by finance police.
Milan, February 7 - A Milan court heard Wednesday that a British model allegedly kidnapped by a Pole in July and threatened with being auctioned off as a Middle East sex slave on the deep web suffered a series of acts of physical violence including being drugged, handcuffed and brutally transported inside a suitcase. Police were testifying at the trial of Lucasz Herba, 30, for abducting 20-year-old Chloe Ayling. His brother Michal Konrad Herba, 36, is charged with assisting his brother. Ayling has said she feared she would be murdered after being kidnapped in Milan and put on an online auction for bidders willing to pay to have sex with her. The model was attacked, drugged and closed in a suitcase after being lured to the northern Italian city for a fake photo shoot. Suspected kidnapper Herba, a Polish national residing in Birmingham, allegedly advertised the the woman online via the deep web, while at the same time demanding ransom from her agent. "I went through a terrible experience," Ayling told State broadcaster RAI. "I feared for my life every minute. I'm infinitely grateful to the Italian and British police for saving me. They worked night and day to find me". Herba was arrested on July 18, the day after he allegedly let Ayling go, taking her to the British consulate in Milan. The kidnapper may have let the woman go after discovering she was unsuitable for the sex trade as she had a child, according to reports. Ayling's story was cast in doubt by some after reports she had gone shoe shopping in Milan with Herba during her alleged captivity. Some suggested it was a publicity stunt.
This Sept. 11, will revisiting the past reset our present? Two decades after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, there are distinct perspectives for those looking back on a day that stopped a nation in its tracks. Many of those who...

Politics in play, in different ways, on Mecklenburg mask mandate The one thing thats clear, absolutely crystal, about organized, encouraged, endorsed or enforced policies related to COVID-19 response was summed up in just a few words last week by Huntersville...
FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Dr. King Biographer David Garrow Rips Democrats Backing of FBI Crimes

Feb. 6, 2018 (EIRNS)David Garrow, author of Bearing the CrossMartin Luther King, Jr. and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and an advisor for the 1987 PBS documentary series Eyes on the Prize on the history of the Civil Rights Movement, ripped into the Democrats who are currently sucking up to the FBI illegal operations. He makes an example of Rep. John Rooney, who headed the House committee which oversaw the FBI until 1974, and did anything J. Edgar Hoover wanted, including the dirty operations against King and others in the Civil Rights Movement. But when he left, says Garrow, the likes of Frank Church helped expose the politically motivated misbehavior that had occurred when executive-branch controls and meaningful congressional oversight were absent.

He further describes how the Bureau claims that they are now clean, Yet anyone eager to embrace the belief that todays FBI is a rigorously professional and politically unbiased agency is overlooking the facts. The FBI

knowingly relied on the Steele dossierthird-hand, anonymous partisan gossip about Donald Trump, brokered by a paid operativeto obtain a top-secret court order for surveillance of former Trump advisor Carter Page, an American citizen. Yet so far as we know, Mr. Page is guilty of nothing more than pursuing unsuccessful business ties in Moscow while mouthing naive platitudes about Vladimir Putin.

He names former FBI Director Comey, newly former FBI Deputy Director McCabe, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as signers of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, as revealed by the Nunes memo.

To anyone who has studied how Hoovers FBI worked, this continuing approval immediately calls to mind the Bureaus never-ending surveillance of Kings closest advisor, Stanley Levison. Year after year, the wiretaps of Levison produced no evidence to support the FBIs hypothesis that he was a Soviet agent. Still, successive attorneys general, including Bobby Kennedy, readily approved the FBIs surveillance of Levison and his family.

He concludes by denouncing
FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

FBI Joins CNN, CIA Joins NBCSo Who Has State Media?

Feb. 6, 2018 (EIRNS)After Obamas CIA chief John Brennan took a job as an NBC analyst this past weekend, the FBIs former assistant to James Comey, Josh Campbell, issued a flashy resignation letter in the form of an op-ed in the New York Times on Feb. 2, then immediately announced hed been hired as an analyst at CNN. The revolving door has taken on new meaning.

Glenn Greenwald, who released the Snowden documents, tweeted: Isnt it a little strange to constantly rail about state TV when it comes to RT & Fox and then hire CIA Directors & General as your news analysts?

Josh Campbell, a former supervisory special agent with the FBI who served as a counterterrorism investigator and special assistant to the bureaus director, as the Times identifies him, in the op-ed, Why I Am Leaving the FBI, whines that he is

leaving an organization I love. Why? So I can join the growing chorus of people who believe that the relentless attacks on the Bureau undermine not just Americas premier law enforcement agency but also the nations security.

No hiding anythinghe wants to join the chorus of treason against the President. And what better place to do it than at CNN and the New York Times?

Campbell writes that the Bureau is threatened by Scorched-earth attacks from politicians with partisan goals, raising corrosive doubts about the integrity of the FBI that could last for generations. Ironically, he claims that the Bureau can be trusted because it is

subject to a robust system of checks and balances, including its internal affairs division, the Department of Justice inspector general, congressional committees and the courts. These watchdogs ensure that personal opinions regarding politics, causes and candidates do not affect investigations.

And yet he is resigning precisely because of that oversight, from the Congress doing its job for a change, and catching the FBI in serious crimes.

As for the Nunes memo about the FISA applications, Campbell says it could not be true, since

every statement of fact included in an affidavit for foreign intelligence collection must withstand the scrutiny of at least 10 people in the Department of Justice hierarchy before it is reviewed by an independent court.

I.e., trust us.

Not surprisingly, James Comey immediately tweeted his support for Campbells threat to join the witchhunt: Special Agent Josh Campbell will be missed at the FBI, but his voice is an important addition to the national conversation.

The Daily Caller makes the case that Campbell was already essentially working for CNN, even if they were not paying him at the time, by serving as one of their illegal leakers at the Bureau. They write that

Campbells decision to defend the FBI and all-but-attack President Donald Trump directly on a cable news network does not seem consistent with an individual who is worried about the politicization of the nations institutions.

RT observed the fact that it was Brennan who lied to NBC News anchor Andrea Mitchell about the CIA spying on the Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into the agencys use of torture, which, they say, was apparently no deterrent to his appointment by NBC.
FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Londons Office Threatens To Shut Down Steele Deposition To Protect Official Secrets

Feb. 6, 2018 (EIRNS)The British Foreign Office sent a lawyer to Londons High Court Monday, where the lawyer for former MI6 agent Christopher Steele, Gavin Millar, was arguing to reverse the Courts decision in November that Steele must submit to a deposition in the cases brought against him and BuzzFeed by the Russian Aleksej Gubarev. Gubarev was accused in Steeles dossier of hacking the Democrats, supposedly on behalf of the Kremlin.

Millar argued that the deposition would potentially require the disclosure of sensitive intelligence information which would endanger U.K. national security interests and personnel.

But it is not just Steeles lawyer. The British Foreign Office is clearly not taking any chances that the entire British coup attemptto regain its lost colony across the seawould be jeopardized by such an exposure of Steeles role. Reuters reports today:

Millar said a lawyer for Britains Foreign Office, which supervises Britains foreign intelligence agency where Steele worked until 2009, was attending Mondays hearing in case the government felt it necessary to request any testimony by Steele was limited to protect official secrets. However, the government lawyer said he was not going to raise any specific concerns at this stage of the hearing.

Last November a U.K. court ruled that Steele must submit to a deposition. Millar told the High Court Monday that the case was almost unique due to the huge impact that Steeles dossier had had on U.S. politics, Reuters reports. He said the deposition would be a mini public inquiry and an opportunistic fishing expedition which could put Steeles sources at increased risk. Its extremely worrying for someone in Mr. Steeles position.

Steeles filing argues that,

The Order is likely to require Mr. Steele to answer questions in circumstances where his answers would ... require the disclosure of sensitive intelligence information which would endanger U.K. national security interests and personnel.

Gubarevs lawyers have already agreed to limit the questions to Steeles background and the 13 lines in the dossier which related to their client, three very discreet topics.

It is not clear when a decision will be made, but it is certain the Queen and her minions are watching closely and are ready to strike.
FROM EIR DAILY ALERT

Tillerson, Pence: Meeting with North Koreans Is Not Ruled Out

Feb. 6, 2018 (EIRNS)Secretary of State Rex Tillerson refused to rule out yesterday that there could be a meeting between U.S. officials and the North Korean political leaders who are planning to attend the Winter Olympics in South Korea this week.

Kylie Atwood of CBS News asked Tillerson, who was visiting in in Lima, Peru:

You have continually pressed that diplomacy is the way to solve the North Korea threat. And there has been a period of relative calm in terms of North Korea nuclear tests and missile launches. Is the time when you would consider U.S.-North Korea talks getting closer? And would the Trump administration accept an invitation for North Korean officials to meet in South Korea this coming week?

Tillerson replied:

Well, with respect to the Vice Presidents trip to the Olympics and whether or not there would be an opportunity for any kind of a meeting with North Korea, I think well just see. Well see what happens.

Atwood interjected: So its not a No. Its, Well see? Its possible. Tillerson repeated: Yeah, well just have towell see. Well see what happens.

Vice President Mike Pence is heading the U.S. government team to the Olympics in PyeongChang, while North Koreas official head of state, Kim Yong-nam, is leading the North Korean delegation.

Today, before leaving for Asia, Pence stopped at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, where he answered questions from the press. Asked about any interactions with the North Korean delegation at the Olympics, Pence said:
For more than a century, one family owned the Los Angeles Times and used the newspaper to build great wealth and exert political influence over how the city would take shape.

But over the years, the Chandler family  descendants of hard-charging Civil War veteran Gen. Harrison Gray Otis, who bought the paper in 1884  became increasingly fractured and disenchanted with the newspaper business. In 2000, they sold Times Mirror Co. to Chicago-based Tribune Co., thrusting it into a protracted, 18-year battle with its out-of-town owners.

On Wednesday, The Times corporate parent, Tronc, announced that it had reached a deal to sell The Times, the San Diego Union-Tribune, Spanish-language Hoy Los Angeles and community newspapers to L.A. biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong. His investment firm, Nant Capital, agreed to pay $500 million for the Southern California papers and it will assume $90 million in pension liabilities.

The sale will bring a return to local ownership and possibly some stability for a 136-year-old institution that, in recent years, has lagged behind its better-resourced rivals on the East Coast. It caps a particularly stormy period for the newspaper, which has seen three editors in six months, its publisher placed on unpaid leave amid a sexual harassment investigation and a historic vote to unionize the newsroom.

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It is often said that Southern California is the place where the world comes to see its future. It has welcomed generations of immigrants who worked hard, started new businesses and helped others do the same, Soon-Shiong said in a note to The Times and other publications. My own family immigrated from southern China to South Africa generations ago. We chose to settle in Los Angeles because this is the place that most felt like home.

Ultimately, this decision is deeply personal for me. As someone who grew up in apartheid South Africa, I understand the role that journalism needs to play in a free society, Soon-Shiong said.

In Los Angeles, news of the change of ownership was greeted with guarded optimism.

Our readers expect and deserve the high-quality, independent journalism that has defined The Times for decades, said the newsroom guilds organizing committee. The L.A. Times Guild looks forward to working with a local owner who can help us preserve The Times as a guardian of our community and as the voice of the American West.

Who is Patrick Soon-Shiong? An L.A. billionaire with big ideas  and mixed achievements 

Soon-Shiong, 65, was not the first Los Angeles billionaire to express interest in buying The Times. Twelve years ago, music mogul David Geffen offered Tribune $2 billion for The Times, but the Chicago-based company refused to let go. Philanthropist Eli Broad occasionally voiced a desire to buy The Times, but in the end, it was Soon-Shiong who came up with the cash.

Soon-Shiong took a different tack than the other suitors by investing in Tronc in spring 2016, which positioned him as the companys second-largest shareholder. Soon-Shiong attempted to buy The Times several times, but he was consistently rebuffed. But, despite friction with Tronc Chairman Michael Ferro, Soon-Shiong waited for his opportunity.

Game, set, match  Patrick played it beautifully, Los Angeles investment banker Lloyd Greif said. And it happened faster than Im sure he imagined it would. He got it done in less than two years.

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The sale to Soon-Shiong came together quickly, over the last few days, and startled many observers. Tronc had fended off previous efforts to buy the company outright or peel off the California newspapers. It had insisted that The Times was key to its strategy to build a global entertainment brand  given its proximity to Hollywood, technology hubs and the Pacific Rim.

But, amid the ongoing drama at The Times  including rapidly escalating hostilities between the newsroom staff and its short-lived editor in chief, Lewis DVorkin, and a barrage of negative publicity  Ferro began to reassess his companys strategy for The Times.

He came up with a number  $500 million  and decided that if he could fetch that price for The Times and the Union-Tribune, then it was the right time to sell.

Its unclear whether he or Soon-Shiong made the first overture this time around, but talks began less than a week ago and reached a fever pitch over the weekend. Thats when the contours of a deal came together.

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This was a fairly efficient process, said Dennis Culloton, spokesman for Ferro. He noted that Ferros change of heart about The Times came after the Chicago investor stepped back and assessed the big picture.

Michaels career leading public companies has been marked by one thing  increasing value for shareholders, Culloton said. And when there was an opportunity to get this kind of a price, he determined that it was a great opportunity to bring enormous value to shareholders and the company.

Troncs stock price leaped after the deal was announced, closing up 19% at $21.55.

By agreeing to the $500-million price tag, Soon-Shiong is paying a premium for the struggling media properties. With plummeting print advertising revenue, traditional publications have fallen out of favor on Wall Street. For example, Troncs print revenue plummeted 17% in the first nine months of 2017.

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But major newspapers have found several billionaire benefactors willing to throw them a lifeline. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought the Washington Post in 2013. That same year, Red Sox owner John Henry scooped up the Boston Globe and, in 2014, Minnesota billionaire and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor bought the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

As a local who already owns a minority stake in the Lakers, Soon-Shiong probably will face high expectations  both from the newsroom and the Southern California community, which has witnessed a spate of recent layoffs and cutbacks at other local publications, including LA Weekly and the chain of local dailies owned by Digital First Media.

Russell Goldsmith, chief executive of downtown L.A.'s City National Bank and chairman of the Los Angeles Coalition for the Economy and Jobs, said he hopes Soon-Shiongs purchase of The Times will be followed by additional investment in the newspaper.

The Times has been struggling through a downward spiral of resources and staff, as well as excessive turmoil, Goldsmith said. Patrick has the opportunity to both bring stability and continuity, and a commitment to the long-term well-being of the community. Greater resources, greater coverage and increased staff will result in coverage that will attract more readers.

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Broad also sounded a hopeful note.

The Los Angeles Times is a crucial institution for our city, and its journalism an essential voice for our democracy, Broad said in a statement. We expect Dr. Soon-Shiong will support the Times hardworking staff as they provide in-depth, unbiased coverage of this globally significant region of 15 million people, as well as the national and international stories that matter most to its readers.

Over the years, The Times staff has endured multiple cuts that have reduced the newsroom to about 400 from its high of 1,200 in the late 1990s. Still, it remains one of the largest metropolitan news staffs in the country  and continues to break major stories and capture coveted journalism awards.

Now Tronc will have a pile of cash as it retools its strategy  without its biggest source of content.

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We will have a versatile balance sheet that will enable us to be even more aggressive in executing on our growth strategy as a leading player in news and digital media, Justin Dearborn, chief executive of Tronc, said in a statement.

The company said it will form a new division called Tribune Interactive, which will be led by former Los Angeles Times Publisher Ross Levinsohn. Levinsohn, who had been placed on unpaid leave Jan. 19 amid revelations that he was a defendant in two sexual harassment lawsuits, resigned from his position at The Times on Wednesday.

It is also expected to use the $500 million in proceeds to pay down debt, make acquisitions and further its digital strategy across the remaining papers, which include the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Baltimore Sun and the New York Daily News.

Dearborn said Chris Argentieri will resume his role as general manager of the California News Group and work with Soon-Shiong during the transition. Other key executives also will continue in their current roles: Jim Kirk as editor in chief of The Times and Jeff Light as publisher and editor of the San Diego newspaper.

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Though the purchase would mean a change of ownership for The Times and Union-Tribune, the papers still will be collaborating with Tronc under a 12-month agreement to share corporate services such as payroll and human resources.

Media analyst Ken Doctor speculated that Tronc, as it seeks to build its own national online news network, may want to syndicate Times content, including its entertainment and celebrity coverage.

Ferro wanted to commercialize Los Angeles Times content, and Id be surprised if he didnt keep the ability to do that in the contract, Doctor said. They can get a steady stream of content without owning the asset.

The purchase agreement filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicates Soon-Shiong is purchasing the papers for cash and that the transaction does not involve his holdings of Tronc stock. That suggests Soon-Shiong will retain his ownership stake in Tronc and would have an interest in both Tronc and The Times.

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The San Diego paper has experienced its own upheaval and ownership changes. The Union-Tribune, which is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year, was owned by the Copley family until it was sold to Platinum Equity, a Los Angeles investment firm, in 2009 for an undisclosed sum that was estimated at $50 million or more.

The Union-Tribune, which was purchased by Tribune Publishing in 2015, employs about 260 people, down from nearly 2,000 under the Copleys. Most of the downsizing has come from outsourcing of printing, packaging and distribution, but the news and advertising departments have experienced layoffs as well.

I want to assure you  everyone from the press room to the newsroom  that I will work to ensure that you have the tools and resources to produce the high-quality journalism that our readers need and rely upon, Soon-Shiong said in his note to employees of The Times, Union-Tribune and other publications.

meg.james@latimes.com

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Twitter: @MegJamesLAT

San Diego Union-Tribune staff writer Roger Showley contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

6:40 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Patrick Soon-Shiong.

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5:55 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details about deal negotiations and reaction to the sale.

9:25 a.m.: This article was updated with Tronc stocks movement, additional information about the San Diego Union-Tribunes history and comment from the Union-Tribunes editor and publisher.

7 a.m.: This article was updated to note that the deal is expected to close this spring.

6:45 a.m.: This article was updated with details about Tribune Interactive and the findings of an independent investigation into L.A. Times Publisher Ross Levinsohn.

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6:20 a.m.: This article was updated with statements from Patrick Soon-Shiong and Justin Dearborn.

This article was originally published at 5:50 a.m.
Americas largest banks had myriad worries in mind when they rushed this week to ban customers from using credit cards to buy cryptocurrencies. Bitcoins gut-wrenching slide was just one of the threats.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. started to decline purchases as industry executives zeroed in on a variety of ways they could get burned, according to people briefed on the decisions. Publicly, JPMorgan cited the risk that borrowers might not repay. Behind the scenes, card issuers were also concerned about the protections they offer shoppers and their vulnerability to thieves, the people said.

Near the top of many lists were initial coin offerings. Start-ups have embraced the fundraising method, selling tradable tokens to gather money for projects, sometimes promising future rewards. Initial coin offerings drew $3.7 billion last year, but in many cases companies have struggled to make good on obligations or revealed themselves as scams. Increasingly, regulators are intervening, deeming some tokens to be unregistered securities.

Card executives saw a few dangers, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. It can take days for buyers to receive their tokens, and if the instruments turn out to be fraudulent or illegal, cardholders may dispute the charges. Major crypto exchanges such as Coinbase eschew most tokens, but some initial coin offerings and smaller venues enable card purchases. In December, U.S. regulators sued a Quebec man and his company, claiming they raised $15 million in a fraudulent initial coin offering that found workarounds to accept cards.

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Eastman Kodak Co., which has been working on KodakCoins, warned potential investors Tuesday that bogus websites and Facebook accounts are promoting and even claiming to already be selling the planned digital token.

Another worry is that a thief could open a credit card account with a stolen or fake identity, or just poach a cardholders number. The fraudster would then be able to convert the credit line into a hoard of digital cash that would be almost impossible to trace.

The sharp decline in bitcoins value also creates a classic problem for any banks providing financing. Consumers who lean on credit lines to speculate  and bet wrong  may struggle to repay. The danger wasnt so acute last year when cryptocurrencies kept climbing. But since briefly exceeding $19,000 in late December, bitcoin has plunged.

One Reddit user, going by bitconnected1369, drew a mix of pity, disbelief and scorn over the weekend after writing in a forum about loading up on bitcoin at $17,000.

Am I worried? No, the user wrote. I bought it on my credit card through Coinbase and had planned the repayments would be paid out of bitcoin profits. First payment due in a couple of weeks and I believe we will start to rise up before then.

Short of that, the user might sell a portion of the investment to keep up with initial card payments. What could possibly go wrong?

Bitcoin fell below $6,000 this week after authorities continued to speak out against speculation. And another big lender, Lloyds Banking Group, said it, too, was halting credit card purchases, further constraining the inflow of investor money.

It got even tighter Tuesday. Coinbase said people using credit cards to fund accounts are starting to get stung by cash advance fees. Customers began noticing the costs in their card statements last week after payment networks told banks its OK to classify crypto exchanges in a way that treats transactions like buying a currency.

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Youve got people that are eschewing their mortgage to buy bitcoin to get rich quick, said Kristina Yee, an Aite Group analyst who studies cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The banks are worried that people are over leveraging themselves and they wont be able to pay back the debt.

Surane writes for Bloomberg.
Dutch lender Rabobanks California subsidiary agreed Wednesday to forfeit $369 million after a long-running investigation concluded the unit was used to launder millions of dollars in Mexican drug money.

The subsidiary, Rabobank National Assn., also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Jill Burkhardt did not provide details during a brief hearing, but Rabobank said last month that the subsidiary probably would acknowledge that employees hid information from regulators nearly five years ago.

It marks one of the largest U.S. settlements involving the laundering of Mexican drug money, though its still only a fraction of the $1.9 billion that Britains HSBC agreed to pay in 2012.

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The Rabobank settlement surpasses the $160 million that Wachovia Bank agreed to pay in 2010.

Rabobank attorney James Cavoli declined to speak with reporters outside the courtroom. Company representatives did not respond to a phone message and emails seeking comment.

Last month, former bank subsidiary compliance officer George M. Martin agreed to cooperate with authorities in a deal that delays his prosecution for two years.

Martin, a vice president and anti-money-laundering investigations manager, acknowledged he oversaw policies and practices that blocked or stymied investigations into suspicious transactions. He said he acted at the direction of supervisors, or at least with their knowledge.

He told investigators that he and others allowed millions of dollars to pass through the bank without adequate scrutiny, despite being warned about the client.

Investigators said the business came from a Mexican customer who made more than $10 million in suspicious transactions. They said a bank in Calexico  a California city on the Mexico border  wanted more business.

Authorities seized the account in 2011 on suspicion it was being used to move millions of dollars in drug proceeds.

Martin and others were accused of failing to alert authorities to other suspicious activity at branches in Calexico and Tecate, another border town.

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In 2009 and 2010, investigators say, employees allowed a Mexican client to withdraw nearly $500,000 in amounts just under federal reporting requirements, even though the client had been reported to the Treasury Department at least 25 times for suspicious activity.

The efforts to hide suspicious activity occurred from 2009 to 2012.

Rabobank, based in Utrecht, Netherlands, said U.S. authorities began investigating in 2013 whether the subsidiary violated the U.S. Bank Secrecy Act and other laws and regulations.

UPDATES:

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1:15 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with additional details.

This article was originally published at 12:25 p.m.
The Walgreens drugstore chain has adopted a companywide policy that allows people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity after a customer said she was discriminated against at a Hollywood store.

Jessie Meehan, who is not transgender, said she asked to use the restroom at a Walgreens on Sunset Boulevard after she spent about $20 on items there on her way to the LGBTQ Pride festival last year; a sales associate told her she could not use the womens restroom because she looked like a man.



For the record: An earlier version of this article cited what it called a California State Report and said the data came from more than 27,000 respondents. The report was issued by the National Center for Transgender Equality, and it focused on data from 3,453 respondents who were California residents.

A store manager told her it was store policy to restrict access to a bathroom based on a customers appearance, although when she complained later, another manager said there was no such policy.

I had to go so I didnt put up much of a fight and used the stall while the men used the urinals next to me, Meehan wrote in an email to Walgreens. This in itself was very humiliating for me and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

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Meehan said she argued with a manager for several minutes and then went to the Pride festival and found an information booth staffed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

Meehan, who is active in the LGBTQ community, wrote a letter to Walgreens, suggesting solutions and offering to help train staff. Two months later, when no action was taken, ACLU staff attorney Amanda Goad sent a letter to Walgreens laying out the California law, which protects every persons right to access restrooms based on their gender identity in workplaces, schools and business establishments.

No litigation was required and no financial settlement was sought, Goad said. After hearing what happened to Meehan, Walgreens simply changed its policy at all 8,100 stores nationwide to comply with California law.

Although Walgreens specified the policy was for transgender individuals, it applies to all individuals. Goad said gender discrimination relating to bathroom usage is not just a transgender issue and that its relatively common for women who are perceived as gender nonconforming to be questioned or challenged on their way to the womens restroom.

In an ideal world, the best policies apply to everyone because its not exclusively a transgender issue and having staff speculate who or who might not be transgender doesnt help anyone, she said.

Meehan said she supported Walgreens as a customer because she knew it was an LGBT-friendly business.

When I think of Walgreens, I think of an ally, Meehan said in her email to Walgreens. A company that really supports progressive issues which I really respect a lot.

In 2016, the Human Rights Campaign named Walgreens the best place to work for LGBT equality. Walgreens scored perfectly in the advocacy groups Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices on LGBT workplace equality.

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People who work there, maybe their experience is different, but as a customer who spends a lot of time and money at Walgreens, I expected more out of them, she said in an interview.

Walgreens, which is owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance of Deerfield, Ill., confirmed the policy change, but would not comment further.

So-called bathroom equity has been hotly debated in recent years.

In December, North Carolina repealed a controversial requirement that people use public bathrooms based on the gender listed on their birth certificates.

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In 2016, Target adopted a policy that allows customers and employees to use bathrooms based on their gender identity. The policy generated a backlash, including a boycott, from conservative groups.

A 2015 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that, of the 3,453 respondents who were California residents, 9% had been denied access to a restroom that year, 12% had been verbally harassed while trying to access one and 60% had avoided using a public restroom in the past year.

California law bans businesses, nonprofits and government agencies that serve the public from not allowing people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity or from asking that people show identification to use a restroom or other sex-segregated facility. All single restrooms are also required to be designated as all-gender.

There should be clear policies that are comprehensible for customers and staff alike, Goad said. But theres no data on how well the staff is trained to enforce those policies, she said.

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Meehan said shes not completely satisfied with the policy because it is labeled as a transgender inclusion policy and does not outline steps for employees to take if they encounter a similar situation, but its a good first step.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra
Donald Trump, president of the United States, has been given the go-ahead by a federal court to pay $25 million to settle charges that he committed acts of fraud on thousands of Trump University students.

The decision by the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco puts the kibosh on an attempt by one plaintiff in the case, Florida bankruptcy lawyer Sherri Simpson, to drag Trump into court over the $19,000 she paid for classes and a mentorship program.

Instead, Trump will get off the hook by paying roughly the same estimated amount he wants taxpayers to spend on a parade of tanks and missiles down Pennsylvania Avenue  which Im not making up.

Trump wrote the $25-million check after the election. Its been held in escrow pending a final court ruling.

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The payment puts an end to lawsuits filed in California and New York  subsequently rolled into a single class action  alleging that Trump University, which wasnt really a licensed school but a series of seminars, duped customers with promises of secrets from Trump that would allow them to make a killing in the real estate market.

A one-year apprenticeship cost about $1,500. A Trump University membership ran more than $10,000. The top-of-the-line Gold Elite program set people back $35,000.

Trump University customers alleged in the lawsuits that the promised secrets were basically the same sort of information you could find on the Internet, that the seminar instructors were unqualified and that the mentoring was more like cheerleading.

New York Atty. Gen. Eric Schneiderman said he was glad the settlement cash would now find its way to more than 6,000 victims of the alleged racket.

For years, President Trump refused to compensate the victims of his sham university, he said in a statement. His reversal in 2016  and the large-scale settlement that resulted  opened the door for student victims to finally obtain the restitution they deserve.

The settlement includes no admission of guilt by Trump.

He said during the 2016 presidential campaign that the people that took the course all signed  most  many  many signed report cards saying it was fantastic, it was wonderful, it was beautiful.

I asked the White House for a comment on Tuesdays ruling. Nobody replied.

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The appeals court said an earlier district court decision to accept the settlement was fair and reasonable in light of the significant hurdles that would arise in bringing a sitting president to trial.

Unfortunately, this means the allegedly defrauded Trump University clients wont be able to testify about their experiences, and details of Trump Universitys operations wont be aired in court.

It means I wont get to testify either.

As part of the lawsuits, plaintiffs attorneys introduced as evidence hundreds of pages of Trump University playbooks that were intended to guide Trump University employees in closing sales with seminar participants.

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When you introduce the price, dont make it sound like you think its a lot of money, one playbook advised. If you dont make a big deal out of it, they wont.

In one document, Ronald Schnackenberg, a witness for the plaintiffs who worked as a Trump University sales manager in 2007, said he believed the school was a fraudulent scheme that preyed on the elderly and uneducated.

Prior to the settlement, I was placed on the witness list for a potential trial because of columns Id written about Trump University. At one point, Trumps lawyers filed a motion to block me from testifying.

They were apparently nervous about my discussing what Id seen and heard while attending a Trump University seminar at the Pasadena Hilton in 2007.

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The event turned out to be nothing more than a two-hour sales pitch for a three-day workshop costing nearly $1,500. The priceless information promised in ads for the event consisted of little more than buy low, sell high.

Trump called me the day my column ran and said he was going to sue me for the inaccurate and libelous things Id written. He also contacted my editor to say that Im a nasty guy and a third-rate reporter, and that the Los Angeles Times should fire me.

No lawsuit was filed by the future president. My editor, declaring me at least a second-rate reporter, kept me on the job.

Trump did himself no favors by stating in 2016 that the U.S. district court judge hearing the Trump University case, Gonzalo Curiel, couldnt be impartial because of his Mexican heritage. Curiel was born in Indiana in 1953.

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I interviewed Trump prior to attending the 2007 seminar, after Id seen an ad for the event quoting him as saying that investors nationwide are making millions in foreclosures  and so can you!

Im going to give you 2 hours of access to one of my amazing instructors AND priceless information  all for FREE, it said.

Trump told me the real estate market represented almost limitless opportunity for a real go-getter.

One of the things a person has to have is instinct, he said. There are people who cant handle the pressure, who dont have the capacity.

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A wave of foreclosures was sweeping the U.S. housing market at the time. Lenders had recklessly gone heavy into subprime mortgages, which would precipitate a crisis in the financial services industry and usher in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

These are great times, Trump told me. There are unbelievable opportunities for making money.

I asked why hed opened Trump University.

I love teaching, he replied. I love helping people.

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I can think of 25 million reasons why that doesnt seem true.

David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.
Call it the political equivalent of a death-defying escape: former President Barack Obamas health care law pulled in nearly 11.8 million customers for 2018, despite the Republican campaign to erase it from the books.

An Associated Press count found that nationwide enrollment was about 3 percent lower than last year. California, with more than 1.5 million sign-ups, was the last state to report, announcing its numbers on Wednesday.

Sixteen states increased their enrollment from last year, according to APs analysis. Six of those were carried by President Donald Trump in 2016, while 10 went for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

However, of the total number of people signed up this year about 6 in 10 live in states that went for Trump, according to the APs analysis.

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If you had asked me a year ago whether enrollment for 2018 would be almost equal to 2017, I would have laughed at you, said Larry Levitt, who follows the health law for the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.

Total enrollment remained remarkably stable despite Trumps disdain for Obamacare, and multiple attempts by the Republican-led Congress to repeal it. The Trump administration also cut the sign-up window in half, slashed the ad budget, and suddenly stopped a major subsidy to insurers, which triggered a jump in premiums.

The Affordable Care Act and the landmark protections and affordable coverage it provides are here to stay, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.

These results show that people recognize how important coverage is for their health and financial stability, said Kristine Grow of Americas Health Insurance Plans, the industry lobby.

The Trump administration had no immediate reaction. Newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar is a critic of the health law but has avoided directly antagonizing Democrats over it. The White House line remains that Obamacare should be repealed and replaced, but Republicans in Congress dont have the votes.

Still, nearly eight years after the ACA passed, the debate isnt likely to go away. The outlook for next year is dicey. Starting in 2019, Congress has repealed the laws unpopular requirement that most people carry health insurance or risk fines from the IRS. Thats expected to embolden some healthy people to go without coverage, which would raise premiums for those left behind.

People who are eligible for health law subsidies would be shielded from such increases, but those who dont get financial assistance would face another round of premium hikes.

The Trump administration is trying to address that by promoting lower-cost insurance alternatives that dont offer the comprehensive benefits available through the health law. But that also has drawbacks. If the lower-cost plans catch on with consumers, it could siphon healthy people away from the health laws comprehensive coverage.

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Meanwhile, bipartisan legislation to help stabilize insurance markets across the country appears to be struggling in Congress.

Peter Lee, head of Californias state-run market, says he believes insurance markets are still in jeopardy despite a good enrollment season. Overall enrollment dipped slightly in California, but the number of new customers increased.

In a recent interview, Lee said hes concerned that the federal government isnt doing enough to advertise that coverage is available at attractive rates for people with modest incomes who qualify for subsidies.

Not promoting enrollment is a formula for higher premiums for many Americans, said Lee. A drumbeat of advertising is needed, he explained, because the pool of potential customers is constantly changing. For example, people who lose employer coverage may not know the health law offers them an option.

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If you see overall enrollment dropping that is a formula for less healthy people covered and higher premiums, said Lee. Health law enrollment peaked at 12.7 million for 2016 and has declined every year since them.

The dozen or so states running their own insurance marketplaces mostly outperformed the federal HealthCare.gov. Overall, the 39 states that use the federal website saw their enrollment slip by about 5 percent.

Eight of the states that beat last years number of sign-ups ran their own markets. Most state markets had longer sign-up windows than HealthCare.gov and some states advertised heavily.

In fact, of the 12 jurisdictions running their own exchanges, eight gained enrollees - only California, the District of Columbia, Maryland and Vermont lagged behind 2017 levels.
One night in 1954, Jasper Johns had a dream: He was painting the image of an American flag. He rose the next morning, stretched his bed sheets into a makeshift canvas and began re-creating the picture lingering in his head.

More flags followed, now among his most iconic motifs.

The morning after President Trumps State of the Union address, one of Johns most significant flag paintings  stacked canvases known as Three Flags  went up on a gallery wall at the Broad museum. The work, on loan from the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, almost never travels. It has been on loan only four times since the museum acquired it in 1980. Its one of Johns earliest flag paintings and, as an encaustic work painted with a mixture of melted beeswax and pigment, its also one of his most delicate.

At the Broad, Three Flags was hung in a protective Plexiglass bonnet for the exhibition "Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth,  the first U.S. survey of the artist's work in more than 20 years. The show, organized by the Royal Academy of Arts in London and co-curated by the academys Edith Devaney in collaboration with the Broad, opens Saturday and is the only U.S. stop of this tour.

The exhibition presents six decades of Johns' work, including more than 120 paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures, with an eye toward illuminating through-lines and changes in the artist's oeuvre. Many of the works haven't been displayed in Los Angeles before.

To see all these masterworks together is just  its transcendent, said Broad Director Joanne Heyler, who was overseeing the installation of Three Flags along with Matthew Skopek, a painting conservator from the Whitney.

Heyler and the Broads Ed Schad co-curated the L.A. incarnation of the exhibition, which includes eight significant works that didnt show in London, Three Flags being one of them. The show is organized thematically, as it was presented in London, rather than chronologically, which is unusual for a survey exhibition. By juxtaposing Johns early and late-career works, as well as the various media he worked in, the exhibition illuminates recurring imagery and concepts in Johns oeuvre, not to mention the innovation he was known for.

"Flag" (1967) is part of the Broad's permanent collection. Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y.

Unlike at the Royal Academy, the Broads first gallery in the show is devoted entirely to the artists flags. It's an intimate space chock-full of red, white and blue  and orange and charcoal gray. Theres his small 1955 graphite drawing, Flag, the earliest flag work in the show; and theres the so-called 1958 Leo Castelli flag, a five-foot-wide flag with thick, prominent brushwork rendered entirely in wax and paint, that was in the late New York gallerists family for decades. The painting of two flags against a gray background, Flags (1965), is from Johns personal collection.

Three Flags, created in 1958 when Alaska and Hawaii werent yet states, has just 48 stars on it. It hangs beside the Broads Flag (1967), which has 50 stars on it.

Like all of Johns works featuring common signs and symbols  flags, targets, numbers, letters, maps  the flag works not only challenged the premises of abstract expressionism, but also questioned the medium of painting itself. His flags werent meant to be emotional or political statements as much as purely visual ones, the familiar image suddenly unfamiliar in its new context. The depiction on canvas is, simply, a painterly gesture, both the picture of a flag and an object unto itself.

But it would be hard to imagine a roomful of flags not resonating today.

Although his mind wasnt on politics when he launched this series, Heyler said, its interesting, as a historian, to look at context in the 50s and McCarthyism and what was going on in the country then. Given that were currently living through a rather turbulent moment, politically, now, Im sure visitors will reflect on that as they look at these images.

But they also are so compelling as paintings. Theyre just crafted and painted so masterfully, and thats an equally critical piece to understanding whats going on in this gallery.

The flag paintings  like all of Johns works depicting symbols  Schad added, disrupt viewers knee-jerk reactions and instead slow that way down, to the point of an object and an image and what a thing does in the world.

Jasper Johns' "Target" (1961), on view at the Broad museum. Art by Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y.

Eight thematic sections lead the viewer through the exhibition. Things the Mind Already Knows, which the flags are part of, presents some of Johns best known images, playing with the viewers sense of perception regarding everyday objects. Words and Voices shows how Johns saw language in relationship to visual perception; it includes a series of Samuel Beckett narrative shorts, for which Johns created prints evoking the language. Time and Transience includes the first Johns painting, Untitled (1975), which museum founders Eli and Edythe Broad acquired in 1978, an abstract-looking piece with jagged colorful markings.

Jasper Johns' "Untitled" (1975) was the first painting by the artist that Eli and Edythe Broad acquired for their collection. Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA, New York, N.Y.

In the Studio focuses on the life of an artist and includes Johns famous sculpture, Painted Bronze (1960), of a coffee can filled with paint brushes. Fragments and Faces includes Johns Perilous Night (1982), in which he silk-screened a page from a John Cage score onto the canvas. Seasons and Cycles pulls together Johns Seasons paintings  the first time all four have been shown together in L.A.

Jasper Johns' "Summer" (1985), on view at the Broad museum. Jasper Johns / Licensed by VAGA, New York

Johns, who is 87 and lives in Connecticut, isnt traveling to L.A. for the exhibition or doing interviews, the Broad said, but the show has already generated much excitement given its sheer breadth. In addition to private loans as well as pieces from the Broads collection and from the artist himself, nearly every major museum in the U.S., and several internationally  including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the Tate, London  contributed key artworks. For the Broad Art Foundation, which has made more than 8,500 loans since the early 80s, Heyler said, this collective effort to create  Something Resembling Truth  feels like the completion of a collegial relationship.

That collaborative spirit crosses over into programming around the exhibition. Johns is a reader and lover of the arts, an interdisciplinary thinker who collaborated with close friends such as choreographer Merce Cunningham and composer Cage. The programming lineup blends dance, poetry, live discussions and music.

The Cross-Hatched series will feature pianist Adam Tendler performing with experimental vocalist Joan La Barbara; Tendler will also provide piano accompaniment to snippets from dance films from the Merce Cunningham Trust. For an evening called Incidents and Echoes, Tendler will perform Cage compositions that share titles or other connections with Johns paintings.

The Broad will also present the Unfolding Language Literary Series in collaboration with the Library Foundation of Los Angeles Aloud program. Over two evenings, L.A. authors such as Chris Kraus and Rigoberto Gonzalez will read their own work and the work of authors who inspired Johns, like Beckett, Herman Melville and Hart Crane.

Jasper Johns at his Riverside Drive studio in New York City in 1964. Bob Adelman

Johns influence has shaped Pop and Conceptual artists in the Broads collection, such as Robert Rauschenberg, Ed Ruscha, Andy Warhol, John Baldessari, Sherrie Levine and Bruce Nauman.

Itd be hard to find too many artists working with paint and making paintings that dont owe some kind of debt to Jasper Johns, Heyler said.

But Heyler is especially interested in how the exhibition, and its programming, will affect artists previously unfamiliar with Johns work.

Los Angeles is such a center for art practice. It has some of the nations best art schools. Im really looking forward to seeing how it influences how young artists are thinking today in L.A., she said.

Because this is the kind of show that will reward close, intimate viewing. This work pulls you in.

         

Jasper Johns: Something Resembling Truth 

Where: The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., L.A.

When: Opens Saturday, ends May 13

Tickets: $25; free for ages 17 and younger; reservations recommended

deborah.vankin@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @debvankin

UPDATES:

FOR THE RECORD

8:31 a.m.: An earlier version of this article stated that Matthew Skopek is a curator. He is a painting conservator. The article also referred to the Broad Foundation but should have said Broad Art Foundation.
Call the British-born pianist, composer and writer Stephen Hough a polymath and he quickly demurs. Actually I have no special abilities in maths or science, Hough said. All my achievements are in the arts.

Still, those achievements continue to be prodigious. Hough, who earned a MacArthur Foundation genius grant in 2001, has his first all-Debussy record out on the Hyperion label, and hes appearing Saturday at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, where the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet will perform his trio, Was mit den Tranen geschieht (What Happens With Tears), which is based on a Rilke poem, along with works by Mozart, Ibert, Barber and Poulenc.

And then theres this: Houghs debut novel, The Final Retreat, due out next month from Sylph Editions (distributed by the University of Chicago Press). Heres an edited version of our conversation with the man of many talents.

You were a guest on BBC Radio 4s Desert Island Discs program, and among your musical selections was Stairway to Heaven. Youre a fan of Led Zeppelin?

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If something catches my ear, Im really happy to go with it. At one point, I was listening to more of that than I was of any classical music. I had a lazy teenage time where I wasnt doing much work at school or practicing much. I was spending a lot of time watching bad television shows.

At age 19, you joined the Roman Catholic Church, considered the priesthood and for years lived a life of celibacy. What changed?

One memorable priest said, The piano is your altar. My faith now is in a very different place from what it was. I remain Catholic and still go to Mass on Sundays, but I would find it difficult to affirm so many things now. Things are more complicated than I thought they were as a teenager.

What is The Final Retreat about?

Its about an ordinary parish priest reaching his 60th birthday who has lost his faith  and hes being blackmailed by a male prostitute. In a complete state of despair, he goes on an eight-day silent retreat. The diary he keeps is the novel, discovered after he dies. We dont know whether its a suicide or a murder, which is the mystery bit of it. The first chapter gives you the clue to what happens in the last chapter.

Youve written about being gay and how that relates to your music-making and religion. Was there an autobiographical impulse behind your debut novel?

In my teens, I remember a local priest committed suicide in my small town in the north of England. It seemed a tremendous disgrace. People were whispering that maybe he was gay. Well, queer was the word then. It has since been reclaimed as a positive word but not back then. That idea of a depressed priest stayed with me. Ive met many priests over the years and some were very joyful, but others I could see some of this in them.

Were you worried about how to handle the sex in the novel?

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Its quite shocking. The priest does talk about his encounters with different men in cheap flats. And he describes them very graphically and with four-letter words as if hes kind of throwing out his fist at the world. There are also many tender moments when hes trying to remember what his faith had been in the past.

Back in the 90s, you were known for unusual personal touches in your concert stage attire.

Yes, at one point, I had green shoes. A concert is theater. I like to think theres an occasion about it, and clothing is part of that. Now Im in my 50s. I may go back to it, but at the moment Im wearing patent leather black shoes. Very ordinary.

Have you grown more conservative with age?

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In that way, maybe not in other ways. Youre not serving the music by trying to hide away and not have your own sensibility too. I want to bring something of myself to this great music that so many thousands of people have played.

         

Stephen Hough with the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet

Where: Bram Goldsmith Theater, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday February 10

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Tickets: $45-$95 (subject to change)

Running time: 2 hours (including one intermission)

See all of our latest arts news and reviews at latimes.com/arts.

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Last month, during a meeting in the Oval Office, the president asked why the United States should accept immigrants from Africa, Central America and the Caribbean.

What do we want Haitians here for? Donald Trump asked. Why do we want all these people from Africa here? Why do we want all these people from shithole countries?

For Ayuko Babu, executive director of the Pan African Film & Arts Festival, now in its 26th year, the statement was more than disappointing.

He was talking about us, he said. About me, my family, our people around the world. We didnt get through 500 years [of slavery] without bringing a lot of wisdom and insight. So just to say that is a silly comment.

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It shows the kind of ignorance thats pervasive with respect to Africa and the Third World, added Asantewa Olatunji, director of programming for the festival. One of the things these kinds of statements do is play on the self-esteem of the people that come from there, even though we may know better. So one of the things that we try to do with the Pan African Film Festival is make sure that we show those positive and realistic images. And that when we look at it we can identify ourselves.

This year, the festival will be held from Feb. 8-19 at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plazas Rave Cinemas. Even before Trumps statement, the festival has existed in part to correct misconceptions about people of the African diaspora.

Launched in 1992 by a group of activists (including Babu, Danny Glover and Good Times actress JaNet DuBois) concerned about the portrayal of black people in the media, the festival seeks to promote inclusivity, diversity of storytelling and accurate representation of the black experience.

So we decided to put together a festival of films that come from all over the world and show a more realistic image of the people that we are, said Olatunji. Thats one of the things that we want to do with the films that we screen  change that perspective, show a different story, give a different image of what these countries are, a more realistic image. And maybe change some hearts and minds.

The theatrical poster for The Forgiven starring Forest Whitaker and Eric Bana. The film will close the Pan African Film & Arts Festival on Feb. 19. (PAFF )

Since 1992, PAFF has grown from a seven-day festival screening almost 40 films to a 12-day festival that screens more than 170. Were now the largest black film festival in the United States and probably in this hemisphere, said Olatunji. Its a whole different size than many other film festivals in the United States.

Approximately 35,000 people, including more than 100 filmmakers, attend the festival just for the films (roughly 90,000 people show up for the festivals fine arts show). This years lineup includes films from more than 40 countries spanning five continents and 26 languages.

We have films from all over the world, said Olatunji. From the South Pacific, South America, the Caribbean, Africa, the U.S., Canada wherever there is a community of black people that are making films about themselves.

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In addition to expanding the length and scope of the festival, the content of the films has evolved over time too.

When we first started, most of the stories were very negative stories, said Olatunji. They were stories about gangbangers or about the pimps and prostitute idiom. Now we are seeing far more diverse stories.

She attributes the increase in diverse stories in part to the digital revolution.

When we first started, films were on 35mm, she said. There was no such thing as streaming. So now we have so many different places to see film, which has really encouraged the creation of so much more product. And with that product comes that diversity of story.

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An emergence of diversity in roles for black actors in Hollywood has also done a lot to move the culture forward.

In terms of the black experience and the black footprint, we have so many new actors in Hollywood that come from someplace else, she said.

She points to the festivals closing night film The Forgiven, where Forest Whitaker, who is African American, portrays South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as one example. We have [Brit] Idris Elba playing an African American, and [Star Wars actor] John Boyega playing a person from outer space! So we do see that black people are now in these more diverse roles than we saw in 1992.

The festival will open with the world premiere of Alfons Adetuyis Love Jacked (featuring Mike Epps) and will close with the U.S. premiere of Oscar-nominated director Roland Joffe's The Forgiven, starring Whitaker and Eric Bana. It will also host the L.A. premiere of Kareem Mortimers Cargo, about a white American expatriate who smuggles Haitians to Florida, on Sunday at 6:35 p.m.

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Other highlights include director Samuel D. Pollards documentary Sammy Davis Jr.: Ive Gotta Be Me (Saturday at 4:35 p.m., Sunday at 6:25 p.m. and Feb. 19 at 6:15 p.m.) and Jimmy Jean-Louis Visits Tijuana, a documentary about the citys Haitian community that features comedian Rainn Wilson (Sunday at 6 p.m. and Feb. 16 at 4:10 p.m.).

With the success of films like Girls Trip, the Oscar-nominated Get Out and rabid anticipation for Black Panther and A Wrinkle in Time, its undeniable that black cinema is having a moment.

Absolutely, agreed Olatunji. Im not going to say a renaissance because Im not sure that we ever [left], but this is absolutely a period of time that black film, black stories, black art is being valued. Its a time when Hollywood cant turn its back to the popularity and importance [of black film]. There has to be a more diverse projection of who we are in terms of our humanity.

Its been too long that everybody has gone to the movies and just accepted the European reflection, she said. Everybody wants to see what is going on in the world and everybody wants to see that reflection of ourselves.

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I predict that the African American stories are just the beginning, she continued. Were going to see that diversity reflected not only in black but in brown, in yellow, because we are a small world and we have to know each other. People want to see images on the screen that reflect themselves.

The Pan African Film & Arts Festival will be held at Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plazas Rave Cinemas, 4020 Marlton Ave., Los Angeles, from Thursday through Feb. 19. General admission tickets are $14. For more information, visit paff.org

sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com

follow me on twitter @sonaiyak
The upcoming South by Southwest Film Festival continued to add to its program Wednesday with the announcement that the North American premiere of Wes Andersons Isle of Dogs will be the closing night selection. The festival runs from March 9-18 in Austin, Texas.

Isle of Dogs will have its world premiere as the opening night movie of the Berlin Film Festival later this month. The stop-motion animated picture is set in near-future Japan and tells the story of a boy on a journey to find his lost dog amid all the pooches in exile in a vast garbage dump.

Anderson was born in Texas and attended university in Austin. He was at SXSW with his previous film, The Grand Budapest Hotel. The impressive voice cast for Isle of Dogs includes Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, Kunichi Nomura, Akira Takayama, Akira Ito, Scarlett Johansson, Yoko Ono, Tilda Swinton, Ken Watanabe, Mari Natsuki, Nijiro Murakami and Courtney B. Vance.

The festival also announced the lineup to its popular Midnighters section of genre films, including six world premieres.

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Playing in the section will be Ari Asters Sundance breakout Hereditary, Katsuyuki Motohiros Ajin: Demi-Human, Owen Egertons Blood Fest, Stephen Suscos Untitled Blumhouse-Bazelevs Film, Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nymans Ghost Stories, Jean-Stephane Sauvaires A Prayer Before Dying, Jenn Wexlers The Ranger, Leigh Whannells Upgrade, Colin Minihans What Keeps You Alive and the multi-director anthology The Field Guide to Evil.

An image from the Untitled Blumhouse-Bazelevs Film, which will have its world premiere as part of the South by Southwest Film Festival. (South by Southwest Film Festival )

Noting that the Midnighter selection included both veteran and many first-time filmmakers, SXSW senior film programmer Jarod Neece said in a statement, It is the highlight of my year to get to dive into the yearly pool of genre film submissions and see what wild and devilish ideas these filmmakers have brought to life.

Other titles added to the program include Melanie Laurents Galveston, Clayton Jacobsons Brothers Nest and Dan Gregors Most Likely to Murder, all world premieres in the Narrative Spotlight section. Jason Outenreaths They Live Here, Now will have its world premiere in the Documentary Spotlight section.

Added to the music-centric 24 Beats Per Second section are Steve Sullivans documentary Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story and Brett Haleys Hearts Beat Loud, which premiered at Sundance. Bruno Dumonts Jeannette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc will screen in the Global section.

Also screening in the Festival Favorites section will be three movies that premiered at the recent Sundance Film Festival: Carlos Lopez Estradas Blindspotting, Cristina Costantini and Darren Fosters Science Fair and Boots Rileys Sorry to Bother You.

Twelve curated short film programs were also announced. And the festivals opening night party will be on the futuristic Iron City set for the upcoming Alita: Battle Angel filmed at Robert Rodriguezs Austin-based Troublemaker Studios.

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Mark.Olsen@latimes.com

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When Courtney Nichols set out to throw the dinner party/rave/immersive theater project that became Disco Dining Club, she had role models.

Among her influences: Indochine, the New York Asian-fusion joint and clubhouse that once catered to the Warhol crowd. Peak-era Formosa Cafe in Hollywood, back when Frank Sinatra was drowning there in want of Ava Gardner. Maybe throw in some Versailles and Weimar-era Germany on an underground club promoter salary.

We wanted it to be like a Peggy Guggenheim party without all the trust funds, Nichols said, of the New York art world doyenne whose collection of Picassos and Miros were only rivaled by her myriad sensory appetites.

On the third anniversary of her party (which hits the Mid-Wilshire Art Deco Building this Saturday), shes clearly off to a good start.

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At a time when underground nightlife is faced with mounting pressures to stay afloat, be it soaring rents or increased scrutiny placed upon do-it-yourself venues in the wake of 2016s tragic fire at underground Oakland art space Ghost Ship, its harder than ever to throw the kind of rough-and-tumble, shoestring-budget events where culture takes shape.

So Nichols went hard the other direction  throwing parties in the glitziest on-the-grid spaces she could find, with menus of caviar, oysters and champagne. She built on themes ranging from gay bathhouses to Russian royalty. Dinner usually comes with some kind of left-field theater or a sweat-it-out 70s dance party with DJs like Mike Simonetti, Masha and In Flagranti.

It has the heart of an after-hours club but revels in the gilded decadence most below-radar nightlife is out to destroy.

Theres so much exceptional [nightlife] talent here, like A Club Called Rhonda and Making Shapes, Nichols said. But after Ghost Ship, people just dont want to take that risk any more. Thats what I missed, music in diffuse spaces. You need a narrative to get people to leave the house today, but you cant be smelling car exhaust while eating caviar.

Nichols is a local clubland fixture, usually easy to spot across any crowded room with her shock of pastel hair and an interestingly cut dress. Her fascination with disco culture extends far beyond the music, into the ways the genre blended scenes and identities and gave clubbers permission to test their limits (a favorite reference text is Albert Goldmans 1978 photo tome Disco).

She always threw a good shindig, starting with her earliest proto-DDC parties in her West L.A. backyard. But the night she made the series official, she brought a gussied-up crew of late-night regulars to Cliffs Edge in Silver Lake. What had been intended as a genial night out with small-plates and champagne quickly escalated.

People showed up in full regalia and by the end of the night they were having sex in the bathrooms, Nichols said.

Clearly, she was onto something.

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L.A. has an almost unnavigable bounty of good food, and a dance music scene in flux but also in abundance. Yet no one had really paired the two in a way that starts with a long dinner and ends the next day with your hair a mess and your tights ripped up the side.

Dancers at a recent Disco Dining Club. (Chris Blaski )

So began her wink-wink-nudge-nudge (but not at all, really) vision of supper-club indulgence for the L.A. avant-garde. Disco Dining Club isnt cheap (tickets for Saturday start at $100 and go up to $250). But thats all-in for everything, including (at the VIP level), a multi-course meal from Bistro LQs Laurent Quenioux, enough oysters to drag down a small yacht and a long-form set from French disco mainstay Joakim.

Is it a weird time for her to dive into the aesthetic and gustatory signifiers of the ultra-rich? Disco scholars will note its no coincidence that the scene arose in the 70s, a time of distrust in government, crumbling cities and post-Vietnam cynicism that yielded some of the most unabashedly joyful music and righteously decadent nightlife.

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So maybe the timing is perfect. In todays divisive climate, theres some sanctuary in walling off the bad news for a night and surrounding oneself with finer things.

I can say without a shred of doubt that people need this right now, Nichols said. I met my boyfriend here. Ive put my blood and sweat into this concept, and right now especially, people still need to know that this life can exist.

         

Disco Dining Club: Hall of Mirrors

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Where: The Art Deco Building, 5209 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

When: 7:30 p.m. Sat.

Tickets: $100-$250

Information: https://restlessnites.com/ddchallofmirrors

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HBOs forthcoming documentary Elvis Presley: The Searcher largely sidesteps the rock stars status as a pop culture icon in favor of highlighting his artistic ambitions, a take that has prompted his record label to assemble a companion soundtrack album that similarly favors his most creative recordings over his signature hits.

Elvis Presley: The Searcher (The Original Soundtrack) is set for release April 6 by Sony Legacy, just ahead of the April 14 premiere of the documentary directed by Thom Zimny, perhaps best known for his longtime video collaborations with Bruce Springsteen.

The album will be released in several configurations: a single CD, a double LP vinyl set and perhaps most significantly, a three-CD deluxe box set.

The latter version spans his earliest recordings at Sun Studio in Memphis, such as Thats All Right and My Baby Left Me, through song choices that reveal his questing nature that often was obscured by his fame as well as by his detour into Hollywood and, later, Las Vegas.

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The soundtrack was in my mind from the beginning, Zimny said in a statement announcing the album. I wasnt just making a film, I was thinking about the collection of recordings I would gather for a person who saw the film, who wanted to complete the experience, just as I always had.

The deluxe edition also includes a disc containing recordings that influenced Presley, such as Arthur Big Boy Crudups rendition of Thats All Right, the Blackwood Brothers gospel groups version of Satisfied, bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroes rendition of Blue Moon of Kentucky and Lloyd Prices hit version of Lawdy Miss Clawdy that Presley greatly admired.

The soundtrack album is produced by longtime Presley archivist Ernst Mikael Jorgensen, Zimny and rock writer-manager Jon Landau.

In this collection, one gets not a greatest hits package but a song-by-song, curated portrait of an artist, musician-turned-author Warren Zanes writes in the book included with the deluxe edition, an artist who very consistently and courageously gave himself to his performances, as if in the giving he might find some missing part of himself.

Among the numerous Presley disciples Zimny and Zanes interviewed for the documentary are Springsteen and Tom Petty, who, Zimny told The Times, recently shared his thoughts about the King of Rock n Roll late in the process, but who provided insights Zimny found invaluable.

He was a light for all of us, Petty said of Presley, whom he met in Florida when Petty was 10, on the set of a film Presley was shooting there  a meeting Petty has credited with helping put him on the path to be a musician himself.

We all owe him for going first into battle, he said. He had no road map and he forged a path of what to do and what not to do. And we shouldnt make the mistake of writing off a great artist because of all the clatter that came later. We should dwell in what he did that was so beautiful and everlasting, which was that great, great music.

randy.lewis@latimes.com

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The latest old show to be resurrected for a new generation is Bravos Emmy-winning Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, later, and presently, just Queer Eye. The series took off from the premise that (some) gay men might have something to teach (certain) straight people about self-presentation and self-understanding, and that the world would be better for watching this happen. Netflix is behind the new season, whose eight episodes begin streaming Wednesday, all at once.

Queer Eye emerged in a golden age, or glut, of makeover shows; it arrived in 2003, the same year as TLCs What Not To Wear  the other best such program, for my money  which followed a similar narrative to similar philosophical ends. Unlike ABCs surface-obsessed Extreme Makeover, which threw plastic surgery into the mix, the upgrades were relatively modest, and the thrust educational; the message was you are already the person you need to be, once you get out of your own way  all things just keep getting better, in the words of the series theme.

Or as grooming expert Jonathan Van Ness tells one subject, We fixed you topically and we fixed this house, but the essence ofwho you are really didnt need a whole lot of fixing  you just need to dust your shoulder off and make sure you moisturize right before you go to your big meeting, sonny.

Here is how it works: A person, stuck in a rut or facing a challenge, is chosen for a makeover. In come the Fab Five, each with his specialty: clothing, food, decor, grooming and (the most variable of categories) culture. They invade the subjects living space, wreaking havoc like a bigger Marx Brothers. By the end of the show  the original took place in a day, or a day; the new show transpires over the course of a week  they have transformed their target outside and in.

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The subject then hosts an event  a party, a date  highlights of which the team watches on video back in their loft headquarters. There is laughter, there are (especially in the reboot) tears. Some of that laughter, and some of those tears were, I dont mind saying, mine.

Every episode has its theme. There is the wedding do-over, the lonely older person looking for love, a fireman raising money to train more firemen, the father of six working two jobs, and a few young men who need to grow up (one, an aspiring comic, still lives in a room next to his parents; another actually sleeps in his mothers preserved old room, in the house he inherited from his grandmother).

And there is something the old show never tackled, a semi-closeted gay African American who regrets never having come out to his father, and fears coming out to his stepmother, and lives in a sort of dull camouflage, self-conscious of looking gay or looking like people can tell my preference just by my clothes. Youre literally hitting home with me, says culture advisor Karamo Brown, who also bears the distinction of having been reality TVs first out gay black man (The Real World, 2004).

As a fan of the Bravo series, I approached the reboot with trepidation. The original cast  Carson Kressley, Kyan Douglas, Thom Filicia, Jai Rodriguez and Ted Allen, who have stayed more and/or less in the public eye since the show went off the air in 2007  had a special combination of personalities and talents that added up to a greater whole, like the Beatles, whose Fab Four moniker was borrowed for their collective nickname, the Fab Five.

Of course, you cant just take four people, give them instruments and haircuts and say, These are the Beatles now. The new crew is, on the whole, not as droll as the original  the hair-flipping Van Ness, who stars in the Funny or Die comedy recap series Gay of Thrones, is the designated Kressley, the chatterbox joker  but they are full of life and ideas, of fun and feelings, which they are ready to discuss.

Indeed, the Netflix Queer Eye has been arranged to provide moments of revelation and education for the Fab Five as well; their own feelings and back stories have been stirred into the mix. As before, some of the best scenes take place in transit, as the weeks subject and one or two of the team just talk, as they travel to or return from checking out clothes, buying a mattress, trimming a beard.

It is one thing to become a phenomenon unexpectedly, because what you do strikes a nerve, and another trying to repeat a phenomenon. In a way, the new Queer Eye is about the old Queer Eye and its incidental real-world effects  bringing a marginalized community into the mainstream, educating the straight world and providing models for LGBTQ people, including some members of the present cast. There is a lot of explicit stating of themes left implicit in the old show.

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But Queer Eye 2018 has been made for a different moment, when advances have been made and ground lost. Some new cast members have husbands and children; there is an African American Fab member in Brown; fashion adviser Tan France is half-Pakistani. (Food person Antoni Porowski and designer Bobby Berk, whose brand may be familiar to you, round out the cast.) At the same time, in the wider world, a megaphone has been handed to those eager to re-marginalize the marginalized. Putting the new series in Georgia, in cosmopolitan Atlanta and in conservative small towns, lets conversations happen. Some cast members have their own, not necessarily pleasant, small town histories.

All bends toward love in the end  so many hugs! Come for the serial reveals, stay for the life lessons. (Dont judge a book by its cover. Pick up your room.) Or come for the lessons and stay for the reveals. It works either way.

Queer Eye

Where: Netflix

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When: Anytime, starting Wednesday

Rating: TV-14 (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14)

robert.lloyd@latimes.com

Follow Robert Lloyd on Twitter @LATimesTVLloyd

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Critics notebook: What Not to Wear aims to make over a womans life and wardrobe

7 new L.A. stores: Bobby Berk, Camerich, Mart Collective and more

No spoilers, just a sneak peek at the Food Networks Chopped
Step off Sees Candies and move over Russell Stover. Now that adult-use cannabis is legal in the Golden State, this Valentines Day presents a gift-giving alternative to those with a pot-loving beloved: luxury-level edibles that combine chocolate and THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical compound in marijuana that gets you high).

Below are four of the high-end brands that have not only caught our eye and piqued our palate, but are packaged so exquisitely that theyre worth tracking down  at a state-licensed dispensary  for your Valentine. (If youre new to the legal weed game, its worth checking out a website called WeedMaps.com, which has a very accurate, frequently updated list of whats in stock at participating dispensaries.)

Before that, though, there are a couple of key things to keep in mind if you  or your beloved  arent an experienced consumer of cannabis-containing edibles.

First off, THC thats ingested, as opposed to smoked, metabolizes as a different chemical compound. That means the high can be very different than what even the most seasoned smoker might expect  and can also vary greatly from person to person.

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Second, and most important, the substantial lag time between consumption and the feeling of the effects (anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours depending on an individuals metabolism) means enthusiastic but impatient neophytes may end up consuming far more than they should. (Theres even a word for this rookie movie: Dowding  named after New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd who, in a 2014 visit to Colorado, famously overate her way into eight hours of hallucinations, panting and paranoia. Consider yourself warned.)

Third, under state law, cannabis-containing edibles for recreational use must be scored or separated into pieces that contain less than 10 milligrams each, and the total package may not contain more than 100 milligrams of THC. (The rules are slightly different for medical cannabis, but its important to point out since many of the currently licensed dispensaries cater to both the adult-use and medical market.)

Finally, if youre the kind of person who holds out until you see the organic label, youre out of luck. Although many of the companies below use organic ingredients  including chocolate  that designation falls under the purview of the USDA, and since cannabis and cannabis-containing products remain illegal under federal law they cant be labeled as such.

Calivolves cannabis-infused truffles are available in three flavors; mint, matcha and cherry. (Kiino Villand )

Calivolve

Lilly Cabral and Mia Pham, who launched the line last year, give cannabis-infused edibles the truffle treatment; the outside of each gold-foil-wrapped serving is dark Belgian chocolate and the interior is one of three flavors: cherry (which Cabral says is a fan favorite), matcha or mint. Each jewel-shaped truffle contains 10 milligrams of sativa-strain, sun-grown THC sourced from Humboldt Countys craft cannabis cultivators. And the entire line is vegan and gluten-free.

An added bonus  particularly if there are young ones in the house  is that the truffles are packaged six to a sleeve in gorgeous boxes covered in geometric Art Deco that are designed to be child-proof (which makes them a safe and sensible hostess gift as well). $40 each. www.calivolve.com

Each triangle in a Defonce bar contains 5 milligrams of THC. An entire bar contains 90 mg. (Defonce Chocolatier )

Defonce Chocolatier

Oakland-based Defonce (the name translates from French as stoned) took home a 2018 Greenstate Cannabis Award for best sweet edible for its line of cannabis-infused chocolate bars, and its not hard to see why. With cacao percentages that range from 31% (for white chocolate bars infused with vanilla bean or green tea matcha) to 81% (for the Dark+ flavor), each 3.5-ounce bar is scored as a series of interlocking, raised triangles (with rectangles at each end) that make it as much a thing of beauty as the box it comes in  black paired with pale pastel shades including lavender, turquoise or lime on the outside, and all-over patterns in the same shade inside. The triangles are as functional as they are decorative. Each one contains 5 milligrams of THC for a total of 90 milligrams per bar.

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The company, which describes itself as seed-to-bar, sources its THC from purveyors of single-origin, sun-grown, biodynamically farmed cannabis from the Sierra Nevada foothills, which makes it as appropriate and thoughtful a gift for the cannabis connoisseur as the high cacao percentage and commitment to fair trade sourcing does for the chocolate lover. $20 a bar. defonce.com

Lord Jones Sea Salt Caramels are available at MedMen. (Lord Jones )

Lord Jones

If theres one name in L.A.s luxury edibles game that should be on (not to mention past) your lips, its Lord Jones, the makers of a range of cannabis-containing confections that include old-fashioned fruit-flavored gumdrops, dark chocolate espresso chews and dark-chocolate-covered sea salt caramels. Its the last of these  packaged four to an elegant pale blue box emblazoned with a crest that features prancing bucks and the motto for your royal highness  that will likely melt your loved ones heart as surely as the salt-sprinkled cubes of Ecuadorian-chocolate-robed caramels melt in her or his mouth. Available through MedMen in two strengths. The lower dose serves 5 milligrams of THC per sweet treat (20 milligrams per box) and retails for $15; the stronger dose delivers 10 milligrams per caramel (40 milligrams per box) for $20.

For those interested in baby-stepping into the edibles arena (or sending a fun Valentines Day gift to someone beyond the California border), Lord Jones also offers dark chocolate espresso chews that contain hemp-derived CDB (cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive compound thats also found in cannabis thats prized for its pain-relieving, mood-stabilizing properties) instead of THC. Because theyre THC-free, they can be ordered online and shipped nationally. The individually wrapped chews contain 20 milligrams of CDB and are sold five for $30. www.lordjones.com

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Satori Chocolates line-up includes cannabis-infused strawberries in milk chocolate. (Satori Chocolates )

Satori Chocolates

If youre looking for a THC-tweaked take on the standard-issue Valentines Day treat of chocolate-dipped strawberries, Satori (in Zen Buddhism, satori means sudden enlightenment) has the answer in the form of cannabis-infused wild strawberries in milk chocolate. (Last year, High Times named the confection one of its top edibles.) Also available in a dark chocolate version, it combines dried, hand-picked strawberries (from the Italian Alps) with cannabis-infused chocolate, resulting in a 3-ounce box full of something that resembles a very grown-up version of Raisinets and clocks in at 100 milligrams of THC per box (approximately 3 milligrams THC per piece) and sells for $20.

Speaking of raisins, Satoris product mix also includes milk-chocolate-covered raisins, as well as salted caramel cacao beans and salted caramel almonds (both covered in dark chocolate), as well as a range of cannabis-infused bars (90 milligrams of THC per bar, $18) using chocolate from Berkeley-based chocolate maker TCHO. satorichocolates.com

To read this article in Spanish, click here

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adam.tschorn@latimes.com

For more on cannabis commerce and culture, follow me at @ARTschorn.
Introducing the Feb. 5 AARP Movies for Grownups Awards, host Alan Cumming mentioned with pride that he was the first-ever host of the first-ever telecast of these awards.

Cumming started the show, which is scheduled for broadcast on PBS Feb. 23, with his rendition of Stephen Sondheims Old Friends. He was also the first-ever host to sing the introductions to all the nominated films, which named Star Wars: The Last Jedi as best movie for grownups, beating out nominees Get Out, Lady Bird, The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Helen Mirren was honored with the organizations Career Achievement Award.

The event

Staged by AARP the Magazine at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, the affair honored, according to Cumming, compelling movies and dynamic performances with appeal to a mature state of mind. The affair raised money for AARPs charitable affiliate, dedicated to ending senior poverty.

Richard Jenkins, from left, Willem Dafoe and Blythe Danner Jordan Strauss / Invision for AARP the Magazine / AP

The crowd

Although many of the awards recipients joked about their age, Cumming, in his introduction, quickly took note of Saoirse Ronan, 23, and quipped, Theres a young person in the room. (Actually, there were others.)

The star-studded shindig saluted awards recipients, including Gary Oldman (actor, Darkest Hour), Annette Bening (actress, Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool), Guillermo del Toro (director, The Shape of Water), Richard Jenkins (supporting actor, The Shape of Water), Laurie Metcalf (supporting actress, Lady Bird) and Aaron Sorkin (screenwriter, Mollys Game.)

There to present awards were Ronan, Mark Hamill, Kelly Marie Tran, Ben Mendelsohn, Alfre Woodard, Doug Jones, Willem Dafoe, Blythe Danner, Christopher Rivera, Valeria Cotto and others.

In a special moment during the show, Ken Sturdy, a World War II veteran of the Battle of Dunkirk, stepped up to the podium to receive the Best Time Capsule Movie award for the film Dunkirk.

Helen Mirren Gabriel Olsen / Getty Images for AARP

The quotes

Given the caliber of talent onstage, there was no shortage of insightful, thought-provoking and witty quotes. Here are some of the highlights.

After thanking AARP for his supporting actor award, Jenkins said, I especially want to thank [fellow Oscar nominee] Sam Rockwell for being too young to win this award.

Cumming praised Get Out, which was named best ensemble film, as a chilling and hilarious film that is equal parts social commentary and provocative thriller, [which] transcends genres and has become a touchstone for conversations about race. Then he jokingly added, If there werent already enough reasons to be afraid of meeting your mates parents, the performances of this ensemble film will make it even more terrifying.

In accepting the award, cast member Marcus Henderson looked around and wondered, Oh, man, is this the AARP Awards or is it going to be like an audition for Get Out 2?

Betty Gabriel, left, and Marcus Henderson speak at AARP the Magazine's 17th Movies for Grownups Awards at Beverly Wilshire Hotel on Monday. Matt Sayles / Invision for AARP the Magazine / AP

The real Molly Bloom portrayed in Mollys Game introduced Sorkin, recalling that when the two met, Things were pretty bleak. I was broke, I plead guilty to a felony. My reputation was in tatters, and the worst part was it was all my fault. And his response to her tale? Boy, she recalled him saying, Ive never met someone so down on their luck who gets so full of themselves.

For his part, Sorkin recalled an unhappy morning many years ago when Oscar nominees were announced and he wasnt among them. Aaron, he remembered his father saying, how many people in the world do you think woke up this morning with a reasonable expectation that they might get an Oscar? Thats when I discovered that, for most people, its an honor just to be nominated. In my family, its an honor just to be overlooked. On this night, Sorkin added he not only appreciated the nights recognition, but also that Im standing less than 20 feet away from Helen Mirren.

Accepting her Career Achievement Award, Mirren talked of her early career, her insecurity and fears that none of her dreams would come true. In my despair, I went to a palm reader, she recalled, to learn about her future, but then dropped the plan, preferring to find out for herself what life had in store by just living it.

Life is surprising, she said. Thats what makes it so rich with possibility. If, indeed, it were all truly ever to happen, it wouldnt be worth living. Just a giant to-do list, waiting to be crossed off. But when something is unknown, why then, anything can happen.

Before he and Kelly Marie Tran of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, presented the best picture award to the films director, Rian Johnson, Hamill said he often gets asked, When you were making the original Star Wars, did you think that 40 years later youd still be making them? He then added with a smile, Thank God theres a Jedi pension plan.

He said hed seen every movie in the best picture category and thinks they all should win. Yet he said he particularly likes the multigenerational aspect of the Star Wars franchise. Children that were fans of the original films are grown now and are sharing them with their children and even their grandchildren, he said.

Host Alan Cumming onstage at the Movies for Grownups Awards. Matt Sayles / Invision for AARP the Magazine / AP

Awards recap

Best Picture/Best Movie for Grownups: Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Best Actress: Annette Bening (Film Stars Dont Die in Liverpool)

Best Actor: Gary Oldman (Darkest Hour)

Best Supporting Actress: Laurie Metcalf (Lady Bird)

Best Supporting Actor: Richard Jenkins (The Shape of Water)

Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water)

Best Screenwriter: Aaron Sorkin (Mollys Game)

Best Ensemble: Get Out

Best Grownup Love Story: The Greatest Showman

Best Intergenerational Movie: The Florida Project

Best Time Capsule Movie: Dunkirk

Best Documentary: I Am Not Your Negro

Career Achievement: Helen Mirren

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Jon Healey is a senior editor on the Utility Journalism team, which tries to help readers solve problems, answer questions and make big decisions about life in and around Los Angeles. He has been with the Los Angeles Times since 2000, previously reporting on technology news and writing opinion pieces.
After Toyota issued a 2016 recall to fix a key electronic component on its Priuses, one of Californias largest dealers said the cars were still coming in after overheating and leaving drivers stranded in traffic.

Toyota said the problem on model years 2010-14 had been taken care of with a software change.



For the record: A previous version of this article included a graphic that gave the year of the Toyota recall as 2016. The company issued the recall in 2014.

But having seen more than 100 post-recall failures, Roger Hogan  whose family owns Claremont Toyota and Capistrano Toyota  warned customers about the issue and refused to resell used Priuses hed gotten as trade-ins. Today, he has 70 of the cars, worth $1 million, parked at his dealerships.

Last year, Hogan filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court alleging that the Prius hybrid system has an unresolved safety defect that could leave cars without power. And he filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administrations office of defect investigations, telling the agency in a Dec. 14 letter that there are lives needlessly at risk.

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Our responsibility begins and ends with our customers safety, said Hogan, former president of the Southern California Toyota Dealers Assn., who has owned Toyota sales lots for nearly a quarter of a century.

In a statement Tuesday, Toyota officials rejected Hogans allegations.

We believe Mr. Hogans complaint is entirely without merit, and we intend to defend vigorously against his inaccurate and misleading allegations, the company said. Our focus remains on the safety and security of our customers.

Hogan filed his suit, which alleges breach of contract and fraud, in Orange County Superior Court last July and amended the allegations in November. Toyota sought to have the case thrown out on legal grounds, but Judge Peter Wilson ruled in December that it could go forward and set a trial for January 2019. The existence of the suit has not been previously reported.

Toyota officially recognized a problem in the hybrid system on Feb. 12, 2014, when it filed a voluntary recall with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It acknowledged a defect that could cause overheating in a device called an inverter, which controls high power transfers between the battery and the vehicles two electric motors.

The inverter boosts the batterys 200 volts to about 500 volts to drive two electric motors, and converts the electricity from direct current to alternating current (similar to what comes out of a household outlet). When the car brakes are applied, the power flow reverses to charge the battery.

Toyotas recall fix involved unspecified changes to the vehicles software. Toyota has not said exactly how the software reduces overheating, and its statement did not answer questions submitted by The Times about whether it could affect the vehicles performance, fuel economy or emissions. Some automotive experts contacted by The Times say the software could affect the vehicles performance.

(Los Angeles Times Graphics)

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Toyota was aware of the inverter defect even before issuing the Prius recall, according to the suit. It began two smaller recalls of its Highlander sport utility vehicles, covering 2006 to 2010 models, about a year before the Prius recall to remedy overheating problems in a nearly identical inverter. In the Highlander recall, the inverter was replaced, the lawsuit said.

Hogans suit and complaint alleges that the software fix was a cheap way out that failed to remedy the problem.

Hogan asserts in his letter to NHTSA that the manufacturer has sold more 800,000 Prius models in the U.S. with defective inverters and 80,000 hybrid Highlanders with the problem. The software fix costs $80, while an inverter replacement costs more than $2,000 per vehicle. Hogan said the software fix is saving the company $1.3 billion as compared with replacing the inverters.

Toyotas statement Tuesday defended the validity of the software fix, which it said allows a vehicle to move at a slow speed even if the inverter overheats and fails.

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Toyota stands behind the effectiveness and appropriateness of the Prius inverter recall remedy, which was designed to ensure operation of the vehicle in failsafe driving mode in the unlikely event of an inverter failure, the company said. Once in failsafe mode, the vehicle can be safely driven for some distance at a reduced speed. This feature, which is common across the automotive industry, was designed to enhance vehicle safety.

When the inverter fails, the cars diagnostic system notifies the driver with a check hybrid system light on the dashboard and stores diagnostic codes that allow technicians to find the problem. Technicians who work for Hogan told him that all of the inverters returned with such codes have shown signs of soot and charring inside the inverter housing.

Has the inverter on your 2010-14 Prius overheated on you since the 2016 recall fix? Email ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com to tell us your story. 

Martha Anderson, a retired school teacher who lives in South Orange County, said she was driving home from shopping last October when her 2012 Prius  which had the software fix  lost power in busy traffic on Alicia Parkway in Laguna Nigel. She was able to pull over into a parking space on a side street.

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Ive never lost power before, Anderson said, adding that the experience left her shook up. I just thought, Please, God, let me out of here. I was lucky I wasnt on the freeway.

Kyle Hogan, manager of Claremont Toyota, shows a defective inverter from a 2012 Prius. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

When the car was towed to Hogans nearby dealership, mechanics found that the inverter had overheated so badly that two holes were blown through the aluminum case and even steel bolts had signs of melting. Anderson got rid of the Prius and bought a new Corolla from Hogan. The failed Prius is one the dealer refuses to resell.

Hogan posted a warning about the problem on his dealership website in 2017 under the title of public safety notification. When Toyota became aware, it sent him a letter saying the posting contained misleading information and would confuse customers.

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When implemented, the letter said, the software change lessens the likelihood of a failure by improving the power management and internal operating temperatures for specific electronics in the inverter.

Skip Miller, the attorney who represents Hogan, said the assertion that the software fix only lessens the likelihood of a failure is a violation of federal law. The whole point of recall law is to fix the car before it fails, he said.

The fail-safe mode, which Toyota documents also call limp-home mode, allows the cars to go 5 or 10 mph, Miller said. It is an extreme safety hazard, he said. It is intended to limit damage to the inverter.

According to Miller, Hogans problems with Toyota date to about 2015 when the dealer paid to develop a software program that would improve recall notifications to Toyota customers. It was aimed at increasing the often low completion rates after a recall is issued and notifying mechanics when a specific vehicle brought in for other service was under a recall.

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Miller said Toyota rejected the idea and began quarreling with the Hogan family. The suit alleges that Toyota refused to supply all the vehicles that Hogan could sell, essentially diverting his business to other dealers. And it says Toyota decided to punish Hogan by blocking his plan to turn over management responsibility to his three sons.

In its statement, Toyota said, Ultimately, we believe Mr. Hogans lawsuit is motivated primarily by a separate dispute he has with Toyota over management and succession issues involving his dealership, not the efficacy of this recall.

Toyotas handling of the Prius recall comes nearly nine years after the company faced problems with sudden acceleration in its Camry and Lexus models. A California Highway Patrol officer and three family members died in a runaway Lexus.

Federal regulators found that Toyota had failed to promptly notify customers about unintended acceleration problems caused by faulty floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals. The company was fined $1.2 billion, which at the time was a record for an auto defect. Criminal allegations in the matter were dropped last October under a deferred prosecution agreement.

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So far, inverter failures have not been linked to any injuries or crashes, though when a car loses power the owner might not be aware that it was caused by an inverter failure, Miller said.

In recent years, hundreds of consumer complaints about Prius inverter overheating have been filed on the NHTSA website and posted on various online forums. In one of many examples, an owner reported that the car stalled out on a freeway when the dashboard warning lights indicated a hybrid power failure.

The inverter is roughly the size of a box for hiking boots with a thick aluminum case that is packed with high power transistors, capacitors, microprocessors and a liquid cooling system. The inverter is able to handle more power than often runs through a household wiring system. Its power conversion occurs in a series of transistors that turn on and off thousands of times per second.

According to University of Michigan electrical engineering professor Heath Hofmann, a hybrid systems consultant, the auto industry is trying to find a substitute for the transistors, which are prone to high temperatures.

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The changes made in the software update could be reducing the amount of power that flows through the inverter, which could affect the Prius fuel economy and emissions, said University of Maryland professor Michael Pecht, who founded the schools Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering, which focuses on electronics reliability.

They could be reducing the battery use, Pecht said. It would increase use of the gas engine. Absolutely, gas mileage goes down and emissions go up.

Hofmann also said the vehicles fuel efficiency and emissions might be affected. But it is also possible that Toyota found a defect in the inverter software that caused the overheating. As an example, he said, the transistors could short-circuit if the software that controls the power switching was faulty.

A Toyota spokeswoman, asked whether the software would affect the vehicles fuel efficiency or emissions, said, We dont have any comment on that.

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ralph.vartabedian@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @rvartabedian
USC, known nationally for its aggressive fundraising operation, saw contributions tumble in the second half of 2017, a period in which scandals roiled its medical school.

An internal accounting reviewed by The Times shows donations to the university were down nearly $100 million between July and December of last year compared with the same period in 2016. The falloff represents a 22% decline and was particularly severe at the Keck School of Medicine, where donations dropped 55%, or roughly $45 million.

Two weeks after the accounting periods July 1 start, The Times reported that former Keck dean Carmen Puliafito had used methamphetamine and other drugs while running the medical school and treating patients in a campus eye clinic. USC subsequently acknowledged that President C. L. Max Nikias had kept Puliafito, a prolific fundraiser, in the post despite years of complaints from faculty and staff about his behavior.

In the fall, Puliafitos replacement as dean was forced out after The Times learned that USC had settled a sexual harassment claim against him, and the top university fundraiser for its health sciences program departed amid accusations that he had harassed female subordinates.

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USC dismissed the significance of the slump, attributing it to normal fluctuations in donations. Administrators denied it was related to the scandals and said the relationship between university leaders and major benefactors remained strong.

A slightly lower amount of contributions in this period does not evidence a longer-term falloff, a university spokesman said.

Two USC employees who regularly deal with contributors said some normally reliable donors did not return their calls and others gave less than usual. The employees, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said donors told them that they were put off by the back-to-back scandals.

What we are hearing is that the organizations moral compass doesnt fit mine, said one employee.

Another described donors as pretty upset by the way university leaders responded to the crises.

They say, Whats going on at the top? the employee said.

USCs top fundraiser, Albert Checcio, above in 2015, defended what he called one of the most successful advancement programs in higher education. (Thomas Meredith / For The Times )

Several university trustees refused to comment. The group of 57, which includes some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in California, is set to meet Wednesday on campus.

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USCs top fundraiser, Albert Checcio, defended what he called one of the most successful advancement programs in higher education.

To suggest that USC or the Keck School of Medicine is struggling to raise funds is fundamentally mistaken, Checcio, the senior vice president for university advancement, said in a statement. The timing of gifts fluctuates throughout the year, and any single point in time is not an accurate projection of where the university will net out, especially in a multi-year campaign.

The drop in donations comes as USC faces mounting costs from the medical school scandals. The university retained a former federal prosecutor from one of the top law firms in the nation to lead an investigation that has lasted more than six months, and it hired a former Sony executive to serve as its crisis communications consultant.

Another potential cost is a possible settlement with the family of a young woman who suffered a drug overdose while partying with Puliafito. Sarah Warrens family hired high-profile attorney Mark Geragos last year to negotiate a payout from USC. Neither he nor family members have returned reporters calls since November. Asked whether there was a settlement, a USC spokesman, Christian Gunning, said in an email: We are not going to talk about the Warrens.

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In recent months, USC has launched a belt-tightening campaign called Project Renewal. Administrators at every school and university department are expected to trim expenses by about 5% within three years.

The USC spokesman said that the university was in a strong financial position and the cost-savings program was a normal, responsible business practice that took shape well before the Keck scandals.

Fundraising has been key to USCs climb in academic rankings and prestige over the last two decades. The university has about 450 employees dedicated full-time to fundraising, and Nikias calendar is packed with international and national trips where he courts alumni, parents and other potential donors, sometimes in the company of the schools marching band.

A cornerstone of USCs fundraising is a $6-billion campaign launched in 2011, then described as the largest such drive in academic history. The university collected gifts and pledges for future gifts to surpass the goal about 18 months ahead of schedule, according to USC. Trustees awarded Nikias a one-time $1.5 million bonus three years ago, in part for the exceptional progress in the $6 billion campaign, according to federal tax filings.

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When Puliafito was dean of the medical school, he regularly touted its success at attracting multimillion-dollar gifts from alumni and other benefactors. In the 2015 fiscal year, Keck raised almost $200 million, according to the deans newsletter that October. He stepped down in March 2016. Total medical school fundraising for the 2016 fiscal year was not immediately available, but in the following fiscal year, the school took in more than $148 million, according to the internal documents.

David Callahan, the editor of Inside Philanthropy and author of The Givers, which examines the influence of mega-donors, said a downturn in fundraising at USC could be a short-term, bad taste in peoples mouth problem or something more significant.

You can imagine some donors, if they believe it, feeling that they lost faith in the institution, Callahan said. When such doubts fester, he added, some universities look for new leadership.

Still, Callahan said, giving patterns can swing and a handful of large donations could wipe out the shortfall altogether.

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USC President C. L. Max Nikias speaks in January at the groundbreaking ceremony for the renovation of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times )

In its statement, USC said there were several significant gifts in the works that will eventually close the fundraising gap at Keck.

Callahan said USC could work to rebuild trust with donors by being transparent about how the university dealt with Puliafito.

University administrators commissioned such a report, but have yet to release any of its findings. The university tapped former U.S. Atty. Debra Wong Yang of the blue-chip firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher last summer to lead a probe into Puliafitos conduct as dean and the universitys response.

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Some Keck faculty and staff submitted to rounds of interviews by Yangs team during the summer and fall, but university leaders have been quiet about what the lawyers uncovered. Trustees have been briefed regularly on the investigation.

USC administrators have refused to say whether any of its findings will become public.

harriet.ryan@latimes.com | Twitter: @latimesharriet

matt.hamilton@latimes.com | Twitter: @matthjourno

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paul.pringle@latimes.com | Twitter: @PringleLATimes
USC names retired aerospace executive Wanda Austin as acting president, announces Nikias departure By Harriet Ryan USC appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president and laid out a detailed plan for selecting a permanent leader Tuesday, ending speculation about whether outgoing President C.L. Max Nikias might remain in the post. Nikias, embattled over his administrations handling of a campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, relinquished his duties after a meeting of USCs board. The trustees tapped one of their own, Wanda Austin, an alumna and former president of the Aerospace Corp., to temporarily run the university. The trustees also approved the formation of a search committee and the hiring of firm Isaacson, Miller to coordinate the selection of a successor. A second search company, Heidrick & Struggles, will also advise trustees. Read More Facebook

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Ex-student sues elite Brentwood School after teacher is charged with sexually abusing him By Richard Winton A former student sued the elite Brentwood School on Monday in the wake of a female teacher being charged with repeatedly having sex with the minor, alleging that other faculty members encouraged the unlawful behavior and failed to report it to authorities. The lawsuit accuses the private school, whose students include the children of many of Hollywoods elite and L.A.s powerful, of acting negligently and allowing Aimee Palmitessa to abuse and batter the teenager sexually. The suit alleges that the student was abused in summer 2017 after one of the schools counselors offered words of encouragement to the then-17-year-old, identified in the suit as only John Doe, to engage in an illegal relationship with the teacher. Read More Facebook

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Civil jury vindicates fired Montebello school executives in whistleblower case By Howard Blume The Montebello school district is in dire straits  at risk of insolvency and under apparent criminal investigation. An outside audit in July found some teachers earning more than $200,000 a year, as well as improper raises, excess paid vacation time and inappropriate overtime, sick leave and car allowances. Fixing the district and pinpointing blame could take time. Read More Facebook

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L.A. schools fall short on safety measures, new report warns By Howard Blume After the mass shooting at Floridas Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in February, Los Angeles school officials reassured parents that much had been done to keep local schools safe. California had tougher gun laws, after all, and the school district paid close attention to students mental health. But a new report issued Monday by a panel convened to take a close look offers some cause for concern, flagging inconsistent campus safety measures, thinly spread mental health staff and inadequate coordination between the school district and other public agencies. With the stakes this high, we must strive to do better, said L.A. City Atty. Mike Feuer, who assembled the panel. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school district says more are graduating, but rate may not show it By Howard Blume The L.A. Unified School District has hopes of continuing its winning streak this year with another record graduation rate, but the official numbers may not show it. A senior district administrator warned the board Tuesday that graduation rates were likely to decline 2% to 3% across the state, even though L.A. Unified is likely doing better than ever in producing graduates, he said. The issue is that the state will now count high school students who transfer to adult school as dropouts, said Oscar Lafarga, who heads the districts office of data and accountability. Previously, schools treated these students as though they had simply enrolled in another high school, he said. Read More Facebook

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Betsy DeVos to California: Not so fast on that federal education plan By Joy Resmovits Education Secretary Betsy DeVos (Erik Lesser / European Pressphoto Agency) In April, Californias top education officials breathed a sigh of relief. After months of debate and back-and-forth with Betsy DeVos staff, they had finalized a plan to satisfy a major education law that aims to make sure all students get a decent education. The state focused on aligning its plan to fulfill the requirements of the federal Every Student Succeeds Act with Californias Local Control Funding Formula, which gives extra money to districts to help students who come from low-income families, are in the foster system or are English learners. But this week, DeVos team said not so fast. Jason Botel, the U.S. Department of Educations principal deputy assistant secretary, sent California education officials a letter asking for more information in such areas as measuring student progress, graduation rates and English learners. In an unsigned statement, the California Department of Education declared itself surprised and disappointed because officials thought  after a meeting with federal officials in Washington  that they were on the right track to get approval. Now the Every Student Succeeds Act plan will be up for discussion once again at the July meeting of the State Board of Education. The U.S. Department of Education has already approved most state plans. Every Student Succeeds is the Obama administrations 2015 replacement for the No Child Left Behind Act. Facebook

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L.A. school board sets a new goal: prepare every grad to be eligible to apply for Cal State or UC By Sonali Kohli Last month, Los Angeles school board president proposed a spate of highly ambitious mandates aimed at ensuring that every district graduate be eligible to apply to one of the states public four-year universities by 2023. By the time the L.A. Unified school board unanimously approved the resolution Tuesday, the original language had been watered down. The goal is no longer that in five years 100% of students meet the long list of benchmarks, which include not just college eligibility for graduates but first-grade reading proficiency and English fluency by sixth grade for all students who enter the district in kindergarten or first grade speaking another language. The original college-readiness goal, for example, called for 100% of all high school students to be eligible to apply to one of the states four-year universities. Now the goal seems to offer more wiggle room: Prepare all high school graduates to be eligible to apply to a California four-year university. Read More Facebook

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We have been hurt. More women say they were mistreated by USC gynecologist By Richard Winton USC student Anika Narayanan says she vividly recalls her first appointment with Dr. George Tyndall at the campus health center, alleging that he made several explicit comments during an examination she felt was inappropriate and invasive. When she came back for a second visit in 2016 after a nonconsensual sexual encounter, he allegedly chastised her, she said in a civil lawsuit and at a press conference Tuesday. He asked me if I had forgotten to use a condom again,  said Narayanan, 21. At one point, she said, Tyndall asked if I did a lot of doggy style,  she said. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unified gives inspector general brief contract extension By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school board on Tuesday extended the contract of Ken Bramlett, its inspector general, by three months, though his job is far from secure and questions remain about the future direction of his watchdog office. Board members also unanimously promoted Vivian Ekchian, who had been the runner-up for the superintendents job, to deputy superintendent  the districts No. 2 position. Both moves had elements of peacemaking between different factions on the board. Read More Facebook

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USCs handling of complaints about campus gynecologist is being investigated by federal government By Harriet Ryan The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday that it has launched an investigation into how the University of Southern California handled misconduct complaints against a campus gynecologist, the latest fallout in a scandal that has prompted the resignation of USCs president, two law enforcement investigations and dozens of lawsuits. In revealing the inquiry by the departments Office of Civil Rights, officials rebuked USC for what they alleged was improper withholding of information about Dr. George Tyndall during a previous federal investigation. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who has been criticized for taking a less vigorous approach to examining sexual misconduct than predecessors, called for a systemic examination of USC and urged administrators to fully cooperate. Read More Facebook

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Judge to sentence woman and her boyfriend for the murder of an 8-year-old that led to L.A. child welfare reforms By Marisa Gerber A woman and her boyfriend are expected to be sentenced Thursday for the torture and murder of an 8-year-old boy whose killing in 2013 provoked public outrage, prompted sweeping reform of Los Angeles Countys child welfare system, and led to unprecedented criminal charges against social workers who handled the childs case. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 34, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole for her role in the death of her son, Gabriel. A jury decided last year that her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, 37, should be executed. When paramedics arrived at the boys Palmdale home in May 2013, Gabriel had slipped out of consciousness. He had a fractured skull, broken ribs, burned skin, missing teeth and BB pellets embedded in his groin. A paramedic would later testify that every inch of the boys small body had been abused. Read More Facebook

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L.A. Unifieds spending out of step with similar school systems, task force says By Howard Blume The Los Angeles school district is out of step with similar school systems, spending more on teachers pay and health benefits and less on activities that could enhance student learning, according to a new report by an outside task force. The L.A. Unified School District Advisory Task Force did not make specific recommendations, but instead posed a series of questions it said the district needs to answer to make sure its funding is aimed at providing a full opportunity for all students to succeed. What were trying to say is: Lets put the data on the table. Lets look at the truth. Lets be transparent and here are the numbers, said task force member Renata Simril. This is not to say that  we should cut teachers salaries. Read More Facebook

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Top USC medical school official feared dean was doing drugs and alerted administration, he testifies By Paul Pringle A former vice dean of USCs Keck School of Medicine testified Tuesday that he feared the schools then-dean, Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, could be doing drugs and expressed concerns about his general well-being to the universitys No. 2 administrator before Puliafito abruptly left his job in 2016. Dr. Henri Fords testimony at a hearing of the state Medical Board marks the first suggestion that any USC administrator had suspicions about Puliafitos possible drug use before he stepped down. A Times investigation in 2017 found Puliafito led a secret second life of using illegal drugs with a circle of young criminals and addicts. Puliafito testified about his behavior at the hearing Tuesday, saying he took drugs with one young woman on a weekly basis. Ford said that he decided to alert USC Provost Michael Quick after receiving reports in early 2016 that Puliafito was partying in hotels with people of questionable reputation, and that he came to worry about his mental stability. Read More Facebook

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Why L.A. Unified may face financial crisis even with a giant surplus this year By Jessica Calefati With more than half a billion dollars socked away for next school year, the Los Angeles Unified School District hardly seems just two years from financial ruin. Its a scenario that is especially tough to swallow if youre a low-wage worker seeking a raise or a teacher who wants smaller classes. But budget documents show that todays $548-million surplus cannot be sustained  and that even basic services face steep, seemingly unavoidable cuts because of massive problems barreling the districts way. Theres a disconnect between the rosy short-term picture and what we know is coming, said board member Kelly Gonez. Read More Facebook

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We have failed: Top USC officials try to reassure students amid gynecologist scandal By Joy Resmovits Top administrators at USC are reaching out to students in the wake of misconduct allegations against the universitys longtime gynecologist, acknowledging failings and vowing reforms as they try to address growing outrage over the revelations. Several USC deans have sent out messages trying to reassure students and faculty that the university is committed to changing. We have failed, wrote Jack H. Knott, dean of USCs Sol Price School of Public Policy, in a May 24 letter. What happened is antithetical to everything we know is right. Read More Facebook

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Rick Caruso is named chair of USCs trustees, vows swift investigation of gynecologist scandal By Thomas Curwen The University of Southern Californias board of trustees has elected mall magnate Rick Caruso to be the new chair of the board, giving fresh leadership as the university navigates a widening scandal involving a longtime campus gynecologist. The move marks the latest effort by USC to address the case, which has sparked a criminal investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and dozens of civil lawsuits. More than 400 people have contacted a hotline that the university established for patients to make reports about their experience with Dr. George Tyndall. In his first act as chairman, Caruso announced that the white-shoe L.A. law firm OMelveny & Myers would conduct a thorough and independent investigation into the gynecologists conduct and reporting failures at the clinic. He set an ambitious timeline for the review, pledging it would conclude before students return for the fall semester. Read More Facebook

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UC Berkeley students persistence helps win more liberal rules for in-state tuition By Teresa Watanabe Ifechukwu Okeke thought shed be a shoo-in for in-state tuition when she was admitted to UC Berkeley for fall 2016. She had moved to the United States from Nigeria in 2012 to go to Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga. By the time she got her acceptance to transfer to UC to study molecular and cell biology, she had lived in California four years. She had a California drivers license, bank account and rental records as proof. UC Berkeley, however, ruled she was a nonresident  which meant she would have to pay nearly $27,000 more. Read More Facebook

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State medical board calls former County-USC doctor a sexual predator, suspends his license By Matt Hamilton A UCLA cardiologist has been temporarily stripped of his medical license after state regulators described him as a sexual predator who assaulted three female colleagues when he was working and training at L.A. County-USC Medical Center. Read More Facebook

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Global California 2030' aims to get more students learning more languages By Joy Resmovits Tom Torlakson (Andrew Seng / Associated Press) Outgoing state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Wednesday announced a new statewide effort to encourage students to learn more languages. Called Global California 2030, its goal is to help more students become fluent in multiple tongues. Torlakson said that by 2030, he wants half of the states 6.2 million K-12 students to participate in classes or programs that lead to proficiency in two or more languages. By 2040, he wants three out of four students to be proficient enough to earn the State Seal of Biliteracy. Torlakson announced the initiative at Cahuenga Elementary School, which offers a dual-language immersion program in English and Korean. Californias public school students speak more than 60 languages at home, and 40% come to school with knowledge of a language other than English. Torlakson called his plan a call to action that invites parents, legislators, educators and community members to pool resources to expand language offerings in schools and get more bilingual teachers trained. He said the state already is working with Mexico and Spain to expand a teacher-exchange program. Fluency, the plan argues, can help students succeed economically  and language acquisition can help their overall critical thinking. The initiative builds on Proposition 58, a ballot initiative passed in 2016 that undid an earlier requirement that English learners be taught in English-immersion classes unless their parents signed waivers. Torlakson recently visited Mexico and met with that countrys education secretary. They later signed a pact to increase collaboration, particularly in language education. This [Global California 2030] is great follow-through on Toms part and very important, Patricia Gandara, a UCLA education professor who hosted the Mexico meeting, said in an email. It hands over a plan to move forward in an area in which California has a unique advantage, but must seize the opportunity. Facebook

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Jury convicts man of murder in 2015 slaying of UCLA student found inside her burning apartment By Marisa Gerber A jury on Tuesday convicted a man in the 2015 slaying of a UCLA student found dead inside her burning apartment  a gruesome stabbing case that led to a fierce rebuke of the police response amid concerns that the killing could have been prevented. The panel deliberated for about six hours before finding Alberto Medina, 24, guilty of murder, arson, burglary and animal cruelty. On Sept. 21, 2015, firefighters found the charred body of Andrea DelVesco inside her apartment after responding to the complex a block from campus. The 21-year-old student  an Austin, Texas, native known to her sorority sisters as a fearless giver who befriended others with ease  was stabbed at least 19 times, authorities said. Read More Facebook

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LAPD begins sweeping criminal probe of former USC gynecologist while urging patients to come forward By Adam Elmahrek The Los Angeles Police Department said Tuesday it is investigating 52 complaints of misconduct filed by former patients of USCs longtime campus gynecologist as detectives launch a sweeping criminal probe into the scandal that has rocked the university. LAPD detectives also made an appeal for other patients who feel mistreated to come forward, noting that thousands of students were examined by Dr. George Tyndall during his nearly 30-year career at USC. More than 410 people have contacted a university hotline about the physician since The Times revealed the allegations this month. Tyndalls behavior and practices appear to go beyond the norms of the medical profession and gynecological examinations, said Asst. Chief Beatrice Girmala. We sincerely realize that victims may have difficulty recounting such details to investigators. We are empathetic and ready to listen. Read More Facebook

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At L.A.'s only school for the deaf, parents want leaders who speak the same language By Anna M. Phillips Ever since her son was 6 months old, Juliet Hidalgo has been bringing him to the Marlton School, a low-slung building in Baldwin Hills that for generations has been a second home for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Los Angeles. Marlton staff taught Hidalgos brother and sister, both of whom are deaf. The school was where her deaf son learned to make the signs for milk and food. Hidalgo had planned to enroll her daughter, taking advantage of a popular program that allows hearing children to learn American Sign Language alongside their deaf siblings. But after more than a decade of involvement, she and other family members are considering withdrawing their children. They are not alone. Read More Facebook

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Fueled by unlimited donations, independent groups play their biggest role yet in a California primary for governor By Ryan Menezes An unprecedented amount of money from wealthy donors, unions and corporations is flowing into the California governors race, giving independent groups  unrestricted by contribution limits  a greater say in picking the states chief executive than ever before. The groups have already spent more than $26 million through Thursday, the most ever spent by noncandidate committees in a gubernatorial primary, according to a Times analysis of campaign finance reports. California elections have always been expensive, and the future is even more expensive, said Jack Pitney, a political science professor at Claremont McKenna College and a former state Republican leader. The stakes are very real. Read More Facebook

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2 hurt in Indiana middle school shooting; suspect in custody, authorities say By Associated Press Authorities say two victims in a shooting at a suburban Indianapolis school are being taken to a hospital and the lone suspect is in custody. Bryant Orem, a spokesman for the Hamilton County Sheriffs Office, said in a news release that the victims in Friday mornings attack at Noblesville West Middle School are being taken to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis and their families have been notified. He says no other information is available about the victims. Orem said the suspect is believed to have acted alone and was taken into custody. No additional information about the suspect was made public. Read More Facebook

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For new L.A. schools chief Austin Beutner, some key unions are giving no honeymoon period By Howard Blume In the less than two weeks since Austin Beutner took charge of Los Angeles schools, unions representing teachers and administrators have staged a job action and a protest. Theyve made it clear that they will not give the new superintendent the traditional honeymoon period, and they are bashing him for his wealth and lack of experience running either a school or a school district. Beutner is a billionaire investment banker with zero qualifications, local teachers union President Alex Caputo-Pearl told members in a phone alert urging them to participate in a Thursday afternoon rally in Grand Park. The board is saying that billionaires who made their money blowing institutions up and making money off it know best  not the education professionals who have dedicated our careers to working with students. Read More Facebook

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Pressure grows on Board of Trustees amid USC gynecologist scandal By Paul Pringle USCs large and powerful Board of Trustees is coming under growing pressure to provide a stronger hand as the university faces a crisis over misconduct allegations against the campus longtime gynecologist that has prompted calls for President C.L. Max Nikias to step down. Allegations that Dr. George Tyndall mistreated students during his nearly 30 years at USC have roiled the campus, with about 300 people coming forward to make reports to the university and the Los Angeles Police Department launching a criminal investigation. USC is already beginning to face what is expected to be costly litigation by women who say they were victimized by the physician. So far, the trustees to whom Nikias reports have expressed sympathy for the women who have come forward and launched an independent investigation while also publicly backing the president. Read More Facebook

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UC regents approve leaner budget for Janet Napolitano By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents on Thursday unanimously approved a leaner, more transparent budget for President Janet Napolitano, moving to address political criticism over the systems central office operations. The $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 reflects spending cuts of 2%, including reductions in staffing, travel and such systemwide programs as public service law fellowships, carbon neutrality and food security. Napolitano shifted $30 million to campuses for housing needs and $10 million to UC Riverside to support its five-year-old medical school. She also permanently redirected $8.5 million annually to help enroll more California students, as required by the state. Read More Facebook

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USCs Academic Senate calls on university president to resign after a series of scandals By Matt Hamilton The body that represents USCs faculty called on President C.L. Max Nikias to resign Wednesday in the wake of relevations that the universitys longtime gynecologist faced years of accusations of misconduct by students and colleagues at the campus health clinic. The Academic Senate took the vote late Wednesday afternoon after a fiery town hall meeting attended by more than 100 faculty members, many of whom voiced outrage over Nikias and the Board of Trustees leadership. The vote came a day after the trustees executive committee stood firmly behind Nikias, saying it has full confidence in his leadership, ethics and values. At the town hall meeting, Senate President Paul Rosenbloom said he did not think Nikias or Provost Michael Quick committed wrongdoing but that the university president deserved criticism for a lack of transparency. Read More Facebook

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Californias public universities on the way to getting a big longed-for boost in funding By Teresa Watanabe The University of California and California State University systems are poised to get major funding boosts that will help them enroll thousands of additional state students and eliminate the need for tuition increases in the coming school year. A key Assembly budget panel on Wednesday approved $117.5 million in new funds for the UC. A Senate panel approved a similar sum last week. The same committees recently approved even more funding for the Cal State system. Read More Facebook

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UC regents to scrutinize Janet Napolitanos office budget in a step toward stronger oversight By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents this week plan to scrutinize the budget of President Janet Napolitano, whose office came under political fire last year for questionable spending and murky accounting. Regents will vote on the proposed $876.4-million budget for 2018-19 during their two-day meeting, which starts Wednesday, at UC San Francisco. They also will discuss state funding, financial aid, online education and transfer student policies. Board Chairman George Kieffer said regents are stepping up to exert stronger oversight of the presidents office after a blistering state audit last year found financial problems including an unreported $175 million budget reserve. Read More Facebook

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State legislative panels approve major funding boost for Cal State By Teresa Watanabe Cal State students protest against a tuition increase outside the chancellors office (Irfan Khan) After months of intensive lobbying, Cal State University has convinced two key legislative panels to approve funding to enroll nearly 11,000 more students, hire more faculty and expand housing aid to those without shelter this fall. An Assembly budget panel on Tuesday approved $215.7 million more for Cal State, adding to Gov. Jerry Browns proposed $92.1 million general fund increase. A Senate budget panel approved a similar increase last week. The extra funding  which went beyond Cal States own request to the Legislature of $171 million  is still subject to final budget negotiations with Brown. But the actions by the Senate and Assembly panels amount to a demand from Democrats that the governor hike higher education spending. Cal State University is the workhorse undergraduate university serving hundreds of thousands of Californians, said Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento), who heads the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance. We need more graduates for the California workforce and higher education is the ticket to the middle class. Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White hailed the actions, but said it was too soon to celebrate. The CSU has a singular focus on helping students earn high-quality degrees sooner, and the entire university community has rallied to reinforce that message to our states lawmakers, he said in a statement. The actions taken thus far by the Assembly and Senate are promising and show that our message is being received, but there is still work to be done. Funding for the University of California was not taken up Tuesday as originally scheduled. McCarty would not comment on sticking points but said he was confident that a resolution would be reached this week. Were looking to provide resources above whats in the governors budget, but negotiations are ongoing, he said in an interview. State per-student funding is not what it once was, leaving both Cal State and the UC in a tough financial squeeze. Both systems raised tuition last year after a six-year freeze on higher costs. For this year, Cal State had asked for funding to enroll an additional 3,621 students, but both the Senate and Assembly panels approved three times that amount. Cal State, the largest public university system in the nation, turned away 32,000 eligible students last year because its campuses werent able to accommodate them. The panels asked that at least $50 million of the extra funding be used to hire more tenure-track faculty to help boost graduation rates. The Assembly panel also approved one-time funding of $5 million to ease hunger on campuses and $14 million for rapid rehousing pilot projects at three campuses, offering needy students rental support and short-term case management. Other items approved include $5 million to support the CSU Long Beach Shark Labs research on sharks and beach safety and $2 million for equal employment opportunity practices. This post has been updated to include comments from Assemblyman Kevin McCarty and Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White. Facebook

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Faculty members call for USC president to step down: He has lost the moral authority to lead By Matt Hamilton Two hundred USC professors on Tuesday demanded the resignation of university President C. L. Max Nikias, saying he had lost the moral authority to lead in the wake of revelations that a campus gynecologist was kept on staff for decades despite repeated complaints of misconduct. Read More Facebook

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Gun battle, negotiations lasted 15 minutes before Texas school shooter was apprehended, sheriff says By Molly Hennessy-Fiske Minutes after a school shooter opened fire in an art class last week, killing 10 people and wounding 13, including a local police officer, fellow officers returned fire in a protracted gun battle before isolating the suspect, the local sheriff said Monday. Galveston County Sheriff Henry Trochesset praised first responders as well as Santa Fe Police Officer John Barnes, who was working as a resource officer at the school the day of the shooting. Their actions, he said, prevented the attack from spreading to other classrooms and potentially claiming additional victims. As officials continue to probe last Fridays shooting at Santa Fe High School, students are worried about returning to the scene of the attack when classes resume next week. Read More Facebook

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6 women sue USC, alleging they were victimized by campus gynecologist By Richard Winton Six women filed civil lawsuits Monday alleging that a longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California sexually victimized them under the pretext of medical care and that USC failed to address complaints from clinic staff about the doctors behavior. One woman alleged Dr. George Tyndall forced his entire ungloved hand into her vagina during an appointment in 2003 while making vulgar remarks about her genitalia, according to one of the lawsuits. Another woman alleged that Tyndall groped her breasts in a 2008 visit and that later he falsely told her she likely had AIDS. A third woman accused the doctor of grazing his ungloved fingers over her nude body and leering at her during a purported skin exam, the lawsuit states. The wave of litigation comes as USC continues to grapple with the scandal, which legal experts said could prove costly to the university as scores of former patients come forward about their experiences with the gynecologist. Read More Facebook

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Fatalities reported in Texas high school shooting; suspect arrested, officials say By Associated Press Houston-area media citing unnamed law enforcement officials are reporting that there are fatalities following a shooting at a local high school Friday morning. Television station KHOU and the Houston Chronicle are citing unnamed federal, county and police officials following the shooting at Santa Fe High School, which went on lockdown around 8 a.m. The Associated Press has not been able to confirm the reports. The school district has confirmed an unspecified number of injuries but said it wouldnt immediately release further details. Assistant Principal Cris Richardson said a suspect has been arrested and secured. Read More Facebook

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This student followed the new L.A. schools chief on his first-day tour L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner is greeted by Van Nuys High School principal Yolanda Gardea. (Melissa Barales-Lopez) Melissa Barales-Lopez, a senior at Garfield High School followed Supt. Austin Beutner on his first day on the job, as he toured a variety of programs around the Los Angeles Unified School District. Heres what she took from the experience. LAUSD students and staff alike are looking for a personal champion, someone who will address and improve the difficulties afflicting their education.  What LAUSD students need is someone whos willing to listen and learn, someone who can understand the current issues affecting their schools and act to efficiently amend them, someone who can unlock the full potential of LAUSD students and enable them to reach their goals. During the entirety of his first day, superintendent Austin Beutner did indeed demonstrate a willingness to learn. Posing questions to teachers and students, Beutner engaged with the student communities he encountered to gain a better comprehension of the minutiae and nuances that distinguish each school inside an overwhelmingly large district. From inquiries about Grand View Boulevard Elementary Schools dual language program to questions regarding the services of LAUSDs after-school program, Beyond the Bell, Beutner revealed he has a lot to learn about the system. But, Beutner also showcased a willingness to tackle challenges head-on on his first day. Read More Facebook

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USC let a gynecologist continue treating students despite years of misconduct allegations By Matt Hamilton For nearly 30 years, the University of Southern Californias student health clinic had one full-time gynecologist: Dr. George Tyndall. Tall and garrulous with distinctive jet black hair, he treated tens of thousands of female students, many of them teenagers seeing a gynecologist for the first time. Few who lay down on Tyndalls exam table at the Engemann Student Health Center knew that he had been accused repeatedly of misconduct toward young patients. The complaints began in the 1990s, when co-workers alleged he was improperly photographing students genitals. In the years that followed, patients and nursing staff accused him again and again of creepy behavior, including touching women inappropriately during pelvic exams and making sexually suggestive remarks about their bodies. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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On his first day as L.A. schools chief, Beutner plans a day of visits across the district By Howard Blume L.A. Unifieds new superintendent, Austin Beutner, will kick off his first day of work on Tuesday with a choreographed tour of the nations second-largest school district, from the San Fernando Valley to Carson. His day is scheduled to begin at 5:15 a.m. at a school bus depot and end more than 12 hours later at a parent meeting at Garfield High School. Along the way, Beutner is expected to be joined by school district administrators, L.A. Unified board members and the vice president of the union that represents school bus drivers. Though he will be covering a lot of ground, Beutners tour has him skipping Tuesdays school board meeting, when board members are expected to discuss labor negotiations in closed session. Read More Facebook

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Cal State trustees to discuss Browns latest budget proposal, which they say still falls $171 million short By Joy Resmovits Just how much money does California State University need to serve its students? In recent years, this question has been front and center for the nations largest public university system. Cal States leaders say that to keep their campuses quality from slipping, they need much more money than the state is giving them. This year, theyre also at odds with Gov. Jerry Brown on the question of whether any extra money should come in one-time bursts or be ongoing. Read More Facebook

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Why a handful of rich charter school supporters are spending millions to elect Antonio Villaraigosa as governor By Ryan Menezes California voters have seen a barrage of sunny television ads in recent weeks touting former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosas record on finances, crime and education, aired by Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018. But the group is, in fact, largely funded by a handful of wealthy charter-school supporters. Together they have spent more than $13 million in less than a month to boost Villaraigosas chances in the June 5 primary  at a time when his fundraising and poll numbers are lagging. Reed Hastings, the founder of Netflix, jump-started the group with a $7-million check, by far the largest donation to support any candidate in the election. Their efforts are part of a broader proxy war among Democrats between teachers unions  longtime stalwarts of the party  and those who argue that the groups have failed low-income and minority schoolchildren. Read More Facebook

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Talking schools with L.A. Unifieds new superintendent By Anna M. Phillips Al Seib / Los Angeles Times ( Incoming L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner talks to students at Belmont High School.) Austin Beutner, who officially starts Tuesday as the new superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is taking on a famously difficult job at a particularly difficult time. The school board is divided and did not back him unanimously. The nations second-largest school district has deep-seated problems, including declining enrollment, lagging academic achievement and rising pension and healthcare costs that eat away at its budget. The 58-year-old former investment banker and former L.A. Times publisher has years of experience in the financial world but none as an educator. Earlier this week, he sat down with the Times education team to discuss the challenges facing the district, which has about 60,000 employees and 500,000 students in traditional public schools. He did not talk about his plans  saying repeatedly, stay tuned  but he spoke in broad terms about his mindset in approaching the tough decisions ahead. Read More Facebook

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Suspect detained, authorities search campus after reports of armed man at Palmdale high school By James Queally One person has been detained after a report of an armed man at a Palmdale high school sparked a massive law enforcement response Friday morning. The suspect was spotted at 7:05 a.m. on the campus of Highland High School in Palmdale, according to Sheriffs Department spokeswoman Nicole Nishida. The person was detained in a nearby parking lot, according to Nishida, who did not know whether that person was an adult or juvenile. Deputies at the scene are clearing the school methodically, and students will be transported home via school buses once the campus is deemed safe, Nishida said. Read More Facebook

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The education of Bertha Perez: How a UC Merced custodians disenchantment led to a political awakening By Robin Abcarian Its the third day of a three-day strike, and UC Merced custodian Bertha Perez is taking a break from a picket line at the universitys unremarkable entrance, an intersection with stop lights. Photos from other UC campuses this week have shown big crowds of striking service workers  members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees  marching and chanting pro-labor slogans as they try to force the University of California back to the negotiating table. But here, at UC Merced, whose handful of big buildings rise from a flat expanse of farmland, the picket line is tiny, maybe two dozen workers and a few students. Its not a big-city-style show of force. Then again, a union sympathizer is banging relentlessly on a snare drum, so its noisier than youd expect. Read More Facebook

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Ref Rodriguez resigns from teacher credentialing commission By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez appears during a court appearance. (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times) Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez has resigned from the states Commission on Teacher Credentialing, which oversees the integrity and quality of Californias teachers. Rodriguez faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. Separately, his former employer, a charter school organization, has accused him of improperly authorizing checks to a nonprofit under his control. Rodriguez has denied wrongdoing. Rodriguezs resignation from the state body was effective May 4, days after he cast a crucial vote as part of a narrow majority that voted to authorize contract negotiations with Austin Beutner to become superintendent of the L.A. Unified School District. Beutners first official day on the job is Tuesday. Rodriguez remains in his $125,000-a-year position on the Los Angeles Board of Education. The mission of the state body is to ensure integrity, relevance, and high quality in the preparation, certification, and discipline of Californias teachers. Critics had questioned Rodriguezs continued service on the commission, given that teachers can be suspended from work if they face criminal charges. They also can lose their jobs for lapses in personal behavior, such as excessive drinking, with the potential to affect their performance. Police in Pasadena arrested Rodriguez on a Friday afternoon in March for public drunkenness. He was not charged in the incident and has apologized. The state commission reviews teacher discipline cases and can take action to remove a teachers credential to work in a California classroom. The commission has 15 members. Rodriguezs departure was disclosed in a one-sentence announcement on the agencys website. Facebook

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School board members request for restraining order against blogger is rejected By Priscella Vega An Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday denied a school board members petition for a permanent restraining order against a Huntington Beach blogger. Attorney Jeffrey W. Shields filed the petition on behalf of Ocean View School District trustee Gina Clayton-Tarvin, 46, who alleged in court documents that Charles Keeler Johnson, 56, has threatened her on social media and at school board meetings, causing her to fear for my own safety and for that of my immediate family members. Johnson, who goes by Chuck and publishes HBSledgehammer.com, said the trustee tried to stifle his freedom of speech. He also contended that Clayton-Tarvin took his blog posts and Facebook comments too seriously and out of context, saying anyone who is afraid of metaphors has serious issues. Read More Facebook

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Deal with workers averts one-day strike that could have shut down L.A. schools By Howard Blume Los Angeles school district and union officials announced a contract agreement Tuesday night that averted a one-day strike planned for next week. The pact, which runs through June 2020, removes one labor problem from the desk of incoming Supt. Austin Beutner  whose first day on the job would have coincided with the strike. Plenty of other challenges remain. Read More Facebook

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UC labor strike expands with show of support from more unions By Teresa Watanabe Fong Chuu is a registered nurse who has assisted with countless liver transplants, kidney surgeries and gastric bypasses during 34 years at UCLA. Working with her are scrub technicians who sterilize equipment, hand medical instruments to the surgeon and dress patient wounds. They are a team, Chuu says, which is why she walked off her job Tuesday in support of those technicians and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299. The 25,000 member AFSCME local, the University of Californias largest employee union, launched a three-day strike Monday. Read More Facebook

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We are humans too: Voices of UCLAs striking custodians, hospital aides and imaging technicians By Joy Resmovits Demonstrators parade in front of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) This week, thousands of UC employees are staging a three-day strike for better pay and working conditions. On Monday, more than 20,000 custodians, cooks, lab technicians, nurse aides and other members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 walked off their jobs. By Tuesday, two more unions joined in sympathy strikes. The union and UC reached a bargaining impasse last year. The university has said it wont meet the workers demands. The strikers said they wanted better pay, more equity in the allocation of work, stable healthcare premiums and an end to the universitys use of contract workers. These are their stories. Read More Facebook

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Massive UC workers strike disrupts dining, classes and medical services By Joy Resmovits A massive labor strike across the University of California on Monday forced medical centers to reschedule more than 12,000 surgeries, cancer treatments and appointments, and campuses to cancel some classes and limit dining services. More than 20,000 members of UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, walked off their jobs on the first day of a three-day strike. They include custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Two altercations involving protesters and people driving near the rallies were reported at UCLA and UC Santa Cruz. At UCLA, police took a man into custody Monday after he drove his vehicle into a crowd, hitting three staff members. They were treated for minor injuries at the scene and released, said Lt. Kevin Kilgore of the UCLA Police Department. Read More Facebook

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Sen. Kamala Harris to skip UC Berkeley commencement in support of striking workers By Teresa Watanabe Sen. Kamala Harris (Chris Dekmas) California Sen. Kamala Harris has canceled plans to deliver UC Berkeleys commencement address this weekend in support of UC workers who are on strike over wages and health benefits. Due to the ongoing labor dispute, Sen. Harris regretfully cannot attend and speak at this years commencement ceremony at UC Berkeley, said a statement from Harris office issued Monday. She wishes the graduates and their families a joyous commencement weekend and success for the future. They are bright young leaders and our country is counting on them. UCs largest employee union, the 25,000-member American Federation of County, State and Municipal Employees Local 3299, launched a three-day strike Monday and had earlier called for a speakers boycott. The union and university reached a bargaining impasse last year and subsequent mediation efforts have failed to produce an agreement. The union is asking for a multiyear contract with a 6% annual pay increase while the university is offering 3% annual increases over four years. UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ will deliver the keynote address instead, the university announced. About 5,800 students are expected to participate in the ceremony Saturday. Facebook

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School mural depicting Trumps bloody, severed head sparks controversy By Gary Warth A Chula Vista school mural that depicts the bloody, severed head of President Trump on a spear sparked a controversy that prompted officials to cover it and issue a response distancing themselves from the work. The statement also said the artist will alter the painting. We understand that there was a mural painted at the event this past weekend that does not align with our schools philosophy of non-violence, read the statement from MAAC Community Charter School director Tommy Ramirez. We have been in communication with the artist  who has agreed to modify the artwork  to better align with the schools philosophy. Read More Facebook

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New blackface incident at Cal Poly prompts calls for state investigation By Kim Christensen Cal Poly San Luis Obispo officials have asked the state attorney generals office to investigate after a new photo of a white student in blackface surfaced on a fraternity groups private Snapchat. I am outraged, Cal Poly President Jeffrey D. Armstrong said in a video address Friday to the campus. These vile and absolutely unacceptable acts cannot continue. We must not allow these acts to define us as an institution. Armstrong said the latest photo was intended to imitate an incident last month in which a white member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity was photographed at a party wearing blackface. Read More Facebook

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More than 50,000 UC workers set to strike this week but campuses will remain open By Teresa Watanabe More than 50,000 workers across the University of California are set to strike this week, causing potential disruptions to surgery schedules, food preparation and campus maintenance. The systems 10 campuses and five medical centers are to remain open, with classes scheduled as planned. UCs largest employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, plans to begin a three-day strike Monday involving 25,000 workers, including custodians, gardeners, cooks, truck drivers, lab technicians and nurse aides. Read More Facebook

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New L.A. schools chief Beutner pledges to listen, learn and take action By Howard Blume New Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner proved Wednesday that hes a quick learner even without an education background. Like countless public officials before him, he appeared at an important event  his first speech and news conference  with a photogenic background of students. His message  that he would put those students first  seemed heartfelt if hardly original. Nor was it a huge surprise that he pledged to push cooperatively but unflinchingly to improve the districts academic performance and stabilize its finances. As an introduction, Beutner, a former investment banker who made a fortune on Wall Street, offered little flash, but that was partly the point. Read More Facebook

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In a school lockdown, one student takes stock of the stressful scene (Phalaen Chang) At the beginning of lunch one day late last month, Duarte High School, Northview Middle School, and California School of the Arts-San Gabriel Valley were advised by the Los Angeles Sheriffs Department to go into lockdown mode due to police activity in the immediate area. Phalaen Chang, a junior at the California School of the Arts, wrote a series of notes on her iPhone while she sat in a room with her classmates. By the time the lockdown ended an hour later, she wrote, she knew which of her friends would hold open the door for others, be the ones calming others down, be the ones barricading the doors. She knew that all of them have the potential to be such strong people. Read More Facebook

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Tale as old as time: L.A. Unified superintendent pick follows a historical pattern of outside-the-box choices By Joy Resmovits Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, superintendent from 2006-2008. (L.A. Times file photo) L.A. Unified has long gone back and forth between picking insiders and outsiders to run the nations second largest school district. The choice of Austin Beutner, announced Tuesday, places the district squarely back in the outsider camp  months after a consummate insider, Supt. Michelle King, announced that she had cancer and would not return to the job. Check out this timeline of former L.A. superintendents to see how the school board members have changed their minds, sometimes favoring leaders who come from the world of education and sometimes executives from elsewhere, recruited to shock the system into change. At one point, the district hired someone from the military  retired Navy Vice Adm. David L. Brewer III, who served as superintendent from 2006-2008. In hiring Brewer, board members had opted for a non-educator  largely because they sought a fresh thinker, unwedded to the bureaucracy, unafraid to make bold, even unorthodox moves, reads a 2008 Times story. Facebook

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Austin Beutner named superintendent of Los Angeles schools By Howard Blume Austin Beutner, a philanthropist and former investment banker, on Tuesday was named superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the nations second-largest school system. His selection was the biggest move yet by a Los Angeles school board majority elected with major support from charter school advocates. The decision came after lengthy public testimony, most of it in support of the other remaining finalist, interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian, who is well known within the school system. Beutner, 58, has no background leading a school or school district. Less than 2 years ago, a school board with a very different balance of power named Michelle King, a former teacher who rose through the district throughout her career, to L.A. Unifieds top job. Read More Facebook

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Hearing delay gives both sides more time in Ref Rodriguezs potential trial By Howard Blume Ref Rodriguez and his attorneys will have more time to prepare their defense against charges of political money laundering, a judge ruled Monday. The preliminary hearing in the case had been scheduled to begin May 9, but that date will now be pushed back to July 23 per the ruling from L.A. Superior Court Judge Deborah S. Brazil. Rodriguez, 46, faces three felony charges of conspiracy, perjury and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board poised to name Beutner as superintendent By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education is poised to select philanthropist and former investment banker Austin Beutner to be the next superintendent of the nations second-largest school system. Barring a last-minute development, the only mystery is whether Beutner emerges with four or five votes from the boards seven members. Terms of his contract already have been under discussion, according to sources close to the process who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to speak. The selection of Beutner, 58, who has no experience managing a school or a school district, would be a signal that the board majority that took control nearly a year ago wants to rely on business management skills instead of insider educational expertise. Read More Facebook

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Teacher walkouts in Arizona and Colorado continue national debate on money for schools By Michael Livingston Following the lead of teachers who walked off the job in other states in recent weeks, thousands of teachers and their supporters took to the streets in Arizona and Colorado for the second day in a row to demand better pay and more funding for education. Read More Facebook

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Three decades before the #MeToo movement, UC San Diego led the way against sexual assault By Teresa Watanabe When Nancy Wahlig first started her fight against sexual assault, one company was marketing a capsule for women to stash in their bras and then smash to release a vile odor. Because of the very nature of society, the only person who can prevent rape is the woman herself, read a 1981 advertisement for the Repulse rape deterrent. Ideas about how to prevent sexual violence have come a long way since then, and Wahlig has helped lead that evolution on college campuses. In 1988, she started UC San Diegos Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC), the first stand-alone program at the University of California. Today, she remains the systems most senior specialist. Read More Facebook

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Andres Alonso withdraws from consideration for L.A. schools job By Howard Blume Andres Alonso, believed to be one of three remaining finalists to lead the Los Angeles school system, has withdrawn from consideration. The remaining known candidates in the confidential search are former investment banker Austin Beutner and interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian. Alonso, 60, announced his decision on Twitter on Thursday night, saying he had notified the L.A. Unified School District on Monday. The exit of Alonso, the former Baltimore schools chief, seems to solidify the front-runner status of Beutner, who also was a former L.A. Times publisher and a Los Angeles deputy mayor. He held each of those positions for about a year. Read More Facebook

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Heres why the apparent increase in autism spectrum disorders may be good for U.S. children By Karen Kaplan The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among American children continues to rise, new government data suggest. And that may be a good thing. Among 11 sites across the U.S. where records of 8-year-olds are scrutinized in detail, 1 in 59 kids was deemed to have ASD in 2014. Thats up from 1 in 68 in 2012. Normally, health officials would prefer to see less of a disease, not more of it. But in this case, the higher number is probably a sign that more children of color who are on the autism spectrum are being recognized as such and getting services to help them, according to a report published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read More Facebook

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UC shelves tuition increase for now, in hopes of getting more state funding By Teresa Watanabe University of California regents will not vote on a tuition increase next month, shelving the plan for now in hopes that state lawmakers will come through with more funding. Raising tuition is always a last resort and one we take very seriously, UC President Janet Napolitano said Thursday in a statement. We will continue to advocate with our students who are doing a tremendous job of educating legislators about the necessity of adequately funding the university to ensure UC remains a world-class institution and engine of economic growth for our state. Last week, Cal State Chancellor Timothy P. White said the 23-campus system no longer would consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year. But unlike Cal State, UC officials have not taken a tuition increase off the table entirely. Read More Facebook

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A chemical spill, unchecked eyewash stations, poor training: Audit details Cal States lax lab safety By Joy Resmovits In May 2016, two bottles tumbled off a poorly supported shelf and broke, leading to a chemical spill in a Sacramento State University lab. The liquid got onto one students legs and soaked anothers feet. Five employees cleaned up the mess, even though no one knew for sure what it was and whether it was dangerous. They called fellow employee Kim Harrington, their union representative, to let her know what happened. Read More Facebook

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After blackface incident, minority students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo say they dont feel welcome By Hailey Branson-Potts Aaliyah Ramos was walking through the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus last year when a prospective student approached her. Ramos was the only black person, the young woman said, that she and her mother had seen that day. They asked about the quality of education and the diversity of the student body. Ramos, a mechanical engineering student, didnt want to sugarcoat the truth: Cal Poly long has been predominantly white. But she told the young woman  who also was black  that she didnt want to discourage her from applying, because that wouldnt help with diversity at a school where only 0.7% of students are African American  the lowest percentage of any university in the California State system. Read More Facebook

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El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills wins the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon By Carlos Lozano El Camino Real Charter High School in Woodland Hills has won the 2018 U.S. Academic Decathlon, officials said. The winner was announced early Saturday at a ceremony in Frisco, Texas. More than 600 students from the U.S., Canada, China and the United Kingdom gathered there over the last three days to compete in the 37th annual U.S. Academic Decathlon. Congratulations to El Camino Real Charter High School for another impressive victory, said Vivian Ekchian, interim superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Your academic stamina and competitive spirit to win is remarkable. The entire L.A. Unified family is so proud of you. Read More Facebook

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Anticipation mounts as L.A. school board meets over superintendent selection By Howard Blume L.A. schools superintendent candidate Andres Alonso got an endorsement Friday, but Austin Beutner and Vivian Ekchian also have supporters. (Elizabeth Malby) The Los Angeles Board of Education is reconvening in closed session Friday at noon as anticipation mounts about the choice of the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. The presumed front-runner is former investment banker and philanthropist Austin Beutner, but interim Supt. Vivian Ekchian and former Baltimore Supt. Andres Alonso also are in the running. Most district insiders appear to be rooting for Ekchian, who has spent her entire career in education within the school system. After her 10 years as a teacher, her roles have included head of human resources, chief labor negotiator and regional administrator for campuses in the west San Fernando Valley. Shes managed the district since September, when then-Supt. Michelle King went on medical leave and chose Ekchian to fill in for her. King, who is battling cancer, never returned and announced her retirement in January. Numerous influential civic leaders have urged  and pressured  the board to select Beutner. Also lending their weight have been advocates for charter schools, which are independently operated, growing in number and competing for students with district-operated campuses. Four of the seven board members  enough to control the outcome  were elected with major financial support from charter supporters. Beutner has two ongoing connections with the L.A. Unified School District. The first is his leadership of an outside task force that is making recommendations on how to improve the school system. The second is his charity, Vision to Learn, which supplies glasses to low-income students. The charity and the school system are in a dispute at the moment over who is responsible for delays in providing services to students as part of a $6 million contract, half of which is paid for by L.A. Unified. Unlike Ekchian and Buetner, Alonso, who currently teaches at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has no deep-seated local constituency, but the prospect of his selection has generated some excitement. While in Baltimore, Alonso was recognized for pushing for progress at low-performing schools, and for being willing to take strong action. While in Baltimore, he also weathered a test-score cheating scandal and occasionally rocky relations with the teachers union. But by the time he resigned, after six years, he and union leaders seemed to be working together without rancor. Leaders of some community groups have split from the pro-Beutner camp. They worry that Beutners approach to confronting the districts financial problems could shut out their voices or involve severe economic cutbacks that would undermine programs that are helping students. Some prefer Ekchian; some Alonso. Theyve been reluctant to speak out publicly because theyll have to work with whoever is selected, but they have tried to get the ear of board members. On Friday morning, one leader of a community group decided to come out in favor of Alonso. L.A. Unified has the opportunity to bring in an instructional leader of color with a history of success, said Alberto Retana, president and chief executive of Community Coalition, which works on behalf of low-income students and families in South Los Angeles. If we have a shot at that, we should go for it  because its in the best interests of our kids and of our community. Retana said his statement was not meant to criticize Beutner or Ekchian but to alert board members that there also is community support for Alonso. Facebook

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Cal State leader shelves proposed tuition hike: Its the right thing to do, but its not without risk By Joy Resmovits Cal State, the nations largest public university system, will no longer consider a plan to raise tuition for the 2018-19 academic year, Chancellor Timothy P. White announced Friday. The decision is a bet that Sacramento will come through in the end. If Cal State loses that bet, it could mean cuts to campus programs. White said in an interview that Californias economy is strong enough that families should not be shouldering the burden of higher college costs. Read More Facebook

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L.A. students to participate in national walkout activities on Friday By Joy Resmovits (Los Angeles Times) Students are taking to the streets again Friday to protest gun violence on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting. Starting at 10 a.m., students at many schools will spend 13 seconds honoring the 13 people  12 students and one teacher  killed on that day in Littleton, Colo. After that, theyll participate in a host of different activities. Within L.A. Unified, one school is having an open-mic event for students to talk about school violence, and lawmakers are visiting campuses to hear students thoughts. According to a central hub for organizing the protests  written by the students of Ridgefield High School in Connecticut  the walkouts are intended to drive the political change necessary to curb school violence. The day is also a time for students to interact on an elevated platform they have never had before, the site states. It is a day of discourse and thoughtful sharing. Bringing together communities and students to get a national discussion rolling. Organizers have suggested using the event to convey the importance of curbing gun violence to legislators. They are encouraging students to push legislation that would ban assault weapons and tighten up rules around who can buy guns and how. Over 2,500 schools nationwide are expected to participate. In L.A., some students  at campuses including Eagle Rock High School, the Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts and Bravo Medical Magnet  plan to walk out. Students from various schools expect to join area marches, including those in Santa Monica and Huntington Park. Other schools are hosting career days and voter registration drives. At 1 p.m., students plan to start a rally in front of L.A. Unified headquarters. For the record: An earlier version of this article stated that 12 teachers and one student were killed in the Columbine shooting. The opposite is true: twelve students and one teacher died. Facebook

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Stabbing of popular student devastates South El Monte High School; teen friend suspected in slaying By Sonali Kohli When administrators at South El Monte High School called Jeremy Sanchezs parents to say he never showed up for class Wednesday, his father began to worry. It was unusual for the 17-year-old junior to miss school, so his father filed a missing persons report and assembled two of Jeremys close friends to look for the popular student-athlete. Their search took them to a scenic stretch of the San Gabriel River Trail, where one of the friends  a 16-year-old boy  made a tragic discovery. Among the bushes in the riverbed near Thienes Avenue and Parkway Drive was Jeremys body, punctured with stab wounds, according to Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Read More Facebook

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Racist fliers spark outrage at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo By Alene Tchekmedyian Soon after Neal MacDougall arrived on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus Tuesday, the professor noticed university police standing outside a restroom near his office. A racial slur against African Americans had been scrawled in red marker on a stall wall. Later, he discovered a series of racist fliers pinned up next to his door. Someone had also slashed posters hed hung outside his office supporting students in the country illegally. The discovery was the latest controversy on the prestigious campus  which the president said is less than 55% white  that MacDougall said demonstrates a culture of racism at the university. Last week, photographs emerged of white fraternity members, including one in blackface, flashing gang signs. Read More Facebook

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The superintendent waiting game, paying for L.A.'s College Promise, Princetons slave history: Whats new in education By Joy Resmovits Acting LAUSD superintendent Vivian Ekchian is a finalist for the permanent job. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) In and around Los Angeles: The L.A. Unified school board spent 10 hours interviewing and discussing candidates for superintendent. When they adjourned after 10 p.m., they said they would reconvene on Friday. Who is paying for Mayor Eric Garcettis much-touted College Promise, a program that promises two years of community college for LAUSD grads? In California: The Legislature is considering a proposal that would boost K-12 education funding for black students. When the cost of living is taken into account, California has the highest rate of child poverty. Nationwide: The families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School are suing Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never occurred. Princeton will name two spaces  an arch and a garden  after slaves who lived or worked on the campus. Facebook

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L.A. school board meets privately with finalists and debates choice for school district leader By Howard Blume The Los Angeles Board of Education adjourned late Tuesday after spending more than 10 hours interviewing candidates and trying to reach a decision on who would be the next leader of the nations second-largest school system. When the meeting finally recessed at 10:11 p.m., a spokesman announced only that the school board would reconvene Friday at noon. Going into the days meetings, there were apparently four finalists, according to sources who could not be named because they were unauthorized to speak. Read More Facebook

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Two Sandy Hook families sue Alex Jones and Infowars for saying the school massacre never happened By David Altimari Families of two children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School have filed lawsuits in Texas against controversial radio host Alex Jones for continually claiming the massacre never happened. Neil Heslin, the father of Jesse Lewis, and Leonard Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, whose son Noah Pozner died in the massacre, filed separate lawsuits late Monday in Travis County, Texas. The lawsuits allege that Jones defamed the parents by constantly calling them crisis actors and insisting the shooting was a false flag operation; they also claim Jones accusations have led to death threats against the Sandy Hook families by Jones followers. Read More Facebook

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Beutner emerges as a top pick for L.A. schools superintendent amid last-minute jockeying By Howard Blume Austin Beutner has emerged as a leading contender to run the Los Angeles school district, with backers saying he is smart enough and tough enough to confront its financial and academic struggles. Though he does not have a background in education, the former investment banker has in the last year examined some of the districts intractable problems, serving as co-chair of an outside task force with the support of then-Supt. Michelle King. Sources inside and outside the school district said Beutner appears to have more support on the seven-member board than other finalists, and his name could come up for a vote as early as Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Challenge at Chicago school construction site: Watch for 38,000 unmarked graves By Nereida Moreno A 15-year effort to build a school in Chicagos Dunning neighborhood is underway with an unusual complication: Construction workers are taking careful steps to avoid disturbing human remains that may lie beneath the soil. The $70-million school is to be built on the grounds of a former Cook County Poor House, where an estimated 38,000 people were buried in unmarked graves. Among the dead are residents who were too poor to afford funeral costs, unclaimed bodies and patients from the countys insane asylum. There can be and there have been bodies found all over the place, said Barry Fleig, a genealogist and cemetery researcher who began investigating the site in 1989. Its a spooky, scary place. Read More Facebook

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Oklahoma teacher walkout winds down despite lawmakers failure to meet demands By Washington Post Oklahomas largest teachers union has announced an end to a walkout that has drawn thousands of educators out of classrooms and to the state Capitol demanding greater investment in the states schools, which have endured the nations steepest funding cuts. The announcement Thursday from the Oklahoma Education Assn. does not necessarily end the protests at the Capitol, as teachers not affiliated with the union vowed to stay longer. Instead of a walkout, the union and school districts across the state have said they plan to send delegations of teachers to Oklahoma City to keep the pressure on lawmakers. Teachers and their supporters have also promised to push education issues to the forefront of November elections, when the state chooses a new governor. As school districts begin to reopen, the protests may lose steam. The Legislature is not in session Friday, and observers are waiting to see what happens Monday, when lawmakers return. Read More Facebook

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Most Californians are worried about school shooting threats and oppose arming teachers, survey finds By Joy Resmovits Hamilton High School student Aiyana Dabriel holds a sign during a March 14 walkout in support of the Parkland shooting victims. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Most Californians are worried that a school shooting like the one that occurred in Parkland, Fla., in February could shed blood closer to home, a new survey found. Some 73% percent of adults and 82% of public school parents said they were very concerned or somewhat concerned about school shootings. The Public Policy Institute of California surveyed 1,704 adults in the state by phone just after the March for Our Lives protest against gun violence. Latino and black respondents were significantly more likely to be concerned about school violence than white or Asian respondents, the institute found. Two-thirds of adults and public school parents said they opposed letting more educators carry weapons in school. The response differed across party lines, with 86% of Democrats and 69% of independents voicing their opposition, while 60% percent of Republicans said they would support a measure to arm educators. The poll, which had a margin of error of 3.2% in either direction, also asked Californians about school funding, educational issues in the governors race and the impact of immigration enforcement on students. You can find the full results here. Facebook

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Californias largest virtual charter school network agrees to contract with its teachers By Anna M. Phillips Nearly four years after teachers at Californias largest online charter school voted to unionize, they have reached a deal to increase pay and create job protections, according to a spokesman for the California Teachers Assn. The contract, which is still tentative and subject to ratification, is a victory for the teachers union. Although charter schools are publicly funded, most are privately managed and their employees arent protected by labor contracts. Under the terms of the contract  the result of years of negotiation and legal wrangling  approximately 500 teachers working for California Virtual Academies will no longer be at-will employees who can be dismissed for almost any reason. Their average salary will rise to just over $45,000, according to union estimates, a figure that remains far below the norm for traditional public school teachers. Still, it is an improvement over the previous average of $38,000. The accord also places a limit on the number of students each teacher is responsible for monitoring in online homeroom classes. Were very satisfied with the gains we made, said teacher Brianna Carroll, president of California Virtual Educators United. I think were going to see some extraordinary changes in our schools. According to Carroll, teachers at California Virtual Academies  better known as CAVA  had grown frustrated with the organizations foot-dragging and were making preparations to go on strike when CAVAs leadership agreed to the deal. CAVA and K12, the Virginia-based for-profit company linked to its schools, did not immediately respond to an email Tuesday asking for comment. The network currently operates nine virtual charter schools across California. In 2016, the charter network agreed to pay $8.5 million to settle claims of false advertising, misleading parents and inadequate instruction. The state attorney generals office had also accused K12 of controlling the charters for its own financial benefit. Neither CAVA nor K12 admitted to wrongdoing in the settlement. A year later, the state imposed a $2-million fine on CAVA after an audit found that it had misspent public funds. The network disputed the findings. Facebook

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School board approves a new formula for funding high-need schools By Sonali Kohli L.A. schools will soon get more money if they are located in neighborhoods with such problems as high levels of gun violence and asthma. The Los Angeles Unified school board voted unanimously Tuesday to adopt a new formula to determine how to dole out some funding to schools, based not only on the characteristics of the student populations but on the traumas that affect the communities around campuses. The new formula will be applied to $25 million in funding next fiscal year and about $263 million annually in future years  a small part of the districts $7.5 billion annual budget. Read More Facebook

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Protesters demand Ref Rodriguez resignation outside school board meeting By Sonali Kohli Students, parents, teachers and UTLA marching outside the board meeting chanting "Ref resign" pic.twitter.com/W0LRWZSIXY  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 A few dozen parents, students and teachers marched outside the Los Angeles Unified School Board meeting Tuesday, some calling for board member Ref Rodriguez to resign the week after news broke that he was taken into custody on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena bar and restaurant. Rodriguez was not cited or charged in that incident, but was held for more than five and a half hours before being released. The school board member faces felony and misdemeanor charges for political money laundering. He is accused of getting more than two dozen people people to donate to his campaign for his school board seat with the understanding that he would reimburse them. He stepped down from his post as school board president after he was charged last fall, but he did not give up his seat on the board. He has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of conspiracy, perjury, and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May. He cant give his full focus to our students, said Rebecca LaFond, a Highland Park parent whose three children marched with her as she chanted, Ref resign. One daughter marched in front of her, using a drum stick to hit the bottom of a gallon-size empty water jug. Our kids deserve someone who has the utmost ethical standards representing them, LaFond said. The protests continued into the board meeting, where some addressed Rodriguez directly, calling on him to step down during public comment portions of the meeting. Rodriguez, through his chief of staff, declined to comment. Some parents outside the board meeting did not know about the charges against Rodriguez but came out to protest the possibility of sharing their school campuses with charter schools. Protesters also oppose colocation  not all of the parents are here to ask Ref Rodriguez to step down pic.twitter.com/1Co8zQ9zSi  Sonali Kohli  (@Sonali_Kohli) April 10, 2018 Cynthia Martinez said her son, who goes to Christopher Dena Elementary School in Boyle Heights, has been bullied in the past by students from a charter school sharing the campus. She said she didnt know who Rodriguez was. Some parents and teachers are worried about losing computer labs, robotics rooms and fitness centers if they are required to share their campus with charter schools, said Ilse Escobar, a parent community organizer for United Teachers Los Angeles. The issues of Rodriguez and colocation are related, Escobar said. Rodriguez is part of a majority on the school board elected with financial backing from charter school supporters, and many parents, she said, feel that the school board is compromised if he is a part of it. Staff reporter Howard Blume contributed to this post. Facebook

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Delaine Eastin tries to gain momentum in the California governors race, one voter at a time By Seema Mehta Delaine Eastin was a sophomore in high school when a drama teacher urged her to try out for a part in The Man Who Came to Dinner. She hesitated until he told her: This is a metaphor for your whole life. If you never try out, you will never get the part. Eastin auditioned and won the role. Decades later, the advice sticks with the former state schools chief, this time in her unlikely run for governor. Despite calls for more women in leadership roles in state politics following sexual misconduct allegations in Sacramento, Eastin has been largely overlooked in the race, lagging far behind her Democratic rivals in fundraising and the polls. Read More Facebook

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Arizona high court rejects in-state tuition for DACA recipients By Associated Press Young immigrants granted deferred deportation status under a program started by President Obama are not eligible for lower in-state college tuition, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Monday. The unanimous ruling will affect at least 2,000 students attending the states largest community college district and hundreds more at other colleges and the states three public universities. The Maricopa County Community Colleges District and state universities said they would begin raising tuition immediately for the coming school year. Read More Facebook

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New York high school students injured when bus strikes overpass By Associated Press A charter bus carrying teenagers returning from a spring break trip Sunday night struck a bridge overpass on Long Island, seriously injuring six passengers and mangling the entire length of the top of the bus. The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. Sunday on the Southern State Parkway in Lakeview, according to New York State Police. One of the six injured passengers had very serious injuries, said State Police Maj. David Candelaria. Thirty-seven other passengers suffered minor injuries. Read More Facebook

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Some good news for California in national student test scores By Joy Resmovits National test scores for fourth- and eighth-graders were generally flat from 2015, but eighth-grade reading scores showed some improvement. Every two years, the nations fourth- and eighth-graders are tested in math and reading  and newly released results from last years tests give California at least a little reason to be pleased. The 2017 results  out Monday night  were mostly flat nationwide compared with 2015, though the average score in eighth-grade reading went up. But while that improvement largely came from the increased scores of the highest-performing students, California eighth-graders showed some reading progress from the lowest levels to the highest. Read More Facebook

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Under state control, Inglewood school districts financial picture worsened By Anna M. Phillips When Eugenio Villa agreed to return to the Inglewood schools for a second tour last summer, he knew the district remained one of Californias most troubled. Inglewood Unified had been nearly insolvent when it was taken over by the state Department of Education in 2012. Six years later, its enrollment was still declining. Its school buildings were tired  some edging into decrepitude. Its test scores and graduation rates were still below the state average. And the public was out of patience. Still, Villa, who had signed back on as the districts chief business official, was shocked at what he found when he arrived in June 2017. Two years earlier, he had left the school system on what he thought was firm ground. Read More Facebook

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Charter school group drops two lawsuits against L.A. Unified By Howard Blume A charter schools advocacy group last week announced that it would end two long-running lawsuits in which it was seeking more classroom space and construction money from the Los Angeles school district. The decision, the California Charter Schools Assn. said, reflects better relations between charter schools and the L.A. Unified School District. But the move also suggests that the litigation, which already contributed to significant gains for area charters, was unlikely to produce much more. It takes time, money and effort to litigate, said Ricardo Soto, general counsel for the charter group. Maybe its better to see if we can find the time and opportunity for collaboration. Read More Facebook

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L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez is arrested on suspicion of public intoxication By Richard Winton Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez was arrested recently on suspicion of being drunk in public at a Pasadena restaurant, the latest trouble for an elected official who faces political money-laundering charges. Pasadena police took Rodriguez into custody on March 16, according to city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian. Officers arrested Rodriguez at about 4:30 p.m. at the Yard House restaurant and bar at the Paseo Mall and held him in jail for more than five-and-a-half hours. Rodriguez was ultimately released without being cited or charged, Derderian told The Times. Other details about the arrest were not available, she 
Los Angeles County is considering a proposal designed to crack down on cockfighting in unincorporated areas.

The Board of Supervisors voted in December to set limits on the number of roosters that residents can keep in unincorporated areas, and charged the Department of Animal Care and Control with setting the right number. A community forum  the third of eight  will be held in Altadena from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Charles S. Farnsworth Park, 568 E. Mt. Curve Ave.

Many cities already prohibit roosters or limit the number allowed per residence.

Neighbors typically complain about noise and odor when large numbers of birds are housed nearby. But paraphernalia for fights is often kept separate from the birds, making it hard for deputies to make arrests and shut down illegal operations.

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Supervisor Kathryn Barger has spoken out against cockfighting.

Cockfighting is an inhumane crime in which animals are forced to fight to the death for amusement and gain, she said in her December motion, coauthored by Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.

Other crimes such as gambling, illegal drugs, weapons, prostitution and child abuse occur during these fights.

Barger pointed to the seizure of nearly 7,000 birds in a raid May 15 in the unincorporated community of Val Verde in the Santa Clarita Valley. It was the largest seizure of illegal cockfighting birds in U.S. history, according to the county Department of Animal Care and Control.

All those birds had to be euthanized because of the aggressive nature of roosters bred for fighting and also because of concerns about the spread of disease. Thousands of chickens statewide had to be euthanized in 2003 when fighting chickens brought from Mexico into the U.S. were found to have Exotic Newcastle Disease.
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge on Wednesday set a May preliminary hearing date for L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez, making it more likely that Rodriguez, who faces criminal charges, will be on hand to cast important votes on the school board in the coming months.

Rodriguez has pleaded not guilty to the charges, including three felony counts. Prosecutors allege he engaged in political money laundering in his 2015 campaign for office.

While he stepped down as school board president after he was charged, Rodriguez did not give up his seat. But he could be forced to should he be convicted.

The Board of Education, meanwhile, has launched a search for a new superintendent. Rodriguezs vote  and his presence in the room  could be pivotal in choosing L.A. Unifieds new leader.

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Rodriguez, 46, faces three felony charges for conspiracy, perjury and procuring and offering a false or forged instrument, as well as 25 misdemeanor counts related to the alleged campaign money laundering.

At a preliminary hearing, prosecutors lay out their case before a judge, who must decide whether there is enough evidence for the defendant to stand trial. In court Wednesday, Judge Deborah S. Brazile, drawing on prosecutors estimates, said that the hearing in this case could last up to six days,

Unless there is a postponement, Brazile on May 9 will assign the case to a trial judge, who would have two days to begin the hearing.

Prosecutors say Rodriguez carried out a scheme in which friends and relatives donated more than $24,000 to his campaign, with the understanding that Rodriguez would reimburse them fully. He could have donated the money legally to his own campaign, but Rodriguez allegedly broke the law by concealing the true source of the contributions  denying voters accurate information about support for his campaign, according to the L.A. County district attorneys office and the Los Angeles Ethics Commission.

His cousin, Elizabeth Tinajero Melendrez, faces related misdemeanor charges. Prosecutors contend that she helped Rodriguez solicit and illegally reimburse the donors. She also has pleaded not guilty.

The case is complicated by separate conflict-of-interest allegations, first reported in the Los Angeles Times, that have to do with Rodriguezs former role as a senior executive at a local charter school group.

Officials at the charter group, Partnerships to Uplift Communities, recently alleged that in 2014, Rodriguez signed or co-signed $265,000 in checks drawn on PUC accounts that were payable to a separate nonprofit under his control. That same year, they allege, Rodriguez authorized payments of $20,400 to a private company called Better 4 You Fundraising, in which he may have owned a stake at the time.

At a previous court appearance, Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Ser said her team was examining whether to charge Rodriguez in the alleged conflicts of interest.

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On Wednesday, Ser declined to comment on the case, but attorneys for Rodriguez and Melendrez said that so far they had not seen any evidence related to alleged conflicts.

We dont know whats going on with any other possible charges, said Mark Werksman, who represents Melendrez.

Typically, prosecutors release evidence before the preliminary hearing if additional charges are to be filed, the attorneys said.

Through their lawyers, Rodriguez and Melendrez declined to comment.

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A couple of district parents attended the hearing to push for Rodriguez to resign.

A parent has so much advocating to do already on a daily basis, said Colleen Cavanaugh Anthony, who has two sons at Aldama Elementary in Mount Washington. This is another level of advocating to do that is frustratingly unnecessary.

We should be talking to board members about things we need at the school, she said, not having to worry about these allegations or his legal troubles.

howard.blume@latimes.com

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Twitter: @howardblume

UPDATES:

5:35 p.m.: This article was updated to include a comment from a parent who attended the hearing.

1:05 p.m.: This article was updated to include the date of the preliminary hearing and input from attorneys representing L.A. school board member Ref Rodriguez and his cousin, Elizabeth Tinajero Melendrez.

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This article was originally published at 4 a.m.
A child molester was expected to walk free this week, after a Los Angeles County judge ruled last month that repeated delays in bringing the mans case to trial had violated his constitutional rights.

But at the last minute, prosecutors made a plea to a state appeals court to keep George Vasquez from returning to the community. Hes probably dangerous, they said, and should remain confined in a maximum-security state mental hospital.

During a hearing Tuesday, L.A. County Superior Court Judge James Bianco, who had previously ordered Vasquez to be released Wednesday, announced that the 44-year-old would remain at Coalinga State Hospital  at least for now.

The appeals court is planning to review the case after the Los Angeles County district attorneys office argued that Biancos ruling was erroneous.

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In the mid-1990s, Vasquez, then in his early 20s, was convicted of molesting several boys from his South L.A. neighborhood  he used candy, court records show, to lure his victims, ages 6 to 8, to an alleyway. A judge sentenced him to 12 years in state prison.

But before his scheduled release, prosecutors filed paperwork asking to have Vasquez confined for two years under Californias Sexually Violent Predator law, which allows the state to hospitalize people if a judge or jury determines they have a mental disorder making them likely to reoffend. (When Vasquezs case was filed in 2000, the commitments were limited to two-year periods, but voters later approved a measure making the terms indefinite.)

Seventeen plus years pending trial is shocking to the conscience. Attorney Mark Brandt on the delays in his clients case

The request to have Vasquez confined as a sexually violent predator, however, never went to trial. Instead, year after year, his legal proceedings were delayed. In November 2016, when Vasquez was bounced to his fourth deputy public defender, hed reached his limit.

Enough is enough, he told Bianco, who a month later kicked the public defenders office from the case.

In his written ruling last month explaining his decision to release Vasquez, Bianco noted that one of the states two psychologists who had examined Vasquez for years had concluded that he no longer qualified as a sexually violent predator.

Bianco also noted that for years both prosecutors and defense attorneys requested postponements in the case. By 2014, however, the judge said that the delays came almost entirely from defense attorneys.

There was a systemic breakdown of the public defender system, Bianco wrote. Seventeen years awaiting trial for a two-year commitment is far too long a delay.

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In an interview with The Times last month, then-Interim Public Defender Kenneth I. Clayman defended the office, saying he was proud of the unit that handles sexually violent predator cases. We provide outstanding representation, he said.

After the hearing last month, Vasquezs attorney, Mark Brandt, praised the judges ruling as courageous and well-reasoned, adding that his client was eager to be reunited with his family.

But Vasquezs release plan stalled Friday, when the district attorneys office filed legal papers asking Californias 2nd District Court of Appeal to keep him in the state hospital as they reviewed the case.

Prosecutors asked the appellate justices to throw out Biancos decision and reset a trial date for Vasquez, noting that over the years the states psychologists had evaluated him two dozen times. In only one instance, prosecutors wrote, did a doctor conclude that Vasquez didnt qualify as a sexually violent predator. Prosecutors argued that Bianco had ignored the strategic benefit to Vasquez in asking for delays  a tactical decision, prosecutors said, to postpone the trial as long as the doctors were still deeming him a sexually violent predator.

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The lower courts ruling, prosecutors wrote, was simply erroneous.

Its very concerning to me...Im concerned that some unsuspecting child will go outside to play and become a victim. Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey on the possible release of a convicted child molester

On Monday, Presiding Justice Dennis M. Perluss filed an order temporarily blocking Vasquezs release and giving his attorney two weeks to file an opposing motion.

Throughout Tuesdays hearing, Vasquez  who attended by camera from the hospital  clasped his hands and occasionally jotted notes. Vasquez nodded as his attorney told Bianco that hed asked the appeals court for an extension, noting that he planned to bring in a lawyer who specializes in appellate cases.

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Asked for comment after the hearing, Brandt said, Seventeen plus years pending trial is shocking to the conscience.

After the hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Ceballos said he views Vasquez as a threat, adding that his office will do everything in our power to keep him at Coalinga. Ceballos added that he believes the appellate decision could have sweeping significance, calling it a test case for other sexually violent predator cases across the state.

During a recent interview, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey winced when asked about the possibility of Vasquezs release.

Its very concerning to me, she said. Im concerned that some unsuspecting child will go outside to play and become a victim.

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marisa.gerber@latimes.com

For more news from the Los Angeles County courts, follow me on Twitter: @marisagerber
Los Angeles residents who want to rent out their homes for short stays for the bulk of the year would have to get case-by-case approval from the city under a new proposal being explored by city lawmakers.

A Los Angeles City Council committee asked staffers Tuesday to come back in a month with more information on the idea, including possible fees and requirements.

For more than two years, city officials have been wrestling with how to legalize and regulate the popular practice of renting out rooms or entire homes for short stays. Planning officials say it is currently illegal in many residential areas, but those rules have rarely been enforced amid the rise of online platforms such as Airbnb that link travelers to hosts.

Airbnb and its hosts say that night-to-night rentals provide a vital way for people to make ends meet, bring tourist spending to new neighborhoods and pump more tax revenue into the city budget. Airbnb has already brokered an agreement with the city to collect and pass along lodging taxes from its hosts, providing L.A. more than $42 million last year.

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Housing activists, neighborhood groups and the hotel industry, in turn, say the city needs to prevent apartments and houses from being rented out constantly to a revolving door of visitors, arguing that it disrupts neighborhoods and exacerbates the housing crisis. Many said they were irritated by the years of city inaction.

At Tuesdays hearing, Councilman Jose Huizar said he hoped that lawmakers would decide on a set of proposed regulations the next time they came before his committee, then pass them along to the whole council for its approval.

The proposed rules being vetted at City Hall would legalize such rentals but impose some restrictions: Los Angeles would allow hosts to rent out only their primary residence for short stays. Hosts would have to register with the city or face fines for advertising illegal rentals. And they would be barred from hosting night-to-night rentals in homes that fall under rent stabilization rules.

Much of the debate at City Hall has revolved around whether the city should cap the number of nights that people can rent out their home to travelers every year. Housing activists argue that a strict limit would eliminate a financial incentive to convert homes into de facto hotels that bring in more money.

But some hosts have bristled at the idea of a cap, arguing that it would be a financial hardship for people who rely on Airbnb rentals to cover their mortgage or other expenses. Some argue that their rentals do not take any housing off the market, because they are offering rooms that would not otherwise be available to longstanding tenants.

Planning officials had initially recommended an annual cap of 90 days across the city, and later revised its recommendation to 120 days. The Planning Commission, whose members are appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, instead suggested capping short-term rentals at 180 nights annually.

After a string of hearings at City Hall, a council committee has yet to decide on that cap. But at the Tuesday hearing, lawmakers said they wanted to explore options for allowing hosts to exceed such a cap on a case-by-case basis, using some kind of process that could include public hearings, neighbor notification and appeals.

In a recent report, planning officials had questioned that idea, warning that even if only a fraction of Airbnb hosts seek city permission to exceed an annual cap, those applications could swamp the department and require more staff to process them.

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But the idea appears to have tentative support among council members. Councilman Bob Blumenfield, a member of the committee that held Tuesdays hearing, suggested that the city could consider imposing a lower cap than previously suggested  possibly 120 days annually  while allowing people to exceed it if they went through a new approval process.

If the city creates such a process, we obviously we do not want to make it a burdensome one, Huizar said.

Both sides of the longstanding debate are closely eyeing how such a process would work. John Choi, Southern California public policy manager for Airbnb, said the company wants to make sure any approval process is manageable for its hosts, but was hopeful that it could ensure that responsible hosts who follow the rules have an opportunity to make ends meet.

Critics of commercialized short-term rentals say they are also open to the idea, although they want the cap to be much stricter than Airbnb and its hosts have suggested.

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Judith Goldman, one of the co-founders of the advocacy group Keep Neighborhoods First, said she wants the city to carefully vet anyone who wants to rent out their home for more than 90 days annually.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @AlpertReyes
Los Angeles County paid more than $145 million settling and fighting lawsuits in 2016-17, a 10% jump from the previous fiscal year, according to a report made public Tuesday.

The report from the county counsel was presented to the Board of Supervisors. They did not discuss the report or hear a presentation about it at their weekly meeting, as they have in previous years. Asked about the findings, supervisors either declined to comment or did not respond.



For the record: A previous version of this article said that a $3-million payout went to settle a lawsuit over a car crash that led to a young man drowning. The crash involved a woman who was paralyzed.

The largest payout noted in the report was $10.1 million in a wrongful incarceration case involving a man whose murder conviction was overturned after he had spent 20 years in prison.

The second most expensive settlement came in a lawsuit that alleged violations of federal clean water laws. The Flood Control District paid $4.5 million to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which had accused the county of allowing excessive pollutants on beaches and watersheds.

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There was also a $3.5-million settlement involving a patient at a county hospital who suffered a brain injury while being treated for an infection. Another $3-million payout went to settle a lawsuit over dangerous roadway conditions that led to a car crash where a woman was paralyzed.

Despite the countys spending more on litigation, the report said the total number of lawsuits filed against the county declined for the second year in a row.

There were 707 suits filed, compared with 749 in the previous fiscal year. It was the lowest number of new cases in the last seven years, according to the report.

The Sheriffs Department saw a 40% decline in new excessive-force lawsuits and a 33% drop in cases involving deputy-related shootings, the report said. In all, the department was sued 189 times.

Steve Robles, assistant chief executive officer with the countys Risk Management Branch, said the decline in lawsuits against the Sheriffs Department was the result of policy and management changes.

The Sheriffs Department has been doing a good job of paying attention to previous lawsuits and putting in action to avoid future litigation, said Robles, who helped prepare the report.

In all, the county paid out $68.6 million in judgments and settlements involving the Sheriffs Department, the most of any county department.

The $145.5 million amount includes $79.3 million for 12 judgments and 242 settlements of lawsuits, which was an 11% increase compared to the $71.3 million the county spent the prior fiscal year.

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It also includes $66.1 million in attorney fee costs, the report said. This was a 9% increase from fiscal year 2015-16.

melissa.etehad@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter @melissaetehad
A man was shot and killed late Tuesday in East Los Angeles after he got into a Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department patrol vehicle and drove toward a deputy, authorities said.

No deputies were injured in the incident, which occurred about 10 p.m. near the 5000 block of East 3rd Street, according to a news release from the Sheriffs Department.

Deputies were responding to reports of a man looking inside vehicles in an apartment complexs parking structure.

The man appeared to hide from the deputies as they approached him, and then he ran past them toward their patrol vehicle, the department said in a statement.

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One deputy fired a Taser at the man but it was ineffective. The man then got in the patrol vehicle, put it in drive and drove toward a second deputy.

Its unclear whether both deputies fired their weapons, but the man was struck by gunfire and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

The shooting comes two days after a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed by sheriffs deputies in South Los Angeles during a foot chase.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

javier.panzar@latimes.com

UPDATES:

8:05 a.m. Feb. 7: This post was updated with additional details.

This post was originally published Feb. 6 at 11:15 p.m.
A wall of sandstone boulders, some the size of RVs, barreled through Montecito, followed by a growing tail of water, mud and debris.

On its way to the ocean, the mudflows momentum shifted as it choked local creeks and slammed into curbs, walls and buildings.

Attempting to make sense of the flows path, which left more than 20 people dead and destroyed scores of homes Jan. 9, scientists surveyed the area days after the slide. They noted that a predicted rainstorms unexpected ferocity combined with the communitys unusual geological makeup to maximize devastation.

The work of the researchers is part of a larger effort to better understand what was the deadliest flooding event in California in several decades. The death toll has sparked questions about why the mudslides were so intense and whether more could have been done to get people out of harms way before the mud and debris inundated homes.

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Santa Barbara County released conflicting evacuation instructions that left the hardest-hit neighborhoods out of mandatory evacuation zones. It did not send out Amber Alert-style bulletins to cellphones until the mudslides had begun. By then, it was too late for residents to flee.

On Thursday, Sheriff Bill Brown announced changes aimed at better preparing residents for fires and floods.

Was what we did sufficient on January the 8th?  Obviously, in retrospect, it was not, Brown said.

Beyond better preparations and evacuation plans, scientists believe there are lessons in the flow of the mud.

Unlike other communities singed by fire and then visited by rain, the hills above Montecito are almost exclusively made up of large rocks or fine, sandy dirt without much in between, said U.S. Geological Survey research hydrologist Jason Kean.

So when a once-in-200-year storm cell dropped half an inch of rain in five minutes early that morning, it created what Kean called a moving dam. The largest parts of the mudflow  the boulders  naturally rolled to the front, creating a wall that let the river behind it grow in height and force instead of dispersing its energy wider across the landscape.

It had really big tools to do destruction and a lot of fine-grain material to keep them mobile, Kean said. Its definitely bad.

Geologists complete inundation mapping to identify areas impacted by debris flow from the Montecito event on Jan. 9, 2018. (USGS )

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When the storm and mudflow subsided, the destruction was worse than anyone had predicted. Thats something that Kean and his colleagues at the USGS, California Geological Survey, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and Santa Barbara County Fire Department want to change. Current USGS maps show only which hillsides are prone to debris flows, but not where those flows will go.

Should something like this happen again  a very real possibility for at least the next five years in areas below the Thomas fire burn area  scientists want to be able to accurately predict debris flows paths.

Though a lot of sediment has been evacuated, theres still a lot there, Kean said. Its tough for residents to hear, but theres plenty of ammunition left there.

After measuring everything they can about the debris flow, scientists will attempt to recreate the event using computer models. They will use the speed of the flow, its geological makeup, boulder size and the trajectories that occurred when it hit natural and artificial barriers such as hills and houses.

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USGS geologist Dennis Staley studies the Montecito area after a deadly Jan. 9, 2018, debris flow event. (USGS )

Its tricky, Kean said. Its computationally more demanding to model flows downstream.  A small thing like topography can really change where the flow goes.

But if scientists can successfully create formulas to map out what happened in Montecito, or something close to it, emergency planners can better inform their communities of the risks they face before a storm.

Authorities in Montecito were criticized after last months storm for limiting mandatory evacuations to an east-west zone above the towns main highway, even though the areas creeks run north-south.

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A man and a woman stand in front of a structure damaged by mudflows in Montecito. (Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP )

Officials said the storm they planned for was not the storm they received. A map of potential debris flows showing what could happen in 100- or 500-year storms was provided by a private company before the Jan. 9 storm and proved remarkably accurate. Kean said a USGS model would offer additional scenarios.

The model could show different scales of a potential disaster zone, depending not only on the level of rainfall, but on what stands in the path of a debris flow. The group plans to compare what was in place in Montecito with Carpinteria, where a mudflow also occurred but was successfully contained in large catch basins.

One thing we learned from this event is that structures, especially bridges and culverts, played a big role in determining where the flows went, Kean said. Our hope is to have maps that show the broad-scale potential for inundation and reasonably reflect where the flow could be substantially diverted by man-made structures or natural/constructed topography.

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Kean said Southern California offers the best locations to model potential disaster zones because of its high frequency of fires followed by rain, the regions steep terrain and dense population centers.

Its the most acute here, he said. That said, the problems exist beyond.  More people are asking for our help.

The study results should be published later this year.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

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For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

UPDATES:

7:35 a.m., Feb. 9: This article was updated with a comment from Sheriff Bill Brown.

This article was originally published at 11:18 a.m. on Feb. 7.
Authorities on Tuesday identified a man whose body was found in the bed of a pickup over the weekend as the suspect in the slayings of three people and their three dogs in Palmdale last month.

Detectives had been searching for James Todd Brown for weeks after naming him as a person of interest  then a suspect  in the killings of a married couple and a son.

Richard Gardner II, 78; his wife, Pepper Gardner, 56; and the mans son, Richard Gardner III, 52, were found stabbed, beaten and suffocated to death in their home on Jan. 13. The familys dogs were also beaten to death.

Someone called authorities Sunday after seeing a decomposing body in a Toyota Tacoma off a dirt road in Lancaster, about 15 miles west of Highway 395.

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In the truck, authorities found an assault rifle, quite a bit of ammunition, Browns dog  alive  and some food, said Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. Thankfully he didnt hurt anybody else.

Browns cause of death has not been determined, but investigators did not see obvious signs of trauma on his body. Its unclear when Brown died, but he looked like hed been there for a few days, Corina said.

Brown had lived in a trailer on the familys two-plus-acre property in Palmdale for about two years, paying them rent and doing odd jobs.

The killings may have stemmed from a rent dispute, which had recently become particularly heated between Brown and Pepper Gardner, Corina said.

Brown had also recently lost a workers compensation claim for disability, which Corina said may have had something to do with his state of mind.

alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AleneTchek
For the better part of a decade, an agency that bilked Chinese immigrant investors out of nearly $50 million operated in plain sight from a storefront in the front lobby of the bustling Hilton San Gabriel hotel.

Their crimes came to light last year after a task force of San Gabriel police and federal immigration officials tracked transactions between Chinese and U.S. banks, conducted cross-border surveillance operations, launched an undercover sting and sought information from the Chinese government.

San Gabriel Valley police departments often use federal partnerships to tackle crimes like these  many of which target vulnerable new immigrants  because they lack the necessary resources, skills and technology to pursue them.

But the largely immigrant communities that they police are starting to protest these partnerships in the wake of aggressive, Trump-era immigration enforcement that has stoked widespread fears over deportations.

On Tuesday, San Gabriel city leaders rescinded a Police Department agreement with immigration officials, citing doubts about the arrangements necessity and heightened fears about deportations.

The memorandum of understanding, signed by Police Chief Eugene Harris in December, designates a San Gabriel police detective to act as a customs officer on a task force that investigates various types of immigration-related crimes.

Although the memo states that the designated officer does not have the authority to enforce administrative violations of immigration law, city leaders said the decision should have been brought before the City Council.

The partnership sends the wrong message about the citys stance toward immigrants, Councilman Jason Pu said. The citys population is 61% Asian and 25% Latino, and more than half of of all residents are foreign-born. He also asked the City Council to consider a sanctuary city resolution at a later meeting.

The city of San Gabriel embraces our immigrant communities. If the message becomes Come to San Gabriel and get deported, it would be devastating to our community and to our businesses, Pu said.

Harris said the partnership with Homeland Security Investigations was designed to fight crimes, not deport immigrants. Contributing an officer to an HSI task force allowed the department to access federal databases, among other resources.

Councilman John Harrington voted against canceling the agreement and accused other council members of playing politics.

This sends the message that politics are more important than residents safety, Harrington said.

The news of the agreement was met with alarm in San Gabriel.

Advocacy groups and residents chanted slogans and waved signs before the Tuesday night meeting, which was so crowded that the city was forced to relocate it from City Hall to the nearby San Gabriel Mission Playhouse.

San Gabriels agreement was one of dozens that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have struck with local agencies across Southern California, including jurisdictions as small as Monterey Park and as large as the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department.

The documents lay out terms for information-sharing, compensation for labor costs and, in some cases, the designation of a local police officer to work on a task force with Homeland Security Investigations, ICEs criminal investigations arm.

But Californias new sanctuary state law largely prohibits the use of local funds and personnel on both criminal and civil immigration enforcement.

Jurisdictions around the state are scrutinizing these agreements and other local collaborations with ICE  and in some cases canceling them.

Pasadena city leaders recently voided an agreement signed by Police Chief Phillip L. Sanchez, saying that it required the signature of the city manager.

Santa Monica also canceled its police departments arrangement with ICE in a letter from the city manager last year, citing concerns about implied or inadvertent involvement in civil immigration enforcement by the SMPD.

Oakland city leaders canceled their agreement with ICE after activists learned that two Oakland police officers had stopped traffic during a raid that resulted in the arrests of two people. One was placed in deportation proceedings. Federal officials said the operation was targeting a human trafficking ring, but no criminal charges have been filed.

In Santa Cruz, a criminal investigation targeting gang members also brought about the arrests of several non-gang members for immigration violations. The city police chief, Kevin Vogel, said he was never informed about the possibility of collateral arrests.

They misled my department as to the actual scope of the operation. I feel like I was lied to, Vogel said.

ICE officials said they told Vogel that collateral arrests of non-gang members could occur during the operations several days before the raids, which Vogel disputes.

Though Santa Cruz had no agreement with ICE, Vogel warned other police departments to clarify the terms of their cooperation with ICE up front.

Im not in a position to tell authorities which laws to enforce, said Vogel, a 30-year veteran of the Santa Cruz Police Department who retired in June. But you have to be straight with me if youre going to come into my city for an operation.

Tonya Rios, left, joins other advocacy groups in front of City Hall in San Gabriel to express concerns about the San Gabriel Police Department's working with a subdivision of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times

A detective in San Gabriel has been assigned to an HSI task force since June. The group has arrested two people it says were posing as immigration attorneys in order to charge exorbitant fees for fraudulent legal services. It has also investigated a counterfeit drivers license and passport operation, and is looking for the owners of 30 Chinese passports discovered in a package.

These cases are typically too small to draw the attention of state and federal law enforcement agencies but too complicated for local police departments to handle with their own resources, Harris said.

Police departments and immigration authorities say these partnerships are strictly for criminal investigations.

But advocates say it may be impossible to ensure these partnerships wont include what the Trump administration has called collateral arrests, or arrests of undocumented immigrants who are not the target of criminal investigations.

Even if the original intent is to investigate a crime, if they find neighbors, bystanders that they believe are removable, they will also arrest and detain them, said Angela Chan of Advancing Justice  Asian Law Caucus, who is one of the coauthors of Senate Bill 54, the sanctuary state bill.

Of the 111,000 immigration arrests reported by ICE between Jan. 20 and Sept. 30 of last year, about 8% were collateral arrests. And last year, ICEs acting director, Thomas Homan, warned that more collateral arrests might be one result of Californias passing a sanctuary state bill.

Agreements like San Gabriels, immigrant rights advocates say, often are broadly worded and rarely include consequences for violating the agreement or any mention of collateral arrests, said Ana Muniz, assistant professor of criminology at UC Irvine.

On one hand, ICE and HSI can technically comply with agreements, but on the other hand, there are rhetorical and technical loopholes, Muniz said.

Police officers working with HSI task forces are not authorized to arrest people for administrative violations of immigration law, said Jennifer Reyes, assistant special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles. But immigration officers working on HSI task forces have no such restrictions.

HSI special agents, however, have the authority to make administrative arrests during criminal investigations as part of enforcing our nations laws, Reyes said.

Harris said he thinks proper oversight of joint operations with immigration authorities could ensure that no local resources are used to enforce immigration law.

Federal, state and local agencies work together to emphasize that public safety is a shared goal across all law enforcement agencies, Harris said.

But cities are increasingly wary of the perception of endorsing the Trump administrations immigration policies. And some city leaders, like Pu, dont see ICE and HSI as trustworthy law enforcement partners.

The bottom line is, you just cant trust ICE during the Trump administration, Pu said.

frank.shyong@latimes.com

Twitter: @frankshyong
Colombia was a darling of the Obama administration, which fully embraced the South American countrys torturous path to peace after the hemispheres longest civil war.

But alarmed by the peacetime surge in coca production, the Trump administration has warned it may return to a policy defined by the war on drugs, and punish Colombia as it struggles to recover.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrived Tuesday in the Colombian capital, Bogota, in an effort to reassure Colombians that Washington remains determined to work with the country on drug interdiction and the pursuit of peace.

In contrast, President Trump last week threatened to cut off U.S. aid to countries that he said were laughing at us, taking money from Washington but not doing enough to cooperate on drug interdiction.

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Tillerson has tried to finesse the mixed messages coming from Washington as he has visited Mexico, Argentina and Peru in a weeklong trip to Latin America and the Caribbean.

In Lima, Peru, on Monday, for example, he said he was raising the topic of joint U.S.-Latin America crime-fighting efforts in every stop I am making throughout the hemisphere.

This is really a hemisphere-wide challenge, and every country has its own challenges, Tillerson said. The more we can share, the more we can connect our activities, the more progress we can make to disrupt these [criminal] organizations.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Tillerson rejected suggestions he was having a hard time in some of his meetings. He said he had gotten all the access we need and had achieved pretty much everything we set out to accomplish on the trip.

Coca production in Colombia has gone up 50% in each of the last two years, with about 247,000 acres now under cultivation, according to U.S. officials. More importantly, each acre cultivated is more productive than before.

Reacting to that surge, Trump threatened to decertify Colombia last year, meaning aid would be stopped or reduced until the nation made progress in eradicating the coca crops. He has not carried out the threat, but the administration has backed away from President Obamas pledge to provide $4.5 billion in aid over the next 10 years.

A first tranche of the money was disbursed near the end of the Obama administration but the Trump administration has not made clear whether it will follow suit.

Colombians feel angry, slighted and bewildered, said Bruce Bagley, a Colombia expert at the University of Miami. Washington spent $10 billion to help end Colombias civil war and abandoning the country now  as it attempts to resettle millions of former guerrillas and displaced civilians  could be dangerous, he said.

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This is a very crucial period for the peace process, Bagley said. Colombians feel the Trump administration doesnt understand its own interests, much less [Colombias] desperate need at this critical juncture.

William Brownfield, then assistant secretary of State for international narcotics and law enforcement affairs, testified to Congress last year that Colombia was a key U.S. partner for two decades and had made progress in combating coca cultivation and production.

But since the civil war ended, he added, Colombia has become the worlds largest producer of cocaine and is the origin of approximately 90% of the cocaine seized in the United States.

He blamed, in part, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos decision to suspend the unpopular, U.S.-financed program of aerial spraying to destroy coca crops.

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Many conservatives in Washington blame the peace process. Like Santos conservative opposition in Colombia, they argue that the peace accords granted concessions to the former leftist guerrillas that allowed them to turn to drug trafficking.

Some former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebel organization apparently began planting more coca to get more money from the government crackdown on production of the raw material used to make cocaine.

Camilo Reyes, the Colombian ambassador to the United States, has lobbied Washington policymakers to continue their support. There have been enough signals to show the administration and Congress do support and will go on supporting the peace process, he said.

There needs to be patience for this to work, said Lisa Haugaard, executive director of the Latin America Working Group, a Washington-based advocacy organization that is monitoring the Colombian peace process. This is the only peace accord in history with a drug policy chapter. It takes time.

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I cant emphasize enough how important U.S. support for the peace process has been, said Jason Marczak, director of the Adrienne Arsht Latin America Center at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

Then-Secretary of State John F. Kerry traveled to Cartagena, Colombia, to witness the signing of the peace accord in September 2016. Santos later was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his stewardship of the accord.

In a war that spanned a generation, more than 250,000 people were killed, and networks of terrorists and drug gangsters flourished in the vacuum.

tracy.wilkinson@latimes.com

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His death was held up as example of the dangers faced by the Border Patrol  and cited by President Trump as another reason to build a border wall  but an autopsy report on an agent fatally injured in a west Texas culvert last fall only deepens the mystery surrounding his death.

Agent Rogelio Roger Martinez, 36, a four-year Border Patrol veteran, died of blunt force trauma, according to the report, but how he received his injuries remains unclear.

The FBI is still investigating the incident, but released a statement following the autopsy report Wednesday saying it had not found suspects or any evidence that the agents were attacked.

The FBI has investigated multiple theories, including whether the Border Patrol agents were ambushed or attacked or whether their injuries were as a result of an accident or any other relevant criminal activity, said FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge Emmerson Buie Jr. None of the more than 650 interviews completed, locations searched or evidence collected and analyzed have produced evidence that would support the existence of a scuffle, altercation, or attack.

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Martinez suffered head injuries and broken bones Nov. 18 near Interstate 10 about 130 miles east of El Paso after responding to a triggered sensor, according to the FBI and fellow agents.

Shortly before the incident late on a Saturday night, fellow agents said they heard Martinez radio in that he had found signs of activity and was checking them out  tracks consistent with migrants or smugglers, according to an investigative report. Martinez then summoned a second agent, Stephen Garland, 38.

Some time after he arrived at the 9-foot-deep culvert, Garland called his wife, who alerted Border Patrol, according to investigative records.

A Border Patrol dispatcher who spoke by phone with Garland said he sounded disoriented and unsure of his location and advised that both he and Agent Martinez were hurt, Buie said.

Buie said Garland made a statement to the effect of, We ran into a culvert, I ran into a culvert, or I think I ran into a culvert. The dispatcher also wrote into a Border Patrol log, [He] thinks they [both agents] ran into a culvert. 

Dispatchers told Garland to return to his Border Patrol vehicle and activate his emergency lights so first responders could find him, Buie said.

Garland was hospitalized and treated for head injuries but has since returned home and was assisting investigators, according to FBI spokeswoman Jeanette Harper.

He initially told investigators the last thing he remembered was leaving home for his shift the night of the incident, according to investigative reports. Garland still has trouble remembering what happened, according to Lee Smith, a spokesman for the local Border Patrol union who met with the agent recently.

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He has spoken with the FBI and theyve tried to help him recall. He just doesnt remember what happened, Smith said, adding, We still believe both of the agents were assaulted.

Garland is undergoing physical therapy and has not been cleared to return to work; he remains on leave and declined interviews with the news media Wednesday, Smith said.

Trump drew national attention to the incident when it was first reported, tweeting, Border Patrol Officer killed at Southern Border, another badly hurt. We will seek out and bring to justice those responsible. We will, and must, build the Wall!

Officials with the Border Patrol union said the agents were ambushed by migrants. They noted that the culvert where the agents were found is frequented by smugglers who cross the border illegally about 50 miles south and trek north to the interstate with backpacks of marijuana and other drugs. Chris Cabrera, a spokesman for the local union, said the pair were likely hit with rocks.

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State and federal officials offered a $70,000 reward for information in connection with the incident. The FBI widened its search to several states, erecting billboards asking for help from Texas to Southern California.

Martinezs fiancee, Angie Ochoa, said she and the family met with FBI officials in recent weeks to discuss developments, but learned nothing new beyond the findings of the autopsy.

They havent given us any hope that theyve found any new leads. It just seems like theyre getting nowhere, said Ochoa, 34, a medical assistant in El Paso.

An informant familiar with human smugglers told Border Patrol officials that a pair of brothers recently smuggled across the border had admitted to assaulting the agents, according to a warrant later filed to search the brothers car in New Mexico. FBI agents questioned the brothers, but ruled them out as suspects in the agents death, although they were charged in federal court with alien smuggling, according to court documents.

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The autopsy report, released Tuesday night, said Martinez suffered brain hemorrhaging, and fractures to the skull, eye socket, right ribs and collarbone, as well as contusion of his right shoulder, according to Dr. Janice Diaz-Cavalliery, assistant El Paso County medical examiner.

The autopsy also showed a drug in Martinezs system: butalbital, a barbiturate often found in drugs combined with aspirin, acetaminophen, caffeine or codeine. Diaz-Cavalliery noted that the drug can cause drowsiness, sedation and ataxia, a loss of coordination.

Manner of death was listed in the report as undetermined.

Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and other officials have said the agents were attacked. A local sheriff, among first responders to the scene, speculated the pair may have been sideswiped by tractor trailers.

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But a spokesman for the National Border Patrol Council, the union representing agents, on Wednesday insisted Martinezs death was not accidental.

Our position has not changed. We believe Agent Martinez was attacked and murdered, union spokesman Chris Cabrera said.

Garlands fiancee, Angie Ochoa, said she and the family met with FBI officials in recent weeks to discuss developments, but learned nothing new beyond the findings of the autopsy.

They havent given us any hope that theyve found any new leads. It just seems like theyre getting nowhere, said Ochoa, 34, a medical assistant in El Paso.

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molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com

Twitter: @mollyhf

UPDATES:

6:15 p.m.: This article was updated with comments from Emmerson Buie Jr. and Lee Smith.

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This article was originally published at 11:05 a.m.
Believe it or not, I want the California Republican Party to do well. I agree with nearly none of their platform, and their troglodytic elected officials are only good for internet memes and scary bedtime stories.

But we as a state need a competitive democracy to truly thrive. The Democrats have a near supermajority in both chambers (recently lost because of resignations in the wake of #MeToo) and can pass nearly anything they want; that makes Sacramento little better than Mexico under the PRIs one-party rule.

For 2018, California Republicans are bracing for a Waterloo, gracias to an invigorated Democratic base ready to donkey-kick anything red. For chrissakes, even Orange County went for Hillary Clinton in 2016. The O.C.s GOP representatives have to campaign for the first time in their careers  and thats supposed to be the place where all the good Republicans go to die, as Ronald Reagan once quipped.

Instead of focusing on what ails them, however, California Republicans are trying more of the same silliness that got them into this tight spot  like the recall effort against Democratic state Sen. Josh Newman of Fullerton, who critics claim was the deciding vote in that dumb gas tax bill from last year.

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I offer Republicans advice that comes from a good place: Drop it.

Newman, as a freshman politician, shouldve known better than to help make Californians pay more money at the pumps and thus make himself immediately vulnerable. He may well lose his seat in the June 5 recall election, which will further erode the Democrats supermajority and let the GOP wield insignificant power instead of no power at all.

If, however, the recall is successful, itll probably become the latest knot in a string of Pyrrhic victories. Far too often over the past few decades, Republican leaders have obsessed over removing enemies from office. At this point, they sure do know how to run a successful demonization campaign  hey, Antonio Villaraigosa, Helen Gahagan Douglas sends her regards. But their short-term wins have had unintended consequences and, more significantly, have done nothing to shore up the prospects of the party as a whole.

Instead of focusing on what ails them, California Republicans are trying more of the same silliness that got them into this tight spot.

To wit:

Rose Bird: In the 1980s, conservatives led by Orange Countys Tony Rackauckas, then a prosecutor, tried to recall the California Chief Justice because they felt she was too soft on the death penalty. They never succeeded, but they did slime her, leading voters to boot her from office in 1986. Rackauckas parlayed his activism into his current position as district attorney. But he was the only winner. Birds removal did little to revive the death penalty, and Rackauckas involvement in Orange Countys recent jailhouse snitch scandal has made the areas justice system a local joke.

Willie Brown: In 1990, in part to force the longtime San Francisco politico from Sacramento, Republicans endorsed term limits. Browns gone, but term limits exacerbated the revolving door problem. Politicians bounce from seat to seat with the help of lobbyists  until they become lobbyists themselves.

Doris Allen: The Orange County state senator struck a deal with Democrats in 1995 that named her speaker of the Assembly. Outraged, Allens fellow Republicans pushed for her recall, and Curt Pringle became speaker. He was the last Republican to hold the title, and the maneuver set a terrible precedent. Few in the GOP would now dare to reach across the aisle lest they suffer Allens fate.

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Gray Davis: What is it with the GOPs itch to recall bland white politicians? Such racists! Davis was a neoliberal dream who gave prison-guard and police unions sweetheart deals. Yet the GOP dethroned him and backed Arnold Schwarzenegger, who proved equally ineffectual. That fiasco tarnished the whole party and led, by hook and by crook, to the election of eternal GOP bogeyman Jerry Brown. His two terms of success mean the Democrats can run a redwood log against any Republican candidate and still win  and his name is Gavin Newsom.

The grand total for all these years of GOP recall rage? California is more progressive than ever, and fewer voters register as Republican. The Democrats run the state, and are ready to oust elephants from the congressional delegation to Washington.

Newman is not exactly a liberal lion, so to see the GOP cast him as a pinko just shows how bad their priorities are. Instead of trying to pick off random Democrats through recalls, Republicans should focus on how to revitalize their party so they can make the Capitol competitive again.

Heres some more unsolicited advice on how to make that happen, conservatives: Sell your alleged anti-tax, pro-business message to voters as something that they deserve instead of something that Democrats are supposedly against. Remember that liberals and moderates are people, too, and that working with Democrats to better the state is OK.

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And, please, now and forever: Ignore the O.C. GOP, which got you here and is becoming more obsolete than a CalTrans Call Box.

mexicanwithglasses@gmail.com

Twitter: @gustavoArellano

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Donald Trump is a Rorschach blot on the office of the presidency. Some people look at him and see a dangerous authoritarian. Some see a leader too weak to be authoritarian. Some see a weak leader who nonetheless has an authoritarian heart. And thats just the people who dont like the guy.

Still, pretty much everyone who isnt paid to pretend otherwise agrees that hes been hemmed in by Washingtons permanent institutions. Trump has signed just one major piece of legislation, and his executive orders have frequently landed with a splat. From his stab at banning transgender soldiers to his efforts to defund sanctuary cities, Trump has hit one wall after another.

That has led some anti-Trump pundits to a quietly optimistic take on the state of the country. Americas core institutions may not be in perfect health, Zack Beauchamp summed it up in Vox, but they seem to be functioning well enough to constrain a president whos gone after essential parts of its democratic system.

Yet if institutions have largely kept Trump from pushing presidential power in new directions, they have also let him intensify authoritarian policies that already exist. While some institutions have kept Trump in check, others have empowered him.

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In some ways, immigration is the great success story for the institutions-will-save-us crowd. Thanks to the courts, Trumps travel ban has been both narrowed and delayed. State and local government have refused to cooperate with some elements of Trumps deportation drive, and so far the Justice Department has been impotent in its efforts to bring them in line. Trump hasnt even had much luck yet in getting Congress to cough up funds for his border wall. But courts, federalism and an opposition party arent the only institutions at work here.

Trump inherited a powerful raids-and-deportation apparatus, and he hasnt been shy about using it. And so while deportations themselves have receded somewhat in the last year, deportation arrests have surged  and theyre much more likely to take place far from the border. The American Civil Liberties Union reports a notable increase in arrests of people who dont have criminal records, those who show up to routine check-in meetings with agents, and even people previously offered humanitarian exceptions.

That apparatus is an institution. It was built up by prior presidents of both parties, along with Congress and the bureaucracy. They assembled a weapon, and then they left it on the Oval Office desk.

Speaking of weapons: Trump has escalated the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, and his war with Islamic State killed more civilians in just over half a year than Barack Obamas did in three years. Hes been able to do such things because he inherited a strong institution: an increasingly unaccountable system for raining death from the air. Obama got away with claiming that the authorization to use military force to fight the perpetrators of Sept. 11, 2001, covers all manner of battles around the world. Naturally, Trumps team has embraced the argument.

Institutions havent just empowered Trump; hes empowered institutions.

And if the president decides to launch nuclear missiles at North Korea this evening, it would take a full-fledged mutiny to stop him. Thank a decades-old policy of giving the president unilateral control of the nuclear arsenal.

Institutions havent just empowered Trump; hes empowered institutions. He has allowed the military to make its own decisions on a host of war-making matters without White House input  including, in some theaters, whether to launch a raid or airstrike. He has also reportedly given the CIA the right to conduct its own covert drone strikes in Syria, and there has been talk of letting it exercise that authority elsewhere. Power isnt flowing to the executive so much as its flowing to whole swaths of the executive branch. (That has been true in some ways of the immigration crackdown too. When the slipshod first version of the travel ban came down, Customs and Border Protection field agents were left to make their own choices about how to interpret and enforce it.)

As I write, Donald Trump is at war with elements of the national security and intelligence bureaucracies  or as theyre better known these days, the deep state. Despite this, he hasnt done anything to roll back the powers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the National Security Agency. Indeed, he just signed a bill that amps up the very surveillance state that he bitterly claims his enemies have wielded against him.

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That shouldnt surprise anyone. Trumps fear isnt that those institutions are too powerful; its that theyre disloyal. He doesnt want reform; he wants a purge. Hemmed in by institutions, he asks himself how he could make those institutions work for him instead of against him. And why wouldnt he? After all, several are already on the job.

Jesse Walker is an editor at Reason magazine. His most recent book is The United States of Paranoia.

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The Los Angeles Police Commissions to-do list just got top-heavy, thanks to one significant new task. With the early retirement of Chief Charlie Beck, itll be up to the commission to interview candidates for the job of running the police department in the nations second-biggest city, and then forwarding the finalists names to Mayor Eric Garcetti for his decision.

The commission has had its hands full already, with the five-member board being upbraided by protesters at its public meetings over questionable police shootings and the use of drones. One of the five is Sandra Figueroa-Villa. For about 40 years, shes been executive director of El Centro del Pueblo, an Echo Park community service group whose work on behalf of ending gang violence has informed her five years on the Police Commission. Now shell put her hand to the job of choosing the person who, as she likes to joke, will have four stars to her five.

Click here for the full archive of Patt Morrison Asks podcasts 

Los Angeles will be searching for a new police chief. What qualities will you and the Police Commission be looking for?

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The Police Commission, as we speak, is putting together several meetings to get input from the community. I really am looking forward to listening to the communities and getting their input. Theres a lot of voices out there with their opinions.

Weve had two chiefs from outside the department, one pretty successful, one not successful at all. Do you think it has to be someone from inside the Los Angeles Police Department, someone who understands the unique characteristics of the city and the department?

I know the mayor has put forward publicly that he wants a national search. We have 25 other cities that have chiefs from the LAPD that might be interested in coming back to Los Angeles. And we have great and qualified people inside.

Los Angeles is one of the biggest Latino cities in the western hemisphere. We have had two African American chiefs, but no Latino chief, no woman chief. Are you going to be considering that in particular?

Im not going to be looking for any particular ethnicity or gender. I get the politics. Im very political. I love the politics and I have my own personal view. However, I am on the Police Commission and I come in fair, and with an open mind.

Have you started to hear from people about what they want from a new chief?

Some call and say its time for a Latino chief, others that its time for a woman chief, others we have to build more trust  a visionary, somebody whos going to keep the promises made to the immigrant communities and the African American community, the communities of color.

[Commission President Steve Soboroff], the minute the chief told us hes retiring, the campaign started, people started calling. Mr. Soboroff said, I talked to 30 people in one evening! So people want to have input in this process.

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Chief Beck announced his early retirement. How would you characterize what he said that hes leaving undone?

He said its time, its the right time for a new leader. Hopefully its someone that could continue that path, but also with a vision to make it better. Ive been in my position at my agency for over 40 years. I think about that all the time. Thats my heart.

This department is Chief Becks heart and soul. And he loves Los Angeles and he loves the LAPD, and he wants to make sure he leaves it in the right hands.

I know for a fact that Chief Beck was very thoughtful about him leaving on his own terms. No one pushed him out. L.A. Police Commissioner Sandra Figueroa-Villa

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I can see its very painful for him to retire, but theres also that side of him that he cares and loves [the LAPD] so much, he knows its time for him to go. He wants to be with his family  thats the other great thing, hes a grandfather now. Its priorities.

And the dirt biking, too.

Well, he mentioned the dirt biking.

An issue in the national consciousness now, and has always been in Los Angeles consciousness, is the relationship between the LAPD and immigration enforcement. The LAPD, since Special Order 40 was issued by Chief Daryl Gates in 1979, has said were not going to do the immigration departments work for it. Were here to police Los Angeles. We want anybody who lives in Los Angeles to trust us as police officers. How is this shaking out, with the kind of enforcement were seeing under the Trump administration?

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Im a member of the subcommittee on immigration, and the special order hasnt changed  the opposite. We honor the special order. We dont ask and we dont stop and ask for status, and we shouldnt. The problem that I see is that people think that [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] is the police department.

I read that ICE has on occasion put police on their jackets.

They do. I believe there was a letter the mayor or the chief sent to ICE, asking them to take that off. And we received a letter back and they said no, we wont. We are police.

ICE said theyre police?

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Well, [that] they are law enforcement.

Thats a little different in most peoples eyes.

Thats the problem. And it comes from Washington down.

We had a piece in the Los Angeles Times op-ed section that said activists had been quoted as saying that the early retirement of Chief Beck was their doing, that they were the ones who had shown up at the Police Commission meetings, that they were the ones who were angry about police shootings and discipline matters.

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I know for a fact it wasnt the activists forcing the action. When I became a police commissioner, I came in with open eyes. I thought, wow, I could really connect with what some of the activists are saying. I get the fear of police, I get all of what they were saying. But now being on the commission and seeing how they conduct themselves and the behavior, I know for a fact that Chief Beck was very thoughtful about him leaving on his own terms. No one pushed him out. The activists did not push him out. They had nothing to do with him wanting to leave.

What would you like to see the LAPD change about video camera footage, and being more forthcoming about officer-involved shootings?

I cant really talk about the video release because our commission is currently revising and looking at a policy thats going to come out. Most people dont know that since 2005, we are probably the most transparent police department in the state.

The chief of police prepares a report to the commission on whether the officer-involved shootings were in policy, out of policy, looking at tactics, and once we adjudicate it, he, with the officers names redacted, posts the decision online. We have an inspector general who also looks at the report.

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When you hear that we dont release officer names, the only time that we dont is when it would put an officers life in danger. Were constantly looking at transparency and ways that we can be more transparent, but there are laws that protect the police officers.

The news that Chief Beck released a few days ago about the profile of homicide victims in Los Angeles found that theyre young, theyre nonwhite and theyre poor. What was your reaction?

My reaction is that 60% of those are gang-related. I started doing gang work back in the 60s, 70s, 80s, when it was lots of gang violence. We are not seeing enough outcry from the community whenever theres a gang killing. Back in the day, you organized parents of the kids being killed, and you worked. We used to go to the City Council to get more resources in our communities. So you have those programs [now], and then you have all these other programs and activities that the LAPD operates.

How do you get the larger part of Los Angeles to care about this? You can read these statistics and say, its gang members killing other gang members. Why should I care about that?

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Because it does affect the community. Were dealing with kids in poverty, kids that live in single-family households. Theres kids living in their cars with their moms and dads. [El Centro del Pueblo] gets to counsel and refer and build resources to make families lives better. If we can save one of those kids from being attracted to that lifestyle, its a big deal.

You mention kids living in cars with their parents. Homelessness has become such an exponentially larger problem in L.A. Whats the role of the LAPD in that?

People talk about how they should not be social workers, they should be cops. The times are changing. I was on the homeless subcommittee for the commission and we talked about the role of police and homelessness, and you have to be empathetic. You have to think about, what if thats your mother, your father, your brother?

So I really support that our cops are involved, but on the other hand, the Mental Health Department is a county department. Theyre the ones that have big money; theyre the ones that should be leading the charge.

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How did your perception of the LAPD change after your years on the commission?

I lived through the [LAPD police corruption] Rampart scandal. I lived in Pico-Union. I grew up in South L.A. So Ive lived everywhere. My experience with the Police Department was not great. I can tell you stories of when the senior lead officer program first started, they just walked into our house looking for my son.

It was just a totally different department then. They did not work with agencies like mine, who work with gang members, because they were not good citizens. I had an experience where the gang officers came to my agency and just wanted to come in, and I said no, you cant do that. They said yes, we can, and sort of pushed me aside and went inside.

I was shocked when the mayor asked me to sit on this commission. I didnt think about it. I said yes. Then I realized what Id said yes to, and that forced me to take this role on with an open mind and get to understand why the police do what they did.

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I never thought Id say this: Weve come a long way as a police department. We have a long way to go, but weve come a long way. Ive really met so many officers. They dont join the force to shoot anybody. They join it to help people.

A lot of people in Los Angeles dont even know there is a police commission. How would you explain its job to those people?

Id tell them that I wear five stars and Charlie Beck wears four. I am one of five bosses, so I have an influence, a voice directly with the chief.

If the community needs something, they can call me. And because Ive been around so long, and know people in this city, any interaction they have with the department thats not pleasant, I get to deal with. Relationships and building trust  thats key. Theres more trust, a lot more interaction, a lot more collaboration with the Police Department.

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Police shootings generate the most passionate, the angriest, the most tearful public comments at your meetings. What does the commission plan to change to address the frequency of these shootings and maybe underlying training issues?

Im on the use-of-force subcommittee, with [Commissioner] Matt Johnson, and we have been looking at our de-escalation policies, the tactics that lead up to shootings, looking at other ways to deal with [confrontations] without having to pull out your weapon. We get to see all the evidence and all the videos, and those officers lives are on the line, and sometimes that is their only defense: They have to shoot or get killed.

Theres public anger and fear and I understand it. I dont think thats really changed. But I know what its like to hug a mom whose kid was just killed by a police officer. I listen to the moms and the parents and the families and its a tragedy.

But its also a tragedy on the side of the police officer. Im really concerned that we take care of our officer right after that happens as we care for the [victims] family. It has to be very balanced on both sides.

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Ken Burns on making his Vietnam War documentary: I was humiliated by what I didnt know

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UPDATES:

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2/8: Sandra Figueroa-Villa, speaking about how the LAPD used to operate, said in this interview that police just walked into our house looking for my son. She didnt mean to imply that this was her personal experience. She was recounting the story of a client of the El Centro del Pueblo organization.
To the editor: The journalists risking their lives in Mexico are no less heroic than soldiers on the front lines of battle. It shames our country that we are not doing more to offer asylum to these brave men and women. (Journalists are fleeing for their lives in Mexico. There are few havens, Feb. 5)

What is even more shameful is our own slide toward contempt for the dishonest media. We have allowed the president to continue his hateful rhetoric toward fake news reporters  fake only when they offer valid and evidence-based criticisms.

President Trump has made no secret of his desire to change libel laws so he can sue those who criticize him. He has threatened to use his power to take away network licenses if he dislikes what they have to say.

If Republicans and Democrats do not do more to rein in Trumps attacks on the free press, we are slowly headed toward being a country that does not deserve one.

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Cathy Goldberg, Seal Beach

..

To the editor: I am a retired immigration attorney who handled many asylum cases.

Mexican journalist Emilio Gutierrez Sotos house has been ransacked. It is also true many journalists are being killed or disappeared by both the cartels and police, and that Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. He was warned that the army was out to kill him.

All this plus the fact that he is credible should be sufficient proof to grant him and his family asylum in the United States. Gutierrez has overwhelming proof of his fear of Mexico, a country to which he cannot return.

Rogelio Quesada, San Diego

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To the editor: Reading columns like Steve Lopezs Theres only one fix for L.A.'s traffic nightmare  we all have to pay up, and letters in the Los Angeles Times on public transportation, I get the impression that it is an alien environment for many readers.

As a frequent user of buses, I have great respect for the drivers, who are always courteous and friendly. Fellow passengers, who cover all ages and ethnicities, are well behaved and helpful.

The only time I had a negative experience was when I was wearing a sling and carrying a bag on a crowded bus (mostly young students) and no one thought to offer me a seat.

Rosemary Leibowitz, Sherman Oaks

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..

To the editor: Lopez is on target about improving transit use, but theres a reason that even lower-income people are buying cars: They dont want to take the Metro.

Safety is key. Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez has said she refuses to ride the Metro Red Line because she fears for her safety. My wife does ride the Red Line and was recently harassed  where were the police officers?

Also, as Lopez says, Metro makes unforgivable decisions. One is its recent adoption of parking fees at the North Hollywood and Universal City Red Line stations.

Im not the only person who drives past those lots rather than spend $3.50 for the round-trip train ride plus another $3 to park. After all, Im already driving.

Michael Goldstein, Encino

..

To the editor: Lopez is undoubtedly correct that it will take billions of dollars to build out an effective public transport system that lures people out of their cars. But for far less money and time, how about extending L.A.s skeletal system of bike paths?

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With so many e-bike choices, a 20-mile ride along dedicated bikeways is within the reach of many commuters. This is hardly a new idea, as more than 100 years ago, Pasadena wanted to build an elevated bikeway to downtown Los Angeles.

Many public rights-of-way already exist, and others would have to be acquired. But never has there been a better time to encourage people to get off the freeways and onto bicycles.

Paul Bergman, Pasadena

..

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To the editor: I am a woman who very frequently takes Metro bus and rail lines to attend cultural events in downtown L.A. I have not had a negative experience yet.

I own a car but prefer to use public transportation even though it usually takes longer than driving. At least I am able to read on the bus or train and do not need to fight traffic.

What does bother me is the unnecessary, constant, loud announcements on the trains and buses. Have the Metro officials not noticed this nuisance?

Ilca Moskos, Santa Monica

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Gavin Newsom releases ad that highlights his push to allow same-sex couples to marry By Phil Willon A new ad from Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom features Phyllis Lyon, who with her partner, Del Martin, received the first marriage license after Newsom vowed to allow same-sex couples to marry when he was mayor of San Francisco in 2004. The current lieutenant governors push for marriage equality thrust him into the national spotlight and he has emphasized that effort to portray himself as a bold, progressive leader. Facebook

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Failed California housing bill was not a bad idea, Gov. Jerry Brown says By Liam Dillon Gov. Jerry Brown (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Earlier this month, high-profile housing legislation that would have allowed for four- to five-story apartments and condominiums near transit stops failed to advance in the state Legislature. But had it reached his desk, would Gov. Jerry Brown have signed it? Maybe. I think that was not a bad idea, Brown said of Senate Bill 827 at a meeting with business leaders from the Bay Area Council on Monday afternoon. The bill, written by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), attracted national attention and a maelstrom of opposition in part because it would have eliminated single-family zoning near transit stops in favor of apartments or condominiums. Brown said that a relative of his who lives in West Portal, a low-density neighborhood in San Francisco, told the governor he was horrified by the bill. Brown also lamented dramatically rising housing costs. He said he bought his first house in Los Angeles in 1973 for $75,000 at a time when his salary as secretary of state was $35,000. Now, he said, buying a house for a little over twice ones annual salary is virtually impossible anywhere in the state. FOR THE RECORD

May 1, 9:32 a.m.: This post originally misstated the year Brown purchased his house as 1970. It was 1973. Facebook

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John Cox begins California barnstorm with the delivery of gas tax repeal signatures By Javier Panzar Gubernatorial candidate John Cox, left, and Assembly candidate Bill Essayli load boxes of signatures for the gas tax repeal initiative. (Francine Orr) GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox strolled up to the stack of 12 boxes in front of the Los Angeles County registrar-recorders offices in Norwalk on Monday and placed his hands on top of his partys hope for success in 2018. The boxes, stacked four across and three high, contained 211,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees. Cox says the effort has gathered more than 940,000 signatures from registered voters to put the measure on the ballot  far more than the 585,407 signatures that are required. The aim: to bring out the partys base to the polls this November and help candidates in tough congressional and legislative races down the ticket. A USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll in November found 54.2% of registered voters surveyed said they would repeal the tax and fee hike, but a survey a month earlier by another group said a majority would vote to keep the higher taxes. Cox was flanked by Bill Essayli, a former federal prosecutor who is challenging Democratic Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes of Riverside in the June primary. Cervantes voted for the gas tax and Essayli plans to use that vote against her. He even launched his campaign at a 76 gas station in Norco. This is a central issue in my campaign, he said. Cox also submitted signatures in San Diego on Monday and is headed to Bakersfield, Fresno and Sacramento, as well as Shasta and Butte counties in coming days. We are going all across the state, Cox said. The whole state is paying this tax and the whole state wants it gone. Facebook

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All Californians would be able to serve on state boards  even people in the U.S. illegally  under new bill By Jazmine Ulloa Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) State lawmakers on Monday introduced legislation that would allow all Californians to serve on state boards and commissions regardless of immigration status. Senate Bill 174, by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) and Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo (D-Los Angeles), comes as the state is locked in a broader legal battle with the Trump administration over state immigration laws and his call for mass deportations. Lawmakers point to what they say is the states own discriminatory history as their basis for introducing the legislation. The proposal would amend an 1872 provision that was first adopted to exclude Chinese immigrants and other transient aliens from holding appointed civil positions. At the time, antipathy toward the Chinese had been building in California, though, Chinese immigrants opened hundreds of businesses across the state and would play a critical role in building the transcontinental railroad. The Senate bill would delete the phrase transient aliens from the government code and make clear that any person, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, can hold an appointed civil office if they are at least 18 years old and a resident of the state. That would allow any Californian to serve on hundreds of boards and commissions that advice in an array of policy areas, including farm labor, history and employment development. Californias two million undocumented immigrants are a source of energy for our state, Lara said in a statement. It is shocking to read the words of fear and exclusion that are still in California law but belong in historys trash can. Facebook

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Tony Mendozas fundraising dries up after resignation amid harassment inquiry By Patrick McGreevy Former state Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia). (Steve Yeater / Associated Press) Political contributions to Tony Mendoza, who resigned from the state Senate under pressure amid sexual harassment allegations, have nearly dried up. New documents he filed with the state in his bid to reclaim the seat he once held show that his support has eroded. As a result, five other candidates for the 32nd District senate seat in the June 5 election have raised more than Mendoza so far this year. With the June 5 election approaching, Mendoza has reported raising just $7,750 in cash from six supporters during the nearly four-month period from Jan. 1 to April 21. Mendoza, a Democrat from Artesia, went on a leave of absence from the Senate Jan. 3 and resigned a month later under the threat of expulsion from colleagues. An investigation ordered by the Senate found a pattern of unwanted flirtatious or sexually suggestive behavior based on testimony from six women. Mendoza has denied wrongdoing. Last year, Mendozas reelection campaign raised $412,600, or an average of about $34,000 per month, from more than 350 supporters. Most of Mendozas 2018 total was contributed by the political arm of the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16 on Jan. 22, a month before Mendoza resigned. Mendoza also reported that his campaign loaned $125,000 this year to his legal defense fund. That left him with $446,600 in his campaign account at the end of April. Mendoza is running against eight Democrats and two Republicans. Democrat Bob J. Archuleta, a Pico Rivera city councilman, raised the most, $210,000, during the period. On Monday, Mendoza suffered another setback when the State Legislative Womens Caucus endorsed Democrat Vicky Santana, a member of the Rio Hondo College Board. Facebook

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Newsom and Villaraigosa affairs coming to TV ads in California By Phil Willon An independent political committee backing Republican John Cox for governor released an ad blasting both Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for their past sexual affairs. The California Deserves Better ad, which was first reported by Politico, criticizes Newsom for having an affair with a woman on his staff in 2005 while he served as mayor of San Francisco. It also goes after Villaraigosa for having an extramarital affair with a television reporter in 2007 while he was mayor of Los Angeles. The ad, which begins airing on Fox stations in the states top media markets Monday, links Newsom and Villaraigosa to the men accused of sexual impropriety in the #MeToo movement, including movie mogul Harvey Weinstein and disgraced Today show veteran Matt Lauer. Powerful men are finally being held to account, punished for inappropriate sexual conduct with women over whom they exercise power, the ad begins. Newsom and Villaraigosa think the rules shouldnt apply to them. The independent campaign committee, called Restore Our Values, already has raised more than $100,000, said Leigh Teece of Emeryville in Northern California, co-founder of the group. Teece, the CEO of a nonprofit that helps line up students with professional mentors, said the campaign will actively support Cox. She called him a true conservative and noted that he supports cutting taxes and opposes Californias sanctuary state policy. John is a business person who has demonstrated integrity, Teece said. Facebook

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Was that Cisneros in the voicemail? Dispute is latest espisode of Democratic infighting in crowded primary races By Christine Mai-Duc Gil Cisneros speaks during a forum at Fullerton College in January. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) With less than five weeks to go before Californias primary, insults and accusations are flying with abandon in the most crowded races Democrats hope to ultimately win. The latest example of this is in the 39th Congressional District, where a half dozen Democrats are vying for a chance to replace Rep. Ed Royce, whos retiring. Its one of several California contests where Democratic leaders are already worried that divisions could ultimately split votes and shut Democrats out of key pickup opportunities. In that race, millionaires Gil Cisneros and Andy Thorburn are going negative  about going negative. Cisneros was recently elevated to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees Red to Blue program in hopes it would serve as a signal to Democratic activists and donors that his campaign was the most viable. But both Cisneros and Thorburn have poured millions into the race, which promises to be a knock down, drag out fight through June 5. At the center of the latest controversy is a voicemail, allegedly left by Cisneros on Thorburns home answering machine earlier this month. The recording, which the Thorburn campaign turned over to media outlet The Intercept, lasts less than 10 seconds. Hi Andy, its Gil Cisneros. Im gonna go negative on you, a mans voice is heard saying. Cisneros campaign manager Orrin Evans denied the candidate made the call, posting a cease and desist letter to The Intercept on Twitter. The letter, sent by a Cisneros campaign attorney, called the voicemail fabricated and demanded that the story be taken down, calling it defamatory. It gave the publication until 3 p.m. Friday to take down the story before they pursue all legal rights and remedies. An attorney for The Intercept, in a letter to Cisneros, said the publication confirmed with multiple sources familiar with Mr. Cisneros that his voice was on the recording, and that it stands by its reporting. Thorburns camp says it flatly rejects Cisneros denial, and that the timing of a negative website filled with unflattering background on Thorburn, released three days later, suggests it was him. Track the California races that could flip the House According to The Intercepts report, Cisneros campaign manager did not respond to initial inquiries about the voicemail, calling its questions ridiculous. In a follow-up statement Friday, Evans said called the episode a dirty, desperate trick by the Thorburn campaign and said they are readying to pursue legal action for defamation and false light against both him and the publication. It sounded like him to me! said Thorburns wife, Karen, in a statement released by the campaign. She was the one who first heard the voicemail, they said. Thorburn campaign manager Nancy Leeds called Cisneros threats Trump-like tactics and accused the candidate of trying to harass and intimidate anyone who stands in his way. Its not the first time candidates from the same party have clashed in the lead-up to the June 5 primary, and its all but certain to not be the last. Cisneros sued two of his opponents, Thorburn and Sam Jammal, over their ballot descriptions until they had to change them. Earlier this month, Democrat Bryan Caforio asked his opponent, Katie Hill, to sign a pledge rejecting the use of independent expenditure committees, entities that neither of them can legally coordinate with, in the race to unseat Rep. Steve Knight (R-Lancaster). Hill refused and called the attempt hollow and likened it to political theater, while Caforio accused her of empty campaign promises. Facebook

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California Politics Podcast: The money raised in the race for governor hints at a race thats now red hot By John Myers With less than six weeks before election day, the cash raised in the California governors race mirrors the overall dynamics: one major front-runner and a heated race for second place. This weeks podcast episode offers a glimpse into those cash reports and how the Republican field seems more settled in a new statewide poll than the battle between Democrats. We also examine the reasons why a nationally talked-about housing bill in Sacramento was killed by the Democratic authors own allies. Im joined by Times staff writers Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, SoundCloud and Stitcher. Facebook

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L.A. County politician sexually assaulted woman when she was 16, lawsuit claims By Dakota Smith A woman sued an unnamed politician in Los Angeles County on Friday, alleging the man sexually assaulted her when she was a teenager after he gave her an unusual-tasting drink. The politician, identified as John Doe, was in his early 40s and a public figure at the time of the 2007 assault, according to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court. The man is an elected official today and lives in Los Angeles, said attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing the woman identified in the lawsuit as Jane Doe. Bloom declined to say what branch of government the man represents. Read More Facebook

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Villaraigosa touts his working-class upbringing, accomplishments as mayor in first TV ad By Phil Willon Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa released his first TV ad in the governors race Friday, touting his record and accomplishments as mayor of Los Angeles when up against the economic downturn during the recession. The 30-second television spot opens with a sweeping shot of Los Angeles and cuts to Villaraigosa sitting on a bus. In kindergarten, my sister and I took three buses to get to school. As mayor, I remembered that, Villaraigosa says into the camera. And despite the recession, we built more new schools and rail lines than any city in America, added 200,000 living wage jobs, built 20,000 units of affordable housing and nearly doubled graduation rates. Campaign spokesman Luis Vizcaino said the ad will air statewide over the next week at a cost of approximately $1 million. The commercial will being airing Saturday. Two Democratic rivals in Californias race for governor, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang, also launched ads this week, signaling the biggest ramp-up of the campaign as the June 5 primary approaches. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican John Cox. One recent poll has Villaraigosa trailing both Cox and Republican Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach. Chiang has been stuck in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. Last week, an independent expenditure group called Families and Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor, funded largely by a trio of wealthy charter school backers, launched a spot in support of the former mayor of Los Angeles. That ad campaign is focused on increasing Villaraigosas chances of coming in second in the June 5 primary and moving on to the general election. Villaraigosas ad, titled Three Buses, emphasizes the struggles he faced growing up in East Los Angeles and addresses one of his central campaign themes  that hes the candidate best suited to help working-class Californians. I know how far a bus can take you, Villaraigosa says in the ad. Facebook

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Sen. Dianne Feinstein wont participate in pre-primary debate By Sarah D. Wire (Tom Williams / CQ Roll Call) California Sen. Dianne Feinstein will not participate in a proposed pre-primary debate because there are too many candidates in the race, her campaign spokesman said Thursday. Political activists with the group Indivisible Los Angeles said they had a venue and date  May 5  reserved for a debate with four of the Senate candidates. But they said if Feinstein does not participate, it will be canceled. Feinstein faces 31 primary opponents in her bid for a fifth full term representing California in the Senate. Feinstein staffers initially said she had a prior commitment on May 5 in San Francisco. When organizers offered to let her campaign pick another date, her campaign said it wasnt fair for the group to invite only some of the candidates when there is such a big field, said Tudor Popescu, volunteer community organizer with Indivisible Los Angeles. The invited candidates, all Democrats, were Feinstein, state Sen. Kevin de Leon, political action committee director Alison Hartson and lawyer Pat Harris. They were selected based on fundraising and poll numbers. There are 11 Republicans, 10 Democrats, nine independents and 2 third-party candidates running for Senate on the June ballot. Indivisible Los Angeles is still hoping Feinstein will pick another date, Popescu said. Feinstein spokesman Jeff Millman pointed to a San Francisco Chronicle endorsement of Feinstein, which indicates that she told the editorial board she would be willing to have a debate ahead of Novembers general election. Senator Feinstein looks forward to debating her opponent in the general election, Millman said in an email. Feinstein holds a substantial lead in both fundraising and in the polls. Front-runners in statewide races have routinely declined to debate their challengers, knowing that its free publicity for candidates who dont have the cash to increase their name recognition on their own. De Leon spokesman Jonathan Underland said the state senator has done candidate forums before, but planned to attend the May 5 debate only if Feinstein did. We basically said well clear his calendar 100%, well clear his calendar if Feinstein shows up, Underland said. Wed love to make it happen, but we want her to be there. Facebook

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NRA, Olympic shooter sue California over its restrictions on ammunition sales By Patrick McGreevy Olympian Kim Rhode is a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed by the NRA and its state affiliate against California. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) The National Rifle Assn. and its state affiliate have filed a fourth lawsuit against California over its gun control laws, this time challenging new restrictions on the sale and transfer of ammunition. The NRA and the California Rifle and Pistol Assn. filed a challenge in federal court to a requirement that ammunition sales and transfers be conducted face to face with California firearms dealers or licensed vendors, ending purchases made directly from out-of-state sellers on the internet. The lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California also challenged a requirement starting next year for background checks for people buying ammunition. The lawsuit was filed in the name of Kim Rhode, a six-time Olympic medal-winning shooter, and others. It challenges Californias new ammunition sales restrictions as a violation of the 2nd Amendment and the commerce clause of the United States Constitution. Restrictions on ammunition purchases were included in Proposition 63, approved by voters in 2016, and in bills approved by the Legislature. As a result of these laws, millions of constitutionally protected ammunition transfers are banned in California, Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action, said in a statement. Californias law-abiding gun owners are sick of being treated like criminals and the NRA is proud to assist in this fight. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is running for governor, defended his initiative and vowed to fight the NRA lawsuit. We wrote Proposition 63 on solid legal ground and principle: If youre a felon banned from possessing guns in California, then you should not be able to purchase the ammunition that makes a firearm deadly, Newsom said in a statement. California voters said loudly and clearly that guns and ammunition do not belong in the hands of dangerous individuals  but once again, the NRA has prioritized gun industry profits over the lives of law-abiding Californians. Facebook

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Republicans hope to ride a gas-tax repeal to victory By Patrick McGreevy In a Central Valley barn decked out in red, white and blue, dairyman and state Senate candidate Johnny Tacherra drew cheers from a crowd of fellow farmers when he said he opposes the California Legislatures hike on gas taxes and vehicle fees. I would not have voted for that. It is not the time to be voting on (raising) the gas tax, said Tacherra, a Republican running against Democratic Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, who voted for the tax increase last year. Three hundred miles away the same week, a campaign mailer arrived at homes in Orange County from an Assembly candidate with a message blaring from the cover in bold type: Republican Greg Haskin  tough enough to stand up to Jerry Brown and repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook

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Treasurer John Chiang launches ad in governors race touting his record as a fiscal steward By Seema Mehta In his first television ad in the governors race, state Treasurer John Chiang touts his record on fiscal issues as California faced the recession. Some thought we were done, Chiang says in a voiceover in the 30-second spot he released Thursday, with images of him standing seriously at a lectern and complimentary headlines about his work as controller and treasurer. But I knew better. I made the tough calls. And brought California back from the brink of financial disaster because you trusted me to manage our economy. Chiangs campaign is spending about $500,000 to air the ad in Los Angeles and San Diego in coming days. That buy is dwarfed by seven-figure purchases for ads supporting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Newsom is the front-runner, while Villaraigosa is battling for second place with Republican businessman John Cox. Chiang has been mired in the single digits in almost all polling in the race. His ad, called Quiet Storm, tries to portray Chiang as a progressive who is effective and can move policy in Sacramento. Chiang points to his work challenging Wells Fargo before arguing that he could accomplish what doubters say is impossible to improve the states healthcare, housing and schools. I say, we got this, Chiang concludes. Facebook

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Been ignoring the race for California governor? Thats OK, in some ways its just starting By Mark Z. Barabak On a recent trip to Iowa, Eric Garcetti  the mayor of Los Angeles and a possible 2020 White House contestant  raised eyebrows with a bit of exuberant outreach. Los Angeles and Iowa, Garcetti insisted, have a ton in common, and he didnt simply mean both are inhabited by carbon-based life forms needing oxygen to survive. Urban or rural, farmer or fashion plate, all of us harbor the same hopes and dreams, the mayor suggested, and if it wasnt a terribly original thought it also wasnt the most egregious sort of political pandering  like, say, ordering that every home in Los Angeles be powered by Iowa-produced ethanol. Read More Facebook

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California voters should expect to decide on an $8.9-billion water bond in November By Liam Dillon (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) A proposal to borrow $8.9 billion for improvements to Californias water quality systems and watersheds and protection of natural habitats is eligible for the statewide ballot in November, Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced in a press release Wednesday. Padilla said the measure, which is backed by agricultural interests, had exceeded the 365,800 valid signatures it needed to qualify for the general election ballot. The bond measure will appear on the ballot unless proponents withdraw it by June 28, the release said. The bond is one of many voters could decide on in 2018. A $4-billion bond for parks and water infrastructure improvements will appear on the June 5 ballot. State lawmakers approved it last year. Facebook

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They came for Darrell Issa. They stayed with their inflatable chicken, blue wall and signs for political therapy By Christine Mai-Duc (John Gibbins / San Diego Union-Tribune) A mother of two turned ringleader of the resistance and more than a hundred of her faithful followers gathered on Tuesday morning outside Rep. Darrell Issas office in a northern San Diego County suburb. Across the street was her foil, a wedding DJ in a red Make American Great Again cap, setting up hefty speakers for an upcoming war of words. For about 65 weeks the deep divide in America played out along this 100-yard stretch of road in Vista. Here, at 10 a.m. every Tuesday, passersby found signs, chants, songs and, if they were lucky, sometimes a 20-foot-tall inflatable chicken with a Trump-esque coif. Theyd also glimpse the state of the body politic in 2018, a time when shock has turned to anger and post-2016 calls for reconciliation have morphed into grudging acceptance that each side might be better off in their respective corners. Or in this case, their sides of the street. On Tuesday, the anti-Issa, anti-Trump contingent fought this particular battle for the last time, declaring it their final protest at the congressmans office. They said they planned to use their energy to knock on doors and get out the vote, with an occasional protest on the side. Their pro-Trump rivals vowed to show up wherever they do. Read More Facebook

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Efforts to regulate bail companies have some unlikely allies: bail agents By Jazmine Ulloa Jane Un, chief executive and founder of Abba Bail Bonds, works with a client. ( Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) In recent years, the seriousness and number of official complaints related to the bail industry in California have significantly increased while bail agents and bounty hunters face limited oversight, putting vulnerable communities at risk of fraud, embezzlement and other forms of victimization. This year, as Gov. Jerry Brown has pledged to work with lawmakers in a push to overhaul how courts assign defendants bail and to better regulate bail agencies, even some who profit from the court practice admit its time for regulation. These bail and bail-recovery agents could become unlikely allies, saying they advocate for change because theyve seen the system abuse the poor. Read More Facebook

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California voters: Get ready for an onslaught of television ads By Seema Mehta After a sleepy campaign, California voters are now being bombarded with television advertisements in the governors race, an onslaught that is expected to ramp up in coming weeks. The ads most frequently seen on television are those promoting Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in the race, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who is trying to secure the second spot in the June primary. Newsoms campaign and an outside group backing Villaraigosa are spending seven figures weekly on these efforts, according to filings with the California secretary of states office and a media buyer who asked not to be identified in order to freely discuss the ads. Other gubernatorial candidates are expected to hit the airwaves soon, the media buyer said. State Treasurer John Chiang has reserved a half-million dollars in the coming days in the Los Angeles and San Diego markets, and Villaraigosas campaign has requested availability in at least five of the states biggest TV markets. The GOP candidates in the race, who will be seeking the state Republican Partys endorsement at its convention next weekend, have been much less active. Businessman John Cox in recent weeks has been spending about $90,000 per week, but doubled that this week in Los Angeles and added small buys on KFI-AM radio and cable in markets including Fresno, Bakersfield and Salinas. State Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, who has been scooping up Republican Party endorsements across the state, has yet to make a notable television or radio buy, though he and Cox have received some attention as commentators on Fox News. Facebook

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Republicans ready to turn in signatures for ballot measure to repeal California gas-tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A Chevron gas station in Sacramento shows prices last year. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Republican activists said Tuesday that they have collected at least 830,000 signatures for an initiative to repeal recent increases in Californias gas tax and vehicle fees, more than enough to qualify the measure for the November ballot. The activists need 585,407 signatures of registered voters to qualify the ballot measure. Because signatures are still being processed and counted by the campaign, backers hope to have 900,000 by the time they begin turning them in to the counties on Friday, according to Carl DeMaio, a former San Diego City Council member and organizer of the drive. The breadth and depth of voter anger over the car and gas tax hikes is just amazing, said DeMaio, who hosts a radio talk show. We are seeing Democrats, independents and Republicans sign the petition and volunteering to carry the petition, people from all walks of life. The initiative targets a law approved in April 2017 by the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown that is expected to raise $5.4 billion annually for road and bridge repairs and improvements to mass transit. The money comes from a recent 12-cents-per-gallon increase in the gas tax, a 20-cent increase in the diesel fuel excise tax and a new annual vehicle fee ranging from $25 for cars valued at under $5,000, to $175 for cars worth $60,000 or more. The petition drive raised more than $2 million with significant contributions from the California Republican Party and Republican members of Congress from California, including House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Reps. Ken Calvert of Corona and Mimi Walters of Irvine. Republicans hope the issue will help their candidates for office in this years election and hurt Democrats who support the higher taxes. I think this is going to put Democrats in real bad spot, DeMaio said. A spokesman for Brown declined to comment until the signatures are filed. DeMaio said there were approximately 20,000 volunteer petition circulators who brought in more than 250,000 signatures, with the rest collected by paid circulators who received $1 to $2.50 per signature. Its a pretty comfortable margin [of signatures] that we have been able to hit here, DeMaio said. Opposition will grow, he said, as more Californians get their annual vehicle registration notice. The repeal campaign hopes to raise $5 million for the campaign to pass the constitutional amendment, which would not only repeal the increase in the gas tax and vehicle fees but require future increases to be submitted to voters. We know that Gov. Brown and his cohorts are going to spend an amazing amount of money to mislead voters, DeMaio said. But I feel pretty confident that we will repeal the gas tax. Read More Facebook

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Rep. Duncan Hunter sets up trust to raise money for legal expenses amid ongoing criminal investigation By Morgan Cook Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, has filed paperwork to establish a legal expense fund amid an ongoing federal criminal investigation into misused campaign cash. Hunter filed the required paperwork March 27, seeking a rarely granted Legal Expense Fund through which members of Congress under investigation or being sued in connection with doing their jobs or running for office can raise money for their legal expenses. Such funds are administered by an independent trustee and allow donors to give above the maximum amount they can contribute a candidates campaign. Hunter has spent more than $600,000 of campaign money on lawyers. Read More Facebook

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Kamala Harris says she wont take corporate donations anymore By Sarah D. Wire (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press) California Sen. Kamala Harris says she will no longer accept money from corporate political action committees. In an interview with WWPM-FMs The Breakfast Club, in New York that aired Monday, the senator said she wasnt expecting a question at a town hall this month about whether she would accept money for corporations or corporate lobbyists. At the time, Harris said it depends, but she said on Monday that she had reflected on the matter and changed her mind. Money has had such an outside influence on politics, and especially with the Supreme Court determining Citizens United, which basically means that big corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money influencing a campaign, right? Harris said. Were all supposed to have an equal vote, but money has now really tipped the balance between an individual having equal power in an election to a corporation. So Ive actually made a decision since I had that conversation that Im not going to accept corporate PAC checks. I just  Im not. You can watch the video of the interview here. (Harris corporate money comments come about 30 minutes in.) Harris wouldnt be on the ballot for a second Senate term until 2022, though its widely believed that she is planning a presidential bid in 2020. Other potential 2020 presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have also ruled out taking corporate PAC money. Soon after Mondays show aired, Harris campaign sent out a fundraising request noting her new stance. As corporate PACs continue to corrupt our politics and twist Congress priorities at your expense, were going to focus on raising money from small-dollar, individual donors like you, the email says. Facebook

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With money tied up in court, California lawmakers try again with new plan to spend $2 billion on homeless housing By Liam Dillon A man sleeps on the sidewalk in front of the Union Rescue Mission in the skid row neighborhood of Los Angeles. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) A measure to spend $2 billion on housing homeless Californians could be on the November statewide ballot. State Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) is pushing the idea to deal with what he said was a burgeoning humanitarian crisis whose epicenter is here in California. De Leons new measure is a do-over for a 2016 plan passed by the Legislature to redirect $2 billion toward building homeless housing from a voter-approved 1% income tax surcharge on millionaires that funds mental health services. A Sacramento attorney sued over that decision, arguing that the move violated constitutional rules on approving loans without a public vote and that lawmakers shouldnt take money away from mental health treatment. The case remains active in Sacramento Superior Court and its unclear when, or if, the state will be able to spend the $2 billion. De Leons Senate Bill 1206 would put the $2-billion loan on the ballot in November, freeing up the money if voters approve the measure. De Leon said had he been able to predict the 2016 plan would end up in court, he would have sought a ballot measure at the time. We thought this was like apple pie and baseball and puppies, De Leon said. Who would oppose the idea of repurposing the dollars to build immediate housing as a permanent solution for homelessness? Obviously with a crystal ball, had I anticipated the litigation, I would have worked to place it on the ballot. De Leon noted that the 2016 plan had bipartisan supermajority support in the Legislature, something his new bill also will need to get on the ballot. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) is a coauthor of the plan. SB 1206 is scheduled for its first hearing in the Legislature on Wednesday. Should De Leons measure be approved, it will join a crowded list of housing issues before voters in November. Californians will decide on a separate $4-billion bond to help finance new low-income housing and home loans for veterans. De Leon said hes not worried those two measures will compete against each other because voters are aware of the scale of the states housing problems and the proposed homeless housing bond redirects existing dollars instead of raising taxes. Once [voters] know that the impact on their pocketbook is not existent, Im confident that theyll join me and my colleague John Moorlach in support of this measure, De Leon said. Facebook

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California lawmakers say too many former felons are being denied professional licenses By John Myers Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) along with supporters of bills to allow more former felons to receive professional licenses. (John Myers/Los Angeles Times) A trio of California Assembly members urged colleagues on Monday to pass legislation that would prohibit state commissions and agencies from rejecting a professional license for those who were once convicted of less serious crimes. We cant say we want to rehabilitate people, and then block them from getting the jobs that they need when theyre released, said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco). That leads to more recidivism and to more crime. The bills, scheduled to be heard in Assembly committees Tuesday, would ban the use of arrest or conviction records as the reason for denying a professional license. The bill would not apply to Californians who served time for any of the offenses on the states list of violent crimes. The authors, all Democrats, said that a government-issued professional license is required for some 30% of all jobs in the state. Their bills would change the licensing process at the California departments of Consumer Affairs and Social Services and agencies that certify emergency medical technicians. The bills would block prior convictions from leading to the delay or denial of a license unless that crime is directly related to the profession the person intends to pursue. Two of the bills also specifically say convictions less than 5 years old could continue to play a role in licensing decisions. Last year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that keeps private sector employers from inquiring about a job applicants conviction history prior to an offer of employment. Advocates joined the lawmakers at a press conference in Sacramento to point out that limits on awarding licenses should focus only on those whose prior criminal activity could pose a threat to consumers. Continuing to hold people back for crimes that are 6, 7, 8, 10, 20 years old does not actually make sense if youre looking at public safety, said Jael Myrick of the East Bay Community Law Center. One of the proposals, Assembly Bill 2293, seeks to make it easier for ex-felons to get a license allowing a job with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection  the same agency that often uses prison inmates to battle blazes around the state. If a person is good enough to risk their life fighting fires for the state of California as an inmate, said Assemblywoman Eloise Gomez Reyes (D-Grand Terrace), their previous actions should not prevent from having a job utilizing the skill set that they learned. Facebook

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Assembly speaker rebukes building trades union after it targets Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia By John Myers ( (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press)) The decision by a politically powerful labor group to openly campaign against an embattled Los Angeles-area lawmaker drew a sharp rebuke on Friday from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon. The Lakewood Democrat lashed out hours after the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California filed paperwork for a political action committee to defeat Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens). Garcia, whos seeking her fourth term, took an unpaid leave of absence in February following allegations of sexual misconduct. She has denied the reports and an Assembly investigation remains underway. Rendon didnt criticize the labor group by name, insisting instead that the decision was driven by oil and gas industry interests. This is a thinly veiled attempt by Big Oil and polluters to intimidate me and my members. It is an affront to my speakership, Rendon said in a statement. We are proud of the work that the Assembly has done to increase jobs and wages while defending our environment. We will vigorously defend the members of our caucus from any ill-advised political attack. A statement from the labor group, which sparred with Garcia last year on her effort to link new climate change policies with a crackdown on air pollution, said it had decided to reverse past support for her. The Trades have thousands of hard working members in Garcias district, and we look forward to lifting up another Democrat in the 58th Assembly to better represent them and their families, said the statement. The political action committees campaign finance filing on Friday listed nonmonetary in kind contributions from Erin Lehane, a public affairs consultant aligned with the building labor group. Lehane said she had begun researching Garcia in November. In January, a former legislative staffer accused her of groping him in 2014. Lehane, who identified herself as a spokesperson for the labor groups political action committee, said on Friday that she believed Garcias hypocrisy threatened a movement that will dictate how much harassment and abuse my daughter will face in her work life. Garcia, who has been an outspoken advocate for women in the #MeToo movement, has complained that her political opponents helped fan the flames of the accusations. Through a campaign consultant, she declined to comment on Friday. Rendons critique came on the heels of a full-page ad in The Times on Friday, partly paid for by the Trades Council, that criticized well-funded ivory tower elites who push proposals that hurt the oil and gas industry. We are the real jobs that fuel the real California economy, read the advertisement. Facebook

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Legal tiff breaks out over independent committees ad backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor By Phil Willon An attorney representing Gavin Newsoms campaign for governor is demanding that California television stations cease airing an ad by an independent political committee supporting his Democratic rival Antonio Villaraigosa. Attorney Thomas A. Willis, in a letter to the stations, said the ad is false and misleading and violates California law because it uses snippets of video footage from Villaraigosas own campaign ads. Willis called that illegal coordination between the campaign and PAC. Under California law, advertisements made by entities other than a candidate are presumed to be coordinated  and thus not independent expenditures  when the advertisement replicates, reproduces or disseminates substantial parts of a communication, including video footage, created and paid for by the candidate, the letter states. A representative for the independent expenditure committee  Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor  fired back. Attorney Brian T. Hildreth says those allegations have no merit and accused the Newsom campaign of being misleading. Hildreth sent a letter to the television stations in response, urging them to ignore the Newsom campaigns accusations. He said the Newsom camp appears to intentionally misrepresent the law and that the video use was permissible. He said only six seconds of video from Villaraigosas campaign ads was used, which is well within the legal limits. The independent committee is sponsored by the group California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The ad is airing on broadcast and cable stations statewide. The committees ad is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and as mayor of Los Angeles when there was a drop in crime. Facebook

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Governors race snapshot: Californians are generally upbeat but not focused on the campaign By Mark Z. Barabak Armand Werden, a 29-year-old community college student who works the taps at Dust Bowl Brewery in Turlock, said the state is on the upswing. (Phil Willon / Los Angeles Times) As California chooses a new governor  one of just a handful in the last 40 years not named Jerry Brown  the state seems to be enjoying something unusual in these tumultuous political times: a feeling of relative contentment. Not to say things are perfect. Still, more than 100 random interviews conducted over the length and breadth of the state  from Redding in the north to Santee in the south, from the Pacific coastline to the edge of the Sierra Nevada  found most saying things are looking up, at least so far as Californias direction is concerned. Read More Facebook

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Sierra Club backs Gavin Newsom for California governor By Phil Willon Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks with members of the public following a debate at USC in January. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) The Sierra Club endorsed Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom in the race for California governor, with officials in the established environmental group praising the Democrats record on climate change and clean energy. He has a proven record for leading on environmental protection, public health and clean energy, Kathryn Phillips, director of Sierra Club California, said in a statement released by the Newsom campaign. He understands that we are feeling the effects of climate change and that California must reduce carbon emissions and reach 100% renewable energy to achieve our climate goals. Phillips said the Sierra Clubs extensive network of volunteers will campaign for Newsom as the June 5 primary approaches. Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune also praised the Democrat, saying he will protect California from Donald Trumps attacks on our clean air and water. The Sierra Club joins a series of other influential groups in California that have backed Newsom. The California Medical Assn., the powerful state doctors lobby, announced its endorsement of Newsom on Thursday. The California Nurses Assn. and the Service Employees International Union, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state, also support Newsom. Newsom is the races front-runner in polls and fundraising. A poll released earlier this month by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that 26% of likely voters backed Newsom. John Cox, a Republican from Rancho Santa Fe, was favored by 15% of likely voters and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democrat, by 13%. Facebook

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Californias GOP House members are taking their challengers more seriously and the numbers show it By Christine Mai-Duc For much of last year, consultants and campaign managers for some of Californias most vulnerable Republican incumbents maintained a bullish tone on the prospect that the GOP would hold the House in this years midterms. The National Republican Congressional Committee insisted that longtime Republican incumbents in California had built up reputations as effective champions of local issues that would help them weather a flood of Democratic enthusiasm. Since then Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) have decided not to seek reelection and the NRCC has opened a West Coast headquarters in Orange County. Read More Facebook

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California officials say Pentagon has confirmed National Guard funding despite Trump threat By John Myers (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) The awkward dance between Gov. Jerry Brown and the federal government over the National Guard jerked back toward discord on Thursday, when Trump said he would refuse to pay for a new deployment of troops  just hours after his administration said otherwise. And a few hours later, California officials said they had received written confirmation from the Pentagon that the mission would indeed be funded. Trump had earlier called Browns decision to approve 400 troops for a mission focused on combating transnational crime and drug smuggling a charade in a tweet. We need border security and action, not words! the president wrote. Governor Jerry Brown announced he will deploy up to 400 National Guard Troops to do nothing. The crime rate in California is high enough, and the Federal Government will not be paying for Governor Browns charade. We need border security and action, not words!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018 A spokesman for Brown pointed to a tweet written Wednesday night by Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen, thanking the California governor for his efforts. Trump was meeting on Thursday with Nielsen at his Mar-a-Lago estate not long after his tweet was posted. A tweet later posted by the California National Guard said that almost three hours after Trumps comment, the state received written confirmation from the Pentagon to fund the mission as outlined by Brown the day before. In short, nothing has changed today, said a subsequent Guard tweet. Just spoke w @JerryBrownGov about deploying the @USNationalGuard in California. Final details are being worked out but we are looking forward to the support. Thank you Gov Brown!  Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) April 19, 2018 Brown was the last of the nations border governors to respond to Trumps insistence earlier this month that National Guard troops were needed to assist with immigration-related duties at the U.S.-Mexico border. And he has consistently refused to allow California troops to engage in any mission related to federal immigration law. This will not be a mission to build a new wall, Brown wrote last week to Nielsen and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis. It will not be a mission to round up women and children or detain people escaping violence and seeking a better life. Exactly what the California operations will cost remains unclear, as state officials have said it will depend on decisions made once the mission begins. The funds would not be transferred to the state, but instead would be paid directly by the Department of Defense. Trump has critiqued California several times over the past few days, often writing tweets that embrace the actions by some cities and counties to join his administrations lawsuit against the states sanctuary immigration law. He made similar comments to reporters on Thursday afternoon. If you look at whats happening in California with sanctuary cities  people are really going the opposite way, Trump said. They dont want sanctuary cities. Theres a little bit of a revolution going on in California. 2:26 p.m.:This article was updated with additional information from the California National Guard and with remarks from Trump. This article was originally published at 9:51 a.m. Facebook

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Gay conversion therapy services would be banned under measure advancing in California By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The California Assembly voted Thursday to add gay conversion therapy to the states list of deceptive business practices, following a debate that focused on the personal experiences of several lawmakers and hinted at potential lawsuits to come. It is harmful and it is unnecessary, Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell), the bills author and one of the Legislatures most vocal LGBTQ members, said of the practice. Low, who told Assembly members that he explored conversion therapy as a teenager and suffered depression over his sexual orientation, insisted that the bill would be limited to efforts that involve the exchange of money. Theres nothing wrong with me, he said in an emotional speech on the Assembly floor. Theres nothing that needs to be changed. The bill, which now heads to the Senate, has become the focal point of intense debate on social media. Some religious groups have said that such a law would be a violation of their constitutional rights, while advocates insist the provisions are narrow and theres no credible evidence that the services work. One key part of the debate centers on whether Assembly Bill 2943 would stretch beyond businesses that charge for these programs and extend to printed documents, even Bibles. An analysis by the Assembly Judiciary Committee says the bill would apply only to services that purport to change a persons sexual orientation and offered on a commercial basis, as well as the advertising and offering of such services. Lawmakers who spoke in support of AB 2943 also made clear that they believe those kinds of services have been discredited. This is fraudulent, it should not be occurring, said Assemblywoman Susan Eggman (D-Stockton). But you can still try to pray the gay away, if you like. Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), who said the bill addresses a difficult issue, nonetheless said that its important to ensure laws dont tamper with religious freedom. We have to think about the legitimate experience of people who have gone through conversion therapy and said this was a good thing for them, Gallagher told his colleagues. California law already bans the use of conversion therapy by mental health professionals on those under age 18. Lows bill would expand the states efforts beyond minors. It would join a list of commercial activities deemed unfair or deceptive acts or practices and therefore banned under state law. Facebook

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Gavin Newsom gets backing from doctors group, despite differences over single-payer healthcare By Melanie Mason Gavin Newsom speaks at the California Democrats State Convention in San Diego on Feb. 24. (Kent Nishimura) Californias doctors are siding with Gavin Newsom in the governors race, even though they dont see eye-to-eye on a defining issue of the campaign: single-payer healthcare. The California Medical Assn., the state doctors lobby and a political heavyweight, announced its endorsement of the lieutenant governor on Thursday. Gavin is a lifelong champion for health care in California, and we know he will continue to fight for pragmatic solutions to our most crucial health care challenges, including working to achieve universal access and tackling our states physician shortage, CMA President Theodore M. Mazer said in a statement. Newsom has made his support for state-financed healthcare a centerpiece of his campaign, and he earned the early backing of the most ardent single-payer supporters, the state nurses union. The doctors, meanwhile, oppose the nurses bill, SB 562, which emerged as a flashpoint in the healthcare debate last year. The CMA said the bill would dismantle the healthcare marketplace and destabilize Californias economy. Newsom has said SB 562 should advance in the Legislature, but also said it has open-ended issues that still need to be addressed. The doctors group is also battling with another prominent Newsom endorser, the Service Employees International Union, over a new measure that would impose price caps on an array of medical services paid for by commercial health insurers in the state. The SEIU is a leading sponsor of the proposal; the doctors fiercely oppose it. Newsom and the physicians group have a history of political alignment. Newsom was the first statewide official to support Proposition 56, a 2016 tobacco tax pushed by the CMA that raised revenue in part to increase money for doctors who saw Medi-Cal patients. That year, the association also endorsed two initiatives championed by Newsom: Proposition 63, which imposed new gun control measures, and Proposition 64, which legalized recreational marijuana. Facebook

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Independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosa for governor hits the airwaves with first ad By Phil Willon Antonio Villaraigosa speaks at the 2018 California Democratic Party Convention in San Diego in February.. (Denis Poroy / Associated Press) A well-financed independent committee backing Antonio Villaraigosas bid to be Californias next governor released its first television ad Thursday, praising his record for working with Republicans and as a candidate for all of California. The ad, which is to air statewide on broadcast and cable stations, is focused on Villaraigosas record as Assembly speaker and mayor of Los Angeles, including on education and a drop in crime while he was at City Hall. To move California forward, we need to help more Californians get ahead, the ad says. Thats why Antonio Villaraigosa brought both parties together to balance the state budget with record investments in public schools and new career training programs. The independent expenditure committee behind the ad campaign, Families & Teachers for Antonio Villaraigosa for Governor 2018, is sponsored by the California Charter Schools Assn. Advocates, according to the California secretary of states office. The committee is spending seven figures per week on the ad buy, said Josh Pulliam, a political consultant for the committee. As mayor of Los Angeles, Villaraigosa clashed with teachers unions, starting with his failed attempt to take political control of the Los Angeles Unified School District. His fight with those unions continued after he left office in 2013. Money has poured into the committee this month from wealthy charter schools supporters: Reed Hastings, chief executive of Netflix, donated $7 million, and Los Angeles billionaire and philanthropist Eli Broad donated $1.5 million. On Wednesday, former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan donated $1 million. The independent expenditure committee is expected to provide a boost to Villaraigosas campaign. Democratic front-runner Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has a major advantage in fundraising over all other candidates in the race and has received the backing of the California Teachers Assn. and other education unions. A recent Public Policy Institute of California poll also showed Villaraigosa lagging in third place in the race, trailing Newsom and Republican businessman John Cox. The candidates who finish in the top two in the June 5 primary will advance to the November general election, regardless of their party affiliation. Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown says Trump administration will fund his National Guard mission  without immigration duties By John Myers (Alex Wong / Getty Images) Gov. Jerry Brown formally mobilized 400 California National Guard members Wednesday for transnational crime-fighting duties, thus preventing any effort by President Trump to have the troops focus on immigration enforcement on the Mexican border. The governor announced that federal officials have agreed to fund the plan he announced last week  a mission to combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers in locations around California, including near the border. The order Brown signed makes clear that the troops will not be allowed to perform a broader set of duties as envisioned by Trumps recent comments. California National Guard service members shall not engage in any direct law enforcement role nor enforce immigration laws, arrest people for immigration law violations, guard people taken into custody for alleged immigration violations, or support immigration law enforcement activities, the order read. The cost of the mission, a spokesman for Brown said, will be paid directly by the federal government. No initial estimate has been made, as the exact amount will depend on exactly how the troops will be used. Though the duties of California Guard members were outlined last week, the state had been waiting for an agreement by federal officials to pay for the operations. Since that time, the president has taken Brown and the state to task over its decision to avoid any immigration-related duties at the border. On Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted, Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW! There is a Revolution going on in California. Soooo many Sanctuary areas want OUT of this ridiculous, crime infested & breeding concept. Jerry Brown is trying to back out of the National Guard at the Border, but the people of the State are not happy. Want Security & Safety NOW!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 18, 2018 Looks like Jerry Brown and California are not looking for safety and security along their very porous Border. He cannot come to terms for the National Guard to patrol and protect the Border, Trump tweeted Tuesday. There was no immediate reaction from the White House to Browns announcement. On Tuesday, Brown told reporters in Washington that his plan was consistent with a safer border. That sounds to me like fighting crime, the governor said. Trying to catch some desperate mothers and children, or unaccompanied minors coming from Central America, that sounds like something else. The order Brown issued Wednesday after returning from a brief trip to talk climate change in Toronto and to speak to a national trade union and visit with reporters in Washington is set to expire at the end of September. It specifically says no Guard service member may participate in a mission that would exceed the mission scope and limitations related to transnational crime activity. It also says troops cannot help build any new border barrier. 5:27 p.m.: This article was updated with information related to the cost of the Guard mission and Browns trip to Washington. This article was originally published at 5:13 p.m. Facebook

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California bill aims to end practice that keeps workplace misconduct cases out of court By Melanie Mason A California bill would prohibit employers from requiring workers to use private arbitration to settle disputes, a practice that critics say shields improper workplace conduct from public view. The bill by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) would bar businesses from making employees, when they are hired, waive their future rights to take any harassment, discrimination or other claims to court. Arbitration can be a highly effective dispute resolution method when both parties can choose it freely, when both parties are equal, Gonzalez Fletcher said at a news conference on Wednesday. It is far less successful when the more powerful party forces the other to accept those terms, especially as a condition of employment. Forced arbitration has come under increasing scrutiny since the #MeToo movement, with high-profile figures such as former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson pointing to the practice as shielding workplace abusers from public disclosure because arbitration resolutions often include nondisclosure agreements. Last year, a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress to end mandatory arbitration in employment agreements. Gonzalez Fletcher said she was pursuing an unusual tool to draw attention to the issue  a subpoena issued by the Legislature to compel testimony from a worker bound by a nondisclosure agreement as a result of arbitration. The Legislature has subpoena power but it is rarely used. The bills sponsors believe lawmakers last issued a subpoena in 2001 while investigating price manipulation by Enron. Gonzalez Fletcher said she has requested Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) to issue the subpoena to require Tara Zoumer, who sued the company WeWork in 2016 for overtime pay, to testify before the Assembly Judiciary Committee next week. Zoumers suit was moved to arbitration and resolved. She is now subject to a nondisclosure agreement and could face a financial penalty for speaking publicly about her case. A spokesman for Rendon said the subpoena request is under consideration. Business groups oppose the bill, AB 3080. The California Chamber of Commerce has dubbed it a job biller, claiming it would dramatically increase legal costs for businesses. Banning such agreements benefits the trial attorneys, not the employer or employee, the group said. The bill must first advance from the Assembly Labor Committee on Wednesday. Facebook

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At least 240 House lawmakers want a vote on immigration. California supporters say they arent ready to force one By Sarah D. Wire Rep. Jeff Denham (R-Turlock), flanked by Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands) and Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas) speak about DACA legislation (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Rep. Jeff Denham says at least 240 of the 430 current House members have signed onto his resolution to hold votes on four immigration bills, and he hopes House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and President Trump are paying attention to the show of support. But, the Republican from Turlock and his allies said Wednesday that they are not yet willing to commit to forcing Ryans hand through a little-used procedural move called a discharge petition; they acknowledged theres no guarantee that all of 47 Republicans and 193 Democrats House co-signers will back them up if they try to force the issue. Im sure that it is something that will be discussed in the coming weeks. You should not need a discharge petition. When you can show the overwhelming majority of the House, the support of it, you should not need a discharge petition, but it is something we would talk about in the future, Denham said. It is far too early to talk about next steps. Ryan said last week that he opposes Denhams effort, saying its a waste of time for the House to vote on bills the president might veto. Denhams resolution would prompt debate and votes on four very different immigration bills: one favored by the Trump administration, one preferred by Democrats, one bipartisan proposal and another immigration bill of Ryans choice. Whichever got the most votes would move forward to the Senate. All four bills would help Dreamers to differing degrees and include varying levels of border security or immigration enforcement. For example, the Trump-backed bill would also dramatically reduce legal immigration, while the Democrats would only deal with legal status for Dreamers. Democrats say they dont expect the show of support will sway Ryan. Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairwoman Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said Tuesday night she expects Ryan will have to be forced into allowing a vote. It doesnt matter how many signatures we get. We could have every signature, technically, except his, on the floor of the House and... if he doesnt want to, it doesnt happen, Lujan Grisham (D-N.M.) said. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Redlands), who gathered the Democratic co-sponsors for Denham, also wouldnt give a deadline for House leaders to act, but said the co-sponsors are only willing to wait weeks not months. We do want to give them an opportunity to bring up the rule and to use whatever process they want, Aguilar said. They do have options, but I think they need to understand that we have options too. Facebook

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Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer endorses Kevin de Leon in his insurgent bid against Sen. Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta Tom Steyer, left, and California state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles). (Getty Images; Los Angeles Times) Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer is endorsing state Sen. Kevin de Leon in his insurgent challenge to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and did not rule out funding an outside effort to boost De Leons chances. I think hes the kind of young progressive that reflects California and would be a very strong advocate for our state nationally, Steyer said in an interview on Tuesday, pointing to De Leons efforts on issues such as immigration, climate change and gun control while he was the state Senate leader. I know him well and hes a friend. We share a lot of values. Steyer, who flirted with running for the Senate seat, did not criticize Feinstein as he has in the past. Sen. Feinstein has been an outstanding public servant who has dedicated the bulk of her adult life to the service of our state and the country, he said. These are two strong, very good Democrats. I just believe Kevin is the true progressive and he reflects something we need representing California going forward. I have nothing bad to say about Dianne Feinstein. I have a lot of good to say about Kevin de Leon. De Leon faces enormous odds as he tries to oust Feinstein, who has served in the Senate for a quarter-century, is well known to the states voters and has daunting leads in polls and fundraising. But De Leon has gained notable endorsements, most recently from the 2.1-million-member California Labor Federation last week. Campaign finance reports released this week show that Feinstein has more than $10 million in the bank, while De Leon has just more than $670,000. Feinstein, a multimillionaire and one of the wealthiest members of the Senate, has already lent her campaign $5 million and could easily write another check. But Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, could write a larger one. He is among the largest Democratic donors in the nation and has already committed more than $50 million to push for the impeachment of President Trump and to register young voters. He was noncommittal when asked if he would fund an independent expenditure group on behalf of De Leon. I dont have any concrete plans for that, he said. Read More Facebook

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Californias largest pension fund sends next years invoice to state government: $6.3 billion By John Myers The California Public Employees Retirement System building (Max Whittaker / Getty Images) As part of a shift toward less optimistic expectations for investment returns to pay for government worker pensions, board members of the California Public Employees Retirement System voted Tuesday to require an almost $6.3-billion payment from the state budget in the fiscal year that begins on July 1. The action, which could receive final approval on Wednesday, reflects a gradually higher annual contribution to public employee pensions by the state and from local governments across California. In 2016, CalPERS approved a half-percentage point decrease in its official estimate of the long-term investment return on its $353.3-billion portfolio. That shift was designed to happen over several years, in hopes it would lessen the financial shock of shifting more of the costs onto government employers. The highest costs are also, in part, a reflection of increases in the size of the states payroll. The states CalPERS payment will be about $450 million more than the total paid in the current fiscal year and more than double what it was only a decade ago. CalPERS board members voted on Tuesdays staff proposal with little discussion, save for a question about the increase in contributions also required from workers hired after a pension overhaul that took effect in June. It seems like it will be a ding on peoples salaries, said Theresa Taylor, the chairwoman of CalPERS finance committee and a member of SEIU Local 1000, the union that represents some 96,000 state employees. The $6.299-billion payment required from Californias state government must now be factored into the budget crafted by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in late June. Brown had already assumed a similarly sized payment in his budget proposal unveiled in January. In February, a coalition representing city governments warned about the effects of rising pension costs under the expectations of less money from Wall Street investments. The report issued by the League of California Cities projected an average increase of more than 50% in annual pension payments made by the states largest cities over the next seven years. A CalPERS staff report notes that the net return on all of the funds investments for the fiscal year that ended in July was 11.2%. But expectations on profits over the next 30 years remain significantly more modest, and theres long been a robust debate about how to properly set those future expectations. The lower the rate of projected investment return, the larger the share of pension costs that must be covered by taxpayers and some employees. Overall, CalPERS officials believe the system has assets to cover 71% of its long-term obligations. Facebook

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California warns legal pot sellers not to participate in unlicensed 4/20 events By Patrick McGreevy Marijuana on display at a dispensary in Los Angeles. ( (Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)) The state issued a warning Tuesday that businesses holding licenses to sell marijuana could face penalties if they participate in unlicensed temporary events away from their stores, including on Friday, April 20, which has become an annual celebration for counterculture groups. The warning was issued ahead of 4/20 by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control. Since Jan. 1, the bureau has issued more than 700 state licenses to sell marijuana for medical or recreational use. The bureau has issued 47 temporary event licenses to groups that are limited to holding the marijuana celebrations on county fairgrounds that have authorized such events with city approval. Any bureau licensee participating in an unlicensed cannabis event may be subject to disciplinary action, the warning said, adding that lawful participation by bureau licensees in any temporary cannabis event that allows sales and/or consumption is dependent upon issuance of the appropriate licenses from the bureau. While many Californians have been issued medical approval to sell or use marijuana, the law does not allow them to participate in unlicensed events, also referred to as Proposition 215 events after the ballot measure that legalized medical pot two decades ago in the state. Participation in such events may lead to civil penalties for unlicensed commercial cannabis activity, the warning said. Meanwhile, a survey of some 1,000 marijuana users that was released Tuesday by the firm LendEDU found that the average 4/20 participant plans to spend $71 on marijuana to celebrate the unofficial holiday, and about 35% of respondents are planning to take off work Friday. Facebook

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California police groups shift position on officer discipline records, now consider support for making some of them public By Liam Dillon Los Angeles Police Department recruits at a graduation ceremony in April (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Some major law enforcement groups signaled Tuesday they are willing to support making part of police officer disciplinary records public, a dramatic departure from their past positions. Local and national attention on police shootings and misconduct has led law enforcement organizations to reconsider their blanket opposition to proposals that would give public access to some internal disciplinary investigations of officers. Were going to be open to supporting efforts that would allow for some records to be released, said Ryan Sherman, a lobbyist with the Riverside Sheriffs Assn. Debate over secrecy provisions in officer disciplinary files came during a legislative hearing on Senate Bill 1421 from Sen. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). Skinners bill, which advanced out of the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday, would require public disclosure of all internal officer shooting investigations and confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. Currently, all police discipline information is confidential outside of a courtroom in California, which has some of the nations strictest standards against public disclosure. Unfortunately, the fact that we have such strict restrictions on any access to public records has affected certain communities trust towards our law enforcement, Skinner said during the hearing. Prior to Skinners effort, other have tried to loosen these rules, some of which date back 40 years. Most recently in 2016, a bid by then-Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) failed in a Senate committee. In debate two years ago, no major law enforcement groups indicated they would accept changes to state laws that would make individual internal investigations public, saying they were essential to protect officer privacy and safety. But Tuesday, Sherman and other lobbyists including those representing the states largest police labor organization, signaled they might be willing to entertain changes. They said they were negotiating with Skinner on the bills details. Law enforcement groups still have major concerns about SB 1421 as written. Ed Fishman, an attorney for the Police Officers Research Assn., told legislators that the bill would wrongfully expose police officers who acted within departmental policy to invasions of their privacy. It has unintended consequences that are extreme and will hurt the public, Fishman said. Tuesdays hearing featured testimony from many who have had relatives killed by police officers in recent years advocating for the bill. Senators on the Public Safety Committee also gave public rebukes to law enforcement lobbyists, criticizing them for a lack of diversity and insensitivity to concerns raised by communities of color. I think that you are completely and utterly out of touch with the realities of how those you are representing are perceived by major segments of California, said Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles). You are not going to be able to continue to lobby your way out of it. The bill faces at least one more committee hearing in the Senate before reaching the floor. It will have to pass both houses of the Legislature by the end of August. Facebook

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Newest member of the California Assembly arrives ready to work on criminal justice issues By John Myers Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove prepares for the oath of office from Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon with her husband, Austin Dove. (California Assembly Democrats) Two weeks after winning a Los Angeles special election, the newest member of the California Assembly says she hopes to focus on reforms to the states criminal justice system during her time in Sacramento. Assemblywoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) took the oath of office on Monday, filling one of three vacant seats representing Los Angeles County in the lower house. The Democrat, a former community college trustee and legislative staffer, thanked her mentors in remarks from the Assembly rostrum. So many women, and in my life so many black women, have paid in giving me the kind of morals and integrity and grit that is required to fight on behalf of people that you know, and people that you dont know, she said. Kamlager-Dove won handily on April 3, receiving 70% of the votes cast in the 54th Assembly District which encompasses communities west of downtown Los Angeles, from Crenshaw to Culver City and as far north as Westwood. She will serve the remaining eight months of the term of former Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas, who resigned last year citing health concerns. She has said she hopes to focus her attention on poverty issues and on reform of the states criminal justice system. I think we have an opportunity to really push the needle in terms of how we look at rehabilitation, how we look at incarceration, and how we look at changing the lives oftentimes of poor men and women of color, Kamalager-Dove said on Monday in a video released by Assembly Democrats. Facebook

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Survivors of violent crime raise their voices in California to call for a new approach to criminal justice By Jazmine Ulloa Aaliyah Smith marches with her cousins. (Jazmine Ulloa / Los Angeles Times) Her father, uncle, a cousin and two older brothers. Those are some of the family members 16-year-old Aaliyah Smith has lost to gun violence. Then there are her friends. Jermaine Jackson Jr., 27, was shot and killed in 2016 while he painted over graffiti in San Francisco. Toriano Tito Adger, 18, was shot there a year later at a bus stop. He called Smith, who was nearby, and warned her to run. She made it inside a library moments before the crack of gunfire. Last week, Smith was among hundreds who gathered in Sacramento for annual National Crime Victims Rights Week events, where calls were issued for a new approach to criminal justice and public safety in California, one that puts survivors at the center of policy. But a debate is brewing over what that entails. Read More Facebook

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California expects $14 billion in tax payments this month By John Myers State workers handle income tax returns at the California Franchise Tax Board offices. (Laura Morton / For The Times) Gov. Jerry Browns proposed state budget is built on what taxpayers might find an audacious assumption: almost $14 billion in tax payments in the month of April, an average of $83 million collected per hour on every business day of the month. Most of that money will come from the taxes Californians pay in advance of Tuesday nights filing deadline for income tax returns. If history is any guide, the rate of payment could quadruple by weeks end. While tax rules have shifted some of the payment schedules to other months, April remains a vitally important month to the fiscal health of state government. The state controllers office reports more than 15% of all personal income tax revenues in 2017 were collected in April. In the recession years of a decade ago, tax revenue predictions were frequently off the mark by hundreds of millions of dollars. The last two state budgets have seen significant windfalls of personal income tax revenue, thanks in part both to an improving economy and to the continuation of a temporary surcharge on the wealthiest taxpayers  extended by voters in 2016. In the budget plan he sent to lawmakers in January, Brown projected a $6.1-billion windfall and proposed using a sizable amount to top off Californias rainy-day fund ahead of schedule. The independent Legislative Analysts Office reports that through the end of last week, the months income tax tally stood at $3 billion, slightly ahead of projections. By the end of the current week, a single days total could be almost that large. Lawmakers began reviewing the governors $190.3-billion spending plan during the winter, but few decisions are made until they get a look at Aprils tax revenues. The governor will release a revised plan based on the new data next month; lawmakers are required to send him a completed budget no later than June 15. Facebook

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Feinstein war chest tops $10 million while Kevin de Leon struggles to keep pace By Sarah D. Wire Sen. Dianne Feinstein widened her already-massive fundraising advantage in the run-up to Junes primary, raising twice as much in the first quarter than her strongest Senate challenger has sitting in the bank. Feinstein raised $1.3 million between January and March, bringing her war chest to just over $10 million as Californias U.S. Senate race begins in earnest, according Federal Election Commission reports. Former state Senate leader Kevin De Leon, the best known of the more than 30 people who will appear with Feinstein on the June primary ballot, raised just $575,991 in that same period, bringing his cash on hand to $672,331, according to his quarterly FEC report. Read More Facebook

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Trump has met his match, says Gov. Jerry Brown in promoting climate action on a quick trip to Canada By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press) Gov. Jerry Brown told a Canadian audience Monday that he believes President Trumps efforts to reverse course on climate change policy are a momentary deviation as others in the United States seek limits on greenhouse gas emissions. Thats very temporary, I can assure you, Brown said at a joint event in Toronto with Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne. The governors quick international trip, announced only late last week, comes as Wynnes Liberal Party faces a stiff challenge in Junes election from the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario and its leader, Doug Ford. Critics of Wynnes party have called for Ontario to pull out of the Western Climate Initiative, a cooperative agreement between three Canadian provinces and California on efforts to limit greenhouse gases. Brown sought to link the efforts of Canadian conservatives with Republicans in the United States who oppose existing climate change programs. In contrast, he told the audience, several GOP lawmakers voted last summer to renew Californias cap-and-trade program. I would say to the conservatives of Canada, wake up and see what your friends in California are doing, he said. The Democrat took particular notice of Trumps efforts to shift away from climate change policies from the administration of former President Obama, as well as a push by the Environmental Protection Agency to cancel Californias strict limits on automobile emissions. If Trump tries to change that, well have litigation well beyond his term in office, Brown said while also noting Chinese government efforts to produce more low-emissions vehicles. Between California and China, Trump has met his match. What hes saying is not going to happen. Many of the governors remarks, though, were aimed at the tough political situation in which Wynne finds herself with seven weeks to go before Ontarios parliamentary elections. Dangers abound, but success is right in our hands, Brown said. So dont blow it! Facebook

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California voters are getting to know the states attorney general through his aggressive stance challenging Trump By Patrick McGreevy Less than two months from his first statewide election, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has become adept not only at challenging President Trump but at using the bully pulpit of his office to raise his profile with voters. The aggressive effort may help boost the former Los Angeles congressmans chances at winning a full term in office this fall, almost two years after he was appointed to replace Sen. Kamala Harris in 2017. Appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Becerra took office as attorney general four days after Trumps inauguration. Thats afforded him an opportunity to get in front of Californians  and potential voters  on an array of issues including immigration, healthcare and the environment. Read More Facebook

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Gov. Jerry Brown forms commission for 2020 census outreach By Melanie Mason In an effort to make sure California has a strong showing in the next national census, Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday established a state commission to prepare outreach for the decennial count. It is vitally important for California to do everything it can to ensure that every Californian is counted in the upcoming census, Brown said in a prepared statement. The commissions formation comes on the heels of a Trump administration plan to ask about citizenship status as a part of the census. State officials fear that such a question, which has not been asked in a census since 1950, could chill participation among California residents. That could result in the state losing billions of dollars in federal funds and a seat in Congress. The 23-member panel, appointed largely by Brown as well as picks by legislative leaders, comes from private- and public-sector backgrounds, including civil rights groups, religious institutions and educational institutions. Facebook

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Garcetti kicks off Iowa visit with 2020 on his mind and a hardhat on his head LA Mayor - and 2020 prospect - Eric Garcetti makes his Iowa debut at the Carpenters Union Training Center. Fearlessly flaunts the never be photographed in head gear/safety glasses rule. pic.twitter.com/14bUOPXMvF  Mark Z. Barabak (@markzbarabak) April 13, 2018 Facebook

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Asm. Rocky Chavez takes the lead in race to replace Issa, while Doug Applegate slips By Joshua Stewart A new poll shows that Republican Assemblyman Rocky Chavez has taken a clear lead over 15 other candidates running to replace Rep. Darrell Issa in Congress and has overtaken Democrat Doug Applegate, the previous frontrunner. In a SurveyUSA poll by 10News and The San Diego Union-Tribune, Chavez, R-Oceanside, has support of 16 percent of likely voters, putting him ahead of Applegate, a lawyer, who was favored by 12 percent of voters and is in second place. The top two vote-getters in June, regardless of party, will proceed to a November runoff election. Competing with Applegate for the No. 2 spot is Democrat Mike Levin, also a lawyer, with support of 9 percent of voters. Several other candidates were right at his heels. Democratic Businessman Paul Kerr and Board of Equalization Member Diane Harkey, R-Dana Point, were tied for fourth at 8 percent each. Read More Facebook

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Pro-Kevin de Leon group launches ad castigating Dianne Feinstein By Seema Mehta A group that is supporting Kevin de Leons bid for the U.S. Senate launched a blistering ad against Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Thursday, questioning her progressive principles and tying her to President Trump. The ad buy from A Progressive California is minuscule  $10,000 to air it in Los Angeles for one day on CNN and MSNBC during programming such as The Rachel Maddow Show, Hardball with Chris Matthews and Anderson Cooper 360. The minute-long ad features news clips about Feinstein not getting the California Democratic Party endorsement earlier this year, as well as footage of Feinstein saying that Trump can be a good president and appearing to share a laugh with Trump. That moment actually came during a White House meeting in the aftermath of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting when the president suggested an assault weapons ban should be included in a bipartisan bill to expand gun background checks. It also features extensive clips of de Leons speech at the state partys convention. De Leon, who just ended his final term as leader of the state Senate, announced last year he would run against fellow Democrat Feinstein as she seeks her fifth full term. Feinsteins longtime political advisor dismissed the ad, noting the size of the buy. Its not really a buy, said Bill Carrick. Ten thousand dollars in cable in L.A. Poof, its gone. Still, he said he planned to have the campaigns lawyers review the ad to see if it violates campaign law that limits what outside groups like A Progressive California can do. Such groups cannot coordinate with campaigns or candidates, and are limited in how much their messages can support a candidate. Ann Ravel, the former chair of the Federal Election Commission and the California Fair Political Practices Commission, said if the ad was in a state race, she is certain that the state commission would open an investigation into potential coordination with de Leons campaign because of the messaging and the types of footage in the ad. But the bipartisan federal commission cant agree on how to enforce the federal regulations, she said. The problem is [outside groups] understand that given the lack of very strong enforcement at the federal level, theres the ability to stretch the law, she said. A spokeswoman for the FEC declined to comment. Dave Jacobson, a spokesman for A Progressive California, disputed the suggestion that the ad violated campaign law. This frivolous allegation shows that Sen. Feinstein is afraid of the public seeing an ad which showcases her own words, that Donald Trump can be a good president, he said. Facebook

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Dispute over money emerges in campaign to repeal Californias gas tax increase By Patrick McGreevy A motorist prepares to gas up her vehicle in San Rafael, Calif., in 2015. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) A proposed initiative to repeal hikes to Californias gas tax has been caught in the middle of a dispute involving Republican rivals in the governors race. Assemblyman Travis Allen, a Republican candidate for governor, decided in January to drop plans for his own initiative and said he would urge supporters to sign a separate petition being supported by several Republican members of Congress. Then last week, the committee Allen formed to finance his ballot measure reported a $300,000 contribution from PISF Inc., a Novato, Calif., real estate firm. Now, an organizer of the still active Give Voters a Voice committee is urging the Allen committee to immediately donate their funds in support of the ongoing signature gathering efforts. There is only one gas tax repeal measure currently in circulation and that is the measure sponsored by the Give Voters a Voice Committee, said Dave Gilliard, a consultant to the group. PISF Inc., he said, gave to repeal taxes a
A sweeping two-year budget deal announced by Senate leaders Wednesday promises to end the shutdown threats that have plagued Congress, but fails to address the unresolved issue of immigration and will add to a deficit already ballooning from the GOP tax cut plan.

Approval of the $300-billion bipartisan accord was not guaranteed, with votes expected on Thursday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) seized the House floor for nearly the entire day in a filibuster-like talkathon to demand protections for young immigrants known as Dreamers.

In her eight hour, seven-minute speech  a House record  Pelosi said she would reject the budget deal unless Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) agrees to consider legislation to protect them from deportation, as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has done in the Senate.

If passed, the deal, which would also lift the nations debt limit for a year, would push ugly partisan fights over government spending well past the November midterm elections. Theoretically it would allow Congress to focus on more substantive issues, like immigration and infrastructure. It would be the first multiyear, bipartisan budget deal reached since 2015.

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Negotiators are hoping to include the accord in what would be the fifth  and possibly final  short-term continuing resolution of this fiscal year. That extension would fund the government past Thursdays deadline until March 23, after which legislation with funding at the new levels, a so-called omnibus bill, would need to be approved.

The agreement circumvents the strict budget caps imposed under a 2011 budget deal, and adds $57 billion in new spending equally to both defense and non-defense accounts through fiscal 2019, according to those familiar with the talks. Republicans have been pushing for the military increases, and Democrats insist on parity for domestic programs.

The result would be a boost to defense of about $80 billion each year beyond what the current law allows, rising to $647 billion by fiscal 2019. Non-defense accounts would increase by more than $60 billion, to $597 billion by 2019.

The package also includes $90 billion in supplemental disaster aid spending for hurricanes and wildfires that ravaged coastal and Western states, and Puerto Rico  more than had been suggested earlier in a House bill but not as much as California and others sought.

Unlike the past agreements to avoid the steep sequester cuts in 2013 and 2015, the deal announced Wednesday would only be partially offset with spending reductions or new revenue elsewhere, making it a nonstarter for many conservative Republicans  especially after the GOP tax package added nearly $1.5 trillion over the decade to deficits.

No one would suggest it is perfect, but we worked hard to find common ground, said McConnell, adding that defense funds would ensure that for the first time in years our armed services have more of the resources they need to keep America safe.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) touted many Democratic priorities, including a two-year extension of funding for Community Health Centers, a 10-year extension of funding for the Childrens Health Insurance Program and money to fight the opioid drug crisis.

This budget deal is the first real sprout of bipartisanship, Schumer said. We have reached a budget deal that neither side loves but both sides can be proud of. Thats compromise. Thats governing.

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Pelosis opposition, though, thrusts the immigration debate back into the budget standoff, much the way President Trump did Tuesday when he said hed love to see a shutdown if his immigration priorities, including a border wall and limits on legal immigration, were not part of the budget package.

The budget caps agreement includes many Democratic priorities, Pelosi said Wednesday. But after surveying the Democratic caucus, she said the absence of immigration legislation was a deal breaker for some members.

Pelosi wants Ryan to commit  as McConnell did last month as part of the deal to end the three-day government shutdown  to consider bipartisan measures to protect the immigrant Dreamers as Trump ends the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Pelosi seized the House floor in a rare filibuster-like speech that began at about 10 a.m. EST and continued into the evening. Standing in four-inch heels the entire time without a break and surrounded by colleagues, Pelosi gave the longest speech ever heard in the House, shattering the previous record set in 1909.

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The Senate is expected to launch an immigration debate in a matter of days, as soon as the shutdown threat is averted.

Without a commitment from Speaker Ryan comparable to the commitment from Leader McConnell, this package does not have my support, she said.

Ryan, however, has made no such commitment on Dreamers, stoking concerns that any immigration bill would simply languish in the House.

The immigration debate drove the shutdown last month, as Democrats pushed McConnell to agree to prioritize the issue, but it had not been part of more recent budget negotiations, despite Trumps nudging.

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Pelosis support for the budget deal will be vital because Ryan will almost certainly not be able to pass spending increases over objections from his conservative flank, including the Freedom Caucus, without relying on Democratic votes.

The accord includes $20 billion in new infrastructure spending on transportation, rural broadband and safe drinking water systems, as well as $5.8 billion for child-care block grants, $4 billion to rebuild Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics and $2 billion for research at the National Institutes of Health, according to those familiar with the details.

It also creates a new Joint Select Committee that is tasked with developing a legislative solution to shore up faltering employer pensions by December.

Dreamers, the immigrants who came to the U.S. illegally as children, risk deportation as Trump ends a program that has allowed them to apply to live and work here. The DACA program was set to end March 5, but a court challenge is allowing it to continue for now.

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Lawmakers in both parties say they want to protect the Dreamers as part of a broader immigration bill that would include border security and perhaps other measures, and they believe a bipartisan deal would easily pass both chambers.

However, Ryan is under pressure from conservatives in his majority to stand by his earlier promise not to consider immigration legislation unless it is supported by most of the House Republican majority.

More recently, Ryan has said he would consider legislation that Trump supports, but the presidents own shifting views on immigration have made a legislative deal difficult.

Speaker Ryan has already repeatedly stated we intend to do a DACA and immigration reform bill  one that the president supports, said spokeswoman AshLee Strong.

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Bipartisan groups in Congress continue to meet to strike a deal as the Senate prepares to open debate.

lisa.mascaro@latimes.com

@LisaMascaro

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Trump is transforming the GOP against legal immigration. Will Congress follow?

Is this small-town congressman from New Mexico tough enough to win Democrats the House majority?

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UPDATES:

3:30 p.m.: This article was updated with Pelosis speech ending.

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2 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the deal and reaction.

10 a.m.: This article was updated with news of the bipartisan deal in the Senate.

This article was originally published at 7:30 a.m.
Allies balk at Trump administration bid to block Chinese firm from cutting-edge telecom markets By David S. Cloud Britain and Germany are balking at the Trump administrations call for a ban on equipment from Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei, threatening a global U.S. campaign to thwart Chinas involvement in future mobile networks. Both countries are expected to limit Huawei and other Chinese companies from providing core components including routers. But other types of Chinese equipment for next-generation, high-speed communications could still be installed on British and German networks, officials and analysts say. The U.S. push to ban Huawei has provoked a global dispute in recent weeks, with senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo, publicly urging NATO allies in Europe to exclude the company and warning that the United States might limit its military presence in countries that did not do so. Read More Facebook

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Confucius Institutes: Do they improve U.S.-China ties or harbor spies? By Don Lee Hanging red lanterns welcome visitors to the University of Marylands Confucius Institute, the oldest of about 100 Chinese language and cultural centers that have popped up over the last 15 years on American campuses, subsidized by millions of dollars from Chinas central government. But last fall, when four U.S. Senate investigators walked into the Confucius offices in Maryland and spent hours questioning staff, they werent looking for an educational exchange. The committee has been seeking detailed information from the university about the program, including contracts, email exchanges and financial arrangements that school administrators have kept under wraps since it started in 2004. American colleges once viewed these jointly funded institutes as an economical way to expand their language offerings  one that could also bring warmer ties with China and, importantly, an influx of Chinese international students paying full tuition. Read More Facebook

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Watch Live: White House holds surprise news briefing amid government shutdown Facebook

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U.S. policy toward China shifts from engagement to confrontation By David S. Cloud For decades, China had no closer American friend than Dianne Feinstein. As San Francisco mayor in the 1970s, she forged a sister-city relationship with Shanghai, the first between American and Chinese communities. As U.S. senator, she dined with Chinese leaders at Mao Tse-tungs old Beijing residence. And in the 1990s, she championed a trade policy change that opened a floodgate of Western investment into China. Today the Democratic senator sees China as a growing threat, joining a broad array of Trump administration officials, national security strategists and business executives who once favored engagement with Beijing and now advocate a confrontational approach instead. Read More Facebook

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Mnuchins attempt to calm markets backfires as Trump takes another shot at the Federal Reserve By Jim Puzzanghera An attempt by Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin to calm plunging financial markets backfired Monday, further rattling investors with new fears about whether major U.S. banks have enough cash on top of worries about interest rates, political instability in Washington and a slowing global economy. Adding to the volatile mix was a fresh attack on the Federal Reserve by President Trump, who declared that the central bank was the U.S. economys only problem and that it didnt have a feel for the market. The Fed is like a powerful golfer who cant score because he has no touch -- he cant putt! Trump said on Twitter. Read More Facebook

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He speaks to Democratic hearts. But is Beto ORourke a serious White House contender? By Mark Z. Barabak Hes a failed U.S. Senate candidate with an undistinguished congressional record who, for the moment, is a blazing-hot 2020 presidential prospect  despite the fact that he may not run and faces long odds if he does. Beto ORourke suggests the will-he-or-wont-he speculation is something he himself cant quite fathom. I think thats a great question, he responded in a Dallas Morning News interview when asked whether his unsuccessful November Senate bid merited a promotion to the White House. I ask that question myself. Read More Facebook

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Russian disinformation teams targeted Robert S. Mueller III, says report prepared for Senate By Craig Timberg, Tony Romm, Elizabeth Dwoskin Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. (Associated Press) Months after President Trump took office, Russias disinformation teams trained their sites on a new target: special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Having worked to help get Trump into the White House, they now worked to neutralize the biggest threat to his staying there. The Russian operatives unloaded on Mueller through fake accounts on Facebook, Twitter and beyond, falsely claiming that the former FBI director was corrupt and that the allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election were crackpot conspiracies. One post on Instagram  which emerged as an especially potent weapon in the Russian social media arsenal  claimed that Mueller had worked in the past with radical Islamic groups. Such tactics exemplified how Russian teams ranged nimbly across social media platforms in a shrewd online influence operation aimed squarely at American voters. The effort started earlier than commonly understood and lasted longer while relying on the strengths of different sites to manipulate distinct slices of the electorate, according to a pair of comprehensive new reports prepared for the Senate Intelligence Committee and released Monday. Read more Timberg, Romm and Dwoskin report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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President Trump announces Mick Mulvaney as acting White House chief of staff By Associated Press President Trump says budget director Mick Mulvaney will serve as acting chief of staff, replacing John F. Kelly in the new year. I am pleased to announce that Mick Mulvaney, Director of the Office of Management & Budget, will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction. Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 14, 2018 Facebook

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It aint over when its over: In Michigan, Wisconsin and elsewhere, losers seek to undermine election results By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Gavin Newsom has yet to become California governor, but already a candidate for state Republican Party chairman is promoting a recall effort. In Michigan and Wisconsin, GOP lawmakers have rushed through legislation to thwart their incoming Democratic governors and hamper others in the opposing party from doing the jobs voters chose them to do. In Congress, GOP leaders have echoed President Trump and sought to undermine the legitimacy of Democrats strong midterm performance, raising unsubstantiated allegations of fraud and political malfeasance. Read More Facebook

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New CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger says she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera On her first full day leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Kathy Kraninger said she wont be a puppet of Mick Mulvaney, the controversial acting director whom she replaced in the powerful regulatory position. To underscore that point, the former White House aide said she would even reconsider a Mulvaney action that critics saw as a gratuitous jab at Democrats who championed the agencys creation: changing its name to the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Kraningers declaration during a meeting with reporters Tuesday addressed one of the main criticisms of her selection. She is considered a protege of Mulvaney, her boss at the White House Office of Management and Budget who has executed a dramatic, industry-friendly shift at the watchdog agency. Read More Facebook

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Trumps pick for chief of staff, Nick Ayers, out of running By Associated Press Nick Ayers, right, with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, at the funeral service for George H.W. Bush on Dec. 3. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Associated Press) President Trumps top pick to replace John F. Kelly as chief of staff, Nick Ayers, is no longer expected to fill that role. Thats according to a White House official who is not authorized to discuss the personnel issue by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Ayers is Vice President Mike Pences chief of staff. The official says that Trump and Ayers could not agree on Ayers length of service. The father of young children, Ayers had agreed to serve in an interim capacity though the spring, but Trump wanted a two-year commitment. The official says that Ayers will instead assist the president from outside the administration. Trump announced Saturday that Kelly would be departing the White House around the end of the year. Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause.  #Georgia  Nick Ayers (@nick_ayers) December 9, 2018 Facebook

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U.S. hiring slows to 155,000 jobs, unemployment rate holds at 3.7% By Jim Puzzanghera Job growth slowed significantly in November but still was solid, indicating the economy remains in good shape but not expanding so quickly that it will lead to sharply higher interest rates. U.S. employers added 155,000 jobs last month, well below analyst expectations and a steep decline from Octobers strong 237,000 figure, the Labor Department reported Friday. Still, monthly job gains are averaging 206,000 this year, the best since 2015. Even the slower pace of 170,000 over the last three months is close to last years average of 182,000 and well above the amount needed to keep up with population growth. Read More Facebook

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Trump is expected to pick State Department spokeswoman for U.N. ambassador By Associated Press Heather Nauert at a briefing at the State Department on Aug. 9, 2017. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) President Trump is expected to nominate State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Two administration officials confirmed Trumps plans. A Republican congressional aide said the president was expected to announce his decision by tweet on Friday morning. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly before Trumps announcement. Trump has previously said Nauert was under serious consideration to replace Nikki Haley, who announced in October that she would step down at the end of this year. Trump has been known to change course on staffing decisions in the past. Nauert was a reporter for Fox News Channel before she became State Department spokeswoman under former Secretary Rex Tillerson. Facebook

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Senate confirms new consumer financial protection chief: Kathy Kraninger, protege of industry-friendly Mick Mulvaney By Jim Puzzanghera The Senate, in a party-line vote Thursday, confirmed White House aide Kathy Kraninger to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and experts predicted a continuation of the industry-friendly shift it has taken since President Trump installed an acting director last year. Kraninger is a protege of acting director and White House budget chief Mick Mulvaney, an outspoken critic of the agency that was created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent predatory lending and other abuses that led to it. Democrats and consumer advocates have denounced him for sharply departing from the aggressive watchdog role the bureau had pursued under its first director, Obama-appointee Richard Cordray, including scaling back enforcement and moving to reassess tough new rules on payday loans and narrow the definition of abusive practices by banks and other firms. Read More Facebook

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Shutdown postponed by two weeks under plan approved by Congress By Erik Wasson Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), shown at the Capitol on Tuesday, says President Trumps border wall is a waste of money. (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Congress passed a two-week stopgap spending bill that will delay the chance of a partial government shutdown until Dec. 22 as lawmakers and President Donald Trump negotiate over his demands to pay for a wall on the southern border. The House and Senate passed the measure Thursday without dissent, and Trump has indicated hell sign the bill before the current shutdown deadline of midnight Friday. Negotiations were delayed by memorial services this week for former President George H.W. Bush. The temporary measure gives Democrats and Republicans more time to find a resolution to their biggest hurdle: funding a wall on the U.S. Mexico border wall. Trump says he wants $5 billion for parts of a concrete wall on the southern border and is willing to shut down the government if he doesnt get it. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York has said Democrats will provide no more than $1.6 billion for border security, because the wall is a waste of money. The presidents demands for wall funding from Congress come after he said during the campaign that Mexico would pay for it. This week he said on Twitter that a $25 billion border wall would pay for itself in two months, without providing evidence. Most of the U.S. governments $1.2 trillion discretionary budget has been appropriated already by Congress for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1. Departments at a risk of a partial shutdown late this month include the departments of State, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Treasury and Homeland Security. Talks to resolve the differences have been on hold since a meeting among Trump, Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California originally slated for Dec. 4 was postponed due to Bush memorial events. The three are scheduled to meet on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with the matter. Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby of Alabama told reporters the rest of the seven-bill spending package being negotiated is basically done. Shelby in recent weeks had tried to broker a compromise in which Trumps $5 billion request would be split over two years, but Schumer has rejected that. Some Democrats have been willing to trade border wall funding for deportation protections for young undocumented immigrants. Pelosi ruled out such a deal in remarks to reporters Thursday. The stopgap government funding measure also would extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which provides subsidized coverage for homes in flood-prone areas, to Dec. 21. Facebook

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Bipartisan Senate group wants to formally blame Saudi crown prince for journalists killing By Karoun Demirjian Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G-20 summit in Buenos Aires. (Associated Press) A bipartisan group of senators filed a resolution Wednesday condemning Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as responsible for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, directly challenging President Trump to do the same. This resolution -- without equivocation -- definitively states that the crown prince of Saudi Arabia was complicit in the murder of Mr. [Jamal] Khashoggi and has been a wrecking ball to the region jeopardizing our national security interests on multiple fronts, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said in a statement accompanying the release of the resolution. It will be up to Saudi Arabia as to how to deal with this matter. But it is up to the United States to firmly stand for who we are and what we believe. The resolution put forward by Graham and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who are expected to lead the Judiciary Committee together next year, comes just one day after CIA Director Gina Haspel briefed leading senators about the details of the agencys assessment that Mohammed ordered and monitored the killing and dismemberment of Khashoggi in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Senators emerged from that closed-door briefing furious not only with Saudi Arabia, but Trump as well for dismissing the heft of the CIAs findings. You have to be willfully blind not to come to the conclusion that this was orchestrated and organized by people under the command of MBS and that he was intricately involved in the demise of Mr. Khashoggi, Graham said following the briefing, referring to Mohammed by his initials. He added that Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, who briefed senators last week, were at best being good soldiers and at worst were in the pocket of Saudi Arabia for presenting the evidence of Mohammeds involvement as inconclusive. The release of the resolution condemning Mohammed also comes as the Senate is preparing to move ahead with debate on a resolution to curtail U.S. support for the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen. Though the Yemen resolution does not directly address Khashoggis murder, its popularity is a sign of how strained the United States patience with Saudi Arabia is on multiple fronts, including its role in worsening the civilian cost of the war in Yemen, cited by the United Nations as the worlds worst humanitarian crisis. Last week, the Senate voted 63 to 37 to advance the Yemen resolution past an opening procedural hurdle. But Graham and Feinsteins resolution on the crown prince has the potential of drawing broader support, especially from Republicans, who are deeply divided about how fiercely to punish Saudi Arabia over Khashoggis killing. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has been an outspoken advocate for human rights and is seen as one of the more influential foreign policy voices in the GOP, did not vote for the Yemen resolution last week or sign on to a bipartisan measure last month to sanction Saudi officials and cease weapons transfers to the kingdom. But he is an original co-sponsor of the resolution condemning Mohammed over Khashoggis death. So is Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.), who represents the other end of the GOP spectrum in terms of recent Saudi-related votes and endorsements. Young was an initial co-sponsor of the bill Graham wrote with Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) to sanction Saudi officials deemed responsible for Khashoggis killing and stop the sale of anything but exclusively defensive weapons to the kingdom until it ceased hostilities in Yemen. Young also voted to advance the Yemen resolution  something Graham did as well, though Graham has signaled he will not be lending any similar support to the measure, fearing it may establish a precedent of invoking the War Powers Act too broadly. Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are listed as original co-sponsors of the resolution condemning Mohammed, which also urges Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Houthi rebels to end the Yemen war, work out a political solution to its standoff with Qatar and release political prisoners. But how much sway the resolution has probably comes down to how forcefully the administration decides to heed it -- and thus far, Trump has not shown any interest in condemning the crown prince the way the senators hope he will. Demirjian reports for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Los Angeles County offices and U.S. Postal Service closed Wednesday in honor of George H.W. Bush By Brian Park The Honor Guard carries the casket of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush following his funeral on Dec. 5 in Washington, DC. (Doug Mills - Pool/Getty Images) The U.S. Postal Service will suspend regular mail delivery Wednesday, which President Trump has declared a national day of mourning in honor of former President George H.W. Bush. All retail postal outlets will be closed, and package delivery will be limited. In Los Angeles, all nonessential county departments, offices and libraries will be closed for the day, L.A. County officials said. The Los Angeles County Library said no overdue fines will be assessed for books, and due dates will be moved forward one week. Los Angeles County Department of Public Health offices also are closed Wednesday. The Sheriffs Department, Fire Department, clinics and hospitals will continue to operate, the county said. The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health clinics are being operated with reduced staffing, and the department asked patients to confirm or reschedule any appointments. All county courts and the disaster recovery centers for the Woolsey fire in Malibu and Agoura Hills will remain open. Larger federal government operations will be closed Wednesday. To honor the life and legacy of President Bush, the Postal Service will observe the National Day of Mourning. Learn how Postal operations will be affected. https://t.co/Mffch7bPCh pic.twitter.com/vG46BsIOpm  U.S. Postal Service (@USPS) December 4, 2018 L.A. County offices and libraries will be closed tomorrow (Dec 5) in observance of the #NationalDayOfMourning for President George H. W. Bush.



The Countys Disaster Recovery Centers in Malibu & Agoura Hills will remain open from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. pic.twitter.com/Sv1J7GoJ7T  Los Angeles County (@CountyofLA) December 4, 2018 @LAPublicHealth offices will be closed tomorrow December 5 in observance of the national Day of Mourning for President George H. W. Bush. Essential Services including clinics and other services will remain open: https://t.co/tZGoGGHRlg pic.twitter.com/ypXsV6vlYY  LA Public Health (@lapublichealth) December 4, 2018 Facebook

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick to skip 2020 White House race, sources say By Associated Press Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick speaks during an interview in Boston on Dec. 15, 2014. (Elise Amendola / Associated Press) Former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts will soon announce he wont launch a 2020 presidential campaign, according to three sources familiar with his plans. They did not say why the Democrat decided against a run. A formal announcement was delayed as the country observed a day of mourning for President George H.W. Bush, one source said. News of Patricks plans was first reported by Politico. Patrick, 62, served two terms as governor, from 2007 to 2015, was assistant attorney general for civil rights in the Clinton administration and since leaving the governors office has been a managing director for Bain Capital. Patrick traveled the country in support of Democratic candidates in the recent midterm election. Earlier this year, some of Patricks supporters and close advisors started the Reason to Believe political action committee, a grassroots organization dedicated to advancing a positive, progressive vision for our nation in 2018 and 2020. Reason to Believe PAC had been holding meetups across the country, including in early presidential primary states. While Patrick is opting against a 2020 run, dozens of Democrats are considering jumping in, including nearly a half-dozen members of the Senate, several House members, and other Massachusetts politicians. On Tuesday, Michael Avenatti, the attorney for adult film star Stormy Daniels and a vocal critic of President Trump, said in a statement that he would run. Patrick had previously expressed some concerns about breaking through if he sought the nomination, telling David Axelrod, a former advisor to President Obama, that he wasnt sure he could stand out in such a large field. Its hard to see how you even get noticed in such a big, broad field without being shrill, sensational or a celebrity, and Im none of those things and Im never going to be any of those things, Patrick said in a September interview with Axelrod. Facebook

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Former Trump adviser Roger Stone invokes 5th Amendment right and wont testify before Senate Judiciary Committee By Associated Press Roger Stone in 2017. (Joe Raedle / Getty Images) Roger Stone, an associate of President Trump, says he wont provide testimony or documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee. An attorney for Stone said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committees top Democrat, that Stone was invoking his 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to produce documents or appear for an interview. Stone has been entangled in investigations by Congress and special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about whether Trump aides had advance knowledge of Democratic emails published by WikiLeaks during the 2016 election. Stone has not been charged and has said he had no knowledge of the timing or specifics of WikiLeaks plans. In the letter to Feinstein, Stone said the committees requests were far too overbroad, far too overreaching and far too wide-ranging. Facebook

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Watch live: Vice President Pence and lawmakers honor George H.W. Bush at the U.S. Capitol before he lies in state Facebook

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Rebuilding crumbling infrastructure has bipartisan support. But who gets to pay for it? By Jim Puzzanghera The grades for major U.S. infrastructure would give any parent indigestion if they were on a childs report card. Roads: D; bridges: C+; dams: D; ports: C+: railways: B; airports: D; schools: D+; public transit: D-. The nations overall grade: D+, which translates to being in fair to poor condition and mostly below standards with significant deterioration and a strong risk of failure, according to an evaluation last year by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Read More Facebook

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Trump calls former lawyer Michael Cohen a weak person who is lying By Associated Press President Trump says his former lawyer Michael Cohen is lying to get a reduced sentence. The president is reacting to Cohens guilty plea Thursday to lying to Congress about work he did on a Trump real estate project in Russia. During a surprise court hearing, Cohen admitted to lying in testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee about a plan to build a Trump Tower in Moscow. Cohen in his guilty plea said he made the false statements to be consistent with Trumps political message. Cohens lawyer says he continues to cooperate with special counsel Robert S. Mueller IIIs investigation into Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates. Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Mark Z. Barabak When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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As California Republicans confront a congressional wipeout, GOP leader Kevin McCarthy faces a reckoning By Sarah D. Wire When the House voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, Kevin McCarthy trooped with other Republican lawmakers to a splashy Rose Garden celebration, smiling alongside President Trump as they celebrated the moment. As majority leader, McCarthy had helped round up the votes to narrowly pass the hard-fought legislation, convincing 13 other California Republicans to go along, even though several faced tough reelection fights. Fewer than half will be returning in January. Read More Facebook

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Michael Cohen, President Trumps ex-lawyer, pleads guilty to lying to Congress about Trump real estate project in Russia By Associated Press Michael Cohen, President Trumps former personal lawyer, pursued a Russian real estate project on candidate Trumps behalf well into the 2016 campaign, he said Thursday while pleading guilty to lying to Congress. Cohen had previously said that the project was abandoned in January 2016, but he now admits he continued to pursue a deal and says he updated Trump and members of his family about the negotiations, according to a new court document. Read More Facebook

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James Comey says acting Atty. Gen. Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer By John Wagner Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Justice Department in Washington on Nov. 14. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press) Former FBI Director James B. Comey apparently isnt too impressed with the mental prowess of President Trumps acting attorney general. Matthew Whitaker may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, Comey said during a radio interview on Monday night in which he sized up the man Trump installed this month to replace ousted Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Comey was asked by WGBH News in Boston if he thinks Whitaker could derail the investigation of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Whitaker has spoken critically of the probe, and Trump  as recently as Tuesday  continues to call it a witch hunt. I think its a worry, but to my mind not a serious worry, Comey said. The institution is too strong, and [Whitaker], frankly, is not strong enough to have that kind of impact. He may not be the sharpest knife in our drawer, but he can see his future and knows that if he acted in an extralegal way, he would go down in history for the wrong reasons, and Im sure he doesnt want that, added Comey, who was fired by Trump last year and later wrote a book that portrays the president as an ego-driven congenital liar. Whitaker, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa, was Sessions chief of staff before being picked by Trump to lead the Justice Department. Trump has called Whitaker a very smart man. Earlier this year, Trump called Comey an untruthful slime ball. Wagner writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Interior Department watchdog clears Zinke in investigation of Utah national monument By Juliet Eilperin Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, third from the left, and Gov. Jerry Brown tour fire damage in Paradise, Calif., on Nov. 14. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The Interior Departments Office of Inspector General has cleared Secretary Ryan Zinke in a probe of whether he redrew boundaries of a national monument in Utah to aid the financial interests of a Republican state lawmaker and stalwart supporter of President Trump. In a Nov. 21 letter to Zinkes deputy, David Bernhardt, Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall wrote that her office found no evidence that the secretary or his aides changed the boundaries of Utahs Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in an effort to help former Utah state representative Mike Noel, who serves as executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District. Last December, Trump shrank the monument, first established by President Clinton in 1996, by 46% based on Zinkes recommendation. Noel owns 40 acres that had been surrounded by the monument, but now lies outside its boundaries. The new boundaries also would make it easier to construct the proposed Lake Powell Pipeline, which would deliver water to sites in Kane County that include Noels property. Earlier this year, the Interior Department had proposed selling off 120 acres of federal land from the former monument that lay adjacent to some of Noels land holdings, but later reversed the plan. We found no evidence that Noel influenced the DOIs proposed revisions to the [monuments] boundaries, that Zinke or other DOI staff involved in the project were aware of Noels financial interest in the revised boundaries, or that they gave Noel any preferential treatment in the resulting proposed boundaries, Kendall wrote. Neither the Interior Department nor the inspector generals office would release the actual investigative report. In the letter, Kendall writes that her office will provide the report to Congress no sooner than 31 days from Nov. 21, when it is provided it to Zinkes office. The Associated Press first reported the inspector generals conclusions Monday night, but did not provide details from the report itself. Noel emailed Zinke about the effort to alter Grand Staircase-Escalante, according to emails released by Interior under the Freedom of Informational Act. But those emails do not make references to Noels land holdings. Noel also pushed to rename a Utah highway in honor of Trump, but abandoned that effort in March after some of his fellow Republicans objected to the idea. Noel did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. The inspector generals office still has at least two ongoing probes of the secretary, including one focused on his real estate dealings in Whitefish, Mont., and another regarding his decision to deny a permit to two Connecticut tribes who were hoping to jointly run a casino after MGM Resorts International lobbied against it. Interior Department spokeswoman Heather Swift welcomed the watchdogs conclusions. The report shows exactly what the secretarys office has known all along  that the monument boundaries were adjusted in accordance with all rules, regulations and laws, she said in an email. This report is also the latest example of opponents and special interest groups ginning up fake and misleading stories, only to be proven false after expensive and time consuming inquiries by the IGs office. But Kendalls spokeswoman, Nancy DiPaolo, defended the inquiry, even though she said the report has not been publicly released and we will not be speaking specifically about the matter at this time. The OIG opens investigations based on credible allegations and reports our findings objectively and independently, DiPaolo added. Any time or resources spent investigating conduct or activity that may be a violation of law, regulation or policy is a service to the public, Congress and the Department. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement that he still intended to investigate the way Zinke and his colleague redrew the boundaries for Grand Staircase-Escalante and another Utah national monument, Bears Ears, next year. I have great respect for the inspector general, and I accept these findings, but Secretary Zinke should have known the people he listened to while destroying our national monuments had disqualifying conflicts of interest, he said. Should I chair the Natural Resources Committee in the next Congress, the process he and President Trump used to destroy Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante will be front and center in our oversight and investigations efforts. We need to know why they ignored overwhelming public expressions of support for both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, why they ignored Native American tribes throughout their decision-making, and why they removed protections on parcels of land with known mineral deposits. Eilperin and Rein report for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump advisor Larry Kudlow says China must do more to end trade war By Jim Puzzanghera Larry Kudlow, President Trumps top economic advisor, said Tuesday that Chinas response to U.S. efforts to rework the two economic superpowers trade relationship has been extremely disappointing but the planned meeting this weekend between the nations leaders is an opportunity for a breakthrough. They have to do more. They must do more, Larry Kudlow, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters ahead of a Saturday dinner between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Group of 20 Summit in Argentina. I think the president is exactly right  to show strong backbone when prior administrations did not, to break through these Chinese walls, Kudlow said. Theyre so resistant to change. We have to protect the country. We have to protect our technology, our inventiveness, our innovation. Read More Facebook

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Watch live: White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds a media briefing amid tensions at the border By Los Angeles Times Staff Facebook

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Democrat TJ Cox grabs lead over Republican David Valadao in nations last remaining undecided House race By Maya Sweedler Democrat TJ Cox slipped past Republican incumbent David Valadao on Monday to take the lead in the countrys sole remaining undecided congressional race, positioning Democrats to pick up their seventh House seat in California and 40th nationwide. Cox, who trailed by nearly 4,400 votes on election night, has steadily gained as ballot counting continues nearly three weeks after the Nov. 6 election, a pattern consistent with the states recent voting history. On Monday, he pulled ahead by 438 votes after Kern County updated its results. Read More Facebook

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Former CIA director Michael Hayden hospitalized after suffering a stroke By Deanna Paul Then-CIA Director Michael Hayden testifies before a Senate committee in 2008. (Saul Loeb / Getty Images) Former CIA Director and retired Air Force Gen. Michael Hayden has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, his family said Friday. He is receiving expert medical care for which the family is grateful, according to a statement issued by his namesake organization. The General and his family greatly appreciate the warm wishes and prayers of his friends, colleagues, and supporters. Hayden, 73, served as director of the CIA and National Security Agency during the George W. Bush and Obama administrations. He retired from the CIA in 2009. Hayden has been a vocal critic of Donald Trumps campaign and presidency. Earlier this year, after Trump decided to revoke the security clearance of former CIA director John Brennan, Hayden was one of several former intelligence leaders who signed a statement in opposition. Criticizing the president for crossing a line, he quickly became one of the individuals whose security clearance Trump threatened to review. Deanna Paul writes for the Washington Post. Facebook

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Trump tells troops hes thankful for what hes done for the U.S. and rails against courts and migrants By Associated Press President Trump talks with troops via teleconference from his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Thanksgiving. (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump used his Thanksgiving Day call to troops deployed overseas to pat himself on the back and air grievances about the courts, trade and migrants heading to the U.S.-Mexico border. Trumps call, made from his opulent private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Fla., struck an unusually political tone as he spoke with members of all five branches of the military to wish them happy holidays. Its a disgrace, Trump said of judges who have blocked his attempts to overhaul U.S. immigration law, as he linked his efforts to secure the border with military missions overseas. Trump later threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico for an undisclosed period of time if his administration determines Mexico has lost control on its side. The call was a uniquely Trump blend of boasting, peppered questions and off-the-cuff observations as his comments veered from venting about slights to praising troops  You really are our heroes, he said  as club waiters worked to set Thanksgiving dinner tables on the outdoor terrace behind him. It was yet another show of how Trump has dramatically transformed the presidency, erasing the traditional divisions between domestic policy and military matters and efforts to keep the troops clear of politics. You probably see over the news whats happening on our southern border, Trump told one Air Force brigadier general stationed at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, adding: I dont have to even ask you. I know what you want to do, you want to make sure that you know who were letting in. Later, Trump asked a U.S. Coast Guard commander about trade, which he noted was a very big subject for him personally. Weve been taken advantage of for many, many years by bad trade deals, Trump told the commander, who sheepishly replied, Mr. President, from our perspective on the water  we dont see any issues in terms of trade right now. And throughout, Trump congratulated himself, telling the officers that the country is doing exceptionally well on his watch. I hope that youll take solace in knowing that all of the American families you hold so close to your heart are all doing well, he said. The nations doing well economically, better than anybody in the world. He later told reporters, Nobodys done more for the military than me. Indeed, asked what he was thankful for this Thanksgiving, Trump cited his great family as well as himself. I made a tremendous difference in this country, he said. Facebook

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Trump contradicts CIA assessment that Saudi crown prince ordered Jamal Khashoggi killing By Josh Dawsey | Washington Post (Susan Walsh / Associated Press) President Trump on Thursday contradicted the CIAs assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had ordered the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, insisting that the agency had feelings but did not firmly place blame for the death. Trump, in defiant remarks to reporters from his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, defended his continued support for Mohammed in the face of a CIA assessment that the crown prince had ordered the killing. He denies it vehemently, Trump said. He said his own conclusion was that maybe he did, maybe he didnt. I hate the crime .... I hate the cover-up. I will tell you this: The crown prince hates it more than I do, Trump said. Asked who should be held accountable for the death of Khashoggi, who was killed at the Saudi Consulate in Turkey, Trump refused to place blame. Maybe the world should be held accountable because the world is a very, very vicious place, the president said. He also seemed to suggest that all U.S. allies were guilty of the same behavior, declaring that if the others were held to the standard that critics have held Saudi Arabia to in recent days, we wouldnt be able to have anyone for an ally. Trumps remarks came after he held a conference call with U.S. military officers overseas, during which he repeatedly praised his administration and sought to draw the officers into discussions of domestic policy. Facebook

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Former FBI Director James Comey gets subpoena from House Republicans By Bloomberg Former FBI Director James B. Comey said he has received a subpoena from House Republicans, according to a Twitter post on Thursday. Bloomberg News reported last week that Comey would be receiving a subpoena alongside former Atty. Gen. Loretta Lynch as part of continuing probes into their handling of investigations into Hillary Clinton and Russian election meddling, according to a top House Democrat. Happy Thanksgiving. Got a subpoena from House Republicans. Im still happy to sit in the light and answer all questions. But I will resist a closed door thing because Ive seen enough of their selective leaking and distortion. Lets have a hearing and invite everyone to see.  James Comey (@Comey) November 22, 2018 Read More Facebook

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Republican David Valadaos lead slips to 447 votes over Democrat TJ Cox in still-undecided Central Valley House race By Mark Z. Barabak Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford), right, finds himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox. (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) On election night, it looked like Rep. David Valadao had survived a close shave and was destined to return to Washington for his fourth term. But on Wednesday, when Fresno County announced its latest vote totals, the Hanford Republican found himself in an increasingly harrowing cliffhanger against Democrat TJ Cox, with his lead in the Central Valley district shrunken to 447 votes. Thousands remain to be counted. Valadao, a repeated Democratic target, finished election night with a lead of nearly 4,440 votes. Cox, an engineer and a business owner who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2006, has steadily gained ground in the 21st Congressional District ever since. The trend is consistent with historic patterns showing Republicans in California tend to vote early and Democrats later, meaning their mail ballots continue to stream in past election day. Under California law, ballots postmarked up to midnight on Nov. 6 will be counted. Democrats have already picked up six House seats in California. They ousted Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Mimi Walters, Steve Knight and Jeff Denham and won the seats of retiring Reps. Ed Royce and Darrell Issa. All six represented districts that backed Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in 2016. Valadao was the seventh California Republican in a district Clinton won, though his previous successes  he last won reelection by a 14-point margin  suggested his ouster was a longer shot for Democrats. If Cox prevails, it would give Democrats a 40-seat gain nationwide, far more than the 23 seats needed to take control when Congress reconvenes in January. Facebook

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Trump says no new punishments against Saudi Arabia in Jamal Khashoggi murder By Eli Stokols In this Oct. 25 photo, candles are lit in front of a photo of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. (Lefteris Pitarakis) President Trump made it clear on Tuesday that he does not intend to punish Saudi Arabia or Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an American resident killed by Saudi officials in Turkey in October. In a remarkable statement replete with exclamation points, Trump cast doubt on the CIAs reported conclusions that it has a high degree of confidence that the crown prince ordered Khashoggis murder and sent his closest allies to Saudi Arabias consulate in Istanbul to carry it out. Read MoreThis article has been updated with staff. Facebook

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Sixteen House Democrats vow to oppose Nancy Pelosi as next speaker By Mike DeBonis | Washington Post House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (J. Scott Applewhite / Associated Press) Sixteen House Democrats said Monday that they will vote to deny Rep. Nancy Pelosi another stint as House speaker, a show of defiance that puts her opponents on the cusp of forcing a seismic leadership shake-up as their party prepares to take the majority. Their pledge to oppose Pelosi (D-San Francisco), both in an internal caucus election and a Jan. 3 floor vote, delivered in a letter sent to Democratic colleagues, comes as Pelosi has marshaled a legion of supporters on and off Capitol Hill to make her case. But her opponents said Monday they are convinced it is time to select a new leader. We are thankful to Leader Pelosi for her years of service to our Country and to our Caucus, they wrote. However, we also recognize that in this recent election, Democrats ran on and won on a message of change. Pelosi has expressed complete confidence that she will retake the speakers gavel in January  eight years after she lost it following massive Republican gains in the 2010 midterms and 16 years after she was first elevated to the top Democratic leadership post in the House. Come on in, the waters fine, she said Friday about a potential leadership challenge. The signers might not be able to force Pelosi out themselves. The size of the Democratic majority remains in flux, but Democrats have already won 232 seats, according to the Associated Press, with five races still undecided. All those races have Republican incumbents, but the Democratic challenger is ahead in only one of them. If the leads hold in the uncalled races, Democrats would have won 233 seats, a 16-seat majority. That means Pelosi could lose as many as 15 Democratic votes when she stands for election as speaker on Jan. 3. Read More Facebook

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Democratic senators sue over Whitakers appointment as acting attorney general By Associated Press Acting U.S. Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitaker (Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images) Three Senate Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that Acting Atty. Gen. Matthew Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and asking a federal judge to remove him. The suit, filed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Mazie Hirono of Hawaii and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, argues that Whitakers appointment violates the Constitution because he has not been confirmed by the Senate. Whitaker was chief of staff to Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and was elevated to the top job after Sessions was ousted by President Trump on Nov. 7. The Constitutions Appointments Clause requires that the Senate confirm all principal officials before they can serve in their office. The Justice Department released a legal opinion last week that said Whitakers appointment would not violate the clause because he is serving in an acting capacity. The opinion concluded that Whitaker, even without Senate confirmation, may serve in an acting capacity because he has been at the department for more than a year at a sufficiently senior pay level. President Trump is denying senators our constitutional obligation and opportunity to do our job: scrutinizing the nomination of our nations top law enforcement official, Blumenthal said in a statement. The reason is simple: Whitaker would never pass the advice and consent test. In selecting a so-called constitutional nobody and thwarting every senators constitutional duty, Trump leaves us no choice but to seek recourse through the courts. The lawsuit comes days after a Washington lawyer challenged Whitakers appointment in a pending Supreme Court case dealing with gun rights. The attorney, Thomas Goldstein, asked the high court to find that Whitakers appointment is unconstitutional and replace him with Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein, the second-ranking Justice Department official, has been confirmed by the Senate and had been overseeing special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker is now overseeing the investigation. The Justice Department issued a statement Monday defending Whitakers appointment as lawful and said it comports with the Appointments Clause, the Federal Vacancies Reform Act and legal precedent. There are over 160 instances in American history in which non-Senate confirmed persons performed, on a temporary basis, the duties of a Senate-confirmed position, Justice Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said. To suggest otherwise is to ignore centuries of practice and precedent. Facebook

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Gov. Rick Scott says Sen. Bill Nelson concedes Florida Senate race By Associated Press Republican Senate candidate Rick Scott speaks with his wife, Ann, by his side at an election watch party in Naples, Fla., on Nov. 7. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas Republican Gov. Rick Scott says incumbent Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson called him to concede defeat in their extremely tight race. Scott issued a statement Sunday saying Nelson graciously conceded their Senate race shortly after the states recount ended. The final results show Scott defeated Nelson by just over 10,000 votes out of 8 million cast. Nelson is scheduled to release a videotaped statement later Sunday. The defeat ends Nelsons lengthy political career. The three-term incumbent was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000. Before that he served six terms in the U.S. House and as state treasurer and insurance commissioner for six years. Scott spent more than $60 million of his own money on ads that portrayed Nelson as out-of-touch and ineffective. Nelson responded by questioning Scotts ethics and saying he would be under the sway of President Trump. Facebook

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Orange County goes blue, as Democrats complete historic sweep of its seven congressional seats By Michael Finnegan Gil Cisneros defeated Republican Young Kim on Saturday in the last of Orange Countys undecided House races, giving Democrats a clean sweep of the states six most fiercely fought congressional contests and marking an epochal shift in a region long synonymous with political conservatism. With Cisneros victory, Democrats will constitute the entirety of Orange Countys seven-member congressional delegation, the first time since the 1930s that the birthplace of Richard Nixon, home of John Wayne and spiritual center of the Republican Party will have no GOP representative in the House. Sitting back in the 1960s, I would never have believed this would happen, said Stuart K. Spencer, a party strategist who spent more than half a century ushering Republicans, including President Reagan, into office. Read More Facebook

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Going, going ... with midterm wipeout, California Republican Party drifts closer to irrelevance By Michael Finnegan For a party in freefall the last two decades, California Republicans learned that its possible to plunge even further. The GOP not only lost every statewide office in the midterm election  again, in blowout fashion  but Democrats reestablished their supermajority in Sacramento, allowing them to legislate however they see fit After major defeats in Orange County and the Central Valley, two longtime strongholds, Republicans will have a significantly smaller footprint on Capitol Hill. (Democrats hold both Senate seats.) When the vote-counting is finished, the GOP may not even have enough lawmakers in Californias 53-member House delegation to field a nine-person softball team. Read More Facebook

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Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter says she will support Rep. Nancy Pelosi for speaker By Maya Sweedler Democratic Rep.-elect Katie Porter is congratulated by volunteers at her campaign headquarters in Irvine. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times) Congresswoman-elect Katie Porter said she plans to support Rep. Nancy Pelosis bid for speaker of the House and will make campaign finance reform her top priority when she enters the chamber in January. Im going to continue to have conversations, but so far I feel like Leader Pelosi is definitely making the things that were a priority to the families that elected me her priorities, including announcing her support for campaign finance reform and anti-corruption as HR1, Porter said in her first public appearance since being declared the winner in Californias 45th Congressional District on Thursday evening. It means a lot to me that she is a Californian. She understands our state, Porter added. When we talk about environmental protections, this is a person who understands as a Californian how fragile our environment is and whats at risk in things like drilling off our coasts. Porter, a law professor at UC Irvine, defeated two-term Republican Rep. Mimi Walters. The 45th District, covering inland Orange County, has never been represented by a Democrat. Porter became the third Democrat to claim a Republican-held seat in Orange County, following the victories of Harley Rouda in the 48th District and Mike Levin in the 49th. A fourth, Gil Cisneros, is running slightly ahead of his Republican opponent in the race for the open seat in the 39th District, which extends into Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Porter attributed the massive political shift in the county, for decades a conservative stronghold, to increased levels of political engagement. Folks here care about education, they care about the environment, they believe climate change is real, they want healthcare that protects preexisting conditions, they want a tax system that doesnt punish California, they want our schools and places of worship to be safe from gun violence, she said. Those are the issues we campaigned on, and to the extent that Donald Trump and Mimi Walters were on the wrong side of those issues, the voters have made clear what direction they want us to go. Porter was flying back from the East Coast when her race was called, she said. She turned on her phone to find 167 text messages from friends and supporters. Among them was Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who was one of Porters teachers in law school and with whom she has remained close. The pair spoke via FaceTime this morning, she said. Facebook

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Bitter battle for Senate seat in Florida goes to hand recount By Associated Press Employees look through damaged ballots during a recount Thursday in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Floridas acrimonious battle for the U.S. Senate headed Thursday to a legally required hand recount after an initial review by ballot-counting machines showed Republican Gov. Rick Scott and Democratic Sen. Bill Nelson separated by less than 13,000 votes. But the highly watched contest for governor between Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum appeared to be over, with a machine recount showing DeSantis with a large enough advantage over Gillum to avoid a hand recount in that race. Gillum, who conceded the contest on election night only to retract his concession later, said in a statement that it is not over until every legally casted vote is counted. The recount so far has been fraught with problems. One large Democratic stronghold in South Florida was unable to finish its machine recount by the Thursday deadline due to machines breaking down. A federal judge rejected a request to extend the recount deadline. We gave a heroic effort, said Palm Beach County Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher. If the county had three or four more hours, it would have made the deadline to recount ballots in the Senate race, she said. Meanwhile, election officials in another urban county in the Tampa Bay area decided against turning in the results of their machine recount, which came up with 846 fewer votes than originally counted. Media in South Florida reported that Broward County finished its machine recount but missed the deadline by a few minutes. Counties were ordered last weekend to do a machine recount of three statewide races because the margins were so tight. The next stage is a manual review of ballots that were not counted by machines to see whether there is a way to figure out voter intent. Scott called on Nelson to end the recount battle. Its time for Nelson to respect the will of the voters and graciously bring this process to an end rather than proceed with yet another count of the votes  which will yield the same result and bring more embarrassment to the state that we both love and have served, the governor said in a statement. The recount has triggered multiple lawsuits, many of them filed by Nelson and Democrats. The legal battles drew the ire of U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker, who slammed the state for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems. He also said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000. We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this, Walker said during a morning hearing. Walker vented his anger at state lawmakers and Palm Beach County officials, saying they should have made sure they had enough equipment in place to handle this kind of a recount. But he said he could not extend the recount deadline because he did not know when Palm Beach County would finish its work. This court must be able to craft a remedy with knowledge that it will not prove futile, Walker wrote in his ruling turning down the request from Democrats. It cannot do so on this record. This court does not and will not fashion a remedy in the dark. The overarching problem was created by the Florida Legislature, which Walker said passed a recount law that appears to run afoul of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore decision by locking in procedures that do not allow for potential problems. A total of six election-related lawsuits are pending in federal court in Tallahassee as well at least one lawsuit filed in state court. Walker also ordered that voters be given until 5 p.m. Saturday to show a valid identification and fix their ballots if they have not been counted due to mismatched signatures. Republicans appealed the ruling, but an appeals court turned down the request. State officials testified that nearly 4,000 mailed-in ballots were set aside because local officials decided the signatures on the envelopes did not match the signatures on file. If those voters can prove their identity, their votes will be counted and included in final official returns due from each county by noon Sunday. Walker was asked by Democrats to require local officials to provide a list of people whose ballots were rejected. But the judge appointed by President Obama refused the request, calling it inappropriate. Under state law, a hand review is required with races that have a margin of 0.25 percentage points or less. A state website put the unofficial results showing Scott ahead of Nelson by 0.15 percentage points. The margin between DeSantis and Gillum was at 0.41 points. The margin between Scott and Nelson had not changed much in the last few days, conceded Marc Elias, an attorney working for Nelsons campaign. But he said that he expected the vote tally to shrink due to the hand recount and the ruling on signatures. The developments fueled frustrations among Democrats and Republicans alike. Democrats want state officials to do whatever it takes to make sure every eligible vote is counted. Republicans, including President Trump, have argued without evidence that voter fraud threatens to steal races from the GOP. Facebook

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Democrat Gil Cisneros pulls ahead of Republican Young Kim as more votes are tallied in Orange and San Bernardino counties By Michael Finnegan Congressional candidate Gil Cisneros (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times) Democrat Gil Cisneros pulled ahead of Republican Young Kim in one of Californias undecided congressional races Thursday, an ominous sign for a GOP already reeling from its loss of four House seats in the state. In updated vote counts released by the registrars for Orange and San Bernardino counties, Kim fell 941 votes behind Cisneros in the contest to succeed Republican Rep. Ed Royce in Californias 39th Congressional District. The 39th straddles Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Orange counties. In another unresolved House race, Democrat Katie Porter pulled further ahead of Republican incumbent Mimi Walters in the 45th District, which includes Mission Viejo, Tustin, Irvine, Rancho Santa Margarita and Laguna Hills. Porter, a consumer attorney and UC Irvine law professor, is now 6,203 votes ahead. The Nov. 6 midterm election has been devastating to Republicans in California. If Cisneros and Porter win, the party will have lost six of its 14 House seats in the state, essentially a wipeout in every contest that both parties spent heavily to win. The three Republicans already bounced from Congress are Reps. Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa, Steve Knight of Palmdale and Jeff Denham of Turlock in the San Joaquin Valley. Democrat Mike Levin won the seat of retiring GOP Rep. Darrell Issa of Vista in the fourth district flipped so far. Facebook

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Florida Senate race likely headed to second recount By Associated Press A Palm Beach County Sheriffs deputy walks past boxes of ballots before a recount on Nov. 15 in West Palm Beach, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee) Unofficial Florida election results show that the governors race seems to be settled after a machine recount but the U.S. Senate race is likely headed to a hand recount. Republican Ron DeSantis is virtually assured of winning the nationally watched governors race over Democrat Andrew Gillum. Florida finished a machine recount Thursday that showed Gillum without enough votes to force a manual recount. Unofficial results posted on a state website show the margin between U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Gov. Rick Scott is still thin enough to trigger a second review. State law requires a hand recount of races with a margin of 0.25 percentage point or less. Counties have until Sunday to inspect the ballots that did not record a vote when put through the machines. Those ballots are re-examined to see whether the voter skipped the race or marked the ballot in a way that the machines cannot read but can be deciphered. The election will be certified Tuesday. Read More Facebook

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Pelosi says she has the votes to become the next House speaker By John Wagner Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi speaks during a news conference in Washington on Nov. 14. (Susan Walsh) House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi insisted Thursday that she has the votes to become the chambers speaker despite solid opposition from more than a dozen Democrats who want fresh leadership when the party takes control next year. I have overwhelming support in my caucus to be speaker of the House, the San Francisco lawmaker told reporters. I happen to think at this point, Im the best person for that. A vote within the Democratic caucus is scheduled for Nov. 28. The full House votes on Jan. 3 to elect a new speaker. During her remarks, Pelosi touted the size of the Democratic victory in the midterms, which she called almost a tsunami. With a few races still to be decided, Democrats are poised to pick up close to 40 seats in the chamber. Pelosi called that the biggest victory for the Democrats since 1974, when the Watergate babies came in. Pelosis comments come as she faces solid opposition from at least 17 Democrats, setting the stage for a battle over who will ascend to one of the most powerful positions in Washington. After a campaign in which some Democrats prevailed in competitive districts by promising to oppose her, a coalition of incumbents and newly elected members has denied her a smooth path to the speakership. The defections, if they stand, would leave Pelosi, who has led the Democrats for more than 15 years, several votes short of the 218 she would need when the full House votes for speaker Jan. 3. However, no Democrat has stepped forward to run against her for a job she held from 2007 through 2010. Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) told reporters Wednesday that shes being encouraged to stand for speaker if Pelosi doesnt have the votes. In an interview with the Washington Post on Thursday, she said she has been overwhelmed by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker. Over the last 12 hours, Ive been overwhelmed by the amount of support Ive received, Fudge said, adding that there are probably closer to 30" Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi. Things could change rapidly, Fudge said. Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies in the caucus, moderate Democrats and newly elected members. To this point, Pelosi has enjoyed the strong backing of the Congressional Black Caucus. On Thursday, Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), one of its members, wrote a letter to colleagues praising her insight, fortitude and strategic thinking and urging support for her speakership bid. Former Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr., an African American who is contemplating a 2020 presidential bid, also voiced support for Pelosi, praising her in a tweet as an architect of the recent midterm success. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a leader of the resistance to Pelosi, said during an interview on CNN on Thursday that Fudge is the kind of new leader that we need in this party. Shes in touch with middle America. She understands what the American people want. Shes a next-generation leader that people will look to and say, Thats the future of our party, thats the future of our country, and thats exactly the kind of leader that I want to see as our next speaker. Wagner reports for the Washington Post. The Posts Robert Costa, Erica Werner, Mike DeBonis, Paul Kane and Elise Viebeck contributed to this report. Facebook

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GOP Rep. Jeff Denham concedes to Democrat Josh Harder in Central Valley race By Maya Sweedler Rep. Jeff Denham (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) Republican Rep. Jeff Denham has conceded to Democrat Josh Harder in the race to represent Californias 10th Congressional District in the San Joaquin Valley. It has been an absolute honor to serve our community and represent the Central Valley in Congress over the past eight years, the 51-year-old congressman said. The enormity of the responsibility was never lost on me. My wife Sonia and I look forward to starting the next chapter of our lives. Harder said he had spoken with Denham and the two were committed to a productive transition. Denham, an Air Force veteran, previously represented the region in the state Senate for eight years and founded a company specializing in plastic packaging used in agriculture. While a member of Congress, he sat on the Transportation and Infrastructure, Veterans Affairs and Agriculture committees. First-time candidate Harder was born and raised in the district. After graduating from Stanford University, he served as vice president of a Silicon Valley venture capital firm. Since moving back, he has been teaching at Modesto Junior College. Denhams House seat is one of four in California that Republicans lost in the Nov. 6 election, with two contests in Orange County still undecided as of Thursday morning. Jeff Denham called me this morning and we had a very productive conversation. I'm honored that I've been chosen to serve our community in Congress, and we're both looking forward to a productive transition that best serves the people of District 10.  Josh Harder (@JoshHarder) November 14, 2018 Facebook

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Democrat Katie Porter now nearly 3,800 votes ahead of GOP Rep. Mimi Walters By Maya Sweedler Rep. Mimi Walters thanks all of her supporters as she watches election results in Irvine on Nov. 7, 2018. (Alex Gallardo / Associated Press) Democrat Katie Porter opened a 3,797-vote lead Wednesday over Republican Rep. Mimi Walters in Orange Countys 45th Congressional District. In the neighboring 39th, Democrat Gil Cisneros has nearly tied the race against Republican Young Kim. Cisneros now trails Kim by a razor-thin margin of 122 votes. The 39th District straddles Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties; Wednesdays updated ballot counts came from the latter two. There are more than 202,000 ballots left to count in Orange County, which includes parts of seven congressional districts. The 45th is entirely in inland Orange County. In California, the ballots counted first tend to lean Republican and those tallied later skew Democratic. In the Central Valleys 21st Congressional District, Democratic challenger TJ Cox has pulled within 2 percentage points of Rep. David Valadao, who is serving his third term. The Associated Press had projected a win for Valadao on election night, but his 4,839-vote advantage has shrunk to 2,090. Back in CA-21, Valadao (R) wins a batch of ballots from his stronghold in Kings Co., but by a considerably smaller margin (14 points) than his previous ~30-point margin in the county. We're moving to Lean R from Likely R; today a bit scary for Valadao.https://t.co/WqJVUVkqGW  Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 15, 2018 A spokesman for Valadao told the Fresno Bee that the changes were expected and that [s]tatistically, David Valadao has won this race. Democrats in California have already flipped four House seats, defeating three Republican incumbents and claiming an open seat previously held by the GOP. Reps. Steve Knight of Palmdale, Dana Rohrabacher of Costa Mesa and Jeff Denham of Turlock have already lost their races, and retiring Rep. Darrell Issas San Diego County seat was claimed by Democrat Mike Levin. Facebook

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Trump aide departs West Wing after rebuke from Melania Trump By Associated Press First Lady Melania Trump. (Alain Jocard / AFP-Getty Images) Deputy national security advisor Mira Ricardel is leaving the White House, one day after First Lady Melania Trumps office issued an extraordinary statement calling for her dismissal. No replacement was named. Aides said Ricardel clashed with the first ladys staff over her visit to Africa last month. Yet it is highly unusual for a first lady or her office to weigh in on personnel matters, especially the presidents national security staff. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Ricardel would have a new role in the administration. On Tuesday, Stephanie Grisham, the first ladys spokeswoman, released a statement saying, It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House. President Trumps White House has set records for administration turnover. Ricardel was the third person to hold the post under Trump. An ally of national security advisor John Bolton, Ricardel began her service in the Trump administration as associate director in the White House Office of Presidential Personnel, then moved to the Commerce Department last year. Bolton brought her into the West Wing shortly after taking the job in April. He is traveling in Asia this week alongside Vice President Mike Pence. Facebook

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Race for House Minority Leader is Kevin McCarthys to lose By Associated Press (Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call) House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy is running to take over next years shrunken caucus in closed-door elections that will set the tone for the new Congress. The race for minority leader is McCarthys to lose Wednesday. But the California Republican, who is an ally of President Trump, must fend off a challenge from conservative Jim Jordan of Ohio. Jordan is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus. The two encountered questions and finger-pointing during a private meeting with lawmakers Tuesday night as the GOP sorted through the midterm defeat that put Democrats in the majority next year. Elections Wednesday will also determine party leadership in the Senate. Voting for the biggest race, Nancy Pelosis bid to return as the Democrats nominee for speaker, is later this month. Read More Facebook

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Melania Trump calls for the firing of deputy national security advisor By Justin Sink First Lady Melania Trump arrives at the Chateau de Versailles outside Paris on Nov. 11. (Alain Jocard / AFP/Getty Images ) First Lady Melania Trumps office said she wants Mira Ricardel, the deputy national security advisor, ousted from the White House. It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honor of serving in this White House, Trumps spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said in a statement in response to a question about reports the first lady had sought Ricardels removal. Ricardel is the top deputy to national security advisor John Bolton. She drew the first ladys wrath after threatening to withhold National Security Council resources during Melania Trumps trip to Africa last month unless Ricardel was included in her entourage, one person familiar with the matter said. Grishams statement comes as several media outlets have reported that President Trump is considering a broader shakeup of his administration, including ousting Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. Sink and Jacobs report for Bloomberg. Read More Facebook

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CNN sues Trump over the suspension of Jim Acostas White House press credentials By Jim Puzzanghera CNN said Tuesday that it is suing President Trump and other administration officials over the decision to suspend the White House press credentials of correspondent Jim Acosta after a conflict at a news conference last week. The suit, to be filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, escalates an ongoing battle between Trump and the cable news outlet that he frequently accuses of disseminating fake news for its aggressive coverage of him and his administration. The wrongful revocation of these credentials violates CNN and Acostas 1st Amendment rights of freedom of the press, and their 5th Amendment rights to due process, CNN said in a written statement. If left unchallenged, the actions of the White House would create a dangerous chilling effect for any journalist who covers our elected officials. Read More Facebook

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Maxine Waters to take aim at Wells Fargo and Deutsche Bank as new head of House Financial Services Committee By Jim Puzzanghera Rep. Maxine Waters plans to zero in on two big banks  Wells Fargo & Co. and Deutsche Bank  when she becomes head of the powerful House Financial Services Committee. The Los Angeles congresswoman, now the committees top Democrat, is widely expected to gain the gavel after her party won control of the House in last weeks elections. While Waters has outlined a wide-ranging agenda, she said her focus on bank oversight will target two large institutions she has been tangling with for a while  including one, Deutsche Bank, that spills into her bitter feud with President Trump. With Trump in the White House, I know that our fight for Americas consumers and investors will continue to be challenging. But I am more than up to that fight, Waters wrote in a letter last week to her Democratic colleagues on the committee that was obtained by The Times. Read More Facebook

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Heres how a controversial voting system will decide a congressional race in Maine By Kurtis Lee For the first time in U.S. history, a controversial voting system known as ranked choice is being used to decide a federal election. Its happening in Maine, which adopted the system in 2016. Rather than marking a single candidate, each voter ranks them all, assigning a first-place vote, a second-place vote and so on down the ballot. Read More Facebook

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ACLU files suit to stop Trumps new asylum limits By Associated Press A group of Central American migrants march to the office of the U.N.'s humans rights body in Mexico City on Nov. 8. (Rebecca Blackwell / Associated Press) The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a legal challenge to President Trumps order denying asylum to migrants if they cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in San Francisco and argues the new rules are against the law. Attorney Lee Gelernt said the regulations will put families in danger. The suit seeks to declare the regulations invalid and wants a judge to stop the rules from going into effect while the litigation is pending. The new rules were spurred in part by caravans of Central American migrants slowly moving north on foot, but officials say they will apply to anyone caught crossing illegally. Officials say about 70,000 people who enter the country illegally claim asylum. The order invoked the same national security powers Trump used to push through his travel ban. Read More Facebook

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Trump on new acting AG: I dont know Matt Whitaker By Associated Press President Trump talks with reporters before departing for France on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 9. (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) President Trump is moving to distance himself from Matthew Whitaker as he faces criticism over his choice for acting attorney general. Trump told reporters Friday that I dont know Matt Whitaker and said he didnt speak with Whitaker about special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation. Whitaker has made public comments critical of Muellers investigation, and critics have called on Whitaker to recuse himself from oversight of the inquiry. Under former Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the investigation was overseen by Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein. Of the scrutiny Whitaker is facing, Trump said: Its a shame that no matter who I put in they go after. He also called Whitaker a very highly respected man. Whitaker was Sessions chief of staff before Trump made him Sessions interim replacement. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg out of hospital after fall By Associated Press The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is home after being released from the hospital. She had been admitted for treatment and observation after fracturing three ribs in a fall. The court said Ginsburg was released Friday. Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg says she is doing well and working from home. The court had previously said the justice fell in her office at the court on Wednesday evening and went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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Gun-control activist Lucy McBath defeats GOP Rep. Karen Handel in Georgia By Associated Press Lucy McBath speaks during a rally for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams on Nov. 2 at Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Alyssa Pointer / Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP) Democratic gun-control activist Lucy McBath has defeated Republican Rep. Karen Handel of Georgia in a suburban congressional district long considered safe for the GOP. Handel had to seek reelection after winning her seat last year in a close special election race against Democrat Jon Ossoff. McBath became an advocate for stricter gun laws after her son, Jordan Davis, was fatally shot at a Florida gas station in 2012 by a man angry over loud music the teenager and his friends were playing in a car. McBaths margin of victory was narrow enough for Handel to have requested a recount. The Associated Press declared McBath the winner Thursday after Handel conceded. Handel conceded in a statement Thursday morning, stating that after reviewing all of the election data, its clear she came up a bit short in Tuesdays vote. Handel congratulated McBath, offering good thoughts and much prayer for the journey that lies ahead for her. McBath, who is African American, declared victory Wednesday. Facebook

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg hospitalized after fracturing 3 ribs in fall By Associated Press Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press) The Supreme Court says 85-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fractured three ribs in a fall in her office at the court and is in the hospital. The court says the justice went to George Washington University Hospital in Washington early Thursday after experiencing discomfort overnight. The court says the fall occurred Wednesday evening. Ginsburg was admitted to the hospital for treatment and observation after tests showed she fractured three ribs. Ginsburg broke two ribs in a fall in 2012. She has had two prior bouts with cancer and had a stent implanted to open a blocked artery in 2014. Facebook

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White House suspends press pass of CNNs Jim Acosta after heated exchange with Trump By Associated Press The White House on Wednesday suspended the press pass of CNN correspondent Jim Acosta after he and President Trump had a heated confrontation during a news conference. They began sparring after Acosta asked Trump about the caravan of migrants heading from Latin America to the southern U.S. border. When Acosta tried to follow up with another question, Trump said, Thats enough! and a female White House aide unsuccessfully tried to grab the microphone from Acosta. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement accusing Acosta of placing his hands on a young woman just trying to do her job as a White House intern, calling it absolutely unacceptable. The interaction between Acosta and the intern was brief, and Acosta appeared to brush her arm as she reached for the microphone and he tried to hold onto it. Pardon me, maam, he told her. Acosta tweeted that Sanders statement that he put his hands on the aide was a lie. CNN said in a statement that the White House revoked Acostas press pass in retaliation for his challenging questions Wednesday, and the network accused Sanders of lying about Acostas actions. This conduct is absolutely unacceptable. It is also completely disrespectful to the reporters colleagues not to allow them an opportunity to ask a question. President Trump has given the press more access than any President in history.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Contrary to CNNs assertions there is no greater demonstration of the Presidents support for a free press than the event he held today. Only they would attack the President for not supporting a free press in the midst of him taking 68 questions from 35 different reporters...  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 As a result of todays incident, the White House is suspending the hard pass of the reporter involved until further notice.  Stephanie Grisham (@PressSec) November 8, 2018 Sanders provided fraudulent accusations and cited an incident that never happened. This unprecedented decision is a threat to our democracy and the country deserves better, CNN said. Jim Acosta has our full support. Journalists assigned to cover the White House apply for passes that allow them daily access to press areas in the West Wing. White House staffers decide whether journalists are eligible, though the Secret Service determines whether their applications are approved. Facebook

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Trump spars with reporters at post-election news briefing, ordering several to sit down By Associated Press  President Trump assails CNNs Jim Acosta at a White House news conference. President Trump sparred with reporters at his post-election news conference, ordering several to sit down and telling another hes a rude, terrible person. He told another reporter hes not a fan of yours, either. The presidents mood turned sour Wednesday after reporters pressed him on why he referred to a migrant caravan making its way to the U.S. on foot through Mexico as an invasion. Trump ramped up his anti-immigrant rhetoric against the caravan in the final days of the midterm elections. Trump was also pressed on why his campaign aired an ad featuring a Mexican immigrant convicted of killing American police officers and linking the mans actions to the caravan. Several television networks pulled the ad after airing it or declined to air it at all. Facebook

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Im living one hour at a time at this point By Christine Mai-Duc Republican congressional candidate Young Kim and gubernatorial candidate John Cox campaign in Rowland Heights. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Republican congressional candidate Young Kim greeted gubernatorial candidate John Coxs giant campaign bus, the words HELP IS ON THE WAY emblazoned across it, as it rolled into the parking lot outside her Rowland Heights field office. Standing beside Cox on Saturday, Kim predicted that a string of GOP victories Tuesday would start with voters repealing the gas tax hike. Can you imagine Gavin Newsom being our governor? Can you imagine Gil Cisneros being your representative? Kim asked the crowd, to loud boos and cries of Nooo! The former state assemblywoman who worked for retiring Rep. Ed Royce (R-Fullerton) is vying for his seat with Democrat Gil Cisneros. She led the crowd in chants of Enough is enough! and, though short-lived, Drain the swamp! Ive served you in Sacramento and Ive seen dysfunction personally, Kim continued. We cannot continue that route. She urged her supporters to stay and help make phone calls or walk neighborhoods. Lets get out there  the 72 hours is really critical. Its all going to come down to a few votes, it could be your vote, she said pointing to her left, then pivoting right, it could be your vote. So dont sit back and do nothing. Every night I go to sleep thinking, OK, how many more votes can I get or how many more people can I call tomorrow? Kim said. It can be physically exhausting but Im mentally, emotionally very energized. She listed off her events so far that day  and the next one she was heading to. Thats just what I can remember, she said. Im living one hour at a time at this point. Kims campaign invited press to two of her events on Saturday. After she was whisked away to her next event  a high tea fundraiser in Walnut, a couple dozen volunteers remained. John Freeman, a statewide field manager for the state Republican Party, tried to pump them up. This is the Super Bowl. Were not in an NFL stadium, were not getting paid millions of dollars, but you know what? Freeman said. Were walking on the field right now. This is that high-stakes-level game. Facebook

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Its going to be tough out there Democratic candidate Katie Porter speaks to volunteers in Mission Viejo. Jon Bauman, Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na, is in the background. (Victoria Kim / Los Angeles Times ) Judging from the cheers in the crowd, about half those assembled at Katie Porters campaign headquarters in Mission Viejo Sunday morning were old enough to remember 70s rock n roll star Bowzer from the band Sha Na Na. Jon Bauman, as Bowzer is known off stage, said it was her position on senior issues including retirement and social security that has him out supporting Porter over her opponent, incumbent Rep. Mimi Walters. I want you to make sure every phone is called and every door is knocked, he told the crowd of about 80 volunteers. There has never been a more important election. Both Bauman and his nephew, California Democratic Party Chairman Eric Bauman, were interrupted by yells from Trump supporters coming from an adjoining hillside. We love Trump, the voice cried out. We love him too, he makes great fodder, the younger Bauman retorted, before introducing Porter. Porter, a UC Irvine law professor and first-time candidate, acknowledged the uphill battle some of her canvassers might face in this more conservative end of the long-red Orange County district. I know its going to be tough out there, she said, motioning to the hillside. But she said the attacks meant the other side viewed her campaign as a significant threat. This election is going to be close, she said. If we dont fight all the way to the finish line, until 8 oclock on Tuesday, this could slip away. Bowzer then took to a keyboard piano to lead the crowd in a reworded rendition of the song Good Night Sweetheart: Good night, Mimi Walters, he crooned. A woman in a black tank top, jeans and flip flops holding a cup of coffee later joined the crowd with her two sons, 17 and 14, the younger one wearing a Trump 2016 T-shirt. She declined to give her name, saying she was concerned about being attacked, but said she lived up the hill and said she had been the one yelling. She said she was encouraging her sons to talk to people on both sides and make up their own minds. We need to have a government that runs the way government teachers are telling kids its supposed to be run, said the woman, a retired registered dental assistant who voted early for Mimi Walters. Referring to Democrats, she said: Theyve had control over all these years and Californias gone to crap. Among those canvassing was Stacie Campbell, 37, who was at the launch with her husband Jerome and three children, the youngest of whom was 2 months old. Campbell, a Mission Viejo resident who runs a business, had never canvassed or volunteered for campaigns before, and her husband is a French citizen and unable to vote. She said they had been talking to their children  the older ones are 5 and 2  about the presidency and the government since Trumps election. Together, they worked on homemade Katie Porter lawn signs and put them up around town. This is the first time its felt like a big deal and there isnt a president up for election, she said. Because her city is a mix of conservatives and liberals  her next-door neighbor is an NRA-supporting Republican  she the race felt m
After years of toiling against the surveillance state, sounding alarms about privacy and warning of Orwellian law enforcement overreach, civil libertarians now find their talking points have been hijacked.

A serious case of intellectual whiplash has ensued.

Suddenly, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes  a longtime advocate for the nations intelligence agencies and their eavesdropping authority  has started talking like a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union. The same Republican congressman from Tulare who only weeks ago led the drive to extend for years the governments vast electronic surveillance powers is railing about an FBI run amok and an anti-democratic deep state creepily monitoring political enemies.

For many on the left, the effort by Nunes and his allies to reinvent themselves as warriors against the surveillance apparatus is maddening.

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Even some libertarians on the right are annoyed. Republican Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan recently weighed in on Twitter about the irony of Nunes and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan warning of surveillance abuse when just three weeks ago  the speaker gave a dramatic floor speech about the importance of giving the FBI power to violate everyones civil liberties.

After clamoring for a national reckoning on surveillance overreach, privacy advocates are dismayed that the debate finally is taking place on grounds thoroughly muddied by politics. They have an uninvited frontman, Nunes, who shares virtually none of their values and, they believe, has co-opted their cause for political convenience. And the coalitions they painstakingly built are fraying as a result.

Nunes attacks on the FBI have moved much of the left, which typically has been skeptical of surveillance, to rush to defend the law enforcement agencies that civil liberties groups have tried to constrain.

The California Democratic Party stepped up to defend the FBI against what it called Nunes open declaration of war. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) warned in a floor speech that Nunes was out to degrade and discredit the FBI. A petition from the liberal group Credo Action, which had amassed 141,000 signatures as of Tuesday, lauded the bureau. Just recently, the same group had pilloried the agency in a petition accusing it of rampant abuse of its surveillance authority.

Many on the left are more worried about Nunes derailing the Russia investigation than about the surveillance.

We need to see more transparency around government monitoring, said Lisa Gilbert, vice president of legislative affairs at the watchdog group Public Citizen. But it needs to be balanced with this investigation needing to continue.

The way the debate has developed concerns privacy advocates.

Its a real shame that the debate over surveillance abuse is happening in this context, said Liza Goitein, who co-directs the Liberty and National Security program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a public policy institute at New York University School of Law. It does not belong here. What they are talking about is not an example of abuse.

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What they are talking about, of course, is the four-page Nunes memo. The document discloses some previously top-secret details used by law enforcement officials to persuade the court that oversees national security wiretaps to permit surveillance of Carter Page, a former advisor to Donald Trumps presidential campaign.

The memo is an incomplete snapshot, including only details that Nunes handpicked amid a broader effort to discredit the investigation into the Trump campaigns involvement with Russian operatives.

The argument by Nunes and Trump that the memo is a damning indictment of this particular surveillance operation is challenged by legal experts. Many of them say the Nunes memo does not show evidence of law enforcement abuse.

But the charge by Nunes that federal agencies misused their surveillance powers has complicated the battle that civil liberties groups have waged against those agencies. They complain Nunes has trivialized a serious issue in his bid to undermine the Russia investigation.

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What he was saying was happening was not happening in this case, said Christopher Anders, deputy director of the ACLUs legislative office in Washington. When any congressman cries wolf about our problems, it undermines others who truly have seen abuse.

Anders said the ACLU was initially intrigued by Nunes push to disclose top-secret information about a warrant obtained through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. Anytime someone claims there is abuse of surveillance, we want to hear what the claims are and see all the facts, Anders said. But then Republicans released only selective facts.

We want to see the rest, he said.

The ACLU is not the only one. Democrats are clamoring to publish their own memo, with additional details that shed light on how law enforcement obtained the warrant. The House Intelligence Committee voted to release that memo, but the White House has the authority to block its disclosure or redact any portion of it.

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In addition, the New York Times has filed a case seeking to force the federal government to disclose all the materials used to get the warrant. Their suit piggybacks on the argument made by Nunes that the national interest in knowing what happened in this case outweighs national security concerns over disclosing classified details.

The increasing pressure on Republicans to release more information means the debate, ultimately, could go sideways for them, as the public learns more of the uncomfortable details of how secret surveillance is conducted. The nations attention could shift from the fiery accusations Nunes is making in the Page case to larger questions about the way the surveillance program, which Nunes has championed, is used every day.

As the Intelligence Committee deliberated over whether to release Nunes memo, Rep. Jackie Speier, a Bay Area Democrat, warned Republicans they were going down a path that could threaten the surveillance program that Congress just last month voted to reauthorize.

Before long there will be a demand for the FISA application to be made public, she said. This is a slippery slope I dont think any of us want to see happen to our intelligence community.

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But its fine with Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who has led the fight in Congress to rein in government surveillance of Americans. The fight over the Nunes memo lays bare the hypocrisy around the argument that pervasive secrecy is necessary for national security, he said.

Still, as lawyers for Congress, the Trump administration and the media battle over which details of the Page warrant should and should not be disclosed, privacy advocates are appealing to their allies on the left to tone down all the praise they have been heaping on the FBI.

Pretending the FBI is this man on the white horse  this paragon of virtue  is fundamentally at odds with the facts, said Daniel Schuman, policy director of the progressive advocacy group Demand Progress.

evan.halper@latimes.com

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President Trump has made unconventional comments part of the conventional wisdom about his approach to being the nations chief executive.

Now, a second shutdown of the United States government in less than three weeks is not only likely but  in his words  maybe even justified.

The clock is ticking. Current funding authorization expires on Thursday.

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LETS SHUT IT DOWN, SAYS TRUMP

Trumps comments on Tuesday came just hours before the House approved a stopgap funding measure that now faces the rough waters of the Senate.

Id love to see a shutdown if we cant get this stuff taken care of, he said during a White House event on gang violence that quickly turned to immigration and border security issues.

If we have to shut it down because the Democrats dont want safety  lets shut it down.

The partisan political temperature in Washington was already elevated. After all, it was just Monday that president called Democrats un-American and perhaps guilty of treason for not clapping during his State of the Union address last week.

AND THEN, THE STOCK MARKET

Trump, unlike his predecessors, has bragged repeatedly about stocks as the market rose. Monday, he avoided the topic as they plunged. During the bull market of the last year, Trump complained that he wasnt getting enough praise for the record highs in securities values.

And you wouldnt know any of this was an issue by listening to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Im not overly concerned about the market volatility, he said Tuesday morning at a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. The fundamentals are quite strong.

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Mnuchin and other administration officials, as well as congressional Republicans, downplayed Mondays stock market plunge.

And thats not the only rhetoric-versus-reality item from the past 24 hours: Federal officials have reported the U.S. trade deficit widened last year to the highest level since 2008, fueling criticism that the president has done little to make good on his promise to curb Americas long-standing imbalance with the rest of the world, particularly China.

THE DEMOCRATS MEMO AND ALL THINGS RUSSIA

The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously Monday to release a Democratic rebuttal to the GOPs memo on the Russia investigation that Trump declassified last week. So what will the president do? He has only a few days to decide whether to declassify it.

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Meanwhile, the same House panel must wait a little longer before hearing from Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist.

And two professors of government at Harvard University are arguing that the presidents attacks on the investigation are a threat to American democracy. Their new book suggests parallels with fascism in Germany and Italy before World War II and with Latin Americas long struggle with dictatorships.

NATIONAL POLITICS LIGHTNING ROUND

-- Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand parade of the U.S. armed forces in Washington this year to celebrate military strength, officials said Tuesday.

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-- Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has left open the possibility of face-to-face talks between officials traveling with Vice President Mike Pence and North Korean officials on the sidelines of the Olympic Games.

-- The father of the U.S. college student who died after being jailed in North Korea will visit South Korea this week to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics as a guest of Pence.

-- A federal appeals court on Tuesday refused to derail a $25-million Trump University settlement after a former student wanted to take the president to trial.

-- Jerome H. Powell was sworn in Monday as chairman of the Federal Reserve and vowed to remain vigilant about risks to the financial system.

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-- The president plans to nominate Beverly Hills tax attorney Charles Chuck Rettig to head the Internal Revenue Service as it implements the nations tax code revamp.

TULARE IS A LONG WAY FROM D.C.

Rep. Devin Nunes represents the Central Valleys 22nd Congressional District, home to half a million cows. The region grows 50% of the worlds supply of raisins. The partisan spat over his memo on the Russia investigation may have consumed Washington and made Nunes a national name, but residents here are paying scant attention.

Are Democratic dreams of making this district where GOP voters have a 10 percentage point advantage competitive at all realistic?

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Jazmine Ulloa takes a look at what it was like on the streets of Nunes hometown of Tulare the day that Trump suggested the congressman might be remembered as a hero.

DEMOCRATS DOMINATE THE DOLLARS

Democratic challengers in Californias key congressional races have raised nearly twice as much money as the GOP incumbents theyre hoping to oust. A close look at the latest money picture in the competitive races shows Democrats are already raising historic amounts of money, even in unexpected districts.

Here are six other key numbers that suggest a Democratic wave might be on the horizon.

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REPUBLICANS RUMBLE IN SAN FRANCISCO

The three most prominent Republicans in the race for governor squared off in a boisterous debate deep in the heart of Democratic-friendly San Francisco on Tuesday night. Much of it focused on sexual misconduct in politics and a comparison of conservative bona fides.

The matchup came on the heels of news that one of the GOP contenders, Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, was named in a harassment complaint disclosed Friday by the California Legislature. The event also marked the first time former Sacramento-area Rep. Doug Ose appeared on a debate stage since joining the race last month.

Ose pitched himself as the most experienced politician in the room and showed an eagerness to attack his opponents, Allen and businessman John Cox of San Diego County. The discussion was interrupted several times by heated personal exchanges.

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TODAYS ESSENTIALS

-- A Los Angeles-area lawmaker wants to tax legal work, accounting and other services in an effort to insulate state government finances from the boom and bust of income tax payments.

-- Four years after the proposal was originally introduced, the Legislature approved a bill to extend whistleblower protections to its own staff this week. Gov. Jerry Brown signed the measure hours after it passed.

-- Any California registered lobbyist found to have committed sexual harassment could be banned from similar work for up to four years under a plan introduced Tuesday at the state Capitol.

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-- Changes to Capitol Hills sexual harassment policy will put victims first, says Rep. Jackie Speier.

--A majority of likely voters are disinclined to reelect GOP Reps. Dana Rohrabacher and Steve Knight, according to new poll.

-- A ballot measure championed by Republican candidate Cox for electing 12,000 neighborhood legislators has failed to qualify for Novembers election because the campaign turned in too many invalid signatures.

-- A proposed statewide ballot measure to increase property taxes on commercial and industrial lands could raise between $6 billion and $10 billion a year, a new analysis found.

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-- Los Angeles County paid more than $145 million settling and fighting lawsuits in 2016-17, a 10% jump from the previous fiscal year, according to a report made public Tuesday.

-- Tuesday was Ronald Reagan Day in California.

-- A Los Angeles billionaire is on the verge of buying the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune.

LOGISTICS

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john.myers@latimes.com

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Zhang Dejiang(R), chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), meets with L. Enkh-Amgalan, deputy chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 6, 2018. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Top Chinese legislator Zhang Dejiangon Tuesday met with L. Enkh-Amgalan, deputy chairman of the State Great Hural (Parliament) of Mongolia in Beijing, with the two sides agreeing to strengthen parliamentary cooperation.

Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), expressed the hope that the NPC and the State Great Hural will make use of the mechanism of regular exchanges between the two legislatures to deepen their cooperation.

He said the two legislatures should share experience in state governance and legislation, improve the legal guarantee for pragmatic cooperation, and expand the social foundation of bilateral friendship.

He also called on the two sides to respect each other's core interests and major concerns, and cement the political foundation of China-Mongolia ties.

Enkh-Amgalan said the State Great Hural is ready to deepen friendly exchanges with the NPC, in a bid to support the development of bilateral ties.

[ Editor: Zhang Zhou ]
Debate over sexual misconduct in politics and a comparison of conservative bona fides dominated a boisterous forum Tuesday among the three top Republican candidates for California governor.

The San Francisco matchup came on the heels of news that one of the GOP contenders, Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach, was named in a 2013 harassment complaint disclosed Friday by the California Legislature. The event also marked the first time former Sacramento-area Rep. Doug Ose appeared on a debate stage since joining the race last month.

Ose pitched himself as the most experienced politician in the room and showed an eagerness to attack his opponents, Allen and businessman John Cox of San Diego County. The discussion was interrupted several times by heated personal exchanges between the candidates as they sized up each others credentials.

When confronted with a question about the harassment allegations against him, Allen defended his behavior and downplayed the incident.

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In my case there may have been a misunderstanding, perhaps because I was too friendly, he said at the forum, which was hosted by the San Francisco Chronicle. At no time in the past, nor at any time in the future have I ever engaged in behavior that was inappropriate.

Coverage of California politics 

Allen was formally reprimanded by the Legislature after a staff member reported in 2013 he had squeezed her shoulders and made other unwanted physical contact, making her uncomfortable. After an investigation, the Assemblys chief administrator told Allen to be very conscious of his conduct.

The accusations surfaced Friday when the Legislature released documents on sexual harassment complaints filed against lawmakers and top legislative staffers. They were revealed amid a nationwide conversation about sexual misconduct in the workplace that focused first on Hollywood, with scrutiny quickly spreading to other industries and institutions, including Californias Capitol.

Allen said he supports the movement to crack down on sexual harassment and assault, and accused Democratic leaders in the Legislature of releasing the documents as a political attack. The record also revealed complaints against three sitting Democratic lawmakers.

Cox and Ose used the news about Allen as an opportunity to tout the lack of allegations against them. All three candidates criticized Democratic front-runners in the race, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, for past infidelities. Both former mayors had affairs while they were in office.

I dont know what caused the predatory culture to arise in our Capitol or our politics, Ose said. Its predatory and its corrupt. It needs to stop and the only way to do it is to take them out of office.

Earlier in the day, state election officials announced that Coxs proposal to dramatically change how state lawmakers are elected to the Legislature failed to qualify for the ballot. The initiative would have created 12,000 elected neighborhood representatives, 120 of whom would ultimately go to Sacramento to craft legislation. It would also have cut the Legislatures budget by one third.

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Cox said during the debate that he plans to challenge the initiatives failure to qualify, and still intends to bring the issue before voters.

We will restructure this so that the people are back in charge, so that they have true accountability, he said.

Allens initiative to repeal a newgas tax failed to qualify for the ballot last month. The assemblyman, who arrived late to the debate, blamed the delay on San Francisco traffic and used a joke about his tardiness to segue into a discussion of the levy. He has joined Cox in supporting a separate effort to put a gas tax repeal before voters.

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To secure a spot in the general election, the Republicans will have to significantly boost their profile with voters ahead of the June primary, when the top two finishers will advance to the November ballot regardless of party. The Republicans are trailing the top three Democrats in the polls.

Theyve also raised far less money than their Democratic challengers. Cox raised $3.5 million last year, contributing $3 million of his own money to his campaign. Allens campaign has reported $200,000 in debt. Ose has not yet had to disclose information about his campaigns finances, having entered the race last month.

Meanwhile, Newsom has more than $16 million, while Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang each have just under $6 million in cash on hand.

As Ose highlighted his political experience at the debate, Cox emphasized his record in business. Ose and Cox  both 62  mocked the 44-year-old Allen for his age, implying he lacked the experience to be governor.

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The candidates largely aligned in their views on immigration, climate change, education, healthcare and housing policy. All three emphasized their support of President Trump. Allen, long a vocal supporter of the president, engaged in a protracted argument with Ose over how ardently each backed Trumps campaign. Cox voted for another candidate, but said he supports the work Trump has done since becoming president.

I have to say, we are making news tonight, said moderator John Diaz, the Chronicles editorial page editor. This is the first time in San Francisco I have heard an argument among people about who most supports Donald Trump.

Sophia Bollag is a special correspondent.

Follow @SophiaBollag on Twitter.
John Burroughs High will return to the 1950s this weekend as the school presents the musical Grease.

The show includes many classic hits such as Summer Nights, Greased Lightnin and We Go Together.

The production is directed by Guy Myers and choreographed by Jennifer Stanley with musical direction by Brendan Jennings. Jon King serves as technical director.

Performances will be at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday at Burroughs High, 1920 W. Clark Ave., Burbank.

Admission is $20 for adults, $10 for students, faculty and seniors.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit jbhsdrama.com.

mark.kellam@latimes.com

Twitter: @lamarkkellam
Costa Mesa City Council members gave their unanimous blessing Tuesday night to a new event venue called Alleylujah planned near the Camp commercial center.

Alleylujah will occupy about 2,300 square feet in an existing commercial building at 2955 Randolph Ave. and be open for business meetings and other private events.

Also planned is a sizable outdoor area to give guests more room to mingle, relax or smoke without bothering others, according to Linda Sadeghi of Costa Mesa-based Lab Holding LLC, which proposed the project.

Sadeghi told the council that the venue will provide much-needed gathering space in Costa Mesas Sobeca district, a 39-acre zone that includes other Lab Holding properties, most notably the Camp and the Lab shopping centers on Bristol Street.

We are in the heart of commerce in the Orange County area; thats why we built our businesses here, she said. We have been here in Costa Mesa for 25 years, so we know  that a private event center would really take hold here and be used by both the private and public sector.

The city Planning Commission approved the project in December, but Mayor Sandy Genis asked that the council also take a look, citing concerns about parking.

That issue is raised regularly throughout the Sobeca area. Any new projects pitched in the zone are almost always met with objections from residents or existing businesses owners who fear the addition would worsen the parking situation.

The city seems to think that parking is kind of magic  it just shows up as you need it, resident Jay Humphrey told the council Tuesday. Folks, we are putting more and more and more business into a very small area without making demands that deal with parking.

Though there arent enough parking spaces at 2955 Randolph to satisfy the citys requirements, Alleylujah would tap into spots available at two other Lab Holding properties  2991 Randolph and 765 St. Clair St.  and use valet services to reach the necessary threshold.

During times when businesses at the other properties are open, guests at Alleylujah would be shuttled to and from the venue to prevent parking conflicts, according to plans submitted to the city.

Despite that, some speakers at Tuesdays meeting said theyre still concerned that Alleylujah visitors could end up swiping street parking along Randolph or taking spaces belonging to other businesses.

Council members, though, expressed confidence that the parking plan is workable and said the city could step in if any issues arise.

If youre successful, then we shouldnt have a problem, Genis told Sadeghi.

Councilwoman Katrina Foley said she hopes the city and businesses in Sobeca can work together to discourage driving in the area and urge people to find alternatives.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney
More than 40 boats and paddleboards will be up for the highest bidders when the public auction of abandoned vessels returns to Newport Beach next week.

The auction is set for 9 a.m. Feb. 16 at the Orange County Sheriffs Department Harbor Patrol docks at 1901 Bayside Drive. Viewing will begin at 8 a.m.

The inventory includes five sailboats in the 25-to-31-foot range, three powerboats in the 11-to-28-foot range, a 20-foot Duffy electric boat, a 25-foot outrigger canoe, a 15-foot barge and several paddleboards, kayaks, rowboats and dinghies.

See more details at newportbeachca.gov.

Public hearing Wednesday on Newport-Mesa trustee areas

The Orange County Department of Education will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Wednesday to consider the Newport-Mesa Unified School Districts plan to have school board members elected by voters in their trustee areas.

Currently, the trustees represent zones but are chosen by voters districtwide.

The district hopes to put the new voting system in place, with adjusted zone boundaries to make them more equal in population, by the next election in November.

School attendance boundaries would not be affected by the change.

Wednesdays meeting will be in the district office at 2985 Bear St., Costa Mesa.

JWA regulations to be topic at Newport forum

The next John Wayne Airport issues forum in Newport Beach on Friday is expected to cover airport regulatory documents such as the Access Plan, which restricts noise levels along with operational capacity and hours.

The forum is part of an informational series presented by the city of Newport Beach and Orange County, which owns and operates the airport.

The forum will run from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the City Council chamber at 100 Civic Center Drive.

Parent/teen conference in Costa Mesa to focus on dating violence

Human Options, a nonprofit that helps victims of domestic violence, will present a parent/teen conference on Saturday at Costa Mesa High School as part of its Love Shouldnt Hurt campaign to raise awareness of teenage dating violence.

The public event from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. is designed to get students talking about relationships, destructive gender stereotypes and warning signs of dating abuse and help them learn safe ways to address abuse in their lives. Complimentary breakfast and lunch are included.

Costa Mesa High School is at 2650 Fairview Road.

For more information, call (949) 737-5242, ext. 211, or visit humanoptions.org.

Chinese New Year celebration Saturday at Argyros Plaza

The Segerstrom Center for the Arts Julianne and George Argyros Plaza will host a free Chinese New Year celebration from 6 to 7:45 p.m. Saturday.

Guests can welcome the Year of the Dog with an evening of dance performances, family-friendly crafts, traditional foods and a musical performance by the Lotus Bud Guzheng Ensemble of Irvine.

The Argyros Plaza also will be the scene of concerts by MenAlive, Orange Countys gay mens chorus, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday and 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Sunday before the performances those nights of the Broadway hit Kinky Boots in Segerstrom Hall.

The Segerstrom Center is at 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. For more information, call (714) 556-2121 or visit scfta.org.

Huntington Beach mayor to hold town hall meeting

Huntington Beach Mayor Mike Posey will present a town hall meeting at 9 a.m. Saturday to discuss zoning and other issues. The event will include a question-and-answer session.

The meeting will be held in the City Council chamber at 2000 Main St.

For more information, call (714) 536-5202 or email antonia.graham@surfcity-hb.org.

Baby Date set for O.C. fairgrounds

The OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa will host the first Baby Date  billed as a family festival featuring indoor activities for young children  from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

The event is themed Baby Sadie Hawkins. Organizers said it will feature face painting, arts and crafts, balloon art, photos, fashion shows and a marketplace.

For tickets or more information, visit babydatefest.com or call (909) 282-8727.

Costa Mesa man is new marketing director of Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation, a San Clemente-based ocean advocacy group, has named Costa Mesa resident Eddie Anaya as marketing director.

Anaya previously held senior marketing positions at Vans, Oakley and Quiksilver, according to a news release. The longtime surfer and snowboarder started his career as an editorial intern at Surfer magazine. He holds a bachelor of science degree in political science, with an emphasis in politics and policy formation, from Cal State Long Beach.

Im incredibly honored to join the Surfrider family and its mission to protect our ocean and coasts, Anaya said in a statement.

Newport fire chief to discuss wildland fire safety in Corona del Mar

Newport Beach Fire Chief Chip Duncan will discuss wildland fire safety at this months Corona del Mar Residents Assn. board meeting.

The meeting will start at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 15 in Room 5 at the Oasis Senior Center, 801 Narcissus Ave.

For more information, call (949) 478-2454 or visit cdmra.org.

Stretch of University Drive to close for pavement replacement

Orange County Public Works will remove and replace pavement on the stretch of University Drive between Willo Lane and Irvine Avenue in the Costa Mesa-Newport Beach area from Feb. 19 to 23.

The project will require a complete road closure, though area residents and the Newport Beach International Montessori Academies will continue to have access.

Work hours will be 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays.

UPDATES:

2:35 p.m.: This article was updated with the Huntington Beach town hall item.

This article was originally published at 2 p.m.
Costa Mesa City Council members took a step Tuesday toward removing so-called residential incentive overlays that allow high-density residential development at specified locations along Harbor and Newport boulevards.

The overlays were created as part of the 2016 update to the citys general plan. They permit building up to 40 housing units per acre at certain commercial properties along the two thoroughfares.

At the time of the update, those who supported the overlays said the goal was to encourage redevelopment of problematic properties  namely motels that some have decried as hotbeds for drug use or criminal activity.

On Tuesday, though, the council voted 3-2  with Mayor Pro Tem Allan Mansoor and Councilman Jim Righeimer opposed  to start the process of deleting them almost entirely.

The exception is the site of the closed Costa Mesa Motor Inn at 2277 Harbor Blvd., where a previously approved apartment project has been tied up in litigation.

There is a place for densification and then there is a place where you dont want to have that much density, Councilwoman Katrina Foley said. Harbor Boulevard should be a commercial corridor; it shouldnt be high-rise apartments ... and same with Newport Boulevard. That is not the right place for density.

Mayor Sandy Genis, who in 2015 voted with Foley against creating the overlays, said shes consistently been concerned that they were a huge grant of density where we werent getting anything for it, such as additional requirements to build affordable housing units.

Mansoor, on the other hand, said he thinks the overlays are a useful redevelopment tool.

I just want to have that option to offer something, he said.

Righeimer characterized eliminating the overlays as massive down-zoning across our city and said he didnt think affected property owners had been appropriately notified.

Deleting the overlays requires amendments to the general plan and municipal code, a process involving reviews by both the Planning Commission and City Council.

Small-lot standards

On a 4-1 vote, with Righeimer opposed, the council directed staff to initiate a code amendment to modify development standards for projects processed under the citys small-lot ordinance so they mirror those of common-interest developments such as condominiums.

While the standards are already largely the same, the change would require small-lot projects to provide more open space and, in some cases, additional parking or a greater distance between buildings.

The small-lot ordinance, adopted in 2014, was designed to ease development standards for proposals of 15 or fewer detached homes in areas zoned for multifamily units.

Supporters say the ordinance encourages redevelopment and creation of housing on underused land. Critics have contended it allows excessive building that can create additional traffic, parking and other quality-of-life issues.

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to direct staff to further review the other urban plans and overlay districts on the citys books  which outline development standards in certain portions of the Westside and the Sobeca district around the Lab and the Camp shopping centers on Bristol Street  and see whether any changes are necessary.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney
The company that operated a helicopter that crashed into a home last week in Newport Beach, killing three people and injuring two others, was the focus of a Federal Aviation Administration investigation last year into allegations of improper maintenance, including on the copter that crashed, documents show.

Revolution Aviation, a flight school and touring company based at John Wayne Airport, had been leasing the four-seat Robinson R44 from Spitzer Helicopter LLC of Canyon Lake in Riverside County since April 2016.

On Jan. 30, the aircraft slammed into a house on Shearwater Place near Egret Court in Newports Bayview Terrace community. Authorities have not determined what caused the crash.

Joseph Anthony Tena, 60, of Newport Beach, who had an ownership stake in Revolution Aviation, was killed along with Kimberly Lynne Watzman, 45, of Santa Monica and Brian Reichelt, 56, of Hollywood, Fla., according to the Orange County Sheriffs Department.

Records show that another copter Revolution Aviation operated crashed at Long Beach Airport in September.

Shortly before that crash, the FAAs Long Beach flight standards district office inspected five of the helicopters Revolution Aviation operated, as well as all the companys aircraft operations and maintenance records, according to an August FAA memo obtained by the Daily Pilot.

The investigation was launched in July after the agency received a complaint on its aviation safety hot line.

During a review of the R44 helicopter that eventually went down in Newport Beach, a maintenance inspector found that safety wiring on the engines valve covers did not meet FAA standards, the cooling fan nut spring pin (which helps keep the engine cooling fan in place) was not aligned with indicator marks on the aircraft, and torque striping required by the helicopters maintenance manual was missing on multiple critical fasteners, according to the memo. The striping makes movement of the fasteners easier to spot.

Jeffrey Rafferty, who at the time was the principal maintenance inspector with the FAA in Long Beach, wrote in the memo that he also substantiated some nonspecific allegations in the complaint with regard to the operation of several helicopters that may not be in airworthy condition.

For example, Rafferty wrote, a helicopter was flown after the deadline for its annual inspection had passed, which is against FAA regulations. He also wrote that some helicopter maintenance wasnt being documented as required by the agency.

Rafferty went on to say that Revolution Aviation has addressed all of the discrepancies brought to their attention by the [aviation safety inspectors] during the investigation and put new processes in place to reduce the likeliness of reoccurrence.

An FAA representative declined to comment this week.

Jack Cress, a technology instructor at USC who teaches courses on helicopter and other aircraft accident investigations, said FAA investigations of the type performed on Revolution Aviation are not unusual.

He said the findings about the R44 helicopter werent particularly egregious. However, he said, it certainly would be an invitation for a need for more scrutiny.

Anytime you run across something like that, it could imply a lack of attention to detail, he said.

Anna Robinson, operations director at Revolution Aviation, wrote in a letter to Rafferty on July 31 that the company was notified of some of the issues before the investigation started and had already corrected them.

No flight instructor or pilot performing his/her duties while working for Revolution Aviation knowingly, deliberately or carelessly operated any aircraft listed in your letter in unairworthy condition, she wrote.

Robinson did not return a call seeking further comment this week.

After the crash in Newport Beach, Eric Spitzer of Spitzer Helicopter, which had leased the R44 to Revolution Aviation, called Revolution spectacular.

The minute just a little thing goes wrong, theyre on it, he said.

Revolution Aviations website states the company has a 100% safety record.

However, a Robinson R22 Beta helicopter operated by the company crashed at Long Beach Airport about a month after the FAAs investigation ended in August, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. The FAA had noted missing or incorrect torque striping on multiple critical fasteners on the R22.

The preliminary NTSB report on the crash said the student pilot suffered serious injuries.

The student told investigators that as he began to approach the landing pad at an altitude of about 40 feet, the helicopter began to shudder and a horn sounded warning of low rotor rpm. The students instructor told investigators that the nose began to shift to the left and right and the copter suddenly and rapidly descended, according to the report.

The aircraft, which also was registered to Spitzer Helicopter, hit the ground and rolled onto its side. The cause of the crash, which the NTSB is investigating, has not been released.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
A federal judge on Tuesday granted a temporary restraining order barring Orange County Sheriffs deputies from arresting homeless people who refuse to leave encampments along the Santa Ana River.

U.S. District Judge David Carters order is related to a lawsuit filed Jan. 29 seeking to halt an ongoing effort to clear homeless people who have set up camp along the river trail and prevent three cities  Anaheim, Costa Mesa and Orange  from enforcing anti-camping, trespassing and loitering laws.

The lawsuit alleges the county and cities have taken actions that forced hundreds of homeless people to move to the riverbed and is now moving to push those people back into cities without plans to provide adequate housing and shelter.

The court will not allow haphazard, hurried enforcement action in an effort to clear the population , Carter wrote in his order.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Orange County Catholic Worker, which provides services to the poor, and seven homeless people who live in encampments along the river, asked the court to block law enforcement from making arrests.

The group filed the request after it found out authorities planned to cite and arrest homeless people who remained in the area for trespassing beginning Wednesday morning, according to the filing.

Carters order will stand until a Feb.13 hearing, when representatives of the county and cities will provide information about the number and circumstances of citations issued or arrests made under trespassing, anti-camping or loitering laws since the beginning of the year.

Police presence along the river trail is still allowed, and deputies are permitted to make arrests for probation and parole violations or other illegal conduct.

Orange County Counsel Leon Page said in a statement last week that he had no comment on the merits of the litigation, but that the county was looking forward to discussing positive solutions that will benefit all stakeholders, including the population encamped in the Santa Ana riverbed.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
Noting necessity and community support, Laguna Beach will move forward in the coming months to investigate the feasibility of undergrounding utilities in the city.

Following a directive unanimously approved by the City Council on Tuesday, city staff will execute a second community input survey, reach out to city stakeholders like the Chamber of Commerce and further examine funding sources to relocate Lagunas utilities.

Many residents and city officials, including police and fire department leaders, say Laguna needs to do the expensive but necessary maneuver in the interest of public safety. Of particular concern, officials say, is Laguna Canyon Road  a main arterial thoroughfare into the city that, if blocked or plagued by fires caused by downed power lines, could severely hinder aid efforts.

An independent survey conducted in January suggested Laguna residents would support undergrounding, particularly along Laguna Canyon Road.

Undergrounding could cost $90 million for Laguna Canyon Road alone and another $45 million for evacuation areas.

The process could be paid with a dedicated sales tax, bond or combination or both. Whether or not Laguna Beach residents are OK with the undergrounding bill may be asked of them in November. Taxes or a bond need a two-thirds majority to pass.

Tom Gibbs of Underground Laguna Now, a grassroots advocacy group, urged the council to bring the question before voters.

Overhead electrical utilities can be problematic, Gibbs said, and the loss of life is irreplaceable and the loss of ones home is unforgettable. It changes peoples lives and people.

Others, however, were worried about the financial impact new taxes would pose to property owners, tourists and business owners.

One resident worried about the citys handling of new revenue, saying she didnt like giving City Hall a blank check.

A majority of the council members said they would approve of the effort.

Councilman Bob Whalen, who examined the issue as part of a subcommission with Councilman Rob Zur Schmiede, said the undergrounding tax may only amount to a few hundred dollars more on property tax bills.

Were not talking thousands of dollars, he said. Sometimes in life youve just gotta grab yourself by the boots and pull it up.

Councilman Steve Dicterow said the community feels angry about the overall state of politics right now. He said that anger may translate into voters not approving new taxes for undergrounding.

Anger tends to be a no vote, Dicterow said.

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint
After 11 hours of scouring the ocean near the Huntington Beach Pier, authorities Wednesday suspended their search for an 18-year-old swimmer who was reported missing the night before.

The Coast Guard launched its search for the woman, identified by authorities as Jessy Cook, after receiving a call from the Orange County Sheriffs Department Harbor Patrol at 11:40 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Authorities were told the woman was on the pier and then somehow ended up in the water before a witness lost sight of her, Coast Guard Lt. Daniel Ippolito said. It wasnt clear whether she jumped or fell from the pier.

Some of her personal items were left on the pier, Ippolito said.

Boats were used to search the area overnight, and a helicopter joined in Wednesday morning, said Coast Guard Petty Officer DaVonte Marrow.

The Coast Guard suspended the effort at 10:30 a.m. after searching nearly 137 square nautical miles. Crews also searched the beach on the chance that Cook went ashore, Ippolito said. She was not found, Marrow said.

Authorities described Cook as 5 feet 11 inches tall and 147 pounds with brown hair. She was wearing a light-colored top.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach command center at (310) 521-3801.

KTLA contributed to this report.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN

UPDATES:

7:30 a.m. Feb. 8: This article was updated with additional details.

1:50 p.m. Feb. 7: This article was updated with the search being suspended.

This article was originally published at 7:55 a.m. Feb. 7.
A Newport Beach man agreed to plead guilty to piloting an Alaska Airlines plane while he was under the influence of alcohol, the U.S. attorneys office said Tuesday.

David Hans Arntson, 62, acknowledged as part of the plea agreement filed in federal court that he was an alcoholic for a substantial portion of his career as an airline pilot.

In exchange for pleading guilty to a felony count of operating a carrier while under the influence, several other charges against Arntson are being dropped, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors and Arntsons attorney agreed that he should be sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Arntson was facing up to 15 years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney will decide Arntsons sentence at a future hearing. A date has not been set.

According to court documents, Arntson piloted two Alaska Airlines flights on June 20, 2014. The first was at 6:21 a.m. from San Diego to Portland, Ore. After a brief layover, he piloted a flight from Portland to Orange County.

After he landed at John Wayne Airport, Arntson was selected for random drug and alcohol testing by Alaska Airlines.

Breath tests conducted 15 minutes apart in an airport restroom indicated that Arntson had blood-alcohol concentrations of 0.134% and 0.142%, according to court records.

Those percentages were well above the federal limit of 0.04% for pilots, the plea agreement states.

Arntson told investigators that he didnt understand the test results since he hadnt consumed alcohol that day. Arntson said he ordered a beer with dinner the night before the flight from San Diego but took only a few sips.

Arntson, who had worked for Alaska Airlines since 1982, was removed from safety-sensitive duties the day of the tests, according to the airline. He later retired because of medical issues.

Thankfully, Mr. Arntson was never involved in an accident, but his conduct could have resulted in tragic consequences, U.S. Attorney Nicola Hanna said in a statement. Very few people will ever hold the lives of so many people in their hands at one time.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
What can a 7-year-old boy do? Sun Chuyang has been practicing yoga for about three years, and has earned over 100,000 yuan ($15,875) by teaching yoga, Xinhuanet.com reported.

Sun became a qualified yoga teacher at the age of six, the youngest in China and also the world.

He started to learn yoga in order to overcome autism.

When he was two years old, his parents spent less time with him as they were tied up with work. Sun was introverted and was diagnosed with autism.

However, Sun showed talent in yoga when he was taken by his mother to attend yoga class.

Two years of practicing not only made Sun outgoing, but also brought him fortune as a qualified yoga teacher.

[ Editor: WPY ]
Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard G. Cushman was serving his country in the Korean War when he was reported missing in action on Dec. 5, 1950.

While he was declared deceased by the Army in 1951, Cushmans remains hadnt been found.

Six decades later, there finally is closure.

Thanks to the unrelenting efforts of a specialized agency, advanced DNA analysis, the efforts of three Korean citizens and a stroke of luck, Cushmans remains were found and taken home.

A recipient of multiple commendations, including a Purple Heart, Silver Star, Bronze Star and Prisoner of War Medal, Cushman was laid to rest with full military honors on Feb. 4 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cypress.

He was buried alongside his younger brother John, who had died years earlier.

This is a celebration of two homecomings, said Pastor Bob Snyder, who presided over the service. And the celebration of his homecoming to be with his brother and his mother and father in eternity, and his homecoming that he is now with us in beloved America.

A remembrance card for Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard G. Cushman was displayed during his funeral service at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress on Feb. 3. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer )

Cushman was born in Springville, Utah, on Feb. 29, 1932.

He was raised by his father, Ralph, and stepmother, Juanita.

After graduating from high school, Cushman enlisted in the U.S. Army and quickly advanced to the rank of sergeant first class.

He was on the front lines for some of the most intense fighting of the Korean War that began June 25, 1950, and ended July 27, 1953.

On Nov. 30, 1950, while in the village of Kunu-ri, Cushmans company and an infantry platoon received orders to destroy a roadblock and eliminate enemy troops.

The Chinese Peoples Volunteer Forces attacked the unit and by the end of battle, Cushman was missing.

While he was not named as a prisoner of war on lists provided by the Korean Peoples Army after the war, two returning American prisoners reported that Cushman had died of malnutrition while being held by the Chinese Peoples Volunteer Forces.

He was declared deceased by U.S. Army as of March 31, 1951.

Cushmans father and stepmother kept their sons memory alive with a makeshift memorial of their sons photos, medals and other mementos.

Not only did they not forget him, they kept his memory alive to us, said his niece Wendy Griffin. They spoke of him. We would beg to hear stories about him  about him being a hero, about him being a mischievous little boy. Even though he wasnt physically with us, I still felt like I had an Uncle Richard. I still feel that way.

California National Guard Cpl. Serapio Alvarez, right, carries a U.S. flag and National Guard Sgt. Leonardo Becerra carries the remains of Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard G. Cushman at Cushmans funeral on Feb. 3 in Cypress. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer )

Based on information provided by three Korean witnesses, a joint U.S. and Korean Peoples Army recovery team conducted a recovery operation at a site in the Ung Bong Village in North Korea in 2002.

The site was excavated and possible human remains were recovered, along with personal effects and other items, all of which were sent to the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, whose mission is to account for missing Americans from past conflicts.

Today, 7,712 Americans remain unaccounted for from the Korean War, according to the Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

By this time, DNA testing was being used to identify the remains of military personnel, but Cushmans parents and his younger brother John were deceased.

The accounting agency located Cushmans cousin from his biological mothers family, who submitted a DNA sample.

Using mitochondrial DNA analysis, anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence, Cushman was positively identified in early 2017.

His name is recorded at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, along with the others who are missing from the Korean War. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

But finding Cushmans next of kin had become an ordeal until a distant relative, who had been practicing genealogy, contacted Cushmans niece Tera Barrera, of Lakewood.

We were shocked and amazed and excited, Barrera said at her uncles funeral. We never envisioned this.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Richard G. Cushmans niece Tera Barrera, right, receives an Ambassador for Peace medal from Republic of Korea Consul General Wan-joong Kim. (Raul Roa / Staff Photographer )

Barrera contacted Cushmans sister-in-law, Kathy Cushman, who reached out to the Army, and after months of paperwork, arrangements were made to have Cushman interred next to his brother at Forest Lawn in Cypress.

He had been over there for so many years alone, Kathy Cushman said. I thought it was important for him to be with his brother.

Vietnam veteran Tom Lasser, a retired commander of the Los Alamitos Army Airfield and advocate for military personnel who are missing in action, was among veterans who attended Cushmans funeral

Never leave a fallen comrade behind  that is the creed of American fighting men and women, Lasser said. The United States is the only country that has a dedicated office that seeks out missing in action, locates them, identifies them and brings them back to this country. Sometimes it takes 68 years.

Lou Ponsi is a contributor to TimesOC.
As part of an exhibit that explores stories across the U.S.-Mexico border, author Lauren Markham will speak at the Glendale Central Library about her book The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life, which delves into the real lives of identical twin brothers who are fleeing violence in El Salvador.

Her book not only examines why so many people are fleeing Central America and what the United States can do to help but also covers the often obscured struggles of navigating the complicated U.S. immigration system.

In the book, Ernesto and Raul Flores, both 17, are fleeing danger in El Salvador, do not have temporary protected status and cannot qualify for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. They rely on their older brother  already living in California  for help.

Neither of them are [temporary-protected-status] holders or [are eligible for] DACA, but the current immigration conversation thats happening right now is really affecting them, Markham said. For any immigration-related news, Ill get a message from someone from their family in El Salvador wondering what is happening. This sort of climate of fear and insecurity in this moment of American politics is pretty profound.

Markham, who is a journalist, has reported on unaccompanied minors  children who cross their borders without papers or parents  from Central America since 2012. However, she did not meet the twins initially as a journalist but while working as a program coordinator at their high school, Oakland International.

She said the undocumented student population had suddenly exploded at the school and each student needed help scheduling court dates, finding lawyers and addressing their mental health.

Ernesto and Raul Flores walked into her office one day in 2014.

Their story is not the most harrowing Ive heard, not the most sensational, she said. But their story didnt fit into the paradigm of asylum seekers. They were caught in a tricky legal situation and afraid for their lives.

The book exposes the tedious trials of maneuvering in a bureaucratic system, she said, and then to bump against the often exaggerated fears of the American public.

Markham said her book tries to illuminate the interior worlds of undocumented young men and women without placing the entire sociopolitical dynamic of immigration issues on any individuals shoulders.

People know the basic stuff about fleeing gang violence and the historically unprecedented amount of unaccompanied minors, less so what is day-to-day life like dealing with very adolescent concerns and adult concerns, Markham said.

[The twins] are straddling multiple worlds at once  El Salvador and the U.S. but also adolescence and adulthood, she added.

Markham will give her talk at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Glendale Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
Faced with fewer students enrolling in language-immersion courses once they reach the secondary-school level, Glendale Unified officials may consolidate some immersion programs in middle schools and do away with them entirely at Hoover High School.

The reality of small class sizes at the secondary level has been an ongoing issue, said Sherry Kully, a coordinator for student support services.

Only three students in the current sixth-grade Italian class at Franklin Magnet Elementary School are expected to enroll in Italian at Roosevelt Middle School next school year.

Of the 32 sixth-graders studying Korean at Monte Vista Elementary, half said theyll continue studying Korean at Rosemont Middle School, according to a district report.

The Foreign Language Academies of Glendale  or FLAG  has put Glendale Unified on the map with neighboring districts seeking to offer similar programs.

The programs have waiting lists at the elementary level, year after year.

However, Kully said the reasons why students have decided to not study foreign languages at the middle-school level vary.

Sometimes they attend other schools; other times they sign up for other electives, such as a new language, art or music.

That was the case for 63 students this year, Kully added.

How do we build a program that is sustainable so that it is not limping along, ragged? said Glendale Unified Supt. Winfred Roberson Jr. We have to make a decision.

Under the strain of the districts ongoing budget deficit, eliminating courses would also save the district money.

About eight full-time equivalent employees teach immersion programs at Glendale Unified middle and high schools, at an annual cost of $800,000.

Consolidating programs at the middle-school level, and not offering them at Hoover would save the district $200,000 a year, starting with the 2017-18 school year, said Jacqueline Perez, assistant superintendent.

Several world language courses, however, would still to be offered at local high schools, including in Spanish, French, German, Korean and Armenian.

Under the proposal, students who have studied Korean at Monte Vista Elementary, and will attend Rosemont Middle School next school year, may attend Toll Middle School instead.

Meanwhile, the students who studied Armenian at R.D. White and Jefferson elementary schools may continue to study Armenian at Wilson Middle School, instead of both Wilson and Toll.

With the school board expected to vote on the issue during its May 23 meeting, school officials plan to alert parents of the potential change, so they can weigh in on it.

kelly.corrigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @kellymcorrigan
In separate reports to the Glendale City Council Tuesday, both the Downtown Glendale Assn. and Montrose Shopping Park Assn. presented a recap of strong revenues last year as well as plans for this year.

The Downtown Glendale Assn. is the nonprofit organization that manages the Downtown Community Benefit District, tasked with improving the downtown area by increasing customers and sales as well as decreasing occupancies each year.

Rick Lemmo, president of the Glendale associations board and vice president with Caruso, said the association is a great example of how the downtown area has reinvented itself during the past few years.

[Theres been a] radical change in retail throughout the country, Lemmo said. We at DGA understand that downtown Glendale must become a place that people think of first as a desirable destination to visit  and [become] more than just a traditional shopping area.

The association, which operates independent of city funds, reported slightly more than $1 million in revenues last year, with expenses at about $900,000. The association is paid for by property owners in the district.

A majority of the expenses went toward sidewalk operations and landscaping. About $200,000 was spent on marketing and district identity, often in public spaces, and the remaining expenses were for administration and reserves.

Downtown also saw the addition of about 20 new businesses last fiscal year, which include the third Eggslut in Los Angeles County, the Antaeus Theatre on Broadway and Halal Guys on Brand Boulevard.

The Downtown Community Benefit District currently encompasses Brand Boulevard from Colorado Street to the south to Frontage Road/Sanchez Drive to the north. According to Lemmo and a city staff report, the Downtown Glendale Assn. plans to reach out to offices, hotels and property owners north of the Ventura (134) Freeway for talks about expanding the district.

The organizations proposed 2018 budget of just over $1 million in revenues was approved by council.

Honolulu Avenue welcomes shoppers in Montrose. (Raul Roa / Glendale News-Press )

Also at the meeting, the Montrose Shopping Park Assn., the nonprofit that manages the Montrose Business Improvement District  which includes more than 200 businesses  reported about $470,000 in net income and roughly $478,000 in expenses. The difference was accounted for by dipping into a reserve of about $122,000 the association maintains.

The association requested a $495,000 budget this year and was approved by council.

Dale Dawson, business administrator for the shopping park, attributed much of the areas success to annual events such as the Montrose Spring Wine Walk and the Montrose Arts & Crafts Festival as well as participation by the Montrose associations six board members.

The involvement at the board level has really been a plus for us, Dawson said.

Councilmen Zareh Sinanyan praised the district during the meeting.

Honolulu Avenue looks just as nice [as downtown] and is just as special, he said. Its very different  but an amazing part of Glendale.

jeff.landa@latimes.com

Twitter: @JeffLanda
Glendale saw a 19.6% jump in violent crimes last year, continuing an upward trend that began in 2014, according to numbers from the Glendale Police Department.

Despite the rise in violent incidents, the overall crime rate in the city was 7.5% lower last year than it was in 2016. The polices year-end crime statistics logged 3,404 reported crimes last year while the year before saw 3,680.

Violent crimes  homicides, robberies, rapes and aggravated assaults  accounted for 274 of those incidents last year. In 2016, there were 229.

When asked to comment on the statistics, department officials said they are currently looking into why violent crimes were up, while the overall rate was down, and they have yet to complete the analysis.

Robberies saw a 51.2% jump last year, rising from 84 incidents in 2016 to 127. Aggravated assaults went from 104 reported incidents in 2016 to 112 last year.

There was a 200% increase in homicides, with three cases in 2017, while 2016 had only one.

Rape was the only violent crime that decreased last year, from 40 cases in 2016 to 32 in 2017  a 20% drop.

The number of property crimes made up the bulk of reported crimes in the city, seeing a 9.3% reduction last year, going from 3,451 to 3,130. Property crimes include burglaries, auto thefts, arson, petty thefts and grand thefts.

The number of burglaries dropped 16.4% last year, from 596 to 498, while auto thefts went from 359 in 2016 to 316 last year.

Petty thefts saw the most reports in 2017 with 1,499. It was an 8.4% decrease from 2016, which had 1,637.

There was a 2.3% gain in grand thefts last year, going from 355 to 363. The number of arsons in Glendale significantly jumped from 5 to 13, or a 160% rise.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
Two hot button issues among La Canada residents  a startling recent uptick of home break-ins and ongoing power outage issues  were tackled this week by members of the La Canada Flintridge City Council.

Sheriffs and city officials updated residents during the regular council meeting Tuesday night on numerous additional public safety efforts being made in the wake of a rash of burglaries, including two December armed home invasions, announcing theyll host a citywide safety forum on March 5.

In January, a total of 12 residential burglaries and attempted burglaries were reported by tracking website Crimemapping.com, compared to six in both December and November. Similarly, a total of six commercial or other break-ins were tracked in January, compared to one in December and two in November.

City Manager Mark Alexander said numerous residents have contacted City Hall to share their concerns about crime trends. He assured residents officials were thoughtfully and actively responding to issues raised.

I think its really important that we share some of the information on the things were doing as a city and the things the sheriffs department is doing in response to the incidents that have occurred, he said. This is a very important issue and we are very concerned.

Alexander said in addition to increased patrols, made possible by extra discretionary funding provided the sheriffs department by the city, a new automatic license plate reader unit previously approved by the council was being installed on a vehicle at the Crescenta Valley Sheriffs Station.

The station is also in the process of bringing on a community services assistant to support deputies administratively and help with parking enforcement so officers can spend more time patrolling La Canadas streets. The annual $62,300 salary will be paid for by additional funding granted to the station by the city in July.

In a public comment, La Canada resident Linda Reisz shared her personal experience as the victim of a Jan. 31 home break-in.

I was burglarized last week  I have no jewelry left, Reisz told council members. So now Ive joined the ranks of people whove been cleared out.

She wondered how slow response times by the Crescenta Valley station, a lack of license plate cameras and under-policing in general may have contributed to the recent rise of burglaries.

Station Capt. Chris Blasnek assured Reisz and others that the station, located on Briggs Avenue in La Crescenta, has stepped up its policing to respond to the increased crime trend. In January, he said, deputies issued 238 warnings, 125 citations and conducted 86 field interviews, compared to 122 warnings, 62 citations and 24 interviews in December.

We acknowledge weve had an uptick [in burglaries] and were going to deal with it, Blasnek said. Deputies are working hard for you out there.

A public safety newsletter prepared by city staff indicates the average response time of Crescenta Valley station deputies in emergent, potentially threatening situations is 3.6 minutes. In priority situations, when there is a probable but still unconfirmed active crime or threat to safety, the average wait time is six minutes.

In addition to increased patrols, Blasnek said the station is working equally hard to inform residents of ways to protect their homes from crimes. The city currently has 35 neighborhood watch groups and conducts regular informational sessions at residents requests.

On Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Community Center of La Canada Flintridge, 4469 Chevy Chase Drive, neighborhood watch captain Stephanie Arnold has arranged a presentation by representatives of Ring video doorbell. Residents can have their questions answered by experts and receive a discount on products.

Doors will open at 5 p.m. on March 5 for the citys town hall forum on public safety and crime prevention at Lanterman Auditorium, 4491 Cornishon Ave., La Canada. For more information, call (818) 790-8880.

Edison responds to reliability report

Also on Tuesday, the City Council heard an update from Southern California Edison representative Marissa Castro-Salvati on infrastructure upgrades being made in response to an independent audit commissioned to evaluate the utilitys local reliability and service.

The results of that report, released in September by Los Angeles-based consulting firm PMCM, showed La Canada Flintridge experienced 2,371 power outages between 2006 and 2016  a failure rate higher than Edisons systemwide average. The report made several recommendations, including renovation to an overburdened local substation.

Castro-Salvati told council members the results of the report were received and officials could expect to learn more about many improvements made in recent months when Edison releases an annual circuit reliability report later this month.

SCE has invested $72 million of capital upgrades within the city of La Canada Flintridge in the last 10 years and plans extensive community improvements in the next 10 years, she said. Rest assured that an open line of communication and timely responses to customer requests will always be maintained.

sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine
In their rush to produce new sound-on-film movies  talkies  Paramount quickly built a new soundproof movie studio. Then, before production began, fire destroyed the building.

A story in the Jan. 17, 1929, Los Angeles Times reported:

Fire destroyed the new $450,000 sound-proof talking-picture stage of the Paramount-Famous-Lasky studios on Melrose Avenue last night and five firemen and three civilian workers were injured while combating the flames.

The blaze was discovered about 6 oclock by a girl employed in the cutting department. Shortly afterwards flames shot high into the sky and could be seen for miles. When the fire department arrived the entire top of the structure was aflame. The building, which was 180x150 feet, was constructed of steel, tile and wood. Between the tile and wood was a layer of a soundproof composition of wood and felt.

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It was this material that caused dense smoke and sparks to rise in a huge column over the studios. The soundproof building had just been completed and preparations had been made to celebrate the opening with a dance Saturday night. The new equipment designed to make talking pictures had not been uncrated and had not been moved into the building. Had the equipment been in the building it would have increased the loss to almost $1,000,000, studio officials assert.

The fire is believed to have been caused by defective wiring. The building has been designed to hold five stages and was considered the last word for production of sound pictures. No one was employed in the building when the fire was discovered and the heavy iron doors had been closed.

Across the street in the cutting department Jesse Lasky and B. P. Shulberg, officials of the company, were in the projection room looking at a film when Malsie Hause, a film cutter, saw sparks coming from the roof of the soundproof building. She cried out the alarm and everyone near by rushed for the alarm box and extinguishers.

The alarm-box door could not be opened and one of the girls, Miss Helen Thompson, snatched off her high-heeled shoe and hammered on the box until she broke the glass. In the meantime the studio fire department had started working on the blaze. The Hollywood [fire] department arrived and threw up ladders.

Just as three ladders had gone up the pent-up smoke and gas within the building exploded and blew the heavy iron doors outward, carrying with them two ladders upon which were firemen. With the explosion came bursts of flame from all parts of the roof and two more alarms were sent in.

Ambulances took the injured firemen to the emergency hospital. A few minutes later a ladder upon which two electricians were working with a hose slipped from the wall and both men were injured. They also were taken to the hospital. A half-dozen other firemen were partially overcome during the three hours that the fire raged, but none needed medical attention.

Tons of water were poured onto the flames from the roofs of nearby studio buildings. The outer walls of the burning building were fourteen inches thick and the flames were held within them.

Because of the nature of the work contemplated for the building it had been built fifty feet away from any other building. Most of the employees of the studio and gone home for the day, but the flames brought hundreds of them back.

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The dense smoke lighted by sparks and flames caused thousands of homeward bound motorists to clog the streets for many blocks around the studio property. Traffic was at a standstill for an hour and extra fire and police equipment had difficulty in reaching the gates.

According to the IMDb website, production of Paramounts first musical, Innocents of Paris, was interrupted by the fire. Heavy drapes were used as emergency soundproofing to finish the movie starring Maurice Chevalier, which opened on May 25, 1929.

See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here
Chen Chien-hsiang had just gone to sleep in the apartment where he had lived for some 20 years. So had most people in the 12-story building, tucked between a creek levee where people stroll by day and a neighborhood of restaurants and massage parlors thats active at night.

When Chen awoke, his world had turned topsy-turvy.

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake had violently rocked his building, then knocked it off its moorings. It was tilting at a 45-degree angle, spilling occupants into the corners of their apartments, with the floors suddenly sloping at crazy angles. Chen found it impossible to crawl or claw his way to the door.

Wow, stuff was all over the place, the 66-year-old retired antiques dealer said Wednesday.

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His sixth-floor flat had become, in effect, a second story.

Chen was among the dozens who would eventually be rescued from the multi-use building, the worst of five damaged in Taiwans quake. At least four people died there and an estimated six others were feared trapped in the hardest-hit ground level and second floor. Overall, the National Fire Agency reported, nine people died and 266 were injured in Tuesdays quake.

The Yun Tsui building leans to one side after an overnight earthquake in Hualien, Taiwan. (Anthony Wallace / AFP/Getty Images )

The structure, named Yun Tsui, became a focal point Wednesday for hundreds of rescue personnel. Rescues had wrapped up at other damaged buildings, while hundreds more stood without incident in Hualien, a city of 100,000 on the northeast coast of Taiwan.

Rescue crews led by the Hualien County Fire Department pulled all occupants out of floors three through 12 overnight, a department spokesman said. They were able to extend ladders onto balconies or through windows, many of which had been broken. Chen climbed onto a balcony after breaking through the glass door he could reach from the corner of a room.

But after dawn, the fire department suspended relief to take another look. The building was slowly continuing to tilt, threatening to collapse outright and threaten any rescue workers inside, disaster relief center worker Chen Tzai-tung said.

Portions of the bottom four floors collapsed. The lower two were partly buried. The buildings decorative, semicircular glass facade  a hallmark of Taiwanese multi-use architecture in the 1980s  had also caved into the ground.

So the county ordered four steel construction beams be inserted into the buildings mid-level windows and corners to stop it from collapsing. Then, as rain muddied the ground, rescue work stopped again so crews could place large concrete blocks against the beams to keep them from slipping.

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Six adults and one child, guests at the two-story Beautiful Baby Inn, were trapped underground, fire department spokesman Chu Che-ming said.

New study shows widespread risk of quake damage in Taiwan 

This work wont go so quickly, said Fan Kang-wei, a Red Cross rescue volunteer at the scene. Where these people are buried, we still dont know. As it gets darker, it gets all the harder.

The whole thing was underground, so we had to dig and dig and dig, said Yen I-chia, deputy captain with a rescue team from northern Taiwan who was taking a break at his rain-soaked plastic tent a block away from the building. Progress is slow now because of so many uncertainties.

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By Wednesday evening the search was back on as the concrete buttresses were holding. The county had ordered workers back inside with flashlights to search through dark, cramped underground spaces where the hotel walls had collapsed but beams still held.

The first to fourth floors are collapsed and its a really tight space, so rescue work is quite difficult, Chu said after a mid-evening meeting to discuss safety measures for the next shift of people due to enter the building. We dont rule out any danger of collapse danger, especially with so many aftershocks.

Some 160 aftershocks, one as strong as magnitude 5.7, shook the county in the first 24 hours after the quake.

Outside, about 1,400 staff people and volunteers from charity organizations mixed in the crowded streets packed with ambulances and lined mostly by low-rise retailers. Firefighters from around Taiwan plus more than 400 army troops huddled in their tents to be called for backup.

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Charities handed out coffee and bowls of soup to survivors as well as weary rescue workers. The Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation alone had given away 1,210 blankets and 3,600 meals in the first 16 hours after the quake.

Weve seen people coming out after a rescue and of course theyre really happy, Tzu Chi publicist Eason Pan said. One came out carrying a child, the Red Cross worker said.

Building residents who had escaped unharmed slept outside to avoid the danger of aftershocks.

It happened really fast and everything was falling over, said Chen Chien-chieh, 26, a neighbor of Chen Chien-hsiang who lived in a two-story building above his familys diner. He and his mother and father all took to the streets after being awakened by the quake. We went back inside only this morning. We slept in cars. Almost everyone did.

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Chen Chien-hsiang became one of the 786 people admitted to emergency shelters in Hualien. He was too keyed up to sleep.

By late Wednesday, he was eyeing his bunk in an elementary school auditorium with about 100 other people, including children, many too scared to return to their undamaged homes around Hualien because of the aftershocks. A shout went up whenever an aftershock rattled the school, which was on holiday break.

Taiwan sits on a Pacific Rim chain of fault lines. The last major quake, which also measured 6.4, toppled an apartment complex in 2016 and killed 116 people.

We get so many earthquakes in Hualien, said Chen, who had grabbed his cellphone but nothing else before fleeing. Im usually not scared of quakes. But this was like the day the world ended, really scary.

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Jennings is a special correspondent.

UPDATES:

5:05 p.m.: This article has been updated with new casualty figures.

This article was originally posted at 2:30 p.m.
If one thing unites Israel and its Islamist archenemy Hamas, the militia that governs the Gaza Strip, it is the prospect of tens of thousands of angry Palestinians demonstrating at the fence that marks the border between the two.

For Hamas, this would symbolize loss of control over a territory it has ruled with an iron fist since 2007, years that have included three armed conflicts with Israel and the torture and summary killing of people identified as opponents of the militant organization.



For the record: This article incorrectly says the number of supply trucks entering the Gaza Strip from Israel has gone from 900 to 300 weekly. The figures are for daily crossings.

For Israels army, the possibility of a protest in which thousands of unarmed civilians attempt to storm the border or even, in some projections, attempt to uproot the fence offers two nightmare scenarios: the army acting with force against civilians, or thousands of Gazans streaming into southern Israel.

Such a shift in the status quo in Gaza could also trigger another war between Israel and Hamas  something that neither side appears to want but that analysts fear could be triggered by a violent incident.

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A Palestinian band performs a concert during clashes near the border with Israel, east of Gaza City, on Feb. 2, 2018. (Mohammed Abed / AFP/Getty Images )

After nine weeks of Friday protests at the fence following President Trumps decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, each side faces the very real possibility that the next day of rage, as the demonstrations are called, could escalate from hundreds to thousands of protesters.

The Trump administrations subsequent decision to suspend $65 million of funds to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, an organization responsible for most of the health, education and welfare services in Gaza, has further exacerbated tension.

You have a desperate feeling here, Sami Obeid, an analyst for Gazas Al-Manar radio station, said in a telephone interview. He called his home the biggest jail on Earth.

People feel that if Hamas doesnt solve our problems, well come to the fence and lift it. Instead of one or two hundred people, youll have entire families with their kids, thousands of people who have no other option, Obeid said.

And while neither side may want a war, that doesnt guarantee that one wont erupt.

Gen. Yom-Tov Samia, who retired from the Israeli army as head of its southern command, noted that before each of Israels three recent wars with Hamas, in 2009, 2012 and 2014, all analysts agreed they were completely unwanted by all sides.

Sometimes you have a confluence of circumstances that leads to war without anyone actively wanting war, he said in an interview.

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Hamas doesnt want war, Obeid said. Gazans dont want war. Israel doesnt want war. But people are starting to think that maybe a war will change the situation, maybe itll get better. Anything.

On Sunday, the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al Hayat reported that Hamas was preparing for imminent war with Israel that could break out as soon as this week.

According to the newspaper, Hamas political leader in Gaza, Yahya Sinwar, assessed the chance of conflict at 95%.

Thats not the word on the street in Gaza, for the most part. People are desperate but have seen enough war to be wary of another.

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I think the chances of a war are limited because of the bad humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Any Israeli escalation will aggravate the crisis, which the international community will not accept, said Naji Louh, 36, who owns a clothing shop in the central Gaza City market and supports a family of five. He called the business climate in Gaza a disaster, but added, War will make it worse.

Hussam Dajani, a professor of political science at Ummah University in Gaza, said that the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza may push Gazans and the resistance movement  as Islamist militias are referred to  to explode, but that Israel has strategic reasons to try to avoid a conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that Israel is not interested in war but will do everything to defend itself.

Soldiers on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza, near the opening of a tunnel that Israel says was dug by jihadis, on Jan. 18, 2018. (Jack Guez / Associated Press )

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Addressing a weekly Cabinet meeting, Israeli army Chief of Staff Gen. Gadi Eisenkot said Israel should make a significant effort to prevent a humanitarian collapse in the Gaza Strip so as to avert war in the coming year.

He was immediately contradicted by Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who said at a gathering of the political party he leads that the economic state is complicated and must be dealt with, but theres no humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

He added that we have no intention of initiating military action in Gaza, and its good that Hamas leadership is panicking.

Mustafa Sawaf, a political analyst allied with Hamas, said the question is not whether war is near, but whether the resistance is ready  to defend its people.

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I will not say there is no war or the war will be tomorrow, but we have to prepare fully as if the [Israeli] aggression were now, and for months or years.

Obeid, the analyst, said: Gaza is boiling and Hamas is afraid of rebellion, so it is claiming Israel is about to start war. Maybe this warning to Israel will be enough.

Almost 2 million Palestinians live in the Gaza Strip, a tiny territory wedged between Egypt, Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. It has about half the area and six times the population of Lexington, Ky. Since 2007, when Hamas took over control of the strip in an armed revolt against the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, it has been locked down and under siege.

Hamas is listed as a terrorist organization by Israel, Europe and the United States.

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Egypts border with Gaza is closed and Israel allows only trucks carrying food or other humanitarian necessities in and out.

In what the Israeli army is calling an indication of the dramatic drop in Gazans purchasing power, the number of supply trucks entering the strip weekly from Israel has recently gone from an average of 900 to about 300.

In June, as a punitive measure against Hamas, the Palestinian Authority reduced the flow of electricity into Gaza to three to four hours a day. Some service has been restored, but last week, a hospital serving 66,000 people in the northern Gaza Strip halted operations because of lack of power to fuel its generators, and a childrens hospital reduced its services to a bare minimum.

Obeid, who gets about four hours of electrical power a day, said: I dont know what to tell my kids. There is no TV, no refrigerator. They tell me its not life.

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Last week, an emergency meeting of the ad hoc liaison committee of the international donor group for Palestine was convened in Brussels. It included representatives of the United States, Israel, the Palestinian Authority; the foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt and Morocco; and senior officials from four Mideast nations that do not recognize Israel: Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Israel presented a $1-billion plan to rehabilitate the strip, with one condition: that the Palestinian Authority take over from Hamas. That is unlikely to occur. The most recent reconciliation agreement between Hamas and the internationally recognized Palestinian government was announced with great fanfare in October but has since foundered.

The European Union announced a $52.7-million assistance package for Palestinians. In an apparent jab at Trumps Jerusalem decision, $18.6 million of that is destined to preserve the Palestinian character of East Jerusalem.

The rest of the sum is allocated for a democratic and accountable Palestinian state through targeted policy reform.

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It is unclear whether any of the money will be directed to Gaza.

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Special correspondents Tarnopolsky reported from Jerusalem and abu Alouf from Gaza City.
Yatsenyuk starts his visit to Washington with Assistant Secretary of State meeting

Leader of the People's Front party, former Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk has begun his visit to Washington with a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell.

"I started the visit to Washington with a meeting with Wess Mitchell, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. I am impressed by the practical, result-oriented attitude of the Ukrainian State Department team," Yatsenyuk wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

The ex-premier stressed the mutual understanding of partners in the consideration of the raised issues.

"In conversation with Wess Mitchell, we've discussed the most important issues on the bilateral agenda that should be implemented this year: security, economic development, privatization and combating corruption. I am glad that our approaches, assessments and expectations coincide," he added.
Public joint-stock company Ukrzaliznytsia has called on transport market players to design their plans for cargo transportation for medium term outlook  three years- and submit proposals, taking into account concrete months, as this trend is line with the policy of the Ukrainian government on the introduction of the medium-term budget planning.

Acting Board Chairman of Ukrzaliznytsia Yevhen Kravtsov said at a meeting with businessmen at the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine on Monday that Ukrzaliznytsia has already created a monthly cargo plan for 2018. It takes into account the factors influencing the volume changes in specific periods: GDP level, seasonality of traffic, increase in imports, crop harvests, change of transportation routes, and other things. Ukrzaliznytsia suggests creating a prospective three-year cargo transportation plan taking the monthly plan for 2018 as an example.

According to him, this will improve the provision of necessary volumes of transportation, make them more precise and predictable, and it will help rationally use the rolling stock.

In addition, Kravtsov said that in connection with the introduction of amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine introducing medium-term budget planning (for three years) in the country on a permanent basis, Ukrzaliznytsia initiates the joint preparation for planning the volume of freight transportation by rail for 2018 -2020.

The press service of Ukrzaliznytsia said that it is expected that in 2018, 347.5 million tonnes of cargo will be transported by rail in Ukraine, which will exceed the last year's volumes by 2.3%. The growth in transportation volumes is influenced by the level of GDP, especially in exports (3% up), domestic transportation of goods (1.5% up), and other factors.

Until February 19, Ukrzaliznytsia expects that customers would offer proposals for adjusting the monthly transportation plan for 2018 in order to have a more complete and unbiased overall picture.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the creation of the Export Credit Agency (ECA) in the form of a private joint-stock company and ordered that the Economic Development and Trade Ministry privately places its shares.

The decision was made at a government meeting on Wednesday.

"We believe that this year we can launch the Export Credit Agency under a condition that a compromise with the deputies for making amendments to the law on the ECA will be found," Deputy Economic Development and Trade Minister Natalia Mykolska said at the meeting.

At the same time, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said he was not ready to vote for the decision, since it has not been discussed.

"Your involvement, involvement of embassies in these processes is very important," Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman said.

At the same time, according to him, the allocation of UAH 200 million in the budget in 2018 for the creation of the ECA is not enough. The prime minister instructed that Mykolska will present options for additional funding.

"The Export Credit Agency is a systemic tool for implementing the export strategy, which was approved in December 2017... Today, we have a real opportunity to move from commodity exports to exports of goods and services with added value," First Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv said.
Mercedes-Benz planning eight-strong compact car family

Feb 7, 2018, 2:31am ET

Mercedes has already announced five of them. What are the last three?

Mercedes-Benz introduced the brand-new A-Class hatchback last week. It's one of eight models that will make up the brand's compact car family when it wraps up its model offensive.

We won't see the new A-Class hatchback (pictured) in the United States, though Mercedes will offer the model in Canada. However, the brand has already confirmed it will sell the first-ever A-Class hatchback on our shore. That's the second of the eight-strong family. We could see it as soon as the New York Auto Show.

Executives have revealed the identity of several other members of the family. The A-Class duo will be joined by replacements for the GLA, the CLA, and the B-Class. We'll also see a new crossover named GLB that will borrow design cues from the brand-new G-Class. That leaves three models.

Speaking to Australian website CarAdvice, design chief Gordon Wagener ruled out the long-rumored A-Class convertible because, in his opinion, it wouldn't look good. As the publication points out, the CLA Shooting Brake is unlikely to get a replacement. Other options include a more conventional station wagon, which we certainly wouldn't see in America, and a long-wheelbase model for the Chinese market. Of course, this is all pure speculation.

All eight models will ride on the same front-wheel drive platform. Mercedes promises its future compacts will all have another thing in common: they'll look good.

"I can assure you that all variants on this platform, there will be at least eight, will be stunning," Wagener said.
Lehigh residents in need of services related to substance abuse issues may find help a little closer to home in the future.

The Lehigh Acres Municipal Services Improvement District hosted an information/organization meeting for the establishment of SalusCare services and operations in Lehigh Acres.

The luncheon meeting took place on Jan. 29 and brought together local agencies to discuss the current opioid crisis and health related issues.

Commissioner Michael J. Welch opened the meeting and spoke about LA-MSIDs role in the community and its desire to create a more centralized effort on the opioid epidemic forefront.

We are here today to discuss the problems we are seeing with opiate addiction here in Lehigh as well as Lee County and talk about ways we can address the problem, said Welch.

Some of the organizations and agencies in attendance of the meeting included: Lee County Sheriffs Office, Lehigh Acres Community Services, Lehigh Regional Medical Center, Lee Health Board, Community Senior Services and SalusCare Directors. Representatives for both Senator Kathleen Passidomo and Lizbeth Benacquistos office also sat in on the discussion.

According to Stacey Cook-Hawk, President & Chief Executive Officer at SalusCare, presently about 20 to 25 percent of their patients come from the Lehigh area and many of those individuals arent able to get back and forth to treatment due to lack of transportation.

We want to have a presence out here in Lehigh Acres. Addiction numbers are rising throughout the county and here locally. Thats why we are here today to talk about what we can bring to Lehigh, said Cook-Hawk.

Doctors and administrators at Lehigh Regional Medical Center are seeing a rise in fatalities.

We treat about 30 overdoses during any given month and have had about five or six deaths within the past few months due to opioid use, said Gary C. Bell., Chief Executive officer at Lehigh Regional Medical Center.

According Bell, safe discharges of these patients is another concern.

We get them stabilized and then have to eventually send them back out onto the streets with no follow care in place, said Bell.

According to Lehigh Regionals Medical Director of Emergency Services, Dr. Joe Lemmons, what compounds the overdose problem is the new synthetics that are being made in peoples garages.

With these synthetics, people dont know how much opiate it contains or what other substances are in these pills, said Lemmons. It can shut down the respiratory system completely or cause kidney failure, leaving the person on dialysis for the rest of their life.

News organizations nationwide have dubbed one of the newest dangerous opioid mixtures gray death, which is blamed for overdoses in Alabama, Georgia, Florida and Ohio, as well as other states. The substance is a combination of several opioids including heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil.

According to Lee County Schools District 5 Vice Chairman, Pamela LaRiviere, the school system is also seeing the effects on the children who live in households with opioid abuse.

Some are having to live with grandparents or going to foster homes, because the parents are in just no shape to take care of them, said LaRiviere.

A spokesperson from the Lee County Sheriffs Narcotics Unit spoke about successful initiatives in places such Manatee County, which has seen a 60 percent drop in deaths and overdoses from last year. Law enforcement has cracked down on dealers and stepped up rehabilitation programs such as Recovery Pod at the Manatee County Jail.

Other initiatives are coming from a bill currently before the Senate. The bill being heard by the Senate Health Policy Committee would limit the majority of opioid prescriptions to a three-day supply.

This bill will help to limit the amount of oxy prescribed upon release from the hospital, which can stop the addiction before it starts, explains Therese Everly, secretary of Health System Board of Directors.

The next step in the initiative planning is for SalusCare to work with other agencies to put together a plan on ways to tackle the areas opioid abuse issue through treatment, after-care, mental health diagnosis and counseling.

You need to think out-of-the-box and find new ways to deal with an old problem. Then it has a much better chance of getting approved by the legislature for funding, said Welch.
Officials are asking those who have the flu to put a pause on their life  stay home from work, or school, slow down, rest and drink lots of fluids to allow the body to recuperate.

Florida Department of Health in Lee County Epidemiologist Jennifer Roth said compared to last season there have been more flu cases than usual, and earlier. She said this fast flu season is comparable to 2014-2015, when it peaked around the same time.

Dr. Mary Beth Saunders, System Medical Director Epidemiology for Lee Health, said there were 600 new cases of flu across Lee Health during the week of Jan. 22, through Jan. 28.

Early treatment with antiviral medication may reduce the severity of the flu and may prevent serious flu-related complications.

It is not easy to predict why some years influenza is worse than others. Influenza A strain H3N2 is a strain that can change and move rapidly. It is not as easily controlled with vaccination, Saunders said. Australia had high peaks of influenza in the fall (during their flu season) with H3N2, which is a predictor of our fate during our flu season.

The flu season runs from October through May.

We peak in February with high activity starting in January, Roth said of a typical year. This time we started seeing widespread activity in December. Peaking in January is early for us.

The earlier detection is attributed to a variety of factors.

One is there is many different strains that circulate every season, Roth said, adding that the strain this year is the H3N2.

One of the ways someone can protect themselves from this illness is the flu shot. Roth said each flu shot contains four different strains, providing protection from those strains.

The flu shot can give you basic immunity, so it helps prevent more severe outcomes, she said.

Individuals are still encouraged to get this years flu shot. Roth said although they are seeing a peak in cases right now, they will continue to see cases as the flu season continues through May.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges everyone 6 months of age and older to get the flu vaccine. The best time to get the vaccine is before the flu starts spreading in your community, but now that the flu is prevalent here, it is not too late to vaccinate. It is an important reminder, too, that it takes about two weeks for the antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection. Getting the flu vaccine does not guarantee that you wont get the flu, but it can help make the illness milder and reduce the risk of flu-associated hospitalization, Saunders said.

Individuals can also seek some protection from the flu by taking Tamiflu, an antiviral. Roth said Tamiflu is good to take 48 hours within the onset of symptoms.

It can also be used as a preventative if others in the household have the flu.

The flu can be harmful to children under the age of 5, those 65 years and older, women who are pregnant and any other compromising condition of chronic health problems an individual may have.

Roth said children under 5 years old and adults older than 65 do not have fully competent immune systems.

The signs and symptoms of flu include fever or feeling feverish/chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches, headache and fatigue. Some may experience vomiting and diarrhea, though that is more common in children. It is important to note, too, that not everyone with flu will have a fever, Saunders said.

Roth encourages individuals who are experiencing flu symptoms to make an appointment with their primary care physician.

We want people to seek medical care, but not overwhelm our emergency rooms, she said. You should go to the Emergency Room if you have noticed you have very severe symptoms.

Those symptoms, Roth said is a fever over 103 degrees, difficulty breathing for adults and children, chest pain and not getting enough air. She said all of those symptoms, if they progress, can cause pneumonia and more acute intervention from a physician is then needed.

For children, Roth encourages parents to pay attention to their childs fever.

Children spike fevers for multiple reasons and it becomes hard in children that are nonverbal to express how they are feeling and where it hurts, she said. Watching the fever is important.

If the fever does not go away with over the counter medications like Ibuprofen and Tylenol, and the parent hears their child wheezing and not breathing well, or the childs hands are cool or clammy, seek medical attention.

Saunders said in most cases, people who get the flu should stay home and avoid contact with other people except for medical care.

The primary care doctors office, Lee Healths Convenient Care offices, or other urgent or walk-in medical centers are appropriate venues for medical care, as they can diagnose and treat the flu, she said.

Lee Health has a restriction in effect for children 12 years and younger from visiting the hospitals across the system.

The restriction is important because young children often do not have the personal awareness to practice appropriate hand hygiene-this restriction protects both the patients and the child, Saunders said.

Roth said unfortunately, this is a bad flu season.

We have flu every single year. We get seasonal flu, she said. Its more prevalent in the media when we have a lot of cases. We saw a lot of cases three years ago. Every flu season you just need to be prepared. We know it is the same strain of flu we have had the last three years. We know what we are dealing with.

Roth said individuals should practice good hand washing because the flu spreads through droplet transmission through saliva, mucus and not washing hands.

Get your flu shot and wash your hands, Roth said.
Bethlehem City Council took the first step towards narrowing Second Avenue in West Bethlehem, a change that paves the way for the redevelopment of the historic Floyd Simmons Armory.

After a lengthy public comment session Tuesday night, council voted 5-0 with one abstention to approve the vacation of Second Avenue and Filbert Street on first reading.

Council will take a second and final vote later this month. Councilman Bryan Callahan abstained from voting because his brother, former Mayor John Callahan, works for the developer behind the project.

West Bethlehem residents spoke both for and against against the project, voicing concerns about parking, traffic, pedestrian safety and the future of the 1930s Art Deco-style armory.

"I think it will help build up an area that's really rotting away right now," said resident Michael Keyock, who said he bikes and walks by the site weekly.

Ultimately, council members -- including two who live blocks from the armory -- said they felt that the vacation will improve the safety of the confusing boulevard and preserve the armory.

They acknowledged the legitimacy of concerns about parking and traffic the project may bring, but said the only thing before them Tuesday was the vacation.

Without the street vacation, Peron Development cannot build the 42-space parking lot it needs for the project. Plans call for 99 on-site spots as well as 25 on-street spaces along Second Avenue.

Peron plans to purchase the historic armory property at 301 Prospect Ave. from the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority with historical covenants in place. The $13 million redevelopment of the site includes plans for 70 apartments by converting two existing garages into six units and then building a four-story, L-shaped addition off the back of the property with 64 units.

But the developer has not settled on a final design or reuse of the armory's large drill hall, raising concerns for the Mount Airy Neighborhood Association. Peron is owned by local attorney Michael Perrucci.

Neighborhood association President Mary Toulouse urged council to postpone the street vacation until there is a tenant for the armory. Toulouse and several residents pushed for a neighborhood parking study.

"This proposal leaves the armory exposed to demolition through neglect," Toulouse said.

When Peron was selected to redevelop the site in the summer of 2016, the company had a user in mind for the drill hall. But the potential tenant's plans changed and Peron is still searching for another user, which must be approved by the zoning hearing board.

Councilman J. William Reynolds said in his view postponing the street vacation just puts the entire project on hold and delays Peron from locking down a user for the drill hall.

Callahan emphasized that the project redevelops 17,000-square-feet of the total 27,000-square-feet of existing armory space. The lower level of the armory will be used for the apartment building's amenities, including a fitness center.

"This notion that I am not redeveloping the armory is patently false," Callahan said following the meeting.

All of the proposals for the site have always included that feature, Callahan said, he did not emphasize that during the zoning hearing process, when most neighbor concerns centered on parking.

In December, the city Zoning Hearing Board granted Peron Development the 11 variances, including one involving parking, needed to redevelop the property into a 70-unit apartment and office complex.

If council votes to approve the street vacation, Peron will take the next eight to 10 weeks to draft final land development plans to submit to the city planning commission, Callahan said.

Peron would like to begin construction this summer if possible.

Peron was selected in July 2016 by the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority to tackle the rehab of the armory.

The developer plans to pay the authority $322,000 for the property. The city has a deal with the state to buy the armory for $272,000.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The Bethlehem Area School District's investments in full-day kindergarten are reaping dividends as students make big strides towards reading on grade level.

The district implemented full-day kindergarten three years ago and wants to have all of its students reading on grade level by third grade -- a key indicator of future students' success.

This school year, 43 percent of kindergarten students entered the district reading on grade level. Currently, 75 percent of students are now testing on grade and the district is shooting for 90 percent by year's end.

It is a big goal, but district Chief Academic Officer and Assistant Superintendent Jack Silva thinks its achievable with continued hard work by teachers and students.

"It's the most challenging and, in many ways, the most rewarding work I have done in my career in public education," Silva said.

Last year, 46 percent of students tested on grade level at the start of school and 88 percent were on target by close of school.

"Every year, the students come in one or two more steps behind the starting line and it is our job to catch them up," Silva said.

Monday evening the administration presented a district-wide progress report to the school board with the help of some kindergarten readers, who charmed attendees.

"When students are successful readers, they are much more confident and future oriented," Silva said.

Thank you to our kindergarten friends for reading to us tonight! #BASDRBG3 pic.twitter.com/VhimVGiqSC  Kim Harper (@BASDLiteracy4Me) February 6, 2018

The district's 16 elementary schools all started at different points, with high-poverty schools having more students in need of support, but the mid-year report shows all schools are making strides.

"We are seeing the growth of the students, which is good, but it isn't easy," Silva said. "The teachers and students are working hard."

Bethlehem Area School District mid-year reading assessments show promising progress at getting kindergarteners reading on grade level by year end.

At Asa Packer, where only 28 percent of students qualify for free and reduced lunch, 75 percent of students entered kindergarten on grade level and now 89 percent are on target.

At Donegan Elementary, where 97 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, only 26 percent of students came to school on grade level. Currently, 56 percent of Donegan students met the literacy benchmark and far fewer students children need intensive support.

At Calypso Elementary School in West Bethlehem, 53 percent of students needed reading support at the start of school. Today, 100 percent are testing at or above grade level. This mimics Calypso's success at the end of last year.

Sixty-three percent of Calypso students receive free or reduced lunch.

"That's great instruction," Silva said. "That shows you it can be done"

The district is continuing its major investments in teacher training and reading curriculum as it pushes forward on its reading by grade three goal, Silva said. Its first and second grade teachers are getting training and receiving the same tools kindergarten teachers have done, he said.

"We have to train our teachers on the science of teaching reading because it is a challenge to find enough of those teachers coming out of college," Silva said. "College programs aren't prepping teachers on brain science tools we now know work."

The latest reading science shows that students can and should be able to read on grade level by the end of third grade unless they have a significant disability, he said. With strong instruction, Bethlehem Area can achieve this, but it is important to start early, Silva said.

"The hill gets steeper as the child gets older," Silva said. "It is progressively harder to make the gains in first that you made in kindergarten."

That's why Bethlehem is focused on getting students strongly at grade level early on because they are less likely to slide back below grade in future years.

"It is like getting a head of steam up as you are running up a hill," Silva explained.

Sara K. Satullo may be reached at ssatullo@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @sarasatullo and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Ukraine exports almost 24.7 mln tonnes of grain since start of 2017/2018 MY

Ukraine since the beginning of the 2017/2018 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of February 7, 2018 had exported 24.701 million tonnes of grain.

According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, the country exported about 12.5 million tonnes of wheat, 4 million tonnes of barley, and 8.1 million tonnes of corn.

In addition, 257,200 tonnes of flour had been exported on the indicated date.

As reported, with reference to the ministry, Ukraine in the 2016/2017 MY exported 43.9 million tonnes of grain.

According to the ministry's forecasts, grain exports from Ukraine in the 2017/2018 MY will amount to 41 million tonnes.
A New York City man who was robbed in January outside a Wilson Borough strip club and then shot at as he pursued the robber into Easton is facing drug charges after more than 60 grams of marijuana were found in the car he was driving, borough police report.

Adam F. Lawson, 27, of Brooklyn, was sitting with another 27-year-old man just after 2 a.m. Jan. 14 in a black 2017 Mercedes outside Spanky's East Gentlemens Club in the 1700 block of Butler Street when a man with a gun approached and demanded money and jewelry, police said in court paperwork filed with District Judge Richard Yetter III.

The men surrendered $2,000 in cash and four diamond necklaces worth $20,000, police said at the time.

The robber drove off in a blue Honda into Easton and Lawson chased after him, police said. The robber fired a gunshot that hit the driver's side door of the Mercedes before both vehicles crashed -- the Honda hitting two parked cars near Ferry and South Warren streets, police said.

Lawson's car had "a strong odor or marijuana," police said. A search warrant was executed the next day and 60.6 grams of the drug was found in three plastic bags, police said.

An investigator spoke with Lawson on Jan. 16 and Lawson admitted the drugs were his, police said.

On Monday, police filed charges of possession with intent to deliver drugs, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia against Lawson in the borough's district court, police said.

Lawson wasn't in custody as of Tuesday afternoon but was in contact with a detective, police said.

A listed phone number for Lawson wasn't immediately available to seek comment.

No arrest has been made in the robbery.

Anyone with information on the robbery can call Wilson police at 610-258-8542 or email Detective Jason Hillis at jhillis@wilsonborough.org. Tips can be made anonymously.

Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyRhodin. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Fireproofing the ceilings and hallways at Tracy Elementary School means renovations won't be complete in time for a March 5 deadline, according to an engineer working for the Easton Area School District.

Administrators will huddle this week and have an update next week on when students will return to the school, and consequently when renovations can start at Forks Elementary.

"We found out yesterday our expectations for completion cannot be met at this time," Superintendent John Reinhart said at the school board meeting Tuesday.

A Palmer Township code inspector pointed out the need for the fireproofing work in mid-January, according to engineer Josh Grice. He said a spray-on substance will go in any hole or gap in the ceiling or walls. The school district believes the spray isn't required by code, but decided to follow through with the inspector's recommendation, Reinhart said.

Tracy renovations were expected to cost $10.7 million but came in at $7.6 million, Grice said. That figure does not include replacing doors to make them fireproof, a change order expected to come in at $120,000, Grice said.

Renovations at Tracy include:

Asbestos removal

New heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems

A new electrical system

A new roof

Cost savings throughout the project allowed the district to add these features without going over budget:

The creation of small group instruction areas

LED lighting

Wall-mounted projectors and whiteboards

New sinks and casework

Window treatments

Paint for interior walls

"What's really exciting is that the wall surfaces and the classrooms that are ready to go look great. The casework that was installed is just terrific," Reinhart said. "There's a lot of bright spots inside the disappointing news that we can't quite get where we want to go in time."

Tracy students have been housed in extra space in Easton Area Middle School during construction. When the Tracy work ends, the students will return to their school at 1243 Tatamy Road and renovations will start at Forks Elementary.

The Forks kids will move into the extra space at the middle school for renovations at their school at 1709 Richmond Road.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
President Donald Trump is pushing the Pentagon to show off the nation's armed forces and weaponry in a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue. The only question seems to be the best holiday on which to hold it -- Memorial Day, the Fourth of July or Veterans' Day. The Defense Department appears to favor the latter date.

Trump apparently got the idea from the French, after attending the Bastille Day parade last summer in Paris. Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president "has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation."

Some Democrats think Trump wants to play the role of dictator.

Parades are held on the three mentioned holidays all across the United States, but in recent history leaders have refrained from a Washington parade that showcases the nation's military might, including tanks and missiles -- probably to avoid comparison with similar displays in dictatorships and former Cold War regimes.

There's no estimate yet on how much a parade would cost.

What do you think? Is a national military parade a good idea? Wasteful political pomp? Have a say in our informal poll, and feel free to elaborate in the comments section.
UPDATE: John Gilbert was located as of 8:07 p.m. Wednesday, Pennsylvania State Police report.

INITIAL POST: A 78-year-old man missing from Connecticut is believed to have been in Upper Mount Bethel Township on Wednesday, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

John Gilbert was reported as missing and endangered by the Manchester Police Department in Connecticut and was the subject of a Silver Alert, police said.

He is believed to have been in the area of Sunoco at 2599 N. Delaware Drive (Route 611) in Upper Mount Bethel about 12:30 p.m.

Gilbert is described as white, standing 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 210 pounds with white hair and green eyes.

He was last seen driving a silver 2016 Toyota Camry with Connecticut license plate AJ18425.

Authorities ask anyone who sees him to contact Pennsylvania State Police at Belfast at 610-759-6106 or the Manchester Police Department at 860-645-5500.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Politics Al Mansoori holds strategic meeting with Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry



07.02.2018 14:12:18 - During the second day of the UAE-Malaysian Business & investment Forum in Kuala Lumpur



(live-PR.com) - His Excellency Engr. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, stressed on the importance of enhancing the channels of cooperation between the UAE and Malaysia, especially in terms of trade and investment. Minister Al Mansoori shared that the significance of strengthening these ties is reflected in the key interest placed by UAE and Malaysian companies, as well as - His Excellency Engr. Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy, stressed on the importance of enhancing the channels of cooperation between the UAE and Malaysia, especially in terms of trade and investment. Minister Al Mansoori shared that the significance of strengthening these ties is reflected in the key interest placed by UAE and Malaysian companies, as well as their respective government and economic institutions, participating in the UAE-Malaysian Business and Investment Forum currently being held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.



Discussions were held during Minister Al Mansooris meeting with H.E. Y.B Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), on ways to help further enhance bilateral relations between the two countries and how to move these ties towards higher levels.



During the meeting, H.E. Al Mansoori shared that UAE-Malaysian Business and Investment Forum reflects the strong relations between the two countries and expressed confidence in entering into a new phase of mutual work based on the move to enhance bilateral partnership.



For his part, H.E. Y.B Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed emphasized on the importance of the UAEs economic significance in the Middle East in light of its many achievements and inclusion across leading indices that witnessed the appreciation of the international community. The Malaysian Minister also praised the UAE leadership's continuing interest in enhancing the role of innovation and the realization of visions of development that serve the objectives of sustainable development.



The meeting also covered key talks on the further enhancement of various fields of economic cooperation, which included a review of the forums agenda; ways on how to support and provide essential facilities to investment entities and institutions in the UAE and Malaysia; and the establishment of joint ventures, particularly in the fields of innovation, modern technology, Halal industry, renewable energy and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).



The meeting was also attended by H.E. Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs; H.E. Khalid Ghanim Al Ghaith, UAE Ambassador to Malaysia and Mohammed Hamdan Al Zaabi, Director of Commercial Promotion Department, Ministry of Economy.



H.E Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori witnessed the signing of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, which aims to strengthen and enhance economic cooperation while also promote investment opportunities. H.E. the Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry was also present during the signing ceremony.



Meanwhile, H.E Abdullah Al Saleh held an extensive meeting with officials of the Khazanah Company, the investment arm of the Malaysian Government, in the presence of the Executive Director of Investment and the team, as well as senior officials of the company. During the meeting, H.E Abdullah Al Saleh emphasized on the importance of enhancing cooperation between government institutions and investment entities from both countries.



For his part, Abdullah Mohammed Al Awar, CEO, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center (DIEDC), affirmed the growing cooperation between DIEDC and its strategic partners in Malaysia, especially in the continuing efforts to create a unified international umbrella for Halal products, in light of the rich cultural and institutional experience that the UAE can offer to this rapidly thriving global segment.



Engr. Saeed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports, said the that the company seeks to translate government objectives in diversifying industrial exports and supporting modern industrial development mechanisms to drive up the value of non-oil national exports. One of the non-oil sectors that the company has placed strong focus on is the Halal trade. The East Asian market is being seen as one of the most important markets for these two sectorsstrongly highlighted by Malaysias growing reputation as one of the most important centers for the global Halal industry.



H.E Mohammed Obaid Bin Majid AlAleeli, General Director, Department of Industry and Economy in Fujairah, shared that the department was also able to hold a number of fruitful meetings during the visit, including a meeting with officials of the Malaysian investment company Danyo, which has resulted in the lookout for potential investment opportunities in renewable energy, especially for solar and cement factories as well as mining activities in Malaysia and other investment opportunities offered by the emirate.

their respective government and economic institutions, participating in the UAE-Malaysian Business and Investment Forum currently being held in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.Discussions were held during Minister Al Mansooris meeting with H.E. Y.B Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed, Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), on ways to help further enhance bilateral relations between the two countries and how to move these ties towards higher levels.During the meeting, H.E. Al Mansoori shared that UAE-Malaysian Business and Investment Forum reflects the strong relations between the two countries and expressed confidence in entering into a new phase of mutual work based on the move to enhance bilateral partnership.For his part, H.E. Y.B Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamed emphasized on the importance of the UAEs economic significance in the Middle East in light of its many achievements and inclusion across leading indices that witnessed the appreciation of the international community. The Malaysian Minister also praised the UAE leadership's continuing interest in enhancing the role of innovation and the realization of visions of development that serve the objectives of sustainable development.The meeting also covered key talks on the further enhancement of various fields of economic cooperation, which included a review of the forums agenda; ways on how to support and provide essential facilities to investment entities and institutions in the UAE and Malaysia; and the establishment of joint ventures, particularly in the fields of innovation, modern technology, Halal industry, renewable energy and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).The meeting was also attended by H.E. Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al Saleh, Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs; H.E. Khalid Ghanim Al Ghaith, UAE Ambassador to Malaysia and Mohammed Hamdan Al Zaabi, Director of Commercial Promotion Department, Ministry of Economy.H.E Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori witnessed the signing of a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor, which aims to strengthen and enhance economic cooperation while also promote investment opportunities. H.E. the Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry was also present during the signing ceremony.Meanwhile, H.E Abdullah Al Saleh held an extensive meeting with officials of the Khazanah Company, the investment arm of the Malaysian Government, in the presence of the Executive Director of Investment and the team, as well as senior officials of the company. During the meeting, H.E Abdullah Al Saleh emphasized on the importance of enhancing cooperation between government institutions and investment entities from both countries.For his part, Abdullah Mohammed Al Awar, CEO, Dubai Islamic Economy Development Center (DIEDC), affirmed the growing cooperation between DIEDC and its strategic partners in Malaysia, especially in the continuing efforts to create a unified international umbrella for Halal products, in light of the rich cultural and institutional experience that the UAE can offer to this rapidly thriving global segment.Engr. Saeed Al Awadi, CEO, Dubai Exports, said the that the company seeks to translate government objectives in diversifying industrial exports and supporting modern industrial development mechanisms to drive up the value of non-oil national exports. One of the non-oil sectors that the company has placed strong focus on is the Halal trade. The East Asian market is being seen as one of the most important markets for these two sectorsstrongly highlighted by Malaysias growing reputation as one of the most important centers for the global Halal industry.H.E Mohammed Obaid Bin Majid AlAleeli, General Director, Department of Industry and Economy in Fujairah, shared that the department was also able to hold a number of fruitful meetings during the visit, including a meeting with officials of the Malaysian investment company Danyo, which has resulted in the lookout for potential investment opportunities in renewable energy, especially for solar and cement factories as well as mining activities in Malaysia and other investment opportunities offered by the emirate. Contact information:

Orient Planet PR & Marketing Communications



P.O.Box. 500266, Dubai, UAE



Contact Person:

Eyad Zeidan



Phone: 0097144562888

eMail: eMail



Web: http://www.orientplanet.com

Author:

Pratik Karkera

e-mail

Web: http://www.orientplanet.com

Phone: 0097144562888 07.02.2018 14:12:18 -

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Industries Decoration and Protection

Market Study: Automotive Coatings

07.02.2018 16:16:47 - Ceresana examines the world market for paints and coatings in the automotive industry.



(live-PR.com) - The automotive industry is a dynamically growing market for paints and coatings: Global vehicle stock already amounts to almost 1.3 billion units and more than 95 million new registrations are currently added every year. Traditionally, the automotive sector is highly exigent regarding quality and properties of the coatings that are utilized. For the first time, the market research company Ceresana - The automotive industry is a dynamically growing market for paints and coatings: Global vehicle stock already amounts to almost 1.3 billion units and more than 95 million new registrations are currently added every year. Traditionally, the automotive sector is highly exigent regarding quality and properties of the coatings that are utilized. For the first time, the market research company Ceresana analyzed the market for automotive paints and coatings in regard to coating layers, application areas, technologies, and product types in detail. Global demand for these high-performance coatings amounted to almost 3.1 million tonnes in 2016, says Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana. The current study registers the coating of all parts that are produced either by suppliers or by vehicle manufactures themselves and are used in road vehicles, both for new production as well as for spare parts.



Coating Against Rust



The analysts of Ceresana expect demand for series coating to increase worldwide by 3.7% per year  considerably stronger than the segment refinishing coating. The latter includes complete, partial, and single part coating. These are used in case of damage, for used car coating as well as special coating for new vehicles in plants or at the retailers. Coating of vehicles can be divided into the stages cathodic electrodeposition, car underbody protection, and application of primer surfacers, basecoat, and clearcoat. In regard to quantities, basecoat is the most important coating layer, followed by electrodeposition coating. Basecoat is a colored layer and determines the visual appearance of the complete coating to a large extent. The main purpose of the electrodeposition coating is the protection of the car body against corrosion. By means of primer surfacers, imperfections in the surface are offset  over 380,000 tonnes are utilized worldwide for this purpose.



Use of Solvents Increasing Despite Concerns



Ceresana thoroughly analyzed the market for automotive coatings as well as the demand for individual coating types (acrylic, polyurethane, epoxy, others) and technologies (solventborne / waterborne & others). The most frequently used product type for street vehicles are acrylic coatings, followed by systems based on polyurethane. Sales of PUR products in particular account for an above-average growth. Solventborne coatings keep binding agents and pigments liquid. During past decades, substantial efforts were made to reduce or stop emissions during hardening due to health and environmental reasons: There has been intense research on developing paint systems containing only few or no solvents. Nevertheless, Ceresana expects global demand for solventborne coatings to continue to increase by 2.4% per year until 2024.



The Study in Brief:



Chapter 1 provides a presentation of the global market for coatings in the automotive industry  including forecasts up to 2024. Data on demand and revenues are analyzed for the regions Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.

Chapter 2 provides market data for the 16 most important countries, that is, country-specific information on demand and revenues. Demand is analyzed in detail in regard to coating layers, application areas (OEM coating / refinishing coating), technologies (solventborne / waterborne & others), and individual product types.

Chapter 3 thoroughly examines the several coating layers in automobiles: electrodeposition coating, primer surfacer, basecoat, clearcoat. Data about these layers are split by both the world regions and the most important countries.

Chapter 4 deals with demand for the particular types of coatings: epoxy, polyurethane, acrylic, and other types.

Chapter 5 provides profiles of the largest manufacturers of automotive coatings  clearly arranged according to contact details, turnover, profit, product range, production sites, and profile summary. Detailed profiles are provided for 53 producers, such as PPG Industries, Akzo Nobel N.V., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Sika AG, RPM International Inc., Kansai Paint Co., Ltd., KCC Corporation, WEG S.A., and Nippon Paint Holding Co., Ltd.



Further information:





About Ceresana

Ceresana is a leading international market research and consultancy company for the industrial sector. For more than 10 years, Ceresana has been supplying several thousand customers from 60 countries with up-to-date market intelligence. Extensive market knowledge creates new prospects for strategic and operational decisions. Ceresana's clients profit from implementation-oriented consulting services, tailor-made single-client studies and more than 100 independent multi-client market studies. Ceresana's analysts are experts in the following markets: Chemicals, plastics, additives, commodities, industrial components, consumer goods, packaging, agriculture, and construction materials.

Learn more about Ceresana at

analyzed the market for automotive paints and coatings in regard to coating layers, application areas, technologies, and product types in detail. Global demand for these high-performance coatings amounted to almost 3.1 million tonnes in 2016, says Oliver Kutsch, CEO of Ceresana. The current study registers the coating of all parts that are produced either by suppliers or by vehicle manufactures themselves and are used in road vehicles, both for new production as well as for spare parts.Coating Against RustThe analysts of Ceresana expect demand for series coating to increase worldwide by 3.7% per year  considerably stronger than the segment refinishing coating. The latter includes complete, partial, and single part coating. These are used in case of damage, for used car coating as well as special coating for new vehicles in plants or at the retailers. Coating of vehicles can be divided into the stages cathodic electrodeposition, car underbody protection, and application of primer surfacers, basecoat, and clearcoat. In regard to quantities, basecoat is the most important coating layer, followed by electrodeposition coating. Basecoat is a colored layer and determines the visual appearance of the complete coating to a large extent. The main purpose of the electrodeposition coating is the protection of the car body against corrosion. By means of primer surfacers, imperfections in the surface are offset  over 380,000 tonnes are utilized worldwide for this purpose.Use of Solvents Increasing Despite ConcernsCeresana thoroughly analyzed the market for automotive coatings as well as the demand for individual coating types (acrylic, polyurethane, epoxy, others) and technologies (solventborne / waterborne & others). The most frequently used product type for street vehicles are acrylic coatings, followed by systems based on polyurethane. Sales of PUR products in particular account for an above-average growth. Solventborne coatings keep binding agents and pigments liquid. During past decades, substantial efforts were made to reduce or stop emissions during hardening due to health and environmental reasons: There has been intense research on developing paint systems containing only few or no solvents. Nevertheless, Ceresana expects global demand for solventborne coatings to continue to increase by 2.4% per year until 2024.The Study in Brief:Chapter 1 provides a presentation of the global market for coatings in the automotive industry  including forecasts up to 2024. Data on demand and revenues are analyzed for the regions Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.Chapter 2 provides market data for the 16 most important countries, that is, country-specific information on demand and revenues. Demand is analyzed in detail in regard to coating layers, application areas (OEM coating / refinishing coating), technologies (solventborne / waterborne & others), and individual product types.Chapter 3 thoroughly examines the several coating layers in automobiles: electrodeposition coating, primer surfacer, basecoat, clearcoat. Data about these layers are split by both the world regions and the most important countries.Chapter 4 deals with demand for the particular types of coatings: epoxy, polyurethane, acrylic, and other types.Chapter 5 provides profiles of the largest manufacturers of automotive coatings  clearly arranged according to contact details, turnover, profit, product range, production sites, and profile summary. Detailed profiles are provided for 53 producers, such as PPG Industries, Akzo Nobel N.V., The Sherwin-Williams Company, Sika AG, RPM International Inc., Kansai Paint Co., Ltd., KCC Corporation, WEG S.A., and Nippon Paint Holding Co., Ltd.Further information: www.ceresana.com/en/market-studies/industry/automotive-coatings/ About CeresanaCeresana is a leading international market research and consultancy company for the industrial sector. For more than 10 years, Ceresana has been supplying several thousand customers from 60 countries with up-to-date market intelligence. Extensive market knowledge creates new prospects for strategic and operational decisions. Ceresana's clients profit from implementation-oriented consulting services, tailor-made single-client studies and more than 100 independent multi-client market studies. Ceresana's analysts are experts in the following markets: Chemicals, plastics, additives, commodities, industrial components, consumer goods, packaging, agriculture, and construction materials.Learn more about Ceresana at www.ceresana.com/en Press Information:

Ceresana



Mainaustr. 34

78464 Constance

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Contact Person:

Martin Ebner

Press Contact

Phone: +49 7531 94293 0

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Web: http://www.ceresana.com





07.02.2018 16:16:47 -

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Industries Efficient wafer handling with the latest vacuum technology

Cross-section of a COBRA NX dry screw vacuum pump

07.02.2018 16:20:57 -



(live-PR.com) - The IHP  Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics  in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany is a member of the Leibniz Association. It performs research and development in the fields of silicon-based systems, highest-frequency integrated circuits and technologies for wireless and broadband communication. The focus of research at the institute is oriented towards issues relevant for business and results in applications for - The IHP  Innovations for High Performance Microelectronics  in Frankfurt (Oder), Germany is a member of the Leibniz Association. It performs research and development in the fields of silicon-based systems, highest-frequency integrated circuits and technologies for wireless and broadband communication. The focus of research at the institute is oriented towards issues relevant for business and results in applications for telecommunications, semiconductor and automotive industries, aerospace, telemedicine, and automation technologies. The institute has developed into an internationally recognized competence centre for silicon-germanium technologies. The IHP chose a state-of-the-art centralized vacuum system from the company Dr.-Ing. K. Busch GmbH to supply the vacuum for the clean room building. The fully-automatic vacuum system supplies up to 80 vacuum consumers with the vacuum needed in the different departments to hold or handle wafers.



The IHP provides an important bridge between academia and industry. The Joint Labs, with universities and universities of applied sciences in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, have been particularly successful in this cooperation. As a public research institute, it is funded by the state of Brandenburg and the German Federal Government. The IHP employs 300 employees from over 20 countries. About half of the employees are scientists, mainly engineers and physicists, who conduct interdisciplinary and application-orientated research. The heart of the innovative research facility is the clean room building with 1,000 square meters of class 1 clean room area where wafers are prepared under conditions similar to those in the industry. Here, pilot production of wafers is developed for analyzing possible subsequent industrial manufacturing. There is a total of 80 vacuum consumers in all of the clean rooms for wafer production. These can simply be vacuum tweezers that employees use manually for visual inspection of the wafers, for example. Handling equipment for transporting the wafers or for putting them down in a defined spot for further processing are also connected to the facilitys vacuum network. Furthermore, different vacuum holding devices on the microscopes are used in etching and coating processes, or in lithography systems.



A vacuum supply consisting of three identical liquid ring vacuum pumps had been in operation since moving into the new building in the East-Brandenburg technology park in Frankfurt (Oder) in 1999. However, the team at the IHP was not really satisfied with this solution. For one, these vacuum pumps required water as an operating fluid. Decalcified, demineralized water was used in this case, which required a certain degree of effort and incurred associated costs. Secondly, these vacuum pumps were not adjustable and thus consumed unnecessary energy because they were not able to be adjusted to the actual vacuum requirements. Because all process steps in the clean rooms depend on the central vacuum supply, the team was also worried about reliability, especially as the supply reliability for spare parts became increasingly critical.



So in 2016, they began looking for a trend-setting vacuum technology that was state of the art, could be operated as economically as possible and guaranteed the highest degree of reliability.



They selected a vacuum system with three COBRA NX screw vacuum pumps from the company Dr.-Ing. K. Busch GmbH. In December 2016, this system was installed in a step-by-step process  pump by pump  while the system was in operation and the existing liquid ring vacuum pumps were dismantled.



COBRA NX screw vacuum pumps use dry compression, so they do not need any operating fluid for the vacuum generation. This vacuum technology allows a contact-free operation. Two screws rotate in opposite directions and do not come into contact with each other or the housing. The gap here is so small that no operating fluid is needed for sealing. This technology also has the advantage of being absolutely maintenance-free, meaning that there is no need to replace wearing parts.

The speed of all three of the installed COBRA NX screw vacuum pumps can be controlled and operated according to demand. This ensures that the only vacuum pumps in operation are the ones that are actually needed to maintain the vacuum level of 50 to 60 millibars. The size of the vacuum system is such that two COBRA NX vacuum pumps at 100% output are sufficient for full load operation. The third vacuum pump serves as a stand-by to increase reliability. The control system ensures that all three vacuum pumps have the same number of operating hours so that they are evenly loaded. The control system is self-sufficient and guarantees that the required vacuum level is constantly maintained. In turn, the self-adjusting control system is connected to building control technology, which registers any problems that may occur and can be used to call up different parameters.



The vacuum system operates around the clock all year long. It is part of the clean room building facilities and located on the ground floor together with other supply tools like the compressed air supply, cooling water processing, fume scrubbers or power supply units. All these supply units are located in one clean room. Additional systems such as radiators, chillers and transformers are located on the first floor while the actual core area of the clean room building is on the second floor; this is where all the process steps for preparing the wafers are located.



After just the first few months, they already saw a 40 percent reduction in operating costs. This was possible because COBRA NX screw vacuum pumps require less motor power due to their high efficiency factor; therefore, they can function with smaller motor sizes than liquid ring vacuum pumps. Speed control enables exact adjustment to the actual needs; speed control is not possible for liquid ring vacuum pumps for technical reasons. In addition, the costs for water as an operating fluid and all the associated energy costs for its preparation and circulation no longer apply. It was thus possible to make the vacuum supply much more economical and reliable at the same time by using state-of-the-art vacuum technology from Busch.

telecommunications, semiconductor and automotive industries, aerospace, telemedicine, and automation technologies. The institute has developed into an internationally recognized competence centre for silicon-germanium technologies. The IHP chose a state-of-the-art centralized vacuum system from the company Dr.-Ing. K. Busch GmbH to supply the vacuum for the clean room building. The fully-automatic vacuum system supplies up to 80 vacuum consumers with the vacuum needed in the different departments to hold or handle wafers.The IHP provides an important bridge between academia and industry. The Joint Labs, with universities and universities of applied sciences in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, have been particularly successful in this cooperation. As a public research institute, it is funded by the state of Brandenburg and the German Federal Government. The IHP employs 300 employees from over 20 countries. About half of the employees are scientists, mainly engineers and physicists, who conduct interdisciplinary and application-orientated research. The heart of the innovative research facility is the clean room building with 1,000 square meters of class 1 clean room area where wafers are prepared under conditions similar to those in the industry. Here, pilot production of wafers is developed for analyzing possible subsequent industrial manufacturing. There is a total of 80 vacuum consumers in all of the clean rooms for wafer production. These can simply be vacuum tweezers that employees use manually for visual inspection of the wafers, for example. Handling equipment for transporting the wafers or for putting them down in a defined spot for further processing are also connected to the facilitys vacuum network. Furthermore, different vacuum holding devices on the microscopes are used in etching and coating processes, or in lithography systems.A vacuum supply consisting of three identical liquid ring vacuum pumps had been in operation since moving into the new building in the East-Brandenburg technology park in Frankfurt (Oder) in 1999. However, the team at the IHP was not really satisfied with this solution. For one, these vacuum pumps required water as an operating fluid. Decalcified, demineralized water was used in this case, which required a certain degree of effort and incurred associated costs. Secondly, these vacuum pumps were not adjustable and thus consumed unnecessary energy because they were not able to be adjusted to the actual vacuum requirements. Because all process steps in the clean rooms depend on the central vacuum supply, the team was also worried about reliability, especially as the supply reliability for spare parts became increasingly critical.So in 2016, they began looking for a trend-setting vacuum technology that was state of the art, could be operated as economically as possible and guaranteed the highest degree of reliability.They selected a vacuum system with three COBRA NX screw vacuum pumps from the company Dr.-Ing. K. Busch GmbH. In December 2016, this system was installed in a step-by-step process  pump by pump  while the system was in operation and the existing liquid ring vacuum pumps were dismantled.COBRA NX screw vacuum pumps use dry compression, so they do not need any operating fluid for the vacuum generation. This vacuum technology allows a contact-free operation. Two screws rotate in opposite directions and do not come into contact with each other or the housing. The gap here is so small that no operating fluid is needed for sealing. This technology also has the advantage of being absolutely maintenance-free, meaning that there is no need to replace wearing parts.The speed of all three of the installed COBRA NX screw vacuum pumps can be controlled and operated according to demand. This ensures that the only vacuum pumps in operation are the ones that are actually needed to maintain the vacuum level of 50 to 60 millibars. The size of the vacuum system is such that two COBRA NX vacuum pumps at 100% output are sufficient for full load operation. The third vacuum pump serves as a stand-by to increase reliability. The control system ensures that all three vacuum pumps have the same number of operating hours so that they are evenly loaded. The control system is self-sufficient and guarantees that the required vacuum level is constantly maintained. In turn, the self-adjusting control system is connected to building control technology, which registers any problems that may occur and can be used to call up different parameters.The vacuum system operates around the clock all year long. It is part of the clean room building facilities and located on the ground floor together with other supply tools like the compressed air supply, cooling water processing, fume scrubbers or power supply units. All these supply units are located in one clean room. Additional systems such as radiators, chillers and transformers are located on the first floor while the actual core area of the clean room building is on the second floor; this is where all the process steps for preparing the wafers are located.After just the first few months, they already saw a 40 percent reduction in operating costs. This was possible because COBRA NX screw vacuum pumps require less motor power due to their high efficiency factor; therefore, they can function with smaller motor sizes than liquid ring vacuum pumps. Speed control enables exact adjustment to the actual needs; speed control is not possible for liquid ring vacuum pumps for technical reasons. In addition, the costs for water as an operating fluid and all the associated energy costs for its preparation and circulation no longer apply. It was thus possible to make the vacuum supply much more economical and reliable at the same time by using state-of-the-art vacuum technology from Busch. Author:

Jasmin Markanic

e-mail

Web: http://www.buschvacuum.com

Phone: 076226813376 07.02.2018 16:20:57 -

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Stock Market News

Europe midday: Stocks claw back some of their losses 07-02-2018 11:30



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Stock Market News

Redrow posts record interim profit and revenue amid 'robust' demand 07-02-2018 08:03



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Stock Market News

SimiGon awarded 28-month contract with US Air Force 07-02-2018 09:04



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Strategy of state banks will be presented to govt in a week or two

The strategy for the further development of state-owned banks is expected to be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers in one or two weeks, Finance Minister Oleksandr Danyliuk has said.

"We had a very high-quality, constructive discussion. All are aimed at the result. We've agreed that within three days we will get proposals from people's deputies [concerning the strategy of state banks], after which we will process and submit them to the Cabinet," he told reporters after a meeting of the parliamentary committee on financial policy and banking in Kyiv.

Acting Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Yakiv Smolii also confirmed the corresponding agreement.

"We've discussed the position of the Ministry of Finance on the strategy of state-owned banks. There were active discussions. Within three days the Ministry of Finance will receive proposals from the National Bank, people's deputies, and submit the document to the Cabinet for approval," he said.
Stock Market News

Tullow Oil cuts debt and grows cash but holds back on dividend 07-02-2018 08:09



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Naftogaz expects to finish heating season with 8-9 bcm of gas remaining in storage

Naftogaz Ukrainy plans to finish the 2017/2018 heating season with 8-9 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas remaining in underground storage facilities.

"If the weather is the way we expect, we will finish [the heating season] with between 8 bcm and 9 bcm remaining in underground storage facilities," Naftogaz chief Andriy Kobolev told journalists on Wednesday.

Naftogaz entirely stopped importing natural gas beginning in February. Gas is now being supplied to Ukraine exclusively by private companies.

"We don't see the need. We have sufficient reserves that we bought back in the summer at a good price," Kobolev said.
IMF expert group will arrive in Kyiv on Feb 12 for technical consultations with authorities

A group of experts from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will arrive in Kyiv on February 12 for technical consultations with the authorities, according to a press release from the fund.

"A team of several IMF experts will visit Kyiv from February 12 to February 16 to conduct technical consultations with the representatives of Ukrainian authorities," the document reads, citing IMF Resident Representative in Ukraine Goesta Ljungman.
Polish President Andrzej Duda has signed amendments to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation, which stipulates, among other things, punishment for "crimes of Ukrainian nationalists," the Associated Press has reported.

Thus, the changes previously approved by the parliament have come into force.

At the same time, the head of state said that, in practice, it would be almost impossible to punish violators of the new law, especially if violations are committed outside of Poland.

Duda said earlier on Tuesday, February 6, that he planned to appeal to the Constitutional Court of Poland with the request to assess the innovations. Thus, the president does not exclude that modifications to the law can still be introduced.

Duda said on February 6 that he would sign changes to the law.

"What is the significance of the proposed act? It touches on an issue that is extremely painful and very delicate. It has to do with World War II, with martyrology, primarily of the Polish nation. Almost six million of our citizens lost their lives in World War II. I reiterate most emphatically 'citizens of Poland' and among them there were approximately three million Polish citizens of Jewish nationality," Duda said in a special address in the presidential palace in Warsaw.

He also noted that the changes introduced were not a new law and that they had been discussed during the year, including with Israel.

"An expectation was voiced that the act and its provisions should in no way impede artistic and scientific activities," Duda said.

The Polish president did not say anything in his speech about Ukraine, whose parliament urged him to veto changes adopted by the parliament.
Russia's hybrid military forces have attacked Ukrainian army positions in Donbas 14 times in the past 24 hours, with four Ukrainian soldiers reported as wounded in action (WIA), the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters has reported.

"Over the past day, the enemy has increased the number of armed provocations ...The enemy was particularly active in the evening, the press center of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) headquarters said on Facebook on Wednesday morning.

In the Luhansk sector, the enemy was active near the village of Troyitske after dark. Here, the invaders repeatedly shelled the Ukrainian positions from 120mm mortars, an anti-aircraft gun, and heavy machine guns. The enemy also used an anti-tank missile system against the defenders of the village of Krymske, as well as grenade launchers against the defenders of the village of Katerynivka. Moreover, the illegal armed formations fired small arms, violating the ceasefire near the village of Luhanske. The Russian aggressor fired 120mm and 82mm mortars near the village of Novozvanivka as well as grenade launchers and heavy machine guns on the Ukrainian positions near the village of Novo-Oleksandrivka.

In the Donetsk sector, the enemy focused its fire in the Mariupol direction. In particular, militants employed 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns near the village of Lebedynske. The Ukrainian fortified positions near the village of Pavlopil came under fire from 82mm mortar and infantry weapons, while those ones near the village of Shyrokyne were attacked with the use of 120mm mortars. Furthermore, the aggressor forces opened fire from infantry fighting vehicles near the village of Bohdanivka, as well as from small arms near the village of Vodiane.
Steve Kahn, an artist whose minimal, mural-scale photographs of the 1970s helped to convince a skeptical art world of his mediums gravitas in the gallery, died Thursday. He was 74. His death, at Alta Bates Summit Hospital in Oakland, was announced by his San Francisco gallerist, Julie Casemore of Casemore Kirkeby.

Kahn was born in Los Angeles on Dec. 29, 1943, to Virginia and Eugene Kahn. He graduated from Reed College in 1966.

As early as 1973, his work was included in the exhibition 24 From LA at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. That same year he published an influential book, Stasis, which was followed by other important exhibitions. In 1980, he was awarded a fellowship by the National Endowment for the Arts.

In 1986, however, he moved to New York to work as a commercial photographer, and his profile in the art context gradually faded. He eventually moved to Berkeley in 2012, and around the same time began again to show the earlier work.

His reintroduction was met with marked success, as works were acquired in the past two years by major institutions throughout the U.S., including the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Gallery of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and San Franciscos de Young Museum and SFMOMA.

A solo exhibition of Kahns work, planned for September at the de Young, will proceed. In addition, a book, Chemical Plants, is to be published by Nazraeli Press later this year.

He is survived by his daughter, Zoe Kahn of New York, and sister, Susan Ansen of Los Angeles. He was married for 23 years to Zoes mother, Robin Amos Kahn, who lives in New York.

Charles Desmarais is The San Francisco Chronicles art critic. Email: cdesmarais@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Artguy1
The murder of a Bay Area woman by a fellow Marine, who then took his own life, is a tragedy that the legal system can do nothing about because it involved military service, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in refusing to reinstate a suit by the victims family.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a federal magistrates ruling in 2016 that dismissed a lawsuit against the government by the father of Sara Castromata. The court said it had no authority to decide whether the Marine Corps should have prevented the shooting because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1950 that service members and their families cannot sue for injuries related to their military service.

Castromata, who lived in Oakley, enlisted in the Marines in December 2011. In March 2013, she was a 19-year-old corporal in the officer candidate school at the Quantico, Va., Marine base, when she was slain by one of the instructors, Eusebio Lopez, a decorated 25-year-old sergeant from Pacifica.

The two had a brief relationship that broke up about four months earlier. Lopez  who had texted Castromata earlier in the day saying he intended to commit suicide  entered her room, confronted Castromata and her new boyfriend, Cpl. Jacob Wooley, and fatally shot both of them before killing himself. The lawsuit said the three bodies were left in place for four hours before Marine personnel checked to see if any of them could survive.

The suit accused the Marines of multiple actions and inactions that contributed to the deaths. Among other things, it said officials knew Lopez was suffering from post-traumatic stress after three tours of duty in Iraq, but failed to require him to store his guns at a base armory. It also said a sentry ignored Castromatas warning about Lopezs suicide threat, and then lent Lopez a master key, which he used to enter Castromatas room.

But U.S. Magistrate Maria-Elena James said in June 2016 that the allegations in the lawsuit would require her to second-guess military decisions on enforcing its rules. She reluctantly dismissed the suit, and was upheld Tuesday by the appeals court.

The suit calls into question basic choices about the discipline, supervision, and control of a serviceman and would involve the judiciary in sensitive military affairs at the expense of military discipline and effectiveness, the three-judge panel said. It quoted a 1985 Supreme Court ruling that dismissed a suit over a mentally ill service members murder of an off-duty colleague.

A lawyer for the family could not be reached for comment.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@egelko
Senior U.S District Judge David Ezra denied requests by lawyers for state Sen. Carlos Uresti and co-defendant Gary Cain to acquit the two men accused of defrauding investors, saying there was a lot of telling evidence against Uresti.

The motions for acquittal came Wednesday outside the jurys presence after federal prosecutors rested their case on day 13 of the criminal trial against the two.

Ezra, in issuing his ruling, said the law requires him to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government at this stage of the trial.

We have a witness who said Mr. Uresti flat out said he put his own money into oilfield company FourWinds Logistics, Ezra said. The judge also said there were documents that, if believed by a jury, could find Uresti, as well as Cain, guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Im not saying the defendants are guilty, Ezra said. It is up to the jury to decide. But at this point, the government has presented enough evidence for the trial to continue.

Such requests for acquittal mid-trial are rarely granted, Ezra said.

Uresti was indicted last year on 11 felony charges, including securities fraud and money laundering, for his role in FourWinds, a now-defunct company that bought and sold sand used in fracking for oil production. Cain, a FourWinds consultant, is charged with nine felonies. Each has denied the charges.

Uresti served as FourWinds legal counsel, a 1 percent owner and he recruited investors. The company went bankrupt in 2015 amid allegations that it defrauded investors.

Four company officials already have pleaded guilty, including CEO Stan Bates, who was accused of misusing investors money to support a lavish lifestyle and to pay personal bills.

Michael McCrum, Urestis lead lawyer, in his request for an acquittal, said the lawmaker had no knowledge of the wrongdoing committed by Bates or other company officials.

Afterwards, during a break, McCrum said judges just never grant acquittal motions.

In 33 years, I think Ive seen a judge grant it only two times, and then it was only for a couple of charges, not all, he said. Its no surprise, but Im still confident about our case. Im still confident the government hasnt proven its case.

John Muller, a lawyer for Cain, also asked that his client be acquitted. Cain is charged with money laundering and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

He came to work with his lunch pail and did his job, Muller said of Cain. He believed he was being paid with clean money.

Lead prosecutor Joseph Blackwell countered that all of the money that came through FourWinds was the result of fraud and, therefore, tainted.

There was no owner capital, no bank loans, Blackwell said. Everything came from investor funds and from the result of fraud.

Charles Chad Muller, Cains lead lawyer, declined to comment on the judges ruling.

After Ezras ruling, McCrum called as his first witness Guillermo Hoyos, a friend of Urestis who also helped recruit potential investors for FourWinds.

Hoyos testified that he thought FourWinds was a successful and impressive company but said he never asked to review its financial records or speak with company officials.

Blackwell questioned Hoyos about telling FBI agents that Uresti had seen Bates using cocaine in a mens restroom.

I remember he was using drugs, but I dont remember what drug, Hoyos said.

The conversation with Uresti happened during a meeting in Austin where the lawmaker said he didnt want anything more to do with Bates because of his drug use, Hoyos said. That and he (Bates) was extremely unrespectful, Hoyos added.

Blackwell also asked Hoyos if he remembered telling FBI agents that Urseti had said he invested his own money with FourWinds and that it was very lucrative.

I do not recall (saying that) because that was not true, Hoyos said. Uresti never invested any of his own money in FourWinds.

The governments 23rd and final witness, FBI special agent Monroe Giese, completed his testimony Wednesday.

Giese had testified Tuesday that Hoyos sent Uresti an email in July 2014 questioning the ways Bates promoted FourWinds. Bates falsely claimed that retired Spurs star Tim Duncan and actor Matthew McConaughey were considering investing with FourWinds, according to previous testimony in the trial.

Bates also was telling investors about his exotic cars and that he had a $200 million offer for FourWinds, according to Hoyos email.

That doesnt impress anybody, Hoyos said of Bates bragging.

FourWinds bought and sold sand used in fracking for oil production.

Defense lawyers also called Kevin Roddy, a New Jersey attorney who specializes in securities-fraud litigation. He testified about the differences between a securities broker and a finder. Urestis lawyers contend he didnt act as an unregistered securities broker when recruiting potential investors for FourWinds. Rather, they say he merely introduced potential investors to the company.

Prosecutors also called a securities lawyer during their case. Experts witnesses that werent directly involved in a case are prohibited from testifying about specific facts.

The judge, citing a scheduling conflict, said the trial will resume Monday.

pdanner@express-news.net| gcontreras@express-news.net
David Rodriguez remembers the altercation that changed his life and landed him in an immigration detention facility two years ago.

A violent scuffle that happened almost a decade ago came back to haunt him when he passed through an airport checkpoint following his honeymoon. And though his situation - he was held in a Houston immigration center for more than two months - made headlines, the former chef continues to tell that story, plus many more in "House Husbands," a podcast he co-hosts along with three of his friends.

"The podcast came out of my immigration situation, because Mexicans don't have a voice," Rodriguez says.

Every week in his home studio, Rodriquez gets together with two respected Houston DJs, Demo Cruz of the Waxaholics and Pancho Briones (formerly Panchitron) of the EDM group Santa Muerte.

For Briones, the podcast isn't just an excuse to shoot the breeze, it is an archive of his 30s. "This is one way to archive it, by detailing experiences and moments, or whatever you call those rants we have," he says.

Just shy of 10 episodes, by podcasting standards, "House Husbands" is in its infancy.

More Information 'House Husbands' Hear the podcast at Soundcloud.com/thetippingpoint-713 See More Collapse

The show's name has some meaning. Before there was a podcast, the three friends would hang out for lunch during the week. "Our wives were getting mad while we were out gallivanting around Houston," Cruz says.

"It was our running joke. On Facebook when we would meet up and we would tag each other and say that we were shooting an episode of 'The Real House Husbands of Houston,' so we could make them a little more mad," he says, with a laugh.

The "House Husbands" show is anything but insincere. On the premiere episode three months ago, Briones not only shared the story of how he quit his job to pursue music, but also got specific about his drug use and how he applies it to his music. It was an honest admission about his lifestyle choices.

Steeped in Latino culture (all three are Mexican), the podcast aims for a universality of the Houston experience. For instance, Briones also went deep in one show focused on the impact gay music and club culture has had on his development as an artist.

Getting into a regular podcasting schedule has been the co-hosts main struggle. All three lead busy lives, with Cruz travelling between Austin and the Bayou City for DJ gigs, Rodriguez running a downtown fashion boutique and Briones producing his music and taking meetings with the types of celebs who ask him to sign nondisclosure agreements.

Rodriguez, who co-owns The Tipping Point clothing store, recently quit working as a chef to focus on running his high-end retail shop. With music and the club scene being the expertise of the other "Husbands," food and sneakers are where Rodriguez holds the expertise.

But he's also got some great stories. Such as the time he dropped his legal firearm near a bus stop, right as a police officer was passing by. Or, the time he gave a local food tour to Anthony Bourdain.

In the podcast's third episode Rodriguez talks about his immigration case, which leads into the story about the time Bourdain came to Houston (and wanted to be adventurous and try "lean" - Houston's most notable narcotic cocktail, Rodriguez admits).

Of course, the sad conclusion to that story is that producers called him later to let them know his segment where he again recounted his immigration horror story was cut from "Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown".

As the podcast, which can be found at Soundcloud.com/thetippingpoint-713, approaches its 10th episode, its creators are humble about its prospects. They're not worried about monetizing it at this point, if at all. With all three successful in their chosen paths, the podcast is a way to put a lens on Latino life, while also recording a moment in the lives of three cool guys who want to share their stories with Houston.
"Bodak Yellow" rapper Cardi B will visit three major Texas cities later this year, but you'll have to leave San Antonio if you want to see the star live.

The JMBLYA music festival, set to hit Dallas, Austin and Houston the first weekend in May, will feature current it-girl Cardi B, along with Migos and Kevin Gates, among other performers.
Like a ringmaster leads a circus, conductors direct classical music concerts, presenting various acts or compositions while serving as an intermediary between the audience and the performers.

But the show must go on, with or without, and River Oaks Chamber Orchestra is here to prove it's possible to have a concert without a conductor, with the return of its annual conductorless concert this weekend at the Church of St. John the Divine.

Ontario-based concertmaster Scott St. John will guide the ensemble from his chair through three commissions, including a world premiere by composer Dan Visconti that shares the title of the concert, "Legendary Love," and honors Houston's punk-rock icon Christian Kidd of The Hates. The performance will feature two new works by Mark Buller as well, alongside "Legends" by Antonin Dvorak and "Wood Notes" by William Grant Still.

The concertmaster, also known as the first-chair violinist, acts as a spokesperson of sorts for the group, St. John said. He or she typically tunes the orchestra, coordinates the bowing techniques and articulations of the string section, performs solos and interacts with the maestro onstage. With no one on the podium, however, he or she assumes the leadership role but does not single-handedly influence the sound as a conductor would. This provides the musicians with a greater amount of freedom to perform one's own interpretation, St. John said.

"You really have to offer a lot more from your own experiences and your own way of playing," he said, comparing the level of independence to that of a jazz band. "Although we don't improvise, per se, you can do quite a lot within the boundaries of what the composer has printed."

The format of this concert has roots that date back to the Baroque era, wherein the concertmaster or a chord-playing musician like a harpsichordist often served as the leader of an orchestra. Once ensembles began to expand, however, particularly around the time of Mozart and Beethoven, it became impractical to perform without a central, visual cue, St. John said.

Self-conducting has experienced a revival in more recent years. St. John credits the New York-based Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1972, as the American leader of conductorless performances, encouraging open dialogue through a musical democracy in which every member is collaboratively invested in the artistic direction of the whole.

The baton is shared among the group, as specific musicians, typically soloists, are assigned to represent and lead certain sections.

St. John's position requires him to know the score inside and out for each instrument, and if timing goes amiss, he uses the scroll of his violin to correct the issue. For instance, a massive upbeat represents the fourth beat while a large downward movement represents the first.

More Information 'ROCO In Concert: Legendary Love'When: 5 p.m. Saturday Where: St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 2450 River Oaks Blvd. Information: $35; 713-665-2700, roco.org See More Collapse

"If everything was in 4/4, it would be a lot easier," he said, laughing. "Some of the newer music that we play is tricky that way because sometimes the time signatures are quite complicated."

In a way, the musicians must dance together, creating a unified sound in the same way a corps de ballet forms a unified vision. It takes a larger amount of preparation, St. John said, but the result is rewarding.

"It's a little bit like a chamber music group, where there's a lot of subtle signs going on as to what the beat is and where you're going to play exactly," he said. "Basically, it turns a string quartet into a 40-person string quartet."

"We like conductors," he said, "but it's fun to go without."
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Leader of the People's Front party, ex-Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, while on a visit to Washington, has said that he expects a tough reaction of the Western partners to the election of the Russian president on Ukrainian territory.

"We expect a tough reaction of the Western partners to the appointment of the Russian presidential election on Ukrainian territory," Yatsenyuk's statement was quoted by the press service of the People's Front party, published on Wednesday night.

In addition, the leader of the People's Front said that he had held meetings with the U.S. presidential adviser on Europe and Russia, Fiona Hill, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Robert Karem, Democrat leader in the U.S. Congress Nancy Pelosi, and also addressed the Council for External Relations.

Yatsenyuk said that one of the main issues he discussed during the meetings was "a geopolitical issue that is on the agenda of Ukraine and should be on the agenda of the whole world, including the United States of America."

"President Putin holds his election on Ukrainian territory - in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. He appointed these elections, or rather his own reassignment, on March 18 - precisely on the day of illegal annexation, the occupation of the Ukrainian territory," the message reads.

"We expect tough reaction from our Western partners and from the U.S. that elections on Ukrainian territory can only be held in relation to the president of Ukraine, and not the Russian president. And here the world and the United States of America, primarily, is a leader of free world, must declare its position," the leader of the People's Front said.

He said that the People's Front faction had registered the draft resolution on the appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the G7, the OSCE and the entire free world in connection with the illegal preparation of the presidential elections in the temporarily occupied part of Ukraine: "I think that the Ukrainian parliament will show its will. Now it is necessary for the United States, the G-7 countries, and the European Union to take a position on the illegality of the Russian presidential election on Ukrainian territory."

Ex-Prime Minister of Ukraine also stressed that he welcomed the U.S. decision on the so-called "Kremlin list."

"The question is in the implementation of this decision, namely, the imposition of sanctions against persons who have committed international crimes both against the Ukrainian state and against the Western world, including that it is no secret that Russia is interfering in the Western elections. Russia will interfere in the Ukrainian elections. The Ukrainian presidential, and parliamentary elections will be no less significant for Putin than elections in the Western world, or even his own re-election," said Yatsenyuk.

As reported, Yatsenyuk began his visit to Washington with a meeting with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Wess Mitchell.

"I started the visit to Washington with a meeting with Wess Mitchell, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. I am impressed by the practical, result-oriented attitude of the Ukrainian State Department team," Yatsenyuk wrote on his Facebook page on Tuesday.

The ex-premier stressed the mutual understanding of partners in the consideration of the raised issues.

"In conversation with Wess Mitchell, we've discussed the most important issues on the bilateral agenda that should be implemented this year: security, economic development, privatization and combating corruption. I am glad that our approaches, assessments and expectations coincide," he added.
On this date in ...

1918: Truck 2 of the Albany Fire Department, while responding to an alarm, sped down Clinton Avenue and attempted to make a turn onto Chapel Street when it skidded on the car tracks and careened wildly, narrowly avoiding taking out the northwest corner of the Clinton Square Theatre. Although the driver's skill kept both the building and vehicle from sustaining damage, the truck did find itself wedged between the theater and an electric light pole, preventing it from proceeding to the fire.

1968: The Board of Trustees of the village of Colonie voted to accept a $66,000 bid by Tri City Industries on the village hall. The hall had been appraised at $68,000 prior to the auction. The board also moved to construct a new village hall at a cost not to exceed $65,000. Boardmembers were expected to meet with the architect, Peter Seidner, within the week and were considering a one-story pre-fab type of construction next to the Senior Citizens Center on Thunder Road.

1993: Saratoga County had one of the lowest poverty rates in New York state, and it and the other Capital Region counties had poverty rates far below the national average, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. A Census Bureau study of poverty rates in the nation's 3,141 counties found that New York counties generally ranked relatively low on the national poverty scale. In Saratoga County, 5.9 percent of the residents in 1990 were living below the national poverty line of $13,359 for a family of four.

Want to read more about the Capital Region's past? Have any memories or thoughts about how our history relates to today's events? See http://blog.timesunion.com/history/.
The Washington's Birthday Celebration Association together with Macy's and Sames KIA showcased some of Laredo's talented dance teams and cheerleaders, in the WBCA Youth Song & Dance Festival on Saturday at the LISD Jesus Martinez Performing Arts Center auditorium.

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In addition, Macy's and the WBCA are pleased to announce the recipients of the $1,000 academic scholarships awarded to two deserving seniors, courtesy of Macy's.

Grace Patterson and Carlos Daniel Cruz were selected based on their academic merits, community involvement and extracurricular activities.

A student from J.W. Nixon High School, Grace Patterson plans to attend Sam Houston University to pursue a major in business and a minor in dance. Grace is involved in a long list of activities in and out of the classroom, including track and field and the powerlifting team at J.W. Nixon High School. Grace is also an extremely talented and accomplished dancer at the Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts, where she excels at jazz, hip hop and classical ballet.

Carlos Daniel Cruz, a Martin High School student, plans to attend the University of North Texas to pursue a major in music performance and music education. He has a 101.7 GPA.

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"Macy's Inc. is a premier national retailer that reflects the spirit of America, and the timeless values that made our nation strong are the same values that make our company strong," Macy's General Manager Victor Zaldivar said. "Chief among these is the responsibility we have to the cities in which we operate and to our community. We believe that contributing to causes, such as the WBCA, is a good business practice and the right thing to do for future generations. Macy's and its employees support a wide variety of programs throughout the year and is proud to be a sponsor of the WBCA Youth Song & Dance Festival."

The three lucky participating teams that won a $500 donation, courtesy of Sames KIA, were F.D. Roosevelt Elementary Cheer and Pazee Team, Cigarroa Middle School Cheerleaders and Grace Patterson from Vidal M. Trevino School of Communications and Fine Arts.

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A Laredo staple since 1963, the WBCA Youth Song & Dance Festival allows enthusiastic drill teams, dance troupes, and perky high-kicking cheerleaders of all grade levels to participate in the excitement of the Washington's Birthday Celebration. Students also show-off their vocal talents and seniors from each high school and are invited to perform and volunteer to assist with the show.
Two Kingwood residents and one Montgomery resident have been appointed to the San Jacinto River Authority board of directors by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

The appointments of Kingwood residents Mark Micheletti and Kaaren Cambio, and Montgomery County resident Charles "Ed" Boulware were announced Monday, Feb. 5.

The authority maintains the water resources in the San Jacinto River watershead, including Lake Conroe.

Appointing SJRA board members from the Lake Houston area was one of the requests outlined in the Lake Houston Chamber of Commerce's Plea for Three letter writing campaign through their Recover Lake Houston initiative.

"Governor Abbott's action in response to the thousands of Plea for Three Lake Houston letters and emails sent to the governor's office and to other state officials from area residents is proof that the capitol is hearing the Lake Houston Area loud and clear," according to a chamber press release.

"We look forward to meeting them and beginning the orientation process," said Jace Houston, SJRA general manager. "It is a learning curve. It's not just a new entity, but most people are just entering in to the water business, so it's a new area for them. So, we have an organized process of sitting down, getting them oriented to the operations and welcoming them to everything we do and we're excited to start the process."

Houston said having both upstream and downstream perspectives represented on the board is valuable.

"It is very valuable to for everyone to have not just a say in the process, but a deep understanding of the process so there is less chance of misunderstanding," Houston said.

Armstrong believes that a key way in which having Lake Houston residents represented on the SJRA board may benefit the community is by enhancing communication between the SJRA and other entities.

"The communication process is a huge point  communicating with other communities, other offices, making sure all affected areas know what's coming," Armstrong said.

The decision to appoint Lake Houston area residence to the SJRA board gives a boost to the task force's efforts, according to Armstrong.

"We have finally gotten the attention of Governor Abbott and it's good to know we're being heard," Armstrong said. "I think we finally have a voice and it's a good time for us to move forward toward a long-term strategy."

Abbott addressed the Lake Houston area regarding the SJRA appointments in a Facebook post Feb. 6, stating "To all affected by Hurricane Harvey along the San Jacinto River from Lake Houston to Kingwood and Montgomery County. I heard your Plea for 3. More will be announced soon to help you with remediation."

Houston City Council Member Dave Martin approached the chamber with the Plea For Three concept, including the push to get Lake Houston area residents appointed to the SJRA. State Rep. Dan Huberty and state Sen. Brandon Creighton were other elected officials who have been supporting the cause.

"I fully intend to continue working with the entire board of directors and the general manager as well as all stakeholders to ensure that SJRA fulfills their duties to the highest degree," Creighton said in a press release. "I believe the new board members will add much needed representation from different parts of the river basin."

MARK MICHELETTI

Micheletti is the executive director of Berkeley Eye Center. He was a certified public accountant and helped begin the Lake Houston Economic Development Partnership, for which he is the board chair.

He has also been on the boards of area nonprofits and performs charitable work with St. Martha's Catholic Parish and an annual Christmas toy drive.

His term on the SJRA board will be for six years.

"(Micheletti) has been involved with our Long-term Recovery Task Force from the beginning," said Jenna Armstrong, Lake Houston chamber CEO. "His house flooded, so he has a vested interest in moving forward. He has a great understanding of what happened and ideas as far as improving."

The recovery period will continue for a long time, Micheletti said. Even on his street in Kingwood, there are only a few neighbors who are fully back in their homes as some are still forced to live upstairs while awaiting contractors, or for financial situations to be resolved.

"The recovery period is going to go on for months and months and it's extremely critical to be out there as a voice for however long it takes until we feel comfortable we've done all we can to mitigate this from happening in the future," Micheletti said. "It's going to take a community effort  not just the residents and businesses who flooded  everyone in the community will be impacted if this happens again because home values will go down, there will be infrastructure no longer in place, so regardless of whether people flooded or not, it's important we're all on the same page for prevention."

The chamber's long-term Recovery Task Force helped gather letters of support from officials and dignitaries on behalf of Micheletti.

"One of the things that was important to us was that they're forward-thinking and able to say, 'The past is the past, but what can we improve moving forward?' That's hard to do if somebody is angry and accusatory and goes in looking to cause problems," Armstrong said. "It's all about taking the right approach and working collaboratively."

From working with him for several years she is confident in his fairness and ability to question things in a respectful way that encourages problem solving.

As with any new position, Micheletti said, he will first work to get a good understanding of the SJRA's policies, procedures and operations.

He believes critical elements in finding solutions are communication and collaboration.

"Communication is a key element," Micheletti said. "I think it comes back to a regional solution involving multiple agencies working together. Communication needs to happen not just at the time we've got a rain or flood event."

KAAREN CAMBIO

Cambio received 37 inches of floodwater in her home and though its restoration is nearly complete, she said many in her community are not even planning to return to their flood damaged homes.

"Many people just can't afford to rebuild," she said.

But the main motivator behind Cambio's desire to help find a solution to future flood prevention is the lives that were lost.

"People died in this and we can't have that happen again," Cambio said. "That should motivate everyone to find a solution, whether they flooded or not."

Cambio is a deacon at the First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood and is a USO volunteer at Bush Intercontinental Airport.

She just retired from being the Caymus Resources president. She's a member of both the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's Scholarship and Tours Committee, as well as the Kings Trails Chapter of the National Charity League, where she is a past president.

She graduated San Diego State University with a bachelor of business administration.

She intends to contribute her professional experience coordinating with multiple different authorities to accomplish projects.

"I've worked with permitting and government agencies to find out of the box solutions to address challenging issues throughout my whole professional career," Cambio said. "I really believe people with a shared mission should be able to find solutions that mutually benefit all parties."

Cambio's game plan going in is to learn more about the SJRA's procedures and delegation of responsibilities. From that information, she plans to isolate opportunities for improvement and propose solutions, which will need to address both the short and long-term, she said.

She looks forward to the formal orientation on Feb. 14, and to the new appointees' first board meeting on Feb. 22.

Cambio's term on the SJRA board will last until Oct. 2019.

Charles "Ed" Boulware

Boulware lives on a lakefront property on Lake Conroe.

"Being a lakefront property owner, I am aware of the issues and qualified to represent the Lake Conroe area," Boulware said. "Second, my wife is a director on the local Municipal Utilities District and has been for five years or more. Due to that, I'm aware of all the issues with water in the region."

Boulware graduated Texas A&M University with a bachelor's degree in computer science and was formerly the April Sound Men's Club president.

He worked for Shell Oil Co. for nearly four decades and is now retired and said his responsibilities during his time with Shell gave him leadership experience.

While at Shell, he ran a variety of projects including those involving geophysics, staffing, financial, capital projects, and global projects.

During the hurricane, water rose to his deck, but did not enter his home.

In his role on the SJRA board of directors, Boulware believes changes must be made in response to the flood, but said it's too early for him propose any solutions.

He is against lowering Lake Conroe's water level by three feet  one of the Plea For Three requests  because he said it would be detrimental both recreation and business standpoints.

"It depends where they are on the lake, but there would be people who can't get to their boat any longer, and businesses they can't boat to, so it would have a widespread affect," Boulware said. "But, I also understand massive downstream flooding was caused and something needs to be done."

Ultimately, Boulware said his focus will be on safety and improving communication and transparency.
While art is in the eye of the beholder, under state law, spray-painted graffiti on public property is a nuisance and should be covered up or removed.

To help business owners and residents who have had graffiti on their homes and storefronts, the Harris County Sheriff's Office offers a free service to clean up tagged surfaces facing public areas.

"Nobody wants this in our community," said Lt. Tommy Shelton, who heads the sheriff's office graffiti abatement program as part of the mental health and jail diversion bureau.

A state ordinance says that property owners are required to remove graffiti.

Removing graffiti and cleaning trash and debris are two community service activities the sheriff's office provides as part of its inmate community work program.

As part of graffiti abatement, inmates from the county jail who have been classified as nonviolent and are not flight risks are able to contribute their community service by either cleaning the graffiti off or painting over it.

"They get good time credit for participating in the program. They're outside, fresh air, they're working and they get satisfaction from what they're doing. It's a chance to be outside, it's a chance to be outside the confines of the jail. It's a chance to do community service," Shelton said.

When graffiti is reported to the sheriff's office, deputies head to the location to take photos and document the tagged area, inform the property owner or real estate group.

While a lot of tagged up areas tend to be done by gangs either marking territory or sending messages to each other, Shelton said.

"Some of it is political nature, some of it just plain offensive," he said.

Once the graffiti is documented, deputies send the photos to be studied by a gang task force.

After providing a consent form for property owners to fill out and submit, deputies then have permission to come onto the property and bring inmate workers to clean or paint over the graffiti that faces public roadways.

Within the city limits of Houston, the Houston Police Department takes care of removing graffiti. In the unincorporated parts of the county, the sheriff's office is tasked with removing it.

While deputies attempt to match the paint color of the property, residents or business owners are also encouraged to have their own paint so that the inmates can perform the work.

Some of the most affected areas where inmate workers and supervising deputies are deployed tend to be in the north, along Texas 249, FM 1960, Antoine Drive and the Hardy Toll Road.

Sheriff's deputy Sandra Veliz was reassigned after her previous post at the Justice of the Peace Court Precinct 4, Place 1 flooded during Hurricane Harvey. Since she's been part of the program, she said she's become more aware of graffiti popping up in public places.

At the Champion West Shopping Center on FM 1960, two inmates under deputy supervision rolled white paint on the back of the stores of the strip center.

"They love strip centers for some reason," Veliz said of taggers. "Probably because in the back of them, nobody can see back here."

Another thing Veliz has noticed is now many of tags are initialed.

"They like to claim their art," she said.

While residents or other law enforcement agencies report graffiti to the sheriff's office, some areas, such as freeways or toll roads fall under other agencies' jurisdictions. In those cases, the sheriff's office informs the Texas Department of Transportation, Harris County Toll Road Authority or agency in charge of the location where graffiti is spotted so that it can be removed.

While some locations tend to be recurring areas of vandalism, Shelton said that tagging on buildings might be deterred if a public or private location were available for artists can spray-paint, like the Venice Art Walls in Venice, Calif. or the Graffiti Park at Castle Hills in Austin.

"There are some truly talented graffiti taggers," he said. "One of my favorites is GONZO247."

The sheriff's office is also accepting donations to continue removing graffiti. Latex paint, rollers, brushes, spray paint and other items can be donated to the program.

Monetary donations that are earmarked for the program are also accepted through the Harris County Sheriff's Office Foundation at www.hcsof.org.

Homeowners associations, apartment complexes and property owners can reach the graffiti abatement program at graffitiabatement@sheriff.hctx.net.
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For the third consecutive year, the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District Food Service Department is being honored by the Texas Department of Agriculture in the Best of Bunch Local Products Challenge.

Less than 10 percent of school district in Texas reach this plateau.
The Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine opposes the monopolization of functions of organizing trading with arrested assets by state-owned enterprise System of Electronic Trading in Seized Property (SETAM), First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade Maksym Nefyodov has said.

"We back expanding competition and access to trading. According to our point of view, it is illogical when one platform controls the entire system. We are actively communicating with the Justice Ministry and the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine to determine the best way out of the current situation," he said, answering the question of Interfax-Ukraine at a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

At the same time, Nefyodov said that he is not ready to name possible options for expanding the number of platforms that would organize these trades.

"I cannot comment yet on what exactly can be a way out of the situation due to a number of technical difficulties. For example, unlike most assets in other areas, there is a problem of storing this property. There are legal problems," he said.

The first deputy minister said that expanding the access to trading leads to increased competition, and the increase in the price of lots entails this.

"However, I urge not to make a drama out of this... It's a normal work, sometimes it takes more time than we would like," he said.

At the same time, Executive Director of Transparency International Ukraine (TI) Yaroslav Yurchyshyn said that, in particular, the option of segmentation of the arrested assets is being considered.

"Active discussions are being held on how to organize it. The arrested property is difficult to manage. One of the options under consideration is the segmentation of assets that SETAM sells," he said, adding that it is a question of selling those segments of assets for which there are all necessary judicial decisions and there is no need for their storage.
In Amy McGrath's pitch to voters in Kentucky, she wears a bomber jacket and stands next to an F/A-18, the fighter jet she flew as a Marine to drop bombs on Afghanistan.

In Mikie Sherrill's political ad in New Jersey, the camera lingers over a whirring Sea King helicopter, like the one she piloted on Navy missions.

And in Martha McSally's video announcing her run for Senate in Arizona, she is crouched in the cockpit of an Air Force fighter jet to underscore that she was the first woman to fly in combat.

Women who served in the military are running for elective office in greater numbers than at any time in history. Many broke gender barriers in uniform and say it's time to make their mark in politics. For generations, military veterans who become elected officials have overwhelmingly been male and Republican, but these female veterans, many of whom served in pioneering combat roles in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, are overwhelmingly Democrats and critical of President Donald Trump.

"Many of us felt like we really had to focus on some of the areas that needed further groundbreaking, such as the House of Representatives and the Senate," said Sherrill, 46, a Democrat running in New Jersey's 11th Congressional District. Sherrill said she and other female veterans are motivated to run for office by what she calls a "lack of respect" for women by the Trump administration and by the dearth of women on Capitol Hill. She said she was astounded to see an all-male Senate panel deciding last year whether to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Sherrill is considered a strong contender who could flip the Republican seat being vacated by Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee who surprised many by dropping out of the race in January after 24 years in Congress. His district voted for Trump by less than one percentage point.

Only four of the 535 members of Congress are female veterans, two Republicans and two Democrats. But at least 32 more women who served in the military are now campaigning for the House and Senate - 25 Democrats and seven Republicans, said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

Scores more are campaigning for statewide office and state legislative seats, many with the aim of running later for Congress.

The increase in veterans running - the number of men is rising, too - is beginning to reverse the long decline of veterans in Congress. In the 1970s, more than 70 percent of House and Senate members had served in the military. Today, about 20 percent have.

Although the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan created a larger pool of potential candidates, it is no coincidence that at a time of sinking regard for politicians, bomber jackets, Bronze Stars, and aviator wings are showing up in so many 2018 campaign ads. A recent Gallup poll showed that 72 percent of people had "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the military, but only 12 percent did for Congress.

Combat veterans in Congress have a long history of commanding attention when discussing war. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., who lost her legs when a rocket-propelled grenade hit her Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq, was widely quoted recently when she called Trump a "five-deferment draft dodger" and accused him of goading North Korea.

In response to Trump calling Democrats "treasonous" for not clapping during his State of the Union address, Duckworth countered that she swore an oath to the Constitution and did not have to "mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs," a reference to Trump receiving a Vietnam War-era deferment because of bone spurs.

Democrats want to highlight the fact that many military veterans are appalled by Trump, who has filled his inner circle with retired generals and is planning a huge military parade later this year.

Studies have shown that veterans in office are more reluctant to vote to go to war, but that once war is declared, they back an all-out effort, said Rebecca Burgess, who studies veterans in public office for the American Enterprise Institute.

In half a dozen interviews with female candidates who are veterans, health care was a key reason they wanted to run. Many also talked about the need to improve education, to gain greater gender parity and to institute paid maternity leave. Wanting a strong national security, they said, was a given and rarely mentioned first.

"Women look around and see what is happening and they want to see change," said Maura Sullivan, 38, a Marine veteran who served in Iraq and is a Democrat running for an open seat in New Hampshire. She said many issues need to be addressed, including child care, mental health and maternity leave.

Sullivan, who worked at the Pentagon in the Obama administration, also said she has seen firsthand the devastating consequences of war, and thinks Trump "puts the national security of this country at risk" with his "erratic and bizarre" behavior.

McGrath agreed that many veterans are upset with the commander in chief: "A lot of us are saying this isn't the country we fought for."

The former combat pilot singled out the need for better affordable health care for her candidacy. She first must win the Democratic primary - a field that includes Lexington Mayor Jim Gray - for the chance to unseat Republican Rep. Garland "Andy" Barr. A viral campaign video has boosted her bid. In it she says that at age 13, she wrote to her members of Congress saying she wanted an opportunity to fly fighter jets. Her House member wrote back saying that women were not allowed in combat, and her senator, Republican Mitch McConnell, never replied.

McGrath ended up flying 89 combat missions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Several Republican Party officials acknowledged that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and liberal groups, including VoteVets.org, are increasing their efforts to recruit veterans who are critical of Trump.

"Democrats have made a concerted effort because of the stigma attached to them since the 2016 election, which showed them to be out of touch with voters, a party of coastal elites," said Jesse Hunt, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

But Hunt said that although military service is admirable, "biography is not everything, and a Democrat is a Democrat."

Voters are swayed by where a candidate stands on issues such as single-payer health care and tax cuts, Hunt said.

But many Democrats see the effectiveness of having combat veterans speak out on deeply partisan issues, including those involving guns.

Burgess, of the American Enterprise Institute, said veterans have an identity apart from political party. Many grew up in middle-class and rural areas, and that helps them "get away from the hated image of the elite politician," she said.

Jeremy Teigen, author of a new book, "Why Veterans Run," said Republicans have had more success in getting their veterans elected. Democrats have a history of backing veterans in long-shot races. But he said there are signs this year that Democrats are being more strategic.

Of 36 veterans who attended a two-day workshop run by the nonpartisan Veterans Campaign held in Washington last month, 14 were Democrats, nine were Republicans and the rest were undecided or independents.

Erica Courtney, a former Army helicopter pilot and a Democrat living in Virginia, was one of those who attended sessions such as "Bulletproofing Your Service Record & Avoiding Common Pitfalls." She said the military taught her to lead by example and to be inclusive, adding, "Now I am embarrassed to watch the nightly news with my children."

In Arizona, McSally is embracing Trump as she seeks the seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.

Elected to the House in 2015, McSally faces former sheriff Joe Arpaio, another Trump ally, in the Republican primary. The retired Air Force colonel is flying herself to campaign stops, telling voters she will work with Trump on border security, a top issue in her Arizona district.

She also uses "salty language," as she calls it - just like the guys she served with in the military. She got people's attention last year when as a House member, she stood up in a GOP conference room during discussions about replacing the Affordable Care Act and said "let's get this f---ing thing done."

"Sorry if I offended you, but that is who I am," McSally said in an interview. She said most voters appreciate her candid, straightforward, "even a little edgy" approach.

"Like our president, I am tired of PC politicians and their BS excuses," McSally said in a video announcing her Senate bid. "I am a fighter pilot, and I talk like one. That's why I told Washington Republicans to grow a pair of ovaries and get the job done."

McGrath, the Kentucky Democrat, said the male-dominated world of politics makes sense for female veterans like her. "Success in combat as a fighter pilot is not gender-dependent," she said. "A lot of women out there kicked butt."
A recent draft report by the Department of Homeland Security urges authorities to conduct long-term surveillance of Sunni Muslim immigrants with "at-risk" demographic profiles.

The report, compiled in January for U.S. Customs and Border Protection acting commissioner Kevin McAleenan and published Monday by Foreign Policy magazine, looks at the people behind 25 terrorist attacks in the United States from October 2001 to December 2017 and, based on their demographics, recommends Muslim immigrants be monitored on a "long-term basis."

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In examining the national origin and religious background of the people behind these attacks, the report suggests that there is "great value for the United States Government in dedicating resources to continuously evaluate persons of interest" beyond their initial screenings at ports of entry.

The surveillance policies - should they go into effect - would bolster the Trump administration's goal of limiting immigration from Muslim-majority countries. Trump's travel ban issued last fall, for example, blocked travelers to the United States from eight countries - six of which have Muslim majorities. Last week the administration said it would continue accepting refugees from Muslim-majority nations but would enforce stricter screening procedures to stamp out potential extremists.

The draft report follows a government report on Jan. 16 stating that three-quarters of those convicted of terrorism-related charges between 2001 and 2016 were foreign-born. The report, released by DHS and the Department of Justice, was applauded by President Donald Trump, who in a series of tweets cited the report and said "we need to keep America safe."

Other data maintained by U.S. attorneys, however, shows that there have been 1,441 federal indictments for domestic-terrorism-related offenses since 2001, compared with 736 international-terrorism-related offenses.

Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said the draft report's recommendations called for "unconstitutional profiling" based solely on religious and ethnic stereotyping.

"It ignores the main extremist threat to our nation - that of violence committed by white supremacists - and politicizes an important issue in a transparent attempt to make national law-enforcement policy conform to the Trump administration's anti-immigrant and Islamophobic agenda," Awad said in a statement.

ALSO READ: Trump orders grand, French-style military parade

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman in a statement called the report a "literal first draft" that did not reflect a "large number of substantive comments and revisions" that have since been made to it.

"In fact, most of the content of [concern] highlighted in reporting was dropped in later drafts and is no longer reflected in the current version of the document," the statement read.

David Sterman, a policy analyst at the liberal-leaning think tank New America, said he is concerned about the disconnect between the findings of the draft report - such as how most of the people behind the terrorist attacks were living in the United States for a long period of time - and its conclusion that Sunni Muslim immigrants should be tracked on a long-term basis.

"[The problem] isn't that they collected this data. It's that the data that underlies it has been connected to a set of interpretations and conclusions . . . that can't be drawn from how this report was structured," he said.
For nearly six minutes, the former legislative staffer sat before a panel of women lawmakers in the Maryland state house, describing how male lawmakers and their aides had propositioned her, rubbed against her, stared at her body.

Nina Smith paused at times to collect herself. When Del. Susan McComas, R-Harford, delicately asked how many lawmakers had "caused you problems," Smith hesitated, and began to cry.

The answer, she said a minute later, was six.

"In the eight years I worked in Annapolis, I was touched without permission," Smith told the Women Legislators of Maryland caucus on Wednesday.

"There was a legislator who told me he wanted to perform a sexual act on me in front of a lobbyist. Another would reach out to me at the most inappropriate hours asking me to come to their room. One legislator rubbed his private parts on me. I started buttoning my blouses a little higher after I noticed that a chief of staff to a congressman wasn't being friendly, he was looking down my shirt."

Smith's testimony to the caucus did not name any alleged harassers. But it was by far the most public airing to date of what women have privately described as a pervasive culture of misconduct in Maryland's legislature.

"You're really a hero," Del. Ariana Kelly, D-Montgomery, president of the caucus, told Smith after hearing her story.

The caucus is finalizing its recommendations to prevent and address instances of misconduct, following months of high-profile allegations across the country against politicians and other powerful men.

Kelly said she plans to introduce legislation to address some of the recommendations, and will discuss them with Senate President Thomas Mike Miller Jr., D-Calvert, and House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Anne Arundel, who have appointed a commission to examine policies dealing with workplace sexual harassment in all three branches of state government.

Del. Carol Krimm, D-Frederick, co-chair of the caucus's Sexual Harassment Policy Workgroup, expressed solidarity with Smith, noting that she, too, had worked as a staffer before being elected to office.

"I will tell you that I understand your position, how difficult it is for you to be here today to express these incidents that happened to you, and how it has touched you and how it has had an impact on you even today," Krimm said. "We are committed to you and staff here to make changes."

Smith, who began working in Annapolis in 2004, said she felt ashamed and unsure what to do after each encounter, and sought the counsel of older, more experienced women.

Their advice: "Wear longer dresses. . . avoid form fitting or attention-drawing clothing - advice they used to navigate land mines in their own political careers," she said.

Eventually, she found herself sharing the same advice to young interns and staffers who came to her seeking help.

"All of the interns that came through my office when I was working in the governor's office, I would advise them to be careful," Smith said, wiping her eyes and cheeks. "My job and future trajectory was in the hands of these same men . . . This is political life and it certainly didn't help for someone like me to rock the boat. So after a while it became normal, always expected."

Smith circulated a letter late last year among women in Annapolis calling for changes in the state's anti-harassment policy. She hoped for dozens of signatures, but dropped the idea after many women said they were concerned about retaliation.

She described the current process for reporting harassment as "murky," suggesting that the list of officials and staffers in the legislature who can receive initial reports of harassment should be expanded. That idea is included in the caucus's recommendations, along with scheduled training for lawmakers and lobbyists; anonymous reporting that could include hotlines; confidentiality in reporting, and requiring an independent investigator to work with the Joint Committee on Legislative Ethics to investigate allegations of misconduct.

Late last year, the Legislative Policy Committee, chaired by Miller and Busch, ordered officials to start collecting data on sexual misconduct complaints against state lawmakers or their staff members.

Kelly thanked Smith for her courage in speaking out on behalf of "the many women who have shared experiences." She said Smith's experience and those of other women make "the case that we need to make these changes."

The commission created by Miller and Busch is scheduled to hold its first meeting on Feb. 16.
Hameed Khalid Darweesh had long lived in fear after working as an interpreter for U.S. forces in Iraq. Several of his interpreter friends had been murdered, and threats of violence twice forced him into hiding.

Darweesh decided his family had to leave in 2014, so he applied for the Special Immigrant Visas available to Iraqis who assisted American troops. His final papers arrived three years later, on the eve of President Donald Trump's inauguration.

After an 11-hour flight to New York City on Jan. 27, 2017, Darweesh, then 58, stood craving a Marlboro just before 6 p.m., when a customs officer looked up without stamping his passport. There was a problem.

As Darweesh's flight was in the air headed to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Trump had signed Executive Order 13769, a hastily orchestrated 90-day ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. It immediately created a nascent presidency's first crisis.

Thousands already en route to America faced immediate deportation upon their arrival. Tens of thousands of enraged protesters descended on airports. The next night, a federal judge's ruling brought the entry ban to a screeching halt.

Few issues have been as central to the Trump administration's approach as immigration, specifically who can enter the country and who can stay. During last week's State of the Union address, Trump made it clear that the immigration fight he started a year ago would remain a priority.

"It is time to begin moving towards a merit-based immigration system," Trump said. "One that admits people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society and who will love and respect our country."

This account of the first emergence of the entry ban - a new version of which is still being litigated in the courts - draws on two dozen interviews, a review of court records and transcripts, and a recently released inspector general's report, which concluded that the ban's chaotic implementation left top Department of Homeland Security officials "largely caught by surprise." According to several current and former administration officials, Trump had not even seen the ban's final text until the day he signed it.

Perhaps more than any other event, the 30 chaotic hours after Trump's initial entry ban set the tone for the tumultuous year to come, during which sudden policy decisions or off-the-cuff statements intended to feed Trump's conservative base often seemed to imperil his prerogatives.

"It was the opening salvo that Trump was going to be an anti-immigrant president - he actually meant his most visceral anti-immigration rhetoric from the campaign trail," said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University, who said the entry ban's implementation, more than any other presidential action in Trump's first year, gave birth to the movement among the left to staunchly resist the administration.

"It brought a new fear into Americans that we had an extreme right-wing president," Brinkley said. "And that he is going to use executive power on Friday night when nobody is watching."

Even among those who support the ideology behind the entry ban, there remains a sense of frustration that the way it was rolled out overshadowed what they see as the policy's merits.

"Your impression of it is very likely driven by your impression of the president," said Andrew Arthur, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, which favors less immigration. "Very few people ever talk about whether this is a good policy or a bad policy."

- - -

Officials both inside and outside of the administration, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to address the subject publicly, say the confusion that engulfed the entry ban spawned from how few people had been fully briefed on the specifics of the executive order. Many didn't even know it was coming.

A White House spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

As a candidate, Trump had responded to the December 2015 mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, which left 14 dead, by calling for a "total and complete shutdown" of Muslim immigration. Trump and campaign surrogates defended their calls for a ban by saying that they believed immigrants from some countries were not being vetted carefully enough, which they said threatens national security.

Later, inside the transition team, a ban was being crafted - the brainchild, one administration official said, of "Steve and Steve," or Trump senior advisers Stephen Bannon and Stephen Miller.

As the inauguration approached, advisers say, Bannon agitated in favor of quickly enacting a ban, which he argued would delight Trump's base and send an early, definitive message about the administration's immigration priorities. On the whiteboards of his White House office, where Bannon kept a list of Trump's campaign promises, the entry ban was listed as a key priority.

But the specifics, Bannon insisted, should not be circulated too broadly to avoid them falling into the hands of Obama holdovers still staffing most federal agencies, officials said.

"Nobody knew anything about the announcement, the policy - there was no briefing; there no was message point distribution," said a senior GOP aide. "They basically just pulled the trigger internally and watched it fly."

According to an inspector general's report issued in recent weeks, while then-Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly was shown two early drafts, no Customs and Border Patrol officials had seen the ban's wording before details started emerging in the national news media.

"CBP leadership received the most complete summary of the parameters of a potential [executive order] . . . from Congressional staffers who apparently were better informed . . . than CBP itself," the report concluded.

During a 6 p.m. conference call, top Border Patrol officials were instructed to consider the ban in effect "even though DHS did not have a copy of the signed" order, the report said.

At the White House, then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus was taken aback, officials said, at how many people had been kept in the dark. He began personally calling Cabinet secretaries to fill them in and brainstorm how to best defend the ban in court.

"No one had any sense of what they were doing," a former senior administration official said.

Officially, the White House defended the travel ban rollout - arguing that just about 100 or so travelers had been detained, though DHS reports would later determine that nearly 2,000 travelers were affected. In a call with reporters two days after the ban was signed, senior administration officials declared the rollout a "massive success story in terms of implementation on every single level."

Immigrant and civil rights groups, who had not fully anticipated how quickly the Trump administration would take action, were in a scramble of their own.

"Literally that evening, as I got off of a phone call that was about making plans to bring a lawsuit, we got the news that in fact there were people literally that minute who were being held already at the airports," said Omar Jadwat, who runs the Immigrants' Rights Project at the American Civil Liberties Union. "And then it was just an all-nighter."

Hours after being taken into detention at JFK, Darweesh pleaded with customs officers not to handcuff him by telling them of how he had worked with the U.S. military.

"That's when they told me," he recalls. "'You're not allowed to enter the United States.'"

- - -

The morning of Jan. 28, 2017, would bring more chaos. Darweesh, in custody for nearly 12 hours, had been allowed to speak to a lawyer from the International Refugee Assistance Project, who promised him his family was safe and urged him not to sign any paperwork.

In Houston, the family of Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, 33, who was en route from Iraq, got a call telling them that he too was being detained at the airport in New York.

At 7:48 a.m., the American Association of Airport Executives emailed top DHS officials with concerns from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, which was expecting the arrival of 900 people now banned from the country and was going to run out of holding cells.

"I imagine if this is a problem in Seattle, it will be a huge issue nationwide," an unnamed airport association official wrote in an email included in the IG report.

In Portland, Maine, 19-year-old Hamdia Ahmed, who had come to the United States 11 years earlier after spending her childhood in a Kenyan refugee camp, burst into tears. Then she secured a protest permit. "I was just like: I've cried, but I'm not going to accept this," said Ahmed, then a sophomore at the University of Southern Maine. "Trump needed to know that we're not going to accept this."

A thousand miles west, Galen Denney, 38, was stewing in Indianapolis. He'd spent the two months since election night assuring a local family of Syrian refugees that the incoming president couldn't kick them out.

"I just decided that I had to actually do something, perhaps selfishly, I had to try to release my anger," Denney said. "I had to stand up in front of God and everyone, so to speak, and say 'No! This is fear, people will die because of it, and it's wrong.' . . . I decided I was going to Indianapolis International."

By Saturday afternoon, thousands had stormed the international arrivals terminals of airports across the nation, few of which were prepared for the spontaneous demonstrations.

In Orlando, Florida, officials scrambled to respond to the airport's first protest in memory. In Denver, an airport which a strict protest permitting process, was besieged by hundreds of protesters, an "unprecedented" event, airport officials said.

Back in Washington, some senior members of Congress, aides say, were calling Obama administration holdovers trying to figure out what was happening while elected Democrats - hungry to channel the resistance-branded energy seen earlier that week at the Women's March - began rushing to airports.

In New York, Congressman Jerrold Nadler and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez argued for those detained to be provided attorneys. At Dulles, outside of Washington, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Sen. Cory Booker, N.J., led chants.

"An attack on anyone, for their religious beliefs, is an attack on the very foundation of democracy," Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D, declared atop a bench inside Boston's Logan airport, red bullhorn in hand. "We are a better people than that!"

- - -

With the airport protests raging into the night, some of the Trump administration's top officials were donning tuxedos and ball gowns at the Alfalfa Club dinner, an exclusive gathering of Washington power brokers at the Capitol Hilton.

In the White House, a former official recalled, Bannon attempted to convince Trump, who was irritated by "wall-to-wall" cable coverage of the protests, that the chaos was a good thing.

Meanwhile, Justice Department attorneys were racing to a Brooklyn courtroom, where U.S. District Judge Ann Donnelly had called an emergency hearing at the American Civil Liberties Union's request - on behalf of Darweesh and Alshawi - that deportations and detentions related to the ban be halted.

Trump administration lawyers argued that the ACLU's complaint was moot because by the time the Saturday evening hearing began both Darweesh and Alshawi, amid the outrage, had been given waivers and released from custody.

But Donnelly asked whether others being prevented from entering the country might face harm if returned to their home countries before the legality of the ban could be adjudicated. A government attorney - on a conference call from Washington - conceded that she could not.

As the judge and the Trump administration lawyers tangled, an ACLU staffer passed a note up through the courtroom.

"I was just passed a note that the government is literally as we speak putting someone back on a plane to Syria," Lee Gelernt, an ACLU attorney in New York, shouted out to the judge.

Again, the Trump administration lawyers said they did not have any information.

"Well, that's exactly why I am going to grant the stay," Donnelly retorted, before instructing the administration to halt all detentions and deportations under the entry ban.

As the courtroom emptied, the ACLU attorneys were greeted by more than a thousand ralliers who were joyously celebrating outside.

"The emotion was overwhelming, just all of the people cheering," Gelernt said. "The fact that we were able, in 24 hours, to have it blocked gave people hope that you could fight back."

Of the 1,976 immigrants who were detained as a result of the initial entry ban, 1,784 were ultimately admitted to the United States, according to DHS records. The roughly 200 others returned to their countries of origin, in some cases, immigration attorneys say, because they had signed DHS paperwork while being detained under the ban.

Senior administration officials said that while some in the White House considered the ruling a blessing in disguise, Trump instructed Bannon and Miller to do whatever they could to restore the ban.

The administration then issued a second entry ban - which the courts again interceded to block - and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court fashioned a compromise that allowed the ban to go into effect, with exceptions. Travelers who could prove a "significant connection" to the United States - such as family members living in the country or an awaiting job or schooling opportunity - were allowed to enter.

When that version of the entry ban expired last fall, the Trump issued a third version, imposing various restrictions on travelers from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad, Somalia, North Korea and Venezuela. After the predictable legal challenge, the Supreme Court announced last month that it will take up the case.

It took six months, but Darweesh was able to secure a green card. After living in North Carolina for a few months, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he works for an asphalt company run by a soldier he once worked with in Iraq.

"All of the people I've met in America have been wonderful," Darweesh said during a recent interview. "Every morning before I go outside, I say a prayer for the United States and all of its wonderful people."
WASHINGTON - Lawyers for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort's co-defendant, Rick Gates, cited unspecified "irreconcilable differences" with their client in asking to leave the case, but a federal judge did not immediately rule on their request after a sealed hearing Wednesday.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson of Washington took the matter under advisement after a nearly 90-minute hearing, held behind closed doors to preserve the secrecy of attorney-client communications.

Gates' attorneys Shanlon Wu of Washington and Walter Mack and Annemarie McAvoy of New York on Thursday moved to withdraw as counsel in a shake-up in the pending prosecution by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

In filings unsealed Wednesday, the attorneys explained they wanted to discuss the reason for their request in secret, because it involves private, "highly sensitive matters" concerning Gates that "would potentially be prejudicial to the Defendant as well as embarrassing."

In a separate document, they added , "irreconcilable differences have developed with the client which make our effective representation of the client impossible," but invoked the protections given to lawyers' discussions with their clients in asking to disclose the matter in closed court.

Gates and his lawyers have not shown public signs of discord, despite drawn-out bail talks and the appearance that he has fewer financial assets than initially asserted by prosecutors.

A shift could leave Gates, 45, with his third set of defense lawyers since he and his former employer, Manafort, 68, were indicted Oct. 30 on fraud, conspiracy and money-laundering counts in the first disclosed charges in Mueller's probe of Russian interference in U.S. political affairs.

The timing of the change in lawyers comes as the prosecution enters a new phase preparing for trial.

Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges, which arose out of Manafort's alleged secret lobbying for a Russia-friendly political party in Ukraine.

After the indictment, Gates replaced his initial attorney, Michael Dry, with Mack, of Doar Rieck Kaley & Mack in New York; Wu, of Wu, Grohovsky & Whipple in Washington; and McAvoy, a former federal prosecutor and consultant specializing in financial crime investigations.

CNN reported Jan. 23 that Gates had added prominent white-collar lawyer Thomas C. Green of Sidley Austin in Washington to his defense team after Green was spotted at Mueller's office, fueling speculation about ongoing negotiations with prosecutors.

Wu declined to comment after the hearing, citing a court gag order in place in the case. Green did not respond to requests for comment, and was not in the courtroom Wednesday.

Gates, after more than two months under house arrest, finally reached bail terms in January on a nearly $5 million secured bond to gain conditional release. Defense attorneys also are sorting through more than 640,000 pieces of evidence turned over by prosecutors.

The judge has set deadlines starting April 6 for motions challenging the indictment before scheduling a possible fall trial date.

Manafort has yet to reach a bond deal and has individually filed a lawsuit challenging his indictment and Mueller's appointment as special counsel.

A cloud over trial scheduling emerged during a Jan. 16 hearing, which included a lengthy discussion at the bench by prosecutors and defense attorneys out of earshot of those in the courtroom seats.

"We are the least prepared of anyone here and we want to do a good job and we need that time to be able to do it," Mack, one of Gates's attorneys, said in open court at one point.

Court dockets show that Mack also faces a trial date set for April 9 in Manhattan federal court in which he is defending a former Gates business associate, Steven Brown, in a fraud prosecution by the U.S. attorney's office there. Brown's judge set the trial date on Jan. 11, shortly before Gates's last hearing.
Antonov Airlines, a division of Antonov State Enterprise (Kyiv), has taken part in preparations for the launch of a super-powerful Falcon Heavy rocket from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, Florida (the United States), Ukraine's Embassy in the United States has reported.

"Ukraine's Antonov Airlines took a direct part in preparations for the launch by providing its An-124-100 Ruslan aircraft for the transportation of rocket components. The issue concerns part of the main fairing of the rocket with dimensions that can get only into a powerful cargo plane as the Ukrainian Ruslan," the embassy reported on its Facebook page on Wednesday.

The report notes that a month ago a Ukrainian aircraft traveled a distance of 3,613 kilometers within four-and-a-half hours, ensuring timely delivery of parts of the Falcon Heavy rocket for its timely launch at Cape Canaveral.

A new super-powerful Falcon Heavy launch vehicle lifted off from Cape Canaveral on its first test flight on February 6. The launch of the rocket was broadcast by SpaceX.

The company was preparing for the launch of the rocket for seven years.

The rocket stands 70 m tall, its core has a diameter of 3.66 m, and when fully assembled with its side boosters is 12.2 m wide and weighs 1,420 tonnes.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk's personal car  a cherry red Roadster  was fired into space on board the Falcon Heavy. Last month, Musk wrote on Twitter that he really liked the idea of sending a car to an endless journey through space, where millions of years later it could be discovered by representatives of an alien civilization.
As head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Pruitt has repeatedly questioned the scientific consensus that rising levels of carbon dioxide from human-fueled activity are warming the planet.

He's now taking a different tack: Even if climate change is occurring, as the vast majority of scientists say it is, a warmer atmosphere might not be so awful for human beings, according to Pruitt.

"We know humans have most flourished during times of what, warming trends," Pruitt said Tuesday during an interview on KSNV, an NBC affiliate in Las Vegas. "So I think there's assumptions made that because the climate is warming, that that necessarily is a bad thing. Do we really know what the ideal surface temperature should be in the year 2100, in the year 2018? That's fairly arrogant for us to think that we know exactly what it should be in 2100."

Pruitt continued: "There are very important questions around the climate issue that folks really don't get to. And that's one of the reasons why I've talked about having an honest, open, transparent debate about what do we know, what don't we know, so the American people can be informed and they can make decisions on their own with respect to these issues."

Not long after taking office last February, Pruitt seemed to reject the established science of climate change in a nationally televised interview - a move that outraged scientists, environmental advocates and his predecessors at the EPA.

"I think that measuring with precision human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there's tremendous disagreement about the degree of impact, so no, I would not agree that it's a primary contributor to the global warming that we see," Pruitt said on CNBC's "Squawk Box" last March. "We need to continue the debate and continue the review and the analysis."

At the time, his comments represented a startling statement for an official so high in the U.S. government. They put him at odds not only with leaders around the world, but also with the EPA's own official scientific findings. President Donald Trump has famously called the idea of human-driven climate change a hoax. Other Cabinet members, including Energy Secretary Rick Perry, have questioned the scientific basis for combating global warming.

He now seems to have embraced an argument long held by other climate-science skeptics: That a warmer atmosphere may in fact be better for humanity.

"The climate is changing. That's not the debate. The debate is how do we know what the ideal surface temperature is in 2100? . . . I think the American people deserve an open honest transparent discussion about those things," Pruitt said in an interview with Reuters last month. He added, " This agency for the last several years has been more focused on what might be happening in 2100, as opposed to what is happening today."

And during a hearing on Capitol Hill later in January, Pruitt said: "There are questions that we know the answer to; there are questions we don't know the answer to. For example, what is the ideal surface temperature in the year 2100? [It's] something that many folks have different perspective on."

The theme echoes one advanced by Kathleen Hartnett White, Trump's pick to lead White House's Council on Environmental Quality, who once touted carbon dioxide as "the gas of life on this planet." The White House withdrew her nomination on Saturday after even Republican senators raised questions about her expertise.

Pruitt also has been the main administration official pushing for a government-wide effort to debate the science of climate change. He first raised the possibility of such a "red team-blue team" exercise in an interview last June.

"What the American people deserve, I think, is a true, legitimate, peer-reviewed, objective, transparent discussion about CO2," Pruitt told Breitbart's Joel Pollack.

During his most recent congressional testimony, Pruitt came back to the same idea.

"That red team-blue team exercise is an exercise to provide an opportunity to the American people to consume information from scientists that have different perspectives on key issues," Pruitt told Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., "and frankly could be used to build consensus in this body."

It's unclear why Pruitt thinks warmer temperatures may be better for people. The last 11,700 years, before the end of the last ice age, constitute a relatively stable period of climate for human civilization. Many of the cities built during those millennia dot the coasts of Earth's continents and were located there assuming relatively stable sea levels.

And while rising temperatures may indeed boost agricultural yield in some regions, they are projected to cause debilitating drought elsewhere.

Though the not-so-bad argument may be new for Pruitt, some conservative and fossil-fuel industry groups have used it for almost three decades. In 1991, for example, the Western Fuels Association funded "The Greening of Planet Earth," a 30-minute video arguing that more CO2 in the air helps farmers.

In 2001, the Cato Institute echoed the video's message. "The video was right," Patrick Michaels, a senior fellow at the libertarian think tank, wrote. "The greens were wrong."
Former acting Ukrainian Defense Minister (from February 27 through March 25, 2014) Admiral Ihor Teniukh in testimony during the state treason trial of disgraced ex-President Viktor Yanukovych has said the final decision on withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Crimea without resisting Russian invasion forces was made at a meeting of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on March 23, 2014.

"After navy headquarters was seized, the NSDC on March 23, 2014 reported the situation in Crimea and about results with the deployment of Ukraine's Armed Forces in the Shyroky Lan district. I forcefully argued to continue efforts to deploy into Crimea. In response, then Presidential Administration head Serhiy Pashynsky said the following: "Everything is clear with the Defense Ministry. It wants war. Let's listen to other members of the council." Next to speak was Stepan Poltorak, who was in charge of the National Guard of Ukraine. He said the following verbatim: "I recommend withdrawing our units from Crimea and holding our heads high," Teniukh said, according to excerpts of the protocol of his interview posted to the Facebook page of Yanukovych's lawyer, Vitaliy Serdiuk.

The protocol also contains testimony about the NSDC meeting on February 28, 2014, when ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and then acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk blocked proposals to use Ukrainian military forces to defend Crimea.

"After I broached the subject of deploying military forces, Tymoshenko strongly opposed the proposal, saying I did not understand the situation and that confrontation would provoke Russia and that it was necessary to look not only at Crimea but to keep the entire Ukraine in focus. Yatsenyuk supported Tymoshenko," Teniukh said, according to the protocol. Teniukh proposed reviewing military contingency plans, but no one at the meeting took him up on the offer.

"I told the heads of the Ukrainian SBU, military intelligence, General Staff and Interior Ministry that it was necessary to create a government commission, representatives from which should fly to Crimea and from there manage the processes taking place on the peninsula. In response, Yatsenyuk said it was a bad idea because these representatives would be arrested," Teniukh was quoted as saying.

Teniukh confirmed that he urged deploying Ukrainian military forces to the southern, northern and eastern Ukraine, but no one supported the proposals.

Serdiuk posted to his Facebook page part of the interview with Teniukh, but the dates of when the interview took place are not indicated.
BEIRUT - The United Nations appealed for an immediate cease-fire in Syria on Tuesday as spiraling violence pushed the country to the brink of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the seven-year war.

A halt to the fighting for at least a month is vital to allow urgently needed aid to reach 2.9 million stricken people living around the front lines of the latest fighting, the U.N. mission in Damascus said, warning of "dire consequences" if the current levels of violence are sustained.

The appeal coincides with the collapse in recent weeks of a year-old Russian effort to tamp down the violence through "de-escalation zones," which had helped contribute to a perception that the war in Syria finally was winding down.

Instead, the first weeks of 2018 have turned into one of the bloodiest periods of the conflict yet, with hundreds killed in airstrikes, nearly 300,000 displaced in northwestern Syria and 400,000 at risk of starvation in a besieged area east of Damascus that has not received food since November.

"The war is far from over," Panos Moumtzis, the United Nations' humanitarian coordinator in Damascus, said at a briefing for journalists in Beirut. "This is a really critical stage. The humanitarian situation has dramatically deteriorated, and that's why we are ringing alarm bells."

There has also been a spike in the number of reports of attacks by the government using chlorine as a chemical weapon, prompting warnings from the United States to the Syrian government to desist and to Russia to pressure its ally to halt the attacks. There have been six reported attacks using bombs laden with chlorine in the past month, the State Department said, adding that Washington is "gravely alarmed" by the continued allegations of the use of chlorine gas.

The latest surge in violence began in late December and coincides with the winding down of the fight against the Islamic State in eastern Syrian, which freed up thousands of Syrian government forces to take on rebels and al-Qaida-allied fighters in their last few enclaves elsewhere in the country.

Since then, nearly 300,000 civilians have fled a new government offensive to recapture territory in the northwestern province of Idlib. They have taken refuge in the north of the province in one of the biggest displacements of the war so far, Moumtzis said. Aid workers are struggling to find space to accommodate them, and as many as 750,000 more could flee if the violence continues, he said.

A separate crisis is developing east of Damascus, in the rebel-held enclave of Ghouta, where over 400,000 people surrounded by government forces have been reliant on U.N. aid for the past four years. The Syrian government has prevented all deliveries of food to the area since November, putting the population at risk of starvation, and has refused to allow the evacuation of about 600 people injured in the fighting to hospitals in nearby Damascus, Moumtzis said.

Syrian warplanes pounded the area Tuesday, conducting over 40 strikes and killing at least 37 people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors violence in Syria. Activists in the area later said more than 70 people had died in the raids.

Later in the day, five civilians died when rebels fired shells into government-controlled neighborhoods in Damascus, including three in the historic Bab Touma district of the Old City, according to the official Syrian news agency SANA.

Those strikes followed an onslaught of airstrikes by both Russian and Syrian warplanes against rebel-held towns and villages in Idlib on Sunday and Monday, in apparent retaliation for the downing of a Russian warplane in the province Saturday. At least three hospitals or health facilities were hit in the strikes, which recall some of the worst periods of the war.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights said that at least 260 civilians had died in airstrikes in Syria since December, including 88 children and 71 women. The Observatory said that more than 500 people had died in the recent upsurge of violence.

"We're in emergency mode," Moumtzis said as he described the numbers of people who are hungry, displaced or in need of immediate medical treatment. "There's a dramatic deterioration . . . and the situation is desperate for the people on the ground."

The incursion by the Turkish army into the Kurdish-controlled enclave of Afrin has further complicated the war, displacing more than 15,000 people and adding new obstacles to efforts to resolve the war.
SOCHI, Russia - The Russian government billed the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, which it held last week in the Black Sea city of Sochi, as a watershed moment in the Syrian conflict. The summit was designed to convene the Syrian government, opposition, and Kurdish parties under one roof for the first time, and to provide the political justification for Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration of victory in Syria in December.

By these standards, the dialogue was an unabashed failure. Instead of confirming Russia's status as the Middle East's ascendant power, having "checkmated" the United States in Syria and with Putin ready to "rule the Middle East," the Syrian National Dialogue Congress proved Moscow has no idea how to credibly wrap up its ongoing military adventure.

The congress was bedeviled in its early organizational stages by entirely avoidable controversies. The presence of only the regime's flag on the congress's logo was predictably interpreted as an affront by the High Negotiations Committee, the top anti-regime representative body. Russia's choice of location was also deemed to be insensitive by the opposition: Sochi is the location of modern Europe's first genocide, by the Russian empire against the Circassians, many of whose descendants live in modern Syria. Meanwhile, Russia's extension of an invitation to Mihrac Ural, the so-called Butcher of Baniyas who took part in the massacre of hundreds of Sunni civilians in 2013, created a wholly unnecessary row with Turkey. Russia's most disingenuous choice of all was to hold its peace conference while continuing heavy airstrikes on Syria's Idlib province.

Russia's goals for the summit were nonetheless lofty. It planned to oversee the creation of a unified national army and government, a move that would cement the Bashar al-Assad regime's ascendancy, likely under various nominal "reconciliation agreements" of the sort that have taken place across Syria. At the very least, Moscow hoped to see the establishment of United Nations-supervised national elections that would legitimize the Syrian leader and allow for the Kremlin to credibly prepare to exit the conflict.

The Kurds were considered the key to realizing these high hopes. The summit was meant to mark the first official talks between Kurdish rebels and the Syrian government - an international coming-out party of sorts for the Kurds. Securing their involvement required Russia to engage in months of negotiations with Turkey, which deems the Syrian Kurdish forces a terrorist organization and a branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). While Russia repeatedly promised the Kurds that their 155 representatives would be able to attend, Turkey continuously insisted that no Kurdish delegates would be allowed.

On the eve of the conference, Ankara decided to ensure this reality through military means. On Jan. 20, it launched Operation Olive Branch, invading the Kurdish Democratic Union Party-run enclave of Afrin in Syria's northwest. The offensive all but ensured the absence of Kurdish groups. While Moscow entertained hopes the Kurds would participate until the eleventh hour, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova saying on Jan. 27 that Kurdish representatives would participate, the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party ultimately decided on a full boycott of the talks. A handful of ethnic Kurds from Syria did appear in Sochi, but as one of them told Foreign Policy, they were present in a "strictly personal" observer capacity.

With hopes of Kurdish participation eliminated, all hope for a successful conference rested on the attendance of the Syrian opposition. In practice, this meant the High Negotiations Committee (other opposition groups in attendance were limited to the "loyal opposition," toothless groups whose existence Damascus allows to give the illusion of competition with the ruling Baath Party). Internal discussions were reportedly intense, with some members of the committee favoring attending for a variety of reasons, including Turkish pressure. Ultimately, however, the group as a whole also decided to boycott the talks. Again, there was an intense last-minute effort by Russia to reverse this decision, but with the exception of a few individuals reportedly attending on their own, there was no High Negotiations Committee presence in Sochi.

With two of the three sides (regime, opposition, and Kurds) of Syria's conflict thus entirely absent, the summit began with the near-certainty that little of consequence would be accomplished. Preliminary discussions on Jan. 29 did not occur, with representatives of the media being told quite literally to "amuse themselves" that day by Russian organizers. The official opening of the conference on Jan. 30 was delayed for three hours when an opposition delegation at the airport, disconcerted by the universal presence of regime symbols and absence of the opposition flag, departed back to Turkey.

This inauspicious opening drew into question what the congress could hope to accomplish with the Kurds and opposition absent. The drastic reduction in expectations was expressed succinctly by the organizers in terms of access and information made available to the hundreds of media personnel invited. We were shown almost nothing of the conference itself: Screens stationed throughout the press center, ostensibly to broadcast the sessions, turned off after the opening statements. No information was ever made available about the delegates. No Russian officials were present for comment or interviews.

To fill the long hours of the day, a number of presentations involving Russian academics and Syrian pro-regime figures were organized for the press. As the day progressed, the narrative presented by Russian analysts and academics began to shift to fall more in line with realistic outcomes for the conference. Vitaly Naumkin, a leading Russian expert on the Middle East, claimed that there were significant ongoing discussions about changing Syria's official name (presumably dropping the "Arab" from "Syrian Arab Republic," a point of contention with Syria's Kurds) and its flag. But when asked how the present conference differed from the ongoing Geneva talks, he replied that Sochi was meant merely to "develop" the goals of the Geneva process, a deadlocked format that has failed to produce any meaningful results in its six years of existence. Insinuations began to appear from Russian analysts that the real achievements of Sochi had already been negotiated beforehand and would appear later, implying the conference itself was largely perfunctory.

Shorn of any access to delegates or information on proceedings, the media was left to languish in the press center, counting the time until their flights home. One experienced Western journalist was heard to remark this was "the worst" conference he had ever attended. The feeling of purgatory was finally broken around 10 p.m., when the dark broadcast screens flickered to life to announce the closing ceremonies. U.N. Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura was at the podium, delivering a short speech about the creation of a constitutional reform committee and referencing the congress's contribution to "the Geneva political process." No "unified national army," no elections, no additional reconciliation deals. Sochi's Syrian National Dialogue Congress ended not with a bang but a whimper.

In the end the Sochi congress, far from a landmark Russian success, proved a debacle. It accomplished none of its goals, achieving only a constitutional committee whose framework was already in place. One analyst noted that the Sochi summit could deliver an appearance of success to Russia's domestic constituency, although it's unclear how many Russians care about a faraway conflict they've been told has been winding down for years now.

The wider outcome of the Kremlin's much-vaunted congress, however, is much starker: it was a demonstration that Moscow is singularly ill-equipped to resolve Syria's deep-seated conflicts and force all its players to the table. Moscow appeared ascendant last year - but 2017 was in many respects an anomaly in the Syrian conflict, concentrated as it was on the Islamic State. The limitations of Russia's influence in Syria have now been laid bare in Sochi, with the tragic but expected result that the war will continue to grind on as it has for the past seven years.

- - -

Hauer is a senior intelligence analyst at the SecDev Group in Ottawa, Canada. He focuses primarily on the Syrian conflict, especially Russia's involvement, as well as violent conflict in the Caucasus.
Forcing a baker to provide a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage over her religious objections violates her right to free speech, a California judge has ruled.

"A wedding cake is not just a cake in a Free Speech analysis," wrote Superior Court Judge David R. Lampe in a decision late Monday. "It is an artistic expression by the person making it that is to be used traditionally as a centerpiece in the celebration of a marriage. There could not be a greater form of expressive conduct," he said.

As a result, a state anti-discrimination law, which applies to all kinds of other goods and services, does not apply to the baker of the cake in question, who happens to be in Bakersfield.

The judge's reasoning is similar to that of the "cake artist" currently awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In that case, Jack C. Phillips, a Colorado baker, is arguing that the First Amendment's free speech and free exercise of religion clauses give him the right to refuse wedding services to a same sex couple, despite public accommodations laws that require businesses that are open to the public to treat all potential customers equally. The court heard arguments in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission in December.

VIDEO: Supreme Court appears split over Wedding Cake decision

The argument of the Colorado baker has the support of the Trump administration, marking the first time the government has argued for an exemption to an anti-discrimination law, as The Washington Post's Robert Barnes and Ann E. Marimow reported.

The California case, which is likely to be appealed, began with a complaint by Eileen and Mireya Rodriquez-Del Rio before California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing after they sought to buy a cake for their October 2017 wedding vows from Tastries bakery.

The couple did not want any words or messages on the cake, but just the cake. Still, the owner, Cathy Miller, told them that "because she does not condone same-sex marriage," according to the opinion, she would send their order to another bakery, called Gimme Some Sugar.

"Miller is a practicing Christian and considers herself a woman of deep faith," the opinion said. She believes that same sex unions "violate a Biblical command that marriage is only between a man and a woman."

She is also "a creative artist" who "participates in every part of the custom cake design and creation process," the opinion said.

The state agency sided with the couple, arguing that California's Unruh Act, which bars discrimination in public accommodations, "does not compel speech, but only conduct," in this case, the baking and selling of a cake.

In addition, the state argued, the First Amendment protects only "those occasions where government requires a speaker to disseminate another's message," which was not the case here.

It sought an order forcing Miller to provide the cake.

Lampe, the judge, denied it. He said that it did not matter that the baker was not being asked to design particular words on the cake. The wedding alone, with the couple engaging in speech, "could not be a greater form of expressive conduct."

He compared a bakery to a tire shop, saying that the shop could not refuse to sell a tire to a same sex couple because "there is nothing sacred or expressive about a tire." Similarly, had the couple just chosen a cake out of a display case, the bakery could not have refused to sell it to them.

"The difference here is that the cake in question is not yet baked . . . The State asks this court to compel Miller to use her talents to design and create a cake she has not yet conceived with the knowledge that her work will be displayed in celebration of a marital union her religion forbids.

" . . . For this court to force such compliance would do violence to the essentials of Free Speech guaranteed under the First Amendment."
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin is convinced that the legislative acts will not help in establishing the historical truth.

"Historical truth has no national borders and is not established by laws. It either exists, or it must be looked for. And in either case, legislative acts will not help Poland," he wrote on his Twitter page on Wednesday.

The minister also assured that he would always adhere to the truth. "I will always tell the truth. I will respect those who deserve it, condemn those who dishonored themselves, it doesn't matter insiders or outsiders, whether in Warsaw, Kyiv or elsewhere," the diplomat added.

As reported, the Senate of Poland adopted early on February 1 without any amendments the law on the Institute of National Remembrance, which foresees, in particular, punishment for "crimes of Ukrainian nationalists."

The bill was supported by 57 senators, mainly from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party, 23 voted against the document, and two abstained. Amendments to the law envisage fines or imprisonment for up to three years for "sharing responsibility before the Polish people or the state, including for crimes committed by the Third Reich."

In addition, the document envisages punishment for denial of the "Volyn massacre" and the use of the expression "Polish death camps" in relation to the camps that were located in Poland during the Second World War. The law will enter into force after signing by Polish President Andrzej Duda.

President of Poland Andrzej Duda signed on February 6 amendments to the law on the of the Polish Institute: The Institute of National Remembrance  Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation. Thus, the changes previously approved by the Parliament came into force.

Earlier Duda said that he planed to appeal to the Constitutional Court of Poland with a request to assess the innovations. Thus, according to media reports, the president does not rule out that the law can still be modified.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that he was concerned about the decision of the Senate of Poland.

As reported, on February 6, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a statement that expresses disappointment and concern over the adoption of amendments to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation and other legislative acts, and also called on Polish President, Andrzej Duda, to intervene in the situation.

"We are urging the president of the Republic of Poland [Andrzej Duda] to exercise his constitutional powers and, together with the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland, to return balance, rationality and well-wishing to the Ukrainian-Polish relations," the statement says.
The owner of a mortuary services company tied to a funeral home where a body disappeared in 2015 defended one of his employees Wednesday when allegations of satanism emerged in a civil trial.

Frederick Beyer, owner of Beyer & Beitel Mortuary Services, was the first witness called by attorney Ricardo Reyna, who is representing defendant MPII Inc., which does business as Mission Park Funeral Chapels and Cemeteries.

The company, owned by Robert Dick Tips and run by his wife, Kristin, is being sued for gross negligence by Timothy and Sharlotte Mott over the loss of their daughters body from a casket in August 2015. Julie Motts remains have never been found.

Reyna asked Beyer about Nicholas Moreno, introduced Tuesday in Beyers video deposition played by plaintiff attorney Alex Katzman, who brought up allegations of satanism related to Moreno, his band, Flesh Hoarder, and Facebook postings that showcase disturbing images that could be construed as demonic and satanic.

Mr. Moreno is one of the smartest guys youll ever meet, Beyer told the jury, adding that he has employed him for nearly five years as a driver and that Moreno is dependable and hardly ever misses work.

When he represents us, he represents us well. I get more compliments on Nick than anyone who works for me, Beyer said.

When asked by Reyna if Moreno had any contact with Julie Motts body, either in pickup, embalming or delivery, Beyer confirmed through a company log that Moreno had not.

Julie Mott died Aug. 8, 2015. Her body was picked up that day by representatives of Beyer & Beitel, taken to its downtown facility for embalming, and delivered Aug. 10 to Mission Park North on Cherry Ridge, where her services were held Aug. 15. Funeral home employees found an empty casket the next day.

Beyer said he has had an association with Dick Tips since he worked for him while he went to mortuary school and has had a contract with him since he began his own business in 2000.

Regarding embalming and other mortuary services, Beyer said his company doesnt provide them only for Mission Park, but for numerous other funeral homes in San Antonio.

Attorneys for MPII deposed their own mental health expert, who disputed some of what plaintiffs experts said Tuesday about the level of depression experienced by the Motts before their daughters death, after she died and after the body went missing.

Christopher Ticknor, a medical doctor and psychiatrist in San Antonio, reviewed the files of both Timothy and Sharlotte Mott and disputed plaintiff expert Dr. William Erwins diagnosis of each with depression and bereavement, stating that bereavement is not a recognized medical condition.

Grieving is a part of life, Ticknor told the jury.

Ticknor agreed that the Motts were depressed before their daughters body went missing, stating that he reviewed medical records and notes from therapists, along with prescriptions for depression and anxiety medications that dated to 2011, which Sharlotte Mott acknowledged this week.

The case is being heard in the 131st Civil District Court, presided by Judge Norma Gonzales.
The mission for the Federal Emergency Management Agency was clear: Hurricane Maria had torn through Puerto Rico, and hungry people needed food. Thirty million meals needed to be delivered as soon as possible.

For this huge task, FEMA tapped Tiffany Brown, an Atlanta entrepreneur with no experience in large-scale disaster relief and at least five canceled government contracts in her past. FEMA awarded her $156 million for the job, and Brown, who is the sole owner and employee of her company, Tribute Contracting LLC, set out to find some help.

Brown, who is adept at navigating the federal contracting system, hired a wedding caterer in Atlanta with a staff of 11 to freeze-dry wild mushrooms and rice, chicken and rice, and vegetable soup. She found a nonprofit in Texas that had shipped food aid overseas and domestically, including to a Houston food bank after Hurricane Harvey.

'Your contract is terminated'

By the time 18.5 million meals were due, Tribute had delivered only 50,000. And FEMA inspectors discovered a problem: The food had been packaged separately from the pouches used to heat them. FEMA's solicitation required "self-heating meals."

"Do not ship another meal. Your contract is terminated," Carolyn Ward, the FEMA contracting officer who handled Tribute's agreement, wrote to Brown in an email dated Oct. 19 that Brown provided to The New York Times. "This is a logistical nightmare."

Four months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, a picture is emerging of the contracts awarded in the earliest days of the crisis. And examples like the Tribute contract are causing lawmakers to raise questions about FEMA's handling of the disaster and whether the agency was adequately prepared to respond.

On Tuesday, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee, which has been investigating the contract, asked Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., the committee chairman, to subpoena FEMA for all documents relating to the agreement. Lawmakers fear the agency is not lining up potential contractors in advance of natural disasters, leading it to scramble to award multimillion-dollar agreements in the middle of a crisis.

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a bipartisan congressional investigation found that a failure to secure advance contracts led to chaos and potential for waste and fraud. Democrats asserted that FEMA was similarly inept preparing for this storm.

"It appears that the Trump Administration's response to the hurricanes in Puerto Rico in 2017 suffered from the same flaws as the Bush Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005," wrote Reps. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., and Stacey E. Plaskett, the nonvoting Democratic delegate from the U.S. Virgin Islands.

In November, the Associated Press found that after Hurricane Maria, FEMA awarded more than $30 million in contracts for emergency tarps and plastic sheeting to a company that never delivered the needed supplies.

FEMA insists no Puerto Ricans missed a meal as a result of the failed agreement with Tribute. FEMA relied on other suppliers that provided "ample" food and water for distribution, said William Booher, an agency spokesman.

But there is little doubt that in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Puerto Ricans struggled with access to food. The storm shut down ports on an island that imports about 85 percent of its food supply. Farms were flattened. Supermarkets lost electricity and could not find diesel to run their generators.

Puerto Ricans depended heavily on emergency aid dispatched by FEMA. The Department of Homeland Security has doled out more than $1 billion in contracts related to Hurricane Maria, which made landfall in Puerto Rico on Sept. 20.

Tribute has been awarded dozens of government contracts since 2013, including one in 2015 for $1.2 million in mattresses for the Defense Logistics Agency, which supports military combat troops, federal spending databases show. Tribute delivered the mattresses, according to the agency. The databases offer only a fragmented picture of federal contracts.

The government has also canceled Tribute contracts on at least five occasions.

Four cancellations involved the federal prison system, which found that Tribute failed to deliver meat, bakery, cereal and other food products to various correctional institutions. A fifth termination involved the Government Publishing Office, which terminated a contract for 3,000 tote bags after Tribute failed to print the Marine Corps logo on both sides of the bags.

Lawmakers are perplexed

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say Tribute's contract history should have given FEMA serious pause about awarding the company a huge food contract.

"Clearly, Tribute did not have sufficient financial resources of its own to support this contract," they wrote. "Based on Tribute's lack of experience in large-scale disaster relief and its limited financial capacity, FEMA should have raised serious questions about whether the company could meet the contract terms - especially since the contract concerned such a critical need."

Brown said she had no doubt she could have provided the 30 million meals, though she estimated she would have needed until at least Nov. 7 - two weeks past FEMA's deadline.

"They probably should have gone with someone else, but I'm assuming they did not because this was the third hurricane" after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Brown said.

"They were trying to fill the orders the best they could."
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has proposed that the Verkhovna Rada legislatively approve a salute for servicemen "Glory to Ukraine  Glory to Heroes."

The respective bill, No. 7549 of February 5, introducing amendments to certain laws of Ukraine on military service has been registered on the parliament's website.

"The person who handed a battle flag salutes the personnel of a military unit with the receipt of the battle flag with the words 'Glory to Ukraine.' The personnel of the military unit responds to the salute 'Glory to Heroes.' After that the commander of the military unit delivers a speech," according to the proposed amendments.

In addition, it is suggested that all servicemen standing in or out of the line reply "Glory to Heroes" to the chief or a person with a senior military rank saluting them "Glory to Ukraine." If the chief or a person with a senior military rank bids farewell, servicemen also respond to his words "Glory to Ukraine" with the words "Glory to Heroes." Thus, it is stipulated that these words will replace the current greeting "Hello Comrades" and the answer "Good Day, Sir."
BEIRUT - Russian and Syrian government forces launched a new wave of airstrikes and shelling Tuesday, plunging the besieged area just outside of Syria's capital of Damascus into a spiral of violence and despair.

At least 55 civilians were killed in what activists described as one of the deadliest days in the eastern Ghouta region in over a month. Ten towns, home to nearly 400,000 people trapped by the violence and a tightening siege, were bombed or shelled.

The United Nations called for an immediate, monthlong cease-fire to deliver critical humanitarian aid and medical care to civilians across the country.

Streets in the stricken area were covered in all-enveloping dust as one strike after another hit the same neighborhoods.

Images of blood-soaked children and adults competed with video of rescuers carrying white body bags or pulling survivors from the debris of destroyed homes. Sirens and wailing mixed with the relentless sound of airstrikes as residents of eastern Ghouta were unable to keep up with the onslaught.

One video showed a survivor with torn clothes and a bloody face running toward an ambulance. "Rescue me!" he yelled.

A shaken man named Saeed emerged from a cloud of dust holding his infant son, Ibrahim, who had a streak of blood on his head. Saeed managed to pull the 3-month-old out of the wreckage of their home after an airstrike, according to Syrian civil defense workers, known as the White Helmets.

Nearly 200 people were wounded, and rescuers said many of those probably will not live because of lack of medical supplies.

It was the second day of an intensified assault on the region. On Monday, at least 28 people were killed, while on Sunday, a suspected chlorine attack left a dozen people suffering from breathing difficulties.

The region has been under intense attack since the end of December as the government of President Bashar Assad struggles to bring it under control.

The White Helmets said they recorded 55 deaths Tuesday, and many people were trapped under destroyed buildings. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights put the death toll at 70 , the highest since December. The group said the campaign against Ghouta has killed at least 350 civilians, including more than 80 children.

The campaign by the Syrian government and its ally, Russia, has also battered the province of Idlib, the largest area under opposition control in Syria. The Idlib offensive hit hospitals and residential buildings and has intensified after militants shot down a Russian fighter jet over the weekend.
Former Ukrainian SBU Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko has said he is convinced disgraced ex-Ukrainin President Viktor Yanukovych surrendered Crimea and Ukraine knowingly and deliberately to Russia.

"He surrendered Crimea and Ukraine knowingly. Russia did not even have to pressure him," he said during hearings in Kyiv's Obolonsky District Court in the state treason case against Yanukovych on Wednesday.

Nalyvaichenko said close ties between the special services of Ukraine and Russia were restored after Yanukovych became president in 2010 laid the ground work for Russia's invasion in Ukraine.

The ex-SBU chief said he had given prosecutors information showing the arrival in Ukraine during late 2013 and early 2014 three groups of high-ranking Russian Federal Security Service agents.

On February 22, 2014, following the Revolution of Dignity, Nalyvaichenko was appointed acting SBU chief, a position he kept until June 2015.

Nalyvaichenko also headed the SBU from December 2006 through March 2010.
The opener for Marshall head coach Charles Huff was a success as the Herd excelled in all three phases to earn a 49-7 win over Navy in front of 30,131 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon in Annapolis, Maryland.
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman will visit Lviv with a working trip on February 8, the press service of the Lviv Regional State Administration told Interfax-Ukraine on Wednesday.

According to preliminary data, the prime minister will meet with students of the Ukrainian Catholic University, visit the Lviv Perinatal Center, where repairs are carried out, and then hold a meeting with representatives of the Lviv business.
On Wednesday afternoon, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska took home another 20 people incarcerated before the beginning of the Donbas conflict, the head of the commissioner's secretariat, Bohdan Kryklyvenko, wrote on Facebook.

"At 12 p.m. today, February 7, 2018, Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Valeriya Lutkovska took home another 20 persons incarcerated before the conflict," Kryklyvenko said.

He said the transfer was monitored by a member of the Verkhovna Rada Human Rights Committee, Iryna Suslova, and members of the OSCE mission.

A total of 186 people have returned home from the territories of the Donetsk region uncontrolled by Kyiv over more than two years, Kryklyvenko said.
The appeal court of Kyiv has summoned Kroll Associates U.K.LLP and AlixPartners Services U.K. LLP to appear before court in the hearing of the lawsuit filed by Ihor Kolomoisky scheduled for February 21, the court has reported in media.

As reported, Kroll attracted by the authorities of Ukraine in 2017, following the results of the PrivatBank's forensic audit confirmed: the financial institution before its nationalization late 2016 was the object of large-scale and coordinated fraudulent actions, which resulted in losses of at least $5.5 billion.

PrivatBank in December 2017 filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Justice in London against Kolomoisky and Boholiubov, as well as companies Teamtrend Ltd., Trade Point Agro Ltd., Collyer Ltd., Rossyn Investing Corp., Milbert Ventures Inc. and ZAO Ukrtransitservices Ltd., which allegedly belong to them or are under their control.

The plaintiff achieved that the court, as an interim measure, issued a worldwide freezing order for the assets of the former owners of the bank Kolomoisky and Boholiubov and the above-mentioned six companies for the amount of more than $2.5 billion.

Previously, these companies were listed in the decisions of the Pechersky district court of Kyiv made on July 29, 2016, which foresees the arrest of a number of accounts in the Cyprus branch of Ukraine's largest PrivatBank within the investigation of the seizure of refinancing loans issued by the National Bank of Ukraine in the amount of UAH 19 billion.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine sends UAH 1 billion to compensate 25% of the cost of Ukrainian-made agricultural machinery to farmers, Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said.

"We are continuing the program to support the production of domestic agricultural machinery in the country. This year we are sending UAH 1 billion for these purposes. In fact, we will compensate 25% of the cost of agricultural machinery produced by Ukrainian hands, produced in the country. We will compensate 25% of [the cost of] the equipment for those who buy it. In fact, we expect an increase in the production of Ukrainian agricultural machinery, which is quite competitive," he said at a government meeting on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food is counting on a 20% increase in the production of domestic agricultural machinery in 2018 thanks to this program.

As reported, in 2017 the agrarians started to receive partial payment of the cost for machinery through state-owned banks in the amount of 20%, under the condition when the localization of production of this equipment in the country exceeds 35%.

The national budget 2017 provided UAH 550 million for this program.
The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINR) proposes, for security reasons of scientists, to continue the historical dialogue between Ukraine and Poland on Ukrainian territory, where there are no restrictions on assessments of the past, due to the adoption in Poland of the law on the Institute of National Remembrance, which foresees, in particular, punishment for "crimes of Ukrainian nationalists," the UINR's press service reported on Wednesday.

According to the statement, the UINR, which provided for the functioning of the Ukrainian-Polish forum of historians from the Ukrainian side, does not see any opportunities for continuing the work in the previous format, alternately in Poland and Ukraine. Therefore, the institute urged Polish colleagues to come to Ukraine.

"We cannot guarantee the preservation of freedom of speech for Ukrainian researchers on Polish territory or even the safety of their stay there. Therefore, we appeal to our Polish colleagues with the proposal to continue historical discussions on Ukrainian territory... We are sure that discussions about the past should remain the prerogative of historians, rather than politicians. It is a balanced professional conversation, rather than loud political statements, that is one of the bases for mutual understanding between peoples," the statement reads.

As reported, early on February 1, the Senate of Poland adopted without any amendments the law on the Institute of National Remembrance, which foresees, in particular, punishment for "crimes of Ukrainian nationalists." The bill was supported by 57 senators, mainly from the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) Party, 23 voted against the document, and two abstained.

Amendments to the law envisage fines or imprisonment for up to three years for "sharing responsibility before the Polish people or the state, including for crimes committed by the Third Reich." In addition, the document envisages punishment for denial of the "Volyn massacre" and the use of the expression "Polish death camps" in relation to the camps that were located in Poland during the Second World War.

On February 6, President of Poland Andrzej Duda signed amendments to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance  Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation. Thus, the changes previously approved by the parliament came into force. Earlier, Duda said that he planned to appeal to the Constitutional Court of Poland with the request to assess the innovations.

President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko said that he was concerned about the decision of the Senate of Poland.

On February 6, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a statement expressing disappointment and concern over the adoption of amendments to the law on the Institute of National Remembrance - Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation and other legislative acts, and also called on Duda to intervene in the situation.

"We are urging President of the Republic of Poland [Andrzej Duda] to exercise his constitutional powers and, together with the Sejm and Senate of the Republic of Poland, to return balance, rationality and well-wishing to Ukrainian-Polish relations," the statement says.
The Verkhovna Rada has voted down the bill on the ratification of the trade agreement between the governments of Ukraine and Thailand.

A total of 206 MPs voted for respective bill (No. 0170) on Wednesday.

The agreement was signed in Bangkok on June 5, 2017.

"Thailand is a promising market for Ukrainian exports... In January-September 2017, our trade with Thailand in goods and services amounted to $342 million, whereas exports in the first nine months amounted to almost $200 million," Deputy Minister for Economic Development and Trade Natalia Mykolska said, while presenting the bill at a plenary meeting of parliament on Wednesday.

According to her, the agreement envisages bilateral investment cooperation, the exchange of visits of trade missions, the holding of fairs and exhibitions, and the creation of joint ventures.

"Most importantly, [the agreement foresees] the creation of a joint intergovernmental commission on trade, which will study the opportunities for increasing the diversification of mutual relations," Mykolska said.

According to an Interfax-Ukraine reporter, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy made several proposals to support the bill or send it to the concerned committee for revision, but none of the proposals received the required number of votes. At least 226 votes are needed to make a positive decision.
EASTHAMPTON - River Valley Counseling Center has expanded its presence here, opening an office at Liberty Commons on 2 Mechanic St.

"River Valley Counseling Center is pleased to expand its services and provide comprehensive mental health services in Easthampton," said Rosemarie M. Ansel, the center's executive director, in a statement.

"As new members of the Easthampton Chamber of Commerce, we look forward to becoming a contributing member of a thriving and vibrant community."

For the last five months, the center, part of Holyoke-based Valley Health Systems, has been offering school-based services in Easthampton Public Schools.

The new office offers behavioral health services for individuals and families, and is currently accepting new patients without a wait list, according to the release.

"After beginning work with all of the Easthampton schools this past fall, we realized that we will be better able to meet the needs of the entire community with an outpatient office more conveniently located in Easthampton," said Elaine Campbell, the center's senior program director of outpatient services, in the release.

Services available at the Easthampton location include individual, couple, family and group psychotherapy for adults, adolescents and children.

"We have a therapist located in every school so now they have a choice to be seen at school or at the clinic," said Angela Lozano Callahan, the center's marketing a development specialist, when asked about the opening of the new office.

"Being seen at school is very helpful for parents who already have a busy schedule. There's no cost to the school besides providing us with a space. We charge the individual's insurance directly. It's a great collaborative relationship."

Callahan, who holds a master's degree in social work, said that approximately "60 Easthampton students have utilized the service in the schools so far."

"River Valley Counseling Center has been providing this service in all the schools in Holyoke, Chicopee, and Granby as well as in select schools in Springfield for many years,"

Callahan said.

"In 2016, we opened an office on the campus of Springfield Technical Community College to provide the same service to STCC students."

For additional information or to schedule an appointment, call (413) 540-1234.
Hundreds of Boston Logan Airport workers, including cabin cleaners, baggage handlers, skycaps and wheelchair attendants, are starting a strike at 4:30 p.m. with no end date.

The workers are striking over low wages and allegations that they've been targeted and threatened for union organizing, according to the union seeking to support them, SEIU 32BJ.

The workers are employees of JetBlue subcontractors FFS and ReadyJet.

The strike will start at the Airport station on the MBTA's Blue Line in East Boston, not far from Logan Airport.

The picket lines will continue from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. at Terminal A.

A majority of the workers voted to strike last week, but had not announced a date. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and local elected officials said they backed the strike vote and appeared with airport workers at SEIU offices in downtown Boston.

"Illegal intimidation and threats won't stop us from organizing to make airport jobs better," Dayail Gethers, a wheelchair attendant for FSS, said in a statement. "I'm ready to go on strike and I know hundreds of my coworkers stand with me."

According to the union, the FAA requires airlines to provide accessibility services for people with disabilities. Required security searches of planes are often carried out by subcontracted cleaners.
WOBURN -- A Florida man was arrested in a Woburn hotel Tuesday after he traveled from Lake Mary, Florida, to meet with a woman he believed he would be able to sell for sex, the Massachusetts State Police said in a statement.

The State Police High-Risk Victims Unit and Woburn Police took Kendall Crawley into custody at an unidentified hotel. He will be arraigned Wednesday in Woburn District Court on a charge of human trafficking.

According to investigators, police had developed information that the 46-year-old Crawley is an alleged pimp, selling women through online sex sites and moving them from place to place.

Police charge Crawley came to Massachusetts to meet with a woman who he thought would work for him as a prostitute and to photograph her for online sex sales.

At approximately 3 p.m. Tuesday, when he arrived at the hotel, Crawley found police waiting for him instead of the woman.

The State Police High-Risk Victims Unit conducts investigations into sexual exploitation and human trafficking. It investigates allegations on its own and in cooperation with local police departments.
Updates a story posted Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018 at 11:05 a.m.

SPRINGFIELD -- A Springfield man with multiple drug convictions is being held on $250,000 bail after police seized nearly a kilo of uncut heroin Tuesday during raids on two city apartments.

"He is a career drug dealer," Assistant District Attorney Thomas Prendergast said Wednesday before requesting $500,000 cash bail for defendant Arquelio Cajigas.

Cajigas, 44, pleaded not guilty in Springfield District Court to heroin trafficking (over 200 grams), possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of ammunition without an FID card and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

City, state and federal agents arrested him Tuesday after seizing more than 816 grams of uncut heroin during a raid at 96 Sherman St., the prosecutor said.

The raw heroin, once cut with other substances, could yield as much as 80,000 bags off heroin, Prendergast said.

The street value of the heroin, depending on how it was cut and packaged, could be in excess of $700,000 or $800,000, the prosecutor said.

Investigators also raided Cajigas' apartment at 589 Bay St. and seized approximately $35,000, a 9 mm Taurus hand gun, two magazines and ammunition, Prendergast said.

In his bail argument, Prendergast cited the amount of drugs seized, the defendant's history of drug convictions and the minimum prison sentence of 12 years he faces if convicted.

Cajigas has been sentenced to 10-plus years for three drug convictions, including a six- to seven-year state prison term for possession of cocaine and heroin with intent to distribute.

Defense lawyer Daniel Bergin asked for $25,000 bail. Cajigas has come to court in the two cases he picked up since 2011, both of which were later dismissed, Bergin said.

He said the $500,000 bail request was excessive, and noted that his client's bail was set at $100,000 at police headquarters following his arrest.

Judge Michelle Ouimet-Rooke set bail at $250,000 and continued the case for a pretrial hearing on March 2.

During a press conference Wednesday morning, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni praised the agents involved in the investigation and raids.

The operation was carried out by the Hampden County Narcotics Task Force, which includes members of the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the district attorney's office, the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, the United States National Guard Counter Drug Program and the Springfield, Chicopee and Holyoke police departments, Gulluni said.

Investigators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Springfield unit also participated in the raids, Gulluni said.
SPRINGFIELD -- Joshua Cutler has been indicted on motor vehicle homicide charges related to a crash that killed 13-year-old Nathaniel Acevedo last year.

The charge alleges motor vehicle homicide while operating under the influence of drugs and while driving to endanger. A Hampden Superior Court grand jury indicted Cutler, 36, of Springfield, for that charge and five others.

He had denied a charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident at his arraignment in September in Springfield District Court. The Hampden Superior Court arraignment is set for Feb. 21.

The Sept. 24 crash killed pedestrian Acevedo and injured his 12-year-old companion.

The pair were crossing Breckwood Boulevard around 7:20 p.m. when they were struck by a black Infiniti driven by Cutler, who fled the scene and was arrested about 30 minutes later at his home on Quentin Road.

The 13-year-old suffered massive internal injuries, was not breathing and had no pulse when paramedics arrived, according to a police report, which said his blood and hair were embedded in the windshield of Cutler's vehicle.

The grand jury on Feb. 1 also indicted Cutler for: manslaughter while operating a motor vehicle, leaving the scene of an accident causing death, operating under the influence and negligent driving causing serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and driving to endanger.

Assistant District Attorney Robert Schmidt said at Cutler's District Court arraignment police found three empty packets of heroin in Cutler's pockets after he was arrested.

Cutler was free on personal recognizance in a March 2017 heroin possession case at the time he allegedly struck the boys.

He was ordered held in lieu of $35,000 cash bail at his arraignment last fall. At a prosecutor's request, Springfield District Court Judge Michael Mulcahy also revoked Cutler's release in the drug possession case and jailed him for 90 days.
SPRINGFIELD -- Friends of ECOS, a grassroots group that promotes a popular environmental education program at Forest Park, has an additional "friend" in its quest to ensure that the "Winter Survival" program at the park is open to all sixth graders.

At a meeting Monday, the City Council voted unanimously to join Friends of ECOS in asking the School Committee, the School Department and the Empowerment School Zone Board "to consider strategies that will result in the attendance at ECOS of all Springfield public school students."

The Friends group learned this school year that more than 1,300 sixth graders who attend Empowerment Zone schools are missing out on the two-day Winter Survival class that is part of the Environmental Center for Our Schools (ECOS) program. The Empowerment Zone targets struggling schools and has an added focus on testing that does not include testing students on ECOS.

ECOS is housed at the newly renovated and expanded Clifford A. Phaneuf Environmental Center. The Friends of ECOS consists of ECOS alumni, teachers, parents, students, residents and other supporters.

In Winter Survival, students "learn the science of heat transfer and thermodynamics in the real life challenging scenarios of fire-building and shwlter-making," Friends of ECOS stated a recent letter to the School Committee and other elected officials, requesting district-wide participation.

Councilor Kateri Walsh, a member of the Friends group, told councilors the two-day program provides "hands-on" experience and "gives kids an opportunity to shine." Several councilors echoed her support and said they have fond personal memories of the entire ECOS program.

Councilor Adam Gomez said the program is "near and dear to my heart" and counters the trend of youth being attached to their computer tablets and cellphones.

Councilor Jesse Lederman said he believes the children missing out on the program are the ones who need it the most as it provides team-building and leadership skills.

Burt Freedman, a retired longtime educator in the ECOS program and co-chairman of the Friends group, said there has been strong public support for the program including students who participated in the program, which begin in the 1970s. He shared many pages of Facebook comments with the council at Monday's meeting.

Freedman said he and others believe that ECOS must be a district-wide program. with Winter Survival offered to all sixth graders.

"I think it is something that can be worked out," Freedman said. "I'm really heartbroken so many students are missing out. It's something you keep in your memory for your whole life. It gives students an opportunity to do something hard, work together and get it done."

The lessons learned outside "translate to the classroom," he said.

The City Council resolution states that more than 200,000 Springfield residents have participated in ECOS, but that only about 75 percent of sixth graders will participate in Winter Survival this year.

ECOS has received awards from the Massachusetts Secretary of Environmental Affairs as "an excellent environmental education program," the council resolution states.
The three Democrats looking to battle Republican Gov. Charlie Baker later this year are calling on the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to expand its investigation of Steve Wynn and Wynn Resorts to include campaign donations from 2014.

The Gaming Commission is reviewing Wynn's suitability for holding the lone eastern Massachusetts gambling license after a Wall Street Journal report detailed allegations of sexual misconduct going back decades. The commission's head investigator said a $7.5 million settlement with a manicurist was withheld from the team looking into the original suitability review in 2013.

The Gaming Commission is due to meet this afternoon, a day after Steve Wynn announced he is stepping down as CEO and chairman of Wynn Resorts.

"Given the undeniable evidence that Wynn Resorts successfully concealed information from the MGC in the past, we believe it is essential that the Commission fully investigate another likely violation of Massachusetts gaming laws by Wynn Resorts and Steve Wynn: their $2 million campaign contribution to then-gubernatorial-candidate Charles D. Baker, which Wynn Resorts funneled through the Republican Governors Association (RGA)," the three candidates for Massachusetts governor wrote in a letter released by the state Democratic Party.

The three Democrats running for governor are former Newton Mayor Setti Warren, former Deval Patrick aide Jay Gonzalez and environmental activist Bob Massie.

They pointed to the state gaming law that says no gaming license applicant can directly or indirectly contribute to a candidate.

Ed Bedrosian, executive director of the Gaming Commission, said the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, an independent watchdog agency, has jurisdiction of the matter.

The three candidates cited a Wall Street Journal report from December 2017 saying RGA staffers discussed using money from Wynn to help a group supporting Baker.

Wynn donated $2 million to the RGA, and RGA later deployed $2.2 million to support Baker through the group, within the short period of time after Wynn's donation. The RGA gave the pro-Baker $5.7 million in total in October 2014, and $10.75 million during the cycle.

A former top staffer told the Wall Street Journal that Wynn's interest in building a Massachusetts casino was likely a "factor" in the RGA donation, while the RGA's general counsel told the newspaper that the Wynn donation was not used on Baker's campaign.

"The governor has never received any contributions from Mr. Wynn and called on the RGA to end its relationship with him following these deeply disturbing allegations, return any contributions from the current cycle and not solicit or accept any donations from him in the future ," Billy Pitman, a Baker campaign spokesman, said in an email. " The governor supports the Gaming Commission's ongoing review."

Just after the 2014 election, Baker praised the RGA, said its help made a "huge difference" in the election, according to the State House News Service.

After the allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced in a separate Wall Street Journal report on Wynn, Baker's campaign in January 2018 asked the RGA return any Wynn donations from the last election cycle, which does not include the 2014 election Baker won.

When he was running for governor in 2014, Baker expressed interest in having just one casino and said he preferred for it to be located in Springfield. MGM, a Wynn rival, is opening a casino in Springfield later this year.

Baker met with Wynn last year in Las Vegas, before the sexual allegations surfaced. At a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce gathering, Wynn referenced the private meeting and praised the governor as "grounded" and a "moderate Republican."

After the sexual misconduct allegations came out, Baker said he was appalled and added if they are true, Wynn fell short of suitability requirements in Massachusetts casino licenses.

In a statement late Tuesday night, a Baker spokeswoman said Wynn Resorts' move to part ways with Wynn was the "right decision."

This was updated at 3:17 p.m. with comment from the Gaming Commission.
HOLYOKE -- Master chocolatiers, local farmers and a host-city agreement were elements of a retail marijuana plan discussed at City Hall Tuesday.

"We were just hoping that tonight is an opportunity for us to get ahead, meet the local government, meet some members of the community," Helen Gomez Andrews of Brooklyn, New York told the City Council at City Hall. (see video above)

The company here would be called High End Chocolate and an application for a license to run a marijuana cultivation, manufacturing and retail business will be submitted shortly, Gomez Andrews said.

"High End Chocolate intends to be an artisanal, wellness-oriented, cannabis-infused chocolate company. Our goal is to build a vertically-integrated cannabis business that provides a sophisticated, ultra-premium product with broad market appeal," she said in a letter submitted as an item on the Council agenda.

The company with its remarks during the City Council public comment period and submission of the letter was heeding state regulations that recommended applicants for retail marijuana licenses get to know government officials and people in the community, she said.

"If approved for a retail license, we intend to design a refined and elegant store front that is both welcoming to adult customers, but also incredibly sensitive to local residents that still have reservations about what a community with cannabis shops will entail," the letter said.

The Council referred the letter to its Ordinance Committee.

The company is in touch with "several master chocolatiers from around the world" who are excited at the prospect of working with the prospective business and hiring those trained at the new Holyoke Community College MGM Culinary Arts Institute at 164 Race St., the letter said.

With a substantial amount of dairy needed for the chocolate delicacies, the plan is to tap Massachusetts farmers, the letter said.

The company also is aware of the importance that the city placed on a host-city agreement with GTI Massachusetts NP Corp., the letter said. That company is opening a medical marijuana facility at 28 Appleton St.

GTI will pay $50,000 to $100,000 a year into the city general fund and issue $15,000 in grants to community groups in neighborhoods around the facility. But the host-city agreement in that case was a nod to the fact that medical marijuana facilities are tax exempt, in terms of the building and land, though they do have to pay taxes on their equipment.

High End Chocolate understands the importance of giving back to the community, the letter said.

"Most importantly, we would like to assure you that we will strive to go above and beyond every expectation that the Holyoke community sets forth," the letter said.

The company was attracted to Holyoke by Mayor Alex B. Morse's "commendable leadership" in support of the marijuana industry, the beautiful old mill buildings, the focus on renewable energy (the Holyoke Gas and Electric Department owns the hydroelectric dam here) and the passenger train platform at Dwight and Main streets, the letter said.

The company's three founders are Gomez Andrews' husband, who has New York City restaurant industry experience; a man she didn't identify who has "vast experience in every facet of cannabis cultivation, processing, curing and extraction"; and Gomez Andrews, whose experience is in the financial industry with Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Lehman Brothers, the letter said.
SPRINGFIELD -- Statements to police by one of two men accused in the fatal shooting of Juan Zayas can be used at trial, Hampden Superior Court Judge Tina S. Page has ruled.

Page, in a recent ruling, rejected the argument that Jose Villegas-Rodriguez's waiver of his Miranda rights was not valid and that his statements were not made voluntarily.

Villegas-Rodriguez, 33, and Edward Gonzalez, 25, both of Holyoke, have denied murder charges related to the Jan. 25, 2016, shooting death of 71-year-old Juan Zayas in Springfield's North End.

Zayas, a North End community activist and father of a state trooper, was shot to death around 5:30 p.m. in front of his home at 38 Brookline Ave.

Page said in her ruling that Villegas-Rodriguez's claims of memory problems from a car accident are "self-serving, somewhat short-lived, and convenient."

She wrote, "For example, he was able to tell officers the type of car he and his co-defendant used at the time of the murder, the color and type of weapon used, and what jewelry was stolen from the victim."

"Here, the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Rodriguez's physical condition played no role in the voluntariness of his statement," Page said.

A status conference is scheduled on Villegas-Rodriguez's case Feb. 20. A status on Gonzalez's case is scheduled for Feb. 26. Assistant District Attorney Eduardo Velazquez is the prosecutor in the cases.

Michael S. Hussey, lawyer for Villegas-Rodriguez, had argued "the veiled threats, promises and other forms of psychological coercion" used by detectives "improperly overcame the defendant's will" rendering incriminating statements involuntary.

The interview in question was conducted at the Holyoke Police Department on May 25, 2016, by Holyoke Detective Edward Sustache and Springfield Detective Jose Canini.

Villegas-Rodriguez had been brought into the Holyoke station on arrest warrants relating to two other, unconnected crimes, but he was also questioned about Zayas' killing.

Villegas-Rodriguez's other two cases cover a total of 12 charges.

In one case he is charged with armed robbery, accused of robbing Christobal Rodriguez and hitting him on the head April 15, 2016, in Holyoke. Later that day, according to prosecutors, Rodriguez spotted Villegas-Rodriguez and ran him over with his car.

Villegas-Rodriguez has also denied charges in the armed robbery of a Chicopee bar on July 28, 2015, in which he and another man were accused of beating the 64-year-old owner.
SPRINGFIELD - Hampden Superior Court Judge Mark D. Mason on Wednesday sentenced Lee Rios to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

On Friday, a jury found Rios guilty of first degree murder for the March 24, 2015, fatal shooting of 18-year-old Kenneth Lopez.

The jury deliberated for a day before reaching its verdict.

Assistant District Attorney Max Bennett read an impact statement from family members of Lopez.

The family wrote, "The death of Kenneth was very unexpected for the whole family. It hit us so hard that we're still in disbelief that he isn't here with us."

The jury found Rios guilty of first degree murder under the theories of deliberate premeditation and extreme atrocity and cruelty.

Rios was also found guilty of eight gun charges.

Mason sentenced Rios to 14 to 15 years in state prison after the life sentence on the charge of improper storage of a large capacity firearm. He said that some may suggest it's senseless to order consecutive time after a life sentence but there are some situations which it is appropriate.

He said a large capacity firearm was left near the presence of a number of minor children.

The mandatory penalty for first degree murder is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Bennett said the murder was "meticulously planned, aggressively pursued."

He said Rios made a calculated decision to lure Lopez from his house, enlisting the help of other Latin Kings members.

"He was excited to do this. ... and after he did it he boasted about," Bennett said about Rios' killing of Lopez.

Defense lawyer Mary Anne Stamm told jurors in her closing argument the prosecution's only evidence against Rios, 25, was the testimony of people seeking to get help on their own charges.

Both Lopez and Rios were Latin Kings members but had a falling out.

Lopez's body was found around 11 a.m. on March 25, 2015. The shooting was in the early morning hours of March 24.

Bennett told jurors in his closing argument the conspiracy theory presented by the defense is not believable. He said numerous prosecution witnesses testified Rios told them he killed Lopez.

After hearing Lopez's family's statement Mason said to them, "No doubt there has been much testimony as to Mr. Lopez's activities that led to his senseless death, his murder."

He said regardless of that activity "his was a life which is as valued as any other life that appears before this court."

Stamm said that Rios fell in with the wrong crowd. She said before this case the longest sentence Rios had was a year in jail.

"Since his arrest he has lost everything except the support of his family," Stamm said.

Lopez's family, in their statement to Mason, said, "It has been three years, three long, hard, very sad years knowing Kenneth couldn't even celebrate his 21st birthday but he passed away to a better life."

"I want people to understand that killing someone whether being an adult or child is wrong. It causes so much pain not only to the victim's family but to the defendant's as well," Lopez's sister wrote.

"There is a God up there that sees everything and the time will continue to pass by but in our hearts it will remain empty, but God will give us the peace that on March 24, 2015, (a) certain individual took away," the family wrote.
Ukraine to get Javelin anti-tank systems this year

Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak is convinced that Ukraine will receive Javelin anti-tank systems from the United States this year.

"I would like to say precisely: we will receive Javelin systems in a timely manner [...] Definitely, this year," Poltorak said on the 112.Ukraine television channel on Wednesday.
Read more about untested rape kits in Massachusetts.

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In Massachusetts, there are no laws that require law enforcement agencies to count, track or test rape kits.

That leaves the potential for DNA evidence -- which could lead to convictions or the identification of serial rapists -- sitting in a backlog.

Advocacy groups have been working nationwide to identify just how many rape kits are sitting untested on crime lab shelves and meeting with legislators to help pass laws that will ensure rape kits are tested promptly and tracked.

The Joyful Heart Foundation, one of those advocacy groups, has announced that it is eyeing Massachusetts for reform in 2018.

"We are committed to working with the Massachusetts state legislature to pursue appropriate legislative reforms--we must ensure that access to justice does not depend on a survivor's zip code, but is in fact mandated throughout their state," said Ilse Knecht, Joyful Heart's director of policy and advocacy.

Massachusetts is among states the Joyful Heart Foundation is targeting to pass comprehensive policies for any backlog of untested rape kits.

Joyful Heart estimates that there are hundreds of thousands of untested rape kits sitting in police and crime lab storage facilities across the country. The extent of any backlog in Massachusetts in unknown.

"Only when the extent of a jurisdiction's backlog is revealed, can real reform begin," Knecht said. "When law enforcement agencies account for the untested kits in their custody, communities can begin to take steps to test those kits, hold offenders accountable, and bring justice to sexual assault survivors whose cases have languished, often for years--or even decades."

In its goal of passing comprehensive rape kit reform legislation in all 50 states, the Joyful Heart Foundation has identified six pillars for reform: Audits or inventories; testing of all untested/backlogged rape kits; testing of all newly collected rape kits; victims' rights to notice and to be informed; tracking; and funding.

Massachusetts has not enacted any of the six pillars.

"Massachusetts law does not require law enforcement agencies to count, track or test rape kits," the Joyful Heart Foundation wrote in a news release. "The groundwork for reform has been set by advocates and lawmakers, and this year, lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would implement five of the six pillars of reform."

In November, the Massachusetts House of Representatives approved a proposal to overhaul the state's policy for tracking and testing rape kits.

The system would allow victims of sexual assault to anonymously track their kits and help authorities determine the current location and status of all untested kits and would require rape kits to be kept for 50 years.

The state senate is hearing a bill that would develop and implement uniform protocol for transporting sexual assault evidence collection kits from hospitals to testing facilities.

A law signed in October 2016 by Gov. Charlie Baker extended the preservation of rape kits to 15 years, an increase from the previous limit of six months.

When MassLive asked roughly a dozen police departments -- including Boston, Worcester and Springfield -- how many untested rape kits were on department shelves last year, nine departments responded with zero kits. Some advocates found that number hard to believe.

The full extent of any potential backlog cannot be known because the state does not require all municipal police departments and state police to complete a full audit of their evidence rooms for untested kits.

Joyful Heart has created EndtheBacklog.org, which includes resources for survivors, legislators and law enforcement.
Officials are investigating a Taunton fire that claimed the life of one person Tuesday night and displaced eight others.

The fire broke out around 11 p.m. at 246 Washington St., according to a statement from Fire Chief Timothy Bradshaw.

It is believed that the fire started on the third floor of the six-family, three-story home. The cause of the blaze remains under investigation.

There were heavy flames and smoke coming from the third floor, Bradshaw said. The fire was quickly knocked down.

Taunton Firefighters battle overnight house fire in a 6 family dwelling on Washington St. Engines 1, 3, 4, 5, Ladder 3 and Car 2 were on scene until approximately 2 AM. Displace victims are being sheltered by the Red Cross.  Taunton Fire Dept. (@TauntonMAFD) February 3, 2018

Firefighters discovered a body inside the home, Bradshaw said. The victim's identity will be released after formal identification by the medical examiner and next of kin notification.

No other injuries were reported.

Eight residents were able to escape from the home, Bradshaw said. Those residents have been displaced and are being assisted by the Red Cross and Taunton Emergency Management Agency.

Crews were on scene until about 2 a.m.

The fire remains under investigation by the Taunton Fire and Police departments, as well as State Police assigned to both the Office of the State Fire Marshal and to the Bristol County District Attorney.
EASTHAMPTON -- Members of the public and the City Council's Ordinance Subcommittee pushed back Monday night as school officials and a youth advocate recommended strong limits on marijuana business development in the city.

The three-member council committee, which recently received a marijuana zoning proposal from the Planning Board, hosted a well-attended meeting to hear from the public.

The two major issues of contention were school buffer zones and onsite consumption.

The Planning Board had recommended a 200-foot buffer zone around any school or daycare center. At Monday's meeting, some said a 500-foot buffer is needed to protect the city's children. Others countered that a large buffer would be "arbitrary and capricious," stifle the development of a legal business sector, and boost the black market.

According to draft regulations issued by the state's Cannabis Control Commission, a 500-foot-buffer is the default setting for towns and cities, but municipalities may choose to reduce that number. Because Easthampton has three centrally-located elementary schools, adopting a 500-foot buffer would make it virtually impossible to open a marijuana business downtown, officials previously said.

Those defending the 200-foot buffer were Northampton lawyer Mike Cutler, who helped draft Question 4 to legalize marijuana in Massachusetts; Karima Rizk, who wants to open a "cannabis cafe" in the mill district; local orchard owner Russell Braen; artist and land conservationist Marty Klein, and others.

Speaking in favor of a 500-foot buffer were Easthampton Superintendent Nancy Follansbee; Chuck McCullagh, chief financial officer for the private Williston Northampton School; and Steve Linksy, a lawyer who is active with the Easthampton Healthy Youth Coalition, a group with a federal grant to fight teen substance abuse.

McCullagh said it would be problematic for children and teens to walk by marijuana businesses on their way to school. "We have three public grade schools right downtown," he said, adding that Williston recommends "cautiousness and moderation" as the city develops its ordinance.

Follansbee said some families considering the Easthampton public schools are put off by the prospect of having marijuana businesses downtown. "If our schools are located in the midst of a number of shops selling cannabis ... there may be a perception that's not a positive one," she said.

Councilor Owen Zaret opined that "perception" is best addressed through community education, and not buffer zones. He said he opposes youth substance abuse, but also opposes maintaining the "stigma" around legal adult marijuana use.

Councilor Salem Derby, who chairs the three-member committee, challenged McCullagh and Linksy to cite research that shows a 500-foot school buffer zone would reduce youth access to marijuana. "What exactly do you hope to accomplish?" he asked.

Derby asked the advocates to describe why marijuana shops should be treated differently than package stores that sell alcohol, convenience stores that sell cigarettes, and pharmacies that sell prescription opioids.

McCullagh said retail marijuana is "a new development," and that cautious steps are better than bold moves which "might be difficult to roll back."

Councilor Margaret "Peg" Conniff said she's not a pot smoker, but that hosting legal marijuana businesses in Easthampton will not be "the end of the world as we know it." She said she supports a robust public process.

Derby said he supports marijuana business development in part because of the 3-percent local option tax that could be imposed. He noted that Easthampton voters in May will go to the polls to decide whether to authorize major borrowing for a new elementary school, and that the revenue could help ease the tax burden.

Mayor Nicole LaChapelle took no stand, but said "Easthampton is on the right track" and that she supports continued dialog between government, the private sector, and the schools on the issue of marijuana regulation.

In a surprise move, LaChapelle introduced Jeffrey Bagg, and said she had just hired him as the city's new planning director. She said Bagg, who works for the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, has not started yet in Easthampton, but that she had asked him to appear Monday because of his expertise.

Bagg addressed the issue of "on-site consumption" at cafes and other licensed establishments.

He said in his interpretation of the law, if a Massachusetts city wants to issue licenses for on-site "social consumption," a petition signed by ten percent of the city's voters would be necessary to put the matter on the ballot. He cited the marijuana law signed last year by Gov. Charlie Baker, and said that Kay Doyle, a member of the state's Cannabis Control Commission, also believes a ballot petition is necessary for a city to allow cannabis cafes and yoga studios.

Cutler said he disagrees with Bagg's interpretation, and that the ballot petition mechanism is a "fail-safe" for citizens whose local officials won't authorize on-site consumption through the usual channels. He also challenged Bagg's assertion about Doyle's beliefs.

Draft regulations from the Cannabis Control Commission issued in December include provisions for "social consumption" licenses, but the law signed by Baker describes a ballot petition process.

Linksy engaged in an extensive back-and-forth with committee members, and said his intention is to protect youth health.

The Ordinance Subcommittee will hold a "work session" on Feb. 13 where its members will hammer out their changes to the Planning Board proposal. Public input will not be taken at the Feb. 13 meeting, said Derby, but he encouraged anyone who wants to submit written testimony to do so via email.

The Ordinance Subcommittee plans a joint public hearing with the Planning Board on Feb. 20. Ultimately, zoning ordinances need a two-thirds vote of the City Council for adoption.
UPDATE, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, 3:21 p.m.: 'Career drug dealer' held on $250,000 bail: A new story has been posted >>

SPRINGFIELD -- Investigators, raiding a home in the McKnight neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, seized more than 800 grams of uncut heroin, enough to make as much as 80,000 bags of the drug with an estimated street value of $800,000 or more.

The raid at 96 Sherman St., following a lengthy investigation, uncovered a suspected heroin milling operation within the city, something drug investigators say they have been encountering with increasing frequency throughout the region.

The suspected milling operation suggests the now-broken drug operation was likely operating at a "much higher level," Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said during a press conference Wednesday morning.

Investigators, including members the Hampden County Narcotics Task Force, also raided 589 Bay Street in the Bay neighborhood and seized approximately $35,000, a 9 mm Taurus hand gun, two magazines and ammunition.

"We continue to fight this epidemic by aggressively going after drug traffickers while also trying to assist those fighting addiction," Gulluni said.

Along with the 816 grams of uncut heroin, city, state and federal investigators seized a grinder, scales and packaging material at 96 Sherman St. All of the items were found in a backpack at that address and the uncut heroin was found inside a locked safe in that backpack.

Arquelio Cajigas, 44, of 589 Bay St., was arrested on charges of trafficking heroin (over 200 grams), possession of a firearm without an FID card, possession of ammunition without an FID card and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license.

Gulluni said the uncut heroin -- nearly a kilo and roughly the size and shape of a brick -- once cut with other substances, could be packed into some 40,000 to 80,000 bags off heroin.

The street value of the heroin, depending on how it was to be cut and packaged, could be in excess of $700,000 or $800,000.

"It really turns into a large bust when you think about where this heroin was going to go," Gulluni said.

Prior to the execution of the search warrants for the two properties, Cajigas left his Bay Street home, got into a Toyota and drove to the Century Plaza in West Springfield.

Investigators approached Cajigas at the plaza, announced the pending execution of the search warrants and took him into custody. He was in possession of a key to the safe found in the backpack at the Sherman Street address.

Gulluni said the Bay Street address functioned as a "stash house" where money and firearms were kept. "The narcotics were kept at a separate address to essentially evade detection by law enforcement,"

The Hampden County Narcotics Task Force consists of members of the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the district attorney's office, the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, the United States National Guard Counter Drug Program, and the Springfield, Chicopee, and Holyoke police departments.

Homeland Security Investigations-Springfield also participated in the raids.

Gulluni thanked all the law enforcement agencies that participated in the bust, "especially those troopers and task force officers from my office who initiated and lead this investigation.

Capt. Brian Keenan, head of the Springfield Police Department's narcotics unit, and Massachusetts State Police Capt. Christopher Wilcox, who is attached to Gulluni's detective unit, attended the press conference.
Members of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission are set to meet less than 24 hours after Steve Wynn announced he's resigning as CEO and chairman of the board of directors of Wynn Resorts.

Wynn's resignation comes after multiple media reports, led by the Wall Street Journal, that outlined an alleged pattern of sexual misconduct over decades.

Investigators with the commission have been reviewing Wynn's suitability for holding a gaming license in Massachusetts. In 2014, Wynn Resorts won the lone eastern Massachusetts casino license, and a $2.4 billion casino resort is under construction jut outside of Boston.

The Gaming Commission's investigators are reviewing not just Wynn's suitability, but also the suitability of various Wynn executives, including Matt Maddox, who is president of Wynn's company and is now taking over as CEO.

The commission's head investigator, Karen Wells, said last week that Wynn actively sought to keep a $7.5 million settlement with a manicurist private.

"Who knew what, when, and what if anything did he or she do about it?" are among the questions investigators are asking, Wells said.

The Gaming Commission has broad authority to revoke or suspend the gaming license, or hit the company with a fine.

The Gaming Commission is set to meet at 2 p.m. at its headquarters in downtown Boston. The meeting was scheduled before Wynn had announced his resignation.

An update on the opening of MGM Springfield is also on the agenda.
Steve Wynn, the founder and CEO of Wynn Resorts, has resigned from the company.

Wynn Resorts announced the decision late Tuesday evening.

"It is with a collective heavy heart, that the board of directors of Wynn Resorts today accepted the resignation of our founder, CEO and friend Steve Wynn," Boone Wayson, a member of the board of directors, said in a statement.

Matt Maddox, currently president of the company, has been named CEO.

Wynn's resignation follows numerous allegations of sexual misconduct over decades.

Wynn paid out a $7.5 million settlement after a manicurist at one of his casinos alleged that he pressured her into having sex against her will in 2005, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Monday that in the late 90s, multiple cocktail waitresses at The Mirage Las Vegas filed lawsuits documenting sexual harassment.

One woman said waitresses were sent to the rooms of high rollers staying at the resort to sexually "accommodate" them, reported the Review-Journal.

The casino magnate has denied such allegations.

Wynn Resorts is building a $2.4 billion casino, Wynn Boston Harbor, just outside of Boston in Everett. The facility is scheduled to open in June 2019.

Investigators with the Massachusetts Gaming Commission are looking into the allegations against Wynn. Gambling officials in Nevada are also investigating the matter.

Lizzy Guyton, a spokeswoman for Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said, "Governor Baker believes it is the right decision for Wynn Resorts to terminate its relationship with Mr. Wynn in light of recent disturbing allegations, and supports the Gaming Commission's ongoing review."
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- The Town Council has approved the use of Community Preservation Act funds for a project by the Sisters of Providence to build affordable housing for senior citizens.

On Monday, the Town Council unanimously voted to allow $750,000 in CPA funds to be used by the Catholic religious community to build 36 affordable housing units on its 27-acre campus off Riverdale Street.

"Members of the council, thank you for taking the first step. Thank you very much," said Paul Boudo, chairman of the West Springfield Community Preservation Committee, which advocated for the roughly $10 million Sisters of Providence project.

Boudo says the new units will help West Side inch closer to its 10 percent affordable housing goal, a statewide threshold that all commonwealth communities must meet.

As of September 2017, the town's affordable housing rate was around 3.4 percent, or 429 units, according to the state Department of Housing and Community Development's Chapter 40B Subsidized Housing Inventory.

In addition to CPA funds from the town's Community Preservation Committee, the project is being financed through grants, $2.5 million in state and federal money, and other funding sources. That includes $500,000 in federal funding and another $2 million in state affordable housing subsidies.

Councilor Nathan A. Bech said West Side's support of the housing initiative is a good use of funds from the town's Community Preservation Committee. "This project would be about 7 percent from the CPC and 93 percent from other sources, so this is a chance to ... make this project happen," Bech said Monday.

On Tuesday night, Mayor William C. Reichelt, another project booster, tweeted the following message:

"Very happy this project is moving forward. I have been involved since 2012, first as a CPC member, then as the Town's lawyer, and I'm happy to sign this funding request as Mayor!"

Known as "Hillside Residence," the 36-unit complex at 2112 Riverdale St. will provide "affordable elder housing" for people age 62 or older, according to Sister Kathleen Popko, president of the Sisters of Providence. The overall goal is to keep older people out of nursing homes by providing the support they need to live independently, Popko said.

Hillside Residence would be integrated with Mercy LIFE's Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly, or PACE, which helps seniors continue to live on their own.

Income eligibility for the housing requires a person to earn 50 percent or less of the median area income. That translates into a one-person family with an annual income of less than $28,000, or a two-person family with an income of under $32,000 a year.

"PACE, I learned today from one of our providers, is obligated by law to be less expensive than the typical nursing home," Popko said Monday.

The Sisters of Providence campus straddles the West Springfield-Holyoke border and is home to Providence Place at Ingleside, a 119-unit independent living facility for residents age 55 or older. The campus also includes Mary's Meadow at Providence Place, a long-term care and rehabilitation facility.
A principal at an elementary school in Massachusetts made a personal announcement this week: they are transgender.

Stanley School Principal Tom Daniels sent a letter to the school community in Swampscott, informing families that Daniels will no longer go by Tom, but Shannon.

Daniels currently prefers the pronoun "they" while transitioning towards a more feminine appearance.

The letter, posted online by NECN, said Daniels noted Shannon is their middle name, an Irish name given to both men and women meaning "wise river."

"I have struggled with gender identity since I was in elementary school," Daniels wrote. "I did my best to suppress those feeling for more than 40 years, and while I was successful to a degree, I have never felt completely happy or at peace. I got to the point that I thought I would never be able to reveal my true self."

Daniels, 52, asked to be called Principal Daniels. While "they" is the preferred pronoun, Daniels said "he" or "she" are okay while students, staff and parents adjust to the news.

Daniels said in the letter, "After confronting a series of challenges last fall, I left myself imagine the possibly of being completely honest with myself and those around me. I can now say it: I am transgender. For me, that means I identify as both male and female, and I plan to move toward presenting myself and identifying as female."

Daniels understands there will be questions and does not want personal news to negatively impact the school. Daniels plans to be honest and transparent and keep opens lines of community with faculty, staff and families.

Swampscott Superintendent of Schools Pamela Angelakis sent a letter applauding Daniels for announcing the "profound life change."

"I applaud Principal Daniels and admire the courage, honesty and transparency that comes through in the letter you received," Angelakis wrote. "As pointed out in that letter, getting to the point of being willing to share those feelings has been a long and challenging process. I hope you will join me and the entire district leadership team in offering Principal Daniels our acceptance, understanding and support."

The school district plans on providing opportunities for education and discussion about the topic. Daniels added some suggestions for and language that can be used if questions arise.
By Dan Lamothe

The Washington Post

President George H.W. Bush stood in a shirt and tie surrounded by bullet-proof glass in Washington in June 1991 as 8,800 U.S. troops and the weapons that helped the United States win the Gulf War against Saddam Hussein rumbled by him.

The spectacle, held on Constitution Avenue a few months after Operation Desert Storm ended, was part of what the White House called a National Victory Celebration.

Helicopters buzzed by the Washington Monument. Abrams tanks and Patriot missiles systems rolled past cheering civilians. Fireworks burst, marching bands played, and Army Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., the chief of U.S. Central Command, led the troops before saluting Bush and enjoying the rest of the display alongside him.

The $8 million-plus event attracted at least 200,000 people and was followed by an even larger celebration the next day in New York. It was a celebration of American martial history and prowess, and a good example of what it appears President Donald Trump wants sometime later this year. The president has suggested that he has wanted one for more than a year, and the White House and Pentagon are now examining options.

Trump's interest in having a large-scale military parade now is likely to receive a mixed reception, especially among those who are concerned about nationalism, militarism or the president's past praise for authoritarian leaders. The tradition stretches back centuries, but has been typically been tied to the conclusion of wars.

After the Civil War, a two-day celebration that included a military procession known as the Grand Review of the Armies occurred on May 23-24, 1865, with new President Andrew Johnson presiding just weeks after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. More than 145,000 Union soldiers paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington over two days, according to the nonpartisan Civil War Trust.

After World War I, parades in New York, Washington and other cities greeted "Doughboy" soldiers as they returned home from the battlefields of Europe. Army Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing, often cited by Trump as a hero, led thousands of soldiers through the streets of New York on Sept. 10, 1919, as they returned home. He then did the same about a week later in Washington.

After World War II, a similar parade was held Jan. 12, 1946, to celebrate the Allied victory over Nazi Germany and the other Axis Powers. Some 13,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division marched through the streets of New York, representing U.S. troops everywhere in a celebration that also included tanks and planes.

National military parades after that were scant - in large part because the United States could not declare victory in Korea or Vietnam - though some past commanders in chief, including President Truman, President Eisenhower and President Kennedy, have had military equipment, including tanks, involved in their inaugural parades.

More recently, the United States has grappled with whether to recognize veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with a national parade - and when.

After the last U.S. combat troops withdrew from Iraq in 2011, a U.S. military spokesman told reporters that although there was a groundswell of support to honor Iraq War veterans with a ticker-tape parade in New York, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had reservations because the war in Afghanistan was still underway.

"We simply don't think a national-level parade is appropriate while we continue to have America's sons and daughters in harm's way," Col. David Lapan, a spokesman for Dempsey, said in 2012.

The national military parade of 1991 - the last of its kind - had its detractors. The Washington Post reported at the time that interviews with 50 citizens showed public opinion "sharply divided" about it, with some calling it a waste of time and money and others saying it was a chance to be excited about a war ending successfully after just 43 days.

"Doesn't it sound a little ridiculous?" Bruce Rummel, a Marine veteran who had served in World War II, told The Post at the time. "It just seems like a little too much."

"Excited is not even the word to use," Lisa Lowe said in another interview ahead of the parade. "I just can't wait."

Her brother, Marine Lance Cpl. Eddie Lewis Lowe, served in the war.

"There was so much stress during the war, people not knowing if their brother or sister would come back alive. For us, we missed Thanksgiving, Christmas, Eddie's birthday," she said. "Now we'll have this to celebrate."
Treason is no laughing matter.

Nonetheless, after President Donald Trump faced serious blowback for saying that Democratic members of Congress were not only un-American, but also treasonous for failing to stand and applaud some of his statements during last week's State of the Union address, a White House spokesman tried to wave away the criticism by claiming that Trump had been speaking "tongue in cheek."

Yeah, sure. That old chestnut again. Trump says something outrageous, completely out of bounds. People react. The White House dismisses the critics as failing to get the president's joke. Some of his defenders suggest it's not such a big deal, but just another case of Trump being Trump. And many more say nothing at all.

None of these responses is acceptable. To call one's political opponents treasonous for not standing and applauding wildly is the kind of thing one expects from some tinhorn dictator, not from the president of the United States of America.

Here was Trump, speaking on Monday at an event in Ohio that was ostensibly about the economy.

Of Democrats's failure to rise and applaud during sections of his address the previous week, he said: "[T]hey were like death and un-American. Un-American. Somebody said 'treasonous.' I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean, they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."

On the contrary. Dissent, especially in the face of someone who frequently behaves more like a dictator than as our constitutionally empowered chief executive, is a most-patriotic act.

What a president says matters. At least it is supposed to. And used to.

Here's how the U.S. Constitution, in Article III, Section 3, defines treason:

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort."

Trump, of course, doesn't know this, or doesn't care. Or both.

The country, and the world, has grown accustomed to the daily foolishness that passes Trump's lips or that comes off his Twitter feed. Most people can just roll their eyes, shake their heads, perhaps wonder how we've sunk so low -- and then move on, knowing full well that our nation's chief executive will spew a fresh bit of nonsense the next day. But Trump's statement on Monday was different. He crossed another line.

And Republicans in Congress again failed to step up. Does House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., think it OK for the president to talk so loosely of treason? If not, why did the speaker yet again fail to pipe up? How about Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.?

It's bad enough having a president who routinely acts and speaks so carelessly, whose behavior is frequently so wildly out of bounds. What's even sadder is watching the GOP leadership, and the party rank and file, just go along for the miserable, dangerous ride.
Former Ukrainian SBU Security Service chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko has Russian special services dressed in uniforms of Ukrainian special police acted against protesters during anti-government protests on Kyiv's Independence Square.

"Several times starting in February 2014 almost each night against Maidan protests armed Russian agents dressed as Ukrainian Berkut (riot) police were present. I can confirm they were Russians. They gathered near the October Palace and wore special Ukrainian uniforms on top of their Russian ones. These were given to them by our president and then head of Ukraine's Interior Ministry Yuriy Zakharchenko," he said during testimony at Kyiv's Obolonsky District Court as a witness in the state treason trial against disgraced formrt Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. Nalyvaichenko said this in response to questions on Wednesday given by Vitaliy Serdiuk.

As earlier reported, on February 22, 2014, after the Revolution of Dignity, Nalyvaichenko was appointed SBU chief by parliament under then President Oleksandr Turchynov. He served in that position until June 2015.

Nalyvaichenko headed the SBU from 2006 through March 2010.
State Sen. Eric Lesser, a Longmeadow Democrat, is considering a run for Massachusetts Senate president.

Lesser has been talking to other senators and trying to gather support.

His run was first reported Tuesday night by the Boston Globe and confirmed by The Republican.

Lesser declined to comment.

Lesser is 32 years old and a second-term senator. He was formerly a White House aide under President Barack Obama. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 2015.

Sens. Eileen Donoghue, D-Lowell, Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, and Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, have already expressed interest in running.

Although Lesser lacks some of the institutional history of the other candidates, that could work in his favor with a body struggling to recover from scandal.

"More than ever right now, I think it's important for the Senate to have someone to come forward that hasn't had the strong ties that other people have in the building," said Sen. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, who has talked to Lesser about the presidency and said she would support him. "I think it would be good as a body to wipe the slate clean."

Former Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, stepped down from the post temporarily amid an investigation into whether he broke any Senate rules as it relates to alleged sexual misconduct by his husband, Bryon Hefner. Rosenberg had been consolidating support to return to the presidency if the investigation cleared him. But revelations by the Boston Globe this weekend that Rosenberg gave Hefner access to his Senate email made it less likely that Rosenberg would return to the presidency.

Several top politicians -- including Gov. Charlie Baker and Attorney General Maura Healey -- said Rosenberg should not return to the Senate presidency if the allegations are true.

Senate President Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, took the job on an acting basis but promised to step down after the investigation.

Gobi said Lesser has a good grasp of statewide issues, and she feels it would be important to have a Senate president from Western Massachusetts to bring that perspective to legislative leadership. Lesser may be in a strong position to attract support from Western Massachusetts senators, younger members of the Senate and progressives.

Senate insiders say none of the three other candidates have enough votes locked up to become Senate president at this time.

Lesser has been a vocal advocate for issues affecting Western Massachusetts, in particular the expansion of high-speed passenger rail between Springfield and Boston. He is also familiar with national issues, and is currently serving on a special legislative committee looking at issues surrounding net neutrality.

The senators are planning a caucus for Wednesday, and they are likely to discuss the situation involving Rosenberg.
BOSTON -- The senators who hoped to become the next Massachusetts Senate president have thrown their support behind Senate President Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, pushing a race for president off to 2019.

"What was made very clear today is that there's one Senate president at a time," said Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow. "The caucus stands united behind Harley Chandler, and she both has the caucus' universal support and she has my enthusiastic support and confidence to lead us in what is really the busiest time of the legislative session."

The Democratic caucus of the state Senate on Wednesday decided to keep Chandler in the Senate presidency through the end of 2018, ending the uncertainty surrounding whether Sen. Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, could return to the post. Rosenberg stepped down amid an investigation into whether he broke any Senate rules as it relates to alleged sexual misconduct by his husband, Bryon Hefner.

Chandler previously said she would not serve beyond the term of the investigation. Four other senators had announced their intention to seek the Senate presidency permanently, should Rosenberg not return: Sens. Eileen Donoghue, D-Lowell, Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, and Lesser.

The decision to keep Chandler in the position until January 2019 was meant to provide stability to the Senate and let senators focus on their work at a time when bills are moving forward and the budget process is starting. Chandler said she will not seek the post again in 2019.

Lesser said after the caucus that he supports the decision. "My view is it's full steam ahead, all cylinders moving at full blast, and having President Chandler there in a permanent role for the full rest of the term gives her the stability and the backing she needs to be effective in that role," Lesser said.

Lesser said he is running for re-election. He kept open the possibility that he will run for Senate president in 2019. "What I would like to do is be part of a conversation of the future of the body and the role I could play in helping shape that future," Lesser said.

Donoghue also said she supports the decision. "I fully support the vote for President Chandler to remain in her position throughout 2018," Donoghue said in a statement. "The Senate has an aggressive legislative agenda, and today's action will allow all of us to continue our important work on behalf of the people of the Commonwealth."

DiDomenico said in a statement, "I fully support the decision to have my friend and colleague Harriette Chandler lead the Senate for the remainder of the year. There is much work to be done in the next several months, and I am confident that Senate President Chandler will continue to be a strong voice to move our body forward."

Spilka said the vote to keep Chandler in office through the end of the year "is the right one." "I am committed as a member of her leadership team to supporting her as our leader in all matters - particularly as we negotiate the critical details of our work with the House and Governor Baker," Spilka said in a statement. "The Senate has critically important work ahead in 2018 and we need to be able to do it with the public's trust and with the integrity of the Senate intact."

Spilka said she will seek the presidency in the future. "I've made clear I will be a candidate for the Senate Presidency when there is a vacancy but now we should all focus our attention on the important work to be done on behalf of the working people of our Commonwealth," Spilka said.

Asked about the senators who had previously expressed interest in the job, Chandler said, "They were among the people who agreed to this and voted for it."

This is a breaking news story that is being updated.
BOSTON -- Massachusetts Senate Democrats are meeting behind closed doors Wednesday to discuss what Senate leadership will look like going forward.

Questions include whether Sen. Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, will have a chance to return to the Senate presidency and how long Acting Senate President Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, will remain in that role. At least four Democrats have expressed interest in seeking the Senate presidency on a permanent basis, but several senators said they did not expect a new president to be selected immediately.

"I think our first step is to go into caucus and really deal with the issue of whether or not Sen. Rosenberg will have the potential to come back as Senate president," said Sen. Jim Welch, D-West Springfield. "Once we deal with that and put that behind us, then we look at electing a permanent Senate president."

Rosenberg stepped down from the post temporarily amid an investigation into whether he broke any Senate rules as it relates to alleged sexual misconduct by his husband, Bryon Hefner.

Rosenberg did not attend Wednesday's caucus.

Rosenberg had been consolidating support to return to the presidency if the investigation cleared him. But revelations by the Boston Globe this weekend that Rosenberg gave Hefner access to his Senate email made it less likely that Rosenberg would return to the presidency. The investigation is ongoing.

Welch said he believes Rosenberg should not return to the presidency. "It appears according to various reports that ... the firewall that was supposedly put in place was either never in place or it wasn't effective," Welch said. "There were assurances made to the entire Senate that there would be a firewall in place, and Bryon would have no influence over any Senate business whatsoever. As days go on, we find out that is less and less true."

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, said he thinks it would be "very, very difficult" for Rosenberg to return to the presidency.

Sen. Barbara L'Italian, D-Andover, who is running for Congress, also said the Senate needs to move on. "I think we need to focus on the institution, we need to focus on the victims and I think we need to move on from an interim to a permanent Senate president other than Stan Rosenberg," L'Italian said.

L'Italian said Chandler is doing "a fine job."

"I just think at some point we have to turn the page and come up with a permanent Senate president," L'Italian said. "We have budget deliberations, we have the criminal justice bill and other things."

Chandler has said she will step down when the investigation concludes. Sens. Eileen Donoghue, D-Lowell, Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, and Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, have all been talking to colleagues about potential runs for Senate president.

But with no set time frame for the investigation, senators have been talking about asking Chandler to stay on for the rest of the legislative session, which ends in July.

"There's some who feel she should remain Senate president throughout the scope of the investigation, some feel she should remain Senate president through the end of the session," said Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton. "I don't have an opinion yet. Right now, it's important for stability for Harley Chandler to remain Senate president for now."

Sen. Kathleen O'Connor Ives, D-Newburyport, said Chandler has done "an excellent job."

"As one senator, I'm interested in a permanent Senate president so we have clarity, but that's something we have to decide as a body," O'Connor Ives said.

O'Connor Ives said the investigation should be completed, and "my mind's open" on how long Chandler should stay in office.

Republicans make up seven members in the 40-member body, but they could play a role in selecting the next Senate president, which will be done by majority vote.

Tarr said he will be running for Senate president again, which is customary for the minority leader. But, he said, "My caucus could vote for anyone. They're certainly free to do so, and I would take nothing off the table with regard to the election of the next Senate president."

Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, called Lesser an "interesting alternative," and said they have worked well together. Humason said Republicans could play a role in the selection of the next president "if we find a candidate we can work with and get behind." But Humason said he did not yet know what will happen with the Senate presidency -- although he believes it is getting harder for Rosenberg to return.

"How do you reinstate the president and guarantee this won't happen again?" Humason said.

Tarr said he does consider leaving Chandler in the presidency for this session a "viable option," but he declined to say whether he would prefer a new president sooner rather than later. He acknowledged that the turmoil has been "distracting," but said Senate work will continue.

"We will move forward as a Senate, and this issue will be addressed," Tarr said. "It may be a question of timing, but it's my intent as minority leader to keep us as focused as possible on the business at hand."
BOSTON -- There is no set time frame for the investigation into former Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, although the investigation remains active, according to participants.

"We hope it will be concluded as quickly as possible," said Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, a member of the Senate Ethics Committee. "Neither I nor anyone else wants it to be completed as a trade off for comprehensiveness and accuracy. We want it to be a good investigation that people can rely on, because we will be asking them to rely on it."

"The investigation is ongoing, and all of us are hoping it will come to its conclusion as quickly as possible, but also that it be a comprehensive as possible," Tarr said.

The Senate Ethics Committee is overseeing the investigation into whether Rosenberg broke Senate rules as it relates to alleged sexual misconduct by his husband, Bryon Hefner. The committee hired the outside law firm Hogan Lovells to conduct the investigation.

Sen. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, confirmed that the Ethics Committee plans to meet Wednesday afternoon. Their meetings are closed to the public.

Ross said the investigation will take "as long as it takes."

"We still think we've got a long way to go," Ross said.

The Senate Ethics Committee is led by Sen. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, and Sen. Will Brownsberger, D-Belmont.

Acting Senate President Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, has said she will remain in the Senate presidency until the investigation concludes. Senate Democrats are meeting Wednesday and are considering whether to have Chandler remain in her role for the entire legislative session or until the investigation concludes, or whether to more quickly select a new permanent Senate president.

"I just think at some point we have to turn the page and come up with a permanent Senate president," said Sen. Barbara L'Italian, D-Andover.

If Rosenberg resigns from the Senate, the Ethics Committee would no longer have jurisdiction over him. But the committee could still investigate any staff who remain employed by the Senate.

Tarr said he anticipates that once the investigation is completed, there will be a review of legislative process "to ensure we have the best policies possible to protect the integrity of the legislative process and protect it from undue influence."

But, Tarr said, "That will likely be tomorrow's job. Today's job is to complete the investigation, make recommendations to our colleagues, and do what we were charged to do."
BOSTON -- Acting Senate President Harriette Chandler, D-Worcester, will remain president of the Massachusetts Senate through the end of 2018.

The decision by Senate Democrats to keep Chandler in the role through the current legislative session is expected to provide stability to the Senate despite continuing turmoil over the investigation surrounding former Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst.

The Senate on Thursday will formally drop the title of "acting" from Chandler's title.

"We have reached a point where we are now into the business of doing what we're here to do, which is legislating," Chandler said. "We have work to do for the people who elected us, and acting doesn't quite do it anymore. We are now at the point where we need a president who has the full responsibilities and the full authority of a president of the Senate."

Chandler said she will soon move into the Senate president's office.

Chandler became Senate president after Rosenberg stepped down temporarily amid an investigation into whether he broke any Senate rules as it relates to alleged sexual misconduct by his husband, Bryon Hefner. Revelations by The Boston Globe this weekend that Rosenberg gave Hefner access to his Senate email made it less likely that Rosenberg would return to the presidency.

With no set time frame for the investigation's conclusion, some senators had begun calling for a permanent president to be elected to avoid a continued distraction from the business of the Senate. Four senators had been vying for the position, but Senate insiders said none of them had yet secured enough votes to become Senate president. They were Sens. Eileen Donoghue, D-Lowell, Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, Sal DiDomenico, D-Everett, and Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow.

At a closed-door caucus on Wednesday, which Rosenberg did not attend, lawmakers decided to have Chandler continue in the post through the end of the year. The move makes clear that Rosenberg will not regain the presidency this year, no matter what investigators conclude.

The next Senate president will be elected Jan. 2, 2019, at the beginning of the next legislative term. Chandler said she does not plan to seek re-election to the Senate presidency in 2019.

"Our focus today continued to be and continues to be on policy, the budget and the business of legislating," Chandler told reporters after the caucus.

Chandler, who had been Senate majority leader, will select a new majority leader.

Rosenberg said in a statement, "I am confident that Senate President Chandler will serve the Senate and the Commonwealth with distinction. I support what's best for the Senate and the Commonwealth, and I deeply regret the disruption that has been caused by the necessity of the investigation."

Rosenberg added, "I reiterate that Bryon had no influence over my actions or decisions as Senate President, and I look forward to the completion of the investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee."

Some senators had voiced concern that the turmoil among leadership was an ongoing distraction at a time when bills are being reported out of committees and the budget process is beginning.

"I just think at some point we have to turn the page and come up with a permanent Senate president," said Sen. Barbara L'Italian, D-Andover, who is running for Congress.

Several senators said earlier in the day that they hoped Chandler would remain in the post for now.

"Right now, it's important for stability for Harley Chandler to remain Senate president for now," said Sen. Jamie Eldridge, D-Acton, using Chandler's nickname.

Sen. Anne Gobi, D-Spencer, said she would like Chandler to stay until the end of the session. "I just want to see continuity," Gobi said.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, called keeping Chandler in the presidency for the rest of the legislative session a "viable option." "There's some merit to that idea," Tarr said, speaking while Democrats were still caucusing.

Tarr said Chandler has been "acting very professionally and resourcefully."

This is a breaking news story that is being updated.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, spoke out Wednesday against Attorney General Jeff Sessions' record on civil rights, criminal justice and immigration -- a speech that came exactly one year after chamber leaders formally silenced her for questioning the then-senator's nomination.

Warren criticized actions Sessions took during his first year as attorney general and stressed that Americans will "persist" despite them as she delivered afternoon remarks from the U.S. Senate floor.

Elizabeth Warren Speaks on Jeff Sessions: One year ago, I went to the Senate floor to oppose the nomination of Jeff Sessions to lead @TheJusticeDept. Today I'm going back to the floor to talk about his continued attacks on civil rights, immigration & criminal justice reform as Attorney General. Watch live: Posted by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The Massachusetts Democrat, whom Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell formally silenced in February 2017, reflected on the controversial incident and emphasized her continued opposition to Sessions' work as the head of the Justice Department.

"It's been one year since the Republican-controlled Senate made Jeff Sessions attorney general of the United States, and I wish that I could say I was wrong -- I actually really do," she said. "But ... on issue after issue, Jeff Sessions' Justice Department has failed in its mission to promote justice for all Americans. Instead, Sessions has taken the department in exactly the opposite direction."

Warren took issue with Sessions' support for Trump's Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, changes to various DOJ departments and initiatives and roll back of protections for immigrants who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children, among other things.

"On Jeff Sessions' watch, the Justice Department has promoted voter suppression. On his watch, the Justice Department has endorsed discrimination. On his watch, the Justice Department has reversed efforts to reform our broken criminal justice system. And, on his watch, the Justice Department has led an all-out bigotry-fueled attack on immigrants and refugees," she said.

Contending that all of that was predictable and could have been avoided, Warren chastised Republicans for confirming Sessions as the AG.

The Democrat, however, argued that while "Sessions, President Trump and this Republican Congress seem to think that they can stoke the fires of hatred and division without being consumed by them," Americans are "resisting and persisting."

"States and cities are stepping up to defend civil rights under assault by the federal government. The American people are showing up in the streets, in the airports, in the courtrooms and even at the polls to hold this government accountable," she said. "And they will continue to show up, and to fight day-in and day-out. To fight for fairness, to fight for equality, to fight for liberty and justice for all."

"Republicans tried to silence Coretta Scott King for speaking the truth about Jeff Sessions. They tried to silence me for reading Mrs. King's words on the Senate floor. They tired to silence all of us from speaking out, but instead of shutting us up, they have made us louder," Warren continued. "Warn us, give us explanations. Nevertheless, we will persist, and we will win."

The Democrat has repeatedly used the incident to galvanize supporters and her 2018 campaign's fundraising efforts.

Aside from the floor speech, Warren's campaign announced that the senator will hold a "Nevertheless, she persisted" Wednesday evening telephone "town call" event with Massachusetts residents and Americans across the country.

Her campaign also released a two-minute "Nevertheless, We Persist" video late Tuesday, which highlights the senator and Democratic activists' work in the year since Warren's silencing.

Nevertheless, We Persist The world fundamentally changed on the day of the Womens March in 2017. Millions of women laced up their sneakers, put on their pink hats, and took to the streets to make their voices heard. But even after all that, I never imagined what would happen a few weeks later, on February 7. That was the day Mitch McConnell tried to silence me  and silence Coretta Scott King  on the floor of the US Senate. #ShePersisted Posted by Elizabeth Warren on Tuesday, February 6, 2018

John Kingston, a Winchester businessman and one of several Republicans looking to unseat Warren in 2018, argued that the Democrat is persistent, but only when it comes to pursuing higher political office and stoking partisan tensions.

"Sen. Warren persists in being one of the most divisive members of the United States Senate," he said in a statement. "Warren's singular pursuit of a presidential campaign in 2020 has contributed to the toxic environment in Washington and denied Massachusetts families the dedicated voice they deserve in Congress."

Warren, following previous warnings, was stopped mid-floor speech on Feb. 7, 2017 after reading past statements against Sessions from the late-Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy and King, the wife of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

McConnell contended that the Massachusetts Democrat had "impugned the motives and conduct of" Sessions, a then-Alabama senator, requiring him to invoke the rare and arcane chamber rule.

Under the chamber's Rule 19: "no senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another senator or to other senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming of a senator."

McConnell, in explaining his decision to silence Warren, said "she was warned; she was given an explanation; nevertheless, she persisted" -- remarks which Warren and her supporters, in turn, picked up as a rallying cry.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more information becomes available.
As an active angel investor, Im accustomed to hearing entrepreneurs pitch their expectation to quickly create a new dominant brand, based on their disruptive technology. In the past, such statements have been credibility red flags, since "everyone" knows that a dominant brand takes decades to establish and scale. Only recently, I realized that times are rapidly changing.

Martin Zwilling

http://blog.startupprofessionals.com/2018/02/5-ways-todays-market-allows-startups-to.html
Patagonia is giving customers a new and convenient way to take part in environmental activism.

The outdoor clothing company has launched Patagonia Action Works https://www.patagonia.com/actionworks/#!/choose-location/ , a digital platform that informs people of local activism opportunities in the categories of land, water, climate, communities, and biodiversity, so they can easily take action and help preserve the planet.

BY NICOLE GALLUCCI

https://mashable.com/2018/02/07/patagonia-action-works-environmental-activism/?utm_cid=hp-n-1#pF6SxibEbkq5
The so-called "Supreme Court" of the occupied Crimea on February 7 extended for another two months, until April 9, 2018, the arrest of Ukrainian citizen Yevhen Panov, who is accused by Russian special services of preparing acts of sabotage, the Crimean Human Rights group reported on its website.

The trial was held in closed session. According to human rights activists, the ruling to keep Panov in detention facility was made by Judge Olena Mykhalkova.

For its part, the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine expressed a protest over the extension of Panov's arrest. "Once again, we express our strong protest: a contrived and fabricated case by the invader, once again the Russian Federation grossly violates human rights," the spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, Mariana Betsa, wrote on her Twitter account on Wednesday.

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that several terrorist acts, which had been allegedly plotted by Ukrainian intelligence, were thwarted on August 10. In particular, it was reported that overnight into August 8 Russian special services averted several attempts by sabotage terrorist groups to break into Crimea from Ukrainian territory, during which a Russian serviceman and an FSB operative were killed.

The FSB claimed it had detained one of their plotters, Yevhen Panov, a resident of Zaporizhia region and employee of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate. They said he gave confessing testimony, which was aired on federal television channels. At the same time, the relatives of the Ukrainian said that he had confessed as a result of torture.

According to the Russian law enforcement agencies, Ukrainian citizen Andriy Zakhtei provided for the operation of the sabotage group. During the check of his car, three kilograms of explosives, grenades, sim cards and cellular phones were discovered in the rear wheel, the special services said. Zakhtei's relatives said that his had been an ordinary taxman, not a saboteur.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry, the Main Intelligence Directorate and the National Security and Defense Council refuted the reports about Ukrainian saboteurs and the connections of the detainees to the Ukrainian special services. Panov's brother Ihor Kotelianets thinks Yevhen was kidnapped from Zaporizhia region and delivered to Crimea.
Naftogaz Ukrainy plans during February to implement the decision of Stockholm arbitration under the contract for the purchase and sale of gas with Russia's Gazprom, head of the company Andriy Kobolev has told journalists.

"We've held several rounds of negotiations, we have the document that, according to our estimates, is very close to what will be signed, and we hope to implement this decision in part of the contract during this month," he said.

According to Kobolev, the signing of such a document will allow the company to implement plans for the resumption of gas imports under the contract with Gazprom from March.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at a meeting on Wednesday supported the decision to resume the work of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's office in Uzhgorod, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin has said.

"We backed the resumption of the work of the Foreign Ministry's representation in Uzhgorod at a government meeting," Klimkin wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

"If someone is ready to join and help, we are always happy," he added.

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, in turn, welcomed the decision by the Ukrainian government and noted that it gives a "positive signal" to citizens living in Zakarpattia region and for neighboring countries.

"A successful and constructive decision. I thank Pavlo Klimkin for the initiative. Such actions give a positive signal to citizens of Ukraine of different descent in Zakarpattia region and our partner neighbors," she wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.

According to the website of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry now has representative offices in Lviv and Odesa. The representative office in Odesa is entrusted with performing consular functions of the Simferopol representation.

A group of advisers of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry office in Lviv works on a permanent basis in Uzhgorod, however, previously there was a Foreign Ministry representation there. Earlier, the Foreign Ministry had its office in Donetsk, and it was also planned to open such representative offices in Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk.
2021 Fortuna Award Winners Series: The Multicultural Genealogical Society Escape Room Audio Article Editors Note: The Morgan Community Fund (MCF), in partnership with the Im A Child of Appalachia Fund, recently announced the winners of the 2021 Fortuna Awards. The MCF distributed a total of $20,000 across several businesses and community organizations in the area, to show appreciation for those who contribute greatly...

Morgan County Sheriffs Office Daily Call Reports Audio Article Editors Note: The following are initial incident reports from callers to a Morgan County Sheriffs Office Dispatcher. Any details, charges or situations may have been distorted by the caller, or perhaps may have been found to be different after the officer further investigated the incident. Sunday, June 13, 2021 ...

HINDSIGHT 2021 Audio Article 10 Years Ago (2011)  Despite being plagued with rain and mud resulting in dip in attendance from the previous year, the Morgan County Fair concluded with many successes. Jim Rex, longtime Fair Board member, and treasurer, said the 159th Fair had more 4-H exhibits than last year; goat, hog,...

Malta Council approves Don Larrick to fill empty council seat Audio Article RESOLUTION 21-24, to appoint Don Larrick to council was presented. A motion was made by Terry McGrath to adopt Resolution 21-24, seconded by Joe Williams. Roll call vote was all yeas. Councilman Larrick will finish out the term of Bryon Griffin, who resigned due to his move out of Malta....

United Way of MPM invest $447,881 to improve health, education, and financial stability of the community Audio Article United Way of Muskingum, Perry, and Morgan Counties (UWMPM) has committed $427,000 in community funding for 2021. UWMPM has announced their Phase Two funding. UWMPM will broaden the impact on the community by investing in initiatives that foster empowerment and independence for individuals and families during the Phase Two funding...

Morgan County Sheriffs Office Daily Call Reports Audio Article Editors Note: The following are initial incident reports from callers to a Morgan County Sheriffs Office Dispatcher. Any details, charges or situations may have been distorted by the caller, or perhaps may have been found to be different after the officer further investigated the incident. Thursday, June 17, 2021 ...
Poltorak says he has nothing to do with decision to withdraw forces from Crimea in March 2014

Ukraine's Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak, who in March 2014 was National Guard of Ukraine commander, has said he took no decisions at the March 23, 2014 National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) meeting regarding the withdrawal of forces from Crimea. Poltorak said at the time he was not even a member of the council.

"I don't know to what extent the protocol of testimony provided by former Ukrainian Armed Forces chief Ihor Teniukh corresponds with reality. In my opinion, Teniukh was so frightened at the time he did not understand where he was, who he was, and who was responsible for doing what. As far as ordering the pull out of Ukrainian forces from Crimea, I was the acting head of the National Guard, not a member of the council," Poltorak said on Wednesday in an interview with the 112.ua TV channel.

Earlier, lawyer of the disgraced former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Vitaliy Serdiuk, reportedly said in testimony that the decision to surrender Crimea to Russia was made on March 23, 2014.

"I don't know how I could have influenced the course of events. I was not authorized to decide these questions," Poltorak said.

Former acting Ukrainian Defense Minister (from February 27 through March 25, 2014) Admiral Ihor Teniukh in testimony during the state treason trial of disgraced ex-President Viktor Yanukovych has said the final decision on withdrawing Ukrainian troops from Crimea without resisting Russian invasion forces was made at a meeting of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on March 23, 2014.

"After navy headquarters was seized, the NSDC on March 23, 2014, reported the situation in Crimea and the results with the deployment of Ukraine's Armed Forces in the Shyroky Lan district. I forcefully argued to continue efforts to deploy into Crimea. In response, then Presidential Administration head Serhiy Pashynsky said the following: "Everything is clear with the Defense Ministry. It wants war. Let's listen to other members of the council." Next to speak was Stepan Poltorak, who was in charge of the National Guard of Ukraine. He said the following verbatim: "I recommend withdrawing our units from Crimea and holding our heads high," Teniukh said, according to excerpts of the protocol of his interview posted to the Facebook page of Yanukovych's lawyer, Vitaliy Serdiuk.

The protocol also contains testimony about the NSDC meeting on February 28, 2014, when ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and then acting Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk blocked proposals to use Ukrainian military forces to defend Crimea.

"After I broached the subject of deploying military forces, Tymoshenko strongly opposed the proposal, saying I did not understand the situation and that confrontation would provoke Russia and that it was necessary to look not only at Crimea but to keep the entire Ukraine in focus. Yatsenyuk supported Tymoshenko," Teniukh said, according to the protocol. Teniukh proposed reviewing military contingency plans, but no one at the meeting took him up on the offer.

"I told the heads of the Ukrainian SBU, military intelligence, General Staff and Interior Ministry that it was necessary to create a government commission, representatives from which should fly to Crimea and from there manage the processes taking place on the peninsula. In response, Yatsenyuk said it was a bad idea because these representatives would be arrested," Teniukh was quoted as saying.

Teniukh confirmed that he urged deploying Ukrainian military forces to the southern, northern and eastern Ukraine, but no one supported the proposals.

Serdiuk posted to his Facebook page part of the interview with Teniukh, but the dates of when the interview took place are not indicated.
iStock/Thinkstock(MINNEAPOLIS) -- A grand jury is meeting this week in the 2017 case of a Minneapolis police officer involved in the shooting death of Justine Damond.



Damond, 40, was shot and killed July 15, 2017, in the alley behind her Minneapolis home after she made a 911 call reporting a possible assault.



The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Mohamed Noor and fellow officer Matthew Harrity responded to Damond's call but never found any indication of a crime. The officers were then startled by a loud noise as Damond approached the driver's side of their vehicle. Noor, who was on the passenger side, fired his gun through the open driver's side window.



Minneapolis' police union president, Bob Kroll, said at least 30 police officers have been subpoenaed as part of the grand jury investigation. Kroll said those individuals are primarily Noor's trainers and academy teachers.



Officer Noor has never spoken publicly about the case and has declined to speak to investigators.



Damonds father, John Ruszczyk, who lives in Australia, said at a press conference in December that he was worried the investigation had been mishandled. "We are deeply concerned about the possibility that the initial investigation was not done properly," he said.



Ruszczyk's comments came just days after Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman was recorded on video saying that he didn't have enough evidence to charge Noor because investigators "haven't done their job." Freeman later issued an apology to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.



Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said he will still make the final decision on whether to file charges.



Freeman had previously brought a grand jury together in January to go over testimony and evidence in the case.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
On Friday, February 9, at 11.00, the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency's press center will host a press conference entitled "Supreme Court Defends Pension Rights of IDPs. Will this Finish the Conflicting jurisprudence?" The participants will incluse Deputy Representative at UNHCR Ukraine Noel Calhoun, Ukrainian MP Natalia Veselova, Legal Assistance Coordinator for the 'Right to Protection' Yulia Tralo, Senior Strategic Lawyer of the Foundation Right to Defense Oleh Tarasenko, discussion moderator - advocacy coordinator from 'Right to Protection' Daryna Tolkach (8/5a Reitarska Street). Registration requires press accreditation. Details by phone: (093) 025 6388 or at: a.lysenko@r2p.org.ua (Anton Lysenko).
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"Our findings are consistent with previous studies showing an association between the legalization of medical marijuana and lower deaths from overdoses of opioids," said Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, co-author of the study and co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research Center."However, our findings show that the mechanism for this was loosely regulated medical marijuana dispensaries, and that the association between these laws and opioid mortality has declined over time as state laws have more tightly regulated medical dispensaries and the opioid crisis shifted from prescription opioids to heroin and fentanyl," Pacula said. "This is a sign that medical marijuana, by itself, will not be the solution to the nation's opioid crisis today."The study was published online by the Journal of Health Economics.Researchers from RAND and the University of California, Irvine analyzed information about treatment admissions for addiction to pain medications from 1999 to 2012 and state-level overdose deaths from opioids from 1999 to 2013. They also identified state laws legalizing medical marijuana, examining provisions such as whether the regulations made marijuana easily accessible to patients by allowing dispensaries.When the researchers narrowly focused on the time period from 1999 to 2010 and replicated a model used by other researchers, they obtained results similar to those previously published, showing an approximately 20 percent decline in opioid overdose deaths associated with the passage of any state medical marijuana law. However, these general findings were driven by states that had laws allowing for loosely regulated marijuana dispensary systems.When researchers extended their analysis through 2013, they found that the association between having any medical marijuana law and lower rates of opioid deaths completely disappeared. Moreover, the association between states with medical marijuana dispensaries and opioid mortality fell substantially as well.The researchers provide two explanations for the decline in the association between medical marijuana dispensaries and opioid harm. First, states that more recently adopted laws with medical marijuana dispensaries more tightly regulated them, in response to a U.S. Justice Department memo saying it would not challenge state-level medical marijuana laws so long as dispensary sales were in full compliance with state regulations. Second, beginning in 2010, the primary driver of the opioid crisis and related deaths became illicit opioids, mainly heroin and then fentanyl, not prescription opioids.The study also found no evidence that states with medical marijuana laws experience reductions in the volume of legally distributed opioid analgesics used to treat pain. Even if medical marijuana patients were substituting medical marijuana for opioids in medical marijuana states, these patients did not represent a measurable part of the medical opioid analgesic market."While our study finds that medical marijuana dispensaries reduce some of the harms associated with the misuse of opioids, there is little evidence that this is happening because a large number of patients suffering from pain are using marijuana instead of opioid medications," Pacula said. "Either the patients are continuing to use their opioid pain medications in addition to marijuana, or this patient group represents a small share of the overall medical opioid using population."The RAND study was conducted before any any states had begun to allow retail sales of recreational marijuana."Our research suggests that the overall story between medical marijuana and opioid deaths is complicated," Pacula said. "Before we embrace marijuana as a strategy to combat the opioid epidemic, we need to fully understand the mechanism through which these laws may be helping and see if that mechanism still matters in today's changing opioid crisis."Source: Eurekalert
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Omar was initially evaluated on the basis of a CT scan that revealed a large mass in his abdomen along with compression of urinary bladder and extending to the anterior abdominal wall up to the umbilicus level.He had another large mass in the left lobe of his liver, occupying nearly the whole of the left upper abdominal area. Biopsy revealed a rectal tumour.Vivek Mangla, Consultant Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Surgeon, said only about five per cent of all cases of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) occur in the rectum.The surgery was planned after targeted therapy for three months failed to achieve the desired results.The patient underwent resection of both lesions successfully on January 31, which lasted for seven hours without any blood transfusion.Emphasising that tumours in rectal GIST usually are smaller than five cm in size, Mangla said in case of Omar, the size of the tumour was nearly five times bigger."The management of large tumours of the rectum is particularly challenging. These tumours tend to be very vascular and surgery entails risk of major blood loss. There was very limited working space as most was occupied by the tumour," he added.Source: IANS
A banquet was held by the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia on February 6, attracting representatives from among the Vietnamese businesses and students in the country, the Association of Vietnamese-Cambodian people, and some Vietnamese provinces bordering Cambodia.

Addressing the event, Ambassador Vu Quang Minh noted Vietnams achievements last year, adding that 2017 was a year of significant diplomatic successes, especially the hosting of the APEC Summit, which exalted the stature of the country.

On February 5, nearly 200 Vietnamese students of the University of the West of England, located in the UK city of Bristol, and their international peers from nearby universities also gathered for a programme of celebrations for Tet.

The event is an annual occurrence and featured numerous activities, including plays, musical performances, and a fashion show.
Business has been good for Chinas northernmost post office in Beiji Village, Heilongjiang province, thanks to the winter tourism boom.

Beiji Village, a tourism attraction at the northernmost tip of China, attracts a huge number of tourists each January and February. The post office, with only 8 employees, has to mail 4,000 to 5,000 items a day during the busy tourist season.
The Falcon Heavy successfully lifted off on Tuesday afternoon. ((Daily Mail Online Photo)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The private U.S. space flight company SpaceX on Tuesday launched the world's most powerful operational rocket into space in a much-hyped demonstration mission deemed to have the potential to bring a revolution in the space industry.

The Falcon Heavy blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. State of Florida at 3:45 p.m. EST (2145 GMT), carrying something just for fun: a red Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

So far, everything has gone as planned, with the rocket's two side boosters landing simultaneously back on ground about eight minutes after liftoff.

Eventually, the rocket's second stage will try to place the Roadster, playing David Bowie's Space Oddity, into a Mars-adjacent orbit.

"We estimate it'll be in that orbit for several hundred million years, maybe even in excess of a billion years," Musk told reporters during a media call.

LOW EXPECTATIONS

The tech billionaire has repeatedly played down expectations for the launch, saying that the mission might end in explosion.

"This is a test mission as I said there's so much that can go wrong, so we don't want to set expectations of perfection," he said.

"I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesn't blow the pad to smithereens."

Musk admitted that there's a chance that the rocket's second stage might not make it out of low-Earth orbit.

That's because it will "coast" for six hours through the Van Allen radiation belt, where it may "get whacked pretty hard," he said.

After leaving Earth, the Roadster and its passenger 'Starman' are now off to travel alone on a 250 million mile (400m km) journey into deep space, propelled by the main module, which separated from the Falcon Heavy shortly after launch. (Daily Mail Online Photo)

DOUBLING LIFT CAPACITY

The Falcon Heavy is essentially three of the company's Falcon 9 rockets bolted together.

With a total of 27 Merlin engines, it's capable of generating "more than 5 million pounds (2.3 million kg) of thrust at liftoff, equal to about eighteen 747 aircraft," according to SpaceX.

Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit.

The rocket will be able to lift 64 tons into orbit, doubling the lift capacity of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost, the company said.

Jason Davis of the Planetary Society hailed the demo flight as "a huge deal, even for a spaceflight company that routinely accomplishes huge deals."

"An operational Falcon Heavy will make SpaceX the proud owner of the most powerful rocket system since the Saturn V, and opens up yet another corner of the launch industry to serious competition," he wrote in a blog article.

Eric Stallmer, president of the U.S. Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said the successful launch "represents a momentous milestone for SpaceX and the commercial space industry, as the first heavy lift launch vehicle developed and launched with fully private funding."

"As we look forward to all that 2018 holds for the U.S. commercial space industry, this is an exciting way to kick off the new year," Stallmer said in a statement.

GAME OVER FOR COMPETITORS

For this test flight, Falcon Heavy's two side boosters are both "flight-proven." One launched the Thaicom 8 satellite in May 2016 and the other supported the International Space Station mission in July 2016.

In order to bring reusability to a whole new level, SpaceX tried to recover all three of Falcon Heavy's first stages during the test.

A livestream showed that the two side boosters have successfully landed back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The fate of the middle one, which was set to land on a drone ship floating in the Atlantic Ocean, was unclear, because the video signal from the drone ship was lost.

Rocket reusability could significantly bring down the cost of launching Falcon Heavy, thus attracting potential customers.

"We're able to offer arguably super-heavy-lift, or nearly super-heavy-lift capability, for not much more than a Falcon 9," said Musk.

"If we're successful in this, it is game over for all the other heavy-lift rockets."
Sedan used to carry nations leaders gears up to go global

The defense minister of Belarus, Andrei Ravkov (right front) rides in a Hongqi sedan, during a military parade in capital Minsk marking Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus on June 3, 2017. Photo: IC

Renowned as the iconic vehicle used by the country's leaders on important national events, the Hongqi sedan is about to go global.

After completing a four-day business trip to Germany and Spain, Zhang Ming, director of Hongqi Design, announced that the First Automobile Works (FAW) will set up research and development centers in Europe.

"Hongqi is finding the most outstanding design resources around the world to make the historic sedan brand international," Zhang told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

"We will focus on electric vehicle design in the future."

FAW Group will introduce 17 models, mostly electric, by 2025. Its Hongqi subsidiary will roll out its first electric model this year and by 2025, it will have introduced another 14 electric cars.

His creative design team will apply Chinese aesthetics of symmetry to the new models.

The iconic waterfall-like grille and the vertical tail lamp were modern design concepts, Zhang explained.

"We accept ideas from around the world, but the Chinese will make the final decision," Zhang said. "Hongqi must have a distinctive and recognizable shape."

Perfect mix

The new cars will continue the Chinese tradition of the early models. "But the final version should be a perfect mixture of Chinese elements and advanced technology," Zhang said.

Jia Yanliang, 78, designed the shape and interior of its classic CA770 model in 1964.

The sedan's logo featured Chairman Mao Zedong's calligraphy and a red flag.

During the design work in 1964, the designers expected the CA770 to keep the style for 10 years. "It had a sporty shape," Jia said. The red flag logo reflected movement.

Jia lowered the waist line, or belt line, 80 millimeters on the body of the CA770 and enlarged the windows.

He was inspired by the lines and edges of Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) furniture. "Chinese tradition is a rich source of inspiration for auto designers," he said. "It's very easy to distinguish the Hongqi from other sedans."

Jia's design was chosen from six drafts in total.

"We sought advice from the drivers of state leaders," Jia said. "And they gave their opinions according to the leaders' requirements."

The CA770 is considered to be the first independently researched and developed China-made sedan.

"It had no imported parts, not even screws," Jia said, describing a major feat for an underdeveloped country at that time.

The CA770's predecessor, the CA72, applied the lines of the window edges of the Forbidden City, Chinese moire, and a folding fan.

"But it was like a Chrysler with Chinese elements," Jia said.

Established in 1953 and headquartered in the northeastern Chinese city of Changchun, FAW has other brands, including Jiefang and Besturn. It also has joint ventures with major foreign car-makers such as Volkswagen and Toyota.

Jia recalled how the government assigned the task of manufacturing a domestically made sedan to FAW in 1958 and named it Hongqi to mark the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

At that time, experts from the Soviet Union took with them the design sheets, and Marshal Chen Yi gave a Mercedes-Benz Pullman to FAW for research.

"This showed the country's great expectations of domestically made cars," Jia said.

The CA77X range has been used as the National Day parade sedan and the vehicle for state guests ever since.

Hongqi is now the official sedan supplier of China's embassies and consulates abroad.

"It has always been our responsibility to serve the government," said Zhang Ming.

Market expansion

Aiming for the middle and high end market, Hongqi's appearance at government and diplomatic events has enhanced its brand, said Cui Shudong, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association.

Cui pointed out that Hongqi should also improve its research and development ability, and not just its branding.

"It could have a market share of 60,000 to 100,000 sales a year," Cui said.

He suggested Hongqi focus on B-Class vehicles, which can cost 200,000 to 300,000 yuan (about $31,200 to $46,800). "In China, B-Class vehicles cover business and family use."

Now, Hongqi has introduced a range of new models for the passenger car market. It has an annual sales target of 100,000 units by 2020, 300,000 units by 2025 and 500,000 units by 2035.
Mercedes-Benz in China apologized Tuesday for its parent company quoting the Dalai Lama in an "extremely wrong message" via an Instagram social media post.

"We are fully aware that the post deeply hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, including our Chinese colleagues and we would like to extend the sincerest apology," the company said in a statement released via its Sina Weibo social media account on Tuesday.

The Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Company said it will deepen understanding of Chinese culture and values among its staff, including overseas staff.

The apology came after a post on Mercedes-Benz's Instagram account showed a luxury vehicle and quoted the Dalai Lama saying "Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open."

China considers Tibet a core interest of the country and sees the Dalai Lama as a separatist.

The post, liked more than 89,714 times before being deleted, irritated some Chinese who wrote online that Mercedes-Benz should be blocked from the Chinese market.

"Some foreign companies are not as sensitive as their Chinese clients over the issue of the Dalai Lama and they should be warned once such an incident occurs," Sina Weibo user Wenxin7707 posted. "It's also for their own interest in China."
UK to gain foothold in Xiongan with a financial technology hub following Mays China visit

08:49, February 07, 2018 Global Times

Chinese scholar urges UK to bring superior tech, high value-added programs to Xiongan

 Beijing's brainchild, Xiongan New Area, sees Sino-UK partnership

 Sino-British projects are expected to thrive in post-Brexitera

 As Trump's America first strategy pushes England away, China embraces British cooperation

A sculpture in Xiongan, Hebei Province. Photo: VCG

UK Prime Minister Theresa May recently completed her three-day visit to China with large business deals and mixed reactions from the East and West.

She unexpectedly announced plans to co-fund a technology center in China, but shied away from officially endorsing the Belt and Roadinitiative.

Among the many deals that were finalized during her trip, arguably the most notable was that China and the UK will jointly set up a new financial technology hub in Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province.

Established in 2017, Xiongan New Area, about 100 kilometers from Beijing, was selected by China's leadership to serve as a center for Beijing's "non-capital functions." It is described as "a strategy crucial for the millennium to come."

In February of 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a "world vision, international standards, Chinese characteristics and high goals" in the planning and construction of Xiongan New Area, Xinhua reported.

Zhao Junjie, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that it was "wise" for the UK to choose Xiongan as a "foothold" to deepen Sino-British cooperation, as there is enough room for all in Xiongan.

Participating in a Sino-British finance and technology relationship with Xiongan may help Britain curry favor with the Chinese government in a post-Brexit era, which is exactly when the UK will desperately need to develop new partnerships with strong economies outside of Europe.

Post-Brexit blues

May brought with her to China a delegation of 50 business executives, the largest that her government has ever taken overseas.

But experts point out that while the UK government remains "pragmatic," pressure from its Western allies and a complicated domestic political situation may overshadow bilateral relationships with China.

May said at the China-UK Business Forum in Shanghai that "The UK is preparing to leave the European Union. We're seizing the opportunity to become an ever-more outward-looking Global Britain, deepening our trade relations with nations around the world - including China."

The UK's domestic situation has been gloomy at best following the Brexit vote. The Financial Times reported that the outcome of the referendum on EU membership in June of 2016 has had a "depressive effect" on the UK, which is likely to continue into 2018 and thereafter.

Zhao said that China and the UK complement each other's economies and that China will become a strong partner to help Britain out of its post-Brexit economic problems. "Now the UK has a higher demand from us than what we want from them," he said.

"The UK should show us its sincerity and bring its superior technology and high value-added programs to Xiongan. We don't need to usher in ordinary programs," he said.

"Britain should make best use of its advantages in technology, innovation and finance in Xiongan and convert them into money and real benefits for its country," he added.

Zhang Jianping, a research fellow with a center under the Ministry of Commerce, told the Beijing Business Today that the China-UK financial technology hub is the only large-scale cooperation program in Xiongan that has been achieved during recent foreign leaders' visits to China.

Zhao said that Britain should use its financial position to bring investment from other countries to China and introduce its advanced programs, including eco-cities, green energy and agriculture, to Xiongan as well as encourage more European talents to work here.

He noted that, during this process, the British government ought to change their old mindset of "not intervening in company operations" but rather pave the way for them to come to Xiongan.

"For instance, the UK government can give its small- and medium-sized companies some preferential policies to attract them to invest in Xiongan. Also, it can learn from the German government by setting up services centers in China to help these companies," he said.

Shrug off the chill

According to the Bank of China website, the bank has signed a strategic partnership with British property company Canary Wharf Group and Xiongan Construction Investment Group. The parties will work together to build an "international-standard" financial technology center. Canary Wharf Group transformed Docklands into a world-leading international hub in London.

An opinion piece published on Xiakedao, a popular WeChat account supervised by the People's Daily, said that, despite the fact that May was the very first foreign leader that Trump met with after taking office and that the US views Britain as a "natural ally," Trump's advocacy of an "America first" strategy is causing the once-strong UK-US relationship to become fragile.

Meanwhile, as May wrote in the Financial Times, China "is creating new markets for a vast range of products, from milk to motorcycles to the latest innovative technology" for the UK.

Chinese people too have noticed May's attempt to please China, including wearing red clothes and scarf during her visit. On her Sina Weibo account "UK Prime Minister," May made nine posts in Chinese with photos or videos about her three-day visit.

One post, which received 22,000 comments, was of photos showing May, wearing a red scarf, and her husband touring the Palace Museum in Beijing. Netizens expressed their concern that she "was cold" and urged her to "put on more clothes to shrug off the chill."

Qu Bing, an associate professor at the Institute of European Studies, China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said that May's trip met her expectations. Speaking in Shanghai, May confirmed this by saying that the past few days in China had been "fascinating and productive."

Its own pride

Some Western media outlets were upset that May had failed to keep her pledge to discuss the Hong Kong situation and human rights issues while in China.

"The UK government is pragmatic. They won't sacrifice the real benefits only to talk about human rights," said Zhao. "It's understandable that the British government is facing such pressure from its people to emphasize its values and is forced to state its position. But this is meaningless, and the government should be more down-to-earth."

"China has a different situation from Western countries. What we hold is a way of Chinese characteristics. Their values don't fit in our country," Zhao added.

While China has high expectations for the Belt and Road (B&R) initiative, May did not sign a memorandum of understanding or a formal endorsement of the initiative. Qu noted to the Global Times this may have been because she is "suffering pressure from UK's allies, including the US, who don't want her to actively join the B&R."

Despite China's rising influence in the UK, Britain still considers the US its most important partner. "It will find a balance," he said.

Zhao said May's government is "weak" and that, in the Western political world where populists now reign, the B&R initiative is still a sensitive subject.

The UK is an old capitalist country and has its own pride, which holds it back from giving an immediate response to China's initiative as some other small countries have, he added.

"But in the future, both sides will cooperate in this," he said.

Qu said that, after Brexit there will be a long period of uncertainty in the UK's many bilateral relationships.

"There will be many changes in Britain's policy and overall environment after Brexit. We need to wait to see what kind of effects it will have to decide what kind of future cooperation we should have," he said.

Zhao is more optimistic about Brexit, which he said will bring more opportunities to the UK and to China. "Now the two countries' cooperation still has many restraints under the larger EU framework. But after Brexit, there will be more flexibility for both sides to negotiate and cooperate."
OLD SAYBROOK  The Acton Public Library, 60 Old Boston Post Road Old Saybrook, welcomes guest artist Daniel Dahlstrom of Chester.

Dahlstrom says he takes his inspiration from the beauty of our Connecticut landscape. His works can be seen at the Waters Edge Resort and the Riverhouse at Goodspeed Station, as well as in numerous private collections.

Dahlstrom will conduct a painting demonstration at the library on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 10:30 a.m. This exhibit of his work may be seen in the library gallery and the Grady Thomas program room (call for availability) through Feb. 28.

For further information, call 860-395-3184, or visit the library during regular hours: Monday through Thursday 10 - 8, Friday and Saturday 10 - 5, and Sunday 15.
On a snowy Saturday morning in January, Selvin, 13, and his mother were in the basement of the First and Summerfield United Methodist Church in New Haven, to support a friend in sanctuary . As they sat there, the boy tried to push away thoughts of how it would be when ICE came to take away his own mother, who is also under a deportation order.

Im going to be alone with my little brother and my dad, Selvin said. Sometimes I feel I dont want to talk to anybody. I just go to my room, lock the door, and I feel depressed.

Selvin  whose family asked that his last name be withheld  is among thousands of immigrant children in Connecticut and nationally feeling the effects of prolonged stress, which can become so toxic it can damage the developing brain. Toxic stress can set a child up for depression, as well as alcoholism, heart disease and diabetes in adulthood, Harvard University research shows.

A Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation study last December reported the long-term effects of toxic stress for immigrant children include poorer health, compromised growth and development, and increased social and environmental challenges that can affect health.

Connecticut mental health organizations say their phones have been ringing off the hook since President Donald Trump issued an executive order on immigration, authorizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally.

The offices of U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, Both D-Conn., are inundated with calls from panicked undocumented parents, their spokespeople say.

The Trump Administration seeks to change immigration policy in part because the current immigration system jeopardizes Americas national security and public safety, according to whitehouse.gov.

Carolina Bortolleto of Connecticut Students for a Dream estimates that there are about 10,000 dreamers statewide - undocumented immigrants, who arrived in the U.S. as children. Also, about 22,000 U.S. citizen-children of undocumented parents live in Connecticut. If their parents were deported and the children entered foster care, the cost to the state would be an estimated $630 million.

But experts say thats a drop in the bucket compared to long-term health care costs.

If these parents leave, those kids are going to need mental health services, potentially special education later on, and remedial health services; it will cost the state well over $1 billion in just health care, said Dr. Darcy Lowell, founder and CEO at Trumbull-headquartered Child First. The organization, which has 15 affiliate sites in Connecticut, specializes in treatment of children who suffer from toxic stress.

When Child First fielded a call late last year from an undocumented immigrant mother of a 3-year-old, mental health officers made a house visit. They found that the child was behaving aggressively toward her classmates and had intense bouts of crying.

Clinicians found that the toddler was experiencing symptoms of toxic stress. The child had witnessed domestic violence and was struggling to cope with the sudden absence of her father from their lives. Now, she was facing a new stressor: her mothers anxiety over deportation.

Experts say that treating only the child will not mitigate toxic stress. Its important to reduce the mothers stress as much as possible, and to try to create a more stable and secure home environment.

So, Child First social workers accompanied the mother to an immigration attorney, arranged legal guardianship for her children and made a safety plan to protect them from her abusive former partner after she is eventually deported. The team then engaged the mother in counseling, and clinicians met with the teachers and the mother together.

Child Firsts approach is not the standard form of treatment, but research indicates that perhaps it should be. Early intervention can help, but only if parents learn to manage their own anxiety first. We do that by decreasing the stressors in the life of the family, said Lowell.

Still, social workers can only do so much given the new immigration environment.

The United States should have immigration policies that support keeping families together rather than tearing them apart, said U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3. Yet, it has been reported that ICE officials are waiting in school parking lots, early childhood learning centers, and offices where families access social safety net services in order to question or even detain people who may be undocumented.

Dr. Catherine Wiley, medical director of primary care services at Connecticut Childrens Medical Center in Hartford, said that since the presidential election, pediatricians at the practices that she oversees have reported an increase in the number of teenagers coming in with insomnia, crying and chest pain.

We sent one child who was having chest pain to the emergency room, and it turned out that it was tremendous anxiety over the possible deportation of a parent, she said.

Were seeing a lot of anxiety and fear; every provider has said that they are experiencing this daily.

The anxiety runs so deep that Clifford Beers Clinic, which serves 10 public schools in New Haven, recently included deportation in its screening questionnaire for trauma, said Kim Jewers-Dailley, director of Trauma-Informed Schools/New Haven Trauma Coalition.

But not all children are receiving the help they need.

Pediatricians are reporting that they cant screen and refer children who are experiencing toxic stress because they cant get them into their practices right now, said Kimberly Martini-Carvell, executive director at Help Me Grow National Center at CCMC. Parents are not bringing their children due to fear of being engaged within the system. You can only imagine how that fear is permeating to the child.

Selvin said he doesnt like to talk about his anxiety. The family had gathered in the New Haven church in a show of support for Nelson Pinos Gonzalez, a 43-year-old Ecuadorian national who took refuge there in November in defiance of deportation orders. Gonzalez was cooking a lunch of pupusas to raise money for his wife and their three children.

Selvins mom, Paulina Lopez, 32, had fled conflict and violence in Guatemala, riding The Beast, a series of freight trains across Mexico, to enter the U.S. four years ago. It took a month to get here, she said through a translator. I had Selvin and zero money with me. Lopez found work in a plant shop and married a landscaper from Ecuador.

My hope was to build a better life in America.

Sujata Srinivasan is a Connecticut Health I-Team writer. This story was reported under a partnership with CHIT (c-hit.org).
CROMWELL  Two 31-year-old men are charged with seven felony counts each after they allegedly infected an ATM with a virus and stole an unknown amount of cash from Citizens Bank on Shunpike Road over the weekend.

The pair were caught after Citizens Bank security officials contacted the Cromwell Police Department about a malfunctioning drive-up ATM camera at 61 Shunpike Road at 5:05 p.m Saturday, according to a release from Police Chief Denise Lamontagne.

When officers arrived, they stopped two people who were driving away from the cash machine in a white Honda Accord. A registration check on the Massachusetts license plate on the vehicle showed it did not match the Honda, authorities said.

The drive-up ATM began dispensing money  forty $20 bills  on its own as officers interviewed the driver and passenger, Lamontagne said in the release. The suspects also possessed more than $9,000 in $20 bills, according to federal agents.

Working in conjunction with the Connecticut Financial Crimes Task Force, the Greenwich Police Department and U.S. Secret Service, authorities arrested the occupants of the Accord: Alex Alberto Fajin-Diaz, of Venezuela; and Argenys R. Rodriguez, of Springfield, Massachusetts, both 31.

Each is charged with: third-degree larceny, conspiracy to commit third-degree larceny, first-degree attempt to commit larceny, first-degree attempt to commit a computer crime, third-degree conspiracy to commit a computer crime, unauthorized use of a computer, fraudulent use of an ATM and misuse of registration plates. The first seven charges are felonies.

The investigation determined that a different person entered the ATM and infected it with malware, which caused the machine to dispense money, the chief said. Additional arrests are possible as the investigation is still ongoing, police said.

The two men were allegedly taking the money being dispensed, a crime known as jackpotting  a worldwide problem, Lamontagne said in the statement.

The malware causes an ATM to eject all of the currency in a cash machine, according to federal authorities. As part of the scheme, individuals dressed as legitimate repair technicians install malware on an ATM. Others then take all of the cash from the ATM.

Rodriguez is being held in lieu of a $350,000 bail and Fajin-Diaz is being held in lieu of $750,000 bail. Both are due back in Superior Court in Middletown on Feb. 13.

The men are also charged with federal bank fraud, according to a release from the U.S. attorneys office.

According to court documents and statements made in court, law enforcement agencies and ATM manufacturers have been investigating malware attacks on ATM machines in Connecticut and elsewhere. Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have been investigating recent jackpotting attacks on ATMs in Hamden and Guilford, as well as Providence, Rhode Island.

The federal bank fraud charge carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.
A book that alleges widespread Chinese interference in Australia will be released next month after it was acquired by a new publisher, according to reports.

Silent Invasion: Chinas Influence in Australia, was written by Clive Hamilton, a prominent professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University in Canberra, Australia.

Hamilton said three publishers had declined to take on his book for fear of China retaliation. However, Hardie Grant Books, a leading Australian independent book publisher, has reportedly acquired the rights and plans to publish the book in Australia in March.

In response, Chinas foreign ministry said that it has made its position clear on the irresponsible remarks in relation to China by certain people in Australia time and again.

Australia should abandon its Cold War mentality and ideological bias, stop making irresponsible remarks, and work with China to promote the sound and steady development of China-Australia relations on the basis of mutual trust, equality, and mutual benefit, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang said at the regular press conference on Tuesday, Feb. 6.

China has repeatedly rejected assertions that it has attempted to influence and infiltrate Australia. In December last year, the Chinese Embassy in Australia accused the country of typical anti-China hysteria and paranoia.

China has no intention to interfere in Australias internal affairs or exert influence on its political process through political donations, the statement said. We urge the Australian side to look at China and China-Australia relations in an objective, fair and rational manner.
For many foreigners who have visited or worked in China, one of their strong impressions is that the country is very safe. Here, you can go out alone late at night to eat at a food stand without feeling nervous. You can also let your younger children ride public transport all by themselves without worrying about their safety.

This year, 2018, marks the 40th anniversary of the launching of the reform and opening up policy in China. Over the past four decades, the country has achieved fast economic growth, while social peace and stability have been maintained to the fullest extent at the lowest cost. Of course, there are still unsolved problems. However, from the overall perspective, Chinese society remains harmonious and safe. In my eyes, this should be attributed largely to the cultural, economic and political environment of the country.

China has a time-honored civilization, spanning some 5,000 years and continuing uninterrupted to this day. As a result, Chinese people share a strong sense of belonging to their motherland in which they have great pride. In the Chinese language, country, or guo jia, contains two characters. While the first word guo () literally means country, the second word jia () means home or family. In the eyes of the Chinese people, the country is like one big family. Its because of this strong sense of belonging that Chinese society remains so cohesive.

As an ancient Chinese saying goes, when granaries are full, people will know propriety and moderation. A society can be stable and orderly only when its people can lead a prosperous life. After the introduction of the reform and opening up policy in 1978, China achieved fast economic growth and significant scientific and technological progress. It has become the worlds second largest economy, with its per-capita GDP has doubled and redoubled many times over the four decades. In the meantime, the Chinese government has taken various measures such as those to fight corruption, reduce poverty and promote the rule of law, in order to uphold social equity. Thanks to these efforts, the potential factors that might destabilize society have been greatly reduced.

Apart from government departments including the police and judicial departments, the general public also contributes much to social governance. Xicheng Dama is an outstanding example. Wearing red vests and caps, middle-aged and elderly female volunteers in Beijings Xicheng District act in various capacities - patrols, cleaners and parking lot attendants - to ensure a clean, safe and harmonious environment. Another example is the concept of the Chaoyang Resident, which helps police investigate swindling activities, celebrities involvement in drugs and other cases.

The development of information technology has created new ways of linking the police and the public. For example, the Public Security Bureau of Beijings Chaoyang District launched Chaoyang Resident HD, a mobile app designed to collect tip-offs from the public. By jointly combating crimes in such ways, the public and the police have developed an ever-increasing level of mutual trust and positive interaction.

The safety and stability in China did not come easily. Rather, it should be attributed to the efforts made by 1.3 billion people to pursue fairness and justice under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government. For both Chinese and foreigners living in the country, the sense of safety and security is very precious.
YPSILANTI, MI - A support services company is reporting close to 400 layoffs across Michigan as a result of an account closure with General Motors Co.

Compass Group said 396 workers would permanently lose their jobs effective April 1 because of the account closure by the automaker. Compass Group is a multinational contract company that provides food service and support services.

In a letter dated Jan. 31 to Michigan's Workforce Development Agency, the company alerted the state to layoffs that include the following locations: Warren, Belleville, Romulus, Ypsilanti, Waterford, Pontiac, Lake Orion, Swartz Creek, Grand Blanc, Burton and Lansing.

"Based on the information available at this time, we believe this action will be permanent," the letter said. "Compass Group will cease operations at the location(s) noted above effective April 1, 2018."

The letter was submitted to the state as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. It is unclear whether the layoffs are related to facility closures or contract changes.

The 396 positions include 29 housekeepers, 10 hourly integrations employees and 357 janitors.

According to Compass Group, the employees do not have bumping rights available, and the company does not offer ways to transfer or be reassigned to other personnel positions. Some employees are represented by the United Auto Workers labor union.

There are 424 open positions in Michigan posted on the Compass Group's website.

The company assists some companies like Restaurant Associates and Wolfgang Puck Catering with hiring kitchen and wait staff; it also partners with brands such as Chick-fil-A, Einstein Bro's Bagels and Dunkin' Donuts.
John Gonzalez | gonzo@mlive.com

By JOHN D. GONZALEZ and AMY SHERMAN | @mlive.com

Oh we have some great races in our search for Michigan's Best Bakery!

Since Monday morning we have received nearly 12,000 votes in our 11 regional polls throughout the state of Michigan.

Many of the races are so close that anyone could win. Others are just a given.

The voting deadline is noon Friday, Feb. 9, 2018.

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As you already know.....we are looking for the best overall bakery that does it all!

From doughnuts and pastries to breads and cakes, we want a great overall experience.

Our Michigan's Best Team (that's us, John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman) will begin our visits on Monday, Feb. 12, 2018.

But right now we need you to vote!

(You can vote in all of our polls, including making multiple selections in each poll; you can vote every three hours. VOTE HERE.)

We will visit the 11 poll winners, and -- as we do on all of our searches -- we will pick other finalists throughout the state. We select other finalists by passionate pleas from readers and our own personal experiences.

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Scroll down to find the regional poll leaders. The results are listed in this order:

Detroit metro area

Grand Rapids

Kalamazoo

Muskegon and the lakeshore

Flint and the Thumb region

Saginaw and the Bay City region

Ann Arbor

Jackson

Upper Peninsula

Northern lower Peninsula

Lansing

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Metro Detroit Area

*As of 8 a.m. Feb. 7

1. Milford Baking Company-Milford (12.51%)

2. Ackroyd's Scottish Bakery-Redford (9.34)%

3. The Home Bakery-Rochester (8.19%)

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Grand Rapids area

*As of 8 a.m. Feb. 7

1. Ida's Pastry Shoppe-Jenison (21.41%)

2. Sugar Momma's Bakery and Cafe-Cascade (10.95%)

3. Nantucket Bakery-Grand Rapids (10.51%)

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Kalamazoo area

*As of 8:07 a.m. Feb. 7.

1. Sweetwaters Donut Mill-Kalamazoo (31.77%)

2. The Victorian Bakery-Kalamazoo (14.59%)

3. Boonzaaijer Bakery-Kalamazoo (11.51%)

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Muskegon and Lakeshore area

*As of 8:05 a.m.

1. The Cake Flour- Muskegon Farmers Market (25.74%)

2. Village Baker-Spring Lake (22.07%)

3. Ryke's Bakery -Muskegon (10.06%)

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Flint and Thumb area

*As of 8:20 a.m. Feb. 7.

1. Crust-Fenton (31.97%)

2. Marcella's Market Fresh Bakery-Flushing (11.82%)

3. The Brough Bakery-Clio (10.36%

3. Zehnder's-Frankenmuth (10.36%)

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Saginaw and Bay City Region

*As of 8:22 a.m. Feb. 7.

1. Butter Crust Bakery-Bridgeport (25.3%)

2. Petit 4 Pastry-Essexville (24.11%)

3. Patisserie-Saginaw (16.47%)

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Ann Arbor area

*As of 8:25 a.m. Feb. 7

1. Zingerman's Bakehouse-Ann Arbor (35.08%)

2. Dom Bakery-Ypsilanti (14.7%)

3. Dexter Bakery-Dexter (10.92%)

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Jackson area

*As of 8:27 a.m. Feb. 7

1. Hinkley Bakery-Jackson (34.03%)

2. Louie's Bakery-Marshall (30.51%)

3. Lev's Bakery-Tecumseh (10.06%)

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Upper Peninsula

*As of 8:35 a.m. Feb. 7

1. Hilltop-L'Anse (27.19%)

2. Huron Mountain Bakery-Marquette, Ishpeming (25.3%)

3. Marquette Baking Company-Marquette (12.29%)

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Northern Lower Peninsula

*As of 8:31 a.m. Feb. 7.

1. The Baklava Shop-Atlanta (19.77%)

2. The Bakers Dozen of Mid Michigan-St. Louis (11.03%)

3. Cops & Donuts-Clare, Ludington (10.01%)

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Lansing area

*As of 8:38 a.m. Feb. 7.

1. Flour Child Bakery-Grand Ledge (55.59%)

2. Mitten Raised Bakery-Okemos (11.4%)

3. Sweetie-Licious-DeWitt (6.36%)

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Julie Hoogland | jhoogland@mlive.com

You can connect with the Michigan's Best team on social media and through email.

John Gonzalez is at gonzo@mlive.com

Amy Sherman is at asherma2@mlive.com

Amy Sherman on Twitter @amyonthetrail, as well as Facebook and Instagram @amyonthetrail.

John Gonzalez on Twitter @michigangonzo, as well as Facebook and Instagram @MichiganGonzo.

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ANN ARBOR, MI - When Ann Arbor voters cast their ballots in elections later this year, some may go to new places to vote.

The City Council voted unanimously Monday night, Feb. 5, to approve some new polling locations, including some for entirely new voting precincts created by the city's Election Commission. The city clerk's office intends to notify affected voters of the changes.

The city's Election Commission established four new voting precincts to address what the city clerk describes as long lines and increased voter turnout in November even-year elections.

The new precincts are:

1-11, Logan Elementary School, 2685 Traver Blvd.

1-12, Michigan Union, 530 S. State St.

3-10, Tappan Middle School, 2251 E. Stadium Blvd.

5-12, Forsythe Middle School, 1655 Newport

See maps of the newly approve precincts and polling places in the image gallery above.

Additionally, the city is permanently relocating the polling place for precinct 1-9 from Clague Middle School to Logan Elementary, located at 2685 Traver Blvd., for all future city elections.

In the past, precinct 1-9 shared a location with precinct 2-6 at Clague, but due to the precinct expansion, a new precinct 1-11 has been created at Logan Elementary. To allow for consolidated precincts in local elections, the clerk's office proposed moving precinct 1-9 to Logan to be co-located with the new precinct 1-11.

City Clerk Jackie Beaudry told council members that also allows for possible future precinct expansion in Ward 2 to co-locate precincts again at Clague. The new location at Logan also is much closer geographically to the voters in the precinct and has ample parking and accessible space for Election Day activities, she said.

New precinct 1-11 is the result of splitting precinct 1-9 due to its current size and the anticipation of new voters in that area after the completion of Nixon Road housing development projects.

New precinct 1-12 is the result of splitting precinct 1-1 at the Michigan Union due to what Beaudry described as long lines on campus during the 2016 presidential election.

New precinct 3-10 at Tappan was created by reducing the number of registered voters in precincts 3-4 and 3-7 at Allen Elementary School and precinct 3-3 at Tappan to create a fourth precinct from the three.

Beaudry noted the creation of 3-10 also allows for the elimination of a split county commissioner district in 3-7, moving those voters to precinct 3-4.

The new precinct 5-12 at Forsythe splits existing precinct 5-11, the city's highest voter turnout precinct, into two smaller precincts.

Beaudry said the boundary between precincts 5-2 at Bach Elementary and 5-6 at Eberwhite Elementary also was adjusted to balance the number of registered voters between the two precincts.

The city's Election Commission approved the new precincts and precinct boundary changes.

Beaudry noted the changes do not result in redistricting, meaning no voters are getting shifted to new wards. Rather, they are only changes to the number of registered voters assigned at polling sites.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Authorities are investigating a kitchen fire on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at an Ann Arbor home.

Firefighters dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 10:21 p.m. Tuesday to the 800 block of Brookwood Place, said Ann Arbor Fire Department Battalion Chief Derek Wiseley. That's on Ann Arbor's south side.

Firefighters arrived to find a working kitchen fire and put out the blaze by 10:31 p.m., Wiseley said.

The house suffered smoke and water damage throughout and the kitchen was damaged by the fire, Wiseley said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.
WALLED LAKE, MI - Despite the city's efforts to block the demolition of Walled Lake Consolidated School's former Community Education Center, the school district is moving forward with plans to shut down the building.

The next step in that process is auctioning off surplus items in the 95-year-old Community Education Center, located at 615 N. Pontiac Trail in Walled Lake. Walled Lake Schools enrolls more than 14,200 students in Oakland County.

More than 600 iPad 2 devices, smart boards, classroom furniture, printers, projectors, kids' gym equipment, lockers and other items are up for grabs at an auction that opens Thursday, Feb. 8.

People can participate in the auction online between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday, and those who want to participate and do not have computer access can call Biddergy at 866-260-1611.

It's been nearly one year since the Walled Lake Schools board of education decided to close the Community Education Center and eventually demolish the building and sell the property. The board cited declining enrollment and the expense of maintaining the aging building as the reasons for the closure.

However, in August 2017, the City of Walled Lake filed a lawsuit against the school district seeking to at least temporarily block the demolition of the Community Education Center. The lawsuit alleges that spending bond and sinking fund revenue on the demolition of the former community education center would be a misuse of those funds.

The city wants to work with the school district to explore options for a public-private partnership to redevelop the former school and rezone the property for commercial space, said City Manager Dennis Whitt.

The judge granted a temporary injunction to prevent demolition of the building while the lawsuit moves forward, Whitt said.

Judy Evola, director of community relations and marketing for Walled Lake Consolidated Schools, said the school district is planning to move forward with the demolition of the former Community Education Center when it can. The demolition was initially expected to take place in the fall of 2017.

"The District looks forward to this case being decided so more resources are not diverted from its classrooms," Evola wrote in an email to The Ann Arbor News and MLive.
BAY CITY, MI -- Seventeen years ago, a 20-something Dave Dittenber sat inside his restaurant, Old City Hall, and reflected on the future of downtown Bay City.

"The potential for downtown Bay City is incredible," he told a Bay City Times reporter in 2001. "There is a buzz -- an attitude -- in Bay City that is helping us all."

That was before the Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center had even broken ground, and well before Dittenber would open two additional restaurants within a few blocks of each other and developers would be investing tens of millions of dollars to bring more housing options downtown and revive old buildings back to life.

Over the years, Dittenber has been synonymous with Old City Hall and his two other restaurants, Tavern 101 and American Kitchen.

But recently behind the scenes, he has built a new company that he says can add a critical element to Bay City's ongoing renaissance: High-tech jobs.

In April 2017, Dittenber, 43, along with a former Dow Chemical employee and a developer out of Germany, founded "4th-IR," an artificial intelligence company that's initially focusing on the healthcare industry.

For his efforts, Dittenber is being honored with the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year award by Central Michigan University Research Corporation. He'll be presented his award at a ceremony in May. CMURC operates an entrepreneur hub at Uptown Bay City.

"Dittenber's focus on building his business and high-technology jobs within the Great Lakes Bay Region were key factors in this recognition," CMU President George E. Ross, who also serves as chair of the CMURC Board, said in a statement. "We look forward to watching his continued evolution in the health care industry."

The business

4th-IR stands for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

"We're truly now in this revolution where there's this fusion between digital and the physical," Dittenber said.

The company aims to take the troves of data that healthcare companies collect, but rarely use, and harness computer programming to quickly offer up solutions to issues.

"Healthcare is ripe for artificial intelligence," Dittenber said. "Thirty percent of all data is healthcare data, and of that, only 30 percent of is actually being used today."

Dittenber's company processes all sorts of data that allows healthcare professionals to do several things, from predicting diseases and outcomes to helping hospitals control costs. He declined to name any of the business' customers.

"Basically, we're connecting the dots to find answers that a normal human wouldn't be able to do," he said.

Dittenber said he hopes to hire additional employees -- specifically data scientists -- this year. The company will remain based in Bay City, he said.

"It's funny that when we meet with these other companies in Silicon Valley and other big cities, people always ask what's in Bay City," Dittenber said.

As the business grows, it could expand into other sectors, Dittenber said.

Other projects

While Dittenber's new business is keeping him busy, he still has a passion for restaurants and plans to open a new establishment in the Great Lakes Bay Region in the next few years. He declined to comment on where that restaurant would be located.

He's also in the middle of a renovation project of his Old City Hall building on Saginaw Street. He was initially going to renovate the upper floors of the building for commercial space after a technology company from California showed interest in locating Bay City and bringing 40-plus jobs with it. The building cannot accommodate an elevator, however, which is required by the building code. Instead, the upper floors will be renovated into warehouse-style lofts. Dittenber can't disclose which tech company has shown interest in Bay City, due to a non-disclose agreement he signed, but said they're still interested in operating here.

The restaurant space of Old City Hall will also receive a facelift, he said, including new lighting and more space in the bar area.

Much like 17 years ago, Dittenber has high hopes for Bay City.

"If we can get more jobs and more people downtown, this can be that big downtown in Michigan," he said. "We're really close."
CASEVILLE, MI -- Bill Putman, the patriarch of the multi-generational Michigan family that lives under one roof and was the subject of a TLC reality show "Meet the Putmans" this past year, is recovering after suffering a massive heart attack in Las Vegas last week.

Putman, 57, his wife Barb and their four children and their spouses were in Vegas last week purchasing furniture for their new home that's under construction. On Sunday, Jan. 28, which also happened to be the Putman's 35th wedding anniversary, Barb Putman woke up at about 5 a.m. to her husband not breathing, their daughter-in-law Jennifer Putman told MLive.com.

The family had rented a house while in Vegas. Putman's sons came into his room and started CPR on him until an ambulance arrived. The EMTs used a defibulator to bring him back to consciousness.

He was then rushed to the hospital for treatment, his daughter-in-law said.

"They found that his widowmaker was 98 percent blocked," Jennifer Putman said. "To come back from that is simply a miracle."

The widowmaker refers to blockage of the left anterior descending artery -- the largest of the three that provides blood to the heart.

"It was one of the scariest moments we have had as a family," Jennifer Putman said.

He recovered in Las Vegas for the past week before returning home to Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 3. As the plane was ready to land, though, his heart went into atrial fibrillation (AFib) and he needed to be transported to Beaumont Hospital in Troy.

Lulu, 4, kisses her father Bill Putman on the cheek at the Putman's home in Caseville Township on Jan. 12, 2017.

Bill Putman has had heart issues for most of his life, his daughter-in-law said. He suffered his first heart attack in his early 30s.

His heart condition was a storyline in an episode of Meet the Putmans, the reality show that followed the day-to-day of his family of 26 who live under one roof. The show wrapped up its first season this past fall. The family is currently in talks for a second season.

Last month, Putman was the guest speaker at a Bay Area Chamber of Commerce Eye Opener Breakfast.

His daughter-in-law said he has a doctor's appointment in Ann Arbor on Wednesday for a checkup.
Nehru Littleton, mugshot provided by Attorney General Bill Schuette's office

A 42-year-old man who made violent threats, including urging his 500-plus Facebook friends and followers to "Kill all white cops," has pleaded guilty to a count of threatening terrorism.

In exchange for the guilty plea, a charge of using a computer to commit a crime was dismissed against Nehru Littleton of Detroit.

The crime of making a false threat carries a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison; however, it's likely prosecutors have agreed to a lesser sentence in light of the plea deal. Further details of the agreement weren't included in a statement issued by Attorney General Bill Schuette's office on Wednesday.

Littleton made the threats at a volatile time in July 2016 following controversial police killings of two black men, Alston Sterling outside a store in Baton Rouge, La.; and Philando Castile, 32, killed near St. Paul, Minn.; and the mass shooting of Dallas police during a Black Lives Matter march that resulted in the deaths of five officers, including a Michigan native.

Littleton described himself online as a "former killing machine" with the U.S. Marines Corps, who had a valid CPL and registered firearm, adding to the credibility of his threats, according to the Attorney General's office.

Per Schuette's office, here are some of the online threats Littleton made on July 8 and July 9 of 2016:

To those sniper's in Texas, I commend your bravery and actions!!! #blacklivesmatter.

All lives can't matter until Black Lives matter!!!! Kill all white cops!!!

Kill all white cops!!!

F that!!! Nobody called for prayer after Alton Sterling got shot to death!!! F them police!!!!

Yes!!! #blacklivesmatter #purgeoncops

Why isn't that white man shot dead!!! #wakeupblackpeople # itsnotagame

If these racist a white cops want to PURGE on Black Lives!!! Then let's PURGE on these racist a white cops!!! I'm sick of this s !!! If you don't like what I said, UNFRIEND ME!!!! #rugonberue

F them racist a white cops!!! Kill them ALL!!! Black Lives Matter!!! Black people should start killing all white cops just like they killing us!!! Then and only then will this s stop!!! Why you ask? Because white people will be dropping like flies!!!

At the time, Detroit Police Chief Jamed Craig submitted multiple cases involving online threats against law enforcement to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, but she declined to issue charges, stating there wasn't enough evidence to successfully prosecute.

Craig then appealed to Schuette, who agreed to charge Littleton.

"The men and women in law enforcement across the state put themselves directly in the line of fire to protect each and every one of us," Schuette said in a prepared statement Wednesday. "They already have a difficult, and often dangerous job without fearing an unprovoked attack.

"This plea should serve as a reminder that threatening the safety of these men and women will be treated with the utmost significance and those that make these threats will be faced with the highest consequences."

Littleton is scheduled to be sentenced by Wayne Circuit Judge Vonda Evans at 9 a.m. on April 10.
[File photo]

One week after French paper Le Monde dropped a bombshell story about China allegedly bugging African Unions (AU) Headquarters, the countrys major media outlets have struck back at their French counterparts, calling for more stable Sino-African ties amid the upcoming China-African Union Strategic Dialogue.

In a commentary released on Wednesday by Peoples Daily, the accusation was described as an ill-intentioned slander against China, which unveils certain countries anxiety over the thriving Sino-African relations.

Le Monde has bent over backwards to cook up such a groundless accusation right before the opening of the 30th African Union Summit. Obviously [certain countries] have lost control as they cannot pacify their anxiety over the growing Sino-African ties, read the editorial.

The AU headquarters, which is located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was funded and largely built by China in 2012, and it serves as a symbol of Chinas partnership with the AU and its member states. Ever since its establishment, Western media outlets have doubted Chinas intentions to help the African states, hyping up speculation that the building was built to eavesdrop on the AU.

Such commonplace practice is denounced by both China and Africa. According to Xinhua, African leaders, including AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, noted that no trace of espionage was found in the AU building.

China and African countries have maintained traditionally friendly relations for decades. In January, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi noted that Chinas diplomatic tradition of foreign ministers visiting Africa first indicates that Africa has always been a priority in Chinas diplomacy.

Meanwhile, growing trade between the two sides has also led to deepened political and cultural exchanges. Statistics from the World Bank suggest that China is a destination for 15 to 16 percent of sub-Saharan Africas exports and the source of 14 to 21 percent of the regions imports, a remarkable number that contributed to an upgrade of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2018 to a summit, the third one after the Johannesburg Summit in 2015 and the Beijing Summit in 2006.

The feeling is mutual. According to Afrobarometer, an African-led research network which conducted surveys in 36 African countries in 2017, 63 percent of respondents thought Chinas economic and political influence in their country was positive, while Chinas investment in infrastructure and development in Africa is highly appreciated.

As the saying goes, justice naturally inhabits a mans heart. Only Africans know if Sino-African cooperation would bring them benefits. The China-African Cooperation Summit, which will be held in Beijing this year, will only push Sino-African relations to a new peak despite the groundless rumors, read the People's Daily article.
FLINT, MI - Those seeing fighter jets shouldn't be alarmed, its just a test, according to the Ohio Air National Guard.

Fighter jets from the 180th Fighter Wing out of Toledo will conduct a test of the Aerospace Control Alert system between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 7., according to a statement.

Those living in and around the Flint, Pontiac and Selfridge areas may hear

and or see fighter jets in close proximity to a Civil Air Patrol aircraft.

The aircraft will be taking the role of a track of interest, which is a plane that has been identified as a potential threat, the statement said.

Weather could delay or cancel the exercise flights, according to the Ohio Air National Guard.

Aerospace Control includes maintaining air sovereignty and air defense through the surveillance and control of airspace over Canada and the U.S. These types of exercises are conducted on a routine basis as part of North American Aerospace Defense Command's Operation Noble Eagle, which was initiated after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
FLINT, MI - A former Flint Community Schools deputy superintendent alleges she was pushed out her position by a district official after refusing to pay the district back $31,000 in state fines.

The lawsuit filed against the district, the Flint Board of Education, and Superintendent Bilal Tawwab seeks damages for lost wages after Sharrece Farris' contract was not renewed following the 2016-17 school year.

The fine came after Farris failed to enroll in an administrative certification program during the first six months she was in the deputy superintendent position.

Tom Pabst, attorney for Farris, claims Farris was not at fault for the fine and had been assured by district officials she was already qualified for the position she was hired for in September 2015 at a cost of $124,000 plus benefits.

But Michael Edmunds, the district's attorney, says she was late to register for training that led to the fine and the district honored her contract until it officially expired.

Edmunds argued there is no dispute Farris did not register for the training and complete it in a timely manner and that her issue should be directed at the state of Michigan and not the school district.

"If you are the deputy superintendent and you are qualified for the job, you darn well better know what the qualifications are," said Edmunds.

The lawsuit claims that Tawwab threatened Farris she'd only be brought back as the deputy superintendent if she agreed to the pay the fine.

"You can't pressure some to pay $30,000," said Pabst. "She had a written contract. She did a great job and is a really highly-talented, educated lady. This should not have happened. I don't know what he was thinking."

However, Edmunds said the district kept Farris on until the end of her agreed upon contract. The district then made the decision not to renew her contract.

He said one reason for the district's decision not to renew her contract was an organizational issue.

The district previously had a superintendent and a deputy superintendent that dealt with operations and academics.

A move was made by Tawwab to hire two people to handle those responsibilities, Edmunds said. However, the board later voted to reunite those positions back into one and Farris has no experience regarding the academic side of the job.

"There's nothing in the law I'm aware of that would prevent an employer from terminating an employee that cost them money," said Edmunds.

He said he plans to file a counterclaim this week calling on Farris to pay the fine.

The district declined to comment on the lawsuit, but Tawwab issued a statement.

"The fine has not and will not take away from Flint Community Schools effort to improve teaching and learning," the statement reads.

"The district's primary objective remains strengthening student achievement and valuing all FCS employees," he said.

A statement from the Michigan Department of Education said the district was sent a letter in September 2016 on the certification issue regarding Farris and deducted the state aid amount.

The decision was upheld in a November 2016 response by State Superintendent Brian Whiston following an appeal filed by the district.
FLINT, MI -- A teen is back in custody after allegedly violating the terms of his probation in connection with his role in a school shooting plot at Linden High School.

Court records show Kody Anthony Brewer, 17, refused to allow a probation officer to enter his home in late December, which authorities claim was a violation of the terms of his probation.

He's currently being held in the Genesee County Jail following a Tuesday, Feb. 6, court hearing in front of Genesee Circuit Judge Joseph J. Farah.

As part of the five years of probation Brewer was sentenced to in June 2017, he is required to submit to searches of his home, vehicle, and computer, according to a Dec. 27, 2017, bench warrant request.

He's also allegedly failing multiple classes as part of an adult education program.

Brewer is required, per his probation, to participate in an adult education or GED program and receive passing grades.

His original sentencing date was pushed back in June 2017 after a report showed Brewer violated terms of his bond by owning a cellphone, as well as having been suspended five times and absent and tardy from school over 70 times since November 2016.

Farah canceled Brewer's bond and sent him to the county jail for three weeks in that instance.

Brewer was sentenced in July 2017 to five years of probation and one year in jail, with credit for 340 days served, after pleading no contest to an attempted false report of terrorism charge. He faced up to five years in prison.

"I don't want to be the one that will be responsible for - at least at this juncture - the assault, stabbing and rape of this young kid ... I know what happens to kids like you in prison," Farah said in July when deciding to sentence Brewer to jail and probation rather than prison. "I don't know how much clearer I can make it ... If he goes to prison, you will not recognize him when he comes out."

In November 2017, Brewer was accused of violating his probation by driving a vehicle without a license, lying to his probation officer about his school attendance and not attending an alternative school as ordered by the court, according to an affidavit filed by Brewer's probation officer.

Brewer pleaded guilty Jan. 10 to the violation and was released on a $10,000 cash or surety bond.

However, on Tuesday, he was ordered back into custody pending his sentencing hearing.

He's currently scheduled to return to court May 1.

Brewer originally faced conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and false report of terrorism charges after authorities say he, along with Ryan William Stevens, of Linden, and Lamarr Dukes, of West Bloomfield, plotted to kill a classmate who made a derogatory statement about Stevens on an Instagram post.

Authorities believe that's when Stevens threatened over social media to kill her and began planning with Dukes and Brewer via text and instant messages about how to do so. The messages were found on Stevens' phone when he gave investigators consent to go through it after he was arrested, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton previously said.

Brewer's attorney, Elbert L. Hatchett, has said the shooting plot was "nothing more than young boys talking and beating their chests," and said that Brewer's "true character has not been revealed."

Stevens was sentenced to five months of probation, while Dukes was transferred to the juvenile system.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- An intruder at a senior living center choked, sexually assaulted and threatened to kill an 85-year-old resident, testimony from the elderly woman shows.

The woman, a resident of Marsh Ridge Senior Living Community at in Northwest Grand Rapids, was the sole witness during a probable cause hearing Tuesday, Feb. 6 in Grand Rapids District Court.

She described the ordeal as a 'nightmare' that left her battered and bruised on the floor of her apartment bathroom.

The testimony was enough for Judge David Buter to order Kelvin Lawrence Williams, 23, to stand trial on charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, first-degree home invasion, assault with intent to commit great-bodily harm and being a third-offense habitual offender.

Williams was located in a nearby apartment in the same Marsh Ridge building. He was arrested after the victim identified him as her attacker.

The victim, a mother of nine, had just taken some cardboard to a hallway outside her door about 5 p.m. Jan. 18. She came back inside to use the bathroom and did not lock the door.

Moments later, there was a man standing in front of her with no clothes.

He wanted her to perform oral sex on him and, when she refused, he put his hands around her throat.

"He was choking me and telling he was going to kill me," she recalled.

"I kept telling him 'Please, please, you're hurting me," she testified. "I just kept screaming and telling him my son was coming over."

She estimated the attack lasted several minutes and at one point he put a rag over her face that covered her mouth and nose. He sexually assaulted her before leaving the apartment.

After the assault, she managed to pull a string in the bathroom that sends a signal to the Marsh Ridge office that a person needs help. She also made her way to another woman's apartment nearby to get help.

The victim ended up with stitches on her left forearm because of torn skin and bruises "all over me."

"My whole arm was black and blue," she said.

Several members of the victim's family attended Tuesday's hearing.

The woman testified she had never seen the man prior to the attack. She said the building's main door has an electronic entry system where residents can "buzz" someone else into the building.

Defense attorney Damian Nunzio questioned whether the woman might have identified the wrong suspect. The victim acknowledged she likely struck her head on the floor during the attack.

She couldn't remember if her head hurt at the time.

"I don't remember. It was like a nightmare," she said.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Forest Hill Northern High School students showed their solidarity Tuesday, Feb. 6, by participating in a "Black Out Against Blackface,'' after photos of a white student wearing brown facial makeup surfaced on social media.

The photos of the upperclassman, posted Feb. 1, ignited a social media firestorm on Instagram and Facebook because blackface carries associations of racism and degradation.

"We had a great response today,'' said Danielle McMillon, a senior who is black, estimating about half the student body responded to the call to wear black clothing Tuesday.

"I just hope people understand now that wearing blackface is not funny, not a joke and should never be done. We need to work on talking about diversity and race, bringing up things that make people uncomfortable.''

Historically, blackface has been used in minstrel shows in which a white person playing a black person wears make up and perpetuates racial stereotypes.

McMillion, 18, said the school of approximately 1,200 kids is ready to move on from the incident. She said she and a half-dozen other students, of all races, met with Principal Jon Gregory Tuesday about coming up with some educational initiatives.

She said Northern is a very good school but over the course of her four years, there have been incidents in which ignorant, racially charge things have been said or done. However, she said Thursday's incident was the most extreme.

Forest Hills Superintendent Dan Behm said the student is being disciplined but for privacy reasons declined to say measures taken.

"Anything that causes kids to feel unwelcome or unsafe or disrespected is a threat to learning, and we have to treat that as an urgent matter to be resolved,'' Behm said.

"This is not simply a matter of one's intent but one's impact. I think this incident can be a great catalyst for learning and growth."

There were allegations on social media the student made racial slurs. However, school leaders say those were not confirmed in interviews with students.

Last Thursday during a Spanish class, in which there was a substitute teacher, school leaders say the young man applied the brown make up that was left by a female student, which school leaders said gave the appearance of a racial stereotype.

Students in the class took pictures and posted them on social media and they were shared.

Tavian Moore, president of the Greater Grand Rapids National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council, organized a Sunday, Feb. 4, meeting with students and parents to plan the Tuesday call to action.

Over the past several weeks, he said they have heard complaints from students of color at Northern about racial slurs being yelled and other racially charged incidents that raises concerns about "the culture on campus being hostile.''

However, Behm said he nor administrators were contacted about any previous racial incidents.

"This act is completely out of character with what I've known and have seen from students at Northern for well over a decade,'' he said.

The council along with NAACP leadership is encouraging people in the approximately 10,000-student district and the community at large to attend the Monday, Feb. 19, school board meeting.

NAACP President Cle Jackson said one of the things they will be urging at the school board meeting is for the school board to appoint a person of color to fill an open seat on the all white seven-member board for better cultural perspective.

"The board should be identifying people that they can encourage to apply,'' he said.

According to the district website, all applicant letters of interest and resumes for the board vacancy must be received by 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 14, five days before the school board meeting.

Besides the board appointment, Jackson said the NAACP will also call for the following:

A zero tolerance policy be put in place with respect to harassment and racial discrimination of any kind that would trigger an automatic expulsion or suspension.

If not already issued, the student in blackface should be suspended for at least five days and required to to volunteer for community service at an agency that serves primarily people of color.

With parent consent, bias testing as well as a psychological evaluation of the student who wore blackface.

"It is up to a community and leaders in that community to take precautions because we can no longer take these things lightly,'' he said.

"This is a clear example of why it is important all school districts have a curriculum that speaks to the diversity of this country, so people are thoroughly educated and aware of both the positive and negative aspects of things that have happened throughout history.''

For more than a decade, Behm said the district has worked hard to make sure their schools are inclusive and welcoming for everyone.

For example, he said they hold cultural competency workshops for students and hold two-day healing racism institutes throughout the school year for faculty, staff and students.

Behm said isolated incidents should not define a school or district. He said they already have a policy prohibiting harassment and discrimination because racism has no place in society.

A letter was sent home Sunday, Feb. 4, to district families explaining the facts of the incident and how the district began investigating the issue after being notified on Friday.

Jackson and Behm did have a conversation on Sunday about the NAACP's concerns.

In his letter, Principal Gregory informed families that the school "does not condone or accept when persons' actions and/or words harm another intentionally or unintentionally."
HOLLAND, MI -- More than half a year after Holland's city manager resigned, the council is readying to pick the city's next leader.

Working with Amy Cell Talent, a search committee has narrowed a pool of 60 applicants down to three finalists:

- Victor Cardenas, assistant city manager in Novi and a member of the Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees

- Tracey Schultz Kobylarz, Redford Township Supervisor

Tracey Schultz Kobylarz. (Courtesy photo)

- Keith Van Beek, deputy administrator for Ottawa County

Holland's former city manager, Ryan Cotton, left at the end of his contract in June 2017. He is now a consultant for GovHR, and has been heavily involved in the candidate selection process as the city of Grand Rapids seeks its next city manager.

In the interim, the retired assistant city manager Greg Robinson took the reins of the city for several months as he was also managing the West Michigan Regional Airport Authority.

Keith Van Beek. (Courtesy photo)

During his interim appointment, Robinson oversaw at least two internal investigations into employee conduct -- which resulted in the city clerk's resignation and the greenhouse operator's firing. The greenhouse operator is now suing the city.

Robinson departed at the end of January -- and Holland Police Chief Matt Messer is currently the interim manager.

The three candidates will be touring Holland Feb. 14, and will meet with the search committee for interviews Feb. 15.

The public is invited to meet the candidates from 5 to 7 p.m. Feb. 15 at city hall. Residents can submit feedback to the search committee through comment cards that will be available at the Feb. 15 event.

The search committee will make its recommendation Feb. 16, and the council is slated to vote on making an offer to a candidate at its Feb. 21 meeting.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Homeless assistance and housing programs in Kent and Ottawa counties have received more than $6 million in federal grant funding.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a total of $2 billion in grants awarded through its Continuum of Care grant competition. Homeless assistance programs in Michigan received, in total, more than $70 million through the program.

Of that, Ottawa County programs received $1.04 million and Kent County programs another $5.67 million.

Though organizations dealing with the issue in the Grand Rapids area report significant progress made on goals to increase the number of individuals transitioned to permanent housing, a 2017 "point in time" count found 912 homeless individuals in the community.

Most of those, 851 individuals, were categorized as "sheltered," but the remaining 61 were "unsheltered" at the time of the count. This year's count was conducted on Wednesday, Jan. 31.

This year's funding levels in Kent and Ottawa counties represent a slight increase from 2016, when Kent County programs received $5.51 million and Ottawa County received $1.01 million.

In Kent County, the grant funds 18 different programs -- including Shelter Plus Care, Keys First, First Step Housing and Housing Solutions -- provided by various organizations that are part of the Grand Rapids/Wyoming/Kent County Continuum of Care, known better as the Grand Rapids Area Coalition to End Homelessness.

Jesica Vail, program manager for the coalition, explained the $5.6 million grant does not represent new funds or new individuals in need of the services. It is a renewal of past funding with "modest increases" to keep up with federal fair market rent calculations, Vail said.

Though some recipients of the grant-funded programs might eventually identify stable income sources and be able to live on their own, Vail said, others with disabilities sometimes fit into the "chronically homeless" category and are reliant on the HUD-funded programs more long-term.

"Those people may never be able to pay their full rent on their own, and may always need the support of a program to stay housed," she said. "So, while $5.6M sounds like a lot of funding, much of it is already spoken for, keeping people with all types of disabilities housed."

Here is how the $5.67 million in funding was allocated to Kent County programs for 2017:

Commerce Apartments -- $224,028

Coordinated Entry -- $210,139

Coordinated Entry -- $65,950

Ferguson Apartments -- $63,000

First Step Housing -- $824,451

HEROES -- $136,672

Homeless Management Information Systems Dedicated Project -- $100,000

Homeless Assistance Program -- $228,488

Hope Community -- $159,663

Housing Solutions -- $543,864

ICCF Permanent Supportive Housing -- $36,425

Keys First -- $863,322

LOFT -- $129,952

Local Continuum of Care planning application -- $160,527

Project HEAL -- $399,368

Shelter Plus Care Sponsor-Based Rental Assistance -- $455,205

Shelter Plus Care Tenant-Based Rental Assistance -- $947,211

Verne Barry Place -- $129,850

Ottawa County's grant funds will support permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing and supportive services, according to a press release from Greater Ottawa County United Way.

Funds were awarded to existing housing programs at the Center for Women in Transition, Community Mental Health and Good Samaritan Ministries. Greater Ottawa County United Way will also receive funds to support the work of its Lakeshore Housing Alliance.

Lakeshore Housing Alliance is a collaboration of human service agencies, community members and local businesses dedicated to identifying needs, developing a vision, encouraging coordination of responses and advocating for safe, accessible, affordable housing and services in Ottawa County.

Here is how the $1.04 million in funding was allocated to various Ottawa County programs for 2017:

Community Housing Partnership Rapid Re-Housing (RRH) -- $336,804

Local Continuum of Care planning application -- $29,634

Ottawa DV PH-RRH 1 -- $111,064

Permanent Housing Assistance for Chronically Homeless Individuals -- $20,528

Permanent Housing Assistance for Homeless Persons with Disabilities -- $513,799

Permanent Supportive Housing (Good Samaritan Ministries) -- $35,056

If you're in need of housing assistance in either Kent or Ottawa County, you can call 2-1-1 for help. The free hotline is available 24 hours a day and can help connect callers with organizations and programs offering assistance with housing, utility bills, elder care, mental health and a handful of other essential services.

To learn more about the work being done to address homelessness in Kent and Ottawa Counties, visit endhomelessnesskent.org or ottawaunitedway.org/housing-assistance.
ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI -- Police will not pursue any criminal charges after a feral cat was found dead -- apparently frozen to death -- in a live trap at Sandy Pines Recreational Community.

Allegan County sheriff's deputies investigated the discovery after a person called police Jan. 25.

A video of the discovery also appeared on social media.

An Allegan County Animal Control officer went to Sandy Pines and began an investigation. The officer did not find any other animals in other traps at the resort.

Sandy Pines is located west of Wayland in Salem Township.

Investigators could not pinpoint a particular person assigned the responsibility of checking the traps.

Allegan County sheriff's Capt. Chris Kuhn said workers at Sandy Pines have used traps to try to control of a feral cat problem. Once trapped, the cats are "re-homed" through a woman who takes the cats and finds new homes for them, he said.

While no criminal charges will be sought, police said they "identified several issues with how Sandy Pines handles the trapping of animals and specifically how they trap cats in the park.

"Suggestions were given to them to help improve this procedure and hopefully keep this from happening again," according to a news release.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Drivers in Grand Rapids now have to stop for pedestrians at crosswalks.

The Grand Rapids city commission on Tuesday, Feb. 6, approved the ordinance, which takes effect the same day.

The previous ordinance required motorists to yield the right of way rather than come to a complete stop. The ordinance change has been under review for some time after a study showed the city had a higher-than-state average of crashes involving vehicles and pedestrians.

The need for change was reinforced after the Jan. 25 death of philanthropist, banker and civic leader John Canepa, who was struck by a car three days earlier while crossing Leonard Street NW between Seward and Quarry streets.

Grand Rapids police Sgt. Allen Noles said Canepa, 87, was walking south to north on Leonard when he was struck by a westbound vehicle. Police continue to investigate to determine whether Canepa was within the crosswalk when he was struck.

Once the investigation is complete, reports will be turned over to Kent County prosecutors for review. Noles said speed was not an issue.

Neither the driver nor victim had used alcohol or drugs, he said.

Canepa co-founded the Grand Action Committee that built the Van Andel Arena, DeVox Place Convention Center, Grand Rapids Civic Theatre's renovation and Michigan State University School of Human Medicine.

Noles said Canepa's death served as a tragic reminder of potential dangers for pedestrians.

He hoped that the ordinance change would make streets safer for pedestrians. The city has been looking at the ordinance change for some time, with police conducting an enforcement campaign last year to keep pedestrians safe.

The ordinance requires motorists to fully stop for pedestrians at marked or unmarked crosswalks, except for intersections regulated by police or a traffic signal.

Where traffic signals are present, pedestrians must wait for the "walk" signal to properly cross.

"This action by the Commission will help Grand Rapids achieve significant, lasting improvements in pedestrian safety," Mayor Rosalynn Bliss said in a statement.

"The goal is to reduce crashes, prevent injuries and save lives by creating a culture of respect for all road users - pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers," Bliss said in a statement.

The campaign, "Vision Zero," is intended to pair high-visibility enforcement and education to reduce crashes involving pedestrians.

Kent County had 790 crashes involving pedestrians between 2012 and 2015, which was the third highest in the state, just under Oakland County's 866. Kent County has about half of Oakland County's population.

Of the 790 crashes in Kent County, 439, or 56 percent, occurred in Grand Rapids, the city said. Just over half of the crashes in Grand Rapids happened at or near intersections, compared to 36 percent statewide. The numbers show a need for significant improvements at intersections, Chris Zull, the city's traffic safety manager, said.

Officials want to make the city more "walkable."

The project is patterned after successful campaigns in Europe and major U.S cities.

"Our conclusion after much deliberation is that 'yield' seems to be an ambiguous term when trying to explain it to people as it applies to crosswalks," Second Ward Commissioner Ruth Kelly said.

"Stop means stop, which is less ambiguous and more easily understood."

Authorities have noted an increased in drivers and pedestrians being distracted by cell phones. Alcohol use by pedestrians has also been a problem.

Grand Rapids, awarded a $120,000 grant last year by the state Office of Highway Safety Planning, will soon announce education activities and high-visibility enforcement zones where police will observe motorists and pedestrians and provide warnings and information about the new ordinance.
Michigan State Police Troopers conducted 460,446 traffic stops in 2017 and the racial makeup of the drivers closely corresponds with that of the state's population, the agency reports.

MSP updated its reporting system beginning Jan. 1, 2017, to more accurately capture the race and Hispanic origin of persons encountered during traffic stops, the agency said.

A report issued Wednesday, Feb. 7, shows the race and ethnicity of people stopped by troopers corresponds closely with the state's 2016 U.S. Census data, MSP reports.

"While I'm pleased with the results of this initial review, we will continue to monitor the data for any anomalies," Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue, director of the MSP, said. "Many factors are involved in the decision to stop a vehicle and these factors must be accounted for when analyzing traffic stop data."

Here's a look at the people pulled over in 2017 compared to 2016 U.S. Census figures, according to MSP:

Race and Hispanic Origin Total traffic stops % of traffic stops % of 2016 population American Indian and Alaska Native 1,369 0.2% 0.7% Asian 3,612 0.8% 3.1% Black or African American 77,563 16.9% 14.2% Hispanic or Latino 8,617 1.9% 5.0% Unknown 25,619 5.6% n/a Two or More Races n/a n/a 2.4% White 343,666 74.6% 75.4%

After the changes made in January 2017, troopers are required to record the race and Hispanic origin from visual observation using the race categories as defined by the U.S. Census. MSP policy prohibits troopers from asking drivers their race. If the trooper cannot determine the driver's race or Hispanic origin, the trooper may enter the race as unknown. The information provides supervisors and commanders with more precise data to review if questions arise regarding a trooper's activity, MSP said in a news release.

"The MSP is committed to unbiased policing and the equitable treatment of all persons," the news release states. "Stopping motorists without proper grounds or using race to select whom a trooper stops is in direct violation of multiple longstanding MSP policies."

If a trooper is accused of stopping a motorist without proper grounds, a thorough and objective internal investigation is conducted, the agency said.
Foreigners who have been to China all give a thumbs-up to the sense of security China has given to them, saying that they feel much safer in China.

China is acknowledged as one of the safest countries in the world. It has precious experience in social governance, offering a good reference for other countries.

Is China safe?

A tourist from Finland said that he feels much safer in China than in Europe on the influential travel reviewer website TripAdvisor.

An internet user who has been living in China for 15 years noted on the American Q&A platform Quora that she was never mocked or discriminated on the streets in China. Sometimes she even takes her 11-year-old daughter on the subway back home at night, something she would not dare in other countries.

Ismail Hussein, the associate editor-in-chief of the magazine China Today in Arabic, also expressed his sense of safety in China, saying that he once took an underpass at night, but did not feel afraid because of the many surveillance cameras around.

He said that once when he left Nasr City, Cairo, he was informed of a large explosion just half an hour after he left the area.

Maria, a Brazilian who has lived in China for nearly 20 years, said that she hesitated about going back to Brazil, as she would not like to see the overwhelming news on murders and drug trafficking in Brazil.

Anil Sigdel, a political scientist and columnist from the US who has lived in India, Austria, Spain, and China for years, said that China is one of the safest countries in the world, adding that compared with the U.S., China exercises strict gun controls, which reduces the number of violent crimes.

Raphael, a Brazilian working in media for years in China, noted that it is understandable that China has become one of the safest countries in the world, as Chinese people are deeply rooted in Confucian culture, and China has strict laws and regulations and governing measures.

The results can be attributed to the Communist Party of China's effective governance of the country, which is hard to be copied by other countries, he added.
"I have decided to request a leave of absence from my job as Manager of the Appointments Division within Gov. Snyder's Executive Office," Breslin said in a statement provided by Sndyer's office.

"While the two roles never overlapped, my first priority is to fulfill my statewide elected responsibilities as a MSU Trustee. I appreciate the Governor understanding and granting my request for an official leave."

The leave is unpaid and can last 30-90 days per civil service rules, said Snyder spokeswoman Anna Heaton.

Breslin has served at the board's helm as it deal with the fallout from employing Dr. Larry Nassar, who has pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, most of which were for patients he assaulted under the guise of medical care while working for the university.

Victims say they warned MSU employees of Nassar's behavior dating back to the 1990s.

The board's actions -- including an initial decision to stand behind former President Lou Anna K. Simon, who later resigned -- have drawn ire from the campus community.

In January, Breslin informed the Michigan Republican Party he would not seek another term on the board.

All the while, he's served as manager of appointments for Snyder. Now, he said, there's more work to do at the university, where Attorney General Bill Schuette has appointed a special prosecutor, Bill Forsyth, to investigate.

"The Board will comply fully with the investigation of the special prosecutor, and with an interim president in place and a search for a new president just beginning, I will be helping the university move forward, with a focus on healing and the concerns of every survivor who has been affected," Breslin said in a statement.
A council representing graduate students at Michigan State University has approved a vote of no confidence in the university's board of trustees, joining a growing number of voices on campus calling on the board to step down.

The Council of Graduate Students announced today that its members "overwhelmingly" approved the no confidence vote, and that it's now calling on all eight board members, as well as Interim President John Engler, to resign.

"We all have a responsibility, not only to the survivors of Larry Nassar but to survivors of ALL sexual assault and relationship violence on MSU's campus, to listen and to act to ensure that this never happens again on our campus or at any of our subsidiaries," according to a letter posted on the council's Facebook page.

"The Board of Trustees has proven inept to adequately respond to these matters in thoughtful and methodical ways that promote safety and healing across the university."

The council advocates for the "well-being" and "professional interests" of graduate students, according to its website. Ashley Fuente, the group's president, could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

In its letter, the council said the board - amid the fallout of the Nassar scandal - has not shown interest in the voices of students, faculty and staff. It pointed to the fact that only one board member - Trustee Brian Mosallam - was present during a town hall meeting held on campus last week to hear from students about the university's response to the Nassar scandal and sexual assault in general. That town hall meeting was hosted by Mosallam.

"Empty promises and lack of transparency, interest, empathy, compassion, and outright lies have been the recurring theme from this Board," the letter says. "Such poor leadership has no place at MSU."

Engler was appointed interim president last week following the resignation of Lou Anna Simon, who had led the university since 2005 but stepped down amid growing outcry over MSU's response to the Nassar scandal. Engler's first day as interim president was Monday.

Many students and faculty have expressed disappointment with his appointment.

On Tuesday, faculty from the College of Education held a march to the Hannah Administration Building, in which a list of demands - including the resignation of the board and Engler - was delivered to the offices of top administration officials.

Last week, the university's Residence Halls Association held a vote of no confidence in the board and are now calling on Engler and the board to step down, according to the group's Twitter account. The association represents about 15,000 students, according to its website, and is dedicated to improving the on-campus living experience.

And the Faculty Senate is expected to hold a vote of no confidence in the board at a special meeting scheduled for Feb. 13.

Earlier this week, Engler spokesman John Truscott, responding to the criticism leveled on Engler, said it was unfortunate that some people on campus had "rushed to judgement within the first 48 hours of him taking office."

"We ask that faculty withhold judgement until they see his actions," Truscott told MLive.com on Monday.
LANSING, MI - Attorney General Bill Schuette will no longer count interim MSU President John Engler among his supporters in literature for his gubernatorial campaign after Engler asked his name be pulled from the materials.

"He's got a new job now, and he has to be completely nonpartisan," said Engler spokesman John Truscott.

Engler was appointed to lead Michigan State University last week, following the resignation of former president Lou Anna K. Simon.

The leadership shake-up came amid a national outcry over the university's handling of Dr. Larry Nassar, whom it employed for nearly 20 years as he repeatedly molested women and girls by digitally penetrating their vaginas and anuses under the guise of medical treatment. He pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, and more than 250 women have reported their experiences with him to police.

Engler's endorsement of Schuette was rolled out in an unusual manner by his campaign back in September, who sent out quotes from Engler praising Schuette and later attributed the endorsement information to capitol insider news service Gongwer.

Truscott said Engler and Schuette's relationship extended back years.

"He's known Bill a long time and has always been favorable towards him, and they've been friends," Truscott said.

The two politicians worked together when Engler was governor and chose Schuette to lead the state's agriculture department. But most recently, Schuette has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate the university Engler now leads.

"Given the ongoing investigations by the Michigan Legislature, the Congress, the NCAA, the U.S. Department of Education and the Independent Prosecutor into Michigan State's failure to deal with Larry Nassar's sexual assaults over a twenty-year period, the campaign has removed the name of the MSU President from all materials," said Schuette campaign spokeswoman Bridget Bush of the decision to pull Engler's name from campaign materials.
LANSING, MI - Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday presented his final budget recommendation, highlighting investments he wanted to make in the per-pupil foundation allowance for schools and the state's roads and infrastructure.

In a press release, he said the budget he was proposing would keep Michigan going in an positive direction.

"By continuing our relentless support of areas like education, safety, and transportation, we maximize the impact of the strategic initiatives we have implemented over the years. We need to ensure that the important work happening here in Michigan keeps accelerating," he said in a press release.

The legislature ultimately decides where to appropriate dollars, but it's the governor who kicks off the process with his annual presentation. He made it to a joint session of the House and Senate appropriations committees on Wednesday as protesters

The budget he presented is for Fiscal Year 2019, which runs from Oct. 1, 2018 through Sept. 30, 2019. In total, the FY 2019 budget clocks in at $56.8 billion, a 0.6 percent increase over what the state spent in FY 2018.

Snyder presented it as a group of around 40 protesters including workers and SEIU members sang and chanted outside of the meeting, asking for fair wages and more benefits for working people. It was an open meeting, but most of the seats were reserved and members of the media took up those that weren't. An overflow room accommodated others.

Two main focuses inside the room for Snyder were infrastructure and education, both of which he proposed funding increases for.

More money for roads

The state was slated to fund transportation at $782 million in FY 2019, with the revenue coming from fuel and registration taxes and fees, along with a portion of the income tax.

While the investment is slated to ramp up in the coming years thanks to a 2015 road-funding plan, the governor's budget would put an additional $175 million into transportation for the FY 2019 budget.

"We are going to propose to accelerate the investment into our roads," Lt. Gov. Brian Calley said.

Snyder said the money was a one-time infusion funded by "lapse" funding, or funding the state appropriated for specific causes but didn't end up using.

House Appropriations Minority Vice Chair Fred Durhal Jr., D-Detroit, said he liked the additional funding Snyder was proposing and questioned how it would affect road conditions.

Snyder joked that he knew people had mixed reaction when they saw orange barrels, but those barrels were a good thing. The funding would jumpstart construction and investments in infrastructure, he said.

"Let's get these going, and I look forward to having a healthy discussion about how we can pull forward construction," Snyder said.

Foundation allowance to increase

Snyder alluded to a per-pupil funding increase in his State of the State address, and his budget put a solid number on that proposal. He'd like to increase the foundation allowance by $312 million. That translates into an increase of $120-240 per pupil.

That would be the largest increase in the state's minimum foundation allowance in 15 years, according to the governor's presentation.

He would pay for the increase through reducing a few line items, including the one for cyber schools. When cyber schools first started in Michigan, Snyder said, they had startup costs and it made sense to fund them at the same level as traditional public schools. Now, he said, "their ongoing cost should be less than a traditional district."

He also proposed cutting funding for cyber schools in last year's budget, an idea that proved unpopular in the legislature.

He is also proposing cuts to "shared time" programs that allow homeschooled children to access things like electives through public schools.

"We've seen a limited number of school districts go beyond what we might consider the normal range of those actions," Snyder said.

He's anticipating saving $67.9 million from changes to how shared time programs work.

Also included in Snyder's budget proposal:

He wants to bring the prison food service contracts the state outsourced back in-house, something he projected would cost $13.7 million.

He wants to put $20 million toward expanding broadband statewide.

He plans to save $18.8 million through

He wants to spend $8 million on the state's response to PFAs, the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances that have been linked to health problems and been found in drinking water supplies in

The governor's budget presentation officially kicks off budget season for the state legislature. The House and Senate appropriations committees will get to work soon on their own versions of the budget. Ultimately, the House and Senate must pass the same budget, and it must be signed by Gov. Rick Snyder, to become law.
JACKSON, MI - Charges filed against a now former Michigan State Police trooper were dropped after prosecutors were told they could not use a crucial piece of evidence in the case.

The case against Craig Ziecina was dismissed after the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld a lower court's ruling prohibiting the use of a statement written by Ziecina, suggesting he witnessed two border patrol agents stealing items during a police investigation and lied about not seeing it happen.

Prosecutors said they could not proceed without Ziecina's statement and presented a "nolle prosequi" to the court, dismissing the charges, according to a statement from the Michigan Attorney General's Office.

"After more than three years of waiting for this to go to trial, I'm heartbroken it ended like this," said Benjamin Scott, who's traffic stop of Ziecina sparked the case.

While assigned to the Jackson post and working with the state police First District Homeland Security Team, Ziecina stopped Scott's vehicle in December 2014.

Scott, who is medical marijuana card holder, said he felt abused at being accused of marijuana trafficking by Ziecina, even though no illegal drugs were found in his car during the stop.

Suspecting Scott was growing marijuana illegally at home, Ziecina and agents Terence Bruce and Stanley Nicholson, along with multiple other law enforcement officials, searched Scott's home with a narcotics warrant.

Bruce and Nicholson were accused of stealing items for their personal use during the search, according to court records. A state police lieutenant earlier said he believes a stool and a barometer or thermometer were taken.

Ziecina was aware of this, but when he was originally interviewed, he denied involvement, according to the attorney general's office. During a second interview, he admitted to knowing of the alleged theft and chose not to say anything about it, the attorney general reported.

Ziecina was suspended without pay when the charges were filed in late 2015. He was separated from the state police on Sept. 18, 2017, according to a statement from the Michigan State Police Public Affairs Section.

Scott was never charged in the incident.

"My only real satisfaction in this case is knowing he's no longer serving as a state trooper. He broke my trust in police," Scott said.

A jury earlier found Bruce and Nicholson guilty of misconduct in office and not guilty of larceny from a building. Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson sentenced each of them in December 2015 to a year of probation. Both had to pay $1,183 in costs and fines, court records show.

In July 2016, Ziecina pleaded guilty to willful neglect of duty, dropping a count of lying to a peace officer, a high court misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of two years in prison.

His plea deal was suspended after his then attorney, Richard Convertino, failed to appear in court for Ziecina's sentencing.

At a subsequent court hearing, Circuit Judge John McBain granted the defense's request to suppress the written statement made by Ziecina which were being used as evidence against him.

Citing a recent Michigan Supreme Court decision involving the use of the Disclosure by Law Enforcement Act, McBain found there was sufficient merit to believe Ziecina felt his job was on the line if he did not comply with an order to submit to investigators.

DLEOA, much like the Fifth Amendment, protects law enforcement officers from having any involuntary statements they made during criminal and internal investigations from being used against them.

The Attorney General's Office challenged McBain's ruling and appealed it to the higher court, arguing the language used by the investigators in his case was not considered an order to comply.

On Oct. 24, 2017, the Michigan Court of Appeals upheld McBain's ruling stating "the defendant was not asked to participate in an interview; he was told, 'You will be interviewed,'" according the ruling.

The appellate court agreed the wording used in the request from investigators would cause a reasonable person to believe that he or she must actively participate in an interview in order to avoid adverse employment consequences, according to the ruling.

Regarding the two border patrol agents, Bruce contended he did not know he was not allowed to assume possession of any items; Nicholson asserted a law enforcement officer or officers told him he could take property for himself, according to court documents.

The two agents, working from the Detroit area, were "embedded" with troopers assigned to the Lansing-based security team, a traffic unit concerned with crime on Michigan interstates.

They were to ask questions and initiate investigations of any violations of federal law relating to border patrol duties, such as smuggling or illegal entries.

Both men have since reported they are no longer working in public service, court documents show.
COLUMBIA TWP., MI - Matt Duckham had to act quickly to save his mother and dog who were struggling in the icy water of the pond behind their home.

Duckham's daughter was playing outside with the family's dog, Patches, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, at their home in the 5600 block of S. Stoney Lake Road.

Then, the 8-month-old German shepherd took off toward the pond.

"We couldn't find her and a passerby came by and said, 'If you're looking for a dog, she fell through the ice,'" Duckham said.

With temperatures dropping below freezing, most bodies of water have 8 inches to a foot of ice on them, said Columbia Township Fire Chief Scott Cota.

But this private pond has three bubblers in it that keep the ice thin or even absent in some areas, Cota said.

Trying desperately to save the treading pup, Duckham's mother went out onto the ice, but she fell in.

Duckham followed, but the ice gave way under his feet as well. He was in over his head in the freezing water.

"That water was rough, but your will to live overrode everything else," he said. "I was concerned about my mom, my dog and my kids. I wasn't worried about the cold."

The former U.S. Marine began slashing at the ice with his forearms until he got to ice strong enough to hold his weight, a tactic he said he learned in the service.

"I grabbed (Patches) and swung her up onto the ice and grabbed my mom and pulled her out then hauled it back to the house to get warm," Duckham said.

"Now I have to go back to work."

When firefighters responded to the scene in ice-rescue gear, all three were safely out of the water, Cota said.

This is a reminder about the dangers of going out on ice, he said.

"No ice is safe ice," Cota said.

Duckham said he, his mother and Patches are all feeling fine after the fact -- especially Patches.

Columbia Township Police also assisted at the scene.
JACKSON, MI - State Sen. Mike Shirkey, R-Clark Lake, is hosting a town hall with Ingham County's Elder Law of Michigan to discuss issues facing senior citizens.

The town hall is from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 12, at the Jackson County Department on Aging, 1715 Lansing Ave. ELM Vice President Ron Tatro will join Shirkey.

ELM is a nonprofit group that advocates, educates and assists senior citizens and people with disabilities in Michigan, according to Shirkey's press release. The speakers will take questions from residents and discuss the issues.

For more information, call Shirkey's office at 517-373-5932.
JACKSON, MI - Limping across the courtroom, Neill Freeland showed little emotion in knowing he was going to prison for giving his wife the heroin that ultimately killed her.

Circuit Judge John McBain sentenced Freeland, 46, to 10 to 30 years in prison Wednesday, Feb. 7, for contributing to the overdose death of his wife Chantel Freeland more than two years ago.

"You are a coward," McBain told Freeland. "You haven't given any reasonable explanation of your conduct and you didn't listen to a word of what was said here today by the victims, so I am giving you the maximum sentence I'm legally allowed."

Besides stating it was a terrible mistake, Freeland had little else to say about his wife's death, adding only that he was "not proud any of this happened."

Pleading guilty Nov. 1, 2016, to the lesser charge of delivery of less than 50 grams of a controlled substance, Freeland admitted he gave his wife - in the presence of their 11-year-old son - the fentanyl-laced heroin that killed her at their home on Feb. 6, 2016.

He admitted he took her to his dealer's home and later, when she overdosed, he did not call 911. He instead called his mother who arrived about 30 minutes later and saw she was overdosing. His mother called 911.

Freeland fled the home prior to the rescue crew's arrival. It was too late for the to revive the woman, records show.

Chantel's Freeland's daughter, now a high school senior, spoke during the hearing and asked McBain to give Freeland the maximum sentence.

"No words will describe how I feel, knowing I will never see my mom again," she said.

The girl's stepmother and Chantel Freeland's longtime friend, Kimberly Petty, spoke through tears, and asked for the maximum sentence as well.

"We had to call everyone and tell them she was gone," she said. "Neill took her to that place. I know it was her choice, but he could have prevented her death. He left her to die in front of her son because he was worried about his probation."

Being sentenced alongside Freeland was Forest Fleming, who was the dealer who sold Chantel Freeland the heroin while he was on parole for second-degree murder.

"When you were paroled, you should have been, 'Run, Forest run,' but instead you walked into a life of dealing heroin," McBain said.

More than five months after Chantal Freeland's death, police with a narcotics search warrant raided Fleming's home on Ganson Street. Evidence collected during the raid, along with statements from Freeland, connected Fleming to Chantel Freeland's death.

Fleming, 56, pleaded guilty to one count of delivery of a controlled substance causing death Jan. 5, just days before his trial was set to begin.

Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Jake Dickerson noted that though Freeland helped in the investigation of Fleming, and was ready to testify at his trial, he only did so to try to keep himself out of prison and had little sympathy for his wife.

"The new charge (from his plea deal) is the only benefit he will get from us," Dickerson said recommending a heavy sentence.

Fleming also was brought before the court on Wednesday for sentencing.

He had nothing to say as McBain sentenced him to 20 to 30 years in prison for delivery of a controlled substance causing death.

Though Fleming was given prison time for Chantel Freeland's death, he will spend the rest of his life in prison as his parole was revoked and he was sent back to serve a life sentence for second-degree murder, records show.

"While I appreciated he pleaded guilty to putting this poison on the streets, what really bothered me was when he was told someone died taking his drugs, he thought it was a different person," Dickerson said.
DECATUR, MI - Additional charges might be coming after dozens of tips helped lead to a suspect's arrest in connection to an arson and Decatur woman's death.

Glenn Russell Tett Jr., 32, of South Bend, Ind. was arrested and charged with open murder and second-degree arson in 31-year-old Jessica True-Wallace's death.

Tett was arraigned Feb. 2 in Van Buren County District Court in Paw Paw. A preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 20. His bond was set at $5 million.

A fire was reported about 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 30 at 201 E. St. Mary's Street in the village of Decatur. Van Buren County Sheriff Daniel Abbott said while the flames were being extinguished, police found a body in the living room of the home.

Abbott said investigators have put in a lot of overtime working the case and checking tips for the past two months. He said a tip that came to the tip line led to Tett's arrest. He and True were acquaintances.

The case remains under investigation. Abbott said additional charges might be coming against other people who were also known to True.

"We're not going to stop until we've crossed every T and dotted every I," Decatur Police Chief Thomas VanDerWoude said.

Abbott said he and VanDerWoude spent time at village meetings to assure the public they were not in danger.

"My belief is (the arrest) will bring a sense of comfort to many people who have been nervous about this," VanDerWoude said.

Decatur Police Department, Van Buren County Major Crimes Task Force, Van Buren County Sheriff's Office, Michigan State Police, Benton Harbor Safe Streets Task Force and Van Buren County Prosecutor's Office have been involved in the investigation.
KALAMAZOO, MI - After it was pulled off the table last fall, a vote on whether to place a senior millage on the ballot will come before the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners.

Administrator Tracie Moored said a vote is expected to be scheduled for the board's Feb. 20 meeting. Commissioners would decide whether to let voters decide on a six-year, 0.35-mill property tax for senior services on Aug. 6.

The millage would raise $2.8 million annually to alleviate a waiting list for in home and community services, essentially doubling the Area Agency on Aging's $2.1 million budget. The tax would cost $35 a year for a resident who owns property with a taxable value of $100,000.

Health and Community Services Director Jim Rutherford presented the plan during a Tuesday committee meeting of the board. No vote was taken at the meeting, but several commissioners voiced support.

The county's Older Adult Services Advisory Council initially brought a request for a senior millage to the board in June. In August 2017, commissioners concerned about making a hasty decision held off on a vote to place the measure on the November ballot.

Don Ryan, chair of the Older Adult Services Advisory Council, urged commissioners to let voters decide whether to support seniors.

"There are people out there that are in need," he said. "We need to help these people. We're standing here talking about living human beings who are not disposable."

The millage would pay for in home services, healthy living programs, elder abuse prevention, home meals and other programs.

Rutherford said 50,000 residents are 60 and older, just under 20 percent of the county, and therefore eligible for services provided by the Area Agency on Aging. Rutherford said 17 percent of people over 60 are living at or below the poverty level.

Meanwhile, the number of senior citizens is increasing. People are living longer, and aging baby boomers will cause a greater need for senior services, Rutherford said.

Around 23 percent of county residents could be over 60 by 2025, he said.

According to a presentation last fall, Kalamazoo is one of only 10 Michigan counties that doesn't collect taxes for senior services. Most collect between 0.4 and 0.5 mills.

In 2015, the Board of Commissioners allocated $300,000 annually to the Agency on Aging. This money would be returned to the county's general fund if the millage passes.
Mercedes-Benz China apologized on Tuesday for its parent company quoting the Dalai Lama in an extremely wrong message on social media.

The apology came after a post on Mercedes-Benzs Instagram account showed a luxury vehicle and quoted the Dalai Lama saying Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.

The post not only hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, but also challenged their bottom line on national sovereignty.

Mercedes-Benz delivered more than 600,000 new cars in China in 2017, setting a global record in a single market, according to Hubertus Troska, who is responsible for the Greater China, attributing the result to Chinese customers trust in the company.

The car company followed in the footsteps of U.S. hotel chain Marriott, who just recently apologized for wrongly labeling Chinese territories as independent countries.

Chasing profits in China while hurting the feelings of the Chinese people, the reason for this conduct of some foreign enterprises is unacceptable.

The Dalai Lamas agenda to split the country in the name of autonomy is well-known around the world, and anyone who supports him is clearly against China.

At a Tibet work conference held in August 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping pointed out that the international community should understand that foreign interference in Chinas domestic affairs is intolerable.

The President sent a clear message that any country, enterprise, or individual should not challenge the core interests of China, and any activity to split China will never be tolerated.

As a foreign enterprise, MercedesBenz always stresses its social responsibilities, but hurting Chinese customers and crossing the red line of sovereignty is not socially responsible.

Tolerance is a virtue of the Chinese culture, but tolerance has its limits. How will the German people react if a foreign enterprise speaks highly of Adolf Hitler and propagates his quotes, or worships views that try to separate German?

Clearly, cultural tolerance should not an excuse for a foreign firm to challenge the limits of a host country.

In its apology, Mercedes-Benz said it will deepen understanding of Chinese culture and values among its staff, including overseas staff. But the apology lacks sincerity and reflects the German carmakers lack of understanding of Chinese culture and values.

Chinas core interests cannot be challenged. Without sincere reflection, any foreign car business will not survive in China.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- A proposal to let a energy company survey for oil in a public park has been abandoned, but residents are appalled it was considered in the first place.

At a Tuesday meeting of the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners, around a dozen residents expressed relief that Wolverine Oil & Gas Corp. would not be allowed to look for subterranean oil reserves in Scotts Mill Park. However, they were concerned that the persistent Grand Rapids company would come back with a desire to drill.

In January, Wolverine asked the county Parks and Recreation Commission to agree to an oil and gas lease. Minutes from the meeting show commissioners voted 4-4, but the company came back on Feb. 1 to ask if it could perform seismic surveys on park property -- with the motive of completing data being collected on a six-mile line in Pavilion Township.

The commission voted 7-2 to continue discussing the request. Any recommendation from the parks commission would require an agreement to be drafted, then approved by the Board of Commissioners.

Two members of the advisory body -- Matt Lechel and Democratic county Commissioner Kevin Wordelman -- took to social media to inform the public of the decision.

Both felt that the request was being rushed without proper input from citizens.

Residents who spoke Tuesday said they were blindsided by the idea that oil could be removed from a public park. Several said they first learned about the situation on Monday.

Others pointed toward the county's support of a resolution asking the state legislature to shut down Line 5 twin pipelines across the Straits of Mackinac owned by Enbridge Inc. The Canadian company was also responsible for the disastrous spill on the Kalamazoo River; the largest and most costly inland spill in American history.

To support surveys for oil, with drilling assumed to follow, on county land would be hypocritical, said 6th District Congressional candidate David Benac. Kalamazoo city resident Andy Argo shared similar sentiment.

Residents from Pavilion Township and the southeast part of Kalamazoo County said they have been hounded by Wolverine representatives seeking permission to drill on their property. Some said Wolverine doubled, or even tripled their compensation offers on subsequent visits.

During the January parks commission meeting, Wolverine expressed interest in signing a 3-year agreement to extract oil from the 110-acre park, located near Scotts.

Under a proposal presented by a Wolverine representative, the county would be given $150 per acre, $16,500 total, and 1/6th of royalties.

Wordelman said even performing surveys is a bad idea due to the "imperial nature" of energy companies.

After the parks commission vote last week, a conversation was sparked between county administration, commissioners and parks director David Rachowicz. They decided Tuesday that the county won't continue considering Wolverine's request to survey the park.

While this was applauded by residents, most were skeptical that it put the issue to bed forever.

Commissioner Tracy Hall and Wordelman posited passing a resolution to ban drilling outright.

"The sharks are circling," Wordelman said. "We can wait until they are at the door or we can say 'absolutely not on park land on public property.' I think that is the best way to respond."

County Board Chairwoman Stephanie Moore attempted cool residents' heads before the public comment section of Tuesday's board meeting; once in a video address posted to the county's YouTube channel, and again before opening the floor for comments.

Several residents said they were confused about what the parks commission agreed to. Minutes from the two meetings don't make it clear that votes wouldn't give Wolverine permission to do anything.

Lechel said there was confusion among the parks commission too. Moore thanked him for alerting the public.

He hopes it's "crystal clear" how the public feels after Tuesday.

Commissioners said the message was heard. Several expressed concern that it took public backlash for them to find out about the conversations with Wolverine.

"As we've heard from the citizens tonight I just want ot say this concerns me too," Hall said. "I hope we find a way to do better. You can see how upset they were and you can see why. We all kind of looked silly."

Scotts Mill County Park was acquired by the county and opened to the public in 1976.

It features a historic 1870s water-powered mill, trails, fishing, a picnic space, and boasts one of the best outdoor wedding spots in the area, according to its Kalamazoo County webpage.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- The Michigan Department of Corrections Parole Board is reviewing a request to pardon a doctor arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Lukasz Niec, M.D., 43, was arrested by ICE agents Tuesday, Jan. 16, at his home near Kalamazoo, and is eligible for possible deportation because of two misdemeanor convictions, according ICE officials.

A doctor with Bronson Healthcare, Niec came to the United States from Poland when he was 5 years old. He served over two weeks in the Calhoun County Jail before being released on bond Feb. 1 following a bond hearing in Detroit.

Gov. Rick Snyder received a request to pardon Niec and forwarded it to the MDOC Parole Board for review, Snyder spokeswoman Anna Heaton said.

The Department of Corrections received the request for a pardon or clemency on Monday, Jan. 29, according to the agency, and it was forwarded to the parole board for review.

Niec can be deported because of two misdemeanor convictions on his record; destruction of property and receiving stolen property, according to ICE. Both happened in Michigan when Niec was 17.

Niec's attorney, Russell Abrutyn, said the pardon request was submitted in relation to the two 1992 convictions.

While pardons are sometimes requested to free a prisoner, they can also have an impact on removal proceedings such as those Niec faces.

"There's a provision in immigration law that certain deportation grounds do not apply to convictions that are the subject of a full and unconditional gubernatorial pardon," Abrutyn said.

Though he confirmed the pardon request was submitted, Niec's attorney declined to discuss details of the application. An MDOC spokeswoman said on Friday she could not confirm the contents of the pardon application.

The application asks for information about convictions, employment and unemployment, schools attended, charitable or civic activities, and specific information about how the person's life was negatively impacted by the conviction or convictions. For applicants trying to avoid deportation, the application asks for documentation of immigration status.

If the parole board determines the pardon application has merit, the judge and prosecutor in the sentencing county would be asked for their position and if neither objects to the application, a public hearing would be held. After the public hearing, the board would send the application, a transcript of the public hearing and its determination of merit to the governor's office for a final decision.

If the board determines that the application does not have merit, the board would send the application and its determination of no merit directly to the governor's office for a final decision.

If a pardon is granted, the governor's office would issue pardon documents, file the pardon with the Michigan Secretary of State, and notify the Michigan State Police and the applicant. In the case of a prisoner granted a pardon, the sentence would be effectively voided.

If the governor grants a commutation request, commuting the petitioner's sentence to a term of years already served, the parole board would assume jurisdiction over the case and vote on a parole.

In 2017, the governor's office received 343 pardon applications, according to spokeswoman Tanya Baker.

The governor did not grant any pardons in 2017 and has not granted any so far in 2018, she said.

"This is likely due to the fact that many applications filed are still under review," Baker said, noting the several steps in the process.

Abrutyn said on Tuesday, Feb. 6, he did not know when Niec's next court date would be.

Niec's convictions are for malicious destruction of property and receiving stolen property are both considered crimes involving moral turpitude, according to ICE.

In the destruction of property case, Niec said he did not do anything wrong but was guilty by association. In the receiving stolen property case, he said friends used a card to get money, and some of it was given to him.

"Everybody can make mistakes when they were young," Niec said the day after he was released from jail on bond. "Obviously, I turned my life around I feel like. I didn't continue that kind of behavior," said Niec, who has been a Bronson Healthcare physician for more than a decade.

Niec most recently came under ICE scrutiny as a result of 18 encounters with local law enforcement, the agency said. ICE did not provide further specifics of the encounters.

Kalamazoo County District Court records show Niec has 22 cases generated from 18 contacts with police. Violations include four no proof of insurance violations, seven speeding tickets, failure to change address on license, causing an accident, careless driving, seat belt violation, driving without due care, and parking near a fire hydrant.

Niec pleaded guilty to a 2008 operating impaired by liquor offense in Kalamazoo County. He completed probation, and the conviction was set aside, the plea withdrawn and the case dismissed, as part of a plea agreement.

He was charged with domestic violence in 2013 and a jury found him not guilty after a trial, record show.

ICE officials confirmed Wednesday, Jan. 24, that the agency began an investigation as a result of child abuse allegations against Niec. Both Niec and his wife have denied child abuse allegations against Niece while testifying in court.

Niec believes a tip was called in to ICE and they discovered everything on his record while investigating him, leading to his arrest.

"Hindsight is easy," Niec said when asked why he did not obtain citizenship earlier. He would like to obtain U.S. citizenship when he can, he said, and wishes he would have done it sooner.
LANSING, MI -- The state has taken regulatory action against a Coldwater psychologist who bilked insurance companies for hundreds of thousands of dollars, by suspending his license to practice psychology.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs served an order summarily suspending the psychology license of Sturgis psychologist George Edwin Compton Jr.

The 63-year-old mental health counselor pleaded guilty on June 22, to defrauded health care benefits programs of more than $800,000 between Jan. 1, 2013 and June 30, 2016. He admitted to billing insurance companies for counseling sessions that never occurred and in some cases creating false patient-treatment records to cover his tracks.

In one case he billed for sessions that involved a man who would have been in a coma and in another, he billed for 100 counseling sessions involving children in a family where he actually conducted only eight sessions.

At his November sentencing, where he faced the possibility of up to 10 years in federal prison, he admitted to spending half of the money on vacations, concert tickets and a mobile-recording business. He said he was ashamed of his actions and said, "The worst punishment for my admitted crimes will be the exclusion from the very work I love."

Compton was convicted on Nov. 21, 2017, of felonious health care fraud and sentenced to serve 28 months in prison. That occurred in Grand Rapids at the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan.

According to information provided by the state, the Michigan Public Health Code requires the summary suspension of a license when a licensee is convicted of a felony. It explained that an order of summary suspension is a temporary measure to protect the public and not a final determination that a licensee has violated the Public Health Code.

-Rollover near Sprinkle Road and East Main Street - 4:45 p.m. - no injuries. Near the consumer ponds.
KALAMAZOO, MI -- Organizations took a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness in Kalamazoo County.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires local Continuum of Care networks to conduct an annual count of people in emergency shelters, transitional housing, and safe havens -- as well as places not meant for human habitation -- on a single night.

The "point-in-time" count is a glance at homeless populations across the country; in Kalamazoo it occurred on Jan. 31 and the morning of Feb. 1.

The results provide agencies with data on the area's homeless population, which is critical when applying for federal and state grants.

Kalamazoo County officials used to perform the count, but Local Initiative Support Coalition took over in 2009 to divest the county from potential conflicts of interest stemming from its use of HUD funds. Nonprofits and law enforcement organizations partnered with volunteers to canvas shelters and the streets.

Surveyors ask for personal identifying information, including age, race and gender, as well as veteran and disability status and their history of being homeless. People are also asked if they have a photo ID, and the data will be used as part of ongoing efforts to make obtaining personal identification easier.

Last fall, the county Board of Commissioners approved a pilot program allowing people experiencing homelessness to obtain vital records for free. It sets aside $5,000 worth of waivers for citizens who receive a voucher from Ministry with Community and the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission.

The waiver program was conceived with the United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region while the county worked to create a local ID program. On July 5, Kalamazoo County became the third Michigan government to create an identification card for residents who lack documents needed to gain a state ID.

According to 2017 results provided by LISC, there were 235 adults and children were surveyed in emergency or transitional shelters in Kalamazoo County. This is just a slice of those experiencing homelessness; estimates range higher than 5,000.

The figure represents 75 households, most of which were staying in shelters due to an emergency.

Only 15 people were identified as being chronically homeless last year. Forty-one people were living in shelters while they transitioned to new housing.

Jessica Garrison is the manager of information systems and performance for Housing Resources Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to finding housing solutions for people in crisis.

She said a majority of people that are homeless and not living in a shelter are single men. Most of those who are sheltered are women under 30 with young children.

"I don't think that most people, when they think about homelessness, realize that a majority are families and single parents with children," Garrison said.

More than half -- 158 total -- were under age 18.

The 2017 count revealed a disparity in the homeless population among gender and ethnic lines.

Women represented 64 percent of people surveyed last year, 150 total.

Three out of four people in shelters last year identified as being African-American. Only 12 percent were white, while 10 percent said they belong to multiple races.

Garrison said volunteers also passed out hygenie kits donated by the United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region, Costco, D&W Fresh Market and Sam's Club.

Kalamazoo County is focusing efforts on addressing homelessness in local communities.

A December fire in an abandoned warehouse that ousted an estimated 60-plus homeless people brought renewed attention on the issue of homelessness in the Kalamazoo area. In a news conference after the blaze, noprofit agencies asked for a community-wide response to address homelessness.

This year, the Kalamazoo Public Library selected a book on homelessness and affordable housing as part of its annual Reading Together program. "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City," by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond, takes readers into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee, Wisc. to tell the story of eight families.

According to the library, each of the more than 200 copies of "Evicted" in the KPL collection is checked out.
Zachary Patten

KALAMAZOO, MI -- A trial begins Wednesday, Feb. 7 in the murder of a Kalamazoo mother.

Zachary Patten, 33, of Portage, faces felony charges of open murder, carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearm in the July 20, 2017, death of Graciela Portillo-Esparza.

Police say Patten shot and killed Portillo-Esparza in the Americana Estates Mobile Home Park in Kalamazoo at 9:38 p.m. July 20. According to police reports, Patten was arguing with Oscar Portillo-Esparza, the ex-boyfriend of his girlfriend. Oscar's sister, Graciela Portillo-Esparza got in between the two when the gun went off.

Police say Patten then drove 30 miles south to a house in the 16900 block of Featherstone Road in Florence Township around 10:15 p.m. Thursday, got into an altercation with Shane Richardson and shot and killed him. Richardson is the husband of Patten's ex-wife, Kaleena Richardson, according to court records.

Patten faces felony murder, open murder, first-degree home invasion and felony firearm charges in St. Joseph County for Richardson's death.

Graciela Portillo-Esparza

The next day, Friday, July 21, Patten approached police officers about 50 miles away in Indiana and said he "needed to be arrested."

The officers, finishing a call at a South Bend grocery store, identified Patten and found he was wanted out of Kalamazoo and St. Joseph County, Michigan. He was arrested and was later extradited to the St. Joseph County, Mich. jail.

According to police reports obtained by the Kalamazoo Gazette through the Freedom of Information Act, Patten was stressed and had ongoing issues with the men in the lives of his current and former wife and girlfriend.

According to an interview with a Kalamazoo detective at St. Joseph County Metro Homicide, less than 24 hours after Zachary Patten allegedly shot and killed the sister of his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend and then allegedly shot and killed the new husband of his ex-wife, he confessed to the crimes and said he "could not bear it any longer."

A jury was selected by early afternoon Wednesday, and opening arguments are expected in the case Wednesday afternoon.
MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI - A proposal to use senior millage dollars on home care services would help up to 120 elderly county residents maintain their independence with access to housekeeping, medication management and home-delivered meals.

The request for $329,280 was approved by the county's Senior Activities Committee in January. The Muskegon County Board of Commissioners also gave preliminary approval to the request on Tuesday at the board's human services committee meeting.

If approved by the full board on Tuesday, Feb. 13, Senior Resources of West Michigan and its partners would be allowed to boost its purchased services program for qualified county residents.

Senior Resources is tasked with administering care and activities funded by the county. The Senior Activities Committee - made up of several county commissioners and community health leaders - oversees the use of senior millage funds, pending county board approval.

At present, more than 390 people ages 60 and up receive in-home care in Muskegon County, along with support and assessment services. Those amenities are traditionally covered by federal and state grants. The average cost of a participating senior is $2,099 a year.

There's also a lengthy wait list with 160 residents in line to receive care. The proposed funding would allow Senior Resources and its partners to assess and arrange in-home care for an additional 120 residents.

Out of those 120, 86 of them would be approved for snow removal and lawn care, which costs $900 per participant each year.

Services are provided by a number of third-party vendors. They include:

Adult day care

Light housekeeping

Meal preparation

Home-delivered meals

Medication management

Personal care, such as bathing and grooming assistance

Medical alert devices

Respite care

Snow removal and lawn care

On Tuesday, Commissioner Ken Mahoney said the allocation was a "perfect" use of senior millage funds. His comment came after county leaders floated $1.7 million from the senior millage fund to pay off contractual services for Brookhaven Medical Facility.

The county-owned nursing home was ordered closed in November 2017 due to ongoing financial hardships. Several residents balked at the transfer, and called the decision a misuse of taxpayer funds.
UPDATE:

Suspect arrested in beating and robbery of woman in Saginaw office building

SAGINAW, MI -- The robbery and severe beating of a woman in a downtown Saginaw office building has shocked and saddened the surrounding business community.

Police have not yet released the name of the 65-year-old woman found lying in a pool of blood in the fourth-floor offices of the READ Association of Saginaw County inside the Jefferson One Building, 100 S. Jefferson, Tuesday morning, Feb. 6.

The woman, an employee of the nonprofit, was attacked at about 9:42 a.m. She was able to provide a brief statement to detectives. She was attacked from behind and robbed of her purse, which officers later recovered from a nearby dumpster, according to a Saginaw Police Department news release.

Mobile Medical Response transported the woman to Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw. From there, she was airlifted to the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor.

Police do not believe she knew her attacker.

"This seems to be pretty random," said Saginaw Police Department Detective Sgt. Matthew Gerow. "The victim has no knowledge of this person."

Gerow said such an incident is rare.

"That's the stuff you see on TV."

Cynthia A. Pape, president/director of the READ Association of Saginaw County, issued the following statement Wednesday, Feb. 7:

"We are very devastated by the tragic act of violence that has occurred at our office. One of our part-time employees has been critically injured. Our prayers are with her and her family and we are doing everything we can to support them in her recovery.

"Our mentoring program will continue as normal. Mentoring occurs at schools and other community locations, not at our operations office. The office is closed temporarily while we take measures to ensure the safety of our staff and volunteers who visit the office. We can be reached by email or by leaving a phone message so we can continue to support our volunteers."

Bob Van Deventer, president of the Saginaw County Chamber of Commerce, said such a crime is unheard of in Saginaw.

"In the 40-plus years that I've worked in Saginaw, it's the first time I've ever heard of anything like this happening. It's tragic. It's very concerning," he said.

"Our prayers go out to whoever the victim was and the people that they work with. Our hearts go out to everybody on this. It's such an unusual and tragic circumstance."

United Way of Saginaw County also has offices in the Jefferson One Building. Jacob Browning, marketing and communications coordinator for the organization, called the incident a tragedy.

"Everyone here, our thoughts and our sympathies are with the employee and their coworkers and family members," he said. "We all work here in this community and we all believe Saginaw is a safe place."

Lisa Kelly, who owns Bradley's Bistro, 216 Federal Ave., with her husband Scott Kelly, called the incident sad and frightening.

"For a business in downtown, obviously, for more than one reason, this comes across as terrible news in our neighborhood," she said.

Kelly said there are positive things happening downtown, but that positive growth and change isn't evenly distributed across the city.

"If certain people are being left behind, that creates room for poverty and crime," she said.

"I hope that we as a community can find a way to spread that out. The positive things that are happening need to not just be happening to a few people or a few businesses in a few blocks."

Linsey Morrell, co-owner and operating manager of dawn of a new day coffee house and cafe, 210 S. Washington Ave., was saddened and surprised by the news.

"It's tragic and it's very unfortunate, but it's so uncommon that it doesn't change my thoughts and views on downtown," she said.

Morrell, who has worked and lived in downtown Saginaw off-and-on over the past several years, said she has never felt unsafe there and hopes this rare occurrence won't deter people from coming downtown.

"I love downtown. I wouldn't want my business to be anywhere else," she said. "I feel safe and I hope people still come down and see what it's all about."

MLive reporter Michael Kransz contributed to this report.
UPDATE:

Suspect arrested in beating and robbery of woman in Saginaw office building

SAGINAW, MI -- Police have released surveillance camera footage of a man suspected of robbing and severely beating a woman in a downtown Saginaw office building Tuesday morning, Feb. 6.

Police say this man is suspected of robbing and severely beating a 65-year-old woman inside the Jefferson One Building, 100 S. Jefferson in downtown Saginaw, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018.

The 65-year-old Birch Run woman was attacked at about 9:42 a.m. in the fourth-floor offices of the READ Association of Saginaw County in the Jefferson One Building, 100 S. Jefferson, where she works, according to police. Officers found her lying on the floor in a pool of blood.

Police have not released the woman's name.

The woman was able to provide a brief statement to detectives. She was attacked from behind and robbed of her purse, which officers later recovered from a nearby dumpster, according to a Saginaw Police Department news release.

Mobile Medical Response transported the woman to Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw. From there, she was airlifted to the University of Michigan hospital in Ann Arbor.

Detectives are actively seeking surveillance footage from nearby businesses. Surveillance video taken inside the Jefferson One Building appears to show the suspect, an approximately 30-year-old man wearing a tan Carhartt jacket, enter suite 401 and then leave less than five minutes later with the woman's purse.

Police recovered the suspect's jacket, which was bloodied, from the same dumpster where the woman's purse was found, the release states. Police believe the assailant went to St. Mary's hospital after the assault.

Detectives with the Saginaw Police Department and Michigan State Police are investigating this incident and reviewing surveillance footage. Anyone who has any information pertaining to this incident is urged to call D/Sgt. Matthew Gerow at 989-759-1251 or CRIMESTOPPERS at 1-800-422-JAIL.
NASA reports that it has not only rediscovered its long-thought dead IMAGE spacecraft, but that its satellite is "fully charged" and overall "in good shape."

The U.S. space agency says it will next try to turn on IMAGE's science tools but that it needs to recreate 12-year-old software to even attempt to do so. NASA says in a statement that "this could take some time."

IMAGE was lost when NASA couldn't "establish a routine communication" with the Deep Space Network. The space agency's official report on the failure cited an unexpected error within the power system as the reason for its disappearance.

This continues to puzzle the space agency as it highlighted a couple of different factors it would be taking a closer look at. This includes trying to piece together what caused the IMAGE to power back on and send signals and why only one side of its onboard electronics is working.

"As we move forward, NASA is starting to recreate a small control center that can generate the commanding needed to better understand and control the satellite," NASA said in a statement. "This will then allow us to gain insights into the state of various science instruments, and see whether any are still functional.

"Should any of the instruments be functional, NASA will convene a panel of external scientists to assess the science potential in the context of constrained budgets for operating spacecraft."

The IMAGE spacecraft launched back in March 2000 and was "unexpectedly lost" when NASA failed to "establish a routine communication" in December 2005. All hope for the IMAGE was lost in 2007 after an eclipse failed to "induce a reboot, (and) the mission was declared over."

It remained lost at space until an amateur astronomer, Scott Tilley, found IMAGE while looking for a classified U.S. satellite.

The IMAGE spacecraft was originally launched to study the magnetosphere, which is the invisible magnetic field that surrounds the Earth. Science reports the mission was considered a success by NASA before it went missing.

The U.S. space agency reports it successfully completed its initial two-year mission in 2002, and then extended its mission before being lost.
Two New York lawmakers have asked their state to force companies change the way they package and present laundry detergent pods as concerns over the "Tide Pods challenge" continue.

As of Jan. 22, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported there had already been 86 calls regarding teens intentionally ingesting the detergent pods in 2018. People are recording themselves ingesting the detergent pods, that are loaded with poisonous chemicals, and posting the videos online.

Some of the solutions presented by Assemblymember Aravella Simotas, of Queens, and State Sen. Brad Hoylman include making the pods one uniform color, adding a bitter agent and make them feel more firm.

The Associated Press reports Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat, said Tide Pods are "squishy, they smell sweet and they look like gummy bears."

"As the parent of two young kids, I'm very concerned about the safety of liquid detergent packets, which look and smell like candy," the state senator said in a news release.

"It makes no sense to me that with nearly 30 incidents a day, manufacturers still haven't made these products safe. It's way past time to fix these products or remove them altogether from store shelves."

What should Tide PODs be used for? DOING LAUNDRY. Nothing else.



Eating a Tide POD is a BAD IDEA, and we asked our friend @robgronkowski to help explain. pic.twitter.com/0JnFdhnsWZ  Tide (@tide) January 12, 2018

Tide Pods are laundry detergent. They are made to clean clothes and nothing else.  Tide (@tide) January 25, 2018

--

A.P. reports that Tide's parent company, Procter & Gamble Co., has launched a campaign effort fighting the strange social media trend, and even redesigned the bags holding the pods and added an extra bitter taste. The two lawmakers say they want more child-resistant packaging, more distinct warning labels, individual wrapping for each pod, in addition to the uniform color and bitter agent.

In January, Procter & Gamble CEO David Taylor said they were working on getting the Tide Pods challenge videos taken offline in a statement on the company's website.

"However, even the most stringent standards and protocols, labels and warnings can't prevent intentional abuse fueled by poor judgment and the desire for popularity," Taylor said in the statement.

"Let's all take a moment to talk with the young people in our lives and let them know that their life and health matter more than clicks, views and likes. Please help them understand that this is no laughing matter."

In a letter addressed to Taylor from the two Democratic lawmakers on Jan. 29, they say they are encouraged by the company's willingness to work with them on this matter.

"However, these steps have failed," the letter reads. "According to the American Association of Poison Control Centers, 10,395 laundry pod injuries were reported in 2013; that number rose to a peak of 12,594 in 2015 before returning to 10,570 in 2017--demonstrating there has been little progress.

"Pods also continue to be especially dangerous to adults with dementia, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, with at least 6 deaths being attributed to them since 2012. The recent 'Tide Pod Challenge' has created a new category of victims, with 86 cases of intentional exposure in the first three weeks of 2018 alone."

Read our letter to Procter & Gamble urging them to stop making laundry pods that look like candy or else remove the product from store shelves: https://t.co/RyiSuBiTKv https://t.co/9EJupoEfoZ  Aravella Simotas (@AravellaSimotas) February 6, 2018

--

The lawmakers ask that even though their potential legislation would only affect New Yorkers, that Procter & Gamble and all other manufactures of the pods commit to their suggested measures.

This measure was met with opposition from Republican Assemblyman Joseph Errigo, who told A.P. that it's "not the manufacturers who are to blame when people make stupid decisions with their products."

"I suggest that instead of hanging taxpayers out to dry, Democrats should focus their energy on fixing the load of problems the people sent us here to solve in the first place," Errigo, R-Livingston County, said.
The Belt and Road Initiative has brought many opportunities to its participants, said Abrar Manzoor, a Pakistani employee of a Chinese company in Saudi Arabia. More and more Pakistanis are coming back to develop their own country, he added.

Abrar is a purchasing manager at the Saudi Arabia branch of China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC). Abrar, together with nine other foreign staff members, were bestowed with the Excellent Foreign Youth Employee award in Beijing at the end of January.

In his eyes, Chinese are diligent and friendly. He said he has become half-Chinese after working in the Chinese enterprise for a long time. Chinese colleagues are family, he told Global Times.

Abundant job opportunities attracted the Pakistani man to Saudi Arabia, but he later found that more and more of his peers were going back to Pakistan for work because of the huge employment opportunities created by the Belt and Road Initiative.

He said that one of his friends has just returned to Pakistan, hoping to make a contribution to his own country.

Abrar said that no country will obey the will of others for profits when talking about the recent threats from the US to freeze aid to Pakistan. He believes that cooperation is based on economic and trade relations, harmonious communication, and brotherliness.

On the contrary, he said, Chinas assistance to Pakistan is unconditional, the spirit of which is beyond the expression of language. China has earned both welcome and respect from Pakistan, he said.

After working for CCCC, Abrar has learnt more about cooperation. As the purchasing manager, he always makes the suppliers understand that it is not only cash exchanges that are important, but also partnerships.

They are not working for me, but with me, he noted.

However, the cooperation between China and Pakistan on the Belt and Road construction has been publicly opposed by India. I dont understand why India feels afraid about cooperation between the two countries, Abrar said, adding that India is a hypocrite in this sense.

He believes that the Belt and Road is a road of business that promotes local development, creates more jobs, and enhances trade. There is no need to oppose it, he said.
Michigan's highest ranked unsigned recruit from the class of 2018 has decided to play elsewhere.

Otis Reese, a four-star linebacker from Leesburg, Ga., signed his letter of intent to play for the University of Georgia on Wednesday.

The announcement came on national signing day, at Lee County High School, and more than a year and a half after Reese verbally committed to Michigan.

The 6-foot-4, 206-pound outside linebacker was ranked as the 87th best recruit in the class of 2018, and fifth-best outside linebacker, according to 247Sports' composite.

But his commitment to Michigan in June of 2016 was far from a done deal. Georgia had been courting Reese for the better part of the last year. Since last February, he took five visits to the school's campus in Athens.

During the same span, he took one visit to Michigan, in January. Reese also considered Central Michigan, where his older brother, Da'Quan Jamison, plays as a defensive back.

Reese's flip was a blow to Michigan's 2018 recruiting class, which has been void of any five-star commitments and, now, just seven four-sar signees. He would have been the program's top-rated signee in 247Sports' composite rankings.

Michigan players, including 2018 signee and fellow Georgian Myles Sims, took to Twitter on Tuesday as a last-ditch effort to try and keep Reese on board. That proved unsuccessful.

As of Wednesday morning, the Wolverines' recruiting class included 16 signed players and ranked No. 17 nationally. Still left to sign: three-star cornerback Vincent Gray (Rochester Adams), three-star athlete Michael Barrett (Valdosta, Ga.) and three-star receiver Ronnie Bell (Kansas City, Mo.).

Michigan is coming off an 8-5 season, one that ended with a three-game losing skid and 26-19 loss to South Carolina in the Outback Bowl.
[February 06, 2018]

Millicom's Tigo El Salvador Signs Agreement to Sell and Lease Back Towers to SBA

LUXEMBOURG, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Millicom International Cellular S.A. ("Millicom"), announced today that its subsidiary Telemovil El Salvador S.A. de C.V. ("Tigo El Salvador") has agreed to sell up to approximately 800 wireless communications towers to a subsidiary of SBA Communications Corporation ("SBA") in El Salvador. As a result of the transaction, Tigo El Salvador will receive approximately US$145 million in cash.

Additionally, the two companies have entered into a long-term agreement whereby SBA will provide Tigo El Salvador with wireless communications towers to support the company's wireless networks and rollout plans. The transaction is expected to create savings in both capital and operating expenditures for Tigo El Salvador. The specific number of towers and final purchase price will be determined once the various closings have taken place, which are subject to customary closing conditions.

Mauricio Ramos, Chief Executive Officer of Millicom said: "We continue to deliver towards our strategy of growing our mobile data and cable revenue with a focus on Latin America, while enhancing our capital efficiency. Our agreement with SBA, which has a significant presence throughout the Americas, is in alignment with this strategy and with our aim to work with strong partners that can help us provide superior connectivity to our customers in the region."

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, also presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia, attend the opening ceremony of the years of China-Russia local cooperation and exchange, in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 7, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

HARBIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinpingand his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putinon Wednesday sent congratulatory messages to the opening ceremony of the years of China-Russia local cooperation and exchange.

Calling localities an important force for China-Russia all-round win-win cooperation, Xi said he and President Putin decided to hold years of China-Russia local cooperation and exchange in 2018 and 2019.

Xi voiced his hope that it would inspire enthusiasm for local bilateral cooperation, further tap cooperation potential and encourage more localities, enterprises and people to join the cause of China-Russia friendly cooperation and common development.

Both China and Russia are at an important period of national development and rejuvenation, Xi said in his message, adding the development plans of both countries enjoy a high degree of affinity, and bilateral local cooperation is promising.

He called on both sides to make the event a new spotlight in bilateral ties, and work together for a splendid future in relations.

Putin hailed the progress of Russia-China all-round partnership of strategic coordination, adding that the years of local cooperation and exchange would cement contact and cooperation between various Russian federal subjects and Chinese localities.

There will be more than 100 activities including an investment conference; trade, industry and agriculture exhibitions; seminars; art festivals; and exchange of visits.

Representatives of the two countries will meet at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Eastern Economic Forum and Russia-China Expo, Putin said, adding that he believes the years will fully exploit the potential for local cooperation.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang addressed the opening ceremony in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, together with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, also presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia.

They also hosted the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Cooperation of the Northeast China and the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia.

Wang hailed the progress of China-Russia local cooperation, citing rapid growth of trade between China and Russia's Far East, as well as enhanced investment cooperation and cultural exchanges, and progress in interconnectivity projects.

China appreciates Russia's new measures to promote development in the Far East and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, and expects these measures to have good outcomes, Wang said.

Calling China one of Russia's most important political and economic partners, Trutnev said Russia hopes to work closely with China to speed up infrastructure building, and boost local cooperation.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, also presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia, attend a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Cooperation of the Northeast China and the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia, in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 7, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)
Yogesh Mehta, Associate Vice President- PCG Advisory Equities at Motilal Oswal told CNBC-TV18, "JSW Steel is a stock which we are recommending to buy. Current price is Rs 290, keeping a stop loss of Rs 285, target could be in the range of Rs 297-298."

"The other one is Bharat Electronics (BEL). Current price is Rs 155, keeping a stop loss of Rs 151, target could be around Rs 160-162 levels."

"The third one which we are recommending to buy is Titan Company . Rs 795 is the current price, keeping a stop loss of Rs 785, target could be in the range of Rs 814-815," he said.
Of late, the Indian retail sector has been at an inflexion point on the back of favourable macroeconomic factors such as increasing consumer disposable incomes, a spurt in demand from smaller cities/rural regions, growing penetration of organised retail and co-existence of offline and online channels.

Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail and Shoppers Stop, two well-known names in Indian retail, recently announced their quarterly numbers.

Here's a look at how things panned out for them:-

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFR)

ABFR (market cap: Rs 11,926.4 crore) is one of Indias largest fashion retailers with a 6.8 million square footprint. ABFRs network as on December 31, 2017 spans 2412 stores, 4850 multi-brand outlets, e-commerce portals, and 3750 shop-in-shop outlets.

In the quarter gone by, ABFRs sales were marginally affected at the start due to the preponement of the festive season to Q2FY18. However, tailwinds such as wedding season, strong winter and an early onset of the end-of-season promotion schemes during the festive period compensated for it.

In contrast, the fast fashion sub-segment was a dampener on account of a 14 percent decline in revenue (owing to business rationalisation) and an inability to break-even (due to one-time inventory corrections accounted in Forever 21).

What lies ahead?

Lifestyle segment

Prospects of Pantaloons and Lifestyle Brands segments look good. Moreover, cost control measures in these areas will facilitate margin accretion. Pantaloons will play a key role in driving ABFRs future earnings and it is evident from the scale of investments made by the company over a period of time.

GST woes behind

Barring ABFRs Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh markets, GST-induced disruptions seem to be normalising, thus hinting at recovery of the wholesale channels. The company will add 60-80 new stores in the coming years, mainly in the tier 2/3 cities of India, roughly 20 percent of which would be franchise-run.

Fast fashion segment

ABFR aims to restructure its Forever 21 brand by FY19 end through closure/resizing of stores, selective expansion and optimal inventory management. Additionally, to initiate a turnaround in the People brand, the company will adopt the large format store model extensively to enhance visibility.

Other businesses segment

To boost the sale of innerwear products, ABFR is focused on product differentiation, geographic expansion, and promoting the international innerwear brands portfolio. The company entered into a licensing/distribution agreement with Ralph Lauren and will open its first Ted Baker outlet in Q4FY18.

Shoppers Stop Limited (SSL)

Shoppers Stop (market cap: Rs 4,555.5 crore), one of the largest department stores in India (237 outlets, 4.5 million sq feet area), sells products across categories such as apparel, lifestyle, and home furniture. Crossword, Home Stop, MAC, Estee, Clinique, and Bobbi Brown are the companys major brands.

SSLs year on year revenue growth was subdued owing to store renovations and lower MRPs due to downward revisions of GST rates on non-apparel products (comprising nearly 37 percent of SSLs sales). The improved bottom-line performance was attributable to cost efficiencies and debt reduction.

The plan ahead?

Operating leverage

SSL expects 4/7.5 percent same-store sales growth by FY18/FY19 end, respectively. The company targets achieving higher asset turns from its Rs 130 crore capex schedule in FY19, mainly through margin-accretive private label brands.

Online presence

SSLs exclusive deal with Amazon India (SSLs products will be available on Amazon from May 2018) will give its brands/products ample visibility. Simultaneously, the company is working on streamlining its own omnichannel network . The blend of online and offline channels should augur well for top-line growth.

Debt repayment

SSL intends to pare Rs 40-50 crore of debt by Q4FY18 and become debt-free by FY19 end. Consequently, a higher percentage of the companys operating profits from its core departmental store business should flow to the bottom-line.

Should you invest?

Though ABFRs business transformation looks promising, a lot depends on how quickly the Forever 21 stores regain momentum. Losses in the innerwear products business will extend for a few more quarters. Steep rent costs at marquee locations and high competitive intensity may impact margins too.

ABFR hasnt rallied much in recent times, which leaves decent room for a re-rating. At 36.7x FY20 projected earnings, investors with a medium to long-term investment horizon may consider the stock.

Conclusion of the Hypercity deal between Shoppers Stop (SSL) and Future Retail will strengthen SSLs financial performance pretty noticeably since the company gets rid of a loss-making and grocery-oriented (primarily, if not entirely) margin-dilutive division.

SSL, in a bid to increase the contribution of its own brands to overall revenue (to 12/15/18 percent by FY18/19/20 end, respectively), has changed its strategy from fashion at premium to fashion at value. This hints at the possibility of balancing volume-driven sales growth at reasonable realisation levels.

Completion of refurbishment of SSLs 8 stores in Q4FY18, addition of 6 new outlets (1 in Q4, 5 in FY19), and accounting for one-time adjustments in FY18 itself (pertaining to exit from the Timezone brand and Hypercity impairment) will work in favour of SSLs earnings visibility prospects from H2FY19.

SSL, therefore, appears to be moving on from most of its major headwinds in the past, which, we believe, could lead to a re-rating.

The stock has corrected quite a bit over the past month and thus offers some valuation comfort. At 29.7x FY20 projected earnings, SSL deserves an investors attention.

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Air India's regional carrier Alliance Air has signed a three-year agreement with Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) to deliver fleet maintenance services and support for PW127M engines, the Canadian company said on Wednesday.

"We continue to deliver highly flexible solutions, personalised to the needs of each fleet and airline," said Frederic Lefebvre, Vice President, Regional Airlines, P&WC, in a statement.

"With every tailored maintenance solution, we focus on maximised aircraft availability and optimised maintenance operations. Alliance Air is an important regional carrier serving the Indian population," he said.

Customised specifically to Alliance Air, the engine maintenance agreement will support the company's technical and business needs as well as help lock in lower maintenance costs and simplify fleet operations management.

They also enable airlines to focus on their core business of passenger and cargo transportation.

"The PW127M engines powering Alliance Airs ATR aircraft will be maintained at our facility located in Singapore which this year is celebrating its 35th anniversary of operation," added Lefebvre.

P&WC, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation, is participating at the Singapore Airshow.
Can LN Mittal's ArcelorMittal still put in a bid for Bhushan Steel, though the last date for submission for bids for the troubled steelmaker was February 3? Yes, say legal experts.

While ArcelorMittal has publicly denied interest in Bhushan Steel any longer, industry people think otherwise.

What has been holding back the UK-based steel behemoth from bidding for any distressed steel assets is a clause in the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, which bars indebted promoters from bidding unless they have cleared their loans.

ArcelorMittal is in the process of selling its 29 percent stake in Uttam Galva Steels, which has been referred to the National Company Law Tribunal. Uttam Galva owes over Rs 5,000 crore to banks.

There are two things that favour ArcelorMittal now. One, the world's largest steelmaker is selling its stake in Uttam Galva Steels back to the latter's founding family.

ArcelorMittal had bought 29.05 per cent stake in Uttam Galva Steels in 2009 for Rs 120 a share. The company has now been forced to sell the stake - at Rs 1 a share - at considerable loss "because Uttam Galva has zero equity value now," said a senior executive at the company.

Now after selling its stake in Uttam Galva, ArcelorMittal has a clean slate and thus can bid for stressed steel assets referred to the NCLT. Apart from interest in Bhushan Steel, the Mittal company is also in the race for acquiring Essar Steel.

The clean slate notwithstanding, it has been debated if the LN Mittal company could still bid for Bhushan Steel since the deadline is past.

Interestingly though, while the IBC uses the expression 'resolution plan', the expression 'bid' is being used by Insolvency Professionals (IRPs) and Committee of Creditors (CoC), consisting of the lenders.

"As such, there is no bar in extending the timeline to accept bids, or accepting a bid after the deadline, as long as it is within the stipulated time prescribed under the IBC," says Jyoti Singh, Insolvency and Disputes Partner at Phoenix Legal.

"It depends on the CoC. It can extend the dates," added Singh.

In the case of Bhushan Steel, bids were submitted by JSW Steel, Tata Steel and a consortium of Bhushan employees on February 3. While the bids were to be opened on Monday, February 5, it has been deferred. Instead, the IRP - Vijaykumar Iyer of Deloitte - discussed resolution plans submitted by the bidders.

According to the process under the IBC, after the IRP ascertains that the bids and the resolution plans are in compliance, he sends them to the CoC. The Committee then takes up the plans and upon approving one plan, places it with the NCLT. The final announcement, on the winning bid, is made by the NCLT.

New hurdle

After clearing one, ArcelorMittal finds itself in front of a fresh hurdle in its endeavour for a steel empire in India. According to a report in Business Standard on Wednesday, Mittal is one of the promoters of oil infrastructure company KSS, whose unit has defaulted on loans in India.

Though the unit - KSS Petron - hasn't been admitted under the NCLT yet, ArcelorMittal could still face issues while bidding for companies such as Bhushan Steel, Uttam Galva and Essar Steel.

An ArcelorMittal representative told Moneycontrol that the company doesn't have any connection with Petron and is not relevant to the process of the Mittal company bidding for stressed assets in India.

"As long as they are able to prove that Mittal's stake in KSS doesn't fall within the definition of 'connected person' under section 29A of the IBC, ArcelorMittal will be able to put in a bid," says Singh.
Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Dutch King Willem-Alexander in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 7, 2018. Xi's wife Peng Liyuan and the queen Maxima also attended the meeting. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China and the Netherlands on Wednesday agreed to carry out more mutually beneficial cooperation through joint implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018.

The agreement was reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Dutch King Willem-Alexander during their meeting in Beijing.

The president welcomed the royal couple's visit, from Feb. 7 to 8, ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Xi recalled his state visit to the Netherlands in 2014, when the two sides set up an open and practical China-Netherlands comprehensive cooperative partnership.

"Through joint efforts by both sides, the consensus we reached and the outcomes of our mutual visits have been implemented," said Xi, noting that bilateral relations have entered the best period in history.

He lauded the growing political mutual trust, mutual respect of each other's core interests and major concerns, as well as the fruitful cooperation in trade, investment, innovation and culture between the two countries.

China-Netherlands relations are currently at a new starting point, said Xi, suggesting the two sides carry out more mutually beneficial cooperation through the Belt and Road construction.

For his part, King Willem-Alexander extended his Chinese New Year's greetings to President Xi and the Chinese people.

He wished China more achievements in the new year and new development in bilateral ties.

Congratulating on the success of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Dutch king said China has a bright future for its development.

The Netherlands has always attached great importance to developing relations with China, he said, adding the Netherlands would like to actively participate in the Belt and Road construction.

He said the Netherlands is willing to participate in the first China International Import Expo, which is slated to be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10 this year.

The Netherlands hopes to enhance cooperation with China in international and regional affairs, the king said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also met with the Dutch monarch on Wednesday.

Li said the Netherlands is a world leader in terms of agriculture and agricultural technology, port logistics and port management.

China is willing to enhance cooperation with the Netherlands in the aforementioned areas, expand bilateral trade, strengthen the exchange of technology, facilitate customs clearance, and better dovetail the Belt and Road Initiative with Dutch development plans, said Li.

Saying that the relations between the Netherlands and China are at their best time in history, the king noted that his country is China's third-largest trade partner within the European Union and can serve as China's gateway to the European Union.

He encouraged China to expand investment in the Netherlands, calling for more trade exchanges and cooperation on agriculture, logistics and transportation between the two countries and advancing two-way opening of their markets.

This is the Dutch king's second visit to China since he ascended the throne in April 2013, following the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with Dutch King Willem-Alexander in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 7, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with Dutch King Willem-Alexander in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 7, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Tao)
Reliance Communications | In the last four months, the stock price has risen 487 percent to Rs 3.93 per share from Rs 0.67 per share on March 27, 2020.

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Reliance Communications attempt to escape refunding dues to its former mobile subscribers who did not port out when it shut its services may not be successful if the telecom regulator has its way. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is set to reiterate its directive to the telecom operator to carry out its January 19 order to refund its users.

The companys plea was that the statute nowhere asks the company to refund its subscribers, claiming the balance money in the account lapses at the time of porting out.

In this case, the company itself created a situation where the user didnt have a choice. Usually, a subscriber leaves a balance of less than Rs. 10 in her account while porting out. Here, porting was thrust upon the user and she was left with no option. So the companys argument is not valid. The regulator is going to tell them again to refund its subscribers. The letter will be sent in a day or two, an official familiar with the development told Moneycontrol.

When the customers approached TRAI against the company, the regulator asked it to refund all ported and non-ported numbers that had an account balance in excess of Rs. 5.

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group company stopped its 2G and 3G mobile services with effect from November 30, 2017 leaving many subscribers high and dry as they got little time to carry out the preparatory work for porting out. The company announced the shutting down of its 2G and 3G mobile services on October 26 last year.

A subscriber keen to port out has to send an SMS to 1900 from the number she wishes to port out. A unique porting code is then generated which she has to pass on to the service provider she wishes to shift to.

Due to sudden termination of services, the customers didnt get enough time to generate the unique porting code. The company did sign an intra-circle roaming pact with Vodafone but it was only for SMS to help the users generate the code.
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Aurobindo Pharma on Wednesday said its fiscal third -quarter profit rose 2.8 percent to Rs 595 crore, helped by higher sales of generic drugs in US and Europe markets.

The company posted a net profit of Rs 579 crore in the same period previous year. Total revenue rose 11.2 percent to Rs 4369.2 crore.

The company took a one-time charge of Rs 66.4 crore for the quarter due to US deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the new tax law which has resulted in reduction in federal corporate tax from 35 percent to 21 percent.

The EBITDA margin stood at 23.7 percent.

The net profit came in below the estimate of CNBC-TV18 analyst poll estimate of Rs 682 crore, while the revenues stood higher than Rs 4328.4 crore projection.

Sales of formulations or generic drugs, which contribute about four-fifths of total revenue, grew 14.1 percent to Rs 3,130.2 crore, compared with Rs 3,130.2 crore in the year-ago period.

Sales of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), the key raw materials that go into the production of drugs, declined 1.3 percent to Rs765.7 crore.

The US formulation business contributed 44 percent to the total revenue and grew 9.4 percent to Rs 1,909.6 crore due to new product launches.

The European Union formulations business contributed 27 percent of total revenue and grew 37 percent to Rs 1,171.6 crore driven by strong growth in some of the key markets. The company said it has transferred manufacturing of 78 products from Europe to India to cut costs.

In January 2014, Aurobindo bought loss-making Western European commercial operations of Irish drug maker Actavis Plc for 30 million. The company was able to successfully turn around the acquired business by relying on its low cost Indian manufacturing arbitrage and launching more products.

Sales from rest-of-the-world market grew 33.2 percent to Rs 250.2 crore.

The antiretroviral (ARV) business dropped 30 percent during the quarter. ARV drugs used in treatment of HIV-AIDS contributes about 5 percent of Aurobindos gross sales.

All our key markets continue to perform well and have shown a healthy growth trend, said N Govindarajan, managing director of the company.

Considering the one-off US tax charge, the profitability is in-line with our expectations, Govindarajan added.

Govindarajan said the company will continue to invest in enhancing its specialty and complex generics pipeline for a sustainable growth.

During the third quarter, the company filed two abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA) with the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and received 22 ANDA approvals from the USFDA. On a cumulative basis, the company received 351 approvals from the USFDA, including 38 tentative approvals.

The results were announced after market hours.

Shares of Aurobindo rose 3.44 percent to close at Rs 616.75 on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex dropped 0.33 percent to end 34,082.71 points.
Drug major Cipla is likely to report 13.5 percent growth year-on-year in profit at Rs 425.5 crore for quarter ended December 2017.

Revenue from operations during the quarter is seen rising 12.4 percent to Rs 4,099.4 crore compared to Rs 3,647.2 crore in year-ago, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by CNBC-TV18.

Operating profit is expected to increase 16.7 percent year-on-year to Rs 791 crore and margin may expand 70 basis points to 19.3 percent in Q3.

Exports may drive growth, rising around 18-19 percent YoY. US business may be driven by generic Renvela, Pulmicort and Dacogen. However, US pricing pressure impacting performance would be watched.

Domestic business is likely bounce back post GST could be offset by seasonality. Other markets like South Africa, Europe and Emerging Markets may grow upto 30 percent YoY.
Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals had a good third quarter as gross margins improved strongly while higher caustic soda prices help boost revenues. In an interview to CNBC-TV18, PK Gera, MD of Gujarat Alkalies discussed the company's Q3 performance.

Gera said that the current caustic prices in the market are very attractive, its more than Rs 40,000 per tonne.

On business front, he said that we export mainly to African markets.

Company looking at setting up water desalination plant, he added.
CNBC-TV18s Ritu Singh caught up with Rajnish Kumar, Chairman of State Bank of India (SBI) and asked his expectations from the Money Policy Committee (MPC) in today's credit policy.

Kumar said that we do not expect Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to move on repo rates.

According to him, liquidity remains tight in the system.

Talking about SBI, he said we have hiked bulk deposit rates but there is no change to retail deposit rates.
Have a long-term outlook | Timing investment is logically impossible because the best entry and exit opportunities are known only in hindsight. No one can predict market movements with certainty. Therefore, it is important to allow your investments to compound over a long term.

Ahead of the showcase Magnetic Maharashtra investment summit, the state government today approved a slew of pro-industry policies to woo foreign investment.

Magnetic Maharashtra is scheduled to be held in the country's financial capital from February 18 to 20.

Among major policies approved in the state cabinet meeting held here today under Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis were Maharashtra Aerospace and Aviation and Defence Sector Manufacture policies.

The aim is to bring down the defence imports from the current 70 per cent to 30 per cent within the next five years.

"The government expects investments worth USD 200 crore in the next five years," a statement issued by the Chief Minister's office stated.

Also, the cabinet has given its approval to extend the existing Industries Policy announced in 2013 by six months.

The other major policies which received the cabinet nod are: Maharashtra Fintech policy, Maharashtra Electrical Vehicle Promotion policy, Maharashtra Logistic Park policy, Maharashtra Coir Industry policy, Maharashtra Textile Park policy, Industrial Park policy for ready-made garments, gems and jewellery, micro electronics and engineering products, it said.

Fadnavis said the policy for space and defence manufacturing will boost Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) through which they will train people for jobs.

"This policy will generate one lakh employments and the state will create a corpus fund of Rs 1000 crore," the chief minister said.

MIHAN at Nagpur has been promoted for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of aeroplanes.

MRO at MIHAN will be developed as an international centre, it said.

"Ahmednagar, Nasik, Nagpur, Pune and Aurangabad will be developed as centres of manufacturing hubs for defence related items," the CMO said.

Maharashtra will be developed as the most advanced financial technology centre in which 300 startup units will be started in the next three years.

The state will create a corpus fund of Rs 250 crore in the upcoming year to promote new startups.

The government also announced a coir policy to help start new 800 coir manufacturing units in the Konkan region which is expected to generate employment for 50,000 people.

In order to encourage a clean climate, the new electric vehicle policy will provide electricity at residential rates instead of commercial rates.

First one lakh electric vehicles will be given a subsidy and the charging centres will be incentivised, the statement said.
The bids for Bhushan Steel were opened today, with JSW Steel emerging as the favourite to bag the troubled steel maker. Other bidders included Tata Steel and a consortium consisting of employees of Bhushan Steel.

The company, which had dues of over Rs 50,000 crore, was referred to the National Company Law Tribunal. The bids were submitted on February 3.

Sources privy to the information said that JSW Steel has put in a bid of Rs 29,700 crore. This includes Rs 28,000 crore upfront cash and Rs 1,700 crore as equity to the banks.

The banks are taking a haircut of nearly 50 per cent.

"In all probability, a special purpose vehicle will be created for Bhushan Steel," said an industry executive.

Tata Steel's bid is close to Rs 24,000 crore. The bid from 400 of Bhushan employees was rejected as it wasn't backed by a bank guarantee.

A message sent to Vijaykumar Iyer, the Insolvency Resolution Professional for Bhushan Steel, went unanswered.

Sources added that the resolution plans submitted by the bidders are being examined for regulatory compliance. "Once the compliant resolution plan is identified, the IRP will call for a meeting of the Committee of Creditors, consisting of the banks," said a source. Once the CoC selects the best plan, it will be submitted to the NCLT for approval.

The NCLT will make the final announcement.

Even as Bhushan Steel enters the final few rounds, Bhushan Power and Steel's auction will get a start on Thursday, February 8.

Though both the companies are owned by the Delhi-based Singhal family, a dispute saw the two brothers - Sanjay and Neeraj dividing the assets in 2011. While Sanjay got the control of Bhushan Power and Steel, younger brother Neeraj - accompanied by patriarch Brij Bhushan Singhal - got Bhushan Steel.

Here again, JSW Steel and Tata Steel are expected to submit bids. They may be joined by Anil Agarwal's Vedanta and AION Capital.

"The bids will be submitted by 2 pm, and may be opened tomorrow itself," said a source.
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State-run UCO Bank has written to LIC requesting it to invest Rs 1100-1300 crore through equity infusion, a source told Moneycontrol.

"UCO Bank has approached ED investments (P.K.Molri) and submitted the letter for capital infusion," said a source on condition of anonymity.

Kolkata-based UCO Bank, has also requested LIC Insurance Corporation to approve the capital infusion before March 31, 2018. Once approved by LIC, the bank will have to take shareholder's nod.

UCO Bank is one of the many lenders which are placing shares with LIC on preferential basis to bring down government stake and raise public holding. Banks need capital also to meet Basel III stringent capital norm.

As on December-end, LIC's stake in the bank stands at 12.12 percent while that of government stands at 80.50 percent.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) allows the biggest institutional investor Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) to invest up to 15 percent in public sector banks.

According to latest RBI data, capital adequacy ratio of the public sector banks as on September 30 was 12.2 percent while the CET1 (Common Equity Tier 1) ratio was 4.7 percent.

UCO Bank, for example, had a CET1 of 6.64 per cent and gross non-performing asset ratio of 19.74 per cent as on September 30.

In January, 2018, Kolkata-based bank had informed stock exchanges that the bank's Board had approved a proposal to issue equity shares on preferential basis to the government for capital infusion of Rs 1,375 crore.

This was done as part of the release the much-required equity capital to six stressed the public sector banks as some of these lenders were on the verge of breaching minimum capital norms on December 31, 2017. Lenders were asked to improve on parameters such as bad loans and recovery.

The government had on October 24 unveiled a Rs 2.11 lakh crore two-year roadmap for strengthening NPA-hit public sector banks, which includes re-capitalisation bonds, budgetary support and equity dilution.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a two day-long Uttar Pradesh Investors' Summit on February 21 while President Ram nath Kovind will be the chief guest at its concluding function.

Briefing newspersons after a cabinet meeting presided over by the Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, state government spokesman Siddharth Nath Singh said that a presentation of the upcoming summit was made during the meeting.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley will be the main speaker at the concluding function and some 15 to 20 central ministers will attend the summit, Singh said.

Leading business heads including Mukesh Ambani, Kumarmangalam Birla and Subhash Chandra among others will attend the summit, Singh said adding that 5,000 delegates had so far got themselves registered.

The minister pointed out that representatives from the Netherlands, Japan, Finland, Slovakia and other countries will attend the summit.

The summit to promote 'Brand UP' and attract investments is an ambitious project of the Yogi Adityanath government.

Among the decisions taken in the cabinet meeting, Singh said that Khadi and Gramodyog policy was given nod under which one lakh job opportunities will be created in five years.

Online marketing of khadi products will be encouraged under the new policy, the minister added.
Its no secret that watch brands have been focusing on complex watches for women close to a decade. In fact, I remember spotting the trend and writing extensive articles about the coming of womens watches for a host of American consumer magazines back in 2008. Well, it seems, the womens watch revolution has come a long way in a short time. As more and more brands understand that women care what is under the hood almost as much as men do, we are witnessing the emergence of a plethora of complex and beautiful womens watches on the market. Here we bring you three top complicated watches as seen at SIHH 2018.

Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon

Audemars Piguet is no stranger to the idea of unveiling concept watches. This brand has regularly seduced watch lovers with its technical prowess and its incredibly avant-garde thinking and design when it comes to watches for both men and women. After all, this is the brand that brought us the Royal Oak Concept SuperSonnerie several years back after investing countless sums into the world of better sound from a wristwatch. It is also the brand that brought us the trilogy of fantastic womens diamond watches that were simply punk, Outrageous and more.

This year, Audemars Piguet blends its most coveted arts of complicated watchmaking and incredible gem-setting for the release of its first womens concept watch: the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon. The 38.5mm concept watch for women builds in brain, brawn and beauty. The new movement, caliber 2951, marks the first time the brand has unveiled a flying tourbillon escapement developed totally in house. The movement, visible both partially from the front and from the case back, is a stunning work of art and elegance, with lacquered, satin-brushed bridges and diamond accents.

Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon  Audemars Piguet

As if all of the mechanics were not enough, Audemars Piguet dressed the watch in diamonds. In fact there are two 18-karat white gold versions of the Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon: one with baguette diamonds on bezel, case and certain movement parts; and the other has the same watch parts decked out in more than 450 diamond brilliants.

Van Cleef & Arpels Lady Arpels Planetarium Watch

This year, Van Cleef & Arpels pulls out all the stops with the Lady Arpels Planetarium wristwatch, with astronomical planet display and caliber designed by watchmaking great, Christiann Van Der Klaauw. Van Der Klaauw was the brains behind the first Midnight Planetarium watch unveiled by Van Cleef & Arpels four years ago. Now, he works with the brand again to develop a feminine take on poetic astronomy.

The new Lady Arpels Planetarium watch is created in a 38mm size and features individually cut and placed aventurine glass rings, on which the planets reside and rotate. Each planet rotates on the dial at the same speed the real planet rotates around the sun in life. Mercury, created in pink mother of pearl, completes a full rotation every 88 days; Venus, created in green enamel, rotates every 224 days, and Earth  crafted in turquoise  completes its orbit every 365 days. There is also a diamond-set moon that rotates every 29.5 days.

Lady Planetarium  Van Cleef & Arpels

Part of the brands Poetry of Time collection, the mechanical self-winding watch is offered in 18-karat white gold with a diamond-set bezel either on a strap ($245,000), or on a gold bracelet ($330,000). Each watch is numbered.

Richard Mille RM 07-01 Diamond-set Black Ceramic

Independent watch brand, Richard Mille, has created complex womens watches almost since the inception of his brand. This year, however, the eponymous watch company introduces a new womens watch that is also a world premier: the RM 07-01 Diamond-set Black Ceramic ladies automatic watch.

Not only is this watch a complex caliber with high-tech materials, but also  and more importantlythe watch represents the first time that a watch brand has set diamonds in the very brittle ceramic bezel. This is no easy feat to accomplish because in drilling into ceramic, the material can crack. Richard Mille artisans have developed a prong setting that  while difficult and time-consuming to do  enables the brands master artisans to set the diamonds in the black TZP ceramic bezel.

RM 07-01  Richard Mille

Further enhancing this watch is the fact that the open-worked movement is made of grade 5 titanium, and the watch utilizes such luxurious materials 5N 18-karat rose gold, and an onyx dial. Each watch retails for approximately $199,000.



These three fine examples of complicated watchmaking demonstrate the watch worlds on-going commitment to offering women complex calibers.

> Watches & Wonders
Tata Steel

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Renaissance Steel has questioned the eligibility of Tata Steel and Anil Agarwal-run Vedanta to bid under the bankruptcy process alleging the move to be a breach of the law, reported Economic Times.

"One of the resolution applicants in Electrosteel has already raised formal objections regarding the eligibility of Tata Steel and Vedanta and we are looking into the matter. The resolution professional is seeking legal opinion," a person aware of the matter told the paper. "We have also asked the resolution professional to seek an explanation from the bidders and examine the matter."

Renaissance, in a letter, asked the Committee of Creditors for Electrosteel Steels whether allowing Vedanta and Tata Steel to bid would amount to a violation of existing laws.

Section 29A (d) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) prohibits bidding by entities that have been found guilty and handed out sentencing under criminal laws.

According to the law, if any of subsidiary company gets convicted for an offence punishable for more than two years, the parent company will not be eligible to submit bids. Sources told the paper that subsidiaries of both Tata Steel and Vedanta have been convicted in the UK and Zambia, respectively, and hence they should be disqualified.

Tata Steel and Vedanta did not comment.

In the letter, reviewed by Economic Times, Renaissance had written about cases reported against Tata Steel UK and Vedanta Resources. Section 29A(d) of the IBC says that a person shall not be eligible to submit a resolution plan, if such a person or any other person acting jointly or in concert with such a person has been convicted for any offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more.

Tata UK has been facing prosecution in 'Hull Crown Court' for breaching statutory provisions of Health and Safety at Work Act, 1974. And, a subsidiary of Vedanta Resources, Konkola Copper Mines (KCM), was convicted for breaching the statutory provisions of the Environmental Protection and Control of Pollution Act 1990 by the government of Zambia for pollution and harm caused to the environment in November 2010.

"This has significant implications on the whole resolution process. We are trying to find out whether these claims will hold true under the IBC. We received the submission only on Thursday last week. So it is too early to determine whether Tata and Vedanta would have to be disqualified because of the clause," another executive involved with the bidding told the paper.

Of the four bidders, Vedanta Group had emerged as the highest bidder for Electrosteel Steels by quoting Rs 4,500 crore, while Tata Steel's bid was worth Rs 3,500 crore. Renaissance Group and Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company were the other two bidders.

Electrosteel Steels owes more than Rs 13,000 crore to lenders and Rs 191.6 crore to operational creditors.
A Rewant Ruia-led consortium Nu Metal Corporation plans to make an all-cash offer of USD 5-6 billion to retain Essar Steel  the familys steel business, according to a report in The Times of India.

Rewant is the younger son of Ravi Ruia, who along with his brother Shashi founded the Essar Group. Rewant also sits on the board of Essar Global Holdings Limited and Essar Constructions (India) Limited as director.

Russias VTB is the largest shareholder in the newly formed company with 40 percent stake and is likely to face stiff competition from the Arcelor Mittal and Nippon Steel combine.

The report said that an all-cash offer could garner more attention from the lenders as they will get less cash component and need to take a haircut from other bidders.

Essar Steel was one of the 12 stressed account identified by the Reserve Bank of India last year to go for Insolvency and Bankruptcy proceeding.

It is expected that an arm of Bain Capital or a second Russian investor would join the consortium after Hong Kong-based SSG Capital pulled out. Ruias are likely to hold 26 percent stake in the consortium.
File picture

E-commerce platform ShopClues today said it has seen strong uptake of its private label business and expects its four brands to account for about 12 per cent of total revenue this fiscal.

ShopClues had launched Home Berry, its home decor exclusive label in July last year, followed by women's fashionwear brand Meia in September. It also operates Baton (men footwear) and Digimate (electronics accessories) brands.

"In 2017, we launched four exclusive labels... Despite being at a nascent stage and in a short span of time, we have seen our exclusive labels grow significantly and contributing about 10 per cent to the orders," ShopClues Senior Director Ritika Taneja told PTI.

She said the exclusive labels business is expected to account for about 12 per cent of the revenue for the fiscal but declined to comment on the targets.

As per regulatory documents filed with the Corporate Affairs Ministry, ShopClues' total revenue from operations grew 11.7 per cent to Rs 180.3 crore in 2016-17, from Rs 161.4 crore in the preceding fiscal.

The company also narrowed its losses to Rs 332.65 crore for the year ended March 2017 compared to the previous fiscal, the documents showed.

E-commerce companies focus on private labels because they offer higher margins and enable better control of inventory.

Larger rivals Flipkart and Amazon have also launched their private labels to boost business across various categories.

"Currently, we have over 3,500 products across our exclusive labels, the maximum being in lifestyle (Meia and Baton combined). We aim to further increase the width and depth of our collection," Taneja said.

She said the growth rate across the exclusive labels is between 10-15 per cent overall but the growth in Lifestyle has been faster and higher at about 22-25 per cent.

"We have seen great demand from across regions. Tier II and beyond have been strong growth drivers. Cities like Rajkot, Jaipur, Agra, Pune, Gorakhpur, Guntur, Mysore, Hubli, Gwalior, Panipat etc have been contributed significantly to the demand," she said.

Founded in 2011, ShopClues has over six lakh merchants.

With over 28 million listed products, it gets more than 72 million monthly visits on its platform.
Bull's Eye, CNBC-TV18's popular game show, where market experts come together to dish out trading strategies for you to make your week more exciting and compete with each other to see whose portfolio is the strongest.

Remember these are midcap ideas not just for the day, but stocks that look attractive in the medium-term as well.

This week, Ruchit Jain, Kunal Saraogi and Jay Thakkar battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis:

Ruchit Jain of Angel Broking

Buy Century Plyboards with a stoploss at Rs 283 and target of Rs 314

Buy Nava Bharat Ventures with a stoploss at Rs 138 and target of Rs 158

Sell IDBI Bank with a stoploss at Rs 61 and target of Rs 52

Sell Voltas with a stoploss at Rs 611 and target of Rs 550

Kunal Saraogi of Equityrush

Buy NCC with a stoploss at Rs 108.50 and target of Rs 115

Buy Max Financial with a stoploss at Rs 518 and target of Rs 545

Sell Lupin with a stoploss at Rs 808 and target of Rs 770

Buy L&T Finance Holdings with a stoploss at Rs 156 and target of Rs 168

Jay Thakkar of Anand Rathi Securities

Buy Arvind with a stoploss at Rs 369 and target of Rs 403

Buy SRF with a stoploss at Rs 1692 and target of Rs 1822

Buy Dish TV India with a stoploss at Rs 70.50 and target of Rs 78.50

Buy Wockhardt with a stoploss at Rs 713 and target of Rs 793
Canara Bank | Bank reported higher profit at Rs 444.1 crore in Q2FY21 against Rs 364.9 crore, net interest income jumped to Rs 6,296 crore from Rs 3,129 crore YoY.

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Share price of Canara Bank advanced 3 percent intraday Wednesday as bank approved to raise Rs 4,865 crore via preferential issue to Government of India (GOI).

The company's board in its meeting held on February 6 has decided to raise capital by issue of equity shares in favour of Government of India, on preferential allotment aggregating to Rs 4,865 crore.

The board will convey an extraordinary general meeting of the bank to obtain the approval of the shareholders for issue of equity shares on preferential allotment to the GOI.

The board meeting of the company is scheduled to be held on Feb 8 to consider raising of additional capital of/ up to Rs 1000 crore by way of QIP/rights issue/preferential allotment/ FPO/ ESPS/any other mode approved by RBI/GOI/SEBI.

The company also raising capital of upto Rs 3500 crore for which approval is already in place.

At 10:05 hrs Canara Bank was quoting at Rs 324.50, up Rs 6.40, or 2.01 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
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Shares of Mcnally Bharat Engineering rose 5 percent in the early trade on Wednesday on bagging orders worth Rs 68.3 crore.

The company received work of design & engineering, supply of equipment, civil & structural work, of debottlenecking and capacity expansion of existing lead zinc ore of benefication plant at Hindustan Zinc's Zawar mine, Rajasthan, India for a value of Rs 65 crore.

The other order include, supply of spares for benefication plant at Zawar mine of Hindustan, Rajasthan, India for a value of Rs 3.3 crore.

A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on February 13, to take on record the unaudited financial results for the quarter and nine months' period ended December 31, 2017, of the company.

At 09:16 hrs Mcnally Bharat Engineering was quoting at Rs 59.90, up Rs 2.85, or 5 percent on the BSE.

The share touched its 52-week high Rs 79.50 and 52-week low Rs 37.60 on 31 July, 2017 and 30 May, 2017, respectively.

Currently, it is trading 24.65 percent below its 52-week high and 59.31 percent above its 52-week low.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
petrol diesel price hike

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Shares of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) added 5.4 percent intraday Wednesday as brokerage house Morgan Stanley has kept overweight rating on the stock with a target of Rs 467 per share.

The broking house believe that share price will rise in absolute terms in next 45 days.

The company has been underperforming Sensex on investor concerns, higher oil prices, it added.

The current refining margin run-rate is in-line with our estimate and also estimate about 80 percent plus probability for the scenario.

The companys board meeting is scheduled to be held on February 9 to consider un-audited financial results for the third quarter ended December 2017.

The board may also consider a proposal to declare interim dividend, if any, for the financial year 2017-18.

At 12:00 hrs Hindustan Petroleum Corporation was quoting at Rs 394.40, up Rs 16.90, or 4.48 percent.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
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Shares of Voltas and Venkys gained 5-12 percent intraday Wednesday as companies have reported robust Q3 numbers.

Net Profit has reported 23.1 percent jump in its December quarter net profit at Rs 100.4 crore versus Rs 81.6 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Revenue of the company rose 16.5 percent at Rs 1,375 crore against Rs 1,180 crore.

The operating profit (EBITDA) was up 43 percent at Rs 118.6 crore and EBITDA margin was up 150 bps at 8.6 percent.

Venkys' Q3 net profit was up 66.4 percent at Rs 69.4 crore versus Rs 41.7 crore. Revenue grew 12.7 percent at Rs 695.9 crore versus Rs 617.4 crore.

EBITDA was up 46.2 percent at Rs 123.3 crore and EBITDA margin was up 400 bps at 17.7 percent.

At 14:22 hrs Voltas was quoting at Rs 601.05, up 2.57 percent and Venkys was quoting at Rs 2,895.35, up 10.97 percent on the BSE.

In the last one year, Voltas gained 79 percent and Venkys surged 408 percent.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
Yes Bank

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Shares of Yes Bank rose more than 2 percent in the early trade on Wednesday as bank raised USD 600 million from issue of bond in the international debt market.

The company has successfully completed issuance of its maiden USD 600 million bond issue in the international debt market under their USD 1 billion MTN programme.

The bond issuance is for a tenor of a 5 years and is rated Baa3 by Moodys Investors Services.

The bond will be listed on the London Stock Exchange International Securities market, the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading, and the India International Exchange IFSC at GIFT city, Gandhinagar.

The proceed will be used to fund the banks IFSC banking unit (IBU) in Gift City and expand IBUs rapidly growing business opportunities.

Rana Kapoor, MD & CEO, Yes Bank said, This landmark issue is the first foreign currency bond offering by Yes Bank under our newly established MTN program, and the significant over-subscription as well as high quality investor base is testament to the commitment reposed by global investors in the bank.

At 09:18 hrs Yes Bank was quoting at Rs 342.65, up Rs 4.10, or 1.21 percent on the BSE.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
Aadhaar (Representative Image)

RN Bhaskar

Aadhaar, the worlds largest biometric identity scheme, is actually not capable of identifying anyone. It is merely an authentication scheme, and passports will continue to be needed as a foolproof means of identification.

This is the inescapable conclusion from the shocking response to an RTI query: the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has sidestepped the whole issue of whether Aadhaar identifies an individual.

As Anupam Saraph, IT expert who filed the RTI request, says, We had asked the UIDAI to explain the difference between identification of an individual and authentication of biometric or demographic data. The UIDAI in its reply [in a rather confusing manner] has stated that authentication is defined under the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016 (1 of 2016) as the process by which the Aadhaar number along with demographic information or biometric information of an individual is submitted to the Central Identities Data Repository for its verification and such Repository verifies the correctness, or the lack thereof, on the basis of information available with it. This does not define identification.

The Unique Identification Authority of India does not identify anyone. 

Part of the problem in understanding how inadequate Aadhaar can be lies in the fact that most people cannot distinguish between authentication and identification.

For instance, as Saraph explains, when you get an email from a person named X, it does not automatically mean that X has written the email. The user name and password may have been known to Xs secretary. It is possible that the email has been written by the secretary, and not by X himself. Similarly, when a hacker manages to get the username and password of X, he can send out messages in the name of X. The recipient may think that the email has come from X, but it has not. It has been sent by the hacker, who managed to get the email service provider authenticate the username and password, and granted him access to the service in X;s name. That is nothing but authentication.

On the other hand, when a passport is given, this is done after the police identifies the person. The police visits the homes of neighbours, and asks them if they know the individual concerned. The names and addresses of the identifiers are noted down for purposes of record. Only after such a process has been satisfactorily completed does the police give its go-ahead. The applicant is then cleared for receiving the passport document.

The same thing happens when  conventionally -- a person applies to a bank for opening a new account. The bank asks the person to provide two witnesses who can identify him. Only after the witnesses testify that they know the person, does the individual get a bank account. The names of the witnesses are preserved as records with the bank. The individual has then been identified, not authenticated.

In both cases of identification explained above, the witnesses who have identified the individual will be held responsible for promoting misrepresentation or fraud or worse, if it turns out that the individual is someone else and not the person he claimed to be.

That is the reason why bank accounts are considered reasonable proof of identify. Passports, in almost any country, are considered to be the highest level of proof. That is also the reason why the present governments willingness to remove the address page was problematic for many. The passport provides proof of the person and his address.

The driving licence does this too, but it is given on the basis of documents. The person is not identified the way a bank account holder is conventionally identified. Ditto with PAN cards. Election cards, however, are given on the basis of identification, but by the enumerators visiting the homes of the persons concerned.

And that is the reason why when anyone says that the passport will gradually become irrelevant as proof of identity in India and that Aadhaar would be considered as the most important document, such claims are laughable. They are frighteningly worrisome as well. The passport process (and the election card process) actually identifies people. The Aadhaar process does not.

So what is the Aadhaar process? Well, to put it simply, the government of India appointed UIDAI (Unique Identification Authroity of India) without consulting the authorities in charge of the National Population Register (NPR) which is the final arbiter on citizenship. The UIDAI in turn appointed several agencies who in turn appointed other agencies looking after the Aadhaar enrolment programme. This author, for instance, went to a centre manned by a share registry firm called Karvy.

At each Aadhaar registration centre, there are people appointed only for the purpose of such registration work. They are usually temporary employees, with a limited job assigned to them. The process of identification, normally, should be done by people who are permanent employees  like bank officials or police personnel. It is difficult to track down temporary staff when the process of identification needs to be audited.

The Aadhaar centre person collects two of your documents  passport, electricity bill, driving licence, PAN card, ration card  then takes your fingerprints and a retina scan. Anyone who has gone to an Aadhaar centre knows how rudimentary the facilities are.

Unlike the election card, or a passport, where the photograph is quite clearly visible for facial recognition, many Aadhaar cards have the photograph as a dark blob, making visual comparison of the Aadhaar photograph with the face almost impossible. So one has to reply only on the Aadhaar number. It is this number which is then authenticated by the UIDAIs central servers as belonging to a particular name. If the original applicant had submitted forged documents either in collusion with the temporary staff of the Aadhaar registration centre, or without the knowledge of the staff, the person will be authenticated not identified. Even a photograph comparison with the face is not possible. Nor is there the image of a signature that PAN cards have. The entire process hinges on a number, nothing more. And this is authenticated, not identified.

That raises the next question: Have frauds been discovered? The answer is yes. According to a statement made by Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on 10 April 2017 and widely reported in the media, as many as 34,000 Aadhaar registration agencies had been blacklisted. There is no indication as yet of how many people these agencies had already registered for their Aadhaar cards. Experts believe that assuming 50 people at each of these centres for 365 days a year, the numbers registered could easily exceed half a billion.

Hence it is ironic that the Aadhaar card is being used for identification. This revelation comes even as the Supreme Court is hearing over 22 PILs challenging the use of Aadhaar. The Aadhaar is being used widely by government and private parties for identification of individuals. The revelation that the UIDAI does not identify anyone comes as a shocker for processes that rely on the UIDAI for identification, says Saraph.

It is evident that the UIDAI distorts the legal meaning of identification and authorisation causing legal sanction to processes that have neither the consent nor the knowledge of authenticated individuals as they were never identified, he adds.

Can this lead to huge financial frauds? Yes, indeed. But that will be discussed later. But an indication here should suffice. The government has allowed authentication through an Aadhaar card enough to get a SIM card, transfer property, transfer money and even open bank accounts. No longer will the bank manager be required to identify the proposed account holder. Suddenly, authentication is sought to become more important than identification.
Journey of an historic watch

During the 1889 Universal Exhibition in Paris, a watch from La Chaux-de-Fonds created a stir, as visitors flocked to admire the architecture of the calibre featuring three parallel arrows from the Maison Girard-Perregaux, this pocket chronometer with pivoted detent escapement and three gold bridges was awarded the highest distinction at the event and entrusted to international agents Hauser, Zivy & C, owners of the luxurious Mexican store La Esmeralda offering a superlative range of watchmaking, art and jewellery.

It was not until the late 1960s that this watch returned to its native land. Its name, La Esmeralda, retains the memory of its epic journey.

1867-2017, from one exceptional model to another

It was in 1860 that Constant Girard developed this iconoclastic construction in which three arrow-shaped parallel bridges support the moving parts of the movement. In 1867, a tourbillon pocket chronometer version with three nickel bridges won a First Class Bulletin from Neuchatel Observatory, as well as a medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition. Constant Girard therefore decided to protect this original movement endowing the tourbillon with an artistic dimension by filing a patent with the United States Patent Office.

Almost a century and a half later, La Esmeralda Tourbillon with Three Gold Bridges A secret, entirely crafted by a single master-watchmaker, is inspired by the award-winning 1889 model and displays a concern for detail that naturally ranks it as a prime example of Fine Watchmaking.

La Esmeralda  Girard-Perregaux

The component finishing is entirely performed by hand, including the upper mainplate that is hand-engraved to highlight the radiant guilloche motif; the barrel that is satin-brushed, chamfered and also engraved with a spiral motif; as well as the lower mainplate adorned with a Cotes de Geneve motif and concentric circular graining.

Finally, even the bearing the movement number is straight-grained with hand-polished angles; and all 80 components of the famous lyre-shaped tourbillon carriage are likewise hand-polished. The structure of the in-house self-winding movement focuses attention on this complex device ensuring perfectly regular rating while weighing just 0.305 g.

Two hundred hours of patience for a masterful engraving

Designed like a secret watch, for the first time the new interpretation of La Esmeralda features a cover protecting the back of the model. This element further adds to the precious nature of this creation and promotes a special sense of privileged intimacy with the wearer.

The entirely hand-engraved pink gold case picks up the brilliantly executed motifs adorning the 1889 model. Three horses thus gallop across the outside of the cover, while the interior is engraved with the inscriptions Tourbillon and La Chaux-de-Fonds. Other features reminiscent of the 1889 include the flowers and the oval-shaped motifs adorning the bezel and the top of the lugs. Finally, the case sides are identical to the model that served as inspiration.

200 hours of engraving  Girard-Perregaux

This one-of-a-kind model fitted with a triple sapphire crystal affording a panoramic view of the movement is delivered with a black hand-sewn alligator leather strap secured by a pink gold folding clasp.

> Watches & Wonders
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attacked the Congress saying the party devoted all their energies to serving one family all these years and the country has been suffering due to the "wrong" policies it has pursued since Independence. The PM was replying in the Lok Sabha to the motion of thanks on President's address.

Here we take a look at some of the key points raised by the PM in Lok Sabha today:

PM Modi said whenever his government was criticised by select Opposition parties, substance was lacking in their arguments as they would go back to saying -- "when we were in power".

In the Parliament, PM Modi criticised Congress by saying that the party has spent time singing paeans to one family. For decades, one party devoted all their energies to serving one family. The interests of the nation were looked over just for the interests of one family.

PM Modi recalled certain incidence of past when Congressmen insulted some leaders and said that nobody in India needs lessons on democracy from the Congress Party. He said that when Rajiv Gandhi landed in Hyderabad, how did he behave with a Congress leader Mr T Anjaiah. He humiliated a big leader, who did not belong to a privileged background. We cannot forget how the Congress insulted Shri Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, a proud son of Andhra Pradesh. They humiliated him.

Speaking further on the democracy, he said, How can one of the leaders say India got a democracy due to Pandit Nehru and the Congress Party? Is this their reading of India's history? What arrogance is this? India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants us to believe. Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries ago. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture.

Modi also praised former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Vajpayee jee created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. It shows how farsighted he was.

Since Kharge Ji spoke about Railways and Karnataka, let me tell the truth about the Bidar-Kalburgi rail line. The project was approved by the Vajpayee government and from 2004 till 2013, nothing was done. Work began when the BS Yeddyurappa government gave approvals.

Modi also said that the NDA government has created an era of honesty in the nation. I know the government's efforts to eliminate corruption and black money are hurting a select group of people. Today, people who served as Chief Ministers are in jail. However powerful one was, if one has been corrupt, that person will be punished. We are in an era of honesty.

Bringing back his attack on other political parties, he said: The way people of Rajasthan were misled about the Barmer refinery was appalling. Just for votes, lies were said. It is in the last three years that the Government of India and the Rajasthan government worked together to sort out the pending issues.

PM Modi criticised Congress President Rahul Gandhi without taking his name. The nation's army was fighting in Doklam but leaders of one party preferred to meet Chinese officials. The same party questions the army on surgical strikes.

PM Modi also counted the achievements of present government. More villages are getting optical fibre network in the last three years than they got previously. This is the transformation happening.

Praising the Startup India campaign, he said: I can see the energy and enthusiasm in our youth. They want to do something on their own, they want to launch their own start-ups. Our government is giving wings to the aspirations of India's middle class."
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs informed the Lok Sabha that there was a marginal rise in the number of communal violence incidents in India in 2017 compared to 2016. 2,384 people were injured and 111 were killed in 822 communal incidents in India in 2017.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Ahir told the Lok Sabha that in 2016, 86 people lost their lives and 2321 were gravely injured in 703 communal violence cases. In the year 2015, the death count was 97, the number of people injured stood at 2264 in 751 incidents of conflicts, reported DNA.

The state with the most number of incidents was Uttar Pradesh, with 44 deaths and 542 injured persons in 195 cases.

Karnataka saw 100 incidents of communal tension which killed 9 people and injured 229 people. 12 people lost their lives and 175 had serious injuries in Rajasthan. Bihar witnessed 85 communal violence cases and Madhya Pradesh had 60 incidents.

There were 58 communal unrest cases in West Bengal, which saw 9 deaths and 230 injured persons, while Gujarat has witnessed 50 riots in which 8 people were killed and 125 others were injured, Ahir said.
The Supreme Court today protected Milind Ekbote, the prime accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence in Maharashtra, from arrest.

The violence on January 1 had left one person dead.

A bench headed by Justice Kurain Joseph granted Ekbote interim protection from arrest till February 20 in the case.

The apex court also sought a response from the Maharashtra government on his plea for anticipatory bail.

The apex court asked the Maharashtra government to apprise it about the law and order situation in the state.

It said that in the event of Ekbote's arrest, he should be released on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh.

According to the police, a court in Pune yesterday issued an arrest warrant against right-wing leader Ekbote, who was booked for allegedly inciting violence on January 1 during an event to commemorate the bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.

A case was registered against Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who head the Hindu Ekta Aghadi and Shivraj Pratishthan respectively, for allegedly "inciting" violence that left a man dead near Bhima Koregaon on January 1.

Subsequent protests had disrupted normal life in Mumbai.

The Bombay High Court had on February 2 rejected Ekbote's anticipatory bail plea. Before that, a Pune court had also rejected his similar plea.
BJP MLA from Hyderabad's Goshamahal, Raja Singh, has raked another controversy by claiming that people who do not attend RSS shakhas cant be regarded as true Hindus. The leader made this controversial remark during a Hindu Dharmasabha event held at Neemuch on Sunday.

The statement by Singh, who is known for such comments, came to widespread notice after a video of his speech went viral. Those who do not go to RSS shakhas should stop calling themselves Hindus. I dont think he can do anything for the country or his religion, the legislator was quoted as saying in the report.

In addition, the BJP leader also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take a more stringent action against those people who kill cows and chat anti-India slogans. Besides, he also made comments about the topic of religious conversion.

Unnao MP Sakshi Maharaj, who too was part of the event talked about the need of strict imposition of birth control. While claiming that the concept of Hindu nation is gradually developing among the countrymen, the leader added that the government should work towards the imposition of Hum Do, Hamare Do and Sabke Do policy.

The speech by Singh came just days after a case was registered against him for delivering hate speech. He was booked last week after a video emerged in which he was seen asking members of a particular community to carry weapons in order to attack members of other communities if they did anything wrong. The speech by Singh had emerged just days after the violence in Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh.

Many of Raja Singh's controversial speeches have led to legal actions in the past. Singh who represents BJP from had earlier grabbed attention when he said that he was willing to murder those who opposed the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya.
February 07, 2018 / 06:43 PM IST

16:33 Attacking Congress again PM Modi asked Congress to take the credit for corruption, delay in benami property laws. "For 28 years, Congress did not bring in the data-scayt-word="benami" data-scayt-lang="en_US">benami property laws. So far, under this law, benami property worth Rs 3,500 crore has been confiscated. In your governance, these benami properties came up, credit for this should go to you," PM Modi.

16:26 Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu requests members of the house to maintain decorum in the House while the PM is speaking.

16:18 I have always said that for the nation's development so far, all the previous govt's have made a contribution: PM Modi.

16:16 You said that we are 'name changer' and not 'game changer'. I say if you look at us honestly, you would acknowledge that we are 'aim chaser': PM Modi.

16:12 Why should anyone feel bad if the country improves 'ease of doing business' rating? It is beyond comprehension. If nothing, some start questioning the credibility of the rating agency just because it has did not happen under their rule: PM Modi.

16:10 You have a right to criticise Modi and Modi government. But while doing this, you start criticising the country. While critisiing BJP, one starts critisizing India. While critisizing Modi, people start critisizing Hindustan. This is not right: PM Modi

15:57 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started speaking on Motion of Thanks to President's address in Rajya Sabha.

14:53 "He is right in talking about the Congress party, but this is not the place to raise it. You can raise this issue at a public meeting, but not here. Here, you have to answer to the country. You are not to make accusations here...," Rahul Gandhi said.

14:34 Congress works on secularism, democracy and BJP doesn't: Mallikarjun Kharge.

14:28 When Jaitley was the leader of the Oppostion said 'protest a form of democracy'. So, what's wrong if we are protesting: Priyanka Chaturvedi, Convenor of AICC Communication and National Spokesperson, on PM's address, reports CNN-News18.

14:25 "Today is a historic moment. I am appalled to see how Sonia Gandhi instigated party members to raise slogans," Babul Supriyo said on PM Modi's speech, reports CNN-News18.

14:17 PM might be a terrific orator but this speech is a farrago of misrepresentations and half truth: Shashi Tharoor.

14:13 PM is more concerned about bees and Bamboos: Rahul Gandhi.

14:11 "I think Modiji has forgotten that he is the PM now, he should answer questions and not always accuse the opposition," Rahul Gandhi said on PM Modi's speech during the motion of thanks to the President's address.

14:07 He spoke for an hour, but he did not say a word on jobs, Rafael deal: Rahul Gandhi said on PM Modi's address in Lok Sabha.

14:05 We asked three pointed question to the Prime Minster, but he did not answer them. Prime Minister did not say anything about employment issue or Rafael deal: Rahul Gandhi said.

13:58 Sonia Gandhi said that there is nothing new in what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha today, reports CNN News18.

13:49 Prime Minister Narendra Modi has finished addressing the Lok Sabha. The Lower House is adjourned till 3 pm.

13:46 I know the Government's efforts to eliminate corruption & black money are hurting a select group of people. Today, people who served as Chief Ministers are in jail. However powerful one was, if one has been corrupt, that person will be punished. We are in an era of honesty: PM Modi.

13:45 The nation's army was fighting in Doklam but leaders of one party preferred to meet Chinese officials. The same party questions the army on surgical strikes: PM Modi.

13:44 Now-a-days hit and run politics is going on... Opposition is splashing the mud and running away... The more you splash the mud the better lotus will bloom: PM Modi.

13:39 By reducing tax rate for MSMEs with a turnover of up to Rs. 250 crore from 30 percent to 25 percent, we have done a great service to the middle class: PM Modi.

13:37 Lies being spread to create a sense of disappointment among middle class; government has given them new benefits of 12,000 crore: PM Modi.

13:34 I know the government's efforts to eliminate corruption & black money are hurting a select group of people. Today, people who served as Chief Ministers are in jail. However powerful one was, if one has been corrupt, that person will be punished. We are in an era of honesty: PM Modi.

13:32 The country should know that the previous government in behind NPAs. They are hundred percent responsible for it: PM Modi.

13:31 More people are coming forward to pay taxes. They believe that the tax money with the government will be put to good use: PM Modi.

13:29 Middle class is being misled. We are working towards ease of life for them: PM Modi.

Atal

Vajpayee

Uttarakhand

Jharkhand

"When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in whichBiharicreated

and Chhattisgarh. He showed how far sighted decision-making is done," the prime minister said.

13:25 We distributed 28 crores led bulbs to middle-class families which saved their electricity bill by Rs 15,000 crore: PM Modi.

13:24 When I dream of a New India by 2022 when India celebrates 75 years of independence, you mock this idea because you have never thought big to achieve big goals: PM Modi.

13:23 Our aim is to double farmers income by 2022. We are moving toward holistic healthcare and eco-friendly living: PM Modi

13:21 In one year, more than 70 lakh provident fund accounts have been added: PM Modi.

13:20 We want to increase the milk production, honey production. There has been about 40 percent increase in honey production. If our farmer focuses on honey production, fisheries, poultry, it will help them earn more income: PM Modi.

13:16 Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Congress is unhappy because the corrupt and middlemen are out of work. Earlier, Modi had blamed Congress for partition and the existing tension in Kashmir.

13:10 Oppositions continue to shout slogans as PM Narendra Modi speaks in Lok Sabha.

13:09 Our government had the opportunity to prepare an aviation policy that focuses on smaller cities, towns so that more Indians can fly: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.

13:07 Modi said that his government focuses on monitoring, which helps in making the system more transparent.

13:05 A government that talked about 21st century could not bring an aviation policy. Then what kind of a 21st century did they talk about, the one with bullock carts?, asked PM Modi.

13:04 Employment is increasing but you have closed your eyes as you are busy singing your songs. Atal ji ne kaha hai chhote Mann se koi bada nahi hota aur toote Mann se koi khada nahi hota: PM Modi.

13:02 Irrespective of who heads the govt, the aspirations of the brimming middle class youth should always be the top priority: PM in Lok Sabha.

13:00 We have made sincere efforts to bring the informal sector within the government rules and regulations: PM Modi

12:58 Prime Minister attacks on the Opposition saying that how can one of the leaders say India got a democracy due to Pandit Nehru and the Congress Party? Is this their reading of India's history? What arrogance is this?

12:55 After forming the government in 2014, we prioritised North East and worked for its development: PM Modi said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is speaking in the Lok Sabha as Opposition disrupts House with sloganeering.
An online petition by Senior Advocate Indira Jaising demanding live streaming of Supreme Court proceedings is getting support from various quarters. The petition posted on the popular site Change.org has already received signatures from over 46,000 people.

Indira Jaisingh, who is a lawyer practicing at the Supreme Court had earlier petitioned the apex court demanding that its day-to-day activities be streamed out live. Now the senior lawyer has opened a petition on the popular site with similar demands.

The petition also consists of an 80-second long video that asks people to sign and share the petition across the social media sites. In a letter directly addressed to the people, Jaising puts forward her views regarding the matter.

Most Indians have no idea how some of the biggest decisions that impact them are taken. I am Indira Jaising, a Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of India, I go to argue my cases and see other cases being argued. I can understand how and why decisions were taken. But the vast majority of Indians do not have this opportunity, she writes in the petition.

She claims that this is wrong as the judicial process plays a crucial role in our lives in matters as varying as human behaviour, property and rights. She states that when people understand how the judiciary functions it gives them more power, it gives them the tools to protect their rights, it gives them more respect and confidence in the judiciary.

She claims that the best way to achieve this is by following the example of Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha that are live streaming and telecasting their procedures for over a decade now. Further, she adds that higher judicial authorities across the globe are providing the opportunity to people to watch their functioning.

The petition which is targeting to get 50,000 signatures has received wide support in quick time. It seems that the recent controversies surrounding the judiciary have certainly fuelled interest of the common people about the matter.
Terming Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Palestine, the first by an Indian premier, as "historic and important", Palestinian presidency today said Modi and president Mahmoud Abbas will hold talks on the latest developments in the political process in the region as also other international issues of "common concern".

"The Palestinian presidency welcomed the historic and important visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the city of Ramallah on Saturday, the first of an Indian prime minister to Palestine," according to the official Palestinian news and information agency 'WAFA'.

The presidency announced that president Abbas and his guest, the Indian prime minister, will hold a session of important talks, which will address the latest developments in the political process in the region because of India's international stature, it said.

The meeting will also discuss regional and international situations of common concern, it said, adding the visit will also be an opportunity to thank India for its continued support for peace and the right of Palestinian people to freedom and independence.

On Modi's travel to Palestine, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the prime minister will travel to Palestine via Amman.

"The Government of India and its leadership are very grateful to the Jordanian authorities and leadership for the wholehearted cooperation being extended for the prime minister's transit," Kumar said.

The visit will witness signing of a number of bilateral agreements aimed at strengthening the bonds of friendship and enhancing cooperation in a number of important fields, WAFA said.

President Abbas will hold a luncheon in honour of the "guest of Palestine" and his delegation, followed by a press conference by the two leaders, the report said.
Suspense prevailed over the release of "Padmaavat" in the city on Thursday, although police have assured security to the cinema halls screening the controversial film.

Film distributors and theatre owners in Indore had on Tuesday agreed to screen the film after the state government assured to provide adequate security cover.

However, it is no yet clear how many cinema halls or multiplexes will screen the movie here or elsewhere in the state.

Instead of the posters of "Padamaavat", those of Akshay Kumar-starrer film "Padman", which is scheduled to release on February 9, are visible across the city.

Theatre owners in Madhya Pradesh had last month decided not to screen filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period drama starring Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor and Ranveer Singh following large-scale protests and bandhs in several places.

Director General of Police, Indore Range, H C Mishra told reporters that it was now up to the cinema halls owners to release the movie or not.

"We will provide adequate security cover at the cinema halls that screen the movie," he assured.

"We have already assured the film distributors and cinema hall owners that law and order will be maintained during the release of "Padmaavat"," he added.

An office-bearer of central circuit cine association said, "If everything goes well, "Padmaavat" would be released in multiplexes tomorrow."

Secretary of Bhopal Cinema Association, Azizuddin, had on Tuesday said that within three hours of the release of the film in Indore, it would be screened in the state capital.

Of the 361 cinema halls across Madhya Pradesh, owners of 200 theatres are eagerly waiting to screen the movie, he had said.

On January 23, two days before the nationwide release of "Padmaavat", the Supreme Court had refused to modify its earlier order, which had cleared the decks for its screening. Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh had petitioned the apex court to modify its order and stop the release of the movie.

Meanwhile, Rajput organisation Karni Sena, which had spearheaded the protests against Padmaavat, today reaffirmed its opposition to the screening of the film. The organisation said it would stage peaceful protests against its release in Madhya Pradesh.

"As the film has portrayed the history in a distorted manner, we will continue to oppose," Raghu Parmar, state in-charge of Karni Sena, said.

"We are going to stand outside the cinema halls and request the people not to watch the movie," he added.

The film is based on the 13th century battle between Maharaja Ratan Singh of Mewar and Sultan Alauddin Khilji of Delhi.
Egypt's National Elections Authority (NEA) spokesperson Mahmoud El-Sherif said on Wednesday that the NEA is set to start printing 60 million ballot papers for the 2018 presidential elections, which are scheduled for 26-28 March.

El-Sherif added that the NEA has contracted a third party to print the ballot papers.

The spokesman also said that the NEA is set to hand over 15,000 polling stations to the interior ministry, which will be tasked with securing the stations.

El-Sherif also said that the authority will announce the final list of candidates in the presidential elections on 24 February.

Two candidates have registered to run in the elections; incumbent President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and Ghad Party leader Moussa Mostafa Moussa.

President El-Sisi, whose current term will end in June, won the 2014 presidential elections in a two-man race with nearly 97 percent of the vote over leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahi.

The elections are scheduled to start nationwide on 26-28 March, with runs-offs, if they are to take place, scheduled for 24-26 April.

If no run-offs are necessary, the winner will be announced on 2 April.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the West Bengal government for its stand against the Centre's Aadhaar scheme, saying what was wrong in having 'one-nation, one-identity' for all Indians through the measure.

The Mamata Banerjee government, which had yesterday challenged the Aadhaar scheme and its enabling 2016 Act, told a five-judge Constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that Indianness has nothing to do with a particular kind of identity.

The state government has attacked the scheme on grounds including that it would lead to 'one-nation, one-identity'.

"Yes, we all are citizens of this country and Indianness has nothing to do with this kind of identity," it told the bench which also comprised justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan.

The court questioned senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the West Bengal government, on what he thought about the concept of 'one-nation, one-identity'.

"We are proud Indians and are passionately Indians, but everything is wrong with Aadhaar. Indianness has nothing to do with identity. Let us not go into this debate as it is more political than legal. We are more than this Aadhaar. That's all," Sibal responded.

The senior advocate, who resumed arguements, read out the Aadhaar Act to say that it was a wrongly drafted law with respect to 'alternatives', because there was no scope of authentication of identity of an individual except Aadhaar.

The Aadhaar Act deals with no scope of other alternatives to establish identity of an individual, Sibal said, adding banks say that they do not want any other information or card and ask only for Aadhaar number.

Giving an illustration, he said the United Kingdom, which intially started a biometric authentication mechanism, scrapped it because the system was vulnerable.

"I am not saying that the State will misuse my Aadhaar information, but how does this Aadhaar make everyone vulnerable? This vulnerability is where the violation of my right comes in," he said.

Sibal argued that his first submission is about the centralisation of data and said that Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) claims that it is secure because it is federated -- that is the database is broken and stored in multiple locations.

He cited a recent Reserve Bank of India report circulated among its staffers, which identified Central ID Repository is a "single target" for internal/external/indigenous/foriegn attacks and also a "single point of failure".

The bench said that theoratically every centralised database can be hacked, but this does not necessarily mean that it is vulnerable.

"It is acknowledgement of the fact that you need to take extra care and safeguards should be there to protect it," Justice Chandrachud said.

Sibal replied, "I need to be assured that my data is protected but in a digital world, there can be no such assurance and once my property (biometric information) is lost then in the physical world you may retrieve it but in the virtual world you cannot.

"This is the future world we are heading into," he said and added, "In the digital world one knows more about you than one knows about himself".

The bench replied, "In the digital world it is not necessarily true what is advertised".

Sibal contended Aadhaar impacts federalism and exclusions caused due to it violates the right to equal treatment.

"It disproportionately impacts people who are aged, those who are engaged in manual labour and disabled people," he said.

The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue tomorrow.

Yesterday, the West Bengal government used Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent speech at the World Economic Forum at Davos that one who controls data would control the world, to assail the ambitious Aadhaar scheme, saying the Centre would control personal information of citizens to have a grip over them.

The apex court is hearing a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme and the enabling 2016 law.

Sibal had told the top court that Aadhaar was nothing but the right to information of the State and the question was can it be held as constitutional.

He had said that it was the most important case to be decided by the apex court since Independence and it was not the issue as to how much money the government was going to save, rather, the key point was whether citizens can be deprived of their fundamentals rights including the right to have choices.

The apex court had on December 15 last year extended till March 31 the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes of all ministries and departments of the Centre, states and Union territories.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of spending its time in power eulogising the Gandhi family at the cost of India's development, dubbed NPAs as the UPA government's "sin" and reeled out figures to rebuff opposition criticism on unemployment and other issues.

In his over 90-minute reply in the Lok Sabha to a debate on the motion of thanks for the president's address, Modi alleged that lies were being spread to create a sense of disappointment among the middle class about his government.

Throughout Modi's speech, Congress members were in the Well demanding that promises made to Andhra Pradesh following its division be fulfilled, questioning the Rafale deal and raised slogans targeting him.

Amid the din, an unfazed prime minister alleged Andhra Pradesh was suffering due to the "hasty decision" of the erstwhile UPA government to bifurcate the state in 2014 for "political benefits".

The Congress had similarly divided the country at the time of independence for its selfish interests, he said.

"This is the same party that divided India. For decades, one party devoted all their energies in singing paeans to one family. The interests of the nation were over-looked just for the interests of one family," he said in his hard-hitting address.

Claiming that his government has a vision for the country's development while the Congress worked with a "petty mind", he said the "biggest tunnel on land, the biggest tunnel under sea, the fastest train and the biggest gas pipe line" were being built by it.

"We have to create a new India. Let us all make our contribution to fulfil to create it," he said, adding that criticism was democracy's strength, but not lies.

The president's address does not belong to one party but underlines the government's direction, he said, and, in a dig, asked opposition leaders to read it again and "seek others' help if they cannot understand its language."

The Lok Sabha adopted the motion with a voice vote after opposition parties like the Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Left staged a walk out, saying Modi did not address issues raised by them like alleged corruption in Rafale deal.

Modi claimed that the opposition has been attacking him as its leaders were "losing their sleep " due to his fight against corruption and black money.

Many of them are out on bail in corruption cases, he said and noted that four former chief ministers are behind bars.

"When the corrupt and middlemen are out of work, obviously the Congress will be unhappy... Nobody is going to be spared. Those who have robbed the country will have to return their loot to the common man," he said amid thumping of desks by treasury benches and loud sloganeering by Congress members in the Well.

He termed the non-performing assets (NPAs) a "sin" of the UPA government and said he was giving its details for the first time as had he spoken earlier, it would have seriously harmed the economy.

"NPAs are cent per cent a responsibility of the previous government. Banks were pressured and the chosen few were given loans," he said.

He said the Congress gave wrong figures as NPAs were 82 percent and not 36 percent and added that the total advance made by banks rose from Rs 18 lakh crore to Rs 52 lakh crore.

"People should now know the truth.... It is the interest on what you squandered away. These are your sins," Modi said targeting the Congress, and alleged that loans were given to the people who were close to those in power.

He said the opposition's protest against his government's use of Aadhaar was due to its scientific use to weed out corruption and give direct benefits to the people.

When his government took office in 2014, the chorus from the opposition was that he will scrap Aadhaar but when he made it more effective, they began opposing it, Modi said.

Countering criticism of the government over the issue of unemployment, he said opposition-ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha and Karnataka have said that they have given employment to close to one crore people.

If the Centre is blamed for unemployment figures, then it should also be credited for employment data, he said.

"Don't try to mislead the people," he told referring to the opposition, adding that he had not cited figures of the BJP-ruled states but those where it was in power.

Seventy lakh new EPF accounts have been registered in the name of youths between 18-25 years of age, he said, citing measures like start-up India, skill India among others which have boosted the youth's aspirations.

"I can see the energy and enthusiasm in our youth. They want to do something on their own, they want to launch their own start-ups. Our government is giving wings to aspirations of India's middle class," he said.

Targeting the Congress for its charge that his government was muzzling their voice and threatening democracy, he said it had no right to talk of democracy as he cited "coronation" of Rahul Gandhi as its president, "insults" meted out to a Dalit chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and a presidential candidate by former prime ministers Rajiv and Indira Gandhi respectively.

A Congress leader, he said, had likened Rahul's elevation to Aurangzeb replacing Shahjahan and the latter taking over from Jahangir as Mughal kings. "And you talk of democracy!" he said making a jibe. "Don't give sermons on democracy to us. We know what you have done in the past," he said.

He also hit out at the Congress president, who was in the House, for presenting the government "in a wrong light" on his overseas trips. "Don't you feel ashamed," he asked without him.

When Indian Army was involved in a stand-off with the Chinese army in Dokalam, the Congress leader was speaking to Chinese officials, he said.

He recalled that BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee had expressed his party's reservations to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi privately during the Shimla agreement with Pakistan and did not harm India with any public criticism.

Reaching out to middle class, which opposition said was not benefitted from the Union Budget, he said lies were being spread to create a sense of disappointment among them.

He said his government was working on many fronts, like boosting infrastructure, education and health sectors, to make "ease of living" better for them. It has got new benefits of over 12,000 crore, he said.

"During much of the Congress rule after independence, there was little opposition presence, radio and then television were controlled by you and even judicial appointments were made by the government," he said.

But instead of focusing on the country's development, Modi said, "You spent the time singing paens to one family. You worked to ensure that everything else is forgotten and only one family is remembered by people. If your direction and intentions were right, then the country would have developed many times more."

If Sardar Patel had been the country's first prime minister, then a part of Jammu and Kashmir would not be in Pakistan's control, he said, claiming that most units of the Congress had backed Patel over Jawaharlal Nehru, who eventually became prime minister.
Reviving the old party tradition, Congress president Rahul Gandhi will interact with delegations of party leaders and workers from across the country from today at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters at Akbar Road here.

According to party sources, the AICC headquarters will be open for those on the list of appointments with the Congress chief from 9:30 AM to 11 AM.

The media, however, will not be allowed to be present during these interactions.

Easy accessibility of the Congress president has been an issue of debate in the past.

The Congress president's office at the AICC headquarters has, for several years, remained closed. It was opened once in a while when former party chief Sonia Gandhi came to attend the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting or an important event like the party's foundation day.

The office has recently been cleaned up and refurbished for Rahul Gandhi to sit there.

In the past, former Congress presidents like Indira Gandhi used to meet the party workers at a "janta durbar" there.
JBM Eco-life

After a delay of nearly a year, JBM Auto has finally unveiled its Eco-Life electric bus on Wednesday at the Auto Expo 2018 in Greater Noida.

The maximum speed of the bus is 75 kmph. The seating capacity of the bus ranges between 36-40. The eco-friendly bus will cost between Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore depending on the customisations.

Nishant Arya, Executive Director of the JBM group said that the company wishes to focus on meeting the specific needs of the customers. We don't want that we present just one option saying we have only this and customer has to buy that one. We want to give multiple options to the customers.

JBM Eco-life is suitable for urban transport and is fully electric. The bus can run upto 200 km in a single charge depending on the size of the battery. The charging time could also vary from 5 minutes to 1 hour.

The standout feature of the bus is the ability to charge via a pantograph - a device which usually delivers power from the top of the vehicle - an example can be seen in Metro trains across the country) as well as plug-in charger. The battery system is liquid-cooled and mounted on roof.

Arya said that the manufacturing of the bus will happen in companys Haryana and UP factories. It could hit the road in the second half of this year.

We are working with multiple customers and many smart cities, Arya said.

The bus has been produced in collaboration with European bus manufacturer, Solaris.

Design, engineering and production of the bus has happened at JBMs Uttar Pradesh manufacturing facility. The technology, however, has been provided by Solaris. The Li-ion batteries installed in the bus are also manufactured out of India.

The company, with their Citylife diesel and CNG buses ventured into the public transport segment. JBM has supplied 105 such buses to the Noida Metro Rail Corporation.
IT services company Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp today said that it has formed a new non-profit foundation with an initial grant of USD 100 million, to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics as well as digital education and skills initiatives for US workers and students.

The grant to the "Cognizant US Foundation" is a result of anticipated benefits due to recent changes in US tax laws, the New Jersey-based company said in a statement.

The foundation will focus on funding education and skills programmes in multiple US cities and states to help improve opportunities for local workers and students. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020 there will be a 1.4-million-person gap between software development jobs and qualified applicants to fill these positions in the U.S.

As the digital economy expands rapidly and changes the way businesses, organizations and governments operate, we believe it should create opportunities for all Americans, said Cognizant Chief Executive Officer Francisco DSouza. Unfortunately, because of a very real skills gap, there are far more open jobs for technical work than there are trained workers to fill them. A recent Cognizant Center for the Future of Work report on 21 Jobs of the Future identifies artificial intelligence, virtual reality, big data and other technologies as the new tools of the trade, he added.

The foundation will address this technology skills gap through programmes focused on educating a wide range of Americans.

Cognizant currently has recruiting, training and reskilling efforts underway in several American cities where it operates, including the Bronx, New York; Des Moines, Iowa; and Tampa, Florida.

The company has plans to expand its training programs to Phoenix, Arizona; Dallas, Texas; and Charlotte, North Carolina in the near future. The Cognizant U.S. Foundation will support a broad range of further education and skills initiatives.

There has been an increased focus on local US hiring and creating US-based jobs after Presidnet Donald Trump took office last year. The uncertainty around the H-1B work visas, used by Indian IT companies to send their employees onshore, has also led IT companies to look at setting up more local offices.

The issue of skill gap in technology companies is also a much talked about issue. Nearly all four top Indian IT companies have either contributed to similar skilling programmes through US-based universities, and also by initiating reskilling measures at their existing facilities.
Ajit Warrier

The seminal law in India dealing with consumer rights is the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (the Consumer Act). In the words of the Supreme Court, the object of the Consumer Act was to promote the welfare of the society by enabling the consumers to participate directly in the market economy and to remove the helplessness of a consumer which he faces against powerful business. It has consistently been held in various judicial pronouncements that the provisions of the Consumer Act are to be construed widely to give effect to the object and purpose of the said Act.

In July, 2017 the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi (NCDRC) had, in Aftab Singh and others vs. Emaar MGF Land Limited and others, held that consumer disputes are not capable of being settled by arbitration and that the jurisdiction of the Consumer Forums to adjudicate upon consumer disputes is not affected by Section 8 (as amended) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (the Arbitration Act) which mandates reference to arbitration. The NCDRC further held that to hold to the contrary would be to set at naught the entire purpose and object of the Consumer Act, viz. to ensure speedy, just and expeditious resolution and disposal of consumer disputes.

The said decision has been taken up in appeal before the Supreme Court and is expected to be heard finally on 7 February, 2018. Upon this decision would hinge whether a manufacturer or trader of goods or a service provider would, by pleading the existence of an arbitration clause in the agreement between them and a consumer, be entitled to claim that the jurisdiction of the Consumer Forums to entertain complaints of deficiency of goods or services would stand ousted.

A scrutiny of the Consumer Act reveals that two broad categories of cases are envisaged there under. The first category of cases are complaints filed under Section 12(1)(a) by a consumer in relation to any goods sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or any service provided or agreed to be provided. The second category of cases would be where a complaint can be filed by one or more consumers, with the permission of the District Forum, as a representative of numerous consumers having the same interest or where the Central Government or the State Government files a complaint as a representative of interests of the consumers in general.

If the Supreme Court were to ultimately hold that consumers would be mandatorily required to submit to expensive, lengthy and often protracted arbitrations to seek redressal of their grievances in cases where a contract contains an arbitration clause, that would be a severe blow for consumer rights in India. Such a conclusion would also visit harsh consequences upon consumers in cases of standard form contracts or where the terms and conditions are in fine print and not brought to the notice of the consumer, and more so where such clauses unreasonably restrict or exclude liability under the contract.

One can only hope that while deciding this issue, the Supreme Court is able to evolve a fine balancing act between the legislative philosophy and social objective behind the enactment of such a special law for consumers and the legislative mandate of the law governing arbitrations.

Author is Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas

Disclaimer: The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. Further, the views in this article are the personal views of the author.
U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May, in a telephone conversation on Tuesday, agreed that "all responsible nations must increase pressure on North Korea until it turns to the path of denuclearisation," the White House said.

It said the two leaders also agreed that a U.S.-Britain data sharing agreement would benefit both countries and that they would advocate for legislation together.
U.S. President Donald Trump waves as he arrives to deliver his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress inside the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 30, 2018. REUTERS/Win McNamee/Pool - HP1EE1V06J5S3

US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May have asked all responsible nations to increase pressure on North Korea until it turns to the path of denuclearisation.

The two leaders spoke over phone yesterday during which May also briefed Trump on her recent trip to China, the White House said.

"The two leaders agreed all responsible nations must increase pressure on North Korea until it turns to the path of denuclearisation," the White House said.

"The leaders also agreed the pending United States-United Kingdom Data Sharing Agreement would benefit law enforcement efforts in both countries, and they will advocate for legislation together," the White House said.

Meanwhile, the State Department said there is no plans for the US officials to meet the North Korean delegations during the Winter Olympics in South Korea.

"There are no plans to meet with any North Korean officials during or after the Olympics; I want to be clear about that. There are no plans to do so," State department Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters at her daily news conference.

North Korea last year increased the pace of its missile programme and launched 23 missiles since February.

In November, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un said that his country had achieved full nuclear statehood after what he said was the successful test of a new missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States.
Princess Mako, the elder daughter of Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko, and her fiancee Kei Komuro, a university friend of Princess Mako, smile during a press conference to announce their engagement at Akasaka East Residence in Tokyo, Japan, September 3, 2017. REUTERS/Shizuo Kambayashi/Pool - RC1EA048A6B0

Japanese Princess Mako, who had grabbed global attention after deciding to marry a commoner has postponed her marriage. The event, which was scheduled to happen on November has now been postponed to 2020.

The decision was announced according to a report in NHK by an official of Imperial Household Agency during a news conference on Tuesday. The decision reportedly comes at the backdrop of the abdication of the throne by present Emperor Akihito. As per the officials, a series of functions will take place next year in relation with the abdication of the Emperor and the accession of the Crown Prince.

According to the reports, the couple realised that they will not get sufficient time to prepare for their own marriage amidst all these events leading to the postponement. Earlier it was planned that the marriage will take place on the 4th of November at a Tokyo hotel, while the ceremony to exchange betrothal gifts was planned for March 4th.

The decision by Princess Mako, the granddaughter of Emperor Akihito to marry a commoner had garnered attention as it is very uncommon among royalty to marry common people. Daughter of Prince Fumihito and Princess Kiko had decided to marry Kei Komuro, who she had met while studying at the International Christian University in Tokyo. The Princess will become a commoner after the marriage according to the laws that prevail in the royal family in relation to marriages.

While there has been a decimation in royal power since the countrys defeat in the Second World War, the institution of monarchy and the authority of the royal family is still revered by a large number of the Japanese population. The abdication of the throne by Akihito will lead to the coronation of Prince Naruhito as the next monarch.
A family member of a passenger aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which went missing in 2014 reacts during a protest outside the Chinese foreign ministry in Beijing, July 29, 2016. The hat reads "Pray for MH370" REUTERS/Thomas Peter - S1BETSHOHBAA

The mystery surrounding the missing Malaysia Airlines flight is showing no sign of an end. In the most recent episode related to the MH370, the ship that was searching for the missing flight disappeared for three days under mysterious circumstances.

As per a report in The Guardian, Seabed Constructor, which has been looking for the missing plane, turned off its monitoring system for some unexplained reasons. The ship re-appeared outside the search area after three days when it was on its way to a refuelling stop at the Australian port of Fremantle.

The ship belongs to the US-based company Ocean Infinity that was hired by the Malaysian government to search for the MH370 flight that has been missing since 2014. The ship, which reportedly started its search operations on 22nd January disappeared suddenly on Thursday after it turned off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) with no explanation only to reappear later outside the search area.

While no explanation is being provided by the Malaysian government or Ocean Infinity about the cause, questions are being raised about the ships activities during the three days. This included an allegation that the ship was searching for the lost treasures from the wreck of a Peruvian ship called SV Inca.

However, a more plausible explanation was given by Kevin Rupp, a precision machinist. According to him the ship may have switched off the signals to prevent unwanted attention. Seabed Constructor would have to sit still in one place for a long period of time and this would be very noticeable to those of us watching through our AIS tracking apps ... I believe they may have turned the AIS transmitter to low power mode to prevent us from speculating that they had found something and causing undue distress for the next of kin, he was quoted saying.

For the time being, the Malaysian authorities have confirmed that no clue about the missing aircraft has been found till now. However, kin of the missing passengers are not impressed and want greater accountability. There are no journalists and no family members on board the search ship. I wish there were some ... We watch on in good faith. I hope ongoing official disclosure is of such a high order that there is little room for speculation, controversy or a whiff of conspiracy, KS Narendran, a relative of a missing passenger was quoted as saying.
Egypt warned on Wednesday against any attempts to infringe or disparage its sovereign rights in the eastern Mediterraneans Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), following statements by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu that a 2003 maritime border demacration agreement between Egypt and Cyprus was invalid.

In an official statement, Egypt foreign ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that any attempts to breach Egypts rights were "unacceptable" and would be contested, slamming Cavusoglu's statements.

On Tuesday, Turkish FM Cavusoglu told the Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini in an interview that his country considers the maritime border demarcation agreement "null and void, according to international law."

"Turkey has submitted to the UN its objection to the Egyptian-Greek Cypriot agreement of 2003 regarding to the so-called 'Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone,'" the minister said.

"After thorough examination, we have clearly stated that the agreement violates Turkeys continental shelf," he added.

Cavusoglu continued that "No foreign country, company, or vessel may conduct any unauthorized hydrocarbon or scientific research activity on Turkeys continental shelf."

Responding to the Turkish foreign minister's statements, Abu Zeid said that no party can contest the agreement's validity, "as it is in line with the principles of international law and has been recognized as an international agreement by the UN."

The statement by the Turkish FM comes nearly one week after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi emphasized the importance of Egypt's eastern Mediterranean border agreements in regards to oil and gas exploration.

Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been strained since the 2013 ouster of Egypts Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, a close ally of Erdogan's AKP government.



Erdogan has repeatedly slammed Morsi's removal as a "coup."

Cairo has repeatedly accused Ankrara of "interference" in its domestic affairs and of supporting Islamist militants who carry out terrorist attacks in Egypt.

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Abdulla Yameen

Facing flak for imposing emergency, the Maldives said that it was done to address certain "internal aspects of governance", and invited its development partners and representatives from international organisations to visit the country to assess the situation.

Maldivian foreign ministry issued a statement, saying that the government wishes to assure the international community that despite imposition of emergency, no curfew has been imposed and general movement of people, services and businesses will not be affected.

The State of Emergency addresses certain internal aspects of governance and affects mostly the capital island Male, and not tourist resorts, tourist islands and tourism in general, the statement said.

"The Maldives would like to invite its development partners and representatives from international organisations and associations to visit the Maldives to assess the situation in the Maldives and witness the safety and security of Male, for their own citizens as well as to engage with the government and key stakeholders in the country," it said.

It also said that life in the Maldives continues as normal with all places of work, businesses, schools, government and social services, travel, including all domestic and international airports, and leisure facilities all remaining fully open and operational.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Mohamed Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday last when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

The nine political leaders included Nasheed.

The Yameen government refused to implement the ruling, prompting a wave of protests in Maldives capital, Male.

Following clashes and protests, the Yameen government imposed the emergency, evoking concerns from the international community.

While India and China issued travel advisories, the US asked the Yameen government to abide by the SC decision.

However, late last night Maldives' Supreme Court revoked the order to release nine high-profile political prisoners.
Egyptian authorities will open the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip for three days starting on Wednesday, Egypt's state-run MENA news agency reported.

The Rafah crossing will be open in both directions to allow Palestinians to travel in and out of Gaza.

The north-Sinai border crossing is the major gateway to the outside world for 1.8 million Palestinians living in Israeli-besieged Gaza, as it is the only terminal not controlled by Israel.

Egypt has largely kept the border closed in recent years due to security concerns following the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

Gaza, a small, impoverished coastal enclave, has been under Israeli blockade since 2006.

Egypt last reopened Rafah in both directions briefly in December.

Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah agreed to hand over responsibility for the Rafah crossing to a unity government as part of an Egyptian-brokered reconciliation deal in October 2017.

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It also seems that a lot of the people selling the chocolate are actually Kiwis who have found an easy way to make a quick buck!

"I am selling Caramilk Chocolate in bulks of 5 for $100 per lot. All the way from NZ I have plenty!" one person wrote on their auction.

But Aussies may not to have to wait long before they don't have to pay ridiculous amounts of money for it.

"Due to popular demand across the ditch, a small amount of Cadbury Caramilk will also be available in Australian stores shortly after it's released in New Zealand."


Tequila producers are feeling the pinch as the soaring price of agave threatens production of the spirit.



The price of the agave tequilana plant has risen six-fold in the past two years, squeezing producers at the margins and forcing them to use plants before they were ready, Reuters reports.

The agave plant takes between seven to eight years to mature, but some producers are using plants that are only four years old due to the shortage.

Younger plants create less tequila, meaning more of them have to be used and the crisis worsens.

Only 17.7 million plants are expected to mature this year, but the industry needs 42.2 million to sustain itself.

The shortage and price rises are expected to continue through to 2021 due to the plants slow maturation.

It now costs 22 pesos (NZ$1.60) for a kilo of agave, compared to 3.85 pesos in 2016.

Higher prices could affect both small and large scale providers as the drink moves from a cheap student's night out to top shelf drink.

"At more than 20 pesos per kilo, it's impossible to compete with other spirits like vodka and whisky," small scale tequila producer Salvador Rosales told Reuters.

"If we continue like this a lot of companies will disappear."

"The growth has overtaken us. It's a crisis of success of the industry," said Francisco Soltero, director of strategic planning at Patron.

"We thought that we were going to grow a certain amount, and we're growing double."

The industry is also facing competition from the lifestyle industry for the plants, as the supplement inulin and various sweeteners use the product.

Newshub.
A Giza Criminal court upheld on Wednesday a decision by Egypts prosecutor-general to seize the funds of Menoufiya governor Hesham Abdel-Baset, who is facing trial over corruption charges.

Abdel-Baset was arrested in January for purportedly receiving an EGP 2 million (around $113,000) bribe from a businessman in return for a plot of land.

The former governor challenged in court the decision by prosecutor-general Nabil Sadek to seize Abdel-Baset and his familys funds.

Abdel-Baset's arrest was initially announced by Egypts Administrative Control Authority (ACA), which is responsible for enforcing laws and regulations within state bodies, including identifying possible cases of corruption and referring them to the prosecution.

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Twelve tourists and a boat's crew were rescued by Egypt's Rescue and Environmental Protection Society after their boat caught fire on the Red Sea off the coast of Hurghada on Wednesday, Al-Ahram Arabic news website reported.

The Rescue and Environmental Protection Society dispatched a rescue vessel after receiving an SOS signal from the boat, which was five miles from Hurghada.

The cause of the fire is not yet clear.

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France's foreign minister on Wednesday demanded that all Iranian-backed militia, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, leave Syria and said that Turkey and Iran were violating international law through their actions in the country.

Speaking on BFM television, Jean-Yves Le Drian also said there were indications Syrian government forces were using toxic gas against civilians although the U.N. would need to confirm that.

Asked whether he wanted Turkish armed forces to withdraw from Syria, Le Drian replied that he wanted "the withdrawal of all of those who ought not to be in Syria, including Iranian militia, including Hezbollah."

While not specifically calling for Turkey to pull back from its offensive against Kurdish militias in northern Syria, he said that Ankara should not worsen the conflict.

"Ensuring the security of its borders does not mean killing civilians and that should be condemned. In a dangerous situation in Syria, (Turkey) should not add war to war."

International law "is being violated by Turkey, by the Damascus regime, by Iran and those who are attacking eastern Ghouta and Idlib", he said. His remarks amount to France's toughest line yet on Turkey's involvement in the Syrian conflict.

France has backed the Syrian opposition during the seven-year war and is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants.

Le Drian is due in Tehran on March 5 for talks over its ballistic missile programme, the nuclear deal agreed with world powers in 2015 and the role of Iran in the region at a time when the United States has put pressure on its European allies to toughen their stance on Tehran.

Iran is a key ally of the Syrian government in the seven-year civil war and it says it has no intention of withdrawing unless Syria requested it do so.

Le Drian also said it looked likely that President Bashar al-Assad's forces were using chlorine gas in their Russian-backed offensive on the rebel-held Idlib province and in the besieged enclave of eastern Ghouta.

"I'm speaking with a degree of caution because you have to be careful pending full documentation, but all the indications that we have show that at the moment chlorine is being used by the Syrian regime," Le Drian said, adding that the United Nations had opened an investigation.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in May last year that he had clear red lines on chemical weapons saying that "any use of chemical weapons would result in reprisals and an immediate riposte, at least where France is concerned."

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Irving-based Pioneer Natural Resources announced Tuesday that it was selling its non-Permian Basin acreage and infrastructure to focus its money and attention on what's sometimes called a "Super Basin."

A large chunk of the sale -- 70,000 acres -- is in South Texas' Eagle Ford shale, which includes both oil and natural gas production. Pioneer is also selling its assets in the West Panhandle natural gas field in Texas, oil and gas acreage in the Sinor Nest Field in South Texas and gas production in the Raton Basin, along the Colorado-New Mexico border.

"After these divestitures are completed, Pioneer's operations will be solely in the Permian Basin,"

Timothy L. Dove, Pioneer's president and CEO, said in a written statement.

The announcement comes at a time when the U.S. oil industry's focus is increasingly on the Permian Basin. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has projected that the Permian will account for 30 percent of the nation's crude oil production this year. And Baker Hughes reported last year that 366 of the 915 onshore rigs in the Lower 48 were operating in the Permian.

The lower cost of production in the Permian, which lies in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, has created a land rush. Companies are also consolidating acreage there to increase efficiency, particularly with horizontal drilling.

In 2016, there were $25.6 billion in transactions in the Permian, according to IHS Markit, a market researcher. A Deloitte analysis found 44 deals worth $20 billion in just the first half of 2017.

The biggest deals of 2017 included Irving-based Exxon Mobil's $6.6 billion purchase of Permian acreage and Houston-based Noble Energy's $2.7 billion in spending for Permian leases and pipelines.

After selling its Permian assets for $2.8 billion last year, Fort Worth-based Double Eagle Energy announced this week that it had $1 billion in backing to return to that field.

Despite its increasing production, the Permian isn't close to being tapped out.

Nansen Saleri, a former Saudi Aramco executive who is now CEO of the Houston consulting firm Quantum Reservoir Impact, told Bloomberg that Permian producers have at least 500,000 barrels of day worth of idle production capacity. He said operators there can increase output in three or four days, which is faster than anywhere but Saudi Aramco fields.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
For the second time in less than three years, a 21-year-old Florida inmate has been charged with murder after allegedly killing another cellmate for being a child molester.

Frederick Patterson III, who was initially in custody for burglary, allegedly claims he killed his cellmate Arthur Williams, 82, Jan. 15 in Jackson County Correctional Facility in Marianna, Florida.
A North Texas teacher had died from complications from the flu.

Heather Holland, a second-grade teacher at Ikard Elementary School with the Weatherford Independent School District died over the weekend, the Weatherford Democrat reports. Holland got sick about a week ago and took medication, but delayed picking up the prescription due to the $116 copay, according to the newspaper.

BRUTAL SEASON: This map of Texas explains why everyone you know has the flu

By Friday night, Holland's condition worsened and she was taken to the hospital. Her husband Frank Holland told the Weatherford Democrat that she died Sunday morning.

"She loved helping people, helping the kids, and the kids loved her," Holland's husband told the Weatherford Democrat.

Charlotte LaGrone, a spokeswoman for Weatherford ISD, told news station CBS DFW that counselors are available at the school for the rest of the week to help students and school staff cope with the sudden loss. She added that custodians started deep cleaning the district's schools in December to keep students from getting sick, and that the specific campus where Holland was employed had received an additional cleaning on Friday, Feb. 2.

This year's flu season has been particularly deadly, with flu-related deaths being reported across the nation. Last month, seven flu-related deaths were reported in Midland. The CDC reports the flu is widespread across America this year and possibly won't peak until March.

Scroll through the gallery above to see top prevention tips for avoiding the flu.

Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com. Read more of his stories here and follow him on Twitter.
Turkey and the United States will discuss U.S. support for the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria, the extradition of a Turkish cleric and a U.S. trial of a Turkish banker which "poisons" ties, a spokesman for President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters during a news conference in Ankara, Ibrahim Kalin said the issues would be discussed with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and U.S. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who are expected to visit Turkey next week.

Turkish-U.S. ties have neared a breaking point recently over a number issues, including U.S. support for the YPG, the extradition of Gulen, accused by Ankara of masterminding a 2016 abortive putsch, and last month's U.S. conviction of an executive from Turkey's Halkbank for helping Iran evade U.S. sanctions.

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Gov. Greg Abbott unveiled a new $40 million plan that would change the way state law and police agencies combat sex crime, including sexual harassers at the Texas Capitol, child predators, and human traffickers while protecting the victims.

The Governor's proposal, announced Tuesday in Houston, would represent a significant change to state criminal laws and enforcement of sex crimes, and is the latest move by Texas officials to curb the continuing scourge of human trafficking, which researchers have found impacts thousands of underage victims across the state.

"Texas must do more to protect the survivors of these crimes and to punish the perpetrators," Abbott said at a press event for law enforcement, legislators and community advocates at Harris County's Children's Assessment Center.

The governor highlighted the case of former United Airlines pilot Bruce Wallis, who was convicted in 2017 of running and profiting from a string of brothels in Harris County and sentenced to probation, a $2,000 fine and 150 hours of community service.

The governor also referenced a recent KHOU television investigation that showed that two-thirds of defendants charged with sex-trafficking offenses between June 2014 and December 2016 received probation instead of jail or prison time.

"The penalties for promoting prostitution are simply too lenient," Abbott said. "Anyone who commits these crimes should be behind bars, but the fact of the matter, far too often, is that criminals who promote prostitution are right back out on the streets with little more than a slap on the wrist."

Abbott proposed that the punishment for running a prostitution operation be incarceration and said offenders should be forced register as sex offenders upon their release. And he proposed allowing trafficking victims the opportunity to clear their records if they were forced to engage in sex crimes.

Sitting beside Abbott was Toni McKinley, a former child victim of the sex trade who now works at a faith-based residential program in Austin that treats minors who are victims of sex trafficking.

She told the crowd she had been repeatedly raped, from elementary school until she was 18, but noted she grew up in a run-of-the-mill neighborhood.

McKinley warned that trafficking was not just related to problems in the foster care or criminal justice systems, or with runaways or immigrants.

"Predators are coming for our children and for our families. They're in our schools, they're in our churches, they're in our neighborhoods and they're all over social media," McKinley said. "This is a public health issues that must be treated like the crisis that it has become."

In announcing the election-year plan in Houston, where high levels of human sex trafficking have been documented, Abbott said the new initiatives were designed to curb a continuing plague of sex crimes and misconduct. Officials said the proposals could cost up to $40 million to carry out.

Several items in Abbott's plan have been the subject of legislation that was considered, but did not pass, in previous sessions and has been proposed by law enforcement officials and trafficking task forces as well as sexual-assault prevention advocates.

MORE: Texas drivers have crowdfunded $25K to test rape kits, thanks to DPS applications

A major change would allow sexual assault claims against legislators, state elected officials, agency directors and state boards and state employees working in the Capitol Complex to be reported to and investigated by the Texas Rangers, instead of legislative officials, agencies and local police.

While that change could cost about $2 million, a briefing paper accompanying Abbott's plan states that"no administrative arm of government has the relevant training and expertise to investigate sexual assault claims."

With the change, Abbott said, "we can ensure that claims are investigated by an impartial law enforcement body that is equipped to hold public servants accountable."

The proposal calls for an additional $22 million in funding for the Texas Department of Public Safety to establish specialized human-trafficking squads designed to curb chronic problems in Houston and other key areas of the state.

Rape kit testing

Abbot said he would also provide $1 million from his office's criminal justice division grants to kick start the testing of 15,000 rape kits that have stacked up in evidence rooms in across the state. His plan calls for an additional $14 million to be allocated to address the backlog.

Also under Abbott's plan, state employees would have to undergo training on preventing human and sex trafficking.

OPINION: Houston is an epicenter of human trafficking

At the same time, sex trafficking victims would be given the chance to clear their criminal record if they were forced to engage in sex crimes.

All state employees would have to undergo training on preventing human and sex trafficking.

Several of the proposals could put more Texans in prison, and for longer sentences.

The penalty for kidnapping of children under the age of 18 -- in cases where a child is held for ransom -- would be increased from a third-degree felony, carrying prison time from 2 to 10 years, to a first-degree felony with a possible 5- to 99-year sentence.

The crime of authorizing or allowing sexual performance involving a child would be upped from a second-degree to first degree, while possession of child pornography would carry a penalty of two- to 20 years in prison, double the current sentence. Repeat offenders could face first-degree felony charges.

The current law that covers only children 14 and under would be expanded to include anyone under age 18, a change that would cover tens of thousands more teen-aged Texans.

MORE: Houston sex trafficking victim sues hotels, truckstops, website

A new crime

In related proposals to curb trafficking, convicted sex offenders caught in a passenger car with minors who are not a family member could be charged with a new crime. And the minimum age for workers at sexually oriented businesses would be raised from 18 to 21, minors under age 18 would be prohibited from going into those business.

GPS monitoring of Texans charged with domestic abuse, from the time they make bond until they go to trial, would be made mandatory. That would require millions of dollars in state funds, but an initiative that Abbott said is designed to better protect victims and keep high-risk offenders more closely supervised if they are covered by court orders to stay away from their victims.

Abbott said the state would also create a "do not hire" registry to bar teachers and school employees who have been convicted of improper relationships with students from getting hired by another school district.

He also wants to allow a state board that certifies educators to suspend a teaching license of anyone charged with a sex crime that's substantiated, if they pose a continuing threat to students or school personnel.

Abbott's plan was welcomed by Houston officials, including St. Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston.

"We have a problem that is of a magnitude that is unacceptable, it's just unthinkable," said Huffman, a former prosecutor."Every Texan should want to be a warrior in this battle."
Renewed government strikes killed 32 civilians on Wednesday in a rebel-held enclave near Damascus, where overwhelmed medics were still treating survivors of the Syrian conflict's bloodiest day in months.

The district of Eastern Ghouta, controlled by rebel factions including Islamists, suffered some of its worst bloodshed in years on Tuesday, when 80 civilians were killed.

Regime warplanes returned Wednesday morning for fresh strikes on the enclave, with the death toll climbing to 32 civilians including a dozen children, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Among them was the young daughter of Abu Raad, a shell-shocked man from Eastern Ghouta.

"Now the rescue workers are searching for my second daughter but can't find her. What do I do?" he cried.

Tuesday's toll of 80 dead was "the highest civilian toll in Syria in nearly nine months, and one of the bloodiest days for Eastern Ghouta in several years," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Nineteen children and 20 women are among the dead, and around 200 were wounded, said the Britain-based war monitor.

The deadliest raids hit Beit Sawa and Hammuriyeh, the Observatory said.

In Hammuriyeh, a young man stared at the bodies of five children, including his younger brother, killed in an air strike.

"I saw them filling up water, and a few minutes later the airplane hit. I came back and found all five dead," he said.

Civilians had been bracing for more raids as the regime appeared intent on ratcheting up the pressure on Eastern Ghouta, a rebel pocket on the capital's doorstep.

"Please break up all gatherings and clear the streets," blared an announcement from mosque minarets in Douma.

In apparent retaliation, rebel rocket fire on a government-controlled suburb of Damascus killed one child an wounded two people, state news agency SANA reported.

Citing a police source, SANA said the shells were launched from Eastern Ghouta.

Home to an estimated 400,000 people, the Eastern Ghouta region has been included in a de-escalation deal that was meant to bring calm.

But the bombardment has increased in recent days, including with suspected chlorine-filled munitions.

On Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said "all indications" pointed to the Syrian government's use of chlorine weapons in Syria.

"All indications... tell us today that chlorine is being used by the regime at present in Syria," he told BFM television.

Chlorine is suspected of having been used on two occasions this month alone on Eastern Ghouta.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said a fact-finding mission mandated "to establish the facts surrounding allegations of the use of toxic chemicals... is investigating all credible allegations."

The world's chemical watchdog voiced "grave concern" over the new reports.

The US State Department said on Monday it had recorded six suspected chemical attacks in Syria in the past 30 days.

Syria has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons.

On Wednesday, the Syrian army said it intercepted an Israeli attack on a military position in Jamraya, northwest of Damascus.

Jamraya is home to several military positions and a branch of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center, suspected of playing a leading role in chemical weapons production.

An Israeli air strike hit the facility in May 2013.

"This morning, Israeli warplanes fired several missiles from Lebanese airspace on one of our military positions in the Damascus countryside," said an army statement carried by state media.

"Our air defence systems blocked them and destroyed most of them."

The Observatory said an arms depot in Jamraya had been hit, but it could not confirm whether research facilities had been damaged.

The United Nations has said it is looking into reports of chemical attacks in Syria, and called on Tuesday for a month-long ceasefire across the country for the sake of civilians.

The de-escalation zones, according to the UN's regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria, were not doing enough to stem the violence.

"There is a misperception that de-escalation areas have resulted in peace and stability," Panos Moumtzis told reporters in Beirut.

"Eastern Ghouta is a de-escalation area. If anything, there has been a serious escalation... The conflict in Syria is far from over," Moumtzis said.

He said the situation had grown more dire because of the multiple fronts raging at the same time.

"It's the first time -- between Eastern Ghouta, Idlib, Afrin -- we have multiple fronts with people in extreme danger without a view to a solution," he said.

"Now, we feel we've reached a breaking point."

More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict in Syria erupted in March 2011.

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Related Two South Africans kidnapped in Nigeria freed

Nigeria's army on Wednesday said it would send troops into the country's volatile central states to quell violence between farmers and herders that has killed hundreds in recent weeks.

Major General David Ahmadu said the deployment from February 15 would crack down on "herdsmen/farmers clashes and attacks on innocent members of our communities, particularly in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states by armed militias".



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In Focus with Allison Walker is a 30-minute public affairs program, featuring a roundtable of newsmakers representing a range of perspectives, including local officials and expert analysts as they tackle topical issues of importance to Floridians.

In Focus airs Sundays at 11:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m., right after Political Connections.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Wednesday rebuffed suggestions that the odds of war with North Korea had risen under Donald Trump's presidency, insisting the focus was resolutely on diplomacy.

"As far as the situation with Korea, it is firmly in the diplomatic lane," Mattis told reporters at the White House, when asked if the prospect of conflict with Pyongyang was any nearer than when Trump took office a year ago.

"We have seen much stronger diplomatic action," Mattis said, citing a recent string of unanimously adopted UN Security Council resolutions aimed at ramping up the pressure on the regime of Kim Jong-Un.

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Ocala Police started a new program Tuesday called the Heroin/Opioid Amnesty Program.

Ocala police starts Heroin/Opioid Amnesty Program

Anyone addicted to drugs can ask for help

Officers take addicts to mental health/substance abuse provider



Ocala Police Chief Greg Graham said during a news conference that last year, the city had 78 opioid overdose cases and 16 deaths.

A little over a month into 2018, there have already been 22 overdoses and 7 deaths.

Graham said arrests alone won't solve the problem.

"We took 95 people to jail for trafficking in heroin, and our numbers are worse this year than they were last year in overdoses and deaths," Graham said.

He said with the new program, anyone who is addicted to any drug can call or come into the police department and ask for help.

Officers will then take them to The Centers, a mental health and substance abuse provider.

"If you show up, youre not going to get arrested. If you bring us drugs, well take them, destroy them. Paraphernalia  we'll destroy that, Graham said. You're not going to be arrested, you're not going to be charged with it, and youre going to be given help."

Last year, The Centers gave the Ocala Police Department units of Narcan.

Authorities said they've already saved four lives with the overdose reversal medication.

Ocala Police said it is also working to charge dealers with homicide in overdose deaths.
Looks like ladies will have to crunch their Doritos like everyone else after all.

PepsiCo says there will be no "Lady Doritos"

PepsiCo says comments by CEO were misinterpreted

PREVIOUS STORY: Eating Doritos like a lady means a new chip, CEO says

Frito-Lay and parent company PepsiCo tried to quash online furor after the CEO said the company was getting ready to launch newly designed and packaged products with women in mind.

PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi said the following on the podcast Freakonomics last week:

"Its not a male and female as much as 'are there snacks for women that can be designed and packaged differently? And yes, we are looking at it, and were getting ready to launch a bunch of them soon. For women, low-crunch, the full taste profile, not have so much of the flavor stick on the fingers, and how can you put it in a purse? Because women love to carry a snack in their purse."

Nooyi said this decision was made because women can't enjoy Doritos the way men can -- licking their fingers, pouring the last few broken bits out of the bag and into their mouths.

"Women would love to do the same, but they dont. They dont like to crunch too loudly in public. And they dont lick their fingers generously, and they dont like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth."

Displeasure at the idea was overwhelming online. We conducted social media polls, and both showed readers don't want "Lady Doritos":

&amp;amp;nbsp;

After a day of social media backlash online though, PepsiCo said the interpretation of Nooyi's comments was inaccurate.

Doritos responded with a simple tweet Tuesday:

We already have Doritos for women  theyre called Doritos, and theyre loved by millions.  Doritos (@Doritos) February 6, 2018

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
Three new members of the Main Street Program Coordinating Board were sworn in Monday during the boards regularly scheduled meeting and two were immediately appointed to positions on the board.

The new members sworn in Monday include Plainview Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tonya Keesee, Wayland Baptist University Religion Professor Dr. Jay Givens and Contemporary Art Museum Plainview Executive Director and founder Kelly Alison. During the selection of board positions, Givens was voted in as vice president and Alison was selected as secretary. Board member Renata Jack was unanimously selected to be the boards president.

Main St. Executive Director Melinda Brown asked the board to look at the boards initiative. She noted that the initiative had been approved by a previous board and that she wanted this board to set its own initiatives. Some discussion followed involving the Main Street Four Point Approach, which includes the prongs of economic vitality, design, promotion and organization.

Board member Logan Pritchett said that the previous board had assigned board members to chair each of the individual prongs, but that he felt that it worked better if all of the board members had input on each prong. He said due to the boards small size, assigning one member to each of the four elements spread out the board too much.

Alison asked several questions regarding the interplay between the Main St. program and the Plainview Downtown Association. She spoke specifically about who was primarily responsible for grant writing and fundraising since the Main St. program does not do fundraising. PDA President Phyllis Wall said that her group is set up, due to its non-profit status to handle funds in conjunction with the Main St. program.

The board also considered two grant proposals for the HOT Grant. One was for the J.W. Memorial Rodeo on July 28, and the other is the High Ground of Texas Spring Meeting set on April 25-26.

The board unanimously denied the application from J.W. Memorial as they said the memorial is specifically for the children of the named individual. Board members were not sure that the request served an overall community purpose.

The board unanimously approved the application from the High Ground of Texas, which is an economic development group including Plainview, that seeks to bring business and industry to the higher elevated portions of West Texas.

The board also discussed upcoming events including the Downtown Carriage Rides and Marty Haggard concert on Feb. 10. Brown said that she needed a few more volunteers for the carriage rides as the event is popular with area residents. The board also discussed several other upcoming events, including the skate park competition on March 17. Alison said that CAMP is working with the competition and is planning on hosting several skating related events both the night before and the day of the competition. She said she was working on the information for the event and would have more to provide to the board members at a later date.
MERIDEN  Firefighters responded to Hanover Pond Monday after a malfunction with the Archimedes screw caused a loud noise and smoke, damaging the hydroelectric dams generator. The screw, which is the first of its kind installed in the United States, is no longer producing power and the extent of the damage is being assessed.

New England Hydropower Company installed the 20-ton screw in Hanover Pond dam in December 2016. The technology is attributed to ancient Greek scientist Archimedes and generates power by harnessing the gravity of water flowing downward through the dam, turning the screw. The hydroelectric dam is expected to generate 920,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity annually and save the city $20,000 a year in power costs and property taxes over 20 years.

Firefighters responded to the dam Monday afternoon after a loud noise and smoke was reported coming from the generator on site, according to acting City Manager Michael Lupkas. A malfunction with the screw had caused the generator to overheat, causing damage, Lupkas said.

No injuries were reported and fire crews were on site for several hours, Lupkas said.

Company officials on site told city employees, out of 300 installations worldwide this is the first time this (malfunction) has ever happened, Lupkas said.

Spokesman for New England Hydropower Company Christian Conover said the dam is not currently producing energy and the company is still in the process of assessing the cause of the malfunction and damage to the system.

There was a shut down of the system and were evaluating the root cause and some of the subsequent effects, but theres been some damage. Conover said.

ltauss@record-journal.com

203-317-2231

Twitter: @LeighTaussRJ
MERIDEN The citys grand list dropped by 1 percent last year, in part due to property owners successfully appealing the 2016 revaluation.

Meanwhile, Meriden Square Partnership, which includes the Westfield Meriden Mall, surpassed Connecticut Light & Power Co. as the citys biggest taxpayer in 2017.

It concerns me were losing value on our property, said Acting City Manager Ken Morgan. I am right now assessing the impactIt definitely is going to change the budgeting process just a little bit as we try to compensate for that.

Total taxable property in the city dropped by .92 percent to $3.07 billion, a loss in property value of $28.4 million from 2016. Real estate in the city is valued at $2.6 billion, dropping by $17.6 million from 2016. Personal property and motor vehicle assets decreased by about 1 percent each. Meanwhile, the number of exemptions grew by 4.31 percent to $110.9 million, removing an additional $4.6 million in property value from the tax rolls.

The decrease was driven by 42 large property owners successfully appealing the 2016 revaluation, which accounted for a loss of $25 million in property value, said Finance Director Michael Lupkas.

This is the first year of revaluation, so all of the big taxpayers that put in appeals usually get settled in the first or second year, so it is expected that the Grand List would have gone down this year, Lupkas said. Its down $17 million, but $25 million came off due to revaluation settlements, which actually means real estate did grow by $7 million last year.

The increase in exempt property was partially due to significant progress in large scale developments downtown, such as the new train station and Meriden Commons I, which has an 80 percent tax abatement. Residents installing solar panels on homes also increased the amount of exempt property.

When someone installs solar panels on their house, thats going to increase the grand list, but its also exempt. Lupkas said. There was a tremendous amount of that last year.

The citys top 10 taxpayers saw some changes, including Meriden Square Partnership, which has assets valued at $58 million, overtaking Connecticut Light & Power as the citys top taxpayer. Connecticut Light & Power is valued at about $40 million, followed by Yankee Gas at $33 million. Both companies are owned by Eversource Energy.

The grand lists impact on the budget and mill rate will not become evident until the city finalizes its budget, Lupkas said. Despite the decrease in taxable property values, Lupkas said a silver lining comes from the $7 million increase in property values offset by the $25 million loss in assessment appeals.

Anyone that goes through revaluation is going to have assessment appeals, so you are going to be losing some at that point in time, Lupkas said. I think the bright side of it is that theres other numbers behind the scenes that are hopefully beginning a trend in the right direction.

ltauss@record-journal.com

203-317-2231

Twitter: @LeighTaussRJ
>byline<By Ashley Kus

>bycredit< The Citizen

PLAINVILLE  The middle school auditorium in Plainville was crowded Monday night during a public hearing on a plan to close the Plainville-Southington gap in the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.

Over 50 people from Plainville, Southington, Cheshire, West Hartford, Farmington and other surrounding towns, including a Massachusetts resident, spoke about a trail study released to the public last month.

Some said the trail could offer benefits to the town and attract visitors.

Im here to support the bike trail, said Barbara Davison, a Plainville resident. The only thing were lacking is a bike trail, in fact ours is the only town along the route that does not have a bike trail and thats a shame.

Others said the trail will be too close to residential areas.

Its bringing a trail right down my street, said Plainville resident Kathleen Cook.

The proposed route will go through Pierce Street, where Cook lives, before heading down Broad Street to make its way to Townline Road and connect with the Southington trail section.

The Capitol Region Council of Governments (CRCOG) has been looking at options and alternatives to close the approximately four-mile gap between Plainville and Southington since last summer. The proposed route is 98 percent off-road.

Because Plainville rail lines are all still in use, the route will use town-owned land and streets.

We havent settled on one option, said Tim Malone, CRCOG principal planner.

He said the route will be evaluated further during the next phase of the project.

One alternative for the proposed north section of the trail would avoid Perron Road. Options include Pearl Street, Willis Avenue, and Hemingway Street, though Malone said it is not anticipated those streets will be used.

Doug Noble of Cheshire, vice president of the Farmington Canal Rail-to-Trails board of directors, said traffic devices have proven successful as part of Cheshires trail route.

We actually just opened two new sections, he said. We have addressed many issues with traffic.

A West Hartford resident also spoke about the positive aspects of a trail in town. A woman from Southington however had a different perspective.

For every upside and every pro as we all know there are cons involved, said Pamela DePaolo, a Southington business owner. We had vandalism and graffiti along the trail.

She said the problems need to be addressed as the trail extends.

Other community members voiced their concerns on funding for the project following recent state cuts.

Is this the right thing to be doing at this point in time, said Linda Ferguson, Plainville resident.

A total of 80 percent of the project will be federally funded, with the remaining costs paid for by the state.

If funding does not come through, we will not be doing it, said Kathy Pugliese, chairwoman of the Plainville Town Council.

The draft report will be referred to the council later this month. Malone said the report does not obligate the council to do anything.

The 30-day public comment period on the draft report ends Feb. 14.

More information can be found at http://www.gapclosurestudy.com/

>bytagline<akus@record-journal.com

203-317-2448

Twitter: @KusReporter
On Sunday 4 February, Egypt's Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem met with Vietnam's Ambassador to Egypt De Hwang Long at the Ministry of Culture headquarters in Zamalek to discuss ways of enhancing cultural cooperation between the two countries.

They were joined in the meeting by Fu Tian, deputy head of the Vietnamese diplomatic mission in Cairo, and Tran Tam An, the first secretary of the embassy.

Hisham Mourad, head of the Foreign Cultural Relations Department at the Ministry of Culture, was also in attendance.

Abdel-Dayem and De Hwang Long also discussed a plan to celebrate 55 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and the possible organizing of cultural weeks in their respective countries.

The pair also recognized Egypt's role in documenting the visit of the late Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh to Cairo during the 1960s and his meetings with the late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser.



For more arts and culture news and updates, follow Ahram Online Arts and Culture on Twitter at @AhramOnlineArts and on Facebook at Ahram Online: Arts & Culture

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The two political parties have cooperated on budget issues over the last few months, but a tough fiscal outlook will likely test the strength of that relationship.

Lawmakers have a projected $245 million deficit waiting for them as return to the Capitol today to begin the 2018 legislative session.

Senate Republican Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said the deficit, driven by underperforming revenue, will put a strain on bipartisanship.

I think that, with less money, theres more arguing and discussion of priorities, said Fasano, whose district includes Wallingford. Fasano and House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin, are featured in the sixth and final installment of the Morning Records legislative preview series.

The episode of the Morning Record, the Record-Journals daily news podcast, airs today at www.myrecordjournal.com.

Aresimowicz said the legislature needs to work in a bipartisan way to find solutions. House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, isnt helping by saying that shes eyeing his leadership role.

I understand people have political aspirations, Aresimowicz said. I dont. I have aspirations for Connecticut.

The projected deficit exceeds the threshold that requires Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to submit a plan for legislative approval. On Monday, Malloy unveiled a $266.3 million plan, a combination of cuts and revenue changes.

Aresimowicz said taxes and revenues need to be part of the equation, disagreeing with those who say government should operate more like a business.

Were not a business, we provide much needed services to the people of the state of Connecticut, he said.

Fasano said tax increases are the reason why were losing revenue.

The two legislative leaders also talked about transportation funding, economic development, and politics.

Fasano said he expects Democrats to submit legislation trying to drape (President Donald) Trump all over us, but he believes Connecticuts problems are too big for that.

If we had money, and no real problems, (Id) say go have fun, but weve got serious problems, he said.

To play political games by making up laws, just to play I gotcha moments is just absurd and childish, quite frankly.

Aresimowicz said that hes been very consistent, and I will be very consistent moving forward, that we do our best work together, that infusing the political environment nationally into the Connecticut legislature doesnt help anybody.

He also said, though, that the purest way to show voters where you stand is to vote on something.

To hear the interviews, visit http://bit.ly/2E6vP7p





msavino@record-journal.com

203-317-2266

Twitter: @reporter_savino
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will alert more than 200 evacuee families Wednesday that, after Feb. 14, they are no longer eligible for transitional shelter assistance in hotels.

Among that group are 15 families in Connecticut. FEMA will use automated calls to notify families and hotel owners that the agency will no longer pay the costs of hotel stays.

As of Jan. 19, FEMA has paid $21.3 million to house Puerto Ricans displaced by hurricanes Irma and Maria. Roughly 3,926 households, totaling 10,795 individuals, remain in transitional shelters, and families who are eligible to remain on the program will also be notified that they have until March 20 to come up with a new housing plan.

Some of the families are no longer eligible because FEMA inspectors determined that the familys home is insufficiently damaged and utilities have been restored to the area. In other cases, the family has decided to leave the island and not return, or the damaged home was not their primary residence.

State and federal officials, including lawmakers, have criticized the agency for inconsistent eligibility standards and last-minute denials. Gov. Dannel P. Malloys office has utilized the states 211 infoline and other resources to help the families who have been deemed ineligible.

A spokesman for Malloy said the administration will remain in contact with the displaced families.

The Governor has repeatedly expressed his profound disappointment regarding FEMAs mismanaged and insufficient response to the devastation wreaked by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and will continue to advocate for an extension of the TSA program until at least March 20 for all displaced households from Puerto Rico in Connecticut, the spokesman, Jason Novak, said.

FEMA representatives said the agency has conducted outreach with survivors to determine their permanent housing plan, and referred some for rental assistance or other programs. FEMA representatives said it is handling appeals of eligibility decisions on a case-by-case basis, adding roughly 40 percent of those getting notified they can no longer stay in the hotels have appealed.

Last month, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., criticized FEMA for failing to properly notify the families and giving them adequate time to find adequate shelter.

Until their homes in Puerto Rico have sanitary water, functional utilities, and sound roofs, it is FEMAs responsibility to help ensure they have a safe, affordable place to live. That is our basic obligation and the administrations response thus far has been a shameful failure, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal also called on FEMA to provide stability for displaced families by extending the assistance program through the end of the 2018 school year. Funding was initially set to expire by Jan. 15, but has now been extended through March 20.

Most of these families will still lack safe homes in March, and that reality needs to be recognized now by federal emergency housing programs, Blumenthal said. This latest extension is a temporary reprieve for families facing homelessness under dire winter conditions, but month to month extensions only serve to keep these families in a perpetual state of limbo.

Anabel Beltran-Roman, executive director of Casa Boricua de Meriden, has said some of the displaced families have disputed the inspection reports on their homes. Blumenthal and others have also called on FEMA to adopt sanitary housing standards.

Florida has the largest number of displaced households living in hotels with 1,503 households living in hotels, followed by 883 in Puerto Rico, 591 in Massachusetts, 239 in New York, 184 in Pennsylvania, and 170 in Connecticut. The other 35 states have fewer than 100 each.

mgodin@record-journal.com

203-317-2255

Twitter: @Cconnbiz
President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi inaugurated the first stage of the Zohr Gas Field on 31 January after two years of enormous efforts.

In spite of various obstacles and challenges in the wider political and economic environment, the government grasped the importance of the discovery of the Zohr Field in August 2015. It holds out the promise of Egypts becoming self-sufficient in liquefied natural gas (LNG) and retaining the countrys role as a supplier of natural gas.

The Zohr Field is recognised as the largest field in the Mediterranean and the most important discovery on the international level for years. It was discovered by the Italian energy company Eni and is located 180 km off the coast of Port Said some 1,500 m below sea level.

The importance of the field stems from its having a total potential of up to 30 trillion cubic feet of gas, which should transform Egypt from being an importer of natural gas into being a net exporter. Furthermore, it should meet the rapid increase in the demand for energy and replace oil, specifically in electricity generation.

It is anticipated that the production of natural gas from the field will increase to one billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) by the end of the first production stage in June 2018, granting Egypt self-sufficiency in its LNG supply. By the end of 2019, production should rise to 2.7 bcfd, transforming Egypt into a regional power hub.

Egypt seeks to develop into a regional energy hub for the production and export of natural gas through its privileged geographical location between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, in addition to consolidating its cooperation with the Eastern Mediterranean countries.

The energy sector is an engine for growth for many developing economies, and Egypts strategy for energy development is based mainly on gas discoveries and fostering investment opportunities in projects related to mining, energy efficiency, infrastructure and renewable energy. These things are necessary in order to bridge the gap between excess demand and limited supply of energy and cope with high rates of population growth.

The government has played a vital role both domestically and internationally to overcome challenges and maximise benefits from the new Zohr Field. Over the last two years, facilities have been provided to implement this super-giant project in a short period of time, and the necessary laws and regulations have been passed to promote investments and create incentives for the private sector in the shape of public-private partnerships.

Egypt has also taken steps to strengthen relations with Italy and overcome the negative consequences of the Regeni case  the killing in Cairo of Italian PhD student Giulio Regeni in 2016  through accelerating judicial enquiries.

Another challenge has been the demarcation of maritime boundaries. Since Egypt possesses various economic resources in the Mediterranean, the government has pursued international accords for the demarcation of maritime boundaries in order to identify the countrys sovereignty rights over its economic exclusive zones (EEZs).

Among these accords has been the demarcation of maritime boundaries between Egypt and Cyprus that have allowed the relevant EEZs to be governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This gave Egypt the sovereign right to prospect in its EEZs until the major discovery of the Zohr Field.

On the back of this discovery, Egypt has continued its diplomatic efforts to resolve disputed boundaries with Cyprus and Greece, resulting in resumed negotiations over the demarcation of maritime boundaries between Egypt and these countries. In this context, Egyptian diplomacy has played a critical role in ensuring that a fair allocation of rights and obligations regarding economic resources in the Mediterranean can be achieved under the UNCLOS Convention.

In spite of various challenges, multiple economic gains are expected to be achieved over the coming years. The field will assist in easing the economic burdens on Egyptian society, the volume of the countrys exports will increase, and imports of LNG will decrease, improving the balance of payments and decreasing the chronic current account deficit.

It will also help to preserve Egypts energy balance between production, domestic consumption, and export revenues, after this having been for many years in deficit. The field is expected to save around $1 billion annually in gas imports.

Egypts net foreign reserves will be raised, resulting in better credit-worthiness and boosting the value of the pound. The budget deficit will decline on the back of the field covering energy demands and the rationalisation of energy consumption after the removal of subsidies.

Investment is expected to be expanded in the first and second stages of the project to around $15 billion. Around 16,000 direct job opportunities will have been provided, and further opportunities are expected.

Two other Egyptian gas fields have recently been discovered in the shape of the Nooros and North Alexandria Fields, and some $27.3 million is expected to be invested in all three in 2018. Egypt is exerting great efforts to speed up production from these recently discovered fields, with an eye to halting imports of natural gas by 2019.

Egypts long-term strategy for achieving economic growth and development as well as welfare focuses on the efficient use of its economic resources and their minimal waste such that the country can be self-sufficient in the long-term.

Most recent loans and investment decisions have been directed to mega-projects related to infrastructure development, energy efficiency and renewable resources. The returns on these will be seen over the long-term in the shape of a more strongly developed economy.

Egypt is going through a transitional stage towards a developed economy, and this requires patience, understanding and the struggle to alleviate the discrepancies that made the economy less productive than it should have been over previous decades.

The writer is coordinator of international relations at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University.

*This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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Although asthma is the most common chronic childhood lung disease  affecting about 6 million children in the U.S.  its not as bad as it used to be.

Thats the conclusion of a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The report, which analyzed health data for children 17 and younger between 2001 and 2016, found that asthma prevalence among kids had decreased, as had the percent of children who had had an asthma attack in the past year. The number of missed school days and hospitalizations due to asthma are also down, the report shows.

The improving asthma numbers werent shocking to Dr. Geoffrey Chupp, director of Yale New Haven Hospitals Yale Center for Asthma and Airways Disease. He said, as treatments and methods of diagnosing asthma improves, there are bound to be better outcomes.

I think that its a win for the health care system and patients, he said. When people do have asthma, they are able to manage better.

Asthma is a chronic lung condition that causes episodes of wheezing, breathlessness, coughing and other symptoms. The illness can be managing by avoiding or reducing asthma triggers, and by taking medication.

According to the Connecticut Department of Public Health, as of 2014  the most recent year for which numbers were available  72,000 children and 257,000 adults in the state suffered from asthma.

More Information Breathing easier Here are some key statistics from the CDC's new report on asthma. One in 12 children aged 0 to 17 years had asthma in 2016. Asthma was more prevalent among boys, non-Hispanic black children, children of Puerto Rican descent, and children from low-income households. The percentage of children with asthma who had an asthma attack during the preceding year declined from 2001 to 2016. Even so, approximately half of children with diagnosed asthma had one or more asthma attack in 2016. Children with asthma had fewer missed school days and hospitalizations in 2013 compared with 2003. About 55 percent of children with asthma were taking asthma control prescription medicines during the preceding three months. Among children who were taking asthma control medicines, only 54.5 percent of them were taking control medicines regularly as prescribed, which was significantly lower than during 2003. The health of children with asthma can be further improved by promoting asthma control strategies, including asthma trigger reduction, appropriate guidelines-based medical management, and asthma education for children, parents, and others involved in asthma care. See More Collapse

The CDC research showed that the percentage of children with asthma actually went up between 2001 and 2010, from 8.7 percent to 9.4 percent. However, between 2010 and 2016, the number went down to 8.3 percent  even lower than the 2001 numbers.

The severity of asthma also seemed to be on the decline, with the percentage of asthmatic children who suffered an asthma attack dropping from 61.7 percent in 2001 to 53.7 percent in 2016.

The report also showed that between 2003 and 2013, the number of children who missed school or were hospitalized due to asthma fell.

The changing trend might be at least partly due to more families receiving an asthma action plan from their physician, telling them the best way to manage their condition. In 2013, roughly 51 percent of kids with asthma had an action plan, compared with about 40 percent in 2003, the report notes.

At least one physician, however, said the news, while positive, also shows a lot of room for improvement.

The decline in asthma is a trend weve been seeing for the past few years and its encouraging, but not near where want it to be, said Dr. Jacob Hen, chief of pediatric pulmonology at Bridgeport Hospital.

He pointed out, among other things, that asthma prevalence actually went up among Mexican American children, from 5.1 percent in 2001 to 6.5 percent in 2016.

And even the numbers that have improved didnt improve far enough, he said. We still need to do a lot more, Hen said.
1 Wynn resigns: Casino mogul Steve Wynn resigned Tuesday as chairman and CEO of Wynn Resorts amid sexual misconduct allegations. In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity, Wynn said in a written statement Tuesday. As I have reflected upon the environment this has created  one in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the facts  I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles. The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 26 that a number of women said Wynn harassed or assaulted them and that one case led to a $7.5 million settlement. The Las Vegas billionaire has vehemently denied the allegations.

2 No condemnation: The Republican-led House has blocked a resolution condemning an Arizona Republican congressman who sought to arrest immigrants in the U.S. illegally at the State of the Union address. The vote was 231-187 to kill the resolution. In a tweet, Conservative Rep. Paul Gosar called for the Capitol Police and Justice Department to check the identification of people attending President Donald Trumps speech and arrest any illegal aliens. Gosars request was ignored. Several Democrats guests were immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Democratic Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham says Gosar abused his power and attempted to interfere with the U.S. Capitol Polices efforts to provide a secure environment.
Dickinson is slated to be home for a development that will feature a market, outdoor public gathering area, splash pad and small, locally owned businesses.

Gulf Coast Public Market is planned for four acres owned by the Dickinson Economic Development Corp. off Texas 3 across from the Dickinson Bayou boat ramp.

Half of the $12 million project is being funded by the economic development corporation, which receives a little more than $1.5 million a year from a portion of the city's sales tax revenue.

The other $6 million will be garnered through grants and fundraising, said Jodi Montemayor, the corporation's project manager.

The market has an estimated 2020 completion date with a ground breaking slated for next year, said Aaron Zaretsky with the Public Market Development consulting firm. The market could generate at least $1.7 million in annual sales and real estate local tax revenues when completed, he said.

Efforts started in 2016. Zaretsky began a feasibility study to see if Dickinson would be right for a public market similar to Pike's Place, the Seattle, Washington facility he led as director for 15 years.

"After doing feasibility studies for many, many years, I can tell you that we find the majority of communities don't qualify, but we found that with Dickinson, there is plenty enough to support a public market," Zaretsky said.

He sees Dickinson as a prime site for the market because of its proximity to both Galveston and Houston and because nothing similar exists nearby.

"Right now, people, for the most part, have to shop outside of Dickinson," Zaretsky said. "So, they're taking all that tax revenue to cities that aren't Dickinson. And Dickinson has its own identity, its own strong sense of place. There's a shocking lack of restaurants or hotels in the community; so this is a good opportunity because those dollars are being exported to other communities for people to get what they need."

Montemayor sees other benefits from the project.

"Despite all of its history, Dickinson doesn't really have a downtown area, and the planned location for Gulf Coast Public Market would serve as the perfect place for that - it's right at the heart of the city," Montemayor said. "There's nothing we'd like more, especially after (Hurricane Harvey), than give people that sense of community. We'd like to have a place for them to walk around, mingle with each other, enjoy the bayou - it has the potential to be a really incredible addition to the city."

In addition to having a splash pad and play place for kids, the complex would feature an outdoor gathering area with picnic tables and space for businesses and offices, Montemayor said.

Zaretsky stressed that Gulf Coast Public Market will be more than a farmer's market.

"While there will be fresh produce by local growers, residents will be able to get anything at the public market that they'd be able to get from the perimeter of the grocery store. So, you're looking at produce, but also fresh meats, fish, dairy, cheeses, bread," Zaretsky said.

He said that the market would likely serve as a springboard to reunite the town, which is rebuilding after Harvey.

"We've found that other communities that have been devastated by natural disasters like Harvey have experienced a doubling of unemployment and a sense of hopelessness," Zaretsky said. "Public markets have been found to be literally one of the most successful generators of new jobs of the amount of dollars that are spent. People love public markets - it gives people a sense of hope for the future, and we feel like it will really serve as a way to reunite the town."

Montemayor said the storm only furthered the resolve of the economic development corporation to support the project.

"With everyone being out of their homes, plans for something like this have caused excitement and given people something to look forward to," she said.

For more information, visit www.gulfcoastpublicmarket.com.
While maintaining a tight grip on a vast nation that occupies one-sixth of the earths surface, Russian President Vladimir Putin has managed to bring about an almost miraculous recovery for the Russians since 2000 and after the fall of the former Soviet Union in 1991.

However, he is now facing a new challenge in the shape of the March 2018 presidential elections, and the Russian opposition seems to be rising again as it does before each set of elections. Yet, despite facing opposition domestically, Putins popularity is nearly unrivalled in Russias modern history, and there is a solid foundation for it even if this may sound implausible to some Western observers.

A riddle to many Western intelligence agencies, Putins resolute handling of world affairs, especially concerning Russian interests overseas and protecting its allies, has been forthcoming on many occasions. For nearly a decade, he watched NATO take advantage of the collapse of the former USSR and dismantle the Cold War world piece by piece, including by taking over former Russian satellite states and allies.

However, Putin later managed to stop this advance, starting with the Georgian-Russian War in which Russia invaded the Georgian provinces of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

This marked the first true involvement of the Russian military in an overseas conflict since the fall of the former USSR. The official aim of the war was to protect the ethnic Russian population in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but the undeclared goal was to draw a red line against NATO plans to set foot in countries bordering the Russian Federation and especially within former countries of the USSR.

In the same way, after Putin was Russian prime minister from 2008 to 2012 he launched a campaign in Ukraine in 2014 following a Western-backed uprising that ousted the pro-Russian Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych who had refused to sign an association agreement with the European Union. In response to the ousting of Russias ally, pro-Russian Ukrainians backed by Russia organised massive protests in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbass that ended in a civil war that has taken the lives of over 10,000 people, including nearly 3,000 civilians.

Russia then annexed the Crimea after a controversial referendum allowing it to join the Russian Federation. The economy and not military conflict was the main catalyst for the fall of the former Soviet Union in 1991, since the latter had amassed huge debts as a result of its outdated communist policies. Putin thus established stabilisation funds for the successor state the Russian Federation funded by petroleum revenues, enabling Russia to pay off the Soviet Unions debts by 2005.

The Russian Federation then joined the World Trade Organisation in August 2012. Contrary to what some Western pundits may claim, Putins ambition was never to resurrect the former Soviet Union. In reality, he has been aiming for the glories of Imperial Russia before the Russian Revolution in 1917. His foreign policy is intended to bring prestige and security to Russia and the Russians and not to expand Russian territory.

Putins main political skill has been to turn the odds against him into points of strength. This was seen during the Ukrainian crisis when Russia was hit by harsh economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its allies in the European Union intending to force it to withdraw from Crimea and stop arming pro-Russian militants in the Donbass area of Ukraine.

Many Western pundits naively predicted Russias collapse as a result of its strained economy. However, this assessment was wrong, as the nation that defeated Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler is unlikely to fall as a result of Western economic sanctions. Within months, Putin had signed the biggest gas supply deal in history with China worth $400 billion. He had also signed billions of dollars worth of export deals for arms and other Russian equipment with countries including Egypt, effectively rendering the sanctions null and void.

As a sign of Putins determination to reaffirm Russia as a major player on the world scene, he decided to involve Russia in the Syrian Civil War, and in September 2015 he ordered airstrikes on the terrorist groups the Islamic State (IS), Ansar Al-Sham and others fighting the government led by Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. The Russian airstrikes have proven to be the turning point in the war, and on a larger scale they have been a turning point in putting an end to the rise of armed Islamist factions in the Middle East.

The defeat of IS was begun as a result of the Russian intervention in Syria, which led to the near demise of the group in both Syria and Iraq and encouraged the latter to launch its own offensive to reclaim territory lost to the terrorists. While many believe that the US led the international coalition to fight IS and was the key to its success, in fact it was the Russian airstrikes that made all the difference.

Putin is no Jeffersonian democrat, and his tolerance of the opposition in Russia is almost negligible. The country is still seeing many infringements of human rights, especially against dissidents who find themselves jailed on often flimsy charges. But to his credit, Putin has abided by the constitutional limit of two presidential terms, and when this had been achieved he changed places with former prime minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Putin, a former KGB agent, still keeps up the appearance of a democratic state in Russia by abiding with the constitution, and unless something unforeseen happens he is likely to win the presidential elections in March by a landslide. He has proven to his nation that he is a binding force, since ruling the Russian Federation with its 21 constituent republics requires a high degree of tact and shrewdness  exactly the qualities that Putin has mastered over the years.

The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring and the Winding Road to Democracy.

*This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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The Richmond Police Department held its Annual Awards Banquet on Friday, Jan. 26, at Swinging Door BBQ.

This event, sponsored by the Richmond Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association (RCPAAA), honors employees and citizens who show dedication and commitment to the mission of the Richmond Police Department throughout the year. Each Division Commander is asked to pick someone from their division who they believe is deserving of this honor.

Top honors went to Officer James Williams, who was named 2017 Officer of the Year, and Officer Vladimir Golovine, who was named 2017 Employee of the Year.

In addition, the department awarded the Business Sponsor of the Year to The Church of Rosenberg for outstanding support to the department during 2017. The department also honored Josh Landry as the 2017 Citizen of the Year. Several other employees and citizens were honored during the ceremony.

The honorees included:

Rookie of the Year Officer Ruben Robles.

Top Gun Division Winner Officer Robert Oliver.

Business Sponsor of the Year Pastor Brian Sosa of The Church.

Co-Detective of the Year Detective John Dawson.

Top Gun Division Winner and Overall Champion Sgt. Steven Rychlik.

Co-Detective of the Year & Top Gun Division Winner Detective David Childs.

Top Gun Division Winner Detective Andrew Runge.

Employee of the Year Officer Vladimir Golovine.

Telecommunicator of the Year Danell Gaydos.

Business Sponsor of the Year Doug Cave of The Church.

Officer of the Year James Williams / Citizen of the Year Josh Landry.
A new push to improve low-performing medical facilities for veterans is coming at an opportune time for the West Texas VA Health Care System in Big Spring.

Director Kalautie JangDhari, who has been with the facility since 2016, said for the last several months they have worked to improve performance.

"If anything, I think it's going to let us continue our path but a lot more quickly," she said. "We've been working with the national offices probably for three or four months; we knew we were struggling a bit ...and I think this is only going to fast-track us a little bit more on our trajectory that we were already on."

On Thursday the Department of Veterans Affairs announced it will lay out an "aggressive new approach" to improve its 15 facilities that received the lowest score in its SAIL star rating system -- a one-star rating out of five.

Big Spring's facility received one star in the VA's end-of-year 2017 ratings. It also received one star in September 2017, September 2016 and December 2015, briefly rising to a two-star rating in June 2016.

"My concern was if we try to make a whole lot of changes without a good strategic plan then we would be making change for change, but I think now it's going to be this sustainable change," JangDhari said about not immediately reacting to low-score ratings dating back to 2015.

Her top three areas to improve are behavioral health, patient experience and same-day access to care.

"We have the ability to see patients now when they need to be seen," she said. "We just want to make sure we follow through with that follow-up care. It's always hard in those areas to keep up with patients to make sure there's always the continuity of care."

Addressing the "whole patient experience" tackles the need for better communication between staff and patients, and helping patients understand the number of ways they get care will help with access issues, she said.

The WTVAHCS serves 33 counties across West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, where more than 56,000 veterans live, according to the facility's website.

Shelia Austin, public affairs officer with WTVAHCS, said the facility has 618 employees, including 27 physicians, 103 registered nurses and 38 licensed vocational nurses.

"About a year ago we were having issues with recruiting and maintaining employees, and now we've overcome that, so we've got some sustainability of staff," JangDhari said. "Now all those plans that we've had in place we're able to execute."

Clinic staff and physician turnover rates are next in line for improvement.

As part of the new approach, the VA has put Peter Almenoff -- director of the VA's Office of Reporting, Analytics, Performance, Improvement and Deployment (RAPID) Healthcare Improvement Center -- to oversee improvement at each center.

It has also initiated its Strategic Action Transformation (STAT) to evaluate and monitor clinical performance, make accessible the VA's RAPID team to assist medical facilities in meeting their goals and conduct quarterly reviews.

The VA warned low-performing facilities that if they fail to make "rapid, substantial progress," corrective action will be taken -- including changes to facility leadership.

Other facilities targeted for performance overhaul include: Hampton, Virginia; Harlingen; Roseburg, Oregon; Washington, D.C.; Denver, Colorado; Dublin, Georgia; El Paso, Texas; Jackson, Mississippi; Loma Linda, California; Memphis, Tennessee; Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee; Phoenix, Arizona; and Walla Walla, Washington.

Standing by her staff, JangDhari said "each of my staff are here for the right reasons. They're here to give back to those who have served.

"Forty percent of my staff are veterans themselves," she continued. "I think I have a great facility with very committed and dedicated personnel who are trying to do the right thing, and I know now we have that emphasis to even do better."

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Distributed by Tribune Content Agency






CASEVILLE  At this months meeting, the Caseville Township board took the necessary steps to set township salaries for the year.

Resolutions were passed for salaries for the township supervisor, trustees, treasurer and clerk for the 2018-19 fiscal year, which begins April 1. All salaries received a 2 percent cost of living increase.

The township board cannot change their salaries, and for a long time we went without a raise, said Clerk Michelle Stirrett. A couple years ago, we decided that we would go with a cost of living increase, so this raise increase reflects a 2 percent cost of living.

Stirrett explained at the meeting that per Michigan Compiled Laws, the township must adopt a salary resolution at least 30 days prior to the townships annual meeting. At that meeting, the electors can approve or modify the salary amounts.

In the event electors fail to act on the resolutions, the officer will receive the salary established in the resolutions. The salary amounts set Monday in the resolutions were supervisor $25,603; trustee $2,736; treasurer $32,131; and clerk $32,652.

Also at the meeting, the board accepted with regret, the resignation of longtime Caseville Township Police Commission member Ralph Wilson. Wilson, who will turn 98 this year, has been on the police commission since it was conceived over 27 years ago, when the township first started contracting for police services through the Huron County Sheriff's Office back in the early 90s.

Ralphs a good man, said board member Gerald Platko. I hope Im as sharp as he is at that age.

In other business, the board:

 Accepted the Caseville Township Planning Commissions annual report for 2017. The report outlines what the commission did throughout the course of the year.

 Heard from Supervisor and Fire Chief Ben Willenberg. Willenberg reported the fire department went on a total of six runs in January. He added that the death of 53-year-old Tammy L. Williams, who died in a fire at her Sand Point residence in mid January, is still under investigation.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson once seemed such a sure bet to leave the Trump administration that his inevitable departure had its own nickname -- "Rexit."

Just two months later, Tillerson has racked up hard-fought victories over administration rivals such as United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and is pushing ahead with a heavy travel schedule and an agenda to confront North Korea's nuclear program and counter drug-trafficking, among other priorities.

If there's a lesson from President Donald Trump's first year in office, it's that officials who are praised one day can be savaged in a tweet the next morning. But the top U.S. diplomat appears to be reaping the benefits of a year spent cultivating Trump, working closely with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and learning the rules of the Washington power game that he professed to be unfamiliar with after nearly four decades at ExxonMobil.

"My guess is during this first year he's probably encountered a lot of things he didn't expect to encounter, but it feels to me like there's a reprieve that's underway," Sen. Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who heads the Foreign Relations Committee, said in an interview. "It feels to me like he's settling in and moving ahead. He's planning this on out through the rest of the year."

As recently as December, Trump felt compelled to deny reports that he planned to fire Tillerson and replace him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo, although the president pointedly added that "we disagree on certain subjects, (I call the final shots.)" And that was at the end of a year when Tillerson's spokeswoman had to deny that he'd called the president a "moron" in a private meeting.

Tillerson won a victory late last year when Trump nominated Susan Thornton for assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, a key voice in the debate over policy toward China and North Korea. Thornton, a career official who has been filling the job as acting assistant secretary, had been publicly opposed by Trump adviser Steve Bannon before his ouster last year.

Tillerson also overruled Trump's inner circle on their choice for ambassador to NATO, successfully bringing in fellow Texan Kay Bailey Hutchison over Richard Grenell, who went on to be the nominee for Germany instead. Grenell's nomination is still pending in the Senate.

One of Tillerson's biggest policy victories came last month when he circumvented Haley, with whom he has repeatedly sparred behind the scenes, and won a reduction of funding for the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees rather than the cutoff she sought.

Tillerson won Trump's approval for providing $60 million to the agency without Haley's knowledge, avoiding a debate over the issue in the interagency meetings that would normally precede such a decision. The first Haley's team heard about the decision was when the State Department announced the funding, according to several officials familiar with the incident. Aides to Haley didn't respond to requests for comment.

Explaining his first year, Tillerson said last month on CNN, "We had a very successful -- in my view -- year 2017, pivoting our policies and helping our partners understand those policies. We're now into the implementation and execution against those policies."

Now, on Iran, he's pressing European allies to toughen oversight of the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile program. On North Korea, he's pushing ahead with what he's called a "peaceful pressure" campaign to choke off its economy and has coordinated with Mike Pence ahead of the vice president's trip this week to the Olympic Games in South Korea.

Still, Tillerson got a reminder of the precarious nature of service in Trump's cabinet during his seven-day swing through Latin America and the Caribbean, which ends Wednesday.

Just before Tillerson's stops in Peru and Colombia, both recipients of U.S. counter-narcotics funding, Trump said he wanted to "stop the aid" to countries that fail to stem the flow of drugs to the U.S. It was an exercise in finger-pointing at odds with Tillerson's comments in a Texas speech setting the stage for his trip that "U.S. demand for drugs drives this violence and this lawlessness," a key complaint of other nations and critics of U.S. drug policy.

Trump's move was reminiscent of a message he sent after Tillerson told reporters in China in October that the U.S. was talking with North Korean officials through diplomatic back channels. Trump said on Twitter that he told his "wonderful" secretary of state that "he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," the president's nickname for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Now, though, Tillerson is more aware that such broadsides could be incoming.

"I don't get frustrated about anything, so I don't need to answer the question," Tillerson responded when asked about Trump's penchant for undercutting him.

Tillerson and his team acknowledge that they've disagreed with some of the president's foreign policy moves, from his decision to leave the Paris climate change agreement to delays in sending more nominations to Capitol Hill. But they also know there's no value in Tillerson drawing public attention to such internal disputes.

"With this president it is safer to keep your head down and avoid much of a public profile," said former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley. "He's becoming more comfortable in the public role and he's clearly in command of his brief."

How long that lasts remains an open question because Tillerson continues to clash with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, over the Middle East peace process. After intervening with Trump last year over his fears that Kushner was freelancing too much on the sensitive process, their animus hasn't died down, according to a senior State Department official familiar with the matter.

While Tillerson is an engineer, focused on process, Kushner has vented both to the White House and State Department staff about the secretary's unwillingness to "strategically break things," according to one person familiar with the exchanges.

Both current and former staff say morale within the State Department is as low as they've ever seen it, although Tillerson dismisses that as a myth manufactured by the media and he's begun to fill long-vacant slots.

Unlike Colin Powell, who is often cited as an example of a secretary who had the department's support, Tillerson's chief legacy among foreign service officers will be an exodus of experienced staff and a "restructuring" effort that has alienated much of the department in combination with calls for steep budget cuts. Those personnel losses include his third-in-command, Thomas Shannon, who announced Feb. 1 that he would retire once a replacement can be found.

But in this administration, with a president who often takes foreign policy into his own hands, it would be hard for anyone to be a clear success, outside analysts say.

"You could have the best secretary of state in the world, and with this president and this White House it probably wouldn't do you one bit of good," said Suzanne Maloney, deputy director of the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution. "How Tillerson would have behaved in a Bush administration or a McCain administration or some other Republican that actually embraced or engaged with normal policy making -- it's impossible to know."
Casino magnate Steve Wynn stepped down from his position as CEO and chairman of the board for Wynn Resorts on Tuesday in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual harassment.

The allegations came to light in a January story in the Wall Street Journal that said dozens of people accused the billionaire of sexual misconduct.

Wynn, 76, has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "preposterous."

In a statement Tuesday, Wynn said that he decided to step down after "an avalanche of negative publicity," adding, "I have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles."

The board said Tuesday that it had appointed Matt Maddox, currently president, as its CEO.

Wynn Resorts shares dropped by 19 percent since the allegations were made public, according to Bloomberg. After Wynn's resignation was announced, trade in shares of Wynn Macau Ltd were suspended in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange said, Reuters reported.

Over the years, Wynn built and operated several of the most prominent and well known casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, including the Mirage, Treasure Island and the Bellagio.

The Wall Street Journal report said that "dozens of people" who worked at Wynn's casinos detailed what "would amount to a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct." This behavior allegedly included using his position to pressure employees into sexual acts.

Wynn stepped down as the finance chairman on the Republican National Committee last month after the allegations surfaced. He was a major Republican donor, giving more than $1.5 million various party committees.

"The unbelievable success we have achieved must continue." Wynn, a close ally of President Donald Trump, said at the time. "The work we are doing to make America a better place is too important to be impaired by this distraction. "

Days earlier, Wynn and the RNC co-hosted a party to celebrate Trump's completion of one year in office at Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida.

Wynn and Trump weren't always close, however. Throughout the 1990s, the two were business rivals. Trump even wrote of Wynn in "Trump: The Art of the Deal," saying, "Wynn is very slick and smooth, but he's also a very strange guy."

Earlier this month, the University of Pennsylvania revoked an honorary degree it gave Wynn in 2006. It also removed his name from a scholarship fund he endowed and from an outdoor plaza previously called the "Wynn Commons." Wynn received his bachelor's degree from the school in 1963.
Is expressing your take on Egypts internal affairs overstepping the mark once you cross the border? Egyptian expatriates now have the vote, and so they technically have as much of a say as any of us in how the country is run. However, in the wake of leaving the country they are often left feeling less entitled to participate in the public sphere than those who remain behind because they are not experiencing life in Egypt at first hand.

Our votes may count equally, but are our voices equally welcomed and heard? Commentator Patrick McGuinness likens patriotism to a spectator sport, in the sense that there are more spectators than players, and suggests that simply through collective self-mockery and a certain commonality of humour, your country makes you patriotic despite itself, despite your distance and your irony towards the country, and most of all, the countrys own irony towards you.

 Egyptians have long agreed that while the airing of national grievances is only natural, most kvetching (light-hearted or otherwise) is best kept entre nous if we are to challenge misconceptions and represent our homeland in a positive light internationally. But in reality this us should stretch to encompass all Egyptians, whether in Egypt or abroad, and whether temporarily or permanently.

Egyptians of the diaspora tend to practise long-distance nationalism in a bid to maintain or create some semblance of a shared experience with those back home. They diligently follow the latest goings-on, enterprisingly produce and avidly consume nostalgia goods, and constantly correspond with family and friends in Egypt. Although not direct stakeholders immediately affected by government policy and the latest developments in the country themselves, they take an interest in their countrymens debates, often more than in the politics of their own host countries.

Non-resident Egyptians maintain a relationship with Egypt that may be more formative of their identity than their role as citizens or non-citizen residents elsewhere.The emigration state, in the shape of government institutions responsible for populations abroad, looks after their consular needs, but if we are to be truly receptive and inclusive of expatriate voices we need to adjust how they are seen in the public imagination as well.

A crucial first step is to acknowledge that spaces of citizenship are not binary. From an us, here (Egyptians in Egypt) perspective, Egyptians not in Egypt are by default them, there. This seems logical on the surface, but it is a restrictive projection. While to Egyptians in Egypt they may be emigrants, to them they are the us, there  not here (in Egypt), but not abstract spatially invisible citizens there either.

Wherever they happen to be, they are very much visible and still very much citizens. Originating in post-classical Greek philosophy and cemented by the German philosopher Immanuel Kants cosmopolitan point of view, the movement for extending citizenship rights to those outside the nation sees moral belonging take precedence over political borders.

The commentator David Fitzgerald defines extra-territorial citizenship as citizenship in a territorially bounded political community without residence in the community. For theorists of migrant transnationalism, the state-citizen relationship remains central, but it can occur anywhere: it is the state itself, not citizenship, that becomes mobile and de-territorialised. By decoupling the demos from citizenship, non-resident citizens retain membership, with the perks and duties this entails, beyond the polity itself.

Article 87 of the Egyptian constitution states that the participation of citizens in public life is a national duty. Every citizen shall have the right to vote, run for election, and express his/her opinion in referendums, it says. Article 88 follows this up with an assurance that the law shall regulate the participation of Egyptians living abroad in elections and referendums in a manner consistent with their particular circumstances.

Egyptian embassies and consulates will serve as polling stations for Egyptians living abroad to cast their votes in the upcoming presidential election on the 16-18 March. If no candidate secures an absolute majority of the votes cast, run-offs will be held on 19-21 April. If you are over 18 years old and have an Egyptian national ID card or machine-readable passport that shows an address in Egypt, you are eligible to vote in any of the 139 polling stations in 124 countries regardless of where you actually reside and without prior registration. Voting is done in-person to guarantee integrity and to avoid the risk of fraudulent or misused proxy votes, system failures or hacks.

Despite ongoing promises to find a solution to this problem, those who do not have an address on their ID or passport are still unfortunately unable to vote in the elections. Voters are placed on the electoral rolls based on their home district, and all the votes (even those from abroad) are then tallied according to these home districts: a vote does not count without an address determining the neighbourhood in which it is to count.

However, an address in Egypt is a lot to ask from someone who does not live in the country and whose family may have left a generation or more ago. This bureaucratic barricade prevents thousands of politically conscious Egyptian expatriates from exercising their right to participate in elections. Could it not be dismantled by creating a fictional constituency called out of country? This would be merely for the purpose of voting eligibility, not special representation.

The feasibility of this ought to be studied. For all Egyptians, those who have the right to vote and those still waiting for it, it should be clear that times of crisis and high risk heighten fervour, but our shared goal of bettering our great nation should stir us all actively and consistently to engage in the political process, even when the dust seems to have settled.

The writer is founding director of the Egypt Diaspora Initiative.

*This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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A La Grange, Texas middle school student helped prevent a disaster last Thursday by grabbing the steering wheel of a runaway bus.

On the way home from school, 13-year-old Karson Vega noticed his bus driver was having difficulty navigating, KXAN reported.

"He was going off in the ditch almost every turn, and then he started driving and swerving and stuff," Vega told KXAN. "I noticed something was wrong."

"I was like 'no, I'm not dying'," he said.

ADORABLE: Watch what happens when this entire school finds out they're watching 'Black Panther'

Vega sprung into action and helped usher students, some crying, to the back of the bus. While another student called 911, Vega sat on the lap of the bus driver, who The Fayette County Record reported was having a medical emergency.

From there, Vega drove the bus for a couple of miles and eventually brought the vehicle to a halt on a bridge over the Colorado River.

Amber Vega, the middle school student's mother, told FOX 7 she was proud of her son Karson for remaining calm in the stressful situation.

"The fact that they didn't go into the river just gives me goosebumps thinking about what could've been," she said.

Above: See where and why most people crash in Houston-area.

Fernando Ramirez is a reporter for Chron.com and the Houston Chronicle. You can read more of his stories here and follow him on Twitter at @fernramirez93.
As the Frost Bank Tower in San Antonio continues to rise, so does people's interest, at least according to social media posts.

Residents have begun taking notice of the $142 million tower while crews continue with construction, which began in February 2017.

The tower has been in the works since 2013, when former Mayor Julian Castro was encouraging downtown development with his Decade of Downtown initiative. In 2015, the city council cleared the way for the tower's construction when it approved a complicated public-private partnership with Weston Urban and Frost Bank.

RELATED: $142M Frost Tower breaks ground, raising expectations downtown

It's located at the corner of Travis and North Flores streets and is the first new office tower in downtown San Antonio in nearly 30 years.

Construction photo company OxBlue continuously updates time-lapse photos of the tower to show off the progress as it is made.

You can find the rest of the photos, along with time-lapse videos, here.

Elizabeth Robinson and Richard Webner contributed to this story.

Click through the slideshow to see the tower's construction.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County for mySA.com. Read more of his stories here. | fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA
Residents of Leon Valley, a small city of 12,000 on the Northwest Side, have struggled for at least a decade with how to navigate its main artery, Bandera Road, which can be a glacial slog during rush hours.

The Texas Department of Transportation has proposed various solutions since at least 2006, but in January at a town meeting its engineers unveiled more ideas, including one that pleased many commuters - a 7-mile elevated freeway to connect Loop 410 to Loop 1604.

But people are picking sides, because the four-lane elevated highway would bypass all the local businesses on Bandera Road.

READ ALSO: Leon Valley begins rolling out red light cameras along busy Bandera Road intersections

Its got to be a total flyover, said retired nurse Sandra Orvananos, a Leon Valley resident for 12 years. I know the merchants dont like that, but thats really too badThe (traffic) problem has gotten dramatically worse in the last five years.

Leon Valley Mayor Chris Riley thinks the flyover approach would be terrible for the veterinarian clinics, pizza parlors, auto repair shops and other enterprises that would literally be stuck in its shadow.

She likes a boulevard approach that some University of Texas at San Antonio urban planners have come up with, which would reconfigure Bandera Road as three lanes in both directions, with a tree-lined median and slower outer lanes for bikes, pedestrians and local business traffic.

No changes are imminent. TxDOTs target year for construction is 2022.

There will be many more public meetings, and the Metropolitan Planning Organization, which helps distribute state and federal transportation funds, must sign off on any final plan.

For more on the various plans and what Leon Valley folks think about them, go to expressnews.com.

Bruce Selcraig is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. | BSelcraig@express-news.net
Longtime West Side San Antonio pastor Father Martin "Marty" Elsner died earlier this week.

The pastor, lovingly known as "Father Marty" by congregants at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, passed away Feb. 4 in Opelousas, La. He was 86, the Archdiocese of San Antonio confirmed.

Jordan McMorrough, spokesman for the archdiocese, said Elsner died after a "brief illness" and was hospitalized a few days before his death.

RELATED: Beloved S.A. DJ, former NBA pro, killed in car wreck after leaving downtown gig

Elsner was a Jesuit for 68 years and priest for 55 years. He served San Antonio for nearly 30 years of his priesthood.

The St. Louis native worked as a teacher and principal before moving to San Antonio in 1988, when he took the position as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. He then became the parochial vicar there from 1996 to 2000.

McMorrough said Elsner was active in church communities throughout the city and was frequently the celebrant on televised mass on Catholic Television of San Antonio.

RELATED: Serna was dedicated teacher at Sarah King Elementary

Patti Radle, president of SAISD's Board of Trustees, remembered Elsner in a Facebook post on Feb. 5, saying he "made a great difference in the lives of so many."

"We will so greatly miss this deep listener, this kind and gentle shepherd," her post reads.

His final assignment with the Archdiocese of San Antonio before moving back to Louisiana last fall was serving as the spiritual director for Assumption Seminary, McMorrough said.

Elsner's life will be honored locally with a memorial mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe, at 1321 El Paso St., on Feb. 12. His funeral will be on Feb. 10 in Grand Coteau, La.

Madalyn Mendoza is a digital reporter for MySA.com. Read more of her stories here.| mmendoza@mysa.com | Twitter: @MaddySkye
A San Antonio-area Army veteran was sentenced Tuesday to six months of home confinement and the six months hes already served in jail after pleading guilty for leaving a voicemail threatening to kill Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and his family.

At a plea hearing in which he was also sentenced, James Amos Headley, 59, pleaded guilty to two counts of interfering with a federal official by threat. He also apologized to Cruz and his family after U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez asked if he had anything to say to the victims.

I was just verbally venting, Headley told the judge. I had no intent to carry out any harm against anybody. I was just insulted that the man (Cruz) had said that the Russians had not interfered with our sovereignty.

READ ALSO: Ted Cruz takes to Twitter moments after train he was riding on strikes truck

Headleys lawyer, Assistant Federal Public Defender Molly Roth, told the judge Headley suffered a stroke in recent years and it affected his ability to control his emotions, leading to his threatening voicemail. The stroke left Headley partially confined to a wheelchair, though he told the judge he can walk up to 400 yards and can still drive.

A spokesman for Cruz said via email Tuesday that the senator from Houston had no comment.

Headley admitted he called the U.S. Capitol on July 11 after watching Cruz on television. At the time, Cruz dismissed concerns that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election as efforts to undermine President Trumps victory, news stories show.

Roth said after the hearing that Headley is not a Trump supporter.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bettina Richardson read into the record the voicemail Headley left for Cruz: Pretty soon youre gonna be runnin for your life, just hope your family is not with ya because Im not gonna insult them, Im gonna kill them, right after I shoot you right in front of them

After staffers alerted Capitol police on July 13, the call was traced to San Antonio, where FBI agents arrested him at his Universal City home. Headley admitted to the call and that he had a gun in the home.

The judge asked prosecutor Richardson if Cruz and Capitol police had been consulted.

Everyones been notified, Richardson told the judge, adding that they requested that the judge also impose restrictions and admonishments so that Headley no longer threatens Cruz.

Under recommended sentencing guidelines, Headley faced 12 to 18 months of incarceration on each count. The judge imposed 12 months on each count to run concurrently. The judge ordered that he be released from a federal jail and be placed on home confinement for the remaining six months and that he turn in his drivers license to probation officers.

The judge also instructed Headley not to contact Cruz or his office with any threats, and if he has constituency issues, that he consider reaching out to Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, or Headleys representative in Congress.

gcontreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland
A juvenile was hospitalized Wednesday morning after he shot himself in the leg with a sawed-off shotgun while trying to steal an unlocked car in San Marcos with two other juvenile suspects, police said.

The three young alleged thieves are accused of stealing a silver 2011 Subaru Outback sometime Wednesday morning at The Local Downtown apartment complex in the 200 block of North Edward Gary Street. Police say the car was unlocked and the keys had been left inside.
Police identified the second victim Wednesday in a fatal shooting last week that left two dead.

On Thursday afternoon, police responded to the 4100 block of South Presa Street and found two men with multiple gunshot wounds.
I visited RAND Corporation in 1994 while meeting with Middle East experts to talk about political Islam, which at the time was a new concept. RAND is a prominent think tank for US strategy and often imposes its view on US administrations that assign it research tasks.

During discussions with experts, it was clear they believed that liberal Islam is the future of the Middle East and insisted that moderate Islam does not contradict democracy and liberalism. As early as the 1990s, this institution was working on training Islamist youth to become vanguards of a liberal Islam that adopts Western ideas, as well as a comprehensive plan to expand this programme.

RAND essentially chose the Muslim Brotherhood as the representatives of this current, while promoting political Islam and its ideologues in the East and West as moderates and an alternative capable of protecting US values and interests. There were mechanisms to pressure incumbent regimes to accept this current as a political player along with other existing legitimate factions, and to allow them to contest elections, form parties and governments, and freely function among the masses, in universities and civil society.

Researchers at RAND and other think tanks and decision-making institutions realised this would not succeed if cadres from other civil currents were not trained to accept political Islam, and be a political incubator for it as it grew and took control. They pushed Washington to pressure president Hosni Mubaraks regime before the 25 January 2011 Revolution to look the other way when it came to direct and indirect training and funding of dozens of members of civil society by US institutions, personalities and other nationalities and figures that are more acceptable.

Eventually, it became widely condoned, even by the staunchest leftists in Egypt who historically are suspicions of US intentions. Thus, political Islam became the product of US security agencies and think tanks to champion and protect civil currents, especially leading figures in the far left, centre left, and of course liberals, who believe in US democracy and values in word and action.

This US perspective and dynamic intersected with the efforts of Britain, the founding country and long-time sponsor of Al-Gamaa Al-Islamiya, after years of experience as a colonial power in many Middle East countries, most notably Egypt. Britains security and political agencies have entire cadres and teams with full knowledge of political, economic, social and security conditions inside former colonies.

Before London withdrew as a colonial power it left mechanisms in place to control the governing system, and political and economic action, as it wished. Even though colonialism ended, it continues to control the future of former colonies and has the final word therein to protect British interests. Britain uses its television, radio and news agencies and provides political, legal and logistical support for political Islam wherever it exists, including in London, the capital of Islamists.

Britain coordinates with others that harbour political Islam in tandem with Washington and London, such as Qatar and Turkey, in an attempt to empower this current. It took advantage of the Arab Spring that toppled old regimes in the region, replacing them through ballot boxes, civil action and transitional forces as we saw in Egypt and Tunisia, or through machine guns as witnessed in Libya and Syria.

Egypts revolution on 30 June 2013, and the months of activism that preceded it, however, destroyed the plot to empower political Islam, as well as entire plans, policies and strategies. This explains Washingtons and Londons permanent disapproval of what happened and is happening in Egypt, whether on key or marginal issues, and putting pressure behind the scenes to restore Islamists to power after investing so many years in preparing, training and pressuring.

At the same time, they punish the Egyptian people and the leader of its army who responded to their desire and together overthrew the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood, its supreme guide and puppet in the presidential palace.

What is unusual is for key figures in Egypts civil society to continue embracing this current and coordinate with it to overthrow the incumbent regime by agreeing to calls to suspend the constitution, meet electoral and legal requisites, and join it in calling for protests and boycott. The pretext is that the political atmosphere does not accommodate peaceful political activism, and the regime of Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi is destroying the state of Egypt.

What is ironic is that their statements refer to electoral requisites they did not participate in, or boycotted, or results they did not recognise. They only make seasonal appearances and are otherwise completely isolated from the masses and their problems.

This is what I insist on in all my writings. Differences with any regime on a patriotic basis from within the system over political or corruption issues, or not applying the law or constitution, or wrongdoing, are common in politics and the role of the opposition in any country. However, differing with the regime over religion, the foundations of national government, sovereignty and embracing a current affiliated to an international organisation and regional and world capitals that wish ill upon Egypt, is unacceptable. In fact, it rises to the level of conspiracy, and I would reticently say treason, because then it becomes a zero-sum game between the state and this fascist current.

Your gamble will fail and the first victim will be the fragile civil opposition.

*This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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When President Donald Trump addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, his jabs at the "nasty," "vicious," "fake" media earned him audible groans and hisses - even from some non-American reporters in the room. It may have been a new experience for them, but journalists in the United States have become rather depressingly inured to Trump's diatribes.

That wasn't always the case.

"At the end of 2016, 'fake news' had a clear meaning. It referred to stories that were fabrications - the Clinton Foundation paying for Chelsea Clinton's wedding or a child sex ring run out of a D.C. pizza shop," noted The Washington Post's Fact Checker. "The phrase was popularized after Google, Facebook and Twitter vowed to eliminate the phony content that some have speculated helped tilt the 2016 election in Donald Trump's favor."

But, starting early in his presidency, Trump seized upon the words "fake news" and shaped them into a cudgel he incessantly wields. He has routinely tweeted against the "fake news" media when it has the temerity to fact-check a multitude of erroneous claims he has made; doled out "fake news" awards to outlets whose coverage he thinks is helplessly biased against him; and looked on as a series of autocrats and strongmen abroad aped his rhetoric, invoking "fake news" to argue away documented reports of ethnic cleansing, torture and war crimes.

Trump tweeted "So much Fake News is being reported. They don't even try to get it right, or correct it when they are wrong. They promote the Fake Book of a mentally deranged author, who knowingly writes false information. The Mainstream Media is crazed that WE won the election!"

Trump tweeted "I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 o'clock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!"

Trump tweeted "FAKE NEWS - A TOTAL POLITICAL WITCH HUNT!"

A new study, though, restores a bit of clarity to what "fake news" actually represents. Researchers at Oxford University's Internet Institute spent 18 months identifying 91 sources of propaganda from across the political spectrum on social media, which spread what they deemed "junk news" that was deliberately misleading or masquerading as authentic reporting. They then did a deep analysis of three months of social media activity in the United States, studying 13,477 Twitter users and 47,719 public Facebook pages that consumed or shared this fake news between November 2017 and January 2018.

What they found was a profound imbalance.

"Analysis showed that the distribution of junk news content was unevenly spread across the ideological spectrum," the institute said in a news release. "On Twitter, a network of Trump supporters shared the widest range of junk news sources and accounted for the highest volume of junk news sharing in the sample, closely followed by the conservative media group. On Facebook, extreme hard right pages shared more junk news than all the other audience groups put together."

Right-wing critics of mainstream media in the United States would likely recoil at this characterization and point to what they see as anti-Trump hysteria in mainstream or liberal outlets. But the study shows there is no symmetrical equivalence.

"We find that the political landscape is strikingly divided across ideological lines when it comes to who is sharing junk news," said Oxford researcher Lisa-Maria Neudert in a statement. "We find that Trump supporters, hard conservatives and right-wing groups are circulating more junk news than other groups."

The phenomenon is not limited to the United States. Late last year, a team of German researchers at Hoffenheim University created a fake far-right news site that shared fabricated, sensationalist stories on Facebook about refugees and immigrants. These pieces reached thousands of far-right supporters in Germany, many of whom recirculated the stories. It reflected the willingness of people in ideological echo chambers to believe what they want to believe rather than check or evaluate sources.

It also exposed a problem with social-media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, which critics have lambasted as not doing enough to curb the scourge of fraudulent content and "bots" that amplify fake news. "It was striking that our Facebook profile was never questioned - not by Facebook, that is, the institution itself, nor by other users," said Wolfgang Schweiger, the lead researcher in the project, to the BBC.

Studies like this and the Oxford Internet Institute investigation may add to the pressure on tech companies to do better at fighting misinformation spread through their platforms. Facebook and other companies are working to better identify fake accounts and stem the damage they might cause. In Italy, Facebook has contracted a team of independent fact checkers to monitor and debunk fake news ahead of elections next month. On Tuesday, Facebook agreed to a similar arrangement with Mexico's National Electoral Institute.

But while social media may help reinforce tribal divisions, the "fake news" moment reflects a deeper, intensifying polarization in the United States and elsewhere, one that predates Trump's political rise or even the era of social media as a prime vehicle for delivering information. As Vox's Matt Yglesias noted in a gloomy essay on the prospect of a looming crisis in American democracy - written well before Trump was elected - the country's political system is being fundamentally weakened by intensifying ideological divisions. Those gaps have made compromise more difficult and emboldened presidents to expand their executive powers.

"Over the past 25 years, it's set America on a course of paralysis and crisis - government shutdowns, impeachment, debt ceiling crises, and constitutional hardball," Yglesias wrote. "Voters, understandably, are increasingly dissatisfied with the results and confidence in American institutions has been generally low and falling. But rather than leading to change, the dissatisfaction has tended to yield wild electoral swings that exacerbate the sense of permanent crisis."

In this climate, the proliferation of "fake news" - and the arguments over it - are a mark of a dangerous political degradation. For Trump, it serves as an extension of the same demagogic mind-set that saw him labeling Democrats who did not clap during his speech as "un-American" and "treasonous." Analysts point to how such unravelings led to coups and chaos in countries as disparate as Chile and Turkey.

"Some polarization is healthy, even necessary, for democracy. But extreme polarization can kill it. When societies divide into partisan camps with profoundly different worldviews, and when those differences are viewed as existential and irreconcilable, political rivalry can devolve into partisan hatred," wrote Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, authors of the new book "How Democracies Die." "Parties come to view each other not as legitimate rivals but as dangerous enemies. Losing ceases to be an accepted part of the political process and instead becomes a catastrophe."
STAMFORD  Police are investigating what caused a 3-year-old baby to suffer serious head trauma Tuesday in the familys East Side home.

The child was taken to Stamford Hospital and then flown to Yale-New Haven Childrens Hospital, where the baby remained Wednesday in stable but critical condition.
SEYMOUR  Students at Seymour High School are learning the lost art of face-to-face conversation and are even playing board games.

Thats because the schools newly beefed-up ban on cell phones seems to be doing the trick, according to Principal James Freund.

Since the ban was enacted in December, Freund recently reported to the Board of Education whats been happening as a result.

Most kids have done well, Freund said. We are witnessing more conversation in the cafeteria, kids are playing board games and the cafeteria is loud again.

Freund said the action to ban cell phone use by students was a result of usage running rampant at the high school, saying students were wearing ear buds and not hearing what was going on around them. He also said he was getting numerous complaints about mean-spirited behavior happening through use of text messaging and social media.

Freund said he researched data about teen cell phone use and found smartphones are checked an average 150 times a day or every six minutes; young people send an average of 110 texts per day; many young people use their digital device communicating with friends rather than being active; extensive social media use makes people less social and exam scores climbed by as much as six percent in schools that imposed strict bans on cell phones.

The new policy says phones and personal electronic devices cannot be used by students in school during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The school already had a policy on its books that prohibited unsupervised cell phone use during class, but the new ban added another layer by restricting use during non-instructional times, such as lunch and in the hallways between classes.

Student school board representative Paulina Karwowski said the ban has had some positive effects, and has improved social interaction among students.

Weve talked to each other more than we have the last four years, she said.

Junior Sierra Cripps said there are some benefits  such as greater attention paid in class  but feels students who didnt abuse cell phones are paying the price. She said the ban was enacted to cut down on online fighting among students and to improve grades, but neither she nor her friends have seen a difference in their grades, and said the fighting will continue via technology, just outside of school.

Those who were never the problem feel like weve been brought down by the rest of our peers, she said.

Madison Bopp, a junior, said she doesnt agree with the ban, but its done some good.

Having no cell phones overall has been beneficial for students to interact more in the school community, she said.

Junior Molly Adamo said while many students dont have a problem not using cell phones in class, not being able to use them in between classes has become kind of inconvenient.

Rachel Moon, also a junior, had another take on the ban.

The phone ban is a good concept and while it keeps us concentrated during class, its counterproductive to the schools goal of teaching students how to be independent in the real world, where we wont have adults taking away what inconveniences others, she said.

Board member Kristen Harmeling said students still can use their cell phones, for example under a teachers direction for an in-class lesson. She understands Freunds decision, but remains hopeful the ban can be eased, especially if students need to send a quick text to family.

jean.sos@snet.net
Arab political thinking seems to always turn to boycott as though it were a constructive concept that can resolves things in our favour because it supposedly pulls the rug out from beneath our opponents or those standing in the way of our interests. The rug, here, is legitimacy. Illegitimate groups think they hold the key to it if they do the rug-pulling in order to turn the tables in their favour.

The concept was displayed in its full glory when groups from the Egyptian opposition gathered together to declare a boycott against the Egyptian presidential elections. It is their way of protesting what they claim to be restrictions on the electoral process. They called on the Egyptian people to follow suit and not to turn out on voting day.

The boycotting groups appear to have only just awakened to the reality of the forthcoming elections, even though it has been common knowledge for three years that they would be held this spring since the constitutionally stipulated presidential term is four years, after which an incumbent president may run again for only one more term.

Nor was it some surprise that the electoral commission would meet before the end of the presidents term or that President Al-Sisi would field himself for a second term, armed with his popularity, dozens of achievements under his belt and an honourable record of action in defence of Egypt and its national interests.

Interestingly, none of these groups had a candidate of its own and even when they formed a coalition to rally behind a single candidate  Khaled Ali  their advise and pressure had been pushing towards boycott from the word go. More curious yet, these groups, which hail from various shades of Nasserism and Marxism, have recently adopted a liberal rhetoric. They all support freedom, human rights and the democratic process.

But, apparently not with everything that comes with these concepts, such as reaching out to, getting to know and including the people in whose name they claim to speak. This explains why these parties won only a scant amount of votes in the legislative elections, which some of them had boycotted as well. When Khaled Ali ran for president in 2012, he won only 114,000 votes out of the 54 million that were cast. When Hamdin Sabbahi ran against Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, he won only 750,000 out of the 56 million votes cast, less than the number of invalidated ballots.

Still, there are ways that the boycotters benefit from boycotting. It is a way to avoid having to stand up to the true test of public opinion. Also, in a country where the historical trend in society has been to refrain from going to the polls, the boycotters can claim  falsely  that their boycott had grassroots support.

The problem, however, is that boycotting harms the electoral process which, in order to flourish, requires an accumulation of electoral experience over time during which participation and voting become an ingrained custom in society. Worse yet, boycotting creates a vacuum that extremist groups rush to fill, using it to promote themselves and for recruitment purposes. In the end, therefore, no one wins except fascist groups like the Muslim Brotherhood. Meanwhile, the process of developing and refining the institutions necessary for building democracy reaches a dead end.

What is amazing is that those liberals, through their boycott, have fallen into the lap of the Muslim Brotherhood in an implicit or even open alliance, as has occurred in previous occasions. Not surprisingly, in this case, the word terrorism is never uttered by the boycotters.

For a long time, the same notion has governed Arab thinking on the Palestinian cause and how to deal with Israel. Sometimes it takes the form of a campaign to boycott the US and US goods and products. Frequently we have seen it at work in international forums where Arab delegations would stage a walkout the moment the Israeli delegation appeared in a given session.

The effect was to give the Israelis all the space and time they needed to advance their ideas and arguments. Even after some Arab states signed peace treaties with Israel, leading the latter to withdraw from occupied territories in those states, the tactic shifted to boycotting normalisation. Not only has this never succeeded in liberating land or in regaining rights, it put the Arab minority in Israel under additional pressure and it augmented to the ability of the Israeli propaganda machine to deflect attention from its settlement expansion activities, which rapidly increased in pace and scope.

In a way, boycott stopped being one of the weapons of the struggle against Israel when it became an end in and of itself and a means to intellectually and materially terrorise others.

Only once did the Arab use of the boycott rest on an autonomous strength that ensured that the action affected the party that the Arabs wanted to pressure and influence. This was when the Arab oil producing states, led by Saudi Arabia, cut off oil supplies to the countries that supported Israel, especially the US and The Netherlands. The oil boycott during the October 1973 War was not a haphazard gambit. It was a strategy adopted in order to support a clear political position that, in turn, was grounded in military strength. The Arab oil boycott did not harm the Arabs or even the oil consuming countries.

Through the monthly five per cent reduction in oil production, the Arabs regained the right to set oil prices. As a result, prices quadrupled from around $3 per barrel to $12. The boycott made sense and had an effect because it took into account balances of power and because it was not randomly universalised  special policies were adopted for poor countries. More generally, it was not inspired by some thirst for revenge or an urge to vent rancour. It was a rational policy that aimed to restore Arab political rights.

The boycotters of Egyptian elections, as is the case of the boycotters of normalisation, do not have a strategy to attain certain political ends. Nor do they have a sense of the balances of power, whether the political balances of power at home or the strategic balances of power abroad. They also have no concept of how to build a strategic position and generate the circumstances that lead to democratic practices (in the case of Egypt) or to the liberation of occupied Arab land (in the cases of Palestine and Syria).

Both domestically and regionally, boycott, as practised, is a declamatory act as opposed to a process of policy building. The former is a way to declare a stance, whether for or against a particular policy or situation. The latter is a process of realising positive change. It is an approach based on a strategy and a plan for carrying it out. The declamatory act is often a form of bravado. Policy building is a process that is tested on the ground and assessable on the basis of its success or failure in realising its stated aim which, after all, is the most crucial matter.

The writer is chairman of the board, CEO, and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies.

*This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

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What struck me immediately when I visited this years Cairo International Book Fair its 49th edition  is the enormous progress this event has made in the last year alone. It has truly become an unrivalled cultural beacon in the country. How starkly the ambit of its rays contrast with the dismal state of the book fair during the years of upheaval when its organisers were in near despair. Indeed, I will go so far as to say that the book fair, today, has become the primary hub of cultural dissemination in the Arab region.

I have visited all Arab book fairs without exception over the years. I have had the honour to participate in many of the major cultural activities that have abound throughout the Arab region in recent years. But nowhere have I seen the degree of diversity and appeal that characterises the Cairo International Book Fair.

No other book fair attracts those millions of people. Last years book fair drew four million visitors  more than the population of some member states in the UN. It looks like the number of visitors this year will be considerably higher. As I write this, which is still in the early days of the event, the number of visitors has already exceeded 1,750,000, which is 25 per cent higher than it was at the same point in last years fair. In this regard, alone, the Cairo Book Fair surpasses all major book fairs in the West, such as those in Frankfurt, London and Turin.

I have visited and sometimes actively participated in these and other fairs. I have also been invited as a guest of honour in some, such as the Montreal Book Fair which is one of the most important book fairs in North America. Many of these events (such as that in Frankfurt) are geared to specialists and are visited primarily by publishers keen to familiarise themselves with the latest publications and to acquire publishing or translation rights. The Cairo International Book Fair, by contrast, targets the general reading public as well.

The numbers of non-specialists who visit the exhibition grounds far outstrips number of publishers, not only because of the opportunity to purchase books at reduced prices but also because of the many cultural events that take place there. Every year, people look forward to the diverse intellectual seminars that the book fair organises, the likes of which are rarely found in other book fairs.

This years edition of the book fair made enormous strides in all these respects. The number of sections has risen to 1,200, featuring the works produced by some 850 Egyptian, Arab and foreign publishers. The number of cultural activities has also increased. Of particular note, this year, are the arts pavilion and the open-air theatre with performances throughout the day.

But what impressed me, above all, was the childrens pavilion which occupies 2,000 m2 of the exhibition grounds. In addition to the hundreds of books for children that are on display, as is the case every year, there are dozens of cultural and artistic activities for children: drawing and painting classes, games, pottery workshops as well as live theatrical performances. Never has such a degree of attention been devoted to children in previous editions of the book fair.

I also took a long pause at the Halayeb and Shalateen section which, in another first for the book fairs public, featured an exhibit of the arts and crafts of that area in Egypts southeast corner that we constantly describe as an integral and inseparable part of the nation but rarely try to familiarise ourselves with its unique indigenous folk arts. I took another long pause in the 2,000 m2 section that the event organisers had allocated to Al-Azhar, perhaps in the hope that the space would be used for the dissemination of religious enlightenment and contributions to the modernisation of religious discourse, an effort in which Al-Azhar continues to remains remiss.

What truly impressed me was the number of volunteer youths at this years event. About 500 young men and women, mostly university students, have volunteered to act as guides in the various pavilions, or to help the book fair administrators with publicity-related tasks or, in the case of the young volunteer artists, to offer Arabic calligraphy lessons to visitors.

This years event has also devoted considerable attention to youth. In the next few days there will be a youth initiatives contest in which handsome financial prizes will be awarded to the most successful initiatives in culture, the arts and technology.

It is important, here, to pause and give thanks to the team of people who had begun to prepare for this years edition since the end of last years fair. In particular, our gratitude should go to Haytham Al-Hagg Ali, director of the General Egyptian Book Organisation that is responsible for organising this annual event. I know how busy he has been during the past few months preparing for this fair.

To him, too, goes the credit for many of the ideas that were carried out successfully and that helped make this years edition so unique. Nor should we overlook the supervision and care shown by former culture minister Helmi Al-Namnam, whose efforts to overcome all obstacles made it possible for this years fair to attain such superior standards.

All this makes us look forward to next years fair which will undoubtedly be very special as it will be organised under the supervision of current Minister of Culture Ines Abdel-Dayem who is noted for her sophisticated cultural vision and her administrative acumen. Next years edition will mark the 50th anniversary of the Cairo International Book Fair, which was first launched under the supervision of Soheir Al-Qalamawi.

The exhibition grounds on which that fair stood are now home to the Cairo Opera House that was most successfully managed by Inas Abdel-Dayem. Therefore, we anticipate that next years fair will reach an even greater peak of success, which is why preparations for it should begin now, not just locally or at the Arab level, but also at the international level.

*This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly

Short link:


Anagha Unni By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Baba Ramdev has opted out of a conference on cancer research co-sponsored by IIT-Madras after an international sponsor pulled out due to his controversial remarks that the dreaded disease is caused by ones karma.

Prof D Karunagaran of IIT Madras confirmed to New Indian Express on Wednesday that Ramdev cited prior commitments for giving a miss to the International Conference on Translational Cancer Research scheduled to be held on Feb 8-11 in Chennai.

READ HERE | Sponsor backs out of IIT Madras cancer conference associated with Baba Ramdev

The organising committee informed the local organisers here about Ramdev opting out of the event in a mail. However, we are not sure if its because of the media reports, Prof Karunagaran said.

Ramdev was to be the chief guest at the conference and speak to an audience of international cancer specialists on Cancer Prevention and Treatment: From Ancient Medicine to Modern Medicine on the opening day.

The invitation to Ramdev triggered a controversy on social media with health professionals and activists questioning whether it was appropriate to invite a spiritualist to a conference on curing cancer.

In November 2017, Ramdev had voiced his agreement to Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarmas statement that people bear and endure for what they do in their life after Sarma was vehemently criticised for saying that cancer is the result of sins committed in past life.

Ramdev had said: Everything is related to karma, our birth and death are related to karma. Several reasons cause diseases and one among them is karma."

Responding to a question why Ramdev was invited in the first place, Prof Karunagaran, who is coordinating the conference on behalf of IIT-Madras, said the organizers, the Society for Translational Cancer Research, Thiruvananthapuram, had recommended yoga guru and businessman as a speaker for the inaugural session.

Responding to the MD Andersen Cancer Centers decision -- not to be associated with the conference this year, that sought to distance itself from the event, he said he has evidence to prove the Texas-based research and treatment facilitys sponsorship.

After the Ramdev invitation went viral, MD Anderson, a Texas-based cancer treatment facility, hastened to clarify that it did sponsor the IIT-Madras event last year but had decided not to do so this year. In the past, MD Anderson has sponsored this conference through its Global Academic Program. But this year, were not a sponsor. Our name and logo are being used without permission, and weve requested they be removed from promotional materials, MD Anderson Centre tweeted.

However, members of MD Andersons faculty  Varsha Gandhi and Sen Pathak  are listed as the organisers of the event.
By PTI

COLOMBO/MALE: Exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed today asked India to play its role of "liberators" and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

China has warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges.

"Saying 'resolve things internally' is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see India's role positively: in '88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now," Nasheed tweeted.

Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) functions from Colombo, had appealed for India's help yesterday.

"We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence," Nasheed said in a tweet.

In 1988, the then president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had sought India's help to defeat a coup by mercenaries. India responded to his call and dispatched troops to the Maldives to restore order in the country. Most of the Indian soldiers returned home after order was restored in the island nation.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Concerned over political crisis in Maldives, India, which is monitoring the situation very "closely", yesterday said it was "disturbed" on the declaration of the emergency by the Maldivian government and described as a matter of "concern"

the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

Weighing its options in the fast deteriorating crisis in the Maldives, China has asked political parties in Maldives to find a solution without external intervention after UN, the US and India stepped pressure on Yameen to implement the Supreme Court ruling of setting the detained opposition leaders free.

"The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said today.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency.

The remaining three judges of the Supreme Court last night amended an order to release nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed.

In a statement, the judges said they were revoking the order to release the prisoners "in light of the concerns raised by the President".

The amendment to the ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1 also omits the part that says the case against the Supreme Court judges was not received by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

President Yameen today welcomed the court's move to reinstate the convictions of political prisoners. He had accused the detained judges of plotting to overthrow him.

"I had to declare a national emergency because there was no other way to investigate these judges," Yameen said in a televised address to the nation last evening.

"We had to find out how thick the plot or coup was," he said, adding that the chief justice was trying to illegally impeach him and sack the attorney general.

Meanwhile, Acting police chief Abdulla Nawaz told reporters that police had found evidence that millions of dollars were given as bribes to Saeed and Hameed of the Supreme Court, and to court official Hassan Saeed.

Nawaz said police had reason to believe Gayoom had bribed politicians and influenced judges in order to overthrow the government, the Maldives Independent news website reported.

Gayoom, president for 30 years until the country's first democratic elections in 2008, was also detained at his home hours after the emergency was declared on Monday night. Gayoom has allied himself with the Opposition.

Nawaz claimed that police had found "lots of cash" that was connected to Hameed and that "lots of cash" had been found under Hassan Saeeds mattress.

All four are being charged with attempting to unlawfully overthrow the government, he added.

Nasheed, 50, the first democratically elected leader of the Maldives, has accused President Yameen of acting illegally and asked the US to ensure that all American financial institutions stop all transactions of the regime's leaders.

He was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terror charges in March 2015 over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency. He was granted asylum in the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure.

Nasheed was narrowly defeated in 2013 by Yameen. Nasheed says his conviction on terror charges was politically motivated.

The Maldivian government holds that Nasheed is convicted for a crime and is wanted in the Maldives to serve a jail sentence. Nasheed said he will seek UN support to ensure he is allowed to contest this year's election.
By AFP

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday wished South Korea all the best for the Pyeongchang Winter Games, which open on Friday.

"Best wishes to the Republic of Korea on hosting the @Olympics! What a wonderful opportunity to show everyone that you are a truly GREAT NATION!," Trump tweeted.

Best wishes to the Republic of Korea on hosting the @Olympics! What a wonderful opportunity to show everyone that you are a truly GREAT NATION! pic.twitter.com/aboM2Up48y  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 7, 2018

The message was accompanied by a video clip of Trump addressing the South Korean National Assembly last November.

He is seen talking about the 36,000 Americans who died during the Korean War and the "terrible price" South Koreans paid, including Seoul being "reduced to rubble" and the economy being "demolished"
WASHINGTON, Conn.  Spread out over what used to be a cherry orchard, a small group of citizen scientists kept their eyes on a fresh cover of snow Saturday morning, hunting for rabbit tracks.

This patch of brambly woods, the volunteers first stop on a stroll across the 500-acre Macricostas Preserve, was off the trail but would be the perfect spot for a rabbit to find some food.

But the tracks would serve merely as a tool for what the group was really after  small pellets of what was, hopefully, New England cottontail rabbit droppings.

Got some over here! yelled Rory Larson, a conservation and program leader with the Steep Rock Association, who led the group.

The others rushed over to help Larson put a few of the pellets in a plastic bag, which they would label with the longitudinal and latitudinal coordinates of the spot where the little pile had been left.

Over the course of the morning, the group would collect five bags of droppings to send to the states Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The tiny, round pellets would then be sent to a lab to determine whether they were, in fact, from the New England cottontail.

If one of them is a cottontail, theyll probably want to do a more standardized study, Larson told the group, explaining how DEEP officials might form a grid of the entire property. That way we can see where they are and where they arent.

Saturday was the first time a pellet survey had been performed on the grounds, Larson said. The survey would help the state determine where there are still populations of New England cottontails, which were a candidate for the federal endangered species list until 2015, when conservation efforts helped the animals rebound.

The cottontails, Connecticuts only native rabbit species, were first considered for the list in 2006. At that time, the species range had decreased by 85 percent, mainly due to habitat loss, according to DEEP.

State, federal and nongovernmental organizations across the region began working in 2009 to save the cottontails from the list by creating and monitoring habitats and through captive breeding programs.

The Steep Rock Associations pellet survey let nonprofessional volunteers contribute to the effort.

During the day the group learned how to track the rabbits and spot their droppings, but Larson also answered questions about the propertys swamps, brooks, plant species, bobcat population and general conservation efforts.

It creates an awareness when you do things like this, said Mark Zerbe, of Roxbury.

Alexis Barbalinardo, of Washington Depot, said this was one of several citizen science opportunities she participates in with the organization. Steep Rock also hosts a bald eagle survey, a macro-invertebrate sampling, a frog watch and surveys of the nesting boxes on its properties throughout the year.

For Paul Begley, of Harwinton, it was an opportunity to learn something new while also getting outdoors.

Im fascinated by wildlife in general, Begley said. When we have a chance to get out in nature and learn, you cant beat it. This time of year you almost have to force it, but when you do, youre rewarded.

aquinn@newstimes.com
NEW MILFORD  The Town Council recently decided to lower the price of the biggest property on the towns surplus property list to better reflect the market and help get it back on the tax rolls.

The 19-acre property is made up of two parcels at Peagler Hill Road and 73 Fort Hill Road, near the Big Y on Route 7. The council unanimously voted to list the Still Meadow property for $1.6 million, $500,000 less than the original listing price in April.

Voters would have to approve the sale of the property.

It puts it in line with the maximum you can get for that size acreage and that type of development, Toby Brimberg, the listing agent, said at a recent Town Council meeting.

When the property was first listed, Brimberg and some town officials thought the parcel had as many as 15 developmental acres. They later determined that figure was closer to nine acres.

Councilman Paul Szymanski said he surveyed the property last spring and had warned there werent as many usable acres as initially thought, based on the slope and wetlands.

Brumberg said hes received feedback from about a dozen developers who said the price and the development challenges with the topography have been the biggest obstacles to selling the land.

Its a challenge and when you have a challenge to develop the site, its expensive, he said.

The property is zoned for general business. Potential uses advertised for the land include an active adult community, retail, motels or hotels, offices, wholesale, manufacturing and automotive uses.

A local developer had offered to buy the property for $2.7 million about 10 years ago to build a center with shops, offices, hotel and banquet facility but voters rejected the proposal.

Councilman Michael Nahom, who was involved in that project, said he encouraged the price reduction if it would allow that property to be developed so the town could again collect taxes on it.

I dont see any reason to not drop this price, he said.

The town has owned the site since 1998 when it bought the land for $2.1 million.

Brumberg said the price reduction, coupled with the fact the adjacent 21-acre property is also on the market, will make this piece more attractive.

The other property, which borders Route 7, is owned by two developers who had planned to have retail or an assisted living community, but those plans fell through.

Councilman Tom Esposito said he was in favor of the lower price from the beginning.

The only way Id be in favor of selling this piece of property in this town is if it drove a very large construction project and it drove a lot of jobs, he said.

kkoerting@newstimes.com; 203-731-3345
To the Editor:

The year began for me with a difficult decision: whether to renew my position on the board of directors of Village Center for the Arts in New Milford, an organization that I loved dearly.

Having served on the board the past seven years since January 2011, the first six as chairman, it was not an easy decision to make, but ultimately I decided that it was time.

The past seven years have been transformative for VCA, creating unique events like Paint The People and the IPA tasting and dinner; integrating with the public school system with programs such as The Unexpected Artist; impacting the community with activities like the Mosaic tile project or by participating in every public opportunity to face paint or share art.

We expanded our pottery offerings, opening an independent studio; engaged every age and demographic through such offerings as our memorable summer camps  often the highlight of the year for children near and far; by showcasing local artists; by reinventing our programming, staying fresh and ahead of the creative curve, often copied  which is the highest compliment.

At VCA we offered opportunities to many, many children and families to explore their creativity and enrich their spirit, that would not have been possible, due to fiscal or social obstacles.

We took on the challenge of expansion into New York City and proved to ourselves, through VCA NYC that, if so desired, we could do it.

VCA has been a safe haven; a bright spot in the center of town where all are welcome, regardless of color or creed, rich or poor, gifted or challenged, popular or unseen. VCA is where people can discover who they are, what they can do, without judgment or time limits or the constraints of conformity. They are welcome for it is their VCA. It is all of ours. VCA is a gift to the community.

I believe the organization is on the cusp of opportunity. The new administration has pledged its support for VCA. There are new grant opportunities, building assistance, community partnerships and more, that are important pursuits for the future of VCA.

I have every confidence in the board, helmed by Chairman Ben Grinnell, the dedicated staff, led by Executive Director Sharon Kaufman and Jayson Roberts, founder, to apply their creativity, drive and expertise to take VCA to the next level.

Being on this journey with them, and those who have served previously, has been a joy and a privilege. VCA will always be a part of me and I look forward to the next chapter.

Kevin Bielmeier

New Milford
3 1 of 3 Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Carol Kaliff / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust, which serves the Greater New Milford area, was recently awarded the 2017 Working Lands Alliance Pathfinder Award as Education Leader for contributions in educating the public about the importance of farmland preservation.

The Working Lands Alliance, a project of American Farmland Trust, is the statewide voice for farmland preservation efforts in Connecticut and includes farmers, land trusts, local food advocates, and anti-hunger organizations.
Want some apples? Here's where you can pick your own in Newport County

It's the season for apple picking and these spots will send you home with plenty of varieties.
Reporter/Columnist

Julie Wurth is a reporter covering the University of Illinois at The News-Gazette. Her email is jwurth@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@jawurth).
Reporter

Noelle McGee is a Danville-based reporter at The News-Gazette. Her email is nmcgee@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@n_mcgee).
Columnist

Tom Kacich is a columnist and the author of Tom's Mailbag at The News-Gazette. His column appears Sundays. His email is tkacich@news-gazette.com, and you can follow him on Twitter (@tkacich).
Reporter

Debra Pressey is a reporter covering health care at The News-Gazette. Her email is dpressey@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@DLPressey).
One of Editor & Publishers 10 That Do It Right 2021
Hyundai has finally launched the facelifted 2018 Elite i20 premium hatchback in India for Rs 5.34 lakh at the Auto Expo 2018. The new 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 gets a new revised Cascading grille and bumper design at the front. Although the headlamps on the new i20 are the same it gets reshaped fog lamps. At the rear, the car gets bigger tail lamps and redesigned tailgate. The new 2018 i20 also gets new alloy wheels and will be available in 6 options.

Inside the cabin, the new 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 gets a new 7-inch touchscreen infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Except, the new infotainment system everything inside the new 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 is similar to its current generation.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki Unveils Compact Car Concept FutureS at Auto Expo 2018

2018 Hyundai Elite i20 Facelift. (Image: News18.com)

Under the hood, the 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 facelift gets mild tweaks. The car continues to have the 1.4-litre diesel engine that produces 89bhp and churns out 220Nm of torque. The 1.2-litre Kappa petrol engine will now be paired with a CVT automatic gearbox option. However, the lower variants will continue to use a 5-speed manual gearbox. The 1.4-litre petrol engine and the 4-speed automatic transmission has been dropped from the i20 Elite Facelifts engine line-up.

In terms of safety, the 2018 Hyundai Elite i20 comes with 6 airbags, parking assist and auto door lock at high speed.

Also Watch: 2018 Maruti Suzuki Swift Review (First Drive) | Cars18
With the Auto Expo 2018 starting today(for the press), the world is eagerly waiting for the new car launches, concept showcases and the future of mobility. The largest gathering of auto manufacturers in India will see at least 20+ model launches, innumerous concepts and many hybrid/electric vehicle showcase. Scheduled to open for public from 9-14 February 2018 at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida, the Auto Expo 2018 will see global automakers locking horns to launch and showcase their best products to the world. The 14th edition of the biennial Auto Expo is expected to see 24 new launches and over 100 unveiling of vehicles.
Japanese carmaker Toyota has unveiled its premium sedan Yaris in India at Auto Expo 2018. The car is already available in various international markets by the name of Yaris Ativ and Vios. From the front, the car gets a bold design thanks to the projector headlamps with LED light guiding, LED DRLs and 15-inch alloy wheels.

Inside the cabin, two-tone beige-black colour scheme and a large touchscreen infotainment system that supports Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The cabin also features automatic climate control and digital driver information display along with steering mounted controls.

Toyota Yaris at Auto Expo 2018. (Image: News18.com)

Internationally, the car is available with a 1.2-litre Dual VVT-i petrol engine, a 1.3-litre Dual VVT-i petrol engine, and a 1.5-litre Dual VVT-i petrol engine but here in India the car only gets 1.5-litre petrol engine under the hood. The engine is mated to a 6-speed manual transmission and a continuously variable transmission.

In terms of safety, Toyota Yaris gets 7 airbags, tyre pressure monitoring system, Front and rear parking sensors, hill start assist, power seats, driver, and roof mounted air vents.

Toyota is planning to launch its new Sedan in India in the month of April. When launched, the car will compete with the likes of Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Hyundai Verna and Honda City.

Also Watch: Audi Q5 2018 Review (First Drive) | Cars18
New Delhi: Terming the announcement of 50 per cent profit over the input cost for agriculture commodities a "jumla" and "big fraud", All India Kisan Sangharsh Coordination Committee (AIKSCC) on Tuesday said the Union Budget presented by the BJP government was anti-farmer and would only benefit corporates.

The government has come up with a new definition for Minimum Support Price (MSP), which in fact has made no change in the old MSP, said the AIKSCC, which represents 191 farmer organisations in the country.

It has announced 'Kisan Sangharsh Mukti Saptah' from February 12-19 across the country to express its displeasure over the "anti-farmer" budget.

Addressing a press conference in the city, AIKSCC convener V.M. Singh said the government did not intend to give a higher price to farmers for their crop production as it had not made any budgetary allocation.

"This government has manipulated the figures so the input cost has gone down when actually it has increased. It is just beating the drum for the hike in the MSP but no farmer is going to be benefited. This is a government of 'jumlas' (gimmicks)," he said.

The AIKSCC leaders said the BJP had forgot its poll promise of 1.5 times return of the input cost since it had come to power. However, it was left with no option but to declare it during this budget due to recent countrywide protests by the farmers over rural distress, they said.

Attacking the government for manipulating the input cost figures while fixing the MSP, Yogendra Yadav of Swaraj Abhiyan said the new MSP rates using A2+FL as input cost would hurt farmers.

"This government had an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court in 2015 said that it cannot give the 1.5 times profit. However, it has announced it now. Actually, the government is not going to give MSP as per the Swaminathan Commission's recommendations, which consider C2 - the comprehensive input cost - while fixing it. It is going to use A2+ FL, which will not lead to any hike in MSP," he said.

"In an RTI reply on January 19, the government said MSP with 1.5 times the input cost was not possible. And in next few days, the government announces that it is going to give 1.5 times. It is a big fraud."

Medha Patkar of Narmada Bachao Andolan said the budget was made keeping privatisation in mind, which would hurt not just farmers but Dalits and tribals as well.

"The thrust on infrastructure building such as roads in the farm and rural sector would help only corporate. The government has ignored dalits, labourers, tribals, farmers in the budget in pursuit of the economic development. We do not think there will be any reduction in farm suicides," she said.

Former NDA ally Shetkari Sanghtan's MP Raju Shetty said the government wanted electronic markets in rural areas but it had not provided required warehouse facility.

Former Madhya Pradesh lawmaker and farmer leader Sunilam said copies of the budget would be burnt at 1,000 locations across the country in order to expose how anti-farmer it was.
New Delhi: Just days after a sub-committee formed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) rejected an application to ban lawmakers from being lawyers, the applicant has now moved the Supreme Court with a plea highlighting the conflict of interest in MPs and MLAs practising law.

Applicant Ashwini Upadhyay, who had earlier moved several applications before the BCI, has now approached the apex court, citing Rule 49 of the BCI and Article 14 (Equality) of the Constitution.

In his plea, Upadhyay has claimed that when lawyers taking fee from clients and salary from the public exchequer amounts to professional misconduct.

The legal profession is a noble and demanding one and the apex court has repeatedly frowned upon its practitioners attempting to ride two horses or more at a time, said the applicant, who has also given examples of how the court frowned upon a doctor wanting to practise as an advocate.

The basic contention of the applicant also has been that this dual role of a legislator and a lawyer violates Rule 49 of the BCI. According to Rule 49: An advocate shall not be a full-time salaried employee of any person, government, firm, corporation or concern, so long as he continues to practise and shall, on taking any such employment, intimate the fact to the BCI and shall cease to practise as an advocate, so long he is in such employment.

However, when the sub-committee, in majority decision, decided that legislators can indeed practise as lawyers, they had stated that, We should not forget the fact that lawyers like Mahatma Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Dr. Ambedkar, Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr. Rajinder Prasad, Lala Lajpat Rai, Rajgopalachari, CS Dass have played important and crucial role in our freedom struggle while they were practising advocates. There is no valid reason as to why services of an advocate, who happens to become an MP/MLA, should not be available to general litigant public who are aggrieved by any act/deed of the government.

In the plea before SC, Upadhyay has also mentioned that there is a clear conflict of interest as MPs and MLAs have powers to "impeach judges".

"The MPs who have the power of impeachment and can impeach a judge of the Supreme Court where they appear day in and day out; it could be possible that the judges concerned may not be able to discharge their duty without fear. Judges are mostly men of great wisdom and are fearless. However, the public may sometime perceive that judges give favourable orders to few lawyers... As it is said that Caesar's wife should be above suspicion!" read the additional statement filed by Upadhyay.
New Delhi: Back in 1988, when the Abdul Gayoom government in Maldives was threatened by a coup, Indias then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi sent an IL-76 full of troops and supplies, telling the commander of that mission, Gayoom is Indias man in the Indian Ocean. We cant afford to lose him.

That intervention by India through Operation Cactus saved the Gayoom government which ruled Maldives for another 20 years.

Today, India finds itself in a similarly precarious situation with the current Maldives government of Abdullah Yameen imposing a 15-day emergency and arresting judges of the Supreme Court after the court ordered the release of about a dozen political prisoners, including former president Mohammad Nasheed.

Nasheed made an impassioned plea on Tuesday to India to send an envoy backed by the Army to rescue the Supreme Court judges and political detainees.

India realises that while it is the biggest military power in the region and its intervention could decisively change the power dynamics in Maldives, it is also extremely aware how difficult the military option is in this day and age.

Any kind of military intervention will lead to a ganging up of countries, led by China and Pakistan, at the United Nations to save the Yameen regime. In the post-Cold War era, direct military interventions have been messy even for the US, the worlds biggest military power, as is the case in both its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, Indias last military intervention in Sri Lanka with the Indian Peacekeeping Force didnt exactly end in glory.

India has no love lost for President Yameen. In fact, Maldives is the only neighbour that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not visited since he assumed office in 2014.

At last count, he had visited more than 60 countries, including many where an Indian Prime Minister had never landed, for the very first time. Just last month in an ice-breaker of sorts, Maldives Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim was in India and had met Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, assuring them there is no change in his countrys India First policy.

But this felt like empty rhetoric because just a month before Asims visit, his country signed a Free Trade Agreement with China; that too without necessary approvals from its parliament or the Majlis.

For India, the increasing Chinese footprint in Maldives and the wider Indian Ocean Region is a matter of grave concern. Apart from the FTA, China is already building infrastructure in Maldives, including an ambitious under-sea tunnel to connect the two biggest islands there, Male and Hulhumale, at a cost of over $100 million.

Maldives was the first South Asian country that Chinese President Xi Jinping visited in September of 2014 just before his first visit to India. Maldives was one of the first countries in South Asia to join Xis ambitious One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.

The best option for India would be a combination of international sanctions with the help of both the US and Saudi Arabia, which has increasingly close ties to the Yameen regime through its Sunni-Wahabi connections.

Already, major countries, including India and China, have issued travel advisories for their citizens. Tourism contributes about a third of Maldives economy and almost two-thirds of its foreign exchange receipts. If and when sanctions kick in, the Yameen regime will begin to feel the bite. Until then, its going to be sailing in choppy waters for India in the Maldives.
New Delhi: All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday demanded that the government bring in a law to punish any person who calls an Indian Muslim "a Pakistani".

Speaking in Parliament, Owaisi demanded that the person held guilty of such an offence be punished with a three-year jail term.

"Bring a law that if any Muslim is called Pakistani, the person will face three-year jail term," he said, but added that the BJP-led government will not bring such a bill.

Owaisi said Muslims living in India had rejected Mohammad Ali Jinnah's two-nation theory, but were still made to feel like outsiders.

The AIMIM leader, who was taking part in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's Address, also said the triple talaq bill was "anti-women."

(With IANS inputs)
Dubai: An Indian man on Tuesday won USD 1 million at the Dubai Duty Free Millennium draw, joining the long list of Indian nationals who have turned millionaires through the raffle.

To date, there are 124 Indian nationals who have won a USD 1 million each in the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire promotion since its inception in 1999.

Bangalore-based Toms Arackal Mani joined the long list of Dubai Duty Free dollar millionaires when his ticket number 2190 in Series 263 was drawn at Concourse D of Dubai International Airport, the Khaleej Times reported.

Mani, a 38-year old executive who works for an international card company, purchased his ticket during the retailer's 34th anniversary in December last year.

Commenting on his win, Mani said: "I am lost for words and I still can't believe that I won a USD 1 million. Thank you Dubai Duty Free for the greatest news of my life."

Dubai Duty Free also conducted a Finest Surprise draw and announced two winners for this popular promotion.

Patrick Anderson, an American national from Missouri won a Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe (White) in Series 1677 with ticket number 0673.

While Krikor Kozanlian, a Belgian national from Antwerp, won a BMW R Nine T Scrambler motorbike (Monolith Metallic Matt) in Series 327 - ticket 0336.

Kozanlian, a manager at Arslanian Group, who celebrated his 39th birthday on February 5, said, "This is such a wonderful surprise, and I just couldn't wait to collect my unexpected birthday gift from Dubai Duty Free."

Lata Bhardwaj, a former employee of Dubai Duty Free for 33 years, won a BMW 750LixDrive M Sport (Sapphire Metallic Black) in Series 1676 with ticket no 0707.
Bengaluru: Two days after the Karnataka flag committee submitted its report recommending a design for the state's official flag, a pro-Kannada group has come forward expressing disappointment with it.

Vatal Nagaraj, leader of the Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha and a former MLA, said that it was the existing (unofficial) bi-colored flag that the people of the state identified with.

"The existing bi-colored flag is recognized by the people of Karnataka as the state's flag. Cannot accept the new tricolored flag. The red and yellow flag is what we have been hoisting all these years, he said.

That is the flag the government too hoists on the state's formation day. The people of Karnataka will come out on the streets with our flag if there is any change to the existing flag," he added.

The new design selected by the committee has a yellow band on the top, white in the middle and red at the bottom with the Coat of Arms of Karnataka. The design is likely to be the state's official flag once approved by the state followed by the Centre.

"We have received the report. We have referred it to the Department of Culture. We will look into it once they place it before the cabinet," Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had told CNN-News18 on Tuesday.

The design is expected to go through minor changes as it seeks approval at various levels and once approved, the state will be the second in the country to have its own flag, after Jammu and Kashmir.

It was in July last year that the government constituted a nine-member committee to look into the possibility of having a separate flag for the state and accord it legal standing.
New Delhi: The recent proposal by the National Commission for Minorities to set up a Christian University on the lines of AMU and BHU has irked the new NCM chief who feels that educational institutions should not be divided on religious lines.

Minorities Commission chief Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi was quick to clarify that the report sent reflects the work proposed under former head Naseem Ahmad. A community is demanding it and it should be looked into. But I am not convinced with this idea, Rizvi said, adding that emphasis should be on strengthening the overall educational system of the country.

Earlier in January, the Commission had submitted the Annual Report 2016-17 to the government mentioning that Christians should also be given universities for their communities, fully funded by the Government of India like AMU and Jamia Millia Islamia University.

The NCM under Ahmad had suggested the establishment of Christian university as a Medium Term Recommendation, which requires seven years to complete the task. However, the proposal is yet to be tabled in Parliament.

Today Christians are demanding a university on the lines of Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Milia Islamia University. Tomorrow Sikhs, Jains, Buddhists, Parsis will demand the same. We cannot look at education in this way. It should not divide, Rizvi said.

The commission chief said that education is for all and no one should be deprived of it, but looking at it through the lens of religion will only complicate things.

AMU, Jamia and BHU have identities attached to them but its for all. Also, these universities were built in different times and circumstances led to them. Today, the situation is different, the chief said.

The Aligarh Muslim University, formerly called Mohammadan Anglo Oriental College, became a university with Parliament Act 1920, while BHU was established in 1916 by Madan Mohan Malviya, who considered education as the primary means for achieving a national awakening.

Rizvi further said that there are six notified minorities, and he has got complaints from them that it is difficult for other minorities and non-minorities to get admissions in an institution based on an identity. I have told them that we are looking into that as well, he said.

The Annual Report has comments from the NCM that says, Special financial assistance should be given to establish a university by Christian community, who have vast experience in education for hundreds of years in both developed and developing countries. Educationists from the Christian community should be given due representation in framing educational policies by the government and also be given place in different expert committees.

Government of India has taken a decision to set up an institute of eminence  the government will be selecting 10 government and 10 private autonomous universities for research and innovation and give them complete freedom from UGC and other government agencies. Also, allow these universities to have their own curriculum and fee structure. They will have complete autonomy in hiring faculty and all other aspects of administration but will be fully funded by the government of India.

The report suggests, When 10 private universities are selected, at least one should be from Catholic Christian universities. Right now, the prominent ones are Xavier University Bhubaneswar in Odisha, Don Bosco University in Assam and Christ University in Karnataka.

The NCM chief is also working to spread awareness about the governments schemes for the minorities.

The work done by this government for minorities is much better than the projects undertaken under Congress government. We recently had a meeting with the Ministry of Minority Affairs and it was decided to provide the educational institutions with three Ts  teachers, tiffin and toilets. Our madrassas were running without such facilities but now the government is working on it.

Apart from spreading awareness about governments work towards the minorities, Rizvi is also building consensus on the Ayodhya issue, which is listed for hearing in the Supreme Court on Thursday. The chief is in talks with eminent Muslim personalities and prominent organizations to convince them to show kind-heartedness and give Ayodhya to Hindus.

If Muslims show large-heartedness for Ayodhya, it will bridge the gap between the two communities. It will be milestone if we bury the differences and move on, he added.

The commission chief has been interacting with the Muslim organizations for quite some time, and in his interactions with the community members, he has found the reason behind the resistance to the Ayodhya.

I have figured out the reason for fear in Muslims. They fear that if Ayodhya happens then Kashi and Mathura will also be raised. They say that there is no guarantee that Kashi and Mathura wont happen. But Ayodhya means nothing to us. We cant offer namaz there and it is just becoming a reason to widen the gap between Hindus and Muslims, Rizvi said.
New Delhi: A Delhi court while granting bail to an accused in 200 Red Fort attack case in Wednesday, saying that just bank account activity cannot be sufficient reason to deny when others have been acquitted despite more incriminating evidence against them.

Bilal Ahmad Kawa was arrested in a joint operation by Delhi Police and Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad on January 10 from Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA).

Gujarat ATS had tipped of the Delhi Police that Kawa, who had been declared a proclaimed offender in the case, was travelling from Srinagar to Delhi.

The police claimed that the 37-year-olds bank account was used for the hawala transactions that funded the Red Fort terror attack, as well as militant operations in Jammu and Kashmir. They told the court that Kawas bank account in Grindleys Bank of J&K had recorded a deposit of 10 lakhs which was sent to Delhi to fund the terror act.

However, the court gave bail to him, noting that other accused in the case had graver allegations against them but still they were acquitted by trial courts and the Delhi High court.

It is seen that there were more allegations against the other accused persons who have been discharged or acquitted regarding giving shelter etc, besides dealing in money in bank account to facilitate terrorist activities. It is pertinent to mention here that old accused persons except accused Ashfaq Mohammad Arif have been acquitted or destroyed by trial court or by honorable High Court of Delhi and the theory of conspiracy could not be established by the prosecution during trial, the court said.

The court has also held that since he has already served 10 days in judicial custody, there was no need to extend the arrest.

It is also seen that police custody of the present accused was taken for a period of 10 days and therefore for the custodial interrogation of the accused is not required, said Judge Sharma.

Kawas counsel had argued that he was arrested 17 years after the incident and that there was no incriminating evidence against him as he was a citizen who filed his income tax returns as usual.

There is no incriminating evidence against accused except one entry in the bank account where on the basis of more evidence other accused persons has been discharged or acquitted in the case. It was pointed out that the conspiracy could not be proven by the prosecution as he has submitted income tax returns and TDS Certificate showing that the accused was doing business for the last number of years, Gurpreet Singh, advocate for Kawa, told News18.

Three people including two Army jawans were killed on December 22, 2000 after terrorist attacked the Red Fort in Delhi.

While Kawa was on the run, a trial court in October 2005, had awarded death sentence to Pakistan-based LeT terrorist Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq, while two key conspirators -- Nazir Ahmed Qasid and his son Farooq Ahmed Qasid -- were awarded life imprisonment.

The court also awarded seven-year jail term to Ashfaq's Indian wife Rehmana Yousuf Farooqui for giving shelter to the main accused.

Other convicts -- Bagar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadaqat Ali and Matloob Alam -- were also awarded seven-year rigorous imprisonment.

In September 2007, the Delhi High Court upheld the death sentence to Ashfaq, saying terrorists who have no value for human lives deserved capital punishment.

The high court, however, acquitted six others including Farooqui, citing lack of sufficient evidence against them.
New Delhi: A former Maharashtra government bureaucrat, wanted in a money laundering case, was arrested by the UAE police on the basis of a red-corner notice issued by the Interpol on the request of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Centre told Parliament on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla, in a written reply, told the Rajya Sabha that Nitish J Thakur, a former deputy collector of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), was "arrested" by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) police on January 21.

He added that the Interpol notice was issued against Thakur in October last year on the request of the ED and that the "extradition process has been initiated".

The ED had booked the former Maharashtra state services bureaucrat under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) as part of two FIRs filed by it in 2011 and 2012.

Shukla, in his reply on the alleged illegal acts of Thakur, said provisions of the Income Tax Act "prohibit" the disclosure of information of an individual assessee.

He was asked if the tax department and other law enforcement agencies were investigating the cases of alleged illegal gratification of Rs 250 crore given by M/s Shapoorji Pallonji Co. Ltd to a company called PRS Enterprises, owned by Thakur.

The minister said, "M/s Shapoorji Pallonji Company Limited had filed a civil suit no. 2576 of 2011 before the High Court of Bombay and obtained a decree in its favour on October 19, 2011 for transferring the properties acquired out of the funds given by it."

He added that assets worth Rs 119.43 crore were "attached" in the case so far.

The ED FIRs against Thakur and others were filed after taking cognisance of complaints filed by the Maharashtra Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) against him and his associates for alleged corruption and possession of disproportionate assets.

Thakur was arrested by the Maharashtra ACB in 2016, but he is absconding since obtaining bail in the case.

The ED had last year arrested Thakur's brother, Nilesh, as part of its probe.

It was alleged that Nilesh Thakur had acted as a front for his brother and received tainted funds from a major infrastructure firm.

The ED had earlier said Thakur had "started a firm by the name M/s PRS Enterprises and inducted his brother Nilesh Thakur as its proprietor".

The agency had also said investigations revealed that Thakur and others "have received a huge amount to the tune of Rs 275 crore in the names of companies/firms created by Nilesh Thakur and other family members".

It had said the probe prima facie revealed that a total amount of Rs 275 crore, obtained by these companies, was nothing but proceeds of criminal activities related to money laundering.

"Though the party has claimed it to be project management consultancy (PMC) charges or advance for aggregation of land, however, this amount was not found to be bona fide income, hence it prima facie appears to be proceeds of crime," the agency had said after arresting Nilesh Thakur last year.
Dubai: A 26-year-old Indian engineer in the UAE, who sneaked into the Sharjah International Airport runway to catch a plane to meet his fiancee back home, is not regretting his actions, saying he acted out of love, a media report said on Wednesday.

The civil engineer, identified only as RK, was arrested by the Sharjah Police after he climbed the airport wall and breached the runway, in an attempt to board a plane without his passport, which was being held by his employer. "I want to say I'm a free man and our life is ours. I did this act because I wanted to travel back to India to meet my fiancee, whatever the price I have to pay," he told the Khaleej Times.

It was not clear when the incident took place. During the hearing at the Sharjah Sharia Court, presided by Judge Mahamood Abu Baker, the accused said that on the day of the incident, he left behind all his belongings in his flat, taking only his wallet and went to the airport at night.

He climbed the fence and sneaked on to the runway, to try and enter a plane. He had not bought a ticket as his passport was being kept by the company he worked for, the report said. He said he decided to take the chance to either try and travel without his passport, or if caught in the process, he would be tried in court, get his passport and be deported from the UAE anyway.

RK says he was spotted by a luggage loader, after which he was arrested and taken into police custody in minutes and subsequently released on bail, the report said.

He told the paper that he was in a grave situation in the UAE as he loved his fiancee but was unable to go meet her. He claimed he had approached his company over 15 times to get permission for a visit home, but his relative who also manages the firm refused to give him permission.

"I cannot live without my fiancee and want to convince my parents to give us permission to marry," he said, indicating that his parents did not approve of the alliance. But his fiancee's parents do not have any such issues.

RK added that he had no regrets at having to face legal action now, but only wants to be free to go home and get married after everything has blown over.

He was only angry at the fact that his company held his passport against his will, in violation of the UAE law. Passports should only be held by the employer for a limited period, while renewing or cancelling visas and if done otherwise, it is a clear violation of the international and UAE labour laws, the paper said.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has agreed to intervene for the well-being of more than 3,000 Indian workers who are reportedly stranded in Kuwait in a state of penury.

A bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi has sought replies from the Ministries of External Affairs and Home Affairs about steps being taken to provide assistance to the workmen and help them come back.

The court issued notices to the Centre, seeking the responses from the ministries concerned within two weeks. The PIL is likely to come up for hearing again on February 23.

The petition filed by social activist Nowhera Shaik sought an urgent intervention by the top court to ascertain well-being of over 3,000 Indian citizens in Kuwait.

"It is with extreme distress that the petitioner has been reading in the newspapers that around 3,500 Indian citizens who were hired as workers by a construction company named Kharafi National have now been disowned and stranded by the said company in Kuwait. The company has not paid the salaries since more than one year," stated the petition filed through advocate Vineet Dhanda and JP Dhanda.

It contended that the lives of those Indian workers in Kuwait have been put into serious jeopardy as they neither have money nor have any sort of help to survive in foreign land.

"The Indian Government, despite requisite knowledge about the apathy of the said workers, is ignorant about its own citizens stranded in foreign land. It is the urgent need of the hour that the Honble Apex Court intervenes in this case for the protection of the Indian workers in Kuwait- a starving humanity," read the PIL.

It added that the life of these workers has become a story of weal and woe and that their condition in Kuwait is beggars descriptions.

"They are eking out their existence on the help of food given to them by some Gurudwaras and also by philanthropic institutions," said the PIL, claiming the workers' passports have been seized by the authority of the company and they have been further directed to make payment as fines for their

overstay in the country.
Lucknow: Ending its silence on the decision to withdraw cases against BJP leaders accused in the Muzaffarnagar riots, the Uttar Pradesh government termed the accused as victims of political vendetta.

Relying to a question by News18 on the withdrawal of cases, state law minister Brajesh Pathak said, There is a difference between withdrawing cases against politicians and those filed because of political reasons. We are in the process of examining all such cases.

The ministers comment comes days after Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's meeting with leaders accused of involvement in the Muzaffarnagar riots, including former cabinet minister and MP Sanjeev Baliyan, MLA Sangeet Som and MP Bhartendu Singh among others.

These leaders in their meeting had reportedly requested the Chief Minister to expedite the process of withdrawal of the riot cases. Even before that meeting, the states law department had sent a letter to the District Magistrate of Muzaffarnagar in January, seeking opinion on around 10 riot-related cases registered in 2013 against the top BJP leaders.

The riots in 2013 had left 63 dead and rendered around 50,000 homeless. Sangeet Som and Suresh Rana were even booked under the NSA. While Som is still an MLA, Rana is a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet. Apart from the duo, others against whom FIR was registered include BJP MP Sanjeev Baliyan, Bhartendu Singh, MLA Umesh Malik and Sadhvi Prachi.

Government sources confirmed that a report on the status of these cases had already been sent by the district administration. Most of these leaders were booked under serious sections of the IPC, including 128, 153a and 353. The cases are already in the trial stage and pending in the concerned courts.

Though ultimately it will be the court's decision whether to accept the government's request to drop the case or continue trial, the state government is expected to soon make a petition in the trial court, seeking dropping of charges.

The Opposition has voiced strong criticism of the move. Congress spokesperson Amarnath Agarwal said, Its a dangerous trend. By trying to take off the cases, the government is encouraging hate mongers, paving way for more riots.

Samajwadi Party national spokesperson Udaveer Singh said, There is a strong case against the accused. Our government at that point in time didn't act out of any political vendetta.

CPM Politburo member Subhashni Ali said, How can the government ignore all video evidence? Many of them (BJP leaders) were shown on national media at that point in time. We do hope the concerned courts will look into these aspects while deciding on the government's request.
Jhajjar: Behind a huge wooden door at Chotu Ram Dharamshala in Jhajjar city, a group of men have started their day with a hookah. This seems to be the regular norm in the district; a mark of manhood even today.

Aadmi toh bada wala hookah peeta hai. Aur auratein, agar peeti bhi hain, toh chhota waala aur bahar toh koi nahi peeta (men smoke the large hookah, while women, if at all they smoke, is only from the small ones, that too, they dont smoke so openly), says Prakash Chandra Dhankhar of Gramin Mahila Vikas Samiti.

Surrounded by lush mustard fields, Jhajjar remains deep-rooted in its culture, one which does not give a lot of leverage to its women.

Haryana has been infamous for its skewed sex ratio, and Jhajjar specifically has had one of the lowest sex ratios at 834:1000 as against Indias average of 943:1000 (according to 2011 Census).

Cut to 2018, the state government said that it had achieved a ratio of 920:1000, a phenomenal improvement.

Sex ratio toh poore desh ki samasya hai. Sirf Jhajjar ki nahi hai (this is a nationwide problem, not just Jhajjars), said a social worker.

Echoing the same sentiments, Khap leader OP Dhankar said that females have been lesser in number since ancient times. One woman used to care of nearly five brothers in a single household, he added.

Mahabharat ka kissa le lo. Draupadi bhi toh ek hi thi paanch bhaiyon mai (for instance, in Mahabharat, Draupadi was the only female among her five brothers), the Khap leader said elaborating his viewpoint, while other men in the group nod their heads in agreement.

Among them is a social worker, Prakash, who waits for his turn to get the hookah hose, while others, including some youths, watch anxiously to grab the much-popular flask.

Dhankar and Prakash said that while the rise of wrestler Sakshi Malik and Miss World Manushi Chillar, both Haryana natives, has made some difference to the mind-set of people, sex ratio was in fact just a matter of chance.

Ek yahan Deswali belt hai, jisme Sonepat, Jhajjar, Rohtak aur Mahendragarh aata hai. Isme aadikaal se ladka zyada paida hota hai. Yeh yahaan ki hawa aur vatavaran ki baat hai (The area covering Sonepat, Jhajjar, Rohtak, Mahendragarh is called Deswali Belt. Since centuries, this belt has always had more boys. Its all about the atmosphere here), Dhankar said.

A FIGHT TO BRING CHANGE

In Najafgarh, a 33-year-old doctor had started off from her home at 7am on what is usually the most difficult trip of her day. For Dr Sarita Gauri its a two-hour drive to Jhajjar and the doctor dreads the pothole-ridden road with no streetlight. At night when she drives back there is not a soul on that stretch, she said.

Gauri is the only female in Jhajjars health department team that cracks down on people and institutions that allow illegal abortion, including sex selective ones, under the Pre-Conception Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation & Prevention of Misuse) (PCPNDT) Act.

Health department officials conduct campaigns and workshops to spread awareness on sex-selective abortion. (Image: News18)

Married to a software engineer whos based in the United States of America, Gauri has been in Jhajjar since 2013. There is not one day when her husband does not tell Gauri to quit her job, or at least move to a safer region.

In 2016, Gauri, along with her team, had probed a hospital in Bahadurgarh for illegal practices. Soon after, calls and messages started coming in. People started landing at her office in Jhajjar city.

They used to tell me that they know my address and my route back and forth. They threatened to hurt my family, Gauri said. She had to tell her family in Najafgarh (where she stays with her in-laws) to stay alert, which further invoked a cry similar to her husbandsquit.

I remember that particular raid clearly. There was also a lot of political pressure to withdraw the case against the hospital. But we didnt back down, she added. The case against the hospital is now pending in court.

Five years on, in what is considered one of Haryanas most backward districts, Gauri said that facing threats and patriarchy had become part of her daily routine. Just recently, she was visiting the civil hospital where a few lab technicians, on seeing her, commented, Is it snowing today? She has had people commenting on her when shes entering office and leaving after work.

As a young girl born in Haryanas Yamunagar, she had her uncles telling her to dress according to her colour, and like many other girls, dealt with eve teasing on the bus during college and been hooted at while driving her two-wheeler.

This strength that I get, to drive to Jhajjar every day doesnt surprise me because I have seen how bad the society can get towards a girl, said Gauri.

There have been times when I have had to head for a raid at 2am. I make sure only my eyes are uncovered. I hide everything else under a scarf so that people dont know Im a woman. I dont want that for anyone else, she added.

Her senior, 45-year-old Dr Rakesh Kumar has been in Jhajjar for the last 14 years. His wife was allotted a petrol pump in the district, and Kumar moved with her from Matanhail, where he was working at a Public Health Centre (PHC).

For someone who waited to have a child for eight years and then had a daughter, he wears the idea of equal chances on his sleeve.

I wouldnt have it any other way. Cracking down on every single illegal institution and people who encourage others to abort the girl child is my only agenda. Even one such crackdown makes a huge difference, he added.

The raids dont happen every day. Each raid takes months of planning. The authorities take help of decoys in establishing who does sex selective ultrasounds and abortions.

It takes weeks, at times months, to convince a patient to become our informer and help us. Its a huge risk for them too. We cant use a government vehicle. We need to use private vehicles to protect our identities. We have to prepare the patient with recording devices and other equipment, Kumar said.

During one such raid in 2017, where he had cracked down on an Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) conducting an abortion using Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) pills, he was held at gunpoint while on his way back. Gauri was also in the car with him.

They told us they had killed two already and didnt mind killing two more. We called in for help from the car behind us, which is how we escaped, he said.

However, the irony is that Kumar later received a call from a senior political leader, who is said to be associated with Beti Padhao Beti Bachao (governments save the girl child programme), telling him that he had done wrong by cracking down on the ANM.

STILL A LONG WAY TO GO

Prakash and Dhankar still think that the numbers are merely for ensuring people in government departments have some work to do and that even buffalos have a skewed sex ratio in the state.

I went to Balana village along with a few other district level authorities. We saw that out of 19 buffaloes, 11 were males. In another village we visited, six were males and three were females. Now, do buffaloes have ultrasound? No. Then how come even they are having more male child? they question.

Despite the threats and the mind-set around sex ratio, the strict implementation of the PCPNDT Act, among other things, have paid off, Jhajjars chief medical officer (CMO), Dr Ramesh Dhankar told News18.

Jhajjar has recorded a staggering increase in its sex ratio over the last couple of years.

In 2013, the ratio, as per ANM (physical) data, stood at 784, which rose to 795 in 2014, 834 in 2015, 883 in 2016. The state government, last month, said it had achieved a ratio of 920:1000 in 2017. According to the ANM data available with the CMO, the ratio for 2017 is actually 926:1000. But the increase, according to the records, is ground-breaking. ANM physical data is considered to be the actual population of the district.

The CMO said that the strict implementation had unprecedented effects. The number of FIRs, arrests and convictions had created a fear among residents.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao has also made a difference, he said, adding that the principal secretary, Dr Rakesh Gupta, holds quarterly meetings where all details are discussed and all stakeholders participate.

This has made everyone sit up since they now know that their work is being tracked. Along with that, we also hold awareness camps and talks to sensitize the people. Weve had a few converts, if not a lot, the CMO said.

Recalling a seminar in Chuchakwas, Kumar said that by the end the session, people came crying to him, confessing on whatever they knew and did.

And its not just in Jhajjarthere have been instances when health officials have had to move to another state with the decoys. The CMO added that the crackdown had also forced a few people to move out of the district, and even the state, to get their ultrasound done.

The officials, with the help of their informers and decoy patients have cracked the whip on such institutions as well.

Recently, a joint team of the Haryana health department, Haryana police in cooperation with Dehradun police sealed a clinic in Uttarakhands capital allegedly involved in illegal sex determination tests. The alleged racket was busted after four decoy customers from Haryana reached the clinic to get sex determination tests done.

In their fight for achieving and maintaining the sex ratio, the health officials are empowered by an army of (Accredited Social Health Activist) ASHA workers, ANMs, Anganwadi workers and those working with Reproductive Health Centre (RHC). There are around 1,000 ASHA workers in the district and about 200 ANMs, who give in their all to ensure that every woman in their village knows them.

Its important because there are times when under family pressure, they go for ultrasounds and abortions. We make sure that every time someone gets married in the village, we go with a congratulatory letter and get the new couple registered at the nearest PHC, said ASHA worker Sunita Asavankar from Malikpur village. Contact details are shared and then start the regular visits so that the new bride starts trusting the workers and confides in them.

Sunita herself has two daughters and a son. Her husband works as a driver, who supports her work and the time she has to give to it.

There was this one time when I reached a womans house with an ambulance as her due date arrived. I found out that the girls mother-in-law had already called a dai (midwife). A girl child was born, and immediately the dai told me that it was stillborn. I rushed the mother and the child to a hospital in an ambulance. I didnt even let the dai cut the umbilical cord, the ASHA worker said. The child survived, and it has, till date, been one of Sunitas happiest moments.

Ive saved at least one life. Isnt that something to be proud of? she said smilingly.

Neelam, who works with the RHC, said that there have been times when a woman doesnt even know if shes pregnant. So, they have to ask her in various ways about her last menstruation cycle. What festival was it when you last bled? are the usual questions that the woman is prodded with.

There are also times when weve had to jokingly ask the woman about the time period of her pregnancy. That is when we know how regressive the family is, and that there were chances of an abortion. Then the woman would blurt it out after repeated questions or such jokes, she said.

Girls, she added, are getting a chance. Peoples mind-set is slowly changing. Conversations that weve had with families are also changing. It is a good sign, the RHC worker said.

Dr. Sabu George, considered to be Indias leading activist against female foeticide, said that the efforts by the current government could not be ignored.

Lauding former Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, the activist said that his efforts in this regard has been commendable, and it made Haryana the first ever state in India to convict under the PCPNDT Act.

Then the Hooda government came and there was not much that was done. However, with the current government and its schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, one has to admit that there has been improvement. In Haryana, there has definitely been pressure and deterrence, Dr George said.

The activist, however, added that girls in Haryana still had a long way to go. There has been improvement, if numbers are to be believed. But we need to see if the girls are being treated equally. Land is still a huge issue of honour there; are the girls getting a shot at inheritance? We need to see it holistically, Dr George said.
New Delhi: Termed as a "key witness" in the Judge Loya case by Congress leader Kapil Sibal, activist-lawyer Satish Uke on Wednesday opted to tender "unconditional apology" for making allegations against judges of the Bombay High Court.

Sibal, who also appeared for Uke in the Supreme Court, sought leave of the bench to appear before the HC and withdraw all accusations.

"The contempt is of the High Court. If they accept your apology, we won't come in your way," a bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi replied. It gave Uke time to submit an apology and revert.

Around a year ago, the HC had sentenced Uke to two months in jail for committing a criminal contempt of court by making wild and scandalous allegations against judges and others. It had also restrained Uke from initiating any legal proceedings against the lawyers, judges and court officials.

Uke had moved the top court in appeal, which was dismissed in August last year.

When Uke filed a review petition against the dismissal of his appeal, a bench led by Justice Ranjan Gogoi agreed to examine it, but with a condition that the court may enhance his jail term in case of rejection of his plea.

The twist in the tale came last week when Uke was found sitting alongside Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Randeep Surjewala at a press conference called by the Congress on Judge Loya's death case.

Uke was cited as a key witness by Sibal, who claimed the former helped BH Loya deal with the pressure and was himself attacked. Sibal maintained Uke met him in July 2017 and tried to persuade him about the mystery behind Loya's death. The Congress had then demanded an impartial investigation into the matter.

In the press conference, Uke claimed that three individuals, including him and another judicial officer who was also found dead under mysterious circumstances, had met advocate Prashant Bhushan in 2014, three weeks before BH Loya died. He said they sought help from Bhushan for their safety, and that they were aware of the threats to Loya, who was trying the politically sensitive Sohrabuddin Sheikh encounter case.

But Bhushan, later talking to a newspaper, had said he did not have any recollection of meeting Uke.

The Supreme Court, in a separate case, is dealing with a bunch of petitions seeking inquiry into the death of Loya. The hearing in this case is on February 9.
Narsinghpur: Once a cancer researcher in the US, this 35-year-old woman has emerged as the new real-life Padwoman in Narsinghpur district of Madhya Pradesh with her crusade on menstrual hygiene. Maya Vishwakarma has brought the conversation on periods to tribal areas in MP, where one doesnt even dare utter words such as periods or sanitary pads out in the open.

Maya, who was earlier working as a researcher on leukemia at the University of California, has come back to India and has established a sanitary pad manufacturing unit aided by all-women staff at Dedwara village in Narsinghpur, her native town. The unit was made operational in the last one month with the capacity of producing 1,000 sanitary pads in a month at the cost of Rs 20 a piece.

We are contemplating ways to reduce the cost and double the production, said Pad iji (pad sister), as the women here call her, adding that she is also eyeing employment for rural women alongside creating awareness about sanitary pads.

The menstrual hygiene crusader bought a sanitary pad manufacturing machine and other equipment at a total cost of Rs five lakh, an amount that Maya accumulated using personal savings, crowd funding and contributions from the California Foundation and Sukarma Foundation.

As Tamil Nadus Arunachalam Muruganantham set the ball rolling with his grassroots mechanism to provide sanitary pads to rural women and Bollywood film Padman brought his story to the mainstream, Maya, on the other hand, learnt of the dismal state of affairs from some of her own experiences during her college days in Jabalpur and as a Junior Research Fellow at AIIMS, New Delhi.

The topics of periods and sanitary pads were branded with stigma in those days. However, after my research as a cancer biologist in the US, the crucial significance of menstrual hygiene sank in me and I decided to come back to my native town and work for safe menstrual practices.

Maya also went to meet Arunachalam Muruganatham in Coimbatore while the latter appreciated her efforts and said that her manufacturing unit would come handy to those who come all the way from north India to meet him and see the pad-making machine designed by him.

The social crusader thinks of herself as fortunate as her efforts luckily coincided with the Akshay Kumar-starrer Padman and claimed that several towns and cities are now opening up on the usage of sanitary pads while in villages, she still needs one-on-one interactions with women to make them understand the concept of menstrual hygiene.

Underlining the unsafe menstrual practices and related health hazards, the health activist said that there are still so many women who use rags, unsanitized clothes and even unhygienic objects like newspapers, husks and leaves in the tribal belts. This exposes them to the risk of Reproductive Tract Infections, related cancers and even death at a premature age.

Girls in these areas often miss school for five days because of their periods and a staggering 23% of these adolescent girls drop out of schools as soon as they enter the menstruation cycle.

Taking her efforts further, Maya is now planning to embark on an awareness rally through the tribal districts of Madhya Pradesh, starting with Narsinhgpur to Alirajpur, Sidhi to Singrauli and Balaghat to Khandwa.

Its hard to find companions for this 40-45 days journey, but locals from Narsinghpur and Hoshangabad would accompany me, said Pad Jiji.

In 2014, Maya who wishes to reach out at least 2000 girls and women in tribal belts during her yatra, had also contested the Lok Sabha election on an Aam Aadmi Party ticket, but lost.

The upcoming movie, Padman, has definitely created conducive atmosphere for the topics of sanitary pads that was otherwise a taboo, she said, adding that the mindset is changing as people welcome her efforts and initiatives, wherever she goes.
Guwahati: Students of a few Christian Missionary schools in Manipur returned to class Tuesday amidst tight security after reports of threats from insurgent groups prompted some catholic schools to shut down in the valley for a day.

On Wednesday, police were found standing guard outside the Catholic schools in Imphal, patrolling along the routes used by the children, reassuring parents and school authorities of safety.

We have identified at least six to seven Catholic schools in Imphal, vulnerable to threat of any kind. After a meeting with the school authorities, we have chalked out a security plan. Theres tight security around each of these schools, and we are ensuring proper safety along the routes used by the school vans, Manipur DGP LM Khaute said.

A ninth standard student of Catholic School in Canchipur in Imphal said, Our school van is being escorted by a police gypsy. We feel safe.

School authorities are also taking feedback from parents on the security aspect and if theres need for better arrangement, it was learnt.

However, many schools still remain closed in the state but police said that it was because of admission procedures that are currently taking place.

Manipur Education Minister T Radheshyam told News 18, The situation is alright now. The students and teachers have returned to classes. We have assured the school authorities of adequate security, not only in this scenario, but as and when required. No school authority has spoken of any insurgent threat when we discussed the issue with them.

He also remarked that education should be free from all sort of threat or demand.

A concerned parent said, We are forced to accept this as a reality in Manipur schools. Every year during admissions, various student organizations and insurgent outfits make demands  we presume it is either ransom or for quotas. But such things should not be allowed to penetrate in to our education system.

With inputs from Noren Ninghombam
Bhopal: A 21-year-old woman, who was sent to judicial custody for allegedly trying to blackmail Congress MLA Hemant Katare, has accused the legislator of sexually exploiting her and framing a "false" case against her in connivance with the police crime branch. An SIT has now been formed to probe the matter.

I did not blackmail anyone. Instead, I was blackmailed by the MLA who had my pictures and video, and kept threatening me, the woman said a day after being granted bail.

The matter came to light in January when the woman was apprehended by the crime branch while allegedly extorting Rs 5 lakh from the MLA. The police had said that the woman, who is a student of journalism, was threatening Katare to file a false rape case against him, and demanded Rs 2 crore.

A native of Uttar Pradesh, the woman held a press conference on Tuesday and said that she first met Katare in connection with students wing Youth Mange Azadi. He then asked me to visit his gym later that evening. When I went there, he shot an objectionable video, she alleged.

During her custody, the woman had also given a written complaint to the police in this regard, following which Katare was booked but is yet to be arrested.

The high profile case has kept the Madhya Pradesh police on toes, which have now formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the matter that has shaken the state politics. The SIT will have ASP Dharamveer Yadav, ASP (crime) Shraddha Joshi, two SPs and others will be recommended by DIG Bhopal Dharmendra Chaudhary.

The woman also alleged that the crime branch led by ASP Rashmi Mishra at the behest of Katare framed her in the blackmailing and extortion case.

The woman further said that the police officers forced her to shoot a video inside the crime branch that would serve as an evidence for Katares innocence.

I dont even know about the so-called extortion money of Rs 5 lakh. I did not even touch the bag. The officers made me shoot the video in the crime branch, she alleged.

ASP Mishra asked me not to speak about the exploitation case in front of the media, she claimed, adding that one of the police officers also abused her.

On being asked about some audio tapes in which she is allegedly heard striking a deal with Katare, the woman said that she would first listen to them before commenting.

I will present evidences against Katare in the court at an appropriate time, the woman said. Earlier, student's mother had accused Katare of abducting her at gunpoint.
New Delhi: India wouldnt have lost a chunk of Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been chosen as Indias first Prime Minister, PM Narendra Modi said in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Speaking amid loud protests from Congress, Modi intervened in the debate on President's address to Parliament. The political messaging was, however, aimed at two southern states  Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Karnataka goes to polls in April this year, and Andhra Pradesh, along with Telangana, will vote next year.

Quoting Urdu poet Bashir Badr, Modi said, Jee bohot chahta hai sach bolein, kya karein hausla nahi hota. This was in response to yet another Bashir Badr couplet used by Karnataka Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge a day earlier  Dushmani jam kar karo lekin ye gunjaish rahe, jab kabhi hum dost ho jaaen to sharminda na hon

Taking a jibe at Kharge, PM said the Congress leaders speech in Parliament could very well be his farewell speech. The barbs were aimed as much at Kharge as they were for the incumbent Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah.

Modi went on to attack Kharge, claiming that it wasnt clear through his speech whether he was addressing the Treasury Bench, the people of Karnataka or his own party leaders.

#ModiLies again. Vajpayee Govt allocated a meagre Rs. 55 cr in their tenure. Project was delayed because @BSYBJP's Govt did not complete Land Acquisition.CM @siddaramaiah's Govt not only funded 50% of the Project, but also funded entire Land Acquisition & completed the Project. https://t.co/xDxmBUY5pi Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) February 7, 2018

Karnataka was the birthplace of democracy. The Anubhava Mantapa movement of 12th Century were the first baby steps towards democracy that were taken in Karnataka. It is a tradition that the Congress has repeatedly trampled upon, Modi said.

India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants us to believe. Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries ago. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture, Modi said.

Alluding to Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyyars infamous comments comparing presidential elections within Congress to Mughals aristocratic rule, Modi said, Will Congress teach us democracy? The party whose own ruler justified the aristocracy of Mughals

He also talked about alleged corruption under the Congress rule. Since (Mallikarjun) Kharge ji spoke about Railways and Karnataka, let me tell the truth about the Bidar-Kalburgi rail line. The project was approved by the Vajpayee government and from 2004 till 2013 nothing was done. It is when a government under BS Yeddyurappa gave approvals that work could begin.

#JustFacts on the Bidar-Kalburgi Railway LineKarnataka was the pioneer state in funding railway infra on a 50-50 cost sharing basis. For this line, CM @siddaramaiah govt shared 50% of the project cost(Rs. 771 cr) & funded Land Acquisition as well.#ModiHitsBack with more lies! Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) February 7, 2018

Modi also trained his guns on Congress history in Andhra Pradesh.

He recounted the infamous encounter between the then general secretary of Congress Rajiv Gandhi and then AP chief minister Tantuguri Anjaiah. In 1982, Gandhi had reportedly visited the states Begumpet airport on a private visit, when he had shouted at Anjaiah. Your Prime Minister did not even respect the wishes of a Dalit Chief Minister, Modi said in his speech.

He went on to attack the Congress decision to split Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. You hurt the sentiments of the people of Andhra Pradesh. Just for short-term electoral gains, you decided to hurriedly split a state in two. This is the crux of Congress politics  ruling by division.

Elaborating his point further, Modi said that Congress governments at the Centre had invoked and abused Article 356 over 90 times to quash state governments in several states, including states like Karnataka.

He also alleged that the Congress had repeatedly humiliated its own member from Karnataka  Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. A proud son of Andhra Pradesh. They humiliated him when the moment came to nominate a person for the chair of Indias President, Modi said.
New Delhi: The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) has rejected the minority status demand by Vedic Brahmins, Sindhis and Codavas, saying it will lead to 'fragmentation' of the Hindu community.

The NCMs view is part of its Annual Report 2016-17, which yet to be tabled in Parliament.

Vedic Brahmins are part and parcel of the Hindu religion. Merely claiming that Vedic Brahmins are only a select few does not warrant a view that they should be declared as a minority community by the government of India, the NCM says in the report, a copy of which is with News18.com.

The report was overseen by two different NCM chiefs. First by Naseem Ahmad and then by his successor Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi.

The reply is directed at the Ministry of Minority Affairs which had sent a reference on the matter to the Commission. After a detailed discussion, the Commission resolved to send its comments to the government.

The request for minority status was made by the World Brahman Organisation and Purbouttar Bahubhashiya Brahmin Mahasabha, and presented to the Ministry of Minority Affairs. The ministry sent it to the NCM for deliberations.

As per the NCM Act 1992, the term minority means a community notified as such by the central government. Therefore, the central government may decide the representations at their level in light of the above comments of the NCM.

The document further highlights: Vedic Brahmins claim that they are committed to protect their tradition and culture, does not add any further weight to their claim for minority status. The fact that UNESCO has urged to protect the Vedas and Vedic culture is also not supporting their case to declare them as separate minority community.

If the request is agreed to by the government of India, other castes of Hindus like Rajputs, Vaishyas, would also claim a similar which would result in manifold and unwarranted fragmentation of Hindu community, said the NCM report.

Referring to the minority status demand by the Sindhis, the NCM observed: They are basing their claim primarily on the ground that they are a linguistic minority. It is not their case that Sindhis living in different parts of the country are not part of the Hindu religion. Moreover, the National Commission for Minorities Act, 1992 deals only with religious minorities. Therefore, the Commission found no merit in the claim for being declared as a minority community.

The members of the Commission did not agree with the demands of Codava race either. These demands would lead to unwarranted fragmentation of the Hindu community, said the report.

The commission cited the Supreme Court case of 2005 Bal Patil Vs Union of India and others. In that case, the SC observed that, The country has already been reorganised in the year 1956 under the States Reorganization Act on the basis of language. A differential treatment to linguistic minorities based on language within the state is understandable but if the same concept of minorities on the basis of religion is encouraged the whole country, which is already under class and social conflicts due to various divisive forces will further face division on the basis of religious diversities.

Such claims for minority status based on religion would increase in the fond of hope various sections of people getting special protections, privileges and treatment as part of constitutional guarantee. Encouragement to such fissiparous tendencies would be a serious jolt to the secular structure of constitutional democracy. We should guard against making our country a theocratic state based on multi nationalism, the court had observed.
Lucknow: Muslim leaders from both Shia and Sunni communities have come together to support AIMIM leader Asaduddin Owaisi for demanding that the government brings in a law to punish people who call Indian Muslims Pakistanis.

The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen leader had raised the issue in Parliament on Tuesday and demanded that people held guilty of such an offence be punished with a three-year jail term.

Speaking to News18, executive member of All India Muslims Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), Maulana Khalid Rasheed Farangi Mahali said, Muslims in India are again and again being deliberately associated with Pakistan apart from having to face such baseless allegations that are very heart-wrenching for them.

He added, A stringent law is needed in this regard for those who call Muslims Pakistani and strict action must be taken against those who question their integrity by associating them with Pakistan.

Shia leader Ali Hussains reaction was also on similar lines, who said, With such remarks about Indian Muslims, people only try to disturb the peace and harmony of the country. The country belongs to everyone, to Muslims, Hindus and other communities as well. Strict action is needed against people who make such comments and hurt public sentiments.

Owaisi, while speaking at the Lok Sabha on Tuesday had said, Bring a law that if any Muslim is called Pakistani, the accused person will face a three-year jail term. However, he also added that the BJP-led government will not bring such a law.

Owaisi further said that Muslims in India had rejected Mohammad Ali Jinnah's two-nation theory, but were still made to feel like outsiders. The AIMIM leader, who was taking part in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's Address also said that the triple talaq bill was anti-women.
Feb 07, 2018 15:09 (IST)

Indian shares and the rupee rose on Wednesday while bond yields fell after the Reserve Bank of India took a cautious tone on growth and inflation in its monetary policy statement. The 10-year benchmark bond yield fell to 7.54 percent from about 7.60 percent before the statement. It had ended at 7.57 percent on Tuesday. The rupee rose briefly before trimming gains and was trading at 64.13 to the dollar. It had ended at 64.25 on Tuesday. The broader NSE Nifty rose briefly after the policy announcement and was little changed by 0920 GMT. As expected, the RBI kept its main repo rate steady at 6.00 percent for a third straight policy meeting and retained its "neutral" stance, seeking to support a slowing economy even as inflation has accelerated to a 17-month high.
Jaipur: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wife Jashodaben was injured and her relative was killed when their car rammed into a truck in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh, police said.

Jashodaben did not suffer any major injuries in the accident in which four other people travelling with her was also injured, SHO Parsoli Shyam Singh said.

The deceased was identified as Basant Bhai Modi (67), a relative of Jashodaben, who died while undergoing treatment, the police said.

The accident took place in Parsoli Police Station area when Jashodaben and others were travelling to Chittorgarh after attending a function in Kota, they said.

The injured were rushed to a government hospital for treatment,the police said.
Chennai: Yoga guru Baba Ramdev chose to opt out of a cancer research event at IIT-Madras after a co-sponsor pulled out of the event citing the Patanjali founders recent remarks where he had said that karma (deeds) is one of the reasons that cause the killer disease.

According to a New Indian Express report, professors of the institute have confirmed the development that Ramdev chose not to attend the International Conference on Translational Cancer Research on February 8-11 for some prior commitments.

The organising committee informed the local organisers here about Ramdev opting out of the event in a mail. However, we are not sure if its because of the media reports, Prof Karunagaran said in the report.

The event is being attended by several cancer specialists who are to discuss 'cancer prevention and treatment'. Yoga guru Ramdev was supposed to attend the event as the chief guest and address the cancer specialists on cancer and modern medicine.

Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had first come up with the thought that those dying of cancer or accidents are facing the consequences of their karma or actions. While Sarma was faced with a lot of criticism from all quarters, Ramdev chose to voice his support for Sarma and said that it is true that one has to bear with the consequences of ones deeds.

When asked why was the Yoga guru invited to speak on cancer research, Prof Karunagaran told New Indian Express that it was the organizers idea to invite him. US-based cancer researcher MD Anderson Cancer Center that had sponsored the event last year as well, chose not to continue with the same this year.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled 88 mining leases in Goa over violation of norms. The BJP government in the coastal state had renewed the licences in 2015, days before a new Mining Act was to come into force.

A bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur quashed the licences to mines and ordered the setting up of a special investigation team (SIT) to inquire into the matter and recover the penalty from the lease-holders on account of illegal mining of iron ores.

The SIT will comprise chartered accountants as well for the purpose of ascertaining the amount of penalty to be recovered.

The bench directed mining companies to wind up their operations by March 16 and asked the government to initiate bidding process for granting fresh mining lease to companies.

The operative part of the order, read out by the judge in open court, said that the state government renewed mining leases of the companies in violation of the law and the apex court's earlier order.

It said that the fresh licences will have to be now granted by the authorities through an auction process, as stipulated under the new law.

The BJP government had in 2015 renewed for the second time licences of these mining companies for 20 years with retrospective effect from 2007.

The PIL by Goa Foundation, argued by advocate Prashant Bhushan, had questioned the manner in which the licences were hastily renewed merely a few days before the new mining policy made auction mandatory. It also alleged that all of these 88 leaseholders were involved in illegal mining.

By a separate judgment in August last year, this bench had directed that mining companies and leaseholders who have engaged in mining activities without forest or environmental clearance will have to pay the public exchequer compensation equivalent to 100% value of the minerals they extracted illegally.
Lucknow: After the shocking report of 46 people being infected by HIV due to usage of a common syringe by a quack in Unnao districts Bangarmau village, the Uttar Pradesh health department is on its toes to ascertain the real reason behind the spike in numbers.

According to local residents, Shivbaksh Kheda resident Rajendra Yadav was quite famous in his area for the last several years as he charged only Rs 10 as consultation fee and the medicines he gave were also cheap. Villagers from nearly 30 to 40 villages used to visit the quack every day for affordable treatment.

The local residents said that quack Yadav used to see around 250 patients every day, of which 100 patients were given injections every day through a common syringe.

A Bangarmau resident, Gautam, who goes by his first name, said, Mostly, when we used to go the community health centre, medicines were not available and doctors used to prescribe medicines which cost anything between Rs 400 to 500. The total cost of the treatment used to be quite expensive for a villager to afford. Hence, most of the villagers ended up visiting Yadav who administered treatment for just Rs 10. Also, his medicines used to suit people more.

While nearly 40 people fell prey to the quacks treatment, health officials said that the number of HIV cases in the nearby regions has risen in the recent past.

Speaking to News18, Chief Medical Superintendent of Bangarmau Government Hospital said, Last year also there were HIV screening camps and in that time 13 cases were found positive, post which 25 cases were found positive in Premganj this year. There could also be other reasons for HIV infections, but that must be probed before coming to any conclusion.

Meanwhile, the quack has been booked under relevant sections of the Medical Council Act.
Miss World 2017 Manushi Chhillar, who is on a humanitarian world tour on menstrual hygiene, on Tuesday said the onus doesn't lie on the politicians alone to drive change.

Manushi said while there's a lot that can happen if all political parties prioritise menstrual hygiene in their manifestos, but it's not about "just politicians".

"Every individual has a social responsibilty. That can push for change in the society," Manushi told the media.

Se reminded how when she visited her home state Haryana after her victory at the beauty pageant, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had announced to arrange for free supply of sanitary napkins to girls in state schools.

However, Manushi feels these are short-term arrangements. Her vision is to be able to develop a "sustainable system" of manufacturing, selling and buying.

A cause close to her heart, creating awareness on menstrual hygiene was a social project presented by Manushi at the Miss World contest. It also won her the Beauty with a Purpose title.

Taking it forward globally, Manushi is moving city-to-city and country-to-country spreading the message that 'Freedom From Shame' of menstruation is essential for healthy and happier women.

She was accompanied by Julia Morley, Chairman and CEO, Miss World, former Miss World Stephanie Del Valle and six Miss World Continental winners -- from England, Mexico, Kenya, Korea, Jamaica and New Zealand -- here.

Also on the dias was Jaydeep Mandal, Founder Director, Aakar Innovations, which produces affordable, iodegradable and compostable sanitary napkins.

Mandal wants the government to reconsider the 12 per cent tax imposed on sanitary napkins.

"It is double the tax which was there earlier... At least for compostable and green products there should be no tax. This is something unique we are doing," he said.

Mandal's company is also fighting to destigmatise menstruation in rural India. He said they try and educate men about the importance of menstruation as many of them are not even aware of its role in family planning.

But as Valle, the Miss World 2016, put it: "Feminine hygiene is very important as not will it eventually create life, but also make women happier and healthier."

Beauty queens from Kenya, Korea and Jamaica said the stigma around menstruation is a global problem, and they are confident that initiatives such as the world tour will bring about a change.
New Delhi: Veteran actor Jeetendra has been accused by one of his cousins of sexually assaulting her at a hotel in Shimla during the shooting of a film 47 years ago.

The woman, whose name has been withheld, has written a letter to the DGP of Himachal Pradesh, seeking the registration of an FIR.

Jeetendras lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee has denied the allegations and said the baseless, ridiculous and fabricated claims have been made to defame the actor with a personal agenda. He also said the charges cannot be entertained by any court of law or law enforcement agencies after a span of almost 50 years.

In the letter, the woman said that the alleged abuse took place in January 1971, when the actor was 28 and had just stepped into showbiz.

She said that she had just turned 18 and Jeetendra, without informing her, took her father's permission to take her to visit his film's set, where he sexually assaulted her. She claimed that before this, Jeetendra had never spoken to her about her films and the two were not friendly.

The letter describes the alleged act of sexual assault in detail. She stated that Jeetendra picked her up from her home on the fateful day and there were two other men in the car apart from him.

The complainant stated that when they reached Shimla, it was night time and she and Jeetendra were to share a room that had two separate beds. While she went to sleep in the bed facing a wall in the far corner of the room, the actor went out.

Later that night, he returned to the room and joined the two beds together, while I was still asleep. As I rested on my side, facing the wall, he entered the bed and mounted me from behind with his penis erect, she wrote in the letter, adding that Jeetendra smelled of alcohol and was naked from waist down.

She further alleged that the actor stimulated himself against her body and when she tried to push him away, he insisted that this is how he sleeps. She stated that after the ordeal ended, Jeetendra separated the beds and the two did not speak after that.

The next day, he asked his driver to buy me some clothes and drop me back to New Delhi, she wrote in the letter. She said that it took her years to share her trauma, and she finally decided to file a police complaint after the demise of her parents.

The actors lawyer, Siddiquee, said he wants to make it specifically clear that the law does not give any person any rights or liberties of making any baseless, ridiculous or fabricated claims against any man publicly and seek to defame him with a hidden personal agenda.

In any event the timing of this baseless complaint seems to be nothing but a miserable effort made by a jealous competitor to disrupt the business activities of my client and his esteemed company. Such efforts are therefore in all fairness treated with the contempt it truly deserves, he added.

Here is the letter written by the complainant:
Mumbai: Pad Man will become Bollywood's first film that will release in Russia, Ivory Coast and Iraq on the same day as it hits the screens in India, says producer Twinkle Khanna.

"I once told my Pad Man that I will take him places... Well, not only will Pad Man release in 50 countries all over the world but It is Bollywood's first film that will be releasing day and date in Russia, Ivory Coast and even Iraq," Twinkle tweeted on Wednesday.

I once told my Pad Man that I will take him places.. Well, not only will Pad Man release in 50 countries all over the world but It is Bollywoods first film that will be releasing day and date in Russia, Ivory Coast and even Iraq #padman9thfeb @SonyPicsIndia @PadManTheFilm pic.twitter.com/JpT5nYzJ9w Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) February 7, 2018

Directed by R. Balki, Padman, releasing on Friday, is based on the story of a real-life hero and addresses the issue of menstrual hygiene.

The film, starring Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte, is based on the story of Arunachalam Muruganantham, who brought about a near revolution by introducing a machine capable of producing low-cost sanitary pads.
Hyderabad: After Chandrababu Naidus Telugu Desam Party, another NDA partner in Andhra Pradesh, Jana Sena chief Pawan Kalyan has expressed disappointment with the BJP-ruled central government.

Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday hit out at the NDA government for failing to fulfill its poll promises, especially that of giving a Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh and ignoring the problems of the people of Andhra Pradesh.

Speaking to CNN-News18, Kalyan said, The promises that were made, were agreed upon by both the Congress and BJP on the floor of the Parliament. But now, the definition of special status has changed within a few months and it has become a package after the state bifurcation. People want accountability of word given in the Parliament.

Kalyan went on to say, Special package is nothing but an eye wash.

Pawan Kalyan had supported the BJP-TDP alliance in Andhra Pradesh in the 2014 general elections. He now says he wants to create a political pressure in the state and Centre to fulfill his "people's aspirations".

But of late, Pawan Kalyan has been publicly attacking the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Union government along with the Telugu Desam Party-led state government for turning a deaf ear to the problems of Andhra Pradesh.

"Several BJP leaders, including Arun Jaitley had said that the state is losing a lot and five years is not enough for them. Now, after Modiji came to power, they have changed the definition of special category status," Kalyan said.

Being an NDA partner, I have brought to their notice the issues of the state several times. I feel it has not reached them for whatever reason. I have immense pressure from the public and I have to stand for them. I have to fight for their justice and their aspirations, the Jana Sena leader said.

Reiterating the issue of a north-south divide, Pawan Kalyan argued, The elite political class does not understand south India. If the national capital was somewhere in the centre of India, maybe we would have had more voice. Issues are lost while coming all the way to Delhi. The north Indian political class does not pay any heed to the sentiments and hardships of the people here.

Pawan Kalyan has called for all stakeholders to come together on a common platform and put up a united fight for justice for the state.

Before taking to the street, I want to create political pressure. I would want to bring together all like-minded people who feel the pain. I want to take my fight forward with the ruling TDP, opposition YSR Congress, other imminent leaders and intellectuals in the state who have been fighting for the betterment of the state.

Pawan Kalyan has already announced that his party Jana Sena will fight the 2019 elections in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
New Delhi: Taking a dig at the Centre, TDP Lok Sabha member Jayadev Galla on Wednesday said the box-office collections of blockbuster 'Baahubali' were more than the funds provided by it to Andhra Pradesh.

TDP members continued their protest in both Houses against non-fulfilment of promises made by the NDA government at the time of bifurcation of the state. They also staged a walkout in Lok Sabha during the debate on the budget.

Accusing the NDA government of not doing anything to fulfil the promises made at the time of bifurcation of the state, Galla wanted to know what the government did in the last four years.

Referring to the funds provided by the Centre to Andhra Pradesh, Galla quipped that even the collections made by Telugu film Baahubali were more than what the state received from the centre.

According to reports, Telugu blockbuster Baahubali-2 earned about Rs 1,700 crore from Indian and overseas markets. Galla said as many as 19 promises which include grant of special category status to the state, setting up of a new railway zone and funding construction of new capital of Amravati were still pending.

He said the people of Andhra Pradesh were no fools and will not forgive the BJP for not fulfilling the promises made at the time of bifurcation of the state. The Centre, he said, should immediately grant special financial package to the state and provide Rs 10,000 crore every year for construction of public buildings and infrastructure in Amravati.

He further said that while TDP followed the coalition dharma, the BJP failed. "We have to reconsider why we are in relationship," he added.
Satna (MP): Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare alleged here today that the NDA government was more concerned about industrialists rather than farmers.

He also claimed that nearly 12 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the last 70 years in the country.

"The government is more concerned about the industrialists like Ambani, Adani, rather than farmers," he said while addressing a public meeting here.

"I had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which I categorically stated that farmers were not getting adequate price for their produce and the government is directly responsible for this," he added.

The veteran social activist said that after coming to power, Modi had said that efforts would be initiated to rid the country of corruption, but it has not happened.

"Rather, only a lot of publicity was done on this. The government lacks the will power (to make the country corruption-free)," he said.

Hazare recalled that whenever they held protests against the governments, they were put into jail.

He claimed that the Congress could not win the last elections due to their protest (over the Lokpal issue).

He said that for the protest he is going to launch from March 23 in New Delhi for a stringent Lokpal law and over farmers' issues, he has been touring the country since the last two months.

"We only want that common people get their dues and farmers get satisfactory price for their produce," he said.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address to Lok Sabha on motion of thanks to President started amid protest from Andhra Pradesh MPs of TDP and YSR congress.

The two parties were in the well of Lok Sabha all through the question hour, and Parliament Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar made a special request to them to go back to their seat so that the PM could speak.

It took 10 minutes for the Andhra MPs to decide on what to do and just as they started walking back to their chair, Congress rose to protest.

Jyotiraditya Scindia lead the charge questioning where the commitment of TDP to Andhra went?

Egged on by Sonia Gandhi, other MPs soon joined the chorus. TDP MP Tota Narsimha got into a verbal spat with Scindia. As the situation worsened, Ananth Kumar walked up to the warring MPs, held their hand in his effort to get them to their seats.

Finally, when the PM began to speak, the Congress MPs landed in the well of the House demanding better deal for Andhra Pradesh.

Whether the PM's attack on Congress was pre-planned or if he spoke impromptu is not known as Congress MPs kept disrupting his speech. But it was clear that Congress had come prepared with a strategy to disrupt. MPs from left parties and RJD soon joined them.

The camraderie in the opposition ranks was such that Adhir Ranjan chowdhary, an MP from Bengal, was heard leading with Malayalam slogans.

As the PM's speech went on for one and a half hours, the opposition strategy also changed. Rahul Gandhi instructed his MPs to change protest slogans to Rafale. He was seen handing over banners with slogans on Rafale to the protesting MPs.

CPM and Congress may have decided to not ally for 2019, but that didn't stop Mohammed Salim from displaying one of the Rafale banners handed to him by Rahul.

Not only was the Congress party president taking personal interest in the protests, he was also keen to see if Lok Sabha TV will telecast their protests. Rahul, Moily, Tharoor, Scindia all crowded near the TV screen inside the House to see if the camera caught their protest.

In all this, Asaduddin Owaisi was fact-checking PM. He shouted over the din to correct the PM that the Shimla pact was signed by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto not Benazir Bhutto.

Lok Sabha TV cameras avoided all of this, but in the process also lost out when the entire Treasury Benches stood up to congratulate the PM for his speech.
Kolkata: The deadline to file nominations for Nagaland Assembly elections ends at 3pm on Wednesday and the entries received so far conceal more than they reveal.

By Tuesday night, 22 candidates expressed willingness to contest elections for the 60-seat Assembly. These candidates, however, represent just 17 constituencies, indicating that there are still no takers for a majority of the Assembly segments.

Of the 22 interested candidates, eight are from the Nationalistic Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), seven from the Naga Peoples Front (NPF), six from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and one from Janata Dal (United). The BJP has already formed a pre-poll alliance with the NDPP on a 20:40 seat-sharing arrangement.

The first nomination was filed by NPF candidate and state home minister Kuzholuzo Nienu on Tuesday afternoon from the 19 Phek constituency.

Dr Nicky Kire, a recent entrant in the NDPP, was reportedly the second to file his papers from Kohima Town.

Uncertainty loomed large over the February 27 elections in Nagaland after 11 major political parties, including the BJP and the ruling NPF, signed a joint declaration to boycott the polls.

The decision was prompted by a demand from the states insurgent outfits, tribal organisations and civil groups to delay elections till a solution to the long-pending Naga peace talks over the issue of Nagalim or Greater Nagaland could be found.

While the BJP has already backed out of its poll boycott pledge, the NPF and the Congress have also followed suit. It is anticipated that a significant number of nominations would be filed on the last day ensuring that the elections are held on time.
New Delhi: In his second Parliamentary speech of the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi castigated Congress for obstructing BJP's policies. Abolishing instant triple talaaq was one such remarkable issue, Modi said, in which Congress could but did not act owing to its vote bank politics.

"Several members of opposition raised their voice that if a boy of another community is jailed for giving triple talaaq to his wife, what will his old parents do, how will they survive. But they never raise voice when a Hindu boy in similar circumstances is sent to jail for marrying two women," Modi said in his Rajya Sabha speech.

Modi said that Congress did not have the moral courage to introduce triple talaaq bill. "The kind of law you wanted on triple talaq...even you could have done it. Your minister had raised voice against triple talaq 30 years ago but when he saw the political pressure was building up from all sides, he was asked to leave.'

In the same vein Modi attacked Congress for not whole-heartedly supporting OBC commission bill. The bill, which aims to grant Constitutional status to a National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), was stalled in Rajya Sabha during the last Parliament session.

"OBCs have now stood up. Why should someone oppose recognition of the OBC commission? They are not only takers in this society. They have a lot to offer as well. You don't have the courage to openly oppose it, hence you're finding reasons to oppose this bill," Modi said.

He also recounted some BJP initiatives such as 'One Rank One Pension' and 'GST' and claimed that his party had implemented all the things that Congress had only promised.

While opposing BJP and its policies, Modi said, Congress had begun to oppose the idea of India.

'If India's ease of doing business index had improved, why is Congress getting angry, shouldn't we all feel proud? Now they have begun criticising the rating agency. Criticise Modi and BJP as much as you want but not the idea of India," said Modi.

Adding as an aside that it was not BJP but Mahatma Gandhi who called for a Congress-mukt Bharat. Congress-mukt bharat was Gandhis idea. He had recommended dissolution of Congress after independence. We are just following his footsteps, Modi said smiling to his colleagues.

Modi went on to invoke the legacy of '84 Sikh massacres, Emergency and corruption as being Congress' idea of India.

"Your idea of India is one where Emergency is frequently imposed, which is full of corruption, where (in an allusion to the infamous speech of Rajiv Gandhi about anti-Sikh riots) there is an earthquake when a big tree falls.'

Responding to Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's jibe that BJP was "not a game-changer but a name-changer" while recounting the Congress policies that BJP had renamed and marketed as its own, Modi said that BJP was "aim-chasers".
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today took a dig at feisty Congress MP Renuka Chowdhury, saying her laughter reminded him of epic serial 'Ramayana'.

While replying to a debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address in the Rajya Sabha, Modi claimed the concept of Aadhaar was mooted in 1998 by the then home minister L K Advani, who spoke about a universally used national identity card.

As Modi sought to shear the previous Congress government of the credit for Aadhaar, Chowdhury burst into a guffaw, drawing disapproval of Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu.

"If you have some problem, go to a doctor, please," an irritated Naidu told Chowdhury.

Smiling broadly, Modi requested Naidu not to restrain the Congress MP. "It is for the first time after the Ramayana serial that we are having the good fortune of hearing such laughter today," Modi said without elaborating, but apparently hinting at a negative character in the serial.

Chowdhury objected to Modi's comment but that was not mentioned in the official records of the proceedings. Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani stood up to counter Chowdhury but what she said could not be heard in the din.

The Congress leader hit back at the PM after the proceedings got over. PM made a personal remark, what else do you expect from him? I can't fall to that level to reply to him. This is actually called denigrating the status of a woman, she told reporters.
Bengaluru: Its a new controversy every day for actor-turned-Congress leader Ramya aka Divya Spandana in poll-bound Karnataka.

With the controversy over her POT response to Prime Minister Narendra Modis TOP comment yet to die down, Ramya has been accused of promoting the creation of fake social media profiles.

Ramya, who heads the Congress Social Media and Digital department, is accused of telling Karnataka Congress social media volunteers to create multiple accounts to take on the BJP.

A short video in which Ramya is addressing the party volunteers has been leaked to the media by unidentified persons. Pro-BJP website Postcard carried the video, accusing Ramya of telling her party workers to have fake accounts. In the leaked video clip, Ramya can be heard saying in Kannada that you can have multiple social media accounts. Nothing wrong in it.

Her BJP counterpart Amit Malaviya has sought a response from Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

Denying the allegations, Ramya has tweeted claiming that the BJP was circulating an edited version of the video.

1. The video is edited out of context 2. Was explaining the difference between bots, fake accounts & multiple accounts to a question from the audience. 3. Said, if you want to express your own view please do so on your individual handle not on an official account E.g., pics pic.twitter.com/kXlV4ZAuxL Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) February 7, 2018

Ramya, who is credited with energising the Congress social media engagements, has been in the news in her home state for the past one week. A week ago, during the formal launch of state Congress poll campaign, she was reportedly miffed over seating arrangements. She later called it a media hogwash.

On Tuesday she took on Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, asking him to come out clean on certain issues.

A frustrated BJP has planted some moles in the Congress. We will careful in the future, a Karnataka Congress social media volunteer told News18.
New Delhi: When Sonia Gandhi was at the helm of the Congress, one of the first things one noticed while walking into the party headquarters was the lock on the door of the presidents office.

A closer look at the lock revealed a date on it. That date, as per SPG protocol, was the last date when the office was opened. It would be updated each time the office was opened and locked  which wouldnt be too often.

Sonia began her tenure as Congress president  the longest-serving in the partys history  by occasionally visiting the Congress headquarters at 24, Akbar Road. These visits were soon far and few between as Congress leaders began queuing up at 10 Janpath, Sonias official residence, to meet her.

But the date on that lock will change more frequently now. Rahul Gandhi, who took over as Congress president in December, will meet party workers at the headquarters for two hours at least twice a week, beginning Wednesday.

Party insiders say the move is aimed at countering talk of Rahul being an inaccessible leader, a criticism often levelled at the Gandhi scion. A personal assistant to a close Rahul aide told this reporter that he once called up the Congress leaders office to seek an appointment for his boss. Surprisingly, Rahul Gandhis office did not seem to recognise the close aide, who was also a minister in UPA-2.

Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who switched over to the BJP two years ago, had also famously remarked that Rahul devoted more time to his dog than to party workers.

Sources say that to counter this perception, Rahul will be spending more time at the AICC headquarters, interacting with leaders in the lawns like party veterans Ghulam Nabi Azad and Digvijaya Singh have been seen doing. He will also be addressing more press conference in the spruced up media room at the headuquarters.

Weighing in on the changes to come, a senior Congress leader says, We would take it for granted that Indira Gandhi would meet us at the AICC. Good that Rahul is reviving this. Days of weekly darshans at their home are over. People want to see their netas come down to meet them.

With the partys performance in Gujarat and Rajasthan energising the Congress cadre, Rahuls challenge now would be to ensure that his supporters remain with him. For that, he would have to walk the distance betweem 12 Tughlaq Lane and 24 Akbar Road.
China's Huawei said on Tuesday it will spend a further 3 billion pounds ($4.2 billion) on procurement in Britain as the world's largest telecom equipment maker seeks alternatives to the United States, where it faces an effective ban. Huawei said its chairwoman Sun Yafang made the pledge in a meeting last week with British Prime Minister Theresa May during a trade mission to China which resulted in deals worth more than 9.3 billion pounds.

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Huawei Technologies has been deepening ties in Britain over the last decade and the British welcome is in stark contrast to the United States, where Huawei has been largely frozen out over thinly veiled national security concerns. The procurement deals would include the global risk management and forex trading operations it runs out of London as well as patent licensing fees which Huawei, the world's No.3 smartphone maker, pays out to British technology firms such as chip designer ARM, now part of Japan's Softbank.

"Im delighted to welcome their increased commitment to the UK," Britain's International Trade Secretary Liam Fox was quoted as saying in a Huawei statement, adding that the deal would be a boost to the British economy, which has been hit by Brexit. "With 90 percent of global growth forecast to come from outside the EU, my international economic department is working to ensure Britain continues to benefit from the vast opportunities available as we leave the EU.

Huawei said the new agreement builds on a 2012 pledge to spend 1.3 billion pounds between 2013 and 2017, which resulted in it actually investing or procuring 2 billion pounds during that five-year period. It employs 1,500 people in Britain. The procurement pledge is distinct from business investments through which Huawei has become a major supplier of broadband gear for telecom operator BT Group and mobile networks for wireless giant Vodafone Group.

Last month, Huawei suffered a new setback in a bid to win new business in the United States, when U.S. lawmakers urged No.2 wireless carrier AT&T to cut commercial ties with it. Earlier in January, the carrier had backed off plans to introduce Huawei's flagship Mate 10 Pro into the U.S. market. Five years ago, a British parliamentary committee questioned whether Huawei's position as a key supplier of communications networks equipment to BT raised national security issues.

The issue evaporated after Huawei issued a statement saying it enjoyed the full support both of the government and BT.

Also watch:Sonam Wangchuk, Engineer And Education Reformist | Interview
Washington: US President Donald Trump has asked for a large-scale military parade, the White House said on Tuesday, an unconventional move that would showcase American muscle and underscore his role as commander-in-chief.

Trump  who has toyed with the idea of a parade in Washington since before being sworn in  has made the request to top officers, who are looking for a date.

"President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said. "He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation."

The Pentagon confirmed it was "in the process of determining specific details."

Trump's new request, first reported by The Washington Post, immediately fuelled comparisons to similar events in more autocratic countries.

"What an absurd waste of money! Trump acts more like a dictator than a president. Americans deserve better," said Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern.

The idea has had a long gestation period. When Trump visited Paris last July for Bastille Day, he made no secret of his awe for the pomp and ceremony of the occasion.

Sitting on the Champs-Elysees, the American president marveled at the Republican Guard on horseback and jets flying overhead and greeted President Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in an open-topped camouflaged military jeep.

Months after that meeting, Trump publicly remarked: "So we're actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength."

But even before becoming president, aides reported that Trump had considered a military parade to mark his inauguration. The idea was eventually scrapped.

'Hail to the chief'

Trump has already prompted fears about his respect for democratic freedoms once this week by suggesting Democrats were "un-American" and "treasonous" for not applauding his State of the Union address.

The White House claimed Trump was joking.

"The president was clearly joking with his comments, but what isn't a joke is that Democrats refuse to celebrate the accomplishments of last year that have helped all Americans," Sanders said.

But the quip did not go down well with lawmakers, both Republicans, and Democrats.

"I have seen the president's most ardent defenders use the now-weary argument that the president's comments were meant as a joke, just sarcasm, only tongue in cheek," said Republican Senator Jeff Flake.

"But treason is not a punchline, Mr President."

Military veteran and Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth also fired back at Trump, while lampooning his deferments from medical military service during the Vietnam War.

"We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy," she said.

"I swore an oath  in the military and in the Senate  to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap."
Dubai: Yemeni Nobel Peace laureate Tawakkol Karman called for an end to what she says is a military occupation of her country by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), powerful Arab states she accuses of repressing democratic change in the region.

An outspoken rights advocate and activist with Yemen's main Islamist party, Karman won the prize in 2011 after camping out in a tent for months in pro-democracy protests that eventually forced Yemen's veteran autocrat Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down.

As in other lands shaken by Arab Spring uprisings that year like Syria and Libya, Yemen descended into a war which drew in foreign powers, seeming to dash the dreams of progress by the thousands who took to Sanaa's makeshift "Change Square."

A Saudi-led military coalition, backed by U.S. weapons and intelligence, joined the Yemen conflict after Iran-aligned Houthis seized much of the country in late 2014 and eventually drove the government into exile in Saudi Arabia.

"The Saudi-Emirati occupation ... betrayed the Yemenis and sold them out, exploiting the coup of the Houthi militia backed by Iran on the legitimate government, to exercise an ugly occupation and greater influence", Karman told Reuters by phone in an interview from her base in Istanbul.

She alleged that the President, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, along with other top officials, were being kept under "house arrest" by Riyadh and prevented from governing on the ground in order to preserve Saudi and UAE influence.

Officials from the Saudi-led coalition and the UAE did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A Yemeni government official denied her charges.

"This lady, unfortunately, no longer means what she says. President Hadi isn't under house arrest and can travel wherever he wants ... the government and the coalition are in complete coordination," the official said.

The coalition says their campaign was launched at Hadi's request and aims at restoring his rule and Yemen's future as a unified state in line with U.N. resolutions.

But Karman says Saudi Arabia and the UAE, monarchies where the state and ruling families are intertwined, seek to seek to turn back the clock on political progress in Yemen and abroad.

"They regard the Arab Spring as their first enemy and this is a strategic error they have fallen into ... I call on the two countries to reconcile with the Arab Spring, not to clash with it, because the future is a future of change, and the wheel of history does not roll backward."

COUNTER-REVOLUTION

Brooking little public dissent at home, the two Gulf countries watched the region's upheavals in 2011 with concern and sought to deny any political advantage to the Muslim Brotherhood, a Sunni Islamist party with branches across the Arab world they had designated as a terrorist organisation.

Karman was a top official of the Islah party, seen as Yemen's branch of the Brotherhood, until her public break with the coalition in a speech on Friday led it to freeze her membership.

"Who's freezing whom?" she asked. "The vast majority of our people agree with me."

Perhaps paradoxically, however, Yemen's Islamist Islah is the Saudi-led coalition's main ally in the war against the Houthi movement, in a conflict which has laid bare some of the region's most knotted struggles over ideas and geopolitics.

Karman has in recent years lived in Qatar and now in Turkey, both of which largely welcomed the tumult of 2011 and appeared to back the Islamists, earning the ire of Riyadh and Abu Dhabi.

Her critics have for years accused her of being beholden to the policies of her hosts, especially after she was granted Turkish nationality, though she maintains she is a "a free Yemeni citizen."

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, along with Egypt and Bahrain, slapped trade and travel curbs on Doha last June, saying it aided terrorism and was too friendly with their arch-foe Iran, charges Doha denies.

Politics at home may be even more vexing than the struggles abroad, however, as deadly clashes divided the Saudi-led coalition's main Yemeni allies against the Houthis this week.

Karman accuses Saudi Arabia and the UAE of backing southern separatist militias, who battled this month with Hadi government loyalists, in order to stoke chaos and keep their hold on key territory.

The assertion echoes concerns voiced by many Yemenis that the country's is being taken over by more powerful foreign powers to advance their own economic and strategic interests.

The coalition says it is helping mediate the feud, while maintaining that its military bases on islands, ports and airports throughout the country aim to back the war effort.

Despite her country's progressive implosion, Karman remains sure of a "decisive victory over the counter-revolution."

"The Spring will win the initiative in any country and every time where there is a state based on tyranny, corruption, failure, nepotism and bribes, from the (Atlantic) ocean to the Gulf."
United Nations: Pakistan has brought up the Kashmir issue in the Security Council, accusing it of "selective implementation" of its resolutions.

"Nothing undermines the credibility of the Council more than selective implementation of its resolutions," Pakistan's Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi said on Tuesday during a session on its working methods.

"The Council should therefore periodically review implementation of its resolutions, especially on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute," she added. "Failure to enforce its own resolutions undercuts not just the Council's standing in the world, but the UN as well."

Her reference was to a 1948 Council resolution that called for a plebiscite to determine the future of Kashmir, while also demanding the withdrawal of Pakistani "tribesmen" who entered the state.

India has said that the "tribesmen" were Pakistani troops who tried to annex Kashmir.

Given Pakistan's refusal to withdraw its troops, India could not hold hold a plebiscite and New Delhi maintains that by participating in the elections in the state the Kashmiri people have exercised their democratic rights integrating with India.

Other Council resolutions relating to Kashmir were about a commission to oversee the plebiscite and, in 1957, on a UN representative mediating between the two neighbours.

India also maintains that under the 1972 Simla Agreement signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was then the President of Pakistan, the two countries have agreed to sort out their disputes between themselves without the intervention of third parties.

In 2010, the Council removed Kashmir from its list of unresolved international disputes.

At the beginning of every year, Pakistan also asks the Council to keep alive the question of the Hyderabad's integration with India based on a telegram from Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi Asaf Jah VII asking it to keep India out of the princely state. The Nizam, however, withdrew the complaint after the princely state's integration into India.

Two other issues it attempts to revive in its annual ritual are resolutions relating to the 1965 India-Pakistan War and the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence.
Haripur, Pakistan: A Pakistani court sentenced one person to death and five others to life imprisonment on Wednesday for lynching a student accused of blasphemy, a crime which sent shockwaves through the conservative Muslim country.

Mashal Khan, 23, was stripped, beaten and shot by a gang made up mostly of students last April before being thrown from the second floor of his dormitory at Abdul Wali Khan University in the northwestern city of Mardan.

"One of the accused has been awarded a death sentence, (five) were given life imprisonment while 26 have been acquitted," Saad Abbasi, a defence lawyer, told AFP at the prison where the verdict was announced.

An additional 25 were given three-year sentences, he added, saying he planned to file an appeal against the decision.

The court sentenced Imran Sultan Mohammad to death over his role in shooting Khan during the lynching, a crime he confessed to earlier.

Ahead of the verdict, heavy security was enforced at the jail in the city of Haripur where the accused were detained, with the area cordoned off by police and elite commandos.

The proceedings were held in an anti-terrorism court inside the jail for security reasons.

Around 100 relatives of the accused students waited outside the prison walls as news of the verdict trickled out.

"A day will come that the judge will answer the God. The verdict he has announced is unjust," said Waheedullah, whose son was given a three-year sentence.

The brutality of the attack, which was recorded on mobile phone cameras and posted online, stunned the public and led to widespread condemnation -- including from prominent Islamic clerics. Protests erupted in several cities.

Students who took part were rounded up after being identified through CCTV footage from the university and video clips.

An official report released months later concluded Khan was falsely accused, saying the murder was instigated by members of a secular student group who felt threatened by Khan's growing prominence as a critic of rising fees and of alleged corruption at the university.

Blasphemy is an enormously sensitive charge in Pakistan, and a criminal offence that can carry the death penalty.

While the state has never executed anyone under blasphemy laws, mere allegations have prompted mob lynchings and lesser violence.

Since 1990 vigilantes have been accused of murdering 65 people tied to blasphemy, according to research compiled by the Center for Research and Security Studies.
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday preferred a government shut down in the absence of an immigration deal with the opposition Democrats, which essentially has boiled down to a $25 billion Congressional approval for a path to citizenship to 1.8 million "Dreamers".

The Democrats oppose the funding for Trump's highly touted wall along the US border with Mexico. Trump has been saying that there can be no deal on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) without the wall.

DACA is an Obama-era policy protecting about 8,00,000 people, who were brought to the US illegally as children or came with their parents, from being deported. It, however, does not provide a path to citizenship. These illegal immigrants are often referred to as "Dreamers".

"I'd love to see a shut down if we can't get this stuff taken care of. If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don't want safety... Let's shut it down," Trump told reporters at a White House event with reporters.

In the absence of an agreement, the Democrats have threatened to vote against a short-term extension of federal spending.

Although the ruling Republican party has a majority in the House and the Senate, it cannot get the short-term spending bill through the Senate as it falls nine vo
The beer wars are heating up, and it's not just Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors snapping up craft breweries; their big money distributors are consolidating and eliminating some of the smaller, nimbler competition, as Columbia Distributing purchases Marine View Beverage. The news comes shortly after Columbia Distributing announced it would purchase Oregon City-based General Distributors Inc. last week. Though the press release from Columbia's sub-headline states, "Pac NW-based distributor affirms commitment to craft brewers, employees, consumers and the community," it's still sure to cause some layoffs, and small breweries will be scrambling to get their beer to market while Columbia picks up another MillerCoors distributor. Adding another wrinkle to this story is the fact that a court ruled Columbia Distributing owes three Washington distributors (including Marine View) a combined $21.2 million for picking up the Pabst Brewing distribution rights. Over $8 million was to go to Marine View Beverage, with additional monetary damages being sought in another trial set for December of 2018. This makes me wonder whether Columbia Distributing figured it was a better deal to just outright purchase Marine View than to pay the $8 million, and acquire a much bigger book while doing so? Marine View reportedly has a portfolio of more than 120 international, national, and local beer, energy, and water suppliers that will be added to Columbia's book if they don't opt out.Catch up with our interview with Columbia CEO Chris Steffanci from last week.More from the Columbia announcement:Columbia is a growth company and we all benefit from this  our employees, our brands, the consumer and the community, said Chris Steffanci, Columbias president and CEO. As a company with deep roots in the Pacific Northwest, we take great pride in the creation of 3,000+ living-wage jobs, offering exceptional beverage choices and variety for the consumer, and sharing our success through many community partnerships.This acquisition drives Columbias brand promise: To provide ongoing, sustainable opportunities and growth for all. Were purchasing a first-class industry leader and have tremendous respect for the business Marine View has built, added Steffanci.From our humble beginnings to where we are today  its a proud yet bittersweet moment, said Fred Bevegni, Marine Views co-owner. BJ [Bjerke, co-owner] along with our dear friend and partner, the late Lance Kahn, set out to form a company with a unique leadership model, outstanding customer service and superior employee competence. We hit the mark on all of those. Columbia is purchasing one of the best.

COLUMBIA/MARINE VIEW ACQUISITION FAQ

Whats the recent news I heard about Columbia and Marine View Beverage?Columbia Distributing has announced an intent to acquire Marine View Beverage. Marine View distributes product in seven counties across Western Washington. Marine View currently distributes approximately 7 million cases a year.Why did Columbia purchase Marine View?The deal furthers Columbias commitment to building brands and diversifying its portfolio. Its driving Columbia brand promise to provide ongoing, sustainable opportunities and growth for employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and communities.What date will Columbia officially take over Marine Views operations?The transaction is currently scheduled to close on April 30, 2018.Is Marine View changing its name to Columbia Distributing? If so, when?All beverage distribution will be conducted under the Columbia Distributing banner.How does this news impact current Marine Views employees?Columbia is assessing what additional personnel will be needed to service the accounts and territory it is acquiring from Marine View at the same outstanding service levels. The goal is to employ as many current Marine View employees as possible, including a number of Marine Views key leaders.Will Columbia utilize the current Marine View warehouses in Sumner, Poulsbo, Port Angeles and Tumwater, Washington?Columbia is finalizing its operating model and expects to maintain most of the warehouses within these market areas, further demonstrating Columbias commitment to its customers and the community.Some breweries may be concerned theyll get lost in Columbia's book or not get the attention they deserve...what should they know?While breweries can choose any distributor that meets their needs, were confident Columbia has a lot to offer most every supplier. This includes the capabilities of our fully-developed Chain Team. Arguably one of the strongest in the country, they build brands across channels offering incredible choice and variety to customers and consumers. We also leverage our scale and have complete retail coverage across our geography that provides really strong service levels and the ability to get a case or keg of beer across Oregon and Washington in 24 hours. Yes, were a large distributor volumetrically, however we actually have the same, or in some cases, less total brands and SKUs than many other distributors in the Pac NW.How does the purchase impact the regional beer landscape? Does this not make it more difficult for small breweries to reach the market?We believe this will have no negative impact at all to the regional beer landscape. Oregon and Washington are two of the top craft beer markets in the US with a really knowledgeable consumer base that appreciates local beer, quality and community. We will always be focused on providing consumers what they want and small breweries play an incredibly important role in delivering against this need. We believe in brand building and have a successful history of providing small breweries great access to all the markets we do business in.How does this acquisition benefit Marine Views accounts?We are dedicated to and strive to provide exceptional service to our accounts, which already includes many of Marine View accounts. This acquisition will allow Columbia to greatly enhance the service levels to our valued customers within Marine Views territoryHow will Columbia and Marine Views suppliers get this news?Leaders from each company are reaching out to their respective suppliers through phone calls and written correspondence. Initial reactions have been very positive. About Columbia DistributingSince 1935, Columbia Distributing has helped build some of the best known brands in the beverage business. Today Columbia Distributing and its 3,000+ employees service over 20,000 retail customers covering more than 135,000 square miles in Oregon, Washington and California. Columbias success is based on the deep-rooted tradition of delivering quality products, timely service and a genuine concern for customers needs. This is achieved by providing ongoing, sustainable opportunities and growth for its employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and communities. For more information on Columbia Distributing, please visit www.coldist.com.
KEY negotiators in Morgan Tsvangirais MDC Alliance and Joice Mujurus Peoples Rainbow Coalition have reportedly left for South Africa for fresh talks aimed at providing opposition parties with a platform to form a broad coalition to challenge Zanu PF presidential candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa in this years elections.

Coalition for Democrats and other relatively small parties were reportedly part of the negotiations that will commence in Cape Town, South Africa, tomorrow and would be facilitated by international groups.

Intriguingly, the newly-formed New Patriotic Front (NPF), which is linked to the G40 faction in Zanu PF, reportedly has an interest in the new coalition talks and was pushing for Mujurus inclusion.

This followed a meeting between Mujuru and former President Robert Mugabe last week, where the latter reportedly apologised for pushing her out of Zanu PF and government.

Sources said the coalition talks were being disguised as a workshop.

An invitation letter gleaned by NewsDay read: In Transformation Initiative (ITI), International IDEA, Trust Africa and the Zimbabwe Co-ordination Group (ZCG), IRI, Osisa and HSF would like to formally invite you to participate in an experience sharing workshop to review best practices and lessons learnt in electoral and governing coalition building across Africa.

The organisers recognise your personal experience, expertise and interest in this subject. The first day will consist of experiences from selected countries and the second day has been kept relatively open to enable more organic discussions.

This, we hope, will enable participants to engage more effectively with each other on specific matters of mutual interest.

The first day of the workshop will entail conceptual and theoretical presentations and practical interactive sessions during which

participants will discuss and reflect on strategies, tools and resources to enhance effective coalitions.




The ruling by Bulawayo magistrate Ms Sharon Rosemani followed a legal wrangle between Ms Charlotte Dlakama (34) and Mr Kaseke over the maintenance and upkeep of their son.

In papers before the court, Mr Kaseke of Mt Pleasant in Harare, was cited as a respondent, while Ms Dlakama is the applicant. Ms Dlakama of Nketa 6 suburb sought an order directing Mr Kaseke to pay her $650 a month for the upkeep of their son.



Ms Rosemani ruled that Mr Kaseke should pay $225 after the ZTA boss argued that he was also taking care of six other children. Two of the children are at university, while the other two are in secondary school.



The remaining two are attending primary school. Their monthly needs are in excess of $1 500, including among others transport, food, said Mr Kaseke. The amount of $100 per month is sufficient to cater for the minor childs maintenance needs.

Ms Rosemani ordered the ZTA boss to directly pay the school fees for his son in addition to the money for the boys upkeep. He was also ordered to buy three sets of complete school uniforms for his son per year until he finishes schooling.



The respondent should deposit $225 into the applicants bank account for the childs upkeep until the child turns 18, ruled Ms Rosemani.



Mr Kaseke, in his opposing papers, said problems started when Ms Dlakama decided to approach the court.



The parties were enjoying having a love relationship, but all hell broke loose when the applicant decided to approach this honourable court for an order of maintenance on November 28, 2017, said Mr Kaseke.



The applicant does not dispute his obligation to maintain the child, but the only dispute relates to her monetary claim, which I cannot afford because I have other children that I am maintaining together with my wife.



Mr Kaseke argued that although he is gainfully employed he had no additional source of income.

I earn a net salary of $3 260 and I have no additional source of income, he said. I have burdensome obligations, which virtually masticate the entire salary at the moment such that I have to rely on support from my wife.



Mr Kaseke said he discovered that there was another court order at the Harare magistrates court directing him to pay $1 500 for maintenance under case number M327/09.

The arrears accumulated in excess of $50 000.



Other than the obligations arising from the court order thereof, I have to cater for my other childrens welfare and needs, he said. I have other children who entirely depend on me.

Mr Kaseke argued that since Ms Dlakama raked in between $200 and $300 from her small business, she had no basis to claim spousal maintenance against him. Chronicle ZIMBABWE Tourism Authority (ZTA) boss Mr Karikoga Kaseke has been ordered to pay $225 by a Bulawayo court for the upkeep of his nine-year-old son whom he sired with a Bulawayo woman.The ruling by Bulawayo magistrate Ms Sharon Rosemani followed a legal wrangle between Ms Charlotte Dlakama (34) and Mr Kaseke over the maintenance and upkeep of their son.In papers before the court, Mr Kaseke of Mt Pleasant in Harare, was cited as a respondent, while Ms Dlakama is the applicant. Ms Dlakama of Nketa 6 suburb sought an order directing Mr Kaseke to pay her $650 a month for the upkeep of their son.Ms Rosemani ruled that Mr Kaseke should pay $225 after the ZTA boss argued that he was also taking care of six other children. Two of the children are at university, while the other two are in secondary school.The remaining two are attending primary school. Their monthly needs are in excess of $1 500, including among others transport, food, said Mr Kaseke. The amount of $100 per month is sufficient to cater for the minor childs maintenance needs.Ms Rosemani ordered the ZTA boss to directly pay the school fees for his son in addition to the money for the boys upkeep. He was also ordered to buy three sets of complete school uniforms for his son per year until he finishes schooling.The respondent should deposit $225 into the applicants bank account for the childs upkeep until the child turns 18, ruled Ms Rosemani.Mr Kaseke, in his opposing papers, said problems started when Ms Dlakama decided to approach the court.The parties were enjoying having a love relationship, but all hell broke loose when the applicant decided to approach this honourable court for an order of maintenance on November 28, 2017, said Mr Kaseke.The applicant does not dispute his obligation to maintain the child, but the only dispute relates to her monetary claim, which I cannot afford because I have other children that I am maintaining together with my wife.Mr Kaseke argued that although he is gainfully employed he had no additional source of income.I earn a net salary of $3 260 and I have no additional source of income, he said. I have burdensome obligations, which virtually masticate the entire salary at the moment such that I have to rely on support from my wife.Mr Kaseke said he discovered that there was another court order at the Harare magistrates court directing him to pay $1 500 for maintenance under case number M327/09.The arrears accumulated in excess of $50 000.Other than the obligations arising from the court order thereof, I have to cater for my other childrens welfare and needs, he said. I have other children who entirely depend on me.Mr Kaseke argued that since Ms Dlakama raked in between $200 and $300 from her small business, she had no basis to claim spousal maintenance against him. Chronicle
The changing of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption (Zacc) logo has ignited a row, amid allegations the alterations were done without approval from the executive of the anti-graft agency.



The decision to change the logo has created confusion in the agency, forcing the anti-graft body to revert back to the original symbol, which has a Zimbabwe flag, the Zimbabwe bird, the Great Zimbabwe monument and the Coat of Arms.



The new logo has the map of Zimbabwe and two chimney-looking features emitting smoke, grain and an excavator, and two features looking like palms cupping the map.



A senior official with the organisation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: The issue of the logo has become thorny, but I urge you to do your own independent investigation.



According to other officials, after changing the logo, some senior officials at the organisation went on to print T-shirts and shirts at an exorbitant cost of between $18 and $20 each. It was not immediately clear exactly how many T-shirts were printed.



These staff-sourced quotations from their company, approved it, received the goods from manufacturer and they are the ones who distributed the goods in violation of good corporate governance. This new logo is also now going to be changed again.



There are however burning questions on who authorised the removal of the old logo, who approved the new logo, was there a commission resolution, among other issues?



The Daily News, understands there has been a report over this that has been written to president Emmerson Mnangagwa and copied to the National Prosecuting Authority.



The report, believed to have been written by some disgruntled officers, claimed some senior staff members, who include the chief publicity officer Onesmus Nyaude, commissioner Farai Chinyani and Zacc spokesperson Phyllis Chikundura were involved in the process.



When the Daily News contacted Chikundura for a comment, she referred questions to Nyaude, as she was at the time away in Bulawayo. Nyaude however, referred the questions to Chinyani, who dismissed the allegations, claiming the change of logo had been authorised by Zacc.





The commission authorised the change of the logo and yes with a resolution due to its rebranding efforts. It also went a step further to officially launch the logo with a published booklet detailing the reasons. You can obtain a copy from our offices. The whole commission was there at the launch including stakeholders. It was highly publicised and televised.



The commission has the right to change its logo as many times as it wishes if the current logo is not serving its needs. The T-shirts that were donated with the new logo have pretty much been distributed to our stakeholders and members of the public.



We actually wish we had enough funds to keep a lot of materials in stock. When we changed our logo we continued to use our old materials until they were finished. I still wear our shirts from the previous logo. We dont throw anything away, she said.

She said the administration department does all procurement for the commission in terms of the Public Procurement Act.



As you know, the Commission is wholly funded by public funds. I am a commissioner, I do not get

involved in soliciting for quotations etc. I am involved in policy making. You can also verify this with the secretary to the Commission Silence Pondo, Chinyani said.



She further said that the administration manager was the one who knew the cost of production of the T-shirts, hastening to state that most of the T-shirts and material was donated by Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz).



She said they gave Potraz their logo, which in turn procured the T-shirts as the commission did not have funds, further denying the involvement of a company linked to them in the production of the T-shirts.



As I alluded to earlier, I am a commissioner, Nyaude and Chikundura are officers. We have different job descriptions. I dont even own a company. You can verify this with the registrar of companies. More so, a company that makes T-shirts. These are obviously malicious false allegations, she said.

May I appeal to you and other members of the media to remain objective in your reporting. We have a huge task ahead of us, hoping we can take advantage of an environment where we can finally deliver our mandate.



Please, dont hesitate to hold us accountable and its our job as a commission to lead by example. Corruption fights back, but we will fight harder.



I am a huge advocate for the arrest of those who commit the crime of conflict of interest by doing business with public organisations that they work for. I would never do any business with Zacc. Its illegal. I am actually not very popular at the commission because of my strictness in the use of Commission resources. Daily News
He Spent Weeks

on the Pile After 9/11.

What Did It Do to His Brain?
(Newser)  Another government contract to provide relief to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria is coming under scrutiny. The reasons, as spelled out in the New York Times, are pretty clear: FEMA awarded a one-woman company out of Atlantaa firm that had zero experience in large-scale disastersa $156 million contract to provide 30 million meals. FEMA canceled the contract 20 days later, having received only 50,000 of the 18.5 million meals that were due at the time. Still, Tribute Company, owned by entrepreneur Tiffany Brown, was paid $255,000 for those 50,000 meals, reports CNBC. Brown is now seeking a $70 million settlement for termination of the contract, while the two subcontractors she hired might sue her for breach of contract.

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"It is difficult to fathom how FEMA could have believed that this tiny company had the capacity to perform this $156 million contract," wrote Democratic Reps. Elijah Cummings and Stacey Plaskett in a letter to Trey Gowdy, chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. They want the House panel to subpoena FEMA for all related documents. The Times story suggests that Brown didn't win the contract because of political favoritism but rather because she is adept at working the government contract system. She described herself to the newspaper as "almost like a broker" in that respect. However, she has five previous contract terminations on her record, albeit for much smaller jobs. (Read more FEMA stories.)
(Newser)  Because Amtrak needed one more negative headline: One of its high-speed Acela trains came apart Tuesday morning while en route from DC to New York. Specifically, the first two cars on the train uncoupled from each other in Maryland, reports the Baltimore Sun. Both cars had passengers, but nobody was injured in the incident, which occurred when the train was rolling along at 125mph, reports the New York Post.

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A second train arrived to bring the 52 passengers the rest of the way to Penn Station. Amtrak said it is investigating what caused the "mechanical issue," along with inspecting every Acela train. "If youre not on Amtrak 2150 this morning, boy, you are really missing out," one passenger tweeted, per ABC News. "Two cars separated, and sparks and smoke went everywhere." (Amtrak has had three serious accidents in recent weeks.)
(Newser)  Is Justin Trudeau trying to kill off "mankind"? The Canadian prime minister was mocked for being a politically correct "snowflake" after video emerged of him correcting a woman at a town hall event who said maternal love will "change the future of mankind," the BBC reports. "We like to say 'peoplekind,' not necessarily 'mankind,' because its more inclusive," Trudeau told the woman, who had told him she was a member of a feminist Korean church. The audience cheered, but Trudeau was strongly criticized by conservative media, including Fox and Friends, where guest Jordan Peterson accused him of using the language of "radical leftist propagandists," the Guardian reports.

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Other critics accused Trudeau of "mansplaining" to the woman at the Edmonton, Alberta, event, who had thanked him for including many women in his administration. Trudeau's defenders, however, complained that the short excerpt from the meeting was taken out of context and that full video of the exchange shows the prime minister was being lighthearted, the Washington Post reports. "He was lightly ribbing a woman who was rambling about the power of women, 'God the Mother,' and how the world needs womanly love," tweeted Daniel Dale from the Toronto Star, describing the "right-wing pile-on" as "misleading." (Canada now has a gender-neutral version of its national anthem.)
(Newser)  The fatal shooting of an unarmed Tennessee man is now the focus of a federal lawsuit based on footage in which a sheriff suggests he ordered the killing to avoid damage to police cars. In the aftermath of the April 13, 2017, shooting of Michael Dialdetermined to be justifiedanother deputy's body camera recorded White County Sheriff Oddie Shoupe repeating his instructions to deputies who were chasing Dial's 1976 pickup truck, reports WTVF. "They said, 'We're ramming him.' I said, 'Don't ram him, shoot him'  Ain't gonna tear up my cars," said Shoupe, who was not involved in the chase. "Take him out." In a lawsuit alleging excessive force, Dial's widow says her husband was scared and Shoupe's response was proof of a "malicious and sadistic mindset," per the Guardian.

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Officers had pulled over Dial in Smithville and found he had a suspended license, reports Patch.com. Police say he then fleddriving 30mph to 50mph while pulling a trailerrammed police vehicles, and veered into oncoming traffic before deputies forced his vehicle off the road, per the Herald-Citizen. As it went into a ditch, a reserve deputy and a Sparta police officer together fired at least seven shots; Dial was struck in the head. Upon arriving at the scene, Shoupe noted, "I love this s---. God, I tell you what, I thrive on it." Though he says he was unaware of Shoupe's comments, a district attorney is sticking by his judgment that the shooting was justified. Dial was "dangerous and unstable" and driving "toward the Sparta police officer's vehicle" when the shots were fired, he says, per WTVF. Dial's widow says killing her husband was "exactly what [deputies] wanted to do." (Read more Tennessee stories.)
(Newser)  A lengthy legal battle between Donald Trump and Trump University students, who say they paid thousands of dollars for real estate "secrets" they never received, is finally over. On Tuesday, an appeals court in San Francisco approved a $25 million settlement reached last year while rejecting an appeal from a Florida woman who hoped to opt out of the class-action lawsuit and pursue a separate case against Trump, reports NBC News. Sherri Simpson, who says she paid $19,000 for Trump University classes, argued a notice sent to students early in the litigation progress promised they could opt out at the time the notice was sent or after a proposed settlement. But judges said the notice gave "only one opportunity to opt out." They added "among over 8,000 class members, Simpson is the only one advancing this understanding of the notice," per Politico.

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The decision also referenced claims that Simpson's challenge was politically motivated to hurt the president. Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump vowed to fight allegations that students paid up to $35,000 for Trump University programs based on false promises they'd reveal Trump's "secrets of success," per the Los Angeles Times. Though Trump quickly agreed to the $25 million settlement after his election victory, his lawyers said he'd back out if Simpson were granted a trial. Though "we are disappointed  all of the lurid facts about the fraud won't receive the public hearing they deserve," her lawyer says Simpson will end her fight so that 4,000 students can receive payments. In what the appeals court calls a "highly favorable" deal, students are expected to get 80% to 90% of what they paid to the school while it was open from 2005 to 2010. (Read more Trump University stories.)
(Newser)  President Trump has literally given the Pentagon its marching orders: The president has told top generals that he wants a display of military might in Washington, DC, along the same lines as the extravagant Bastille Day parade he saw in Paris last year, the Washington Post reports. Trump has previously spoken of his desire for a "really great" parade, but insiders say that in recent weeks, the president has started telling commanders to make plans. "The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," a military official tells the Post. "This is being worked at the highest levels of the military." Officials say the parade could cost millions and it's not clear where the funding will come from.

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No date has been set, and the Post's sources say there is little "meat on the bones" of the parade plan, though commanders are believed to prefer Veteran's Day, to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. "President Trump is incredibly supportive of Americas great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe," press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday, confirming the event without giving details. "He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation." Not everyone is a fan of the idea. Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mick Bednarek, who led anti-ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria, tells Politico, "We have more important things to do than to focus on a damn parade. It detracts from all we are doing." (Read more parade stories.)
(Newser)  "One minute you've got the flu and the next minute you're septic." That's the message from a Texas man who lost both of his feet and nearly all of his fingers after coming down last month with the illness, per WFAA. As flu season continues to wreak havoc across the US, Brian Herndon has been recuperating and drifting in and out of consciousness for weeks at Dallas' Baylor University Medical Center, where he was airlifted on Jan. 6 after being diagnosed with the flu just 48 hours earlier. The 51-year-old father of two was also hit with pneumonia, and soon after he was admitted to a Fort Worth hospital on Jan. 5 he went into septic shock. Doctors were forced to amputate both of his legs below the knee and nine of his fingers after the septic shock caused blood clots to form.

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Herndon's wife, Jaye, tells NBC 5 that he hadn't had a flu shot this year, and that the illness progressed so rapidly he'd never even had a chance to take the Tamiflu he was given when he was initially diagnosed. "He had a 104.7 temperature right away," she tells WFAA. "And then he had trouble breathing. We didn't wait, we went to the ER. It was that quick." A GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $23,000 so far will use the money to pay for new prosthetic legs and additional medical care for Herndon, including special work on his hands. His family hopes he'll be out of Baylor's ICU by the end of this week. "Every dollar will help show love to an amazing man!," the GoFundMe page notes. (Read more flu stories.)
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New Delhi:

The Delhi Government has filed an affidavit in the Delhi High Court (DHC) defending the law that criminalises possession and consumption of beef in the city.

Delhi Government has submitted that the state was obligated under the Constitution to protect cows and other milch and draught animals from slaughter.

An affidavit has been filed in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) challenging the Constitutional validity of those provisions of the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act which criminalises possession and consumption of beef in the city.

The Department of Animal Husbandry of the Delhi Government made the submission before a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar.

The department said, The Article 48 of the Constitution casts an obligation on the state to take steps to preserve, improve and prohibit slaughter of cows, calves and other milch animals and draught cattle".

"Therefore, the provisions of the Delhi Agricultural Cattle Preservation Act criminalising the possession and consumption of beef in the national capital be not declared as unconstitutional."

The DHC will hear the matter on May 16.
Lucknow:

At least 1.8 lakh students did not appear for Uttar Pradesh board examinations on the first day, informed state education board on Wednesday.

Deputy Director Education Vikas Srivastava said, Over 1,80,826 students did not appear on the first day of board examination on Tuesday.

The Uttar Pradesh Board examination for Class 10 and Class 12 commenced on Tuesday and will continue till March 12.

State education department official believe that absentee in such large number for board examinations was due to the measures initiated by the UP government.

The Yogi Adityanath-led government to check malpractices during board examination had installed CCTV cameras in exam halls and is using Special Task Force and intelligence to check activities of education mafia.

Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said, The preventive measures have been taken with the objective of copy free examination and curb involvement of education mafia.

Also read | UP Board Exams 2018: Over 66 lakh students appear for class 10, 12 exams

According to UP education board figures, a total of 66,37,018 students are registered to appear for board exams.
New Delhi:

Indrani Mukerjea, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, would be produced before a Delhi court in connection with a money laundering case next week.

A special court for the Enforcement Directorate cases in Delhi had directed that she be presented before it.

The court (in Mumbai) has allowed the production warrant, which means she will be taken to Delhi on Monday and produced before the court there, said a prison official.

The ED has registered a case against INX Media, its founders Peter Mukerjea, former media baron and his wife Indrani, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

ED sleuths had interrogated Indrani and Peter Mukejrea in prison here last year.

INX Media has been accused of violating Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) guidelines while receiving investments from Mauritius.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambarams son Karti is also an accused in the case, which relates to FIPB approval granted in 2006 for receipt of funds by INX Media.

The anti-money laundering agency has claimed that Karti Chidambaram received money from INX Media to use his influence for grant of FIPB approval when his father was the Union finance minister.

The Mukerjeas are facing a trial in Mumbai for conspiring to kill Sheena Bora, Indranis daughter from an earlier relationship, in April 2012.

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New Delhi:

AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday demanded in Lok Sabha that the Centre bring a law to punish with three-year jail term any person who calls an Indian Muslim a Pakistani.

He also said the Triple Talaq bill was anti-women.

He made these observations while taking part in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Address.

"Bring a law that if any Muslim is called Pakistani, the person will face a three-year jail term," he said but added that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government would not bring such a bill in the Parliament.

He said Muslims living in India had rejected Mohammad Ali Jinnah's two-nation theory even before Independence.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

A class four student died after being beaten up by a teacher at a private school in Uttar Pradeshs Ballia on Tuesday.

The Uttar Pradesh Police has lodged FIR against three people including school manager Munna Singh and two teachers Rajni Upadhyaya and Sangita Singh under relevant IPC sections including 304, 504 and 506 on Wednesday.

Till the time news was filed no arrests were made in connection to the case.

According to police, the nine-year-old girl was allegedly beaten by two school teachers. She fell ill after returning from school. She was rushed to a local hospital from where she was rushed to BHU hospital Varanasi for better treatment.

Also read: Classmates slapped girl 168 times on teacher's direction, claims father



Police said that she died during course of treatment.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

At a time when it feels like not a week goes by without another hacking scandal hitting the news, it has never been more important to take online security seriously. Account hacking and data breaches have occurred at some of the worlds biggest companies, with enormous implications for everyone who uses and works with the web. As a result, we are seeing moves being taken to enforce stricter security measures; and none more noticeably than from the search engine giant Google. Among a plethora of other exciting updates announced recently , this year we will see Googles war on online security truly take off.

Tightening the rules

Back in October 2017, Google released an update that hiked the priority of website security both within its search function and for its Chrome browsers performance. Throughout 2018, this update will become standardized across all users and with additional functionality added. The specific target of the update is HTTP protocol: having been used since the early days of the web, HTTP is no longer considered sufficiently secure for modern web use and is being forcibly phased out.

HTTPS is the modern replacement, with the additional acronymised s standing for secure. HTTPS establishes an encrypted connection between a web browser and server, ensuring that data transfers cannot be interfered with by third parties. The people for whom this is of utmost concern are those running ecommerce stores and platforms, with online payment gateways and contact forms notorious for being easy access points for hackers.

Implications for Googles userThere are two major repercussions that this latest security push from Google will have. Firstly, for the individuals who form the estimated 2 billion total Chrome users, website security is going to become a lot more transparent. Any time you land on a page that does not have an SSL certificate, you will be notified by a small pop-up appearing in the left-hand side of the browser bar. This is expected to have a critical impact on the perceived level of trust a visitor puts in a site, and their willingness to return to it. For publishers, this loss in confidence in a non-secure site could lose serious traffic. However, they will have a further problem to contend with: Google has also outlined that sites operating without HTTPS will experience a universal drop down the SERP rankings, ultimately causing them to lose visibility too.

How to check you are protected and what to do if youre not

Given the severity of this two-fold backlash, it is looking increasingly likely that all sites will have to ensure they are suitably certified in the coming months. So how do you get started? The first thing you need to check is that your site is using a dedicated IP address, which may depend on the kind of web hosting plan you are on. Some of the smaller, cheaper hosting options will have assigned a shared IP, but this is dangerous as it forces you to share the security practices and reputation of all other holders of your IP address

Once you have your dedicated IP, you are able to purchase an SSL certificate. This acts as an identifying document for your website, seen as a very long series of letters or numbers that only your website knows, a bit like a password. There are a number of SSL service providers out there from whom you can purchase an annual certificate contract, such as these deals from 1&1. From here, its a fairly simple process of simply activating your certificate and updating your website.

Having HTTPS protocol running on a site will increasingly become one of the foremost concerns for the Google search engine, site visitors and also webmasters. As the online community strengthens against hacking and privacy concerns, its best to take action sooner rather than later.
New Delhi:

Pakistan once again brought up the Kashmir issue at the UN Security Council and accused it of "selectively" implementating its resolution on the issue.

Maleeha Lodhi, Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the UN, sought periodic review of the implementation of the UN Security Council's decades-old resolution on the issue.

"Nothing undermines the credibility of the Council more than 'selective' implementation of its resolutions," Lodhi said during an open debate of the Security Council on its working methods.

"The Council should therefore periodically review implementation of its resolutions, especially on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute," she said.

She said the failure of the Council to enforce its own resolutions "undercuts not just the Council's standing in the world, but the UN as well".

According to the top Pakistani diplomat, the best way to enhance the democratic and representative character of the Security Council is to reinforce this norm of accountability, and not to support any actions that threaten to undermine or reverse these ideals.

The Council, she said, should be more transparent and balanced in the working of its subsidiary organs. Elected members should have a more equitable representation on these organs.

India is opposed to any third-party intervention in resolving the Kashmir issue while Pakistan has continuously sought mediation to sort out the differences. Pakistan often raises the issue at various international platforms.

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New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday will inaugurate Al Janadria, the two-week-long National Cultural Festival of Saudi Arabia.

Al Janadria is the biggest cultural festival in the Gulf region that celebrates the culture and heritage of Saudi Arabia.

Swaraj is on a three-day visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and leading the Indian delegation at the festival where India is the Guest of Honour country this year.

This would be the 32nd edition of the festival where India as the Guest of Honour will showcase features of its culture, business opportunities, and scientific, technological, medical, and military progress.

The Indian Pavilion will showcase socio-cultural heritage, folklore, traditional costumes, Indian perfumes, bridal costumes, artifacts, calligraphy, and cuisine along with displays and presentations by ministries and different departments.

King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is the patron of the festival this year.

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A total of some 1,500 vehicles were stuck in heavy snow on National Route 8 in the central Japan prefectures of Fukui and Ishikawa on Tuesday, authorities said.

The Fukui prefectural government asked the Ground Self-Defense Force to dispatch troops for relief operations.

As of 9 p.m. (noon GMT), authorities had received no reports of injuries or sick people. It remains to be seen when the snow-caused gridlock will be resolved, with some vehicles remaining stuck for more than 10 hours, officials of the transport ministry's national road office in Fukui said.

According to the office, vehicles were held up on an 8-kilometer northbound section between the cities of Sakai and Awara, both in Fukui, and a 9.3-kilometer southbound stretch between Awara and the city of Kaga in Ishikawa.

The gridlock is believed to have happened when some vehicles became unable to move due to heavy snow. In addition, the road sections were swamped by a number of vehicles after a Hokuriku Expressway section that runs parallel to the national road was closed to traffic.
A large group of Dreamers, undocumented student immigrants, gathered in Hartford right before Gov. Dannel P. Malloys speech on social investment to open the legislative session.

To their chagrin, Malloy only mentioned the raging DACA issue in passing. But in a sense, he showed himself to be very much a dreamer.

The governors dream: That Connecticut can act like a complete state in 2018, his last year in office  not just a broken ledger book, which is pretty much all weve been for at least the last year.

In 3,976 words over 37 minutes, the governor didnt mention the word economy once, nor taxes. What he did talk about was the panoply of issues that matter to people  health care access, clean energy, equal pay for women, reproductive rights, violence prevention, the minimum wage and, to strong applause, sexual harassment.

The question is whether addressing those hot-button topics  making the state a better place, a fairer place, as Malloy called it  help the Connecticut economy? Can addressing housing access, for example, actually improve the business climate in a way that doesnt send the states budget shortfalls further into the red?

Democrats said yes, its called investment in people. Republicans showed skepticism that its taking our eye off the ball.

Thats the heart of the debate thats defining how to fix Connecticut this year in the Legislature and most especially in the November elections.

Certainly some of the issues that the governor brought up today are things that I would be supportive of at the very least, said Rep. Themis Klarides, R-Derby, the House Minority leader. For example, pay equity, we passed it out of this chamber overwhemingly.

The problem, Klarides said, was not what Malloy said. The problem was that he didnt talk about the economy.

More Business Malloy offers sermon on fairness, pushes agenda

This is a state that is drowning in debt. In bond debt, in taxes, in budget deficits, in structural problems. ... People in the state, Im not diminishing anything he brought up, they care about, are they going to keep their jobs, they care about, can they afford to retire here? Can they afford to die here? Can their children ... afford to buy a house here?

Malloy missed the chance to tie his Connecticut fairness agenda to the economy in a direct way. But Democrats, who unfurled a similar agenda at the Capitol on Tuesday  even as they distance themselves from the unpopular governor in preparation for their re-election campaigns  are doing it for him.

Their non-budget agenda is subtitled supporting middle-class families and creating economic opportunities for everyone.

It wont be an easy sell with a restive taxpayer base. Up in the gallery, Brooke Cheney, a Harwinton resident, listened to Malloy alongside her 10-year-old daughter, Nadia.

I just know lots of friends have left the state, friends whove owned businesses, Cheney said. The economy is not great.

A guest of Sen. Henri Martin, R-Bristol, shes no fan of Malloys, as the owner of a firearms training business, A Great Start Shooting School. She had a hard time thinking of parts of Malloys social agenda she supported enthusiastically  certainly not more gun-control  but then she turned to reducing homelessness, which Malloy stressed.

That actually addresses our society as a whole, Cheney said. For me, violence is about social issues, not the pieces and parts of a firearm.

Nadia, a self-styled libertarian on a snow day from 4th grade, piped in: Too many laws.

The Cheneys show what a Rubiks cube Malloy and lawmakers face with interlocking issues and one 800-pound gorilla, as Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, a GOP candidate for governor, put it Wednesday  the ailing state budget and economy.

An exchange between Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, yet another Republican running for governor, and Rep. Cristin McCarthy Vahey, told the story.

I sat around waiting for the punch line, Lauretti said of the speech. There are a lot of ideas on giving things to people. How are we going to pay for it?

I saw it as advancing the idea of investment, McCarthy Vahey said. As for investing in the states economy by paying off debt, and in people through laws that make the state operate more equitably, They both pay dividends.

To some extent I agree with what youre saying, Lauretti responded, but ... if people think we can solve all their problems that would be a miscarriage of justice.

I believe in building bridges, McCarthy Vahey said.

You have to have your house in order. If you dont, then you cant help anybody, Lauretti said.

With a smile, McCarthy Vahey called it a chicken-and-egg problem.

And by then, the Capitol was nearly empty as lawmakers rushed to beat the sleet.

Issues pile up. The Dreamers  Connecticut Students for a Dream  issued a statement saying the state must do more for them and their parents threatened with deportation. And on the budget, the real work starts Thursday, as leaders from both parties sit down to work on a deal.
There is a difference between building a business that has purpose, and building a business to just make money. And while technology has made us all smarter, and just a click away from being connected to a person or information no matter where we are, something seems to be missing.

Related: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs Raised Their Kids Tech-Free -- and It Should've Been a Red Flag

Maybe it's what author Ross Baird has described in his takedown of Silicon Valley -- the focus on solving "my world problems" instead of real-world problems. Or maybe, more simply, it's rediscovering a sense of purpose.

It is no longer enough to build new technologies just because we can. We're living in an attention economy that is being driven, almost entirely, by technology. We have access today to more information than we can possibly absorb, and all of those sources are competing to try to get top of mind with us. If they can get us addicted, then they've got a business model.

But, we're also seeing the downside of this tech explosion, and it isn't pretty. We are more isolated, more segmented and unhappier than ever before as tech has moved away from solving real problems.

Related: Amazon Patents Wristband to Precisely Track Its Warehouse Workers

We need the tech industry to refocus some of that effort on solving real world problems again.

The dark side of tech

More than 30 years ago, Georgia Tech professor Melvin Kranzberg compiled a list of what he called the "Six Laws of Technology," which were intended to address potential social unrest related to the growing reach, even then, of technologies. His first law, that technology is not good or bad, but it is also not neutral, has become a measuring stick for tech policy in the era of Big Data, social media and always-on connectivity.

That was in the 1980s, and since then technology has only become more pervasive.

As of 2017, the average person spent more than two hours per day on various social media platforms, according to influencer marketing agency Mediakix.

There will soon be more than 5,000 GB of data on every single person on the planet stored somewhere on the cloud where advertisers, corporations, governments and others can leverage it, a Digital Universe study found.

And, incredibly, Facebook recently introduced a version of its Messenger app intended for kids aged six to 12.

All this despite knowing that this increasing reliance on technology can be bad for our health. In a recent, ground-breaking piece in The Atlantic, Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State, shared research showing that since the advent of the smartphone the rates of depression and suicide have skyrocketed among teenagers.

Related: The 'Father of the iPod' Says Tech Addiction Would Worry Steve Jobs if he Were Alive Today

There are two different forces at play here. One is the addictive, dopamine-driving behavioral design of applications that tether us to our technologies. This is what makes you keep that phone right next to you all day long and look at everything that pops up. The second thing is this ability for users to post content online, potentially anonymously or in ways that abuse other people, with little constraint. Too often, this allows people to say things they wouldn't normally say in front of actual people, leading to more bullying behavior.

How tech can help

The technology industry certainly deserves some blame for this cultural conundrum but it also deserves some credit for not turning a blind eye to this issue. For example, Facebook recently rolled out an artificial intelligence feature that claims to be able to spot suicidal tendencies in users' social media activity before even their doctors do. The company hopes the technology will help prevent suicides by getting people help before they even know they need it.

It's a good first step, but there's more the industry can do.

Create guidelines: It may be time for the industry to create behavioral health guidelines for their products, in order to both police its own practices and encourage the creation of apps that are built in a way to reinforce and encourage wellness, versus to try to take advantage of more negative behaviors. These would be voluntary guidelines that would police what the industry is doing, to prevent abusive technologies.

Related: Study: Constantly Texting and Checking Social Media Makes You 'Morally Shallow'

Promote distance: Two hours of social media usage per day is a lot, but it still pales in comparison to the seven-plus hours that the average person spends watching television. Yet, there are proven mental health benefits to disconnecting from time to time. The industry should be supportive of this practice, encouraging users to take digital sabbaticals on a regular basis in order to maintain a happy and engaged user base. It doesn't even need to be a full break, as having access to so-called "safe spaces" has been proven to make people happier in today's increasingly hostile internet.

Provide tools: How can users protect themselves against the negative effects of technology? How do they put up barriers against it? The industry can't stand silent as this issue spirals out of control. Smart tech companies should step up now, acknowledge the problem and offer tools to help their users become healthy customers of their products.

We still have a long way to go, but there are tech companies that are working to solve this very real-world problem. One example is Spry Labs, a Cincinnati-based development firm that leads specialized workshops and innovation sessions dedicated to solving society's big problems. (Spry is a project of Cintrifuse, where I am a founding member.) This past summer, it hosted a hackathon focused on solving the opioid crisis, and on March 10 it is leading a session to help the tech industry deal with suicides.

Technology certainly didn't create the problem of suicide, and it won't be the last time that we as a society have to deal with it. But, by taking small steps to help address the problem, the tech industry can turn its market power into a force for good, helping to make all of us happier and healthier in the process.

Related:

Technology Might Be Killing Us, But It Doesn't Have to Be That Way

Apple, Facebook and Google Vets Form Coalition to Fight Tech Addiction

The 'Father of the iPod' Says Tech Addiction Would Worry Steve Jobs if he Were Alive Today



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved



This article originally appeared on entrepreneur.com


Syracuse, N.Y. -- Winter storm warnings are in effect for a powerful and fast-moving winter storm that will sweep across Upstate New York Wednesday.

Warnings are in place from early Wednesday through Wednesday night or Thursday morning. The storm is moving in from the southwest, so it will hit the Southern Tier and Central New York before the Adirondacks and eastern New York.

"Total snow accumulations of 5 to 8 inches, with localized amounts up to 10 inches, are expected," said the warning issued by the weather service's Binghamton office for Central New York and the Southern Tier.

Winter storm warnings (pink) have been issued across much of Upstate New York as a powerful winter storm comes up along the East Coast Wednesday.

The commute to and from work on Wednesday could be difficult, the weather service said. The heaviest snow will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. before tapering off after dark.

Snow will start tonight in Tug Hill as strong winds blow across Lake Ontario. Up to 3 inches is expected tonight, and then 4 to 7 inches on Wednesday.

The storm will be powerful but short-lived, dropping snow at rates of up to 1 to 2 inches per hour during the day. The snow will end in the evening.

Contact Glenn Coin: Email | Twitter | Google + | (315) 470-3251
HAMDEN  Actor and activist Danny Glover visited Quinnipiac University Tuesday to talk about the relevance of the Black Lives Matter movement connected to its abolitionist roots.

Quinnipiac University held From Abolition to #BLM: A Conversation with Danny Glover, at which Glover spoke on the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of community activism, in a program with Khalilah Brown-Dean, associate professor of political science, in front of a packed audience in the Burt Kahn Court on campus.

I hope that the people are energized by our collective conversation and its an opportunity to share many things, to share our common experience at a moment in time where we need to talk about the things that matter, Glover said. Its not as if we dont need to talk about the things that matter at other times, but this is an important point in the history of this country but also in the worlds history and where do we find the common thread to build community. To quote Dr. (Martin Luther) King, Where do we go from here, community or chaos?

In thinking about movements for freedom, Glover said there has always been a time for a radical revolution of values, not only now, and the modern movements around freedom are something much larger than ourselves, he said. The conversation has remained relevant throughout history and is as important today as it was 60 years ago, he said.

I think its just as relevant at any time, Glover said. It was relevant when my third-grade teacher told my class of mainly African-American kids who live in housing projects that she was not simply interested in making good students, she was interested in making good citizens and what does that mean in the world today and our community today. He said there are many issues facing the world today, from climate change to water pollution, but the critical issue in this country is still the issue of race.

Glovers personal history reaches back to the Civil War and he remembered his great-grandmother, who was born in 1853 and freed by emancipation, along with his great-grandfather, during the conversation at Quinnipiac. He said his grandparents have been influential for him. Even as Glover gained fame for his role in The Color Purple, he couldnt go too long without visiting his grandmother and said, know that whatever you do you owe to that space.

Speaking to young people in the audience, Glover said, recalling his younger self, we think we know everything and weve learned it all, and its up to each generation to define themselves. He encouraged students seeking to be activists to take the wisdom of others, but that doesnt mean you cant offer your own.

As Ive watched young people and what they do right now and how they claim that space, its important but it takes an understanding, he said, adding its the younger generation that will help facilitate difficult conversations surrounding race. Whatever human beings have done, the changes that have been made have been by those radical propositions.

Glover recently returned from Honduras and Costa Rica where he was serving as an ambassador of African descendants. He said in some areas of the countries there are revolutions of people who are redefining their image and how they see the world, and even though it seems simple, that movement is a radical notion, he said.

This countrys always moved and defined itself by its levels of radicalism, Glover said. All these things are important to understand and reclaim the radicalism thats been part of this country. People speaking out, creating a different relationship. Its important to reclaim those things that have either been distorted or subverted from our imagination.

Glover lives in the same city where he was born and raised, twelve blocks from the house he grew up in. Hes watched change happen in the city over the years and the commodification of society has played a negative role on how people see their relationships with others, he said.

If we look over the history of this country, a great deal of the things weve reacted to comes out of fear to some extent, Glover said, adding that the systems of control are the ways that fear is put at the outset of any kind of communication people have with each other.

Glover said society is on the brink of things regarding movements of freedom and the country is two minutes from midnight. And we have someone who sits at the White House who has pushed the clock closer to that midnight.

Glover has made a name for himself not only as an actor in Hollywood for the last 25 years, but also for his wide-reaching community activism and philanthropic efforts. He emphasizes advocacy for economic justice and access to health care and education programs in the U.S. and Africa. Glover has been influenced by historical activists such as Frederick Douglass, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Paul Robeson and W.E.B. DuBois.

Internationally, Glover has served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Program, focusing on issues of poverty, disease and economic development in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. He currently serves as UNICEF Ambassador. Core issues of his activism include global human rights, economic and social justice, climate change and the environment, education and the arts.

We need to do something about every single thing and there is no time to waste, he said.

mdignan@hearstmediact.com
Essex First Selectman Norman Needleman said Tuesday he will seek to run for the 33rd District state Senate seat as a Democrat after having lost to the incumbent Republican in the 2016 election.

Needleman lost to Art Linares by 8,640 votes in the 2016 race. But Linares, who has represented the district since 2013, has decided to run for state treasurer.

Needleman said running a second time against Linares would have been a much tougher decision.

When youre running against an incumbent, name recognition is critical, he said. I think we were able to build that the last time around and it will help in this race.

Melissa Ziobron, the three-term incumbent state representative for the 34th District , announced Tuesday she would seek to fill Linares seat in the 33rd . The district consists of 11 towns, including Clinton, Deep River, Essex and Westbrook, as well as part of Old Saybrook.

The outcome of the 33rd District race could be a factor in determining control of the state Senate in the next two-year legislative cycle. Currently, the Senate membership is evenly divided with 18 Democrats and 18 Republicans.

Needleman said he is hoping voters in the district will see he is running because he loves Connecticut and wants to make it a better place.

Im not a professional politician; I came to public service late in life because I wanted to give back to a community that had done so much for me, Needleman said. I think (the) public is fed up with partisan politics. Im someone who know business, who knows governing and has done a lot in the community for a minimal mount of money.

Needleman is in his fourth term on the Essex Board of Selectman and is chief executive officer of Tower Laboratories, which he founded 38 year ago. The company, which employs more than 250 people, makes over-the-counter denture cleaners, fizzy antacid tablets, cold medications, potassium supplements and bath tablets.

Building a company from the ground up has given me invaluable experience on how to grow jobs and create a region where businesses want to start and thrive, Needleman said. I will be a state senator who will create good-paying jobs in our towns and throughout Connecticut.

Needleman is married with two adult children. His wife, Jacqueline Hubbard, is executive director of the Ivoryton Playhouse.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
GUILFORD  The cause of death of a 15-year-old who died after suffering a gunshot wound Jan. 31 remains unspecified pending further investigation, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

Guilford High School freshman Ethan Song and another teenage boy were found in a Seaside Avenue home to which police had been called that afternoon. Ethan had been shot and later died. No parents or other adults were at home at the time of the shooting, Chief of Police Jeffrey Hutchinson has said.

Police said in a news release Wednesday they have no evidence or information to suggest the teens were playing a version of Russian roulette or that the boys thought the gun was unloaded because there was no magazine in it. The Hartford Courant reported that law enforcement sources, who were not named but are familiar with the probe, said those elements were investigated.

In the release, police added that rumors surrounding the circumstances of Ethans death immediately circulated via social media and word of mouth.

The Guilford Police Department is working closely with the States Attorneys office and we are continuing to investigate whether any charges will be filed as a result of this tragic death, the release said. We will not be releasing any information regarding the second youth in the home at the time of Ethans death, nor will we be releasing any additional evidence or information related to this case as this is an active investigation.

On the day of the incident, Ethan was taken to Yale New Haven Hospital, and police were notified shortly thereafter that he had died. The other boy was uninjured, officials said.

Guilford police requested the assistance of Connecticut State Police investigators to process evidence at the scene; Guilford police will continue to handle the investigation, officials stated.

Police said in the release the department is working closely with the states attorneys office and is continuing to investigate whether any charges will be filed as a result of the death.

Police said this is a tragedy not only for the Song family but also for the family of the other juvenile involved and the community as a whole.

In bitter cold temperatures, hundreds huddled on the Green Friday night for a candlelight vigil to honor Ethan. Gathering near a half-staff American flag, Ethans family, friends and classmates recounted stories about a boy who loved to play sports, chess and video games.

Ethans family started a GoFundMe page, which has raised almost $100,000 in the past six days. The family said on the page that it is a memorial fund to honor the life of Ethan, with the money going to support causes in which he believed , such as animal rights, human rights and gun education.

jessica.lerner@hearstmediact.com; @jesslerner on Twitter
Connecticut needs a wider array of housing options to meet the needs of its aging population, as well as to attract and keep young adults in the state, according to a study.

The Partnership for Strong Communities, in its latest study, also shows that many renters and homeowners continue to pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing, which limits their purchasing power to cover other necessities and to support local businesses.

The evolving demographics have contributed to a drop in demand for single-family homes, with the value of real property on the majority of towns grand lists dropping.

The partnership produced a detailed analysis of each of the states 169 municipalities.

The profiles show that Connecticuts municipalities would benefit significantly from producing a wider array of affordable and appropriate housing options, Alicia Woodsby, executive director of the Partnership for Strong Communities, said in a statement.

The report concluded that those towns that offered a wider array of housing usually had better grand lists.

Woodsby said a choice of housing options at different income levels will attract the young professionals that are needed to support businesses, academia and health-related fields.

Strong municipalities and a strong state need all kinds of people who we know need a variety of housing options, Woodsby said. The troubling finding is that 50 percent of renters and 32 percent of homeowners  38 percent of all households  are spending more than 30 percent of their income in housing. Thats bad for them and bad for our state.

New Haven has a substantial supply of housing for nurses, teachers, town workers and electricians, according to the report, but not units for baby boomers looking to downsize or for millennials and young families seeking to come to the city.

The median household income in New Haven is only $37,192, which is 47 percent less than Connecticuts median household income of $70,331.

Because of this, a higher percentage of renters (57 percent) and homeowners (40 percent) spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing.

New Haven also bucks the statewide trend on school populations.

A total of 116 towns are projected to see school populations drop through 2030. New Haven anticipates that the school-age population, ages 5 to 19, will grow by 5 percent through 2030.

On the other end of the spectrum, 165 towns are projected to see their 65-and-older population bump up anywhere from one percent to 67 percent. New Haven is on the lower end of this trend, with a projected increase of 7 percent by 2030.

More than 1,000 rental apartments are approved for construction in the downtown area in New Haven and the city is now hoping there will be a trend toward condominiums to satisfy baby boomers looking to own a smaller home.

A percentage of those new apartments are deemed affordable, but there remains a large demand for more.

New Haven is also among the one-third of municipalities where single-family homes are not the majority of its housing stock. Only 25 percent are single-family, while 66 percent are multifamily compared to the 42 percent statewide.

Many towns built these single-family homes after 1970, but only 25 percent of homes in New Haven were built then.

Baby boomers now in their 60s in single-family homes, who are looking for more modest accommodations, are finding fewer buyers because young families cant afford these homes. according to the report.

From 2008 through 2016, according to data from the Office of Policy and Management, 150 towns had negative growth in real property values, 2 had no growth and 7 had slight growth of 2 percent or less.

New Havens real property growth from 2008 through 2016 was up 2 percent.

New Haven also continues to have some of the biggest supply of affordable housing units  30 percent of its housing stock. This compares to 138 of the 169 municipalities in Connecticut with less than 10 percent affordable units.

mary.oleary@hearstmediact.com
HARTFORD  The General Assemblys Democratic majority leaders on Tuesday vowed to bring electronic highway tolls to a vote while laying out a progressive agenda that includes increasing the minimum wage, mandating paid family leave and creating tuition free community colleges.

"I am proud to stand here as we unveil our Democratic Values Agenda," said Senate President Martin Looney, D-New Haven. "This is an agenda for the people of Connecticut and its honest and uncompromising."

The Democratic agenda came one day before lawmakers are scheduled to convene a new legislative session Wednesday. The Legislatures majority Democrats vowed to bring their issues to a vote  including electronic tolling  and expressed optimism their plan can be passed.

The agenda also includes raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, creating pay equity between men and women, investing in technical high schools and mandating that the 10 "essential" health insurance benefits in Obamacare are offered in the state.

Other proposals would allow early voting, ban bump stocks and ghost guns and declare that the state prefers a popular vote to determine the race for U.S president.

Republican leaders were not impressed with the Democratic plan.

"Democrat lawmakers are laying out proposals for completely new state expenses," said Senate Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven.

"Our state is facing a budget deficit and confronting serious cuts that would hurt some of the most vulnerable individuals," Fasano said. "How are Democrats seriously suggesting the state take on new expenses when we are struggling to provide even core services?

Both houses of the Legislature are up for election in November, along with the governors office  Malloy is not seeking re-election. Democrats now have a thin majority in the House and are tied with Republicans in Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff, D-Norwalk, said Democrats want to draw a contrast with the Republican policies in Washington, D.C.

"We need to invest in our local businesses, repair our infrastructure and train our workers, Duff said. This agenda sends a clear message that we will invest and build upon our strengths."

Electronic tolls

Although Democrats stopped short of declaring unanimous support for highway tolls, leaders said the issue will receive a vote. In past sessions, tolling passed various committees, but not both chambers of the legislature.

"Tolls has been a big topic," said House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, D-Berlin. "Congestion is a reason why people dont come here. Tolls will have an up or down vote in the House. We hope to come up with a true transportation plan."

Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Monday threw his weight behind electronic tolling, which the state estimates could bring in as much as $800 million a year once the program is under way in three or four years.

Malloy also backed a 7 cent increase in the states gas tax to help fund transportation projects and at least one Democratic legislator is proposing a 4 cent rise in the tax.

More Information A snapshot of the Democratic Legislative plan: Hold a vote on electronic tolling Increase minimum wage to $15 per hour Mandate paid family leave Offer tuition free community colleges Mandate pay equity Rebuild the state's infrastructure Invest in technical high schools Provide early voting Ban bump stocks and ghost guns See More Collapse

Looney said the Democratic agenda includes many issues that are important to state residents.

"At our central core we believe in equal pay for equal work," Looney said. "That health care is a right and not a privilege and women and not the government should make their own health care decisions. We are a stronger state and nation when every vote counts equally."

Raising wages

Democrats promised to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour in yearly steps. Looney said under the Democratic proposal the minimum wage would start at $11 per hour next January and increase one dollar per year until it reaches $15 per hour.

The states minimum wage is now $10.10 per hour.

"We need to put it to a level that allows families to live here," Aresimowicz said. "We have heard $15 dollars an hour and looked at $13 last year. We need to index it to have it automatically go up. Companies can build it into their five-year plan."

State Rep. Robyn Porter, D-New Haven, said the Democratic agenda is simply the "right thing to do" for Connecticut.

"For me, whats important this session is a livable wage," Porter said. "People need to sustain their families. We need to keep that in mind."

Porter also noted that paid family medical leave is crucial for state residents.

"We need to stick together on these issues its important we get it done this year," Porter said. "The time has come and gone."

Fasano said the Democratic agenda is wrong for Connecticut.

"Connecticuts Democrat governor proposed increasing taxes on low and middle income families," Fasano said. "And today, without saying how they are going to pay for any of it, Democrat lawmakers are laying out proposals for completely new state expenses."
In anticipation of Tuesdays snowstorm, multiple towns have closed their public schools for the day.

NBC CT reports Ansonia, Bethany, Branford, Cheshire, Derby, East Haven, Guilford, Hamden, Madison, Milford, New Haven, North Branford, North Haven, Orange, Seymour, Shelton, Wallingford, West Haven and Woodbridge public schools are closed.
NEW HAVEN  Deliberations in a trial on a murder charge came to a sudden and unexpected halt Tuesday after the judge learned a juror in the case had a chance encounter  and wave  with the accused killer while visiting her husband in prison.

The panel therefore will start deliberations in Dwayne Sayles murder trial from scratch Wednesday with an alternate juror replacing the woman who was dismissed.

The juror told the other panelists Tuesday morning she was worried about her safety and that she recently saw Sayles when she was visiting the prison where he is being held. She said he waved at her.

Superior Court Judge Brian T. Fischer removed her from the jury Tuesday afternoon because during the voir dire process, when prospective jurors are asked a long series of questions, she said she didnt know anybody who had been arrested and is in jail. But Fischer learned Tuesday that the womans husband is in jail and when she went to visit him there, she saw Sayles.

Defense attorney Frank OReilly asked Fischer to declare a mistrial because of the surprising development.

I object to her removal from the panel, OReilly said. I move for a mistrial. Each juror has said theyd learned my client is in jail and that this juror has a heightened fear for her security. Its irreparable, the taint that has been placed on this jury. I dont think it can be cured.

Assistant States Attorney Lisa DAngelo objected to OReillys request. She noted Fischer had questioned each of the remaining jurors individually Tuesday afternoon and all of them had said they werent worried about their safety and that the jurors report would not affect their deliberations.

Fischer agreed with DAngelos point as he denied OReillys motion. Each juror said they could continue to be fair and impartial. Tomorrow, Ill tell them that where he is housed should have no influence on their deliberations.

Fischer said an alternate juror, who listened to all of the evidence during the trial but did not participate when deliberations began Monday afternoon, will re-join the panel Wednesday. But this means the jury will have to start deliberations all over again because that person was not present for the discussions Monday and Tuesday.

Sayles, 24, of New Haven, is charged with felony murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and two weapons violations in the shooting death of Sanjay Patel, a cashier at Pay Rite Food/Citgo station on Forbes Avenue in April 2015. Sayles is being held in lieu of $2 million bail.

A co-defendant, Jamal Sumler, 27, of New Haven, was convicted by a jury last fall of murder and other charges. He is scheduled to be sentenced later this month.

OReilly and Senior Assistant States Attorney Seth Garbarsky, the co-prosecutor in the trial, declined to discuss the jury events after court adjourned Tuesday at about 3:45 p.m.

Fischer told the jurors to report back Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. to restart the deliberations.

randall.beach@hearstmediact.com
NEW HAVEN  A white Southern Connecticut State University adjunct faculty member has been suspended after he allegedly used a racial slur in class on Tuesday.

Adjunct public health instructor Eric Triffin said Wednesday he has been suspended with pay by the university while the school investigates an incident involving the use of a racial slur.

The incident was first reported by the universitys campus newspaper, Southern News.

SCSU spokesman Patrick Dilger said in an email Wednesday that the incident is under investigation, but because its involves a personnel matter, the university would not comment further. Dilger did not immediately confirm Triffins suspension. Triffin said he will be suspended during the duration of the investigation.

Triffin said in a phone interview with the Register that he used a variation of the n-word when singing along to a rap song played by a student in the class on Tuesday. The song was played as part of an ongoing custom: Triffin often starts his classes with an activity such as dancing or listening to music.

It was a rap song and I danced to it, and one of the lyrics was, Im a happy n----, so I sang along and said, Im a happy n----, Triffin said during a phone interview Wednesday.

His comments drew a response from one student, who Triffin said was, screaming at me. The student is black.

He felt anger and we tried to address it in the class. I think everyone in the class was relatively OK with my response.  He wasnt, Triffin said. He added: I think I was relatively even-handed with the students and understood the anger he felt. I dont think everybody else in the class was agreeing with him.

Black Student Union president and SCSU senior Eric Clinton said Wednesday Triffins remarks were not part of the lyrics, though Clinton did not know the name of the song that was played. Clinton said he spoke with the student who responded to Triffins remarks in class; the student declined to comment on Wednesday.

A video of the students reaction shortly after Triffins remarks has been circulating on Facebook; the video doesnt include Triffins comments. Clinton said Triffin should have discussed the incident in a different manner rather attempting to justify why the word was used. In the video, the student can be seen standing from his desk and raising his voice toward Triffin.

My initial reaction was no way, Clinton said. Its unacceptable. How on earth can an institution that is so privy to social justice allow this to go on without repercussions?

After learning about the incident from the video, Clinton released a statement online. Clinton said the incident is serving as a call for change on campus, with BSU compiling a list of changes Clinton said they hope will ensure an incident doesnt happen again. They include increasing the number of resident life employees to be 40 percent minority students and adding more black administrators.

Clinton said students want Triffin to apologize. Clinton said theyre not necessarily interested in Triffins termination.

I feel like as a professor, he should always know better, NAACP chapter President Darryl Hall Jr., a junior at SCSU, said. I dont know how old he is, but I know hes a senior (citizen) close to our grandparents age.... You should just know better because you have to account for everyones feelings.

In a message sent to students Tuesday, University President Joe Bertolino confirmed university officials were aware of the incident. The news prompted an open conversation with students Tuesday evening at the Adanti Student Center Ballroom. Clinton said he attended the meeting.

I want you to know that I am investigating the matter fully and will take appropriate action as a result of the findings, Bertolino said in the message. As a public institution dedicated to the values of social justice, our university abhors the use of racist or hateful words and actions and we will confront these incidents if and when they occur.

Bertolino said the he wants students to join in him in promoting a campus environment based on acceptance and understanding.

Triffin, a SCSU alumnus, said this is the first complaint hes had after teaching at the university for more than 30 years. He said that as the father of a half-black, biracial child, he has witnessed first-hand how people can feel discriminated against. He said he has never used the n-word before and has lived in Africa and other areas where he said he was a racial minority.

I never used that word, but I just did sing along with the music. Thats all I did, Triffin said. It was supposed to be a fun moment.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901.
NEW HAVEN  Starbucks has submitted plans for a new coffee shop downtown  just one block away from one of its current locations on Chapel Street.

The Seattle-based coffee giant seeks to open a shop on the first floor at 195 Church St., the former First Niagara Bank building.

City Building Official Jim Turcio said Tuesday the company has not yet paid for a building permit, though hes expecting the permit very soon. The plans for the 2,260-square-foot space were submitted by Starbucks last fall, and formally approved by the citys Building Department in November.

Turcio said building owners have been completing additional work in space around where the new Starbucks will be located, which could explain why a building permit hasnt been secured yet. The first-floor area formerly housed Geltmans Deli Style Restaurant.

According to the submitted plans, the new Starbucks would have seating for 32 in its interior space and 14 for exterior seasonal seating.

Starbucks currently has two shops in the city. Both are located downtown on Chapel Street, with one near Church Street and one near High Street. A call and email sent to Starbucks for comment on Tuesday were not immediately returned.

Paul Denz, president of 195 Church St. and owner of Northside Development Co., said they reached out to Starbucks about opening a location in the buildings first floor, which he said needed a restaurant-like tenant. Denz said theyve worked with Starbucks in the past.

So it was natural for us to reach out to Starbucks, Denz said. Theyre a good tenant. They attract people to your building.

Denz said he hopes the shop will be open by mid-April.

We were they happy that they came, Denz said. They looked at the space, determined that it would work for them.

The new Starbucks would mean two similar options within a one-block area. City Deputy Economic Development Director Steve Fontana said on some level, having two Starbucks so close to another could mean New Haven is coming of age.

Bottom line is, if they kept both locations open on Church, thats obviously a sign that were coming of age in the city that we can support two Starbucks on a block, Fontana said.

Downtown, theres no shortage of coffee shops within walking distance of City Hall. Adding another option wouldnt necessarily have a negative impact on existing shops, as Fontana said as long as the shops arent relying solely on coffee  and most are not  there is room for competition.

I think the good news is rarely, if ever, do coffee shops like this close. Its obviously a very sustainable business model, Fontana said.

Fontana said Starbucks typically is tight-lipped about its development plans. Its unclear whether the new site would consolidate the one currently open across the New Haven Green. An employee at the Starbucks at 896 Chapel St. said they have heard about the new site, but the stores manager was not available for comment Tuesday.

Theyre currently in an attractive location, Fontana said about Starbucks at 896 Chapel St. If they did vacate for any reason, anyone could that space for something else.

Reach Esteban L. Hernandez at 203-680-9901.
WALLINGFORD  A $75,000 grant from the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority will allow Gaylord Specialty Healthcare to purchase and install new, ceiling-mounted lift equipment for safe patient transfers.

Tara Knapp, vice president of development and marketing, said a surge in the number of critically ill patients being discharged from acute-care hospitals to Gaylord for rehabilitative care has accelerated the need for the new lifts.

The new lift system addresses the care and safety needs of not only our patients, but also our nurses and staff, Knapp said in a statement. All of the new and upgraded equipment will have the capacity to lift patients weighing up to 1,000 pounds.

The lifts benefit patients who are on a ventilator or have pneumonia in addition to those who have limited mobility, she said.

When a patient is lying on their back, the heart and other organs put pressure on the lungs, making it harder to breathe and more difficult to wean from a ventilator, Knapp said. The slings and lifts allow staff to safely lift the patient into an upright position so their lungs can get stronger and can be weaned from the ventilator considerably sooner.

The grant money will allow for the purchase of 17 new lifts, according to hospital officials.

The Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority is a quasi-governmental agency created to help Connecticut-based nonprofit organizations. Jeanette Weldon, executive director of the agency, said the ceiling mounted lifts will be installed in patient and bariatric rooms, the radiology suite and the in-patient gymnasium.

Hospitals face significant challenges with the dual issue of safe patient handling and minimizing work-related staff injuries, Weldon said.

A portion of the grant, $13,400, is earmarked to make improvements to many of the hospitals existing lift systems.

This is the second grant of approximately $75,000 that Gaylord has received from the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority in the past year. Last summer, the hospital was able to purchase a 15-passenger, handicapped-accessible van thanks to a grant from the agency.

Gaylord Specialty Healthcare is a not-for profit, 137-bed specialty hospital that provides care and treatment of people with complex medical and intensive rehabilitation issues.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
The Israeli government is hiring people off the street to hunt down African refugees. The going rate is 30,000 shekels or in our money $9,000. To be precise the target of the hunts are black African non-Jews, people who have escaped massacres in areas like Darfur in Sudan or endless national service in the country of Eritrea. There are about 37,000 African illegals in Israel. These are not the only illegal refugees in Israel. Most of the people living illegally in Israel came from the former Soviet Union. These white non-Jews are not harassed. At a recent talk an official called them tourists who forgot to go home. The Africans are called by another name, infiltrators as if they were terrorists or spies.

The Africans came to Israel in the last decade through the Egyptian border (which has since been sealed by a tall fence). Their reasons were various. Some had no intention of going to Israel at all. They had gone to refugee camps in Ethiopia where they were kidnapped by criminals and brought to Egypts Sinai peninsula and if ransomed, sent into Israel.
Over 10,000 security operatives comprising army personnel, police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Immigration Service and ...

Over 10,000 security operatives comprising army personnel, police, the Department of State Services, the Nigeria Immigration Service and other agencies were deployed in strategic areas for the one-day visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Lafia, Nasarawa State on Tuesday.Our correspondent, who went round the city, including Shendan Road, UAC Road, Emir Palace, Makurdi-Jos Road and Kwandere Road, sighted operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other personnel in all major streets across the state capital.Men of the Federal Road Safety Corps and Nigeria Peace Corps were also seen patrolling the streets.The Commissioner of Police, Nasarawa State Command, Mr. Bello Ahmed, disclosed that over 4,000 policemen were deployed in strategic locations across the state.Ahmed added that the police were collaborating with other security agencies to ensure a hitch-free programme.
Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Wednesday conducted the swearing-in ceremony for 389 newly elected councillors in the state.Newsmen report that the Osun State Independent Electoral Commission ( OSIEC ) had on Jan. 27 conducted parliamentary local government election in the state.Newsmen also report that the commission on Jan. 28 announced that all the 389 candidates of APC won the councillorship election.OSIEC further stated that elected councillors would be running a parliamentary administrative system at the local government tier, with the councillors electing the chairmen among themselves.Governor Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of Osun stateAregbesola, while performing the swearing-in ceremony in Osogbo, said that his administration adopted the parliamentary system of government in fulfillment of the wishes of the people.The governor said it was the overwhelming wish of the people as stated in a report of the committee on political reforms that parliamentary system of government be adopted.He averred that the experience in the First Republic would attest to the fact that parliamentary system deepens democracy and offers far greater political representation than any other system.The governor argued that the decision to adopt parliamentary system of government was also in fulfilment of Section 7 (1) of the Nigerian constitution.Aregbesola said adopting a new system was not against the constitution or contrary to the tenets of democracy but rather helps to galvanise good governance and effective representation.In a parliamentary system, decisions are taken collectively and must be agreed upon by the majority in the house.This system saves campaign cost and reduces the impetus for corruption in that a candidate only needs to campaign in his or her constituency. This is unlike in the executive system where a presidential candidate must tour the whole country and a governorship candidate must tour the whole state while a chairmanship candidate must tour the entire local council, he said.Aregbesola, however, charged the councillors to be change agents that would transform governance in their local communities and deepen democratic practice with quality representation.You must therefore listen to your people and give them access. Your status has placed you in a position of leadership, but not in a position of supremacy and tyranny over the people, he said.In his remarks, the Speaker, Osun House of Assembly, Hon.  Najeem Folasayo Salam, said the adoption of parliamentary system was strictly in line with the constitution of Nigeria.Salaam said the House approved the parliamentary system to govern the people at the grassroots, having considered its numerous advantages over other systems of government.
The South West Progressive Youth and People Movement (SWPYPM), a civil society group, has asked the federal government to convert Sambisa f...

The South West Progressive Youth and People Movement (SWPYPM), a civil society group, has asked the federal government to convert Sambisa forest into a cattle colony.

The group made the call at a press briefing jointly organised with Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER), Civil Coalition for Mandate Protection (CSC-MAP) and South West Students Movement (SWSM), in Lagos on Wednesday.





According to Taiwo Ajayi, national coordinator of SWPYPM, Sambisa forest which is located in Borno state, is a prime location that would meet the needs of cattle herders.





Ajayi said the landmass of the forest is large enough to house over 340 million cattle.





We cannot afford to waste the entire Sambisa forest, herdsmen can take their cows there, he said.





Sambisa is a very large place that can house 340 million cows, they should make very productive use of that place instead of allowing Boko Haram people to stay there.





Ajayi also expressed dissatisfaction with the response of President Muhammadu Buhari to herdsmen crisis.





If he (Buhari) has given immunity to cattle, cows and the herdsmen, he should let us know, he said.





We dont know why he cannot call them to order. The presidency should look into the issue as a matter of urgency and give it the desired urgent attention required.





Adewale Adeoye, executive director, JODER, said government should act fast to end violent killings in the country.





As a journalist that has covered conflict over several years, I know that this is how a country can plunge into another Rwanda, he said.





So if we dont rise up to the occasion, we will have a big problem on our hands. Already people are dying like chicken. Nobody is talking about probing the issue, so at our own level as a civil society group, we said we should speak out. At least that is the best we can do since were not armed.





Taiwo Adeleye, executive director, CSC-MAP, asked the federal government to look into the cold-blooded killings that have marred the peace in Nigeria for many years.





In his words, the federal government has demonstrated a clear case of cold complicity as indicated in the various statements credited to the most important officials occupying some of the most strategic security institutions.





Civil society was in support of President Buhari in 2015, he continued.





It is not too late for him to changeto regain the dwindling public confidence in his administration.





Peter Ogunsona, public relations officer of the South West Students Movement, said the body had held meetings with student union presidents of some universities in the south-west.





Ogunsona said the student unions have reached a consensus that they will not vote for the current administration in the 2019 elections if nothing is done about the Fulani herdsmen crisis.





Youths of nowadays are fed up, nothing is even working, he said.





If you are not going to do anything about this Fulani herdsmen crisis, we students are not going to vote for you in 2019.




The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, yesterday, hinted that a secret investigation was ongoing in alleged low remittances made past registrars of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB.But Magu said it was too early for him to disclose the extent to which the commission had gone in its investigation of the matter.He also hinted of an ongoing probe of some of the nations universities Vice Chancellors over allegation of monthly diversion of N450 million as furniture allowances, vowing that no one found wanting in the act would be spared.Magu, who spoke to newsmen at the headquarters of JAMB at Bwari, after a courtesy visit to the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, however refused to delve deeper into the investigation.Asked how far he has gone with investigation on the alleged low remittances by the boards past registrars, he said:I think its too early for me to comment on that, we are working. Its too early for me to comment on that.While also responding to question on the level of investigation on alleged monthly diversion of N450 million as furniture allowances by some Vice Chancellors, the EFCC insisted that no one found wanting in the act would be spared.  We would not spare anybody, he said.Earlier, in his mission statement to the boards registrar, the anti-corruption czar said his visit was informed by three things chief among which was to partner the tertiary institutions examination body on fight against examination malpractices in the country.According to him, the first reasons he was at JAMB was to commend Oloyede for transparancy he had brought to JAMB by remitting exactly what the board was generating to the government.Second, he said he wanted to come and show appreciation to JAMB for the confirmation and promotion examinations for EFCC personnel it has been handling and to also hail the JAMBs Registrar for the anti-corruption crusade he has been championing in the nations tertiary institutions examination body.Hear him:For showing that this is what is available and it should go to where it supposed to go, thats very commendable and it shows a lot of transparency. I hope everybody will emulate what you have done when you said this money belongs to this people, give Caesar what is Caesars. I think its a very commendable efforts.When you are fighting corruption, the best way to fight it is to mobilise and bring everybody on board. We want to invite everyone to join us in the fight against corruption, corruption is everywhere.You dont have to do it the way I do it, you just have to find a way to do it,even if you educate the younger ones at home, you are still fighting corruption.But there are areas we can collaborate with JAMB in the fight against corruption and that is the area of examination malpractice.This is only the reason why I came here, I also came to thank you for the area JAMB has assisted us in arranging our confirmation examinations and also promotion examination. Im sure it has taken a lot of efforts, a lot of resources in handling this.And since Im here, I also want to use the opportunity to tell people that everybody has a role in fighting corruption, individually and collectively. At least, we must chase this monster out of this country, its a disaster, we dont need it. Its an evil, we dont need it. Just do it the way you can,you dont have to do it the way I do it. Chase it out, it must go because it has done a lot of damage to this country, a lot of destruction. Also everything that is going wrong in Nigeria is caused by corruption.Cancer itself is caused by corruption, if there was no corruption, there wouldnt be this high rate of cancer. There wouldnt be problem in out hospitals, there wouldnt be need for our people to eat adulterated food. Corruption is the multiplier of every evil, every wrong doing can be attributed to the act of corruption. So we have the responsibility, everybody here.Even the media,the media has more responsibility in fighting corruption, they have to really help us to sensitise Nigerians that corruption is wrong.Responding, the JAMB Registrar, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, who discribed Magu as a person who has dedicated his life in fighting corruption in the country, commended him for laying down his life to ensuring that corruption was completely eradicated in the country.According to him, If EFCC and ICPC were not established at all, maybe by now, the whole country would have been in a messiah situation than we are.He added: The commission has contributed greatly in at least creating a caution against just thinking that you can do it and go free. Theres fear.Oloyede said public servants serving under Buhari government were conscious of the fact that they were on step to prison if they failed to conduct themselves in line with the administrations posture on corruption.He said:In those days when you were appointed into a position, the prayer was that God would make you to prosper in it, to build houses in it,to have more children, to have more wives. But today, in Buharis administration, when you are appointed, the first thing that comes your mind is that God should not allow you to be put in trouble because everybody is conscious of the fact that when you are in public office, you are closer to prison if you are not careful. That is enough consciousness, it means that the generality of the people without saying in so many words, are seeing, they are changing their narratives, they are changing their languages and their greetings to show that oh, if you are there, be careful. I believe that is going enough for the crusade against corruption. He spoke further: Many people may have different opinions about how and approach to it, the truth is that we are going to sink the boat if we do not do anything radical about combating corruption on our land. And when you have a person or or team that is dedicated to fighting this corruption, my own view is that its a very risky thing.Yes, government can provide security, physical security in some cases only for you, even if they give to your wife, there will be some protest and some will even say its an abuse but they cannot provide for your children in school and the rest or anybody associated with you. So its a very risky game and anybody who wants to do it particularly in our clime must be ready to submit everything that he has to it. You must be ready to pay whatever cost that may comes ones way.I know what it entails because if you are fighting corruption in a society where corruption is endemic, you are a stranger and everybody who considers himself as resident of the land would want to evict the stranger.On behalf of JAMB, I want to thank you and appreciate you for what you are doing for our great nation. And I believe that everybody who loves this country should join hands with you in fighting corruption and in ensuring that whatever is wrong through corruption is corrected.I want to believe that if we know the danger of corruption as Mr President has been saying it everywhere, the most popular was that he said if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill us and kill the country.We believe that if we know the extent to which corruption has taken position in our land, and the network of corrupt people, the strength, we should not underestimate the fight-back.
As the gubernatorial elections in Ekiti and Osun States draw nearer, the Accord Party in the southwest has said that its candidates would emerge winners of the two polls.Mr Dokun Babarinde, the National Vice Chairman of Accord Party in Southwest, made the declaration on Wednesday in a chat with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), after its zonal meeting in Ibadan.Babarinde said the performance of Accord Party in the elections would shock the two major parties: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressives Congress (APC).Accord Party is winning followership every day because people have identified the party as the alternative to APC and PDP.The might of the PDP and APC had been tested in both Ekiti and Osun States but failed the electorate, so there is no doubt that the voters will reject them and opt for a party that is ready to savage them.Accord Party is the only alternative that is set to liberate the people from the shackles of the two major parties.We are strategising to ensure that the party presents sellable candidates as our flag bearers in the elections.Also, manifesto of Accord Party in the two states will be people-friendly, devoid of deceit and failed promises he stated.One of the partys governorship aspirants in Ekiti, Mr Akogun Banji Ojo, spoke in the same vein.He said Accord Party in Ekiti had all it would take to win the forthcoming governorship poll.Ojo said no party in Ekiti had the political weight and charisma to liberate the state from its underdevelopment, except Accord Party.He said Accord Party would maximise the opportunity of the lingering internal crisis rocking the two major political parties in the state, to contest and win the election.Meanwhile, Dr Israel Adeniyi, Chairman, Board of Trustees of the Accord Party, has charged members of the party to continue working for the progress of the party.Adeniyi gave the charge at the venue of the same meeting in Ibadan, on Wednesday.He said the commitment of every member is vital to the progress of the party at the unit, ward, state and federal levels.Adeniyi expressed optimism that the party would emerge victorious in the 2019 general elections, urging members not to relent in wooing new members into its fold.He also cautioned leaders of the party in all the states of the zone to maintain internal democracy and be fair to all members.Newsmen report that executives of the party from Oyo, Lagos, Ogun, Ekiti and Osun attended the meeting.The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), months back, announced July 14 and Sept. 22 as dates for Ekiti and Osun States governorship elections respectively.
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described the comment made on Channels Television Sunrise Daily today, by the Police Public ...

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described the comment made on Channels Television Sunrise Daily today, by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO); Mr. Jimoh Moshood, describing the Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State as a drowning man as an insult on all the governors in Nigeria, saying the police authority must retract the comment and tender an unreserved apology to Governor Ortom, the people of Benue State and the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).The governor said it was unfortunate, regrettable and a height of irresponsibility for the PPRO to have insulted a whole governor who represents one of the federating units in Nigeria, noting that It is now clear that the police has turned itself to an organ of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government, acting as if its only duty is to protect the interests of President Muhammadu Buhari and his allies.Governor Fayose, who also condemned the police for declaring Mr. Kassim Afegbua, the spokesman for ex-military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) wanted, asked the police whether there was any report by General Babangida against him (Afegbua). In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said; Rather than trying to gag Nigerians and acting as if it has become laws unto itself, the police should go after the killer herdsmen and their collaborators.On whose complaints did the police declare Afegbua wanted? Did General Babangida lodge any complain against him? Was there anything in the statement released by him that Nigerians do not know before now? Is it not true that President Buhari has looked the other way while herdsmen were killing Nigerians? Which one should interest the police? Arresting those herdsmen and their collaborators that have killed thousands of Nigerians in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau, Adamawa, Ogun, Ekiti and other States or rushing to declare a Nigerians who only exercised his rights to freedom of expression wanted? Most importantly, why didnt the police arrest former President Olusegun Obasanjo when he released similar statement against President Buhari?That declaration by the police against Mr Afegbua is malicious, reckless, unlawful, unwarranted and against all democratic ethos. It should be withdrawn forthwith. While calling on governors in the country to speak against the disparaging of the Benue State governor, Governor Fayose said; I speak as the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum and I condemn that insult on Governor Ortom by the PPRO.I expect the NGF to also rise in condemnation of this affront on one of its members because an injury to one is an injury to all. Besides, it is Governor Ortom that the PPRO insulted on National Television today; it can be any other governor tomorrow. On behalf of PDP governors, I condemn this irresponsible act of the PPRO and demand for immediate retraction of the statement as well as unreserved apology from the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
President Emmanuel Macron of France is billed to visit Nigeria in early July and will address the joint session of the National Assembly

President Emmanuel Macron of France is billed to visit Nigeria in early July and will address the joint session of the National Assembly

Ambassador of France to Nigeria Mr. Denys Gauer, made the disclosure when he paid a visit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon Yakubu Dogara on Tuesday.





Gauer, who said President Macron has interest in the future and development of Nigeria, revealed that the French leader had worked in the French embassy in Abuja early in his career for six months some years ago.





He noted that Macron hopes to use the visit to further deepen relations with Nigeria especially in areas such as youths, culture and creativity.





In his remarks, Dogara said that members of House of Representatives and indeed the National Assembly would want to listen to the French President whom he described as a man of our generation.





He has brought a lot of youthful zest, dynamism charisma and appeal to French politics and we will want to yield the floor to him, he said.




Unknown gunmen have reportedly kidnapped the Headmistress of Ikot Udobia Primary School in Ukanafun Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.Chairman of Ukanafun Local Government, Mr Uko Idiong broke the news to Vanguard this morning during security meeting with the Commissioner of Police, Mr Adeyemi Ogujemilusi, Chairmen of the 31 Local Government Areas of the State and their Divisional Police Officers (DPOs) at the State Police Force Headquarters, Ikot Akpan Abia.Though the identity of the Headmistress was not known at press time, it was gathered, the kidnap incident took place at about 9 AM.The Chairman however, called on the CP for reinforcement of security in the area particularly, Afaha Clan to curb the influx of criminal elements from neighbouring Abia and Rivers States.Meanwhile, the security meeting with the CP, Chairmen and DPOs is ongoing. Top on the agenda is collaboration between the Chairmen and Akwa Ibom State Police Command towards eradicating cultism, murder, kidnapping and other prevalent violent crimes in the state.It would be recalled that, Ukanafun has experienced violent crimes in recent times due to the prevalence of cultism in the area.
Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki yesterday sarcastically expressed sympathy for Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Chairman Danladi U...

Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki yesterday sarcastically expressed sympathy for Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Chairman Danladi Umar over his alleged travail in the hand of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).Saraki, in a post on his Facebook page, said the EFCC suddenly woke up four days to the resumption of his (Sarakis) asset declaration case to slam a criminal charge against Umar.He noted that in April 2016, when his lawyers asked Umar to rescue himself from his (Sarakis) case because of the criminal investigation against him, the EFCC swiftly cleared Umar of any wrongdoing.He wondered what has changed since April 2016 and few days ago to force the EFCC to file criminal case against Umar.Saraki wondered whether those who genuinely love this Government appreciate the damage that all this is doing to our so-called War Against Corruption.The post read: I sympathise with the chairman of the tribunal, Mr. Danladi Umar, for his travail in the hands of the EFCC, which suddenly woke up four days to the resumption of this case to file criminal charges against him.You will recall that in April 2016, when our lawyers asked the tribunal chairman to rescue himself from our case, because of the criminal investigation against him, the EFCC swiftly cleared Mr. Umar of any wrongdoing.Now, I find it amusing, that in a dramatic turnaround, this same EFCC now thinks that Mr. Umar has a case to answer just before the commencement of my case before him. What has changed since April 2016?As much as many Nigerians want to continue to believe that this my case is merely about asset declaration irregularities, the maneuvers, manipulation, intrigues, schemes and House of Cards nature of this whole case proves otherwise.I really wonder whether those who genuinely love this government appreciate the damage that all this is doing to our so-called War Against Corruption.However, in all of this, my confidence in the judiciary and its ability to do justice in all cases remains unshakeable.
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged victims of herdsmen attacks not to engage in reprisals.

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged victims of herdsmen attacks not to engage in reprisals.He reassured the people of the Northcentral, who are mostly at the receiving end of the attacks, that his administration would not tolerate such barbaric acts.The President spoke while commissioning the Comprehensive Special School, Lafia, Nasarawa State.He plans to visit other states where herdsmen-farmers clashes have led to many deaths. Buhari will be in Taraba, Zamfara and Benue, but no dates have been set for the trips.Buhari said that the Federal Government was working hard to ensure that peace and stability returned to the region.According to him, additional resources have been deployed to end the crisis and maintain law and order.The President said: I also want to assure the people of the Northcentral and indeed all Nigerians that the Federal Government is working day night to ensure that peace and stability return.We have deployed additional resources to all the affected areas to maintain law and order.The attacks by suspected herdsmen and other bandits will not be tolerated.I appeal to all Nigerians to refrain from reprisal attacks. The security agencies have standing order to arrest and prosecute any and all persons found with illegal arms.I will, once again, express my condolences and sympathy to all the affected victims of these barbaric acts.He pledge that the change mantra of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would continue to be the basis for solutions to Nigerias problems.He said: Let me use this opportunity to stress that the Change philosophy which precipitated the APC Government will continue to idealise and identify issues that are critical to our socio-economic development with a view to proffering lasting solutions to them.I want to assure Nigerians that we would intensify our commitment towards the realisation of the cardinal objectives of this Administration anchored on securing lives and property, curbing corruption and ensuring economic growth through diversification.The President noted that the people of Nasarawa have always been with the Change movement, since the early days of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) through APC.He said: In 2011, the people of Nasarawa decided to vote for Change, voted for the CPC in order to have a government for the people, and in 2015 they voted for continuity.Today, I am obliged to reiterate Governor Al-Makuras proclamation that, indeed, Nasarawa State is my political home.Since the inauguration of His Excellency Umar Tanko Al-Makura as the Governor of Nasarawa State in May, 2011; the occasion which I attended personally, I have been following the trend of events in the state and the reports I receive are that of execution of many projects.Accordingly, during my campaign visit to Nasarawa State in 2015, I noticed the transformation within Lafia metropolis.Other projects the President commissioned included the Electronic Library, a Fire Service facility and a township road, a model primary health care centre and the Karu International Market.Noting that this is the Change people of Nasarawa voted for, Buhari said: I must add that these projects, I believe, were executed owing largely to the frugality of Governor Al-Makura in the management of the meagre resources at the disposal of the administration in the state.Pleased with the launch of the pilot scheme of the Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Services (CHIPS) National Programme at Kwandare, Lafia Local Government Area, the President directed the Federal Ministry of Health to synergise with other states to roll out the programme to enable the less privileged and rural dwellers have access to health services.He assured the state that all ongoing federal strategic projects, especially the power transmission sub-stations and roads, would be completed to further enhance the socio-economic development of Nasarawa State and the Northcentral.Speaking earlier during a courtesy call on the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Isa Mustafa Agwai, the President said he was honoured to visit the state for the first time since he assumed office.He said: I am very pleased to honour this invitation which your governor booked as soon as I was sworn in as the President.I tried to remain within the castle called Aso Villa but I had to break out and come in order to honour this invitation which has been outstanding for so long.Governor Al-Makura urged the Federal Government to take over the construction of the Keffi-Lafia-Vaji road, which will reduce Lafia  Abuja travel time to one hour from three hours.He described Nasarawa as the political laboratory of President Buhari as it was the only state won by the defunct CPC founded by the president.He said the state had adopted the Presidents Change template to ensure the best practices which will bring development to the people especially the downtrodden.
A former official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kwara, Christian Nwosu, who is standing trial over alleged ...

A former official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kwara, Christian Nwosu, who is standing trial over alleged N30 million bribe to rig the 2015 polls, was on Wednesday in Lagos re-arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).Nwosu was alleged to have received the money from a former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to rig the 2015 elections.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ex-INEC official was arrested after Wednesdays proceedings in another criminal case at the Federal High Court in Lagos.EFCC charged Nwosu and one Tijani Bashir with receiving N30 million bribe from Diezani to commit electoral fraud.They were arraigned along with Yisa Adedoyin, who pleaded guilty to receiving cash payment of N70 million from Diezani, who is also named in the charge as being at large.Nwosu pleaded guilty when he was first arraigned, but changed his plea to `not guilty after he claimed that the EFCC had induced him to plead guilty.On Wednesday, EFCCs investigator, Mr Usman Zakari, tendered Nwosus account statements showing details of the N30 million transaction.The witness said Nwosu received N17 million via his Diamond Bank account and another N13 million through his Union Bank account.Zakari also tendered some land title documents allegedly acquired by Nwosu with some of the funds.After the documents had been admitted in evidence, the prosecution closed its case.The Defence Counsel, Mr Victor Opara, said his client would file a no-case submission, saying the prosecutions case is baseless.After the proceedings, Nwosu and other accused were arrested outside the courtroom.NAN learnt that their arrests followed what EFCC source called  fresh findings.In the charge, the prosecution alleged that the duo had on March 27, 2015 accepted gratification to the tune of N264 million from the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Allison-Madueke.They were alleged to have conspired to take possession of the money which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act of gratification.They were also accused of making cash payments to the tune of about N235 million which sum exceeded the amount authorized by law without going through a financial institution.On count seven, Nwosu was alleged to have directly used the sum of N30 million which he ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act of gratification.The offences contravened the provisions of Sections 15 (3), 16 (2) and 18 (a) of the Money Laundering Prohibitions (Amendment) Act, 2015. (NAN)A former official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kwara, Christian Nwosu, who is standing trial over alleged N30 million bribe to rig the 2015 polls, was on Wednesday in Lagos re-arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).Nwosu was alleged to have received the money from a former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, to rig the 2015 elections.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ex-INEC official was arrested after Wednesdays proceedings in another criminal case at the Federal High Court in Lagos.EFCC charged Nwosu and one Tijani Bashir with receiving N30 million bribe from Diezani to commit electoral fraud.They were arraigned along with Yisa Adedoyin, who pleaded guilty to receiving cash payment of N70 million from Diezani, who is also named in the charge as being at large.Nwosu pleaded guilty when he was first arraigned, but changed his plea to `not guilty after he claimed that the EFCC had induced him to plead guilty.On Wednesday, EFCCs investigator, Mr Usman Zakari, tendered Nwosus account statements showing details of the N30 million transaction.The witness said Nwosu received N17 million via his Diamond Bank account and another N13 million through his Union Bank account.Zakari also tendered some land title documents allegedly acquired by Nwosu with some of the funds.After the documents had been admitted in evidence, the prosecution closed its case.The Defence Counsel, Mr Victor Opara, said his client would file a no-case submission, saying the prosecutions case is baseless.After the proceedings, Nwosu and other accused were arrested outside the courtroom.NAN learnt that their arrests followed what EFCC source called  fresh findings.In the charge, the prosecution alleged that the duo had on March 27, 2015 accepted gratification to the tune of N264 million from the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Allison-Madueke.They were alleged to have conspired to take possession of the money which sum they reasonably ought to have known formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act of gratification.They were also accused of making cash payments to the tune of about N235 million which sum exceeded the amount authorized by law without going through a financial institution.On count seven, Nwosu was alleged to have directly used the sum of N30 million which he ought to have known formed part of an unlawful act of gratification.The offences contravened the provisions of Sections 15 (3), 16 (2) and 18 (a) of the Money Laundering Prohibitions (Amendment) Act, 2015. (NAN)
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has described Federal HighCourt Judge, Okon Abang, as a disgrace to the judiciary in Nigeria.

Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose has described Federal HighCourt Judge, Okon Abang, as a disgrace to the judiciary in Nigeria.





He said that the judge was acting more like a persecutor in the case of former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh.





The governor, who said it was clear that Justice Abang was out to satisfy the sinister aim of Metuhs persecutors, said; In saner climes, all that is needed as proof of inability to stand trial due to ill health is a doctor report from duly recognized health institution and one wonders whether medical report from federal government owned Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Anambra State should not have been enough to convince Justice Abang that Metuh was indeed sick.





According to a statement issued on Tuesday, by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere OIayinka, Governor Fayose said; Shame on Abang, a judge who goes to court robing himself in garment of corruption. Why didnt he (Abang) dock Metuh with the stretcher on which he was brought to court yesterday despite all his initial bragging?





The judges utterances during last months court appearance when he was told that Metuh was on admission and could not appear in court was a clear demonstration of malice and desperation to convict an accused person at all cost.





The governor said it was obvious that Justice Abangs only aim was to satisfy the interest of those with evidence of his corrupt practices, adding that, When they needed the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) Chairman, Danladi Umar to help them convict Senate President Bukola Saraki, they made the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to clear him of culpability in the N10 million bribery allegation levelled against him.





In April 2016, the EFCC said via a letter signed by the Secretary of the Commission, Emmanuel Adegboyega Aremo that after investigating the case for some time, it became clear that the whole allegation bordered in the realm of mere suspicion and would be difficult to charge the CCT judge to court based on the allegation.





Today, the same Umar that they cleared has been charged to court by the EFCC on the same allegation.





Obviously, they intend to use the criminal charges filed against the CCT chairman to blackmail him into doing their sinister bidding of convicting Senator Saraki at all cost just as they are doing in the case of Metuh.





On August 18, 2016, five Appeal Court justices in their judgment in the case of Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu Vs. Samson Ogah, said Justice Abang committed a rape on democracy!





Also, a three-member panel of Appeal Court judges led by Justice Ibrahim Salauwa said the judgement delivered by Justice Abang on October 14, 2016 was as fraudulent as it was violent and that the judge acted like Father Christmas.





If not because of his ability to do hatchet jobs for those presently holding Nigeria at the jugular, how can a judge like Abang that has been adjudged severally as giving fraudulent judgments and acting like Father Christmas still sit in judgment over cases involving Nigerians?




Usman Yusuf, the executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, has been reinstated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Usman Yusuf, the executive secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, has been reinstated by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He was reinstated on Tuesday, according to a circular reportedly issued to the health ministry by Abba Kyari, chief of staff to the president.





On July 6, Isaac Adewole, minister of health, suspended Yusuf over allegations of fraud levelled against him.





Insiders siad that since his appointment on July 29, 2016, Yusuf had violated procurement laws and dished out contracts to cronies.





It was discovered that the final straw that led to his suspension was the alleged purchase of a Prado SUV by Yusuf for N58 million shortly before Ramadan, though his approval limit was N2.5 million.





His suspension at the time had resulted in intrigues after the NHIS boss told the minister he has no powers to suspend him.





The house of representatives had also called for his reinstatement, pending the outcome of the probe into the allegations against him.





Following his recent reinstatement, Nigerians have reacted with anger, shock, and disbelief.





While some have urged the health minister to resign in protest of Yusufs reinstatement, others have described the development as a tacit condoning of alleged corruption by the presidency.

Here are some reactions from Twitter.

Buhari reinstates NHIS boss. Hasn't this administration done more than enough deserving of outright and if given blind impeachment. At what point would the law makers enact laws and act in their capacities as enshrined in the laws of the land. Impeach Buhari now or plunge Nigeria  Emmy (@EmmyAngley) February 7, 2018

Buhari declared Isaac Adewale wanted in 1984...he fled to the UK where he became a refugee



In 2016 he was appointed minister of Health by Buhari..he gladly & shamelessly accepted.



He suspended NHIS boss Yusuf, a 97% for gross misconduct & fraud



Buhari has now reinstated Yusuf  Babasola Kuti (@SKSolaKuti) February 6, 2018

So Buhari will pretend not to be aware of revelations by a former acting DG of the NIA on how Buharis chief of Staff tried to extort $2 million from him. This on the same day the President reinstated the allegedly legendarily corrupt suspended NHIS boss. Anti corruption my foot!  Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) February 7, 2018

The same Buhari who reads at the level of a primary 4 pupil has had the time to read the entire findings of the ministry of health which was prepared by a professor??? This reinstatement of the NHIS boss clearly shows Buhari doesn't even respect due process.  Teezon! (@TeezyFBaby1) February 6, 2018



is been reinstated by the PRESIDENCY today

I see...... So the same NHIS Boss that was accused of financial recklessness & sacked by MINISTER OF HEALTHis been reinstated by the PRESIDENCY todayI see...... pic.twitter.com/YbrC5HIvq3 February 6, 2018

Like Maina, like Professor Yusuf of the NHIS. The Buhari-led administration has shown time after time that it has no scruples about reinstating people found guilty of graft regardless of the weight of the crimes. Corruption fighting back indeed!  Teezon! (@TeezyFBaby1) February 7, 2018





Usman Yusuf, d Exe. Sec of d NHIS, who was suspended by MoH, Prof. Adewole ova financial impropriety while in office has been reinstated by Mr Buhari.



Mr Yusuf is a Northerner For all dos who claim @MBuhari is fightin corruptn, U may as well jot ds down as we move 2wods 2019:Usman Yusuf, d Exe. Sec of d NHIS, who was suspended by MoH, Prof. Adewole ova financial impropriety while in office has been reinstated by Mr Buhari.Mr Yusuf is a Northerner February 7, 2018

oh! you guys thought buhari will fire the NHIS boss? the joke is on you all. the story of northern oligarchy in the civil service is deep!  shehu audu (@IGONO) February 7, 2018

The reinstatement of Usman Yusuf as Executive SECRETARY of NHIS by Buhari despite being found guilty of nepotism and theft of public fund is a slap on the Health Minister.

This further proves that these Ministers are just figureheads, they should resign honourably.  AubameBANG (@Heurak) February 7, 2018





Then you realize the Director is also a Northerner.



See forget Buhari is done. No way back. Madness. Why on earth will @MBuhari reinstate the Director of the NHIS who is still under probe by the EFCC and NHS?Then you realize the Director is also a Northerner.See forget Buhari is done. No way back. Madness. February 7, 2018

If there's any iota of honour left in Isaac Adewole, he should have resigned immediately NHIS boss, Yusuf, was reinstated .... But no, the love of country won't allow him.  THA BI SO (@vicday15) February 6, 2018

He has just simply disgraced the Minister for Health.

OMG.... If I ware to be the minister, I will just simply resign considering the kind of shame and disgrace this act of his has brought upon Nigerians.  Ezumah Wisdom (@ezumah_wisdom) February 7, 2018

@MBuhari Sir, you ridicule your minister and the presidency indirectly by recalling suspended NHIS chief. The allegations are huge and should be investigated and punished. We are losing interest in your anti corruption war. @GarShehu February 7, 2018

@ClassicFM973 #fpn @jimidisu #NHIS boss reinstatement shows that #PMB is not in firm control of things as he seems to have weighed in fully to regional interest and thrown caution to the winds in national issues. February 7, 2018

How can Buhari reinstate the suspended NHIS boss accused of 900+million Naira fraud and currently being investigated by EFCC? Those anyone still believe @MBuhari is fighting corruption??? SHAME!!! https://t.co/vt2pi6ONUv February 7, 2018

Two wrongs will never make a right. Due diligence on issues associated with institutional sabotage is lacking in this administration. Either Minister of Health or NHIS Boss one has to go.  Malam Sabiu Zaranda (@Binzaranda) February 7, 2018

There are no words to describe kind of person/ President is Mr. Buhari. His actions, things he does r beyond human comprehension.Reinstatement of sacked NHIS boss is tantamount to encouraging corruption& total disregard of the Nigerian people& things that offend our sensibilities  usman ibrahim (@ikhanaib) February 6, 2018

I woke up this morning hoping to hear of the Health Minister's resignation after being disrespected by Buhari in the NHIS saga. Nothing yet.



Please Honorable Minister, for the sake of your honour, do the needful.

Resign!  The Iconoclast (@jahneduibekwelu) February 7, 2018

Despite Nigerians outcry for help

Despite Obasanjo's letter & IBB's statement

Buhari seems not bothered.



Benue crisis is still not under control, PMB just reinstated NHIS secretary, Usman Yusuf who is under probe for alleged N919m fraud.



PMB's advisers sebi you're watching  Kemi Ariyo (@d_problemsolver) February 7, 2018

Morning brief: NHIS boss under investigation reinstated, AGF fails to respond to FOI on 4% consultancy fee on Abacha loot, State House Press Release on party reform, $44m NIA story, the crowds of Nasarawa...



Nigeria, good morning.  Oluseun Onigbinde (@seunonigbinde) February 7, 2018

@ClassicFM973

PMB shld know that he's accountable for all the things that happened tru out his tenure.

Reinstating the NHIS boss clearly shows d gross irregularities in his govt.

Abba Kiyari may b d defacto boss but its PMB we kno PMB shld know that he's accountable for all the things that happened tru out his tenure.Reinstating the NHIS boss clearly shows d gross irregularities in his govt.Abba Kiyari may b d defacto boss but its PMB we kno #FPN February 7, 2018



That the NHIS boss has been reinstated without consulting the reporting minister, then



Another battle lost.



Anti Corruption fight my foot!!!. If the news going around is true,That the NHIS boss has been reinstated without consulting the reporting minister, then @IsaacAdewole3 should resign as the MOH.Another battle lost.Anti Corruption fight my foot!!!. February 6, 2018
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo reaffirmed his anti-President Muhammadu Buhari battle yesterday in Lagos when he said only a popular ...

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo reaffirmed his anti-President Muhammadu Buhari battle yesterday in Lagos when he said only a popular movement can enthrone a progressive leadership required to make Nigeria a great country in Africa.He said Nigeria had disappointed Africa in providing needed leadership in post-military era.Although, the ex-president did not specifically mention any regime, he said the nation deserved a better leadership to enable it play a front role in Africas socio-economic growth. He said the way out of the development quagmire is for the masses to form non-partisan popular movement that would serve as a credible alternative.The former president spoke yesterday at the 15th Lecture and International Leadership Symposium with the theme: Leadership and Performance in Africa: The Challenge of the Continents Economic Competitiveness, organised by Centre for Value Leadership (CVL) at Muson Centre, Onikan, LagosCVL is a leadership think-tank founded by Prof. Pat Utomi.Obasanjo said: The first generation of leaders in this country, whatever you say about them, gave us independence. They helped in the transition from colonial power to indigenous leadership. Within their knowledge, their experience and exposure, these first generation of leaders did their best. But then, they made mistake, which led to the transition to the military era. Later, there was another transition to democracy.The ex-president also said security matter should not be politicised or treated as emotional issue, noting that insecurity does not recognise anyones emotion or cultural beliefs. Obasanjo said he disagreed with a statement credited to former United States (U.S.) President Barack Obama, who said Africa needed to build strong institutions and not strong men.I believe we need both strong institutions and strong leaders. If there are no strong leaders, we will not be able to build strong institutions. If strong institutions are established and our leaders are weak, those strong institutions will collapse, Obasanjo said.In a special statement last month, Obasanjo discredited the two main political parties  the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He went ahead to form the Coalition for Nigeria Movement.
The former governors still under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, are presently in a meeting.

The former governors still under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party,PDP, are presently in a meeting.

The meeting is chaired by the National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus.





This was disclosed by the partys Chairman on his official twitter handle.





Details of the meeting is yet to be made public as at time of filling this report.





Details later




Despite the cry out by Imo state chapter of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, that there was a plot to destabilize its leadership, the government has gone ahead to include the senior citizens under the Ministry of Happiness and Purpose Fulfilment headed by the governors younger sister, Ogechi Ololo.This was coming few days after the leadership of NUP, raised an alarm that the government was still owing them between 30 to 89 months pension arrears.Among the areas the senior citizens were said to have disagreed with the government included formation of a body known as Senior Citizens Association of Imo State, which they claimed, loyalists to the government were appointed to head the said platform.According to the NUP, its chairman, Donatus Nwokedi, suggested that the government should follow due process in addressing the plights of the senior citizens in the state.Nwokedi was of the opinion that the time has come for the restoration of the statutory offices of the Head of Service, Accountant General and the Local Government Pension Board, for the payment of pension and gratuities, as well as harmonisation of pension in the state.It will be recalled that the Ministry of Happiness and Purpose Fulfilment, according to the new arrangement by the Okorochas administration, would be in charge of job employment, justice and fairness.Special citizens, conflict resolution, public complaints among others have been added as part of its obligations.
Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson has expressed fears that the US is ill-prepared to prevent to stop Russia from meddling with its forthcom...

Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson has expressed fears that the US is ill-prepared to prevent to stop Russia from meddling with its forthcoming midterm poll.

There are indications that Russia is already attempting to interfere in the U.S. in 2018 ahead of congressional midterm elections as it did in the 2016 general election, he said.





I dont know if to say we are better prepared, because the Russians will adapt as well, Tillerson said in an exclusive interview with Fox News in Bogota, Colombia.





The point is, if its their intention to interfere, they are going to find ways to do that. We can take steps to prevent it, but this is something that, once they decide they are going to do it, its very difficult to preempt it.





I think its important we just continue to say to Russia, Look, you think we dont see what youre doing. We do see it and you need to stop. If you dont, youre going to just continue to invite consequences for yourself, said Tillerson.





The secretary also condemned the Russian governments activities in Syria which is in support of the Assad regime as it kills civilians with chemical and conventional weapons.





They are supporting the Assad regime; they are providing the air cover for the regime. Russia is responsible, they agreed that they would take care of the chemical weapons in Syria, clearly they failed to do that, said Tillerson.





Russia really needs to move to a different place on this, and they can deny it all they want to, but facts are facts and they need to go to another spot.




President Nicolas Maduro of the Republic of Venezuela, has called for stronger bilateral ties between that country and Nigeria.Maduro said this when the new Nigerian Ambassador to Venezuela, Amb. Martin Cobham, presented his Letters of Credence to the President in Caracas.A statement from the Nigerian Embassy in Caracas made available to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja said that Maduro, also called for sustained interaction with Africa.Maduro called for the opening of new vistas in areas of mutual benefits for the development of the two countries.Cobham in his response conveyed the fraternal greetings from President Muhammadu Buhari to Maduro.The envoy pledged to collaborate with the relevant officials of the country to sustain the existing bilateral ties and further deepen partnership as spelt out in various MOUs and Agreements of the two countries.He also solicited support from his host to enable him succeed in his assignment.Cobham, served as Nigerias Acting High Commissioner to South Africa.NAN reports that Venezuela established diplomatic relations with Nigeria in 1965.Both countries are members of OPEC.
A 73-year-old man was found dead Wednesday after a three-alarm fire ripped through his Ridgefield Park home, authorities said.

The fire broke out about 12:45 a.m. in a single-family home in the 100 block of Brinkerhoff Street, according to police.

The man, who was active in his local church, was found dead when firefighters searched the home, police said.

The victim's name was not released Wednesday morning as detectives with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office investigated.

The fire did not appear suspicious, police said.

A firefighter was treated for injuries, abc7ny.com reported.

The Ridgefield Park Volunteer Fire Department was assisted by first responders from Little Ferry, Bogota, Hackensack, Ridgefield, Teaneck.

Ridgefield Park Fire Department responded to a 2nd Alarm fire at 110 Brinkerhoff Ave. Mutual Aid from Little Ferry,... Posted by Ridgefield Park Volunteer Fire Department on Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A former teacher at one of New Jersey's most prestigious private schools is accused of repeatedly taking students into the showers and ordering them to perform naked pushups and other exercises as he watched decades ago, according to the school.

From 1960-1984, Bruce Presley was a teacher and housemaster at the elite Lawrenceville School, where former students say he offered alternative punishments as a way to avoid detention or other formal discipline, the school said.

"Mr. Presley's conduct towards our former students is abhorrent, unacceptable, and contrary to all the values of Lawrenceville," the school said in a statement. "We offer our heartfelt sympathy and apologies to those affected by his behavior."

Presley, 79, now a prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist in south Florida, is president of a media company that produces videos for the LGBT community.

The alleged punishments happened decades ago when Lawrenceville was an all-male school, according to an investigation published last week by the South Florida Gay News, which revealed the complaints.

The allegations come from six accusers, who were either 17 or 18 at the time of the alleged incidents and attended the school in the 1970s, according to the report. No one interviewed for the story accused Presley of physical abuse, but they said his harassment humiliated them and left a damaging long-term impact on their lives.

"It ruined my life," Brent McCowan, 58, of Houston, told the paper. "It caused me a lifetime of pain."

Presley did not respond to requests for comment, according to the report. The school told NJ Advance Media the published allegations match complaints recently brought to administrators.

He could not be reached by NJ Advance Media.

The accusations follow multiple reports of decades-old harassment or abuse at private schools nationwide, including widespread allegations of abuse by a teacher the Pingry School in New Jersey.

In an effort to be proactive, the Lawrenceville School sent a letter to alumni in 2016 seeking information about any past incidents involving inappropriate contact between students and adults.

The letter turned up secondhand information about Presley engaging in an "abuse of power" and "sexual harassment," according to a second letter the school sent to alumni in December 2017.

"According to the reports, students who had broken a school rule could avoid detention or other discipline by agreeing to perform pushups fully unclothed, while the teacher in question watched," the Lawrenceville letter said. "At the time, the administration conducted some level of review but it is not known whether any follow-up action was taken."

The South Florida Gay News said it began its investigation after one of the accusers, Guy Dorgan, of Robbinsville, emailed an editor, according to the report.

Dorgan, inspired by the #MeToo movement, told the News that he was irritated that women who came forward decades after their abuse weren't being believed.

"I understood why they waited so long," said Dorgan, 57, who told the paper he recalled Presley once forced him to perform nude exercises in the shower.

The Lawrenceville School said it has retained independent investigators to find out the extent of what happended and to examine the school's initial response to any allegations.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Chris Christie once called the idea of mandatory school recess "stupid" and "crazy government run amok."

But Christie isn't governor anymore, and the mandatory recess bill he vetoed during his presidential campaign is back yet again.

The state Senate this month approved a proposal to make a daily 20-minute recess a requirement for all students in grades K-5, the latest push in an effort Sen. Shirley Turner, D-Mercer, began nearly 10 years ago.

Turner is worried too many schools are shortening recess or skipping it to focus on test preparation, hurting children who need time exercise and play.

"They are being denied the opportunity to be children," she said.

The bill (S847) might not have a sweeping impact considering many schools elementary schools already have a daily recess. But it includes several key provisions to ensure kids have enough time to play.

Under the proposal, recess should be held outside if feasible, and a student should not be denied recess unless they violated their school's student code of conduct. If possible, a school should avoid denying a student recess more than twice a week.

Schools would also not be allowed to count recess toward their mandatory time requirements for physical education.

Turner first introduced a version of the bill in 2009 and has proposed it five more times since then. The legislature passed it in January 2016, but Christie pocket-vetoed the bill and later trashed it on national television.

"Part of my job as governor is to veto the stupid bills," Christie said in a Fox News interview in the midst of his failed presidential bid. "That was a stupid bill, and I vetoed it."

Turner defended the proposal then, calling Christie's comments "way off mark."

She cited the rise in childhood obesity and the health benefits of physical activity as evidence recess should be mandatory.

The state Assembly has yet to consider the bill in the new legislative session that began this year. If passed, the mandatory recess rule would take effect in the 2019-20 school year.

With Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, now in office, Turner is optimistic her proposal could finally become law, she said.

"Hope springs eternal," she said.

Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @realAdamClark. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
The latest season of "The Real Housewives of New Jersey" wrapped up in January, but that didn't mean an end to the drama.

On Monday, "RHONJ" star Melissa Gorga; NBCUniversal, parent company of the show's Bravo network; Andy Cohen, executive producer of the show; and Dorothy Toran, producer of the show for Sirens Media, filed a motion in federal court for the Southern District of Florida to dismiss a $30 million lawsuit brought by Gorga's former business partner.

Jackie Beard Robinson, Gorga's former partner in the Montclair boutique Envy, who has appeared on the reality series, filed the lawsuit on Dec. 6. She sued for defamation, intentional infliction of emotional distress and harm to her "professional, business and personal reputation and livelihood."

In their motion to dismiss, which also asks that the case be sent to arbitration, Gorga, Cohen, NBCUniversal and Toran say Robinson signed two release forms for the show -- one in October of 2015 and another in February of 2017, before the start of the latest season -- that stipulate that any "controversy, dispute or claim" relating to the show be resolved by arbitration or confidential mediation in New York.

In her lawsuit, Robinson takes issue with Gorga, a Montville resident, for saying Robinson "snuck in in the middle of the night and took all the clothes" from the boutique. Gorga made the remark during the eighth season premiere of the show on Oct. 4. Robinson was also unhappy with Gorga's comments during an episode of "Watch What Happens Live" hosted by Cohen that aired the same night.

Who Is Melissa Gorga's Envy Boutique Business Partner, Jackie Beard Robinson? https://t.co/R4MCiOBNjK pic.twitter.com/jkETDvDJNb -- Bravotv (@Bravotv) August 9, 2016

"Wow, so, that lady (Robinson) wound up kinda ripping you off?" Cohen said to Gorga, who replied in the affirmative, again claiming that Robinson had snuck into the store in the middle of the night to steal merchandise.

Robinson and Gorga were business partners until December 2016. Their work in opening the boutique, which started in October of 2015 with Robinson as manager of the store, was a plot point on "RHONJ." Robinson, who formerly owned a clothing store called Ginjer in Delray Beach, Florida, has said she met Gorga in 2014, when she gave her free clothes to wear on "RHONJ."

While Gorga says Robinson lifted clothes from the store in the middle of the night without telling her, Robinson says she had already parted ways with Gorga on Jan. 1, 2017, before she went to the boutique "in broad daylight" to gather "her belongings," meaning merchandise that belonged to her.

Another plot point in the eighth season of the show focused on Gorga talking about how Robinson teamed up with Kim DePaola -- who has been a nemesis of sorts for Gorga on the show -- to liquidate the Envy merchandise at Posche, DePaola's boutique in Allendale.

Robinson says Gorga's lawyer had emailed her to say that she could sell merchandise from the boutique and that Gorga would assume ownership of the store on Jan. 1 of that year. She claims Gorga had "misappropriated over $37,000 from Envy without authorization, among other things."

Gorga's former business partner also claims that since January 2017, after Gorga allegedly made "slanderous statements" about her, Gorga had been put "on actual notice" not to defame her. Robinson says her representatives sent a similar warning to NBCUniversal in February of 2017.

Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.
Agents from the FBI Newark Division conducted law enforcement activity at the Newark Housing Authority on Tuesday, an agency spokesperson confirmed.

The spokesperson did not elaborate on the nature of agents' visit to the housing authority's offices on 500 Broad Street, telling NJ Advance Media only that agents were there on "official business."

Victor Cirilo, executive director of the Newark Housing Authority, said he was not aware of the FBI action.

"No one from the FBI has contacted the housing authority, its officials or myself," Cirilo said. "We welcome any inquiries and provide any information to law enforcement agencies that wish to assess our work."

The Newark Housing Authority receives federal funding to operate 52 public housing sites in the city. Mayor Ras Baraka appoints a majority of its Board of Commissioners.

Board chairman Edward Osborne, who is also a Newark Councilman-At-Large, said he had no immediate comment. Frank Baraff, a spokesman for the city, said the NHA was an agency independent of the city and declined to comment further.

While the nature of federal investigators' interest in the housing authority was not immediately clear, the public corruption unit of the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey has in recent months obtained guilty pleas from two former consultants to the city and Baraka's campaign as a result of investigations by the FBI, the Internal Revenue Service, and Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General.

Kiburi Tucker, the son of state Assemblywoman Cleopatra Tucker, and Linda Jumah will be sentenced this month after pleading guilty before U.S. District Judge Jose Linares to tax evasion charges.

Tucker, a previously convicted felon, also pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge that carries a maximum potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty.

Karen Yi may be reached at kyi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @karen_yi or on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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A 21-year-old man admitted to his role in a scheme that defrauded two banks out of $1.5 million.

Chad Brown, of Orange, pleaded guilty Monday in a federal courtroom in Newark to bank fraud conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey said in a statement.

Brown and others got their hands on account numbers and personal identification number of some customers at the two banks, according to authorities.

Members of the conspiracy then posed as bank employees, called tellers at the banks and tricked them into crediting funds into the stolen accounts. Brown and his cohorts then used debit cards to withdraw money from the accounts at ATM machines or to buy postal money orders, officials said.

The conspiracy took place from September 2015 through May 2017. The banks are not named in the criminal complaint. Court papers don't explain how the account numbers or PIN numbers were obtained.

Brown faces up to 30 years in federal prison when he is sentenced May 15.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
JERSEY CITY -- The Hudson County Sheriff's Office rookie who previously worked as a paid dominatrix and appeared in multiple fetish videos online was officially fired today.

Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari confirmed that a hearing officer presiding over Officer Kristen Hyman's disciplinary hearing made the determination to terminate her this afternoon, adding, "I agree with the hearing officer."

A source said the key reason Hyman was terminated was for lying about her prior work as a dominatrix on her sheriff's office application, although it's possible she would not have made it into the academy had she been honest about her past.

Hyman's lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment today.

Hyman was suspended without pay six days prior to her June 1 graduation from the police academy, but was allowed to graduate after a judge lifted the suspension.

The sheriff's office also opposed her being sworn in with her classmates on June 8, but then dropped its opposition hours before the ceremony. She was then placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of her disciplinary hearing which began Nov. 14 and resulted in her termination today.

An official with knowledge of the disciplinary hearing previously told The Jersey Journal the proceeding's format is similar to a that of a trial and the county and Hyman are represented by attorneys. The hearing began Nov. 14.

A source said a notice that the departmental charges had been upheld by the disciplinary hearing officer -- a lawyer appointed by the county's personnel department -- was sent out yesterday.

Hyman now has the option to appeal the decision to the state Civil Service Commission.

The Hudson County Sheriff's Office holds a swearing-in ceremony for twenty-seven new officers, including seven investigators, at the William J. Brennan Courthouse in Jersey City on Thursday, June 8, 2017. Seen here is Kristen Hyman. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)

The sheriff's office characterized Hyman's activities, which took place roughly from 2010 through 2012, as conduct unbecoming a public employee. She was also accused of neglect of duty after an internal affairs investigation was triggered by allegations about Hyman's past.

The sheriff's office noted "the proliferation of video and audio records ... and or the promoting on social media ... has resulted in the Hudson County Sheriff's Office being the subject of inquiry and ridicule among law enforcement."

Court documents indicate Hyman told sheriff's office investigators she is aware she appeared in videos that are available online, but said she was never naked and never performed sex acts in the videos. She said her real name was never used.

Hyman said violent acts portrayed in some of the videos were "staged" and her role was that of an actress. She said she was compensated for some of the videos, but does not receive money for their continued sale, the court documents indicate.

As part of the investigation, the sheriff's office compiled screenshots of Hyman's appearances on video, including one that showed her "cradling unknown male's head with eyes closed who is possibly passed out," according to court records.

On the same website, Hyman is described as "a true sexual sadist who hurts people not because she has to, but because it truly brings her pleasure," the court documents indicate.

A sheriff's office investigator said that in the videos, Hyman is seen using items "such as whips, and kicking the groin area to inflict pain upon the recipient. In most cases the recipient is naked and/or bound," court documents say.

"I don't know what it has to do with me doing the job," Hyman told the New York Post in an interview.

During her disciplinary hearing, Hyman accused county attorney Robert Pompliano of rubbed his hand up her leg while she was on leave from the academy and trying to kiss her. She said Pompliano pushed the sheriff's department to bring departmental charges against her because she rebuffed his advances.

Pomplilano, who represented the county as the prosecutor at the disciplinary hearing was replaced by outside counsel and the proceedings continued.
JERSEY CITY -- A mistrial was declared today in the murder trial of Jeffrey Harley after a jury spent seven days deliberating without reaching a verdict.

Harley had faced up to life in prison for the murder of his 81-year-old neighbor Lucila Cardenas-Viejo, who was found dead in her Lexington Avenue home exactly two years ago to the day.

"It is two years since this happened and I thought by now my family would have justice," a family member of Cardenas-Viejo said after the mistrial was declared this afternoon.

Harley, also of Lexington Avenue, is accused of beating, choking, slashing and stabbing the woman to death on Feb. 6, 2016 inside her ransacked home. Her son found her body the next day.

Last week jurors told Hudson County Superior Court Judge Patrick Arre that they had been unable to come to a unanimous vote on the charges. He told them to go back to the jury room and keep trying.

But when the jurors again told Arre this morning that they still could not come to a unanimous vote on any of the 11 counts against Harley, the judge told them to go back into the jury room and decide if continued deliberation would be futile.

They later told him it would be, and a mistrial was declared.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Leo Hernandez told the judge the state would seek to retry Harley and Arre set March 2 at 11 a.m. for an initial pretrial hearing.

Defense attorney Jonathan Gordon noted that Harley has been held on a $2 million cash or bond bail since his arrest and said he will seek a new bail hearing to try to reduce the bail amount pending his client's retrial.

No one in court was happy to hear that the jury was hung. Harley showed no emotion and the prosecutors and defense attorney appeared disappointed.

The prosecution built its case around security video captured by cameras both inside and outside Cardenas-Viejo's home. In some of the footage shown in court, the woman can be seen being dragged down a hallway inside her building.

The brutal attack began in the vestibule where her dentures and blood were found. The assault continued in her living room where the fatal stab wound severed a major blood vessel in her throat.

Both her son and Harley's ex-girlfriend identified Harley as the man whose face is visible in portions of video footage outside the victim's home. The man is seen walking toward an alley that leads to the back door of Harley's home.

However, defense attorney Jonathan Gordon told the jury in his closing argument there was no way they could possibly identify the masked man seen entering Cardenas-Viejo's home on security video and seen dragging her inside the home.

The prosecution has said the murder and robbery occurred the same day that Harley's ex-girlfriend posted a picture of herself with her new boyfriend online. They suggested Harley carried out the crime to get cash to woo his ex with a night out on the town.

Gordon reminded the jury that Harley knew the victim and her sons for decades. The attorney noted Harley shoveled snow for the 81-year-old and the sons trusted him enough to ask him to keep an eye on their mother when they weren't around.

After the mistrial was declared, Harley was handcuffed and was to be returned to the Hudson County jail in Kearny to await a new trial.

Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor David Feldman also represented the state during the trial.

Harley's family members in court today chose not to comment after the mistrial was declared.
When Jesus called Simon to be his first apostle, he changed his name to Peter.

On Sunday, Lutheran Bishop Tracie Bartholomew will call Pastor Rose Beeson "Peter" for the first time in what will be a historic "renaming ceremony" at St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church in Hoboken.

Since last summer, Beeson has been transitioning from woman to man and has shared this process with a supportive parish community.

"This a wonderful day in the life of this radically inclusive community," said Mark Singleton, a 21-year member of the church who was on the committee to call Beeson to pastor St. Matthew Trinity nearly four years ago.

On Sunday, after Bartholomew preaches at the parish's regular Sunday service, Beeson, 31, will accompany her to the baptismal font at the historic church's entrance. Then, Bartholomew will affirm Beeson's baptism and call him Peter for the first time.

Why Peter? I asked.

Beeson recounts calling a seminary classmate for advice and when he said "Peter,'' "Peter's persistence resonated."

Persistence has paid off for Beeson who felt "queer'' even as a child growing up in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona, in a rather conservative, Evangelical church and never felt comfortable identifying as a woman.

"I wrestled with sex and gender from my teens into my early 20s," Beeson recalled, mentioning two old films about transgender men  "Boys Don't Cry" and "Southern Comfort" -- which both had "violent endings."

"Seeing those scared me and pushed me back," said Beeson, who did IT work before entering Pacific Lutheran Seminary in Berkeley, California, part of the progressive Graduate Theological Union.

Through seminary and in the process of the call to pastor a parish before ordination, Beeson described a "journey toward greater integrity to be the most fully present for the congregation and more honest and authentic and live what God is calling me to be."

And St. Matthew Trinity has been, he said, a blessing as they are thrilled about what he is doing.

"It's an opportunity for us to live out our mission to accept everyone," said Jen Meusel, a 20-year member and outgoing vice president of the church council, "not just talk the talk."

Bartholomew has supported Beeson from the beginning.

"I support Pastor Beeson coming to the realization who he really is," she said.

Bartholomew sees pastoral concern as part of her ministry. She is aware of other ceremonies for church members and clergy transitioning in other Lutheran synods, but this is the first for the New Jersey Synod.

And, I think the first public announcement of a church ceremony anywhere in the state.

Bartholomew knows a minority voice will not approve of what she is doing and she is not moved.

"St. Matthew Trinity is a welcoming place and showing leadership to respond to gender identity and sexuality," she said.

It is also a Reconciling in Christ congregation, gay-friendly and one of the largest and most socially diverse Lutheran churches in Hudson County, which used to have many more, large active congregations. It sponsors the popular Lunchtime Ministry, which welcomes scores of people four days a week for food, rest and socialization. Many homeless participate.

"On Sunday, you can have a millionaire sitting next to a homeless person in the bench," said Singleton, and that's why he raised his family there and is very active.

Meusel views the upcoming ceremony as an opportunity "to be open and honest and to be clear that there is nothing to hide."

Beeson said his parents, who still live in Arizona, and sister support his change. But his "family" now is the Hoboken community.

"I am grateful to be in a congregation in part to be a bold witness to God's mercy and grace," he told me.

In the 501st year since Martin Luther shook up the Catholic Church, a quiet, determined Hoboken priest is challenging Christianity's understanding of gender and morality.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Rev. Alexander Santora is the pastor of Our Lady of Grace and St. Joseph, 400 Willow Ave., Hoboken, 07030. Fax: 201-659-5833; email: padrealex@yahoo.com; Twitter: @padrehoboken.

If you go ...

Pastor Rose Beeson will be renamed Peter in a renaming ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 11, at St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church, Hudson and Eighth streets, Hoboken. For information, call 201-659-4499 or go to StMatthewTrinity.org.
The state has filed to keep a 41-year-old man in jail who allegedly threatened to shoot detectives during a Saturday morning police standoff.

Johnny Nunez locked himself inside a home on Dwight Street when police attempted to arrest him on warrant stemming from a burglary at Newport Mall in November, authorities said.

The officers went to the home near Van Cleef Street to arrest Nunez and said he took off on foot when they arrived. Nunez ran through backyards, and then locked himself inside the building, court records indicate.

Nunez threatened to shoot the officers and told police he had hostages, although officials say he did not have a gun and no victims were found. Police did recover a crowbar they allege was used in "numerous burglary and thefts," a criminal complaint indicates.

The arrest warrant stemmed from a Nov. 23 burglary at a jewelry store in Newport Mall. Nunez allegedly broke into the store and stole 22 Gucci watches, 27 G-Shock and Baby G-Shock watches, 40 Michele watches, and seven silver bracelets. The jewelry is valued at $82,200, records state.

Nunez's fingerprints were found inside the jewelry store, linking him to the crime, authorities say.

The state motioned to keep Nunez in jail pending trial during his first court appearance Monday. He is due back in court tomorrow. Records also show Nunez is being held for allegedly assaulting a woman in September.

Nunez faces six charges in the three incidents, including theft, making terroristic threats, and simple assault.
Larry Hamm was the first to arrive for the Rosa Parks birthday commemoration, his first event of many for Black History month.

It was his party, and he was carrying a sign that included the famous mug shot of the Civil Rights heroine, with the words "Our Freedom Fighter."

Underneath was the name of Hamm's organization: People's Organization for Progress.

Hamm placed the sign at the base of the Rosa Parks statue at the Essex County Veterans Courthouse in Newark. He then made a second trip to his car, to get a portable, public address system.

This was optimistic. It was Super Bowl Sunday; the snow was beginning to fall, and the wind was howling.

It felt much colder than the 32-degree temperature. Hamm, dressed in layers topped by a yellow People's Organization for Progress hooded sweatshirt, was not deterred.

"We'll see who shows up," he said. "Somebody always shows up."

And those words remain at the heart of what Larry Hamm has been doing for nearly 50 years.

He shows up.

He shows up to protest police brutality.

He shows up to rally against street crime.

And economic disparity. And other forms of social ills and injustices.

Hamm led his first march at 17 and was a protege of the late Amiri Baraka, the writer/activist who helped shape Newark's modern history.

Now he's 64.

One of the people who showed up for Hamm's Rosa Parks ceremony was Baraka's wife, poet/activist Amina Baraka, the mother of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.

"My husband even had a name for Larry," Amina Baraka said. "He called him, 'Adhimu Changa.' It meant 'important.' "

"He was like another son to Amiri and me," she said. "We thought he'd go into politics, but it worked out fine. We got a mayor in City Hall (Baraka) and a mayor in the streets (Hamm)."

Hamm's story begins during the 1967 "rebellion" as he describes it. He was in middle school at the time.

"Before then, race was never discussed in my family," he said. "It didn't have to be. We were black people, surrounded by other black people. But after the rebellion I began to ask questions."

He found the answers in two places, education and activism.

"Oh, I remember Larry when the Committee for Unified Newark used to meet up at Krueger Mansion, which was owned by my mother," said Rev. Louise Scott-Rountree. "He was a teenager then, and I was, say, 8. They used to come in their dashikis and (kufi) hats.

Rountree's mother was Louise Scott, a South Carolina native who settled in Newark and became a successful entrepreneur and cornerstone of the city's black culture. She operated a beauty school in the mansion and also used it for civic events.

"Larry is one of those people who never, ever comes off the wall (of activism) and never, ever lets us forget our history," Rountree said.

As such, Hamm made history himself.

In 1971, he led 700 fellow Arts High students to takeover two floors of the then Gateway Hotel downtown.

"This was during the long Newark teachers' strike and we heard if we were out so many days, we couldn't graduate," he said.

The students demanded better facilities and books, and that the city settle the strike. Mayor Ken Gibson came to hear their demands. Impressed with their student leader, he appointed Hamm to the Newark School Board, making him the youngest school board member, at 17, in the United States.

That put Hamm in a tough spot. He had been accepted to Princeton University, and had to decide whether to start college or help his community. He chose to stay home and served on the board for three years, then ran for city council and lost. He went to Princeton in 1974 and graduated with a degree in politics, a certificate in African-American studies, and a certificate to teach social studies.

But he never doubted he would return to Newark.

"I felt we needed a strong, non-electoral force," he said. "I felt we needed an aggressive grassroots movement to defend the interests of the grassroots community."

He formed the People's Organization for Progress in 1983 as an extension of his youthful activism and has been a persistent voice ever since.

During the ceremony Sunday, Hamm told the audience of about 20 people that he didn't "know a lot about the Civil Rights movement" growing up.

But in 1971, he was given a youth leadership award by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, founded by Martin Luther King, Ralph Abernathy, Fred Shuttlesworth, Bayard Rustin and Joseph Lowery, all names engraved in Civil Rights history.

The letter was signed by Coretta Scott King.

When he went to a New Orleans conference to accept the award, he was brought to meet Rosa Parks, who was arrested in 1955 for not moving to the back of a Montgomery, Ala. city bus. Her action began a year-long boycott that ended with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that Alabama's segregationist bus policy was unconstitutional.

"We didn't have a long conversation because I was star struck," he said. "I froze in place. And I didn't even think to ask her for her autograph."

The Rosa Parks statue depicts her sitting on a bench seat.

Her overcoat is buttoned to her neck and her handbag hangs off her wrist.

The look on her face is placid -- not at all defiant -- but with a hint of a Mona Lisa smile. It speaks to the moment.

"She was an activist," Hamm said. "She knew exactly what she was doing. She was the secretary of the NAACP in Montgomery.

"She didn't get up because she was too tired. She didn't get up because she was determined to challenge the segregation laws."

For Hamm, the challenges to create a just society never go away.

The goal of his activism, he said, is "a redistribution wealth" advocated by Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.

"The fight against poverty never ends. The fundamental transformation of the system hasn't happened, but we keep fighting," he said.

"I get discouraged. But I don't quit. You never just quit."

Not only has he not quit, Hamm hasn't even slowed down. A serious car crash, during which he was hit from behind while parked, injured his body but not his spirit.

"There is a great expression by the writer John Oliver Killens that said, 'Black folks need long distance runners," said fellow activist Zayid Muhammad, who has known Hamm for 40 years, first meeting at an anti-apartheid rally at Rutgers.

"Larry was a track star in high school, a miler, and that metaphor has played out in his public character," Muhammad said. "He has those kinds of lungs. And he has the sincerity and passion and heart to go with those lungs. He is a real, working class son of this town."
Discounts of up to 30 percent off began Wednesday at all closing Toys "R" Us and Babies "R" Us stores, including 11 in New Jersey, according to a spokesman for a consortium handling the closing sales.

Store furniture and fixtures will also be available for sale, the spokesman said.

Closing locations will continue to honor customer programs including gift cards, Endless Earnings and credit card specials.

The closing sales will be operated by a consortium consisting of Gordon Brothers, Hilco Merchant Resources, Tiger Capital Group and Great American Group.

"The discounts and promotions that will be offered at closing locations starting today will be unique to these stores," the spokesman said.

As part of its bankruptcy reorganization plan, the Wayne-based retailer has said it plans to close about a third of its 880 stores.

Twelve stores were slated to close in New Jersey. However, a store in Eatontown was not included in a revised store closure list released on Tuesday.

The stores slated to close in 2018 are:

Bridgewater

Burlington

Cherry Hill

East Hanover

Elizabeth (Kid's World)

Flanders

North Brunswick

Paramus

Philipsburg

Union

Wayne

"Not only will the sale provide loyal customers from coast to coast the opportunity to purchase their favorite products at significantly lower prices, it will also include new merchandise at even deeper discounts," the consortium spokesman said.

"Due to these substantial reductions, we encourage consumers to shop early to take advantage of the best selection of products available while supplies last."

A judge in Virginia reportedly approved a bankruptcy plan that permits struggling retailer Toys R Us to hold going-out-of business sales.

"The reinvention of our brands requires that we make tough decisions about our priorities and focus," company CEO Dave Brandon stated in a message on the company website last month, when he also announced the going-out-of-business sales.

Toys R Us is another bricks-and-mortar retailer struggling to survive in an era of online shopping. A year ago, the company laid off about 15 percent of the staff at its Wayne headquarters.

The closing sales will be operated by a consortium consisting of Gordon Brothers, Hilco Merchant Resources, Tiger Capital Group and Great American Group.

Some shoppers who arrived at the North Brunswick Babie "R" Us shortly after the 10 a.m. opening said they are hoping the sales get better.



"I'm taking advantage of these sales since 30 percent off is pretty good, but they'll get better as they dwindle down," said Rachel Anderson of South River.



Melanie Delaluz, also of South River, came to shop with her pregnant sister to buy towels and baby clothes.



"Usually we go to the East Brunswick store but we came for the sales," Delaluz said. "The sales aren't that good yet but they'll probably get better."

(Staff writer Sophie Nieto-Munoz contributed to this report)

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A Passaic County man on Tuesday admitted robbing five banks and trying to rob a sixth as part of a month-long crime spree two years ago, federal prosecutors said.

Quentin Morales, 27, of Passaic, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton to three counts of bank robbery, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.

As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors said, Morales admitted robbing Wells Fargo branches in Kearny, Kenilworth, Linden, Clifton and Union, as well as attempting to rob a Capital One branch in Elizabeth.

Prosecutors said that Morales would give bank tellers notes demanding cash, and in at least two instances said he had a gun and urged tellers to hurry.

During the robbery spree, which began on June 25, 2016, and ended with his arrest that Aug. 2 by members of the State Parole Board, Morales was one of the bank robbers most wanted by the FBI's Newark Division, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said the charges to which Morales pleaded guilty each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing has been scheduled for May 14, 2018.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Two state lawmakers introduced a resolution this week urging Gov. Phil Murphy to reduce crowded conditions at a psychiatric hospital in north Jersey by reopening another facility Gov. Chris Christie closed six years ago.

Closing the Sen. Garrett W. Hagedorn Gero-Psychiatric Hospital in Glen Gardner did a disservice to the many elderly patients it once treated because they wound up at Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Parsippany, according to the resolution by Sens. Richard Codey, D-Essex and Joseph Vitale, D-Middlesex.

Greystone was built in 2007 to accommodate 450 patients, but was serving 560 in March, and 555 in June, according to the most recent data available on the state website.

Responding to an NJ Advance Media report in August that found Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital in Parsippany had seen a spike in patient attacks, Codey released a statement calling on Christie to reopen the hospital. Christie did not respond.

With fellow Democrat Murphy in office since Jan. 16, "Reopening Hagedorn is the right thing to do to address the crisis we now face," Codey said.

"The Legislature of this state respectfully urges the governor to reopen the (hospital) so that the state can provide appropriate treatment and support to its older residents with mental illness who require hospitalization, and in the process potentially help to relieve the dangerous overcrowding of some of the state's other psychiatric hospitals," according to the lawmakers' resolution.

Resolutions are not binding, but rather are official requests for the executive branch of governor to act. Murphy's spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

Christie heralded the closure of Hagedorn as a step toward shedding New Jersey's reputation of warehousing its citizens with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Christie also shuttered two developmental centers and plowed most of the money into expanding community housing and services.

The former governor turned part of Hagedorn into a housing facility for homeless veterans, Veteran's Haven North.

Choosing to close Hagedorn was a mistake, some lawmakers and mental health advocates argued. At 300 beds, it was among the smallest of the state's four psychiatric facilities and considered among the best run.

"Codey and Vitale are 100 percent on the money," Robert Davison said, CEO of the Mental Health Association of Essex and Morris, Inc.

"Closing Hagedorn dramatically stressed the system and put the patients at risk, as evidenced by the fact that there are 529 people in Greystone as of this date, a hospital that was built for 450. Anyone who doesn't understand this is either blinded by ideology or isn't very good at math."

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
WASHINGTON -- In blaming an engineer's fatigue brought on by undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea for the fatal crash of a NJ Transit train in Hoboken, the National Transportation Safety Board outlined its own problems with the commuter railroad, which Gov. Phil Murphy has called a "national disgrace."

"In the NJ Transit situation, we found that they did not have a robust program" for screening for sleep disorders, NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.

He said NJ Transit has since put in place a procedure to make sure all medical forms were looked at properly and those at risk for sleep apnea were given additional screening.

NJ Transit spokeswoman Nancy Snyder said the railroad was "pleased that the NTSB acknowledged our aggressive sleep apnea screening protocol that mandates all safety sensitive employees who screen positive be immediately pulled from duty and will only be reinstated in their craft if they get the appropriate medical certification."

The safety board called on the Federal Railroad Administration to issue regulations requiring railroads to test and treat sleep apnea.

The Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration in March 2016 proposed requiring such testing, but President Donald Trump's administration killed the proposal last August.

"I'm very disappointed that the FRA pulled back that rulemaking," Sumwalt said.

The FRA said in a statement that it "continues to work closely with the National Transportation Safety Board and will review their recommendations thoroughly."

The Trump administration's action led U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and Reps. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist., and Albio Sires, D-8th Dist., to introduce legislation requiring the railroad administration to approve a sleep apnea rule.

Booker said the NTSB report "underscores just how shortsighted and reckless the Trump administration's decision was to reverse the rule requiring sleep apnea testing and treatment."

"It's imperative that we take immediate steps to strengthen rail safety standards, and mandatory sleep apnea testing is a common sense safety measure that could prevent crashes and save lives," he said.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., introduced his own bill Tuesday calling for safety regulations to be put into law rather than issued as rules that subsequent presidents can modify. It also calls for improving the Federal Railroad Administration collects data, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general,

"When you go from administration to administration, they don't disappear," Gottheimer said. "We need to be more aggressive about safety."

The safety board also noted the absence of an automated speed control system on the tracks leading into Hoboken Terminal, and recommended that some technology be installed to automatically slow down or stop a train.

The NTSB has made positive train control on of its most wanted safety improvements and has decried the delay in installing the system, the absence of which contributed to the May 2015 fatal crash of an Amtrak train in Philadelphia.

NJ Transit faces a Dec. 31 deadline for installing the $320 million system and the Sept. 30 report by the Federal Railroad Administration showed little progress.

According to the report, just 6 percent of NJ Transit's locomotives were equipped with positive train control, just 19 percent of the required radio towers have been installed, and 12 percent of employees have been trained.

"People should be held accountable because people's lives are at stake," Pascrell said.

Acting Transportation Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti expressed skepticism last month that NJ Transit will meet the deadline.

"No one can say that now," she said.

And a Metro-North report said officials "anticipate NJ Transit to request a time extension" to complete installing the system. Metro-North contracts with NJ Transit to run rail service west of the Hudson River through Bergen County.

Under the federal law extending the deadline for installing positive train control to Dec. 31, railroads can seek an additional two years to finish the work.

Murphy last month named Kevin Corbett, a vice president of the global transportation consulting firm AECOM, as NJ Transit's next executive director.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry.



Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JDSalant or on Facebook. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
UPDATE WEDNESDAY MORNING: Snow, ice arrives as wintry mix makes for tough commute

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Weather forecasters warn of dangerous ice conditions

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National Weather Service ice forecast for northwestern New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.

By Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

If you're driving through northern or central New Jersey on Wednesday, get ready for a messy  and potentially dangerous  commute to work or school. Forecasters say a complex storm system will be pushing its way across the Garden State just in time for the morning rush hour, bringing a batch of snow, sleet, freezing rain and plain rain to the region.

With temperatures expected to hover very close to the freezing mark of 32 degrees, the dividing line between the plain rain and the mixed precipitation is difficult to pinpoint. But most forecasters are expecting that line to start in South Jersey in the morning and gradually move north through central and northern New Jersey during the mid-morning to early afternoon as warmer air moves in.

That means most areas of the state  except for the far southern counties  can expect the precipitation to start as snow, then make a transition to sleet, freezing rain and plain rain. Here's a breakdown of what the National Weather Service is forecasting for each region of New Jersey.

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Here's how much snow the National Weather Service is anticipating on Wednesday before the snow changes to sleet, freezing rain and plain rain.

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What to expect in northern New Jersey

(mainly north and west of I-78 and I-287)

Snow is expected to start early Wednesday morning, between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m., becoming heavy at times, possibly exceeding 1 inch per hour in the morning.

Snow will likely change to sleet and freezing rain, then to all freezing rain, Wednesday afternoon. The precipitation might briefly change back to snow before ending Wednesday evening.

Snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches are expected in Sussex and Passaic counties, 3 to 4 inches in Warren County, 2 to 3 inches in Bergen and Morris counties.

Snow-covered roads could result in slippery conditions and reduced visibility.

Ice on roads could also result in slippery conditions.

A slight buildup of ice may form on trees and power lines.

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Here's how much snow the National Weather Service is anticipating in New York City and northeastern sections of New Jersey on Wednesday before the snow changes to sleet, freezing rain and plain rain.

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What to expect in central New Jersey

(mainly south of I-78 and areas near I-195)

Light snow and sleet are expected to start early Wednesday morning, between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Snow and sleet are likely to change freezing rain between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., then to all rain by early Wednesday afternoon.

Snow-covered roads could result in slippery conditions and reduced visibility.

Ice on roads could result in slippery conditions.

Light snow accumulations are expected. (less than 1 inch in Burlington, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties)

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This map shows the estimated starting time of the wintry weather on Wednesday, Feb. 7. (National Weather Service map)

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What to expect in southern New Jersey

(mainly south and east of Interstate 95 / New Jersey Turnpike)

A brief period of light snow and sleet is expected early Wednesday morning, between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m.

The snow and sleet will likely change to freezing rain by the middle of Wednesday morning, then to all rain by late morning.

Even light snow and ice could cause slippery road conditions.

No snow accumulations are expected in Atlantic and Cape May counties.

Less than 1 inch of snow may accumulate in Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem counties.

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Areas shaded in pink are under a winter storm warning on Wednesday, Feb. 7. Areas shaded in purple are under a winter weather advisory. (National Weather Service map)

Winter storm warnings

A winter storm warning is in effect in Sussex County from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and in western Passaic County from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday.

In eastern Pennsylvania, a winter storm warning is in effect from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Carbon and Monroe counties.

In the lower Hudson Valley in New York, a winter storm warning is in effect from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday in Orange and Putnam counties.

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Winter weather advisories

Winter weather advisories are active in the following New Jersey counties on Wednesday:

Morris and Warren counties from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Hunterdon and Somerset counties from 4 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Mercer and Middlesex counties from 4 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Monmouth and Salem counties from 4 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Bergen, Essex, Union and eastern Passaic counties from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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This is how much ice the National Weather Service is anticipating in New York City and northeastern New Jersey on Wednesday.

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For the city, the changeover from snow to rain is expected to occur around 10am - noon. pic.twitter.com/gFcx4xnQ4v  PIX11 Weather (@PIXweather) February 7, 2018

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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Construction crews are in the process of turning the old Louisiana ArtWorks building at the corner of Howard Avenue and Carondelet Street into the new $32 million New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute. The institute is set to open in 2019.

Carol Markowitz, president of the institute, which goes by the acronym NOCHI, wove through the five-story building during a recent tour, pointing out where new cooking and pastry classrooms would go, as well as a ground-floor cafe and an event space with a dedicated kitchen and rooftop terrace. Large vent systems for the industrial kitchens sat waiting to be installed. A welder working on the first floor sent an arc of sparks into the air.

Markowitz said the first priority for NOCHI, pronounced like the Italian dumpling gnocchi, is to provide opportunities for education and advancement for workers in the restaurant industry. Over the long-term, she and founders Ti Adelaide Martin, Dickie Brennan and George Brower want to see the building become a must-see stop for foodies all over, from the acclaimed pastry chef to the local trying their hand at baking for the first time to tourists who want to spend an evening tasting wines.

"It's a huge opportunity to provide enrichment for all the food and beverage enthusiasts around the world and, of course, in our local community," Markowitz said.

To that end, NOCHI is partnering with several organizations to pull the project together. That includes the North American Association of Food Equipment Manufacturers, or NAFEM, which has agreed to donate roughly $5 million worth of equipment, from ovens to silverware, and Tulane University, which will occupy the third and fourth floor of the building with office space, classrooms and lecture halls. Tulane plans to launch a new program in hospitality entrepreneurship there.

In addition, NOCHI signed a cooperative endeavor agreement with the Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority to get the facility up and running and oversee its operations.

The 93,000-square-foot space is large and open, with large windows on every floor that overlook either the streets on the exterior or an interior courtyard. Exposed brick in the courtyard gives a glimpse at century-old bones of the building, which is actually two historic buildings connected by new construction back when developers intended to turn the space into Louisiana ArtWorks, a world-class art studio that failed to fully get off the ground.

Under the new design, the first floor will be a partially public space with a cafe and bar area fronting Howard Avenue where visiting chefs and bartenders will be able to test their menus. The corners facing Carondelet and St. Joseph streets will house classroom kitchens and storage space.

The second floor will be where the facility's baking and pastry labs will be, with eight tables each and enough room to fit up to 18 students as well as a traditional-style lecture hall.

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"This is for the full-time students, the ongoing professionals, but it's also for the enthusiasts," local restaurateur Dickie Brennan said while standing in one of the planned pastry labs during the recent tour. "So, we should always have this room busy."

Ti Martin, co-proprietor of Commander's Palace, called the fifth floor her "favorite," highlighting a spacious room with warehouse windows and an arched ceiling with exposed wood beams. That space will be the facility's beverage lab, where cocktail professionals will hone their craft and enthusiasts will learn how to mix drinks and sample the results, Martin said.

On the fifth floor overlooking St. Joseph Street is a large event space and rooftop terrace with a dedicated kitchen and storage area for catering equipment like tables and chairs. Markowitz said the space will be equipped to host all kinds of events, including weddings and corporate functions. Eventually, she said the plan is to use the space to support programming and conferences created and led by NOCHI.

Markowitz said the project is going smoothly, but probably won't be hiccup free. She noted working with historic structures always poses challenges.

For example, contractors are working on re-leveling the floor of the room that will be turned into the kitchen for the fifth-floor event space. The old wood boards were too warped to accommodate industrial kitchen equipment. That said, the building has a lot of new features, including fully updated and up-to-code bathrooms and stairways thanks to its recent history as an arts development.

Brennan noted many of the city's leading culinary figures dreamed of bringing a world-class culinary institution to New Orleans. But few could have envisioned a space quite like the one taking shape on Howard Avenue, he said.

"For this to fall into our lap, this is a world-class building and you look at this neighborhood," Brennan said. "What a gift."

Follow reporters Jennifer Larino, Todd Price and Ann Maloney on a full video tour of the building. The video was originally recorded on Facebook Live.
A judge has ordered Jefferson Parish to garnish the pay of Councilman Chris Roberts for delinquent condominium assessments. Judge Stephen Enright Jr. signed the order Friday (Feb. 2), according to 24th Judicial District Court online records made available Wednesday.

Roberts owes The Residence at Park Avenue Homeowner's Association $4,502 plus interest and related charges, for a total of $8,102, according to court records. His council salary is $113,957 a year.

It's one of five lawsuits alleging that Roberts stiffed businesses over the years. In four of the suits, creditors have won judgments declaring that Roberts owes them a total of $267,713.

Roberts blames the delinquencies on the fallout from his 2015 divorce. He says he and his ex-wife have not settled the division of their property.

. . . . . . .

Drew Broach covers Jefferson Parish politics and Louisiana interests in Congress, plus other odds and ends, for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Email: dbroach@nola.com. Facebook: Drew Broach TP. Twitter: drewbroach1. Google+: Drew Broach.
A 37-year-old man was shot in the shoulder late Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 6) in the 7th Ward, according to New Orleans police.

The gunfire broke out in the 2100 block of Pauger Street, police said, sending at least one neighbor running for cover behind a brick school building.

NOPD said the shooting occurred at 5:10 p.m. The victim was taken to a local hospital by private vehicle.

As the skies darkened Tuesday night, about eight investigators gathered in the 2100 block of Pauger, where several officers appeared focused on the exterior of a home on Pauger near North Villere Street.

Police searched the home's porch, the nearby sidewalk and the roadway with flashlights as a light rain began to fall and a rooster crowed in the background.

A few residents watched from sidewalks near the intersection of Pauger and North Villere, several of them waiting to return to homes with the yellow police tape. Police had blocked off Pauger Street from North Villere to a point near North Claiborne Avenue.

Vainamoinen Leisti, who said he lives within the cordoned-off crime scene, said he was a couple of blocks from the scene, walking along Pauger Street toward St. Claude Avenue to pick up food, when he heard roughly 30 gunshots ring out.

The gunfire was close enough to where he could hear some of the bullets ricochet, he said.

"I quickly ducked behind the school to take cover," he said, referring to the shuttered A.P. Tureaud Elementary School, a large brick building at North Villere and Pauger streets. "I thought it best to put another building between me and what was happening."

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When asked if he saw anyone struck by gunfire, Leisti said he didn't actually see the shooting or any victims.

"I didn't want to see anything," he said.

Leisti said he was concerned about his family or other bystanders. Tuesday night, he waited outside of the yellow tape to find out if everyone was ok.

"I know it was a lot of bullets," he said.

A woman who lives nearby said she also didn't see the shooting but did hear a lot of gunfire.

As night set in, Leisti, clutching a bag from a fast-food restaurant, and a couple of other residents remained near the police tape, waiting as investigators continued scouring the scene for shell casings.

Given the amount of gunshots he heard, Leisti noted, the process could take a while.

The shooting in the 7th Ward was the fifth reported within 24 hours in New Orleans, according to police. Four of those shootings, including a homicide, were reported between 1 a.m. and 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Update: This story was updated Wednesday morning with additional details from New Orleans police about the time of the shooting and the age of the victim. An earlier version of this post included an incorrect age for the victim.
A bicycle described in a New Orleans police report as "covered in blood" was found near the scene where South Carolina Black Lives Matter activist Muhiyidin Moye was fatally shot early Tuesday (Feb. 6), a New Orleans police report states.

Moye, 32 -- who lived in Charleston, S.C., and preferred the last name d'Baha, according to the Washington Post -- was shot in the thigh shortly before 1:30 a.m. in the 1900 block of Bienville Street, the NOPD has said. He was taken by EMS to a hospital, where he later died, NOPD spokesman Beau Tidwell said Tuesday. Friends have said on social media he had been staying in New Orleans for some time.

Camille Weaver, d'Baha's neice, told South Carolina TV station WCSC her uncle was riding his bike when he was shot and attempted to ride five more blocks after the shooting.

Police initially reported the shooting occurred in the 2400 block of Bienville Street, but later updated the location to the 1900 block. A police report from the shooting obtained Wednesday indicates officers who responded to the shooting found a blood trail starting where d'Baha's body lay in the 2200 block of Bienville Street that stretched for nearly six blocks.

Officers found the bloody mountain bike on the opposite side of the street from where d'Baha lay on the ground, the report states.

Below is the route of the blood trail, as described in the NOPD report.

The report, written by NOPD Officer Lawrence Jones, states NOPD dispatchers initially got a call about gunshots in the area in the 1900 block of Bienville. A second call came in, saying a man was "on the ground asking for help." When Jones arrived, he wrote, he saw a man, now identified as d'Baha, lying outside a car repair shop in the 2200 block of Bienville, near the corner of Bienville and North Galvez.

When EMS arrived, they administered aid and transported him to University Medical Center, located about two blocks away, the report states.

While in the 1900 block of Bienville, where the blood trail stopped, officers found a spent bullet fragment in the grassy near near the corner of Bienville and North Prieur Street, the report states.

'Incredible leader and kind soul.'

According to a GoFundMe page run by Weaver, relatives learned of d'Baha's death about 9 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesday when they received a phone call "saying that he had died due to excessive blood loss."

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d'Baha's mother did not want to speak with a reporter when reached by phone Tuesday night, saying only that her son was a "wonderful person."

Nearly a year ago, he drew national attention with a famed leap, hurtling past yellow police tape and throwing himself toward a Confederate battle flag in attempts to tear it down during a protest in Charleston, S.C.

The flag was being waved before an appearance by activist Bree Newsome at the College of Charleston. In 2015, Newsome became an iconic figure after she scaled a flagpole to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse.

According to a Washington Post report, d'Baha said he tried to wrestle the flag away to "help them understand what it is to meet a real resistance, to meet people that aren't scared."

DeRay Mckesson, a well-known activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, said in a Tweet that d'Baha was "such a force."

Mckesson made headlines in Louisiana in 2016 when he was arrested in Baton Rouge during protests over the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling, sued the city for the arrests and was then sued by an anonymous Baton Rouge police officer. Baton Rouge ended up paying a settlement to Mckesson and other Black Lives Matter activists, and the suit against him and other activists was dismissed.

"He was an incredible leader and kind soul," Mckesson told NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune on Wednesday, of d'Baha. "He understood the power of community and teamwork to bring about change."

The NOPD report states officers and crime scene technicians collected the bullet fragment, DNA evidence and took photographs. The report also states a traffic camera was aimed in the direction of the the 1900 block of Bienville, where police said they believe d'Baha was shot.

Malcolm Suber, a coordinator for Take 'Em Down NOLA, a group that advocates for the removal of confederate monuments in New Orleans, said he did not know d'Baha, but was saddened to hear of the loss. "I remember seeing a clip of him trying to take down the (Confederate) flag. We need more young people to be as bold and as brave as he seemed to be," Suber said. "I hope they find somebody who is responsible for this homicide."

Anyone with information about the fatal shooting is asked to contact NOPD's homicide unit at 504-658-6080 or Crimestoppers at 504-717-7699.

Staff writers Laura McKnight and Jonathan Bullington contributed to this report.
A shooting in the Fairgrounds neighborhood early Tuesday (Feb. 6) was captured on one of the city's new flashing crime cameras, New Orleans police said.

NOPD spokesman Beau Tidwell said technicians at the department's Real Time Crime Monitoring Center, where footage from the cameras can be viewed live, were "able to guide responding officers directly to the scene." Tidwell said police don't plan to release the video footage.

A preliminary NOPD report says the footage shows the shooter "firing about five shots at the victim." The NOPD might release a still photograph from the footage, Tidwell said. The shooting was reported about 4:15 a.m. in the 1800 block of Gentilly Boulevard.

The Fairgrounds-area shooting was one of four shootings NOPD officers investigated in 12 hours. Two of those shootings -- one Monday night in the 9th Ward and the other midmorning Tuesday in Central City -- were fatal.

A preliminary report states the man wounded in the Gentilly Boulevard shooting was twice shot and taken in a private vehicle to a hospital, where he underwent surgery.

Detectives investigating the shooting have viewed the footage, Tidwell said.

The city plans to install approximately 330 of the cameras -- easily spotted by flashing red and blue lights and an NOPD logo -- by the spring. Tidwell said he believed more than half of the cameras have already been installed. Police have said the cameras are slated for installation in "crime hot spots" in each of the eight police districts.

The cameras are equipped with lights and logos to "be transparent about the location of public safety assets" in the community, Tidwell said. The noticeable lights also serve as a deterrent, he said. The light-up feature on the cameras was recommended by other cities that have used crime cameras, including Chicago, Detroit, Memphis and St. Louis, Tidwell said.

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"The red and blue lights let would-be criminals know that someone is watching and that if they do something, it will be caught on camera," he in a statement.

As New Orleanians start to see the cameras pop up around the city, the multimillion dollar program -- part of Mayor Mitch Landrieu's $40 million public safety plan, announced January 2017 -- has faced some criticism from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana.

The ACLU has said parts of the city's crime camera program, which includes the city-owned cameras that were recently installed as well as a plan to require business owners to install cameras and make the footage accessible to the NOPD, could harm relations between the community and police.

ACLU Louisiana interim executive director Jane Johnson said in a statement the program, if fully implemented, could end up, "stifling our vibrant public space - without meaningfully reducing crime." An ordinance requiring business owners to install cameras has not yet been taken up by the New Orleans City Council.

A Jan. 30 New York Times article titled, "Will 1,500 street cameras be a wet blanket in New Orleans?" quoted Daniel Dean, a New Orleans resident who performs burlesque at a club in the French Quarter. Dean told the newspaper he worried, the camera program could be, "invading people's release to be a person that might be seen as provocative or inappropriate."

Kelby Reed, a 9th Ward resident, told The Times York Times he favored the program and thought it might help with the city's gun violence problem.

Aaron Miller, New Orleans Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management director, told WDSU about 70 of the cameras would be installed in the 8th District, which polices the French Quarter, Marigny and Central Business District. He told the station cameras would also be installed along Mardi Gras parade routes Uptown, in Mid-City and on the West Bank.

Landrieu spokesman Tyronne Walker said in November the city attorney, which helped develop the camera program, and the NOPD would "ensure constitutional policing in its administration of the program." He also said then that the new program had already yielded quicker arrests and more efficient investigations.
A Black Lives Matter activist from South Carolina died Tuesday (Feb. 6) after being shot in the thigh earlier in the day on Bienville Street in New Orleans, according to the NOPD.

The shooting victim has been identified as 32-year-old Muhiyidin Moye, an NOPD spokesman said Tuesday night and the Orleans Parish Coroner's Office confirmed Wednesday.

Moye -- who preferred the last name d'Baha, according to the Washington Post -- and was called "Moye" or "Moya" by loved ones, was struck by gunfire shortly before 1:30 a.m. in the 1900 block of Bienville Street.

d'Baha's mother did not want to speak with a reporter when reached by phone Tuesday night, saying only that her son was a "wonderful person."

Police initially reported the shooting occurred in the 2400 block of Bienville Street, but later updated the location to the 1900 block.

d'Baha was taken to a local hospital and later died of his wounds, police confirmed.

Nearly a year ago d'Baha drew national attention with a famed leap, hurtling past yellow police tape and throwing himself toward a Confederate battle flag in attempts to tear it down, during a protest in Charleston, S.C.

The flag was being waved before an appearance by activist Bree Newsome at the College of Charleston. In 2015, Newsome became an iconic figure after she scaled a flagpole to remove the Confederate flag from the grounds of the South Carolina statehouse.

According to a Washington Post report, d'Baha said he tried to wrestle the flag away to "help them understand what it is to meet a real resistance, to meet people that aren't scared."

d'Baha was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, according to The Washington Post report.

Malcolm Suber, a coordinator for Take 'Em Down NOLA, a group that advocates for the removal of confederate monuments in New Orleans, said he did not know d'Baha, but was saddened to hear of the loss of the Black Lives Matter advocate, adding, "I'm always saddened to hear about any young person who loses their life in the mean streets of New Orleans."

"I remember seeing a clip of him trying to take down the (Confederate) flag. We need more young people to be as bold and as brave as he seemed to be," Suber said.

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DeRay Mckesson, a well-known activist in the Black Lives Matter movement, said in a Tweet that d'Baha was "such a force and an incredible guy."

Mckesson made headlines in Louisiana in 2016 when he was arrested in Baton Rouge during protests over the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling, sued the city for the arrests and was then sued by an anonymous Baton Rouge police officer. Baton Rouge ended up paying a settlement to Mckesson and other Black Lives Matter activists, and the suit against him and other activists was dismissed.

Mckesson remarked in the tweet, which shared a Charleston City Paper report about the fatal shooting, that d'Baha's death was "quite a loss."

The investigation into the early Tuesday shooting is ongoing, according to the NOPD. As of Tuesday night, police had not named any suspects or motives in the case.

"I didn't know him personally, but my thoughts go out to him and his family. I hope they find somebody who is responsible for this homicide," Suber said.

According to a GoFundMe page run by Camille Weaver, who writes that she is a niece of Moye's, relatives learned of his death about 9 to 9:30 a.m. when they received a phone call "saying that he had died due to excessive blood loss."

"We don't have many details, but will update as soon as we do," Weaver says in the post.

In an update posted shortly about 8 p.m., Weaver thanked supporters for their donations, comments and condolences.

"I can say that our family is beyond appreciative for the outpouring of love and support we've received today," she writes in an update. "Moya was a light and he will shine on forever."

NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune's Jonathan Bullington and Emily Lane contributed to this report.

Warning: The video below contains offensive language.
Two men are facing first-degree rape charges after being accused of two unrelated rapes involving children under the age of 12, according to court documents.

Juan Socabean, 27, is accused of raping an 11-year-old girl at least three times, according to a warrant for his arrest. The warrant states Socabean is an acquaintance of the girl.

According to the warrant, the most recent incident happened when the girl was walking to school in Algiers in early January. The girl told police Socabean drove past her on the street, pulled over and told her to get in the car, the warrant states. In the previous two assaults, the girl said Socabean threatened to harm her family if she did not cooperate, so she got into the car.

Once in the car, Socabean parked behind a gas station near the intersection of General DeGualle and Sandra drives, where he "kissed her forcefully," and raped her, the warrant states. Afterwards, he dropped the girl off at the school she attends alongside Socabean's own children, according to the warrant.

Socabean was arrested last Wednesday (Jan. 31), after admitting to picking the girl up and kissing her while his hand was on her knee. According to court records, Socabean was booked into Orleans Justice Center jail that same day on one count of indecent behavior with a juvenile.

After details of the rape came forward the next day, Socabean was arrested again on one count of first degree rape, court records show. Socabean appeared in magistrate court Friday where Orleans Parish Magistrate commissioner Jonathan Friedman set his bond for $250,000 and assigned a public defender to his case.

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Enoch James, 37, is accused of raping a 7-year-old relative at least twice, according to his arrest warrant. The warrant states the boy told his mother in December that James raped him once in July 2017 and once in September 2017.

Court records show James was booked into Orleans Justice Center jail on December 19 on two counts of first degree rape and one count of unlawful presence of a sex offender and held on a bond of $250,000.

During an interview after he was booked, James told detectives he performed oral sex on the 7-year-old boy "because he asked him to do it." Afterwards, James said the boy performed oral sex on him, the warrant states.

Based on the second interview, James was arrested again on January 29 on two more counts of first-degree rape, according to online court records. An additional $100,0000 was added to his bond by Orleans Parish Magistrate commissioner Brigid Collins, who also appointed a public defender to his case, court records show.

James is a registered sex offender, according to the National Sex Offender Registry. Court records show he was convicted of molestation of a juvenile in 2004 and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Socabean does not appear in the National Sex Offender Registry.
It started with migraines. Vertrice Lewis, a Baton Rouge native, was only 18 years old when she started feeling sick.

Doctors at first thought it was high blood pressure. But the migraines continued, forcing her to call off of work while she was a student at Baton Rouge Community College.

She would also be diagnosed with asthma, among other ailments before doctors discovered she was suffering from heart failure when she was 22. Lewis was told her heart was enlarged and could not pump enough blood to the rest of her body. Her doctor at the time could not tell her what had caused the condition.

"Because of my age I think they misdiagnosed me," said Lewis, who is now 31. "There needs to be more awareness about this condition and that it can affect younger people."

Even after being diagnosed, Lewis had trouble keeping up with her treatment after getting dropped from her parent's insurance plan at 24. Her condition continued to deteriorate until she was told by doctors at the John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute that she had end-stage heart failure and recommended she have a heart pump implanted to help her pump enough blood to support her body.

Doctors told her that the left side of her heart was damaged, and the right side was doing all of the work.

"It broke me down," Lewis said. "I told my sister, 'Why do I deserve to go through this.' It was an awful feeling."

The device, called an LVAD or left ventricular assist device, is often recommended to patients who have reached a stage of advanced heart failure where their hearts can no longer pump enough blood to meet their body's demand.

Dr. Stacy Mandras, a cardiologist specializing in advanced heart failure and transplantation, one of the doctors that oversaw Lewis' case, explained that heart failure can be caused by different conditions, such as certain viral infections, complications during pregnancy, or exposure during chemotherapy.

"The average age of heart patients who have had LVAD's implanted tend to be closer to 50, she said. "But we have seen teenagers, even as young as 15 who had the LVAD implanted."

Lewis was hospitalized for several weeks after the mechanical heart was implanted in September 2013, and recovery was difficult.

"I had pneumonia, my kidneys started failing. It was hard to see hope," Lewis said.

The months post-operation weren't easy. Lewis lost her father to a pulmonary embolism and her mother to a car accident in a span of months in 2014.

"I knew I had to change the way I was thinking. I was determined not to let my situation let me down," she said.

Several months after her operation, Lewis was asked by her team of doctors whether she would be interested in talking to other LVAD patients and share her story. It's an activity she continues devoting time to while she waits for a heart transplant.

She has done outreach work, talking to other cardiology patients in southeast Louisiana about their shared experiences, and to patients in other parts of the world through LVAD social media groups on Facebook.

Lewis said the experience "has opened a door to the world" for her.

"When you go into another patient's room and they have that look of fear in their eyes about what's going to happen. I know that look, I remember it. It helps them to know not to give up," said Lewis, who is being recognized for her efforts at Ochsner's inaugural red tie gala on Feb. 22, which raises funds for cardiology patients.

Since her recovery, Lewis was also able to return to college and graduated from LSU in 2016 with a business degree.

"The biggest take-away from this story is that she came to us very sick with advanced heart failure, went through surgery and recovery. She was able to go back to school and graduate in spite of the fact that she has an LVAD. She is a model patient," said Dr. Mandras.

Lewis isn't working while she waits for a heart transplant, and tells her family that for now she is in retirement.

"I am doing my life backwards," she said. "I started out retiring and I will soon be getting back to working again."

Maria Clark covers healthcare and immigration for NOLA.com | The Times Picayune and NOLA Mundo. Reach her at mclark@nola.com or 504.258.5306. .
Gallier Hall's grand interior is once again worthy of receiving royalty, just in time for the mayor's Mardi Gras toast to Rex and the king and queen of Zulu from the hall's front steps.

Over the past three years, the Gallier Hall Preservation Committee led by Cheryl Landrieu, the wife of Mayor Mitch Landrieu, has raised $3 million in private donations to pay for the interior restoration of the city's neoclassical jewel.

And unlike most renovations, this one came in on time and under budget.

The 165-year-old Greek Revival former city hall, designed by James Gallier Sr., had fallen into critical disrepair, a point underscored in 2014 when a chunk of the facade crashed down near the building's entrance, shaking up city officials and historic preservationists alarmed at the building's deteriorating condition.

A $10 million exterior and structural restoration was complete in time for Carnival last year, paid for with Federal Emergency Management Agency and city bond funds.

But repairs to the interior -- entirely paid for with private donations -- have been ongoing, with the goal of finishing in time for the city's tricentennial celebration this year. The work on the second and third floors is now done, and the restoration of the Ty Tracy Theater should be complete by March 15.

"We wanted this to be the legacy gift from the citizens to the city for the tricentennial," Cheryl Landrieu said. "For the bicentennial, they restored the (St. Louis) Cathedral. For the tricentennial, we wanted to preserve Gallier Hall to make sure this historic building would be available for many future generations to enjoy."

Layers of history

When Gallier designed the hall that would one day bear his name, he turned to a popular style of architecture to give it gravitas. He built the structure of Tuckahoe marble and ornamented it with towering ionic columns, creating a Greek temple to house such municipal functions as the assessor's office, mayor's office and City Council chambers.

And he gave the building a commanding presence -- soaring four stories high, 90 feet in width and 215 feet in depth.

Erected between 1845 and 1853 (with construction delayed because the city ran out of money at one point), the building originally would be called Municipal Hall; it served as the seat of government until City Hall moved in 1953 to Duncan Plaza. At that point, it became Gallier Hall.

Over the years, Gallier's masterpiece began showing its age. Plaster millwork became cracked and crumbling. The marble floors were worn and stained from a century of foot traffic. "The wood floors also were in very bad shape," Cheryl Landrieu said. "I'm not sure they had ever been sanded down, restored and refinished."

At some point, the bronze lamp posts in front of the building had been turned into flagpoles because the lighting mechanisms no longer worked. A few steps away and flanking the front door, two classical torchieres (attributed to the sculptor Toussaint and made in Paris) also had not functioned in years.

"Because of moisture intrusion, a marble mantel in the mayor's parlor was coming off the wall," said Scott Hutcheson, the city's deputy chief administrative officer, adding that the last time the building was renovated was in the 1980s. "The whole wall could have come down."

Given the interior's condition, this renovation would require much more than a cosmetic face lift. Cheryl Landrieu worked closely with Hutcheson to direct the project, enlisting the help of a dozen local experts in artwork, marble and architectural restoration.

Beyond repairing the plaster walls and restoring the floors, the lamp posts and the torchieres (which once again now light up at night), the work also included repairs and cleaning of 41 paintings, 33 chandeliers (some original to the building), 60 windows, two antique grand pianos and several pieces of period furnishings.

"I knew this would be a fun project, but I couldn't imagine it would turn out this fabulous," Landrieu said as she walked through the building recently while workers finished painting the first floor. "It takes my breath away every time I walk in here."

Gathering the pieces

Deep in the bowels of the building -- squirreled away in an attic and down in the above-ground basement -- were decades worth of broken, moldy and tattered furniture, dozens of blackening oil paintings, some so dark the images were barely visible, and a row of regal Renaissance-style chairs from the City Council chambers.

Hutcheson and Landrieu threw open the doors and started digging out the treasure trove, culling through items to see what could be salvaged. She brought in experts to evaluate each piece and do a proper inventory.

Two 19th-century receiving tables, originally located outside the mayor's office, were missing legs, "but all of the pieces were here," Hutcheson said. "We were able to put them back together."

While the history of some items is unknown, others were easier to identify. "We have a beautiful living room set from Paris," he said. "It was bought right around the Civil War, and we still have the bill of sale."

Also in the stockpiles were paintings of every mayor from the 1850s to present -- "except we think about three are missing," Landrieu said. "They weren't all labeled so we had to do research on the mayors to identify them as best as possible." One painting that they initially thought was a mayor ended up being a portrait of Gallier.

Artwork conservator Darcie Flinn and frame restorer Elizabeth Holt set up work benches in the basement and meticulously cleaned away decades of dirt to reveal serious faces, stiff collars and picturesque scenes.

Now many of the restored mayors' portraits once again gaze out from their frames, hanging in chronological order in rooms on the third floor.

Artwork was an important focus of the project. Landrieu enlisted the help of The Historic New Orleans Collection to hang a pictorial history of the city down the massive second-floor hallway, using giclees of historic artwork, portraits and scenes. "We wanted to show an accurate history over our 300 years," she said. "When visitors come in, we wanted them to appreciate the many contributions New Orleans has given to the nation."

Period pieces

History also came into play when picking the wall colors. Deciding paint colors is tricky in any renovation, but imagine the challenge of picking just the right hues for 16 ballrooms, some with 15-foot ceilings.

Landrieu called up Louis Aubert, interior designer and color guru of New Orleans, who then turned to historical sources for inspiration.

"Gallier built a very gutsy, very grand building," Aubert said. "The colors also needed to be gutsy."

Inspired by the dining room at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello, Aubert picked a rich navy -- Benjamin Moore's Prussian Blue -- for one of the ballrooms. The red for the mayor's parlor, Flamenco, was inspired by the White House's red state parlor. "It's a saturated deep red, less orange," said Aubert, who used all Benjamin Moore paints in the project.

Perhaps the most dramatic change came in a ballroom that had been painted a fleshy pink for years. It's now Clay Beige. "The pink ballroom was the most unpleasant room in the building, even though it had that amazing triptych by George Dureau (called "The Parade Paused"). The room needed to be quiet, soft, but on the warm side of neutral," Aubert said. "A lot of wedding receptions are held there, and I was thinking about brides." (Gallier Hall can be rented for private events.)

In the hallway, Aubert went for a bold contrast, picking an aqua color --Anderson Blue -- for the ceiling and a foliage color -- Palace Green -- for the walls. "They refer to that color as old money green," he said of Palace Green with a laugh.

"The human eye goes to color and contrast," Aubert continued. "I wanted people to walk in and really see the building, to see the detail, to see each ceiling panel and the plaster medallions and have it all set off by the black-and-white checkerboard floor. It's stunning."

Other design professionals who worked on the restoration include: Leslie Walters, drapes; Keith Guy, painting; Ron Del, flooring; Zito's, chandeliers; Battco Construction; CC Maintenance, marble floors; Jessica Hack, textile restoration; and Watch and Clock Shop, antique French clock restoration.

The members of the Gallier Hall Preservation Committee members include Cheryl Landrieu, Joy Bollinger, Ruthie Frierson, Shelia Burns, Frances Fayard, Ron Foreman, Tony Gelderman, Jennifer Heebe, Sandra Herman, David Kerstein, Anne Redd, Slyvia Scineaux-Richards and Mary Von Kurnatowski.
By Ann Maloney, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

At one time, the purview of fans of Blue Bell and in-the-know customers at Brocatos and Creole Creamery, king cake ice cream  and gelato  has caught on among New Orleans small-batch frozen dessert makers.

So, now you can have your (king) cake and (king cake) ice cream, too.

We hunted and gathered and found nine examples of king cake ice cream and gelatos. (We realize that ice cream and gelato are not the same, but were lumping them together here for sanitys sake.)

Who judged?

Then, we gathered, from left, pastry chef Chaya Conrad of Bywater Bakery, personal chef Kenneth Temple of New Orleans, Times-Picayune dining writer Todd A. Price and Forbes.com food blogger Micheline Maynard for a taste test of all nine.

(This exercise did prompt us to ask: What is king cake flavor, anyway?)

The four judges did a blind tasting to choose their favorites. The top winner was a surprise. The judges favored a new ice cream in town called Just Delights, which is an event and catering business that only sells retail online at justdelightsnola.com.

The runners-up were Quintin's Natural Ice Cream and Sorbets, with the sugar baby inside the pint, and the much-loved 100-plus-year-old institution Angelo Brocato's Italian Ice Cream.

Of Just Delights, the judges said:

"This is king cake ice cream!"

"The cinnamon lingers at the end. It's my favorite."

"It has all of the elements."

'A one-woman show'

Its a one-woman show, Erica Buher (pictured) said of Just Delights Fine Ice Creams and Sorbets, which pops up at festivals as well as at private events, such as birthday parties and weddings.

"It's homemade and small batch," she said, noting she customizes flavors for events. One of her next gigs is the Bourbon Festival, which is March 8, 9 and 10 in New Orleans. She isn't yet sure exactly what she'll make for that.

Buher said she started making ice cream a couple of years ago and enjoyed it so much, she decided to make it her career. In December, she quit her job to make ice cream full-time.

For king cake ice cream, she went through several versions trying to capture the right balance of a vanilla base with the essence of king cake throughout the ice cream.

Theres a pastry taste to the base, as well as cinnamon, as well as mixing in cream cheese and colored sprinkles to give that king cake spirit, she said.

Still, she calls her flavor Queen Cake ice cream: "I want it to be its own thing that you could eat with a king cake. It's counterpart. It tastes good with king cake and not just tastes like king cake."

Want a taste? Buher is doing a pop-up at Nonna Randazzos at 2033 US-190 in Covington on Friday (Feb. 9), from 8 a.m to 5 p.m.

If a scoop of frozen king cake deliciousness sounds just about perfect, here are the details on all nine and where to find them. Act fast, however, because most will be gone after Mardi Gras. (Feb. 13).

Angelo Brocato's

214 N. Carrollton Ave., 504.486.0078

The creamy king cake came in third in our taste test. The gelato has a cinnamon flavor and is sprinkled with purple, green and gold dragee for a subtle bit of Carnival color. Judges said the ice cream, which features small bits of cake, has an excellent balance of cinnamon with vanilla with a bread or yeasty flavor, giving it an authentic king cake flavor.

Blue Bell

Available at groceries throughout the state.

The judges said this super-sweet ice cream tasted like the "cotton candy" or the white royal icing that you find on some king cakes. The ice cream is colorful, with swirls of purple, green and gold. Is it good? Judges were less than enthusiastic, but I had to go to three stores to find this king cake-flavored ice cream. I kept encountering empty shelves. It's definitely popular. And, it's only available in Louisiana.

Creole Creamery

4924 Prytania St., 504.894.8680

The ice cream shop's king cake ice cream is a sweet Danish flavor of cinnamon and cream. Judges described the flavor as very subtle, but a couple pointed out they liked the cinnamon bits in the ice cream.

Note: Creole Creamery also makes an ice cream king cake. And, the cake has a baby in it. The cake is made with seven scoops of cinnamon-and-cream cheese flavored ice cream as the circular base. The shop dyes vanilla ice cream in Carnival colors, melts it and pours it on top. It is then dotted with maraschino cherries.

Ice Cream 504

2511 Jena St., 504.266.2708

If you like a subtle cinnamon ice cream, this treat from a sweet little shop just off Freret Street might suit you. Judges said that the flavor is simple, single note.

Just Chillin'

3799 La. 22, Mandeville, 985.778.0373

Just Chillin, Too, 700 Florida St., Mandeville, 985.951.2445

This ice cream has a white chocolate base. Judges praised that custard flavor and the cake pieces, which one judge said gives it a toasty flavor. The ice cream is dyed pale lavender.

Note: The shops also make a popular Mardi Gras Mambo stuffed snowball, which is made with Creole cream cheese ice cream and king cake flavored snowball syrup.

Just Delights

Available online only at justdelightsnola.com/ , 504.252.0772

The judges loved this one from the moment they saw it and gave it top marks. The pint is topped with purple, green and gold sugar, which appealed to eye. The texture was creamy, with chunks of king cake and a fine balance of vanilla custard to cinnamon flavor, the judges said. One judge said it tasted like there might be a vein of creamy icing in the ice cream. (The photo at the top of this article is Just Delights as well.)

Piccola Gelateria

4525 Freret St., No. 103, 504.493.5999

This gelato had more layers of flavor than some others. Judges tasted cream cheese, cinnamon and vanilla.

Sucre

622 Conti St., New Orleans, 504.267.7098

3025 Magazine St., New Orleans, 504.520.8311

3301 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie, 504.834.2277

This mild king cake gelato, with chunks of cake, was creamy and one judge said buttery. The judges enjoyed the sprinkle of edible glitter

Quintin's Natural Ice Creams & Sorbets

Available at Dorignac's, Hollygrove Farm & Market, Lakeview Grocery, most Robert's and all local Whole Foods.

This ice cream came in second in our taste test. Judges said that the ice cream has a rich custard base and a strong flavor of cinnamon, with bits of king cake evenly distributed throughout. It also is the only one with a (sugar) baby inside. We visited the small ice cream kitchen in New Orleans, watch a Facebook Live of that here.

A little lagniappe

Baskin-Robbins

Area shops can be found here.

Baskin-Robbins does not have king cake-flavored ice cream, but did you know that for more than 20 years franchises in the New Orleans area have kept king cake ice cream cakes in the cooler?

The cakes feature vanilla or chocolate cake as the base, with ice cream frozen on top of that. They are sprinkled with purple, green and gold sugar. Those who order ahead can specify any flavor ice cream, but the ones in the freezer cases are usually made with the most popular flavors, such as vanilla or pralines and cream. The ice cream king cake comes in small and large sizes.
It was more of mini-festival than a mere Mardi Gras foot parade. The first Krewe du Kanaval Haitian-themed celebration kicked off Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 6) with a drum and dance circle at the site of the historic Congo Square in Armstrong Park.

The event was conceived by New Orleans' resident rock stars Win Butler and Regine Chassagne, of the band Arcade Fire, who teamed up with pals at Preservation Hall to present the parade and other activities. Chassagne, a Canadian whose parents are from Haiti, was the prime mover behind the celebration.

"Friends, thank you for coming," she said to the crowd from a small stage, "thank you for being here. This is the first time we're doing this, and I'm just really happy because you came. You are the first ones to come. We just said, we're doing this, this Haitian Kanaval, to honor Haitian roots in New Orleans, and you came. So you guys are the founders of this first Kanaval. So, thank you. Peace, love and unity. Let's go."

Then the bands, colorful dance troupes, and costumed krewe members formed into a procession and headed toward nearby St. Augustine church and Tomb of the Unknown Slave memorial.

Leading the parade were jazz maestro Charlie Gabriel, a member of the Preservation Hall Band and a descendant of long-ago Haitian migrants to New Orleans, and legendary soul diva Irma Thomas, who were towed along in a pedicab. Gabriel played the clarinet to the rhythm of the percussive parade.

A Haitian-themed New Orleans Mardi Gras parade makes perfect sense, historically speaking. In the early 1800s the population of the city exploded with Haitian immigrants who influenced the culture thereafter.

The threat of rain and the unusual timing of the parade, which took place on a weekday afternoon, probably diminished the number of onlookers and participants, but it's still safe to say that hundreds joined in the inaugural march. Further activities were planned into the night. Here's the schedule.

1 p.m. -- Music starts at Congo Square.

Doug MacCash has the best job in the world, covering art, music, and culture in New Orleans. Contact him via email at

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It's really not a question that's open to debate: New Orleans is one of the most romantic cities in the world. Period. It has a sexiness, a mystique and an endless bounty of sensory delights that make it difficult to resist. In 2012, CNN even named the Crescent City the most romantic city in the world.

For the record, that's the same world that includes Paris and Rome.

So, with the city's romantic bona fides being thusly established, here's a heartfelt pre-Valentine's Day query: Why are there no good romantic comedies set in New Orleans? If you discount Kate Hudson's forgettable 2011 cancer comedy "A Little Bit of Heaven," and Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer's 2014 remake of "Elsa & Fred" -- and, in both cases, you probably should forget them -- you're pretty much left with Disney's animated fairy tale "Princess and the Frog" for the title of the most memorable Big Easy-set rom-com.

The latest film to try -- and to flounder? Netflix's "When We First Met," a "Groundhog Day"-esque exercise that works hard to put every romantic-comedy genre contrivance into play -- and which even goes so far as to borrow a device that feels as if it would be more at home in the body-swap genre -- but which still comes away with little for its efforts.

Adam DeVine ("Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates," "Pitch Perfect") stars, playing a lovesick guy named Noah who is desperate to work his way out of the "friend zone" after meeting the girl of his dreams. As usual, DeVine's doofy charm goes a long way to keeping director Ari Sandel's film afloat. But there's little else about "When We First Met" to become smitten with.

Alexandra Daddario ("True Detective," "Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters") is fine as his love interest -- the girl who he met one fateful night three years ago but who sees him only as a friend. That's less true for Shelley Hennig ("Days of Our Lives," "Teen Wolf"), who -- playing the caustic best friend of Daddario's character -- sounds in some scenes as if she's merely rehearsing for the camera, unaware that Sandel and company were rolling.

To be fair, though, even if all three actors had brought their A game, the half-baked story behind "When We First Met" is so formulaic and so uninspired that it would still be a forgettable film.

Even that New Orleans setting is squandered, although it admittedly starts with a certain amount of promise. The very first shot of Sandel's film is a fetching aerial of the Crescent City Connection, the iconic twin bridges spanning the Mississippi River. The second shot is also of the CCC, though from a different angle, with a steamboat in the foreground. And the third shot is of a streetcar.

Come to think of it, the first minute or so of "When We First Met" feels an awful lot like some sort an IMAX film about New Orleans transportation. But I digress.

Alas, as romantic as the city is, the film's New Orleans-ness pretty much ends there. (I'd be willing to bet a bucket of popcorn that the decision to set the story in the Crescent City was made only after the tax-friendly decision to shoot here.) Ending along with it is any hope that Sandel and company would give the city the romantic comedy it deserves.

As it opens, we learn the basics in fairly short order: DeVine's Noah falls in love upon first laying eyes on Daddario's Avery. This being a romantic comedy, the obligatory meet-cute takes place at a Halloween party, complete with all the requisite wacky costumes. They hit it off quickly, but when the night ends, it's clear Noah has been relegated to the friend zone.

Fast forward three years, and he's still trying to figure a way out of it. Time's running short, too, as she's engaged to be married to someone else.

Enter that aforementioned body-swap device: a magical photo booth, which -- while it doesn't deliver Noah an out-of-body experience -- does magically transport him back to the day he and Avery first met, giving him another chance to get it right. And another and another, "Groundhog Day"-style.

When you get down to it, it feels as if Sandel's film is channeling the wrong Tom Hanks movie. Instead of drawing inspiration from such romantic comedies as "Sleepless in Seattle" or "You've Got Mail," it recycles the major plot catalyst of "Big."

As if he realized that's not working quite as well as he had hoped, screenwriter John Whittington throws in a third-act twist in a last-ditch effort to make things interesting. Unfortunately, that twist is so telegraphed that you'll see it coming down Canal Street.

The end result? Suffice it to say, New Orleans is still looking for the definitive romantic comedy it so richly deserves.

________

WHEN WE FIRST MET

1 star out of 5

Snapshot: Last year, we got a New Orleans-shot horror take on "Groundhog Day." Now we get a rom-com version, starring Adam DeVine as a guy who, after being relegated to the "friend zone" by the girl of his dreams, uses a magical photo booth to go back in time to win her heart.

What works: Adam DeVine, as always, can be counted on to bring a certain doofy charm to the proceedings.

What doesn't: Nearly everything else about it feels generic and uninspired.

Cast: DeVine, Alexandra Daddario, Robbie Amell, Shelley Hennig. Director: Ari Sandel. MPAA rating: Unrated, warrants PG-13. Running time: 1 hour 36 minutes. When and where: Begins streaming Friday (Feb. 9) on Netflix.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Adam DeVine co-wrote the script to "When We First Met." John Whittington is the sole credited screenwriter.
Family, friends and members of the law enforcement community said goodbye Tuesday (Feb. 6) to longtime Slidell police officer Eugene "Butch" Howard, who died Jan. 30 at age 65.

A funeral service with full police and military honors was held at Slidell City Auditorium on Tuesday morning, followed by a procession down 2nd Street, Sgt. Alfred Drive, Bouscaren Street and Front Street. Members of the Police Department and Fire District 1 lined Sgt. Alfred Drive to pay their last respects.

Howard had a 30-plus year career with Slidell PD, serving as chief of operations, SWAT commander, patrol commander, assistant chief of detectives and ultimately assistant police chief. He retired in 2007 but continued to serve in a reserve capacity.

Howard led the department as interim police chief in 2016 after former chief Randy Smith became St. Tammany Parish sheriff that summer. He returned to a reserve officer capacity after Randy Fandal was elected police chief in late 2016.
On Sept. 20, 1958, as he signed a copy of his book "Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story" in a Harlem department store, author Martin Luther King Jr. was approached by Izola Ware Curry, a black woman, who plunged a metal letter opener into his chest. The tip of the blade got so close to King's aorta that doctors told him that if he had sneezed, the blood vessel would have been punctured and he would have surely died.

Six years after King's assassination, his mother Alberta King was murdered inside Ebenezer Baptist Church by Marcus Wayne Chenault Jr., a black man who had developed a hit list of black Christians to kill. (Martin Luther King Jr.'s youngest child, Bernice King, mentioned her grandmother's death when she spoke to children at a New Orleans school rally Friday, Feb. 2.)

That King and his mother were both attacked by black people doesn't mean King was wrong to have made the dismantling of America's racist systems his priority.

King knew how high crime was in black communities, and he still fought segregation. In fact, in a December 1967 sermon where he expressed disappointment at crime in black communities, he made sure to explain - so the reporter present wouldn't misunderstand - that he attributed those higher rates of crime to the racist environment in which they occurred.

In that sermon at Holt Street Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., King said, "Now I realize, and I want to say this quickly, because I see a reporter here and I don't want to be misquoted. I want to say quickly that I realize that these standards in which we lag behind, whether they are cultural, whether they are moral, criminal, or what not, they are like they are because of segregation.... They are here because of segregation; segregation is the causal factor. And it is a sort of torturous logic to argue for the tragic inequalities ...as a basis for the continuation of inequality. See, these things have been caused by segregation, and the thing to do is to remove the causal factor."

When I saw the news Tuesday night that Muhiyidin d'Baha, a 32-year-old Black Lives Matter activist from South Carolina, was shot to death in New Orleans, it occurred to me that the "what about black-on-black crime" crowd would likely seize upon the young man's murder as an opportunity to say that he - and, indeed, everybody fighting the fight he fought - should have been more concerned about street crime than racist symbols and racist systems.

It was about a year ago that d'Baha, Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, was arrested after he dramatically snatched a Confederate battle flag from a person at the College of Charleston as a woman famous for removing such a flag outside South Carolina's State House was speaking.

Wednesday afternoon, there was little information available about d'Baha's death. Authorities say he was shot in the thigh around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 1900 block of Bienville Street. A niece who set up a GoFund me page said the family was informed about eight hours later that d'Baha had died of blood loss.

The niece told a South Carolina television station that d'Baha was riding his bicycle when he was shot. A police report written after his homicide describes a bicycle covered in blood near the scene.

Though we don't have any information about a motive or suspects, we know that shootings such as the one that killed d'Baha are numbingly common in New Orleans. We also know that most of the men who are committing the murders are black, just like d'Baha was.

And, still, "Black lives matter" remains an important and necessary argument to make. The death of an activist doesn't change that - even if we find out that somebody black killed him.

At the website for the Black Lives Matter Global Network, you'll find the argument that black communities have been deeply traumatized by "state violence and systems of oppression" and that history of oppression has "undermine[d] our capacity to live with our full humanity, connection, and purpose." That argument doesn't sound much different from King's sermon linking segregation to higher rates of crime.

The argument is that tearing down oppressive systems would dramatically change the communities where oppression is being experienced and that that change, in and of itself, would lead to lower rates of crime.

But even if it could be proved that outlawing segregation and undoing oppressive systems would have no positive effect on the crime in black communities - and there's no reason to believe that such could be proved - activists would still be justified in fighting against segregation and oppressive systems and symbols.

The fact that d'Baha was killed in what appears to be the kind of violence that's common to New Orleans that doesn't mean that the issues Black Lives Matter activists have identified as problems are any less deserving of our attention.

Jarvis DeBerry is deputy opinions editor for NOLA.COM | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at jdeberry@nola.com or at twitter.com/jarvisdeberry.
Bob Mann asked in his latest column, "Was anyone surprised when Amazon snubbed Louisiana for its H2Q?"

In my opinion, the primary reason Louisiana did not make the Amazon HQ2 shortlist is market size. The average of the 20 finalists is 5.2 million people; the largest market in Louisiana, New Orleans, is only 1.3 million.

Of course, more than 260 other cities did not make the cut, including some, like Houston, that are quite large. So, the decision was not just about population, and Robert Mann is correct in asking what other factors might have held back Louisiana. He is right in pointing out the generational social and economic challenges that must be addressed in order for our state economy to reach its full potential.

But it is puzzling that Mann omits that, just a few months ago, New Orleans successfully landed the biggest economic development job win in Louisiana history, DXC Technology -- a $25 billion global IT firm that is bringing 2,000 jobs to our state. In fact, the DXC win was awarded the Silver Medal for No. 2 best economic development win in America for 2017.

Following a rigorous 18-month process, DXC chose Louisiana over 30 other locations in America. Why did we win? Clearly, New Orleans qualified for consideration due to our relatively low cost of business and our famously high standard of culture. But we actually won the deal for two other reasons: the demonstrated interest and ability from all of our 2- and 4-year colleges and universities; and, the unprecedented cooperation that DXC saw in Louisiana, from Baton Rouge to local leadership to the "man on the street." According to DXC, this is what made the difference.

Mann raises a number of important issues, from health outcomes to infrastructure. We would add others, like the legal climate in Louisiana, that must be addressed. But for Mann to excoriate Louisiana over its problems, without congratulating the state for its successes, is incomplete and undermines the credibility of his argument.

DXC Technology -- and the many other successes that led Louisiana to being ranked No. 5 best for business conditions in the USA in 2017 -- demonstrates that working together, we can celebrate our strengths, address our problems, and achieve greatness.

Michael Hecht

President and CEO

Greater New Orleans Inc.

New Orleans
With a city as unique as New Orleans, it was natural for the Young Men Illinois Club to theme its 82nd annual ball on Jan. 26 "New Orleans Celebrates 300 Years."

Kicking off the festivities at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center was Clark Knighten and the Black Cat Production Orchestra, who performed a medley of tunes associated with the theme. Under the direction of the ball captain, Lawrence Robinson, the tableau began with the introduction of the 44 member roster of the Young Men Illinois Club, founded in 1926. Robinson then spotlighted the club's crest and blew the whistle, signaling the beginning of the tableau.

The reigning queen, Miss Candace Nia Smith, made an entrance, recalling as the 2017 theme YMI Travels Around The World in Eighty Days. After taking her seat on a side throne, the 2018 debutantes were introduced: Misses Ellington Dominique Bocage, Kennedi Eve Byers, Taylor Kennedy Collins, Shalaye Armani Lawrence, Kennedi Brooke Pankey, Chrysta Jenee Porter, and Jade Marie Watson. Each young lady wore a headpiece that commemorated a cultural element such as music, or a marked a historical moment, such as the Plessy vs. Ferguson decision.

Eleven princesses then appeared to the audience: Misses Jayla Nicole Astorga, Kimberly Reese Buckner, Lydia Simonne Evia Brown, Aubry Celeste Chester, Zoe Jewel Jacques, Gabrielle Marie Johnson, Lea Gabrielle McGeathy, Chandler Elizabeth Robinson, Addison Morgan Roussell, Hope Christine Singleton and Madison Victoria Vidal.

Escorted by her father, this year's queen, Miss Taylor Nicolle Vigee, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Courtney Vigee, entered and took her spot on the throne. The queen's coronation gown had a white fitted bodice of satin that flowed into a trumpet skirt with a small train. The gown was accented in gold appliques with lace, bugle beads and crystals with the bottom trimmed with bouillon gold lace and sprinkled with aurora borealis stones. The top of the gown featured straps accented with bugle beads and rhinestones. The hand-sewn custom mantle was made of royal blue dupioni silk covered in a diamond shape pattern comprised of bandings of Austrian crystals and large baguettes crystal rhinestones, gold bugles and seed beads, as well as embellished with silver and gold custom-designed rhinestone appliques. The border of the mantle was comprised of white fur. The main feature of the mantle was the Vigee family crest comprised of purple silk velvet, custom beaded gold and bronze appliques and rhinestones, silk beaded, and YMI initials enveloped in German crystal glass. Queen Taylor's crown featuring a monogram of queen's initials along with the year of her reign, 2018, and scepter were made for her by Dynasty Collection of Mobile, Ala. Patricia Halsell-Richardson of Patricia Ann's Inc. of Mobile, Ala. designed and made the mantle, and coordinated the queen's ensemble.

After Queen Taylor took her seat at the throne, her three pages were introduced: Lily Rose McBride, Alysia Faye Raymond, and Marselle Angelina Watts.

YMI Club President Dr. Terrence Augillard made the toast to the queen, followed by the awarding of scholarships: one to Queen Taylor, the other to debutante Chrysta Jenee Porter.

The appearance of the Pin Stripe Brass Band was a joyous introduction to the court's promenade. The debutantes then were paired with YMI members for the club's traditional waltz. At the conclusion, YMI members and their wives or significant others greeted Queen Taylor, then danced a waltz. After ball Capt. Robinson blew the whistle to signal the end of the ball, family and friends took photos of the court before they celebrated at the queen's reception.

******

To reach Sue Strachan, send an email to socialscene@nola.com or call 504.450.5904. Find her on Twitter and Instagram as @suestrachan504, with the hashtag #nolasocialscene. Visit her on Facebook. And, come back to NOLA.com/society for more New Orleans area event and party news and photos.
Today

Rain showers early becoming a steady light rain for the afternoon. High 83F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%.

Tonight

Cloudy. Low 74F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph.

Tomorrow

Scattered thunderstorms in the morning becoming more widespread in the afternoon. High near 85F. Winds ESE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
To Reverend Father Deogratias Kiibi Kateregga, 31, [the now celebrity priest who presided over the requiem mass of fallen artiste Mowzey Radio] and his flock, his homily last Friday at Lubaga cathedral was business as usual; nothing was sensational or surprising about it.

That is Kateregga every day, writes Baker Batte Lule.

To the rest of the country, it was unbelievable that a young [he detests the description] priest could have the courage to say what he said  his sermon lambasting the celebrity lifestyle with great humour has since gone viral.

Reverend Father Deogratias Kiibi Kateregga,

Since the Friday preaching, Kateregga has received hundreds of calls from people known to him and total strangers to say, thank you.

In just two days, he had received more than 200 Facebook friend requests; he has been hosted by NTV and NBS TV to expound on his message. At Lubaga cathedral where he is based, many people, regardless of their religious denomination, have visited his office to thank him in person.

Even as I interview him, we are continuously interrupted by admirers.

Frankly speaking, I didnt say anything new from what I normally preach about, Kateregga says, occasionally reviewing his sermon on YouTube using the computer in his office. The only thing maybe is that majority of those who were in church that day hadnt listened to me before.

I now realize what our celebrities go through every day, he tells me. Everywhere Im passing people are saying, Wuuyo Faaza eyabuulidde mu kusabira Mowzey [There goes the priest who preached during Mowzeys requiem mass]. Its a bit uncomfortable, but thank God, our training prepares you to handle such situations, Kateregga, whom I have known for years and is a personal friend, says.

Actually that was not my best homily, according to me and those who normally attend my sermons. But whatever I said I was under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

He says despite the renewed attention, he remains the same humble priest he has always been.

We have been trained not to be proud; we have been taught to take things normally. So, this is not something that can move me to think Im so great.

Kateregga says he did not prepare beforehand for his bare-knuckle speech that castigated celebrities for living a wasteful and extravagant lifestyle. He says the cathedral administrator Rev Father John Mary Bbuye chose him at the last minute to be the main celebrant.

Maybe he saw me fit for the congregation, he says.



WHO IS KATEREGGA?

Father Kateregga was born on July 8, 1986 in a family of nine children  three girls and six boys  to Dr Augustine Kateregga and Teddy Nabayunga in present-day Kyotera district.

His father is a medical doctor working at Kaliisizo hospital but for 20 years was the head of Kabuwoko health center IV. On the other hand, Nabayunga is a nurse working from her home where she runs a clinic.

Fr Kateregga says he was born in a very staunch Catholic family and it is not surprising that two of his sisters are nuns while one of his younger brothers, Bonny Rogers Muteekanga, is at Kinyamasika Seminary training to become a priest.

My dad has been the head of the laity in Biikira parish and Biikira deanery for two terms. He also takes readings at Kabuwoko Catholic church, he says.

The straight-talking priest went to Mbuye primary school, owned by the Catholic Brothers congregation Bannakalooli, where he sat for his primary leaving exams.

For the rest of his education, he went to one seminary after another. These include, Bukinda Seminary in Kabale, Kisubi Seminary in Entebbe, Katigondo National Major Seminary in Masaka and Ggaba National Major Seminary before joining Pontifical Urban University, Rome in Italy for a bachelors degree in philosophy and religious studies.

Kateregga also has a masters degree in Religious and Theological Studies of Makerere University, a diploma in Social and Religious Studies, a diploma in Religious and Philosophical Studies, a certificate in Guidance and Counseling and a certificate in Project Planning and Management.

Currently, he is pursuing a masters degree in Journalism and Communication at Makerere University. At Makerere where Kateregga and I share lectures, it is the only secular institution he has attended since his primary school. He loves the course, the leacturers and his classmates a lot.

There, it is hard to know that he is actually a priest. Not that he behaves dubiously; he is just that guy that fits in so well.

I think it is the best class I have ever attended; Makerere also has the best professors I have ever met, Kateregga says.

When its time for arguments on all topics  women, politics, academics, economy, religion  he will be as engaged as the next student. When its time for letting our hair down, he will join classmates in doing so, although the way he carries himself always shows caution only a priest can have.

Father Deo, Bashir Mwebe, one of his close friends opines, is very cooperative and respectful of everybody, irrespective of your religion.

In fact, Mwebe adds, Kateregga likes the preachings of Sheikh Nooh Muzaata especially those that call for respect of other peoples religions. He has several such clips in his phone, which he normally listens to.

As the graduate class finished writing the final paper on December 15 last year, Kateregga was ready with a big cake to say thank you to everybody for the closely-knit relationship the class enjoyed. But outside his classroom, he has an axe to grind with some university students.

He says unlike in church, at Makerere it is normal to see people indecently dressed. But, I have been prepared to think beyond a miniskirt. I analyze situations and choose the better part.

Saying he has morning prayers, mid-morning prayers, noontime prayers, evening prayers and night prayers, These prayers keep me safe; they help me to understand what to do. Girls and women are an issue with all men but for us we are men who are ordained. I cant say we are perfect, but we do our best.



LIFE OF A PRIEST

Kateregga says priesthood is not a job but a calling; a sacred gift which God gives to human beings. He says those who are chosen to become priests are those who have shown traits of being shepherds.

I have enjoyed serving God and the people. We serve in obedience, poverty and chastity, he says.

Asked about the challenges of priesthood, Kateregga says like any institution, there are challenges although they are normally overcome by someones perseverance and prayer.

After P7, you go for six years in a seminary and then go to a major seminary for eight years. The 14 years are enough for someone to decide whether he will manage to be a priest. You can disengage at any point in those 14 years, he says.

Kateregga also takes issue with people referring to him as a young priest. He says after one is ordained, he is not young anymore because the church doesnt ordain young people. Youthful, yes, but not young?

The church ordains mature men who are capable of being fathers; we are called father because we are there to speak in the name of the Father Himself. We measure maturity by how responsible one is, not by age. There are people who are 80 years old, but what comes out of them you wonder whether they are actually 80.



ROLES AT LUBAGA

Kateregga was ordained priest by Archbishop Cyprian Kizito Lwanga in 2014 and was immediately sent to Ggoli parish in Mpigi district, where he served up to 2015 before his transfer to Lubaga parish. In Ggoli, he headed the youth chaplaincy of the Ggoli Catholic Parish.

It was here that his workaholic traits were spotted, hence transferring him to the seat of the Catholic Church. However, he says, the church has no special parishes.

Anyone can work anywhere within the boundaries of the archdiocese; where the bishop sends you, is where you go.

At Lubaga, Kateregga was appointed information coordinator for the archdiocese, a position that influenced his going back to school to acquire a masters degree in Journalism and Communication. He says in church one cannot head a department without a masters degree in that field.

The communication office, among other things, publishes a bi-monthly magazine called the Catholic News Report. Kateregga is also working around the clock to resurrect the defunct Catholic Church-owned newspaper, Munno.

Kateregga is an assistant cathedral administrator and also heads the Catholic Charismatic Renewal at the cathedral. He is the chaplain of the choirs, chaplain of all secondary schools in the parish, excluding Lubaga Girls SS and Uganda Martyrs High School that have resident chaplains.

He also acts as the master of ceremonies at the cathedral during big functions. He usually preaches at the Catholic-owned radio stations, Maria and Sapientia.

Once you get to know Deogratias Kiibi Kateregga, you also understand why his is a name you are bound to hear a lot for many years to come, God willing.

HOW HIS FRIDAY SERMON WAS RECEIVED

His boss, Dr Cyprian Kizito Lwanga, the archbishop of Kampala, said it had been long since he last heard such a powerful homily.

To Pastor Wilson Bugembe, the Holy Spirit descended upon Fr Kateregga to wake up our sleeping souls. Bugembe asked those who know the priest to inform him that, that was my best sermon.

To President Musevenis son-in-law Odrek Rwabwogo, Katereggas sermon should be widely circulated for every youth in the country.

To renowned economist Ramathan Ggoobi, the priests courage epitomizes the need for society to have more of his ilk than politicians.

Which politician can dare say this daytime truth? he asked.



bakerbatte@observer.ug
Hardcore feminists searching for a vacationing spot where they dont have to interact with men at all need look no further than SuperShe Island, a women-only island resort off the coast of Finland.

SuperShe Island is the brainchild of American entrepreneur Kristina Roth, who decided to invest in a women-only resort after realizing that being around men was distracting to other women. While vacationing at the Ashram in Calabasas, Calif., and the nearby Ranch Malibu, Roth noticed that women would focus more on the men than themselves, so she started contemplating the idea of a women-only resort where visitors could relax without any male distractions.

Photo: SuperShe

When there was a cute guy, women would put on lipstick, Kristina told The New York Post about her holiday observations. The idea is, hey, focus on yourself  dont try to get your hormones up.

Roth made it clear that she enjoyed her mixed gender vacations and has nothing against men, but she just felt that there was a need for a no men allowed resort where women could relax and refill their batteries without getting distracted.

SuperShe Island remained just a crazy idea until Kristina visited a gorgeous 8.4-acre patch of land, off the coast of Finland. She had fallen in love with a local man, and he kept telling her that there was this beautiful island for sale, but she really wasnt interested in it at first.

His parents own an island on the archipelago, and he kept telling me, the island next door is for sale, Roth said. I said, Im not interested, I just bought a beautiful piece of land in Turks and Caicos  Im really not interested.

Photo: SuperShe

When she saw the island, however, she was enchanted by the secluded wooded paradise and bought it. It was the perfect place for the women-only resort she had envisioned, so she started work on making a reality right away.

SuperShe Island will house ten guest cabins, a spa, and various adventure activities. There will be daily cooking and fitness courses available, along with yoga and meditation classes, but Roth plans to add whatever other activities women find appealing.

According to a recent SuperShe press-release, women need to spend time with other women. Being on vacation with men can be draining and demanding. We want SuperShe Island to be rejuvenating and a safe space where women can go to reinvent themselves and their desires. A place where you can recalibrate with no distractions.

Our goal is to create a utopia where women can come together to care for themselves through fitness, nutrition, creativity nurturing and more, Roth said. The opening of our Finnish island will help us create a physical space that is open throughout the year for ladies to recharge.

Photo: SuperShe

So far SuperShe Island has only been visited by Roths closest women friends, but reservations will open to the public in July. The entrepreneur said that she would vet women interested in the experience by requiring current members to vouch for applicants.

Id like to vet the person and see that theyre well-rounded, and would fit in, but I dont want to be elitist. she told the NY Post.

The exclusion of men based on the idea that women wouldnt put on lipstick to impress them and focus on themselves instead seems to ignore the existence of lesbians altogether, not to mention the fact that men are reduced to mere distractions. The whole sex-based segregation idea seems all wrong, to be honest. Well see how the public reacts when SuperShe Island opens in July.

Prices are yet to be announced, so keep an eye on the SuperShe Island website for updates.
LB International Solutions has inked a $12,500-per-month contract with Syrian-British businessman Ayman Asfari to support education for refugees and civil society in the Middle East.

Asfari, who heads Petrofac Ltd. oil services provider, launched the Asfari Foundation in 2006 to provide scholarships for students in the Middle East, especially from Syria. It also backs fellowships for journalists. LB represents Asfari, not his foundation.

Asfari told Forbes in 2016 that Syrias future depends on moving from an imposed order of government to a sustained order, which can only be achieved by a flourishing and robust civil society.

Lydia Borland, president of LB, has more than 30 years of government relations experience. She has consulted for the Gephardt Group and Livingston Group and worked as lobbyist for Turkeys DC embassy.

Borland will advise, advocate and set up meetings on behalf of Asfari and work Capitol Hill.

LBs contract runs through April 30.


Alex Malouf

The International Assn. of Business Communicators and the UKs PRCA have signed an agreement to work together across the EMENA region.

The arrangement calls for co-promotion of events, participation in each others events, and discounts for meetings, according to their statement.

Francis Ingham, director general of PRCA, praised IABC for providing a "huglely important role within the global business communications community. Both groups, he added, "share many values, not least the importance of raising standards in professionalism and ethics."

Alex Malouf, regional chair of IABC EMENA, credited PRCA for promoting "the importance of communications as a strategic function globally." He predicted the collaboration will result in achievements in education, ethics and professionalism.
07/02/2018 - A success story of international development itself, Korea is now a driving force in global aid, focusing on the neediest countries and shaping strategy by sharing its experience and bridging the gap between rich and poor countries. Korea will have even greater impact if it can produce a clear plan to increase aid volumes in line with its stated ambitions, according to a new OECD Review.



The latest DAC Peer Review of Korea notes a steady rise in Korean aid  from USD 1.2 billion to USD 2.25 billion  in the six years since the former recipient country joined the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) as a donor in 2010. Globally, Korea focuses on inclusive growth, crisis prevention and development effectiveness, while in developing countries, its support includes highly concessional loans for national priorities such as renewable energy and roads.



Korea is also well focused on countries most in need, with 54% of its bilateral aid going to land-locked, small island or fragile states. The top five recipients of Korean aid in 2015 were Viet Nam, Tanzania, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Korea also sends large volumes of private investment, non-concessional lending and remittances to poor countries.



That said, a slowing economy prompted Korea to trim its 2020 target for official development assistance (ODA) to 0.20% of gross national income (GNI) from 0.25% previously and compared to 0.16% today. Koreas aim is to reach 0.30% of GNI by 2030, but it has not set out a roadmap for achieving this. By comparison, the average ratio of ODA to GNI for DAC donors was 0.32% in 2016, and six DAC members have now reached a UN target of 0.7%.



Setting out a clear plan and a detailed timeline to increase aid flows over the next decade would help Koreas officials and development partners in their planning and could prevent what may look like a diminished level of ambition affecting Koreas ability to meet its international commitments, said DAC Chair Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, presenting the Review in Seoul. Korea puts more focus than the average donor on supporting the least developed countries, but it also needs to plan for ODA growth.



Korea provided USD 2.25 billion in net ODA in 2016 (0.16% of GNI), up from USD 1.92 billion (0.14% of GNI) in 2015. This does not include the bilateral assistance Korea provides to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. If Koreas economy continues to grow at current rates, it would need to provide net ODA of USD 3.2 billion in 2020 to meet its 0.20% target  a jump of 40% from 2016 levels.



While Korea has made progress in removing conditions tying its aid to Korean companies, the Review points to some backtracking of late and stresses the need to untie aid to the maximum extent possible. In other areas, the Review finds Korea fully implemented eight and partially implemented 13 out of 24 recommendations in its first Peer Review in 2012.



Each DAC member is reviewed every five years in order to monitor its performance, hold it accountable for past commitments and recommend improvements. Reviews use input from officials in the Review country and partner countries  Cambodia for this Review  as well as civil society and the private sector. Read more on DAC Peer Reviews.





Download the DAC Peer Review of Korea



For further information journalists are invited to contact Chika Watanabe in the OECDs Tokyo Media Office or news.contact@oecd.org.





Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

Related Documents
take down a Confederate battle flag from a protestor last year, has been killed.

READ: Black Lives Matter Leader Arrested For Grabbing Protestors Confederate Flag

Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, who preferred to be called Muhiyidin dBaha, was shot in the thigh while riding a bicycle in New Orleans, according to The New Orleans Advocate. dBaha was taken to a hospital but died there later in the morning.

Beau Tidwell, a spokesperson for the New Orleans Police Department, didnt elaborate on the shooting. But as the Advocate notes, a gunshot wound to the thigh can be deadly if it affects the femoral artery.

Camille Weaver, dBahas niece, said he was in New Orleans for a personal trip.

He loved Charleston and loved fighting for whats right, she said. Ive never met anyone more committed and hardworking than him. He was an asset to the Charleston community and will be greatly missed.

dBaha rose to prominence following the police killing of Walter Scott, an unarmed black man who was shot by officer Michael Slager during a traffic stop. He then became a minor Internet celebrity in February 2017, when a video of him leaping over police tape to grab a protesters Confederate flag went viral.

A GoFundMe account made by Weaver has received over $18,000, exceeding its goal of $7,500.

Source: The New Orleans Advocate
Farmers in the American heartland have planted sorghum on more than 6 million acres, driven in part by strong demand from Chinese hog farms and liquor distillers.

But thanks to an escalating trade conflict between China and the Trump administration, that $1-billion business may be in peril. On Sunday, Chinese officials launched an anti-dumping investigation into U.S. sorghum exports -- two weeks after President Donald Trump slapped new tariffs on washing machines and solar panels.

(Oregon-based SolarWorld Americas Inc. and Suniva of Georgia had petitioned for the tariffs. Trump ultimately agreed to a 30 percent tariff the first year, then reduce it incrementally, reaching 15 percent by year four).

The U.S. trade deficit with China hit a record high on Tuesday -- and prompted a new flurry of speculation on the trade actions both countries might take.

Beijing hasn't specifically named the Trump tariffs as the reason for the sudden sorghum probe. But experts say the country has a long record of similar retaliatory trade actions, which pose a special risk to America's farmers. Agricultural goods, chiefly soybeans, comprised nearly 13 percent of the $169.8 billion in exports that the United States sent to China in 2016. Soybeans alone topped $12.4 billion.

Observers fear that, should tensions continue to escalate, China may target soybeans next. The country is by far the largest export market for soybeans, dwarfing runner-up Mexico by a factor of seven.

"I fully expect China to take action on soybeans," said Arlan Suderman, chief commodities economist at INTL FCStone. "That will have a major psychological impact on the market . . . and will decrease prices for farmers."

Suderman expects a Chinese soybean probe within four to six weeks, a time that would be convenient for Chinese officials because it coincides with the period when South America takes over world soybean production for the summer. For sorghum farmers, the pain could hit even sooner.

China's commerce ministry said it would spend the next year investigating claims that the United States subsidized sorghum farmers, allowing them to sell into China at a loss. But grain traders in the country are expected to immediately curtail their sorghum purchases to avoid possible tariffs.

China's corn futures were up sharply Monday, a sign that analysts predict Chinese farmers will switch to domestic corn to feed their animals. Chinese traders have also begun making inquiries about Australian sorghum, according to Platts, a commodity news service.

In a statement Tuesday, National Sorghum Producers chief executive Tim Lust disputed the anti-dumping allegations and said his organization would cooperate in China's probe, stressing the long trade relationship between the two countries.

"The U.S.-China agricultural relationship is beneficial to U.S. farmers, Chinese consumers, and our respective partners," he said. "U.S. sorghum farmers sell their product to our valued partners in China. We appreciate our deep and long-standing relationship with these buyers and the feed and livestock industries in China."

Sorghum is grown in Kansas, Texas, Colorado and Oklahoma, and is now farmed chiefly for export to China -- a market that opened in 2013 after China limited imports of genetically modified U.S. corn. The grain is used largely to feed hogs, though it's also distilled into baijiu, an alcoholic beverage.

Between 2013 and 2015, sorghum exports to China exploded, from less than half a million metric tons in 2013 to 9.1 million metric tons two years later. The growth in the Chinese market, coupled with low prices for wheat and corn, have prompted farmers on the western edge of the corn belt in the United States to plant tens of thousands of new acres of sorghum or "milo."

Since then, exports have fallen back as China has encouraged its pork producers to tap domestic stockpiles of corn and wheat. But the grain remains "an important part of the agriculture industry," particularly in Kansas, said Heather Landsdowne, director of communications for the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Between 2014 and 2016, Kansas averaged $180 million in annual sorghum exports to China. There is fear there that the anti-dumping probe could let competitors sneak in, potentially ceding access to the Chinese market even without new tariffs.

"There are other producers out there who export grain products," said Ryan Flickner, senior director of advocacy at the Kansas Farm Bureau. "If the U.S. isn't supplying China, for whatever reason, they will go out and find sorghum somewhere else."

Farmers and ranchers have long feared they might become the first victims of any trade war between China and the United States. Just last week, the American Chamber of Commerce in China warned that agricultural and aircraft imports would be most at risk of retaliation from Chinese officials, should Trump adopt tariffs.

Agriculture is in a special position, said Chad Bown, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, because the United States is such a large supplier to China. And the country has a long history of biting back against trade partners who seek to impose tariffs on it.

When President Barack Obama slapped tariffs on Chinese tires in 2009, Beijing responded by placing its own tariff on chicken feet. The administration eventually took the matter to the World Trade Organization, which ruled in favor of the United States - but not before American poultry exports to China collapsed 90 percent.

The concern now, Bown said, is what China will do next: not only in this investigation, but in response to Trump's other trade actions.

The administration is weighing tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminium, which it says have hurt U.S. producers and contributed to a widening trade deficit. The administration has also been investigating China's intellectual property practices, which it claims have cost the United States hundreds of billions of dollars in technology and job losses.

Soybean groups in the United States are closely watching China's sorghum investigation to gauge what might be next for them.

"Beijing seems to sending a signal, in this [sorghum] case, that Washington should be careful," Bown said. "Because there are other actions they could take in the future."

-- The Washington Post
Oregon State University is doing its birthday big this year.

The school wanted an original song to commemorate its 150th anniversary, so the Beavers turned to the music faculty.

Jan Looking Wolf Reibach, an OSU music teacher who teaches Native American flute in Corvallis, produced a 4:09 track called "A Special Place" to recognize the school's big milestone.

Reibach, an enrolled Kalapuya Native American, spent more than 200 hours working on the track.

"He spent more time on the song compared to any other on his 22 commercial albums," the university said in a press release. "Reibach's great-great grandfather was Chief Joseph Sangretta of the Santiam Kalapuya People, who lived in the mid-Willamette Valley for more than 14,000 years."

Reibach said he tried to capture OSU's beauty in the song. "I was inspired by the journey students take to get here and the dedication of faculty," he said in a statement.

OSU, which was founded in 1868, will continue its anniversary celebration through October of this year. Reibach debuted the song last week in Portland at President Ed Ray's state of the university speech.

Here are the lyrics, and a live performance at the bottom:

Sunrise over the mountain, bringing light to this land.

150 years of knowledge, with hope and our dreams...let it shine.

Oregon State University, generations, hand-in-hand.

Wisdom comes like the rain down to the rivers into the ocean...let it flow.

To a higher place of connection, where dreams become reality.

To a special place of transformation, Oregon State University!

The winds of change arrive, singing softly through the trees.

Together we spread our wings to soar, floating on the wind...we rise above.

To a higher place of connection, where dreams become reality.

To a special place of transformation, Oregon State University!

To a higher place of connection, where dreams become reality.

To a special place of transformation, Oregon State University!
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission lacks "robust" monitoring and enforcement controls to track the state's $480 million marijuana industry, making illegal sales difficult to detect, a new audit concludes.

The Secretary of State's review raises alarms about how effectively the agency oversees the flourishing marijuana market in Oregon.

The report comes as Oregon finds itself in the federal crosshairs for its role as an illegal exporter of cannabis to other states. Just last week, Billy Williams, the U.S. attorney for Oregon, convened a summit to discuss the illicit marijuana trade.

Gov. Kate Brown, a steadfast defender of the industry, told Williams and others at the summit that the state has focused on instituting "extensive safety and tracking measures." In a letter last year to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Brown highlighted the state's tight regulation of the burgeoning market.

But the audit, made public Wednesday, found that while the information systems themselves function well, monitoring and security are inadequate. The report cited a host of problems -- from not enough inspectors to a reliance on marijuana businesses to report their own data.

Auditors, who also uncovered errors and outdated information in the agency's tracking systems, made 17 recommendations for improvements and noted that the liquor commission "generally agreed" with the findings.

"Until these issues are resolved," auditors noted, "the agency may not be able to detect noncompliance or illegal activity occurring in the recreational marijuana program."

They questioned the agency's practice of allowing Oregon's nearly 1,700 licensed marijuana businesses to self-report highly detailed information, including the number of plants in a grow operation and the weight of each harvest.

In a letter to the state's audits division, Steve Marks, the liquor commission's executive director, said the agency is following up on "all aspects" of the audit.

Marks on Wednesday called the audit "very helpful" and said the state's regulatory system for marijuana is "a work in progress."

"It's our highest value to stop black market diversion, to create a good consumer market," Marks said, adding that the agency has so far referred to police about 100 cases of potential criminal violations by marijuana businesses. "Those are fundamental to our mission. We have been building out staff and systems to do that."

Added Marks: "You are not going to magically move from zero to complete control over a new emerging industry in a short period of time."

It is the first audit of the systems that the liquor commission uses to regulate cannabis. Secretary of State Dennis Richardson announced on Wednesday that his office plans to carry out a broader performance audit of the liquor commission's regulation of marijuana this year.

The agency last year sought money to hire an information technology officer, but lawmakers denied the request. Marks said the agency will again ask the Legislature for $197,000 during the current session to fund the position.

In addition to identifying numerous technical problems, auditors concluded that the liquor commission doesn't have enough inspectors to make occasional on-site visits to licensed cannabis businesses.

The agency has 23 inspector positions; 18 are filled. Auditors said Oregon fares poorly compared to Alaska and Nevada, where there's one inspector for every 18 marijuana licenses. In Oregon, auditors estimated that the state has one inspector for every 83 pot businesses.

"Until investigation standards and protocols are developed and a sufficient number of staff are trained, OLCC will not be able to perform needed on-site inspections with sufficient guidance and scrutiny to ensure marijuana businesses are complying with the law," auditors wrote.

Marks said the agency is budgeted to deply one inspector for every 100 licensed businesses, a ratio similar to states like Colorado and Washington, both home to legal marijuana markets. The agency employs one inspector for every 400 liquor licenses, said Marks.

The Secretary of State's Office identified a wide range of what it described as "significant weaknesses" in the agency's security practices related to internet technology, including relying on a decade-old security plan and the failure to keep track of the hardware and software used by employees.

It also slapped the agency for failing to protect servers and workstations from viruses and malware, saying the lapse "significantly increases the risk that OLCC systems and its data could be compromised."

Auditors also called out the liquor commission for failing to perform "due diligence" on companies it hired to help license marijuana businesses and track cannabis at various stages.

For instance, they noted that the liquor commission failed to confirm that one of the companies, Florida-based Franwell, meets minimum security standards.

The company helped develop a seed-to-sale system that tracks the movement of marijuana among growers, processors, wholesalers, testing labs and retailers. The process is intended to ensure marijuana isn't diverted into the black market. Data about Oregon's marijuana businesses - from plant counts to retail sales figures - are stored on Franwell's servers.

The state so far has paid Franwell $1.8 million for its services, said liquor commission spokesman Mark Pettinger.

Auditors said the lack of assurance that the data hosted by Franwell is safe from disclosure or changes is "particularly significant" because the information is essential to regulating the marijuana industry.

The audit points out that the liquor commission has a history of "ineffective action" in response to security problems with its computer systems. Auditors said two outside reviews and one internal audit identified numerous problems, most of which weren't addressed.

"These long-standing issues significantly increase the risk that OLCC's network, systems, and data could be compromised," the audit notes. "While multiple individuals have responsibility for the IT systems and processes associated with these weaknesses, we found that OLCC lacks clear leadership and direction for its IT department."

-- Noelle Crombie

ncrombie@oregonian.com

503-276-7184

@noellecrombie
As a candidate, Kate Brown hit many of the right notes in her "State of the State" address to legislators on Monday. She shared stories of her grandparents' struggle to provide a better life for their children, highlighted the critical role education plays in changing futures and pointed to bipartisan successes in a show of unity.

As a governor, however, Brown's speech fell short across the board. Her pledge to fund career and technical education across the state in 2019 simply echoes what voters already demanded back in 2016. She barely mentioned the public pension crisis that's seizing larger chunks of the budgets for education and other public services. And she said nothing about some of the issues expected to dominate the 2018 legislative session, including a convoluted carbon cap-and-trade proposal and the Oregon foster-care system's ongoing failures.

Instead, Oregonians may well wonder if this is what to expect from Brown this year as she runs for re-election - someone who wants to look the part instead of actually playing it.

Granted, as campaign speeches go, it was well-executed. She zeroed in on the incongruity between a booming economy and the many Oregonians still struggling to make ends meet. Her "Future Ready Oregon" plan for getting Oregonians better prepared for the changing career landscape ahead includes proposals that people across the state can get behind - and, in fact, already did. Voters in 2016 overwhelmingly passed Measure 98, which called for funding career and technical education across the state, although Brown and the Legislature called for only partially funding it for the 2017-2019 biennium. Her plan also calls for expanding existing internship programs for high-skilled industries and starting a loan program to help construction entrepreneurs start businesses in rural Oregon - both interesting ideas, though limited in reach.

Oregonian editorials

Editorials reflect the collective opinion of The Oregonian/OregonLive editorial board, which operates independently of the newsroom. Members of the editorial board are Laura Gunderson, Helen Jung, Mark Katches and John Maher.

To respond to this editorial, post your comment below, submit an OpEd or a letter to the editor.

If you have questions about the opinion section, email Laura Gunderson, editorial pages editor, or call 503-221-8378.

But Brown missed the opportunity to show her audience - the 90 lawmakers and the public at large - that she won't shy away from the most controversial and challenging problems facing Oregon. The recent audit issued by Oregon Secretary of State Dennis Richardson detailing systemic failures in the foster-care system demands our leaders' attention now. The skyrocketing pension contributions that public employers must make to the pension fund are strangling their ability to provide the education, health care, senior services and other government programs that tax dollars are supposed to pay for.

And while Brown's plan to increase career and technical education funding in 2019 is welcome, that's too late for the nearly 10,000 students expected to drop out in 2018.

True leaders don't need to campaign because their actions speak for themselves. They tackle the state's shortcomings head on and display the vision and steel to push through to a solution. Brown should keep in mind that her best opportunity to win over voters is by doing the job she has already been elected to fill.

- The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board
SALEM  Democrats in the Oregon Legislature are not pitching any sweeping plans to improve the state's child welfare program, following the release of a scathing audit last week that documented the state's failure to follow through on a decade of reforms.

Instead, Senate Democrats point to a $30 million budget boost they approved last year in part to increase foster parents' pay. Democrat legislators also said their prodding of agency bureaucrats in recent years, including in embarrassing public hearings, helped spur some recent improvements at the child welfare program.

Rep. Knute Buehler, a Republican from Bend who will likely face Gov. Kate Brown in the fall gubernatorial election, issued a call Monday for the Legislature to find an additional $50 million this year to speed up the response to the audit findings. He said urgent action to help foster children is needed in the five-week session that began that day.

Buehler disagreed with a statement by Secretary of State Dennis Richardson, a fellow Republican and the elected official behind the audit, that everyone in Oregon, not just the governor or Legislature, must work together to resolve the problems.

"If this isn't a problem for the governor or Legislature to fix, why are we even here?" Buehler said in a statement. "Our job is to lead and if we won't, why are we even meeting the next 35 days?"

Senate Democrats defended their work to improve foster care. They referred to Brown as taking a supportive role, but did not describe her taking the lead.

"One of the reasons we have new leadership is because we've had rigorous oversight from the Legislature over the last two to three years," said Sen. Sara Gelser, a Corvallis Democrat who has focused on the issue and spearheaded reforms for years. "That has pushed this issue forward with the governor's support to get that done."

Gelser said the problems identified in the audit were "decades in the making" and "are going to take a very long time to fix."

She and other Democrats said the Department of Human Services can hire more employees even without an infusion of new cash like the one Buehler called for. The agency's abysmal employee turnover rate means the agency is currently approved for more jobs than it has been able to fill, they pointed out.

Gelser said the state does need to take immediate action to centralize abuse reporting hotlines, a project that has proceeded at a glacial pace according to auditors. She also said the state probably needs to expand childcare subsidies to foster parents in order to recruit more qualified parents.

"And then we also need to make sure other pressures don't force us to compromise child safety," Gelser said, referring to a report by The Oregonian/OregonLive last week that child welfare officials considered a plan to stop housing children in hotels within two years. The draft plan would have allowed the state to leave children in homes where state workers judge the children might otherwise be unsafe, as long as caseworkers visit them daily or arrange for a state contractor stay in the home overnight.

Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, a Democrat senator from the Portland area, has also worked on child welfare issues.

"We still have an awful turnover problem," Steiner Hayward said. "But throwing money at it all at once if you do not have the right infrastructure in place to train people well, to support them once they're trained," would be a waste, she said.

Gelser said it's critical to make sure the state correctly executes child welfare initiatives, such as recruiting more foster parents. "Last spring, the prior child welfare director started a series of public service announcements to recruit foster parents," Gelser said. "That's great ... But we lose potential people when you call a telephone number that isn't staffed appropriately to answer the question and do the certifications."

"It's not fair to the people of Oregon to suggest that it's that easy," Gelser said.

House Speaker Tina Kotek, of Portland, said she plans to read the audit but had not had a chance as of Monday.

"If we want to focus anywhere, it's probably recruitment and training of our foster parents," Kotek said.

-- Hillary Borrud

503-294-4034; @hborrud
SALEM  Gov. Kate Brown's choice to lead the Department of Veterans' Affairs has removed herself from consideration, less than two months after the governor named her to the post.

Sheronne Blasi, a 14-year Navy veteran and former state performance auditor, was serving as an assistant director of the veterans department when Brown nominated her in December to become the new director. Blasi was poised to become the first woman veteran to lead the agency, pending state Senate confirmation.

But in a surprise announcement on Tuesday, the agency said Mitch Spakers, director of statewide veterans services, would replace Blasi as acting director "effective immediately."

"Blasi will remain in a leadership position within the agency, working to implement new programs and ensure the very best in benefits and resources for Oregon veterans," according to an agency press release.

Blasi had only worked at the veterans' agency since last year, when the director's job opened up as a result of a reshuffling of state administrators. Former Oregon Health Authority director Lynne Saxton stepped down at Brown's request in August, following revelations the agency developed a plan to smear the reputation of a Portland-area health care provider.

Brown picked Patrick Allen, then-director of the state's Department of Consumer and Business Services, to lead the health agency. And the governor selected the director of the veterans' agency, Cameron Smith, to take over as director of the Department of Consumer and Business Services.

Blasi did not immediately respond to requests Tuesday to discuss why she no longer wants the top post.

Peggy Boquist, wife and legislative aide to Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, said her husband is "mystified" and "stunned" that Blasi withdrew her name. Sen. Boquist is chairman of the Senate Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee. Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth and chairman of the House Veterans and Emergency Preparedness Committee, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Gordon Friedman of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report.

-- Hillary Borrud; Twitter: @hborrud; 503-294-4034
Sen. Jeff Kruse said he will not resign despite the release Tuesday of an extremely critical investigation that concluded he sexually harassed two female senators and groped many other women working at the Oregon Capitol.

Kruse, a Roseburg Republican, told his hometown paper, the News-Review, that he will not quit his office despite the investigation's conclusions that he created a hostile workplace and resisted changing his conduct. He told the paper he has "significant issues" with the investigator's report and is preparing a rebuttal, but did not elaborate.

Kruse skipped the Senate floor session held Wednesday morning.

The investigator interviewed Kruse at length on two occasions and detailed his responses -- primarily that he did not recall most of the instances that the women and onlookers described. In nearly all cases, he did not deny they took place as the women described.

Kruse, a member of the Legislature since 1997, told the News-Review he thinks Gov. Kate Brown and House Speaker Tina Kotek, both Democrats, were simply "playing politics" when they called on him to resign after the report became public Tuesday evening.

The 51-page investigation described scores of allegations against Kruse from three female senators, a female state representative, two law students who worked for him, a legislative aide, a lobbyist and Republican and non-partisan Capitol staffers.

Multiple women told the investigator that Kruse grabbed and tightly hugged them to the point that they felt trapped. One staffer said he kissed her near her mouth while at work. A lobbyist said he cupped her buttock during a photo-op in the governor's office. One law student said he called her "sexy" and "little girl" and touched her shoulders and put his head on hers while she was working at a desk in his office.

Investigator Dian Rubanoff wrote that she found the women credible. She also said Kruse was "oblivious" to the effects of his actions and even ramped up his harassment of women after a few complained to Capitol officials about it. Rubanoff also concluded that Kruse's inappropriate conduct was widely known around the Capitol and that fact led many women not to report the abuse, because they feared complaints would be futile and could damage their careers.

Kruse has publicly acknowledged that he touched women at the Capitol but has insisted it was not sexual in nature and crossed no boundaries. He has not responded to The Oregonian/OregonLive's requests for comment since last fall, after it broke the news of sexual misconduct allegations against Kruse. At the time, Senate President Peter Courtney relieved Kruse of his committee assignments and removed the door from his Capitol office because of sexual harassment reports and Kruse's repeated smoking in his office.

Kruse's office was dark and empty Wednesday morning and no staffers were present.

Rubanoff wrote in the concluding portions of her report, "As an investigator who spent several hours interviewing Senator Kruse on two occasions, and based on his statements to me in those interviews, I am concerned that if Senator Kruse is allowed to stay in the Legislature without specific conditions that he needs to satisfy, and if there is not a continuing prospect of serious consequences if he fails to satisfy those conditions, he may 'fall back into old patterns' again."

Kruse's insistence that he stay in office means the Senate Conduct Committee will likely hold its hearing to review the investigation scheduled for Feb. 22, more than a week away.

Many elected officials have called on him to resign, including Republicans Rep. Knute Buehler, Secretary of State Dennis Richardson and Rep. Julie Parrish.

Politics reporter Hillary Borrud in Salem contributed to this report.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman
SALEM -- Sen. Jeff Kruse not only subjected two female senators to unwanted touching, he groped or gave lingering hugs to many other women working at the Oregon Capitol, an independent investigator concluded in a damning report released Tuesday.

Kruse's actions created a hostile workplace, the investigator said. And the fact his conduct was widely known yet went unchecked left women less powerful than he was to suffer, certain their complaints would go nowhere, she wrote.

The investigator, Dian Rubanoff, an employment law attorney in private practice, found that Kruse engaged in a "longstanding pattern of unwelcome physical contact" with women at the Capitol and that he was, until 2017, "oblivious" to the effects of his actions. Kruse's unwanted behaviors "escalated" after legislative officials warned him to stop, the investigator concluded.

A few instances of Kruse's close contact with female lawmakers were recorded on official Legislative videos of Senate floor sessions and committee meetings.

The report revealed new instances of what it said was misconduct by Kruse against a member of the House, a third female senator, two law students who used to work for him, Republican and non-partisan staffers, a former legislative aide and a lobbyist. Those women were not named in the report.

One of the law students told the investigator that the senator would call her "little girl" and tell her she was "sexy" while at work in the Capitol. She also said Kruse would come up behind her, put his hands on her shoulder and rest his head on hers. The woman told the investigator Kruse subjected her to "a lot of hugging" and would grab her and pull her in to a tight hug at least twice per week.

The law student used normal social cues to tell Kruse she did not accept his conduct, the report said, but Kruse did not pick up on it. The student told the investigator she did not speak up about the harassment because she was "terrified" how it might affect her career.

Another law student who worked for Kruse told the investigator the senator would tightly hug her or put his hands on her hips when they were near each other. Kruse's fingers would occasionally slide over the bottoms of her breasts while he hugged her, the student reported. The student "felt trapped" by Kruse's conduct, the report said.

A lobbyist told the investigator that Kruse "cupped her buttocks" when the two met for a photo-op in Gov. Kate Brown's office in 2017. The lobbyist said she did not initially make a complaint about Kruse because she worried it could damage her career, the report said.

A non-partisan committee staffer told the investigator that Kruse once kissed her on the cheek, close to her mouth, and that he would often hug her or touch his head to hers. Multiple staffers in the Senate Republicans caucus office told the investigator that Kruse had grabbed them and pulled them in or wrapped his arms around them.

Two Democratic Oregon senators, Sara Gelser of Corvallis and Elizabeth Steiner Hayward of Portland, went public last fall with allegations Kruse subjected them to unwanted touching and inappropriate close contact.

The report details new allegations of misconduct by two other elected lawmakers -- one in the House and one in the Senate. Kruse was "very physical" with the representative, the report said. He would grab her hands when they talked and pull her in to the point she felt trapped, it said.

The report also detailed Kruse's treatment of a new female Democratic senator during lawmakers' 2017 workplace harassment training session. According to the report, Kruse gave her a hug, pulled her in closely and joked that his hug may violate the workplace conduct rules. Only one woman joined the Senate that year: Sen. Kathleen Taylor, D-Milwaukie. She was not immediately available for comment Tuesday evening.

Many Capitol staff members who said Kruse touched them or made them uncomfortable said they did not report his conduct or confront him, the report said. It said those women explained that staffers are expected to show deference to elected lawmakers and Kruse's reputation for touching women seemed well-known and widely accepted at the Capitol.

The report is slated to be considered by the Senate Conduct Committee, a four-member panel which has scheduled a public hearing to review her investigation on Feb. 22.

Kruse has acknowledged that he touched women in the Capitol but said the contact was not sexual in nature. He said prior to the report going public that he would not resign, despite public statements from several lawmakers, most of them Republicans, that he should leave office.

He was not available for comment Tuesday. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive in October, "I have never done anything that I believe anybody could portray as being sexual."

Senate Republican Leader Jackie Winters, R-Salem, declined to comment. Winters' spokeswoman, Tayleranne Gillespie, said in a statement, "At this time, we are reviewing the report. The process is still ongoing, and will continue with the Senate Conduct Committee meeting."

Jonathan Lockwood, who was the spokesman for the Senate Republicans in 2017, said, "The fact that state Sen. Jeff Kruse has not resigned is a disgrace to the Republican Party. It is a moral outrage."

The governor called on Kruse to resign in a statement released Tuesday evening. "Senator Kruse's behavior is not acceptable in the Capitol or any workplace, and he should step down," Brown said.

House Speaker Tina Kotek also issued a statement calling on Kruse to resign. "The people of Oregon and the women who work in the Capitol deserve better. He should resign, and if he chooses not to, the Senate should expel him," Kotek said.

Rubanoff wrote in her report that Kruse cooperated with the investigation and did not deny most of the accusations against him. Instead, he told her he had "no recollection" of most of the alleged misdeeds. Kruse also said he did not take seriously warnings to stop touching women at the Capitol, according to Rubanoff's report, and only began to realize his behavior was inappropriate after he attended an hour of counseling in December.

Kruse told the investigator that he believed his behavior was "instinctual" and that although he wanted to change, "It's not easy to change when you have been doing something for 67 years."

Allegations first surfaced against Kruse in October, amid the #MeToo movement, when women across the nation began to speak publicly about sexual harassment by politicians, members of the news media and other powerful figures.

Gelser tweeted October 16 that a member of the Senate Republican Caucus had groped "female members and staff" at the Capitol. That evening, Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, relieved Kruse of his committee assignments, a drastic form of discipline that effectively keeps him from shaping legislation.

Gelser told The Oregonian/OregonLive October 23 that Kruse had sexually harassed her for years and not stopped despite warnings by legislative officials. She later said in a formal complaint that Kruse had touched her breast and thigh while both were working in the Capitol. She also alleged that Kruse sexually harassed up to 15 other women who worked at the Capitol and called for senators to expel Kruse from their chamber.

Gelser was later included in Time Magazine's Person of the Year feature, which focused on "silence breakers" who spoke out about sexual harassment. She was not available for comment Tuesday.

Sen. Elizabeth Steiner Hayward, left, and Sen. Sara Gelser.

Steiner Hayward went public with allegations against Kruse in November, saying in a formal complaint that he gave her inappropriately close hugs and sat so close to her that he made her uncomfortable. Steiner Hayward declined to comment Tuesday.

The senators' complaints sparked Rubanoff's investigation -- the first time in memory the Legislature's formal sexual harassment reporting policy and conduct committee process has been invoked.

If the conduct committee finds Rubanoff's investigation has merit, it can recommend the full Senate discipline Kruse by reprimand, censure or expulsion. If the committee makes such a recommendation, the Senate must vote on discipline the next time it meets. Discipline requires a two-thirds majority, and Democrats are three vote shy of that margin.

Rubanoff wrote in her report that she worries that women may feel it is futile to speak up about sexual harassment if Kruse does not face "meaningful consequences."

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman
The family of Quanice Hayes, the 17-year-old shot and killed by Portland police a year ago, sent a notice Wednesday of its intent to sue the city, contending Hayes was on his knees and not a threat when he was killed.

"The Hayes family refuses to allow Quanice's death to go unanswered,'' said Jesse Merrithew, a lawyer representing Hayes' estate.

The family believes the Police Bureau has a pattern of killing unarmed young black people, Merrithew said.

While a grand jury found no criminal wrongdoing by officers, the Hayes family believes the grand jury proceeding was "inherently one-sided'' with evidence designed to "vilify Quanice'' while painting the officer in a "highly positive light, making it seem as if the officer had no choice but to shoot Quanice,'' the notice says.

"We disagree,'' it says.

Hayes, a suspect in an armed robbery on the morning of Feb. 9, 2017, was confronted by police outside a Northeast Portland home. Officers discovered him in an alcove in front of the home and ordered him to keep his hands up and crawl toward officers on the driveway.

When Hayes appeared to reach toward his waistband, Officer Andrew Hearst said he fired three shots from an AR-15 rifle, striking and killing the teenager, according to a grand jury transcript.

Hayes died at the scene from one gunshot above his forehead on the right side of his head, one near the bottom of his left rib cage and one to his torso, according to an autopsy.

His death increased tensions between police and members of the African American community after the grand jury findings.

Hearst testified that he never saw Hayes with a gun, but believed Hayes was the suspect in the holdup of a man in his car earlier that morning. The man described his assailant as holding a tan pistol.

Officers found a black and tan air soft pistol in a flower bed about 2 feet from Hayes' body, they said.

Three months before the fatal shooting, another Portland police officer had warned Hayes and another boy who were accused of breaking into a car that the fake gun they had could get them killed.

"Quanice Hayes was only seventeen years old when he was killed and taken from a family and community that loved him dearly,'' the lawsuit notice says.

Hayes' lawyers said they'll seek damages that exceed state limitations, citing Portland as a "city where young Black men are discriminated against at every stage of their interactions with police and the criminal justice system.''

The wrongful death lawsuit will argue that police violated Hayes' constitutional rights. It will be filed in federal court in Portland. The lawsuit notice urges the city to release its police reports, 911 recordings and other documents to the family's lawyers.

Hayes' family plans to seek financial support for the lawsuit through a crowd-funding campaign.

"In order to bring a case of this type to trial in federal court, it could cost upwards of $150,000 between investigators, experts, depositions, and other costs," Merrithew said. "Trials are expensive, and if we don't have the resources, the city will simply outspend us."

The family also plans to hand-deliver a copy of the notice of intent to sue to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, who serves as police commissioner.

Hayes' uncle Steven Hayes was appointed to represent the teenager's estate to pursue the claim. The estate and Venus Hayes, Quanice Hayes' mother, are jointly represented by Merrithew and attorney Ashlee Albies.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
A hit-and-run driver who killed a 24-year-old college student as he was getting out of his parked car in Southeast Portland was sentenced Tuesday to 2  years in prison.

Fernando Cuevas Jr., 36, fatally struck Hussain Ahmed Alhamzah with his Chevrolet Astro van about 5:30 p.m. last July 1 near Southeast 122nd Avenue and Liebe Street.

Alhamzah had just returned from picking up food for his family when Cuevas veered out of the lane of traffic and into Alhamzah, who was standing in the bike lane, according to the prosecution. Alhamzah was rushed to Oregon Health & Science University, but died.

Cuevas kept driving. Police who searched the area found the damaged van parked about a mile away on Southeast Holgate Boulevard where it dead-ends into Powell Butte.

Cuevas and his girlfriend were standing nearby. Cuevas at first lied and said someone else had been driving the van and run off, but he ultimately admitted he was the driver and had fled the crash scene because he panicked, according to a probable cause affidavit.

He passed a set of field sobriety tests, and police didnt test his blood for drugs or alcohol because they didn't have the evidence they needed to seek a warrant, said Deputy District Attorney Parakram Singh.

Cuevas pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide last month in Multnomah County Circuit Court. His lawyer contended that prosecutors couldn't prove that Cuevas hit Alhamzah in the bike lane.

Alhamzah was from Saudi Arabia and had come to Oregon in 2014 to pursue his dream of becoming an electrical engineer, his family said. He was studying at Mt. Hood Community College and shared a townhouse off 122nd Avenue with his brother, his brother's wife and his cousin.

Hussain Ahmed Alhamzah, 24, was killed by a hit-and-run driver, Fernando Cuevas, Jr., along Southeast 122nd Avenue in Portland. (Submitted photo)

Several family members attended the sentencing hearing. They told The Oregonian/OregonLive that they believe Cuevas sentence was far too light.

Cuevas apologized in court. But Alhamzahs older brother, Hadi Alhamzah, said he and other family members didn't find it sincere, given that Cuevas initially tried to cover up his crimes.

He lied about many things, so how can we know if hes truly sorry? Hadi Alhamzah said.

Portland attorney Noah Horst, representing the Alhamzah family, said Cuevas told police who arrested him that he was a heroin user and had track marks on his arms. Hadi Alhamzah said he and other family members are disappointed that police didnt test Cuevas blood.

They also said the prosecution didnt subpoena medical records that would have shown that Cuevas had been hospitalized the night before the crash because of a drug overdose. That's according to Cuevas' girlfriend, who shared that information with police.

Singh, the prosecutor, said he understands the family's frustration. But he said he would have had to prove that Cuevas was intoxicated at the time of the crash -- not the previous day -- to charge him with a more serious crime that carried a longer penalty.

Singh said a police drug recognition expert determined that Cuevas wasn't under the influence after evaluating him shortly after the crash.

But Singh said Cuevas' criminal history led to a longer prison sentence under Oregon's sentencing guidelines. Oregon sentencing guidelines allow for hit-and-run drivers -- who kill someone but have no criminal history -- to be sentenced to as little as no prison time to as much as 18 months of prison time.

Cuevas previously had been convicted of driving while under the influence of intoxicants in 2011 and of driving with a suspended or revoked license in 2012. At the time of the fatal crash, Cuevas was driving with a suspended or revoked license again.

About two months later, Cuevas was seen on video surveillance at a Vancouver store punching his girlfriend, according to court records. His girlfriend said he then drove off, a violation of his jail release orders because he wasnt supposed to be driving, investigators said.

In addition to prison time for killing Hussain Alhamzah, Cuevas also was sentenced to three years of post-prison supervision and a lifetime drivers license revocation.

-- Aimee Green
With a whoosh, Clive, a 7-month-old Harris's hawk, spreads his wings and takes flight over the wet streets of downtown Portland. The skies are dark and cloudy on a chilly January evening, but Clive's keen eyes dart from treetop to treetop, scanning.

A few blocks away, Mars, an older hawk, is also patrolling the skies and, a few blocks from that, a third bird is searching the streets.

They're all looking for one thing: crows.

These hawks are not here of their own volition. They were loosed on the crows of downtown by Kort Clayton, owner of Integrated Avian Solutions, a Portland-based company that uses hawks and other raptors to shoo away problem birds from wineries, dumps and, in this case, business districts.

Clayton was called in after years of fruitless efforts at driving out the bothersome birds. Crows were eating the insulation from building walls. They created such a roar that hotel guests were jolted awake at early hours. Most notably, they left busy sidewalks slickened with poop.

The problem

Sheri Scali, senior property manager at a large building near the Keller Auditorium on the south end of downtown, heard them before she saw them. It was early January and as she was heading into work before dawn, she was greeted by the busy cackles of roosting birds.

They hadn't been there the day before and they were loud, but she didn't give the flock much thought until the sun came up. Under the light of day, Scali witnessed the mess a large group of crows is capable of creating overnight.

"When we looked down from above, it looked like it had snowed," she said.

During the day, crows spread out across the Pacific Northwest, scavenging what they can from sites urban and rural alike. But once the sun heads toward the horizon, they seek warmth and safety in numbers, gathering in flocks of up to 10,000 birds and descending on the trees and parks and rooftops of downtown Portland, Clayton said.

During the great snowstorm of early 2017, a Portland Police criminalist snapped a picture of a flock gathered next to headquarters. The crows were so numerous, and contrasted so starkly against the fresh blanket of snow, that the trees looked like mashed potatoes covered in pepper.

Forensic Evidence Division Criminalist Walker Berg took this amazing photo from the 12th floor of the Justice Center. We... Posted by Portland Police Bureau on Thursday, January 12, 2017

Their ubiquity, at least during winter months, makes them hard to ignore.

When flocks, known ominously as "murders," gather in these numbers, a cacophonous maelstrom announces their evening arrival. Crows are deft communicators and they waste no time telling each other about the exploits of the day. They squawk and bray and bleet from the treetops, drowning out the sounds of the city below.

The din is bothersome, but mostly harmless unless you're trying to sleep. The problems created by that many birds, fresh back from a day of feeding, is feculent. Or to put it more simply, it's their poop.

The roosting birds, drawn to the downtown core by warmth and an abundance of food sources, started to become a problem about four years ago when everything beneath their preferred trees quickly took on a sheen of avian excrement. Trees, cars, sculptures and downtown pedestrians all became targets of the droppings.

In 2014, more than 30 crows were found dead in Portland's urban core. An investigation by the Portland Audubon Society found the birds had been poisoned. Last week, witnesses in Northeast Portland reported seeing some crows "falling from the sky," while others were found seizing on the ground.

An investigation into the most recent spate of crow deaths is ongoing, but appears to be consistent with poisoning, said Bob Sallinger, conservation director with the Audubon Society.

When the crows began to congregate in such large numbers, complaints poured into Downtown Clean & Safe, a program that works in partnership with the city and the Portland Business Alliance to provide cleaning and security services to the downtown area.

Working with Central City Concern, the city hired crews to pressure wash the streets of the crow-created mess, but it was a sisyphean effort.

"We would pressure wash all night," said Lynnae Berg, executive director of Downtown Clean & Safe. "And then the crows would wake up and it would look like we had done nothing."

As it became clear they couldn't beat the problem with pressure washing alone, they called in a device called the "Poopmaster 6000," a motorized brick-scrubbing cart that resembles a Zamboni. The Poopmaster worked great on the ground, but did nothing for the bird poop that shellacked benches and newspaper racks and public art.

With all of the obvious solutions seemingly exhausted, Berg and the downtown business community had to get creative.

Enter the hawk.

Smarter than your average bird

As far as animals go, crows are near the top tier of intelligence. Their brains are oversized for their small bodies and it shows in their behavior. They communicate in complex and intricate ways. If one bird in the roost discovers a plentiful source of food, they'll go back and alert the rest. Sometimes, when one of them dies, a group will gather in a tree above their deceased kin in a kind of mourning. They've been observed using sticks to pry grubs from holes in logs.

Perhaps most impressively, researchers have shown that crows can remember people who wrong them, for up to five years, and pass that knowledge along to their offspring.

In the mid-2000s, John Marzluff, a wildlife biologist at the University of Washington and the author of "Gifts of the Crow," set out to study some of the birds on campus, as detailed in Audubon Magazine:

As they trapped and banded crows around the University of Washington's Seattle campus, he and his collaborators wore a latex caveman mask. When they later returned to those locations, either maskless or wearing a Dick Cheney mask the crows had never seen before, the birds ignored them. But anybody showing up in a caveman mask would spark a crowpocalypse. It wasn't just the trapped birds that responded; apparently others had witnessed the abduction and remembered it. Whole gangs of crows followed the evildoer, scolding and dive-bombing. The birds knew that caveman face, and they didn't like it one bit.

Like people, these birds hold grudges.

"I am still amazed by them  every time I look I see something different," Marzluff told The Oregonian/OregonLive. In crows, Marzluff has observed a wide range of behavior, including "language, delinquency, frolic, passion, wrath, risk-taking, and awareness."

And it's their intelligence that leads them to gather in great numbers in places like downtown Portland. Around dusk, they come together for what some call a "social hour." Starting around 4 p.m., thousands of crows gather in the trees along the waterfront or in the South Park Blocks or anywhere else that has large trees. They exchange information about where they've found food that day or predators they've encountered.

After about an hour of chit-chat, they move to a secondary location to roost for the night. The densely packed buildings provide light and warmth, two of the crows' top priorities when looking for a safe place to spend the night.

Once they find a place they like, they will call it home for an entire winter.

"The challenge is to manage the conflict between people and birds," Berg said. Other cities use pyrotechnics and physical hazing to deter the crows, but "we didn't feel that was right for Portland."

A 'Portland' solution

Once it became clear that the problem of the crow droppings couldn't be solved from below, Berg looked skyward.

Clayton, owner of Integrated Avian Solutions, has been working with raptors for 25 years. It started as a hobby in his teens when he began hunting ducks with falcons. His interest in birds of prey grew and eventually he turned it into a business, using peregrine falcons, gyrfalcons and hawks to chase nuisance birds  usually starlings, gulls and ravens  from vineyards and trash collection sites.

Last year, when Clayton brought in hawks as part of a pilot program to chase off the crows, it was his first experience flying his birds in an urban environment.

The Harris's hawk was the obvious candidate. In the wild, they are one of the few raptors to hunt cooperatively so they can work in teams. Any of his falcons would have likely gone after each other before they even noticed the crows.

Each bird is fitted with a light and a bell, as well as a tiny backpack loaded with a GPS tracker. The birds respond almost instantly to food, but on the rare occasion they don't come back, Clayton tracks them with an iPad he keeps in a fanny pack while he patrols the streets of downtown.

Sporting a neon green vest with "CROW PATROL" emblazoned across the back, Clayton walks the streets of Portland's business district for a few hours four nights a week, eyes trained upward for sightings of black crows against the black sky, ears scanning for the tell-tale sounds of crow flock.

It doesn't take much to scatter a flock. The hawks don't chase the crows, but they are seen as such a threat that even their presence in the area means it's time to move on. As soon as the hawks take flight, the crows nervously move off to safer territory.

The hawks are innate hunters with instinct to kill, but they've been trained not to and they pose no risk to the crows. They operate on a reward system and killing crows doesn't earn them treats from their handlers.

What does earn them treats is clearing crows and, in that respect, they've been quite successful. In their first year, the hawks easily cleared the designated area.

Now in their second year, Clayton and the hawks got started earlier, hitting the streets in late October, and are responsible for clearing a larger area  more than 70-square-blocks of the busiest area of downtown.

Kort Clayton is using hawks to drive problematic crows from the area shown on the map above.

On a recent mid-January night, it appeared that Clayton and his hawks were performing their duties almost too well. Over a few chilly hours, Clayton spent the vast majority of his time looking for crows to chase. Ditto for the two other teams of handlers and hawks patrolling the area.

The few flocks they did encounter were just outside of the designated area, right where they should be. And, according to Berg, the crow-related complaints have dropped.

"We feel like we've found the right solution to manage the issue," she said. "We've had fewer complaints. People are really satisfied when they see the result."

One of those people is Scali, the property manager. After she saw her building and the surrounding sidewalks thoroughly coated with crow droppings, she got in touch with the Portland Business Alliance, who called Berg, who let Clayton and the hawks know about the problem area.

They came and cleared the crows much more quickly than Scali anticipated.

"Literally within one day, they were gone," she said. "It was far beyond what we thought would happen."

-- Kale Williams

503-294-4048
A Portland police sergeant admitted to investigators that he deliberately misrepresented the law to get a protester to stop videotaping officers during a November 2016 protest and acknowledged that he's far from alone in the deception.

Sgt. Erin Smith said other officers also mislead the public about the much-misunderstood law.

Smith's revelations were included in an investigation of a complaint filed by a man who was filming police during a demonstration in front of fuel storage facilities in Northwest Portland over the Dakota Access Pipeline.

The city's Independent Police Review office investigated the complaint and shared the outcome with the Citizen Review Committee, which advises the office and hears citizen appeals of bureau findings on alleged police misconduct.

Leaders of both groups were none too pleased to see the statements from a 23-year Police Bureau veteran and street supervisor.

Smith "shockingly described this misrepresentation as a common practice among police," Anika Bent-Albert, assistant director of the review office, wrote to the Police Bureau in a recently released memo.

The citizen committee has urged police administrators to halt any attempts by officers to trick people about their rights.

Bent-Albert, on behalf of the citizen group, told police that "neither the community nor the bureau is well served by officers deliberately misrepresenting the law or threatening improper arrests  especially when the intent or result is that citizens forfeit their rights."

"We encourage you to see that any pervasive misunderstandings about the acceptability of this conduct are addressed immediately and decisively in officer training,'' Bent-Albert added.

Benjamin Kerensa, who complained about Smith's actions, obtained Bent-Albert's memo through a public records request. The city initially challenged its release, saying it dealt with officer discipline.

But the Multnomah County District Attorney's Office last week ordered that the memo's last two paragraphs be made public because they addressed broad policy and training issues "of serious concern to the citizens overseeing the police discipline process."

The paragraphs note that Smith in the investigation not only admitted to falsely telling Kerensa that he didn't have the right to film officers, but described his misrepresentations as "a common practice among police.''

The disclosure "wasn't too much of a surprise," Kerensa said Tuesday.

The two paragraphs that were released from a memo written in December by Anika Bent-Albert, assistant director of the Independent Police Review office, to the captain of the Police Bureau's professional standards division.

Kerensa noted that Smith's supervisor, Traffic Capt. Mike Crebs, argued there wasn't evidence that Smith had threatened him with arrest for filming during Kerensa's hearing before the Citizen Review Committee last year.

Crebs didn't think that Smith's remarks to Kerensa that he "could be arrested" for filming officers violated bureau policy or rose to the level of a threat. The bureau initially found the allegation "not sustained" but recommended a debriefing with the officer.

The citizen committee disagreed and recommended the bureau "sustain" the allegation.

Police Chief Danielle Outlaw responded to the citizen group's concerns in December, saying she agreed with the committee's findings that Smith violated bureau policy by misrepresenting the law to Kerensa and had improperly threatened to arrest Kerensa who was lawfully filming officers. Smith is expected to face discipline on those grounds.

All bureau members are expected to read the bureau's directive on truthfulness, complete a test affirming their knowledge of it and follow the policy, Sgt. Chris Burley, bureau spokesman, said Tuesday.

Officers in unrelated cases have faced termination for breaking the truthfulness policy. Burley said he couldn't comment about any discipline in Smith's case, calling it a "pending personnel matter."

The ACLU has worked to ensure that police officers know that the public has the right to record them. Agency lawyers helped represent a woman who was detained by transit police in 2013 for video-recording them arresting a stranger on a public sidewalk just outside downtown Portland. The woman, Carrie Medina, took police to court in 2015, and as part of a settlement reached last year, the city of Gresham agreed to pay $85,000 to Medina, and police in Gresham and Portland enacted new policies about the rights of bystanders to record their actions in public. The Portland police adopted a new policy in October 2016.

"The ACLU of Oregon reviewed the proposed training as part of the settlement agreement. It is very concerning that after Portland Police Bureau trained its officers on this issue,'' that a sergeant and his supervisor believes "it is appropriate to lie to a member of the public about the law as a 'tactic' to try and get the member of the public to stop filming,'' said Mat dos Santos, legal director for the ACLU of Oregon.

The Oregon Legislature also passed a bill in June 2015 that clarifies that state law allows video-recording police from a public vantage point.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
Updated at 5 p.m.

Hours after learning that an undocumented women who has lived in Portland for 30 years had been denied a liver transplant because of her immigration status, Oregon Health & Science University officials terminated the policy that caused the denial and apologized.

Silvia Lesama-Santos, 46, a stay-at-home mother of four children ranging in age from 4 to 21, received a letter from OHSU on Tuesday. Though Lesama-Santos is insured through her husband, the letter stated that she "must have lawful presence."

On Tuesday evening, the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon sent out a press release about Lesama-Santos' situation.

"My mother's only chance at survival is to receive a liver transplant, but OHSU has denied her because she is undocumented," Ivan Gonzalez Lesama, her son, said in the release. "They won't even let her get on the waiting list while we look for another hospital who will help her."

Mat dos Santos, legal director at the ACLU of Oregon, called OHSU's policy of denying care based on immigration status "cruel and inhumane."

Later Tuesday, OHSU put out its own statement.

"It was brought to our attention this evening that an archaic transplant policy was preventing an undocumented individual from being evaluated at OHSU," it read. "Upon learning of the policy, OHSU leaders acted immediately and terminated the policy. We deeply regret the pain this has caused the family.

"The OHSU transplant team is informing the family of our change in policy tonight," the statement continued. "OHSU's legal team has begun a system-wide audit to ensure no other such policies exist."

Lesama-Santos and her family have been informed of the change in policy, ACLU spokeswoman Sarah Armstrong confirmed Wednesday. "They also learned they were accepted to a hospital in Seattle," she added.

Even with the good news about the transplant possibility, the family still faces uncertainty. It's unclear at this point, Armstrong said, whether Lesama-Santos is healthy enough to travel to Seattle, or even healthy enough to get the transplant at OHSU.

Dr. Willscott Naugler, medical director for the liver transplant program at OHSU, said Wednesday the next steps are for Lesama-Santos to undergo an evaluation to ensure a transplant is possible and then a decision will follow whether to put her on the list to get a new liver. Lesama-Santos' insurance would have to sign off on her addition to the list if she's approved, Naugler said.

It's likely Lesama-Santos would make the list and that she'd be close to the top of recipients, he said. Next would come the wait for an available liver, he said.

The now-withdrawn hospital policy had been in place since at least 2007, Naugler said, and this was the first time he'd seen it used.

He said he doesn't believe anyone in the OHSU liver transplant department or the hospital's administration is biased toward undocumented immigrants, "but being an undocumented immigrant is often associated with other things, primarily of which is a lack of insurance," he said.

Lesama-Santos was referred for a liver transplant last year and the evaluation didn't go through because she didn't have insurance at the time, the doctor said.

"Being undocumented, per se, should not have stopped that and that was the policy that was changed," Naugler said. "I think we are with some egg on our face understanding that there was a confusion being undocumented and having no insurance.

"It's unfortunate that it was recognized just (Tuesday) night and it's one of the things that makes us all feel sick and really want to do as much as we can to support this poor family because they've been through a lot."

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
Sitting in the living room of her beautiful 1930s Northeast Portland home, Judy Fisher puffs on a vape pen of cannabidiol oil. As she exhales, a hint of lavender permeates the room.

At age 70, Fisher has discovered the benefits of cannabis.

"I'm a disciple," she said. "I would go out and give testimonials if I didn't think the feds were going to come and put me on the no-fly list."

Fisher is among a growing number of Oregon seniors using marijuana extracts to treat aches and ailments. She's not looking for a high  "If I wanted to get a buzz, I really like bourbon," she said.

Rather, she's using products made from cannabidiol oil, also called CBD.

"Until I understood about CBD, I thought people who got medical marijuana cards did it so they could get high and get it cheaper," Fisher said. "I was uninformed."

While tetrahydrocannabinol -- THC -- is the component that gives marijuana users a high, the compound she uses has no intoxicating effects. It's been shown to be beneficial in treating nerve pain, insomnia, anxiety and other disorders without threat of overdose.

But the federal government makes no distinction between the two components. It's all related to marijuana and thus considered a schedule 1 drug  as dangerous by classification as heroin. Fisher is especially worried now that Attorney General Jeff Sessions has rescinded the Obama-era policy of non-interference with state marijuana laws.

The two components derived from cannabis "are completely different but the government hasn't made that distinction, and certainly Jeff Sessions doesn't know anything about it," she said. "Nobody is talking about the science of these products, and that's hindering advances in medical care."

For about the past year, Fisher, a retired nurse practitioner, has been spreading the gospel: in her painting class, at the gym, to women experiencing sleepless nights from menopause. She's walked into "the local pot shop" with friends, guiding them through an often intimidating process for seniors new to cannabis.

Her journey started after Oregon legalized small amounts of home-grown marijuana in 2015.

"My son and I thought it would be a lark to grow some pot in our backyard because we could, and it was fun and we named the plants," she said. "We harvested it and I never really used it because I discovered I don't like smoking that stuff."

Not long afterward, Fisher herniated a disc in her back, and she's had chronic nerve pain ever since. She began researching the medicinal benefits of cannabis and cannabidiol oil, but when she talked to her doctors about it, they offered little help or recommendations.

So Fisher found her own way. The first product she tried was equal parts THC and CBD  not a good fit.

"For about an hour I couldn't move my body," she said. "I was hallucinating like I was on mushrooms or something and I thought 'woo, this isn't the right product.' But I knew enough that it would wear off and if I could just wait an hour this feeling would go away."

After that experience, she looked for CBD products with minuscule amounts of the ingredient that leads to a high. She uses a vape pen, tinctures from a dropper, and capsules, none of which give her any kind of high but do provide pain relief.

Fisher's local pot shop is Silver Stem Fine Cannabis at 1926 NE 40th Ave., just two doors down from the Hollywood Senior Center. General manager Chris York said roughly 30 percent of the store's customers qualify for the senior discount, and probably one in five are age 70 or older. He remembers a 99-year-old customer who chuckled when he checked her ID.

"It was definitely shocking," York said. "In Colorado, you see an average age of 30 going to the dispensary. Here our average age is probably 48 to 52."

Many curious customers come from the nearby Senior Center, which has hosted several "Know Your Cannabis" seminars for older clients.

"We also have Providence hospital right down the street from us," York said. "I can't tell you how many people are coming in and they are incredibly nervous, they have never smoked pot or had any cannabis related products, but they're kind of at the end of their rope with prescription medications."

York tries to gauge someone's experience level with marijuana  some of the hippie generation are no strangers to it, but others are looking for something new to help with pain.

Most seniors are looking for cannabis products that provide relief but not intoxication, and York recommends something like Mr. Moxey's Mints, which come in a small tin and contain one milligram of THC to five milligrams of CBD per piece.

Fisher also likes the CBD Hemp Store at 1523 SE Morrison. There, she's gotten 10 milligram capsules as well as a lemon ginger oil tincture, which she applies under her tongue using a dropper.

It's ironic the Attorney General claims to be combating the opioid crisis while at the same time condemning marijuana. CBD could be a non-addictive alternative to oxycodone, but little research is done because of federal laws against it.

"Everybody's so worried about these opioids and people are dying," Fisher said. "They give lip service to say 'oh this is a big problem' ... but here you have a product that's been around for probably centuries and they won't allow study on it."

And that's why Fisher invited a reporter into her home to talk about her vape pen and her back pain. She knows she doesn't fit the stereotype of a cannabis user. She thinks the country's most reliable demographic of voters could have a say in changing federal policy and could themselves benefit from cannabis products.

"We seniors have to get out of the closet about this," she said.

-- Samantha Swindler is a columnist with The Oregonian/Oregonlive

@editorswindler / 503-294-4031

sswindler@oregonian.com
A 26-year-old woman said to be taking medication for schizophrenia pleaded guilty Wednesday to trying to kill her aunt and uncle on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.

Rhyan Leigh Smith said "guilty'' when asked in federal court how she pleaded to two counts of assault with the intent to commit murder and one count of possession of a firearm in the furtherance of a crime of violence in the 2016 shootings.

Smith will face at least a 10-year prison sentence because the gun conviction brings a mandatory minimum sentence of a decade behind bars. Her sentencing is set for May 21.

Rhyan Leigh Smith

U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman in October 2016 found Smith mentally incompetent to aid in her own defense in October 2016. Since then, Smith has received treatment in a federal medical facility in Texas and has undergone psychological evaluation, her defense lawyer said.

An evaluation last November found she didn't suffer from a mental disease or defect, but another doctor's evaluation in December said she was psychotic and experienced hallucinations from schizophrenia at the time of the offense.

At her defense lawyer's advice, Smith reached a plea agreement with prosecutors.

Assistant federal public defender Ruben Iniguez told Mosman that he believed Smith, while on her medication for schizophrenia, was fully competent to offer her plea and understood the court proceedings.

The shooting occurred on the morning of March 16, 2016. Warm Springs police received a 911 call at 8:24 a.m. from Smith's father, who reported that his daughter had shot two people in their home. Smith was found lying on the ground, about 100 yards from the home, with an AR-15 rifle beside her, according to FBI agents.

Witnesses told investigators that Smith knocked on the bedroom door where her uncle and aunt slept. Her uncle, Zack Chambers, said he talked with Smith for about 30 seconds. Smith asked him about "the kids at the Warm Springs K-8 school and the news that some of them were cutting themselves,'' according to a criminal complaint.

Chambers told Smith that he was going to bed and started to shut the door. As he turned away, he heard a shot. Smith shot him multiple times and then fired at her aunt, Bernadette Smith, when she emerged from the bathroom off the bedroom upon hearing the shots, according to the complaint.

Chambers was shot five times, and his wife also was hit multiple times. FBI agents recovered at least seven 9mm bullet casings on the floor. Rhyan Smith had obtained the handgun from someone else without permission, according to the FBI.

At the time, Rhyan Smith's father said his daughter and her aunt didn't get along and often argued, the complaint said.

Rhyan Smith's lawyer will seek a 12-year sentence for Smith. Prosecutors will seek the minimum 10-year sentence for the firearm conviction, plus a consecutive sentence for the two attempted murder convictions that ranges from six and a half years to eight years, according to the plea deal.

Smith is being held at the Multnomah County Inverness Jail.

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
President Donald Trump's vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America's armed forces.

Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon's tank - a room reserved for top secret discussions - marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning.

Surrounded by the military's highest ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford, Trump's seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said.

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. "This is being worked at the highest levels of the military."

American shows of military strength don't come cheap. The cost of shipping Abrams tanks and high-tech hardware to Washington could run in the millions, and military officials said it was unclear how they would pay for it.

A White House official familiar with the planning described the discussions as "brainstorming" and said nothing is settled. "Right now there's really no meat on the bones," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

Still, the official said Trump is determined to have a parade. "The president wants to do something that highlights the service and sacrifice of the military and have a unifying moment for the country," the official said.

The inspiration for Trump's push is last year's Bastille Day celebration in Paris, which the president attended as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump was awestruck by the tableau of uniformed French troops marching down Avenue des Champs-Elysees with military tanks, armored vehicles, gun trucks and carriers - complete with F-16 fighter jets flying over the Arc de Triomphe and painting the sky with streaks of blue, white and red smoke for the colors of the French flag.

Aboard Air Force One en route home from Paris last July, aides said Trump told them he was dazzled by the French display and said he wanted one at home.

It was still on his mind two months later when he met with Macron on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen," Trump told reporters. "It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France."

Seated next to Macron, Trump added: "We're going to have to try to top it."

Several administration officials said the parade planning began in recent weeks and involves White House chief of staff John Kelly, but cautioned that it is in the preliminary stages. District of Columbia officials said they have not been notified of parade plans.

A date has not been selected, although officials said Trump would like to tie the parade to a patriotic holiday. Officials are weighing weather patterns as well as competing events, such as the massive annual Independence Day celebration on the Mall.

Trump officials had discussed Memorial Day on May 28, and July 4, but the Pentagon prefers Veterans Day on Nov. 11 - in part because it would coincide with 100th anniversary of the victorious end of World War I and therefore be less associated with the president and politics. "That's what everyone is hoping," said the military official.

It is unclear what role Trump would play, whether he may perhaps serve as a grandmaster or observe the spectacle from a reviewing stand.

The location is still being discussed, though Trump has said that he would like it to proceed along Pennsylvania Avenue, which links the Capitol and the White House. It would be the same route as Trump's inaugural parade and pass by his family's show piece: the Trump International Hotel.

Even before he was sworn in as president, Trump was dreaming of America's war machine on display for the country and the world in front of the White House or Capitol.

"We're going to show the people as we build up our military," Trump said in an interview with The Washington Post before his inauguration. " . . . That military may come marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. That military may be flying over New York City and Washington, D.C., for parades. I mean, we're going to be showing our military."

But big military parades - even those launched with the best of intentions - carry some risks and troublesome historical echoes.

With a few exceptions - such as former president George H.W. Bush's 1991 parade down Constitution Avenue celebrating victory in the Persian Gulf War - presidents have avoided displays of military hardware that are more associated in the American mind with the Soviet Union's Red Square celebrations or, more recently, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to show off his Taepodong missiles.

"I don't think there's a lack of love and respect for our armed forces in the United States," said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University. "What are they going to do, stand there while Donald Trump waves at them? It smacks of something you see in a totalitarian country - unless there's a genuine, earnest reason to be doing it."

The White House official rejected the suggestion that some associate a military parade with strongmen, saying it would be a "celebration of the men and women who give us freedom."

"That's the opposite of a totalitarian government," the official said.

Weaponry on the streets of Washington is not unheard of. President Truman and President Kennedy had military equipment during their inaugural parades, in 1949 and 1963 respectively, during key junctures in the Cold War, said Michael Beschloss, another presidential historian.

"Set against the backdrop of American history, it does seem to hark back to the harsh days of the Cold War," Beschloss said. "Those parades were a counterpoint to the parades in front of Lenin's tomb at Red Square . . . One reason the Soviets had those parades was to distract the world from the fact that the Soviet military was actually much weaker than the Soviets were claiming."

But generally, the United States has shied away from parading its military assets, calculating that doing so was not necessary for the world's preeminent superpower.

There is no law or regulations preventing Trump from putting on a military parade, but there are plenty of potential complications that military leaders are likely to raise with the president. One worry is practical: that 70-ton tanks built for the battlefield would chew up Pennsylvania Avenue blacktop.

The military might also want to weigh in on the kind of equipment on parade. One concern is that big displays of missile launchers might evoke Pyongyang-style nationalism more than American patriotism.

A parade would likely be interpreted as another stroke of nuclear gamesmanship. Tensions between North Korea and the United States have risen over the past year as Trump and Kim have taunted each other with playground nicknames and threats.

After Kim warned last month that he had a "nuclear button" on his desk, Trump replied: "Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!"

The White House official said a parade would have nothing to do with Trump's feuds with Kim, but would be designed as a broad show of strength to send a warning to all of America's adversaries.

Then there are the domestic pitfalls. At a time when Mattis and his top generals have been complaining about the state of military readiness and lobbying Congress for more money, pulling equipment off line for a costly parade could send the wrong signal.

There are personal risks for Trump as well. Though he attended a military high school, Trump did not serve in the armed forces, avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War by claiming bone spurs. Critics have previously criticized Trump as disingenuous for basking in the military's glory.

Honoring the troops without politicizing their service has long been a dilemma for presidents. President Barack Obama's frequent focus on wounded troops fighting to resume their lives struck the wrong chord with some conservatives.

One of George W. Bush's biggest blunders as president came in 2003 when commander in chief landed on an aircraft carrier bearing a "Mission Accomplished" banner to claim victory in the Iraq War.

Former aides say Bush would have loved a big parade but they recognized a problem: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan never ended. Such subtleties - the U.S. is currently dropping bombs in seven countries - don't seem to have factored into Trump's calculations.

With the midterm elections approaching and Trump's approval ratings at historic lows, the lure of honoring the troops is powerful.

"Who flipped the coin for the Super Bowl on Sunday?" asked Peter Feaver, a former Bush White House official and professor at Duke University. "It was Medal of Honor winners. Why? The military brings us together."

But Feaver also issued a warning for Trump, who is known for his excesses.

"A military parade," he said, "is the kind of thing that can easily be overdone."

-- The Washington Post
A California bakery can continue its refusal to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, a judge in Kern County has decided -- the opposite legal result that Oregon bakers faced after declining in 2013 to provide a cake for a lesbian wedding.

The Gresham bakery, Sweet Cakes by Melissa, became a cause celebre for the conservative "religious liberty" movement. In December, the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the state labor commissioner's $135,000 fine against the bakery.

On Monday, Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe issued a preliminary injunction in the similar California case. The ruling allows Tastries Bakery owner Cathy Miller, an evangelical Christian, to continue her refusal to bake a wedding cake for Mireya and Eileen Rodriguez-Del Rio.

Last fall, the Rodriguez-Del Rioses filed a complaint with the state, claiming Miller's refusal violated California's Unruh Civil Rights Act. The law prohibits public businesses from denying service to anyone based on their race, gender, sexual orientation or religion.

Judge Lampe's ruling hinges not just on religious-freedom grounds but specifically on Miller's cake-making as "protected artistic expression," reports the Bakersfield Californian.

"A wedding cake is not just a cake in a Free Speech analysis," Lampe wrote in his ruling. "It is an artistic expression by the person making it that is to be used traditionally as a centerpiece in the celebration of a marriage. There could not be a greater form of expressive conduct. Here, Rodriguez-Del Rios plan to engage in speech. They plan a celebration to declare the validity of their marital union and their enduring love for one another. The State asks this court to compel Miller against her will and religion to allow her artistic expression in celebration of marriage to be co-opted to promote the message desired by same-sex marital partners, and with which Miller disagrees."

Miller celebrated the ruling, which holds until the case is decided at trial.

"We were so joyful," she said Tuesday. "... We started screaming and praising God because we felt we had been heard."

-- Douglas Perry
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The 2018 U.S. nuclear posture review (NPR) has drawn almost universal condemnation, as it redirects the United States toward a path of nuclear expansion.

The hawkish paper, consistent with the previously released National Security Strategy and the National Defense Strategy, painted a bleak picture for U.S. security, and called for more dominant role for nuclear weapons in its arsenal.

But the reasonings in the paper were unconvincing for many nuclear policy experts, who argued that a departure from previous constructive nuclear policies may trigger a new round of arms race, and that by overstating security risks the Pentagon is proposing a solution to a non-existing problem.

"The biggest difference relates to the supposed role of nuclear weapons in American military strategy," Michael Klare, an expert at the Arms Control Association, told Xinhua.

"In the Obama NPR, nuclear munitions are identified as weapons of last resort, to be used only under the most extreme circumstances; accordingly, every effort should be made to reduce their role in military strategy, and their numbers should be reduced as quickly as possible via international arms control treaties," Klare said.

"In the Trump NPR, nuclear munitions are viewed as playing a significant and growing role in U.S. military strategy, and so their numbers and types should be increased to make this possible," the expert said.

The stark difference has been described as "disturbing" by Lisbeth Gronlund, senior scientist and co-director of the Global Security Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, who noted that the NPR has lowered the threshold of nuclear warfighting by committing nuclear response to non-nuclear aggressions.

"One of the most disturbing and significant changes to U.S. policy outlined in the NPR is the tighter integration of U.S. nuclear and conventional forces, including training and exercising with these integrated forces, so U.S. forces can operate - as the NPR states - in the face of nuclear threats and employment," she said.

"This is the textbook definition of nuclear warfighting. This new policy deliberately blurs the line between nuclear and conventional forces and eliminates a clear firewall," she warned.

To respond to emerging threats to U.S. and its allies' security, the NPR specifically proposed the development for new models of "low-yield" weapons, which it said would be essential for a "flexible" nuclear arsenal that can enhance deterrence.

"Low-yield" weapons, commonly referred to those with a yield of less than 20 kilotons, are mostly made for tactical use, and currently are mainly carried on strategic bombers with gravity bombs.

But the NPR said the United States should start mounting these tactical nuclear weapons on strategic and attack submarines.

Joan Rohlfing, president and chief operating officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, said putting tactic and strategic nuclear weapons on the same platform, such as a strategic submarine, may easily lead to miscalculations.

Any adversary would be uncertain of the yield of an incoming nuclear weapon launched from a strategic submarine, and would almost certainly respond with strategic weapons, she said.

Aside from slamming the conflict-inviting rhetoric, the academia also questioned the premise which the NPR drew from.

In a statement, the Union of Concerned Scientists said the NPR misrepresented China's nuclear power.

"The gap between China and the United States is too wide to argue that the United States is lagging behind in any meaningful way. In fact, the exact opposite is true. By any measure, the U.S. arsenal is far superior," Gregory Kulacki, an expert at UCS said.

"There is no evidence that nuclear weapons are becoming more prominent in China's military strategy or that China has changed its longstanding no-first-use policy," Kulacki said.

In a fiery response, Russia also rejected the NPR's assumption that it is adjusting to nuclear war fighting strategy.

"The document's statement that Russia allegedly refuses to further reduce its nuclear capabilities is yet another example of the blatant 'falsification'," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
Thursday 8 February 2018 10:38am

A final report on the unethical clinical study conducted by Dr Herbert Green at National Womens Hospital in Auckland from the 1960s to the 1980s, known widely as the Unfortunate Experiment, has just been published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The publication: Outcomes for women without conventional treatment for stage 1A carcinoma of the cervix describes the medical experience of 82 women with microinvasive cancer.

It confirms that some women with microinvasive cancer were included in Dr Greens natural history study of cervical pre-cancer. They underwent numerous procedures designed to observe, rather than treat, their condition and had a substantial risk of developing a higher stage of invasive cancer.



Emeritus Professor Charlotte Paul, University of Otago.

Previous reports have analysed the risk of invasive cancer in women with CIN3 (pre-cancer) and the consequences for women with CIN3 included in Dr Greens study. But lead author, Emeritus Professor Charlotte Paul from the University of Otagos Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, says it is not widely known that his trial of withholding treatment also included women with microinvasive (Stage 1A) cervical cancer. The outcome for the women with microinvasive cancer has not previously been reported.

Among these 82 women diagnosed with microinvasive cervical cancer, 15 developed a more advanced stage of cancer of the cervix or vaginal vault and eight died from their disease. None of these women had received conventional treatment or appropriate follow-up, Emeritus Professor Paul says.

We have reported these findings in order to document and acknowledge the harm suffered by these women and to complete the picture of the effects of Dr Greens study.

The first independent publication on this study was in 1984. Since then there have been many papers recording outcomes for women of withholding treatment for cervical and vulval pre-cancer. This is the second paper to specifically address the medical experience and outcomes for the women.

All data abstracted from the National Womens Hospital files for these studies will be deposited in a special archive being established by the Auckland District Health Board.

Details of the whole human story can be found in the book by one of the study authors, gynaecologist Ron Jones: Doctors in Denial: The Forgotten Women in the Unfortunate Experiment, Otago University Press, 2017.

Together with Emeritus Professor Paul, the reports authors are Associate Professor Katrina Sharples, from the University of Otagos Department of Medicine; Emeritus Professor David Skegg from the University of Otagos Department of Preventive and Social Medicine; Dr Judith Baranyai and Professor Jones, both Auckland District Health Board.

Link to online paper

For further information please contact:

Professor Ron Jones

Phone: +64 9 522 5207

Mobile: +64 21 031 1010

Email: rwjones@xtra.co.nz
Sen. Jim Stamas' legislation to permanently honor U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Ryan Burgess is on its way to the governor's desk to be signed.

"Lance Corporal Ryan Burgess was a dedicated and fearless Marine who loved his family and his country," said Stamas, R-Midland. "While protecting our freedom and way of life, Burgess made the ultimate sacrifice in Iraq in 2006. The people of Sanford and the entire region were deeply saddened by his loss. This measure is a way for us to remember that loss and express our appreciation for his service to America."

Senate Bill 481 would designate a portion of U.S.10 from North Stark Road to West River Road in Sanford as the "Marine Lance Corporal Ryan Burgess Memorial Highway."

Burgess served as a vehicle commander and squad leader and was serving his second tour in Iraq when he was killed by an improvised explosion device in December 2006. His marksmanship skills during boot camp earned him the Expert Rifle Marksmanship Badge. These skills were called upon during his tours in Iraq, where he often served as a sniper.

Burgess was a graduate of Meridian High School and his parents, Jon and Kim Burgess, spoke before the Senate Transportation Committee in December in support of the bill.

"It is important for us to remember and honor the courage and selflessness of heroes like Lance Corporal Burgess," Stamas said. "This memorial highway will be a reminder of the true cost of freedom and of a native son who never returned home."

The bill has no fiscal impact on the state or local government. Under state law, the Michigan Department of Transportation can place markers indicating the name of a memorial highway only "when sufficient private contributions are received to completely cover the cost of erecting and maintaining those markers."
Saginaw Valley State University is commemorating Black History Month by hosting a number of events throughout the month of February.

All events are free of charge and open to the public, unless otherwise noted.

The public is invited to join SVSU for the following Black History Month events:

Dawn Hinton, SVSU professor of sociology, will lead a discussion on "Why We Celebrate Black History Month" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8 in the Alumni Lounge of Curtiss Hall. Her lecture will explore the motivation behind the creation of Black History Month.

The annual "Taste of Soul" lunch event offers traditional soul food and features recipes from African-American faculty and staff at SVSU. This year's event can be enjoyed from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 21 in the Marketplace at Doan. Admission cost is $9.25. A complete menu will be available online at http://bit.ly/2EpS1bN

SVSU alumna and retired judge Marilyn E. Atkins will speak about "Life After SVSU" at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb 26 in Curtiss Hall's Seminar Rooms D and E. The Detroit resident will speak about her book, "The Triumph of Rosemary, A Memoir."

For more information, contact SVSU's Office of Multicultural Services at 989-964-7090.
It's become clear that more has to change to fight the opioid crisis, and that means targeted prevention and education efforts.

Law enforcement "can't stop the supply," Lori Ziolkowski, vice president of Families Against Narcotics Great Lakes Bay Region Chapter and professor at Delta College, said. "We can control the demand by educating our young people, especially."

Part of the community's answer to prevention efforts is the formation of the Midland County Treatment and Recovery Coalition, which is a partnership of different agencies all dealing with drug addiction.

"We're working together as a community and using our resources all the time," Jennifer Heronema, president and CEO of The Legacy Center for Community Success, said. "It's all of these sectors coming together to make a difference.  It's really important that we use our resources wisely."

One of the coalition's projects is a recovery and treatment guide listing all the local resources dealing with drug addiction. An upcoming project is community training this summer on how to administer a medication, called Narcan or naloxone, that reverses opioid and opiate drug overdoses.

Midland Police Chief Clifford Block said officers have carried naloxone since 2016, and the department now has officers who can train fellow officers on how to administer the medicine.

"You can get free naloxone from Community Mental Health for Central Michigan," said Kathryn Tate, community integration leader at The Legacy Center.

"I suggest everybody should have one," Block said of naloxone. At a roundtable meeting hosted by Midland County Prosecutor J. Dee Brooks, Ziolkowski held up a white box containing naloxone. "I carry this with me everywhere," she said.

Both The Legacy Center and law enforcement are working on other education efforts as well.

Tate said The Legacy Center has visited four high schools to speak with 504 student athletes and 461 health students about drug addiction, as well as seven civic groups. Student athletes were targeted for the prevention efforts because of the amount of injuries they suffer, which can lead to medical procedures, medications and addiction, Tate and Heronema explained.

"We've been invited back to all four high schools as well," Tate said.

"We need to get in front of kids and we need to get in front of them soon," Heronema added.

Block said some projects his department is involved in include the DARE program, student resources officers at H.H. Dow and Midland high schools, and a new mentoring program at the Midland County Juvenile Care Center.

DARE gets students and officers talking, he said. "It's an opportunity to help kids make good choices," and the school resource officers help kids continue making good choices in high school.

The new mentoring program and the juvenile care center will feature an officer heading into lunches with the youths to talk.

Tate said there's things all of us can do to help prevent drug addiction.

She said it's important to talk with doctors about what drugs we are being prescribed, how to start taking them and how to go off them, and about other options for chronic pain; lock up medications or take them to a Dump Your Drugs collection to dispose of them; and to volunteer and support people who are in recovery.

This is the sixth in a series of Daily News articles examining the topic of drug addiction.
TRIPOLI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- General Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a senior military commander of the Libyan eastern-based army who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), on Tuesday announced that he would surrender himself to the army's military police.

"After instructions (being given) from the (army's) General Command and the Commander-in-chief Khalifa Haftar about my arrest, I immediately received the instructions and I will hand myself over to the military police in Al-Marj city (the army's headquarters) to complete the ICC investigations with me," al-Werfalli said in a video online, wearing his military uniform.

Al-Werfalli is a general in the special forces attached to Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) that controls Libya's northeastern city of Benghazi.

The international community has demanded several times legal prosecutions against Haftar as his forces kept gaining ground on the battlefield.

In August 2017, the ICC, which is based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for al-Werfalli and demanded his extradition over suspicion of committing war crimes in eastern Libya.

Immediately after the warrant was issued, the LNA announced that al-Werfalli was under arrest and being investigated, although his whereabouts were unknown.

In January, images surfaced online showing al-Werfalli carrying out field executions of 10 people at the site of a terrorist attack in Benghazi.

A few hours later, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya demanded the immediate extradition of al-Werfalli.
UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria and called for unity of the Security Council in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"We've learned with gravest concern of reports of the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria, including in Idlib (governorate). The secretary-general once again condemns in the strongest possible terms any use of such weapons for which there can be no justification," Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.

"He (Guterres) reiterated his call for unity of the Security Council in order to ensure that those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria are identified and held accountable," said Haq, referring to the impasse within the council that led to the dissolution of an independent investigative mechanism, which found that both the Syrian government and the Islamic State terrorist group used chemical weapons in Syria.

Last year, Russia used its veto power in the Security Council three times to kill the Joint Investigative Mechanism of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Russia last month circulated a draft resolution for a new investigative mechanism, but several council members have expressed serious reservations about the text.

Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Wu Haitao said Monday that China supports Russia's efforts to push for the establishment of a new investigative mechanism. China hopes that council members will continue to hold constructive consultations in order to reach consensus at an early date, he told the Council.
"Home is where your heart resides, and home is who you are with."

These words perfectly described Feng Chen Wang's Fall '18 collection, as her most recent range was the manifestation of all the places she now calls home: London, Shanghai, and New York. But the most important location of all is her childhood home in Fujian, southern China, because this is where the designer's journey begins.

"It [starts with] my personal story, so from my first home in China," Chen Wang told PAPER. "[I'm] trying to find what home means for me. Home doesn't just mean a house, or a city, or a place. Home is beyond a physical location, and more about who you are with."

Known for their impeccable regional workmanship, its influence to Chen Wang is clear in her pieces' construction and execution. This Fall '18 season also notably saw her 24-piece showcase launch original "The Way Home" Air Jordan 1 sneakers.









The designer wanted to convey the visual stimulations of going home, with the gold representing the sun you see on the way home  and the warm orange like the sun when you finally arrive. With parkas, oversized puffer jackets, and workwear-inspired outerwear commanding everybody's attention, all of Chen Wang's "homes" were acknowledged.



British artistic direction merged with New York City sensibility, and Shanghainese luxury was present from start to finish. Another subtle detail was the number 239, which Chen Wang embroidered on garments throughout the collection; That number in particular references her childhood home. But the designer still identifies beyond her Chinese background.

"I think it doesn't matter about your nationality," Chen Wang says. "It's more [about] who you are, where you want to go, how far you want to reach in the future. So for me it doesn't matter about if I'm Chinese or if I'm not, I'm still always who I am. That's the most important."



As a relatively new designer on the scene, Chen Wang has already proven her capability in transcending geographical and cultural limitations that so many designers struggle with. Being a native from China, educated in London, and now living both East and West, she is part of a wave of new artists not limited by the inherent lives given to them at birth.

Just like the cotton tape that was detailed throughout her collection, Feng weaves a never-ending story for us to follow and reminisce alongside her.

Photos via Feng Chen Wang


Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, February 6, 2018. (Presidential Palace/Handout via REUTERS)

ANKARA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Defying the U.S. warnings, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday vowed that Turkish troops would expand cross-border military operations from Syria's Afrin to Manbij.

"They (the U.S.) tell us don't come to Manbij, but we will come to Manbij to hand over the land to its original Arabic owners," Erdogan said in a speech to his ruling Justice and Development Party's parliamentary group in Ankara.

Erdogan blasted the U.S. for its military presence in Manbij with fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which Ankara sees as a terror group affiliated with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast.

Erdogan also criticized U.S. President Donald Trump and his predecessor Barack Obama for lying in pledging to pull the U.S. troops out of Manbij, which is 100 km east of Afrin.

"They said they will not stay in Manbij... Why don't you just go?" he asked.

Erdogan added that Turkey would launch an international initiative against the U.S. for arming the PYD and PKK.

Turkish troops launched "Operation Olive Branch" on Jan. 20 in a bid to remove the YPG militia from Syria's northwestern region of Afrin.

The U.S., which has cooperated with the YPG in fighting the terror group Islamic State in the past years, has urged Ankara to limit its military operations in Syria, while warning about the risk of a possible conflict with the U.S. troops based in Manbij if Turkish troops move on to capture the city.
A new World Bank report says global wealth grew significantly over the past two decades but per capita wealth declined or stagnated in more than two dozen countries in various income brackets.



Going beyond traditional measures such as GDP (Gross Domestic Product), the report available to the media uses wealth to monitor countries economic progress and sustainability.



The Changing Wealth of Nations 2018 tracks the wealth of 141 countries between 1995 and 2014 by aggregating natural capital (such as forests and minerals), human capital (earnings over a persons lifetime); produced capital (buildings, infrastructure, etc.) and net foreign assets.



Human capital was the largest component of wealth overall while natural capital made up nearly half of wealth in low-income countries, the report said.



Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group President, said by building and fostering human and natural capital, countries around the world can bolster wealth and grow stronger. The World Bank Group is accelerating its effort to help countries invest more  and more effectively  in their people.



There cannot be sustained and reliable development if we dont consider human capital as the largest component of the wealth of nations.



The report found that global wealth grew an estimated 66 per cent from $690 trillion to $1,143 trillion in constant 2014 U.S. dollars at market prices. But inequality was substantial, as wealth per capita in high-income OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries was 52 times greater than in low-income countries.



A decline in per capita wealth was recorded in several large low-income countries, some carbon-rich countries in the Middle East, and a few high-income OECD countries affected by the 2009 financial crisis.



It said declining per capita wealth implies that assets critical for generating future income may be depleted, a fact not often reflected in national GDP growth figures.



The report found that more than two dozen low-income countries, where natural capital dominated overall wealth in 1995, moved to middle-income status over the last two decades, in part by investing earnings from natural capital into sectors such as infrastructure, as well as education and health which increase human capital.



While investments in human as well as produced capital are essential, getting rich is not about liquidating natural capital to build other assets, the report notes.



Natural capital per person in OECD countries is three times higher than in low-income countries, even though the share of natural capital in total wealth is just 3 percent in OECD countries.



Growth will be short-term if it is based on depleting natural capital such as forests and fisheries. What our research has shown is that the value of natural capital per person tends to rise with income. This contradicts traditional wisdom that development necessarily entails depletion of natural resources, said Karin Kemper, Senior Director, Environment and Natural Resources Global Practice at the World Bank.

Source: Ghanaian Times









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Ghana has again dropped in performance in the Open Budget Survey (OBS) index scoring 50 per cent out of 100 in the 2017 report.



The result shows a further decrease from a 51 per cent score in the last survey conducted in 2015, suggesting that Ghana failed to attain its targeted score of 67 per cent by 2016 according to the report launched in Accra yesterday by SEND-Ghana.



It is indicative of the fact that government created little or no avenues for the free flow of information on budget documents.



Ghana signed unto the Open Governance Partnership agreement in 2011 to make budget documents available and accessible to citizens per the agreed global timelines.



The OBS, an initiative of the International Budget Partnership (IBP) tracks and assesses the central governments performance in terms of transparency in its budget document, public participation and oversight duties of the legislature and mandated audit institutions.



It is hinged on eight key budget documents to determine their availability, comprehensiveness, timeliness and usefulness to the general public.



The documents include the Pre-Budget Statement, Executive Budget Proposal, Enacted Budget, Citizens Budget, In-Year Reports, Mid-Year Review, Year End Report and Audit Report.



Launching the report, the Senior Programme Officer of SEND-GHANA, Mrs. Harriet Agyemang explained that the survey assessed Ghanas 2016 budget document based on indicators of availability and timely publication of the budget documents online.



Availability of budget information has decreased by failing to publish in-year reports online in a timely manner while pre-budget statement among others is also unavailable, she stated.



Mrs. Agyemang also identified little involvement of the citizenry in budget preparation or implementation and inefficiency on the part of oversight institutions such as Parliament and the audit institutions to monitor budget documents, as accounting for Ghanas failure to meet its expected target.



Mrs. Agyemang called for the publication of pre-budget statement and in-year reports online for public perusal while increasing information provided in the Executive Budget Proposal particularly on expenditures, borrowing and debt.



On ensuring effective public participation, she urged for the creation of a platform where citizens can be engaged prior to or on the day of submission of the budget to Parliament saying, Legislative hearings can be held on the annual budgets of the Ministries, Departments and Agencies to assist in formulating audit programmes for such institutions.



A project officer with the organisation, Mrs. Sandra Sarkwah who elaborated on some indicators for determining the Open Budget Index (OBI) of a country, called for the establishment of an independent fiscal institution to further strengthen budget oversight responsibilities.



The supreme audit institution must also be well equipped to better perform their duties to place Ghana on a higher rank among the international community in its budget transparency goals, she said.



This years report is the sixth assessment of Ghanas performance on the global budget transparency.

Source: Ghanaian Times









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The Bank of Ghana will commence the implementation of the Deposit Insurance scheme in the second quarter of 2018.



Parliament in 2016 passed the Deposit Protection Act, which seeks to establish a deposit insurance (DI) scheme to protect depositors in the event of bank failure.



The scheme, among other things, seeks to safeguard the savings of individual depositors in the country in order to build trust in the formal banking system and to contribute to the stabilisation and development of the financial system in Ghana.



Dr Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, speaking at the first edition of this years Graphic Business/ Stanbic Bank breakfast meeting, said the deposit insurance was an additional safety net for depositors.



The event on the theme: Deposit insurance: A catalyst for a stronger banking industry, afforded players in the banking sector the opportunity to deliberate on the advantages and disadvantages of deposit insurance.



He said: The idea is to have an additional layer of protection in addition to what the central bank normally does to protect and provide enough oversight over the financial sector.



He said the country could have the most prudent application of banking rules, have the most effective oversight over the financial sector but then you also need that deposit insurance scheme to provide the added safety net to boost confidence in the financial sector especially the small depositors.



He said that it was the reason, why the BoG raised the capital requirements of the banks, and that, all things being equal we expect that in a strong and well capitalised bank, the sector will be well positioned to offer safer services.



He said there were arguments about the new capital requirement and that foreign ownership of banks were more dominant, but the data at the Central Bank did not suggest that control in the banking sector.



The Governor said the Central Bank wants to see a country that was economically diversified and could have a financial sector, which would assist in structural transformation.



He said the private sector has a big role to play in that agenda, adding that, the financial sector was expected to be well positioned to finance these private sector activities.



Going forward this year, we expect that we will continue to tighten the regulatory standards, ensure that the regulated institutions have adequate levels of capital and we will issue the guidelines to ensure compliance with a minimum capital requirement, he added.







Source: GNA









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Some freight forwarders at the Tema Port have expressed their displeasure with President Nana Akufo-Addos governments first year in office.



These freight forwarders believe the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government has performed poorly with regards to addressing the challenges at the port.



Speaking to Citi News ahead of the Presidents State of the Nation Address slated for tomorrow, [Thursday] February 8, 2018 in Parliament, some of the freight forwarders said a review of the paperless system will alleviate their plight.



Some of them also appealed for the removal of some processes they consider bottlenecks at the port, which they said obstruct the efficient clearing of goods.



One of the freight forwarders said the NPPs first year in office has been very disappointing in the sense that, since the NPP came values have increased so much.



Formerly, we used to pay a 100% penalty for short collection. But now we are paying 300% penalty and it is very worrying. Importers are complaining and it is affecting our job. It has slowed down importation. So comparing the former government to this, it has been very bad, he added.



Another one also complained that some reforms made at the port have not been helpful to them.



With the process theyve brought onboard, its double work. So if they will review the paperless system they should do it because it will help the government, freight forwarders and importers. Because now there are all sorts of bottleneck processes at the port. So if it should be reviewed it will be very helpful. After going to GCNET and sending a declaration, you need to go back to the West Blue platform which is causing a huge problem. Secondly too, they should check the benchmark values they are giving because weve seen nothing, a freight forwarder added.



Another also said: On a scale of one to ten, I will rank the government two because of the bottlenecks at the port.



Another embittered freight forwarder also said I want the government to consider reviewing the taxes and exchange rates.



Paperless system



The paperless clearing system was started on September 1, 2017, following a directive by the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, that the port authorities automate all processes to reduce human interaction.



The move was aimed at reducing turnaround time for businesses and eliminating corruption.



According to the Vice President revenue increased from GHc130 million in the first week of September 2016, to GHc213 million in the same period for 2017.

Source: citifmonline.com









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Sandvik has installed the latest cutting-edge automated loading system for Newmont Gold Ghana Limited. This is expected to make mining more convenient.



According to the global Mining & Rock Technology equipment manufacturer and supplier, the AutoMine Lite is an automation system for loaders and a more advanced alternative to the AutoMine Tele-Remote, the predecessor to the current system.



Sandvik in West Africa, has for decades partnered mining and construction companies in the sub-region to assist them to achieve high productivity and safety in their operations.



The Company says it has done this through the provision of equipment, tools, services and solutions that help the global mining and construction industry drill, load, transport and process ore and rock, safely and productively.



Sandvik offers a wide range of automation systems including AutoMine for trucks and loaders ranging from AutoMine Loading-Fleet, AutoMine Loading- Lite, AutoMine Hauling, AutoMine MPM and AutoMine Loading and Hauling. These are all fleet, for underground mining operations.



The latest innovation introduced into the West Africa market is the AutoMine Lite System which took-off with two (2) loaders, usually referred to as Load-Haul-Dumps (LHDs), purchased by African Underground Mining Services (AUMS) for the Newmont, Subika Underground Project, which is the first in the West Africa Sales Area of the Company.



Those in the mining industry are spectacularly excited with the successes of the system which achieved greater, faster, better results.



The solution provides a powerful way to increase the performance of the equipment through automation and offers substantial benefits of increased productivity, safety and cost efficiency.



The AutoMine Lite features the MineLAN Communication Network which serves as a communication link between Access Control System and the Semi-automated Loader.



The operation of this intelligent machine is done from a remote control station situated either on surface or other remotely located control room.



The intelligent LHDs with the AutoMine Lite System is intended to meet the many challenges and sophistication that banters with the underground mining industry.



Apart from increased productivity, they also provide answers to the issues of Environment, Health and Safety such as rock falls, exposure to high levels of dust, vibrations, toxic gases, and the numerous hazards associated with the interface between people and machinery.



The innovation and design of the intelligent LHDs promote operators comfort away from production areas, in the comfort and safety of a remote control room.



With the introduction of the AutoMine Lite, the loader is able to load, tram and dump the material autonomously.



This is not the case with the traditional remote loading technologies such as Line-of-Sight Radio Remote Control (RRC).



This system comes with accurate navigation, reduced damage, and increased availability, yielding higher production, and expanding the lifespan of the equipment.



Again, an operator is afforded a high-definition and encompassed visibility of the machine in operation, which helps to identify long load points and culminates into higher bucket fill factor.



According to Engineers of Sandvik, production losses arising from lost time due to shift changes, operator inefficiency as a result of fatigue, and sometimes difficulty in getting competent operators to remote underground mine sites are minimized with this system.



Sandvik believes the limited human involvement  which is mainly positioning the loader -in the control of the equipment, translates into less operating cost among other benefits.



The need to understand customers and align with their needs is embedded in one of our core values as an organization: Customer Focus, according to George Antwi, Business Line Manager, Underground Drills & Loaders for Sales Area West Africa.



He stressed Sandviks commitment to supporting its customers to remain productive and efficient in their operation by providing customers with the required support and to continually work to "Set the Industry Standard".

Source: Myjoyonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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I never thought I will say this about you but I guess career excellence and knowledge in law doesn't make you exceptional when it comes to issues affecting women. You grew up in a patriarchal society. The system is designed to favour you. You had no education on gender equality when growing up. But you know what? That can be changed.



You have everything your wife has. I know you are smart enough to see that your wife does not use her vagina to cook or order food. And when it comes to strength, you even have more (likely). So if anyone should work and cook, it should be you. And one more thing, the meaning of daddy and mommy has never been static. Those who improve the world understand that change is one of the factors of progress. Think about it.



The above was one of the responses of Dela Goldheart (a feminist) to Ace Ankomah as regards the prominent legal practitioners assertion that the kitchen is part of the responsibilities of wives even if they choose to work.



Dela Goldheart it is poorly educated clowns with sawdust for brains like you who give feminism a bad name. When you go to school and take classes in the subject, take classes in thinking as well. The essence of education is how it expands, not constricts, your ability to think.



When they teach you their experience in America, dont be a clueless sponge of a lapdog to them. Think. Ask how this applies home.



Your American puppet mistresses only got the right to vote in 1921. Two whole decades before that a woman from Ghana called Yaa Asantewaa (do you know about her?) had led a war against a world power. Think. Think. At least learn how to think. Its free. Then you will learn which part of your body you use to cook.



If you ever become half the woman my wife is, your family would be finally proud of you, and then you wont be using a fake name on social media. Ofui! And Im not insulting you. Im just describing you.



Now, thats one of the rebuttals from Ace Ankomah. Described as a legendary response by a section of the public, the banter between the two engendered controversies on social media platform, Facebook.



Before this very response, Ace Ankomah had taunted Dela Goldhearts posture describing it as jaundiced.



The problem with some of you is that you think every male thinks in a certain way and that it is up to you to educate us. Madam, the person who needs education here is staring right at you in your mirror.



And where did you get the nonsense from about cooking with a vagina? Are you stupid or just deranged? Does the anonymity of social media give you the right to speak tosh to everyone. You would be proud to be associated with my wife for just 5 minutes in your life. Twit!!



Take your personal frustrations and bitterness with life elsewhere and get the heck off my page with your angry, rabid and misdirected feminism. Learn to show respect to yourself first. You are a young woman with serious psyche issues. You need help,



But who really is Dela Goldheart?



She is known in real life as Amelia Dela Amemate, a product of the University of Ghana. For students of Ghanas premier university who know her political life, she was one of the aspirants for the 2012/2013 Student Representative Council (SRC) Presidential elections and she was popularly known as Ame Ame, a nickname coined from her full name.



Ame Ames campaigned slogan was Be wise and stay focused.



Reports suggest she run on the feminist agenda back then and called on all females to vote in her favour. She was reported to have picked a quarrel with some members of the Voltarian Students Association (VORSA) for supporting Eric Edem Agbana, an aspirant who also hails from the Volta Region.



Per the rules governing the elections, Ame Ame was disqualified because her running mate, Ernest Sampson did not have the required CGPA of 3.0 which made her ineligible to contest for the position.



She challenged her unlawful disqualification from contesting for the position of SRC President and was eventually added to the race following the ruling of the SRC Judicial Board.

Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, the Chief Executive of Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), has called for measures to remedy the falling cocoa prices on the world market.



In a speech read on his behalf at the opening of the Sustainable Smallholder Agri-Business  Kick-Off of Regional Partners Meeting on Tuesday, in Accra, Mr Aidoo said the current low world cocoa prices of $1,800 per tonne, falling from a high of $3,100 within the 10-months period, raises a great task, not only to producers, but also to consumers.



As producers struggle to survive the cutting effect of low incomes from the commodity, both producers and consumers stand to suffer the long-term damage if we fail to adopt measures today to remedy the situation, he stated.



Mr Aidoo noted that, the current cocoa price challenge compounded the already existing problems of the cocoa swollen shoot virus disease at endemic levels, over-aged cocoa farms, pests and other diseases.



He said with the support of the Government of Ghana, COCOBOD had lined up some interventions to assist cocoa farmers to raise farm productivity as a strategic response to minimise the impact of the low cocoa prices on producer income.



Our primary focus remains on treating the deadly swollen shoot diseased farms and offer extension services based on good agricultural practices, to raise productivity and restore farmer confidence in sustaining production, he said.



The three-day meeting is being attended by over 100 stakeholders from Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, Cameroun and the Ivory Coast as well as delegates from the European Union.



Mr Aidoo said in Ghana, the cocoa industry employs a significant number of the population, meeting the livelihood needs of over 800,000 farm families and several thousands of workers in the value chain.



As we produce, we must be innovative in our handling of the challenges that confront the industry to survive the rapidly changing market environment. One of the several available strategies is to explore synergies with our partners as the way forward to reaching our goals, he said.



Mr Aidoo hailed GIZ for enhancing the income earning capacity of cocoa farmers across the West Africa sub-region under the Sustainable Smallholder Agri-business (SSAB) project.



He said the peak of the SSAB programme had coincided with the difficult times in the cocoa industrys modern history when prices had fallen to historical lows and threatening the sustainability of supply and survival of producers.



The SSABs goal is to help 404,600 male and female smallholders, mainly in cocoa growing areas of Ghana, Nigeria, Togo, the Ivory Coast and Cameroun, to sustainably improve their incomes and food supplies from diversified production.



The project, which comes to a close by the end of 2018, focuses on areas such as the provision of support for public and private extension services to organise skills training for smallholders following the Farmer Business School approach.



Mr Aidoo said the SSAB project had been very useful to cocoa producers where adoption rate had been reported to be over 70 per cent.



He said COCOBOD would build on the foundation laid by GIZ to advance the cause of cocoa farmers and their families.



We have initiated the process to incorporate the Farmer Business School/Cooperative Business School modules in the curricula of the Bunso Cocoa College to ensure the Sustainability of the programme, he said.



The Ghana Head of Cooperation of the German Embassy, Mrs Verena Wiesner said supporting the cocoa sector in Africa was a priority of the German Government.



She said among the pillars of the SSAB strategy were business skills for farmers, sustainable production, diversification, strong producer organisations, access to finance and Chocolate made in Africa.



Dr Yaw Adu-Ampomah, Deputy Chief Executive, COCOBOD, urged Ghana and the Ivory Coast, which accounts for over 70 per cent of the global cocoa production, to collaborate, in order to determine the prices of the commodity on the world market.



Dr Emmanuel Opoku, Executive Director, Cocoa Health and Extension Division, COCOBOD, said the meeting would enable participants to share their experiences of ongoing programmes designed to enhance the sustainability of the cocoa business.

Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
Los Tres Cubanos on Race Street in Harrisburg pictured in 2015 in this PennLive file photo.

Compiled by Sue Gleiter | sgleiter@pennlive.com

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Hungry while visiting the 2018 Great American Outdoor Show in Harrisburg?

Of course, the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center has its share of concessions. But if you grow tired of hot dogs and burgers, you can duck out of the complex and head to a nearby restaurant.

You'll find plenty of options from sandwich shops to steakhouses and Vietnamese cuisine.

The show runs Feb. 3-11. For more about the show, check out the handy guide from PennLive Outdoor Reporter Marcus Schneck.

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Dodge City Steakhouse

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PennLive file photo by Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com

This long-running steakhouse entered the spotlight several years ago when it was featured on the Food Network's "Restaurant Impossible."

The Krick family successfully turned this business around, and it is a popular spot for breakfasts as well as artisan cocktails, crab soup and balsamic marinated hanger steaks.

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During the Outdoor Show, Dodge City offers a special wild game menu for lunch and dinner. The restaurant typically sees a bump in business during the show.

Menu items include gator gumbo for $5; wild boar arancini made with braised wild boar, Mike Dawgs bacon BBQ sauce, arborio rice and jalapeno slaw for $10; elk cheesesteaks for $18; kangaroo meatloaf for $15; venison osso bucco for $35; elk tenderloin for $39; and ostrich burgers for $17.

1037 Paxton St., Harrisburg, 717-236-2719

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Glass Lounge

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The family-operated restaurant has been in business since 1985. If you want a steak or seafood, this is the place to go.

It's not fancy; just a simple, plain neighborhood bar.

There are several steak options, from petite to fill-the-plate. Seafood such as shrimp and crab cakes are big movers.

In the words of one Yelp reviewer:

"HOLY STEAK!



Like big meat, don't mind loud places, muddy, pot-holed parking lots?



This is your place. No frills, no gimmick just honest to goodness real food. Next time I'm ordering my Porterhouse cut up but that's my only change I'd make to my order. For as crowded as it was the food was served swift and hot. "

4745 N. Front St., Susquehanna Township, 717-255-9919

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Cru Pizza & Deli

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The Cru Pizza and Deli recently opened and borrows from its sister restaurant on the west shore. For now, diners at the Cru can bring their own bottles of beer, but by early this year the owners said they will begin brewing beer on the premises.

The menu covers popular items such as pizza cones, a fun spin on pizza served in a dough cone stuffed with toppings.

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Hot and cold sandwiches range from a triple grilled cheese to a loaded Italian, lobster roll and a prime rib cheesesteak.

There are nearly a dozen pizza choices starting with a Cru cheese to a Sicilian style, Mexican and Buffalo chicken. Choices go beyond pizza shop fare to grilled filet mignon, Delmonico steaks and crab cakes.

3716 N. Sixth St. in Susquehanna Township, 717-233-0143.

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Appalachian Brewing Company

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The brewpub is conveniently located down Cameron Street from the Farm Show with a menu of pub fare and craft beer including ABC's Purist Pale Ale and Susquehanna Stout. This year, they brewed a limited-time Farm Show Pale Ale. ABC is housed in a three-story historic building and beer is made on the premises. The menu covers burgers, quesadillas and fish and chips.

50 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg, 717-221-1080

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Simply Turkey & More

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PennLive file photo

Simply Turkey is the place to go for a quick sandwich, wrap, salad, soup and turkey platters.

Simply Turkey has been specializing in all things turkey for almost 20 years. (Think about it, it's like Thanksgiving Day everyday.)

Customers rave about the friendly service and healthy, fresh menu items.

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It's hours are 10:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.

4455 N. Front St., Susquehanna Township, 717-909-2013

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Subway Cafe

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Visit this hometown favorite for original upside down pizza made with Old World authenticity. Locals know it's one of the best - Subway was named the winner of the PennLive Pizza Party in 2013.

Atmosphere is timeless. Pizzas are thin and crispy and the tomato sauce is slathered on top of slices of provolone cheese.

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Order fishbowls of beer alongside pizza or other house favorites such as spaghetti, crab cakes and burgers.

Parking is plentiful in a parking lot.

1000 Herr St., Harrisburg, 717-412-7128

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Boro Bar & Grill Riverview

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PennLive file photo from 2012.

Neighborhood sports bar with roots in Hummelstown specializes in wings and pub food favorites. Its location on North Front Street makes it convenient to the Farm Show Complex.

Bill and Tricia McCutcheon have operated the Boro Bar in Hummelstown, best known for its wings, for 18 years. In 2012, the restaurant won Wing Quest, a contest sponsored by PennLive to find which restaurant in the Harrisburg area prepares the best wings.

In 2015 they opened the Boro Riverview along the Susquehanna River.

Its menu mirrors the Hummelstown restaurant's menu and is filled with wings, sandwiches, salads, homemade soups, burgers, wraps and pizzas. Also known for its draft beer lineup.

There are dozens of wing combinations created from dry rubs and sauces. Pick from dry rubs such as mesquite coffee, parmesan, habanero lime and sun-dried tomato along with sauces such as X-hot, honey mustard or garlic. Wing prices start at $5.45 for a half dozen.

4425 N Front St., Susquehanna Township, 717-695-3622

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Los Tres Cubanos

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PennLive file photo.

Warm up at this Cuban restaurant in the Shipoke section of Harrisburg.

Its owners are a trio of central Pennsylvanian physicians who are all of Cuban descent. They include Jose M. Manjon, a urogynecologist; Jose E. Misas, a gynecologic oncologist; and Alfred Leal, who is an oncologist and hematologist.

"We grew up with (Cuban) food, and we enjoy that food. You can't get that here in Harrisburg," said Manjon.

Last year, the restaurant brought in a new chef, Ariel Alvarez of Miami.

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Diners love the artisan cocktails and authentic foods including ceviche, Cuban burgers and paella.

"Very very good food. My girlfriend and and I can't wait to go back. Fun atmosphere with lots of pic of Cuba and old cars on the wall. I had the Cubano sandwich and the pulled pork shoulder plate. So good. I was excited we had leftovers because I had them for lunch the next day. I was stoked," said one Yelp reviewer.

540 Race St., Harrisburg, 717-635-8145

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Garden Vietnamese

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Midtown neighborhood spot for Vietnamese soup.

A lively restaurant with lots of foot traffic. You can hear the workers in the back making the soup. Servers are attentive, and the menu is one of the easiest to decipher.

The soup is like liquid gold. Soup soup has a sweet undertone. The chicken is real breast meat and the toppings are fresh.

Price: $6.50 for small and $8 for large.

304 Reily St., Harrisburg, 717-238-9310

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Check out more PennLive food and dining stories:

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And for more on the Outdoor Show:

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By Sun Degang, researcher at the Middle East Studies Institute, Shanghai International Studies University, China

The Syrian National Dialogue Congress concluded in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on Feb. 2 under the auspices of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The final report adopted at the meeting established 12 principles for resolving the Syrian issue politically. They include revising the constitution, holding democratic elections and setting forth the future of the country as determined by the Syrian people.

The parties at the meeting issued a joint statement and appeal, and agreed on establishment of a constitutional council in the spirit of Resolution 2254 of the United Nations (UN) Security Council. The UN Geneva peace talks on Syria will decide the terms of reference, rules of procedure and membership criteria of the council.

Analysts believe that the proposed congress can be regarded as an "upgraded version" of the Syrian peace talks in Astana. The congress effectively promoted the peace process in Geneva, and to a certain extent broke the deadlock on the Syria issue.

Delegation to the dialogue congress was more inclusive. Among the 1,500 delegates, there were representatives of the Bashar government and dozens of opposition parties inside and outside Syria, and others from the three sponsoring countries of Russia, Iran and Turkey, the UN and other international organizations, permanent members of the UN Security Council and Syrias neighboring countries.

Although the U.S., Britain, France and the Syrian opposition refused to attend the congress and the Syrian government and opposition representatives had fierce clashes at the congress, the direct dialogue between all parties undoubtedly helped to enhance mutual trust and uncover common ground.

What is even more commendable is that all parties have agreed on a number of principle issues. After seven years of civil war, people in Syria are suffering and both the government and the opposition have paid a heavy price. They are fed up with the proxy war involving external forces and were willing to sit at the negotiating table.

All parties agreed that the Syrian people are the masters of the country and that all parties must respect the principles of sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and oppose separatism. The differences must be resolved through peace and dialogue so as to promote national reconciliation.

Economic reconstruction must be resumed as soon as possible and there should be more humanitarian aid. It is also necessary to eliminate the remaining "Islamic State" militants. The people of Syria are the countrys owners and no external forces should be involved in Syria's internal affairs.

The congress at Sochi has left a number of outstanding issues. Russia stressed that although the Sochi dialogue was not intended to replace the Geneva peace talks, it was still boycotted by the Syrian opposition supported by the US., Britain and France.

The French foreign minister said more openly that a suitable place to discuss the Syrian situation is Geneva, not Sochi. Moreover, the outcome of the talks made no reference to President Bashar's role in the future political process.

In addition, there are still sharp contradictions between the Syrian government and the opposition as well as between the different opposition parties on issues such as the future political system in the country.

The Syrian Kurds, backed by the U.S., have increased their autonomy and advocated the change of the countrys name from the "Syrian Arab Republic" to the "Syrian Republic" in order to dilute the "Arab" attribute of the country. However, this proposition was boycotted by the Syrian government and other opposition parties.

Russia has strengthened its "agenda-setting" capability in the Syrian game with the West and has also brought a glimmer of hope to the Syrian issue through the Astana talks and the Sochi talks. However, the conflict among domestic parties in Syria is far from over.

At present, there are about 2,000 U.S. Special Operations Forces deployed in Syria and they plan to build a 30,000-strong "border security force" mainly composed of Kurds on the other side of the Euphrates in an effort to establish a new regime in opposition to the Russia-backed Bashar government.

Turkey's assault in Afrin continues, resulting in heavy casualties. Russia is trying to further consolidate its military presence in Tartus. Iran continues to exert influence through the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hezbollah. At the same time, Saudi Arabia and Israel are also closely following developments in Syria.

There may in addition be a resurgence of the "Islamic State" that has been dismantled in the context of intensified geopolitical gambling. In light of the structural contradictions between external forces and different Syrian parties, the low intensity clashes in Syria might become normalized and it is still hard to see the dawn of peace in the short term.
It seems like a match made in heaven, or at least approved by some sort of divine agenda: this year, February 14 marks both the Feast of Saint Valentine as well as Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

However, Valentine's Day and Lent don't generally overlap when it comes to a faithful observance and the general spirit of the holy days.

In the vein of celebrating romantic love, Valentine's Day generally conjures up thoughts of things like candies, chocolates and fancy dinners.

This, of course, is at odds with Lent: a season of fasting, abstinence and prayer. The tradition of fasting among Catholics includes abstaining from meat entirely on Ash Wednesday and each Friday during Lent, as well as only eating full meal on those days and two smaller meals.

What's an observant, romantic Catholic to do?

The bishops of various dioceses in the Catholic faith occasionally deliver dispensations -- a brief reprieve or exception from a certain law or obligation of the faith. We asked the Harrisburg diocese if such a dispensation might be given for the celebration of Saint Valentine's Day that many couples may have planned. Would champagne, chocolate hearts and candlelight dinners still be in accordance with Lenten fasting, just this once?

The short answer from Bishop Ronald W. Gainer: no.

"As Catholics, we recognize Ash Wednesday as the solemn beginning of a period of prayer, penance, and works of charity," Gainer said in a press release. "Its spiritual importance is evidenced by the large number of faithful choosing to attend Mass on this day. In view of the significance of Ash Wednesday, the obligations of fast and abstinence are naturally the priority in the Catholic community."

The bishop explained that as American celebrations of Valentine's Day are largely secular in nature, and the importance of Ash Wednesday as a liturgical holiday, that no dispensations were to be given.

However, Gainer also suggested that couples looking to celebrate Valentine's Day were welcome to do so earlier in the week, and proposed Fat Tuesday as a suitable replacement for a celebratory event.

See the full press release below:

"This year Ash Wednesday coincides with Valentine's Day (February 14), a largely secular celebration, particularly in the United States. There have been inquiries if a dispensation from the obligations to fast and abstain from meat will be given. As Catholics, we recognize Ash Wednesday as the solemn beginning of a period of prayer, penance, and works of charity. Its spiritual importance is evidenced by the large number of faithful choosing to attend Mass on this day. In view of the significance of Ash Wednesday, the obligations of fast and abstinence are naturally the priority in the Catholic community. Valentine's Day can appropriately be celebrated on another day, such as Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, which happens to be Mardi Gras, a time of celebration prior to the Lenten journey."

Want more on Valentine's Day from PennLive -- including some date ideas for days other than Ash Wednesday? Read on:
Don't fancy trying to make your way through the crowds by Broad Street?

Philadelphia Eagles fans will have an alternative way to see the Super Bowl Parade in the City of Brotherly Love, thanks to the National Constitution Center.

The museum, which examines the history, content and life of the United States Constitution, is hosting a Super Bowl Watch Party on Feb. 8. And the best part? The watch party will be inside (making it ideal for those who don't want to stand for hours in the winter weather).

The parade will be shown on the center's giant video wall.

The museum's exhibits will also be open on parade day, so you can take a break from parade watching to learn more about the Constitution.

The Super Bowl Watch Party is included in admission to the museum, which will be discounted to $5 on Feb. 8. Bathrooms at the center will also be open to the public and refreshments will be on sale at the center's Delegates' Cafe.

You can also divide your time at the watch party and the actual parade -- the National Constitution Center is just less than 10 blocks away from Broad Street.

Beer fans will have another reason to head to the National Constitution Center. The museum is just blocks away from Yards Brewing Company's taproom, which will be giving away free Philly Pale Ale all day to those who are 21 and older.

The National Constitution Center is located at 525 Arch St. in the Old City neighborhood of Philadelphia. You can learn more about it at constitutioncenter.org.

Stay up-to-date with all of PennLive's Philadelphia Eagles coverage by clicking here. Want more stories about Philly in general? Click here for all our coverage of the City of Brotherly Love.
Glam metal group Poison has announced a 2018 tour, and one of their stops will be in Allentown.

The "Nothin' But A Good Time 2018" tour will arrive in Allentown for a concert at the PPL Arena on June 24. Poison will perform along with special guests Cheap Trick and Pop Evil.

Poison is best known for hits such as "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," "Talk Dirty to Me" and "Nothin' But a Good Time." The group originated in the Mechanicsburg area, and front man Bret Michaels is known to make return trips to his old stomping grounds.

Tickets for the concert range from $39.50-$99.50, and go on sale beginning Feb. 9. For more details, visit the PPL Center website.

For more on big concerts coming to Pennsylvania this year, check out these stories on PennLive:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- An Amtrak engineer was ordered Tuesday to stand trial for a deadly 2015 derailment in Philadelphia as a judge reinstated involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment charges.

Another judge had thrown out the charges against 34-year-old Brandon Bostian last year, ruling that the evidence pointed to an accident, not negligence.

Pennsylvania prosecutors appealed. Judge Kathryn S. Lewis ruled that the earlier judge had erred and that there was sufficient evidence to send the case to trial.

Bostian sat stunned as the decision was announced. He's free on bail but must surrender his passport. He has been on unpaid administrative leave from Amtrak since the crash.

Eight people died when the Washington-to-New York train rounded a curve at more than twice the 50 mph (80 kph) speed limit and hurdled off the tracks, crumpling cars and catapulting passengers into the woods. In addition to the eight deaths, about 200 people were hurt.

The previous judge, Thomas Gehret, echoed the thinking of city prosecutors in dismissing the case in September. City prosecutors decided not to charge Bostian, leading a victim's family to seek charges on its own as a statute of limitations loomed.

Bostian's lawyer, Brian McMonagle, said the engineer's speeding was a momentary lapse from a safety-conscious engineer who was briefly distracted.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation completed in 2016 found no evidence that Bostian was impaired or using a cellphone.

Bostian is suing the government-owned railroad, alleging he was left disoriented or unconscious when something struck his train before it derailed. NTSB investigators have said nothing struck the locomotive.

He waived his right to appear at a Feb. 21 arraignment. He must call in to court officials weekly, under the terms of his bail.

Amtrak has taken responsibility for the crash and agreed to pay $265 million to settle claims filed by victims and their families. It has also installed speed controls on its track from Boston to Washington.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro's office picked up the criminal case after the city district attorney's office bowed out and the family of a woman killed in the crash, Rachel Jacobs, filed a private criminal complaint.

"The victims are going to have their day in court, which is all they have ever sought," Thomas Kline, a lawyer for the family said after the ruling.

He added: "Mr. Bostian had one job and one job only on that day, which was to get the train from Point A to Point B and to carry those passengers safely. He did not do that. He has no excuse for the speeding on the tracks that day."
In a case that is unusual in several ways, a state Superior Court panel has refused to void the conviction and prison term of a man who tried to rig an election for a private homeowners' association.

Among other things, Myron M. Cowher II claimed on appeal that his rights were violated when his belated request to testify at his Pike County trial was denied.

Cowher, 54, was convicted of 217 counts of forgery, identity theft, criminal use of a communications facility, records tampering, and conspiracy for trying to alter the outcome of a 2014 election of the board of directors for the nonprofit Wild Acres Community Association. He was sentenced to 1 1/2 years to 50 months in state prison for the crimes.

As noted in the state court opinion by Judge Jacqueline O. Shogan, investigators said Cowher and a co-conspirator, Dmitry Kuperschmidt, cooked up a plot to cast bogus ballots for members of the association who traditionally did not vote. A Wild Acres employee discovered the scheme and tipped off the cops.

Cowher's main claim in his appeal to the state court was that county Judge Gregory H. Chelak should have reopened his 2016 jury trial after the defense rested so he could take the stand and testify.

In denying that request, Chelak noted that Cowher had two years between his arrest and trial to decide whether he would testify. The county judge didn't buy Cowher's claim that he couldn't decide about testifying during the defense case because he was having a reaction to medication.

Shogan seconded Chelak's ruling, agreeing that Cowher had ample opportunity to choose to take the witness stand. She noted his belated request to testify came only after Cowher's attorney had rested the defense case and Chesak had told the jury the evidentiary portion of the trial was closed.

Cowher's plea to be allowed to testify was made minutes before the jury was to hear closing arguments in the criminal case.

At no time during the main body of the four-day trial did Cowher even once mention that he was having trouble making decisions due to his medications, Shogan noted.
An Adams County doctor was high on cocaine while treating patients and her office manager would sign prescriptions for patients without having seen them, according to charging documents filed by the attorney general's office.

Rita B. Harrison, 60, and Robin Cheryl Bridgman, 55, each face several felony counts on the accusations they committed the crimes at Battlewound Healthcare in Biglerville.

Harrison is accused of abandoning appointments for patients seeking treatment of their addiction between October 2015 and July 13, 2016. She "practiced with reckless indifference to the interests of her patients" by prescribing medications without seeing patients, officials said in charging documents.

Harrison also knowingly allowed her employees to prescribe controlled substances and pre-signed prescriptions without examining them. Those prescriptions were also not documented on patients' charts, officials said in charging documents, noting that Harrison appeared to be under the influence of controlled substances while treating patients.

Bridgman was described as an accomplice to Harrison by signing the prescriptions. She delivered suboxone to a patient, which she is barred from doing because she isn't a licensed medical professional, officials said. At least on one occasion she also admitted to delivering suboxone she obtained from one patient to another. Bridgman is also accused of providing oxycodone prescriptions to a patient that were written by Harrison, who was out of the state when the medicines were prescribed.

Bridgman admitted to writing prescriptions between July 12 and Dec. 9, 2016. Some of the prescriptions had been pre-signed by Harrison but others were signed by Bridgman. The women conspired in the pre-signed prescriptions from October 2015 to July 2016, according to charging documents.

The York Daily Record reported that suspicion arose when a patient was trying to pick up an oxycodone prescription in Mount Holly Springs in August 2016, but the prescription was filled out incorrectly. A pharmacist tried to contact Harrison to rectify the matter but found that the doctor had been on sabbatical since July.

In November 2016, another prescription was brought to a pharmacy in New Oxford and that's when the patient told police Bridgman had written the prescription and not Harrison. Upon investigation, authorities learned Harrison had pre-signed 100 blank prescriptions which Bridgman could distribute while Harrison was out of the office, according to the report.

The York Daily record also reported that two former employees corroborated Harrison's unprofessional behavior, including that she continued to prescribe pills to a patient that she knew was selling them to pay rent. Another employee said Harrison would be late to work or not show up at all. Harrison admitted to taking Klonopin, cocaine and Percocet, according to the report.

Harrison is free on $100,000 bail, which was posted by a bondsman. Bridgman was unable to post $100,000 bail and is being held at Adams County Prison. Both are scheduled for a preliminary hearings Feb. 7.
WILLIAMSPORT -- The man who was in charge of the police department as mayor of Shamokin claims the officers lacked training but it was not his sole responsibility to see they got it.

That is the position of former Mayor William Milbrand who is trying to prevent his false arrest suit in U.S. Middle District Court from being dismissed a second time.

Milbrand, who last year lost his bid for re-election, sued two officers who arrested him Jan. 31, 2017, on 42 grave desecration charges. He was charged as president of the Shamokin Cemetery Association.

The charges, subsequently withdrawn at the request of Northumberland County District Attorney Tony Matulewicz, alleged 12 gravesites were covered by dirt and two by a road used a by a subcontractor on a cellphone tower project in the cemetery.

Milbrand last April sued Officers William J. Miner, who retired the day after the arrest, and Nathan Rhodes. They put him in a cruiser and drove him to a district justice office.

Judge Yvette Kane in December dismissed the complaint but allowed Milbrand to file an amended one to correct deficiencies that included failing to provide specifics to support his contention the charges were based on erroneous facts.

The officers had a reason to arrest the mayor because they had a warrant based on a probable cause affidavit, the judge ruled.

Milbrand filed an amended complaint and the two officers, in a motion to dismiss, questioned how the former mayor could raise a lack of training issue when he was in charge of the police department.

In response, Milbrand contends he was not the sole policymaker for the department.

The need for more or different training was so obvious that it amounted to deliberate indifference by city policymakers, namely the chief and city council members, he claims.

Milbrand further says while mayor he was never briefed or involved in decisions regarding police training.

He accuses the chief and council members of failing to train officers on how to establish probable cause for an arrest warrant.

Milbrand contends the officers knew the charges were meritless and their actions were taken to embarrass him because he had told Miner the officer wrongly had calculated his pension amount.

The officers ignored statements from the cemetery caretaker that damage to headstones was not new, he contends.

The false arrest, unreasonable seizure and detention and malicious prosecution suit seeks unspecified damages.
Gov. Tom Wolf is urging a federal judge to toss out a bid by the owners of Hollywood Casino to kill part of Pennsylvania's controversial gambling expansion law.

Wolf and the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board made that plea in filings lodged with U.S. Middle District Judge Yvette Kane on Wednesday.

They are seeking dismissal of a lawsuit the Hollywood Casino owner filed early last month contending the gaming expansion will expose the Dauphin County casino to unfair competition that could cost it hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of business.

Hollywood officials are challenging a provision of the expansion law that will permit the establishment of new casinos within a safety zone around Hollywood's bailiwick.

Wolf and the gaming board insist that fear is baseless, and that Hollywood's owner should be forced to fold on its attempt to challenge a law that is expected to channel an extra $225 million to the state's coffers this year.

Hollywood already has more protection than several of Pennsylvania's other 11 existing casinos, which are located in more populous areas of the state and go head-to-head to attract customers, they claim in answering the Hollywood suit.

"Hollywood Casino's 25-mile protective zone in all directions is more than a casino like Presque Isle of the Meadows receives due to competition in neighboring states," the governor and gaming board contend.

Hollywood's suit was filed on the eve of the state's first rounding of bidding for options to create the new Category 4 casinos allowed by the gaming expansion. The law permits the establishment of 10 Category 4 casinos with 300 to 750 slot machines and up to 30 table games each. Those will be smaller than the existing casinos.

That initial bidding round on Jan. 10 resulted in Hollywood's owner, Penn National Gaming, submitting the highest bid of $50.1 million for exclusive rights to apply for a license to set up one of the new casinos within 15 miles of Yoe in York County. That casino's service zone would overlap Hollywood's buffer area.

Wolf and the gaming board claim Hollywood's federal case must be dismissed because, among other things, Hollywood "cannot demonstrate that it was intentionally treated differently than other casinos" or that the Category 4 provision of the gaming expansion measure is unconstitutional.
Due to the inclement weather, PennDOT has temporarily restricted speed limits of several major roadways as of 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The temporary speed limit of 45 mph is in effect for the following roadways:

Interstate 81 in Franklin, Cumberland, Dauphin and Lebanon counties

Interstate 78 in Lebanon County

Interstate 83 in York, Cumberland and Dauphin counties

Interstate 283 in Dauphin County

PA 283 in Dauphin and Lancaster counties

US 22/322 in Dauphin County and Perry counties

PA 581 in Cumberland County

US 11 in Franklin and Cumberland counties

US 15 in Adams, York and Cumberland counties

US 11/15 in Cumberland and Perry County counties

US 30 in York and Lancaster Counties

US 222 in Lancaster County, from US 30 to Berks County line

PennDOT has crews treating roadways around the clock, but the agency notes its primary goal is to keep roads passable, not completely free of ice and snow.

PennDOT will continue to treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike has also announced similar speed limit restrictions on its Twitter page.

Speed Limits have now been reduced to 45 MPH from the Ohio Line to the Blue Mountain Interchange Exit #201. Stay alert for changing travel conditions and crews treating the roadway. #paturnpike @PA_Turnpike  PA Turnpike Alerts (@PATurnpikeAlert) February 7, 2018

For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources.

Get a look at conditions on local roads - via PennDOT traffic cameras - anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here.

Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
A claim by a Lancaster elementary school teacher's killer that he was forced to plead guilty in return for a life prison sentence was rejected Tuesday by a state appeals court.

Instead, the Superior Court panel agreed with Lancaster County Judge David L. Ashworth that Thomas Moore knowingly accepted the best deal he was going to get.

As President Judge Susan Peikes Gantman noted in the state court's opinion, Moore's only alternative was to have gone to trial with the strong likelihood of being convicted and receiving the death penalty.

Moore, now 28, is one of two home invaders who investigators said killed 32-year-old Nicole Mathewson in her North Franklin Street home on Dec. 15, 2014.

Nicole Mathewson

Police said Moore and then-16-year-old Marcus Rutter entered the home repeatedly to steal things. When confronted by Mathewson, they tied her up with an electrical cord and spent nearly an hour killing her.

Investigators said Mathewson was beaten with a shovel, then dragged through her home before she was tied to a banister and strangled and stabbed.

Rutter was arrested the day after the killing when a police discovered he had Mathewson's cell phone. Police said Rutter confessed that he and Moore committed the killing and that Mathewson was murdered because she had seen Moore's face.

On appeal, Moore claimed he pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, burglary, conspiracy, robbery receiving stolen property and access device fraud only because his lawyer told him that if he went to trial he would receive a death sentence and would never hold his child again.

Gantman found that contention was belied by Moore's statements during his plea hearing that he knew what he was doing and entered his guilty plea voluntarily.

Moore "gained substantial benefit through (his) guilty plea because he eliminated the very real potential for (a) death penalty," Gantman wrote.
by Farid Behbud

KABUL, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber has joined Afghan and coalition aircrafts to pound insurgents' positions in northern Afghan provinces, authorities said Wednesday.

On Tuesday, the death toll of insurgents climbed to 28 after a B-52 warplane struck an Islamic State (IS) terrorist group hideout in northern Jawzjan province, provincial deputy Police Chief Abdul Hafiz Khashi told Xinhua on Wednesday.

Earlier reports said that 13 IS militants lost their lives after the bombing which occurred in Sar Dara locality of the mountainous Darzab district in Jawzjan, 390 km north of Kabul.

Violence has escalated in the previously peaceful northern region over the last few years as Afghan forces together with troops of NATO-led Resolute Support and United States Forces-Afghanistan pushed against the militants in the south and east.

"United States Forces-Afghanistan launched a series of precision strikes in Northern Afghanistan in a direct effort to destroy insurgent revenue sources, training facilities, and support networks. Over the past 96 hours, U.S. forces conducted air operations to strike Taliban training facilities in Badakhshan province, preventing the planning and rehearsal of terrorist acts near the border with China and Tajikistan." the coalition forces said in a statement on Tuesday.

The strikes also destroyed stolen Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicles that were in the process of being converted to car bombs by militants, it noted.

"During these strikes, a U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress dropped 24 precision guided munitions on Taliban fighting positions, setting a record of the most guided munitions ever dropped from a B-52." the statement said.

The aircraft has played a leading role in Air Force operations for decades, and was recently reconfigured with a conventional rotary launcher to increase its reach and lethality, the statement noted.

Those among the killed militants in Darzab of Jawzjan were four foreign militants, including one Iraqi and an Uzbekistani national, according to police Chief Khashi.

A detention center of the hardliner group was also destroyed in the air raid but no civilian was hurt during the course of the air attacks, Khashi noted.

However, the sorties caused panic among the residents, including a large number of women and kids in nearby villages.

IS group, which is active in Darzab and the neighboring Qush Tepa district of Jawzjan province, has yet to make comment on the report.

"The Taliban have nowhere to hide," Gen. John Nicholson, RS and USFOR-A commander in Afghanistan, was quoted in the statement as saying, "There will be no safe haven for any terrorist group bent on bringing harm and destruction to this country."

"The Taliban cannot win on the battlefield, therefore they inflict harm and suffering on innocent civilians," said Nicholson. "All they can do is kill innocent people and destroy what other people have built."

At the same time, ongoing strikes in southern Helmand province "continue to degrade Taliban revenue sources and safe havens," the coalition statement read.

The U.S. strikes and Afghan Special Security Forces (ASSF) raids have resulted in the removal of more than 30 million U.S. dollars of Taliban revenue since the campaign began in November, 2017, it said.
The suspect involved in a viral video depicting the sexual assault of a child has been arrested.

AL.com reports Germaine Moore, 44, turned himself into police early Monday morning. His fiancee, Tonya Hardy, was arrested Monday night after she refused to cooperate with investigators.

The girl in the video was located and is safe, according to the report. Authorities told AL.com the girl was 6 at the time the video was made, but it is not clear when the video was shot.

PennLive also received the video through a Facebook message as it went viral, and reported it to the Hampden Township police without opening the file.

Moore is charged in Alabama with sexual assault of a child, distribution of video depicting the assault and first-degree criminal sexual conduct. More charges against Moore are expected, police told AL.com.

Hardy will be charged with hindering prosecution.
So President Donald Trump, noted fiscal conservative, swamp-drainer, and compulsive saber-rattler, wants a massive military parade through the streets of downtown Washington D.C.

Of course he does.

On Wednesday, as Congress scrambled to avoid yet another shutdown, we learned that officials at the Pentagon and the White House are starting the planning for a display of military might that wouldn't look out of place on the streets of Pyongyang, Moscow, Beijing or Berlin in 1939.

Trump's desire for a parade, modeled on one he during a trip to France last year (Quelle horreur!) apparently emerged during a Jan. 18 meeting with senior military officials in a room at the Pentagon known, fittingly enough, as "the tank," The Washington Post reported.

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Post. "This is being worked at the highest levels of the military."

Trump's epic case of edifice complex is well known.

In Trumplandia, everything is grand and great and huge and beautiful - like his "great military," or the "beautiful chocolate cake," he enjoyed with Chinese President Xi Jinping while he bragged about American airstrikes in Syria last year.

So it's entirely logical, if entirely offensive, that Trump would glory in the sight of tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and other weaponry, along with soldiers, marching at attention and saluting, filling the streets of the nation's capital.

Because Trump, as commander-in-chief, can order those soldiers to salute him.

Not so much for Democratic members of Congress, whom Trump accused of treason, for failing to stand and applaud during his State of the Union speech last week.

What apparently eluded Trump was that his political opponents - from a co-equal branch of government - were exercising a constitutionally protected right to remain silent.

But for Trump, the Constitution is a technicality, a mere formality on the way to exercising his will. In any event, we now know that he nodded off after the Fourth Amendment, so there's no actual proof that he's conversant with the actual text.

The White House has since said that Trump was joking when he accused Democrats of treason.

But it's hardly a laughing matter. Some members of Congress, such as Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., are veterans who have proudly served the country.

Accusing them of treason isn't a joke. It's an insult of the highest order.

So when Duckworth, an Army veteran who lost her legs while serving in Iraq, dismissed Trump, who received five Vietnam deferments, as "Cadet Bonespurs," she spoke from a particular position of moral authority.

As The Post reports, meanwhile, it's unclear how the military would cover the cost of moving its equipment to Washington, an effort whose price-tag could run to the millions of dollars.

If Trump really wants to show his support for the military, he'd work with Congressional leaders to solve the perennial pickle over the passage of a defense appropriations bill.

As The Post reports, the government's new fiscal year started Oct. 1, but Congress had, as of Wednesday, yet to pass a military funding bill. The House passed a funding bill on Tuesday. But that bill is dead on arrival in the Senate, which is working on its own proposal, the newspaper reported.

Defense Secretary James Mattis told a Congressional committee this week that the military needs "predictabilty" in its funding if it's going to flourish.

"Let me be clear: as hard as the last 16 years of war have been, no enemy in the field has done more to harm the readiness of the U.S. military than the combined impact of the Budget Control Act's defense spending caps, worsened by operating in 10 of the last 11 years under continuing resolutions of varied and unpredictable duration," Mattis, a former Marine general, said, according to The Post.

With those kind of problems looming, it makes zero sense for the military to spend an indeterminate amount of money to simply gratify the whims of the 45th president.

There are far better ways for Trump to show he cares about the military. Putting the nation in the same company as our strategic rivals and outright adversaries isn't one of them.
By Karen Tumulty

Democrats are feeling cheery at the prospect that this fall will bring an end to the power outage they suffered in 2016 and the near- irrelevance they have endured since.

Karen Tumulty (Washington Post photo)

Conditions look particularly good for taking back the House. Off-year elections in a president's first term nearly always cost his party some seats, and President Donald Trump's historically low approval ratings are an especially heavy weight for Republicans. The fact that so many GOP incumbents are in a rush to retire is no mere coincidence.

Democrats also have enthusiasm on their side, something that hasn't been the case in a nonpresidential year since 2006. In the latest Post-ABC News poll, more than half of Democratic-leaning voters said it has become "more important to vote" this year; only a third of Republicans felt that way.

So what could go wrong for Democrats in 2018?

Plenty, actually.

Already, Democratic strategists are getting a little jumpy about the party's shrinking advantage in the polls, especially the closely watched generic-ballot test, where voters are asked which party they would prefer to represent them in Congress.

The spread is running at 6.5 percentage points in the RealClearPolitics average - just half where it was at the beginning of the year. It shows an electorate still inclined to vote Democratic but probably not by enough to flip the House.

What should be more worrisome to Democrats - ironically enough - are some of the very forces that are working in their favor.

They are on track to have a record number of candidates running, led by a surge of women and veterans. According to the latest compilation by the Campaign Finance Institute, nearly 60 percent of Republican-held districts have a Democratic challenger who has raised at least $50,000; two years ago, fewer than 20 percent had reached that threshold by this point in the cycle.

All of that is a good thing for any party. Except when it leads to large, messy primaries.

In suburban Virginia, for instance, Democrats worked hard to recruit state Sen. Jennifer Wexton (Loudoun), a former prosecutor with deep roots in the district, to take on Rep. Barbara Comstock, one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the country.

But now, there are eight other candidates in the primary, and Wexton is falling short in fundraising to Alison Friedman, an anti-human-trafficking activist who moved to the district in April. Friedman - backed by a host of liberal celebrities, among them Barbra Streisand - has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars more than Wexton.

In crowded primaries, Republicans will be rooting from the sidelines for the liberal base to pull all of the candidates leftward - forcing them to declare allegiance to single-payer health care, impeaching Trump, free college tuition. Those are October attack ads in waiting in many of the scattered pockets where Democrats need to win.

Which is why national numbers matter so little. For an electoral wave to rise high enough to wash a majority-making two dozen House seats into the Democratic column, the party will have to take territory that Hillary Clinton could not.

There again, Virginia offers reason for caution as well as hope for Democrats. They romped the Old Dominion in November, picking up 15 seats in the House of Delegates. But that victory fell one seat short of what Democrats needed to break the GOP majority. And 14 of those were in legislative districts that Clinton also won, suggesting that the party had done little to expand its reach since 2016.

Meanwhile, economic confidence - notwithstanding Monday's market plunge - has reached a level not seen in 17 years. That suggests, among other things, that the tax cuts that looked so unpopular when they were passed in December may be an asset to Republicans by this fall.

Democrats also have to contend with two givens in Republicans' favor - gerrymandered districts and outside spending by conservative groups.

As district lines are now drawn, a disproportionate amount of Democratic energy is corralled into a relatively small number of congressional seats. Foes of gerrymandering have won a recent string of court victories, but most of those rulings will have no effect on 2018. In other words, voters in Texas, North Carolina and Wisconsinwill be going to the polls in districts that courts have determined were drawn in a discriminatory or overly partisan way.

On the money front, Democrats were already expecting to be outspent by at least $100 million. Then the Koch brothers informed their donors late last month that they were going to put as much as$400 million into the midterms, their largest commitment ever. In House races, a million dollars here and there can make the difference.

Finally, perhaps the single biggest miscalculation that Democrats could make right now is to expect Trump to do all their work for them.

One thing to remember about waves. Most of them break before they reach the shore.

Karen Tumulty, a new Washington Post Opinions columnist, has been a Post national political correspondent since 2010.
Backed into a corner after weeks of hand-to-hand legal combat, majority Republicans in the Pennsylvania Legislature are reluctantly setting about drawing a new Congressional map.

Top Senate and House staffers said Tuesday their leaders have resigned themselves to try to comply with a Jan. 22 state Supreme Court order that ruled the current boundaries of Pennsylvania's 18 U.S. House districts unconstitutional due to extreme partisan gerrymandering.

In a 4-3 vote, the court further ordered the production of new maps for the House districts in time for the May primary election. The court-imposed deadline is Feb. 9, or Friday.

"Our belief, in consult with lawyers and others, is that it's better for us if we draw a map than if we don't. So that's our intention," said Drew Crompton, chief of staff to Senate Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati, R-Jefferson County.

The work is apparently starting with conversations and comparisons of drafts between the majority GOP caucuses in the House and Senate.

Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny County, both met with Gov. Tom Wolf Tuesday afternoon in Wolf's Capitol office, but there were no outward signs of a collaborative bi-partisan project.

"Regardless of the action of the Supreme Court we don't give up our majorities just because they don't like a map from 2011," noted Crompton.

Any bill creating new district lines, however, will have to earn Wolf's signature to become law. That may give the Democrat governor and his allies in the legislature some leverage on the new maps before week's end.

Republican leaders were still incensed at the fact that they are being forced to proceed in the absence of a majority opinion from a court that split 5-2 on the question of constitutionality.

"There's a lot of issues that we don't know what the court is thinking, and that puts us a little bit behind the eight-ball," Crompton said Tuesday afternoon.

"I get it. They (the districts) should be more compact. I get it. There should be the least amount of splits as feasible... But there's a lot more to drawing a map than simply those two parameters."

Still, a few possible parameters had begun to emerge by Tuesday afternoon for a replacement map.

Crompton said one factor Senate Republicans are very concerned about is trying to produce more compact districts while minimizing the number of voters who find themselves in new districts.

"There's something to be said for the least amount of disruption that you can cause for voters. So we're looking at that issue as well and trying to incorprate that into any proposal that we might support."

Crompton could not, as of Tuesday afternoon, provide a maximum threshold of voter switches the Senate GOP is seeking, but he said that analysis will be done on every map that "we are serious about."

In the vein of "limiting disruption," it also appears the GOP majorities will try to avoid pitting the 12 Congressional incumbents who are intending to seek re-election this year against one another.

And, it appears likely state officials will work to preserve the existing "minority-majority" district in Philadelphia, currently represented by U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans.

The case arose from a lawsuit filed last summer by 18 registered Democrat voters and the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, who alleged that partisan cutting of the Congressional lines after the 2010 census amounted to "viewpoint discrimination" against Democratic voters.

In a December trial, they presented evidence that a series of 500 maps built on traditional redistricting principles and past vote counts never replicated the current 13 Republican. five Democrat split in Pennsylvania's Congressional delegation.

Defenders of the 2011 map - drafted by a Republican-controlled General Assembly and then-Gov. Tom Corbett - have said it checks all Constitutional requirements, and argued the Democrat plaintiffs are simply seeking guarantees of proportional representation that do not exist.

But present-day GOP leaders seemed to hit a moment of reckoning after Monday's decision by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito denying their request for a stay of the state court's order.

One source familiar with the case, noting Alito's status as one of the more conservative members of the court, said even to hard liners still pushing for further legal manuevers, "getting nowhere with Alito... would be a strong dose of smelling salts."

The task ahead won't be easy, in part because the leaders have only left themselves three days to comply with the state court's Feb. 9 deadline for legislative action.

Further complicating matters, winter weather concerns threatened to knock out Wednesday as a legislative session day, and many representatives and senators are hoping to catch at least part of the Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl celebration on Thursday.

That raised the prospect of a Thursday night session in the House, where new map lines could make their first public appearance in the form of an amendment, followed by Friday votes in both chambers.

Wolf would then have six days to review the legislature's work, under the court's initial order.

Still, Turzai, Scarnati and others refused to completely retire the thought of more court action.

Legal sources noted that option could come into play if the General Assembly passed a map that fixes some of the most-eggregious gerrymandering in the current map, but the court still substitutes a different version.

GOP leaders reiterated earlier that - even if the court properly struck down the 2011 Congressional map - map-making is a legislative function and they intend to keep it that way.

"If Pennsylvania justices decide to start drawing maps of Congressional districts, we view that as a federal issue, and we will go to federal court," Scarnati said before his meeting with Wolf.

He also raised the future prospect of filing a complaint with the state Jucdical Conduct Board over Justice David Wecht's continued participation in the redistricting case despite 2015 campaign season comments railing against the state Congressional map as an example of extreme partisan gerrymandering.

Wecht, on Monday, said he was commenting at the time on gerrymandering generally as a problem, and felt he had fairly decided this case based on the facts and their application to the state Constitution.

Rank-and-file frustration over the situation bubbled into view Tuesday afternoon during a House State Government Committee meeting where the shell bill that ostensibly will carry the new district boundaries was moved to the House floor.

Several Republicans complained about activist courts being used to legislate election results.

Rep. Brad Roae, R-Crawford County, noted the current Congressional maps were used in 2012, "and the Democrats lost most of the races. In 2014, the Democrats lost most of the races. In 2016, the Democrats lost most of the races.

"So now they are suing to try to get it undone because they can't win," Roae continued.

Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Montgomery County, countered by challenging her colleagues to take the court's assignment "as a challenge that is worth the taking...

"Let's do our job," Dean said. "Let's get some maps that makes sense, that are compact..., and let's not count Republican votes versus Democratic votes. Let's be better than that."

PennLive Capitol Bureau Chief Jan Murphy contributed to this report.
Gov. Tom Wolf's $33 billion budget proposal for 2018-19 was ridiculed by Republican candidates who want his job as one that overspends and lacks vision to lead Pennsylvania forward.

Wolf, who is up for re-election this year, spent much of his budget address to the General Assembly on Tuesday touting the accomplishments of his first three years in office and focusing little on the details of what's in his $33 billion budget that proposes a $1 billion, or 3.7 percent, spending increase.

But one piece he did highlight in a challenge to the Legislature was to pass a severance tax on natural gas drillers, the only tax increase included in his budget proposal for next year.

His GOP gubernatorial challengers saw his blueprint for state spending as an election-year budget intended to bolster Wolf's chances of being elected to a second term. Here are some of their thoughts they offered about the proposal:

Sen. Scott Wagner: The York County senator said the governor's budget shows Wolf's number-one priority is about getting re-elected as evidenced by the time he has spent traveling around the state.

Further, he was critical of education spending in the budget that will go to line the pockets of the Pennsylvania State Education Association, one of Wolf's top supporters.

"He's bowing to special interests and unfortunately, the working families of Pennsylvania are not seeing any great improvement in their lives," Wagner said. "There's no bold leadership in this budget."

He pointed out that in Wolf's first two budgets, the governor did call for increasing the personal income tax rate and increasing the rate or expanding the base of the state's sales tax. He said, "This year, however, knowing the people of Pennsylvania are tired of having him try to dip his hands into their pockets, the governor is desperately trying to change his tune."

House Speaker Mike Turzai: "We have to live within our means. We are not interested in increasing taxes, not just on families but job-crushing taxes that allow the economy to grow," he said.

The Allegheny County representative was critical of the governor's revenue estimates last year that he said were higher than anybody would expect despite the growing economy, that left the state with a $1.5 billion deficit.

"It's inexcusable," Turzai said. "We are not going to go through those same shenanigans in this budget."

He said this budget needs to focus on imposing work requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients. Turzai said he supports more money for public schools provided accountability measures are in place to measure how it is spent. He also he asked where the money was for school choice in the governor's budget.

"One size does not fit all. We certainly believe that in any education array that has to be part of the agenda," he said.

Laura Ellsworth: She called the governor's budget "more of the same - more spending, more taxes, and more burdens on the backs of working families and job creators."

The Pittsburgh attorney was critical of the governor's call for a severance tax on "our state's most important growth industry" that "puts a stake in the heart of one of the most important economic opportunities for Pennsylvania in a generation."

As for the governor's call for $120 million more for basic and special education, she said it fails to address what is broken in the state's education system and doesn't foster choice in education for children.

"Wolf has nothing more creative to offer our kids than continuing to throw more money at a system that is fundamentally broken," she said.

Paul Mango: "This is why I call him Thomas the Tax Engine Wolf. A billion dollars more in spending at a time when the commonwealth is already borrowing just to balance the books and continuing to kick the can down the road on our state pension crisis that is taking up one-tenth of our budget," said the retired Allegheny County health care executive.

"Worse yet, Wolf is targeting our growing natural gas industry that is helping rural Pennsylvanians climb the economic ladder to fill his gaping budget hole. This isn't the road to economic growth, this is the path to continued centralization of power."

Mango went on to criticize Wolf for being fixated on finding new ways to impose taxes on working Pennsylvanians and said that idea needs to be "erased from our minds once and for all."

He said the way state government works won't change until people willing to shake up the status quo are elected.
** HOLD FOR STORY ** File - In this April 11, 2015, file photo, rancher Cliven Bundy speaks at an event in Bunkerville, Nev. Bundy has long resisted federal control of public land, culminating in an armed standoff in 2014 on U.S. Bureau of Land Management acreage in Nevada. Some Western lawmakers are arguing that BLM headquarters should be moved from Washington, D.C., to the West, where most public lands are. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
Jeremy Burrill works on building a casket in this undated handout photo. New Brunswick woodworker Jeremy Burrill has sold simple pine caskets locally for about two years, aiming to give people an affordable and more environmentally friendly option for their send-offs. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Jeremy Burrill *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Chinese jet fighters have been sent to the South China Sea, the People's Liberation Army Air Force announced on Wednesday in a move that a retired major general said could be a reaction to provocation by the US in January.

The Su-35 Russian-made advanced fighters were dispatched to the sea for joint combat cruise missions, according to the official Sina Weibo account of the PLA Air Force. The message included photos but did not indicate how many aircraft.

This is a pragmatic action for the air force to fulfill its mission in the new era and conduct a combat training military exercise," according to a notice on the PLA Air Force official Weibo social media account.

The Su-35 is a multirole fighter aircraft that can attack targets on the ground and the sea. The fighter can significantly improve the combat capability of the air force overseas.

"Apart from the most advanced J-20, a China-made fourth generation stealth fighter jet, the Su-35 is more advanced than other Chinese fighter jets at this moment," Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and senior adviser to the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The deployment showed that pilot training for new jets was surprisingly fast, Xu noted.

"We just received a group of jets from Russia last year, and now we can put them into a real combat mission in the South China Sea," Xu said.

"It also shows that China-Russia military cooperation is solid, mutual-benefited and reliable."

China reportedly bought 24 Su-35 fighter jets for $2 billion from Russia in 2015, and Russia delivered them all by the end of 2017.

The US sent destroyers to provoke China in the South China Sea last month, Xu said.

"The appearance of advanced PLA fighter jets, capable of attacking surface combat vessels in this region is sort of a reaction to the provocation by the US," Xu said.

Although the air force didn't reveals where the jets are deployed, if they land on a South China Sea island that could act as a significant deterrent to any outside forces trying to disturb the regional stability, he said.
Justin Trudeau begins a four-day swing through the United States today, targeting "blue" states and cities that may be sympathetic to his talk about trade and the environment. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau meets with people at a Seniors Association in Edmonton on Thursday, February 1, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Ontario PC party interim leader Vic Fedeli speaks after a caucus meeting at Queen's Park in Toronto on Friday, January 26, 2018. Ontario's plan to introduce legislation allowing retaliation against states that adopt Buy American policies is coming under fire from the Opposition, who says it's nothing but a "last-ditch election ploy" from the governing Liberals. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
Ottawa-Vanier MP Mauril Belanger gives the thumbs up as he receives applause after using a tablet with text-to-speech program to defend his proposed changes to neutralize gender in the lyrics to "O Canada" in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, May 6, 2016. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Sandra and Robert (Bob) Donaldson pose in this undated handout photo. A retired couple from southern Ontario are the province's newest lottery millionaires after winning the $23.3-million Lotto 6-49 jackpot. Robert (Bob) and Sandra Donaldson picked up their seven-figure cheque at Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation headquarters in Toronto on Wednesday.THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Ontario Lottery and Gaming *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne speaks to media at the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in Toronto on Thursday Jan. 25, 2018. Ontario is about to introduce a bill allowing it to retaliate against any state that adopts Buy American provisions, then plans to start a national conversation with other provinces about measures to punish new cases of procurement protectionism.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
An unnamed new Chinese military helicopter has made its maiden flight and is expected to improve China's air combat capability, experts said.

The helicopter is equipped with a newly developed fuel system, according to an article published by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) on WeChat.

"The innovative design of the fuel system, which can be either installed inside or hung under the short wing, can save aircraft space and thus extend voyage time," Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

According to the article, the helicopter completed its first flight in Jingdezhen, China's Jiangxi Province in 2017, and China owns complete independent intellectual property rights.

But the article did not name the new type of helicopter or elaborate on its application.

"According to the limited information released, it is highly possible that it is a medium-sized military helicopter for transportation, and the new design can increase its combat capability," said Wang.

Xi Yazhou, an independent military observer and commentator, speculated that the new helicopter was likely to be the Changhe Z-8, which was said to be under development last year.

It was also the first time the CFD system was used in a test flight, which indicates that the helicopter design could be completely homegrown, unlike China's other series of helicopters such as the Dauphin, which was derived from foreign designs, according to Wang.

"CFD is short for Computational Fluid Dynamics, where the flight process of the helicopter can be simulated on computer so that the flight status can be observed ahead of a real trial flight, reducing risks in research and development," Wang said.

"China has a complete and relatively advanced helicopter industry, but it still needs further development to bridge the gap with other advanced countries," Wang said.
Mariano Abarca Roblero is shown in this still image taken from video Aug., 2009 in Chicomuselo, Chiapas. The federal government is pledging its full co-operation with a possible investigation into the role of Canadian diplomats and a former Calgary mining company in the shooting death of Mexican activist. Family and supporters of the slain Mexican activist Mariano Abarca this week asked the Public Service Integrity Commissioner to investigate his death, filing a notice that accuses Canadian diplomats of turning a blind eye to the human rights violations that ultimately cost him his life. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Dominique Jarry-Shore
American Josh Bowmar, seen here in a still image made from video, poses with the spear and black bear he killed, which resulted in a public backlash. Spear-hunting is being banned in Alberta. The province says it is updating hunting rules to make sure big game animals don't suffer unnecessarily and to discourage reckless hunting. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-YouTube-WeMI Studio, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
In this frame grab from video provided by WRTV in Indianapolis, Manuel Orrego-Savala, a citizen of Guatemala, leaves a court hearing Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, in Indianapolis. Orrego-Savala is suspected of causing a collision Sunday, Feb. 4, that killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. Orrego-Savala, 37, remained jailed Tuesday but had not been formally charged in Sunday's crash along Interstate 70 in Indianapolis. Prosecutors said they were working with police on the investigation. (WRTV6 via AP)
Firefighters watch a fire that broke out in an upper floor at Mandala Hotel in central Berlin, Germany, Wednesday Feb. 7, 2018. Fire department spokesman Andreas Ohlwein told The Associated Press the fire started in a sauna of the hotel sometime around 10 a.m. and then spread rapidly to the roof level. (Paul Zinken/dpa via AP)
In this Feb. 1, 2018 photo, Jeffrey Wong, current operations officer for the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, poses for a photo in Honolulu. He filed a police report after seeing threatening comments online from people who confused him with being the agency employee who mistakenly sent a missile alert. He wants to set the record straight that he's not the so-called "button-pusher" and was on a different island when the alert was sent from Honolulu on Jan. 13. (AP Photo/Jennifer Sinco Kelleher)
FILE - This March 19, 1975 file photo shows the Hughes Glomar Explorer, a 618-foot-long salvage ship built by the eccentric industrialist Howard Hughes, at the Long Beach harbor dock in Los Angeles, Calif. A Cold War-era legal tactic to conceal information, named the Glomar doctrine after the ship, was coined when the CIA said it would "neither confirm nor deny" whether records existed on a 1970's mission that used the Hughes Glomar Explorer to retrieve a portion of a Soviet submarine that had sunk in the Pacific Ocean. Now New York's highest court will consider whether the New York Police Department can use the Glomar doctrine to conceal information about whether it put Muslims under surveillance. (AP Photo, File)
After the ruling, Assange's lawyer, Mark Summers, tried to persuade the judge to hold a further hearing on new legal arguments. She didn't immediately agree.

"I am not persuaded the warrant should be withdrawn," Arbuthnot told lawyers, journalists and Assange supporters gathered at London's Westminster Magistrates' Court.

Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected a call from Assange's lawyers for the warrant to be revoked because he is no longer wanted for questioning in Sweden.

A British judge on Tuesday upheld a UK arrest warrant for the WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, leaving his legal position unchanged after more than five years inside the Ecuadorean embassy.

Assange has been holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London since he took refuge there in June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden. Swedish prosecutors were investigating allegations of sexual assault and rape made against him by two women in 2010.

Swedish prosecutors dropped the case last year, saying there was no prospect of bringing Assange to Sweden in the foreseeable future. But Assange was still subject to a British arrest warrant for jumping bail in 2012.

Had the judge ruled in Assange's favor, he would have been free to leave the embassy without being arrested on the British warrant. However, Assange suspects there is a secret U.S. indictment against him for WikiLeaks' publication of leaked classified American documents, and that U.S. authorities will seek his extradition.

Earlier this month, Ecuador said it had granted the Australian-born hacker citizenship, as the South American country tried to unblock the stalemate that has kept Assange as its houseguest for five-and-a-half years. Ecuador also asked Britain to grant him diplomatic status. Britain refused, saying "the way to resolve this issue is for Julian Assange to leave the embassy to face justice."

British prosecutors had opposed the removal of the warrant, saying Assange shouldn't be immune from the law simply because he has managed to evade justice for a long time.

Extradition lawyer Rebecca Niblock of Kingsley Napley said before the ruling that Assange's legal argument was a longshot. "Failing to surrender to bail is like insulting the court's authority" and is unlikely to go down well with the court, she said.
GPA to boycot coverage of the Petroleum Summit (GIPEX) due to degrading treatment of the media by the organizers By Kai eter News GEORGETOWN

Petroleumworld 02 07 2018 The Guyana Press Association (GPA) yesterday afternoon urged the editors of all media houses to strongly consider not covering the Guyana International Petroleum Business Summit (GIPEX). The event opens today at the Marriot Hotel and will conclude on Friday.



The GPA's recommendation to boycott the event comes on the heels of guidelines which were issued yesterday to the media by the public relations officers for the event.



The guidelines, which the GPA considers to be burdensome, state that while the Opening Ceremony of the event will be open to full coverage for all accredited media; all other sessions will be limited to photos only in the first 10-minutes, except for those so identified for open coverage.



The Organizers also note that arrangements will be made by the GIPEX Communications Team to facilitate interviews between media personnel and key participants of the Summit/Exhibition. It notes, however, that Unauthorized interviews in the Conference Hall are not permitted. However, the media room provided will be available for pre-planned interviews.



The GPA subsequently wrote Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman and Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Owen Verwey, to register concerns about the said constraints.



The Association stated in its letter to the said authorities that while it objects to closed door sessions about an industry that Guyana and Guyanese know little about, it holds firm to the belief that transparency and open discourse is at the heart of the natural resources sector, which is the patrimony of all Guyanese.



The GPA said that the concept of unauthorized interviews is unheard of at any international conference. The Press Body emphasized that this smacks of gross disrespect and a violation of Access to Information and Media Freedom.



It further stated, We acknowledge that there may be roles for the Communication personnel to act as liaisons wherever necessary, but not to grant or refuse permission/authorization. The Guyana Press Association urges Sagacity, its clients and associates to take swift remedial action in response to our objections. Please note that the Guyana Press Association reserves the right to encourage our members not to cover any aspect of the event.



The Association noted that up to 5pm yesterday, its correspondence was not acknowledged.



The Press Body said, We urge editors to strongly consider not covering GIPEX, as this clearly opens the door to justify these and even more restrictions now, and in the future that amounts to nothing more than insulting and degrading treatment to the media.



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Puerto Rico financial board push changes to island's governor fiscal plan

By Nick Brown

SAN JUAN

Petroleumworld 02 07 2018

Puerto Rico's financial oversight board told the bankrupt island's governor on Monday to revise his proposed fiscal turnaround plan to add more detail on labor and other reforms, and to create room in the budget for a $1.3 billion emergency fund.

In a letter to Governor Ricardo Rossello, the federally appointed, seven-member panel set a Feb. 12 deadline for the new draft, which will chart Puerto Rico's plan to regain economic stability.

The U.S. territory is struggling to recover from September's Hurricane Maria - its worst storm in 90 years - while also navigating the biggest government bankruptcy in U.S. history, with $120 billion in combined bond and pension debt.

Rossello's draft turnaround plan, submitted on Jan. 24, projected a $3.4 billion budget gap that would bar the island from repaying a penny of its debt until 2022.

While the plan included subsidy cuts to cities and towns and the streamlining of public agencies, the board, which must approve the plan, demanded more details in Monday's eight-page letter.

The board wants an emergency reserve of $650 million in the next five years and $1.3 billion within 10 years, based on best practices for states and territories regularly impacted by storms, it said.

It also wants more details on key structural reforms, notably labor. The board suggested that Rossello make Puerto Rico an at-will employer and make severance and Christmas bonuses optional, both of which are norms among U.S. states.

The board criticized Rossello's proposed reduction of capital expenditures to $400 million a year, saying there had been no project or agency-specific analysis to support that figure and that the plan should provide for expenditures necessary to maintain assets of the commonwealth.

The board also sought more detail on Rossello's vision for Puerto Rico's energy grid, which was decimated by Maria.

Rossello has announced plans to privatize Puerto Rico's bankrupt, quasi-public power utility, PREPA.

But the governor's plan must support a transaction by providing a set of targets for a potential bidder to meet or exceed during the bidding process, the board said.

It said the plan should provide a five-year outlook for financial stability at the utility, and for the creation of an independent energy regulator with commissioners appointed by the governor, from a candidate list developed by an independent expert panel.






Rights group report: killings and threats against land rights defenders soar in 2017

By Umberto Bacchi

LONDON

Petroleumworld 02 07 2018

More than 120 activists campaigning to protect their land, environment and labour rights from business interests were killed last year - an almost 50 percent increase on 2016, a rights group said on Tuesday.

The London-based Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) said it documented 388 attacks on campaigners in 2017, including beatings, threats, lawsuits and arbitrary detentions, up 34 percent from the previous year.

The rise was partially due increased global attention, which led to more incidents being reported and documented, and came as rights group were coming under growing pressure worldwide, said BHRRC's spokeswoman Ana Zbona.

Charities in dozens of countries, from Angola to India and Tajikistan, have faced restrictions targeting their funding and operations over the past two years, according to an EU report .

We are seeing attacks on activists and civic freedoms in general increasing around the world, Zbona told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Guatemala and the Philippines were the most dangerous countries for activists confronting corporate interests, accounting for 212 of all incidents, BHRRC said.

Victims, including the 127 killed, were activists, trade union representatives, indigenous leaders, journalists and lawyers - mostly involved in land rights campaigns opposing mines, plantations and power plants.

Mining and agriculture remained the most affected sectors but attacks related to renewable energy projects, like dams and wind farms, were rising fast, fuelled by growing investments in clean energy, the group said.

Zbona said big companies were sometimes unaware of conflicts in their supply chain - which carried potential risks such as high legal costs and damage to reputation  and could only gain by engaging with rights defenders on the ground.

Responsible companies should see defenders and civil society as partners in identifying risks and problems in their supply chains, she said.

Frontline Defenders, another campaign group, said last month at least 312 activists were killed in 2017, up 11 percent from the previous year.






Cano Limon pipeline extends pumping halt due to colombians guerrillas atack

By Reuters

BOGOTA

Petroleumworld 02 07 2018

A bomb attack by Marxist ELN rebels destroyed a stretch of Colombia's second largest oil pipeline, the Cano Limon-Covenas, extending an almost month-long pumping stoppage, sources from the military and state oil company Ecopetrol said on Tuesday.

The attack, which caused a spillage of crude, occurred on Monday in a rural area of ??the municipality of Saravena, in northeastern Arauca province.

The 485-mile (780-km) pipeline has capacity to transport up to 210,000 barrels of crude a day from the Cano Limon field, operated by Occidental Petroleum Corp, for export via the Caribbean.

Oil flow along the pipeline has been suspended since Jan. 10 when the ELN, the largest active guerrilla group in Colombia, restarted attacks against oil infrastructure and the armed forces when a ceasefire with the government ended.

Ecopetrol SA said it sent personnel to the area to repair the damage.

Attacks by the ELN are frequent as they seek to pressure the government as part of their 53-year conflict. So far this year, there have been 10 attacks against the Cano Limon pipeline.

The ELN has about 2,000 combatants and opposes the presence of multinational companies in the mining and oil sector, claiming that they seize natural resources without leaving benefits for the country's population or economy.

President Juan Manuel Santos and the ELN launched formal peace negotiations in Ecuador a year ago, but the group has stepped up its attacks since the ceasefire ended. The government suspended talks last month when the rebels launched a series of deadly attacks against police.

Santos in late 2016 signed a peace agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), ending its part in the five-decade conflict that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions.






American shale oil to the Middle East a sign of changing times

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U.S. oil heads to middle east in latest sign of shale's spread. Cargo said to be condensate meant for Abu Dhabi's splitters. First U.S. oil cargo to be exported directly to U.A.E.: Census

By Sheela Tobben

NEW YORK

Petroleumworld 02 07 2018

U.S. oil headed to the Middle East in December, an unthinkable trip just a few years ago.

The United Arab Emirates purchased condensate from the U.S. in December, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter who asked not to be named because he isn't authorized to speak to media. The cargo will be used to meet requirements for its condensate splitters, the person said, adding that it preferred to buy the oil from the U.S. because it has superior quality to that sourced from the region.

As a member of OPEC and a large crude producer, I would imagine they would be very self-sufficient in their own crude supply, said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates. The purchases of U.S. oil aren't likely to continue, given the U.A.E.'s own supply, Lipow said.

A shipment of American oil to the Middle East is the latest sign of how the shale boom and the lifting of a ban on U.S. exports has changed the flow of petroleum around the world. U.S. production is expected to grow by 2 million barrels a day between February 2017 and November this year, according to the Energy Information Administration. Exports have increased from a little more than 100,000 barrels a day in 2013 to 1.53 million in November.

U.S. Exports

The U.S. exported about 700,000 barrels of light domestic crude in December to the U.A.E., the Census Bureau reported Tuesday . It's the fourth-largest OPEC producer's first cargo of U.S. oil, according to EIA data. The Middle Eastern country typically brings in extra-light oil, known as condensate, to process in a unit known as a splitter.

The cargo was shipped from Enterprise Products Partners LP's Houston terminal on the tanker Seoul Spirit, which arrived Jan. 31 at the Port of Ruwais in Abu Dhabi, according to ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
U.S. oil headed to 11 million barrels per day sooner than espected

James Durbin/Reporter-Telegram



Oil output to climb above key level in November of this year. WTI price forecasts raised for both 2018 and 2019: EIA.

By Jessica Summers and Catherine Traywick

NEW YORK / WASHINGTON

Petroleumworld 02 07 2018

The U.S. government sees nationwide oil production jumping above 11 million barrels a day much quicker than anticipated.

After oil output already topped 10 million barrels a day back in November, output will climb above the 11 million mark this November, the Energy Information Administration said in its monthly Short-Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday. It previously forecast production above that level in November 2019.

Nationwide output will average 10.59 million this year and 11.18 million next year, up from prior forecasts of 10.27 million and 10.85 million, according to the EIA.

With West Texas Intermediate crude holding above $60 a barrel since late last year, the prospect of pumping in this price environment is seen enticing drillers to pick up the pace. The U.S. oil rig count posted the biggest two-week gain since June, according to the latest Baker Hughes data.

WTI crude will average $58.28 a barrel this year, the EIA said, up from last month's estimate of $55.33, and $57.51 in 2019, higher than $57.43. The global benchmark Brent is forecast to average $62.39 in 2018, up from $59.74, and $61.51 in 2019 versus $61.43. WTI traded at $63.59 at 1:50 p.m. in New York, while Brent was at $66.91.

EIA's forecast expects Brent crude oil prices to be in the $62 per barrel range in 2018 and 2019. That's down a bit from current levels, as strong U.S. production growth is expected to help moderate global prices, Dr. Linda Capuano, administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, said in a statement.

Energy Exporter

The EIA increased its estimates for global production and demand in 2018. Output is seen at 100.43 million barrels a day, up from 100.34 million previously, with demand at 100.23 million, compared with 100.11 million. For 2019, world supply is seen at 102.17 million and demand at 101.95 million.

The EIA painted a rosy picture for crude in its 2018 annual forecast released Tuesday. The agency projects that continued shale development and low demand will transform the U.S. into a net energy exporter by 2022 and a net petroleum exporter by 2029. Crude output growth will be driven by Texas's Permian Basin, with gains in the Dakotas and Rocky Mountain region. Meanwhile, production in Gulf Coast region will flatten out after 2025, as drilling in the Eagle Ford becomes less productive.
"During this time, though certain rights will be restricted, general movements, services and businesses will not be affected," a statement issued by the president's office said.

Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a 15-day state of emergency after refusing to comply with a Supreme Court order to release detained political leaders.

Security forces also on Monday arrested the country's former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the ex-president's spokesman said.

Police said in a Twitter message they had arrested Saeed and Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed "for an ongoing investigation." They gave no details about the allegations or charges against the two judges.

Hours after the country's president declared a state of emergency, Maldives security forces forced their way into the Supreme Court building and early Tuesday arrested Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge.

"The Government of Maldives wishes to also assure all Maldivians and the international community that the safety of all Maldivians and foreigners living in and visiting the Maldives will be ensured," it added.

Yameen's administration defied the top court's order last week to release the prisoners, and Monday asked the court to revoke it.

Human rights group Amnesty International denounced the state of emergency Monday, warning that it may lead to "further repression" of human rights in the country.

"The declaration of the state of emergency in the Maldives is an extremely worrying development that comes at a time of heightened political anxieties in the country. But respect for human rights must not become another casualty of this ongoing political crisis," Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty Internationals deputy South Asia director, said in a statement.

The White House National Security Council issued a statement saying the United States stands with the people of Maldives.

"The Maldivian government and military must respect the rule of law, freedom of expression and democratic institutions. The world is watching," the NSC said in a tweet.

In nearby India, the External Affairs Ministry issued an advisory asking Indians to defer all non-essential travel to Maldives until further notice, and urged Indian expatriates to remain on alert, given the security situation.

China's foreign minister spokesman told reporters on Monday that Beijing is closely following the situation in Maldives and called on authorities there to take the necessary steps to protect the security of Chinese firms, institutions and personnel.

Democratic gains in the Maldives have eroded under the leadership of Yameen, who has conducted a crackdown on the opposition and the press.
The first floor of a Fishtown property that local house flipper Kelly Straka gutted and renovated last year. Read more

The nationwide median price of a home has eclipsed its pre-recession peak. The number of distressed properties available for purchase across the country has steadily dwindled. Construction costs, meanwhile, have increased sharply in recent years, as labor and materials have become pricier.

A sign of a strengthening economy? Absolutely. A potential problem for house flippers? Yes, that, too.

In the third quarter of last year, the average gross profit that a property flipper received tumbled nationwide, as flippers found it more difficult to find cheap properties to buy  and inexpensive materials to use to flip them. Flippers in the United States received an average gross profit of $66,448 per flip in July through September last year, representing a 47.7 percent return on investment, according to Attom Data Solutions, a real estate data company. That's down from 51.2 percent the year before and is the lowest return on investment that flippers have received since the second quarter of 2015.

Like the nationwide average, the typical return on investment for a Philadelphia-area flipper did tick down slightly from the year before, too. However, the data also show that unlike other markets, Philadelphia was a flipping gold mine.

In the third quarter of 2017, Philadelphia metro area flippers earned an average $95,875 gross profit, according to Attom. That's a 114 percent return on investment  the third highest in the nation. The local area trails only the Pittsburgh metro area, where flippers earned an average return on investment of 147.7 percent in the third quarter, and the Baton Rouge, La., area, where flippers earned an average 122.2 percent.

(Attom defines the Philadelphia metro area to include Philadelphia, Chester, Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania; Camden, Gloucester, Burlington, and Salem Counties in New Jersey; New Castle County in Delaware; and Cecil County in Maryland. A flip is defined as any residential property bought by an investor and sold to an unrelated person within one year.)

Reasons for the Philadelphia-area's profitability are related to the fact that Philadelphia has one of the oldest housing stocks in the nation  and the fact that the area continues to suffer from higher foreclosure rates compared with other markets. In the Philadelphia metro area, one out of every 80 homes in 2017 experienced a foreclosure proceeding, according to Attom. Nationwide, in contrast, the 2017 rate was one out of every 197 units.

Together, that often means local flippers here, more than many other markets, can buy aging or distressed properties for a discount and then sell for a premium.

"In the Philadelphia area, the median year built for a home being flipped is 1951," said Daren Blomquist, senior vice president of communications for Attom. "Nationwide, it's 1978. So in Philadelphia, there are older properties that have more value-add opportunities. That helps flippers get a discount when they buy."

According to Attom's data, the median purchase price of a Philadelphia-area flipped home during the third quarter was $84,125. The average sale price, the company found, was $180,000.

Even as the Philadelphia area offers significant profitability, Attom's data show that the local market has not reached the same amount of flipping that the region saw during the housing bubble of the mid-2000s. Philadelphia's flipping peaked in the second quarter of 2005, according to Attom, with 2,074 flips in the three-month period. In the third quarter of 2017, by contrast, flippers completed nearly 30 percent fewer  1,452 flips in July through September, accounting for 6.3 percent of all home sales.

"Low inventory and rising home prices is making it tough to find properties to buy," Blomquist said. " Because foreclosures are drying up in many markets, [flippers] are getting more creative and are buying what they would refer to as 'off-market homes.'"

In general, Blomquist said, "off-market homes" are typically the ones that flippers will attempt to acquire by methods such as sending "We Can Buy Your Home As Is" letters.

Even with low inventory and steeper competition to find homes, local flippers were able to find success across the city, Attom's data show. For the metro area, the most active flipping areas were the 19150 zip code (the Stenton and Cedarbrook area in Philadelphia), the 08046 zip code (the Willingboro Township area in New Jersey), and the 19138 zip code (the East Germantown and Belfield area in Philadelphia).

The most profitable zip codes for flippers in the metro area during the third quarter of 2017 were the 19131 zip code (the Parkside and Wynnefield area), the 19146 zip code (the Graduate Hospital area), and the 08094 zip code (the Monroe Township area in New Jersey).
Registered nurse Sammy Mullally holds a tray of supplies to be used by a drug addict at the Insite safe injection clinic in Vancouver, B.C., Read more

When the Eagles won the Super Bowl, it took me a moment to release a primal yell before running into the street to hug neighbors, chant slogans, and thank God for giving Philadelphia this one pure moment of greatness.

I will celebrate our team at Thursday's parade. But on Friday, I will get to back to work, because when the confetti stops falling, we'll still havet the highest poverty rate of any big city in America. We'll still be the place whose estimated 1,200 overdose deaths in a year outpace any other major American city.

That's why, on Friday evening, I will join with Praise 107.9-FM to host "Safe Injection Sites: A Community Forum."

This community discussion will feature voices from recovering people and city officials, community activists and treatment professionals. It will feature both sides of the debate around the Kenney administration's proposal to support privately run safe injection sites  places where people can shoot drugs under medical supervision to prevent overdoses.

And it is a needed discussion. Not just because the Kenney administration's support for safe injection sites is based largely on research from Europe and Canada, where treatment is more accessible because health care is less expensive, and where criminal justice systems operate differently. Discussion is also necessary because the proposal seems to have been made without widespread community input.

It's not enough to sanitize the name of such facilities by calling them Comprehensive User Engagement Sites (CUES). Nor is it enough to assure us that there is a long-term strategy without actually revealing what that plan entails. The voices of Philadelphians must be included in anything that would have us support the use of illegal drugs in our name  even if that drug use is supposed to eventually save lives.

As a man who has gone through drug addiction and come out the other side, I know how hard it can be to recover. That's why, after 21 years clean, I empathize with those who are struggling to go a single day without drugs.

However, this is about more than the addicts themselves. It is about a city where families were torn apart and properties seized during the crack era. It is about a place where jails and morgues were filled to bursting with black and brown bodies, where the criminalization of the disease of addiction was encouraged, and where the damage is painfully apparent even decades later.

And, yes, that means that this is about race, because most of those who are now dying from overdoses are white, and the language around addiction has changed along with the complexion of the addicts.

In a city that has allowed a drug culture to flourish in impoverished communities such as Kensington, we must face the fact that open-air drug sales would never be allowed in whiter and more affluent areas. Then we must ask ourselves why we haven't considered simply cutting off the drug supply that flows so readily through our most challenged communities.

Congressional candidate Nina Ahmad raised that point when I asked her about safe injection sites during a radio interview, opining that affluent areas such as Chestnut Hill do not have open-air drug markets while impoverished areas such as Kensington do.

Councilwoman Maria Quinones-Sanchez, who represents Kensington, put it more bluntly when we last talked about the issue of safe injection sites: "What we have is a perfect storm of concentrated open-air market that many people  particularly the people who live there  will say we have contained it in an area and almost allowed it to evolve," Sanchez told me in a radio interview. "And then the addiction and the pipeline. The federal government has come in and closed many  city-funded mental health organizations who have been the pill operating mills that have led to this. So this is a perfect storm of a lot of bad policies, a lot of lack of oversight, and now we have this huge problem."

I don't believe we need another bad policy, and that's how I see safe injection sites  as bad policy. But I also know there are those who believe safe injection sites are the answer to the opioid epidemic.

That's why I've invited fellow columnist Mike Newall to share why his reporting and life experience have led him to support safe injection sites.

City Councilwoman Cindy Bass will join us on the panel as well, along with representatives from the Kenney administration, Council President Darrell Clarke, and Sanchez.

But in my view, the most important voices we'll hear are from the community itself. Kensington-based activists Gilberto Gonzales and Pastor Michael Couch will join us, along with addiction specialist Louis Cain from the Goldman Clinic.

And while Pastor Albert Johnson's decision to make Mount Tabor A.M.E. Church available for this meeting will allow us to open this important dialogue with prayer, your decision to attend will help us to close with solutions.

It is your voice, after all, that can save both lives and communities, because your voice is the one that matters most.
A statue of Frederick Douglass on the West Chester University campus Read more

More than 120 years ago, prominent abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivered his last public lecture on West Chester University's campus.

Now, the importance of his life and work will get even larger exposure at the state university, thanks to a gift from West Chester Borough's first African American mayor, Clifford E. DeBaptiste.

The university beginning next fall will host a lecture series on Douglass in honor of the 200th anniversary of his birth, the school announced.

DeBaptiste, who served as mayor from 1994 to 2002 and also is founder and CEO of DeBaptiste Funeral Homes, will present the university with a $50,000 gift on Wednesday to fund the program.

The lecture series will bring experts on the famed orator and statesman to the campus, university officials said, beginning in October with James Trotman, author of Frederick Douglass: A Biography.

Douglass delivered his last public lecture on West Chester's campus on Feb. 1, 1895, and died 19 days later. The university currently is home to an institute in Douglass' name and features a statue of Douglass in the academic quad, commemorating that lecture. There also are plans for a conference in April.

"It is quite fitting that his legacy remains a rich part of our everyday history," said West Chester president Christopher Fiorentino.
The Eagles victory parade closing ceremony will end around 2:30 or 3 p.m. on Thursday at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Read more

The Super Bowl parade is over. But that doesn't mean the fun has to stop.

If you've come into the city from the suburbs, rather than wasting time in a mass-traffic exodus, consider sticking around for a few hours to explore. (Remember, though, that SEPTA's Regional Rail will only move people out of the city until 9:30 p.m., so plan accordingly.)

Whether you wish to check out some of the nearby public art that lines the Benjamin Franklin Parkway or continue partying in the spirit of green at a neighborhood bar, we've rounded up several places close to the parade's ending locale that invite fans to hang out and stay awhile.

Take note: the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the parade's ending destination, will not be open on Thursday. Other closings on or near the Parkway include: Rodin Museum, Barnes Foundation, Franklin Institute, Academy of Natural Sciences, Mutter Museum, Eastern State Penitentiary, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Free Library of Philadelphia, Assembly Rooftop Lounge, and Whole Foods Market Center City. Click here for a detailed list of closings.

Read on to plan your own personal post-parade route.

See the city from 57 floors up at One Liberty Observation Deck



Take in panoramic views of the City of Brotherly Love at One Liberty Observation Deck, one of the tallest attractions in Philadelphia. The sky-high spot offers an incredible vantage point for snapping prime cityscape photos and also features indoor installations including a gigantic Benjamin Franklin sculpture. Tickets can be purchased in advance online or on site until 7:30 p.m. Visitors in Eagles garb will receive $1 off if they mention the offer.

10 a.m.-8 p.m., One Liberty Observation Deck, 1650 Market St. No. 5700. 215-561-3325; phillyfromthetop.com

Snap a photo with the Amor sculpture and check out other public art on the Parkway

The Benjamin Franklin Parkway, which connects City Hall and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is home to more than two dozen works of public art. Yes, crowds will abound in the area, but all of the sculptures are 100 percent free to check out, so you have nothing to lose even if a little walking tour doesn't enable you to see them all. One of the most popular sights is the sculpture Amor (which translates to "love") standing six feet tall at Sister Cities Park at 18th Street. A full list of public works of art along the Parkway can be found here.

Sculptures scattered all along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway; associationforpublicart.org

Chow down at Reading Terminal Market, Phillys foodie mecca



Close to City Hall and less than two miles from the Art Museum, Reading Terminal Market  one of America's largest and oldest public markets  stands at 12th and Arch Streets. From famous roast pork sandwiches to down-home eats like chicken pot pie to spicy Thai food, fresh-squeezed juice, and fresh-from-the-fryer doughnuts, the market has it all, including produce stands and snacks you can buy in bulk. The market is packed even on normal weekdays, so prepare to navigate a crowd  but it's a quintessential Philly experience that's worth the visit.

8 a.m.-6 p.m.; Reading Terminal Market, 51 N. 12th St.; 215-922-2317; readingterminalmarket.org

Treat yourself to a massage or facial at the Spa at the Logan

Although the Eagles won on Sunday, the tension throughout the night was unavoidably high. Now that the Birds have landed that big win, de-stress with a well-deserved evening on the massage table post-parade festivities. The Spa at the Logan, on the Parkway near 18th Street, offers 50- and 80-minute massages and facials as well as other body treatment options through 7 p.m. Call ahead to book an appointment, and pack your bathing suit for a dip in the pool before or after your spa experience.

8 a.m.-9 p.m.; The Spa at the Logan Hotel, 1 Logan Square; 215-405-2815; theloganhotel.com

Hit up one of Fairmounts larger bars, where you might (might, might) get a seat

Packed with bars and restaurants, Fairmount is one of the closest neighborhoods to the Art Museum. Its largest bars include Jack's Firehouse and Urban Saloon, neighbors on Fairmount Avenue between 21st and 22nd Streets. Jack's Firehouse seats around 120 patrons and another 20 at the bar, while Urban Saloon holds a capacity of 200 people with a standing-room-only back room that holds 50. Neither of the spots is taking reservations, so show up and hope for a seat. Urban Saloon will stream the parade live on its six big-screen TVs and on a large projector in the middle of the bar.

Jack's Firehouse, 2130 Fairmount Ave.; 215-232-9000; jacksfirehouse.com; Urban Saloon, 2120 Fairmount Ave.; 215-232-5359; urbansaloon.com

Play a few games of pool at the hyper-Eagles-friendly Green Room

The Green Room is Fairmount's dive-bar-meets-sports-bar, welcoming all types of fans to enjoy a beer from its robust tap list. The neighborhood spot is home to two pool tables, along with a darts board and a small selection of arcade games. After the win on Super Bowl night, the crowd went wild, and you can expect a similarly enthusiastic environment post-parade on Thursday.

Green Room, 1940 Green St.; 215-241-6776; greenroomphiladelphia.com

Hit up happy hour and stay for live jazz at South Kitchen & Jazz Parlor

On the outskirts of Fairmount on North Broad Street, South Kitchen & Jazz Parlor hosts live performances nearly every night of the week. Happy hour kicks off at 4 p.m. and runs through 7 p.m., the starting time for Thursday's show featuring Special EFX and Chieli Minucci. Shows often sell out in advance, so it's highly recommended to order tickets in advance either online or by phone.

Happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m.; bar closes at 11 p.m. South Kitchen & Jazz Parlor, 600 N. Broad St.; 215-600-0220; southrestaurant.net

Check out Fairmounts brewery and brewpub Bar Hygge

Brewing six original beers in its on-site Brewery Techne, Bar Hygge serves as a great nearby spot to savor a locally brewed beer alongside sophisticated brewpub eats. The menu features boards, which invite diners to choose from cheeses including a wide variety of raw-milk options, proteins like house-made prosciutto and charred octopus, and vegetable-centric eats such as crispy Brussels sprouts. Larger entrees and spruced-up sandwiches like the chicken and mortadella hoagie line the rest of the menu, which can be enjoyed from the spacious wooden bar or the surrounding airy dining room.

4 p.m.-12:30 a.m.; Bar Hygge, 1720 Fairmount Ave.; 215-765-2274; barhygge.com
The space between the winter awards season and the advent of the summer blockbusters can be creatively a bit bleak, but this spring is a happy departure.

Steven Spielberg's The Post will have just wrapped its theatrical run when his next movie  the sci-fi epic Ready Player One  hits theaters in March. Kind of makes you long for the old contract days, when A-list directors like Spielberg had to make three or four movies a year.

Joining Spielberg on the spring schedule are Steven Soderbergh (the horror movie Unsane) and Selma director Ava DuVernay with the Disney fantasy epic A Wrinkle in Time. The spring slate includes Wes Anderson's new animated movie Isle of Dogs, and Armando Iannucci's political satire and festival favorite The Death of Stalin. And there's a good chance you'll be able to see your favorite performer, since thanks to Marvel and Disney, every actor in the world is employed in either Black Panther or Avengers: Infinity War, the latter of which folds in characters from both Panther and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Here are some of the highlights from the spring schedule, with all dates subject to change.

Black Panther (Feb. 16). From the Marvel Universe comes the first superhero movie featuring a cast of mostly black actors led by Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa, a.k.a Black Panther, who inherits from his father the African kingdom of Wakanda, but who finds his country's stability threatened from within. The movie is directed by Ryan Coogler, who has cast his Creed buddy Michael B. Jordan as a character named Erik Killmonger. I don't read a lot of comic books, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say Eric Killmonger is a bad guy. Also starring Lupita Nyong'o, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, and Andy Serkis.

Annihilation (Feb. 23). Alex Garland (Ex Machina) wrote and directed this adaptation of the best-selling Jeff VanderMeer novel about a group of scientists (Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tessa Thompson) who enter an environmental disaster area where an unseen force starts rearranging their DNA. Garland is said to have taken liberties with VanderMeer's story, and there are reports the studio was not totally in love with the onslaught of psychedelic visuals that constitute much of the movie. Some recutting has been done.

Red Sparrow (March 2). Prima ballerina Dominika Egorova (Jennifer Lawrence) suffers an injury that leaves her unable to dance but still able to kill people. She goes to a school (run by Charlotte Rampling) to learn how to be an assassin, a job that also keeps her on her toes. The movie is directed by Lawrence's Hunger Games collaborator Francis Lawrence (Catching Fire, Mockingjay). Costars include Mary Louise Parker, Jeremy Irons, and Joel Edgerton.

A Wrinkle in Time (March 9). DuVernay directs this big-budget Disney adaptation of Madeline L'Engle's popular fantasy adventure book about a girl (Storm Reid) who travels through time and space in search of her missing father (Chris Pine), with the help of three astral guides (Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, and Mindy Kaling.) Costarring Zach Galifianakis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Michael Pena. Written by Frozen cowriter and co-director Jennifer Lee.

Isle of Dogs (March 23). Wes Anderson's animated movie about a Japanese boy (Koyu Rankin) who endeavors to find his dog (voice of Liev Schreiber) on an island trash heap where all dogs have been exiled due to what is officially described as an outbreak of canine flu. Featuring the voices of Bill Murray, Bryan Cranston, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Edward Norton, Ken Watanabe, Greta Gerwig, and Frances McDormand. Anderson's first animated movie since 2009's The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Death of Stalin (March 23). Does anybody do political comedy (In the Loop, Veep) better than Armando Iannucci? Certainly few write better dialogue for the genre than he does. Here, Iannucci applies his craft to an offbeat black comedy (based on a French graphic novel) about Soviet bureaucrats  some befuddled, some treacherous, some deadly  trying to decide what to do when Stalin drops dead. The cast includes Jason Isaacs, Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin, Andrea Riseborough, Paddy Considine, and Olga Kurylenko.

Unsane (March 23). Well now it's really official  Steven Soderbergh has not retired from filmmaking. Last fall, he popped up with the hillbilly heist movie Logan Lucky. Here, he directs a horror movie about a young woman (The Crown's Claire Foy) committed to a mental institution after physicians are unable to determine whether her fears are real or delusional. The cast includes Amy Irving, Jay Pharoah, and Juno Temple.

Ready Player One (March 30). Steven Spielberg's sci-fi epic based on the Ernest Cline novel. It's about players in a game that bounces back and forth between the real world and a virtual reality realm called OASIS, composed of 1980s nostalgia and pop culture, which is something Spielberg knows a bit about (expect a reference to E.T. or Raiders of the Lost Ark) Starring Tye Sheridan, Mark Rylance, Olivia Cooke, and Simon Pegg, who knows something about '80s pop culture himself.

A Quiet Place (April 6). A man directing his wife not to speak? Well that sounds primitive in the #MeToo era. But it's literally true. This horror movie was cowritten and directed by John Krasinski and stars his wife, Emily Blunt. They play a couple living with two children in a place where sound can be fatal, stalked by creatures who attack at the slightest noise. They line pathways with sand, walk barefoot, paint footsteps on the wooden floors of their creaky house to know where to step, and communicate via sign language. (One of the children is played by Millicent Simmonds, of Wonderstruck).

Avengers: Infinity War (May 4). A superhero extravaganza that somehow unites most of the characters from the Avengers franchise and the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. They must congregate in order to defeat some new menace, a bald alien named Thanos who looks like Bruce Willis with a mandibular disease. The big fight scene at the end features 40 MCU characters. Starring everybody. Directed by the Russo brothers. The film was shot simultaneously with its own sequel, to be released in May 2019.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (May 25). The Han Solo origin story was started by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie, 21 Jump Street) but they departed midway through the production, and Ron Howard took over. There were the proverbial creative differences. Perhaps producer Kathleen Kennedy preferred a director who could work solo. Alden Ehrenreich has the title role, leading a cast that includes Thandie Newton, Emilia Clarke, and Paul Bettany.

Ocean's 8 (June 8). Danny Ocean has an estranged sister named Debbie (Sandra Bullock), and she's a criminal also. In Ocean's 8, she conspires with several women (Cate Blanchett, Rihanna, Mindy Kaling, and others) to pull off a big heist. It's a mostly female cast, but on the surface, the plot does not appear to represent a great leap for feminism: The women are trying to steal a necklace from Anne Hathaway, who herself stole a necklace in The Dark Knight Rises.
A view of the 477-acre tract purchased by a group of environmental organizations, along with the state of New Jersey, that will be added to Cape May National Wildlife Refuge and provided added protection for migrating birds. Read more

A group of environmental organizations have pitched in to buy 477 acres that will be added to already sprawling Cape May National Wildlife Refuge and help provide increased forest cover for thousands of migrating birds.

The tract in Cape May Courthouse was the largest privately owned property remaining on the peninsula, according to the Nature Conservancy, which announced the $1.3 million deal Tuesday.

The deal settled at the end of the year and is just now being made public. The land was immediately turned over to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which oversees the refuge.

The refuge spans about 12,000 acres. It provides habitat for hundreds of thousands of migratory birds that fly to the area each year and make it a magnet for bird watchers from around the world. The refuge within the Delaware Bay watershed is internationally recognized and used by the red knot, ruddy turnstone, semipalmated sandpiper, and sanderling birds.

The new parcel, a mix of oak and pine, is about a mile from the Delaware Bay and less than a quarter-mile from a salt marsh.

"This is a particularly satisfying achievement because it is the culmination of more than 10 years of effort by many dedicated people and organizations," said Barbara Brummer, director of the Nature Conservancy in New Jersey.

Negotiations to protect the land from development began in 2005, she said.

Congressman Frank LoBiondo called it a "win-win-win for Cape May County residents, ecotourism, and environmental stewardship."

The purchase was funded in part by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Green Acres program. The land was owned by Cape Viking LLC, a subsidiary of South State Inc. General Contractors of Bridgeton.

Viking officials say they had planned to develop the property but agreed to sell it for protection after being approached by environmental groups.

"This is an important addition to the protected mosaic of lands that make Cape May one of North America's most important migratory stopovers and world-renowned ecotourism destinations for birding and outdoor recreation," said Kathleen Cox, a realty specialist for the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Environmentalists say the new land contains streams that flow into the bay and will also help protect against growing erosion from sea-level rise.

Mary Conti, spokeswoman for the Nature Conservancy, said a number of groups used their own money, as well as money from government grants, to help fund the purchase. The groups include the American Littoral Society, Ducks Unlimited, Open Space Institute, and Victoria Foundation. Private donors also contributed.
A finished mold of a patients teeth as Orthodontist Harold Slutsky uses 3-D technology to make braces from start to finish. Read more

Remember when you got braces in middle school and had to sit in the orthodontist's office with a tray filled with goo to make a negative impression of your teeth, just so you could get a mouth full of metal?

For some patients, those days may be over.

Now, clear plastic aligners that move teeth without conspicuous wires or brackets can be made in less time and for less cost using 3-D printers and scanners that have grown affordable enough to be installed in orthodontists' offices.

The advance in technology has also opened the door for direct-to-consumer companies to enter the market. But orthodontists caution against going that route, and not just because it's cutting into their business.

At orthodontist Harold Slutsky's Mayfair office, technicians use an intra-oral scanner  a large, wand-like device  inserted into the patient's mouth to get a 3-D image of the teeth. The image is sent to a computer, where Slutsky uses specialized software to make tiny adjustments in the image, with the goal of gradually moving crooked teeth into proper alignment. Then a 3-D printer creates a series of plastic models. Clear aligners the patient will wear are then made, using a sheet of dental-grade plastic that is heated and formed around the models.

With a little trimming and polishing, the braces can be ready by the next morning, said Slutsky, who is among the first in the area to use this process. He said his patients are "blown away" by the technology.

And, because it's less expensive to keep the process in-house rather than using an outside lab, the patient's costs can be "significantly less," he said. The total cost depends on the severity of the patient's problem and how long it will need to be treated, said Slutsky, who wouldn't quote prices because they vary widely.

"I think every orthodontist will have a 3-D scanner and printer," he said. "It's a matter of time."

Not every patient should expect to be wearing 3-D clear aligners, said Slutsky, who also teaches at Temple University's Kornberg School of Dentistry. Complicated conditions are better treated with conventional braces. For instance, the clear plastic aligners won't replace a palate expander, which actually moves bones. As with all braces, users must be diligent about brushing their teeth after eating or drinking anything beyond water. But unlike conventional braces, plastic aligners can be removed by patients, and should be for eating and flossing. Unless they are worn as directed, they won't work, Slutsky said.

At Temple, orthodontic residents are learning to create clear aligners. The school has two 3-D printers and has just ordered new scanners and software.

"The printed results are excellent and sometimes better than impression techniques," said Jeffrey H. Godel, chair of Temple's graduate program and department of orthodontics. The orthodontist now has more control over the set-up and process, he said.

"I can sit down with the software programs and I can get instantaneous results," Godel said. "I don't have to wait for a technician someplace else."

Patients get a series of aligners as their teeth gradually shift toward their ultimate position.

The process may appear straightforward, but Godel and Slutsky both stressed that realigning teeth can be complicated, sometimes because of underlying problems. A lot of things can go wrong with unsupervised treatment, including problems with gums, destruction of the roots and, in severe cases, loss of teeth, Godel said.

"All you need to do is put force on a tooth and it will move," he said. "It needs to be monitored by a dental professional and, ideally, an orthodontist."

In the Philadelphia area, the cost of the clear braces that include the exams, X-rays and scans, and diagnostic plan, can range from about $5,500 to $7,500, depending on the severity of the case and the location of the orthodontist's office.

While the technology is becoming commonplace at orthodontic practices, the ease with which the plastic aligners are made has also spawned direct-to-consumer businesses.

In 2017, Align Technology, makers of Invisalign's clear aligners, was a darling of Wall Street, driven largely by growth from young adults in the United States and business in China. Though Invisalign is not sold directly to consumers, Align holds a 19 percent interest in SmileDirectClub, which does. Both companies declined to be interviewed.

On its website, SmileDirectClub states it offers low-cost braces "without the hassle of in-person monthly visits." Customers start with an at-home impression kit or visit a "SmileShop" for a scan done by "registered dental assistants, dental hygienists or home health aids." From there, a state-licensed, board-certified orthodontist or general dentist reviews the information, creates the plan for the aligners, and follows the case remotely, the website says. The cost is estimated to be about $2,000.

Some orthodontists insist that no one should try such services. Others are a little more pragmatic.

"If better is better than nothing, these products are worth a look," Detroit orthodontist Jamie Reynolds wrote last year in the New York Daily News. "If you have noticeably crooked or spaced teeth, and seek perfection  or anywhere close  you are best to contact your local orthodontist and consider comprehensive products like braces or Invisalign."

Start-ups, such as the Philadelphia-based Orthly, also are elbowing their way into the teeth-straightening market.

In 2016, Orthly's founder and CEO Patrick Lee was a freshman at Duke University when a visit to an orthodontist for a consult got him wondering why the clear aligners cost so much. He took a leave from school and teamed up with Wharton student Daniel Hanover, now Orthly's chief technology officer. Instead of having an orthodontist follow the patient throughout the process, the pair developed an app that sends patients to a dentist, who conducts the in-person exam. A licensed orthodontist, working remotely, oversees the process, he said. Their aligners arrive at the patients' home four weeks after payment by credit card. But Orthly is working with just one dentist in Philadelphia and isn't accepting new patients until they've improved the app, Lee said.

The American Association of Orthodontists, which represents 19,000 orthodontists in the U.S. and abroad, is fighting efforts to sell braces directly to consumers.

Kevin Dillard, general counsel for AAO, said the organization has filed complaints with 36 state dental boards  including New Jersey, but not yet Pennsylvania and Delaware  alleging SmileDirectClub is practicing dentistry illegally.

"From a public health perspective, the practice of orthodonture is a complex medical-biological process," Dillard said. "It is not a product."

The group has also issued a warning to consumers: "Moving teeth without a thorough examination of the overall health of the teeth and gums could result in the permanent loss of teeth, which may result in expensive and lifelong dental problems," they stated on their website.

Such cautions didn't stop Amos Dudley, now 26, who was a student at New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2016 when he decided to make his own braces.

Dudley had braces in elementary school but admitted he didn't wear his retainer and a few of his front teeth were slightly out of position.

Years later, with NJIT's scanners and 3-D printers at this disposal, Dudley consulted orthodontic literature, found some open source software on the internet, spent $60 for supplies, and made his own clear aligners.

Seven months later, he had "pretty much perfect" teeth, he said.

Even so, Dudley does not recommend the do-it-yourself route. Unless you happen to have access and know-how, the equipment is costly and the process was "not at all convenient," he said.

But, there was one added benefit for Dudley: It helped him get a job. After his braces project hit the news, Massachusetts-based FormLabs hired him.

"We develop 3-D printing materials and hardware that lets orthodontists do this exact thing," Dudley said.
THE PARENTS: Brittany Lodise, 33, and Nick Lodise, 34, of Manayunk

THE CHILD: Wren Harper, born Dec. 14, 2017

A PRE-PARENTHOOD TEST: They got a miniature poodle in 2013. "That was something we worked on together: Let's keep the dog alive," says Brittany. "The dog's still here."

People said to sleep when the baby sleeps. But the baby doesn't sleep noiselessly, like the American Girl doll Brittany used to tuck into bed before walking away to play with something else.

The real baby makes incomprehensible sounds. There's a burble from the general area of her diaper: Did she poop? Does the blanket need changing? Sure, she burped once after feeding, but was that enough? Does she need to burp again?

"You can't relax," Brittany says. "You're always on. That's hard. In order to be a good mom, I have to be on my A-game. But when you're tired, that's another thing."

Their decision to have children was like their decision to get married, their choice to be together in the first place: an intuitive, almost unspoken "yes." They met for the first time in 2003, when Brittany  home from college and helping her parents with a remodeling project  stopped at the house of a childhood friend to recruit help for stripping wallpaper and painting a bathroom.

Nick, a friend of that friend, volunteered. Brittany remembers hearing him sing along with the radio while he worked. "I thought: Wow, this person's so comfortable here. It was really intriguing to me that someone would be willing to help without asking anything in return."

But she was still an undergraduate, and Nick was about to leave for a few years of wandering around the United States  stints in Georgia and Texas, a circuitous path toward figuring out whom and what he wanted to be. The two reconnected in 2007. The timing was right.

Moving in together, to a row house in Roxborough, was a swift introduction to one another's quirks. Nick drank a gallon of milk a week; when he offered to make Brittany breakfast  he was thinking eggs or French toast  she said she wanted cereal. Still, "I felt comfortable with Brittany in a way I hadn't before with anybody else," Nick says.

They celebrated their 2015 engagement with midnight pancakes at the Tiffany Diner; their wedding at Skytop Lodge the following fall brought a weekend-long panoply of weather: a snow squall, an afternoon mild enough for outdoor pictures. A honeymoon in Tanzania brought them face to beast with leopards, wild ostrich, even an elephant that lumbered by their tent one night.

"I don't know that I spent time thinking about being a parent," Nick remembers. "It was the next thing, just part of life."

They were at Ikea one day when Brittany noticed that her jeans felt tight. "The store was overrun with adorable children," she remembers. "A small child was singing in one of the displays. Another was trying out all the different beds."

It took a trio of pregnancy sticks and a phone call to the doctor to convince her that she was pregnant. "She said, 'There's no such thing as a false positive three times in a row. Congratulations.'"

During pregnancy, Brittany kept Googling "acid reflux" and "swelling." The baby was curled so far on Brittany's left side that she dislocated her right hip, but doctors assured her that her plan for an epidural meant delivery would be easy. "I didn't want to watch a birth video and see someone scream in agony and be more scared," Brittany says.

By the time they reached Lankenau Medical Center  after eight hours of contractions that began while Brittany was on a conference call for work  she was five centimeters dilated. After nine more hours of labor, the baby was still resolutely tucked on the left.

"The doctor said, 'We're recommending a C-section.' I almost lost my mind: Why did I go through this for 17 hours? I'm not prepared to be cut open. Nick kept saying, 'It's going to be fine.'"

But then a second doctor suggested one last-resort move, something he'd learned while training in Ireland: using a suction cup on the baby's head, not to pull her out, but to reposition her for a vaginal birth. If that didn't work, Brittany would likely be whisked to the operating room for an immediate C-section.

"In the room was the C-section team, the pediatric team  over 20 doctors. A lot of people waiting for something to happen," Brittany says. The maneuver worked; Wren was born five minutes later. And pushing  at least compared with the pain of contractions  wasn't a terrible ordeal.

"I couldn't believe how round her face was," Brittany says. "She had nails. She looked really healthy."

At home, their goal was for Brittany to feed the baby and pump enough milk so that Nick could spell her for one "Wren-cycle"  that is, a prized four-to-six-hour stretch of sleep. He keeps Brittany supplied with hot oatmeal and cold water; this parenthood gig, they've discovered, is definitely an exercise for two.

"Working together, being super-considerate of each other, is very important," Brittany says. "You learn to appreciate patience," Nick adds.

Along with the jolts  how many hours a day she spends nursing or pumping; how impossible it feels to get enough sleep  are sweet surprises, like the first time Wren fell asleep on Brittany's chest. "I didn't even know if you were allowed to do that," Brittany says. "She was sort of in-between asleep and awake, and she snuggled in a little bit harder."

Nick remembers speculating about their daughter before she was born: Would she be left-brained or right-brained? Would she have his eyes or Brittany's? They'd chosen her name early on, but didn't tell anyone until after the birth. Friends and family kept trying to guess. No one ever came close.

"We were so excited," he remembers. "We were about to bring a new person into the world." Now she's here  the baby who, so far, seems determined, agile and physically strong. Every night, they wrap her snugly, just like the books advise. Every night, Wren works to wrest her tiny arms from the swaddle. By morning, her hands are free.
Denmark's government said Tuesday it planned to fine people who covered their face in public, putting it in line to join France and others restricting the burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim women.

The center-right government, which is backed by the nationalist Danish People's Party, said it would bring in legislation imposing fines of up to 10,000 Danish crowns ($1,658) for repeat offenses. It did not give a date for a vote on the law.

Full and partial face veils such as burqas and niqabs divide opinion across Europe, setting advocates of religious freedom against secularists and those who argue that such garments are culturally alien or a symbol of the oppression of women.

"It is incompatible with the values of the Danish society or the respect for the community to keep the face hidden when meeting each other in the public space," Justice Minister Justice Soren Pape Poulsen said.

"With a ban, we draw a line in the sand and establish that here in Denmark we show each other trust and respect by meeting each other face to face," he said.


English professor Aiden Kosciesza chants as he and his colleagues head into a CCP board meeting in January 2017. Read more

It was the opening plenary of Professional Development Week at the Community College of Philadelphia, when faculty and staff fill the Great Hall to hear their president impart his vision for the future of the college.

But that morning last month, CCP president Donald "Guy" Generals refused to begin.

"I will not be bullied," Generals told the crowd.

He was talking about the union members holding signs.

"CCP works because we do," one read. "There's an elephant in the room  where's our contract?" read another.

There was an elephant in the room: an English professor in a papier-mache elephant mask, its long, skinny trunk jutting out from her forehead.

The signs, held by 50 members of the Faculty and Staff Federation of the Community College of Philadelphia (FSFCCP), which represents nearly 1,500 faculty members, office managers, and other staff, were protesting the union's contract negotiations, which have been stuck in a stalemate for two years. Among the issues in contention: course load and health-care costs.

When the signs did not come down, Generals staged a protest of his own: He left the lectern and sat down.

About 15 awkward minutes went by, the only sounds being the hushed voices of audience members. Some left the room.

Eventually, after the signs were moved out of Generals' sight line, he got back on stage and finished his speech.

"I don't have a problem with freedom of speech," Generals said later in an interview about the brief standoff, "but we have to conduct the business of the college." The signs, he said, were disruptive.

The last time the union hit the two-year contract negotiation mark, it was 2007 and its workers went on strike for two weeks.

But times have changed for organized labor, especially in the last year. See the likelihood of the Supreme Court's dealing a devastating blow to public-sector unions in an upcoming case and the National Labor Relations Board's swift rollback of an Obama-era worker protection.

"There's no question that these are challenging times" for organized labor, said Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of labor education research at Cornell University. "This is not a time when you rely on the law."

One consequence of the "anti-union tenor" in today's political climate, says union treasurer and CCP biology professor John Braxton, is that the union is using its most powerful tool  a strike  more selectively.

Previously, said Braxton, who joined the union one year before its 1983 strike, if a union were to walk out, "there were a lot of people that said, 'I'm in sympathy with that.' "

"Now," he said, "it's just more work to win that sympathy."

That sympathy is crucial to the success of a strike, he said, as it shows the president and the board of trustees there's support for what the union is seeking. He pointed to the three-day Pennsylvania state university strike in the fall of 2016, during which students at West Chester University joined their professors on the picket line and those at other schools brought coffee and doughnuts to their striking teachers.

Braxton made it clear that a strike is not out of the question but that it's a risky move of last resort.

So how does a union get what it wants without going on strike?

One tactic that has risen in popularity is to partner with community groups to elevate the union cause to a "common good," said William A. Herbert, a Hunter College expert in organized labor in higher education. He pointed to how the Chicago Teachers Union has seen success by aligning itself with student and parent groups.

CCP's union has taken some steps toward this, with a rally with students last year, and some, such as English professor Marissa Johnson-Valenzuela, attending board of trustees meetings to talk about how the contract dispute is a public education issue and how CCP has been left behind in Mayor Kenney's education push.

"CCP should have a high profile in the city," Johnson-Valenzuela said in an interview. "The college should be more respected."

Another strategy is to get a majority of members involved in the campaign as a way to send a message to the bosses that workers are united around a common goal.

One way CCP is trying to do that is with its "Unity Petition," signed by more than 700 union members and retirees so far, to show solidarity around what the union seeks. While a petition might sound meaningless in a time when Change.org and other online platforms have made it seem easy to gather a large base of signatures, a petition can be powerful in a dispute such as this if it's able to get an overwhelming number of members on board, said Dermot Delude-Dix, an organizer with the Philadelphia hospitality workers union Unite Here Local 274.

"Getting hundreds of people to do anything is going to take a certain level of structure," Delude-Dix said. "That's a statement in and of itself."

Especially if people are nervous about going on the record to speak out against management, which is a factor at CCP, said union co-president Steve Jones.

"A lot of our members, no matter how important they think the issues are, are a little bit hesitant to speak out forcefully," said Jones, who teaches English and English as a second language.

That's why, Jones said, the union developed other ways for members to speak out, such as the quiet demonstration at Professional Development Week, or the "grade-in" last semester, where about 30 union members occupied the hallway outside Generals' office.

The union also has instructed its members not to do work that isn't in their contract, a controversial move that resulted in both parties filing separate complaints to the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. So far, the board has dismissed the complaints, and both have pending appeals.

These actions have not disrupted the college, according to Generals  "Business is moving along as usual," he said  who is experiencing his first contract negotiation since he started at CCP in 2014.

In the meantime, union leaders say morale among members is low, which Generals disputes, though Johnson-Valenzuela said people aren't quite angry enough to go on strike yet.

"But I believe we'd do it and that we're strong enough to," she said.
Supreme Life (left) and his son, Antoine Ketler, were charged in connection with a double stabbing Sunday night in Lumberton Township. Read more

A father and son were charged in connection with a double stabbing in Lumberton that left one man dead and another in critical condition, Burlington County authorities announced Tuesday.

Lumberton residents Supreme Life, 56, and his son Antoine Ketler, 32, were each charged with two counts of second-degree aggravated assault for the stabbings that occurred about 10:40 p.m. Sunday during a fight outside a townhouse on Coriander Drive, authorities said.

Both victims were transported to Cooper University Hospital in Camden, where Moriah Walker, 26, of Brooklyn, was pronounced dead early Monday, and Raheem Williams, 23, of Queens, was listed in critical but stable condition following surgery.

The investigation was ongoing and anyone with information about the stabbings was asked to call Burlington County Central Communications at 609-265-7113.
Call it a plea or call it a demand: As a Thursday deadline fast approaches, DACA recipients say they want legislation that's fair to all immigrant communities, not just a favored few.

Even if the favored few includes them.

Several spoke during a Center City news conference on Monday, saying a deal that trades citizenship for enhanced border security would be no deal at all, that it would only divide communities and separate families.

"I've been undocumented all my life," said Marisa Pina Rodriguez, 28, who came to the United States from Mexico as a child. "I'm in no hurry to get citizenship if that means throwing others under the bus."

If Congress fails to act on immigration by Thursday  when funding runs out for the federal government  Washington could face its second shutdown of the year.

Last month, Democrats demanded that a short-term spending bill include protection for DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers. They voted to reopen the government after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promised to bring bipartisan Dream Act legislation to debate.

The federal DACA program that allowed about 790,000 young immigrants, brought here illegally as children, to live, work and attend school in America is deep in jeopardy. On Sept. 5, President Trump ended the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but delayed implementing his decision for six months, giving Congress a chance to craft a legislative solution.

That effectively created a March 5 deadline. But as Democrats and Republicans spar, the future of DACA, or a new program like it, has become entangled in other issues, including the president's demand for a wall at the Mexican border and Congress' need to reach a budget agreement.

On Monday, Trump reiterated that he won't back an immigration deal unless he gets money to build a wall. "Any deal on DACA that does not include STRONG border security and the desperately needed WALL is a total waste of time," he tweeted.

Meanwhile, Sens. John McCain (R., Ariz.) and Chris Coons (D., Del.) planned to introduce compromise legislation they say would protect Dreamers. The proposal would strengthen border security, but not explicitly provide money for a wall.

Several DACA recipients, gathered at Arch Street Methodist Church under the auspices of the activist group Juntos, said they or friends belong to "mixed status" families, in which some are wholly undocumented, some are citizens or have legal status, and others are DACA recipients.

"We cannot afford to take this deal," said Karla Rojas, 23, a DACA recipient from Mexico who has lived in the U.S. for 17 years. She criticized legislators in Washington who "see my life as nothing more than a bargaining chip."
Pennsylvania's congressional map, as adopted in 2011, violates the state constitution's guarantee that "elections shall be free and equal," the state Supreme Court said Wednesday in an opinion explaining its gerrymandering order overturning the map more than two weeks ago.

"An election corrupted by extensive, sophisticated gerrymandering and partisan dilution of votes is not 'free and equal,' " Justice Debra McCloskey Todd wrote for the majority. "In such circumstances, a 'power, civil or military,' to wit, the General Assembly, has in fact 'interfere[d] to prevent the free exercise of the right of suffrage.' "

The opinion came just two days before the deadline for lawmakers to pass a new congressional district map and send it to Gov. Wolf for approval, after the high court declared Pennsylvania's congressional map an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander, drawn to benefit Republicans at Democrats' expense.

In the opinion, Todd noted a variety of factors that have traditionally played a role in redistricting, such as preserving some previous district lines, protecting incumbent lawmakers, and maintaining a state's political balance.

But those factors should be subordinate to politically neutral criteria and the fact that "gerrymandering for unfair partisan political advantage" would violate the state Constitution.

Drew Crompton, chief of staff to Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R., Jefferson) and the Senate's top lawyer, said Wednesday that the court's opinion provided as much clarity as it did raise new questions, namely, how much politics is too much when drawing congressional maps. The high court, he said, did not address that.

He also said he found it problematic that the Supreme Court is placing itself in a position to effectively usurp the role of the legislature in determining congressional districts.

"It's saying, Apply these standards when you draw new maps, but we reserve the right to throw them out if we don't like them," said Crompton.

He said it would be "very difficult" to pass legislation with new maps by Friday  the court-imposed deadline for doing so. Among the options beings considered, he said, was having Scarnati and House Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny) submitting a map to Wolf  one that would not go through the normal legislative process.

Crompton said Senate Republicans are also not ruling out further legal action.

"I think there are legitimate federal questions," he said.

In naming the neutral criteria, the opinion creates a standard that for the first time describes how congressional maps should be drawn according to neutral principles in Pennsylvania, said Michael Li, a redistricting expert at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

"What the court has said is it has a standard that says you have to follow these traditional rules, and that's a great starting point. And if you don't follow these traditional rules, and you don't have an explanation for it, then you're out of bounds," he said.

"Now, going forward when they redraw the map, when they redistrict in 2021, there are some clear guideposts that they will have to look to," he said. "There are some nice, objective guideposts that people have now, and it's very clear that you can't go to town and do things like the Pennsylvania Seventh [District] anymore."

Much of the opinion is devoted to summarizing past case law, the current congressional map, the history of this case, and the testimony of expert witnesses. Another portion traces Pennsylvania's history, at one point quoting a delegate to the 1873 Constitutional Convention.

After describing methods of diluting votes in a gerrymandered map, Todd writes: "This is the antithesis of a healthy representative democracy. Indeed, for our form of government to operate as intended, each and every Pennsylvania voter must have the same free and equal opportunity to select his or her representatives."

By using the state constitution's "free and equal" clause  and distinguishing it from the federal constitution's Equal Protection Clause  the opinion shows that state constitutions can be broader in their protections, providing a new avenue for fighting partisan gerrymandering, said Joshua A. Douglas, a law professor at the University of Kentucky and expert on election law.

"This opinion is hugely important for demonstrating the power of state constitutions to protect voting rights when the federal courts won't under the federal constitution," he said, adding that 26 states' constitutions include "free and equal" or "free and open" elections clauses.

Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin M. Dougherty, and David N. Wecht joined the opinion.

In his dissent, Chief Justice Thomas G. Saylor wrote that the court should have waited for more guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court, which has taken up the question of partisan gerrymandering this term; should better recognize the inherently political nature of redistricting; and should not have applied the state constitution's requirements for state legislative maps to the congressional one.

Justice Sallie Updyke Mundy wrote in her dissent that the majority opinion is inconsistent with previous case law.

Both justices also voiced concern about the court's order that the congressional map be redrawn in less than three weeks.

"I am troubled by the majority's decision to strike down the 2011 congressional map on the eve of the 2018 midterm election," Mundy wrote.

The seventh justice, Max Baer, joined the majority in finding the current map unconstitutional but disagreed with the remedy, saying it "threatens the separation of powers," potentially steps on the parties' due process rights, and creates unnecessary confusion.

On Jan. 22 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered lawmakers to redraw the map by this Friday, giving Wolf, a Democrat, until Feb. 15 to approve it. If that does not happen, the court said it would adopt its own map. It has appointed a special adviser, well-known redistricting expert and Stanford University law professor Nathaniel Persily, to help it do so.

The court's ruling sparked a political and legal fight that has grown increasingly nasty, including a request that the U.S. Supreme Court step in  which Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. denied. Republican lawmakers have also attacked a state Supreme Court justice as biased in an attempt to get him disqualified; the justice, Wecht, said in court filings that he doesn't feel he needs to recuse himself. In the Senate, Scarnati has said he will refuse to comply with court orders to share data intended to help the justices draw a map, and a rank-and-file Republican lawmaker is seeking cosponsors to sign onto an attempt to impeach the court's Democratic justices.

Through it all, Republicans have criticized the state Supreme Court for not releasing its opinion sooner. Without the opinion explaining why the map is unconstitutional  and thus providing some guidance on what a constitutional map should look like  the lawmakers could not make substantive progress on a new map out of fear it will again be deemed illegal, they said.

It's unclear whether the Republican-controlled legislature will attempt to pass a map in time for the Friday deadline. An empty bill, into which a map could eventually be added, is sitting in the House. The House canceled its session Wednesday because of bad weather, though technically representatives remain "on call" and could be asked to return to the Capitol.

Experts have said the order likely was released immediately  before an opinion was ready  because of the severe time crunch: With primary election deadlines looming, the justices did not have the luxury of waiting to issue its order. But the opinion will be looked to in drawing future maps and for future lawsuits, so "they want to do their homework adequately," said Justin Levitt, a professor and associate dean at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

The opinion was released late Wednesday, 16 days after the order was issued and two days before lawmakers' deadline.

In their initial order, the court ruled that the current map, adopted in 2011, was "clearly, plainly, and palpably" in violation of the state constitution and blocked its use from the primary elections in May. In drawing a new map, the order said, districts should be compact and contiguous, as equal in population as possible, and split as few counties and towns as possible.

Staff writer Angela Couloumbis contributed to this article.
Nakia Maples, also known as the Philly Plant Guy, sits among his plants in the plant room of his South Philadelphia home. Read more

When Nakia Maples moved into his South Philly house on Halloween, his new neighbors didn't know what to think of the more than 200 plants they saw Maples and his friends carry into the corner rowhouse.

"They kept asking, 'Is this going to be a plant store?' " he said.

Maples assured them that no, this was his personal collection of flora and fauna  one he's cultivated over the last 10 years  and that it wasn't for sale. What Maples gives away, however, to those in his South Philly community and to the wider plant community he has sowed on Facebook, is the knowledge he's gained through experimentation about how to cultivate, care for, and live with plants.

And for that, Maples has gained something in return, too  a special place within these communities and a nickname that's really taken root.

"People started calling me the Philly Plant Guy," he said. "I never thought I'd have an alias."

Maples, 43, is a stagehand with Local 8 of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. He believes the sense of spatial reasoning he's developed on that job and in other gigs as a set dresser for movies like Law-Abiding Citizen have helped when it comes to placing his 200 plants tastefully around his house.

While he does have large plants, like an elephant ear that looks like something out of Jurassic Park and strange ones like the carnivorous sarracenia, the way he has them placed around his home makes it feel more like a well-groomed greenhouse than an unkempt jungle.

"Even though I live with these plants, they are something beyond me, and it's something I never take for granted," he said. "I want to show people that it's a lot of work, but it can be integrated into your everyday life."

While his house is covered in greenery, Maples also has a dedicated "plant room" that's sectioned off by a lace curtain. It's filled with flora and fauna from the tiled floor to the ceiling. The only audible sounds are the soft, Enya-like music that plays in the background and the gentle gurgle of the water filtration system for Silly the Turtle, who was named after the South Silly Facebook group.

"Someone posted in South Silly last summer that he was at Sixth and Moore in the heat," Maples said of the turtle. "I rode my bike down there and picked him up."

The only thing out of place in the urban oasis of the plant room is the 76ers blanket that hangs over the back of the leather couch inside.

"The plant room is a designated place for anxiety," Maples said. "So you can actually call me up and say that you need to come over, sit in the plant room and just relax."

Maples said the seed for Philly Plant Guy started when someone asked him to join the South Silly page. He began posting about plants and was asked to be a plant liaison for the group.

"I thought it wasn't a big deal, but it definitely turned into something that was unexpected," he said.

Maples was fielding so many questions from fellow plant lovers that he started his own Philly Plant Guy page. Between that page and another Facebook group, Philly Plant Exchange, Maple has his green thumbs full.

"There are some days when I have to answer four hours' worth of questions," he said. "People are appreciative, but we all learn from each other. I ask just as many questions as I try to answer."

But perhaps the sweetest messages he receives are still the hand-written ones his South Philly neighbors have left at his door.

"Thank you for making this corner so beautiful and celebrating nature. God Bless Your Work," read one letter written on yellow paper.

"I admire your love of plants," another of Maples' neighbors wrote in a card. "I have enclosed two leaves from plants that I have in the past taken off of the trash. I can't pass a living plant ready to be trashed."

Maples said letters like those are like a good watering for his soul.

"It warms my heart, definitely," he said.

Why Philadelphia?

"My career."

If you had a wish for the city, what would it be?

"That it took more pride in the way it looked."

Whats been a classic Philly moment for you?

"Being a stagehand, I've got to open a few buildings in the city, like the Kimmel Center, the Jewish center, the Constitution Center, the Wells Fargo Center, the Revolutionary center. I've done PIFA for the last nine years. If I knew that as a stagehand in my career that I would be involved in so many things in the city that's close to me, I would have paid more attention to it as a kid."

Know someone in the Philadelphia area whose story deserves to be told  or someone whose story you'd like to know? Send suggestions for We the People profiles to Stephanie Farr at farrs@phillynews.com or call her at 215-854-4225. Send tips via Twitter to @FarFarrAway.
WASHINGTON  Sen. Robert Menendez, given a clean bill of legal health last week by the Justice Department, resumed his position Tuesday as the senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Menendez (D., N.J.), a free thinker on diplomacy issues who sometimes strays from Democratic dogma, surrendered the post nearly three years ago when he was indicted on corruption charges. That trial, held over several months last fall, ended in a hung jury just before Thanksgiving, and in media interviews afterward, jurors signaled deep skepticism with the Justice Department's case against Menendez.

After first signaling they would retry him this year, federal prosecutors last week asked the judge to dismiss all charges against the senator stemming from allegations that he took gifts and political donations from an eye doctor whom he tried to help in his disputes with federal regulators.

No longer under indictment, Menendez benefits from internal party rules that return the ranking-Democrat post to him, sending Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D., Md.) to the ranking-Democrat post on the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.) coordinated the announcement with the two senators, ending Cardin's interim service as the top Democrat on the highly visible committee while Menendez fought his criminal case.

"I will make certain the Committee holds President Trump and his Administration accountable for its capricious and erratic approach to foreign policy," Menendez said in a statement issued from Schumer's office. "Now more than ever, I believe that Congress must assert its role in pursuing a robust American foreign policy that champions the values of democracy, peace, and the preservation of human rights around the globe."

The New Jersey Democrat, Schumer said in a statement, "has the expertise and grit needed to strike bipartisan compromises as well as stand up to the President when his rash decisions impact our national security and our allies abroad. Senator Menendez knows how to hold this Administration's feet to the fire."

Menendez remains under a probe by the Senate Ethics Committee, which might still find him guilty of violating some internal rules  particularly for his nondisclosure of the gifts that the doctor gave him. However, if there is any punishment, it will not be as serious as expulsion, which is the likely path the Senate would have pursued if Menendez had been found guilty in federal court on the corruption charges.

Before the 2015 indictment, Menendez spent more than two years as the committee's chairman and then ranking Democrat. Most of his positions fall in line with Democratic orthodoxy on foreign policy, but Menendez was a staunch opponent of the Iran nuclear deal and also vehemently opposed the Obama administration's opening to Cuba.

Menendez is the longest-serving Cuban American in the Senate.
Ken Smukler talks to reporters at the former offices of the Inquirer and Daily News on Friday, May 4, 2007. Read more

Ken Smukler, a political strategist for U.S. Rep. Bob Brady, believes he's found a way out from under the federal indictment he faces for alleged involvement in an illegal campaign contribution scheme.

It involves pornography.

In a motion filed last week, the 57-year-old campaign consultant and publisher of the independent weekly newspaper Liberty City Press alleges that FBI agents contrived a bogus investigation against him  one that also threatened a sitting congressman  solely to seek revenge for a series of critical op-eds Smukler wrote on the Justice Department's limited involvement in the Porngate email scandal that engulfed the Pennsylvania legal community in 2015.

Although Smukler's lawyers admit they have no proof to back up that claim, they urged the judge overseeing his case to toss the charges anyway on grounds of vindictive prosecution  or at least grant them a hearing to explore the matter.

"The facts and circumstances  pose a realistic likelihood that Mr. Smukler was not indicted because of his alleged involvement in criminal conduct, but rather because of the government's desire to punish him for exercising his right to criticize the government," his lawyers Brian J. McMonagle and Jon R. Fetteroff wrote in court papers.

Their motion is at times a head-spinning and convoluted document, drawing conspiracy-board-worthy connections from Smukler's critical takes on other Justice Department corruption investigations  published in Liberty City's pages  to the allegations at the center of his own current legal problems.

But in its 29 pages, the filing also lays out a series of attacks on the at-times meandering, two-year FBI investigation that has now landed Smukler in court  attacks that could form the basis for his defense should he take his case to trial in April.

Smukler was charged in October with helping Brady and others to disguise what prosecutors have described as an illegal $90,000 payoff to persuade the congressman's 2012 Democratic primary challenger  former Municipal Court Judge Jimmie Moore  to drop out of the race.

While Moore and another Brady campaign aide have pleaded guilty, both Smukler and the congressman contend that the transaction was entirely aboveboard.

And despite government lawyers naming Brady, in court filings, as part of the alleged conspiracy, he has not been charged with a crime and the statute of limitations on most charges he could have faced has since run out.

Smukler's lawyers seized on that fact in their motion last week, arguing that it shows that their client  not Brady  was always the true target of the FBI's probe. They contend that Smukler's purported crimes tied to the 2012 campaign were only the last in a series of theories that agents considered while scouring his past for anything with which they could charge him.

Recent court filings show that agents covertly surveilled Smukler for months in 2016 before obtaining a warrant to search his home nearly a year later.

That warrant makes only scant mention of Brady or Moore and was primarily based around financial improprieties that agents believed had occurred during former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Margolies' failed 2014 bid to reclaim her old seat  a campaign on which Smukler worked.

No charges were filed in connection with that investigation, and the Federal Elections Commission concluded in 2016 that the conduct of both Smukler and Margolies during the campaign appeared to be aboveboard  a finding that Smukler's lawyers allege the FBI hid from the judge who approved the search warrant.

But the connection that Smukler's defense draws between Porngate and the effort to prosecute him now appears to be based solely on timing.

McMonagle and Fetteroff make much of the fact that the FBI investigation began two months after the Inquirer reported that Smukler, while working with then-Attorney General Kathleen Kane, had come into possession of a trove of pornographic, sexist, and racially insensitive emails traded among state prosecutors, judges, and officials in Harrisburg and elsewhere.

At the time, an embattled Kane was wielding the illicit messages as a cudgel to strike back at her political enemies. Their release  through leaks by Smukler to news organizations  ignited a scandal that forced more than a half-dozen people from their jobs, including ex-Supreme Court Justices Seamus McCaffery and J. Michael Eakin.

Smukler  while working as a Kane adviser to disseminate the emails to the media  also joined the public debate through op-eds penned for Liberty City, his small weekly newspaper that largely serves as a vehicle for legal notices and sheriff's sale ads.

In them, he criticized both those caught up in the Porngate firestorm and the media for its coverage of the scandal. He also directed his ire at Harrisburg-based U.S. Attorney Peter J. Smith for failing to punish six federal prosecutors in his office whose email addresses appeared on lists of recipients of the illicit messages. (None was found to have sent any of the objectionable material.)

In their court filing Friday, McMonagle and Fetteroff concluded that the investigation that led to Smukler's indictment last year had been initiated with the goal of "determining the source and scope of Mr. Smukler's knowledge of the [assistant U.S. attorneys'] involvement in the Porngate email scandal."

The motion fails to note that no lawyers from the Philadelphia-based U.S. Attorney's Office were ever tied to the scandal. Still, Smukler's lawyers point out, their client had been critical of local federal prosecutors too.

Both of the government lawyers now leading his prosecution  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Gibson and Jonathan Kravis  had been involved in public corruption probes against convicted ex-U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah and State Sen. Larry Farnese, who was later acquitted, that had drawn disapproval in Smukler's Liberty City columns in the past.

"In other words," McMonagle and Feteroff wrote without offering proof, "the government engaged in a vindictive fishing expedition to locate some basis to further investigate and charge Mr. Smukler with criminal conduct as a penalty for the exercise of his First Amendment rights."

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia declined Tuesday to comment on Smukler's allegations. Gibson and Kravis have yet to respond to the political consultant's claims in court.

U.S. District Judge Jan E. DuBois is expected to convene a hearing to weigh the vindictive-prosecution claims and other attacks Smukler has filed on the case against him before it goes to trial in April.
Lt. Gov. Mike Stack kicks off his reelection campaign at City Hall in the Mayors reception room in Philadelphia, PA on November 21, 2017. Read more

It's not enough that Lt. Gov. Mike Stack III doesn't have the public support of the incumbent governor, and he's facing an eye-popping six primary opponents. What's more, Stack's legal bills are piling up  and one of his biggest campaign contributors is his mom.

Stack, an heir to one of Philadelphia's entrenched Democratic political families, spent more than $80,000 in legal fees last year, according to campaign-finance records made public last week. Stack's report didn't give an explanation, but he made the payments as the state inspector general investigated allegations that the lieutenant governor and his wife mistreated their state security detail and other staff.

Stack owed an additional $21,479 to the Philadelphia law firm Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads LLP, the records show. Stack retained Mark Sheppard, a white-collar criminal defense attorney with the firm, to represent him in the inspector general's probe last year.

In total, Stack's legal fees ate up about 30 percent of the $338,000 he raised last year.

The heavy spending comes as a half-dozen Democrats, sensing a vulnerable incumbent, are challenging Stack for the party's nomination in May. That's an unusually big pool of contenders for a relatively obscure statewide office. It pays an annual salary of $162,373.

Gov. Wolf, a Democrat who is up for reelection in November, hasn't endorsed a candidate in the race. "Gov. Wolf and I have different styles," Stack said during a debate last week. "I'm from Philadelphia. He's from York. But we have been active partners on a number of issues. We are in lock-step on every major issue that Pennsylvanians care about."

In April, Wolf took the extraordinary step of stripping the Stacks of their state police protection and scaled back staff at their official residence outside Harrisburg. Stack's office later said his wife, Tonya, had checked into a treatment facility to get help for a mental-health problem.

Wolf has said he won't release the inspector general's report, in part citing Tonya Stack's treatment.

Marty Marks, a spokesman for Mike Stack, said the legal expenses wouldn't hamper the campaign. "We're confident we'll raise the money we need to run an effective and winning campaign," Marks said.

Although Stack raised the most money last year of any Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, one of his rivals ended the year with more cash on hand. State Rep. Madeleine Dean, of Montgomery County, had $270,000  about $40,000 more than Stack.

Braddock Mayor John Fetterman had about $110,000. Also running are Chester County Commissioner Kathy Cozzone, Lancaster County Commissioner Craig Lehman, and Aryanna Berringer, an Army veteran and IT manager.

Among Stack's most generous contributors was his mother, Felice R. Stack, a retired municipal court judge. She lent her son $60,000. "I guess she likes her son," said Marks, the campaign spokesman, when asked about the loan.

Stack also received $25,000 from Fumo for Senate, the political action committee affiliated with Vince Fumo, the former state senator from South Philly who went to prison for public corruption.

That was Fumo for Senate's only donation last year. The PAC also lent $30,000 to State Sen. Larry Farnese's political action committee.

"It is no secret that I have, and will continue to, support both Mike and Larry," Fumo said in an email. "They are both terrific Public Servants. In fact, I believe that they are in the top 5 percent of elected officials who represent Philadelphia and are both doing great things for the city. I successfully helped to elect each of them to win when they first ran."
Korea exported 71 of the world's best-selling products in 2016, placing 13th worldwide, a notch up from the previous year, according to the Korea International Trade Association on Tuesday.

The top exports included 25 chemical products, 15 steel goods, seven textiles and six electronics. A total of 17 new items entered the list, while 14 items fell off.

China topped the list of exporters with 1,693 top sellers, followed by Germany (675) and the U.S. (572). Japan and India also outpaced Korea with 178 and 156 items, respectively.


WASHINGTON  President Trump's vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America's armed forces.

Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon's tank  a room reserved for top secret discussions  marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning.

With the president surrounded by the military's highest ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford, Trump's seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said.

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. "This is being worked at the highest levels of the military."

American shows of military strength don't come cheap. The cost of shipping Abrams tanks and high-tech hardware to Washington could run in the millions, and military officials said it was unclear how they would pay for it.

A White House official familiar with the planning described the discussions as "brainstorming" and said nothing is settled. "Right now there's really no meat on the bones," said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.

Still, the official said Trump is determined to have a parade. "The president wants to do something that highlights the service and sacrifice of the military and have a unifying moment for the country," the official said.

The inspiration for Trump's push is last year's Bastille Day celebration in Paris, which the president attended as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump was awestruck by the tableau of uniformed French troops marching down Avenue des Champs-Elysees with military tanks, armored vehicles, gun trucks and carriers  complete with F-16 fighter jets flying over the Arc de Triomphe and painting the sky with streaks of blue, white and red smoke for the colors of the French flag.

Aboard Air Force One en route home from Paris last July, aides said, Trump told them he was dazzled by the French display and said he wanted one at home.

It was still on his mind two months later when he met with Macron on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

"It was one of the greatest parades I've ever seen," Trump told reporters. "It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France."

Seated next to Macron, Trump added: "We're going to have to try to top it."

Several administration officials said the parade planning began in recent weeks and involves White House chief of staff John Kelly, but cautioned that it is in the preliminary stages. District of Columbia officials said they have not been notified of parade plans.

A date has not been selected, although officials said Trump would like to tie the parade to a patriotic holiday. Officials are weighing weather patterns as well as competing events, such as the massive annual Independence Day celebration on the Mall.

Trump officials had discussed Memorial Day on May 28, and July Fourth, but the Pentagon prefers Veterans Day on Nov. 11  in part because it would coincide with 100th anniversary of the victorious end of World War I and therefore be less associated with the president and politics. "That's what everyone is hoping," said the military official.

It is unclear what role Trump would play, whether he may perhaps serve as a grandmaster or observe the spectacle from a reviewing stand.

The location is still being discussed, though Trump has said that he would like it to proceed along Pennsylvania Avenue, which links the Capitol and the White House. It would be the same route as Trump's inaugural parade and pass by his family's showpiece: the Trump International Hotel.

Even before he was sworn in as president, Trump was dreaming of America's war machine on display for the country and the world in front of the White House or Capitol.

"We're going to show the people as we build up our military," Trump said in an interview with the Washington Post before his inauguration. " . . . That military may come marching down Pennsylvania Avenue. That military may be flying over New York City and Washington, D.C., for parades. I mean, we're going to be showing our military."

But big military parades  even those launched with the best of intentions  carry some risks and troublesome historical echoes.

With a few exceptions  such as former president George H.W. Bush's 1991 parade down Constitution Avenue celebrating victory in the Persian Gulf War  presidents have avoided displays of military hardware that are more associated in the American mind with the Soviet Union's Red Square celebrations or, more recently, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's efforts to show off his Taepodong missiles.

"I don't think there's a lack of love and respect for our armed forces in the United States," said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University. "What are they going to do, stand there while Donald Trump waves at them? It smacks of something you see in a totalitarian country  unless there's a genuine, earnest reason to be doing it."

The White House official rejected the suggestion that some associate a military parade with strongmen, saying it would be a "celebration of the men and women who give us freedom."

"That's the opposite of a totalitarian government," the official said.

Weaponry on the streets of Washington is not unheard of. President Harry Truman and President John F. Kennedy had military equipment during their inaugural parades, in 1949 and 1961 respectively, during key junctures in the Cold War, said Michael Beschloss, another presidential historian.

"Set against the backdrop of American history, it does seem to hark back to the harsh days of the Cold War," Beschloss said. "Those parades were a counterpoint to the parades in front of Lenin's tomb at Red Square . . . One reason the Soviets had those parades was to distract the world from the fact that the Soviet military was actually much weaker than the Soviets were claiming."

But generally, the United States has shied away from parading its military assets, calculating that doing so was not necessary for the world's preeminent superpower.

There is no law or regulations preventing Trump from putting on a military parade, but there are plenty of potential complications that military leaders are likely to raise with the president. One worry is practical: that 70-ton tanks built for the battlefield would chew up Pennsylvania Avenue blacktop.

The military might also want to weigh in on the kind of equipment on parade. One concern is that big displays of missile launchers might evoke Pyongyang-style nationalism more than American patriotism.

A parade would likely be interpreted as another stroke of nuclear gamesmanship. Tensions between North Korea and the United States have risen over the past year as Trump and Kim have taunted each other with playground nicknames and threats.

The White House official said a parade would have nothing to do with Trump's feuds with Kim, but would be designed as a broad show of strength to send a warning to all of America's adversaries.

Then there are the domestic pitfalls. At a time when Mattis and his top generals have been complaining about the state of military readiness and lobbying Congress for more money, pulling equipment off line for a costly parade could send the wrong signal.

There are personal risks for Trump as well. Though he attended a military high school, Trump did not serve in the armed forces, avoiding the draft during the Vietnam War by claiming bone spurs. Critics have previously criticized Trump as disingenuous for basking in the military's glory.

Honoring the troops without politicizing their service has long been a dilemma for presidents. President Barack Obama's frequent focus on wounded troops fighting to resume their lives struck the wrong chord with some conservatives.

One of George W. Bush's biggest blunders as president came in 2003, when the commander in chief landed on an aircraft carrier bearing a "Mission Accomplished" banner to claim victory in the Iraq War.

Former aides say Bush would have loved a big parade but they recognized a problem: The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan never ended. Such subtleties  the United States is currently dropping bombs in seven countries  don't seem to have factored into Trump's calculations.

With the midterm elections approaching and Trump's approval ratings at historic lows, the lure of honoring the troops is powerful.

"Who flipped the coin for the Super Bowl on Sunday?" asked Peter Feaver, a former Bush White House official and professor at Duke University. "It was Medal of Honor winners. Why? The military brings us together."

But Feaver also issued a warning for Trump, who is known for his excesses.

"A military parade," he said, "is the kind of thing that can easily be overdone."
When I turned 18, I registered to vote and according to my grandfather, that's the day I became a politician. "If you can vote, you're a politician," he would say.

What my grandfather meant was that once registered to vote, one is forever connected to politics. I embraced that just like my grandfather did. From then on, even though we were simple farm people, I informed myself and shared responsibility for everything that happened, good or bad.

That was 1982, and as an incoming freshman at the University of Washington it wouldn't take long for me to realize that being a voter/politician wasn't enough, it would take something more.

At that time, the University of Washington  my university  was investing in the apartheid government of South Africa. They were supporting and profiting from a government that had one of the most pernicious policies my young mind could imagine. I was angry and disgusted, and yet, there was no call for a vote. Frustrated, I concluded I may not have been able to march on Johannesburg, but I sure as hell could march on my campus.

Wide-eyed and naive I pulled together a band of misfits, maybe 25 young people, and marched. It felt foreign. It felt powerful. It felt like progress. And at the end of the march, with little ceremony, I was promptly arrested.

The experience was both glorious and terrifying.

This would be my first time in jailand hardly my last. When eventually released, pushing through a heavy set of doors, I felt momentarily invigorated. It was in that moment I morphed from being a voter/politician to being an activist.

***

In 2008, I was dropped alone on the edge of Antarctica, with the idea that a single human could trek solo 700 miles from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole, unassisted, unsupported, and unaided  and survive.

When my feet first hit the ice, the wind was blowing 80 miles per hour with temperatures of minus-60 degrees. Here, visibility is measured in feet. The surface of the continent isn't smooth like an ice rink, but like a stormy sea frozen in time, endless frozen waves. As the plane left, only one thought went through my mind: "Oh, God, what have I done?"

It was thinking this as I started my march upward, pulling my sled with 275 pounds of food and fuel. I'd have to cover a distance of roughly 10 times the distance from Philadelphia to New York.

After 13 or 14 hours of marching the first day, I collapsed. Lying there, it felt a lot like being let out of jail after that first march; exhilarating and terrifying, and not feeling any closer to my goal.

***

At the University of Washington in 1982, after my arrest, I came to the conclusion that victory was about endurance, that activism was like ultra distance trekking, where one slowly wears down the goal into submission. The winner is the last one standing. We would need to march again and again.

At first, the University of Washington wouldn't acknowledge us. So we kept marching. And we kept getting arrested.

In Antarctica, about 500 miles down, I finally reached the plateau. I had lost 50 pounds. I was sleeping three hours a day on hard ice, and it was 20 below zero in my tent. I was starting to physically come unscrewed. Everything about my body was coming undone and my mind worked slower and slower and slower. But, I knew the South Pole was getting closer, even though I could not see it. Cracks in the frozen impenetrable wall of what is trekking Antarctica were starting to form and in my mind's eye I could see the Pole in the distance. I was wearing it down.

By the time the University of Washington started to reconsider its position on apartheid, I started seeing cracks in the system. And we kept marching.

When I pulled within three days of the Pole, it came into view. I had shed so much weight I could barely stand, but I could see it. I couldn't think anymore, I didn't even really know who I was, but I could see my goal.

We did our last march at the University of Washington just days before it finally divested from South Africa. I turned around, and there weren't 25 people marching with me anymore. We were hundreds and hundreds of people. And our voices were loud and our actions were massive.

There was the moment when I was five paces away from the South Pole, hardly able to stand.

Four steps.

Three.

Two.

Touched it.

After 39 days, 7 hours, and 49 minutes of unassisted marching, I became the first person in history to accomplish the feat solo, and set a world speed record in the process.

***

In 2018, I will be marching again.

The policies and the rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration no longer represent the values that I hold true. The wealthy are favored at the expense of the vast majority of working and middle-class families. Too many are denied access to basic health care. Millions of people  mostly black and brown  are preyed upon by a system that favors profit-driven mass incarceration over rehabilitation.

And the future doesn't look any brighter. There will be attacks on Dreamers and immigrants, cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, and a dangerous ratcheting up of war-laden rhetoric.

I'm now a CEO with nearly 1,000 employees across the country. With each step building my business, I've stayed true to the same values that I marched for back at the University of Washington: We pay a fair wage, because I know you can't survive on $7.25 an hour. I provided health care for my employees even before I could afford it for myself. And I always put people at the center of my business: my employees, my customers, my neighbors, and our communities.

But we're not done yet. Like that first morning after spending a night in jail, or that first grueling day en route to the South Pole, we've got a long way to go. We're not there yet, but we will erode the landscape until we reach our goal.

I have been a voter, a politician, an activist, an entrepreneur, a CEO, and an adventurer. Now, I am a member of the #RESISTANCE. I am #INDIVISIBLE. And I won't stop marching.

Todd Carmichael is the cofounder and CEO of La Colombe Coffee Roasters. @toddcarmichael
FILE  In this June 1, 2017, file photo, the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for an official group portrait to include new Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, top row, far right at the Supreme Court Building in Washington. Seated, from left are, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, and Associate Justice Stephen Breyer. Standing, from left are, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Samuel Alito Jr., Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch. In different circumstances, Ginsburg might be on a valedictory tour in her final months on the Supreme Court. But in the era of Donald Trump, the 84-year-old Ginsburg is packing her schedule and sending signals she intends to keep her seat on the bench for years. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) Read more

No more dawdling, excuses, or tricks. The U.S. Supreme Court says Pennsylvania has to continue on a track to redraw congressional district lines in time for the May 15 primaries. If lawmakers fail, the state Supreme Court says it will draw the maps itself.

On Monday, the highest court in the land upheld a Jan. 22 state Supreme Court ruling ordering the legislature to hand in new maps by Friday to reduce the partisan gerrymandering that's robbed Democrats, giving them only five of the state's 18 seats  though voting is split almost evenly between the parties.

Before the Republican-controlled legislature drew maps in 2011, the party held seven seats to the Democrats' 12. The state lost one seat due to a shrinking population, leaving it with 18. When the GOP was done packing and stacking their voters into districts to ensure wins for their candidates, their seven seats swelled to 13 and the Democrats' 12 shrunk to five. Among their tricks: Republicans spread Chester County through three House districts; Montgomery County through five and Berks County through four to find their voters and dilute the Democrats' influence. They even drew a line through the city of Chester in Delaware County just to weaken that struggling community's clout in Congress.

Although some partisan self-interest is expected in building House districts, it's excessive in Pennsylvania. The state Supreme Court rightly called that out  saying the map "clearly, plainly and palpably" violated the state Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court, which has been addressing gerrymandering cases in other states, just as rightly let the state ruling stand.

Republicans have cried foul, saying that the state Supreme Court is controlled by Democrats who are setting them up to fail. A trumped-up Rep. Cris Dush (R., Jefferson) is even pushing for the impeachment of the court's five Democrats. That's just juvenile.

But Republicans do have a fair point in saying they can't draw a new map without more detailed direction from the state court. They also deserve clarification of the court's brief preliminary order. The court asked for voter data from every election district in the state. Republicans say if the court is asking for 2018 data, it doesn't exist. The 2011 data does exist and is probably the most practical to use, though a lot has changed in seven years.

No one, however, should lose sight of the fact that it is fundamentally outrageous that it takes state and federal court rulings to get Pennsylvania's legislature to be fair with voters. This is the closest voters have come to hearing anyone in authority saying it is time to draw fair congressional districts.

The only solution that works for voters also is in the legislature's hands. Regrettably, Republicans are sitting on bills creating an independent commission to draw congressional districts based on principles like keeping communities together so they can choose someone who they believe understands their needs.

Voters should call their legislators and not only tell them they want a fairer way to draw the lines, but remind them that the whole House of Representatives and half the Senate are up for election this year.
Fans walk down Benjamin Franklin Parkway as the city continues to get ready for the Super Bowl parade. The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the institutions closing for the celebration. Read more

The Philadelphia Art Museum and the Zoo will be among the institutions that have announced they will be closed on Thursday when the city celebrates the Eagles' Super Bowl victory.

The parade route goes from South Philadelphia up Broad Street to City Hall and then down the Ben Franklin Parkway before ending at the iconic Art Museum steps. A number of institutions across the city are shutting down due to the festivities, which are expected to draw huge crowds to the route and make it difficult to get around many parts of South Philadelphia and Center City.

"In recognition of the @Eagles heroic #SuperBowl win, @philamuseum will be closed 2/8, when the city celebrates with a victory parade that will end on the steps of the Museum. #FlyEaglesFly," the Art Museum tweeted Tuesday.

In some cases, the closing announcements were an opportunity to show love for the world champions.

"The Barnes will be closed Thursday, February 8 as Philadelphia celebrates #superbowlchampions @Eagles with a parade on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway! Let's sing it one more time: #flyeaglesfly," the Barnes Foundation announced in a tweet, which included a video of museum staffers singing the Eagles victory song.

The Philadelphia Zoo and its parking lots will be closed as well.

"By official order from bald eagles, Ritz and Glory, Philadelphia Zoo and our parking locations will be closed to the public Thursday, February 8th in anticipation of the @eagles parade! Go birds! #FlyEaglesFly," the zoo tweeted.

City Council President Darrell Clarke announced that the the council's regular Thursday meeting would be cancelled.

".@Darrell_Clarke: "I have never in my life been so excited to cancel a work meeting." #Eagles #EaglesParade," the council's official Twitter account posted.

Other places that will be closed on Thursday include:

Schools around the Philadelphia region  both local districts and colleges and universities  are also closing for the parade.

For more information on the parade:

This story will be updated.
Written by Lura Seavey

Oct 7, 2019

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Tourists will find the highest concentration of attractions within the Old Town, Brussels' historic center, which is split into the Upper Town (Haut de la Ville) and Lower Town (Bas de la Ville). This is the best place to stay in Brussels if you want to be in the heart of the action.

Those who prefer to explore on foot will want to find a hotel within walking distance of the Lower Town's Grand Place (Grote Markt), home to landmarks like the Town Hall and Guild Houses. The Lower Town is also where you will find other well-known old town attractions, including the Manneken Pis and Saint-Michel Cathedral, as well as some of the city's best restaurants and plenty of shopping.

Adjacent to the Grand Place, straddling the Upper Town is the compact Ilot Sacre (Sacred Isle) neighborhood, known for its numerous restaurants and the Mont des Arts museum complex. The eastern section of Upper Town has become known as the European District, thanks to the European Union buildings, and this area is home to several beautiful parks, including Parc Leopold and the Parc de Cinquantenaire.

The upper town neighborhood of Sablon sits to the south of the city center and is known for its picturesque Gothic architecture and narrow streets. Sablon is also where you will find most of Brussels' fine chocolatiers, as well as many antique shops. Beyond this is the Marolles district, a traditionally working-class neighborhood, where tourists can find authentic restaurants and markets. Those looking for an upscale shopping and dining district can travel from here down Avenue Louise, which separates the suburban Uccle and Ixelles neighborhoods.

Public transportation is a great option for those who choose to stay a little farther from the center or want to visit the outlying attractions and museums. Those who are driving should be aware that parking is scarce in the center of town and is often not included in room charges in the more popular tourist areas.

Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues.
Joseph Bermudez, a former analyst of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, wrote on the Beyond Parallel website Monday that the North is building the base at Yonbong-ri in South Hwanghae Province, 135 km southwest of Pyongyang.

North Korea is building a hovercraft base near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto maritime border, form where it could launch a surprise invasion of South Korea's Baeknyeong Island within 30 minutes.

Yonbong-ri lies just north of the NLL in the West Sea and is only 40 km from Baeknyeong. A hovercraft could reach the island within 30 minutes if it runs at a speed 100 km/h.

Yonbong-ri is about 10 km closer to the island than an older hovercraft base at Koampo.

Two parts of the base are under construction at Yonbong-ri on the eastern and western sides of the bay.

It appears to consist of a hangar, a command post, barracks, and a support facility and have a capacity for 54 hovercraft. But Bermudez said construction looks like it will not be finished until next year.

"If North Korea does redeploy the existing hovercraft units at Kibong-dong and Tasa-ri to the Yonbong-ri hovercraft base, it would represent the furthest forward deployment of any [North Korean naval] hovercraft unit to date," he added.

"This would also constitute a significant escalation of the navy sniper brigade threat to the [South Korean] islands in the West Sea and ports along the coast."

South Korea deploys the Bigung guided missile system and Cobra attack helicopterson Baeknyeong Island to defend it against the threat.


Written by Gregory B. Gallagher and Carri Wilbanks

Nov 19, 2019

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Zurich is a bustling international financial hub built around the Limmat River as it flows northwest from Lake Zurich surrounded by the Alps. Families, couples, and business travelers should stay in the Altstadt or Old Town, which occupies both sides of the river at the center of town and is visible from Lindenhof Hill. Many buildings here date to the Renaissance Period and were contained within the city's original walls. But don't let that fool you-hotels have updated interiors with contemporary trimmings to suit a demanding global clientele.

Old Town is within easy walking distance of all the major sightseeing treats in this dynamic city of 400,000, like the magnetic Bahnhofstrasse, the most fashionable shopping area in the city, and its Paradeplatz financial heart, as well as the Opera House and Schifflande, a popular area formerly called the "Riviera of Zurich," where boat tours are available and strolling is encouraged.

Even the main train station, called Bahnhof Enge, is only a few minutes from hotels in Old Town, connecting families, groups, couples, and solo travelers to all points in Europe and beyond.

Note: Some businesses may be temporarily closed due to recent global health and safety issues.
Authorities are investigating how a Minnesota third-grader managed to discharge a police officer's holstered gun Monday afternoon while participating in a group activity at school, reports ABC News.

The officer was talking with students at the Harmony Learning Center in Maplewood, MN -- about 15 miles east of Minneapolis -- when the student pulled the trigger of the officers weapon, ABC affiliate KSTP reported, citing a Maplewood (MN) Police Department news release.

A Minnesota elementary school student fired an officer's weapon while it was still holstered. (Photo: KSTP screenshot)

Harmony Learning Center, which teaches grades K-12, is a special-education school that focuses on providing "academic, social and emotional" support, according to its website.

The officer was sitting on a bench in the school's gym when the student "reached over and placed his finger into the officer's gun holster" without the officer noticing, the department said. The weapon discharged through the bottom of the holster, with the bullet striking the floor.

No injuries were reported.
Some state legislators want to require every law enforcement officer in Oregon to meet with a mental health professional at least once every two years.

Backers present Senate Bill 1531 as a common-sense way to help police officers cope with the stress of their jobs and the sometimes subconscious trauma they may experience. Under the bill, the mandated meetings with a psychiatrist or a counselor would not be considered formal psychological "evaluations" and therefore couldn't cause officers to lose their jobs or be suspended, reports the Register Guard.

"The stress of law enforcement is obvious to everyone," said Sen. Lew Frederick, a Portland Democrat and chief backer of the bill. "They often see people on their worst days. They see some of the most horrific episodes in our society. They are affected by those incidents."

The bill is sponsored by 11 Democratic lawmakers and one Republican.

At an initial hearing on Tuesday, law enforcement representatives made it clear that they vigorously oppose the bill.

SB 1531 "is so broad that it mandates participation in meetings with mental health care professionals by officers who may have no need, who may object to participation or who may not cooperate enough to benefit," Woodburn Police Chief Jim Ferraris said.

Ferraris added that the bill as written would provide no money to local departments, even though the required meetings for 5,500 officers across the state most likely would be expensive. If a counseling session costs $200, for example, the cost for all of the officers over a two-year period would be $1.1 million.
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Rachel Maddow just destroyed any support that might have existed for Trumps military parade by pointing out that taxpayers will pay for the parade and the damage that it will cause.

Video:

Maddow just crushed Trump's fantasy of a military parade. pic.twitter.com/ShMutVwuUt  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 7, 2018

Maddow said, Seriously, The Washington Post reported that the president has ordered the Pentagon to plan a giant military parade for him in Washington. The president reportedly went to the Pentagon and met with top military officials about it in person because hes serious, he wants a big military parade for himself. He wants tanks and missile launchers in Washington. He specifically wants them on Pennsylvania Avenue and so that is apparently what we are getting. You know, we sometimes have military parades to mark the ends of wars, in this case its apparently just because the president wants to see all the tanks and stuff. He just likes it. So now the military is working on this and the White House has confirmed they demanded it and the taxpayers will pay many, many millions of dollars for it, including having to rebuild Pennsylvania Avenue after the treads from 70-ton tanking churn it up and turn it into rubble.

Trump is going to hold a military parade, and youre paying for it

As Republicans in Congress are turning their attention toward cutting programs that assist the poor, Donald Trump wants to spend millions of dollars on a military parade for himself. Maddow nailed the not insignificant little detail that American taxpayers will be paying for the parade and the damage to infrastructure that it will cause. When a president has nothing to do all day but tweet and watch Fox News, these must be the sort of ideas that float through his head.

Trump will hop on Twitter and try to do his usual sales pitch, but Rachel Maddow has him dead to rights on this parade. If Trump wants a military parade, he should pay for it. Americans should have to go without food or health care just so that Trump can lounge in bed and watch the tanks roll by.
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Donald Trump opened his mouth and set the Republicans up for a world of problems when he proclaimed that he would love to have another government shutdown.

Video:

Trump just shot Republicans in the foot by wanting another government shutdown, in the name of his unpopular immigration policies. pic.twitter.com/1lyWuPKDnw  Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) February 6, 2018

Trump said, If we dont change this, get rid of the loopholes, where killers and gang members can come into our country, if we dont change it, well have a shutdown. Well do a shutdown, and its worth it for our country. I would love to see a shut down if we dont get this taken care of.

Trump wants a government shutdown to boost his racist immigration policies

Trump is suggesting that legal immigrants are in gangs and murdering people. This isnt the first, second, or even twentieth that Trump has expressed the view that immigrants are murderers. He launched his presidential campaign by calling rapists and murderers. The escalation is logical from the point of view that Trump is sinking under the weight of the Russia investigation. The president is doing all that he can to hold to his base of supporters.

Donald Trump is never going to sign any legislation to keep the Dreamers in the United States because he wants black and brown-skinned immigrants out of the country. Trump has once again opened his mouth and screwed over the Republican Party. There is no pressure on Democrats to vote for any CR that they dont like. Trump wants a government shutdown, so he will be blamed if the government shuts down.

The only political cover that Republicans had was blown to smithereens because Trump cant hide his hate for non-white immigrants.
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The head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security said that Russia successfully penetrated the voter rolls of several states during the 2016 election.

Jeanette Manfra said in an interview with NBC News:

We saw a targeting of 21 states and an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated.

.

NBC News reached out to the 21 states that were targeted. Five states, including Texas and California, said they were never attacked.

Of course, the Russians wouldnt attack Texas. They were trying to help Trump, not hurt him. If California would have suddenly gone red on election night, it would have been too obvious and set off red flags.

The Russians were probing the voter rolls for a variety of reasons. They could have been looking for names of voters to hand to the Trump campaign to target. Remember, the Russians already had Clinton/DNC list of targeted voters, or they could have been looking to manipulate the voter rolls by disqualifying Democratic voters from voting.

Being that Trump won the election by less than 90,000 votes in three states, it wouldnt take much Russian meddling in a few states to change the outcome of the presidential election. Until the truth is known about the Trump/Russia relationship, and Russias role in the 2016 election, Trump will occupy the White House under a cloud of illegitimacy.
WASHINGTON (Reuters)  U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered Pentagon and White House officials to begin planning a military parade in Washington similar to the Bastille Day parade he witnessed in Paris in July, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

At a meeting at the Pentagon on Jan. 18 that included Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford, Trump said he wanted a military parade, the Post reported, citing a military official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, the military official said, according to the Post. This is being worked at the highest levels of the military, the official added.

After the Post published its story, the White House issued a statement that said Trump has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation.

A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the parade planning was in the brainstorming stage and nothing had been decided, the Post reported.

The Pentagon was aware of a request for a parade but was only just starting to explore possibilities, including on timing, a Pentagon spokesman told Reuters.

Trump has said he was impressed by the military parade he watched in Paris on July 14. U.S. and French soldiers marched together to mark 100 years since the United States entered World War One and Frances annual Bastille Day holiday. It included tanks, armored vehicles and a flyover of U.S. and French military jets.

To a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4 in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue, Trump told reporters in September. Were actually looking into it.

The U.S. capital has held large military displays to mark significant occasions, including victories in war, but rolling tanks and marching troops down Pennsylvania Avenue are not typically done on the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

(Writing by Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart, Editing by Rosalba OBrien)
Paul Tobin loved exploring the city of Rochester as a young boy. He would wander miles from home knowing he'd find his way back before supper time. Paul was on the go in school activities and excelled in sports. He graduated from Rochester Lourdes in 1962.

Fifty-six years later, Paul occasionally reflects on his life. He traveled through a cultural revolution, an unpopular war and survived through God's grace. Recently, Paul has written his story for his family.

His memories are full of light. Married to Lorette for more than 50 years, he has felt their life together has been as ideal as could be. They have had six children, 13 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

After high school he attended Rochester Junior College and then headed to Mankato State. Like many young men he left his beliefs behind as he was searching for something.

Running out of money to attend college, the draft became front and center. He elected to join the Navy after hearing accounts about good liberty ports, regular pay, three hots and always a warm cot.

Paul left home on Jan. 5, 1965. He remembers turning and seeing his mom shut the front door as he started his walk to the bus depot.

Defining moments can turn our lives down a certain path. On Jan. 29, 1966, Paul, in training as a Navy corpsman, decided to visit a USO in downtown Portsmouth, N.H.

He was just looking for a dance. As he entered the building he followed the music. When he came to the top of the stairs he viewed a beautiful 18-year-old New England girl who changed his life.

The girl he met at the USO that night was Lorette Lavoie. As their relationship took off, she epitomized love, kindness and hope. She embraced a deep faith, and despite Paul's duty of training for war she was able to ground him in the right stuff.

Soon Paul's orders took him from the Naval Hospital in Kittery, Maine, to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. Their relationship flourished through the written word. Each letter was jam-packed with images of a good life. Her words were a source of wisdom, optimism and belief.

Paul desired to become part of that circle  this life that had moral order and a loving family. He began to rethink his present philosophy, which had started to drift into rejection of his faith.

They began to talk and write of spending the rest of their lives together. Engagement and wedding plans developed. Vietnam loomed, and Paul requested assignment to the war in Southeast Asia. He felt it was time to go and get it behind him.

There was an internal struggle with Paul if the marriage should occur before or after his Vietnam tour but the decision was made to make it happen before, and Paul and Lorette were married on Sept. 16, 1967, in the New Hampshire town of Exeter.

Soon, he returned to duty at Camp Lejeune. Orders came for Vietnam, and he arrived in Da Nang as a Navy corpsman in December 1967.

He volunteered for recon team patrols. He described these missions as scouting the land  being the eyes and ears  for the infantry divisions. Paul was older than many, and he became the wise and sensible "Doc." He helped out and related to everyone up and down the chain of command.

Lorette's letters helped him stay strong and assisted him as he gave advice and encouragement to many soldiers. He did his duty to the very best of his ability.

Leaving behind the woman he loved, and had just married, was a struggle. He had entered into a world of combat. Paul described it as constantly changing  in a sense, a diabolical living experience.

He wrote the words to Lorette one day, "I don't pray. This is chaos. I cannot find the words or the peace to pray when hunting another man." Paul knew compassion in Vietnam was dangerous.

He was struggling with his own beliefs in the world of war, but her letters continued to comfort him. In August 1967 he received notice from the Red Cross that Lorette had given birth to a baby girl.

Upon his return from Vietnam Paul and Lorette's life took many turns. As their family grew, Lorette's love helped him forget the turmoil that he had lived in Vietnam.

One is unable to put all out of your mind. Paul told me that the soldiers did not lose the war. The Congress at that time lost it.

Eventually Paul and his family came to Rochester. He attended the Mayo School of Nurse Anesthesia. He had a successful career as a nurse anesthetist in Watertown, S.D.

An outpouring of love, prayers and support can comfort when dark clouds appear. Six months after their fifth child, Elliot Louis, was born on Dec. 31, 1983, Elliot died. It was a time when strength of faith and support of family and friends was indispensable.

The story Paul has written for his family recalls his evolution as a young man. His story has a happy ending in his regeneration in the grace of God.

Paul remembers richly the day he arrived in Exeter from Vietnam. It was snowing and very late. He knocked on the door to their second-floor apartment. A light came on and Lorette answered the door.

Paul was led down a hall where he looked down upon his sleeping daughter for the first time. What he had been searching for had been found.
From Korea, there will be Rep. Song Young-gil, who heads the presidential committee on Northern Economic Cooperation, Park Yong-man, the head of the Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and a group of corporate moguls from Samsung, SK, Hyundai, CJ and POSCO.

Other big names at the forum hosted by the Chosun Ilbo, Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency and Confederation of Indian Industry will include CII President Shobana Kamineni and Hemant Sikka, the chief purchasing officer at Mahindra.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and six of his cabinet ministers will attend the Korea-India Business Summit in New Delhi on Feb. 27.

India's economy continues to roar, buttressed by its 1.3-billion population. In spite of increasingly protectionist trade policies in the U.S. and China, India has pulled off economic growth rates in the seven-percent range every year since 2014.

India's economy will more than double in size by 2025 to reach US$5 trillion, Modi projected at the Davos Forum in Switzerland last month. The World Bank and other international organizations also expect India to become the worlds third biggest economy after 2030.

A growing number of Korean businesses that are suffering from protectionism in the U.S. and a Chinese boycott are sizing up the vast Indian market.

Altogether some 100 senior Korean and 200 Indian figures are expected at the event, with some 50 Korean small and mid-sized companies specializing in renewable energy, shipbuilding, IT, automobiles and food processing playing an important part.

Individual sessions will be held focusing on Modi's six industrial objectives -- cars, textiles, processed food, electronics, chemicals and start-ups. India hopes to attract more Korean carmakers to set up operations there following the successes of Hyundai and affiliate Kia. An official at India's heavy industries ministry said, "At a time when air pollution has become a major issue, we will see a lot of interest in hydrogen fueled cars and autonomous vehicles."

KOTRA will arrange one-on-one meetings with Korean SMEs, Indian buyers and government representatives to provide opportunities for SMEs to explore new markets. The heads of big Korean conglomerates will also get a chance to talk to Modi and his ministers directly.

The Indian government set up a special agency early this year to prepare for the forum, bringing together officials from eight central government ministries.

The inaugural forum was held in New Delhi in January 2016.

For more information, call the secretariat of the forum by telephone at 02-375-4620 or KOTRA at 02-3460-3303.
Imagine this. You're swept away on a first date to a planetarium for a romantic evening under the stars. While you gaze up at the heavens, sparks begin to fly between the two of you.

Or this: You're strolling with your serious boyfriend through London's Hyde Park when you encounter a choir singing "your song." Your guy goes down on one knee and proposes.

Romantic gestures like these become much more than gestures. If they're done right, they form the beginning of your "couple story," something you'll remember forever and share with family and friends in years to come.

OK, that's a lot of pressure. So how do you get it right? There's Google of course, there are dozens of articles with suggestions, and your friends might also have some ideas. But what if your sweetheart has already seen those ideas? What if your grand gesture comes off as silly or, worse yet, meh?

Enter the "romance whisperers," experts who specialize in planning extraordinary dates, events and proposals to impress that special someone and ensure everything goes smoothly.

Romance planners have carved out a unique niche in the event-planning industry. Instead of focusing only on weddings, they arrange special occasions  dates, anniversaries and "just because" events that can strengthen a relationship before and after the Big Day.

ADDING ROMANTIC FAIRY DUST

Anything can become a romantic event, says Tiffany Wright of The One Romance, a high-end planning service in London that boasts a number of celebrity clients. "We are committed to bringing romance to any and every part of our clients' lives," she says. "If they want something special arranged, we'll add the romantic fairy dust to it!"

This could be filling a room with thousands upon thousands of scented rose petals or having a choir sing the couple's favorite song, Wright said. "We will go above and beyond whatever we need to do to make sure everything we arrange is like something out of a romantic Hollywood movie," she said.

1ST "I LOVE YOU"

One turning point in a romantic relationship is the first time "I love you" is expressed. To make that event unique for one couple, The One Romance arranged a walk in a London park during which complete strangers handed the client's girlfriend objets d'amour, including messages in a bottle and an iPod playing a special song. After this, when they neared a bridge at the edge of the park, eight heart-shaped umbrellas opened, spelling "I love you." Wright, who has worked on hundreds of events, says this was one of her favorites. Her client's girlfriend "started crying the second the umbrellas opened. It was one of the most romantic things I've ever seen."

"JUST BECAUSE"

Cristina Abboud Hicks, 34, and her husband, Ben Hicks, 37, of Boca Raton, Fla., were married four years ago and have a 2-year-old son. They're still very much in love, but Cristina says it's been hard to find time for each other. Last winter, at a local charity auction, she won a romantic picnic offered by Society Romance, an event planner based in South Florida.

Cristina and Ben say they were floored by the amount of detail and effort invested in their date, which took place in one of their favorite parks. The decorations included an illuminated heart and a display shaped as the No. 5, for their upcoming fifth anniversary. "There were all sorts of nice sandwiches and tarts, macarons, Italian pastries and drinks in a basket," says Cristina. Sharing a beautiful day and the natural setting "with my best friend, my husband  made it really special."

Ben agreed the picnic was a wonderful surprise. "Usually, my wife is the one who wants" to receive romantic gestures, he says. "So it was really cool that she did that" for him.

EXPERT TIPS

Costs of romance concierge services vary widely by event and provider, ranging from a few hundred dollars to many thousands. For those on a budget, Heather Vaughn, owner of The Yes Girls, offers the following tips:

Make a special invitation for your date night. For example, if you're planning a wine tasting, leave the invitation in the form of "a monogrammed wine glass with a note."

Personalize your event. Incorporate one of your partner's hobbies or something you've enjoyed together. "Being thoughtful doesn't mean having to be over the top."

Include keepsakes. You "can never go wrong with memorabilia"  things that hold special memories for you both.
When I started writing for the Post Bulletin, we had just experienced what many felt to be the most divisive summer they could remember.

I, like many others, was drained and jaded. I had begun to lose the optimism that defined who I was.

Thus, I made the decision to write about lighter matters to remind myself  and most of southeastern Minnesota  that I could continue to lead a normal life.

But, as the months progressed, I began to question my rationale. As history has shown us many times before, ignoring the world tends to makes things worse. My voice is one people will listen to, and I shouldn't waste that. People look at me as a representative for the communities I identify with; and while I may disagree with that, it is my responsibility to represent them well.

This has been seeping into my projects as well. I recently bought a camera and began conducting a large Black History Month photo exhibit with a friend. Growing up, the only memories I have of Black History Month aren't ones I made inside my community. The black visionaries and world-changers were made to feel distant from my current perception of my blackness, and I had to connect with their stories on my own.

Rochester has improved immensely over the years; but this month isn't celebrated the way we'd love it to be. That's why we decided to do the photo exhibit  to showcase black youth who were inspired and empowered to improve our nation, in a way that was accessible to our communities.

If we are to celebrate black history, we should be celebrating the black existence, and what better way than to illustrate our current luminaries? It seems to many that black history stopped when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. died, but in the 50 years that followed, we've had seismic changes that aren't acknowledged in our curricula. Black history is deeper and richer than slavery and the work done by Dr. King.

I've seen this month reduced to a list of a few more memorable leaders, athletes, and entertainers. I've fallen into the fallacy where I don't consider how black people were present in important parts of our history. I've almost forgotten that we belong here too, because of how quickly we've been erased. The stories I've read and the history I've come across are the only reason I'm aware there's more, but I'm always surprised.

I was surprised to discover that before Rosa Parks, there was Claudette Colvin, a high school student who had been learning about Harriet Tubman in "Negro" History Week, when she decided not to give up her seat to a white person. I was inspired  and later, horrified  by the tale of Black Wall Street, in Tulsa. Finally, I cried myself to sleep the day the story broke that the woman Emmet Till was killed over, lied.

We've had our fair share of tragedies and triumphs, but in the end, black history is a lens through which we view American history, and a factor in how we shape our society. I have hope that if we allow our students to see more of what it truly means to be black in America, we will have a more open-minded and resilient nation.
They are seeking US$600 million in damages for the physical and mental pain the sailors suffered in 11 months of captivity.

Survivors of the USS Pueblo, an American spy ship, and their relatives have filed a lawsuit against North Korea in a U.S. federal court 50 years after it was seized by North Korea in international waters.

"The 104 plaintiffs in the new case are seeking at least $600 million in damages, or around $5.7 million each. Many of the crew are now advanced in age and still dealing with health problems as a result of their capture and the resulting medical expenses," CNN reported Tuesday.

There is little chance that the North will respond even if any jurisdiction can be established.

The North hijacked the Pueblo with a crew of 83 in international waters in the East Sea on Jan. 23, 1968.

The U.S. threatened a nuclear attack in retaliation, but in December that year it agreed to sign an apology for having intruded into North Korean waters so the regime would release 82 crew and the body of another crewman who died in the hijacking.


Sid Blumenthal, widely known as Sid Vicious, is the bad penny of American political life. He keeps turning up in major scandals  e.g., the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair and the Libya fiasco. In addition, as Eli Lake has pointed out, we learned of Hillary Clintons private email server because Blumenthals own e-mail was breached by Marcel Lehel Lazar, a Romanian hacker who goes by the moniker Guccifer.

Therefore, we should not be surprised that Trey Gowdy has pretty much said Blumenthal fed information to Christopher Steele in an effort to aid Steele in his quest to dig up dirt on Donald Trump. Rebecca Morin of Politico reports:

During an interview on Fox News The Story, host Martha MacCallum asked Gowdy whether weeks before the election, somebody in the Obama State Department was feeding information from a foreign source to Christopher Steele. MacCallum had previously asked whether Gowdy knew anything about a source who gave an unnamed associate of Hillary and Bill Clinton who then gave information to an unnamed official in the Obama state department who then gave the information to Steele. When you hear who the source, one of the sources of that information is, youre going to think, Oh, my gosh, Ive heard that name somewhere before. Where could it possibly have been?' Gowdy replied. . . . Im trying to think of how Secretary Clinton defined him. I think she said he was an old friend who emailed her from time to time, Gowdy said. Asked whether it was Blumenthal, Gowdy said: That would be really warm. Youre warm.

Hillary Clinton, of course, characterized Blumenthal as an old friend who emailed her from time to time when she was attempting to downplay his role in setting her disastrous Libya policy. He never formally worked for the Clinton State Department. Team Obama, which hated him, made sure of that. However, he was able to influence Clinton based on his friendship and emails.

Gowdys comments are consistent with the request by Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham that the Justice Department criminally investigate Steele. Their referral states that a foreign source gave information to an unnamed associate of the Clintons, who then gave information to an unnamed official in the Obama State Department, who then gave the information to Steele.

Steele was working for the Clinton campaign. Thus, when he used Russian sources, many of whom undoubtedly had Kremlin connections, the Clinton campaign was colluding with the Russians. In addition, when the Justice Department submitted Steeles dossier to a court, it was using Team Clintons research as a basis for obtaining a warrant to spy Carter Page and anyone in the Trump campaign he might talk to.

Blumenthals involvement adds another layer. Team Clinton wasnt just paying Steele to dig up dirt, it was providing dirt to Steele, via Hillarys friend Blumenthal and, if I read the Grassley-Graham referral correctly, an unnamed official in the Obama State Department.

Im interested in knowing who Blumenthals foreign source was. A Russian, perhaps?

Regardless, it now appears that Team Clinton didnt just pay for the dossier, it helped manufacture it. And though its efforts werent sufficient to secure the big prize for Hillary, they provided the solace of making life difficult for the man who, as the Clintonistas want us to see things, stole the big prize from her.
Yesterday, at a manufacturing plant near Cincinnati, President Trump riffed about how the Democrats reacted to his State of the Union address. At the end, Trump said:

They would rather see Trump do badly, OK, than our country do wellits very selfisheven on positive news, really positive news like that, they were like death and Un-American. Un-American. Somebody said treasonous. I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? [laughter] Can we call that treason? Why not. [laughter] I mean, they certainly didnt seem to love our country very much. But you look at that and its really very, very sad.

I agree with NROs Dan McLaughlin that Trump was playing for laughs here, not seriously accusing Democrats of treason. I think, too, he was being transgressive. He delights in saying things hes not supposed to say.

This, though, was a transgression too far. The president should never throw the T word around lightly, and he certainly shouldnt apply it to political adversaries for the sin of not standing up to applaud his speech.

McLaughlin is close to the mark:

The real problem here is not that Trump is going around actually calling in deadly earnest for his political opponents to be prosecuted for treason (something Democrats do to Trump and his family and advisors literally every day, by the way) but that hes basically openly mocking the idea that words in politics mean anything at all.

If treason comes to mean little at all, or becomes a laughing matter, America will have lost its bearings. Great mischief is likely to follow.

As usual, the Democrats reaction to Trumps transgression smacks of hypocrisy. McLaughlin (via David Harsanyi) calls our attention to numerous instances in which Democrats and their media partners have accused conservatives and Republicans the very thing Trump talked about yesterday  rooting against America out of a desire to see the president fail.

Note, however, that none of these instances involved accusations by a president. And only one involved a public official using the word treason. (That distinction belongs to odious Andrew Cuomo).

In any event, citing liberal hypocrisy provides no defense for Trump. I hope this will be the last time he calls his political adversaries traitors, even in jest. However, knowing Trump, and given that the Ohio crowd yucked up his slur, Im not optimistic.
The Daily Mails Alana Goodman reports on one piece of the investigative work ranking House Intelligence Committee member Adam Schiff has performed in search of the Trump campaigns collusion with Russia and posts the companion audio below. This is great stuff. I cant wait for the customary press conference.

Tim Haims provides this useful summary of Schiffs work at RealClear Politics:

In this audio posted on YouTube by Russian pranksters, Rep. Adam Schiff can be heard discussing claims that the FSB has naked pictures of President Trump. The Daily Mail reports that Schiff sent his staff to try and collect classified materials for the FBI after the prank callers told him Putin has naked blackmail pictures of President Trump. Schiff can be heard discussing the Russia investigation with a man who claimed to be Andriy Parubiy, the chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament. The call, made a year ago, was reportedly from two Russian comedians nicknamed Vovan and Lexus who have become notorious for their phony calls to high-ranking American officials and celebrities, including UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and Elton John. The call was first reported in The Atlantics Jan/Feb 2018 issue, where a spokesman for Schiff said: Before agreeing to take the call, and immediately following it, the committee informed appropriate law-enforcement and security personnel of the conversation, and of our belief that it was probably bogus. There were pictures of naked Trump, one of the pranksters told Schiff, explaining that they were obtained by Putins goddaughter. Schiff asks: And the materials you can provide to the committee and to the FBI, would they corroborate this allegation?  So you have recordings where theyre discussing the compromising material? Obviously we would welcome the chance to get copies of those recordings, Schiff tells them. So we will try to work with the FBI to try to figure out how we can take copies of those Ill be in touch with the FBI about this, and well make arrangements with your staff. I think it would be best to provide these materials to both our committee and the FBI. Well make arrangements between my staff and yours on how to facilitate that.

Goodman notes that Schiffs office said Schiff suspected the call was bogus from the beginning and reported it to authorities afterward. But in a recording of the eight minute conversation, Goodman adds, Schiff appeared to take the call seriously and emails from the Democrats staff to the fake politician afterwards said he had found it productive.

Let me put the skills I have developed in this matter so far to good use. As they say in the world of intelligence, I assess that Schiffs office was operating at Schiffs usual level of veracity.
I wrote at length about the terrorist acts committed by Tnuza Jamal Hassan at St. Catherine University (formerly St. Catherine College, colloquially known as St. Kates) in St. Paul in the post Minnesota woman strikes St. Kates. At the time she had been charged with arson by local authorities, but the case cried out for more. Today the Office of the United States Attorney has announced that Hassan has been indicted in federal court on one count each of terrorism, arson, and making false statements. Here is the press release on the Minneapolis woman (as the press release describes her):

United States Attorney Gregory G. Brooker today announced a three-count indictment charging TNUZA JAMAL HASSAN, 19, with attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, arson, and making a false statement. HASSAN will make her initial appearance before a United States Magistrate Judge at a later date. According to the indictment, on September 19, 2017, HASSAN, a former student at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, attempted to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, namely, al-Qaida. On September 22, 2017, in an interview with FBI Agents, HASSAN was asked whether she authored and delivered a letter to two fellow students at SCU in March 2017. The letter sought to encourage fellow students to join the jihad in fighting and to [j]oin Al Qaeda, Taliban, or Al Shabaab. HASSAN knowingly made a false statement to FBI Agents when she stated (1) she did not write the letter, (2) she did not know who wrote the letter, and (3) did not know how the letter came to be delivered to her fellow students. According to the indictment, on January 17, 2018, HASSAN started several fires on the campus of SCU, including in St. Mary Hall, which she maliciously damaged. The fires set by HASSAN caused the St. Paul Fire Department to respond to SCU. HASSAN was charged in Ramsey County District Court with one count of first-degree arson and is currently in custody at the Ramsey County Jail [where she has apparently been unable to make bail of $100,000].

Here I will repeat my earlier comments to give this case the context that it deserves. Hassan is a hard, hard case. Hassan set one fire at St. Mary Hall, the schools largest dorm. It houses first-year students and the Early Childhood Center, a day care facility. Hassan appears to have included St. Mary Hall on her rampage because of the day care facility. Thirty-three children and eight adults were at day care in the building at the time, along with 10 to 15 students who were also evacuated.

Hassan did a lot of talking that will prove helpful to the prosecution of the case against her. She explained to police that she wanted the school to burn to the ground and that her intent was to hurt people. She said similar attacks happened on Muslim land and no one cared if Muslims were hurt. Hassan also told police that she had written a letter to her roommates containing radical ideas about supporting Muslims and bringing back the caliphate. And just to be clear, she also told authorities, You guys are lucky that I dont know how to build a bomb because I would have done that. Good to know.

Her efforts to burn the St. Kates buildings down ran from some time before about 11:40 a.m. with the first reported fire and ended about 2:00 p.m. with Hassans arrest on campus. She was taken into custody at the schools Jeanne dArc Auditorium at 2004 Randolph Av.

On a personal note, Ive been to Jeanne dArc Auditorium many times for performances by artists ranging from my kids to Cry Cry Cry, Alison Krauss and Union Station, and Livingston Taylor, among others. Its a magnificent performance space.

Like the defendants convicted in the case of the Minnesota men that I covered for Power Line and the Weekly Standard, Hassan has been the beneficiary of the best Minnesota has to offer. She attended Highland Park Junior High School, a couple blocks from our old home in Highland Park. She graduated from Johnson Senior High School in St. Paul before moving on to St. Kates to go to college.

I have asked the press officer in the United States Attorneys Office for information on Hassans immigration status. As of this moment, I have not heard back. If you have additional background on Hassan, please write me at [email protected]
Poland has enacted a law that bans blaming Poland as a nation for Holocaust crimes committed by Nazi Germany. The law establishes prison sentences of up to three years for falsely attributing to Poland the crimes of Germany.

The law will be submitted to Polands constitutional court for review, which I think leaves open the possibility that it will be amended. Amendment would be good. Striking down the law would be better.

Obviously, Poland should not be blamed for the crimes of Germany. But a decent respect for freedom of speech should preclude criminalizing assertions of such blame.

Moreover, there is room for legitimate debate over the extent to which certain Holocaust crimes are Polish as well as German. It is certainly unfair to call death camps like Auschwitz Polish death camps, a major concern the law seeks to remedy. It is also true that, as a general matter, Poles were victims of Nazi Germany. In addition, many Poles acted heroically to save, or try to save, Jews.

However, many Poles assisted the Nazis in their extermination of Jews. There was considerable anti-Semitism in Poland, as was true in most of Europe, and in Poland the local anti-Semitism was acted out with a vengeance at times.

I agree with this critic: the historical truth here is far too complicated to protect by means of the criminal justice system and, in any event, history should not be adjudicated by criminal courts.

The new law will harm the image of Poland and its nationalistic government which is already under harsh attack from European leftists. The leftists now have an ally, to a degree, in Benjamin Netanyahu. He lashed out at the law, calling it an attempt to rewrite history and whitewash the crimes of those who either assisted Nazis or stood by as Jews were burned at Auschwitz and other camps.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson joined in the criticism. He complained that the new law adversely affects freedom of speech and academic inquiry. Im not sure about the academic inquiry part; the law exempts historical research and works of art. However, Tillerson is right about freedom of speech. Hes also right when he says that, although terms like Polish death camps are painful and misleading, they are best countered through open debate, scholarship, and education.

We visited Poland a few years ago. I loved Krakow.

Our trip included a tour of Auschwitz. Some of our Jewish friends had complained that when they visited this former death camp, the Polish tour guides were too eager to make Poles look like co-victims of the Jews. I didnt find that to be the case.

We also visited the factory of Oskar Schindler, protector of Jews, which is now a museum. The museum is partly about Schindler but focuses mainly on German atrocities against Poles. The primary exhibition is called Krakow under Nazi Occupation: 1939-1945.

I thought that between the two visits, I received a balanced and very informative view of this monstrous chapter in the history Poland and the Jews, both of which have endured far more suffering throughout their histories than any people or nation should.

In any event, Poland should keep the law out of this.
What a great headline: Trumps marching orders to the Pentagon: Plan a grand military parade. It is almost too good to be true:

President Donald Trumps vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of Americas armed forces. Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagons tank  a room reserved for top-secret discussions  marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning. Surrounded by the militarys highest-ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford, Trumps seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said. The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

President Trump has a unique ability to make liberal heads explode. You can see this one coming: libs will ramp up their use of the F-word, while normal Americans will wonder what is wrong with a parade:

A date has not been selected, although officials said Trump would like to tie the parade to a patriotic holiday.

Of course he would! That only makes it worse, for the Left. While liberals may not be traitors, as the president suggested in a moment of levity, most of them are not very patriotic. So a military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, reminiscent of the Grand Review of the Armies at the end of the Civil War, will send liberals into a tizzy that the rest of us can enjoy.

Where did Trump get the idea of a military parade? From France:

The inspiration for Trumps push is last years Bastille Day celebration in Paris, which the president attended as a guest of French President Emmanuel Macron. Trump was awe-struck by the tableau of uniformed French troops marching down Avenue des Champs-Elysees with military tanks, armored vehicles, gun trucks and carriers  complete with F-16 fighter jets flying over the Arc de Triomphe and painting the sky with streaks of blue, white and red smoke.

But wait! Arent the French sophisticated Europeans of the sort that liberals want the U.S. to emulate? If they can have a military parade, why cant we? No doubt liberals will come up with an answer to that question; it will be entertaining to see what it is. As Steve likes to say, get out the popcorn!

PAUL ADDS: Many years ago, we were in Paris on Bastille Day. Our hotel was just off the Champs Elysee.

We walked to the Champs and found a great spot from which to watch the parade. Im not a big parade fan, but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. And, of course, my young daughters got a huge kick out of it.

I can understand why Trump, having seen the Paris parade, wants to have one here. Why not?

The Washington Post comes up with various distinctions between the parade Trump might stage here and the one Paris puts on annually. The Posts designated killjoy, Nick Noack, says a military parade in Washington might strike many foreign observers as an odd timing. Why now?

To which, again, I say why not now? Also, who gives a damn how the parade might strike many foreign observers? I think it will strike most patriotic Americans as just fine, and Americans the ages of my daughters when we saw the Bastille Day parade as better than fine.
North Korea is stepping up preparations for a military parade to celebrate its army founding day on Thursday.

Analysis of Planet satellite imagery shows that "there are now approximately 13,000 troops practicing on the training grounds (up from 12,000 on Jan. 28)," according to the 38 North website at Johns Hopkins University on Monday.

"There are still no signs of ballistic missile or unmanned aerial vehicle launchers on the parade ground or at the heavy equipment storage area," it added. "This is not unusual as some of these are likely stored at nearby military facilities."

The National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly's Intelligence Committee on Monday that it had detected movement of mobile missile launchers on the North Korean training ground.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence plans to visit a memorial honoring South Korean sailors who were killed by a North Korean torpedo attack in 2010 when he comes here for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang. He will also meet with four or five North Korean defectors and be accompanied by the father of Otto Warmbier, the American university student who died after being jailed in North Korea.

Pence arrives in South Korea on Thursday after visiting a missile defense base in Alaska and American military bases in Japan. The message of his itinerary could not be clearer. It is a warning to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un that he will not fool anyone by using the Winter Olympics to portray a warm and fuzzy image of his tyrannical regime. The White House told reporters that Pence is extremely concerned about Kim "hijacking" the peaceful message of the Olympics and rightly described his regime as "murderous."

But the South Korean government is heading in the exact opposite direction. It did not say a word when North Korea unilaterally decided to send its Samjiyon Orchestra by ship instead of via the land route as agreed, even though it must realize that North Korea was testing the waters to see how far Seoul is willing to bend its own sanctions. It also sent a chartered airplane to North Korea's Masikryong Ski Resort, undermining U.S. sanctions, and is now defending the timing of a massive military parade North Korea holds on the eve of the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Yet once the Olympics are over, nothing will have changed. South Korea will once again face the North's weapons of mass destruction. It would of course be wonderful if the Moon Jae-in administration's efforts lead to denuclearization talks, but Kim Jong-un is not sending his people to Pyeongchang to talk about disarmament. He is sending them to weaken sanctions and spread propaganda. Strong sanctions and pressure must continue to force the regime to abandon its nuclear weapons. But Democratic Party bigwigs instead criticized Pence for "pouring cold water" on South Korea's peace efforts. If Seoul and Washington continue to walk in different directions, sanctions against the North will prove futile. Everyone knows what will happen next.


Hospital eases the pain of sick children in a novel manner

From:Shine | 2018-02-07 02:29

Children at the Childrens Hospital play with Teddy Bear in the presence of volunteers and healthcare workers.

The Childrens Hospital of Fudan University on Tuesday became the second hospital in Shanghai to introduce Children Hospital Play, a project that encourages sick children to play games.

At the hospital on Tuesday, five children, aged over 6 and suffering from kidney problems, were accompanied by four volunteers and healthcare workers to play games. They were given colorful cards with pictures of human anatomy and asked to identify the parts. The kids also acted as nurses and gave injections to Teddy bear.

A study revealed that 80 percent of children at hospital show negative behavior. About 54 percent are upset and feel unsafe even two weeks after they have left hospital, said Chen Ching-I, a clinical psychologist from Taiwan.

So we designed games to give the children some medical knowledge and help them to get familiar with treatment. It also helps to relieve their pain and fear.

But the hospital wants to do more than just have games at childrens wards. It wants to carry out systematic research on what kind of games help which children, draft standards and even publish a guide book, said Xu Hong, Party chief of the hospital.

Children Hospital Play was launched in October 2015 at the Shanghai Childrens Medical Center by BD China, a domestic branch of the US-based healthcare giant and local office of Canada-based organization Right To Play.

By 2018, it had been introduced in seven hospitals across the country.

It is based on our belief that children in hospital have the need to play just like other children, said Anita Wei, director of public affairs and communications for BD China.

The children are sick and some of them are dying, Wei said. We want to help them through hard times. Its more meaningful than just donating a toy or a book.
DAVIS, California, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Agrinos AS ("Agrinos" or the "Company"), a global leader in biological crop nutrition products, has completed a private placement of new shares with the support of long-term investors Manor Investment SA ("Manor"), Havfonn AS ("Havfonn") and EuroChem Group AG ("EuroChem") to support the Company's continued growth strategy.

The net proceeds from the $14.7 million equity investment are the first tranche of additional commitments. They will be used to accelerate execution of Agrinos' business plan in 2018 and beyond, including sales growth in core geographies as well as research and development for an enhanced product pipeline.

"Agrinos is committed to being a leader in the agriculture bio-innovation sector. We have a strong track record of product performance in a wide range of crops around the globe and this will drive continued sales growth for the company," said Agrinos CEO Kevin Helash. "Our shareholders' renewed financial commitment underscores their belief in the future of Agrinos and our mission to help customers improve crop yields in an environmentally sustainable manner."

"EuroChem fully supports sustainable agriculture, and our investment in Agrinos demonstrates our commitment to this cause," said Rudolf Graf von Plettenberg, EuroChem Head of Premium Products and Development. "We believe the partnership between EuroChem and Agrinos will enable us to continue combining our strengths in product innovation and to develop the most effective and environmentally-sustainable products for farmers."

"As long-term investors seeking soil preservation and robust solutions that improve farming practices, Manor is delighted to extend our support to Agrinos," said Frederic de Stexhe, Manor Principal. "Agrinos has now served more than 175,000 growers in over a dozen countries. Backing Agrinos is a superb investment for Manor, making agriculture more environmentally friendly, more sustainable and more profitable."

"Havfonn remains confident Agrinos will continue to deliver value-added sustainable solutions to growers around the globe," said Havfonn CEO Morten Bergensen. "Agrinos has proved its High Yield Technology (HYT) can make a significant contribution to improved resource efficiency for agriculture worldwide."

In addition to approving the equity investment, Agrinos' Board of Directors welcomed Frederic de Stexhe, a Principal at Manor, as a new board member. Mr. de Stexhe brings an entrepreneurial background as well as growth capital and technology investment experience to the team. The Board also announced the resignation of board member Matthieu Baumgartner and thanks him for his contributions and guidance over the past years.

For further information, please contact John Janczak, CFO and Investor Relations at +1 817 507 6530 or [email protected].

Learn more at: Agrinos.com, @AgrinosGlobal and LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/company/1130330).

About Agrinos

Agrinos is a biological crop input provider committed to improving the productivity and sustainability of modern agriculture. Agrinos' range of biofertilizers and biostimulant products helps farmers to practice profitable agriculture by providing increased crop productivity, improved efficiency of conventional fertilizer and a reduced environmental footprint.

Based on Agrinos' proprietary High Yield Technology (HYT) platform, the HYT products provide benefits by strengthening the soil-based microbial ecosystem, stimulating crop development at key points in the growth cycle and boosting natural plant resistance to environmental stresses. Agrinos has repeatedly proven the value of its HYT products in both broad acre and specialty crops in numerous third-party field trials throughout key agriculture regions worldwide.

About EuroChem

EuroChem is a leading provider of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers. Our products deliver the full range of important nutrients and our portfolio extends from classic basic fertilizers, such as Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (CAN), Urea, Monoammonium Phosphate (MAP) or Di-ammonium Phosphate (DAP), to our Nitrophoska complex fertilizers and the innovative stabilized nitrogen fertilizers of our ENTEC series. The Group is vertically integrated with activities ranging from mining and hydrocarbons extraction to fertilizer production, logistics, and distribution. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, the Group operates production facilities in Belgium, Lithuania, China, Kazakhstan and Russia and employs more than 26,000 people globally.

Cautionary statement on forward-looking statements

This document contains certain forward-looking statements relating to the business, financial performance and results of the company and/or the industry in which it operates. Forward-looking statements concern future circumstances and results and other statements that are not historical facts, sometimes identified by the words "believes", expects", "predicts", "intends", "projects", "plans", "estimates", "aims", "foresees", "anticipates", "targets", and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, including assumptions, opinions and views of the company or cited from third party sources are solely opinions and forecasts which are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual events to differ materially from any anticipated development. Neither the company, nor any of its parent or subsidiary undertakings or any such person's officers or employees provides any assurance that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does any of them accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the opinions expressed in this announcement or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. No obligation, except as required by law, is assumed to update any forward- looking statements or to conform these forward-looking statements to our actual results.

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SOURCE Agrinos AS
The report "Aluminum Composite Panels Market by Base Coating Type (PE, PVDF), Type (Fire-resistant, Antibacterial), Application (Building & Construction, Advertising, and Transportation), Composition (Core material, Metal skin), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022" published by MarketsandMarkets, the market size is estimated to grow from USD 6.29 Billion in 2017 to USD 8.79 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 6.92%. The market is expected to witness significant growth in the next few years because of the increase in demand for new constructions across the world resulting from rapid urbanization and industrialization. Large-scale investments in industrial and infrastructure sectors, rise in construction activities in emerging economies, and development of innovative products in the construction market are some of the key factors driving the growth of the Aluminum Composite Panels Market.

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Building & construction segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The building & construction segment dominated the market in 2016, and is projected to be the fastest-growing application in the next five years, as a result of the rapid urbanization and demand for better quality homes. The demand for aluminum composite panels is expected to be driven by the growing building & construction and advertising industries. In the transportation industry, these panels are used in cars, rails, boats, and aircraft designs.

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Core material segment, by composition, is projected to gain maximum traction

The core material segment dominated the market in 2016, and is projected to be the fastest-growing application in the next five years, as a result of its fire-resistance property. The core material is highly preferred in the construction industry.

Asia Pacific dominated the market for aluminum composite panels in 2016

China contributes a major market share in the Asia Pacific Aluminum Composite Panels Market. The recovery of the Chinese residential market in 2010 after the 2007-2009 recession and the increase in demand for low-maintenance building products are some of the factors driving the Aluminum Composite Panels Market in Asia Pacific. The market in this region is also growing rapidly due to the presence of numerous leading players.

The major players in the Aluminum Composite Panels Market in Asia Pacific include Yaret Industrial Group (China), Alumax Industrial (Taiwan), Shanghai Huayuan New Composite Materials (China), Changshu Kaidi Decoration Material (China), Guangzhou Xinghe ACP (China), Jyi Shyang Industrial (Taiwan), Mitsubishi Chemical (Japan), and Msenco Metal (China).

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Research development arm attracts leading industry talent with new hires

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Clarivate Analytics, the global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics to accelerate the pace of innovation, today announced it will re-establish the prestigious Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) to its Scientific and Academic Research Group. This new incarnation of the institute will be focused on the development of existing and new bibliometric and analytical approaches, fostering collaborations with partners and customers across the academic community.

Annette Thomas, CEO of the Scientific and Academic Research group at Clarivate Analytics explains: "For 50 years the Institute for Scientific Information was the key source of research and product development in the world of scientometrics. It was the founding company of all that is Clarivate Analytics and the heart of what is now the Scientific and Academic Research group.

"The newly energized ISI will be a place where we house our expertise, experience and deep thinking that drives our editorial rigor, our policy and partnerships, rankings and analytics. From the institute we will work with and for the research community - researchers, publishers, governments, industry bodies, libraries and funders will all be welcome. The institute will be both the heart and soul of our group and the brains behind our most complex thinking to solve the problems of our community."

Established in 1960 by Dr Eugene Garfield, ISI produced the Science Citation Index - the first citation index for the sciences - in 1964, followed by the Social Sciences Citation Index, the Arts & Humanities Citation Index, as well as the Journal Citation Reports including Journal Impact Factors, all during the 1970s. These indexes were gathered together and introduced in 1997 as the Web of Science on the internet. This revolutionized the way people searched for information of interest. Dr Garfield anticipated the advent of hyperlinked pages on the web and the appearance of the Google Search algorithm (the patent for which cites Garfield). It took 40 years for technological developments to catch up with Eugene Garfield's vision.

As part of Clarivate Analytics, ISI will benefit from access to a wealth of data from the Web of Science. With close to 150 million records from 33,000 journals, Web of Science's unique collection of resources provides researchers with the breadth they need to be comprehensive without sacrificing the precision they need to understand the nuances of their field. ISI will promote greater academia-industry collaboration and plans to draw upon the rich, enhanced patent data from the group's flagship IP database, the Derwent World Patent Index (DWPI). This patent-smart technology will provide the Institute with a unique lens on innovation.

Leading the re-establishment of ISI, will be Samantha Burridge, Director of Strategy and Transformation, ably assisted by both a strong internal team and a plethora of new hires:

Dr Jonathan Adams will return to the Institute for Scientific Information in April 2018 as a Director. Previously, he was the lead founder of Evidence Ltd (2000-2009) and Director of Research Evaluation for Thomson Reuters (2009-2013). He was a science policy adviser to the UK for the Research Councils (1989- 1992) where he first worked with ISI to introduce bibliometrics to UK research evaluation . He will join from Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, where he currently holds the post of Chief Scientist, Digital Science.

will return to the Institute for Scientific Information in as a Director. Previously, he was the lead founder of Ltd (2000-2009) and Director of Research Evaluation for Thomson Reuters (2009-2013). He was a science policy adviser to the UK for the Research Councils (1989- 1992) where he first worked with ISI to introduce bibliometrics to UK research evaluation He will join from Holtzbrinck Publishing Group, where he currently holds the post of Chief Scientist, Digital Science. Dr Nandita Quaderi has joined Clarivate Analytics as Editor in Chief of the Scientific and Academic Research group. In addition to driving Clarivate Analytic's role as the arbiter of quality in research, Dr Quaderi will work with ISI to determine the metrics that Clarivate Analytics will use to set and measure quality standards across the Web of Science. Dr Quaderi was Publishing Director of Open Research at Springer Nature where she led Scientific Reports to become the largest journal in the world. Nandita has a BSc in Molecular Genetics from the University of Oxford and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Imperial College. She has been awarded the highly competitive Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship; the Charles Epstein Trainee Research award from the American Society for Human Genetics; and the prestigious EU Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship.

has joined Clarivate Analytics as Editor in Chief of the Scientific and Academic Research group. In addition to driving Clarivate Analytic's role as the arbiter of quality in research, Dr Quaderi will work with ISI to determine the metrics that Clarivate Analytics will use to set and measure quality standards across the Web of Science. Dr Quaderi was Publishing Director of Open Research at Springer Nature where she led to become the largest journal in the world. Nandita has a BSc in Molecular Genetics from the and a PhD in Molecular Genetics from Imperial College. She has been awarded the highly competitive Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship; the Charles Epstein Trainee Research award from the American Society for Human Genetics; and the prestigious EU Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship. Clarivate Analytics has engaged the education data analytics and consulting company, SchoolDash to support ISI in an advisory capacity, as part of a broader mission to promote data science in academia and education. Its founder, Dr Timo Hannay , was previously the founding managing director of Digital Science, which he ran from its inception in 2010 until 2015, when he left to launch SchoolDash. Dr Hannay was also the co-founder of Science Foo Camp, an annual science and technology event held each summer at Google, and has previously worked as director of nature.com, a consultant at McKinsey & Company, a writer for The Economist, and a research neurophysiologist at the University of Oxford . He is currently a non-executive director of Sage Publishing.

Samantha Burridge concludes, "ISI will not only lead in new metrics but it will crucially, be built on the deep and rich experience, understanding and insight of its foundations of setting the standards in responsible metrics. We will stay true to our founding principles while reinterpreting them for a very different world. We will remain committed to promoting integrity in research. In a sense, we're going back to the future."

Biographies:

Dr Jonathan Adams, Director of the Institute for Scientific Information

Dr Adams is currently the Chief Scientist at Digital Science and will join Clarivate Analytics as a Director of ISI in April 2018. Jonathan is a visiting professor at the Policy Institute at King's College London. Previously, he was the lead founder of Evidence Ltd (2000-2009) and Director of Research Evaluation for Thomson Reuters (2009-2013). Evidence developed products and services providing decision support to research managers and carried out research evaluation for agencies and institutions in the UK, elsewhere in Europe, Brazil, Australia, China, India, Singapore and Malaysia.

Jonathan chaired the EC Evaluation Monitoring Committee for Framework Programme 6 (2004); chaired the Monitoring Group of the European Research Fund for Coal & Steel (2006); led the national review of research evaluation in New Zealand (2008); was a member of the Australian Research Council (ARC) indicators development group for its research excellence assessment (2008) and ARC's impact assessment (2016). In 2010 he was an expert adviser to the interim evaluation of FP7.

Jonathan has worked at King's College London (1979-1980), University of Newcastle upon Tyne (1980-1983), University of Leeds (1983-1989) and Imperial College London (1989-1992). He was a science policy adviser to the UK for the Research Councils (1989- 1992) where he first worked with ISI to introduce bibliometrics to UK research evaluation, and was Leeds University's Director of Research Strategy 1993  1997. He has published over 100 articles in journals, a series of widely quoted reports on research in the BRIC economies and regularly presents at international research conferences. In 2017, he received an honorary DSc from the University of Exeter for his work in higher education and research policy.

Dr Nandita Quaderi, Editor in Chief  the Scientific and Academic Research group, Clarivate Analytics

Nandita will be responsible for creating the strategy required to innovate and further propel Clarivate's role as the arbiter of quality in research across journals, books, proceedings. She has accountability for defining how Clarivate can extend the quality stamp into additional content types e.g. peer-reviewed articles, pre-prints, datasets, software etc and will determine the metrics Clarivate will use to set and measure quality standards across the various content sets.

Nandita will contribute significant editorial and research insight to the development of new SAR products and services with a robust editorial value proposition e.g. Journal Impact Factor, article level metrics and individual researcher level metrics. A key component of her role will be sharing policy development and key industry insight to build expertise and ensure that the business is recognized as a leader for data and analytics and in the evaluation of the impact of research on a global scale with institutions, funders and governments.

Nandita is an accomplished senior publishing executive with a deep understanding of the research community built on a strong research background. Nandita received her Bachelors in Molecular Genetics from the University of Oxford and her PhD in Molecular Genetics from Imperial College. She has been awarded the highly competitive Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship; the Charles Epstein Trainee Research award from the American Society for Human Genetics; and the prestigious EU Marie Curie Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship. As part of Nandita's post-doctoral research at The Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM), Milan, she cloned the gene for Opitz syndrome resulting; her research was subsequently published in Nature Genetics for which she was the lead author.

Most recently she was Publishing Director, Open Research at Springer Nature where she had responsibility for the Nature Research OA portfolio. She led Scientific Reports through a period of unprecedented growth  output has increased six-fold over past three years and it is now the largest journal in the world. She had responsibility for the conception and launch of three major OA Nature Research titles - Communications Biology, Communications Chemistry and Communications Physics. She also has a wealth of experience in leading strategy for portfolio growth, taking into consideration subject coverage, regional opportunities, funder initiatives and transfer cascades between journals.

About Web of Science

Web of Science is the world's oldest and largest publisher-neutral citation index, powering global discovery and citation analytics across the sciences, social sciences and art & humanities. With over 1.4 billion cited references going back to 1900 and millions of users per dayfrom leading government and academic institutions and research-intensive corporationsthe Web of Science citation network serves as the foundation for the Journal Impact Factor, InCites, and other powerful and trusted citation-impact measures. The Web of Science helps researchers, research institutions, publishers, and funders discover and assess the citation impact of over a century of research publications found in the most prestigious books, conference proceedings, and journals.

About Clarivate Analytics

Clarivate Analytics is the global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics to accelerate the pace of innovation. Building on a heritage going back more than a century and a half, we have built some of the most trusted brands across the innovation lifecycle, including Web of Science, Cortellis, Derwent, CompuMark, MarkMonitor and Techstreet. Today, Clarivate Analytics is a new and independent company on a bold entrepreneurial mission to help our clients radically reduce the time from new ideas to life-changing innovations. For more information, please visit clarivate.com.

North America

Jessica Stanek

[email protected]

Europe

Mario Christodoulou

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Asia-Pacific

Pamela Lim

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Related Links

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SOURCE Clarivate Analytics
BENGALURU, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The Abraham Brothers will be launching their much awaited Xperience Centre starting from Bangalore. There had been a buzz already in the industry circles for the past few months of something big happening at CentriX.

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/639273/Alex.jpg )



This was unveiled at the Town Hall wherein the elder brother spoke about it the first time with all the team members about the plans for 2018.

Using a one minute walkthrough Archie Abraham explained in detail how the look and feel of the Xperience Centre would be and how important it is for CentriX to invest into the future.

The central most important feature in this Xperience Centre would be the introduction of AleX. AleX is the World's Most Advanced Robot capable of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Henceforth all decisions being made by the Clients in selection of design, material and vendors will be based on Data and AleX would help them to do that.

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality will be centre stage here, where clients can experience their workspaces in Real Time. 3D Printing and Image Recognition will be a reality first time in Commercial Real Estate Industry.

Bringing in Hospitality and a Residential feel to the WorkSpace. This Xperience Centre would be going Live to Friends, Clients and Customers on the 9th of March 2018 at Koramangala in Bangalore City.

The Human Resource Manager, Amina Naushad, was quick to point out that the cuisine on offer everyday for all the friends, clients, customers and to all the employees would be on top of the line with international standards and the eatery joints in and around Koramangala would be given a run for their money.

The chief guest for the function is kept under wraps for the moment to be seen as a surprise for the delegates coming for the opening.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVbxdUzbbtY

About CentriX Projects:

CentriX Projects is a general contracting company for design and build in the commercial corporate real estate space. For more details, visit our website: http://www.centrixprojects.com/.



Media Contact:

Amina Naushad

[email protected]

+91-6360805133

CentriX Projects



SOURCE Centrix Interiors Private Limited
The report "Ceramic Adhesives Market by Chemistry Type (Cement-based, Epoxy, Acrylic, Silicone, Cyanoacrylate), Application (Building & Construction, Dental), Region (APAC, Europe, North America, MEA, Central & South America) - Global Forecast to 2022" published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is projected to reach USD 7.84 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2017 to 2022. The Ceramic Adhesives Market is projected to grow from USD 6.12 billion in 2017 to USD 7.84 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2017 to 2022. The growth of the Ceramic Adhesives Market across the globe can be attributed to increased demand for ceramic adhesives from the building & construction industry due to increasing number of residential and commercial buildings being constructed across the globe.

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Based on chemistry type, the cement-based segment of the Ceramic Adhesives Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR, both in terms of volume and value, during the forecast period.

Based on chemistry type, the cement-based segment of the Ceramic Adhesives Market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2017 to 2022, both in terms of volume and value. This segment is also projected to lead the Ceramic Adhesives Market, both in terms of volume and value, during the forecast period. The growth of the cement-based segment of the Ceramic Adhesives Market can be attributed to the low cost of cement-based ceramic adhesives and their exceptional bonding characteristics. Inorganic cement-based ceramic adhesives offer better performance at high temperatures than conventional polymers. Moreover, these adhesives are extremely durable and offer high shear strength, which makes them the most crucial element in any construction site. Cement-based ceramic adhesives have the ability to store and radiate heat. Inorganic cement-based ceramic adhesives are made from high-quality materials consisting of binders, additives, and other ceramics. These inorganic cement-based ceramic adhesives offer excellent bonding strength, high-temperature resistance, and increased thermal and electrical insulation.

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Among applications, the building & construction segment is projected to lead the Ceramic Adhesives Market, both in terms of volume and value, during the forecast period.

In the construction industry, ceramic adhesives are mainly used for the installation of tiles & flooring, roofing, and wall coverings. The construction of smart cities and renovation of existing buildings in the Asia Pacific region are expected to drive the growth of the Ceramic Adhesives Market in the region between 2017 and 2022. The increasing use of ceramic adhesives in building & construction application can also be attributed to the increasing requirement for residential housings, theme parks, hotels, and other commercial centers in the emerging economies such as India, China, Indonesia, and Brazil.

The demand for ceramic adhesives is growing in emerging economies due to increasing number of ongoing infrastructure development projects such as high-speed rail tracks, roads, airports, and nuclear plants. The increasing focus of the governments on infrastructure development in countries such as Brazil, Argentina, India, China, and Vietnam is also fueling the growth of the building & construction application segment of the Ceramic Adhesives Market across the globe.

The Asia Pacific Ceramic Adhesives Market is witnessing rapid growth due to significant economic progress and increased number of infrastructure development projects in various countries of the region. Increased building & construction activities in the region are also expected to propel the demand for ceramic adhesives from the Asia Pacific region.

Key market players in the Ceramic Adhesives Market

Key players operating in the Ceramic Adhesives Market are 3M (US), Bostik (France), Sika (Switzerland), Henkel (Germany), H.B. Fuller Construction Products (US), BASF (Germany), MAPEI (Italy), Ardex (Germany), Laticrete International (US), Terraco (Sweden), Saint-Gobain Weber (France), and Fosroc (UK).

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https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/floor-adhesive-market-37475603.html



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MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
COVID-19 vaccine: 100% eligible population given first dose in 3 states, 4 UTs

The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. Vaccination of frontline workers started on February 2.
According to the new market research report "Film Thickness Measurement Market by Technology, Film Type, Application (Aerospace & Aviation, Automotive, Food & Pharmaceutical Packaging, Industrial Manufacturing, Medical, Semiconductors), and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023" , published by MarketsandMarkets, the market is estimated to grow from USD 391.8 Million in 2017 to USD 521.9 Million by 2023, at a CAGR of 4.9% between 2017 and 2023. The growth is attributed to the growing demand for cost optimization across applications such as automotive, food & pharmaceutical packaging, medical, and semiconductors; increasing trend of technology miniaturization; and the rising awareness of film thickness measurement benefits to meet quality standards.

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Film thickness measurement market for automotive application to grow at the highest rate between 2017 and 2023

The growing demand for high-tech features in automobiles, stringent regulatory framework to monitor quality control processes in automotive manufacturing plants, and rising awareness regarding safety concerns among consumers are likely to spur the growth of automotive application during the forecast period. Due to this, automotive application is likely to grow at the highest rate between 2017 and 2023.

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Dry films lead the film thickness measurement market in 2017

The film thickness measurement of dry films is of vital importance across a wide range of applications, as it has a high impact on the cost and quality of the film applied. Dry film is the primary contributor to the film thickness measurement market. The dry film thickness measurement is quite a preferable means of non-destructive film thickness measurement method. This is attributed to its quality of having a near-to-zero impact on the film/coating being measured, thereby keeping the film properties intact. Besides, the need to destroy or repair objects is eliminated by utilizing non-destructive coating thickness measurement on dry films.

"Ultrasonic technology is anticipated to exhibit the fastest growth in the film thickness measurement market between 2017 and 2023"

The ultrasonic technology in the film thickness measurement market is anticipated to register the fastest growth during the forecast period. This technology aids applicators and manufacturers with an added advantage of identifying multiple distinct layers. In addition, this technology is a non-labor-intensive solution and helps in improving consistency and throughput in the final stages. Owing to this, ultrasonic technology is likely to be a prominent technology in the near future.

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"North America is expected to lead the film thickness measurement market between 2017 and 2023"

North America holds the dominant position in the film thickness measurement market owing to the rapid growth of automotive, aerospace, medical, semiconductor industries, and ongoing technological advancements seeking for low weight, size, and power-consumption products. In addition, rising oil & gas exploration and production activities are also boosting the demand for film thickness measurement to boost life cycle and improve overall system performance.

Major players operating in the film thickness measurement market include ALTANA (Germany), Bruker (US), DeFelsko (US), Elcometer (UK), ElektroPhysik (Germany), Fischer Technology (US), Hamamatsu (Japan), HORIBA (Japan), Keyence (Japan), KLA-Tencor (US), Nanometrics (US), Otsuka Electronics (Japan), Rudolph Technologies (US), SCREEN Holdings (Japan), and Spectris (UK).

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Non-Destructive Testing and Inspection Market by Technique (Visual Testing, Magnetic Particle, Liquid Penetrant, Eddy Current, Ultrasonic, Radiographic, Acoustic Emission), Method, Service, Vertical, and Geography - Global Forecast to 2023

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SOURCE MarketsandMarkets
Currently in low- and middle-income countries, health workers carry millions of temperature-sensitive vaccines next to ice packs inside vaccine carriers to reduce heat exposure, but this risks freezing the vaccines if ice packs are not conditioned (carefully warmed to around 0C). Freezing can irreversibly compromise vaccine potency, resulting in inadequate protection from disease for people receiving vaccines. When health workers suspect temperature damage, the vaccine or medication is often discardedat great cost to health care programs.

PATH's breakthrough solution mitigates the risk of vaccines being damaged by freezing or heat in carriers and eliminates the step of conditioning ice packs, reducing health worker burden. Frozen ice packs can be inserted immediately into the carrier thanks to a built-in barrier that shields the vaccines from reaching negative temperatures and excessive heat.

Many of the newer vaccines that protect children and infants from life-threatening diseases and infections, such as for human papillomavirus, pneumonia, and rotavirus, are freeze sensitive and cost far more than other vaccines. In 2015, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) procured approximately US$1.7 billion worth of vaccines for immunization programs, of which more than $1.2 billion were freeze sensitive.

"Our priority is maintaining vaccine potency for the millions of people living in remote communities," says Pat Lennon, who leads the cold chain team at PATH. "In the future, vaccine carriers that prevent freezing will become the new standard for immunization programs."

In order to rapidly accelerate introduction of this innovation, PATH put the Freeze-Safe reference design into the public domain for any manufacturer to use in their vaccine carrier products. PATH staff in Seattle and New Delhi, India, have provided technical advice to three product manufacturers who have adopted the technology. India-based AOV International's product AFVC46 is the first carrier to receive WHO-PQS approval and will be available for purchase through the UNICEF Supply Division catalog.

"The Freeze-Safe vaccine carrier is a great example of Indian industry helping solve a global public health challenge," says Neeraj Jain, Country Director of PATH's India country program. "This 'Made in India' freeze-preventive vaccine carrier can help health workers in India and globally to administer lifesaving vaccines that do not freeze and could help save millions of lives."

PATH estimates that more than 2 million new and replacement carriers will be needed by 2020 for the 73 Gavi-member countries. To accelerate scale-up of the Freeze-Safe innovation, PATH is conducting field trials, supporting efforts to integrate the carriers into existing health systems, and working with manufacturers as well as adapting the innovation for use in other cold chain equipment.

"Vaccine carriers that prevent vaccines from freezing while in transit and yet are low cost and easy to use can save millions of children's lives," says Dr. Benjamin Schreiber, Deputy Immunization at UNICEF. "These are exactly the type of cutting-edge solutions we need to immunize every child."

PATH has worked to advance technologies, policies, and programs to address vaccine freezing issues across the supply chain from formulation to the last mile since 1996, and on the Freeze-Safe innovation since 2012. This work aligns with UNICEF; Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; and WHO strategies to maintain vaccine potency and improve immunization cost efficiencies and coverage.

This project was made possible with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

About PATH

PATH is a leader in global health innovation. An international nonprofit organization, PATH saves lives and improves health, especially among women and children. PATH accelerates innovation across five platformsvaccines, drugs, diagnostics, devices, and system and service innovationsthat harness our entrepreneurial insight, scientific and public health expertise, and passion for health equity. By mobilizing partners around the world, PATH takes innovation to scale, working alongside countries primarily in Africa and Asia to tackle their greatest health needs. With these key partners, PATH delivers measurable results that disrupt the cycle of poor health. Learn more at www.path.org.

Media contacts:

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SOURCE PATH
MUMBAI, February 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

- Continues Indian Expansion

- GPX 2nd Data centre in Mumbai will add 60,000 square feet and 16MW to the Company's Carrier Neutral Portfolio

GPX Global Systems Inc., the premier provider of carrier-neutral colocation data centre services in the MENA and South Asia regions, today announced the expansion of its presence in Mumbai with the addition of GPX Mumbai 2, a 16MW Tier 4 carrier neutral facility which will be available late Q1 2019.



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Since opening its first Mumbai data centre in 2012, GPX has established itself as the leading high availability, carrier neutral colocation provider to Carriers, ISPs, CDNs, Cloud, Content Service Providers, and the rapidly digitizing BFSI sector. Within its GPX Mumbai 1 data centre are 12 Carriers, 85+ ISPs, leading global CDNs, cloud, and content providers creating the richest Internet ecosystem and interconnect data centre in India.

GPX Mumbai 2 will be a next generation Tier 4 certified standalone 60,000 square foot facility with 16MW of power. Support for high density applications, 52U cabinets, rich interconnectivity, and power system efficiency will be an integral part of the data centre. GPX Mumbai 1 and GPX Mumbai 2 will be interconnected with campus like networking and latency.

Nick Tanzi, GPX Global Systems President & CEO, comments, "Interconnectivity is central to achieving digital transformation in India and GPX is playing a critical role in this transformation. GPX Mumbai 1 is the largest Internet ecosystem and interconnect data centre in India, with the addition of our Mumbai 2 facility, GPX will support our customers' continued expansion and interconnection requirements allowing high quality Internet services to spread to the farthest corners of India."

About GPX Global Systems Inc.

GPX Global Systems, Inc. is a private company headquartered in New York which builds and operates private, carrier neutral Tier 4 data centers in emerging markets strategically located in close proximity to undersea cable systems which interconnect the global Internet. The company has focused its development efforts on the MENA and South Asian markets whose demographics are driving the next wave of Internet growth. The company offers world class Tier 4 certified carrier neutral colocation infrastructure to clients seeking to broaden their exposure and growth into new lucrative emerging global markets. GPX has been recognized as the premier provider of carrier neutral colocation facilities within the MENA and South Asian markets. For more information, visit http://www.gpxglobal.net/.

SOURCE GPX Global Systems Inc.
SHANGHAI, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Organized by China Household Electrical Appliances Association, the Appliances & Electronics World Expo (AWE) is a major event on par with the CES and the IFA. According to AWE Organizing Committee, AWE 2018 is set to be held at Shanghai New International Expo Center from March 8-11, 2018, with a record-setting 10 exhibition halls covering an exhibition area of 130,000 square meters, expecting an estimated 250,000 visitors.

It only took AWE 25 years to catch up with established global exhibitions that have a history of more than half a century. This speed is amazing. Always trying to improve, AWE paced up, changing from a biennial event to an annual one, while expanding its portfolio from home appliances to include more technology fields to witness technological changes and foresee industry directions. The speed is accelerating.

With the skyrocketing rise of China's economy and a steady improvement of Chinese people's living standard in the last two decades, China has become the innovation forefront of global home appliance and consumer electronics industry. AWE, the largest show of this field in Asia, has witnessed the progress as it evolves from a follower to a leader in the industry.

A match of world-leading technology shows

AWE 2018 is expected to house more than 800 exhibitors including Haier, Midea, Samsung, LG, BSH, Whirlpool, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp and Philips, covering home appliances, consumer electronics, digital products, communication products, smart homes, smart applications, cloud platforms, black technologies, commercial appliances and products from related industries.

More than 82 events will be held concurrently, including:

8th China Household Electrical Appliance Development Summit

Smart Appliances Cloud Interconnection & SDK Press Release

2018 AWE Global Media Day

2018 Global Technology AI Chip Innovation Conference

2018 China Electrical Appliance Supply Chain Summit

2018 China Real Estate Fine Decoration Forum

2018 China New Retail Summit

"AWE Award" Ceremony

Facebook and other social media have been adopted in AWE's international promotion plan. For more details and a live video, visit https://www.facebook.com/en.awe.com.cn.

According to the latest data, the number of pre-registration visitors has doubled, compared with the same period last year. More than 32 overseas media will participate in AWE2018, in addition to 91 Chinese media partners.

Save the date: 8-11 March, 2018 in Shanghai, China!

Contact

Thomas Wang

+86-10-6709-3609

[email protected]

http://en.awe.com.cn/

https://www.facebook.com/en.awe.com.cn

Related Links

http://awe.com.cn/en



SOURCE China Household Electrical Appliances Association
New Delhi, February 07,2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The AI-Powered Honor View10 Becomes the Official Smartphone of the Competition

Honor, Huawei's leading smartphone e-brand, today announced that it is collaborating with Gameloft to organize a major esports competition: 'Modern Combat Versus Honor International Series', with its newly launched Honor View10 as the official smartphone of the tournament. The AI-powered Honor View10 offers superb gaming capabilities, making it the best gaming phone while receiving wide recognition from professional reviewers and gamers.

Starting on February 11th, this exclusive event will offer teams from France, Germany, Italy, Spain, India, and Malaysia, the chance to face off in the popular mobile game, Modern Combat Versus. The winning team of the grand finale in April will take home 10,000 and the Honor View10. Please visit the ESL site to register for the 'Modern Combat Versus Honor International Series' here.

"We are excited to partner with Gameloft once again to take mobile gaming to the next level," said Mr. George Zhao, President of Honor. "Honor has dug deep into what gamers care about. In order to provide players with an extraordinary gaming experience, we have optimized artificial intelligence, viewing experience, processing power and even the long battery life of Honor View10."

"We hope to close the gap between console and mobile gaming. With AI-powered performance, Honor View10 will bring consumers a smoother user experience and lightening-speed, making the View10 the ideal gaming phone," added P Sanjeev, Vice President, Sales, Huawei Consumer Business Group. "We are happy to collaborate with Gameloft again to take the competition to the next level and keep co-creating a young lifestyle for consumers."

As the official smartphone of the 'Modern Combat Versus Honor International Series,' Honor View10 is equipped with the Kirin 970 chipset, which includes a Neural-Network Processing Unit (NPU) that enables gamers to enjoy AI-powered performance. With 6GB + 128GB memory and EMUI 8.0, the new flagship unleashes amazing processing power and reduces disruptions in gaming. The 18:9 Honor FullView Display provides players with great viewing experience while the long lasting battery life and temperature control allow gamers to keep playing for hours. Moreover, the specially designed Gaming Suite can significantly increase the smartphone's gaming performance. Gamers are able to play without disruption by disabling some virtual buttons from functioning and blocking notifications. This new flagship had also won a series of 'Best of CES' awards from Android Authority, Android Central, Android Police, Gadgetmatch, Gear Diary and Pocket-lint, all praising its amazing performance and value. Even the leading French technology media Les Numeriques gave a 5-star rating on Honor View10's outstanding performance. Read more about Honor View10 at: hihonor.com.

Honor hopes to co-invent a young lifestyle in the area of gaming in partnership with Gameloft. The two companies' initial collaboration began in 2016, when they teamed up to offer an all-new experience in the popular game Asphalt 8: Airborne. In China, Honor established the Honor Gaming Arena, where the company gathers gaming enthusiasts to join offline mobile gaming contests. Honor's other partners in the industry include key players such as Tencent, Google Play and Mobile Legends. These efforts aim to make Honor the most loved smartphone brand for young people and the young at heart.

"Honor has always been a young lifestyle co-creator," added Zhao, "Not only does Honor understand the millennials we seek to serve, but we also work with them, to create the uncharted lifestyle that young people crave."

About Honor

Honor is a leading smartphone e-brand under the Huawei Group. In line with its slogan, 'For the Brave', the brand was created to meet the needs of digital natives through internet-optimized products that offer superior user experiences, inspire action, foster creativity and empower the young to achieve their dreams. In doing this, Honor has set itself apart by showcasing its own bravery to do things differently and to take the steps needed to usher in the latest technologies and innovations for its customers.

For more information, please visit Honor online at http://www.hihonor.com or follow us on:

https://www.facebook.com/honorglobal/

https://twitter.com/Honorglobal

https://www.instagram.com/honorglobal/

https://www.youtube.com/honorglobal

Media Contact:

Prateek Sharma,

[email protected]

+91-9971476254

Manager

FleishmanHillard



SOURCE Huawei India
Michael Owen , the legend of the England national team and European football;

, the legend of the national team and European football; Fann Wong , Singaporean actress, singer and model;

, Singaporean actress, singer and model; Zhang Jizhong, the best-known producer and director in Chinese film & television;

Yayan Ruhian, Indonesian treasure in both performing arts & martial arts;

Siti Kamaluddin , the first female director in Brunei and one of the 50 Most Influential women in Brunei .

In the opening speech, the co-founder of Influence Chain, Heng Xia, introduced the initial thoughts and promising future of the project. "I have strong beliefs that the next generation of the fan economy will create a new way of interactions between influencers and supporters, because it is value-based. They can share their common interests, through our platform."

Owen recalled his experience from an insider's perspective, "After my retirement, I still benefit from the influence all these kind people gave to me, which inspires me to continue and spread this influence to more people. Influence has its value, and with more people involved, the value gets larger. When I first learned about Influence Chain, I was surprised by how much its vision coincides with mine. They are devoted to bringing the enormous value of global influencers to the world, to create a platform for global fans to have better and closer interaction, and to maximize the value of influence."

Mr Zhangji Zhong and Ms Siti Kamaluddin, shared their insights on this new combination of Blockchain Technology and celebrity economy in the following roundtable discussion, "Fans or followers will have influence on the process of film productions, in terms of fund-raising, audition and creativity."

Founded by a group of elites, Influence Chain creates a token based ecosystem that exploits the advantages of private blockchain by building up a token exchange, where influential power (individualized intellectual property) can be monetized into digital assets. Another key concept and core component in the ecosystem, Influence Index, is the analytical summary made available to the public, to track the performance of individual influencers listed on Influence Exchange. The unique supporters of each influencer will be able to evaluate their influential powers and make trading decisions. Thus, Influence Chain aspires to create value flows and uses cases between influencers and supporters.

Influence Chain has launched its branches in Seoul, Bangkok, Dubai in 2017.

The first launch in 2018, is showing the importance of Singapore as the center of Asia-pacific and Southeast Asia regions, in terms of influence economy.

Sparkle with Blockchain Technology, turn influence power into real value. Influence is reshaping the world and welcome to the Fan Economy 4.0.

Ricky Li

+65-9729-7568

[email protected]

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SOURCE Influence Chain
"This season I wanted to reconstruct American menswear with the launch of Bespoke. For the last 30 years, our strength has always been the art of tailoring and now we've taken it to the next level by redefining bespoke, American style," said Joseph Abboud, Chief Creative Director of Tailored Brands, Inc. Those kings of Hollywood favored the finest custom suits so it's fitting that this Fall, he dedicated his attention to the handcraftsmanship of bespoke and the luxury of proportion. Crafted in the Joseph Abboud Manufacturing facility in New Bedford factory, these bespoke garments are finished by hand with over 225 steps, such as hand-sewn armholes, which allow for a softer shoulder; pleated waistband curtains on trousers; the use of real horn buttons; and prepared sleeves with hand-mitered working buttonholes.

Continuing with his commitment to providing hand-finished, made-in-America products, Joseph Abboud has once again partnered with American heritage shoemaker Allen Edmonds on the collection's leather footwear  each pair handmade in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Founded in 1922, Allen Edmonds crafts its shoes with a storied 212-step manufacturing process and the utmost attention to detail.

Fall 2018's venue the ballroom at the historic Wolcott Hotelechoes the range's brooding elegance, vintage Hollywood allure, and Art Deco undertones. The space's grand architecture and jazz-club feel help bring out the collection's rich textures, dark palette, and ornate construction. Like the clothes themselves, this historic venue reminds us of that bygone era of masculine confidence and sophistication, while demonstrating how it can be used as a platform for contemporary luxury.

For requests related to the show, please contact:

Account Director  Purple

Gregory Werbowsky, [email protected]

About Joseph Abboud

Since the age of sixteen, Joseph Abboud has been passionate about fashion. He started his career in menswear at Louis of Boston and later Polo Ralph Lauren. In 1987, Joseph Abboud launched his own eponymous label. Shortly after its debut, Abboud was accorded numerous honors including the distinction of being the only designer to have received the coveted Menswear Designer of the Year twice in a row (1989 & 1990) from the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Other awards and honors include The Cutty Sark Award for Most Promising Menswear Designer in 1988, the first Woolmark Award for Distinguished Fashion in 1989 and again in March of 1993. Numerous other prestigious awards have followed including Person of the Year from the American Apparel & Footwear Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award from MR magazine in 2016.

Abboud began working with Tailored Brands, Inc. (NYSE: TLRD) as Chief Creative Director in December 2012. Abboud was reunited with his namesake brand in August 2013 when Tailored Brands, Inc. acquired JA Holding Inc., the parent company of the celebrated American clothing brand, Joseph Abboud. The Abboud label was re-launched, reestablishing the brand as a sophisticated modern-American lifestyle collection. The Joseph Abboud designer collection launched in October 2014 on JosephAbboud.com and is now available at the Joseph Abboud Flagship Store in New York City.

For more information on Joseph Abboud, please visit www.josephabboud.com.

Follow us on social media:

Instagram  @JosephAbboud

Twitter  @JosephAbboud

Facebook  Joseph Abboud

Joseph Abboud Press Contacts:

Director of Public Relations, Tailored Brands, Inc.

Diego Louro, [email protected]

Public Relations Marketing Manager, Joseph Abboud

Caroline Smith Passe, [email protected]

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Related Links

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SOURCE Tailored Brands, Inc.
SAARWELLINGEN, Germany, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

From February 7, 2018, Nano-Care Deutschland AG , a mid-sized company based in Saarwellingen will offer a coating system for water and oil repellency that aims to revolutionize textile finishing. "Removal of 'C8 fluorocarbon technology', which will be banned due to its emissions of PFOS and PFOA, leaves a significant performance gap in the market," says Oliver Sonntag, Nano-Care Director. "The great challenge for us has been to retain existing high standards of oil repellency - whilst eliminating long-chain fluorination. We have solved this problem by creating a special silicon dioxide backbone." The result - Nanoflex F-Bond, marketed under the umbrella brand INTELLIGENT HYBRIDS is based on liquid concentrates and is applied using common industrial dipping methods. For many years there has been strong pressure for innovation in the textile finishing sector to meet increasing regulation and ecological demands. As a spin-off from the Leibniz Institute for New Materials (INM), Nano-Care Deutschland AG sees a market potential amounting to the hundreds of millions Euros. "Our particular focus is on military, work-wear and health sectors which have to satisfy especially high performance requirements and currently have only temporary permission to use C8 technologies. Their elimination - particularly outside the European Union - is an important step towards achieving 'ecological sustainability' in the textile industry."

Nano-Care Deutschland AG has been developing innovative coatings for textiles and other surfaces since its founding in the year 2000. On reorganizing its corporate structure at the beginning of 2018, the new Textile Effects' department will develop further specialization in the sector. Specifically the company partners "private label" clients, be they manufacturers of surface coatings, distributors of chemical products or users of high-tech surface finishes. Currently, companies and consumers in more than 65 countries benefit from their multi-functional performance advantages.

- Cross reference: Picture is available at AP Images (http://www.apimages.com) -

Press contact:

Oliver Sonntag

Vorstand

Nano-Care Deutschland AG

Telefon: +49-6838-9749140

[email protected]

http://www.nano-care.com

SOURCE Nano-Care Deutschland AG
NYCRC EB-5 investors received a total of 766 I-829 petition approvals in 2017 enabling 2,116 investors and family members to secure permanent residency in the United States

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York City Regional Center ("NYCRC") is pleased to announce that a total of 766 I-829 petitions were approved in NYCRC project offerings in 2017. These approvals resulted in 2,116 EB-5 investors and family members securing permanent residency in the United States in the last 12 months.

To date, approximately 1,600 I-829 petition approvals in NYCRC project offerings have enabled over 4,650 individuals to secure permanent residency in the United States. I-829 petition approvals have now been issued in the NYCRC's first nine (9) project offerings.

Permanent residency permits EB-5 investors to live and work anywhere in the United States and be protected by the laws of the United States. An EB-5 investor's spouse and children under age 21 are also authorized to live, work, and attend school anywhere in the United States.

"We are proud of the NYCRC's achievements in 2017," said Paul Levinsohn, Managing Principal of the NYCRC. "We enjoyed a very large number of I-829 approvals for our EB-5 investors last year resulting in permanent residency for over 2,100 investors and family members. Over the past 12 months, we have also secured I-924 approvals for five (5) separate project offerings and saw $65 million repaid to all 130 EB-5 investors in our second offering."

"We know that EB-5 investors and their families put their trust in our ability to help them achieve permanent residency in the United States," said George Olsen, Managing Principal of the NYCRC. "We take this responsibility seriously and are pleased to announce this exciting record of investor approvals in 2017."

About New York City Regional Center

The NYCRC was approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008 to secure foreign investment for real estate and infrastructure projects under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. The company was the first EB-5 regional center approved in New York City. To date, the NYCRC has secured approximately $1.5 billion of capital for 21 economic development projects in Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, and the Bronx. Examples of projects utilizing loans provided by NYCRC-managed funds include the following:

construction of Fresh Direct's new food processing and distribution facility in the South Bronx ;

; redevelopment of the George Washington Bridge Bus Station in Washington Heights ;

; construction of a wireless infrastructure network in New York City's subway stations;

subway stations; redevelopment of the Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York City's largest industrial park;

largest industrial park; expansion of Steiner Studios, New York City's largest film and television studio;

largest film and television studio; construction of the City Point development in Downtown Brooklyn ;

; construction of a hotel and medical office complex in Washington Heights;

construction of key components of the Atlantic Yards redevelopment in Brooklyn ;

; expansion of the Hutchinson Metro Center in the Bronx ;

; construction of LinkNYC, the public-private initiative that is bringing the nation's largest and fastest public Wi-Fi infrastructure network to the streets of New York City.

In addition to fueling economic development, NYCRC offerings have enabled over 4,650 individuals to become permanent residents of the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program.

For more information about the NYCRC, please visit www.nycrc.com.

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Related Links

http://www.nycrc.com



SOURCE NYCRC
PARIS, TOKYO, and YOKOHAMA, Japan, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, the world's leading automotive alliance, today announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with DiDi Chuxing ('DiDi'), the leading Chinese mobile transportation platform, to explore future business cooperation on a new electric vehicle car-sharing program in the People's Republic of China.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/556610/Renault_Nissan_Mitsubishi_Logo.jpg )



The memorandum of understanding signed with DiDi underlines the commitment to new mobility services at the Alliance, including the launch of robo-vehicle ride-hailing services, as part of the Alliance 2022 strategic midterm plan launched last year by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi.

Ogi Redzic, senior vice president of Connected Vehicles and Mobility Services for Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, said: "The potential business and technology opportunities that we will explore with DiDi are quite promising. This cooperation fits with the Alliance expansion in vehicle electrification, autonomy, connectivity and new mobility services."

Chen Ting, General Manager for the Express Mobility Group of DiDi Chuxing, said, "Strategic partnerships with the world's leading industry players like Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi will enable us to pool our strengths and resources to meet diversified mobility demands and create an open, sharing-based transportation ecosystem, as we innovate vehicles for a future of ridesharing, AI technology and new energy."

As the world's largest automotive group in unit sales, the Alliance is accelerating convergence and synergy initiatives in a range of new automotive technologies. By the end of its strategic plan, the Alliance will launch 12 pure electric models worldwide, utilizing common EV platforms and components, while also bringing to market 40 vehicles worldwide with autonomous drive technology and developing robo-vehicle ride-hailing services.

Under the Alliance 2022 strategic plan, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is forecasting that the combined revenues of its member companies will reach $240 billion and that annual unit sales will exceed 14 million by the end of 2022, compared with 10.6 million units sold by its member companies in 2017.

ABOUT RENAULT-NISSAN-MITSUBISHI:

Groupe Renault, Nissan Motor Company and Mitsubishi Motors represent the world's largest automotive alliance. It is the longest-lasting and most productive cross-cultural partnership in the auto industry. Together, the partners more than 10.6 million vehicles in nearly 200 countries in 2017. The member companies are focused on collaboration and maximizing synergies to boost competitiveness. They have strategic collaborations with other automotive groups, including Germany's Daimler and China's Dongfeng. This strategic alliance is the industry leader in zero-emission vehicles and is developing the latest advanced technologies, with plans to offer autonomous drive, connectivity features and services on a wide range of affordable vehicles.

http://www.alliance-2022.com

http://www.media.renault.com

http://www.nissan-newsroom.com

http://www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/newsrelease/

http://www.DiDichuxing.com/en/

SOURCE Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi
Rishikul Yogshala, a globally renowned and reputed yoga school for certification programs has announced the annual calendar for its up and coming Yoga, Meditation, Ayruveda TTC programs and retreats

Locations: Rishikesh, India:

200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training: Focused on Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga along with Meditation, Pranayama, Yoga Nidra, Mantra Yoga, Philosophy, Yoga Anatomy, Teaching Methodology, the 200 Hour Yoga program in Rishikesh is available throughout the year, starting on 7th of every month.

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8267251-rishikul-yogshala-calendar-2018/

300 Hour Yoga Teacher Training: This program covers intermediate series of Ashtanga Yoga and some advanced versions of Hatha Yoga, Philosophy, Meditation and other yogic subjects. It's a one month program which starts on 7th March, 7th June, 7th August and 7th November.

Mindful Yoga Retreats: Our mindful yoga, meditation and spiritual retreats are available throughout the year in Rishikesh

Location: Kerala, India:

200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Scholarships: 7th March, 7th August, 7th September and 7th October

Regular 200 Hour Yoga and Ayurveda Teacher Training: 7th November and 7th December,

Location: Pokhara, Nepal:

200 Hour Yoga TTC in Nepal starts on every 7th March, 7th April, 7th September, 7th October and 7th November

Rishikul Yogshala is all set to invite all the determined and passionate yogis, aspirants, seekers, wanderers to embark on a journey of healing and self-transformation with the finest yoga retreats and teacher training programs across some of the most soulful destinations namely Rishikesh, Kerala, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam.

With the sole prerogative to impart the most authentic and traditional teachings of yoga and with the selfless intent to help people undergo mind, body, spirit transformation towards holistic wellbeing, Rishikul Yogshala conducts the finest yoga teacher training programs and retreats for entities from across the globe. The school welcomes all levels of yogis from beginner to advanced for their courses and retreats. Whether you are an aspiring yoga teacher, or someone willing to delve in a deep enriching practice of the science, the school caters and offers customized programs for each individual dedicatedly willing to immerse in the art. Being a karma-yogi foundation, Rishikul Yogshala constantly strives towards reaching the teachings of yoga across the passionate yogis, irrespective of monetary barriers. And, for this divine purpose, Rishikul Yogshala also awards timely Yoga Scholarships to various zealous entities from across the globe.

Carla Lewis, a Rishikul Alumna, and Yoga Teacher Training graduate expresses, "The Yoga training at Rishikul Yogshala completely transformed my life. I got the opportunity to learn from some of the best yoga teachers who heartily supported me through the entire program. The school has given me one of the most blessed experiences of my life and thousands of soulful memories that I shall always cherish in my heart." This is not all.

Paul Beckett who came to India on a month-long tour approached the Yogshala on a 15-Day retreat said, "I do not know what to call it. A fortnight of yoga, meditation, pranayama, fun, adventure, or a fortnight of 'life'. Coming on a retreat at this school was indeed the best decision I could have ever made for myself. Being here has given my life a whole new meaning. I definitely intend to come here again. This time for a complete Yoga Training. Stay blessed!"

Rishikul Yogshala works as per the guidelines of international Yoga Alliance and imparts authentic teachings on traditional styles of Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga. The participants are taken through a complete journey of the mind, body, and spirit upheaval with deeply ingrained teachings of traditional subjects as discussed in the ancient text of Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and Yoga Upanishads. Some of the subjects being Meditation, Yoga Philosophy, Pranayama, Adjustment and Alignment, Yoga Anatomy, Shatkriyas, Mantra Yoga, and several more. Upon completion of the program, the participants are awarded a Yoga Alliance validated certificate that they can cherish for life. The certificate offers them the liberty to teach and preach yoga across the globe.

Here is a brief overview of the upcoming Yoga TTC programs and retreats you can reward yourself at the school's various locations:

Yoga Teacher Training and Yoga Retreats in Rishikesh, India :

Rishikesh is the perfect place for practicing and learning yoga. It is the hub of rituals and traditions. Rishikul conducts regular yoga classes at the headquarters in Rishikesh. The teachers at the school are highly experienced and dedicated to teaching basic to advanced yoga techniques with authenticity and perfection. Along with spread in the laps of Himalayan splendour, Rishikesh is the town of river Ganges and is constantly bustled the spirit of holiness. It is also known as 'the capital city of yoga.' One of the next best reasons for coming to this town is that the admissions and retreats are open throughout the year here.

Yoga Teacher Training and Yoga Retreats in Kerala, India :

Deepen your yoga practice in the Vedic land of Kerala. Get assured for a completely reformative journey in the land of backwaters with Rishikul Yogshala's Ayurveda and Yoga TTC programs and retreats in the beautiful Varkala region in Kerala. Kerala is a dream-like destination for those who wish to relax in the lap of nature while exploring the traditional science of Ayurveda. Rishikul Yogshala conducts various Yoga, Ayurveda and Kalaripayattu Training and Retreats in the gorgeous winter months of November, December, January, and February. The scholarship applicants are eligible to apply for the programs in March, August September, and October.

Yoga Teacher Training and Yoga Retreats in Pokhara, Nepal:

Undergo a completely enthralling experience in the meditative lap of Nepal. Rishikul Yogshala invites students from across the globe during March, April, May, September, October and November for their YTTC programs and some of the most unique yoga retreats at its Pokhara location. The school has a beautiful ashram in the village spanning amidst the breathtaking beauty of Annapurna Mountain range and plush agricultural fields. You will be enthralled with the experience of learning yoga here. Rishikul Yogshala brings together a team of globally acclaimed yoga teachers from India come to their center here for imparting the teachings and practice.

About us: Rishikul Yogshala, an internationally acclaimed Yoga, and Meditation school centered in Rishikesh with branches at several locations has been facilitating Yoga Teacher Training courses since 2010. The school has been approved by Yoga Alliance USA and Yoga Alliance International. Rishikul Yogshala offers 200, 300, and 500 hour yoga TTC courses along with 7-Day and 15-Day yoga retreats. For more information, visit https://www.rishikulyogshala.org/ . Alternatively, you can call +91-7060060954 or email at [email protected].

(Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/638785/Rishikul_Yogshala.jpg )



Video:

https://www.multivu.com/players/uk/8267251-rishikul-yogshala-calendar-2018/



SOURCE Rishikul Yogshala
TIRAT CARMEL, Israel, February 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

A $4M grant was awarded to support transfer to manufacturing of MeMed's pioneering point of care platform that distinguishes bacterial from viral infections

MeMed Ltd. announced today that it has been awarded a $4,079,159 grant by the DoD's Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). The award will support transition of the prototype point-of-care (POC) platform towards a final product, including transfer to manufacturing and implementation of cloud connectivity. The CDMRP grant complements a $9.2M contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency awarded last year to MeMed that is supporting the final stages of prototype development.

(Logo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/451805/MeMed_Ltd_Logo.jpg )



"This grant will allow us to set up manufacturing processes for our POC platform, ultimately enabling MeMed's novel blood test that has been clinically validated for differentiating between bacterial and viral infection to reach the patient in a shorter time," said Kfir Oved, MD/PhD, MeMed's CTO.

MeMed recently announced completion of a trilogy of clinical studies, two of which were double-blind, conducted over the past seven years, which collectively enrolled 2,376 patients*. The latest study, PATHFINDER, published in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, independently confirmed that MeMed's novel blood test, accurately distinguishes between bacterial and viral infections in children. The test aims to support clinicians in one of the most routine yet challenging clinical dilemmas today - determining whether an infection is bacterial or viral in order to decide whether to treat or not to treat with antibiotics.

"Now that development is approaching completion, we are working to expand the menu of tests that will be available on the POC platform, including novel tests for predicting disease severity and for differentiating between sepsis and SIRS," said Eran Eden, PhD, MeMed's CEO. "Fast menu expansion is possible, as our unique platform paves the way to performing a wide range of other multiplex-protein measurements, with laboratory quality, within minutes at the POC - the basis for a panel of tests needed to advance patient care."

*Oved et al. Plos One, 2015; van Houten et el. Lancet Infectious Diseases, 2016; Srugo et al. Pediatrics, 2017.

CDMRP grant information

The U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity, 820 Chandler Street, Fort Detrick MD 21702-5014 is the awarding and administering acquisition office. This work was supported by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, Peer Reviewed Medical Research Program under Award No. W81XWH-17-1-0694.

About MeMed

MeMed is dedicated to improving patient care through research, development and commercialization of solutions that decode the immune system's distinct responses to different health and disease states. The company focuses on providing rapid, accurate and actionable tests for acute infectious diseases and inflammatory disorders to be used in the hospital and community. Its first-generation test, ImmunoXpert, measures three blood borne immune markers to accurately detect whether a patient has a bacterial or viral infection, with the aim of empowering physicians to make more informed antibiotic treatment decisions. ImmunoXpert is cleared for clinical use in the EU (CE-IVD certified), Switzerland and Israel. It is currently in pilot distribution in these territories with a broader commercial roll-out underway. MeMed's second-generation test will provide rapid (within minutes) results at the point-of-care. The company is partnering with international stakeholders from industry and government to facilitate global availability of its tests. For additional information, please visit http://www.me-med.com.

Company Contact:

Asi Cohen-Dotan, PhD, MeMed

Phone: +972-4-8500302

asi.cohen@me-med.com



Media Contact:

Kirsten Thomas, The Ruth Group

Phone: 508-280-6592

kthomas@theruthgroup.com



SOURCE MeMed
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Washington, Feb 2 : US President Donald Trump has insisted in remarks before Republican lawmakers that the young undocumented foreigners who came to this country as children should not be called "Dreamers," advising people not to "fall into that trap."

"I've been hearing about DACA for so many years. Some people call it Dreamers. It's not Dreamers. Don't fall into that trap," the President said on Thursday during his speech at the winter meeting of GOP lawmakers in West Virginia, Efe news reported.

He referred to the situation of undocumented migrants who came to this country as children and who have been protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which he cancelled and which expires on March 5.

"I said the other night, you know, we have dreamers too. We have dreamers in this country, too. You can't forget our dreamers," said the President, referring to his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Last September, when Trump decided to end the DACA program implemented by former President Barack Obama and which has shielded some 800,000 young people from deportation, the mogul instructed Congress to find a permanent legislative solution for that group by March 5.

Republicans and Democrats have been negotiating for months on an alternative to DACA and several weeks ago they reached an agreement in principle that fulfilled the requirements originally demanded by the White House, but the president then refused to give it the green light.

In exchange, the White House last week presented its own proposal, taking a much harsher line regarding border security, eliminating the possibility of family reunification and the visa lottery, but creating a path to citizenship for 1.8 million young foreigners.

"I gave a number that was ... very generous ... because I wanted to see whether or not (Democratic lawmakers) were interested in approving that," the President said.

Trump went on to urge the Republican-controlled Senate to bring his immigration proposal to a vote, knowing that congressional debates on it will begin in the coming weeks.

"It's a strong bill, but it's a very fair bill. And it protects our border," Trump said to applause from the GOP legislators.

The debate on how to regularize the immigration status of the young people - due to lack of consensus among lawmakers from the two parties - led to a partial government shutdown two weeks ago.
Agartala, Feb 3 : Three candidates, including opposition Congress' official candidate and former Tripura Chief Minister Samir Ranjan Barman, on Saturday withdraw their candidature for the February 18 assembly polls.

Congress' Sukumar Chandra Das joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Congress slammed the BJP for putting "pressure and inducement on the candidates to withdraw the candidature".

Tribal-based party Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura's (INPT) official candidate in Matabari assembly seat (in southern Tripura) Tarani Sadhan Jamatia also withdrew his nomination papers.

With the Congress nominee's withdrawal in the Kakraban-Shalgarha assembly seat (reserved for the scheduled caste), there would be direct contest between CPI-M candidate and Tourism Minister Ratan Kumar Bhowmik and BJP aspirant Jiten Majumder, who is party's Gomti district Vice President.

Surprising political circles, Barman, state Congress' former chief, had on Wednesday filed his nomination paper as an independent in his old turf Bishalgarh in western Tripura.

The Congress earlier expelled the veteran leader for six years last April for "anti-party activities".

Barman had contested from Bishalgarh constituency in nine assembly elections consecutively from 1972 to 2013, winning five times -- in 1972, 1988, 1993, 1998 and 2003.

He said he took the decision after requests by BJP state President Biplab Kumar Deb and Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is BJP's election in-charge for Tripura.

INPT President Bijoy Kumar Hrangkhawl made it clear that the INPT and National Conference of Tripura, another tribal based party, will jointly contest the assembly elections in 14 seats.

A BJP spokesperson said that witnessing the statewide overwhelming wave in favour of the BJP, the Congress candidate has taken the right decision by joining the party.

"This will help us and further demoralise the Congress which is already virtually out of the contest," the spokesperson said.

Vehemently criticising the BJP, CPI-M central committee member Gautam Das said that the saffron party, fearing defeat, used corrupt method to forcibly win over the people.

Tripura Pradesh Congress Vice President Tapas Dey told the media: "The BJP has imported the immoral tactics in the otherwise politically fair ground of Tripura and is polluting the electoral politics of the state."

The BJP is contesting 51 seats in the 60-member Tripura Assembly. It has left nine seats for its electoral ally, the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), a tribal-based party agitating for creation of a separate state containing Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council areas.

The CPI-M-led Left Front and the Congress besides other smaller parties have put up candidates in all the 60 constituencies.

Votes will be counted on March 3.
Amaravati, Feb 4 : Upset over "injustice" to Andhra Pradesh in Union Budget 2018-19, the TDP, a key ally of the BJP, on Sunday decided to raise the issue in Parliament.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) President N. Chandrababu Naidu asked his party MPs to pressurise the BJP-led NDA government to undo the injustice.

At the TDP Parliamentary Board meeting here, Naidu said the party would begin its fight by raising the issue in Parliament, sources revealed. He made it clear that this was only the first step.

The TDP chief said the party's next course of action would depend on the response of the Modi government.

The Board discussed in detail the Union Budget and the Centre's failure to address the pending issues of the state.

Some TDP leaders suggested that both the central ministers of the TDP should quit to put pressure on the BJP. Naidu, however, said the party should first raise the issue in Parliament.

TDP leader and Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Y. Sujana Chowdhary told reporters that for the TDP the state's interests were more important than the alliance with the BJP.

He said the MPs would try to put pressure on the Centre to honour all commitments made to the state at the time of its bifurcation from Andhra Pradesh in 2014.

The TDP leader said the Centre should immediately address the key issues including the release of funds under the special assistance measure announced last year, funds for the Polavaram project, assistance to build new state capital Amaravati and setting up of a railway zone in Visakhapatnam.

Naidu had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a list of demands ahead of Parliament's budget session.

The TDP chief has been demanding that New Delhi help it out till the state overcame its revenue deficit and developed at par with the other neighbouring states.
New Delhi, Feb 5 : A notorious sharpshooter wanted in various murder cases, including attempt to murder in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, was arrested early on Monday after a brief shootout in south Delhi.

Police said the incident occurred at around 4.30 a.m. when the accused, identified as Tanvir, was coming towards Okhla Mandi road in a white Swift Dzire car. He is a sharpshooter of Uttar Pradesh's Chainu gang.

"We received a tip-off that Tanvir, along with his associate, would come to Okhla Mandi. The police teams laid a trap, barricaded the roads outside Okhla Mandi and started checking vehicles," a senior police officer said.

"During the checking, the police team suspected a white colour Swift Dzire car and asked it to stop. The driver of the car, Tanvir, in a bid to escape, hit a barricade. He then opened fire on the policemen but due to their bulletproof jackets, they were not hurt," the officer said.

"To save themselves, the police team also opened fire following which Tanvir was apprehended while his associate managed to escape," he added.

"Tanvir had on October 23, 2017, along with his other gang members killed two men within two hours in Seelampur and Bharmpuri of east Delhi," he added.

He has been on the run since 2016 after he opened fire on a police party in Pul Prahladpur area when the police intercepted his car, he said.

Carrying a reward of Rs 70,000 on his head, Tanvir is also wanted in a murder case in Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, the police arrested some of his associates, he added.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : Telugu Desam Party (TDP), part of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA), protested in Lok Sabha over the budget on Tuesday, forcing a brief adjournment.

TDP members gathered near the Speaker's podium soon after the House met, holding placards and shouting slogans. Members from YSR Congress also did the same.

As the members protested, Speaker Sumitra Mahajan adjourned the house for around 10 minutes.

However, when the House met again the scene was no different and the business of the House proceeded amid the din.

The TDP members raised slogans seeking "justice" and held up placards that urged the government to keep its "alliance dharma".

Several attempts by Mahajan to pacify the MPs failed and Question Hour and the rest of the proceedings went on amid sloganeering.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar assured the TDP members that the Centre was sensitive towards their demands.

"The Prime Minister and this government are sensitive about the development of Andhra Pradesh. The matters they are raising will be looked into," he said.

The agitating members, however, continued to raise slogans, and even broke into song at a point during the protests.

The House then took up the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Speech as the protests continued.
New Delhi, Feb 6 : India on Tuesday said that it was disturbed by the situation in the Maldives where President Abdulla Yameen has declared a state of emergency and has put judges and political leaders behind the bars.

"We are disturbed by the declaration of a state of emergency in the Maldives following the refusal of the government to abide by the unanimous ruling of the full bench of the Supreme Court on February 1, and also by the suspension of constitutional rights of the people of Maldives," the External Affairs Ministry said in statement.

"The arrest of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and political figures are also reasons for concern," it stated. "Government continues to carefully monitor the situation."

The statement comes after former Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed, earlier in the day, sought India's help to resolve the raging political crisis in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.

Taking to Twitter, Nasheed said that he was requesting India, on behalf of the Maldivian people, to send its envoy, "backed by its military", to release judges and political detainees, including former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom Nasheed, who lives in self-exile in Britain, also requested the US "to stop all financial transactions of Maldives regime leaders going through US banks".

Meanwhile, in his first public statement after clamping a 15-day state of emergency and jailing the country's Chief Justice, President Yameen in a live address on Tuesday said he had taken the move as the top judge and another apex court judge were involved in corruption and also alleged a "coup" by them - in directly disobeying his orders, including making moves to impeach him.

Maldivian police arrested Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Hameed from the Supreme Court at around 3 a.m., after an almost seven-hour siege and took them to a detention facility outside Male.

The Maldives has been facing unrest after the Supreme Court ruled last week to release top opposition political leaders including former President Nasheed and former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb.

The US State Department said it was "troubled and disappointed" by the developments in the archipelago nation, while British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson called on President Yameen to lift the emergency.

India, China and Britain have issued travel warnings for their citizens.
Washington, Feb 7 : SpaceX on Tuesday launched the world's most powerful operational rocket into space in a much-hyped demonstration mission deemed to have the potential to bring a revolution in the space industry.

The Falcon Heavy blasted off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center at 3:45 p.m. EST (2145 GMT), carrying something just for fun: a red Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk, Xinhua reported.

Eventually, the rocket's second stage will try to place the Roadster, playing David Bowie's Space Oddity, into a Mars-adjacent orbit.

"We estimate it'll be in that orbit for several hundred million years, maybe even in excess of a billion years," Musk told reporters during a media call.

The tech billionaire has repeatedly played down expectations for the launch, saying that the mission might end in explosion.

"This is a test mission as I said there's so much that can go wrong, so we don't want to set expectations of perfection," he said.

"I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesn't blow the pad to smithereens."

But so far everything has gone as planned, with the rocket's two side boosters landing simultaneously back on ground about eight minutes after liftoff.
Washington, Feb 7 : US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he "would love" to force a partial government shutdown due to lack of funding if congressional Democrats do not accept the conditions he has set for reforming the country's immigration system.

"If we don't change the legislation, if we don't get rid of these loopholes where killers are allowed to come into our country and continue to kill ... if we don't change it, let's have a shutdown," Trump said during a meeting at the White House about gang violence, including the violent Mara Salvatrucha gang, Efe reported.

"I'd love to see a shutdown if we don't get this stuff taken care of," the president added, going on to say "If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don't want safety - and unrelated but still related, they don't want to take care of our military - then shut it down. We'll go with another shutdown."

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump was not lobbying for a shutdown.

"We are not advocating for the shutdown," she said upon being asked about Trump's remarks, going on to blame congressional Democrats for any such problem, saying that it would be "the fault of the Democrats not being willing to do their jobs."

However, she said that although "the president wants a long-term deal and he wants to get a deal on immigration," if Democratic lawmakers do not cooperate in approving a budget, Trump would welcome a political fight involving a shutdown.

The federal government could virtually grind to a halt once again at midnight on Thursday if Republican and Democratic lawmakers cannot agree on a budget.

Two weeks ago, Democrats rejected the administration's budget because it did not include a solution for the so-called Dreamers, young undocumented migrants brought to the US as children.

The minority party agreed to reopen the government until Feb. 8 in exchange for debating in Congress an immigration plan to aid the Dreamers.

In late January, Trump proposed to Congress an immigration reform package creating a path to citizenship for 1.8 million young undocumented migrants in exchange for $25 billion to build a wall along the border with Mexico and strengthen border security, as well as making a series of changes to the country's legal immigration system.

But the President's proposal has received a cold reception from Democrats and he has reiterated that he will not accept any plan that does not include funds for the wall and address his other priorities.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Shiromani Akali Dal on Wednesday demanded justice in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots that erupted following the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, after fresh evidence against a Congress leader surfaced.

Referring to an alleged video of the senior Congress leader released by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee President Manjit Singh GK, wherein the former is allegedly seen disclosing killing Sikhs in Delhi and elsewhere, Sukhdeo Singh Dhindsa said: "When will Sikhs get justice?"

"They have been waiting for justice for the last 34 years."

The Congress members objected to Dhindsa's raking up the issue, saying the matter is "sub judice hence could not be discussed in the House". However, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu refused their demand.

"Rules do not allow this issue to be raised. It is sub judice," Congress member Anand Sharma said objecting to the Chair's order.

Responding to it, Naidu said: "I have allowed the matter to be raised after Dhindsa met me in my chamber and shown me the CD.

"I told him that the authenticity of the CD needs to be proved. I don't find any objection."

Amid protests from the Congress members, Dhindsa said: "The Congress leader has made confession about the genocide."
New Delhi, Feb 7 : To make technology accessible and productive for all Indians, Microsoft on Wednesday announced the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Deep Neural Networks (DNN) to improve real-time language translation for Hindi, Bengali and Tamil languages.

This technology will help users in getting results that are more accurate and natural while surfing the Internet across any website on the Microsoft Edge browser, on Bing search, Bing Translator website, as well Microsoft Office 365 products like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Skype.

"We are committed to empower every citizen and business in India by bringing the power of AI into their daily life and become a driving force for Digital India," Sundar Srinivasan, General Manager - AI and Research at Microsoft India, said in a statement.

"We have supported Indian languages in computing for over two decades and more recently have made significant strides on voice based access and machine translation across languages," Srinivasan added.

The translator is equipped with "TrueText" -- a satellite DNN based system that filters repetition, pauses, and indifferent words, enhancing the translation's contextual appropriateness.

DNN have the capability of encoding more granular concepts like gender (feminine, masculine, neutral), politeness level (slang, casual, written, formal) and type of word (verb, noun, adjective).

The technology is also available for Android and iOS devices users through Microsoft Translator app which can recognise and translate languages from text, speech and even photos.

For its partners and customers, Microsoft also provides APIs on Azure that they can use in their products.

According to Microsoft, while facing complexities for translating Indian languages, especially of Dravidian and Aryan subdivisions and a dearth of digital content in Indian languages, DNN-powered translation systems have shown at least a 20 per cent improvement in translation quality for all Indic languages which are currently supported.

The company also supports text input in all 22 constitutionally recognised Indian languages across its products and Windows interface in 12 languages.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Lok Sabha on Wednesday passed a motion of Thanks to the President's Speech after a reply by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The motion, as passed by Lok Sabha said, the "Members of the Lok Sabha assembled in this Session are deeply grateful to the President for the Address which he has been pleased to deliver to both Houses of Parliament assembled together on January 29, 2018."

There were no amendments to the motion.

The Motion of Thanks will now be passed by the Rajya Sabha after which it will be sent to President Ram Nath Kovind.
Los Angeles, Feb 7 : Actor Jordan Peele says he will "seriously consider" a sequel to his hit film "Get Out".

"Get Out", a horror film centred on an inter-racial relationship between a black American man and his white partner, was a satire on racism and it was critically lauded.

The director has said that while he has received a lot of feedback on the film, hearing audiences relate to the feeling of "the sunken place" has been the most meaningful, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

"When you create something like that, it's very personal and meaningful, but to hear that people kind of related to that feeling and needed it to be named has been very touching for me," Peele said.

After the success of "Get Out", the idea of a sequel isn't completely out of the question, Peele said. "I can tell you that I will definitely seriously consider it.

"I love that universe and I feel like there's more story to tell. I don't know what it is now but there are some loose ends that want to be tied up."

But since it took Peele eight years to create the world of "Get Out", the follow-up story would have to feel right, he said.

"I would never want to do a sequel that just feels like for the sake of doing a sequel. I would have to have a story that I feel like would take it up a notch," explained the triple Oscar-nominated star.

Peele is looking forward to the 90th Oscars, to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The ceremony will be held on March 4 at the Dolby Theatre here. It will be aired in India live on Star Movies and Star Movies Select on March 5.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Protests and sloganeering by the Congress and Left party members echoed in the Lok Sabha as Prime Minister Narendra Modi replied to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's Speech, in which he slammed previous Congress-led governments for not doing enough for the country's progress.

The Lok Sabha has been witnessing protests by government ally Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and YSR Congress since Tuesday. Both have alleged injustice to the recently bifurcated state, and are demanding a special package.

On Wednesday morning, as soon as the House met, members from the two parties trooped near Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's podium and kept raising slogans through the Question Hour.

An angry Speaker was seen reprimanding the members, but they did not go back to their seats.

However, when the Prime Minister was to start his reply just after noon, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar requested the protesting members to go back to their seats and let the Prime Minister speak.

The TDP members went back to their seats while the YSR Congress staged a walkout.

However, Congress leader in the House Mallikarjun Kharge questioned why the protests were not stopped when he was speaking in the House on Tuesday.

Soon after, the Congress members, along with members from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) trooped near the Speaker's podium and started raising slogans demanding justice for Andhra Pradesh.

Even as the Prime Minister slammed the previous Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for the hasty bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh for political benefits, members from the Congress and the Left continued their protest.

The opposition MPs raised slogans in Telugu as well and were seen clapping in rhythm as they raised slogans.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi, who remained seated, was also seen clapping to the beats of the slogans at one point during the Prime Minister's reply.

Time to time, protesting members raised slogans saying "bhashanbazi band karo" (stop giving speeches) and "jumlebazi band karo" (stop making hollow claims).

However, more than halfway through the speech, Congress members got printed placards which raised questions on the Rafale deal and demanded a clarification from the Prime Minister.

Later, speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister should tell the nation the truth about the Rafale deal.

As the Prime Minister concluded his speech in the House, all members of the treasury benches stood up and were seen thumping their desk lauding the reply.

Congress members meanwhile staged a walkout soon after the speech was over.

The Speaker then passed the Motion of Thanks through a voice vote.

Rashtriya Janata Dal member Jay Prakash Narayan Yadav meanwhile stood on his seat and questioned why amendments were not taken up.

Soon after, TDP members, who were wearing bright yellow stoles and had yellow placards, once again trooped near the Speaker's podium.

The House was then adjourned till 3 p.m.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked opposition leaders to come up with suggestions on the Ayushman Bharat scheme.

Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Rajya Sabha, Modi said: "I heard MPs speak about Ayushman Bharat and some of them began to compare it with the schemes in the US and Britain. I think every nation has its own context, challenges and nature of working."

The Ayushman Bharat scheme is apparently aimed at strengthening primary healthcare and offer financial protection from the huge expenditure often faced once a family member falls sick and needs long-term healthcare.

"What I am sure we agree on is that there is a lot of work to be done in our health sector," the Prime Minister said.

He urged the opposition to come up with suggestions for improving on Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

"We brought up the Aayushman Bharat Scheme, and I agree that there can be some shortcomings in it. So I invite the opposition leaders to come up with suggestions for (improving) the scheme," he said.

"I also request the opposition parties to form a task force within their parties to give suggestions," he said.

Modi said the government was always looking for suggestions, feedback and inputs on its schemes. "After all, we are working for the nation and the poor," he added.
New Delhi, Feb. : New Delhi, Feb. Feb 7 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Wednesday was told that vulnerability of citizens' demographic and biometric data collected under Aadhaar to leaks is itself the violation of their right to privacy.

"Vulnerability (of personal data collected under Aadhaar to leaks) is violation of rights," senior counsel Kapil Sibal told the five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra.

Appearing for West Bengal government, Sibal said that the functioning of the digital world was vulnerable to the sabotage and pointed out no other country in the world has such a centralised demographic and biometric data of its citizens.

Telling the court that there was "no system of the world that can't be hacked", he said if one goes to railway booking counter and feeds Aadhaar number, then it would reveal all journeys they had undertaken by trains in the past.

Pointing out that same was the case with air journeys, Sibal asked: "Why should the state know where I am going and what I am doing?"

At this, Justice A.K. Sikri recounted how he once took his wife for a Chinese dinner and asked for a rice dish they had eaten during their last visit five months back but whose name they ere not able to recollect. After a short while, the waiter returned with the print-out of their five month old bill.

Justice D.Y. Chandrachud described the entire episode as "scary".

A statute, Sibal said, has to be "consistent with the provisions of the constitution" and citing Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 asserted that the provision, it was a person's choice to produce Aadhaar number to establish their identity.

When Justice Ashok Bhushan said that under the said provision, Aadhaar can be used to establish the identity of the persons under other statutes, Sibal said that any interpretation other than that it was voluntary to use Aadhaar for establishing one's identity would be "horrendous".

As Justice Bhushan asked: "What is wrong with one nation, one identity? We are all Indians", Sibal said: "Yes we are all Indians. Passionately Indian. But we are more than our Aadhaars."

Further dwelling on his arguments, Sibal said, "Digital world knows more about you, than you know about yourself."

He told the court that there is an app called "moodpanda which rates and tracks your mood"and in a lighter vein told the bench "We would love to use it to see Your Lordships' mood in the Aadhaar case."

"Unlike smart cards which require several pieces of sophisticated equipment such as a card skimmer and card printer in addition to sophisticated software and advanced technical knowledge, most biometric readers in India today can be defeated by a child with no technical knowledge using Fevicol and wax," he claimed.

Besides West Bengal government, the former Karnataka High Court judge K.S. Puttuswamy, Magsaysay awardee Shanta Sinha, feminist researcher Kalyani Sen Menon and others have assailed the constitutional validity of Aadhaar Act on the touchstone of the fundamental right to privacy.

Hearing will continue on Thursday.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Former Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said there was "nothing new" in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha and that the people were interested in knowing about their future and jobs.

"The Prime Minister said nothing new. He is repeating old things, (but) people are interested about their jobs. They want to know about their future," Gandhi said.

Replying to a debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address, Modi had strongly attacked the Congress and accused the opposition party of "fostering the legacy of one family" at the cost of the country.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said that it will hear the AAP MLAs plea challenging their disqualification for holding office of profit on a daily basis from Thursday.

Meanwhile, senior advocate Mohan Parasaran told a division bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Chander Shekhar that the notification is a "gross violation of natural justice because the Election Commission (EC) decided the matter in undue haste and without affording and giving any opportunity of fair hearing to the petitioners".

The findings are, therefore, contrary to the provisions of Article 14 of Constitution of India, ultra vires, void ab initio and an attack on the basic fabric of democracy, the AAP MLAs said.

The legislators said that the action of the election commission is bad.

The counsel also raised the point that the MLAs were not given a fair opportunity to air their grievances before the poll panel.

Sunil Arora, who was appointed as an Election Commissioner after the retirement of Syed Nasim Ahmad Zaidi, never had any occasion to deal with the matter or to understand the facts of the case, the legislators told the court.

The counsel also said that Election Commissioner O.P. Rawat had earlier recused himself from hearing the matter. But later, he joined the hearing conducted by the election commission.

The disqualified lawmakers had moved the High Court last month.

The EC has told the Delhi High Court that the various writ petitions submitted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators against their disqualification in the 'office of profit' case are "misdirected" and "not maintainable", and has sought their dismissal "with cost".

The EC said that the pleas by the MLAs are not maintainable as the petitioners have not challenged the Presidential Order dated January 20, 2018 disqualifying them on grounds of holding office of profit as Parliamentary Secretaries.

Following the poll panel's recommendation to President Ram Nath Kovind, the Law and Justice Ministry issued a notification that the President had "okayed" the disqualification of 20 Delhi AAP MLAs.

The disqualified MLAs are Alka Lamba, Adarsh Shastri, Sanjeev Jha, Rajesh Gupta, Kailash Gahlot, Vijendra Garg, Praveen Kumar, Sharad Kumar, Madan Lal Khufiya, Shiv Charan Goyal, Sarita Singh, Naresh Yadav, Rajesh Rishi, Anil Kumar, Som Dutt, Avtar Singh, Sukhvir Singh Dala, Manoj Kumar, Nitin Tyagi and Jarnail Singh.
Jaipur, Feb 7 : The head of the BJP's Kota district OBC wing, Ashok Choudhary, has written to BJP president Amit Shah apprising him of "unhappiness spreading among BJP members" against the working style of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje.

Choudhary has sought replacement of Raje and state party chief Ashok Parnami, ahead of the state Assembly polls scheduled later this year Speaking to IANS, Choudhary said "There is a wave of resentment among BJP workers. I have put the voice of Rajasthan BJP workers in the letter."

"Each and every word in the letter speaks of the helplessness of the party workers."

Asked about the reasons for penning the letter, Choudhary said: "I was feeling the trauma of workers and hence I was forced from within to write such a letter." He declined to add anything more, saying he is "really stressed out".

The letter comes days after the BJP lost two Lok Sabha seats and one Assembly seat in bypolls in Rajasthan, the results of which were declared on February 1.

Choudhary wrote to Shah on the party letterhead the next day, saying, "The people of the state are not happy with Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje's style of functioning. The party workers are losing confidence due to her working style."

The letter describes Parnami as a "slave of Raje", who is causing "damage" to the organisation.

He added that ground-level party workers had predicted the fall of the saffron party during the bypolls.

"Raje is leading the party on to a path which heads towards defeat. Several sections of the society, including farmers, are angry with the Raje government," claimed his letter.

"The state leadership should immediately be changed to infuse energy into the organisation ahead of the Assembly polls," he added.

The BJP's political record in Kota stands quite strong and the party has been a constant winner here.

It has lost only one of the 17 seats in the district in the 2013 state Assembly polls.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : A court here on Wednesday granted bail to a Kashmiri businessman arrested for alleged involvement in the Red Fort attack of 2000.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma granted bail to businessman Bilal Ahmad Kawa, 37, asking him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of like amount.

Kawa was arrested in a joint operation by Delhi Police and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here in January this year for his alleged involvement in the Red Fort attack of 2000.

The Delhi Police said Kawa's bank account had been used for Lashkar-e-Taiba terror funding.

The court order came on senior advocate and defence counsel Aman Lekhi's submission that except one, other accused in the case had been either discharged or acquitted.

The court warned Kawa not to tamper with the evidence or interfere in the probe.

Kawa, in his bail plea, claimed that no purpose would be served by keeping him in custody further.

The police have said that Kawa, one of the alleged conspirators in the attack, had been absconding for 17 years and declared a proclaimed offender.

The trial court in October 2005 awarded death sentence to Pakistan-based LeT terrorist Mohammad Arif alias Ashfaq, while two key conspirators were awarded life imprisonment. The court also convicted three other accused.

In September 2007, the Delhi High Court had upheld the death sentence to Ashfaq but acquitted six others.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : In a measure to provide relief to the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector which was "badly hit" by the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday gave them an extension of up to 180 days to clear their loans to banks.

In addition, the RBI also removed credit caps on MSME in the services sector under priority sector.

RBI Deputy Governor N.S. Vishwanathan said the formalisation of business through registration under GST adversely impacted cash flows of the smaller entities during the transition phase with consequent difficulties in meeting their repayment obligations to banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

"As a measure to support their transition to a formalised business environment, it has been decided that for the GST-registered MSMEs... the amounts overdue as on September 1, 2017, and payments due between September 1, 2017, and January 31, 2018, be allowed by banks and NBFCs to be paid not later than 180 days from their original due date, without a downgrade in asset classification," he said.

The extension to clear the dues will be given to the MSMEs which were standard as on August 31, 2017, and for which the aggregate exposure of banks and NBFCs does not exceed Rs 25 crore as on January 31, 2018, Vishwanathan said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in his Budget presentation on February 1, had also announced relief measures for giving a boost to the MSME sector -- which is the largest employer in the country -- by reducing corporate taxation rate to 25 per cent for companies with turnover of up to Rs 250 crore.

The RBI said: "In the light of feedback received from various stakeholders and in line with the increasing importance of the services sector in our economy, it has been decided to remove the currently applicable loan limits of Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore per borrower to MSME (Services), respectively, for classification under priority sector."

Accordingly, all bank loans to MSMEs, engaged in providing or rendering of services as defined in terms of investment in equipment under MSME Development Act, 2006, shall qualify under priority sector without any credit caps, the central bank said.

In order to achieve level-playing field in the priority sector lending guidelines for banks, the RBI said: "It was stipulated in April, 2015, that post 2018 (after three years from the issuance of guidelines), the sub-targets for lending to small and marginal farmers and micro enterprises shall be made applicable for foreign banks with 20 branches and above."

"It has been decided that the sub-target of eight per cent of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure (CEOBE), whichever is higher, will be made applicable for lending to the small and marginal farmers for foreign banks with 20 branches and above from FY 2018-19," it added.

Further, the sub-target for bank lending to the micro enterprises in the country of 7.50 per cent of ANBC or CEOBE, whichever is higher, will also be made applicable for foreign banks with 20 branches and above from FY 2018-19, the RBI added.
Agartala, Feb 7 : The BJP governments both at the Centre and in the states are doing only publicity to deceive people, former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said here on Wednesday, adding that the BJP has failed to keep any of its promises.

He alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is the most corrupt political party in India.

"The BJP led governments both at the Centre and in the states are doing only publicity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party at the Centre and in states failed to keep a single promise. The BJP is the most corrupt political party in India now," the veteran Congress leader told the media.

"Many incumbent central ministers, ruling party leaders and their family members are involved in corruption cases. BJP President Amit Shah's son himself is involved in enormous corruptions."

On his former ministerial colleague Himanta Biswa Sarma, the former Assam Chief Minister said that the BJP earlier levelled huge corruption charges against Sarma, but "now the saffron party made him not only a very powerful minister in Assam but also gave him an authority to look after the party affairs of many northeastern states including Tripura".

"Earlier BJP accused me that I was protecting a corrupt man like Sarma, now who is protecting and patronising him (Sarma)," Gogoi asked.

"Sarma was involved in Louis Berger bribery scandal, Sarada and Rose Valley chit fund scams. Himanta's houses were raided by CBI. Now Gauhati High Court again asked CBI to probe the Louis Berger bribery scandal," he stated.

"India has never had a Prime Minister like Narendra Modi who commits wrong every moment. He always makes false promises to people. Modi promised to bring back black money from abroad and distribute them among masses, but he did nothing.

"The Congress is against division of Tripura. The BJP, before the Assam assembly elections in 2016, had promised separate state of Bodoland and separate Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao state, but the party did nothing. The BJP is pursuing the divide and rule policy," Gogoi added.

He further stated: "There is not much difference between BJP and CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist). Both parties have failed to serve the people."

Gogoi, who came here on Wednesday to campaign for the party for the February 18 assembly elections in Tripura, said that all sections of people including employees, farmers, students, youths and other working class people are unhappy under the governance of the BJP both at the Centre and in the states.

"The people of Tripura have similar experience under the Left rule. Prices of essentials are rising fast and the BJP government is mute, giving all sorts of support to millionaires and corporates."

The BJP has forged an electoral alliance with the N.C. Debbarma faction of the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT), which has been agitating to divide the state to form a separate state containing the TTAADC areas. The leading partner fielded 51 candidates leaving nine seats to the IPFT.

Elections to the 60-member Tripura assembly will be held on February 18 and the counting of votes will take place on March 3.

The Congress leader said that the situation in BJP-ruled Assam is worsening every day.

"The BJP government at the Centre had stopped the central funding pattern of 90:10 ratio (in any project and scheme central government funded 90 per cent of the total cost while the concerned state bore the rest of 10 per cent) to the northeastern states.

"The present central government had also reduced the extent of North East Industrial and Investment Promotion Policy (NEIIPP)," he added.

The NEIIPP was launched by the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to boost the industry and investment in the northeastern region.

"There is no basic difference in UPA government's 'Look East' and BJP government's 'Act East' policy. Just to deceive the people, the BJP government has been changing the names of UPA government's policies, schemes and projects," Gogoi added.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday termed the allegations being made in the Rafale fighter jet deal as "unfounded", and claimed "serious damage" was being caused by the "misleading statements".

The statement also said that expectations to reveal the price of Rafale aircraft under the deal is "unrealistic".

The response ccmes on a day when Congress members protested as Prime Minister Narendra Modi was speaking in the Lok Sabha, displaying placards questioning the deal and demanding clarification from the Prime Minister.

Speaking to reporters outside Parliament building later, Congress President Rahul Gandhi alleged corruption in the deal, and demanded the government should make its details public. However, on Monday, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told Parliament that the deal's details cannot be disclosed as per an Inter Governmental Agreement as it is "classified information".

In the statement on Wednesday, the government said: "Unfounded allegations are being made regarding the 2016 Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition from France.

"This would normally not have merited a response but for the serious damage being caused by the misleading statements, sought to be repeatedly perpetrated on a serious matter of national security."

It said that it was under the UPA's ten-year tenure that the 2002 initiative "to meet requirement of the Indian Air Force (IAF) for much-needed augmentation of its fighter strength ran aground" as the then Defence Minister "exercised an unprecedented personal veto on the laid down institutional process then underway for procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA)".

"All this happened when there was an alarming decline in IAF's fighter strength," it said.

Noting that in an effort to "twist facts", the government is now being asked why it did not conduct negotiations with a particular company representing a competing fighter aircraft, the statement said that the previous government had itself rejected that "company's unsolicited offer made days after closure of the bid process, declared Rafale (DA) as the L1 bidder and had commenced negotiations with it in February 2012".

"The demand that the Government disclose the details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic," it said, adding that in keeping with confidentiality requirements, the UPA Government had also expressed its inability to disclose the price of various defence procurements, including in its responses to Parliament Questions.

"The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to the Parliament. Provision of exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal, inter alia, details regarding the various customisations and weapons systems specially designed to augment the effectiveness and lethality of the assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our national security," the statement said.

It said such details would also come under the ambit of the security agreement signed with France in 2008 by the UPA and the present government was following it only.

The statement reiterated that the deal secured by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is better in terms of capability, price, equipment, delivery, maintenance, training, than that "notionally negotiated" by the UPA in a process it could not conclude in ten years.

"Moreover, the present government completed these negotiations in just about one year," it said, stressing that the deal was as per ruled and procedures.

The statement added that unlike the claims made by the Opposition, the earlier deal that was being negotiated in the UPA tenure did not have any provision for Transfer of Technology either.

It also said that no Indian Offset Partner for the 2016 deal for 36 Rafale Aircraft has been so far selected by the vendor (Dassault Avaition) as under the guidelines, it is free to select the Indian partners and provide their details at the time of seeking offset credits, or one year prior to discharge of offset obligation.

Congress has alleged that there are irregularities in the deal, claiming the 36 fighter jets are being bought at a price higher than what was negotiated in the previous MMRCA deal under which 126 fighter jets were to be bought.

The party, as well as some other opposition parties had also sought disclosure of price being paid in the present deal.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Supreme Court is likely to commence hearing on Thursday on a batch of cross petitions challenging 2010 Allahabad High Court verdict that had divided the disputed Babri Masjid-Ramjanambhoomi site between the Nirmohi Akhara, Lord Ram deity and the Sunni Waqf Board.

The matter is listed for hearing at 2 p.m. on Thursday before the bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice S. Abdul Nazeer.

The bench had on December 5, 2017 directed the listing of the matter on February 8 after senior lawyers Kapil Sibal, Rajeev Dhavan and Dushyant Dave, appearing for some of the petitioners, had pressed for postponing of the hearing postponed citing its repercussions for the country's polity.

They had also sought a hearing by a five judge constitution bench.

Sibal, who had appeared for UP Sunni Central Waqf Board, had told the three judge bench that it should not "hear the matter which has repercussions on the polity of the country".

He had urged the court to have the hearing in July 2019, apparently suggesting that the outcome of the hearing by the top court would have a bearing on 2019 general elections.

However, senior counsel Harish Salve, who appeared on the other side, had said that as far as the court was concerned it was "just a case" and the repercussion of the outcome of the case was none of its outlook.

He had said that "it is being presumed which way the verdict will go..."

After the court rejected the submission for postponing the hearing till 2019, including hearing of the matter by a constitution bench, it, on December 5 asked senior counsel C.S. Vaidyanathan, appeared for deity, to commence his case.

At that point of time, Sibal, Dhavan and Dave sought the leave of the court to withdraw from the hearing.

On December 7, the court took a dim view of the conduct of certain senior lawyers describing it as "shameful".

"What happened yesterday (December 6) was shameful. What happened day before yesterday (December 5) was extremely shameful," Chief Justice Misra had said.

"Unfortunately, a small group of lawyers think they can raise their voice. We make it clear that raising of voice will not be tolerated. Raising of voice only shows your (lawyers) inadequacy and incompetence," he had said.

Reminding the Bar of its traditions, he said: "It is not the tradition of the Bar. If the Bar does not regulate itself, we will."

The top court was moved challenging the High Court verdict by petitioners M. Siddiqui represented by his legal heirs, Nirmohi Akhara, UP Sunni Central Waqf ABoard Bhagwan Shri Ram Virajman, All India Hindu Mahasabha's Swami Chakrapani, the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha, the Akhil Bharatiya Sri Ramjanam Bhoomi Punardhar Samiti and others.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Madhya Pradesh Forest Department officials have seized five kg scales of pangolin or scaly anteater in Balaghat district over a fortnight and arrested a government employee in this regard, official sources said on Wednesday.

The animal is listed in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 and as "endangered" on IUCN (UK-based International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List.

Forest officials told IANS that a trap was laid to catch the smugglers who initially offered to provide 10 to 12 kg of the pangolin scales at Rs 50,000 per kg.

One smuggler, a government employee named Ashok Ramtekkar, was arrested though the kingpin escaped, the officials said.

Ramtekkar is an employee of the Lanji civic body and also works as a driver of the main accused Mahendra Sonwane, his wife and son, all of whom are absconding.

Killed for its meat as well as scales used in traditional Chinese medicine, pangolins are the most-hunted animals globally and at present are threatened with extinction. An adult pangolin yields around one kg scales.

About two kg scales were seized on January 22 in the same area. This month, a pangolin was confiscated from a poacher in Lanji town in Bhalaghat district.

"About four days ago, we received information about some people offering pangolin scales... we contacted the smugglers through a middleman and fixed a meeting at a place on the town outskirts. The smugglers said they can offer about 10-12 kg scales, but they bought only five kg. The person who came to the spot to deliver the scales was later arrested," Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) of Balaghat South, Deva Prasad, said.

A Naxal-hit area, Balaghat district has Chhattisgarh to the east and Maharashtra to the west. Due to its supportive terrain, the place has abundance of pangolin, a nocturnal mammal with distinct looks due to its pine-like scales.

"The poachers hire villagers by offering them small sums of money to poach wildlife and then sell the same at high prices," Prasad said.

Experts said the prices of scales vary. "At the final destination in China, the price is about six to seven times the primary price (at which the poached animal was obtained)," Tito Joseph from the Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) told IANS.

In November 2017, about 12 tonnes of pangolin scales were confiscated by custom officers in Shenzhen city of China.

The scales were believed to have come from the jungles of Asia and Africa after the slaughter of 20,000 to 30,000 pangolins.

India is home to two species -- Indian Pangolin and Chinese Pangolin.

In 2018, pangolin scales have also been confiscated from Mayurbhanj distict of Odisha and Rupnagar district of Punjab.
Kolkata, Feb 7 : West Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress will move a censure motion in the state assembly against the railway budget on Thursday to protest against "drastic slashing of funds" for several projects, a state minister said on Wednesday.

Disclosing this to newspersons here, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee said if all the parties supported the motion, it would send a strong message to the Centre.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the Centre of discriminating against Bengal in the 2017-18 rail budget proposals, claiming the allocation of funds for several projects, including some Metro lines, had been drastically slashed.

"This is a clear example of discrimination against Bengal. Bengal was deprived of any new project in the Union Budget and now they have even reduced the allocation for the ongoing Metro projects. We are being deprived," she said.

Criticising the Trinamool Congress' decision to bring the censure motion, state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Dilip Ghosh said the state's ruling party was "unnecessarily politicising" the issue.

"They are unnecessarily politicising the issue. If the ruling party really wants Bengal's development, they should approach the Finance Minister and the Railway Minister to raise their points of concern," Ghosh said.

"Rather than engaging in discussions, they are busy demonstrating in Delhi or bringing censure motion in the assembly. This is nothing but a part of their anti-Centre politics," he alleged, adding that the Bengal BJP would also help the state government realise its demands if those were put forward in a proper way.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a dig at Congress member Renuka Chowdhury over her loud laughter at his claim that the idea of Aadhaar was conceptualised during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

"Chairman sir, don't stop Renukaji. Ever since seeing Ramayana serial, for the first time I have got an opportunity to see such a laughter," Modi said, to the thumping from the treasury benches.

The Prime Minister's remark came after Rajya Sabha Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu warned Chowdhury over her behaviour.

"I will have to name you Renukaji for your unruly behaviour," remarked Naidu after Chowdhury laughed at the Prime Minister's claim over Aadhaar.

While replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, Modi said that the Congress keeps saying we brought Aadhaar.

"Let me remind them about a debate in the Rajya Sabha on July 7, 1998, L. K. Advani as Home Minister of the country said in reply to a question that a multi purpose identity card will also be used for passport, driving licence and others. It is in his speech that you will find the genesis of Aadhaar," Modi said.

Later talking to reporters Chowdhury described the Prime Minister's jibe as anti-women.

"He (the Prime Minister) has made a personal comment which denigrates the status of women. If he would have spoken this outside parliament then there would had been a case against him according to law," she told reporters.

"How can a Prime Minister speak like this? This shows his culture. I can't go to that extent," she added, branding the BJP and the Modi-led NDA government as anti-women.

CPI(M) leader T.K. Rangarajan also hit out at Modi and the BJP over the issue.

"This government is anti-women. When Women Reservation bill was brought in Rajya Sabha, they supported it and today when I moved an amendment over the same issue they voted against it. They are male chauvinists," Rangarajan told reporters.

He said that the BJP is now seeking to divide the Muslims on the issue of triple talaq. "They are not for women."
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a bitter attack on the Congress party in the Rajya Sabha, saying those opposing the dream of 'New India by 2022' want to live with their baggage of the past, and added in a taunt that even he wanted an India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams who had envisaged a "Congress-free India".

Modi also took digs at the Congress party over various alleged scams of distant and recent past and for blocking the triple talaq legislation in Parliament.

"The President has spoken of a New India in his address. Swami Vivekananda also dreamt of a New India. Mahatma Gandhi would also speak of a Young India. I don't know what is the (Congress party's) problem with the New India. They say 'we don't need New India. We want our older India'," Modi said as he started his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.

"They say 'we need Gandhi wala Bharat' (India of Mahatma Gandhi's dreams). Even I want Bharat of Gandhi's dreams, because Gandhi said after Independence that now there is no need of the Congress party and it should be dissolved.

"Congress-mukt Bharat Gandhi ka vichar hai hamara nahi (Congress-free India is the idea of Gandhi not ours). We are only trying to walk in his footsteps," Modi said in sarcasm, amid thumping of desks and laughter by the treasury members.

"If not New India, do you need India of army jeep scam, of submarine scam, of Bofors scam, of (Agusta) helicopter scam, of Emergency when the country was turned into a jail? Do you need India of the time when thousands of innocent Sikhs were massacred after a 'big tree' fell? Do you need India of the time when the culprit of thousands of deaths was provided an airplane to fly out of country (after Bhopal gas tragedy)?" Modi said, in an attacking mode.

The "big tree" jibe was a reference to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's remarks who, reacting to the anti-Sikh violence in Delhi in the wake of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, reportedly said that when a "big tree falls", the ground beneath was bound to shake.

"Is this why you don't need New India?" Modi said.

He said his government was being labelled as "name changer not game changer", but actually it was an "aim chaser" government that works hard and mobilizes resources to achieve its targets in a given timeframe.

Raking up the triple talaq Bill that is pending in the Rajya Sabha, Modi said that the Congress now wants changes in the Bill but it never brought such legislation while in government.

"You now want changes in the triple talaq Bill. You had got an opportunity to bring this legislations 30 years ago, but you didn't under pressure from your vote bank. You did not want to lose your vote bank," Modi said.

He also wondered why all the people were concerned for the man and his family who would be jailed for administering instant irrevocable divorce under the proposed law.

"Everybody is concerned about the elderly parents of the man who would be punished for giving triple talaq. They ask who would take care of his elderly parents when he would be jailed. Why is there not similar concern for the elderly parents of a Hindu man who can be jailed for polygamy under present laws?" Modi said.

Replying to opposition criticism of the government splurging hundreds of crores on Swachh Bharat Mission advertising, Modi said that the money was not being splurged on giving full page advertisements on the "birthdays of a single family" but was being utilized for "behavioral change".

"Cleanliness, use of toilets, is more a behavioural issue than an infrastructure problem. Advertising is being done to teach the people, to bring about the required behavioural change. It is not being spent on celebrating birthdays of only one family through full page advertisements worth crores," Modi said.

The Prime Minister yet again raked up the issue of simultaneous polls and urged the parties to start a comprehensive discussion on the matter as this would save thousands of crores of rupees which can be used to fund various welfare schemes for the poor.

"In 2009, the Lok Sabha election cost around Rs 1,000 crore. In 2014, the cost rose to Rs 4,000 crore. In future elections this will go further up. We need a lot of money for poor people's welfare," Modi said.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Congress party in Parliament, accusing it of serving the interest of just one family and yearning for an "old India" -- an era marked by "a series of scams".

In a speech that was made amidst continuous slogan shouting by Congress members in the Lok Sabha and later a largely uninterrupted Rajya Sabha, Modi took on the Congress for its various omissions and commissions in its more than five decades of rule and taunted the party over its demand for a "Gandhian India".

"I am also in favour of Gandhian India because Congress-free Bharat was the idea of Gandhiji," he said in the Rajya Sabha. He was speaking in both the Houses of Parliament in reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address which was adopted without any amendments by the two Houses.

He accused the Congress of having a "small mind" and fostering one family's legacy at the country's cost and said there was "festival of honesty" under his government with people knowing they will get account of the tax they pay.

Modi argued that the Congress had no right to give lessons on democracy and should not "mislead" the country on the issue of employment generation.

He said Congress-led UPA was fully responsible for the NPAs of banks and the country will never forgive the party for its "sin".

Congress members protested throughout Modi's over 90 minute speech, raising slogans and displaying placards.

Modi also sought to reach out to the middle class, which is seemingly feeling squeezed by the tax proposals in the Union Budget, saying the government was bringing about ease of living through good governance, improving education, infrastructure and housing.

With some MPs from Andhra Pradesh protesting before his speech over the pending promises at the time of division of state, Modi accused the Congress of "dividing" the state and earlier the country in 1947 for political gains.

"This is your character. You divided India. Even after 70 years of Independence, 125 crore people of India continue to suffer because of the poison you sowed. Not a single day passes when people of India are not punished for your sins.

"When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how farsighted decision making is done," Modi said.

Attacking Congress over its leaders' claims about the development done by the party in its long rule, Modi said several countries, which had gained independence around the time when India had attained it, had surged ahead in development.

He said there was nominal opposition during the first few decades after Independence and Congress held sway and even decided top judicial appointments. "But you spent the entire time singing songs in praise of one family forgetting the country. If you had worked responsibly channelizing the energy of people, the country would have reached new heights....".

Congress feels that the country was born on August 15, 1947 and democracy was given by the party and by the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he said, noting that "there was democracy in India from ancient times".

"The Congress has no right to talk about democracy after its dark act of imposing Emergency and jailing opposition leaders, including JP," he said.

Modi said that if Sardar Vallabhai Patel had been the first Prime Minister instead of Nehru, the country would have not faced the Kashmir problem.

He also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress chief, and also slammed him for tearing the then UPA government's ordinance to save convicted legislators from disqualification.

He also accused the party of inaugurating half-finished projects to gain publicity.

Referring to unemployment, he said four opposition ruled states - West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala - had claimed to have generated one crore jobs. "Will you not treat it as employment," he said, adding that unemployment was posed as a national problem and the answer has also to be in a national perspective.

Modi said the aspirational youth from the middle class were keen on setting up their own enterprise than on jobs. "We should support their aspirations," he said, adding that the NDA government has given 10 crore Mudra loans.

"Is it not a boost to employment. You have a habit of singing your praises... Atalji had said no one rises with a small mind."

In the Upper House, Modi attacked the Congress, saying those opposing the dream of 'New India by 2022' want to live with their baggage of the past.

He also took digs at the Congress over various alleged scams of distant and recent past and for blocking the triple talaq legislation.

"The President has spoken of New India in his address. Swami Vivekananda also dreamt of a new India. Mahatma Gandhi would also speak of Young India. I don't know what is the (Congress') problem with the New India.

"If not New India, do you need India of army jeep scam, of submarine scam, of Bofors scam, of (Agusta) helicopter scam, of Emergency when the country was turned into a jail? Do you need India of the time when thousands of innocent Sikhs were massacred after a 'big tree' fell? Do you need India of the time when the culprit of thousands of deaths was provided an airplane to fly out of the country (after the Bhopal gas tragedy)? " Modi asked.

"Is this why you don't need New India?" Modi asked.

He said his government was being labelled as "name changer not game changer", but actually it was an "aim chaser" government that works hard and mobilizes resources to achieve its targets in a given timeframe.

Raking up the triple talaq bill that is pending in the Rajya Sabha, Modi said the Congress now wants changes in the Bill but it never brought such legislation while in power.

Replying to opposition's criticism of government splurging hundreds of crores on Swachh Bharat Mission advertising, Modi said the money was not being splurged on giving full page advertisements on the "birthdays of a single family" but was being utilized for "behavioral change".

The Prime Minister also yet again raked up the issue of simultaneous polls and urged the parties to start a comprehensive discussion on the matter as this would save thousands of crores of rupees which can be used to fund various welfare schemes for the poor.

"In 2009, the Lok Sabha election cost around Rs 1,000 crore. In 2014, the cost rose to Rs 4,000 crore. In future elections this will go further up. We need a lot of money for poor people's welfare," Modi said.
Islamabad, Feb 7 : A Pakistan court on Wednesday sentenced one person to death and another 30 to between 4-25 years of imprisonment for lynching a student over accusations of blasphemy.

Imran Ali, who had pleaded guilty to shooting Mashal Khan in April after he was lynched by a group of students, was handed the death penalty and was also ordered to pay a fine of 150,000 Pakistani rupees ($1,355).

Another five people were sentenced to 25 years in prison, and another 25 to four years in prison.

Judge Fazl Subhan acquitted another 26 accused for lack of evidence at a hearing that was held at the Haripur central jail in northwestern Pakistan amid tight security, prison spokesperson Farid Ullah told Efe news.

Out of the 61 who were accused of being involved in the lynching, three are still on the run.

The government of the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the lynching took place, said in a statement that it will appeal against the acquittals and seek tougher sentences for the convicted.

The incident took place on April 13, 2017 at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the city of Mardan, where a group of youngsters lynched and killed the journalism student over rumours that he had shared blasphemous content on social media.

The lynching was recorded on video which was later circulated on social media.

Speaking to the media outside the courtroom, Mashal's brother Aimal said that he hoped no one ever has to go through the ordeal his family suffered.

According to a probe report, Mashal Khan had been vocal about the rights of students at the university and even challenged the appointment of a new vice chancellor (VC) at the university to ensure that students were able to obtain their degrees, which is not possible without the VC's signature, Dawn online reported.

Days before he was lynched by the mob, Khan in an interview to Khyber news channel, had spoken against activities at the university and the administration.

Blasphemy became a controversial issue in Pakistan after laws were amended in the 1980s making it an offence punishable by the death penalty, although nobody has been executed so far.

Despite the tightening of the law, at least 53 people have been killed by mobs in Pakistan until now over alleged blasphemy.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his long "political campaign speech" in the Lok Sabha, and wondered when he will break his silence on the Rafale deal, and also took a poetic jibe at him.

"The speech of Saheb (Modi) was very long. In the House he termed day as night. He hid his failures. It was saddening that the real issues of the country were missing in his speech. When will the Prime Minister break his silence, and when will he finally speak on the Rafale deal?" Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi.

Gandhi was referring to the over one and half-hour long speech of Modi in Lok Sabha in which he fiercely attacked the Congress, during his reply on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Speech.

Earlier, the Congress President speaking to media outside Parliament said the Prime Minister should answer to the nation on the Rafale deal, farmers issues and on employment generation, instead of questioning the opposition Congress.

"Today we wanted to hear the speech of the Prime Minister. We had two-three questions. One issue that we raised was related to Andhra Pradesh while the other which we have raised a number of times is that there is something wrong in the Rafale deal," he said.

"He asked three questions from us while speaking for over one hour. But he didn't speak a single word about the Rafale deal instead he made a political campaign speech," he alleged.

He said that Modi was silent on the real issues of the country like unemployment.

"He (Modi) is talking about Bengal, Karnataka. But he is not speaking on his promise of giving two crore jobs a year as only 450 people are getting jobs in every 24 hours. He didn't utter a single word about it. He didn't speak about the farmers issue, giving minimum support price to farmers, to waive off their farm loans, but he was speaking about bees and bamboos," he said.

The Congress President said that the Prime Minister should have spoken about the welfare of farmers.

Hitting out at Modi, Gandhi said, "Every time there is a speech about the Congress party and its leaders. Modiji, there are three-four issues that we have been raising every time and you should speak about those."

Questioning Modi again about the Rafale deal, Gandhi asked, "Was there any theft in the Rafale deal? Please answer in yes or no. He should clearly tell the nation that after he changed the contract after visiting Paris.

"Did you consult the cabinet committee on security? Yes or No. And how much have you paid for each aircraft?" he asked.

The Congress leader also attacked Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and said, "She says that we won't tell the country about the deal. This is the country's biggest defence deal and she is saying that we won't tell the nation about it as it is a secret."

"We just want to know did you yourself change the deal? Did you give more money or less? And did you take the permission from the cabinet committee or not?" he asked.

"The questions are very simple, but we are not getting answers," he said.

Taking a dig at Modi, Gandhi said, "The Prime Minister used to talk about curbing corruption. Corruption has happened in the Rafale deal but he is saving those who are involved in corruption."

Gandhi said that he can understand that before 2014 Modi was blaming the Congress for everything, but even after being in power for four years he was still questioning the opposition instead of giving answers to the people from the floor of the House.

"I can understand that before 2014, the Prime Minister was talking about the 70 years of Congress rule. But today, the BJP is in government, Modi is the Prime Minister, not opposition," the Congress President said.

"He can talk about this in a public meeting, but in Parliament, you have to answer to the country," he said.

Modi also blamed the former governments under the Congress for not doing enough for the progress of the country, and said India is lagging behind because of them.
Bengaluru, Feb 7 : The University of Chicago in the US midwest has tied up with the Karnataka Urban Development Department to clean up state capital Bengaluru's environment, a Minister said on Wednesday.

"We have launched the Bengaluru Innovation Challenge to improve the city's air and water quality by sourcing inventive ideas from citizens, civic leaders, academics, corporations and other institutions across the country," Bengaluru Development Minister K.J. George told reporters here.

The winners of the challenge would be given up to Rs 1.5 crore over two years to test and implement their ideas, with the support of the state government and the varsity faculty.

"If successful, these ideas could become the policies that the government can implement, providing a model for other cities to emulate," George said.

With a population of about 10 million and growing, Bengaluru is grappling with increasing air and lake water pollution.

The challenge is a programme of the Tata Centre for Development at the University of Chicago, and the Urban Development Department.

The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago's (EPIC) India team and University of Chicago's Energy and Environment Lab are also working together for the project.

"The answers to the problems that modern cities face today are often found hidden by those with unique on-the-ground knowledge," said EPIC Director Michael Greenstone on the occasion.

The organisers would screen the applications over the next six months and then announce the winners of the challenge.

This project is being held on the lines of the Delhi Innovation Challenge in 2015 through an agreement between the Delhi government and the University of Chicago to improve Delhi's air.

Some of the winning ideas from the Delhi Innovation Challenge include a device that captures particulate pollution from diesel engines to turn it into ink and paints, a device that turns rice straw into bio-char to increase soil nutrition and prevent air pollution in Delhi from straw-burning.
Williamnagar (Meghalaya), Feb 7 : Chief Minister Mukul Sangma on Wednesday filed his nomination papers for the February 27 assembly elections from Songsak assembly constituency in Meghalaya, his second constituency after Ampati seat.

Sangma voiced confidence that the ruling Congress will retain power with an absolute majority in Meghalaya after the assembly polls.

On Tuesday, the veteran Congress legislator filed his nomination papers for Ampati seat, which he has won for five consecutive terms since 1993.

In Songsak, Sangma will take on two-time National People's Party legislator Nihim D. Shira, while in Ampati, he is on a straight fight against BJP candidate Bakul Hajong.

Hoping Stone Lyngdoh, who was president of the Hill State People's Democratic Party (HSPDP) till his death, had successfully contested from two Assembly seats - the erstwhile Pariong (now Mawthadraishan) and Nongstoin in the 1988 elections.

"Congress will gain seats in the coming election and would get absolute majority with 40 seats," he said addressing Congress party functionaries at Congress Bhavan here in Williamnagar.

Lashing out at "Bharatiya Janata Party-National People's Party combine", the Chief Minister urged the electorate to vote for the Congress party that will "protect their interests and not interfere in their personal choices".

Countering the opposition's verbal attacks against him, Sangma said, "Development has taken place in the state while the opposition has said that I was sleeping. We have brought peace to the state through our efforts even as they continue to believe I was sleeping. If we could achieve so much while I was sleeping, think of what we can achieve when I am awake."
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Congress on Wednesday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech in the Lok Sabha as "disappointing" and said that he should not give lessons on democracy to the party as he himself does not respect it.

"It was his (Modi) political speech, election speech... He spoke about Karnataka, about Basweshwarji, about Gautam Buddha's Licchavi state where the democracy came first," Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge told media outside Parliament referring to the over one-hour long speech of Modi in Lok Sabha in which he fiercely attacked the Congress, during his reply on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Speech.

"But he himself does not respect democracy here," Kharge said, adding that "people like Modi speak something and do something else".

"We are disappointed by the speech. He backtracked from fulfilling our demands. Hence, we staged a walkout," he added.

The Congress walked out of the Lower House alleging that Modi did not address the issues raised by the MPs, including on the 36 Rafale fighter jet deal with France.

Slamming the Prime Minister for accusing Congress of bifurcating Andhra Pradesh, Kharge said, "In the run up to the 2014 general elections Modi had said that a separate Telangana state would be created if the BJP came to power."

Kharge also recalled that the BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, while in the opposition, had supported the demand for dividing Andhra Pradesh.

"Let Modi at least say that he was not in favour of creating Telangana and giving an economic package to Andhra Pradesh," he said.

"He is neither supporting (the bifurcation), while on the other (hand) he is speaking such a language. Hence, I feel saddened that the Prime Minister is not keeping his words," the Congress MP said.

The Congress leader also accused the Prime Minister of not keeping his word on doing justice to Telangana and giving an economic package, central government aid to the Polavaram irrigation project, a steel factory in Kadappa to the residual Andhra Pradesh after the NDA came to power in 2014.

Slamming Modi, he said, "The lawmakers of Andhra Pradesh's ruling TDP staged protests in Lok Sabha yesterday (Tuesday) over issues concerning the state when I flagged the matter of Rafale deal in the House.

"While today (Wednesday), the TDP MPs were requested not to raise their issues when the Prime Minister was to address the Lok Sabha," he said.

Referring to the Prime Minister reciting a poem by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on large-heartedness, Kharge said, "The Prime Minister talked about being large-hearted. He also read out Vajpayeeji's poem. Despite reading Vajpayeeji's poem, he did not become large-hearted (person)."

The Congress leader also accused Modi for not touching upon the important issues such as giving minimum support price (MSP) to farmers and doubling their income by 2022.

"He did not say anything new in his speech. He also did not mention anything new in the interest of the country. He also did not give any satisfactory reply to issues we raised," Kharge said.

"When Modi started speaking about doubling the income of farmers he said that they brought soil testing laboratories, neem coating urea has been brought for them. And by their usage the income of farmers is doubled," he said.

"By using fertilizers the income of the farmers is not doubled," he said, adding that Modi did not speak about the promises he made in 2014 about giving 50 per cent cost price and minimum support price to farmers.

"We kept on asking him, but he refused to answer all," Kharge added.
New Delhi, Feb 7 : The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between India and the USA on law enforcement training to boost security-related matters under the aegis of the India-US Homeland Security Dialogue.

The MoC will be signed between the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC), USA, and Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D), India.

According to the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the MoC will help in improving the standards of training, training materials and quality of trainers, which will go a long way in improving the functioning of police forces in the country and realising the concept of SMART Police.

"India and the United States share common interest to fight terrorism and transnational crimes in all their forms and manifestations and to prevent the continued growth of terrorist organisations," said a statement.

India and the US also shared a common interest in protecting the homeland and vital infrastructure and preventing disruption of the global supply chain by terrorist attacks, it added.
Chandigarh, Feb 7 : Punjab's Health Minister Brahm Mohindra has urged MPs from the state to oppose the National Medical Commission (NMC) bill recently introduced in the Lok Sabha.

While pointing out that the Bill would grossly undermine the role of states and majority of the states will go unrepresented in the NMC, he said that it will also make medical education very expensive in the country.

A letter written by the minister to the MPs on February 2 was released to the media here on Wednesday.

Urging the MPs to oppose the NMC, which has been referred to a parliamentary standing committee, Mohindra said: "After going through the draft of this bill, it seems that the draft of NMC bill has been prepared by non-medicos. I can say that this bill is dictatorial and impinges on the freedom of allopathic practitioners. For petty political gains, the central government is on the path of systematic destruction of the constitutional institutions."

He pointed out that under a clause of the proposed Bill, only five states, from among 29 states, will be represented in the body and the remaining 24 states will not have any representation. He added that Punjab earlier had two representatives in the Medical Council of India, which is proposed to be replaced by the NMC.

"The introduction of this bill will make medical education very expensive and will deprive the under-privileged students to an accessible and affordable medical education by allowing the private medical colleges to frame their own fee structure. This is because the commission can frame the fee structure of seats not exceeding 40 percent in private medical colleges, thus, leaving the fee structure of 60 percent seats in the hands of managements of private medical colleges," the minister said.

"The private medical colleges will fix the rates which will lead to harassment of the students. This bill is anti-people and will discourage the intelligent but not so rich students to enter this profession. The central government is planning to bring in non-medical persons to control such a sensitive body to regulate the allopathic medical profession and medical education in our country," Mohindra warned.
New Delhi, Feb 8 : The Right to Education (RTE) Forum on Wednesday expressed its concern over the education budget for the country which, it said, continues to fall short of the global average and the recommendations of the Kothari Commission.

The forum, which invited several parliamentarians to discuss the funds for education in the Union Budget 2018-19, pointed out the reduced allocation for the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the other one meant for secondary education.

Asking for a increased "transparency and accountability", Forum's convener Ambrish Rai said government reduced SSA's allocation by 17 per cent in last three years (not including this year).

About funds for secondary education, he said that the Union government "has reduced its current share on Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan from 75 per cent to 60 per cent for all states and that if the states do not allocate their share "secondary education will be a serious concern".

Communist Party of India's D. Raja said despite more than five decades of Kothari Commission tabling its report, they still haven't been able to allocate six per cent of GDP for education -- one of the committee's key recommendations.

"By now we should not have been asking for six per cent, but 10 per cent," he said.

Referring to the Human Resource Development Ministry's target of making all classrooms digital by 2022, he said: "It will take some time before we move from blackboard to digital board. But let there be classrooms, let there be teachers first."

Ravi Prakash Verma of Samajwadi Party, Oscar Fernandes and Pradeep Tamta of the Congress, Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party, Geetha Kothapalli of the YSR Congress, and C. P. Narayanan of Communist Party of India-Marxist, were other members of Parliament, who attended the meet.
Berlin, Feb 8 : Nations must guard against any resurgence of nationalism, xenophobia or racism, Italy's Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said on Wednesday.

"The European model of an open society works and we must keep investing against a revival of nationalism or xenophobic or racist attitudes," Gentiloni said in his address at the Humboldt University here.

"We absolutely cannot give up democracy and liberty," he said during the speech on Italy's relations with Germany.

Gentiloni cut short his official visit after German Chancellor Angela Merkel rescheduled their meeting when negotiations on a coalition government stretched into Wednesday from a weekend deadline.

He also said that Italy, France and Germany, three founder members of the European Union's forerunner, have a "special responsibility" at a time of strong demand for "Europe".

"Italy, France and Germany have the responsibility to respond to a demand for Europe that cuts across the contemporary world, a special responsibility, even though it is not an exclusive one," Gentiloni said.

Italy must not be France and Germany's "jealous cousin" but should aim to play a leading role in Europe too by coming up with its own "proposals and ideas", Gentiloni had said earlier.
Shillong, Feb 8 : Christians in poll-bound Meghalaya are upset with the ruling BJP-led NDA government after it rejected the visa application of the Baptist World Alliance Chief, Reverend Paul Msiza, to attend the 150 years of Christianity in Garo Hills region.

Lone National People's Party Lok Sabha member, Conrad K. Sangma on Wednesday wrote to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj seeking her intervention into the Visa requirement of the Baptist preacher to attend the sesquicentenary celebrations of Christianity.

The Garo Baptist Convention is celebrating 150 years of Christianity at Rajasimla in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills fromAFebruary 8-11. The Baptist Church set foot in Garo Hills at Rajasimla in 1867.

"The Christians communities, especially from Baptist community in Garo Hills are very upset with the central government for rejecting the visa of the Baptist World Alliance Chief, Paul Msiza to attend a four-day celebration of 150 years of Christianity in Garo Hills region," Vice President of Asia Pacific Baptist Federation, Bijoy Sangma told IANS.

He said that the Visa application of Msiza was rejected by the Consulate General of India in Johannesburg, South Africa on Wednesday.

"It was shocking to get the news of rejection of the Visa by the Indian Consulate. We are extremely disappointed that we are going to miss the Global head of the Baptist Christian community on this historic occasion. The BWA President for us is the Pastoral head of the Baptists Community worldwide like His Holiness the Pope of the Catholic community" the Baptist leader said.

Upon hearing of the delay in issuance of Visa by the Indian Consulate in Johannesburg, Bijoy said some of enthusiastic faithful and social workers followed up the matter two days back with few top Indian politicians both in Centre and State including Member of Parliament Conrad K. Sangma for their intervention, but it did not yield any result.

"This is not the only case; many of our foreign friends have been denied visa in the last three years despite the fact that they have been coming here on earlier occasions," of Garo Baptist Convention General Secretary, Reverend Janang R Sangma, said.

"They (NDA government) should realise this is a celebration, not a mission programme and has nothing to do with conversion. Visa for such religious functions should not be denied," Janang said.

The BJP which is trying to unseat the ruling Congress party from power in Christian-dominated state of Meghalaya on February 27 assembly elections, have refused to comment on the matter.

"I have no idea. I cannot comment since this matter is to be look by the ministry of external affairs," State's BJP President, Shibun Lyngdoh told IANS.

The Baptist World Alliance is a worldwide alliance of Baptist churches and organizations, formed in 1905 in London during the first Baptist World Congress. The Baptist World Alliance maintains ecumenical relations with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. It also holds special consultative status with the United Nations.
Islamabad, Feb 8 : Pakistan Navy has seized 5,000 kg of narcotics and arrested some suspected drug traffickers in Arabian Sea off the country's shores, officials said on Wednesday.

The operation was conducted by the ship ASLAT in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone, a statement issued by the directorate of public relations of Pakistan Navy said.

The special warfare teams of ASLAT carried out the search operation at a suspected vessel after gathering credible evidence regarding the presence of 5,000 kg of hashish on it.

The sized drugs and the arrested suspects were handed over to Pakistan Maritime Security Agency for further legal proceedings, the statement added.

The Navy's ASLAT ship was deployed as part of the Multinational Combined Task Force-150, which is part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Task Force-150 is mandated to ensure maritime security to prevent counter terrorism and associated illegal activities.

The success of Pakistan Navy ship in interrupting the flow of narcotics highlights the importance accorded by Pakistan Navy in patrolling the waters of North Indian Ocean to ensure free flow of legitimate commerce and deny use of high seas to terrorists and all associated miscreants, the statement said.
Scarborough Faire shopping center located in Duck, NC is a walkable, outdoor space filled with shops, restaurants, and art galleries. I was pleased with the response and creativeness from OBX Media.They were willing to listen and develop what was best for our brand. They work with other businesses in Scarborough Faire, which is another positive aspect, speaking to their ability to work with any size client.

Outer Banks Media (OBX Media), a North Carolina-based digital marketing agency specializing in website design, search engine optimization and internet marketing, announces the website launch of Scarborough Faire Shopping Village.

Located in the quaint town of Duck on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, Scarborough Faire is a charming shopping village with 6 cottage style buildings that host 15 storefronts. The stores range from eateries to boutiques and are filled with locally handcrafted items, specialty gifts, clothing and home decor.

Scarborough Faire turned to OBX Media to help them modernize their original branding and website. OBX Medias brand management team began by updating their original logo. The pink and blue color scheme remained the same, but the old logo was replaced with modern fonts and updated duck graphics. OBX Medias web developers and graphic designers then worked on creating a website that matched Scarborough Faires new branding and allowed users to easily locate the stores directory and upcoming events. The new site features the same color scheme as the logo and features blue boardwalk backgrounds that tie into the cottage theme. A store directory page was also added with an interactive map that links to each individual store page. The updated news and events page allows vacationers to learn more about their upcoming events and new information about the shopping village. The navigation on the website also makes it easy for users to find the store information theyre looking from the home page and navigation bar.

"I was pleased with the response and creativeness from OBX Media.They were willing to listen and develop what was best for our brand. They work with other businesses in Scarborough Faire, which is another positive aspect, speaking to their ability to work with any size client," said Val Story, owner of Scarborough Faire.

The final result was a clean and seamless website with user-friendly features and a modern and attractive layout. The Wordpress theme that was used was a convenient way for Scarborough Faire to update their event and news page on their own.

"Scarborough Faire is an Outer Banks business that has a long standing history. We wanted the rebrand to provide a fresh, modern feel, but, it was important to keep elements of the original logo to ensure that the updated look tied in with their well-loved brand. By keeping the duck symbol and original colors, while updating the style to a fun, simple and modern feel, we were able to elevate the identity of Scarborough Faire while remembering its history," said Brooke Scarborough, Creative Director of OBX Media.

For more information about the family friendly and festive shopping village, please visit https://www.scarboroughfaireinducknc.com/.

About OBX Media

OBX Media, a certified Google Partner Agency, provides marketing and advertising consultation services to small and large businesses all over the nation. OBX Media specializes in website design and development, managed website hosting, pay-per-click management, search engine optimization services, social media marketing, and an array of traditional marketing services. To learn how to increase web traffic and build online sales, visit http://www.outerbanksmedia.com or call 800-441-8274.
We're thrilled to announce that Allbound has been identified as one Arizona's top software tech companies based on the high levels of customer satisfaction and "likeliness to recommend" ratings for its partner relationship management (PRM) platform by users on the industry-leading review platform G2 Crowd.

Allbound PRM has received a 4.6 out of 5 star user satisfaction score across its 15 verified real-user reviews in the partner management software category, also resulting in them being named the official category Leader on the G2 Crowd Grid for Partner Management . Users point to Allbounds user experience, Q&A and searchability as its best features.

The state of Arizona tech report recognized Allbound and 15 other Arizona SaaS and service companies as the leaders of the state's tech scene. Overall the report covered over 40 Arizona companies.

Read the entire report to see the trends and how Allbound is contributing to the overall state of the B2B Arizona tech scene.

https://blog.g2crowd.com/blog/technology-research/the-state-of-b2b-tech-in-arizona-in-2018/

About G2 Crowd, Inc.

G2 Crowd, the worlds leading business solution review platform, leverages more than 290,000 user reviews to drive better purchasing decisions. Business professionals, buyers, investors, and analysts use the site to compare and select the best software and services based on peer reviews and synthesized social data. Every month, nearly one million people visit G2 Crowds site to gain unique insights. G2 Crowd aims to bring authenticity and transparency to the business marketplace. For more information, go to G2Crowd.com.
CommuteCon 2018 Wednesday, February 7 For TDM professionals, CommuteCon is one of the biggest events during the first quarter of the year.

RideAmigos is happy to announce its role as host of the upcoming CommuteCon 2018 transportation demand management (TDM) online conference. Established in 2015, the conference brings industry leaders, noted experts, and emerging innovators in the TDM sphere together to share ideas, discuss trends, and help shape the future of commuting. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, February 7, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. Pacific/12:00 p.m. Eastern until 2:00 p.m. Pacific/5:00 p.m. Eastern.

CommuteCon is the worlds largest online conference for TDM and commuter management professionals. RideAmigos can already confirm that CommuteCon 2018 will be the best-attended in the history of the annual event. Hundreds of registrants from six continents have reserved their places, and RideAmigos expects total attendance to exceed 1,000 people for the first time.

For TDM professionals, CommuteCon is one of the biggest events during the first quarter of the year. Its speakers include world-renowned professionals and industry leaders, who provide comprehensive and insightful reviews of current and emerging trends in the TDM landscape, with strong relevance to a cross-section of sectors including business, education, and government.

Smart mobility with purpose is the theme for CommuteCon 2018. Presenters will be highlighting the successes of their recent research and initiatives, extracting and highlighting key lessons that point to an even more successful future. Keynote speakers include Simon Mainwaring, founder and CEO of the socially conscious branding agency We First, and Dr. Susan A. Shaheen, co-director of the Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) at the University of California, Berkeley.

RideAmigos CEO, Jeffrey Chernick said, "The CommuteCon team is grateful to this year's Sponsors, JUMP and Scoop; Friends of the conference, Car2Go, CityFi, Edenred Commuter Benefit Solutions, First Transit, Lyft Business, TransitScreen, Uber for Business, Waze Carpool, and Zipcar; and our Association Partner, the Association for Commuter Transportation for their involvement and their continued support for the TDM community."

CommuteCon 2018 is free to attend. Interested parties can learn more and register at http://www.commutecon.com.

#

About RideAmigos

RideAmigos, the host of CommuteCon 2018, is a Santa Monica, California-based software development company that produces advanced management technologies for the TDM industry.

In addition to its signature cloud-based commuter management platform, RideAmigos also plays a leading role in uniting members of the emerging TDM global landscape by organizing conferences, events, and professional development seminars. RideAmigos core areas of focus include TDM automation, smart rideshare and carpool matching, program integration, and the use of strategically proven tools like incentive management and gamification to increase participation rates in TDM initiatives.
Mestel & Company, a leading national attorney placement and strategic consulting firm established in 1987, announces the placement of Benedict O. Kwon as a partner in the Corporate Practice Group of Sheppard Mullins Orange County office.

Ilene Fisher, Executive Managing Director at Mestel & Companys Los Angeles office, led the search. With more than 20 years of legal search experience, Ilene has strong professional roots in the California legal community. She specializes in placing top-tier partners, associates and counsel-level attorneys in Am Law 200 law firms, high end boutiques, and corporations in California.

We are thrilled to have collaborated with Sheppard Mullin in this search and to support the Firm with its growth initiatives, said Joan Davison, President and CEO of Mestel & Company, a company of HCMC Legal, Inc. Ilene and our dedicated team of placement consultants at Mestel take pride in being trusted advisors to our national clients, partnering with them in the search for exceptional legal talent and ensuring both strategic and cultural alignment.

Ben is an accomplished, well-respected attorney and we are excited to have him on our team, said Jon W. Newby, vice chairman of Sheppard Mullin. His extensive knowledge in fund formation and taxation will add great value for our clients and to our Corporate practice.

Kwons practice focuses on private equity fund and hedge fund formation and structuring, as well as domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions. He has experience with forming funds for private investments, including venture capital, real estate, private equity, mezzanine debt, hedge and film finance. He also advises startup companies on formation issues and efficient tax structuring and has counseled clients on Investment Adviser Act compliance issues. Kwon earned his J.D. in 1999 from Northwestern University School of Law and a B.A. in 1994 from the University of Illinois. He co-chairs the American Bar Associations Subcommittee on Private Equity and Venture Capital Fund Formation.

Sheppard Mullin is a full service Global 100 firm with 15 offices located in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firms Orange County office has 78 attorneys. Its Corporate practice group includes 150 attorneys firmwide. Since 1927, companies have turned to Sheppard Mullin to handle corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions.

About Mestel & Company (An HCMC Legal Company)

Founded in 1987, Mestel & Company is a national leader in attorney recruitment and strategic consulting. We specialize in advancing the careers of individual associates, of counsel, partners, in-house counsel as well as facilitating the movement of groups and complex law firm mergers. Our depth of experience and dedication to honesty, candor, and integrity set us apart from our competitors. Mestel & Company is part of HCMC Legal, Inc., the only 100% employee owned company in the legal staffing industry, which ensures that each of our recruiters, as an owner, provides best in class service and is committed to the needs and sensitivity of our attorneys. For more information, visit http://www.mestel.com or follow us on Twitter @Mestel.

Press Contact:

Alison Chin, Executive Director of Marketing

Mestel & Company

achin(at)mestel.com | 646-356-0502
SVN International Corp. (SVN), a full-service commercial real estate franchisor of the SVN brand, announced the addition of its newest franchise office, SVN | Wood Properties, based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Led by Managing Director George Brown, the firm specializes in providing commercial sales, leasing, property management, development and consulting services throughout the East Tennessee market. SVN | Wood Properties is the fifth SVN office in the state of Tennessee, further expanding the companys full-service, collaborative approach to commercial real estate in the region.

Built on SVNs Shared Value Network, we strive to identify and work with market leaders who share our vision of a collaborative and open approach to commercial real estate, said Kevin Maggiacomo, President & CEO of SVN International Corp. This philosophy is already instilled in the team at SVN | Wood Properties, making it a valuable addition to SVN, along with their strong understanding of the East Tennessee market, SVN | Wood Properties is sure to prosper.

Brown brings 10 years of experience in commercial real estate to SVN | Wood Properties, where he will lead a team of 10 Advisors focused on commercial real estate advisory within the local East Tennessee market. The 41-year-old firm plans to leverage SVNs international platform to support the firms growth and reach, as well as the cutting-edge commercial real estate technology available to all SVN franchises to help advance its offerings to the local market.

We recognize a similar business ethic and foundation in SVN and share many of the same values, said Brown. SVN provides us with the ability to keep our local relationships, while establishing a national affiliation and utilize essential tools of the business for success and growth. By partnering with SVN, our team has the opportunity to remain a leading firm while adding best-in-class services.

The SVN brand was founded in 1987 out of a desire to improve the commercial real estate industry for all stakeholders through cooperation and a shared vision of creating value with clients, colleagues and communities. SVN currently has more than 200 offices serving over 500 national and international markets. By tapping into this broad network, SVN | Wood Properties is able to offer its clients expanded services in the leasing, acquisition and disposition of commercial real estate.

All SVN offices are independently owned and operated. To learn more about becoming an SVN commercial real estate business owner, visit http://www.svn.com/franchising-opportunities/

About SVN:

The SVN organization is a globally recognized commercial real estate entity united by a shared vision of creating value with clients, colleagues and our communities. The SVN brand is comprised of over 1,600 advisors and staff in more than 200 offices across the globe. Our brand pillars represent the transparency, innovation and inclusivity that enables all our advisors to collaborate with the entire real estate industry on behalf of our clients. SVNs unique Shared Value Network is just one of the many ways that SVN advisors create amazing value with our clients, colleagues and communities. For more information, visit http://www.svn.com.
Many are happily surprised to hear that upgrading to a tankless water heater can offer an endless stream of hot water and save them money too.

Ben Franklin Plumbing, Wichita's top-rated plumbing service, is proud to announce a new informational page update on the topic of water heat repairs and installations. Kansas residents searching for answers to repairing or replacing an old water heater may find more than one on the newly updated page. Indeed, upgrading a water heater in Wichita could be the solution to cold winter mornings and high energy bills, while new tankless versions can be energy-efficient and cost-effective for Kansas residents.

People will call and tell us about how frustrated they are with their old water heaters. This time of year we get more of these calls due to the cold, Commented Jason Clark, Manager of Ben Franklin Plumbing of Wichita, Kansas. Many are happily surprised to hear that upgrading to a tankless water heater can offer an endless stream of hot water and save them money too. We can also inspect, repair, or replace the traditional water heater type as well.

To read the updated information page about water heater installation in Wichita, Kansas, please go to http://www.benfranklinwichita.com/water-heaters. Standard water heaters can be less efficient during winter seasons as they age. Once hot water is used, it may take time for a tank to refill leaving frigid water for residents. Indeed, replacing a conventional water heater with a smaller, tankless version could be the better choice, and persons interested in that option can visit http://www.benfranklinwichita.com/tankless-water-heaters.

REPAIR OR REPLACE: WATER HEATER INSTALLATION IN WICHITA

Here is background on this release. Kansas residents may not enjoy waking up on a chilly morning to find an old water heater has broken down. It might be conventional wisdom to believe repairing an aging water heater can cost less than replacing it. The repair cost may be cheaper, yet problems can still continue. Due to the rise of higher energy costs, fixing an older appliance instead of replacing it might not be the right answer in the long run. Choosing to replace a traditional water heater with a smaller, energy efficient model can help solve several problems at once. Homeowners may need more information before deciding schedule a new water heater installation in Wichita.

For this reason, Ben Franklin Plumbing has announced an update to the informational page on water heaters. Wichita residents may be confused whether to repair or replace an old tank. The performance of an aging water heater may improve little after repair. Conventional tanks hold a certain amount of water and can still leave residents with a cold shower after others have drained it. Upgrading to a tankless water heater installation in Wichita may solve several problems at once. A smaller, model can offer an endless supply of hot water to residents, keeping showers warm and comfortable. A suitcase size water tank can also save room in a home and help residents save up to 40% in energy costs. Choosing to repair or replace may not be difficult if an informed decision has been made. After first visiting the newly update page, Wichita residents are urged to reach out for an estimate on a repair or installation.

ABOUT BEN FRANKLIN PLUMBING OF WICHITA, KANSAS

Ben Franklin Plumbing is a top-rated plumbing and drain cleaning service, serving greater Wichita, Kansas and located at 2825 E. Kellogg Avenue. The company offers 24/7 emergency plumbing service not only to Wichita but to surrounding communities such as Derby, Andover, and Haysville, Kansas. Professionally licensed plumbers are ready for plumbing problems such as: drain cleaning service, installing pump systems, water heaters installations, sewer line clean-outs and faucet repair. The company also replaces and installs faucets, garbage disposals and toilets. Commercial plumbers and residential plumbers are ready to serve. When searching for sewer repairs and unclogging drains in Derby, Andover, Haysville or Wichita, Kansas, Ben Franklin Plumbing is available.

Web. http://www.benfranklinwichita.com/

Tel. 316-858-5985
We are thrilled to partner with CCA to offer our comprehensive seminar at the 2018 Mobile Carriers Show. Our objective is to share our latest case studies from Altice USA, Charter Communications, Globalstar and Starry based on licensed, unlicensed and shared spectrum bands. We strongly believe cable operators, Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), satellite operators who are considering to launch their mobile and mobile data services will benefit from our seminar, said Alex Besen, Founder and CEO of The Besen Group LLC.

CCA is delighted that The Besen Group will be hosting a seminar on this important and timely subject matter, said CCA President & CEO Steven K. Berry. As the parameters of wireless continue to expand well beyond the traditional industry, it is more important than ever for competitive carriers and industry stakeholders to stay abreast of the opportunities and challenges ahead. I look forward to participating in the event and hearing case studies from industry thought leaders during the seminar.

For the seminar information and the registration, please visit: http://mobilecarriers.org/the-besen-group-seminar/.

Current speakers include:

Steven K. Berry, President & CEO, CCA

Alex Besen, Founder & CEO, The Besen Group LLC

James Childs, VP, Corporate Strategy, Cambridge Broadband Networks

Sarah James, Senior Reporter, S&P Global Market Intelligence

Jeff Kohler, Co-Founder, Rise Broadband

Arnaud Laverdure, SVP, Marketing & Sales, SmartViser

Jonathan Marashlian, Managing Partner, Marashlian & Donahue, LLC, The CommLaw Group

Atte Miettinen, Group CEO, Limitless Mobile

Andrew Spinola, Director & Senior Equity Analyst, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC

Current sponsors include: Limitless Mobile, Marashlian & Donahue LLC, SmartViser

For seminar sponsorship opportunities, please send an email to sponsor(at)thebesengroup.com.

About CCAs Mobile Carriers Show

CCAs Mobile Carriers Show is the only North American event to focus exclusively on smart strategies, technology innovations, and business opportunities for carriers in this increasingly mobile-driven world. Mobile Carriers Show offers attendees the opportunity to take a deeper dive into issues and challenges faced by competitive carriers. It takes places each spring in a destination city around the U.S. and boasts more educational sessions in additional to a dynamic exhibit hall.

About The Besen Group

The Besen Group is an international management consulting practice to the mobile industry headquartered in the Washington DC area, with representatives in Paris and Tokyo. Its mission is to provide mobile players with tools, knowledge, and services enabling them to perform optimally in their mobile environment. The Besen Groups competitive edge is based on practical experience with mobile operators, mobile vendors, and a mobile data laboratory.
"For the last two decades, NECTFL's Mead Fellowship Program has nurtured dozens of world language educators who have become leaders at the district, state, regional, and national levels, said Nathan Lutz, 2018 Mead Fellowship Chair.

Awards to five fellowship recipients of the 2018 Mead Leadership Program will be formally announced this Friday during the awards ceremony of the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (NECTFL), taking place in New York City.

For the eleventh consecutive year, SANS Inc. Software and Network Solutions is a corporate sponsor for the Mead Program. SANS is a U.S. based company and leader in the development of instructional technology for language learning.

The Mead Leadership Program supports foreign language teacher-leaders by recognizing their potential to contribute to the improvement of world language education. This scholarship is provided to assist an individual in the development of a project that contributes to the foreign language teaching profession and advances quality language instruction. The Mead program was created to develop future leaders for the profession at the state, regional, and national levels.

This years Fellows are Gina Gallo and Amanda Robustelli-Price, representing the Connecticut Council of Language Teachers (CT COLT); Dr. Celia Chomon Zamora, representing the Greater Washington Association of Teachers of Foreign Language (GWATFL); and Kerilyn Bristow and Elaine Leibly, representing the Vermont Foreign Language Association (VFLA).

SANS is pleased to continue our support for NECTFL and the Mead Program, said SANS president Ron Remschel. Congratulations to all of this years Mead fellows. It is truly an honor to be chosen for this scholarship. We applaud their dedication to the language teaching profession and wish them much success as they move forward with their projects.

"For the last two decades, NECTFL's Mead Fellowship Program has nurtured dozens of world language educators who have become leaders at the district, state, regional, and national levels, said Nathan Lutz, 2018 Mead Fellowship Chair. We are extremely proud of their accomplishments and are grateful to SANS Inc., for their unwavering support of growing leaders who make a difference in the learning outcomes of students at all levels."
Cryptowerk is the only company we found that provides an enterprise-grade blockchain solution that is interoperable, portable and highly scalable."

Cryptowerk, the leader in blockchain-enabled digital trust solutions for the enterprise, announced today a partnership with innogy, Germanys leading renewable energy company. The partnership includes a strategic investment by innogy New Ventures LLC in Cryptowerk, with the goal of developing new blockchain-powered applications for the distributed energy market.

We are proud to partner with innogy to bring the benefits of blockchains distributed ledger technology to the energy industry, said Dirk Kanngiesser, CEO of Cryptowerk. innogy is a proven international leader in renewable energy innovation. By combining Cryptowerks enterprise Digital Trust solutions with innogys energy leadership, we will create powerful applications that meet the demands of the new, distributed energy economy.

The utility industry is facing growing and increasingly distributed demand from both energy producers and consumers, along with new regulatory requirements. The changes, from renewable energy resources to peer-to-peer transactions and prosumersconsumers who both buy and sell energyare transforming the traditional centralized utility grid into a highly distributed Internet of Energy.

innogy believes that blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies, with their ability to verify the authenticity of transactions without a central authority, will be key enablers of this new, distributed energy economy. When the company began researching blockchain-focused solution providers, Cryptowerk emerged as the clear leader.

Cryptowerk is the only company we found that provides an enterprise-grade blockchain solution that is interoperable, portable and highly scalable, said Florian Andreas Kolb, Managing Director at innogy New Ventures LLC, Palo Alto. That combination makes Cryptowerk the most practical solution for todays demanding energy applications, as well as a future-proof solution as blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies continue to evolve.

Cryptowerks Digital Trust Engine is an SAP Certified software solution that makes it easy to integrate existing enterprise applications with any public or private blockchain, as well as other digital ledger technologies. The Cryptowerk API requires no system downtime, and no blockchain expertise to program the integrations, saving companies significant time and money in developing blockchain-enabled applications.

According to the two partners, potential applications of blockchain for the utility industry include:



Blockchain-based authentication of billing and payment for energy purchases, i.e., for electric car charging stations;

The ability to store and verify customer usage data in a blockchain (SMART meter or customer submission);

Collect payments on the blockchain without incurring fees associated with bank transfers;

The ability to store data from energy producing assets, such as wind and solar farms, to the blockchain.

Cryptowerks deep expertise in enterprise software and cryptography make them a valuable partner as we develop these new applications and business models. We look forward to working with the Cryptowerk team to continue innogys leadership in energy innovation, said Kolb.

We could not ask for a better strategic partner in the energy industry than innogy, said Kanngiesser. We at Cryptowerk are excited to see what the future of this partnership holds.

About Cryptowerk

Cryptowerk is leading the development of digital trust solutions for high-performance business applications. Cryptowerks SAP Certified Digital Trust Engine makes it easy to integrate enterprise applications with any blockchain or other digital ledger technology, speeding time to production while the reducing the costs of digital transformation initiatives. Led by experts in cryptography and enterprise software, Cryptowerk is being proven today in demanding, high-performance organizations in multiple industries. For more information visit http://www.cryptowerk.com.

About innogy SE

innogy SE is one of the leading European energy companies with revenue of around 44 billion (2016), more than 40,000 employees and activities in 16 countries across Europe. With its three business segments Grid & Infrastructure, Retail and Renewables, innogy addresses the requirements of a modern, decarbonised, decentralised and digital energy world. Its activities focus on its 23 million customers, and on offering them innovative and sustainable products and services which enable them to use energy more efficiently and improve their quality of life. The key markets are Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as several countries in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe, especially the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. In renewable power generation, the company is also active in other regions, e.g. Spain, Italy and the MENA region (Middle East, North Africa), with a total capacity of 3.7 gigawatts. As a leader of innovation in future-oriented fields like eMobility, we are represented in the international hot-spots of the technology industry such as Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, London and Berlin. We combine the extensive expertise of our energy technicians and engineers with digital technology partners, from start-ups to major corporates. With planned capital investments of around 6.5- 7.0 billion (2017-2019), we are building the power market of the future and driving forward the transformation of the energy market. innogy is colourful, flexible and full of energy  lets innogize!
LG is the leader in mobile device innovation, and the LG V30 is a prime example of what manufacturers are striving to deliver in functionality and military-grade security, and that can be deployed with just a few clicks within their EMM (enterprise mobility management) system

SyncDog, Inc., the leading independent software vendor for mobile application containerization, today announced a strategic technology alliance with LG Mobile USA Enterprise Solutions to offer the Secure.Systems containerized application workspace and device management to clients running LG GATE (Guarded Access to Enterprise) device and network security platform.

SyncDogs product Secure.Systems provides an added layer of device security for enterprise collaboration, encrypting and transporting data between the enterprise and secure, containerized applications running on employees and contractors mobile devices as well as full management of the LG GATEs management capabilities. The workspace further enhances customer security with a partitioned, NIST-certified* FIPS 140-2 container with the ability to secure device and enterprise data both at rest on the device and in transit using AES 256-bit encryption.

We are excited to have the opportunity to include Secure.Systems into the conversation with LG Business Solution managers to enhance endpoint device security, said Brian Egenrieder, SyncDog, Inc. executive vice president of sales. LG is the leader in mobile device innovation, and the LG V30 is a prime example of what manufacturers are striving to deliver in functionality and military-grade security, and that can be deployed with just a few clicks within their EMM (Enterprise Mobility Management) system.

LG GATE is composed of four core technologies that deliver enhanced enterprise solutions, enabling the security and manageability of enterprise data  Platform Security, Application Security, Network Security and Mobile Device Management. SyncDog has released its next-generation Secure.Systems version 3.2, a containerized mobile app platform with built-in productivity tools for Secure Communications, Secure File Management, Secure Internet/Intranet Access, and Secure Location-based Services.

The SyncDog alliance allows LG to install Secure.Systems on existing BYOD and COPE (corporate owned personally enabled) LG smartphones used by enterprise employees and contractors in the United States. Secure.Systems operates across a very small footprint and consumes minimal system resources. Once in the container, employees do not feel encumbered while working within a secure partition on their phone. The mobile security product from SyncDog is a complementary tool that can be deployed within EMM systems supported by LG.

Ultimately, we need to serve the business needs of our mobility customers with value-added products that are low-security risk and surpass their app performance expectations, said Marc Sorkin, Head of LG Mobile Enterprise Solutions Sales. SyncDogs Secure.Systems product on the LG V30 offers a blend of convenience and functionality.

SyncDog will be Featuring the Secure.Systems Fortified LG V30 at RSA USA

As part of SyncDogs participation at RSA in San Francisco, April 16-20, the independent software vendor will feature the LG V30 smartphone fortified with Secure.Systems in booth number 4429. RSA Conference USA 2018 will assemble more than 50,000 attendees worldwide, providing education on new approaches to information security, the latest in security technologies, and thought-leading pioneers in technology. For more information on RSA Conference USA, please click here.

About SyncDog, Inc.

SyncDog is the leading ISV for building mobile IT frameworks that extend enterprise app functionality to mobile devices while securing networks from mobile-endpoint threat. SyncDog Secure.Systems delivers an unimpeded, fully-functional mobile app experience that supports Microsoft OneDrive, Office 365, Skype for Business, and other Microsoft productivity apps within a NIST-certified, FIPS 140-2 workspace. The Secure.Systems mobile-app containerized workspace is ideal for organizations that want to deliver a rich mobile app experience across BYOD, CYOD, or other device policy.

Secure.Systems can be deployed as managed service from https://secure.systems or as an on-premise solution.

Secure.Systems can be found on both the Microsoft Azure and MobileIron marketplace exchanges. For more information about SyncDog, please visit https://syncdog.com.

*NIST Certificate #2687  more info here.
With the new year well and truly underway, the fall out of the industrys busiest period is there to be examined in full. One truth stands alone for all to see  a strong supply chain network can be the difference between big success and dramatic loss. The industry faces continuous disruption from consumers and an agile and innovative supply chain strategy is vital for brands and retailers who wish to remain - or become - a big player of the future. The top names of retail and FMCG are gathering in New York this May (10-11) for the D3 Retail Summit (https://events.eft.com/d3/) to debate the future of the industry.

Target, Best Buy, Lacoste, Macys, REI and many more will lead the way in the challenge to deliver a seamless customer experience through an omni-capable supply chain. The summit will break this strategy down into 6 fundamental areas; Network Redesign, Last Mile Experience, Inventory Optimization, Warehouse Automation, Logistics Strategy and the Evolving supplier. Download the brochure here for full details of the agenda. (http://1.eft.com/LP=19547?extsource=press_release)

Confirmed speakers include:



Preston Mosier, SVP Fulfilment Operations, Target

Dov Shenkman, VP Group Supply Chain Operations, Walgreens

Dan Purefoy, VP Strategy and Engineering, Michael Kors

Rob Bass, SVP Supply Chain, Best Buy

Jill Barron, VP Supply Chain Strategy, Neiman Marcus

Seth Beardsley, VP Operations, Lacoste

Romain Liot, COO, Adore Me

Bill Best, DVP Supply Chain, REI

Pam Sweeney, SVP Logistics Systems, Macys

Josh Gartner, VP Corporate Affairs, JD.com

Download the brochure here for a full line up of confirmed speakers (http://1.eft.com/LP=19547?extsource=press_release)

New for this year are a selection of roundtable breakout sessions designed to encourage collaborative discussion and will allow attendees to actively immerse themselves in a dialogue to extract tangible concepts and ideas that they can take back to the office. Breakout topics include; Managing returns and reverse logistics, Cross-border eCommerce strategy and How to attract and retain the best supply chain talent for the digital age, plus many more.

Of the 2017 D3 Retail Summit in New York, Joe Bobko, VP of Transportation at Boxed, D3 brought together an excellent mix of the industry - from new e-commerce start-ups to established and iconic brands, the information sharing was fabulous. Panels consisted of industry rookies and veterans who were willing to openly share thoughts and accomplishments - and failures!

Early-doors sponsors of the D3 Summit include Flexe, Mercury Gate, Bain Capital Ventures, Convey, project44, Tools Group, Transfix, Narvar and JLL. For detailed information on the agenda, 40+ speakers, venue, sponsorship opportunities and more, download the brochure (http://1.eft.com/LP=19547?extsource=press_release)

About eft

eft is the global leader in business intelligence and C-level networking for the transport, logistics and supply chain industry. We specialize in connecting senior industry executives with their industry peers, and with the crucial information they need to excel in their work. http://www.eft.com

Speaker and Sponsorship Contacts:

Priyanka Asera

Head of Retail Supply Chain

+1 800 814 3459 ext 4340 (USA Toll Free)

+44 207 422 4340 (Worldwide)

pasera(at)eft(dot)com

Paddy Le Count

Retail Project Director

+ 1-800-814-3459 ex.7531 (USA Toll Free)

+44 207 375 7531 (Worldwide)

plecount(at)eft(dot)com

Media and Press Contact:

Fabia Palmer

Marketing Director

fpalmer(at)eft(dot)com
With the support of employee owners and the Board of Directors, 1910 Legacy Enterprises, Inc. was formed on October 2, 2017 as the holding company of White Electrical Construction Company, Inc. and Axis Energy, Inc. All employees were invited to submit naming ideas for the new company, and the ultimate selection of 1910 Legacy Enterprises pays tribute to the historical roots of White Electrical that was founded by K.D. White in 1910.

For over 100 years, White Electrical has been the premier electrical contractor in the Southeast, said Jeff Filippo, President and CEO of 1910 Legacy Enterprises. Through three generations, White Electrical has built a legacy of business integrity, strong partnerships and ingenuity. Because of our strong partnerships and desire to build the company by serving customers with excellence, we proudly announce the formation of a holding company called 1910 Legacy Enterprises. The company will hold White Electrical and Axis Energy.

1910 Legacy Enterprises is an employee-owned company, and all stock holders will be owners in this new entity. The new holding company is committed to the values passed down from White Electrical.

1910 Legacy Enterprises was created to leverage a history of success built on strong partnerships, said Filippo. The legacy we carry forward is customer focused. This is evident in the vision statement shared across all the subsidiaries: to be the regions preferred contractor who delivers solutions that provide every customer with peace of mind. We look forward to serving our clients for the next century, building our history through 1910 Legacy Enterprises and its group of companies.

About 1910 Legacys Leadership Team:

Jeff Filippo, President & CEO:

Jeff Filippo is President and CEO of 1910 Legacy Enterprises. With 34 years of experience in the electrical industry, Jeff brings excellent management and organizational skills to the company and its subsidiaries. Jeff joined White Electrical in 2000 and was promoted to higher level leadership positions over the years, ultimately being named President and CEO in 2014. With the support of the employee owners and the Board of Directors, Jeff oversaw the creation and launch of 1910 Legacy Enterprises in 2017.

With the creation of the holding company, Jeff became President and CEO of 1910 Legacy Enterprises and President of Axis Energy Inc. He is also a member of the 1910 Legacy Enterprises Board of Directors as well as the White Electrical and Axis Energy Boards of Directors. He is responsible for overall management of the companies including financial, operations and strategic planning. He is a participant in the ESOP Benefits Committee, Chairmans Committee and Compensation Committee.

Jerry Brittendall, Managing Director of Business Development:

With more than 30 Years of Construction, Marketing, Management and Commercial Development Experience, Jerry brings a unique set of skills to 1910 Legacy Enterprises as the Managing Director of Business Development. He leads strategic planning and management of the Business Development functions on a Corporate Level. He manages all Business Development policies and personnel in all locations for the subsidiary companies of 1910 Legacy Enterprises.

Steve Saussy, Controller:

Steve Saussy serves as the Controller for 1910 Legacy Enterprises and oversees the accounting and finance functions for 1910 Legacy and its subsidiaries. A graduate of the University of Georgia and Georgia State University, Steve is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Georgia. Prior to joining 1910 Legacy and White Electrical, Steve spent 7 years working at public accounting firms working with clients in the construction and manufacturing industries.

About 1910 Legacy Enterprises, Inc.:

1910 Legacy Enterprises is the holding company of White Electrical and Axis Energy. 1910 Legacy is an employee-owned company born out of the need for the companies to grow along with the needs of their customers. 1910 Legacys mission is to continually position their companies for future growth while meeting the needs of partnerships they have built over the past 100+ years. They are committed to honoring the same legacy the White family created with a focus on: integrity, partnership and ingenuity for generations to come. For more information about 1910 Legacy Enterprises, contact Jerry Brittendall, Managing Director of Business Development, 400 Interstate North Parkway, SE, Suite 750, Atlanta, GA 30339; phone: 678-831-8500; web: http://www.1910Legacy.com.

About White Electrical Construction Company, Inc.:

White Electrical was founded in 1910 to serve the growing needs for electricity in the South, specifically for cotton and textile plants. Over the years, White Electrical has grown into a full service industrial electrical contractor supplying a wide range of key industries in the Southeast. The company takes pride in keeping pace with the latest advancements in technology while still honoring their 100+ year commitment of delivering on-time projects, providing quality service and creating a safe workplace.

Under the new organizational structure, White Electrical is held by 1910 Legacy Enterprises and continues to be an employee-owned company. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, GA, with offices in Birmingham, AL, Brunswick, GA, Chattanooga, TN, Jacksonville, FL, Raleigh, NC, Rome, GA and Savannah, GA. White Electrical believes safety is a moral obligation, and employs and enforces rigorous, industry-best safety practices as evidenced by their compliance with Browz, ISNetworld, NCMS, PEC, PICS and SMI safety standards. For more information, please visit: http://www.White-Electrical.com

About Axis Energy, Inc.:

Axis Energy provides renewable energy solutions to key industries in the Southeast. With a strong reputation and track record, and years of renewable energy experience, they deliver superior quality at a competitive price. Axis offers their partners a true turnkey Engineering, Procurement Construction (EPC) and Operations & Maintenance (O&M) solution. Backed by 1910 Legacy Enterprises, Axis has the financial security to bond and procure projects of all sizes. As an employee-owned company, every team member is directly vested in success and driven to succeed, which benefits all customers in the quality of work and outstanding culture of safety. For more information, please visit: http://www.axis-energyinc.com.
Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP partner John D. Simmons, who also serves as president of the Philadelphia Intellectual Property Law Association (PIPLA), organized and led the associations first CLE meeting of the year at Covene in Philadelphia on Jan. 18.

The program was presented by Simmons long-time client, Michael W. Shore, an attorney and partner at the Dallas law firm of Shore Chan DePumpo LLP. Shore spoke with firsthand knowledge about a hot topic in intellectual property law: the use of a sovereign immunity defense against an inter partes patent challenge.

Shores presentation was entitled Allergan Partnering with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe: Sovereign Immunity to Avoid Inter Partes Review Challenges. It covered the detailed law related to a public universitys use of sovereign immunity, which then led to the use of tribal sovereign immunity as a defense. Shore also discussed the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) recent reactions and rulings regarding the issue. Interesting and scholarly questions were raised about whether an administrative agency can rule on federally created sovereign immunity and the impacts of the America Invents Act (AIA) Inter Partes Review proceedings. Shore has been interviewed in many newspapers and magazines, including the New Yorker and the Wall Street Journal, on this lightning-rod subject.

PIPLA is an organization of Intellectual Property lawyers and law student affiliates primarily in the Greater Philadelphia area including the Philadelphia surrounding counties, Southern New Jersey and Delaware. PIPLA promotes the development and understanding of Intellectual Property Law through regular meetings and sponsored CLE opportunities.

Shore Chan DePumpo LLP is a veteran team of trial lawyers based in Dallas, Texas with a proven track record of successfully handling complex and technologically demanding matters. The firm is small by choice and their practice comprises mostly contingency fee cases. Shore practices in the areas of intellectual property commercialization, business litigation, and other select litigation matters.

About Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP  Panitch Schwarze Belisario & Nadel LLP is a boutique intellectual property law firm with offices in Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware. The firms IP law practitioners provide strategic litigation, licensing and counseling service relating to patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets, domain names and Internet issues domestically and internationally. The firms long-standing relationships with a network of associates worldwide enable its attorneys and advisors to provide clients with global intellectual property advice and protection.
Shell is pleased to offer this fun, educational opportunity to local students. Inspiring and developing a local future workforce in the areas where we operate is a priority for Shell. - Amir Gerges, General Manager of Shells Permian operations

In partnership with Shell Oil Company (Shell) and LULAC National Education Services Centers (LNESC), Kermit Independent School District will host the TAME Trailblazer exhibit on February 12-13, 2018 at Kermit Junior High School and Elementary School.

Texas Alliance for Minority in Engineering (TAME)s traveling Trailblazers are one-of-a-kind science museums-on-wheels. Exciting, hands-on exhibits teach students about energy, space, weather, biotechnology, and aerodynamics while also introducing them to educational and career opportunities in STEM.

We are so excited to have the TAME Trailblazer visiting KISD during the month of February! Over 200 of our students will have the opportunity to learn more about the educational and career opportunities of STEM. We thank Shell for providing our students with this awesome experience! explains Shelli Morgan, Kermit Junior High Teacher and Science Corps Coordinator at the school.

Shell is pleased to offer this fun, educational opportunity to local students, said Amir Gerges, General Manager of Shells Permian operations. Inspiring and developing a local future workforce in the areas where we operate is a priority for Shell.

LNESC and Shell Oil Company have had a long partnership promoting student leaders and education in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). The Science Corps after-school program in the Kermit Independent School District, sponsored by Shell and administered by LNESC, seeks to motivate middle school students to pursue careers in the STEM fields by exposing them to real-world STEM applications and problems.

The Kermit Junior High Shell Science Corps program was established in 2014. Students meet twice a week with science and/or math teachers completing fun, hands-on activities while effectively increasing mastery of STEM subjects. By combining hands-on, inquiry-based learning; field excursions; exposing students to STEM professionals, and developing group cohesion and a scholastic identity around science, the Shell Science Corps program has been a success in Kermit and Houston.

TAME Trailblazers Tour

February 12, 2018

Time: 8:15 a.m.  4:00 p.m.

Kermit Junior High

1001 Tommy Thompson

Kermit, TX 79745

February 13, 2018

Time: 8:15 a.m.  4:00 p.m.

Kermit Elementary School

TX-115

Kermit, TX 79745

About LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc. (LNESC)

LULAC National Educational Service Centers, Inc. (LNESC) was established in 1973 by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) to provide educational programming to high-need students throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Throughout 16 education and technology centers, LNESC has served over 550,000 students, sent 155,000 students on to college, and awarded nearly $25 million in scholarships. LNESCs results are made possible by a network of dedicated field staff, top-notch teachers, over 90 school partners, and the support of LULAC - the nations largest membership based Latino organization. LNESC works to change lives and build Latino communities, one student at a time. http://www.lnesc.org

About Shell Oil Company

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with operations in more than70 countries. In the U.S., Shell operates in 50 states and employs more than 20,000 people working to help tackle the challenges of the new energy future. Shell Oil Company is a leading oil and gas producer in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology and one of Americas leading oil and natural gas producers, gasoline and natural gas marketers and petrochemical manufacturers.

About Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering

Since 1976, the Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering (TAME) has sought to engage and encourage minority students to pursue college and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Thousands of students become aware of careers in STEM through TAME programs every year. Programs include Science Squad, a bilingual comic book series, the TAME Trailblazers, an annual Math and Science Competition and scholarships. In addition, TAME chapters across Texas offer locally relevant after-school programs and community-wide activities. More than 250,000 students have been a part of TAME since its inception and many of them continue to be a part of TAME as mentors, donors and volunteers. For more information on the organization, please visit http://www.tame.org.
Issuers continue to open large volumes of new accounts. Since 2015, we have seen more than 60 million new accounts annually in the U.S. market, but total account growth occurs at a snails pace. This means cardholders are leaving their issuers almost as quickly as issuers book new accounts.

With U.S. credit card attrition rates at 15%, issuers need to book that amount just to keep interest-generating portfolios on par. The credit card acquisition function is the payments lifeblood, essential to grow the business and offset cardholder attrition. High customer attrition rates require credit card issuers to adapt to a changing market. They also must keep the credit card value proposition attractive to retain accounts.

Credit card issuers in the U.S. market booked 66.6 million new accounts in 2017, but the total volume of accounts grew by only 2.3 million because of account attrition. Mercator Advisory Groups latest research report, Credit Card Acquisitions: Maximizing Results amid Change, discusses the high volume of account attrition and the industry trend toward digital acquisitions, projects how the credit card acquisition model will shift through 2022, and recommends practical strategies for credit card issuers to adapt to a changing market.

Issuers in the U.S. credit card industry should be urgently concerned, commented Brian Riley, Director, Credit Advisory, at Mercator Advisory Group and author of the research note. Issuers continue to open large volumes of new accounts. Since 2015, we have seen more than 60 million new accounts annually in the U.S. market, but total account growth occurs at a snails pace. This means cardholders are leaving their issuers almost as quickly as issuers book new accounts. As can be observed from many issuers loss numbers, accounts in the portfolios have not seasoned, so risk and delinquency are high. Also, these results show that the rewards model is flawed. Could it be that consumers have outfoxed the rewards incentive model? Have they outfoxed the issuers by shifting their loyalty to the best introductory offer? In a 2017 report, Mercator Advisory Group identified how the return on asset (ROA) metric for credit cards in the U.S. plummeted from 7.65% in 2006 to a projected 3.74% in 2017. One of the driving factors is net revenue per account, and attrition is an obvious component.

Highlights of the research note include:



U.S. cardholder attrition rates

Total numbers of new accounts

New account bookings by year

Sources of U.S. card acquisitions

Projected card acquisition volumes by channel through 2022

This research report contains 14 pages and 6 exhibits.

Companies mentioned in this research report include: Bank of America, BB&T, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Discover, FICO, First Data, FIS, Fiserv, Mastercard, PNC, SunTrust, TSYS, and Visa.

Members of Mercator Advisory Groups Credit Advisory Service have access to these reports as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access, and other membership benefits.

For more information and media inquiries, please call Mercator Advisory Group's main line: 1-781-419-1700, or send email to media@mercatoradvisorygroup.com.

For free industry news, opinions, research, company information, and more, visit us at http://www.PaymentsJournal.com.

Follow us on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/MercatorAdvisor.

About Mercator Advisory Group

Mercator Advisory Group is the leading independent research and advisory services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and investors. Mercator Advisory Group is also the publisher of the online payments and banking news and information portal PaymentsJournal.com.
Executive Monthly Rental AvenueWest homes are ideal for monthly furnished housing for business travel.

AvenueWest, a managed corporate housing firm, is now open in Las Vegas. The franchise is owned and operated by Saundra de Montano, a real estate broker and entrepreneur, who, along with her husband, Jordi Montano-Carrera, has owned and managed a variety of properties since 1989 throughout the Bay Area, Texas, Atlanta and Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, Saundra de Montano owned and operated her own brokerage firm before selling it to focus on her newest venture.

AvenueWest, with offices in ten cities, provides a variety of corporate housing options, including lofts, condominiums, townhomes, apartments and single-family homes for corporations seeking short- and long-term housing solutions for employees and executives. The Las Vegas office currently offers twelve properties with plans to expand its offerings to more than 30 by year-end.

According to de Montano, AvenueWest Las Vegas is a great solution for owners of high quality properties to generate revenue without the hassle of overseeing all the details and with greater security and peace of mind than other short-term housing alternatives like Airbnb.

We are actively seeking properties to add to our growing portfolio. We simultaneously handle all the details of property management to ensure a seamless experience for property owners while ensuring a positive experience for our tenants. Our primary tenants are corporations and businesses seeking high quality housing for employees and executives, said de Montano. Its a win-win for both sides of the equation, and AvenueWests high standards for design, cleanliness, overall aesthetics and location, ensure a positive outcome.

All AvenueWest properties are all-inclusive and fully stocked with housewares, electronics, furnishings and linens. AvenueWest homes are ideal for temporary furnished housing for business travel or relocation, displacement from your home, specialized medical treatment and other specific situations that require a temporary housing solution.

A graduate of Stanford University with a degree in mathematics, de Montano acquired her first property in 1989. The onset of her serious real estate ventures began when she married her husband in 1996. The couple slowly began acquiring properties, starting with a tri-plex in San Mateo, California, then adding a six-plex in San Francisco  all while working their day jobs and saving one salary for future real estate purchases. In 2001, the couple purchased a ten-unit complex in San Francisco and began accumulating homes in Las Vegas in 2002, eventually owning ten single-family homes here. At the peak, the couple owned 34 homes in four states.

Last year, weary of traveling and managing properties long-distance, the couple made the decision to sell most of their real estate holdings and begin anew in the growing industry of managed corporate short-term housing. We live in a mobile society, said de Montano. And while exciting new options like Airbnb are helping to provide more short-term housing options for travelers of all income levels, there are inherent concerns and challenges of operating as an independent owner. Managed corporate housing is a more structured and formalized version of these independent short-term housing programs that offers greater security and reduced liability, and is therefore better suited for the corporate world and for owners of higher-end properties.

And, according to de Montano, with the city of Las Vegas tightening regulations on unlicensed operators offering guest stays of less than 31 days, corporate housing (with average guest stays of 80 days) provides an attractive alternative.

The couple launched their AvenueWest portfolio with their own purchase in late 2017 of three homes at Juhl in downtown Las Vegas, an iconic high-rise that is popular with the areas legal community and other professionals. Since then, they have added nine other properties to their management portfolio, including two at The Meridian, four in Summerlin and three at The Ogden.

To find out if your property qualifies or to inquire about availability and pricing, call 1-800-928-1592 or email LasVegas(at)AvenueWest(dot)com. For more information, visit avenuewest.com/LasVegas.
GPSip Inc., a developer, intellectual property holder, and licensor of Autonomous GeoGraphical Containment Technology, addresses the publics security concerns associated with location-aware wearable devices.

Security and privacy have become serious and significant concerns for consumers of location-aware devices and technology companies that manufacture these products. In the past few months there has been news of a ban on childrens smart watches in Germany due to privacy concerns, as well as concerns regarding sensitive military troop locations having gone public due to fitness wearables.

SkyShepherds patented technology allows for the location and status computing to occur on the device. So, there is no need to transmit the actual Latitude and Longitude information of an individual wearing the device.

SkyShepherd allows containment areas (geo-fences) in complex shapes to be created with progressive alert zones to be monitored and contained. The containment zone, alert zones, and other zone values are stored at the edge directly on the devices using very little memory and processor time. As the location-aware device receives location information, it autonomously checks the onboard map to determine its status, and acts, if needed.

Security and privacy are growing concerns and every location-aware device needs a solution, noted Rodney Landers, co-inventor and CTO. The IoT market is experiencing an explosion of location-aware devices, and we believe the SkyShepherd technology addresses the security and privacy issues. Mr. Landers added, Since the status processing happens locally, the device only needs to communicate when there is a problem, or to give infrequent updates when things are good. When it communicates it does not need to transmit actual Lat & Lon information. Not having to transmit location information greatly increases security.

SkyShepherd is a unique and very secure way to monitor location-aware devices and restore public trust, said Kevin Nieuwsma, co-inventor and CEO of GPSip, Inc. "We look forward to partnering with industry leaders to accelerate the adoption of our proprietary Autonomous GeoGraphical Containment Technology.

About GPSip, Inc.

GPSip is a developer, intellectual property holder, and licensor of Autonomous GeoGraphical Containment Technology, advancing the capabilities of standard location-based systems. Applications include: Family Security, Personal Safety, Public Safety, Elder Care, Health & Medical, Animals, Asset Management, Unmanned Vehicles (Drones), and Equipment Containment. In addition to US patent 9,795,118, the company has 10 United States and International patent applications pending. For more information, call (651) 307-2781 or visit http://www.skyshepherd.com.
Nuclear Divers from Underwater Construction Corporation UK Ltd (UCC UK Ltd) have begun working in the former spent fuel storage pond of the Sizewell A Magnox nuclear power plant in the UK. The work is similar to the previous 18-month project in the Dungeness A spent fuel pond near Ashford, Kent, UK.

Philip McDermott, General Manager, of UCC UK Ltd states the use of nuclear divers to process and package Intermediate Level Waste (ILW) has proven to be very effective. The projects have lowered overall worker radiation exposure, reduced schedules, and reduced costs for the customers and ultimately the UK Government.

At Sizewell A the nuclear divers, using underwater plasma cutting have size reduced, and packaged more than 30 fuel skips in record time, when compared to previous methods.

Additional underwater tasks are the de-planting, segmenting, and packaging of spent fuel pool furniture, cleaning and sorting debris, and assisting Magnox personnel with other challenging tasks such as rigging components for removal where there is no, or limited access from the pond above.

Sizewell A Site Ponds Programme Manager Steve Franks said, "The scale of work to be delivered by the divers is huge. Although we have only one pond to decommission, the inventory of the pond is larger than at Dungeness A, but we will still be looking to speed up the work wherever it is safe to do so."

Geoff Suitor, head of the Magnox programme for the NDA, said: "Magnox's implementation of innovative approaches, such as the use of divers to handle radioactive waste in ponds, contributes to real progress in reducing risks and hazards at the Magnox sites. Together, we are successfully cleaning up and making safe the UK's earliest nuclear sites on behalf of communities and the environment." (1)


The Del E. Webb Foundation is honored to play a part in helping with the education of first responders as it relates to quickly identifying sepsis.

Sepsis Alliance, the nation's leading sepsis advocacy and education organization, has been awarded a $30,000 grant from the Del E. Webb Foundation to produce Sepsis: First Responders, a training video designed for 2.7 million first responders in the United States.

The Del E. Webb Foundation was created by Delbert Webb, a legendary American construction magnate, real estate developer, and sports-team owner who founded and developed the retirement community of Sun City, Arizona. The Del E. Webb Foundation invests in productivity that results in long-term benefits, focusing primarily on supporting child and health initiatives.

"The Del E. Webb Foundation is honored to play a part in helping with the education of first responders as it relates to quickly identifying sepsis," said Dr. John B. Lees, the President of the Del E. Webb Foundation.

Sepsis, the body's overwhelming and life-threatening response to infection, takes more lives in the U.S. every year than breast cancer, prostate cancer, and AIDS combined. There are over 1.7 million cases of sepsis in the U.S. every year, and more than 15% (over 270,000) of sepsis patients die. In 2016, the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that between 40-51% of sepsis cases arrive at the hospital via ambulance. For this high percentage of sepsis patients, the first point of contact is a first responder.

"With nearly half of sepsis patients beginning treatment in an ambulance, and sepsis mortality increasing by 8% for every hour that treatment is delayed, there is a definite benefit for additional first responder training," said Thomas Heymann, President and Executive Director of Sepsis Alliance. "If sepsis recognition and intervention can start before the patient even arrives at the hospital, lives will be saved."

Through emphasizing the importance of clear communication during specific touch points in the care of the patient, Sepsis: First Responders aims to promote the early identification and treatment of sepsis. This video will provide training geared towards the fast-paced, high stress environment that first responders regularly work in, while sharing critical information about sepsis response best practices with all medical professionals.

"If we can help provide first responders with the tools they need to diagnose sepsis earlier in the patient's care, this project has the potential to save thousands of lives," added Heymann. "We are incredibly grateful for the Del E. Webb Foundation's belief in this project and our mission."

Sepsis: First Responders is scheduled for release in the spring of 2018. For more information on Sepsis Alliance, please visit:

https://sepsis.org

About Sepsis Alliance

Sepsis Alliance is the leading nonprofit patient advocacy organization in North America. Sepsis Alliance's mission is to save lives and reduce suffering by raising awareness of sepsis as a medical emergency. The organization hosts national and community events, distributes educational information, and promoted training and education on sepsis prevention and early recognition and treatment. Sepsis Alliance also supports sepsis survivors and family members with information about sepsis and Post Sepsis Syndrome, as well as a Faces of Sepsis community forum. The sepsis.org website received more than 1.5 million visits each year. Sepsis Alliance, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization, is a GuideStar Gold Rated Charity. For more information, please visit http://www.sepsis.org.

About Del E. Webb Foundation

Following Del E. Webb's legacy, the Del E. Webb Foundation's giving is defined by new ideas and innovative adaptations. The Foundation invests in results by committing to programs operating within Arizona, California, and Nevada that create or enhance opportunities for permanent improvements. The Foundation focuses primarily on child and health initiatives. For more information, please visit http://www.dewf.net.
Logo I am looking forward to facilitating some critical discussions surrounding the global UDI requirements and sharing my experiences with UDI in the United States

USDM Life Sciences, the leading risk management, technological innovation and business process optimization firm for the life sciences and healthcare industries, announces Jay Crowley will speak at MD&M West 2018 in Anaheim, CA, February 6-8.

What: Panel - Next Steps for Implementing Global UDI

Who: Jay Crowley, VP of UDI Services and Solutions at USDM Life Sciences

Where: MD&M West 2018, Anaheim Convention Center

When: Wednesday, February 7, 2:30-4:00 pm

I am looking forward to facilitating some critical discussions surrounding the global UDI requirements and sharing my experiences with UDI in the United States, said Crowley. This event comes at a critical time for the medical device industry as the first MDR/IVDR deadlines approach and more countries around the world move towards implementing UDI regulations.

The Unique Device Identification (UDI) system offers a number of benefits that will be more fully realized with the adoption and integration of UDIs into the healthcare delivery system. UDI implementation will improve patient safety, modernize device postmarket surveillance, and facilitate medical device innovation. But questions remain. This session will attempt to clear the air.

Topics to be covered include:



FDAs issues regarding UDI, recent changes, and emphasis on data quality

Effects of UDI in the EU, which has just included this in its new regulations

UDI in Canada, Brazil, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and other locations

Jay Crowley, VP of UDI Services and Solutions at USDM Life Sciences was most recently Senior Advisor for Patient Safety in the Food and Drug Administrations Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Jay developed the framework and authored key requirements for FDAs Unique Device Identification system. His extensive tenure in the regulated life sciences industry has allowed him to assist medical device companies in meeting ever-changing UDI compliance standards.

At USDM Life Sciences, Crowley helps medical device manufacturers achieve regulatory compliance as well as internal benefits and competitive advantage with UDI implementation and MDR/IVDR guidance. Topics to be covered in the panel include FDAs issues regarding UDI, recent changes, and emphasis on data quality, Effects of UDI in the EU and UDI in Canada, Brazil, China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and other locations.

About USDM Life Sciences:

USDM Life Sciences is a global life science and healthcare services company, providing strategy and compliant technology solutions to regulated industries. If you work in Life Sciences or Healthcare, partnering with USDM Life Sciences makes it easy to accelerate innovation and maximize productivity. USDM Life Sciences only focuses on regulated industries and has built trusted partnerships with the most innovative technology companies in the world, and boast a staff of industry leading experts in the areas of technology and compliance. USDM Life Sciences is doing business as USDM Europe GmbH in Germany.
Highest Online Rated Window and Patio Door Brand Milgard held the number one position through all of 2017 and even managed to strengthen their position by the end of the year, said Ryan Murphy, Senior Research Manager at MetrixLab.

For the second year in a row, Milgard Windows & Doors was named the highest online rated window and patio door brand, as determined by MetrixLabs Net Reputation scoring system.

Our customers come first, and were pleased to know that they think so highly of us, said Jeremiah Noneman, marketing director at Milgard. As our homeowners share their stories, we learn how Milgard products and service make a significant difference in their lives, and that is very gratifying.

In order to measure the sentiment of how customers feel about a brand online, a Net Reputation Score (NRS) can be used. The score is derived by looking at real customer experiences, shared online, that mention a companys brand name. Millions of websites and social media comments are reviewed to derive the score which is measured on a 200 point scale. Positive and negative emotional sentiment and the reputation of the website also factor into the calculation.

Milgard held the number one position through all of 2017 and even managed to strengthen their position by the end of the year, said Ryan Murphy, Senior Research Manager at MetrixLab. For the last two years, Milgard has outperformed their competitors and early results for 2018 are looking strong.

With almost 30,000 reviews on milgard.com, its easy for homeowners to share their stories. They can choose to comment on the experience they had with a Certified Milgard Dealer on the sale and installation process, talk about how new Milgard windows and patio doors are quiet and energy efficient in their home or share feedback about the Milgard service team.

See what customers have to say about Milgard service. Read Milgard Service Reviews

You can also find Milgard customer reviews on popular home renovation sites, such as Houzz, where Milgard has won the Best of Houzz Design award, four years in a row.

About Milgard Windows & Doors

Milgard Windows & Doors, a Masco company based in Tacoma, Washington, offers a full line of vinyl, wood, fiberglass and aluminum windows and patio doors for builders, dealers and homeowners, backed by a Full Lifetime Warranty, including parts and labor. The company has been recognized as Builders Choice for vinyl and fiberglass windows in the Western United States, in a yearly survey sponsored by Hanley-Wood Inc., publishers of BUILDER Magazine. Milgard is the highest online rated window and patio door brand, as measured by the 2017 NRS consumer sentiment study conducted by MetrixLab and commissioned by Masco. Milgard has approximately 3,800 dealer locations nationwide. For more information, visit milgard.com or call 1.800.MILGARD.

About Masco Corporation

Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS), parent company of Milgard Windows & Doors, is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Our portfolio of industry-leading brands includes Behr paint; Delta and Hansgrohe faucets, bath and shower fixtures; KraftMaid and Merillat cabinets; Milgard windows and doors; and Hot Spring spas. We leverage our powerful brands across product categories, sales channels and geographies to create value for our customers and shareholders. For more information about Masco Corporation, visit Masco.com.

About MetrixLab

MetrixLab provides consumer insights that drive smarter business decisions. As a truly digital global research agency, we pioneer new technologies and integrate multiple data sources to push the boundaries of research. Our expertise, passion and solutions enable our clients to succeed at product innovation, brand engagement and customer value in over 90 countries. MetrixLab is part of the Macromill Group. http://www.metrixlab.com
Autobooks is a game-changer for community banks. says Adom Greenland, COO of Choice One Bank in Sparta, MI

Fintech startup Autobooks is off to a big start this year, announcing a $10 Million Series A1 round with plans to increase hiring in support of strong demand from banks and credit unions for its integrated receivables platform.

The company recently closed a $5.5M Series A in March of 2017 and has been deployed into a new bank or credit union every month since and is on pace for 25 more deployments in 2018. The company is experiencing strong demand for its integrated receivables and cash-management products to help financial institutions become a digital destination for small businesses. The investment comes from both institutional and strategic investors, including: Draper Triangle, Baird Capital, Detroit Venture Partners, Invest Michigan and CU Solutions Group.

Autobooks recently re-located its headquarters to downtown Detroit, into the iconic Madison building but is quickly running out of space. The company also has a growing presence in Austin, TX due to its strong financial technology community. The company has added a dozen employees in 2017 and will ramp up aggressively in response to business growth.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder recently stopped by the Autobooks office to recognize the work being done to attract talent in the region and help showcase Detroit as an attractive environment for fast-paced startups such as Autobooks. Detroit is the comeback city and is helping to transform Michigan, says Snyder. The team at Autobooks is a glowing example of what is possible when you combine experienced operators and venture capital, to push innovation into a legacy [banking] industry.

Autobooks helps financial institutions provide comprehensive business services  including invoicing, payments, and accounting. Small businesses desire digital to be the primary medium in which they manage their business and trust their financial institution the most, however, historically theyve been stuck using products designed for consumers and retail customers thus forcing them to go to multiple sites to manage their business using non-bank alternatives; such as PayPal, Square or QuickBooks, until now. Autobooks bundles critical back office functionality into a single pane of glass and makes it available to a banks customers as part of their internet banking experience.

Similar to how CheckFree, Metavante and iPay pioneered electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) largely known today as bill pay  making it easy to move money out of the bank, Autobooks makes it easy to bring money in, helping businesses get paid by their customers with electronic invoicing. As money moves into or out of their bank account, the bookkeeping is done automatically, in real time. A business (or the bank) can now run an up-to-the-minute income statement or balance sheet without the need for month-end reconciliation. Put another way, Autobooks helps a small business better manage its cash flow, automating the mundane, administratively burdensome bookkeeping tasks that nobody likes to do, while yielding all the benefits of an accounting system without having to learn, or hire an accountant.

Autobooks is a game-changer for community banks, says Adom Greenland, COO of Choice One Bank in Sparta, MI. They help level the playing field, providing business products typically only available at MEGA banks. Now, with Autobooks, we can provide a comprehensive treasury and cash-management suite to even the smallest micro-business, delivering services cost-effectively while better serving customers as their needs grow over time.

Despite small businesses making up more than 44 percent of the GDP, according to the Small Business Administration, robust financial products have been historically out of reach for most businesses due to either cost or complexity. Through partnerships with banks and credit unions, Autobooks is able to bring enterprise level tools to small businesses at a low cost and make them easy to use.

The Autobooks leadership team has extensive experience working with financial institutions, drawing from its time building internet banking platforms such as FundsXpress (exit: First Data) as well as payment facilitation with Billhighway (exit: BluePay/FirstData) and small business loyalty/reward programs at Buzz Points.

We are extremely fortunate to have the support of such great investors and board members enabling us to assemble a world-class team and drawing from such deep banking expertise. says Steve Robert, co-founder and CEO of Autobooks. Many fintech companies get tripped up trying to work with banks, by not having a robust vendor risk management (VRM) process in place, or not understanding how to work with core providers such as Jack Henry, FIS, or Fiserv. One place Autobooks really shines is post-implementation support, we literally help financial institutions launch our product, acting on their behalf like a digital agency, providing best practices to drive subscriber growth  an area where banks have historically struggled. Its not uncommon for Autobooks to obtain 3-5% adoption in its first 90 days  significantly outpacing prior bank product adoption curves such as business bill pay, mobile banking or RDC.

Small businesses benefit from better cash flow, insightful reports, and the ability to accept online payments for the lowest processing fees in the industry  while automating routine bookkeeping tasks. Conversely, financial institutions have new tools to help grow deposits, increase non-interest income and proactively identify new lending opportunities  everybody wins.

About Autobooks

Autobooks is a fintech company located in Detroit, MI - providing integrated invoicing, payment and accounting software for online banking platforms. Through Autobooks, financial institutions can provide essential tools to small business owners to help them grow. Visit http://www.autobooks.co to learn more or inquire with your banking core technology provider.
Representatives from AT&T presented the University City Science Center with $20,000 at the Project Inquiry Student Showcase on February 7, 2018 at the Science Center. The contribution from AT&T funded the latest cohort of FirstHand s Project Inquiry program, which gives high school students an in-depth and focused experience with STEM subjects.

The latest cohort of FirstHands Project Inquiry participants, 12 tenth graders from School of the Future, were challenged to redesign the logo, brand books, and marketing materials for Evol Science, a biotech company located in the Science Centers Port Business Incubator. Students dove into the scientific design and prototyping process, learning advanced modeling skills using 3D printers and laser cutters, and Adobe Creative Suite software.

Evol Science staff served as mentors throughout the program, giving the students a first-hand look into life at a startup, and careers in the STEM fields.

At the showcase, students presented their work to Evol Science staff, AT&T representatives, Science Center staff and School of the Future administration. AT&T representatives served as judges at the student showcase, offering feedback and recommendations to the students on their projects.

AT&T is proud to support the Science Centers Project Inquiry because it is just the type of immersive programming thats so important in guiding students toward academic success and ultimately career success, said Joseph Divis, assistant vice president-external affairs for AT&T. Exposing high school students to STEM in the real world through hands-on experience and caring mentors delivers powerful learning and inspiration.

Divis said the contribution is part of AT&T Aspire, AT&Ts signature philanthropic initiative to drive student success in school and beyond.

Designed to give high school students an in-depth and focused experience with STEM learning, Project Inquiry allows students to pursue individual interests through projects matched with focused mentoring experiences. A staple of all FirstHand programming, mentoring is a key component of Project Inquiry, with monthly visits from Science Center-based professionals. As a result of their participation in Project Inquiry, students were exposed to a variety of STEM professionals ranging from scientists and researchers at a startup to technology professionals at a Fortune 500 company.

Serving Philadelphia youth from under-resourced schools and the teachers, professionals and families from their communities, FirstHand aims to spark an interest in the STEAM disciplines of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math that students can explore and cultivate throughout their lives. By giving students the opportunity to explore, ask questions, and create new solutions, FirstHand is opening the doors for the minds of tomorrow.

About the Science Center

Located in the heart of uCity Square, the Science Center is a mission-driven nonprofit organization that catalyzes and connects innovation to entrepreneurship and technology commercialization. For 50+ years, the Science Center has supported startups, research, and economic development in the life sciences, healthcare, physical sciences, and emerging technology sectors. As a result, graduate firms and current residents of the Science Centers incubator support one out of every 100 jobs in the Greater Philadelphia region and drive $13 billion in economic activity in the region annually. By providing resources and programming for any stage of a businesss lifecycle, the Science Center helps scientists, entrepreneurs and innovators take their concepts from idea to IPO  and beyond. For more information about the Science Center, go to http://www.sciencecenter.org
This is a growing field that is constantly changing and we are happy to provide our clients with not only customized solutions but talented agents that specialize in communicating with their customers in new and exciting ways.

Qualfon, a mission-driven business process outsourcing (BPO) company and global provider of contact center services, launched new-hire training for a new client program in its Coeur dAlene call center facility. Qualfon will be providing social media customer service support for a large, multi-national client. This is the multi-nationals first foray into outsourced, social media support channels.

Qualfon Coeur dAlene is excited to support another client in the Social Care space, says Client Relations VP Nickola Hubiak. This is a growing field that is constantly changing and we are happy to provide our clients with not only customized solutions but talented agents that specialize in communicating with their customers in new and exciting ways.

Qualfon has been designing and perfecting customized care solutions for social media channels, blogs, and online forums since 2009. Its social media customer care solution empowers highly qualified representatives to monitor social chatter and engage customers in conversation. The result is a small and nimble social response team, focused on resolving customer issues, improving customer sentiment, and building/protecting clients online brand reputations.

About Qualfon

Qualfon is a mission-driven BPO company and a global provider of contact center services and back-office processing. With experienced BPO leadership and a strong track record of business growth dating back to our founding in 1995, Qualfon helps companies reduce costs and deliver superior customer experiences. Today, we have approximately 16,500 employees serving international brands across many industries, and our intelligent outsourcing locations span the United States, the Philippines, Guyana S.A., Costa Rico, and Mexico. Qualfons mission to Be the Best BPO, Make Peoples Lives Better means we invest in our people and, in return, they take better care of you and your customers. Qualfons employee retention regularly exceeds the industry average, which creates a people-driven value chain: Our employees stay longer, providing you a higher quality service at a lower price.
Wednesday will open at 8:30 a.m. with Ready For Take-Off? Advancing Additive Into Aerospace keynote given by Paula Hay, the Executive Director for Additive Design and Manufacturing for UTC Aerospace Systems.

SAE International announces the three keynote speakers for SAE 2018 Additive Manufacturing in Motion Symposium which will convene in the Hilton Cleveland Downtown Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio on March 13-14, 2018. This event is the premier additive manufacturing event for the mobility industry. Technical experts from both automobile and aerospace OEMs, Tier 1 and 2 suppliers, as well as government and academia, will communicate needs, research, development activities, and solutions that will enable all stakeholders an opportunity to maximize the many benefits of this continually evolving technology.

Additive Manufacturing in Motion will open at 8:30 a.m. with a keynote address from Richard Grylls of SLM Solutions. Dr. Grylls presentation will focus on Metal Additive Manufacturing  Disruptive and Evolutionary Technology for Transportation. Dr. Grylls has worked in the Metal Additive Manufacturing industry for almost 20 years. He will highlight the rapid advances in the ability of metal AM to meet stringent production standards in transportation industries, and attempt to look 3-5 years into the future at the applications which will emerge, both in traditional transportation and in emerging systems.

At 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 13, Greg Hayes will provide our second keynote presentation. Hayes is a strategic technology development consultant with a strong background in high-end research and development, and a focus in materials science and engineering. He is currently the director of consulting and applications of EOS North America, where he works to identify market needs and uses of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology to develop products to fulfill those opportunities.

Wednesday will open at 8:30 a.m. with Ready For Take-Off? Advancing Additive Into Aerospace keynote given by Paula Hay, the Executive Director for Additive Design and Manufacturing for UTC Aerospace Systems. She is responsible for advancing the use of additive across UTAS. Her presentation will look at the goals and challenges for additive and how they may be overcome as additive in aerospace becomes a reality.

To learn more about the SAE Additive Manufacturing in Motion Symposium or to register, visit http://www.sae.org/attend/additive-manufacturing.

For information on exhibit or sponsorship opportunities, please contact Arlene DiSilvio at Arlene.disilvio(at)sae(dot)org or 1-724-772-4060.

To request media credentials, email pr(at)sae(dot)org or call 1-724-772-8522.

SAE International is a global association committed to being the ultimate knowledge source for the engineering profession. By uniting over 127,000 engineers and technical experts, we drive knowledge and expertise across a broad spectrum of industries. We act on two priorities: encouraging a lifetime of learning for mobility engineering professionals and setting the standards for industry engineering. We strive for a better world through the work of our charitable arm, the SAE Foundation, which helps fund programs like A World in Motion and the Collegiate Design Series.

http://www.sae.org
Janet Yellen (Left); Stanley Fischer (Right)

The Group of Thirty (G30) announced today that Janet Yellen and Stanley Fischer, respectively former chair and vice chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve System, have accepted invitations to rejoin the membership of the G30 as senior members. Both individuals had previously been members of the G30, Dr Yellen during her term as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and Dr Fischer during his tenure at the International Monetary Fund and subsequently as Governor of the Bank of Israel*.

Dr Jacob A. Frenkel, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, stated: "We are delighted to welcome Janet Yellen and Stan Fischer back to the G30. We salute their exemplary public service, and the key leadership roles they both played in the Federal Reserve, working to achieve its mandate. Dr. Frenkel continued: The effectiveness of the G30 depends fundamentally upon the quality and stature of the Groups members and the Trustees and I look forward to their contributions to our deliberations."

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Chairman of the G30, said: Janet Yellen and Stan Fischer are outstanding leaders, each bringing a wealth of understanding on the financial and economic challenges of the times.

Tharman continued: The work of the G30 in financial and economic thought leadership relies on its unique membership, drawn from across the globe and both the public and private sectors. We look forward to Janet's and Stans contributions in the years ahead.

Janet Yellen stated: I thank Jacob, Tharman, and the G30 members for the invitation to join the G30 membership. I am honored to once again join the Group and look forward to participating in its discussions and activities.

Dr Fischer stated: It is a pleasure to join my friends in the G30, which does such key work on international economics and governance. I look forward to working together with G30 colleagues to support the Groups mission.

The Group of Thirty was founded in 1978. The Group is a private, nonprofit, international body composed of eminent individuals with experience in the private and public sectors and academia. It aims to deepen understanding of international economic and financial issues, and to explore the international repercussions of decisions taken in the public and private sectors.

A full membership list with bios is available at http://group30.org/members.

*Janet Yellen was a member from 2009-2010; Stanley Fischer was a member from 2000-2014.
Spanish National Library(MADRID) -- A secret code used by the famed Spanish King Ferdinand II to discuss wartime strategy has been cracked, Spanish officials confirmed to ABC News.



In 2015, experts asked CNI to help in their attempt to decipher the codes of two letters written in 1502 and 1506, according to a spokesperson for The Army Museum of Toledo.



The codes were used during the wars of Italy by the "Catholic King."



"These two letters now analyzed, allow experts to fully understand the military instructions and tactics discussed by the King Ferdinand II and his commander," the spokesperson for The Army Museum of Toledo confirmed. "We also understand better the kind of threats they were fearing."



The mysterious coding system was deciphered by The Spanish Intelligence Agency called El Centro Nacional de Inteligencia, or CNI. The agency said the centuries-old code was used by the King of Aragon at the beginning of the 16th century to transmit informations and strategies to his army commander Gonzalo de Cordoba, during the Italian campaigns.



The Catholic King expressed his disagreements with his commander's strategies during the Naples campaign, in which the French tried to make an incursion, in the texts.



"In these letters, we understood the King was feeling threatened for the future of his Kingdom," the spokesperson said. "The King of Aragon was a perpetual conqueror and was also sponsoring Christopher Columbus and his path of the New World."



The type of code used was called "Vigenere" with a method of encrypting alphabetically, the agency said.



The first attempt to decipher the letters appears to have been made in the 19th century by Gustave Bergenroth, a German historian and "patient non professional decipher," who found the code key of the "Great Captain" of the King Ferdinand II.



A copy of the book is still at the National Library of Madrid and is called "Cartas de Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba a diferentes personas," which translates to "Letters of Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordoba to different people."



Since the coding system has been fully decoded and disclosed by CNI, experts can now translate several different letters exchanged by the King and his commander during the time in history when Spain and France were fighting for territory.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Nicolle Zellner Dr. Nicolle Zellner, Professor of Astronomy at Albion College, will present ANSMET: Space Exploration Way Down Under in the Stryker Theater.

Kalamazoo Valley Museum to Participate in Statewide Astronomy Night

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum, 230 N. Rose Street, Kalamazoo, MI, will participate in Statewide Astronomy Night (SWAN) on April 20 from 5-8 p.m. A number of astronomy-related activities for all ages will be presented free of charge. SWAN is coordinated by Michigan State Universitys annual Science Festival.

Planetarium staff will share their knowledge through interactive demonstrations and discussions.

Participants will learn about telescopes, make planispheres and moon dials, and see demonstrations on how to view the sun safely. Astronomy-themed refreshments will be served.

At 5:15 p.m. in the planetarium, there will be a showing of IBEX: Search for the Edge of the Solar System. The presentation examines the Interstellar Boundary Explorer and its use to map the furthest reaches of our solar system. At 6 p.m., guests can listen to a live star talk in the planetarium, which will focus on the springtime sky and its constellations here in southwest Michigan.

At 7 p.m., Dr. Nicolle Zellner, Professor of Astronomy at Albion College, will present ANSMET: Space Exploration Way Down Under in the Stryker Theater. During the 2006-2007 field season, Dr. Nicolle Zellner was a member of the ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) team that searched for rocks from space on the ice fields of Antarctica. During her two months there, she and her team collected over 800 meteorites that provide clues to the early days of our solar system.

Her Ph.D. is from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (2001), where she received the school's first Multidisciplinary PhD. Her undergraduate degree, with majors in Physics and Astronomy and a certification in Environmental Studies, is from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was an AAUW American Fellow, as well as a two-time Zonta Amelia Earhart Fellow. Her research has been supported by the American Astronomical Society and is currently supported by NASA and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Zellner will discuss her formative years growing up in the Midwest, her path of becoming a scientist, and some of her other research interests and unique experiences.

Venues around the state of Michigan will open their doors to help people see and connect with the beauty and science that lies overhead. Events and other sites participating in Michigan States Science Festival and Statewide Astronomy Night can be found at http://sciencefestival.msu.edu/

The Kalamazoo Valley Museum is operated by Kalamazoo Valley Community College and is governed by its Board of Trustees.

Media Contact

Bill McElhone

Kalamazoo Valley Museum Director

269-373-7990, wgouldmcelh(at)kvcc(dot)edu
In addressing immigration, it is imperative that you consider how your actions will affect Americas population size and growth. With our nation now on track to a population of 400 million by mid-century  only 32 years from now  this is a critical time.

In advance of a major push to decide the fate of illegal young people in the U.S. currently covered by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, NPG President Donald Mann has called on Congress to also take this opportunity to make a number of additional nation changing reforms to Americas broken immigration system.

In a letter sent to all U.S. Senators and Members of the House of Representatives, Mann noted that in making critical decisions on immigration, it is vital that Congress put Americas interests ahead of special interests. He proclaimed: The new immigration laws and policies that you enact will be nation changing. Mann added: They will affect every American for decades to come. And they will have a huge impact on our countrys social, economic and environmental future.

Mann stated: In addressing immigration, it is imperative that you consider how your actions will affect Americas population size and growth. With our nation now on track to a population of 400 million by mid-century  only 32 years from now  this is a critical time. We can put the brakes on the vast flow of immigrants in the years ahead and put America on a path to a smaller, truly sustainable, population.

To meet that goal, NPG is running an Open Letter to Congress advertisement in national publications. The ad appeals to our nations legislators to severely crack down on illegal immigration and radically scale back current legal immigration. In addition, the ad states: It is important to remember that immigration will soon be the major driving force behind Americas increasing population numbers, accounting for more than 80% of future growth.

In all, NPG, a premier national grassroots organization, is mobilizing its thousands of members and supporters to contact their Senators and Members of Congress with a personal appeal to use the DACA debate to also address critical immigration-related issues including: national border security, chain migration, E-Verify, visa overstayers, the Visa Lottery, birthright citizenship, and long-overdue cuts in legal immigration.

With immigration being such a divisive hot button issue this may be the last time for quite a while that Congress makes critical decisions in this area. In addressing that reality, Mann concluded: The immigration-related changes Congress makes now could be locked in for decades. We owe it to our children, grandchildren, and all generations to come, to get it right  and leave them a livable future.

Founded in 1972, NPG is a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to educating the American public and political leaders regarding the damaging effects of population growth. We believe that our nation is already vastly overpopulated in terms of the long-range carrying capacity of its resources and environment. NPG advocates the adoption of its Proposed National Population Policy, with the goal of eventually stabilizing U.S. population at a sustainable level  far lower than todays. We do not simply identify the problems  we propose solutions. For more information, visit our website at http://www.NPG.org, follow us on Facebook @NegativePopulationGrowth or follow us on Twitter @npg_org.
Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP, a leading boutique investment management law firm, is pleased to announce the promotion of David C. Rothschild to partner effective January 1, 2018. Mr. Rothschild has been with the firm for five years and has demonstrated a sustained commitment to clients and growing the firms practice. Mr. Rothschild heads the firms Boston office and is actively involved in the local and national hedge fund community.

David epitomizes the dedication, breadth of knowledge and client service on which our firm prides itself, and has been an integral member of our team since joining the firm in 2013, said Karl Cole-Frieman, co-founder of the firm. I am excited to welcome David to the partnership and continue to grow our business together for years to come. Mr. Rothschilds practice focuses on advising private funds and investment advisers in relation to structure, formation and ongoing operational needs, general securities laws matters, and regulatory and compliance issues. In addition, as Cole-Frieman & Mallon has developed an industry-leading cryptocurrency fund formation practice, Davids focus has expanded to help clients navigate the unique regulatory and operational challenges of this ever-growing asset class.

The firm also announces that, in recognition of their outstanding performance, attorneys Trisha Ton-nu and Laura Wong have been promoted to Senior Associate. Ms. Ton-nu joined the firm in 2014 and Ms. Wong in 2015. Trisha and Laura have each made significant contributions to the continued growth and excellence of our firm, said co-founder Bart Mallon. We consistently receive appreciative feedback from clients and both have demonstrated their commitment to fostering teamwork and developing a strong firm culture.

Please join us in congratulating David, Trisha and Laura.

About Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP

Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP is a premier boutique investment management law firm, providing top-tier, responsive and cost-effective legal solutions for financial services matters. Headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in Atlanta and Boston, Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP has an international practice that services both start-up investment managers, as well as multi-billion dollar firms. The firm provides a full complement of legal services to the investment management community, including: hedge fund, private equity fund and venture capital fund formation, adviser registration, counterparty documentation, SEC, CFTC, NFA and FINRA matters, seed deals, hedge fund due diligence, employment and compensation matters, and routine business matters. Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP is also a recognized leader in the burgeoning cryptocurrency fund formation space. The firm publishes the prominent Hedge Fund Law Blog which focuses on legal issues that impact the hedge fund community. For more information please visit us at: colefrieman.com.
Investment in mineral, royalty, and non-op interests has grown substantially over the last few years, but owners faced challenges and inefficiencies before MineralSofts product streamlined and optimized the management of those interests. Past News Releases RSS

MineralSoft announces the completion of its Series A funding round led by Cottonwood Venture Partners (CVP), a leading digital oilfield technology investor based in Houston. Earlier investors Blue Bear Capital, an energy technology fund, and Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley seed investor, also participated in the funding round. The infusion of capital followed the signing of an exclusive partnership with oil and gas data provider DrillingInfo, and comes amid rapid growth for MineralSofts software platform, which helps mineral, royalty, and non-operated working interest owners and investors manage their assets. The announcement was made today at the North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) Summit in Houston, the industrys largest event for the buying and selling of oil & gas assets, where MineralSoft is exhibiting.

50% or more of the value produced by an oil or gas well might be distributed to non-operating interest owners, yet the vast majority of tools in the market today were designed with the operator in mind, said Gabe Wilcox, CEO of MineralSoft. We built our technology platform and services specifically for the non-op asset class and weve been met with a tremendous response so far  and with interest and investment in the category skyrocketing, MineralSoft is poised to grow accordingly, Wilcox stated. We are proud to be supported by CVP, Blue Bear, and Y Combinator as we continue MineralSofts growth and execute on our vision to build the category-defining technology company for minerals, royalties, and non-op oil & gas interests.

The Austin-based software company is the market leader in mineral management technology, with clients spanning private equity, investment funds, family offices, endowments, foundations, E&P companies, and individuals. Rapid customer growth has required MineralSoft to significantly expand its engineering and support staff, with all R&D and customer support conducted in-house in Austin. As a result, the company recently moved its corporate headquarters to a larger facility and is planning for another expansion this year as the team continues to grow. MineralSoft views its Series A funding as a strategic opportunity to accelerate development of its core software platform while continuing to innovate and release exciting new features and functionality to serve its customer base. Having relied on word of mouth marketing since its inception, the company also plans to expand its marketing and sales efforts.

Investment in mineral, royalty, and non-op interests has grown substantially over the last few years, but owners faced challenges and inefficiencies before MineralSofts product streamlined and optimized the management of those interests, said Jeremy Arendt, Managing Partner at CVP. MineralSoft has established itself as the clear leader in the modernization of minerals management and we are excited to partner with the MineralSoft team.

MineralSofts cloud-based software platform includes portfolio management and analytics tools tailored for oil & gas investors, helping to manage large portfolios, track payback and ROI, audit revenue and expenses, and verify income. The platform also provides an exclusive integration with DrillingInfos leading data source for public oil & gas information, giving investors access to production volumes, permits, and rig activity within MineralSofts platform  all enabling unprecedented workflow efficiencies and increasing bandwidth to evaluate new investment opportunities.

About MineralSoft

MineralSoft is an Austin-based software company focused on developing solutions to manage oil & gas investments. Launched in 2015, the company has seen rapid adoption of its cloud-based software by organizations who own minerals, royalties, and non-operated working interests in oil & gas assets. MineralSofts technology and service offerings address the growing need for investors to manage large portfolios, track revenue, verify income, and identify new investment opportunities. Customers include financial institutions, private equity firms, family offices, funds, and oil & gas operators with non-op portfolios. Backed by top digital oilfield venture capital firms, MineralSoft has also formed strategic partnerships with leading oil & gas data providers Drillinginfo and Oildex. For more information, please visit https://mineralsoft.com.

About Cottonwood Venture Partners

Cottonwood Venture Partners (CVP) is a Texas-based venture capital firm partnering with companies that provide digital solutions for the oil & gas industry. CVP invests in digital technology companies that have achieved early customer adoption and require capital to accelerate growth. CVP leverages its expertise and relationships in energy and technology to help drive growth at its portfolio companies. For more information, please visit http://cottonwoodvp.com.
Tom Altman We're very excited to be able to offer this service. The NetSuite platform is something we've been working on the last nine years.

The technology team from Leverage, a consulting firm from Urbana, Iowa, has successfully been one of the first-to-market implementing the new SuiteCommerce Advanced (SCA) Kilimanjaro platform with the e-commerce site EcoFoil.com.

Transitioning from the SCA legacy e-commerce platform, Site Builder, to Kilimanjaro within 60 days of the product release positions Leverage as an industry leader in the cutting edge of conversion to the leading technology in the NetSuite space.

"We're very excited to be able to offer this service," says Tom Altman, chief technology officer of Leverage. "The NetSuite platform is something we've been working on the last nine years. It finally gives you a modern e-commerce platform to compete against Magento and Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The growth this will facilitate for companies will increase their bottom lines by faster site speeds."

The Leverage team launched EcoFoil.com on Kilimanjaro completely within their own internal resources. They have already seen upticks in SEO and expect that trend to continue.

Leverage's NetSuite Web Developer Wesley McElwee states, "We enjoy the connection of NetSuite and the e-commerce front. And, it's refreshing to see the update of the backend code of a more modern architecture that Kilimanjaro uses."

McElwee also says that the two big codes Kilimanjaro uses, node.js and backbone.js, give sites an opportunity to be fully responsive, serving up a great user experience for both desktop and mobile devices.

Main benefits of the Kilimanjaro upgrade include modern code, single page architecture, a focus on UX, and a fully responsive design.

Companies who would benefit from Kilimanjaro include those who currently run NetSuite Site Builder and are frustrated with the limitations, as well as companies who are considering purchasing NetSuite but have concerns over its e-commerce capabilities.

While Leverage IT is a consultant to NetSuite companies, they have also been end-users since 2009. By the end of Q1 2018, Leverage will have three successful Kilimanjaro launches completed. They are performing completed implementations in as fast as 60 days.

The Leverage team has empowered brands including US Cargo Control, Pepper Joe's, EcoFoil, and Clickstop.

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About Leverage

Leverage is a consulting team specializing in customer engagement, talent enrichment and technology enhancement. Leverage brings a unique, collaborative sharing approach that empowers companies who are looking for help growing their business. Their dedication to their individual disciplines, as well as to workplace culture and technology, has earned them countless accolades and awards. Leverage is powered by Clickstop, a Great Place to Work and an Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Company located in Urbana, Iowa.

For more information about Leverage, visit LeverageGrowth.com, Twitter and Instagram @LeverageGrowth, Facebook.com/LeverageByClickstop, or LinkedIn Leverage. Powered by Clickstop.
Component Control MRO & Logistics Software Solutions I am very excited to join the leader in Aviation Software for MRO & Logistics. With the resources of CAMP Systems (a Hearst Company), I feel I am joining the company at the perfect time to lead and expand.

Component Control, a CAMP Systems International Company, and leader in MRO and Logistics Software for the aviation market, announced today Daniel Tautges, Jr. has joined the company as Senior Vice President of World-Wide Sales and Marketing.

Mr. Tautges has over 20 years of leadership experience in driving corporate growth in the Software, Services and Infrastructure space. His proven ability to build high-performance teams will be a key element in growing Component Controls customer base and providing continued value to the companys current 1,500 aviation partners.

"We are pleased that Daniel has agreed to join the company. This role is critical in expanding on the foundation we have built over the last 18 years, said CEO Todd Lewis. We have been busy this year introducing new products and pricing bundles that greatly extends our current market for Quantum Control Software and optimizes the structure to support our global businesses. Daniel leads a fantastic team and with his guidance they will continue to provide value to our existing customers and open new global opportunities.

Prior to joining Component Control, Mr. Tautges was the CEO of Pinpoint Worldwide Consulting where they advised software, innovative technology and services companies on optimized go-to-market strategies for global commercialization growth. Before Pinpoint, Mr. Tautges was the President of Nlyte Software, VP of Sales & Marketing for Visual Network Design and IBM (Network Harmoni) and VP of Global Channels for Nokia (Lucent Technologies). He has an MBA from National University and attended San Diego State University where he earned a BA/BS in Business and Psychology.

I am very excited to join the leader in Aviation Software for MRO & Logistics. The global demand for aviation services has never been greater. Component Controls customers are on the front lines, working to keep aviation safe, reliable and affordable. With the resources of CAMP Systems (a Hearst Company), I feel I am joining the company at the perfect time to lead and expand.

About Component Control

Component Control, a CAMP Systems International Company, is based in San Diego, California, and a leading developer and provider of MRO and Logistics Software solutions for the aviation industry. Supporting the core business of over 1,500 companies in 60 countries Quantum Control Software is the undisputed leader in providing advanced aviation management software and services to original equipment manufacturers, aftermarket service divisions, component repair and overhaul companies, aircraft completion centers, MRO facilities, and part distribution/redistribution companies.
Dr. Jessica Kulak

Dr. Jessica Kulak is a Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon at the Naderi Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Northern Virginia, where she is recognized as an artistic surgeon with warm bedside manners and a gentle touch. Dr. Kulak offers popular surgical treatments that are being enjoyed by celebrities. Television personality and Keeping Up with the Kardashians' Kris Jenner's recent cosmetic ear surgery was performed live and featured in magazines like People, US Weekly and NewBeauty. Dr. Kulak's expert opinion on the ear surgery was included in NewBeauty's January 2018 edition.

The primary focus of Dr. Kulak's cosmetic surgery practice is the rejuvenation of the face, including procedures like injectables, laser treatments, chemical peels, minimally invasive fat injections, lasers and surgeries like ear pinning, earlobe reductions, neck lifts, brow lifts, eyelid lifts and facelifts. Dr. Kulak specializes in facial plastic surgery and does not perform breast, body plastic surgery or rhinoplasty, although those and other extended services are offered at Naderi Center Cosmetic Surgery Specialists. Dr. Kulak is a true specialist surgeon who is widely recognized for her outstanding, natural-looking results.

Dr. Kulak Discusses Jenner's Lobuloplasty in NewBeauty

NewBeauty magazine featured Jenner's recent plastic surgery, which customized her earlobes. Jenner is quoted in Cosmopolitan magazine describing herself as having had the biggest earlobes in the universe. While Jenner apparently did not have the most massive earlobes in the world, self-esteem and self-image are significantly impacted by the way we perceive ourselves. Khloe and Kim Kardashian recommended that their mother try alternative solutions like turbans, but Chris just wanted cute ears. The surgery offered by specialist Dr. Kulak is a practical solution for men and women who have naturally large earlobes or earlobes that have been damaged, stretched or split from gauges, tears or piercings.

While viewers of Keeping Up with the Kardashians may have been surprised that ear reconstruction was an option for Jenner, Facial Plastic Surgeon Jessica Kulak, MD, reports to NewBeauty that the surgery is incredibly common. In fact, Dr. Kulak had completed two that very week. Otoplasty (ear pinning) and lobuloplasty (earlobe reduction), which Jenner had, are common at The Naderi Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Northern Virginia.

Otoplasty and Lobuloplasty Earlobe Reconstruction

Otoplasty and Lobuloplasty are available at the Naderi Center. Otoplasty is usually completed with sedation and a week off from work, while lobuloplasty (earlobe reduction) is done while the patient is awake using local sedation in the office. Earlobe reduction typically takes 30 -40 minutes to complete both ears, and the patient can go back to work the next day. There are sutures, which come out in one week. Dr. Kulak is quoted in NewBeauty, Lobuloplasty is also great for earring pull-through injuries or if the earring hole is enlarged from gages or stretched from large earrings that pull down the hole. You can re-pierce the ear at around four weeks.

Cosmetic Consultations for Deformities or Injuries at the Naderi Center

Congenital and acquired deformities of one or both ears are treated at Naderi Center. Common ear deformities include:

Earlobe tears or earring injuries)

Ear proptosis (prominent ears that stick out)

Enlarged earlobes

Gauged earlobes

Facial Specialist Dr. Jessica Kulak at the Naderi Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Northern Virginia, provides ear repositioning and earlobe repair to restore the earlobes or to create a more desirable position of the ear or lobes, which is in better proportion to the entire face. Schedule your appointment or call 301-222-2020 for Chevy Chase, MD or 703-481-0002 for Herndon, VA.
'Yippee Ki Yay' in Pease Park Art in public places is often said to be art for the community, and we are thrilled to invite the community to enjoy this incredible project, said Kristen Brown, CEO of Pease Park Conservancy. Patricks process and the resulting Stickwork sculpture is a wonderful example of art for all."

Today, Pease Park Conservancy is pleased to announce that on Saturday, February 10th, the organization will celebrate the public unveiling of Pease Parks newest public art installation  a site-specific sculpture created by artist Patrick Dougherty and over 200 local volunteers over a three-week period in January 2018. The structure, titled Yippee Ki Yay, is made entirely out of locally-harvested saplings, and is the 288th installation in Doughertys Stickwork series created by the artist around the world.

Pease Park Conservancys unveiling event will take place from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Saturday, February 10th, 2018. The event is free and open to the public and will feature light bites, as well as remarks from Pease Park Conservancy CEO Kristen Brown, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, State Representative Gina Hinojosa, and Parks and Recreation Development Acting Director, Kimberly McNeeley.

Art in public places is often said to be art for the community, and we are thrilled to invite the community to enjoy this incredible project, said Kristen Brown, CEO of Pease Park Conservancy. Patricks process and the resulting Stickwork sculpture is a wonderful example of art for all, sparking the imaginations of patrons of Pease Park and passersby of all ages, and we are truly proud to host this amazing piece of art in Pease Park.

Over the past 30 years, Patrick Dougherty has created 288 Stickwork sculptures worldwide  including projects in Brussels, Scotland, and Japan as well as all over the United States. Each sculpture is unique and created specifically for its location. Yippee Ki Yay in Pease Park features five whimsical, hut-like structures that invite people to explore and immerse themselves in the piece, with windows that look out onto the trees, trails and green spaces in the surrounding park.

Pease Park is a pristine active space that connects many aspects of Austin culture educational life at the University of Texas, the energy of downtown, and the beauty of the Colorado River and Lady Bird Lake, said Lea Weingarten, Principal at Weingarten Art Group, the art advisory firm that provided their project management services for the Stickwork project. Patrick Doughertys sculpture for Pease Park becomes a mirror of those energies, commingling in an environment that fosters connection through whimsical play and discovery, both in its final form and in the collaborative spirit that took to create it.

The process of bringing Stickwork to Pease Park was a true community effort, involving donations of time, energy and financial support from hundreds of individuals, as well as the expertise of various stakeholders, donors and groups from around Central Texas. Over the three-week installation period, more than 200 enthusiastic Austinites helped Dougherty harvest materials for the sculpture and then weave the saplings into the sculpture itself. Harvesting for the sculpture was led by Austin Tree Experts, who donated their services to the project, gathering nearly 10 trailer truckloads  including depression willow and ash, and the invasive species Ligustrum from a private ranch in Stonewall, Texas, and from South Austin Park. Ligustrum and ash for the project were also harvested on-site at Pease Park.

Major stakeholders and donors for the project include: City of Austin Development Services Department Urban Forest

Grant, The Jacob & Terese Hershey Foundation, Lynda Young Kaffie & Harris Kaffie, The Fentress Foundation, Harlons Fund, Warren Skaaren Charitable Trust, Ilene & Paul Barr, City of Austin Cultural Arts Division Community Initiatives Program, Debra Young Hatch & Rick Hatch, Carolyn Long and Andrew & Nona Sansom, among many others.

Public art is such a powerful tool for raising community consciousness and reinforcing an authentic sense of place, and this is a key component for the future of Pease Park, as set out in the Pease Park Master Plan, said Brown. The Conservancy is committed to this mission of enhancing the cultural environment of Pease Park  through initiatives like this Stickwork project, and our partnership with The Contemporary Austins Museum Without Walls program, which brought David Demings Mystic Raven to its new home in Pease Park late last year.

As the Conservancy welcomes these public art pieces to the park, the organization also looks forward to the upcoming restoration, revitalization and enhancement of the southernmost portion of Pease Park, in the area commonly referred to as Kingsbury Commons  which will kick off later this year. In October 2017, the organization received a $9.7 million donation from the Moody Foundation to support the vision for the future of Kingsbury Commons as laid out in the Pease Park Master Plan, which includes the creation of play features and nature-based playscapes in the area, adaptively repurposing the historic Tudor Cottage, and the creation of a new multi-use facility.

For more information about art at Pease Park, or the Conservancys vision for the future of this iconic greenspace, please visit http://www.peasepark.org
Patricia Anglero, 2018 MIAMI Broward Council President I want to engage more Realtors and work to continue the high level of professionalism that we have in our industry," 2018 MIAMI Broward President Patricia C. Anglero said.

The MIAMI Association of REALTORS (MIAMI) has elected Fort Lauderdale broker Patricia C. Anglero as its 2018 Broward Council president. She and all of MIAMIs leadership boards were installed Feb. 2 at the MIAMI 2018 Inaugural and Awards Celebration.

The Broward Council is dedicated to leadership, the real estate profession and the communities they serve. MIAMI membership has risen steadily in Broward County, and now includes more than 11,000 members. With more than 46,000 members, MIAMI is the largest local Realtor association in the nation.

Im looking forward to working with my Broward County Board of Governors, said Anglero, who is the broker/owner of Galleria International Realty. I want to engage more Realtors and work to continue the high level of professionalism that we have in our industry.

Anglero is a native of Angola, Africa of Portuguese descent. Having lived half of her life in several countries and the other half in the United States has given her a broad understanding of international business, an important attribute in a global metropolis like South Florida.

Anglero attended the University of Florida and studied microbiology and cell science until 1997 when she married her husband. Anglero became a U.S. citizen.

Angleros love for real estate began back in 2002 when she assisted a multi-million-dollar producer friend. Real estate felt natural. She acquired her real estate license in 2003 and started her career with Galleria Collection of Fine Homes that same year.

Anglero began selling high-rise condominium residences as a sales executive and later as a sales director assisting the broker with several developer accounts.

Anglero, who owns Galleria International Realty, dedicates her time and knowledge as a full-time presence at the office on Las Olas where real estate is treated as a people business and where agents come to get the support they need.

Announcing the 2018 Broward County Board of Governors

Joining Anglero are: Broward President-Elect Jonathan Keith of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate; 2017 Broward President Ellen R. Mitchel, CRS, CDPE of RE/MAX Advance Realty; Governor Jimmy Branham of The Keyes Company; Governor David Dweck, ABR, CIPS, GRI, MRP of Southeast Regional Realty; Governor Saria Finklestein, CLHMS of Keller Williams Partners Realty; Governor Daniele S. Gordon, SRS of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate; Governor Nathan Klutznick of The K Company Realty, LLC; Governor Sharon R. Lindblade, CIPS, PMN, PSA of Century 21 Hansen Realty; Governor Vilma Lopez, CIPS, GRI, ABR, SRS, MRP, e-PRO, TRC of Coldwell Banker; Governor Carol Muir of The Keyes Company; Governor Neal Oates Jr., CIPS, CLHMS, SFR of World Renowned Real Estate; Governor Thamara Pichardo, ABR, CIPS, GRI, SRS, AHWD of Realty World; Governor Venus Proffer of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate; Governor Richard B. Schultz of Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate; Governor Patrick Simm, ABR, CRS, GRI, e-PRO of Keller Williams Realty Partners SW; Governor Natascha Tello, CDPE, CIAS of Keller Williams Realty Partners SW; Governor Audrey Vergez, SFR, CNE, CSMS of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Florida Realty; Governor Marcia van Zyl of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices; Governor Lisa Vizcaino, CDPE, CHS, CRS of Realty World South Florida.

Danielle Y. Clermont is Senior VP of Broward, Palm Beach & Martin Counties. Deborah Boza-Valledor, CIPS, CRB, CRS, GRI, TRC, RSPS, AHWD, serves as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer for MIAMI. Teresa King Kinney serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the organization.

About the MIAMI Association of REALTORS

The MIAMI Association of REALTORS was chartered by the National Association of Realtors in 1920 and is celebrating 98 years of service to Realtors, the buying and selling public, and the communities in South Florida. Comprised of six organizations, the Residential Association, the Realtors Commercial Alliance, the Broward Council, the Jupiter Tequesta Hobe Sound (JTHS-MIAMI) Council, the Young Professionals Network (YPN) Council and the award-winning International Council, it represents more than 46,000 real estate professionals in all aspects of real estate sales, marketing, and brokerage. It is the largest local Realtor association in the U.S., and has official partnerships with 167 international organizations worldwide. MIAMIs official website is http://www.MiamiRealtors.com

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Im grateful for the talents and expertise that both Tony and Mia will bring to curating an agenda that not only furthers conversations on the big business of wellness, but also embraces the heart and soul of Italys lifestyle, including its art, fashion and food.

The Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the annual event focused on the $3.7 trillion global wellness economy, today announced renowned fitness/wellness entrepreneur Tony de Leede and Mia Kyricos, a leader in shaping wellness-driven hospitality, tourism and lifestyle companies, as co-chairs of this years Summit (October 6-8, 2018). The 12th annual event will take place at Technogym Village, a 37-acre campus located in Cesena, Italy that combines high design and high tech seamlessly and was created to inspire and encourage every aspect of wellness. Technogym is a world-leading manufacturer of fitness and gym equipment and an official supplier of the Olympic Games.

Im grateful for the talents and expertise that both Tony and Mia will bring to curating an agenda that not only furthers conversations on the big business of wellness, but also embraces the heart and soul of Italys lifestyle, including its art, fashion and food, said Susie Ellis, GWS Chairman & CEO. I know well create an unforgettable 12th Summit together!

Tony de Leede is an extraordinarily successful fitness pioneer, having built Australias biggest fitness empire, Fitness First. He is also a renowned wellness resort entrepreneur who co-owns a range of wellness hospitality businesses, including the award-winning Gwinganna, and very on-trend surf wellness brand, Komune.

The Global Wellness Summit is attended by the top wellness companies, investors, researchers, and policy-makers in the world. Its an honor to be a part of an event that facilitates deep cooperation among this group, and, ultimately, encourages relationships that end up shaping the business of wellness for years to come, said Tony de Leede, who is also a GWS board member.

Mia Kyricos, President and CEO of Kyricos & Associates LLC, whose clients span both public and private sectors as well as Fortune 500 companies, has attended every Summit in the events history and has sat on the GWS board for five years. With over 25 years of experience, Mia has helped to develop, operate, and market wellness-related brands and facilities across 100+ countries, and has held senior positions for industry pioneers including Chief Brand Officer of Spafinder Wellness, Inc., Vice President of EXOS, and Global Director of Spa Brands for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide. She also Chairs the Wellness Communities Initiative for the Global Wellness Institute and serves as its Research Advisor.

Having witnessed the growth and magic of the Summit since its inception, and watched it evolve into the event of the year for any decision-maker serious about the business of wellness, Im honored to have been asked to co-chair this years event, said Kyricos. And Im particularly thrilled to do so at the global headquarters of Technogym in Italy. A great setting for our delegates to discover more insights into the sectors that make up todays global wellness economy, including beauty, travel, spa, real estate, nutrition, medicine, the environment and, of course, fitness.

Located in the heart of Italys Wellness Valley, the Technogym campus is home to an expansive research and education center, state-of-the-art gym, factory and a farm-to-table restaurant where their employees dine. Summit delegates will gain rare access to a successful, publicly traded company that is steeped in wellness  from the products it produces to the environment it has created for its employees and the surrounding community to its mission to inspire the world with wellness innovations. Technogyms founder, Nerio Alessandris innovative and integrative approach to the business of wellness will also help drive the dialogue of the 2018 Summit.

The Global Wellness Summit is an invitation-only gathering for senior executives. First-time delegates must apply to attend. The Summit is always a sell-out event  delegates registered prior to February 28, 2018 enjoy a discounted registration fee.

About the Global Wellness Summit: The Global Wellness Summit (GWS) is an invitation-only international gathering that brings together leaders and visionaries to positively shape the future of the $3.7 trillion global wellness economy. Held in a different location each year, Summits have taken place in the U.S., Switzerland, Turkey, Bali, India, Morocco, Mexico and Austria. The 12th annual Summit will be held at Technogym Village, Cesena, Italy from October 6-8, 2018.
PepPod is packed with vitamins, electrolytes, amino acids and more than 75 trace minerals harvested from a prehistoric plant deposit untouched by erosion or nature for millions of years. PepPod has all of the electrolytes, vitamins and minerals you need for hangover recovery, and will be just what the doctor ordered after some of the drinking challenges.

PepPod, the most unique, all natural and healthy energy product on the market, is sponsoring this weekends Colorado Adventure Quest in the companys home state of operations. Colorado Adventure Quest is a three-day multisport, build-your-own adventure challenge running Feb. 9-11.

Luckily, competitors will be packing PepPod along with them to aid them in their quests. PepPod is an effervescent energy tablet packed with vitamins, electrolytes, amino acids and more than 75 trace minerals harvested from a prehistoric plant deposit untouched by erosion or nature for millions of years  until now.

This is going to be an incredibly fun and exciting weekend with a lot of really cool events, PepPod CEO Jennifer Pearce said. No one does outdoors and adventure like Colorado, and PepPod is proud to be a part of this event so we can keep our contestants hydrated, alert and on their toes for the full three days because theyre going to need all the help they can get.

Colorado competitors will have a chance to explore Telluride, Durango, Rocky Mountain National Park, 14ers and more during the challenge. Forty-eight hours before the challenge begins, a list of more than 500 outdoor challenge tasks from easy to the most extreme outdoor activities will be unveiled.

Competitors around the state must complete outdoor challenges, all tracked via the Outdoor Adventure Quests app, in different sporting categories, including hiking, biking, climbing, camping, rafting/paddling, extreme and alternative sports, running, hot springs and breweries (wineries, distilleries and breweries).

One of the lesser-known benefits of PepPod is that it is fantastic the morning after a night out on the town  or in this case the woods  indulging in a few adult beverages, Pearce said. PepPod has all of the electrolytes, vitamins and minerals you need for hangover recovery, and will be just what the doctor ordered after some of the drinking challenges.

PepPods are all natural and do not contain sugar, gluten or GMOs. They are vegetarian friendly and contain only a small amount of caffeine derived from organic green tea to help with vitamin and mineral absorption.

For more information on PepPod, which are for workouts, work days and everything in between, visit http://www.peppod.com.

For more information or to sign up for the Colorado Adventure Quest, proudly sponsored by PepPod, visit http://www.outdooradventurequest.com/local-events/colorado.
Dr. Violaine Harris, Senior Research Scientist with Dr. Saud A. Sadiq, Director & Chief Research Scientist at Tisch MSRCNY

Researchers at Tisch MS Research Center of New York (Tisch MSRCNY) have shown a stem cell-based treatment may reverse disability in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Results of the study add to the existing evidence demonstrating the safety and tolerability of intrathecal (injected into the spinal canal) administration of autologous mesenchymal stem cell-derived neural progenitors (MSC-NPs). The study has been published in EBioMedicine, a partnership between Cell Press and The Lancet.

MS is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system and is one of the leading causes of disability in young adults. Cell therapy is emerging as a therapeutic strategy to promote repair and regeneration in patients with disability associated with progressive MS.

The results from our study justify the initiation of a planned FDA-approved Phase II trial in a larger group of patients, said Dr. Saud A. Sadiq, Director and Chief Research Scientist at Tisch MSRCNY. We anticipate that these novel studies may form the therapeutic basis of reversing disability in patients with MS and if successful, these studies could have positive implications for treating other neurological diseases, he added.

In the post-treatment efficacy analysis, study participants demonstrated a reversal of disability as determined by improved median expanded disability status scale (EDSS). In addition, of the 20 subjects, 70% had greater muscle strength and 50% exhibited improved bladder function.

Our study was uniquely associated with repeated administrations of fresh, not cryopreserved cells, which may have contributed to the observed efficacy of the treatment, said Dr. Violaine Harris, Senior Research Scientist at Tisch MSRCNY. The protocol we created allowed for delivery of these stem cells within thirty minutes of harvesting the cells, she stated.

This stem cell research has been conducted by Dr. Sadiq and his team since 2001. The study entitled, Phase I Trial of Intrathecal Mesenchymal Stem Cell-Derived Neural Progenitors in Progressive Multiple Sclerosis, was a culmination of over a decade of work. As a result of these promising developments, the FDA-approved Phase II study will commence to establish efficacy. Tisch MSRCNY has invested $5 million to build a new Regenerative Medicine Laboratory where all aspects of this innovative research and treatment will take place.

About Tisch MS Research Center of New York

Tisch MS Research Center of New York is an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to finding the cause and a cure for multiple sclerosis by conducting groundbreaking medical research to accelerate the pace at which research discoveries translate from lab bench to bedside. The Center aims to identify the cause of MS, understand disease mechanism, optimize therapies, and repair the damage caused by MS while offering patient access to the best and most advanced treatment possible.
Senator Emil Jones, III I'm really angry right now because it seems like we always had to fight for what's rightfully ours, Sen. Jones III said. If you look up the Illinois Hospital Association website, their mission statement says to protect Safety Net Hospitals. This is not protecting Safety Net Hospitals.

Illinois State Senator Emil Jones III hosted a Press Conference at The New Roseland Community Hospital which is threatened with losing $6,600,000 in funding in the new Illinois Hospital Tax Assessment Program being designed by the Illinois Hospital Association (IHA).

The New Roseland cannot afford to lose one dollar of funding, New RCH President & CEO Tim Egan said. We dont just need to be held harmless, we are demanding an additional $10,000,000 in the new assessment and our legislators are standing firmly with our hospital and other Safety Nets.

The event was attended by State Representatives Juliana Stratton, Marcus Evans and Justin Slaughter along with 34th Ward Alderman Carrie Austin and Service Employees International Union Illinois & Indiana President Gregory Kelley.

We are here today because IHA wants take away vital funding and resources that Roseland urgently needs, SEIUs Kelley said. Instead of including our safety net hospitals in the new Federal Medicare funding program, the IHA is proposing in effect that large wealthy hospitals voluntarily donate money to Safety Net Hospitals. You heard that right, our Safety Nets that serve low income communities and communities of color mind you are being asked to effectively beg and plead and justify our funding instead of simply receiving our fair share of Federal Medicaid dollars to continue the good work at hospitals like Roseland. The IHAs proposal is unworkable and unfair.

Sen. Jones has worked on the Illinois Legislative Task Force organized to oversee the new Hospital Assessment.

I'm really angry right now because it seems like we always have to fight for what's rightfully ours, Sen. Jones III said. If you look up the Illinois Hospital Association website, their mission statement says to protect Safety Net Hospitals. This is not protecting Safety Net Hospitals.

Rep. Juliana Stratton of the 5th District said; I'm here to express my support of the safety net hospitals. Healthcare is a right and not a privilege. I ask what message are we sending when only privileged communities are able to have access to healthcare?

There's no way I'm supporting any bill that is going to close down any of these hospitals, Rep. Evans said.

In addition to the elected officials, hospital administrators and SEIU members several members of the faith based community from Roseland and the Austin District were in attendance.

When I say We Will, Rep. Slaughter said, you say Rise Up!

The fight in Springfield continues and the Roseland Community will continue to Rise Up!
Artist Jenness Cortez Even with a well-conceived composition in place, the painting has a life of its own and the best ones surprise even the artist with twists and turns that outshine the most clever of plans.

Harmon-Meek Gallery of Naples, Florida, will host a solo exhibition by internationally acclaimed artist Jenness Cortez. On view February 11 through April 9, 2018, Cortez presents the latest installment in her series of thought-provoking paintings depicting iconic images that inspire viewers to rediscover and revalue their own creative potential.

Robert Yassin, former Executive Director of the Indianapolis Museum and Palos Verdes Art Center, refers to Cortez as one of the world's most eloquent and successful visual conversationalists. Yassin says that, "All art is a dialogue . . . In Cortez's paintings, each work talks to us at many levels and creates in us a sense of both understanding and wellbeing. This happens because there is nothing arbitrary in Cortez's paintings. The choice of the painting reproduced, the elements surrounding it, the space the elements occupy, the lighting, the color, everything is carefully selected and orchestrated following a fully articulated plan determined by the artist." Yassin, who also served as director of Tucson Museums of Art during his illustrious career, freely confides that "the paintings of Jenness Cortez make my heart sing,"

For centuries artists have been challenging their intellects and skills by paying homage to the painters who preceded them. Today, Jenness Cortez has emerged as the twenty-first century's most notable exponent of this facet of art history. Her masterful work gives Cortez solid footing in the colorful lineage of artists who have appropriated vintage images and woven them into their own distinctive, recognizable fabric.

In her most recent work Cortez continues to reexamine the classic paradox of realism: the painting both as a "window" into an imagined space and as a physical object. In summarizing her creative process, Cortez explains, "Every painting begins with a vision seen in the artist's mind. Sometimes the finished piece appears in the mind full-blown, and at other times it is amorphous--yet with some beguiling character that begs to be developed. In either case, between that first inspiration and the finished painting lie hours of research, thousands of choices and, of course, the great joy of painting. The process is organic. Even with a well-conceived composition in place, the painting has a life of its own and the best ones surprise even the artist with twists and turns that outshine the most clever of plans. It's as if the creative spirit insinuates itself into the work, wanting to serve its own best interest with solutions that far exceed the artist's original, limited vision."

Each intricate Cortez creation challenges the viewers' intellectual curiosity and celebrates the sheer pleasure of beautiful painting. In her Harmon-Meek exhibition, Cortez plays author, architect, visual journalist, art historian, curator and pundit to help open our eyes to what we might otherwise have overlooked or taken for granted. Each painting presents a specific theme, mixing straightforward cues and obscure allusions, complemented by references to other artists' lives and times. In part, this year's body of work pays homage to George Inness, Frederic Remington, Andy Warhol, Childe Hassam, Norman Rockwell, Salvador Dali, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro. By masterfully presenting iconic works of art in unexpected modern settings, Jenness Cortez truly inspires us to see differently--to rediscover, revalue and reintegrate our own intuitive resources into the hurried and often stress-filled culture of modern American.

Biographical Notes:

Jenness Cortez was born in 1944 in Frankfort, Indiana. She received her B.F.A. from the Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, apprenticed privately with noted Dutch painter Antonius Raemaekers and later studied with Arnold Blanch at the Art Students League of New York. Her work is in numerous public and private collections including those of Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, HM Queen Elizabeth, II, the New York State Museum and the Polk Museum of Art.

Since 1977, Perlmutter Gallery in Averill Park, New York has represented artist Jenness Cortez.
2018 North American TrendVision Awards "NATVA is a career-defining competition for stylists and students, and we look forward to seeing the artistic, cutting-edge interpretations illustrated by this years entries, said Carole Protat, Senior Creative Director, North America Coty Professional Beauty.

Wella Professionals is now accepting entries for the 2018 North American TrendVision Awards (NATVA). As one of the most prestigious hair competitions in the industry, Hairdressers at Heart  professionals, students and recent graduates (up to 12 months) from U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico  will engage with the latest trends in styling, cut and color by showcasing their artistic talent and technical skill for the opportunity to advance their career.

For this years North American TrendVision Awards, we want to challenge professionals and students alike to bring their most creative visions to life, said Carole Protat, Senior Creative Director, North America Coty Professional Beauty. NATVA is a career-defining competition for stylists and students, and we look forward to seeing the artistic, cutting-edge interpretations illustrated by this years entries.

Inspired by seasonal trends, Wella Professionals has released two collections  Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter  to inspire NATVA competition entries. The Spring/Summer Collection highlights statement cuts and styles that are softened with Nontouring, fluid in gender expression and rich with neutral tones. By contrast, the Autumn/Winter Collection emphasizes the intentional approach of everyday classics through Pure Chroma Nontouring and a bold palette of three colors  red, blue and black  played at different levels of intensity.

All NATVA contestants will participate in one of three categories: Creative Vision, Color Vision or Student. This years entries will be judged on the following criteria: consistency with Wella Professionals Trend Collections, technical finish, overall appeal and total number of social media votes. Color and creative vision winners of the 2018 NATVA competition will advance to the International TrendVision Awards in Lisbon, Portugal, and have the chance to work backstage at New York Fashion Week (Creative Vision Category) or be featured in a Wella ad (Color Vision Category).

This year marks the first-time the North American TrendVision Awards entries will be accepted via Instagram. To apply, entrants must create a style inspired by the Wella Professionals 2018 Trends and post to Instagram with a caption that includes two hashtags to indicate the category (#CreativeVision, #ColorVision and #Student) and country (#TrendVisionUSA, #TrendVisionPR and #TrendVisionCA).

Entries for the 2018 North American TrendVision Awards will close on May 8, and Semi-Finalists will be announced on May 18. For more information about the 2018 North American TrendVision Awards, please visit https://wellaeducation.tumblr.com/.

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About Hairdressers at Heart

Stylists are committed to being the best, perfecting their craft with every cut. Wella is here to advance the salon industry, one stylist at a time. Hairdressers at Heart is a program created to help stylists develop their talents throughout their career. Our goal is to be a vital partner to salons, empowering individual stylists and our entire industry. For more information: https://www.wellaed.com/hairdressers-at-heart/.

About Coty Inc.

Coty is one of the worlds largest beauty companies with approximately $9 billion in pro forma revenue, with a purpose to celebrate and liberate the diversity of consumers beauty. Its strong entrepreneurial heritage has created an iconic portfolio of leading beauty brands. Coty is the global leader in fragrance, a strong number two in professional salon hair color & styling, and number three in color cosmetics. Coty operates three divisions - Consumer Beauty, which is focused on mass color cosmetics, mass retail hair coloring and styling products, body care and mass fragrances with brands such as COVERGIRL, Max Factor and Rimmel; Luxury, which is focused on prestige fragrances and skincare with brands such as Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss, Gucci and philosophy; and Professional Beauty, which is focused on servicing salon owners and professionals in both hair and nail, with brands such as Wella Professionals, Sebastian Professional, OPI and ghd. Coty has over 20,000 colleagues globally and its products are sold in over 150 countries. Coty and its brands are committed to a range of social causes as well as seeking to minimize its impact on the environment. For additional information about Coty Inc., please visit http://www.coty.com.
Devexperts In addition to Devexperts high speed market data vendor business, we are expanding our presence as a trading technology provider in Turkey. I believe, launching dxTrade as the backbone for Turkish instruments shall grow the Turkish brokerage business to its desired level

Devexperts, the developer of trading platforms and market data solutions, has successfully passed conformance tests and obtained Advanced Level FIX certificates for Equity and Derivatives Markets from Borsa Istanbul.

The certifications from Borsa Istanbul assure that dxTrade, the multi-asset and multi-market trading platform developed by Devexperts, satisfies the requirements for executing advanced level and market making orders directly at the Borsa Istanbul Exchange. This compliance makes dxTrade a procurable solution for Turkish Capital Market participants ranging from enterprises (including brokers and banks) to medium size portfolio management companies. The platform is available for white-labeling and customization.

Firat Gurler, CEO of Devexperts Turkey, said: Since April 2014, Borsa Istanbul has been undergoing serious changes, preparing Turkeys National Stock Exchange for the 2020s. At Devexperts, we have been playing our part, since then, by introducing our advanced Fintech infrastructure to Turkeys fast developing markets. In addition to Devexperts high speed, ultra-efficient market data vendor business, we are expanding our presence as a trading technology provider in Turkey. I believe, launching dxTrade as the backbone for Turkish instruments is an essential phase in this process, and shall grow the Turkish brokerage business to its desired levels.

dxTrade platform supports multiple asset classes - stocks, options, futures, commodities, forex, cryptocurrency and other international markets. It is a highly scalable solution and is built of multiple components, which support high volumes of customers and transactions and may fit into any existing infrastructure. Unlike the boxed trading platform products, any component of dxTrade can be tailored to the clients environment. This introduces a host of competitive business advantages: customized front-end services for traders, mobile applications, client on-boarding, KYC, back-end processing, 3rd party connectivity or any other component.

Contact to learn more: pr (at) devexperts (dot) com

Alexander Kariagin, CMO

+49 (89 26) 20 77 352

About Devexperts:

Headquartered in Munich, Germany, Devexperts was founded in 2002 and specializes in the development of highly sophisticated software solutions and services for the global Capital Markets industry. Our clients are retail and institutional brokerage houses, exchanges and buy-side firms. We have over 200 engineers in offices in North America, Europe and Asia.

The high performance, scalability and integration capabilities of our products and services, along with 24x7 monitoring and support, result in some of the global financial industrys most recognized and reliable technology applications (e.g. the thinkorswim platform). Millions of people trade daily using Devexperts technology.

The data solutions from Devexperts are marketed under dxFeed brand and include direct low-latency normalized data feeds and value added services like AR/VR data visualization, deep learning, market analysis, surveillance, historical data and market replay.

Devexperts GmbH,

Riesstrasse 18, 80992 Munich

http://www.devexperts.com
"...It is nice to see and prove to the customer that the transition to a new system is simple and having a 100+ physician go-live within 30-days demonstrates that we have fine tuned our onboarding process to be as painless as possible. said Clara Chandler, VP of Client Services

Medical Design Technologies (MDTECH), the market leader for charge capture technologies, announced today that Pacific Inpatient Medical Group, Inc. (PIMG) recently completed the implementation process of MD Coder 10 Charge Capture solution across their entire 100+ physician medical organization. Pacific Inpatient Medical Group implemented MDTECHs MD Coder application as a vendor replacement application.

PIMG, a hospitalist specialty group based in San Francisco, California, provides support services to seven Sutter Health Campuses throughout Northern California. The group selected MD Coder in August of 2017 as a replacement to their existing charge capture vendor which had been serving them for the past decade. The successful implementation was measured by 100% adoption of the system in less than 30-days from the scheduled go-live and included multiple interfaces into EPIC for the inpatient census data as well as additional interfaces into their practice management billing system. In early December, the system went live with the Medical Directors of each campus and a few volunteer physicians. The entire group went live 2 weeks later with a total adoption across the entire enterprise on January 1, 2018.

Pacific Inpatient Medical Group evaluated MD Coder as a potential replacement for their current Charge Capture vendor. PIMG initiated the search as a simple way to discover what else was out there. They had been a legacy client of their existing vendor for over 10-years. They were looking for a company that had comparable technology, competitive pricing and a customer service model that would address the particulars of their enterprise through software customizations. MD Coder was selected after a thorough evaluation and was able to reduce their charge capture cost by over 30%. In addition to being competitively priced, MD Coder was able to easily win over providers and the trust of the hospital committee members when it was made apparent that MD Coder could comfortably address their charge capture needs with an intuitive application that was highly customizable and saved them additional time on daily rounds.

There is always a hesitation and fear of moving to a new platform in healthcare. There is always resistance amongst the physicians and the administration. Even when the change makes all the sense in the world, the fear of the unknown and the comfort of the status-quo are always at odds with one another. The MDTECH team did an incredible job of settling our fears during their initial presentation. They did a tremendous amount of work prior to go-live. Once live their support team proved to be better than exceptional and have done a fantastic job in answering questions, problem solving and support. Clara Chandler and her team have allayed the fears and helped those who were hesitant to change and overcome their biases. Chris Valentino, Practice Administrator.

Since starting MDTECH we always noticed that massive disparity between available technology to consumers and its utilization within healthcare. Our goal was to bridge this gap by providing our end-users a flexible platform that services the nuances of each group. Over the years, we have continued to adopt and adapt to the ever-changing healthcare revenue cycle landscape. Adding the latest technology to speed things up for our users is a critical mission of our company. Adding value through at-cost interfaces and allowing our users to enjoy a massive return-on-investment (ROI) is critical to our success. With a competitive, value-based pricing model, our economics often resonate with the decision makers who choose MDTECH. We have a best of breed of product but what really sets us a part is a company that is transparent, obsessed with customer service and allows our end-users to save anywhere between 30% to 50% annually on their operating expenses as it relates to charge capture. I want MDTECH to have a legacy and part of that legacy is contributing to lowering healthcare costs through the use of our technology. We have succeeded with Pacific Inpatient Medical Group and we look forward to increasing our user base around the country. said Damon Spiegel, CEO of MDTECH.

MDTECH first began working to interface seven hospital patient feeds into the MD Coder database. The real-time interface now supports multiple Davies Hospital locations, Santa Rosa Hospital, Novato Community Hospital, and several other campuses. In addition to the inpatient facilities, MD Coder is also seamlessly integrated with their billing system providing them a further decrease in charge lag. At any given time, 95% of their charges are already in the approved status and queued to be billed in the same day as the charges were captured. PIMG also required further customizations to suit their patient rounding workflow. Customers are often afraid of change and even though the value of the transition is clearly identified there is always hesitation. It is nice to see and prove to the customer that the transition to a new system is simple and having a 100+ physician go-live within 30-days demonstrates that we have fine tuned our onboarding process to be as painless as possible. said Clara Chandler, VP of Client Services.

About Medical Design Technologies

Medical Design Technologies, Inc. is committed to providing most intuitive, innovative, and comprehensive enterprise solutions for physicians and healthcare organizations that leverage mobile and cloud technology. Our products add value not only to the physician and patient, but also to the overall healthcare system. MDTech draws on the experience and perspectives of leading physicians to develop innovative wireless and handheld solutions that are practical, usable, and relevant to the needs of healthcare providers. Medical Design Technologies is currently the market leader for mobile and web based charge capture solutions for physicians.
Montana interior design firm Kibler & Kirch, shown in their Billings, Montana, design studio with owner Jeremiah Young at center, was named a top designer in the American West by Mountain Living. Kibler & Kirchs three decades of interior design is testament to our deep roots in the West, says owner Jeremiah Young.

At the start of each new year Mountain Living magazine reveals its coveted list of top architects and designers in the mountain West region, a guide that highlights the regions most influential design professionals. Making the list in this years January/February 2018 issue currently on newsstands is interior design firm Kibler & Kirch, with design studios in both Red Lodge and Billings, Montana. The fresh Mountain Living honor follows closely on the firms recent Best Interior Design win at the 2017 Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

While this isnt Kibler & Kirchs first appearance on Mountain Livings roundup of top firms, We appreciate the magazines continued esteem of our work, says owner and principal Jeremiah Young. Kibler & Kirchs three decades of interior design is testament to our deep roots in the West, and were thrilled by this recognition from a magazine that serves as such an important tastemaker for mountain West communities.

Specializing in comfortable, timeless designs that incorporate inspiring regional art, innovative bespoke furnishings and creative rustic-modern detailing that captures the Western lifestyle, Kibler & Kirch works closely with clients to design meaningful, artful and functional spaces. Youngs team in Billings operates out of the 1904 Stapleton Building in downtown Billings, which serves as a combined showroom, design studio and chic gathering place for vendors and clients.

Called a masterpiece of thoughtful and creative design by Big Sky Journal magazine, Kibler & Kirchs 4,000-square-foot showroom is only part of Youngs painstaking historic preservation of Billings largest turn-of-the-century commercial building, which anchors an important corner in the hip town center of this city that was named Best Town in the U.S. by Outside magazine in 2016. (Big Dipper Ice Cream, pictured at the end of Outsides short video about Billings boasts a Kibler & Kirch-designed interior.)

Kibler & Kirch also was recognized in 2017 by the jury of the Western Design Conference in Jackson Hole, who awarded the firm Best Interior Design for its work creating the dining room of the Designer Show House, a true-to-scale home constructed in the center of the event space with six professionally designed rooms to inspire visitors.

Presented as an exclusive guide to the most talented and influential architects and interior designers at work in the West today, Mountain Livings The ML List: Top Architects & Designers 2018 includes firms from eight mountain states and Canada. Kibler & Kirch is one of 19 interior design firms from across the state of Montana honored on this years list.

About Kibler & Kirch:

Kibler & Kirch has been enriching the lives of its Mountain West clients by creating homes to uniquely meet their needs, desires and aesthetics for nearly 30 years. In 2010, Jeremiah Young purchased the already-venerable Kibler & Kirch firm, founded in 1990 in Red Lodge, Montana, and further expanded it with the Billings showroom and design studio in 2015. Called one of the most highly regarded design enterprises in the American West under Youngs leadership by Big Sky Journal, Kibler & Kirch is as much design laboratory as atelier, launching the nearby Stapleton Gallery to curate local art and stocking the popular Red Lodge Kibler & Kirch storefront with sought-after furnishings and accessories  in addition to custom-designing everything from furniture to entire buildings and offering clients every level of hands-on design services from remodel through complete blueprint-to-candlelight-dinner turn-key experiences. For additional information visit http://www.kiblerandkirch.com.

Contact: Anne McGregor Parsons, Word PR + Marketing, anne(at)wordprmarketing(dot)com, 303.777.7667
It is incredibly rewarding to see our dealerships achieving this level of success on our platform, says Ibrahim Mesbah, CEO and co-founder of RevolutionParts.

RevolutionParts, the fastest growing automotive parts eCommerce solution for dealerships, ended 2017 strong with yet another industry milestone: $500 million total sales processed through the platform.

Since 2013, RevolutionParts has been providing dealerships an easy, all-in-one solution to sell profitably parts and accessories through a standalone Web Store and/or eBay Motors. In the coming months, RevolutionParts plans to release an Amazon selling solution as well.

It is incredibly rewarding to see our dealerships achieving this level of success on our platform, says Ibrahim Mesbah, CEO and co-founder of RevolutionParts. $500 million in sales is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the dealerships we work with.

"Our web store has become a go-to source for vehicle owners that want authentic OEM parts and accessories," says Matt Mylan, Parts Department Director at Van Chevrolet Buick GMC. "RevolutionParts has built a platform that offers our customers an easy to use, hassle-free experience that enables them to easily find and confidently purchase parts. The tools within the RevolutionParts platform make it simple to manage and ship orders each day. In addition, the RevolutionParts administrative tool enables us to maintain competitive pricing, manage and ship high volume orders, easily market our site, and achieve high customer satisfaction."

RevolutionParts hit its first $100 million in auto parts and accessories sold through the platform in May 2015. Since then, the companys growth has accelerated, adding dozens of new employees and ranking #692 on the Inc 5000s list of fastest-growing companies in the US.

The company reached $197 million in processed sales in 2017 alone, a sizable jump from the $140 million sold in 2016. General Motors and Toyota contributed the most to online part and accessory sales through RevolutionParts, with 2017 sales of $34.6 million and $19.5 million respectively. Other sizable players in the industry include Ford at $14.6 million, MOPAR at $13.8 million, and Honda at $10.6 million.

We strive to provide an unbeatable user experience so our customers can grow with as little friction as possible, says Andreas Ronneseth, CTO and co-founder of RevolutionParts. We arent content to sit back and let others lead the way, and we will keep up the momentum in 2018.

----

About RevolutionParts

RevolutionParts helps automotive dealers maximize online OEM parts sales with powerful and user-friendly eCommerce solutions. The companys focus is on making it dead simple for dealers to sell parts online and deliver a great shopping experience for their customers. RevolutionParts has scaled to over $500 million in global transactions with hundreds of customers across the United States. For more information visit http://www.revolutionparts.com.

Media Contact:

Mariah Menendez

RevolutionParts, Inc.

mmenendez(at)revolutionparts(dot)com

530-410-4131
Santa Cruz CORE Fitness + Rehab Opens New Location in Watsonville, CA

Santa Cruz CORE Fitness + Rehab is expanding into South County with a brand new second location, and the public is invited to the grand opening party on Saturday, February 10, 2018, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The address is 65 Hangar Way, Suite C, Watsonville, CA 95076. Visitors can expect an open house packed with wellness workshops, health education, food, and music.

The event features complimentary service demonstrations will include massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, foam rolling workshops, elite fitness assessments, and hydrostatic body fat testing. Visitors will even learn to love their bodies with COREs amazing wellness consultants and practitioners. Local businesses will sponsor a variety of raffle prizes, while CORE will give away an exclusive Monthly Massage Membership, you can win a free year of massage in our raffle! The CORE team are passionate about serving the community, and are excited to announce that 10% of all proceeds are being donated to the Police Activities League (PAL) of Watsonville.

COREs incredible practitioners provide a personable experience that the Watsonville community has yet to see. Their integrative wellness center offers services such as Massage, Chiropractic, Corrective Exercise, Acupuncture, Personal Training, and Nutrition, all under one roof! Its a true one-stop shop to achieve optimal health and wellness. Local residents are encouraged not to miss out on Santa Cruz COREs radical health and wellness party. For more information, visit santacruzcore.com and RSVP on Facebook and photo tag the company @santacruzcore on Instagram.

About Santa Cruz CORE

Founded by Jaimi Jansen in Santa Cruz, CA, Santa Cruz CORE Fitness + Rehab is a full-service health and wellness center that has now expanded into a second location in Watsonville, CA. Those who are interested in learning more are invited to call the Watsonville location at (831) 426-0608, visit the website at https://santacruzcore.com, or stop by in person at 65 Hangar Way, Suite C, Watsonville, CA 95076.

For media inquires or interviews please contact us: outreach {at} santacruzcore.com.
Dr. Janet Stoess-Allen of Park Avenue Orthodontics in New York, NY New patients want to learn about our dental practice online long before they make an appointment in our offices. We wanted to make it easier for these patients to navigate our website in their search with an intuitive website that they can view on all of their devices.

Park Avenue Orthodontics is happy to launch its new Dentalfone Hybrid-Responsive website: https://www.parkaveortho.com.

According to Dr. Janet Stoess-Allen, the founding orthodontist at Park Avenue Orthodontics, New patients want to learn about our dental practice online long before they make an appointment in our offices. They want to know who our staff is, what experience we have and what services we provide in advance. This makes them informed patients. We wanted to make it easier for these patients to navigate our website in their search with an intuitive website that they can view on all of their devices.

The new Hybrid-Responsive website provides a streamlined experience for patients, whether patients want to visit the practices website on their smartphones, tablets, or laptops. Patients can read the doctors biography, read patient testimonials and reviews, and connect with the practices social media accounts.

Dr. Janet Stoess-Allen was recognized as one of the Top 3 Orthodontists in New York, NY by ThreeBestRated.com. She is an Elite Invisalign provider, with extensive experience in non-surgical orthodontic treatment programs. She is a member of the American Association of Orthodontics, the American Dental Association, the New York Dental Society, and many other premier industry organizations. She is passionate about providing orthodontic care to those who need it and volunteers her time to organizations, such as Smiles Change Lives and Make a Wish foundation. She also teaches fellow practitioners how to use the Invisalign product and has been a speaker for Align Technology at their International Summit program in addition to study clubs in the tri-state area.

Dr. Stoess-Allen and her team are excited about the new website launch and what it means for their patients. Our website now serves as a great resource for our patients, whether they want to easily learn more about our particular practice or read our blog for reliable information and tips about orthodontics, in general. We can now be there for them in a different way.

About Park Avenue Orthodontics

Park Avenue Orthodontics is an orthodontic practice located in New York, NY led by award-winning orthodontist Dr. Janet Stoess-Allen. Park Avenue Orthodontics specializes in Invisalign, braces, early intervention using the ALF expansion appliance and treatment for TMJ disorders. To learn more or to request an appointment, call (212) 452-2777 or visit the office at 935 Park Avenue #102, New York, NY 10028. Find more information at https://www.parkaveortho.com.
"For Lew," Bill Warfield's new CD tribute to Lew Soloff. Lew was such a warm, supportive human being. I wanted to sound like him. I wanted to be like him. But he was the guy who got me to take my writing seriously.

Bill Warfields career as a trumpeter was launched the moment he heard Lew Soloffs immortal solo on the Blood, Sweat & Tears hit Spinning Wheel. It just completely knocked me out, says Warfield, who was 18 at the time and gigging as a pianist, having given up hope of earning a living as a horn player due to dental problems. Id never heard anything like it. I decided at that point that I wanted to play the trumpet again.

Eventually, Warfield would get to know, study, and record with Soloff, who died in 2014 at age 71. Warfields latest album, "For Lew," set for release on March 9 by Planet Arts Records, is a tribute to his late mentor, colleague, friend, and inspiration. Compiled from material Warfield recorded with his big band between 1990 and 2014, the album includes ten selections that first appeared on "New York City Jazz" (1990), "The City Never Sleeps" (1994), "A Faceless Place" (2005), and "Trumpet Story" (2014). Two of the tracks are previously unreleased.

Lew was such a warm, supportive human being, Warfield says of Soloff. When he died, it took me a week to get over it. I patterned my playing after him. I wanted to do the gigs he did. I wanted to sound like him. I wanted to be like him. I wanted to be him. I patterned my whole career after that guy. He was a little nerdy guy who would put a horn in front of his mouth and became Superman. He was the guy who got me to take my writing seriously. On the second record I used him on, I used a few other peoples charts. Then he pulled me to the side and said, Look, your writing is really special. You shouldnt include anybody elses stuff on your records.

Five tunes on "For Lew" are Warfield originals; six arrangements are his. While drawn from four different sessions, each made up of different players, every track is an all-star affair. Soloff is the soloist on one track, Salsa En Mi Alma, and is heard playing lead trumpet on that song and two others. In addition to Warfield, who solos on three tracks, other world-class instrumentalists among the discs collective personnel are trumpeters Randy Brecker and John Eckert; trombonist Matt Havilan; saxophonists Dan Block, Andy Fusco, Bob Hanlon, Rich Perry, Chris Potter, and Walt Weiskopf; pianists Ted Rosenthal and Joel Weiskopf; guitarists Vic Juris and Dave Stryker; bassist Mike Richmond; and drummers Tim Horner and Bob Weller.

Warfield followed Soloffs advice and over the past quarter century has created a canon of music for large ensemble that showcases his distinctive composing and arranging style. He counts Hank Levy, Fred Lipsius, Dick Halligan, Mike Abene (who would produce his first two big band albums), Michel Colombier, Charles Mingus, Thad Jones, Gil Evans, and Bob Brookmeyer, along with Tchaikovsky, Debussy, Webern, Prokofiev, and other classical composers, as influences on his arranging style.

Bill Warfield was born in Baltimore on March 2, 1952. He took up trumpet in the fourth grade because, he says, it looked cool. Because it only had three buttons, I thought it would be easier to play. By the time he was 14, he played Saturday mornings with the orchestra and brass ensemble at the Peabody Conservatory Preparatory School and Saturday afternoons with the Maryland Youth Symphony, as well as with a teenage soul band called Nina and the Marcels.

After recovering from a car accident in which he lost his front teeth, he studied for four years at Towson State with Hank Levy, an arranger noted for his charts for Don Ellis and Stan Kenton who was a key early influence.

Warfield moved to New York City in 1980 and began subbing in the Mel Lewis Jazz Orchestra, playing and arranging for the Bill Kirchner Nonet, and copying music for Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, and others, while earning a masters from the Manhattan School of Music. He toured Europe with Ornette Coleman, having been recommended by Lew Soloff.

Warfield has spent three decades as an inspiring music educator. After stints at the Dalton School in New York, Brooklyn College, Towson State University in Maryland, and the University of North Florida, he joined the faculty at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA, in 1996. He continues to teach and direct the jazz program there three days per week.

The other four days are usually spent in back in Manhattan, where he currently directs four bands: the New York Jazz Repertory Ensemble, the New York Jazz Octet (which includes tenor saxophonist Don Braden and pianist Kenny Werner), the Hells Kitchen Funk Orchestra, and the Bill Warfield Big Band.

The Bill Warfield Big Band will be performing two sets (7:00pm/8:30pm) at the Zinc Bar in Greenwich Village to celebrate the release of "For Lew."
The First HS-UK Octopus 900 Perimetry Training Day

The Octopus 900 Perimetry Training Day provided attendees with a detailed overview of how to get the most out of the Octopus 900 full-field perimeter. The day included lectures and demonstrations delivered by perimetry specialist Dr. Fiona Rowe, Professor in Orthoptics at the University of Liverpool and Honorary Professor at the University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

Professor Rowe covered topics including; system & test set-up, static & kinetic examination, test evaluation cluster, polar & trend analysis and more. In addition, delegates participated in hands-on sessions and test simulations facilitated by the HS-UK team. These practical workshops proved extremely popular, allowing attendees the opportunity to gain experience using this state-of-the-art perimetry system. The one day programme offered 6 CPD points.

Grant Duncan, HS-UK Clinical Training Manager, said, The feedback weve received from the attendees of the first HS-UK Octopus Perimetry Training Day has been extremely positive. Both the lectures and the workshop sessions were very well received, with particular praise for our key speaker, Professor Fiona Rowe. This event will form the blueprint for future perimetry courses, and we are already planning a further Octopus 900 Perimetry Training Day which will be held in Autumn 2018.

For information on future educational events, please contact Victoria Chapman-Brown, HS-UK Training Co-ordinator on (01279) 456256.

### Ends ###

For news media enquiries, please contact:

Erika Poole

Marketing Co-ordinator

Email: epoole(at)haag-streit-uk.com

DDI: 01279 456260
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Quarter Reverse

The United States Mint (Mint) joined the National Park Service (NPS) today to celebrate the release of the America the Beautiful Quarters Program coin honoring Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. The coin is the first of five America the Beautiful Quarters to be issued in 2018, and the 41st release in the series.

The reverse (tails) of the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore quarter depicts Chapel Rock and the white pine tree that grows atop it. Inscriptions are PICTURED ROCKS, MICHIGAN, 2018, and E PLURIBUS UNUM. A digital image of the quarter is available here.

This new coin not only reflects one of the many unique features of the longest freshwater coastline in the United States, but also the breathtaking natural beauty of the state, said Marc Landry, a Michigan native and Acting Associate Director of the Mints Numismatic and Bullion Directorate.

More than 450 schoolchildren, along with local residents, gathered in the Mather Elementary School auditorium for the ceremony, led by Katherine Reynolds, Executive Director of the Greater Munising Bay Partnership for Commerce Development, the Alger County Chamber of Commerce and the Munising Downtown Development Authority. Additional ceremony participants included Timothy Williams, Deputy Director of External Affairs at the Department of the Interior, on behalf of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke; Jay Gage, Upper Peninsula Regional Manager, on behalf of Senator Debbie Stabenow; Katelyn Rader, Upper Peninsula Regional Coordinator, for Senator Gary Peters; David Horne, Superintendent of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore; and the Munising High School Concert Choir, which provided pre- and post-event music. Paul Balan, Mint Artistic Infusion Program designer of the quarter, received special recognition during the ceremony which culminated in an exchange of $10 rolls of newly minted quarters.

America's public lands are full of postcard worthy places, like one of Michigan's best kept secrets, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. With its awe-inspiring scenery and amazing year-round recreational opportunities, it is a testament that not all of our great public lands are located out West. Whether you want to hunt and fish or bike and kayak, its sandstone cliffs, towering waterfalls, hardwood forest, and miles of beaches offer something for all visitors.

The NPS, a bureau of the Department of the Interior, has held stewardship of America's national parks since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation creating the agency. It oversees more than 400 sites covering approximately 84 million acres in the United States and its territories. In addition to national parks, the NPS system includes monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, as well as the White House.

Authorized by Public Law 110-456 and launched in 2009, the America the Beautiful Quarters Program is a 12-year program that honors 56 national parks and other national sites. Each year until 2020, the public will see five new national sites depicted on the reverses of the America the Beautiful Quarters coins. A final coin will be released in 2021.

The Mint is issuing these quarters in the order in which each honored location was first established as a national site.

The United States Mint was created by Congress in 1792 and became part of the Department of the Treasury in 1873. It is the Nation's sole manufacturer of legal tender coinage and is responsible for producing circulating coinage for the Nation to conduct its trade and commerce. The Mint also produces numismatic products, including proof, uncirculated, and commemorative coins; Congressional Gold Medals; and silver, gold and platinum bullion coins. The Mint's numismatic programs are self-sustaining and operate at no cost to taxpayers.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:



Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Contact:

Susan Reece

906-387-2607 ext. 1208

susan_reece(at)nps(dot)gov

# # #

United States Mint  Connecting America through Coins
"Repeated exposure to high-stress, life-threatening situations coupled with long hours and an insular culture appear to turn police officers toward alcohol or drugs in order to relax and cope. The good news is that they enter recovery faster when treatment integrates their living environment."

Addiction within the law enforcement community across America is a widespread and serious problem. One out of four police officers on the street has an alcohol or drug abuse issue, and substance use disorders among police officers are estimated to range between 20% and 30% (1,2) as compared to under 10% in the general population.

These substance abuse statistics within the law enforcement community is shocking, said Dr. Indra Cidambi, Addiction Expert and Medical Director at the Center for Network Therapy in New Jersey. Repeated exposure to high-stress, life-threatening situations coupled with long hours and an insular culture appear to turn police officers toward alcohol or drugs in order to relax and cope. The good news is that they enter recovery faster when treatment integrates their living environment.

Why is addiction a bigger issue within law enforcement? According to Dr. Cidambi, police officers are often in the midst of other peoples crises  fights, domestic violence, shootings, bloody crime scenes, and fatal car accidents, which, sometimes, puts their own lives at risk. Cops face high-stress situations several times a week, especially in urban areas, said Dr. Cidambi. They are charged with making instant decisions in these immediate situations. To add to this pressure, of late, the whole community, and sometimes the whole country, judges them after the fact while watching the news from the comfort of their homes, which adds a layer of guilt, added Dr. Cidambi.

In addition, police officers schedules can be grueling, often working rotating and overtime shifts. As a result, officers can often be fighting fatigue and lack of sleep, which can impair hand-eye coordination and reaction times, said Dr. Cidambi. These untraditional work schedules can often deprive law enforcement offers of time with their families.

Such stress has consequences in terms of mental health issues and addiction, commented Dr. Cidambi. Almost one in four police officers has had thoughts of suicide at some point in their life (3). The suicide rate for police officers is four times higher than the rate for firefighters (4). Between 7% and 19% of police officers have symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (5, 6), as compared to 3.5% in the general population. More police die by suicide than by homicide: the number of police suicides is 2.3 times that of homicides (7). An insular culture, driven by the ingrained belief that outsiders cannot understand the pressures they face, leads to cops fraternizing with other cops, usually at drinking holes.

Given all of the above, it is not surprising that substance abuse rates among cops is ahead of the general population. To add to the problem, cops have easier access to illegal drugs when they arrest drug dealers or respond to overdose calls, said Dr. Cidambi. Even when a cop realizes he or she needs help, the biggest challenge cops have in seeking treatment is the fear of disciplinary action, or loss of their job.

What Works in Treatment: Treating members of the police force for substance use disorders requires knowledge of their work environment, stressors unique to them and the inhibitions they have in leveraging their loved ones for support. The default treatment option for cops has been to isolate them from their living environment by shipping them away to locations far from their homes for treatment. However, in my experience, treatment that integrates their home and work environment works better, said Dr. Cidambi. When a cop is sent away for treatment they are isolated from their living environment and, no matter how successful the treatment, it is not certain that they can cope with the stressors in their real life when they come back home. In contrast, outpatient treatment allows the patient to apply the skills they learn in treatment to real life situations and come back to treatment to discuss what worked and what did not and make adjustments.

Involving family in treatment: The focus in treatment should be to teach them to live sober in their own environment. Bringing the family into treatment and facilitating a dialogue is key, says Dr. Cidambi. Cops are tough and are expected to solve problems, so they have a tough time admitting that they have a problem they cannot solve. Consequently, they fail to leverage relationships with their loved ones for support, simply because they dont know how to ask for help says Dr. Cidambi. The first priority in treatment is to help them connect with their loved ones on an emotional level. When this is done successfully, the treator has managed to permanently elevate the level of support the cop receives at home, which will contribute to preventing relapse after treatment.

Teaching Skills for Work: As detailed above, cops face tremendous pressures at work. Helping them to put the work-related stressors in perspective and teaching them coping skills to diffuse these stressors really helps them avoid relapse, said Dr. Cidambi. Emphasis here should be on introducing relaxation techniques and highlighting recreational options. I have found meditation, yoga, and even acupuncture to help cops relieve work-related stress, added Dr. Cidambi.

Addressing mental health issues: As cops suffer from certain mental health issues at a higher rate than the general population, they often times use drugs or alcohol to self-medicate to obtain relief from symptoms. Every cop should be evaluated for mental health issues with a focus on problems with guilt resolution, PTSD and depression. Cops are loath to admit that they have mental health issues and therefore treators should employ a proactive approach, says Dr. Cidambi. Appropriate therapy, combined with medications to address their mental health issues go a long way in addressing their substance use disorders, added Dr. Cidambi.

(1) Police On-Duty Drug Use: A Theoretical and Descriptive Examination  Kraska, Kapeller.

(2) On the Front Lines  Hepp.

(3) Violanti, JM, Fekedulegn D, Charles LE, Andrew ME, Hartley TA, Mnatsakanova A, Burchfield CM (2009). Suicide in Police Work: Exploring Potential Contributing Influences. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 34, 41-53.

(4) Violanti JM (2010). Police suicide: A national comparison with fire-fighter and military personnel. International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 33, 270-286. DOI 10.1108/13639511011044885.

(5) Carlier IV, Lamberts RD and Gersons BP. (1997). Risk factors for posttraumatic stress symptomology in police officers: A prospective analysis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders, 185, 498-506.

(6) Gersons BP. (1989). Patterns of PTSD among police officers following shooting incidents: A two-dimensional model and treatment implications. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2, 247-257.

(7) Ibid.

For more information on substance abuse dependency, addiction and treatment please go to http://www.RecoveryCNT.com.

About Dr. Indra Cidambi

Indra Cidambi, M.D., Medical Director, Center for Network Therapy, is recognized as a leading expert and pioneer in the field of Addiction Medicine. Under her leadership the Center for Network Therapy started New Jerseys first state licensed Ambulatory (Outpatient) Detoxification program for all substances nearly three years ago. Dr. Cidambi is Board Certified in General Psychiatry and double Board Certified in Addiction Medicine (ABAM, ABPN). She is the Vice President of the New Jersey Society of Addiction Medicine. She is fluent in five languages, including Russian.

About Center for Network Therapy

Center for Network Therapy (CNT) was the first facility in New Jersey to be licensed to provide Ambulatory (Outpatient) Detoxification Services for all substances of abuse  alcohol, anesthetics, benzodiazepines, opiates and other substances of abuse. Led by a Board Certified Addiction Psychiatrist, Indra Cidambi, M.D., experienced physicians and nurses closely monitor each patients progress. With CNTs superior client care and high quality treatment, Dr. Cidambi and her clinical team have successfully detoxed roughly 1500 patients in five years. CNT also offers Partial Care and IOP programs.
Gordon Clark, left, was named West Division tunnel practice leader, and Mark Ramsey was named West Division tunnel practice construction management and delivery leader and vice president. They continue to build HNTBs in-depth experience in providing innovative solutions through managing risks inherent to major complex tunneling projects primarily in the transit, rail, highway, aviation and water resources markets.

HNTB Corporation announced two new leadership roles on its national tunnel and underground team. Gordon Clark, PE, vice president, was named West Division tunnel practice leader, and Mark Ramsey was named West Division tunnel practice construction management and delivery leader and vice president. Ramsey is based in Los Angeles and Clark in Bellevue, Washington.

These new roles reflect the depth of project delivery and technical excellence Gordon and Mark bring to HNTBs tunnel and underground engineering practice group and our clients, said Sanja Zlatanic, PE, HNTBs national tunnel services practice chair and senior vice president. They continue to build HNTBs in-depth experience in providing innovative solutions through managing risks inherent to major complex tunneling projects primarily in the transit, rail, highway, aviation and water resources markets.

Previously, Clark served as HNTBs technical director-tunnels and complex underground structures, and Ramsey was the firms West Division tunnel practice leader.

Clark has more than 30 years of experience directing the planning, design and construction of large, multidisciplinary civil infrastructure projects. He will continue leading complex designs, technical investigations, innovations, analyses, and construction of tunnels and underground facilities. He also will continue to lead a multidisciplinary group of technical staff in developing criteria, determining alternative alignments, providing innovative technical concepts and detailed designs for quality delivery.

Clark is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Society of Mining Engineers and American Underground Construction Association. He earned a Master of Science in structural engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelors degree in civil engineering from Oregon State University.

Ramsey has 25 years of experience that includes tunnel engineering, construction engineering and management, planning, scheduling, cost control and cost projections. He will maintain his role as implementation manager for the program management team on the Bay Area Rapid Transit Silicon Valley Phase II project. This project is a 6-mile extension of BART to Santa Clara through downtown San Jose, California. The extension includes 5 miles of tunneling, three underground stations, one at-grade station, a storage yard and a maintenance facility.

Ramsey graduated from Purdue University with his bachelors degree in construction engineering and management. He is a member of Underground Construction Association of SME and the Transportation Research Board Tunnel and Underground Construction standing committee.

The firms tunnel projects range from small-diameter excavations to the largest machine-bored tunnel in the world. Some of the nations most complex underground projects have benefited from HNTBs award-winning planning, design and support services, including the Crenshaw/LAX transit corridor in Los Angeles; Presidio Parkway in San Francisco; Devils Slide Tunnel in San Mateo, California, the Washington Dulles International Airport tunnels, and the SR 99 Alaskan Way Tunnel project in Seattle.

About HNTB

HNTB Corporation is an employee-owned infrastructure firm serving public and private owners and contractors. With more than a century of service in the United States, HNTB understands the life cycle of infrastructure and addresses clients most complex technical, financial and operational challenges. Professionals nationwide deliver a full range of infrastructure-related services, including award-winning planning, design, program management and construction management. For more information, visit http://www.hntb.com.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 7:00 pm

Fifty Port Townsend High School Orchestra students are looking forward to performing at Disneyland and participating in educational musical experiences in Los Angeles.

But funds come before fun, and orchestra members are hosting a fundraising spaghetti dinner Feb. 10 to help them get there.

The event, which includes performances by the students, is set for 5-8 p.m. on Saturday at Blue Heron Middle School.

Weve never been to LA before, said orchestra conductor and teacher Daniel Ferland. This is the biggest [trip] weve done.

The orchestra members would be participating in a music clinic with the Monrovia High School Orchestra and in a Disney sound stage workshop.

The students are going to go into the studio and learn to perform soundtracks  putting music to an actual Disney movie, Ferland said.

As part of the workshop, theyll get to wear headsets and watch a Disney movie as the conductor leads them through that films score.

The kids are super excited to do that, Ferland said.

The trip includes time to explore Hollywood and possibly a visit to the Getty Museum and the USC Thornton School of Music.

We also have been invited to perform a concert in Disneyland as part of our trip.

TEAMWORK

Ferland has been conducting the orchestra since 2014.

Over the past few years, the orchestra continues to grow, he said, noting past awards and achievements the orchestra has received, including earning a superior rating at the state competition in March 2017 and second place at the Northwest Orchestra Festival in Gresham, Oregon, in 2015.

Each year we keep working and achieving new goals.

Speaking of goals, the aim of the orchestra isnt to create professional musicians, although some may take that path. For the majority of the students, this is just a great life experience, Ferland said.

I think really the important thing is theyre learning to work as groups, he said.

Theyre learning to really push themselves into excellence. Its about the kids really learning to work together and achieve a goal.

For more information about the trip, visitstrings2la.com.

The students have $18,000 to go before reaching their goal. Donations go directly to the trip and are tax-deductible.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 7:00 pm

Theres that Oh, no. What have I done? moment.

For the heroine in Akuyoe Grahams story, everything was going great  until she sabotaged herself.

The woman, you see, gets into a prestigious acting workshop. Then she goes and has an affair, a romance that distracts her. Next thing she knows, shes too embarrassed to go to class.

So begins Spirit Awakening, the one-woman show Graham presents at Key City Public Theatre this weekend and next.

On the snug stage, she portrays no fewer than 12 characters, all of whom gather on the protagonists path of figuring out who she is and what shes doing here.

It starts out on a mountaintop, which symbolizes that shes lost; shes nowhere, the Ghanaian-born Graham said in a phone interview from her home in Los Angeles.

Away we go on her travels back and forth in time.

Spirit is in part a memory play, said Graham, in the style of Tennessee Williams. It also walks a path similar to Grahams. The show follows a girl from Ghana as she moves to Europe, where she grows up, and then to the United States, where she pursues an acting career.

This character, as she navigates her life, may not always be the most sensible woman youll meet.

I really put her out there, Graham said. I would love the audience to ask themselves: Is she crazy?

We first encounter our heroine when shes in her 30s, just as Graham was when she moved to the United States. She was a performer on tour in A Raisin in the Sun, when she seized the opportunity to fly off to the Caribbean island of Bequia. There, she joined an acting workshop with renowned teacher Sanford Meisner.

Today, Graham, 59, is an actor in movies and stage productions; she debuted her one-woman show in 1992.

It was well received and led to a new path for Graham: the Spirit Awakening Foundation.

She started the Los Angeles County nonprofit organization (spiritawakening.org) in 1995 and continues, with her crew, to teach art, writing and mindfulness practices to teenagers in high schools and at juvenile detention centers.

When she wrote this one-woman play, It felt very edgy and provocative, Graham recalled.

It still does.

Sexual power dynamics, race relations, life as an immigrant  aspects of the play align with modern struggles, #MeToo and Black Lives Matter included.

Oh, my God. Its so timely, its kind of scary, Graham said.

LOCAL TOUCH

The performer has traveled to the Olympic Peninsula a number of times, including this past September for the Port Townsend Film Festival, during which she interviewed special guest Morgan Neville in a program that took place at Port Townsend High School.

Shes also talked with Key City Public Theatre artistic director Denise Winter on several occasions about bringing Spirit to town.

When we find these folks from outside our community who have an interesting story to tell, it creates a dialogue [in Port Townsend and environs] that is just different, Winter said.

Winter also is looking for ways to get the performer involved in future activities; with Graham, she envisions a writing workshop with local women.

For this show, Winter found a local artist to give Spirit a special touch. Sculptor Margie McDonald is meeting with Graham to design a banyan tree, made of rope, to stand on the Key City stage.

Yet another local woman who helped make Spirit happen here is Cindy Daccurso. Grahams agent and friend for more than a decade, Daccurso left North Hollywood for the Pacific Northwest earlier this decade.

She has lived in Port Hadlock full-time for about two years, and continues to work as a talent agent  everythings internet now  while flying to California every other month.

Daccurso heard about Key City Public Theatre, but was skeptical at first about its quality.

Heres this little theater. I wonder what its like, she recalls saying.

I was blown away, she said.

Daccurso has since become a season subscriber. She and her spouse, Joseph Daccurso, are producing Grahams six Key City performances, just prior to the beginning of the theaters 60th season.

Ive produced Spirit Awakening a couple of times in LA, and watched it at many different venues, she said.

Graham has a magnetism that pulls the viewer into her orbit. When you meet her, youll say, Yeah, I get it, said Daccurso.

The performer herself added that theres one more special effect in the Spirit experience: live drumming from Zambian native Masauso Chiumya.

He happens to be her husband as well as the designer of the Spirit Awakening poster in which she wears these resplendent monarch butterfly wings around her shoulders.

Can we get some of those wings?

Absolutely, she said.

There comes a point in your life, Graham said, when you emerge from your cocoon, wide awake.

You find your path, you find your voice; you grow your wings so you can fly.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 7:00 pm

Over the new year, Center Valley Animal Rescue (CVAR) began the process of retrieving more than 30 domestic and feral cats from a Port Townsend womans home.

This is our biggest cat case weve ever done, said CVAR executive director Sara Penhallegon. We were called by their owner, who was a bit overwhelmed.

Its unusual for the person in a hoarding situation to surrender by choice; usually, law enforcement is involved, Penhallegon said.

This situation started with only a few cats, but soon the home became a haven for unwanted cats. People started bringing them by, Penhallegon said she was told by the owner.

At the time she contacted CVAR, the woman had 25 indoor cats and an undetermined number of feral cats outside. The womans husband had died a few years ago, and she was no longer able to handle the situation.

She had done what she could; she cant do it now, Penhallegon said. The key is for people to ask for help before they get overwhelmed.

Penhallegon said there have been several reports of cat hoarding in Washington and the Northwest area in the past year. 2017 had been the year of cat hoarding cases, she said.

The cats in this case had multiple health issues, including ear infections, dental issues, skin infections, fleas and other diseases.

The average cost of one just average, healthy cat is going to be basically $600-$900 a year, Penhallegon said. Trying to do that times 25 is kind of insane for a single person. That was the situation she was in.

Penhallegon noted that while the cats had health issues, the indoor cats were all spayed or neutered, and the couples affection for the cats showed.

These people really loved these cats. Theyre sweet, nice, socialized cats, Penhallegon said.

Of the cats CVAR has rescued so far in this case, 11 have been given to other shelters, 10 feral cats are off to barn homes, and others have been adopted. One cat in critical condition was euthanized. She was at the end of her life, Penhallegon said.

UP FOR ADOPTION

Some of the cats have been adopted, and as of last week, a couple more cats have become available for adoption.

Two of the cats, who are especially shy and in need of some one-on-one attention, have gone to a corrections center in Clallam County.

They live with a prisoner 24 hours a day, Penhallegon said. Those cats learn how to sit, stay, give me some paw (high five) and roar like a lion on command.

Who thought you could teach cats to do all that? With that much time, you can, Penhallegon said.

In addition to the cats, the new year has brought other animals to the shelter. An opossum was caught in one of the outdoor cat traps and is being being cared for. He was injured before going into the trap, Penhallegon said. We do wildlife rehabilitation here as well.

CVAR also took in two starving Belgian Malinois dogs, a dwarf goat with a broken leg, two neglected alpacas and five starved llamas.

This year has been absolutely insane, Penhallegon said.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 7:00 pm

Jefferson County Sheriffs deputies responded to 617 calls in January, according to reports posted on the sheriffs office website. Among the calls reported on that website were the following:

On Jan. 31, deputies assisted the Washington State Patrol at a traffic collision on Beaver Valley Road near Swansonville Road. The vehicle was not occupied, and it was determined to have been stolen earlier in Port Townsend. A deputy checking the area for the driver located him walking on the highway. He was arrested for possession of the stolen vehicle.

On Feb. 2, a deputy was sent to a Port Hadlock residence regarding an aggressive dog in the area. The large dog was found and could not be captured. However, the dogs owner was located and issued a citation for an animal at large. The fine for the first such offense is $234.

On Feb. 2, a deputy driving on Rhody Drive recognized a woman whom he knew had a warrant for her arrest. The deputy tried to stop her, and she made an attempt to elude on foot, the deputy said. She was found minutes later and arrested. During the search, heroin and methamphetamine was located on her person. She was booked into Jefferson County Jail for the drug charges and the arrest warrant.

On Feb. 1, deputies along with an officer from the Port Townsend Police Department, two Department of Corrections officers and officials from the Jefferson County Health Department responded to a property on Cub Road in the Port Townsend area. This was in response to a report of health code violations. During the investigation, three people were arrested on suspicion of various charges, including Department of Correction warrants, controlled substance and drug paraphernalia charges, reckless endangerment of a child, assault on a deputy and defrauding a public utility.

Deputies contacted Child Protective Services and removed a child from the home because of concerns the residence was unsuitable for a 4-year-old child.

The removal was in part due to hypodermic needles lying all around, no utilities, the sheriffs office stated on its website. In addition, holes had been dug in the yard with sewage pumped into them due to the lack of a proper septic system, the website reported.

PUD responded and found the subjects had tapped into a PUD valve and had been taking water from the public utility, the website stated. The health department is working on cleaning up the property in cooperation with the residents, according to the sheriffs department.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 7:00 pm

Editor's note: CORRECTION

This story has been updated to reflect a correction from the print edition

It was a packed house at the Jefferson County Superior Courtroom on the evening of Feb. 5 as members of the public testified in support of or opposition to the commissioners Dec. 18 passage of a one-year moratorium on modifying existing or establishing new commercial shooting facilities.

During their morning meeting that day, all three commissioners had already conceded that they were unlikely to reach a decision on whether to end or continue the moratorium during the public hearing, given the volume of written public comments they were accepting. They made that postponement official when they extended the written public comment deadline to 4:30 p.m., Friday, Feb. 9. Commissioners did not say when they might make a decision.

The hearing was not without its theatrical displays. Peter Bahls, cofounder of the Northwest Watershed Institute (NWI), asked for a show of hands from those who favor the moratorium, and then one from those who disagree with it.

Noah Frisch of Chimacum devoted all three minutes of his allotted time to playing noises of gunfire in a wildlife setting that had been recorded on his phone.

PROPERTY PROTECTION

The majority of speakers expressed support for the moratorium, and almost all of them cited the same concerns: the health of the natural environment, the quality of life for local residents; the economic viability of businesses that rely on tourist traffic; and a tranquil atmosphere.

Peter Bahls, director of Northwest Watershed Institute, said that a private weapons training compound proposed in the Tarboo area could lead to toxic algae in Tarboo Lake. He said, Gunfire from the proposed project would degrade public recreational use at Tarboo Lake, impact public and treaty-reserved hunting opportunities on surrounding forestlands, risk contamination of soil and water with lead and other explosion-related contaminants, and degrade property values of rural residential landowners.

Pascale Sanok voiced concern about the impact on the shellfish industry.

Judith Rubin, Bahls fellow cofounder of NWI, suggested that the degradation of the environment around Tarboo Lake could compromise tribal treaty hunting rights. Rubin also insisted that permitting for Fort Discoverys proposed Cedar Hills Recreational Center shooting facility in the Tarboo area should not be approved piecemeal, but should instead be approved or denied in total, in accordance with its judged cumulative effect.

Rubin was joined by Janet Welch and Tom Thiersch in asserting that they were unable to find any guiding principles regarding anything but smaller recreational shooting facilities in the county code. They agreed that would be an insufficient definition for the Jefferson County Sportsmens Association gun range or Fort Discoverys proposed Cedar Hills facility.

The ordinance refers to a commercial shooting facility, and weve already heard these referred to as private facilities, so is the ordinance comprehensive enough in its definitions? Welch asked.

Pat Stroble and his wife, Fern, live 2 miles from Tarboo Lake, and each testified to the adverse effects that gunfire noise has had on their honey bee business, noting that agitation is communicated all too easily among bees, such as the Russian bees that the Strobles work with.

Pat Stroble said he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a complication from his experience as a serviceman in a Vietnam War. He claimed that 234 of the 1,328 residents in their ZIP code are also veterans, and that close to a quarter of those folks are receiving treatment for PTSD.

When he hears gunfire, hes back in Vietnam, Fern said as she held back tears.

Diane Johnson said that the glacial till that formed the ridges and valleys of East Jefferson County also intermixed soils with widely divergent chemical compositions and drainage, which she insists would make it impossible to tell whether lead-tainted water is affecting the surrounding environment.

Chimacums Chris Sanok, father of Pascale Sanok, noted that he works for the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op, which has to dispose of hazardous chemicals. He asserted that we wouldnt dump our [hazardous chemicals] in Tarboo, because of co-op members concern with the welfare of future generations, so they wont own 40 acres of lead-contaminated ground.

Both George Yount and Robin Johnson recommended that Jefferson County adopt Kitsap Countys policies on shooting ranges, with Yount advocating that all shooting take place inside soundproof building. Johnson called for such ranges to be sited 500 yards away from any shoreline.

Initially, Susan Freeman of Quilcene thought she might manage to get 300 signatures for her petition to the county to develop more concrete guidelines regarding shooting ranges. Consequently, she was surprised to collect 1,200 signatures, many of them from people who own and use guns.

NOT IN MY BACKYARD

Joe DAmico, president of Fort Discovery, was one of the last speakers, after three Fort Discovery employees and his attorney had spoken.

DAmico thanked the countys Department of Community Development for being open-minded. To those who had asserted the primacy of existing property owners rights, he pointed out that he was a fourth-generation native of East Jefferson County who had operated out of Discovery Bay for more than 30 years until moving his headquarters last fall to Clallam County.

Ive looked at the alternatives and tried to do the right thing, DAmico said, noting that he chose the Tarboo area for his proposed Cedar Hills facility after receiving recommendations that it be located somewhere relatively remote. Rest assured, we want to be good neighbors.

DAmico said hes been researching noise-canceling options, including concrete barriers similar to those employed for freeways. He then countered concerns that the Cedar Hills facility would lower Tarboo property values by challenging those in attendance to name one piece of property in Discovery Bay for which property values declined during his companys time there.

If youre worried about lead contamination, the county already owns 40 acres of lead, and thats the Jefferson County Sportsmens Association, said DAmico, who pledged to follow the best possible practices in containing and disposing of lead.

I worry about the financial pressure this moratorium has put on the county, he added. I think it will cost the county.

When some members of the crowd reacted audibly, DAmico said, Im not making any kind of threat, and clarified that he was referring to the additional hours that county staff are likely to work as a result of the moratorium, just as he foresees his own staff working more hours than they would otherwise.

Greg Overstreet, DAmicos attorney, cited the 2017 U.S. Court of Appeals 7th Circuit case of Ezell v. City of Chicago as providing a legal reason for why there need to be shooting ranges in the county.

Overstreet quoted the 7th Circuits analysis of the Ezell case, which stated that the core individual right of armed defense [] includes a corresponding right to acquire and maintain proficiency in firearms use through target practice at a range.

Overstreet noted that the City of Chicagos zoning had left only 2.2 percent of its total acreage even theoretically available to site a shooting range, and estimated that the existing gun range for the Jefferson County Sportsmens Association covers a far smaller percentage of county land than that.

Port Townsends John Ebner and Port Hadlocks Neil Morgan both said they could agree with a moratorium in principle, but could not support the current moratorium as implemented by the county.

This moratorium is unnecessarily time-consuming, when you consider the numerous regulations that are already in place, Ebner said. If an establishment doesnt abide by those standards, then they shouldnt get a permit.

Morgan, a 66-year resident of the county, predicted that limiting legal shooting ranges would result in illegal shooting spilling out into every secondary road in the county, including around Tarboo Lake.

We need ranges to train people, said Steven Blazina of Port Ludlow. They can attempt to seek out the best conditions available, but I dont know where they could locate that would make everyone happy. People say, Not in my backyard, but Jefferson County is small enough that everybody lives in someone elses backyard.
Some lawmakers are shooting down the idea of a grand military parade that President Donald Trump reportedly proposed to US military officials last month.

"I was stunned by it to be quite honest," Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier of California told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Tuesday. "I mean, we have a Napoleon in the making here."

Trump's inspiration for the parade came after he witnessed France's armed forces march during Bastille Day in July, according to a Washington Post report.

The president floated the idea during a meeting with US military officials including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Gen. Joe Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump's musing was perceived as a direct order, sources said in The Post's report.

The plan is reportedly in its "brainstorming" stages and may be held this year around a patriotic holiday, like Independence Day on July 4 or Veterans Day on November 11.

Speier called the idea "a waste of money" and said "everybody should be offended by his need to always be showing."

"It's not our style, it's not the way we do business, and I really object to it," Speier continued. "And I think it's going to cost a lot of money. So what's really in it for the American people?"

Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, a colonel in the Air Force Reserves, also criticized the plan, saying "basically anything" was better than funding a military parade:

"Dear Donald Trump: You know what would be more useful than asking the Pentagon to waste money on a big military parade? Basically anything," he said:

Dear @realDonaldTrump: You ... @ Ted Lieu

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a former lieutenant colonel in the Army, also weighed in and called Trump "Cadet Bone Spurs," apparently a reference to an ailment Trump used as justification for a draft deferment during the Vietnam War.

Duckworth said on Twitter: "We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy. I swore an oath  in the military and in the Senate to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap."

We don't live in a dictator... @ Tammy Duckworth

Duckworth also tweeted an image of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th US president, and added: "Thankfully, there are better quotes from better Republican Presidents. Here's one from Theodore Roosevelt  a Republican who earned the applause he received  that Trump might want to consider."

The Roosevelt quote said: "To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but it is treasonable to the American public."

Thankfully, there are bette... @ Tammy Duckworth

The CNN analyst Mark Hertling, a retired Army lieutenant general, said he had a "bemused smile" when he heard of the reports.

"I had to smile, Anderson," Hertling told Cooper. "It's an interesting request from the president to his military.

"It is not in the culture of the United States military," Hertling continued. "That is not who we are from our founding fathers. The military were civilians that came together and protected our democracy. It's not an overt effort to show how tough you are."
In an interview on Behind the Fame on Drive Time on Joy FM, Ecow said the man, who was part of a production team for a movie outside the country tried to kiss him.

The actor was tight lipped about the details of the encounter, refusing to mention even the country, but said he was shook after the man made the attempt.

He told host, Lexis Bill that although the encounter socked him, he had to be diplomatic about it.

"Every time I finish shoot, the director and the producer will say thumbs uplets go next scene," the actor said concerned that he never got criticized by the director and producer.

Ecow said he became suspicious after the producers did not criticize his work but rather were too impressed with his output.

After he shoot his scenes for the movie, a member of the production team followed him to his hotel.

"A man hugs me and then his lips are getting close to mehe hugged me tight and brought his lips...I was shocked to the marrow with goosebumps all over me. Im like please just stay back," the actor recounted.

READ ALSO: Ekow Smith Asante marries girlfriend of four years
She told Accra-based Hitz FM that Lawrence Abrokwah was abusive even before they got married in Ghana. She added that Abrokwah also dragged her disabled mother on the floor.

Believe it or not, three days before our traditional wedding, this guy beat me up, dragged my 70-year-old disabled mother on the ground. My neighbours can attest to that.

READ ALSO: Comedian advocates premarital sex

The couple had their traditional marriage on December 1, 2016.

Asked why she did not call off the wedding and walk out of the relationship before the wedding, Afia Schwarzenegger said her family advised her not to leave in order to avoid disgracing the family.

The first people who told me to stay was the family. My ex-husband beat me three days to our engagement here in Ghana but my mother was telling me what the church will say. She said.
An amateur video of the cast of the Kejetia and Makola movie just popped up on the internet and it is totally teasing.

Shatta wale together with the cast and crew seem to be having a blast on set with the intense laughter in the video circulating on the internet.

READ ALSO: Shatta Wale arrives on set with Kejetia Vs Mokola actors for the first time
But, thanks to Dream Factory and Dripzmuzik record labels, theres a new female addition and it is soul-songstress known in showbiz as Flo.

Her latest single to officially kick-start the year 2018 is titled Odo Yewu.

Explaining the concept, Flo told Pulse.com.gh that Odo Yewu throws light on the difficulties in relationships and why lovers (especially females) choose to stay despite the unfortunate happenings.

The song talks about sticking to your (male) partner even though he might not be the best or holy. It throws more light on why some women choose to stay in relationships and wanting to win the hearts of men despite the challenges.

On the songs uniqueness, Flo says the personality of the one singing and the style which is not really in the system makes the entire song unique.

Fans should expect good and sound music with amazing style which is not just to dance to the melodious tune but will also educate them one way or the other, she assured fans.
The news portal reported Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew Carey and Perth Amboy Police Chief Roman McKeon as having said that Terry Frempong-Masson has been slapped with charges of one count of theft by deception, two counts of identity theft, one count of receiving stolen property, one count of money laundering, one count of conspiracy to commit theft by deception, and one count of criminal attempt to commit theft by deception.

Reports say a comprehensive joint investigation by the Perth Amboy Police Department, the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office, New Jersey State Police Cyber Crimes Unit, Homeland Security Investigations-Newark, New Jersey Postal Service and the New York Police Department led to the arrest of the young Ghanaian on February 2.

Mycentraljersey.com further reported that investigations led by Perth Amboy Sgt. Mabner Terron and Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office Detective Christopher Pennis revealed that Terry Frempong-Masson allegedly used false identities to place orders online for rental or purchase of film equipment from three film companies.

He reportedly placed orders for $30,000 worth of film equipment with a film company based in Chesterfield, Indiana, and had the order shipped to his home in Perth Amboy's Harbortown housing complex.

READ ALSO: Pastor drowns while baptising church members in a river

He also allegedly placed a $114,000 rental order with an Arizona-based film equipment company for delivery to his Perth Amboy home.

As if that was not enough, the young man also allegedly placed another rental order with a film equipment company worth $114,000 to be delivered to home in Perth Amboy.
NASA politician Miguna Miguna had been sent to court on Tuesday after his arrest at his Runda home by security operatives.

A Milimani High Court ordered his release but he was sent to another high court where the state charged him with treason.

Miguna Miguna stood alongside the opposition leader during his symbolic swearing-in in Nairobi last week in front of tens of thousands of supporters, seen as a fresh challenge to President Uhuru Kenyatta's re-election.

The charge says Miguna and others abetted an illegal oath that could bind Odinga to committing treason.

His deportation to Canada, a country where he holds citizenship has surprised many including his lawyers.

Mr. Cliff Ombeta told the Daily Nation newspaper he had been informed that Mr Miguna was on Tuesday evening put on a flight headed for Amsterdam then Canada.

Another meber of his legal team, Dr John Khaminwa also confirmed to the Daily Nation.

"It is true. He was forced into a KLM flight minutes to 10pm and we gather he is headed to Canada. Such a travesty of justice," Dr Khaminwa said by phone.

The government is expected to release an official statement on a situation that is certain to increase the gap between the governing Jubilee party and Raila Odinga's NASA coalition.
They are expected to be joined by hundreds of commercial drivers and consumers of petroleum products, as they demonstrate to register their displeasure with the persistent increases in the prices of petroleum products.

The National Petroleum Authority (NPA) has previously stated that provisions are being made to ensure that prices will remain fairly stable at the pumps.

However, the prices of petroleum products have continued to soar, with a litre of both petrol and diesel going for GHc4.62 at some major fuel stations.

Members of COPEC and ICU are, therefore, set to hit the streets on Wednesday in a bid to force government into reducing taxes on petroleum products.

Executive Director of COPEC, Duncan Amoah, said government must embark on an immediate review of the price build up, whiles calling for a reduction of taxes on petroleum products.

READ ALSO: Minority walks out of debate over committee report

Speaking to Accra-based Citi FM, he said: We are paying close to $5 in order to be able to get petrol to your tank. That clearly is not helping anything. We understand very well that some of the taxes were introduced as windfall taxes at the time that world market prices had dropped so low and Ghana needed a little more revenue in order to be able to cushion the world market prices that have gone down.
READ ALSO: NPP loyalist threatens to kill journalist for criticizing Sanitation Minister

However, the beleaguered Minister who also doubles as the Member of Parliament for Navrongo believes he has really performed since he was appointed just over a year ago.

In an interview on Starr FM, he said: I have been effective as a Minister of Sanitation.

He bemoaned the lack of patience of some of the citizenry in their expectations for a clean Accra.

READ ALSO: It was wrong for Australian High Commissioner to complain about filth on social media

He assured that The overnight solution people are expecting to get from the Sanitation Ministry will not happen just like that. It will take some time.
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He said It's a source of income for so many people so it is not easy to let people go and sit in the house without a job. That is why they go back anytime we go and sack them. So the small-scale mining will have to come back.

READ ALSO: Galamsey 13 illegal miners jailed for 39 years

Mr. Manu Adabor said this while arranging a meeting between the Parliamentary Select Committee and the Minister of Natural Resources, Mr. Peter Amewu on finding ways to streamline the activities of small-scale miners.

"We are going to hold a meeting with the minister [Lands] and then the minister of Environment too. So very soon I think we will get the time and then let it come out," he said.
In his view, there are a host of other state institutions, including the Attorney-Generals Department that are mandated to deal with corrupt public officials.

On Monday the Auditor-General, Daniel Yaw Domelevo revealed that he has written to the Attorney-General, Gloria Akuffo, to request for prosecutorial powers over public officials who engage in corrupt practices.

He explained that his request does not seek to undermine the Attorney-Generals office but to help out in bringing persons indicted in the Auditor-Generals report to book.

If a fiat is given by the Attorney General to Audit Service just like it has been given to the police and others to prosecutewhich I have actually applied for, you will see me in action, Mr. Domelevo said.

However, speaking on the subject, Caseley-Hayford said granting the Auditor-General prosecutorial powers will develop into a different arm of administration within the audit service and that might not be the best thing.

He is, therefore, not enthused about Mr. Domelevos request, insisting there are many state institutions in charge of prosecution of corrupt public officials.

The Auditor General has a legal department as part of the service which is like an advisory arm to tell him to make sure that he is on the straight and narrow when he is dealing with criminality. What I think is happening is that, he does have a direct conduit to the Attorney General for the Attorney General to actually go and surcharge people as he finds them. So once hes done his disallowance and he surcharges you, he produces a docket and that docket goes to the Attorney General and the Attorney General will now be the prosecuting arm, Caseley-Hayford said on the Citi Breakfast Show.

Im sensing that where hes going now is the pace at which he wants to move is not in tandem with the pace that the Attorney General is putting forward. So hes getting a bit frustrated that hes doing all these work and he is not seeing the prosecution coming through as fast as he wants. So he wants to have the opportunity to do them himself so he could actually guide the pace.

"I dont think that is the right thing to do. I think that it will develop into a different arm of administration within the audit service and that might not be the best thing. He has EOCO, Attorney General, all of those arms that he can use in order to prosecute his cases. And Im inclined at this time to think that he does not need to be given prosecutorial powers. He should put a lot more pressure on the AG and expect that the AG will carry it through.

Meanwhile, another senior member of Occupy Ghana, Ace Akomah, believes it is in the right direction for the Auditor-General to request for powers to prosecute.
On Tuesday the Minority boycotted Parliament to avoid participating in the debate to approve the report of the ad hoc committee which investigated the claims of extortion against the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

They explained that in the interest of transparency and accountability, this matter cannot be railroaded through Parliament.

But despite a walk-out by the minority over the debate of the report, the House considered the report and cleared the Ministry of Trade and the event organizers of wrongdoing.

Minority Chief Whip, Muntaka Mubarak believes the Majority members are behaving overly emotional and are trying to cover up the Trade Minister, Alan Kyerematen.

He accused the Majority of being dishonest, insisting they have shown from the start that they are disinterested in properly probing the allegations of extortion leveled against the Trade Ministry.

They [majority] are always acting with emotions Even if you want to cover up, cover up neatly. On what basis will you refer a committees report to the privileges committee?, he said on the Citi Breakfast Show.

They have started from day 1 with the mindset that they were not interested in what was going to happen. You can see clearly in the way they were asking the question when we appeared before theM.

"Whenthey did all these, you just have these tons of pages of witnesses verbatim extracts, you go into a committee and you dont allow the clerk of the committee who has brought you summaries of the hearing through which you are supposed to do the draft report, the chairman of the committee vanishes and appears with a draft report to present. That is why I think the majority was very dishonest in their dealings.

READ ALSO: Minority walks out of debate over committee report on
"The increase in deaths is especially concerning, as the available data indicate that far fewer migrants entered the US via its border with Mexico in the last year," Frank Laczko, head of IOM's Global Migration Data Analysis Centre, said in a statement.

Last year, the US Border Patrol reported apprehending 341,084 migrants along the southwestern border -- a 44-percent drop from the 611,689 migrants apprehended in 2016.

Fewer migrants thus appear to be making the perilous overland journey to America from Central American and Mexico, in what has widely been attributed to harsh, anti-immigrant rhetoric from US President Donald Trump since he came to power in early 2017.

Migrants from Central America and Mexico willing to make the dangerous trip risk being victimised by thieves, criminal gangs and traffickers who sometimes take their money and abandon them in desperate conditions on either side of the US border.

Decomposed bodies

Violence meanwhile does not appear to be a main cause of migrant deaths near the border.

According to IOM statistics, only five of the deaths recorded last year were confirmed to be due to violence, such as blunt force trauma and gunshot wounds.

However, "there are a lot of bodies recovered which are skeletal or otherwise heavily decomposed on the border, so for many of the deaths we record we do not know the cause of death," Julia Black, who coordinates IOM's Missing Migrant Project, told AFP by email.

Gender can also be difficult to determine: while only 20 of last year's victims were determined to be women, gender could not be determined in more than 100 cases, Black said.

Seven of the migrants who died last year were children, the IOM numbers show.

One major cause of death among migrants along the border in 2017 was the heavy rainfall early in the year that swelled the Rio Grande, making it more treacherous to cross.

In all, 91 of the migrants who died near the border last year drowned, up from 67 in 2016, the IOM statistics show.
"Our air defence systems blocked them and destroyed most of them."

An AFP correspondent in Damascus heard loud blasts around 3:30 am (0130 GMT).

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said at least some Israeli missiles had hit military targets near Damascus.

"Syria's air defence system blocked some of the missiles, but others hit ammunition depots near Jamraya," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Jamraya, which lies just over 10 kilometres (seven miles) northwest of Damascus, is home to several military positions and a branch of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC).

The US has repeatedly imposed sanctions on the SSRC for its alleged role in chemical weapons production. France has also imposed sanctions on the agency.

An Israeli air strike hit the facility in May 2013 and another hit an SSRC branch in western Syria in September.

Israel has carried out dozens of air strikes on the Syrian armed forces and their allies since the civil war broke out there in 2011.

It says it is aiming to stop advanced weapons deliveries to Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed group allied to the Syrian government with which Israel fought a month-long war in 2006.
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, quoted from Justice Department requests to the court to spy in late 2016 and last year on the former aide, Carter Page.

A classified Democratic memo seeks to rebut the Republican accusations of political bias. President Donald Trump is expected to allow that memo to be made public, but is likely to redact parts of it, people close to the White House said.

That decision is certain to anger Democratic lawmakers, who expressed concern on Tuesday that the president would edit the memo  not for national security reasons but to remove parts that he viewed as politically embarrassing or damaging.

The Senate letter accuses the FBI of relying largely on unverified information produced for the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clintons presidential campaign to convince a federal judge of the need to eavesdrop on Page.

The letter said the Justice Departments initial application to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to spy on Page, filed in October 2016 after he had left the Trump campaign, appears to contain no additional information corroborating the dossier allegations posed by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent who had been working with a research firm paid by the Democrats.

Republicans have said that the so-called Steele dossier was the main justification for the FBIs investigation into possible Russian influence over the Trump campaign, casting doubt on the inquirys legitimacy. Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee have said that Republicans are distorting the roots of the inquiry in an effort to bolster Trump.

Last week, Trump declassified a memo by Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee that leveled similar allegations to those posed by Grassley and Graham.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
The meeting is a follow up to the school bus fire tragedy that claimed the lives of 3 pupils of the Jenisi Little Drops Academy located at the Trade Moore Estate, Lugbe, FCT.

In a statement signed by Mr Anthony Ogunleye Assistant Director (Information), Education Secretariat, which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja said the meeting will hold next week.

According to Maina, what happened was completely unacceptable taking into account the fact that this was the second incident of motor accidents resulting in the loss of young lives over the last 5 months.

While commiserating with the parents of the children, he said that many school proprietors are violating the laid down guidelines regulating the transportation of school children on the motorways.

I regretted the fact that such violations have resulted in accidents such as the one that occurred last week, he said.

According to the secretary, the secretariat will hold frank discussions with the private school owners on matters of security and school safety amongst other matters.

On the proprietor, he said the law enforcement agencies are investigating the matter and should the proprietor be found culpable, the full weight of the law will be brought to bear on him.

Maina further said that contrary to some media reports, three children died as a result of the fire accident and not 20 as reported in some newspapers.

NAN recalls that the school bus caught fire on Bamanga Tukur Street, Trade Moore Estate, Lugbe, Abuja, while conveying the children.

A security guard in the area, Mr Yusuf Abdullahi, told NAN that there was no one to help the situation as many residents in the estate had not returned from work.

Abdullahi said the bus was congested with pupils and the driver was without an attendant to help rescue the children who were sleeping at the back seat.

He described the incident as very unfortunate and urged school owners to learn from this and take adequate measures to safeguard the lives of pupils.

NAN learnt that one of the pupils died instantly in the fire while two others passed on Saturday in a hospital.
Ibukun who hailed from Ondo State makes the bust of the Oba of Benin with his many beads and crown from a standing tree.

According to a Facebook user, Wap Junior who posted the picture and video of the sculptural work on the social media, the bust is the first of tree carving of the Oba of Benin.

Emmanuel says his artwork is the best of its kind in Nigeria

In a video posted on Facebook by Junior, Emmanuel, who is a student of the School of Art and Design in the polytechnic said his tree carving of the Oba of Benin is the first of its kind in the whole of Nigeria.
Femi Ogedengbe, who was once a 'successful' actor in the Yoruba movie industry, recently revealed that he currently makes more money as a security guard in the US than he did as an actor in Nigeria.

Stanley Aguzie, who landed a role in Vikingsafter he moved to Ireland, told Tribune Online that a lot of his popular friends are broke and miserable.

Saidi Balogun told Encomium Magazine that this is because Nollywood is no longer what it used to be and most actors can no longer charge professionally.

"We just settle for whatever the producers are ready to offer," he said.

If fans were to judge some Nollywood actors by their popularity or quantity of films, they would be billionaires. But that isn't the case.

Here are five popular actors who have come out to tell the world about their financial status:

1. Ernest Asuzu

In 2015, Daily Independent reported that Asuzu was seen begging at Shoprite in Surulere Lagos.

The actor, who was still recovering from a stroke at the time was limping while he begged for money to eat.

In 2016, the actor was gifted with a brand new jeep and cash to start afresh by ProphetJeremiah Omoto Fufeyin.

The prophet gave him a brand new jeep worth N3.5m, and 1.5 million naira to start up a new life.

In a 2017 interview with Linda Ikeji Blog, the actor said he was abandoned by the members of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, who were aware of his situation.

Ernest Asuzu, until his ailment, was an active actor in Nollywood. He is popular for movies such as "Accidental Discharge," "Royal Wedding," "Chain Reaction" and "Dirty Game."

2. Baba Sala

Veteran comedian and actor, Moses Olaiya, popularly known as Baba Sala,recently requested financial help from Nigerians for his health.

Sala, who is popular for movies such as "Orun Mooru,""Aare Agbaye," "Diamond" and "Ana" needed a lot of money for his medical treatment abroad.

His first son, Reverend Dele Adejumo,said that all business investments of the aged veteran have been ruined by circumstances and poor management.

I need help. Nigerians should help me. I am not dead yet, they should not let me die suffering," he said during a press conference.

3. Dejumo Lewis

In 2015, Veteran actor, Dejumo Lewis, who is known for his role as Kabiyesi in "The Village Headmaster" classic TV soap, said he was broke.

During an interview with Punch, the actor said that despite the 'legend' and 'icon' label, he was one of the poorest paid actors in Nollywood.

"I had to struggle to pay my rent and my staff. I must admit that right now, I am indebted to the management of the hotel that I am staying. I also owe two of my staff more than three months salary. They have been so loyal and committed to me," he said in 2015.

Lewis has starred in critically acclaimed movies such as "Dazzling Mirage," "October 1," "When Love Happens" and "Invasion 1897."

4. Uche Oduputa

In 2007, Uche Oduputa was arrested for trafficking drugs and was jailed for two years and three weeks.

In an interview with Broadway TV, the actor revealed that his financial situation led him into trafficking.

According to him, he thought it would change his condition since he wasn't getting any substantial movie roles at the time and couldn't afford to feed or house his family.

Since his release from jail, the actor has featured in successful productions such as "Husbands of Lagos," "Last Flight to Abuja," among others.

5. Tajudeen Oyewole (Abija)

Popularly known as Abija, the actor was a successful Yoruba actor until he was involved in an auto crash in 2007, while shooting the movie "Ibinu Abija."

In a 2015 interview with The Nation, the actor said that his fame hadn't translated into wealth.

"I am not rich; I don't have a roof over my head, which is part of measuring one's wealth in this part of the world; I dont even have a land," he told The Nation.
If the first three episodes of the 737 docuseries were about the coming together of ordinary people, then this episode demonstrates their magical transformation into superstars.

It begins with another amazing surprise in the journey to celebrating one of Nigerias most popular banking products. The cast, having worked with the finest music producer in Nigeria, learnt that they will also work with the finest music video director, Clarence Peters, for the Video of the viral 737 theme song, 737 Moments.

What follows is one of the most exciting product music videos out of Nigeria, demonstrating once again that simplicity, as embodied by the USSD Banking product 737, is the utmost form of sophistication.
All of them simply telling the story of how a Nigerian artist has carried the art created in a dingy studio in Lagos, to a huge venue, and had supporters in a foreign country appreciate the art enough to pay money, clear their schedules and come out to witness it live. It is the stuff that gets people on Instagram drooling, and the fanboys praising.

But truly, who are the people attending these concerts and spinning these record? What demography do they fall under, and what communities do they belong to?

Bizzle Osikoya, the Nigerian music entrepreneur and social media influencer, shared a truth that rarely ever comes out in public. He shared a video of Cardi B talking about her keys to success, with the commentary: Nigerian artist(s) dont do showcase(s) in (the) UK or US, everyone is fully blown. They dont know their blowing is just in the African community. If you need to expand your fan base, you need (to) make sacrifices and investment.

Of course, it got people triggered. The reaction was swift instant. This was a rare moment of truth from a member of the industry support structure, who have worked, managed and ensured that musicians have moved closer to the spotlight.

Tiwa Savage, dropped a lengthy reply in the comment section, explaining her point of view. Read it below:

Wow @bizzle two sides to EVERY story .. you are always talking about Nigerian artists not promoting their shoes, Nigerian artists not doing this or not doing that but you manage artists and should know better than to generalize and always put blame on the artists.

Many artists do invest EVERYTHING back in their craft, work long hours creating music only to have to pay for their music to be played on various platforms ... so many things I can touch on but not enough characters on IG. You can post this video and encourage us artist and not always bring us down. Because it's these same artists that you celebrate when they achieve milestones internationally and usually with no help but themselves and their manager. The world is looking at us now, let's not be divided. We all need each other so let's stop creating division between DJs, promoters, artists, etc

Tiwa is preaching for more support for musicians and insinuating that payola, (the practice of paying media houses for airplay and features on their platforms), as a key limiter of Nigerian musicians from crossing over into other markets.

The truth here is, for much of the shouts about Afrobeats to the world!, and the spotlight being on Nigerian artists, much of the progress we have made have been in African diaspora communities. The same way we dominate the continent right here at home, we are doing the same to Africans who have created their small continents in these cities. They consume local content, chase the art with the same passion of local fans, and are willing to see their favourite artists live.

When our artists play these venues, its mostly the same as playing Eko Hotel, only this time, they have to fly down there, where the Nigerians, Ghanaians and Liberians have accents, and visas. They are serving Africa, whether in Lagos or New York or Paris. The crowd remains the same, and the communities unchanging.

I asked a black American colleague who is a Music Editor at a top news platform in the UK and his report was stark but through. According to the Atlanta-based journo, Wizkid, at the height of his promotional moves with Drake and other artists, didnt crack the local black African-American community. Hes still regarded as an underground artist. Much of the wave and noise about him are from African communities who are embracing his music.

Off the top, Wizkid isnt popular here. He might have some underground following, but in Atlanta where I live, he isnt mainstream, he said.

Bizzle isnt dividing Nigerian artists. He spoke the truth. And much of the time, the truth in the Nigerian music industry, is suppressed and discredited.

The point here is for artists from Nigeria seeking to make their music penetrate new markets to find new ways to work harder than the guys over there. Think about it, there are upcoming artists that are local to these countries. Why would the fans embrace a guy from Africa, when they havent done that to them?

That means the barrier to entry for African artist is very high. The aim here is for them to first conquer their home country and continent before having designs on foreign lands. Check out Maleek Berry, a Londoner, who recorded and made his music in London. Guess where he targeted his marketing? Nigeria.

After finding success here, he is exporting that back to his base in the UK and beyond. Perhaps, with more work, and some compromise on his music, he can make some waves.

This isnt to say artists shouldnt aspire for more, or chase glory in strange lands. Tiwa Savage herself had to leave the US, where she attended a great music school and wrote records for other acts, back to Nigeria before she could find prominence. She couldnt crack that market. And while she has a management deal with Roc Nation, it hasnt translated to mainstream success in that market.
On Twitter, a female Nigerian doctor, Ola Orekerin, who was onboard a flight expressed her feelings concerning the scary event. In her tweet, she explained that the door was unstable throughout the trip.

According to the doctor, it gave a rattling sound like a screw had been loosed but she did not anticipate that it was going to fall off.

Dana Airline have often come under criticism for its poor maintenance of its crafts which has caused the deaths of passengers and destruction of properties.

In June 2012, the airline's MD 83 jet navigating from Abuja crashed into a Lagos community killing all passengers on board. It once again brought about the tragedy that have welcomed poor administration in government.

ALSO READ: Air hostesses dressed in sexy bikinis are what airline describes as friendly staff

In its defense of the mishap, Dana Airline responded on Twitter with a claim that the door was removed by an effort as opposed to falling off accidentally.
The deceased, Aisyah, a 32-year-old woman, was reportedly strangled to death in her bedroom following a conversation she had with the suspect at his residence.

Nurdin allegedly made away with the victim's phone and a $59 cash after the alleged murder, presumably in a bid to clear his trail.

ALSO READ: Sports fanatic murders wife for changing football programme

A police spokesperson who spoke anonymously confirmed that the murder suspect strangled the victim because he was angry about being pressured concerning tying the knot.

"Faiz get married, the others are already married, why arent you getting married yet? These words offended the suspect, says a rep for Indonesia's law enforcement department.
Chopped up pieces of the victim's body were found in two suitcases but the suspect has denied involvement.

He reportedly told policemen he ran away from the murder scene, his apartment after discovering the teenager had overdosed on drugs.

Italian law enforcement agents found Mastropietro's "bloodied clothes, large kitchen knives and a meat cleaver" after a visit to the residence of the Nigerian whose connection with the alleged murder has inspired the killing of six Africans in Italy by a neo-fascism supporter Luca Traini.

The agitator, had stated that the death of the innocent people was an act of revenge in favour of 18-year-old Pamela Mastropietro.

Reports have also revealed that another Nigerian man suspected to be drug dealer has been apprehended for selling heroin to the teenager.

The Washington Post's Griff Witte confirmed in an article that Traini fired about 30 shots over 90 minutes during a Saturday morning attack that left the city of Macerata paralyzed.

"Investigators say he used a Glock semiautomatic pistol to fire out of the window, targeting dark-skinned pedestrians," Witte expressed in a publication.
Among the group involves a list of youths who apply fetish procedure to hypnotize their victims.

Local media reported that some of the suspects were arrested at the residence of their leader, Adesanya R. Olaoluwa. The latter is reportedly under surveillance by the EFCC.

Items recovered from the fraudsters include "coffins, calabashes, gourds, laptops, phones bearing scanned forged documents, six exotic cars, charms and SIM cards."

Their seizure is one in a list of recent events which have seen a number of young people who have explored the use of rituals having been inspired by a desperation for money.

A Nigerian lady, Barbie Ulonna recently recounted her experience with a former boyfriend who reportedly eats bread and excreta as part of an instruction outlined for money making rituals.

She revealed this in a discussion group on Facebook. While visiting the ex, Ulonna overheard him in a chat with a friend his experience after consuming the rather strange mixture.

ALSO READ: Yahoo boys who reportedly killed their grandmother for money rituals arrested in Edo State

It was all part of the rites he needed to fulfill as a Yahoo Boy looking for easy money.
The police who confirmed her death in a chat with People News, have commenced investigation in a bid to find out if her death can be tied to irresponsible parenting.

Her distraught mother, Dashanda Parker took to a GoFundMe page to express the devastating loss.

Dashanda described losing her child was synonymous to losing your breath and never catching it again. Today, Im filled with deep sorrow, grief, complete emptiness and pure agony.

While Wynter and her dad slept peacefully, Wynter being the growing, curious, ambitious toddler that she is awoke from her nap without disturbing Dad and left our home. No one was aware that she was outside in the snowfall, in freezing temperatures with life slipping away from her, dying, the sad mom wrote.

A 911 operative reportedly offered emergency instruction to Dashanda who found her late daughter lying unresponsive on a porch but it proved too late.
Cheddar Man was unearthed over a century ago in Goughs Cave in the town of Somerset. He is believed to have lived over 10,000 years ago.

This and his appearance made him the subject of intense speculation because most of Britains indigenous white population are descendants of the people who lived in that area during this period.

When we speak of whites and blacks, it is in the belief that white people have always been white. It is generally believed that as mankind evolved, Caucasian populations lived in Europe and nearby continents.

Black people were believed to have originated in Africa and multiplied here.

It is why the concept of black people goes beyond just skin colour, to the actual origin. We do not call a Nigerian a black man because he has black skin; we do because he is an African.

Now White, Once Black

The initial assumption was that Cheddar Man had pale skin and fair hair, like his descendants. The DNA tests tell a different story. Its results suggest that the 10,000-year-old fossil had blue eyes, a very dark brown to black complexion and dark curly hair.

The findings were the result of a long-term DNA project held at Londons National History Museum.

To perform the tests, the scientists obtained a few milligrams of bone powder from the ancient skull.

The greatest takeaway from the discovery is Europeans did not develop their typical light-coloured skin until much later than originally thought,

Likewise, skin colour was not exactly an indication of where a person comes from like it is today.

One of the archaeologists who worked on the project, Tom Booth, said: It really shows up that these imaginary racial categories that we have are really very modern constructions or very recent constructions, that really are not applicable to the past at all.

The study also suggested that Cheddar Man is of Middle Eastern Origin. His ancestors were supposed to have left Africa, moved to the Middle East and then crossed over into Europe towards the end of the Ice Age.

This group of people thought to be Cheddar Mans forefathers are the ancestors of 10% of white Britons.

Race is a human construct

In simple terms, the idea of white and black is something that we only recently created for ourselves.

This might be a bit overwhelming at first, but the implications are astonishing.

ALSO READ: Learn about the 45000 Nigerians who fought for Britain in the Second World War

First, it would mean that at a point in human history, there was no real distinction between white and black and a large part of todays white people had ancestors that were dark-skinned.

It would be important to remember that the entire idea of race today is based on skin colour and now, the study shows us that the differences in skin colour and tone are only relatively new.

It proves that the idea of race is only a human creation, seeing as we all came from the same origin, destroying the very foundations of racism and its many ideals.

It also brings colonialism into perspective. In the 1800s, European powers set their eyes on Africa because black people were seen to be monkeys, dark-coloured savages who needed civilisation at the hands of the white man.

How do you reconcile this when you discover that the white man is actually a descendant of black men?

Naturally, you can expect the reactions to be varied and the ripple effects of this discovery to be far-reaching.

Most especially, it will pose big questions for white supremacists and other imperialist groups who believe that the white people are superior and that their difference from black people is an established fact.
She then guides the listener through a fairly standard meditation and deep breathing exercise. It's fairly SFW until around the 13-minute mark, when the speaker says she's on the other side of an unlocked gate.

"I am standing there, naked, smiling at you, holding my hand out to you. I want you," she says before offering the listener oral sex. For a few minutes, she narrates the action, talking dirty between making semi-comical slurping sounds ("in reality she was just eating some good-ass ramen noodles," one commenter wrote).

READ ALSO: 5 easy tips to make it rain down there for your lady

The 36-minute clip on YouTube, which has more than 3 million views, is an example of an erotic hypnosis video. Part audio porn, part ASMR video, erotic hypnosis is exploding on the internet, due in part to a thriving social media-based community on the eternal quest for a hands-free orgasm.

Man's desire to disrupt conventional means of self-pleasure cannot be underestimated: that's why there's a cottage industry of elaborate sex contraptions, from Fleshlights to Real Dolls, that promise to provide a more intense, efficient climax.

Even though most guys will probably say that theyre totally fine just using their hands, that hasn't stopped some men from asking themselves: what if you could give yourself an orgasm without touching yourself or penetrating anything?

The preoccupation with the hands-free orgasm predates the internet. "Hypnofetishism," as it's also called, has its roots in the BDSM community, where erotic hypnosis can be used as a tool for power exchange during role play.

If you spend some time going through the annals of YouTube, you may come across videos of old-school "hypnodommes like Isabella Valentine or Annabel Fatale, who make a living selling erotic hypnosis tapes on the internet.

READ ALSO: 7 ways to get into the BDSM groove

These people aren't usually licensed hypnotherapists, but they've cultivated their own cult followings anyway. (Today, there are a huge number of amateurs doing the same thing for free on YouTube and on audio-porn repositories like r/GoneWildAudio.)

Basically, it works like this: a hypnotist uses their voice to induce the listener into a trance. After that, they'll switch up their tone into something more lascivious, and create a so-called "trigger word"  something clear and authoritative like, "When I say the word 'jackpot,' you will have an orgasm."

The rest of the tape proceeds as you might expect; the hypnotist will continue to construct their fantasy (often in the form of a immersive narrative, such as a filthy sorority), doling out dirty talk the same way your average phone sex operator would. After about 25 minutes or so, they'll say the trigger word, ("jackpot," "abracadabra," etc.), and ideally, you'll immediately have an orgasm, no manual stimulation required.

This might sound like nonsense  and to be honest, it very well may be. While hypnosis has been used for centuries for both recreational and rehabilitative purposes (for instance, to cure smoking or lose weight), there have actually been very few large-scale studies to determine its efficacy, so it's an open question as to whether it actually works.

Further, most erotic hypnotists on YouTube are uncredentialed and do not belong to the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), so it certainly shouldn't be considered a form of clinical treatment.

But in theory, according to Nicole Prause, a neuroscientist who studies sexual behavior at the independent research Liberos LLC, a hypnotic orgasm is totally on the table. "We literally don't know how orgasm is triggered," she tells Men's Health. "We have it up to, 'And then, magic happens!' Until we understand more about that, anything is possible."

According to Prause, there's no scientific reason why someone can't have an orgasm without stimulation.

In fact, through her analysis of our brains, humans probably train themselves to "exert some control" over their own sexual pleasure, and perhaps someday when we understand the triggers better, we'll all be able to have instant orgasms on demand (think the Orb scene in Sleeper).

Still, it's a pretty big leap to say that hypnosis can definitely trigger climax, and Prause maintains that nobody has ever witnessed a truly hands-free orgasm in a clinical setting.

That said, there are plenty of people in communities like r/HypnoGoneWild and r/EroticHypnosis who claim they've managed to climax through words alone.

One of them is a redditor named Joe* (name has been changed), who tells me he discovered erotic hypnosis two years ago and had an orgasm on his first try. "It worked much better than I could ever have imagined," he says. "It was as intense and fulfilling as good fellatio."

In fact, Joe says that one of the things that make his hands-free orgasms unique is their lack of an accompanying refractory period. That's right: he says he doesn't have a cooldown period in between orgasms.

"What I get through hypnosis does not diminish my arousal or ability to perform like a traditional orgasm would," he says. "In fact, I can masturbate to a climax afterwards, if I am so inclined."
Katie Stephens shared the news on her Facebook page, detailing how she and her boyfriend Eddie Zytner contracted larva migrans, a.k.a. hookworms, in their feet after visiting Punta Cana.

If your feet become incredibly itchy, please get it checked out right away since we simply thought it was just bug bites and it became worse as each day passed, she wrote, next to photos of her and her boyfriend's swollen feet that were covered in bumps and blisters.

Eddie told CTVNews.ca that the couple noticed they were scratching their feet a lot during their trip. "Sand fleas we had heard about so we kind of assumed it was that at first, he said.

But a day after they came home from their trip, Eddie says his feet started to swell and eventually small bumps formed on his toes.

Doctors werent sure what was happening and just sent him home with bandages, he said. And thats when Katies feet started to swell up.

I had a lot of itchiness during the trip, she said. I think I might have complained about it a little bit more that my feet were really itchy, but mine didnt start swelling and everything until about the Sunday night.

The couple finally went to the hospital, where a doctor realized what was going on. Emily and Eddie say they think they caught hookworms while walking barefoot on the beach at the resort where they were staying.

Hookworm larvae live in soil and sand and can penetrate the skin, according to Merck Manuals. They're common in moist, hot areas of Africa, Asia, and the Americas, and they can move from someones skin into their lungs and intestines, causing stomach and chest pain and anemia.

However, Jennifer Wider, M.D., a women's health expert, says you shouldn't be too worried unless you live in a tropical climate. "Hookworm, while very common, is most prevalent in tropical areas where the sanitation is poor," she says.

That said, if you're planning a beach vacation, it might be smart to invest in some shoes you can wear in the sand. "It is preventable by wearing shoes and taking measures to avoid skin contact with the sand or soil," says Wider. "Travelers to tropical areas with beaches should be advised to take precautions!"

Watch a hot doctor explain why your feet are peeling:

Unfortunately, Health Canada, the Canadian department of public health, denied the couples prescription for ivermectin to treat the infection (the medicine is not licensed in Canada), so Eddies mom had to drive to Detroit to get it filled, CTV reports.

They took it for two days and now say theyre starting to feel a little betteralthough they still need to use crutches to get around.

Eddie told CTV News that his feet looked a little bit better yesterday. Were getting our bandages changed again so well have another chance to look at them and see how its progressing. The couple is also visiting a specialist to try to figure out how to treat the skin damage on their feet.
This is contained in a release issued by Mr Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the Vice President.

According to him the figure represents nearly 70 per cent success rate in the implementation of the programme.

He added that besides the 6.8 million direct beneficiaries, 1.75 million persons comprising cooks, farmers, Poor and Vulnerable Household members, have also been impacted as secondary beneficiaries of the programme.

He noted that all the 36 states of the federation and the FCT are participating actively in at least one aspect of the programme.

Akande said under the National Social Safety Net Programme, 439,859 Poor and Vulnerable Households were identified and enumerated in 5,538 communities in 23 states.

He said that such persons would be drawing benefits including cash transfers.

According to him, 297,973 caregivers in eligible households are already benefiting from the cash transfer programme.

The media aide explained that 6,044,625 pupils in 20 states are being fed under the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme.

He added that 246 million meals had been served to pupils in 33, 981 primary schools by the 61, 352 cooks engaged for the programme.

According to him, six more states would join the feeding programme in the first quarter of 2018, thus increasing the number of benefiting states to 26.

Akande disclosed that 259,451 loans were successfully issued through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme across 36 states and FCT, out of the 478, 388 eligible beneficiaries whose applications were processed.

On the N-Power scheme, Akande said 200,000 volunteers were recruited nationwide while another set of 300,000 graduate volunteers have been pre-selected for the next round of the programme.

When fully engaged half a million unemployed graduates would have been engaged receiving their N30,000 monthly stipend and equipped with an electronic device that prepares them with new skills and ideas beyond the duration of the N-Power.

The volunteers are being engaged for N-Agro, the agricultural component of the scheme, N-Tax, designed to support the FIRS, N-Health and the N-Teach.

He added: Under the N-Build, 10,000 artisans were verified, supplied with toolboxes for three months training and assigned to 160 skills centres in 22 states.

No fewer than 20,000 persons are about to take off in hardware, creativity and software category training.
This was disclosed by the Chief of Training and Operations, Major-General David Ahmadu, on Wednesday, February 7, 2018, on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-GeneralTukur Buratai.

Maj-Gen Ahmadu said the exercise will run from February 15 to March 31, 2018 in Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger states.

Troops will engage in raids, cordon and search operations, road blocks, show of force and checkpoints to combat criminal activities in the affected states.

Maj-Gen Ahmadu's statement read, "Exercise AYEM AKPATUMA has become more expedient due to upsurge in cases of armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling in Kaduna and Niger States as well as other sundry crimes in Kogi State and herdsmen/farmers clashes and attacks on innocent members of our communities particularly in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa States by armed militias.

"These security challenges have continued unabatedly in these States despite the efforts by sister security agencies to curb them.

"The need for troops to be exercised, refreshed and to imbibe the requisite skills to cope with these emerging security challenges within the 1 and 3 Divisions including HQ CAR, Gds Bde and 707 SF Bde Areas of Responsibility in aid of civil authority calls for this exercise.

"Also, the drive towards actualizing the COAS vision, which is "To have a Professionally Responsive NA in the Discharge of its Constitutional Roles", informs the plan for the conduct of this exercise.

"This exercise will be conducted in conjunction with other security agencies such as Department of State Services, the Nigeria Police and Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps.

"It will also afford the troops an opportunity to effectively checkmate the dreadful activities of the marauding criminal militias perpetrating criminal acts in these States and its environs.

"Additionally, Exercise AYEM AKPATUMA is also conceptualized to dovetail into real time operations thereby fulfilling both training and operations objectives of sharpening operational skills of personnel as well as providing an avenue to conduct operations against violent criminals when called upon.

"Exercise AYEM AKPATUMA will also be unique as the ones before it with the establishment of Step-Up Brigade Headquarters in Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger States.

"Emphasis will be placed on raids, cordon and search operations, anti-kidnapping drills, road blocks, check points and show of force, as well as humanitarian activities such as medical outreach.

"It is pertinent to note that Exercise AYEM AKPATUMA is set to be another remarkable exercise that would make the nation proud of the Nigerian Army's determination at sustaining its constitutional role of defending the territorial integrity of the nation as well as its commitment to aid the civil authority to bring about peace and security in troubled areas.

"In this regard, members of the public especially the residents of Benue, Taraba, Kogi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and Niger States are enjoined not to panic as the security, safety and well-being of innocent and law abiding citizens have been deliberately factored in the planning of this exercise.

"Furthermore, the troops taking part in the exercise would be guided by the Professional Code of Conduct, Rules of Engagement and the respect for human rights.

"Thus, the general public is requested to remain vigilant and be security conscious, as suspected criminals may be fleeing from military operations in these areas and finding safe haven amidst our communities.

"The public is also reminded to report any suspicious activity or movement to the nearest military formation or other security agencies for prompt action.

"In order to ensure cordial civil-military relations, we shall make contact phone numbers of all Brigade Commanders public in addition to the Nigerian Army short code Information and Call Centre 193."

Exercise Ayem Akpatuma translates to "Cat Race" in the Tiv language.

Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa and Kaduna have witnessed violent deaths in recent weeks in attacks allegedly orchestrated by herdsmen in a battle for resources that has escalated.

Benue and Taraba attacks

In attacks allegedly carried out by Fulani herdsmen in Guma and Logo Local Government Area of Benue between Sunday, December 31, 2017, and Tuesday, January 2, 2018, 50 people were reportedly killed.

11 other people were killed in a fresh attack on Tombu village of Logo LGA, again by suspected Fulani herdsmen, on Saturday, January 6, 2018.

The bodies of 73 men, women and children were buried at a mass burial ceremony organised by the state government on January 11.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Shettima, had on December 27, presented N170.2 billion Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly for approval.

The House, however, increased the budget size to N181 billion.

Shettima said his administration would expedite action on the implementation of the budget to address humanitarian, social and economic challenges facing the state.

The governor lauded the House over the speedy passage of the bill and commended the military over the successes recorded in the counter-insurgency campaign.

Earlier, the Speaker, Alhaji Abdulkareem Lawal, said that the increment in the budget was necessary to fast track implementation of rehabilitation and resettlement programmes as well as poverty alleviation.

The House, based on recommendations of its ad-hoc committees and Committee on Appropriation, presented a N181, 288, 514 billion for 2018 appropriation.

The total increase is N11, 514 billion.

This increment came under the Ministries of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement; Poverty Alleviation and Empowerment; Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

This is necessary to facilitate construction of Dikwa-Ngala-Kalabalge Road which is one of our priority projects in 2018, but we observed that only N400 million was allocated to the project, he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the stations include: Conoil in Calabar, Dandy Oil in Obudu Local Government and Willis Oil in Kastina-Ala road in Ogoja Local Government.

Bassey said that the intensified surveillance was carried out to ensure that the product released from the depot is sold to the public at the government approved price of N145 per litre.

According to him, long queues in most fuel stations across the state had reduced due to increase in the supply of Petrol in the state.

If the supply is consistent within the next few days, there will be no queue again. We are intensifying efforts to ensure that the product is available for sale at the stipulated price.

We have sealed three petrol stations for diversion of three trucks of fuel; two were sealed in northern Cross River and one in Calabar.

Since the fuel stations lifted the product from the depot yesterday, some of them are claiming that the truck broke down on the way.

We have given them 24 hours to report back to us, and if they fail to do so, we will conclusively deduce that they have diverted the product and we will apply sanctions accordingly.

If any marketer who divert the product will pay N200 fine on each litre diverted, if it is a whole truck, the marketer will pay N6million and those selling above government price will pay N100,000 as fine respectively, he said.

The DPR Controller urged motorists and other users of the product not to buy and store petrol in their houses for safety purpose.

He added that the government was doing everything possible to bring back normalcy in petroleum product supply.
Moshood, in an interview program, Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, described Ortom as a drowning man.

According to the police spokesman, he said it because the Governor had earlier referred to the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris as an incompetent officer.

Speaking on the incident, Fayose said that Moshoods comment is an insult to all the Governors in Nigeria.

Fayose said I speak as the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum and I condemn that insult on Governor Ortom by the PPRO.

I expect the NGF to also rise in condemnation of this affront on one of its members because an injury to one is an injury to all. Besides, it is Governor Ortom that the PPRO insulted on National Television today; it can be any other governor tomorrow.

ALSO READ: Senator Gbenga Aluko says Fayose wants to decamp

On behalf of PDP governors, I condemn this irresponsible act of the PPRO and demand for immediate retraction of the statement as well as unreserved apology from the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

Fayose speaks on IBBs media aide saga

Governor Ayo Fayose also criticised the Nigerian Police for declaring Kassim Afegbua, the media aide to former President Ibrahim Babangida wanted.

The Governor also wondered why the police did not arrest former President Olusegun Obasanjo when he released his statement weeks earlier.
So, he did the one thing he felt was reasonable at the time - he reached out to the presidency and washed his hands off the letter. Without flinching.

The letter was critical of the Buhari administration. In it, IBB urged the president not to seek re-election in 2019 by making way for a new generation of leaders.

IBB also came down hard on Buhari for how he has handled the herdsmen crisis and security challenges in the land.

Under the bus

Top ranking presidency officials disclosed to Pulse on the basis of anonymity that IBB wasted no time throwing Kassim Afegbua under the bus in the wake of the letter.

Nicknamed 'Maradona' and 'Evil Genius' during his spell as military president from 1985 to 1993, IBB and Afegbua have maintained a close working relationship since the former famously 'stepped aside' after annulling what was regarded as Nigeria's freest and fairest election to this day.

Afegbua therefore had no reason to believe that IBB was going to issue a statement denying authorship of a widely circulated and well received letter. So, he doubled down as a rebuttal from Minna made the rounds.

"The statement is in order", Afegbua said of the first letter. "IBB did not hold any press conference in Minna. It was overzealous people that issued that statement of his denial. I wouldn't issue any statement without his approval. Go ahead with the statement. I have spoken with him and he said he has not recanted the statement," Afegbua was quoted as saying by Daily Trust as doubts swirled over the authenticity of the first letter.

However, presidency sources told Pulse that when IBB put a phone call across to the Villa, he disclosed that he knew next to nothing about Afegbua's letter.

"That was why the police immediately swung into action and declared Afegbua wanted for putting out a false statement, defaming and heating up the polity", Pulse was told.

'Working for an enemy'

Presidency officials also believe that Afegbua is working for a yet-to-be-named presidential candidate who will soon challenge Buhari for the number one job in the land in 2019.

Even though ThisDay newspaper reported that IBB has said the first statement was issued with his blessings, there's still some confusion in the land over whether those were really IBB's words and message.

A second watered-down statement was issued on the heels of the first; modifying some of the text and message in the first.

A source in Minna told Pulse that IBB is still trying to wrap his head round the events of the past week and will address the press in the days ahead to set the records straight.

Afegbua has already turned himself in to the police.

The spokesperson has also sued the police and two media outlets for violating his fundamental rights and for harassing him by declaring him wanted.
A statement from the Nigerian Embassy in Caracas made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said that Maduro, also called for sustained interaction with Africa.

He further urged for increased South-South co-operation in the various international fora.

Maduro called for the opening of new vistas in areas of mutual benefits for the development of the two countries.

Cobham in his response conveyed the fraternal greetings from President Muhammadu Buhari to Maduro.

The envoy pledged to collaborate with the relevant officials of the country to sustain the existing bilateral ties and further deepen partnership as spelt out in various MOUs and Agreements of the two countries.

He also solicited for supports from his host to enable him succeed in assignment.

Cobham, served as Nigerias Acting High Commissioner to South Africa.

NAN reports that Venezuela established diplomatic relations with Nigeria in 1965.
Gov. Umaru Al-Makura disclosed this on Tuesday in Lafia when he received President Muhammadu Buhari who was on a one-day working visit to the state.

Al-Makura said that the 50 patrol vehicles which would be distributed to the Nigeria Police, DSS, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and the Nigerian Army, would help to sustain peace and order in the state.

He lauded the presidents commitment in addressing security challenges in the country such as the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East, restiveness in the Niger Delta, kidnapping as well as the farmers/herdsmen clashes.

He expressed gratitude to the Federal Government over the recent deployment of six police mobile units and aerial surveillance by the Inspector-General of Police.

The Governor also commended the Armed Forces High Command for the patrol of the communities on the border with Benue and other states to maintain peace, while reconciliation efforts were being undertaken.
The spokesman of the command, SP Chike Oti, told newsmen that the suspect was arrested on Tuesday at Ojo Magistrates Court while representing a client.

Oti said that the fake lawyer, who identified himself as Barrister Chris Elisha, claimed he had been practicing as a lawyer illegally for the past 15 years without being spotted.

Nemesis caught up with him on 6th of February, at Ojo Magistrates Court where he appeared on behalf of an accused person but found it difficult to move a motion for the variation of the bail condition of his client.

His predicament did not go unnoticed by one Barrister Nnamdi Samuel Nwafor who challenged his qualification.

Nwafor, a newly qualified lawyer that is yet to cut his teeth at the bar, would have been able to move a motion without problems.

The hot argument between both men attracted the attention of other lawyers and the court duty police men. The police officers took the suspect to the nearby Ojo Police Station where he confessed that he is a mere  charge and bail lawyer.

 He confessed he was more into corporate law practice and did little of litigation. He claimed he read law at Eastern Ukrainian University in the former Soviet Union but had no certificate to show for it, Oti said.
The successful operation was another victory for Operation DEEP PUNCH II which has intensified efforts to deplete the terrorist group.

According to a statement signed by Deputy Director Public Relations, Theatre Command Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu, troops recovered 88 Gas Cylinders, 1 Laptop computer, one 100m Ultra High Frequency Hand-held Radio (UHF HH Radio), 1 Motorola GP 180, Theodolite and 2 Global Positioning Systems (GPS).

The statement read, "Land and air components of Operation LAFIYA DOLE have continued to exploit earlier successes made in the conduct of Operation DEEP PUNCH II; an offensive and clearance operation that has in the last four weeks led to severe depletion of Boko Haram terrorists and destruction of several of their enclaves in the fringes of Lake Chad and the Sambisa forest.

"Yesterday Tuesday 6th February 2018, the troops, closely supported by the Nigerian Air Force further exploited deep into the far ends of Camp Zairo and aggressively carried out an offensive against Boko Haram terrorists defending a major Improvised Explosive Device (IED) making factory.

"The gallant troops successfully engaged the insurgents, demobilized their vehicle borne IEDs and neutralized quite a number of the terrorists, as well as capturing the IED making factory.

"The troops have also recovered 88 Gas Cylinders, 1 Laptop computer, one 100m Ultra High Frequency Hand-held Radio (UHF HH Radio), 1 Motorola GP 180, Theodolite and 2 Global Positioning Systems (GPS). The troops also destroyed 22 Motorcycles, 18 Bicycles and provisions store.

"It is gratifying to note that buoyed by these unprecedented success, troops morale remain high and are unrelenting in ensuring the imminent and total clearance of the remaining Boko Haram terrorists."

Boko Haram 'defeated'

This operation comes just days after the Nigerian Army boasted that Boko Haram has been completely defeated.

While speaking in Maiduguri on Saturday, February 3, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major-General Rogers Nicholas, said troops have successfully "broken the heart and soul of Shekau's group".

He said, "My soldiers are in the heart of Boko Haram enclave that is Camp Zairo. The gallant troops have taken total control of Sambisa forest.

"They are on the run and we are pursuing them to wherever they go. This time around there is no place for escape anywhere.

"We had earlier asked those of them that want to surrender to do so and we are still asking them to come out and surrender otherwise they are going to meet it the hard way."

ALSO READ: Buhari needs to be more honest about Boko Haram 'defeat'

Boko Haram menace

Since the insurgency of the terrorist group escalated after a 2009 crackdown by the military, Boko Haram, chiefly under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau, has been responsible for the death of over 20,000 people and the displacement of more than 2.5 million scattered across Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps across the country and its neighbours.
Ortom had called for the resignation of the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who had told lawmakers that the anti-grazing law being implemented in Benue State, should be suspended.

According to media reports, Idris blamed the anti-grazing law for the herdsmen/farmers clashes that have claimed hundreds of lives in the north central region of Nigeria.

'Drowning man'

Police Spokesperson Moshood was defending his boss in the studio when he said, "It is irresponsible for the Governor of a State to have called for the resignation of the IG because he's supposed to be the one to resign first for not being able to sustain peace in his State.

"You don't join issues with a drowning man"

Moshood went beyond his brief here and Terver Akase, spokesperson of Gov Ortom, was right to ask the police officer to withdraw his statement.

State police

Moshood's unfortunate choice of words brings into sharp focus the State police debate that has been raging forever. If Governors were in control of police commands within their borders, a police spokesperson won't pour odium on a serving Governor on national television.

And Moshood should have known better than blame a Governor who can only work with police officers assigned to him from Abuja.

Moshood's haughty posturing is one more reason why we have to consider restructuring this misnomer we call a federation.

A Governor who is mourning the deaths of hundreds of his people and who is chief security officer of his State only in name, shouldn't be the subject of nasty words from a police vuvuzela.

Ortom is well within his rights to ask for the resignation of officers who should stop the violence from happening in the first place, if he feels that those officers haven't been up to their tasks.
Wike said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration should admit it has failed in the security of lives and property in Nigeria.

The Governor was reacting to the massacre of Benue state people by Fulani herdsmen.

He was in the state to commensurate with the government and people of the state over the death of over 100 persons killed by the herdsmen.

Wike also faulted the statement by the Police spokesman who called the Benue Governor, Samuel Ortom 'a drowning man'.

He described the statement as an "insult on person elected by people."

"I have instructed the Governors Forum to react to that statement made by the Force spokesperson.

"It's an insult that persons elected by their people would be referred to as 'drowning.'

"It's only in this our democracy that you can hear that kind of statement."

"The problem I have is that when we see issues that affect the nation, we play party politics with them. We should go beyond party politics. It doesnt matter whether the governor is a PDP governor or APC governor."

Benue killings

Wike encouraged Benue residents to start defending themselves and to also sleep with one eye closed.

The Governor said he had foreseen the problems facing the country, which is why he has been "shouting out about the impunity of the present administration."

"I was shouting this, but nobody believed it. Now it is in Benue

"What Im saying is that when a robber comes to your house and knocks at your door and you say God help me,you must help yourself first.

"They have inflicted serious injury on Benue, many have been turned into orphans, others into widows.

"Let the leaders admit their failure. Tell Mr. President that what is going on in this county is not acceptable.

"You know everybody would want to be the favourite child to Mr. President; but for me, I always speak the truth. My salvation will come from God and not from man", Wike said.

In response, Ortom thanked Wike and the people of Rivers State for the show of friendship.

He also stressed that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris should resign for allegedly "failing in his responsibilities to arrest those already identified as behind the Benue attacks."

The IGP had urged the Benue government to suspend its anti-grazing which, according to him, is the cause of the Fulani herdsmen crisis in the state.

But Ortom, who insisted that there is no going back on the law, accused the police boss of incompetence.

The Governor alleged that Ibrahim has ignored calls by the Federal Government to have the killer-herdsmen in the state arrested.

On January 11, 2018, the Benue government held a mass burial for 73 people killed by the herdsmen in the state.

The herdsmen first struck Guma and Logo Local Government Area of Benue between Sunday, December 31, 2017, and Tuesday, January 2, 2018, killing 50 people.

In another attack on Tombu village of Logo LGA on January 6, the herdsmen killed 11 other persons
The party made this known in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Bolaji Abudullahi, on Wednesday in Abuja.

It said that the development had caused undue disaffection among party faithful in the state.

We condemn in totality the recent activities in which some party members allegedly broke in, vandalised and occupied the state secretariat and allegedly claimed that there is a change in leadership of the State Executive Committee.

All perpetrators of this illegality and acts of gross indiscipline causing undue disaffection among party faithful shall be investigated and prosecuted in line with the party`s constitution.

It is imperative to state that our great party has laid down procedures of resolving any internal dispute, the statement said.

It maintained that the Mr John Ochalla-led executive of the party in Cross River was the only one duly recognised by its national leadership.

The statement, however, appealed to party members in the state to be calm, law-abiding and to remain loyal to the Ochalla-led executive committee.

It assured that the partys leadership was poised to resolve all contending issues in Cross Rivers and any of its other chapters across the federation.

President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday, appointed Alhaji Bola Tinubu, one of APC`s founding fathers, to lead its consultation, reconciliation and confidence-building team to resolve all crises within the party.

The measure was to improve cohesion within the party ahead of 2019 general elections.

Tinubus assignment would involve resolving disagreements among party members and leadership across the federation.
Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi,and Human Rights Lawyer, Festus Keyamo (SAN), have also been penciled to play prominent roles in the presidents re-election campaign, Pulse was reliably informed.

The presidency officials who revealed these details pleaded that their names be left out of this story because they havent been authorized to speak on the subject just yet.

Clues everywhere

Buhari who was elected civilian president on the platform of the APC in 2015, hasn't publicly said he'll be seeking re-election. However, he's left sufficient hint for the discerning in the last couple of months.

In August 2017, an aide of the president told Pulse off the record that Buhari is fit enough to endure the rigours of another election campaign.

It was a few days after the president returned from yet another medical vacation in the UK.

"He's fit as a fiddle", this aide had announced unequivocally. "He hasn't told us he'd run, but if he decides to, no one can stop him.

"The president is very healthy right now and his stay in London had nothing to do with a terminal ailment. He has fully recovered.

"Well, like every other politician, the president is eligible to contest again. And like I just told you, he is very fine and can endure the rigours of another electioneering campaign", this aide had stated emphatically.

When Buhari made the trip to Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire for the 5th European Union-African Union (EU-AU) summit in November of 2017, he made reference to his re-election plans and told the world he turned up late for an event because he was waiting for two Governors who possess some electoral clout, to join him.

"First, I want to apologise for keeping you sitting for too long, this is because I insisted on the Governors attending this meeting", Buhari had said.

"This is why I came along with them so that when we are going to meet you, when you are going to meet the rest of Nigerians, if you tell them that their Governors were in the company of the president, I think that will be another vote for me in the future", the president had added.

As a sea of persons welcomed him during a working visit to Kano in December 2017, Buhari made another pointed reference to his re-election plans.

"I am overwhelmed by the sea of people I see," Buhari said of the mammoth crowd that thronged the streets to welcome him with feral chants of "Sai Buhari".

"And by what I see today, if elections are contested (today) I will no doubt win it."

In the days that followed, Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, has announced himself the presidents Southwest re-election campaign coordinator and showed up at a federal executive council meeting in January 2018 with election campaign souvenirs.

Kaduna Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has also told anyone who cares to listen that APC Governors are backing Buhari for another term.

El-Rufai has also boasted that no one - not even Atiku - can defeat Buhari in the election contest of 2019.

Amaechi as campaign DG

The top Aso Rock sources who spoke to Pulse say Amaechi will retain his role as Director General or national co-ordinator of the Buhari/Osinbajo re-election campaign.

Keyamo, Pulse was also told, will be named spokesperson of the campaign.

A personnel of the Festus Keyamo chambers in Lagos declined requests for comments.

Pulse has also learnt that Amaechi it was who leaked news of his role in the president's re-election campaign to the press back in January.

The former Rivers State Governor told friends in January that he wouldn't announce his role just yet for fear of a backlash.

Amaechi also disclosed that he had been handed the national campaign coordinator role a while ago and that it was his decision to keep it all close to his chest.

Amaechi was Director General of the Buhari/Osinbajo campaign in 2015 and famously sparred with Femi Fani-Kayode who was on the Goodluck Jonathan side of the divide, on national television.
While speaking to members of the party's national working committee, Secondus accused President Buhari of running "a broken government" fueled by "nuclear nepotism".

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Ike Abonyi, Secondus urged the opposition party to lead the way in regaining Nigeria's liberty.

He was quoted as saying, "People are being killed on daily basis, nuclear nepotism is in vogue, you have to come from Daura to be appointed into a federal position.

"Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powder waiting to explode, only the PDP can save it.

"This is the time for all to stand up to save this country and all eyes are on PDP to lead the way, I am ready and determined even to be arrested for us to regain our liberty in this land.

"What we have ruling Nigeria today at the Villa is a broken party and a broken government, spiritually APC has already left the villa, what we must fine tune is the physical accomplishment."

Buhari under fire

President Buhari has come under intense public scrutiny from past leaders in the past couple of weeks.
Politicians' support for the move paves the way for a multi-billion-pound renovation of the complex, which includes the Houses of Parliament and the clock tower housing the Big Ben bell.

Complaints within the corridors of power include everything from mice infestations to sewage problems and fire hazards, but politicians have for years struggled to agree on how to move forward with the major works.

Speaking during the House of Lords debate, Baroness Tina Stowell likene d the refurbishment to "major surgery to fundamental organs" and said doing the work in stages was unfeasible.

One estimate for a gradual project found it would take 32 years to complete and cost 5.7 billion (6.5 billion euros, $8.0 billion), compared to a spend of 3.5 billion over six years if lawmakers move out.

There have been various proposals for a temporary home, with opposition Labour peer Meghnad Desai suggesting the politicians move to Buckingham Palace.

"It's the only building large enough to contain all the facilities we have with room to spare," he said during the debate.

He was followed by Lord William Inglewood, who joked they could instead transfer to France's Palace of Versailles.

"I live further from London than Paris so I would like to suggest if I was going in that direction perhaps Versailles is the right answer for us," he told the House of Lords.

But despite their enthusiasm for alternative locations, the move may not happen for a number of years.
Her wife, Rocio Girat, says the pair were saying goodbye before work when police approached.

"Yes, we were embracing," she told AFP. "It's the first time they have arrested a person for smoking, which is in any case an infraction punishable by fine."

She said her partner was cuffed for three hours, and even though she told police they were married, Gomez's status was listed as single.

"That makes it clear that there was hatred," Girat said.

"They spoke to me as if I were a friend, when we are married."

The couple wed two years ago. Argentina became the first Latin American country to allow same-sex marriage, in 2010.

It is also legal in Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia and parts of Mexico.
Rafizi Ramli, vice-president of the People's Justice party of jailed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, was found guilty of illegally releasing six years ago financial details related to the National Feedlot Corporation, which was set up to promote the beef industry. He alleged the details proved corruption.

Since the sentence is more than one year, he is barred by law from contesting elections for five years.

Political analysts expect Prime Minister Najib Razak to call a general election within months to seek a new mandate after weathering allegations of massive corruption linked to state investment fund 1MDB.

Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad has emerged from retirement to lead an opposition coalition to challenge Najib.

For Rafizi, it was his second conviction for an offence punishable by more than one year in jail.

In November 2016 he was given an 18-month prison term for leaking classified documents linked to 1MDB, but the case is under appeal.

Rafizi has angered authorities by releasing secret documents or making allegations about government abuses.

At the court hearing on Wednesday he was convicted along with Johari Mohamad, a fomer bank clerk.

Rafizi told AFP the sentence was a "political punishment" for speaking the truth.

"I think those in power are sending the strongest signal to everyone that it doesn't pay to speak the truth," he said.

Both Rafizi and Johari were freed on bail pending an appeal to the High Court.

The Lawyers for Liberty rights group described the sentence as "harsh" and warned it would have "a chilling effect on would-be whistleblowers".

"Rafizi as an MP was performing his higher duties: that is, to hold the government accountable and expose any corruption," Eric Paulsen, director of the group, told AFP.
Mercedes's seemingly benign post to its official Instagram account showed a Benz on a beach before rolling white capped waves.

"Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open," the ad copy ran, citing the Dalai Lama.

"Start your week with a fresh perspective on life from the Dalai Lama," the carmaker wrote in the tagline.

The post immediately drew criticism from Chinese internet users for quoting the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, whom Beijing accuses of being a "wolf in monk's robes" seeking Tibetan independence through "spiritual terrorism".

The Dalai Lama has called for granting Tibetans greater autonomy within China, but not independence.

While Instagram is blocked in China and inaccessible to most Chinese, and the Instagram post was penned in English, Mercedes-Benz quickly deleted the photo after the outcry and issued an apology on China's Twitter-like Weibo social media platform.

"Even though we deleted the related information as soon as possible, we know this has hurt the feelings of people of this country," Mercedes said on its verified Weibo statement.

The post "published extremely incorrect information, for this we are sincerely sorry", Mercedes wrote.

"We have immediately taken real action to deepen our understanding of Chinese culture and values, including among our colleagues abroad, and in this way regulate our behaviour."

The online edition of the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily did not let up, running an editorial attacking Mercedes on Tuesday.

"Mercedes-Benz, you've made yourself an enemy of the Chinese people!" the headline of the editorial read.

"Some foreign companies are dredging up gold in China's market at the same time as they are harming the Chinese people, what do they want to do?" it added.

Offending the sensitivities of Beijing has proven a problem for a number of foreign companies tapping the lucrative Chinese market.

Earlier this year, a spate of brands came under government criticism for online material that listed Chinese regions such as Tibet and Hong Kong as separate countries.

Marriott hotels even had its Chinese website and app blocked for a week by mainland authorities, while Spanish clothing giant Zara and Delta Air Lines were also called out.

Nor is this the first Dalai Lama Instagram post to provoke a backlash in China.

Last summer, British band Placebo was scheduled to perform at the Summer Sonic Festival in Shanghai -- until they posted a photo of the Nobel winner on Instagram.

The picture resulted "in a lifetime ban by the Ministry of Culture in China," the band said in another post acknowledging they would be unable to perform.
But as he prepared to leave Colombia on Tuesday after six days of visits to Mexico, Argentina and Peru, he had conducted what he described as positive and successful meetings with top leaders.

Latin America's democracies support Washington's opposition to the Venezuelan regime of Nicolas Maduro, whom they accuse of subverting the constitution to cling to power illegitimately.

And the countries Tillerson visited -- whatever Trump may have said about them "laughing at" Washington while pocketing US aid -- renewed their pledges of support to fight drug trafficking.

"I don't think that President Trump is referring to Colombia, because Colombia is not laughing at the US,"President Juan Manuel Santos said at a joint news conference with Tillerson.

"There would be no supply if there's no demand and no demand if not for supply, and Colombia does not laugh at this very important issue because it's a matter of national security," Santos said.

"We have lost our best leaders, journalists, judges, policemen in this war against drugs."

Santos said no country had suffered more than Colombia during a four-decade war on drugs, which in his country also fed and was fed by civil conflict with leftist rebels.

Cartel violence

If Tillerson has had any more success than Trump, with his threats and harsh criticism, in winning over foreign leaders, it may be because he accepts that Washington shares responsibility.

In Colombia, he agreed with Santos that there would be no supply of drugs without the demand of the US market, and in Mexico he acknowledged that smuggled US guns fuel cartel violence.

But while he pushed for and welcomed cooperation, he also left behind a note of caution, warning that as Colombia at last emerges from civil war, its production of cocaine is soaring.

"One of the things that's important about this relationship is that we are so close, we can speak openly and frankly about things of concern," Tillerson said, standing alongside Santos.

"The rapid increase in cultivation was an intended consequence of the peace and -- as the president has described it -- now it's now the long process of reversing those trends."

Tillerson would not be drawn on Trump's threat to cut aid if countries fail to halt the northward flow of drugs, but he warned "our expectation is that Colombia will make significant progress."

The other main theme of Tillerson's trip was the looming catastrophe in Venezuela, where Maduro is pressing ahead with plans to seek re-election under an electoral system controlled by his regime.

Earlier on Tuesday, Tillerson had met President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski of Peru, the country that helped set up the Lima Group of like-minded American allies seeking a democratic solution in Venezuela.

The country is gripped by political strife and faces economic catastrophe. More than half a million people have already fled to Colombia, increasing the pressure on its post-war recovery.

'Illegitimate' poll

Tillerson thanked Peru for its leadership and offered more support in the runup to this year's Summit of the the Americas, which Kuczynski will host in April on the theme of fighting corruption.

The US envoy received strong political backing during the trip for Washington's tough stance on Venezuela. All the capitals he visited have vowed not to recognize Maduro's "illegitimate" poll.

But discussion will continue on the idea of a US embargo on Venezuelan oil exports. This would heap huge pressure on the regime, but might trigger a destabilizing total economic collapse.

Tillerson for his part acknowledged that more thought would have to go on how such a measure would affect the long-suffering Venezuelan people -- and also US refineries reliant on Venezuelan exports.
The disclosure of gender pay gaps at the BBC; and the resignation of a Labour politician who accused the party of sexism after some members heckled her by singing a song about stalking.

The anniversary seemed all the more meaningful because it was taking place in the midst of the #MeToo movement in Britain. Julianne Hughes-Jennett, a lawyer emerging Tuesday from an exhibit on the suffragist movement at the Museum of London, tried to take the long view.

One hundred years in the context of history is a drop in the ocean, she said.

Not all women won the right to vote when the Representation of the People Act passed on Feb. 6, 1918. It conferred eligibility only on female property owners age 30 and older, the culmination of years of campaigning and militancy by leaders such as Millicent Fawcett and Emmeline Pankhurst. It took a decade more before Britain extended the vote to all women 21 and over.

Since then, much legislation has been passed to advance womens equality. Hughes-Jennett, wearing the suffragists white, green and purple ribbon on her jacket lapel, pointed to the Equal Pay Act in 1970. But it still takes a while for culture to catch up with the law, she said.

Greta Brandler, 102, who was 2 when the first voting act was passed, reminded listeners on a BBC television program how much more needed to be done. Men are control freaks, she told the broadcaster, without a trace of irony. Look at what weve got in Parliament  7-year-old boys squabbling and fighting.

Brandler said, Women have moved closer to the glass ceiling, but a woman has to be twice as good to be equal to a man.

The irony of the BBCs coverage was not lost on some British viewers, who criticized the broadcaster on Twitter for covering the centenary even, they said, as it denied some of its female employees the same salaries as their male counterparts.

Britains suffragist movement emerged in the late 19th century, when Parliament extended the franchise to greater swaths of the male population while continuing to deny it to women. The National Union of Womens Suffrage Societies, made up mostly of middle-class women, was formed in 1897, eventually becoming the biggest suffrage organization, with 50,000 members

Originally, under the leadership of Fawcett, the movement was largely moderate. But it eventually split, with a more militant faction, the Womens Social and Political Union, forming under Pankhurst.

Pankhurst, who was arrested numerous times, led angry street demonstrations at which hundreds of suffragists were arrested. Beginning around 1910, their tactics became quite violent, including arson attacks and the bombing of the house belonging to the chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George.

One suffragist, Mary Richardson, slashed a painting at the National Gallery in London with a meat cleaver. A Sikh princess, Sophia Duleep Singh, threw herself in front of the prime ministers car.

Those actions have stoked a debate lately over whether the women should be considered terrorists. The Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn addressed that issue on Tuesday, pledging to pardon them posthumously if he ever claims the prime ministership.

Earlier in the day, the original Representation of the People Act was wheeled out in Parliament for the first time. And in Manchester, birthplace of the suffragist movement, Prime Minister Theresa May talked about the women who persevered in spite of all danger and discouragement because they knew their cause was right.

May also appeared in Parliament for a photograph with all of its more than 200 female members.

Meanwhile, the Scottish leader, Nicola Sturgeon, announced a $700,000 fund to encourage more women to enter politics. The government also said it was spending more than $1.4 million to finance a similar effort.

Weve made good progress, Britains home secretary, Amber Rudd, said on Twitter. But theres more to do to help women in politics.

Across London, people thronged around Parliament and Trafalgar Square, where 59 life-size images of prominent suffragists were displayed.

The government is spending $1.4 million to erect statues of women across the country. In April, Fawcett, will become the first woman to be so honored in Parliament Square. A statue of Pankhurst will go up in Manchester, the citys first new monument to a woman in more than 100 years.

On Trafalgar Square on Tuesday, a group of high school seniors was taking selfies by the suffragist portraits. The students, from outside London, had just visited Parliament, where it was all about a bunch of guys, said Sarah Pierce, 17, who wants to become a psychologist.

There was that guy, then this guy, she said. Oh, and then theres that guys wife.

Its a whitewashed, malestream version of history, said Fiona Tuite, 17, who said she wanted to pursue diplomacy. We still havent come that far. Youd think that in a hundred years youd have equal rights around the world.

Still, she said, the achievements so far, have been quite fantastic.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
You will be teaching and correcting people, and it is important not to hurt their feelings, if it can be avoided, he wrote. But when Ahuvia talked about not hurting feelings, the statement carried more weight. She was about to enter thornier terrain in a work dealing with themes of cultural appropriation, nationalism, displacement and relationships between Israeli and Palestinian cultures.

In Everything, which is to have its premiere on Thursday at the Theater at the 14th Street Y, Ahuvia, 32, examines the complex origins of Israeli folk dances, which played a vital role not only in the formation of Israeli identity but also in her own. As the daughter of Israeli parents, she grew up performing the dances recreationally, alongside more formal ballet and jazz training. Her grandparents were Eastern European Jews who, in the 1930s, helped to found Beit HaShita, a kibbutz in northern Israel, where her parents were born. Ahuvia, who was born in Argentina, lived in Israel from ages 5 to 10 between periods of living in Florida. (Her father traveled for work.) As a teenager she moved to Hawaii, then San Francisco, where she studied at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and finally to New York to attend Sarah Lawrence College.

In a recent interview at her Brooklyn apartment, Ahuvia, who has danced for choreographers including Sara Rudner and Reggie Wilson, said that Everything grew out of a longer process that began over a decade ago, of questioning my Zionism and feeling responsible to do that through the mediums that are mine.

A spirited lecture-demonstration, Everything layers buoyant, grapevining, heel-toeing steps  from some of the more than 8,000 Israeli folk dances created since the 1930s  with instructional videos, archival images and commentary delivered, often in tandem with movement, by Ahuvia, Mor Mendel and Lily Bo Shapiro.

A couple of weeks before the premiere, Ahuvia spoke about the works evolution. Below are edited excerpts from that conversation.

Q: Was folk dancing a big part of your life growing up?

A: It became a bigger part of my life when we moved back to Florida. It was one way of staying connected to Israel. My mom had been a folk dancer, semiprofessionally. We went to weekly gatherings at the JCC [Jewish Community Center], and when we moved to Hawaii, joined another gathering there.

Q: What inspired this piece?

A: Before this piece, I made a solo that was returning to the dances in a more emotional way; it was more about my relationship to them. I talked at the time about making these dances and songs face the Nakba, which is what Palestinians call the founding of the state of Israel. [Nakba is the Arabic word for catastrophe."] How could I hold onto my heritage and also this other reality? I wasnt really looking at how the dances were constructed. This piece came out of wanting to investigate that more deeply.

I knew the dances were an integral part of this Zionist enterprise, and you could see that in a liberatory way or see some of the colonial mechanisms in it. I was looking for a way to communicate that.

Q: One issue you explore is cultural appropriation, how the pioneers of Israeli folk dance, mostly Eastern European women, drew from social dance forms like Palestinian dabke.

A: Its well-documented that these women went to Palestinian villages and watched them dancing and felt they held the steps for what new Israeli dances could be. And so they borrowed steps and wrote new music and created dances that were directly synchronous to the new music, and in this way it becomes a new Israeli dance.

This was their way of participating in the nation-building and what for them was this revolutionary moment. I dont think that cultural exchange is bad, but I think its about the context of whose narratives get told and seen.

Q: You also look at the popularity of Israeli folk dance among Christian Zionists. Did you know about this phenomenon before starting your research?

A: Our family friends are Christian Zionists, so it wasnt a surprise. But I figured out it was much larger in scope than I realized. I was looking for videos of basic steps being taught, and the first websites to pop up were almost always Christian.

Q: Where does the title come from?

A: I went to the Israeli Embassy in New York to renew my passport, and the security guard asked me, in Hebrew, Everything you have is yours? Because I was working on this piece, it really stuck with me.

Q: Is it risky showing this work at a Jewish-affiliated organization like the 14th Street Y?

A: Its a little risky. I dont know whos going to come, and last year when I did a work-in-progress showing [at the Y], there was some tension about the content of the work. But they pride themselves on being a place thats politically open, where artists can say what they want to say.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
The House measure is unlikely to pass the Senate, where Democrats insist that an increase in military funds be matched with additional domestic spending.

But the House vote was a first step in what congressional leaders hoped would be a legislative dance that yields a bipartisan spending deal. Trumps comments, though combative, had little to do with the delicate negotiations, a fact that appeared to elude Trump. They did, however, add a note of uncertainty.

Id love to see a shutdown if we don't get this stuff taken care of, Trump said at a meeting with lawmakers and law enforcement officials to discuss gang violence. If we have to shut it down because the Democrats dont want safety, he added, then shut it down.

The two-year deal that congressional leaders want would raise statutory spending caps imposed in 2011 on military and nonmilitary spending through September 2019. That agreement would further balloon the budget deficit, but it would also ease the way to passing a temporary spending measure before the government shuts down on Friday. A longer-term spending deal could follow shortly thereafter.

We are closer to an agreement than we have ever been, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the Senate Democratic leader, said, referring to the negotiations over raising the spending caps.

Republicans were similarly upbeat. Im optimistic that very soon well be able to reach an agreement, said Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Senate majority leader.

But if the bipartisan deal falls through, lawmakers have no clear plan to keep the government open past Thursday, with the parties disagreeing over spending priorities and the president lobbing verbal bombs from the White House.

I would shut it down over this issue, Trump said as he demanded an immigration deal on his terms. If we dont straighten out our border, we dont have a country.

Trumps call for a shutdown was not the first time he had brandished the threat of closing down the government. He mused on Twitter last year that the country needs a good shutdown,' a suggestion Democrats did not forget.

And on Tuesday, in a striking moment, a lawmaker from the presidents own party, Rep. Barbara Comstock of Virginia, pushed back at the White House meeting.

We dont need a government shutdown on this, said Comstock, a top Democratic target in the midterm elections. She represents a moderate district in Northern Virginia, an area that is home to many federal workers.

Soon after, Trump interrupted her. You can say what you want, he said. Were not getting support from the Democrats on this legislation.

It has been less than three weeks since the last shutdown  a three-day closing that ended after Democrats won a promise from McConnell to have the Senate consider legislation to protect young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children.

McConnell pledged that the Senate would turn to immigration if no deal had been reached on that subject by Thursday, when the current government funding measure is set to expire. This time, Senate Democrats have shown no appetite to force a shutdown.

But the fate of the young immigrants, known as Dreamers, remains highly uncertain, especially given Trumps insistence that Democrats agree to build a wall on the Mexican border and enact other tough immigration policies.

The White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, also took a hard line on immigration during a visit to the Capitol on Tuesday.

He said Trump was unlikely to extend a March 5 deadline, when the Obama-era program to protect the immigrants  Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA  is set to expire. And he said the president had been generous in his offer to give 1.8 million young unauthorized immigrants a path to citizenship in exchange for a series of hard-line immigration policy changes.

There are 690,000 official DACA registrants, and the president sent over what amounts to be 2 1/2 times that number, to 1.8 million, Kelly told reporters. The difference between 690 and 1.8 million were the people that some would say were too afraid to sign up, others would say were too lazy to get off their asses, but they didnt sign up.

Neither party seemed to have any idea how the immigration debate would play out in the Senate in the days to come. McConnell has promised a free and open debate, with senators allowed to offer amendments to whatever measure is brought to the floor. But what the starting bill would look like remained a mystery.

Thats the $64,000 question, said Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate. Everybody wants to know, and Sen. McConnell hasnt told us.

McConnell gave little hint of how the debate would proceed.

In the Senate, on those rare occasions when we have these kind of open debates, whoever gets to 60 wins, he told reporters. And itll be an opportunity for 1,000 flowers to bloom.

But with less than 72 hours remaining to avert a shutdown, congressional Republicans were moving on an entirely different track from the president, and immigration was not part of the equation as the House moved ahead with the stopgap spending bill.

The House voted 245-182 to approve the bill, with most Democrats voting against it.

House Republicans were hoping to pressure Senate Democrats to go along or face harsh political consequences. The bill would keep the government open through March 23.

Quite literally the safety of our service members and the security of our country is at stake, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said.

But 44 members of the Senate Democratic caucus signed a letter in December opposing the House Republican approach. Passing the bill in the Senate will require 60 votes, meaning that those 44 Democrats, if they stick together, could block it.

This is not a serious bill, said Rep. Nita M. Lowey of New York, the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee. It is nothing more than a political ploy that will place us on the brink of another shutdown.

If a deal on the spending caps is reached, lawmakers could approve legislation that includes that agreement along with a temporary measure to keep the government open. The package could also end up carrying other items as well, including disaster aid in response to last years hurricanes and perhaps an increase to the statutory limit on the governments borrowing authority.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
CLOVIS  Curry County Manager Lance Pyle on Monday issued a news release saying the county is very concerned about how a gun was allowed into the county jail last Thursday.

... We are confident that the Clovis Police Department is looking into the matter, addressing the same and taking future steps to make sure that Clovis Police Department arrestees are searched and secured prior to being brought to the Curry County Detention Center, Pyle wrote.

Pyle also on Monday said Clovis Police Officer Sanford Wagner was the officer who brought 28-year old Wesley Flores into the detention facility after Flores was arrested for failing to appear in court. Police have declined to name the officer.

After entering through the jails sally port and into a pat down vestibule, Flores pulled a gun from his clothes and began a four-hour standoff with police.

Police have declined to answer questions about whether Flores was searched for a weapon following his arrest. Asked if he were blaming police for the incident, Pyle referred to the news release.

Flores shot himself in the jaw at the conclusion of the standoff, officials have said. He suffered life-threatening injuries, police said Thursday night, and was still listed in critical condition on Monday, according to Curry County Sheriff Wesley Waller.

Pyle in his news release also praised the work of Sheriffs Department Lt. Michael Brockett and Investigator Glenn Russ for an outstanding job of securing the release of Detention Officer Sean Rowland, who was held hostage by Flores for less than 10 minutes.

After Rowland was freed, Flores was isolated in the vestibule area where he pointed the gun at himself during the standoff with police.

As far as Officer Wagners employment status, that is a City of Clovis matter and I would defer any questions regarding to the Clovis City Manager Justin Howalt, Pyle said in the news release.

A dispatch operator at Clovis Police Department said Sanford was not on duty Monday and Howalt declined to answer questions on Sanfords employment status, citing personnel matters.

CPD Capt. Roman Romero stated the same regarding Sanford.

The Curry County Sheriff Office is investigating the hostage situation and CPD is investigating how Flores had the gun.

Officials have said there will be new criminal charges for Flores, who was arrested on a bench warrant for failure to appear at a Jan. 29 arraignment on charges including possession of a firearm by a felon, Waller said. Court records Monday still showed no new charges.

Romero said Monday that reports on Flores arrest last week were still not public.

Booking procedure

Jail Administrator Mark Gallegos said Monday that the vestibule area and its placement in the multi-stage booking procedure is designed to reduce hazards in a worst-case scenario.

The room is approximately six feet square and eight feet high, just large enough for its function: a pre-booking pat down of an arrestee by a detention officer, typically lasting two to six minutes. It is the second of three phases between an arrestee arriving to the jail and being formally booked into the facility and becoming a detainee.

The first phase is the sally port, a large and spacious kind of garage entered through vertically sliding doors; in the case of last weeks incident, it was a Clovis police cruiser carrying Flores at 2:39 p.m. Thursday through the western-facing sally port doors.

According to procedure, the arresting officer has by then already searched the prospective inmate for weapons, Gallegos said.

On arrival in the sally port, the arresting officer places his or her weapons  firearms or knives  into a metal box outside the vestibule doors. Arrestees also have an opportunity then to surrender any contraband, including weapons and drugs but also cigarettes or lighters, into an amnesty box, Gallegos said.

No weapons are allowed inside the jail, where some detention officers carry pepper spray and others have Tazers.

Door 12A separates the sally port from the vestibule and door 12B separates the vestibule from the pre-booking area, where an arrestee still awaits a jail medical exam and the filing of a criminal complaint and arrest warrant before being booked. Both doors are operated by the jails master control system or a key and cannot be opened from inside or outside without that clearance. The key entry is only used in an emergency situation if master control is down.

The arresting officer enters the vestibule with the arrestee through door 12A; the detention officer then enters through 12B and the arresting officer leaves through the same, into the pre-booking area where he or she typically works on filing the papers.

Thats how it happened Thursday with Flores, who pulled the handgun from his clothes after Sanford left the room and while Rowland was getting ready to initiate pat down, Gallegos said. Another jail officer, monitoring the vestibule through a surveillance camera mounted to the ceiling, saw the disturbance and called for support. The time was about 2:45 p.m., Waller said.

Officers removed Rowland from the vestibule within minutes, faster than Flores could react, said a jail lieutenant.

Later in the standoff Flores disabled the lights and surveillance; the former simply by turning off the switch, which has since been removed from the room, and the latter not by shooting but by otherwise damaging the camera, which has since been replaced, officials said Monday.

Gallegos said Flores did not have on jail handcuffs when he produced the gun, but declined to say if he still had on police handcuffs at the time, citing concern for jeopardizing the ongoing investigation.

Another jail administrator said Thursdays incident was the first time in 17 years she had known an arrestee to produce a firearm inside of the vestibule. The occasional pocket knife, maybe.

Gallegos said he expected no revision to jail pre-booking procedures following the incident, but for good measure the jail staff would be provided with familiarization training to keep everyone on the same page.
Joe Dominguez seeks re-election for municipal seat.

Tucumcari's Municipal Judge was arrested for driving while intoxicated by New Mexico State Police on Sunday in Tucumcari.

Joe Dominguez, 71, was arrested by state police after he failed a field sobriety test. Dominguez was charged and booked for D...
By Milan Simonich The New Mexican

At age 15, Nehemiah Griego used rifles to kill his parents and three siblings in the family's Albuquerque home.

Griego's rampage, which took the lives of his 9-year-old brother and sisters aged 5 and 2, shocked the conscience of New Mexico, said s...
Council cited personnel matters as dismissal cause.

The recently ousted Village Manager of Logan was shocked to learn he was relieved of duties following a special executive session held on Jan. 30 by the Village Council.

"Trevor Thompson is no longer the manager of the Village of Logan," said Mayo...
Alida Browns retirement as coordinator of the Quay County Health Council after 25 years of improving local health may pass unnoticed by too many people.

Brown worked quietly, persistently and persuasively to garner government money and grants f...
On March 18, Russia will hold a presidential election.

It will not be a cliffhanger.

Rather, Vladimir Putin will be re-elected to his fourth presidential term (with a break after his first two terms during which he served as prime minister, becaus...
20 Years Have Not Diminished The Pain

It is hard to believe 20 years have passed since the September 11 attacks on our country. For many, the wounds are still open, and...

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LICP Can Help To The LIC Community: We want to make sure that you are aware of assistance opportunities regarding damages caused by last nights...
Biarri Rail, a Victoria, Australia-based global provider of planning and scheduling software for freight railroads, has landed a major North American contract with Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS) for Boss MP Loco, its cloud-based locomotive master planning software. The company has a U.S. office in Chicago led by CEO Tom Forbes.

Boss MP Loco is described as a cloud-based platform for scalable railroad and rail shipper planning, scheduling and operations software. Boss provides integrated planning across resources including train services, locomotives, railcars, yards and crew.

Boss MP Loco will enable KCS to quickly plan and optimize locomotives, leading to improved efficiencies and utilization of critical railway assets, Biarri Rail said.

We engaged Biarri Rail to perform a Proof-of-Concept using the Boss MP Loco software, and this clearly demonstrated that we could use the software package to identify potential fleet efficiencies and help make strategic decisions on the deployment and positioning of our locomotive fleet, said KCS Vice President Strategic Operational Planning Mike Walczak. For example, we were able to run multiple scenarios examining how many of our fleet could be equipped for Positive Train Control (PTC) based on how and where we may choose to assign power on our cross-border trains that operate in both the U.S. and Mexico. Our current locomotive planning tools do not provide optimization or what if capabilities to deliver the most efficient plan. The Biarri Rail software has an intuitive user interface and powerful optimization algorithms, which will provide a step change in our planning capability. Based on the successful outcome of the Proof-of-Concept we are now implementing Boss MP Loco into our planning environment.

We are excited to be working with the team at KCS to drive this innovation with them, said Tom Forbes. Boss MP Loco is a new concept in railroad planning and scheduling software, as it brings the best of human experts and machine together with a well-designed user experience and excellent algorithms that deliver real world results. This contract with KCS, combined with our recently announced contract with TasRail in Australia, really speaks to the flexibility of the Boss platform to provide value for railroads of differing sizes and types.
SPAIN: Medway of Portugal has operated its first freight train on the Spanish national network between Madrid and Valencia, where five return intermodal services are now provided each week.
POLAND: Infrastructure manager PKP PLK has awarded TPF a 58m zoty contract to study the feasibility of upgrading the Bydgoszcz  Koscierzyna  Gdynia route to handle significantly more freight traffic. This would free capacity on the main line via Gdansk for use by passenger services.
Russian court rules businessman Telman Islmailov owes $155.9 million to offshore company

 RIA Novosti, Said Tsarnaev

15:59 07/02/2018

MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI)  The Moscow Regional Commercial Court has granted a motion of offshore company Cesaria Ltd. seeking to include 8.9 billion rubles (about $155.9 million) debt owed to it by businessman Telman Ismailov into the list of his creditors demands, the court documents read on Wednesday.

In March of 2017, Ismailov was declared bankrupt. In December of 2017, the businessman was charged in absentia with murder and illegal arms trafficking. He was also put on the international wanted list.

According to investigators, Ismailov organized the murder of businessman Vladimir Savkin and founder of Lublino-Motors auto service centre Yury Brylev in May 2016. In preparing the crime Ismailov, investigators believe, was assisted by his brothers Rafik and Vagif Ismailovs, whereas the murder was allegedly committed by Mekhman Kerimov, who pleaded guilty. Rafik Ismailov and Kerimov were placed in detention, Telman and Vagif Ismailovs were arrested in absentia by a court decision.

The businessman could face life imprisonment if convicted.

Telman Ismailov, who controls AST Group, is one of Russias richest men. In 2009, he clashed with law enforcement authorities over the Cherkizovsky outdoor market, which evolved from a mere flea market into an industrial-scale distribution hub for Chinese imports during the oil boom. The market was closed after sanitary authorities found major violations.
Moscow court extends detention of Russian penitentiary ex-official until May 4

 RIA Novosti, Vitaly Belousov

18:08 07/02/2018

MOSCOW, February 7 (RAPSI)  The Basmanny District Court of Moscow has extended the detention of ex-Deputy chief of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Oleg Korshunov, charged with embezzlement of 160 million rubles (about $2.8), until May 4, the courts press-service told RAPSI.

Initially Korshunov was charged with two counts of embezzlement; however, this February two fraud cases were launched against him as well.

According to investigators, Korshunov conspired with the head of Russian footwear company Datse Group, Smbat Arutyunyan, and the head of state-run production company FSIN Russia, Vitaly Morusov. Allegedly, Korshunov had ordered to use prisoner labor to manufacture footwear from cheap materials provided by Datse Group. Later, he allegedly facilitated signing of a state contract with FSIN Russia.

Allegedly, Morusov was aware of the criminal scheme and did not plan to actually supply the goods. As a result, FSIN employees were deceived about the price and transferred over 90 million rubles (about $1.5 million) to FSIN Russia.

Investigators also claim that Korshunov organized signing of two government contracts on delivery of fuels and lubricants and food products at an overvalued price between 2015 and 2016. Actions of Korshunov and his accomplices allegedly caused a 160-million-ruble damage (about $2.8 million at current exchange rate) to the FSIN. He pleaded not guilty. Korshunov was appointed to the post of FSIN deputy head in March 2014. He has been bestowed the rank of Full State Counsellor 2nd Class of the Russian Federation.
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By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 02/07/2018



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featured the season's three couples each finding a new home and moving in together during the sixth episode of the Lifetime show's sixth season on Tuesday night.The six strangers who agreed to marry at first sight were Jaclyn Schwartzberg , a 29-year-old teacher turned sales representative; Ryan Buckley , a 29-year-old firefighter; Molly Duff , a 25-year-old commercial insurance adjuster; Jonathan Francetic , a 28-year-old U.S. Army veteran and former financial associate; Shawniece Jackson , a 29-year-old entrepreneur and cosmetologist; and Jephte Pierre , a 26-year-old second grade teacher.Matched by experts Dr. Jessica Griffin, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, and Pastor Calvin Roberson, Jaclyn married Ryan, Molly walked down the aisle to Jonathan, and Shawniece became a wife to Jephte.After enjoying their honeymoons in Jamaica, the couples had to return to real life in the Boston area and find a place to live as newlyweds.Each individual checked out his or her spouse's place, but all the couples quickly came to the same conclusion -- it made sense to move into a brand new place as husband and wife, which would represent a fresh start.On Day 10 of the marriage, Jaclyn and Ryan realized they had already been living similar lifestyles."I love Ryan's place. I can't believe it's not a bachelor pad. He's very organized. His furniture, the color scheme, everything he has is very ideal for what I love," Jaclyn told the cameras."This will be my first time living with a partner since I lost my boyfriend. When he passed away, it was the hardest thing I ever went through, but I really don't want my past relationship to ruin my relationship with Ryan... I feel like he wants to have a new outlook, and so do I."On a similar note, Molly and Jonathan had a lot in common as well, except Molly had a ton of clothes and shoes and needed more closet space."Jon was very excited and hyper on our honeymoon, but I didn't see any of Jon's boyish side in his apartment at all. All I saw was classy Jon and the hardworking side of him that lines up exactly with how I am. I was very pleasantly surprised," Molly said.Shawniece and Jephte, on the other hand, seemed to be total opposites. While Shawniece was all about organization and having a place for all of her belongings in her family's home, Jephte was extremely messy with clothes scattered all over his bed and bedroom floor.Jephte wanted his wife to see the real him, so he didn't clean up or do anything outside of the norm."Lord, give me strength. We are not living like this," Shawniece insisted, throwing her hands up in the air.Before setting out to look for a new place, each couple discussed finances.Ryan and Jaclyn discovered they both make the same amount of money, between $60,000-70,000, so their rent budget would be $2,400.Ryan was perfectly fine with the fact he couldn't be the breadwinner, and Jaclyn appreciated the fact her husband was a hardworker.Over a couple of beers and pizza, Jon learned that Molly made about $55,000. When Jon was working, he held down a job that brought in about $70,000, so they decided their rent budget was $2,200."Obviously it's a little nervewracking when you're married to someone unemployed, but I think it's pretty admirable and sweet that Jon is willing to lose his job for love. And I'm already seeing how smart he is. He's got a bunch of degrees, so I'm really not that worried," Molly explained.Jon also showed his maturity in choosing to have his beloved cat, Dawn, stay at a friend's house due to Molly's allergies. Jon wanted his wife to be happy and healthy in their new place.As for Shawniece and Jephte, they planned on spending a total of $2,000 on rent.Shawniece tried hard to save money in order to open her own salon one day, but Jephte said, as a teacher, money was tight for him and he unfortunately couldn't help her with that goal. Shawniece seemed okay with the finances, but she was shocked to hear that Jephte didn't budget his money.The pair also weren't progressing in the romance department."With my husband sleeping on the floor and sleeping in separate bedrooms, it makes me nervous because it's like, 'Are you not attracted to me? Do you not want me? What is the problem? What is the issue?" Shawniece questioned."I want us to be husband and wife, and I do not feel wanted... It doesn't make sense to me. This is not what I imagined things would be like."It didn't take long for each couple to find their dream apartment or home, and there appeared to be no disagreements during the search.Although Shawniece felt unwanted, Jephte said in a confessional he was in it for the long haul and could see himself falling for her. Shawniece could also picture a future with her husband as well as "little children running around," but she needed Jephte to be more affectionate."I just don't want to get to the point where we become roommates or just friends," Shawniece vented to the cameras.Meanwhile, Jaclyn was excited to move in with Ryan and hopeful about their future, but she had to go through old boxes that set off emotional triggers because of the loss of her boyfriend. Ryan walked in on Jaclyn crying after work, and he began to worry that she was taking a couple of steps back from him."I'm confused. I don't really know how to perceive this whole thing going on. These are the skeletons from her past that are coming at her," Ryan explained."Seeing Jaclyn upset, it was kind of hard for me because it looks like she's taking steps backwards. But I'm here to back her up and help her, and that's all I can do."But Jaclyn said it was "very important" for Ryan to understand her emotions that stem from her tragic past."It really has nothing to do with my relationship with Ryan. Having him here to help me move forward means everything to me... He's wonderful. I have really good feelings about it," Jaclyn said.On Day 14 of the marriages, Shawniece decided to have lunch with her mother to receive some advice and support. She opened up about how she didn't want to force or pressure Jephte into something he wasn't comfortable with, but at the same time, she wanted to advance in the normal process."I didn't sign up for somebody to hate me... I signed up to live life with someone," Shawniece told her mom, adding that she was getting to the point of shutting down.Shawniece revealed that Jephte didn't want to hold her hand or kiss, and that they were sleeping in separate bedrooms. Shawniece worried Jephte just didn't like her and that they weren't a good match for each other.Despite Shawniece's tears, her mother advised her daughter to be patient and not give up."I'm trying to be myself [and] trying not to break down over my insecurities and thinking it's something I'm doing wrong. I'm trying to get Jephte to actually want to be next to me... I don't want to do this no more," Shawniece said in tears.Shawniece later told Jephte that things needed to change between them or she was going to give up. She was scared her marriage was going to fail, and she begged Jephte to participate, care more, and be vulnerable. Shawniece needed her partner to let her in.Back to Ryan and Jaclyn, the firefighter was shown wondering if his wife was truly ready for a fresh relationship with him due to her past. He brought up his concerns about Jaclyn's past haunting her, and she seemed a bit offended."It's hurtful and it felt insensitive, and I couldn't understand where he was coming from," Jaclyn admitted in a confessional."This could be a turning point in our relationship... She's still not over her past, and this is my wife I'm talking about. I don't want to constantly be compared to someone who obviously meant a lot to her," Ryan vented.The episode ended, however, with Molly admitting that her attraction to Jonathan was growing every day. The pair were all smiles getting into bed together at the end of the day."I still want to take things slow, but I'm getting more excited that love can grow in this marriage and I'm excited. Jon's a keeper, for sure," Molly noted.
Some examples that show we may be call for introspection, says Ajit Balakrishnan.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Just the other day, a very senior banker I was in conversation with said to me, "I just don't understand technology" in the same nonchalant way I could probably say, 'I don't understand tantra' -- I mean, accepting its existence but not being bothered enough to dig deep enough to understand it.

In a similar vein, the founder and head of a multimillion-dollar venture capital fund looked at me, exasperation writ large on his face, and said: "If you can think you can see the next five years and predict where this technology is going, you are pretending to be god."

Is this kind of aversion to technology the reason why, when a new tech paradigm like the personal computer revolution arrived in the late 1980s, making computing affordable to the masses (just as the mobile phone is doing today), this opportunity was converted into a vast body-shopping enterprise?

What underlay this? An unwillingness to take on the fledgelings of that period, Microsoft, Oracle, etc, which grew in that period and became world-dominant giants?

Or a sense of pragmatism in the air which tells you in a dozen different ways: There is no point for any Indian company to try this -- you just won't win.

Or is there a bigger issue that the larger ecosystem needed to wean young technology companies: Knowledgeable and patient customers, a patient domestic venture capital industry and, most of all, a big enough domestic market for technologically innovative products, which just doesn't exist in India?

The evolution path of a technology company is by now fairly clear from studies done across the world.

First, an entrepreneur hatches an idea in a sunrise industry, then he wins a few early sophisticated customers (sophisticated, because the young company needs to solve some big tech problems early on and not meet them later).

This early sophisticated customer very often is the defence R&D groups. Once the prototype is proven in demanding defence conditions, the entrepreneur brings it to the lay market in his country and then takes it worldwide.

Many have documented how much the iPhone owes the US Department of Defense for bringing into being the very pieces that have made it the most desired phone brand in the world: Its touch-screen display, and the Geographic Positioning System and related map data, which detects your location and gives you helpful directions.

For that matter, practically all that makes the Information Age possible is also thanks to the US Department of Defense funding: The Internet itself, the microprocessor that drives computers and mobile phones, as well as the cellular technology that makes all mobile phones possible.

Another area in which Indians show their aversion to technology is what is being noticed on a large scale among software developers in India: They try their best to wriggle out of hands-on coding once they cross the mid-30s ... they want to be 'managers' who will supervise other programmers but won't 'dirty' their own hands with writing programmes.

Except that this is like a novelist stopping to write and moving to be a 'manager' in a publishing house.

Here, again, a societal level question: Does Indian society reward hands-on creators less than it does 'supervisors' and 'managers'?

This phenomenon runs from even deeper societal sources. I have recounted this story before, but it probably needs another recounting: A 20-something colleague told me that in the arranged marriage market he was fishing in, many of the young women he was meeting as a prospective life partner were asking him, 'How many people report to you?' as a way of assessing whether he was a success in his job!

We should not also forget that the creation of the independent Indian State was based on an anti-technology stance: The choice of the charkha as the symbol on the Independence Era Congress party flag.

It is almost as if Gandhiji, that astute politician, wanted to trigger an anti-textile-machinery-automation instinct in the Indian psyche.

Do the traditional business families which so dominate the business scene in India actively discourage their offspring to enter technologically challenging business opportunities? There is some evidence that this is possibly true.

Is it that they are more comfortable in their method of 'competition' -- not to produce superior or less expensive products -- but by getting access to some natural resource (spectrum, coal, iron ore, etc), organising the licences and capital for it, and letting some outsourced company worry about the technology platform, let alone worry about technical innovation.

This division of labour, where the Indian partner provides the connections and the government the licences, and the foreign technology partner worries about the technology, is so inscribed in our societal psyche that this is baked into the structure of major government contracts.

As the Information Age dawns and we are witnessing an outburst of technology evolution in machine-learning and artificial intelligence, it is too crucial a period not to examine and cure the Indian psyche of its aversion to technology.

Ajit Balakrishnan, chairman and founder of Rediff.com, is the author of The Wave Rider, A Chronicle of the Information Age. You can write to him at ajitb@rediffmail.com
Despite some manufacturers giving the Expo a miss, there will still be plenty of action.

The curtain has finally lifted for the mega show that all car lovers in India are waiting for.

Electric vehicles and concepts along with some exciting launches from Maruti, Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors pack the halls of the Expo Mart in Greater Noida from February 9 to 14. February 7 is for the media, and the 8th is reserved for the media and VIPs.

While Kia Motors will make its official debut at the Expo, luxury car-makers and arch-rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW will make you drool with their launches.

Rajesh Karkera and Hitesh Harisinghani of Rediff.com bring you all the excitement from the venue on Tuesday, ahead of the opening.





Images: Guess for whom the red carpet is being rolled out. The cars of course!. Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com

Image: The Entrance to the Auto Expo. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com



Image: Garbage collectors loved the attention they got from our cameras. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com



Image: The bomb squad is all ready to handle any situation, On duty is a German Shepherd (inside this van). Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com



Image: A serious discussion on who would sweep which area. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com

Image: A Big Dog Chopper bike is being prepped up for display. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com



Image: Big Dog offers only one bike model in India, the K9 Red Chopper, and the starting price for this model is Rs 59 lakh (ex-showroom). Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com







Image: The K9 Red Chopper. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com



Image: More bike are waiting to get readied. From left to right: The Ducati Scrambler, a BSA which the Mahindra's have acquired and a Royal Enfield Electra. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com



Image: The helpdesk at the Auto Expo. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com



Image: One of the halls which will showcase the metallic beauties. Photograph: Rajesh Karkera/Rediff.com


The move is aimed at strengthening the companys plans of taking Thums Up to the $1-billion club of Coca-Colas global brands by 2020.

Indias largest home-grown cola brand Thums Up is all set to make an international debut in March. Thumps Up will now be produced and marketed in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, where brand owner Coca-Cola already has its manufacturing facilities. The brand will also be supplied to Bhutan.

The beverage major plans to test the product in its South Asian markets to analyse its acceptance before taking it to other countries.

Coca-Cola has brought global brands to India, but now we want to see how an Indian brand, which has done well in the country for the past 40 years, performs outside. We are all set to take Thums Up to other parts of South Asia possibly from March, T Krishnakumar, president, Coca-Cola, India and Southwest Asia business unit, said.

The carbonated beverage has a small presence in East Asia -- the consumption being mainly limited to people of Indian origin there. Krishnakumar said this would be the first time that an Indian indigenous brand, owned by Coca-Cola, would actually go, launch, market and create equity for itself in countries outside India. Its going to be made and marketed locally.

The move is aimed at strengthening the companys plans of taking Thums Up to the $1-billion club of Coca-Colas global brands by 2020.

This is the first step, but we are packaging it well so that it can travel well beyond boundaries set by us. But it's got to be a step-by-step process, Krishnakumar said.

Thums Up was a brand created by Ramesh Chauhan of Parle in 1977 after Coca-Cola withdrew from India. Ironically, the US-based cola major re-entered India in 1993 and acquired Thums Up and other brands from the Parle stable for $60 million.

After the acquisition, Coca-Cola had initially cut the advertising spend of Thums Up to boost its own brand, but it soon realised that the latter was the primary competitor to Pepsi and renewed its focus on the brand. The Thums Up brand has a 42 per cent market share in the cola segment in the country.

John Murphy, president of the Asia Pacific Group at Coca-Cola, predicted that in the next two years India might become their fifth-largest market, as it had the potential to feature among its top-three markets globally. Currently, India is their sixth-largest market after Japan.

For its Indian growth story, Coca-Cola has identified five categories, comprising sparkling, juice, energy drink, hydration, and tea and coffee, and will roll out several products this year, which will include local flavours as well.

However, the company doesnt see any immediate boost in the ready-to-drink tea and coffee segments in India.

I dont think the category is ready for a massive explosion. We see it as a longer-term play and will have some exploration to go forward, said Murphy.
'She has a very Oprah Winfrey-sque way of having people open up to her.'

'People tell her their stories because they know they won't be judged.'

Sreemoyee Piu Kundu's writing, much like its creator, defies the idea of labels, discovers Nikita Puri.



IMAGE: A journalist for several years, Sreemoyee Piu Kundu was a media strategist before she became a full-time author. All photographs: Kind courtesy Sreemoyee Piu Kundu/Facebook

Around June last year, during the time she was putting together her first non-fiction novel, Sreemoyee Piu Kundu shared on social media that some of the people she had interviewed wanted to back out.

They were worried about the backlash they thought might follow if their stories were made public, even if their names were kept in the shadows.

Soon after Kundu's post, new messages began to flood her inbox.

One of the many who came forward to fill in the gaps was a 33-year-old single mother who had left her alcoholic husband to start life anew with her daughter.

Another was a 43-year-old lawyer who had battled endometriosis -- a condition in which the layer of tissue that normally covers the inside of the uterus grows outside of it -- for most of her adult life.

This was only the second wave of outpouring of personal stories.

The first was when Kundu announced on social media that she'd be putting together Status Single (Amaryllis), a book on the lives of single women in India.

The book was to feature about 1,500 stories, but the 40 notebooks Kundu used are a record of the 3,000 women who opened up to her.



IMAGE: Sreemoyee with designer Wendell Rodricks.

A journalist for several years, Kundu was a media strategist before she became a full-time author with her debut book, Faraway Music (Hachette India), published in 2013.

Single by choice, she celebrated her 40th birthday in Kolkata, the city of her birth, last December.

The event was a personal landmark, a celebration of her singlehood, a sign of survival in the face of all the comments and aspersions that follow single Indian women.

"Relatives tell my mother, 'She is so talented and successful, why can't she find a man?' Even well-meaning friends do that," says Kundu. "There are lots of statements like 'Let me find you a boy', all of which just patronise my marital status."

Then there are times when one's relationship status becomes the subject of misplaced curiosity and snide remarks.

For instance, on a trip to Sri Lanka with her parents, an immigration officer quizzed her about her single status and slyly remarked, 'So, you like all this, travelling all alone and having fun.'

Similarly, in 2015, when Kundu was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition, fibromyalgia, the disorder pushed her towards severe depression.

A doctor then remarked, 'You must be very lonely because you are unmarried.'

True to her unflinching self, Kundu shot back: 'Don't married people suffer from depression?', adding how the rate of suicide in India was highest among students and those who were married.

When she browses through the dating app Tinder and finds it frequented by married men, she wonders if monogamy is becoming obsolete, and why some of her single friends believe it is a bad idea to publicly acknowledge the fact that they frequent dating sites.



IMAGE: Sreemoyee posted this picture on Facebook with the following comment: 'Often I get asked what kind of man will be good for me? By sisters. Friends. Readers. As always I say like your make up artist. Here I am at my favourite MAC store in the city of my birth. Someone with a sense of style. Sensitive to my body. Understands my myriad moods and innumerable quirks. And my need for drama. The same way I need soft and sober. Who makes me laugh and tells me I am beautiful when I least feel it. Let's get this straight. A modern Indian single girl is not exactly looking for a Prince Charming on a white stallion. Coz we aren't the damsel in distress. We've done away with the notion of fairy tales and mythical castles and evil spells. We are strong. Sexy. Sufficient.'

Kundu's readers know all of this through her public posts, just as they know about how she broke up with the man she thought she'd marry at 24, about her struggles with fibromyalgia and about her dating experiences as well as the horrors of the 'arranged marriage market'.

"She's loyal and uninhibited. She is not afraid to speak her mind about the so-called taboo issues," says Kanishka Gupta, her literary agent.

These are traits that are carried over in her works of fiction too.

Sita's Curse (Hachette India), for instance, is sometimes called India's first feminist erotica.

It featured the sexual awakening of Meera Patel, a lower-middle-class housewife in Mumbai. The muse for Meera was a woman Kundu would often see on her way to work, a woman with long, dark hair who wore her sari Gujarati style.



IMAGE: With her latest book, Status Single.

Kundu's writing, much like its creator, defies the very idea of labels.

The book that followed next, Yo'vve Got the Wrong Girl (Hachette India), was 'lad lit', and described a man's journey in love.

"This was written at a time when all these young and handsome male authors were coming out of the woodwork to write romances. My inspiration for Dushyant (the protagonist) was these authors," says Kundu.

The writer has never had to stray very far for her stories, or the distinct colours they come with. This, she feels, is because of how she was brought up.

As a single child living with her then single mother and grandparents, Kundu grew up surrounded by books and Jamini Roys in an old haveli.

Some of Kundu's fondest memories are of this house, with corridors filled with "sepia-stained portraits of ancestors".

Like the time she first heard about cheese.

One of her mother's uncles had come by and recommended she read Heidi, Johanna Spyri's novel about a young girl growing up with her grandfather high up in the Swiss Alps.

As in the story, where Heidi's grandfather gives her her first cheese, Kundu would travel with her grandfather on a tram to New Market for her first slice of cheese in the 1980s.

Some of Kundu's first pieces of writing include letters to her deceased father. Putting together her imagination and love for writing, she says, were often the recourse of a lonely child.



IMAGE: Kundu's stories are as colourful as her big, bold, bindis.

Many, including Nandita Aggarwal, Kundu's former editor at Hachette, feel people find it easy to connect with her because she is candid about her own life; to follow her on social media is almost as good as knowing her in person.

"She has a very Oprah Winfrey-sque way of having people open up to her," says Aggarwal. "People tell her their stories because they know they won't be judged."

"It's very difficult to be so frank and real on social media when a world of unknown people can read your posts," says Ruam Mukherjee, a friend of the Kundu family. "She engages with people; she handles trolls well too."

In 2015, when the Bombay high court granted bail to Salman Khan in the 2002 hit-and-run case and suspended the five-year sentence awarded to him by the sessions court, Kundu took on the actor on Facebook -- and got badly trolled for it.

As she became a target for threats of unnerving degrees, she initially blocked these trolls. Later on, it was Kundu who was locked out of her Facebook account because others had 'reported' her.

To her surprise, a majority of her friends asked her why she continued to be so vocal online. Why not use the medium to just post movie reviews, participate in contests, play Candy Crush, flaunt selfies, quote great thinkers or post holiday albums, they said.

Today, as Kundu continues to speak her mind, she finds herself in the middle of a movement where women are coming forward to speak their minds -- even if it is through her words.

When Gupta, her agent, proposed the idea of putting together her experiences as a single woman, Kundu had asked him, 'Who's going to want to read my story?' He had replied, 'You'd be surprised.'

"I felt the story of single women in India told by an unabashedly feminist single woman would strike a chord with her readers," says Gupta.

As more and more women continue to write to Kundu about their experiences, despite the project being over, the book has clearly done that and more.

Now, as Status Single hits the shelves, Kundu has already started work on her memoir.

Meanwhile, she continues to share her stories online. And, all of these are as colourful as her big, bold, bindis.

Some days, these bindis match the colour of her saris; on other days they match the pictures her words paint.
Exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday asked India to play its role of "liberators" and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

China has warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges.

"Saying 'resolve things internally' is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see India's role positively: in '88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now," Nasheed tweeted.

Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party functions from Colombo, had appealed for India's help on Tuesday.

"We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence," Nasheed had tweeted.

In 1988, the then Maldivian president Abdul Gayoom had sought India's help to defeat a coup by mercenaries. India responded to his call and dispatched troops to the Maldives to restore order in the country. Most of the Indian soldiers returned home after order was restored in the island nation.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were "politically motivated and flawed".

Concerned over political crisis in Maldives, India, which is monitoring the situation very "closely", on Tuesday said it was "disturbed" on the declaration of the emergency by the Maldivian government and described as a matter of "concern" the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

Weighing its options in the fast deteriorating crisis in the Maldives, China has asked political parties in Maldives to find a solution without external intervention after UN, the US and India stepped pressure on Yameen to implement the Supreme Court ruling of setting the detained opposition leaders free.

"The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others," China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

Maldives' Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency.

In a late night development, the remaining three judges of the Supreme Court on Tuesday amended an order to release nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed.

In a statement, the judges said they were revoking the order to release the prisoners "in light of the concerns raised by the President".

The amendment to the ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1 also omits the part that says the case against the Supreme Court judges was not received by the Judicial Services Commission.

President Yameen welcomed the court's move to reinstate the convictions of high-profile political prisoners. He had accused the detained judges of plotting to overthrow him.

"I had to declare a national emergency because there was no other way to investigate these judges," Yameen said in a televised address to the nation last evening.

"We had to find out how thick the plot or coup was," he said, adding that the chief justice was trying to illegally impeach him and sack the attorney general.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has allied himself with the Opposition, was also detained at his home.

Nasheed had also asked the US to ensure that all American financial institutions stop all transactions of the Yameen regime's leaders.

Reacting to these developments, the US yesterday said it was "troubled" and "disappointed" by the declaration of a state of emergency by Yameen and asked him to comply with the rule of law and implement the Supreme Court ruling.

Nasheed, 50, the country's first democratically-elected leader -- was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terror charges in March 2015 over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency.

He was granted asylum in the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure.

Nasheed was narrowly defeated in 2013 by President Yameen. Nasheed says his conviction on terror charges was politically motivated.

The Maldivian government holds that Nasheed is convicted for a crime and is wanted in the Maldives to serve a jail sentence. Nasheed said he will seek UN support to ensure he is allowed to contest this year's election.

IMAGE: Maldivian Police officers stand guard near the MDP (Maldives Democratic Party) opposition party headquarters after Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency for 15 days, in Male, on Tuesday. Photograph: Stringer/Reuters
A special court in New Delhi on Wednesday sent Indrani Mukerjea, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, to 14 days judicial custody in connection with a case related to INX Media.

Special Central Bureua of Investigation Judge Sunil Rana remanded Indrani to judicial custody after the CBI said she was not required for further custodial interrogation in this case.

Indrani, who was produced before the court after two-day CBI custody ended, will be taken to Mumbai on Wednesday itself.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram's son Karti's name has also cropped up in the case, which relates to Foreign Investment Promotion Board approval granted in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media.

Indrani is one of the founders of INX Media.

The CBI had earlier said Indrani was required to be questioned and confronted with other accused in the case.

There are voluminous records in the case and permission to interrogate had been granted earlier as well, it had said.

The Mumbai Police had told the court that Indrani has to be produced before a Mumbai court on February 13 and cannot be kept in Delhi beyond that.

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case against INX Media, its founders Peter Mukerjea, former media baron, and his wife Indrani, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

INX Media has been accused of violating FIPB guidelines while receiving investments from Mauritius.

The Mukerjeas are facing trial in Mumbai for allegedly conspiring to kill Sheena Bora, Indrani's daughter from an earlier relationship, in April 2012.
The All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen chief Asaduddin Owaisi's demand for a law providing jail-term for calling Indian Muslims 'Pakistani' triggered a controversial reply from Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vinay Katiyar, who said Muslims should not live in India at all.

On Tuesday, while participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the President's Address, Owaisi had said that there should be a law to make the offence punishable by three years of imprisonment.

He, however, also added that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government would not bring such a bill in the Parliament.

Katiyar on Wednesday, launching a scathing attack on Owaisi, said that the Muslims divided the country in the name of religion, hence they should leave.

"... Muslims should not live in this country. They divided the country in the name of religion, what is the need of living in this country? They should go to Bangladesh or Pakistan. What are they living here for? he said.

Commenting further, Katiyar said that there should be a bill that punishes those who do not respect Vande Matram and insult the national flag.

"Those who hoist the Pakistani flag, they should be punished," Katiyar told ANI.
The rocket is the first step in Musk's ambitious dream to send humans to Mars and establish a colony on the planet.

IMAGE: SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from historic launchpad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Centre in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday. Photograph: Thom Baur/Reuters



Business tycoon Elon Musk's SpaceX has created history by successfully launching the Falcon Heavy rocket, the most powerful operational rocket in the world, into outer space.

The rocket, which is on its course to the orbit of planet Mars, is the first step in Musk's ambitious dream to send humans to Mars and establish a colony on the planet.

The rocket made its successful launch at 3.45 pm Eastern time (2.15 am IST on Wednesday) from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and SpaceX offered a live coverage of the whole process.

Test rockets typically carry a dummy payload, and Musk chose his cherry red Tesla Roadster along with a dummy driver inside for the ambitious mission.

As the rocket shot off to outer space, the tree Falcon 9 boosters attached to the engine attempted to land at three different sites back on Earth.

IMAGE: Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost. Photograph: Joe Skipper/Reuters

While the two side boosters successfully landed back, the landing of core booster that was supposed to land on SpaceX's drone ship in the Atlantic is yet to be ascertained as the smoke obscured the camera view.

Falcon Heavy can lift more than twice the payload of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost -- about $90 million per launch compared to $350 million for its competitor.

The Falcon Heavy is essentially three smaller, Falcon 9 rockets strapped together, adding up to a total of 27 engines.

The 230-foot (70-meter) tall rocket is designed to carry nearly 1,41,000 pounds (64 metric tonnes) into orbit  more than the mass of a fully loaded 737 jetliner.

IMAGE: Experts said the successful launch would likely persuade NASA to consider using the rocket as a way to fast-track its next mission to the Moon. Photograph: Thom Baur/Reuters

It was initially designed to restore the possibility of sending humans to the Moon or Mars, but those plans have shifted and now the Falcon Heavy is being considered mainly as a potential equipment carrier to these deep space destinations, Musk had said on Monday.

Experts said the launch would likely catch the eye of National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which may consider using the rocket as a way to fast-track its mission to the Moon.

The Falcon Heavy was launched from the same NASA pad that was the base for the Apollo-era Moon missions of the 1960s and 1970s.

Live streaming of Tesla roadster in space

The SpaceX's live video also cut to a shot inside Musk's Tesla roadster that showed the words 'DON'T PANIC!' written on the dashboard.

IMAGE: A still from SpaceX's live webcast showing Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster in an orbit around Earth. Photograph: Courtesy SpaceX.com

The webcast showed the car soaring into space, as David Bowie's Space Oddity played in the background.

Musk posted a video of the car on Twitter after launch, in which he can be heard laughing in the background as a camera behind the mannequin's head shows the car apparently in orbit around Earth.

He later posted another video showing a live view of Starman appearing to cruise, its gloved hand on the wheel, through the darkness of space, the Earth's image reflected on its glossy red surface.

IMAGE: Musk posted another video calling it 'live view of Starman', where the car appears to cruise through the darkness of space. Photograph: Courtesy SpaceX.com

The car was also outfitted with a high-data storage unit containing Isaac Asimov's science fiction book series, the Foundation Trilogy, and a plaque bearing the names of 6,000 SpaceX employees.

Most powerful operational rocket

It is 'the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two', SpaceX said.

But the Falcon Heavy is not the most powerful rocket ever -- just the biggest in operation today.

The Saturn V rocket that propelled astronauts to the Moon could deliver more payload to orbit.

The Soviet-era Energia, which flew twice in 1987 and 1988, was also more powerful.

With agency inputs
United States President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand military parade, the White House has said, an unusual move aimed at showcasing the muscle power of the country.

A parade showcasing the military strength of a country is a common thing for many countries like China, France and India.

But there is no such annual parade in the United States, which is militarily the most powerful country of the world.

"President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defence to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation," the White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said.

According to The Washington Post, Trump's interest in having a large-scale military parade now is likely to receive a mixed reception, especially among those who are concerned about nationalism, militarism or the president's past praise for authoritarian leaders.

The tradition stretches back centuries, but has been typically been tied to the conclusion of wars, the daily said.

The last such parade was held in Washington DC in June 1991 at the end of the Gulf War. The parade was then held on the Constitution Avenue.

Trump now wants this to be an annual feature.

The Pentagon and the White House are exploring various options.

Such an idea first came to Trump when he attended France's Bastille Day celebrations last year.

"It was one of the greatest parades I have ever seen. It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France," he told reporters then.

"We are going to have to try to top it," he added.

The President reportedly asked for this during a meeting with his commanders and Defence Secretary on January 18.

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential.

"This is being worked at the highest levels of the military," the official was quoted as saying by the daily.

"We are aware of the request and are in the process of determining specific details. We will share more information throughout the planning process," the Defence Department spokesman Thomas Crosson said in a statement.

Image: The US Army band "Pershing's Own" marches in the parade carrying US President Donald Trump following his inauguration in Washington on January 21, 2017. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters
Disclaimer

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.
Title Ukraine: Law No. 1706-VII, on Ensuring Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons

Publication Date November 2014

Country Ukraine

Cite as Ukraine: Law No. 1706-VII, on Ensuring Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons [Ukraine], November 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5a7af1d54.html [accessed 13 September 2021]

Comments This legislation is only available in its original in Ukrainian that includes amendments up to 27 March 2018. Please see the attachments for an unofficial translation of an earlier version of this legislation.
Contributed photo

WEST CORNWALL  On Saturday February 10th at 5 pm, Hevreh Ensemble will present a Cabin Fever fundraiser concert to help support the groups upcoming trip to Poland in June 2018. The concert will be held Saturday at 5 p.m., at the Souterrain Gallery of the Wish House in West Cornwall. Admission is $40 per person and includes a wine reception. Reservations are requested. Email hevrehmusic@gmail.com or call 860-435-2144

The Hevreh Ensemble was formed in 2004, by Oboist Judith Dansker. Since that time, the ensemble has performed throughout the United States and Europe at such places as the Newport Chamber Music Festival, The Northampton Center for the Arts, Harlem School of the Arts, The Hudson River Museum, Synagogue for The Arts- NYC, Hofstra University- Emily Lowe Art Gallery,DROM/NYC, The National Yiddish Book Center and St. Marks in the Bowery, NYC.
SALISBURY  A local Democrat and Board of Finance member has announced her candidacy for the 64th District House seat held by Republican Brian Ohler.

Maria Horn, of Salisbury, said she is reacting to the needs and political climate of the moment. After the November 2016 election, she worried about Republican efforts at the national level to tear at and dismantle the social safety net.

If youre afraid of a health-care crisis just completely wiping your family out like Russian roulette, youre not going to be able to take a new job. Youre not going to be able to start a new business. Youre not going to be able to take a risk, take the time that your child is in the right school, is getting a good education, said Horn. Youre not going to be able to do any of those things. If we cant provide basic, stable security for the people of our state, then thats like putting handcuffs on them. That is, ultimately, what tipped me over to paying a lot of attention to state government.

Horn has spent her professional life as a standard-bearer for the causes near-and-dear to her, she said Monday  both as a federal prosecutor in New York and in the nonprofit world.

In recent years, she has been largely concerned with the latter. Among other roles, she is the current president of the Indian Mountain School Board of Trustees and a board member at the Sharon-based Womens Support Services.

She announced her candidacy to represent the 64th District, which includes Falls Village, Kent, Cornwall, Sharon, Salisbury, Norfolk, North Canaan and portions of Goshen and Torrington, this past weekend.

If elected, she said she would hope to institute long-term investment and change in Connecticut, aiming to create attractive, viable communities for businesses and residents, instead of short-term budget cuts and passing issues down to municipalities.

Horn noted health care, including the opiate crisis; the importance of providing a quality education for each child in public schools; and aiding policies that lead to economic growth as issues meaningful to her.

Politics is not identity-based for her, she said  its about the specifics of the issues at hand.

Raised in a Republican household, she became a Democrat with an eye toward the value of realistic, evidence-based policies, concerned the party of her youth was leaving them behind.

For me, being a Democrat is a series of issues that I believe in. Its not a label; its not red team versus blue team, said Horn. Its about looking expressly at the particular issues that were working on and trying to find common ground  some of them should be bipartisan.

In the nonprofit world, Horn said she sought to build constituencies and bring together a disparate group of volunteers for a common cause.

As a federal prosecutor, she strove to do the right thing and determine the truth. The job required her to be persuasive to juries of varied backgrounds and beliefs and to build and maintain credibility over time.

Youre a repeat player  your credibility, your accountability are extremely important, she said. They remember you from the last time you were there, so if you dont back up what you said the first time, theyre going to not believe you the next time. I think that sort of lesson in being consistent and credible and accountable and following through on what youre going to do is very important.

Horn said her husbands ties to the area brought her to Salisbury. Hesitant at first, she said she has fallen in love with the Northwest Corner and gotten to know people who are civic-minded, with hidden depths and experiences.

Horn said shes excited to have the chance to meet and speak with people as part of her campaign, particularly those invested in their communities. She said she likes incumbent Ohler, of North Canaan, and has no intention of attacking him in her campaign. Ohler was elected for his first term in office in November 2016, succeeding longtime state Rep. Roberta Willis.

Horn said she would be an effective champion for the causes at hand.

Im good at listening to other people; Im good at synthesizing issues; and Im good at advocating for them, said Horn. I have been an advocate, of one form or another, all my life.

More information about Horns campaign is available at https://www.mariaisrunning.com/ and her Facebook page, facebook.com/mariaisrunning/.

Parties have until May 29 to choose candidates for the November 2018 election.

Reach Ben Lambert at william.lambert@hearstmediact.com.
What better way to show your Valentine and loved ones how special they are on Feb. 14 than by giving the gift of chocolate truffles, bean-to-bar artisan chocolate, or confections you made especially for them?

Speaking of bean-to-bar, while going up and down the aisles at the Fancy Food Show last summer, I was overwhelmed by the number of bean-to-bar chocolatiers. I predict this is the next movement in the artisanal food world. Like craft beer, specialty coffee, and bread before it, this small-batch industry is growing by leaps and bounds. American craft chocolate sales are $100 million annually and growing.

During my food travels, Ive had opportunities to see how chocolatiers such as Norman Love (yes, this is his last name) Confections and William Dean create their renowned chocolates. I visited Art Eatables in Louisville, Ky. while attending the 2017 International Association of Culinary Professionals conference. Their specialty is matching chocolate that accents the character of bourbons (and there are many, being Kentuckys most famous spirit) they use to create small-batch bourbon truffles. During my Asheville, N.C. food exploration, a visit was made to French Broad Chocolates (named after one of the oldest rivers in the world, which runs through Asheville). In their small factory, they roast, crack, winnow, grind and temper chocolate in small batches, using cacao that originates from small farmers. This process and relationship with growers create a deeper connection with the sources. At their chocolate lounge I found myself putting my nose to glass cases showcasing their confections made with their chocolates. This is something that I have been doing recently at chocolate shops as Valentines Day approaches. I guess, I am that kid in the candy store.

Most recently, while working on 2018s Hidden Gems of Florida feature (keep an eye out for it), I visited Castronovo Chocolate Factory in Stuart, Fla. Denise Castronovo has taken home the gold medal several times in the International Chocolate Awards for her bean-to-bar chocolate bars. One bite of the Colombia Sierra Nevada bar; no wonder it was the gold winner of the International Chocolate Awards World Finals in 2016 and gold winner of the 2016 Academy of Chocolate Awards.

Books that Castronovo has on display caught my attention (in addition to her decadent chocolates), since it was a book I was planning to feature here for Valentines Day. A sample copy for visitors to peruse, complete with sticky notes, piqued my curiosity. Those highlighted pages showcased the winning bar and information about this chocolatier.

Bean to Bar: Americas Craft Chocolate Revolution, the Origins, the Makers, the Mind-Blowing Flavors, by Megan Giller (2017, Storey Publishing, $19.95), is your primer to everything you wanted to know about chocolate but were afraid to ask. Her blog, Chocolate Noise, was a 2016 Saveur Food Blog Awards Finalist. Megan offers private chocolate tasting classes, hosts underground Chocolate Salons, teaches classes at shops across the U.S. and judges at chocolate competitions.

If you are curious about the bean-to-bar movement, she demystifies it and explains the process. I learned what to look for in a chocolate bar and chocolatiers to watch. Wonder how cocoa beans from Venezuela differ from beans from Madagascar, or what is dark milk chocolate, and who makes the best?, Giller has you covered. Heres a fun ideatake her suggestions on how to hold a chocolate tasting, with advice on pairing chocolate with coffee, tea, beer, spirits, bread and cheese. I enjoyed her explanation of why chocolate shouldnt cost a dollar. Her answer?, she writes, $14 can still seem like a big investment. However, Id say thats a pretty low price point to buy the best food of its kind in the world. The best wines retail for hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars. Caviar? Forget about it. Spending an average of $10 on a bar that Ill taste over the course of several days or a week seems well worth it to me. I must agree with her food (or should I say chocolate) for thought; the Castronovo bars that I purchased weeks ago are still being savored. Of course the bars are works of art, but so too are the distinctive wrappings, many worthy of framing.

And now, what youve been waiting forthe recipes. Several top chefs and chocolatiers have contributed some of the recipes. You just might decide to make one for your Valentine. From Champurrado drinking chocolate to olive oil sourdough truffles to Devil Dogs and the recipes below for Ceylon tea fudge sauce and Mayan chocolate mousse, these decadent treats defy expectations of what chocolate should taste like. For recipes for Balsamic Strawberries in Mini Chocolate Cups and Triple Chocolate Chunk Cookies visit http://bit.ly/2DP3YnH.

Ceylon Tea Fudge Sauce

Adapted from Earl Grey Fudge Sauce in the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook, by Christina Tosi

The headnote says, Chocolate and Teago together like Beyonce and Jay Z: great on their own, unstoppable together. Thats why I love this recipe, which uses a tea that pairs well with chocolate to make a delicious fudge sauce with a twist. I based the recipe on one from Christina Tosi, one of my favorite pastry chefs and the amazing force behind Momofuku Milk Bar in New York City. This fudge sauce has a strong tea flavor, so it isnt strictly necessary to use a single-origin chocolate, as unique flavors will be hidden behind the taste of the tea. If you do, Id go with something mild and very chocolaty, like Venezuela, but a blend will work just as well. Pour this on top of the next sundae you make and youll never go back to that stuff in a bottle again.

1 tablespoon Ceylon tea

Pinch of ground cinnamon

1/4 cup heavy cream, plus a few tablespoons extra

2 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder

2 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

1 ounce chocolate (65 to 70 percent cocoa), chopped

1/4 cup glucose syrup

Combine the tea and cinnamon in a heatproof bowl. Heat  cup of the heavy cream in a saucepan just to boiling. Pour the hot cream over the tea and cinnamon and let infuse for 5 minutes. Strain the cream into a measuring cup. Add enough fresh heavy cream to bring the volume back up to 1/4 cup. Pour the cream back into the saucepan and warm over medium heat. Add the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt, and whisk until thoroughly combined. Combine the chopped chocolate and glucose syrup in a bowl. Pour in the warm cream mixture and let sit for 1 minute to soften. Using a spatula, start slowly stirring the sauce from the center in concentric circles, speeding up as it starts to get shinier and shinier, until it achieves a fudge sauce consistency, about 2 to 4 minutes. Pour over ice cream, brownies, or whatever you desire, and enjoy! The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container. Do not freeze. Serves 2-4

Mayan Chocolate Mousse

Recipe from Lauren Adler, chief chocophile, and the Chocolopolis team.

The headnote says, Lauren recommends using chocolate made with cocoa from Belize (especially Tazas single-origin bar), though any fruity chocolate will work.

Mousse

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1  teaspoons whole allspice berries

4 tablespoons cultured butter (preferably 84 percent butterfat, softened)

4  ounces dark chocolate (70 to 77 percent cocoa, chopped)

5 eggs

3 tablespoons ultrafine sugar

Whipped cream

1 cup heavy whipping cream, very cold

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ground allspice or black pepper, for garnish

To make the mousse, combine the cream and allspice berries in a small saucepan and warm over low heat until the cream around the edge of the saucepan begins to boil. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Cover the top of the pan tightly with plastic wrap to hold in the flavorful vapors of the allspice. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the flavors infuse. Then remove the plastic wrap and fish out the allspice berries.

Combine the butter and chocolate in a medium bowl and microwave at high power for 30 seconds. Check to see if they have melted. If not, microwave in intervals of 10 seconds until they are melted. Add the cream to the melted chocolate and mix well.

Separate the eggs into yolks and whites. Set the whites in the refrigerator to keep them chilled. Whip the egg yolks into the chocolate and cream mixture until theyre just incorporated. With a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the ultra-fine sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form.

Gently fold one-quarter of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then fold in the remaining egg whites.

Dish the mousse into six 4-ounce ramekins, cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator to chill for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.

Immediately before serving, make the whipped cream: Combine the whipping cream with the sugar and vanilla in a bowl. With a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Be careful not to over-whip or youll end up with a butter-like consistency. Spoon or pipe the whipped cream on top of the ramekins. Garnish with a sprinkle of allspice or black pepper. Serves 6

Send your requests: Which restaurant recipes or other recipes would you like to have? Which food products are you having difficulty finding? Do you have cooking questions? Send them to: Stephen Fries, professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, at gw-stephen.fries@gwcc.commnet.edu or Dept. FC, Gateway Community College, 20 Church St., 06510. Include your full name, address and phone number. Due to volume, he might not be able to publish every request. For more, go to stephenfries.com.

CULINARY CALENDAR

5th Annual Febtoberfest, Feb. 8, 6-9 p.m., Mattituck Museum, 144 West Main St. Waterbury, (203) 753-0381. $35 in advance, $40 at the door. In addition to local breweries, guests will have the opportunity to sample American wine from the region and beyond. Tickets at http://bit.ly/2ncHF5k.

Food & Wine Tasting, Feb. 8, 5:30 p.m., Fletcher Cameron Kitchens, 91 Orange St., New Haven, 203-777-7707. $35. Chef Anne Gallagher, owner of a farm-to-table catering company in Litchfield demonstrates how to make winter soups. An educational guided wine tasting by The Wine Thief will be offered. Info and tickets at http://bit.ly/2Dr7dWF.

CT Craft Beer Fest presented by CT Brewers Guild., Feb. 17, 4-8 p.m. Oakdale Theatre, 95 S. Turnpike Road., Wallingford. General admission $30, designated driver tickets $15. Guests receive a commemorative tasting glass. More than 40 Connecticut breweries. Food available for purchase. Live Music performed by Cleo Blue. Must be 21 or older to consume alcohol. For participating breweries, more information and tickets visit http://bit.ly/2rVPOQk

Consiglios Cooking Demonstration and Dinner: Feb. 22, 6:30 p.m., Consiglios Restaurant, 165 Wooster St., New Haven, 203-865-4489 (reservations required), $65 (beverages, tax and gratuity not included). Preparation of a 4-course meal is demonstrated. Each course is shown, step-by-step, and then served. Learn how to make some of Consiglios trademark dishes: Oysters Rockefeller, baby spinach bacon orange pine nut vinaigrette, homemade lobster ravioli plum tomato cream sauce, white chocolate creme brulee.

Wines and More of Milford: Fratelli's 6-course Italian Wine Dinner, Feb. 26, 6:30 pm, Fratelli's Italian Restaurant, 248 New Haven Ave., Milford. 203-876-1600. $75 includes tax and gratuity. http://bit.ly/2nth0k7
The Torrington Police Department reported the following arrests:

DUI: Frederick J. Lovato, 59, of 144 Fairlawn Drive, Torrington, was arrested Feb. 3 and charged with illegally operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs. He was released on a $500 bond and scheduled to appear in court Feb. 13.

NARCOTICS: Michael Carroll, 47, of 72 Meadow St., Winchester, was arrested Jan. 31 and charged with possession of narcotics, failure to obey traffic control signals and use of drug paraphernalia. He was released on a $2,500 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington Feb. 13.

PARAPHERNALIA: Anita Noreika, 45, of 412 South Main St., Apartment 3, Torrington, was arrested Jan. 31 and charged with use of drug paraphernalia. She was held in lieu of a $1,000 surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington Feb. 1.

LARCENY: Robert White, 68, of 74 Taft Circle, Watertown, was arrested on a warrant stemming from Nov. 10 and charged with fourth-degree larceny. He was released on a $2,500 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in court Feb. 20.

FAILURE TO APPEAR: Latoya K. Morrison, 26, of 10 Bella Drive, Waterbury, was arrested Feb. 6 and charged with second-degree failure to appear. She was given $1,000 bond.

DUI: Erick Rodriguez, 32, of 330 Highland Ave., Torrington, was arrested Feb. 1 and charged with illegally operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drugs and improper turn/stop  no signal. He was released on a $2,500 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington Feb. 15.

CRIMINAL TRESPASSING: Destiny S. Coble, 36, of 26 Castlewood Lane, Torrington, was arrested on a warrant stemming from Dec. 13 and charged with first-degree criminal trespassing. She was released on a $15,000 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in court Feb. 13.

ASSAULT: Sebastian Bloom, 32, of 260 East Main St., Torrington, was arrested Feb. 6 and charged with second-degree breach of peace, third-degree assault, interfering with an officer/resisting arrest, use/possession of drug paraphernalia  more than a half-ounce of marijuana and first-degree criminal trespassing. He was held in lieu of $1,500 surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington Feb. 20.

BREACH OF PEACE: Nicholas Weston, 46, of 395 South Main St., Torrington, was arrested Feb. 6 and charged with second-degree breach of peace. He was released on a $1,500 non-surety bond and scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Torrington Feb. 7.

BREACH OF PEACE: Kristopher Coons, 34, of 395 South Main St., first apartment, Torrington, was arrested Feb. 6 and charged with second-degree breach of peace. He was given a $1,500 bond and scheduled to appear in court Feb. 7.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL -- (ReleaseWire) -- 02/07/2018 --There is nothing more satisfying than biting into a cheesy pizza and ordering one from Big Louie's Pizzeria is going to lift one's mood considerably. While the classic Sicilian pizza may thrill, the other varieties delight the pizza lover too and in more ways than one.



The specials are to die for with its big slices and mouthwatering toppings. No wonder the consumer feels like a king when presented with the impressive menu. The best pizza in Pompano Beach and Fort is not to be missed at any cost though whether one is a resident or a visitor of the area.



Made with loving care and immaculate skills by the Italian chefs at Big Louie's Pizzeria, the food is sure to spoil one completely. Such is its appeal that neither the Italians nor the Americans can resist biting into the juicy slice of pizza the instant it is served or delivered. Sure, dining- in can be so much fun as the menu is not restricted to pizzas today. Happily, a student or hard-working executive can have one's choice of authentic Italian dishes by ordering over the phone or only by a click online.



The comfort food coupled with genuine taste and affordable rates makes Big Louie's Pizzeria stand out heads & shoulders above its competitors at present. Its no wonder therefore that the residents living in the area do not hesitate to place catering orders at Big Louie's Pizzeria whether it is a birthday party or a graduation ceremony or a joyful occasion of celebrating one's career progress.



Pasta, calzones, Subs and desserts, Big Louie's Pizzeria serves them all along with delicious pizzas in every variety imaginable.



Call 954-616-8716 to place an order or visit http://www.biglouiepizzafortlauderdale.com/ for what is served more at this pizzeria in Fort Lauderdale and Pompano Beach Florida.



About Big Louie's Pizzeria

Big Louie's Pizzeria has been serving delicious Italian food including the most delightful and authentic pizzas across South Florida since 1986. It has won the prestigious South Florida Magazine Reader's Choice Award for serving the best pizza in Broward County.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Anglo American said it is still committed to investing in South Africa as there is no better place than the country, which is Africas most developed economy.

The groups deputy chairperson in South Africa Norman Mbazima said they had made significant contributions to the local economy and would continue doing so in future.

Take [for example] our $2 billion investment in the Venetia Underground extension through De Beers, which represents the single largest investment in diamond mining in many years in South Africa, he told the Mining Indaba in Cape Town.

Anglo had an 85 percent stake in De Beers.

Venetia Mine was expected to shift from open pit mining in 2023 to steady-state underground production in 2026. It would expand the life of the mine from 2023 to 2045.

De Beers had initially noted that underground operations would begin production in 2021, yielding approximately 96 million carats during the life of the mine.

Meanwhile, Mbazima said the relationship between the countrys Department of Mineral Resources and industry was at an all-time low.

The issues that need to be resolved are comprehensive and can only be resolved by dialogue and engagement to arrive at a regulatory regime that works for everyone, he said.

we are very encouraged by Deputys President Cyril Ramaphosas comments at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos that urgent action is needed to resolve the current Mining Charter impasse.

I am very hopeful that with the improvement in the political environment that we have seen since December, we can now find the reset button and get back around the table.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau from Cape Town, South Africa, Rough&Polished




State-owned Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) has dispelled reports that new diamond deposits have been discovered in Chiredzi, south-east Zimbabwe.

The Herald newspaper reports that hundreds of illegal miners had descended on Chiredzi following reports that some artisanal miners had picked diamonds in the area.

ZCDC being a mandated diamond mining company in Zimbabwe sent a team of Geologists to investigate whether they are real diamonds and to assess the potential of the geology of the area to host diamonds, said acting chief executive officer Morris Mpofu.

The stones are not diamonds but quartz ranging from clear, milky quartz with iron stains to smoky quartz.

The quartz averaged 10mm in size, the dolerite on the surface has a honeycomb structure with quartz growth inside. The geological formation of the area is not kimberlitic but amygdaloidal basalt or dolerite which do not host diamonds.

Former mines minister Walter Chidhakwa told Rough & Polished last year that ZCDC was doing some exploration work around Harare, the Chihota area as well as in Chimanimani and Penhalonga.



Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau from Cape Town, South Africa, Rough&Polished




(Agencia CMA Latam) - The Brazilian bank Itau Unibanco still foresees a nebulous scenario for the recovery in the local credit demand recovery by large companies, said the bank's chairman Candido Bracher.

According to him, there were still many companies renegotiating loans earlier this year, and it is complex to estimate the impact of those renegotiations over allowances for loan losses.

"Some companies are renegotiating credit and are still defaulting, which may require more provisions in 2018," he said.



Camila de Lira / Agencia CMA



Translation by Ricardo Gozzi

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
(Agencia CMA Latam) - The President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, said that "everything is set to sign a peace agreement" with the opposition to his government after talks held in the Dominican Republic.

"All voices that are willing to collaborate in the strengthening of democratic dialogue are welcome. It is all set to sign the agreement with the opposition," the head of state wrote on his Twitter account.

Last December, both sides delegations resumed talks in the Dominican Republic with a six-point agenda.

On January 31, representatives of the government and opposition signed an act of progress for the agreement, paving the way for a deal in the midst of the economic and social crisis in the country.

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
American economist Nouriel Roubini predicted that the price of bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, will plummet to zero.

In his twitter posts on Tuesday, Roubini, also known as "Dr Doom" for his negative economic outlooks, warned investors, saying HODL nuts will hold their bitcoins till reaching the final point.

"As expected Bitcoin now crashes below $6000. Now the $5K handle is reached.... HODL nuts will hold their melting Bitcoins all the way down to ZERO while scammers and whales dump and run...," he said.

He used the term HODL or hold on for dear life, which is a phrase popular in online forums often used for people holding rather than selling during extreme volatility in the digital currency market.

He also claimed that some traders will use a market manipulation tactic known as wash trading to prop up the bitcoin price, and asked if the authorities will look into this practice.

Last week, Roubini, a professor of economics at Stern School, part of the New York University, as well as the chairman of Roubini Macro Associates, had called bitcoin the biggest bubble in human history.

In the last few days, cryptocurrencies were going through major sell-off, reflecting many negative developments in the market, including ban from Facebook, India, and on credit card purchase of coins amid the regulatory actions around the world.

Bitcoin on Tuesday fell below $6,000 for the first time since mid-November. Later, the prices of major cryptocurrencies started gaining again.

At coinmarketcap, bitcoin was at $7,459.37 as of 11.55 pm ET, up 18.5 percent; ethereum was at $755.16, up 24 percent; and Ripple was trading up 19 percent at $0.74.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Vice President Mike Pence has announced that the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea.

"We have brought unprecedented diplomatic and economic pressure to bear on North Korea through our maximum pressure campaign," the Vice President said at a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Wednesday.

Pence made it clear that Washington will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all.

Pence completed his first day in Japan where he met with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, participated in a bilateral meeting and a joint press conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and reaffirmed the United States' unwavering commitment to the United States-Japan alliance.

The Vice President's day began with a visit to the Japanese Ministry of Defense.

Thursday, the Vice President will travel to Yokota Air Base to receive a briefing on US-Japan bilateral ballistic defense capabilities and address the members of both the Armed Forces.

He will then travel to Seoul to further discuss security and stability on the Korean Peninsula. Vice President Pence and the Second Lady will also lead the U.S. Delegation to the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeonchang to reinforce the strong U.S. presence on the Korean Peninsula and send a clear message of American resolve to the North Korean regime, the White House said.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
Bitcoin price is making a slow recovery after hitting new lows, falling below $6000 on Tuesday. After the U.S. Senate Banking committee heard testimony from the chairmen of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), that set a positive tone, the bitcoin price recovered to trade at about $8200.

Here is a wrap up of the main cryptocurrency news over the last 24 hours.

Venezuela President Proposes Oil-backed Cryptocurrency for OPEC

Maduro is floating the idea of oil-backed cryptocurrency for OPEC after introducing the same in Venezuela's . The anti-American leader claims petro will help ease the country's economic crisis, and circumvent U.S.-led sanctions. An official petro white paper that Maduro unveiled last week says that the government will issue 100 million oil-backed Petro units, out of which 38.4 million will be available for sale from February 20.

Royal Family of Liechtenstein Interested in Blockchain

Crown Prince Alois of Liechtenstein, the German-speaking microstate in Central Europe, said the royal family is not averse to investing in cryptocurrencies. Speaking to CNBC, he said blockchain will change a lot of things and it could help in better administration. Economically, Liechtenstein has one of the highest GDP per person in the world.

Warren Buffett's BNSF Railway Joins Blockchain in Transport Alliance

BNSF Railway, owned by Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, has joined the Blockchain in Transport Alliance (BiTA), a forum of 200 freight transportation companies aiming to develop blockchain standards and education for the freight industry. They will work together to set standards for what data goes into the freight transportation blockchain, structure and format of data, and cases where blockchain would be used.

BIS chief Carstens sees gloomy future for Bitcoin

Augustin Carstens, General Manager of the BIS said the digital currency has become a combination of a bubble, Ponzi scheme, and an environmental disaster. He said the authorities had a duty to protect consumers and ensure that cryptocurrencies could not be used to evade tax, launder money or finance criminal activities.

Lino's Blockchain-based Decentralized Video Community

Cupertino, California-based tech startup Lino has raised $20 million in funding to create a video distribution network with blockchain . it aims to create a decentralized means of distribution, which will ensures all content value is directly distributed to content creators without going through a privately owned entity as a middleman.

Nouriel Roubini says Bitcoin Price will plummet to zero

"As expected Bitcoin now crashes below $6000. Now the $5K handle is reached.... HODL nuts will hold their melting Bitcoins all the way down to ZERO while scammers and whales dump and run...," he said. He also claimed that some traders will use a market manipulation tactic known as wash trading to prop up the bitcoin price, and asked if the authorities will look into this practice.

Current Prices

As of this writing, Bitcoin is trading at $8,200 and Ethereum at $817 on Coinbase.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Ozzy Osbourne has announced he will embark on his final world tour in April.

The two-year series of gigs is dubbed "No More Tours 2," with apparent reference to his ill-fated retirement bid called "No More Tours" in the early Nineties.

The Prince of Darkness made it clear at a press conference at his LA home that this is not retirement but he will be going on tour for one final time.

"I'm not going on tour for six months at a time anymore. I'd like to spend some time at home," he told Rolling Stones separately.

The world tour kicks off this summer in Florida on April 29 before crossing to Mexico.

Then comes the Latin American leg, in which he will tour Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

There will be a timeout in Europe over the summer playing a string of festivals including Rockfest, Impact and Download.

The 69-year-old pop star will return to US in August with a show in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and will wrap up in Las Vegas in October.

Ozzy, with a music career spanning half a century, says he couldn't believe it is 40 years since he has been performing solo.

Sale of tickets for the North American leg will begin on February 17, with pre-sales beginning Valentine's Day.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Political News
(Agencia CMA Latam) - Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos said during his meeting with the United States Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, that he deems as urgent to "restore the democratic path" in Venezuela and criticized the scheduled elections in the neighboring country. Santos added that the acute crisis in Venezuela implies "repercussions for Colombia and the entire region."

"The serious humanitarian situation that the dictatorial regime refuses to recognize now adds the call for presidential elections, elections that for us would not be valid because they offer no guarantees, none," said the Colombian president.

Tillerson thanked Colombia's efforts to alleviate the critical situation suffered by Venezuelans who are arriving in the country. He also noted that Colombia has been "a very important player" in the process of finding solutions to the situation in Venezuela and said that it would work jointly with other countries in the region through the Lima Group towards democracy in that country.

"Our only goal is to ensure that the institutional framework is respected and to hold free and fair elections so that the Venezuelan people can express their opinions," Tillerson said during a joint press conference.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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(Agencia CMA Latam) - The delegation of Venezuela's government on Tuesday signed the agreement for peace and coexistence proposed to opposition representatives in the framework of the peace talks held in the Dominican Republic. However, the opposition refused to sign the document.

The opposition bloc Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) claimed that "until now there is no agreement with the government."

The document, signed by the president of the National Constituent Assembly, Delcy Rodriguez, and the diplomat Roy Chaderton, both of the government's delegation, sets guarantees and electoral timetable, as well as establishes the ground to issues such as respect for the rule of law, economic situation, Truth Commission and the establishment of a supervision group to the agreements.

Upon his departure from the meeting with the opposition in Santo Domingo, the head of the government delegation, Jorge Rodriguez, denounced the pressure exerted by a call from the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, to the leader of the mission opposition, Julio Borges, as the cause of the refusal.

"We remain open to this process of dialogue, and we insist on calling all political forces of Venezuela to this dialogue," said the head of the government delegation.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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Economic News

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(Agencia CMA Latam) - The "Western War Front," a branch of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, announced on Wednesday that its soldiers would impose land and river blockades between February 10 and 13. The threat was announced as an act of rejection of the government's refusal to resume peace talks in Quito, Ecuador.

According to the information released by the group in its Twitter account, "transporters and passengers" were warned to "refrain" from traveling this weekend and "avoid inconveniences."

The ELN branch claimed that "state terrorism moves on and the social persecution increased." They also said that the blockades would be extended to "roads and rivers, and sea and air routes."

The guerrilla threat comes amid the suspension of the fifth round of talks with the government. The peace talks were suspended after the end of a bilateral ceasefire.

Last week, the ELN guerrilla group announced that its military actions would continue until a new ceasefire with the Colombian government is agreed.

The guerrillas claimed that before the end of the ceasefire, on January 9, the Colombian Army had been expanding its presence and taking military advantage in several of the regions where the ELN is active. According to the group, the Army has now increased the persecution and attacks against its units in all cities and areas.

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
Report: 7 civilians killed, 6 injured in 32 airstrike, 2 cluster bombs over Tuesday [07/February/2018]



SAANA, Feb. 7 (Saba)  Seven Yemeni civilians were killed and other six injured in 32 Saudi-led aggression coalition airstrikes and three cluster bombs hit several province of Yemen over the past 24 hours, according to official reports combined by Saba News Agency on Wednesday.



In Saada province, a civilian was killed and another injured in four airstrikes targeted tents of Bedouin nomads in Mahather area of Suhar district, while two women were injured in an airstrike that hit Boqaah area in Maran of Haidan district.



Also in Saada, three airstrikes were waged on Takhia area of Majaz district, and two on Layah area of Dhahir district.



In Amran province, some 50 km away from the capital Sanaa, six civilians were killed and three others injured when a Saudi-led airstrike targeted a main road in Majzaah area of Qaflah district.

In Marib province, about 173 km north-east of the capital Sanaa, The aggression warplanes dropped three cluster bombs on Serwah district.



In Jawf province, two aggression airstrikes hit Khub-washaaf district.

In north-west province of Hajjah, the fighter jets of aggression launched 12 airstrikes on Haradh and Medi districts.



In Jizan border province, the apache helicopters of Saudi-led aggression fired more than 11 rockets on Jarah valley, while the warplane launched three strikes on Majazh village and one airstrike targeted its mercenaries' gathering and military vehicles in the west of Majazh.



Writing by Sameera al-Mahdi, Editing by Zak





Saba
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Prof JP Michael THE GOLD MEDAL The award, a gold-plated medal bearing the Institutes name and crest on the obverse and name of the medal and the recipient and date on the reverse, is made to a person whose scientific contribution in the field of chemistry or chemical technology is adjudged to be of outstanding merit.

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University of the Witwatersrand THE MERCK MEDAL The medal is awarded to the senior author of the paper, or papers, published in the South African Journal of Chemistry in a specific field of chemistry, adjudged to have made the most significant contributions to the discipline. The award for 2020, covering papers published in the period 2014 to 2019, was amongst the most cited (without self-citation) SA authored paper in the field of Chemistry, as adjudicated by two former S. Afr. J. Chem. editors. Eric M. Njogu, Bernard Omondi and Vincent O. Nyamori *

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Synthesis, Physical and Antimicrobial Studies of Ferrocenyl-N-(pyridinylmethylene)anilines and Ferrocenyl-N-(pyridinylmethyl)anilines THE SACI POST-GRADUATE AWARDS The awards shall be made to student members of the Institute engaged in research towards a MSc or PhD degree and registered in a School/Department of Chemistry at a South African University, or a MTech or DTech degree registered in a School/Department of Chemistry at a South African University of Technology. The number of medals awarded shall not exceed five per annum, and the awards are limited to one per institution. Past SACI/Sasol Postgraduate Awardees are not eligible for nomination for a second award of the medal. The recipients of the award shall be known as The SACI Postgraduate Awardees. Mr Adam Shnier  University of the Witwatersrand

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Stellenbosch University THE RAIKES MEDAL The award shall be made to a person, under the age of 40 on 31 March in the year of the award, whose original chemical research shows outstanding promise, as judged by the persons publications in reputable journals. It is further stipulated that the research shall have been performed in South Africa. Prof. Tricia Naicker

University of KwaZulu-Natal

THE JAMES MOIR MEDALS Medals shall be awarded to the best fourth year student in chemistry at each University and University of Technology. To be eligible for the award the student must have achieved a minimum average final pass mark of 75%. Mr I.J. Minnie University of Witwatersrand Ms A. Kritzinger University of Pretoria Ms S.A. Fraser University of Kwazulu-Natal Ms L. Amod University of Cape Town Ms P Maseko North West University Ms B. Khuzwayo Durban University of Technology Mr G. Ramaremisa University of Limpopo Ms L. Mbonzhe University of Venda Mr M. Maritz Nelson Mandela University Statement from SACI Council on tertiary training in chemistry as a result of disruptions to the 2020 academic year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the professional body representing the interests of all chemists in South Africa, we recognise the challenges that the current COVID-19 crisis presents to all our members in academia, research and industry. We also acknowledge the challenges the current situation presents to our tertiary institutions and specifically the challenges presented by moving to online teaching. We applaud the efforts of all our members who work at tertiary institutions who have adapted and innovated to ensure that we can continue as far as possible with our teaching and learning of chemistry even when on campus face-to-face contact is not possible. Our tertiary institutions play a critical role in not only training the next generation of chemists, but they are also tasked with the important responsibility of ensuring that many people from other professions and disciplines are trained in the fundamental principles of chemistry. We reaffirm our belief that this training is essential, as chemistry is one of the central sciences. Key to this training is the practical component and laboratory based skills development. While we accept that this critical component of our training is not possible under the current situation, we strongly urge that plans be put in place to preserve this component of training as part of the curriculum as far as possible. In some cases, virtual laboratory tools can facilitate learning, but we believe that in laboratory practical training particularly for senior level courses should be preserved. SACI strongly recommends that at least a critical minimum practical experience should form part of the plans to complete the 2020 academic year at our tertiary institutions. We believe that this is essential to preserve the validity and integrity of the academic training programmes in chemistry. Statement issued on behalf of the SACI Council, Professor Peter Mallon

President of SA Latest Updates: Pay your SACI membership fees with SnapScan New Interactive Electronic Version of the IUPAC Periodic Table of the Elements & Isotopes How do we know what the temperature of our planet was a million years ago, to better understand climate change? Where did Otzi the Iceman live as a child and an adult? What evidence gives doping agencies the gold standard to determine whether testosterone in an athletes sample comes from doping? How do we obtain 3D images of tumors in soft tissues? The answers to all of these questions and many more can be revealed through a deeper understanding of isotopes of the elements. Isotopes matter! These new resources are created for educators and students at secondary and post-secondary levels, and to inform the public about the many uses of isotopes in our lives. They are based on educational practices that encourage engaged and active learning by students. The new IUPAC interactive electronic periodic table and accompanying educational materials were created by a partnership between an , and researchers at the , and build on the work of a previous IUPAC project team to create a print version of the Periodic Table of the Isotopes. This project responds to requests by educators and students for resources highlighting the importance of isotopes in our lives, and that give students help in using interval atomic weights for elements. brings free engaging and interactive learning resources to the fingertips of students and educators around the world, says Task Group Co-Chair Peter Mahaffy, Professor of Chemistry at the Kings University in Canada, and co-director of the Kings Centre for Visualization in Science. And Norman Holden, retired Research Coordinator of the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) and the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor (BMMR) and a Guest Scientist at the National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC) of Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, adds: Its great when scientists and educators work together to create a vehicle to provide students with an understanding of fundamental scientific facts and accomplish this internationally. Following the global launch on August 17, 2016, the new IUPAC interactive electronic periodic table and accompanying resources can be accessed at . A print version of the periodic table of the isotopes and elements is available at . Further details will be published in the peer-reviewed IUPAC Journal, Pure and Applied Chemistry. Contact:

Dr. Peter Mahaffy, IUPAC Project Task Force Co-Chair

Co-Director, The Kings Centre for Visualization in Science

The Kings University, Canada

Dr. Norman Holden, IUPAC Project Task Force Co-Chair

Brookhaven National Laboratories, USA

Dr. Fabienne Meyers

Associate Director, IUPAC



SACI Ties, Scarfs and T-shirts Periodic table ties and ladies scarfs R130 each. Periodic table T Shirt Short sleeve R180, Long sleeve R200 Please contact head office to place orders. There is also a courier charge of R150 per order for delivery.


By SA Commercial Prop News - Aveng Grinaker-LTA

Striking roof structure crowns Sandton City extension.



For their role in the striking new Protea Court rooflight at Sandton City, joint venture contractors Aveng Grinaker-LTA and WBHO recently took top honours in the annual Steel Awards hosted by the Southern African Institute of Steel Construction.

This impressive rooflight is 44m in diameter and the entire structure is sloped at 11 degrees, explains Andrew Owens, managing director of Aveng Grinaker-LTA Building. Challenges abounded in its installation.

"The design of the rooflight structural steelwork frame is extremely complex, and due to the nature of the roof covering, the tolerances of the structural steel installation had to be kept to 3mm," Owens notes. "The main roof beams are radiused, tapering plate girders that run at 30 degrees to each other.

The beams span up to 27m and are supported by an internal concrete tower and externally on a latticed box girder. Only with the experience, competence and close cooperation of the consulting team, main contractor and specialist structural steel contractor was it possible to construct the challenging structure from the extremely complicated 3-D design."

In evaluating this entry, the judges of the Steel Awards commented: "In assessing excellence in the use of steelwork, in all aspects  architecturally, structurally, the manner in which all the challenges have been solved and just sheer excellence  there is no doubt that the Protea Court rooflight in Sandton can take its place as an overall winner, with pride, amongst its predecessors."

In addition to its award-winning steelwork, the Protea Court rooflight also features other technical innovations. It is clad with a total of 170 translucent Ethylene Tetraflouroethylene (ETFE) cushions that are kept permanently inflated with compressed air. Each cushion is restrained within the network of profiled aluminium extrusions that have been curved to the shape of the steel structure.

The aluminium sections are fixed to all of 1 468 steel support T-brackets that were required to be surveyed independently in a three-dimensional plane to tolerance of 3mm.

"Achieving the tolerance was crucial to ensure that a quality installation of the ETFE cushions was achieved," Owens states. "This application is a first in Southern Africa, and the services of an experienced specialist contractor were employed to supply and install the innovative product."

Another construction first at Sandton City can be found in the steel latticed box girder supporting the steel roof structure, which is supported on 12 bifurcated columns of various heights. The lattice box girder is clad both externally and internally with an innovative product called Decolite, as are the steel rooflights main radiused girder beams and the bifurcated columns.

Decolite is a light-weight cladding system that consists primarily of polystyrene wrapped in a robust polyuria shell. The finish to the Decolite internal cladding of the gutter beam and bifurcated columns is high gloss, which, Owens notes, has never been achieved before and is yet another first time application.

The Sandton City Repositioning Phase 1 construction project was awarded to the Sandton City Joint Venture in June 2009.

The project comprises primarily of the construction of an extension to the South East corner of the existing Sandton City Shopping Centre; a refurbishment to the existing shopping centre's malls and covered parking garages; an upgrade to the existing shopping centre's mechanical and electrical networks; and the construction of a new parking deck over the existing roof top parking. This phase is due for completion towards the end of October 2011.
BRUSSELS (AP)  Britain may not have two years to negotiate its divorce from the European Union after all.

The EU's chief negotiator on Brexit warned Tuesday that the country will have less than 18 months once talks begin and that it won't be allowed to pick and choose what parts of the EU it wants to keep.

The British government, meanwhile, agreed for the first time to publish details of its plans for Brexit before formal talks start  though how much detail it would disclose remained an open question.

While steering away from specifics on what a Brexit deal might look like, EU negotiator Michel Barnier, who took up his post months ago after Britain voted in June to leave the EU, said formal procedures at the start and end of the talks will cut into the time Britain has to leave.

"Time will be short," he said. "All in all there will be less than 18 months to negotiate."

British Prime Minister Theresa May wants to invoke Article 50 of the EU's key treaty, which will officially kick off two years of exit talks, by the end of March.

But Barnier, who has visited 18 of the EU's 28 member states to gauge views on Britain's withdrawal, warned that the effective negotiating time will be less due to procedures such as parliamentary approvals to rubber-stamp any deal.

If May sticks to her timetable, Barnier said an agreement may have to be secured by October 2018 to get a final agreement in place by March 2019  two years on from the triggering of Article 50.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appeared unconcerned by such a deadline.

"That timeframe seems to me to be absolutely ample," he said on arriving for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels.

It's a fluid situation, not least because a British court ruled last month that Parliament needs to give its approval before the government can trigger Article 50.

The government is contesting that ruling in the Supreme Court. Should it confirm Parliament's involvement, May's plans could be delayed.

It's also possible that European governments might extend the two-year period outlined within Article 50.

The British government has been reluctant to reveal much about what sort of post-Brexit relationship it is looking for out of fear that it would weaken its hand in negotiations. That has fueled allegations from opponents that May and her ministers lack a coherent Brexit strategy.

Opposition Labour Party lawmakers forced a Wednesday debate in Britain's House of Commons, calling for the government to offer some clarity by publishing its plan for leaving the EU before it triggers Article 50.

Fearing defeat at the hands of the opposition and rebellious pro-EU Conservatives, the government agreed late Tuesday.

But it still said it would not "be showing our negotiating hand until we have to," leaving doubts about how much detail the plan would include.

Barnier sought to dampen talk that Britain could "cherry-pick" what it likes about the EU, noting that the single market and its four freedoms, such as the freedom of movement, are "indivisible."

"This will be the atmosphere in which we will be conducting our negotiations with the U.K. and the sooner the better," he said. "We are ready; keep calm and negotiate."

During the referendum campaign, many of those in favor of leaving the EU had indicated that Britain could "have its cake and eat it"  continue to trade freely in the EU single market while clamping down on the free movement of people from the region.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that sort of deal is off limits.

"The internal market threatens to be weakened by negotiations on Brexit," Merkel told a congress of her conservative Christian Democratic Union in Essen. "We will not allow cherry-picking. The four fundamental freedoms must be preserved."

Given that it takes many years to conclude wide-ranging free trade deals  Canada recently completed one with the EU after seven years  there's been speculation that Britain and the EU might forge a transitional arrangement that would see Britain pay into the EU budget in return for access to the single market. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney says some sort of transitional period would be advantageous as it would allow firms to adjust.

Barnier indicated there may be "some point and usefulness" to a transitional arrangement.

"It is for the British to say what kind of relationship they want and for the 27 EU states to define the future they want to build with them," he said. "You can't do everything in 15 to 18 months of negotiations."

The British government's opaque approach has frustrated many in Europe.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who chairs meetings of the 19 EU countries that use the euro, said proposals he's seen so far "are incompatible with smooth and incompatible with orderly."
Think a minuteRecently the biggest-selling book in America was about the end of the world. Sometimes watching the worlds news is like watching a horror movie, isnt it? You know that the 20th century had more people killed in wars than all the other centuries of history combined! Besides all the wars, were seeing an increase in many kinds of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes; plus totally new weather patterns that never existed before such as El Nino and La Nina.

Then, there are the terrible diseases, plagues, and new mystery viruses. AIDS, the worst disease in history, is killing millions of people worldwide with still no cure in sight! In Africa, entire towns have no adults because theyve all died from AIDS, so just babies and children are left to survive alone. According to a new United Nations report, we now have the worst world hunger and famine in history. Hundreds of millions are starving with countless thousands dying every day.

You know that Jesus Christ told us that all these things would happen and that theyre like labor pains just before a mother gives birth.

These terrible things are the sign that Hes getting ready to come back.

Only this time, Hes coming to judge all this worlds evil and wrong. Jesus said we cant know the exact day of His return, so it will be sudden and here before we know it.

But Jesus explained its because He loves us so much that Hes waited as long as He can for more of us to choose to receive His gift of forgiveness and eternal life, before its too late! But if you know the worlds Judge personally as your friend, then His return is good news because youre going home with Him to live forever in paradise, just as He promised.

That morning of September 11, those people who went to work at the World Trade Center in New York had no idea they would never see their family again. And neither do we know if well live to see tomorrow.

Jesus made it clear that we all live forevereither in heaven or hell. The choice is ours. So why not ask Jesus to forgive you and take charge of your life every day? Then youll have absolutely nothing to fearneither your sudden death, nor even the end of the world. Just Think a Minute
The new year ushers in the official launch of the bold and transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by world leaders last September at the United Nations.

The new Agenda calls on countries to begin efforts to achieve 17 Sustainable Development Goals (S.D.Gs) over the next 15 years.

The seventeen Sustainable Development Goals are our shared vision of humanity and a social contract between the worlds leaders and the people, said U.N. Secretary-General, Tupua Ban Ki-moon.

They are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for success.

The S.D.Gs, unanimously adopted by the U.N.s 193 Member States at a historic summit in September 2015, address the needs of people in both developed and developing countries, emphasising that no one should be left behind.

Broad and ambitious in scope, the Agenda addresses the three dimensions of sustainable development: social, economic and environmental, as well as important aspects related to peace, justice and effective institutions.

The mobilization of means of implementation, including financial resources, technology development and transfer and capacity-building, as well as the role of partnerships, are also acknowledged as critical.

The Paris Conference on climate change is seen by many as the first test of political will to implement the Agenda.

The Paris Agreement is a triumph for people, the planet, and for multilateralism, said Tupua.

For the first time, every country in the world has pledged to curb their emissions, strengthen resilience and act internationally and domestically to address climate change. By addressing climate change we are advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Turning this vision into reality is primarily the responsibility of countries, but it will also require new partnerships and international solidarity. Everyone has a stake and everyone has a contribution to make.

Reviews of progress will need to be undertaken regularly in each country, involving civil society, business and representatives of various interest groups. At the regional level, countries will share experiences and tackle common issues, while on an annual basis at the United Nations, the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (H.L.P.F), will take stock of progress at the global level, identifying gaps and emerging issues, and recommending corrective action. The 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets of the new agenda will be monitored and reviewed using a set of global indicators. These will be compiled into an Annual S.D.G Progress Report.

The transformation begins now



Deadly conflicts, horrific terrorist attacks and a worsening global humanitarian crisis have dominated 2015. Yet this year also saw a number of major international breakthroughs, most recently with the Climate Agreement in Paris, writes Mogens Lykketoft, President of the U.N. General Assembly. But for these agreements to bring us closer to a more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world, 2016 must be all about action and implementation







Mogens Lykketoft

President of the U.N.

General Assembly

Ask anyone for their abiding memory of 2015 and they will most likely recall a negative one.

Some will recall the horrifying stories of death and destruction caused by conflicts around the world, most notably in Syria where over 250,000 people have lost their lives and almost 11million people have been displaced.

Others will recall a sense of grief, fear and anger after violent extremists attacked, tortured, kidnapped and executed innocent civilians around the world. Others still might recall a simple but disturbing fact they heard in passing  that 2015 was the hottest year on record or that over 15,000 children continue to die annually, mostly from preventable diseases.

Yet, despite all of this, 2015 was also a year of progress and breakthroughs.

2015 was the year, for instance, when health workers and public officials supported by the international community brought an end to the Ebola Epidemic in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. It was the year when the U.N. Millennium Development Goals expired, having helped to reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty globally by over 50%.

And it was the year when talks not tanks led to improvements in Cuba/US relations, an Iranian nuclear deal, a breakthrough in peace-talks in Colombia, transition in the Central African Republic. And most recently, a roadmap on resolving the Syria conflict was agreed on in the Security Council; the hope is that finally we can begin to contain this horrible humanitarian disaster.

Each of these is a great achievement in its own right. But it was the adoption, by more than 193 members of the United Nations, of three major international agreements that gives me greatest hope for the future.

In September, world leaders descended on New York to embrace a new compact for people and planet anchored in 17 Sustainable Development Goals known as the SDGs. In Addis Ababa, just two months earlier, those same leaders committed to a new global framework on finance, capacity building, technology, trade, debt and other issues to support the realization of these goals.

And in Paris earlier this month, after years of disappointment, they overcame divisions and agreed on how to avert catastrophic climate change while advancing human progress.

Through these agreements, governments everywhere have committed to advance three critical transformations in our world. First, they committed to address the root causes of poverty and hunger and to advance human development and gender equality everywhere. Second, they agreed to promote shared prosperity while transitioning to a low-carbon climate-resilient economy and protecting our natural environment. And, third, they agreed to improve governance at all levels so as to bring about more peaceful, just and inclusive societies.

2016  from commitments to action

Sceptics will of course question both the ability and commitment of governments to translate these agreements into real change. But not only do I believe that we can succeed, I truly believe that we will succeed.

Let me explain why.

After 50 years in politics, I have never seen negotiations that were more deliberative or more inclusive than those that gave rise to these agreements. The result is that these agreements have real political buy-in at the highest possible level.



They have also helped create a global movement for positive change, involving civil society, young people, private companies and more, that will be with us every step of the way over the next fifteen years.

And from the Millennium Development Goals to reduction in the price of renewables, many governments and many companies are demonstrating that the change we need is not only possible but already happening.

In 2016, however, we must build on this momentum and secure early implementation. To do so, we need action from all actors. As President of the United Nations General Assembly, this is my top priority.

Governments, for example, must identify and plan for the changes they need to undertake to reach these new Goals.

They must invest in essential services so that all people can fulfil their potential. They must create an enabling legal and policy framework that encourages more responsible consumption and increased investment in sustainable infrastructure.

And they must advance more transparent and inclusive governance so that everyone pays their fair share, people live in freedom and security; and societies become more cohesive and more equal.

At the international level, we need a United Nations system that is ready to give countries the support they need. We also need to ensure that exclusive economic decision making forums, such as the World Bank and IMF, the G20 etc, become more aligned with this new Agenda.

In the area of peace and security, we need changes at the U.N. so that we can become better at preventing conflicts and protecting human rights, before it is too late.

The Sustainable Development Goals also demand action from the private sector. They must align their corporate activities with the essence of the new Goals. They can turn their innovation towards finding SDG solutions and partner with governments and other key actors to support and finance implementation.

This includes the global finance industry which must now embrace the shift. Governments must ensure a framework of regulation and taxation for the private sector that makes it obvious that green investment is not just the best for the environment and the future of mankind, but the best for business too.

Finally, change will not happen without action and pressure from civil society and ordinary people everywhere. Non-governmental organizations need to hold governments to account for the commitments they have made in 2015. Philanthropic foundations need to support causes that are aligned with the SDGs and work more effectively with governments and other actors.

And ordinary citizens, young people and others can use the incredible explosion in information technology in recent years to become key drivers of implementation.

If 2015 was a year of incredible breakthroughs, then 2016 must mark the moment when all of us begin to deliver, when we begin to make the transformation needed to a more sustainable and just world.




As the international epidemic of Zika virus disease has unfolded and led to devastating birth defects for at least 1,300 children in eight countries, an agonizing question has persisted: What is the chance that an infected pregnant woman will have a baby with these defects?

Researchers don't yet have a complete answer, but they are slowly homing in on one.

The largest study to ever look at the question says the risk of one especially severe type of birth defect is "substantial"  in the range of 1 percent to 14 percent. It also reinforces the understanding that women infected in the early stages of pregnancy face the greatest risk.

The range is so unusually wide because researchers are relying on imprecise and incomplete information as they to try to quickly estimate the level of risk in advance of what they say is likely transmission of Zika by mosquitoes in the U.S. later this year.

The study focused on what was seen in just one place, a state in northeast Brazil. And it looks only at microcephaly, a condition in which a baby's skull is much smaller than expected because the brain hasn't developed properly. But health officials say Zika can cause other birth defects, too.

"These numbers are probably only the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Neil Silverman, a UCLA professor of obstetrics who has been advising the California Department of Public Health on Zika issues.

A study done in Rio de Janiero published earlier this year suggested there is a nearly 30 percent risk for all kinds of Zika-related birth defects and fetal death. The new research doesn't necessarily contradict that, said Silverman, who was not involved in the latest research.

The new study was done by government scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was published online Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.

The Zika virus causes only a mild and brief illness, at worst, in most people. But in the last year, infections in pregnant women have been strongly linked to fetal deaths and to potentially severe birth defects, mostly in Brazil. Last month, the CDC said there was enough evidence to declare that Zika causes microcephaly and other brain defects.

The virus is spread mainly through the bite of a tropical mosquito called Aedes aegypti. The bug can be found in the southern United States, but there's no evidence that they've been spreading the virus in the U.S. yet.

The new study is based on about 400 babies with microcephaly in the Brazilian state of Bahia, who were diagnosed between July and February.

The researchers made estimates based on what data they could get, but faced challenges. For example, they weren't certain all 400 microcephaly cases were correctly diagnosed. They didn't know for sure how many of the mothers of the affected children had a Zika infection, nor how many pregnant women in Bahia in total were infected with Zika virus during that time period.

But based on other data from Bahia and from two earlier Zika outbreaks, they could make calculations that accounted for different scenarios  including one which assumed most people were infected and another in which Zika infections were less common.

A large Zika epidemic would lead to more babies born with birth defects, but the chance that an individual baby would be affected shrinks as an outbreak progresses. That's because a large outbreak would expose more women to the virus and allow them to develop immunity by the time they got pregnant, Silverman said.

The study found the risk of a fetus developing microcephaly ranged from about 1 percent, when most people were infected, to nearly 14 percent, when only a small proportion were.

"This gave us an appreciation that the risk is substantial," said Michael Johansson, a CDC biologist who was the study's lead author.

Previously, the best estimate of the Zika-related risk of microcephaly came from a very small study based on eight cases that occurred during a Zika outbreak in French Polynesia in 2013 and 2014. That study estimated risk of microcephaly at 1 percent for pregnancies in which the mother was infected in the first trimester.

The range reported in the new study was also for women infected in the first trimester. For women infected later in pregnancy, the risks were well below 1 percent no matter how much Zika was spreading in the community, the authors found. The Rio study, though, found other harms in babies born to women infected during the second or third trimesters, experts noted.

-AP
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP)  Tony Finau's last 24 hours included a little bit of everything: Pain. Embarrassment. Concern. Relief. Determination. Excitement.

The 28-year-old American with Samoan roots battled through a severely sprained ankle and shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round at the Masters. How he injured it was somewhat comical, albeit painful to watch. How he overcame it was downright extraordinary.

"You can't make that up," he said.

It was one of the best  certainly most unpredictable  story lines of the tournament's first day.

Finau dislocated his left ankle celebrating a hole-in-one during the Par-3 Contest on Wednesday and then popped it back into place. X-rays were negative. Finau had an early morning MRI on Thursday to determine whether he could make his Masters debut.

Doctors cleared him to play, and his ankle was tightly taped as he headed to the practice range. No pain-numbing shots or pills. Just pure grit.

"I was just extremely happy that nothing was seriously wrong with my foot," he said. "Quite honestly, it was a pretty cool moment followed by probably one of my most embarrassing moments and a scary moment at the same time. It was quite crazy, all the emotions that I dealt with overnight, but I was more than ecstatic to just be walking to that first tee and be playing in my first Masters."

His swollen ankle didn't feel quite right, and he found himself compensating on certain shots. Simply put, he couldn't put his full weight on that foot  a huge concern for a guy known as one of the PGA Tour's longer hitters.

"The one thing we can't do is hurt it more," he said. "So the No. 1 thing for me was my health and trying to take care of the next few days and not just worry about the now. It definitely hurt at different points of the round."

It felt a whole lot better when he birdied five of 12 holes to get to 4 under. He missed a short par putt at the par-4 No. 14 or else his round could have been even better. Still, he got it right back with a birdie at the par-5 15th.

He finished tied for second with Matt Kuchar, two shots behind leader Jordan Spieth.

No one could have expected it after watching Finau gingerly climbed into a golf cart after his exhibition ended early the day before.

The ordeal started when Finau flew the back of the seventh green on Augusta National's par-3 course and spun it back into the hole for an ace. He started running  a forbidden act on these hallowed grounds  toward the hole to celebrate. His issue came when he turned and backpedaled. He landed awkwardly on his left ankle, which grotesquely displaced. He dropped to one knee and ended up pushing the joint back into place.

"I saw where it was and I knew where it needed to be," he said. "Instinctively, I just tried. If it didn't work, then I would have laid there and been even more embarrassed being pulled out on a stretcher celebrating a hole-in-one."

It was the 12th ace of his life, but first in front of his wife and kids, and it came in his first Par-3 Contest.

"It's just a spur-of-the-moment thing," he said. "I have no idea why I just started sprinting. I saw (the ball) disappear. It was my first Par-3 Contest, my first Masters, I made a hole in one, so there was a lot that went into that. I just took off.

"I'm probably not a great (defensive back), doing the backpedalling, so I won't be doing that the rest of my career."

Finau credited fire-knife dancing as one of the reasons he was able to handle the pain, the restlessness night and the uncertainty. Popular in Polynesian culture, fire-knife dancing is exactly what it sounds like. There are knives attached to the ends of sticks, covered in material set aflame, and furiously spun around by a performer. Finau perfected the craft  even dealing with a few cuts and burns along the way  well before his golf game took off.

"I look at myself as a pretty mentally tough person, and I think I showed that today in my round," he said. "Just able to put my head down and play."
A pre-election prediction by the leader of the H.R.P.P Party that the election result is done and dusted has been doubted.

Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi said the H.R.P.P has already secured 18 seats even before voting day which means they have already won.

All thats left now is to wait for the results and then they will celebrate.

But during the Tautua Samoas weekly press conference, the leader of the Opposition party rejected the claim by Tuilaepa.

Palusalue Faapo II said nothing is further from the truth and no one knows the results until the election is finished.

We have Tautua candidates running as individuals and they dont know that, Palu responded.

That is what he thinks and that is him being high-minded.

He always says that decisions come from God, so why is he making the decision now even before the election?

Let the people decide and let us wait for the right decision.

Vaai Papu Vaai agrees with Palusalue.

He is counting the eggs before they even hatch, he said.

You are not supposed to do that.

Samoa will go to the polls on 4 March 2016.

Of 171 candidates already registered, the majority belong to the H.R.P.P.

The Tautua Samoa has registered more than 20 candidates but the Party is claiming that they have a number of independents running, which they have yet to name.
An indigenous group in a small town in Mexico has disrupted a pipeline project operated by a subsidiary of San Diego-based Sempra Energy by taking a chunk out of a natural gas line.

The disruption is one of a number of protests that have caused delays to energy projects in the country.

Four years ago, Mexican political leaders passed energy reform measures in an effort to dramatically improve the countrys power system. Only 7 percent of households in Mexico have access to natural gas.

Mexico will elect a new president in July and the front-runner has been a sharp critic of energy reform.

Troubles in the energy pipeline in Mexico. Heres the full story:

Sempra, San Diegos Fortune 500 energy giant, has made sizable investments across Mexico, looking to take advantage of the Mexican governments decision more than four years ago to dramatically reform its energy system and open it up to projects from foreign companies.

But an incident in a small town in the state of Sonora offers a stark example how expensive plans can be disrupted.

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Last August, some members of the Yaquis tribe  one of 68 indigenous groups in Mexico  hopped onto a backhoe and dug out a 25-foot chunk from a natural gas pipeline in the village of Loma de Bacum.

Its part of a 500-mile pipeline project operated by IEnova, Sempras subsidiary in Mexico. The pipeline, said to be worth $400 million, transports natural gas from Arizona to Mexicos Pacific Coast.

According to Mexicos Energy Ministry, seven other Yaqui groups along the pipelines route signed off on the project but the Yaquis in Loma Bacum said a nine-mile stretch of the pipeline that runs through their farmland did not receive approval from them.

If they want to build a pipeline, thats fine, Guadalupe Flores, one of the towns leaders, told Bloomberg News in December. But it wont pass through here.

IEnova and Sempra officials turned down a request for an interview from the Union-Tribune, saying only through a spokesperson that a section of the Sonora pipeline is out of operation and that IEnova is awaiting the judges resolution in order to be able to repair the pipeline.

Theres no word when the court will issue a decision, but media reports in Sonora say natural gas transportation from Arizona to Mexico has dropped 37 percent since the August backhoe-meets-pipeline incident.

A $2.1 billion undersea pipeline project that would run from South Texas to the Mexican port city of Tuxpan has also been delayed, reportedly because of legal actions from a fishing co-operative and an indigenous group. IEnova has partnered with TransCanada on the project.

Delays and disruptions

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But IEnova is not the only energy company that has received pushback.

At least four other pipeline projects in Mexico have been stalled or temporarily suspended. Some delays have lasted two years.

There have also been protests over wind farms in the state of Oaxaca  some from indigenous groups and others from landowners who wanted higher payments from developers.

Its been frustrating for a lot of developers, said John Padilla, managing director of IPD Latin America, an energy consulting firm.

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In the past when you had monopolies running things, if the state and local officials didnt like (a given project), well, too bad, Padilla said. That wasnt always the case but it did happen.

But energy reform changed the rules of the game.

Passed in 2013 and 2014, the legislation ended the monopolies of Mexicos state-owned petroleum company PEMEX and electric company CFE.

International companies were encouraged to strike deals to help modernize, streamline and upgrade the countrys energy landscape. Only 7 percent of households in Mexico have access to natural gas.

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At the same time, though, energy reform required consultations with indigenous groups and other interested parties as part of the permitting process.

In the country, where some of the basic needs are not taken care of, you can completely understand why local groups  indigenous or otherwise  will use the leverage they have to try to get some place, said Duncan Wood, director of the Mexico Institute at the Washington, D.C.-based Wilson Center. You or I would do exactly the same thing  It is human nature.

Mexicos natural gas trade association in December urged the government to do something, saying disruptions hinder the creation of new jobs and the generation of electricity that is cleaner and more competitive.

Wood said the problems underscore the need for companies to do their homework in any community it wants to do business in.

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You have to bring in everybody and you have to do this in as open and transparent way as possible because otherwise you are creating problems for yourself down the road, Wood said.

At the same time, though, Wood said there are some projects that you wont be able to predict where the problems are going to be.

Thats hardly reassuring for foreign investors but Wood said the problems associated with the Keystone XL pipeline project between Canada and the United States show that delays are not just a problem south of the border.

Ive spoken to a lot of companies over the past five, 10 years about project complications in Mexico, Wood said, and they all say the same thing: Its a bother, it raises the cost of doing business but its not enough to turn us away. 

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A left-wing populist, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is running for president of Mexico. The election will be held in July. (T.J. Kirkpatrick / Bloomberg )

A presidential election looms

Politics in Mexico could be a complicating factor.

In July the country will hold a presidential election and the leader in the polls is Andres Manueul Lopez Obrador, a leftist populist who has been a harsh critic of energy reform.

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Known as Amlo, he has vowed to review all energy contracts  even from last weeks massive auction of offshore oil and gas rights estimated to generate $93 billion from investors, including Royal Dutch Shell.

Renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) among government officials from Mexico, the U.S. and Canada is also on the horizon. President Donald Trump, while campaigning, called NAFTA a disaster.

Were moving fast and furiously into the election cycle and that will dominate the discussion, Padilla said, but did not think energy reform will be reversed.

That train has left the station, Padilla said. Its going to be nearly impossible to re-create that model even if you wanted to.

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Those sentiments were expressed last June by the chairman and CEO of IEnova, Carlos Ruiz Sacristan, during a presentation with energy analysts.

The energy reform is here to stay, regardless of the outcome of the election, Ruiz Sacristan said. That reform was a continuation of a change that required 75 percent of the congress and 51 percent of the state congress to vote. So it is not easy to change that.

The potential political changes come as IEnova has become one of the most active companies in Mexico.

IEnova became the first energy company to be listed on the Mexican stock exchange and its market capitalization has more than doubled since 2013, reporting total assets of almost $7.5 billion.

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Its facilities include a liquefied natural gas terminal near Ensenada and a $900 million wind project near the Mexico-Texas border. Last year, the company announced development of three liquid fuel terminals totaling $275 million.

Its going to be a very dynamic, interesting few months ahead of us, Padilla said. Buckle up.

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Business

rob.nikolewski@sduniontribune.com

(619) 293-1251 Twitter: @robnikolewski

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ALSO

Despite question marks in Mexico, Sempra subsidiary moves full speed ahead

Sempra takes on bigger role in Mexicos energy landscape

Any NAFTA revamp will probably not mess with energy sector
As the all-important spring and summer travel season approaches, San Diego is launching a $15 million advertising initiative, but this year theres a relatively new player in the mix: China.

Just last week, a crew finished shooting videos with two Mandarin-speaking hosts highlighting attractions tourism officials hope will resonate with Chinese tourists: Balboa Park, the USS Midway, Mission Beach, Liberty Station and Chicano Park.

While San Diego is responsible for a fraction of the 1.4 million Chinese who visited California in 2017, the San Diego Tourism Authority believes it still can capitalize on a surging market that is already No. 1 in the state for overseas visitors.

It also doesnt hurt that Hainan Airlines, Chinas largest private airline, recently announced that it will be flying nonstop between Beijing and Tijuana beginning in late March.

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Weve identified China for the last several years to be the next international market, said Joe Terzi, CEO of the Tourism Authority. It also made sense, though, for us to do this (marketing) with this flight starting three days a week.

We are getting Chinese visitation to San Diego but its more day trips from L.A., and the intent is to give people flying to California a reason to come to San Diego and stay overnight and not just come down in a bus for two hours.

In all, the Tourism Authority will spend $20 million on advertising throughout the year, about $3 million more than last year, Terzi said. Included is the China campaign, plus additional allocations for Balboa Park and marketing in Los Angeles.

The marketing initiative in China, via a variety of digital platforms like WeChat, Weibo and Baidu, is part of a $3 million advertising partnership with Brand USA, the tourism marketing organization for the U.S.

The partnership also will cover advertising campaigns in Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Through resources we have here in Washington, D.C., and more importantly, four offices in China, digital platforms weve built in China, and an overall deployment of marketing resources over the last five years, San Diego and other cities can take advantage of this at a price they couldnt do on their own, said Brand USA CEO Christopher Thompson.

Brand USA also has developed its own website in China promoting U.S. destinations: gousa.cn.

While San Diego is still at a disadvantage because there is no nonstop flight between Lindbergh Field and China, the upcoming flight that will link Beijing and Mexico City, with a stop at the Tijuana International Airport, could be a big help, Thompson added.

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Out of nearly 35 million visitors to San Diego in 2016, the year for which there is recent data, 122,000 were from China, compared with 364,000 from Canada and 165,000 from the United Kingdom, according to the Tourism Authority.

Travel from China is all about air access, so that airfield in Tijuana is a gateway to San Diego and will be a big deal, Thompson said. Weve seen considerable increases in numbers for destinations that secured nonstop service from China so the timing of San Diegos marketing resources through us will be very beneficial to maximizing that air service.

This years marketing plan, though, extends well beyond China. Domestically, the Tourism Authority is reprising its Happiness is calling television ads that will air in San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas, Chicago, New York City, Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle and Sacramento.

And it continues to expand digital advertising with up to 40 new marketing pieces, including videos on craft beer, Old Town and what the Tourism Authority calls Bliss Breaks, as in catching a birds-eye view of the San Diego skyline while sipping a cocktail at Mister As.

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Of the $15 million budgeted for the spring and summer marketing blitz, roughly 40 percent will go for ads on TV and Hulu, said Kerri Verbeke Kapich, chief operating officer for the Tourism Authority.

In Los Angeles, the bureau is focusing on a stronger online campaign that will highlight unique San Diego experiences beyond the typical tourist attractions, said Terzi. There will be no TV ads.

When we did our focus groups in L.A., people said we want to know whats new, the events, good restaurants, Terzi said. Then we can decide if we want to come down and experience that.

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lori.weisberg@sduniontribune.com

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(619) 293-2251

Twitter: @loriweisberg
Readers of The San Diego Union-Tribune are hoping for the best as a new owner is set to acquire the newspaper.

A sale would mean fifth owner of the Union-Tribune in the past nine years.

The sale sparked debate over whether newspapers are better served by corporate or private owners.

News that The San Diego Union-Tribune and its sister paper to the north were likely to be acquired by a Los Angeles billionaire was greeted with enthusiasm and skepticism Tuesday as readers crossed their fingers once again for stability and expertise from their local paper.

Years-long subscribers, and some who canceled their newspapers after recent ownership changes, said they were hoping for the best from the Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, which are likely to be spun off from Chicago-based media company Tronc and sold to Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong.

I have the greatest respect for the role of a free press in our society, said Chris Brewster, a retired San Diego lifeguard chief and longtime reader. Looking at what Jeff Bezos has done with The Washington Post is an indication of the positives that can come out of a change like this, but that necessitates that the owner is hands-off the news and the editorial page is not used as a pugil.

We should all view this with some trepidation and some hope that journalism and the resources devoted to it in San Diego could recover from the damage that has been done over the past decades, he said.

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The ownership change would be the fifth for the Union-Tribune since 2009, when the Copley family ended eight decades of stewardship of the oldest business operating in San Diego County.

It also would return both the Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times to private hands, rather than a publicly traded corporation run by a board of directors that answers to shareholders every three months. Such market pressures  and a steady decline in print readership  have forced newspapers across the nation to respond with deep cost cuts and uncertain investments in a digital future.

Max Branscomb, longtime adviser to the award-winning Southwestern Sun newspaper published by Southwestern College, said he felt the U-T was not as strong as it had been.

I hope Dr. Soon-Shiong is buying the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune for the right reasons, and recognizes how vital they are to the health and vitality of our communities, he said.

Former San Diego Councilwoman Donna Frye said newspapers  and their owners  hold a sacred trust in a democracy regardless of whether they are corporate owned or privately held.

My hope would be no matter who buys it they understand the importance of local journalism, and particularly investigative journalism, said Frye, also a past president of Californians Aware, a statewide advocacy group for First Amendment rights. What we dont know can hurt us.

Electrical engineer Bill Powers said he was somewhat concerned about Soon-Shiong wresting total control of the newspapers, but said he prefers a single owner to a corporate board if he had to choose.

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Im always a little jaundiced about billionaires from anywhere buying newspapers, said Powers, who canceled his paper several years ago under the ownership of former publisher Douglas Manchester, a major San Diego developer, but renewed his subscription under tronc. Its hard to resist the boss when hes the sole owner of the news, but any publicly traded company is going to be under pressure, too.

Vicki Granowitz, a retired social worker from North Park who serves on several San Diego city boards and commissions, said she hopes Soon-Shiong brings a stronger sense of balance to the news of the day. She also hopes he invests in local journalism.

I would hope they continue and enhance local coverage and to avoid being partisan in their reporting, Granowitz said.

On its editorial pages, the Union-Tribune has leaned left, right and centrist depending on recent owners  leaving room for people of all political stripes to criticize the newspaper. Under shared ownership with the Times, many readers perceived a leftward shift at the Union-Tribune, which has an independent editorial position. Larry Stirling, a conservative former lawmaker and retired judge, said he hopes the new owner will bring a more open-minded editorial posture toward President Donald Trump.

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I looked up the new owner and I cannot tell much about his politics except for one piece that said he recently dined with President Trump, Stirling said. Whether he or his papers will be more balanced in that regard, I dont know. I certainly hope so. But the fact that he was even willing to sit down with him in a civil setting has to be a better posture than the Tronc people.

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
As Frank Papatheofanis sees it, the history of the University of Saint Katherine has yet to be written.

Founded by Papatheofanis in 2010, the San Marcos-based, four-year college has shown promise so far.

As it continues to grow in enrollment, the Orthodox Christian university has eyed eastern Chula Vista as a possible site for a satellite campus.

For Chula Vista, the campus would fulfill  at least in part  the citys long-standing desire to become home to a four-year university.

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Whether the campus will become part of the universitys  and the citys  history remains to be seen.

Both the city and university, however, have shown interest in the idea. Last month, the City Council unanimously approved an exclusive negotiating agreement with the university to develop plans for a 10-acre campus that would serve about 1,000 students, with housing for about 400 students.

The campus would sit on a much larger, 375-acre site  in the Otay Ranch area  on which the city hopes to develop a multi-institutional university center to serve as many as 200,000 students.

The current university president, Papathofanis, who was raised in Chicago and moved to San Diego in 1995 after accepting a faculty position at UC San Diegos School of Medicine, said the satellite campus would fulfill the needs of both Saint Katherine and Chula Vista.

He said Saint Katherine  whose identity is tied into being a regional institution, serving San Diego County and surrounding counties, as well as serving the northern Mexico part of this region  has been looking for opportunities to expand to another site.

We are limited in how much we can grow in our current location in San Marcos, he said.

So why Chula Vista?

The satellite campus would serve the need of South County, where there isnt a four-year university, Papatheofanis said. Its important to fill that vacuum.

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The location, he said, would allow Saint Katherine to build partnerships with Southwestern College, as well as universities south of the border.

As a Hispanic-Serving Institution that aims to support first-generation students, Papatheofanis said, Saint Katherine fits into the demographics in South County.

The designation by the U.S. Department of Education means the university is eligible for federal grants for a range of academic purposes.

With its tuition set at about $23,000, Saint Katherine is more costly than public universities but more affordable than other private universities in the county. For comparison, San Diego State Universitys tuition is set at about $7,500, UC San Diegos is about $14,000, Point Loma Nazarenes about $35,000 and University of San Diegos is about $47,000.

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Saint Katherine students are not able to receive Cal Grants funds. However, Papatheofanis said the university was approved last week to participate in the Cal Grant program, which allows students to receive state-funded financial aid.

The university became accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission in 2016. The time frame in which it achieved accreditation is a point of pride for the university. Papatheofanis said the three-stage process takes about eight to 10 years for new universities.

Not every aspect of the universitys history has been favorable. Saint Katherines retention rates dropped from about 71 percent in the inaugural 2011-12 academic year to about 45 percent in the 2014-15 school year, according to latest data on the universitys website.

Papatheofanis attributed the decline to a bad retention cycle, saying he believes there is not yet enough data to form conclusions about the universitys retention rates.

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He said the retention rate jumped to more than 80 percent for the 2016-17 academic year, with a similar outcome expected for this year.

Among community members, theres a sense of unease about the universitys religious affiliation. According to Saint Katherines website, the Office of Faith and Service, in conjunction with the Dean of Students, coordinate and supervise a rich program in spiritual formation at the University.

Morning prayers and chapel services are offered  for students and the broader community  on campus throughout the week. According to its website, students are encouraged to attend regular services at a church of their choice and become involved in local church communities.

In letters to the City Council last month, critics said the university might force their beliefs onto others and only enlist like-minded students.

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A resident who attended a council meeting expressed concerns about the motives of religious universities, saying they seek land and thats pretty much it.

In response to the public unease, Papatheofanis said Saint Katherine is not governed by the church and receives no financial assistance from the church.

He added that the university accepts faith and non-faith students.

Were welcoming and were open to all students, he said.

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Papatheofanis said Saint Katherine aims to give back to the community it serves. The university requires students to engage in community service, participates in K-12 programs that aim to get kids to consider college, and hosts educational lectures that cover a variety of topics  from health to literature  and are open to the public.

As a faith-based institution and a civic-minded institution, we want to serve the community where we reside, Papatheofanis said.

The exclusive negotiating agreement gives city staff and the university three months to come up with a master plan and development agreement.

The deal allows for two three-month extension periods.

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City council members agreed that city staff needs to exercise due diligence in evaluating Saint Katherine and any proposed plans.

Papatheofanis message to skeptics?

Were a young institution, but were approaching our formative years and building something that we think will be an outstanding institution in the years to come, Papatheofanis said.

He added: Harvard was five years old once, too.
Big Sean, the rapper who rose to prominence following the release of his 2011 debut album, Finally Famous, and has collaborated with Kanye West, Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj, is hitting the road in a big  and interactive  way this year.

His North American Unfriendly Reminder tour will open April 12 at Orlandos CFE Arena and conclude June 3 at Torontos RBC Echo Beach. It includes four California dates, beginning with an April 24 concert at Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at San Diego State University.

All tour dates and cities appear below for the tour, which also will feature Playboi Carti. The opening acts are Shy Glizzy and GASHI.

Big Seans set list for his tour will vary from night to night, depending in part on a vote by fans to choose their favorite 20 songs by him and to help curate the set list from his entire discography. Online voting will begin Thursday at uknowbigsean.com.

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In a sign of how much musicians now rely on profits from touring, rather than sales of their recorded music, each city Big Sean performs in will have brand new tour merchandise for sale and  in select cities  fans will have the option to customize handpicked merchandise items.

Tickets for the tour go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m. local time at LiveNation.com. Tickets for Big Seans April 24 San Diego show go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. at ticketmaster.com and by phone at (800) 745-3000.

Ticket prices for the San Diego show range from $30.50 to $70.50 each, plus service charges. There will be at least four pre-sales, starting Thursday at 10 a.m., including for Citi card holders.

Big Sean Unfriendly Reminder tour dates

Thursday, April 12th Orlando, FL CFE Arena

Saturday, April 14th Miami, FL Bayfront Park Amphitheatre

Sunday, April 15th Jacksonville, FL Dailys Place

Wednesday, April 18th Houston, TX Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land

Thursday, April 19th Austin, TX H-E-B Center at Cedar Park

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Friday, April 20th Dallas, TX The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory

Monday, April 23rd Phoenix, AZ Comerica Theatre

Tuesday, April 24th San Diego, CA Cal Coast Credit Union Open Air Theatre at SDSU

Wednesday, April 25th Los Angeles, CA Greek Theatre

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Saturday, April 28th San Francisco, CA Bill Graham Civic Auditorium

Sunday, April 29th San Jose, CA Event Center at San Jose State University

Tuesday, May 1st Seattle, WA WaMu Theatre

Thursday, May 3rd Vancouver, Canada PNE Forum

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Saturday, May 5th Edmonton, Canada Shaw Conference Center

Tuesday, May 8th Minneapolis, MN Armory

Wednesday, May 9th Kansas City, MO Silverstein Eye Centers Arena

Thursday, May 10th Nashville, TN Nashville Municipal Auditorium

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Friday, May 11th Atlanta, GA Coca Cola Roxy

Monday, May 14th Charlotte, NC Charlotte Metro Credit Union Amphitheatre

Tuesday, May 15th Washington, D.C. Anthem

Friday, May 18th Brooklyn, NY Barclays Center

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Saturday, May 19th Uncasville, CT Mohegan Sun

Sunday, May 20th Philadelphia, PA Festival Pier at Penns Landing

Tuesday, May 22nd Boston, MA Blue Hills Bank Pavilion

Friday, May 25th Cleveland, OH J acobs Pavilion at Nautica

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Saturday, May 26th Indianapolis, IN Farm Bureau Insurance Lawn at White River State Park

Sunday, May 27th Chicago, IL Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island

Tuesday, May 29th Milwaukee, WI BMO Harris Pavilion

Wednesday, May 30th Cincinnati, OH PNC Pavilion

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Saturday, June 2nd Detroit, MI Little Caesars Arena

Sunday, June 3rd Toronto, Canada RBC Echo Beach

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george.varga@sduniontribune.com

Twitter @georgevarga
Editors note

This story originally ran on voiceofsandiego.org

Dana Springs is stepping down as the executive director of the Commission for Arts and Culture, a city agency that funds local arts nonprofits and directs the citys public art program.

Springs, whos worked at the commission for 18 years and was appointed director in 2014, announced her resignation at the Jan. 26 monthly meeting with arts commissioners, community volunteers who advise Springs and her staff.

One of my goals as the director, Springs said, pausing as she broke down in tears, was to transform our department into something that could never be trivialized. She added, I couldnt be more proud of that tenure.

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Springs did not give a reason for her departure but said she will remain on staff through March. She didnt immediately respond to a request for an interview.

Kris Michell, the citys new chief operating officer, said finding a qualified candidate to replace Springs will be a top priority.

My commitment is to make sure we start working on this tonight, immediately, to find a replacement for Dana, who cant be replaced, Michell said.

At the meeting, there was palpable tension between Springs, the arts commissioners and arts leaders who had shown up to make public comments.

The friction was over proposed cuts for the budget year that will start July 1. The city is facing significant projected deficits, and the mayors office asked all city department heads to each propose 2 percent in budget cuts.

Members of the commission were angry Springs had submitted three different options to accommodate the requested cuts.

Several commissioners who dont want to accommodate the mayors request were dismayed Springs did not tell him how they felt. The commissioners voted to draft a memo saying they had not signed off on Springs proposed cuts and will instead push for the full funding promised by the Penny for the Arts plan passed by the City Council in 2012.

Commissioners are on high alert after the mayor last year proposed slashing the commissions funding by 31 percent, or about $4.7 million. Arts advocates protested, and the City Council reduced the cuts dramatically, restoring arts funding to about $14.6 million.

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Vernon Franck, the commissions vice chair, said stress surrounding budget cuts could have played a role in Springs resignation, which he said was a complete surprise.

There is definitely tension between commissioners, commission staff and the arts and culture groups we contract with, Franck said. But thats healthy, in my opinion.  But it has gotten rather intense, and maybe that intensity has reached a maximum for Dana.

Kathryn Kanjo, the director of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, praised Springs at the meeting. Peter Comiskey, who leads the nonprofit Balboa Park Cultural Partnership, did as well.

Not everyone, though, has been pleased with Springs leadership.

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I think there have been a number of concerns from people in the arts community about a lack of transparency in policies and decisions that are being made that affect them directly, said Victoria Plettner-Saunders, an arts consultant who used to work at the commission.

Plettner-Saunders took issue with Springs recent pitch to end some of the commissions long-standing committees, which focus on specific subjects like funding or cultural tourism.

Other arts groups and advocates have complained about changes the commission made last year to programs that fund local arts and culture nonprofits.

Peter Kalivas, executive director of the PGK Dance Project, which gets funding from the commission, has become a vocal critic of Springs and the commission. In a recent Voice of San Diego op-ed, he said the commission needs a radical overhaul.

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He opposed changes to the commissions funding program that eliminated an appeal process for arts organizations that get a low rank from a panel that reviews funding requests.

Ive been in that situation and needed to appeal, Kalivas said. And the process was extremely helpful. I was able to show information the panel had missed, and then my rank was corrected and I got the increase in the funding I was seeking.

Since July, Kalivas said hes been going to commission meetings to advocate for changes that would make the funding program more equitable for smaller, newer arts organizations. He wants funding caps and said the current system gives the most money to the oldest and most established arts organizations with the biggest budgets.

Franck said Springs and the commission have considered changes to the funding program to send more money to smaller organizations. He said thats made some of the leaders of the older, bigger arts organizations nervous, and that Springs may have been feeling that pressure, too.

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I can only imagine the paramount pressure that she was probably bombarded with from me and a wide variety of other people with completely opposite opinions, Kalivas said. I think the pushback from the community was all just too much for her.

Kinsee Morlan is the Engagement Editor at Voice of San Diego and author of the Culture Report. Contact her directly at kinsee.morlan@voiceofsandiego.org. Follow her on Facebook or Twitter. Subscribe to her podcast.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday made major concessions to a junior political party, including giving up control of key ministries, to reach an agreement for a proposed new coalition government that would end months of uncertainty.

The agreement, coming nearly five months after the Sept. 24 election put Merkel on track for a fourth term as chancellor, calls for the center-left Social Democratic Party to hold the vice chancellorship and several Cabinet posts, including the coveted finance and foreign berths.

The deal is subject to a postal vote by 460,000 registered members of the Social Democratic Party  many of them with a deep aversion to Merkel and her conservative Christian Democratic Union party. The results are expected by March 4.

Merkel, whose party won the largest share of votes in September but fell far short of a majority in Parliament, appeared willing to give the Social Democrats almost everything the party demanded to end the longest period of political limbo in the countrys postwar history. Germany boasts Europes biggest economy.

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Merkel said at a news conference that negotiating the conditions for the coalition government was a long but worthwhile journey.

Weve got a basis for a good and stable government, which our country needs and that many around the world expect from us, said Merkel, who has been chancellor for 12 years.

The Christian Democrats and the Social Democrats have been the nations dominant parties since the late 1940s.

The left wing of the Social Democrats and its powerful youth organization, the Jusos, however, have been campaigning hard against another grand coalition as junior partners to Merkel after the party posted its worst postwar result: 20% of the vote in the September election.

Merkels conservatives were also battered in the election, falling to 33% of the vote in part because of voter frustration over her 2015 decision to open the countrys borders for more than a million refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and other troubled spots.

Merkel gave the Social Democratic Party, or SPD, much of what it wanted probably because she feared grass-roots members would vote against a deal and and plunge Germany into a prolonged period of uncertainty with new elections, political leaders and analysts said.

You can see the SPDs signature quite clearly in this agreement, said party Chairman Martin Schulz, who will become the countrys next foreign minister if the deal is approved.

Schulz said the 177-page agreement includes plans to increase spending on schools, housing, pensioners and job market reforms that party members like to see.

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Germany has been running budget surpluses since 2012 and is expected to post a $35-billion surplus in 2018. But rather than cut taxes, the agreement indicates the government would increase spending by about $60 billion over the next four years  much of that on projects the Social Democrats favor.

The unusual turmoil in Germany after decades of political stability in a three- or four-party Parliament was caused at least in part by the rise of the upstart far-right Alternative for Germany party, which won 92 seats in the 709-seat Parliament in Septembers election.

Alternative for Germany showed surprising strength, and its campaign aimed against foreigners and refugees made it difficult for the other parties to form a majority. Merkel ruled out a minority government, in part because of lingering fears over political instability in the 1930s that led to the rise of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich.

The Social Democrats initially wanted to spend the next four years in opposition after spending the last four years as Merkels junior partner. but the party agreed to explore another four-year coalition after she unexpectedly failed in November to persuade the Greens and Free Democrats to join forces with her.

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The deal would give Social Democrats control of seven Cabinet posts. The new finance minister would be expected to push the government into taking more pro-European Union positions that France, Italy, Spain and Greece have long been demanding, and could get Germany to relax some of its hard-line positions against struggling EU countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal and France, analysts said.

Merkels main goal, clearly, was holding on to power and the chancellery, said Thomas Jaeger, a political scientist at Cologne University, who expects Germany to be more open to giving greater financial support for Eurozone countries struggling with high deficits.

She was willing to pay any price to put this government together, Jaeger said. She had to make it happen now because if it came to new elections, it would have become quite difficult for her to continue as party leader.

Kirschbaum is a special correspondent.

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UPDATES:

2:20 p.m.: This article was updated throughout with Times reporting.

This article was originally published at 2:45 a.m.
While America fought twin counter-insurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, potential enemies began building the sea, air and ground forces.

The rise of potential peer foes like China and Russia, plus near-peer rivals like Iran, came during an era of Pentagon budget woes and painful problems fielding new weapon systems such as the littoral combat ship and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Thats why the U.S. Naval Institute brought a quartet of Navy three-stars and a top infantryman to San Diegos Convention Center on Tuesday to talk about the peer and near-peer threat: Naval Air Forces boss DeWolfe Bullet Miller; Surface Warfare commander Richard A. Brown; deputy chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare Jan E. Tighe; Naval Submarine Forces Joseph E. Tofalo; and Maj. Gen. Eric M. Smith, the commander of 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton.

Smith and Vice Adm. Tofalo soundest the loudest warnings about a future fighting rising foes.

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We talk about this near-peer competition, but the greatest capability navy in the world can still lose if they show up late, if they dont have the capacity to surge that margin thats needed, said Tofalo.

Tofalo starts with deterrence  wielding an undersea force so powerful that a potential enemy shirks from waging war against it.

Hes counting on maintaining an edge over rising powers thanks to an ongoing acoustic superiority program, top secret innovations designed to make his boats harder to detect even when they nuzzle up to a foes shoreline.

Tofalo pointed to ongoing experiments being conducted aboard a prototype vessel, the South Dakota, plus improvements to torpedo missiles and the emergence of a new family of unmanned undersea vehicles as tools his super-quiet fleet also is developing to wage future war.

But those technological gains have come despite an era of austerity.

Ohio-class subs carrying nuclear and conventional missiles were intended to last three decades but a business decision extended their service life another dozen years, Tofalo said. That required them to swap out their nuclear fuel, a long chore that continues to cut the number available for deployment.

And then theres his attack sub headache.

Tofalo is supposed to have 66 of them but today he counts 50. That number is expected to dip to 43 before shipyards begin churning out two Virginia-class replacements annually in the mid-2020s.

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An even more futuristic design, the Columbia-class sub, waits in the wings, but Pentagon planners hope to incorporate many of its innovations in the Virginia boats.

For now, Tofalos poster child for a perfect storm of problems is the rusting Boise, a Los Angeles-class attack sub launched nearly 28 years ago.

Three weeks before it was slated to begin repairs, commanders learned that its maintenance would be delayed for three years because of no space in the yard.

That submarine has spent 31 months next to a pier, he said.

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Much like Tofalos South Dakota, Smiths Marine Corps is developing a futuristic infantry battalion through its Sea Dragon 2025 program, and its not necessarily designed to fight insurgents.

Seventeen years of battling lightly armed guerrillas meant less time to prep for conventional combat. Marines now must scrimmage for a future war where they might be bombed by aircraft or attacked with nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.

Thats a mindset shift, said Smith. Theres a generation of Marine officers all the way up to major who have not done that.

Saying that our dance card is full, Smith said that the most important thing he needs now is time to train his troops.

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Basic and repetitive training along with the chance to unveil new battle plans are essential because its better to fail when practicing for war, instead of being in the middle of it.

That sort of experimentation continues. Smith pointed to Marines at sea who hit a trash can-sized target from 44 miles away three months ago with a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System. They did it by driving the artillery onto the amphibious warship Anchorage and pointing it at San Clemente Island.

Thats how you prepare for a peer or near-peer competitor because nobody wants to have HIMARS coming down on them from 70 kilometers away, Smith said.

But Marine craftiness wasnt the message he wanted potential enemies abroad to hear on Tuesday.

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The last 15 or 16 years, weve been focusing on the counterinsurgency fight, Smith said. Well now Im focused on something else. Thats not false bravado. That should make you nervous.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
When U.S. Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Scott Swift approached the Convention Center stage Tuesday afternoon, a little bit of his soul flew back to Jan. 13, 1978.

Thats when the San Diego native enlisted in the Navy, the start of a career that would stretch four decades and bring the highly decorated aviator fellow strike pilots call Notso to war in the Persian Gulf and in the skies of Iraq.

Although never stationed in his hometown, he owns the Point Loma house where he grew up.

And Point Loma is where the Third Fleet is headquartered, the force he ordered to return to the Pacific Ocean to serve as a second fist alongside the Japan-based Seventh Fleet in any future war.

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Its one of a multitude of somewhat melancholy moments, Swift, 60, told The San Diego Union-Tribune after stepping away from the microphone.

In his bittersweet address before a whos who of past and present Navy and Marine leaders organized by the nonprofit U.S. Naval Institute, the San Diego State grad didnt mention being passed over for promotion to lead Hawaii-based Pacific Command, his looming retirement from Navy or a string of collisions in the Pacific Ocean last year that triggered ongoing probes and court-martial proceedings against surface warfare officers under his command.

Instead, in a wide-ranging half hour speech he confronted a rising China that threatens to destabilize the international rule of law in the Western Pacific and the institutions that arbitrate disputes, the battle plans hes scripting to ensure a dominant Pacific Fleet into the future and the need for naval reforms to revamp the the Navy and prevent calamities like the 2017 crashes that killed 17 sailors.

Theyre applying national law in international space, displacing the sovereignty of other nations, said Swift, pointing to Chinese efforts to vie for control of strings of islands and shoals across the Western Pacific, especially in the South China Sea.

Swift warned that dismantling the architecture of peace that was built across the Pacific Rim by the U.S. Navy at the end of World War II threatens not only regional stability but the economic prosperity that was built atop that peace.

The rising tide of prosperity has raised all boats, all countries, and equally, even some of those countries seeking to change that rules set now  he said.

While he remains optimistic that the United States will stay off the path to war, Swift warned that Americans will need to be vigilant, especially the Navy because its not a garrison force.

The Navys charge is to look after the national interest at the leading edge of that interest, he said. Forward. Especially in those areas that its being the most challenged. Especially in those areas where its being challenged by peer competitors who have the power and desire to change that policy.

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And we have to do it on behalf of others who dont have that power to stand up to those forces.

That charge has come during a trying time for Pentagon planners.

Over the past decade, Congress has balked at giving the armed forces a steady stream of funding. Lawmakers instead have relied on temporary resolutions to pay the militarys bills, a problem exacerbated by defense spending caps instituted in so-called sequestration legislation passed in 2011.

Swift pointed to three vessels that recently needed to enter shipyards for maintenance but couldnt because companies balked at starting repairs without the guarantee of getting paid.

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And then there are the Navys ongoing struggles with manpower shortages.

The guided-missile destroyer Milius, for example, was designed two decades ago to carry nearly 300 sailors but its ranks hover now around 240, Swift said.

Instead of working 70-hour weeks at sea, shipmates toil 80 or more.

While the Pentagon plans on building a 355-ship Navy -- up from the 280 vessels capable of sailing today -- the Pacific Fleet is operating at the same tempo it did when the Navy was twice as large.

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Swift predicted staffing levels will begin to improve later this year and next, but those gains could evaporate if Capitol Hill remains stalemated over a spending pact.

Lawmakers continued to work Tuesday to forestall a repeat this week of last months federal government shutdown.

All bets are off if we dont have a budget, Swift said.

The admiral doesnt want to talk about his legacy, but he might be best known after retirement for scripting his Swift Signals, a study in how his forces in the Pacific can achieve Full-Spectrum Superiority  decisively dominating an enemy at sea, from the shore, in the air and space and across cyberspace.

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Paying homage to the flag officers who taught him how to structure forces so that they can execute missions strategically  retired Adm. Robert F. Willard and U.S. Army Forces Command Gen. James D. Thurman  he told the Union-Tribune that he feels a profound responsibility, an obligation to leave a game plan for the commander who follows in his wake, shoring up readiness problems while prepping his fleet to win wars.

If you are concerned about conditions, you have to take action to correct those conditions, he said. Whether its a legacy, well, it depends if people pick this up and run with it. Its only a legacy if people see value in it and they continue on. But Ive got to create the opportunity for others to say theres something there. Im going to morph it and make it my own and carry it forward.

The Pentagon brass havent telegraphed when Swift will step down or who might replace him, but he has no plans on walking forever away from Americas national security challenges.

Who knows what the legacy is going to be, he said. Ill find a way to contribute after I retire, but it wont be the same as being here.

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cprine@sduniontribune.com
The unexpected departure of Los Angeles schools Supt. Michelle King  after less than two years on the job  has triggered a rarely used clause in the contract of an executive search firm: its warranty.

The contract the school district signed with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates stated that the firm would not charge a consulting fee for a new search if the superintendent were to leave the job within two years.

The fee for the first search was $160,000 plus approved expenses. This one is supposed to be all but free.

HYA has agreed to honor the provision in their earlier agreement to perform a subsequent recruitment at no charge  save certain costs, said L.A. Unified General Counsel David Holmquist. We are finalizing a new contract to reflect this commitment while the [school] board considers the scope of the recruitment effort.

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Officials at the L.A. Unified School District announced Kings selection on Jan. 11, 2016. Just days shy of two years later, on Jan. 5 of this year, King released a statement saying that she has cancer and would be stepping down. She was last at work in early September, when she went on medical leave. She appointed Vivian Ekchian as an interim replacement in October.

That last superintendent search looked at candidates from around the country, but at the end of the confidential process, the Board of Education chose King, then deputy superintendent, whod spent her entire career in the district.

HYA consultants, including Hank Gmitro, foreground, address the Board of Education in 2015. (Howard Blume / Los Angeles Times )

The district still will incur some expenses related to the search, which could include the costs of organizing community forums, if officials decide to go down that route again. In the last search, these forums  overseen by the consultants  were held across the school system, though most were poorly attended. Still, the feedback was dutifully collected and reviewed by the Board of Education.

On Tuesday afternoon, after the board met in closed session, board President Monica Garcia said in an interview that this time around, the consultants would not be leading or participating in public gatherings. Instead, board members would handle outreach in their own districts.

Every board member will be engaging stakeholders in a variety of ways, Garcia said, adding that theyll also review the public comments from the last search.

Board member Nick Melvoin said hes already had informal sessions in his district, and that he plans to have more.

Before the search that led to King, the Board of Education selected three superintendents without a formal process for public input or participation, although civic leaders and philanthropists exerted influence behind the scenes. L.A. has had six superintendents since 2008, counting Acting Supt. Ekchian. The school board affirmed that Ekchian would stay on in her role days after King announced she would be stepping down.

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The provision in the contract for the search that led to Kings appointment stated its warranty as follows:

If the Superintendent departs from the position during the first year under any circumstances or within two years if the majority of the Board is still in place, HYA will conduct a new search for the Board at no additional cost barring expenses.

The principals of HYA, which is based in Illinois, are former school superintendents who rely on their contacts  and their good standing  in education.

HYA could have tried to void its warranty on a technicality  because King said when she stepped down that she would retire by June 30, which is well after the end of the warranty period. (After going on medical leave, she began to use the paid sick days she accumulated over her long career.)

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The firm couldnt have extricated itself using the clause about the school board. Since King got the job, only two of seven board seats have changed hands.

That small turnover, however, led to a big shift in board power, which could have threatened Kings tenure in the job had she stayed healthy.

howard.blume@latimes.com

Twitter: @howardblume

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UPDATES:

5:55 p.m.: This article was updated with additional comments from board members.

This article was originally published at 2:05 p.m.
An off-duty Los Angeles police officer violated his departments rules when he fired his gun during a clash with a group of teenagers last year in Anaheim, the Police Commission determined Tuesday.

Siding with Chief Charlie Beck, the commission found that Officer Kevin Fergusons tactics were out of policy, along with his decision to draw his gun and fire it.

The civilian panels unanimous vote comes nearly a year after Ferguson, 34, fired a shot after confronting a group of teenagers in front of his home in Anaheim, a caught-on-camera dispute that quickly went viral and triggered days of protests.

The criminal investigation into Fergusons actions ended two weeks ago, when Orange County prosecutors announced they would not charge him in the Feb. 21, 2017, encounter. Prosecutors had harsh words for his actions  calling them unwise, immature and flat-out horrible in a memo  but said they could not prove he broke the law.

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Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Police Department conducted its own review to determine whether Ferguson violated any of the agencys policies  standard protocol whenever an officer fires his or her gun. The five-person Police Commission ultimately decides whether officers were justified in doing so, and whether they followed department rules before pulling the trigger.

It is now up to Beck to decide what punishment, if any, to hand down to Ferguson.

The chief was critical of the officers actions in a report he submitted to the Police Commission, saying the inquiry revealed a number of concerns about Fergusons comments and conduct that prompted a personnel investigation.

Ferguson had ample time to try and deescalate the situation, go home and call Anaheim police, Beck wrote. Instead, the chief said, Ferguson continued to escalate the encounter by chasing after a 13-year-old boy.

There was no reason for Ferguson to draw his gun when he did, Beck added. And although the officer told investigators he fired a warning shot to scatter what Ferguson believed was a dangerous crowd, Beck wrote, LAPD officials determined the teenagers actions did not warrant such a move.

The officers attorney declined to comment on the Police Commissions decision. In a statement, the directors of the union representing rank-and-file LAPD officers defended Fergusons actions, saying he was trying to protect himself  and had the right and duty to do so.

While we disagree with the findings, we hope this decision now enables everyone involved to move past this incident, the Los Angeles Police Protective League said.

What began as a complaint common in many neighborhoods  a group of teens walking through a neighbors yard on the way home from school  spun out of control when authorities say Ferguson confronted the group, cursing at a 13-year-old girl.

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That escalated into a 16-minute struggle between Ferguson and a 13-year-old boy that moved between the sidewalk and street before ending in a neighbors front yard. Prosecutors released nearly a dozen videos captured by surveillance cameras and cellphones that show different portions of the encounter  including the boy and Ferguson trading accusations.

At one point, the boy accuses Ferguson of choking him as they struggle.

What are you doing this for? a bystander asks.

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Because he threatened to shoot me, Ferguson responds.

I didnt say that, the 13-year-old answers, insisting that he said he was going to sue Ferguson.

At one point, another teenager rushes the officer, sending him tumbling over a hedge.

As the officer tries to drag the 13-year-old over the bushes, another teen swings at him. The officer then reaches into his jeans for a gun and fires a single shot.

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No one was injured by the gunfire, which authorities said was aimed at the ground.

Ferguson told investigators he thought the crowd was going to gang up on me and beat the  out of me, according to Becks report.

I didnt know what was going to happen, the officer said.

R.J. Manuelian, an attorney representing one of the teenagers, blasted Fergusons actions, saying they went against all protocols. The officer, he added, should be fired.

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I dont think he has the temperament to be a police officer, he said.

To read this article in Spanish, click here

kate.mather@latimes.com

@katemather

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UPDATES:

7:15 p.m.: This article was updated with information from LAPD Chief Charlie Becks report to the Police Commission and comments from an attorney representing one of the teenagers involved.

3:50 p.m.: This article was updated with specifics about the Police Commissions vote and a comment from the Los Angeles Police Protective League.

This article was originally published at 2:55 p.m.
Get your taste buds ready, folks, because the Los Angeles Times Food Bowl  a monthlong festival  is returning.

Throughout May, The Times will be hosting and curating dining events, panel discussions, volunteer projects and other events celebrating L.A.s diverse culinary scene. The festival also will promote conversations about and raise money to combat food waste, hunger and food insecurity.

Food Bowl has partnered with several charitable organizations that focus on reclaiming discarded food and feeding the homeless and needy, including L.A. Kitchen, Food Forward and Midnight Mission, said Angus Dillon, the festivals executive producer.

On Tuesday, dozens of people gathered at the downtown restaurant Otium for the festival launch.

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Jim Kirk, the Times new editor-in-chief, told the crowd that many of the festivals programs are focused on alleviating the crisis of homelessness and that the charity partners are on the front lines helping to address this especially relevant issue.

Francoise Dehaipe, center, passes food through a crowd at Otium in downtown Los Angeles during a preview event for the Los Angeles Times Food Bowl. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times )

I know that chefs, cooks and the food community as a whole take this issue to heart, he said.

The inaugural festival in May drew more than 100,000 attendees. This year, more than 250 events are planned, including neighborhood food tours, a discussion about food in space at UCLA, a Sichuan Summit featuring food writer Fuchsia Dunlop and Chinese Chef Yu Bo and a conversation with chef Jose Andres of the Bazaar by Jose Andres.

The festival, once again, will revolve around Night Market, an outdoor food market May 16-20 in Grand Park that will feature more than 50 restaurants and food trucks.

I think of it as a monthlong, progressive dinner party, a way for all of us to explore this town and the enormous diversity that we have in terms of food and the people who cook it, said Amy Scattergood, the Times food editor.

The festival also will feature the Gold Film Festival, a mini-festival curated by Times restaurant critic Jonathan Gold, with screenings hosted in various neighborhoods around the city.

Gold on Tuesday said Food Bowl is a celebration of Los Angeles.

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Its a celebration of the chefs of Los Angeles, he said. Its a celebration of the restaurateurs. Its a celebration of the astonishing produce that we have, and its a celebration of the magnificent diversity that we have in the city of Los Angeles thats unlike that which you see in any other city in the world.

Los Angeles restaurateur Stephane Bombet, who attended Tuesdays festival launch, said he looked forward to participating in the festival because it is community-oriented and because of the charitable aspect.

Food speaks to everybody, he said. When you tell people youre going to have beautiful and delicious food  what can be better than that?

Chani Hitt, marketing director for the restaurant group Happy to Serve You, said its an exciting time for the Los Angeles food scene.

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It seems like now, more than ever, were being not only respected for food, but were being supported in the industry, she said. There are more opportunities, from chefs to street vendors.

A Food Bowl preview event launched at Otium in downtown Los Angeles. (Christina House / Los Angeles Times )

hailey.branson@latimes.com

Twitter: @haileybranson
The pros and cons of local vs. corporate ownership of news organizations has been debated forever, it seems.

The San Diego Union-Tribune has been smack in the middle of it for the last decade, with owners of each stripe.

The next one is neither.

It may take some time to learn what Los Angeles biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiongs ownership will mean to the Union-Tribune, and to San Diego as well.

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Soon-Shiong has reached deal to buy the Los Angeles Times and Union-Tribune from their parent company, Tronc, which owns several news organizations from coast to coast.

UPDATE: The sale to be announced Wednesday.

The focus, and Soon-Shiongs keen interest, is on The Times, as it should be. Its one of the biggest, most prestigious newspapers in the country, which has had a dysfunctional relationship with Tronc, a drama that has been on full display in numerous national news stories.

Soon-Shiong has been trying to buy The Times for a while. His investment in Tronc made him a major shareholder and helped the company avoid being taken over by Gannett.

But his clashes with majority shareholder Michael Ferro over the direction of the company  not to mention Ferros spending on jets, corporate salaries and his own consulting company while making cuts in newsrooms  also was fodder for media coverage.

Soon-Shiong appears to have civic reasons for wanting to buy The Times, but what his ownership will bring there is uncertain. It was welcomed nonetheless. Tronc brought only the latest drama in two decades of ownership turmoil at The Times. If the biotech giant brings some stability, that would be a decent start.

When news of the sale hit, some cheers went up in The Times newsroom. A friend at the paper figured it was probably a good thing, but couldnt get too worked up about it.

Its like being a foster kid passed around so many times, you just become wary, he said.

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Down here, we got caught off guard and were more than a bit bewildered about what it means. There had been some recent stories about a possible sale of The Times, but the Union-Tribune wasnt mentioned.

Being attached at the hip to The Times has its pros and cons: Its a prestigious organization with some great journalists and expansive news resources, despite recent cuts. Its also been in constant turmoil for years and has lost some good people.

While clearly the little sister in this deal, the Union-Tribune has been an attractive, money-making Tronc property. Thats not to suggest the U-T is the tail wagging the dog.

The papers have never coordinated or consolidated their coverage as was envisioned when the U-T was bought by Tribune Publishing, which became Tronc. On one hand, thats too bad because of the aforementioned resources. But it may have cost more jobs.

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Currently, the Union-Tribune is printed in Los Angeles by The Times.

The Times has had virtually nothing to do with the Union-Tribunes news content, and vice versa, other than to share the occasional story. Some people have gone around this town insisting The Times has been calling the shots down here. They dont know what they are talking about. That has never been the case.

While the term local ownership always seems to have a positive connotation, its actually the corporate owners  Tronc and Platinum Equity  who left the U-T to determine its own editorial positions.

They were interested in the economics, and thus inflicted on us the downsizing pain experienced by most news organizations. In between them, San Diego developer Douglas Manchester put his polemic editorial stamp on the paper. Before them all, the Copleys had a strongly conservative editorial page, though the notion that this bled over into the news pages was exaggerated, at least in the latter years.

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So where will Soon-Shiong fit in? He may be L.A.-centric, but he has millions invested in companies here in San Diego. His politics, judged by his campaign contributions, are heavily, but not entirely, Democratic: Hes given tens of thousands of dollars to Hillary Clinton and national Democratic committees. Hes also made much smaller contributions to Republicans John McCain, Rick Perry and Rudy Giuliani.

He advised then-Vice President Joe Bidens cancer moonshot effort. He also dined with Donald Trump shortly after he was elected president, triggering speculation of an administration post for Soon-Shiong.

Among the many intriguing questions is whether he will rekindle the effort to create a greater Southern California news organization by trying to purchase the Orange County Register. Tronc put in a winning bid to buy the Register, but the sale was blocked by the Obama administration in 2016.

Like Union-Tribune staff, local observers arent sure what to make of it all.

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With the loss of local newspapers and shrinking of coverage, any change in ownership raises concern and maybe some hope. Some rare owners, like Jeff Bezos at The Washington Post, have increased resources, expanded coverage and avoided a heavy editorial hand  and saw their organizations thrive.

But that has been far from the norm for the industry.

Were going to be watching this sale very carefully and looking at what the implications will be for the newsroom at the Union-Tribune, said Bey-Ling Sha, director of the School of Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State University..

The U-Ts news coverage and editorials will face increased scrutiny.

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In our current climate the perception of objectivity in editorial content is more important than ever, she said.

Carl Luna, political scientist at Mesa College, said what motivated Soon-Shiong to buy The Times and Union-Tribune should eventually play out in what kind of news organizations they become.

If its profit, efficiency through staff cuts and easy, more sensational stories may be the result, he said. A more ideological owner  Luna gave the example of Rupert Murdoch at News Corp.  can shape editorials and possibly news coverage.

Economics tends to be the driving aspect at the end of the day, Luna said. But in this era of billionaires buying newspapers, are we going back to the era of Citizen Kane?

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Heres hoping Soon-Shiong is more of a Bezos kind of guy.
A former Marine was sentenced Tuesday to five years in state prison for punching a police officer in Pacific Beach, breaking multiple bones in his face and leaving him with other lingering injuries.

The lawman, San Diego police Officer David West, was checking into a call of a woman being attacked.

Kevin Ryan Freeman, 24, previously pleaded guilty to assaulting West and attacking the woman and her roommate on Nov. 19, 2016.

``Because of Mr. Freeman, my brain is now damaged,' West told Judge Polly Shamoon. ``Ive lost everything because of this man.'

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West said he hurt his back, his left orbital bone was broken and his jaw damaged as a result of the punch by Freeman. The officer told the judge he also suffers from anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and has ringing in the ears and memory loss.

West said he has not been able to return to his domestic violence unit since being injured and remains on light duty.

``No one wants to give me a chance,' the officer said.

West said he has forgiven Freeman for what he did, but asked the judge to sentence the defendant to the maximum nine years in prison.

Freeman apologized to West and thanked him for stopping his path down the wrong road.

``There are no excuses for what I did,' the defendant said. ``Thank you for not shooting me.'

The judge told Freeman that he showed a ``lack of control when he drank alcohol that night.

``You had to know you cant drink,' Shamoon told the defendant. ``You have to live with the guilt for what you did.'

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Deputy District Attorney Michael Reilly said Freeman went to the home of a woman he met at a bar and began choking her during a disagreement over a cellphone. The victims roommate also was assaulted when she came to the victims defense, the prosecutor said.

West was punched when he and his partner responded to the home.

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pauline.repard@sduniontribune

Twitter: @pdrepard
Tuesdays plane crash in Santee, which killed two people and injured two dogs, will join more than 200 other aircraft-related accidents that have occurred at or near Gillespie Field, according to federal data.

Based on records from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, which tracks and investigates all plane crashes and minor accidents, 214 accidents tied to Gillespie Field have resulted in 17 fatalities and 22 injuries from January 1978 to December of last year.

Those numbers do not include the two people found dead in the small plane that crashed in Santee shortly after taking off from Gillespie Field Tuesday morning.

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The Cessna 182 Skylane was found upright, leaning on its left side, appearing to have crashed nose first into the glass companys yard on Prospect Avenue near Cuyamaca Street.

Witnesses reported hearing some kind of throttling after the single-engine plane took off and headed west, indicating a mechanical issue.

Officials said it appears the pilot circled around after takeoff and was trying to make it back to the airport, came, but came up short and landed in the yard. Two dogs survived the crash and were taken to a local veterinarian to be checked out. No one on the ground was injured.

Data show Cessna planes were involved in 34 percent of all Gillespie incidents, some 73 events, the most among all other types of planes. Its followed by Pipers with 42 incidents and Beech planes with 14.

The San Diego Union-Tribune combined FAA and NTSB data for the analysis. Only accidents that list Gillespie as an associated airport  indicating that the event took place within 3 miles of Gillespie, or involved an aircraft that was taking off or approaching Gillespie  were included.

Data show not all incidents are major crashes. The vast majority, about 130, resulted in minor or no damage to the aircraft, most likely because the event took place on the ground during taxiing. Less than 10 planes were destroyed and about 60 listed substantial damage.

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Contact Lauryn Schroeder via Twitter or Email.
Adela de la Torre, the newly appointed president of San Diego State University, will visit the campus on Thursday for her first extensive meeting with students, faculty and staff.

De la Torre, 63, will do a meet-and-greet at Montezuma Hall in the Prebys Student Union on Thursday morning, then spend the rest of the day in smaller meetings with campus leaders.

During a brief interview last week, de la Torre told the Union-Tribune that SDSU has a unique character that intersects well with my interests. It is deeply committed to research, it has an innovative faculty and students who, by any measure, have done remarkably well.

The 63 year-old de la Torre will succeed Elliot Hirshman, and becomes the first woman to serve as a permanent president of SDSU. She comes to San Diego from UC Davis, where she has been serving as vice chancellor of student affairs and campus diversity.

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Complete story: UC Davis economist named next president of San Diego State

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Twitter: @grobbins

gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com
A powerful earthquake struck the east coast of Taiwan late Tuesday, killing two people and causing buildings to tilt at dangerous angles as aftershocks continued into the night.

As daybreak arrived Wednesday, authorities said 177 people remained missing or trapped, including 147 people who were believed to be in a residential building that was leaning so precipitously that rescue workers were unable to go in. Firefighters were evaluating whether to prop up the building with steel.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the quake measured magnitude 6.4, but that the shaking was felt as intensity level 7. That is considered a strong quake that can cause considerable damage in poorly built or badly designed structures.

The quake was centered 6.2 miles beneath the islands Pacific coast off Hualien County on the east coast. It was felt most strongly in Hualien and neighboring Yilan County, although buildings also shook in the capital, Taipei, about 35 miles away. The two deaths occurred in Hualien County; no details about the victims were immediately announced.

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Heres what earthquake magnitudes meanand why an 8 can be so much scarier than a 6 

We believe at this time we need to make sure were making preparations for Hualien, providing enough medication and help for citizens so they can be safe as soon as possible, Taiwanese Premier William Lai said in a live YouTube video after the quake. With such a large earthquake a lot of things will definitely happen.

A 10-story hotel partly collapsed, damaging the first floor and a basement level. At least 24 people were trapped inside as of 2 a.m. Wednesday, a local fire department representative in Hualien County said. A restaurant and a hospital were among other structures damaged, as was the residential building where the 147 people were believed to be stuck.

(@latimesgraphics )

The National Fire Agency also reported two damaged bridges and cracks in a section of road.

As of 3 a.m. Wednesday, 150 people had been rescued, the county fire department representative said. Authorities said 214 people were hurt, and all hospitals in Hualien County had admitted people with minor injuries.

Taiwans Ministry of National Defense sent more than 400 military personnel to help firefighters rescue people at the hotel. The government warned people in Hualien to leave any unsafe buildings, such as those with existing cracks, in case of aftershocks.

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Taiwan is in a seismically active zone, part of a ring of fire that arcs across the Pacific Ocean and south along the West Coast of North America.

The island sits on the border of the Eurasian and Philippine plates. On Taiwans west side, the Eurasian plate is moving underneath the Philippine plate; but off the northeastern coast where Tuesdays earthquake hit, the situation is reversed and the Philippine plate is moving underneath the Eurasian, according to U.S. Geological Survey geologist Devin McPhillips.

The city of Hualien is located just above a thrust fault, and also above a big pile of river sediment.

These sorts of pretty loose sand, silt and gravel deposits  not unlike the L.A. Basin  can really interact in interesting and sometimes dangerous and unpredictable ways with seismic waves, McPhillips said. Everywhere in Taiwan is really tectonically active. All of these plates are moving pretty fast.

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A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in 1999 killed 2,400 people in Taiwan. A magnitude 6.4 quake in February 2016 toppled a building in the city of Tainan in southern Taiwan and killed 116 people.

Army Col. Huang Chung-chang, director of a military relief brigade at the disaster site, said he was stationed in Tainan in 2016, and immediately thought of that experience Tuesday. Based on that, he said, when we knew about the collapsed building here, we mobilized people as fast as possible.

After looking at photos of the damage in Taiwan on Tuesday, California seismic safety commissioner Kit Miyamoto said it appears that buildings failed because of brittle concrete construction as well as flimsy ground stories. Similar failures were widely seen during the Mexico earthquake that struck in September, said Miyamoto, a structural engineer.

Taiwan is a very advanced country as far as earthquakes are concerned, Miyamoto said. The technology is as good as  California or Japan. However, he said, older buildings are still at risk  just as in California.

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1 / 13 The Yun Tsui building leaning to one side after an overnight earthquake in the Taiwanese city of Hualien. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP/Getty Images) 2 / 13 Rescue workers carry a victims body from a building which tilted to one side after its foundation collapsed in Hualien after a strong magnitude 6.4 quake rocked eastern Taiwan. (PAUL YANG / AFP/Getty Images) 3 / 13 Clothes hang out on balconies of a leaning apartment building collapsed after a strong earthquake in eastern Taiwan. (Chiang Ying-ying / Associated Press) 4 / 13 Rescuers search an apartment building collapsed after a strong earthquake in eastern Taiwan. (Chiang Ying-ying / Associated Press) 5 / 13 Rescuers search an apartment building that collapsed after a strong earthquake in Taiwan. (Chiang Ying-ying / Associated Press) 6 / 13 Rescuers search for people at an apartment building that collapsed after a strong earthquake in eastern Taiwan. (Chiang Ying-ying / Associated Press) 7 / 13 Rescuers search an apartment building that collapsed after a strong earthquake in eastern Taiwan. (Chiang Ying-ying / Associated Press) 8 / 13 A rescue worker walks past beams used to prop up the Yun Tsui building as it leans to one side after an overnight earthquake in the Taiwanese city of Hualien. (ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP/Getty Images) 9 / 13 The Marshal Hotel, still largely intact, lists perilously as rescuers attempt to remove occupants after a magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Hualien County in eastern Taiwan. (Tian Jun-hsiung / Associated Press) 10 / 13 Guests who had to flee the Marshal Hotel huddle on a sidewalk in Hualien, Taiwan. (Yang Jen-fu / AFP/Getty Images) 11 / 13 Rescuers climb ladders to reach the Marshal Hotel in Hualien, Taiwan, after a strong earthquake struck the island. (AFP/Getty Images) 12 / 13 Emergency responders outside the Marshall Hotel, which partially collapsed after an early morning earthquake in Hualien, Taiwan. (Taijing Wu / Associated Press) 13 / 13 Rescure workers search the damaged Marshal Hotel in Hualien, Taiwan, after a strong earthquake struck the island. (Paul Yang / AFP/Getty Images)

L.A. races to fix vulnerable buildings before next major earthquake 

Brittle concrete buildings can collapse in an earthquake because they lack enough reinforcing steel to keep concrete from exploding out of the buildings columns when shaken. Flimsy first floors are also a problem in what engineers call a soft story building, in which the ground floor is weak.

The epicenter of the latest earthquake was around the scenic Taroko National Park, about 12 miles north of Hualien city. The temblor came during a period of seismic activity in the area:

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The Central Weather Bureau had recorded 20 smaller earthquakes in the same Pacific coast zone off Taiwan since Sunday, when a magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck just less than two miles southeast of Tuesdays epicenter. The bureau reported at least 20 aftershocks after the Tuesday temblor, which were as strong as magnitude 5.4.

There is a risk that the earthquake could trigger more quakes to the south along the same fault system, which is about 90 miles long, said geologist David Jacobson, an analyst for Temblor, a seismic risk app based in Redwood City, Calif.

Given the length of the fault, given the activity of it, people should be prepared, Jacobson said, adding: Not to say something will happen, but that something could happen.

Tuesdays earthquake produced nearly triple the shaking energy as Sundays. A rule of thumb is for any given earthquake, within a week, theres about a 5% probability that an earthquake will trigger a bigger one, McPhillips said.

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The government said it would ask fire agencies in Hualien County on Wednesday, weather permitting, to evaluate roads and bridges for any risk and immediately close off any that might buckle in another quake, Lai said.

Jennings is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Rong-Gong Lin II in San Francisco contributed to this report.

UPDATES:

6:25 p.m.: This article has been updated with people trapped in residential building, comments from California geologist and army colonel; number of injured.

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4 p.m.: This article has been updated with comments from California seismic safety commissioner.

2:45 p.m.: This article has been updated with scientific background, quotes. It also changes the spelling of the location from Hualian to Hualien, which is a more common English transliteration.

11:45 p.m.: This article has been updated throughout with two dead, additional details on damage, quotes.

9:30 a.m.: This article has been updated with additional damage reports.

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This article was originally published at 9:15 a.m.
A Mission Valley woman recently ousted from her local planning board for missing meetings says a male board member assaulted her in September and she missed the next few meetings because she feared he might harm her again.

The man accused of assault  who works for Sudberry Properties  denies the allegations: Was there any threat, aggression or malice? Absolutely not.

City officials have known of the incident since Jan. 23 but havent launched an investigation.

(Deborah Bossmeyer )

A Mission Valley woman recently ousted from her local planning board over her attendance record says a male board member assaulted her in September and she missed the next few meetings because she feared he might harm her again.

The woman, Deborah Bossmeyer, says her vocal opposition to a Mission Valley connector road approved in October may have played a role in her abrupt removal from the board last month.

The road is planned to connect Civita in Mission Valley to Abbots Hill in Serra Mesa. It would require widening several streets in the area and building a new four-lane road to connect Phyllis Place with Via Alta and Franklin Ridge Road.

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Her vocal opposition, which included singling out a planning official for criticism in October, may also be why city officials took no action when Bossmeyer reported the alleged assault on Jan. 23, she said by telephone on Tuesday.

Bossmeyer says she will file a civil rights lawsuit if she isnt reinstated to the board, contending that at least two of her absences should have been excused because she feared for her physical safety.

She says Marco Sessa, a fellow board member, pushed her on her upper arm three times on Sept. 19 to emphasize his displeasure that she mentioned her concerns about the connector road to members of the Urban Land Institute research organization.

It is my opinion that his actions were intended to be a form of physical and psychological intimidation, she said in a Jan. 23 email to several planning board members and city planner Nancy Graham, whom Bossmeyer singled out for criticism last fall.

Saying none of those officials took action, Bossmeyer filed an official report with San Diego police last Friday, she said.

On Tuesday, Bossmeyer reiterated that the altercation happened while Sessa, an official with Sudberry Properties, criticized her for talking to the Urban Land Institute.

While he was telling me that, he took his left hand  he was holding a little notebook  and he started pushing me in my upper right arm, she said. It was intentional and it was three pushes. He crossed the line there.

Sessa denied the accusation on Tuesday in an email sent by his attorney.

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This is a bizarre accusation, the email said. Following the meeting in question last September, Deborah and I had a face-to-face discussion, as we were standing outside the Mission Valley library where the meeting took place. At no time did I push Ms. Bossmeyer or touch her in an intimidating way. Is it possible that I incidentally tapped Ms. Bossmeyer on the shoulder over the course of the conversation, maybe with my notepad? Of course its possible. Was there any threat, aggression or malice? Absolutely not.

Leaders of the planning board, the Mission Valley Community Planning Group, said by telephone on Tuesday that Bossmeyers removal was cut and dried: She missed four consecutive meetings, which means automatic removal under the groups bylaws. They said the bylaws have no provision for an excused absence.

They also said the alleged assault, which took place in a parking lot after a group subcommittee meeting had concluded, had nothing to do with her removal.

John Nugent, group secretary, said the group could investigate the alleged assault if Bossmeyer officially reports it to group officials. But he said the report she filed with the police isnt enough to prompt any action by the group.

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There are provisions within the bylaws if a complaint is filed against another member that we would look into it, Nugent said. As of right now, no complaint has been filed against another member per the bylaws.

Keith Pittsford, another board member, said he wasnt sure an investigation could take place even then, because the alleged assault didnt take place during a meeting or at the site of a meeting.

I dont think theres any jurisdiction here for us, he said.

Bossmeyer said its possible her ouster from the board after more than seven years was just a matter of Nugent doing his job as secretary.

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Hes very detailed oriented and he was doing his job, she said.

But Bossmeyer said its also possible her opposition to the connector road between Interstate 805 and Friars Road, which the City Council approved in late October despite significant resident opposition, also played a role.

I can only speculate, but this is very interesting this is happening and its pointed at just me, Bossmeyer said on Tuesday. I dont know how this came about, so I cant answer it.

Bossmeyer said its surprising that Nancy Graham, the planning official who learned of the alleged assault by email on Jan. 23, did not take any action. Bossmeyer said that might be the result of her singling out Graham for criticism during the public hearing where the City Council approved the connector road in an 8-1 vote.

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She said Graham was contradicting her support for walkable neighborhoods by endorsing the connector road, which Bossmeyer contends will make the Civita neighborhood less pedestrian-friendly.

Graham didnt respond to a voicemail on Tuesday.

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david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Both directions of state Route 163 through Balboa Park were shut down for 15 minutes during the Tuesday commute until authorities found that men reported with a firearm had a legal pellet gun.

At least one motorist reported seeing three men, one apparently with a rifle, at the Quince Street overpass at 5:07 p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Mary Bailey said.

She said some officers blocked traffic in each direction at 5:17 p.m. while other officers found and detained three men in that area.

San Diego police said the men had one or more pellet guns and they were released.

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The CHP opened freeway lanes again at 5:27 p.m., Bailey said.

Traffic, particularly in northbound lanes, remained congested through the park for some time afterward.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune

Twitter: @pdrepard
A heartwarming story that was supposed to end with a longtime San Diego Police Department dispatcher donating her kidney to a longtime police officer has been derailed over concerns the ailing officers body would reject the new organ.

San Diego police Officer Art Calvert, who for decades has suffered from renal kidney disease, has been waiting almost two years for a third organ donor. His mother and sister have each already given him a kidney.

During an emotional news conference last week, Calvert and dispatcher Debra Ballard, who worked together for a time as part of the departments Northern Division, talked about the decision. Calvert said he was just overwhelmed that Ballard would make such a serious sacrifice for him, and do so with such aplomb.

She calls me, just as cool as can be, saying, Hey, Im a match  when do you want to do this?, the officer told reporters last week outside police headquarters in downtown San Diego.

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As a spiritual person, I believe everything happens for a reason, Ballard said at the same news conference. If I can save his life, why would I not?

In explaining her weighty decision, Ballard said the nature of dispatchers duties creates a kind of maternal instinct that makes them just want to take care of people.

After deciding she wanted to give a lifesaving gift to the officer, Ballard underwent extensive testing that ultimately deemed her an organ-donor match  or so they both thought.

On Tuesday, Calvert took to Facebook to inform friends and family that a last-minute blood test turned up a positive reaction to my blood and we will not be able to do the transplant due to possible rejection.

So I am back at square one, Calvert wrote. Im a little bummed right now so give me a few days to get my smile back. I will be fine and want to say Im overwhelmed with all of your posts today.

Sorry I let you all down, he continued in the post. But I will be back stronger than ever. Its all in Gods hands.
Biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong has agreed to purchase The San Diego Union-Tribune and the Los Angeles Times from its parent company.

Chicago-based Tronc on Wednesday announced the sale of the Union-Tribune, The Times and the Spanish-language Hoy to Soon-Shiongs investment firm, Nant Capital, for nearly $500 million in cash.

It is often said that Southern California is the place where the world comes to see its future. It has welcomed generations of immigrants who worked hard, started new businesses and helped others do the same, Soon-Shiong said in a note Wednesday to the papers staffs. My own family immigrated from southern China to South Africa generations ago. We chose to settle in Los Angeles because this is the place that most felt like home.

Ultimately, this decision is deeply personal for me. As someone who grew up in apartheid South Africa, I understand the role that journalism needs to play in a free society, Soon-Shiong said.

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Soon-Shiong, 65, invested in Tronc in spring 2016 to help the company fight a takeover bid from USA Today owner Gannett. That positioned him as the companys second-largest shareholder, but soon led to friction with Tronc Chairman Michael Ferro as the two men became rivals for control of the company.

The sale to Soon-Shiong came together quickly, over the last few days, and startled many observers. Tronc had fended off previous efforts to buy the company outright or peel off the California newspapers. It had insisted that The Times was key to its strategy of building a global entertainment brand  given its proximity to Hollywood, technology hubs and the Pacific Rim.

But, amid a barrage of negative publicity in Los Angeles, Ferro began to reassess his companys strategy.

He came up with a number  $500 million  and decided that if he could fetch that price for The Times and the Union-Tribune, then it was the right time to sell.

Its unclear whether he or Soon-Shiong made the first overture this time around, but talks began less than a week ago and reached a fever pitch over the weekend. Thats when the contours of a deal came together.

This was a fairly efficient process, said Dennis Culloton, spokesman for Ferro. He noted that Ferros change of heart came after the Chicago investor stepped back and assessed the big picture.

Michaels career leading public companies has been marked by one thing  increasing value for shareholders, Culloton said. And when there was an opportunity to get this kind of a price, he determined that it was a great opportunity to bring enormous value to shareholders and the company.

Troncs stock price leaped after the deal was announced, closing up 19 percent at $21.55.

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By agreeing to the $500 million price tag, Soon-Shiong is paying a significant premium. The purchase price plus the assumption of $90 million in pension liabilities nearly equal the market capitalization of the entire Tronc chain, which stood at $608 million Tuesday.

With plummeting print advertising revenue, traditional publications have fallen out of favor on Wall Street. For example, Troncs print revenue plummeted 17 percent in the first nine months of 2017.

But major newspapers have found several billionaire benefactors willing to throw them a lifeline. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post in 2013. That same year, Red Sox owner John Henry scooped up The Boston Globe and, in 2014, Minnesota billionaire and Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor bought the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

As a local who already owns a minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers, Soon-Shiong probably will face high expectations  both from the Times newsroom and the Southern California community.

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Now Tronc will have a pile of cash as it retools its strategy  without its biggest source of content.

We will have a versatile balance sheet that will enable us to be even more aggressive in executing on our growth strategy as a leading player in news and digital media, Justin Dearborn, chief executive of Tronc, said in a statement.

The company said it will form a new division called Tribune Interactive, which will be led by former Los Angeles Times Publisher Ross Levinsohn. Levinsohn, who had been placed on unpaid leave Jan. 19 amid revelations that he was a defendant in two sexual harassment lawsuits, resigned from his position at The Times on Wednesday.

It is also expected to use the $500 million in proceeds to pay down debt, make acquisitions and further its digital strategy across the remaining papers, which include the Chicago Tribune, Orlando Sentinel, Baltimore Sun and the New York Daily News.

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Dearborn said Chris Argentieri will resume his role as general manager of the California News Group and work with Soon-Shiong during the transition. Other key executives also will continue in their current roles: Jeff Light as publisher and editor of the Union-Tribune and Jim Kirk as editor in chief of The Times.

Though the purchase would mean a change of ownership for The Times and Union-Tribune, the papers will continue to collaborate with Tronc under a 12-month agreement to share corporate services such as payroll and human resources.

Media analyst Ken Doctor speculated that Tronc, as it seeks to build its own national online news network, may want to syndicate Times content, including its entertainment coverage.

Ferro wanted to commercialize Los Angeles Times content, and Id be surprised if he didnt keep the ability to do that in the contract, Doctor said. They can get a steady stream of content without owning the asset.

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Doctor acknowledges that while there are still a lot of unknowns surrounding the deal, it made sense to package the two properties together.

The U-T is valuable, San Diego is a very good market and its a lot less competitive than L.A., said Doctor. The operations have already been somewhat integrated so there are operational savings. I believe that Tronc would not have wanted to own the Union-Tribune alone if it was selling The Times, so it was essentially selling the California News Group.

Soon-Shiong does not have a background in publishing or journalism, so it remains an open question as to how he will manage the two Southern California properties, noted Doctor. With a fortune estimated by Forbes at close to $7.8 billion, Soon-Shiong has the financial wherewithal to reinvest in both The Times and the U-T but its unclear whether he will, he added.

It doesnt seem like cutting would be likely but the truth is nobody knows, Doctor said. Given his financial capacity, there should be no short-term stress on these businesses. Understanding that reader revenues are the most important revenue, it would make sense to reinvest both in the content and in the digital product because it is that combination of unique content that is well delivered that encourages people to buy digital subscriptions.

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While increased investments may seem more obvious for the Los Angeles Times, Doctor says it is equally true for a good-sized metro paper like the U-T.

Soon-Shiong would be the U-Ts fifth owner in the past decade.

The Union-Tribune, which is marking its 150th anniversary this year, was owned by the Copley family until it was sold to Platinum Equity in 2009, then to Douglas F. Manchester in 2012 and to Tribune Publishing, which later became Tronc, in 2015.

Light, the publisher and editor of the U-T, called the Soon-Shiong deal a terrific outcome.

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I see opportunity for us on the business side and, more importantly, in our journalism, he said.

Meg James writes for the Los Angeles Times, and Roger Showley and Lori Weisberg write for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

UPDATES:

6:45 a.m.: This story was updated with statements from Patrick Soon-Shiong and Tronc.
President Trumps proposal to cut legal immigration rates would delay the date that white Americans become a minority of the population by as few as one or as many as five additional years, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.

The plan, released by the White House last month, would scale back a program that allows people residing in America to sponsor family members living abroad for green cards, and would eliminate the diversity visa program that benefits immigrants in countries with historically low levels of migration to the U.S. Together, the changes would disproportionately affect immigrants from Latin America and Africa.

Currently, the Census Bureau projects that minority groups will outnumber non-Hispanic whites in America in 2044. The Posts analysis projects that, were Trumps plan to be implemented, the date would now be between 2045 and 2049, depending on how parts of it are implemented.

(The Posts methodology for estimating the annual impact of Trumps proposed cuts is explained in more detail at the bottom of this story. Projecting this far into the future based entails certain assumptions that could alter the range, but demographic experts said The Posts approach was reasonable.)

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All told, the proposal could cut off entry for more than 20 million legal immigrants over the next four decades. The change could have profound effects on the size of the American population and its composition, altering projections for economic growth and the age of the nations workforce, as well as shaping its politics and culture, demographers and immigration experts say.

By greatly slashing the number of Hispanic and black African immigrants entering America, this proposal would reshape the future United States. Decades ahead, many fewer of us would be nonwhite, or have nonwhite people in our families, said Michael Clemens, an economist at the Center for Global Development (CGD), a think tank that has been critical of the proposal. Selectively blocking immigrant groups changes who America is. This is the biggest attempt in a century to do that.

Trumps plan calls for eliminating all family-based visa programs that are not used for sponsoring either minor children or spouses. That means several current family-based visa programs - including those that allow sponsorship for siblings, adult parents and adult children - would be canceled. It also calls for the elimination of the diversity visa lottery, and the reallocation of its 50,000 visas to reduce the number of immigrants already on a backlog and to go to a new visa based on merit.

The Post analyzed a low-end and high-end estimate for cuts to legal immigration under the Trump plan. The low-end estimate, provided by Numbers USA, a group that favors limiting immigration, suggests that about 300,000 fewer immigrants will be admitted legally on an annual basis. A high-end estimate from the Cato Institute, which favors immigration, suggests as many 500,000 fewer immigrants would be admitted. Cato bases its number, in part, on assumptions that more family visa categories will be cut.

Last August, Trump endorsed a Senate bill written by Sens. Tom Cotton , R-Ark., and David Perdue, R-Ga., that would cut legal immigration levels by close to 500,000 people annually, according to estimates by the bills authors. The White House has not released any estimates of its own plan.

If Trumps plan is not implemented, the white share of the population is expected to fall from above 60 percent in 2018 to below 45 percent in 2060. The Posts lower estimates of the impact of Trumps proposal show whites staying the majority group until 2046.

To its defenders, the White House proposal offers a reasonable compromise. Trump would move America to an immigration system based less on bringing families together or encouraging diversity and more on bringing in those with skills proven to the economy. (He also proposes protecting about 1.8 million young immigrants known as dreamers in exchange for a significant boost to funding for border enforcement and a border wall.)

It is time to begin moving toward a merit-based immigration system - one that admits people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society, and who will love and respect our country, Trump said in his State of the Union address last week.

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But by reducing the countrys overall population, the plan would eventually reduce the overall growth rate of the American economy. Under Trumps plan, the American economy could be more than $1 trillion smaller than it would have been two decades from now. Thats largely because the economy would have fewer workers.

The plan could also raise the median age of the American worker. About four of every five immigrants is projected to be under the age of 40, while only half of the countrys overall population is that young, according to Census Bureau data. A demographic crunch is already expected due to millions of upcoming retirements from the aging baby boomer generation, raising concerns about the long-term solvency of programs such as Social Security and Medicare that rely on worker contributions.

The plans could have long-term ramifications for Americas political system, given that about 54 percent of all immigrants are naturalized within 10 years and thus able to vote, although naturalization rates vary widely based on immigrants country of origin, according to the latest data from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Hispanic immigrants who are registered voters favor Democrats over Republicans by a 70 to 18 margin, and registered voters who are Asian immigrants favor Democrats by a 50 to 33 margin, according to the most recent data available from the Pew Research Center. (Similar data was not available for African immigrants.) Approximately 78 percent of immigrants from Africa and 65 percent of immigrants from Asia were naturalized within 10 years.

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But while these effects of delaying Americas diversification would be significant, they would not fundamentally change the countrys demographic destiny. Experts say the main driver of diversification in America is the native-born Hispanic population, which grew by about five million from 2010 to 2016, just as the native-born white population shrank by about 400,000 over the same time period, according to Census Bureau data.

Among young Americans, the share of the non-Hispanic white population is already under 60 percent - a number that falls close to 50 percent among newborns and toddlers.

You can shut the door to everyone in the world and that wont change, said Roberto Suro, an immigration and demography expert at the University of Southern California. The president cant do anything about that. If your primary concern is that the American population is becoming less white, its already too late.

But if Trumps plan were put in place, many of the family immigrants who would eventually be exposed to the cuts come from Latin America. In fiscal year 2017, about 28,000 Mexicans received family-based visas, with immigrants from Asia receiving almost 90,000 and immigrants from Central America and the Caribbean receiving more than 60,000, according to State Department data.

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The changes to legal immigration could vary widely depending on unforeseeable events, including increased economic development in Asian and African countries, dislocation caused by climate change or decisions made by future administrations.

William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution , produced a separate estimate of the impact of Trumps proposed cut to legal immigration. He found that the plan would delay the arrival of a minority-majority nation by three years, to 2047, and stressed his projections were the best possible with the publicly available information.

Another big factor is what happens to the population of roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants, including the dreamers, currently in the country. The Posts calculations (like the Census Bureaus) currently assume they will stay. But their future status is unresolved, and if any significant number of them are forced to leave the country, it could push back the minority-majority date as well.

The President has laid out a reasonable framework that addresses the key security issues identified by the frontline men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, said Tyler Houlton, an agency spokesman, in a statement. It secures the borders and ensures we can remove those we apprehend, including criminal aliens. It also seeks to protect nuclear family migration while ending two problematic visa programs that do not meet the economic or security needs of the country.

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Trumps proposal is unlikely to be implemented in its current form. It requires congressional approval, and Democratic leadership opposes it.

Advocates of reducing legal immigration have offered a range of arguments, with some saying that high levels of low-skilled immigration hurt American-born workers and new legal immigrants by increasing competition and depressing wages. They also say todays levels of immigration are high by historical standards.

These historically high levels of legal immigration only date back a few decades, said Chris Chmielenski, director of content and activism at NumbersUSA. The numbers weve seen recently are abnormal, and Trumps proposal would eventually return us closer to historical levels.

Immigration advocates say the percentage of the foreign-born population has been higher at several points in American history, even if the overall number of incoming immigrants has increased. Looking at the share of the population, which accounts for overall population growth, recent levels of legal immigration appear roughly in line with historical averages, with a decrease after World War II an outlier, according to Migration Policy Institute statistics.

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Recent immigration flows have been a small fraction of historical levels, said Clemens of CGD.

Others who favor immigration restrictions have pointed to the necessity of reducing what they call the social disruption of high levels of immigration, which strikes some liberal critics as code for keeping Americas white population in the majority.

We cant restore our civilization with somebody elses babies, Rep. Steve King , R-Iowa, an immigration restrictionist in Congress, said on Twitter last year.

One of the biggest unknowns is how long new immigrants will identify as racial minorities.

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Some academics, as Duke Professor William Darity Jr. wrote in The American Prospect, argue that many Latino immigrants identify less as Hispanic and more as non-Hispanic white the longer they stay in America - a phenomenon similar to the absorption of Irish and Italian immigrants into the idea of whiteness.

Other demographers say a real and important shift is underway, with important consequences for American politics. They note that many Hispanics already identify as white and yet still vote like a minority group. The contention that [Hispanics] will think of themselves as white in the future is unsettled, said Ruy Teixeira, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and author of a book about how demographic changes will affect American politics. It definitely seems like theyre a different breed of cat.

But perhaps the most lasting impact of Trumps policies would be not to America, but to the millions of immigrants from poor and developing countries that the United States would be denying entry to, said Angelica Chazaro, a law professor at the University of Washington who specializes in questions of immigration.

Were talking about susceptibility to pain and violence and economic and social instability for millions of black and brown people, Chazaro said. People have organized their lives around the possibility of legal immigration, and this forecloses that route.

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Methodology

In 2014, the Census Bureau projected the U.S. population by race, ethnicity, sex, age and nativity. Those projections, the most recent available, are the basis for the prediction that the country will become majority minority in 2044.

To adjust those forecasts, we assumed cuts of between 300,000 and 500,000 per year and we assumed the cuts would be applied proportionally to each race and ethnicity based on their forecast representation in the immigrant population. The 300,000 estimate from NumbersUSA comes from projections of the Trump administrations plan to cut several kinds of family-based immigration visas - those for siblings (65,000 visas annually), those for adult children (another 50,000) and those for adult parents of immigrants (another 125,000). NumbersUSA also projects a 55,000 reduction in annual visas awarded from the elimination of the diversity visa lottery.

The high estimate of Trumps proposal found by the Cato Institute starts with all of the cuts found by NumbersUSA. But Cato also says other family-based visa programs are likely to be cut under Trumps plan. For instance, Cato says a program for visas for children of non-citizens will be cut, because a Senate proposal similar to the White House framework eliminates it. That accounts for an additional 95,000 fewer visas annually between the groups projections. Cato also projects the annual impact of cutting visas for adult parents will be far greater than NumbersUSA does, because Cato looked at the number of these visas awarded in 2016, whereas NumbersUSA took a 10-year average of these visas. That accounts for an additional difference of 50,000.

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We projected children that the lost immigrants would have had based on Census Bureau estimates of their female population of childbearing age, plus Pew Research projections of first-generation immigrant fertility by race and origin. In some cases, when it was the only data available, we used Census Bureau figures for black only and Asian only as a rough analog for black, non-Hispanic and Asian, non-Hispanic. Other groups were treated similarly.

The Census Bureau made no distinction between documented and undocumented immigrants. Our estimates only include the policys direct effect on legal immigration, but our models of the race, age and sex of immigrants are based on the full immigrant population. We found that more complicated models produced similar results.

We arrived at rough estimates of GDP growth by comparing our predictions for the countrys entire population under various scenarios with forecasts of per-person economic output by PwC , a global consulting firm. The estimates dont account for how the exclusion of certain groups of immigrants would change the overall age, education and skill level of the labor force.
Almost 12 million Americans signed up for 2018 health coverage through marketplaces created by the Affordable Care Act, according to a new tally that indicates nationwide enrollment remained virtually unchanged from last year despite President Trumps persistent attacks on the 2010 health law.

The new enrollment numbers  which include totals from California and other states that operate their own marketplaces, as well as states that rely on the federal HealthCare.gov marketplace  offer the most detailed picture to date of the insurance markets.

And they suggest surprising strength in many markets across the country, with consumers steadily signing up for health plans even as Trump and his Republican congressional allies derided the markets as crumbling and unaffordable.

This shows that consumers really want and need coverage, said Trish Riley, executive director of the National Academy for State Health Policy, which compiled the nationwide enrollment tally.

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These are stable markets and a stable program, she said.

Florida, which uses HealthCare.gov, and California continue to lead all states with 1.7 million and 1.5 million enrollees, respectively.

The annual enrollment tally remains a relatively crude metric that doesnt account for what kind of consumers are signing up for coverage. And the totals dont include Americans who are buying health plans on their own rather than through the official marketplaces created by the healthcare law.

But total sign-ups have become an important barometer of the law, often called Obamacare.

And the numbers have been closely watched every year as politicians have debated whether to roll back the law.

In 2018, most of the 39 states that rely on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to operate their markets saw small decreases compared to 2017, the data show.

But in a marked contrast, two-thirds of the marketplaces run by states instead of the federal government saw increased enrollment between 2017 and 2018, including Connecticut and New York.

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That in large part reflects extensive efforts in many of these states to market health coverage, lengthen enrollment periods and conduct aggressive outreach campaigns to attract younger, healthier consumers who are critical to insurance markets.

We had the best open enrollment period we have ever had, said Allison OToole, chief executive of Minnesotas insurance marketplace, known as MNsure, which saw enrollment surge nearly 6% this year. Elected officials in Minnesota developed their own reinsurance system to help control premiums this year.

Even bigger enrollment increases were recorded in Washington state, which had 7.6% increase, and Rhode Island, which led all states with a 12.1% increase.

HealthSource RI director Zachary Sherman attributed the success to the states ability to manage its own market, craft marketing and work with insurers to control premiums.

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Californias enrollment dipped slightly in 2018, falling 2.3%, but the state saw a significant increase in new consumers, which was an encouraging sign, said Peter Lee, head of Covered California, the states marketplace.

Put simply, marketing matters, Lee said.

That is reflected not only in enrollment totals, but also in the type of consumers that state marketplaces were able to attract.

California, for example, has consistently had a healthier mix of enrollees than markets in other states. That, in turn, has helped keep premiums in check compared to other states and has kept markets competitive, with multiple insurers selling plans in most parts of California.

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While California and other states that operate their own marketplaces invested in marketing and outreach, the Trump administration took a number of steps that weakened enrollment.

The enrollment period on HealthCare.gov was half as long this fall as in previous years, and the Trump administration slashed funds for advertising and outreach. The president also often publicly referred to Obamacare as dead or over.

Obamacare is finished. Its dead. Its gone, Trump declared on the eve of the 2018 open enrollment period, which began Nov. 1.

Many of the federal moves were not helpful, said Heather Korbulic, executive director of Nevada Health Link, which is operated by the state but uses the federal HealthCare.gov website.

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Korbulic credited the states Republican governor, Brian Sandoval, with helping to stabilize a shaky market even as insurers stopped selling plans in the state and threatened to leave consumers in some rural areas with no choice of plans. Nevada, in the end, saw a 2.2% increase in enrollment this year.

In neighboring Arizona, which also has experienced significant turmoil in its insurance market, enrollment fell 15.6% in 2018, one of the largest drop-offs in the country. Arizona relied on the federal government to operate its marketplace.

The marketplaces have primarily served low- and moderate-income Americans who dont get health benefits through an employer or a government program such as Medicare or Medicaid.

They have been buffeted for much of the last year by uncertainty over their future, with insurers in some areas raising rates steeply or exiting markets altogether.

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That has been particularly tough for consumers who make too much to qualify for federal insurance subsidies through the healthcare law.

The law offers subsidies to Americans making between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty line, or between $12,060 and $48,240 a year.

Those subsidies likely mean that millions of low- and moderate-income Americans will continue to be able to find relatively low-cost health plans on marketplaces in future years as well.

But continued uncertainty about the markets and the disappearance in 2019 of a penalty for not having coverage could push up rates for consumers who dont qualify for aid.

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Obamacare 101: A primer on key issues in the debate over repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act. 

noam.levey@latimes.com

@noamlevey

UPDATES:

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9:10 a.m.: This article was updated with reaction from various state officials.

This article was originally published at 7:30 a.m.
The name Geoffrey Hermanstorfer is listed on federal campaign reports as giving $2,300 to Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, in 2008 and $500 to Rep. Darrell Issa in 2009.

Hermanstorfer, of Maryland, told The San Diego Union-Tribune that he didnt make either contribution.

His ex-wife, Patricia Driscoll, is facing seven federal counts related to alleged personal spending of funds for a veterans charity that she ran. Hunter and Issa both supported the non-profit groups efforts.

A Maryland man whose name is listed on contributions to two Republican congressmen in San Diego County says he didnt make either one.

The man, Geoffrey Hermanstorfer, is the ex-husband of Patricia Driscoll, whose federal trial is approaching on allegations that she used $900,000 from a now-defunct veterans charity for jewelry, groceries, legal fees and other personal expenses. She denies the allegations.

The nonprofit group, the Armed Forces Foundation, was co-founded by former Congressman Duncan L. Hunter, R-Alpine, and supported by his son and successor Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine.

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The San Diego Union-Tribune published an article online on Friday about the upcoming trial and some of Driscolls political connections. The article mentioned that Driscolls ex-husband, Hermanstorfer, is listed on Federal Election Commission records as contributing $2,300 to Hunters campaign in 2008.

Hermanstorfer contacted the newspaper the day the article posted and said he did not make the specific donation mentioned in the article, nor have I ever made a political contribution to him or his campaign.

After speaking with Hermanstorfer on Friday, The San Diego Union-Tribune searched FEC records for other contributions in his name. The search turned up one other record, a $500 contribution to the campaign of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, on Feb. 10, 2009.

Hermanstorfer said he also did not make any contributions to Issas campaign.

Driscoll and Hermanstorfer were married during the years the contributions were made, according to news reports.

Hunters spokesman and one of his attorneys did not respond to the Union-Tribunes request for information and comment. Calvin Moore, a spokesman for Issas campaign, sent a statement in response to the Union-Tribunes inquiry.

Weve looked back as far as our records go and it appears the contribution was received and reported correctly, the statement said. We have not been contacted by the donor and have no indication the contribution was made other than as reported in 2009.

Driscolls attorneys told the Union-Tribune she did not make any contributions to either campaign and the FEC records are accurate.

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Federal law strictly forbids making a campaign contribution in the name of another, said Brett Kappel, an attorney at Akerman LLP in Washington, D.C., and a noted expert in campaign laws and ethics rules.

The FEC typically cannot seek civil penalties in federal district court for violations that happened more than five years ago, according to a guidebook for its enforcement process. Campaigns, however, must take action if they learn a contribution has been given in the name of another, regardless of the date it was received, according to the FEC website.

Regardless of the circumstances, if (a) committee discovers that contributions that appeared to be legal when received were actually made illegally in the name of another, it must refund the money to the original source of funds if the identity of that source is known, according to the FEC. Alternatively, your committee may disgorge the funds to the US Treasury or certain other recipients.

Issa and the younger Hunter both supported the veterans charity during the years Driscoll was at its helm. Her private company, Frontline Defense Systems, was awarded more than $5 million in government contracts between 2007 and 2012.

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Driscoll listed Hunter among her good friends during a 2013 event in Washington, D.C., at which they both spoke. She also listed him in Maryland state court records as a character witness in a child-custody dispute with Hermanstorfer.

Hunter has legal problems of his own. He is under federal criminal investigation for alleged misspending of campaign funds, having used tens of thousands of dollars in campaign money for personal purposes including jewelry, groceries and airline fees to travel with one of his childrens pet rabbit.

Hunter has repaid his campaign more than $60,000 since the FEC and then the Union-Tribune first began questioning his campaign expenditures in April 2016. He has told the news outlet Politico that he was not involved in any criminal action.

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morgan.cook@sduniontribune.com


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The father of Black History Month argued that African American history was not separate from American history, but instead at the heart of it.

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This series by American studies professor Ben Railton explores the connections between Americas past and present.

Although the first Black History Month was celebrated in February 1970, the original concept behind this commemoration of African American history and community is nearing its centennial anniversary. In 1926, pioneering African American educator, historian, and activist Carter G. Woodson (1875-1950) decided to designate the second week of February Negro History Week. That week features the birthdays of both Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, and so provided a perfect occasion in which public schoolsthe central emphasis of Woodsons ideacould remember those figures specifically and African American history more generally.

But Woodson did so much more than designate a special week. Many of Woodsons own experiences, achievements, and ideas make him a figure worthy of commemoration, but one of his most critical contributions was his argument that African Americans were not peripheral to the American story but instead at the very heart of it. Woodson essentially attempted to completely reframe American history.

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Ironically, a man so fully associated with education achieved his own educational milestones through a strikingly alternative path. Born to former slaves in Reconstruction-era Virginia, Woodson grew up in significant poverty and was unable to attend school for more than brief periods. After his family moved to West Virginia, he went to work as a coal miner at the age of 17, and was only able to enroll in Huntingtons Douglass High School (a segregated school named after Frederick Douglass) when he was 20 years old. But he graduated in two years, began teaching at a nearby school for the children of African American miners, and at the age of 25 was named Douglass Highs principal.

Woodsons personal and professional links to education continued to develop from there in unconventional but groundbreaking ways. He took classes part-time at Kentuckys Berea College while working at Douglass and received a BA in Literature in just three years. He then worked as a school supervisor in the Philippines for four years, returning to the United States (after a semester of study at the Sorbonne in Paris) to complete a second BA at the University of Chicago and then a PhD in History from Harvard (making him the second African American to receive a doctorate in history, after W.E.B. Du Bois). He would go on to work as a professor and dean at multiple historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), including Howard University and the West Virginia Collegiate Institute.

Those academic achievementsa doctorate and then faculty and administrative roles in higher educationmight seem far removed from, if not opposed to, Woodsons partial and haphazard educational first steps. But in his own lifelong arguments about African American education Woodson instead sought to link these disparate worlds, in two distinct ways: First, the realities of segregated education in America meant that African Americans could only achieve educational success through such haphazard opportunities, and Woodson argued that the highest levels of individual educational attainment could nonetheless stem directly from and build upon those opportunities. Second, educators and activists like Woodson worked in this era to create vital, collective resources for all African American students, families, and communities, from preparatory schools like Douglass to HBCUs like Howard, among many others.

Woodsons experiences of community also inspired another of his most influential efforts and legacies. During his time in Chicago he stayed at the Wabash Avenue YMCA, a longstanding institution in the citys historic African American Bronzeville neighborhood. It was that community, Woodson would later detail, that inspired him in 1915 to create the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, an organization devoted to better remembering and documenting such communities and their histories and stories. The Association (still in existence today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History) published The Journal of Negro History and the Negro History Bulletin, worked with educators and schools around the country, and promoted the consistent and rigorous study of African American history both within and outside of the educational system.

After founding the Association Woodson published his first two groundbreaking historical books, A Century of Negro Migration (1918) and The Education of the Negro Prior to 1861 (1919). He would go on to write and publish many more books over the next few decades, works that spanned academic disciplines, educational debates, and public conversations. But perhaps even more important than the works themselves was Woodsons radical reframing of what African American history meant and should mean for American community and identity. As he succinctly put it in describing the central goal of Negro History Week, We should emphasize not Negro history, but the Negro in history.

That might seem like a small or semantic difference, but I believe it instead reflects a profound revision and reframing. African American history, Woodson consistently argued, was not separate from nor peripheral to American historyit was instead at the heart of it, a crucial thread without which the larger fabric would not hold together (if it would still exist at all). That argument focused first and foremost on education, as Woodson noted that African Americans had for too long been overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them. But it was just as much a reframing of our collective memories, an effort to make African American history meaningful and vital for every American community and story.

There are many reasons we should feature Carter G. Woodson in our Black History Month commemorations this year, from his originating role and communal activisms to his inspiring individual story and achievements. But most of all he reminds us that Black history matters because it is American history.
A team of linguists from Lund University in Sweden announced this week they have identified an endangered minority language known as Jedek that is spoken by about 280 hunter-gatherers in the resettlement area of Sungai Rual, near Jeli in Kelantan state, Peninsular Malaysia.

Jedek belongs to the Aslian group of languages, a typologically distinct branch of the Austroasiatic language family spoken in the Malay Peninsula.

Lund University researchers Joanne Yager and Niclas Burenhult discovered it during a language documentation project, Tongues of the Semang, in which they visited several villages to collect language data from different groups who speak Aslian languages.

Jedek is not a language spoken by an unknown tribe in the jungle, as you would perhaps imagine, but in a village previously studied by anthropologists, Yager said.

As linguists, we had a different set of questions and found something that the anthropologists missed, Dr. Burenhult added.

The discovery of Jedek was made while the team was studying the Jahai language in the same area.

We realized that a large part of the village spoke a different language, Yager said.

They used words, phonemes and grammatical structures that are not used in Jahai. Some of these words suggested a link with other Aslian languages spoken far away in other parts of the Malay Peninsula.

The community in which Jedek is spoken is more gender-equal than Western societies, there is almost no interpersonal violence, they consciously encourage their children not to compete, and there are no laws or courts.

There are no professions either, rather everyone has the skills that are required in a hunter-gatherer community.

This way of life is reflected in the language. There are no indigenous words for occupations or for courts of law, and no indigenous verbs to denote ownership such as borrow, steal, buy or sell, but there is a rich vocabulary of words to describe exchanging and sharing.

There are so many ways to be human, but all too often our own modern and mainly urban societies are used as the yardstick for what is universally human, Dr. Burenhult said.

We have so much to learn, not least about ourselves, from the largely undocumented and endangered linguistic and cultural riches that are out there.

A paper reporting the discovery is published in the journal Linguistic Typology.

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Joanne Yager & Niclas Burenhult. 2017. Jedek: A newly discovered Aslian variety of Malaysia. Linguistic Typology 21 (3); doi: 10.1515/lingty-2017-0012
The carriers said in a press release that the cooperation will create a joint Far EastMiddle East MPV Liner Service, served by five MPV vessels and a scheduled bi-monthly rotation. It will also see the expansion of HMMs services portfolio with global tramp solutions, and semi-liner services provided by AAL. Both carriers will remain independent and promote these expanded services under their own respective brands.

The new service is expected to provide regular and scheduled sailings for breakbulk, project heavy-lift and general cargo shippers with five highly flexible MPV vessels (four 30,100dwt 640-Class from HMM and one 31,000dwt A-Class from AAL) on a 15 and 30-day sailing rotation.

The service will connect the Asian markets of China, Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore with the Middle East via the Persian Gulf and Red Sea routes. Capacity and port coverage will be jointly coordinated, but each carrier will issue separate schedules to their customers.

AAL chartering & operations director Namir Khanbabi said: AAL has run successful MPV liner services between Asia and its key trade partners for more than 20 years, and our expertise in collecting and combining multiple cargo types and parcel sizes on regular scheduled sailings provides significant value and efficiencies for our customers in multiple industry sectors. By pooling our resources with HMM, we can each offer more comprehensive service portfolios with improved frequency, capacity, coverage, and economies of scale for our customers.

Khanbabi added that the partners intend to expand the service to six vessels, with an additional A-Class vessel by 2019. As more global projects become active in 2018 and multipurpose cargo volumes rise  as has been widely forecasted  we aim to be in pole position to competitively service this demand, whatever the cargo and wherever the destination, he concluded.

Meanwhile HMM has also been able to expand its portfolio with a range of global bespoke tramp solutions and semi-liner services  connecting the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Asia  operated by AAL.

HMM gm Seung-il Park said: Weve established a leading position with Koreas dynamic energy and infrastructure industries, operating regular multipurpose sailings between Asia and the West. These same customers can now take advantage of the exciting new services that our cooperation with AAL will bring, without seeing any change to either the team or the process by which they make their current bookings.

There are no immediate plans for a more expanded cooperation, Seung said but left open the possibility of expanded collaboration on an as and when basis.
CMPort said in a stock market announcement that the acquisition of the stake in the worlds top coal export port was in line with the groups principal business activities and will help expand its global footprint to Oceania, leverage on land resources to capture development upside and generate positive long-term financial returns.

The company said it seeks to benefit from rising demand for thermal coal from major importers such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

CMPort is also looking to benefit from Port of Newcastles land resources to extend its Port-Park-City model and develop industrial parks and infrastructure in line with port operations.

Separately CMPort also announced that it would be raising RMB500m ($79.9m) through so-called One Belt, One Road bonds on the mainland.

The 5.15% coupon three-year bonds are believed to be the first such instruments being used by CMPort. The bonds linked to Chinas massive global infrastructure push are expected to take off as the initiative gathers pace.
The struggling Singapore-listed, Chinese company, had hoped to reach agreement to sell its ailing shipyard business by the end of 2017. JES said it had been negotiating with the potential purchaser to extend the long-stop date beyond 31 December 2017 but failed to reach agreement. The two parties are now entering into a settlement agreement to terminate the proposed disposal. The yard ceased operations and production in mid-2015.

Meanwhile JES said that its former ceo and chairman Jin Xin had been sentenced to 12 and a half years in jail by Jingjiang Peoples Court, Jiangsu Province. The company it had been unable as yet to ascertain the charges for which Jin Xin had been convicted.

The company said it was considering pursuing civil action against Jin Xin, but was awaiting a copy of the written judgment.

JES revealed in July 2015 that unauthorised payments had been made to the former ceo and documents related to these had gone missing.


We've all heard ad nauseam that millennials' housing preferences skew strongly towards renting over buying, but multiple recent analyses show that America's 20- and 30-somethings are finally starting to plot a delayed foray into homeownership.

However, the deck may be stacked against them in a way not seen in their parents' generations. Millennials' earnings are either significantly low, or stagnant, compared to their notably less-educated parents. And here in metro Detroit, they face a projected lack of affordable rental housing even as home prices continue to soar.

But the news isn't all discouraging. Some local government officials and developers have taken steps to improve affordable options for young metro Detroiters  and they're continuing a conversation about how to create more. We talked with several of them about where affordable options can be found now and how to continue addressing our area's need for more.

Affordable communities

So which metro-area communities actually offer affordable options right now? A heat map maintained by the online real estate listing hub Trulia shows a well-defined ring of lower-priced homes and rentals surrounding inner-ring Detroit suburbs like Dearborn, Warren, Southfield, Livonia, and Eastpointe. Pontiac is also still a lower-priced zone, but prices otherwise rise steadily as you move into the outer-ring suburbs.

"I think there are a lot of communities that are reasonably affordable for millennials starting out or other households on a limited budget," says Richard Murphy, program coordinator for the Michigan Municipal League and local urban planning expert.

Murphy notes that for many millennials, the concept of housing affordability goes beyond the sticker price of the housing itself. Widely noted for their disinterest in car ownership, millennials are also concerned about how transportation costs might add up in their new neighborhood  and Murphy says that in many areas of metro Detroit, those costs are significant.

"Folks might be spending 25 percent of their income on housing and also 25 percent of their income on transportation," he says. "So it really is a cost that should be considered when picking a place to live."

Here again, the inner-ring suburbs have the edge. The Center for Neighborhood Technology's Housing and Transportation Affordability Index, which calculates and maps housing and transportation costs nationwide, shows lower costs in both categories for that band of communities surrounding Detroit. Murphy notes that communities like Ferndale, which have made efforts to emphasize biking and walking in addition to convenient mass transit access, are particularly appealing in this way.

Still, many millennials may not consider some of these statistically cost-effective areas particularly affordable. Caitlin Martin, a realtor at Royal Oak-based Red Door Realty, says budget is a big issue for her millennial clients  and many suburbs, even the inner-ring ones, are tough on their budgets.



Caitlin Martin. Photo by David Lewinski.

"Right now, it's just smaller pockets of affordability," Martin says.

What's more, the affordable housing that is available may not be the type many millennials are looking for. Housing throughout the metro area skews strongly toward single-family detached homes  86 percent, to be exact, according to a recent report on metro-area housing from the Urban Institute.

Shannon Morgan, senior vice president of development company HRS Communities, says some millennials have aged out of rentals, but they're seeking "missing middle" housing  duplexes, townhomes, condos, and other housing types that are smaller, lower-maintenance, and less expensive than detached homes.

"They're thinking about for-sale product at much lower levels than our demographics have done in the past, so you have to look at what our product mix is," Morgan says. "I think that's a big challenge for our suburbs."

Affordability innovators

However, forward-thinkers in multiple local communities are moving to address this affordability pinch. In one recent example, Ferndale adopted a new policy requiring that all new developments utilizing city-owned land or city tax incentives reserve 25 percent of their units for affordable housing. Ferndale city council member Melanie Piana says the policy was prompted by the rise of mixed-use developments that offered only market-rate housing in the city.

"This was an opportunity to say, 'Hey, as a variety of housing options come into the community, let's make sure that people ... can stay in Ferndale, the community that they love, or start anew here,'" Piana says.

Some municipalities are actively working to incentivize affordable development and to diversify their housing mix. Dearborn economic and community development director Barry Murray points to the City Hall Artspace Lofts, which uses federal low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) to offer affordable units for artists. Murray describes the project as a way to combat the typical pattern of artists moving into a community and then getting priced out of it by gentrification.

LIHTC is available to housing developments for those making up to 60 percent of the area median income (AMI), but Murray says Dearborn is also looking into workforce housing incentives available through the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Those would allow for the creation of affordable units for residents making up to 110 or 120 percent of the AMI as the city seeks to attract more missing middle housing development to its downtowns.



Barry Murray. Photo by David Lewinski.

"If we can reach up to 110 or 120 percent, then we start to touch some of the Ford people, some of the Beaumont (Hospital) people, some of the young professionals who might not otherwise have the opportunity to be in some of these incentivized projects," Murray says.

Although inner-ring suburbs may be where it's at for affordability right now, some outer-ring suburbs are thinking creatively about how to offer affordable options to younger residents as well. Morgan says "secondary suburban neighborhoods" like Wixom and Fenton are "really growing in opportunity," with many working to attract missing middle development to their downtowns.

Mike Hart, Fenton's assistant city manager and director of economic development, says developing a "very good cross-section of housing types" is crucial for his community. Fenton has added some mixed-use developments in recent years, but Hart says the city has even had preliminary discussions about legal options for tiny houses.

"Having cost-effective, right-sized housing within the downtown area is something we're working on to have as many options as we can reasonably provide," he says.

Developers and municipalities agree that broad, innovative vision will be necessary to continue maintaining and developing affordable housing for young metro-area residents  especially because many boomers are seeking the same already-scarce missing middle options.



Melanie Piana. Photo by David Lewinski.

"All too often, as developers, we just build based on our performance on our bottom line," Morgan says. "We need to be more focused on building based on where the market is."

Piana says affordability is a big problem that will require a comprehensive, regional solution.

"Housing is not just a government thing to solve or private-sector," she says. "It's all of these  the philanthropic, private, local government, and the development community coming together and addressing these challenges in a collaborative manner."



This article is the first in an ongoing nationwide series on Housing across the many publications of Issue Media Group. As cities grow and the population as a whole becomes more urban, housing is an ever-pressing issue. Tackling the tough topics at the heart of where and how people live, IMG invites you to explore Housing in all its iterations over the next year.
Press Release

February 7, 2018 STATEMENT ON SC DECISION RE: EXTENSION OF MARTIAL LAW The political opposition has been quick to brand the Supreme Court ruling, which upheld the validity of the extension of martial law, as the result of a failure of the rule of law. How can this be the case when the strict constitutional checks and balances that regulate the power to extend martial law have been observed in good faith? The recommendation of the President to extend martial law, the approval of the extension during a joint session of Congress, and the Supreme Court's review of the extension were all conducted exactly as required by the Constitution. At the end of this long deliberative process, the three great branches of government have come to the same conclusion - that the extension of martial law is a just and necessary medicine to cure Mindanao of the violent extremism that has afflicted the island for so long. This is precisely the rule of law at work. The political opposition cannot simply proclaim its failure because they disagree with the result. In the end, the political battles that rage in the halls of government and on social media must give way to the life-and-death battles being fought by our brave soldiers and policemen on the front lines of the conflict. Therefore, I urge all Filipinos, regardless of political affiliation, to unite behind the government's efforts to defeat the rebellion and eradicate violent extremism. Only a united Filipino nation will be able to win the war and achieve lasting peace in Mindanao.
Press Release

February 7, 2018 TRANSCRIPT OF SEN. PANGILINAN'S INTERVIEW FOR CNN PHLS' THE SOURCE, 07 FEB 2018

With Ms Pinky Webb SENATOR FRANCIS PANGILINAN: Good morning and thank you for having me. Just a clarification, the target this month is really a working target. We confirm that I had a discussion with the Senate President and we're looking at a timetable of March, but this is between me and the Senate President. If other Senators feel otherwise, then we will have to do the necessary pencil-pushing and going back to the drawing board, if it is necessary. But we're working on a March timetable wherein the committee would have completed its hearings and we will be working on a committee report. But based on the discussions in the Senate, this is also dependent on how the House is going to be pushing the issue of Charter Change. PINKY WEBB: What exactly do you mean by that? SFNP: For example, while we are working on a March target, if the House of Representatives insists that it should be voting jointly, what's there to work for in terms of a target? Because the Senate will simply not agree on a voting jointly arrangement if it is constituent assembly that we are to undertake. PINKY: So, really what's happening, Senator is if the House, if the Speaker pushes this voting jointly, that's going to be obviously a problem to the senators as senators have intimated in the past. SFNP: And mind you, when they met, the Speaker and the Majority Leader of the House-- PINKY: Farinas, Sotto-- SFNP: Yes, when they met, they did not agree on a joint or-- PINKY: --separate voting. SFNP: There was no agreement. What was agreed on in my understanding is that we proceed with our respective processes. As simple as that. PINKY: From how I understand from that particular picture that they finally met because medyo nagkakaroon ng konting rumblings between the Senate and the House is that they talked about what provisions can be or should be changed but they did not talk about the process by which. In other words, in my understanding, pinag-usapan nila kung ano yung pwedeng palitan pero hindi pa nila pinag-uusapan kung paano nila 'to papalitan. SFNP: Which is pretty much whether it's Con-Con or Con-Ass or if it's constituent assembly whether it's voting jointly or separately. That has not been resolved. So here we are in the Senate, we will work on this timetable but at any given time, if the other side says, no, it has to be voting jointly, we will bring this to the Supreme Court, etc. Magbabago. And this is based on the consensus and the discussions in the Senate in caucus. PINKY: Okay, so, everything being as they are right now, you're looking at the committee report being passed on by actually sabi ni Senate President Koko Pimentel was end of Feb or March was the promise of Senator Kiko Pangilinan. SFNP: Well, again, this is between me and him. The other senators-- PINKY: --which he intimated to the public; which he expressed to the public. SFNP: Yes, and the other senators are not privy to this. Kung nakikinig ang ibang senador at sinabi nila, teka hindi naman napag-usapan yan. Ililiwanag ko lang ngayon, this is a working timetable but I'm only one of 11 members. If any of the other senators or if the majority feel this is rushed then we will have to sit down and meet and redo the whole thing. But if they are amenable to March then wala tayong problema. We will work on that. PINKY: What is controversial here is that posibleng magkaroon po nitong idea or pakiramdam that you're taking your time, hindi ba? Because sabi nila baka Senator Kiko Pangilinan might be sitting on this. SFNP: Well, my commitment is to process it correctly. Hindi na rin naman pwedeng pwersahan. And I am taking the cue from the caucus that the Senate had. And this is all but the majority of the Senators were there. So that's where I take the cue from. The marching orders, so to speak, is to proceed with the hearings and we're conducting it. So ang sa akin, in the end, kung hindi sila natutuwa, they can always remove me. I am in the minority. But I'd like to make sure that the process is transparent. The process is participatory. The process is inclusive. Dapat kasama ang mga sectors hindi lamang ang mga pulitiko. And, I don't know if you've monitored the first and second hearings, we allowed all views whether for or against to be expressed. And this is how a democracy should work. PINKY: (laughs) Are you comparing that with other Senate hearings, Senator? SFNP: Hindi naman. I was just speaking on behalf of the committee. PINKY: In fact, balikan natin yung first hearing, you had constitutional experts, you had framers of the Constitution, you had former Supreme Court Justices during that hearing and questions were raised on voting jointly or separately and a majority of them really were for voting separately. In fact it was Associate Justice Azcuna who said that, ang problema ho kasi natalo sila ng isang boto, dapat unicam, di ba? Naging bicam. Hindi raw napalitan yung provision in the Constitution. Siya raw, yung kanyang provision, napalitan niya. Pero yung doon sa isang provision on the voting, hindi daw napalitan. SFNP: Yes, ang nakalagay lang doon, Congress by a vote of three-fourths of all it's members may propose amendments or revisions to the Constitution. PINKY: Exactly, the much debated provision in the Constitution, which the Supreme Court will have an answer to that. But before I jump in to that, so you're saying also sir that even Associate Justice Azcuna was saying sila po during the framing of the Constitution, pumunta sila sa Bicol, kinausap nila yung mga mangingisda doon. Sila daw nakatulong to even really frame the 1987 Constitution, you have plans to actually go around the country. SFNP: We are finalizing the schedule this week, of course in consultation with the other members of the committee, and we are looking at Cebu, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, perhaps ARMM. And this also in consideration of the BBL and some the--they say, provisions of the 1987 Constitution, which prevents a more comprehensive peace agreement with the Bangsamoro. PINKY: When you talk about the places that you plan to go to, Senator, it seems like March might not be an easy target. I know you're saying it's a working target but it's already middle of February. SFNP: Yes, well we process this and we will take it one week at a time. PINKY: Saan ang unang punta, Senator? SFNP: I think Cebu but again we are finalizing it this week. PINKY: Okay, so, while we talk about it that again you were talking about the two hearings where you had experts, in fact, really helped us understand the Constitution. You had Chief Justice Puno, Chief Justice Davide, you had framers of the 1987 Constitution-- SFNP: Senator Nene Pimentel, Secretary Sal Panelo was also there. So we really made sure that this would be as participatory and getting all views whether for or against, whether for or against federalism, whether for con-ass or constituent assembly or con-con, lahat pinalabas natin. PINKY: Pero pag pinag-usapan po natin doon, my summary is the for or against charter change, it seemed like you had Chief Justice Puno, Senate President Pimentel, Associate Justice Azcuna was also a little bit going to that direction. They were all gearing towards federalism. And in fact it was Chief Justice Hilario Davide that said this is the best Constitution in the world. Para bang, tama ho ba yung aking evaluation-- SFNP: Sabi nga, "A leap into hell" daw yung federalism. PINKY: Tama ho ba yung aking analysis that mostly we're really moving towards federalism during the hearing. SFNP: Well, among the persons you mentioned, there were those in the academe also who were favoring decentralization, there was one who said, unless you address the issue of political dynasties, then federalism will simply create more stronger monopolies. PINKY: In fact, let's hear it straight from that particular person, I think that was one of the framers of the Constitution, Atty. Christian Monsod who said that--he also guested here very recently--and he said that if we really look into federalism, this would magnify political dynasties, let's go back to that particular statement of Atty. Christian Monsod: [AUDIO SOUND BITE OF INTERVIEW WITH ATTY CHRISTIAN MONSOD] [AUDIO SOUND BITE] ATTY CHRISTIAN MONSOD: This competing interest between the national Congress and the local provinces. There are dynasties, but dynasties are also not always the same in these areas. In fact, the World Bank has a study recently showing that that thing about the relationship center and the outlying provinces. And the question is, when you do a federalism, what happens? Do you get rid of that? And moreover, are the dynasties going to be strengthened rather than made weaker. And the answer is they will be more entrenched with federalism. [AUDIO SOUND BITE] PINKY WEBB: There will be more dynasties? [AUDIO SOUND BITE] ATTY CHRISTIAN MONSOD: Yes, we have about 200 clans who rule the country. [END OF AUDIO SOUND BITE] PINKY: Do you agree with the statement of Atty. Monsod? SFNP: It's a cause for concern. 80 percent of governors are from political dynasties. 76 percent of congressmen are also in political dynasties. So that is a concern. And the Constitution currently says it should be prohibited as may be provided for by law. But again the law is not there. And so some of them, Senator Nene Pimentel was saying, when we do constitutional change, we should spell it out na second degree-- PINKY: Fourth degree. SFNP: Fourth degree of consanguinity bawal, di ba? So these are the issues. PINKY: But these are the issues, I'm sorry to be direct, how long have you been a politician the past what? Has it been like, may 20 years na ba? SFNP: Wala pa naman. Magtu-twenty. PINKY: Oh sige, magtu-twenty. SFNP: 2001. PINKY: Hindi na po sa akin to. Atty Monsod was saying it's the fault of the lawmakers for sleeping on the job. The Constitution has been there but you guys did not file an anti-dynasty law. SFNP: Well, up to a certain extent, that is valid. But of course, now, in hindsight dapat pala nilagay na rin sa Constitution lahat yun, I mean, diba. Parang masyado ring hinayaan. Of course that's part of democracy. PINKY: Yeah, they probably wanted a little elbow room for you guys. SFNP: It was more of in keeping with the democratic spirit that we allow the representatives to complete the reform efforts. But clearly, it didn't work in that respect. Many of the provisions in the Constitution precisely on political dynasties, on the protection of the environment, and on social justice, continue to be words without the corresponding law. PINKY: But if you had, the lawmakers such as yourself, passed an anti-political dynasty law, you think things would have changed, sir? SFNP: I think it would help. Term limits, for example, in a way is helpful. It allows for others to come in. Yun nga lang naging misis, naging--so kaya nga kailangan palakasin-- PINKY: Anak, pinsan. SFNP: Palakasin pa natin. It's a step forward, but obviously, there are more steps to take. [COMMERCIAL BREAK] PINKY: Sir, just before we leave charter change, right now what are your thoughts on that? Where are you leaning towards? I guess directly, is there really a need for charter change? SFNP: Well of course I will have to suspend my personal views. Being the chairman of the committee, I want the process to be as fair, transparent, and as impartial as possible. But off hand, I guess the basic question is: one, can we trust our politicians? PINKY: Okay. I heard that already. SFNP: ... to proceed with charter change or we give it to others by way of a Constitutional Convention. Many of those resource persons believe that if it is a revision of the Constitution such as (switch to) federalism, it should be Concon. PINKY: And a hybrid... SFNP: Hybrid-- some are elected, some are appointed. So these are some of the dynamics... some of the concerns. The other issue is before we discuss pala the deadline with the Senate President, wala pa 'yung Constitutional Commission nung Executive Department. So we will have to factor that in also. I mean, we may or we may not because ultimately that is our decision. Eh halimbawa sabihin ng Constitutional Commission, sumulat sa amin, "may we participate? May we contribute?" to the process before... PINKY: Your committee report. You would, obviously, accept that. SFNP: We should. We should be flexible. Considering that this is a body that precisely was created... PINKY: I understand exactly where you are going with this sir. But my only concern is again, baka sabihin that you're... pinapatagal mo ito. 'Yun naman talaga ang concern that was raised before. In fact, they keep on saying that your chairmanship might be on the line. SFNP: And I don't mind. Ang sa akin, I will do what is right. PINKY: Magtagal man o hindi? SFNP: Hindi natin mamadaliin. Pero rin hindi natin pipilitin at pupwersahin. And one last point on charter change. Ito ba ay madadagdagan ba ang kita ng ating mga kababayan? Maa-address ba ang kahirapan? Magkakaroon ba ng dagdag na trabaho? Lalago ba ang ekonomiya? 'Yung poverty rate ba na 25% sa ngayon ay mababawasan ba? Dapat lahat ng iyan ay ping-uusapan at binabalangkas dun sa usapin ng problema ng ating mga kababayan. Ang trapik ba mareresolba? PINKY: I'm sure Napa-isipan niyo na 'to but I guess, again, you're suspending judgment because you're the chairman of the committee on constitutional amendments. SFNP: Yes, yes. And get the process... the process is as important as the outcome. PINKY: Alright. Let's move topic Sir. Martial Law extension: the Supreme Court already has spoken that there was basis and that Martial Law is Constitutional. Your thoughts sir? SFNP: Well I do not agree with the Supreme Court but they have spoken, we will have to respect it. Hopefully there is a motion for reconsideration that might get some of them to change their minds. Five disagreed. Ten agreed. We will just have to take it as such for now. Respect it. I disagree with it. I believe Martial Law for such a long period of time is not the intention of the framers of our Constitution. PINKY: Apart from the findings or the resolution of the Court, is that the Constitution is silent on how many times the Congress may extend the proclamation of Martial Law or the suspension of the writ of habeas corpus. What do you say to that Sir? It is silent, isn't it? SFNP: Well, strictly speaking it is silent but it does say that 60 days is the maximum period that the President can impose Martial Law. Then it is subject to review. You know I'd like to think if the Constitution says 6 months, a longer period would be... This extended period for me is not consistent with the Constitution. But again, this is my view. The Supreme Court has ruled. We will respect it even if we disagree. PINKY: But you wish, you were hoping for an MR? At least for somebody to file a motion? SFNP: At least for purposes of record. And hopefully, baka by some miracle something happens and some of them change their minds. Because really, in the end, Martial Law should be the exception. It is an extraordinary measure. It should not be the norm. And imposing it for such a long period in Mindanao which is such a huge area, you are making it the norm. That is why I feel, with all due respect, I disagree with the Supreme Court. PINKY: The resolution yesterday by the Supreme Court was that of Professor De Castro who asked that the Supreme Court rule on the voting jointly or separately. The Supreme Court had said that they don't have jurisdiction over the matter right now? SFNP: Well kasi declaratory... I haven't seen the decision. In that sense, hindi pa ripe. Ibig sabihin the ripeness is not there yet. It's premature... I'd like to think that at some point they might step in. Or if there's abuse. But in the hearings, sabi ni Chief Justice Puno, if the Senate for example refuses to do the Constituent Assembly, the House and the Supreme Court cannot compel us. But very interestingly, the question is, if they cannot compel us, they will also not restrain us? PINKY: The opposite! 'Di ba? Actually 'yun and gusto kong tanungin sa inyo Senator. Because if you have people like Chief Justice Azcuna, Chief Justice Davide, already saying that it is clear that it is already voting separately. And hypothetically the Supreme Court says no, voting jointly. SFNP: Sabi nung isang Senator, I don't know if it's Senator Lacson, or Senator Drilon when they are saying that "if that's your position," then somebody said but "you are not the Supreme Court." PINKY: To be fair, there are different compositions of the Supreme Court. Different members rather. Alright. A few more topics. The resolution of Senator Trillanes on the wealth of the President and his daughter. What are your thoughts on that 'cause Senator Gordon was already saying that it should be the House that should hear this and not the Senate. Who should be hearing this in your opinion? SFNP: Ako either... should be able to hear it. Ang pagkainti ko kasi diyan, sinuspend kasi si Deputy Ombudsman Carandang. And on the issue precisely on his bank accounts and the documents. Alleged bank accounts. Because of that, it still is a valid issue. Is Deputy Ombudsman Carandang being harassed? Is he being silenced to do his work because it is the President... PINKY: So let me ask you that. Is he being harassed? SFNP: I don't know. That's why it's something that should be looked into. PINKY: Who's the better branch... SFNP: Well you know right now, the House has its Dengvaxia hearing. The Senate has its. The P6.4 billion shabu smuggling in the BOC-- the House did it, the Senate did it. Sa akin, either house or both houses should be able to look into it. I think it is a legitimate, valid issue for the people. Nevermind us politicians. The people deserve the truth. PINKY: So you're not sure if Deputy Ombusdman Melchor Carandang is being harassed. You're not making any conclusion just yet. SFNP: Well it appears that he is. We'd like to precisely find out. And having said that, I'm in the minority. It's a democracy. Majority rules. PINKY: Do you think na 'yung kapwa Senator niyo are really interested to look into this? SFNP: Some perhaps. Some, maybe not? PINKY: Majority are interested or not? SFNP: I don't know. I don't want to second-guess my colleagues. But I'm not optimistic. Whether or not it will be heard, that's another question altogether. PINKY: Not optimistic on what sir? SFNP: Precisely. Whether it's gonna be heard or not is another question altogether. PINKY: Very quickly. 'Yung militarization ng China. There was an exclusive picture on Inquirer about two days ago? What can the Philippines do about this? Because Secretary Roque was already saying, we can't go to war, 'what do you want us to do? Those structures were being done even during the time of President Noynoy Aquino.' SFNP: Yes, but it was President Aquino who pursued the case and got a favorable ruling. Ideally we should build on that case coz it favors us. Instead we kept quiet. And that is most unfortunate. You know, a country is a country because of its territory. And therefore our leaders must protect and defend our territory. PINKY: What should government do now? SFNP: A continuing protest. Stop first, review this Benham Rise research. Let's see what the outputs are all about. What are the parameters of the engagement? What is the research for? We don't know that. So we have to know that. And I think continuing protest-- get ASEAN. Strengthen our ties with Vietnam and the other countries that are claiming so that we are able to settle this peacefully. War... it's not simply put that because we will speak up then we will have to go to war. No! No. We can speak up. We can protest. We can strengthen our hold. And then push for that ruling without going to war.
Maguindanao is now PDP Laban country

Governor Esmael Mangudadatu of Maguindanao led a contingent of officials from the province and the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao in joining the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino - Lakas ng Bayan (PDP Laban) in oathtaking rites held at Golden Bay Seafood Restaurant along Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard on Tuesday.

Joining Mangudadatu were 20 ARMM Assemblymen led by their Speaker, Ronnie Sinsuat, Maguindanao Vice-Governor Lester Sinsuat, 12 board members, 26 mayors, and13 vice-mayors.

"It's not surprising that Maguindanao joined PDP Laban. The Party was born in Mindanao and has consistently advocated Federalism. PDP Laban is the natural party of those that have been marginalized by the unitary system of government", said Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, the Party's National President.

PDP Laban is the largest political party in the country, counting among its members not just the leaders and representatives of most of the country's provinces and cities, but also thousands of ordinary people who believe in the Party's goal of Change.

In addition to its unprecedented representation in the grassroots, PDP Laban also boasts of close relationships with established political parties in other countries, such as the Communist Party of China and United Russia.

Pimentel has declared that the Party will close its doors to "political" members by the end of February, although its doors will remain open to people who have no plans of running for office.
Press Release

February 7, 2018 Senate tackles Villanueva bill preventing drug abuse among youth thru livelihood, skills training The Senate Committee on Youth chaired by Senator Joel Villanueva discussed on Wednesday a proposed measure providing the youth with appropriate skills to avoid drug abuse and live productive drug-free lives. Senate Bill No. 1149 or the Youth Drug Abuse Resistance Education and Prevention Program (Y-DARE) Act filed by Villanueva targets to educate the youth on the personal and social consequences of substance abuse and drug dependency. Under the bill, the Department of Health (DOH) will serve as the lead agency that will implement the said program. The proposed Y-Dare Act also includes livelihood and skills training programs for the youth. The said programs will be facilitated by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) in coordination with the Department of Education (DepEd) and other concerned agencies. "Daily, we hear news of young people falling to their death because they succumb into bad habits like drugs. Sadly, drugs and substance abuse have contributed to the destruction of the lives of the youth," Villanueva said. "With the main thrust of the present administration to eradicate drug dependency and substance abuse, we deem it necessary to enact a law that will not only educate the youth on the consequences of substance abuse, but will also provide them livelihood and skills training to keep them away from the adverse effects of drugs," the senator added. Aside from the said proposal, the Youth Committee also discussed two more bills seeking to establish a program on human trafficking prevention for the youth (SBN 992) filed by Senator Sherwin Gatchalian; and an initiative that will include the participation of the youth in the disaster risk reduction and management council in all levels (SBN 686) filed by Senator Bam Aquino. "Our young population has significant potential to contribute to our development. Unfortunately, because of binding constraints, we are unable to tap this potential resource. Through the measures that we filed and discussed, it is our hope that we would soon be able to produce a young generation that is composed of drug-free, secure, and productive members of the society," Villanueva said.
There is a space at the heart of The Third Muslim reserved for Numair Abbasi, a Pakistani artist whose art frequently includes nude male bodies. His work, however, does not hang there.

Instead, there exists only a thin gold frame surrounding a note against a background of bright teal. The note informs viewers that Abbasis work, which was to be part of a group exhibition by queer, transgender and gender-nonconforming Muslim artists at SOMArts Cultural Center, was confiscated by Pakistani authorities just days before the show was set to open. Attempts at state control and repression, whether overt or latent, speak directly to the mandate of artists and curators to amplify acts of created resistance within the US and within diaspora.

The blank space, then, serves as a sober reminder for why the show is so necessary  and so overdue. As the curators put it, queer Muslims continue to occupy margins within the margins.

Without meaning to, it has grounded the space in another unfortunate aspect of this reality, says Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who curated the show with Yas Ahmed.

The Third Muslim is a considerable undertaking by Ali Bhutto and Ahmed. Theyve assembled work by 14 artists ranging from Syrian to Somali to Pakistani heritage, to examine the complex identity that they both claim. Very intentionally, there is no manifesto, or single viewpoint for the show  which is, as far as Ali Bhutto can tell, the first group show of its kind. Instead, they allow the varied experiences in a very specific community speak for themselves.

We havent all experienced queerness in the same way and we havent all experienced Islam in the same way, Ali Bhutto says.

This is immediately obvious in the exhibition. Some of the first works visitors see are Samra Habibs photographic portraits of people who identify as queer Muslims. Her images are spare, unpretentious in their direction. She offers up individuals as they are, eyes looking at the viewer, their faces, styles, ages, skin colors all different.

The series began some years ago, after Habib grew tired of the way Muslim narratives were being portrayed in the media. She had worked as a journalist and saw photography as a very powerful language and a very accessible language.

I didnt want to editorialize peoples experience because theyre so different, she says by phone from Toronto. The project reflects the diversity that exists in Islam. Since her project began, shes seen the voices of queer Muslims increase and grow louder. This show is something of a marker of that. Its refreshing, she says. Its the beginning of something really great.

The exhibition does take care to show that queer Muslims have been making art that centers on their identities for decades now. Ali Bhutto and Ahmed wanted to make it clear they werent starting from scratch.

Parisa Parnian, an Iranian American artist, shows some visual work as well as pieces of ephemera from a performance she did following the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City, addressing and lampooning the deep xenophobia she felt in the aftermath. We had people like Parisa to build from, Ali Bhutto says.

There is a diversity on display that you wouldnt experience in most gallery settings. The show embraces the complicated questions of Muslim identity (whether that be religious, cultural or political), colorism and anti-blackness and the ways in which they mark the lives of certain Muslims and, then, also geography. Queer Muslims living in the United States, of course, are making very different art than those living abroad in Muslim-majority countries.

Abdullah Qureshi, a Pakistani artist living in Helsinki, says he couldnt help but notice that the burqa was a dominant image appearing in the show. Indeed, there are burqas that blow in the wind, burqas made out of denim and other whimsical materials, and photographs of women clad in burqas surrounded by wilderness.

His work is considerably different. He offers up watercolors of nude or nearly nude men, all of whom he knew and who posed for him in his studio in Lahore. Theyre more overtly sexual than many of the other pieces. But its also true that the men are anonymous in the images, their bodies something close to silhouettes. If the names are revealed, its only done so in the titles of the pieces, but more often they carry winking phrases like The Sent Nude or Selfie I.

The anonymity is partly aesthetic  a function of working with watercolors  but Qureshi also says, Its something Im working with and playing with because there are things about this identity that cannot be openly talked about in Pakistan. The overt sexuality is important for the same reason.

Including views from the various parts of the Muslim diaspora was an important part of the show for Ahmed and Ali Bhutto. Its representing the plurality of experiences that even queer and trans Muslims arent aware of, Ahmed says.

So far, the feedback to the exhibition has been very positive. Already Ahmed and Ali Bhutto have plans (and a grant) for another show next year. They want to take the concepts to other cities and other communities, highlight local artists and see what that reveals about place and experience.

The thing that strikes me the most at this point, says Ahmed, is that its a living, breathing thing.

Ryan Kost is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rkost@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @RyanKost

The Third Muslim: Through Feb. 22. Closing reception 1 to 4 p.m. Feb. 17, Free. SOMArts Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street, S.F.
SACRAMENTO  California officials said they will block the federal government from transporting oil using existing or new pipelines, a move that would disrupt President Trumps plan to expand drilling off the states coast.

The California State Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission sent letters Wednesday to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management urging the agency to withdraw plans to allow the ocean drilling, saying the proposal increases the threat of an oil spill that could devastate the states ocean and marine environment.

Given how unpopular oil development in coastal waters is in California, it is certain that the state would not approve new pipelines or allow use of existing pipelines to transport oil from new leases onshore, wrote lands commissioners Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, State Controller Betty Yee and state Department of Finance Director Michael Cohen.

Both commissions have authority over the permitting companies need to extract and move oil and gas from coastal waters. California placed a moratorium on new oil and gas leases in 1969, following an oil spill that devastated the Santa Barbara coast.

Weve fought similar efforts before, and we will fight them again, said California Coastal Commission Chair Dayna Bochco in a statement.

Trumps calls for more domestic drilling have received bipartisan pushback from governors of coastal states, including Gov. Jerry Brown.

The letters come as the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, holds a meeting in Sacramento on Thursday to take public comment on Trumps offshore drilling plans. Trump signed an executive order last year requiring the Interior Department to reconsider drilling bans signed by President Obama. It also directed federal agencies to review restrictions in national marine sanctuaries.

The Trump order means swaths of the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic oceans that arent part of the federal governments oil leasing plan already could be made available to energy companies. The plan currently being considered would allow the federal government to offer oil drilling leases in 47 areas off the coast of the United States from 2019 to 2024, including six areas across Californias coast.

Currently, there are 23 offshore oil and gas facilities in federal waters off Californias coast and four platforms in state waters, according to the state lands commission.

Hundreds of opponents are expected to flood the Bureau of Ocean Energy Managements meeting in Sacramento on Thursday. State lawmakers have scheduled rallies outside the Capitol, and environmental groups are busing people from across the state to attend. The hearing is the only California meeting for in-person public comment on Trumps drilling plans. Critics say the hearing is woefully inadequate for a state of nearly 40 million people. They also say the meeting should not be held in Sacramento, 75 miles from the coast. There are 22 public meetings scheduled in other coastal states where residents can provide feedback in person.

The deadline to give in-person or written public comment is March 9, with that feedback to be considered in the Interior Departments drafting of the five-year drilling program. The final plan would be open to public comment before it gets adopted.

Creating a Five Year Program is a very open and public process, and Secretary (Ryan) Zinke looks forward to meeting with more Governors and other coastal representatives who want to discuss the draft program, said Heather Swift, a spokeswoman for the Department of the Interior, in a statement.

California has asked for an exemption from the federal oil drilling plan. Trump has granted Florida an exemption, and critics say his decision to allow California drilling is punitive.

President Trumps offshore oil drilling plan is a step backward in time, toward an energy policy that blindly handcuffs the nation to an unsustainable future, Newsom said in a statement Wednesday. We will not be complacent in the face of Donald Trumps deliberate partisan assault on California, its people, and its economy, and we will use every tool available to resist his cynical, regressive agenda.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Melody Gutierrez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @MelodyGutierrez

Meeting

Who: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Meeting

When: Thursday, 3 to 7 p.m.

Where: Tsakopoulos Library Galleria, 828 I St., Sacramento

To participate: Participants can show up at any time during the meeting to give their comments. Participants also can check the meeting online at www.boem.gov/National-Program-Virtual-Room/
Representatives of Mayor Mark Farrells venture capital firm expect to reap long-term benefits from his term as mayor, according to a letter sent to the companys partners the morning after he was sworn in.

If you have not already seen the news, our partner Mark Farrell was elected last night by his colleagues to serve as the mayor of San Francisco, said the confidential announcement from Thayer Ventures Managing Director Christopher Hemmeter, which went on to cite the intangible benefits of having Farrell in city government.

Reaction in City Hall was swift, and several of Farrells colleagues were stunned when the letter surfaced Tuesday.

The letter was sent to several of the firms partners at 9:15 a.m. the day after six supervisors voted to have Farrell fill former Mayor Ed Lees seat until the June 5 election. Lee died of a heart attack on Dec. 12, leading board President London Breed to assume the office of mayor and precipitating a power struggle in City Hall.

The Chronicle obtained a copy of the letter on Monday.

Since co-founding Thayer Ventures, Mark has served as an elected member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which has been a personal passion for Mark and has also created many intangible benefits for our work at Thayer Ventures, the letter states.

It continues: Marks term as mayor of San Francisco will end in June of 2018, at which time Mark will return full-time to Thayer Ventures, most notably a full six months ahead of schedule. We are incredibly excited about this development, both because we believe Marks role as mayor of San Francisco (as short as his term will be) will inure to the long-term benefit of Thayer Ventures, and as important Mark will be 100 percent dedicated to Thayer Ventures significantly ahead of schedule.

The letter does not specify what those intangible or long-term benefits would be. If he hadnt been elected mayor, Farrell would have served as District Two supervisor until January.

The letter goes on to say that Thayer had prepared for Farrells sabbatical to serve as mayor both internally and with our portfolio companies, suggesting that the company may have known ahead of time that Farrell could gain the office.

Supervisors Hillary Ronen and Ahsha Safai expressed shock, but declined to comment after they were shown a copy of the letter.

But Supervisor Malia Cohen blasted Farrell and his co-conspirators  the five supervisors in the boards progressive bloc and moderate Supervisor Jeff Sheehy  who spent weeks crafting a deal to install Farrell and unseat Breed.

His co-conspirators are just as guilty, said Cohen, one of Breeds closest allies on the board.

I eagerly wait to hear back from Mark Farrell and his spin doctors on how this wasnt a backroom deal, Cohen added.

Speaking to The Chronicles editorial board last month, Farrell said he had no clarity he would become mayor until the votes were cast. He said he had agreed to consider it.

From the moment I was sworn in as mayor, I took an unpaid leave of absence from Thayer, Farrell said in a statement to The Chronicle on Tuesday. I am completely walled off from the company until my term is over, he said.

In reference to the intangible benefits he brought to Thayer, Farrell added: When I was first elected to the board, I brought my private sector experience to City Hall. Being in public life for the last eight years has helped me gain a unique perspective, which has made me a better businessman. Thayer Ventures invests in travel technology companies.

Hemmeter downplayed his statements Tuesday, saying hed wanted to reassure investors that our company would continue to thrive despite Marks six-month absence.

In my haste, I made a poor choice of words that I regret, he said.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Farrell took an unpaid leave of absence from Thayer Ventures on Jan. 23, the night he was sworn in as mayor.

An agreement filed with the city attorneys office on Feb. 2 and signed by Hemmeter, Farrell and another managing director, Jeffery Jackson, lays out the terms of Farrells absence.

It bars Farrell from performing any job duties or functions, spending any time on business, making any decisions for the firm or providing any services on its behalf. It explicitly forbids Farrell from participating in investment decisions.

An ethicist called the letters language distasteful and absolutely inappropriate, but not illegal.

Everybodys going to be scrutinizing every action Farrell takes to make sure nothing goes to the firm, said Bob Stern, who was president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin, who led the negotiations that ended in Farrells appointment as mayor, didnt address the content of the Thayer memo but viewed its public surfacing as political payback from tech investor and campaign donor Ron Conway, a supporter of Breed.

The progressive supervisors who voted for Farrell described their act as an indictment of Conway, who has contributed and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for campaigns that favor moderate, tech-friendly candidates over more progressive opponents.

This is proof that Ron Conway and his associates are throwing their weight around, Peskin said of the letter. There is no indication that Conway was behind the release of the letter.

Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com

Twitter: @rachelswan
The Oakland City Council passed a rule change Tuesday that could lead to the removal of Councilwoman Desley Brooks from her position as a committee chair despite calls from her supporters that it would create abuses of power.

Brooks, who directs the prominent Public Safety Committee, was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in punitive damages last month after a jury found she shoved former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown at an Oakland restaurant in 2015, causing her to fall and suffer bruises and a torn rotator cuff.

That was on top of the $3.8 million judgment Brown won from the city. The jury concluded that Brooks had acted in her capacity as a city employee and engaged in elder abuse on the then-72-year-old Brown, who was promoting a housing project that Brooks opposed.

I have always stated that it was in self-defense that I pushed her away from me. I am 57 years old.  I, too, in my mind, am not a spring chicken, Brooks said during a 20-minute speech in which she attacked most of her council colleagues. I am the most-loved member of the Oakland City Council.

Council members have been discussing in closed session with city attorneys whether to appeal the rulings. Some of them have expressed frustration at Brooks and the monetary award and say she should no longer wield authority over matters of public safety.

Some officials resentment toward Brooks grew in recent weeks after she proposed a plan that would give 5 percent of the citys capital improvement projects to job training centers, three-quarters of which would go to a nonprofit in her district. Councilwoman Annie Campbell Washington and Mayor Libby Schaaf questioned whether the measure would be legal.

The rule change makes no mention of Brooks position, and its authors said Tuesday it wasnt directed at any particular person. It gives the council president  now Larry Reid  the power to make committee and chair assignments at any time. The old rules allowed the president to do so every two years.

An initial writing of the resolution, which would have permitted committee changes without council confirmation, was narrowly voted down.

Separately, and less controversially, the rules revision allows an item pulled from a meetings consent calendar to be heard the same night, rather than punted to a meeting two weeks later.

The council members who backed the changes say they bring Oakland in line with how other cities operate. Last month, the three sponsors  Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Campbell Washington and Reid  moved to expedite a vote on the proposal, bypassing a committee meeting and bringing it directly Tuesday to the full council.

Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, along with Brooks, said that action violated the state Brown Act, which governs public legislative meetings. Kaplan said she was concerned about a consolidation of power.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Any council president could be mad at anybody any day for any reason and could remove them from a committee, she said, when the original resolution was still on the table. It is really quite frightening to think that it could be used as vote trading, that it could be used to threaten people.

But McElhaney said shes been trying to get these rules passed since 2014 for the sake of good governance. She said they were needed reforms that create continuity of service should a committee chair become incapacitated.

Im hard pressed to believe any president would abuse power in a way that would cause that kind of disruption, McElhaney said.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
Aaron Persky could become the first California judge recalled from the bench in 87 years if Santa Clara County voters sign off on his removal in June.

On Tuesday, the countys Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the recall measures inclusion on the primary election ballot after critics of the judge  who oversaw a controversial sexual assault case involving a Stanford swimmer  were able to submit tens of thousands of signatures to the Registrar of Voters.

A group of recall organizers, led by Stanford law Professor Michele Dauber, clapped and cheered after the vote to certify the ballot measure at the countys San Jose headquarters.

Were extremely happy that our petition drive has succeeded, Dauber said. Its truly a historic day. Its a historic day for women and for all survivors of sexual violence.

Persky came under scrutiny in June 2016 when he sentenced Brock Turner to six months in jail after after the former Stanford swimmer was found guilty of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman outside a campus fraternity party. Prosecutors had argued for six years in prison, but Turner was released after three months.

The case received national attention following Perskys ruling and the publication of a letter that was read in court by the assault survivor.

Organizers with the recall effort submitted a petition for Perskys recall along with 94,518 signatures, well above the 58,634-signature threshold.

The voters are speaking loud and clear, Dauber said. They wanted to see Judge Persky on the ballot, and they want to have the opportunity to hold him accountable for his pattern of bias in favor of athletes and privileged perpetrators of violence against women.

In the back of the board chambers, a group of volunteers led by retired Santa Clara Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell held signs that opposed the recall.

This is a threat to the independence of the judiciary, Cordell said. That means that if there are judges who want to do the right thing  and the right thing may mean being compassionate, being lenient when composing a sentence  theyre going to think twice about doing what they believe to be right and following the law because of fear.

As a result, Cordell said, minority defendants who make up the majority of the countys criminal cases will be disproportionately affected, as judges could be wary of handing out sentences that appear soft on crime.

Cordell noted that the six-month sentence Persky handed down to Turner came at the probation departments recommendation. Judges tend to follow these guidelines, she added, though there is no requirement to do so.

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I dont believe any judge sitting on the Santa Clara County bench would have imposed a different sentence, Cordell said.

The unanimous vote Tuesday added an additional question to the ballot that allows county voters to choose Perskys successor in the event he is recalled.

Wednesday will mark the first day that candidates can officially file papers to run for Perskys seat. Candidates must submit 6,002 signatures from the community or pay roughly $2,000 to be placed on the ballot, according to the registrar. Signatures are due Feb. 20, and the deadline for placing a notice of intent to run is March 2.

Cindy Hendrickson, an assistant district attorney for the county, is the only person who has publicly announced an intention to run.

Jenna Lyons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jlyons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JennaJourno
Alameda will pump the brakes but move forward with a plan to scan the license plate of every vehicle entering and leaving the island city after a marathon City Council meeting saw residents and others raise concerns about privacy and whether the data would be shared with federal immigration officers.

The council unanimously agreed early Wednesday to earmark $500,000 for crime-fighting technology after police asked for 13 license plate readers that they hope will prevent or solve burglaries and other crimes. Before police can buy the devices, though, the city must contract with a vendor and revise its policy on how the information will be used and who will get to see it.

The decision sought to balance residents frustrations over a rash of car break-ins and thefts with concerns about the spread of mass surveillance. Some council members were wary of funding the scanners and questioned whether they would make the city safer.

It would essentially create a virtual wall around Alameda without actually increasing safety, said Vice Mayor Malia Vella, who nonetheless voted to set aside funding.

Several members of the public who addressed the council during a four-hour debate that stretched past midnight speculated that people worried about their privacy might avoid Alameda and its businesses because of the cameras.

Some of the five council members questioned Police Chief Paul Rolleris preferred vendor of the license plate readers, Vigilant Solutions of Livermore, which recently entered into a contract to provide data to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. Alameda ordinances and state law restrict local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The scanners are designed to capture images of all license plates that pass them, storing the data while flagging stolen or wanted vehicles and relaying that information immediately to law enforcement.

The city has scanners provided by Vigilant Solutions mounted on four police cruisers. But the City Council meeting made clear that significant questions remain about the strategy.

Rolleri said he didnt have numbers revealing whether the cameras mounted on cruisers have made a difference. He cited the experience in Piedmont, which blanketed much of its border with Oakland with license plate readers in 2014. Property crime has since dropped 34 percent, officials said.

In addition, council members and public speakers questioned whether Alameda would be able to guarantee information never falls into the wrong hands, including ICE.

City officials said they were unaware until recent days that Vigilant Solutions had entered into a contract to turn over data to ICE in January. Information collected by the scanners on Alameda police cruisers was accessible to federal immigration authorities last month, and perhaps in years past.

Rolleri said he cut off that access last week and that it was unclear whether ICE had used any of the information. The chief said that if the city moves forward with the camera plan, license plate scans would be stored for six months to aid in investigations and would not be shared with ICE.

Council members expressed concern about doing business with Vigilant Solutions, given its contract with ICE, and ordered staffers to put the contract for license plate readers out to bid.

The police proposal, as it stands, is to put 13 license plate recognition systems on bridges, the Posey and Webster underwater tubes and at intersections near the citys border with Oakland.

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A majority of those who spoke at the council meeting opposed the idea, saying it was an affront to civil liberties and would make Alameda look like a frightened enclave.

Alameda is a warm and inviting community, said Vidia Gillula, 32. Im afraid if we surround our beautiful island with cameras, we will lose that. I dont want to live in a city where everyone who comes in and out is a suspect.

Camera supporters, though, spoke passionately about safety trumping all else.

Im concerned with privacy issues, said Michael Robles-Wong. But, he added, he is more worried about the security of his family and neighbors, noting: It is important to keep Alameda a safe, small island.

Alameda saw a spike in crime over the previous two years, although overall crime is near 30-year lows, Rolleri said. In 2017, there were 5,075 crimes reported  a 12.4 percent increase that was largely due to grand theft and petty theft, officials said.

Overall, crime has declined 52 percent over the past three decades, police said. Rolleri said residents are responsible for about half the citys crimes.

Information gathered by license plate scanners is made available to many local, state and federal agencies through a multiagency partnership called the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center. An investigator looking to pinpoint the past locations of a vehicle can run a plate through the database.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld a $25 million settlement Tuesday to students of the now-defunct Trump University, who said they were charged up to $35,000 and promised the secrets of real estate success but were given little more than sales pitches to take more seminars.

The settlement of two class-action suits and a third suit by the state of New York against Donald Trumps school was reached six weeks after the 2016 presidential election and was approved by U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel of San Diego.

President Trump has agreed to pay the settlement, but after Curiel refused to dismiss the suit in July 2016, Trump, as a candidate, called the Indiana-born judge a hater and a Mexican who was biased against him because of his plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump University began operations online in 2005, started holding in-person seminars in 2007 and was shut down by New York, its headquarters state, in 2010.

Students in the lawsuits said Trump advertised free workshops where they would learn the keys to successful real estate investment from his hand-picked instructors. They said the workshops amounted to recruitment for three-day educational seminars, for about $1,500, where they were induced to sign up for more-expensive mentorship programs.

The instructors had not been hand-picked, the school itself was not accredited, and the secrets of success in real estate remained a mystery, the suits said.

Trump said that the allegations were unfounded and that surveys showed a high level of satisfaction among the students. Curiel granted his request to postpone a trial until after the November 2016 election, and Trump said he then settled the case to avoid interfering with his job duties.

The settlement will allow the students to recover about 90 percent of what they paid, said their lawyers, who did not charge them a fee and will not share in the payment. They said about 3,700 former students had submitted claims, most of them for $1,500.

Tuesdays ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals provides a welcomed light at the end of the tunnel for those who have struggled to pay off their debt for a decade, said attorney Rachel Jensen.

The court rejected objections from one student who wanted to opt out of the settlement and file her own suit against Trump, a suit that could have unraveled the $25 million agreement.

Sherri Simpson of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said she spent about $19,000 on the three-day seminar and the year-long mentoring program and wanted to hold Trump to account in a suit for triple damages.

But the appeals court, upholding a ruling by Curiel, said Simpson had agreed to be part of the class-action suit, submitted her claim for part of the settlement, and had no right to opt out afterward. The court also rejected her challenge to Curiels approval of the settlement.

The students would have faced significant hurdles had they proceeded to trial, including the difficulty of prevailing in a jury trial against the newly elected president, Judge Andrew Hurwitz said in the 3-0 ruling. He said Curiel had ample reasons to approve an agreement that provides the plaintiffs with almost a full recovery.

Lawyers for Simpson and Trump could not be reached for comment.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Some people think the history of oppression can be erased. As if to ink through the painful record, destroy the monument to tyranny, you might somehow reset time. Undo the harm.

Memory is a powerful weapon, and noxious memory is all the more potent. Destroy the evidence, though, and you blunt the authority of recollection.

A quiet but intensely powerful exhibition at the nonprofit gallery Kadist refutes the idea that we can shed the pain by turning away from it. If These Stones Could Sing, on view through April 21, presents only nine works, though it can take more than an hour to view the four videos that comprise the bulk of the show.

Organized by Marie Martraire, a French curator in charge of Kadists Asia programs, the exhibition is meant to call attention to the human body and its prospective relationship to public monuments: soft versus hard, mobile in opposition to fixed, flexible in the face of the brittle. Movement and gesture are central to this poetic theme, and even the exhibition layout requires the viewer to make bodily accommodations  looking up, as if at a figure on a pedestal, turning downward as one would toward a grave. An excellent brochure considers aspects of this constructed space we call history.

A four-minute performance by an Israeli group called Public Movement, the nominal opening work of the exhibition, must be experienced either on a limited schedule or in the minds eye. Falling Wall involves the wall of its title and a small troupe of dancers, embodying the physicality of a memorial, its frail hold on history and the threat it might pose as destiny.

The photographer Shitamichi Motoyuki contributes three photographs of Shinto gates, originally erected on the American island of Saipan and places in Russia and Taiwan by Japanese occupiers during World War II. Overgrown, forgotten, or toppled and repurposed as park furniture, these former symbols of military and religious conquest are now become pitiable markers of weakness.

Stone Deaf is the title of two works included by the Colombian artist Milena Bonilla. The first is a video that bears witness to the meanderings of insects across a stone carved with an inscription we cant make out at such close range. The second appears later in the exhibition: a graphite rubbing of the entire stone, on which we read its commemorative text.

In Aldona, Emilija Skarnulyte follows a blind woman through a park populated by ghostly stone remnants of the Soviet era in Lithuania. The old woman sees with her hands the silenced heroes who, in life, would have been far out of reach.

Bangkok artist Arin Rungjang and New Zealander Sriwhana Spong both employ dance in their video works. Spongs piece is the least directly engaged in the exhibition theme of monument, though the body itself is presented as a structure in the landscape, a monument to a place no longer accessible.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

Rungjangs 2017 work, the last in the show, runs a sometimes tedious three quarters of an hour, but it repays the time investment with a dreamlike interweaving of history, Thai and German, recent and Nazi-era. A famous Bangkok landmark, audaciously called the Democracy Monument, plays a central role.

Charles Desmarais is The San Francisco Chronicles art critic. Email: cdesmarais@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Artguy1

If These Stones Could Sing: Noon-5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturdays. Through April 21. Free. Kadist, 3295 20th St., S.F. (415) 738-8668. www.kadist.org
Travis Kalanick got some vindication in court on Wednesday.

Under friendly cross-examination by a lawyer for Uber  the ride-hailing company he co-founded and led until it ousted him last June  Kalanick got a chance to present himself as an earnest guy who loved his work, cared about the future and didnt take illicit shortcuts as he competed aggressively in the race for self-driving cars.

He also got to give his narrative of Ubers relationship with Alphabet, the Google parent company that was an early investor in Uber and is now, through its Waymo subsidiary, suing it.

In his second day of testimony in the Waymo vs. Uber trade-secrets trial, Kalanick adamantly denied having hired Anthony Levandowski, a former star Waymo engineer, in order to steal self-driving car secrets, as Waymo alleges.

We hired Anthony because we felt he was incredibly visionary, a very good technologist, and he was also very charming, Kalanick said.

Although Kalanick said hed spoken of Levandowski several times as a brother from another mother, his feelings now are a bit more complicated.

Look, this has been a difficult process, Kalanick said. This makes it not as great as what we thought it was.

This is a blockbuster federal lawsuit that has consumed 11 months and millions of dollars, laid bare embarrassing revelations about spy tactics at Uber, and threatens the ride-hailing companys self-driving car program  which it considers essential to its future.

While Kalanicks testimony may have helped Ubers defense, its far too soon to call a winner in the bitter case. Later on Wednesday, the head of a forensic investigations firm gave testimony that was damning to Levandowski, and thus, by implication, Uber.

Kalanick is undoubtedly the star witness for the jury trial, now in its third day in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The other standout witness, Levandowki, is expected to refuse to testify, citing his Fifth Amendment protections against self-incrimination. Witnesses testified that Levandowski downloaded 14,000 Waymo files about self-driving cars shortly before he abruptly quit the company, launched a startup and sold it to Uber.

Waymo attorney Charles Verhoeven tried hard to rattle Kalanick, reading emails and meeting notes in which he used brash language like, Cheat codes, find them, use them and The golden time is over, its war time.

A subdued Kalanick refused to take the bait, repeatedly sipping on water and answering that he didnt remember a number of things but that they were possible.

Wearing a dark suit and tie, a contrast to his usual Silicon Valley attire, Kalanick visibly relaxed when Karen Dunn, representing Uber, got up to cross-examine him.

Kalanick portrayed his relationship with Google  now Alphabet  as that of a little brother with a big brother. When Google invested in Uber in summer 2013, co-founder Larry Page picked up Kalanick in a self-driving car. It was really cool, he said, describing hopes to partner with Google on a future robot-taxi service.

Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts.

But a year later, he started hearing rumors that Google wanted to create its own autonomous ride-hailing service. He reached out to the company through its chief legal officer, David Drummond, who then sat on Ubers board, and asked to chat with Page directly. But when that failed to get traction, Uber raided the robotics department at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh in early 2015 to set up its own robot-car development arm.

A few months later, when Kalanick finally sat down with Page, Uber and Google were more overtly rivals. Larry was fairly upset with us about us acquiring the CMU team and starting an autonomy unit for ourselves that competed with what they were doing, Kalanick said. He was a little angsty and said, Why are you doing my thing? Self-driving cars had been an interest of Pages since he was a student at Stanford.

In fall 2016 Kalanick talked by phone with Page about a flying car partnership, saying he wanted Uber customers to be able to push a button and get a Google flying car. By then, Levandowski and other ex-Googlers were at Uber. Page was upset, saying Uber was taking Googles intellectual property. Your people are not your IP, Kalanick said he responded.

A much less well-known figure, Eric Friedberg, co-founder of forensics firm Stroz Friedberg, was Wednesdays final witness. Uber hired his firm in March 2016, two months after Levandowski quit Waymo, to vet its purchase of Otto, Levandowskis startup. Friedberg testified that Levandowski had a massive amount of Google/Waymo-related information on his laptop and on five discs at his home.

Levandowski told investigators he destroyed the five discs after informing Kalanick about them. Kalanick said he didnt want to know about Google information and didnt want it at Uber, according to the Stroz report. He told Levandowski to do what he needed to do, which Levandowski took to mean he should destroy the files.

Carolyn Said is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: csaid@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @csaid
The idea of a city-sponsored drug-injection site at first sounds baffling and dangerous. To some, providing comfortable quarters and needles to shoot up is the last thing a city should do to curb drug users sprawling across sidewalks and parks.

But San Francisco, along with other major cities, is on track to do just that  and the plan makes sense. Its a real-world answer that can lessen a runaway problem, prevent deaths and offer a pathway from addiction. Safe-injection sites have found support and success in dozens of cities in Canada, Europe and Australia.

Between now and July, city Health Director Barbara Garcia plans to clarify the scope and operations of the local sites. Her department has worked on the idea for months, mindful of the legal and health hazards that go along with enabling illegal drug use.

There are reasons for caution, but the idea is neither far-fetched nor implausible. San Francisco has more than 20,000 injection-drug users, a figure that accounts for a demoralizing sight of discarded syringes and open drug use throughout the city. Anyone walking by a huddled group splayed on the pavement should want the city to come up with an answer.

Offering a controlled setting indoors can help. Its expected there will be medical oversight and counseling, clean needles, and safe surroundings. Police involvement to prevent drug sales needs to be worked out.

Until now, San Francisco and other cities were stalled over legal and perceptual problems. Opening the doors ran afoul of a raft of laws barring drug use. The city could be liable if an addict overdosed. Even an ever-tolerant city wasnt completely sold that allowing serious drug use would produce anything but trouble.

But city leaders are sidestepping legal issues by lining up private organizations to provide the money to run the sites, which will begin with two locations with more to follow. Overdose fears havent been borne out elsewhere. As for public unease, San Francisco has become more upset over rampant drug use than over any doubts about a promising innovation.

This city wont be alone. Philadelphia announced last month it will work with local groups to open injection sites. Seattle, Denver and Baltimore are also moving in the same direction. Fueling the urgency is a wave of drug deaths linked to opioids and heroin that totaled 63,000 fatalities in 2016. That astonishing number, larger than U.S. combat deaths in Vietnam, is easing official reluctance city by city.

The spreading plans could be curtailed if the Trump administration chooses to block the sites through drug raids or court challenges. But that worry is too uncertain to stop a groundswell idea that needs to get under way.

At best, the injection sites can dent a much larger problem. There needs to be more emphasis and money for medical treatment, rehabilitation and programs that treat addiction, not punish it. That leadership is missing in Washington, where the presidents endless emphasis on drug crime masks his failure to provide serious leadership.

Injection sites are an innovation that can reduce fatal overdoses by addicts and accidental needle sticks on the streets. The status quo is intolerable. Its time for San Francisco to give them a try.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
As our president demonizes the free press on a daily basis, this pillar of our democracy  with rights strictly protected by the First Amendment  deserves explicit protection from physical violence.

President Trumps campaign and administration have created a toxic atmosphere. Its not just about labeling reports of his constant falsehoods as #FakeNews  its his casting of media personalities and outlets as anti-American targets, and encouraging his audience to engage in violence.

He seems to take a page from his late adviser Roy Cohn, who previously had advised Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the ugly anti-communist investigations of the 1950s. President Trump seems to long for the days of purges and blacklists as he calls out reporters and organizations by name, much as McCarthy did before his censure and disgrace.

After regularly condemning the press during his campaign throughout 2016, President Trump tweeted in February 2017 that media outlets are the enemy of the American people.

In March 2017, OC Weekly journalists said they were assaulted by demonstrators at a Make America Great Again rally in Huntington Beach.

In April 2017, the international organization Reporters Without Borders lowered the United States ranking in its annual World Press Freedom index to 43rd, citing President Trumps rhetoric. This is cause for concern, as the United States must not emulate nations in which violence against journalists is more common.

In May 2017, Montana candidate Greg Gianforte  now a member of the U.S. House of Representatives  body-slammed a Guardian reporter to the ground.

In July 2017, President Trump tweeted a short video  doctored from an old Wrestlemania cameo  showing him punching a figure whose head has been replaced by CNNs logo. It ends with an onscreen restyling of that logo as FNN: Fraud News Network. The video, also tweeted via the official @POTUS account, has been viewed 37.9 million times.

Targeting individual journalists or media outlets, on- or offline, creates a chilling effect and fosters an environment where further harassment, or even physical attack, is deemed acceptable, Courtney Radsch, advocacy director for the Committee to Protect Journalists, stated at the time.

In August 2017, a reporter filming anti-racist counter-protestors in Charlottesville, Va., was attacked. Days later, President Trump retweeted  though soon deleted  a cartoon of a Trump Train running over a person with a CNN logo as its head. A few days after that, Trump told supporters at a campaign-style rally that journalists are sick people, accused the news media of trying to take away our history and our heritage, and questioned their patriotism: I really think they dont like our country.

In December 2017, President Trump retweeted a doctored photo of the CNN logo in a splatter of blood on the bottom of his shoe. The caption said, Winning.

Last month, a Michigan man was arrested after allegedly calling CNN more than 20 times and repeatedly threatening to shoot and kill its employees. Fake news. Im coming to gun you all down, he said, according to court documents.

These are just a few examples of a disturbing trend. Not all attacks on journalists this year have been committed by Trump supporters  several were committed by Trump opponents  but the fact remains that rhetoric emanating from the worlds most powerful office is stoking an environment in which these attacks proliferate.

We must not normalize this. We must send a message that assaults against people engaged in reporting the news is unacceptable and un-American.

On Monday, I introduced the Journalist Protection Act, which will make it a federal crime to intentionally cause or attempt to cause a bodily injury or a serious bodily injury to a journalist in the course of news-gathering or in a manner designed to block his or her ability to conduct journalism. Given Congress constitutional mandate, the bill is limited to instances in which the assault can be argued to affect interstate or foreign commerce.

Its a statement that one of our most sacred federal rights will receive federal protection when it is violently infringed upon. It demonstrates to would-be wrongdoers that we will not tolerate attacks on journalists, and it gives law enforcement and federal prosecutors an option in cases in which state and local law enforcement dont act.

It is sad that we must make this statement to counteract the violent vitriol spewed by our own president. But we must act.

Most Americans know that our freedoms rely on an informed populace. Yet whether we appreciate the news or not, we must not let violence curb its gathering and dissemination  doing so is a calling card for dictatorship.

Lets join together to protect media workers and punish perpetrators.

Eric Swalwell represents central and eastern Alameda County in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The three top Republican candidates shared a debate stage for the first time Tuesday and spent more time shredding each other personally than taking stands on policy.

Their attacks may be mostly existential, as analysts predict only 42 percent of voters in Californias June 5 primary will cast a ballot for a Republican. That makes it harder for a Republican  any Republican  to be one of the top two primary finishers to advance to the November general election, where they would face one of two Democrats: Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom or former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  both of them far ahead in the early polls.

So the goal at the 85-minute forum presented by The Chronicle at the City Club in San Francisco was to be the Republican to remember.

Former Sacramento-area three-term Rep. Doug Ose cited his experience while simultaneously criticizing his rivals, Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach (Orange County) and Rancho Santa Fe (San Diego County) businessman John Cox, who was born in Chicago.

I havent spent six years in the Legislature doing nothing, and didnt move here from Illinois without knowledge of California, a blustery Ose said. I know the rules. Democrats do not want to see me on the ballot. I intend to be the governor and, Travis, Ill invite you to my reception.

Allen said he was the only Republican on the stage who could beat Newsom, who he mentioned several times as the likely Democrat to advance to the general election in November.

I have never lost an election, Allen said. These candidates here are both three-time losers. California Republicans need a real, common-sense Republican. Ose, who has lost only two races, pointed out that Allen runs in a strong GOP district.

Cox, who has never held elective office, repeatedly boasted about his business background.

Were not going to change California with more politicians, Cox said. Nineteen states have elected Republican businessmen, and theyre some of the most successful and popular governors in the country.

Allen took several hits for being the only Republican named last week in documents released by the Legislature outlining 20 substantiated complaints of sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior against other lawmakers or high-level legislative staffers over the past 12 years.

Allen was found to have routinely gotten unnecessarily close to one female staffer in 2013, including sitting close to her while sliding his foot to touch hers.

Allen derided the report as an attack by a Democrat-led committee. He applauded the #MeToo movement but was hardly apologetic. He said the movement is about women who have been violated. This is exactly what has not happened in my case. 

In my case, there may have been a misunderstanding because I was too friendly, Allen said. If any time my friendliness was misconstrued, then it was simply that, he said.

Ose took that lead and ran with it: Ive been in the public eye for 20 years. Youve never heard any report of this type of behavior about me because its never occurred  theres nothing on me.

Cox, 62, described inappropriate behavior as a failure of leadership.

When you represent people, you cant engage in any behavior that would be considered risky in any way whatsoever. Because what youre doing is youre opening yourself up to blackmail, youre opening up yourself to attacks and complaints that will affect your decision-making.

However, neither Allen nor the other candidates mentioned President Trumps multiple reported infidelities, nor the 19 women who have accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior. Instead, they battled over who was the biggest Trump booster.

Ose, who was a state chairman of Trumps California campaign, was on the Trump train the earliest  in February 2016  and chided Allen for overstating his Trump credentials.

You were asked six times to help on that and we didnt receive your written endorsement until October, Ose, 62, said, then made one of several age-related jabs at Allen, 44. I just want to make sure that you dont make a youthful error here.

The candidates agreed on nearly every policy point raised, whether it be opposition to the Affordable Care Act, the need to reform Californias environmental protection laws, their desire to repeal the states recently approved gas tax and their push to curb the power of public sector unions.

Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli
When Quynh Nhu stands at the corrugated aluminum-fronted counter that doubles as a host stand in the open kitchen at the Temple Club, she sings along with the Vietnamese ballads blasting the room.

When she talks with her husband and chef Geoffrey Deetz, often at the cooking island behind her, its in Vietnamese.

Looking around the room with its bright murals, marred tables and piles of green bananas and other produce on the counter, I recalled my two trips to Vietnam. The memories were reinforced by the ripe smell of fish sauce, smoke and aromatic herbs that ripple through the 49-seat dining room on Oaklands International Boulevard.

Deetz is a Bay Area chef who two decades ago was noted for his cooking at such places as Spettro in Oakland. In 2000 he moved to Vietnam, and over the next 16 years he traveled much of the country. He opened up 22 restaurants, including a cupcake bakery and a burrito shop. He became best known for the Black Cat, a cafe that became an expat favorite. He also became known after appearing on Anthony Bourdains No Reservations, and creating a winning dish on the Food Networks Cooks vs. Cons.

What drove him to Vietnam initially was to learn about the food. During that time he met his wife and fathered two children. Last year he and his family moved back for two reasons: Much of the food products in Vietnam are now controlled by big business  not what a chef nurtured in the Bay Areas food scene, where locally produced ingredients are a given  could embrace . And he wanted a better education for his children.

Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

Back in Oakland, Deetz decided to bring his training as a chef and his love of his adopted culture to another restaurant. In a way its become another expat restaurant, but this one for Vietnamese who are nostalgic for their homeland.

He found the space in an area that has increasingly attracted Vietnamese people and began cooking dishes that arent often found in this part of the world. Unlike other Vietnamese restaurants in the Bay Area, at the Temple Club, Deetz writes a new menu daily. Popular dishes on the 16-item menu come and go, and new ones are continually added, generally at the rate of two or three a week, he says.

On every visit, however, the main courses led off with Mi Quang Phu Chiem ($7.50/$14.50), described as a special dish from Phu Chiem in Quang Nam province where it was created. From the central part of Vietnam bordering Laos, the recipe blends elements of land and sea. It combines sweet rock shrimp, briny baby shell-on shrimp, pork, shallots, quail eggs, tomato and crushed peanuts, all piled on flat noodles moistened with a small amount of broth. The mixture gets a dose of earthiness from annatto oil, creating a multidimensional dish. Deetz is particularly fond of this street-food dish, explaining that it would be eaten in Hoi An while sitting on a stool.

Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

On one visit our cheerful (though not very efficient) waiter announced that Goi Hoi An ($14) was making its first appearance on the menu. The appetizer, which includes marinated beef, green papaya, cherry tomatoes and onions, is presented in a purple-tinged banana leaf. Even though its served cold, the aroma floats to the nostrils like the mist rising from rice paddies. The blend of fresh herbs and the fish sauce spiked with tamarind tickles every region of the tongue.

As with many converts, Deetz is focused on preparing dishes the way they are served in Vietnam. An exception is his Food Network-winning pho ($7/$14) that includes sour beef broth, water celery and corned beef brisket. Its a curious dish that was featured on two of my three visits. Unfortunately I wasnt able to order it, but it gives me an excuse to go back.

Many recipes rely heavily on fresh herbs and raw vegetables, which requires Deetz to shop twice a day. The produce helps to moderate the earthy flavors that are inherent in some dishes. One example is Goi Cuon Nem Chua ($9), spring rolls that are plumped with sour pork sausage and sliced pig ears and served with sesame and pork liver sauce.

I didnt tell my conservative dining companion what was in the various components until he had eaten three of the four pieces. Fortunately, the addition of the rice noodles, sesame leaf and baby greens dominated, and the offal components served as umami to deepen the effect.

Com Chien Dac Biet ($12.50) is a combination of brown and red fried rice with smoky (almost charred) nuances from annatto, musty notes of Chinese sausage and pungent sparks of garlic, both fresh and fried. In this case the shrimp were lost in the mounded rice topped with a fried duck egg. The rice was surrounded by thin coins of cucumbers, which not only made a pretty garnish but were key to refreshing the palate.

This give and take of fresh and funky was present in other dishes, including Bun Ca Nha Treang ($7.50/$13.50) where the slightly spicy broth had a powerful boost of what tasted like dried shrimp, with slices of swordfish, tomato and green onions served over rice noodles.

Some dishes could use a little more spice, but each table is set with four condiments in a Plexiglas container: Deetz makes a chile paste that can make the nose run and the face flush by simply smelling it. The other options are sliced garlic in vinegar, sambal, and serrano chiles with vinegar.

Most every dish comes with a different sauce such as sweet and sour tomato with sauteed squid and pineapple ($14.50), or honey and chile with butterflied shrimp ($12.95), which is coated in rice flakes and fried. Deetz says this preparation is little known in the United States; in Vietnam it is often seen at celebrations, particularly weddings.

Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle

Boneless pork stew ($14) with fresh tamarind, shallots and garlic comes to the table still bubbling, and reveals bits of the pickled mustard greens that help to cut the richness of the meat. Its the type of warming dish that captures the essence of the Vietnamese flavor palate.

Many dishes, including the fried shrimp, have nearly universal appeal. Chicken wings ($12.25), sticky and sweet from a glaze that includes sugar, garlic, black pepper and fish sauce practically shout for a Tiger beer. While theres a sign above the kitchen, about eye level for those on the dining mezzanine, advertising this popular Vietnamese brew, there were none in the cooler on our visits. No alcohol is served (but diners can bring their own). However, this will soon change; the official notice to serve beer and wine is in the window, and the cooler should be stocked by April.

Another favorite dish is marinated and grilled bone-in chicken ($9.75 half/$18.75 whole). Its blackened on the grill and served with a lime, salt and pepper dipping sauce.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

At dessert I couldnt resist the cheesecake made with durian ($7), a fruit that Asian expert Bruce Cost once described as eating custard in a sewer. Its pungent smell belies the sweet tropical taste. Its a fruit that echoes the juxtaposition found in the cuisine, achieving a balance between opposing flavors.

Mastering that balance can take years to learn. Deetz cooks with knowledge and passion, producing food that youll find when you travel to Vietnam. He continues to resist the idea of Americanizing his food.

No, he explains, Im going the opposite direction. Im getting more extreme. I just need to get the trust of my customers.

  

Temple Club

Food:   

Service:  

Atmosphere:  

Price: $$

Noise: Four Bells

2307 International Blvd. (at 23rd); (510) 479-3680 or www.templecluboakland.com. Dinner 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Lunch Saturday noon-3 p.m. No alcohol. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Generally easy street parking.

Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic and editor at large. Email: mbauer@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaelbauer1 Instagram: @michaelbauer1
The Oakland City Council passed a rule change Tuesday that could lead to the removal of Councilwoman Desley Brooks from her position as a committee chair despite calls from her supporters that it would create abuses of power.

Brooks, who directs the prominent Public Safety Committee, was ordered to pay more than $500,000 in punitive damages last month after a jury found she shoved former Black Panther leader Elaine Brown at an Oakland restaurant in 2015, causing her to fall and suffer bruises and a torn rotator cuff.

That was on top of the $3.8 million judgment Brown won from the city. The jury concluded that Brooks had acted in her capacity as a city employee and engaged in elder abuse on the then-72-year-old Brown, who was promoting a housing project that Brooks opposed.

I have always stated that it was in self-defense that I pushed her away from me. I am 57 years old.  I, too, in my mind, am not a spring chicken, Brooks said during a 20-minute speech in which she attacked most of her council colleagues. I am the most-loved member of the Oakland City Council.

Council members have been discussing in closed session with city attorneys whether to appeal the rulings. Some of them have expressed frustration at Brooks and the monetary award and say she should no longer wield authority over matters of public safety.

Some officials resentment toward Brooks grew in recent weeks after she proposed a plan that would give 5 percent of the citys capital improvement projects to job training centers, three-quarters of which would go to a nonprofit in her district. Councilwoman Annie Campbell Washington and Mayor Libby Schaaf questioned whether the measure would be legal.

The rule change makes no mention of Brooks position, and its authors said Tuesday it wasnt directed at any particular person. It gives the council president  now Larry Reid  the power to make committee and chair assignments at any time. The old rules allowed the president to do so every two years.

An initial writing of the resolution, which would have permitted committee changes without council confirmation, was narrowly voted down.

Separately, and less controversially, the rules revision allows an item pulled from a meetings consent calendar to be heard the same night, rather than punted to a meeting two weeks later.

The council members who backed the changes say they bring Oakland in line with how other cities operate. Last month, the three sponsors  Lynette Gibson McElhaney, Campbell Washington and Reid  moved to expedite a vote on the proposal, bypassing a committee meeting and bringing it directly Tuesday to the full council.

Councilwoman Rebecca Kaplan, along with Brooks, said that action violated the state Brown Act, which governs public legislative meetings. Kaplan said she was concerned about a consolidation of power.

Any council president could be mad at anybody any day for any reason and could remove them from a committee, she said, when the original resolution was still on the table. It is really quite frightening to think that it could be used as vote trading, that it could be used to threaten people.

But McElhaney said shes been trying to get these rules passed since 2014 for the sake of good governance. She said they were needed reforms that create continuity of service should a committee chair become incapacitated.

Im hard pressed to believe any president would abuse power in a way that would cause that kind of disruption, McElhaney said.

Kimberly Veklerov is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kveklerov
Washburn, Alex/The Chronicle

Facing a budget shortfall, the Oakland public library system is turning to voters to fund its core services through a new tax.

The Oakland City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to place on the June ballot a $75-per-parcel tax thats expected to raise $10 million annually for the next 20 years for city libraries. Supporters of the measure say it would allow branches to stay open on evenings and weekends, fund programs, upgrade technology and buy new furniture and equipment.
Every Wednesday morning, SFGATE finds the biggest headlines in local (and sometimes national) beer. Check back here weekly for news, events, and information about special releases from your favorite local breweries.

SFGATE has launched a beer newsletter! Called the Taploid, it will contain some key stories from this column, as well as other, more nationally-spanning industry news. To sign up, head here, enter your email at the top, and check the box next to "Taploid."

The 10th annual San Francisco Beer Week officially begins this Friday, February 9 with yet another epic opening gala featuring over 100 breweries from all over the greater Bay Area. As promised last week, here's our run-down of all our SFBW stories this year, from our event picks, our list of breweries to watch out for, and our look back at the last year in beer.

The year in brewing, from acquisitions to new conversations about terroir and QA: It was a big year for breweries in the Bay Area. Read it here.

Ahead of Beer Week, read about the 10 (!!) collaboration beers being poured at all kinds of events this year, and about the San Francisco Brewers Guild's ambitious expansion.

But before you head to Friday's gala, check out the event's schedule for three short talks on brewing industry hot topics, being led by Esther Mobley or Jonathan Kauffman at the San Francisco Chronicle, or your writer here, Alyssa Pereira at SFGATE.

Then, before you head off to various events (see our favorites here), get a peek at a few of our favorite new breweries in the area.

In non-beer week news, Fieldwork announced Tuesday that it would be opening a new taproom  its sixth location in total  in San Ramon's new City Center at Bishop Ranch. The company has grown extremely fast, and it's not done expanding yet.

Almanac, over in Alameda, has finally opened just in time for Beer Week. Peep its new space inside an old naval hangar.

On Thursday, Cellarmaker will sell its first sour, a mixed-fermentation saison aged in red wine puncheons, made with Automatic Brewing and Highland Park:

Up north, Fogbelt Brewing will celebrate its fourth anniversary on Saturday, February 10, and in the South Bay, Clandestine Brewing will throw a grand opening party the same day.

Then on Sunday, East Brother Beer Co. in Richmond celebrates its first anniversary with a "rec room party."

Let the celebrations begin!

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.


Los Angeles biotech billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong is nearing a deal to buy the Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune from its parent company, Tronc, according to two people familiar with the talks.

The nearly $500 million deal would return the Times to local ownership after 18 years and represent a major shift for Tronc, which has long built its strategy around owning newspapers in the countrys largest cities.
Ikeas misstep

Ikea has apologized for preventing a black man from participating in an ad on the basis of his skin color. The company had hired a casting agency to find actors for a commercial targeting the Greek market, Swedish broadcaster SVT reported. The agency proposed Swedish actor Fernando Carabali, but the production company said he wasnt suited  and in an email to Carabali, the agency wrote that he cant be black for the Greek market. An Ikea spokesman said the company was looking for a blond, light-skinned man for the ad but failed to specify that in the casting process. All parties, including Ikea, have apologized to Carabali.

Brought to heel

Can you trademark a color? French shoe designer Christian Louboutin, known for expensive stilettos with scarlet soles, has long tried to do so. But the European Court of Justice dealt him a blow on Tuesday, when a court advocate general opined that Louboutins red soles could be refused trademark protection. Theres more legal wrangling to come, but some experts say it could become harder for Louboutin to stop competitors from producing scarlet-soled shoes.

Double doh-ritos

Dont expect to see lady Doritos on store shelves. The company behind the chips said Tuesday that its not developing a line of Doritos designed specifically for women, despite widespread online speculation that it was. We already have Doritos for women  theyre called Doritos, said PepsiCo, which owns Doritos. The phrase lady Doritos had trended on social media after PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi said on a podcast that unlike men, women dont like to lick their fingers after eating a bag of Doritos.

Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle
LOS ANGELES  The Walgreens drugstore chain has adopted a company policy that allows people to use the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity after a customer said she was discriminated against in a Hollywood store.

Jessie Meehan, who is not transgender, said she asked to use the restroom at a Walgreens on Sunset Boulevard after she spent about $20 on items there on her way to the LGBTQ Pride festival last year; a sales associate told her she could not use the womens restroom because she looked like a man.

A store manager told her it was store policy to restrict access to a bathroom based on a customers appearance, although when she complained later, another manager said there was no such policy.

I had to go so I didnt put up much of a fight and used the stall while the men used the urinals next to me, Meehan wrote in an email to Walgreens. This in itself was very humiliating for me and I felt extremely uncomfortable.

Meehan said she argued with a manager for several minutes and then went to the Pride festival and found an information booth staffed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

Meehan, who is active in the LGBTQ community, wrote a letter to Walgreens, suggesting solutions and offering to help train staff. Two months later, when no action was taken, ACLU staff attorney Amanda Goad sent a letter to Walgreens laying out the California law, which protects every persons right to access restrooms based on their gender identity in workplaces, schools and business establishments.

No litigation was required and no financial settlement was sought, Goad said. After hearing what happened to Meehan, Walgreens simply changed its policy at all 8,100 stores nationwide to comply with California law.

Although Walgreens specified the policy was for transgender individuals, it applies to all individuals. Goad said gender discrimination relating to bathroom usage is not just a transgender issue and that its relatively common for women who are perceived as gender nonconforming to be questioned or challenged on their way to the womens restroom.

In an ideal world, the best policies apply to everyone because its not exclusively a transgender issue and having staff speculate who or who might not be transgender doesnt help anyone, she said.

Meehan said she supported Walgreens as a customer because she knew it was an LGBT-friendly business.

When I think of Walgreens, I think of an ally, Meehan said in her email to Walgreens. A company that really supports progressive issues which I really respect a lot.

In 2016, the Human Rights Campaign named Walgreens the best place to work for LGBT equality. Walgreens scored perfectly in the advocacy groups Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices on workplace equality.

People who work there, maybe their experience is different, but as a customer who spends a lot of time and money at Walgreens, I expected more out of them, Meehan said in an interview.

Walgreens, which is owned by Walgreens Boots Alliance of Deerfield, Ill., confirmed the policy change, but would not comment further.

So-called bathroom equity has been hotly debated in recent years.

In December, North Carolina repealed a controversial requirement that people use public bathrooms based on the gender listed on their birth certificates.

In 2016, Target adopted a policy that allows customers and employees to use bathrooms based on their gender identity. The policy generated a backlash, including a boycott, from conservative groups.

A 2015 survey by the National Center for Transgender Equality found that, of the 3,453 respondents who were California residents, 9 percent had been denied access to a restroom that year, 12 percent had been verbally harassed while trying to access one and 60 percent had avoided using a public restroom in the past year.

California law bans businesses, nonprofits and government agencies that serve the public from not allowing people to use bathrooms that match their gender identity or from asking that people show identification to use a restroom or other sex-segregated facility. All single restrooms are also required to be designated as all-gender.

There should be clear policies that are comprehensible for customers and staff alike, Goad said. But theres no data on how well the staff is trained to enforce those policies, she said.

Meehan said shes not completely satisfied with the policy because it is labeled as a transgender inclusion policy and does not outline steps for employees to take if they encounter a similar situation, but its a good first step.

Alejandra Reyes-Velarde is a Los Angeles Times writer.
Alameda will pump the brakes but move forward with a plan to scan the license plate of every vehicle entering and leaving the island city after a marathon City Council meeting saw residents and others raise concerns about privacy and whether the data would be shared with federal immigration officers.

The council unanimously agreed early Wednesday to earmark $500,000 for crime-fighting technology after police asked for 13 license plate readers that they hope will prevent or solve burglaries and other crimes. Before police can buy the devices, though, the city must contract with a vendor and revise its policy on how the information will be used and who will get to see it.

The decision sought to balance residents frustrations over a rash of car break-ins and thefts with concerns about the spread of mass surveillance. Some council members were wary of funding the scanners and questioned whether they would make the city safer.

It would essentially create a virtual wall around Alameda without actually increasing safety, said Vice Mayor Malia Vella, who nonetheless voted to set aside funding.

Several members of the public who addressed the council during a four-hour debate that stretched past midnight speculated that people worried about their privacy might avoid Alameda and its businesses because of the cameras.

Some of the five council members questioned Police Chief Paul Rolleris preferred vendor of the license plate readers, Vigilant Solutions of Livermore, which recently entered into a contract to provide data to U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE. Alameda ordinances and state law restrict local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

The scanners are designed to capture images of all license plates that pass them, storing the data while flagging stolen or wanted vehicles and relaying that information immediately to law enforcement.

The city has scanners provided by Vigilant Solutions mounted on four police cruisers. But the City Council meeting made clear that significant questions remain about the strategy.

Rolleri said he didnt have numbers revealing whether the cameras mounted on cruisers have made a difference. He cited the experience in Piedmont, which blanketed much of its border with Oakland with license plate readers in 2014. Property crime has since dropped 34 percent, officials said.

In addition, council members and public speakers questioned whether Alameda would be able to guarantee information never falls into the wrong hands, including ICE.

City officials said they were unaware until recent days that Vigilant Solutions had entered into a contract to turn over data to ICE in January. Information collected by the scanners on Alameda police cruisers was accessible to federal immigration authorities last month, and perhaps in years past.

Rolleri said he cut off that access last week and that it was unclear whether ICE had used any of the information. The chief said that if the city moves forward with the camera plan, license plate scans would be stored for six months to aid in investigations and would not be shared with ICE.

Council members expressed concern about doing business with Vigilant Solutions, given its contract with ICE, and ordered staffers to put the contract for license plate readers out to bid.

The police proposal, as it stands, is to put 13 license plate recognition systems on bridges, the Posey and Webster underwater tubes and at intersections near the citys border with Oakland.

A majority of those who spoke at the council meeting opposed the idea, saying it was an affront to civil liberties and would make Alameda look like a frightened enclave.

Alameda is a warm and inviting community, said Vidia Gillula, 32. Im afraid if we surround our beautiful island with cameras, we will lose that. I dont want to live in a city where everyone who comes in and out is a suspect.

Camera supporters, though, spoke passionately about safety trumping all else.

Im concerned with privacy issues, said Michael Robles-Wong. But, he added, he is more worried about the security of his family and neighbors, noting: It is important to keep Alameda a safe, small island.

Alameda saw a spike in crime over the previous two years, although overall crime is near 30-year lows, Rolleri said. In 2017, there were 5,075 crimes reported  a 12.4 percent increase that was largely due to grand theft and petty theft, officials said.

Overall, crime has declined 52 percent over the past three decades, police said. Rolleri said residents are responsible for about half the citys crimes.

Information gathered by license plate scanners is made available to many local, state and federal agencies through a multiagency partnership called the Northern California Regional Intelligence Center. An investigator looking to pinpoint the past locations of a vehicle can run a plate through the database.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker
This story appeared on Hoodline.

Police arrested a woman yesterday in the Mission district for aggravated assault after she threw a television at a passerby, causing injury.

The incident occurred at 3:21pm near the corner of 19th and Mission streets when the victim, a 30-year-old woman, was walking with two three-year-old girls.

At that point, a 50-year-old female suspect picked up a television and threw it at the victim, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries before fleeing the area with the children. The suspect was arrested a short time later.

Anyone who has information about this incident is encouraged to contact SFPD via the department's anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444, or text TIP411 with "SFPD" at the start of the message.
3 1 of 3 Tom Hafner Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Meredith Brown Show More Show Less 3 of 3





One of the more compelling programming initiatives to have emerged from local orchestras in recent years is the Notes From series presented by Michael Morgan and the Oakland Symphony. Each program  Notes From Vietnam, Notes From Persia, and so forth  throws a spotlight on a particular musical culture.

Well, cultures need not be defined geographically, as this weekends Pride and Prejudice: Notes From LGBTQ argues. With Michelle Meow as emcee, Morgan will give the world premiere of With the Right Music, a song cycle commissioned from composers Tim Rosser and Charlie Sohne.
Before her name was printed on paper currency notes as the treasurer of the United States, Romana Acosta Banuelos had been deported to Mexico as a child in the early 1930s, only to return a decade later as an 18-year-old single mother.

Arriving in Los Angeles with only a middle-school-level education, she went on to start what became a multimillion-dollar Mexican food company and helped found the first Latino-owned bank in California.

President Richard M. Nixon, a fellow Californian, cited her business success when, in 1971, he nominated her to serve as treasurer.

In her extraordinarily successful career as a self-made businesswoman, he said, Mrs. Banuelos has displayed exceptional initiative, perseverance and skill.

Acosta Banuelos died Jan. 15 in a senior care center in Redondo Beach, (Los Angeles County). She was 92. Her daughter, Ramona Banuelos, said the cause was complications of pneumonia.

The nations treasurer is not a policymaker but rather is in charge of maintaining the general ledger of government funds; handling claims for lost, stolen or forged government checks; and redeeming and destroying worn-out currency. Since the 1950s the post has gone to women, many of whom were prominent in presidential campaigns. Acosta Banuelos, a Republican, served from 1971 to 1974.

In nominating her, Nixon was hoping to make inroads among Latino voters in his re-election campaign after a poor showing with them in his 1968 election. Acosta Banuelos, one of a few dozen Latino officials appointed by the administration, went on to campaign for the president in 1972.

Confirmed by the Senate, she was said to be the first Mexican-American woman named to a high government post.

On a visit to the Oval Office, Nixon produced a felt-point pen and a sheet of paper and asked her to sign her name as it would appear on paper currency. In a firm but flowery hand, she wrote, Romana Acosta Banuelos. Nixon then turned to John B. Connally, the treasury secretary, and said, Youve got room on the money?

Romana Acosta Banuelos was born on March 20, 1925, in Miami, Ariz., a small mining town about 85 miles east of Phoenix. Her father, Juan Francisco Acosta, a former guerrilla fighter under the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, owned a tortilla factory; her mother, Teresa Lugo, was a homemaker. Her parents divorced early in her childhood.

Though Acosta Banuelos was an Arizonan by birth, when she was 7, during the Depression, she and her mother and stepfather were deported to Mexico as part of an anti-immigrant backlash.

Once in Mexico, Romana was raised by her mother and her stepfather, a miner, in the states of Sonora and Chihuahua.

My grandmother, being a very savvy businesswoman, set up a kitchen wherever the miners would go, her daughter, Banuelos, said. She was paid in gold dust.

Acosta Banuelos married Nepunoceno Torres, a firefighter, when she was 14 or 15, her daughter said. She had two sons with him, Martin and Carlos, and by 17 was divorced.

She dreamed of a life across the border.

She told her mother, I think that my future lies in L.A., Banuelos said.

After arriving in California in her late teens (the immigration authorities confirmed her American citizenship), she found work as a dishwasher and waitress and sold homemade tortillas to neighbors.

Once she had saved about $500, she and her second husband, Alejandro Banuelos Tapia, a tool and die maker, invested it.

Two Mexican brothers were looking for money to open up a tortilla business, Banuelos recalled.

Acosta Banuelos eventually bought out her partners and ran the business, Ramonas Mexican Food, herself.

As a business owner in the late 1940s, she would awaken at 2 a.m. and bring her toddler sons to work with her. While they slept on sacks of corn and flour, Banuelos said, she would grind the corn and make the dough to prepare for packing and delivery later. She would then head home for a shower and drop her children off at day care before boarding a public bus to make her deliveries.

In time she expanded the business, adding tamales and packaged and frozen burritos to the menu. Her husband took care of the equipment, and her sons and daughter later joined the company.

Taking notice of the companys success, local businessmen approached Alejandro Banuelos about joining them in establishing a bank for the Latino community. He steered them to his wife. In 1964, Romana Acosta Banuelos and her partners established the Pan American National Bank in East Los Angeles, the heart of the Mexican diaspora in the city.

The bank was the first bank where the shareholders were Mexican, said Herman Sillas, a friend who would become the banks lawyer. The federal government was putting up a lot of obstacles. One of the auditors asked, Why do you Mexicans want to have a bank? She responded, In Mexico, they have banks.

Acosta Banuelos was serving as bank president and board chairwoman while running her food company when the Nixon White House came calling.

After three years with the Treasury, she returned to spend many more years at the bank and at Ramonas, which is now owned by a grandson.

Besides her daughter, Acosta Banuelos is survived by her son, Martin; 12 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. Her other son, Carlos, died in 2011.

She was an unwitting pioneer as the countrys treasurer, her daughter said.

My father told her: Honey, let them submit your name. Its an honor to be considered. We know you wont get the nomination.

Adeel Hassan is a New York Times writer.
The inscrutable Trumpian coif came unhinged last week when faced with a particularly gusty wind.

Photos and videos captured of the moment appear to show the president's combed-over strands coming loose from his scalp. The golden hair sheath seems to defy gravity, hovering at an angle that violates ordinary hair follicle physics.

We all have bad hair days, but when you're the President of the United States of America, someone is always capturing your 'do on video, and that video will undoubtedly go viral.

Trump's February 2 hair incident, captured as he boarded a plane from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to Mar-a-Lago, just came to the attention of the internet's endless roasting machine, re-igniting years of debate about the politician's otherworldly hairdo.

Some likened the hair flap to treason, others compared his bare scalp to Voldemort. Many seemed to agree: The video footage is something you can't un-see.

Tweeted John Aravosis: "I should have added a trigger warning ... it ain't pretty. I admit I screamed."

Trump has addressed his hair on multiple occasions.

"As everybody knows, but the haters & losers refuse to acknowledge, I do not wear a 'wig,'" he tweeted in 2013. "My hair may not be perfect but it's mine."

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
A San Francisco car break-in suspect who was run over by his alleged accomplice last week while grappling with a police officer near Alamo Square was arrested more than five years ago in connection with a killing in the Mission District, records show.

The suspect, 23-year-old Adrian Landers, was accused of murdering 20-year-old Jesus Solis on Sept. 16, 2012, but a jury could not reach a verdict, leading to a mistrial. Landers, who was 18 at the time of the slaying, pleaded guilty to gun possession and accessory to murder after the fact in June 2014.

Landers now faces charges of second-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy linked to Thursdays video-recorded incident in which he and two other men were allegedly interrupted by plainclothes officers while breaking into a Toyota RAV4 amid an epidemic of vehicle break-ins in the city.

One officer struggled with Landers and was also run over by the would-be getaway driver, officials said. Landers remains in the hospital and is expected to be arraigned with the two other men on Wednesday. The injured officer is expected to recover.

Landers was arrested in the 2012 case after police found Solis shot on the 1200 block of Treat Avenue. A second suspect, then-20-year-old Dylan Lemalie, later turned himself in and was also charged with murder. The jury hung on murder charges against both Landers and Lemalie, who ultimately pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and is serving prison time, records show.

Landers was on probation in the case when he and his two accomplices set out to break into cars last week, authorities said. The footage of the incident showed two men wearing hooded sweatshirts dart out of the back of a black Infiniti sedan.

More for you SF police union criticizes policy, video shows car hitting...

Police said Landers and 19-year-old Jamon Butler used a window punch to break into the RAV4 near Hayes and Pierce streets while 25-year-old Devonta Lofton waited behind the wheel of the car.

Police officers who were patrolling for people breaking into cars spotted the men and closed in. Butler allegedly jumped into the Infiniti as an officer tackled Landers behind it.

Thats when Lofton reversed over the officer and Landers before driving over them again as he sped forward, police said. Lofton crashed eight blocks away, police said, and was taken into custody along with Butler.

Lofton faces charges including attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon, assault on an officer and burglary. Butler was charged with second-degree burglary, possession of burglary tools and conspiracy.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky

Video

To see footage of the alleged auto break-in that ended with a car running over a suspect and a San Francisco police officer, go to http://bit.ly/2nOvUBG
SAN BRUNO (BCN)

Two residents of Florida were arrested Friday in San Bruno on suspicion of identity theft, among other offenses, police said.

Gregory Greene, 25, and Alex Soler, 27, both of Seffner, Florida, were booked into San Mateo County Jail on suspicion of possessing false identification, identity theft and for producing and possessing fraudulent access cards.

Police said they found the two suspects at 10:34 a.m. Friday sitting in a parked vehicle in the 1000 block of Bayhill Drive near Interstate Highway 380 and state Highway 82.

An investigation revealed that the pair was allegedly in possession of fraudulent credit cards and documents in other people's names.

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call San Bruno police at (650) 616-7100. Anonymous messages can be sent by email to sbpdtipline@sanbruno.ca.gov.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

San Francisco city leaders are celebrating $10 million in state funding for two new Navigation Centers to help the homeless in the city's southeast neighborhoods and near the South of Market and Mission District.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to accept and spend the money on Tuesday, and they announced the development this morning during a news conference at the Central Waterfront Navigation Center, located at 600 25th St.

The two new facilities -- at 125 Bayshore Blvd. and Division Circle -- will serve people living in encampments who've been unable to access services like intensive case management or health care and drug treatment programs at traditional homeless shelters.

The centers have a proven track record of getting people into stable housing, according to city officials.

"The Mission neighborhood is experiencing a serious public health crisis due to the drastic increase in the number of tent encampments," Supervisor Hillary Ronen said in a statement.

"Navigation Centers work," Ronen said. "They give homeless residents a chance at a new life, and they improve the cleanliness and safety of our streets."

Today's announcement came after state Assemblyman Phil Ting secured the Housing and Community Development funding through the Assembly Budget Committee in response to discussions between Ronen and the late Mayor Ed Lee. Ting said homelessness is a statewide issue, and that just offering housing is not an adequate solution.

"Navigation centers are an essential part of the equation because they provide critical support services to help homeless individuals off the streets long-term," Ting said.

"By opening more Navigation Centers, we will have greater success in moving people out of tents and into housing," Ting said.

There are already five Navigation Centers scattered throughout San Francisco. The first one opened in March 2015.

The Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing determines access to the program on a case by case basis. External referrals and drop-ins are not accepted, according to city officials.

There are an estimated 6,700 people experiencing homelessness in the city on any given night, according to a count conducted in 2015.
OAKLAND (BCN)

Doctors, union members, community activists and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf held a rally at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland today to call on Congress to pass what they describe as a "clean bill" to deal with the fate of immigrants known as "Dreamers."

The noontime rally was held just two days before a possible government shutdown over proposed legislation to renew the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

President Donald Trump is threatening to end the program, which former President Barack Obama created and gives deportation deferments and work authorization to certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children, unless Congress provides funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"It's a harmful and wasteful policy to put anyone in this situation," said Dr. Celine Sparrow, the chief pediatric resident at Children's Hospital Oakland.

Speakers at the rally, which was organized by the resident physicians from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland who belong to the Service Employee International Union's Committee of Interns and Residents, said children and families wonder whether they are putting their loved ones at risk simply by seeking medical care, going to school, entering a courtroom or standing in line at the post office.

Javier Lopez Quintana, a University of California at Berkeley political scientist major who's a DACA recipient, said, "There's no reason not to pass a clean Dream Act unless they're being inhumane."

Dr. Michael Mangahas, a Children's Hospital Oakland pediatrician, said, "Trump thinks DACA is a bargaining chip to get his wall."

Schaaf urged members of Congress to "put aside their party affiliations and affiliate with the human race and pass a Dream Act that is clean and creates a path to permanent citizenship."

Dr. Michael Anderson, the president UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, said, "Our country is better than this, we should be the beacon of hope."

Referring to children and young adults who are worried about their futures in the U.S., Anderson said, "No child, no family should be scared."

"We are here, we care for you and we have your back," Anderson told the people at the rally.

Mangahas said, "We will fight with our votes. This is an election year and we're paying attention and we want results."

Dr. Noemi Spinazzi, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital Oakland, said the uncertainty over the fate of Dreamers is "a direct threat to our public health" because the chronic stress and anxiety that immigrants and their families and loved ones face is having adverse effects on their long-term physical and mental health.

Spinazzi said Dreamers and their families are experiencing "unprecedented levels of anxiety."

Simultaneous rallies were also planned at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and at other institutions across California.

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VALLEJO (BCN)

Firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire early this morning at a church in Vallejo, according to a fire spokesman.

The fire was reported at 2:50 a.m. at Church of the Living God at 710 state Highway 29, also called Sonoma Boulevard.

According to Kevin Brown, an engineer with the Vallejo Fire Department, the blaze started in a storage unit attached to and outside of the church. The fire then spread to part of the main building.

No one was inside the church when the fire broke out and there were no reports of injuries, Brown said.

At 3:30 a.m., firefighters contained the blaze. Once it was extinguished, crews remained on the scene to conduct overhaul operations.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, Brown said.

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SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

Former Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick testified in federal court in San Francisco today that he believed in 2015 that his company lagged behind Google in the race to develop a driverless car and that the competition was "existential" for Uber.

"If you are working in a technology company and not making new innovations that people want, then you're part of the past," Kalanick said.

Kalanick, a co-founder of the ride-booking company, testified on the second day of a trial in which Mountain View-based Waymo LLC claims San Francisco-based Uber Technologies Inc. stole trade secrets concerning laser-sensor technology for self-driving cars.

Waymo is seeking up to $1.8 billion in damages in the civil jury trial in the court of U.S. District Judge William Alsup.

Waymo was founded by Mountain View-based Google in 2009 to develop self-driving cars. Google spun it off as a separate company in 2016 and it is now a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company.

It claims that a top Google engineer, Anthony Levandowski, stole eight trade secrets related to laser technology before he left Google in late January 2016 and eventually brought them to Uber.

Uber maintains that it didn't receive or use any Waymo secrets and that it has developed the needed technology on its own.

After leaving Google, Levandowski founded his own company, Otto, to develop self-driving trucks. In August 2016, Uber purchased Otto in a deal worth $680 million and made Levandowski the chief of its autonomous car unit.

Kalanick, wearing a dark suit and testifying calmly, acknowledged that he met with Levandowski in December 2015 and early January 2016, when Levandowski was still working for Google, to discuss buying Levandowski's not-yet created company.

"You discussed the purchase of a non-existent company?" asked Waymo attorney Charles Verhoeven.

"Correct," Kalanick answered. "He was very adamant about starting a company."

Kalanick said he wanted to hire someone who could build a team that would produce efficient and effective laser technology.

"I wanted to hire Anthony and he wanted to start a company. I wanted to find a solution where he would feel like he started a company and I would feel like I hired him," Kalanick testified.

Kalanick acknowledged that he wrote "Laser is the sauce" on a whiteboard at meeting with Levandowski and others on Sunday, January 3, 2016.

That phrase meant that lasers sensors "are an important part of making autonomous vehicles work," Kalanick told the jury.

Verhoeven alleged during his opening statement to the jury on Tuesday that Otto was a "fake" company created to veil Levandowski's transfer to Uber.

Kalanick resigned as Uber CEO in June under pressure from investors following a series of controversies concerning the company. He remains a shareholder and member of the board.

He testified for 50 minutes today and will continue on the stand when the trial resumes in Alsup's Federal Building courtroom at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Waymo sued Uber in February 2017. Uber fired Levandowski in May after he refused to cooperate in the company's internal investigation of the allegations.

The laser technology is known as LiDAR, or Light Detection And Ranging. It bounces high-frequency laser beams off objects in a vehicle's environment to create a three-dimensional picture of the surroundings.
OAKLAND (BCN)

A 22-year-old man was sentenced today to 21 years in state prison for the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy outside a housing complex in East Oakland in July 2012.

The shooting death of Hadari Askari, who aspired to be a firefighter, in the 6700 block of Leona Creek Drive just after 8 p.m. on July 10, 2012, went unsolved for nearly three years and led to a retaliatory shooting that claimed the life of a 15-year-old girl a few blocks away five months later.

Reggie Thomas and Rodney Rederford, both now 22, were arrested in March 2015 and were charged with murder for Hadari's death.

But last Sept. 12, they both pleaded no contest to the lesser charge of manslaughter, plus an enhancement clause of using a gun.

Prosecutor Butch Ford said at the time that the resolution to the case "is appropriate given all the facts in the case."

Thomas, who authorities believe was the person who shot Hadari, was formally sentenced today by Alameda County Superior Court Judge James Cramer.

Rederford, who was an accomplice in the shooting, was sentenced to 16 years in prison in December.

A teenager who was once a suspect in the fatal shooting of Hadari testified at the preliminary hearing for Thomas and Rederford in 2016 that those two men are the ones responsible for Hadari's death.

Alameda County prosecutor Glenn Kim said at two trials in 2015 that an attempt at revenge for Hadari's shooting death led to the slaying of 15-year-old Jubrille Jordan in the 6600 block of Lion Way, near the Lion Creek Crossings apartment complex, five months later at about 3:40 p.m. on Dec. 30, 2012.

Kim said Lilron Jones, Vijay Bhushan, and Marquise Thomas were friends of Hadari and were seeking to kill a teenage boy because they thought he was the one who had killed Hadari.

One of the 20 bullets fired in the December 2012 case struck and killed Jubrille, an innocent bystander who just happened to be near the teenage boy and was in the wrong place at the wrong time, Kim said.

The teenage boy was wounded in the December 2012 shooting but survived.

Oakland police Officer Jason Anderson testified at the preliminary hearing for Thomas and Rederford that at the beginning of his investigation into Hadari's death, he considered the teenage boy to be a suspect but he no longer considered him to be one.

Jones and Bhushan were convicted in March 2015 of first-degree murder and attempted murder for Jubrille's death and Marquise Thomas was convicted of identical charges in a separate trial that ended in June 2015.

In July 2015, a judge sentenced Jones to 120 years to life in state prison, Bhushan to 34 years to life and Thompson to 32 years to life.

272-6213

Joseph Penrod, Thomas's attorney (510) 272-6600

Brian Hong, Rederford's attorney (510) 548-0657
FREMONT (BCN)

A state legislator has introduced a bill that would relinquish ownership of a portion of state Highway 84 to the city of Fremont.

The section of highway in question consists of nearly 3 miles of Decoto Road between Interstate Highway 880 and Mission Boulevard, roughly half of which runs through Union City north of Alameda Creek.

"Fremont has long desired to have Caltrans relinquished (sic) this portion of the route when the time was right," Senate Bill 989 author State Sen. Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, said in a statement today. "Now everything is coming into place."

The move has been in progress since the city entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Alameda County Transportation Commission, Caltrans and Union City in 2006, but was significantly delayed by the economic recession of 2008, according to Wieckowski's staff.

"State Highway 84 was a major route that people took before modern freeways were built and that's no longer the case," Fremont Public Works Director Hans Larsen said today. "Because they're owned and operated by Caltrans they're really kind of a secondary priority in terms of upkeep and improvement.

City officials have a number of improvements planned like safer routes for walking to school, more curb ramps that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, updated traffic signals, rebuilt pavement surfaces and various enhancements to the Centerville business district - a project which could begin as soon as 2020 and be completed by 2021.

Larsen said there's a plan in place to provide state funding, and county funds have also been provided for "streetscaping" purposes.

"The city of Fremont looks forward to transforming this old state highway into a new modern street that better serves the needs of our local community," Fremont Mayor Lily Mei said in a statement.
PITTSBURG (BCN)

Police are investigating a shooting Monday night in Pittsburg that left a man in critical condition.

Officers responded at 9:58 p.m. to West Leland Road and Southwood Drive after someone reported a vehicle collision.

When officers arrived they found the vehicle, which had crashed into a pole.

Police said the man in the driver's seat was unconscious and as officers provided medical aid to the man, they found he was suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest.

The man was taken to a hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery and is in critical but stable condition, according to police.

Police are asking for help in the case and anyone with more information is asked to call the Police Department's tip line at (925) 252-4040.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved today putting a decision on the June 5 ballot for whether voters should recall Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, the judge who became controversial over a sentence he handed down to a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault.

Recall Judge Aaron Persky campaign volunteers collected more than 94,000 signatures from county voters for the proposed recall for Persky's seat. Those signatures were turned into the county Registrar of Voters for verification on Jan. 11 and passed the testing of a random sample of signatures by Jan. 23.

Today, seats in the Board of Supervisors chambers were filled with community leaders who gave one-minute remarks on the proposal.

Michele Dauber, chair of the recall campaign, noted that the reason why many people were there was because of the comments of Emily Doe, the victim of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner.

Persky came into the public spotlight after he sentenced Turner in 2016 to six months in Santa Clara County Jail. Turner's sentence was cut in half for good behavior, meaning he spent three months behind bars when he initially faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison.

"When Emily Doe heard that Turner had been given a six-month sentence, she was 'struck silent,'" Dauber said. "But today, the voters of Santa Clara County have spoken loud and clear."

Los Gatos resident Leslie Logan discussed the image she felt was being painted of those who volunteered with the recall campaign, describing it as the "dismissive and often misogynistic representation of an uninformed, misguided, angry mob who couldn't possibly understand the intricacies of the criminal justice system."

Logan, a survivor of sexual assault, said that she stands with the recall because she understands the complexity of rape culture "all too well."

Santa Clara University law professor Margaret Russell spoke against the recall, saying there are women all over the political spectrum who are not misogynistic and respect sexual assault victims who are opposed to the recall.

"The effect of this kind of attack, not founded on facts, is to rack up sentences to encourage judges to look over their shoulders," Russell said.

Stan Voyles, a retired Santa Clara County prosecutor, scrutinized Dauber's background while speaking outside of the meeting room. Voyles said that she had never handled a criminal case or been a part of a single bar organization.

"She's a bright lady, but unless you know how things operate in criminal courts, you really can't make an opinion about this stuff," Voyles said.

Voyles said the recall campaign comparing Turner's case and another case Persky handled, in which 32-year-old Raul Ramirez was given a three-year sentence, does not add up because they were convicted of different charges.

He said that Ramirez got the minimum mandatory sentence he could have received for his crime.

The recall campaign's official website mentions Ramirez's case in arguing that "Persky has a longstanding pattern of bias in favor of privileged defendants. Less privileged defendants evidently do not receive the same level of solicitude from him."

Voyles said his overall mission was "stopping the falsehoods that the recall campaign spread."

"Either they have no clue as to what is going on, or they are liars, or both," Voyles said.

Voyles did not speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.

LaDoris Cordell, a civil rights advocate and retired judge, spoke in favor of Persky. She said that judges want to do the right thing, and sometimes the right thing may be a more lenient option.

"If it's a sexual assault case, judges are now going to think twice about doing what they believe to be right in following the law because of fear that they're going to be targeted with misinformation, lies and distortion," Cordell said.

Cordell said that the six-month sentence recommendation that Persky received came from a female probation officer.

"The judge did not have to follow the recommendation, but he did what most county and state of California judges do and listened to it. This was within the law," Cordell said.

She said that Persky has not spoken out himself because by law he is not allowed to discuss active cases, and the Turner case is still in an appeals process right now.

Dauber spoke against the criticism that the recall campaign was becoming more about emotions and less about the facts.

"We were extremely detail-oriented and this campaign has been extensively reported by independent journalists," Dauber said.

Both campaigns plan on sending volunteers out to talk to voters about the recall placed on the ballot in the next few months.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

City planning officials have launched a survey seeking ideas from residents interested in the redesign of Civic Center Plaza, which aims to make the plaza more welcoming and inclusive, planning officials said today.

The survey is available through March 11 at www.civiccentersf.org and will help develop the Civic Center Public Realm Plan, an effort for a long-term vision for the area.

Planning officials said responses from the survey will be used to develop various designs ahead of a community workshop this spring aimed at getting feedback on the designs.

Designs will be prepared for Civic Center Plaza, United Nations Plaza and Fulton Street between Larkin and Hyde streets.

Improvements to surrounding streets may include improved facilities for pedestrians, bicycles and transit as well as trees, paving and lighting.

"The Planning Department is fully committed and excited to take on a project that will re-think one of the most important spaces in the city," Planning Department director John Rahaim said in a statement.

"We're looking forward to working further with the community to create an inclusive place that is as comfortable for a conversation between friends as it is for a gathering of thousands," Rahaim added.

City officials awarded the design contract to CMG Landscape Architecture. The firm's architects support the city's vision for the Civic Center area as a public space where social justice and civic discourse can be cultivated.

The redesign of the Civic Center area builds on other changes such as the $10 million renovation of the Helen Diller Civic Center Playgrounds, which reopens on Valentine's Day at Larkin and Fulton streets.

"The Public Realm Plan will now help highlight Civic Center Commons not only as the heart of our city but the community hub and neighborhood park that it truly is for the children and families who live in Civic Center and Tenderloin neighborhoods," Phil Ginsburg, San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department general manager, said in a statement.

Paper versions of the survey and versions in other languages are available upon request.
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

A construction crew ruptured a four-inch gas line in the Alamo Square neighborhood of San Francisco this afternoon, prompting the evacuation of 16 people from a dozen buildings, fire officials said.

The leak was reported at 3:07 p.m. in the area of McAllister and Scott streets, according to the fire department.

Firefighters ordered evacuations of 12 buildings within a half-block of the intersection and are asking residents to avoid the area, according to fire spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter.

As of about 3:50 p.m., police and fire crews were going door-to-door alerting neighbors and helped 16 people evacuate, Baxter said.

At least one person upwind of the gas leak had respiratory problems. Fire crews are checking the area surrounding the leak with gas-detection equipment and could adjust the evacuated area if necessary.

Baxter said that PG&E crews were working to stop the gas flow and hoped to have that stopped within an hour, however it could take hours longer.

If it does take longer, San Francisco Department of Emergency Management spokesman Francis Zamora said the city would provide evacuation assistance as needed. Zamora asked residents in the area to text their zip code to 777888 to coordinate and stay updated.

Anyone with pets left in the evacuation zone should contact firefighters at the scene, who will help them safely evacuate, Baxter said.

The 5-Fulton and 5R-Fulton Rapid bus routes have been rerouted while crews work to stop the leak, according to San Francisco Municipal Railway officials.

558-3404
Just as Monterey County officials announced the beginning of a hepatitis A outbreak affecting their homeless population this morning, Santa Cruz County is celebrating the end of theirs, according to a health department spokesman.

Santa Cruz County's hepatitis A outbreak began in April of 2017, leading to 76 cases.

The last documented case was reported on Oct. 28, 2017, but county spokesman Jason Hoppin said that the county waited to declare the end of the outbreak until they were 100 percent sure it was over.

The spokesman said that he knew of cases that had been reported as early as December in Monterey County for precisely the same reason as their outbreak originated: sanitation issues.

Hoppin said that while most cases reported were affecting the county's homeless, an estimated 20 percent of cases were outside of that demographic.

At least one of these cases led to death where hepatitis A was a contributing factor, Hoppin said. The decedent had already been in hospice for an extended amount of time and had multiple other illnesses, however, their death was listed as a "hepatitis A death" by state health officials.

The county conducted outreach with the public, local businesses and the impacted populations in order to find a solution to end the outbreak. Hoppin said that they also consulted with health experts and held free vaccine clinics.

The county learned that a food handler in Boulder Creek had contracted hepatitis A and worked while she had it, and in response two vaccine clinics were set up.

"Usually about a dozen people would show up to that kind of an event, but we had at least 100 people turn up at each one," Hoppin said.

The county's environmental health department went to local businesses and discussed proper practices with sanitation and food handling. Hoppin said that he knew of one inspector that visited over 1,000 restaurants alone to educate employees on how to stop the spreading of hepatitis A.

The county also worked with the city of Santa Cruz to frequent areas that were known to serve as shelters to the homeless to provide whatever resources they could to them as well.

Additionally, the county made sure to vaccinate all of their many employees that work directly with the homeless, Hoppin said.

Santa Cruz County worked closely with the state to report any and all cases they knew of as well as the tests they had done; this is what notified the county that there were genetic links to the hepatitis A cases arising in San Diego.

"We usually get one to two cases of hepatitis A each year, so when we get more than that we know something is going on," Hoppin said.

"I'd like to thank the public and especially our staff, who worked extraordinarily hard to prevent this outbreak from becoming even worse," Santa Cruz County Public Health Officer Dr. Arnold Leff said in a statement. "To prevent future outbreaks, it is imperative that we maintain public awareness and our sanitation infrastructure."

Hepatitis A is spread through physical contact, county officials said.

According to Monterey County Health Department officials, nine people in their county with a history of homelessness have been diagnosed with hepatitis A since October.

"Despite our efforts, hepatitis A continues to spread among the at-risk population," Monterey County Health Officer Dr. Edward Moreno said in a statement Monday. "To stop the outbreak, we must as a community collectively increase our efforts to end transmission of the hepatitis A virus."
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN)

A woman who allegedly used a TV to assault another woman who was walking with two children in San Francisco's Mission District on Monday afternoon has been identified, according to police.

The victim, a 30-year-old woman, was walking with two 3-year-old girls in the area of 19th and Mission streets at about 3:20 p.m. when the other woman picked up a TV and threw it at her, police said.

The victim was hit and injured by the TV, and quickly fled the area with the two girls.

Police arrested Jacqueline Gonzalez, 48, in connection with the assault.

She is being held in San Francisco county jail on $178,000 bail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment and battery, according to jail records.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved Tuesday putting a decision on the June 5 ballot for whether voters should recall Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, the judge who became controversial over a sentence he handed down to a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault.

Recall Judge Aaron Persky campaign volunteers collected more than 94,000 signatures from county voters for the proposed recall for Persky's seat. Those signatures were turned into the county Registrar of Voters for verification on Jan. 11 and passed the testing of a random sample of signatures by Jan. 23.

Tuesday, seats in the Board of Supervisors chambers were filled with community leaders who gave one-minute remarks on the proposal.

Michele Dauber, chair of the recall campaign, noted that the reason why many people were there was because of the comments of Emily Doe, the victim of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner.

Persky came into the public spotlight after he sentenced Turner in 2016 to six months in Santa Clara County Jail. Turner's sentence was cut in half for good behavior, meaning he spent three months behind bars when he initially faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison.

"When Emily Doe heard that Turner had been given a six-month sentence, she was 'struck silent,'" Dauber said. "But today, the voters of Santa Clara County have spoken loud and clear."

Los Gatos resident Leslie Logan discussed the image she felt was being painted of those who volunteered with the recall campaign, describing it as the "dismissive and often misogynistic representation of an uninformed, misguided, angry mob who couldn't possibly understand the intricacies of the criminal justice system."

Logan, a survivor of sexual assault, said that she stands with the recall because she understands the complexity of rape culture "all too well."

Santa Clara University law professor Margaret Russell spoke against the recall, saying there are women all over the political spectrum who are not misogynistic and respect sexual assault victims who are opposed to the recall.

"The effect of this kind of attack, not founded on facts, is to rack up sentences to encourage judges to look over their shoulders," Russell said.

Stan Voyles, a retired Santa Clara County prosecutor, scrutinized Dauber's background while speaking outside of the meeting room. Voyles said that she had never handled a criminal case or been a part of a single bar organization.

"She's a bright lady, but unless you know how things operate in criminal courts, you really can't make an opinion about this stuff," Voyles said.

Voyles said the recall campaign comparing Turner's case and another case Persky handled, in which 32-year-old Raul Ramirez was given a three-year sentence, does not add up because they were convicted of different charges.

He said that Ramirez got the minimum mandatory sentence he could have received for his crime.

The recall campaign's official website mentions Ramirez's case in arguing that "Persky has a longstanding pattern of bias in favor of privileged defendants. Less privileged defendants evidently do not receive the same level of solicitude from him."

Voyles said his overall mission was "stopping the falsehoods that the recall campaign spread."

"Either they have no clue as to what is going on, or they are liars, or both," Voyles said.

Voyles did not speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.

LaDoris Cordell, a civil rights advocate and retired judge, spoke in favor of Persky. She said that judges want to do the right thing, and sometimes the right thing may be a more lenient option.

"If it's a sexual assault case, judges are now going to think twice about doing what they believe to be right in following the law because of fear that they're going to be targeted with misinformation, lies and distortion," Cordell said.

Cordell said that the six-month sentence recommendation that Persky received came from a female probation officer.

"The judge did not have to follow the recommendation, but he did what most county and state of California judges do and listened to it. This was within the law," Cordell said.

She said that Persky has not spoken out himself because by law he is not allowed to discuss active cases, and the Turner case is still in an appeals process right now.

Dauber spoke against the criticism that the recall campaign was becoming more about emotions and less about the facts.

"We were extremely detail-oriented and this campaign has been extensively reported by independent journalists," Dauber said.

Both campaigns plan on sending volunteers out to talk to voters about the recall placed on the ballot in the next few months.

Former Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick testified in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday that he believed in 2015 that his company lagged behind Google in the race to develop a driverless car and that the competition was "existential" for Uber.

"If you are working in a technology company and not making new innovations that people want, then you're part of the past," Kalanick said.

Kalanick, a co-founder of the ride-booking company, testified on the second day of a trial in which Mountain View-based Waymo LLC claims San Francisco-based Uber Technologies Inc. stole trade secrets concerning laser-sensor technology for self-driving cars.

Waymo is seeking up to $1.8 billion in damages in the civil jury trial in the court of U.S. District Judge William Alsup.

Waymo was founded by Mountain View-based Google in 2009 to develop self-driving cars. Google spun it off as a separate company in 2016 and it is now a subsidiary of Alphabet, Google's parent company.

It claims that a top Google engineer, Anthony Levandowski, stole eight trade secrets related to laser technology before he left Google in late January 2016 and eventually brought them to Uber.

Uber maintains that it didn't receive or use any Waymo secrets and that it has developed the needed technology on its own.

After leaving Google, Levandowski founded his own company, Otto, to develop self-driving trucks. In August 2016, Uber purchased Otto in a deal worth $680 million and made Levandowski the chief of its autonomous car unit.

Kalanick, wearing a dark suit and testifying calmly, acknowledged that he met with Levandowski in December 2015 and early January 2016, when Levandowski was still working for Google, to discuss buying Levandowski's not-yet created company.

"You discussed the purchase of a non-existent company?" asked Waymo attorney Charles Verhoeven.

"Correct," Kalanick answered. "He was very adamant about starting a company."

Kalanick said he wanted to hire someone who could build a team that would produce efficient and effective laser technology.

"I wanted to hire Anthony and he wanted to start a company. I wanted to find a solution where he would feel like he started a company and I would feel like I hired him," Kalanick testified.

Kalanick acknowledged that he wrote "Laser is the sauce" on a whiteboard at meeting with Levandowski and others on Sunday, January 3, 2016.

That phrase meant that lasers sensors "are an important part of making autonomous vehicles work," Kalanick told the jury.

Verhoeven alleged during his opening statement to the jury on Tuesday that Otto was a "fake" company created to veil Levandowski's transfer to Uber.

Kalanick resigned as Uber CEO in June under pressure from investors following a series of controversies concerning the company. He remains a shareholder and member of the board.

He testified for 50 minutes Tuesday and will continue on the stand when the trial resumes in Alsup's Federal Building courtroom at 7:30 a.m. today.

Waymo sued Uber in February 2017. Uber fired Levandowski in May after he refused to cooperate in the company's internal investigation of the allegations.

The laser technology is known as LiDAR, or Light Detection And Ranging. It bounces high-frequency laser beams off objects in a vehicle's environment to create a three-dimensional picture of the surroundings.

Doctors, union members, community activists and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf held a rally at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland Tuesday to call on Congress to pass what they describe as a "clean bill" to deal with the fate of immigrants known as "Dreamers."

The noontime rally was held just two days before a possible government shutdown over proposed legislation to renew the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

President Donald Trump is threatening to end the program, which former President Barack Obama created and gives deportation deferments and work authorization to certain undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children, unless Congress provides funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

"It's a harmful and wasteful policy to put anyone in this situation," said Dr. Celine Sparrow, the chief pediatric resident at Children's Hospital Oakland.

Speakers at the rally, which was organized by the resident physicians from UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland who belong to the Service Employee International Union's Committee of Interns and Residents, said children and families wonder whether they are putting their loved ones at risk simply by seeking medical care, going to school, entering a courtroom or standing in line at the post office.

Javier Lopez Quintana, a University of California at Berkeley political scientist major who's a DACA recipient, said, "There's no reason not to pass a clean Dream Act unless they're being inhumane."

Dr. Michael Mangahas, a Children's Hospital Oakland pediatrician, said, "Trump thinks DACA is a bargaining chip to get his wall."

Schaaf urged members of Congress to "put aside their party affiliations and affiliate with the human race and pass a Dream Act that is clean and creates a path to permanent citizenship."

Dr. Michael Anderson, the president UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals in San Francisco and Oakland, said, "Our country is better than this, we should be the beacon of hope."

Referring to children and young adults who are worried about their futures in the U.S., Anderson said, "No child, no family should be scared."

"We are here, we care for you and we have your back," Anderson told the people at the rally.

Mangahas said, "We will fight with our votes. This is an election year and we're paying attention and we want results."

Dr. Noemi Spinazzi, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital Oakland, said the uncertainty over the fate of Dreamers is "a direct threat to our public health" because the chronic stress and anxiety that immigrants and their families and loved ones face is having adverse effects on their long-term physical and mental health.

Spinazzi said Dreamers and their families are experiencing "unprecedented levels of anxiety."

Simultaneous rallies were also planned at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and at other institutions across California.

A gas leak that prompted the evacuation of a dozen buildings in San Francisco's Alamo Square neighborhood on Tuesday was stopped and evacuations were lifted, a PG&E spokeswoman said.

PG&E spokeswoman Andrea Menniti said at 4:47 p.m. that repair crews had stopped the flow of gas at Scott and McAllister streets. Three residents will not have gas service while the agency makes repairs, she said.

The rupture of the four-inch gas line was caused by a street construction crew at 3:07 p.m., according to the fire department.

Firefighters ordered evacuations of 12 buildings within a half-block of the intersection and asked residents to avoid the area, according to fire spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter.

Police and fire crews went door-to-door alerting neighbors and helped 16 people evacuate, Baxter said. At least one person upwind of the gas leak had respiratory problems.

The 5-Fulton and 5R-Fulton Rapid bus routes were rerouted while crews worked to stop the leak, according to San Francisco Municipal Railway officials.

Two firefighters were hospitalized for minor injuries they suffered while battling a two-alarm structure fire at a large condominium complex in Fremont's Warm Springs district Tuesday afternoon, a fire spokeswoman said.

The fire was reported at 3:22 p.m. at 81 Shaniko Common and was contained at about 4:30 p.m., Fremont fire Division Chief Diane Hendry said.

However, firefighters worked to completely extinguishing flames in an attic area, according to Hendry.

Two units at the large complex were completely destroyed by the fire and four other units were also damaged, Hendry said.

The cause and origin of the fire are still being investigated, according to Hendry.

One firefighter suffered second-degree burns to his legs when his leg went through a hole in a balcony on the third floor of the building during the initial attack on the blaze, Hendry said.

Another firefighter suffered a back injury a little later, she said.

No residents were injured in the fire, according to Hendry.

Two rewards are being offered to bring the person or people to justice for the death of a dog Thursday on Interstate Highway 80 in Vacaville, two animal organizations said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is offering up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for throwing a small dog onto Highway 80 with its back legs tied.

Officials with the Pause 4 Paws Rescue Mission are also offering $5,600 for the identification and arrest for those responsible.

Shortly after 9 p.m. Thursday, motorists saw someone driving a dark blue Toyota Prius, possibly a 2011 or 2012 model, toss the dog onto Highway 80 near the Davis Street exit.

PETA officials said before witnesses could help the dog, a car hit him and he died.

The dog, whose name was Rex, had been reported missing from its home earlier in the day.

Its owner, a Vacaville resident, had been attending a funeral of a loved one and left her 18-month-old puppy Rex home with a friend.

Somehow Rex got out of the home, Vacaville police said.

Rex's owner had been looking for him for a couple of hours when she got a call from some people who were behind the Toyota Prius when Rex was thrown out the window.

They told her Rex had died.

"While this little dog's guardian was hoping for him to return home, someone tied him up and tossed him onto the freeway to die," PETA vice president Colleen O'Brien said in a statement.

"PETA needs the public's help in solving this case before this dog's abuser attacks anyone else," O'Brien added.

Anyone who wants to donate toward the Pause 4 Paws Rescue Mission fund for Rex can go to http://www.p4p-ca.org/justice-for-rex-fund.

Police said they don't have a description of the suspect or suspects or a license plate number. Anyone who has information related to Rex's death is asked to call Officer Josue Cuevas at (707) 449-5200 and reference case No. 18-01071.

An elderly woman suffered critical injuries when she was struck by a car in San Francisco's Excelsior neighborhood Tuesday afternoon, according to the fire department.

The collision was reported at about 3:20 p.m. in the area of Moscow Street and Persia Avenue, fire officials said.

An elderly woman walking there was hit by a car and taken to a hospital with critical injuries, according to fire spokesman Lt. Jonathan Baxter.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed called Tuesday for the city to stop collecting fines and fees related to incarceration, fees that she said not only create an obstacle for formerly incarcerated people to support themselves, but are expensive for the city to collect.

Breed introduced legislation at Tuesday afternoon's Board of Supervisors meeting that would eliminate many fees collected by the city, including probation fees, electronic monitoring fees, booking fees and pre-sentence alternative work program fees.

Recalling her time as executive director of the African American Art & Culture Complex, Breed said that she would receive notices to garnish wages of new employees for unpaid fines and fees, and would have to withhold up to half their paycheck. This would be highly discouraging for people trying to live honest lives after being convicted of crimes.

"Outside of those iron bars they're still shackled with this financial debt and it follows them for years," Breed said during Tuesday's board meeting.

In an apparently preemptive move, the San Francisco Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday morning that it was eliminating two fines and fees that would be covered by the legislation: for electronic monitoring and for the Sheriff's Work Alternative Program, a community service program that serves as an alternative to incarceration.

Sheriff's officials said in a statement that up to $39 was charged per day for electronic monitoring devices, though it was on a sliding scale and up to 70 percent of fees were already waived. The sheriff's department also charged $20 per day to participate in the work program.

Breed argues that the fees are too costly to collect to add much to the city coffers, saying that only 17 percent of court-ordered criminal fees were paid to the city between 2012 and 2016. But the sheriff's department says the fees it eliminated Tuesday netted about $300,000 per year altogether that helped offset the sheriff's department's operations budget.

The fees the sheriff's department stopped collecting Tuesday don't include the most costly fees that would be eliminated by Breed's legislation: adult probation fees, a one-time fee of $1,800. It also doesn't include $135 booking fees or $150 pre-sentence reports.

The citywide legislation also can't eliminate hefty fees imposed by the state, including courthouse construction costs, that can add hundreds of dollars to even very minor criminal citations.

San Francisco has been seeking to address excessive fines and fees in its criminal justice system for years.

City Treasurer Jose Cisneros instituted a task force to study the issue in 2016 and a report released last year recommended not just local reform but statewide and nationally as well.

One particularly pernicious fee identified by the task force report was suspension of driver's licenses for unpaid fees, which can escalate an inability to pay for a criminal offense if the person is caught driving with a suspended license.

San Francisco Superior Court had by then already eliminated such fees, the first court system in the state to do so. Later that year, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation removing the option for courts to suspend driver's licenses for unpaid traffic tickets.

Breed said that her legislation would make San Francisco the first city to eliminate these kinds of fees in the country. The legislation's co-sponsor, Supervisor Malia Cohen, said she hopes that it will become a model nationwide.

"It's about time San Francisco starts walking that talk," Cohen said at a news conference at City Hall Tuesday to announce the legislation. "It's time for San Francisco to really do something radical."

Police Tuesday said a 10-vehicle collision that occurred Monday morning in north Santa Rosa began when the driver of a dump truck failed to stop at a red light.

The driver, a 45-year-old Sunnyvale man, was driving a 2009 Kenworth Northwest commercial dump truck owned by the Flores Trucking Company of Vallejo west on Fountaingrove Parkway, Lt. Rick Kohut said.

The truck was hauling debris when it drove through a red light at an undetermined speed and struck a 2017 Ford F-150 truck being driven by a 75-year-old Graton woman, heading south on Mendocino Avenue. The driver and a female passenger in her vehicle suffered critical injuries that are not life threatening, Kohut said.

The dump truck then veered to the left and struck five other vehicles that were stopped at a red light in the left turn lanes of the eastbound Mendocino Avenue over-crossing, Kohut said.

The dump truck then crossed into the eastbound turn lanes of the Mendocino Avenue over-crossing and struck a 2014 Ford F-150 in one of the eastbound lanes. The dump truck became entangled with the F-150 and dragged it until it came to a stop on the south curb of the over-crossing, Kohut said.

The dump truck's fuel tanks then ruptured, causing diesel to flow east down the slope of the over-crossing. An unknown source ignited the fuel causing the dump truck and the Ford F-150 to catch fire. The burning fuel flowed under and also burned four of the vehicles that were struck by the dump truck, Kohut said.

The occupants of the burning vehicles were able to escape, some with assistance, before their vehicles became engulfed in flames, Kohut said.

The Santa Rosa Fire Department extricated two people from their vehicles with the hydraulic tools and controlled the fires with foam within 30 minutes, Battalion Chief Mark Basque said.

The liquid runoff from the collisions was prevented from entering nearby creeks and the sewer system, Basque said.

A 64-year-old Healdsburg woman driving a Honda Odyssey that was hit by the dump truck also suffered critical injuries that are not considered life threatening.

The occupants of the vehicles that were struck by the vehicles that were hit by the dump truck suffered minor injuries or were not injured, police said.

The investigation into the collision remains ongoing, according to police.

California Highway Patrol Officer Jon Sloat said the dump truck will be inspected for a possible mechanical malfunction.

Oakland police officers responded to the scene of a shooting in East Oakland Tuesday night, according to police.

At 11:11 p.m., police announced on social media that officers were investigating the shooting in the area of Edes and Hale avenues.

Traffic in the area was affected by the investigation and motorists were asked to use alternate routes, police said.

Further details were not immediately available.

Today will be sunny with highs in the lower to mid 70s. Northeast winds will be between 5 and 15 mph.

Tonight will be clear with lows in the lower 50s. North winds will be between 5 and 10 mph.

Thursday will be sunny with highs in the upper 60s to mid 70s. Northeast winds will be between 5 and 10 mph, becoming west winds between 5 and 15 mph in the afternoon.
BERKELEY (BCN)

Police in Berkeley are asking for the public's help to find a missing woman who disappeared this afternoon.

Lala Wallace was last seen at around 12:20 p.m. at a home on Stuart Street. Police believe Wallace may be at-risk because she suffers from dementia.

Wallace has been located in Oakland on prior occasions, police said.

She's described as a black woman, about 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 110 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a long sleeve turquoise shirt, a red wool vest with black trim, black pants and short black boots, according to police.

Anyone who sees Wallace is asked to call 911 or Berkeley police at (510) 981-5900.
Each year, the David Brower Center in Berkeley honors an environmental advocate with the Art/Act Award and an accompanying exhibition. This years awardee is the late conservationist Doug Tompkins.

In addition to being an avid photographer, Tompkins founded the North Face Inc. outdoor retail brand and is credited with preserving millions of acres of wilderness in Argentina and Chile. The exhibition Douglas R. Tompkins: On Beauty showcases Tompkins photography amid the airy architecture of the Brower Centers Earth-friendly building. Inspired by this exhibition, the San Francisco-based dance company Nancy Karp + Dancers perform a site-specific work Friday through Sunday, Feb. 9-11.
A bunch of clean-cut white guys  dressed all in white, to drive the point home  sing We are Africa! The dramaturgically unsound founding myth of the Mormon religion finds fitting analogues in Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

Seven years after its premiere, the Tony Award-winning The Book of Mormon is still priceless.
This story originally appeared on Golden Gate Weather Services



With the fading odds of having even a normal rainfall season across most of California (http://ggweather.posthaven.com/poor-odds-of-reaching-normal-after-dry-first-7-months-of-the-rainfall-season) the D word is being once more making its way into many conversations. But, what exactly is constitutes a drought. There is no simple answer and it certainly depends on who ask and where they live.



The American Meteorological Society defines drought as A period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently long enough to cause a serious hydrological imbalance. The important takeaway from this broad brush definition is the use of term hydrological imbalance and not rainfall deficit. This is especially true in California where the States diverse infrastructure means water falling in the northern half of the state strongly impacts hydrologic imbalances many hundreds of miles away in the south.

RELATED VIDEO: Where's the rain? Santa Cruz water managers voice concern

Broadly, drought can be subdivided into four categories: meteorological drought, hydrological drought, agricultural drought, and socioeconomic drought.



Meteorological drought is a measure of the degree of dryness resulting from rainfall and snowfall deficits. There is additionally a very important temporal aspect which impacts the other types of drought by its dependence on not only the degree of deficit but also its longevity. These deficits can be measured as the number of days without rain or the percent of an average amounts of precipitation over days, months, years of even decades.



Hydrological drought is a measure of water supply available from rivers, reservoirs and groundwaters; and the infrastructure to distribute that water. The temporal aspect is even more important with hydrological drought as there can be significant time lags between when precipitation occurs and it impacts surface or subsurface supplies. [This is one of the reasons that meteorologists in California and the West use July 1 to June 30 rainfall season as opposed to the hydrologists October 1 to September 30 water year (http://ggweather.posthaven.com/rainfall-season-vs-water-year)]



Agricultural droughts operate on a short time scale as a precipitation deficit during even a short growing season can have significant impacts. These impacts are exacerbated (or mitigated) by crop type, the availability of stored water (i.e., hydrologic drought) plus soil type and moisture.



Socioeconomic drought is the impact on human activities and the related economies and is a function of all the previous three types of drought as well as metrics like population change and water usage patterns.



A variety of indices and other metrics have been developed to attempt to quantify drought, though one that is good for agricultural drought may not be as adept at capturing socioeconomic impacts.



The bottom line is that drought has many intersecting layers and the effects of any or all of these drought types is dependent upon the user and his location. Drought is complicated!
BERLIN  Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed on a coalition deal on Wednesday with her previous governing partners, including the Social Democrats, bringing her within striking distance of forming a new government after five months of political limbo. But the pact came at a steep price for her conservative party, which gave up the powerful Finance Ministry.

Nearly half a million registered members of the center-left Social Democratic Party, many of whom oppose joining another administration led by Merkel, will get the final say; the deal is contingent on their approval in a postal vote that analysts say is too close to call. The results of the vote are expected by March 4.
Testosterone is the driving force behind the bloodsport that is jallikattu. A man is deemed man enough to marry and protect a family when he is strong enough to tame a bull. A bull is deemed male enough to mate and sire a child when he is stubborn enough to escape being tamed.

How many animals and people must die, one wonders, before Tamil Nadu gets over its obsession with toxic masculinity and testosterone?

Somehow, the semen of native bulls and resentment against Jersey cows fuelled a large public protest in Madras in 2017, where thousands of people coincidentally turned up at the Marina Beach wearing identical T-shirts. A peoples movement, with no political motivation, they claimed, and this peoples movement was praised for not turning violent.

It did turn violent.

It led to the state of Tamil Nadu amending a federal law, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to allow a loophole that would overrule the Supreme Courts 2014 ban on the bloodsport.

The same Supreme Court order had also banned bullock cart racing in Maharashtra, which the state circumvented with an amendment.

According to statistics provided by the Animal Welfare Board of India, more than 5000 participants and spectators have been wounded in jallikattu events held between 2008 and 2014, with 43 human deaths and 4 animal deaths. There is no record of the number of animals wounded or maimed.

Last year alone, more than 15 humans and 3 bulls died, according to reports in the media.

This year, the official death count of humans is 9, but animal rights activists believe there are several unreported deaths.

And on one weekend in February, a bull died of cardiac arrest, two bulls were seriously wounded, and a 19-year-old human was gored to death.

A bull in the Allur jallikattu collapsed as it was being shepherded back into its enclosure after finishing its run. Veterinarians diagnosed the cause of death as cardiac arrest.

A bull at the Manjampatti jallikattu was hit by a train. In pictures of the wounded bull, one can see rope marks as well as the impression of the track on its skin. It had been hit by the Guruvayur Express, after running on to the railway track  six kilometres away from the jallikattu venue  in its panic.

Another terrified bull fell into a 23-foot deep well near the arena and had to be rescued by the fire department.

Every year, the Tamil Nadu government issues guidelines for the treatment of bulls and conduct of jallikattu. Police manpower is wasted on the event. And yet the savages who mount bulls  and more importantly, the bulls who have no say in this  die.

In petitions by People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and other animal rights organisations pending before the Supreme Court, it is alleged  with video evidence  that animals are subjected to extreme cruelty and ill-treatment during the bloodsport.

On February 2, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice R F Nariman referred a batch of pleas challenging the actions of Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to a five-judge Constitution bench, and framed five questions to be adjudicated by them.

Referring to Article 25 (right to freedom of religion) and Article 29(1) (protection of cultural and educational rights) of the Constitution, the bench said they may not enable states to circumvent the existing law.

The Tamil Nadu government had entered a plea seeking a review of the 2014 ban in the Supreme Court, and this plea has been promptly dismissed.

When the highest court in the country, when the laws that govern the nation, and anecdotal evidence all indicate that jallikattu is horrifyingly cruel and extremely dangerous to both bulls and humans, why does the state continue to fight for permission to send boys and animals to their deaths?

Testosterone.

Traditionally, a man could claim a bride if he could tame a bull. That practice appeared to have made a comeback when, on January 16, a video clip began to do the rounds on social media. It showed a jallikattu announcer offering a 21-year-old virgin as prize for the Periya Anaikaraipatti jallikattu event, along with gold coins and veshtis. The announcer, 70-year-old Palanisamy, who goes on to say that only one man will take home the girl irrespective of how many pounce on the bull, was reportedly taken to the Vaiyampatti police station by the organisers for spreading false information.

Bride or not, the word used for the savages who clamber on to the bulls is veeran  hero, braveheart, warrior.

And the savages allowing the bulls they own into the arena claim they treat them like their own sons. If their own sons were subjected to the same treatment as the bulls, it would violate every international human rights treaty ever signed, to say nothing of a bunch of Indian laws.

How many lives is this pride in testosterone worth?

Which epic heroine is more than her vagina?

Why does corporal punishment still exist?

The bizarreness of modern-day feminism

How Kollywood casteism shaped the jallikattu protests

Who cares about Rajinikanth anymore?

Has the DMK lost Tamil Nadu forever?

2019: The devil or the dynasty?

When condoms are not kosher
The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near Odisha's Balasore at around 11.35 am, they said.

: India on Wednesday successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the army from a test range in Odisha, defence sources said.

Describing the trial as a complete success, they said all mission objectives were met during the test launch.

The perfect test launch came after successful trial of Agni-5 on January 18 and Agni-1 missile conducted from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast on Tuesday.

Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target, they said.

The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed Strategic Force Command of the army and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation as part of training exercise, they said.

"The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro- optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha," the sources said.

The downrange teams onboard the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown.

In salvo mode, on November 21, 2016, two missiles were successfully test fired in quick succession from the same base and the last trial was successful on June 2, 2017 from the same base.

Inducted into the armed forces of the country in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme, sources said.
Asking the government to bring in a law to punish people who make such statements, Owaisi suggested a three-year jail term.

: Anyone calling Indian Muslims 'Pakistani' should be jailed, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi said on Tuesday.

"Bring a law that if any Muslim is called Pakistani, the person will face a three-year jail term," he said, but added that the BJP-led government will not bring such a bill.

Muslims living in India had rejected Mohammad Ali Jinnah's two-nation theory, he added.

Owaisi was speaking in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind's address.

Referring to the controversial triple talaq bill, Owaisi claimed it was "anti-women". The bill, introduced by Centre, makes instant 'triple talaq' illegal and void, awarding a jail term of up to three years to the husband. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha but was stalled by the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is all set to hold its plenary meeting of general and executive members on February 9 and 10 in Hyderabad`s Owaisi hospital.

Over 50 members, including board president Asaduddin Owaisi, general secretary Moulana Saleem Khasmi, secretary board advocate Zafariyab are expected to attend the meet. The general body meeting will discuss the issue and evolve a strategy for the protection of Muslim Personal Law.
(Editor's note: This is part of "The United States of Weed," a series on the movement to legalize marijuana for recreational use in New Jersey, and the potential impact it could have on Staten Island. Click here for additional stories in the project.)

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The Advance recently sent a team of reporters to Oregon to see how legalizing marijuana has affected that state knowing that New Jersey could soon do the same.

While there, reporter Kyle Lawson and multimedia specialist Amanda Steen toured a massive grow house owned by a New York businessman and visited Portland's notorious "Green Mile" -- a high concentration of marijuana dispensaries located in close proximity along Sandy Boulevard.

A look at the Marijuana industry in Oregon 59 Gallery: A look at the Marijuana industry in Oregon

They also visited Oregon's border with Idaho, where recreational marijuana is illegal, to see what it is like. With three bridges connecting Staten Island to New Jersey, the impact on law enforcement and crime here could be similar along our state lines.

Check out the video above to learn more about the types of marijuana available for purchase in Oregon.

And make sure to join our Facebook Live discussion at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday where Kyle, Amanda and senior opinion writer Tom Wrobleski -- who last year visited Washington, D.C., where residents voted to legalize the recreational use of weed in 2014 -- will discuss their experiences.

Whether you support or oppose recreational marijuana use, questions about how it could impact Staten Island should it be legalized in neighboring New Jersey linger. Kyle, Amanda and Tom will be available to answer them.

And for more on Kyle and Amanda's trip to Oregon, make sure to check back next week as "The United States of Weed" continues.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Rich Marin, former CEO of the NY Wheel, has taken on two new roles: CEO of a scientific company and consultant for the newest U.S. Wheel project -- the Eye of Texas.

The Advance reported last month that Marin had stepped down as leader of the New York Wheel project.

When reached in Zurich, Switzerland, this week, Marin told the Advance that he is "directly involved" with the building of the Eye of Texas, a 541-foot-high observation wheel planned for Dallas.

"In the last six years I've become one of the few people who know a lot about wheels, and so it's always nice to leverage knowledge that you've gained and put it to use," he said.

Marin said he is also involved with Challenger Acquisitions Limited -- a United Kingdom investment group with a $4 million stake in the $580 million New York Wheel. The organization has invested $300,000 in pre-development costs of the Eye of Texas, according to the investment group.

NEW CEO JOB

In addition to being involved with the Eye of Texas, Marin has taken on the role of CEO of Low Emissions Resources Corporation. The company is based in Manhattan -- ironically in the very same office where Marin began his role with the NY Wheel.

"My office is in exactly the same space, 17 State St., overlooking the harbor, where I started the NY Wheel in 2012," he said,

"We are a scientifically based company that has put in almost 20 years of research into creating a ceramic material and electrochemical process that is quite transformative in what in does for industrial chemicals. I describe it as what silicon did for the electronics industry is what this ceramic material will do for the industrial chemical industry," said Marin, noting the job takes him "around the world."

And Marin said he is excited about his new roles.

"It has me back doing what I've done my whole life, which is traveling around the world and running a big business. And that's what I did on Wall Street for 40 years," he said.

STILL INVOLVED WITH THE NY WHEEL

Marin said the decision to step down as NY Wheel CEO was agreed upon by both the NY Wheel's major investors and himself. He said he would continue to assume a role on the NY Wheel board, and is still a major investor in the project.

"After six years as CEO of New York Wheel, Richard Marin is stepping down from that post, but remaining as a member of the Board of Directors of New York Wheel LLC through the anticipated completion of the project," said the NY Wheel in a written statement.

"His leadership led the project through the approval process and into the commencement of construction and financing. It is expected that this change will be seamless, as the existing management will remain in place. Mr. Marin is expected to remain involved as a director, and will be available to the project as needed, but will devote his time to other activities."

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STATEN ISLAND. N.Y. -- Native American-inspired apparel from a global fashion designer and street styles from a Texas indie designer were in the spotlight for Staten Island Fashion Week on Saturday in Stapleton.

Designs from Maritza Guevara Sanchez, a well-known Peruvian designer, and Shaun Tristan Davis of Houston, Tx, were featured at Edgewater Hall for the fourth annual Staten Island Fashion Week, which each year is a local prelude to New York Fashion Week in Manhattan.

"Lately in America there is attention being paid to Native American fashions.... It's a trend that is coming next," said Victor Quinteros, brand development director for Staten Island Fashion Week.

"Maritza Guevara Sanchez is from Cajamarca, Peru. She brings the culture and tradition of the ancient Inka's empire into the New York Fashion Collection. ...She works with native American material from South America," he added.

A fashion shoot at the Conference House in Tottenville to highlight the Native American-inspired designs was held on Sunday, said Quinteros.

"The Conference House is one of the most beautiful places where Native Americans once lived near the water," he said.

Quinteros said Staten Island Fashion Week was launched to show that the borough is "capable of having our own presence" in the fashion world.

"Every year we take photos of models at the ferry going from Staten Island to Manhattan to Fashion Week," he added.

FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police officials, politicians and members of the community said Tuesday they hope that through unity they can find peace.

Over 100 people gathered at the Joan and Alan Bernikow Jewish Community Center in Sea View for the Council of Jewish Organizations of Staten Island's third annual community-wide security meeting.

Several top officials from the NYPD were in attendance -- including Commissioner James P. O'Neill and Staten Island's new top cop Assistant Chief Kenneth Corey, who has been in his new role for less than a month.

Borough President James Oddo applauded the police department's effort to engage with the community and give locals an opportunity to voice their concerns.

"When the police commissioner himself comes to Staten Island, and all top brass is here, and you have a chance to listen to them, to talk with them -- I think it's a good night," Oddo said.

Those NYPD officials had a lot to be proud of in a borough where crime is down 9 percent so far in 2018.

"Better down than up," Corey said. "Things are trending in the right direction."

Rape is the only category of crime that has seen an increase. There were five at this time last year, while six have occurred in 2018, according to the latest crime statistics.

Shootings are down drastically, with the only incident this year occurring on Jan. 25 outside a strip club in Charleston.

January's trend continues the city's continuing crime reduction. Oddo recalled an era when parking at the Staten Island Mall risked having your vehicle stolen.

"Crime numbers show this a very different place than from when I started in this business in 1992," he said.

O'Neill credited the officers serving under him with the city's continued crime reduction, and said he didn't see why the trend shouldn't continue, if everyone works together.

"I know what they do," he said. "I lived that life for a long time."

Despite applauding the lower crime rates, officials noted the need to do more to address the borough's heroin crisis.

Last year saw 86 overdose deaths on the Island, making Staten Island the only county in New York that saw a decline in overdose deaths, District Attorney Michael E. McMahon said.

All members of law enforcement said the main goals in fighting the drug epidemic are prosecuting dealers and helping addicts get the treatment they need.

"We're going to go up the food chain" O'Neill said, in reference to the higher-level dealers the NYPD is targeting.

Corey, who has lived in the borough for over 20 years, expressed that his focus is working to address the issue.

"As a Staten Islander, as a father of two young children, this is a top priority for us," he said.
CITY HALL -- NYPD Commissioner James P. O'Neill says he is not yet ready to take a position on whether the city should open so-called safe injection sites for addicts, but says his "mind is open" to the idea.

At a recent press conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Commissioner O'Neill reiterated that the city was still in the process of studying the feasibility of opening supervised injection sites for addicts, a study which is slated to wrap up soon.

O'Neill said he had spoken to the chief of the Vancouver Police Department who had experience overseeing supervised injection sites in his city.

At first, O'Neill said the Vancouver police chief had not felt all that "good" about the sites, but then saw the results the program was able to produce and the lives it saved.

To date, O'Neill said he believed the Vancouver Police commissioner had told him no one had died in a supervised injection facility since the sites opened in Vancouver several years ago.

O'Neill admitted there were a number of "quality of life issues" associated with supervised injection sites that the Vancouver police chief was still trying to address, some of which he also had concerns with including issues around crime.

SOME 'REAL CONCERNS'

"So my mind is open ... we're talking about the sanctity of life here," O'Neill told reporters. "Keeping people alive, but we also have real concerns about quality of life and crime issues around that site. So at some point we will make a determination."

Injection sites are meant to provide a safe and hygienic space for people to inject pre-obtained drugs under the supervision of health workers. There are currently no such facilities in the U.S., but there are about 100 around the world in places like Canada and Europe.

Two years ago, the city approved $100,000 for the study that the Department of Health has taken the lead on.

The Health Department has since met with several stakeholders to discuss the concept.

De Blasio said there was still a lot of internal discussion and data the city would need to look through from the study before officials could give a "clearer picture of how we move forward."

Once the city completes its study and its writing and review process, the report will be submitted to the City Council.

In 2017, the number of fatal opioid overdoses on Staten Island decreased, but the number of OD saves rose sharply. There were 86 overdose fatalities in 2017 compared to the previous year -- a reduction of 26 percent.

The city's anticipated announcement on the study comes as Philadelphia is getting close to opening what could be the country's first supervised site for safe drug injection.

City officials recently gave the concept the green light, which has also been backed by the mayor and the newly elected district attorney. But details of how safe-injection sites would actually work in Philadelphia remain unclear.

So far, leading voices on Staten Island's fight against the opioid epidemic have had mixed reactions to the idea of injection sites.

Luke Nasta, the CEO of Camelot has said people in his field should take a "hardline" against injection sites and that the city should focus more on prevention rather than an approach that would enable addicts.

While Diane Arneth, the executive director of Community Health Action of Staten Island, has said she thinks the city needs to explore "every possible avenue" in its fight against the opioid epidemic.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Parents of students at two of the elementary schools on Staten Island that last year received violations for the conditions of their cafeteria have expressed concern and disgust.

"My son has lunch and breakfast in there and it's not safe for the kids," said a parent of a student at PS 41.

The New Dorp school was issued a violation last year from the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene after inspectors found mice in the lunchroom.

Across the five boroughs there were more than 1,000 violations at nearly 700 public school cafeterias, according to a report from student journalists at the City University of New York.

PS 16 was also cited for having mice in the cafeteria.

Charles Mitchell, who has two nieces who attend the Stapleton school, said he was concerned about the violations.

"To be honest, if I would've known that, my nieces wouldn't have come to this school," Mitchell said.

But Antonia Mendez said her daughter tells her the PS 16 cafeteria is clean, and she enjoys the food.

Councilman Joseph Borelli (R-South Shore), who serves on the Committee on Education, has requested an oversight hearing to discuss the cafeteria violations.

He penned a letter to Mark Treyger, chairman of the committee, expressing dismay that nearly one-third of the city's violations occurred in Staten Island schools -- despite the borough having less than 7 percent of the city's student population.

"I am hopeful that a hearing will shed light on whether these conditions are sporadic or systemic, and what protocols are in place to protect students," Borelli wrote.

However, some parents were not concerned about the violations.

"What school doesn't have mice, what restaurant or diner doesn't have mice?" asked a parent of a student at PS 41. "If they keep it controlled, what else do you do?"

Watch the video above to hear additional reactions to the school cafeteria health violations.
President Donald Trump's lawyers have reportedly advised the president against sitting down with special counsel Robert Mueller for an interview. Despite Trump publicly saying he was "looking forward" to speaking with Mueller under oath because there was "no collusion" between his campaign and Russia, his lawyers worry Trump's "history of making false statements" may cause him to perjure himself. But critics argue if Trump really has nothing to hide, he should talk to Mueller. What do you think?

PERSPECTIVES

According to The New York Times, President Trump's lawyers have advised him against interviewing with special counsel Robert Mueller despite Trump publicly stating he was "looking forward" to speaking with Mueller under oath.

Many believe refusing to interview with Mueller would have dire political consequences. If Trump has nothing to hide, why wouldn't he speak with investigators?

Trumps lawyers have advised him not to do an interview with Robert Mueller. What happened to working with the Mueller probe? OhTrumps lawyers realized hes a pathological liar? Got it. This is exactly what a guilty person, who has something to hide, would do. #TrumpTreason  Scott Dworkin (@funder) February 6, 2018

And if Trump does refuse to interview, there is a strong possibility Mueller would have to subpoena the president.

NEW YORK TIMES: Trumps Lawyers Want him to Refuse an Interview in Russia Inquiry.



TRANSLATION: Donald Trump is guilty. He knows it. His lawyers know it. The majority of the Country knows it. And Robert Mueller knows it.



Its. Grand. Jury. Subpoena. Time.   Ryan Knight  (@ProudResister) February 6, 2018

When asked if Trump should talk to Mueller, Fox News host Judge Jeanine Pirro said "absolutely not" because the interview would be nothing more than "a trap."

Both Anthony Scaramucci and Chris Christie have urged the president not to sit down with Mueller because they also fear Trump will be "caught in a gotcha moment."

Scaramucci: I hope Trump doesn't testify in Mueller probe because I dont want him "caught in a gotcha moment" https://t.co/scn6SZ1pmI pic.twitter.com/mo73iiU9uW  The Hill (@thehill) February 4, 2018

Chris Christie now says Trump shouldnt sit down with Mueller: "I don't think there's been any... credible allegations against the President." (via ABC) pic.twitter.com/bDm4LzfMuq  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 30, 2018

But critics still point out, it's only a "perjury trap" if Trump lies under oath.

To @seanhannity and all the other liars over at Trump News, wringing their tiny little hands over Robert Muellers #PerjuryTrap, you know, there is no such thing if your hero tells the truth and has nothing to hide. #TrumpTreason  Marina Sirtis (@Marina_Sirtis) February 6, 2018

And according to a Monmouth University poll, 71 percent of Americans want Trump to sit down for an interview with Muller.

The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Digital, Inc. property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Let's talk about weed.

Three Advance staffers will discuss their experiences with marijuana in Oregon and Washington, D.C., on Wednesday afternoon as part of a Facebook Live discussion.

We invite you to join the conversation and ask the trio questions. The chat will take place on our Facebook page, beginning at 12:30 p.m.

Whether you support or oppose recreational marijuana use, questions about how it could impact New York should it be legalized in neighboring New Jersey linger.

As a result, the Advance sent reporter Kyle Lawson and multimedia specialist Amanda Steen to Oregon, where a prohibition on recreational marijuana was lifted in 2015.

Last year, senior opinion writer Tom Wrobleski visited Washington, D.C., where residents voted to legalize the recreational use of weed in 2014.

The staff effort is part of the Advance's "The United States of Weed," a series on the movement to legalize marijuana for recreational use in New Jersey and the potential impact it could have on Staten Island.

Have a question about their experiences that you'd like to ask? Leave it in the comment section below.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A New Brighton man cold-cocked another person on Friday inside the bathroom of a Tompkinsville deli, then robbed the victim, authorities allege.

Augustino Filipino, 34, of the 400 block of Jersey Street, attacked the victim shortly before 10 p.m. inside the store at 104 Victory Blvd., said a criminal complaint.

The 220-pound defendant followed the victim into the bathroom, punched him in the face, then snatched his cell phone, sunglasses and an undisclosed amount of cash, the complaint said.

Filipino appeared to be drunk when officers nabbed him a short time later, said police.

The defendant was charged with felony counts of third-degree robbery and second-degree assault. He's also accused of misdemeanor counts of stolen-property possession, assault and petit larceny, along with a lesser charge of harassment.

Filipino was arraigned on Saturday in Criminal Court and released on $750 bail, said online state court records.

He was ordered to return to court on Thursday.

Court records show Filipino, in November 2015, was convicted by plea of driving while intoxicated.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - So, what laws am I allowed to break?

I'm wondering after hearing about how Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance will no longer prosecute those who jump the turnstile in the subway.

Under the Vance regime, you'll only be prosecuted for fare-beating if you pose a clear threat to public safety. Otherwise, you get a summons or a desk appearance ticket. And, yeah, you have to wonder who'll care if you pay it off or not.

The Vance argument is that arrests for fare beating fall disproportionally on communities of color and clog the court system with low-wattage cases. Police and prosecutors should be out there chasing bigger crimes, busting the truly nefarious among us. We should be reducing unnecessary incarceration.

I don't know. Maybe Vance has his eye on the White House in 2020 as well, so he's trying to out-left everybody else out there.

It's pretty simple to me: You break the law, you get busted. It doesn't matter what color you are. You don't have to go to jail for fare-beating. We're not going to lock you up and throw away the key. But some punishment should be involved. You should definitely get the message that it's the wrong thing to do.

Ignoring these so-called low-level crimes is just bad law enforcement policy. Actually, it's not enforcing the law at all. If you jump the turnstile, you might not be so good about following other laws as well. So if you're busted, we may find out that you're wanted for another, more serious crime. You might have a warrant pending again you. Not that we care a lot about outstanding warrants in our increasingly decriminalized city, but you get the point.

Now we won't have that opportunity. A law can be broken and the perp doesn't have to worry about getting rung up for that crime or a more serious offense. It just encourages more law-breaking, big and small.

Here's another thing: What kind of message does it send to the rest of us that some people are allowed to break the law without penalty while others follow the rules? Sure, maybe we're all suckers and we should just break the law like everybody else. But not all of us are built that way. Not all of us were raised that way.

We saw a lot of fare-beating and turnstile-jumping back in the bad, old 1980s. Because nobody cared to put a stop to it. It was part and parcel of living in the "ungovernable" New York City. At least that's the message that we got. There was nothing to be done about it.

And nothing galled you more than putting your token in and then watching some folks just jump over the turnstile. To get the same service that you were paying for. You'd think about that long line you waited on at the St. George Ferry Terminal to buy your tokens for the week or the month. This was before MetroCards, of course. You would just fume and boil. It was a quality of life issue as well as a criminal issue.

But let's forget about the law-enforcement angle. How much sense does it make to encourage people to jump the turnstile when we're doing everything we can to generate money for the system? We could all be paying $12 for the privilege of driving into Manhattan in order to raise revenue to plow into mass transit. Doesn't every dollar count in that effort? Why should we let anybody off the hook? It's our system. We should all pay to maintain and improve it.

Thankfully, the other D.A.'s in the city aren't following Vance's lead, including Staten Island's own D.A. Michael McMahon.

Let's hope they never do.
Page Content

Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Jorien Wuite, is urging the general public especially the residents of Middle Region, Belvedere, Madame Estate and Dutch Quarter to join in the search for young Nathan York, a student of the Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) School who has been missing since Tuesday afternoon.

Nathan was last seen at 12pm on Tuesday leaving the MLK School. He is 161 meters tall, has a slim posture, light dark complexion and low cut black hair. He was last seen wearing his school uniform (purple shirt, grey pants, black shoes) and has a blue backpack.

Police and VKS patrols and members of the truancy team of the department of education are currently searching as well as members of his family and family friends. The larger community is urged to join in.

Anyone who may have information about Nathan York should immediately get in contact with the parents by calling 586-5763, Community Police Officer Leonard 588-4037 or the police department emergency line 911.




Page Content

Ministry of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Development and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), announces that that no debris or other large waste of such nature will be accepted at the main sanitary landfill until further notice.

ONLY HOUSEHOLD WASTE WILL BE ACCEPTED AT THE MAIN LANDFILL.

The temporary halt is in connection with the unexpected fire at the hurricane debris site on Pond Island.

Ministry VROMI apologizes for any inconveniences this may cause.




Jack Mintz;

For the first time in many years, the federal government is stoking Western alienation as it proves unable to find its way in promoting resource development and access to export markets for Canadian energy, while trying to balance environmental considerations. The prime minister calls the dispute between Alberta and British Columbia -- over B.C.'s attempt to ban shipments carrying Alberta's oil from the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion claiming a fear of oil spills -- a "disagreement between provinces." That ignores the constitutional role the federal government has in interprovincial transportation and trade. Alberta's Premier Rachel Notley is right: This is as much a fight between B.C. and the federal government as it is between Alberta and B.C.

In fairness, the federal Liberals have said they still support the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion and vow to see it built. It's a promise that won't help the Liberals garner many votes in Vancouver, but perhaps the Trudeau government is quietly hoping the pipeline's owner, Kinder Morgan, gives up in frustration, for "business reasons," as other resource project proponents have done recently after enduring endless regulatory and political setbacks.

[...]

The parts of Western Canada that rely on energy -- Alberta, Saskatchewan and B.C.'s interior -- are beginning to relive the consequences of Pierre Trudeau's disastrous National Energy Program of 1980-85. The NEP, which hit the West just as commodity prices were falling, led to one of the largest income transfers in history, from the West to Central and Eastern Canada. Western energy producers were forced to pay an export tax to fund subsidies to make life cheaper for energy-guzzling consumers to the east. This time, the income isn't being transferred from the West to Eastern Canada. It's being transferred from Canada to the United States.
An extra $17 million will be spent on additional health services and security inside Canberra's jail, more than a year after a damning review of the prison was handed down.

Ahead of its mid-year budget update, the ACT government announced it would spend $8.8 million over the next three-and-a-half-years to employ more senior staff at the Alexander Maconochie Centre and create a centralised intelligence agency within the jail.

The Alexander Maconochie Centre in Canberra. Credit:Jay Cronan

Another $8 million will be spent over the next two-and-a-half years on establishing the Winnunga Nimmityjah model of care inside the prison.

Justice minister Shane Rattenbury said the greater focus on intelligence would help combat contraband and organised crime within the jail.
The Australian National University's director of human resources took the stand at a tribunal hearing on Wednesday, where she faced questions about staff shortages and said she could not say who was behind an academic job "mistakenly" advertised.

The job was for a senior professorial role at the ANU's School of Music and was published in May 2015.

Peter Tregear resigned from his position at the ANU School of Music in 2015. Credit:Melissa Adams

Dr Nadine White said the job was "mistakenly" advertised by a junior clerk after an administrative error.

But she was unable to say who was behind the ad.
You can make Braddon as funky and urban and hipster as you like and then along comes a swamp wallaby who reminds us all that Canberra's trendiest suburb is as much a part of the bush capital as anywhere else.

The wallaby spent Tuesday night trapped in a locked courtyard at Centrelink at the epicentre of Canberra cool, Lonsdale Street.

Contrary to rumour, the swamp wallaby was not looking for a bespoke beer during his visit to Braddon.

It appears the wallaby wandered in at some point when the courtyard gate was open and then became trapped when the gate was shut for the night.

Centrelink staff discovered the furry interloper when they turned up for work on Wednesday morning.
A former ActewAGL contractor was jailed on Wednesday after taking more than $12,000 from the company and its customers.

The plan was hatched one day last year, the ACT Magistrates Court heard as it prepared to sentence 29-year-old Jessica Kate Anderson.

Jessica Kate Anderson.

Over the next couple of months, Anderson used several different methods to dishonestly take money.

In some instances, she had ActewAGL accounts in credit transferred into her own bank account, and in others, called up and pretended to be customers to get refunds.
Solomon Lew is growing in confidence that Myer shareholders will soon lose theirs in the department store's embattled board and management.

After months of sniping, the billionaire rag trader's Premier Investments, which owns 10.8 per cent of Myer's shares, has finally confirmed it will call an extraordinary general meeting by requesting a copy of the share register.

Lew will bring a big broom to that meeting, hoping to clear out the entire existing board led by Garry Hounsell. This is an escalation of his previous push for a handful of directors.

Chairman of Premier Investments, Solomon Lew. Credit:Jesse Marlow

The earliest the meeting could realistically take place is in May and Premier is understood to want to squeeze it in this financial year.
Dairy processor Murray Goulburn has reported a fall in its milk intake of almost 30 per cent in the first half of fiscal 2018, and attributed the drop to its inability to pay a competitive milk price to farmers.

The processor reported a milk intake of 1.1 billion litres and total revenue of $1.1 billion in its first half results released on Wednesday.

Revenue was hit by the falling milk volume and dropped by 5.1 per cent, but the fall was partly offset by higher commodity prices and inventory sales.

Murray Goulburn is waiting for final approval of its proposed deal with Canadian firm Saputo. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Murray Goulburn has reached a deal to sell the business to Canadian dairy giant Saputo, but the proposed deal remains subject to approval from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Foreign Investment Review Board. The ACCC is expected to release the findings of its review of the proposed sale on March 1.
Deeply troubled listed law firm Slater and Gordon has appointed a new chief executive and will be downsizing parts of its business - a move that is expected to result in significant job losses.

Former KPMG national managing partner John Somerville will replace Hayden Stephens, a 25-year veteran at the company who stepped into the role after the departure of former chief Andrew Grech.

Slater and Gordon has been financially stricken after its disastrous $1 billion acquisition of a troubled UK group.

The number of jobs to go at Slater and Gordon is currently not known. The company has already suffered a talent flight with ACA Lawyers and the fast-growing Gordon Legal rumoured to be key beneficiaries.

Slater and Gordon announced on Wednesday that it would be "winding down or divesting or downsizing" its successsion, criminal and family law practices. It will also retain a smaller commercial practice.
Victoria and South Australia are set to see huge electricity prices as high temperatures drive up power costs.

Just before 2pm the price for Victoria was sitting at about $181 a megawatt hour.

AEMO has issued a Lack of Reserve 1 warning ahead of higher temperatures. Credit:Paul Jones

Prices were expected to soar to more than $13,000 a megawatt hour in Victoria and nearly $14,000 a megawatt hour in South Australia as temperatures were forecast to rise to 36 degrees in Melbourne and 38 degrees in Adelaide. Prices are capped in the national grid at $14,000.

However, despite the Australian Energy Market Operator's warning that the Victorian grid could be stretched and flagged concern about the level of reserve power available, increased imports of energy kept the price below these extreme highs, instead peaking at $6846 a megawatt hour in Victoria and $8001 a megawatt hour in South Australia.
"Will Barnaby Joyce's new baby have New Zealand citizenship?" writes Coral Button of North Epping. "If so, he/she should fix it up ASAP to save a mountain of strife later in life."

Duncan Harman of Bundamba not only advocates Aussie English by John O'Grady (C8), he reckons "compulsory viewing for migrants and young Aussies should be that great Aussie flick from the 60s, They're a Weird Mob". Unkle Cyril of East "Bloody" Corrimal is one who benefited, in his case from the book: "After reading They're a Weird Mob, I arrived in Sydney suitably armed with a few phrases to get me by, such as: 'Slap me across the face with another hunk of dodger,' 'Hands off me tucker or I'll dong yer,' and 'Got a quid in yer kick, mate?' They served me well."

We'd be "happier than a crow in a butchers shop" (thanks Garry Thomas of Auburn) to keep running your favourite Australianisms (C8) but it's time to wrap it up with the thoughts of David Hilliard of East Gresford: "I might be getting a bit long in the tooth, but some of your contributors must be as thick as two short planks. Anyway, I'm as dry as a Pommie's towel, so I'm off down to the rubberty dub."

Bill Wilkinson of Tumbarumba writes: "Wouldn't it have been great if the first car in space (with the "Don't Panic" sign) had been a Ford Prefect? Douglas Adams would have been very pleased."

A curious sighting from Paul Duncan of Leura: "Recently while driving through the Camden area, I thought I saw the Batmobile roar past with Batman and Robin aboard. Was I dreaming?" If you were you'd be asleep at the wheel.
"Voice" is at the forefront of my thoughts in the days since Michael Gordon's passing  his commentary, his consistency and most of all, his capacity to give voice to people and issues affecting countless thousands.

Barely a fortnight before his death we talked at length about the vexed subject of constitutional recognition and a voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Michael, pictured while on assignment at Uluru last year. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

I am haunted by his first words during that interview, that perfectly encapsulate the subtle but irresistible power of his journalism: "What I'm trying to do is not put anyone in the role of villain, but just to tell the story as it happened, so we can sort of learn from it. That's where I'm coming from."

When I entered Parliament in 2010, he was one of the first journalists to call me and talk about what it would mean to have an Indigenous person in the House of Representatives.
The humble Australian magpie is the star of new research that suggests social interaction is key to the development and evolution of intelligence in animals.

And when it comes to developing smarts, it seems the more birds in the group, the merrier.

In a study published by the journal Nature on Wednesday, researchers from the University of Western Australia and the University of Exeter, UK, found magpies living in larger groups appeared to be smarter than those in smaller groups.

The study also found clever female birds made better mothers, with a higher success rate when it came to both hatching their eggs and raising their young.
Deep in a tropical rain forest, during a time when dinosaurs walked the earth, four tiny spiders crawled down a tree, got stuck in some sticky resin and never climbed up again.

About 100 million years later, blocks of amber containing their fossilised forms wound up on the desks of two scientists in China.

The Cretaceous arachnid Chimerarachne yingi, resembling a spider with a tail, was found trapped in amber in Myanmar after 100 million years. Credit:Bo Wang

Both researchers looked at the perfectly preserved animals and came to the same conclusion: This was an entirely new kind of animal.

They introduced their discovery, dubbed Chimerarachne yingi, in a pair of papers published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution on Monday.
Queensland's top tourist destinations are under threat from climate change, according to the latest report from the Climate Council.

The "Icons at Risk: Climate Change Threatening Australian Tourism" report released on Thursday claims the state's iconic beaches, wilderness areas and in particular the Great Barrier Reef are under imminent threat due to changes in the Earth's climate.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits the Australian Institute of Marine Science to announce funding for the Great Barrier Reef. Credit:Michael Chambers

Ecologist Professor Lesley Hughes said in addition to the environmental concerns surrounding climate change, it was also threatening the state's billion-dollar industry.

"In 2016 alone, more than 2.5 million international visitors arrived in the state, bringing in more than $5.2 billion dollars," Professor Hughes said.
The private life of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was thrust into the public eye on Wednesday after it was revealed he is fathering a child with his former staffer-turned-partner.

Photos of Mr Joyce's heavily pregnant girlfriend Vikki Campion appeared on the front page of News Corp's The Daily Telegraph, sparking a fierce debate about intrusion into personal lives.

As the extraordinary events unfolded, Mr Joyce's wife Natalie - from whom he is separated - spoke publicly about the devastating impact of her husband's actions on their family, including their four daughters.

The deputy PM sat stony-faced through question time, and answered an inquiry about regional infrastructure to rare silence from the chamber. He was due to appear on ABC television later.

Some Turnbull government ministers and Nationals colleagues expressed sympathy with Mr Joyce, while others, including Labor frontbenchers, declined to comment on "a private matter".
Employer groups are hitting back at Bill Shorten's move to embrace populist economic positions, warning the Opposition Leader's anti-business rhetoric and policies threaten future prosperity.

The intervention by groups such as the Business Council of Australia and Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry - who are usually reluctant to enter the political fray - reveals the depths of private sector anxiety about Labor's perceived shift to the left in what could turn out to be an election year.

It also signals that the defence of the Coalition's deadlocked plan to lower the company tax rate for big corporations to 25 per cent within a decade will no longer be left to the government exclusively.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten speaks to the media. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Treasurer Scott Morrison said he welcomed companies coming forward to explain how lower business tax rates would flow through to wages.
Former senator Jacqui Lambie has expelled new Tasmanian senator-elect Steve Martin from her party for denying her the opportunity to return to Parliament.

Mr Martin, a former Mexican restaurant owner who first got into politics to save a Tasmanian hospital, is taking over Jacqui Lambie's vacated Senate seat after weathering a constitutional question of eligibility as well as pressure from Ms Lambie to stand aside so she could reclaim her spot.

In a statement, Ms Lambie congratulated Mr Martin on his new position but said he was no longer welcome to serve the party as she believed he was not interested in "following the party's values".

"The Jacqui Lambie Network prides itself on mateship, respect and integrity," she said in a letter to Mr Martin.
When news broke of The Daily Telegraphs front page this morning, which carried an exclusive story picturing the woman pregnant with the love child of Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, literally no one in the media was surprised.

Since last year, stories about Joyces private life have been the subject of constant gossip. It was said he had left his wife for a former staffer, and the former staffer was pregnant. Her name was well-known, as was the fact she was a former News Corp journalist.

Last year Joyce confirmed he had separated from his wife, and was living with his sister. It was said his four daughters were furious with him, and the entire family was greatly distressed by the situation.

Why didnt Fairfax Media publish the story? Why would we protect Barnaby Joyce?
Labor MP Susan Lamb has opened up about the "deeply personal" moment when she was six years old and abandoned by her mother, but the Turnbull government still believes she should quit Parliament as she is a dual UK-Australian citizen.

The Queensland-based MP for Longman has previously said that she and her mother, Hazel Cant, are estranged and that she had taken the reasonable steps required to give up her British citizenship.

Ms Lamb is a British citizen through her father and she began the process of renouncing her UK citizenship about two weeks before nominations for the 2016 election closed; her application to renounce her British citizenship was rejected by the UK Home Office because she did not provide a copy of her parents marriage certificate.

She has indicated that she was unable to obtain the certificate because under Queensland law if a parent is alive - as her mother is - they must give permission for the marriage certificate to be released. Turnbull government sources disagreed with this assessment.
The Turnbull government will significantly amend its proposed national security laws to better protect journalists, but has rejected a blanket media exemption from beefed-up secrecy rules.

The crackdown on foreign espionage involves an expanded secrecy regime that was to threaten reporters, editors and others with 15 to 20 years in prison for dealing with protected information.

In the face of sustained protest from media companies and lawyers, Attorney-General Christian Porter will revise the law to restrict the secrecy offences for which journalists can be prosecuted.

People not employeed by the Commonwealth - including journalists and lawyers - will only be liable in serious circumstances where they willingly communicate "secret" or "top secret" information that endangers the health and safety of the public, or prejudices national security.

Journalists will also have stronger defences open to them. They will no longer be required to prove their work was "fair and accurate", and they will only have to demonstrate they "reasonably believed" their work was in the public interest.
This is where the cliche comes in. Because really, a 50-year-old man leaving his wife to start again with a 33-year-old isn't a love story. It's a midlife crisis.

But we are also entitled to be concerned about the ease with which one of our supposed leaders takes advantage of women for his own benefit. In her statement, Ms Joyce locates part of her devastation in the fact she placed her own career on hold to support Joyce as he established his political one. Having wives and children enormously benefits men's careers, particularly when they operate in the political sphere.

I'm not suggesting people stay in relationships that are no longer producing happiness or fulfilment. But when someone has sacrificed so much for you, have the moral integrity to separate from them with dignity.

It speaks volumes about the Deputy Prime Minister's character that he has treated his wife as little more than a long term employee, useful so long as she served a purpose but easily replaced when a better applicant came along. If you want to talk about the protection women deserve in marriage, this is it: it's the protection from "traditional" protocol that encourages women to sacrifice their own ambitions to support those of their husbands.

This is part of the double standard that affects women, both inside politics and out. If this were a 50-year-old woman - hell, if it were a 40-year-old woman - whose sexual relationship with a much younger subordinate male employee were exposed, she would be crucified by the press and the public. If she were a 40-year-old woman who had become pregnant as a result of that affair, she would be destroyed. There would be no calls to respect her privacy. Her qualifications as a mother would be repeatedly torn apart and it would be considered an indisputable fact that she'd foregone her right to continue representing her electorate let alone occupying the role of Deputy PM.
Former defence secretary and ambassador Ric Smith is the perfect person to conduct the review into the "security procedures, practices and culture" at the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, former PM&C secretary Terry Moran says.

Secretary of Prime Minister and Cabinet Martin Parkinson announced on Wednesday that Mr Smith would conduct the review following the ABC's reporting of secret cabinet documents, which were found in two locked filing cabinets sold at a second hand furniture store. It has since been confirmed the documents came from PM&C.

Mr Moran, who was head of Prime Minister and Cabinet from 2008 to 2011, said it was Mr Smith's "substantial experience at a senior level within government" that made him ideal for the review, as well as his "great familiarity with the protocols and requirements for handling confidential documents".

The Smith review will begin after an investigation underway by the Australian Federal Police is completed. ASIO is also conducting a separate review.
The death of a teenage girl on a country road in the Hunter has left two families devastated and a street struggling to deal with the effects they know will linger for years to come.

The 17-year-old girl died on Monday while walking to the school bus stop a few hundred metres from her home on Warrigal Close in Brandy Hill.

A roadside memorial on Warrigal Close, Brandy Hill, after a teenage girl was killed by a car as she walked to the school bus stop. Credit:Newcastle Herald

The student, from the Hunter School of the Performing Arts, was allegedly struck by a 42-year-old neighbour, who has been charged with dangerous and negligent driving occasioning death.

Floral tributes left by the side of the road tell a story of a life taken too soon, and in gut-wrenching circumstances.
When an associate accused him of "protecting the bank", Lucky Gattellari knew what he really meant.

The associate was hired contract killer Haissam Safetli, and "the bank" was property developer Ron Medich, the NSW Supreme Court heard on Wednesday.

Lucky Gattellari has completed his fifth day on the stand after turning and becoming a key prosecution witness. Credit:Ben Rushton

Safetli was one of two men enlisted by Gattellari to carry out the murder of Sydney property developer Michael McGurk, who was shot outside his home on Sydney's lower north shore in 2009.

Gattellari is currently serving a jail sentence for helping arrange payment for the contract killing.
A primary school teacher has been charged over the alleged indecent assault of three nine-year-old girls.

Police began investigating the man after being made aware of the allegations last November.

Following inquiries, Child Abuse Squad detectives arrested the 23-year-old teacher at Valley Heights in the Blue Mountains on Tuesday.

Police allege he indecently assaulted the girls during 2017.

The children were students at a primary school in Blacktown at which the man most recently taught.
Embattled former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has unsuccessfully argued he should be given another chance to apply for bail because two newspapers printed "embarrassing" claims about him that would lower his reputation within the prison system.

The articles, published in The Australian and The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, interviewed a man who had shared a cell with Mr Mehajer at the Sydney Police Centre in Surry Hills.

Alex Arnold, an accused jewel thief, said Mr Mehajer lounged around "half-nude" in a towel, refused to clean the cell's toilet, spoke about his infamous 2015 wedding, and gave Mr Arnold a back rub.

Both articles were tendered to Burwood Local Court on Wednesday, at a hearing to decide if Mr Mehajer would be given a second chance to apply for bail.
A murderer who yelled "Die, c---! Die c--- sucker!" as he choked his apparently random victim to death in an unprovoked attack in Cairns has had his appeal against his conviction rejected.

Lawyers for Jake Desmond Livingstone pointed out the trial jury was told, through a damning recording of a phone conversation Livingstone had with a friend, that the then-19-year-old had been out on parole at the time of the 2015 attack.

Kiwi chef Philip Quayle was murdered in a brutal 2015 random attack in Cairns,

That admission of evidence, that Livingstone was on parole when he murdered Philip Quayle, it was argued, caused a miscarriage of justice.

The phone call went as follows:
A collection of 23 old chairs that sat in storage for 15 years attracted interest from more than 580 buyers.

The chairs were once sat upon by lord mayors and councillors in the Brisbane City Council chambers from about 1926 to 2002.

The silkwood swivel chairs were put in storage when they stopped being used at the end of 2002, but in 2017 the council decided to donate the former council chamber chairs to the Lord Mayors Charitable Trust.

The silkwood chairs were used in the council chamber from about 1926 to 2002.

News the chairs would be up for grabs prompted 581 interested buyers to contact the council.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has challenged Adani to prove its Carmichael mine project is progressing.

The call came after federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten shifted his rhetoric on Adani last week, saying federal Labor was "increasingly sceptical" about Adani's project in the Galilee Basin.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (centre) and Local Government Association of Queensland president Mark Jamieson (right) are seen at the Port of Brisbane on Wednesday. Credit:AAP Image/ Dan Peled

The federal Labor leader has also accused the mining company of offering "fake jobs", a claim that has been refuted by Adani, which said it had already created 800 jobs.

"I'm beginning to wonder if the people of north Queensland are being sort of led on with this promise of fake jobs and they'll never be able to materialise," Mr Shorten said.
A man's body has been found at a beach on the Mornington Peninsula near where a student went missing at the weekend.

The discovery follows the disappearance of Khalil Nabizadah, a 23-year-old engineering student from Narre Warren, who became caught in a rip while swimming with two friends at London Bridge beach at Portsea on Sunday.

The body of a man has been recovered from the sea near Portsea front beach days after Khalil Nabizadah, 23, went missing. Credit:Adam Miller

Two of the men, a 22-year-old from Cranbourne West and a 23-year-old from Cranbourne, were rescued

Victoria Police said the body found near the Portsea Front Beach on Wednesday afternoon had not been formally identified.
The state government can pass its proposed tough gun laws by agreeing to legalise online advertisements for firearms.

A day after Police Minister Lisa Neville unloaded on the state opposition, accusing the Coalition of helping Melbourne's underworld by delaying passage of the crackdown, the fate of the legislation is back in the government's hands.

The new gun law won't be in place until later in the year.

But despite Ms Neville's claims that the laws, which would allow police to slap gun ownership bans on criminals and their associates, are urgently needed, the opposition says it will take another eight months to get the system in place.

The government says the Liberals have got it wrong and the new guns regime should be in place from May or even earlier if Victoria Police can put their processes in place.
On Wednesday evening, at 8.27, astronomers are urging Melburnians to take to the streets. The city will enjoy its most-spectacular sunset of the year, as the sun sets perfectly between the skyscrapers that line our city grid.

Its called Melbhenge, and our inch-perfect alignment mean were one of the only cities in the world that experience the phenomenon. It has astronomers, both professional and amateur, very excited.

Its like Stonehenge  just on a vastly larger scale, says Associate Professor Alan Duffy, an astronomer at Swinburne University. Its a combination of living in a city with a regular grid, and living on a tilted planet.

Stonehenges mysterious monoliths famously align with the rising and setting sun at certain times of year. Now its Melbournes turn.
A hunt is under way in Premier Daniel Andrews' department for a public servant who has been sabotaging the online profile of Labor Senator Penny Wong.

Someone working in the 950 strong department has been getting into the Wikipedia profile on Senator Wong, Labor's leader in the upper house of federal Parliament, and deleting references to her two children.

Senator Penny Wong's online profile has been sabotaged. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Senator Wong was a leading figure in the push for same-sex marriage who has been outspoken against attacks on children of same-sex couples as a "stolen generation."

The anonymous public servant behind the trolling could be in hot water, if caught, with the department saying its employee's online activities could put them in breach of the Victorian Public Sector Code of Conduct.
A convoy of ambulances have left the site of the hot air ballon crash in Dixons Creek, television reporters at the scene are reporting.

As of their last update about 45 minutes ago, Ambulance Victoria said they were treating six people.
Ashes stolen from a home during a burglary in Perth's south eastern suburbs last week have been recovered by police.

Armadale Detectives have charged two teenagers over the burglary in Kelmscott on Friday.

Police found the ashes during a search of the home on Wednesday. Credit:QPS Media

Police will allege some time between 11am and 6pm, the offenders forced their way into the Brookside Avenue home and stole a safe which contained money and the ashes of the home owner's husband.

Detectives carried out a search warrant in Casuarina on Monday where they found the stolen safe and other items believed to be stolen including off road motorcycles, a caravan and a .22 firearm.
If there's a new development around Perth and no one's there to make a complaint about it, does it still make a sound?

Just over two weeks since its opening, swimming classes at the new Scarborough Beach Pool were cut short on Monday morning due to a noise complaint by a nearby resident.

The beach pool. Credit:Hannah Barry

It's believed a resident put in a call to the City of Stirling about the noise coming from the facility in the early hours of the morning, leading the centre to shut down its 5.30am swim classes.

The pool only opened for business on January 22.
The president of a little-known gang based in Perth will face court next week on a string of drug charges.

Two men were arrested on Tuesday following a raid on the Naala Moort clubhouse on Rodgers Street in Midland.

The Midland Naala Moort clubhouse was raided by police on Tuesday.

During the search police allegedly found 112 grams of methamphetamine.

The raid was part of an operation into suspected criminal gang dealing in illicit drugs in Geraldton, Carnarvon, Karratha and Port Hedland.
Sub-contractors have come to the defence of embattled builder Cooper & Oxley after the company suspended work on seven of its construction sites on Monday.

Ugly scenes at the builder's 500 Hay Street project this week showed sub-contractors breaking through the site's fencing and pushing past security guards to reclaim their tools and equipment.

But sub-contractors who called into Radio 6PR on Wednesday morning have shed some light on the longer term relationships they had with managing director George Hampel.

"George Hampel would be the most morally upstanding, decent gentlemen I've ever met in the industry," caller Ken said.
A WA psychotherapist and mother to six has launched an app that allows parents to slash the huge paper trails that come with tracking their child's health, education and social wellbeing.

Babies born in WA have doctors appointments and development notes recorded in a 'purple book' issued to parents, who then continue collecting information as the child grows in whichever method they use best, including a range of government apps.

Cath Resnick is a psychotherapist who created Kindom, an app that collates childrens' health and development records. Credit:David Allan-Petale

However, for Perth mother Cath Resnick the reams of information she had collected in multiple formats for the six children in her blended family became too much to track, and she wanted a simpler solution that placed it all together.

So she worked to create Kindom, a digital app that allows parents to collate every report, note or mention of how their child is developing and have access to them all in one place.
Santa Ana: A former Alaska Airlines pilot will plead guilty in California to a charge of flying a passenger plane while drunk.

Federal prosecutors say David Hans Arntson of Newport Beach will be sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison.

In 2014, Arntson flew an Alaska Airlines flight from San Diego International Airport to Portland, Oregon, and then a second plane from Portland to John Wayne Airport in Southern California.

After landing there, he underwent random testing that found his blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit for pilots.
New Delhi: After ordering the arrest of the chief justice, several opposition members, a former president (who also happens to be his half brother) and a few other political opponents, Abdulla Yameen, president of the island nation of the Maldives, essentially said: It's the other guys' fault.

"I was forced into this situation," Yameen said in a televised address on Tuesday, his first public statement after casting the Maldives into turmoil. "I declared the state of emergency because there was no way to hold these justices accountable."

Lying off on its own in the Indian Ocean, the Maldives is known for a few things: its sparkling seas, its gorgeous marine life, its spectacular island resorts and, above all, its tranquility.

But in the past week, all anyone has been talking about is the escalating crisis between Yameen on one side and the Supreme Court and the political opposition on the other. How did we get here?

A lot happened on Tuesday. Around 3am, Yameen's security forces burst into the Supreme Court building and arrested two judges (there are five on the court). On Tuesday afternoon, his security forces surrounded the parliament building and prevented lawmakers from meeting.
San Francisco: An Australian man is among 36 people charged by United States authorities in one of the largest global cyberfraud takedowns in history.

A federal indictment was unsealed in Las Vegas on Thursday charging 36 people for their alleged roles in the Infraud Organisation, an Internet-based marketplace that dealt in stolen credit cards and passwords and engaged in bank fraud and ID theft.

Thirteen defendants are from the US and others are from the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Kosovo, Serbia, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Russia, Pakistan, Egypt, Moldova.

The message on Infraud's website.

Edgar Andres Viloria Rojas, 27, a dual Australian-Venezuelan citizen, was arrested in Campsie, in Sydney's inner west, on Tuesday and is in custody awaiting extradition. He went by the online aliases Guapo, Guapo1988 and Onlyshop.
Bangkok: Myanmars military is forcing thousands of Rohingya Muslims remaining in violence-wracked Rakhine State to flee through starvation, abductions and looting, according to testimonies of refugees reaching Bangladesh.

Instead of terrorising Rohingya through mass killings, rapes and burnings as they did last year, the military has embarked on a more subtle campaign to squeeze them out by making life so intolerable that they have little option other than to leave, Amnesty International says in a new report.

Scores of Rohingya continue to stream across the border into Bangladesh each day saying persistent persecution, including denying them access to their rice fields at harvest time, forced them to breaking point.

Shielded by official denials and lies and a concerted effort to deny access to independent investigators, Myanmars military continues to get away with crimes against humanity, said Matthew Wells, Amnestys senior crisis adviser who recently returned from the worlds largest refugee camps in Bangladesh.
Warsaw: Poland's President Andrzej Duda has signed a controversial Holocaust bill approved by the country's Senate and lower house, despite widespread international protest.

Duda will submit the signed bill to the Constitutional Court for further scrutiny, he said earlier on Tuesday before signing the bill in Warsaw, to ensure it does not infringe upon freedom of expression.

The legislation has already triggered a diplomatic crisis with Israel. It mandates fines or up to three years' imprisonment for attributing responsibility to the Polish people or state for Nazi atrocities committed during World War II.

Polish President Andrzej Duda announces his decision to sign legislation penalising certain statements about the Holocaust, in Warsaw on Tuesday. Credit:AP

In a markedly restrained statement, the Israeli foreign ministry said on Tuesday that Israel expresses "reservations" about the law and hopes that changes are made to the legislation before a Constitutional Court decision is reached.
"I have always put duty to country first and treated others with respect," Porter said in the statement. "I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have served in the Trump administration and will seek to ensure a smooth transition when I leave the White House."

White House Staff Secretary Rob Porter stepped down a day after The Daily Mail, a British tabloid that covers the White House, published interviews with two of his ex-wives. He denied his ex-wives' claims that he abused them in a statement on his departure.

Washington: One of President Donald Trump's closest aides resigned on Wednesday after a news report that he emotionally and physically abused his ex-wives.

Porter's title understates his importance to the president. He served as a clearinghouse for paperwork destined for or coming from Trump's desk, as well as an important influence on policy in his own right. Few aides enjoy greater access to the Oval Office, or spend more time in the president's company.

Porter's second wife, Jennifer Willoughby, told the Daily Mail that Porter had difficulty controlling his anger and at one point pulled her out of the shower and yelled at her. She took out a restraining order against him after he allegedly violated a separation agreement and punched through glass in the door of their home, cutting himself.

The Daily Mail published a copy of the order.

His first wife, Colbie Holderness, told the publication that Porter was "verbally, emotionally and physically abusive" to her. The Intercept published an interview Wednesday with Holderness in which she alleged that Porter had punched her while on vacation, and she provided the publication a photo of herself with a black eye.

Porter called the allegations "outrageous" and "simply false." He said that he had taken the pictures that Holderness provided to The Intercept and that "the reality behind them is nowhere close to what is being described."
Beirut: The United Nations has appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Syria as spiralling violence pushes the country to the brink of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the seven-year war.

A halt to the fighting for at least a month is vital to allow urgently needed aid to reach 2.9 million stricken people living around the front lines of the latest fighting, the UN mission in Damascus said on Tuesday, warning of "dire consequences" if the current levels of violence are sustained.

The appeal coincides with the collapse in recent weeks of a year-old Russian effort to tamp down the violence through "de-escalation zones", which had helped contribute to a perception that the war in Syria finally was winding down.

This photo provided by the Syrian Civil Defense group known as the White Helmets, shows a child partly buried in rubble after airstrikes hit a rebel-held suburb near Damascus on Monday. Credit:AP

Instead, the first weeks of 2018 have turned into one of the bloodiest periods of the conflict yet, with hundreds killed in airstrikes, nearly 300,000 displaced in northwestern Syria and 400,000 at risk of starvation in a besieged area east of Damascus that has not received food since November.
Washington: The United States is "deeply troubled" by Turkey's re-arrest of the chairman of the local arm of Amnesty International, and has called on its NATO ally to end its state of emergency and safeguard the rule of law.

US-Turkish relations have been strained recently by a series of disagreements, especially over the Syria crisis.

Taner Kilic was one of 11 human rights activists arrested last year on what Amnesty International has said were "bogus terrorism charges". He is the only one of the 11 still jailed after eight months in detention, the rights group said.

Kilic was conditionally released last week, but the prosecution successfully appealed the decision and he was re-arrested before he had even arrived home, Amnesty said.

US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert told a briefing the United States was "deeply troubled" by Kilic's re-arrest on February 1.
CUL DE SAC:--- The St. Maarten Guyanese Association (SMGA) will be resuming its weekly meetings on Wednesday, February 7 at 7:30pm and is encouraging all nationals of Guyana to attend. The meeting will be held at its 158 B Back Street location in Philipsburg.

The SMGA will use the occasion to present the 2017 financial report and its calendar of events for this year. Members would also be invited to give their input as it relates to the association's participation in 2018 Carnival, the visiting artistes and troupes, as well as the next election.

SMGA Press Release
His Excellency Eugene Holiday

Governor of Sint Maarten

Falcon Drive 3

Harbour View

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Mr. Chris Johnson

Office of the Dutch Representative in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten

Your Excellency,

The Sint Maarten Pride Foundation, a community environmental nonprofit foundation, has been noting frequent violent landfill fires that have been flaring up before and after hurricane Irma. Even more worrisome is the violent flare-up of the second Irma dump on February 4th.

Our Group has noted that our local government has made no headway with a project of a modern waste to energy plant, or a plan of shipping waste off island.

Our concern is that it is well known that the landfill has reached its expiration date several years ago and instead of our government placing this issue as a high priority of finding a long-term solution, government instead created a second landfill dumping area.

This situation is exasperated by the mass waste of post-hurricane Irma where not only regular household waste is discarded but also combustible containers and materials that should not be dumped on landfills due to their fire flammable dangers.

Your excellency, our group is appealing to you as we have lost faith and trust in our local government in ensuring that our citizen's health is secured. In fact we are worried that our children and adults are exposed to this environmental hazard and the toxins every single day. The landfill is constantly smoking and too often flares up as raging out of control fires.

Not only are our firemen exposed trying to battle the constant fires but our residents far and wide are exposed to the foul burning odors.

We are hereby requesting you to place pressure on our local government to expediently find a long-term solution to this hazard affecting the peoples health.

Our people should not be expected to walk with face masks and close their windows and doors as a daily exercise. These procedures in fact do not even properly protect anyone from the toxic fumes.

With this letter we are also appealing to the King of the Netherlands, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander, to intervene on behalf of us the people in his Kingdom, as it appears finding a solution to the landfill is outside the scope of the local authorities.

With no headway being made by the local politicians and governing bodies, and the instability of our local governments not being able to govern properly due to government falling almost every 12 months, we are left no choice but to appeal to his Majesty, King Willem-Alexander, to intervene.

No longer should our people wait and hear political rhetoric while our people are dying of cancers and respiratory diseases.

People in the Dutch kingdom are guaranteed clean air in the constitution and so should it be for those living on Sint Maarten.

As a community environmental group our focus is not only the environmental hazard but the wellbeing, health and hygiene of our residents and visitors.

Our livelihood of tourism is at stake but more importantly our health and future livability as a people.

We trust you will take our appeal on the landfill issue and the raging fires seriously. Our group would like to see a final modern waste solution found immediately. One that we can be proud of, one where our quality of life and our future in health can be guaranteed.

Sincerely,

Barbara Cannegieter

Secretary of Sint Maarten Pride Foundation

Jadira Veen

President of Sint Maarten Pride Foundation
PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament will sit in a Central Committee meeting on Wednesday, February 7, 2018.

The Central Committee meeting is scheduled for 14.00 hrs in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelminastraat #1 in Philipsburg. The minister of Justice will be present.

The agenda points are:

Ontwerp van Landsverordening tot wijziging van de Landsverordening administratieve rechtspraak (IS/597/2014-2015 d.d. 2 april 2015) (ZJ 2014-2015-062) Advice containing proposal to retract 5 initiative national ordinances from Members of the Parliament of the former Netherlands Antilles.

Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations.

The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg.

The parliamentary session will be carried live on St. Maarten Cable TV Channel 120, via SXM GOV radio FM 107.9, via Pearl Radio FM 98.1, the audio via the internet www.sxmparliament.org, www.pearlfmradio.com and Parliaments Facebook page: Parliament of Sint Maarten.
GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Prime Minister Leona Romeo Marlin is currently chairing an emergency meeting of the Council of Ministers this evening (Tuesday) at the Government Administration Building regarding a second major fire on Pond Island.

Late Tuesday afternoon early evening, a second major fire erupted at the sanitary landfill where household trash is dumped on a daily basis by waste disposal contractors.

At the moment, the Fire Department, personnel from the Ministry of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI), and the Landfill Management Contractor, are currently busy extinguishing the fire.

Additional updates will be provided this evening.
Lets Change our relationship with plastics, from the way we design, use, reuse, and recycle

Our world has become plasticized. Products, packaging, transportation, medicine, clothing  we are surrounded by this material. As our demand grows our discarded material grows too, much of it ending up in the environment. We need to start changing our relationship with plastics, from the way we design, use, reuse, and recycle, to the way we build communities and economies around it. With previous generations failing to foresee the impending plastic pollution crisis, a new generation of global youth are taking matters into their own hands.

AdvertisementOn February 9-11, 115 students from 10 countries will meet in Dana Point, California for Algalita's International Youth Summit to debut and refine their action-oriented solutions to reduce plastic pollution in their communities. Coming from all over the U.S, and as far afield as the Caribbean, South East Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and New Zealand, these committed students already grasp the severity of the ocean plastic crisis. Each team earned a spot in the Summit by submitting their original ideas to reduce plastic pollution. Throughout the weekend, these teams, made up of students ranging from 10 to 18 years old, will have the opportunity to share ideas with peers, learn from inspiring speakers, work one-on-one with mentors and attend workshops covering topics such as strategic planning, public speaking, and how to work with policymakers, community leaders, and businesses.

"As millions of tons of plastics continue to accumulate in our ocean each year, global youth are demanding that we address the issue head-on," said Katie Allen, Executive Director of Algalita. "Our Youth Summit is a platform for youth to organize and amplify their voices and efforts. These students have a strong desire to contribute to meaningful social change, and we're here to make sure they have the opportunity and resources to do so."

At the event, students will have a chance to work directly with Captain Charles Moore, the man credited for sparking the "Great Plastics Awakening" in 1997 after sailing through a dense plastic accumulation area in the North Pacific Gyre  commonly known as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." Other Summit mentors include international leaders from Bahamas Plastic Movement, Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Programs, Green Art Labs, Green Contributor, Heirs to Our Oceans, Plastic Pollution Coalition, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Space 2 Create, The Last Plastic Straw, and The Lost Art of Love Letters.

Since its inception in 2011, the POPS International Youth Summit has provided a platform for over 500 students from 23 different countries to participate in 145 plastic pollution awareness, prevention and reduction campaigns. The continuation of these innovative projects not only empowers these future environmental leaders to make forward progress in their own communities, but also inspire the others in their lives to do the same.

Algalita is inviting the media to participate in this event being held at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, CA February 9th - 11th, 2018. For more information about attending the Summit, please contact: Anika Ballent, 562.598.4889, [email protected]

LIST OF STUDENT TEAMS

ALCHS Marine Bio Club | Animo Leadership Charter High School | Inglewood, CA

APES AGAINST MICROPLASTICS | Redondo Union High School |Redondo Beach, CA

BPM Plastic Warriors | Preston Albury High & Tarpum Bay Primary | Eleuthera, Bahamas

Conservation Club |Christian Brothers College | Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

CREECS Creek Sweepers | Cape Romain Environmental Education Charter School | McClellanville, SC

DCMS Eco Club | Deep Creek Middle School | Deep Creek, Eleuthera, The Bahamas

Free Our Sands | Beachside Montessori Village | Hollywood, FL

Green Kids Conservation Club | Delta Waters Int'l School | Maun, Botswana

H2OO Palau | Palau Mission Academy | Palau

Hinemoana Para Kore | Indigenous Zero Waste Organisation Para Kore | New Zealand

Maui Huliau | Maui Huliau Foundation | Maui, HI

PAC-kers (Plastic Awareness Campaign) | Brookhouse Int'l School | Nairobi, Kenya

Pandemonium | Burbank and John Burroughs High School | Burbank, CA

Pescadero Heirs | Pescadero Middle/High School | Pescadero, CA

Planet Heroes 2 | LWIS CiS Beruit | Beruit, Lebanon

Plastic Busters | The Pegasus School | Huntington Beach, CA

Plastic Pack | GlenOak High School | Canton, OH

Plastic Pollution Preventers | King Middle School | Portland, ME

Pollution Terminators | Forest Heights STEM Academy | Little Rock, AR

SUPPS | Cooper Academy | Fresno, CA

The Rescuers | Lycee Pilote d'Ariana | Ariana, Tunisia

WAPS Cambodia | Zaman Int'l School | Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Writing to Make a Difference | Rogers Middle School | Long Beach, CA

ABOUT ALGALITA Algalita is a global leader in the movement to end plastic pollution. Our organization was the first to expose the severity of the issue after our Founder, Captain Charles Moore, discovered the swirling soup of plastic pollution in the North Pacific  now known by many as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. With over 20 years of experience working to understand and solve the problem, Algalita is a living example of a catalyst for real change. We're committed to long-term, systemic solutions and just as we were the spark in the beginning, we're committed to being the spark that leads to the end.

Our programs are built upon four major pillars, which uphold our work to: 1) Monitor and bring attention to plastic accumulation in the open ocean through global expeditions;

2) Empower youth to become change-makers of today while preparing them to take on the challenges of the future;

3) Inspire individuals and communities to adopt plastic-smart habits; and

4) Design and evaluate solutions with industry, policy makers, businesses, and entrepreneurs worldwide while holding each group accountable for their responsibilities, actions, and impacts.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS Since our inception, Algalita has:  Developed the world's first set of research protocols for sampling ocean plastic pollution;

 Sustained an ongoing Pacific Garbage Patch monitoring program with expeditions launched every 4-5 years;

Benjamin Kay

 Helped develop a comprehensive statewide action plan to reduce sources of plastic pollution in California;

 Authored over two dozen scientific publications;

 Co-founded the world's first NGO alliance and the first industry alliance addressing ocean plastic pollution;

 Reached over 2,150 teachers and 275,800 students through our ongoing POPS Program that includes in-class science workshops, teacher training, field research opportunities, peer mentoring, and the world's first annual Plastic Pollution Youth Summit which has been the catalyst in launching over 146 waste reduction campaigns with schools, worldwide; and

 Become the first group to monitor the impact of cleanup systems in the North Pacific Gyre.
Part of a trend of schools in R1 Santa Monica neighborhoods

Over numerous resident objections, the Santa Monica City Council has turned down an appeal from a decision to allow a 20 student preschool at 2953 Delaware Avenue.

AdvertisementThey did add about 60 conditions to the preschool, intended to abate noise, traffic and the like.

The Gandara Park neighborhood mobilized against the proposed preschool. Hi, I'm a resident of SM in the Gandara (formerly known s Stewart Park) Neighborhood.

"200 SM residents geared up to attend and support our request for a denial of a conditional use permit to be issued to a business, early education center, to turn a single family, R-1 home, in the middle of our neighborhood into a business. While we support education, we are already plagued with traffic from the expo line and have deep concerns about the 50+ additional vehicle trips in and through our neighborhood," wrote local resident Christine Parra. The group opposing the preschool raised more than $8000 to oppose it.

The 1500 square foot home is located in an R1 residential neighborhood and is a typical home there. The conversion to a preschool is considered by some to be part of a trend

In 2015, the City revised it's zoning ("LUCE") and allowed among other changes, preschools in residential neighborhoods. Since then, they have proliferated, often to the consternation of neighbors.

Group of Delaware neighbors opposing the preschool in Gandara neighborhood

Laila Taslimi, the applicant, wrote to us before the hearing: "It is unfortunate readers may see the "50 children" and panic. A center can only be licensed for number of children within their parameters of square footage per child, each indoors and outdoors. While we would likely be licensed for a little over 20 based on the size of this house, at my direction the we will not exceed 20, so the CUP analysis and approval limits us to that number of 20. That cannot change.

The website preservegandara.org appeared to be the single source used in the Observer article, although my email address and telephone number are on the sign on the front lawn if the reporter came to Delaware Avenue.

Even their website correctly lists the maximum number of children as 20 (although somewhere in there I think they write 20+, which is not correct).

All our neighborhood communications (3 different fliers, plus when I met neighbors going door-to-door), dating back to 2015, specified we plan to open with 12 children and grow to 20 children.

Most importantly, our Planning Commission approval is based on that maximum number of 20. "
By Mata Press

At least one woman married to an NRI or Non-resident Indian calls home every eight hours seeking help to return after being deserted by her husband.

Complaints received by Indias Ministry of External Affairs show that in the 1,064 days between Jan 2015 and Nov 2017, the ministry received 3,328 such complaints.

The numbers provide a glimpse into the scourge of India's abandoned brides who are victims of cultural fraud which is perpetuated by greed and fueled by a manic desire to go overseas.

Lured by the promise of large dowries, prospective grooms frequently breeze in every year from the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe marry, then rush back home with the spoils, leaving behind what have become known as "abandoned brides".

Today, across India, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 young women live to regret marriages that have left them alone, miserable and consumed with shame.

Most of the women are originally from Punjab and Andhra-Telangana followed by Gujarat, say lawyers, activists and people working in Indian missions abroad. The National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development, in its study on deserted women some years ago, also confirms this fact, local media reported.

The South Asian Post and its sister papers were among the first newspapers in Canada to highlight and investigate this social menace five years ago.

With an estimated 30,000 brides being abandoned every year, usually by husbands living overseas, India's Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs has recommended that families hire private detectives to vet suitors and avoid being conned into giving away dowries, which are officially outlawed but are still common among the wealthy.

The ministry estimates that hundreds of thousands of brides are lied to or misled each year.

While arranged marriages between Indo-Canadians and Indian nationals have a time-honoured and successful history, police in the state of Punjab, from which 75 per cent of B.C.'s Indo-Canadian population originates, say many of these marriages today are frauds.

Lawyer Daljit Kaur, a womens rights activist, from Chandigarh has been in the forefront of fighting this penance since the early 2000.

We need a cohesive plans that is recognized internationally to stop this scourge, said Kaur.

She is currently working to connect lawyers in various countries to her NGO specifically being set up to held abandoned brides and women NRIs in disputes overseas.

This is to be a portal which will have information on lawyers and NGOs working in this field. It will also contain information on rules and regulation related to these kind of issues. It will act as a single-point redressal system for women to voice their grievances and guide them to seek help from civil society groups.

I am also completing a book on what resourses are available for Indian women in distress overseas and what they should do to get help, said Kaur.

Other suggestions brought forward to the government include a special marriage visa application, registration of marrying an Indian on the national id card and a security clearance check which would include marital status.

Last month, the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) said it is planning to undertake research project to evaluate problems faced by women married to NRI men.

There have been several cases where Non-Resident Indian men have left their wives in India and no research studying the condition of the abandoned wives has been conducted so far, ICSSR chairman BB Kumar said, PTI reported.

The culture by NRI men to come to their homeland and marry girls here is quite old but not all the times these marriages are successful. There have been so many cases when the grooms left the brides here itself or forged certain details about themselves, Kumar added.

The council is yet to approve and sanction the research project and is studying the subject. After the feasibility study is done and material for the research is collected, the project will be authorized and the work will commence.

Kumar noted that no research has been conducted on how many such marriages take place in the country and where do these women stand after a few years of marriage, the report added. What happens to those girls who are cheated on pretext of being NRI brides? Do we need stricter norms? All these need to be studied, he said.

Maneka Gandhi, the Minister for Women and Child Development said last year that the Indian government is planning to collect data on all registered marriages to make NRI grooms more accountable and curb incidents of desertion of wives in a foreign country.

A high-level committee set up to research and formulate guidelines for safeguarding the rights of NRI wives had recommended last year that NRIs who harass and desert their wives could face severe punishment, including cancellation of passport.
Guest Commentary

By Aparna Sanyal

New Canadian Media

We have yet to understand the impact of covert racism and misogyny on the mental health of Canadian citizens, particularly ethnic women. However eager they are to contribute to society, however skilled they may be, they face a unique combination of social isolation and career limitations that can trigger illness.

My personal story perhaps speaks to many women from ethnic backgrounds in Ontario and all over Canada. After all, mental illness accounts for about 10 per cent of the burden of disease in Ontario, yet receives just seven per cent of healthcare dollars. Relative to this burden, estimates show that it is underfunded by about $1.5 billion.

My journey to the depths of despair began somewhere around 2014, when after several years of untreated, chronic depression, I developed psychosis. I remember it as the terror. I lived alone, had no family in Canada (although I was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec) and had a precarious job as a freelance writer-editor. Somewhere along the way, I thought moving to Toronto might help, but that turned out to be a disaster as well.

The terror began when my editor at a national publication was promoted, and I could no longer expect regular work. The $250 dollars I received from them every month was significant. I made $500-600 a month in total, if I was lucky; I had looked for over a year for more secure and lucrative employment, to no avail.

But the terror I felt was, I realize, largely social. I feared marginalization more than I feared hunger. My former editor had been an encouraging man, one who made me feel valued as a writer. When I no longer had that monthly job, it was as though my only railing on a cliff fell away. I had already questioned my worth to myself, and the answer was now confirmed by the outside world. What value was there to me now? It was as though I had seized to exist.

39% of Ontario workers indicate that they would not tell their managers if they were experiencing a mental health problem.-Centre for Mental Health and Addiction

After this, the terror came upon me, sudden and all-encompassing. Public Health Ontario estimates the disease burden of mental health at 1.5 times greater than that of all cancers put together and I was feeling every bit.

I lived in a sort of dormitory house near the University of Toronto, on Madison, a Victorian bay-and-gable mansion that had been cut into rickety, rented rooms. We did not have a personal letter box. Our letters were placed on a table near the entrance. I noticed my bank had not sent me the last monthly statement. I became certain my next-door neighbour, a young red-headed man who seemed to be in his room all the time, had stolen it. My problems began to proliferate. I could not find a toenail-clipper, and this only confirmed my suspicions about my neighbour; then I discovered I could not find an old sweater and a journal, and became convinced he had taken these too.

Around that time, I began to smell a strange odour. I thought it might be a noxious drug seeping from his room, but I could not identify it. At night I huddled under my comforter, hoping to protect my lungs from the fumes. As I heard my neighbour moving about restlessly at night, I imagined he was only waiting to do me harm. I also began to think I was being followed, by my neighbours or perhaps by the then-conservative government, whom I thought might have started tracking my strong political beliefs. I began to fret about being anywhere alone, especially in my room. I walked around the city and spent as much time in cafes and parks, as the homeless do. I was unable to sleep at night.

One night, convinced I was under imminent threat  for my neighbour seemed to have banged against my door I fled the house and called the police. Little need be said about the fiasco that followed, except that one short, tired, blond sergeant shouted at me, and suggested to her two constables, one of Asian origin and one South Asian, that I might be drunk. (I did not drink.)

They had come up to the room with me, and had tried to stir up my neighbour, but he did not answer. At first, they listened to my story. After I told them about the possibility of my neighbour having made a wax key to break into my room, they lost patience. The sergeant threatened to have me charged. I still remember that she kept telling her colleagues, After all, its not as though she works in an office! My desk, laptop, books, and papers, which were before her, had no significance. I was illegitimate in her eyes because I did not work in an office.

The next morning I promptly moved into the Holiday Inn nearby. I called several womens shelters around town. The sympathetic co-ordinators pointed out that their beds were full. The only one available was too far away, in another borough.

There was no one in the country of my birth for me to turn to. I had, over the previous years, alienated many people from my life. I had lost faith in the Montreal arts community I had worked in for eight years. I had developed an aversion to what I saw as its insular, largely white milieu, and sensed it could only abuse me. This sense, extreme as it was, was rooted in reality.

My depression had started a couple of years back, after I had left a debilitating job as an Editor and Executive Director of a well-known Montreal publication. The job, I think in retrospect, had been one often taken by women and minorities. It had been given an inflated title, but left one overworked and under-paid. The board of the organization that ran it was composed of local publishers, mainly old, male and white, who had created it as a para-governmental agency. With federal and provincial grants, they had created jobs that the government deemed necessary but refused to do itself or pay for adequately. I had made $18 an hour, a third of what I had made when working for the government a few years before. I had been paid for 30 hours a week, but worked 60.

For almost two years I had worked around the clock. My health had rapidly deteriorated. My employers had been unhelpful and unfriendly. They had rarely responded to my emails when I required information or a signature, and I often had to travel the city to find them. In spite of my difficulties, I had increased the budget and improved the magazine of the organization. Yet I had been invariably criticized by the board. I had begun to cry every night, and occasionally dreamt of suicide. My social skills had become jagged, unreliable. I had snapped at colleagues and clients. I had met a therapist, a European woman, to whom I did not mention my thoughts of suicide. She had suggested I quit my job. I had eventually fought with my board and resigned in a fit of anger, without first securing another job.

After this, I felt hopeless. Each time my mind turned to the people who shared my environment, my heart grew heavy. I could not help brooding on the daily racial slights I endured within an overwhelmingly white community: one well known director, introduced to me, turned away without speaking to me and asked the person introducing me whether I was her bookkeeper; that person was someone with whom I shared a large space, and who suggested to me, since I disliked using the air-conditioner in the summer, that my ethnicity made it easier for me to bear the heat. These micro-aggressions were little in themselves, but together, happening regularly, as I grew more depressed, they further intensified my sense of alienation.

I had enough money to isolate myself and devote myself to my own reading and writing. When the money began to run out, I made the huge leap to Toronto, where I could start afresh. It was a disastrous decision.

After two days in the Holiday Inn near the Madison house, feeling unsafe, I relocated to an International hostel in Kensington. My terror was so great now that I prepared to fly to Kolkata, India, where I had inherited a house, and would be surrounded by people familiar to me, of my own origin. One day, I spotted a red-headed panhandler near the hostel who looked eerily like my former next-door neighbour; seeing him triggered both my sense of alienation and intense fear of poverty. Inevitably, I felt the need to leave the hostel.

I stayed, during these three weeks of terror, in five hotels. They cost me roughly $10,000 and I received no security from them; each successive place of sanctuary turned into a house of horror. I must have contacted the police five times, expressing my fears. I tried to tell many people about the drugs I could smell in my rooms  from policemen to maids to night-managers. But they smelt nothing and were puzzled that I could not specify what I smelt. Only one person told me I should see a doctor. A young, Asian constable in a police station I had run to one night, he said, All Im saying is that you should see your family doctor. Because if you are mentally ill, you will be the last person to know.

I went to a hospital eventually, because I was so anxious I felt I could hardly breathe. The nurse suspected my illness, and asked if I saw things that others didn't see; I said no, for I smelt things others didnt smell. The medics performed a brain CT on me. It was normal, and I was sent back to my hotel.

I was bitter. I felt I was being forced to flee the country of my birth, and somewhere in my pent-up mind I thought this was because I was a social threat. This happened to be somewhat true, but not in the way my sickness told me it was. Simply put, as a brown, thinking, writing woman, I was negligible in the society I had been born in. Its various attacks on my mind, from micro-aggression to economic hardship to isolation, caused my mental illness and my ejection from that society.

Aparna Sanyal is a writer and journalist who has worked with the Globe and Mail, the Gazette, the Montreal Review of Books, and Rover. She has been an advocate of mental health awareness and is presently pursuing a Masters degree in English at McGill University. This piece is part of the "Ethnic Women as Active Participants in Ontario" series.

http://newcanadianmedia.ca/component/k2/43073-being-brown-and-depressed

This piece was originally appeared in New Canadian Media.

See http://newcanadianmedia.ca/component/k2/43073-being-brown-and-depressed
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'All indications' Syria using chlorine weapons: France



Paris, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2018



France said Wednesday that "all indications" suggest the Syrian regime is using chlorine weapons in its nearly seven-year civil war against rebel forces.

"All indications... tell us today that chlorine is being used by the regime at present in Syria," Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television.

"I'm weighing my words because as long as we haven't completely documented this we have to stay prudent," he said.

UN war crimes investigators said Tuesday that they were studying "multiple" reports that chemical weapons have been used in the rebel-held zones of Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus, and in the northwestern Idlib Province in recent weeks.

The United States said this week there was "obvious evidence" of recent chlorine gas attacks, including in Eastern Ghouta.

Asked how France would respond, Le Drian pointed to the "partnership against impunity" agreed by two dozen countries in January to ensure that perpetrators of chemical attacks in Syria are held accountable.

But he did not allude to any other response, including military retaliation, that France might take against the regime of President Bashar Al-Assad if the attacks are confirmed.

Shortly after taking office last year, French President Emmanuel Macron said chemical attacks in Syria would be a "red line" for France.

Le Drian also said Kurdish forces fighting the Islamic State group in northeast Syria had detained "about 100" French jihadists.

"We're being told that about 100 have been arrested by the Kurds in Syria," he said.

French officials have shown little inclination to repatriate any of these captured fighters, as well as those facing potential death penalties in Iraq, saying they should face local courts.
New raids on battered Syria rebel enclave kill 7: monitor



Beirut, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2018



A fresh round of Syrian air strikes on rebel-held towns near the capital killed seven civilians on Wednesday, a monitor said, the third consecutive day of ferocious bombing.

"Seven civilians were killed and 15 wounded in a Syrian regime air strike on the town of Hammuriyeh," said Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Another 20 were wounded in government air strikes on two other towns, as artillery fire hit other parts of the Eastern Ghouta region, he said.

The rebel-controlled enclave has faced escalating bombardment in recent days, with 80 civilians killed on Tuesday, including 19 children.

"This was the highest civilian toll in Syria in nearly nine months, and one of the bloodiest days for Eastern Ghouta in several years," Abdel Rahman told AFP.

Home to an estimated 400,000 civilians, the Eastern Ghouta region has been included in a de-escalation deal that was meant to bring calm.

More than 340,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict in Syria erupted in March 2011.
Planning under way for Trump's military parade: Dunford



Bangkok, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2018



The US military's top officer said Wednesday that planning is under way after President Donald Trump ordered a military parade, an unconventional demand that has drawn comparisons to sabre rattling more commonly associated with autocrats.

"I am aware of the president's request and we are in the initial planning stages to meet the president's direction," General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a visit to the Thai capital Bangkok.

Dunford is the first top US military official to publicly address Trump's longstanding wish for a large-scale military parade, which the White House confirmed Tuesday.

The general did not address a question on whether it would be a good use of military resources.

The United States normally holds military parades to mark the end of conflicts, such as in 1991 when President George H.W. Bush held a National Victory Parade in Washington to celebrate the end of the Gulf War.

Trump's request may well be popular among many Americans but has drawn scorn from critics, who said it would be a waste of money and was akin to events organised by authoritarian regimes.

Dunford's visit to junta-ruled Thailand is part of a week-long tour of the US military's enormous Pacific Command area.

He met his Thai counterpart Tarnchaiyan Srisuwan, as well as Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and Prayut Chan-O-Cha, the leader of the junta.

After a hiatus following the 2014 coup, relations between Washington and Bangkok have resumed and Dunford said he looked forward to a continuing military-to-military relationship.

"They (Thailand) have been a good, strong partner for a long time. Our overall strength globally, but in particular in the Pacific, is our network of allies and partners. And so Thailand is an important part of that overall network," Dunford told reporters travelling with him.

The praise was offered despite the junta's recent postponement of a November 2018 election date which the junta chief announced after a White House visit in October.

The US has consistently urged the generals to follow through on a promised return to democracy.

But they have repeatedly let the poll timeline slip and maintained a tight lid on dissent, with bans on politics and protests of any kind.

Dunford later said in a statement that he is "very encouraged by the Thai leadership's commitment to return to a democratic government."

"This would allow us to deepen our relationship in the years ahead," he said.
Nigeria to send troops to restive central states: army



Abuja, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2018



Nigeria's army on Wednesday said it would send troops into the country's volatile central states to quell violence between farmers and herders that has killed hundreds in recent weeks.

Major General David Ahmadu said the deployment from February 15 would crack down on "herdsmen/farmers clashes and attacks on innocent members of our communities, particularly in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa state by armed militias".

The operation will also target "armed banditry, kidnapping and cattle rustling" in Kaduna and Niger, plus other crimes in Kogi, he added.

Ahmadu, who is the army's head of training and operations, said criminal activities had "continued unabatedly in these states despite the efforts by sister security agencies to curb them".

There was no immediate indication of the number of troops involved.

But Ahmadu said operations would include "raids, cordon and search operations, anti-kidnapping drills, road blocks, check points and show of force as well as humanitarian activities".



- 'Additional resources' -



Amnesty International said last week that 168 people had been killed in communal violence between herders and farmers this year alone, with about a hundred in Benue state.

The global watchdog warned the violence was "spiralling" out of control.

The International Crisis Group warned in a report published last September said some 2,500 people were killed on both sides in 2016.

It warned the conflict was becoming "as potentially dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast".

Political opponents of President Muhammadu Buhari have seized on the issue because of his perceived inaction towards the violence -- and his own ethnicity.

Like the herders, Buhari is an ethnic Fulani from the mainly Muslim north, while the farming communities are in the largely Christian south.

The police have also been accused of not doing enough to end the violence, which has seen tit-for-tat attacks between farmers and herders.

Buhari on Tuesday visited Lafia, the state capital of Nasarawa, and said his government was "working day and night to ensure peace and stability returns".

"We have deployed additional resources to all the affected areas to maintain law and order. The attacks by suspected herdsmen and other bandits will not be tolerated," he added.

"I appeal to all Nigerians to refrain from reprisal attacks."



- Climate change -



Thousands of people have been killed in recent decades in the long-running dispute, mainly over land and grazing rights.

But the violence has become increasingly politicised and exacerbated by religious and ethnic rivalries.

Desertification has pushed the cattle drivers further south in search of land and water for their livestock, leading to accusations from farmers that herds have ruined their fields.

Cattle rustling and kidnapping for ransom have become a problem in state such as Kaduna and Niger as a result of Nigeria's wider economic troubles, that have forced some into criminality.

Last month, two Americans and two Canadians were kidnapped on the Kaduna to Abuja road but later released.
Blow to Macron plans for pan-EU MEPs after Brexit



Strasbourg, France, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2018



The European Parliament on Wednesday rejected proposals backed by French President Emmanuel Macron for the introduction of some pan-EU lawmakers after Brexit.

MEPs approved an overall package of reforms including a system giving the largest group in parliament the right to choose a successor to European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

But they voted against a plan for so-called "transnational lists" -- which would allow 30 of the 73 seats vacated by Britain to be elected on pan-European tickets, instead of by standing in individual member states.

Macron, the energetic young French leader, had strongly backed the idea as part of his ambition for a sweeping reboot of the European Union once Britain leaves in March 2019.

He also reportedly had wanted to launch his Republic on the Move party -- the centrist, pro-EU movement that shook up French politics as Macron rocketed to the French presidency last year -- on a European level ahead of next year's EU elections.

Macron's office said it regretted the European Parliament's decision but said that "France will continue to defend this idea" in the future.

He won support from Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who questioned why national leaders would now back the system for picking a new EU commission chief -- called Spitzenkandidat, or leading candidate in German.

"Why should we have Spitzenkandidaten if we have no transnational list for elections?!" he said in a personally signed tweet.



- 'Weep not!' -



Many European leaders had feared the idea would be hijacked by anti-EU candidates, for example France's Marine Le Pen or Greek former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

Varoufakis, the leftist who led a brief but fiery resistance against the eurozone in bailout talks in 2015, said Wednesday's decision was a "major own goal, but weep not!", as he was coordinating a list of candidates in several countries to join forces.

The next European elections will take place in May 2019, two months after Britain leaves the EU.

The European Parliament warned on Wednesday that it would vote against any candidate to replace Juncker who was not chosen by the assembly's biggest political bloc.

"Parliament is ready to reject any contender for EU Commission president who is not nominated as a 'lead candidate' ahead of the 2019 EU elections," it said in a statement after backing the plan by 457 votes to 200 against, with 20 abstentions.

The system -- widely known as "Spitzenkandidat" or lead candidate -- was used to pick Juncker in 2014 and MEPs say it makes the choice more democratic.

But it is opposed by many national leaders who view it as a backroom stitch-up that freezes out the governments of EU member states.
Trump's military parade plan sparks backlash



Washington, Feb 7 (AFP) Feb 07, 2018



President Donald Trump's dream of hosting a military parade in Washington was met with widespread derision Wednesday, with critics seeing evidence of creeping authoritarianism.

White House and military officials confirmed that planning for the event was already underway, but said a date had not yet been decided.

Democratic lawmakers leaped to pillory Trump's plan as an "idiot" and "authoritarian" idea from a "Napoleon in the making."

Meanwhile support was thin on the ground, even among Trump's advocates in Congress.

Republican Senator Lyndsey Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill a parade "makes sense," with some caveats.

"I'm not looking for a Soviet-style hardware display. That's not who we are. It's kind of cheesy, and I think shows weakness quite frankly," he said.

"But have a parade where we can display our finest and we can all say 'thank you' and honor them would be fine."

Top Trump ally Republican Congressman Jim Jordan suggested further deliberation was needed. "We'll have that debate," he said.

While military parades are a highlight of the calendar in Moscow, Pyongyang and Paris, they are rare in the United States, where displays of patriotism usually take the form of flag-waving, fireworks and grilled hotdogs.

The last major parade in Washington took place in 1991 after the Gulf War, when missiles and tanks rolled through the streets of the capital.

As commander-in-chief, Trump could order the military to carry out a parade without any further debate.

But in a sign of possible tensions between Trump and his own staff, White House officials stressed the idea was still in "discussion."

"We haven't made a final decision," said press secretary Sarah Sanders. "We are simply exploring options."

Trump's parade might be a showcase of American muscle, but would also undoubtedly focus on his role as commander-in-chief.

Since taking office, Trump has frequently touted his support for the US military and placed high ranking generals in top White House and Cabinet posts.

Even before being president he had mulled the possibility of a parade for his inauguration in January 2017, but the plan was scrapped.

The idea appears to have been rekindled when Trump visited Paris last July for Bastille Day, when the 45th president made no secret of his awe for the pomp and ceremony of the occasion.

Sitting on the Champs-Elysees, Trump marveled at the Republican Guard on horseback, jets flying overhead, and warmly greeted President Emmanuel Macron, who arrived in an open-topped camouflaged military jeep.

Months after that meeting, Trump publicly remarked: "So we're actually thinking about Fourth of July, Pennsylvania Avenue, having a really great parade to show our military strength."

Sanders said Trump's intention was rather to have "a celebration" of the military.

Still, Trump's request immediately fueled comparisons to similar events in autocratic countries.

Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison described it as "the Exalted Leader's latest idiot (and authoritarian) idea."

"We have a Napoleon in the making here," said Congresswoman Jackie Speier.



- 'Cadet Bone Spurs' -



Trump has already prompted fears about his respect for democratic freedoms once this week by suggesting Democrats were "un-American" and "treasonous" for not applauding his State of the Union address.

The White House said Trump was "clearly joking."

"But what isn't a joke is that Democrats refuse to celebrate the accomplishments of last year that have helped all Americans," added Sanders.

The quip did not go down well with lawmakers, both Republicans and Democrats.

"I have seen the president's most ardent defenders use the now-weary argument that the president's comments were meant as a joke, just sarcasm, only tongue in cheek," said Republican Senator Jeff Flake.

"But treason is not a punchline, Mr President."

Military veteran and Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth also fired back at Trump, while lampooning his medical deferments from service during the Vietnam War.

"We don't live in a dictatorship or a monarchy," she said.

"I swore an oath -- in the military and in the Senate -- to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, not to mindlessly cater to the whims of Cadet Bone Spurs and clap when he demands I clap."
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Algiers, Feb 07, 2018 (SPS)- Saharawi Foreign Minister Mohamed Salem Ould Salek said Morocco must put an end to its occupation of the territories of an African Unions member state as it has joined the African institution.

Speaking Monday at a press conference at the SADR embassy in Algiers, Ould Salek said "African leaders stressed, during the 30th AU Summit on January 28-29 in Addis Ababa, that Moroccos AU membership must lead to the establishment of peace between the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) and the kingdom of Morocco in line with the Rabats commitments by signing the constitutive act (of the African Union)."

"Peaceful coexistence and the establishment of a just and lasting peace between the SADR and Morocco was possible and necessary, but this cannot be achieved without Morocco putting an end to its occupation of AU member States territories and respecting the internationally recognized borders and Western Sahara peoples right to self-determination and independence," the African leaders said, according to Saharawi official.

The Saharawi Foreign Minister said African summits decisions on the conflict between the SADR and the kingdom of Morocco show that "Rabats attempts to exclude the African Union from the international communitys decolonization process in Western Sahara go against geography, history and legality."

"Those attempts cannot challenge African Leaders will to address African issues and the continent to speak in a single voice by implementing the Unions strategy 2063 and the declaration of principles of the 50th anniversary of Unitys creation."

"one year after its African Union membership and 33 years after its withdrawal from the same organization, in protest of SADRs membership, Morocco notices that AU positions have become, over time, more committed to the constitutive principles of the African Union, and especially the requirement to respect the borders inherited from the colonial times after independence, to respect the territorial integrity of the member States, the right of peoples to self-determination and independence, in addition to peaceful settlement of conflicts through dialogue and negotiations," the Saharawi Foreign Minister said.

The 30th African Union summit has adopted many decisions on Western Sahara conflict, urging the two AU summit to embark on direct negotiations for the organization of a self-determent referendum, with AU and UN support, to reactivate the Committee of Heads of State and Government on Western Sahara and to assign the ask the president of the African Union, the chairman of AU Commission and the head of the Peace and Security Council to find a solution to the conflict in coordination with the United Nations.SPS

125/090/700
Chahid El Hafed, Feb 07, 2018 (SPS) - The Saharawi Petroleum and Mining Authority expressed satisfaction with the decision of foreign companies, Kosmos Energy and Capricorn Exploration & Development Company Ltd, to suspend their oil exploration activities in the occupied territories of Western Sahara, said a statement from the authority reached SPS.

The Saharawi authorities have described this withdrawal as an "exhausting blow" for the projects of the Moroccan occupation in Western Sahara.

For the president of the Saharawi authority, Dr. Ghali Zubeir, "This withdrawal is part of a series of initiatives by foreign companies after the legal and moral pressure against these companies for their involvement in Morocco's projects that are contrary to the charter and the spirit of international law "He said.

On this occasion, the Saharawi Petroleum Authority and Mines Commission, appealed to all foreign companies activating in Western Sahara, to legalize their situation by negotiating with the legitimate representative of the Saharawi people, the Frente POLISARIO or the immediate withdrawal and of any investment in the occupied territories of Western Sahara.

Cosmos Energy and Capricorn Exploration & Development have been bound by contracts signed with the Moroccan occupation for oil and gas exploration in the territorial waters of Western Sahara in the Boujdour block for several years, it is recalled. SPS

125/090/TRA
English06/02/2018

RUDE POLITICAL PROPAGANDA, WE SHOULD PROTEST AND WRITE TO FREEMAN

BELGRADE, February 6 /SRNA/ - Renowned Serbian journalist and columnist Ljiljana Smajlovic has told SRNA that a National Geographics documentary, in which Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman claims that Serbs are to blame for the war in the former Yugoslavia, genocide and ethnic cleansing, is being used for a rude political propaganda and that we should protest against it.



She has said that Serbs should write to both the National Geographic and Morgan Freemen to express their protest against the documentary The Story of Us, in which they are accused of the war, genocide and ethnic cleansing.



I did not know that even the channel on world geography is used for a rather rude political propaganda. I suppose that Morgan Freemen does not even know for what purpose he was exploited, let alone that he knows or understands anything about the war in the former Yugoslavia, Smajlovic has said.



She has said that the channel on geography was maybe used for that purpose because one does not expect such propaganda on such a channel.



One does not expect political propaganda on such a channel and probably this is why it was used for this. This was a skillful propaganda move, Smajlovic says.



She says that we should protest and write to Morgan Freemen.



In case he /Freemen/ receives 100 letters from Serbia or Republika Srpska, he would ask himself some questions. This is the man who lives from popularity. Protesting and writing letters always makes sense. I do not know why Morgan Freemen is doing this, but in case he is deluded and ignorant, a protest always makes sense, Smajlovic told SRNA.



In a documentary titled The Story of Us hosted by Hollywood star Morgan Freemen /80/ on the National Geographic channel, claims were presented that the Serbian people are to blame for the war in the former Yugoslavia, and genocide and ethnic cleansing in Srebrenica.





In the documentary, which was aired on Sunday, Freemen is depicted in Sarajevo and Srebrenica where he met with Bosniak journalist Senad Hadzifejzovic and his son Fedja who told him that the border with Serbia is near, that Serbs came and wanted to kill them all, to separate this territory from BiH and annex it to Serbia.



Claims were presented on several occasions in the film that Serbs are absolute culprits for the war in the former Yugoslavia.



The film, which should have been a documentary, was full of video footages and information about Serbs being responsible for the war in these parts.



How far they went in their manipulation is seen in the fact that a part of the film which should have depicted the beginning of the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1992 shows video footages filmed in Belgrade on October 5, 2000, reported the Belgrade media.



Freemen later gave an interview to Hadzifejzovic saying that he was very glad to be in BiH, and while he was citing republics that came into being after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, he also mentioned Kossovo as an independent state. /end/sg
Samuel Wharry joined NSA Northern Ireland Region in 1993 and alongside several other sheep farmers, was instrumental in taking the NSA presence forward in the region. He was later appointed to represent the region as a Trustee of the UK wide association in 2012.

As a mark of his ability, Samuel was elected as NSA Chairman in January 2015, throughout which he proved to be a true ambassador for the association and the wider sheep industry with his wealth of sheep farming knowledge.

John Blaney, NSA Northern Ireland Region Trustee, says:

Samuel was a fantastic ambassador for the UK sheep industry. On meeting him, with his unassuming and easy manner, you would get the impression this man was not all that special. However, his depth of knowledge across the whole spectrum of the sheep industry would emerge after a short time in his company.

His passion for sheep was infectious and he had a great thirst for knowledge. This became evident through his input into the Blackface Performance Recorded Sire reference group and Agrisearch Sheep Advisory Board. But also, within his own flock via performance recording work and involvement in several Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) breeding trials.
3 1 of 3 Hartford Boat Show / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Hartford Boat Show / Contributed photo Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Ever wondered what it would be like to have your own boat? Already own one and looking for a newer model, or ways to improve the one youve got? Want to try kayaking, or discover how to become a better fisherman?

You can learn about all of this and more  even a career in marine services  when the 49th annual Hartford Boat Show cruises into the Connecticut Convention Center on Thursday, Feb. 8. This popular event, which runs through Sunday, Feb. 11, features more than 400 watercraft and is expected to draw over 14,000 visitors.
STAMFORD  Last Friday, Americans observed Groundhog Day, a pseudo-holiday that celebrates  or derides  the weather prediction of a large, toothy rodent.

So you cant blame the Darwin folks for wanting their day, too.

In this country, we have all kinds of designated days and holidays  Labor Day, Christmas, National Hot Dog Day, and so forth, said Cary Shaw, a retired analytics professional from Norwalk. But theres not a clear day for honoring science.

Shaw is a member of the Southern Connecticut Darwin Day Committee, which organizes an annual dinner held around the birthday of naturalist and biologist Charles Darwin, who originated the theory of evolution.

Started on Feb. 12, 2009  the 200th anniversary of his birth  Darwin Day is celebrated internationally to honor the discoveries and life of the man, and express gratitude for the enormous benefits that scientific knowledge, acquired through human curiosity and ingenuity, has contributed to the advancement of humanity, according to a press release from the committee.

Think of it as the opposite of Groundhog Day.

Its to honor the man and his achievements, but also honoring the power of rational thought and humanity to make life better, Shaw said.

The committee will hold its 10th annual Darwin Day Dinner Saturday at The Waters Edge at Giovannis in Darien. Admission includes a cocktail hour, dinner and science quiz.

The keynote speaker this year is Mark Sheskin, a researcher and lecturer in cognitive science at Yale University, who will give a lecture titled, What, if anything, makes humans unique.

The event isnt just for those with a mind for science. It appeals to anyone whos educated, curious and loves a good time, Shaw said.

Tickets are around $70 and still available at darwindayct.org.

eskalka@stamfordadvocate.com
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DGAP-Ad-hoc: Airbus SE / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

Airbus signs Declaration of Intent with A400M Launch Customer Nations



07-Feb-2018 / 17:45 CET/CEST

Disclosure of an inside information acc. to Article 17 MAR, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.





Ad-hoc release, 7 February 2018



Airbus signs Declaration of Intent with A400M Launch Customer Nations



- Serves as a milestone to help mitigate programme risks going forward



- Agreement defines framework for mutually binding contract amendment in 2018



Airbus SE (stock exchange symbol: AIR) has signed a Declaration of Intent (DoI) with the A400M Launch Customer Nations (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Luxemburg) defining the framework for achieving a mutually binding contract amendment later in the year.

Airbus, European defence agency OCCAR and the Customer Nations have agreed to work on a number of contractual elements including a revamped delivery plan as well as a roadmap for the development and completion of military capabilities for the A400M.

The DoI, finalised today, represents an important step towards reaching a contractually binding agreement with OCCAR and the Launch Customer Nations in 2018 to mitigate risks and to ensure the future of the programme. OCCAR is managing the A400M programme on behalf of the seven Launch Customer Nations.

This Declaration of Intent provides a new baseline on which to evaluate the A400M contract.

An increase to the Loss Making Contract provision on the programme, which may be material, is under assessment for the Full Year 2017 results which will be disclosed on

15 February 2018. With a clear roadmap in place, the remaining exposure going forward would be more limited.

"This agreement with our customers is an important step to further mitigate risks remaining on the A400M programme. I thank the nations for their support in this complex effort and hope for their continued engagement until we sign a mutually beneficial contract amendment," said Tom Enders, Chief Executive Officer of Airbus. "On this basis, Airbus remains committed to the A400M and to providing our customers' air forces with the best-ever military transport aircraft. However, since its inception in 2003, this programme has suffered not only from a number of operational issues but, more importantly, under a flawed contractual set-up and insufficient budget which resulted in significant losses for Airbus as prime contractor. We have a good chance to stop or at least reduce the bleeding now and deliver the capabilities our customers need."

In February 2017, Airbus called upon the Launch Customer Nations to engage in discussions with respect to readjusting the contractual set-up of the A400M, one of Europe's most important and largest joint defence collaboration programmes ever.

During a Ministerial conference on 30 March 2017 in Madrid, the Launch Customer Nations expressed their willingness to support such a dialogue and to enter into contract adjustment discussions with Airbus.

Since then, Airbus and OCCAR have set up a number of working groups assessing areas requiring adjustments such as delivery planning as well as the military capabilities development roadmap, the results of which have led to today's DoI.

In view of the ongoing confidential discussions required to reach binding terms, both parties have agreed to refrain from further comment.

*****



About Airbus

Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2016 it generated revenues of EUR67 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners from 100 to more than 600 seats and business aviation products. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world's leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.



Media contacts

Martin Aguera +49 175 227 4369

Kieran Daly +34 689 669 661

Rod Stone +33 630 521 993
Stolt-Nielsen Limited Board Recommends Final 2017 Dividend

LONDON, February 7, 2018-Stolt-Nielsen Limited (Oslo Brs: SNI) announced today that the Company's Board of Directors recommended a final dividend for 2017 of $0.25 per Common Share, payable on May 9, 2018 to shareholders of record as of April 26, 2018. In accordance with the normal settlement practice, the shares will trade ex-dividend on and after April 25, 2018 (one business day prior to the April 26, 2018 record date). The dividend, which is subject to shareholder approval, will be voted on at the Company's Annual General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for April 19, 2018 in Bermuda. If approved by the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, this will bring the full dividend for 2017 up to $0.50 per Common Share.

For additional information please contact:

Jan Chr. Engelhardtsen

Chief Financial Officer

U.K. +44 (0) 20 7611 8972

j.engelhardtsen@stolt.com

Jens F. Gruner-Hegge

V.P. Corporate Finance

U.K. +44 (0) 20 7611 8985

j.gruner-hegge@stolt.com

About Stolt-Nielsen Limited

Stolt-Nielsen Limited (SNL or the "Company") is a leading global provider of integrated transportation solutions for bulk liquid chemicals, edible oils, acids, and other specialty liquids through its three largest business divisions, Stolt Tankers, Stolthaven Terminals and Stolt Tank Containers. Stolt Sea Farm produces and markets high quality turbot, sole, sturgeon, and caviar. Stolt-Nielsen Gas develops opportunities in LPG and LNG shipping and distribution. Stolt-Nielsen Limited is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" based on information available to the Company on the date hereof, and the Company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. These statements may be identified by the use of words like "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "will," "should," "seek," and similar expressions. The forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. The Company does not represent or warrant that the Company's actual future results, performance or achievements will be as discussed in those statements, and assumes no obligation to, and does not intend to, update any of those forward-looking statements other than as may be required by applicable law.

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.

This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.

The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information contained therein.

Source: Stolt-Nielsen Limited via Globenewswire


Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money.

Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists.
Holocaust Survivor Harry Bibring sits with pupils at Henley School

PUPILS around the Stratford district heard moving life stories from Holocaust survivors who encouraged them to speak out against discrimination and hate.

Year 8 students at Henley School heard a presentation on Monday 29th January from Harry Bibring, a Holocaust survivor who came to the UK with the Kindertransport, a rescue effort of Jewish children to England.

The visit was organised through the Holocaust Education Trust (HET) in connection with Holocaust Memorial Day, which was on Saturday, 27th January.

Mr Bibring, who was born in Vienna, Austria, shared his life story, and how what he went through relates to current events today.

He said: I was saved from the gas chambers by the Kindertransport. I came to this country at the age of 13, and my sister was 15. My father died on the way to a concentration camp in a van of a heart attack. My mother was eventually killed in an extermination camp in Sobibor (Poland).

Mr Bibring, now 92 years old, speaks at 40 to 50 schools a year across the country through the HET.

Mr Bibring said: I want to do a little bit to try and educate people not to repeat the same mistakes. Maybe one day we can all live on the planet together without hate.

The presentation involved encouraging pupils to recognise and speak out against discrimination and hate.

He added: The main theme is weve learned nothing from it. Weve got to stop having prejudices of other people. The 20th century hasnt learned this lesson yet.

One of the students, Madeleine Gasper, said: It was really good to have someone here that actually experienced it and was evacuated.

Edward Xifaras said: It was amazing how he was so casual about opening up all his emotions and experiences to us. I think its quite impressive after everything thats happened.

Assistant Headteacher, Laura Laszcz, said: "Harry linked the Holocaust to modern day prejudice. He explored the issues which were happening during the Holocaust.

He shared some examples with the students about modern day discrimination. This allowed the students to consider their impact upon the wider community and how powerful words can be. Words can make a difference  both for good and evil. The power of words is the theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2018.

Another Holocaust survivor and Kindertransport child, 86-year-old John Fieldsend spoke at Sibford School near Shipston on Friday, 26th January, of the time in 1936 when Hitler visited his then hometown Dresden, Germany.

Mr Fieldsend said: As Jews, we kept out of the way and locked ourselves in our flat but we could still hear Hitler addressing the crowd. He was shouting Die Juden his voice is forever locked in my head  and I cant find the off switch.

He added: This school, like many others has an anti-bullying policy. At my school, we had a bullying policy if you were Jewish then you got bullied.

Students at Chipping Campden School also heard Holocaust survivor Janine Webber speak via a live webcast as part of the Memorial Day.
Lena Kairau

Active Families Advisor

Sport Bay of Plenty

Its a new year full of new resolutions and new exciting things to look forward to.

For some parents, it can be hard to find time, the motivation to exercise, or suitable fun activities that are fun for the whole whanau/family to enjoy.

Getting out and about is a great way to keep your whole whanau/family fit and healthy, plus your children can learn new skills that will help them in life and it is a great way to make new friends that have similar interests.

The results from the New Zealand Health Survey from the Ministry of Health conducted in 2016/2017 show that nearly 100,000 children aged two to 14 years were obese. We do not need to put that burden onto our children, but as the adults in our childrens lives, we suggest you seriously think about activities available for your children to be active.

The key is to make sure your children are having fun. Ensure your children are outside more often, which will help them grow into strong and healthy adults.

This will help them develop more confidence in themselves and will establish healthy habits that are great for their body so that they are more likely to live a long and healthy life.

Do not forget to think about what food is on the table as well. Treats are okay, as long as they are occasional foods, not on the daily menu.

Here are some ideas to get yourself and your whanau/family active in the New Year:

If your children are interested in joining a sporting team, keep an eye out at your childs school or your local club about signing up for a sporting team. Getting into something new can help challenge you and you may even find a new passion!

Try to leave your car behind and go for a walk or a bike ride to the beach as a whanau/family. This can be a great bonding experience for the whole whanau/family and a great way to sneak in some exercise for the day.

You and your whanau/family can spend the day finding the answers to Sport Bay of Plentys Avanti Plus Mount Maunganui Scavenger Hunt around Mount Maunganui. With plenty of prizes up for grabs, there is lots of fun to be had!

Have a go at biking to school or to work. You will feel more awake when you arrive, and you might even burn off some of those breakfast calories.

For other ideas and information on what is available in the Bay of Plenty you can visit the Get Involved section on the Sport Bay of Plenty website https://www.sportbop.co.nz/get-involved/

Start your journey to a more active lifestyle and better health outcomes now!
Auckland

Do you consider yourself as someone who is great at Training people? Are you Health and Safety conscious? Well, I have the...



View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz
Bingeing once referred to over eating or over drinking, but thanks to technology bingeing now also means watching a whole season of a television show in a week, thats according to Netflix.

Some might watch a whole season over a stay-inside weekend. Binge watching began as a pirating term that is now mainstream following the opening up of online access to television shows though services like Netflix.

The worlds leading subscription service for watching TV episodes and movies has 117 million members in more than 190 countries - and they all binge.

On average, it takes a new Netflix member 12 days to start their first binge, with the majority of users finishing a season in just 3 days, says a Netflix spokesperson.

For users who have been a member for at least a year, 90 per cent have gone all the way and had their First Netflix Binge. According to Netflix, these are the shows that users binge first in New Zealand overall:

 Orange is the New Black

Convicted of a decade old crime of transporting drug money to an ex-girlfriend, normally law abiding Piper Chapman is sentenced to a year and a half behind bars to face the reality of how life changing prison can really be.

The offense occurred 10 years before the start of the series and Piper has since moved on to a quiet, law-abiding life among New Yorks upper middle class. Her sudden and unexpected indictment severely disrupted her relationships with her fiance, family and friends.

In prison, Piper is reunited with Alex (who named Piper in her trial, resulting in Pipers arrest) and they re-examine their relationship. Piper also learns to survive in prison and how to overcome its numerous, inherent struggles. Episodes often feature flashbacks of significant events from various inmates and prison guards pasts. These flashbacks typically explain how the inmate came to be in prison or develop the characters backstory.

The show pays close attention to how corruption, drug smuggling, funding cuts, overcrowding and guard brutality affect the prisoners health and well-being and the prisons basic ability to fulfill its fundamental responsibilities and ethical obligations as a federal corrections institution operated by a private business.

 Vikings

Now in its fifth season, the series traces the fortunes of Ragnar Lothbrok and his rise in Viking society. Bingeing five seasons, 58 episodes in one week?

 Stranger Things

A Sci-fi horror set in a fictional Indiana town in the 1980s. The first season focuses on the investigation into the disappearance of a young boy amid supernatural events occurring around the town including the appearance of a girl with psychokinetic abilities who helps the missing boys friends in their own search. The second season, titled Stranger Things 2, is set a year after the first, and deals with attempts of the characters to return to normal and consequences that linger from the first season.

 13 Reasons Why  Suits  Narcos  Jonah from Tonga  Prison Break  The Last Kingdom  American Horror Story

The bingeing analysis focused on members who joined in the past five years. All TV series were included, except for Kids/Family content and seasons with fewer than five episodes.
A Bay of Plenty couple with a mission to do good for those less fortunate, are set to return to South Sudan for the second year in a row.

Amy Nilsson, a nurse, and Travis Nilsson, a builder, say theyre returning to the war-ravaged country because there is still so much work to do.

One of the first things that encouraged us to head over was hearing about two kiwi doctors who live and volunteer in South Sudan with their family.

We found about them and we were super passionate to serve, so we ended up heading over there for six months last year.

The couple married in January of last year and spent the first six months of their marriage volunteering.

While Trav was helping with building a new clinic, I was running a ward for very ill children and mothers.

Weve been overwhelmed by how much work there is to do there, theres so much need and suffering.

We worked so hard when we were there last year and we felt like we needed to go back because theres so much more we can do.

This time around Travis will be leading the build of a child and maternity ward, designed as a space to treat patients.

At the same time hes going to teach some of the local guys the basics on how to build.

The current ward is very run-down, dirty and bat invested. Its also way too small for the numbers we see in the heat of malaria season and lacks the basics of even a wash basin to wash hands between patients.

Amy says she will continue to run the current ward and educate local community health workers lacking basic health education.

She has done volunteer work in Thailand, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe and her husband has previously done builds in Vanuatu as well.

She says its a big sacrifice going back.

We are leaving our home, our jobs and our family - putting ourselves at risk in a very unstable country - to serve the poorest of the poor. South Sudan truly is one of the poorest nations on earth. It has nothing.

I will have to quit my job and we will have to rent our house out. Last time around I was lucky in that I was able to take leave and we were able to hold my role, but this time Ive unfortunately had to resign.

She says they will be returning in April.

The trip is completely self-funded and the couple is now appealing for donations to help them along the way.

Those who would like to make a donation to help them on their way can do so through their Givealittle page.
The Trustees of the Virginia Smith Charitable Trust awarded a total of $191,900.00 to a number of local organizations during 2017. They include:

Chappell Child Care Center, Creek Valley Preschool, Nebraska Lutheran Outdoor Ministries for Sullivan Hills, Chappell Fire District #1, Chappell Ambulance Service, Creek Valley School Educational Foundation, South Platte Preschool, Solid Rock Bible Church for the Food Pantry, Chappell Senior Center, Chappell Chamber of Commerce, SUCCEED, Inc., City of Chappell, Creek Valley Public Schools, University of Nebraska Foundation for the SIM-NE Truck, So...
LINCOLN, Neb.  The presence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer has been detected for the first time in the southwestern Nebraska counties of Chase, Dundy, Hayes, Frontier and Franklin, according to the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission.

The Commission conducted a CWD sampling operation in its Northwest and Southwest District deer check stations during the 2017 November firearm deer season.

There were 203 positives from 1,807 deer sampled primarily in the Frenchman, Platte, Republican, Pine Ridge, Upper Platte and Plains management units. Both whitetails and mule deer were sampled....
The company, called Energia, is building a module that will be able to transport up to six intrepid space tourists to the orbiting space station for a 10-day trip.

Energia is the same company which was behind the launch of the first man in space Yuri Gagarin in 1961, and is currently building the new module named NEM-2 which will be used as the transporter

Speaking to Russian media, Vladimir Solntsev, the head of Energia, said: We are discussing the possibility of sending tourists on spacewalks. Market analysts have confirmed this: wealthy people are ready to pay money for this.

However, such an extravagant, out-of-this-world adventure will cost an equally extravagant price: around $100 million, in fact, making it an option only for the worlds truly global elite.

Included in this price will be spacewalks out of the ISS and video clips from the trip for you to post on your social media feeds.

In December last year, Russian space corporation Roscosmos announced its plan to build a 20-ton, 51-foot long luxury hotel on the International Space Station by the year 2022.
Our lady of the Candelaria is celebrated every 2 February in a number of towns and villages across Spain, South America and even in the Philippines.

The celebration is particularly important in the Canary Islands and notably in Tenerife, where the legend of Our Lady of the Candelaria comes from, but also in Colmenar in the Axarquia, and the two places are linked through her.

Legend has it that two Guanche (native Berber people of the Canary islands) goatherds discovered a statue of a woman bearing a child in one hand and holding a green candle in the other (hence Candelaria'), on the beach of Chimisay, Tenerife in 1392. This was before the island was conquered some years after the Spanish Reconquest, in 1496.

The legend goes that one of the goatherds tried to throw a stone at the statue, but his arm became paralysed and the other tried to stab the finger of the statue with a knife but it was his own finger that was stabbed instead.

Anton, a Guanche who had been enslaved and converted to Christianity during the Spanish Reconquest, returned to Tenerife after his release and recognised the statue as that of the Virgin Mary. She became widely acknowledged as a Catholic symbol by the Guanches, who moved her to the cave of Achbinico (also known as San Blas) and the first celebration of Our Lady of the Candelaria took place on 2 February 1497.

Our Lady of the Candelaria was declared patron of the Canary Islands in 1559 by Pope Clement VIII.

The original statue was a medieval gothic sculpture with dark colouring and clothing, which was washed away during a storm in 1826 and replaced with the replica in 1830.

The image is the most important in Tenerife and even today the cave is one of the most important pilgrimage centres on the Canary islands.

Candelaria is widely prayed to for protection against epidemics, plagues, droughts and eruptions of Mount Teide and other volcanoes.

In Colmenar, Our Lady of the Candelaria is one of the town's two patron saints. According to legend, a shrine in her honour was built on high ground as a sign of gratitude from sailors from the Canary Islands whose lives had been saved by local people during a violent storm that hit their ship just off the coast of Malaga during the 17th century. Ever since then Our Lady of the Candelaria has been celebrated on 2 February in the town.

The Colmenar shrine is known as Ermita del Santuario or Convento de la Santisima Virgen de la Candelaria.

A procession takes place through the streets of the town, terminating at the shrine with a fireworks display.

Our Lady of the Candelaria is also patron saint of Benagalbon and Genalguacil, as well as villages in Seville, Cordoba and Granada. In Jaen the festival is known as La Virgen de las Roscas.
Quincy Jones: 15 crazy quotes

Legendary music producer Quincy Jones is very outspoken in a new interview, covering a wide range of topics including Michael Jackson, The Beatles ("the worst musicians in the world"), the JFK assassination, and dating President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka.

"The experiences I've had!" the 84-year-old industry icon told Vulture. "You almost can't believe it."

Here are 15 of the craziest quotes from the interview published Wednesday:

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Amy Harris | AP

Quincy Jones seen on day one of Summit LA17 in Downtown Los Angeles's Historic Broadway Theater District on Friday, Nov. 3, 2017, in Los Angeles.

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Michael Jackson

Jones famously co-produced Michael Jackson's "Thriller," one of the biggest records of all time, but he says the King of Pop still "stole a lot of stuff," such as the "Billie Jean" bass riff from a Donna Summer song. "He was as Machiavellian as they come" and "greedy," Jones said.

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MJ's problems

Besides Propofol and other issues that led to Jackson's death in 2009, Jones said MJ also struggled with a plastic surgery obsession.

"Hed always justify it and say it was because of some disease he had. Bulls---," Jones said. "He had a problem with his looks because his father told him he was ugly and abused him. What do you expect?"

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Doug Pizac | AP

In this Feb. 28, 1984 file photo, Michael Jackson, left, holds eight awards as he poses with Quincy Jones at the Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. On Wednesday, July 26, 2017, a jury found that Jackson's estate owes Jones $9.4 million in royalties and production fees from "Billie Jean," "Thriller" and more of the superstar's biggest hits.

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Dating Ivanka Trump

"I used to date Ivanka, you know," Jones said when asked about President Donald Trump. "Yes, sir. Twelve years ago. Tommy Hilfiger, who was working with my daughter Kidada, said, 'Ivanka wants to have dinner with you.' I said, 'No problem. She's a fine motherf---er.' She had the most beautiful legs I ever saw in my life. Wrong father, though."

Ivanka Trump was about 24 at the time; she married Jared Kushner several years later in 2009. Jones was in his 70s.

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Stuart Ramson | AP

Ivanka Trump poses for photographers as she arrives at the Young Collectors Council 2006 Artist's Ball held at the Guggenheim Museum in New York, Thursday, Dec 14, 2006.

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Real estate mogul Donald Trump and musician Quincy Jones shake hands during a recess in the second day of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board Hearings at the Pennsylvania State Museum in Harrisburg Tuesday Nov. 14, 2006. Trump's casino company and Jones, a partner with Foxwoods Casinos, were seeking licenses for proposed casino projects.

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The Beatles were terrible

Jones says the Beatles "were the worst musicians in the world... Paul was the worst bass player I ever heard. And Ringo? Dont even talk about it." He then recalled one time Starr was struggling with a song arranged by Jones for his 1970 solo album, "Sentimental Journey," and Jones and George Martin ended up replacing Starr with jazz drummer Ronnie Verrell in the studio.

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Who killed JFK

Jones told Vulture the one thing he wishes he didn't know is that Chicago gangster Sam Giancana killed John F. Kennedy. Giancana, who has been part of several JFK assassination conspiracy theories, was murdered in 1975 before he was supposed to testify about alleged collusion between the mob and the CIA. "The connection was there between Sinatra and the Mafia and Kennedy. Joe Kennedy  he was a bad man  he came to Frank to have him talk to Giancana about getting votes," Jones said, before admitting "we shouldn't talk about this publicly."

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AP photo, 1965

Sam Giancana, a reputed leader in the Chicago crime syndicate and recently linked to alleged C.I.A. assassination plots, was found shot to death in his Oak Park, Illinois, home late Thursday, June 19, 1975.

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Marlon Brando

"Brando used to go cha-cha dancing with us. He could dance his ass off. He was the most charming motherfucker you ever met. Hed f--- anything. Anything! Hed f--- a mailbox. James Baldwin. Richard Pryor. Marvin Gaye," Jones told Vulture. When asked if the acting legend really slept with Pryor and Gaye, Jones simply frowned and said "Come on, man. He did not give a f---."

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Actor Marlon Brando, right, poses with his arm around James Baldwin, author and civil rights leader, in front of the Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial, August 28, 1963, during the March on Washington demonstration ceremonies which followed the mass parade. Posing with them are actors Charlton Heston, left, and Harry Belafonte.

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Why today's pop music isn't as good as it was

Modern pop music is "just loops, beats, rhymes and hooks," Jones complained. "The greatest singer in the world cannot save a bad song. I learned that 50 years ago, and its the single greatest lesson I ever learned as a producer..."

"Producers now are ignoring all the musical principles of the previous generations. It's a joke. That's not the way it works: You're supposed to use everything from the past. If you know where you come from, it's easier to get where you're going. You need to understand music to touch people and become the soundtrack to their lives," Jones said. "Musicians today can't go all the way with the music because they haven't done their homework with the left brain. Music is emotion and science. You don't have to practice emotion because that comes naturally. Technique is different. If you can't get your finger between three and four and seven and eight on a piano, you can't play. You can only get so far without technique. People limit themselves musically, man. Do these musicians know tango? Macumba? Yoruba music? Samba? Bossa nova? Salsa? Cha-cha?"

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Who's still making good music today

Jones said he likes Bruno Mars, Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith. "Mark Ronson is someone who knows how to produce," he added of the "Uptown Funk" hitmaker.

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His all time favorite moment

Despite numerous Grammys and hit records, Jones is most proud of how his music has touched people. "It was the first time they celebrated Dr. Kings birthday in Washington, D.C., and Stevie Wonder was in charge and asked me to be musical director," he recalled. "After the performance, we went to a reception, and three ladies came over: The older lady had 'Sinatra at the Sands,' I arranged that; her daughter had my album 'The Dude'; and then that ladys daughter had 'Thriller.' Three generations of women said those were their favorite records. That touched me so much."

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On rap music

Is hip-hop pretty much just a bunch of four-bar loops? "Thats true about rap, that its the same phrase over and over and over again," Jones said. "The ear has to have the melody groomed for it; you have to keep the ear candy going because the mind turns off when the music doesnt change. Music is strange that way. Youve got to keep the ear busy."

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Who had a problem with 'We Are the World?'

"It wasnt the rockers. It was Cyndi Lauper. She had a manager come over to me and say, 'The rockers dont like the song.' I know how that s--- works," he said. "We went to see Springsteen, Hall & Oates, Billy Joel, and all those cats and they said, 'We love the song.' So I said [to Lauper], 'Okay, you can just get your s--- over with and leave.' And she was f---ing up every take because her necklace or bracelet was rattling in the microphone. It was just her that had a problem."

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America's biggest problem

"Racism. I've been watching it a long time  the '30s to now. We've come a long way but we've got a long way to go. The South has always been f---ed up, but you know where you stand. The racism in the North is disguised. You never know where you stand. That's why what's happening now is good, because people are saying they are racists who didn't used to say it. Now we know," Jones said.

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Paul Allen can play like Hendrix

Jones said the Microsoft co-founder can play guitar and sing like Jimi Hendrix, as he learned on a yacht with David Crosby, Joe Walsh and Sean Lennon: "Then on the last two days, Stevie Wonder came on with his band and made Paul come up and play with him  hes good, man."

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U2 isn't making good music anymore

"Bonos my brother, man. He named his son after me... I love Bono with all my heart, but theres too much pressure on the band," Jones said. Hes doing good work all over the world. Working with him and Bob Geldof on debt relief was one of the greatest things I ever did."

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The last mistake he made

Jones says he regrets his 2010 album "Q: Soul Bossa Nostra," which featured rappers doing updated versions of his many songs as a tribute. "I was not in favor of doing it," Jones recalled. "I said to them, 'Look, you got to make the music better than we did on the originals.' That didnt happen. T-Pain, man, he didnt pay attention to the details."

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Jones, who's won 28 Grammy Awards in his career, is on a publicity tour for an upcoming Netflix documentary, a CBS special hosted by Oprah Winfrey, and a jazz-focused subscription service called Qwest TV.

In another interview last month, he criticized Taylor Swift ("We need more songs, man... songs, not hooks"), claimed everybody bought "dope" from Malcolm X, and described Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles as "the wildest motherf---ers on the planet."

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Reed Saxon | AP

As dozens of singers perform "We Are The World" on the 10th anniversary of the African famine relief anthem, the artist formerly known as Prince, left, stands sucking on a lollipop next to Quincy Jones, at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, January 30, 1995.
ROME, N.Y. -- A bomb threat was reported at an aviation company in Rome on Tuesday, according to the Oneida County Sheriff's Office.

At approximately 6:15 p.m., the sheriff's office responded to Premier Aviation on Hangar Road after after someone verbally threatened a worker at the facility. The building was evacuated and a sheriff's office canine swept the building.

Employees reentered the building shortly after 7 p.m.

Deputies are still investigating and no arrests have been made.
James Ball (left) appeared in Onondaga County court Wednesday morning.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- A retired North Syracuse Central School District teacher accused of fatally shooting his brother-in-law in July pleaded not guilty this morning in Onondaga County Court.

An Onondaga County grand jury indicted James Ball, 55, in December on second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter in the death of Christopher Ross on July 4, 2017. Ball was arraigned on those charges in Judge Thomas J. Miller's courtroom Wednesday morning. He apperaed with his defense lawyers Emil Rossi and Michael Spano.

Ball is accused of intentionally killing his wife's brother, Ross, after a fight. Authorities said Ball fatally shot Ross four times inside the Balls' 8468 Chinkapin Circle residence in Cicero.

At the time of his arrest, Ball was teaching fourth grade at Smith Road Elementary School in North Syracuse. He is now retired.

A trial is set for Sept. 10. Ball is due in court on March 2 for pretrial motions.

Onondaga County Senior Assistant District Attorney Michael Kasmarek said that Ross was shot at "relatively close range." To show intent, Kasmarek said that Ball had retrieved a rifle, loaded it, then made comments about taking Ross's life before firing multiple times.

Ball's former lawyer told Syracuse.com that he was exploring a possible self-defense strategy on Ball's behalf.

Ball has been out of jail on $150,000 bail since July 7. Kasmarek requested that Ball's bail be increased, but the judge ruled that it would remain the same.

He is facing 25 years to life if he is convicted of second-degree murder.
Stephen Cannerelli

By Katrina Tulloch

With so many jazz and funk bands taking Syracuse by storm, we wanted to shine the spotlight on the horn section for a hot second. Though they're loud, they're sometimes forgotten behind guitarists and vocalists.

Here, we highlight some of the finest local trombone and trumpet players -- the literal top brass in town. Are they the best to ever grace the stages of Syracuse? Impossible to say. Music is subjective. We'll just say this -- if you want to call yourself a true CNY music fan, you have to love watching them play those horns.

Trumpets draw a certain type of person. After all, it's historically a signal instrument.

"It's your job to make people pay attention," said trumpet player Lee Turner. "You have to be loud. You have to play big fanfares. If you don't have the attitude for that, you probably shouldn't be playing the trumpet."

Nick Frenay, who has played both trumpet and trombone, agrees these musicians tend to share many personality traits. Boldness. Confidence. Brassiness.

"I think trumpet players have a stereotype of being cocky, showy jocks," said Frenay. "There's a certain humility that comes with playing trombone. You're doing lots of pads between the loud trumpet notes and melodic sax parts. Like the bass, sometimes trombone seems unglamorous but it's important."

We didn't include saxophone, flute or clarinet players in this story. They are woodwinds, and those reedsuckers deserve their own list. We left off tuba and French horn players too, because they also should have their own feature.

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David Lassman

Jeff Stockham

Jeff Stockham may be among the most visible trumpet players in the Syracuse area. He subs for a rotating variety of bands and has even played his horn in film and TV scenes, from "Lincoln" to "House of Cards."

"His level of musicianship is top-notch," said trombone player Melissa Gardiner. "He's as good as any musician in New York City, or better, but he's here in Central New York."

Stockham was the #1 influence for players like Nick Frenay to stick with the trumpet. Frenay said Stockham's style is strikingly melodic and full of "romantic soul."

"It would always blow me away," Frenay said. "In addition to how diligent and well trained he is, he has the best taste. He sings through his instrument."

Frenay remembers when he first started taking lessons from Stockham.

"He made me read and write scales in like twelve keys, major, minor, melodic minor...I was like, geez, I thought this would be fun," Frenay said. "But he was teaching me to read and write on such an unshakeable level."

Then the "fun stuff" came. Stockham challenged Frenay to more complicated solos and chop-busting chords. When Frenay tried to give up on assignments, Stockham would needle him, "That's fine, I'll just get more gigs than you."

"He was treating me as his future competition which is the best thing a teacher can do," Frenay said.

As a Civil War reenactor, Stockham is also a member of the Excelsior Cornet Band, a Civil War brass band that uses period instruments. He owns many vintage and period horns himself.

Pictured: Jeff Stockham plays a Civil War era trumpet during a historical celebration at the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Clinton Square.

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Submitted photo

John Raschella

John Raschella is the currently the principal trumpet player for Symphoria. For 30 years, he was also the principal and associate trumpet player of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

He has performed as co-principal trumpet with the Pittsburgh Symphony and has performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra along with the symphony orchestras of Houston, Minnesota, Buffalo, Rochester and Jacksonville. He teaches at Hamilton College.

"He's a marvelous player who I've learned so much from," said Stockham.

Pictured: Barbie Mosher, a third-grader at Van Buren Elementary School in Baldwinsville, tries to play the trumpet with help from John Raschella, a musician with the SSO.

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Provided photo

Melissa Gardiner

Melissa Gardiner has emerged as a music scene mainstay as trombonist, arranger and bandleader for MG3 and Second Line Syracuse. Trumpeter Lee Turner calls her a "tour de force."

Second Line won a 2017 Syracuse Area Music Award for Best Jazz recording for its 2016 album. Gardiner started the band in 2015 after visiting New Orleans and witnessing the excitement of second-line parades following brass bands playing in the streets.

"She's a terrific trombonist and is always trying to be a positive force for change," said Jeff Stockham. "It's great to see a young player rise up and become your peer."

Gardiner, a University of Michigan and Juilliard School alumna, keeps busy by teaching at Syracuse University and Cornell and hosting weekly youth-oriented jam sessions in downtown Syracuse.

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Dennis Nett | 1998

Angelo Candela

Angelo Candela performed on trombone in many area groups over the years, and was a music teacher in Skaneateles schools for more than three decades. He also plays piano and bass.

"He's kind of an institution around here," said Stockham.

He was named Jazz Educator of the Year by the board of directors of the CNY Jazz Arts Foundation in 2011.

"Jazz is a democratic and free music," said Candela, after hearing about the honor. "It is open to individual expression and creativity. It is musicians working together to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts."

Pictured: Angelo Candela plays the trombone for lunchtime crowd at Hanover Square.

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Photo by Caroline Chen | 2005

Bill Harris

Bill Harris is a trombone player formerly with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra.

Syracuse Jazz Fest executive director Frank Malfitano called him a "trombone mainstay" who also performed with a variety of jazz bands in town.

Jeff Stockham calls him the "dean of Syracuse trombone playing."

"No mention of brass playing should be without Bill Harris," Stockham said. "His symphonic and jazz playing are great. As a teacher, he's knowledgeable, disciplined and affable. I love his personality."

Harris is a former member of the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point and the Lake Placid Performing Arts Center Orchestra. He received degrees in music education and performance from Syracuse University. He has also taught at the Crane School of Music, Onondaga Community College and Liverpool High School.

Pictured: Bill Harris and his wife, Karen Harris, of Fayetteville, pose with two trombones in their home.

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Photo by John Berry | 2000

Lee Turner

If you've ever attended Christmas or Easter services at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, you've heard Lee Turner. The longtime trumpet player hasn't missed a holiday show at the downtown cathedral since 1972.

"I've outlasted three organists," said Turner. "I've been lucky."

Turner plays mainly in the classic vein of music, freelancing for choral groups, weddings and other church services.

He taught at the North Syracuse Central School District for 36 years before retiring in 2016. When on bus duty, he often welcomed students to school by playing TV theme songs.

"As kids walked into school, I'd play "The Flinstones," or "The Addams Family" or "The Simpsons" or "Jeopardy," Turner said. "I'd also play carols at Christmas or Irish tunes on St. Patrick's Day."

During the NYS Fair grandstand days, Turner also played for several headliners, including Tony Bennett, Natalie Cole and Rosemary Clooney.

Pictured: Lee Turner, band director at Gillette Road Middle School plays his trumpet for students as they begin their first day of school.

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Michael Greenlar | mgreenlar@syracuse.com

Maureen Clum

Trumpeter Maureen Clum has led the Rhythm-Airs, a big band-style orchestra, around Central New York for over four decades.

"We're all a family and we just have fun playing together," said Clum.

As a child, Clum wanted to learn to play the saxophone but her grandfather's old cornet was already in the house. She learned to play it at age 8 and never stopped.

The Rhythm-Airs formed in the late 1970s in Liverpool, and has played hits from the 30's thru 70's at weekly gigs in Armory Square, Baldwinsville and Camillus. Clum has been featured at the Oswego Harborfest and the Northeast Jazz and Wine Festival.

Clum often plays her silver Schilke trumpet today, but she also has a Bach model, a pocket trumpet for traveling and her grandfather's old cornet, which is more than 150 years old.

See Clum and the Rhythm-Airs perform at the Camillus Elks Lodge every Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m.

Pictured: Maureen Clum plays the trumpet with the Rhythm-Airs at the 2017 Northeast Jazz and Wine Festival in Clinton Square on July 29, 2017.

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Elijah Gustus

Nick Fields

Nick Fields is another up-and-comer to watch and an alum of the Stan Colella All Star Band. Jeff Stockham, who taught Fields in high school, calls him a "tremendous player deserving of wider recognition in the area."

"He's probably gonna be the guy that takes all my gigs," Stockham joked.

He's become more visible in the last few years with MG3. Trombonist Melissa Gardiner calls him one of her go-to players to call in a pinch. You can often find him at the Funk 'N Waffles Sunday jazz jams too.

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Kevin Rivoli

George Feltman

George Feltman, original frontman and trombonist with Atlas, has been playing around town for years. He's known for his funk, soul and R&B styles.

Atlas members have come and gone, and about 100 different musicians have played abong the ranks, including trumpet player Jeff Stockham. Atlas has opened for major acts like Chaka Khan, Michael McDonald, Big Bad Voo Daddy, Kool & the Gang and John Denver.

Syracuse Jazz Fest founder Frank Malfitano called him one of the best in CNY.

Pictured: George Feltman plays the trombone during a performance by Atlas at the Northeast Jazz and Wine Festival at Clinton Square in Syracuse, N.Y., Friday, July 24, 2015.

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Gloria Wright

Joe Magnerelli

Syracuse Jazz Fest founder Frank Malfitano considers Syracuse native Joe Magnerelli "way up on the brass list" for his talents on the trumpet.

Joe Mags graduated from SUNY Fredonia and moved to New York City to pursue music in 1986. He went on to play with top names like Lionel Hampton, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Glenn Miller Orchestra, Harry Connick Jr. and Lew Tabackin. He once even played with the trumpet king himself, Dizzy Gillespie, at the Idaho Jazz Fest in the late 1980s.

He tours internationally but has often returned to Syracuse to play with local groups and at festivals like the Syracuse Jazz Fest.

Pictured: Trumpet player Joe Magnerelli performs with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra at the 2009 Northeast Jazz and Wine Festival in Clinton Square.

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Sandy Roe

Nick Frenay

Nick Frenay, son of Syracuse music mainstay Gary Frenay, picked up the trumpet in the spur of the moment. He had been drumming along to his father's rock music for years as a kid, but in fourth grade, he saw a picture of Louis Armstrong playing music.

"I thought he looked so cool," said Frenay. "I grabbed a trumpet from school and took it home and started to learn."

Only in high school did Frenay take a break from trumpet and try the trombone for a year (because he had braces) but he went on to play trumpet at the Berklee College of Music.

Frenay won a 2015 SAMMY (Syracuse Area Music Award) for his jazz-pop duo, Nick & Noah. He has joined singer Josh Groban at various points on his nationwide tour. Today, he also sings and plays bass.

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Mike Greenlar

Jake Lawless

Young Jake Lawless reluctantly picked up the trombone as a kid but eventually turned it into a passion. Carrie Lazarus also selected the Manlius-Pebble Hill grad for her "Extraordinary Talent" series in 2016.

He now plays regular jam sessions at Funk 'N Waffles, the Green Gate Inn, Limp Lizard and at the Empire Blues Brunch.

Pictured: Jake Lawless performs on trombone at the New York State Blues Fest in 2017.

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Gary Walts

Charlie Bertini

Charlie Bertini was raised in Skaneateles, began trumpet lessons at the age of 9, and started his own dance band in the ninth grade.

At 19, he joined the Clyde Beatty-Cole Bros. Circus, touring for six years as first trumpeter and later as a musical director.

Bertini has performed with Al Martino, Mel Torme and Patti Page; in Broadway shows and Dixieland show clubs; and in freelance engagements at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and Church Street Station in Orlando.

Bertini is also the founder and bandleader of AppleJazz.

Pictured: Charlie Bertini performs at the 2015 Syracuse Jazz Fest.

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Bill Palange

Trombonist Bill Palange has played in numerous local groups across Central NY, like the CNY Jazz Orchestra, Mario DeSantis Orchestra and the Bear Cats Jass Band.

He has backed up nationally-acclaimed artists including Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Jr., Bernadette Peters, The Temptations, Frankie Valli and Aretha Franklin.

He was also the band director at Oswego High School from 1986 to 2010. He still appears frequently as guest conductor for events across the state.

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Wayne Tucker

Henninger High School grad Wayne Tucker went on to perform with his trumpet in New York City jazz clubs throughout his 20s. He has performed with Cyrille Aimee and David Crosby, and now sings as well as plays.

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Peter Chen

Rob Robson

Rob Robson on trumpet has done plenty of big band and show work in the area, and has toured fulltime with national acts. He's been a fixture with the CNY Jazz Orchestra, the Salt City Jazz Collective and Salt City Brass. His style has been described as punchy and energetic.

"He plays great lead and great jazz," said Jeff Stockham.

Pictured: Rob Robson (in green) sits in 1997 with former band members from Out of the Blue.

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Nicholas DiMaria

An up-and-coming trumpeter to watch, Nicholas DiMaria started playing trumpet at age 8 and went on to study jazz at the Manhattan School of Music.

At 18, DiMaria opened the 2016 Syracuse Jazz Fest with NOTEified. He returned in 2017 to perform with the Manhattan Jazz Alliance. He's been named one of Carrie Lazarus's Extraordinary Talents and has performed in Syracuse with Tanksley.

"Nick is one of my favorite people to play with because his playing brings a very infectious and freeing energy," said Tanksley. "He has his jazz chops down and hes going to be a wonderful composer as well. Trading fours with him is always a show highlight."

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Mike Greenlar | 2007

George Coble

Retired trumpeter George Coble played principal chair for 40 seasons with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. He performed regularly as a soloist with the orchestra.

He also performed as Principal Trumpet with the Atlanta, Chautauqua and Lake Placid Orchestras, and was associate principal trumpet with the New York Philharmonic from April 1991 until September 1993.

Trumpeter Jeff Stockham called Coble one of his top influences.

"Sitting next to him was worth a year's worth of lessons," said Stockham.

Pictured: Principal trumpet George Coble rehearsing Carmina Burana with the SSO.

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Jennifer Meyers

Steve Carney

Longtime trumpet player Steve Carney hails from Baldwinsville and plays for the Syracuse University Brass Ensemble. He is known for his work with The Imperials and The DeSantis Holiday Orchestra.

Lee Turner calls his one of his favorite players in town: "He's done everything in town and he has no ego."

Pictured: Steve Carney (center) performs on the trumpet with The DeSantis Holiday Orchestra at the Palace Theater in 2008.

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Katrina Tulloch

Local music is alive and well

Want to see a superb drummer out performing live in Syracuse? Consider this list of percussion masters, from Sue Royal to Byron Cage.

Looking to groove to some great guitarists in Central New York? Go out and see any of these axemen and women from The Cadleys to Dave King.

Katrina Tulloch writes music and culture stories for Syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Contact her: Email | Twitter | Facebook
McConnellsville, N.Y. -- Harden Furniture plans to restart operations on a limited basis, a week after its assets were sold to a specialty lender.

"Initially, it will be a limited restart with a significant number of recalls," CEO Gregory Harden said in a statement Tuesday. "Not full production, but a lot more than a minimal schedule."

Harden, which has been making furniture in the Oneida County hamlet of McConnellsville for 174 years, shut down Jan. 31 after its assets were sold in a foreclosure auction to Big Shoulders Capital, of Northbrook, Ill., for $3 million. The company laid off its 172 employees.

Gregory Harden, the great-great-grandson of the company's founder, said after the sale that he hoped the furniture maker would be able to restart production quickly. Representatives of Big Shoulders Capital were scheduled to visit the company's factory on Monday.

"We continue to have very productive discussions with investors, potential strategic partners, and other parties that hopefully will allow us to complete the restructuring and return to full operations," Harden said.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
This year's flu season is dangerous and spreading quickly, with a surge in flu cases in Central New York, two deaths reported in Oswego County and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calling this year's activity an "epidemic."

Health officials suggest getting vaccinated, but it's important to stay safe in the workplace and schools, where the flu is much more contagious. Nellie Brown, a certified Industrial Hygienist and director of Workplace Health and Safety programs at Cornell University, has four tips to minimize the risk of spreading the virus.

Nellie Brown is director of Workplace Health & Safety Programs at Cornell University's School of Labor.

What did you touch?

Brown suggests everyone think about what they touched last, whether it was an ATM machine, tables, chairs, stapler or any handles. "We touch a lot of things in common and that's how diseases are spread," she said.

Clean with germicide

Be sure to clean surfaces with an EPA-registered germicide that kills influenza, Brown says. She suggests thorough and more regular handwashing, and always throw away tissues right after use. "If you are headachy and stuffy, watch your sneezing etiquette. When you cough or sneeze the droplets can spread easily six feet."

Stay home

If you have flu-like symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, runny nose and body aches, stay home. Since it's extremely contagious, employees should listen to their bodies and rest.

Tell employees to stay home

One sick person at work is doing more harm than good. Brown says employers should have non-punitive medical leave policies. "Flu can make some people seriously ill and, in addition to human suffering, the employer also pays a price for that," she said. "There's an advantage to the employer in not having people who are contagious come to work."

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- In a move that surprised lawmakers and officials, the Onondaga County Legislature Tuesday sided with a pair of stalwart critics of County Executive Joanie Mahoney over the administration.

The legislature voted 10 to seven to table a deal in which the county would pay $2.35 million buy a space in The Galleries that used to house part of the Central Library.

County officials argued it was a good deal because the county would save money it would otherwise have to pay in rent. Legislators said they weren't given enough information or enough time to vet the move.

The vote itself wasn't exactly a game changer -- the legislature will likely approve the purchase in a future meeting. But it was a tide shift for the legislative body -- a clear message from newly elected lawmakers that they won't be a rubber stamp for Mahoney's administration.

All of that was welcome news for Kevin Holmquist and Casey Jordan, a pair of Republicans who have lambasted Mahoney's administration on procedural and policy issues for years. Both have argued Mahoney -- a fellow Republican -- and her administration often overstep their legal bounds and rarely follow due process.

That was the basic argument Tuesday. Jordan said Mahoney didn't have the legal authority to make an offer on the space without the legislature's consent. Holmquist argued the whole thing was rushed and no legislator had even had a chance to read the contract. (At one point he asked for a show of hands of who had read it, earning a tart rebuke from Chairman Ryan McMahon).

Deputy County Executive Bill Fisher -- who argued the merits of the deal with Holmquist and Jordan in a caucus meeting prior to the session -- said Holmquist and others simply hadn't done their jobs. Fisher presented details of the deal to the legislature's Ways and Means committee Jan. 29.

"It shows that the legislators show up without any research or homework," he said. "It was appalling for them to admit that because they weren't able to attend Ways and Means they weren't able to learn about this until today."

For frequent followers of the legislature, the whole episode began with a familiar pattern.

Holmquist and Jordan can be relied on at most meetings to spar with McMahon and Fisher, criticize the administration and lament a lack of process. They're known for long-winded speeches and attacks against Mahoney.

Their protests traditionally fall on deaf ears. Most votes they oppose pass 15-2.

When the administration drafted a new lease agreement with the Syracuse Chiefs in 2016, for example, each argued they could not vote on the lease without having their questions answered. They begged other legislators to delay the vote until they had time to learn more about what they were agreeing to.

That vote passed 13-2.

Both Holmquist and Jordan also spent more than two years railing against pay raises for Mahoney and the legislature. They even got their own attorney in a lawsuit from County Comptroller Bob Antonacci about the raises.

So Tuesday, when each began to raise concerns about the library contract, it seemed preordained to pass, with two objections.

"Already I can feel the eyes rolling about people making mountains out of mole hills," Jordan said amid a seven-minute tirade about the contract and bad government.

But Tuesday, their effort found new allies in a trio of recently elected legislators.

First was Tom Buckel, a newly elected Democrat who returned to the legislature with intent to bring some civility and rigor to the body's discourse. He said he wanted to put aside the personality conflicts that have long derailed such disputes and focus on the facts.

His concern, he said, was that he didn't have enough information to make a decision.

"Tempers are so flared between the two institutions ... that these little niceties were viewed as a nuisance," he said. "I'm hoping we can tamp down those tempers and those relationships. Because it's just information."

After some more discussion, Republican Jim Rowley made a motion to table the resolution for a month. Ken Bush seconded. The motion passed 10-7, earning support from Democrats Chris Ryan, Peggy Chase, Linda Ervin and Buckel, as well as Republicans Rowley, Holmquist, Jordan, Bush, John McBride and Tim Burtis.

"Elections have consequences," Holmquist said after the meeting. "I think you're likely to see more of that. We have, quite frankly, better legislators than we did last term."

Fisher was less happy with the outcome. He said the county will have to cancel a closing they had scheduled for next week and will now have to talk to the owner about paying rent while the legislature mulls the deal.

The county has been using the space rent-free since November. They had anticipated closing by the end of 2017, Fisher said. The monthly rent is $18,846. He said the owner -- a limited liability company operated by David Flaum of Rochester -- could come after the county for back rent.

As for the political ramifications, Fisher said the level of debate Tuesday was disappointingly low, and some legislators had political motives. He praised the legislature's leadership, McMahon and Floor Leader David Knapp.

"Hopefully leadership will earn the trust of the new members," Fisher said. "If they don't you may see a lot of what has infected Washington coming to the Onodaga County Legislature."
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Onondaga County Legislature today tabled a law that would punish people who leave their dogs out in the cold.

The law's sponsor, Chris Ryan, postponed the effort after lawmakers expressed concerns about enforcement.

'Adrian's Law' would punish pet owners who leave an animal outside for more than 30 minutes in temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It would apply to all breeds of dogs.

The law is named for a pit bull, Adrian, who froze to death last month on the city's South Side.

Violation of the law could come with up to 15 days imprisonment, fines starting at $250 and seizure of the animal. Enforcement would fall to county sheriff's deputies or any local police or animal control officer.

Ryan, a Democrat, said he wants to move quickly, since there are several more months of winter. He agreed to makes "tweaks or changes" to the law if needed.

In a caucus meeting prior to the vote, Republicans quickly dismissed the measure as written. Some seemed to believe Ryan might withdraw it altogether.

"It's really sweeping and poorly put together," said Legislator Brian May. He said there are issues with enforcement, breed considerations and exceptions for people who own work dogs or farm dogs. "You could just keep going on and on and on about the problems with this law."

Legislator Kevin Holmquist said Ryan went to the media before he brought the law to committee. He, too, expressed concerns with the law.

"32 degrees -- many people don't even wear coats at that," he said.

Holmquist said he received 22 calls about the proposed law after it surfaced in the media. All but one were against it.

Ryan didn't waver in his support for the measure, but said he would send it to the legislature's public safety committee for review. He planned to make some tweaks, but doesn't think there should be specifications in the law for different breeds of dog.

Ryan brought with him two speakers to express support for the law.

Brian Shapiro, New York State director for The Humane Society of the United States, said it's a misnomer that some breeds of dog can be left outside in the cold.

Paulene Eggers spent 27 years with the Syracuse Police Department and then went on to work as an animal cruelty investigator for the Central New York SPCA. She said the animal cruelty cases she saw in those jobs still haunt her. The current laws regarding animal cruelty, she said, are "lackluster."

Adrian's Law will go to committee this month and could be presented again in early March.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The City of Syracuse will face a budget deficit of nearly $25 million next year, according to a report from Mayor Ben Walsh's transition team.

That deficit would almost completely exhaust the city's rainy day fund, which has been slowly spent down the last five years.

As early as two years from now, then, the city could be facing a fiscal control board -- a group of state-appointed officials who would take over city spending. It will be up to Walsh and his administration to find a way to avoid that.

The projected deficit comes from a memo compiled by Walsh's 86-person transition team. Ken Mokrzycki, Ann Rooney and Vincent Love co-chaired the transition finance committee.

"Unless cost saving efficiencies can be found and additional revenue generated the City's reserves will be fully depleted by the end of the 2019-2020 fiscal year," the report says.

According to the report, the city's fund balance to end the last fiscal year (2016-17) was around $52 million. That's money that can be used to plug a deficit.

In the budget for the current fiscal year (2017-18) there's a projected deficit of $16.5 million.

If those numbers hold true, the fund balance would be around $36 million to start the next budget year (2018-19). And Walsh's transition team is anticipating a $24.9 million deficit for that year.

At the rate things are going, then, the city would be broke sometime in early 2020.

Those numbers could fluctuate. The city has traditionally been over-cautious in its budgets -- projecting a much higher deficit than it actually runs. In 2016, for example, the budget projected a $9.2 million deficit but only used $3.5 million from fund balance.

Still, the city is in serious financial trouble.

Right now, it's unclear exactly how much remains in the city's rainy day fund. One of the concerns identified in the transition report is the inadequacy of the city's auditing systems, which the report says don't produce essential information in a timely manner.

The transition team made a series of short- and long-term recommendations to fix city finances in its report, including addressing those auditing systems. The recommendations also include freezing or reducing hiring for vacant positions. One of Walsh's first acts on the job was to promise a class of 25 new police officers to fill vacancies.

Other recommendations include analyzing tax and fee structures, looking at what other large New York cities have done, exploring a hotel occupancy tax and renegotiating the city's expired labor contracts.

Walsh outlined the city's dire financial situation in his State of the City address last week. He said he has convened a fiscal advisory committee, which is working to draft a plan addressing financial woes by this fall.

"We will not nibble around the edges of this problem," Walsh said in his speech. "We will attack it at its core. The solutions will not be easy, and hard sacrifices are coming."

Walsh's first budget (for FY 2018-19) is due by June. The mayor typically presents a draft budget in April, which then goes to the Common Council for hearings.

Walsh Transition Team Report by chrsbakr on Scribd
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney on Tuesday rushed to the defense of President Donald Trump after he criticized Democrats who didn't clap at his State of the Union address, saying she agrees with the president.

Trump said Monday that Democrats who didn't applaud or stand with Republicans during parts of his speech were "un-American" and "treasonous."

Tenney, R-New Hartford, a freshman House member from Central New York, stood out for her defense of Trump on a day when Democrats and Republicans alike criticized the president for his remarks.

"I would say it was un-American, and they don't love our country," Tenney told CNN when asked about the behavior of Democrats at the State of the Union address. "I don't know if I would go as far as treasonous, but the president is before a large audience and he likes to talk in colorful language."

Tenney, who sat with Democrats to show bipartisanship at Trump's State of the Union speech, said she was "appalled at the behavior of Democrats."

Tenney said she "thought it was terrible that they didn't clap for very American ideas" or stand to honor some of those guests who were introduced in the audience, including families whose children were murdered by MS-13 gang members.

Among those who attended the speech at the U.S. Capitol was Tenney's son, Capt. Trey Cleary, an active duty U.S. Marine who served last year in Iraq.

Trump, in a meeting with Tenney in April 2017, insisted on talking with Cleary on Tenney's cell phone on the eve of his deployment.

Tenney's comments in defense of Trump were at odds with some of her conservative Republican colleagues.

Rep. Mark Meadows, a Trump ally and chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, disagreed Tuesday with the president's comments.

"Certainly, saying that someone's un-American because of their unwillingness to clap is not something that most Americans would agree with," Meadows told CNN.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., a leading Senate conservative, said Trump had gone too far with a "vile remark" in his criticism of Democrats.

"Words matter," Flake said in a speech on the Senate floor. "Have we arrived at such a place of numb acceptance that we have nothing to say when a president of the United States casually suggests that those who choose not to stand or applaud his speech are guilty of treason? I certainly hope not."

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
NEW YORK CITY -- Want to score half an hour of the governor of New York state's time?

Try talking about Corvettes, says a lobbyist with long-time ties to the Cuomo family.

That's how Syracuse-based Cor Development Co. executives wooed Gov. Andrew Cuomo beginning in 2011, according to Cor's former lobbyist Todd Howe, who has pleaded guilty to eight felonies in connection with a corruption and bribery scheme that also netted Cor executives Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi.

Howe's testimony provided a tutorial on how an ambitious corporation can target and develop powerful politicians in high places.

Read our continuing coverage of the trial

Howe started working for Cor in 2010, just after Cuomo was elected governor. Former Syracuse Mayor Tom Young introduced Howe to Aiello and Gerardi because of his ties to the governor.

In 2011, Howe contacted Aiello via email to suggest Cor needed a strategy for connecting with elected officials and making campaign contributions.

According to Howe, Cor was being courted by politicians "from Long Island to Buffalo" but had only given locally at the time.

In the email, Howe writes, "We need to be strategic about who you support and who you reward." He also notes Cor should be strategic about who it holds back from, "so we can make sure you get the most leverage out of them."

Howe quickly identified Cuomo as a "growth area," he said.

In April 2011, he invited Aiello, Gerardi and Jeff Aiello, another principal at Cor, to a fundraiser for Cuomo in New York City.

There, he made the introduction. Howe said he prepped the executives, telling them he was hopeful the governor would be receptive to developing a relationship: First, because Cuomo had identified Syracuse as a "target" for redevelopment. Second, and perhaps most importantly, because Jeff Aiello is a collector of Corvettes.

Cuomo's love of muscle cars is well-documented.

"Watch," Howe remembered saying to the Cor executives, "If I mention Corvettes to the governor, he will park himself with Jeff for half an hour."

Sure enough, according to Howe, Cuomo spent 35 minutes in the center of a ballroom enraptured in conversation with the Cor executives.

Steven Aiello in summer 2013 proposed a follow-up: a Corvette fundraiser for the governor at Jeff's garage. He sent a picture to Howe, who forwarded it and the idea to Joseph Percoco, Cuomo's campaign manager at the time, who is also on trial.

"Take a look at this place!!!" Howe said.

Jeff's Aiello's "Corvette garage" was the location of a summer 2013 fundraiser put on by Cor Development Co. executives for Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

The campaign agreed. The guest list included Cor executives and staff, Howe, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney, Tom Young, and Bill Eimicke, a Columbia professor who has been involved in Upstate economic development projects.

The governor stayed for about an hour, inspecting the cars and drinking coffee with the executives.

Howe testified the group discussed economic development, Cor projects in Syracuse, and how the governor might be able to help, broadly.

At that point, Cor was already selected as a contractor to develop the Inner Harbor, a state-owned tract of land.

The fundraiser pulled in $125,000 for the Cuomo campaign, Howe testified.

Howe strategized with Aiello on how to make contributions. He wanted to donate $125,000, but Howe suggested Aiello split the money over five of his 35 corporate entities.

"I told him to use ones that don't include the name COR in them," he wrote in an email to Percoco.

A prosecutor asked Howe why Cor wouldn't just donate the money in a lump sum.

"I didn't want the press to look at the contribution list and see Cor," Howe said. "The media would have made a heyday out of it."

The bribery scheme involving Howe, Percoco, Aiello and Gerardi is alleged to have begun months later, in early 2014.

The judge has instructed the jury the campaign donations are legal, and no one is accused of a crime for making them.

Aiello and Gerardi each face up to 65 years in prison for allegedly paying Percoco $35,000 in bribes for influence with the state, through a "shell company" set up by Howe.

Aiello had a large showing of support in the courtroom today. His wife, who has attended every day of the trial, was joined by three young adult children. That included Stevie Jr., whose raise while he was working in the governor's chamber is the subject of one alleged bribe.

Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
NEW YORK CITY -- The very first question the defense in the New York corruption case asked star witness Todd Howe was whether he is an honest man.

"I am today," Howe responded.

Prosecutors wrapped up direct examination of Howe this morning, exposing him to lawyer Barry Bohrer, who is representing former top governor's aide Joseph Percoco. Percoco is accused of accepting more than $300,000 in bribes through arrangements set up by Howe.

Howe pleaded guilty to eight felonies in connection with the scheme and is awaiting sentencing.

Bohrer attacked Howe's credibility at every turn, noting he has lied to everyone from relatives to his dog walker. He showed 27 examples of times when Howe broke legally binding contracts.

Bohrer noted that in many instances, Howe's broken promises led to lawsuits and garnished wages. He characterized Howe's many creditors as, one by one, "joining the garnishment line."

The lawyer questioned Howe about his character and how he handled himself when he learned he was under investigation.

By Howe's own admission, he told several lies to his own lawyer and investigators before he said he "realized he needed to tell the truth and be honest." It was the best thing for him and his family, he testifed.

Read our continuing coverage of the trial

Bohrer then spent the next two hours detailing the many ways and instances Howe lied throughout his life, beginning in the 1990s when he took bought a home outside of Washington, D.C.

To finance the nearly $350,000 house, Howe testified he borrowed $82,000 from a second cousin through a short-term, month-and-a-half loan.

Howe didn't pay back the loan on time, and his relative sued him. It took five years for the second cousin to recoup his money, according to Howe's testimony.

Howe also admitted to breaking contracts with old friends, at least four mortgage lenders, a landlord, two air conditioning companies, two tree removal services, a custom kitchen cabinet installer and a tutor for his son.

In many instances, Howe said he failed to make mortgage payments on homes he was having remodeled. He subsequently failed to pay the remodelers -- and, when this led to legal disputes, he regularly failed to pay his lawyers, which led to still more lawsuits.

Howe said he didn't pay for work on his car, which was during this time an Audi Quattro.

"You were driving an Audi Quattro while stiffing all these folks?" Bohrer asked.

Howe noted the car was used.

Bohrer asked Howe about his employment during this time as well as vacations he took, including to Nantucket, Palm Beach, Martha's Vineyard, St. Lucia, the Virgin Islands, Sedona and Sundance.

Howe admitted he was employed full-time while he was failing to pay his creditors, but interjected to correct Bohrer about the vacations:

"I believe people had been paid when I went on those trips," he said.

Bohrer will resume cross-examination after lunch. He said he is expected to take the rest of the day and possibly into tomorrow. Four more lawyers have a chance to question him after that.

Syracuse.com is covering the trial from New York City. Check back for updates.

Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
NEW YORK CITY -- Lobbyist Todd Howe made around $6,500 a month working for Cor Development Co., but those weren't the only benefits he reaped from the Syracuse real estate firm.

Here's what else he said he got:

Two car leases, for Mercedes and Porsche sport utility vehicles

An $85,000 no-interest loan that he says was forgiven

Bonuses, ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 annually starting in 2012

Howe continues to testify today in the corruption and bribery trial involving Cor executives Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi. The men are accused of paying top former governor's aide Joseph Percoco $35,000 in bribes through a "shell company" set up by Howe.

Howe is cooperating with the government. He's pleaded guilty to several felonies in connection with the scheme.

Howe also pleaded guilty to embezzlement and tax fraud for accepting funds, including the Cor bonuses, outside of his contract with the lobbying arm of the Albany law firm Whiteman Osterman & Hanna.

Howe didn't say much about his Cor-funded vehicles, except that he arranged the leases through Aiello.

Read our continuing coverage of the trial

The $85,000 loan is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit, which Cor filed against Howe on Aug. 8, 2016, the same day a newspaper reported Howe was cooperating with federal prosecutors.

Howe testified Tuesday he obtained the loan through Aiello to finance renovations at his home in Washington, D.C., he said.

He said Aiello told him around Christmas 2015 that the loan was forgiven and to see it as essentially a holiday bonus. Howe later asked for documentation of the loan forgiveness when he learned federal agents were investigating.

Cor sent Howe a document, which he signed, extending the loan for six months.

Cor previously commented to Syracuse.com on the $85,000, to say Howe was lying and the debt is legitimate. Spokeswoman Maggie Truax provided the following statement:

"It's evident that Todd Howe, a convicted felon, is capable of making up anything and will go to great lengths to do so at the expense of innocent people."

Howe conceded during Tuesday's testimony that he emailed Cor in August 2016, as the lawsuit was being filed, to ask for a 45-day extension to pay off the debt. He said he was trying to buy time to avoid the litigation.

"I did not want to get into the middle of a lawsuit,'' Howe said. "And I needed time to get to my attorney to say to my attorney what do I do about this. So my thought process was just tell him I'm going to work out a payment plan, and that will buy me some time in order to figure out what this is all about.''

Howe's testimony is expected to continue throughout the week. Defense lawyers have not yet had an opportunity to cross-examine him.

Syracuse.com is covering the trial from New York City. Check back for updates.

Tim Knauss contributed to this report.

Public Affairs Reporter Julie McMahon covers courts, government and other issues affecting taxpayers. She can be reached anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992
A Catholic priest has been removed from his assignment in Lewiston following a sexual harassment allegation.

A complaint against the Rev. John Paul Bahati was lodged in late November. Bahati, 48, was serving as associate director of the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Lewiston. A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bahati was ordained to the priesthood in 2003 and had been in Lewiston since 2015. He is part of the order of Barnabite Fathers that operates the shrine.

Priest removed from Fatima Shrine in Lewiston after sexual harassment complaint https://t.co/KosY9hSMdV  The Buffalo News (@TheBuffaloNews) February 7, 2018

Officials with the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo said Bishop Richard J. Malone removed the priest from active ministry after a diocesan investigation into the harassment complaint.

"The Diocese of Buffalo became aware of a complaint of harassment made against a Barnabite priest serving at Our Lady of Fatima Shrine. Pursuant to established procedures, the diocese immediately began an investigation," officials from the diocese said in a prepared statement in response to questions from The News. "Based on that investigation, Bishop Malone removed the priest from active ministry in this diocese. Because this matter involved a Barnabite priest, representatives of that religious order assumed responsibility for further handling of the matter."

A diocesan spokeswoman said officials from the diocese had no further comment. Bahati could not be reached for comment. A source said he was no longer in the United States.

The Rev. Peter Calabrese, provincial vicar for the Barnabite Fathers USA, also declined to comment.

The News inquired about Bahati's status after receiving, by email, what appeared to be a copy of a letter dated Nov. 29 that had been sent to diocesan officials. The letter was addressed to Malone and to Auxiliary Bishop Edward M. Grosz. It was emailed to The News on Jan. 29.

The woman whose name is on the letter lives in Lewiston and is a volunteer at the shrine. She declined to comment about the complaint and the email, and she referred questions to an attorney, Michael Stewart, in Illinois. Stewart also declined to comment.

- By Jay Tokasz, The Buffalo News, N.Y.
Rockwell, N.C. -- A sheriff's deputy in North Carolina allegedly robbed a bank on Tuesday and was arrested.



Jeff Athey, 51, was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, according to WNCN in North Carolina. Athey was a deputy with the Davidson County Sheriff's Department.



He was fired after his arrest, according to USA Today. Athey worked for the sheriff's office for several years in the civil division, which is responsible for prisoner transportation.



Davidson County is about an hour north of Charlotte, North Carolina.



Police said Athey went to the F&M Bank in Rockwell at about 4 p.m. Tuesday, pulled out a gun and told the clerk he needed money, according to USA Today. He drove off in a silver Mustang, but authorities caught up about five minutes later.



All of the money taken during the robbery was recovered, WNCN said. No one was injured during the incident.



"I am shocked and appalled as anyone else about Mr. Athey's behavior," Davidson County Sheriff David Grice said, according to the station. "During his employment with our agency, he gave no indications that this type of behavior could occur."



Athey was jailed in lieu of $500,000 bond.

Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Google + | 315-454-2112
Newly released text messages between two lovers who worked at the FBI suggest President Barack Obama wanted updates on the investigation into Hillary Clinton's private emails.

Fox News reports texts sent Sept. 2, 2016, between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page said "POTUS wants to know everything we're doing." The pair both previously worked for Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of alleged collusion between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russia; Strzok was also part of the Clinton investigation.

According to Mediaite, they were discussing the preparation of talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey to give to Obama.

The texts were released in a Senate report by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), along with majority staff from the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. According to Fox News, the report "raises questions about Obama's personal involvement in the Clinton email investigation."

However, the Daily Beast's Lachlan Markay says the texts were sent three days before Obama criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin for election tampering. "It's not exactly a mystery why he'd want a full account of what the FBI knew," Markay wrote on Twitter.

The Associated Press reports the new texts were among 50,000 sent between Page and Strzok, along with messages criticizing Trump during the campaign as an "idiot." The special counsel removed Strzok when he learned of their communications; Page had left the Mueller team two weeks earlier for what officials said were unrelated reasons.

The newly released texts also include wide-ranging discussion about a variety of current events and public figures, including U.S. lawmakers, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and an encryption court fight with Apple, as well as candid assessments of their colleagues at the FBI.

Congress, Page wrote in one text, is "utterly worthless." ''Less than worthless," Strzok replied.

The newly released texts also show praise for Comey when he was questioned for hours about his decision not to seek charges against Clinton for her use of a private email server.

"God he is SO good," Strzok said. "I know," Page responded. "Brilliant public speaker. And brilliant distillation of fact."

The AP notes the dialogue also further calls into question White House characterizations of an FBI in "tatters," where "countless" agents complained about their director before his removal. Employee surveys released last year show FBI employees consistently gave Comey high marks.
Mary Strain

Mary Strain, 77, of Le Grand, Iowa, went to be with her Lord and Savior on the evening of September 3, 2021 in the comfort of her home surrounded ...
Omkar BHPian



Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Mumbai Posts: 526 Thanked: 6,444 Times

re: Toyota @ Auto Expo 2018 Land Cruiser Prado

Land Cruiser unveiled the Prado facelift which will be coming to India in March this year. There wouldn't be a grand launch as such and will directly go on sale:





The car was placed on an uneven platform to display the articulation of the vehicle:





The facelift gets a new grille:





The camera below the Toyota logo is to provide a 360-degree view of the surroundings while off-roading. A similar camera is placed at the back as well:





The new headlamps have an all LED setup with projectors for low beam:





The headlamps are off-road friendly. This means is that while off-roading, if you whack any of the front corners, the bumper will take the hit rather than the headlamp. The fog lamp at the bottom also gets LED treatment:





The 18-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels are shod with 265/60 R18 Bridgestone Dueler H/T tyres:





The rear wheels get air suspension which allows the car to have...





...a huge suspension travel range:





The rear gets a side-opening tailgate:





The tailgate has a split folding rear windshield:





The interiors have been tweaked as well for the facelift. Although there are still a lot of hard plastics overall which don't feel premium:





The cabin is width is quite evident:





Nice leather wrapped multifunction steering wheel. The cruise controls are placed on the right behind the steering wheel:





The MID is new and now gets a colour display as well:





All windows get auto up/down function. Note the sturdy grab handle on the door pad:





Quite a few buttons placed on the right side of the driver:





The sunroof doesn't extend all the way back for the rear passengers:





The infotainment system is new. The HVAC controls look old and in total contrast with the touchscreen infotainment screen above:





The controls for off-roading are placed below the infotainment screen:





The Comfort or Sport suspension setting can be selected by a switch below the gear lever. The old-school knobs for the ventilated seat control are placed behind the gear lever. A cubbyhole along with 12V power output and USB & Aux input are placed at the bottom of the center fascia:





The center armrest has a huge cooled storage space which is good enough to hold four 750 ml bottles:





Legroom for the middle row passengers is more than enough:





The rear passengers get 2 grab handles. A fixed one on the B-pillar and a foldable one on the roof which also gets a coat hook. Note the A/C vent next to the grab handle:





Just like the front, the rear A/C controls are also old school. The rear seats are ventilated like the front ones:





The third row of seats get foldable headrests. These need to be folded inside when tumbling them down:





The third row of seats can be tumbled down and brought up again electrically using these buttons:





The earlier car was powered by a 3.0L D-4D diesel engine. The same engine will power the facelift:

Land Cruiser unveiled the Prado facelift which will be coming to India in March this year. There wouldn't be a grand launch as such and will directly go on sale:The car was placed on an uneven platform to display the articulation of the vehicle:The facelift gets a new grille:The camera below the Toyota logo is to provide a 360-degree view of the surroundings while off-roading. A similar camera is placed at the back as well:The new headlamps have an all LED setup with projectors for low beam:The headlamps are off-road friendly. This means is that while off-roading, if you whack any of the front corners, the bumper will take the hit rather than the headlamp. The fog lamp at the bottom also gets LED treatment:The 18-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels are shod with 265/60 R18 Bridgestone Dueler H/T tyres:The rear wheels get air suspension which allows the car to have......a huge suspension travel range:The rear gets a side-opening tailgate:The tailgate has a split folding rear windshield:The interiors have been tweaked as well for the facelift. Although there are still a lot of hard plastics overall which don't feel premium:The cabin is width is quite evident:Nice leather wrapped multifunction steering wheel. The cruise controls are placed on the right behind the steering wheel:The MID is new and now gets a colour display as well:All windows get auto up/down function. Note the sturdy grab handle on the door pad:Quite a few buttons placed on the right side of the driver:The sunroof doesn't extend all the way back for the rear passengers:The infotainment system is new. The HVAC controls look old and in total contrast with the touchscreen infotainment screen above:The controls for off-roading are placed below the infotainment screen:The Comfort or Sport suspension setting can be selected by a switch below the gear lever. The old-school knobs for the ventilated seat control are placed behind the gear lever. A cubbyhole along with 12V power output and USB & Aux input are placed at the bottom of the center fascia:The center armrest has a huge cooled storage space which is good enough to hold four 750 ml bottles:Legroom for the middle row passengers is more than enough:The rear passengers get 2 grab handles. A fixed one on the B-pillar and a foldable one on the roof which also gets a coat hook. Note the A/C vent next to the grab handle:Just like the front, the rear A/C controls are also old school. The rear seats are ventilated like the front ones:The third row of seats get foldable headrests. These need to be folded inside when tumbling them down:The third row of seats can be tumbled down and brought up again electrically using these buttons:The earlier car was powered by a 3.0L D-4D diesel engine. The same engine will power the facelift: Last edited by Aditya : 7th February 2018 at 19:50 .
TusharK Senior - BHPian



Join Date: Jul 2017 Location: Pune Posts: 3,579 Thanked: 31,970 Times

Hyundai Ioniq @ Auto Expo 2018 Big shoutout to khan_sultan for shooting these pictures & his coverage of the Auto Expo. Thanks for sharing, man!

The Hyundai Ioniq Electric and Ioniq Hybrid have been put on display at the Hyundai stall.



Let's take a look a the Ioniq Electric first:





A quick look at the specifications:





The Ioniq comes in three variants - Full-electric, Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid. The pure-electric version has a grey plastic fascia sans the grille and orange accents. It gets twin-projector headlights:





The Ioniq has a coupe-like side profile:





Grey bumper inserts and wraparound tail lights on the Ioniq Electric. Also note the split rear windshield:





The electric version gets unique 5-spoke alloy wheels:





The interior looks pretty conventional except for the centre console which has drive mode buttons instead of lever:





Here's a closer look at the centre console. The circular thing is the ash tray:





Here's what it looks like under the skin:





The large black box houses a 28 kWh battery pack:









The electric motor along with a reduction gear and an Electric Power Control Unit (EPCU) is placed in the front:







The electric motor produces 118 BHP and 295 Nm of torque:





The reduction gear increases the torque to 310 Nm:





The EPCU consist of an inverter, DC-DC converter and a vehicle control unit:





On-board charger converts 230 V to DC:





Here's how the system works:











Regenerative braking can be activated using the paddle shifters:





Now, let's take a look at the Ioniq Hybrid:





It has a similar front end except that it gets a gloss black front grille and fascia. Also note that the Hybrid version has blue accents and a single projector light:







Rear end styling is similar to the electric version however it gets black bumper inserts and a 'Hybrid' badge:







A closer look at the rear end:





Again, these 5-spoke alloy wheels are unique to the hybrid:

The Hyundai Ioniq Electric and Ioniq Hybrid have been put on display at the Hyundai stall.Let's take a look a the Ioniq Electric first:A quick look at the specifications:The Ioniq comes in three variants - Full-electric, Hybrid and Plug-in Hybrid. The pure-electric version has a grey plastic fascia sans the grille and orange accents. It gets twin-projector headlights:The Ioniq has a coupe-like side profile:Grey bumper inserts and wraparound tail lights on the Ioniq Electric. Also note the split rear windshield:The electric version gets unique 5-spoke alloy wheels:The interior looks pretty conventional except for the centre console which has drive mode buttons instead of lever:Here's a closer look at the centre console. The circular thing is the ash tray:Here's what it looks like under the skin:The large black box houses a 28 kWh battery pack:The electric motor along with a reduction gear and an Electric Power Control Unit (EPCU) is placed in the front:The electric motor produces 118 BHP and 295 Nm of torque:The reduction gear increases the torque to 310 Nm:The EPCU consist of an inverter, DC-DC converter and a vehicle control unit:On-board charger converts 230 V to DC:Here's how the system works:Regenerative braking can be activated using the paddle shifters:Now, let's take a look at the Ioniq Hybrid:It has a similar front end except that it gets a gloss black front grille and fascia. Also note that the Hybrid version has blue accents and a single projector light:Rear end styling is similar to the electric version however it gets black bumper inserts and a 'Hybrid' badge:A closer look at the rear end:Again, these 5-spoke alloy wheels are unique to the hybrid: Last edited by Aditya : 7th February 2018 at 19:29 .






Apple's Shazam takeover triggers competition review by the European Commission, following request by seven European countries Apple's Shazam takeover triggers competition review by the European Commission, following request by seven European countries

















The European Commission has accepted a request from Austria, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden to assess under the EU Merger Regulation the proposed acquisition of Shazam by Apple. The Commission considers the transaction may threaten to adversely affect competition in the EEA.Apple's proposed acquisition of Shazam does not meet the turnover thresholds set by the EU Merger Regulation for mergers that must be notified to the European Commission because they have an EU dimension. It was notified by Apple for regulatory clearance in Austria, where the transaction meets the national merger notification threshold.Austria submitted a referral request to the Commission pursuant to Article 22(1) of the EU Merger Regulation. This provision allows Member States to request that the Commission examine a merger that does not have an EU dimension but affects trade within the Single Market and threatens to significantly affect competition within the territory of the Member States making the request. Subsequently Iceland, Italy, France, Norway, Spain and Sweden joined the request.On the basis of the elements submitted by Austria and the countries joining the referral request, and without prejudice to the outcome of its full investigation, the Commission considers that the transaction may have a significant adverse effect on competition in the European Economic Area. The Commission has also concluded that it is the best placed authority to deal with the potential cross-border effects of the transaction.The Commission will now ask Apple to notify the transaction.
While the headline may sound like it was ripped from The Onion, McDonald's french fries could hold the secret to curing baldness. Japanese scientists conducted a study that found that a chemical used to cook McDonald's fries could be beneficial in the treatment of male pattern baldness.

Scientists were able to successfully regrow hair on mice.

Hair Follicle Germs

Scientists from Yokohama National University were able to regrow the hair on mice using dimethylpolysiloxane. This is a silicone that is used when cooking McDonald's fries in order to stop the oil from frothing.

Scientists were able to mass-produce hair follicle germs (HFGs). These cells trigger follicle development. Scientists have been trying to produce HFGs to cure baldness. They were able to grow HFGs on a large scale, up to 5,000 HFGs at the same time.

"The key for the mass production of HFGs was a choice of substrate materials for culture vessel," said author Junji Fukuda, from Yokohama National University. "We used oxygen-permeable dimethylpolysiloxane at the bottom of culture vessel, and it worked very well."

Days after the HFGs were transplanted into mice, hair began growing. Scientists are hopeful that this method could be produced to work on humans.

Scientists hope to use this technique to treat people with androgenic alopecia. Preliminary data shows that this may be possible

While it is more of a cosmetic issue rather than a life-threatening one, hair loss affects a large number of people worldwide. In the United States, the hair loss treatment industry made more than $6 billion in 2016.

Other Cures For Baldness

The last time another breakthrough in the fight against baldness occurred, it also came out of Asia. Scientists in South Korea created the chemical CXXC-type zinc finger protein 5. This chemical disrupts the process within cells that controls the development of hair follicles.

Mice were also used in this study. Over a period of 28 days, the mice were given the chemical that started the growth of new hair follicles. This protein is able to control hair growth.

Scientists also found that they could speed up hair growth by applying valproic acid to the mice.

Those that are already suffering from baldness are always looking for ways to alleviate the problem. This can lead to them getting scammed. In China, a ring of scammers selling a fake cure for baldness received a sentence of 13 years in jail.

Using the guise of traditional Chinese medicine, the scammers told people that they were losing hair because of weak kidneys.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
A new species of arachnid was found preserved in amber in Myanmar. The early arachnid lived in the mid-Cretaceous age about 100 million years ago.

Scientists hope that this discovery will shed more light on the origin and evolution of spiders.

Chimerarachne

A new paper, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution showed the discovery of the ancient arachnid. The international team included Paul Selden of the Paleontological Institute and Department of Geology at the University of Kansas and members from the Virginia, UK, Germany, and China.

Scientists named the new animal Chimerarachne, after the chimera, a creature from Greek mythology. It's a creature that is a hybrid of different animals.

Discovery of the animal was made when scientists were able to get a specimen of amber from Myanmar that was sold in China.

"There's been a lot of amber being produced from northern Myanmar and its interest stepped up about ten years ago when it was discovered this amber was mid-Cretaceous; therefore, all the insects found in it were much older than first thought," said Selden.

While it resembles a modern spider, it is an ancient relative. Like the spider, it has fangs, four walking legs, and spinnerets that can produce silk. One of the major differences in this spider is the long tail emerging from the arachnid's abdomen.

Its tail may make it look terrifying, but one aspect of the animal that can quell fears is its size. Four different specimens of the spider were found and were all around 2.5 millimeters in size. That's excluding the tails, which were 3 millimeters.

Even though it has spinnerets like it's modern relative, Chimerarachne was likely not able to spin webs. Selden says that the team isn't sure whether Chimerarachne produced webs like its modern ancestor. It could produce silk, which spiders use for a host of different reasons besides for wrapping eggs.

Selden is convinced that ancestors to the Chimerarachne may still be living in Myanmar due to the lack of research done in its rainforest.

Living Fossils

Previously, another ancient spider was found in Madagascar. The pelican spider was first found in amber in 1854 and then found to still be alive in modern times. What revealed the pelican spider to be such an ancient animal is its appearance.

The pelican spider was found to have lived during the separation of Pangaea. It was first discovered in Baltic amber. Currently, the pelican spider can only be found on the island of Madagascar.

Pelican spiders, unlike modern spiders, do not make webs to catch their food. Instead, they use their long beaks to impale their prey. Pelican spiders have an extended carapace and long mouth structures that protrude from the head. These structures make the spider resemble a pelican.

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A woman from South Carolina complains about the hair dryer she recently bought from Amazon. She says it was shooting out smoke and fire.

Where There Is Smoke, There's Fire

Erika Augthun Shoolbred shared two videos on her Facebook page, showing how dangerous the hair dryer was to handle. In her post, Shoolbred complained that the company still hasn't responded to her complaint about the possibly defective appliance.

"Talk about a bad hair day! My new hair dryer (more like hair fryer) from OraCorp on Amazon.com became a blow torch on its first use this morning," said Shoolbred in her post. "A small burn on my hand and an enormous smell to my master bath - the company has yet to respond to my complaint."

Amazon Pulls Hair Dryer From Its Website

Shoolbred said that Amazon gave her a refund for the product, then referred her to OraCorp. She sent a complaint to OraCorp but the company still hasn't responded to her.

"The drier was marketed as salon grade - the product has now been removed from Amazon's site. It is made in China - and was represented much like a JINRI drier," said Shoolbred on Facebook. "The box however says Paradise Twinklers. No paradise found here. I'm just glad it wasn't more horrific!"

Amazon removed the "Salon Grade Hair Dryer" by OraCorp, however, there are still products offered by the said company available on the website.

User Suffers Minor Burns

In the video, Shoolbred can be heard in disbelief as the hair dryer starts blowing smoke, and fire on its first use.

"Oh my gosh! I cannot freaking believe this. A fire is coming out of the hair dryer," said Shoolbred about the faulty product.

Shoolbred reported that other than her minor burns, the hair dryer also caused a bad smell to appear in the bathroom. Many of her friends joked about the video, even though she almost burned her face and hair while using the hair dryer.

Answering more of the Facebook posts, Shoolbred says this experience will now be her recurring nightmare. Another friend also made light of the situation, comparing the hair dryer to the flamethrower that Elon Musk was selling.

A Possible Lawsuit Vs. OraCorp

As it appears, third-party retailers on Amazon can be difficult to deal with. Amazon just issued a refund and told her to contact the company herself. As of publication, OraCorp has not released any statement regarding the fire, and Shoolbred hasn't posted anything since the dangerous videos.

Another of her friends alluded that one the possible outcomes from the incident shown in these videos may be a lawsuit against OraCorp.

Amazon has then clarified its third-party seller return policy. Instead of waiting for the third-party seller to get in contact with the customer, Amazon would let the customer print a return label and get it authorized.

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After Qualcomm rejected its initial offer, Broadcom still seems aggressive on trying to purchase the chipmaker, now upping its offer price to $121 billion  up from the previous $105 billion buyout price.

The increased offer puts pressure on Qualcomm to succumb to what could be the tech industry's biggest acquisition in history, one that could affect the future of smartphones altogether as Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips power a large percentage of the entire market.

Broadcom Announces New Qualcomm Acquisition Offer

Broadcom is now offering $82 per share, according to its statement, up significantly from the previous $70. Broadcom raised the stakes just a month prior to Qualcomm's annual shareholder meeting, at which it hopes to sweep the entire board clean, as The New York Times reports.

Broadcom says that at $121 billion, this is its "best and final" offer. Should Qualcomm reject it yet again, that would be the end of this whole acquisition story.

"The significantly improved offer, which has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of Broadcom, represents a 50% premium over the closing price of Qualcomm common stock on November 2, 2017, the last unaffected trading day prior to media speculation regarding a potential transaction, and a premium of 56% to Qualcomm's unaffected 30-day volume-weighted average price," said Broadcom.

Antitrust Issues?

"Any rational board would consider what we've put forward," said Broadcom CEO Hock Tan. Should Qualcomm acquiesce to Broadcom's offer, that would turn it into a tech juggernaut whose products would be present on nearly all smartphones in the whole world. But Qualcomm doesn't seem it'll budge. For starters, Qualcomm's higher-ups aggressively opposes the potential deal. Then there's the matter of it being grounds for an antitrust practice.

However, Tan is confident the deal would pass regulatory investigation.

"We've looked at it hard, we've studied everything," the CEO said in a Bloomberg interview. "There's a very clear road map to completion. We wouldn't have made this bid if we weren't very comfortable."

Qualcomm's management team and board members have unfailingly argued that Broadcom's acquisition is opportunistic since it is occurring during the chipmaker's messy legal battle with Apple, and  more importantly  the offer is too low.

But the newly increased price could convince Qualcomm investors and shareholders to demand that management consider negotiations. Broadcom's offer includes a fee if regulators shoot down the deal, and additional payment if both companies have not reached a transaction for over a year.

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Samsung Galaxy S9 leaks continue to churn through the rumor mill as the smartphone's unveiling date draws near, with the latest information on the device involving its new fingerprint scanner and a pending price hike.

These leaks are not confirmed by Samsung, but interested customers will not have to wait long. The Galaxy S9 announcement is set for Feb. 25, which is when we will finally know everything about the highly anticipated smartphone.

Galaxy S9 Leaked Images: Lilac Color And New Fingerprint Scanner

In late January, prolific leaker Evan Blass uploaded Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ renders, along with the layouts of the rear components of the smartphones. The devices look very much like their Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ predecessors, but the rear components looked very different.

In the latest leaked Galaxy S9 images from Blass, the rear components are shown exactly how they would look like at the back of the smartphones, which apparently also come in lilac. The fingerprint scanner, which caused issues with the Galaxy S8 as it was placed beside the camera, is now located underneath it. In addition, the dual cameras of the Galaxy S9+ are arranged vertically, similar to Apple's iPhone X.

According to previous rumors, the Galaxy S9 camera is something that Samsung fans should look forward to. The company accidentally leaked that the Galaxy S9 will be the first Samsung smartphone to use the new ISOCELL camera sensor, which will allow features such as slow-motion video recording at 480 frames per second and full 1080p HD.

Galaxy S9 Price: More Expensive Than Galaxy S8

Separately, a TechRadar report claimed that the Galaxy S9 will be 100 more expensive than the Galaxy S8, citing a source within the United Kingdom's smartphone industry.

The assumption is that the Galaxy S9 price in the United States will go up by the same amount. This means that the smartphone may come with a price tag of $850, compared to the Galaxy S8 initial price of $750.

The Galaxy S9+ price is not mentioned in the report, but in previous releases, the larger counterpart of the Galaxy S line of smartphones costs $100 more than the smaller model. This would mean that the Galaxy S9+ price may start at $950.

With the iPhone X breaching the $1,000 mark, modern high-end smartphones are becoming more expensive. This makes the decision on which one to buy even more important, as it remains to be seen whether customers will choose to buy the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ after they are unveiled in less than three weeks.

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Dental school students took a selfie with a professor and two severed heads during a workshop that was held at Yale University last year, an incident that the school's officials have described as "disturbing" and "inexcusable."

The picture was shot in June during the DePuy Synthes Future Leaders Workshop, which discussed facial deformities related to the dental field.

Selfie With Severed Heads

According to The Guardian, the Associated Press was able to acquire a copy of the selfie from a source who received the image within a private group chat. The source, who wished to remain anonymous to protect his or her career, told the Associated Press that the person who captured the selfie refused to give permission to have it published due to the fear of expulsion.

The photograph features mostly dental school students, with several looking toward the camera while others are working, and all of which have surgical masks on. The two severed heads, however, were also captured in the selfie, as they were on the table and face up.

Included in the picture is Dr. Flavio Uribe, who is a University of Connecticut assistant professor and orthodontics program director, and also a visiting professor at Yale.

According to Uribe, he was instructing his students on how to insert screws into the cadaver heads when the selfie was snapped.

"Somebody unfortunately took a photo," Uribe said. "It was so quick. I wasn't sure of the surroundings or scenery at that point," the doctor added.

University of Connecticut spokesman Christopher Hyers said that school was informed of the matter, and that it has taken internal measures. Uribe, however, revealed that he did not receive punishment of any kind.

Meanwhile, Yale spokesman Thomas Conroy said that the workshop was not run by the university itself, and that the severed heads were not received by Yale as donations. Even so, Yale is working on improving its procedures on overseeing the use of cadavers in the school.

Disturbing And Inexcusable Selfies

Sometimes, selfies result in stunning images, such as the panorama of Mars that was taken by NASA's Curiosity Rover. However, selfies sometimes lead to similarly "disturbing" and inexcusable" results, including the case of the baby dolphin that died on a beach in Argentina because tourists dragged the animal out of the water to take pictures with it.

In any case, however, it is simply inappropriate to upload images or videos of dead people. YouTuber Logan Paul learned this the hard way when he uploaded a video of a dead body that was spotted in Japan's infamous Aokigahara forest. Paul was later removed from the Google Preferred program for his lapse of judgment.

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President Donald Trump's tweets are known for being rash and never being fact-checked. Trump plays fast and loose with the information he shares with the world via Twitter.

In one of his latest attacks on Twitter, Trump used the British National Health Service as an example of a failing system. Trump's message to attack the Democrats took a different turn after he decided to go after one of the United States's biggest allies, the UK.

Failing Healthcare

Minutes after a segment on Fox News showed that the NHS was suffering from strains during the winter, Trump tweeted about the service. Trump's tweet warned that the system of universal health care the Democrats are pushing for doesn't even work in the UK, where it's already in place.

"The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working. Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks," said Trump in his tweet.

After Trump's tweet, UK health secretary Jeremy Hunt defended the NHS. Hunt has been criticized for the government's actions during the winter strain on the system. Protests erupted over the weekend in London regarding the government's actions.

Hunt used the Trump's favorite platform to hit back against his accusations of the NHS. He stated that he was proud of the health service. Hunt upholds the system, saying that no one in the UK would want to live in a country where 28 million people wouldn't have healthcare coverage.

Theresa May's Response

Prime Minister Theresa May hit back at Trump through a spokesman. May backed the position put forward by Hunt, stating that the health secretary speaks for the government regarding those matters.

"The prime minister is proud of having an NHS which is free at the point of delivery. NHS funding is at a record high, and was prioritised in the budget with an extra 2.8bn," said a spokesman for May.

He also touted a recent survey that put the NHS as the best healthcare system in the world. The spokesman for May didn't say whether she was annoyed by Trump commenting on a UK domestic matter but said she doesn't have any comment on the US healthcare system.

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A crayfish with remarkable ability to clone itself is taking over Europe. Interestingly, the species did not even exist about 25 years ago.

Marbled Crayfish

The creature started to become popular among aquarium hobbyists in Germany in the late 1990s. The creature can lay enormous numbers of eggs at a time. Soon, marmorkrebs started to show up in pet stores in Germany.

Owners eventually noticed that that they were laying eggs without mating. By 2003, scientists were able to confirm that the marmorkrebs were indeed producing clones of themselves.

"It has been rumoured that an unidentified decapod crustacean, a crayfish of marbled appearance and of uncertain geographical origin that was introduced into the German aquarium trade in the mid-1990s, is capable of unisexual reproduction (parthenogenesis)," researchers wrote in Nature.

"Here we confirm that this marbled crayfish ('Marmorkrebs') is parthenogenetic under laboratory conditions and use morphological and molecular analysis to show that it belongs to the American Cambaridae family."

Where did this creature come from, and why do they reproduce in large numbers?

Descended From A Single Mutant Crayfish

In a new study, German Cancer Research Center biologist Frank Lyko and colleagues sequenced the genomes of several crayfish specimens to trace the origins of the marbled creature.

It appears to have evolved from a species called the slough crayfish. The new species was likely born from the mating of two slough crayfish, one of which had a mutation in the sex cell.

Sex cells normally contain only one copy of each chromosome, but this mutant crayfish had two. The two sex cells apparently fused and produced a female crayfish embryo that had three copies of each chromosome.

The new crayfish did not suffer from deformities regardless of its extra DNA, but instead of reproducing sexually like its ascendants, it can induce its own eggs to divide into embryos, producing an all-female offspring.

These offspring contain the same copies of their mother's three sets of chromosomes, which essentially makes them her clones. These clones also produce fertile offspring, which allows the population of the new species to explode.

"Our results show that the marbled crayfish genome consists of two almost identical copies of one genotype and a third copy of a comparably divergent, but still homologous genotype," researchers wrote in their study.

"These findings are consistent with the model that the marbled crayfish genome originated from an autopolyploid P. fallax gamete and the mating of two distantly related P. fallax individuals."

Exploding Populations

Over the next two decades after it was first introduced in Germany, the creatures established populations in the wild and grew in numbers. They also started to invade new lakes and streams and now have populations in Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, and Ukraine in Europe, and even in Japan and Madagascar.

The European Union has already banned the production, distribution, and release of the species in the wild.

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More children in the United States live with brain damage from prenatal drinking than earlier thought, findings of a new study have revealed.

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, or FASD, are a group of conditions marked by abnormal facial features, abnormal growth, behavioral problems and intellectual disabilities. They are the effect of drinking alcohol during pregnancy.

"Alcohol in the mother's blood passes to the baby through the umbilical cord. When a woman drinks alcohol, so does her baby," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

"To prevent FASDs, a woman should not drink alcohol while she is pregnant, or when she might get pregnant."

Experts previously estimated that only 1 percent of children in the United States are affected by FASD, but findings of the new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Tuesday, Feb. 6, suggest that up to one in 20 children could be affected.

Christina Chambers, from the University of California San Diego, and colleagues evaluated 6,600 first-grade students at four sites in the Southeast, Midwest, Pacific Southwest, and Rocky Mountain. The children underwent detailed evaluations and their mothers were interviewed about their lifestyle during pregnancy, which include smoking, drug use, drinking habits, and prenatal care.

By conservative estimates, Chambers and colleagues found that FASD affected between 1 percent to 5 percent of the children. A less conservative estimate brings the range from about 3 percent to 10 percent of the children.

"The conservative estimates assume that every child who didn't participate in the study didn't have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder," Chambers explained. "The flip side of the coin says that instead of the denominator being all eligible children, it is only those children for whom we had sufficient information to classify them -- a much smaller number."

Drinking Alcohol During Pregnancy

Prenatal drinking is one of the most common causes of intellectual disability. It remains unclear though just how little a pregnant woman could drink without causing harm to her unborn child.

Many health organization and agencies advice against drinking alcohol during pregnancy, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the CDC, but about half of pregnancies in the United States are unplanned.

Women in the early stages of their pregnancies may still be drinking when they are not aware they are pregnant. Chambers earlier advised women to observe precautions so they would not inadvertently harm their unborn child.

"Women of childbearing age who drink alcohol should consider their pattern of drinking. For example, avoid binge drinking and avoid pregnancy as long as they are drinking. If pregnancy is planned, then alcohol can be discontinued," Chambers said.

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Earths ozone layer has been depleting since the 1970s due to certain man-made chemicals. After the ban on the harmful chemicals, parts of the ozone layer is showing recovery.

A new study has shown that ozone layers bottom part at more populated latitudes is not healing. Scientists still do not know the exact reason why there is no recovery in these parts.

The Ozone Layer

During the 1970s, scientists had understood that the chemicals known as CFCs such as aerosols and those used in refrigeration were detrimental to the ozone layer. The ozone layer above Antarctica had taken the worst hit and an ozone hole had formed.

An international treaty called the Montreal Protocol was signed in 1987 at the Vienna Convention to protect the ozone layer by supervising the production of the harmful substances that led to its depletion. Following the phase-out of CFCs, the Antarctic ozone layer showed the first symptoms of healing.

However, though the upper stratosphere at lower latitudes is also showing positive signs of healing, which proves the effectiveness of the Montreal Protocol, the ozone layer in the lower stratosphere is gradually disintegrating. The ozone layer is present in the stratosphere at an altitude of about 10 to 50 kilometers.

"In tropical and middle latitudes" -- home to most of humanity -- "the ozone layer has not started to recover yet," said William Ball, the lead author of the study and a researcher at Zurichs Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. "It is, in fact, slightly worse today than 20 years ago."

The new research, which was based on the measurements of multiple satellites, estimated that it has now depleted an added 0.5 percent. If the measurements are confirmed, it would indicate that the ozone depletion level is at right now at its highest level. Furthermore, the possibility of harm in the lower latitudes may be worse than that seen at the poles.

New Study Findings

The study concluded that the worrying trend could have two probable suspects. It could be caused by chemicals that are known as very short-lived substances, used in decreasing agents, paint strippers, and solvents, which attack the lower stratosphere ozone layer. For example, in the past decade the use of one such VSLS, dichloromethane has doubled.

The Montreal Protocol does not cover regulations on the use of VSLS, whose effect persists for six to 12 months. According to Ball, if VSLS is identified as the problem then those chemicals can be banned too, and it would be relatively easier to deal with.

The problem arises if global warming is the culprit leading to the ozone layers renewed breakdown. Climate change could be altering the pattern of atmospheric circulation, carrying away the ozone from the tropics.

"If climate change is the cause, it's a much more serious problem," Ball added. "We should be concerned but not alarmed."

The study was published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics on Feb. 6.

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We all stand with John Horgan in B.C. .Alberta. Fuk them self.





The US will bye it live with out power Alberta.



Through the bitch out





How about we boycott your Alberta zebra muscle oh yeah we don't ever want them here in B.C. ( John Morgan don't back down we are behind you. We don't want that sticking pipeline.
A Maine woman claimed that she discovered a three-inch dead lizard in a prepackaged bag of lettuce she bought from a supermarket in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Tailless Blue-Bellied Lizard

Michelle Carr related that she already had a couple of bites before realizing that her food contains a poisonous reptile. She initially thought that the foreign thing in her fork was a slice of avocado.

"I put my fork into my salad after a couple of bites and realized that my fork was not in an avocado slice," she said.

The carcass in the food was missing a tail, and Carr isn't sure if she has actually ingested the animal's tail. Carr, a nurse by profession, said that a biologist friend identified the animal as a blue-bellied lizard generally found in California.

It was the first time that Carr had a store-bought lettuce. She also does not normally shop at Shaw's, the supermarket where she bought the salad. She hopes that others will learn from what happened to her and that consumers should watch what they buy and know where they come from.

Carr is breastfeeding her baby, so she has concerns over the possibility that she and her child might contract salmonella and E.coli, particularly because she has no way of knowing whether or not she has ingested the lizard's tail.

She already contacted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, and Shaw's. A spokesperson from the supermarket said that the company is currently working with its lettuce supplier to find out how this happened and to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

The lettuce was distributed by a California-based company. Carr was informed that because the lettuce was packed outside the state, that state Health Department does not have jurisdiction over the case. Nonetheless, the FDA is conducting an investigation of the incident.

How Animals End Up In People's Food

It is not the first time a dead animal was found in a store-bought food. A dead bat, for instance, has also been found in a salad mix sold by Walmart.

A food safety specialist said that these animals may have been picked up by mechanical harvesters and made it through the quality control steps.

"It's possible that the mechanical harvesting could pick something like this up," Food specialist Ben Chapman, from North Carolina State University, said.

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BBC Director-General, Tony Hall has unveiled details of new landmark BBC Arts series, Civilisations, along with supporting programming across BBC TV and Radio and an accompanying Civilisations Festival, which will see the BBC partner with more than 250 museums, galleries, libraries and archives across the UK.

Civilisations is produced by the BBC and Nutopia in partnership with The Open University and in association with PBS. The BBC says the series is inspired by Kenneth Clarks ground-breaking BBC series from 1969. The show will be presented by Simon Schama, Mary Beard and David Olusoga and they will travel far and wide across six continents to find answers to fundamental questions about human creativity. The series will examine what makes a civilisation. It will look at paintings, sculptures and architecture that have enriched, challenged and unsettled human beings across the world and reveal the artists who made them and the cultures that produced them.

The Executive Producers are Jonty Claypole and Mark Bell for the BBC, and Denys Blakeway and Michael Jackson for Nutopia. The Series Producers are Melanie Fall and Ian MacMillan. Bill Gardner, VP of Programming and Development, will oversee the project for the PBS version of the project.

Tony Hall said: In a complex and fast changing world, Civilisations is a landmark BBC Arts series which asks us to question what lies at the heart of our identity and what makes us human. We want it to inspire the public to take their learning further, and we want the Civilisations Festival to allow them to do just that by engaging with museums and galleries across the UK. Above all, we want to leave a powerful legacy of lifelong cultural enrichment and bring a whole new generation of people together through the arts in a way that only the BBC can.

Alongside the nine-part BBC Two series, BBC One will present a collection of eleven programmes called Civilisations Stories, exploring the stories emerging from the art of each region and what they say about the communities in which we live.

Also, in an accompanying programme for BBC Two, Civilisations on your Doorstep, Mary Beard will explore the stories and controversies behind works of art from all over the world that are now displayed in museums across Britain.

Further programming on BBC Two will include two special Performance Live programmes in collaboration with Arts Council England, BBC Arts and Battersea Arts Centre, presenting new commissions from director and photographer Robin Friend and director and choreographer Wayne McGregor  Winged Bull in the Elephant Case and hip hop artist, writer and social entrepreneur Akala  The Ruins of Empires.

BBC Radio will also broadcast special programmes on BBC Radio 3 and Radio 4.

As previously announced in October last year, the Civilisations Festival is a collaboration between the BBC, museums, galleries, libraries and archives across the UK. More than 250 organisations in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have signed up as partners.

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The July 2016 fatal shooting of 40-year-old Shannon Labit by Iberia Parish Sheriffs Office deputies following a standoff was legally justified, District Attorney Bo Duhe concluded in a report released Wednesday.

Labit was the suspect in the stabbing of two women prior to the two-hour standoff, which occurred at Labits trailer in the 600 block of McDonald Street in New Iberia. He did not have a gun, but he told deputies he did and repeatedly threatened them while holding a knife.

Family of New Iberia man killed by deputy calls on authorities to boost crisis training NEW IBERIA  Family members of a man shot and killed by a deputy last weekend are calling on the Iberia Parish Sheriffs Office to provide spe

Labit was shot while charging at deputies with a cordless drill, according to the report, which is based on deputy statements, body and dash camera footage and other evidence provided by Louisiana State Police.

Labit held a knife when deputies arrived, forcing them to retreat and to call in a SWAT team, according to the report. Labit appeared intoxicated and repeatedly refused orders to put down his knife, according to the report.

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Relatives said after the shooting that Labit suffered from mental illness.

Officers attempted on three different occasions to subdue Labit with stun guns, as well as bean bag rounds, to no avail, the report says.

SWAT officers managed to strike Labit with rubber ball projectiles, and Labit then went inside his trailer, according to the report. He came back outside with an object in his right hand, which was extended down his side, and said Hey, yall gonna have to kill me, according to the report.

Labit then began making an aggressive move toward several deputies, and one deputy shouted that Labit had a gun, the report states. One deputy fired a non-lethal round at Labit, and another assigned to lethal cover struck Labit with a rifle round, which was the fatal shot, according to the report. The two shots occurred almost simultaneously, the report states.

The District Attorneys Office concluded that the conditions under which Labit was shot met the standard of reasonable belief that Labit posed an imminent danger of death or great bodily harm necessitating the use of deadly force.
Community health centers that provide critical primary care to 385,000 of Louisiana's poorest residents sounded alarm bells Tuesday about the possibility of deep cuts to their services if the federal government fails to reauthorize one of their key funding pools.

Louisiana, often falling at the bottom of national health lists, relies on more than 250 federally qualified health centers across the state to treat low-income people for their day-to-day needs.

But the national community health center fund that helps pay for almost 10,000 centers across the country expired Sept. 30, though lawmakers have kept the grant program limping along with temporary patches. Community health centers have struggled since then to plan for staffing needs, capital projects and more as they await confirmation on whether they will be able to keep operating. The fund provides $90 million annually to Louisiana's community health centers.

Congressional negotiators are working on a larger budget deal, which is expected to include financing for the centers. The U.S. House of Representatives passed a package of bills Tuesday evening that includes funding over two years for federally qualified health centers alongside a range of other items designed to avoid another government shutdown.

Final passage, though, will likely remain on hold for at least another day. U.S. Senate Democrats, at least nine of whose votes are needed to pass any funding deal, are expected to block the package because it doesn't boost funding for domestic programs alongside a hefty hike in money for the military.

Funding for community health centers has previously received bipartisan support. Congressional Republicans and Democrats have recently pointed fingers at each other over who's to blame for the problems reauthorizing funding for the health centers.

But Louisiana community health center representatives said Tuesday that they are frustrated with political games overshadowing the need for safety net health centers that treat people regardless of their ability to pay.

"If there were no community health centers, there would be thousands of individuals who may have preventable diseases who might die prematurely," said Shondra Williams, the president of the Louisiana Primary Care Association and the chief executive officer of Jefferson Community Healthcare Centers.

Gov. John Bel Edwards joined Williams and other community health center leaders at a news conference at Southeast Community Health Systems in Zachary about the importance of their funding. The Louisiana Primary Care Association has lobbied the state's congressional delegation to approve funding for health centers.

Timothy Young, the chief executive officer of the Open Health Care Clinic in Baton Rouge, said in an interview that the $650,000 his clinic receives through the federal program is set to expire at the end of May. Though losing that money would not force Open Health to close, Young said it would force them to make choices about how many uninsured patients they can serve and whether they will have to slow down on expanding services.

About half the people who go to Open Health are on Medicaid or are uninsured, Young said. The clinic has recently seen an increase in the number of uninsured legal Latino patients as well as uninsured people who work in industries without benefits, including service industry workers, he said.

Mark Keiser, the chief executive officer of Access Health Louisiana, said funding community health centers saves governments money in the long run. Access Health runs more than 25 clinics across the state, with centers in New Orleans, Covington, Kenner, Bogalusa and elsewhere.

Sen. Bill Cassidy's health care plan faces frenzied uphill battle, lengthening odds WASHINGTON  Months of furious work on a conservative health care overhaul by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and his staff will reach a c

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Primary care treatment is important because it can catch diseases before they progress to become more difficult and more expensive to treat, he said. New Orleans has been especially successful post-Hurricane Katrina in routing people to community health centers. Previously, most of those patients used the emergency room at the former Charity Hospital, as well as various hospital-run clinics, for routine illnesses.

But Keiser said that progress would be put at risk without community health center funding, and that cuts to community health centers would add stress to hospitals and emergency rooms.

He said the federal funds make up 15 percent to 17 percent of "the money that's required to pay the bills" on any given year at Access Health, though nationally, the health center fund makes up 70 percent of funding for community health centers. And if Access Health were to take a cut, Keiser said their most widely provided service  primary care  would hurt the most.

Louisiana's federally qualified health centers were also on the front lines of enrolling people in Medicaid expansion, according to Louisiana Primary Care Association marketing and communications manager Ryan Sinitiere. Sinitiere said the extra funding from Medicaid expansion in Louisiana is not enough for clinics to make up for their possible losses of federal funding.

He also said community health centers are important economic drivers, and that a center in Winnfield, for example, is a top-five employer there.

+7 Sigh of relief in north Baton Rouge as new emergency room opens its doors As the "No Emergency Room" signs were taken down and a crowd celebrated the restoration of emergency care services Wednesday morning in north 

There really isnt opposition to funding these health centers around the country," the governor said. "That is really sad and is tragic, but it is where we are today in Washington.

Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, both Louisiana Republicans, signed onto a bipartisan letter Tuesday that urged Senate leadership to reauthorize community health center funding. U.S. House Rep. Ralph Abraham, a physician and also a Republican, also called community health centers a "critical safety net" and blamed Democrats for not authorizing their funding. Democrats, in turn, have accused Republicans of politicizing critical and bipartisan programs by insisting on including partisan provisions in the bills.

"These centers provide comprehensive medical services without courting controversy like Planned Parenthood does," Kennedy said in a statement. "Community health centers are vital to Louisiana families."

Ty Bofferding, a spokesman for Cassidy, blamed "Washington Democrats" for voting against health center funding. He said they will have "another chance to do the right thing this week."

Deadlock on Capitol Hill leaves funding for children's health insurance program in limbo WASHINGTON  A popular federal program that provides health care for low-income children and pregnant women has found itself trapped in legisl

The political back-and-forth over health center funding mirrors the months-long battle over reauthorizing the federal Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. Like the grants for federally qualified health centers, CHIP enjoys broad bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and is wildly popular among voters. Yet partisan squabbling in Congress contributed to both programs lapsing at the end of September and created roadblocks to a deal.

House Republicans in the fall passed a bill to reauthorize both CHIP and health-center funding  but paid for each by raiding Affordable Care Act funds earmarked for public-health programs and clipping Medicaid coverage for some high-earning seniors. Democrats objected to those "pay-fors," which left the bill dead on arrival in the Senate.

A six-year extension of the CHIP program was approved as part of the deal that ended January's government shutdown. But health-center funding wasn't included, something that New Orleans Congressman Cedric Richmond, the lone Louisiana Democrat in Washington, cited in voting against the package.
A Tickfaw man has been arrested as a suspect in a string of armed robberies in Tangipahoa Parish, Sheriff Daniel Edwards said.

Christopher Rogers, 17, is accused of robbing a Dollar General in Natalbany on Jan. 20 and a Subway in Hammond on Jan. 28, Edwards said in a news release.

Authorities say Rogers is also the suspect in an attempted armed robbery at the Black Cat Grocery in Independence on Jan. 22. In that case, police said last month an unknown suspect pointed a gun at a grocery store clerk.

+3 Grocery store clerk threatened in Independence Monday night, Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff says Police are seeking a man who pointed a gun at a grocery store clerk in Independence late Monday night.

Rogers confessed to the crimes, telling investigtors he wanted money to fund a marijuana dealing operation, according to the news release issued by the sheriff's office,

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Rogers was arrested Monday afternoon by detectives from the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office and the Hammond Police Department.

The sheriff's office is also seeking two accomplices, who they believe acted as getaway driver and lookout while the crimes were committed.

Anyone knowing the identity of Rogers accomplices is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-554-5245.

This investigation is ongoing.
Bessie Looney was emaciated, riddled with bedsores and sitting in her own waste when the 82-year-old woman was found dead in 2014, slumped over and strapped in a wheelchair in her fly-infested North Acadian West bedroom, a jury learned Tuesday at her daughter's manslaughter trial.

"Nobody should ever be treated this way," prosecutor Dana Cummings told an East Baton Rouge Parish jury of 11 women and one man in her opening statement at Joleslie Looney's trial. "Every ounce of dignity that Bessie Looney had ... was taken from her. This is gross negligence."

+2 Baton Rouge woman declared sane when elderly mother died amidst deplorable conditions A Baton Rouge woman accused of manslaughter in the 2014 death of her 82-year-old mother, who was found naked in a wheelchair in feces and ridd

The jury was shown crime scene photos of Bessie Looney's bedsores, which even Joleslie Looney's court-appointed attorney called "horrific" and "absolutely horrendous." Jurors have not yet seen the graphic autopsy photos.

"There's no way around it, there's no excuse for what you're going to see," attorney Stephen Sterling said.

But Sterling asked the jury not to judge his client on the photos alone and argued she is neither a monster nor a killer.

+2 Attorney for Baton Rouge woman accused of killing her mother doesn't want her called 'evil,' 'monster' during trial A judge rejected a defense request Monday to prevent a prosecutor and state witnesses from calling a Baton Rouge woman "evil" or a "monster" d

"She in fact loved her mother, adored her mother," he told the dozen jurors and one female alternate juror.

Sterling said Bessie Looney suffered from osteoporosis, hypertension, malnutrition, narrowing of the arteries and became increasingly combative as her dementia worsened. The "ugly truth," he said, is that she would refuse food, take off her diapers and dig into her bed sores.

Joleslie Looney, 56, has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. She faces up to 40 years in prison if found guilty as charged.

Her daughter, 21-year-old Lauren Looney, is scheduled to stand trial next month on a manslaughter charge in her grandmother's death.

Granddaughter of an elderly woman found dead in her wheelchair in 2014 can be tried on manslaughter charge The granddaughter of an 82-year-old Baton Rouge woman found dead in her wheelchair  naked, sitting in feces and riddled with infected bedsore

Joleslie and Lauren Looney were Bessie Looney's primary caregivers, authorities have said.

"They did the best they could with the means they had. They did the best that they could each and every day," Sterling told the jury that will judge Joleslie Looney.

The mother and daughter, however, were untrained, unequipped, unprepared and incompetent  "the blind leading the blind"  when it came to caring for Bessie Looney, he argued.

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All the while, Joleslie Looney was suffering from obesity, bladder problems, hypertension, severe depression and mental health issues, Sterling said.

"That creates a recipe for disaster, which puts her in this seat today," he said, pointing to Joleslie Looney sitting at the defense table in state District Judge Mike Erwin's 19th Judicial District courtroom. "She was overwhelmed."

+5 EBR judge: Elderly womans living conditions made me sick Saying the circumstances of the case sickened him, a state judge set bail at $100,000 apiece Thursday for the daughter and teenage granddaught

The trial will resume Wednesday.

Coroner's officials classified Bessie Looney's death as a homicide. They said she died from a blood infection caused by severely infected bedsores. Malnutrition, dementia and heart disease were contributing factors in her death, they added.

Baton Rouge Police Sgt. Glenn Hutto, the prosecution's first witness, recalled Tuesday how bad Joleslie Looney's bedroom smelled when he arrived at the scene on Sept. 29, 2014.

"The odor in the room was overwhelming," he said.

Hutto described what he called a large swarm of flies in her closet.

"We actually had to go outside for a while because when you would breathe you'd get them in your mouth and nose," he testified.

Hutto also told the jury that skin from Bessie Looney was embedded in the strap that held her in the wheelchair.

"We had difficulty removing the strap from her," he said.

Hutto said the woman was not clothed, but had what Cummings called a house dress draped over her.

Records from Baton Rouge Clinic indicate the elderly woman weighed 130 pounds at an April 2013 doctor visit, but Cummings said she weighed just 80 pounds at her death a year and a half later.

The prosecutor said Bessie Looney, who previously lived in Tennessee, lived with Joleslie and Lauren Looney in the Baton Rouge area only from the spring of 2013 until her September 2014 death.
LSU Police are asking for the public's help to identify three suspects alleged to have robbed a student near Kirby Smith Hall early Wednesday morning.
As they have at previous community forums, East Baton Rouge Parish school officials finished their presentation Tuesday night on proposed long-term construction plans by urging the audience in the McKinley High auditorium to head to nearby classrooms for in-depth small group discussions.

Appellate Judge Michael Guidry, graduate of the McKinley High class of 1980, stood up from the audience of 350 people and made clear that wasnt going to happen just yet.

If you get us into small groups, you would not hear our collective voice, and our collective voice is we want a new 21st century high school, Guidry said.

Supporters of McKinley High plan to press case for new school at Tuesday forum McKinley High School will play host Tuesday to the last of 10 community forums as the East Baton Rouge Parish school system races to nail dow

McKinley High is set to receive quite a bit of construction work if voters renew a one-cent sales tax on April 29, ranging from $30 million to $35 million, but school officials have stopped short of agreeing to rebuild the whole school, which was built in 1961.

After the audience was urged one more time to start leaving the auditorium, Paula Collins, also a 1980 graduate and the third of five generations to attend the historic high school, stood up.

You are at McKinley High School, Collins said. We are a family. We dont want to be separated.

The filibuster forced Superintendent Warren Drake to return to the microphone.

Alright, Ill give you 15 minutes. Ill answer any question youve got, he said. Set the clock.

Guidry asked a simple question: If we can spend a $50 million to build a new Lee High and a new Baton Rouge High, why do we have to have a patchwork at McKinley High?

Drake explained that the improvements the school district has in store for McKinley would be tantamount to a new school. The district would renovate the school's two main academic buildings but not the auditorium or the gym, which have been worked on recently. They would redo the library and administration areas, as well as adding a new junior high with grades seven to nine that would feed into McKinley High.

The junior high would be built on eight adjacent acres now occupied by Buchanan Elementary. Buchanan in turn would merge with nearby University Elementary, which would be rebuilt and expanded on its property at 575 W. Roosevelt St. The combined school would add a sixth grade and would feed into McKinley Highs new junior high component. The idea is to keep children in middle school grades closer to home; since 2004 they have been reassigned to more distant middle schools.

Youre going to see a brand new campus with the changes in the Buchanan property, Drake promised. I think youre going to see that.

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Drake, however, had no drawings to showcase Tuesday and said the final cost of work has yet to be determined. Dominated by McKinley alumni as well teachers, parents and students, audience members clearly wanted more.

We need to get this all torn down and get it right like all the other schools, said Lance Bowers, who volunteers at the high school.

The renovation of Baton Rouge High and rebuilding of Lee High, which were paid for by the 1-cent sales tax, were high on many speakers minds. One mother told the audience her son recently went with the McKinley robotics team to Lee High and came back amazed.

Hes like, They got everything at Lee High and my school has nothing," she said. That hurts me as a parent.

Drake promised that the renovations would make that better too.

I think when you see the renderings we have for this school I think it will be exactly what you want to see, he said.

McKinley High, at 800 E. McKinley St., is the third-largest school in the East Baton Rouge school system, with about 1,200 students. Thats down from more than 1,400 students two years ago, but more than the 1,000 or so students the high school has enrollment for most of its recent history.

East Baton Rouge leaders trim $132 million from school construction plans, but upgrade some projects East Baton Rouge Parish school officials have trimmed their school construction wish list for the next decade by $132 million as they prepare 

Tuesdays gathering was the last of 10 forums the school system held leading to the Feb. 22 School Board meeting. That's when the board will consider a final list to send to voters at the April 29 special election. Voters will be asked to renew the 1-cent sales tax, about half of which goes to school construction. If renewed, the tax is estimated to raise about $417 million between 2019 and 2029 for school construction.

After Tuesday's meeting, several alumni members said theyre not done fighting and freely floated the possibility of voting against the tax renewal if the plans for McKinley dont improve.

Guidry said the school system needs to show the McKinley backers more-concrete proposals before people will support the renewal.

Are you going to buy something you havent even seen yet? he asked.

Those who missed Tuesdays forum can still fill out a survey online to offer their feedback. The deadline to complete it is Thursday at midnight.
Louisiana's emergency management leaders have set out to better coordinate volunteer efforts for future disasters, as federal assistance may become less reliable.

"We think it's going to get smaller and smaller," Col. James Waskom, director of the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, said of federal aid during a hearing at the State Capitol on Tuesday.

Waskom's comments are in line with remarks that President Donald Trump's administration has made after a 2017 punctuated by high-profile, severe weather events that caused more than $1.5 trillion in damage, according to federal estimates.

Though Louisiana was largely spared from the active hurricane season, other places like Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico are still recovering from major storms. In a November media briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders indicated that the Trump administration expects states to "step up" to aid their own recovery, rather than relying on big assistance payouts from the federal government.

"Texas has not put any state dollars into this process," she said during the Nov. 17 briefing. "We feel strongly that they should step up and play a role and work with the federal government in this process."

The shift toward expecting states to put up more of the initial recovery costs could have a sizable impact on Louisiana down the road, as the state continues to shift through seemingly never-ending budget crises. The state faces a nearly $1 billion budget shortfall in the budget cycle that begins July 1, and lawmakers have tapped the state's reserves twice since 2016 to plug holes in the budget. Efforts to more permanently shore up the state's spending have, so far, not yielded results.

The reliance on volunteer efforts could help the state cover potential gaps in disaster response and recovery efforts.

GOHSEP officials have been meeting with various volunteer groups, including factions of the volunteer-based "Cajun Navy," informal collectives of boaters who have drawn national attention for their search and rescue efforts after the 2016 floods in Louisiana and Hurricane Harvey in Texas last year.

"We don't want to control them," Waskom said of the initial talks. "We want to partner with them."

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Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, said she's also been in touch with Cajun Navy organizers about the effort to better coordinate with them. "They are interested and very eager to be engaged in the process," she said.

Waskom said there is a push toward a system of "credentialing" nonprofit volunteers before the next disaster to better keep track and coordinate an effective response. Other ideas include adding a representative from private nonprofits to the state's Unified Command Group and focusing on specific areas that have been problems in the past. The more targeted areas include possibly establishing a task force to address concerns about cemeteries that are affected by disasters. The August 2016 flood disturbed an estimated 300 graves. It took months to identify and rebury them.

The State Legislature's Joint Select Committee on Homeland Security hearing gave lawmakers a chance to get an update on disaster preparation efforts and a fuller picture of where the state's recovery from the 2016 floods stands nearly a year and a half after nearly 7 trillion gallons of rain engulfed the state.

The state's Restore Louisiana Task Force has been ramping up its $1.3 billion homeowner recovery program, with additional events throughout the state to encourage people to participate in the initial survey.

"We've got adequate funding right now," said Pat Forbes, director of the Office of Community Development.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is winding down its manufactured housing unit program that provided mobile homes to people this month.

Sen. Bodi White, R-Central, said he's concerned that people who have been working to get back into their homes and making a good faith effort will be ejected before they are ready.

"(FEMA) didn't show a lot of love," he said, noting the Valentine's Day deadline.
If you were wondering what drove New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to deeply divide New Orleans by tearing down Confederate monuments, the titl
The flu shot can help lessen the chances for getting the flu, which is especially important for the elderly and young children, two groups most at risk for hospitalization from the flu.
As another weekend of nasty weather in New Orleans threatens another slate of Mardi Gras parades, a change in venue might also be on the table for krewes.

Jefferson Parish President Mike Yenni said Wednesday that he has had queries from multiple New Orleans Mardi Gras krewes, asking if their parades could roll in Jefferson Parish if necessary. Multiple inches of rain, strong wind and thunderstorm are expected throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

After buzz about possible rescheduling on Tuesday, New Orleans police announced that all parades would roll on their scheduled days, but times could be changed.

"I've had some discussions with a couple captains candidly, just saying that  'if we had to move, could we talk to you?' I said 'we're open to anything,' " Yenni said in a press briefing. "I'd have to get with our sheriff's department to make sure we could accommodate that.  but if we can help put on Mardi Gras, we certainly want to do so."

Yenni said it would take at least a day's notice to pull off schedule changes "flawlessly," and would not specify a day or time, but said Jefferson Parish krewes would be accommodated first with any shifting schedules.

"Obviously it's something that those captains will have to decide and we'll have to see if we can place them," Yenni said. "But of course the priority would go to our Jefferson Parish parading organizations on where they would want to go first."

Orleans krewes rolling in Jefferson is rare, but not unprecedented. In 1979 New Orleans Mayor Dutch Morial, the New Orleans City Council and the majority of Carnival captains voluntarily called off all parades in New Orleans rather than give in to wage demands made by Teamsters Union members of the New Orleans Police Department. The matter was eventually settled in the citys favor but not until after the Carnival season. A few krewes that year opted to roll in Jefferson, according to The New Orleans Advocate's Mardi Gras expert, Arthur Hardy.

Word began spreading Tuesday morning that the superkrewe Endymion, which is scheduled to roll at 4:15 p.m. Saturday on its traditional Mid-City route, was exploring the possibility of changing the date of its parade in light of the weather forecast.

But Endymion President Dan Kelly said NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison called him to explain that public safety department heads had met and discussed the alternatives and there could be no such adjustments. It's unknown if Endymion was one of the krewes that reached out to Jefferson Parish.

The chief has a very big responsibility and he had to worry about everything the city had to put together. It was not just our krewe, but every other krewe, Kelly said. Were very appreciative to be able to go through the city of New Orleans, and thats what we plan on doing.

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Asked what their preference would have been, Kelly replied, Our position was we wanted to parade any time we could. Understandably, the city made the decision they did and we have to abide by it.

"Weve got 5,000 raincoats coming, and were going to make the best of it.

Kelly said Endymions 3,160 riders will pray for good weather, adding, I know Im going to St. Anns (Church and National Shrine) to light more candles.

He said there was still hope the expected thunderstorms could materialize later or not at all, and that in any event, the Endymion Extravaganza would go on inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Saturday.

Naturally, if the weather is terrible, we will not parade, he said. But were hoping things will change between now and then.

Endymion rolled on the Uptown route because of Hurricane Katrina and the post-storm reconstruction in 2006 and 2007. It was moved to follow Bacchus on Sunday on the Uptown route due to rain in 2011.

Yenni said a big factor in rescheduling parades is level of "out-of-town" ridership, which complicates rescheduling. Whether floats and tractors will be available, most of which are rented, also creates difficulties for any shifting New Orleans and Jefferson krewes.

The parish would also have to work with the sheriff's office on any route changes due to the size of certain krewes, he said.

"From what New Orleans is saying right now, everybody will parade as is. But will that actually happen? Will at the last minute will there be a shift? I don't know," Yenni said.

Check back for more.
The fate of a legal battle over whether strip club dancers in Louisiana can be younger than 21 now rests with a federal appellate court.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Wednesday in the case, as attorneys for three dancers who sued in 2016 after a new state law barred them from dancing nearly nude faced off against attorneys for the state.

Although the court did not announce a decision, two judges appeared sympathetic to a claim made by the dancers that parts of the law in question are overly vague.

The dancers have also claimed the ban is too broad and is discriminatory. District Judge Carl Barbier said last year that they were likely to succeed on their claims, and he blocked enforcement of the law until a full trial on the issues.

The state, however, argues that the law is easily understood. It says one portion of the law that the dancers take issue with  the meaning of the phrase breasts and buttocks are exposed to view  has been on the books for years, without issue.

But Judge Edith Brown Clement said Wednesday that the phrasing, as well as the states argument that dancers younger than 21 can still perform while wearing bikinis, leaves much room for interpretation.

There are lots of different sized women, she said to the states attorney. They would wear their bikinis differently. How is a woman going to know what size to buy?

Judge Leslie Southwick echoed the criticism, saying that other state laws dealing with similar issues are more specific.

However, he said the lower court came to a weak determination that the law is also too broad, a signal that the appellate panel could side with Barbier on one claim but not the other.

An injunction on only one point is needed to block enforcement of the law.

State lawmakers approved the law, Act 395, in 2016 after advocates pointed to the 2015 death of 19-year-old dancer Jasilas Wright as evidence that young dancers needed greater protection. Wright was left for dead on Interstate 10 in Metairie by a man investigators said was her pimp.

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Critics also cited sanctions issued to several strip clubs in 2016 by State Police and the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, which accused the businesses of attracting drugs and prostitution.

Three anonymous dancers sued to block the law shortly before enforcement was due to begin in New Orleans.

Barbier didnt consider the dancers' claim of sexual and age discrimination and rejected a separate claim that the law blocked their right to express themselves.

In court Wednesday, Jeremy Grabill, an attorney for the dancers, asked the appellate judges to reconsider the rejected claims and to uphold those Barbier agreed with.

Scott Bergthold, representing state Attorney General Jeff Landry, asked the judges to lift the injunction even if they had qualms about the laws specificity.

The case had been scheduled months ago to be heard this week, but the hearing by chance followed a flurry of recent activity involving New Orleans strip clubs and dancers.

A recent ATC raid led to the temporary closing of eight clubs, followed by the permanent closing of three. That leaves Bourbon Street with just 10 clubs during the biggest weekend of Carnival, the strips busiest season of the year.

Angry dancers protested the raids in the French Quarter last week.

In addition, the New Orleans City Planning Commission on Tuesday rejected key components of a plan put forward by some City Council members to limit and gradually reduce the number of strip clubs. Instead, the commission voted to subject any new clubs to a stringent review.

The council has the last word, however, on what will happen.
A federal judge on Wednesday denied chef Alon Shaya's request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting his former employer, Besh Restaurant Group, from using his name on the popular Magazine Street restaurant that he formerly led.

BRG is owned by celebrity chef John Besh and his business partner Octavio Mantilla.

U.S. District Judge Ivan Lemelle said the injunction could have caused the Israeli eatery, named Shaya Restaurant, to close for a lengthy period of time, causing a "tremendous burden" for rank-and-file employees while a new concept for it was developed.

He also said he was not convinced that Shaya would likely prevail at a trial on the merits of the case, a standard that must be met to issue an injunction.

After the hearing, Shaya said he was disappointed but will soon announce the opening of a new Israeli restaurant he is developing.

"We're excited about what's next," he said. "We have a great team in place."

Alon Shaya was previously the chef and a partner at Shaya, as well as at Domenica and Pizza Domenica. All three restaurants were developed by BRG.

In September, however, Shaya split from the company.

A James Beard Foundation award winner, Shaya soon launched a new culinary company called Pomegranate Hospitality. He announced that Zach Engel, his chef de cuisine at Shaya Restaurant, was joining his company as culinary director, along with the restaurant's former general manager Sean Courtney, who is now the company's operations director.

Besh fires back over use of Shaya name; court filings detail rising star, partnership's fall Shaya Restaurant wasn't originally going to be called Shaya Restaurant, and Alon Shaya wasn't the first chef considered for the modern Israeli

Alon Shaya argues that Shaya Restaurant reflects his name, heritage and talent, and therefore he deserves to retain exclusive rights to use of his name. BRG claims that the restaurant exists because the company had the original idea to develop the concept, and that it has thrived because of BRG's resources and public relations efforts.

After his firing, Shaya filed trademark requests to use the name Shaya, prompting the Besh group to file a suit to block him.

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Alon Shaya then requested an injunction that would strip his name from Shaya Restaurant while the dispute makes its way through court. It was that request Lemelle rejected Wednesday, though the wider dispute remains unresolved.

BRG attorney Rick Stanley said his side remains open to settling the case without a trial.

Shaya said he would discuss how to proceed with his attorneys, Michael Riess and Gail Podolsky.

Riess wouldn't comment when asked if his side would consider filing an appeal.

Lemelle poked holes in the arguments of both sides Wednesday, going so far as to say he believed each was "losing" the case.

At one point, he pointed out to BRG's attorneys that Besh left a message telling Shaya he didn't want the restaurant or anything that came with it.

Stanley sought to downplay those remarks, saying they were made in the heat of an argument as the close relationship between the two men dissolved.

But Lemelle also sounded skeptical as Shaya's legal team argued that their client's name was being harmed by association with Besh's group because of a recent scandal that has caused a major shakeup at the company.

Lemelle said harm has already been done to "anyone associated" with the Besh group in the wake of claims of sexual harassment by Besh and Mantilla. He suggested that continued use of Shaya's name wouldn't multiply that harm.

He also pointedly asked, "Was (Shaya) aware of the misconduct ... when it was going on?"

Podolsky denied Shaya was aware of or involved in "any wrongdoing." Someone sitting near Besh in the courtroom gallery audibly scoffed at that response.

Besh, who appeared in court with his wife Jenifer, stepped down from his leadership role at BRG in the wake of the scandal. The company's response to the harassment claims is on a separate legal track from its dispute with Shaya.

John Besh, Alon Shaya clash over price, more in legal feud for N.O. restaurant name An ongoing legal fight between two big-name New Orleans chefs boils down to who gets to use one of those names  Shaya.
A well-known Black Lives Matter activist was fatally shot in Mid-City early Tuesday, according to New Orleans police.

Muhiyidin Elamin Moye, who preferred to be called Muhiyidin d'Baha, was found about 1:25 a.m. in the 2200 block of Bienville Street after he had been shot in the thigh while riding a bicycle, New Orleans Police Department spokesman Beau Tidwell said late Tuesday.

Moye was taken to a hospital but died there later in the morning. Tidwell didn't elaborate, but gunshot wounds to the thigh can be deadly if they rupture the femoral artery.

Tidwell said no information about a possible motive or suspect was immediately available.

Relatives of Moye, 32, first reported his death to media from his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. Social media users lamented the news as it spread online.

The post of one person described as a dear friend said it appeared Moye, also nicknamed "Moya," died of "a random act of violence."

"He had so much life and energy and intellectual curiosity and capacity and love," the post said. "The last thing he said to me was that he was doing community work out of town and that he was learning so that he would come back to Charleston and help empower the people."

The post continued, "He was loved by all of his friends and respected by all those who want to see social and racial justice in Charleston."

Moye gained fame when he was arrested last year after he leaped over police caution tape and tried to take a large Confederate battle flag from a protester waving it in downtown Charleston. Video captured the arrest, which prompted activists to raise $2,000 for Moye's bail, according to news accounts.

He also drew notice when he attended a local government meeting in the Charleston area to call for a community police watchdog board with subpoena power but was removed by officers.

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A white supremacist killed nine people at a black church in the Charleston area in 2015, motivating New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu to successfully push for the removal of four Confederate monuments in his city.

A person identifying herself as Moye's niece, Camille Weaver, set up a GoFundMe account to raise money to return her uncle's body to Charleston and hold a memorial service. The account set a goal of $7,500 but already had raised nearly $10,900 within a few hours.

"Our family is beyond appreciative for the outpouring of love and support weve received today," read a message from Weaver's account. "Moya was a light and he will shine forever."

Weaver told Charleston's Post and Courier newspaper that Moye was in New Orleans on a personal trip when he was slain.

He was among at least five people shot Monday night or Tuesday in New Orleans; three of them died.

Heading into Tuesday, the bloodshed brought the number of homicides in New Orleans this year to at least 25. Local crime analyst Jeff Asher said that was one more than during the first 37 days of 2017.

A 26th homicide was reported Wednesday, after a man shot a few days earlier died.

The national Black Lives Matter movement that Moye helped lead began in about 2013 to protest the fatal shootings of black people, primarily by police.

WWL-TV contributed to this report.
New Orleans police have opened an investigation into the disappearance of a 3-year-old child following an Algiers house fire in 1984.

Remona Brown, who went missing on March 6, 1984, had just escaped a house fire that killed two of her brothers when she was last seen by her family.

The NOPD released an image of what Brown is believed to resemble in the present day at age 37. Brown was one of several siblings to escape from a fire in the 2600 block of Memorial Park Drive the day she went missing, according to her sister, who was 8 years old at the time.

Brown walked away from the scene, her sister said. At that point a vehicle occupied by a man and a woman stopped and asked the children if they needed assistance. The pair offered to watch Brown, her sister said, and Brown entered the vehicle.

The vehicle left the scene, and Brown has not been heard from since. A search of the home and the immediate area after Brown's disappearance didn't yield any results, according to the report from New Orleans police.

A WWL-TV investigative report identified the sister as Simona Brown, who filed a missing persons report this week.

Police did not open a missing person case at the time of Remona's disappearance, although investigators told the family they could open one, but that was never done, according to the report.

For the full report from WWL-TV, click here.

Anyone with information on Brown's whereabouts is asked to contact Fourth District detectives at 504-658-6040.

In other matters recently handled by local law enforcement:

 Kristen Williams, 44, received a nearly six-year prison sentence Wednesday after previously pleading guilty to robbing the Gulf Coast Bank and Trust branch at 201 N. Carrollton Ave. in Mid-City of $4,983 on Nov. 5, 2016, said U.S. Attorney Duane Evans' office in New Orleans.

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 Dan Pizarro, 48, of California, received a sentence of life imprisonment Wednesday after a jury previously found him guilty of partaking in a plot to deal methamphetamine and heroin in the local area.

Pizarro was charged in the case after deputies in St. Bernard Parish arrested two men on counts of selling meth in Arabi, and the men said Pizarro was the source of their drugs, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

 Gabriel Carreto Sanchez, 41, of New Orleans, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to distribute at least one kilogram of cocaine and one count of possessing cocaine with the intent to deal it. He faces a sentence of between five and 40 years in prison.

Carreto was stopped in April 2017 as he traveled to Houston bring back cocaine to New Orleans, prosecutors said.

 The New Orleans coroner's office on Wednesday identified a pair of men who were killed in recent shootings.

Michael Hunter, 30, was fatally shot at the corner of Josephine and Clara streets in Central City on Tuesday morning while walking. Police said someone shot him multiple times.

Marion Hutson, 21, died Tuesday after being shot three days earlier in the 5100 block of Bundy Road in New Orleans East.

News of Hutson's death Wednesday afternoon brought the number of murders reported in New Orleans this year to at least 26. According to local crime analyst Jeff Asher, at that time, that was the same number of murders reported in Baltimore, which is larger than New Orleans and similarly plagued by violence.

 A 38-year-old man was robbed of his car at gunpoint in the 6000 block of Pratt Drive in Gentilly about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday, New Orleans police said.

 About 1:50 p.m. in the 7800 block of Sail Street in New Orleans East, a man threatened his ex-girlfriend's life and told her to get off the phone before being followed out by his sister's ex. He allegedly pointed the gun at the sister and threatened her as well, police said.

 A 22-year-old man standing outside in the 2700 block of Canal Street in Mid-City handed money over to a person who got out of a car with two others and demanded cash about 3 p.m. Sunday, police said Wednesday.
Current and former members of the Australian National University's executive have been accused of lying during a hearing aimed at determining whether former School of Music head Peter Tregear is owed compensation from the Commonwealth insurer.

Comcare has previously ruled against paying Professor Tregear the incapacity benefits he believes he's owed after leaving the university just months after signing a continuing contract.

Peter Tregear left the ANU in August 2015. Credit:Melissa Adams

His departure in August 2015 came after a build-up of issues with the ANU's administration, including the surprise advertisement of a senior job within the School while he was still on staff and an incident involving security guards Professor Tregear believes were called to escort him off campus.

At a hearing in front of Administrative Appeals Tribunal deputy president Greg Melick, barrister Charles Clark, acting on behalf of Comcare, said the insurer believed Professor Tregear was not incapacitated when he left the ANU, pointing to his subsequent lecturing job at the Royal Holloway university in London.
One of the highest ranking Nomads in Australia was arrested on Wednesday on charges of assault.

Lawyers for Michael Wayne Clark, 32, said the man heard police wanted to speak with him, so he took himself to City Police Station.

Michael Clark, right, leaves court on Wednesday with his lawyer Tom Taylor. Credit:Alexandra Back

Once there, he was arrested and brought before the ACT Magistrates Court.

Mr Clark is the Canberra Nomads chapter president, and the sergeant at arms for the national group, police say.
Coombs residents John and Alison Hutchison, and Damian Breach outside the Coombs shopping centre which is still under construction. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong "It would be good to get a response from the government, not just, 'It's not our business'. "They have a responsibility to the community to ensure this infrastructure is delivered in a timely manner." Residents say the sign outside the yet-to-be-finished Coombs shopping centre graphically illustrates their long wait for local shops. Opposition planning spokesman Mark Parton said he was "not surprised residents are frustrated".

"Canberra's planning system is far too complex, making it difficult even for planning officials to navigate," he said. "The planning system should provide certainty for Canberra developers and the community but time and time again we see the opposite is true." A spokesman for Mr Gentleman said Mr Cervo had two years from the start of building to finish the shopping centre, which gave him until early 2019. The timing of the opening of the building was then "a commercial decision". "The site for Coombs shops was sold in good faith that a supermarket would be constructed and opened in reasonable time. Planning and land release facilitated a desirable outcome - however if the proponent fails to deliver, it appears subsequent developments may take up the opportunity to provide a supermarket," he said. Residents' anxiety about the future of the Coombs shops comes as a rival developer is looking to build another shopping centre literally across the road, in Wright.

Called Koko Molonglo, the proposed development on the other side of John Gorton Drive promises a 1500 square metre supermarket and "confirmed retailers including a hair salon, eateries, bike retailer and bike workshop". A publicity campaign for Koko Molonglo has begun before a development application has been lodged, with developer John Krnc declining to comment as yet. "Public consultation will be a part of this [DA process], so the community will get an update as soon as have some real plans," Mr Krnc said, in an email. The spokesman said the site for the rival supermarket was at Block 1, Section 38 in Wright. "The Suburban Land Agency confirm this CZ5 zoned site was sold in December 2017 with no special conditions restricting use. The market should determine the most viable use. In this case a supermarket is a permitted use, however it is understood the lessee is still seeking a tenant and has not yet submitted a development application or participated in pre-app[lication] discussions," he said.

Residents, meanwhile, were also concerned a chemist would not be able to be located in the Coombs shopping centre due to pharmacy guild rules related to the size of the supermarket. A spokesman for the Pharmacy Guild of Australia said a new chemist must be within 500m of a full-time, prescribing medical practitioner and in a centre with a supermarket, which had a gross leasable area of at least 1000 square metres. A medical centre is due to open close to the Coombs shops. The guild's spokesman said the federal health minister could also also use his or her discretion to override the rules if the proposed pharmacy was in an area of unmet community need.

Coombs residents Alison and John Hutchison said the ACT government did a good job delivering a local school quickly and could not understand why the local shops were taking so long. Mrs Hutchison said the lack of shopping centres in Molonglo was putting pressure on the next available large centre, Cooleman Court in Weston, particularly parking. "If I mention I live in Coombs, people say, 'When are you people getting your damn supermarket? We're sick of you filling up the parking lot'," she said. Mr Breach said there were many Facebook groups set up about issues in Molonglo. "And this is the most common thing complained about - 'Where are the shops? Where are the shops? Where are the shops?'," he said.
Construction union officials have been found liable for trying to force building company BKH Group to sign a pattern enterprise agreement at two Sydney building sites by threatening to "smash" their jobs if they refused.

The Australian Federal Court has also found a CFMEU official kicked down a safety rail before instructing workers to leave the site because of an absence of safety rails.

CFMEU NSW secretary Darren Greenfield (right) with CFMEU official Robert Kera Credit:Kate Geraghty

The court also concluded that officials had stopped concrete trucks from entering a building site by sitting on the bonnets of cars to stop them being towed away.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission had alleged CFMEU official Darren Taylor threatened to "smash" jobs as a warning to other contractors against refusing the union's EBA.
Most of us still associate the start of a school year with new pens and pristine exercise books. But this week, the latest crop of high school kids had quite a different thrill, that of busting open the packaging of a very nice piece of technology. The new Chromebooks - 15,000 of them to be distributed to public high school students across Canberra over the next few weeks - are part of a Canberra Labor pledge to ensure every child has access to the same device. The laptops have shatter-proof touchscreens, sturdy batteries and, crucially, internet access.

But most of these kids will already be carrying a separate device into class with them - a smartphone.

It's fair to say we have reached the point in this age of the smartphone where we can admit that the collective addiction has peaked, and needs to be addressed. As we sit in cafes and malls and offices and parks and playgrounds, scrolling and tapping and watching clips and reading memes and living vicariously through social media, there are articles and studies and even entire books being published about the negative consequences of this collective absorption.

Our attention spans are getting shorter, sleep and mental health are suffering and parents aren't engaging fully enough with their kids. And this is just for adults. How, then, can smartphones be affecting teenagers? How can high school students - with minds like sponges but so easily bored - be engaged with the education process if they have the proverbial alternative world right there in their pockets?
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The car sped on its way, the driver probably oblivious to the danger he had placed himself and others in; the bus passengers unperceptive of a disaster averted by the quick reactions of their driver who prevented what would have probably been another very bad accident on Canberra's roads. Panduka Senanayake Kambah Rude bike riders I want to complain about the number of cyclists who don't signal their approach while riding their bikes at considerable speed along shared bike paths. I was a recent visitor to Canberra and while strolling along the paths around Lake Burley Griffin I and my wife were disturbed by the complete lack of concern for pedestrians of all ages by cyclists of all ages along the shared paths. It is not difficult to ring your bell when approaching a pedestrian from behind.

I am not knocking cyclists and I myself am a keen bike rider but this lack of courtesy by cyclists in Canberra I can say is the worst I have come across in any capital city of Australia and certainly spoiled what was an otherwise pleasant visit to your city, which I have visited on numerous occasions and look forward to returning to in the future. It really is a bad look for Canberra and other cyclists who do the right thing. Mark Ryan, Katherine South, NT Sixty is enough It is inconceivable that in our safety conscious era any individual regardless of occupation or recreation should be operating a vehicle (including bicycles) for more than 60 hours per week. I call on Andrew Barr to limit road users to 60 hours per week maximum, on the paved infrastructure.

Matt Ford, Crookwell, NSW Off track Regarding the proposal to send light rail drivers overseas to learn to drive a tram, the average ratepayer would be torn between laughter and tears. The Royal Australian Air Force has an expectation that a trainee pilot would take only six hours flying with an instructor before he goes solo. For an experienced car driver to pick up the knack of driving a tram would be approximately an hour. It would seem commonsense to send one of the 16 to Sydney to take whatever tram driving course they have there and return to Canberra and share the knowledge with the other prospective drivers.

Light rail is a silly idea, which is getting sillier as it progresses. With self-driving cars on the way there will come a time when tram drivers will be only on the tram in case of a malfunction. Howard Carew, Isaacs Wrong call Your article "Canberra's south still on hold for NBN" (February 7), which referenced a speech by local MHR Gai Brodtmann to the House of Representatives, was misleading when it came to the timing of the NBN rollout, especially in relation to Greenway in Tuggeranong. While the NBN rollout map shows the Tuggeranong town centre  which is in Greenway  as not presently being connected to the NBN, those parts of Greenway north of Soward Way are already connected to the NBN, with an FTTN service having been available for nearly six months.

Ms Brodtmann may wish to consider correcting the record of her speech. Don Sephton, Greenway Not inconsistent Philip Benwell's enthusiasm for the monarchy (Letters, February 7) misrepresents the facts. There is no inconsistency between Kim Beazley's wise support for an Australian republic and his mooted appointment as governor of Western Australia. Yes, the state governor's appointment is formally rubber-stamped by the absentee monarch. But the WA constitution nowhere requires the Governor to "give and abide by a loyal oath of allegiance to the Queen". While the WA constitution does require an oath of elected representatives (but not the governor), it now sensibly allows that oath to be directed only towards service to the people of WA and to exclude even token allegiance to the democratically irrelevant monarch. I suppose Mr Beazley could choose to swear allegiance to the Queen, as he was previously constitutionally forced to do as a federal minister. I would be disappointed in him if he did so.

Mike Hutchinson, Reid Vindictive PM How vindictive and hypocritical of the British legal system to keep denying Julian Assange the justice and freedom he is entitled to. Not only did he not commit any crime in England, but he has already paid a higher price than the average sentence served to a proven offender charged with, for example, manslaughter. Meanwhile, it would appear that our government, led by Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister of the best and fairest country in the world, is doing nothing to defend one of its citizens in distress overseas. John Rodriguez, Florey Arms exports attacked

It is with great dismay we heard the announcement by the federal government of the Defence Export Strategy, a decision to make Australia a major arms exporter. It is deplorable Australia will contribute to the deaths, injury and suffering of innocent people caused in warfare. Do we really want to be responsible for increasing the number of homeless refugees in the world from the current 65 million? The armaments industry is about warfare, death and profits to line the pockets of wealthy armament manufacturers. There is no benevolence, morality or decency in this industry. The justification for this atrocity is that it will create jobs, but at what cost. Australia can do so much better than this. We could invest in jobs in the renewable energy sector to export affordable energy technology to the poorest people of the world who have no electricity and thereby improve the lives of millions. We could invest in jobs in biomedical and medical engineering and improving the lives of further millions, particularly those who've already suffered horrific injuries through war. Investment in jobs in the agricultural sector could help millions of starving people by developing crops that will grow and feed them in difficult soil and climates. All these jobs would be creating products and technologies that could be exported to help our fellow humans, rather than kill them. We appeal to fellow Australians with a conscience to speak to their federal parliamentarians and let them know what a despicable idea this is. Michelle and Joe McGinness, Chisholm Avoid 'rat race'

Lisa Forward wrote (Letters, February 5) "Australia can't manufacture cars but can make arms. Why?" We can make cars, of course, it's just that our erstwhile manufacturers got out of the business because they couldn't compete economically with makers in other countries. Will our nascent "masters of war" be able to match the big guns in the international arms market? I doubt it. More to the point, why would any civilised nation want to join that rat race? Ed Highley, Kambah Disappointing review Catriona Jackson reviewed Podilato restaurant, Mantra Macarthur Hotel in Good Foodon February 6 ("Service the standout at hotel eatery", p3) and gave it 12.5/20. One assumes most readers wouldn't bother to read the review thinking "I certainly won't visit this restaurant". I did read the review. There was not one negative comment. How can Catriona give these reviews without explanations. What happened to the list of figures explaining how she came by the total? Disappointing, Catriona. Restaurants are all battling to get customers these days  surely a fair rating would be better. (I assure you that I don't know the owners or have anything to do with this business). Susan Brown, Kaleen

Fair share of tax I found it difficult to believe federal Labor would adopt an "anti-business, anti-free enterprise approach ... calculated and indeed designed (is there a difference?) to destroy thousands of jobs, thousands of opportunities", as Malcolm Turnbull has alleged ("PM targets Labor 'turn to the left"', February 6, p4). Why would a political party that was founded to represent workers (as opposed to employers) deliberately set out to destroy their jobs and aspirations? It's much more likely about making business pay its fair share of tax. On a different note, I hope that Greens leader Richard di Natale is right about Labor adopting a formal stance opposing the Adani coal mine. However, I am concerned the Coalition will find a way around the anti-mine views of the majority of people, the increasingly evident economic unviability of the mine and Adani's being unable to secure financial backing, as mooted in the report "Obscure agency in $3.8b arms deal" (February 5, p4). Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Whose head? The PM thunders yet again ("Turnbull promises firm action over cabinet papers", February 5, p5) and promises that "heads must roll." He was just as firm in his condemnation of Penny Wong as minister in charge when security documents surfaced last week. The minister in charge of PM & C is ... err ... Mr Turnbull. Whose head will go in the tumbril, Malcolm? Bob Gardiner, Isabella Plains Negative polls The Liberals had to put up with 30-odd negative opinion polls before they replaced Tony Abbott with Malcolm Turnbull. Under Malcolm Turnbull's leadership the Liberals have also been embracing negative opinion polls which given a chance will soon cross 30. A disadvantage to the Liberals is that there are not many multimillion-dollar donors at their disposal.

Sankar Kumar Chatterjee, Evatt Misleading presentation Why do Canberra Times journalists allow themselves to be manipulated by special interest groups and their associates in the way they present stories? The headline "Citizen's jury flawed: report" (February 6, p1) and the indication on the front page that the report was written by ANU Associate Professor Dr Ron Levy gave the impression this was an independent academic evaluation of the citizens' jury with regard to Compulsory Third Party Insurance. Only when one gets to p6 does one find "Dr Levy's research was prompted by the ACT Law Society, which has launched a media blitz against changing the insurance scheme". The content of the story was interesting, but the presentation of the story was misleading.

John Goss, Kaleen Term is not 'just right' The misuse of the term "Goldilocks" ("Turnbull after Goldilocks", Forum, February 4) says it all about modern discussion. The moderate middle ground should more properly be labelled "Baby Bear" but hey, Goldilocks sounds better and is easier for targets to identify with. But it contains a value judgement, that "just enough" is associated with pretty little girls while "too much" or "too little" are bestial attributes. You might think moderation is so often the best choice that it may as well be regarded as the only proper choice. Try telling the Coalition that when it comes to wealth, moderation is the blonde, blue-eyed choice. They are the hand puppets of Papa Bear.

S W Davey, Torrens IN BRIEF MIRROR REFLECTION I don't know where Ken Helm (To the Point, February7) has been seeing all these mirrorless bikes. I have a rear-view mirror on my bike, and every cyclist who I know has one or even two of them. We would feel vulnerable  almost naked  without them. Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

GOOD WORK, DAN What is Jan Gulliver (Letters, February7) expecting when she turns off 666. Has she ever listened to the AM program during the morning show. Keep up the good work, Dan, and keep giving us alternative views. Brian Hale, Wanniassa TURNED OFF What Jan Gulliver says (Letters, February7). I no longer listen to 666.

Maureen Cummuskey, Hackett MUDDY WATERS I'm not sure that Josh Frydenberg's comment that Tony Burke is "seeking to muddy the waters to obscure the fact that Labor is crabwalking back from its support for the Adani mine" is actually a mixed metaphor, as Fergus Hunter suggests ("Politics Live: Turnbull takes on tax cuts, faces questions over banks," canberratimes.com.au, February7). After all, crabs can and do walk in muddy waters. Michael McCarthy, Deakin

NO POINT IN POINTING I wish someone would point out to Malcolm Turnbull that real leaders don't resort to pointing their fingers at their opponents. It is a sign of weakness and insecurity. Winston Churchill, who is well established as a great leader, would never have wagged his cigar at anyone. Audrey Guy, Ngunnawal ANOTHER VIETNAM

Recent Afghanistan deaths of innocents confirms we have learned nothing about our US alliance in the past 45 years. It just another dirty Vietnam and once again we lose. G.Gillespie, Queanbeyan NOT GOING FAR The Canberra Liberals intention to "push the envelope" reminds me of the saying that it doesn't matter how hard you push the envelope, it a always remains stationery.

Brian Smith, Conder ONE RULE FOR SOME? The front page "Forced discharge" (February 4) report of two ADFA cadets forced out after coming out contained a contentious point. The full story (pp4-5) told of, "there being a policy in place to prevent abuse and bullying of transgender officers." One wonders if this means that abuse and bullying of transgender NCOs and other ranks remains acceptable. Gary J. Wilson, Macgregor
Esmond Bradley Martin, who has been found stabbed to death at his home in Kenya aged 76, was an American-born conservationist who fought against the poaching of rhino horn and elephant ivory in Africa.

He was particularly known for his freelance undercover work in establishing black-market prices and exposing smuggling cartels and international trafficking routes for organisations such as the World Wildlife Fund, the United Nations and Traffic, the Cambridge-based body that monitors illegal wildlife trade.

Esmond Bradley Martin was somehow able to persuade crooks, gangsters and underworld dealers that he was in the market for their ivory.

In the 1990s he spent a year posing as a Gorky Park-style illegal dealer, following the ivory trail from the kills to the marketplace and collecting data on how the price grew from about $20 per kilogram that the poachers received to almost $600 per kilogram in the Chinese marketplaces.

Among those he exposed were a diplomat at the Italian embassy in Lusaka who smuggled ivory in a sack of dog meat, the Indonesian ambassador in Dar-es-Salaam who turned his gated embassy compound into an ivory carving factory, and a North Korean official whose dozen suitcases laden with ivory smelled so bad that they attracted the attention of customs officials in Paris.
In a little over a year, new world-class metro rail services will start in Sydney  the biggest addition to our city's rail network in a century.

There are as many opinions on whether Sydney Metro will improve the rail system as there are public transport customers, but the facts show it is a transformative project that Sydney cannot do without.

There will be no need for a timetable in the Sydney CBD once the Metro is complete. Credit:Ryan Stuart

At full capacity, Sydney Metro will run a train every two minutes in each direction under the Sydney CBD  a level of frequency common around the world but never before seen in Australia. No need for a timetable, just turn up and go.

A standalone, fully automated railway system, Sydney Metro has been designed to work together with the existing Sydney public transport system  from interchanging with buses at new metro stations and ferries at Barangaroo, to the new underground Central Walk concourse, which will easily connect all public transport customers with Sydney Metro, suburban and intercity trains, buses and the new light rail at Central Station.
The Berejiklian government has approved 11 large-scale solar energy plants in the past 12 months, clearing the way for NSW to join a "tsunami" of new renewable energy capacity across the nation.

The 170-megawatt Finley Solar Project in the Riverina, which will include half a million solar panels, is the first to get approval in 2018.

The 10 to get the go-ahead in 2017 doubled the number in the previous year, and alone supported 1800 construction jobs, Planning Minister Anthony Roberts said.

Those 10 "collectively reduce carbon emissions by over 2.5 million tonnes, which is equivalent to taking around 800,000 cars off the road", he said.

NSW had more renewable generation capacity under construction than any other state, Energy Minister Don Harwin said.
The rooftops of Canberra's CBD could yield power for up to 13,000 homes if businesses installed solar panels, a new study has claimed.

Research by the the Australian Photovoltaic Institute says at least a third of the roof space in the city's centre could house solar panels, generating big savings on power bills and on greenhouse gas emissions.

A mock-up of the Australian War Memorial covered in solar panels.

The institute has produced a map of Civic showing the potential for rooftop solar, and hopes to soon chart the rest of the ACT and Australia to encourage more people to install panels on their homes and businesses.

"The CBD at the moment has about 1.2 megawatts of solar installed and we've found there's a minimum capacity for 46 megawatts of solar on the rooftops of Canberra," Australian Photovoltaic Institute chair Dr Renate Egan said.
A revolutionary HIV drug that will liberate thousands of gay Australians from the fear of sex will almost certainly be approved for federal subsidy this week, in a watershed moment in the decades-long fight against AIDS.

Hopes are high particularly in the gay community that the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee will on Friday issue a long-awaited "positive recommendation" for Truvada, commonly known as PrEP.

Fairfax Media understands Health Minister Greg Hunt will then move quickly to list the drug on the Pharamaceutical Benefits Scheme. That will bring the price of the drug from as much as $10,000 a year down to just $39.50 per script, or just a couple of hundred dollars a year.
That's a wrap on Question Time.

And it's where we'll leave our rolling coverage of the day in politics.

It's been a weird one. Who would have thought we'd end up discussing a ban on sexual relations between politicians and staffers?

There was also a welcome focus on Indigenous affairs, including some much-needed scrutiny of the Closing the Gap strategy.

Thanks for being with me and Alex Ellinghausen. See you next week.

And, in the meantime, you can find me on Facebook and Twitter.
It's not really surprising that people with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo demand that women submit allegations to a legal system that has been failing them for decades. Women's right to work free of sexual harassment and receive equal pay has been enshrined in law for nearly fifty years and yet the gender pay gap remains stubbornly persistent and it took a global revolution for sexual harassment law to be anything more than another reason to disbelieve women.

When the legal system failed them, women did not take to the streets with weapons, they went to social media with words. They told their stories and amplified the stories of other women. They demanded an end to systemic collusion by and with predatory men. Some, but by no means all, of the men who had preyed on women were no longer allowed to keep their secrets. This, we are told, could lead to great injustice.

In all the concern about lives being ruined, the women who were victims of predatory men rarely seem to be the objects of compassion. Men who have resigned from jobs that gave them decades of fortune and accolades are prioritised over the women who were never able to get off the ground because what if she's lying? What if he didn't mean it that way? What if she felt afraid and pressured but he didn't even know? He may have reaped all the benefits of being male but surely it's unfair that he is now judged for being a man?

Powerlessness and rage, suppressed for too long, is not reasoned when it finally surfaces. Nor should it be. Instead of construing it as an unreasonable threat to men perhaps it should be recognised as a proportionate response to centuries of oppression and objectification. The power of anger, collectively harness anger, is required to force change. No one ever gave up power because someone asked them nicely over a cup of tea and a biscuit.

Roiphe is right that we can and should have strong public debates about consent, how we ask for it, express it and understand it. We should be talking about how men view women and sex. We should demand that men listen and participate, all the more so when they are reluctant. We should also be talking to women about how they understand and express consent. It's a complicated and difficult conversation and we should be disagreeing and debating passionately about it. This is exactly how a revolution about ideas and behaviour should happen. But it cannot happen without making men uncomfortable and it can't work if we are required to protect men from the consequences of predatory behaviour.
The pesticides authority is facing another probe as it moves to Armidale, after a parliamentary inquiry began looking into the agency.

A national audit report found in June last year that the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority had failed to prepare for the disruption its forced move to northern NSW caused, a criticism that Labor branded unfair as the agency tried to follow a government order to relocate from Canberra.

Barnaby Joyce has driven the Coalition push to relocate the pesticides authority. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Parliament's house standing committee on agriculture has started an inquiry into the agency's efforts to adopt the audit office's recommendations, including to improve risk management, and governance and performance measures.

The APVMA declined to comment, but committee chair and Liberal MP Rick Wilson said it would focus on the agency's progress since the Australian National Audit Office's report.
A nephew of nightclub boss John Ibrahim is among a crop of five men recently charged with involvement in an alleged billion-dollar crime ring linked to three other members of the Ibrahim family.

Hassan "Sam" Sayour, 26, fronted court for the first time on Wednesday on charges of possessing illegal tobacco with an intent to defraud, and dealing with more than $10,000 in proceeds of crime.

Sam Sayour married Aisha Mehajer, the sister of Salim Mehajer. Credit:Instagram: katsakalaki

Mr Sayour was recently in the headlines when he married the sister of former deputy Auburn mayor Salim Mehajer, known for his own elaborate wedding and court appearances. Mr Ibrahim's long-time bodyguard had been shot in the back the night before Mr Sayour wed Aisha Mehajer.

Australian Federal Police have now charged 17 people in Operation Veyda, which they say smashed an international drug and tobacco syndicate stretching from Dubai to Sydney.
Until now, only big investors have been privy to the Berejiklian government's figures on how many motorists are using the first section of the WestConnex toll road.

But a leaked document containing weekly data for Sydney's widened M4 shows traffic dropped by 32 per cent in the first full week of tolls to about 942,000 trips, compared with average volumes in the weeks before the charges were introduced in August.

About 1 million vehicles travelled on the 7.5 kilometre-section of the M4 between Parramatta and Homebush in the first week of November, up 6 per cent on the first full week of tolls in August but still down by 28 per cent on the weeks before they began.

Aside from limited public comments, the government has refused to release detailed information on weekly traffic, saying it would "significantly prejudice negotiations" around the sale of a 51 per cent stake in WestConnex.
A man who was wanted by NSW Police on outstanding warrants has died after falling from a balcony in Sydney.

Officers, following a tip-off from the public on the whereabouts of Patrick Fisher, went to a property in George Street, Waterloo, on Wednesday to look for him, NSW Police said in a statement.

But the 31-year-old subsequently fell from the balcony and died.

On Monday police appealed for public assistance to locate the man, who was wanted on two outstanding warrants for assault and stealing offences.

He was known to frequent the Redfern, Waterloo and Surry Hills areas, police said.
Editor's note: All charges against seven co-accused were dropped in February 2020.

One of three young boys allegedly raped and abused repeatedly by a group of people linked to a circus training school west of Sydney was aged just three at the time of the first assault, court documents reveal.

Seven people linked to the Blue Mountains business were arrested on Monday and had 127 charges laid against them over allegations they physically and sexually abused three boys younger than eight between 2014 and 2016.

The seven accused are collectively facing 127 charges including kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault of a child. Credit:Facebook

The charges they face include kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault of a child and making child abuse material.
Police are investigating a "suspicious" house fire that broke out on the Gold Coast on Tuesday.

Emergency services were called to Southport following reports of a fire on the ground level of a Mildred Street home about 7pm.

Emergency services rushed to a Gold Coast home on Tuesday. Credit:Ken Irwin KEN

Fire crews managed to control the fire, which did not cause significant damage to the home.

Police said a lawn mower in a storage area underneath the home had been set alight.
More than 3600 fines have been dished out to people smoking in cars carrying children over the past eight years.

The offence, which currently attracts an on-the-spot fine of $252, has raked in about $800,000 for the Queensland government.

Thousands of Queenslanders have been fined for smoking in cars carrying children. Credit:Quentin Jones

On January 1, 2010, it became illegal to smoke in a car carrying a passenger under 16 years of age, with police officers responsible for enforcing the law.

The southern police region, covering a vast area from Ipswich out to Winton in Queensland's west, had the highest number of fines since the law was introduced, with 1238 fines.
The crisis engulfing Melbourne Town Hall in the wake of Robert Doyles departure amid sexual harassment allegations could have been avoided if his fellow councillors had raised their knowledge of claimed misconduct with management, one councillor says.

The Age understands at least three sitting councillors were aware of former councillor Tessa Sullivans concerns over Mr Doyles behaviour some time before the scandal became public.

Melbourne City councillor Jackie Watts with former lord mayor Robert Doyle in 2012. Credit:Teagan Glenane

Mr Doyle - who has denied all the allegations - resigned as lord mayor on Monday.

The latest development in the Town Hall saga came as ABC Radio host Jon Faine, who for many years had Mr Doyle on as a guest and commentator, said the former lord mayor was "notorious" for his "fondness" for pretty young colleagues.
The Turnbull government wants to ''dud" Victorian hospitals and patients by more than $2 billion, according to Victorian Labor.

The state will miss out on enough money to hire 7000 doctors, 14,000 nurses or to pay for more than 330,000 surgical procedures, if the Commonwealth gets its way on a new funding package for the nation's hospitals, Labor's Health Minister Jill Hennessy says.

Labor premiers are furious about the federal government's hospital funding plans. Credit:Jason South

A leaked document obtained by Fairfax Media reveals Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Health Minister Greg Hunt want Canberra to continue to pay 45 per cent of the cost of hospital funding, with spending growth to be capped at an annual 6.5 per cent for the five years from 2020.

But Fairfax Media has confirmed at least three Labor premiers - Victoria's Daniel Andrews, South Australia's Jay Weatherill and Queensland's Annastacia Palaszczuk - are expected to baulk at the Commonwealth offer.
An elderly Perth man accused of murdering his gravely-ill wife to "put her out of her misery" will be able to attend his wife's funeral after he was granted bail on Wednesday.

Harold Barclay, 85, was charged with the murder of his wife Nancy after police were called to their home on Brompton Place in Alexander Heights last month.

Mr Barclay's lawyer said the case was unique. Credit:Erin Jonasson

He appeared by video link in the Supreme Court from Casuarina Prison on Wednesday as the court heard details of the January 23 incident.

The court was told Nancy suffered from Alzheimer's disease and Mr Barclay was her full-time carer, according to the ABC's Joanna Menagh.
Over the weekend World War Two veteran Walter sat down with two of his children to tell them his final wish.

At 94-years-old, his request was simple: he wanted to sit in the stands and watch a West Coast Eagles game at the new Optus Stadium.

As a beloved father and grandfather, Walter knew his family would try their best to make his dream happen...

But, says granddaughter Nicola, what he couldn't have anticipated was the overwhelming support and love from over 3000 strangers.
This year's National Black HIVAIDS Awareness day commemoration is bittersweet for me. I have been involved in efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic for more than thirty-five years. Today, I am announcing that I will soon be stepping down as the Black AIDS Institute's President and CEO, where I have had the privilege of serving for the last 19 years.

In 1983, when I started doing this work, none of us could have imagined this mysterious new disease, first identified at UCLA Medical Center, would become the defining health issue of our generation. For 19 years I have been saying "AIDS in America is a Black disease". No matter how you look at it -- through the lens of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, level of education, or region of the country where you live -- Black people bear the brunt of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this country -- and the world for that matter. No path, no strategy, no tactic will end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America without ending the epidemic in Black America. We have made tremendous progress over the last two decades toward bringing about the end of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Today, we have the tools to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States. The question is whether we have the political and moral will to use those tools effectively, humanely, and in an inclusive manner. We are at yet another turning point in the trajectory of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Efforts to end the epidemic, provide treatment for those already infected, or prevent new infections are under attack. Are we are going to build on the remarkable advances we have made over the last two decades or are we going to go back to the dark days of despair and death?

The Black AIDS Institute is committed to doing everything in its power to end this epidemic. Going back or simply resisting the current attacks is unacceptable. Moving forward is the only option. A commitment to new executive leadership is a part of a larger effort on the part of the Institute to prepare for the next generation of HIV/AIDS response in Black communities. This commitment is more important now than ever before. I am very proud of the work we have done over the last 19 years and humbled to have had the privilege of working with so many amazing organizations and remarkable individuals.

The time is right for this change. The Institute has never been stronger. With a strong board of directors; and smart, capable and committed staff; a reinvigorated body of ambassadors, spokespeople, and supporters; the Black AIDS Institute has the infrastructure and capacity to carry out this change and deliver on a bold new vision of advocacy, mobilization, capacity building and delivery of direct service.

But, as always, they cannot do it alone. They will need your help. We are all in this together. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny."

Yours in the Struggle,

Phill Wilson

[Note from TheBody.com: This article was originally published by The Black AIDS Institute on Feb. 5, 2018. We have cross-posted it with their permission.]
Theres no better place in the world than New York City. Its big, its diverse and its exciting  from the glitz of Manhattan to the culture of Brooklyn and the Bronx, not to mention other surrounding areas, youre spoilt for choice. To help you navigate the Big Apple, here are seven things you simply need to do.



Pay your respects at the World Trade Center



Although it might seem like a particularly sombre experience in such a vibrant, exciting city, New Yorkers often recommend you visit the 9/11 Museum and Memorial at the World Trade Center. A stark reminder of the tragic event that took place over a decade and a half ago, it doubles as a celebration of New Yorks (and Americas) resilience.



Inside youll find pictures from the fateful day, and some of the objects left. It was sad to see the shoes that were scattered in the debris. Parts from the original towers are also shown throughout the museum, situated underneath where they once stood  the size of the area is staggering. Above ground, youll find huge fountains taking the place of the Twin Towers, the cascading water providing a necessary moment of peace and reflection in the midst of the citys bustle.



Try the pizza



You simply cannot pay a visit to New York City without grabbing a slice of traditional pizza. Throughout Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs, youll come across plenty of pizzerias offering up dollar slices, and although you might be hesitant, itll likely be the best slice of pizza youll ever eat.



As there are so many potential restaurants to try here in the Big Apple, its important to do your research. Depending on your budget, guides from those living in New York City are essential in determining just where to get your slice.



Head to the top of the Empire State Building



For the best views over the city (and the surrounding areas), head to the top of the Empire State Building. Depending on how brave youre feeling, floors 86 and 102 offer observation desks with unparalleled views stretching for miles, with the higher floor being an open-air deck to step out to.



The Empire State Building is an integral part of New York City and its elaborate history, and it remains as grand and spectacular as ever. Visiting it at night is arguably even better, as you take in the lights of the surrounding streets and those for miles ahead. Alternatively, go to the top of the Rockefeller centre for views with less of a queue.



Sail over to the Statue of Liberty



Another integral landmark to visit is the Statue of Liberty, standing tall on Ellis Island just off the coast of Manhattan. It doesnt take long to get there  a short ferry ride through the Upper New York Bay will get you there, and once you disembark youre practically right there in front of it. Be sure to book tickets in advance as it can get very busy.



The statue itself is even more impressive than in the pictures  standing at 300ft tall, it towers over visitors boldly. Its history is prevalent and makes the visit much more powerful. Be sure to stop in the gift shop for your chance to pick up some signature souvenirs.





Stroll down 5th Avenue



For some of the best shopping opportunities, 5th Avenue is the place to go. Its



Shopping isnt the only reason you should visit 5th Avenue, either. From the Rockefeller Center to St. Patricks Cathedral  and, of course, the Plaza Hotel, famed by Home Alone 2  this avenue boasts some of New York Citys most iconic sights. For some of the best shopping opportunities, 5th Avenue is the place to go. Its the most expensive shopping street in the world , but between Saks and Tiffany & Co. are more affordable options  one of the worlds biggest H&M stores can be found here, for example, at 48th and 5th.Shopping isnt the only reason you should visit 5th Avenue, either. From the Rockefeller Center to St. Patricks Cathedral  and, of course, the Plaza Hotel, famed by Home Alone 2  this avenue boasts some of New York Citys most iconic sights.



Take in the wonder of Times Square





You might consider Times Square to be saturated with the effects of tourism and, although youd admittedly be correct, it still holds out as being one of the most spectacular parts of New York City. The dazzling lights and big billboards illuminating the area are as incredible during the day as they are at night, creating walls of vibrant colours that make for one of the most exciting sights in the world.



Be sure to explore the stores you can find here, too  the Hard Rock Cafe is a coveted restaurant masquerading as a mere gift shop, before you get past its exterior and find the legendary remnants of rock music, from Kurt Cobains guitar to Elvis suits, adorning the walls. Beware, though - as highlighted by 1Covers USA guide , this is an area renowned for pickpocketing, as unwitting tourists are targeted by opportunist thieves.





Explore the vast Central Park





Central Park is big. And although you might anticipate it, youll be shocked by its actual size  located between Manhattan and the Bronx, it covers nearly three and a half square kilometres of the island.



Theres a lake to sail upon, trails to follow through the wilderness and massive, open fields that allow you to lay back and bask in the sun amidst the business of the city. Don't forget to seek out the Alice in Wonderland Statue and the Strawberry Fields tribute to John Lennon. If youre in need of a reprieve from the constant energy of New York City, Central Park is where youll find it.





Do you have any more recommendations for sights to see in New York City? Be sure to let me know in the comments below.




HARTFORD  Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday offered a sermon on fairness, using his final State of the State address to push back at President Donald Trumps policies and boost his own agenda and legacy.

We find ourselves at a defining moment in our history, as a state and as a nation, Malloy told a joint session of the General Assembly. We can no longer afford the luxury of silence, or the alluring comfort of the status quo.

Malloy added: This year, in the face of growing national inequity and unfairness, I want to begin a conversation about a series of commonsense changes we can adopt to advance our proud tradition of Connecticut fairness.

In a speech that alternated between preaching and policy, Malloy  a lame duck governor not seeking re-election this fall  pushed a progressive agenda aimed at fixing both social ills and transportation systems.

The governor proposed building more affordable housing, banning bump-stock modifications to guns, giving young criminal offenders a second chance, providing early voting by mail, raising the minimum wage, improving pay equity among men and women, shoring up the states transportation system and easing highway congestion.

But the governor didnt mention that many of his proposals would cost state residents money.

Malloys transportation plan relies on placing electronic tolls on the states highways and raising gas taxes. Earlier this week, he proposed raising cigarette taxes, eliminating the $200 personal property tax exemption, slapping a $3 fee on tires and taxing non-prescription drugs.

He also didnt talk Wednesday about the states continuing battle with deficits  the $264 million gap this year and projected $1.9 billion shortfall in 2020.

Id like to talk about fairness, Malloy said at one point. Fairness lies at the very center of our national origin, and our national purpose. It is part of the American promise  that if freedom means anything, it means a fair shot at a decent life for all people.

More Information Here are some of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's legislative proposals: Authorize electronic tolls on state highways Seven cent rise in the gas taxes Eliminating the $200 personal property tax exemption A $3 fee on tires Taxing non-prescription drugs Building more affordable housing A 25-cent deposit on wine and liquor bottles Allowing early voting Raising the minimum wage See More Collapse

Malloy added: Too many people are embracing a newfound disregard for truth; its a bizarre reality where facts are called fake, and the free press is mocked and maligned in a way that we have never seen before.

Disappointed

J.R. Romano, chairman of the state Republican Party, said it was no accident that Malloy didnt mention deficits, taxes and fee increases.

He cant talk about it, because they are pretending that Connecticut does not have a problem, Romano said. My favorite moment was when he said he raised the minimum wage and now needs another (increase) because the cost of living increased. Republicans told him that would happen.

Romano added: This is the Democrats in a nutshell. They are going to pretend nothing is wrong and seek more of your money.

State Sen. Minority Leader Len Fasano, R-North Haven, said Malloys speech was filled with big promises but short on specifics.

Governor Malloys speech was clearly a reflection of his anger with Washington, but it was short on details when it comes to moving Connecticut forward, Fasano said.

The governor used a lot of rhetoric about fairness, Fasano continued. Yet earlier this week, we saw a budget that was anything but fair to Connecticut residents. The governor wants to tax low-income families more, cut services and health care support for the elderly and disabled and add more burdens onto residents and job creators.

State Rep. Charles Ferraro, R-West Haven, also panned the speech.

I was disappointed in the content of the speech, Ferraro said in a Twitter broadcast.

We are up in a short session to tweak the budget and quite frankly the governor never once mentioned the budget economy or jobs, Ferraro said. In order to get the state back on track, I hope both sides can come through and do the things necessary to get our economy going again.

Not everyone was disappointed. Lindsay Farrell, director of the Connecticut Working Families Party, said Malloy is the right side of many issues.

Raising the minimum wage, expanding paid sick days and passing pay-equity legislation are meaningful steps to put Connecticut back on track, Farrell said.

Climate and health

Malloy used a portion of his speech to push for measures to protect residents from policies proposed or being enacted by Trump and the Republican-controlled Congress.

The governor urged the Legislature to keep birth control free for those who need it and to preserve health insurance standards offered by the Affordable Care Act.

Affordable health care is under assault in Washington, Malloy said. If we fail to act, premiums will rise and lifesaving treatments will be put out of reach for more and more families. Lets make it clear that in Connecticut, health care is a fundamental right.

The governor cited ongoing climate change and rising temperatures and urged the Legislature to protect residents by crafting a shoreline resiliency plan and mandating that 75 percent of Connecticut energy be clean energy by 2030.

The science is indisputable, Malloy said Our climate is changing  temperatures continue to rise, the ice caps continue to melt, and our weather is more severe than at any time in modern history.

We have to do more, because Connecticut fairness means caring not just about our own immediate interests, but also about the interests of future generations, Malloy said. And the truth is, future generations face an undeniable threat  sea levels in Connecticut are now set to rise nearly 2 feet by the year 2050.

Dreamers

Malloy reminded residents of his administrations accomplishments, including passing the DREAM Act that allowed so-called Dreamers  children of illegal immigrants who have lived their lives in the state  to attend state colleges.

Connecticut fairness means we dont punish children for the actions of their parents, Malloy said. Its why we passed the Connecticut DREAM ACT  to make sure that kids brought to this country by their parents still have access to affordable higher education.

But Malloys statement that Connecticut does not punish children for the actions of their parents drew a rebuke from a leader of the Dreamers movement in Connecticut.

We are disappointed in Gov. Malloy for criminalizing our immigrant parents by saying Connecticut does not punish children for the actions of their parents, said Camila Bortolleto, a Danbury resident and campaign manager CT Students for a Dream.

We cannot win progress for our state while playing into the narrative that only some in our community are deserving of dignity, Bortolleto said.
NORWALK  A Common Council subcommittee had lent its support to accepting $1.1 million from the state for city land needed to rebuild the Walk Bridge.

The full council will take up the matter next Tuesday evening.

The Walk Bridge easements were advanced to the Council meeting on February 13th, said Council Majority Leader John Igneri, a District E Democrat who chairs the councils Public Works Committee. Ultimately, we all decided to advance it and that the price was acceptable. Bruce Chimento and Lisa Burns worked hard over many months to achieve these results, which we greatly appreciated.

On Tuesday evening, the committee advanced the proposed easements after a presentation by public works Principal Engineer Lisa Burns and department Director Bruce Chimento.

The talking points at the committee meeting focused on defining the exact pieces of property, the impact the easements may have on the DPW operation and, obviously, compensation we will receive from the DOT, Igneri said Wednesday.

The city land in question is between Metro-North Railroads New Haven Line tracks and the wastewater treatment plant at the citys Public Works Center on South Smith Street.

There are a number of easements throughout the city that the state of Connecticut needs to obtain to construct the Walk Bridge, Burns told the committee Tuesday. One of them is affecting the wastewater treatment plant site.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation has agreed to pay the city $580,000 for a 23,060-square-foot permanent easement north of the railroad tracks, between the Norwalk River and a mound of earth fill known as Martins Mound.

The DOT would pay the city $386,000 for an 18,780-square-foot construction easement and $154,000 for a 6,098-square-foot permanent easement, both located to the east, also on the north side of the tracks.

In addition, the DOT would pay the city $1,050 for a 998-square-foot piece of land off Hendricks Avenue to facilitate the upcoming rehabilitation of the Interstate 95/Yankee Doodle Bridge over the Norwalk River.

Next year, the DOT plans to begin replacing Walk Bridge, which it deems outdated and unreliable. Built in 1898, the bridge failed twice in 2014, disrupting traffic along the New Haven Line and the Northeast Corridor used by Amtrak. ConnDOT shortly afterward began assembling state and federal dollars to replace the bridge.

The DOT has begun staging for the project at several locations, including Goldstein Place and inside the loop of the Route 7 southbound off-ramp to South Norwalk.
NORWALK  Next winter, as youre battling the weather and the cold, Angie Daniels will be on a cruise to the Bahamas and a visit to Disney World.

Ive got butterflies in my stomach, Daniels said excitedly in the lobby of STAR, Inc., a nonprofit that supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Me too, said Trish Elmore, who will be attending Camp Horizons for a week this coming summer.

The two had been granted their dream trips, all expenses paid, by Friends of G, a nonprofit based in Glastonbury.

The day they were given the news, STAR staff invited them into a room where a suitcase with a campers pillow and sunglasses and a Mickey Mouse balloon taller than Angie awaited.

Angie grabbed the balloon and hugged it so hard the head popped off and floated up to the ceiling, where it smiled beneficently down at the scene of excitement.

When I saw that, I knew I was going to win, Elmore said. I was so happy!

Ive never been on a trip, so its been my dream for a long time, Daniels said. Ive never been on a big boat. Ive never been in a hotel. Ive never been on an airplane  and Im afraid of heights. Oh, boy!

Friends of G was started by Kate and Dan Okun  whose daughter, Gianna (or G for short), was diagnosed with autism and Rett syndrome at a young age  and Kate Okuns mother, Lynn Damon.

We wanted to help people with intellectual disabilities and/or autism on the spectrum  adults, Kate Okun said, explaining adults often dont have as many resources as children. We want to help adults with disabilities live the best life that they can.

This was the first year that the nonprofit has worked with STAR. Okun said in addition to funding Daniels and Elmores dreams, Friends of G funded over a dozen wishes throughout the state during the holiday season.

She described getting to meet Daniels and Elmore as heartwarming.

I dont think they even understood that they made our month, she said. We were so happy for them, and theyre just genuinely the nicest people ever.

The two had the same to say about the Okun family. Then the conversation turned back to daydreaming about their upcoming travels.

Im getting a new swimming suit, Daniels said animatedly. Ive never met Mickey!

Ive already got a swimming suit, Elmore said. (Camp) will be fun  with people and everybody.

Those interested in learning more about or contributing to Friends of G can visit www.friendsofg.org.

rschuetz@hearstmediact.com; @raschuetz
WILTON  Some 33 communities, a good chunk of them from Fairfield County, would lose what little education aid they now get from the state under a budget adjustment plan unveiled Monday by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Essentially, any town whose Equalized Net Grand List Per Capita exceeds $200,000 would lose education funding.

In all, nearly $8.6 million would be stripped from the nearly $2 billion educational aid grant. Communities affected include Wilton, as well as surrounding towns like Darien, Easton, Fairfield, Greenwich, New Canaan, Weston and Westport.

The proposal is a plan Malloy tried and failed last year to get through the Legislature. If Malloy succeeds this time around, Fairfield would lose nearly $1 million while Wilton would lose the $387,564 in education aid that it gets this year.

First Selectwoman Lynne Vanderslice said the cuts to education and municipal aid for Wilton comes as no surprise.

He is proposing just under $600,000 less than we are scheduled to receive this year. The amount is only $200,000 less than we had budgeted for this year as we expected the cuts to occur this year, Vanderslice said.

Still, Vanderslice said the budget proposal is another example of the need for leadership to develop meaningful and realistic solutions to address the States fiscal problems.

Betsy Gara, executive director of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns, said property taxpayers in the states small towns are almost at a tipping point.

Cutting municipal aid and forcing steep hikes in property taxes will very likely push them over the edge, Gara said.

Poorer districts like Bridgeport and Danbury would be held harmless under the main school funding formula, state budget chief Ben Barnes said in a noon news conference at the state Capitol.

The rollout of a planned formula change aimed at redistributing funds would remain intact, but its rollout would be slowed down.

Additionally, the proposal would cut $7 million from a separate priority grant on which districts like Bridgeport depend.

The Legislature, which started its session on Wednesday, will be asked to restore some of the planned reduction to community colleges in the second year of a two-year budget which was approved in late October  four months after the 2017-18 fiscal year began.

In essence, instead of a planned cut, the community colleges system would get $2 million more than it is getting now, said Maribel La Luz, a spokeswoman for Connecticut State Colleges and Universities, which includes the states 12 community colleges.

Barnes said the administration did not believe the system could sustain further cuts.

This makes a difference to our community colleges, and we are grateful for the consideration given to our students even though the colleges will still begin to operate in the red in the current year ... and use up our reserves in fiscal year 2020, La Luz said.

Malloys plan leaves the appropriation to the University of Connecticut as is and would pump $200 million into the UConn Next Generation construction program. Another $95 million would go to the Connecticut State College and University building program.

As for teacher pensions, Malloys plan calls for paying state contributions into the system as scheduled, but seeks reforms to the formula going forward so as to drastically reduce future required contributions to the fund, given the state the budget stability it needs moving forward, he said.

lclambeck@ctpost.com; twitter/lclambeck
Early voting begins Thursday at the Madison County Clerks office for those wanting to vote early in the March 20 primary.

Election officials will be on hand from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the County Clerks office located on the first floor of the Madison County Administration Building in downtown Edwardsville.

Several assigned sites around the county wont open for early voting until the week of March 5.

County Clerk Debbie Ming-Mendoza encouraged voters take advantage of the opportunity.

You can vote at any of the sites, regardless of where you live, Ming Mendoza said Monday.

Those assigned sites are at SIUE, Granite City, Bethalto, Collinsville, Godfrey, Highland, Troy and Wood River. New sites will be available this year in Alton, Venice and Madison.

The SIUE site is at the Willow Room in the Morris University Center.

That site is open March 8 and 9 from noon to 5 p.m., and on March 12 through 16 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Dates and times for other locations are available on the Madison County Clerks website.

Several races should be of interest to local voters. Dwight Kay of Glen Carbon and Wendy Erhart square off in the Republican race for state representative in District 112, and Madison County Regional Superintendent of Schools Bob Daiber is one of six Democrats running for governor.

As of Tuesday morning, Edwardsville mayor Hal Patton was still waiting for a decision on the dispute of his signing of Democrat Katie Stuarts petition unfolds.

Patton is seeking the GOP nomination in the state senates 56th District and his name was listed on the ballots mailed out to members of the military and those residents currently out of the county.

Democrat Rachelle Aud Crowe is seeking her partys nomination in the 56th District.

The race for Illinois Attorney General features eight Democrats, including former Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn.

In the 13th Congressional District, five Democrats are running: Erik Jones of Edwardsville, Betsy Dirkson Londrigan, Jon Ebel, David Gill and Angel Sides.

In the 54 Congressional District, four Republicans are running: Jason Plummer of Edwardsville, Rafael Him, George Barber, and Benjamin Stratemeyer.

In Madison County Board District 11, Republicans Dalton Gray, of Troy, and William Bill Markowitz will face each other.

Three Democrats are running in Granite City District 21: incumbent Art Asadorian, Marc A. Griffin and John Christopher Janek.

The general election is Nov. 6.
EDWARDSVILLE  A total of 15 German students were in attendance at Tuesdays City Council meeting.

As part of Edwardsville High Schools GAPP (German American Partnership Program) program, these students are visiting area attractions, which also includes learning about local city government.

Levi Antrum, German teacher at Edwardsville High School, is leading the program and said this is the first group in the GAPP program to have visited Edwardsville.

They are the first ever of a GAPP group, which is a German American Partnership Program. Were just now starting this up at Edwardsville High School and we were going to start an exchange with this group where every other year, the American students will go to Germany and the German students will come to the United States. This year they are visiting us first, so they are here in February. We will be then going to Germany in June with nine of our students from EHS and then myself and the other German teacher at Edwardsville High School, Antrum said. We will be visiting them there. While theyre here, were just letting them see some of the sights in the Edwardsville area and the St. Louis, Metro East.

The German students are set to be in town until Saturday, Feb. 17. EHS students will be heading to Germany Monday, June 4th through Friday, June 22nd.

Edwardsville Mayor Hal Patton welcomed the group before conducting business.

Alderwoman Janet Stack was excused from the meeting.

The first order of business was the approval of two licenses to conduct raffles.

One was for the Main Street Community Center with the proceeds going toward the funding of senior programs and Main Street Community Services. Chances will be sold Saturday, Feb. 24. The second raffle license was granted to the Edwardsville Fraternal Order of Police with proceeds going towards the lodges charity account to help individuals in need, schools, etc. Chances will be sold Saturday, Feb. 24.

The motions passed unanimously.

Next was a Class F Special Use Liquor License that was approved for Recess Brewing LLC for the SIUE Trivia Night Saturday, March 10. The event will be held at the SIUE Fitness Center at the Vadalabene Center.

With none opposed, the motion was approved unanimously.

Soon after, a Tobacco License application was recommended for approval.

The Cave Anime Outlet and Smoke Shop, LLC, to be located at 501 N. Main Street  currently Revolution Smoke Shop  applied for the license Jan. 25 of this year. All aldermen were in favor of its approval and it passed unanimously.

In addition, the Public Services Committee recommended the approval of adding two new streetlights in the 900 block of Prestonwood Drive.

Installation of the new lights and poles  which will match the existing lights in the neighborhood - will help improve safety and illumination for residents. There is no initial cost.

Alderman SJ Morrison addressed Council members and said all affected residents are in favor of the new installations.

This was a request from some residents  and I did pull all of the residents on the street  and everyone is unanimously in favor of this. A lot of folks walk in the neighborhood and they think this will help a lot, Morrison said.

None were opposed and the motion was approved unanimously.

Public Services also recommended the approval of another streetlight installation with a 6-foot mast arm on Mary Drive in the amount of $85. The streetlight will be installed onto an existing wood pole between the 1351 and 1359 blocks of Mary Drive. The existing lights on the street were spread too far apart, which prompted the new purchase.

The item is set to be funded through the citys General Fund, Street, Other Maintenance and Repair Line Item.

With none opposed, the motion passed unanimously.

Next was a recommendation from the Public Services Committee to award the St. Louis Street water main replacement project to Keller Construction, Inc. for $547,595.

The contract will include the installation of a new water main along St. Louis Street from West Street to Ammann Place.

The project will upgrade the existing water main from a four-inch and a six-inch water main to an eight-inch water main.

If approved, the project will be funded through the citys Water O&M Distribution Repair/Maintenance Mains fund.

With none opposed, the motion was approved unanimously.

The next City Council meeting is set to take place at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 20 at City Hall. All meetings are open to the public.

For more information, visit the citys website at www.cityofedwardsville.com.
A historic site has reportedly been found in Mount Totek, Dusun Kecil village, Pulau Maya district, North Kayong regency, West Kalimantan, by the East Kalimantan Cultural Heritage Preservation Center (BPCB).

"Based on our investigation of the prehistoric findings in Mount Totek, we have discovered data in the form of a stupa relief that has catra on it. We have also identified reliefs that are probably from a map carved in stone," said agency head Budhy Sancoyo in North Kayong on Tuesday as quoted by Antara.

The BPCB team has communicated with local residents to find more information and look for antique items. They successfully discovered heritage items, like ceramics, kendi (clay jug) and even gold later on.

"We have also secured some artifacts, such as beads, earrings, rings, pendants and other items that haven't been identified yet," Budhy said.

Read also: Jakpost guide to Kota Tua

The items are said to be left behind by Chinese merchants who were set to trade with Java Island, but instead stopped by Maya Island and spent a few months there while waiting for the weather to clear, before continuing their journey.

"This is a very interesting fact, actually. Was Mt. Totek a hub visited by the Chinese merchants, or were the locals already there? We need to study this," he added.

Accompanied by North Kayong regency's culture agency, the BPCB team has further secured the location by adding fences and roofing.

"Trading in Indonesia started in the 6th century and went on until the 16th and 17th centuries. So did [the merchants] come during those eras, or during the Sriwijaya and Majapahit eras? These are some of the things that we'll investigate. But based on the ceramics that we found, they came from the 13th and 14th centuries," said Budhy. (kes)
Seven planets recently spotted orbiting a dim star in our Milky Way galaxy are rocky, seem to have water, and are potentially "habitable", researchers studying the distant system said Monday.

Though much remains unknown about the planets' surfaces and atmospheres, the new measurements have not ruled out the possibility that they may harbour even rudimentary life, the scientists reported.

"So far, no sign allows us to say that they are not habitable," said University of Birmingham astronomer Amaury Triaud, the co-author of a study on the subject.

"All the traffic lights we have passed so far are green."

Research teams gleaned more information about the dwarf star at the centre of the Trappist-1 system, as well as improved measurements of the size and mass of each planet, and the composition of their atmospheres.

All seven are mostly made of rock, with up to five percent of their mass in water -- though it may be in the form of gas or ice, or trapped deep inside the rocky orbs, researchers said.

On Earth, the oceans account for about 0.02 percent of our planet's mass.

A year ago, researchers announced the discovery of the seven Earth-like planets orbiting Trappist-1, an "ultracool" red dwarf star some 39 light years from our home.

As for the odds of the planets hosting organic life forms, "we cannot say at this stage, as they are vastly different from the only planet we know to harbour life (Earth)," Triaud told AFP.

"But they have suitable characteristics and are to date the best place beyond the edge of our (Solar) system to search."

The presence of liquid water is considered essential for life to exist anywhere.

Astronomers used the Hubble Space Telescope to learn more about the Trappist system by studying the planets' atmospheres as they passed in front of their star, appearing as a dark, travelling dot from the observer's point of view.

Findings were published Monday in two papers in the journals Nature Astronomy, and Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Read also: Cool facts about 7 Earth-size planets circling single star

Cooler than the Sun

All seven planets were considered potential candidates for harbouring water, but the chances to find it in liquid form are highest in the temperate "Goldilocks" zone -- not too far from the star for it to be frozen, nor too close to evaporate.

The Trappist-1 system is considered the current best hope for finding evidence of alien life.

"When we combine our new masses with our improved radii measurements, and our improved knowledge of the star, we obtain precise densities for each of the seven worlds, and reach information on their internal composition," said Triaud.

"All seven planets remarkably resemble Mercury, Venus, our Earth, it's Moon, and Mars."

According to study co-author Simon Grimm from the University of Bern, the third and fourth planets from the star are "the most likely" to host some form of life.

"The more we learn about these planets, the more habitable they seem to be," Grimm told AFP by email.

Compared to our Solar System, the Trappist-1 family is very tightly-knit. With orbits ranging from 1.5 to 12 days, the planets would have fit comfortably in the distance between the Sun and its closest planet, Mercury.

Trappist-1 has a mass less than 10 percent the mass of our Sun and is much cooler, which explains why its planets can orbit so nearby.
When it comes to tea, the Turks, unquestionably, beat the Brits.

Turkey is renowned for its coffee, kebabs and sweet desserts, so it came as a pleasant surprise to find out they have a strong tea tradition as well.

Everywhere, from the time you enter an office, a restaurant, a shop or someones home, tea  or chay in Turkish  is offered as a sign of friendship and hospitality.

We love drinking tea at any time of day. Theres never a bad time to drink tea in Turkey, explained Ozlem Batal, while showing us how to properly prepare tea at her familys home in the Kurucesme area in Istanbul.

Turkish tea, classified as black tea, is brewed in a beautiful two-tier tea pot called a caydanlik, and is served in a small, tulip-shaped glass that lets the drinker appreciate the teas crimson color.

Read also: A walk between continents in Turkey

The tea is not traditionally consumed with milk or lemon, only sugar cubes. Many times, the tea is served along with delicious sweet and savory biscuits and cakes.

The Turks are proud of their tea tradition, taking it with them wherever they go.

Turkish Airlines regional commercial manager Nevin Ekiz Bolat said she always has a pot of Turkish tea brewing in her home and office in Jakarta.

I even encourage my staff to try making tea the Turkish way, and they enjoy it, she said with a laugh.

Turkish coffee (Shutterstock.com/File)

Turkey is also famous for its coffee, which, just like tea, is meticulously prepared in a small hand-held kettle called a cezve and served in elegant, small cups and saucers.

The Turks are said to be very proud of their coffee and even consider it their gift to the world.

The strong coffee tradition was evident as seen by the long line of people waiting to buy freshly ground coffee outside Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi, considered the most famous coffee shop in Turkey, nestled at the back of the Spice Bazaar.

If you dont like your coffee strong, then try to sip slowly as Turkish coffee tastes like a rough version of espresso.

Iskender Kebab (Shutterstock.com/File)

Istanbul is also a heaven for meat lovers.

Despite the popularity of the many dishes that reflect Istanbuls rich history as a cultural melting pot, the world-famous Turkish kebab and doner remain the most sought-after dishes.

Kebab is a dish where the meat is caked around a skewer and grilled over a charcoal fire, while for doner, the beaten pieces of seasoned meat are skewered on a spit and grilled vertically.

Iskender Kebab  which is doner meat served on pieces of pide (traditional pita-like bread) with butter and yogurt on the side  is found in many corners of Istanbul.

My personal favorite was lahmacun, a thin pizza-like dish with a topping of finely minced meat with onions and spices and served with tomatoes, lettuce, parsley or rocket and lemon.

You place lettuce and the other things on top of it, squeeze lemon on it, then roll it, Bolat said while showing how to eat the dish.

Another mouthwatering dish is manti, which Batal served at her home.

At a glance, the dish closely resembles ravioli, but the traditional Turkish dumpling is its own thing, with a filling of ground meat, mint and spices, served hot with tomato sauce and yogurt. Its prepared in the classic

Anatolian style, Batal said.

Turkish delight (Shutterstock.com/File)

Traveling to Istanbul without trying baklava  a nutty, syrupy pastry dessert  is practically forbidden. Baklavas ingredients are probably simple but the meticulous craftsmanship in making the dessert, especially the dough layers, is the key.

Lokum, or Turkish delight, is another sweet temptation.

The nougaty dessert comes in a variety of flavors and fillings and is lightly dusted with powdered sugar.

My favorite filling is definitely double-roasted pistachio, with its sweet and nutty flavors lingering on long after I left Istanbul.
From cars to rockets, Elon Musk dreams big.

On Tuesday, the South African-born entrepreneur combined both of those passions, blasting one of his Tesla electric cars into space aboard his own rocket.

It was the latest feat for the 46-year-old Silicon Valley billionaire who has been hailed as a leading innovator and visionary.

Born in Pretoria, on June 28, 1971, the son of an engineer father and a Canadian-born model mother, Musk left South Africa in his late teens to attend Queen's University in Ontario.

He transferred to the University of Pennsylvania after two years and earned bachelor's degrees in physics and business.

After graduating from the prestigious Ivy League school, Musk abandoned plans to pursue further studies at Stanford University.

Instead, he dropped out of school and started Zip2, a company that made online publishing software for the media industry.

He banked his first millions before the age of 30 when he sold Zip2 to US computer maker Compaq for more than $300 million in 1999.

Musk's next company, X.com, eventually merged with PayPal, the online payments firm bought by internet auction giant eBay for $1.5 billion in 2002.

After leaving PayPal, Musk embarked on a series of ever more ambitious ventures.

He became the chairman of electric carmaker Tesla in 2004 and it was a Tesla roadster that was sent into orbit on Tuesday from a Cape Canaveral launchpad.

SpaceX's webcast showed Musk's cherry red car soaring into space, as David Bowie's "Space Oddity" played in the background -- with the words "DON'T PANIC" visible on the dashboard, in an apparent nod to the sci-fi classic the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Powering the car on its journey towards an orbit near Mars was a massive Falcon Heavy rocket built by Musk's space exploration company SpaceX, founded in 2002.

Read also: Elon Musk is selling flamethrowers

SolarCity and Hyperloop

Musk serves as chief executive officer and chief technology officer of SpaceX, which has become a leading supplier of private space launches.

In 2012, SpaceX sent its Dragon cargo ship to the orbiting International Space Station.

After some early crashes and near-misses, SpaceX has also perfected the art of landing booster engines on solid ground and on ocean platforms, rendering them reusable.

SpaceX recently announced that two private citizens have paid money to be sent around the Moon in what would be the farthest humans have ever traveled to deep space since the 1970s.

Besides being the head of SpaceX and Tesla, Musk is the chairman of SolarCity, a solar panel installer recently bought by Tesla.

Musk has also promoted research into an ultra-fast "Hyperloop" rail transport system that would transport people at near supersonic speeds.

Musk's jokingly-named The Boring Company aims to potentially build tunnels for the Hyperloop One super-high-speed transport project.

"He is a visionary who has some key passions which he pursues with vigor," Jackdaw Research chief analyst Jan Dawson said of Musk.

"He doesn't sit around and wait for people to do something about them; he goes out and does it himself."

Some of his ideas have prompted questions and he has raised eyebrows with a theory that the world as it is known may be a computer simulation.

Musk has also said he wants to make humans an "interplanetary species" by establishing a colony of people living on the Mars.

The first tests of a massive rocket that could reach Mars may come as early 2019, with orbital tests in 2020.

Musk lives in Los Angeles and holds US, Canadian and South African citizenship.

Married and divorced three times, he has five children. A sixth child died in infancy.

Forbes estimates Musk's current net worth at $20.3 billion.
The European Union said on Tuesday it will probe tech giant Apple's plan to buy leading song recognition app Shazam because of fears the deal may "adversely affect competition."

Apple announced the deal with London-based Shazam, worth a reported $400 million, in December in a fresh bid to secure an edge in the intensifying battle of streaming services.

The European Commission said it launched the inquiry at the request of EU states Austria, France, Italy, Spain and Sweden, and non-EU Norway and Iceland, which form part of the affiliated European Economic Area.

"The commission considers that the transaction may have a signficant adverse effect on competition in the European Economic Area," it said in a statement.

The deal did not meet the "turnover thresholds" for the European Commission -- the EU's executive arm and anti-trust enforcer -- for Brussels to launch a probe by itself.

Read also: Apple plans combined iPhone, iPad & Mac apps to create one user experience

Instead it had to wait for Austria to lodge an initial request, which was followed by the other states.

Shazam, which was founded in 1999 in the early age of online music, has offered a solution to a longtime agony of listeners -- putting a name to elusive songs. With a click, the app identifies tracks playing on the radio, at parties or as background music.

But Shazam has struggled to find a way to make money off its technology, even as it said that it had reached one billion downloads on smartphones last year.

Shazam only recently announced it had become profitable, thanks to advertising and steering traffic to other sites such as Spotify and Apple Music.

The technology is also no longer quite as novel, with Shazam facing rivals such as SoundHound and with smartphones capable of ever more advanced recognition functions.
SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk on Tuesday has sent his own Tesla roadster into space aboard the world's most powerful rocket in operation, the Falcon Heavy -- to the tune of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."

Here is a look at some of the other far-out space projects that Musk has cooked up in recent years:

- Reusable rockets -

To bring down the cost of spaceflight and boost efficiency, a key goal for Musk is to make rockets as reusable as commercial airplanes -- eliminating the current industry practice of tossing the multi-million dollar components after each launch.

After some early crashes and near-misses that prompted SpaceX to showcase them in a blooper reel, the company has now perfected the art of firing the booster's engines, maneuvering the grid fins and neatly landing the tall portion of the rockets upright on solid ground and on ocean platforms.

Musk is not the only one to have done it -- competitor Blue Origin, a rocket company run by Amazon chief Jeff Bezos, has also managed to land its own rockets in a similar fashion.

But no one has done it so many times. SpaceX has landed 21 of its Falcon 9 boosters so far.

Read also: SpaceX beams cool video of Tesla in space

- Colonizing Mars -

Musk wants to make humans an "interplanetary species" by establishing a colony of people living on the Mars.

Riding on reusable rockets and spaceships -- still under development -- people could travel 100 at a time to the Red Planet.

The idea is to bring up to a million people to Mars in the next century. Test flights could start in the next decade.

The cost to develop the rocket and spacecraft is estimated at $10 billion.

- 'BFR' -

SpaceX is calling the rocket that would carry all these people to Mars "BFR," which Musk has jokingly -- or not -- referred to as code for "Big Fucking Rocket."

According to Spacenews.com, its formal name is now understood to be "Big Falcon Rocket."

The idea is to have one booster and ship that replaces three of SpaceX's signature projects: the Falcon Heavy which aims to be the world's most powerful rocket for now, and may one day ferry supplies to Mars; the versatile Falcon 9 rocket, which can land seamlessly back on Earth post-launch; and the Dragon cargo ship which supplies the International Space Station.

The BFR is designed to stand 106 meters (about 350 feet) tall, with 10.8 million pounds of thrust, far more than the Saturn V moon rocket at 7.9 million pounds of thrust.

The first tests could come as early 2019, with orbital tests in 2020.

The first cargo shipments could make it to Mars in 2022, SpaceX has said.

Read also: Elon Musk, visionary Tesla and SpaceX founder

- Rockets on Earth -

New York to Shanghai via rocket in 39 minutes? It's all part of Musk's vision for rocket travel on Earth.

The BFR will be the vehicle, Musk has vowed, to fly to most places on Earth in under 30 minutes and anywhere in under an hour.

The cost per seat would be about the same as an airplane economy fare, he said.

- Cargo and crew to space -

It seems like old news now, but SpaceX made history in 2010 by becoming the first private company to send its own spaceship to orbit and recover it.

In 2012, SpaceX broke barriers again, sending its Dragon cargo ship to the orbiting International Space Station.

That same year, SpaceX began regular cargo missions to supply the astronauts living in space with its gumdrop-shaped Dragon cargo ship, launched atop the Falcon 9 rocket, under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

Orbital ATK also sends its unmanned Cygnus cargo carrier to the ISS under a $1.9 billion deal with NASA.

SpaceX's Dragon is the only ship that can be returned to Earth intact. The Cygnus burns up on re-entry to Earth's atmosphere.

SpaceX is developing a crew Dragon vehicle that will be able to transport several astronauts at a time to the space lab. Its first manned flight could come later this year.
There are two ways to marvel at Room Screen for Margio Bin Suyeb, a 2017 painting on carved leather by Dutch-Indonesian-American descent Adam de Boer.

From the front, the painting shows a tiger inside a glass box. But when seen for a certain side, you will see shadows of patterns formed by the leather itself thanks to a lamp placed in front of the painting.

The painting's title, Margio Bin Suyeb, may remind some of the main character in Eka Kurniawans book, Man Tiger. De Boer, who received a one-year Fulbright Student Research grant in Indonesia, admitted that he loves the novel as he believes his grandfather bears some resemblance to Margio.

Maybe its because of the California disposition, de Boer said when asked about the contrast between his bright-colored painting and the novels dark atmosphere.

A visitor marvels at one of the paintings displayed at the "Legacies: Real and Imagined" exhibition on Feb. 6 at the World Trade Center II building, South Jakarta. (JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

Room Screen for Margio Bin Suyeb is one of the paintings displayed at the "Legacies: Real and Imagined" exhibition initiated by PT Jakarta Land, which presents works of de Boer and Indonesian artist Jumaldi Alfi. Set in the lobby of the World Trade Center II building in South Jakarta, the Jakarta-based art consultancy ISA Art Advisory-curated event is open to the public until March 9.

The exhibition takes a look at legacies and traditions based on the two artists' interpretation. De Boer, for example, integrated Yogyakartan traditions into his works using several different materials like bamboo and leather.

Meanwhile Jumaldi, who hails from Minangkabau but was educated in Yogyakarta, is known for applying Western techniques to his works. He is particularly famous for its Blackboard series. In Blackboard, if we try to erase our writings, it will still be slightly visible, Jumaldi said. Its like history. You want to erase your history, but you actually cannot and will still be haunted by it.

Read also: The Orient and Beyond: Genevieve Couteaus works shown at National Gallery

https://www.instagram.com/p/Be3MhsAldpx/?taken-by=isaartadvisory

One of Jumaldi's paintings, Melting Memories, Rereading Landscape, Mooi Indies #03, pays homage to Basoeki Abdullahs work but at the same time provides criticism on Indonesias art scene.

In Indonesian art history, theres a term, Mooi Indie. [] Artists during the Dutch colonial era often drew how beautiful Indonesia was [], but actually its ironic. People [from other countries] saw that there was a paradise in the south that was under Dutch colonization, but the fact was many Indonesians were enslaved  its not beautiful according to our situation, Jumaldi said.

He added that he thought the Mooi Indie mentality still exists in the Indonesian art scene. Its how Indonesian art history is still directed by people out there; we still dont have the confidence to set the direction of our [own] culture, Jumaldi stated.

Meanwhile, de Boer expressed his feelings about collaborating with Jumaldi. The fact that Im able to [have a] show with an artist like Pak Alfi, the man that Ive respected and known for a very long time, is really important to me, de Boer said.

"Melting Memories, Rereading Landscape, Mooi Indies #3" by Jumaldi Alfi. (JP/Ni Nyoman Wira)

De Boer also commented on whether his work tries to exoticize Indonesian cultures. "[] I think we need to be more nuanced about the way we draw the lines between exoticizing and not exoticizing, he stated. So I guess the point of this exhibition is to think about if my work is exoticizing Indonesia as a Westerner with paintings of landscapes, can Pak Alfi be accused of doing exact same thing, like exoticizing the tradition of, say, paintings from New York City or Los Angeles?

Regarding future projects, Jumaldi said he was slated to have one in April. Meanwhile, as de Boer's fellowship in Indonesia will soon come to an end, the artist said he just has to go back to real life after this.

I have a show coming up in Los Angeles; I [also] have a project in New York soon, he said. I will return to Indonesia, of course, for showing and doing projects. (kes)
French luxury shoe designer Christian Louboutin suffered a setback Tuesday in an EU legal battle over his signature red-soled high-heeled shoes.

Louboutin took Dutch shoe maker Van Haren to court in the Netherlands in 2012 after Van Haren sold similar women's shoes with red soles.

The Parisian designer said he had already trademarked the style in Europe in 2010 and 2013.

But Van Haren challenged the lawsuit and the Dutch court referred the issue to the European Court of Justice, the bloc's top court.

The chief advisor to the Luxembourg-based court, Advocate General Maciej Szpunar, backed Louboutin's opponent on Tuesday.

"According to Advocate General Szpunar, a trade mark combining colour and shape may be refused or declared invalid on the grounds set out under EU trade mark law," the court said in a statement.

Read also: This luxury brand just made their first pair of baby shoes

He said it was possible such a trademark could be "unduly restricting" for other retailers "offering for sale goods or services of the same type."

The opinion is not binding on the ECJ but it often follows the thinking of the advocate general.

The EU opinion runs counter to that of a US court which ruled in 2012 that Louboutin could trademark his famous red soles.

It reversed a ruling that would have allowed rival Yves Saint Laurent to paint its outsoles scarlet.

Louboutin has marketed shoes with red outsoles since 1992.

The glam footwear was featured on the consumerism-worshipping television series "Sex and the City".
The wedding of Princess Mako, the eldest granddaughter of Emperor Akihito, and her college sweetheart will be postponed until 2020 due to lack of "sufficient preparations", news reports said Tuesday.

Mako and Kei Komuro, both 26, had been scheduled to become formally engaged in a traditional court ceremony next month before their wedding on November 4.

But the couple have decided there was not enough time to make "sufficient preparations", Mako said in a statement quoted by Jiji Press.

They have already informed the emperor and empress that their wedding-related ceremonies will be delayed until 2020, since the imperial family's schedule will be tight next year as Akihito abdicates, Jiji said.

"I'm very sorry for causing a big trouble and extra burden to those who have sincerely helped our wedding," Mako said.

Read also: Japan princess announces engagement with commoner

An imperial household agency official said the couple still want to get married and denied any connection between the postponement and a recent magazine article about alleged money trouble involving the fiance's mother, Jiji reported.

The emperor shocked the nation in 2016 when he signalled his desire to take a back seat after nearly three decades in the job, citing age and health problems.

He will leave the post on April 30, 2019 -- the first time for more than two centuries that a Japanese emperor has stepped down.

Akihito's eldest son, 57-year-old Crown Prince Naruhito, is set to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne a day later.

Mako is the eldest daughter of Prince Akishino, Naruhito's brother, and Princess Kiko.
Fancy a job at the North or South Pole? A French research institute is looking for you.

The Paul-Emile Victor Polar Institute in northwest France has launched a public appeal to recruit around 40 French-speaking people for a wide variety of jobs at its six bases in the Arctic and Antarctica.

From chemists and carpenters to bakers and pastry chefs, the institute is stepping up its efforts to reach potential candidates for 12- to 14-month stints at its bases with endless summer days and winter nights.

"We get lots of interest from the biology fields but not enough mechanics or tool operators, because these people don't know about us," said Laurence Andre Le Marec, hiring director at the institute named for a French polar explorer and pioneer.

It operates at the Spitzberg base in the Arctic and the Dumont d'Urville and Concordia bases in Antarctica, as well as three bases on France's sub-Antarctic islands of Amsterdam, Crozet and Kerguelen.

Women in particular are being sought in this year's recruitment drive, which includes six testimonial videos from female alumni.

At the Dumont d'Urville station there are just six women compared to 24 men. "I haven't been able to get balance" among the sexes, Andre Le Marec admitted.

Read also: Spotify posts special job vacancy for US President Obama

The 40 successful candidates -- 30 of whom are reserved for France's corps of Civic Service volunteers -- will have to pass a medical exam that includes psychological evaluations.

"We make sure they are physically apt for this type of mission, and psychologically ready to live in a small group on an isolated site under conditions that can at times be extreme," Andre Le Marec said.

The mechanic being sought for the Concordia station, for example, will have to mesh with a group of about 60 people in summer and just 14 in winter -- when temperatures can plunge to minus 80 degrees Celsius (minus 110 degrees Fahrenheit).

"There's no going back over winter," the job posting on the institute's website warns.

Concordia, which houses a French-Italian team, is one of three permanent bases maintained in the interior of Antarctica, one of the most isolated and inhospitable places on the planet.

"Not all the bases have temperatures this extreme," Andre Le Marec assured, adding that a biologist sought on the island of Amsterdam, in the southern Indian Ocean, would be able to work "in a T-shirt".

"It was incredible," said Claire Le Calvez, who spent a tour at Dumont d'Urville as a chemist and glaciologist in 2003 and eventually joined the roughly 50 permanent employees at the institute.

What one discovers in the natural world of Antarctica is amazing, she added.

"These are memories that last a lifetime."
The Mahakam, one of Indonesias mightiest rivers, is home to endangered freshwater dolphins in Kalimantan. Conservation group Rare Aquatic Species of Indonesia (RASI) estimates their number at 80. Pollution from the mining industry and logging has been largely blamed for their endangerment. The Jakarta Post correspondent in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Nurni Sulaiman, recently joined researchers and activists on a three-week trip along the Mahakam River to monitor the animals degrading habitat and conservation efforts. by Nurni Sulaiman

Sailing upstream from the provincial capital of Samarinda to Kutai Kartanegara, some 75 kilometers to the northwest, we passed countless vessels of all sorts. In Kalimantan, a vast but sparsely populated island, rivers are just like busy highways in the more developed Java. In downstream areas closer to the estuary, staggering coal-laden bulk carriers looked like clusters of floating hills from afar. Further upstream, in the area of Ulu in Kutai Kartanegara, vessels carrying mostly timber are headed for sawmills dotting the 980-km long river. Locals and researchers fondly remember sighting groups of dolphins along the Mahakam River from the upstream Kutai region down to the estuary in Samarinda. That was a few decades ago, when traffic on the river was light. Today, it is teeming with vessels of all sizes that environmentalists partly blame for the dwindling population of the treas...
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 17:37 1313 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c46861c 1 Business aceh,PTDI-aircraft-industry,cooperation,N219-airplane Free

State-owned aircraft company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI) has signed an agreement with the Aceh provincial administration to establish an assembly line for its N219 planes in the province.

The agreement was signed by PT DI president director Elfien Goentoro and Aceh Governor Irwandi Yusuf, as witnessed by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno, in Singapore on Wednesday.

They were in Singapore to attend the opening of the 2018 Singapore Airshow, which involved PT DI and national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia.

The event was also attended by Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu and Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi.

Rini expressed appreciation toward the Aceh government, which had committed to safeguarding its maritime territory by equipping security officers with airplanes purchased from PT DI.

I fully support the plan of Governor Irwandi Yusuf to purchase the planes to strengthen the provinces effort to prevent illegal fishing and the entry of narcotics, Rini said in a written statement issued by the Aceh provincial administration.

Meanwhile, Aceh governor special staff member Hendri Yuzal said apart from establishing an assembly line for N219 planes, PT DI would also cooperate with the Aceh administration in the development of human resources, particularly to provide local people with skills so that they would have role in the assembly line.

We thank God that a prominent state-owned enterprise like PT DI wants to open an assembly line in Aceh, Hendri said in the statement. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 13:53 1314 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c455975 1 City umroh,travel-agents,Fraud,Bekasi Free

Travel agency PT Solusi Balad Lumampah (SBL) has been reported to the Bekasi Police in West Java for allegedly defrauding dozens of people who had paid to go on the umrah (Islamic minor pilgrimage).

Seventeen would-be pilgrims filed reports against a director of the company, Suyantini, on Tuesday, after they reportedly failed to go on the umrah on Dec. 24.

Siti Nur Hasanah, one of the customers, said the customers had been asked to transfer Rp 20.5 million (US$1,514) to Suyantini's bank account four months before their planned departure.

Even though the customers had paid in full, the company cancelled the trip without a proper explanation, Siti said according to kompas.com.

The company rescheduled the trip for Dec. 29 and Dec. 31, but the trip was cancelled again.

Siti said she and other customers visited the SBL office on Jl. Chairil Anwar in Bekasi Timur several times to report the incident, but Suyantini was never at the office.

Suyantini then created a WhatsApp chat group and invited the customers, asking them to pay an additional Rp 12 million to go on the umrah.

"We don't want to pay because of the cancelled trips in December," Siti said.

She added that the customers wanted their money back.

Previously, in another case involving a pilgrimage tour operator in West Java, two individuals, AJW and ER, were named as suspects for allegedly defrauding a group of customers of Rp 300 billion.

AJW was a director at PT SBL while ER is an employee. (cal)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 15:24 1314 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4644c1 4 Business Rupiah-digital,issuance,agus-martowardoyo,comments Free

Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo has stressed that the planned issuance of digital rupiah will not happen anytime soon.

Time was needed for research on the necessity of a virtual currency, to assure that such currency would not disrupt financial stability, Agus said in Jakarta on Tuesday, as reported by kompas.com.

It takes time. It could be one to two years from now, Agus said, adding that BI, along with central banks of other countries, was monitoring the development of digital currencies like bitcoin.

Previously, former finance minister Chatib Basri said that, to counter the circulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, the central bank needed to issue a digital currency as an official payment instrument that could be monitored.

No other central banks across the world had issued such currency so far, but several countries, such as Singapore, Canada and Ecuador, had started pilot projects for digital currency, he added.

BI payment system policy department head Onny Widjanarko said Indonesia had not decided on when to start a pilot project for the digital rupiah, as the central bank was still considering many aspects, particularly the negative impacts of the issuance of digital currency.

Onny explained that BI needed to prepare a number of applications before deciding further steps on the issuance of digital currency to prevent any negative impacts that could destabilize monetary, financial and payment systems. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 14:34 1314 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c458da7 1 City Depok,flood Free

An embankment behind Baiturrahman Mosque in Tapos, Depok, West Java, collapsed during heavy rain on Tuesday, blocking a river and flooding local residential areas.

Water from the river flooded a mosque and a nearby kindergarten on Wednesday.

Baiturrahman Kindergarten principal Setiawati said the floodwater, which was approximately 30 centimeters deep, did not disrupt the schools activities.

Our school has another entrance in the front for students, parents and teachers, so it did not affect us a lot, said Setiawati as quoted by kompas.com.

According to Setiawati, the Depok administration had deployed the Flood Relief Task Force to help clean up debris from the landslide. A landowner had also sent out heavy machinery to assist in the cleanup process.

I hope the embankment can be repaired soon so that water wont flood our yard and disturb ongoing mosque construction, said Setiawati. (jlm)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 15:38 1314 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c46614d 1 City flood,garbage,Ciliwung-river Free

A total of 1,596 tons of garbage caught by bridge over the Ciliwung River in Kampung Melayu, East Jakarta, has been removed after two days of flooding, an official said on Wednesday.

Jakarta Environment Agency head Isnawa Adji said the garbage build-up, which was removed using 188 garbage trucks, had continued to accumulate as of Wednesday because of heavy downpours.

Our efforts have not been optimal because garbage has continued to gather because of the heavy rainfall and the high water levels at Katulampa dam [in Bogor, West Java]. We will continue to monitor the situation, said Isnawa on Wednesday as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

Under normal conditions, approximately 300 tons of garbage accumulates in the Ciliwung River per day.

Isnawa also said the agency had deployed additional personnel to clean up the river. A total of 10 trucks had collected garbage around the riverbanks.

We will continue the cleanup processes in residential areas, and we will deploy all available personnel as well, he said. (jlm)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 19:00 1313 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c46c2b9 1 City tap-water,Depok,flood Free

Recent flooding from the Ciliwung River has disrupted the distribution of clean water to city-owned water operator customers in Depok since Monday.

Pollution levels from water sourced from the Ciliwung River have not returned to normal conditions as of Wednesday, Depok PDAM Tirta Asasta director Sulaeman said.



The flooding has also overwhelmed the companys pumps at their water processing plant, causing the pumps to be clogged with mud.

Sulaeman said even after the cleanup of the pumps, the Ciliwung Rivers current turbidity levels (NTU) were too high to be processed.

As of this morning, the Ciliwung Rivers turbidity was over 1,000 NTU, while our processing plant could only handle a maximum of 600 NTU. This caused a decrease in clean water production, explained Sulaeman as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

Sulaeman said they were currently restoring water quality for customers in Margonda district, whereas water quality has not yet been restored in Tapos and Cimanggis districts.

Yosi, a customer located in Sukmajaya, Depok, said water flow had been restored since Tuesday at a reduced rate. However, on Tuesday evening the water became murky again. (jlm)
Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo voided late on Tuesday a much-maligned regulation aimed at screening research projects that carried "negative impacts" on the country, in an about-face that came only hours after he had defended the policy.

Issued on Jan. 17, Home Ministry Regulation No. 3/2018 on the research information letter (SKP) allowed authorities to assess the "potential negative impacts" of a particular research project, a mechanism that resembled the Environmental Impact Analysis (Amdal) requirement for businesses that could harm the environment.

The 2018 regulation obliged researchers  individuals or groups  to report their research results to the Home Ministry, replacing a 2014 regulation that only obliged researchers to report to local administration officials that would then issue a research recommendation.

In an official statement published on the Home Ministry's website, Tjahjo said the country would revert to the previous 2014 regulation, citing the need to absorb "the aspirations from various parties" like academics, research institutions and the legislature before issuing a new regulation on the matter.

The ministry will convene a focus group on Feb. 8 to gather advice it will use as a basis for the upcoming regulation, the statement read.

The government aims to remain vigilant with regard to "negative impacts that could possibly stem from research and are not the subject of research," as stipulated in the overturned 2018 regulation.

The Home Ministry's director general for Politics and General Governance, Soedarmo, admitted that no detailed explanations had been provided as to what the government deemed were "negative impacts".

Soedarmo said academics had not been involved in drafting the 2018 regulation, adding that the ministry had not disseminated the controversial regulation among academia.

Earlier, academics who had learned of the 2018 regulation censured the provision on "negative impact of research projects," saying the government had no right to determine the impact of scientific research.

Rustam Ibrahim, former director of the Institute of Economic and Social Studies and Development (LP3ES), called the regulation a "legacy of the New Order era" under the late Suharto that "should not be in place anymore during the era of reform and democracy".

On Tuesday, the Home Ministry's legal bureau chief, Widodo Sigit Pudjianto, defended the new regulation as a means to simplify the work of researchers in Indonesia, saying that the SKP would ensure that the country reaped the "benefits of research".
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 17:51 1313 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c4690b5 1 City drug-abuse,civil-servants,methylamphetamine Free

The Jakarta Police have arrested a civil servant from the Health Ministry on drug possession charges.

The suspect was arrested in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, on Sunday for the alleged possession of 0.9 grams of methamphetamine.

Jakarta Police narcotics unit director Sr. Comr. Suwondo Nainggolan said on Wednesday that, after the arrest, the police located the dealer the suspect allegedly purchased the drugs from.

After an investigation, we detained on Tuesday the dealer, who carried with him 15 grams of meth, Suwondo said as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

Both suspects are currently being held at the Jakarta Police headquarters in South Jakarta for further questioning. (jlm)
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Linkedin Rachmadea Aisyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 19:45 1313 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c46df7c 1 Business RCEP,negotiation,Yogyakarta,Enggartiasto-Lukita Free

Indonesia is committed to accelerating negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), said Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita said at the 21st round of RCEP negotiations, recently.

He said that once ratified, the RCEP would become the largest trade bloc in the world that could boost economic growth of its members.

The 21st round is taking place in Yogyakarta from Feb. 2 to 9. It is attended by RCEP's 16 negotiating member countries. This round discusses the trade of goods and services, investment, issues regarding legalities and institutions, as well as the rules of origin (ROO).

"The RCEP is our priority because it will greatly contribute to the growth of exports and investment in its member countries," Enggartiasto said in a press statement on Tuesday in Yogyakarta, adding that Indonesia aimed to complete the talks in 2018.

To accelerate the process, participants of the negotiations will also hold numerous bilateral meetings prior to or on the sidelines of the negotiations.

Enggartiasto had earlier met on Jan. 22 with the Indian Trade and Industry Ministry in New Delhi to push talks on the RCEP. President Joko Jokowi Widodo expressed a similar intention last year in November during the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila, the Philippines.

The planned RCEP will represent 28.5 percent of global trade and 31.6 percent of gross world product (GWP). It will be a trade pact between 10 ASEAN countries and their six partners  Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand. (bbn)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 14:15 1314 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c45794a 1 Business ASEAN-banking-liberalization,regulation,ratification,house-of-representatives,government Free

The government and the House of Representatives have agreed to swiftly ratify a protocol to implement the Sixth Package of Commitments on Financial Services under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS).

By ratifying the protocol, Indonesia will commit to liberalizing its banking market by allowing banks from other ASEAN countries to open branches.

On Mar 20, 2015, then-finance minister Bambang Brodjonegoro signed a commitment to ratify the, protocol along with the finance ministers of other ASEAN countries.

"House Commission XI [for financial affairs] has agreed [to deliberate] the AFAS act in a working committee on Wednesday," Commission XI chairman Melchias Marcus Mekeng said during the meeting at the House in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Indonesia was the only of 10 ASEAN countries that had yet to ratify the protocol, while the government was encouraging big Indonesian banks to expand to other ASEAN countries.

In Dec 2014, ASEAN central banks agreed to implement the Qualified ASEAN Banks (QAB) system under the ASEAN Banking Integration Framework (ABIF). QAB have to meet certain requirements on capital and corporate governance and obtain a recommendation from the authorities of their respective countries.

Under the AFAS, QAB institutions will be allowed to operate in other ASEAN countries and receive equal treatment with domestic banks.

"Currently, two QAB from Malaysia (CIMB Niaga and Maybank) are operating in Indonesia. We will allow a third QAB after three Indonesian banks are allowed to open full branches there," Sri Mulyani said. (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 15:19 1314 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c461473 1 Business solar-panel,imports,USA Free

The Trade Ministry's international trade director general, Oke Nurwan, said on Wednesday that Indonesian solar panel exports to the United States would not be subject to a 30 percent import tariff that the country recently imposed.

The US government has exempted Indonesias solar panel products from trade safeguards. It was made because the market share of solar panel imports from Indonesia is still below the ceiling to apply safeguards, he said in a statement on Wednesday.

Earlier this year, the administration of US President Donald Trump had announced it would impose a 30 percent tariff on crystalline silicon photovoltaic (CSPV) cells and modules in an effort to protect American solar panel manufacturers.

Oke explained that the World Trade Organization agreement on safeguards stipulated that developing countries with an import market share of less than 3 percent must be exempted from trade safeguards. Indonesia falls into that category.

Indonesian solar panel exports to the US peaked in 2012 with a total value of US$182 million, but it declined to a mere US$69.6 million in 2016.

Oke said the US governments decision provided an opportunity for Indonesia to stay competitive in the US solar panel market.

Pradnyawati, the Trade Ministry's director for trade security, said Indonesia was appreciative of the US governments compliance with the WTO agreement.

This sets a good example to other trade partner countries. They have to consider a countrys import market share when addressing an import spike, she said. (kmt/bbn)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premier Diversified Holdings Inc. ("Premier" or the "Company") (CSE:PDH), announces that it has disposed of a total of 10,256,000 Common shares ("Russell Shares") of Russell Breweries Inc. ("Russell"), representing 11.76% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Russell. The disposition took place through the TSX Venture Exchange on February 6, 2018.



Prior to the disposition, Premier held 11.76% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Russell and following this disposition it holds no Russell Shares and has no remaining interest in any securities of Russell. Premier received $0.01 per Russell Share for 705,000 of the Russell Shares for total consideration of $7,050. Premier received $0.005 per Russell Share for 9,551,000 of the Russell Shares for total consideration of $47,755. The total aggregate gross consideration was $54,805.

On January 5, 2018, Russell announced that, following receipt of certain final payments contemplated by the sale of all or substantially all of its assets related to its two former operating businesses in two separate transactions completed on December 2, 2016 and December 17, 2016, the board of directors of Russell fixed the amount and record date for the second cash distribution by way of a return of capital (the "Return of Capital").

The Return of Capital was in the amount of CAD$0.035 per Russell Share. The Return of Capital was made on January 26, 2018. On February 2, 2018, Premier's two nominees to the board of directors of Russell resigned. As the Return of Capital was completed and Premier's nominees no longer serve as directors of Russell, Premier determined to dispose of part of its interest in Russell on February 5, 2018. Following that disposition, Premier determined to dispose of the remainder of its Russell Shares. Premier does not intend to acquire additional securities of Russell.

Russell's head office is located at 202-13018 80th Avenue, Surrey, B.C. V3W 3A8. Premier's head office is located at 301-3185 Willingdon Green, Burnaby, B.C. V5G 4P3. Premier has filed an Early Warning Report ("EWR") in Form 62-103F1 and is not relying on an exemption from requirements in securities legislation applicable to formal bids for the transaction. A copy of the EWR may be obtained by contacting the Corporate Secretary of the Company, Marta Davidson, at 604-678-9115.

Premier notes that the EWR filed on SEDAR under the profile of Russell on February 6, 2018 is incorrectly dated June 24, 2015. The report should be dated February 5, 2018.

About Premier Diversified Holdings Inc.

Premier is a British Columbia company which operates in diversified industries. It acts as a holding company (either directly or through a subsidiary) that may be active in the management of its subsidiary companies to varying degrees. Information about Premier may be found at www.pdh-inc.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Sanjeev Parsad

Sanjeev Parsad

President, CEO and Director

For further information, contact:

Sanjeev Parsad, President and CEO

Phone: (604) 678.9115 ext 205

E-mail: sparsad@pdh-inc.com Web: www.pdh-inc.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this document. Company information can be viewed here: www.thecse.com. Further information regarding the Company can be found on SEDAR at ww.sedar.com.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are indicated expectations or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include that Premier does not intend to acquire additional Russell securities in the future. Factors that could cause actual results to be materially different include but are not limited to the following: that the managements intentions may change or that the Premier's management may determine acquire Russell securities. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. It is not our policy to update forward looking statements.
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Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Bangkok, Thailand  Wed, February 7, 2018 18:15 1313 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c46a59c 2 World trump,military,parade Free

The US military's top officer said Wednesday that planning is underway after President Donald Trump ordered a military parade, an unconventional demand that has drawn comparisons to sabre rattling more commonly associated with autocrats.

"I am aware of the president's request and we are in the initial planning stages to meet the president's direction," General Joe Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters during a visit to the Thai capital Bangkok.

Dunford is the first top US military official to publicly address Trump's longstanding wish for a large-scale military parade, which the White House confirmed Tuesday.

The general did not address a question on whether it would be a good use of military resources.

America normally reserves its military parades to mark the end of conflicts, such as in 1991 when President George H.W. Bush held a National Victory Parade in Washington to celebrate the end of the Gulf War.

Trump's request may well be popular among many Americans but has drawn scorn from critics, who said it would be a waste of money and was akin to events organised by authoritarian regimes.

Dunford's visit to junta-ruled Thailand is part of a week-long tour of the US military's enormous Pacific Command area.

He met his Thai counterpart Tarnchaiyan Srisuwan, as well as Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and Prayut Chan-O-Cha, the leader of the junta.

After a hiatus following the 2014 coup, relations between Washington and Bangkok have resumed and Dunford said he looked forward to a continuing military-to-military relationship.

"They (Thailand) have been a good, strong partner for a long time. Our overall strength globally, but in particular in the Pacific, is our network of allies and partners. And so Thailand is an important part of that overall network," Dunford told reporters travelling with him.

The praise was offered despite the junta's recent postponement of a November 2018 election date which the junta chief announced after a White House visit in October.

The US has consistently urged the generals to follow through on a promised return to democracy.

But they have repeatedly let the poll timeline slip and maintained a tight lid on dissent, with bans on politics and protests of any kind.
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Linkedin Yuyun Wahyuningrum (The Jakarta Post) The Hague  Wed, February 7 2018

Ten years ago, the ASEAN Charter came into force. Its Article 14 on the establishment of its human rights body was said to be the most difficult section to bring all member states to consensus.



The Making of the ASEAN Charter provides an interesting account on its debates among members of the high-level task force, comprising eminent individuals appointed by the 10 ASEAN governments. The topic itself was considered sensitive, let alone creating the mechanism to monitor human rights in member countries.



Singapores member Tommy Koh wrote in the book, published in 2009, that ASEAN countries were fragmented into three camps: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam opposed the creation of an ASEAN human rights commission, while Indonesia and Thailand were in favor, and Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore occupied the middle ground. Those who supported the...
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Linkedin Rachmadea Aisyah (The Jakarta Post) Taipei, Taiwan  Wed, February 7, 2018 15:33 1314 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c464e4d 1 Business Taiwan,investment,biomedical-industry,Indonesia Free

The Taiwanese government has expressed interest in working with Indonesia in the biomedical industry as the latter is home to several global biomedical manufacturers.

Taiwan recorded US$16.73 billion in annual revenue from the biomedical industry in 2017, making it one of the largest industries in the country. The figure increased by 4.5 percent from the previous year.

The Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology's deputy minister, Fong-Chin Su, said his country wanted to have a share of the market in Indonesia.

We have had discussions with the Indonesian government to cooperate in [biomedical industry] manufacturing [in Indonesia], Su told The Jakarta Post in a media briefing recently.

Taiwan also expressed interest in working with the Indonesian government in technology transfer by establishing a research and manufacturing site, also known as a science park, for the biomedical industry. However, Su said his government had yet to set a time for when it would comes to terms on a cooperation agreement.

There has not been a date [set], he said. "It's just our goal." (bbn)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, February 7, 2018 10:57 1314 2c798a31c212039f000dc5df9c44d8f9 1 Business United-Arab-Emirates,business,investors,industry-ministry Free

A business delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) met with Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto on Tuesday to discuss investment opportunities in Indonesia.

Tashyeed Group CEO Zayed Bin Owaidah Al Qubaisy, a member of the delegation, expressed interest in producing compressed natural gas (CNG) in Indonesia as a substitute for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is widely used by households and industries in the country.

CNG costs a third of the price of LPG, and the composite containers are much lighter than the steel LPG containers, he said, adding that the composite containers were safe and allowed consumers to use 100 percent of the gas inside.

Imagine the savings at households and factories across Indonesia if everyone used CNG instead of LPG, he said.

Meanwhile, Michael Whittingham, CTO of Global Energy and Lighting, offered LED lighting systems that he claimed would help Indonesian cities improve illumination and save energy. We can increase light output, cut maintenance costs and reduce energy use by 90 percent, he added.

Zayed said he would soon provide investment proposals for the CNG and LED lighting projects. During the meeting, Airlangga also invited UAE investors to seize opportunities in petrochemical manufacturing, hydropower plant construction, palm oil downstream industries and ore refining. (kmt/bbn)
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Linkedin Carla Bianpoen (The Jakarta Post) Singapore  Thu, February 8 2018

For some time, rumors of Singapore Art Stages impending move from Singapore to another city or country have been floating around, intensifying by the year.



At the fairs 8th edition in Singapore, which ran from Jan. 26 to 28, questions were rife about the rumors.



If a boat leaks, surely one wont sit there till it sinks. That was how the events founder, Lorenzo Rudolf, described his situation at a press conference on Jan. 25.



The steady decline in gallery participation added force to the rumors. With 84 exhibitors, this edition was the smallest since its opening in 2011. Last year, 131 galleries took part compared to 170 in 2016, denoting a steady decline.



This years focus on Thailand saw 10 participating...
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Linkedin Agnes Anya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Thu, February 8 2018

Deeming it a golden opportunity, Indonesia and Italy are seeking tighter cooperation over the creative economy ahead of the 70th anniversary of bilateral ties in 2019.



During a meeting between Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano and his host Retno LP Marsudi on Wednesday the two also agreed both countries should focus on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).



Italy has strengths in the creative economy. We, as wel...
State regulators have slammed the owners of Knickerbocker Village for improperly holding meetings about a potential co-op or condo conversion of the historic Lower East Side affordable housing complex.

A letter dated Dec. 21 from New York State Homes & Community Renewal (DHCR) orders Knickerbocker Village, Inc. to, cease and desist from holding any future meetings. The letter was distributed to tenants this week by the Knickerbocker Village Tenants Association, which filed a complaint with DHCR about meet and greet sessions that have been held during the past few months.

While state officials were informed that the meetings would be taking place, Deputy DHCR Commissioner Mark Colon wrote, certain aspects of where and how the meetings were organized, as well as the types of representations that may have been made, concern us. According to the letter, some of the meetings took place in off-site restaurants and some of them, occurred exclusively with tenants of Asian descent. Colon also noted that the tenant association wasnt notified about later meetings at Knickerbocker Village. He added, We understand that tenants were told that the conversion process to cooperative or condominium ownership was imminent, and they were asked if they were interested in ownership.

Colon stated, We have previously informed you that, in view of prior litigation and DHCRs mission to promote affordable housing, DHCR is unwilling to consider a conversion of more than 1,000 units of affordable rental housing in lower Manhattan to cooperative ownership. He referred to past meetings with Knickerbocker Village ownership to, discuss affordable rental preservation options which might be acceptable to all stakeholders. Colon said the agency had consulted with the attorney generals office about potential legal violations by the property owner.

Knickerbocker Village, completed in 1934, includes 1590 rental apartments. The 12-building complex is covered under a low-income housing program known as Article IV, which preceded the Mitchell-Lama program. In 2007, the tenant association successfully sued the state, which had approved ownerships plan to exit the affordable housing program.

We have contacted Global Strategy Group, Knickerbocker Villages communications firm, as well as DHCR and the tenant association. This story will be updated if we receive replies.

UPDATE 1:20 p.m. Heres a statement from Knickerbocker Village, Inc. in response to DHCRs letter. At the end of this post you can also read the full response to DHCR from Daniel Robinson of Cherry Green Property Corp. (KVs owner).

We engage extensively with the Knickerbocker Village community to learn about residents concerns and address any issues they have. That includes regularly meeting with the KVTA. The opportunity to choose between home ownership or remaining a renter has long been an issue discussed at KV, but there is no current plan to move forward. We have responded in full to DHCRs questions and will work to resolve any outstanding issues it may have.

UPDATE 2/8 Heres a statement from the Knickerbocker Village Tenants Association (KVTA):

The KVTA is grateful for DHCRs strong validation and support of the rights of a validly elected Tenant Association to represent the tenants. The KVTA has been working to find the co-op conversion plan for Knickerbocker Village since our election in 2015. We believe strongly that as tenants are the main stakeholders, their voices must be included in any possible co-op conversion discussion. In this effort, we have recently met with all parties involved in ownerships proposal to privatize KV, including our elected officials, administrators from HCR, representatives of ownership, as well as their paid lobbyists. KVTAs priorities continue to be providing protections for tenants that want to remain as renters under Article IV, for seniors, and for SCRIE/DRIE beneficiaries. The big picture here is that without the input of KV tenants, the fear that privatization at KV would ultimately lead to the displacement of several hundreds of families and a significant loss of affordable housing in Chinatown/Lower East Side, two Lower Manhattan neighborhoods that are currently experiencing rapid gentrification, displacement, and rising rents. HCR has determined that its not in the best interest of KV, or the neighborhood, to allow the privatization of the complex. We are committed to maintaining the long-term affordability of our homes. We have not, as of yet, received anything in writing from ownership detailing their plans for privatization. In good faith, the KVTA, along with our legal counsel at the Urban Justice Center, continues to meet with ownership and their consultants to discuss their plans in a transparent and honest manner. DHCR Letter- Knickerbocker Village by The Lo-Down on Scribd

January 24, 2018

Mr. Mark Colon

President, Office of Housing Preservation

New York State Homes & Community Renewal 641 Lexington Ave

New York, New York 10022

Dear Mr. Colon,

RE: Knickerbocker Village

I am writing in response to your letter dated December 21, 2017, which brought to my attention complaints that you received from unspecified individuals regarding KV ownerships ongoing engagement with the KV resident community.

Over the past year KV ownership has put forth substantial efforts to better understand the needs, priorities and concerns of KV families. One of our goals has been to break down barriers to trust that have historically existed between KV ownership and KV residents. We believe that KV residents have overwhelmingly valued and appreciated these efforts. Furthermore, our engagement has been consistent with our obligations pursuant to NYCRR 1725-2.3(b).

It should be noted that the input received from the KV resident community has led to constructive plans for the future, including but not limited to planned initiatives to address quality of life concerns expressed to us by residents, initiatives to expand and improve mental health and other supportive services to better meet the needs of residents, and ideas for improvements to KVs underutilized common spaces to better serve the needs of KV families.

I regret that our efforts to build trust within the tenant community were evidently perceived as a threat by some. Furthermore, I wish to reassure you that the allegations conveyed in your letter are either factually incorrect, or are otherwise gross distortions of our ongoing dialogue with the KV community.

I am appreciative of your words of warning regarding the Martin Act. I am reassured by legal counsel, unconditionally and unequivocally, that I have not engaged in the marketing of real estate securities nor done anything that in any way approaches even a potential violation of the act.

In response to your requested clarifications I submit to you the following:

First, as a point of explanation, I held 12 meet and greets, one in each KV building entrance. Each event lasted approximately two hours. These were casual events where we took the opportunity to speak with individual residents, or depending on traffic, groups of residents. A notice for each meet and greet was posted in the lobby of each building prior to the event. As such, each KVTA building representative was invited to attend the meet and greet of his/her building. All other meetings that you reference, including a gathering the fall of 2016 that I attended off-site at the request of a group of residents, was a component of our tenant engagement efforts. Note that I have also offered to engage residents jointly with the KVTA, through attendance of KVTA general tenant meetings, however the KVTA has thus far declined my offers.

Clarification #1: Contrary to what has been reported to you, I have not scheduled, nor has management scheduled, any meetings with groups of tenants regarding possible cooperative or condominium conversion, with the exception of meetings held on 11/21/17 and 12/11/17 with the KVTA and its legal counsel. We have no plans to schedule meetings on this subject, with the exception of continued discussions requested by KVTA.

Clarification #2: Not applicable. See above response.

Clarification #3: As mentioned above we have not been scheduling meetings with groups of tenants regarding possible cooperative or condominium conversion. Notwithstanding, many tenants have utilized our lobby meet and greets and various other points of interaction as an opportunity to raise the subject of possible future cooperative conversion. My standard response, when asked about this topic, is that any plan that includes affordable homeownership would require the broad support of KVs resident community and of the State of New York, and would have to be a comprehensive plan that benefits not only tenants who have the desire and wherewithal to become homeowners, but also tenants who wish to remain renters.

Clarification #4A: I have not made a representation that the conversion process is imminent and I cannot fathom that anyone from management would have represented that the conversion process is imminent. I fully agree that any statements that the conversion process is imminent would constitute a misrepresentation of our ongoing discussions with DHCR.

Clarification #4B: I have not solicited interest in a possible cooperative conversion. As mentioned above many residents have broached the topic of a possible cooperative conversion in the course of our discussions. As you are aware, cooperative conversion has been of ongoing interest to KV residents, and a topic of conversation, for a number of years.

Clarification #5: We are compliant with the requirement of NYCRR 1727  6.3. KV management has met regularly with the KVTA to discuss housing company matters, and our property manager, Mr. Callagy, has previously communicated his ongoing availability to meet with KVTA. Furthermore, I met with the KVTA in July of this year to brief them on the feedback that I received from the lobby meet and greets. I thereafter attempted via email and letter to schedule additional meetings with the KVTA. Most recently, we met with the KVTA on two occasions at the office of their legal counsel. At no point have I declined a request from the KVTA to meet.

Supplemental clarification #1: We have never asked residents to sign a form indicating if they were interested in a cooperative conversion. We did maintain sign in sheets at our lobby meet and greets and requested that all attendees provide their name, apartment number, telephone an email address.

Supplemental clarification #2: We emphatically deny that we organized or participated in any discussions regarding the dissolution of the KVTA. We are aware that certain residents have raised the prospect of seeking the dissolution of the KVTA. When contacted by one of these residents, we replied that the KVTA is a tenant group and that matters pertaining to the KVTA bylaws are not under ownerships purview.

We hope that this letter helps to clear the air so that we may continue the important discussions that we have been having with your agency and work toward a positive outcome for all parties. We are encouraged by your expressed desire to achieve the same, as well as your previously stated recognition of ownerships financial interests.

Sincerely,

Daniel Robinson

Executive Director

Cherry Green Property Corp.
WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Andrews & Springer LLC, a boutique securities class action law firm focused on representing shareholders nationwide, is investigating potential breach of fiduciary duty claims against the Board of Directors of La Quinta Holdings Inc. (La Quinta or the Company) relating to the sale of the Company to Wyndham Worldwide Corporation (Wyndham). On January 18, 2018, the two parties announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Wyndham will acquire La Quinta in a merger worth $1.95 billion. As a result of the merger, La Quintas shareholders are only anticipated to receive $8.40 per share in cash in exchange for each share of La Quinta.



Andrews & Springer's investigation so far has revealed that the consideration La Quintas shareholders are expected to receive is inadequate. An analyst at Wells Fargo who follows the Company has already described the deal consideration as slightly lower than our expectation. Our investigation has also revealed that the process leading up to the announcement of the merger appears to have significant conflicts of interest thus making the process and consideration unfair.

If you own shares of La Quinta and want to receive additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit us at http://www.andrewsspringer.com/cases-investigations/la-quinta-class-action-investigation/ or contact Craig J. Springer, Esq. at cspringer@andrewsspringer.com, or call toll free at 1-800-423-6013. You may also follow us on LinkedIn  www.linkedin.com/company/andrews-&-springer-llc, Twitter  www.twitter.com/AndrewsSpringer or Facebook - www.facebook.com/AndrewsSpringer for future updates.

Andrews & Springer is a boutique securities class action law firm representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty or corporate misconduct. Having formerly defended some of the largest financial institutions in the world, our founding members use their valuable knowledge, experience, and superior skill for the sole purpose of achieving positive results for investors. These traits are the hallmarks of our innovative approach to each case our Firm decides to prosecute. For more information please visit our website at www.andrewsspringer.com. This notice may constitute Attorney Advertising.
WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Andrews & Springer LLC, a boutique securities class action law firm focused on representing shareholders nationwide, is investigating potential breach of fiduciary duty claims against the Board of Directors of Ply Gem Holdings, Inc. (Ply Gem or the Company) relating to the sale of the Company to private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R). On January 31, 2018, the two parties announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which CD&R will acquire Ply Gem in a merger worth $2.4 billion. As a result of the merger, Ply Gems shareholders are only anticipated to receive $21.64 per share in cash in exchange for each share of Ply Gem.



Our Firm's investigation so far has discovered that the process leading up to the announcement of the merger appears to have significant conflicts of interest, thus making the process and consideration unfair.

Andrews & Springer is also investigating whether Ply Gems directors are breaching their fiduciary duties by failing to adequately shop the company and maximize shareholder value. Our investigation is also looking into whether Ply Gems top executives were conflicted and acted in their own self-interest when approving the merger.

If you own shares of Ply Gem and want to receive additional information and protect your investments free of charge, please visit us at http://www.andrewsspringer.com/cases-investigations/ply-gem-class-action-investigation/ or contact Craig J. Springer, Esq. at cspringer@andrewsspringer.com, or call toll free at 1-800-423-6013. You may also follow us on LinkedIn  www.linkedin.com/company/andrews-&-springer-llc, Twitter  www.twitter.com/AndrewsSpringer or Facebook - www.facebook.com/AndrewsSpringer for future updates.

Andrews & Springer is a boutique securities class action law firm representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty or corporate misconduct. Having formerly defended some of the largest financial institutions in the world, our founding members use their valuable knowledge, experience, and superior skill for the sole purpose of achieving positive results for investors. These traits are the hallmarks of our innovative approach to each case our Firm decides to prosecute. For more information please visit our website at www.andrewsspringer.com. This notice may constitute Attorney Advertising.

Contact: Craig J. Springer, Esq. cspringer@andrewsspringer.com Toll Free: 1-800-423-6013




CALGARY, Alberta, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Touchstone Exploration Inc. (Touchstone or the Company) (TSX:TXP) (LSE:TXP) announces the commencement of its ten well onshore drilling program in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago which is expected to be fully funded by current cash balances and cash flows from operations.



The Company spudded the first well of the program on its Grand Ravine WD-4 block on February 3, 2018. The PS-602 well is being drilled to an approximate total depth of 5,500 feet, targeting the Upper and Lower Forest formations. The Forest sands are the main producing formation of the property, and the well is targeting a significant undrained portion of the block identified by surrounding well logs and production. The well is currently at 1,125 feet and the Company is setting surface casing. It is anticipated to reach total depth within the next ten days. The well is expected to be placed on production within 14 days from completion of logging and casing. This well will satisfy the remaining minimum work obligations stipulated under the WD-4 Lease Operating Agreement (LOA).

In conjunction with the spudding of the first well, the Company is coordinating final governmental inspections of a second drilling rig that is anticipated to commence drilling operations on the Forest Reserve WD-8 block prior to the end of February. The second rig is expected to drill two wells on WD-8 from two separate locations. Both wells will target the Cruse and Forest formations in an area that has significantly less drilling density than much of the property. While these two wells are being drilled from individual surface locations, the Company has designed each surface location to accommodate future drilling if the results justify further development.



The Company has also begun constructing a multi-well pad on its Coora 2 property that will provide the surface location for two wells to be drilled. These wells will target the Cruse and Forest formations at depths up to 4,500 feet. The wells are follow-ups to the successful 2014 drilling program in the area where three wells were drilled. Upon completion of these two wells, all Coora 2 LOA minimum work obligations will be satisfied.

Following the completion of the two wells in Coora 2, the Company expects to drill two wells on its Coora 1 block from a single surface location as follow-ups to the two successful wells drilled in 2017. One of the two wells will be targeting uphole zones that are identified in the CO-369 well that cannot currently be produced from the same well bore under existing regulations. As the CO-369 well continues to produce at approximately 200 barrels of oil per day, the Company will accelerate the recovery of unbooked uphole sands through the drilling of the offsetting development well. The second well on the location will be targeting a deeper horizon identified in a separate fault. These wells are beyond the commitments stipulated under the Coora 2 LOA as all minimum work obligations were previously met by drilling and workovers completed in 2017.

Further, the Company is working on submitting the required documents for the final three locations that are expecting to be drilled on the Fyzabad and WD-4 blocks. The Company is targeting to complete the 10 well program by August of 2018.

Financial Hedging

On January 23, 2018, the Company purchased US$55.00 Brent ICE crude oil put options effective March 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018. The Company protected 500 barrels of day of production during this period, representing approximately 33% of current field estimated production. Touchstone will continue to monitor the forward commodity price curve and opportunistically hedge future production volumes to mitigate possible commodity price volatility and protect the funding of the approved drilling program.

About Touchstone

Touchstone Exploration Inc. is a Calgary based company engaged in the business of acquiring interests in petroleum and natural gas rights, and the exploration, development, production and sale of petroleum and natural gas. Touchstone is currently active in onshore properties located in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The Company's common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TXP.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information provided in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information in this press release may include, but is not limited to, statements relating to current field estimated production, and the potential undertaking, timing, locations and funding of future well drilling. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Certain of these risks are set out in more detail in the Companys Annual Information Form dated March 21, 2017 which has been filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Contact

Mr. Paul Baay, President and Chief Executive Officer; or

Mr. James Shipka, Chief Operating Officer

Telephone: 403.750.4487

www.touchstoneexploration.com
More charges have been filed against the Sterling Heights man who authorities believe went on a shooting spree Feb. 1, killing two at their workplaces.

A warrant filed Feb. 7 charges Vernest James Griffin, 45, with two counts of assault with intent to murder, one count of felonious assault and three counts of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection with the shootout he had with Waterford Township police following the two homicides.

RELATED: Vernest Griffin charged with four felonies for Wayne County portion of crime spree

The latest charges come one day after Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Griffin with first-degree premeditated murder, carjacking, armed robbery and possession of a firearm in the commision of a felony for last Thursdays incident at BSD Linehaul in Taylor, where Keith Kitchen, 60, was shot to death. Prosecutors allege Griffin entered the business, where he used to work, and fired an AK-47 several times at Kitchen. Griffin then allegedly carjacked a semi-truck from the company, drove to another of his former places of employment, Aluminum Blanking, Inc. in Pontiac and allegedly fired the AK-47 at Eriberto Eddie Perez, 58, as he sat at his desk. Perez was hit multiple times in the back and pronounced dead at the scene.

Griffins alleged planned killing spree came to an end at around noon after two shootouts with Waterford Township police. Officers caught up with him after he allegedly showed up at a Waterford business, Assured Carriers, minutes after the Pontiac shooting, armed with the AK-47 and asked for the general manager. He left after the business went into lockdown and police were called.

He was arraigned from his bed in an area hospital Feb. 5 for the Pontiac incident, charged with one count each of premeditated murder and possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Griffin is recovering from surgery for the bullet wounds he received while exchanging gunfire with Waterford police.
English Swedish

Notice of extraordinary general meeting of Sdiptech AB (publ)

The shareholders in Sdiptech AB (publ), 556672-4893, are hereby summoned to an extraordinary general meeting on Monday, 5 March 2018, at 16.00 at Ingenjorsvetenskapsakademien (IVA), Grev Turegatan 16 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Notice of attendance, etc.

Shareholders who wish to attend the general meeting must be registered in the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on Tuesday 27 February 2018, and give notice of attendance to the company by mail to Sdiptech AB, Stureplan 15, 111 45 Stockholm, at the company's website, www.sdiptech.com or by email to anmalan@sdiptech.com.

Notice of attendance must be received by the company no later than on Tuesday 27 February 2018. Notification shall include the shareholder's name, personal identification number/corporate registration number and daytime telephone number. The notice of attendance shall also include the number of accompanying advisors (not more than two) who are attending the general meeting. Shareholders who are represented by a proxy must submit a dated and signed power of attorney for the proxy. The original of the power of attorney and, for legal entities, a certified copy of a certificate of registration, should be sent to the company at the address above in ample time prior to the general meeting. The power of attorney may not be older than one year if it is not explicitly stated that it is valid for a longer period of time, up to five years from its issuance. A form of power of attorney is available on the company's website, www.sdiptech.com.

Shareholders whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee (e.g. at a custody account with a bank) must temporarily re-register their shares in their own name to be entitled to participate at the general meeting. Such registration must be completed at Euroclear Sweden AB no later than Tuesday 27 February 2018. The nominee should therefore be instructed well in advance of this date.

Proposed agenda

Opening of the meeting Election of chairman of the meeting Preparation and approval of the voting register Election of one or two persons to approve the minutes Determination as to whether the meeting has been duly convened Approval of the agenda The board of directors' proposal on the implementation of an incentive programme and thereby resolutions on directed issue of warrants of series 2018/2021; directed issue of warrants of series 2018/2022; directed issue of warrants of series 2018/2023; and approval of transfer of warrants. Closing of the meeting

Proposals for resolutions

Item 2 - Election of chairman of the meeting

It is proposed that Jan Samuelson is elected as the chairman of the meeting.

Item 7 - The board of directors' proposal on the implementation of an incentive programme through issues of warrants and approval of transfer of warrants

The board of directors proposes that the extraordinary general meeting resolves on the implementation of an incentive programme, according to which the company offers not more than 19 persons within the group to purchase warrants in the company. The CEO of the group, other members of the senior management of the group, other key employees and other employees of the company shall have the right to purchase warrants.

The proposal of the board of directors means that the general meeting resolves on the implementation of an incentive scheme through issues of in total not more than 756,000 warrants divided among three series: (a) 252,000 warrants of series 2018/2021 ("TO2021"), (b) 252,000 warrants of series 2018/2022 ("TO2022") and (c) 252,000 warrants of series 2018/2023 ("TO2023"). After that, the board of directors propose that the general meeting resolves on (d) approval of transfer of the warrants to the participants of the incentive programme.

Each participant acquires a maximum number of warrants of each series. This maximum number of warrants that may be acquired depends on the participant's position within the group at the time of the commencement of the programme.

The purpose of the incentive programme, and the reason for the deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, is to create conditions for retaining and recruiting competent personnel to the group, increase the motivation amongst the participants, increase their loyalty to the company and align their interest with that of the company's shareholders as well as promote a personal shareholding, and thereby promote shareholder value and the company's long-term value creation capability.

The increase of the Company's share capital will, upon full exercise of the warrants, amount to not more than approximately SEK 18,900, of which SEK 6,300 for each series.

The board of directors proposes that the meeting authorises the board of directors of the company to implement the issue resolution and to ensure that the board of directors of the Subsidiary (as defined below) implements the transfer of warrants to the participants of the incentive programme. It is further proposed to authorise the board of directors to make such minor adjustments in the meeting's resolutions as may be required in connection with the registration with the Swedish Companies Registration Office and any affiliation of the warrants with Euroclear Sweden AB.

The resolutions under items 7(a)-(d) are to be considered as one proposal to be approved together in one resolution of the general meeting.

Item 7(a) - Directed issue of warrants of series 2018/2021

The board of directors propose that the general meeting resolves on an issue of TO2021 in accordance with the terms and conditions set out below.

The company shall issue no more than 252,000 TO2021.

The right to subscribe for TO2021 shall, with deviation from the shareholder's preferential rights, belong to Kommstart 2244 AB (under change of name), reg. no. 559142-5110 (the " Subsidiary "), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, with a right and obligation for the Subsidiary to transfer TO2021 to employees in the group.

TO 2021 shall be issued to the Subsidiary without compensation and subscription of TO 2021 shall take place on a separate subscription list not later than 23 March 2018.

Each TO2021 entitles the holder to subscribe for one new common share of series B (" B-shares ") in the company during the period from the later date of (i) 1 February 2021 and (ii) the day after the publishing of the company's year-end report of 2020 up to and including 12 March 2021. The board of directors is authorised to extend the subscription period and the time for payment under certain conditions.

The subscription price for new B-shares subscribed for through TO2021 shall be equal to an amount corresponding to 140 per cent of the volume-weighted average of the quoted price paid for the B-share on Nasdaq First North from 19 February 2018 up to and including 2 March 2018 (the "Calculation period"). The calculated subscription price shall be rounded off to the nearest SEK 0.1 whereupon SEK 0.05 shall be rounded upwards.

Item 7(b) - Directed issue of warrants of series 2018/2022

The board of directors propose that the general meeting resolves on an issue of TO2022 in accordance with the terms and conditions set out below.

The company shall issue no more than 252,000 TO2022.

The right to subscribe for TO2022 shall, with deviation from the shareholder's preferential rights, belong to the Subsidiary, with a right and obligation for the Subsidiary to transfer TO2022 to employees in the group.

TO 2022 shall be issued to the Subsidiary without compensation and subscription of TO 2022 shall take place on a separate subscription list not later than 23 March 2018.

Each TO2022 entitles the holder to subscribe for one new B-share in the company during the period from the later date of (i) 1 February 2022 and (ii) the day after the publishing of the company's year-end report of 2021 up to and including 11 March 2022. The board of directors is authorised to extend the subscription period and the time for payment under certain conditions.

The subscription price for new B-shares subscribed for through TO2022 shall be equal to an amount corresponding to 157 per cent of the volume-weighted average of the quoted price paid for the B-share during the Calculation period. The calculated subscription price shall be rounded off to the nearest SEK 0.1 whereupon SEK 0.05 shall be rounded upwards.

Item 7(c) - Directed issue of warrants of series 2018/2023

The board of directors propose that the general meeting resolves on an issue of TO2023 in accordance with the terms and conditions set out below.

The company shall issue no more than 252,000 TO2023.

The right to subscribe for TO2023 shall, with deviation from the shareholder's preferential rights, belong to the Subsidiary, with a right and obligation for the Subsidiary to transfer TO2023 to employees in the group.

TO 2023 shall be issued to the Subsidiary without compensation and subscription of TO 2023 shall take place on a separate subscription list not later than 23 March 2018.

Each TO2023 entitles the holder to subscribe for one new B-share in the company during the period from the later date of (i) 1 February 2023 and (ii) the day after the publishing of the company's year-end report of 2022 up to and including 10 March 2023. The board of directors is authorised to extend the subscription period and the time for payment under certain conditions.

The subscription price for new B-shares subscribed for through TO2023 shall be equal to an amount corresponding to 176 per cent of the volume-weighted average of the quoted price paid for the B-share during the Calculation period. The calculated subscription price shall be rounded off to the nearest SEK 0.1 whereupon SEK 0.05 shall be rounded upwards.

Item 7(d) - Approval of transfer of warrants

The board of directors propose that the general meeting approves that the Subsidiary transfers no more than 756,000 warrants, of which 252,000 TO2021, 252,000 TO2022 and 252,000 TO2023 to participants of the incentive programme.

Employees in the group shall be entitled to acquire warrants from the Subsidiary. The following four categories shall be entitled to acquire warrants from the Subsidiary (the highest number of warrants that each member in the respective category can be allotted is stated in parentheses):

the CEO: (189,000 warrants, of which 63,000 TO2021, 63,000 TO2022 and 63,000 TO2023);

other members of the senior management of the group: (68,400 warrants, of which 22,800 TO2021, 22,800 TO2022 and 22,800 TO2023);

other key employees: (27,000 warrants, of which 9,000 TO2021, 9,000 TO2022 and 9,000 TO2023); and

other employees: (9,000 warrants, of which 3,000 TO2021, 3,000 TO2022 and 3,000 TO2023).

Application to purchase warrants shall be made not later than 23 March 2018. The board of directors shall however be entitled to prolong the application period.

Each person entitled to purchase warrants may apply to purchase warrants in lots corresponding to either the maximum amount of warrants offered or reduced by lots of 300 warrants, whereby each series of warrants shall be reduced by 100 warrants each. The total amount of warrants that each participant applies to purchase shall be distributed pro rata in relation to each respective series of warrants. The allocation is not guaranteed and is conditional upon that it is possible to legally acquire the warrants and that this according to the assessment of the board directors can be done with reasonable administrative and financial costs. The right to participate in the incentive programme is further, inter alia, subject to that the employee not having given or been given notice of termination from his/her employment in the group. The board of directors of the company shall resolve on and implement the allocation in accordance with the above. If not all warrants are acquired, any remaining warrants shall be retained in the Subsidiary. The board of directors of the company shall be entitled to resolve on the transfer of such warrants to any new additional senior executives and other key personnel.

Transfer of warrants to the participants shall be made at a price corresponding to the market value of the warrant determined by using the Black & Scholes-formula. The valuation of the warrants shall be made by an independent financial adviser or accounting firm.

In connection with the allocation of warrants to participants in the incentive programme, the company shall be entitled to repurchase warrants if the participant's employment or assignment in the group ends or if the participant wants to transfer the warrants before the warrants can be exercised.

Documents for the meeting

The documents for the meeting, including proxy form, will be available from the company (address and telephone number stated above) and on the company's web page www.sdiptech.com not later than 12 February 2018. The documents will be sent free of charge to shareholders who requests so and states their address.

Majority requirements

For a resolution in accordance with item 7 to be valid, the resolution must be supported by shareholders representing at least nine-tenths of the votes cast and the shares represented at the meeting.

Shareholders' rights to request information

Shareholders attending the general meeting may request information in accordance with Chapter 7, section 32 of the Swedish Companies Act (Sw. aktiebolagslagen (2005:551)).

Miscellaneous

At the time of this notice, there are 32,027,645 shares in the company, divided among 1,750,000 Preference shares with 1 vote each, 2,000,000 Class A shares with 10 votes each and 28,277,645 Class B shares with 1 vote each. The total number of votes in the company is 50,027,645. Further, the company holds no own shares as on the day of this notice.

___________________

Stockholm in February 2018

Sdiptech AB (publ)

The Board of Directors
Highlights:

Hole IC17-06 - Now 9.9 meters of 0.51% CoEq was 5.5 meters grading 0.55% CoEq

Hole IC17-10 - Now 6.2 meters of 0.51% CoEq was 2.2 meters of 0.66% CoEq

CoEq = Cobalt Equivalent; calculated as Copper % /10.58 + Cobalt %

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- US Cobalt Inc. (the "Company") (TSXV:USCO) (Frankfurt:26X) (OTCQB:USCFF) announces the successful completion of a program of infill sampling from the early 2017 diamond drill campaign at the Iron Creek project (the "Property") in Idaho, USA. As the 2017 diamond drill program progressed, the understanding of the Cobalt mineralization evolved to indicate significant cobalt mineralization occurs in zones with sulfide mineralization that is not massive or semi-massive. The results of the expanded sampling of the earlier holes show that significant cobalt mineralization occurs related to areas with a lower sulfide content in disseminations or stringers or seams. These values coupled with the previously released analytical results indicate an increased width of the cobalt mineralized envelop. The previous work had focused on the massive to semi-massive sulfide mineralization hosting the Cobalt and Copper values.

Two of the nine holes subjected to expanded sampling showed significant improvements in cobalt content, four of these holes showed significant new low grade mineralization, and three of these holes showed little change from the results previously announced (see Company news release dated October 4, 2017).

An indication of the increased mineralized envelop of cobalt values is presented below:





HOLE # RESULTS WITH

ADDITIONAL SAMPLING



PREVIOUSLY

REPORTED RESULTS

OCT.14/17 IC17-06 32.4 feet (9.9 meters) of 0.51% CoEq

within

105.6 feet (32.2 meters) of 0.31% CoEq, 18 feet (5.5 meters) grading 0.55% CoEq

within

44.5 feet (13.6 meters) 0.39% CoEq



IC17-10 20.2 feet (6.2 meters) 0.51% CoEq

within

118.4 feet (36.1 meters) 0.29% CoEq, 7.1 feet (2.2 meters) 0.66% CoEq

within

56 feet (17.1 meters) 0.39% CoEq





-Widths are true width. - CoEq = Cobalt Equivalent; calculated as copper % /10.58 + Cobalt %

These results confirm that cobalt mineralization exists outside of the massive and semi-massive sulfide zones at Iron Creek. Sampling protocols have been updated to reflect the understanding of cobalt and copper values in lower sulfide environments.

Sr. Vice President, Exploration, Brian Kirwin commented: "These results from additional core sampling in these nine holes are encouraging for potential of the Iron Creek project. We have learned that cobalt and copper mineralization occurs in zones with lower sulfide contents than previously thought and we now routinely sample broader zones containing lower sulfide contents. The results of the additional sampling has increased confidence in the increased widths of the mineralized envelop. We are excited to commence drilling from underground in mid-February, this will continue to evaluate the expansion of the Cobalt mineralization."

Additional significant results from the expanded sampling, as compared to the previous intercepts, is presented in the table below:





Hole ID From

feet To feet Drilled

Length

feet True

With

feet True

With

meters Cobalt % Copper% CoEQ % IC17-06

Initial

Results

Oct 4

2017 Interval 295.0 400 105 44.5 13.6 0.38 0.06 0.39 Including 305.0 350 45 18.0 5.5 0.54 0.07 0.55 Which Includes 329.5 345 15.5 6.5 2.0 0.81 0.06 0.82 And Including 360.0 370.1 10.1 4.8 1.5 0.79 0.03 0.79 Interval 450.0 500 50 27.0 8.2 0.28 0.00 0.28 Including 477.0 500 23 12.5 3.8 0.48 0.00 0.48





IC17-06

Feb 6,

2018

Extended

Sampling Interval 295 505 210 105.6 32.2 0.31 0.03 0.31 Including 305 370.1 65.1 32.4 9.9 0.51 0.06 0.51 which Includes 310 345 35 17.4 5.3 0.59 0.06 0.6 (including) 329.5 345 15.5 7.7 2.3 0.81 0.06 0.82 which also includes 360 370.1 10.1 5.0 1.5 0.79 0.03 0.79 And Including 477 505 28 14.3 4.4 0.51 0 0.51 which Includes 494.6 505 10.4 5.4 1.6 0.9 0 0.9 Interval 645 655 10 5.8 1.8 0.17 0 0.17



and

IC17-10

Initial

Results

Oct 4 Interval 100.0 195 95 56.0 17.1 0.31 0.91 0.39 Including 128.0 140 12 7.1 2.2 0.61 0.55 0.66 And Including 160.0 180 20 11.8 3.6 0.41 1.05 0.51 Interval 230.0 275 45 26.5 8.1 0.19 1.37 0.32

IC17-10

Feb 6,

2018

Extended

Sampling Interval 85 310 225 118.4 36.1 0.21 0.9 0.29 Including 128 170 42 20.2 6.2 0.44 0.8 0.51 Which Includes 128 140 12 6.3 1.9 0.61 0.55 0.66 And Including 230 240 10 5.8 1.8 0.3 1.58 0.45 And Including 255 275 20 11.5 3.5 0.21 1.81 0.38 Interval 638.3 644.6 6.3 4.0 1.2 0.18 0 0.18



and

IC17-11

Initial

Results

Oct 4 Interval 962.5 967.5 5 0.15 0.01 0.15 3.9 1.2





IC17-11

Feb 6,

2018

Extended

Sampling Interval 185 320 135 66.6 20.3 0.1 0.08 0.1 Including 245 255 10 4.9 1.5 0.21 0.15 0.22 Interval 660 710 50 24.7 7.5 0.14 0 0.14 Interval 905 927.4 22.4 10.9 3.3 0.1 0 0.1 Interval 962.5 967.5 5 2.4 0.7 0.15 0.01 0.15



and

IC17-13

Initial

Results Interval 180.0 191 11 4.5 1.4 0.14 0.21 0.16 Interval 245.0 256.5 11.5 5.5 1.7 0.14 0.01 0.14 Interval 350.0 355 5 2.6 0.8 0.23 0.44 0.27





IC17-13

Feb 6,

2018

Extended

Sampling Interval 160 285 125 69.6 21.2 0.1 0.05 0.11 Including 180 191 11 6.0 1.8 0.14 0.21 0.16 And Including 225 230 5 2.8 0.9 0.23 0.09 0.24 And Including 245 256.5 11.5 6.4 2.0 0.14 0.01 0.14 And Including 270 285 15 8.4 2.6 0.16 0.03 0.16 Interval 330 365 35 18.7 5.7 0.08 0.51 0.13 Including 345 355 10 5.2 1.6 0.14 0.62 0.2



and

IC17-18

Initial

Results Interval 245.0 265 20 18.5 5.6 0.06 1.97 0.24 Interval 445.0 460 15 14.1 4.3 0.04 0.84 0.11 Interval 486.2 491.2 5 4.7 1.4 0.64 0.02 0.64

IC17-18

Feb 6,

2018

Extended

Sampling Interval 245 265 20 18.5 5.6 0.06 1.97 0.24 Including 250 260 10 9.3 2.8 0.09 3.35 0.4 Interval 318.7 330 11.3 10.5 3.2 0.13 0.42 0.16 Including 323.5 330 6.5 6.0 1.8 0.19 0.49 0.24 Interval 486.2 503.5 17.3 16.0 4.9 0.23 0.01 0.23 Including 486.2 491.2 5 4.6 1.4 0.64 0.02 0.64 Interval 695 700 5 4.6 1.4 0.213 0.014 0.214



and

IC17-07

Initial

Results

Oct 4

2017 Interval 170.0 180 10 5.3 1.6 0.41 0.18 0.43 Interval 200.0 210 10 7.5 2.3 0.18 0.33 0.21 Interval 265.0 275 10 6.5 2.0 0.17 0.29 0.19 Interval 300.0 310 10 6.6 2.0 0.29 0.13 0.30 Interval 370.0 390 20 13.5 4.1 0.13 0.01 0.13 Interval 675.0 685 10 7.2 2.2 0.19 0.00 0.19





IC17-07

Feb 6,

2018

Extended

Sampling Interval 170 210 40 23.3 7.1 0.18 0.17 0.2 Including 170 180 10 5.7 1.7 0.41 0.18 0.43 Interval 255 390 135 81.0 24.7 0.09 0.15 0.1 Including 255 275 20 11.5 3.5 0.15 0.3 0.18 And Including 300 310 10 5.9 1.8 0.29 0.13 0.3 Interval 585 600 15 10.5 3.2 0.16 0 0.16 Interval 675 685 10 6.8 2.1 0.19 0 0.19 Interval 740 770 30 21.4 6.5 0.15 0.01 0.15



and

IC17-04

Initial

Results

Oct 4

2017 Interval 265.0 441.9 176.9 65.8 20.1 0.21 0.11 0.22 Including 265.0 290 25 8.0 2.4 0.28 0.06 0.29 And Including 315.0 325 10 2.8 0.9 0.40 0.32 0.43 And Including 355.0 395 40 19.0 5.8 0.31 0.23 0.33 Which Includes 360.0 370 10 4.8 1.5 0.50 0.02 0.50





IC17-04

Feb 6,

2018

Extended

Sampling Interval 265 441.9 176.9 65.8 20.1 0.21 0.11 0.22 Including 315 325 10 3.7 1.1 0.4 0.32 0.43 And Including 355 400 45 16.6 5.1 0.3 0.21 0.32 which Includes 360 375 15 5.5 1.7 0.42 0.27 0.45 Interval 1025 1045 20 10.2 3.1 0.16 0 0.16



and

IC17-08

Initial

Results

Oct 4 Interval 330.0 397.5 67.5 33.9 10.3 0.49 0.06 0.50 Including 365.0 393.8 28.8 12.0 3.7 0.73 0.02 0.73 Which Includes 384.0 393.8 9.8 4.5 1.4 1.08 0.02 1.09 Interval 430.0 440 10 5.8 1.8 0.17 0.01 0.17





IC17-08

Feb 6,

2018

Extended

Sampling Interval 325 397.5 72.5 33.6 10.2 0.46 0.06 0.47 Including 365 393.8 28.8 13.6 4.1 0.73 0.02 0.73 Which Includes 384 393.8 9.8 4.6 1.4 1.08 0.02 1.09 Interval 430 440 10 4.9 1.5 0.17 0.01 0.17 Interval 520 535 15 7.5 2.3 0.29 0 0.29



and

IC17-09

Initial

Results

Oct 4 Interval 210.0 240 30 3.0 0.9 0.18 0.05 0.18 Interval 255.0 265 10 1.8 0.5 0.23 0.04 0.23 Interval 395.0 425 30 6.8 2.1 0.19 0.02 0.20 Including 410.0 420 10 2.0 0.6 0.30 0.02 0.30





IC17-09

Feb 6,

2018

Extended Interval 210 275 65 21.5 6.6 0.15 0.05 0.15 Interval 295 480 185 62.3 19.0 0.1 0.03 0.11 Including 295 310 15 5.0 1.5 0.23 0.02 0.24 And Including 410 420 10 3.5 1.1 0.3 0.02 0.3



As previously announced, the Project is leased from Chester Mining Company subject to the Company's buy-out rights.

As previously announced, historic tonnage and grade estimates indicate that the Property contains 1,279,000 tons grading 0.59% cobalt  please refer to the Company's news release dated September 7, 2016. Due to the age of the previous geological work completed to establish historic tonnage, the Company is treating these tonnage and grade estimates as historical estimates. The historical estimates do not use categories that conform to current CIM Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves as outlined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and have not been redefined to conform to current CIM Definition Standards. They were prepared in the 1980s prior to the adoption and implementation of NI 43-101. The historical estimates are contained within a report entitled "Iron Creek Prospect, Lemhi County, Idaho (#0483) Progress Report" by Terry A Webster and Thomas K Stump for Noranda Exploration, Inc., July 1980, which report does not detail cut-off grades and metal prices used to estimate the historical mineralization and used a tonnage factor of 11 cubic feet per ton. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources and the Company is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources. More work, including, but not limited to, drilling, will be required to confirm the estimates to current CIM Definition Standards. Investors are cautioned that the historical estimates do not mean or imply that economic deposits exist on the Property. Other than as provided for in this press release, the Company has not undertaken any independent investigation of the historical estimates or other information contained in this press release nor has it independently analyzed the results of the previous exploration work in order to verify the accuracy of the information. The Company believes that the historical estimates and other information contained in this press release are relevant to continuing exploration on the Property because they identify significant mineralization that will be the target of the Company's exploration program.

The drill samples and underground channel samples are collected by Company personnel or contractors working for the Company at the drill or portal. All of the Company's facilities are kept secure. The core is transported to the Company's core processing facility in Challis operated by Earl Waite and Sons Mining Contractors who are contracted by the Company. There the core is logged, cut and sampled and subsequently delivered to the laboratory. All facilities are secure.

All core is logged for recovery and other geotechnical features, prior to being sawed lengthwise in half by the Company's contractors. Individual core samples are selected on a geological basis to characterize mineralization. The core is geologically logged and half core is stored on site as reference samples in a secure facility. The samples are bagged, labeled and tied at the core processing facility by the Company's contractors. Geologic information is recorded on standardized sample description forms which included color, rock type, alteration, mineral species and abundance. Samples are stored in a secure facility at the core processing site until delivered to the laboratory. Blanks, duplicates and standards are inserted at the core processing site as part of the QA/QC program. The drill samples were loaded directly from the core processing facility to the truck of a shipping company and driven directly to the laboratory where the lab took custody directly from a Company employee. The sampling was overseen by Brian Kirwin, Senior Vice President Exploration for the Company.

American Assay Laboratories (AAL) in Sparks, Nevada conducted the analyses of the drill core samples, and analyzed the Company's QA/QC samples at the same time, and the Company plans to utilize the services of AAL for the core samples. AAL is ISO / IEC 17025 certified and has successfully completed Canadian proficiency testing (CCRMP). Approximately 20% of the samples analyzed are control samples consisting of checks, blanks, and duplicates inserted by the Company - this is in addition to the control samples inserted by the lab. Correlation of the standards with expected values were excellent. At the AAL laboratory, the drill core samples were dried, weighed and crushed to 85 % passing -6 mesh, roll crushed to 85% passing -10 mesh, split 250 gram pulps, then pulverized in a closed bowl ring pulverizer to 95 % passing -150 mesh, then analyzed by a 5 acid digestion for ICP analysis.

Mr. Garry Clark, P. Geo., of Clark Exploration Consulting, is the "qualified person" as defined in NI 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the technical content in this press release.

For additional information please contact:

US Cobalt Inc.

Wayne Tisdale, President

T: (604) 639-4457

E: info@uscobaltinc.com

Website: www.uscobaltinc.com.

Reader Advisory

This news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the proposed exploration program on the Property. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: general economic conditions in Canada and globally; industry conditions, including governmental regulation and environmental regulation; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; liabilities inherent in mining operations; competition for, among other things, skilled personnel and supplies; incorrect assessments of the value of acquisitions; geological, technical, processing and transportation problems; changes in tax laws and incentive programs; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions and dispositions; and the other factors. Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive.



The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.



Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
English Swedish

Swedish central government payments resulted in a balance of SEK 0.0 billion in January. The Debt Office's forecast was a surplus of SEK 2.3 billion. The difference is mainly explained by the fact that the Debt Office's net lending to government agencies was higher than forecast.

The Debt Office's net lending to government agencies etc. was SEK 3.0 billion higher than expected. This was mainly due to reduced deposits from, among others, the Nuclear Waste Fund and the Swedish Pensions Agency.

Tax income was approximately SEK 6 billion higher than forecast, due to higher supplementary tax payments. This was almost completely offset by higher disbursements from, among others, SIDA, Kammarkollegiet and Forsakringskassan.

Interest payments on central government debt were SEK 0.2 billion lower than calculated.

For the twelve-month period up to the end of January 2018, central government payments resulted in a surplus of SEK 53.1 billion.

Central government debt amounted to SEK 1,250 billion at the end of January.

The outcome for February will be published on 7 March at 9.30 a.m.

Revised forecasts for 2018 and 2019 will be published on 21 February at 9:30 a.m.

Contact

Lina Majtorp, Economist +46 (0)8 613 46 76

Robert Sennerdal, Press Secretary, +46 (0)8 613 47 01

Central government net borrowing requirement1 (SEK million) Outcome Dec. Forecast Dec. Deviation Dec. Acc. Dev2 Outcome 12-month Net borrowing requirement -30 -2 302 2 273 -31 190 -53 125 Primary borrowing requirement excl. net lending3 -2 731 -2 165 -566 -29 269 -67 002 Net lending to agencies etc.4 4 040 1 047 2 993 -408 2 727 Interest payments on central government debt -1 339 -1 185 -154 -1 513 11 151 - Interest on loans in SEK -1 111 -1 215 104 213 13 478 - Interest on loans in foreign currency -8 -4 -4 -552 -881 - Realised currency gains and losses -220 34 -254 -1 175 -1 446 1 The net borrowing requirement corresponds to the budget balance with opposite sign. 2 Sum of monthly forecast deviations since last forecast (October 2017). 3 Net of the state's primary income and expenditure excluding net lending to agencies. 4 The net of government agencies etc. deposits and loans in the state's internal bank. The net lending includes both current government operations and temporary occurrences which can be decided on short notice. The net lending affects the net borrowing requirement and central government debt, but are not covered by the Central government expenditure ceiling.

More data on the borrowing requirement and government debt

The monthly outcome of the central government net borrowing requirement is included in the official statistics of Sweden.
LONDON, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In the current weak and fast-changing market conditions, it is essential for the steel industry to keep informed about both short and long-term future direction of the market. Commodity Inside aims to provide knowledge to its clients as well as value for their money. Flat Steel Price Forecaster is an excel based product which tracks flat steel prices in all major markets and provides both short and long-term forecasts. It is developed specifically for those clients who are keen on following flat steel prices and do not have enough time to read a lengthy market commentary.



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Price assessments of hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC) and hot-dip galvanised (HDG) by regions

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22 different flat steel price series

Both short term and long term forecasts are provided with underlying developments and assumptions.

Six months ahead forecasts updated on a monthly basis. While five-year annual forecasts up to 2022 are updated on quarterly basis.

List of price series

China, Hot-rolled coil, Export, FOB, $/t

China, Cold-rolled coil, Export, FOB, $/t

China, Hot-dipped galvanised coil, Export, FOB, $/t

China, Hot-rolled coil, (ex-works), RMB/t

China, Cold-rolled coil, (ex-works), RMB/t

China, Hot-dipped galvanised coil, (ex-works), RMB/t

Europe, Hot-rolled coil, Import, CFR, /t

Europe, Cold-rolled coil, Import, CFR, /t

Europe, Hot-dipped galvanised coil, Import, CFR, /t

Europe, Hot-rolled coil, Ex-works, /t

Europe, Cold-rolled coil, Ex-works, /t

Europe, Hot-dipped galvanised coil, Ex-works, /t

Russia, Hot-rolled coil, Export, FOB, black sea, $/t

Russia, Cold-rolled coil, Export, FOB, black sea, $/t

Brazil, Hot-rolled coil, Domestic, BRL/t

Brazil, Cold-rolled coil, Domestic, BRL/t

Brazil, Hot-rolled coil, Export, FOB, $/t

Brazil, Cold-rolled coil, Export, FOB, $/t

Unites States, Hot-rolled coil, Domestic, $/st

Unites States, Cold-rolled coil, Domestic, $/st

Unites States, Hot-rolled coil, Import, CFR, $/st

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About Commodity Inside

Commodity Inside (www.commodityinside.com) is an independent privately owned company provides market research analysis and consulting to the commodities market. We specialise in glass, metal, paper and plastic industries and their end-use sectors such as packaging, energy, automotive and construction. We publish a range of thorough and highly analytical market analysis reports. Our consultancy arm offers expertise to companies in these markets and helping them in making the right decisions.

For further information about this report and additional research, please contact:

Fernando Barbosa

Business Development Executive

Email: fernando@commodityinside.com

Tel: +44 (0) 207 14 00002
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 6:28 am

The city of La Center has officially put its support behind a $48 million capital facilities bond on the ballot for La Center School District citizens for the Feb. 13 election.

The councilors officially signed a resolution announcing their support during their annual retreat Jan. 27.

Successful schools are the cornerstone of a successful community, the letter read.

It stated the proposal if approved would build a middle school in the district, which would be a solution to the growing problem of a growing district population.

If you live or work here, you will benefit from ensuring the La Center school district is the best it can be, the letter read.

Taxpayer impacts for the proposed bond were estimated at an increase of 77 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation annually, according to information from the school district. That rate does not take into account the statewide levy rate increase that will affect property taxes paid next year as a result of education funding legislation passed in 2017.

More information about the bond can be found at lacenterschools.org/bond-2018-information.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 6:29 am

Clark Countys search for a county manager is almost complete as the council announced two finalists for the position last week, along with inviting county residents to meet them.

One candidate is Dan Chandler, who has been the assistant county administrator for Clackamas County in Oregon since 2011. He previously lived in Clark County for two decades and has managed for private and nonprofit entities.

Chandler is a graduate of Western Washington University with a bachelor's degree in political science and also a law degree from Harvard Law School. Prior to his management roles, he owned a business, served as executive director of American Wildlands and spent some time as an attorney.

(Chandler) has expertise in land use, transportation, strategic planning, performance budgeting and economic development, county staff wrote in their meet and greet invite.

The other finalist, Randall Partington, would have a bit of a longer commute. He is currently the administrator for Finney County in Kansas, a position hes held since 2010, after serving as assistant administrator and human resources director. Prior, he worked as a city administrator and court budget analyst.

Partington has a bachelor's degree from Kansas State University and Master of Public Administration from Wichita State University.

The candidates will be in the area for two days next week, and an hour of that is put aside to meet residents.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 6:31 am

Last week Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis found Ricardo Gutierrez guilty for the premeditated, first-degree murder of a vulnerable victim for the death of 3-year-old Jose Castillo-Cisneros, nicknamed Pepe.

Gutierrez beat and stabbed 3-year-old Pepe, in May of 2016, before being detained by Battle Ground police. Pepe later died from the injuries.

Officers were dispatched after a panicked 911 call came from Pepes 9-year-old sister, who stated over the phone that Gutierrez was beating Pepe and that Pepe was in a "big puddle of blood and was not breathing."

When the police arrived, they detained Gutierrez and attempted to revive Pepe until police backup and medical personnel arrived.

Gutierrez was not related to Pepe, but was dating his mother, Yadira Cisneros, and living in their home at the time.

Gutierrez was also found guilty for second-degree assault for physical damage he caused Cisneros as she tried to stop him from beating Pepe. Detectives saw injuries on her arms, legs and neck according to court documents.

Gutierrez was reportedly upset that Pepe would not stop crying about a movie he was watching. In an interview with detectives, Gutierrez said he didn't remember assaulting Pepe and that he has blacked out in the past when angry.

Gutierrezs sentencing is set for Feb. 13.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 6:33 am

With the looming deadline of March 5 for the rescind of the Deferred Action for Child Arrivals (DACA), Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson had to pause when answering a question from a Fort Vancouver High School student  does he really think that Congress could pass legislation to protect DACA recipients in time?

I want to be hopeful, I do, Ferguson said, adding he was frustrated at how an issue with strong public support would not be able to happen in the current President Donald Trump Administration.

He was referencing the Dream Act, legislation that would make the DACA protections permanent, unlike current law which has to be renewed periodically.

Ferguson was the keynote speaker for Messages of Hope, event Jan. 30 at Fort Vancouver High School featuring him as well as local voices both in government and activism talking about groups under threat by the administration, specifically immigrants and so-called Dreamers  those benefiting from DACA. Statements from local Dreamers were read while local officials talked about their own efforts in supporting communities vulnerable to changing federal policy.

Fergusons talk and the questions asked of him focused on the legal side of challenging Trump Administration policies, starting just a week after Trumps inauguration. His office has been busy challenging many executive orders and other policies  a total of 19 have the state of Washington as one of the petitioners.

Of that number, Ferguson touted his offices track record  six out of six decided cases were in Washington states favor, not Washington, D.C. When filing the first lawsuit against Trumps travel ban from certain muslim-majority countries, Ferguson said he didnt anticipate the volume of filings the coming year would bring.

The conventional wisdom that first weekend was that a lawsuit would not work; the President had too much authority, Ferguson said, But we felt we had a good argument and we won.

Following that first win attorneys general in other states began bringing their own suits against the administration, Ferguson said. He cited the nature of a court case as being a powerful counter to the current administrations tactics.

In a courtroom it is not the loudest voice that prevails, its not. You cant tweet your way out of a problem in a courtroom, Ferguson said. All that matters, all the judge is focused on is the law and the facts of your case. Thats it.

Ferguson said being focused like a laser on the case facts and the law is why his office has been successful. He said his office was currently arguing in the case against the rescind of DACA, and coincidentally on Jan. 30, the day of the event, he said the head of the civil rights unit, Assistant Attorney General Colleen Melody, had earlier that day been arguing the case in New York.

Regarding DACA, Ferguson framed the policy as a deal between eligible so-called Dreamers and the federal government. The government requires that Dreamers come out of the shadows and provide some information for documentation, he explained, and the government promised never to use that information to deport those individuals to a country you do not really know, because you came here as a child, Ferguson said.

With the DACA rescind Ferguson likened it to reneging on a deal, framing it with the analogy of his son Jacks trading card deals. He posited what he would do if his son showed remorse over a perceived bad trade, asking whether he would try to rescind the trade.

Hell no; Im telling my son a deals a deal  maybe you dont like it now, but thats how it works, Ferguson said.

Rescinding DACA would be a similar bad-faith move, he said, though on a much more impactful scale.

Were not talking about Pokemon cards, are we? Were talking about peoples lives, Ferguson continued.

He recalled some of Melodys testimony where she argued that if most DACA recipients were from different countries, Norway specifically, their status would not be an issue, alleging discrimination based on country of origin.

Outside of DACA litigation Ferguson also spoke about his offices suit of Motel 6 based on an investigation into unlawful sharing of personal information with ICE agents. He said his suspicions rose when Motel 6 said it was only isolated incidents following an investigation into Arizona locations.

According to Fergusons lawsuit such activity was happening in Washington state as well, where hotel operators were turning over names, specifically latino-sounding names, to ICE without a warrant.

Whether its the President (or) whether its a company like Motel 6  if you are not playing by the rules, its my job to hold you accountable, Ferguson said.

Other lawsuits, including ones regarding the rollback of Obama-era environmental protections and the transgender military ban were also addressed by Ferguson. Although his office would maintain judicial challenges, he lamented how in situations like the looming DACA drop date it was up to powers out of his control.

Nobody can offer a guarantee, Ferguson said regarding DACA, commenting that a few months prior he would have been more optimistic on a clean Dream Act passing. Regarding the name of the event, Ferguson said there wasnt any way to sugarcoat that under the current administration there were dark times for disenfranchised populations.

Even despite that, there are messages of hope, he said. In some ways having that dark time inspires people to get involved who might not have been involved.

I dont know whether this year there will be 19 lawsuits against the Trump Administration, Ferguson said. If the administration continues to flaunt the law, we will see more of them; thats just going to happen.

Following Fergusons speech local leaders spoke in a panel discussion regarding efforts to support their communities, including Clark County Council Chair Marc Boldt and Washougal Mayor Molly Coston. They talked about potential responses to politically-charged events in their communities and the potential fallout resulting from protest clashes.

Vancouver Mayor Pro Tem Bart Hansen mentioned an April 2 rally in Esther Short Park that the Vancouver Police Department did a fabulous job at maintaining civility, and although he said there were some individuals there he believed were there to incite or antagonize, overall the event let citizens voices be heard.

Comments from Hansen regarding the rally, put on by local activist group Patriot Prayer, drew the only interruption during the event from Joey Gibson, Patriot Prayer founder. He found it inappropriate that Hansen would bring up the rally and the more inciteful elements while not mentioning Antifa, the anti-fascist movement employing Black Bloc-style demonstrations that also had presence at the rally.

Gibson asserted that Patriot Prayer was not a hate group, something that Hansen didnt object.

I never said hate group once, Hansen retorted.

When questioned as to why Hansen was at the rally, implying he was there to protest, Hansen explained he was monitoring police response.

Regarding the police department in terms of enforcement of federal orders, Hansen recalled a previous conversation with the department on how the Vancouver Police Department would be doing their work with regard to federal immigration operations.

Hansen said the department would be focused on helping its community, not doing the bidding of the federal government.

Were not here to do ICEs work. Period, Hansen said.
Posted Wednesday, February 7, 2018 4:13 am

Amid national and state-wide awareness of womens healthcare, Washington state lawmakers are considering a bill that would require community and technical colleges to provide free tampons or sanitary pads to students. Representatives in the House Higher Education Committee passed the bill out of committee on Wednesday Jan. 31.

It smartly identifies something that should not have taken us this long to identify, said Representative Drew Hansen, D-Bainbridge Island, chair of the House Higher Education Committee.

Representative Melanie Stambaugh, R-Puyallup, the bills prime sponsor, said HB 2863 ensures that those with low incomes can have access to clean products.

She got the idea for the bill from a Pierce College student who raised concerns about the costs of the products, the impact on low income students, and a card-based culture in which students often do not have quarters to pay for tampon dispenser machines in womens restrooms.

Stambaugh said that other colleges and four year universities around the state offer limited free feminine products in womens restrooms. The University of Washington Seattle campus has a similar need-based system in place in many womens restrooms. She asked lawmakers to also consider adding four year universities to the bill.

We support the positive impact that this bill would have on our female students, especially those that are low income and are experiencing homelessness, said Erin Frasier, policy associate for the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

Frasier asked the committee to consider funding the products for community and technical colleges. A hearing in the appropriations committee is not yet scheduled.

This bill is asking for a small price that will go a long way in students lives, said Leah Mobley, legislative liaison for the Associated Students of Central Washington University.

She said that the average woman spends anywhere between $60 and $200 per year on feminine hygiene products depending on personal needs. She said it doesnt seem like much to some people, but for alow income college student already paying for tuition, housing and books,it can be a hefty price.

According to 2016 Global Industry Analysts, the feminine hygiene market is worth $5.9 billion and is expected to grow to $6.2 billion by the year 2020.

Washington State includes feminine hygiene products like tampons and pads in its sales tax. As of January 2017, five states have no sales tax and seven states exempt menstrual products from their sales tax.

HB 1265, also sponsored by Stambaugh, would exempt tampons and pads from the states sales tax. The bill was introduced last year but has not yet had a hearing.
English Swedish

The Rezidor Hotel Group AB (publ) will release its Financial Report on Q4 & Full Year 2017 on Wednesday, 21 February 2018 at 7:30 CEST. Federico J. Gonzalez, President & CEO, and Knut Kleiven, Deputy President & CFO, will also host an audio webcast on the same day, at 10:00 CEST.

To access the telephone conference, please dial one of the following numbers:

Sweden:

Sweden National free phone: +46 (0)8 5065 3942

0200 883 464 United Kingdom:

United Kingdom National free phone: +44 (0)330 336 9411

0800 279 7204 Belgium:

Belgium National free phone: +32 (0)2 400 6926

0800 38625 France:

France National free phone: +33 (0)1 76 77 22 57

0805 101 278 Norway:

Norway National free phone: +47 2350 0296

800 51084 United States of America:

USA National free phone +1 720-543-0214

800-239-9838

Confirmation Code: 7721772

To follow the webcast, please visit: www.investor.rezidor.com

For further information, contact:

Renu Hanegreefs-Snehi, Vice President, Corporate Communications, PR & Reputation Management

renu.snehi@carlsonrezidor.com

Lucie Cardona, Director, Corporate Communications, PR & Reputation Management

lucie.cardona@carlsonrezidor.com
Posted Wednesday, February 7, 2018 4:16 am

Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday announced his intention to resist any Trump Administration plan to develop offshore drilling in Washington state, in an attempt to protect what he called the best coastline in the United States.

U.S. Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke in January announced federal plans to lease oil and gas reserves on U.S. coastlines between 2019 and 2024.

So far, no company has come forward with plans to drill for gas or oil in Washington state.

Even so,the inevitable risk is unacceptable in some of the best beaches in the world, Inslee said in a Feb. 5 press conference. This is not a hypothetical or an abstraction.

Inslee pointed to the 1988 Nestucca spill in Grays Harbor, which poured oil across 110 miles of the states coastline. The governor said the incident should serve as a stark reminder of the dangers of the oil industry.

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson and Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz joined the governor in lambasting the Department of the Interiors decision, and Ferguson promised legal action should plans progress any further.

The bottom line is this: If they go forward, they will see us in court, Ferguson said. There is a reason why we have yet to lose a court decision with this administration.

A few days after the federal government released its plan,Zinke announced that Florida would be exempt from offshore drilling, a move that drew bipartisan criticism from governors in coastal states. Along with Inslee, governors from Oregon, New York, New Jersey and the Carolinas said they dont want offshore drilling in their states.

Regarding Floridas exemption, Inslee did not hold back from pointing the finger at Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who Inslee said is a friend of Trump. The president in September said he hopes for a U.S. Senate campaign bid by Scott, and Inslee said such a campaign could be behind Floridas exemption.

While Scott has yet to announce whether he will run for a spot in the Senate, a term limit prevents him from seeking re-election, and his current term as Florida governor ends this year.

The Washington state governor also indicated Trumps ownership of the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida as a potential motivator.

Ferguson and Inslee each wrote a letter to Zinke Monday morning, with the governor asking Zinke to visit Washington state and experience the Pacific Northwest coastline for himself. The attorney general similarly invited Zinke to the state and presented a number of economic statistics that demonstrate the importance of a healthy coastline.

A document prepared by the governors office claims that 4.1 million recreational trips take place on Washingtons coastline each year, bringing in an estimated $481 million. The governor said that there are 11,422 jobs in recreation in coastal counties, and 2,830 jobs in the commercial fishing and seafood industries.

In his letter Ferguson also reminisced about his own experience with the coastline, where he said 20 years ago he spent a week hiking from the Hoh River to Shi Shi Beach, a journey more than 80 miles in length.

Department of the Interior Press Secretary Heather Swift, in response to Inslees comments, called the five-year plan an open and public process, and said Zinke plans to meet with governors in coastal states to further discuss the matter. Swift also said the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has 23 public meetings planned in which citizens from coastal states can provide their own feedback.

There is currently no oil or gas production in Washington state. Historically, 600 gas and oil wells have been drilled, but there has never been a large-scale commercial production, according to the Department of Natural Resources. A small amount of oil was produced near Ocean City between 1957 and 1961.

Ocean Shores on Jan. 22 became the first city in Washington to adopt a resolution banning offshore drilling, citing the need for clean water and abundant wildlife.

We are gravely concerned by efforts in that other Washington to open up our coast, Ocean Shores Mayor Crystal Dingler said. If the oil rigs comes, most of us wont be able to see them, but we will see the effect of their presence.

Inslee said no businesses have expressed an interest in drilling for Washington oil, and he plans to keep it that way. The governor said that while he cannot explicitly prevent drilling from taking place, the prospect could become unattractive to oil companies through a number of legislative techniques like heavy taxes.

This is a bicoastal, bipartisan revulsion, Inslee said. I believe ultimately we will be successful.
It's pretty common for classic rock artists to appear in Super Bowl commericals, Steven Tyler starred in the 2018 Kia ad and Alice Cooper appears in an ad for Desert Financial.

Desert Financial recently made a name change, moving away from being known as Desert Schools Credit Union. "Schools" out seemed like a great way to include Alice Cooper.

The Phoenix Business Journal spoke with Desert Financial's chief marketing officer, Cathy Graham, who said they approached the commercial as a rare opportunity to put together an ad with a little more humor than people might typically expect from a bank. As she put it, "This is the one time we could some something edgy or be out there."

Check out the ad above.
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ViaDerma, Inc. (OTC Pink:VDRM), recently announced the complaint filed by Steven J. Keough in a South Dakota Federal Court, has been dismissed without prejudice. The complaint alleged certain technical issues dating back to 2011. The Company has filed provisional patents on several products, and their pending status has already gone through a screening process by the USPTO.



Dr. Christopher Otiko, President of ViaDerma, stated, The Companys legal counsel has vigorously defended this civil legal action to protect our shareholders and the Companys patent pending product line. The Company will continue to aggressively defend any legal action that will affect the progress ViaDerma, Inc. has made through its innovation, hard work and sacrifice. The Company continues to move ahead with its aggressive sales growth goals and new product development plans for 2018 and beyond!"

About ViaDerma, Inc.

ViaDerma, Inc. (OTC:VDRM) is a publicly traded specialty pharmaceutical company committed to bringing new products to market and licensing its innovative technology to current leaders in the pharmaceutical industry in a wide variety of therapeutic areas. ViaDerma's products use an innovative transdermal delivery method that allows for application of active ingredients in a topical form. This patent-pending dual carrier transdermal technology may be applied in products within the medical and cosmetic markets. A provisional patent application using the combination of CBDs and THC with the delivery system was filed in 2017. The use of CBDs is for the reduction of inflammation and for the treatment of several diseases, such as, nicotine addiction, fibromyalgia, Crohns disease, schizophrenia, migraine headaches, pain management for cancer and Multiple Sclerosis. For more information, please visit: www.viadermalicensing.com

Forward Looking Statements

Forward-Looking Statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be identified using words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "future," "may," "will," "would," "should," "plan," "projected," "intend," and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company's future operating results are dependent upon many factors, including but not limited to the Company's ability to: (i) obtain sufficient capital or a strategic business arrangement to fund its expansion plans; (ii) build the management and human resources and infrastructure necessary to support the growth of its business; (iii) competitive factors and developments beyond the Company's control; and (iv) other risk factors. We assume no obligation to update the information contained in this news release.



Contact information:

Investor Relations

Email: info@viadermalicensing.com

Phone: 310-374-6111
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TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Red Pine Exploration Inc. (TSX-V:RPX) ("Red Pine" or the "Company") announces results from three holes at its Wawa Gold Project. The drill holes were part of Red Pines 2017 drill program.



Drilling highlights:

Discovery of new high-grade veins in the Minto Stockwork (Table 1): SD-17-131 contains 27.84 g/t gold over 3 metres ; SD-17-126 contains two zones in the Minto Stockwork

- 6.39 g/t gold over 1m

- 6.8 g/t gold over 1m



Discovery of high-grade mineralization in the extension of the Minto Mine South Zone (Table 2): SD-17-131 contains 13.15 g/t gold over 3.1 metres ;



Quentin Yarie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Red Pine stated, "The systematic discovery of high-grade veins in the surroundings of the Minto Mine South Zone, in addition to the Minto Vein itself, suggests the existence of widespread mineralization in the area. The Minto vein itself is producing consistent results to 225m vertical depth and from a 40m step-out down-dip of the last hole with known results.

Table 1. Highlights of the 2017 drilling results in the Minto Stockwork

Hole From (m) To (m) Length (m)* Gold (g/t) Gold Zone SD-17-126 132.15 133.2 1.1 0.95 Minto Stockwork 142.25 143.25 1 6.39 160 161 1 6.80 SD-17-131 108.3 111.3 3 27.84 Including 108.3 109.32 1.02 48.41 109.32 110.3 0.98 33.7

Additional drilling is required to estimate the true width of the Minto stockwork composed of numerous veins with different geometries.

Table 2. Highlights of the 2017 drilling results in the Minto Mine South Zone

Hole From (m) To (m) Length (m)* Gold (g/t) Gold Zone SD-17-131 244.2 247.3 3.1 13.15 Minto Mine South Zone Including 244.2 245.3 1.1 34.78

*Assay results reported over intersection length. In the Minto Mine South Zone, for SD-17-131, the intersection length is estimated to be >65% true width.

Minto Mine South Discovery Area

Red Pines exploration drilling in the Minto Mine South Zone (MMSZ) supports the continuity of the MMSZ. The intersections of many quartz veins in the Minto Stockwork, some with high-grade gold, further support the presence of a widespread gold mineralization halo around the MMSZ in the Minto Stockwork. Hole SD-17-116, drilled in the northern extension of the Jubilee Shear Zone, did not contain any significant results.

Wawa Gold Project Background

The Wawa Gold property package consists of over 5,500 hectares and hosts several former mines with a combined historic production of 120,000 oz gold1. To date, the largest gold deposit on the property is the Surluga Deposit, which hosts a NI 43-101 Inferred Resource of 1,088,000 oz gold at an average grade of 1.71 g/t (using a 0.5 g/t cut-off) contained within 19.82 million tonnes2.

Since December 2014, Red Pine's exploration work has involved the ongoing sampling of 42,000 m of historic core that was never sampled by previous operators of the project, and aggressive drilling campaigns. To date, the Company has completed over 34,000 m of drilling and made four discoveries along the extension of the Surluga Deposit: the Surluga North Zone; the Hornblende-William Zone; the Minto Mine South Zone and; the Grace-Darwin Zone. These are part of the Wawa Gold Corridor, a gold-mineralization zone that extends for more than 5 km.

Red Pines on-going drill program is designed to potentially expand the size of the existing inferred gold resource and connect the other zones of gold mineralization along the newly-discovered Wawa Gold Corridor. Two drills are currently operating non-stop- one is targeting the Surluga North discovery while the second drill is targeting the Minto Mine South Zone discovery.

The Company is well positioned to fund its share of the Wawa Gold exploration program. As such, the sampling and drill programs are expected to continue in 2018.

On-site Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) Measures

Drill core samples were transported in security-sealed bags for analyses to Activation Laboratories Ltd. in Ancaster, Ontario. Individual samples are labeled, placed in plastic sample bags and sealed. Groups of samples are then placed into durable rice bags and then shipped. The remaining coarse reject portions of the samples remain in storage if further work or verification is needed.

Red Pine has implemented a quality-control program to comply with best practices in the sampling and analysis of drill core. As part of its QA/QC program, Red Pine inserts external gold standards (low to high grade) and blanks every 20 samples in addition to random standards, blanks, and duplicates.

Qualified Person

Quentin Yarie, P Geo. is the qualified person responsible for preparing, supervising and approving the scientific and technical content of this news release.

About Red Pine Exploration Inc.

Red Pine Exploration Inc. is a gold and base-metals exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Company's common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "RPX".

Red Pine has a 60% interest in the Wawa Gold Project with Citabar LP. holding the remaining 40% interest. Red Pine is the Operating Manager of the Project and is focused on expanding the existing gold resource on the property.

For more information about the Company visit www.redpineexp.com

Or contact:

Quentin Yarie, President & CEO, (416) 364-7024, qyarie@redpineexp.com

Or Mia Boiridy, Investor Relations, (416) 364-7024, mboiridy@redpineexp.com

1Mineral Resource Statement, Surluga-Jubilee Gold Deposit, Wawa Gold Project, Ontario, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. (effective May 26, 2015)). The report is available on www.SEDAR.com under Red Pines profile.

2NI 43-101 inferred resource of 1,088,000 ounces of gold at a 1.71 grams per tonne (g/t) using a 0.40 g/t gold cut-off grade for pit-constrained and 2.50 g/t gold cut-off grade for underground-constrained resources, contained in 19.82 million tonnes open along strike and at depth. The Cut-off grades are based on a gold price of US$1,250 per once and a gold recovery of 95 percent (Mineral Resource Statement, Surluga-Jubilee Gold Deposit, Wawa Gold Project, Ontario, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc (effective May 26, 2015)).

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This News Release contains forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as may, should, expects, plans, anticipates, believes, estimates, predicts, potential or continue or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our or our industrys actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.

A map accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a936a142-95fc-4fd9-81da-e15a18fa1f5c




19 year old Mouad Chafiq El Idrissi would drive around DDO neighbourhoods with minor accomplices in tow. The minor would then ring the doorbell of potential targeted homes and if no one answered, would go inside and steal items while Chafiq El Idrissi served as lookout outside. He and two other suspects were caught last week and officers think they may be other break-ins in the area he is responsible for.
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lodestar Anstalt today issued the following statement:



We asked nicely but you didnt answer, so we were forced to ask again in court. Weve distilled some key points from those legal documents and the public record.

Dear Bacardi,

For more than half a century, Bacardi has succeeded in hiding behind a veil of secrecy in Bermuda, out of reach of the U.S. legal system.

No more. For the first time, Bacardi is being scrutinized in an American court.

Its not by accident. Nor is it for lack of Bacardi trying to avoid it.

Troublingly, once we began asking questions of Bacardi, we noticed we have come under close surveillance. So we asked if you were doing it. In your recent responses to some of our legal inquiries, you didnt deny it.

We wont be deterred. We will keep asking our questions.

We sued Bacardi, claiming infringement and unfair competition by misappropriating our trademark Untamed to fashion its own Bacardi Untameable advertising campaign.

Bacardi fought vigorously and made inconsistent statements in federal courts in both California and Florida to keep its Bermuda headquarters operations outside U.S. legal jurisdiction. It lost. Now it must respond to questions ranging from theft of intellectual property to inconsistent storylines to tax dodging.

Which raises the question, Why is Bacardi so eager to keep its Bermuda records hidden and to keep its top executives from being forced to testify?

Is there buried treasure Bacardi doesnt want dug up?

Bacardis lifeblood is its brands. You know how personal and demanding the creation of intellectual property is.

Thats why, in our suit, we sought to speak in terms you understand: That for entrepreneurs, intellectual property is the reward for many sacrifices made over many years, the result of risking everything to create something of value for themselves and their families.

Like us, Bacardi claims to understand what its like to have fought against the odds in the face of adversity. Wed like to believe thats true. If it is, one expects Bacardi would want to clear its legacy.

Were awaiting your answers.

Feeling Plundered,

Lodestar Anstalt, Maker of Untamed Revolutionary Rum and The Wild Geese Soldiers and Heroes Irish Whiskey and other fine liquors
PUEBLO, CO , Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CannaGrow Holdings, Inc. (OTC PINK: CGRW) -- As a Liaison and Consultant providing turnkey solutions to licensed growers, CannaGrow Holdings, Inc. announces the Licensed Grower at their Colorado Buffalo Ranch Facility, Category One Botanicals, LLC, has been selected as one of three (3) Independent Organic Farmers to source product for the new Sun Grown Cannabis Line launched this week by the Willie Nelson brand, Willies Reserve .

Delmar Janovec, CEO, states, Category One Botanicals, Licensed Grower at the Buffalo Ranch Facility, and the CannaGrow Management and Support Staff are making significant inroads into product marketing in the State of Colorado. Being one of only three (3) Farmers selected for Willies new sun-grown line clearly demonstrates the quality of Category One product and the wealth of knowledge coming from our Master Growers, Dr. John Janovec and Jason Wells. I believe this is one of many important milestones to come as the company develops its niche in the Industry.

Dr. John P. Janovec, COO and Facility Manager, comments, We are inspired to have been selected as one of the Independent Farmers for the new Willies Reserve Sun Grown product line. Its an honor to have this opportunity to represent a true industry leader and his new product line with our smooth, terpene-rich Cannabis produced in Colorado sunshine and living soil ecosystems. As growers, we have heard time after time that we should switch our methods to a more industrial, hydroponic approach based largely on the injection of synthetic fertilizers. However, we have followed our long-term vision of organic soil-based methods  doing it our way  which we believe is the right way for the future of the Cannabis Industry. This move by Willies Reserve sets a new precedent for the Industry and we are proud to represent the new sun-grown product line with an initial four strains from Category One. I encourage you to visit our Independent Farmer Profile at the Willies Reserve website (https://williesreserve.com/new-blog/category-one-botanicals) and to learn more about Willies Reserve Sun Grown, check out the following link that includes one of the strains already sourced from Category One: https://williesreserve.com/products/sun-grown.

As explained on the Companys website (http://www.cannagrowholdings.com), CannaGrow Holdings and its associate company, Category One Botanicals, LLC, the licensed grower, are dedicated to taking a leading role in the transformation of the legal Cannabis Industry into a vital, responsible sector of the American economy. With a scientific approach to sustainability and profitability, the Team has a commitment to a sunshine-driven cultivation program that utilizes proprietary natural grow medium fertilized with probiotic nutrient-rich teas brewed weekly at Colorado Buffalo Ranch. They are also dedicated to preserving Cannabis Genetics, which is what drives the Team to maintain proprietary land race strains in their Strain Catalog. Learn more about the Cannabis Strains being grown at Colorado Buffalo Ranch by downloading the Category One Strain Catalog available at http://www.cannagrowholdings.com/cannagrow-blog/.

CannaGrow Holdings, Inc., the Liaison and Representative for NuGro Industries, will continue in its capacity of providing oversight as the Facilities Manager, working with the State/County Agencies and Category One Botanicals, LLC, the Licensed Grower for the facilities. The completion of this project will now provide the company the basis to begin generating revenues from Licensed Growers subleasing the Turnkey facilities being built to the specifications of CannaGrow COO, Dr. John P. Janovec, and Production Manager, Jason Wells.

About CannaGrow Holdings, Inc.:

CannaGrow Holdings, Inc. has entered the Medical/Recreational Cannabis Industry as a Lessor, Liaison, and Consultant to Licensed Growers, providing them with turnkey Growing Facilities in the State of Colorado. The Company intends to expand this business model within this industry as business opportunities evolve whereby providing for the highest return to its shareholders.

CannaGrow Holdings, Inc. does not and will not, until such time as Federal law allows, grow, harvest, distribute or sell marijuana or any substance that violates the laws of the United States of America.

CannaGrow Holdings, Inc. encourages the public to read the above information in conjunction with its year-end statement for December 31, 2016, and the quarterly statements filed in calendar year 2017, at: www.otcmarkets.com.

The information contained in this press release may include forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements usually contain the words "may," "could," "possibly," "feel," "estimate," "anticipate," "believe," "expect," or similar expressions that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include the Company's uncertain profitability, need for significant capital, uncertainty concerning market acceptance of its services, competition, limited service facilities, dependence on technological developments and protection of its intellectual property. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those discussed herein.
The HumanResources Business Partner will support the delivery of the HR Strategy andCountry Office Wide priority on the Transformation of HR by being the advisoron all HR policies and processes and to assist in the delivery of HR programmesin the area office/field. Reporting to MorotoHead of Area Office, the incumbent will work closely with the Area OfficeManagement, advising on all HR related issues and ensuring the effectiveexecution of change. He/she will use his/her knowledge and management of HRInformation Systems to provide insight and ensure data reliability for the areaoffice and field teams. In addition, theincumbent will perform a cross-section of all HR related aspects within thejurisdiction of the area office. These will include, provision of support,guidance and advice on HR issues. The Human Resources Business Partner will takeresponsibility for the completion of a full range of HR activities requiringsome interpretation of standard guidelines and practices. The Job holder canrecommend a course of action within their area of expertise and may provideguidance to other staff.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On Thursday, Feb. 8, the Fraser Institute will release a new study examining counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs.



Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting: Endangering Public Health, Society, and the Economy spotlights how and why Canadian patients are at risk from counterfeit drugs, and the size of the problem in Canada and around the world.

A news release with additional information will be issued via GlobeNewswire on Feb. 8 at 5:00 a.m. (Eastern).

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Dr. Kristina M. L. Acri nee Lybecker, Senior Fellow

Fraser Institute

To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact:

Bryn Weese

Media Relations Specialist, Fraser Institute

(604) 688-0221 ext. 589

bryn.weese@fraserinstitute.org

Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Like us on Facebook

The Fraser Institute is an independent Canadian public policy research and educational organization with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal and ties to a global network of think-tanks in 87 countries. Its mission is to improve the quality of life for Canadians, their families and future generations by studying, measuring and broadly communicating the effects of government policies, entrepreneurship and choice on their well-being. To protect the Institutes independence, it does not accept grants from governments or contracts for research. Visit www.fraserinstitute.org.
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: OZ Management LP and

Och-Ziff Management Europe Ltd (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Melrose Industries plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 06 February 2018 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" NO

If YES, specify which:





2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



48/7p ordinary (GB00BZ1G4322)



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



54,134,576 2.789 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL: 54,134,576 2.789

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit





(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit 48/7p ordinary CFD increasing a long position 1,000,000 USD 2.93 48/7p ordinary CFD increasing a long position 1,000,000 USD 2.96 48/7p ordinary CFD increasing a long position 1,000,000 USD 2.98 48/7p ordinary CFD increasing a long position 1,302,500 USD 3.02

(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)





4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"









(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"









(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO





Date of disclosure: 07 February 2018



Contact name: Janine Frederick Telephone number: 02077584420

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
Brewdog is opening a brewery in Australia as it continues an expansion which has seen its price tag reach 1billion in just over ten years.

The Scottish craft brewer, which was launched by two 24-year-old entrepreneurs in 2007, will build the facility in Brisbane, which will be between 2,000-4,000 sq m.

The Brewhouse will include a canning facility, taproom and restaurant.

Crikey: Scottish craft brewer Brewdog is to open a brewery, canning facility and restaurant complex in Australia

And Brewdog plans to collaborate with local craft breweries in a bid to help them grow their market share in Australia.

Brewdog has also agreed a franchise tie-up with TRG Concessions in the UK to open pubs and bars in airports and train stations.

Brewdog runs 32 bars in the UK and 17 overseas including in Barcelona, Berlin and Sao Paulo.

In 2017, private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners bought a 22 per cent stake for 213million, giving Brewdog its 1billion valuation.
Huawei Technologies will invest 3bn in the UK

CHINESE BOOST Chinas biggest smartphone supplier Huawei Technologies will invest 3billion in the UK following a meeting between the firms chairman Sun Yafang and Prime Minister Theresa May.

CAFFEINE FREE Consumers spent less on drinking in coffee shops and eating out in restaurants over the last three months of 2017 compared to a year earlier, according to Deloitte.

In contrast, shoppers continued to spend more on experiences like short-break holidays, live sporting events and going to the gym.

JOBS PLEDGE Grocer Iceland has committed to recruiting 100 store managers over the next six months in a marked contrast to ruthless job cuts being carried out at rival supermarkets like Morrisons and Tesco.

SWEDE DEAL Real estate firm Segro has signed a deal with Ikea to provide the Swedish flat-pack furniture firm with a 164,000 sq ft of space for distribution at a multi-storey warehouse in Paris.

FOREIGN FAVOUR Luxury interiors group Walker Greenbank expects to see profits in line with expectations this year as it enjoys success overseas.

International brand sales have increased 5.9 per cent in the year to January 31, compared to UK sales, which have fallen 6.1 per cent.

SPACE RACE Demand for City office space will remain strong after a record-breaking run in 2017, estate agent Savills has said, after investors ploughed 12.6billion into central London premises, 57 per cent more than the average over the past ten years.

MODERN TIMES 300-year-old insurance market Lloyds of London is going digital in an effort to stop rivals stealing its business. The company is aiming to eliminate nearly all paper in a massive modernisation push.

BANKERS QUIT The founders of Anglo-South African bank Investec  chief executive Stephen Koseff, managing director Bernard Kantor and finance boss Glynn Burger  are retiring this year.

GOODBYE TWEET Alessandro Sabatelli, Twitters virtual reality and augmented reality development boss, has quit after 18 months in the job.
Mining giant Rio Tinto announced a record dividend for shareholders on Wednesday after posting its highest annual profit in three years thanks to stronger commodity prices.

Earnings were up 69 per cent in 2017 at Rio, rising to $8.63 billion, roughly what was expected by the wider market.

The FTSE 100 firm's record full-year dividend marked a 70 per cent increase on last year at $2.90 a share  equal to $5.2 billion.

Mining giant: Rio said said higher commodity prices helped drive full-year revenues up 18.3 percent to $40 billion in 2017

The company's top results reflected higher prices for iron ore, aluminium, copper and coking coal during 2017.

All the big miners have recovered from the commodity crash of 2015-16, but Rio Tinto has emerged with the strongest balance sheet and a pile of cash, raising the question of what it can do to grow when the most obvious resources have been mined.

'All in all, we believe that we'll be able to generate a lot of cash this year,' chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques told reporters on an earnings call.

'The strength of our balance sheet means we are ideally placed to deal with any economic volatility, invest in high value growth and retain the optionality for smart M&A.'

Rio, which more than halved its net debt to $3.8 billion, said higher commodity prices helped drive full-year revenues up 18.3 percent to $40 billion.

The record dividend follows Rio's decision to abandon its progressive dividend policy in 2016 when markets were much weaker and other companies scrapped dividends altogether.

Under the new policy, the company pays out between 40 and 60 percent of underlying earnings throughout the cycle.

Chris Lynch, CFO, said that Rio had paid out at the high end of the range for a second year and the new policy was 'a great shareholder return story'.

'All in all, we believe that we'll be able to generate a lot of cash this year,' chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques (pictured) said on Wednesday

The Rio share price barely moved on the back of the update and are down on a high of 4,172 it hit in mid-January, trading at 3,865 at the time of writing.

Portfolio manager Andy Forster at Sydney-based Argo Investments said it was a solid result.

'Dividends that are bigger than the market expected, and it increased the buy back, an incremental $1 billion, that's pretty positive,' he said. 'The quality of their product has attracted a premium and they have done well on costs, though that is probably starting to get more challenging going forward.'

Chinese demand, especially for the high-quality iron ore Rio Tinto can deliver and which is less polluting, has been a spur.

Rio Tinto has grabbed more market share in China as the country's steelmakers respond to a crackdown on pollution.

Iron ore, Rio's biggest income generator, contributed $6.69 billion in full-year underlying earnings, nearly 70 percent of the total. Average prices for the steel-making ingredient rose 20 percent last year from 2016, the miner said.

Its growth projects include the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

It has also said Africa is the largest untapped source of growth and on the sidelines of the Indaba mining conference in Cape Town said its board would this year consider a potential $450 million investment in expanding infrastructure near the Richards Bay terminal, South Africa.
FREMONT, Calif., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DPW Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: DPW) ("DPW" or the "Company"), a diversified holding company, announced today that it still anticipates the Companys gross consolidated revenues for 2018 will range from $44 to $49 million thus maintaining its original revenue guidance reported on January 4, 2018. The Company highlighted the diversification of its subsidiaries that span multiple sectors with a wide customer base of commercial clients and government agencies. DPWs consolidated revenues are derived from manufacturing advanced power supplies and solutions for commercial, medical, military and aerospace applications as well as from financial and other services provided. These varied revenue streams have continued to sustain DPWs performance projections and planned growth despite the recent volatility with the top cryptocurrencies that has generated concern within the crypto-marketplace. DPW noted it has received many inquiries from investors and shareholders during the past month.

Coolisys Technologies, Inc., the Companys wholly-owned subsidiary, remains committed to completing its acquisition of Enertec Systems 2001 Ltd. (Enertec), the Israeli-based defense/aerospace electronics manufacturer supplying advance power solutions and systems during the 2018 current quarter. Enertec remains one of the key factors that supports the current revenue guidance.

We remain committed to our holding company business model as well as our acquisition and organic growth strategies. One of our corporate strengths is our diversification, said Milton Todd Ault, III, the Companys CEO and Chairman. Ault continued, With any disruptive new technology there is a healthy vetting process. We would argue the recent downturn of cryptocurrencies is a positive step, necessary for its longevity and success. We believe in the long-term value proposition of cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies. DPW is dedicated to our crypto-mining efforts and to our development and manufacturing products and services for the crypto-marketplace.

The Company reminds all shareholders, investors and the public it will be hosting its next webcast on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 after the close of the financial markets. The webcasts guest speaker will be Philip Mansour, the President and CEO of Avalanche International Corp, the parent company of MTIX, Ltd. (MTIX). Mr. Mansour will address the progress of the MTIX $50 million purchase order and on DPWs investment in MTIX and their patented, proprietary Multiplex Laser Surface Enhancement (MLSE) technology. The Company encourages everyone interested in the future of DPW to participate in the webcast.

About DPW Holdings, Inc.

Headquartered in Fremont, CA, DPW Holdings, Inc., www.DPWHoldings.com, is a diversified holding company that, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Coolisys Technologies, Inc., is dedicated to providing world-class technology-based solutions where innovation is the main driver for mission-critical applications and lifesaving services. Coolisys growth strategy targets core markets that are characterized by high barriers to entry and include specialized products and services not likely to be commoditized. Coolisys through its portfolio companies develops and manufactures cutting-edge resonant switching power topologies, specialized complex high-frequency radio frequency (RF) and microwave detector-log video amplifiers, very high-frequency filters and naval power conversion and distribution equipment. Coolisys services the defense, aerospace, medical and industrial sectors and manages four entities including Digital Power Corporation, www.DigiPwr.com, a leading manufacturer based in Northern California, 1-877-634-0982; Digital Power Limited dba Gresham Power Ltd., www.GreshamPower.com, a manufacturer based in Salisbury, UK; Microphase Corporation, www.MicroPhase.com with its headquarters in Shelton, CT 1- 203-866-8000; and Power-Plus Technical Distributors, www.Power-Plus.com, a wholesale distributor based in Sonora, CA 1-800-963-0066.

Digital Power Lending, LLC, www.DigitalPowerLending.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is based in Fremont, CA, and is a California private lending company dedicated to strategically providing capital to small and middle size businesses for an equity interest in addition to loan fees and interest. Super Crypto Mining, Inc. www.SuperCryptoMining.com is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, is based in Fremont CA that leverages its engineering expertise and existing locations to create crypto currency mining facilities across the globe. Super Crypto Mining operates the branded division, Super Crypto Power, www.SuperCryptoPower.com. Excelo, LLC, www.Excelo.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, is a national search firm specializing in fulfilling strategic executive, professional and hi-tech placements for businesses delivering world-class services. DPW Holdings, Inc.s headquarters is located at 48430 Lakeview Blvd., Fremont, California, 94538; 1-877-634-0982. For Investor inquiries: IR@DPWHoldings.com or 1-888-753-2235.

Forward-Looking Statements

The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding the acquisition and the ability to consummate the acquisition. These forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as believes, plans, anticipates, projects, estimates, expects, intends, strategy, future, opportunity, may, will, should, could, potential, or similar expressions. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of new information or future events. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors. More information, including potential risk factors, that could affect the Companys business and financial results are included in the Companys filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Companys Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. All filings are available at www.sec.gov and on the Companys website at www.DPWHoldings.com.

###
MBABANE  Did government have a hand in the closing down of Swazi Lotto?



Swazi Lotto was a gambling company which came about around 1990 but eventually ceased operations.

According to the Prime Minister, Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini, in his book Inspiration:

The Personal Journey of the Prime Minister of Swaziland, the company stopped operations after government ceased to allow it to advertise in the media. Dlamini says the exclusion damaged the companys marketing strategy and it soon folded.



Explaining why government decided not to allow the company to advertise in its media, Dlamini says, This was called Swazi Lotto and would have been entirely acceptable but for it starting to use and target children in its promotional activities.



The premier describes the companys gambling form as socially regressive. He explains that the odds against winning a major prize were huge and the cost of a ticket to the poor, with only a tiny chance of winning anything, was greater than that for a rich person.



In his book, Dlamini says gambling is an addiction which spells financial disaster. He speaks of gambling as addictive and says many personal lives and relationships have been damaged by the addiction. He says over a long-term of consistent and regular gambling, the odds are routinely stacked against the gambler.



Whether it is reviving the thrill of potentially winning a huge sum of money, or a compulsion to regain past losses, this is an addiction that can grab hold of an individuals personality to the extent that all he thinks about is gambling, the book reads.



Although not certain, Dlamini assumes that civil servants were banned from frequenting casinos in the 1990s because they were being protected from addiction. He says local casinos were only promoted to tourists, the rich and the high-spending. He added that local casinos lost their popularity in the mid-1990s after South Africa legalised this form of commercial activity.
MANZINI- All that is left at a structure formely owned by government are broken windows and grimy floors cluttered with used condoms, empty beer cans and other junk.



The place has been turned into a sex den. These are structures which were once occupied by the Ministry of Agriculture, Veterinary Department before its relocation to the main offices near the Mavuso Trade and Exhibition Centre. Government officially handed over the structure to the Municipal Council of Manzini.



Despite having a security guard, day and night, such dilapidated structures are now normally used by sex workers in their trade.

Market vendors, members of the public and some police officers, confirmed knowledge of the house being used for such shenanigans or shady dealings.



Each night, women are seen making their way to the house with customers who always park their vehicles at a distance, one woman who has a stall at the Manzini Market said yesterday.



Other vendors confirmed that the structure had been abandoned for years now, hence sex workers utilised it to ply their trade. Other members of the public have raised concerns over the structure whose doors remain unclosed.

If these structures still belong to government, why are they not being utilised? others were heard wondering.



Meanwhile, some people have revealed that contacting the police was fruitless, as the sex workers returned regardless of the number of times they got arrested or disciplined by law enforcers.
SEATTLE, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tempered Networks, Inc., the pioneer of Identity-Defined Networking (IDN), today announced that NTT Advanced Technology Corporation (NTT-AT) has agreed to resell Tempered Networks Identity-Defined Networking (IDN) solution through Terilogy Corporation, Tempered Networks exclusive distribution partner in Japan. The companys award-winning secure networking solution will bolster and further differentiate NTT-ATs security business, which is a priority market segment for NTT-AT.



Our partnership with NTT-AT is an important milestone for Tempered Networks as we expand our business in Japan and offer an advanced networking architecture that truly makes secure networking simple, said Jeff S. Hussey, President and CEO of Tempered Networks. Many organizations rely on NTT-AT to address their diverse corporate IT needs in the global market, with increasing requirements across cloud computing, security, and IoT. Our solution is a natural fit with NTT-ATs current products and services and will deliver immediate and tangible business value to enterprise customers in Japan.

Security is one of our priority market segments. By launching Tempered Networks as part of our offering, NTT-AT will provide an advanced security business solution for our enterprise customers, said George Kimura, CEO & President, NTT Advanced Technology Corporation. We will offer our customers Tempered Networks HIP-based secure networking solution that enables much simpler and rapid network deployments. Customers benefit by reducing their IT complexity associated with managing the underlying networks, and by protecting their organization against growing incidents of cyber attacks. Moving ahead, we believe a secure and simpler network is required, which is why Tempered Networks solution is very attractive.

NTT-AT has established a reseller agreement with Terilogy Corporation, one of the leading Security solution distribution companies in Japan.

Related Resources

About Tempered Networks

Tempered Networks makes secure networking simple. We enable organizations to easily and instantly connect, segment, and manage any of their networked things with native security and universal mobility. We believe security and simplicity should go hand-in-hand and that organizations should not have to compromise one for the other. Our Identity-Defined Networking (IDN) solution eliminates complexity and gives customers the freedom to connect anything without worry and get control over their networks. Customers achieve the benefits of Software-Defined Networking, only promised by others, and ensures that their network is resilient, nimble, and manageable. For more information, visit www.temperednetworks.com.

Follow us @TemperedNW on Twitter or visit us on LinkedIn for more information about Tempered Networks.

About NTT Advanced Technology

Since its founding in 1976, NTT Advanced Technology has served as a technical core company of the NTT Group, with various advanced technologies such as NTT R & D's network technology, security technology, cloud technology, Japanese processing technology, and environmental technology, In addition to widely adopting advanced technologies outside the country. We integrate these technologies to solve customer problems and continue to provide added value for our customers.

Forward-looking statements. Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute forward-looking statements. Such statements include, for example, statements regarding the Companys or managements beliefs, expectations, estimations, plans, projections and similar statements. Any such forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Companys actual results and performance, or industry results to be materially different from any results or performance expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and there can be no assurance that the results and events contemplated by such forward-looking statements will, in fact, occur. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein.

Contact:

Alane S. Moran

Tempered Networks, Inc.

206.347.8785

a.moran@temperednetworks.com
MBABANE  If only we were present and she had died in our hands. These were the words of the parents of Siphesihle Khoza, an 18- month -ld toddler who is said to have died under mysterious circumstances after she was rushed to hospital by her caretaker from a day care centre.



The day care is located at Nkwalini Zone Two and the incident happened on Saturday.

The toddlers father, Thomas Khoza stated that their firstborn and only daughter died in hospital after she was rushed there by the owner of the day-care, *Nana.



Siphesihle is said to have choked after drinking water on Friday during the day.

Apparently, the choking was so bad such that she started vomiting.

Nana then administered first aid to the child and later crushed a painkiller and gave it to her.



According to Thomas, his daughter was asthmatic as per a diagnosis they got from the doctor after birth.

Siphesihle started attending the day care at the end of October last year. The father said they paid E100 monthly for the day care services.

When Thomas went to get his child in the evening after he had knocked off from work, he was informed that the minor had choked earlier on the day.



According to Thomas, Nana then asked that he should not take the child home with him as she wanted to monitor her overnight following the choking incident since she was more experienced with children.



He agreed and informed his wife that their daughter would be spending the night at the day-care centre and she did not have a problem with that arrangement.

Thomas was then advised not to see the child as she might cry for him when he left.



If the child spends the night at the day-care centre, they charge an extra E50 and on the day she offered to stay with Siphesihle at no cost, Thomas said.

On Saturday morning, the mother of the child went to the day-care centre to give her some food but Nana informed her that Siphesihle was asleep.



She was told that the minor had been fed some soft porridge and given a painkiller before she slept.

All the mother could do was just look at her sleeping child and left for work without having any suspicions.



The woman who looks after my daughter says she called her mother at around midday to inform her that Siphesihle was not feeling well but her phone was off. She later called medical emergency personnel through their 977 toll free line but they did not come immediately until she decided to board a kombi and take the child to hospital, Thomas narrated.

When they got to Mbabane Government Hospital, they were apparently referred to different parts of the hospital without being attended to.
MBABANE  Just a few days before Parliament resumes business for the last session of the current term, a dark cloud has befallen Senate President Gelane Zwane.



She has lost her husband, Michael David Zwane.

Information gathered is that the cruel hands of death claimed the life of Zwane last Sunday.

Further details could not be ascertained as no official report has been released yet.



The latest developments could possibly mean that the Senate president, who is also the acting chief of KoNtjingila, will miss the official opening of the 5th Session of the 10th Parliament, which is set to take place on February 16, 2018.

As customary, His Majesty the King officiates at the annual opening of Parliament, at which he delivers the Speech from the Throne, an address that paves way for the new business year.



According to Swazi custom, a person who is in mourning is not supposed to attend an event where Their Majesties are present.

This has been the case with legislators and members of the royal family as they have missed some royal events whenever they lost close family members.



Preparations for the Parliament opening, which are coordinated by the Parliamentary Service Board (PSB), of which Zwane is a member, have already begun and today rehearsals are expected to take place as per communication relayed to different media houses yesterday.



It has always been the norm that the Senate president delivers a speech which precedes that of His Majesty during the event. Senators, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they heard about the passing away of the presidents husband but they had not been formally informed about it.



I heard about it along the Parliament corridors but nothing official has been communicated to us. I guess it is because Parliament is currently closed, said one of the senators.

Speaker Themba Msibi said he was not aware of the passing away of Zwane and that he would not comment on hearsay.



Asked if the preparations for the Parliament Opening would proceed in the event that the news was true, Msibi insisted that he would not pre-empt anything but would only comment once an official and factual report was communicated.


SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Skybox Security, a global leader in cybersecurity management, announced today the release of its inaugural Vulnerability and Threat Trends Report, which analyzes vulnerabilities, exploits and threats in play in 2017. The report, compiled by the team of research analysts at the Skybox Research Lab, aims to help organizations align their security strategy with the reality of the current threat landscape.



A trend observed for the last several years has seen threat actors turn cybercrime into a moneymaking machine. An integral part of this approach means taking the path of least resistance: leveraging existing attack tools rather than developing new ones, using the same attack on as many victims as possible and targeting lowhanging fruit. Findings of the report shed light on how those fruits have changed to include the assets that are generally more difficult to patch.

During 2017, the vast majority of exploits affected serverside applications (76 percent), up 17 points since 2016. Skybox Security Chief Technology Officer Ron Davidson points out that dealing with serverside vulnerabilities is always more difficult because the highervalue assets require more consideration than simply if there is a patch available or not. As more functions rely on servers than on clients, he explains, organizations need to have the means to understand these serverside vulnerabilities in context  of the asset criticality, the surrounding topology and security controls, and the exploit activity in the wild. Only then can they accurately decide the optimal patching priority and schedule.

The increase in serverside exploits corresponds with the continued decline in the use of exploit kits relying on clientside vulnerabilities, which accounted for only a quarter of exploits in the wild that year. This is due in part to the demise of major exploit kit players like Angler, Neutrino and Nuclear, with no comparable frontrunner rising to replace them.

This does not mean, however, exploit kits are gone, said Marina Kidron, senior security analyst and group leader of the Skybox Research Lab. If theres one thing we know about cybercriminals, its that theyre constantly changing tactics, and so the next exploit kit giant is very likely in development as we speak. We also suspect that some kits have gone private, and are used exclusively by their developers in hopes of prolonging their viability.

Instances of newlypublished sample exploit code have also increased, with the monthly average jumping 60 percent in 2017. With minimal adjustments  or none at all  attackers can turn these samples into fully functioning exploits for their own use. This scenario was the case with the NSA EternalBlue exploit leaked by The Shadow Brokers and used in the WannaCry and NotPetya attacks, among others. Such leaks are putting advanced attack tools in the hands of lowerskilled cyberattackers, enhancing the capabilities of an already welloutfitted threat landscape.

Organizations need to stay up to speed with not only active exploits in the wild, said Kidron, but also factor in vulnerabilities with available exploit code to their prioritization processes. While the latter set doesnt represent an imminent threat, they can make the jump to active exploitation very quickly  security teams need actionable intelligence attheready when they do.

The report also shows that in 2017 there was a 120percent increase in new vulnerabilities specific to operational technology (OT) compared to the previous year (OT includes monitoring and control devices common in critical infrastructure organizations such as energy producers, utilities and manufacturers, among others). This spike is particularly concerning as many organizations have poor or nonexistent visibility of the OT network, especially when it comes to vulnerabilities as active scanning is generally prohibited.

OT is too often in the dark, and that means security management isnt getting the full picture of cyber risk in their organization, said Kidron. Even when patchable vulnerabilities are identified, OT engineers are understandably hesitant to install the update, as it could disrupt services, cause equipment damage or even risk life and limb. Organizations with OT networks need to have strategies in place not just for OT vulnerability assessment and patching prioritization, but also to unify such processes with those in the IT network to truly understand and manage risk.

Overall, new vulnerabilities catalogued by MITREs National Vulnerability Database doubled in 2017. The jump was largely due to organizational improvements at MITRE and increased security research by vendors and thirdparties, including vendorsponsored bug bounty programs. The result is more than 14,000 newly assigned CVEs. Whatever the reason, it introduced yet more challenges to the teams responsible for managing vulnerabilities. In 2017, if you were still relying on traditional prioritization methods like CVSS scores only, your laundry list just got longer, said Davidson. In the year ahead, we may well see an even higher figure. Organizations have got to take a drastically different approach to vulnerability management.

Skybox recommends establishing a threatcentric vulnerability management (TCVM) program to adapt to these changes in the threat landscape and those yet to come. The TCVM approach helps security practitioners focus on the small subset of vulnerabilities most likely to be used in an attack by analyzing them from the interconnected perspectives of the business, network and threats in play.

To read the full report, click here. To learn more about Skybox TCVM, visit skyboxsecurity.com/tcvm.

About Skybox Research Lab

The Skybox Research Lab is team of security analysts who daily scour data from dozens of security feeds and sources as well as investigate sites in the dark web. The Research Lab validates and enhances data through automated as well as manual analysis, with analysts adding their knowledge of attack trends, cyber events and TTPs of todays attackers. Their ongoing investigations determine which vulnerabilities are being exploited in the wild and used in distributed crimeware such as ransomware, malware, exploit kits and other attacks exploiting client and serverside vulnerabilities.

For more information on the methodology behind the Skybox Research Lab and to keep up with the latest vulnerability and threat intelligence, visit www.vulnerabilitycenter.com.

About Skybox Security

Skybox provides the industrys broadest cybersecurity management platform, delivering comprehensive attack surface visibility. Skybox delivers the context needed to quickly identify and fix vulnerabilities and security weaknesses within large, complex networks  including physical, virtual, multicloud and OT environments. The Skybox Security Suite integrates with more than 120 networking and security technologies to give insight on how to improve efficiency and effectiveness of vulnerability and threat management and firewall and security policy management.

 2018 Skybox Security, Inc. All rights reserved. Skybox Security and the Skybox Security logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Skybox Security, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Product specifications subject to change at any time without prior notice.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Skybox Security

Tawnya Lancaster

Director of Brand and Communications

408-205-1618 | Tawnya.lancaster@skyboxsecurity.com

OneChocolate for Skybox Security

North America: Brian Blank

1-415-606-8381 | brianb@onechocolatecomms.com

United Kingdom: Daniel Couzens

+44 (0)20 7437 0227 | DanielC@onechocolatecomms.co.uk

Germany: Melanie Grasser

+49 (0)89 3888 920 10 | MelanieG@onechocolatecomms.de

France: Xavier Delhome

+33 1 41 31 75 09 | xavier@onechocolate.fr




NEW YORK, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA) (OTCMKTS:SIGA), a health security company specializing in the development and commercialization of solutions for serious unmet medical needs and biothreats, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the companys New Drug Application (NDA) for its oral formulation of TPOXX (tecovirimat). TPOXX is a novel small molecule antiviral therapy for smallpox infection. SIGA requested priority review of its TPOXX NDA at the time the filing was submitted because smallpox infection is a deadly disease for which no cure or treatment currently exists. The FDA advised that it has granted priority review to the application, meaning that the agency will target completing its review in six rather than ten months. In light of the NDA submission on December 8, 2017, the FDA has notified SIGA that the agencys target final action date is August 8, 2018.



The U.S. governments Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) funded the advanced development of oral TPOXX in partnership with SIGA. Additionally, under Project Bioshield, BARDA has purchased two million courses of oral TPOXX and such courses have been delivered to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).

We are very pleased that the FDA has accepted our NDA for oral TPOXX. This is an important milestone in the regulatory review of our pending application. Based on a comprehensive submission that includes extensive positive efficacy data in animal studies and human clinical safety data without any drug-related Serious Adverse Events, we look forward to a favorable, expedited review of the application, said Dr. Phil Gomez, Chief Executive Officer of SIGA Technologies, Inc. A positive FDA review would represent an important milestone not only for SIGA, but for our federal government partners that have provided invaluable support throughout development of the product. Our public-private collaboration serves as an important example of how such partnerships can advance novel drugs for unmet medical needs. Eventual approval of this product would be an important step in advancing health security against the serious threat of a potential smallpox-based bioterror attack.

TPOXX (tecovirimat) was developed under the FDA Animal Rule, in which efficacy endpoints are determined in animal studies, and human clinical studies are conducted to determine safety and confirm dosing. The TPOXX NDA comprised extensive positive efficacy data in animal studies and human clinical safety data demonstrating that there have been no drug-related Serious Adverse Events during the development of oral TPOXX.

ABOUT SIGA TECHNOLOGIES, INC. and TPOXX

SIGA Technologies, Inc. is a health security company specializing in the development and commercialization of solutions for serious unmet medical needs and biothreats. The companys lead product is TPOXX, also known as tecovirimat and ST-246, an orally administered and IV formulation antiviral drug that targets orthopoxvirus infections. While TPOXX is not yet approved as safe and effective by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, it is a novel small-molecule drug of which 2 million courses have been delivered to the Strategic National Stockpile under Project BioShield. For more information about SIGA, please visit www.siga.com.

About Smallpox1

Smallpox is a contagious, disfiguring and often deadly disease that has affected humans for thousands of years. Naturally occurring smallpox was eradicated worldwide by 1980, the result of an unprecedented global immunization campaign. Samples of smallpox virus have been kept for research purposes. This has led to concerns that smallpox could someday be used as a biological warfare agent. No cure or treatment for smallpox exists. A vaccine can prevent smallpox, but the risk of the vaccine's side effects is too high to justify routine vaccination for people at low risk of exposure to the smallpox virus.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, including statements relating to the submission and approval of TPOXX by the FDA. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, and SIGA cautions you that any forward-looking information provided by or on behalf of SIGA is not a guarantee of future performance. More detailed information about SIGA and risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements, including the forward-looking statements in this press release, is set forth in SIGA's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including SIGA's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, and in other documents that SIGA has filed with the SEC. SIGA urges investors and security holders to read those documents free of charge at the SEC's web site at http://www.sec.gov. Interested parties may also obtain those documents free of charge from SIGA. Forward-looking statements are current only as of the date on which such statements were made, and except for our ongoing obligations under the United States of America federal securities laws, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

1 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/smallpox/basics/definition/con-20022769

Contacts

Media

Glenn Silver

646-871-8485

gsilver@lazarpartners.com
WASHINGTON _ With two days to go before the next government-funding deadline, President Trump on Tuesday threatened to shut it down if he doesnt get the border-security package he demands.

But Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer struck a more optimistic note, saying his Tuesday negotiating session with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell went very well, and that we are closer to an agreement than we have ever been.

As if to put icing on the cake of his new-found _ perhaps temporary _ alliance with McConnell, Schumer announced he had accepted the majority leaders invitation to speak next week at the University of Louisville as part of the McConnell Center Distinguished Speaker Series.

Although negotiations to head off a shutdown midnight Thursday are far from over, Schumer on Tuesday sketched out the parameters of a compromise.

The main ingredient, he said, was agreement to lift spending caps on both military and non-military accounts _ something Republicans who control the White House and Capitol Hill had resisted, insisting caps be lifted for military programs only.

Just as our men and women in uniform deserve the resources they need to keep our country safe, so do our veterans waiting for better health care, so do our young people seeking treatment for opioid addiction, so do families living in rural communities waiting for high speed internet to connect them to the world, Schumer told reporters at the U.S. Capitol.

The other sticking point, agreement to extend legal status for 700,000 or so youthful immigrant Dreamers, appeared to be on track for debate and votes in the Senate next week.

In the meeting today, Sen. McConnell said we would have an open process next week, and what were going to do is find a proposal that can pass the Senate with 60 votes.

McConnell had more or less promised such deliberations as part of last months settlement of a three-day government shutdown. At stake is the continuing legal status of about 700,000 Dreamers, youthful immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children. About 42,000 live in New York.

Last September, Trump canceled then-President Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals _ DACA _ that legalized Dreamers. Although the legal status of 15,000 or more recipients has already lapsed, the full impact of Trumps cancellation wont be felt until March 5.

Trump has expressed openness to extending protections for Dreamers, so called because of the DREAM Act aimed at permanent legalization that never won congressional approval and led to Obamas DACA directive in 2012.

But Trump made DACA extension contingent on a host of border-security measures including his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.

On Tuesday, he told reporters at the White House he was willing to endure a shutdown if Democrats do not agree to his border agenda.

"I'd love to see a shut down if we can't get this stuff taken care of, he said at a meeting with Republican lawmakers and law enforcement officials on the Central American criminal gang MS-13. If we have to shut it down because the Democrats don't want safety  let's shut it down."

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter.

It was difficult to tell whether the president was dead serious or playing good cop-bad cop, bluffing over a shutdown to strengthen his bargaining position. Schumer waved aside any concern over Trumps position.

It speaks for itself, he said of Trumps threat. We had one Trump shutdown. Nobody wants another.

Meanwhile, the House approved a measure late Tuesday to keep the government open through March 23. The vote was 245-182. The bill moves to the Senate, which is likely to make significant changes.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, a yes vote, is confident that an overall budget deal will be reached, though she knows Congress will need to pass a funding bill this week while negotiations continue. said her spokesman, Tom Flanagin. The deadline for finding a solution to DACA is in March, and we are optimistic a deal will be reached before then.

On Tuesday before the House vote, Stefanik hailed House GOP leadership inclusion of a two-year reauthorization for federally funded community health centers that serve low-income and uninsured families and individuals. There are 60 such centers in New York providing health care to 2 million at 600 sites around the state.

Stefanik said such centers serve 95,000 in her North Country district. She had originally authored legislation that would have extended community health center authorization for five years. The centers, which treat 27 million nationwide, have been in operation on stop-gap funding since congressional authorization expired Sept. 30 last year.
NEW YORK  Todd Howe snapped at the attorney for Joe Percoco on Wednesday, saying he's "a bit insulted" to be accused of lying under oath to land a sweetheart deal as a government witness.

The former Albany lobbyist appeared reserved but clearly annoyed while being grilled by Barry Bohrer, the lawyer defending Percoco, a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, as he and three co-defendants stand trial on corruption charges in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

"You have indicated that you became an honest man right about the time you signed that agreement, correct?" Bohrer asked Howe on the stand. "This agreement was really your ticket to getting a reduced sentence, right? This is an agreement that you signed and gave your word you were going to comply with, right?"

Howe fired back.

"Counselor, regardless if I had the agreement or not, it was a time to step up and take responsibility," he said. "I have done nothing but tell the truth since I had my come-to-Jesus meeting with my attorney in June. Yeah, this was an added benefit to me if I followed the agreement, but I'm not telling the truth just because of that. I am telling the truth because I made horrible mistakes. I wrecked my career. I damaged my family. I lost my associates that are in this room that I worked with for many years.

"So I find it a bit insulting that you say the only reason I told the truth was for a get-out-of-jail-free card because that's not true, counselor."

"Are you finished?" Bohrer responded.

"Yeah, I'm finished, but I think it is something that it is important for you to understand," Howe answered.

"Understood," B0hrer answered. "So this agreement is not significant to you,is that what you're saying?"

"That's not what he said," the judge cut in.

Bohrer was the first of four defense attorneys who plan to demolish the credibility of Howe, a key prosecution witness against Percoco and three businessmen who allegedly paid him more than $300,000 in bribes.

Bohrer questioned Howe about emails he altered. The lawyer continually suggested to Howe that he altered the emails to make himself look better, which rankled Howe. Still, he admitted altering many of the emails; other times he said he could not recall whether he did.

In one case, Howe admitted altering an email to make it appear to his boss that Percoco told him Cuomo wanted him to read the "riot act" to someone.

"That just wasn't true?" Bohrer asked.

"Correct," Howe responded.

Howe admitted he altered emails involving correspondence with Cuomo, the governor's since-deceased father, Gov. Mario Cuomo, and Bill Mulrow, secretary to the governor.

Howe, whose connections to the Cuomo administration made him a valuable tool for companies with business before the state pleaded guilty in September 2016 to eight felonies related to his role in the crimes alleged against the defendants as well as embezzling from his former employers, the Albany-based law firm Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, and committing tax fraud.

Bohrer seemed to mock Howe's prior account of his having the "come-to-Jesus moment" in which he recognized the need to become an "honest person," plead guilty to his crimes and assist in the prosecution of his alleged co-conspirators  "the best thing for me and my family," Howe said.

Prosecutors have noted that if Howe lies on the stand, he'll himself at risk of both perjury charges and the shredding of a cooperation agreement that could reduce his eventual sentence. The crimes he pleaded guilty to carry a cumulative sentence of 130 years.

Bohrer wasted no time in establishing Howe's years of lying to friends and employers, and living well beyond his ample financial means.

"Mr. Howe, are you an honest man?," Bohrer asked.

"I am today," he said.

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Bohrer hammered away at Howe's lengthy history as a deadbeat, recounting at least a dozen cases in which he was sued by creditors  including mortgage lenders, relatives, lawyers, a health club and tradesmen hired to do renovations on homes he later lost to foreclosure. Howe confirmed that he stiffed even the family dog walker.

Wednesday's testimony revealed that Howe's wages were garnished after creditors with court judgments couldn't get him to pay up.

Bohrer also questioned Howe about answers he gave in a 2003 bankruptcy case, accusing him of concealing information and giving "a false answer ... under oath" in a deposition. He asked whether Howe had disclosed his testimony in the bankruptcy case to the U.S. attorney's office in 2016 when negotiating his cooperation agreement.

"Did you tell them you committed perjury in 2003?" Bohrer asked.

"I didn't even remember the deposition," Howe responded.

"Did the oath not mean anything to you, Mr. Howe?," Bohrer said, prompting an objection from prosecutors that the judge sustained.

Percoco is on trial alongside Peter Galbraith Kelly of Competitive Power Ventures and two executives at Syracuse-based COR Development, Steve Aiello and Joseph Gerardi, for allegedly trading official favors for bribes.

Much of the information Howe provided during his questioning by the prosecution was supported by emails and other documents that showed Percoco's appeals to Howe to find a source of income for his wife, Lisa Toscano-Percoco. Prosecutors say the $90,000-per-year salary provided to her by Competitive Power Ventures, which was developing a gas-fired plant in Orange County, was nothing more than an attempt to camouflage the illicit payments.

Bohrer noted Howe downloaded an app to delete texts from his cellphone after authorities raided his home and took another one of his phones. And he asked Howe if his lawyer threatened Howe's former employer, Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna, with "grave reputational consequences" after the firm fired him from his lobbying job.

"You had lived a life over the past decade or more of telling lies, right?" Bohrer asked.

"Yes," Howe said.
BETHLEHEM -- A Greene County man was arrested Tuesday for the Jan. 6 robbery of the Trustco Bank branch in Slingerlands, Bethlehem police said.

Ryan. J. O'Connor, 30, of Hannacroix is charged with robbery and petit larceny and was jailed without bail, town police said.
Schenectady

With a smaller headquarters staff, Golub Corp. is looking to sublet up to half the office space in its 240,000-square-foot, six-story office building on Nott Street in Schenectady.

Golub moved 750 headquarters employees into the $33 million building in 2010, with room for expansion as the company grew.

But that staff has shrunk in recent years as Golub cut costs to help pay for the $300 million rebranding of its supermarkets to the new Market 32 format. It cut nearly three dozen jobs in 2013, 80 in 2014, and another 47 in 2016.

Meanwhile, it's adding hundreds of jobs in its stores.

The 120,000 square feet for lease can be subdivided into smaller spaces, with annual rent per square foot at $15.

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Among the attractions: a cafe operated by Mazzone Food Service, and LEED Gold certification.

The building also offers secure parking with 780 spaces, a back-up generator and four passenger elevators. CBRE Albany is handling leasing arrangements.
Grasping for a way to describe the indescribable, stunned survivors of terror attacks have often reached for the imagery of cinema: "It was like a movie." But that phrase has never taken on quite the same meaning as it has for Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler.

On Aug. 21, 2015, the three young American friends were on a backpacking trip through Europe when they thwarted a terror attack on a high-speed Thalys train from Amsterdam to Paris, tackling and subduing Moroccan-born Ayoub El Khazzani, who was armed with an AK-47 assault rifle, a 9mm pistol and other weapons.

Their bravery made headlines around the world and earned France's Legion of Honour, various military awards and a visit to the White House.

Now, in the latest improbable twist, the three are playing themselves in a Clint Eastwood-directed film about the event, "The 15:17 to Paris," opening Friday.

On a recent afternoon, Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler  who are all 25  sat in a hotel lobby after a taping of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," trying to wrap their heads around the turn of events. Childhood friends who grew up together in Sacramento, the three have never been in so much as a school play. Yet here they are starring in a major studio film directed by a genuine Hollywood legend.

"We were raised on Clint Eastwood's movies  I still remember at Spencer's house he had 'Hang 'Em High,' 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,'" said Skarlatos, who was an Oregon Army National Guard specialist at the time of the attack, on holiday after a stint in Afghanistan. He shook his head. "To get to do all this with guys that you've been friends with for so long  our whole lives have been like a movie. It's ridiculous."

Eastwood first met Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler when he presented them with the Hero Award at the 2016 Spike Guy's Choice Awards. Agreeing to direct "The 15:17 to Paris"  which retraces the events leading up to the attack all the way back to the three men's childhoods  he had spent weeks auditioning actors to play them. But in his mind, he kept circling back to the real-life guys.

"I thought they were very charismatic, and all three of them seemed like they were extremely smart," Eastwood said. "I thought, 'If I can get them approaching this thing without too much thought and too much worry and anxiety, they could do it.'"

Casting people as themselves in movies is not unprecedented, of course. Decorated World War II soldier Audie Murphy played himself in the 1955 film "To Hell and Back." Jackie Robinson and Muhammad Ali starred in their own biopics, as did Howard Stern. Many more real-life figures have popped up in small cameos in film versions of their stories.

Still, when Eastwood first asked Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler if they'd be up for playing themselves, they weren't sure how to respond. Though they had co-authored the 2016 book on which the film was based with Jeffrey E. Stern, the idea of actually appearing in the movie had never occurred to them. The start of production was just three weeks away, and none of them had ever even set foot on a movie set.

They said yes, then almost immediately began to second-guess themselves.

"I really didn't want to ruin the movie," Sadler said. "I'm like, 'Actors can do this and it would probably be more successful.' But Spencer was like, 'Are you really going to look 20 years down the line and say you could have been in a Clint Eastwood movie but you're not?' And that convinced me right there. There's no way you could deny that."

With what little time they had before shooting, the three wanted to prepare in any way they could. "When the reality set in, we were like, 'We're really thankful for the opportunity, Mr. Eastwood, but we also think we're going to need some acting classes,' " said Stone, who was an Air Force medic at the time of the attack. "And he was like, 'No, you don't want to do that, because then it will make it look like you're acting. I just want you to go out there and be natural and do it how it happened.'"

Eastwood admits that the prospect of casting nonactors didn't thrill the executives at Warner Bros.

"I don't think they were excited at the beginning," he said with a dry laugh.

But in a testament to the tremendous amount of clout Eastwood has at the studio, they agreed to go along with the idea.

There were some bumpy moments at first. In his first big scene, set in a Jamba Juice, Stone "felt like I was crashing and burning." In another scene, Sadler, unaware of the need for continuity, kept picking up different things with his hands in different takes.

But things soon slipped into gear, and the studio was reassured that the experiment could work.

The attack itself was re-created over five days on a moving train traveling back and forth between Paris and Amsterdam. Along with Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler, a number of other real-life participants were also on hand, including Mark Moogalian, who was shot in the neck, and English businessman Chris Norman, who helped restrain the attacker.

Though the actual attack lasted only about two minutes, Eastwood was intent on re-creating it with exacting, second-by-second fealty, with no extra Hollywood action-movie bells and whistles. "I didn't want to make it look like guys were hanging from the bottom of a train and doing crazy things," Eastwood said.

Having gotten a taste of Hollywood, the three all now aim to pursue acting professionally. Stone has already moved to Los Angeles and Sadler is soon to follow. Acting classes have been taken, agents and publicists retained.

One day between takes Clint Eastwood looks at me and he's like, 'Not a bad way to make a living, is it?' " Sadler said. "I was like, 'No, you're right. It's not a bad way to make a living.' We'd all like to pursue it."
Since playing Albany in 2016, the members of Hippo Campus, who met not that many years ago in high school in St. Paul, Minn., have been busy. They have played the big festivals (South by Southwest, Lollapalooza, Red Rocks, Bonnaroo), made the TV rounds, and released their first full-length album, last year's "Landmark." AllMusic praised the album for the band's "hooky but adventurous melodies, their tight but engaging instrumental work, and their stellar vocal harmonies. 'Landmark' not only finds Hippo Campus delivering more songs, but working on a broader creative canvas, and it's their most ambitious and accomplished work to date.'' Perhaps encouraged by the response, or just overflowing with tunes, they also last year released an EP, "warm glow." With the overflowing energy of youth, they may have more new songs ready for their Jupiter Hall gig.

 Joseph Stalvey
Darryl Pinckney, who for nearly four decades has been writing for the New York Review of Books along with novels and essays of his own, said that for someone who was sort of written off at the time of his death in 1987, the writing of James Baldwin has become quite popular to the youth of today.

"At the time of his death Baldwin was perceived as having become very militant," said Pinckney. "His reputation was complicated. He had written some controversial essays about race relations in America that sounded so extreme and grim, but today they don't seem so extreme at all."

Pinckney believes one aspect of Baldwin's writing that speaks so much to the young now was his ability to be vulnerable. "That was very different than most black writers at the time. Black men had been treated with such disrespect by society for so long, and Baldwin wrote about that, but he also injected a conversation with himself into his writing."

The first funeral Pinckney ever attended was for James Baldwin in Harlem. "That was a really big deal," he said. "I went because I felt I needed to be there. I had some very embarrassing encounters with him through the years as a student and a young writer, and I remember he always had such wonderful manners."

The first time he met him was when he was a student and saw Baldwin in a restaurant by Lincoln Center. "I flew over to his table and awkwardly told him how much I loved his writing and he signed a magazine I had with me. He was charming about it. He was always terribly kind."

Pinckney also saw him in a neighborhood jazz club a few times. "He was seated at a crowded table talking away, always very sociable. That easygoing conversation is often found in his novels."

Pinckney writes frequently about African-American literature, cultural history and politics. His own life mirrors somewhat that of Baldwin, and his most recent novel, ''Black Deutschland,'' is about a lost young black man from an upper-middle class family who moves to Berlin, Germany, to escape some of the racial and family oppression he finds in the states.

"I had a wonderful time writing that novel," said Pinckney. "It reminded me why I wanted to be a writer when I was young. I remember looking forward to waking up in the morning so I could rush to my writing desk and get back to work. Believe me, it's not always like that."

His first encounter with the writing of James Baldwin happened on a family trip out West. "I was reading 'Giovanni's Room' and not fully understanding why the book was causing such a bit of alarm in my family."

He didn't encounter Baldwin's essays till a few years later when a high school teacher gave him a copy of Baldwin's open letter to the activist Angela Davis. "At the time I was very taken with her case, and I loved what he wrote and how he wrote it."

On his visit to Albany, part of the New York State Writers Institute Visiting Writers Series, Pinckney will provide commentary of selections from the works of Baldwin. The selections will be presented onstage by UAlbany students. Later that evening he will discuss the Oscar-nominated film ''I Am Not Your Negro,'' which was based on Baldwin's unfinished memoir 'Remember This House.' The documentary presents his meditations on the history of racism in the United States and his perspectives on slain civil rights leaders Medgar Evers, Malcolm X and Martin Luther Jing, Jr.

"It's a marvelous film," said Pinckney. "So many things strike you after watching it. The footage was perfectly chosen, not only of Baldwin but of an America that he was commenting on. It's just riveting and also free of form. There are no talking heads, just Baldwin. I've seen it a few times now, and I just find myself trying to listen to every word that is spoken."

Pinckney's favorite work by Baldwin is the essay collection ''Notes of a Native Son.'' "It's so beautifully written. There is such a depth of feeling and it creates so much emotional power. I live in Harlem now, and Baldwin's Harlem is gone, but it kind of lives on in the pages of this essay. The title essay is one of the great American essays of all time detailing his father's death, the 1948 riot in Harlem and his own coming of age. All these events, large and small, kind of weave into a haunting story of his life's journey."

Pinckney marvels at how Baldwin's work has remained in print 30 years after his death. "His work is being rediscovered by new generations. Very few of the top writers of his time in the 1960s are still being read. Some of the writing from that time has not aged well, but it's obvious we still need a voice like Baldwin's perhaps more today than ever before."

Jack Rightmyer is a high school and middle school English teacher in the Bethlehem School District and a regular contributor to the Times Union.
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PagerDuty , the global leader in Digital Operations Management , today announced the findings of its inaugural research on the State of IT Work-Life Balance , which found that companies risk losing a quarter of their IT professionals to a new job as a result of poor work-life balance. The report findings are based on three separate surveys of over 800 IT professionals in development, operations, security and management roles in the US, Australia and the UKcountries at the forefront of digital operations management. The surveys further reveal that IT teams, particularly managers, have little to no visibility in knowing when their people are experiencing difficult on-call schedules.



The study indicates that although many IT professionals agree their work-life balance isnt the greatest, they believe its just part of the job and accept the time commitment involved. When those subject matter experts are mobilized disproportionately and, at times, erroneously, to handle operations issues day or night, those critical employees become disillusioned and may decide to leave. With the cost of just one skilled IT employee reaching $300,0001 or more, the benefit of monitoring operations and employee health is higher engagement, greater productivity and improved retention.

As organizations continue to integrate digital across their business, the demands of scale and speed place unprecedented pressure on IT professionals to maintain their business services for a quality customer experience, said Jennifer Tejada, CEO at PagerDuty. Using technology to transform the business operations is simply not enough. Building a competitive business also demands understanding and improving employee operations health so ITOps can perform at its best.

The Digital Disruption Dilemma

In todays always on world, those responsible for managing digital operations must be prepared to engage at any time of the day and initiate remediation efforts if something goes wrong with a critical system.

In the US, nearly half (49 percent) reported their sleep or personal life is interrupted between 11 and 30 times a week.

Nearly a quarter of all IT professionals (24.9 percent) believe these interruptions adversely affect their work productivity enough to make their jobs unmanageable at times, which leaves companies with an elevated risk of employee attrition.

Almost 1 in 4 respondents (23.1 percent) reported they are more likely to look for a new job as a result of poor work-life balance.

The Effects of Managing Always-On Digital Services

The inability to manage stress was rated as the number one side-effect of poor work-life balance across all regions. US IT professionals were found to be less able to manage stress compared to their Australian and UK counterparts.

Nearly all (94 percent) of the IT professionals who indicated that they are responsible for the management of always-on digital services said their role impacts their family life. Ninety-four percent of IT professionals also believe it impacts their work productivity.

IT workers in the US indicated they are most impacted by the management of always-on digital services, with 32 percent indicating this pain point, versus 21.9 percent in the UK and 21.1 percent in Australia.

IT professionals shouldnt need to search for a new opportunity once their current job becomes unmanageable or too stressful, said Howard Wilson, Chief Commercial Officer, PagerDuty. Organizations should adopt solutions and services to proactively monitor and manage the health and wellness of their developer and IT Operations teams as the ROI is clear. These practices lead to improved employee retention and increased operational efficiency.

Visibility Matters

The State of IT Work-Life Balance report showed that a managers visibility into their team's on-call experience may also impact an IT professional's overall perception of their work-life balance. Survey results point to a higher risk of employee turnover from respondents who reported their managers have little to no visibility in knowing when they are experiencing a difficult on-call period.

Of all IT professionals surveyed, 72 percent indicated their managers have little to no visibility in knowing when they are experiencing a difficult on-call period. In the US, 61.7 percent of respondents said their managers have little to no visibility into their on-call periods, leading to a disconnect in understanding employee duress and subsequent churn risk.

Of the respondents who said their managers have slight to no visibility into their difficult on-call period, nearly 1 in 5 (18.1 percent) rated their work-life balance as fair to poor. Almost a quarter of the same respondents (24 percent) reported they are more likely to look for a new job as a result of poor work-life balance.

Over half (54.8 percent) of respondents who reported that their managers have slight to no visibility also said their practices and tools are only somewhat reliable for ensuring their teams are engaged in their work and thriving in their roles.

Just like poor visibility into application and infrastructure impacts ITs ability to improve performance, so does a lack of visibility into team workloads impacts your ability to retain an effective response team, said Nancy Gohring, senior analyst at 451 Research. New approaches to gaining insight about the experience of IT teams should help leaders better manage incident response and ultimately reduce staff burnout.

For the full 2018 State of IT Work-Life Balance report, please download at https://www.pagerduty.com/resources/reports/it-work-life-balance

About PagerDuty

PagerDuty is the leading digital operations management platform for businesses. Through its SaaS-based platform, PagerDuty empowers developers, DevOps, IT operations and business leaders to prevent and resolve business-impacting incidents for exceptional customer experience. More than 10,000 small, mid-size and enterprise global customers such as Lululemon, IBM and Panasonic use and trust PagerDuty to maximize their time and increase their business response and efficiency. When revenue and brand reputation depends on customer satisfaction, PagerDuty arms businesses with the insight to proactively manage incidents and events that may impact customers across their IT environment. Headquartered in San Francisco, with regional offices in Toronto, Sydney and London, the company was recently listed in the 2016 Deloitte Technology Fast 500, Inc. 500 and Forbes 2017 Cloud 100 lists. Try PagerDuty for free at www.pagerduty.com . Follow our blog and connect with us on Twitter , LinkedIn , YouTube and Facebook .

1: [1] Ponemon Institute, 2017 Cost of Data Breach Study: United States, sponsored by IBM Security. Published June 2017.

Media Contact:

Michael Basilio

mbasilio@pagerduty.com

PagerDuty is a registered trademark of PagerDuty, Inc in the United States. All other trademarks are the property of their respective companies.
After the lights went down on their final performance of "A Christmas Carol" in December, the folks at Home Made Theater didn't put the holiday favorite back on the shelf. Instead, the Dickens classic became a point of departure for the comedy "Inspecting Carol," which opens Saturday at Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Springs.

"Inspecting Carol" depicts the madcap backstage drama at the Soap Box Players, an imaginary but very realistic theater troupe that's in the midst of remounting their annual production of "A Christmas Carol." Things are more on edge than normal because the troupe is up for a big government grant and the last step in the funding process is the visit of an inspector. When will he arrive? How will they know who it is? Mistakenly assuming it's that temperamental new actor, they bend over backward to accommodate his eccentric ways.

"It's a really sympathetic look at what it means to be in a theater company," says director Jonathan Hefter. "Everybody's trying to please each other and it all falls apart then comes back together."

Hefter said the show is akin to the beloved backstage comedy "Noises Off." He also compares the mistaken identity plot to episodes of "The Flintstones" and "Scooby-Doo."

There's a more highbrow antecedent as well. Playwright Daniel Sullivan partially based his 1991 script on "The Inspector General" by 19th-century Russian dramatist Nikolai Gogol. In that play, corrupt officials of a small Russian town nervously anticipate the arrival of an inspector.

At Home Made Theater, the juxtaposition with "A Christmas Carol"  the fourth production of the play in the company's 33-year history  with "Inspecting Carol" only adds to the fun. It also means that the actors didn't need to do a lot of research. Of the nine-member cast, three actors appeared in "A Christmas Carol." One of them, Mark Todaro, played Bob Cratchit in December; in the current show he plays Phil, the actor who plays Cratchit.

"It's a 'meta' exploration of the title," said Hefter, using a term for when something is self-referential and examined from multiple angles at once.

Apart from the overlap of material, there's also the fact that the show is about putting on a show.

More Information If you go "Inspecting Carol" When: Opens 7:30 p.m. Saturday and continues for seven more performances through Feb. 25. Where: Spa Little Theater, Saratoga Spa State Park, Saratoga Springs Tickets: $24-$27. Call 518-587-4427 or visit: https://homemadetheater.org. See More Collapse

"It's been a very meta rehearsal process as well, with multiple layers of reality," Hefter said. "What's onstage mirrors what's in our own company."

That is to say the sundry challenges and crises that are a part of live theater have played out, as if on schedule, over the past month of rehearsals. To start there have been illnesses and injuries among the cast members. One rehearsal was canceled due to snow and another got scrubbed because of a power outage that was caused by the mid-January flooding in the basement of the nearby Gideon Putnam Hotel.

According to actor Marilyn Detmer, the run of "A Christmas Carol" also had mishaps onstage and off.

"Despite our best efforts, there were times an entrance was missed, a doorknob fell off, moving scenery collided, a line was garbled. But these things happened spread over a month of rehearsal and performance, and we succeeded in telling a beautiful story," said Detmer, who also appears in the current production. "In 'Inspecting Carol' it all seems to happen on the same night. The fictional company has the same desire to tell Dickens' story beautifully, but our stars are misaligned."

"It's been pretty funny," Hefter said. "In the long run you know these things will happen and everything will be OK."

Hefter speaks from experience. He began his journey as an actor in fourth grade. A breakthrough came in 1987 when he was 15 and cast as the only youth actor in "On Golden Pond" at Home Made Theater. Company founder Jonathan Foster encouraged Hefter to pursue an acting career in New York, where he found success in off-Broadway and television, including appearances in "Saturday Night Live."

Hefter is now back in the Capital Region raising a family and working in corporate training. He has found that the principles of good theater also apply to the workplace.

"If you create a space where people feel like it's safe to take their masks off and bring all themselves to the task, they're more apt to do good work," Hefter said.

Joseph Dalton is a freelance writer based in Troy.
The Albany County District Attorney's office has taken over the prosecution of the former Troy police union president, who is accused of stealing $6,200 from the union's banking account.

Jonathan Desso, a spokesman for Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove, asked Judge Debra Young to assign a special prosecutor because of conflicts in the case.
LORI VAN BUREN/TIMES UNION

BETHLEHEM  The Bethlehem Morning Voice Huddle was born in 2017, an outgrowth of the Women's March, as a platform where crucial, controversial issues could be illuminated and discussed. Thursday, the Huddle will grapple with the topic of Medicare for All, or single payer health care, in the Bethlehem Town Hall at 7 p.m.

Guests Dr. Andrew Coates and Dr. George Jolly will examine the contrast between the wide popular support Medicare enjoys among Americans and how single-payer or Medicare for All has been tarred as "socialized medicine." The event is cosponsored by Physicians for a National Health Plan, Capital District Alliance for Universal Healthcare, and the League of Women Voters of Albany County.
ALBANY  A federal judge has upheld a lawsuit filed by a man who was wrongly convicted of murdering a college student after signing a confession that was allegedly coerced by Albany detectives.

In a decision that puts the case on track for trial, U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd rejected arguments to dismiss the suit that were filed by attorneys for the city of Albany and six former detectives who took part in the investigation that wrongly sent two men to prison for the 1997 murder.

Carl H. Dukes and Lavell R. Jones, both 40, spent nearly two decades in prison before being released in 2016. Both filed federal lawsuits accusing Albany police of civil rights violations, negligence, denial of fair-trial rights and malicious prosecution, among other claims.

READ CARL DUKES' STORY: "20 YEARS OF INNOCENCE LOST"

Hurd issued his ruling in Dukes' case this week after considering arguments by attorneys for the city of Albany who said the confessions obtained by detectives were not coerced. Jones' lawsuit was filed in Brooklyn but was recently transferred to U.S. District Court in Albany. Hurd is presiding over both cases.

The lawsuits claim Albany police, as part of a culture of corruption, fabricated evidence and used coercion to obtain incriminating statements from the defendants and witnesses.

Hurd noted in his decision that the written statements detectives convinced Dukes to sign initially conflicted with statements they had gleaned from other witnesses who placed another man at the scene of the murder rather than Jones.

In response, the detectives went back to some of those witnesses and "using the same aggressive interrogation tactics," pressured them to change their statements to fit the narrative that police had made up, Hurd wrote.

During separate trials, prosecutors offered no murder weapon or other physical evidence tying either man to the February 1997 shooting death of Erik Mitchell, a 23-year-old student at the University at Albany.

At Dukes' trial, one of the witnesses, Matthew Parsons, recanted the false statement he gave detectives implicating Dukes. Without it, prosecutors relied on the allegedly false testimony of former detectives Ronald Matos and Kenneth Wilcox, Hurd wrote.

The federal lawsuits dredge up an era when Albany police and the Albany County district attorney's office routinely won convictions in homicide investigations that relied on signed confessions with little or no physical evidence to back them up.

Mitchell was shot in the vestibule of his basement apartment on Clinton Avenue. Police at the time said Dukes, Jones and another man killed Mitchell after they went to the apartment to silence a witness in an earlier robbery.

Dukes and Jones were sentenced to prison sentences that ranged from more than 30 years to life. The two men maintained their innocence in prison and accused city detectives of coercing them into signing incriminating statements.

Jones signed his written confession following two sleep-deprived days in custody during which he was interrogated by city detectives. Dukes signed his confession in a courthouse conference room where he was grilled by two detectives while his attorney waited outside, in part, under the belief they only wanted to question his client about a robbery.

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Jones' lawsuit is filed against the city and former detectives Ronald Matos, Anthony Ryan, Michael Sbuttoni, Peter McKenna and the estate of former Detective Kenneth Wilcox, who died in 2006 during an on-duty car crash. Dukes' lawsuit is filed against the same defendants, plus former Detective Sgt. Kevin Breen.

A third suspect, Pierre Lyons, also signed a confession admitting to a role in Mitchell's killing, but was later acquitted at trial.

The convictions of Dukes and Jones  who had exhausted their appeals  began to unravel in September 2014, when Jeffrey Conrad confessed to the killing following his arrest for the fatal stabbing of his girlfriend in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Conrad, a violent felon with a long criminal history, fled Albany after Mitchell's murder.

Conrad, 47, told an Albany detective details of Mitchell's killing that police and prosecutors have acknowledged only the killer could have known. They included the fact that Mitchell was shot at close range in the left temple with a .25-caliber handgun, and collapsed into a seated position against a wall inside the door.

Conrad said he was alone, wearing a mask, and abandoned his robbery plan and fled after he shot Mitchell, who was found with money still in his pocket.

"He opened the door, he reached for the gun, I shot him," Conrad said, slapping his hands together during an interview that was videotaped in an Ohio jail. "It was just that quick and simple."

Conrad also told police he'd killed at least a dozen people during his crime-filled life, and that he chopped up and threw away the silver handgun he used to kill Mitchell. The gun was never found.

Conrad is serving a life sentence for stabbing his girlfriend to death, but Albany County prosecutors have declined to pursue charges against him for Mitchell's murder.
The mother of a man whose body was discovered Tuesday - more than a year after he was reported missing - says he should be remembered as a good man and excellent father.

Brandyn Dayne Foster was reported missing Jan. 30, 2017 to the Woodstock Police Department. Authorities have not provided details as yet about a cause. Greene County Coroner Richard Vigilo said Tuesday an autopsy was being performed at Ellis Hospital in Schenectady. The result was not available later Wednesday.

Foster, a rap musician with an international following, was the son of renowned jazz drummer Al Foster, said his mother Bonnie Steinberg, of Woodstock.

"He was a wonderful son and exceptional father to his 10-year-son Jazzon. He helped all his friends. He was a great human being," she said. "He was very loved."

Foster was last seen alive four days before he was reported missing. His remains were found on property in Tool House Road in Catskill, near where State Police had first searched for his body in October.
Washington

President Donald Trump met with a top Justice Department official Tuesday to review a classified Democratic memo on the Russia investigation, less than a week after he brushed aside objections from the same agency over releasing a Republican account.

The dueling memos  and Trump's silence so far on whether he will release the Democratic version  have set up a standoff between Trump and congressional Democrats and deepened partisan fights on the House intelligence panel. The memos have become the recent focus of the committee's probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, taking attention away from investigations into whether Trump's campaign was involved.

The Democratic document is intended to counter the GOP memo, which criticized methods the FBI used to obtain a surveillance warrant on a onetime Trump campaign associate. The president has until the end of the week to decide whether to make it public.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to discuss differences between the two memos, and "we are undergoing the exact same process that we did with the previous memo, in which it will go through a full and thorough legal and national security review."

The House panel voted unanimously Monday to release the Democratic memo, sending it to the White House.

Separate Russia investigations are underway by the Senate intelligence committee and special counsel Robert Mueller, whose team is scheduled to interview former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon next week.

The Mueller interview was confirmed by two people familiar with it. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about details of the interview.

Bannon is expected to face questions about key events during his time in the White House, including Trump's firings of former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former FBI Director James Comey.

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Also Tuesday, the House intelligence committee gave Bannon another week to negotiate the terms of a closed-door interview as the White House has put limits on what he can tell Congress. Bannon was under subpoena to appear Tuesday as part of the panel's Russia probe, but Republicans pushed the deadline to next week as talks about the terms of his interview continued.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the intelligence panel, said Bannon's lawyer has told the committee that the White House will permit him only to answer 14 "yes" or "no" questions. He said Bannon is barred by the White House from talking about matters during the presidential transition, his time at the White House and communications with Trump since he left in August.

Schiff said the panel is in rare bipartisan agreement that the terms offered are unacceptable.

"Should Bannon maintain his refusal to return and testify fully to all questions, the committee should begin contempt proceedings to compel his testimony," Schiff said.
Washington

President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to plan a grand parade of the U.S. armed forces in Washington this year to celebrate military strength, officials said Tuesday.

The Washington Post, which was first to report the plan, said Trump wants an elaborate parade this year with soldiers marching and tanks rolling, but no date has been selected.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the request Tuesday evening. She said Trump wants the Pentagon to "explore a celebration" that will allow Americans to show appreciation for the military.

A Pentagon spokesman, Charlie Summers, said Pentagon officials are aware of the request and are "looking at options."

U.S. military members commonly participate in parades on the Fourth of July and other holidays to mark appreciation and remembrance of military veterans, but these typically do not include displays of military hardware.

In her brief comment on Trump's order to the Pentagon, Sanders did not elaborate on what sort of event the president envisions.

Although Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has not commented publicly on the idea of a Washington military parade, the idea is not an obvious fit with his emphasis on focusing strictly, if not exclusively, on military activities that either improve the lethality of the armed forces or enhance their preparation for combat, or both.

The Post report said a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump, Mattis and top generals at the Pentagon marked a tipping point in Trump's push for a parade. It quoted an unidentified military official as saying, "The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France."

It was thus interpreted as a presidential order, the Post said, adding that the cost of shipping tanks and other military hardware to Washington could run in the millions of dollars.

The Post also reported that the Pentagon would prefer to hold such a parade on Veterans Day in November, in part because it would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the victorious end of World War I. It would thus be less directly associated with the president and politics, the Post said.

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John Kirby, a retired Navy rear admiral and former spokesman for the State Department and the Pentagon, reposted on Twitter Tuesday night an article he wrote for CNN's website last summer after Trump mentioned he had been dazzled by the Paris parade. Kirby said a big military parade in Washington is a bad idea.

"First of all, the United States doesn't need a parade down Pennsylvania or any other avenue to show our military strength," he wrote. "We do that every day in virtually every clime all over the world."

Last September, at a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Trump announced his idea of staging a grand parade of the armed forces in Washington on July 4.

Trump reminisced about watching France's Bastille Day military parade when he visited Paris in July.

He said the two-hour parade was a "tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France," and said he wanted one on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington that would be grander than the one he saw in Paris.
CHICAGO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Epazz, Inc. (OTC: EPAZ), a leading provider of blockchain cryptocurrency mobile apps and cloud-based business software solutions, announced today that the companys ZenaPay Bitcoin wallet has been downloaded more than 20,000 times since its launch in the Android Play Store. On February 10, 2018, the company will release the next version of ZenaPay, which will support Ethereum cryptocurrency, in the Play store. ZenaPay will have an updated start screen that will show each cryptocurrency. It is important for users to be able to see a summary of their holdings immediately to determine which cryptocurrency to use when making transactions.

The company is working on supporting Litecoin in future releases of ZenaPay. Litecoin is working on technology that will make point-of-sale (POS) transactions faster and simpler. This will further ZenaPays goal of providing a payment solution that will greatly reduce the cost of credit card transaction fees for merchants. The companys soon-to-be-released POS application will provide merchants with a POS solution for only $99 per year.

Furthermore, ZenaPay will follow suit with other blockchain wallets to support SegWit. SegWit is said to reduce the median fee by one-third. The company believes that multiple cryptocurrency support will eventually eliminate fees.

Epazz CEO Shaun Passley said, ZenaPay Wallet App is the first blockchain product the company has released. We are quickly catching up to other competitors in the marketplace. We believe that this is the beginning of mainstream acceptance of blockchain technology. The adoption of multiple cryptocurrencies within a single blockchain wallet makes completing transactions simple and quick for users.

Future Features Releases

Point of Sale

ZenaPay is developing an iPad point of sale (POS) app to integrate with the Merchant App. Epazz will release the POS version of the Merchant App will be released on February 15, 2018. The new system has been designed to seamlessly integrate with merchants store flow.

Vendor and Payroll Payment Solution

ZenaPays development team is also working on a vendor payment solution that will allow merchant businesses to pay vendors and employees using cryptocurrencies.

Future features will include the following:

An e-commerce store

Seed-to-sale tracking

Sales reporting and compliance

About ZenaPay (www.zenapay.com)

ZenaPay is being developed to solve a major problem in high-risk industries: getting paid. Traditional banking systems do not allow high-risk industries to access their payment systems. ZenaPay offers a cutting-edge payment solution that gives consumers a way to buy items online or in stores using Bitcoin. The new Bitcoin payment software will allow consumers to use digital currency to make online or in-store purchases with ease. The process will also be anonymous because all transaction details are encrypted through Bitcoin, which will enable stores to accept digital currency instead of only cash. ZenaPay is available on the App Store and Play Store.

About Epazz, Inc. (www.epazz.com)

Epazz, Inc. specializes in enterprise cryptocurrency blockchain mobile apps and cloud business process software, with more than 500 repeat customers. The new Bitcoin Mobile app is a financial technology company that offers unique software that allows consumers to acquire Bitcoin at the point of sale. The consumer can then use the cryptocurrency or digital currency to make a purchase at the store with ease. Epazz technology makes it easy to convert legacy systems into cloud business process software, for which the company then charges an annual subscription fee. Epazz has acquired 11 software companies that have converted or are in the process of converting their legacy software products to cloud software using Epazz technology. Epazz then markets the new cloud-based solutions to new and existing customers.

SAFE HARBOR

Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by their use of forward-looking terminology such as may, expect, intend, estimate, anticipate, believe and continue (or the negative forms thereof) or similar terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from future results or those implied by such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Epazz, Inc. assumes no obligation and has no intention of updating these forward-looking statements, and it has no obligation to update or correct information prepared by third parties that is not paid for by Epazz, Inc. Investors are encouraged to review Epazz, Inc.s public filings on SEC.gov and otcmarkets.com, including its unaudited and audited financial statements and its OTC markets filings, which contain general business information about the companys operations, results of operations and risks associated with the company and its operations.
[February 07, 2018] Banks Partner to Award $232K in Grants to Benefit Mississippi Women and Children

A 25-unit facility for women and children in Jackson, Mississippi, will open, thanks to a $212,500 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas) and BancorpSouth Bank. The Corporation for Global Community Development (CGCD) used the grant to fund the rehabilitation of a 25-unit transitional facility for homeless and at-risk women and their children. Project representatives will attend a ribbon cutting and check presentation at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 13, at 4655 Terry Road in Jackson. The media is invited to attend. In addition, FHLB Dallas partnered with BancorpSouth Bank to award $16,000 in Partnership Grant Program ( PGP (News - Alert) ) funds to the nonprofit, and Trustmark National Bank to award $4,000 for a total award of $20,000. The organization used the funds for organizational capacity building. FHLB Dallas annually returns 10 percent of its profits in the form of AHP grants to the communities served by its member institutions, like BancorpSouth Bank. AHP grants fund a variety of projects, including home rehabilitation and modifications for low-income, elderly and special-needs residents; down payment and closing cost assistance for qualified first-time homebuyers; and the construction of low-income, multifamily rental communities and single-family homes. For more information about the AHP, visit fhlb.com/ahp. The structure of the PGP allows FHLB Dallas member institutions like BancorpSouth Bank and Trustmark National Bank to make a contribution of $500 to $4,000 to a community-based organization (CBO), which FHLB Dallas will match at a 3:1 ratio. For more information about the PGP, visit fhlb.com/pgp.







WHAT: Ribbon Cutting and Check Presentation WHEN: 10:00 a.m., February 13, 2018 WHO: Evelyn Edwards, Vice President, Community Development Grant Specialist and Mid Mississippi Community Reinvestment Specialist, BancorpSouth Bank Steffani Jenkins, First Vice President and Director of Community Development, Trustmark National Bank Pastor Jennifer Biard, Founder, Corporation for Global Community Development Greg Hettrick, First Vice President, Director of Community Investment, FHLB Dallas Eric Haar, Vice President, Director of Government and Industry Relations, FHLB Dallas WHERE: Jackson Revival Center 4655 Terry Road Jackson, Mississippi 39212

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005952/en/

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[February 07, 2018] University of Washington Information School Appoints Smartsheet CEO Mark Mader to Founding Board

SEATTLE, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of Washington Information School (iSchool) today announced the appointment of Mark Mader, CEO of Smartsheet, to its Founding Board. The iSchool is an undergraduate and graduate school that offers BS, MLIS, MSIM, and Ph.D. degrees. Its mission is to prepare information leaders; research the problems and opportunities of information; design solutions to information challenges and; make information work. "We're very pleased to have Mark join the Founding Board as we work together to drive forward the vision and mission of the iSchool," said Dr. Anind Dey, dean, University of Washington iSchool. "Mark is passionate about innovation and understands the importance of connecting information, people, and technology. His perspective as an entrepreneur, business leader, and industry disrupter will be invaluable to the iSchool as we examine the challenges and opportunities presented by the volume and variety of information we encounter in nearly every aspect of our daily lives." Mader is CEO of Smartsheet, a high-growth SaaS company headquartered in Bellevue, Washington that is transforming the way organizations manage and execute work. Mark is a prominent figure in the Seattle-area technology community, having been recognized as Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year in Technology for the Pacific Northwest and GeekWire's CEO of the Year. Mader was drawn to the iSchool's focus on creating "human centered" information systems that help people and organizations achieve their full potential. "In an increasingly information-driven world, I share the iSchool's passion for discovering more effective ways of using information to help people and organizations larn, innovate, and connect," said Mader. "I look forward to contributing to the growth, success, and impact of the iSchool as it connects people with the right information at the right time, and harnesses information's potential to be an agent for positive societal change."



"Mark will serve as an important extension of our board as we seek to build deeper connections in the community, expand our investments, and propel UW to the forefront of information technology and education for generations to come," said Bob Davis, Corporate Vice President, Skype Business Services & Office 365 Customer Experience, Microsoft Corporation. "Smartsheet is one of the region's most innovative companies and as a pioneer in delivering better collaboration solutions to customers, Mark will be a great collaborator with other board members, the iSchool, and students." Prior to joining Smartsheet in 2006, Mader served as senior vice president of global services for Onyx Software, leading the consulting and customer-facing teams in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. He holds a B.A. in Geography from Dartmouth College.

The Founding Board has 19 members who serve as business and community leaders committed to promoting the academic and research efforts of the iSchool. The Board also offers strategic advice to the dean with a focus on building awareness of and attracting resources to the iSchool, and leads fundraising initiatives. About UW iSchool The University of Washington Information School recognizes the importance of information in society, and our community of dedicated faculty, students and staff is working to make information a catalyst for change, growth and innovation. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, the iSchool explores and examines the challenges and opportunities presented by the volume and variety of information we encounter in nearly every aspect of our daily lives. Through teaching, research and practice, we are improving the ways people and organizations create, find, store, manipulate and share information, while fostering a collaborative culture in which inclusiveness and connectedness are celebrated as necessary parts of academic excellence. About Smartsheet Organizations need a way to get work done, not just talk about it. Smartsheet is the best way to plan, track, automate, and report on work, enabling you to move from idea to impact  fast. Smartsheet's cloud-based platform for work execution empowers collaboration, drives more efficient decision making, and accelerates innovation for over 70,000 brands in 190 countries, including more than 50 percent of the Fortune 500. Smartsheet complements existing enterprise investments by deeply integrating with applications from Microsoft, Google, Salesforce, Atlassian, and many others. Headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, Smartsheet has more than 780 employees in its Bellevue and Boston offices as of February 2018. To learn more, visit www.Smartsheet.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/university-of-washington-information-school-appoints-smartsheet-ceo-mark-mader-to-founding-board-300594801.html SOURCE Smartsheet; University of Washington Information School

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[February 06, 2018] BOLT! of Indonesia Launches New LTE CPE Powered By Sequans

LTE (News - Alert) chipmaker Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) announced that its LTE chipset has been selected by BOLT!, the 4G LTE service of PT Internux, pioneer of 4G LTE service in Indonesia, to power an LTE outdoor unit (ODU) that is now available and shipping to customers in Indonesia. Gemtek (News - Alert) , world-leading maker of broadband wireless devices and a long time partner of Sequans, is the designer and manufacturer of the new device. "Only BOLT! offers outdoor CPEs in Indonesia and the demand from customers for wireless broadband access is very high," said Billy Abe, Chief Product Officer of BOLT! "We are pleased to offer this exceptional new LTE-enabled device based on Sequans technology, that provides advanced LTE capability, including Category 4 (150 Mbps) throughput. The new device gives our customers a truly useful, powerful, and cost-competitive broadband connectivity solution." In addition to LTE Category 4 throughput, the new BOLT! CPE, WLTQS-103, includes an Ethernet port, TR-069, and covers all of BOLT!'s LTE bands. The chip inside the new BOLT! CPE is Sequans' Mont Blanc LTE Platform. Mont Blanc comprises baseband with integrated high-performance network and application CPU, an LTE-optimized transceiver, a carrier-proven and mature LTE protocol stack, and a comprehensive software package. Designed for the highest performance and efficiency as a standalone, single mode 4G LTE solution, Mont Blanc is a powerful, compact, and cost-effective LTE connectivity solution for feature-rich, high performance mobile devices. Mont Blanc is a member of Sequan' StreamrichLTE family of products for broadband devices.



""We are excited to see our Mont Blanc technology reaching customers in Indonesia via Bolt's new CPE," said Hugues Waldburger, VP of Sequans' Broadband business unit. "We believe that BOLT! customers in Indonesia will be delighted by the CPE's very high performance that will make internet access much quicker and easier." Forward looking statements

About Sequans Communications (News - Alert) Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) is a leading provider of single-mode 4G LTE semiconductor solutions for the Internet of Things (IoT) and a wide range of broadband data devices. Founded in 2003, Sequans has developed and delivered seven generations of 4G technology and its chips are certified and shipping in 4G networks around the world. Today, Sequans offers two LTE product lines: StreamrichLTE, optimized for feature-rich mobile computing and home/portable router devices, and StreamliteLTE, optimized for M2M devices and other connected devices for the IoT. Sequans is based in Paris, France with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, South Korea, and China. Visit Sequans online at www.sequans.com; www.facebook.com/sequans; www.twitter.com/sequans About BOLT BOLT launched the first commercial service of 4G LTE in Indonesia in January 2014 under the brand name of BOLT Super 4G LTE. As Indonesia's first 4G LTE operator, BOLT continuously provides the fastest mobile Internet service with best quality and affordable price for everyone. Recently BOLT upgrade its service to provide further speed and launched new service brand "4G Ultra LTE," which delivers Ultra Speed, Ultra Coverage and Ultra Value. A member of Global TD-LTE Initiative (GTI), BOLT 4G Ultra LTE is strongly committed in providing the best and most innovative broadband wireless access. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180206005352/en/

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[February 06, 2018] Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Wins Ninth Circuit Appeal for Trump University Students

On February 6, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit commended Robbins Geller's "admirable" work on behalf of former Trump University students and affirmed a settlement that will enable victims to recover as much as much as 90% of their "tuition." In a unanimous decision, the court dismissed the lone objection to the $25 million settlement, which will reimburse thousands of consumers, including senior citizens, who accessed retirement funds and maxed out credit cards to enroll in Trump University. Writing for the court, Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen observed that the settlement provided "terms highly favorable to class members [who] would receive between 80 to 90 percent of what they paid for Trump University programs." Turning to the objection, the court stated: "This appeal involves a lone objector, Sherri Simpson, who seeks to opt out of the class and bring her claims in a separate lawsuit, which would derail the settlement." Judge Nguyen recognized that Simpson had received a court-approved notice of her right to exclude herself from the class and chose not to do so by the deadline. As to the objector's claim that she should have a second opportuniy to opt out at the settlement stage, or alternatively, that due process requires a second chance, the court held: "Neither argument is correct."



Last March, District Court Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel approved the settlement and hailed it as "extraordinary" and "all the more exceptional when viewed in light of the risk" of continued litigation. In approving the extraordinary settlement, the court commended Robbins Geller for prosecuting the case on a pro bono basis: "Class Counsel's exceptional decision to provide nearly seven years of legal services to Class Members on a pro bono basis evidences not only a lack of collusion, but also that Class Counsel are in fact representing the best interests of Plaintiffs and the Class Members in this Settlement. Instead of seeking compensation for fees and costs that they would otherwise be entitled to, Class Counsel have acted to allow maximum recovery to Plaintiffs and Class Members. Indeed, that Eligible Class Members may receive recovery of 90% or greater is a testament to Class Counsel's representation and dedication to act in their clients' best interest." The Robbins Geller trial team welcomed the confirmation of their hard work. "Justice doesn't always prevail, but when it does, it really propels the next pursuit," explained Jason A. Forge.

Robbins Geller partner Rachel L. Jensen, who has been litigating the case since its filing in 2010, stated: "With precious days slipping away for so many elderly Trump University students, the Ninth Circuit's decision provides a welcome light at the end of the tunnel for those who have struggled to pay off their debt for a decade." Robbins Geller attorneys Jason A. Forge, Rachel L. Jensen, Steven F. Hubacheck, Daniel J. Pfefferbaum and Patrick J. Coughlin obtained this result on behalf of plaintiffs. Simpson v. Trump University, LLC, No. 17-55635 (9th Cir. Feb. 6, 2018). View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180206006510/en/

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[February 06, 2018] Delta Dental Community Care Foundation Makes $9.6 Million Commitment to Improve Oral Health in Underserved Communities

The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation announced today that it donated more than $9.6 million last year - more than double from $3.76 million in 2016 - to improve oral health and access to dental care in 15 states and the District of Columbia, focusing on underserved areas where many families and individuals have trouble accessing affordable care. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of California and its affiliated companies including Delta Dental Insurance Company, Delta Dental of New York, Inc., and Delta Dental of Pennsylvania. In 2017, the foundation expanded its impact by pledging more than $5.2 million in grants to hundreds of nonprofit dental clinics. In addition, nearly $3.3 million in health, education and research fund grants went to support educational outreach programs designed to increase oral health care and awareness. Overall giving was concentrated largely in states where the affiliated companies are most active, including California ($3.2 million), Pennsylvania ($1.3 million), Texas ($975,000), Louisiana ($630,000) and Florida ($561,000). "We are committed to improving the health and enhancing the lives of the peole in our communities, especially those who are most in need," said Tony Barth, president and CEO. "In order to do so, it's critical for everyone to have access to high-quality and affordable dental care. We believe that our investment last year is helping to build healthier, happier communities."



In addition, when natural disasters impacted some of its service areas last year, the foundation also helped support relief and recovery efforts with more than $1 million in donations, dental kits and other supplies benefiting communities in California, Texas, Florida, the Gulf Coast and Puerto Rico. Since its inception, the foundation has given a total of nearly $24 million to assist community dental clinics, fund dental education and research, and support disaster relief and other community needs, with plans to continue increased giving.

"We have more work ahead of us in order to reach the remaining underserved areas that we couldn't cover in 2017. This year, we're making an ongoing pledge to give 10 percent of our net income to build upon our commitment to give back," Barth said. About the Delta Dental Community Care Foundation The Delta Dental Community Care Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of California and its affiliated companies including Delta Dental Insurance Company, Delta Dental of New York, Inc., and Delta Dental of Pennsylvania. Together with our affiliate companies, Delta Dental of California covers more than 35.4 million enrollees. All of our companies are members, or affiliates of members, of the Delta Dental Plans Association, a network of 39 Delta Dental companies that provides dental coverage to 75 million people in the U.S. The foundation's mission is to increase access to quality dental care by providing funding and support to advance research, education and access to dental care across our 15-state service area plus the District of Columbia. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180206006512/en/

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[February 06, 2018] Growing at "China Speed", AWE Wins Recognition Across the World

SHANGHAI, Feb. 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Organized by China Household Electrical Appliances Association, the Appliances & Electronics World Expo (AWE) is a major event on par with the CES and the IFA. According to AWE Organizing Committee, AWE 2018 is set to be held at Shanghai New International Expo Center from March 8-11, 2018, with a record-setting 10 exhibition halls covering an exhibition area of 130,000 square meters, expecting an estimated 250,000 visitors. It only took AWE 25 years to catch up with established global exhibitions that have a history of more than half a century. This speed is amazing. Always trying to improve, AWE paced up, changing from a biennial event to an annual one, while expanding its portfolio from home appliances to include more technology fields to witness technological changes and foresee industry directions. The speed is accelerating. With the skyrocketing rise of China's economy and a steady improvement of Chinese people's living standard in the last two decades, China has become the innovation forefront of global home appliance and consumer electronics industry. AWE, the largest show of this field in Asia, has witnessed the progress as it evolves from a follower to a leader in the industry. span id="spanHghltcd14">A match of world-leading technology shows



AWE 2018 is expected to house more than 800 exhibitors including Haier, Midea, Samsung, LG, BSH, Whirlpool, Sony, Panasonic, Sharp and Philips, covering home appliances, consumer electronics, digital products, communication products, smart homes, smart applications, cloud platforms, black technologies, commercial appliances and products from related industries. More than 82 events will be held concurrently, including:

8 th China Household Electrical Appliance Development Summit

th China Household Electrical Appliance Development Summit S mart Appliances Cloud Interconnection & SDK Press Release

mart Appliances Cloud Interconnection & SDK Press Release 2 018 AWE Global Media Day

018 AWE Global Media Day 2 018 Global Technology AI Chip Innovation Conference

018 Global Technology AI Chip Innovation Conference 2 018 China Electrical Appliance Supply Chain Summit

018 China Electrical Appliance Supply Chain Summit 2 018 China Real Estate Fine Decoration Forum

018 China Real Estate Fine Decoration Forum 2 018 China New Retail Summit

018 China New Retail Summit "A WE Award" Ceremony Facebook and other social media have been adopted in AWE's international promotion plan. For more details and a live video, visit https://www.facebook.com/en.awe.com.cn. According to the latest data, the number of pre-registration visitors has doubled, compared with the same period last year. More than 32 overseas media will participate in AWE2018, in addition to 91 Chinese media partners. Save the date: 8-11 March, 2018 in Shanghai, China! Contact Thomas Wang

+86-10-6709-3609

info@cheea.com

http://en.awe.com.cn/

https://www.facebook.com/en.awe.com.cn View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/growing-at-china-speed-awe-wins-recognition-across-the-world-300594747.html SOURCE China Household Electrical Appliances Association

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[February 06, 2018] Testimony of Dr. DeRionne P. Pollard, President, Montgomery College, to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

"Affordability is the biggest challenge facing community college students today. The American college student of 2018 is not the one that so many of us imagine: a recent high school graduate, at a four-year school, living in a dorm, and relying on parental support. Community college students today are people who grew up in households without a college graduate; they are low-income people; they are displaced workers, returning workers, and immigrants; they are women; they are often people of color. Many of them are so daunted by the cost of higher education that they do not enroll. Others enroll, but do not complete their degrees because of the high cost of living. Two-thirds of the 8,600 Pell grant recipients at Montgomery College have an Expected Family Contribution of zero dollars. Their average income in 2018 is $24,864. Community colleges like Montgomery College in Maryland expend extraordinary energy and resources trying to support students' financial needs beyond tuition so that they can complete their studies. Our college, like many others in the nation, has food patries, a clothing library, loaner laptops, and free shuttle buses. We know that any of these extra expenses could break the budget of a student living on the edge."



To read the testimony in its entirety, visit MC News. To watch the hearing in its entirety, click here.

### Montgomery College is a public, open admissions community college with campuses in Germantown, Rockville, and Takoma Park/Silver Spring, plus workforce development/continuing education centers and off-site programs throughout Montgomery County, Md. The College serves nearly 60,000 students a year, through both credit and noncredit programs, in more than 130 areas of study. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180206006589/en/

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[February 06, 2018] NetVation DL Medicine Announces Research Collaboration with Pfizer Inc.

NetVation DL Medicine ("DL Medicine"), a privately held biotechnology company based in Chengdu, China, and focused on the discovery and development of novel drug candidates, announced today that it has entered into a two-year research collaboration with Pfizer Inc (NYSE: PFE). Under the terms of the agreement, DL Medicine will screen and collaborate with Pfizer in producing new chemical entities against pre-selected targets from multiple therapeutic areas. As part of the collaboration, Pfizer has taken a financial stake in DL Medicine. DL Medicine utilizes resources, funding and emerging technologies from the expanding biotechnology capabilities of the growing life sciences industry in China and employs novel approaches to identify and develop new drug candidates. Research conducted under this collaboration will utilize HitGen's DNA-encoded libraries to validate early targets, identify novel chemical matter, and conduct lead optimization. . Compounds that meet specific requirements will be advanced further in the discovery process. Additional screening technology platforms will also be utilized. Dr Wei Chen, CEO of DL Medicine, said: "We are delighted to announce this collaboration with Pfizer, and we look forward to working together to potentially discover new chemical entities for the treatment of diseases that negatively impact the health of patients worldwide." "New target ideas and novel chemical matter are critical to our success in bringing new therapies to patients around the wrld," said Yuan-Hua Ding, Executive Director, External Science & Innovation, Pfizer. "This collaboration represents our worldwide commitment to partnering with companies that are doing innovative scientific work to help enhance our portfolio across multiple disease areas."



About NetVation DL Medicine DL Medicine is a newly formed discovery stage company dedicated to apply emerging technologies to expedite the drug discovery process, financed by HitGen and Anlong, a healthcare focused fund backed by Chinese Academy of Sciences. In addition, to learn more about NetVation DL Medicine, please visit us on www.nvdlmed.com.

About Pfizer Inc At Pfizer, we apply science and our global resources to bring therapies to people that extend and significantly improve their lives. We strive to set the standard for quality, safety and value in the discovery, development and manufacture of health care products. Our global portfolio includes medicines and vaccines as well as many of the world's best-known consumer health care products. Every day, Pfizer colleagues work across developed and emerging markets to advance wellness, prevention, treatments and cures that challenge the most feared diseases of our time. Consistent with our responsibility as one of the world's premier innovative biopharmaceutical companies, we collaborate with health care providers, governments and local communities to support and expand access to reliable, affordable health care around the world. For more than 150 years, we have worked to make a difference for all who rely on us. We routinely post information that may be important to investors on our website at www.pfizer.com. In addition, to learn more, please visit us on www.pfizer.com and follow us on Twitter at @Pfizer and @Pfizer_News, LinkedIn, YouTube (News - Alert) and like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Pfizer. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180206005624/en/

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KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In their offices nationwide, H&R Block (NYSE:HRB) is giving clients a forward look review to show them how the tax reform legislation Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will impact them. While withholding changes have started affecting paychecks, the amount of take-home pay is just one piece of the financial picture that taxpayers need to understand the impact of tax reform and plan for its many changes.

There are many variables in the tax reform law that make it difficult for taxpayers to know how everything will come out in the end, said Kathy Pickering, vice president of regulatory affairs and executive director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block. Our personal analysis will not only show if youll pay more or less taxes next year. It will also forecast your impact to help you determine how to adjust your W-4 for the outcome you want.

Personalized analysis helps taxpayers know how to adjust their W-4

The personalized review evaluates these variables to estimate what a taxpayers liability might be in tax year 2018 compared to tax year 2017. Based on this information, a taxpayer might choose to adjust their employer withholdings by updating their W-4 or change the amount of quarterly estimated tax payments they make.

Before you start changing your W-4s, you need to know what tax liability you can expect in 2018, said Pickering. This review, along with the expert guidance of our tax professionals, will give you what you need to make the changes to your W-4 so you dont get surprised next year.

For example, a single taxpayer with no kids and a $35,000 salary could get a $600 refund this year for his 2017 tax return. This month, because of the withholding table changes, his semi-monthly paycheck will automatically increase $32. But when he files his 2018 tax return next year, he would get a $500 refund, $100 less than he received for 2017. Even though his overall tax liability has decreased by roughly $650, he will get a smaller refund than in 2017. If he would like that $650 as a refund rather than in $32 installments over the year, he will need to update his W-4 with his employer to increase his withholding.

On the other hand, a family of four with a salary of $90,000 got a $780 refund this year. Their semi-monthly paychecks will increase $61 starting this month. Even with this increase in their paychecks, when they file next year, they will get a $2,000 refund. If they would like that $2,000 during the year, they will need to update their W-4s to decrease their withholding.

Personalized analysis helps taxpayers evaluate their tax lives

The review can also help taxpayers find the specific ways the tax reform law impacts them and determine how they can adapt. For example, if they have large unreimbursed employee expenses, which are no longer deductible under the tax reform law, they might want to talk to their employer about options to compensate them considering the loss of that tax benefit.

The analysis can also clarify their specific situation. For example, many taxpayers are concerned about the $10,000 limit on itemizing state and local taxes. The review might show them that even though they may not be able to deduct all their 2018 state and local taxes, they might get a better tax outcome in 2018 than in 2017, due to an increased standard deduction, more favorable tax rates or a larger child tax credit. For example, a family of four in San Diego with $12,000 in state and local taxes would still save almost $3,600 because of the other tax reform changes that impact them more favorably.

The personalized review gives taxpayers the bottom line, paired with the expert guidance of a tax professional to explain what goes into that number so they can make the best decisions for their unique situation, said Pickering.

For more information or to schedule a tax appointment which includes their own personalized analysis of tax reforms impact, visit www.hrblock.com.

About H&R Block

H&R Block, Inc. (NYSE:HRB) is a global consumer tax services provider. Tax return preparation services are provided by professional tax preparers in approximately 12,000 company-owned and franchise retail tax offices worldwide, and through H&R Block tax software products for the DIY consumer. H&R Block also offers adjacent Tax Plus products and services. In fiscal 2017, H&R Block had annual revenues of over $3 billion with 23 million tax returns prepared worldwide. For more information, visit the H&R Block Newsroom.

For Further Information

Susan Waldron, 816-854-5522, susan.waldron@hrblock.com
[February 07, 2018] Nokia and Qualcomm complete key foundation tests of 5G New Radio network and devices

Press Release Attachment: Image



Successful interoperability and over-the-air testing compliant with the 5G New Radio (NR) specification between network infrastructure and devices

5G NR testing has been performed on a commercially-available Nokia AirScale base station and Qualcomm Technologies' 5G NR UE prototypes

Heralds operator trials as Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies drive ecosystem for widescale 5G deployments in 2019 with standards-compliant infrastructure and devices

Operators* BT/EE, Deutsche Telekom, Elisa, KT, LGU+, NTT DOCOMO, Optus, SKT, Telia and Vodafone Group committed to working with Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies in verifying and trialling 5G NR 7 February, 2018 Oulu, Finland/San Diego, CA - Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, have successfully completed interoperability testing in the 3.5Ghz and 28Ghz spectrum compliant with the global 3GPP 5G NR Release 15 standard - which was formally confirmed in December - and using the commercially available Nokia AirScale base station and device prototypes from Qualcomm Technologies. Focusing on the commercialization of 5G technology, with New Radio as its foundation, Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies testing at Nokia's 5G center of excellence in Oulu, Finland, will provide the basis for 5G NR field trials with operators in 2018. Nokia, Qualcomm Technologies and operators* including BT/EE, Deutsche Telekom, Elia, KT, LGU+, NTT DOCOMO, Optus, SKT, Telia and Vodafone Group are already committed to working together in verifying and trialing 5G NR technology. This will be based on the successful interoperability tests of the flexible 5G NR interface from Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies which will support a wide array of 5G services and various deployment scenarios.



In line with Qualcomm Technologies' and Nokia's announcement in September 2017 to collaborate on 5G NR and with the success of these recent tests, Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies continue working closely in driving the industry, leading to widescale 5G deployments in 2019 based on 3GPP standard-compliant 5G infrastructure and devices. This will enable timely commercial network launches in 2019, in particular in the United States, China, Japan, Korea and Europe. Marc Rouanne, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia said: "These tests by Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies are important to the progress of 5G. Importantly, they demonstrate how we have quickly applied the 3GPP Release 15 specifications that were set in December, using our AirScale base station - which has been shipped to more than 100 customers - together with a prototype Qualcomm Technologies UE. Now, we can look forward to commencing standards-based, over-the-air 5G NR trials with operators."

Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm Incorporated, said: "The successful completion of an end-to-end interoperable connection based on the global 5G NR standard is a significant step on the path to launching 5G NR commercial networks and devices starting in 2019. We look forward to further collaboration on standard-compliant field trials with Nokia and global operators on the path to commercialization." *Operators listed in alphabetical order Resource Nokia AirScale

Nokia AirFrame

Press release: Qualcomm and Nokia to Collaborate on Driving Wide-Scale Mobile 5G NR Deployments to Meet Growing Market Demand

Press release: Nokia implements Future X network architecture for 5G to deliver breakthrough network performance and reduce costs

Press Release : Nokia launches ReefShark chipsets that deliver massive performance gain in 5G networks About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing. From the enabling infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, to emerging applications in digital health, we are shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. nokia.com Media Inquiries:

Nokia

Communications

Phone: +358 10 448 4900

Email: press.services@nokia.com Attachments: A photo accompanying this announcement is available at //www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/87a809c4-30e5-4e10-b7d7-83a5d2f55b48

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[February 07, 2018] UK Startup Bank Tandem Partners with Personetics to Deliver AI-powered Everyday Banking that Puts Customers First

Personetics' Cognitive Banking Brain will enable the challenger bank to offer personalised insights and guidance that anticipate customer needs and make it easier for them to manage their money LONDON, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital challenger bank Tandem is partnering with Personetics, the leading provider of cognitive banking applications, to harness the power of artificial intelligence towards its promise of putting the customer first. The rise of neo banks is fuelled by customer experience innovation A survey conducted by Red Bricks research on behalf of Personetics shows that nearly half (45%) of traditional UK bank customers could switch their current account to an alternative financial institution such as a challenger bank, retailer, or fintech company. Customer experience was cited by consumers as the key driver when choosing their banking provider  they felt that their finances were better understood, better guided and better managed by new providers rather than traditional banks. Worry-free banking: know what's coming Powered by Personetics' Cognitive Banking Brain, Tandem will provide customers with personalised insights and advice integrated into the bank's everyday digital experience. Delivering on the promise to put customer interests first, these insights are designed to anticipate customer needs, simplify mone management, and help customers reach their financial goals.



"Our primary focus is making money so easy for our customers that they can get on with their life," said Tandem's chief executive, Ricky Knox. "Together with our use of Open Banking we can use AI to get to know our customers better, predict their needs, and help them make better decisions about their money with as little effort as possible on their part. We want to do the heavy lifting for them, so they can go about their lives and not worry about day-to-day finances." Examples of personalised insights delivered by the Personetics solution include:

"I've got your back" insights, such as unusual spending activity and tips on how to avoid fees

"Heads up" insights, such as a potential balance shortfall or upcoming uncovered bills

"Get ahead" insights, such as opportunities for savings or investmentAccording to Knox, "While artificial intelligence is promising, it was important for us to work with a partner such as Personetics that has proven experience in financial services. The Personetics Cognitive Banking Brain provides advanced AI capabilities with prebuilt insights that are fine-tuned for the financial domain, which in turn will enable us to accelerate time-to-market and place advanced personalised insights and advice in the hands of our customers sooner rather than later." "It's exciting to see an innovative neo bank such as Tandem integrating customer-facing cognitive capabilities into its core offering," said David Sosna, Personetics' Co-founder and CEO. "We see a surge in the adoption of AI by institutions of all sizes, and much of it can be attributed to the renewed focus on the customer experience that challenger banks have been injecting into the market place." About Tandem Built with over 11,000 Co-Founders, Tandem is a digital-only challenger bank that partners with its customers to build a better bank from scratch that meets the needs of everyday lives. By making money when its customers do, Tandem is a good bank focused on honest, fair and ethical banking. Tandem has just acquired Harrods Bank and become one of the UK's leading challenger banks overnight. They will launch with a cashback credit card and two fixed term savings accounts, all managed by their banking app that provides customers with real time insight. Tandem Bank Limited is regulated by the Prudential Regulatory Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority. Tandem is currently only available to UK customers with an ambition to expand internationally. For more information, please visit www.tandem.co.uk About Personetics Personetics' Financial AI Brain is used by the world's largest financial institutions to transforms everyday banking into personalized interactions that help customers take control of their finances and reach their financial goals. Featuring a unique combination of built-in financial intelligence and advanced cognitive capabilities, Personetics solutions make AI-powered banking a reality for over 35 million customers today  providing real-time personalized guidance, automating financial decisions, and simplifying money management. Led by a team of seasoned FinTech entrepreneurs with a proven track record, Personetics has been named a Gartner Cool Vendor, a Top Ten FinTech Company by KPMG, and a Top Ten Company to Watch by American Banker. For more information, visit http://personetics.com. Additional Resources: Personetics Cognitive Banking Applications

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[February 07, 2018] WiserTogether and HCIactive partner to deliver advanced healthcare technology solutions to employers

BOSTON, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WiserTogether and HCIactive have entered into a partnership to deliver the WiserTogether Return to Health solution as an integrated part of HCIactive's Workplace Wellbeing product suite. HCIactive leverages cloud-based technology to deliver healthcare management tools. Including Return to Health in the HCIactive product suite will enable organizations to offer employees a powerful tool to manage their own healthcare. WiserTogether Return to Health is a web and mobile solution, which guides people to the most appropriate, effective and often less intrusive treatment options for that individual. Return to Health enables employees to make thoughtful and informed decisions about their healthcare by providing easy to understand information and guidance, resulting in lower clinical costs, higher compliance with best practices and faster recovery times. HCIactive is a healthcare technology firm that focuses on delivering innovative solutions to employers that improve the lives of their employees. Through their Workplace Wellbeing suite of products, HCIactive offers resources needed to develop a culture of health. Return to Health extends this suite and provides a tool for easy engagement and ongoing treatment planning. Henry Cha, CEO of HCactive commented: "WiserTogether's clinically proven treatment guidance solution provides our clients a critical healthcare management tool to enhance experiences, better manage per-capita costs, and improve outcomes while enabling each participant to be a true partner in the care process."



Max Kahn, CEO of WiserTogether shared his perspective: "HCIactive delivers an impressive suite of cloud-based employer solutions. The addition of Return to Health to their offerings extends their already powerful offerings and further engages employees in the management of their healthcare. We are excited about our new partnership with this technology leader and the value we can deliver to the market." About HCIactive

HCIactive, Inc. provides advanced health planning solutions to employers that help attract and retain the best employees by engaging them in their well-being and workplace. Our integrated technology platform, Healthspace, runs results-driven population health and incentive management programs designed to mitigate risk, control healthcare costs, support Affordable Care Act compliance, and improve member outcomes.

About WiserTogether

WiserTogether is a leader in consumer-focused healthcare information technology solutions that advance clinical outcomes, financial and patient satisfaction results. Our innovative solutions enable consumers to circumvent the immense amount of data on the internet and in the market and effectively guide individuals to the best treatment options for them. To learn more visit www.wisertogether.com. Media Contact:

Karen Gardner

WiserTogether Public Relations

karen.gardner@wisertogether.com

(617) 549-1909 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/wisertogether-and-hciactive-partner-to-deliver-advanced-healthcare-technology-solutions-to-employers-300594768.html SOURCE WiserTogether

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[February 07, 2018] New Healthcare Planning Site Attracts Wide Range of New Yorkers

NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Men and women of all age groups have been visiting YouCanPlanForThis.org, a free website created by independent nonprofit FAIR Health that enables New York State residents to plan their healthcare costs. This preliminary evidence of the site's broad appeal comes from FAIR Health analytics. Since the website's launch on September 12, 2017 through January 23, 2018, adults across the age spectrum from 18 to 65 and older used the site. Baby boomers (defined by the US Census Bureau as currently 54-72) were a large constituency, with about half of the site's visitors aged 55 and older. The other half of visitors ranged in age from 18 to 54. Millennials (defined by the Census Bureau as currently 18-36) were over a quarter of all site visitors. Significantly, both women and men visited the site. Consistent with focus groups FAIR Health has conducted showing that women are often healthcare decision makers and caregivers, the majority of visitors were women, but men also were well represented. Almost 75 percent of visitors used mobile devices to access the site, and 25 percent of visitors arrived via social mediasuggesting the growing power of both mobile devices and social media in directing people to the healthcare resources they need. "MRI" and "root canal" were, respectively, the top medical and dental terms searched. "We are excited that YouCanPlanForThis.org is appealing to all groups of New Yorkers," said FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd. "This shows the public's desire for independent, reliable healthcare cost data and understandable health insurance information to help them plan for medical and dental expenses. We hope that our ground-breaking New York website, which was funded in part with the generous support of the New York State Health Foundation, will serve as a prototype for other states looking to offer price transparency tools for their constituents." With the site's cost lookup tools, which are powered by FAIR Health's billions of private healthcare claims records, consumers can estimate in-network and out of-network costs for thousands of medical procedures in their geographic areas, and out-of-network costs for dental procedures, with estimated in-network costs for dental procedures due to be launched later this year. They also can research total and itemized costs of 25 common "episodes of care" or medical bundles. In addition, they can access individual provider listings for 100 frequently performed procedures in the state, including information about providers' practices and prices. A rich educational curriculum offers articles on insurance basics, a glossary, videos, resource links and information on healthcare quality measures. On February 1, 2018, FAIR Health launched the second phase of YouCanPlanForThis.org, featuring hospital-specific pricing for 20 common outpatient procedures with specified quality metrics for hospitals in four New York regions: Albany, Buffalo, Syracuse and Westchester.



Vital statistics about visitors to the site include: Age: The distribution of age groups visiting the site was:

The distribution of age groups visiting the site was: 18-2412.40 percent



25-3413.58 percent



35-449.65 percent



45-5412.21 percent



55-6418.90 percent



65 and older33.25 percent







Gender : At 63.09 percent of visitors, women predominated; the other 36.91 percent were men.





: At 63.09 percent of visitors, women predominated; the other 36.91 percent were men. Top terms searched (from most to least common):

Medical: MRI, colonoscopy, dermatological, physical therapy, emergency

MRI, colonoscopy, dermatological, physical therapy, emergency

Dental: root canal, implant, orthodontic, extraction, crown





root canal, implant, orthodontic, extraction, crown Technology : Of visitors to the site, the vast majority74.52 percentused mobile devices. Tablets accounted for 18.71 percent of traffic, desktops 6.77 percent.





: Of visitors to the site, the vast majority74.52 percentused mobile devices. Tablets accounted for 18.71 percent of traffic, desktops 6.77 percent. Top channels of acquisition: Largely due to a robust statewide educational campaign, 65 percent of visitors came to the site through a direct web search for the site, while 25 percent visited the site through a link on social media. Referrals triggered by media mentions about the site accounted for most of the remaining traffic. YouCanPlanForThis.org was singled out last fall as an "excellent consumer website" in the Altarum and Catalyst for Payment Reform's Price Transparency & Physician Quality Report Card 2017. Encouraged by the success of New York's YouCanPlanForThis.org, which was based on FAIR Health's award-winning national consumer site, fairhealthconsumer.org, other states have approached FAIR Health with interest in how they can adapt it for their constituents. To learn how YouCanPlanForThis.org can help consumers plan for healthcare expenses, register for the free one-hour webcast FAIR Health will be hosting on March 1. For a visual look at the statistics about YouCanPlanForThis.org, see the infographic above. Follow us on Twitter @FAIRHealth About FAIR Health

FAIR Health is a national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information through data products, consumer resources and health systems research support. FAIR Health possesses the nation's largest collection of private healthcare claims data, which includes over 25 billion claim records contributed by payors and administrators who insure or process claims for private insurance plans covering more than 150 million individuals. FAIR Health also holds separate data representing the experience of more than 55 million individuals enrolled in Medicare. Certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as a Qualified Entity, FAIR Health receives all of Medicare Parts A, B and D claims data for use in nationwide transparency efforts. FAIR Health licenses its privately billed data and data productsincluding benchmark modules, data visualizations, custom analytics, episodes of care analytics and market indicesto commercial insurers and self-insurers, employers, hospitals and healthcare systems, government agencies, researchers and others. FAIR Health has earned HITRUST CSF and Service Organization Controls (SOC 2) certifications by meeting the rigorous data security standards of those organizations. As a testament to the reliability and objectivity of FAIR Health data, the data have been incorporated in statutes and regulations around the country and designated as the official, neutral data source for a variety of state health programs, including workers' compensation and personal injury protection (PIP) programs. FAIR Health data serve as an official reference point in support of certain state balance billing laws that protect consumers against bills for surprise out-of-network and emergency services. FAIR Health also uses its database to power a free consumer website available in English and Spanish and an English/Spanish mobile app, which enable consumers to estimate and plan their healthcare expenditures and offer a rich educational platform on health insurance. The website has been honored by the White House Summit on Smart Disclosure, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), URAC, the eHealthcare Leadership Awards, appPicker, Employee Benefit News and Kiplinger's Personal Finance. FAIR Health also is named a top resource for patients in Elisabeth Rosenthal's book, An American Sickness: How Healthcare Became Big Business and How You Can Take It Back. For more information on FAIR Health, visit fairhealth.org. Contact:

Dean Sicoli

Executive Director of Communications and Public Relations

FAIR Health

646-664-1645

dsicoli@fairhealth.org View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-healthcare-planning-site-attracts-wide-range-of-new-yorkers-300594498.html SOURCE FAIR Health

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[February 07, 2018] Security Compass Selected as SC Media 2018 Excellence Award Finalist

TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Security Compass, providing organizations with the knowledge, training, and technology to make software secure, today announced that its SD Elements platform has been recognized as an Excellence Award finalist in the Best Emerging Technology category for the 2018 SC Awards. Finalists are recognized for outstanding leadership and providing superior security products to the cybersecurity industry. Winners will be announced at the SC Awards ceremony on April 17, 2018 in San Francisco.

In an age where threats are ever-evolving, it is reassuring to know that one true constant is the commitment of dedicated information security professionals, as best exemplified by our SC Media Awards finalists, said Illena Armstrong, VP, editorial, SC Media. These inspiring innovators have set a high bar for their industry peers, as they continue to protect the world from attacks and vulnerabilities that imperil our security, privacy, and digital infrastructure." Now in its 21st year, SC Awards is recognized as the industry gold standard of accomplishment for cybersecurity professionals, products and services. Winners in the Excellence category are determined by an expert panel of judges with extensive knowledge and experience in the cybersecurity industry. The Excellence Award honors the professionals, products and services that have proven to be the best in the industry for protecting todays corporate world from an array of risks and threats. "Agile development teams embrace DevOps to bring products to market faster  often skipping important security and compliance measures" said Rohit Sethi, COO of Security Compass. "SD Elements makes it easy for organizations to address the newest information security needs facing agile organizations. As the world's first and leading Application Security Requirements and Threat Management (ASRTM) platform, SD Elements arms developers with the tools to bake security and compliance into software in a way that won't disrupt DevOp processes or get in the way of delivery."



As a finalist, Security Compass demonstrated unique innovation in its approach to protecting companies from the onslaught of malicious attacks and other threats, added Armstrong of SC Media. Solutions from Security Compass represents some of the most effective security technology on the market today. The SC Awards gala honoring the winners attracts top professionals in the cybersecurity community and provides an invaluable opportunity for networking. To register for the 2018 SC Awards gala, please visit http://www.scmagazine.com/awards/.

About SC Media

SC Media is cybersecurity. For over 25 years, they have armed information security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought leaders, and independent product reviews in partnership with and for top-level information security executives and their technical teams. In addition to their comprehensive website, SC Media offers magazines, eBooks, and newsletters. They also host digital and live events such as SC Awards and RiskSec NY to provide cybersecurity professionals all the information needed to safeguard their organizations and contribute to their longevity and success. About Security Compass

Security Compass is a leader in helping businesses proactively make their software secure and reduce the risk of cyber security breaches. Offering advisory services, training, and SD Elements, the leading Application Security Requirements and Threat Modeling (ASRTM) platform, Security Compass enables development teams to rapidly and efficiently deliver software thats secure by default. Security Compass serves some of the world's largest businesses including seven of the 15 largest financial institutions and four of the 10 largest technology companies in North America. The privately held company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada with global offices in the United States and India. Follow Security Compass on Twitter @securitycompass or visit

https://www.securitycompass.com/ Media Contact:

April H. Burghardt

PR Consultant for Security Compass

april@gabdata.com

646-246-0484

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[February 07, 2018] Canada Invests Funding To Combat Child Sexual Exploitation on the Internet

OTTAWA, Feb. 7, 2018 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada is committed to protecting children from sexual exploitation of any kind. Over the past eight years, the number of child pornography incidents has increased in Canada, rising to 6,245 incidents in 2016, an increase of 41% over the previous year, as reported by Statistics Canada. Today the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, announced $4,123,000 of funding over five years, and $857,000 a year ongoing, to the Canadian Centre for Child Protection (C3P) to continue its vital work in protecting children from sexual exploitation on the Internet. This funding, provided under the Government of Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence, will allow C3P to continue its important activities to combat child sexual exploitation on the Internet, including: developing and maintaining Arachnid, an automated crawler that detects online child sexual abuse images and videos, and leads to removal at a speed exponentially faster than current methods;

identifying victims and improving support for survivors under C3P's victim support strategy; and,

continuing the operation of Cybertip.ca, Canada's tip-line for reporting the online sexual abuse and exploitation of children. C3P will also receive an additional $93,616 to establish a survivors' network, allowing victims to connect with one another and to create tailored support resources for survivors. C3P has been a key partner in Canada's fight against online child sexual exploitation. It has received over 305,000 reports of online child sexual exploitation from the public since its launch in 2002, with the number of reports growing significantly each year since then. It has provided the public with educational materials and has developed cutting edge technological tools, such as Arachnid



If you or someone you know is a victim of online child sexual exploitation, please contact your local police, report to Cybertip.ca or call 1-866-658-9022. Quotes

"The sexual exploitation of children is an intolerable crime and causes long-lasting harm on its victims. With our partners, like the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, the Government of Canada is committed to putting a stop to these terrible crimes and supporting their victims." - The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness "The terrible reality is that a child who is being sexually abused is also likely being recorded. The additional layer of this trauma can impact every aspect of life. Project Arachnid is fighting fire with fire, using technology to wage war on the years of misuse by offenders. We are very grateful for this important investment from Public Safety Canada which allows us to continue the critical work of helping survivors of this heinous crime and ending the cycle of abuse." - Lianna McDonald, Executive Director, Canadian Centre for Child Protection "By giving children a voice, by providing them with tools and resources, we will be building up both resiliency and safety in the community." - Steve Bell, Deputy Chief, Ottawa Police Service Quick Facts The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is a national charitable organization dedicated to the personal safety of all children. It offers programs, services and resources for Canadians to help protect children and reduce their risk of victimization.

Cybertip.ca currently processes over 7,500 reports per month.

The Canadian Centre for Child Protection is also a key partner under the Government of Canada's National Strategy for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation on the Internet , which was launched in 2004 to help keep children safe from online sexual exploitation.

, which was launched in 2004 to help keep children safe from online sexual exploitation. The RCMP's National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre (NCECC) works in close partnership with C3P and functions as the central point of contact for investigations related to online child sexual exploitation. The Centre provides a number of services to law enforcement agencies across Canada .

. Canada also works closely with international partners to combat online child exploitation by exchanging intelligence in the tracking of online predators and sharing best practices and lessons learned. Related Products Backgrounder: Funding for the Canadian Centre for Child Protection Associated Links Canadian Centre for Child Protection

Cybertip.ca

Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence

Police-reported crime statistics, 2016

National Child Exploitation Coordination Centre SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada

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[February 07, 2018] Collaboration Needed For Canada To Build On Global Wireless Leadership: Ghiz

OTTAWA, Feb. 7, 2018 /CNW/ - Revolutionary new 5G wireless networks will be coming to Canada, and Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA) President & CEO Robert Ghiz called today on wireless stakeholders in Canada to work collaboratively to make the arrival and deployment of these new networks a success. Mr. Ghiz made the remarks this morning while opening the 5G Canada Conference, an event where guests and members of the CWTA's 5G Canada Council will share their diverse perspectives on revolutionary, next-generation 5G wireless networks. "Canadians today enjoy wireless services on networks that are among the fastest and most advanced in the world. Our facilities-based carriers have invested more than $44 billion to deploy the second-largest number of 4G/LTE networks in the world, and offer users, on average, a download speed that is the second-fastest in the world," said Mr. Ghiz, who also noted that LTE networks are deployed in every province and territory in Canada, providing fast 4G/LTE coverage to 97% of Canadians. "5G networks have incredible potential to improve the lives of Canadians no matter where they work and live. If we want Canadians to truly benefit from all 5G has to offer, we need to collaborate, and we need to start now." Mr. Ghiz highlighted the types of services 5G wireles networks will enable, ranging from autonomous vehicles to significant improvements to agriculture to innovative applications in education and health care, and will offer new opportunities for Canadians in both urban and rural areas. He also noted, however, that 5G networks are very different from the current advanced networks deployed across Canada. The new standards and engineering involved in 5G will require new approaches for deployment and installation, always unique challenges in Canada. The same stakeholders who worked together to create the current world-leading networks in Canada will need to do so again to make 5G's arrival a success for Canadians.



"5G isn't 'just another upgrade'. It is something entirely new. The implications of 5G networks are significant and far reaching for all of us as Canadians," said Mr. Ghiz. "Canadian consumers will want these capabilities. The Canadian economy will need these capabilities. It will play a critical role in positioning Canada for the future. It will be up to governments of all levels, to industry, to our facilities-based carriers  all of us will need to work together to deliver this future." For more information on the CWTA's 5G Canada Conference and the 5G Canada Council, please visit https://www.cwta.ca/5gcc/.

About CWTA

CWTA is the authority on wireless issues, developments and trends in Canada. It represents companies that provide services and products across the wireless sector. Representing the industry before all levels of government and various regulatory agencies, CWTA actively promotes the industry with the goal of ensuring continued growth of the wireless sector in Canada. CWTA administers a number of initiatives on behalf of its members, including corporate social responsibility programs and the national common short codes program. About the 5G Canada Council

The 5G Canada Council is administered by the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA). This multi-stakeholder Council was founded to serve as a forum to encourage a supportive and dynamic 5G ecosystem in Canada, including the efficient rollout of related technologies. Through research and cross-sector collaboration, the 5G Canada Council will work to identify the common challenges, benefits, and priorities related to the introduction, development and impact of 5G technologies across numerous industries and varied stakeholders. SOURCE Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association

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[February 07, 2018] SmartPicture Technologies Releases Software Development Kit for its Augmented Reality Dimensioning App, PLNAR

SmartPicture Technologies, a dimensioning intelligence platform powering the best 3-D modeling experiences, announced today it has released a software development kit (SDK) for its augmented reality dimensioning app, PLNAR. Since its launch alongside iOS11 and ARKit in September 2017, PLNAR has been downloaded more than 200,000 times, and users have created a total of 40,000 projects. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005674/en/ The SDK serves as customers' primary entry point to using PLNAR's AR measurement capabilities and cloud integration features in their own apps or cloud platforms. Its release comes after the launch of a suite of PLNAR membership options for professionals, primarily in the home renovation, interior design and insurance industries. "After listening to feedback from our professional users, we saw an opportunity to provide existing enterprises with a quick, easy way to implement AR dimensioning technology into their business models without requiring additional, extensive and costly iS development," said Andy Greff, CEO of SmartPicture Technologies and creator of the PLNAR app. "PLNAR helps companies close more opportunities by empowering their customers to measure spaces themselves."



The all-in-one SDK-built for home improvement retailers, furniture providers, interior designers, online home product companies and others that require dimensioning capability-integrates seamlessly into existing business applications and empowers business partners to: Condense development time from months or years to weeks;

Create their own branded solutions with a fully realized, customizable user interface to be "virtually there" for their customers;

Streamline user friction during the data capture process;

Measure objects, rooms, walls, windows, doors, islands and floors in 2-D and 3-D;

Easily plug into any sales process to assist customers as they are browsing products and determining space;

Self-configure the app, which was designed for AR with non-technical end users in mind;

Connect to PLNAR algorithms and APIs in the cloud. "The PLNAR SDK will allow us to quickly implement AR technology into our existing Genpact (News - Alert) Inspection Assistant product and stay at the forefront of emerging digital technology while continuing to redefine the insurance claims experience," said Tim Schneider, business leader, Genpact. "By digitizing the dimensioning experience, we have created new efficiencies in how end users utilize our product and as a result, we've optimized the time that our inspectors spend onsite."

For additional information and pricing, please visit pro.plnar.co. About Smart Picture Technologies SmartPicture Technologies is a venture-backed startup based in Austin, Texas. SmartPicture takes the traditional truck-and-tape measure estimation and claims process and replaces it with an augmented reality-powered SaaS (News - Alert) dimensioning solution. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005674/en/

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[February 07, 2018] Two Pharmaceutical Industry Veterans Join the Eagle Leadership Team

Eagle, an FDA-registered and ISO-certified analytical laboratory, has expanded its leadership team with the addition of Chief Technical Officer David Hussong, PhD, and Vice President of Quality Assurance/Regulatory Affairs Mary "Mick" Moriva. Based in Houston, Eagle provides science-based solutions to 503A compounding pharmacies, 503B outsourcing facilities and pharmaceutical manufacturers worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005270/en/ David Hussong, PhD, Eagle Chief Technical Officer (Photo: Business Wire) As Chief Technical Officer, Dr. Hussong will assist in scientific and regulatory matters for analytical testing of products, as well as provide technical and cGMP consulting services. As Vice President of Qualiy Assurance/Regulatory Affairs, Moriva will oversee and provide strategic direction to the quality unit, ensuring that Eagle exceeds customers' requirements. Additionally she will be a valuable member of the cGMP and pharmacy audit consulting team.



"Adding David and Mick to the Eagle team solidifies our commitment to provide customers with both expert consulting services for audits and inspections and quality testing services to ensure compliance," said Eagle President Ross Caputo, PhD. "The variety and level of services Eagle offers is very rare. Their world-class expertise provides immense value to our customers today and positions us for continued growth in the long term." Dr. Hussong joins Eagle with more than 40 years of experience, including 30 years with the FDA as a regulatory scientist. Most recently, he was a consultant to the pharmaceutical industry. His research has been focused on studies of microbial recovery and detection methods. Dr. Hussong is also the current chair of the USP Microbiology Expert Committee.

Moriva brings extensive experience to the Eagle team. During her 20+ years in the pharmaceutical/medical device/biotech industries, she led the development and implementation of corporate strategic quality goals, quality systems and worldwide compliance activities. She also has more than 19 years of consulting experience responding to the needs of customers in these industries, as well as the needs of compounding pharmacies and outsourcing facilities. About EAGLE Established in 2004, Eagle is an FDA-registered and ISO-certified laboratory that provides science-based solutions to the pharmaceutical industry, 503A compounding pharmacies, and 503B outsourcing facilities worldwide. Eagle's services include: analytical and microbiological testing of products to help ensure compliance; providing expert consulting services to prepare for audits and inspections; and working with researchers on clinical trials and investigational new drugs (INDs). State-of-the-art equipment, combined with the experience and knowledge of its team, makes Eagle the choice for analytical and microbiological testing for sterility, bacterial endotoxins, beyond-use-date determination, potency, container-closure integrity, anti-microbial effectiveness and more. For more information, visit eagleanalytical.com View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005270/en/

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[February 07, 2018] Transportation in Alexandria: UhaulCarShare is Newest Green Solution

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- U-Haul is pleased to announce that U-Haul Moving & Storage of Alexandria at 6910 Richmond Hwy. is bringing North America's most advanced car-sharing service to the residential hub south of Washington, D.C. The arrival of UhaulCarShare provides Alexandria residents with a sustainable transportation option. In one cost-effective package, UhaulCarShare gives members the freedom to use a car without the financial burden of owning a car. With guaranteed lowest pricing, the Ford C-Max can be reserved for $4.95 per hour (plus mileage) or $68 per day. For those who need to drive longer distances, UhaulCarShare offers a capped rate which includes 180 free miles. The community-shared vehicle is available 24/7. To reserve the vehicle, make a reservation at uhaulcarshare.com. Fifteen minutes prior to your reservation, upload a photo of your driver's license and a selfie for U-Haul live verify agents to approve. When it's time to pick up the car, simply enter the key code to the lock box and go. "There are a ton of residences and apartments in this neighborhood, and we want to offer these folks a new option for transportation," said Amanda Kirsch, U-Haul Company of Metro DC president. "Many of our neighbors rely on public transportation and I know firsthand the Metro (rail and bus system) doesn't go everywhere. UhaulCarShare will give eople some freedom."



Contact U-Haul Moving & Storage of Alexandria at (703) 360-1250 or reserve the Ford C-Max at any time. Hours of operation at the showroom are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday. Reserve equipment at uhaul.com or contact Reservations at 1-800-GO-UHAUL. An eco-friendly form of transportation, every UhaulCarShare vehicle serves to replace up to 20 personally-owned vehicles, reducing congestion and improving air quality. UhaulCarShare is growing with more than 40 locations and 86 vehicles currently serving U.S. communities.

"UhaulCarShare is a one-stop shop that includes insurance, gas, maintenance, a reserved parking spot and 24/7 roadside assistance. It's all offered within the rate structure," said Carly Castillo, UhaulCarShare program manager. "Something that makes us different from other car sharing companies is the instant access provided with our live verification. You do not have to wait to receive a key card in the mail and our agents are available to approve drivers 24/7." U-Haul Moving & Storage of Alexandria offers moving supplies in addition to UhaulCarShare. Future plans call for truck and trailer sharing, towing equipment, professional hitch installation, climate-controlled self-storage, U-Box portable moving and storage containers, and more. The acquisition of the 87,917-square-foot facility was driven by U-Haul Company's Corporate Sustainability initiatives: U-Haul supports infill developments to help local communities lower their carbon footprint. Our adaptive reuse of existing buildings reduces the amount of energy and resources required for new-building materials and helps cities reduce their unwanted inventory of unused buildings. About U-Haul

Since 1945, U-Haul has been the No. 1 choice of do-it-yourself movers, with a network of more than 21,000 locations across all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces. U-Haul Truck Share 24/7 now offers customers access to U-Haul trucks every hour of every day through the self-service options on their internet-connected mobile devices. U-Haul customers' patronage has enabled the U-Haul fleet to grow to more than 150,000 trucks, 112,000 trailers and 40,000 towing devices. U-Haul offers more than 581,000 rooms and more than 51 million square feet of self-storage space at owned and managed facilities throughout North America. U-Haul is the largest installer of permanent trailer hitches in the automotive aftermarket industry and is the largest retailer of propane in the U.S. Contact: Andrea Batchelor

Jeff Lockridge

E-mail: publicrelations@uhaul.com

Phone: 602-263-6981

Website: uhaul.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/transportation-in-alexandria-uhaulcarshare-is-newest-green-solution-300595123.html SOURCE U-Haul

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Smart Partners With Google DBM on Programmatic Guaranteed

Buyers can book deals on premium sites with guaranteed delivery and a fixed price

NEW YORK  February 6, 2018  Advertisers can now more easily get the quality, delivery and price guarantees they seek, with Smarts new Programmatic Guaranteed integration with Google DoubleClick Bid Manager. Smart is the first independent publisher full-stack platform to announce this Programmatic Guaranteed offering alongside the company.



Programmatic Guaranteed enables buyers to book deals with Smarts premium publishers, between Smart RTB+ and their DSP, with guaranteed delivery and a fixed price. Smarts initial Programmatic Guaranteed partner is Google DBM (for which Smart is one of its first partners). Smart is able to offer programmatic guaranteed for web, video, mobile, and in-app environments because ad serving and forecasting are core capabilities that set Smart apart from other supply-side platforms.



Were excited to enable new ways to use the power of real-time, data-driven decisions combined with access to reserved publisher inventory. Programmatic Guaranteed simplifies the buying process in one platform and creates new opportunities for advertisers and publishers to connect and we look forward to working with partners of all types to bring this to the market, said Paul Cocks, EMEA Head of Product for Inventory & Programmatic Direct at Google.

Buyers can now execute transactions for high-impact formats, including Roadblocks and rich media. Smart made this move as part of a broad, ongoing push to give more control and transparency to buyers and sellers. As MediaPost reported last month, Smart was the first SSP to block all unauthorized ads.txt domains.



Buyers need to understand where their advertising dollars are going, so the shift to direct relationships is instrumental, said Smart Chief Programmatic Officer David Pironon. Smart provides a clear path for buyers and sellers to transact directly -- without the time-consuming workflow of traditional insertions. The industry is moving away from standard IO buys to programmatic, including guaranteed volume deals.



Our full-stack platforms powerful forecasting engine takes all parameters and demand sources into account so our publishers can readily provide buyers with 100% of volume delivery, while maximizing yield with non-guaranteed campaigns, added Pironon.



About Smar t ( www.smartadserver.com )

Smart is a fully transparent ad monetization platform providing programmatic buyers with exclusive access to high quality premium publisher inventory across all channels, screens and formats. We work directly with more than 1,000 publishers worldwide including TracFone, Le Monde, Ozy.com and Wine Enthusiast to deliver display, video, native, and rich-media ads. Smart offers unique solutions to optimize the path between buyers and sellers to guarantee the best opportunities to target audiences at scale.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Middle 8 Media: Hank Kim  917-647-0500  hank@m8media.net



Smart: Nessa Payet  +33 (0)1 86 26 45 68  pr@smartadserver.com


[February 07, 2018] Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP Reminds Investors of February 26 Deadline in Securities Class Action Against Kobe Steel, Ltd. (KBSTY)

Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP ("Scott+Scott"), a national securities and consumer rights litigation firm, reminds investors that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Kobe Steel, Ltd (KBSTY) ("Kobe Steel" or the "Company") and certain of its officers, related to alleged violations of federal securities laws. If you purchased Kobe Steel American Depository Receipts ("ADRs") between May 29, 2013 and October 12, 2017, you are encouraged to contact a Scott+Scott attorney at (844) 818-6982 for additional information. Kobe Steel is one of Japan's largest steel manufacturers and a major supplier of aluminum and copper products. The Company's other business segments include wholesale power supply machinery, construction machinery, real estate and electronic materials. The complaint alleges tat Kobe Steel misrepresented the quality of its products and the integrity of its operations, product safety, and compliance issues. Defendants' statements were materially false or misleading because the Company intentionally falsified data on many of its aluminum, copper, iron, and steel products, and knowingly sold products that failed quality control tests.



Specifically, between October 8, 2017 and October 13, 2017, Kobe Steel admitted to falsifying inspection certificates on core products in its aluminum and copper and iron and steel segments and not complying with customer standards. As a result, the price of Kobe Steel ADRs declined significantly, from $5.92 on October 6, 2017 to $3.55 on October 13, 2017 - a total decline of 40%.

Subsequent news reports and the Company's own internal investigation revealed that Kobe Steel's lack of quality controls and data tampering was a result of, among other things, wholly inadequate and ineffective corporate governance and compliance initiatives. What You Can Do If you purchased Kobe Steel ADRs between May 29, 2013 and October 12, 2017, inclusive, or if you have questions about this notice or your legal rights, please contact attorney Joe Pettigrew at (844) 818-6982, or at jpettigrew@scott-scott.com. Investors have until February 26, 2018, to move for lead plaintiff. About Scott+Scott, Attorneys at Law, LLP Scott+Scott has significant experience in prosecuting major securities, antitrust, and employee retirement plan actions throughout the United States. The firm represents pension funds, foundations, individuals, and other entities worldwide with offices in New York, London, Connecticut, California, and Ohio. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005190/en/

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[February 07, 2018] Surgical Notes Launches Newly Designed Mobile Transcription Application to Improve Completion of Physician Operative Notes

DALLAS, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Surgical Notes, a nationwide provider of revenue cycle solutions, including, transcription, coding, revenue cycle management, and document management for the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) and surgical hospital markets, announces the launch of a newly updated mobile transcription application. The app provides many enhancements to clients contracting with Surgical Notes for SNChart transcription. SNChart, Surgical Notes' proprietary technology, is a user-friendly, web-based transcription management tool that automates much of a surgery center's manual, day-to-day transcription operations. Users can receive, review, edit, sign, and archive operative reports in one platform that provides complete data integrity from start to finish by offering full integration with practice management systems. The new SNChart mobile transcription app, designed for physicians and customer beta tested, is now available for download in the App Store (iOS) and Play Store (Android). It minimizes administrative tasks associated with documentation, speeds up the review, edit, and authentication process, and allows providers to dictate anytime, anywhere using their Android or Apple mobile devices. The SNChart mobile transcription app is already in use by physicians in surgery centers and offics nationwide. There is no additional cost to Surgical Notes clients for the app.



New features of the mobile transcription app include: Biometric Login offering enhanced security and access.

offering enhanced security and access. Expanded Device Support to include Android and iOS platforms.

to include Android and iOS platforms. Modern Design that is user friendly and simplifies navigation.

that is user friendly and simplifies navigation. Color-Coded Status Indicators to highlight important action items.

to highlight important action items. eSignature Support to speed the transcription process in a compliant manner.

to speed the transcription process in a compliant manner. Multi-Tasking Support to allow use of multiple apps and receive incoming calls simultaneously.

to allow use of multiple apps and receive incoming calls simultaneously. Advanced Search to assist with locating critical information quickly. The SNChart mobile transcription app is fully HIPAA compliant, and the Surgical Notes development team followed widely accepted industry best practices to include many security controls. Surgical Notes has tested the app extensively with the industry-leading application security testing platform Veracode. All electronic protected health information is encrypted, and many other security controls are built into the app, such as inactivity timeouts, unique logins, and logging.

"Surgical Notes was one of the first companies to launch a mobile transcription app and has once again brought further innovation to the medical transcription industry with a completely re-tooled application," said Randy Bishop, chief operating officer for Surgical Notes. "Our mobile transcription app includes the most innovative, user-friendly features available in the marketplace. We designed the new app following the latest security protocols so our clients can be assured that their information is completely secure." "This app was developed with a group of physicians. They helped us enhance the user experience and make dictation and completion of operative reports even more convenient, quick, and easy, which reduces the time for claims submission," said Mr. Bishop. "The app ultimately shortens a facility's revenue cycle and decreases days in accounts receivable. At Surgical Notes, we strive to deliver the best transcription service in the industry. Developing new resources such as the enhanced mobile transcription app is part of ongoing efforts to improve our operations and bring greater cost savings and efficiency to our clients." About Surgical Notes, Inc.

Surgical Notes is a healthcare IT solutions company dedicated to developing cutting-edge, innovative products and services for the ambulatory surgery center industry. The largest management companies and over 20,000 healthcare providers trust Surgical Notes' leading revenue cycle management solutions and services to enhance the financial strength and performance of their ASCs. To find out more about Surgical Notes and their ASC revenue cycle solutions, visit their website at www.surgicalnotes.com. View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/surgical-notes-launches-newly-designed-mobile-transcription-application-to-improve-completion-of-physician-operative-notes-300594424.html SOURCE Surgical Notes

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[February 07, 2018] Oral Health Score Provides Easy Self-Assessment for Oral Health

SEATTLE, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Designed by Evidentiae Technologies, LLC, the Oral Health Score is an online, oral health self-assessment that will provide you with an immediate estimate of your oral health. The assessment will provide you with a series of images displaying how "yes" and "no" answers may appear in your mouth and assisting you in accurate assessment. Based off principles of the Kois Center, one the world's most renowned Dental Continuing Education programs, the Oral Health Score is equipped with an algorithm that will analyze your responses and provide you with risk estimates for your gum health, your teeth health, your bite and jaw joint health and your smile attractiveness. Once you complete the Oral Health Score self-assessment, you will be able to locate a qualified dentist near you that can interpret your results. This entire process, from registration to scheduling an appointment can be completed in less than 7 minutes.

The Oral Health Score provides you with access to the most qualified dentists to interpret your Oral Health Score results and provide any necessary treatment. All listed dentists practice using a unique set of techniques and protocols that are based in science and are proven to be effective for maintaining and acieving optimal oral health. These principles are integrated into Evidentiae Technologies' practice management software, and dentists using the software are equipped with the resources required to see patients regarding an Oral Health Score. These principles are also taught at the Kois Center, in Seattle, Washington, and any Kois trained dentist is qualified to interpret an Oral Health Score.





More about Evidentiae Technologies, LLC

Evidentiae Technologies, LLC provides dentists with a practice management software that streamlines and standardizes office workflow, from the time a patient schedules an appointment to the time they walk out the door. Built off Kois Center principles, the software is automated with a lifetime of clinical knowledge and equips dentists with resources to elevate their ability and awareness. In addition to the profound clinical advantages the software affords dentists, the software contains complete practice management capabilities and presents with a robust system capable of comprehensive and standardized clinical evaluation and treatment planning, management of imaging needs, risk centered scheduling, billing and electronic insurance claims, patient reminders and education and advanced analytics. From the assignment of patient risk to the generation of case presentations and inventory tracking, the software boasts automated processes that lessen the practice's workload, increase efficiency and provide an unparalleled user experience.

Contact:

Johnny Kois

Evidentiae Technologies, LLC

1001 Fairview Avenue North, Suite 2275, Seattle, Wa 98109

1 (206) 535-1564 x 7001

190059@email4pr.com

www.evidentiaetechnologies.com

www.myoralhealthscore.com View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/oral-health-score-provides-easy-self-assessment-for-oral-health-300595169.html SOURCE Evidentiae Technologies

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[February 07, 2018] HashiCorp Releases Terraform Enterprise Module Registry, a Service Catalog to Enable Self-Serve Infrastructure Across Multiple Clouds

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HashiCorp, a leader in cloud infrastructure automation, today released the HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise Module Registry, a service catalog that provides a self-service workflow to provision any infrastructure. This service catalog allows IT operators to codify, collaborate, and publish modular templates for provisioning cloud infrastructure that can be used by developers or other operators across large organizations. Organizations using the Terraform Enterprise Module Registry can have IT operators serve as experienced producers, who create the infrastructure templates, or as consumers, who can easily provision infrastructure following best practices by using pre-built modules.

Barclays Hosting CTO Kieran Broadfoot said: We continually focus on building DevOps practices that will enhance the workflow for our infrastructure and developer teams. HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise enables our team of infrastructure operators to codify, collaborate, and automate infrastructure provisioning for our cloud-based and private infrastructure. The HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise Module Registry enables our centralized team of infrastructure experts to codify, version, and publish approved modules that can be easily reused by other parts of the organization. Terraform is broadly used among the Global 2000 to address the challenge of infrastructure provisioning as organizations adopt cloud and deal with heterogeneity and scale. Terraform Enterprise focuses on addressing challenges to scale provisioning practices across an organization while still maintaining the necessary guardrails for compliance, security, and operational excellence. At HashiConf 2017, HashiCorp introduced the Terraform Module Registry, an open service catalog for users to publish and use community modules. Since its release, the Terraform Module Registry has gained significant traction with the open source community and partners. Nearly 80 different providers have modules available and some of those modules have been downloaded tens of thousands of times. The introduction of the producer and consumer model for infrastructure has made infrastructure provisioning more accessible, and the Terraform Enterprise Module Registry will enable that same model for enterprise organizations globally. We see more and more organizations moving workloads to run on cloud infrastructure. Operators must figure out how to provision cloud infrastructure while also efficiently deivering self-service infrastructure for developers, said Armon Dadgar, founder and co-CTO of HashiCorp. Terraform Enterprise enables a team of operators to collaborate on infrastructure. The combination of Terraforms key capabilities -- Workspace management, GUI-based collaboration workflows, and the new Terraform Enterprise Module Registry -- enable teams to codify, validate, provision, and publish modular infrastructure for any cloud.



We see organizations challenged where a small team of IT operators are tasked with providing infrastructure to an ever larger team of developers and operators. At the same time, they need to meet the requirements of supporting hybrid cloud environments, spanning both private cloud and multiple cloud service providers, said Dan Conde, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. Addressing infrastructure heterogeneity and scale is the key to doing this successfully. An operator can write 10 modules for commonly used infrastructure and essentially unblock hundreds of developers. This becomes even more valuable when dealing with multi-cloud architectures -- build those 10 infrastructure modules for each cloud and now developers can also choose to use the right cloud provider that supports the application framework, performance, security, or elasticity needs. The Terraform Enterprise Module Registry enables customers to:

Codify modules with version-control system integration: This enables operators to directly publish modules from the repositories in their Version Control Systems (VCS), including BitBucket Server, GitHub, and GitHub Enterprise.

This enables operators to directly publish modules from the repositories in their Version Control Systems (VCS), including BitBucket Server, GitHub, and GitHub Enterprise. Publish modules to the organizations registry: This allows a team of operators to individually codify modules, tag them to identify relevant attributes, version, and publish in a centralized location.

This allows a team of operators to individually codify modules, tag them to identify relevant attributes, version, and publish in a centralized location. Discover modules using GUI-based catalog of services: The modern and responsive GUI provides search capability for infrastructure other operators and developers to easily find published modules this can be for a specific infrastructure provider, type, etc.

The modern and responsive GUI provides search capability for infrastructure other operators and developers to easily find published modules this can be for a specific infrastructure provider, type, etc. Combine modules using graphical configuration designer: Developers can use the graphical configuration designer to combine and connect modules together to build custom Terraform configurations without having to understand the intricacies of the code. Additional Resources Blog: Announcing HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise Module Registry

HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise GA Announcement Press Release

HashiCorp 4 Phases of Collaborating on Infrastructure as Code with Terraform Webinar Recording with Demo

Enabling Repeatable Deployments with HashiCorp Terraform on Azure Webinar

HashiCorp Terraform Website Availability

HashiCorp Terraform Enterprise with the Terraform Enterprise Module Registry is generally available today. Terraform Enterprise is available as a SaaS or private install option. Terraform addresses three core use cases for organizations adopting cloud: infrastructure as code to automate provisioning, multi-cloud management, and self-service infrastructure from operators for developers to consistently provision infrastructure. Terraform Enterprise enables infrastructure provisioning at scale for organizations while still maintaining necessary constraints relevant to the business. About HashiCorp

HashiCorp is a cloud infrastructure automation company that enables organizations to adopt consistent workflows to provision, secure, connect, and run any infrastructure for any application. HashiCorp open source tools Vagrant, Packer, Terraform, Vault, Consul, and Nomad are downloaded thousands of times per day and are broadly adopted by the Global 2000. Enterprise versions of these products enhance the open source tools with features that promote collaboration, operations, governance, and multi-data center functionality. The company is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by Mayfield, GGV Capital, Redpoint, and True Ventures. For more information, visit https://www.hashicorp.com or follow HashiCorp on Twitter @HashiCorp. Media and Analyst Contact:?

Amber Rowland?

amber@therowlandagency.com?

+1-650-814-4560

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[February 07, 2018] Entisys360 Becomes First U.S. Solution Provider to Achieve Citrix Certified Delivery Partner Status

Entisys360, an award-winning IT consultancy specializing in the deployment and delivery of advanced IT infrastructure, virtualization and cloud first solutions, today announced it has achieved status as a Citrix (News - Alert)  Certified Services Delivery Partner (SDP). Entisys360 is the first Citrix solution provider partner in the U.S. to earn this distinction. "We've enjoyed a strong alliance with Citrix for more than two decades and we are excited to take this relationship to the next level by being the first in the U.S. to achieve Citrix Certified Delivery Partner status," said Mike Strohl, CEO, Entisys360. "I would like to both congratulate and thank our professional services team for the successful completion of Citrix's rigorous eLearning program and specialized Citrix Services Delivery exam, which has made this designation possible. Our professional services team is among the best in the business, and we are tremendously proud of their many accomplishments and their dedication to deepening our alliance with Citrix." Entisys360 leverages Citrix solutions, deploying Citrix's server, application and desktop virtualization, networking, software-as-a-service and cloud computing technologies as part of a broad portfolio of advanced IT infrastructure solutions architected for end-user clients. Some of the benefits that Entisys360 will receive as a Citrix Certified Delivery Partner include: Access to Citrix's Virtual Bench. Entisys360 will now have the opportunity for its engineers, consultants and solutions architects to be white-labeled through Citrix Consulting Services.

Entisys360 will now have the opportunity for its engineers, consultants and solutions architects to be white-labeled through Citrix Consulting Services. Premier Placement in Partner Locator. Placement provides Entisys360 with the potential to increase net new customer acquisition.

Placement provides Entisys360 with the potential to increase net new customer acquisition. Certified Services Delivery Partner Badge. Entisys360 can now bid on RFPs and RFOs with the distinction of Citrix Certified SDP-an honor, few, if any other solution providers currently have. Entisys360 is a member of M7 Global Partners, a national network of the country's leading IT consltants dedicated to delivering datacenter and desktop solutions with an emphasis on virtual desktop solutions for mid-tier and enterprise customers and government agencies. M7 members also include AEC Group, Convergence Technology Consulting, Gotham Technology Group, Hogan Consulting Group, IntraSystems and IPM.



About Entisys360 Entisys360 is an award-winning IT consultancy specializing in the deployment and delivery of advanced IT infrastructure, virtualization and cloud first solutions. Through state-of-the-art methodologies and broad solutions and services offerings, Entisys360 expertly solves its clients' most pressing IT and business challenges.

With more than two decades of experience, Entisys360 has become a trusted advisor to some of the most prominent companies in California. Offering professional support services, managed services, consulting and engineering services, Entisys360 serves mid-tier and enterprises within the healthcare, financial services and legal services sectors, as well as educational institutions and government agencies. The corporate headquarters for Entisys360 are located in Concord, Calif., with its public sector division located in Sacramento, Calif. Entisys360 also has offices in Irvine, Calif. and Pasadena, Calif. For more information, visit www.entisys360.com or call 1-877-ENTISYS (877-368-4797). Social Media Outlets: Facebook (News - Alert) : www.facebook.com/entisys360

Twitter (News - Alert) : www.twitter.com/Entisys360

Google (News - Alert) +: https://plus.google.com/+Entisys/posts

LinkedIn (News - Alert) : https://www.linkedin.com/company/entisys Citrix is a registered trademark of Citrix. All other trademarks used herein are property of their respective of their owners. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005015/en/

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[February 07, 2018] Highfive raises $32M Series C led by leading global technology integrator to fuel growth of its modern video conferencing solution

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Highfive, the company delivering insanely easy video conferencing, today announced that it has raised $32 million in Series C funding, bringing its total funding to US $77.4 million.

The round was led by Dimension Data, the US $8 billion global technology integrator and managed services subsidiary of the NTT Group. Existing investors Lightspeed, General Catalyst, and Andreessen Horowitz also participated in the round. Highfive will use the funding to scale its sales and marketing teams and expand its business across the globe. Dimension Datas investment follows the completion of a strategic global distribution deal with Highfive, which expands its portfolio of collaboration solutions it already provides to its client base with partners including Cisco, Polycom, Avaya, and Microsoft. In addition to establishing a global distribution channel with Dimension Data, Highfive has also scaled up its worldwide data center footprint using the AWS Cloud to support its growing list of international customers with data centers in 18 geographic regions around the world. Joe Manuele, Group Executive Vice President of Customer Experience and Collaboration at Dimension Data, who has joined Highfive's board said, Dimension Datas footprint of collaboration clients across the globe gives us a unique view of the evolution of the market. We recognize a huge opportunity to grow the video conferencing addressable market by leveraging innovative cloud based solutions. Highfives all-in-one solution solves an important challenge towards video conferencing ubiquity. Were pleased to be an investor and were looking forward to delivering the solution to our clients as part of our distribution partnership, Manuele said. The new round of financing comes as Highfive grows its annual recurring revenue (ARR) by more than 100% and accelerates its product development. Highfives ongoing prodct updates are driving customer satisfaction and usage to all-time highs, with more than 140,000 meetings per month accounting for roughly 16 million minutes. The companys customer base, one of the fastest-growing in the industry, continues to expand with companies that include Paperless Post, The Hustle, Bankrate and The Atlantic, who join existing customers like Warby Parker, Harry's, Expensify, and the Girl Scouts of Northern California.



"People are tired of conferencing systems that require downloads, pin codes, or excess cables. Highfive is the only solution that eliminates those frustrations for people who just want to have a meeting, said Shan Sinha, Co-Founder and CEO of Highfive. Our growth reflects the continued need for video conferencing thats easy-to-use and deployable across every meeting room. With Dimension Datas 30 years of industry experience, we see the companys investment as validation for what weve built at Highfive, and our vision for how we can make companies work better together. Highfive has set the industry standard for video as a service with its integrated hardware and software solution. As the company continues to scale and grow its offerings, the focus remains on making video calls as easy as possible and meetings more productive. Most recently, Highfive gained traction with a commitment to WebRTC-powered technology and the launch of their Join by Browser service, which eliminates software downloads and allows customers to join meetings directly in their web browsers with just a single click and no compromises.

The company has continued its rapid growth by expanding the executive team with the recent addition of a new CFO and CRO and introducing a series of new features in addition to the Join by Browser capability, including call recording, Call Me, and new integrations with Microsoft applications. The new additions to the team, coupled with the new round of funding, will allow Highfive to move more quickly as the company extends its reach internationally, and the product improvements are geared towards making the overall video conferencing experience easier and more robust than ever. For more information on Highfive, visit www.highfive.com. About Highfive

Highfive makes meetings awesome with easy simple video conferencing built for your meeting rooms. With Highfive there are no cables, dongles, app downloads or remote controls. Instead, its a modern, all-in-one solution with sleek hardware and integrated cloud-based conferencing software at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems. Highfive is based in Redwood City, California, and backed by General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, and GV (Google Ventures). LaunchSquad for HighFive

highfive@launchsquad.com

415-625-8555

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[February 07, 2018] AHIP Releases Initial Benchmark to Measure and Improve Industry's Progress on Battling the Opioid Crisis

America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released the first nationwide benchmark data that measures the health care industry's progress in combatting the opioid crisis. This important baseline analysis shows the positive steps that clinicians and insurance providers have taken together - and identifies specific actions that can be taken to reduce addiction and abuse. Using the methodology established by AHIP's Safe, Transparent Opioid Prescribing (STOP) Initiative, this benchmark study shows how further collaboration across the industry will help to improve care for patients who experience pain, prevent opioid misuse, and reduce the risk of addiction. "We can't truly measure our progress until we know where we're starting," said Dr. Richard Bankowitz, Chief Medical Officer of AHIP. "These initial results will help ensure we're making a meaningful and measurable impact as we work hand-in-hand with hospitals, physicians, patients and their families to stop this epidemic." The overall STOP initiative, announced in October 2017, was developed with the AHIP Opioid Work Group - consisting of more than 40 insurance providers - to encourage widespread adoption of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.



The STOP Measure methodology assesses performance for six of the twelve CDC recommendations. Using the methodology, AHIP analyzed health insurance claims data from 2009-2013 to create the industry's initial baseline. The baseline will be used to measure the ongoing progress of the STOP initiative as insurance providers continue to collect and analyze their claims data. "At Cigna, we're committed to collaboration with our physician partners to safeguard against potentially inappropriate prescribing of opioids that could lead to addiction, while continuing to provide our customers with access to the right care at the right time," said Dr. Dick Salmon, national medical officer, Cigna. "AHIP's STOP Measure methodology and initiative gives health plans a roadmap toward accomplishing these important goals in our local communities."

While the vast majority of opioid prescriptions for chronic pain were for immediate-release opioids, which is consistent with CDC recommendations, there are several critical measures that can be improved: Approximately one quarter of opioid prescriptions are above the CDC-recommended morphine milligram equivalent (MME) dosage.

Only about 1 percent of patients underwent a urine drug test before being prescribed an opioid.

Nearly half of chronic pain patients also received benzodiazepine prescriptions during their opioid treatment. According to CDC guidelines, this can be unsafe for patients and should be avoided as much as possible. The STOP Measure methodology has been shared with insurance providers nationwide, who may apply it to measure their own opioid prevention and management efforts. In the coming months, results from their assessments will be gathered and the AHIP Opioid Work Group will establish and share key learnings for tackling the opioid crisis. A description of the methodology and baseline results can be found here. For more information about insurance provider strategies to address the opioid crisis, please visit AHIP's STOP Playbook here. About AHIP America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is the national association whose members provide coverage for health care and related services to millions of Americans every day. Through these offerings, we improve and protect the health and financial security of consumers, families, businesses, communities and the nation. We are committed to market-based solutions and public-private partnerships that improve affordability, value, access and well-being for consumers. Visit www.ahip.org Learn more about health insurance and how it works at myhealthplan.guide. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005851/en/

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Zendesk to Present at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference

Zendesk, Inc. (NYSE: ZEN) today announced that Mikkel Svane, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chair of the Board of Directors, Elena Gomez, Chief Financial Officer, and Marc Cabi, Vice President of Strategy and Head of Investor Relations, will present at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California.

Zendesk's presentation is scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 3:20 p.m., Pacific Time. A live webcast will be accessible by visiting Zendesk's investor website at investor.zendesk.com. An archived version will be avaiable for six months.







About Zendesk:

Zendesk builds software for better customer relationships. It empowers organizations to improve customer engagement and better understand their customers. Approximately 119,000 paid customer accounts in over 160 countries and territories use Zendesk products. Based in San Francisco, Zendesk has operations in the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia, and South America. Learn more at www.zendesk.com.

Source (News - Alert) : Zendesk, Inc.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207005489/en/
[February 07, 2018] Analytics Innovator and Former Apple Development Leader Joins Incorta Executive Team

SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Incorta, the enterprise analytics platform that bypasses data modeling to deliver real-time insights straight from operational data, today announced former Apple and Hewlett Packard product development leader Mohamed Dekhil, Ph.D., has joined the company as vice president of engineering.

With more than 27 years of experience and many industry credits to his name, Dekhil is a recognized innovator in the data analytics space. He has received 14 patents in the areas of data analytics, information management, personalization, application and service management, and performance analysis of real-time systems, and has been published in more than 60 journals and publications. At Incorta, Dekhil is responsible for all product development and engineering efforts, and will help guide the companys overall strategic direction. Prior to Incorta, Dekhil worked at Apple, where he led a global team of more than 250 internal software developers and system analysts who built state-of-the-art enterprise services and applications for Apples internal human resources, compensation, scheduling, and communications functions. Before Apple, Dekhil held several leadership roles at Hewlett Packard, including that of chief technologist for strategic innovations at HP Labs. As chief technologist, he helped ideate and bring to market new solutions for multi-channel information capture and management, personalized information delivery, social media analytics, and opinion mining. Im very pleased to welcome Mohamed to Incorta, said Osama Elkady, chief executive officer (CEO) of Incorta. As an inventor and veteran engineer, hes everything we could hope for in our new engineering leader. Hes intellectual and disciplined, yet he cultivates an openness, curiosity, an passion for all-things-data that keep him at the leading edge of the field. Im confident Mohameds zest forand first-hand experience developingdata analytics, mobile applications, and cloud platforms will greatly benefit Incorta and our customers as we move through our next phase of growth.



By eliminating the need for costly join operations, Incortas unique Direct Data MappingTM engine enables true insight freedom via ad-hoc, self-service analytics that aggregates large, complex business data in real time. Innovative, fast-growth companiesincluding one of the three largest consumer electronics companies, one of the largest global social media companies, a top 10 private university, Broadcom, and Toastrely on Direct Data Mapping to gain secure, sub-second access to meaningful business insight. As someone open to and appreciative of new ways for solving seemingly insurmountable technology problems, Incortas approach definitely appealed to and impressed me, said Dekhil. The destructive lag in business insights caused by inaccessible, siloed data is a big issue thats plagued the industry for years. Ive never seen any company attempt to solve this problem in the way that Incorta does, but it works, and the analytics speeds it delivers are faster than anything Ive ever seen. I believe what Incorta offers todaywhile amazingis just the beginning of what can be done to simplify and evolve the data analysis process. Im excited to join the revolution.

Dekhil earned a doctorate and a Master of Science in computer science from the University of Utah, and a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Alexandria University. Dekhil to Present at Upcoming Gartner Conference

Dekhil will co-present a session entitled Bypassing Data Modeling to Deliver Complex Operational Reports in Only Seconds on Monday, Mar. 5 at 6:30p.m. at the upcoming Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2018, to be held Mar. 5-8, 2018 in Grapevine, Texas. About Incorta

Incortas enterprise analytics platform aggregates complex business data in real-time, augmentingor bypassingthe need for a traditional data warehouse. Powered by the industrys first Direct Data MappingTM engine, Incorta provides unprecedented query performance and eliminates costly join operations altogether. Incortas powerful software engine allows companies to go from transactional data directly to business analytics at speeds unheard of in the current analytics environment. Incorta reduces from months to days the time required to roll out new analytics applications, and reduces query and reporting times from hours to seconds. Backed by GV (formerly Google Ventures) and Kleiner Perkins, Incorta is deployed in the Fortune 10, and powers analytics for some of the worlds largest and fastest-growing companies. To learn the fastest way to what matters, visit www.incorta.com or join the conversation on Twitter @incorta. Media Contact

Emily Lewis

emily.lewis@incorta.com

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[February 07, 2018] Bell Techlogix Launches New Relationship with Indianapolis Public Schools

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Bell Techlogix, a leading IT managed services and solutions company, today announced a new partnership with Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS). IPS is the largest public-school district in Indiana, diverse in both population and choice, IPS is an agile, innovative educational organization committed to academic excellence built through individualized, relationship-based learning. When IPS was looking for a service provider for service desk, knowledge management, IT asset tracking as well as a new ITSM platform they required a partner that had flexible solutions and a reputation for delivering high quality service. Through the RFP process IPS discovered Bell Techlogix is not only a partner that had the ability to provide them with the offerings they desired, but also a local partner with the same commitment to the Indianapolis community. "We are so pleased to have found a partner with mature ITIL practices and the flexibility we require to support the needs of our schools. With support provided by Bell Techlogix, technology issues and requests are addressed quickly so teachers and staff can get back to working with the kids," said Laura Larimer, the IT Officer at IPS. "And to make it all the better... Bell Tech is right here in Central Indina!"



After IPS awarded Bell Techlogix the contract, work began immediately. Bell Techlogix now provides a single point of contact with an extended hours domestic service desk utilizing the Bell Techlogix ServiceNow platform for all of the school district's IT needs. Bell Techlogix worked hand in hand with IPS on the transition which began what we believe will be a long term successful partnership. "We are delighted to announce our new relationship with IPS," said Ron Frankenfield, CEO, Bell Techlogix. "We look forward to delivering exceptional end-user experiences for the IPS team so they can focus on their very important mission of preparing and empowering all students for life." About IPS:

The largest public-school district in Indiana, diverse in both population and choice, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS) is an agile, innovative educational organization committed to academic excellence built through individualized, relationship-based learning. Though we cover 80 square miles, employ over 6,000 people, and serve over 30,000 students, we are committed to serving individual students with what they need. IPS does this through innovationfrom digital learning initiatives to individual schools fashioning their own rigorous curricula. We do it through exceptional choiceproviding excellent opportunities through community schools and Magnet and option programs focusing on math, science, performing arts, Montessori, International Baccalaureate, specific career paths, and Spanish immersion, among others. We do it through community involvementworking with the local library on summer reading programs, securing funding from corporate foundations, and engaging in health and wellness initiatives and parent advocacy efforts, among other meaningful activities. We have the variety, flexibility and expertise to meet all students where they are and guide them where they need and want to be. About Bell Techlogix: Bell Techlogix, headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, provides transformational Next Generation Digital Workplace and Infrastructure Management solutions to large and mid-market enterprises, as well as the public sector. For more information on Bell Techlogix, please visit us on the web at www.belltechlogix.com , follow us on Twitter @BellTechlogixHQ , like us on LinkedIn or Facebook . View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bell-techlogix-launches-new-relationship-with-indianapolis-public-schools-300595270.html SOURCE Bell Techlogix

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Boston, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

IDGs CIOthe executive-level IT media brand providing insight into business technology leadershipreveals the investment plans of tech leaders for 2018 in the 2018 CIO Tech Poll: Tech Priorities survey (Click to Tweet). The results, from a respondent base of 180 heads of IT, show that organizations are focusing investments on security and analytics, while actively researching emerging technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.



After five years of increases, tech budgets remain constant. The data shows that a greater percentage of tech leaders expect their IT budgets to remain the same; however, enterprise organizations still expect strong tech budget growth. Overall, 50% of tech leaders anticipate budget increases in 2018  which increases to 57% for enterprises (1,000+ employees). We see the greatest increase in budget allocation towards predictive analytics (47%), business continuity/disaster recovery (47%), public cloud (46%) and hybrid cloud (45%). Applications that will see an increase in investment include business intelligence & analytics, mobile enterprise apps, and projects to secure enterprise information assets. The focus on security continues  when asked which technology project is the single most important project that their IT department is working on currently, the majority of IT leaders said business continuity/disaster recovery.

IT departments continue to make strides towards a more digital and secure organization, said Adam Dennison, SVP / general manager, IDG Events, and publisher, CIO. This years Tech Poll results confirm that emerging technology projects and applications remain top of mind for tech leaders, and that these capabilities are essential for organizations to remain competitive in this time of digital transformation.

Emerging technologies continue to play a role in developing a digital business. The top technologies that are being actively researched by CIOs align with this mentality, which include machine learning (44%), artificial intelligence (AI) (44%) and Internet of Things (IoT) (37%). All of which are also being piloted at various organizations  IoT (15%), AI (14%) and machine learning (11%). Additionally, IoT and machine learning fall on the top five list of technologies that are expected to have a great impact on organizations over the next three to five years. Organizations are not just considering new technologies, they are open to new vendors. Tech leaders report that 15% of tech spending will be spent on new tech companies this year.

To view additional information on the research please visit: https://www.idg.com/tools-for-marketers/cio-tech-poll-tech-priorities-2018/

About CIO Tech Poll

CIO Tech Poll: Tech Priorities was conducted to gauge for the upcoming year which technology areas IT leaders will focus on, and to measure the direction of spending within those categories. The current CIO Tech Poll was conducted November  December 2017 through the CIO LinkedIn Forum and to the CIO audience. Results are based on 186 respondents who indicated they are the top IT executive at their organization or business unit.

About CIO

CIO focuses on attracting the highest concentration of enterprise CIOs and business technology executives with unparalleled peer insight and expertise on business strategy, innovation, and leadership. As organizations grow with digital transformation, CIO provides its readers with key insights on career development, including certifications, hiring practices and skills development. The award-winning CIO portfolio provides business technology leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of ITs role in achieving business goals. CIO information is available at www.CIO.com.

Follow CIO on Twitter: @CIOonline #CIOTechPoll

Follow IDG Enterprise on Twitter: @IDGWorld

Follow CIO on LinkedIn

Follow CIO on Facebook

About IDG Communications, Inc.

IDG Communications connects the world of tech buyers with insights, intent and engagement. IDG Communications is the worlds largest media, data and marketing services company that activates and engages the most influential technology buyers. Our premium brands, including CIO, Computerworld, PCWorld and Macworld, engage the most powerful audience of technology buyers providing essential guidance on the evolving technology landscape. Our global data intelligence platform activates purchasing intent, powering our clients success. IDG Marketing Services creates custom content with marketing impact across video, mobile, social and digital. We execute complex campaigns that fulfill marketers global ambitions seamlessly with consistency that delivers results and wins awards. IDG is the #1 tech media company in the world, per comScore.*

*Source: comScore Media Metrix, Desktop Unique Visitors, Worldwide, January 2017

Additional information about IDG, a privately held company, is available at http://www.idg.com.

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[February 07, 2018] VIP Spa Offering New Options for Skincare in Colleyville Celebrates with a Grand Opening Event

Elite Skin & Lash is proud to announce its grand opening on February 10th, 2018 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM with a ribbon cutting ceremony at 3:30. The public is invited to attend! The spa is located at 1009 Glade Road, Suite C-2, Colleyville, Texas, 76034. Food and refreshments will be served and the first 50 people will receive swag bags with lots of great items. Discount coupons for skincare, massage, laser, botox/fillers, and eyelash extension services will be handed out throughout the event and onsite Dysport injections will be available. Attendees may register for a chance to win ONE YEAR OF FREE FACIALS and 50 FREE UNITS OF DYSPORT. Samantha Tisnoi, Owner and lead Aesthetician of Elite Skin & Lash, brings ten-plus years of skincare experience to Colleyville and prides herself on providing highly personalized treatments for her clients. This boutique spa in Colleyville brings a full regimen of skin care and medical grade spa services for those who want to look phenomenal and feel dazzlig. The spa experience features some of the latest result driven treatments including Celluma LED Light Therapy, Sculplla Needleless Filler, Microdermabrasion, Elite Chemical peels, Eclipse Micro-pen, and Microcurrent. Each client receives a complimentary consultation and 3D digital skin scan prior to beginning treatments to fully understand each client's skincare needs. DNA skin testing is also available to identify potential, genetically predisposed skin problems.



In addition, Elite Skin & Lash is launching its new PicoWay laser and EndyMed treatments for tattoo removal, acne scars, wrinkles, dark spots, cellulite, skin tightening and facial/body contouring. Multiple options for fillers, including hyaluronic fillers and Bellafill permanent fillers, will also be available on demand. Owner Samantha Tisnoi says, "We are delighted to bring some of the newest skincare treatments and beauty services to the wonderful residents of Colleyville, Southlake, Westlake, Keller and surrounding areas. We are committed to helping all of our clients look and feel amazing, and leave our spa feeling like the very best version of themselves."

The spa is open Monday through Saturday by appointment only. To schedule online, visit the website at www.eliteskinandlash.com or call Samantha at (817) 915-0129. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207006123/en/

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[February 07, 2018] Black Knight Announces Anthony Jabbour as CEO

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Black Knight, Inc. (NYSE:BKI), a leading provider of integrated software, data and analytics to the mortgage and real estate industries, announced that Anthony Jabbour will assume the role as the companys CEO on April 1. Current CEO Tom Sanzone will become the companys Vice Chairman of the Board and will assist with the transition.

Jabbour was most recently the chief operating officer of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.s (NYSE:FIS) Banking and Payments business. In this role, he had global accountability for solution development, sales and delivery of banking and payments offerings for clients of all sizes and in all geographic markets.

Since joining FIS in 2004, Jabbour held positions of increasing responsibility in operations and delivery services as a key member of the executive leadership team. During his tenure overseeing the North American market, Jabbour consistently grew the segment through a solid combination of organic growth, product expansion, market enetration and strategic acquisitions.





Prior to joining FIS, Jabbour began his career in IBMs Global Services group managing complex client projects and relationships. Among the key projects was the launch of a stand-alone Internet bank for CIBC, a major Canadian financial institution. That project led to him joining CIBC, where he built similar capabilities for their U.S. market.



Anthony has a strong track record of successfully growing businesses both organically and through acquisitions, establishing strong client relationships and managing large, complex technology operations in the financial services industry, said Bill Foley, Executive Chairman of Black Knight. He will build on the strong foundation that Black Knight has established, and I am confident he and the management team at Black Knight will take the company to the next level.

Tom was Black Knights first CEO. His goals were to increase shareholder value and create a strategy and structure for the company that would set the course for future success, which included enhancing the companys ability to cross-sell its products. He exceeded our expectations on all fronts, and we are grateful for his contributions in that role and look forward to working with him in his new position. About Black Knight Black Knight (NYSE:BKI) is a leading provider of integrated software, data and analytics solutions that facilitate and automate many of the business processes across the homeownership lifecycle. Black Knight is committed to being a premier business partner that clients rely on to achieve their strategic goals, realize greater success and better serve their customers by delivering best-in-class software, services and insights with a relentless commitment to excellence, innovation, integrity and leadership. For more information on Black Knight, please visit www.blackknightinc.com . For more information:

Michelle Kersch

Black Knight, Inc.

904.854.5043

michelle.kersch@bkfs.com

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[February 07, 2018] Xerox CEO and CFO to Speak at Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference

Xerox's (NYSE: XRX) CEO Jeff Jacobson and Bill Osbourn, chief financial officer, will be presenting at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference on February 13. The event will be available live via audio webcast.







WHEN: Tuesday, Feb. 13, 5:00 - 5:35 p.m. ET (2:00 - 2:35 p.m. PT) WHAT: Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference WHO: Jeff Jacobson, chief executive officer, Xerox Bill Osbourn, chief financial officer, Xerox AUDIO WEBCAST: https://cc.talkpoint.com/gold006/021318a_as/?entity=66_N7QTP0R Replay to be available.

About Xerox Xerox Corporation is a technology leader that innovates the way the world communicates, connects and works. We understand what's at the heart of sharing information - and all of the forms it can take. We embrace the integration of paper and digital, the increasing requirement for mobility, and the need for seamless integration between work and personal worlds. Every day, our innovative print technologies and intelligent work solutions help people communicate and work better. Discover more at www.xerox.com and follow us on Twitter (News - Alert) at @Xerox. Note: To receive RSS news feeds, visit https://www.news.xerox.com. For open commentary, industry perspectives and views, visit http://twitter.com/xerox, http://connect.blogs.xerox.com, http://www.facebook.com/XeroxCorp, https://www.instagram.com/xerox/, http://www.linkedin.com/company/xerox, http://www.youtube.com/XeroxCorp. Xerox and Xerox and Design are trademarks of Xerox in the United States and/or other countries. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180207006069/en/

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[February 07, 2018]

Renowned Clean-Energy Leader and Former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., to Speak at Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference

FORT COLLINS, Colo., Feb. 7, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Business Sector Media today announced that the renowned national clean-energy leader and former Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., will speak at its third annual Environmental Leader & Energy Manager Conference (ELEMCON), to take place May 15-17, 2018, at the Marriott Denver Tech Center.

Founder and director of the Center for the New Energy Economy at Colorado State University, Governor Ritter will examine the many forces shaping clean-energy policy and the hurdles policymakers face in transforming the US economy into a clean-energy economy.

Governor Ritter joins a distinguished lineup of plenary speakers, whose sessions will address topics essential to the success of today's sustainability, environmental and energy-management practioners.

David Tulauskas, Sustainability Director, General Motors, will provide tips on connecting daily efforts to business value and creating culture that empowers employees to contribute in his plenary session, Sustainability's Role in Strengthening Your Business.

Brad Nemeth, Vice President, Sustainability, ThyssenKrupp Elevator, will describe the pioneering steps his and other industries have taken to assure product transparency throughout the supply chain in his plenary session, Innovations in Material Transparency.

Ian Kelly, Manager, Electricity Practice, Rocky Mountain Institute, will show through xamples how large companies, universities and municipalities are structuring deals to purchase renewable energy in his plenary session Procurement Practices with Renewable Energies.







Catherine Greener, Vice President, Sustainability, Xanterra Parks and Resorts, will describe various corporations' journey in setting long-range goals to reduce carbon emissions in her plenary session Big Companies, Big Carbon Reduction Goals.

Mackenzie Huffman, Vice President, Sustainability Financing, JPMorgan Chase, will examine how companies are modeling the effects of climate change on loan and investment portfolios in her plenary session Tackling Climate Risk in the Financial Sector.

Mitch Jackson, Vice President, Environmental Affairs & Chief Sustainability Officer, FedEx, will show how FedEx uses the building blocks of performance, transparency, innovation and leadership to drive change in his plenary session Reduce. Replace. Revolutionize.

Philippe Lacamp, Senior Vice President, Americas, Cathay Pacific Airways, will examine how airlines are leading the way to carbon-neutral growth by using sustainably-sourced products in his plenary session Creating an All-Encompassing Strategy.

ELEMCON, the nation's premier conference on corporate sustainability, environmental and energy management programs, is ideal for corporate, non-profit and government executives responsible for complying with environmental regulations, reaching enterprise-wide sustainability goals, and reaching energy management targets.

Significant savings on conference registration are available through April 30.

To learn more and register, go to http://conference.environmentalleader.com.

About Business Sector Media

Fort Collins, Colorado-based Business Sector Media delivers industry-specific, business-to business news, research, insights, and information to decision-makers around the world.

Contact: Bob James, 202.641.5131

bobjames@businesssectormedia.com

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/renowned-clean-energy-leader-and-former-colorado-governor-bill-ritter-jr-to-speak-at-environmental-leader--energy-manager-conference-300595430.html

SOURCE Business Sector Media
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NEW ALBANY, Ohio, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Roosters Mens Grooming Center (MGC) in New Albany opened with ample time to prep guys for Valentines Day. Opened in January, the new store provides modern grooming services for men and boys in combination with the experience and camaraderie of an old fashioned barbershop.



Soon after opening its doors for business, Roosters MGC held a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting in partnership with the New Albany Chamber of Commerce. This is the second store for owners Sumeet and Monica Pahouja, who opened the first Roosters MGC in the Columbus area five years ago.

When asked about what makes Roosters different, Sumeet responds, Our team of barbers and stylists is professionally trained to ensure that each customer visit is special, no matter what the day or the occasion. It doesnt have to be Valentines Day.

Roosters MGC offers a wide variety of custom grooming services include precision haircuts and shaves with hot steam towels, deep cleansing facial massages, and moisturizing lotions. In addition, the New Albany store carries Kevin Murphy hair products and Edwin Jagger skin care products and shaving accessories.

During the month of February in celebration of its grand opening, Roosters customers, who get the popular Roosters Club haircut can select from any of three free services, including the 7 step facial shave, beard trim or the color camo, which blends in gray hair.

Roosters MGC also welcomes the opportunity to partner with local businesses and organizations in the community. Part of the proceeds from services provided during the grand opening celebration were donated to the New Albany Food Pantry to help feed hungry children and families in need.

The Pahoujas, who are long time Ohio residents, look forward to developing more partnerships with local businesses and organizations in New Albany.

Located at 5531 New Albany Road in the New Albany Market, Roosters MGC is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. To schedule an appointment or purchase a gift card, call 614-245-8525. Walk-ins are always welcome.

Roosters MGC in New Albany is one of more than 80 franchises nationwide. The first Roosters was opened in Lapeer, Mich., in 1999 by Master Barber and Founder Joe Grondin, who strives to give customers the best in mens personal grooming services to ensure the experience brings you back. Roosters MGC is part of the worldwide family of Regis companies. For more information, visit www.RoostersMGC.com.

Media Contacts:

Sumeet Pahouja

Roosters MGC

614-596-3618

Sumeet.pahouja@regisfranchise.com

Margaret Blohm, APR

Margaux & Associates, LLC

313-406-3467

mblohm@margauxpr.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/545f9fda-d9d5-477c-8e25-be58779472c2

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0fa09139-f390-467f-b80c-75685fc2dd03

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f21d0b2f-61bb-42f1-87e9-f669afbb7ec0
We saw FSP's liquid cooled PSU up close at Computex 2017, and to be frank, the idea of a PSU that uses water for its cooling is a bit scary. Thankfully, the Hydro PTM+ is mainly air-cooled; it just uses liquid cooling to increase its max power by 200W. This allows the PSU to go beyond its 1.2kW max power output to reach 1.4kW, depending on which type of cooling you're using.

The Hydro PTM+ also features a semi-passive mode that allows for the lowest possible noise output under light and moderate loads, RGB lighting with Asus Aura Sync, 80 PLUS Platinum efficiency certification (no Cybenetics certifications for the moment), DC-DC converters on the secondary side for the generation of the minor rails, a fully modular cable design with ribbon modular cables, and 100% Japanese electrolytic caps. The first 500 units will come with special sleeved cabling and Bitspower AIO parts for the liquid cooling. (FSP said it worked with Bitspower on this PSU.)

For anyone who isn't into PSU history, this is not the first liquid-cooled PSU on the market. DeepCool also showed off a prototype liquid-cooled PSU during Computex 2016, though the product never made it to mass production. Koolance, some years ago, actually released a water-cooled PSU (model number: PSU-1300ATX-12N), but it ultimately wasn't successful because of its huge price tag. Back in 2001, Koolance was also the first company to offer a water-cooled PSU. It was self-contained, meaning that it could work independently without the need for other water cooling parts, as opposed to the PSU-1300ATX-12N unit, which required an existing Koolance water cooling system.

The price tag for the FSP Hydro PTM+ is set at $700, so it is currently the second most expensive PSU on the market, behind Cooler Master's MasterWatt Maker 1200 MIJ, which currently costs $1,000. That $700 investment is covered by a two-year warranty, about which the product's manual states:

The two-year warranty period starts from the date of purchase (date of delivery). Warranty information may vary according to region, so please consult your local authorized distributor for details. The warranty will be voided if the built-in water block shows any sign of tampering, or any sign of external forces.

The warranty looks very low compared to other high-end, non liquid cooling PSU offerings, but it should also cover the water cooling parts, and those are likely not to be as reliable as the rest of the PSU's parts. Nonetheless, we don't think that the weak link in this product is the low warranty, but the stiff price. Without any doubt this is a special PSU, the first of its kind today, however it would sound nicer if the gain with liquid cooling was much more than "only" 200W.

FSP hasn't offered us a review sample for evaluation yet, so we can't yet answer to this unit's performance.
Kansas Chemistry Professor and Community Leader Turns to the Immigration Courts

Only an immigration judge has the authority to cure the defective proceedings. At the very least, Mr. Jamal is entitled to a proper hearing resulting in a proper order, states Rekha Sharma-Crawford, Mr. Jamals attorney. This is about the rule of law and the integrity of a system. If we allow flawed orders, which would never be tolerated in any other legal proceeding or in society in general, to be the basis of removing a beloved father, husband and community member, it is a bigger threat to the system than this one case. To tear apart a family and drag them out of a country after having such meaningful ties, is a tragedy, plain and simple.

Checkit:Kansas City, MO (February 7, 2018) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials took into custody Syed Ahmed Jamal, a husband, father of three, chemistry professor and community leader, on January 24, 2018. Mr. Jamal is detained at a Morgan County, Mo. jail while awaiting an immigration judges decision on granting a stay of removal. The motions for a stay of removal and to rescind a final deportation order were filed with the court and served on Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attorneys on February 5, 2018. They remain pending.Mr. Jamals has deep ties to the United States having come to America from Bangladesh over 30 years ago on a student visa. He was granted an H-1B visa for highly skilled workers and then transitioned to another student visa when he enrolled in a doctoral program. Despite his efforts to secure permanent status in the US, he found himself in removal proceedings. He was advised by an attorney that he was only eligible to leave the country voluntarily, despite his fear of returning to Bangladesh. His failure to depart caused the triggering of an automatic deportation order. Mr. Jamal obtained his work permit after DHS placed him on an Order of Supervision (OSUP). OSUPs are given to individuals so that they may remain out of custody despite the existence of a deportation order. They allow individuals to obtain employment authorization from DHS.At the time of Mr. Jamals arrest in January, he was an adjunct chemistry professor at Park University in Kansas City and was conducting research at area hospitals. Without a stay of removal, Mr. Jamal remains at risk of being deported from the U.S. as soon as early next week and before the Immigration Court can review the matter. In accordance with the February 20, 2017, Kelly Memorandum, Enforcement of the Immigration Laws to Serve the National Interest, it is unlikely that ICE officials will exercise prosecutorial discretion in releasing Mr. Jamal from jail or allowing him to remain in the country.The law requires that certain formalities be met in order to grant voluntary departure. This responsibility is placed, by the rule of law, on the judge and not anyone else. Where a judge fails to carry out this important duty, the order is invalid. This is true in every area of law. For example, parties can agree to get divorced, but a judge must still follow the law and enter a valid order, which can satisfy the legal requirements. The same is true for Mr. Jamal. Deporting a person when the order is not legally sound is a threat to the system. That is not what the American legal system stands for, says Sharma-Crawford. DHS could recognize the legal issues at play and agree to either stay his removal pending completion of his legal proceedings, or they could agree that the order is flawed, and let the case proceed as a matter of course. What they will do remains to be seen. In the meantime, a family remains divided and his wife and children struggle every day without him.Contrary to what ICE had indicated, Mr. Jamal was not charged with or convicted of any crimes, misdemeanor or otherwise. Sharma-Crawford says, This is another American story turned into a nightmare by the current divisive climate regarding immigration. It sends a false message that immigrants are criminals and detrimental to America. ICE statements also have indicated that Mr. Jamal appealed his case. The Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) reviewed his case based on their certification authority, and as such, to call it an appeal is a mischaracterization of what occurred.Several members of Congress show a willingness to maintain a sense of humanity in the immigration debate. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (MO), Rep. Kevin Yoder (KS), and Rep. Ro Khanna (CA) voice their concerns about the methods ICE used in this instance. Children should never have to watch immigration officials forcibly take a parent from their home. The damage the Agency is doing to the next generation is profound, Sharma-Crawford states.About Sharma-Crawford Attorneys at LawSharma-Crawford, Attorneys at Law is a nationally recognized firm specializing in the complexities of immigration litigation. Practice specialties include criminal or civil litigation in state, federal or immigration court. The attorneys of Sharma-Crawford also speak and educate peers and the community on issues pertaining to the complexities of immigration and immigration litigation. The firm is located on the border of Kansas Citys Westside and the Crossroads Arts District.###
Women are right to be angry when men treat them like objects and act like bullies, pigs, she said. Pornography is a notch above that by distorting a view of human sexuality that is contrary to authentic love, she said.

CJ Online: Kansas Senate denounces popularity of pornography as public health crisis

A Kansas State House debate turned into a KC Metro argument on the cringe-worthy topic of "authentic love" and the impact of pornography on viewers.TKC Context . . .Money line from Sen. Pilcher-Cook:It's unclear what kind of porn she's watching but her naive view of "authentic love" resonates near Valentine's Day or at least signals that she probably has seenone too many times.Here's a roundup of the rather prudish Kansas debate and a tricky bit of nomenclature that could have consequences down the road . . .Deets:Sen. Mary Pilcher-Cook, R-Shawnee, pushed through a resolution that reflected growing appreciation for personal and societal costs of pornography . . .There is no political ideology here regarding this subject. Pornography exploits and humiliates those being used and it dehumanizes the user at the same time, she said.The vote on Senate Resolution 1762 was 35-4.Sen. David Haley, D-Kansas City, said he cast a vote against the resolution because it was inaccurate to include pornography as a public health issue. He said passage of the resolution in the House and Senate could be used as a pretext to manipulate state appropriations.I have always held the constitutionality of the First Amendment, including freedom of speech and expression, to be held sacrosanct, especially where such speech or conduct is private and held between consenting, mentally sound adults, he said.#####You decide . . .
KANSAS CITY, Kan. - Support for Syed Jamal continued to come in on Tuesday following his arrest by ICE officers two weeks ago. Family members said they were shocked at the arrest and hope Jamal is not deported. --- Tune into 41 Action News at 5 p.m.
Yes, it's likely the latest example ofbut that doesn't mean it's also not important inasmuch as the report reminds us that there areTake a look . . .Deets:Police said Kelsea Bonneville, 23, was last seen in the area of 151st Street and Glenwood in Overland Park. She is described as 5-foot-6 and 115 pounds with long brown or black hair and hazel eyes. She is possibly wearing black jeans and a hooded sweatshirt with a Colorado logo and carrying a light blue backpack, police said.Anyone who sees Bonneville or knows of her whereabouts is asked to call 911 or Overland Park police at 913-895-6300.#####Developing . . .
Osawatomie man charged with firing shots at multiple KCPD officers Monday An Osawatomie, Kan. man has been charged with firing shots at multiple KCPD officers in a standoff situation on Monday. Christopher D. Foster, 26, has been charged with five counts of assault first degree and five counts of armed criminal action.

An urban core interloper doesn't remember targeting police . . . Here's the aftermath report listing serious charges that might resonate with the suspect. Special thanks to local newsies for posting the mugshot that contradicts knee-jerk reaction to an inner-city shooting. Take a look:
KCK Shutdown Fear

Are P&G jobs at Kansas City, Kan., plant in jeopardy? - Kansas City Business Journal Employees at The Procter & Gamble Co.'s Kansas City, Kan., plant are worried their jobs may be in jeopardy, Fox 4 News reports. The soap plant sent employees home Tuesday afternoon but asked them to return to work at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Kansas City High Art Collabo

Playing Kansas City Jazz With The Symphony, And Making Money As A 'JUST' Business Your might think combining jazz and a symphony would like trying to mix oil and water - they don't just go together. Yet jazz artists, including Kansas City's own Charlie Parker, have combined their playing with those of an orchestra to great results.

Kansas City Server Crackdown

Restaurants could require servers to split tips under new regulation KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Should servers and bartenders share their tips with other employees? It's a conversation that's heating up in Washington as the Department of Labor considers new tip regulations. The U.S. Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding tip regulations back in December.

Happy Rock Harsh Times Report

Gladstone man barricaded himself, girlfriend and child in; threatened to kill them all A Gladstone man faces assault and kidnapping charges after he barricaded himself in his apartment, assaulted his girlfriend and threatened to kill himself, the woman and their 14-month-old son. Moses Wainy, 31, was charged Monday in Clay County Circuit Court for the incident Sunday in the 300 block of N.E.

Kansas City Mating Season Lesson

The Kansas City Zoo's Valentine's Day fundraiser shows animal 'romance' Red Footed Tortoise to promote Kiss & Tail (more details in attachment) On Saturday, Feb., 10, the zoo celebrates Valentines Day by showing how some animals attract a mate and what happens when it's time to get romantic!? Oh boy! See their courtship rituals hilariously played out through actors from 'The Living Room Theatre.'

Season Of Hype Coming Soon

Dayton Moore: "I was never leaving Kansas City" View the FanShot on SB Nation.

Ancient Kansas Comeback???

Resurrecting Quindaro As Americans north and south of the Mason-Dixon Line debated slavery, a boomtown that sprouted from the scrub along the Missouri River emerged as one of the most unlikely bellwethers of the national mood in the run-up to the Civil War.

Fanboy Advice Before Rebuilding Year

How the Kansas City Chiefs should approach the rest of the offseason First off, we can cross off cornerback from the top of the Kansas City Chiefs wish list. While their work at overhauling the position is not over, the organization took a large step in the right direction with the (pending) acquisition of Kendall Fuller.

We start this morning withand a rare real life look at glam in the making as we move forward with news closer to home. Take a look:is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . .
As the affordability requirements of several once-affordable downtown rental units soon expire, and without any semblance of a plan coming from the city to create new public or affordable housing, property tax freezes exchanged for affordable rents will encourage continuity, growth and maintenance of housing affordability.





We already offer a similar, wildly successful program for the arts. In exchange for tax abatements, buildings with qualifying commercial arts-related businesses in the Crossroads Arts District must remain affordable for tenants for up to 15 years. Theres no reason we cannot do the same elsewhere.





Kansas City must grow and develop to thrive and compete, but we can do this in our unique way, with the genteel consideration that makes our city so attractive.

Take a look at this modest proposal from a Kansas City power player who has been a leading proponent for Mayor Sly James and his development agenda . . . All of this makes sense until we realize that there's no way that former broke-ass denizens of Downtown will be able to afford new luxury apartments & condos. This is basically an argument for Kansas City taxpayers to keep subsidizing $3k-a-month rents.Checkit:Money line:#########You decide . . .
LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. -- After two cars crashed into snow plows in the Kansas City area, the Missouri Department of Transportation is reminding drivers not to "crowd the plow." The first crash happened Sunday when a driver side swiped a plow trying to pass it. Monday, a car rear-ended a plow.
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CIP Real Estate, a full-service commercial real estate investment and management firm, today announced it completed in excess of $273 million in commercial real estate transactions from January 2017 to date. The robust activity includes six dispositions totaling $246 million across California, Nevada and North Carolina, in addition to the $27.1 million acquisition of a Northern California business park. The company also announced aggressive plans to invest $150 million in strategic acquisitions for its commercial portfolio in 2018.



After being a highly active net seller in 2017, CIP Real Estate is gearing up to invest $150 million in commercial assets this year, said Eric C. Smyth, principal of CIP Real Estate. We are currently pursuing quality business and industrial parks, along with targeted office assets, and will employ our value-add acquisition strategy to maximize ROI and upside for our investors.

Kicking off its acquisition activity, CIP Real Estate recently completed the $27.1 million purchase of Eden Landing Business Park in Hayward, California. Originally built by Don Koll, the multi-tenant flex industrial park comprises 195,000 square feet next to the San Mateo Bridge in the East Bay. The firm will complete a $2 million renovation to re-branding and repositioning the property. CIP Real Estate purchased the asset in a joint venture with Alex. Brown Realty, Inc.  the two companies 22nd joint-venture since 1998 and its first real estate transaction completed together in Northern California. The joint-venture represented itself and CBREs Darla Longo, Barbara Emmons, Rebecca Perlmutter, Bob Ferraro and team represented the seller in the transaction.

CIP Real Estates recent dispositions include four projects within Southern California:

The $76.5 million sale of Empire Towers I-IV, four class A office buildings comprising about 400,000 square feet at the Ontario International Airport in Ontario, Calif. Kevin Shannon and Ken White and team of Newmark Knight Frank represented CIP Real Estate in the sale. The $26.7 million sale of Centerpointe, in Irvine, Calif., four class B office buildings consisting of approximately 105,000 square feet within the Irvine Business Complex. Bob Griffith of Newmark Knight Frank and Brian Garbutt of Lee & Associates represented CIP Real Estate in the sale. The $17.3 million off-market disposition of Mercury Tech Center to a private client of CIP Real Estate; the project consists of an 80,000-square-foot, six-building flex industrial park located in the Kearny Mesa sub-market of San Diego, Calif. The $12 million recapitalization of Summit Business Center, a 138,000-square-foot, five-building office flex park located in Riverside, Calif.

CIP Real Estate also completed three disposition transactions outside of California in the past year:

The $92 million sale of 13 mid-bay industrial, flex, and office buildings comprising approximately 671,000 square feet within the premier Las Vegas business address of Hughes Airport Center. CBREs Darla Longo, Todd Tydlaska, Barbara Emmons Perrier, Kevin Higgins, and Garrett Toft and team represented the seller, a joint venture of Oaktree Capital and CIP Real Estate. The $5.5 million sale of a 32,000-square-foot office building also within Hughes Airport Center. The building is 100% leased to Scientific Gaming (formerly Ballys Gaming). The Higgins/Toft team at CBRE represented CIP and Colliers Taber Thill and team represented the buyer, an affiliate of Scientific Gaming, in the transaction. In the firms final disposition, a private off-market deal, CIP Real Estate sold the $15.9 million Charlotte Commerce Center, a 167,000-square-foot multi-tenant flex industrial park in Charlotte, North Carolina, owned in joint venture with Alex. Brown Realty.

We will continue to complete dispositions this year as the investment cycle of some of our key assets are completed, added Smyth. In all, we hope to dispose of an additional $100 million in commercial assets, whose value we have maximized. This capital will help fuel the acquisitions we make this year and in the future.

About CIP Real Estate

CIP Real Estate is a full service real estate investment and management company focused on the acquisition, development, repositioning and management of office, business and industrial parks. Founded in 1995, CIP Real Estate owns and manages more than 4 million square feet of quality real estate projects throughout California, Nevada and North Carolina.
Sadad Bahrain, a fintech leader, has attained the latest version of the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI-DSS) certification.



The accreditation was granted to Sadad Bahrain in recognition of its strict adherence to guidelines that safeguard consumers payment transactions through added reliability and security measures.



This certification reiterates our commitment towards delivering cutting-edge, secure payment channels and services, with the utmost security, protecting critical data, said Danial Jawaid, director of IT at Sadad Bahrain.



Protecting the privacy of our customers and service providers has always been a top priority at Sadad. We deal with several partners and it is a remarkable achievement that adds to the confidence to our partners that we have always been safeguarding their important information. PCI-DSS will allow Sadad Bahrain to serve more in this regard and provide better international standards of security to be offered to our customers.



The PCI DSS is a globally recognized security standard intended to optimize the security of credit and debit card transactions. Security standards are intended to optimize the security of credit and debit card transactions and secure sensitive cardholder information during storage and transmission and protect cardholders against fraud and misuse of personal information.



Sadad is continuously focused on developing services that add value to our consumers, and soon we will launch mWallet, a smartphone application that will allow both customers and merchants to make cashless transactions. It will also allow customers to deposit funds into their mWallets, concluded Jawaid.  TradeArabia News Service
Bahrain-based Ahmed Mansoor Al Aali Group (AMA Group) is out to make a lasting impression of its immense capabilities in high-skilled value addition in the structural and mechanical engineering field, at the Gulf Industry Fair 2018.



The engineering expertise of its Structural & Mechanical Division (SMD) has been captured on film and is being showcased on a large-screen display that occupies centrestage at its stand.



Gulf Industry Fair is one of the prestigious exhibitions in Bahrain and it gives good visibility to our company, remarked Haresh Patel, the general manager of AMA-SMD.



The SMD is on a roll, having clinched some of the most prestigious contracts for structural metalwork that have been awarded recently in Bahrain.



These include the contract for supplying two core equipment packages for the Alba Potline 6 expansion as well as the offshore PRM modules for Bahrain LNG, said Patel.



The Alba deal involves supplying two lines of pot shells and busbar, stretching a total of 2.6 km, he stated.



We are looking to complete the project ahead of schedule by the end of this year, Patel added.



On the Bahrain LNG work, AMA Group said it was aiming to complete the project by the end of March.



We have started delivery and are undertaking full module evaluation, prior to shipping the large modules, which include the steelwork, pressure vessels, pipes and instrumentation, all ready for installation at site, he stated.



Established in 1990, SMD is an integral division of the AMA Group which celebrated 60 years as one of Bahrains leading integrated contracting, trading and manufacturing conglomerates in 2014.



Equipped with one of the regions largest state-of-the-art fabrication and mechanic facilities of its kind, the division has in the past decades left a strong imprint on the industrial sector in the region, supplying crucial fabrications to most of the aluminium smelters including Alba, Emirates Aluminium (Emal), Abu Dhabi and Dubai Aluminium (Dubal), Dubai, both in the UAE; and Sohar Aluminium, Oman.



SMD-AMA undertakes general fabrication, installation and equipment erection for larger scale industrial and process industries projects as well as specialist civil works.



It fabricates process and utility piping; process equipment including heat exchangers, pressure vessels and storage tanks; heavy structural steel; pot shells and super structures; furnaces, stacks, ducts and miscellaneous steel; and metering skids. AMA can be visited at Stand B4A.-TradeArabia News Service
Engie, a French multinational utility company, is a dominant player in Bahrain's utility sector supplying 90 per cent of the potable water and 70 per cent of the power in the kingdom, said a top official.



Engie has a number of sites and plants in Bahrain, stated Laura Thomson, the Head of Asset Management UAE, Middle East, South and Central Asia, Turkey, on the sidelines of the Gulf Industry Fair (GIF).



Engie, which is making its debut at the Northern Gulfs leading specialist business-to-business (B2B) event for industrial products and services, said the Gulf Industry Fair was very well attended, strategic and important for Bahrain.



With a regional head office in Dubai, UAE, Engie has been active in the Gulf region for more than 30 years, generating 30 GW of power and around 5 million cu m of desalinated water.



It operates 22 power plants in the region including three in Bahrain, one in Kuwait, six in Oman, two in Qatar, four in Saudi Arabia and six in the UAE.



"It was very important to bring solar power to Bahrain as it is obviously an important energy resource within the region," observed Thomson.



We are sponsor for a number of power suppliers in the region including Al Dur, Al Ezzel and Al Hidd in Bahrain, she stated.



"We basically power Bahrain and provide the water, she added.-TradeArabia News Service
ZonesCorp, one of the largest developer and operator of purpose-built economic zones in the UAE, will present an array of investment opportunities to a number of leading Indian companies during the Abu Dhabi Investment Week, which is under way in India.



ZonesCorp will arrange a series of high level one-on-one meetings and discussions between government entities from Abu Dhabi and businesses in India. The meeting are taking place in New Delhi and Mumbai. Also, ZonesCorp will be organising two workshops in Chandigarh and Gurgaon, said a statement.



ZonesCorp is a Platinum sponsor of the event.



Furthermore, through its participation in Abu Dhabi Investment Week, ZonesCorp seeks to highlight Abu Dhabis unique position globally, as well as to attract potential investments to various industrial sectors of the corporations economic zones.



ZonesCorp is keen to network with investors and support their projects in line with Abu Dhabi Government's vision to transform the Emirate into an economic and business hub, while seeking new opportunities for growth and collaborations with potential Indian investors and pursuant with the Abu Dhabi vision 2030.



The Indian companies meeting with ZonesCorp represent a range of sectors including mobile technology, industrial materials, FMCG, automotive, and packaging. During the meetings ZonesCorp is presenting an array of investment opportunities available to Indian businesses looking to expand in the UAE capital and access the wider Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region.



Saeed Eisa Al Khyeli, director general of ZonesCorp, said: Our aim is to present new business opportunities and markets for Indian investors who want to expand their businesses and enter the Middle Eastern and North African markets as well as providing a gateway to the markets of the EU.



We have a unique cluster based operating model that provides a tried and tested platform for growth for Indian companies, he said.



ZonesCorps current investors will be participating and showcasing their success stories. These investors include: Hafilat, Sandstorm, Jindal, Union Copper Rod Factory, Neopharma, Power Economy, and Union Chemicals Factory.



During the meetings and throughout the week, ZonesCorp is presenting the broad range of investment opportunities available in its specialized economic zones for industrial companies from India, said a statement.



ZonesCorp provides an attractive operating environment for Indian investors which includes world class industrial infrastructure, an attractive tax-free environment combined with low operating costs and convenient housing for workers and a fully equipped one-stop Investor Services Center and Foreign Labour Services Division that supports the end-to-end requirements of our investors during project conceptualization, set up, construction, and operation, it stated.  TradeArabia News Service
ST. LOUIS and BALTIMORE, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bandura Systems, which pioneered the threat intelligence gateway (TIG) in part with the U.S. Department of Defense, today announced Chris Fedde will serve as its new CEO. TIGs, stand-alone threat prevention appliances that can process millions more Internet threat indicators than traditional network security enforcement approaches, help protect corporate networks by blocking known threats and offloading traffic from entering or leaving the network and reducing the number of events that need detection and response.



Banduras technology can now put the power of threat intelligence to work for businesses of every size. Its products ability to significantly reduce staff workload, while avoiding incident response expense, is compelling and urgently needed, said Fedde. Bandura has that rare distinction of having literally invented an entirely new cybersecurity market segment and Im excited about the opportunity to keep Bandura at the forefront of this fast-growing market.

Previously Fedde founded and served as president of Hexis Cyber Solutions, Inc., which was sold to a firewall vendor owned by Silicon Valley investors. Prior to Hexis, Fedde was President and CEO of SafeNet, Inc. where he led the company to more than $450 million in revenue and established it as one of the largest independent security technology companies in the world. In addition, he initiated and oversaw the growth and sale of several technology companies in the U.S. and globally.

Fedde replaces Bandura Co-Founder and CEO Suzanne Magee, who will now serve as the companys Chief Evangelist Officer.

Bandura quadrupled revenue last year as organizations worldwide adopted TIGs to operationalize threat intelligence, said Magee. Im extremely proud of what the team has accomplished thus far, and equally excited to work with Chris in applying his tremendous security market insight and executive experience to build on this success.

More about Chris Fedde can be found here, while additional insight about the mainstream ascent of threat intelligence gateways can be found in a recent report by Gartner, the worlds leading research and advisory company.

About Bandura Systems

Bandura pioneered the concept of a Threat Intelligence Gateway for the U.S. Department of Defense, and over 50 issued and pending patents later, the company continues to offer the most comprehensive, scalable and granular TIG platform on the market. Organizations worldwide use TIGs for the automation and control needed to operationalize more than a hundred million threat indicators, blocking known threats before they even reach the network firewall. To learn more about how Banduras PoliWall TIG reduces an organizations attack surface and stops data exfiltration in its tracks, visit https://bandurasystems.com.

Media Contact

Andrew Goss

Voxus PR for Bandura Systems

agoss@voxuspr.com

253.444.5446

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/805ab56a-efbf-47a0-9f0c-aa80427c2c31




VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Atlas Cloud Enterprises Inc. (CSE:AKE) (XFRA:A49) (the Company or Atlas Cloud) wishes to advise that pursuant to a bulletin dated February 5, 2018, the Company has been halt traded pending completion of the Fundamental Change as deemed by the Canadian Securities Exchange (the CSE or the Exchange) as announced on January 2, 2018.

The development of the Companys business to cryptocurrency mining was deemed a fundamental change under the policies of the Exchange and as a result, the Company will require approval of the Exchange and approval of the Companys security holders. The Company will also be required to complete a disclosure document in support of the change of business.

The Company intends to seek security holder approval by way of a consent resolution.

The Company anticipates filing a final prospectus as its disclosure document within the next 5-10 business days and it is anticipated that, subject to the approval of the Exchange to the Fundamental Change, trading will resume.

As part of its commitment to continuous disclosure as a reporting issuer, copies of all filings and press releases can be found at www.sedar.com.
editorial@tribune.com

Amritsar, February 6

The Punjab Parents Association and academicians have hailed the move of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to withdraw the policy of uniform assessment for Classes VI- VIII.

The policy was made on the lines of the continuous and comprehensive evaluation system for Class X to increase confidence of students to help them deal with the pattern of assessment of Class X Boards exams.

The decision was taken after the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) objected to the system.

Recently, the Board scrapped the system of continuous and comprehensive evaluation system in Class X and replaced it with annual board examinations. In the scrapped system, the students were evaluated on various parameters with a uniform examination pattern and issuance a type of report card.

Most the academicians hailed the move and opined that the move would ensure better nourishment of the child and would benefit them in the long run.

Rajiv Kumar Sharma, Principal, Spring Dale Senior School, said In the long run, it is a good move. It gives more academic freedom to the institutions to educate the child as per their resources.

Anjana Gupta, Principal, DAV International School, said, It is a great move. Now, a school can prepare their own method of teaching the syllabus. The guidelines of the CBSE are usually applied in Class IX and higher classes. I appreciate the move.

MK Sharma, president of association, said, As the CBSE has already done away with the Class X evaluation system, there was a need to change it. So, it is for the betterment of students.  TNS
CHICAGO, Charlotte, N.C., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

William Blair, a premier global boutique, is pleased to announce that Kerr Robertson has joined the firms healthcare investment banking team as a managing director. Mr. Robertson will work from the firms recently opened office in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Over the past 15 years, Mr. Robertson has advised on industry-shaping transactions involving private and publicly traded companies in the healthcare sector, including Emerituss $2.8 billion merger with Brookdale Senior Living and The Ensign Groups tax-free spin to form CareTrust REIT. He has completed more than 150 advisory and capital-raising transactions representing more than $100 billion in value across services and healthcare real estate.

We continue to invest in additional competencies and capabilities to serve our global clientsprofessionals with deep sector expertise and relationships with crucial industry contacts, said Brent Gledhill, William Blairs global head of investment banking. We are thrilled to have someone of Kerrs caliber joining our veteran healthcare team and expanding our premier boutique investment banking presence in the Southeast.

In 2017, William Blairs healthcare team had a record year, closing more than 60 transactions generating over $15 billion in value for clients. According to Dealogic, the healthcare team ranked No. 1 among investment banks by number of sell-side advisory transactions under $2 billion in value.

Before joining William Blair, Mr. Robertson was a managing director with Wells Fargo Securities in its healthcare investment banking group. Prior to that, he worked for Coram Healthcare, a leading home infusion provider. Mr. Robertson earned his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a B.S. in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

About William Blair Investment Banking

William Blairs investment banking group enables corporations, financial sponsors, and owner/entrepreneurs around the world to achieve their growth, liquidity, and financing objectives.

Drawing on the collective intellectual capital and deep sector expertise of a global team that reaches across more than 15 cities on four continents, the investment banking group brings a rigorous and innovative approach to corporate board advisory projects, mergers and acquisitions, and equity and debt financing. From 2013 to 2017, the team advised on more than $265 billion in completed transaction volume.



About William Blair

William Blair is a premier global boutique with expertise in investment banking, investment management, and private wealth management. We provide advisory services, strategies, and solutions to meet our clients evolving needs. As an independent and employee-owned firm, together with our strategic partners, we operate in more than 20 offices worldwide.* For more information, please visit williamblair.com.



*Includes strategic partnerships with Allier Capital, BDA Partners, and Poalim Capital Markets.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/552991b8-0d51-44f7-9e9c-149524642476
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, February 7

With the arrest of three persons, including a woman, the police today claimed to have busted a gang of vehicle lifters who used to sell the same after forging documents. Fake stamps of the regional transport office have been seized from their possession.

Those arrested have been identified as Tejinder Singh, a resident of Boparai Baaj Singh, his wife Kanwaljit Kaur and Jatinder Singh of Mir Shah Mohalla in Majitha. One of their accomplices, identified as Rajinder Singh, alias Raju, brother of Tejinder Singh, is yet to be arrested.

ADCP, City-II, Lakhbir Singh said 10 bikes, seven fake registration certificates and 21 fake stamps had been seized. Tejinder, the kingpin, has been facing similar cases at several police stations. He has already been declared a proclaimed offender by the local court.

He said the accused had been running their activities from their rented accommodation in Baba Budha Singh Avenue. The police got a tip-off that that they had been stealing motorcycles and selling the same on the basis of fake documents.

A case under Sections 379, 411, 414, 467, 468, 471, 473 and 120-B of the IPC has been registered against them at the Sadar police station.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 7

Four miscreants snatched Rs 5,000 and Rs 7,000 from two persons at Dhanas on February 5. One of the victims, Rajneesh Kumar, a resident of Dadu Majra Colony, reported that on February 5, he was going towards a playground when four miscreants came on a motorcycle and started beating him up near a bakery shop in the colony. The victim alleged that the accused also snatched his purse containing Rs 5,000.

Two of the accused have been identified as Gollu and Paras. The accused fled from the spot. A case has been registered at the Maloya police station.

In another case, Ajay, a resident of Sector 38, reported that he was going for dinner at Dadu Majra Colony when the accused, Gollu, along with his friends, arrived on a motorcycle and stopped him near the Community Centre and started beating him up.

The accused attacked him with a brick. Sources said the accused then snatched his purse containing Rs 7,000.

A case has been registered at the Maloya police station. The police said the same accused were involved in both incidents.
Shreenath A. Khemka

Shreenath A. Khemka

Kings Law Scholar, University of Cambridge

The teleological reason for creating institutions is to espouse a higher being than mere mortals who comprise them. Courts are no exception. A common fallacy in developing institutions is the tendency to push out difficult questions. Each organ of the state should be able to internally placate its internal turmoil. The challenge for our Supreme Court in the roster allocation controversy is to achieve internal tranquility without creating factions within the collegiate.

As far as the rulebook states, the Supreme Court Rules direct the roster to be prepared by the Registrar on instructions of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), and he alone is the master. No one claims the inadequacy of a Judge to head a particular subject field. Yet a feeling of injustice is perceived when the popular choice seems to be reserved for a few. It, therefore, becomes important to understand how other jurisdictions preclude such feuds within their own judicial structures.

The American preclusion

Justice Felix Frankfurter of the American Supreme Court had advised B. N. Rau against the internal scattering of the Constitutional court. Giving heed to the practice of an en banc (full) Supreme Court, it was recommended that there would be as many courts as its benches; and rightly so. The American solution was to prevent benches in the court. Problems associated with the roster allocation in India only show up because the court sits in benches.

The British bifurcation

The UK Supreme Court adopts a random allotment of cases. With usually two benches of five or six judges, the president or the vice-president preside over each with a panel of policy-diverse and subject-expert judges. The British realised the pragmatic need to have a multiplicity of benches. Yet they ensured fairness by randomised allotments. Shuffling of cases is not suitable to India because the benches deal with a varied caseload. A bench dealing with criminal appeals would be irked with a randomly allotted writ petition.

The Australian compromise

In the Australian Supreme Court, important cases are decided by the full bench; all seven judges sit together. For other cases (where multiple smaller benches are constituted) the roster is proposed by the CJ, but it is not determinative. This led to an interesting situation in the 1930s when Justice Hayden Starke would sit on benches he wasnt named in. However, the Indian Supreme Court of 31 judges cannot afford such liberties. Opposed to other jurisdictions, our court faces a voluminous caseload which forces scattered benches of smaller strengths. Moreover, a situation akin to Justice Starke would only open up fissures in judicial camaraderie.

The German precision

The German model is precise and crisp; judges are assigned to Senates (benches), and the jurisdiction of each Senate is defined. The determination of what cases a Senate would deal in is based primarily on the branches of law, with the presidential board annually shuffling their compositions. Therefore, it becomes impossible to allot a case to a specific judge after it comes up before the court. The Germans have understood that fairness cannot be in a post facto allocation, but only when allocation happens before cases come up. This is what the Indian courts should be aiming for.

The Indian reforms

The fundamental tenant of fair play is best enshrined in the principles of natural justice: nemo iudex in causa sua (no man can be the judge of his own cause). In order to preclude any bias, the CJI must demonstrate that he is not the determiner in a system where he himself is a participant. To ensure this, three essentials must be adopted within the existing system of roster allocation.

First, a fair model must have an unambiguous distribution. Benches should be constituted keeping in mind the requirement of their number and size. And each Bench should be allocated with its own sphere of jurisdiction, either in terms of the branch of law or the kind of petition filed.

Second, the model must not be retrospective. Once a case comes up to the court it would be procedurally unfair for it to be allotted to any Bench. Allotments should be blind in respect of the specificities of the case.

Third, such a model must not only be made aware to the participating Judges, but to the public at large. Any deviation can only be prevented if there is adequate awareness of what rules are laid down.

This would strengthen the trust that the public holds, in what a few say is an opaquely governed institution. We cannot take away the operational organisation of the courts which have developed sui generis to our esoteric legal environment. Yet, there must be enough scope for judges to be shuffled as long as the tenants of fair play are not jeopardised. Such should be the framework of roster allocation in India.
G Parthasarthy

G Parthasarthy

Terrorist attacks by the Taliban in January 2018 have set the alarm bells ringing internationally, with growing doubts about the ability of the Afghan Government to exercise even a measure of control over large tracts of the country, including the capital Kabul.

The first Taliban attack was on the heavily protected and avowedly impregnable Intercontinental Hotel, resulting in the killing of 22 persons. An attack by a Taliban suicide bomber, setting off explosives in an ambulance in the heart of the capital, killed 104 Afghans. The month ended with yet another attack in Kabul, this time by the Islamic State, on an army academy, where 14 soldiers were killed.

Last year too was traumatic. The Afghan National Army suffered an estimated 30,000 personnel killed. An attack on an army camp near the northern city of Mazar e Sharif, widely regarded as an anti-Taliban stronghold, resulted in the deaths of more than 140 soldiers in September 2017.

International concern has been accentuated by the political controversies that have plagued Afghanistan, since the controversial Presidential elections in 2014, which led to the imperious American Secretary of State John Kerry hurriedly brokering an agreement, in which Ashraf Ghani became the President and his rival Abdullah Abdullah was appointed as "Chief Executive".

This arrangement is not constitutional. There is no clearly defined demarcation of powers. It is thus a recipe for problems of governance and political management. Evidently unwilling to seek constitutional legitimacy through the traditional Afghan practice of a convening a meeting of a "Loya Jirgah", the Government has since invited internal challenges from powerful regional leaders. These include the popular and powerful Tajik Governor of the northern Balkh Province, Atta Mohammed Noor, the Uzbek warlord and First Vice President Rashid Dostum, the Deputy to the Afghan CEO Haji Mohammed Mohaqiq and Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani. How all this will play out in Parliamentary elections, already delayed by three years, and Presidential elections in 2019, remains to be seen.

These developments are occurring at a time when Pakistan's civilian Government led by a political nonentity has neither the status nor authority, to challenge the powerful military establishment, which is determined to destabilise the Afghan Government, through enhanced support for the Taliban. The Trump administration threatened to attack Taliban bases in Afghanistan, prompting a Pakistani response that any attack by drones across the international border would be resisted and drones shot down. Pakistan evidently believes that the Trump Administration will not carry out the threat of military strikes across the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, in the face of its threats that it will close the only present route for supplies to American forces in Afghanistan, in the event of cross-border American attacks.

While President Trump has repeatedly warned Pakistan of serious consequences for sponsoring terrorism, the Pakistan military evidently believes that like in case of his repeated threats to North Korea and China, Trump will back off from doing anything serious or drastic, militarily. A new dimension has, however, now arisen with CIA Director Mike Pompeo spelling out what the US would do, if Pakistan refused to act against the Taliban and turned down the US calls to destroy Taliban "safe havens" in Pakistan. Pompeo bluntly asserted: "in the absence of the Pakistanis achieving that, we are going to do everything we can to make sure the safe havens no longer exist". This blunt warning by the CIA chief suggests that the US would pursue using a wide range of options-overt and covert- to achieve its aims.

In the meantime, Trump has made it clear that "talks" with the Taliban are ruled out, as long as it persists with terrorism. This is a significant change from the policy of the Obama administration, which walked into the Pakistani-Chinese trap of promoting a direct and unconditional dialogue between the Taliban and the Afghan Government, thereby putting the Taliban on the same level as the Afghan Government, instead of compelling the Taliban to first end its terrorist activities. Pakistan's policy in its relations with India and Afghanistan is, after all, to compel the neighbouring countries to give legitimacy to terrorists and terrorism that it backs, by direct and unconditional dialogue.

While India has spelt out details of future economic assistance and military training it will be providing to Afghanistan, there is now need for New Delhi and Kabul to work more closely on issues of terrorism sponsored by Pakistan, particularly in shaping US and international pressures on Pakistan. The US decision to end bilateral economic and military assistance to Pakistan is totally inadequate despite the fact that Pakistan faces a serious shortage of foreign exchange, arising from a growing trade deficit. The US should be persuaded to work with its European allies, Japan, major oil producers like Saudi Arabia and international financial institutions like the World Bank, the IMF and the Asian Development Bank to withhold economic assistance to Pakistan. The much-touted Chinese "assistance" to Pakistan exclusively involves provision of Chinese machinery, currency and workers for identified projects. It will not add to Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves. On the contrary, Chinese "aid" will soon start depleting Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves, when repayments to it commence.

Pakistan and its Taliban proteges will feel the squeeze only when economic pressures is combined with growing isolation through pressures brought about by India, Afghanistan and the US, working in a coordinated manner. Pakistan, which is given to exploiting internal fissures and fault-lines of others should be made to realise that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. The Obama administration erred seriously when it encouraged Qatar to permit the Taliban to open an office on its soil, thereby giving the Taliban an aura of international legitimacy. Qatar has to be persuaded to close the Taliban office in its capital. Others like Saudi Arabia and the UAE should be persuaded to ban Taliban supporters from entry, with financial assets of pro-Taliban elements monitored and confiscated. These are issues requiring close coordination between Washington, New Delhi and Kabul. Most importantly, while avoiding any interference in Afghanistan's internal affairs, Afghans should be encouraged to put their differences aside and seek mutual understanding and reconciliation, if they are to succeed in overcoming the Pakistan/Taliban challenge.
vermaajay1968@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 6

State BJP president Manoj Tiwari sought an upgrade in his security cover from Y to Z category from the Centre in the wake of what he called the recent attacks on him in West Bengal and the national Capital.

In a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Tiwari said: Two recent attacks on me  one in West Bengal after the state governments refusal to provide security during campaigning and another at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals residence  prove that the Y category security given to me is not adequate.

Tiwari, the BJP MP from Northeast Delhi, was referring to an alleged attack on a delegation of BJP leaders on January 30 by AAP legislators and anti-social elements at Kejriwals residence when they had gone there for a discussion to find a way to provide relief to traders affected by the ongoing sealing drive.

Thus, I request you to upgrade my security cover to Z category, Tiwari said.

He said he visited other states as part of the partys campaigning and expansion programme.
editorial@tribune.com

Bijendra Ahlawat

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, February 7

With the rescue of three more minor girls from human traffickers in the past 24 hours, the number of such minor girls in the district has reached eight.

A team of officials of the Jharkhand Government, which arrived here recently, were likely to take all victims to their hometowns on February 9, it had been learnt.

Three girls aged between 15 and 17 years have been found lodged in a couple of houses in Sector 29 here, said Rishikant, a spokesperson of Shakti Vahini, an NGO coordinating the rescue.

He said all these victims had been trafficked in the past few years, mainly from Godda district of Jharkhand, by a team of traffickers. The kin of the girls had been lured with the promise of handsome and respectable employment in the NCR, he said.

He claimed that a majority of the victims had been exploited and abused physically and sexually during their stay here.

He pointed out that minor girls could not be employed as per the law, but those belonging to poor families became a soft target for traffickers.

He said traffickers offered cash to their kin and respectable job to the victims. Forty girls had been reported to be missing from one district of Jharkhand in the past one year, he added.

While a majority of the rescued were expected to join their families back home soon, one of the victims was still recuperating in the civil hospital. She had suffered grievous injuries at the hands of her employer on January 27, a day before her rescue. The police had nabbed two of the main accused involved in the trafficking racket while two others were on the run.

4 held for forcing orphan into flesh trade

Kurukshetra: The district police have arrested four persons, including a woman, on the charge of pushing a 15-year-old orphan into a prostitution racket. Residing at a shelter home in the district since October last year, the victim spoke about her sexual exploitation during a counselling session. SP Abhishek Garg said District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) Indu Sharma had last week visited the protection home, being managed by a registered NGO. During counselling, the girl stated how she was forced into the flesh trade. As she gave the names, the team arrested Neelam, Avtar, Ajay and Rohit of the district last week, said the SP. She was allegedly abused before reaching the shelter home. A case was registered at the Ladwa police station on the complaint of the DCPO. Police sources said after the death of her parents, the victim and her two sisters were briefly taken care of by their relatives. After the relatives showed their inability to raise the girls, the three sisters had been admitted to the shelter home. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Mahendragarh, February 7

A group of youths organised a demonstration and burnt an effigy of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti at Ambedkar Chowk here today.

They were demanding registration of a cross-case against the two Kashmiri students of the Central University of Haryana who were assaulted last Friday. The protesters accused the police of taking one-sided action into the case reportedly under political pressure.

The Kashmiri students first manhandled some local youths in connection with some minor issue that day, but the police did not take any action against them while the local youths were arrested that night, said Rahul Yadav, one of the protesters.

He claimed that the Kashmiri students concerned were equally responsible for the incident and hence, a cross-case should be registered against them.

The protesters threatened to launch an agitation if the police did not accept their demand soon.

The police arrested three local youths on February 2 in connection with the attack on two Kashmiri students. The action was taken after Mehbooba Mufti urged her Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar on Twitter to investigate the matter and take strict action in this connection.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Sushil Manav

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 6

With All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti president Yashpal Malik threatening to disrupt BJP president Amit Shahs proposed Jind rally, the Haryana Government has decided to withdraw from courts 85 criminal cases related to the February 2016 quota violence. Home Department officials reportedly worked till late in the night on Monday to complete the paperwork.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) SS Prasad today said approval had been given to withdraw 85 FIRs against 869 Jat protesters from 13 districts. Approval has been accorded to withdraw six criminal cases against 33 accused in Bhiwani, eight cases against 231 accused in Fatehabad, five cases against 34 accused in Hisar, six cases against 96 accused in Jind, eight cases against 15 persons in Jhajjar and four cases involving 83 accused in Kurukshetra district.

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Giving more details, he said, seven criminal cases against 32 accused in Karnal, five cases against 44 accused in Palwal, 14 cases involving 143 persons in Panipat, one case against nine persons in Rewari, 18 cases involving 94 persons in Sonepat, two cases involving 55 accused in Yamunanagar and one case in Mahendergarh district were to be withdrawn.

Most of these cases pertain to rioting, unlawful assembly, wrongful restraint, disobedience of orders promulgated by a public servant and obstructing a public servant from discharging duty. These were filed in February 2016 after the Jat quota stir in the state turned violent.

Clarifying that no case pertaining to heinous crimes, such as murder, was to be withdrawn, Prasad said: We have written to the district magistrates, asking them to initiate the process for withdrawal of cases.

Section 321 of the CrPC provides that the public prosecutor, with the consent of the court, may withdraw any case before the pronouncement of judgment. The Punjab and Haryana High Court is monitoring the cases pertaining to the Jat quota violence.

The state government had approved the withdrawal of 138 FIRs against 1,158 Jat protesters after the Khattar governments truce with Malik in March last year. But in many cases, the courts rejected the applications filed by public prosecutors. Narsher Singh, Director, Prosecution, said appeals had now been filed before the higher courts in some of these cases.

Jat quota stir leader Yashpal Malik had on Sunday threatened to disrupt the motorcycle rally of BJP president Amit Shah in Jind on February 15. Jats will hold a roadshow in Jind on February 15 to oppose the BJP governments failure to meet our demands, despite Shahs assurance. We will disrupt his rally, he had warned.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7

Noting that a rape victim cant be allowed to be blackmailed, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the OP Jindal Global University gang-rape convicts to share their iCloud account password with the victim after her counsel expressed apprehension that they might misuse her nude pictures.

We are concerned about the present situation. There are pictures of the girl with one of you. It is difficult for us to tolerate continuous blackmail, said a Bench headed by Justice SA Bobde.

You must give up access to those photographs. If you have deleted, make sure that they are not released. If not, you have to give the password to the girl, the Bench told the counsel for convicts Hardik Sikri, Karan Chhabra and Vikas Garg.

If any password is available, it will be shared, senior counsel Shanti Bhushan and Mukul Rohatgi assured the Bench.

The courts direction came after senior counsel Colin Gonsalves expressed apprehension on behalf of the victim that her nude pictures were in possession of the accused who had been blackmailing her.

The top court had on January 11 refused to stay arrest warrants issued against two convicts in the OP Jindal Global University rape case.

Convicts Hardik Sikri and Karan Chhabra were given 20-year imprisonment after being found guilty of raping a fellow student in 2013.

The Bench had wondered how they remained in custody during trial and were released after being found guilty of rape and sentenced to 20-year prison term.

It is one of those rare cases where these men were behind the bar when the trial was on but they were released after they were held guilty of the offence. This was the first time they were released. This alone should be ground enough to reconsider the High Court order, the Bench had noted.

However, it went soft on third convict Vikas Garg who was given only a seven-year jail term as it stayed his arrest till January 18 when the matter will be taken up for further hearing.

There is a sea of difference in what he did and what the other two did, it had said.

The trio was convicted by a Sonepat court in May last year. The case hit headlines after the Punjab and Haryana High Court in September 2017 questioned the credibility of the victims testimony, talked of her promiscuity and sexual encounters in its bail order.

It would be a travesty if these young minds are confined to jail for an inordinate(ly) long period of time which would deprive them of their education, opportunity to redeem themselves and be a part of the society as normal beings, the High Court had said.

The top court had expressed surprise over all the three convicts being freed. How can that be? We will take the main accused back (into custody). It cannot be that all of you (convicts) are free, the Bench had said last month.

The top court had earlier stayed the High Courts order releasing the three convicts on bail. Thereafter, a district court in Sonepat issued warrants against them. They have now challenged the warrants before the top court.
editorial@tribune.com

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 7

The Congress today cracked the whip on 37 senior party leaders, including four former legislators, all Virbhadra loyalists. They have been expelled from the party for a period of six years for working against the Congress candidates in the Assembly elections.

The action by Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) has been taken on the directions of AICC president Rahul Gandhi, who, during his visit to the state in December last year, had made it amply clear that those indulging in anti-party activities would not be spared. All the 36 leaders have been expelled for a period of six years and their primary membership has also been cancelled.

The four former MLAs, who have been shown the door include Rangila Ram Rao, former minister from Sarkaghat in Mandi, Raghubir Singh from Lahaul Spiti, Manjit Dogra from Badsar in Hamirpur and Tek Chand Dogra from Nachan in Mandi. The Congress candidate in the Bhoranj by-poll Parmilla Devi and state president of the National Students Union of Indian (NSUI) has also been expelled from the party.

State Congress president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu said action has been taken on the recommendation of the concerned Block Congress Committee and District Congress Committee (DCC) and the party candidate against whom these leaders worked. Others who have been expelled are from various Assembly segments of Lahaul Spiti, Una, Anni, Palampur, Sujanpur, Hamirpur, Gagret, Jwalamukhi, Nalagarh, Doon, Baijnath, Balh, Naina Devi, Rampur and Paonta Sahib.

Incidentally, a large number of candidates had personally complained to the AICC president that they had been damaged by their own party leaders. Many candidates had even given audio and video proof to substantiate the allegations of under cutting and party bickering they had levelled.

The AICC General Secretary and In-charge of Congress Affairs in Himachal Sushil Kumar Shinde and AICC Secretary and Co-In-charge Ranjit Ranjan had also held personal interaction with each of the defeated candidates to get their feedback on the reasons for the partys defeat in the Assembly polls. They had handed over a detailed report to the AICC president.

As such it was being expected that party would expel many leaders, including former ministers and MLAs.

Had complained to AICC chief

Incidentally, a large number of candidates had complained to the AICC president that they had been damaged by their own party leaders.

Many candidates had even given audio and video proof to substantiate the allegations of under cutting and party bickering they had levelled.

HPCC chief said action has been taken on the recommendation of the concerned Block Congress Committee and the DCC

Manish new YC chief

Manish Thakur from Rohru will replace Vikaramaditya Singh, Shimla (Rural) MLA and son of Virbhadra Singh, as the new Working Youth Congress chief. Vikramaditya, who made his debut in the Assembly in the just concluded elections, had taken charge of Youth Congress in 2013.
Stock Exchange Notice

Date: 7 February 2018

GC Rieber Shipping - Second half 2017 results

GC Rieber Shipping ASA continue to improve fleet utilization. During the second half of 2017 the company was awarded several contracts bringing the utilization up to 87 percent. The recent award of a three-year charter for the SURF vessel Polar Onyx confirms the positive trend into 2018.

GC Rieber Shipping had an operating income of NOK 131.3 million in the second half of 2017, compared to NOK 88.5 million in the same period 2016. EBITDA was negative by NOK 2.0 million in the second half of 2017, compared to negative NOK 12.5 million in the corresponding period 2016. Total fleet utilization for the reporting period was 87 percent, compared to 70 percent for the second half of 2016.

The net profit for the second half of 2017 was negative NOK 45.5 million, compared to a loss of NOK 195.5 million in the corresponding period 2016.

During the reporting period, the company has succeeded in concluding the refinancing processes initiated during the spring of 2016. An extraordinary general meeting on 26 January 2018 resolved to carry out a Rights Issue of NOK 100 million. Combined with certain debt amendments agreed with the lending banks, this will strengthen the competitive position of GC Rieber Shipping going forward.

"The oil & gas markets remain challenging, but we're pleased to see that we continue to be awarded more work from existing customers and win new contracts especially within the subsea segment. We expect that our modern and efficient fleet, our crew and our organizational capabilities will continue to provide contractual opportunities and more work. In combination with the refinancing, the company has succeeded in putting a robust platform in place", says GC Rieber Shipping CEO, Christian W. Berg.

Please find the report and presentation for the second half 2017 enclosed.

A presentation via webcast of the company's results will be held on GC Rieber Shipping's website, www.gcrieber-shipping.com, 8 February at 8.30 a.m. A recorded version of the presentation will be available on the website after the webcast is finished.

For further information, please contact:

Christian W. Berg, CEO, phone: +47 974 05 553

Einar Ytredal, CFO, phone: +47 975 20 184

About GC Rieber Shipping:

GC Rieber Shipping's business within offshore/shipping includes ownership in specialized vessels, high quality marine ship management and project development within the segments subsea, ice/support and marine seismic.

The group has a specialized competence in offshore operations in harsh environments as well as design, development and maritime operation of offshore vessels.

GC Rieber Shipping currently operates and has direct and indirect ownership in 11 advanced special purpose vessels for defined markets within the subsea, ice/support and marine seismic segments.

The company has its headquarter and a ship management office in Bergen, and an additional ship management company in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (Russia). The company is listed on Oslo Brs with ticker RISH.

Further information is available on the company's website www.gcrieber-shipping.com.
editorial@tribune.com

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 7

The authorities at Government Medical College (GMC), Srinagar, have been repeatedly asking the state government to enhance the security at its associated hospitals, including Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, where militants managed to free a top Pakistani militant after killing two policemen on Tuesday.

GMC principal Samia Rashid had written twice in 2017 to the state government to enhance the security of the associated hospitals to safeguard the infrastructure along with patients and staff.

Shocked by the attack that took place outside the door of Samias OPD room, she again wrote on Wednesday to Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Pawan Kotwal, to provide an effective security system in the associated hospitals of the GMC.

The incident posed a threat and created an atmosphere of fear among the staff, patients and attendants visiting the SMHS Hospital. As requested earlier, an effective system on the analogy of the SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, is the need of the hour for the safety of human lives and infrastructure in the hospital, Samia wrote on Wednesday to the state government.

She said in future the detainees should be taken to the police hospital for health check-up due to security reasons. If consultation of specialists of the GMCs associated hospitals is required, a team of expert doctors can be deputed accordingly to the police hospital, Samia said.

Earlier, Samia had written to Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Baseer Khan, on June 17, 2017, that the associated hospitals of the GMC needed 500 security personnel for which Rs 3.6 crore were needed annually.

She wrote another letter to Baseer Khan on December 28, 2017, asking him to take up the matter with the government so that an effective security system could be put in place in the associated hospitals of the GMC, Srinagar.
editorial@tribune.com

Azhar Qadri

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 7

Five or six assailants and their accomplices may have taken part in Tuesdays audacious attack to free Lashkar-e-Toiba commander from Srinagars main healthcare facility, where he had been taken for a medical check-up by the police, a preliminary investigation has found.

A police officer, probing the attack in which two policemen were killed and Pakistani militant Naveed Jatt escaped, said the investigation so far had found that a minimum of five or six men were involved in the attack.

There was a minimum of five or six of them. Their identities are a matter of further investigation, the police officer said. The investigators have located the number of assailants and their accomplices by analysing the videos captured on close circuit television cameras of the hospital.

The police officer, however, said it was unclear how many among them were militants and their civilian supporters, known as overground workers (OGWs).

Srinagar SSPImtiyaz Parray said the investigation was at an early stage and the identity of the assailants was not yet known. Jatt, who escaped during the attack, was a LeTdistrict commander when he was arrested in Kulgam in 2014.

The attack took place at 11.38 am yesterday when militants appeared inside the crowded SMHS Hospital and shot at the policemen escorting the Pakistani militant.

The initial assumption was that two militants were involved in the attack and were waiting in the parking area of the hospital when the police vehicle drove Jatt to the hospital.

Jatt, who operated under the name Abu Hanzalla prior to his 2014 arrest, was being escorted by three policemen to the hospital from Srinagar Central Jail, where he was lodged.

Jatt is now one of the senior most commanders in the Lashkar-e-Toiba as the outfit faced back-to-back elimination of several high-profile commanders last year. Jatt was closely associated with two former LeT chiefs  Abu Qasim and Abu Dujana, killed in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Majid Jahangir &

Samaan Lateef

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, February 6

In an audacious attack inside Srinagar's main health care facility, a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) commander, a Pakistani who is believed to have met Mumbai attacker Ajmal Kasab at a training camp, today fled from custody, handcuffed. The attack took place at 11.38 am.

Escorted by three policemen, six prisoners, including Naveed Jatt, alias Abu Hanzalla, lodged at the Srinagar Central Jail, were brought in a vehicle to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital (SMHS) for a checkup. As Naveed got down, Head Constable Mushtaq Ahmad (48) and Babar Ahmad Khan (34) were shot dead.

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Piecing together eyewitness accounts and CCTV footage, the police said two militants were lying in wait at the parking lot of the hospital OPD. As soon as the police vehicle drove in, a pheran-clad youth handed a pistol to Naveed, who pumped bullets into Head Constable Mushtaq Ahmad's chest. Babar Ahmad tried to retaliate but in vain. While Mushtaq died almost immediately, the latter succumbed to his injuries hours later.

The militants are believed to have escaped on a motor bike. It seems information on Naveeds movement was leaked out from the central jail, state police chief Shesh Paul Vaid said. DGP, Prisons, SK Mishra has ordered an internal inquiry.

Naveed, the deputy of Lashkars Abu Qasim, the mastermind of several deadly attacks, was arrested in Kulgam district in June 2014. A school dropout from Borevella district of Multan, he is believed to have been involved in the attack on the Army in Hyderpora, on Silver Star Hotel along the national highway outside Srinagar and three attacks on the police and CRPF camps in south Kashmir.

The police wanted to shift him, along with five other prisoners, to other high-security jails outside the Valley but was disallowed by a sessions court on December 26, 2017. (With PTI inputs)
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United Nations, February 7

Pakistan has brought up the Kashmir issue at the United Nations Security Council, accusing it of selective implementation of its resolutions.

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Nothing undermines the credibility of the Council more than selective implementation of its resolutions, Pakistans Permanent Representative Maleeha Lodhi said on Tuesday during a session on its working methods.

The Council should, therefore, periodically review implementation of its resolutions, especially on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, she added.

Failure to enforce its own resolutions undercuts not just the Councils standing in the world, but the UN as well. Her reference was to a 1948 Council resolution that called for a plebiscite to determine the future of Kashmir, while also demanding the withdrawal of Pakistani tribesmen who entered the state.

India has said that the tribesmen were Pakistani troops who tried to annex Kashmir.

Given Pakistans refusal to withdraw its troops, India could not hold a plebiscite and New Delhi maintains that by participating in the elections in the state the Kashmiri people have exercised their democratic rights integrating with India.

Other Council resolutions relating to Kashmir were about a commission to oversee the plebiscite and, in 1957, on a UN representative mediating between the two neighbours.

India also maintains that under the 1972 Simla Agreement signed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who was then the President of Pakistan, the two countries have agreed to sort out their disputes between themselves without the intervention of third parties.

In 2010, the Council removed Kashmir from its list of unresolved international disputes.

At the beginning of every year, Pakistan also asks the Council to keep alive the question of the Hyderabads integration with India based on a telegram from Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan Siddiqi Asaf Jah VII asking it to keep India out of the princely state. The Nizam, however, withdrew the complaint after the princely states integration into India.

Two other issues it attempts to revive in its annual ritual are resolutions relating to the 1965 India-Pakistan War and the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence.  IANS
editorial@tribune.com

New Delhi, February 7

A Delhi court today granted bail to Bilal Ahmed Kawa, a suspected LeT operative arrested recently in connection with the 2000 Red Fort attack, saying other accused having more serious charges against them had been either acquitted or discharged in the case.

Kawa, a businessman of Srinagar, was arrested from the Delhi airport on January 10 during a joint operation by the Delhi Police and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma also took on record the Income Tax returns filed by Kawa which, according to the accused, showed that he was not absconding.

Granting the relief, the court asked Kawa to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of same amount. It directed him not to hamper the investigation and join the probe whenever asked by the Delhi Police.

It noted that out of the 11 persons arrested in connection with case, 10 were discharged or acquitted by either a trial court or the Delhi High Court and only Mohammad Arif, alias Ashfaq, of the Pakistan-based terror group LeT was convicted and awarded death sentence, which was upheld by the Supreme Court. The apex court later stayed the execution of Ashfaqs death sentence as he had filed a fresh petition seeking reconsideration of his review petition.

Taking note of the judicial development in the case, the judge today said, All other accused except Mohammad Arif, alias Ashfaq, have either been acquitted or discharged. The charges of conspiracy could not be established. There were more allegations against those acquitted or discharged.

The police custody of the accused (Kawa) was taken for 10 days and further police custody is not required. The documents related to IT returns were shown. Considering the documents and submissions, I find it a fit case for grant of bail, the judge said.

Appearing for Kawa, senior lawyer Aman Lekhi and advocate Bakul Jain told the court that he was not absconding and was carrying out his business.

The bail application was opposed by the police which said that he was one of the conspirators in the attack and was absconding for 17 years and had been declared a proclaimed offender.

They said that the investigation against him was at an initial stage and he might hamper the ongoing probe.

The police have alleged that Kawa had received Rs 29.5 lakh from Pakistan through hawala operators to fund the Red Fort terror attack on December 22, 2000, in which three persons, including two Army jawans, were killed.

Besides giving death penalty to Mohammad Arif, the trial court in October 2005 had sentenced two key conspirators  Nazir Ahmed Qasid and his son Farooq Ahmed Qasid  to life imprisonment.

Additional Sessions Judge O P Saini had also awarded a seven-year jail term to Arifs wife Rehmana Yousuf Farooqui, an Indian, for giving shelter to the main accused. Other convicts  Bagar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadaqat Ali and Matloob Alam  were also awarded rigorous imprisonment for seven years.

In September 2007, the Delhi High Court had upheld the death sentence to Arif, saying terrorists who have no value for human lives deserved capital punishment.

The High Court, however, acquitted six others, including Farooqui, citing lack of sufficient evidence against them.  PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 7

Admitting a security lapse in Tuesdays terror attack at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital in Srinagar, the J&K Government on Wednesday announced that a thorough investigation would be conducted into the incident.

Two policemen of the J&K Police were killed in the attack and one dreaded Pakistani terrorist Naveed Jatt, alias Abu Hanzalla, of the Lashkar-e-Toiba was freed from custody by militants.

As soon as the House assembled this morning for the question hour, National Conference member Ali Mohammad Sagar raised the issue, Within no time, other opposition members joined Sagar and took the government to task for the biggest security lapse.

Amid the shouting of slogans, Sagar said Tuesdays incident spoke volumes about the prevailing situation in the Valley. Congress member GM Saroori also vociferously raised the issue and asked the government to come out with a statement.

Reacting to the concern shown by opposition members, Minister for Revenue AR Veeri said the government would investigate the lapses. An FIR had been registered and investigation taken up, he added.

Giving details, he said a Pakistani militant had managed to escape from police custody after militants attacked a police party in SMHS Hospital, Srinagar.

On February 6 around 11:30, a Pakistani militant Mohammad Naveed Jatt, using aliases Abu Hanzalla and Choti, lodged in Central Jail, Srinagar, was brought to SMHS Hospital along with five more detainees escorted by the police party of District Police Lines, he said.

He informed the House that as soon as they reached the OPD of SMHS Hospital, the police party accompanying the militant was fired at by some unknown militants with a pistol. Two police personnel, namely Head Constable Mushtaq Ahmad and Constable Babar Khan, got injured and later succumbed.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Dinesh Manhotra

Tribune News Service

Jammu, February 7

Admitting security lapse in Tuesdays terror attack at SMHS Hospital in Srinagar, the J&K Government on Wednesday announced a thorough investigation to look into such lapses.

Two cops of Jammu and Kashmir Police were killed and a dreaded Pakistani terrorist managed to escape after the attack.

Reacting to the demand of opposition members, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Abdul Rehman Veeri on Wednesday announced in the Assembly that the government would investigate security lapses in the incident. He said the oppositions concerns were genuine.

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Earlier, as soon as the proceedings of the House began opposition members vociferously raised the issue of Tuesdays terror attack.

National Conference member Ali Mohammad Sagar said the attack has exposed the tall claims of the state government. He said that on the one hand, the state government is claiming that the situation is conducive for conducting panchayat elections, but on the other, militants struck in the heart of Srinagar.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7

There had been no breach of Aadhaar data and a majority of the countrys people trusted the scheme as it is completely safe, Union IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Wednesday.

Terming Aadhaar a game-changer, Prasad said in the Lok Sabha that as of now 120 crore people had the Aadhaar cards and 57 crore bank accounts were linked with it, which resulted in saving Rs 57,000 crore which otherwise would have been pocketed by unscrupulous elements.

The minister said Unique Identification Authority of India had a well-designed, multi-layered robust system in place and the same is being constantly upgraded to maintain the highest level of data security and integrity.

The UIDAI has adequate legal, organisational and technological measures in place for the security of the data stored with UIDAI, he said during Question Hour.

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Prasad said data protection measures had also been mandated for the requesting entities and eco-system partners.

Government is fully alive to the need to maintain highest level of data security, privacy and is deploying the necessary technology and infrastructure, he said.

Referring to The Tribune report which claimed that one could get the Aaadhar details of anyone by paying nominal fees, Prasad said an FIR had been registered but no journalist had been named.

We respect press freedom. The journalist concerned should cooperate with the investigation, he said.

Aadhaar data is completely safe. Aadhaar is a game-changer. Majority of the people trust Aadhaar, he said.

The minister said if any company is found misusing Aadhaar data, it could be prosecuted and people concerned could be jailed for three to seven years besides imposition of fine.

This is incorporated in a clause of the Aadhaar Act, he said.

Prasad, however, said no one would be denied government benefits due to absence of Aadhaar as other options were also available.

He said Aadhaar is being appreciated by international organisations like the World Bank and the IMF.

When an MP referred to the Aadhaar case hearing in the Supreme Court, Prasad said the court case should not be discussed in the Lok Sabha. With PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Beijing, February 7

China today warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation, amid repeated calls for Indias military intervention by exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed to resolve the political crisis.

The Indian Ocean island nation plunged into a political chaos last week when the countrys Supreme Court ordered the release of nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed, maintaining that their trials were politically motivated and flawed.

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Nasheed, who is currently in exile in Sri Lanka, had yesterday tweeted that India should send an envoy, backed by its military, to release judges and leaders of political parties detained by President Abdulla Yameen.

Asked to comment on Nasheeds call to India, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said: The international community should play a constructive role on the basis of respecting the Maldives sovereignty instead of taking measures that could complicate the situation.

Asked how the situation could be resolved internally when Yameen has arrested the judges as well as former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Geng said relevant parties should find a solution internally. We believe they (have) wisdom and capability to address the situation independently, he said.

Geng skirted a question on whether China was asking Yameen to hold talks to resolve the crisis. He also sought to refute allegations by the Maldives Opposition parties that China was backing Yameen because he had approved several Chinese projects and signed the controversial Free Trade Agreement with China during his visit to Beijing in December.

China views the Maldives as key to its Maritime Silk Road project in the Indian Ocean as it has acquired the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka and Djibouti.  PTI

Play role of liberators: Nasheed to India

Saying resolve things internally is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see Indias role positively; in 1988, they came, resolved crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India nowMohamed Nasheed, Exiled Former President
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, February 7

A Delhi court on Wednesday granted bail to Bilal Ahmed Kawa, an LeT suspect arrested in the 2000 Red Fort attack case, noting that except one, all other co-accused have either been acquitted or discharged.

Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma noted that the other accused acquitted or discharged by the trial court and the Delhi High Court, were facing more serious charges than Kawa.

The court granted the relief to Kawa on furnishing of a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of the same amount, and directed him not to hamper the probe.

Kawa was arrested from Terminal-3 of the Delhi airport on January 10 during a joint operation by the Delhi Police and the Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), and currently was in judicial custody.

In his bail plea, Kawa had claimed that no purpose would be served by keeping him in custody further.

The police have alleged that Kawa had received Rs 29.5 lakh from Pakistan to fund the terror attack on the historic Red Fort on December 22, 2000, in which three people, including two Army jawans, were killed.

They told the court that Kawa, one of the conspirators in the attack, was absconding for 17 years and had been declared a proclaimed offender.

While Kawa was on the run, a trial court in October 2005, awarded death sentence to Pakistan-based LeT terrorist Mohammad Arif, alias Ashfaq. Two key conspiratorsNazir Ahmed Qasid and his son Farooq Ahmed Qasidwere awarded life imprisonment.

Additional Sessions Judge O P Saini had also awarded seven-year jail term to Ashfaqs wife Rehmana Yousuf Farooqui, an Indian, for giving shelter to the main accused. Other convictsBagar Mohsin Baghwala, Sadaqat Ali and Matloob Alamwere also awarded seven-year rigorous imprisonment.

On September 2007, the Delhi High Court had upheld the death sentence to Ashfaq, saying terrorists who have no value for human lives deserved capital punishment.

The High Court, however, acquitted six others, including Farooqui, citing lack of sufficient evidence against them. PTI
English French

JCDecaux wins The Hague's advertising street furniture contract

Paris, 7 February 2018 - JCDecaux SA ( Euronext Paris: DEC ), the number one outdoor advertising company worldwide, announced today that its Dutch company, JCDecaux Netherlands, has been awarded the 8-year exclusive contract for advertising street furniture ( excluding bus-shelters ) in The Hague .

The Hague with 515.000 population is the 3rd largest city in the Netherlands and this contract covers 190 free-standing 2m panels and 10 6m panels, which can either, be static, scrolling or digital including full motion content.

Jean-Francois Decaux, Chairman of the Executive Board and CO-CEO of JCDecaux, said: "The Hague's advertising street furniture contract win means that JCDecaux Netherlands will be shortly in a unique position to provide the best OOH/DOOH media solutions to both local and national advertisers in the 3 largest Dutch cities being Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. Furthermore, the decision from The Hague to allow the display of full motion content on our HD 86"screens will enable very creative solutions for both commercial and non-commercial campaigns to benefit advertisers and the City".

Key figures for JCDecaux

2017 revenue: 3,472 million

JCDecaux is listed on Euronext Paris's Eurolist market and forms part of the Euronext 100 and Euronext Family Business indexes

JCDecaux also forms part of the FTSE4Good and Dow Jones Sustainability Europe indexes.

World no. 1 in street furniture (559,070 advertising panels)

World no. 1 in transport advertising operating in more than 220 airports and 260 contracts in metros, buses, trains and trams (354,680 panels)

European no. 1 in grand format advertising (169,860 panels)

European no. 1 in outdoor advertising (721,130 panels)

No. 1 in outdoor advertising for Asia-Pacific (219,310 panels)

No. 1 in outdoor advertising for Latin America (70,680 panels)

No. 1 in outdoor advertising for Africa (29,820 panels)

No. 1 for outdoor advertising in the Middle East (16,230 panels)

Leader in self-service cycling: pioneer of soft mobility

1,117,890 panels in more than 75 countries

Presence in 4,280 towns of 10,000 plus citizens

Daily audience: over 410 million people

13,030 employees

Head of Communications: Agathe Albertini

+33 (0)1 30 79 34 99 - agathe.albertini@jcdecaux.com

Investor Relations Arnaud Courtial

+33 (0)1 30 79 79 93 - arnaud.courtial@jcdecaux.com
rchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, February 7

The finance ministry has told the Central Information Commission (CIC) that it does not have information about the loans given to industrialist Vijay Mallya, prompting the transparency panel to remark that the response was vague and not sustainable as per law.

Chief Information Commissioner RK Mathur, while hearing the matter of one Rajiv Kumar Khare, told the finance ministry official that the Right to Information (RTI) application filed by the applicant should be transferred to the proper public authority.

The finance ministry official may have claimed that the ministry does not have information on the loans sanctioned by different banks to Mallya or the details of the guarantee given by Mallya against those loans, but the ministry had responded to questions in this regard in Parliament in the past.

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Union Minister of State for Finance Santosh Gangwar had responded to a question on Mallya on March 17, 2017, stating that the person whose name was mentioned (Mallya) was given a loan in September 2004 and that it was reviewed in February 2008.

The Rs 8,040-crore loan was declared a non-performing asset (NPA) in 2009 and the NPA was restructured in 2010, he had said.

As reported by PSBs, an amount of Rs 155 crore has been recovered by conducting a mega online auction by selling from the seized properties from defaulting loan borrower Vijay Mallya, Gangwar had told the Rajya Sabha on March 21.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, during a debate on demonetisation in the Upper House on November 17, 2016, had termed the loan issue of Mallya a terrible legacy that the NDA government had inherited from the previous UPA regime.

But as Khare failed to get a response from the finance ministry to his RTI application, seeking details of Mallyas loans, he had approached the CIC.

The term information under the RTI Act means any record which is held by or under the control of a public authority.

Khare was initially told by the ministry that the information on Mallyas loans could not be given because of the exemption clauses in the RTI Act related to personal safety and prejudicial effect on the economic interest of the state.

The respondent (the finance ministry official) further stated that the said information was not available with the ministry. He stated that the information sought by the appellant might be available with the banks concerned or Reserve Bank of India, the chief information commissioner noted.

He directed the ministry to transfer the application to the public authority that held the information. PTI
gspannu7@gmail.com

Satna (MP), January 7

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare alleged here on Wednesday that the NDA government was more concerned about industrialists rather than farmers.

He also claimed that nearly 12 lakh farmers have committed suicide in the last 70 years in the country.

The government is more concerned about the industrialists like Ambani, Adani, rather than farmers, he said while addressing a public meeting here.

I had written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which I categorically stated that farmers were not getting adequate price for their produce and the government is directly responsible for this, he added.

The veteran social activist said that after coming to power, Modi had said that efforts would be initiated to rid the country of corruption, but it has not happened.

Rather, only a lot of publicity was done on this. The government lacks the will power (to make the country corruption-free), he said.

Hazare recalled that whenever they held protests against the governments, they were put into jail.

He claimed that the Congress could not win the last elections due to their protest (over the Lokpal issue).

He said that for the protest he is going to launch from March 23 in New Delhi for a stringent Lokpal law and over farmers issues, he has been touring the country since the last two months.

We only want that common people get their dues and farmers get satisfactory price for their produce, he said.  PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, February 7

A special court here on Wednesday sent Indrani Mukerjea, a prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, to 14 days judicial custody in connection with a case related to INX Media.

Special CBI Judge Sunil Rana remanded Indrani in judicial custody after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said she was not required for further custodial interrogation in this case.

Indrani, who was produced before the court after two-day CBI custody ended, will be taken to Mumbai today itself.

Senior Congress leader P Chidambarams son Kartis name has also cropped up in the case, which relates to Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) approval granted in 2007 for receipt of funds by INX Media.

Indrani is one of the founders of INX Media.

The CBI had earlier said Indrani was required to be questioned and confronted with other accused in the case.

There are voluminous records in the case and permission to interrogate had been granted earlier as well, it had said.

The Mumbai Police had told the court that Indrani has to be produced before a Mumbai court on February 13 and cannot be kept in Delhi beyond that.

The Enforcement Directorate has registered a case against INX Media, its founders Peter Mukerjea, former media baron, and his wife Indrani, and others under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

INX Media has been accused of violating FIPB guidelines while receiving investments from Mauritius.

The Mukerjeas are facing trial in Mumbai for allegedly conspiring to kill Sheena Bora, Indranis daughter from an earlier relationship, in April 2012. PTI
amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, February 7

Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said people using local languages in High Court proceedings will be an "ideal situation".

He said this during Zero Hour after Sasikala Pushpa (AIADMK) urged the Centre to "reconsider" the resolution sent to it by the Tamil Nadu State Legislative Assembly for allowing the use of Tamil as official language in the proceedings of the Madras High Court.

Pushpa said recently the Centre had rejected the demand of Tamil Nadu for the use of Tamil in High Court and urged the Centre to reconsider the decision.

To this, Naidu said it will be an ideal situation if people could use local languages in the high courts of their states.

"This will be an ideal situation if the country moves in this direction. For that, there has to be broad consensus.

Everybody should agree...," the Chairman said.

In his Zero Hour mention, Sanjay Singh (AAP) raised the issue of sealing in Delhi saying the move has affected 7 lakh traders and a large number of others who are dependent on them.

He said as per a news report, Delhi traders have paid Rs 4,000 crore towards conversion fee and sealing process was still going on.

Singh said markets like Chandni Chowk and Sadar Bazar, which are in existence since Mughal and British era, are also being affected due to the sealing drive.

The AAP member urged the government to bring a bill to stop sealing.

Congress MP Rajani Patil raised the issue of reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies.

Naidu said the issue raised by Patil was "good".

"This is a challenge before the entire nation. We all gave a commitment. We should honour it at the earliest," the Rajya Sabha Chairman said.  PTI
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

New Delhi, February 7

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested an alleged hawala operator from Uttarakhand in connection with its probe into the activities of Pakistan- based Lashker-e-Taiba in India, an official spokesperson said here on Wednesday.

Abdul Samad, the fifth person arrested in the case, was arrested in Haridwar on Wednesdayand brought to Delhi, the spokesperson said.

Samad, a resident of Bukkanpur village in Uttarakhand's Haridwar district, was produced before a designated court yesterday and remanded to six days NIA custody, he said.

Samad is a leading hawala operator, operating in the area of Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Roorkee, who was acting as the conduit of an LeT financier based in Saudi Arabia through his cousin in that country, the spokesperson alleged.

In November 2017, he allegedly collected Rs 5.50 lakh from hawala operators in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to deliver it to Shaikh Abdul Naeem, an active LeT member.

Shaikh visited and established bases in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on the directions of his handler Abdul alias Rehan based in Pakistan, the NIA said.

Besides Samad, the NIA has arrested Shaikh as well as Dhannu Raja and Mahfooz Alam, both residents of Gopal Gunj in Bihar, and Touseef Ahmed Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

The case started with Shaikh, a resident of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, being arrested from Lucknow in November last year. Investigations revealed that he had spent time in troubled south Kashmir and photographed some Army installations, officials said

Central security agencies, which interrogated Shaikh at length, told investigators about his accomplice, Tauseef Ahmed Malik, in Pulwama district. He was placed under arrest by the NIA on December 9.

Shaikh also disclosed during questioning that he had stayed in Pulwama, moved to various places with the help of Malik and even photographed some Army and paramilitary camps, the officials claimed

Wanted in connection with a 2014 terror case and on the run since then, Shaikh told investigators that some important power projects and railway tracks in the Valley were surveyed, they said.

He also visited places in Himachal Pradesh, particularly Kasol, which is frequented by Israeli nationals, according to the officials.

Security agencies claimed that Shaikh was roped in for a recce mission similar to that undertaken by Pakistani-American David Headley, who is serving a 35-year prison sentence in a US jail for his involvement in terror activities and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008. PTI
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

New Delhi, February 7

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday attacked the Congress for creation of Telangana with only political considerations saying people are suffering because of the decision.

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Speaking in the Lok Sabha, while replying to the motion of thanks on the President's address, the PM said Partition was the result of Congress's wrong policies.

He said: Not a single day has passed when the country has not suffered due to poison sowed by you."

Amidst continuous pandemonium, the PM said the Opposition has the right to protest but not disrupt it.

You were only singing paeans of one family instead of focusing on taking the country forward, said Modi to the Congress.

NT Rama Rao was insulted (by Rajiv Gandhi) and that simmering anger led to formation of TDP, said the PM.

In a hard-hitting speech, the PM said: How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did the Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will. This is no commitment to democracy.

Had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been the first Prime Minister, a part of Kashmir would not have been under control of Pakistan, said Modi.

How can one of the leaders say India got democracy due to Pandit Nehru and Congress Party? Is this their reading of India's history? What arrogance is this, said the PM.

Don't give sermons on democracy to us, we know what you have done in the past, he said.

He said after forming the government in 2014, they prioritised the North East and worked for the development of the seven states.

The PM said: Employment is increasing but you have closed your eyes as you were busy singing your songs. Atal ji ne kaha hai chhote Mann se koi bada nahi hota aur toote Mann se koi khada nahi hota.

A government that talked about 21st century could not bring an aviation policy. Then what kind of a 21st century did they talk about, the one with bullock carts? said the PM.

Blaming the previous UPA government for the NPAs in banks, Modi said his government was wrongly criticised for the sins of the Congress which even hid the exact value of these stressed assets.

Modi claimed if he had revealed the staggering figure of the Non Performing Assets (NPAs) earlier, it would have deeply hurt the economy but now he was doing so with evidence, as banks were getting back into good health.

He said the Congress gave wrong figures as NPAs were 82 per cent and not 36 per cent. Modi said that the total advance made by banks rose from Rs 18 lakh crore to Rs 52 lakh crore. Agencies
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, february 7

Launching an all-out attack on the Congress in both Houses of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today blamed the grand old party for all ills afflicting the country. It was because of the wrong policies of successive Congress governments since 1947 that India lagged behind even those countries that attained freedom after us, he said.

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He was replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to the Presidents address.

Assailing the Congress, he said, This is the same party that divided India. For decades, one party devoted all its energy in singing paeans to one family. The interests of the nation were overlooked for the interests of one family.

Claiming that Partition was the result of the Congress wrong policies, he said, Not a single day has passed when the country has not suffered due to the poison sowed by you.

He went on to add that had Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel been the first Prime Minister, a part of Kashmir would not have been under Pakistan control.

Claiming that the Congress was solely responsible for the huge NPAs of banks, Modi said when he took over in 2014, the situation was alarming. On paper, the bank NPAs were shown as 36 per cent, but later it was found that these were actually 82 per cent.

I decided not to speak about it, but make efforts to fix these, as it involved a huge risk to the countrys economic ecosystem. Today, I am speaking on the issue, as now we have been able to largely bring the situation under control, he added.

Modi criticised the Congress over the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, alleging it did so only for political considerations and without any preparation.

Modi said, When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how farsighted decision-making is done.

In the Rajya Sabha, Modi hit out at Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, who had questioned the efficacy of the Ayushman Bharat scheme. He said it was not proper to relate it with such health schemes in the USA and other foreign countries, as the socio-economic condition in India was different.

Responding to Congress questioning the concept of New India, he said even Mahatma Gandhi wanted winding up the Congress after Independence. Congress-mukt Bharat was the vision of Mahatma Gandhi. I am only following in his footsteps, he said.

Responding to another charge by the Opposition that the government is not a gamechanger, but name changer, Modi said his government was aim changer as it was working to achieve targets within a deadline.

Questioning the Opposition for criticising the government for jail provision for erring husbands in triple talaq Bill, he said, You do not remember this when a Hindu goes to jail.

On simultaneous LS and Assembly polls, he urged parties to collectively address the issue. He said this was also mooted by former President Pranab Mukherjee.

Mahatma wanted Cong-Mukt Bharat too

This is the same party that divided India... Mahatma Gandhi had said since the country has got Independence, now Congress is not required. This Congress-mukt Bharat was Gandhi's dream. We are trying to follow the pathNarendra Modi, Prime Minister
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7

Congress president Rahul Gandhi today dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modis reply in Parliament as a visionless election speech in which he spent too much time discussing the Congress and too little discussing the future of the nation.

Gandhi, in his first formal official statement as Congress chief, said the PM skirted critical questions on lack of jobs, agrarian distress, weak national security and the Rafale deal and delivered a poll speech instead. We expected a vision. Instead we got a visionless election speech, which did not have the gravitas or the maturity you would expect of the PM, Gandhi said.

The Lok Sabha MP from Amethi said in a signed statement, The truth is the PM does not know how to take India forward. That is why he always reaches into the past. We are happy with the PM to be obsessed with the Congress, but it is a disservice for our PM to spend so much time on the Congress and so little on the future of the nation.

Gandhi today responded thrice after the PM replied to the debate on the motion of thanks on Presidents address in both the Houses of Parliament. Gandhi spoke to reporters in Parliament twice and then issued a formal statement late night.

The statement questioned PMs silence on Rafale deal with Gandhi saying, The PM has spoken time and again about corruption and his commitment to root it out. Now when confronted with Rafale, in which he directly intervened, he is completely silent. We have asked him three questionsdid he get the necessary clearances from the Cabinet Committee on Security before he negotiated and committed to the purchase of Rafale aircraft in France? How much did the PM agree to pay for each aircraft? Why did the PM bypass HAL and prefer to favour a private entity with no previous defence production experience?

Gandhi also accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of reneging on her promise of answering questions about Rafale deal.

PM has nothing to say on this and instead chooses to take credit for purchasing cheaper solar panels and gas when it is known that the international prices of these have plummeted in recent years, Gandhi said.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Jaipur, February 7

Prime Minister Narendra Modis wife Jashodaben was injured and her relative was killed when their car rammed into a truck in Rajasthans Chittorgarh, the police said.

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Jashodaben did not suffer any major injuries in the accident in which four other people travelling with her were also injured, SHO Parsoli Shyam Singh said.

The deceased was identified as Basant Bhai Modi (67), a relative of Jashodaben, who died while undergoing treatment, the police said.

The accident took place in Parsoli Police Station area when Jashodaben and others were travelling to Chittorgarh after attending a function in Kota, they said.

The injured were rushed to a government hospital for treatment, the police said. PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7

The Ministry of Defence today issued a rather unusual statement responding to political allegations around the Rafale fighter jet deal. Terming the allegations as unfounded, the ministry apportioned the blame on the Congress for not taking a decision during its tenure.

Edit: Secrecy on Rafale

Interestingly, two years after it told Parliament a part of the price of the jet stood at Rs 670 crore, the government today termed the demand for disclosure of price tag as unrealistic.

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The Congress had yesterday alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was trying to cover up a scam.

The MoD said: Unfounded allegations are being made regarding the 2016 inter-governmental agreement to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition from France.

The statement said normally the allegations would not have merited a response but for the serious damage being caused by the misleading statements.

Under the 10-year tenure of the previous government, an earlier initiative of 2002 to meet requirement of the Indian Air Force for augmentation of its fighter strength ran aground, it said.

In 2012, the then Defence Minister (AK Antony) exercised an unprecedented personal veto on the laid-down institutional process then underway for procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). All this happened when there was an alarming decline in IAFs fighter strength, the statement said.

The demand that the government disclose the details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic, it said. The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to Parliament, it said, with reference to a reply in Lok Sabha in November 2016.

The statement said exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal, inter alia, details regarding the various customisations and weapons systems specially designed to augment the effectiveness and lethality of the assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our national security.

Such details would also come under the ambit of the security agreement signed in 2008. Thus, in not revealing the item-wise details of the contract, the government is merely following in letter and spirit the confidentiality provisions of a bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the previous government.

It is also stressed once again that the procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft through an IGA with France to meet the urgent need of the IAF is strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects, including mandating.
CHICAGO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- After posting its 28th consecutive year of revenue growth, independent Chicago-based creative and technology agency Schafer Condon Carter (SCC) has announced a reorganization of its senior management team. The changes, effective immediately, are being implemented to manage the agencys growth as a creative AOR and an integrated cloud marketing and e-commerce technology provider.



SCC has come of age. And while were still a feisty, scrappy groupand always will benow is the time for us to organize around the significant growth opportunities we see in the market, said SCC Co-Founder Tim Condon, who becomes Executive Chairman and Chief Culture Officer. Its important that our structure places the right executives in the right roles to lead our organization, match up with our clients across senior management and deliver the full value of our organization. Fortunately, we have a seasoned and talented executive team that works exceptionally well together and is ready to take our offering to the next level.

The moves include David Selby being promoted from Managing Partner, President, to Chief Executive Officer. Selby, recipient of the AAF Silver Medal award in 2015, has been with SCC for nine years following senior positions at Leo Burnett and on the client side over the course of his 39-year career.

Gail Carter, who joined SCC in 1995, has been promoted to President and Chief Client Leadership Officer. In addition to growing SCCs client leadership team, Carter will be heading up SCCs training and continuing professional education programming.

John Anthony has been promoted to Chief Digital Officer and will continue managing SCCs digital transformation capabilities in enterprise-level cloud marketing deployment, and the agencys technology partnerships.

Other appointments include the promotion of Suzanne Martineau to the new role of Chief Human Insights Officer from Executive Creative Director; Mike Grossman to Chief Integration Officer, expanding his role from Managing Partner of SCCprism, the agencys integrated PR, Influencer and Social Media practice; Gwen Friedow to Chief Strategy Officer from Executive Director, Brand Planning; Denny Hebson to Executive Creative Director with full responsibility for SCCs creative product; SCCs Chief Operating Officer Greg Wenstrup will continue in his role overseeing Finance, HR, and all agency operations.

ABOUT SCHAFER CONDON CARTER

Schafer Condon Carter (SCC) is an independent creative and technology company that delivers transformative brand and business ideas to drive results for its clients. AOR clients include Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsico, National Pork Board, Chicago Cubs, Ideal Industries, Terlato Wines, Friendly's Restaurants and Solo Cup Company among others. A simple mission drives SCCs entrepreneurial, results-driven culture: Think Again. SCC's integrated assets include SCCdigital, SCCprism, SCCmedia, MAKE247 Content Studio and SCCdesign. The company also operates a private equity portfolio, SCCventures, which has holdings in the food and tech sectors. Headquartered in a landmark building in Chicagos historic West Loop district, SCC has a full-time staff of over 120. To learn more about SCC, visit: http://www.SCCThinkAgain.com/

PR Contact:

Kimberly Rooney

Kimberly.rooney@Digennaro-usa.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2d529cd8-8111-4708-b720-424aaa30e4da

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d882f54b-ca88-4229-857a-7a66ebc4f1ee

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/40882eb7-be1a-43d9-bcc2-fc76c34dabec
gspannu7@gmail.com

Mumbai, February 7

A Class 10 student was found dead with grievous injuries inside his school in Maharashtras Solapur district yesterday, police said on Wednesday.

Police today apprehended two classmates of the deceased, identified as Mahesh Karande (16), who were absent since the incident and booked them for murder, an official said.

As per preliminary investigation, the accused duo had objected to Karande staring at a girl in his class and attacked him with a sickle, he said.

According to the official, the duoone of them juvenile and another a 20-year-oldallegedly attacked Karande near the computer room of Samata High School in Pirale village ahead of practical tests for Class 10.

Karande was attacked with a sickle near the computer room of the school. He was rushed to a hospital by school authorities where he was declared brought dead, the official said.

Natepute police station incharge Rajkumar Bhujbal said they suspected the role of the two students as they were missing since the day of the incident and even didnt appear for the practical examination.

An offence of murder was registered against the duo which was apprehended from the village this morning, Bhujbal said.

The officer said a scuffle had broken out between the duo and Karande after they accused him of staring at a girl in the class, before the fatal attack. Further investigation is underway, he added.  PTI
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7

In a major setback to mining companies, the Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled 88 mining leases in Goa, holding these were given in violation of environmental norms.

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A Bench headed by Justice Madan B Lokur ordered setting up of a panel of chartered accountants for recovery of amount from mining companies which illegally extracted ores.

Terming the state governments decision as hasty and illegal, it ordered the mining companies to close their operations by March 16.

The court directed that fresh licences should be given through a transparent bidding process.

It said the Ministry of Environment will have to grant fresh environment clearance to companies which get to exploit these mines.

In 2015, the Goa government had renewed 88 mining leases for the second time for 20 years with retrospective effect from 2007.

The order came on a PIL filed by Goa Foundation, an NGO, which had challenged the Governments decision, alleging that many of these lease-holders were involved in illegal mining of iron ore.

The top court held that state governments decision to renew the mining lease of the companies was in violation of law and its earlier order.

The state government had renewed the mining leases in 2015, days before the Mines and Minerals (Regulation and Development) Actwhich mandated the auction of mining leasescame into force.


gspannu7@gmail.com

Tribune News Services

New Delhi, February 7

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday met Congress president Rahul Gandhi to discuss the reorganisation of the Punjab unit of the party ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The CM also discussed with Gandhi the possibilities of holding the impending AICC plenary in Mohali.

The chief minister was accompanied by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Sunil Jakhar and AICC in-charge of Punjab affairs, Asha Kumari.

The discussion was centred around on revamping of the PPCC organisational structure in order to strengthen the Punjab unit of the party and prepare it better for next years parliamentary elections, a party release said.

Capt Amarinder and Gandhi also discussed the possibility of holding the AICC plenary session, likely to be held in March-April, in Mohali.

Apart from Delhi, Punjab is being considered as a possible venue for the session but no final decision has yet been taken.

A delegation of five ex-servicemen, led by Subedar (Retd) Bir Singh Chauhan, also accompanied the chief minister to meet Gandhi.

These ex-servicemen, who hail from different parts of the country, had quit the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Punjab elections and had campaigned for Capt Amarinder in Patiala along with the suspended Delhi AAP MLA, Maj Devinder Shekhawat.

They expressed the desire to join the Congress, which was welcomed by Rahul Gandhi and Capt. Amarinder.

State Cabinet reshuffle was not discussed at the meeting, sources said adding that the reshuffle wont happen until after the Ludhiana MC polls.

State Cabinet reshuffle has been on the cards for long especially so after the recent resignation of minister Rana Gurjit Singh following accusations in the sand mining scam.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 7

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today met AICC president Rahul Gandhi and discussed party reorganisation in the state to prepare in advance for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

A major revamp at the district Congress level is on the cards with the party gearing for a big fight.

Amarinder also discussed with Rahul the possibility of holding the AICC plenary in Mohali though no final decision has yet been taken on the matter. Present also in the meeting were Sunil Jakhar, Punjab Congress chief and AICC incharge of Punjab affairs Asha Kumari.

State Cabinet expansion discussions were deferred until later with Amarinder saying these will be taken up once the Ludhiana MC elections conclude.

Todays discussion centered around revamping of the PPCC organisational structure in order to strengthen the Punjab unit of the party and prepare it better for next years parliamentary elections, a party release said. A tentative AICC plenary schedule is March-April.

At todays meeting, a delegation of five ex-servicemen led by Subedar Bir Singh Chauhan (retd) also accompanied the Chief Minsiter to meet Rahul.

These ex-servicemen, who hail from different parts of the country, had quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Punjab elections and had campaigned for Amarinder in Patiala along with the suspended Delhi AAP MLA Maj Devinder Shekhawat.

They expressed the desire to join the Congress, which was welcomed by Rahul and Amarinder.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Moga, February 7

The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ekta) and its allied farm unions blocked traffic on national and state highways in Punjab on Wednesday to press their demand for a complete debt waiver.

The general secretary of the BKU (Ekta), Sukhdev Singh Kokri, rued that the state government had announced a crop loan waiver up to only Rs 2 lakh, which was not sufficient. Farmers are committing suicide but the state government does not seem to be serious enough to address to the core issue, i.e. declining farm income," he said.

Kokri said the farmers had blocked traffic for two hours at 36 locations in Sangrur, Barnala, Bathinda, Moga, Ludhiana, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Mansa, Tarn Taran, Amritsar and other districts.

Besides BKU (Ekta), BKU (Dakonda), Kirti Sangharsh Committee, BKU (Krantikari), Kirti Kisan Union etc also took part in these protests. The other demands are the implementation of the Swaminathan Committee report on the fixing of MSP of crops, besides a Rs 10-lakh grant and a job to each family of suicide victims. Kokri said farmers would begin a protest march towards the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh from the first day of the coming Budget Session.

Bathinda: During the protest of farmer organisations on the Bathinda-Barnala highway today, BKU Ekta-Ugrahan district president Shangara Singh Mann said the Congress should not back out on the promises it had made to people. They also hit out at the state government for shutting down thermal plants, anganwari centres and Suvidha Kendras, besides merging government schools.

Farm leaders detained

Abohar: The attempt to block traffic by the BKU was foiled by the police who sealed the Abohar-Hanumangarh road on Wednesday. BKU (Ugrahan) district chief Sukhmander Singh and others were taken into custody and taken to the Wahabwala police station. OC

Gidderbaha cops book 75

Muktsar: The police booked 15 farmers by name and nearly 60 others for blocking the Malout-Bathinda highway in Gidderbaha just outside the subdivisional adminstrative complex. The administration had imposed Section 144 of the CrPC. TNS
editorial@tribune.com

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 7

To avoid opening of another front against itself, the Congress government today raised Rs 600 crore by floating state development loan to pay salaries to its employees.

State farmers are already at loggerheads with the government for its being unable to rollout the debt waiver because of paucity of funds.

Sources said with the Centre not releasing Rs 633 crore due to Punjab, as compensation for the GST rollout, they had no option but to raise money from the market. As soon as the money was credited into the treasury today, orders for release of salaries for all employees were issued.

Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal told The Tribune that with the Centre still sitting over Punjabs claim of Rs 633 crore, the government had to raise money from the market to meet this committed liability. While we had released salaries worth Rs 1100 crore over the past few days, the due of Rs 600 crore has been released today, he said.

The state government employees have been on the warpath for the past two days, seeking immediate release of their salaries for January. While employees had protested outside the office of the Irrigation Department yesterday, they held a dharna outside the Punjab Civil Secretariat today.

They employees are also demanding that their dearness allowance, pending for 22 months, be released without further delay. Officials in the Finance Department, however, say as of now, it appears nearly impossible that the dearness allowance (DA) instalments can be released during this fiscal.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Chandigarh, February 7

Male teachers below the age of 50 should not be posted in schools for girls, Punjab's school education department has proposed, drawing a sharp reaction from the teachers' union.

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"No male teacher below the age of 50 years shall be posted in Girls' Schools," a draft of the teacher transfer policy, 2018, said.

The draft was put on the department website seeking feedback within 15 days.

Government Teachers' Union, Punjab, however, trashed the proposed move.

"We condemn the proposed move of the state government not to post teachers below the age of 50 years in girls' schools," said the union president Sukhwinder Chahal.

"It is wrong to question the character of a teacher whose job is to teach students. We will strongly oppose this move if it is implemented," Chahal said.

A spokesman of the state education department said the draft teacher transfer policy was uploaded on the portal to seek suggestions.

The main objective of the policy was distribution of human resources in an optimal manner to protect the academic interest of students and maximize job satisfaction among employees in a fair and transparent manner, the draft said.

The policy shall be applicable on teaching cadre posts including ETT, master, lecturer, vocational masters, principals and headmasters, according to the draft policy document.  PTI
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 7

A day after party MP Naresh Gujral cautioned the BJP to carry along allies in the NDA government, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said their relationship with the BJP was permanent.

Our relationship with BJP is a time-tested one, and there is no clash. Its a relationship that emerged to keep the democratic forces together in Punjab, which borders a hostile country like Pakistan, he said.

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Gujral had yesterday asked the BJP to treat its allies with honour and respect, cautioning that the next government at the Centre is likely to be a coalition government.

Sukhbir told The Tribune that Gujral had only pointed out that whatever commitment BJP made to its allies should be fulfilled. He was talking in reference to the relations between BJP and Telugu Desam Party. We have no clash of ideology and even the political space occupied by both alliance partners in Punjab and other Punjabi-speaking areas is different, thus we complement each other, he said.

Though cracks had been growing ever since the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah dispensation took over the reins, this was the first open criticism by an SAD leader of BJPs treatment of its allies.

Sukhbir, interestingly, is already preparing ground for SAD contesting over 50 Assembly seats in Haryana.

This political relationship has helped to keep the Sikhs and Hindus together, after the neighbouring country tried to create communal unrest Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD President
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 7

Nine persons were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in fell into a gorge near the Swala temple on the Tanakpur-Pithoragarh road in Champawat district this morning.

As many as 12 persons were travelling in the ill-fated vehicle (UK 05 TA 1196). They were on their way to Pithoragarh from Tanakpur. The accident took place when the driver lost control of the vehicle near the temple.

Police and administrative officials immediately rushed to the spot. The deceased are yet to be identified.

The Commissioner, Kumaon, has ordered a magisterial inquiry into the incident. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat expressed grief over the accident. He prayed for the peace of the departed souls. Rawat directed officials to provide immediate relief to kin of the deceased.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

New Delhi, February 7

The National Investigation Agency has arrested an alleged hawala operator from Uttarakhand in connection with its probe into the activities of Pakistan- based Lashker-e-Taiba in India, an official spokesperson said here today.

Abdul Samad, the fifth person arrested in the case, was nabbed in Haridwar yesterday and brought to Delhi where he was produced before a designated court.

The court yesterday sent the suspected LeT member, a resident of Bukkanpur village in Uttarakhands Haridwar district, to six days NIA custody in the case of alleged fund raising for terror activities.

Special Judge Tarun Sahrawat remanded 22-year-old Samad to the custody of the agency, which said he was required for sustained custodial interrogation.

Samad is a leading hawala operator, operating in the area of Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Roorkee, who was acting as the conduit of an LeT financier based in Saudi Arabia through his cousin in that country, the NIA spokesperson alleged.

In November 2017, he allegedly collected Rs 3.5 lakh from hawala operators in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, to deliver it to Shaikh Abdul Naeem, an active LeT member.

Shaikh visited and established bases in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on the directions of his handler Abdul, alias Rehan, based in Pakistan, the NIA said.

Besides Samad, the NIA has arrested Shaikh as well as Dhannu Raja and Mahfooz Alam, both residents of Gopal Gunj in Bihar, and Touseef Ahmed Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

The case started with Shaikh, a resident of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, being arrested from Lucknow in November last year. Investigations revealed that he had spent time in troubled south Kashmir and photographed some Army installations, officials said Central security agencies, which interrogated Shaikh at length, told investigators about his accomplice, Tauseef Ahmed Malik, in Pulwama district. He was placed under arrest by the NIA on December 9.

Shaikh also disclosed during questioning that he had stayed in Pulwama, moved to various places with the help of Malik and even photographed some Army and paramilitary camps, the officials claimed.

Wanted in connection with a 2014 terror case and on the run since then, Shaikh told investigators that some important power projects and railway tracks in the Valley were surveyed, they said.

He also visited places in Himachal Pradesh, particularly Kasol, which is frequented by Israeli nationals, according to the officials.

Security agencies claimed that Shaikh was roped in for a recce mission similar to that undertaken by Pakistani-American David Headley, who is serving a 35-year prison sentence in a US jail for his involvement in terror activities and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008.  PTI

Conduit of an LeT financier
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PIMCO, a leading global investment management firm, has hired Dirk Manelski as Managing Director, Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Manelski will be based in PIMCOs New York office and spend significant time in the firms Newport Beach office. He will report to Peter Strelow, Managing Director and PIMCOs Co-Chief Operating Officer.



As CTO, Mr. Manelski will create and guide an IT strategy that supports PIMCOs business functions, including the use of technology to improve efficiency, manage relationships with the firms vendors and keep PIMCO at the forefront of the technology industrys best practices.

In a rapidly changing industry, Dirks broad experience and expertise will enable PIMCO to guide a technology strategy which anticipates the evolution of our business and client needs, which is critical to any successful asset manager along with strong investment performance and excellent client service, said Mr. Strelow.

Mr. Manelski brings to PIMCO more than 20 years of experience and was most recently Head of Macro Technology at J.P. Morgan, overseeing technology for the banks businesses in rates, emerging markets, foreign exchange and commodities. He also oversaw the technology initiatives which transformed the banks client-facing technology and its migration to common risk and pricing systems. Prior to that, he was Head of Trading and Risk Technology at Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for oversight of connectivity, pricing and valuation, order management and execution, algorithmic systems and risk technology.

Emmanuel Roman, PIMCOs Chief Executive Officer said: PIMCO is committed to employing and recruiting the industrys top talent globally and Dirk is another excellent addition to our team. Dirks experience and knowledge of the platforms and technical capabilities needed to support PIMCO will greatly enhance and strengthen our operations as technology plays an increasingly important role in our industry.

PIMCO has hired more than 500 new employees over the last two years, including 113 investment professionals across the private strategies, client analytics, emerging markets, mortgages, real estate and macroeconomics, and plans to hire 200 more people in the next year.

Biography - Dirk Manelski

Mr. Manelski will be Managing Director, Chief Technology Officer, based in New York. He will report to Peter Strelow, Managing Director and Co-Chief Operating Officer. Most recently, Mr. Manelski was Head of Macro Technology at J.P. Morgan, overseeing technology for the banks businesses in rates, emerging markets, foreign exchange and commodities. Prior to that, he was Head of Trading and Risk Technology at Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for oversight of connectivity, pricing and valuation, order management and execution, algorithmic systems and risk technology. Other previous roles during his career include Head of High Frequency Technology and Rates Liquidity Management at Deutsche, Chief Operating Officer of Fixed Income Technology at Bear Stearns, Founder and Chief Executive Officer for Crosslinks Systems and IT architecture roles at ICAP Group, AT&T and Bloomberg. He has a Bachelors degree in Applied Physics from Columbia Universitys School of Engineering and is a member of Columbias Engineering Council.

About PIMCO

PIMCO is one of the worlds premier fixed income investment managers. With our launch in 1971 in Newport Beach, California, PIMCO introduced investors to a total return approach to fixed income investing. In the 45+ years since, we have continued to bring innovation and expertise to our partnership with clients seeking the best investment solutions. Today we have offices across the globe and 2,150+ professionals united by a single purpose: creating opportunities for investors in every environment. PIMCO is owned by Allianz S.E., a leading global diversified financial services provider.

Except for the historical information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this news release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, including the performance of financial markets, the investment performance of PIMCO's sponsored investment products and separately managed accounts, general economic conditions, future acquisitions, competitive conditions and government regulations, including changes in tax laws. Readers should carefully consider such factors. Further, such forward-looking statements speak only on the date at which such statements are made. PIMCO undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

Contact:

Michael Reid

PIMCO  Media Relations

Ph. 212-597-1301

Email: Michael.Reid@pimco.com
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Jotirmay Thapliyal

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, February 7

Tehri Hydro Development Corporation has expressed interest in construction of the four proposed hydropower projects over Dhauliganga river in Pithoragarh district of Kumaon division. The corporation has also suggested entering into a joint venture with the Government of Uttarakhand in this regard.

Chairman and Managing Director of Tehri Hydro Development Corporation India Limited D V Singh told The Tribune, We recently met Uttarakhand Chief Minister and put forward our proposal towards allotting all the four proposed hydropower projects on Dhauliganga river in Pithoragarh to THDC and hope for a favourable response.

DV Singh said the allotment of all the four projects would help ensure optimum utilisation of water resources and development of the entire river basin.

All the four projects are proposed to be built on Dhauliganga river, which is a tributary of Kali river in Pithoragarh district. DV Singh claimed that THDC was ready to invest Rs 10,000 crore in the project.

He said that a joint venture was in the best interest of both the THDC and the state government. We must not forget that THDC is the sole company dealing with hydropower and nearly 70 per cent of its staff belongs to Uttarakhand, he said.

Referring to 330 MW Bokang Bailing hydro project proposed to be constructed by THDC India Limited, DV Singh said that as the project had already been allotted to THDC, the work on detailed project report was in progress and the report was expected to the ready by year end. The other three projects are with Reliance, National Hydro Power Corporation and Uttarakhand Jal Vidhyut Nigam Limited.

He also asserted that the Tehri reservoir was of immense importance due to its flood moderation capacity. He said that the reservoir-based projects were excellent for retaining water and cater to the countrys challenge of water security. He recalled how the Tehri Dam helped retain excess water from Bhagirathi river during 2013 rain disaster in the Garhwal hills. He said the Centre was now interested in developing reservoir-based projects in the country.

Utilisation of water resources
vermaajay1968@gmail.com

Cape Town: South Africas deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa, said on Wednesday that he expected that the future of embattled leader Jacob Zuma would be settled in the coming days. President Zuma is under growing pressure to step down in favour of his deputy and African National Congress (ANC) party leader Ramaphosa, with local media suggesting an exit deal is being hammered out. AFP

Hamid re-elected as Bdesh Prez

Dhaka: Bangladesh President Abdul Hamid was on Wednesday re-elected uncontested for another five-year term, becoming the only leader who will be serving for a second consecutive term. He has been elected president unopposed, Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda said as no one else contested for the highest office. A veteran politician, Hamid was first elected unopposed as the president in 2013. PTI
rajivbhatia82@gmail.com

Karmei Tzur (West Bank), February 7

A Palestinian assailant was shot dead on Wednesday after stabbing a security guard at the entrance to a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, the Israeli military said.

The civilian guard, stationed at the Karmei Tzur settlement north of the Palestinian city of Nablus, was slightly wounded.

Another security guard shot and killed the attacker, the military said in a statement.

Tensions have risen in the West Bank since US President Donald Trumps December 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israels capital. His declaration overturned decades of US policy that its status should be decided in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Late on Tuesday, Israeli forces shot dead at least one Palestinian during a raid in Nablus that led to confrontations with residents, Palestinian health officials said.

In a statement, the military said its troops had been searching for an assailant who fatally stabbed an Israeli man at the entrance to the Jewish settlement of Ariel in the West Bank on Monday.

During the activity, a violent riot was instigated as approximately 500 Palestinians hurled rocks, fire bombs and explosive devices and fired live rounds at IDF (Israel Defence Forces) soldiers, and in addition the rioters built rock barriers, a military statement said.

The troops responded with riot dispersal means and fired warning shots in the air, it said. A report regarding a Palestinian being killed and several injured... is being reviewed.

The Palestinian Health Ministry put the number of Palestinians wounded at 29. The Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance service said stone-throwers had clashed with the soldiers.

The alleged attacker in the Ariel incident was an Arab citizen of Israel and Israeli media reports said his father is a Nablus resident. The military said the suspect was not apprehended in the operation and seven people were detained for questioning.

Earlier on Tuesday, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian gunman in the West Bank village of Yamoun and said he was the head of a militant cell responsible for an ambush in which a Jewish settler was shot dead on January 9.

Israel had been looking for the final member of the cell which it said killed Rabbi Raziel Shevah in a drive-by shooting.

Commandos had already killed one of the gunmen involved and captured another.

Israels government regards Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible capital of the country, although that is not recognised internationally. Palestinians say East Jerusalem, captured along with the West Bank by Israel in a 1967 war, must be the capital of a state they seek.  Reuters.
gspannu7@gmail.com

Peshawar, February 7

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Wednesday sentenced a student to death and five others were given life imprisonment for lynching a 23-year-old university student who was falsely accused of blasphemy.

Anti-Terrorism court Judge Fazal-e-Subhan announced the verdict in a jail in Haripur, due to security reasons.

According to the verdict, the prime accused in the case, Imran Ali was sentenced to death. The court had also slapped a fine of one lakh (Pakistani) rupees.

Last April, Mashal Khan, a student of journalism at the Abdul Wali Khan University in the northwestern city of Mardan, was dragged out of his university accommodation by a mob of hundreds of his fellow students over rumours, which later proved to be unfounded, that he had posted some blasphemous content on social media.

He was stripped and badly beaten before being shot and his body mutilated.

Ali, also a student of the university, had earlier confessed to shooting Mashal.

The court had reserved its verdict on January 30 after recording the statements of 51 witnesses. A total of 57 accused were today presented before the judge, who sentenced 25 to four-year jail term and acquitted 26 others for want of evidence.

Three accusedPakistan Tehreek-e-Insafs Tehsil Councillor Arif, president of Pakhtoon Students Federation (PSF) Sabir Mayar and Assad Zia, an employee of the universityare still absconding while one of the accused was arrested on January 4.

After the verdict, the victims brother, Aimal Khan, demanded the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police to arrest the absconders.

An official said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will file an appeal in the high court against the acquittal of suspects.

Protests erupted in several Pakistani cities after brutality of the attack, recorded on mobile phone cameras, posted online. It had stunned the public and also led to widespread condemnation, including from prominent Islamic clerics.

Students who participated in the lynching were later rounded up after being identified using CCTV footage from the university and video clips.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), formed on the direction of the Supreme Court, in its report in June 2017 had said that members of the PSF, the student wing of the Awami National Party, incited the mob to kill Mashal on the pretext of blasphemy.

The report said the murder was premeditated as the group was threatened by his activities, because he would raise his voice against irregularities at his university.

According to the report, President of university employees, Ajmal Mayar, had revealed during probe that about a month before the incident, PSF President Sabir Mayar and a varsity employee, Asad Katlang, had met him and said they wanted to remove Mashal from their way as he was a threat to their group.

The investigators found no proof of blasphemy and ruled that the murder was politically motivated.

Blasphemy against Islam is punishable by death in the conservative Muslim country, and mere allegations are often enough to provoke mob violence.

Though the state has never executed anyone under blasphemy laws, but mere allegations have prompted mob lynchings.

According to a research by the Centre for Research and Security Studies, 65 have been killed by vigilantes since 1990.  PTI
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Washington, February 7

The US House of Representatives on Tuesday approved another stopgap Bill to keep the federal government from shutting down, hours after President Donald Trump said he would love to see a shutdown if immigration legislation were not included.

In a further sign of the Republican-controlled Congress inability to get its most basic work done, the House in a 245-182 vote passed and sent to the Senate a temporary spending bill to extend most agency funding until March 23.

It was the fifth such stopgap of the federal fiscal year, which began on October 1. Stopgaps are needed when Congress fails to approve a full budget on time by that date. Congress has managed to pass its spending Bills on time in only four of the past 40 years, according to congressional researchers.

The Senate was expected to take up the House Bill on Wednesday and likely change it, requiring it to go back to the House for further action, with a Thursday deadline looming to get a finished bill to Trump for his signature.

As a result of the time crunch, Democrats cancelled a retreat to Marylands Eastern Shore that they had planned for Wednesday to Friday and said they would talk strategy in the US Capitol instead.

The House Bill does not contain changes to US immigration law, which were a key point of contention in a partisan standoff that led to a three-day partial shutdown last month.

Senate Democrats were expected to balk at the Houses Bills inclusion of an increase in Pentagon funding through September 30, the end of the current fiscal year, but exclusion of any increase in non-defence spending.

Republicans and Democrats said they were making progress, however, on a budget deal that would set new, higher spending limits for defence and non-defence programmes.

Last months shutdown came after lawmakers failed to reach agreement on contentious budget and immigration issues.

Id love to see a shutdown if we dont get this stuff taken care of, Trump said at the White House.

The White House later clarified that it did not expect the budget deal to include specifics on immigration.

McConnell optimistic

A broad budget deal could end the brinkmanship over spending that roils Washington so regularly that financial markets barely flinch anymore at the threat of a government shutdown.

Im optimistic that very soon well be able to reach an agreement, Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said an agreement being forged would increase funding for domestic programmes like drug treatment and broadband infrastructure that Democrats want, as well as a military spending increase sought by Republicans.

Were making real progress, he told reporters.

Januarys shutdown came after Democrats insisted any spending Bill include protections for young immigrants known as Dreamers brought to the country illegally as children.

Democrats are not taking that approach this time around. Nobody wants another one (shutdown) but him, Schumer said of Trump.

Trumps fellow Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, are eager to keep spending and immigration separate.

We dont need a government shutdown on this, Republican Representative Barbara Comstock told Trump at the White House.

Congress faces another deadline on a separate front. The United States could have trouble paying its bills within weeks if lawmakers do not raise the federal debt ceiling, another fiscal issue fraught with political peril.

The third-ranking House Republican, Representative Steve Scalise, said negotiations over the debt ceiling were being coupled with the Senate budget talks.

Immigration issue

Lawmakers have been struggling to reach a deal on an immigration Bill, despite broad public support for helping the Dreamers, hundreds of thousands of young Latinos who were allowed to study and work without fear of deportation under a program set up by former Democratic President Barack Obama.

Trump last year ordered those protections removed by March 5, although a federal court has blocked his administration from ending the program.

Lawmakers are trying to agree on legislation that would protect Dreamers and boost border security. Schumer said the Senate could take up the issue next week.

Trump has said any immigration deal must include changes to programs for legal immigration that would assess applicants on their skills, rather than their countries of origin or ties to US residents. Democrats oppose that idea. Reuters
Independent truck drivers at the Port of Tacoma say that regulations requiring new, clearner trucks, are too costly for them to comply with. Photo: Port of Tacoma

Updated  After a threatened walk-out by independent drivers who work out of the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma in Washington, port officials struck a deal with truckers over their concerns about the Clean Truck Program that would ban trucks that dont meet 2007 emissions standards.

The deadline for the Clean Truck Program was initially Jan. 1, but after a meeting in January, the ports decided to adjust and possibly extend the deadline. Drivers have met with representatives from the Northwest Seaport Alliance, which runs the two ports, to protest the April 1 deadline. On Feb. 6 a public meeting was held to discuss how the ports could move toward clean air goals while considering all parties involved. And according to the Journal of Commerce, they reached a compromise that keeps the April 1 implementation date, but at the same time continues to grant access until the end of the year for non-compliant truckers if they are in the process of buying a clean truck.

After a previous meeting, some independent driver groups began passing out flyers and posting on social media encouraging a walkout that would threaten to shut down operations at the port, according to a report on Investigate West.

Legislators Get Involved with Enforcing Emissions Requirements

In 2007 the Ports of Seattle and Tacoma launched the Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy as a comprehensive strategy to reduce emissions from all aspects of port operations, including trucks, ships, and rail. Through this it put into place the Clean Truck Program, creating the 2018 deadline for emissions-compliant trucks.

Adding to the pressure on both drivers and ports is proposed state legislation, HB 2601, which would force the ports to comply with the Clean Truck Program. The bill was created because state legislators felt that certain ports were not living up to their commitments to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the regions around the ports.

Whether or not this legislation moves forward may hinge on the ports coming up with concrete strategy for moving forward with the emissions rules. One proposal would have the emissions enforced through container terminal leases. As companies sign new leases, the ports would add an ammendment to the lease requiring terminals to turn away trucks that don't meet the standards.

Trucking Interests on Both Sides of Issue

"So far this has been a voluntary effort, and we all want to reduce port-related emissions," said Tara Mattina, communications director for the Port of Tacoma and the Northwest Seaport Aliiance. "We've been working on it for 10 years, so it's not like this is a surprise, but we also do understand the complexity of the issues."

On one end of the spectrum are trucking companies that spent money to comply with the standard, feeling that it is unfair to continue allowing trucks that aren't complying. At the other end are drivers who say they can't afford to invest in the new technology and weren't able to take advantage of earlier grant funding opportunities.

Independent drivers say with slim margins on loads, being required to buy a newer truck places an undue financial burden. They also say trucks with 2007-compliant engines and later are less reliable than older vehicles, adding more maintenance costs. On Facebook, a group called PierTrucker.com posted an open letter attacking the mandate, calling it unlawful and saying that the emissions regulations in general were based on non-credible studies.

According to the Seaport Alliance, only 53% of the 4,500 trucks serving the ports currently meet the 2007 emissions standards.

Not the Only Port Pursuing Cleaner Air

Similar, but far more aggressive Clean Air plans are also being implemented at the Southern California Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which has caused tension with port operators. Californias plan would require all trucks working its ports to have at least model year 2014 engines, with the eventual goal of using only zero emissions vehicles by 2035.

The Harbor Trucking Association, which represents many of the stakeholders at the ports, characterized the milestones within the plan as very ambitious and hard to meet. It also stressed the need to make the changes required by the plan economically and technologically feasible for port trucking companies.

Updated 7:45 EST 2/7/2018 with information about the compromise reached Wednesday.
MONTREAL, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sama Resources Inc. (TSXV:SME) (SME or the Company) today reports that SRG Graphite Inc. (SRG) has today filed its National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") Technical Report supporting the initial resource estimate for SRGs 100%-owned Lola Graphite Deposit located in the Republic of Guinea, as reported in the SRGs news release dated December 22, 2017. Sama is a significant shareholder of SRG.



The NI 43-101 Technical Report was prepared by consultant Ghislain Deschenes, P. Geo, of Montreal-based Met-Chem, a division of DRA Americas Inc. Mr. Deschenes is a Qualified Person (QP), independent of SRG Graphite, within the meaning of NI 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators.

The Lola Graphite Project is under the direct supervision of Marc-Antoine Audet, P.Geo., and a QP as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

The NI-43-101 Technical Report may be referenced on SRGs website at www.srggraphite.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

ABOUT SAMA

Sama is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and development company with projects in West Africa. On October 23, 2017, Sama announced that it had entered into a binding term sheet in view of forming a strategic partnership with HPX TechCo Inc., for the development of its Cote dIvoire Nickel-Copper and Cobalt project in Cote dIvoire, West-Africa. For more information about Sama, please visit Samas website at http://www.samaresources.com.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

SAMA RESOURCES INC./RESSOURCES SAMA INC.

Dr. Marc-Antoine Audet, President and CEO

Tel: (514) 726-4158

OR

Mr. Matt Johnston, Corporate Development Advisor

Tel: (604) 443-3835

Toll Free: 1 (877) 792-6688, Ext. 5

Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS



Certain of the statements made and information contained herein are "forward-looking statements" or forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the availability of financing for activities, risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of electrochemical characterization, drill results and the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits, the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, metal price fluctuations, environmental and regulatory requirements, availability of permits, escalating costs of remediation and mitigation, risk of title loss, the effects of accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration or development, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities, the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, currency fluctuations, expectations and beliefs of management and other risks and uncertainties.

In addition, forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are based on various assumptions. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking information or forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
A NATSO study shows a relationship between public commercial parking and a reduced overall truck parking capacity along a highway. Photo: DanTD

Interstate highways with private sector investment have 69% more commercial truck parking spaces per mile than those with public rest areas, according to a report issued by NATSO, an association representing truckstops and travel plazas.

The report analyzed the relationship between public commercial rest areas and the total truck parking capacity along the highway. The research, which evaluated more than 12,000 interstate miles, found that non-commercialized interstate corridors have 6.57 truck parking spaces per mile, compared to 3.88 spaces per miles on the commercialized interstate segments.

Non-commercialized interstate segments have, on average, one truck parking facility every 8.4 miles, compared with commercialized interstate segments with one facility every 12.8 miles. All public and private designated truck parking located within 1 mile of the interstates was included in the totals.

"This study highlights that commercial rest areas result in significantly fewer truck parking spaces and do not represent a viable means of expanding commercial truck parking capacity," said Lisa Mullings, NATSO president and CEO. "This reaffirms the industry's position that truck parking is best handled by the private sector, which provides nearly 90% of the nation's truck parking."

Since 1960, federal law has prohibited the sale of food, fuel and other commercial service from rest areas located directly on the Interstate Highway System to prevent the granting of monopolies along the Interstate right-of-way. Congress permitted the continued operation of commercial rest areas in states where commercial rest areas existed prior to the enactment of the law. This study evaluated those states where grandfathered commercial rest areas continue to operate.

The report was an update to a similar study published in 2010 conducted by Ronald Knipling of Safety for the Long Haul Inc. Compared to the earlier study, NATSO found that the correlation between offering commercial parking at public rest areas and an overall reduction in truck parking capacity had grown worse.

A leaked version of President Trump's Infrastructure Plan purportedly included provisions for commercializing rest stops. At the time Mullings said she was "extremely disappointed disappointed at the prospect that the [Trump] Administration might renew its call for liberalizing tolling policy and commercializing rest areas.

In November, NATSO came out against a push in the state of Arizona to commercialize rest areas along interstate highways in the state. The group said that it threatened businesses that serve travelers along interstate exits and would hurt local communities. It also said the move would transfer potential sales away from the private sector in favor of a government monopoly.

"Rest area commercialization is sometimes proposed as a means of increasing truck parking capacity along the Interstate Highway System," said Knipling. "This study underscores that the private sector is far better at meeting the parking needs for the nation's truck drivers."

The full study is available for download online.
National average spot truckload rates continued their decline into February but remain unseasonably high, according to new figures based on the DAT Solutions network of load boards.

This happened as the number of available loads slipped nearly 6% for the week ending Feb. 3 from the previous week as the number of truck posts increased 3%. This also pushed dry van and refrigerated load-to-truck ratios down to near mid-December levels, before the mandate on electronic logging devices took effect.

Vans: 6.9 available loads per truck

Flatbeds: 61.1 loads per truck

Reefers: 10.2 loads per truck

National average rates dropped 3 cents for van freight to $2.23 per mile, 8 cents for reefers to $2.59 per mile, and 13 cents for flatbeds at $2.26 per mile. The price of diesel rose again, with the national average up 1.6 cents to $3.09 per gallon. All reported rates include fuel surcharges.

Heading into what is traditionally a slow month, the number of van loads posted declined 16% and truck posts rose 4%. Van rates fell in nearly every major market, although prices are higher than they were a year ago. Chicagos outbound average had the sharpest decline last week, down 16 cents to $2.77 per mile after a 15-cent drop the previous week. Other noteable declines include:

Houston, $2.00 per mile, down 6 cents

Memphis, $2.54 per mile, down 1 cent

Los Angeles, $2.32 per mile, down 9 cents

Columbus, Ohio, $2.29 per mile, down 8 cents

Reefer load posts fell 19% and truck posts increased 2%. Prices remain high even though rates on most high-traffic lanes were down. Long-haul lanes from the southern border took big steps back, including McAllen, Texas - Elizabeth, New Jersey, down 51 cents to $2.76 per mile; and Nogales, Arizona - Brooklyn, down 79 cents to $2.43 per mile.

Spot prices for flatbed freight remain solid amid improved demand for capacity. Load posts increased 13% and truck posts declined 2%. The 61.9 to 1 load-to-truck is the second highest flatbed load-to-truck ratio seen in years.
CHALK RIVER, Ontario, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Nuclear Laboratories (CNL), Canadas premier nuclear science and technology organization, announced today that it has launched the construction process for three new facilities at its Chalk River campus which represents more than $100 million in new infrastructure. Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, on behalf of the Government of Canada, is investing more than $1.2 billion to revitalize the Chalk River Laboratories and build new, world-class science facilities.

While renewal of our Chalk River site is already well underway, launching the construction process for three new state-of-the-art facilities is a major milestone in the realization of our Long-Term Strategy, commented Mark Lesinski, President and CEO of CNL. This is clearly an exciting time for CNL and our employees, but these capital projects will also have a positive impact on our communities, as we look to local businesses and contractors to help us carry out this work.

CNL officially launched the first Request for Proposal (RFP) late last year, the initial step in the construction of the new buildings, which include a new logistics complex, a business hub and a support facility. Together, these three facilities represent an investment of more than $100 million, which is expected to provide employment for many local trades, suppliers, and supporting businesses in the coming years. Once complete, the new buildings will serve as important enabling facilities for the site.

The new Business Hub will provide modern office space for approximately 400 employees, relocating business infrastructure such as the Data Centre, Library and Records Management, and the Health and Wellness Centre. Geotechnical work for this building has already been completed.



CNLs new Support Facility will consolidate, expand and improve shop space, resulting in operational efficiencies across the campus. Currently, CNLs manufacturing and maintenance operations are spread out among several buildings, all of which are beyond their useful life. The new building will also contain storage facilities and offices to streamline maintenance and manufacturing activities.



A new Logistics and Warehouse Building will transform the site entry point and arrival experience at the site while ensuring employees have timely access to products and services. The building will also serve as a security check point for all people and materials coming to the site, reduce vehicular traffic, and include new guardhouses, meeting rooms, and support facilities for security and warehouse employees.

According to Steve Innes, Manager of Laboratory Renewal Projects, CNL is working to extend the economic benefits of these capital projects into local communities. Last year, the company hosted an Industry Day in Pembroke, Ontario as part of a broad effort to inform local businesses on commercial opportunities within the broader site revitalization effort; as well as introducing many larger engineering and construction companies to the local supply community and townships. The event drew over 70 contractors and companies in the construction, commissioning, trades, engineering and architectural fields. In addition, the RFP for these three new buildings challenged respondents to indicate how their approach would generate opportunities for local small and medium-sized enterprises, and indigenous communities.

It is important to CNL that we engage the local supply chain and local businesses as much as possible when we move these projects forward, explained Innes. Whether it is the use of local tradespeople and suppliers, accommodation and meals in the hospitality sector, or the purchase of goods and materials from local vendors, we know that CNL has an impact in our communities.

Construction of the new facilities builds on recent and significant changes to CNLs Chalk River campus. In 2015, CNL cut the ribbon on a brand new hydrogen laboratory complex, an investment of more than $55 million. In October of 2016, CNL opened the Harriet Brooks Building, a world-class materials science laboratory that represents an investment of more than $100 million. And, CNL is in the final stages of commissioning its new Tritium Laboratory, an investment of more than $40 million in a facility designed to deliver important commercial services. Over $90 million has been dedicated to four major infrastructure projects which will see new domestic water and natural gas service to the campus, a modern sanitary sewage treatment facility constructed and commissioned, and a system to more effectively manage storm water on the site.

Looking ahead, design work is also underway on CNLs Advanced Nuclear Materials Research Centre, one of the largest active research facilities to be constructed in Canada, enabling world-class research in the fields of nuclear energy, health, small modular reactors, and advanced fuels. The Request for Proposal for an Integrated Project Delivery team to complete this project is expected to be issued early in 2018.

With these three buildings getting underway, coupled with the early planning and design work for the Advanced Nuclear Materials Research Centre, our ambitious vision for Chalk River is becoming reality, explains Ted Preisig, Vice-President of Capital Projects at CNL. We believe that CNL will serve as a global hub for nuclear science, home to the best and brightest, and we are revitalising the infrastructure and facilities to turn that vision into reality.

In addition to the renewal of the campus, CNL has announced plans to hire nearly two hundred additional research staff over the next three years to accommodate the companys anticipated growth in nuclear science and technology services. Overall, the combination of increased research staffing, organizational changes, and voluntary departures and attrition is expected to result in over 800 vacancies that CNL will need to fill over the next three years.

To learn more about CNLs Long-Term Strategy, and revitalization of the Chalk River Laboratories please visit www.cnl.ca/vendors.

About CNL

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is a world leader in nuclear science and technology offering unique capabilities and solutions across a wide range of industries. Actively involved with industry-driven research and development in nuclear, transportation, clean technology, energy, defence, security and life sciences, we provide solutions to keep these sectors competitive internationally.

With ongoing investments in new facilities and a focused mandate, Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is well positioned for the future. A new performance standard reinforced with a strong safety culture underscores every activity.

For more information on the complete range of Canadian Nuclear Laboratories services, please visit www.cnl.ca or contact communications@cnl.ca.



Contact:

Patrick Quinn

Director, Corporate Communications

CNL, 1-866-886-2325

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/1e165746-5519-4136-a9eb-fbe4dfd13749
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Affinor Growers Ltd.s (Affinor Growers) (CSE:AFI) (OTC:RSSFF) (Frankfurt:1AF) Board of Directors has appointed Mr. Nicholas Brusatore, one of the original founders of the Company, as President and CEO.



Mr. Brusatore is a known design expert in the commercial production of plants using vertical growing technology to automate and accommodate low cost food production. He was also nominated for the award of excellence in Canada for agriculture in 2012 for technology and was an early pioneer in the vertical farming space starting his designing back in 2000. Nick was the initial funder and founder of Affinor Growers which is the current holder of two vertical farming patents. Mr Brusatore is also currently funding and constructing Affinors technology in a state of the art facility to grow strawberries and other crops on his 10.6 acre farming property in Abbotsford B.C.

The Board of Directors is pleased to have Mr. Brusatore back with Affinor while it transitions from a technology development company, to selling and implementing the vertical tower technology in multiple locations and with a variety of important plants.

About Affinor Growers

Affinor Growers is a publicly traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol ("AFI"). Affinor is focused on growing high quality crops such as romaine lettuce, spinach, strawberries using its vertical farming techniques. Affinor is committed to becoming a pre-eminent supplier and grower, using exclusive vertical farming techniques.

Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.

On Behalf of the Board of Directors

AFFINOR GROWERS INC.

"Mark T. Brown"

CFO

For More Information, please contact:

Mark T. Brown, CFO

contact@affinorgrowers.com




Iqaluit, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Subsidies to offset the astronomical price of fossil-fuel-based energy cost the government of Nunavut more than $60 million annually, $36.5 million of which goes toward diesel-based electricity generation, according to a new report that shows the extent to which diesel subsidies mask how economically beneficial renewable energy can be.

The report, entitled Costing Energy and Fossil Fuel Subsidies in Nunavut, was commissioned by World Wildlife Fund Canada and undertaken by the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

An earlier report on barriers to successful renewable-energy deployment in remote northern communities brought to light the need to accurately account for subsidies provided by various levels of government for diesel-fuel purchase, delivery, storage and power-generation infrastructure in the Canadian Arctic. That report  prepared by the Pembina Institute for WWF-Canada  noted that the true price of diesel is masked by multiple layers of subsidies that reduce the price to an artificial level, creating a barrier to adoption of renewable energy.

Across Canada, utility companies are tasked with keeping the lights on in their communities. Renewable energy is proven to be reliable, even in extreme climates, and research shows it can save some Arctic communities millions in ongoing costs, even with existing diesel subsidies. The savings would be even more significant if diesel subsidies were shifted to renewable-energy sources instead.

Megan Leslie, president and CEO of WWF-Canada, says:

For the sake of our climate globally, and marine environments locally, we need to transition away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, and we have the ideal opportunity to do so while building a more sustainable local economy. There is no reason for the government of Canada to continue funding the use of a fossil fuel that is not only damaging the environment and human health, but is also more expensive than a clean form of energy. Instead, federal funds should support communities as they develop reliable, sustainable energy sources.

Paul Crowley, vice-president of Arctic conservation for WWF-Canada, says:

Over the past two years we have seen increasing interest from Nunavummiut who want a safe, reliable, cost-effective energy system that lets them keep the lights on without putting the environment they depend on at risk. A hybrid renewable-energy system is possible. And even better, avoiding costly diesel will result in financial savings that could be used to fund other worthwhile programs in Nunavut. The government of Canada could kick-start this transition today using existing funding programs  such as the recently announced Arctic Energy Fund. We look forward to working with them and communities to bring these possibilities to life.

This report is the latest in WWF-Canada's ongoing work to support remote northern communities as they explore the transition to habitat-friendly renewable power. Previous reports, in partnership with Pembina Institute and Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy, have respectively found that government fossil-fuel subsidies are a barrier to renewable energy investment and that investment in a mix of renewable energy in northern communities can lead to significant reductions in operations and maintenance costs and carbon dioxide emissions.

Switching to renewable energies improves northern communities by:

Providing a cost-effective way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Ensuring the Arctic environment isnt harmed by fuel spills from resupply ships and on land.

Increasing independence for remote communities in the North.

About World Wildlife Fund Canada

WWF-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. We work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that nature, wildlife and people thrive together. Because we are all wildlife. For more information, visit wwf.ca.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d5b2480d-c8c3-4259-8206-2fb9c1265846
As prepared for delivery.



Excellencies, Ministers, distinguished panelists, colleagues and friends.

Thank you to the Government of Ethiopia for hosting this important high-level event on the New Way of Working and for re-affirming their commitment to the Agenda for Humanity and the outcomes of the World Humanitarian Summit. More importantly, I thank you for your commitment to the 2030 Agenda, for which the New Way of Working aims to meet needs and reduce risk and vulnerability. It provides a reference frame for both humanitarian and development actors to contribute to the common vision of a future in which no one is left behind.

The New Way of Working can be described as working over multiple years, based on the comparative advantages of a diverse range of actors, towards collective outcomes. Context matters considerably in the operationalization of the New Way of Working, so it is not a one size fits all approach.

As the world continues to be impacted by climatic change and climate shocks, especially drought episodes that have become more frequent and severe, there is a need to plan better to reduce the suffering and vulnerability of populations. The New Way of Working provides a pathway to dealing with the multifaceted challenges of protracted crisis, including shrinking humanitarian emergency aid, by investing in long-term resilience building.

As the UN Secretary-General has outlined, the three imperatives for operationalization of the New Way of Working are: first, to advance national ownership, both the UN and development partners are to play a catalytic role in strengthening national capacities for operationalizing the New Way of Working; second, joint planning and shared analysis is important to ensure that our programming and implementation modalities are context-specific and development investment must be directed to those areas in higher need; third, there is a need for financing architecture that takes into account the principles of predictability, flexibility and use of multi-year financing modalities.

The operationalization of the New Way of Working is excelling in Ethiopia and one can easily see the impact on the ground. This is my first visit to Ethiopia as UNDP Administrator and I am struck by the tremendous strength and resilience of the Ethiopian people in the face of adversity caused by increasingly frequent and extreme weather events.

During the field visit to the sites severely impacted by the droughts, we witnessed that most pastoralists who lost their livestock now rely on humanitarian support, and that this will be exacerbated by the effects of La Nina in reducing rainfall. Nevertheless, we saw examples of coping mechanisms whereby people through practical adaptation measures and using scarce resources economically have been able to increase their farm output to sustain their families. It is upon government, humanitarian and development partners to use these practical examples informed by local risk factors to scale them up, doing this in an integrated fashion taking into account context specificities over the long-term. UNDP offers to play its role as integrator and connector to develop country-level platforms with development solutions  including in providing opportunities for livelihood diversification with economic opportunities in the agricultural sector.

In addition, we applaud the Government of Ethiopia for embracing the New Way of Working, especially in its commitment to the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework (CRRF).

Together with the Emergency Relief Coordinator, we re-affirm our commitment to work towards bridging the divide by planning better, committing to better use of financial resources with stronger development outcomes that address the needs of the vulnerable and populations at risk. UNDP is committed to provide development solutions based on whole-of-government approaches in contributing to the SDG achievement.

For UNDP and our partners, the example of Ethiopia is a test case for putting action behind the New Way of Working. This will shape our engagement moving forward  not just on the ground in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa  but also for how the UN system and the international community bring together our humanitarian and development efforts for a more comprehensive response to immediate relief needs and longer-term peace and resilience requirements in complex emergencies.
Rohingya refugee volunteer community health worker Zafor Hossain (right) goes shelter to shelter in Nayapara Camp in Bangladesh raising awareness about the symptoms of diptheria.  UNHCR/Caroline Gluck

NAYAPARA CAMP, Bangladesh  A community health refugee volunteer, Zafor Hossein knew the signs and symptoms of diphtheria to look out for as he went from shelter to shelter in this sprawling refugee settlement - then one 17-year-old girl caught his eye.

She had a very swollen neck and couldnt eat. It matched the symptoms. I called a doctor and she was taken to a medical facility. It was confirmed as a diphtheria case, said Zafor.

The 31-year-old is among 44 Rohingya refugees volunteering as community health workers in Nayapara and Kutupalong settlements in southeast Bangladesh. And his prompt action may have helped to save the girls life and those of others around her.

When I went to do a follow up visit, four days later, she was back home and thanked me, said Zafor, 31.

It was Gods will that [saved] her. But I felt very good to have played a part in helping and making sure the family and neighbours were also safe. It gave me confidence about doing my job. I know I am making a difference.

She had a very swollen neck and couldnt eat. It matched the symptoms."

At least 688,000 Rohingya children, women and men have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted in the Maungdaw area in the northern part of Rakhine State five months ago, most seeking shelter at the two crowded settlements near Coxs Bazar.

At least 5,068 suspected cases of the highly infectious respiratory disease have been reported at the settlements.

Spotting the potential signs of the disease and referring cases to medical facilities, as well as tracing families and neighbours who may also have been infected, are just part of the workload of volunteer programme run by Food for the Hungry and Medical Teams International, in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

Outreach volunteers like Zafor are trained in health and hygiene promotion, as well as nutrition and sexual health. They carry out household visits, spreading information about hygiene practices and health messaging.

In addition to diphtheria, the teams have also been trained to spot symptoms of cholera and measles. As they make their household rounds, they carry a folder with pictures to give families graphic information of the danger signs to look for.

The refugees often dont know where to turn for help, says Murad Amin, a programme officer for the project. The volunteers can provide information and fill an important gap. They also distribute water purification tablets for families to ensure water collected by them is safe to drink, he says.

Currently, there are 20 community health workers operating in Nayapara, about a third of whom are women. Most are registered refugees, some born in Coxs Bazar, others like Zafor, who was brought here as a child in a previous wave of displacement in the 1990s. They receive a small stipend.

Community health workers have been key players in stopping diphtheria from spreading out of control."

Untreated, up to half of diphtheria cases can be fatal. Another volunteer, 17-year-old Shahina Akhter, said she was initially nervous when she first learnt about the disease appearing in the settlements. We hadnt come across this disease before and I was a bit scared at first. But I knew we were doing important work, that it was a serious outbreak. I didnt want to give up.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of suspected diphtheria cases has now plateaued, to around 30-40 cases a day. Contact tracing and early identification of people suspected of having diphtheria symptoms has been key in helping to curb transmission.

And that is why the work of the volunteer community health workers -- together with UNHCRs related Community Outreach Member initiative -- has been so important. In fact, the programme is soon set to expand. The plan is to have a total of 120 volunteer community health workers operating in Kutapalong and Nayapara.

Their work on the ground is vital and binds all health activities together, said UNHCRs public health officer, Dr Amany Sadek. Community health workers have been key players in stopping diphtheria from spreading out of control.

These volunteers are the health systems community messengers, helping to make sure no one falls through the net during the roughest of times.

Your support is urgently needed to help the children, women and men refugees in Bangladesh. Please give now.
Iraqi musician Hussein Rassim owes the city of Brussels a two-fold debt of gratitude. Not only did it give him a new home, it also reunited him with that which meant most to him  his instrument.

I was happy in Brussels, recalls the 29-year-old refugee, who arrived after fleeing his homeland in 2015. But I missed the music. It was the first thing I missed.

His beloved oud  a Middle Eastern member of the lute family  had helped Hussein through what he calls the misery of war in Iraq. Forced to leave it behind when he fled, he longed to play again, in peace.

He wrote about it on Facebook and soon people in the Belgian capital, a musical and cultural melting pot, were offering to help.

"I was happy, but I missed the music."

Help Hussein make music again, read a crowdfunding appeal circulated on social media by journalist Brian Ging, Amnesty Internationals Irem Arf and Maria Serrano, and UNHCRs Maeve Patterson.

Their plan was to raise 2,000 euros. As news spread and people from around the globe responded, the group realized they would smash their target.

Hussein could hardly believe he would soon play the oud again.

You know, people promise a lot and I understand when it doesnt happen, he says, shaking his head. I never thought it would. But the amount got bigger and bigger. I was so excited.

A former music student in Baghdad, Hussein has played the oud since 2009.  UNHCR/Colin Delfosse

Hussein and Juliette, with their two-month-old daughter Ellea.  UNHCR/Colin Delfosse

In January, Hussein's band Nawaris released its first album, "Migration".  UNHCR/Colin Delfosse

For years, the war in Iraq had crushed Hussein's spirit.  UNHCR/Colin Delfosse

Far from his family, friends and culture, Hussein has found joy in music once more.  UNHCR/Colin Delfosse

For years, the war in Iraq had crushed Husseins spirit. A student at the Institute of Musical Studies in Baghdad, he had played the oud since 2009, but worsening conditions in the country made him feel trapped.

You can see it on peoples faces  the sadness and exhaustion. Every day people try to find a few dollars to feed their family. There are explosions, no electricity. Its a misery.

In August 2015, Hussein made the decision to flee. He flew to Turkey and paid smugglers US$ 3,000 to take him to Greece.

Heavy seas buffeted the tiny fishing boat as he and 22 others crossed the Aegean one cold morning. It took three hours to reach Greece.

However, Hussein dreamt of Belgium, which an American friend had once told him was beautiful.

"There are explosions, no electricity. Its a misery."

From Greece, he passed through the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, sleeping on streets, sneaking through forests and pushed into cars by smugglers.

After reaching Brussels, he slept in Maximilian Park, where hundreds of refugees congregated, as he waited for a response to his asylum application. He found himself acting as a spokesperson for those around him and would show new arrivals around the city, helping them to feel at home. But even after receiving refugee status, there was something missing.

His friend Maeve Patterson knew what to do.

Looking at Husseins photo and messages on social media, my friends and I were just compelled to help, says Maeve. I thought, its so hard to make a difference for everyone, but if we can do something for just one person, its a start. It was clear that a little effort our end would make a big difference to Hussein, as his lute and music are not only his passion, but also his profession.

Iraqi refugee musician Hussein performs with wife Juliette

Far from his family, friends and culture, Hussein has found joy in music once more. Having the instrument has also given him the chance to make a living, playing concerts and recording albums.

Hussein has even found love through music, meeting cellist Juliette who is now mother of their two-month-old daughter Ellea, and a member of their band. The pair fell in love after Juliette suggested they play the song Lama Bada Yatathana (When She Begins to Sway) together, one of Husseins favourites.

See also: Refugee orchestra wins standing ovation

She said lets play this song if you know it and I said of course I know it, he says, chuckling. We played it that day and we still play it all the time. If I hadnt had the lute I wouldnt have met Juliette.

In January, their band Nawaris released its first album, Migration, and will perform a series of concerts. Hussein can never forget how it all began  a Facebook post, four friends and his beloved city of Brussels.

There have been a lot of cool moments in Brussels, but it was a special moment to have that lute and to play, play, play. It changed my life.
Pur Biel in South Korea, where he attended the International Olympic Committee's Truce Mural ceremony.  UNHCR/H. Shin

SEOUL, South Korea  UNHCR High Profile Supporter and refugee athlete Yiech Pur Biel carried a special message of peace as he arrived on the divided Korean Peninsula ahead the 2018 Winter Olympics.

"Peace is the fundamental of everything that a state can do," Pur told the audience during a talk in Seoul on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). "A person needs many things  shelter, food, water, education and medical services  to survive, but what do they all mean without peace? As a refugee who fled from a country in conflict, I know and have experienced for myself how important peace is."

Pur, a track and field athlete originally from Nasir, South Sudan, was invited to South Korea to join the International Olympic Committee's Truce Mural ceremony for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics. He was also one of the speakers of the Olympic SDGs Talk Concert in Seoul, organized by seven UN agencies in the country.

"Every step towards peace is important."

Pur said he was greatly moved that North and South Korea would be marching under a united flag for the Olympics, which are set to begin on 9 February.

"It is really great that the two sides agreed on it, he said. Every step towards peace is important, isn't it?"

The star athlete was forced to flee war in South Sudan in 2005 at the age of 10, leaving his parents and arriving alone to Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya. There are currently more than 2.5 million South Sudanese refugees in countries including Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia.

In his speech, Pur recalled the emotional moment he was able to reunite with his mother via phone after being selected to compete for the first Refugee Olympic Team in the 800m event at the Rio Summer Olympics in Brazil.

"My life has changed since then," he said. "After I became a member of the Refugee Team, I could pursue further education in college and I was given the chance to show the world that as a refugee you can still do something."

For Pur, being a refugee is just a label. He knows that it is up to him to achieve his goals  to become a professional runner and to pursue his studies.

"Refugee is only a name. It is important what you carry inside it," he said. "To young refugees aspiring to become athletes, I would like to say that it takes time and training to become an athlete. Be diligent and have faith, and you will still be able to achieve something in life, although you are a refugee and temporarily do not have a country."
PM to inaugurate UP investors meet on Feb 21:President to attend the valedictory session

Lucknow ,Feb 6(UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the proposed two-day maiden Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit beginning from February 21 while President of India Ram Nath Kovind will deliver the valedictory function with captains of Indian industry will grace the occasion.

This was revealed during presentation given by Industry Minister Satish Mahana after cabinet meeting here on Tuesday.

Government spokesman Sidharthnath Singh said that Chief Guest on February 22 will be Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley who will address over 5000 delegates and 1200 executives.
Venice, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Freedom Boat Club (FBC), the worlds oldest and largest boat club with 150+ North American locations in 30 states and Canada, has just signed an alliance agreement with Jeanneau to cooperatively develop Freedom Boat Club franchises among its European dealer network.

According to FBC President and CEO John Giglio, the FBC franchise model is now being offered to Jeanneau retailers in Europe who have the opportunity to develop FBC locations in their local market using Jeanneau outboard-powered boats.

Our Jeanneau European alliance grew out of a strong relationship with the Groupe Beneteau brands here in the U.S., as a growing number of our franchisees have placed Jeanneau, Four Winns and Glaston outboard boats in their fleets, said Giglio.

We are very pleased to be working directly with Jeanneau in the launch of our successful boat club franchise throughout Europe, he added. Jeanneau and its dealers clearly understand and embrace the benefits of the sharing economy, and the boat club model specifically.

Based on current interest and development activity, Giglio expects to announce multiple Freedom Boat Clubs operational in France this spring, with additional expansion elsewhere throughout Europe to follow. A group of Jeanneau dealers attending the Miami International Boat Show next week are confirmed to meet with Freedom Boat Club executives to tour a large Florida-based Freedom Boat Club franchise operation.

Giglio believes the new international expansion will be good for business, but also very good for the more than 30,000 Freedom Boat Club members throughout North America and those who will join abroad.

One of the most exciting aspects of this international expansion is our exclusive membership benefit featuring reciprocity, he said. Our Freedom Boat Club members around the world will enjoy full access to our fleet of boats wherever clubs exist, and that will now include international ports of call.

The boat clubs are a real trend that our dealers are keen to develop, confirms Jean-Paul Chapeleau, Jeanneau CEO. For Jeanneau dealers, its a unique opportunity to benefit from an experienced partner while launching this new service to our customers.

For more information about FBCs North American and international franchise program and available markets, visit www.FreedomBoatClubFranchise.com. For more information about Freedom Boat Club, visit www.FreedomBoatClub.com

ABOUT JEANNEAU

Created in 1956, Jeanneau designs, produces and sells a wide range of outboard and inboard powerboats, sailboats and yachts ranging from 15 to 64 feet in nearly 70 countries via its network of 350 dealerships. Skillfully and elegantly designed boats, with pure, contemporary, yet timeless lines, the expertise and quality brought by world-renowned naval architects make Jeanneau a reference in its field.

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Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4b3a168b-024f-42b7-ac1a-69fc900ae157

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5b10e307-5e0d-41e8-b436-8fbaf152081c
TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This afternoon, hundreds of members of Canadas largest Teaching Assistants union, Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3902, gathered outside of Simcoe Hall at the University of Torontos St. George campus in an attempt to avert a strike on February 26th.



CUPE 3902s Unit 1 Collective Agreement expired on December 31st, 2017. The parties have been bargaining with the University since September. In early December, over 1500 members voted 89.4% in support of a mandate to strike.

The rally coincided with the last day of conciliation between CUPE 3902 and the U of T. In January, union members set a strike deadline of February 26. If the parties cannot reach a Tentative Agreement by that date, members will walk.

Members are seeking to ensure that there is a mechanism and sufficient funds in a union administered financial assistance fund to top-up the graduate funding of bargaining unit members with the base funding package. Improvements to mental health coverage, better paid and more accessible pregnancy and parental, and greater support for unfunded students are also on the table.

Our members struggle to make ends meet while also trying to complete their degrees. We know theres a mental health crisis happening on Canadian campuses, and financial stress is one piece of that puzzle. Ensuring that the union has enough money to provide a meaningful top-up to base funding would go a long way to help our most vulnerable members, said Pamela Arancibia, CUPE 3902 Chair and Bargaining Team member. All of our issues are linked and negotiating a collective agreement that meets our needs is one of the tools we have to try to make the University a safer, more equitable space to work and study.

The group has received public support from the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL), the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation (OSSTF), and campus groups such as University of Toronto Students Union (UTSU) and University of Toronto Graduate Students Union (UTGSU).

In 2015, U of Ts Teaching Assistants struck for four weeks in a highly public strike.

Arancibia continued, Today showed us once again that our members are serious about their Bargaining Teams demands. We hope the University administration takes heed of todays message, and wont put undergraduate students and their families through another strike.

Tensions are high on campus as union members prepare for job action. After today, no further talks are scheduled between the parties.

Contacts:

Aleks Ivovic

Unit 1 Spokesperson

416-838-3784

Pamela Arancibia

Chair, CUPE 3902

416-593-7057

Kathryn McDonald

CUPE 3902 Staff

613-532-5415

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/28a3c184-69e7-4652-8843-a45cc2a0db07
Title

Fourth Meeting of the Expert Group on Space and Global Health held from 31 January to 1 February 2018
NEW YORK, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- On February 10, 2018, Robin Hood, New Yorks largest poverty-fighting organization, and the PepsiCo Foundation will come together to present NIGHT. The concert will bring the iconic Swedish DJ Natten to the Hammerstein Ballroom. Joining Natten is New Yorks favorite cover band, Party Rock.



NIGHT will bring together more than 1,000 young New Yorkers who are eager to give back to their city.

Were honored to partner with Robin Hood to help the 1.8 million New Yorkers currently living in poverty, said Sue Norton, Vice President of the PepsiCo Foundation.

Robin Hood helps the 1 in 5 New Yorkers living in poverty build better lives for themselves and their families. The organization funds the most effective nonprofits in New York that feed, train, advise, educate, and more. Thanks to the support of sponsors like PepsiCo, one hundred percent of proceeds from NIGHT will benefit Robin Hoods community partners.

The performance will start at 9:00 PM EST. Tickets are currently on sale at https://nighttobenefitrh.splashthat.com/. VIP packages are available upon request.



"We're thrilled and we're grateful to join forces with the PepsiCo Foundation to change the lives of New Yorkers living in poverty," said CEO of Robin Hood, Wes Moore. "This engaged partnership with the PepsiCo Foundation will amplify our work to help meet the urgent challenges in our fight against poverty."

About Robin Hood

Robin Hood, New York's largest poverty-fighting organization, finds, funds and creates over 200 of the most effective programs to help 1.8 million New Yorkers learn and earn their way out of poverty. Because our board of directors underwrites all operating costs, 100 percent of your donation goes directly to organizations helping New Yorkers in need. www.robinhood.org Facebook: facebook.com/robinhood Twitter: @robinhoodnyc Instagram: @robinhoodnyc

About PepsiCo Foundation

Established in 1962, the PepsiCo Foundation works with non-profit partners to develop innovative, sustainable solutions that address challenges in underserved communities around the world. The Foundation, along with PepsiCo and its employees, seeks to catalyze efforts that advance our Performance with Purpose 2025 goals.

For more information please visit: http://www.pepsico.com/sustainability/Philanthropy.

Contact:

Victoria Grantham

grantham@robinhood.org

212-844-3562

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3a904335-8dcb-4360-b757-0d41b33b8f3f
United Nations / Pakistan / Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water - 4th International Conference on the Use of Space Technology for Water Management

Islamabad, Pakistan, 26 February - 2 March 2018

Co-sponsored by the Inter-Islamic Network on Space Science and Technology (ISNET)

Hosted by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) on behalf of the Government of Pakistan

Click for Online registration (Closed)

1. Rationale and Context

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA), the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) - are jointly organizing the above Conference to promote the use of space technology in water management to the benefit of developing countries.

The Conference will be held in Islamabad, Pakistan, from 26 February to 2 March 2018, hosted by the Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) on behalf of the Government of Pakistan and co-sponsored by the Inter-Islamic Network on Space Science and Technology (ISNET).

The Conference is the fourth international event focusing on water-related aspects of space technology applications in the series of conferences organised in co-operation with, and with financial assistance of the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water (PSIPW) and ISNET. The first such event, the United Nations/UNESCO/Saudi Arabia International Conference on the Use of Space Technology for Water Management, took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April 2008, the second conference was organized in March 2011 in Buenos Aires, Argentina and the third one in Rabat, Morocco in April 2014.

2. Conference Objectives

Space technologies, including satellite remote sensing technology in particular, have demonstrated proven capabilities in meeting challenges of water resource management, as rapid population growth and development pressures continue to impose additional stresses on scarce resources. Continuous Earth observations from space are crucial to manage water resources for the benefit of humankind and the environment, as well as to provide important forecasting services to prevent water-related disasters such as floods and droughts.

Remote sensing satellites provide data on several key water-related variables (for example, rainfall, precipitations, floods, droughts, water storage, soil moisture and evaporation) using spatial and temporal scales that are appropriate for reliable assessment. A satellite-based approach to assessment and management of water resources is especially important in countries and regions of the world where adequate hydrological networks do not exist.

Starting with its session in 2004, the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) began to consider matters related to the use of space-related technology in water resource management. The Committee noted that in response to the deepening water crisis, space technology could contribute to a better water resource management by providing data and information on the availability of water resources and water use. The Committee also noted that once converted into practical information, scientific data on water resources provided by satellites could be used to formulate policy and implement programmes at the national, regional and international levels, including those of the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and other entities of the United Nations system.

Furthermore, as the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs prepares for UNISPACE +50, to take place in June 2018 (see http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/ourwork/unispaceplus50/index.html ), and is working on defining a Space2030 vision in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and of other international agreements, the importance of considering how space technologies and related applications can support the implementation of those SDGs and agreements becomes even higher.

The discussions, findings and recommendations of this Conference will also be important in implementing the priority roadmaps on health and resilient societies, towards Space2030.

The Conference will address above mentioned issues, identify gaps, and discuss how space technology can contribute to better management of water resources in general, as well as specific issues such as mountain region-specific water challenges, combating desertification, water storage, floods and drought monitoring, ensuring access to safe drinking water and managing water-related emergencies in developing countries. The following primary objectives were identified:

 To enhance capabilities of countries in the use of space-related technologies, applications, services and information for identifying, managing and monitoring water resources;

 To strengthen international and regional cooperation in this area;

 To raise awareness among decision-makers, research and academic communities on space technology applications in addressing water-related issues, primarily in developing countries;

 To promote educational and public awareness initiatives in the area of water resources management, as well as to contribute into any capacity building efforts in this area;

 To consider and review new or emerging technologies and approaches in this domain;

 To contribute to the Space2030 implementation roadmaps on health and resilient societies

UNISPACE+50

The discussions at the Conference will - as indicated - contribute towards UNISPACE+50 and its outcomes, to be held in June 2018, event that marks also the fiftieth anniversary of the first United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space held in 1968 (mouse-over this paragraph for more information) .

3. Conference Programme and Anticipated Outcomes

The Conference will be composed of a series of technical presentations with sufficient time set aside for discussions. Technical sessions will be followed by open discussions, which will focus on specific topics of interest and will provide additional opportunities for participants to voice their opinions.

The programme of the Conference will include technical sessions addressing among others the following themes:

Opening Session: International Initiatives Integrating Space Technologies in Water Resource Management;

Session 1: Space Applications for Water Security and Risk Management;

Session 2: Using Space Technologies to Address Water Challenges in Mountain Regions;

Session 3: Geospatial Information in Water Resource Management;

Session 4: Capacity Building and Cooperation Initiatives;

Session 5: Case studies presentations.

Presentations at the above technical sessions may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

 Applications of space technologies that provide cost-effective solutions and essential information for planning and implementation of programmes or projects to enhance management, protection and restoration of water resources.

 Use of space-related technologies in mitigating water-related emergencies, in addressing mountain region-specific challenges, water storage or in providing safe drinking water combating desertification as well as floods and droughts monitoring.

 Capacity building in water management, including development of human resources, establishing technical infrastructures and legal frameworks, and access to financial resources.

 Education and training required for various target groups on using space technologies for addressing water-related challenges, as well as public awareness initiatives in this area.

 International, regional and national initiatives and international and inter-regional cooperation.

 Case studies on successful applications of space technologies for enhancing water resources management in developing countries.

The Conference discussions will address ways of expanding the use of space technologies and information/data for better water resources management, as well as identify the priority areas where pilot projects could be launched, and will consider possible partnerships that could be established.

Participants of the Conference will be encouraged to make presentations on the topics suggested above, as well as to participate actively in all discussions.

4. Participants

The Conference is being planned for a total of 100-150 decision-makers, technical experts, researchers and educators drawn from the following groups: international, regional, national and local institutions, academic institutions, multi-lateral and bi-lateral development agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and also from private industry. Experts and professionals from both space-related and water management institutions will be invited, providing an opportunity to exchange experiences and strengthen networks and partnerships that will contribute to the increased use of space technology-based solutions for water resources management.

5. Support to Qualified Applicants

Within the limited financial resources available to the co-sponsors, a number of qualified applicants from developing countries , who have express ed the need for financial support will be selected on a competitive basis, based on their qualifications, experience and expected contributions to the Conference, and offered financial support to attend. This may include the provision of a round-trip economy class air ticket between Islamabad and the applicant's international airport of departure and/or per diem for the duration of the Conference. En-route and other expenses or any changes made to the air ticket provided by the co-sponsors must be the responsibility of the participants.

Applicants must generally have a university degree and well-established professional working experience in a field related to the themes of the Conference. Applicants should be in managerial, decision-making, technical or academic positions within governmental agencies, international, regional and national institutions, universities, NGOs or private industry with responsibilities for carrying out programmes or projects in the areas related to the theme of the Conference.Due to limited availability of financial support, not all applicants for travel support can be accommodated. In this respect, applicants and their nominating organizations are strongly encouraged to also identify additional sources of sponsorship to allow them to attend the Conference. Applicants who demonstrate that the Conference is central to their professional activities/responsibilities, as well as qualified female applicants, will be selected on a priority basis.

The co-sponsors of the Conference will jointly select participants, who will be notified of their selection latest by 31st January 2018.

Selected participants to whom travel support will be offered by the co-sponsors of the Conference are expected to contribute a presentation of approximately 15 to 20 minutes on topics relevant to the Conference objectives and to the programme. Presentations on actual on-going projects will be of particular interest to organizers of the Conference. Full papers/presentations should be also submitted to the organizers by 5th February 2018. All papers and presentations presented at the conference will be later published on the United Nations / PSIPW Space and Water Portal.

6. Dates and Location

The Conference will be held in Islamabad, Pakistan, at a designated hotel, from 26 February to 2 March 2018.

All selected and invited participants will receive an information package with details on boarding, lodging and other local arrangements.

7. Language of the Conference

Applicants must have a good working knowledge of English, which will be the official working language of the Conference.

8. Life and Health Insurance

Life and major health insurance is the responsibility of each selected participant or his/her nominating institution or government. The co-sponsors will not assume any responsibility for life and major health insurance, nor for any expenses related to medical treatment or accidents.

9. Deadline for Submission of Applications

Complete applications and abstracts shall be submitted to the Office for Outer Space Affairs through this online registration page.

The completed applications, properly endorsed by the applicant's government/institution, should be received by the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs as soon as possible, but no later than 21st January 2018 (especially if seeking funding support) . Applications received after the deadline might still be considered, but applicants might not be eligible for financial or visa support. The online application form can be accessed through the following internet link (URL)

10. Further Information and Contact Details

For questions related to the Conference programme and participation opportunities, please contact:

Mr. Lorant Czaran

Office for Outer Space Affairs

United Nations Office at Vienna

Phone: +43 1 26060 4158

Fax: +43 1 26060 7 4158

E-mail: czaran [at] un.org



Ms. Hina Abid Alvi

SUPARCO HQs Karachi

Phone: +92 21 34690841

+92 21 34650765-75 (Ext: 2051)

Fax: +92 21 34644928

E-mail: sh.un [at] suparco.gov.pk

Logistics Information (check for updates)

For logistical information (visa arrangements, health, security, hotels, transportation) please consult this section regularly.

Some information will only be shared directly with the registered and accepted Conference participants.

Accommodation

International and funded participants will be asked to stay at the same designated hotel. Information will follow.

Lunches, Coffee/tea Breaks

Kindly note that lunches will be provided to Conference participants. Coffee breaks will be also available.

International Programme Committee (in alphabetical order):
Positive customer addition trends continue; improved operational performance;

continued execution of retail channel expansion strategy

Reaffirms fiscal 2018 guidance

TORONTO, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just Energy Group, Inc. (TSX:JE) (NYSE:JE), a leading retail energy provider specializing in electricity and natural gas commodities, energy efficiency solutions, and renewable energy options, today announced results for its third quarter of fiscal 2018.

Key Highlights:

Continued execution of the retail channel expansion strategy with 111 new store launches across 12 different retail partners for a total of 348 stores. Company remains on track to achieve its goal of being present in 500 stores by fiscal year end.





Base EBITDA of $52.5 million increased $1.0 million compared to last year as operational performance improvements were offset by a mix of investments in strategic sales growth initiatives and foreign exchange.





Gross RCE additions of 304,000 improved 45% year-over-year. Net RCE additions of 27,000 improved from a negative 84,000 net RCE additions in the prior comparable period. Just Energys total customer count has increased by 9% during fiscal 2018 to 1,606,000.





Administrative expenses increased $5.8 million due to costs associated with serving the international customer base and new strategic initiatives; selling and marketing expenses were roughly flat; and finance costs improved $5.0 million during the quarter.





Combined attrition improved two percentage points to 13% for the trailing 12 months with improvements in both the Consumer and Commercial divisions. Total renewal rate declined by six percentage points year-over-year, reflecting a very competitive market with competitors pricing aggressively while Just Energy remained focused on improving retained customers profitability rather than pursuing low margin growth.





Base FFO $37.5 million represented an increase of 79% versus the prior comparable quarter driven by finance costs improvement and current income tax reduction. Net debt to the trailing 12-month Base EBITDA of 2.6x, up from the 2.5x reported one year ago and the 1.8x reported at year-end.





The Company officially launched operations in Japan under the Just Energy brand in late November, marking Just Energys first expansion into Asia and its third new geographic launch outside of North America over the past twelve months.





The Company reaffirmed its fiscal 2018 Base EBITDA guidance of $175 million to $190 million.





Financial highlights For the three months ended December 31 (thousands of dollars, except where indicated and per share amounts) % increase Fiscal 2018 (decrease) Fiscal 2017 Sales $ 912,203 (1)% $ 918,536 Gross margin 171,305 (2)% 174,353 Administrative expenses 50,389 13% 44,567 Selling and marketing expenses 55,547 - 55,337 Finance costs (net of non-cash finance charges) 10,619 (32)% 15,646 Profit for the period1 208,415 NMF 3 188,041 Profit per share available to shareholders - basic 1.42 1.22 Loss per share available to shareholders - diluted 1.13 0.98 Dividends/distributions 21,501 14% 18,800 Base EBITDA2 52,507 2% 51,489 Base FFO2 37,539 79% 20,940 Payout ratio on Base FFO2 57% 90%









Financial highlights For the nine months ended December 31 (thousands of dollars, except where indicated and per share amounts) % increase Fiscal 2018 (decrease) Fiscal 2017

Sales $ 2,611,836 (7)% $ 2,809,773 Gross margin 471,531 (9)% 520,559 Administrative expenses 145,826 7% 135,985 Selling and marketing expenses 172,200 - 172,581 Finance costs (net of non-cash finance charges) 29,942 (30)% 42,600 Profit for the period1 252,801 NMF 3 509,104 Profit per share available to shareholders  basic 1.66 3.32 Profit per share available to shareholders - diluted 1.37 2.60 Dividends/distributions 64,752 15% 56,407 Base EBITDA2 105,564 (29)% 149,481 Base FFO2 65,730 (34)% 99,170 Payout ratio on Base FFO2 99% 57% Embedded gross margin2 1,956,000 4% 1,873,500 Total RCEs 4,114,000 (3)% 4,227,000

1 Profit includes the impact of unrealized gains (losses), which represents the mark to market of future commodity supply acquired to cover future customer demand. The supply has been sold to customers at fixed prices, minimizing any realizable impact of mark to market gains and losses.

2 See Non-IFRS financial measures on page 2 of the Q3FY18 MD&A.

3 Not a meaningful figure.





Our solid third quarter was highlighted by continued positive sales trends in both the Consumer and Commercial divisions, execution of our retail channel expansion strategy, and improved operational performance, commented Just Energys Co-CEO, Deb Merril. The strong customer trends continued as we have achieved gross and net customer addition improvements in each of the three quarters of fiscal 2018, and our attrition rates remain at historic lows. We believe these trends will continue as they demonstrate the importance of our trusted advisor strategy and our focused efforts to attract and retain right fit customers that align with Just Energys product, channel and geographic growth strategy.

We are having great success in our retail channel expansion efforts and remain on track to achieve our goal of being present in 500 stores by fiscal year end. As part of that commitment, we are excited to announce that our largest retail partner, Sams Club, recently awarded Just Energy with 48 additional stores to add to our portfolio of stores across North America. This partnership exemplifies how Just Energy is expanding our channel opportunities to further reach potential residential customers looking to take control of their energy needs. Additionally, capitalizing on our digital first strategy, Sams Club is our first retail partner where our web presence will be integrated, allowing Sams Club members to sign up for energy products through our Just Energy site.

We continue to make strategic growth investments to seed our new international operations, expand our retail sales channels, and further invest in product and geographic growth initiatives. Our underlying business performed well during the quarter as improved operational performance served to offset the growth investments and the effect of foreign exchange.

Co-CEO, James Lewis added, We are pleased with the positive customer trends we are delivering and remain confident we can continue to build on this momentum. We saw a decline in our renewal rate during the quarter, reflecting a very competitive consumer pricing environment. Just Energy remains steadfast in our focus on improving retained customers profitability rather than pursuing low margin growth in these market conditions.

Our product, channel and geographic expansion strategy remains on track. We continue to receive great customer reception and feedback around our growing suite of value-add products and long-term loyalty programs. In line with this feedback, our total customer count grew by nine percent during the quarter to 1.6 million customers. Our geographic expansion efforts remain on track outside of North America. During the quarter, we officially launched operations in Japan under the Just Energy brand in late November, marking Just Energys first expansion into Asia and our third new geographic launch outside of North America in the past twelve months.

We delivered a 79% year-over-year improvement in Base FFO during the quarter, resulting in a payout ratio on Base FFO of 57%."

Co-CEO, Deb Merril concluded, Our strategy is beginning to deliver measurable results, and we continue to aggressively pursue additional growth opportunities while preserving the balance sheet. We are committed to maintaining our dividend, and we are confident we can deliver on our fiscal 2018 expectations while also setting the stage for prolonged, profitable growth on a global scale.

Third Quarter Operating Performance



Photos accompanying this announcement are available at:

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/403abffd-5548-40dc-908c-e788f9ad5954



http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8545ada7-356a-45be-ad3f-ab29759a1a06

Sales decreased by 1% to $912.2 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2018.





Gross margin was $171.3 million, a decrease of 2% from the prior comparable quarter primarily due to the weakening of the U.S. dollar.





Administrative expenses increased 13% to $50.4 million as a result of costs to serve the growing customer base in the U.K., international expansion costs as well as efforts relating to new strategic initiatives.





Selling and marketing expenses of $55.5 million remained consistent with the selling and marketing expenses reported during the same period last year.





Finance costs (net of non-cash finance charges) of $10.6 million improved 32% as a result of the redemption of the 6.0% convertible debentures and the senior unsecured notes, offset by the finance costs from the issuance of the 6.75% convertible debentures.





Base FFO $37.5 million represented an increase of 79% versus the prior comparable quarter, driven by finance costs improvement and the current income tax reduction.





Base EBITDA increased 2% to $52.5 million driven by a mix of operational performance improvements, the weakening of the U.S. dollar and the strategic sales growth initiatives.





Annual gross margin per RCE Q3 Fiscal Number of Q3 Fiscal Number of 2018 customers 2017 customers Consumer customers added and renewed $ 225 183,000 $ 222 205,000 Consumer customers lost 189 120,000 199 140,000 Commercial customers added and renewed1 73 239,000 82 229,000 Commercial customers lost 77 157,000 81 154,000 1 Annual gross margin per RCE excludes margins from IEG and large commercial and industrial customers.

The average gross margin per RCE for the customers added and renewed by the Consumer division was $225/RCE, an increase from $222/RCE added in the prior comparable period. The average gross margin per RCE for the Consumer customers lost during the three months ended December 31, 2017 was $189/RCE, a decrease from $199/RCE margin lost on customers in the prior comparable period.





The average gross margin per RCE for the Commercial customers signed during the quarter was $73/RCE, a decrease from $82/RCE added in the prior comparable period. Customers lost through attrition and failure to renew during the three months ended December 31, 2017 were at an average gross margin of $77/RCE, a decrease from $81/RCE reported in the prior comparable period. Management will continue its margin optimization efforts by focusing on ensuring customers added meet profitability targets.

Customer aggregation RCE SUMMARY Oct 1, Failed to

Dec. 31, % increase Dec. 31, % increase 2017 Additions Attrition

renew

2017 (decrease) 2016 (decrease) Consumer Energy Gas 627,000 26,000 (25,000) (11,000) 617,000 (2)% 604,000 2% Electricity 1,168,000 79,000 (58,000) (18,000) 1,171,000 - 1,186,000 (1)% Total Consumer RCEs 1,795,000 105,000 (83,000) (29,000) 1,788,000 - 1,790,000 - Commercial Energy Gas 337,000 46,000 (7,000) (11,000) 365,000 8% 250,000 46% Electricity 1,955,000 153,000 (33,000) (114,000) 1,961,000 - 2,187,000 (10)% Total Commercial RCEs 2,292,000 199,000 (40,000) (125,000) 2,326,000 1% 2,437,000 (5)% Total RCEs 4,087,000 304,000 (123,000) (154,000) 4,114,000 1% 4,227,000 (3)%





Just Energys total RCE base is currently 4.1 million, a 3% decrease from one year ago. In addition to the RCEs referenced in the above table, the Consumer base also includes 44,700 smart thermostat customers.





Gross RCE additions for the quarter were 304,000, an increase of 45% year-over-year, and a decrease of 2% sequentially.



- Consumer gross RCE additions amounted to 105,000 during the quarter, a 4% increase year-over-year and a 38% decrease sequentially, primarily driven by shrinking customer books in North America offsetting by U.K. market growth.



- Commercial gross RCE additions were 199,000, an 83% increase year-over-year and a 41% increase sequentially, as a result of increased additions from large natural gas Commercial and Industrial RCEs in Canada.





- Consumer gross RCE additions amounted to 105,000 during the quarter, a 4% increase year-over-year and a 38% decrease sequentially, primarily driven by shrinking customer books in North America offsetting by U.K. market growth. - Commercial gross RCE additions were 199,000, an 83% increase year-over-year and a 41% increase sequentially, as a result of increased additions from large natural gas Commercial and Industrial RCEs in Canada. Net RCE additions of positive 27,000 improved compared with a negative 84,000 net RCE additions in the third quarter of last year, and positive 11,000 net RCE additions last quarter (fiscal Q2).





Just Energys geographical footprint continues to diversify outside of North America. The U.K. operations increased their RCE base by 26% to 440,000 RCEs year-to-date with strong growth in its Consumer RCE base. As of December 31, 2017, the U.S., Canadian and U.K. segments accounted for 68%, 22% and 10% of the RCE base, respectively.





The combined attrition rate for Just Energy was 13% for the trailing 12 months, a decrease of two percentage points from the 15% reported a year prior, and a two percentage point increase sequentially. The attrition improvement is the direct result of Just Energys trusted advisor strategy and long-term loyalty programs.



- Consumer attrition of 22% decreased two percentage points year-over-year and was flat sequentially.



- Commercial attrition of 5% decreased three percentage points from the year ago period and was flat sequentially.





- Consumer attrition of 22% decreased two percentage points year-over-year and was flat sequentially. - Commercial attrition of 5% decreased three percentage points from the year ago period and was flat sequentially. The renewal rate was 58% for the trailing 12 months, declined six percentage points year-over-year. Consumer renewal rate declined by seven percentage points to 72%, while the Commercial renewal rate also declined by seven percentage points to 48%.



- The decline in Commercial renewal rate reflected a very competitive market for Commercial renewals with competitors pricing aggressively and Just Energys focus on improving retained customers profitability rather than pursuing low margin growth.



- Consumer renewals in Canada have been negatively impacted by new consumer protection rules in Alberta and Ontario which prohibits selling energy products door-to-door, bans contracting with consumers at their home and disallows the automatic renewal or extension of expiring contracts.

Balance Sheet & Liquidity

Cash and short-term investment was $98.8 million as of December 31, 2017, an increase of 18% from $83.6 million reported March 31, 2017, primarily attributable to the credit facility withdrawals to support the seasonal cash requirements.





Long-term debt increased from $498.1 million as of March 31, 2017 to $564.7 million as at December 31, 2017 as a result of the withdrawal of $70.0 million on the credit facility.





As of December 31, 2017, Just Energys book value net debt to the trailing 12-month Base EBITDA was 2.6x, up from the 2.5x reported one year ago, and the 1.8x reported for March 31, 2017





Base FFO of $37.5 million represented an increase of 79% versus the prior comparable quarter driven by finance costs improvement and the current income tax reduction.





The payout ratio on Base FFO was 57% for the three months ended December 31, 2017, compared to 90% reported in the third quarter of fiscal 2017. The payout ratio for the trailing 12 months ending December 31, 2017 was 90%, compared with 53% for the trailing 12 months ended December 31, 2016.





Dividends and distributions for the three months ended December 31, 2017 were $21.5 million, an increase of 14% from the prior comparable quarter in fiscal 2017, reflecting the issuance of preferred shares.





Common share repurchases totaled $11.9 million as of December 31, 2017.

Outlook

Just Energy continues to deploy its strategy to become a world-class consumer enterprise delivering superior value to its customers through a range of energy management solutions and a multi-channel approach. The Company has recently completed a phase of internal transformation centered on repairing its balance sheet and overall debt structure, as well as improving the profitability profile of its customer base. Just Energys growth plans center on customer growth, geographic expansion, channel growth and enhancements, strategic acquisitions, and new products and structures.

Management reiterated its previously issued guidance of fiscal 2018 Base EBITDA in the range of $175 million to $190 million. These expectations reflect the impact of the significant one-time weather events in the second fiscal quarter, combined with the low commodity pricing environment and the Companys efforts to improve profitability. To achieve profitability and optimize growth in the fourth fiscal quarter and beyond, Just Energy will:

Target sales growth through all channels. The company is on track to be present in 500 stores by the fiscal year end, working with its retail partners, including Sams Club. With the success realized in the retail channel expansion efforts, the Company will focus on joint marketing partnerships and authorized agent programs to drive brand awareness and new customer growth. The business development efforts in retail will be shifted towards multi-nationals in footprint, allowing those efforts to be amortized over multiple countries in the portfolio. As part of Just Energys digital transformation, the Company revamped its website and completed its transition to its new digital partner while maintaining the expected new acquisitions.





Focus on sustainable cost reduction through continuous productivity enhancing and cost efficiency initiatives that were under way in the third fiscal quarter. Continued benefits will be realized in the fourth fiscal quarter and subsequent years.





Invest in international expansion by replicating its UK success in other markets. Just Energy fully launched its operations in Ireland, Japan and Germany. Supported by UKs leadership team, supplier relationships and market approximation, Ireland will grow at a faster pace. International expansion will continue to be the key drivers for future growth of the Company and therefore significant investments will be made to seed international operations.

In addition, management is actively engaged in and expects to complete the refinancing of its 2018 maturing debts in the near term.

The Company remains committed to its current dividend policy.

Earnings Call

The Company will host a conference call and live webcast to review the fiscal second quarter results beginning at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 8th, 2018 followed by a question and answer period. Rebecca MacDonald, Executive Chair, President & Co-Chief Executive Officers James Lewis and Deborah Merril, and Chief Financial Officer Patrick McCullough will participate on the call.

Just Energy Conference Call and Webcast

Thursday, February 8th, 2018

10:00 a.m. EST

Those who wish to participate in the conference call may do so by dialing 1-877-300-9306 and ask to be joined into the Just Energy call. The call will also be webcast live over the internet at the following link:

https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1731/24344

An audio tape rebroadcast will be available starting one hour after the conference and will be available until February 15th, 2018. To access the rebroadcast please dial 1-877-344-7529 and use replay access code 10116461. The webcast will also be archived on the JE investor relations website for one year.

About Just Energy Group Inc.

Established in 1997, Just Energy is a leading retail energy provider specializing in electricity and natural gas commodities, energy efficiency solutions, and renewable energy options. With offices located across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and Japan, Just Energy serves approximately 1.5 million residential and commercial customers providing homes and businesses with a broad range of energy solutions that deliver comfort, convenience and control. Just Energy Group Inc. is the parent company of Amigo Energy, Green Star Energy, Hudson Energy, Tara Energy and terrapass. Visit justenergygroup.com to learn more. Also, find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Just Energy's press releases may contain forward-looking statements including statements pertaining to customer revenues and margins, customer additions and renewals, customer attrition, customer consumption levels, general and administrative expenses, dividends, distributable cash and treatment under governmental regulatory regimes. These statements are based on current expectations that involve a number of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from those anticipated. These risks include but are not limited to levels of customer natural gas and electricity consumption, rates of customer additions and renewals, rates of customer attrition, fluctuations in natural gas and electricity prices, changes in regulatory regimes and decisions by regulatory authorities, competition and dependence on certain suppliers. Additional information on these and other factors that could affect Just Energy's operations, financial results or dividend levels are included in Just Energy's annual information form and other reports on file with Canadian securities regulatory authorities which can be accessed through the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com, on the U.S. Securities Exchange Commissions website at www.sec.gov or through Just Energy's website at www.justenergygroup.com.

NON-IFRS MEASURES

The financial measure such as EBITDA, Base EBITDA, FFO, Base FFO, Base FFO Payout Ratio and Embedded Gross Margin do not have a standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies. This financial measure should not be considered as an alternative to, or more meaningful than, net income (loss), cash flow from operating activities and other measures of financial performance as determined in accordance with IFRS, but the Company believes that this measure is useful in providing relative operational profitability of the Companys business. Please refer to Key Terms in the Companys managements discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations of the Corporation for the three and nine months ended December 31, 2017 for the Companys definition of EBITDA and other none-IFRS measures.

Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the New York Stock Exchange has approved nor disapproved of the information contained herein.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:



Pat McCullough

Chief Financial Officer

Just Energy

713-933-0895

pmccullough@justenergy.com

or

Michael Cummings

Investor Relations

Alpha IR Group

617-461-1101

michael.cummings@alpha-ir.com




DACA Symposium Scheduled Feb. 24 in Laramie

Organizers of a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) symposium in Laramie Saturday, Feb. 24, want to educate the public about the realities of the program.

The symposium, free and open to the public, is in the University of Wyoming Conference Center. Events begin with coffee and pastries at 8 a.m., followed by the conferences program at 8:30 a.m. The event will conclude at about 4:45 p.m. UWs American Studies Program is the primary sponsor of the event, with additional support from UWs Office of the President, the student organization MEChA, School of Culture, Gender and Social Justice, and the Wyoming Institute for Humanities Research.

DACA is an immigration policy that has allowed individuals who entered the country as minors -- and either entered or remained in the country illegally -- to receive a renewable two-year period of deferred action from deportation and to be eligible for work permits. As of 2017, about 800,000 individuals were enrolled in the program created by DACA, with approximately 900 living in Wyoming. The policy was established by the Obama administration in June 2012 and rescinded by the Trump administration last September.

The policy is currently in the hands of Congress, which is debating the issue.

Organizers of the Laramie event have put together a full day of speakers/panels to discuss the issue. The two co-chairs are longtime advocate for undocumented students Lilia Soto, a UW American studies and history associate professor, and Travis Helm, a Laramie immigration attorney and UW graduate.

One UW student has been on the forefront of the DACA issue: Jose Rivas, a graduate student from Gillette, who also is on the organizing committee. Rivas has basically been the face of DACA for Wyoming residents. He has attended several conferences on the issue, while giving numerous interviews to national media outlets on the subject.

He says the symposium is important to him because it will bring awareness to the UW campus and Wyoming, and it will be a good opportunity to educate people. Most important, he says, is to understand the facts, adding that many Americans are misinformed when it comes to DACA.

Some think it is amnesty, and it is anything but that. There is no path to citizenship, let alone a path for legal permanent residency, Rivas says.

Soto will discuss the importance of DACA and will provide links to other groups that have been affected by the Trump administration and a way for students to make connections. Helm will explain the legal history of DACA and where the policy stands.

Among other events scheduled are undocumented students telling personal stories; how UW is responding to DACA and how the university is assisting students; the lack of financial aid for DACA students; and the DACA issue in Wyoming.

The issue is timely, organizers say, because when Trump ended DACA, he created a March 5 deadline for protections to end. That deadline was scheduled to give Congress time to act to save the program. But, while lawmakers have continued to use that date as a target, court action and the realities of the program have made meeting any deadline unclear. As a result, there is no date that the protections will actually run out for DACA recipients who came to the U.S. as children, but uncertainty remains about whether they could be deported at any time.

The local event will give the DACA conference committee an opportunity to put a human face and story to the immigration debate, Rivas says.

I feel like, sometimes, we are left out of the conversation when it comes to creating policy and legislation. It will give a voice to those who are directly impacted here at UW and at a statewide level, he adds.

The committee hopes the public attends to show its support for undocumented students.

Sometimes, residents ask how they can help this movement. At this symposium, we will discuss some ways these folks can get involved. I hope this event also will affirm the support that UW has given to its students, Rivas says. The symposium is important because it gives students, like myself, something to relate to educationally and professionally. What better way than to apply our own experiences in an academic forum? Representation matters when it comes to educational development.

RSVPs are requested to attend the symposium by calling Sophia Beck, American Studies Program and history department office associate, at (307) 766-3898 or emailing gipper@uwyo.edu.
UW Department of Music Presents Helios Trio Valentines Day Concert

The UW Department of Musics Helios Trio will perform Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the UW Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall. Members, from left, are John Fadial, violin; Chi-Chen Wu, piano; and Beth Vanderborgh, cello. (UW Photo)

The combination of piano, violin and cello music will be performed during a Valentines Day concert featuring the Helios Trio Wednesday, Feb. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the University of Wyoming Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts recital hall.

Presented by the UW Department of Music, the free public performance will feature Beethovens trio for piano, violin and violoncello, Op. 1 No. 1; Brahms trio for piano, violin and violoncello, Op. 8; Elgars Salut dAmour; and Gershwins Embraceable You.

Composed of UW Department of Music faculty, the Helios Trio includes Chi-Chen Wu, piano; John Fadial, violin; and Beth Vanderborgh, cello. Founded in 2014, the trio has a diverse background as performers, combining to produce interpretations of repertoire for violin, cello and piano. In 2015, the trio served as Artists-in-Residence for the Music for a Great Space series in North Carolina, performing concerts and working with talented young musicians.

A native of Taiwan, Wu came to the United States for graduate school in 1999, studying with some of the nations most celebrated pianists. Her performances have been praised in newspapers around the world, and she has collaborated with such well-known chamber musicians as Takacs String Quartet and the Julliard String Quartet. Wu has appeared as recitalist, chamber musician and concerto soloist in the U.S., Canada, France, Spain, Japan, Taiwan, China and also at the Aspen Music Festival, Monadnock Music Festival and Mayfest Chamber Music Festival. She has made several recordings.

Fadial has appeared on four continents as chamber musician and soloist. He has toured internationally for the U.S. State Department as a United States Artistic Ambassador, and has served as concertmaster of the North Carolina Opera, the Colorado Festival, the Menuhin Festival Orchestra of Saumur, the Heidelberg Schloss-Spiele, the Eastern Music Festival and Greensboro Symphony Orchestra.

As a recording artist, Fadial was a semifinalist for the Grammy Award for best Chamber Music Performance of 2007 for the CD Where Does Love Go: Chamber Music of Mark Engebretson on the Innova label.

Vanderborgh has performed on four continents, including recitals at the Kennedy Center, the Phillips Collection, the Teatro Nacional in Costa Rica and the American University in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria. Vanderborghs recent recordings include discs of the Chamber Music of Gwyneth Walker for the Albany label and Chamber Music of Jennifer Higdon -- in collaboration with the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer -- also for Albany. She serves as artist faculty of the Eastern Music Festival and principal cellist for both the Cheyenne Symphony and Shenandoah Bach Festival.

For more information, call Kathy Kirkaldie, UW Fine Arts coordinator, at (307) 766-2160 or email kirisk@uwyo.edu.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Premier Diversified Holdings Inc. ("Premier" or the "Company") (CSE:PDH) is pleased to provide the following corporate update.



Russell Breweries Inc.

Premier sold its entire interest of 15,256,000 common shares of Russell Breweries Inc. ("Russell Shares"), approximately 17.5% of the issued and outstanding Russell Shares, and does not hold any securities of Russell following the sales. On February 5 and 6, 2018, the Company announced that it had disposed of 5,705,000 Russell Shares of Russell Breweries Inc. ("Russell") for $0.01 per Russell Share and 9,551,000 Russell Shares for $0.005 per Russell Share, respectively. The sales were carried out on the public market. The aggregate gross proceeds were $104,805. The cumulative return on capital of the Russell share purchase and sale was 51.9% and an annualized return of 17.3%.

On January 5, 2018, Russell announced that, following receipt of certain final payments contemplated by the sale of all or substantially all of its assets related to its two former operating businesses in two separate transactions completed on December 2, 2016 and December 17, 2016, the board of directors of Russell fixed the amount and record date for the second cash distribution by way of a return of capital (the "Return of Capital").

The first Return of Capital was made on April 13, 2017 in the amount of CAD$$0.05 per Russell Share. The second Return of Capital was made on January 26, 2018 in the amount of CAD$0.035 per Russell Share. On February 2, 2018, Premier's two nominees to the board of directors of Russell, Alnesh Mohan and Sanjeev Parsad, resigned. As the Return of Capital was completed and Premier's nominees no longer serve as directors of Russell, Premier determined to dispose of part of its interest in Russell on February 5, 2018. Following that disposition, Premier determined to dispose of the remainder of its Russell Shares. Premier does not intend to acquire additional securities of Russell.

Chinese Operations

The Company's subsidiary Premier Diagnostic (Hong Kong) Inc. ("PDHK") has an interest in a clinic which offered medical resonance imaging (MRI) in Beijing, China. PDHK operated the clinic through PDCC at the Beijing Military Hospital #3 (the "Beijing Clinic"). During 2017, the Companys revenue from the Beijing Clinic had been impacted by government and operational issues at the hospital level, such as changes in management and changes in the competitive environment in Beijing, which could not be mitigated by Premiers management team in China. As a result, there was a significant decrease in the operational results of the Beijing clinic which persisted, and the decision was made to shut-down the joint venture.

Several options for disposition of the assets of the Beijing Clinic, including the MRI scanner, and the associated Chinese entities were examined. The Company made the decision to write-down the assets of the China operations on its audited annual financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2017.

In January 2018, the Company reached an agreement with the former general manager of its Chinese Operations, Yang Gang, to complete the shut down of the Chinese operations. Pursuant to that agreement, Premier will transfer its interest in PDHK and Premier Diagnostic (China) Corporation ("PDCC") to Mr. Gang and the Company will retain its interests in Premier Investment (Hong Kong) Limited ("PIHK") and Premier Investment Shanghai Ltd. ("PISH"). Mr. Gang will assume PDHK and PDCC and their corresponding assets and liabilities, including the MRI equipment. The purchase price will be approximately $180,000, subject to certain adjustments, and will be offset by certain payables owing by the Company to Mr. Gang. The Company is consulting with local counsel in China regarding timing of closing these transactions.

Both PIHK and PISH are currently inactive, and Premier does not currently intend to commence operations in China in the foreseeable future. The Company believes there may be some value in these shell companies, and consequently is retaining them.

Bentley Homes Limited Partnership

Bentley Homes Limited Partnership ("BHLP") is a limited partnership, of which the Company holds approximately 40% of the outstanding limited partnership units, which were acquired in 2015 for $375,000, paid in cash.

The Company was advised by BHLP that it successfully negotiated the sale of its "Everly Living" development project at 373 East 16th Avenue in Vancouver, B.C. Following a prolonged process with the City of Vancouver for development and permit approvals, BHLP decided it would be in the best interest of the partnership to realize a gain in the short term, rather than following an anticipated 14-month construction and sales cycle period. The buyer of the Everly Living project paid a non-refundable deposit to BHLP on January 26, 2017, after making an unsolicited offer to acquire the project from BHLP. The purchase price is $2,650,000 and closing is expected to occur by the end of February 2018.

The Company expects that any distributions from BHLP will be made on a pro rata basis to its unitholders, and will be net of pre-construction project costs. BHLP has advised that the expected net return to investors will be approximately 34-35% of each investor's initial investment, or about 12.6% annualized based on a 34.5% net return. As Premier paid $375,000 for its BHLP units, BHLP has advised it anticipates a return of approximately $500,000 to Premier.

Arcola Developments Ltd.

Arcola Developments Ltd. ("Arcola") is a B.C. private company which was created for the purpose of acquiring land for a development opportunity in Burnaby, B.C., a suburb of Vancouver, and is managed by the same team that manages BHLP, Kingswood Real Estate Management Inc. ("Kingswood"). The Company holds 14.7% of Arcolas Class B common shares which it acquired in 2016 for a total subscription price of $500,000, paid in cash. Kingswood has advised that it intends to develop a 22-unit residential housing complex on certain lots located in a residential Burnaby neighbourhood and has entered into contracts of purchase and sale to acquire six adjacent lots.

Kingswood has advised that the Arcola project is approximately 2.5 months away from final adoption, at which time pre-sales of the 22 units may be commenced. Kingswood currently has 1,200 registrants for the pre-sale. Quantity Surveyor documents are also being prepared by Kingswood.

Sequant Reinsurance Holdings Ltd.

As announced in January 2018, the board of Sequant Reinsurance Holdings Ltd. ("SRHL") voted to initiate proceedings to move SRHL into a members' voluntary liquidation. Subsequently, on January 30, 2018, the members of SRHL approved the voluntary liquidation. The management of SRHL has moved quickly to liquidate SRHL, and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sequant Reinsurance Company Limited ("Sequant Re"). The Bermuda Monetary Authority approved the cancellation of Sequant Re's licence as a Class 3 Insurer on February 6, 2018 and the Bermuda Registrar of Companies approved the voluntary wind-up of Sequant Re on January 29, 2018.

Premier Diagnostic Center (Vancouver) Inc.

The Company holds at 100% interest in Premier Diagnostic Center (Vancouver) Inc. ("PDC"), which operates a clinic which offers Positron Emission Tomography / Computed Tomography (PET/CT) scans for detection, evaluation and treatment of various diseases and medical disorders. The clinic offers oncology, cardiology and neurology/brain injury scans.

In 2017, PDC experienced growth in revenues and the number of PET/CT scans performed. It increased the number of scans performed in 2017 by 21% as compared to 2016, and increased revenue by 23% from 2016 to 2017.

PDC's management team has also worked to bolster its reputation and image in the medical community. The clinic implemented DAP (Decision Analytic Protocols) within the clinic and received accreditation by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. PDC also retained a business strategy firm to complete a detailed review of the market for PET/CT in Canada. PDC's management is now working actively to implement this strategy.

PDC management is also pursuing expansion of PDCs services under pharmaceutical trials and neurology and cardiology clinical trial scans and expansion into other areas of nuclear medicine. For example, PDC joined a clinical trial of prostrate gallium scanning with two Canadian hospitals. This trial uses 68Ga-HBED-CC-PSMA, and PDC anticipates offering PET/CT imaging for 400 prostate patients over two years. PDC's management intends to diversify the services offered by the clinic, including treatment services (theranostics) in addition to diagnostic imaging.

MyCare MedTech Inc.

MyCare MedTech Inc. ("MyCare") is a private Alberta company, of which Premier holds approximately 30%. MyCare provides online medical consultations with licensed healthcare providers. The online portals protocols were designed by the Mayo Clinic, and the attending physicians and nurse practitioners can provide prescriptions to patients, who may use MyCare's online pharmacy to receive their medication by courier. The service is free to users, as visit costs are covered by provincial health care. My Care operates via a call-centre in downtown Vancouver.

In January 2018, MyCare entered into an investment agreement with a private corporation to provide up to $3M gross proceeds pursuant to a private placement of units of MyCare, with each unit comprised of a senior unsecured convertible debenture with a principal amount of $1,000 and 500 common share purchase warrants. MyCare subsequently closed the first tranche of this financing in January 2018 for gross proceeds of $800,000.

Greenway Millworks Inc. and North America Residency Services Inc.

In January 2018, the Company decided not to proceed with developing the businesses of Greenway Millworks Inc. and North America Residency Services Inc. The Company incurred minimal start-up costs related to these entities, neither of which has any current assets or liabilities and did not offer any products or services. After reviewing the respective business proposals and structure of these entities, the Company's management decided to withdraw, and put its resources into developing its existing operational entities and focussing on potential acquisition opportunities.

Outlook

After the liquidation of Sequant Re and the Chinese Operations, management believes that the outlook for Premier is clearer and the Company structure is simpler. Legacy issues have been removed and financial commitments to these liquidated operations no longer exist.

Premier has no debt, and in management's view, has adequate working capital. It is focused on its current operating businesses, while seeking out established, positive cash-flowing, small businesses as acquisition targets. All resources will be directed to this endeavor.

Invitation to Annual General Meeting

The Company will hold its annual general meeting on Tuesday, April 3, 2018 in the Princess Louisa Room at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver located at 900 Canada Place Way, Vancouver, B.C., V6C 3L5. Breakfast will be served starting at 9:30 am PST, and the meeting will commence at 10:00 am PST, with a management presentation to follow for attendees. The Premier Board of Directors and management team will be attending to meet shareholders. Please RSVP to Nicole Chin at nchin@pdh-inc.com.

About Premier Diversified Holdings Inc.

Premier is a British Columbia company which operates in diversified industries. It acts as a holding company (either directly or through a subsidiary) that may be active in the management of its subsidiary companies to varying degrees. Information about Premier may be found at www.pdh-inc.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

Sanjeev Parsad

Sanjeev Parsad

President, CEO and Director

For further information, contact:

Sanjeev Parsad, President and CEO

Phone: (604) 678.9115 ext 205

E-mail: sparsad@pdh-inc.com Web: www.pdh-inc.com

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this document. Company information can be viewed here: www.thecse.com. Further information regarding the Company can be found on SEDAR at ww.sedar.com.

Legal Notice Regarding Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements are indicated expectations or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include: (i) that Premier does not intend to acquire additional Russell securities in the future; (ii) that Premier will dispose of its interest in PDHK and PDCC and will retain its interest in PIHK and PISH; (iii) that the buyer of PDHK and PDCC will assume their corresponding assets and liabilities and that the purchase price will be approximately $180,000; (iv) that Premier will not re-commence operations in China; (v) that the sale of the Everly Living development project by BHLP will complete on the terms and timeline set out in the news release; (vi) that any distributions by BHLP and returns from the Everly Living project sale will be as described in the news release; (vii) that Kingswood will develop the Arcola project at the location and in the way described in the news release and that it will commence pre-sales for Arcola; (viii) that SRHL and Sequant Re will be voluntarily liquidated on the terms and timeline set out in the news release; (ix) that PDC's management will implement certain marketing and sales strategies as recommended by a third party business strategy firm; (x) that PDC will expand its services including possibly additional pharmaceutical trials, neurology and cardiology clinical trials, expansion into currently unoffered areas of nuclear medicine and theranostics and prostrate gallium scanning; (xi) that MyCare will close a private placement of units of up to $3M as described in the news release; (xii) that the outlook for the Company is as described in the news release; (xiii) that Premier has adequate working capital for current operations; and (xiv) that Premier's management will focus on acquisition targets as described in the news release.

Factors that could cause actual results to be materially different and assumptions used to develop forward-looking information include but are not limited to the following: (i) that managements intentions may change; (ii) that management may determine acquire Russell additional securities; (iii) that either Premier or the buyer will not proceed with the purchase and sale of PDHK and / or PDCC as described in this news release, or at all; (iv) that Premier will dispose of PIHK and / or PISH; (v) that the purchase price will be adjusted from the price disclosed in this news release; (vi) that Premier will re-commence operations in China, through PIHK and / or PISH or through another entity; (vii) that the sale of the Everly Project will not be completed by either BHLP or the buyer, or will be completed on different terms and timeline than described in this news release; (ix) that distributions or returns may be adjusted by BHLP to a different amount than disclosed, or unforeseen closing or other costs will impact the return amount; (x) that Kingswood will not develop the Arcola project as described, or at all, or Kingswood may sell the Arcola project prior to development; (xi) that Kingswood may not engage in pre-sale activity related to the Arcola project; (xii) that SRHL and Sequant Re will not be voluntarily liquidated as described, or may encounter unknown factors preventing or delaying voluntary liquidation; (xiii) that PDC will not proceed with implementing changes to its marketing, sales and business strategy as described or at all, or may not be able to successfully implement such changes; (xiv) that PDC will be unsuccessful in the expansion and diversification of its services as described in this news release due to factors including failure to obtain required Health Canada and other regulatory or government approvals; (xv) that MyCare will not be able to close a private placement of $3M as described or at all; (xvi) that the Company's financial outlook and business strategy may change and that Premier's management may determine to acquire targets other than as described; (xvii) that Premier will not be able to identify or successfully acquire targets as described; and (xviii) that working capital expectations will differ than current management expectations and working capital will be insufficient to meet expenditures.

Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on forward-looking statements. It is not our policy to update forward looking statements.
Estimados amigos,

Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia.

Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro.

Gonzalo Raffo de Lavalle

Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras.

Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada.

Helenio Herrera

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.

Karl Marx

If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.

Sun Tzu









We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.



Paulo Coelho
In a private audience on Monday, Pope Francis meets with Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, discussing the countrys Catholic community, its hosting of refugees, and the situation in the Middle East.

Pope Francis met with the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his entourage on Monday at a private audience in the Vaticans Apostolic Palace.

It was the first time in 59 years that a Turkish president has visited the Vatican.

A statement from the Holy See Press Office said their discussions were cordial and that the two men spoke about the two states bilateral relations.

The Holy Father and President Erdogan spoke about the situation of the country, the condition of the Catholic community, efforts in the reception of the many refugees, and the challenges linked to this.

They also discussed the situation in the Middle East, giving special attention to the status of Jerusalem.

Pope Francis and Turkeys president, it said, highlighted the need to promote peace and stability in the region through dialogue and negotiation, with respect for human rights and international law.

At the end of their meeting, Pope Francis gave President Erdogan a bronze medallion depicting an angel embracing the northern and southern hemispheres while overcoming the opposition of a dragon.

President Erdogan afterwards met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.
By: Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Koushan Das

Vietnams General Department of Taxation had issued Official Letter 5339/TCT-TT in November 2017 directing local tax offices to create a tax audit plan for 2018. Taxation is a major component of the state budget revenues and as the countrys budget deficit increases, taxpayers and enterprises will continue to face increased scrutiny from tax authorities trying to meet their revenue targets.

RELATED: Pre-Investment Advisory Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

Tax audit plan 2018

Local tax officials will be conducting on-site tax audits of at least 18.5 percent of taxpayers under each local tax office. This is an increase from 2017s target of 18 percent. In addition, at least one percent of taxpayers will face tax inspections, while the remaining will be subjected to tax examinations.

RELATED: Tax, Accounting, and Audit in Vietnam 2017-2018

Sectors in focus

The taxpayers to face tax audits will be selected based on the tax risk using tax probable risk system (TPR) system. TPR system analyzes taxpayers risk information for conducting tax audits. As per the Official Letter, tax audits will mainly focus on:

VAT refund claiming taxpayers;

Taxpayers involved in sectors with significant revenues. It includes oil and gas, petroleum, private hospitals (medical centers), airlines, credit institutions, pharmaceutical companies, hotels and casinos, lottery companies, seaports, airports, and multinational companies;

Firms involved in investment project transfers, capital transfers, and franchising;

Enterprises with numerous transactions with related parties, including ones who have reported continuous losses or low-profit margins than other enterprises in the same sector;

Companies engaged in upcoming sectors such as multi-level trading companies, gaming, digital technology-based services will also face increased scrutiny in 2018;

Other sectors include real estate, construction materials manufacturers, natural resource exploitation companies, FMCG companies, and automobile manufacturers/traders.

RELATED: Vietnam Proposes Numerous Tax Hikes

Minimizing risks

With growing scrutiny from tax authorities, firms need to have a tax risk management system in place to help identify the areas of tax risk in an organization. Once identified, they need to evaluate them to understand the effect and likelihood of occurrence and manage the risk to minimize tax exposure.

With regulators and tax officials taking an aggressive approach in 2018, firms and taxpayers should be proactive in nature, to reduce compliance costs and tax exposures.

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country.



Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts.
Chinaplas 2018 will be organised at a new location to accommodate greater interest

The exhibition area is expected to exceed 340,000 square metre30 per cent more exhibition space than that of the 2016 edition of the show in Shanghai. Chinaplas will bring together 4,000 exhibitors from around the world, who will be allocated over a series of meticulously organised theme zones. The plastics and rubber industries can anticipate an international, professional and distinctly high-tech platform at Chinaplas in April.

"Chinaplas 2018 will not only accommodate more exhibitors, but will also have better management in the set-up of theme zones, country/region pavilions, and concurrent events. We believe that visitors will have a new, high-quality visiting experience, said Ada Leung, general manager of the shows organiser, Adsale Exhibition Services Ltd.

New theme zones3D Technology Zone and Thermoplastic Elastomers & Rubber Zone

In response to rising market demands, Chinaplas 2018 will also introduce a 3D Technology Zone and a Thermoplastic Elastomers & Rubber Zone.

To cater for the demands for customisation and small-batch production, with the aim of shortening development cycle time and reducing costs arising from Industry 4.0, Chinaplas will set up a 3D Technology Zone to group the vendors and providers of 3D printing (additive manufacturing) technologies.

In recent years, the market is accelerating for energy-saving, environmentally friendly, and lightweight thermoplastic elastomers. They are widely used in the automotive, electronics and electrical, medical, and footwear industries. The coming edition of Chinaplas is introducing the "Thermoplastic Elastomers & Rubber Zone" to the Chemicals & Raw Materials Zone to highlight this trend.

With larger area and selection of vendors, as well as new exhibition zones, Chinaplas 2018 will offer modern solutions for every need

A new visionStrong demand for exhibition space

The global economy is gradually recovering, and the plastics and rubber industries are growing strongly. This positive trend has been clearly visible since the beginning of 2017, with a record-breaking number of visitors attending Chinaplas 2017 and strong business being generated during the show.

Many exhibitors said the orders they received during Chinaplas 2017 in Guangzhou enabled them to meet their entire years business target.
Defendants Pham Cong Danh (left) and Tram Be (right) at the court

This morning, the trial panel of the first instance hearing returned the documents and requested additional investigation on the case of intentionally violating state regulations on economic management and causing serious consequences at Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB).

Earlier, the Procuracy proposed a sentence of 20 years of imprisonment for Pham Cong Danh in combination with the first phase sentencealtogether 30 years of imprisonmentand 5-6 years of imprisonment for Tram Be.

According to the proposal of the procuracy, during his time in office at VNCB, Pham Cong Danh asked Phan Thanh Mai, former general director of VNCB, and other subordinates to borrow VND6.126 trillion ($270 million) from Sacombank, BIDV, and TPBank to pay salary for staff, do business, and raise charter capital.

The investigations outcomes indicate that all of the above procedures were cover-ups of money transfers to Danh. At the headquarters of Sacombank, he directly met Tram Be and Phan Huy Khang (former general director of Sacombank) to ask for loans which were guaranteed by VNCBs deposits at the banks. At the other banks, Danh did not meet the leaders directly but used others to work with bank officers.

The companies Danh established to borrow the money, after long delays, defaulted on these loans and Sacombank, BIDV, and TPBank recovered the debt by seizing VNCB's deposits they held. As a result, VNCB lost over VND6.1 trillion ($270 million).

Tram Be is accused of helping Danh to withdraw VND1.8 trillion ($79.3 million) of this amount. The group of defendants previously working for BIDV are charged with indirectly causing VND2.550 trillion ($112.3 million) in damages to VNCB. The remaining amount was caused by the group defendants previously working for TPBank.

Moreover, during Danhs time at VNCB, he and other defendants committed many violations and caused damages of VND9 trillion ($396.5 million) to the bank. On January 24, 2017, the Ho Chi Minh Citys Peoples High Court sentenced Pham Cong Danh to 30 years of imprisonment and asked him to compensate for the loss.

After a month of trial, today the trial panel requested additional investigation of six issues. These included the relationship between Pham Cong Danh (former chairman of VNCB's Board of Directors) and other defendants who are former officers of BIDV and TPBank, violations in the credit procedures, the usage of the VND6.126 trillion ($270 million).

The court also required to clarify where VND4.5 trillion ($198.24 million) is. This amount was proposed to be added to VNCB's charter capital, but the State Bank of Vietnam did not provide approval. According to the court, this amount was given back to VNCB. The court held that it is necessary to define the damages caused to VNCB before a case can be brought.

Hua Thi Phan to be prosecuted in phase 2 of notorious VNCB case Related to the notorious VNCB case, the investigation agency under the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS) proposed to prosecute Hua Thi Phan, former senior advisor ...

Trial of Tram Be case started On January 8, 2018, the trial of intentionally violating state regulations on economic management and causing serious consequences at Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB), Saigon Thuong ...
Hironobu Kitagawa announced the result of the survey on Japanese business performance 2017

Japan External Trade Organizations Hanoi Office on February 6 announced the results of its latest survey on the performance of Japanese businesses in Asia and Oceania, including Vietnam, in 2017. Among the 652 interviewed businesses, 65.1 per cent said that they made a profit, up 2.3 per cent from 2016.

Among the profit-making Japanese firms, 67.5 per cent are operating in processing for export in the manufacturing and processing industry.

According to the survey, only 19.4 per cent of Japanese enterprises said that they incurred a loss last year, down 5.7 per cent from a year earlier.

New Japanese projects licensed in the manufacturing sector in 2017 continued to fall, while other economic sectors were on the rise.

With better business performance, 70 per cent of Japanese enterprises said that they will expand operations in Vietnam in the future.

Compared with other regional countries, Japanese enterprises seem more optimistic, as only 63.4 per cent of companies in the Philippines, 51.4 per cent from Indonesia, 48.3 per cent from Malaysia, 47.2 per cent from China, and 47.2 per cent from Thailand expressed ambitions to expand business activities in Vietnam.

According to Hironobu Kitagawa, head of JETROs Hanoi Office, around 88 per cent attributed the reason for business expansions in Vietnam to increasing revenues, while 58 per cent in the non-manufacturing sector said that high growth potential was the reason behind their expansion.

Talking about investment trends among Japanese firms in 2017, Kitagawa said that new Japanese projects licensed in the manufacturing sector in 2017 continued to fall, while other economic sectors were on the rise.

Last year, new Japanese investment in infrastructure and mining with the number of big projects worth over $1 billion accounted for 90 per cent of total Japanese investment in Vietnam.

Continuing the upward trend from previous years, projects of investment value of less than $5 million accounted for 90 per cent of the total number of Japanese projects.

Japanese investment in Central Vietnam saw a strong rise in capital thanks to two power projects, while investment in Northern and Southern Vietnam expanded both in the number of projects and their value against 2016.

Besides strong interest in Vietnam, Japanese investors still complain about risks in doing businesses in the country.

Rising labour costs remained their top concern, with 61.6 per cent of Japanese firms complaining about this, up 3.1 per cent on-year. The runners-up were the imperfect legal system and the inconsistent performance of legal documents, cumbersome tax procedures, complicated administrative procedures, and underdeveloped infrastructure.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Planning and Investment's Foreign Investment Agency, last year, Japan topped Vietnam's list of foreign investors with total pledged capital of $9.11 billion, followed by South Korea with $8.49 billion and Singapore with $5.3 billion.


How Violence in Mexico Shapes Relations With the US







Summary

Violence in Mexico is on the rise, multiple reports show, stoking alarm both inside and outside the country. Though violence doesnt have inherent geopolitical significance, it becomes significant when it has the potential to fundamentally alter a countrys economic trajectory, political system and international relations. In the case of Mexico, reports of increasing violence, particularly organized crime-related violence, merit a closer look because Mexico is an emerging market and harbors ambitions to get out from under the thumb of the United States.

The violence in Mexico also raises the issue of the potential for spillover into the U.S., since this would likely lead to a redefinition of the bilateral relationship. Other places in the world have higher rates of violence than Mexico, but greater scrutiny is placed on Mexico because of its proximity to the U.S. and the impact violence may have on Mexicos emergence as an economic power.

Rising Violence and Drug Trafficking

To understand the potential impact, we must first understand the types of violence in Mexico. Media reports focus on intentional homicides as well as kidnappings, extortion and armed robberies. In tracking homicides, Mexico distinguishes between homicides in which the perpetrator intentionally seeks the death of the victim and homicides that result from reckless or negligent behavior without the intention of causing death.

Intentional homicides set a new record last year. The previous record of 22,409 was set in 2011. The number of intentional homicides had declined each year since then, but the trend reversed in 2015. In 2017, there were 25,339 intentional homicides, a 23 percent increase from the previous year and 13 percent higher than the old record.

Drug trafficking organizations are often blamed for the rise in violence in Mexico. The official statistics do not differentiate between drug- or organized crime-related killings and other homicides, but some types of homicides are characteristic of the criminal and drug trafficking organizations, or DTOs, in Mexico. Homicides involving guns  which was about two-thirds of the homicides in 2017  have a high probability of being related to organized crime or drug traffickers. Extortion and kidnapping, along with human trafficking and sales of stolen cars, are also associated with DTOs. It is not a coincidence that the states with the most homicides and kidnappings per month and the greatest increases in homicides per month are those with a strong presence of drug trafficking activity. The high-profile victims are typically journalists and politicians, who are attractive targets for organized crime groups. Further, anecdotal evidence of mass graves, dismembered bodies, decapitations and bodies found with narco messaging all point to the work of DTOs.

Homicides in Mexico do not occur uniformly across the large territory. Baja California, Guerrero, Mexico state, Veracruz and Chihuahua rank as the most violent states with the highest incidents of intentional homicide. Other states with high homicide totals are Sinaloa, Michoacan and Jalisco. In other states, such as Colima, the number of registered homicides are low, but they have a dramatic effect due to the small population. Colima registered 93.6 deaths per 100,000 people in 2017. Baja California Sur ranks second with 69.1 deaths per 100,000 people. For perspective, the national homicide rate in Mexico is about 20.8 per 100,000 people. Other states that have lower homicide rates have noted a faster increase in those rates. Last year, intentional homicide cases rose 550 percent in Nayarit, 116 percent in Aguascalientes and 118 percent in Quintana Roo. Overall, 26 of Mexicos 32 states recorded an increase in homicide rates in 2017.

As for kidnappings and extortion, the number of reported incidents has increased in the past two years, but not as quickly as homicides. Both peaked in 2013, with 1,688 kidnappings and 8,213 extortion cases, and then dropped significantly over the next two years. However, since 2015, the number of reported incidents has slowly increased. In 2017 there were 1,484 reported kidnappings and 5,649 extortion cases, both surpassing 2016 totals. Meanwhile, local human rights organizations and other observers say there is reason to believe these incidents are under-reported. Given the nature of extortion and due to anomalies observed in the data from Mexico state, those organizations may be correct.

Drug Trafficking Organizations and Organized Crime

The main reasons for the spike in violence are the splintering, restructuring and growing competition among the DTOs and other organized crime groups in Mexico. This fragmentation had its roots in the presidency of Felipe Calderon (2006-12), who from day one adopted an aggressive stance on drug cartels. His kingpin strategy focused on killing or imprisoning the heads of major cartels, which followed a hierarchical model with strong familial and neighborhood ties.

Calderons approach led to a surge in homicide rates from 2006 to 2011 because it created power vacuums within groups and provoked turf wars and cycles of revenge killings. In addition, security operations began targeting these illegal groups. Over the past 11 years, Mexicos military, which has more training and better equipment than local police, has become more involved in fighting organized crime.

The current criminal organization landscape is exceptionally fluid. Many groups operate more on a local cell-based level, and their association with other groups may shift with business interests. Many of these groups not only are involved in drug trafficking but also engage in other profitable crimes, including kidnapping, assassination, auto theft, prostitution, extortion, money laundering, software piracy, resource theft and human trafficking. Some criminal organizations have incorporated areas of specialization. For instance, some DTOs on the U.S. border have assumed the role of toll collectors, exacting payment from other traffickers, while other organizations specialize in sourcing cocaine from South America. Still others focus on transit routes within Mexico and other ways to either facilitate the drug trade or augment their profits through lower-risk activities.

The number of large DTOs jumped from four in 2006 to nine in 2017, and another 45 smaller organized crime groups have been identified. Their structure is more like a consortium, where groups are different sizes and specialize in various business activities. For example, La Linea and Los Aztecas are two distinct local criminal groups that fall under the umbrella of the Juarez cartel.

Though the Sinaloa cartel is the largest and most powerful DTO in Mexico, the Jalisco New Generation cartel, which broke off from the Sinaloa cartel in 2010, has become formidable over the past two years. In a short time it has grown and strengthened enough to compete for space, resources and markets. Given the increasing overlap of territories and resources, clashes with other DTOs become more frequent and intense. This is also the case for smaller groups that may act independently or fall under larger DTOs. Some of these groups stay in the drug business, while smaller, local criminal groups remain engaged in other criminal activity such as the illicit gasoline trade. When Mexicos current president, Enrique Pena Nieto, assumed office in December 2012, security officials estimated there were 80 to 90 smaller criminal groups in operation. The latest estimates put the number at 45, which means there still are many players competing for business in the black market.

Economic Impact

Mexico needs to address the violence of DTOs for domestic economic reasons and to maintain its relationship with the United States. Violence and crime cost Mexico approximately 18 percent of its gross domestic product, according to a 2017 report by the Institute for Economics and Peace. The figure factors in a wide range of related costs, including spending on security by the government and businesses and lost income due to a homicide in the family. In terms of government spending, the institute estimates that Mexico spends 6.8 percent of its GDP to help contain violence nationwide.

Growing violence may also discourage investment, according to the Bank of Mexico. The bank recently ranked Mexicos security as 5.5 on a scale of 1-7, with 7 representing the greatest risk to investment. Private sector estimates indicate that investments may fall by up to 5 percent because of violence, with impacts already being noted anecdotally.

Despite those warnings, a large-scale exodus of companies from Mexico in response to violence has not occurred. Many businesses there understand the security risks and factor in those costs. The point at which violence becomes intolerable will largely depend on the companies ability to operate profitably over the long term. Any prolonged decline in revenue or absence of investment would, of course, hurt the economy.

Relations With the U.S.

In terms of foreign policy, the violence in Mexico will primarily affect its relationship with the United States. Besides their shared border, the U.S. is the main destination for Mexican-produced opium and for cocaine transited through Mexico, and is the source of illegal weapons for Mexicos DTOs. Drug trafficking between the two countries dates back to the early 20th century when the first opium shipments from Sinaloa made their way into the United States. Shortly thereafter, alcohol flowed to the U.S. in the wake of the Prohibition Act of 1919. The products and tactics for doing business may have changed, but not the business of smuggling.

The Mexican DTOs are the major wholesalers of illegal drugs in the United States and are increasingly gaining control of U.S. retail-level distribution through alliances with U.S. gangs. Street gangs continue to work with Mexican DTOs in Mexico, along the southwest border, and throughout the United States. These relationships are based more on location and personal and business ties than on strict affiliations with a given gang.

Mexican DTOs conduct business with a much lower profile in the U.S. than they do in Mexico to avoid engaging with security officials. The Drug Enforcement Administrations 2017 National Drug Assessment notes the absence of significant spillover violence in the United States. Violence that does occur is infrequent, localized on the southwest border and mostly among traffickers. Mexican DTO activity in the United States is mainly overseen by Mexican nationals or U.S. citizens of Mexican origin. Those operating in the United States often share familial ties with, or can be traced back to, the natal region of leading cartel figures in Mexico.

The U.S. and Mexico have worked closely together on border security, particularly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But current tensions surrounding trade and immigration policies between the two countries make border security cooperation less straightforward, and the ability to strengthen such cooperation is no longer a singular issue. There is minimal spillover violence right now, but any change that causes spillover violence to rise would have massive political and geopolitical effects. The U.S. government is already studying measures for increased border controls and justifying them by vilifying Mexico. An actual spillover of violence would empower those in the United States advocating tighter border security. Right now, the U.S.-Mexico border allows for the relatively easy, free flow of trade and persons. A strong, controlled border would redefine the basic structure of this bilateral relationship.

The U.S., for its part, can try to pressure Mexico to take stronger action or pursue particular security measures. The point of leverage for this would not be a wall, as President Donald Trump has urged, since that would not be effective or practical. President Richard Nixon effectively shut down the U.S. border for several weeks in September 1969 in an attempt to stem the flow of drugs. The closed border killed local business but did little to impact the drug flow.

Perhaps more effective for the U.S. would be to limit or hinder remittances. Remittances to Mexico from people in the U.S. help to sustain or augment household income nationwide. The most recent figures from the Bank of Mexico show that from January to November 2017, remittances totaled $26.1 billion, and the year is poised to see a record high. But the move could backfire. Remittances play an even more important role in households of poorer states  Michoacan, Guerrero and Oaxaca, for example  so cutting off remittances runs the risk of driving more desperate people to join criminal groups and creating controversy within the United States. Still, remittances are a powerful card to play and may be used as a tactic with other bilateral issues, such as NAFTA, that have a greater overall impact on the U.S.

Security Options

Though it is in Mexicos interest, particularly its economic interest, to stop drug-related violence, the key question becomes: What can the Mexican government do? The short answer is: not much. There are several strategies the Mexican government could pursue, but it faces severe constraints that will limit the effectiveness of any approach.

One obvious strategy is putting an end to criminal groups illicit financial activities, primarily drug trafficking and other black market activities, including fuel sales and human trafficking. The problem is that these groups have many alternative routes and means of conducting their business. Shutting down one route, point of entry or source of materials is merely a logistical problem for a criminal group. Criminal organizations have many financial resources as well as experience in logistical planning. To be effective, the government would need to conduct multiple large-scale shutdown operations simultaneously. This would be an extremely costly and difficult endeavor. The government and security forces simply dont have the manpower and resources to conduct a sustained and effective operation of this magnitude.

Extra resources would have to come from outside the country, and the country best positioned in terms of funding, skills and expertise is the United States. But Mexico cannot accept large-scale U.S. support  especially in manpower  on its own soil. History has proved to Mexico that it must be wary of any foreign presence, that of the U.S. above all others. The government cannot risk the countrys sovereignty or increased dependence on the U.S. Therefore, from Mexicos position, cooperation with the U.S. is best limited to primarily border cooperation, along with selective training, weapons supplies and funding.

Similarly, the idea of tackling violence by eliminating corruption is a purely theoretical option since it is no secret that, generally speaking, local police and government officials are also corrupt. Prosecution is not guaranteed and is often lax when pursued. Attempts to remove corrupt members of local police departments nationwide have failed, which in part explains why the military has assumed domestic security responsibilities. Though the targeted elimination of high-profile corruption is possible, completely cleaning the system of it is impossible without totally dismantling everything and rebuilding from the ground up.

The Mexican government faces fewer constraints in crafting regulatory frameworks for tacking criminal groups. The main obstacles the government faces here are political in nature. The current government did pursue judiciary reforms and domestic security legislation to better combat criminal groups. Both measures have been severely criticized by various political and special interest groups, citing confusion in the judiciary reforms and vagaries and loopholes for abuse of power in the domestic security legislation. Though regulatory changes fall squarely within the power of the government, the public reaction and associated political costs prevent drastic changes and full enforcement.

A final possible strategy would be to focus more on quelling violence rather than eliminating or reducing criminal activity in the country. The violence Mexico currently experiences is a symptom of the competition between criminal groups. In theory, removing this competition  in a sense creating a monopoly  would eliminate the violence that competition produces. This would involve the government aligning or tacitly supporting a dominant drug trafficking group or cluster of groups, ultimately diminishing competition. This is not a novel strategy but it certainly is a highly controversial one. It compromises the governments power over criminal groups, and there are no guarantees that the monopoly would hold. Not to mention its morally questionable and wouldnt be feasible until at least 2019. Mexico holds presidential elections on July 1, and the sitting president cannot run for re-election. A new government will be inaugurated on Dec. 1. Criminal groups will have no incentive to negotiate with the outgoing government.

Conclusion
Security forces in the Maldives (Source: yahoo.com)

Vietnamese citizens are advised not to visit the Maldives until its government announces an end to the state of emergency.

Those, who are learning, working or visiting the island country, are recommended to avoid crowded and sensitive places and keep a close watch on warnings of local authorised offices to ensure safety.

In case of emergency, it is recommended to contact the hotline of the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka (cum the Maldives) 94.11.2696050 or the citizen protection hotline 84.981.84.84.84.
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Gibraltar Develops Commonwealth Connections

The Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia has held separate meetings in London with the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Baroness Scotland and with the UK Minister responsible for the Commonwealth Lord Ahmad.

Dr Garcia took the opportunity to explain the contribution made by Gibraltar in organisations like the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Commonwealth Telecommunications Union and the Commonwealth Games. He highlighted how the values, the traditions and the history of Commonwealth have considerable resonance in Gibraltar where we are proud of our connections with the Commonwealth family.

In keeping with the tradition started last year, the Office of the Deputy Chief Minister in conjunction with the Department of Education, will be organising separate essay competitions on a Commonwealth theme for children of Middle and Secondary School age. The aim is to present the awards to the winners around Commonwealth Day, which this year will be on Monday 12th March.

Commenting on the meetings in London, the Deputy Chief Minister said: It was a real pleasure to meet with the Secretary General who was already well acquainted and informed about Gibraltar in general, particularly given her tenure as UK Minister of States for the Overseas Territories. Indeed, she started the Overseas Territories Consultative Council that has today developed into the Joint Ministerial Council of Overseas Territories leaders.

I had already met Lord Ahmad when he served as Minister for Aviation, and it was particularly welcoming to meet him again in his new role as Minister for Commonwealth, which includes responsibility for the UK Overseas Territories.

The Government is keen to develop further our links with Commonwealth organisations and different Commonwealth countries at a time when we prepare to leave the European Union.
In celebration of New York Magazines 50th anniversary, this series, which will continue through October 2018, tells the stories behind key moments that shaped the citys culture.

Tony Kushners Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, the two-part, eight-hour play that opened on Broadway in 1993, is the definitive work about the age of AIDS. Originally performed in San Francisco as the epidemic reached its crest, then produced in Los Angeles and then New York, Angels swept the Tonys, won the Pulitzer Prize, and helped change the way gay men and people with AIDS were represented onstage and in the media. Angels in America is sprawling and eccentric in structure, looping through the stories of two couples in failing relationships, one gay (Prior Walter, who has AIDS, and Louis, who does not) and one married and Mormon (Harper and her closeted husband Joe). Joes mentor in the play is Roy Cohn, the real-life lawyer and rabid McCarthyite who led a secret gay existence and, in 1986, died from complications of AIDS. Onstage as in life, Cohn is repulsive yet magnetic, vicious yet charming, and nearly impossible not to watch. There will likely never be another play about the epidemic, or about gay life in America in this era, that does not at least gesture to Angels; out of the devastation AIDS had wrought on America and on theater in particular, Angels summoned a vivid portrait of the fault lines in our nation, and the possibilities for change. It returns to Broadway next month in a production, transferred from London, that stars Andrew Garfield as Prior Walter and Nathan Lane as Cohn. (The two halves of the play, Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, will run concurrently.)

This oral history is lightly adapted from The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America, to be published on February 13. Before you read it, watch Al Pacinos tour de force opening scene as Cohn in the 2003 HBO adaptation of the play, directed by Mike Nichols.

Tony Kushner: When I was at Tisch, I was just coming out. Michael Mayer took me to my first gay bar  not the Saint, Uncle Charlies on Greenwich  so youd walk around the corner and thered be these lines of men. I probably passed Roy Cohn on several occasions.

Oskar Eustis (co-director in Los Angeles, 1992; artistic director, Public Theater): While we were working on the play, the AIDS Quilt had its first public display at the Moscone Center. We came across a panel:

Photo: Tony Kushner

Eustis: Tony looked at it and said, If I can write something half as dialectical as that, itll be a great character.

Cleve Jones (founder, NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt): I remember when that panel was made. One of the volunteers told me, theres someone behaving oddly here, come check it out.

I went up to him and he was super-secretive and flipped the panel over and I said, You know, if its going to be in the quilt, Im going to have to see it, so why dont you show it to me? and he did. My hair just stood on end. It was the first of the  eventually there would be many very harsh panels, you know, but this was kind of in a league of its own. The first thing I asked him was Did you actually know Roy Cohn? and he said, I knew him very well, and so I said, Fine.

Wesley Morris (critic-at-large, New York Times): It wouldve been so easy to make a play about Roy Cohn, maybe even him having AIDS. But for a gay Jewish man to completely reappropriate Roy Cohns story, to tell this larger story about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, is really incredible. To have a gay man who is also a Jew wrestling with the legacies of shame and hypocrisy among his own people, on his own terms, is really powerful.

ROY (Hitting the hold button) Hold. (To Joe) I wish I was an octopus, a fucking octopus. Eight loving arms and all those suckers. Know what I mean?

Millennium Approaches, Act 1, Scene 2

Jeff Christian (Joe Pitt in the Journeymen, Chicago, 1998): As tough as the playwright may be on Joe, he gives him a gift right off the bat: the best seat in the house to watch Roys fucking octopus aria.

Ron Leibman (Roy in Los Angeles and New York, 19921994): I never saw it as an aria or anything like that. I saw it as a very specific performance for the young man, to make him laugh, so he would be ingratiated by the wonderful Roy Cohn. [In Roy Cohn voice:] Cats! Its about cats!

Henry Goodman (Roy in London, 1992): Just technically, theres no point in being coy about it, its thrilling. Its like someone saying, Go up on that trapeze to open the circus event, and do 27 flick flacks and three double things and off you go, bye! and can you fucking do it, or cant you?

Mitchell Hebert (Roy at Round House/Olney, Bethesda, Maryland, 2016): Its a seduction scene at its heart. Roy performs the dance of power for Joe.

John Judd (Roy in the Journeymen, 1998): The octopus line is the first of several times Roy compares himself to subhuman creatures  one of the building blocks for the character. His finesse in communication  threatening, seducing, charming, and deceiving  are also keys to Roy. Receiving Joe while in the midst of his telephone aria reminded me of the reports that Lyndon Johnson would hold staff meetings while seated on the toilet  a crude yet cunning display of power, but also a weirdly intimate gesture.

Nathan Lane (Roy in London, 2017, and New York, 2018): The phone stuff is just technical, working the buttons, all the people, who do you have on hold, and then Baby Doll, the receptionist. Ive done a lot of parts where I have to be on the phone over the years, so Im usually good at that.

Michael Hayden (Roy in Juilliard Millennium workshop, 1992): Away from rehearsal I had to drill it and drill it and drill it, so in rehearsal I could let it fly. It was a joy. Goddamn, what a feast.

Mark Wing-Davey (director at American Conservatory Theater, San Francisco, 19941995): As the action begins to become more fluent, then the thrill of the technical achievement begins to bleed into the characterization itself. Both Roy and the actor playing Roy are enjoying his performance. The public face of Roy Cohn is itself a performance, as is his sexuality, et cetera.

Hans Kesting (Roy at Toneelgroep Amsterdam, 20072015): It is true, part of Roy borrows parts of your personality. You never get to fully lose yourself in the character; its always you whos giving a portrayal.

Joe Mantello (Louis in Los Angeles and New York, 19921994): Roy was always going to be a star part.

Ben Shenkman (Roy in NYU Perestroika workshop, 1993; Louis in the HBO miniseries, 2003): Thats why you go to someone like Nathan Lane or Al Pacino. Youre looking to borrow the size of their own persona, in a way, as a way of separating that character out.

F. Murray Abraham (Roy in New York replacement cast, 1994): I was studying the play early on, and I was having trouble liking him. I dont have trouble playing characters out of literature like Mephistopheles, Richard III, Macbeth. I can understand them, I can make them as evil or as charming as I want. Charm is essential to playing evil characters. But I couldnt do that with Roy because I detested him, the real person, personally, so much.

I was doing a movie in Europe and I was studying the script on a plane to Paris. This guy sitting next to me saw the script and said, Thats a great play. Youre doing Roy, arent you? And I said yes. And this guy said, Oh, I knew Roy Cohn. He had a case against Roy once. And he said, He was a son of a bitch, but I couldnt take my eyes off him. And thats when I said to myself, I GOT IT! I GOT IT!

Thats a good story.

Lane: Its easy to find people to talk about how much they hated him. He was hated by legions of people. But I talked to people who were close to him, who were loyal to him and loved him, because thats what I wanted to know about.

Leibman: I spoke to a lot of people who knew Cohn. I even had a meeting with [McCarthy hearings figure] G. David Schine. If he knew what the play was about, he never wouldve seen me. He picked the worst restaurant in Beverly Hills. He wanted to talk about his pal. I dont know if they were lovers or not; thats what the rumors were.

He just gave me boilerplate Republican stuff. I thought, What am I gonna ask this guy thats gonna get a real answer? So I said, If you could name something that your friend Roy missed in his life, what would that be?

His eyes rolled in his head. I dont think anyone had asked him that. He said, When he would come to my house, he would always play with my kids. I think he missed being a father.

Which is an interesting thing for a stupid man to say. Suddenly it hit me: Thats the relationship with Joe. Thats what its really about.

Leibman as Cohn. Photo: Joan Marcus

Ellen McLaughlin (the Angel in workshops, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, 19901994): While we were doing one of the workshops, Ron Vawter was doing his Roy Cohn one-man show. It was extraordinary. Because he was already sick too. Stephen Spinella and I went to see it. It was remarkable. This man, who was sick, was doing this extraordinary impression of Cohn, who was so important to Tonys thinking about the play.

Kesting: Id seen the Ron Vawter monologue. He brought that monologue here. Vawter really looked like Roy Cohn! He had these big childish blue eyes. When you know he is the devil. Is there anyone who has ever tried to do it really as Roy Cohn, to imitate? That would be interesting.

Shenkman: I went to the Museum of Broadcasting and watched Roy Cohn and even snuck a tape recorder in there and did some recordings of his voice. I approached it as if I were playing Roy Cohn in a movie. I was kind of trying to get a documentary likeness of Roy Cohn on the stage.

Lane: I really wanted to chart the progression of the disease in Perestroika in a way that I hadnt seen it done before. For example, he had these tremors that came and went. He had a tremor in his right hand, then it would move to the left hand and sometimes the shoulders, and I thought that was interesting, because someone mentioned that when he had a tremor he would hold his hand and stop it from moving, because he had to control everything, even his body.

Kushner: I think Nathans exploration of Roys body falling apart in Perestroika is  I mean when he starts to speak in this different voice all of a sudden in the hospital. The first time I heard it, I was like, Whoa, what is that? Sounds a little bit like Dustin Hoffman. You cant do that! But he does, its terrifying.

Frank Wood (Roy at Signature Theatre, New York, 2010): I went to the Museum of Radio and Television and I watched Point of Order! And Roy Cohn had his action with his tongue, poking out of his mouth. It became pronounced in the hospital room scenes. [Director] Michael Greif said he liked that, because it made him think of thrush, a symptom of dry mouth.

Terry Teachout (theater critic, Wall Street Journal): I was really struck by Frank Wood in the Signature production because he looked exactly like Robert Mapplethorpes photo of Cohn.

Lane: I think Tonys Roy Cohn is more fun, probably, than the real guy. If you look at that 60 Minutes interview, the last interview he did, he makes some feeble attempts at humor and hes sort of pathetic.

Barney Frank (congressman from Massachusetts, 19812013): One of the most despicable people in American history who did not actually kill anybody.

Teachout: Im 60. Roy Cohn is not just the guy who was in Angels in America. I know people who knew Roy Cohn well. I think of him not just as the demon of Angels, not just the pal of McCarthy, but the litigator, the Studio 54 guy. He was very much someone one knew about.

Leibman: Growing up in New York, youd see Cohn in restaurants, and youd see him at 54. You felt like you knew him but you didnt. But Donald Trump did! Birds of a feather flocked together! Sons of bitches.

Frank: He was just irredeemably vicious, and by the way  interesting  Donald Trump claims him as one of his mentors.

Judd: Exposing all the things Roy Cohn strove to hide, deny, and undermine in his life was splendid justice. Hell yeah.

Leibman: To work against gay rights, a man in his position at this time, its one of the most scandalous moments in American history. What a fuckhead.

In a certain sense, Roy Cohn dying of this disease made him a part of the gay and lesbian community even if we dont really want him to be part of our community.

Tony Kushner, on Charlie Rose, May 10, 1993

David France (director and author, How to Survive a Plague): One of the principal doctors, one of the first people on the ground treating people with the disease well before it had a name, was paid a visit by Roy Cohn. He went to see Alvin Friedman-Kien. And he had bodyguards with him, and he said to Friedman-Kien, If you fucking say anything about this, we are going to kill you. And then of course he went to the NHS and got onto the early AZT trials. And how he did that I dont know, and I can only imagine that it happened somehow like it did in Angels.

David Marshall Grant (Joe in New York, 19931994): That speech, one of the most astonishing speeches in that play, to the doctor:

ROY Now to someone who doesnt understand this, homosexual is what I am because I have sex with men. But really this is wrong. Homosexuals are not men who sleep with other men. Homosexuals are men who in 15 years of trying cannot pass a pissant discrimination bill through City Council. Homosexuals are men who know nobody and who nobody knows. Does this sound like me, Henry?

HENRY No.

ROY No. I have clout.

Millennium Approaches, Act 1, Scene 9

Grant: I was very taken with what seemed an honest appreciation of Cohns point of view. I found Tonys brutally honest assessment of these peoples psychologies really amazing.

Wood: My father had served in the Johnson administration and I remember thinking, That is a line my dad would appreciate.

Judd: I remember a day in the rehearsal room working on the hospital scenes with Belize. The first time I spewed the racial epithets at my scene partner, Robert Teverbaugh, and saw those words land on him and affect him  I broke down. I realized it wasnt so much fun to play the true darkness and poison in Roy. And so that day the job got more interesting.

Wood: Letting your evil hair down can be exciting and rewarding.

Judd: I loved that there was not a beat skipped when Ethel Rosenberg appeared to Roy. They just started talking. Aw, hell, Ethel No Scrooge and Marley theatrics.

Leibman: I had a chance to meet one of the Rosenberg children. Can you imagine? I forget which one it was, I get their names mixed up. He came to my dressing room with a mutual friend, and he was smiling, and I said, Why are you smiling? and he said, You nailed the cocksucker! And then we had a wonderful conversation. We had to leave, it was after midnight, they had to close the theater. He said, Ill come back for Part 2. Because you die!

There were people in the audience in L.A. who cried when Roy Cohn died. And the audience was kind of shifting in their seats and thinking Well, should we be crying? Which is, I guess, the point.

Tony Kushner, in conversation with Craig Lucas, Bomb magazine, Spring 1993

Morris: In a shitty version of this play, a cheaper, less intellectually sophisticated work of art, Roy gets AIDS but getting AIDS is the punishment. But Tony Kushner doesnt use Roy having AIDS to mock and laugh at him. Its Rosenberg and Belize  a Blatino and a dead Jewish lady  who do all the judgment and reckoning for him.

Teachout: One reservation Ive had about Kushners work is his tendency to demonize characters he thinks of as enemies. He comes about as close as he can come in overcoming it in portraying Cohn. Kushner really, to an extent not usual with him when portraying villains, puts across Cohns complexity as a human being.

Abraham: A good trick, if you dont like a guy, is to play him in a way that appeals to you, on whatever level. When you project this positive element, his charisma, it deepens him; he almost mesmerizes you with his extraordinary talent and charm. Some people are really evil, but theyre also really magnetic. You cant help but jump into bed with them. You hate yourself in the morning, but its great the night before.

Eustis: At one point, [Tony and I] read Whittaker Chamberss book Witness, about his conversion from communism to Christianity. What began to emerge was that there were two strands in the American Right. They both believe the same thing: that people are selfish and evil. One wing says, because of that, we need to accept that we are fallen miserable sinners and throw ourselves on the mercy of Christ. Thats Joe. Theres another faction that thinks that people are selfish and evil, and so lets indulge our selfishness and have as much fun as we can. Thats the Cohn wing.

The real-life Roy Cohn. Photo: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive

Leibman: I had discovered that Roy Cohn had a house in Provincetown and his next-door neighbor was Norman Mailer. I knew Norman from the Actors Studio. I called him. Spoke to his wife. She said, Oh, we were very close friends!

I said, Darlin, its hard for me to conceive of Norman being friends with Roy Cohn.

And she said, You have to remember: Roy Cohn was one of the funniest human beings who ever lived.

Hayden: I dont want to make him sympathetic, but I dont want him to just be evil. Only lazy actors do that.

Judd: Years later I got to play Iago, who I thought initially would be Roy-like. I found instead that Iago, a true sociopath, really had very little concern for other humans, whereas I found Roy, ultimately, to be very needy of love, human kindness, a place to call home.

Shenkman: You can go in and do Roy Cohn as a stand-alone star turn because he isnt connected to anybody; his main relationship is with the audience. An older, unadventurous, even politically conservative audience member could go in and not be challenged at all by the character of Roy Cohn. At all. The parts of the play that make that kind of person uncomfortable are all in the other characters, theyre not in Roy Cohn. Roy Cohn is an old-fashioned kind of theatrical villain.

Roys masculinity is never challenged. He is a masculine force. Its just as he says: Im not really a gay person, Im a heterosexual man who fucks guys, and thats true, so for that reason I think hes completely unchallenging to homophobic straight audiences. Michael Corleone can play Roy Cohn, and everyones fine. Its not like Oh my God, weve never seen Pacino like this; hes on a continuum with Scarface and Corleone and all those wonderful, powerful men.

Vivienne Benesch (Hannah in NYU Perestroika workshop, 1993): Theres a part of me that hopes Ben Shenkman and I get to do Roy Cohn and Ethel Rosenberg again when were at the right age.

Shenkman: [Laughs.] You know what, I would not follow Nathan Lane and Al Pacino. The list is too long of geniuses who have done the part now, so I wouldnt be in a hurry to try it again. [Pauses.]

Although I will say one thing, if anyone ever said, You have to play Roy Cohn, what Id focus on 

Stephen Spinella (Prior in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York, 198894): What a play! I hope I get to do Roy Cohn someday.

Angels in America Tony winner Stephen Spinella will return to Tony Kushners two-part drama, this time taking on the role of Roy Cohn at Californias Berkeley Repertory Theatre. Performances will run April 17 through July 22. Playbill.com, January 4, 2018

David Cromer (director at the Journeymen, Chicago, 1998): I tell ya, I think the play is more terrifying now because it feels like the world is falling apart again.

Kushner: Were in the middle of a very strange moment. I dont know if its really a reversal in the sense that the Reagan counter-revolution was, but it certainly has brought us all up short. The cruelty and the misery at this particular moment.

Caldwell Tidicue (Bob the Drag Queen, RuPauls Drag Race; Belize at Berkeley Rep, 2018): During turbulent times, art gets stronger. Were feeling desperate, anxious, emotional, and thats where art comes from, you know?

Vinson Cunningham (culture critic, The New Yorker): Angels makes its politics and its stance toward history unavoidable. You cant understand it simply as a lament about AIDS. You have to deal with Cohn.

Angels in America, Part 3: The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead https://t.co/x0hZCa8cpa  Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) June 20, 2016

Jennifer Engstrom (the Angel at Kansas City Repertory Theatre, 2015): I feel like we are in a bizarro Part 3 of Angels in America, and the ghost of Roy Cohn is sweetly caressing the nuts of an American president who rides naked on horseback with Vladimir Putin.

Eustis: Now, 25 years later, its Tonys vision of the Right that looks so prescient. When Tony wrote Roy Cohn, he was a larger-than-life, demonic figure. Now his pupil is the president of the United States. Trumps America is Roy Cohns America: sharply divided between winners and losers, hatred of the powerless used as a cynical tool to enrich the privileged. Thus proving, as Mark Harris says, that Tonys drag name should be Eera Lee Prescient.

Lane: Tony was rather upset because these articles were starting about Trump and Roy, and he seemed almost insulted on Roys behalf that these comparisons were being made, because Roy was rather brilliant and this is just a crude version. I was laughing because I said, I think youre talking more about your character than the real guy.

Chris Geidner (legal editor, BuzzFeed): You see Cohns influence in Trumps view of the importance of brute force in advancing legal interest. Watch a Trump speech in response to an adverse court ruling: It could be written by Roy Cohn. In a very Angels sense, everything remains up in the air, and everything can turn on a dime.

Eustis: Angels feels so fresh, 25 years after its initial production, because America is still in the life-and-death struggle of figuring out who we are. Will we live in a country that Roy Cohn created, or will we live in the paradise that Belize imagines at Roys deathbed? Will we choose selfishness and fear and greed, or solidarity and inclusion and love? It is either the end of the world or the beginning.

Excerpted from The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America by Isaac Butler and Dan Kois. Published by Bloomsbury USA. Portions of the book first appeared in Slate.
Natalie Portman. Photo: Rosalind OConnor/NBC

When Vulture interviewed Seth Meyers about the SNL writers quest to pick the best Lonely Island digital short a couple years ago, he kept coming back to Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone, and Akiva Schaffers ability to shoot sequels that actually topped their original sketches. This might seem like a small thing, but to comedy writers at a show where they are often asked to go back to a well, its an impressive feat. Justin Timberlakes return to SNL brought us Motherlover three years after Dick in a Box, and 3-Way (The Golden Rule) two years after that. When Rihanna was the musical guest in 2009 and 2010, poor Shy Ronnie had to try to rap twice. The biggest gap between Lonely Island installments, of course, was 2005s Lazy Sunday and 2012s Lazy Sunday 2.

Until this past weekend. Almost 12 years after Natalie Portmans first rap, we got Natalies Rap 2. The difference is, unlike the previous sequels, the guys dont work at the show anymore. In fact, if you discount the videos they play on the show to promote other projects, this is their first short since Samberg left SNL in 2012. And, as he tells Vulture, it almost didnt happen. We talked to Samberg about how Natalies Rap 2 came together in three days, what he misses about working on SNL, and whether Jar Jar Binks having 17 dicks is canon.

Lets back up, what inspired you to do Natalies Rap the first time?

She had seen Lazy Sunday and wanted to do a rap. We were skeptical, but then she told us she was a big Lil Kim fan and spit an entire verse for us. It was hilarious and convincing, so we said, Great! Her public persona was so squeaky clean that it was fun to rip it apart with her.

What makes Natalie so good at comedy rapping?

She commits, hard. And she actually loves the music.

Can you walk me through what happened once you found out Natalie was hosting again? When and how did you work on it together?

We got the call from SNL on Wednesday evening saying they really wanted to do another one. We werent sure how to get it done from L.A., plus I was shooting Brooklyn Nine-Nine all week. But we love Natalie and SNL and wanted to figure it out.

On Thursday, the three of us  Akiva, Jorma, and I  brainstormed over the phone a bunch during my shooting breaks and then Akiva started to record a rough demo. Then we wrote the rest late into the night. On Friday morning, we FaceTimed with Natalie as she recorded her vocals. We got through about half before she had to go block sketches.

SNL was going to have to shoot and edit the video in NYC without us, which was a first. So we gave them our thoughts and let them run with it. They started shooting the video before the song was done, so Natalie had to lip sync to our voices on parts of the track. Back in L.A., we had about an hour to write my part of the song, and then run outside to a rooftop/parking garage and shoot the footage and send it to New York.

Saturday morning, we FaceTimed with Natalie again, while she recorded the rest of her parts. Then Akiva worked like crazy to put the song together. They sent us a cut in the afternoon and we gave thoughts. It was tricky because they wanted to do right by us, but also they really had to take control because there just wasnt time to go back and forth a lot. The director, Paul Briganti, and the editor, Jeremiah Shuff, did a great job, especially under the rushed circumstances.

I will say, I wish they had called us on Monday! There were many things we would have done differently, but thats SNL. In the end, it seems like it came out pretty good. As long as the audience laughs, its a win.

You three are still working on projects together, but how often have you worked on music since Popstar? What is it like getting the band back together?

Weve been working on a few ideas, but nothing concrete. We are always working on music, at least a little bit.

What from the first one did you know you wanted to bring back?

Again, we got asked so late, it wasnt really a conscious choice. I think our preference might have been to rethink the format even more, but given the schedule, we went with the same basic structure but updated.

What did you want to change up or add to this one?

We hoped to make the style of music more modern, and for the lyrics to reflect the changes Natalie has gone through since the last one.

Did you try to get Chris Parnell to play the interviewer?

Yes, but he wasnt in New York. But we love Beck [Bennett] and he killed it. He has a similar ability to Parnell to play smarmy, but still be funny and likable. We love them both.

How much was Natalie involved? Was she telling you about things that happened in her life?

Ha, not a ton. Again, because there wasnt any time, we just went and made a bunch of stuff up. But she told us a few things she DIDNT want in there after theyd been written. Which I will not disclose. I will say, she was in the right for wanting them changed. We are disgusting.

Did the Kool Moe Dee allusion come after you had the idea for the joke about Natalie drowning the doctor when her water breaks?

It was all at once. But we always have Kool Moe Dee on the brain. Doesnt everyone?

Photo: Rosalind OConnor/NBC

Do you remember coming up with the Star Wars parts?

Yes, we had written a different breakdown, but it bumped with something else in the show so I just thought about what other iconic characters shes played, and that Amidala look is great. Then we just started laughing about her going cold-blooded about the prequels.

 and that Jar Jar Binks has 17 dicks?

That I think we got from George Lucas. Its canon, right? I feel like its canon and we just had her say a normal line that makes sense for that world. Once youre aware of this and go back and watch the prequels, everything makes way more sense. We HIGHLY recommend people do that.

Rap music has obviously changed since the last one. Sonically, what were you all hoping for?

Honestly, we were just hoping to have a song with jokes in it ready by air. But we also thought it would be fun for her to come with some more Cardi B, Drake, Migos, Nicki-style flow, or our terrible approximation of that. And we do love that beat! Its made by JMIKE, who weve done a few songs with before. He came by and spent his entire Friday and Saturday with us in L.A. getting it ready for the show.

How did it feel to have to get this down for Saturday night? Did you miss that rush? If, for some reason, you were tasked with knocking out digital shorts every week again, do you think you could do it?

I think we could do it. I will always miss the rush, but also, theres a lot about the schedule that we definitely dont miss. We will always try to be there for the show when we can. We still have so many friends there and will always love it and watch it.
Every week Vulture highlights the best new music. If the song is worthy of your ears and attention, you will find it here. Read our picks below, share yours in the comments, and subscribe to the Vulture Playlist for a comprehensive guide to the years best music.

Girlpool, Picturesong

Where were you when Elon Musk launched a car into space? I was, for approximately the millionth time, listening to Girlpools Picturesong, which, not entirely unlike, um, launching a car into space, does the impossible. Girlpool have thus far succeeded because they make beautifully intimate guitar music. It sounds fragile until you pay attention to the lyrics, and then it just sounds like quiet power. Its appeal has been in the way the two women behind the project  Cleo Tucker and Harmony Tividad  have built a rickety, miniature world, closed off from the outside. So what to make of Picturesong, which invites Dev Hynes in to collaborate and adds a sheen of smoothness to their signature style? Does it still sound like theyre standing in the room with you? Do they still feel like your band, even though you know other people like them too? Did listening to them while thinking about an empty car rocketing through the vast, unknowable expanse of space feel weird? If you answered yes to all these questions  even the space car one  then Picturesong probably feels pretty exciting to you too. Sam Hockley-Smith (@shockleysmith)

Joshua Hedley, Mr. Jukebox

Joshua Hedley, who has been a honky-tonk staple on Nashvilles Lower Broadway for many years, has finally released his first single, the title track from his upcoming debut album on Third Man Records, Mr. Jukebox. A reference to his nickname in Nashville (Hedley can play almost any old-school country song under the sun), the song channels the many classic country artists Hedley has covered over the course of his  already pretty lengthy  career. Its not a throwback. It sounds new because it is new, and it sounds the way it sounds because its the only thing I know how to do, he said in a statement. Classic country is like a suit. Nothing about a mens suits has changed in like 100 years. Classic country never goes out of style. Something cant be a throwback if its never been out of style. The video, much of which was filmed at Roberts Western World, where Hedley plays every week, gives viewers who havent spent time in Nashville (or havent seen that episode of Master of None) a chance to see him in his element  playing the fiddle as people two-step and working the room. His Florida-themed Nudie Suit is worth keeping an eye out for, too. Corinna Burford (@coriburford)

Kehlani, Again

If Kehlani wants to put together a collection of acoustic, free-spirited songs, I fully support this. Just like last years Honey, shes released another collaboration with her friend Geoffro that came together organically on the fly and hasnt been mixed or fussed with in a studio. Its essentially untouched, just another strong, raw vocal performance that sees Kehlani baring her soul even more than her heart to a lover. Somehow, her voice sounds like an even sweeter pot of honey. Dee Lockett (@Dee_Lockett)

Lauren Auder, These Broken Limbs Again Into One Body

Serious times call for serious music, and we are experiencing nothing if not serious times right now. So, Lauren Auder, a British musician who sings about love and religion and quiet moments that offer a strong sense of self like hes half-asleep, feels like exactly what we should all be listening to right now. These Broken Limbs Again Into One Body is his best song yet  a deeply interior few minutes from an artist that sounds like hes shouldering the weight of the world without even noticing it. SH-S

Stevie Wolf, Low

With all the sad boys dominating pop and hip-hop in recent years, its increasingly hard to tell whats performance art versus genuine vulnerability. Stevie Wolfs second single Low leaves little doubt of its the latter. The lyrics drill down into depression and darkness, yet the song maintains enough pop sensibility to leave you feeling hopeful. The steady procession of stripped-down vocals and guitar riffs lead you into a swelling hook that recaptures your attention right before you get too, well, low. Its Maggie Rogers meets Toro y Moi, on a cloudier day. Olivia Becker (olivaLbecker)

Blood Orange, Christopher & 6th and June 12th

These arent songs so much as they are ruminations on black life set to music. Dev Hynes released these two songs as a short EP to mark the start of Black History Month, noting that they have nothing to do with his next album, but they do at least give a sense of where his head is at. Hes thinking about how hell never fully be able to grasp the struggle of being a black woman navigating her way through this unkind world, and why its important to check your privilege, however minuscule, and honor that which you do not know. Hes also been thinking about Philando Castiles murder, blood money, and societal erasure. His heart is heavy. DL

Aaron Childs, Tangerine

Ive never been able to tell if saying a song is barely there is a compliment or not. Aaron Childs  son of the Windham Hill jazz pianist Billy Childs  has a song on his hands that is barely there in the best way. Its tempting to describe Tangerine  built on not much more than a quirky bass line, some simple drum taps, and what sounds like some guy making a tsss noise with his mouth  as barely there, and that would be sort of true, but theres a bit more happening. The song feels almost stream of consciousness, like Childs had a demo on his hands that he suddenly realized was actually great the way it was. SHS
Where would popular fiction be without mismatched pairings? Abbott and Costello, Felix and Oscar, Rhoda and Phyllis  and now, thanks to the ever-expanding superhero bubble, Deadpool and Cable. The fart-fixated mercenary from 2016s megaprofitable Deadpool is returning in a still-untitled sequel on May 18, and today, we got a first glimpse of his co-star, Cable. The latter is a hard-bitten, heavily armed, nonsense-averse warrior from a dystopian future, and he doesnt cotton to Deadpools brand of sophomoric zaniness.

Speaking of which, theres plenty of the latter in this featurette-slash-trailer, from a fourth-wall-breaking bit about Cables cybernetic arm to an action-figure interlude. Near the end, theres a relentlessly choppy montage that also offers up looks at the supporting cast, including Zazie Beetzs fellow mercenary Domino, Brianna Hildebrands disaffected teen X-Man Negasonic Teenage Warhead, and  perhaps most surprisingly  T.J. Millers Weasel. Given how Miller has been in the hot seat over sexual-misconduct allegations (and some very candid interviews these days), itll be interesting to see how the powers that be handle his availability. Oh, and that poor cab driver from the first movie is in yet another mess. Let the tonal whiplash begin!
Photo: Matt Kennedy/Marvel Studios

For a superhero to leave a lasting impact, it has to be a product of solid graphic design. All too often, we dwell mainly on the writers who develop the names and backstories of our favorite long-underwear characters, thus ignoring the profound importance that comic-book artists have on making a character succeed. Joe Shuster decides Superman should have a cape, and countless millions of children wrap towels around their shoulders. Steve Ditko opts to give Spider-Man oddly shaped eyes, and his mask becomes a Halloween best seller for five decades.

And when Jack Kirby laid out the simple black spandex and barely noticeable feline ears of TChalla  better known as Black Panther  yet another icon was born. Other artists followed in his footsteps and gradually built a visual encyclopedia of Black Panther supporting characters, and now, well over a dozen of them are making the leap to the big screen. With Black Panther on the way, weve decided to show how far the king of Wakanda and his cohort have come by comparing their first visual iterations to the actors playing them in the film.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Black Panther/TChalla (Chadwick Boseman)

Our lead was introduced by writer-artist Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee in 1966s Fantastic Four No. 52. The two notoriously clashed over which one of them was primarily responsible for coming up with the characters they collaborated on (other examples include the Hulk, Thor, and the X-Men), and TChalla is no exception. That said, no one can dispute that Kirby  one of comics greatest geniuses  is responsible for Panthers looks.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

TChaka (John Kani)

That first Panther story in Fantastic Four introduced two more characters in the film, the more sympathetic of which is TChallas father, TChaka. Kirby had a revolutionary approach to designing Wakanda and its denizens: He mixed worn-out tropes about African dress with awe-inspiring technological wonders. So you might see a headdress like the one TChakas wearing here, but youd also see massive computers and such. Thus was born one of the great Afrofuturist cosmologies.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis)

The final film character from the first Panther comics story is the secondary villain, Klaue. In the comics, his name is spelled Klaw and he has the ability to create structures out of sound using a whiz-bang device in the place where one of his hands used to be. In later stories, he donned a skintight red jumper and a truly bizarre mask, but the movie iteration is much closer to his more realistic first look.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Erik Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)

The films primary villain  birth name NJadaka  didnt make his debut until 1973s Jungle Action (terrible title) No. 6. That issue was the first time Black Panther was written by a man who would go on to become one of his most storied scribes: the loquacious Don McGregor. Over the course of many years writing the character, McGregor worked with an array of talented artists, the first of whom was Rich Buckler. The two of them created Killmonger as a massive bruiser with a quasi-mullet. Director Ryan Coogler and his cohort clearly had other ideas, which is probably for the best.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Nakia (Lupita Nyongo)

Speaking of changes that are for the best: Thank goodness for the evolution of the Dora Milaje. Theyre TChallas all-female squadron of elite warriors, and when we were first introduced to them in 1998, they were considerably less PC than they are now. Writer Christopher Priest and artist Mark Texeira conceived of them as voluptuous, underage brides-in-waiting for the king, and although they kicked ass, their looks were a little on the exploitative side. The first two that we met in the comics are now the most prominent ones in the film: Nakia, played by Lupita Nyongo, and 

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Okoye (Danai Gurira)

 Okoye, played by Danai Gurira. Both characters have gone through considerable narrative and visual evolution over the decades, and their film incarnations owe much more to later artists like John Romita Jr. and Brian Stelfreeze than they do to Texeira.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman)

Texeira and Priest were also responsible for introducing us to one of the only white characters in the films main cast, government agent Everett K. Ross. He was originally a diminutive man with a puckish smile, designed to look like Michael J. Fox. Freeman, of course, looks nothing like Fox, and by all accounts, the character  first introduced on film in Captain America: Civil War  acts almost nothing like his comics counterpart.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

WKabi (Daniel Kaluuya)

Although many of the characters in Black Panther are relatively obscure, the caliber of talent behind their creation is high. WKabi, TChallas loyal second-in-command, came from the famed writer-artist team of Roy Thomas and John Buscema. They brought WKabi to life in an Avengers story arc from 1969, before the Panther had his own solo title. Buscema initially envisioned him as a visually unremarkable dude, but later artists like Ken Lashley depicted him with distinctive outerwear and a determined look on his face. Kaluuya retains the boyish face of the original Buscema version.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Shuri (Letitia Wright)

TChallas sister was introduced surprisingly recently, in the pages of a Black Panther solo title in 2005. Since then, shes become an icon  a vision of powerful black womanhood rivaled in comics only by the likes of the X-Mens Storm and the Avengers Monica Rambeau. She came about during one of the better Black Panther runs, that of writer Reginald Hudlin and the aforementioned artist Romita. She was originally depicted as being noticeably younger than TChalla, and Letitia Wright and Chadwick Boseman keep that visual notion alive.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

MBaku (Winston Duke)

This guys visuals are largely the same, but he seems to have undergone a much-needed name change. In the Thomas-Buscema Avengers story that also introduced WKabi, we met MBaku, better known as  Man-Ape. That kind of offensive moniker doesnt exactly fly for a character of color in 2018, so hes just going by his birth name. A mighty Wakandan warrior, hes mostly been a villain, though in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he appears to be someone who becomes an ally by films end (we know that because hes standing alongside TChalla in the Avengers: Infinity War trailer). Buscema put him in an intimidating white gorilla pelt, a version of which will be draped over Winston Duke in the flick.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Ramonda (Angela Bassett)

Ramonda is another McGregor creation. In the comics, shes TChallas surrogate mother, a South African woman who married TChaka after the death of TChallas biological mom. In the great Panthers Quest story line, TChalla went on a, well, quest to find Ramonda, and shes been a key supporting character in his life ever since. Famed artist Gene Colan gave her a quiet, gracefully aging dignity that Angela Bassett does a terrific job of upholding in her visuals.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Zuri (Forest Whitaker)

Another Priest-Texeira creation, Zuri is an aging warrior and longtime adviser to the kings of Wakanda. In his initial appearances, Texeira depicted him as a mountain of a man, bound in incredible muscles and perpetually looking glum. The latter of those two qualities carries over to Forest Whitakers film portrayal, but when it comes to build, hes more of a chill uncle than a swole specimen fresh out of the gym. Nevertheless, the visual gravity remains.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Tilda Johnson (Nabiyah Be)

Much like Okoye and Nakia, Tilda Johnson has had to undergo a significant makeover in recent years in order to make her appropriate for modern audiences. Writer Steve Englehart and artist Alan Weiss actually gave us the character as part of Captain Americas supporting cast back in 1973. There, she was drawn in a dominatrix-y two-piece that would make a Bond girl blush. Thankfully, her look has toned down in the years hence. This genius-level intellect and skilled fighter has been both hero and villain, though she shakes out on the hero side these days, and Nabiyah Be is an excellent choice for bringing the character to the real world, as she shares both Tildas build and her excellent hair.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment

Ayo (Florence Kasumba)

Of all the characters in Black Panther, Ayo is the newest. Writer Ta-Nehisi Coates and artist Brian Stelfreeze conceived of her for the pages of their run with TChalla but, oddly enough, she first appeared in an issue of a comic called Ultimates a few weeks prior to the beginning of that run. Therefore, online outlets mistakenly attribute her creation to Ultimates team Al Ewing and Kenneth Rocafort, who are both terrific, but not the ones who designed this top-flight member of the Dora Milaje. Weve broken our rules slightly by not using an image from her very first appearance, but rather the first time she shows up at the pen of her visual creator.
Jessica Jones has had a rough go of it lately. In the first season of her eponymous hit Marvel Netflix show, she worked herself to the bone to stop the sinister machinations of her rapist, Kilgrave. She thwarted Kilgrave in the end, but she was still many miles away from happiness. Matters only got more stressful when she was roped into the team-up caper of The Defenders last year. Now, the hard-drinking anti-heroine still cant catch a break: In this exclusive first look at the trailer for Marvels Jessica Jones season two, which debuts on March 8, we get a few hints about Jessicas past, a potential hostile takeover, and what appears to be a very surprising cameo. Theres also a new piece of key art, which you can see below. Make that next shot a double.

Photo: Marvel Entertainment
Logan Paul. Photo: Amanda Edwards/WireImage

Logan Paul, the infamous YouTuber who is constantly stirring up controversy and yet somehow still doing his thing, reportedly made a citizens arrest after discovering that a man had broken into his home Tuesday night. Per TMZ, Paul arrived home to discover a man had let himself in through an unlocked door and then started charging his phone in the living room. Apparently, others were in the house at the time of the break-in, but they just assumed the sound from the intruder, who had come to the house to try to meet Paul, was the YouTube star himself. Paul made a citizens arrest (a thing in California!) and once the police arrived, the man was booked for criminal trespass. Never meet your idols, at least not this way. Also, choose better idols.
Julia Sirna-Frest and Jorge Cordova in [PORTO]. Photo: Maria Baranova-Suzuki

I am a Brooklyn-dwelling, 30-something white woman sitting in a hip Brooklyn coffee shop to write about a play about a Brooklyn-dwelling, 30-something white woman that takes place in a hip Brooklyn bar. It gets worse. I just ate avocado toast.

If youre put off by the above, I dont blame you. (And honestly, the toast was only okay; I know, I know, I should just make it at home.) You might be feeling like I was as I walked into Kate Bensons [PORTO] at the Womens Project, a play that bills itself as an upside-down romantic comedy about a regular in a serious bar  a staple of a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood. I admit to squirming slightly as I took my seat: It all felt a touch solipsistic. But you  and I  would be wrong to let our doubts win the day. [PORTO] sneaks up on you: For all its hyper-self-awareness, its ultimately a play about learning to look out rather than always, always in. Its a smart, surprising ode to the modern womans anxious, circuitous quest for simultaneous self-actualization, pleasure, and perhaps even love  an examination of the conditioning we receive, the ways in which we wake up to it (or dont), and what we decide to do about it.

[PORTO] is receiving its second run uptown after a widely praised debut last year at the Bushwick Starr, a small but mighty venue thats making a habit of sending its consistently exciting productions out for another life. Though the Brooklyn neighborhood in which the play takes place isnt named, its pretty clear that our heroines bar is probably located somewhere off the L train, perhaps even on the same block as the theater where [PORTO] premiered. Our heroine is Porto, the expressive Julia Sirna-Frest, immediately familiar in skinny jeans and tummy-hiding patterned tops smartly curated by Asta Bennie Hostetter. Sirna-Frests performance is a thoughtful, rewarding slow burn. Though the play circles around her, shes a quiet center at first  the one who brings a book to the bar, who listens to the problems of her best friend rather than airing her own, who knows there are no romantic comedies starring the woman like me. Shes got the tired eyes and the held breath of someone whos full of much more than shes releasing at any given moment. Shes single, shes on her way home from work, shes worried about her weight and her singleness, and when we meet her, shes contemplating for the 57th time today living a healthier, more responsible life. Sirna-Frest stands alone in a spotlight, facing us and fidgeting wordlessly  and all too recognizably  as a godlike female voice-over runs through the list of everything Porto should probably give up: Meat, wheat, dairy, sugar, salt, take-out, chips, fish  fish? Mercury. Right. Fish.

That voice-over is our guide through [PORTO] the play, and its name, as credited in the shows program, is the set of brackets that surround Porto the woman. Its both the box shes trapped inside and the force thats pushing her to break out of it. Its sometimes sympathetic, sometimes bullying, always blunt. It delivers, according to Benson, not stage directions but stage commandments. It can order the stereotypical Edison bulbs hanging over the bar to brighten or dim, it can clear the stage of characters or jolt Porto into a different reality (You are standing at the edge of a lake  Yet the bar remains. You do not need to know why.), it can get inside her head, and it can get inside ours. Sometimes, it coolly delivers extended, nauseatingly detailed descriptions of the ugly process that creates some tasty artisanal delicacy: sausage, say, or bacon. Its the voice of a connoisseur, someone with opinions (Some people like to add fennel. I dont), and the voice of an analyst, a dissector  and a playwright. Yes, thats Kate Benson murmuring through the mike, playing a game with her own writers omnipotence. Her recurring image isnt exactly a subtle one, but it becomes a visceral central metaphor: If we know how the sausage is made, can we enjoy it? If we  like Porto  are the kind of people, the kind of women, who think about everything, can we ever experience anything? Is it possible to escape the anxiety of analysis?

Or, for that matter, the anxiety of influence? The omniscient god of the brackets isnt the only voice in Portos ear. Theres Doug the Bartender, a surly, superior, neck-tattooed dude who informs us that only douchebags get the Thai sausage instead of the foie gras. Theres Raphael the Waiter, a friendly, knowing girls-best-friend of a guy whos got a soft spot for the serious ones, the girls who carry two books to work in case they finish one on the train. Theres Dry Sac, Portos super-hot, super-skinny, super-tipsy friend, the kind of girl who rolls up to a bar already drunk, foaming with frustration over her shitty-shitty-shitty day, railing against the evil stupid thieving motherfucking thieves who stole her bike after she locked it up by only the wheel. And then theres Hennepin  the new guy at the bar. Bearded. Flannel-y. Reading Infinite Jest. Kinda chunky. Kinda hot? Almost ordered the Thai sausage (D-bag potential, scoffs Doug).

Benson must have worked in food service at some point. Only the servers in [PORTO], the ones behind the bar, have names. The people on the other side, perched on the wooden stools eating hasenpfeffer and fried chickpeas, are known by what they consume. If you are what you eat, Benson seems to be suggesting, then arent we all just convoluted cocktails of good intentions and self-indulgence  attempts at responsibility and kindness interrupted by inevitable slips into cruelty? [PORTO] is a play about guilt and pleasure. And so of course its a play about being a woman: It can take decades to tease apart the net of social conditioning thats taught us to connect the two. I like sex! Porto exclaims in a burst of frustration, I dont know what to do with men. In the parlance of our day, the struggle is real. How do we navigate the new era of feminism? The era of #SmashThePatriarchy and #MeToo and #NotAllMen and #YesAllWomen  of Cat Person and pussy hats and TERFs and SWERFs and intersectionality and Tinder and sex positivity and internalized sexism and woke misogyny and mansplaining and privilege checking and Lean In and Grab Back and oh my god, I need a drink.

And thats where the bar comes in. Do it, the voice croons to Porto, encouraging her to cure all that ails her with an artisanal burger and a beer. You know you want to  And after all, Lillie Langtry sued for the right for women to be allowed into the bar. So really, you sitting alone at the bar: A Feminist Act. As Bensons play moves toward its central encounter  the you-can-see-it-coming-a-mile-away hookup between Porto and Hennepin and the perturbations of the morning after  it becomes increasingly powerful. I found myself a little distanced from the nudgy-winky digs at Brooklyn hipsters that dominate the first half-hour or so of [PORTO], but the minute that Benson took clear aim at the vexed territory of feminism, sex, desire, shame, what we want from our partners, and what we feel we should do for them (no matter the brevity of the encounter)  I could feel her punches right in the chest. Director Lee Sunday Evans gets smart, pointed, playful performances out of her entire cast, but Ugo Chukwu and Noel Joseph Allain (the Bushwick Starrs artistic director in a delightful cross-disciplinary stage turn) do especially fantastic work in a surreal scene that occurs in the dawn hours while Hennepin is still sleeping in Portos bed.

Here we leave the bar fully behind for the first time, as Kristen Robinsons meticulous, beautifully crafted set pulls an effective trick to transport us to Portos apartment  where Gloria Steinem and Simone de Beauvoir appear to be hanging around our heroines kitchen table, drinking whiskey out of coffee mugs and debating what she should do about her naked, beardy houseguest. Steinem is Doug the Bartender (Allain); de Beauvoir is Raphael the Waiter (Chukwe), both in subtle but glorious drag, both overwhelming Porto with an onslaught of pre-breakfast second-wave feminism. You might wake him up and tell him its time to leave, suggests Gloria-Doug. You might let him sleep and take yourself out for a lavish breakfast, muses Simone-Raphael. Whatever you do, snaps Gloria-Doug, do not cook for him.

Its a remarkable scene: laugh-out-loud hilarious and agonizingly true. Its no joke  we do debate the terrifying avalanche of possible implications of something as seemingly simple as making the dude in your bed a cup of coffee. And Bensons decision to put two iconic feminists into the bodies of male actors, though it might initially bristle the hairs on the backs of some necks, is in fact a brilliant twist: In the end, theyre just more voices, more influences, more boxes forcing the self into a certain shape. Porto should feel no more compelled to obey the commandments of Steinem and de Beauvoir than she should to answer Raphael the Waiter when he pries about her sex life, or to kowtow to Doug the Bartenders endlessly on-tap snobbery, or to listen to [the Playwright] herself. Delete the brackets around your own person, your own desires, Benson is arguing. It doesnt mean you have to listen to no one  after all, Simone de Beauvoir delivers her own version of the playwrights cry: YOU HAVE TO STOP ASKING IF ITS OKAY. It just means that the choice of whom you listen to  and what you eat and what you read and who you sleep with and what happens after  belongs to you. And the business of life is to start looking those choices clear in the eye and making them known, with courage and without shame.

Or, in the immortal words of Simone de Beauvoir, Stop being an asshole.

[PORTO] is at the McGinn-Cazale Theater through February 25.
Photo: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

When it comes to filmmaker Ingmar Bergman, its all about the three Ss: slow, somber, and Scandinavian. Of course theres worlds more to his work than that, but its true that the Swedish mid-century director was responsible for bringing a distinctive cinematic tradition from parts north to American attention with high-profile wins at Cannes and the Oscars. Hip art-house crowds in the 60s gobbled up Bergmans solemn existential meditations along with the equally opaque if more sexually daring I Am Curious (Yellow) as the vanguard of a bold new frontier in the film arts. We have Bergman to blame for Woody Allens most turgid mid-career works, but we have him to thank for much, much more.

This year marks the centennial of the masters birth, and Manhattan independent theater Film Forum has readied a massive retrospective of his work to commemorate the occasion. (For those in the area, Ingmar Bergmans Centennial Retrospective begins February 7. For those who arent, the series will travel to 14 more theaters across the country through the rest of the year.) The sprawling program collects 47 films from across Bergmans four-decade career, and even that leaves a dozen or so features uncovered, not to mention his extensive stints in television and theater. Add to this the fact that his films deliberately resist easy understanding and interpretation, and Bergmans oeuvre can start to look prohibitively intimidating to the curious uninitiated.

In that spirit, Vulture has assembled a beginners crash course to the essentials of Ingmar Bergmans most widely known  and some might say finest  films. The following five picks barely scratch the surface of a rich and challenging filmography, and those who click with them are strongly encouraged to dig deeper, but this should be enough for you to hold your own if cornered at a cocktail party.

The Seventh Seal (1957)

By 1957, Bergman had already logged a decade of steady success adapting Swedish plays and literature for the screen, using his experience from his days of stage work to bridge the two mediums. The majority of these early films got small niche releases  a scant few still have yet to make it to home video in the U.S.  but this breakthrough put him on the map for international audiences. You may very well recognize it without realizing; the classic tableau of jaded knight Antonius Block (Max von Sydow, in the role that made him Max von Sydow) playing a game of chess with Death has been parodied by everyone from Bill and Ted to the Animaniacs.

But the memetic quality of this endlessly reproduced image sometimes threatens to obscure its actual significance. Adapting another play, this time his own, Bergman constructed a sophisticated parable about life and death with the confrontation between Antonius and oblivion as its moral centerpiece. His futile search for meaning in a world seemingly abandoned by God continues the philosophical angst of Camus, and places it in a medieval setting composed of evocative shadow. Though anyone who has ever cast their gaze to the sky and impotently wondered why the world is such absolute crap will be able to tap into Bergmans ethos, however dense with symbolism and allusion.

Wild Strawberries (1957)

One of cinemas great one-two punches followed through in a softer register, with Bergman assuming a pose bordering on sentimental while further developing his pet themes of mortality and existence. He composed the screenplay during a protracted stay in a hospital bed, and its difficult not to project the films gleaming ideals of salvation and redemption onto his experiences. He provides a ready avatar for professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjostrom), an egotistical curmudgeon changed by his experiences over the course of one long road trip from Stockholm to Lund. A series of hitchhikers and the Proustian blasts of memory they trigger fundamentally reorient the professors soul, pushing him from misanthropy to the final shots transcendent expression of pure joy.

The title refers to another one of those writerly symbols Bergman so favors, in this instance a patch of brush where Isak remembers strolling with his lost boyhood love Sara (a beguiling Bibi Andersson). The underlying concept may be the most cosmically comforting Bergman has ever allowed: the notion that its never too late to make peace with your own past. Isak floats through a frequently surreal, free-associative pre-death, only to be deposited on the other side a spiritually cleansed man. Bergman earns the optimism of his concluding scene bit by bit, and bitterly.

Persona (1966)

And now for something completely different. From everything. Bergmans detour into abstract psycho-horror doesnt even completely fit that description. Hes also conducting a two-pronged character study with a tenuous relationship to sanity, mixing up a thick stew of iconography and cultural reference points from the Warsaw Ghetto uprising to the Crucifixion, and not least of all, mounting an aesthetic offensive on the film form itself. Persona does not end, so much as it folds into itself and ceases to exist. A favorite of David Lynch and Darren Aronofsky, even at 84 minutes, it is a lot of movie.

Right, right, but what is it? Hard to say  a nurse (Bibi Andersson, once again) and the stage legend (Liv Ullmann) placed in her care adjourn to a remote seaside cottage, where they can hopefully wait out the inexplicable burst of mutism thats come over the actress. From there, interpretations get highly subjective. The two women permeate one anothers subconscious and the limits of identity quickly break down in a flurry of Jungian signifiers, but thats just one of an eclectic array of readings. Persona can be just about anything, whether that means a stealthy paean to homoeroticism or a coded parable for vampirism.

Cries and Whispers (1972)

A couple decades into an august career, Bergman was still testing his limits and continuously revitalizing his style. For this late-19th-century period piece, he ditched the usual chiaroscuro for eye-popping saturated color and decked it with touches of decadent crimson. The motif of deep reds  in fades between scenes, in the production design, in the blood  corresponds to the always churning, at times contradictory, ideas in Bergmans work. Here, his reds embody savagery and serenity, life force and the violence that can extinguish it. In typically Bergmanesque fashion, Agnes (Harriet Andersson) begins the film wasting away from uterine cancer; the large red room in which she waits for death could be a womb or a gigantic failing organ.

In the decay of the body and mind, Bergman once again plumbs for some shred of hope and emotional connection. To care for Agnes in her final days, her argumentative sisters Karin and Maria (Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann) convene at the old family estate for a trip down an existentially booby-trapped memory lane, but the maid Anna (Kari Sylwan, the real star of the show) does most of the actual work. As the sisters reflect on hardened regrets and make a bid for reconciliation between them, Anna guides Agnes into the afterlife with supreme calm. The image of Anna holding Agnes as her disease internally rages, a recreation of the Pieta, remains a defining indelible image of Swedish film. (They even put it on stamps!)

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

The absurdly prolific Bergman began to slow his roll in the 80s, though thats not to say he scaled back his ambitions as a film craftsman or a ponderer of the universes cruelty. At a whopping 312 minutes  the film was conceived and created as a TV mini-series, then trimmed down to a tight three hours for a later theatrical release  Fanny and Alexander remains his longest work, though whether its his most exactingly poignant shall remain a topic of heated debate. Even so, one could make a pretty strong argument for this chronicle of a family in flux; Bergman piles on another helping of that sweet, sweet suffering, but now the subject of all the hardship happens to be a pair of young children instead of an adult on deaths doorstep.

Fanny and Alexander (precocious Bertil Guve and Pernilla Allwin) happily help their parents manage a local theater until their father unexpectedly expires, at which point a draconian bishop (Jan Malmsjo) steps in to marry their mother (Ewa Froling) and turn their family into an authoritarian state. As they struggle to withstand his campaign of harsh discipline in the house and their mother plots an escape from her spousal jailer, Bergman returned to his lifelong pursuits. He landed another damning indictment of married lifes little tyrannies, indulged in a few more flights of surrealist fancy, and set up a Shakespearean power struggle in the household, and all the while, broke astonishing new ground.

Alexanders uncle Gustav (Jarl Kulle) figures pretty prominently into the grand scheme of things, delivering a speech near the tail end that is both unmistakably Bergman and in radical defiance of the outlook he had established over 20-plus features. Let us be happy while we are happy, he says, after conceding that evil runs through the world like a mad dog. Let us be kind, generous, affectionate and good. It is necessary and not at all shameful to take pleasure in the little world. Stumble onto one of his movies unawares in the middle of the night on Turner Classic, and Bergman could very well save your soul. But not until hes done with you.


Four people are detained and could face multiple charges after a high speed chase. Shortly before midnight, undercover narcotics

agents with the Madison County Sheriff's Office attempted to pull over a car on Jonquil Drive.

4 Detained After High Speed Chase

4 Detained After High Speed Chase 4 Detained After High Speed Chase 4 Detained After High Speed Chase

According to police, the suspects refused to stop, and a chase began. The pursuit continued through Blue Springs, to Highway 53

to Bob Wade Lane. The suspects then proceeded to Meridianville before heading back to U.S. 431 in Huntsville.

After roughly 20 minutes, officials said speeds reached up to 125 miles per hour. Eventually, the chase came to a halt after officials used

spike strips on Winchester and Hollow Road. The chase ended on Swaim Circle.
Tuesday, Daryl Raymond plead guilty to two counts of attempted sex abuse of children under the age of 12.

As a part of a plea deal Lauderdale County District Attorney, Chris Connolly, said Raymond will likely receive a 20 year split sentence. That means he'll serve four years in prison plus he will have to register as a sex offender.

"These cases are tough because you don't want to do anything to re-victimize a young child by placing them in the court system," said Connolly.

Raymond was accused of inappropriately touching a total of six girls. All of the victims were between the ages of three and six, according to Connolly.

The crimes happened while Raymond worked at a traveling petting zoo when it made a stop in Florence in 2016. Since his arrest Raymond has remained in jail.

Connolly tells WAAY31 all of the victims' parents agreed to the plea deal, so their children wouldn't have to testify in court.

"You don't want to re-traumatize them. I think there was a conscientious among our victims that we would get the lifetime registration, we would get him sent to prison and get him tagged as a sex offender the rest of his life," said Connolly.

Raymond's official sentencing will be on March 7th. He's being held in the Lauderdale County Detention Center.
On Wednesday, the Annual State of the Schools address was held. Superintendents from Huntsville City Schools, Madison City Schools and Madison County Schools came together for the superintendent panel.

The three superintendents talked about a variety of topics ranging from poverty levels in their districts, to some proud accomplishments and challenges.

Ryan Hankins, with the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama opened the address with some of the research behind the state-wide report card.

Last week, the report cards came out for the state and school districts in Alabama.

PARCA is responsible for the research data from the state-wide education report card.

Statewide, the education system was graded a C. That means the grade was around a 60 out of 120 total. However, our area also has three of the highest performing school districts in the state. That success is attributed to rapid growth, enrollment numbers and a low poverty rate overall.

The superintendent panel was moderated by a representative from PARCA.

The Superintendents answered a number of questions about their districts, giving insight to their missions and goals for a successful future.

"One challenge that we are working on every day is recruiting and retaining teachers, I think the path to greatness, that path is built on high quality teachers, we have those in place but we need more and we need to stop our teacher turn over," said Dr. Matt Akin, Superintendent from Huntsville City Schools.

"We grow about 300 students a year in Madison City, and we have for the last 20 years, and so our biggest challenge is where are we going to put them all? Even though we are doing a 10 million dollar addition at Liberty Middle, we're going to run out of space again within a few years," said Robby Parker, Superintendent from Madison City Schools.

"One of the challenges is we want to expand Pre-K to offer it to 100%, right now we're offering it to about 60% of eligible students, we dont have local funding to be able to provide those programs so we're kind of requiring on grants," said Superintendent Matt Massey, with Madison County Schools.

One topic all three superintendents agreed on was the grading system of the state-wide report cards. They believe it isn't a fair representation of a district, based on a letter grade, but that it was more of a grading on the students than the district.
ATLANTA (AP) - Federal authorities say a 25-year-old woman dubbed the "Freedom Fighter Bandit" who's wanted for a string of Georgia bank robberies has been arrested in Tennessee.

The FBI said in a news release Monday that Nilsa Marie Urena was apprehended Saturday shortly after robbing a Nashville-area credit union branch. It was not immediately known if Urena had an attorney to represent her.

The FBI says Urena is suspected in at least eight bank robberies in Georgia since October. It says Urena is called the "Freedom Fighter Bandit" because she says she's robbing banks for a cause.

An earlier FBI news release says she was suspected in a Jan. 25 robbery at Hamilton State Bank in Dallas, Georgia. The suspect said she had a bomb and ordered employees not to call police.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

2/5/2018 1:31:02 PM (GMT -6:00)
A woman who worked in for the Madison County Sheriffs Office is suing her former employer in federal court. Erica Cagle claims she was a victim of sexual harassment while she worked for the sheriffs office.

Erica Cagles lawsuit is the fourth sexual harassment lawsuit or related complaint filed by Florence attorney Mike Weathers on behalf of his clients.

Cagles suit names a long list of defendants including Sheriff Blake Dorning, former chief deputy sheriff David Jernigan (now police chief for the city of Madison), former fellow-employees and supervisors inside the sheriffs office, Madison County Commission Chairman Dale Strong, all county commissioners and the countys human resources department managers.

Cagles job began in 2010 as an accounting clerk. She worked her way up to accountant in 2012. Cagle remained in that position until she left her job at the sheriffs office in 2017.

The lawsuit lays out a work environment where her superiors did little to discourage sexual harassment. The suit suggests the harassment is something that came with the job.

On or about Cagles first day of work, Sheriff Dorning told Cagle that she was going to be subjected to a male dominant work environment at the Sheriffs Office, the lawsuit reads. Sheriff Dorning essentially told Cagle to be expecting a sexually harassing work environment. Sheriff Dorning warned Cagle, because she was going to be working in the main office, front office, that she would be experiencing things from the male employees who would be coming in and out of the office where she worked and that men do what men do.

The suit takes aim at David Jernigan before he became Madisons police chief. Chief Deputy Sheriff Jernigan made inappropriate sexual comments about female employees of the Sheriffs Office, the lawsuit claims. For example, Chief Deputy Sheriff Jernigan told Cagle that female employee Meghin Dornings code should be 6969 because she had just come back from her honeymoon.

The suit goes on to connect Jernigan to another woman, Shelby Holt, who has filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against the sheriffs office. Chief Deputy Sheriff Jernigan told Lt. Charles Zeissler in regard to Deputy Shelby Holt (Deputy Holt or Holt), Man what I would do to that., the suit says.

The federal complaint lays out Cagles complaint against Tim Clark. The suit describes Clark as Sheriff Dornings friend. Clark was maintenance manager and worked in fleet maintenance according to the lawsuit. Clark constantly harassed Cagle trying to get Cagle to go to bars with him, to go to restaurants with him, and to go out with him. The lawsuit alleges. Clark even tried to hook Cagle up with his son. Clark drove Cagle crazy. Clark would even come to the office where she worked. Clark sent inappropriate text messages to Cagle.

The suit goes on to say, Clark told an inmate who working in the fleet service/ maintenance shop that he (Clark) knew Cagle was f***ing the inmate. This was extremely inappropriate and highly offensive to Cagle.

Sheriffs deputy Mike Jones is also a target of the federal lawsuit. Deputy Jones sent text messages to Cagle regarding the messages (sic) he wanted to give her, according to the suit. In one text message, Deputy Jones talked about back rubs and finding a hiding spot in the Madison County, Alabama Courthouse in which these back rubs could take place. In another text message, Deputy Jones told Cagle, Lol wear nothing but a towel, the complaint reads.

Cagle consulted an attorney about her concerns. When her superiors found out, the lawsuit claims they retaliated.

Sheriff Dorning and Chief Deputy Sheriff Jernigan immediately started retaliating against Cagle for reporting and complaining about Clarks sexually harassing her and saying that she was f***ing an inmate, the lawsuit reads.

Aside from the sexual harassment, Cagle claims her employer made unreasonable demands which required her to work off the clock. Sheriff Dorning asked Cagle to, on a part-time basis and afterhours basis, to make arrangements for deputies to perform escort services for funerals and security services for other events such as religious events, the complaint claims.

To read the entire complaint filed in US District Court, click here.

WAAY 31 has reached out to many of the defendants named in the lawsuit. As in the previous three federal suits filed against the Madison County sheriffs office, most parties withhold comment since the cases are pending in court.

However, in September, Chairman Dale Strong issued a statement to WAAY 31 about Shelby Holts federal lawsuit filed against the sheriffs office. While it is our custom not to discuss pending litigation, any time allegations of this nature are made there is cause for concern, Chairman Strong wrote. I trust that the Sheriff of Madison County would not tolerate this type of accused conduct and that he will thoroughly investigate any and all accusations.

Cagles lawsuit joins three others filed against the Morgan County sheriffs office in recent months.

Former Deputy Shelby Holt filed her federal lawsuit in September of last year. Two months later, Deputy Gregory Gray filed his suit. Investigator Marina Garcia filed her federal complaint in December.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 12:00 pm

Service will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 9, at Coffman Funeral Home in Harrison, with burial at Plumlee Cemetery; no visitation.

Harold Junior Chester, 86, of Harrison, passed away Friday, Feb. 2 (2018) at Mount Vista Nursing Home in Harrison.

He was born Aug. 11, 1931, in Hinsdale, Illinois.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Lee and Alma Chester, of Hilltop; his wife, Betty (Armer) Chester; and infant daughter, Phylis Kay.

He is survived by his brothers, Calvin Chester and wife Nancy, of Hilltop, and Kenneth Chester and wife Imogene, of Coos Bay, Oregon; and several nephews and nieces.

The Chester family moved from Hinsdale, Illinois, to a farm at Hilltop in 1938. He was a Korean War veteran from 1952 to 1954, a lot of that time was spent on Pork Chop Hill.

After his discharge from the Army, he and his wife Betty moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where he drove truck for Albert Tamm's Lumber Company. They eventually moved back to Arkansas, purchased a farm north of Harrison where he raised and sold cattle and also worked for Claridge Products, from where he retired.

He loved to squirrel hunt with his dogs and run his fox hounds. Going to the stock yards at Harrison and Green Forest on sale days was a highlight for him.

Funeral service will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 9, at Coffman Funeral Home Chapel in Harrison with burial to follow at Plumlee Cemetery. There will be no visitation.

Pallbearers are Terry Chester, Jeremy Venable, Brandon Chester, Joshua Cox, Andy Chester and Marvin Sims.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Plumlee Cemetery Fund, c/o Marvin Sims, HC 33 Box 103, Compton, AR, 72624.

His family would like to thank the staff at Mount Vista Nursing Home for taking care of Harold for many years. A very special thanks to his niece, Beverly, whom he daily yelled for her to bring him coffee and cookies, he was fond of anything that contained chocolate.

Online condolences may be left at www.coffmanfh.com .
WATERFORD has added a bright new museum to the range of Treasures in the Viking Triangle. Two weeks after the opening of the Museum of...
Barnaby Joyce has spoken publicly for the first time about the breakdown of his 24-year marriage and his new relationship with a former staffer, with whom he is expecting a baby.

In a difficult interview for the Deputy Prime Minister on the ABC's 730 program, Mr Joyce said the end of his marriage was one of the "greatest failures" of his life, criticised the Daily Telegraph's decision to publish a photo of a pregnant Vikki Campion on its front page and insisted he had never used public funds to conduct the relationship.

Deputy PM Joyce said the breakdown of his marriage was one of the "greatest failures" in his life on ABC's 7:30 program. Credit:ABC 7:30

And he railed against the "salami-slicing" of MPs' private lives, delivering a robust defence of his conduct and arguing Australia should not go down the same path as the United States, where politicians' private lives are public fodder.

Mr Joyce and his new partner were thrust into the public eye on Wednesday after it was revealed they are expecting a baby, sparking a fierce debate about media intrusion into politicians' personal lives.
It was the first time anyone took what we had been saying seriously. It was one of those things in hindsight that I wished we had pursued stronger. Dr Yau disputes Mr Bowditch's account. Mr Bowditch said his wife was suffering from a high heart rate on the day before her surgery on August 16 and that her breathing was so laboured doing relatively minor tasks that he thought she was having an asthma attack. He became emotional when telling the court how he and his wife had a rare fight about whether she should undergo surgery and suspects that a previous diagnosis of postnatal depression may have been a factor in her decision to go ahead with it, because she worried about being a burden on the family. Anna, Natalia and Stephen Bowditch on holiday in Hawaii in 2014.

It is one of the things that keeps me awake at night. Knowing what I knew  that I didnt push harder for her not to have surgery, he said. Stephen Bowditch with a photo of his wife. The family argues that Mrs Bowditch had many of the risk factors for deep vein thrombosis, including being on the contraceptive pill, orthopaedic trauma and recently being immobile and slightly overweight. Orthopaedic surgeon Audi Widjaja told the court that he had examined the injured leg and made notes about it, and had never operated on a patient without giving them a physical examination beforehand. Anna Bowditch on holiday in Hawaii with broken leg

Mrs Bowditchs mother Elzbieta Wartalska-Kula, who attended the consultation, said she was sure this did not take place. Mrs Wartalska-Kula said the surgeon had given her daughter an option to delay the surgery or wait for the leg to repair itself, but had warned the break was taking a long time to heal by itself. From the way Mr Widjaja was talking it looked like this surgery was recommended by him, she said. In court on Wednesday, the surgeon, using an assistant, demonstrated how he had examined Mrs Bowditchs leg. He said he would have cancelled the surgery if he had been aware that his patient had experienced recent heart palpitations, but was not told about it.

At the time I saw her on the Tuesday [August 12]in my consulting rooms, there were no DVT symptoms. Mr Bowditch previously told The Age that when he saw his wife after the surgery, following what the family expected to be a short operation on her leg, she was paralysed and could not speak. Anna's Bowditch's mother Elzbieta Wartalska-Kula, father Andrzej Kula and husband Steve Bowditch at Wednesday's inquest. Credit:Eddie Jim Only one of her eyes could focus properly, the other was shooting off in different directions. "She was desperately trying to talk to me, but I had no idea what she was trying to say. So I just told her that I loved her," Mr Bowditch said.

"And that was the last time I saw her alive." The family is being represented by Maurice Blackburn Lawyers. Loading The firms medical negligence principal, Tom Ballantyne, said this a tragic and unexpected outcome and the family see the coronial inquest as an important step in determining what happened. Anna was an organ donor and her family have been told that five or six people benefited from her donation.
The Batman byelection will have a green flavour no matter who wins.

Voters in the crunch byelection in Melbourne's north will head to the polls on March 17, St Patrick's Day.

Greens candidate Alex Bhathal will run for the seat of Batman. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

The byelection, to replace Labor's David Feeney in federal Parliament after he resigned last month over dual citizenship issues, will be held on the same day as South Australia's state election.

The Greens look in a strong position to finally wrest the steadily gentrifying seat from Labor after several attempts, with their candidate Alex Bhathal having put an internal squabble behind her to be officially endorsed to run.
Time is of the essence when it comes to funds for rural workforce housing. This and a new Kimball Event Center committee was discussed at the special City Council meeting on Monday, Feb. 5.

State grant money is now available for housing and LB840 funds can also be used in certain instances, as well. As a region, Western Nebraska Economic Development (WNED) is seeking grant money totaling $1 million.

Housing was one of the top concerns in Kimball for current business owners and those considering a move to the area.

I want to apologize for the rushed meeting, Special Projects Coordinator Amy Sapp said. The draft of the Rural Housing Fund came out in January and wasnt approved until Feb. 2. PADD (Panhandle Area Development District) had sent out some guidelines, about a week ago, that we need to accomplish before we can move forward with this.

The first, a housing study, was completed in 2016 for Kimball. The second step is to raise matching funds for the grant.

Sapp is aiming for $50,000 of the funds for use in Kimball, meaning the community would be required to raise that amount by March 31 to receive the grant money.

Some communities in the panhandle are considering new housing, but due to a lack of developers and a wealth of properties that need rehabilitated, Sapp would suggest using the funds for purchase, rehab and resell, though the rehabilitated homes could also be rented.

This is all still so new to all of the communities, it is really up to us to make it our own with the LB840 program, Sapp said. So if someone wants to buy a run-down apartment building and remodel it, we can do something like that; if somebody wants to buy a home for rehab/resell, we can do that or if somebody wants to build duplexes or a multi-family unit, we can use LB840 for that.

Council approved the Mayors signature on a letter of intent to participate in this regional application for the Rural Workforce Housing Fund.

After two extensions, grant money from the state originally set aside for Kimball Event Center renovations will expire in May if no action is taken soon.

If we dont spend the money, I doubt they will extend the grant again, council member Christy Warner said.

In August 2016 a volunteer committee was formed to determine whether the facility could become self-sufficient.

That was a committee formed to ask what kind of events can we have to get more people in there and make the event center more self-sufficient, Jim Cederburg said. That purpose is totally distinct and separate from looking at how we can get money raised for matching funds for the grant.

That committee completed the tasks and Warner is now seeking a new committee for fundraising purposes, as the grant money in question must be matched.

Lets move forward instead of sitting on it for months and years, Warner said.

Dan Dean, City Administrator, said he would like the committee to be more formal than before, with public establishment, a clear mission and accountability.

We need clarity and a really good record for people in the future (to know) what is going on, Dean added.

I think we need a lot more public input too, Kim Baliman added.

The mission, from Deans perspective, is to evaluate the grant possibilities for the Kimball Event Center.

My own belief is, the event center, while it may lose money, is still a valuable resource, Dean said.

The new committee will be on the agenda for discussion at the upcoming City Council meeting, scheduled for Feb. 20.
Velma Evelyn Foster went home to be with the Lord on Monday, January 29, 2018 after a brief illness at the home of her sister, Esther Walker, in Castle Rock. She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert Foster, her parents, Henry and Annis Felkins, 5 brothers and 2 sisters.

Velma was born April 22, 1930 in Osage County, Ralston, Oklahoma to Henry Franklin and Annis (Clinkenbeard) Felkins. She was the 8th sibling of 13. Her family used Evelyn as her name throughout her life.

At the age of 13, she moved with her large family to Kiowa, CO, then later to Elizabeth, CO where she graduated from high school. She attended college briefly in Greely, CO, but had to withdraw due to financial needs. She was working hard in Denver when she decided to enroll in the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (Biola) at La Mirada, CA. Being as independent as always, she obtained her teaching degree while working part-time and being away from family. She taught grade school at Los Neitas School in Whittier, CA until her retirement in 1987.

She remained in California until reuniting with her 1st love, Robert Foster, at a class reunion in Elizabeth, CO. They were married in 1996 and resided in Grand Junction and Eckert until Robert's death in 2002.

In 2005, Evelyn moved to Kimball, NE to assist with the care of a failing brother and to be closer to family. Although Kimball was her residence, she made many visits to CO to see sisters and friends. During an extended stay in Castle Rock, she attended Cornerstone Presbyterian Church where she made many good friends.

Evelyn loved to paint with oils, sew, knit and crochet. She also enjoyed playing the piano and singing for the Lord. Using her special gift of helping, she was able to minister to many people in her life.

Evelyn was loved and her light will be missed.
Part of KY 1022 in Carlisle County to Close for Cross Drain Replacement Tuesday
The Wetzel County Commission opened bids Jan. 30 for the renovations to be made at the countys senior center in Hundred. The center was destroyed by the floods that occurred in July 28-29 of 2017.

Quality Aluminum won the right to the renovation project with a bid proposal of $147,923. The price includes labor, demolition, disposal, water heater, vent fans, plumbing, drywall, doors, building materials and whatever else will be needed to finish the project. Quality Aluminum also provided contractors licenses, as well as proof of liability insurance and a business registration certificate.

The commission also opened bids for a new law enforcement record management. The winning bid was placed by a company called In-Synch Systems in the amount of $37,240. The services provided includes evidence scanner, software, RMS help desk, RAC server, basic training, IMS support, and other assorted services. Wetzel County Sheriff Mike Koontz reviewed the bid and was satisfied with the service provider, so a motion was made to accept the bid.

The commission passed a motion allowing use of the 4-H grounds for the Back Home Appalachian Arts and Music Festival being held on June 29, 30 and July 1. The festival committee is to work with Wetzel Countys Bob Sellers, to work out all of the details and arrangements. The agreement includes parking and camping but does not include use of the cabins.

A motion passed appointing Barb McAdams and Herb Jones as ballot commissioners for a two-year term. They will assist with proofing the ballots, such as checking ballot language and witnessing the draw.

The IRS standard mileage rate for 2018 has been established. It is in the amount of 54.5 cents per mile for county employees. This rate was accepted and approved by the commission.

Per the West Virginia Ethics and Open Meeting Act, agenda items for Wetzel County Commission meetings will be posted within two days prior to meetings. Requests for items requiring action should be submitted within that time frame. Meetings are usually held every Tuesday, 9:30 a.m.
Judge Jeffrey Cramer proceeded over the following matters Wednesday, Jan. 31 in Wetzel County Circuit Court:

Ashley Brooke Willhoite, 37, of 133 South First Avenue, Paden City, appeared before Judge Cramer to answer to a three-count indictment handed down by the Wetzel County Grand Jury. Willhoite is charged in the indictment with the felony offense of daytime burglary. She is accused of entering without breaking a dwelling house with intent to commit a crime. The offense is alleged to have occurred between July 24 and July 31, 2017, in New Martinsville, Wetzel County.

Count two of the indictment charges her with the felony offense of grand larceny, by allegedly taking or stealing goods valued at $1,000.

Count three of the indictment charges her with the felony offense of conspiracy. She allegedly conspired with Jason Litton to steal goods on the dates mentioned above.

Willhoite pleaded not guilty on Jan. 31, and a pre-trial hearing was set for March 12, 10 a.m. A trial date was also set for April 9. Willhoites bond was allowed to continue under supervision by the probation office.

Zachary Jeremiah Ferrebee, 28, also of 133 South First Avenue, Paden City, appeared in court alongside his court-appointed attorney, Brett Ferro. Ferrebee faced one-count felony indictment, charging him with breaking and entering. The offense allegedly occurred on or about Oct. 26 or 27, 2017, in Paden City.

On Jan. 31, Ferrebee admitted to the crime, saying he threw a rock through the window of Quality Aluminum in Paden City and went inside to get a cash box. He left after not finding the cash box. Prosecuting Attorney Tim Haught gave the same evidence.

Ferrebee, under a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to the crime. The agreement calls for him to be sentenced to one to 10 years in the custody of the West Virginia Division of Corrections, with credit for time served. Judge Cramer ordered a pre-sentencing report be done by the probation office. He will then set a sentence hearing.

Stephen Anthony Blatt, 31, of 606 North Fifth Avenue, Paden City, appeared in court to answer to a one-count felony indictment. The indictment charges Blatt with the felony offense of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), with intent to deliver. The offense allegedly occurred on or about Nov. 6, 2017.

On Jan. 31, Blatt entered a plea of guilty to the charge under the terms of a plea agreement. He was sentenced to one to 15 years in the custody of the West Virgina Division of Corrections with credit for time served of three months. Under the agreement, Blatt will be eligible for a rule 35 early release after five months served, including the three months already served. He will then be placed on two years probation and must attend drug court, which has already been approved.

Blatt told the court he was in possession of methamphetamine and had intentions of selling it. Prosecutor Tim Haught told the court if the case were to go to trial, the evidence would show Blatt was stopped by a Paden City policeman for suspicion of riding a stolen bicycle. The officer found Blatt to be in possession of a small amount of methamphetamine, which Blatt admitted he planned to sell.

Judge Cramer imposed the recommended sentence and remanded Blatt to the custody of the department of corrections to begin serving the remainder of his sentence.

Benjamin Ray Highley, 47, of HC 60 Box 47B, Glen Easton, appeared in court alongside his attorney, Ferro, to answer to a two-count indictment, charging him with the felony offenses of possession of a motor vehicle without vehicle identification mark, and altering a vehicle identification number with fraudulent intent. The charges against Highley state that he knowingly possessed a motor vehicle with altered manufacturer serial number. The offense is alleged to have occurred between March 11 and April 22 of 2017.

Highley entered a not guilty plea two both counts and was ordered to return to court on March 12, at 10 a.m. for a pre-trial hearing. A trial date will then be set.

Ryan Nicklaus Richmond, 24, of 639 Wise Acres Road, New Martinsville, was in court on Wednesday, Jan. 31, to enter a plea to a one-count felony indictment, charging him with possession of a controlled substance (heroin) with intent to deliver. The offense allegedly occurred on or about Dec. 5, 2017, in Wetzel County.

Richmond entered a guilty plea as part of a plea agreement to the charge. The plea agreement called for Richmond to be sentenced to one to 15 years in prison. In exchange for his guilty plea, Richmond will be allowed to return to court after serving five months for a rule 35 early release hearing. He will then be accepted into drug court, which has been approved. He will be given credit for time served of 58 days.

Prosecutor Tim Haught said Richmond has a serious drug problem. He said the police had responded to Richmonds residence and he fled. They apprehended him and recovered 171 stamps of heroin and 0.4 grams of methamphetamine. They also found $313, which under the agreement, Richmond will forfeit. His cell phone will be returned to him.

Judge Cramer allowed the plea agreement and imposed the one to 15 year sentence.

Daniel Lee Wilson, 32, of Route 1 Box 71, Mannington, was charged by the January 2018 term of the Wetzel County Grand Jury with the felony offense of grand larceny. Wilson appeared in court, alongside Attorney Ferro, to give an answer to the charge. Wilson, who has been in the Northern Regional Jail, entered a not guilty plea. He will return to court March 12, 10 a.m., and a trial date will be set at that time.

Prosecutor Haught requested bond be set at $5,000 cash/surety, and that if Wilson makes bond, he will be placed on pre-trial supervision by the countys probation office. Judge Cramer agreed to the request.

Wilson was remanded, pending bail release.

James A. Haught, 23, of 717 Sixth Street, New Martinsville, had previously been given a three-count indictment, with the felony offenses of failure to register or provide notice of registration changes. All three counts charge him with the crimes between July 31 and Nov. 27, 2017. On Jan. 31, James Haught was sentenced by Judge Cramer to five years in prison.

Per the terms of a plea agreement, Haught pleaded guilty to four charges of violating his probation, in exchange for his three-count indictment to be dismissed, with prejudice. During the hearing, Prosecutor Tim Haught recommended a prison sentence of five years, while the defense asked for leniency. James Haughts mother spoke on her sons behalf and asked that the court be lenient with James Haught. James Haught, himself, said he was sorry for what he had done, including lying to the probation office and violating the offices trust in him.

Judge Cramer, however, imposed the recommended sentence of the state, due to the seriousness of the crimes.
BLUE RIDGE HEALTH FACES FEDERAL FUNDING CUTBACKS; CONGRESSMAN MEADOWS PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS

MEADOWS SUPPORTS HOUSE-PASSED "CONTINUING RESOLUTION"

Facing a reduction in federal funding, staff at Blue Ridge Health reached out to members of Congress from North Carolina Tuesday to urge them to extend funding for community health centers.

Federal funding for community health centers like Blue Ridge Health has been in limbo since Congress failed to come to an agreement on Oct. 1.

Around 25 percent  or $6 million  of Blue Ridge Healths budget comes from federal funding, and 70 percent of that is currently at risk. Additionally, 9,500 patients could lose access to health care at Blue Ridge Health, which serves around 35,000 patients a year throughout seven counties in Western North Carolina.

But WNC Congressman Mark Meadows has pledged his vote and his support for communty health centers like and including Blue Ridge. The chairman of the powerful House "Freedom Caucus", Meadows said this week,

As Ive said many times before, Congress must get its house in order and pass a long-term, fiscally responsible budget that cuts wasteful spending and gives our military men and women the financial security they need. While this appropriations package is not perfect,"

Meadows added, " I chose to support it because it provides a full year of financial security for our military men and women, along with long-term stability for Community Health Centers.
NEW RICHMOND  Mingo Central erased an early 6-0 deficit and went on to claim[Read More]
As protests continue to erupt in the streets of Kenosha, Wisconsin, and across the world in outrage against the horrific shooting of Jacob Bla Read more
Meeting today in Yerevan, Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan and Russian Ambassador to Armenia Ivan Volynkin discussed ways to expand economic relations and work underway for the upcoming meeting, in Yerevan, of the Armenian-Russian Inter-Governmental Committee.

According to the Armenian governments press office, the two also discussed ways to spur greater business ties in tourism, agriculture and small scale aviation.
ROME  The off-ramp from State Route 365 eastbound to East Dominick Street in the city of Rome was closed for several hours Tuesday following a tractor trailer accident, according to the Oneida County Sheriffs Office.

Deputies say at approximately 7:24 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 6, 41-year-old Luciano Kanga of Jacksonville, Florida, was driving a 2015 International Tractor eastbound on State Route 365 when he allegedly fell asleep and drifted onto the exit ramp to East Dominick Street.

Deputies say Kanga was traveling too fast for the road conditions and the tractor trailer went across the road and struck the guiderail, then slid off the road and down into an embankment.

The off-ramp was closed for several hours as crews worked to remove the tractor trailer form the scene.

Deputies say Kanga was not injured in the crash, and he was issued a citation to appear in Rome City Court at a later date.

The Rome Fire Department, New York State Police and the state Department of Transportation also assisted at the scene.
ROME, N.Y. - The Oneida County Sheriff's Office was investigating a bomb threat at Premier Aviation Tuesday evening.

Authorities are calling it a "non-specific threat" that was called in around 6:15 P.M. Tuesday.

Members of the sheriff's office responded after it was reported that someone made a verbal threat to a worker at the facility. All personnel were evacuated from the building, and the building was swept by a canine unit and officers. It was cleared about 30 minutes later.

The investigation is ongoing, and no arrests have been made so far.




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The former Social Street School on the corner of East School and Social Streets in Woonsocket.
Sally Snowman, keeper of Boston Lighthouse, observes the rotation of lighthouses 1859 Fresnel lens on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor. Boston Light is the last permanently manned Coast Guard lighthouse in the country.
Indonesia 'can meet needs with nuclear power'

07 February 2018

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UPDATED - This article has been updated to include comments made at the same event by Kurtubi Umar of the House of Representatives' Commission VII.

World Nuclear Association Director General Agneta Rising said today that nuclear power can help Indonesia meet its economic, energy and environmental goals. Speaking at the opening of World Nuclear Spotlight Indonesia 2018, in Jakarta, Rising said she welcomed the Indonesian government's commitment to supporting innovative nuclear technology.

Rising speaking at World Nuclear Spotlight Indonesia 2018 (Image: Batan)

"I welcome the governments commitment to supporting innovative nuclear technology, but Indonesia can meet its more immediate energy objectives with cost-effective reactor designs already proven and deployed worldwide." Rising told delegates at the conference.

Indonesia needs to double its electricity generation capacity over the next ten years, and continue that expansion beyond 2050, to improve access to electricity and meet the demand of its growing economy and population, the London-based organisation said. At the same time Indonesia needs to tackle high levels of air pollution and deliver on the commitment made at the COP 21 climate change conference to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 29% by 2030, it added.

Indonesia has strong public support for nuclear energy and has committed to developing an experimental high temperature reactor, I-EPR. This could lead to new nuclear technologies that would supply electricity, desalinate water and provide district heating and industrial process heat, it said. By also committing to a programme of new build based on current technology Indonesia could benefit from nuclear generation sooner and develop skills that would be transferable to its advanced nuclear programme, it added.

Indonesia's National Atomic Energy Agency (Batan) is promoting the introduction of nuclear power plants to help meet the county's demand for power. It envisages the start-up of conventional large light-water reactors on the populous islands of Bali, Java, Madura and Sumatra from 2027 onwards. In addition, it is planning small HTGRs (up to 100 MWe) for deployment on Kalimantan, Sulawesi and other islands to supply power and heat for industrial use.

Speaking at the event, Kurtubi Umar of the Commission VII - a special parliamentary committee devoted to energy and mining within Indonesia's House of Representatives - said the commission has urged the government to immediately include nuclear power in the country's electricity system.

"A few weeks ago, we took a political stance that the House of Representatives Commission VII urge the government to include nuclear power plants in the national electricity system," Kurtubi said. He added that the committee has called for the House of Representatives to revise legislation on the National Energy Policy "which puts nuclear as a last resort".

Commission VII also encourages the House of Representatives to accelerate the launch of nuclear power plant projects with priority given to locations already identified by studies carried out by Batan. The commission also wants Batan to continue conducting site studies in other potrentail areas, such as West Kalimantan, East Kalimantan and West Nusa Tenggara.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

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When the Social Democrats talk against austerity, every worker knows that a new round of social attacks is imminent.

With the coalition negotiations in the final stretch, Social Democratic Party (SPD) leader Martin Schulz stepped in front of the cameras yesterday and announced an agreement on European policy between his party and the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Christian Social Union (CSU). (The two parties are known collectively as the Union). The result was a much-needed signal for a new departure for Europe. Successes from the SPD point of view are more investments, an investment budget for the euro zone and an end to the austerity dictates.

That was obviously a lie. Only a few minutes later, the CDU Economic Council clarified that the adopted chapter on European politics was by no means the end of the austerity dictates. European policy would even in a grand coalition not be made at SPD headquarters, Economic Council Secretary General Wolfgang Steiger (CDU) told Reuters.

In fact, there are no fundamental differences between the Willy Brandt Haus (the SPD headquarters) and the CDU headquarters in matters of fiscal policy. Both the SPD and the Union plan to intensify the austerity policy through which they have already plunged millions of workers and young people in Germany and throughout Europe into poverty and unemployment in recent years. The exploratory paper issued in the first phase of coalition talks included phrases such as, We want to strengthen the EUs competitiveness in the context of globalization, and, We want to push for fiscal control in the EU.

According to media reports, the Union and SPD have agreed in their coalition paper, which is expected to be presented today, to regulate banks less strictly. With regards to Brexit, they agreed that Germany, as the EUs financial center, should be made more attractive to banks and international finance. In addition, the notorious Black Zero (Schwarze Null) of former Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble will remain in place. Together with the SPDs Hartz reforms, it has made Germany one of the most socially unequal countries in Europe.

Behind Schulzs Departure for Europe stands a deeply reactionary political agenda. The SPD and its chairman are pursuing the goal of deepening the ongoing social counterrevolution, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, and transforming the European Union from an economic into a military alliance in order to impose its imperialist interests on its international rivals.

Already at the SPD special party conference in January, Schulz called for the speedy implementation of a common European military and great power policy in close collaboration with France. Only a strong and determined SPD can make our country and Europe strong... Its about a lot, he shouted at the delegates. Europe is waiting for a Germany that is aware of its responsibility for Europe and acts decisively, and that will not be possible without the SPD. The proposals of French President Emmanuel Macron would be on the table.

The anti-social impact of these proposals has been reiterated in the past week. On Thursday, French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe and Minister of Public Finance Gerald Darmanin announced a comprehensive attack on civil servants. It aims to completely remove the legal status of workers rights established after the liberation of France from Nazi occupation. The Macron government is planning massive layoffs, a weakening of civil servant status, performance-related pay and the increased use of contracted employees instead of lifetime civil servants.

This offensive is enthusiastically supported by the ruling class in Germany. Now Macron wants to slaughter Frances sacred cows, cheered the German daily Die Welt and demanded similar measures in Germany. Here, too, many public employees work at the federal, state and local levels. Together with the 1.85 million officials, it is about 4.6 million. The cost of around 250 billion euros per year is about one-fifth of government spending.

There is no doubt that the SPD and the Union parties are planning savings on this scale in order to free up the necessary billions for their desired military upgrades. The comments of influential security politicians show that the coalition partners are discussing a comprehensive armaments program behind the backs of the population that evokes memories of the Wehrmachts buildup in the 1930s.

Crucially, since 2014, German policy has taken a different course, not so much because it was announced in speeches or coalition agreements, but because the situation requires it, wrote the president of the Federal Academy for Security Policy (BAKS), Karl-Heinz Kamp, in a guest post in the German weekly Focus.

In other words, the policy of the next government is determined not by the promises of the SPD and CDU/CSU or by what they will write into the coalition agreement, but by the international crisis of capitalism and the reaction of the ruling class to it. With Russias aggression in the east and the chaos in the Mediterranean there are again direct threats, wrote Kamp.

Then he added approvingly: [T]he German defence budget is rising again, and so are the expenses for the police, the intelligence services and for development aid. Also, new military equipment has been procured. In the last four years, the Bundestag approved arms projects for around 32 billion eurosin the previous legislative period it was only 6 billion. In early 2016, parliament was presented with an investment plan worth 130 billion euros, with 1,500 concrete individual projects ranging from the protective vest to battle tanks.

The hollow promises made by the Union and the SPD in recent dayssuch as spending more money on education, housing and social affairsare simply intended to disguise their reactionary program. The ruling class fears the growing resistance among workers and youth against their anti-social and militarist policies. While the SPD and the Union parties want to bring the coalition talks to a quick conclusion, the unions are desperately working to prevent a repetition of last weeks massive strikes in the metal and electrical industry. Handelsblatt reported on a possible agreement between IG Metall and the bosses for today.

The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei (Socialist Equality Party of Germany) bases its call for new elections on the growing opposition to social cuts, militarism and dictatorship. The strikes in the metal and electrical industries must be continued and linked to the broadest possible mobilisation of the working class throughout Europe and internationally on the basis of a socialist programme. The ruling class in Germany must not be allowed to bring to power the most right-wing government since the overthrow of the Nazi regime in order to prepare for new wars and social attacks.
The last several years have seen a significant growth in the population of homeless people across the United States. At the same time, there has been an intensification of police harassment of the homeless and those who provide them with aid.

In recent weeks, the WSWS has documented several instances of this in California, where the crisis is especially acute, including the initiation of efforts to clear out an encampment of hundreds of people living in tents and makeshift shelters along the Santa Ana River in Anaheim and the arrests of 12 activists outside San Diego for providing food to the homeless in a public park.

According to a recent analysis of police data by the Los Angeles Times, arrests of homeless people in Los Angeles went up by 31 percent from 2011 to 2016, increasing from one in ten to one in six of all detentions. In this same period, the number of homeless people living in Los Angeles County has increased from 39,000 to 58,000. In the city proper, the population has increased by 75 percent since 2011. Meanwhile, the death rate of those living on the streets of Los Angeles has almost doubled just since 2013.

Moreover, there are numerous tickets that can be written for small infractions that put disproportionate pressure on the homeless. For example, a ticket for sleeping on the sidewalk can cost $238 after California administrative fees, according to the Times.

In addition to putting serious financial strain on those who can least afford it, this has made failure to appear in court by far the most common charge among those arrested, more frequent than possession of a controlled substance or parole violation combined, the next two most common charges, respectively.

Several residents at the homeless encampment in Anaheim that the WSWS interviewed last week reported that they or someone they knew there had recently received a ticket for minor infractions.

The increased harassment of the homeless is key component of the efforts to gentrify downtown Los Angeles, which is just a few blocks away from Skid Row, the largest concentration of homeless people in the state.

According to the real estate site Zillow, there are only a few one-bedroom apartments in Downtown LA that rent for less than $2,000 a month, and none under $1,700. The median price is closer to $2,500. Rent for fully half of Los Angeles residents is considered unaffordable.

Given the astronomical cost of rent, vacancy in Downtown is at a 17-year high, with some 12 percent of units sitting empty. Among those, some are owned and see occasional use, but are otherwise empty for most of the year.

However, the high vacancy rate in Downtown is unique to that area. Very low vacancy rates in the rest of the state are one of the main forces putting upward pressure on rents and housing prices. But this too is also a consequence of the fact that it is less profitable to build additional and affordable housing than to undertake other construction projects.

A recently passed and much-touted linkage fee proposed by Los Angeles Democratic Mayor Eric Garcetti is expected to bring in $100 million per year from developers to be spent on affordable housing projects.

The fee is expected to cover the building and maintenance of only 1,700 affordable units per year. At this rate, holding population growth rates and other factors constant, the fee would see Los Angeles have affordable housing for all of its residents after 300 years.

Even if this affordable units materialize they would represent a mere pittance that will do little good for anyone struggling to make ends meet, on the street or otherwise. In order to make rent for workers in Los Angeles affordabletypically defined as costing less than one third of a households incomethere would need to be over 500,000 such units created, according to the nonprofit California Housing Partnership Corporation.

In the meantime, there is a near record-breaking amount of construction in downtown, but the new residential buildings are primarily luxury apartments and condos, most of which require an individual to have an annual income of over $100,000 to be considered affordable. One of the construction projects, called Oceanwide Plaza, costs $1 billionby itself, ten times as much as the expected annual income from the linkage feeand is expected to finish at the end of this year. Its housing will be exclusively luxury condos, and it will also contain a 5-star hotel.

The explosion in the homeless population while vacancy rates in Downtown LA soar, combined with the fact that any significant affordable housing projects have been rejected by major developers, is a testament to the irrationality of the capitalist system.

The resources to provide adequate housing for everyone exist, as is evidenced by the massive development projects currently underway. If a complex like the Oceanwide Plaza, which spans an entire city block and boasts twin 40-story towers, can be built in the space of a few years, then the means exist for the construction of an equivalent amount of affordable housing. However, anything that impedes private profit is ruled out of hand.

The fact that the only response to the housing crisis by the Democratic Party is a politically expedient token measure makes clear that there are no options that genuinely address the issues confronting society that do not collide head-on with the profit motive.
The anti-immigrant charade playing out in Washington on the eve of the February 8 deadline for a federal budget deal gives a sense of the xenophobic climate that will follow from whatever right-wing agreement the two parties reach on immigration.

After a meeting with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday, Trumps Chief of Staff John Kelly denounced 1.1 million immigrant youth who did not sign up for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), calling them too afraid or too lazy to get off their asses.

Kelly made these statements after denouncing the DACA program, which covers roughly 800,000 of the 1.9 million undocumented young people brought to the United States in their childhoods, calling it unconstitutional. Trump would not extend the program beyond the March 5 deadline, at which point recipients will face deportation, Kelly said.

This deadline is fast approaching, and President Trump indicated yesterday that he was willing to provoke a shutdown to secure far right-wing anti-immigration proposals in any appropriations deal. Id love to see a shutdown if we cant get this stuff taken care of, Trump said at a roundtable meeting highlighting the dangers of the Salvadoran gang MS-13 in an attempt to portray immigrants as criminals.

If we dont have a wall, were never going to solve this problem, he said yesterday, referring to MS-13. I would shut it down over this issue. If we dont straighten out our border, we dont have a country.

Employing a term usually reserved for the subject of fishing, Trump said, They just come in so far, so easy. And then you have catch and release. You catch people, you have to release them right away for court proceedings, he complained. In fact, the journey across the US-Mexico border isnt so easy. Up to 27,000 immigrants have died in the desert border region over the last twenty years.

One concrete change emerged from yesterdays roundtable meeting: Trump established the National Vetting Center, which the White House says will better identify individuals seeking to enter the country who present a threat to national security, border security, homeland security, or public safety. Marrying the language of the bipartisan war on terror with the anti-immigration drive, this new branch of the national security apparatus will certainly block untold thousands of immigrants escaping violence and poverty from entering the US.

These programs are increasingly justified by calling attention to MS-13, a deadly drug gang that has become the central bogeyman in the anti-immigrant crackdown. Founded in the jails of Los Angeles, thousands of US deportees found fertile soil trafficking drugs to America through the impoverished Central American country, ravished by decades of US-backed dictators and death squads.

In his state of the union speech last month, Trump highlighted a murder committed by MS-13 gang members who took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as illegal, unaccompanied minors.

The attack on unaccompanied minorsi.e., children who cross the border without their parentsmarks a new low in the bipartisan attack on immigrants. At yesterdays roundtable discussion, Republican Congressman Peter King called for in-depth vetting not only of unaccompanied minors, but of their host familiesoften distant relatives of the youth, their only connection in the US.

A disproportionate number of the MS-13 members are unaccompanied minors, King said. Barack Obama jailed tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors, many in for-profit prisons, who attempted to cross the border during the 2014 surge of violence in Central America.

More recently, in 2017, the Trump administration called national attention to a violent rape of a 14-year-old girl allegedly committed in a high school bathroom by two undocumented youth18-year-old Henry Sanchez and 17-year-old Jose Montano. Assistant States Attorney Mary Herdman said at the time, We have been shown some photos of both of the defendants phones of them flashing MS gang signs. The government held the youths without bail and arrested one of their fathers for deportation as retribution.

Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced in a nationally televised press conference last May, Its horrendous and horrible and disgusting what this young woman in Rockville [Maryland] went through. He said Trumps mass deportation plan was a priority because of tragedies like this and that immigration pays its toll on our people.

As it turned out, both boys were completely innocent. Charges were dropped when surveillance cameras showed that the girl had lied about the boys activity. But the damage was donea Breitbart-backed campaign ensured a wave of anti-immigrant threats in the Virginia area where the rape allegations surfaced.

Beyond a series of pro-forma tweets, the Democratic Party has not lifted a finger to criticize Trumps racist statements. The only reason why DACA beneficiaries still do not have protection as the March 5 deadline approaches is because the Democrats ended the stunt shutdown in January without securing any gains. Since the shutdown, the Democratic Party has spent its entire political capital denouncing the Republicans for questioning the Democrats attempt to bill Trump as a dupe of Russia.

Speaking yesterday, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer had no response to Trumps anti-immigrant ravings, saying only Trumps threat to shut down the government speaks for itself. Earlier in the day, Schumer told the press that We are closer to an agreement than we have ever been, referring to a Republican proposal that would drastically increase military spending but may face a presidential veto.
Maldives President Abdulla Yameen on Monday declared a 15-day state of emergency, suspending democratic rights and arresting two Supreme Court judges. The draconian measure was in response to a Supreme Court order on February 1 to immediately release jailed opposition MPs, including former President Mohamed Nasheed and eight other political leaders.

The latest political turmoil in the Maldives is part of the deepening conflict between the Yameen government and the parliamentary opposition led by the pro-US Nasheed. In line with US and Indian geopolitical intrigues against China, Nasheed opposes close strategic and economic relations with Beijing and is fighting for removal of Yameens government.

Nasheed issued a statement yesterday calling on India to militarily intervene. We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, it stated. He also urged the US to ban all financial transactions by the Maldives government leaders and, in an appeal to India and the US, added: We must remove him [Yameen].

Last Thurdays unanimous Supreme Court ruling favouring the Maldives opposition was a major blow to the Yameen government. Prior to last weeks order the Supreme Court backed Yameens authoritarian rule. Its sudden about-face was in response to intense pressure from the US, the European Union and India that have backed the opposition campaign.

The Supreme Court order would remove the current legal obstacles preventing Nasheed from contesting the presidential election due later this year. It declared that prosecutors and judges had been unduly influenced to conduct politically motivated investigations into the accusations against Nasheed and other opposition leaders.

The ruling also restored 12 MPs to their seats. They were sacked by Yameens Progressive Party after they defected to opposition last yeara move that effectively handed a majority to the opposition.

Fighting for his political survival, Yameen declared in a special television address that the court verdict was an obstruction of the very ability of the state to function. Justifying the crackdown, he said that the state of emergency was necessary in order to expose a plot and a coup against his government.

As soon as the state of emergency was declared, security forces entered the Supreme Court premises, arresting Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge Ali Hameed. Abdul Gayoom Maumoon, the half-brother of Yameen and the countrys authoritarian ruler from 1978 until 2011, was also arrested.

The emergency decree gives the security forces sweeping powers of arrest and detention, curtails the authority of the judiciary, scraps immunity for Supreme Court judges and bans public gatherings and protests. The police and military have already used batons and pepper spray against protesting opposition supporters.

Late last night the Maldives government announced that the remaining three Supreme Court judges had revoked last Thursdays order. In a statement, the judges declared that they had reversed the order in the light of concerns raised by the President.

Yameen had opposition leader Nasheed jailed for 13 years on trumped-up charges concerning his arbitrary removal of a former chief justice. Nasheed was released in January 2016 under the pressure from US and Britain and since then the opposition has intensified its campaign to oust Yameen.

Pitching for support from the US and India, Nasheed declares that, under Yameen, the Maldives is on the verge of becoming Beijings colony. China, he claims, is buying up Maldives land, key infrastructure and effectively buying up our sovereignty.

Yesterday Indias external affairs ministry issued a statement declaring that it was disturbed by the declaration of a state of emergency and the suspension of constitutional rights of the people. But to date, New Delhi has not responded Nasheeds call for military intervention.

Indias has no concern for the democratic rights in the Maldives. Rather New Delhi is determined to become the regional strongman and that means undermining Chinese political and economic influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Although the Maldives is a tiny archipelago of 1,192 islands with a population just over 400,000, it is strategically situated in the India Ocean. It sits astride key sea-lanes from Middle East and Africa to South East Asia and East Asia used by China, Japan, South Korea and India with access to energy and mineral supplies.

India has repeatedly voiced concern about the Maldives close relations with China, and in particular its free trade agreement with Beijing last December. Yameen sent Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim to New Delhi to try to reassure the Indian government but to no avail.

Writing yesterday in the Hindustan Times, Constantino Xavier, head of the pro-US Carnegie India think tank, called on India to intervene. Entitled India must play hardball if it wants to be part of the Maldives return to stability, the article declared, Delhi should implement sequential pressure that deploys mediation, sets clear targets contingent on red lines, and balances inducements with punitive measure In the most extreme scenario, India could execute a military intervention.

In response to the state of emergency declaration, the US National Security Council warned: The Maldivian government and military must respect the rule of the law, freedom of expression and democratic institutions. The world is watching. The US State Department issued a similar message, criticising Yameen for jailing opposition leaders and suppressing human rights.

Like New Delhi, Washingtons overriding concern is to install a pro-Western government in Maldives that serves its strategic interests. President Trump has stepped up the confrontational policy of the previous Obama administration towards China throughout Asia.

China has developed close relations with the Maldives to counter Washingtons aggressive moves. Its ambitious One Belt One Road (OBOR) envisages a huge expansion of infrastructure to link the Eurasian landmass, as well as Africa, both by land and sea. Yameen has declared his support for the project.

This week Beijing declared that it was watching the situation in the Maldives closely. Foreign affairs ministry spokesman Geng Shu said that the relevant parties [in the Maldives] can properly resolve the differences through dialogue and consultation.

The political crisis and intense in-fighting in the Maldives ruling elite has brought into sharp focus the intense geo-political rivalry in the Indo-Pacific as the US intensifies its strategic drive against China.
Polish President Andrzej Duda signed into law Tuesday a bill censoring free speech about the Holocaust, after it has been passed by the lower and upper houses of the Polish parliament.

The bill criminalizes the use of the term Polish death camp for death camps such as Auschwitz or Sobibor that were built by the Nazis in occupied Poland during the Second World War. Both Polish and foreign citizens can be punished with up to three years in prison for using this term. The bill also penalizes people who are deemed to be ascribing crimes against the Jews to the Polish nation or the Polish state.

The law is a far-reaching assault on free speech. Even while it formally states that scientific and artistic creations are exempted, it will not only stifle public discourse on major issues such as Polish anti-Semitism and pogroms by Poles against Jews, but also impede scientific research.

For instance, a Holocaust survivor whose relatives were murdered by Poles or handed over by Poles to the Nazis could now be put on trial if his or her testimony could be interpreted as ascribing blame to the Polish nation.

The law will have massive implications for public education and public discussion. Moreover, there is little doubt that it is but a first step toward much further restrictions of free speech and scientific research into this and other parts of Polish history.

Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, the curator of the core exhibit of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, has warned of the chilling effects that this law would have on scientific research. Other historians, including Barbara Engelking, one of the main experts of the history of the Warsaw Ghetto, have also spoken out against the bill. So have several foundations, among them the Center for Research on the Holocaust in Poland, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Yad Vashem in Israel.

In spite of this criticism, representatives of the ruling Law and Justice Party (PiS) and Polish President Duda continue to defend the bill adamantly. Duda declared in a televised address that the bill protects Polish interests ... our dignity, the historical truth ... so that we are not slandered as a state and as a nation.

Jarosaw Kaczynski, the head of PiS, argued that the bill is being interpreted totally wrong. It would penalize everyone blaming the Polish nation but not someone who says that somewhere, in some village, some place, a Jewish family or one Jewish person was murdered. I'm saying this with pain and regret and with a sense of shame but such things did happen and we never denied that.

This is, of course, a blatant lie. PiS education minister Anna Zalewska has asserted publicly that she wasnt certain about who was responsible for two of the most notorious anti-Jewish pogroms that were committed by Poles, that of Jedwabne of 1941, and the Kielce pogrom of 1946 (more than a year after the destruction of the Third Reich).

Antoni Macierewicz, the countrys defense minister, who is considered the most powerful figure after Kaczynski himself, is a well-known anti-Semite and edited anti-Jewish publications in the 1990s which denied that pogroms such as the one in Kielce in the summer of 1946 were committed by Poles.

The entire campaign against the term Polish death camps started and initially focused on the figure of Jan Tomasz Gross, a Polish-American sociologist who kicked off a major public debate in Poland with his book on the pogrom of Jedwabne in the summer of 1941. This pogrom, which killed some 350 Jews, was carried out largely by Poles from the village and surrounding area, with the support of the Nazi occupiers.

Like thousands of Polish Jews, Gross was forced to leave the country with his family due to the anti-Semitic campaign by the Stalinist bureaucracy in 1968-69. Ever since his book came out, he has been the center of attacks by Polish nationalists and the far-right with implicit or overt anti-Semitic overtones. The campaign by PiS against him since 2015-16 has encouraged these forces, by portraying Gross deliberately as someone who would defame the Polish nation, an old trope of anti-Semites.

The language and argumentation of the bill need to be understood in this context. It deliberately picks up and caters to the argumentation of the Polish right, which traditionally has hidden its far-right views and anti-Semitism, usually only for a brief time, behind references to Poles who saved Jews or the deliberate Nazi murder of masses of Poles. To a hitherto unprecedented degree, their arguments are now being sanctioned and promoted by the state.

In a particularly scandalous incident of this campaign, the director of the state-run television station TVP 2, Marcin Wolski, suggested that the Nazi death camps should be called Jewish camps, asking rhetorically: Who managed the crematoria there? This despicable and cynical reference to the Sonderkommandos who were forced to manage the crematoria at gunpoint and were recruited from the camps prisoners, many of them Jewish, fell just short of the old fascist argument that the Jews themselves were to blame for the Nazi genocide.

On his show, Wolski also provided a platform for Rafa Ziemkiewicz, a well-known nationalist writer who calls himself an endek (adherent of Polands fascist endecja tendency which was founded by Roman Dmowski), and has published anti-Semitic slurs on his twitter account.

The PiS law has provoked outrage and disgust internationally, and for good reason. Yet workers and youth in Poland and internationally must not lend any credibility to the fraudulent outcries by the Israeli and American governments.

While now in a diplomatic feud with PiS, the Israeli government has uttered no word of condemnation of the historical revisionism that is being promoted by the right-wing Ukrainian government in Kiev, that was brought to power in a coup backed by the US and EU that involved fascist forces.

The US government has expressed disappointment about the bill, with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stating that the law adversely affects freedom of speech and academic inquiry.

Yet it is US imperialism that has been central to promoting and arming the far-right in both Ukraine and Poland. Poland has been a key military ally of the US ever since 1989, especially in the military build-up against Russia. Under Trump, the US government has started to openly back the project of reviving the Intermarium alliance against both Russia and Germany, an alliance that has historically been based on nationalist and far-right forces, led by Warsaw.

These forces are now openly supported by the governments in both Ukraine and Poland, which combine their support with the whitewashing of their bloody and criminal history. Since 2014, the Ukrainian government has issued a series of laws that glorify the far-right Ukrainian Insurrection Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, both of which were responsible for mass murders of Jews, often in complicity with the Nazis, and the mass murder of Poles. The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINP), which is funded by the government, actively promotes Holocaust revisionism.

The New York Times, which greeted the Kiev coup in February 2014 as a revolution and has covered up for these right-wing policies for years, has recently started publishing op-eds that express concern with these developments. In an op-ed in January, Lev Gorokin criticized the American Jewish communityincluding Jewish lawmakers in Washington for being largely silent about the widespread Holocaust distortion being carried out by Eastern European allies.

In early February, the Times published a piece by Marci Shore, a professor at Yale University, who criticized the PiS bill as a way for Poland to dig itself a memory hole. Shore has no right to lecture anyone about memory holes and historical revisionism. Like her husband, Timothy Snyder, she has authored countless articles, and toured conferences and think tanks, to glorify the right-wing Maidan uprising, promote anti-Russian sentiments, and spread lies about what was going on in Ukraine. As academic cheerleaders for the policies of US imperialism in Eastern Europe, she and her ilk in academia and the media share political responsibility for what is happening now in both Poland and Ukraine.

Such articles and statements such as the one by Rex Tillerson express a real concern not with historical truth or free speech, but about the fact that Washingtons most important allies in Eastern Europe for the war preparations against Russia are being discredited internationally and weakened domestically through their unabashed support for the far-right and Holocaust revisionism.

For the working class, the actions by the PiS government and the developments in Ukraine must serve as a warning of the forces that are being unleashed in the drive by US imperialism toward another world war.
On Monday CNN published a report detailing the discovery and subsequent suppression of a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memorandum discussing preparations for a chemical weapon attack at Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Sunday.

The incident illustrates the collaborative nature of the relationship between the mainstream media and the intelligence agencies as well as the ways in which Americas most popular annual sporting event has been used to justify the further militarization of society and the buildup of police-state powers.

In December, a CNN employee discovered the documents in question in the seatback pocket on a commercial flight. Known as an after action report, the papers detailed the results of two drills held in July and November simulating an anthrax attack in Minneapolis during the Super Bowl.

CNN reported that the documents were accompanied by the boarding pass and travel itinerary of Michael V. Walter, microbiologist and program manager of BioWatch, a highly classified DHS program that operates a nationwide aerosol detection system designed to provide an early warning of a biological attack across all levels of government, according to CNN.

Walter, who had previously worked for both CIA and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, has been the director of the program since 2009. CNN reports that other sensitive DHS documents, whose contents were not disclosed, were also found along with the report.

According to CNN, the selection of documents which they chose to report on review the results of the exercise and disputes among various agencies involved in the effectiveness of the BioWatch operation. The limited findings released by the network suggest that the program is ineffective and poorly coordinated.

The various law enforcement and emergency management agencies participating in the exercise were reportedly at odds over how many people would be exposed in the event of an attack. There was also a lack of awareness among the various agencies involved as to what the BioWatch program was intended to do. According to one excerpt of the report, some local law enforcement and emergency management agencies possess only a cursory knowledge of the BioWatch program and its mission.

Further excerpts from the DHS report state that there was confusion between participating agencies as to the meaning of various alerts and that there was a lack of understanding surrounding communication of the threats and the coordination of responses between the various participants. CNN quotes the document as reporting: This made it difficult for them to assess whether their city was at risk, and creates a situation where local officials are deciding on courses of action from limited points of view.

The highly secretive BioWatch program has been subject to criticism since its existence was first publicly acknowledged by President George W. Bush in 2003. According to CNN, more than $1 billion has been spent on the project with limited results.

An investigation conducted by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in 2013 concluded: After more than a decade of operation, DHS still lacks crucial data demonstrating the effectiveness of the current technology, and that several statements by DHS about the performance of the BioWatch program are disputed by other government scientists or contradicted by information obtained in this investigation.

The findings from the report selectively released by CNN in consultation with unnamed government officials directly contradict statements given to the network by DHS officials, who characterized the exercise as a resounding success.

The decision by CNN to withhold the report until after the Super Bowl illustrates the role of the mainstream media as collaborators with and spokespersons for the military intelligence apparatus. According to Mondays article, the network decided to withhold the story after consulting with DHS and being told that release could jeopardize security for the event. The article also states that the network decided to not to publish various sections of the report that DHS claims would be damaging to national security regardless of when it was published.

Just how the full release of the report prior to the Super Bowl could possibly imperil the event is left unexplained. As with all major sporting events in the US, the Super Bowl has become a highly militarized event involving thousands of heavily armed police and other security forces.

As the WSWS reported last week, Minneapolis was turned into a militarized zone in the week leading up to the event. Police were mobilized from across the state to patrol the streets while approximately 1,700 agents from the FBI, DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Customs and Border Protection, as well as the Minnesota National Guard. National Guard Humvees were placed at strategic checkpoints around the city while helicopters and fighter jets patrolled the skies. The notion that terrorists could somehow exploit the findings of the DHS report to launch an attack under such conditions is absurd.

The main impression is given that the primary purpose of CNNs article is to reprimand DHS for its carelessness. The article does not question the purpose of a simulated attack on a major city, nor does it seek to expose the antidemocratic character of the DHS as a whole. CNN has not offered any justification for suppressing the report, beyond the fact that they were requested to do so by DHS.

Indeed, the very circumstances under which CNN came into possession of the report are dubious. That the head of a classified government program would accidentally leave sensitive documents on an airplane to be subsequently discovered by an employee of CNN strains credibility. It is not out of the question that they were deliberately leaked by factions of the intelligence community opposed to the Trump administration in an attempt to further discredit the president and lay the groundwork for his removal in a palace coup.

Since the election of Trump last year there has been an ongoing conflict within the ruling class over how best to implement imperialist policy. CNN has aligned itself with the Democratic Party in this conflict, relentlessly pushing baseless claims that the Trump administration was elected due to interference on the part of the Russian government.

Those leading the anti-Russia campaign do not criticize the administration for its right-wing policies, but rather suggest that the president is incompetent and needs to be replaced with someone who can more reliably manage the interests of the capitalist elites without constantly stirring up the anger of the working class.

A quote from Juliett Kayyem, a former DHS employee and current contributor to CNN, is typical of this line of attack. Kayyem noted, The biggest consequence of this mistake may have less to do with terrorists knowing our vulnerabilities and more to do with confidence in the Department of Homeland Security. In the end, confidence in the federal government at a time of crisis is what the American public deserves.
Washington has reiterated unsubstantiated allegations that the Syrian government carried out multiple gas attacks against a rebel stronghold in the Damascus suburb of Eastern Ghouta, raising the prospect of a new US attack on forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The US State Department claimed Monday that it recorded six suspected chemical attacks in Syria over the past month, while the US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, launched a provocative campaign in the Security Council, demanding passage of a resolution condemning Damascus in the strongest terms for alleged acts about which no substantive evidence has been produced.

Russia opposed the statement, insisting that no perpetrators have been identified and accusing Washington of mounting a propaganda campaign against the Syrian government.

Senior US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AFP news service that a US military attack against the Syrian government was on the table and always feasible. President Donald Trump hasnt excluded anything, said one official, adding, Using military force is something that is still considered.

A second senior US official claimed that the Assad government was seeking new ways to deploy banned chemical weapons. It looks like they are trying to evolve for either military reasons or to escape accountability. It is incredibly important to stop that before it gets off the ground. The official added the absurd warning that the use of such weapons will spread to US shores, if we cannot stop it.

The Syrian government has denied any responsibility for chemical weapons attacks in Eastern Ghouta or elsewhere, pointing out that it eliminated its entire chemical weapons program under an agreement brokered by Washington and Moscow and confirmed by the United Nations and the international chemical weapons control agency in 2014.

It further charged that US-backed rebels linked to Al Qaeda and other Islamist groups supported by the West and its regional allies had repeatedly used such weapons. Syria confirms that the US, Britain and France bear full responsibility for obstructing the international investigation of the use of toxic chemical materials by covering the crimes of terrorist groups in Syria, the acting charge daffaires of Syrias permanent delegation to the UN, Munzer Munzer, told the Security Council Monday.

Last April, the Trump administration seized upon unverified reports of an alleged chemical attack by a government warplane on the village of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province to launch 59 cruise missiles against Syrias Shayrat Airbase.

The threat that the US will launch an even more devastating attack is fueled by the increasing crisis confronting Washingtons intervention in Syria as well as the global strategy enunciated by both the White House and the Pentagon, shifting from the two-decades-old war on terrorism to the preparation for great power conflicts.

This shift finds its most immediate expression in Syria, where the US had justified its deployment of some 2,000 troops in the name of combating the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). With the routing of ISIS in both Iraq and Syria, however, US officials have made it clear that Washington intends to maintain a permanent occupation of Syria through the formation of a 30,000-strong border protection force and the carving out of a US zone of influence comprising roughly a third of Syrian territory along the countrys northern and eastern borders with Turkey and Iraq. The principal aim of this strategy is to counter Russian and Iranian influence in the region and lay the groundwork for a broader war for US hegemony over the oil-rich Middle East.

Washingtons reliance upon the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia as the mainstay of its so-called border force, however, has provoked the increasingly bloody intervention of Turkey against the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in Syrias northwest and the threat to extend it eastward to the city of Manbij, which is a base for US special operations troops operating together with the YPG.

The Syrian government reported Tuesday that the Turkish invasion had thus far claimed the lives of nearly 150 civilians, while leaving roughly 350 more wounded.

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday issued a statement defying US warnings against any Turkish advance on Manbij. In an address to the countrys ruling Justice and Development Partys (AKP) parliamentary group, Erdogan dismissed US claims that it was in Syria to combat ISIS. We dont believe this, he said. It means you have calculations against Turkey and Iran, and maybe Russia.

Erdogan charged that both the Obama and Trump administrations had assured Ankara that the US would withdraw from Manbij and restrict the presence of the YPG, which the Turkish government considers a branch of the outlawed Turkish Kurdish separatist group, the PKK, to the eastern shore of the Euphrates River.

You allow them to settle and tell us Dont come to Manbij. We will come to Manbij to hand it over to its real owners, the Turkish president said, reiterating a policy of driving the Syrian Kurdish population from Turkeys border and replacing them with displaced Syrian Arab refugees.

Employing the right-wing nationalist demagogy that has characterized AKP rule, Erdogan told his audience that Turkey was confronting the same enemies that stripped the Ottoman Empire of five million square kilometers of territory.

They have forced us so much that in the end they have awakened a sleeping giant. They should know this. The Turkish people are advancing to a new era. No state or international organization can question the power of Turkey any more, he said.

The invasion of Syria has been accompanied by a repressive crackdown within Turkey itself. By its own admission, the government has detained at least 600 people, some of them for posting antiwar sentiments on social media. Meanwhile, Turkish media figures and entertainers are being subjected to a virulent campaign to force them to make statements in solidarity with Turkish troops in Syria.

Both US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor Gen. H.R. McMaster are slated to arrive in Turkey early next week for urgent talks with the Erdogan government aimed at forestalling an armed confrontation between the two ostensible NATO allies.

Even as the tensions continue to escalate between Washington and Ankara, the threat of a confrontation between the US and Russia in Syria is also mounting in the wake of last Saturdays shootdown of a Russian fighter jet over Idlib province.

Russian officials reported that they have recovered both the wreckage of the downed Su-25 jet and the remains of its pilot, Maj. Roman Filippov, who managed to eject but was killed fighting elements of the Al Nusra Front, the Syrian Al Qaeda affiliate, after he reached the ground. The Russian Defense Ministry indicated that it intended to carry out an investigation to determine what kind of missile struck the plane. The most likely source of the attack was a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile, or MANPAD, supplied by the CIA to the so-called rebels dominated by Al Qaeda.

In the wake of the shootdown, Russia has stepped up its airstrikes against positions held by the Islamist militias in Idlib province.

Under these conditions, Washingtons firing of another barrage of cruise missilesor worseover unsubstantiated claims of Syrian government chemical weapons attacks carries with it the real prospect of igniting a military clash between the US and Russia, the worlds two major nuclear powers.
The three big Gulf airlines are looking to Asia as they try to leave the turbulence of 2017 behind.

Trump administration policies, tension with American rivals and regional political upheaval disrupted business at Emirates, Qatar Airways and Etihad last year.

The Gulf carriers have grown rapidly over the past decade by taking advantage of their geographical location to build hubs connecting Asia with Europe and North America.

Now they're looking at ways to grow further within Asia after running into some transatlantic headwinds.

"Despite the unpleasantries, 2017 set in motion strategic developments likely to unfurl during 2018," research firm CAPA - Centre for Aviation said in a recent report. "Asia-Pacific is set to receive more Gulf growth than originally expected," it added.

Related: Big U.S. airlines claim win in Qatar subsidy dispute

Speaking to CNNMoney at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, Qatar's finance minister said the national carrier is set to launch 10-15 new routes in 2018.

Doha to Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, is one of them, part of Qatar Airways "continued expansion in Southeast Asia," the airline said in a recent statement.

It launched a direct flight to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in 2017 and added a route to Pattaya in January, becoming the first Middle East carrier to fly to the Thai city. It will also start flying to Malaysia's Penang this month.

Qatar Airways is emerging from a particularly rocky year. In addition to being hit by a U.S. electronics ban and travel ban, the airline lost 18 destinations -- and 50 flights a day -- after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic and transport links with Qatar in June.

"Qatar Airways continues to pursue growth without its key neighboring markets to use as source traffic, while being forced to make significant detours on many routes," CAPA said in its report. "Once they are restored -- as logic suggests they eventually will -- this will provide a boost for the new Qatar," it added.

Also looking east is Etihad. It has announced one new route this year, to Baku in Azerbaijan.

The airline had a rough 2017 as partner airlines in Europe -- Air Berlin and Alitalia -- ran into deep financial trouble. A new group CEO took charge last month.

Analysts say the airline may need a period of reflection before going after new business again aggressively.

"With a new leadership in place, Etihad will be focused on assessing and restructuring their stakes and partnerships with other carriers," said Rob Watts, managing director at Aerotask, a global aviation consultancy firm. "This is expected to result in the carrier continuing to reduce its frequencies on various routes."

Related: Airbus A380: Will $16B Emirates order save the superjumbo?

Etihad -- like its UAE rival Emirates -- also had to cut flights to the U.S. last year after demand dropped.

Emirates has since seen an uptick and reinstated the U.S. flights. It also added a second direct service to Newark, citing a "steady rebound in customer demand."

But the Dubai-based airline is also getting closer to local low-cost partner FlyDubai. Since October, they have announced 81 codeshare flights, and the majority of those destinations are in Asia.

"We are expecting to see more cooperation along the lines of codeshare and partnerships among Gulf carriers in 2018, rather than consolidation," said Watts of Aerotask.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Terre Haute business leader came together to celebrate progress in the community.

The Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce held the "Groundhog Day Economic Forecast."

The event gives business leaders the opportunity to plan for the year ahead.

Leaders also talked about how to attract more businesses and talent to the area.

Elaine Bedel was the featured speaker.

She said the area has a lot to offer.

The program also focused on how leaders can help local people learn the skills to fill highly specialized jobs.
Editor's Note: This story contains extremely graphic images of dead and wounded people.

Bekaa Valley, Lebanon (CNN) -- The rocky, plowed hillside is scattered with clues of what happened that January night. A woman's scarf. A diaper. Empty cans of tuna fish. A plastic bag of sugar. An empty box of Turkish chocolate biscuits. A single cheap Syrian-made woman's shoe. Several white, mud-spattered rubber gloves.

It was here, last month, that 17 Syrians froze to death in a night-time snowstorm while trying to cross the mountains into Lebanon.

Three-year-old Sarah is one of the few who survived. She now lies in a bed in the Bekaa Hospital in nearby Zahleh, two intravenous tubes taped to her small right arm. Frostbite left a large dark scab on her forehead. A thick bandage covers her right cheek. Another bandage is wound around her head to cover her frostbitten right ear.

Sarah doesn't speak. She doesn't make a sound. Her brown eyes dart around the room -- curious, perhaps confused. Her father, Mishaan al Abed, sits by her bed, trying to distract her with his cell phone.

No one has told Sarah that her mother Manal, her five-year-old sister Hiba, her grandmother, her aunt and two cousins died on the mountain.

"Sometimes she says, 'I want to eat.' That's all," Abed says. Sarah hasn't mentioned anything about her ordeal, and he is hesitant to ask her.

An unfortunate reunion

Until now, Sarah hadn't seen her father for two and a half years. He left Syria for Lebanon and found work as a house painter, leaving his family behind.

Mishaan al Abed sent money back to his wife and kids, who stayed outside the town of Abu Kamal, on the Syrian-Iraqi border.

ISIS controlled Abu Kamal from the summer of 2014 until last November, when it was retaken by Syrian government forces. Fighting still rages in the countryside around it, where Al Abed's family lived.

After their house was damaged, Abed's brother and his family, along with Abed's wife and two children, fled to Damascus. There they paid $4,000 -- a fortune for a poor family -- to a Syrian lawyer who they were told had the right connections with the army, intelligence and smugglers.

The plan was for them to be driven to the border in private cars on military-only roads. From there, says Abed, they were to walk with the smugglers for half an hour into Lebanon, where they would be met by other cars.

The plan started to fall apart when snow began to fall. The smugglers abandoned the group. The family lost their way and became separated. In the dark and the cold, most of them died. It's not clear how Sarah and a few others survived.

The only thing that is clear, says hospital director Dr. Antoine Cortas, is that "it is a miracle Sarah is still alive."

Hidden by the darkness and the snow was a house just a few hundred steps down the mountain.

Abed was expecting his family to cross over, but became concerned when he didn't hear from them. "I was told the army had arrested people trying to cross into Lebanon. I thought it must be them. Then the intelligence services sent me a picture. I identified her as my wife."

He opens the picture on his cell phone. It shows a lifeless woman curled up on the snow amidst thorn bushes, a red woolen cap on her head.

A struggle to cross over, a struggle to remain

More than a million Syrians have taken refuge in Lebanon, straining the resources of a country with a population of around six million. The Lebanese authorities have, to some extent, turned a blind eye to those entering the country illegally. But they have refused to allow relief groups to establish proper refugee camps, unlike Jordan and Turkey, for fear they will become permanent.

What pass for camps -- officially called "informal tented settlements" -- are ramshackle affairs. Syrians typically pay $100 to a landowner to build drafty, uninsulated breezeblock shelters with flimsy plastic tarpaulins as roofs.

Abu Farhan, a man in his sixties from Hama, in central Syria, lives in one of those shelters in a muddy camp outside the town of Rait, just a few kilometers from the Syrian border. His wife Fatima is ill. She is huddled next to a kerosene stove under a pile of blankets. Between coughing fits, she moans loudly. Farhan has had to borrow more than two million Lebanese pounds -- around $1,300 -- for her medical treatment.

Illness is just one of the perils here. Vermin, he says, is another. "There's everything here," he chuckles bitterly, "even things I've never seen before. Rats. Mice. Everything!"

The dilemma that Syrians in Lebanon face is glaringly clear. They're not welcome here, and it's difficult to scrape by. According to a recent report by the Norwegian Refugee Council, 71% of Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in poverty.

Point of no return

Some Syrians have returned home, but many, like Abu Musa, a man in his forties who lives in the same settlement as Farhan, insist that returning would be nothing short of suicidal. He comes from Maarat al-Numan, in Idlib province, where Syrian forces, backed by Russian warplanes, are waging an offensive against government opponents.

"Of course, I'd like to go back to Syria!" Musa exclaims, gesturing around his damp, cold hut as if that were reason enough to return home. "But Syria isn't safe. They're fighting in my town. My house has been destroyed."

And thus, Syrians continue to try to make their way to Lebanon, despite the very real risks.

"The people who are walking across the mountains, and taking days to cross the mountains in the middle of winter, are a testament to the fact that Syria is not safe," said Mike Bruce of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

"Until Syria is safe, until there is a lasting peace, people should not be going back to Syria."
The number of US forces in Iraq will fall after the government in Baghdad declared victory over ISIS, an Iraqi government spokesman told CNN.

On Monday, the US-led coalition fighting ISIS announced a "shift in focus" in its military campaign in Iraq. This meant US troops would be "gradually reduced," Iraqi government spokesman Saad al-Hadithi told CNN.

Last December, Iraq's military declared that it had "fully liberated" all of Iraq of "ISIS terrorist gangs" and retaken full control of the Iraqi-Syrian border.

"Enabled by accelerated successes following the liberation of Mosul, the Coalition will shift its focus in Iraq from enabling combat operations to sustaining military gains against Daesh (ISIS)," read the US-led Operation Inherent Resolve's statement.

The Pentagon said in December there were around 5,200 American forces in Iraq. Their ongoing presence is politically sensitive for Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who is facing national elections in March.

The coalition statement did not say where the forces would go, but the Trump administration announced last year that troop levels in Afghanistan would rise.

ISIS rapidly captured a large swath of territories in Iraq and Syria and declared an Islamic caliphate in 2014. At one pont, it held more than 34,000 square miles territory from the Mediterranean coast to south of Baghdad.

The campaign to eliminate ISIS's territorial foothold took nearly 25,000 coalition airstrikes in more than three years.

In 2003, an American-led invasion toppled Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and troops engaged in extended fighting across the country, battling an insurgency and later sectarian violence. At their peak, US troop levels in Iraq stood near 166,000.

The US combat mission in Iraq ended in 2010 but some American troops remained in the country to train and assist Iraqi forces.

"Our enduring presence as invited guests in Iraq will shift to focus more on policing, border control and military building capacity building. We will sustain the successful momentum and enhance the capacities of the Iraqi Security Forces in pursuing Daesh (ISIS), now and in the future," said coalition spokesman Army Colonel Ryan Dillon said n a tweet.

Iraq's government said that Iraqi authorities would coordinate US troop presence with the coalition. "Iraqi government will determine the level of the American presence and its nature for the next phase," al-Hadithi, the Iraqi government spokesman, told CNN.
Democrats are going to court in Nevada on Wednesday to try to stop a recall election that they fear could lead to new efforts to wipe out legislative majorities across the country.

Republicans in Nevada are seeking to recall two senators who were elected in 2016 -- without alleging any wrongdoing on the part of the senators.

Why oust Sens. Joyce Woodhouse and Nicole Cannizzaro? Because both are Democrats, and if the GOP can flip two seats, it will take control of the state Senate.

If the recall effort succeeds, it could provide a model to flip legislatures across the nation in the 20 states that allow the process, putting all narrowly divided legislative bodies in those states at risk.

In Washington state, Democrats' narrow majorities in the Senate and House could be in jeopardy. And the GOP's hold on the senates of Colorado and Minnesota could also be overturned through recalls.

"If we no longer have fixed terms of office and we can all just gather signatures and call elections anytime it suits us, you're going to see a very different type of system," said Marc Elias, the Democratic elections lawyer who is attempting to stop the Nevada recalls in court.

It would create a "banana republic system," Elias said. "Any state that allows for recall will be fair game if Republicans are able to succeed and turn an exceptional circumstance -- calling for a recall -- into the ordinary circumstance."

A district court judge is set to hear arguments about the validity of the recall efforts Wednesday. Elias said he will argue that some signers of the recall petition didn't understand the effort at the time and now want their names withdrawn.

Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a popular Republican, has opposed the recall effort, telling The Nevada Independent it would set a "dangerous precedent."

"It's never happened before, but it probably will likely become another typical arrow in the quiver for both parties," Sandoval said. "I hope it doesn't, but again, if it's successful, and the voters do recall these individuals, I can't see why all of them wouldn't use it going forward."

But Republican Senate leader Michael Roberson, who did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday, has supported the recall effort.

In an op-ed for The Las Vegas Review-Journal, he accused Democrats of backing a "radical agenda."

"After witnessing the most pro-felon, anti-jobs agenda in state history pushed by Senate Democrats, I believe all 11 current members of the Senate Democratic Caucus should be forced to stand for recall elections," Roberson wrote.

Recalls are rare -- but several have commanded national attention in recent decades.

In 2011, Democrats famously responded to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker signing into law strict anti-labor union measures by recalling Walker and four GOP state senators. The next year, Walker won his recall election.

California Democratic Gov. Gray Davis was recalled in 2003 in a series of events that put Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger in the governor's office.
WEBSTER COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) - A jail escapee from south Mississippi was sent to a Starkville hospital following a carjacking in Webster County. RELATED: Crime Stoppers offers reward for info about escaped inmate RELATED: Law enforcement search for escaped inmate Eugene Robinson | Photo: MDOC Eugene Robinson | Photo: MDOC

Eugene Robinson managed to escape the George County jail Saturday night after tying up an officer and stealing the officer's truck.

Since then, state law enforcement have been searching for him.

Webster County Investigator Landon Griffin says Robinson asked another person for a ride sometime near 7:30 a.m. in Webster County Wednesday.

Robinson is accused of trying to carjack the victim, which resulted in the victim firing six times at Robinson. However, he was only hit once.

Griffin says the driver is a concealed carry permit carrier.

Robinson was taken to a Starkville hospital. Webster County Sheriff Tim Mitchell described the wound as not serious. Before noon on Wednesday, he was discharged from the hospital and placed into the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections.


UPDATE 3/6/18 5:32 : After almost a month, the family of Keith Anderson is shocked that there are no updates on the investigation.

Coroner Carolyn Green said it could be up to a year before Anderson's autopsy report is returned.

Lee County Sheriff Jim Johnson said, they do not have any suspects at the time.

The the investigation is still on going.

UPDATE: Wednesday afternoon, Lee County Coroner Carolyn Green identified the victim as 46-year-old Keith Adam Anderson of Plantersville.

Anderson's body has been sent for an autopsy.

See the original article below.

PLANTERSVILLE, Miss. (WTVA) - Lee County investigators found a man dead in a Plantersville yard.
THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) - Thomasville Payroll Development Authority members are focused on finding tenants for their business park.

Tells us more about how PDA officials plan to attract businesses to the Rose City.

Currently the PDA has three prospects for the red Hills Business Park.

Lots there range from a couple of acres to up to 90 acres. Red Hills could accommodate up to 58 businesses.

Call centers, small distribution businesses, light manufacturing, and business offices are the ideal businesses for the park.

PDA Executive Director Shelley Zorn says it's very hard to get people to look at just land. Zorn says that could be the reason they have more interest in the caterpillar building as of now.

The business park was a $5 million investment, including a $500,000 grant from the One Georgia Authority, and the rest of the funding is from special purpose local option sales tax revenue.

PDA officials hope once one business opens its doors at the business park it will create a domino effect and attract other prospects.
Youth Career Event during WESTI Ag Days open to all youth

WORLAND  For the second year in a row, the University of Wyoming Washakie County Extension is hosting a Youth Ag Career Event during WESTI (Wyoming Extensions Strategically and Technologically Informative) Ag Days next week.

The Youth Ag Career Event will run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 14, at the Worland Community Center Complex. According to Washakie County 4-H Educator A...
MOSCOW, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The body of the Russian pilot who was killed in a mission in Syria on Saturday was brought back to Russia, Russia's Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

A Su-25 fighter jet was shot down by the Nusra Front militants when it overflew a de-escalation zone in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, and the pilot blew himself up with a grenade after being seriously wounded and surrounded by the militants, according to the ministry.

"The pilot, Major Roman Filipov, who died heroically in Syria on Feb. 3 has been brought back to Russia by the Russian military intelligence service in collaboration with our Turkish colleagues," the ministry said in a statement.

The funeral for Major Roman Filipov with military honors will be held on Thursday in the city of Voronezh, about 500 kilometers south of Moscow, the statement said.

The pilot will be awarded posthumously with the Hero of Russia title, the country's highest honorary title, the ministry said earlier.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 04:29:50|Editor: Lifang

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People walk past Bab al-Nasr Gate in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2018. War destroys people and homes in Syria, but amid the destruction, some old secrets get revealed. After the war, restoration efforts have started in the affected ancient sites in Aleppo. When volunteers started their work in Bab al-Nasr Gate, the layers which were added onto the stone ground and walls were cracked and in some parts destroyed, revealing the original structure and architecture of the gate and its exterior part. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)

by Hummam Sheikh Ali

ALEPPO, Syria, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- War destroys people and homes in Syria, but amid the destruction, some old secrets get revealed.

In the ancient part of Aleppo city in northern Syria, with the layer of modernity in some old buildings falling down, historic secrets started revealing themselves for the first time in hundreds of years.

When the war started raging in Aleppo, once the economic powerhouse of Syria, old marketplaces have been burnt and destroyed and the ancient gates at the walls of the old city have also sustained a great amount of destruction.

Bab al-Nasr, or the Gate of Victory, was among the ancient sites that have taken a strong beating during the war when the rebels were controlling that part of the city before they were dislodged in December 2016.

The Gate of Victory was built in 1212 and has become the most important gate guarding the northern walls of the old city of Aleppo, which has nine historic gates.

After the war, restoration efforts have started in old Aleppo, in some cases by volunteers who devoted their time and money to salvaging the heritage of their city.

Those who have worked to fix and restore the destroyed parts of the Gate of Victory called themselves the "Friends of Bab al-Nasr."

When they started their work, the layers which were added onto the stone ground and walls were cracked and in some parts destroyed, revealing the original structure and architecture of the gate and its exterior part.

The revealed parts included a holy shrine and a "defensive tower," which was used in times of war to defend the ancient city from foreign invaders.

As the additional layers and paintings on the original walls started falling out, workers at the site started peeling off the layers from the ground and walls completely and discovered holes in the walls that used to be a part of the gates' locks. The locks were deemed being used with a long wooden bar to completely seal the gate.

They also discovered a sort of a tunnel dug just behind the gate but did not find out what it was used for, as it was not mentioned in any historical literature.

The most important discovery, however, was a two-layer staircase hidden behind a wall leading to the rooftop of the gate's small compound.

Ala Sayyed, a historical researcher and an active member of the Friends of Bab al-Nasr, told Xinhua that their discovery would be an important addition to the history books.

"During the restoration process, the staircase was covered by a wall here. But as cracks started appearing on the wall, dust started falling out of the cracks, the wall started to fall out and we discovered a hole that was closed for hundreds of years leading to a historic staircase from the original structure of the building which was completely concealed and dates back to 800 years ago," he said.

This staircase leads to the rooftop of the defensive tower of the al-Nasr Gate, which otherwise could be accessible from outside the nearby buildings.

He said the discovery made them feel overwhelmingly happy and that their efforts have paid off finally.

"In fact when we discovered and entered it we were overwhelmed because it was a sealed place for hundreds of years and we were the first to enter it," he said

Calling it the "gate of secrets," Sayyed said he believed that the more work they do inside the old walls, the more they will discover.

He noted that some of the discoveries they have found are yet to be explained, such as old scripts on one of the walls inside the gate. They were for a man and a woman and near the names were palm prints.

He said the names were believed to be written at the times of the Greeks but their story is not known yet, as they could be lovers or a couple.

On the same wall, some holes in the size of hand fingers were found when the additional layer was removed. They appeared to be of those in the old times who believed in the stone's ability of healing certain illnesses.

Sayyed said the restoration process enabled them to discover the hidden staircase and other "mysterious" stuff inside the gate's interior.

"In fact, if it was not for tough conditions that Aleppo had gone through, and the damage done to this ancient gate and the restoration process that has ensued, we may have never had the chance to make this discovery," he said.
BRUSSELS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The European Parliament on Tuesday adopted a regulation to end geo-blocking, obliging retailers to give people access to goods and services on the same terms all over the EU, regardless of where they are connecting from.

Geo-blocking refers to any restriction imposed by online shops based on nationality, place of residence or place of connection.

Common practice includes a trader website not accepting a means of payment (for example credit cards) from a different EU country, or a consumer not being able to register on the website because of where he or she lives, or from where he or she is connecting from.

Such practice is rampant across the European Union. A study by the European Commission, which analysed thousands of websites all over the EU, discovered that in only 37 percent of cases people were able to complete a purchase from another EU country and buy the goods that they wanted.

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission reached a political agreement to end unjustified geoblocking in November 2017. Tuesday's plenary vote in the European Parliament will be followed by an adoption in a Council meeting in the coming weeks.

A regulation will enter into force nine months after the day of publication in the EU's Official Journal, which is planned for March 2018.

European Commission welcomed the move from the European Parliament, with a joint statement from a Vice-President and two Commissioners saying "From Christmas 2018, people will not have to worry about a website blocking or re-routing them just because they -- or their credit card -- come from a different country. Wherever they are in the EU, they will be able to access goods and services online."

Certain products such as copyrighted materials are for the moment excluded from the regulation.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 06:35:28|Editor: ZD

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A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center, the United States, Feb. 6, 2018. The Falcon Heavy blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. State of Florida at 3:45 p.m. EST (2145 GMT), carrying something just for fun: a red Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk. (Xinhua/NASA)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The private U.S. space flight company SpaceX on Tuesday launched the world's most powerful operational rocket into space in a much-hyped demonstration mission deemed to have the potential to bring a revolution in the space industry.

The Falcon Heavy blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. State of Florida at 3:45 p.m. EST (2145 GMT), carrying something just for fun: a red Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

So far, everything has gone as planned, with the rocket's two side boosters landing simultaneously back on ground about eight minutes after liftoff.

Eventually, the rocket's second stage will try to place the Roadster, playing David Bowie's Space Oddity, into a Mars-adjacent orbit.

"We estimate it'll be in that orbit for several hundred million years, maybe even in excess of a billion years," Musk told reporters during a media call.

LOW EXPECTATIONS

The tech billionaire has repeatedly played down expectations for the launch, saying that the mission might end in explosion.

"This is a test mission as I said there's so much that can go wrong, so we don't want to set expectations of perfection," he said.

"I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesn't blow the pad to smithereens."

Musk admitted that there's a chance that the rocket's second stage might not make it out of low-Earth orbit.

That's because it will "coast" for six hours through the Van Allen radiation belt, where it may "get whacked pretty hard," he said.

DOUBLING LIFT CAPACITY

The Falcon Heavy is essentially three of the company's Falcon 9 rockets bolted together.

With a total of 27 Merlin engines, it's capable of generating "more than 5 million pounds (2.3 million kg) of thrust at liftoff, equal to about eighteen 747 aircraft," according to SpaceX.

Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit.

The rocket will be able to lift 64 tons into orbit, doubling the lift capacity of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost, the company said.

Jason Davis of the Planetary Society hailed the demo flight as "a huge deal, even for a spaceflight company that routinely accomplishes huge deals."

"An operational Falcon Heavy will make SpaceX the proud owner of the most powerful rocket system since the Saturn V, and opens up yet another corner of the launch industry to serious competition," he wrote in a blog article.

Eric Stallmer, president of the U.S. Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said the successful launch "represents a momentous milestone for SpaceX and the commercial space industry, as the first heavy lift launch vehicle developed and launched with fully private funding."

"As we look forward to all that 2018 holds for the U.S. commercial space industry, this is an exciting way to kick off the new year," Stallmer said in a statement.

GAME OVER FOR COMPETITORS

For this test flight, Falcon Heavy's two side boosters are both "flight-proven." One launched the Thaicom 8 satellite in May 2016 and the other supported the International Space Station mission in July 2016.

In order to bring reusability to a whole new level, SpaceX tried to recover all three of Falcon Heavy's first stages during the test.

A livestream showed that the two side boosters have successfully landed back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The fate of the middle one, which was set to land on a drone ship floating in the Atlantic Ocean, was unclear, because the video signal from the drone ship was lost.

Rocket reusability could significantly bring down the cost of launching Falcon Heavy, thus attracting potential customers.

"We're able to offer arguably super-heavy-lift, or nearly super-heavy-lift capability, for not much more than a Falcon 9," said Musk.

"If we're successful in this, it is game over for all the other heavy-lift rockets."
LONDON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Almost half a million people are expected to visit a stunning exhibition featuring the famous Terracotta Warriors which is to open to the public in Liverpool on Friday.

Ahead of the opening, curators from National Museums Liverpool (NML) and a team from the Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Center were on Tuesday putting the finishing touches to an amazing display of artefacts shipped to Liverpool from Xi'an.

The exhibition, China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors, will continue at World Museum, Liverpool until Oct. 28.

NML director David Fleming said: "The Terracotta Warriors exhibition is surely one of the most important exhibitions we have ever held here. We cannot wait to share this spectacular show with the city's people and welcome visitors from across the UK to witness this unmissable opportunity to see some of the Terracotta Army up close."

Fleming said the exhibition was the biggest event held at NML since his arrival 16 years ago.

The exhibition features ten life-size figures, including a terracotta cavalry horse as part of a collection of more than 180 spectacular artefacts.

Wu Haiyun, project manager at Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center, told Xinhua: "We are delighted to bring this exhibition to Liverpool, featuring some artefacts never previously displayed in Britain."

"I hope people who visit the exhibition will have a better understanding of our history and culture. I also hope it will inspire people to visit China, and also Shaanxi where they can see the Terracotta Warriors in the area where they were discovered," said Wu.

British culture secretary Matt Hancock said: "The Terracotta Warriors are an iconic cultural treasure produced by ancient China. Bringing them to Liverpool is a real ...testament to the strength of the UK-China cultural relationship. This exhibition will boost tourism to the region and attract visitors from across the UK and Europe."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 07:40:33|Editor: Lifang

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People buy food from a street vendor in the old city of Aleppo, Syria, on Feb. 6, 2018. Aleppo used to be Syria's economic powerhouse that has seen ferocious battles between the Syrian government forces and an array of militant groups. In December of 2016, the Syrian army finished dislodging all the rebels in the eastern part of the city, which pushed some merchants and industrialists to resume their work, even though on a low scale. (Xinhua/Ammar Safarjalani)
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 07:25:34|Editor: Liangyu

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LONDON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (SPD Bank) on Tuesday officially opened its London Branch, the first overseas branch of the group outside of Asia.

SPD Chairman Bank Gao Guofu said that the presence in London is a milestone for the bank to actively integrate into the global market. It is also an important achievement of deepening financial collaboration between Shanghai and London.

He believed the bank will further improve cross-border financial service capabilities to provide clients with better services by virtue of the opening of London branch.

Charles Bowman, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, welcomed the bank to London, noting the city has a unique environment for business success.

He said London has access to the world's deepest liquidity pools, the biggest investor base, the best talent from around the world, and a financial ecosystem that includes all the major global players.

Bowman emphasized London is also one of the largest offshore Renminbi centre. He said he is delighted to see more and more Chinese financial institutions expanding their global presence via London.

In turn, Chinese institutions will help London continue to thrive as a global financial centre and help London better interact with markets in China, he added.
HELSINKI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Finnish President Sauli Niinisto on Tuesday voiced his concern that Finnish political community may face difficulty in making choices when talking about the integration of the European Union (EU) in the future.

Addressing the opening of the 2018 session of Finnish parliament, Niinisto identified that discussions about the common currency and the increase of joint responsibility... will create dilemma for Finland.

"It is clear that there are problems with the euro, but it is equally clear any changes in the single currency will require unanimity. Finland should adopt an active role in this process as well," he said.

The president's speech followed recent Finnish media speculation that the vista for possible tighter cooperation in the EU may cause increased polarization between political parties in Finland and thus complicate the formulation of a Finnish stand.

Former Finnish prime minister Paavo Lipponen, who was present in the parliament, underlined that the Finnish government needs the support of the president and parliament for upcoming negotiations.

"The government must have room for maneuver, so that it would not have to say 'no' but can work for a solution," Lipponen said to social democratic news service Demokraatti.

Touko Aalto, chairman of the Green Party, told Finnish news agency STT he was pleased the president triggered debate on the EU in Finland. He said Finland has lost "ten years in taking a stand on the EU" and that there had been no Finnish opinion leadership on the EU since Lipponen in the 1990s.

Petteri Orpo, chairman of the conservative party and the current finance minister, said to STT that the president's speech was in line with the government policy. Orpo predicted that Finland may face difficult choices when talks about the development of the EU progress.

In his speech, Niinisto expressed the view that the best way to alleviate pressure from migration is to improve living conditions in the countries of origin.

"The EU member states and the union itself have their respective development cooperation programs, which need to be better coordinated," he said.

Niinisto also suggested a closer contact between the Finnish president and the Finnish parliament. He said such contact will improve continuity as governments change.

In the current Finnish practice, EU affairs have been dealt with by the government, and the president has concentrated on relations with countries outside the EU.
A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from historic launch pad 39-A at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S., February 6, 2018. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The private U.S. space flight company SpaceX on Tuesday launched the world's most powerful operational rocket into space in a much-hyped demonstration mission deemed to have the potential to bring a revolution in the space industry.

The Falcon Heavy blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in the U.S. State of Florida at 3:45 p.m. EST (2145 GMT), carrying something just for fun: a red Tesla Roadster belonging to SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk.

So far, everything has gone as planned, with the rocket's two side boosters landing simultaneously back on ground about eight minutes after liftoff.

Eventually, the rocket's second stage will try to place the Roadster, playing David Bowie's Space Oddity, into a Mars-adjacent orbit.

"We estimate it'll be in that orbit for several hundred million years, maybe even in excess of a billion years," Musk told reporters during a media call.

LOW EXPECTATIONS

The tech billionaire has repeatedly played down expectations for the launch, saying that the mission might end in explosion.

"This is a test mission as I said there's so much that can go wrong, so we don't want to set expectations of perfection," he said.

"I would consider it a win if it just clears the pad and doesn't blow the pad to smithereens."

Musk admitted that there's a chance that the rocket's second stage might not make it out of low-Earth orbit.

That's because it will "coast" for six hours through the Van Allen radiation belt, where it may "get whacked pretty hard," he said.

DOUBLING LIFT CAPACITY

The Falcon Heavy is essentially three of the company's Falcon 9 rockets bolted together.

With a total of 27 Merlin engines, it's capable of generating "more than 5 million pounds (2.3 million kg) of thrust at liftoff, equal to about eighteen 747 aircraft," according to SpaceX.

Only the Saturn V moon rocket, last flown in 1973, delivered more payload to orbit.

The rocket will be able to lift 64 tons into orbit, doubling the lift capacity of the next closest operational vehicle, the Delta IV Heavy, at one-third the cost, the company said.

Jason Davis of the Planetary Society hailed the demo flight as "a huge deal, even for a spaceflight company that routinely accomplishes huge deals."

"An operational Falcon Heavy will make SpaceX the proud owner of the most powerful rocket system since the Saturn V, and opens up yet another corner of the launch industry to serious competition," he wrote in a blog article.

Eric Stallmer, president of the U.S. Commercial Spaceflight Federation, said the successful launch "represents a momentous milestone for SpaceX and the commercial space industry, as the first heavy lift launch vehicle developed and launched with fully private funding."

"As we look forward to all that 2018 holds for the U.S. commercial space industry, this is an exciting way to kick off the new year," Stallmer said in a statement.

GAME OVER FOR COMPETITORS

For this test flight, Falcon Heavy's two side boosters are both "flight-proven." One launched the Thaicom 8 satellite in May 2016 and the other supported the International Space Station mission in July 2016.

In order to bring reusability to a whole new level, SpaceX tried to recover all three of Falcon Heavy's first stages during the test.

A livestream showed that the two side boosters have successfully landed back at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The fate of the middle one, which was set to land on a drone ship floating in the Atlantic Ocean, was unclear, because the video signal from the drone ship was lost.

Rocket reusability could significantly bring down the cost of launching Falcon Heavy, thus attracting potential customers.

"We're able to offer arguably super-heavy-lift, or nearly super-heavy-lift capability, for not much more than a Falcon 9," said Musk.
SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The first day of the New South Wales (NSW) Government's road safety plan got underway on Wednesday, after a horror year on the Australian State's roads which saw 392 people lose their lives in motor vehicle accidents.

Targeting everything from speeding, drink driving, drug driving, driver distraction, driver fatigue and truck safety, the 1.1 billion U.S. dollar strategy will remain in place for at least five years in a concerted effort to lower the rate of fatalities throughout the state's roads.

"Every 41 minutes in NSW someone is either killed or seriously injured on our roads, leaving families and friends with the heartache," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

"As a Government we know we can do more and that is why this plan makes it clear if you break the law you will be caught and will pay the price."

"We also want to ensure that our public education campaigns are targeted in the right way."

Among the measures being put into place are amendments to legislation that will allow camera technology to enforce against distracted drivers and mobile phone users.

The government is also implementing a number of "average speed cameras" for heavy vehicles in metropolitan Sydney to prevent truck drivers speeding in built up areas.

In addition, the issue of drug drivers will come squarely into the crosshairs off authorities with roadside drugs tests set to double from 100,000 per year to 200,000 by 2020.

For the first time, the drug cocaine will also be included in the test.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 09:10:52|Editor: Lifang

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday condemned the use of chemical weapons in Syria and called for unity of the Security Council in order to bring the perpetrators to justice.

"We've learned with gravest concern of reports of the recent use of chemical weapons in Syria, including in Idlib (governorate). The secretary-general once again condemns in the strongest possible terms any use of such weapons for which there can be no justification," Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters.

"He (Guterres) reiterated his call for unity of the Security Council in order to ensure that those responsible for the use of chemical weapons in Syria are identified and held accountable," said Haq, referring to the impasse within the council that led to the dissolution of an independent investigative mechanism, which found that both the Syrian government and the Islamic State terrorist group used chemical weapons in Syria.

Last year, Russia used its veto power in the Security Council three times to kill the Joint Investigative Mechanism of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Russia last month circulated a draft resolution for a new investigative mechanism, but several council members have expressed serious reservations about the text.

Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Wu Haitao said Monday that China supports Russia's efforts to push for the establishment of a new investigative mechanism. China hopes that council members will continue to hold constructive consultations in order to reach consensus at an early date, he told the Council.
TRIPOLI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- General Mahmoud al-Werfalli, a senior military commander of the Libyan eastern-based army who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), on Tuesday announced that he would surrender himself to the army's military police.

"After instructions (being given) from the (army's) General Command and the Commander-in-chief Khalifa Haftar about my arrest, I immediately received the instructions and I will hand myself over to the military police in Al-Marj city (the army's headquarters) to complete the ICC investigations with me," said al-Werfalli in a video online, wearing his military uniform.

Al-Werfalli is a general in the special forces attached to Haftar's Libyan National Army that controls Libya's northeastern city of Benghazi.

The international community has several times demanded legal prosecutions against Haftar as his forces kept gaining ground on the battlefield.
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday questioned President Donald Trump's strategy regarding the ongoing Afghan war.

At a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing held in the day, Senator Chris Coons said that 16 or 17 years in, he is not convinced that they have a strategy to win.

"I don't think there is a clear path out of Afghanistan and I worry that the Taliban will simply wait us out regardless of how long we are there, and as a result we may be there the rest of my life," said the Democratic lawmaker from Delaware.

At the hearing, Bob Corker, Republican chairman of the committee, asked how the United States could "get to a place where Afghanistan is able to function without significant support from the West and other countries."

John Sullivan, deputy secretary of state, and Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, defended the Trump administration's strategy at the hearing, saying that it was situation-oriented rather than setting a fixed timetable.

During the hearing, neither Sullivan nor Schriver gave a specific number of the cost for the implementation of the strategy, only estimating that the U.S. involvement will cost more than 45 billion U.S. dollars this year.

Tens of billions have been "thrown down a hatch in Afghanistan," said Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky.

"We're in an impossible situation," he added.

Trump unveiled his new Afghanistan strategy in a national address in late August, in which he called a rapid exit of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan "unacceptable."

The main change Trump made included taking restrictions off U.S. forces, which critics said hindered U.S. commanders in the field.

Currently, there are some 15,000 U.S. troops who are reportedly being deployed in the war-torn country under Trump's plan.
SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- After 10 tourists died during a six month period at the end 2016, the Queensland (QLD) State Government in Australia set about tightening regulations for dive operators on the iconic Great Barrier Reef.

After more than one year of consultations, the snorkeling and scuba code of practice has now come into force on Wednesday, with an array of new safety measures to improve one of the state's favourite recreational activities.

"Queensland has the largest recreational snorkelling and diving sector in Australia and we're the only state to have specific legislation covering the industry," QLD industrial relations minister Grace Grace said.

"We have had extensive consultation with industry and I am confident that this finalized code will ensure visitors who are diving and snorkeling in our state feel it is being done in the safest manner possible."

Under the new rules, vessels are required to carry automatic external defibrillators and ensure instructors are well positioned to render assistance in the case of an emergency.

Operators have also been made to enhance supervision and implement better systems to identify "at-risk snorkelers" prior to them entering the water.

With 175 snorkelling deaths in Australia over the last 13 years, QLD member of parliament Craig Crawford said it's imperative visitors that contribute to the local economy be kept safe on the reef.

"This code is crucial for Far North Queensland tourism and the local economy," he said.

"Our industry strives to ensure world's best practice and now that this code has been signed off, we have achieved this."

"It will ensure Queensland continues to lead the way on reef and water safety and make the reef an even safer place to visit for tourists."
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the Pentagon to stage a military parade, the White House implied in a statement.

"President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said regarding inquiries about a possible military parade.

The Washington Post first reported that Trump expressed his desire for a grand military parade this year in Washington D.C. at a Jan. 18 meeting with top generals.

"We are aware of the request and are looking at possible dates," Charlie Summers, a Pentagon spokesman, told NBC News. He added that the process is in its "infancy" but cited Nov. 11 as a possible date.

Trump was reportedly impressed by a military parade he witnessed in Paris to celebrate Bastille Day last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 10:46:06|Editor: Lifang

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RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Some 4,440 people were admitted to public hospitals with firearm injuries here in 2017, the equivalent of one person being shot every two hours, local TV station GloboNews said Tuesday.

According to a study published by the station, the figures, including those from the hospitals administrated by the state and municipal governments, show a 32.9-percent rise from the average registered in 2014. In the state-owned hospitals, an average 6.7 people were admitted with firearm injuries every day in 2017.

In the first 15 days of 2018, violence in Rio increased even more, with an average 6.9 people per day with firearm-related injuries admitted to the hospitals administrated by Rio state.

For the past few years, Rio has been immersed in constant violence, with drug gangs gaining ground and fighting for territory as residents can only try to protect themselves and navigate the conflict.

Innocents are often caught in the crossfire. During the weekend, nine people were murdered in Rio's metro area.

Local policemen are killed frequently. Last year, over 130 were murdered, and in the first month of 2018, 10 officers were killed.

Drug gangs are well-armed and employ youngsters from poor neighborhoods.

Though federal and state authorities met in January to define a coordinated plan to fight organized crime, no concrete action has been taken so far.
CANBERRA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government is planning to cap hospital funding despite the nation's peak medical body calling for a spending boost.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Health Minister Greg Hunt will go to the Coalition of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting on Friday hoping to secure a new hospital funding agreement with the states.

A draft of the hospital funding document to be put forward by Turnbull and Hunt proposes that the federal government continue to pay 45 percent of the cost of hospital funding but caps spending growth at 6.5 percent per annum for five years from 2020.

Hunt told Fairfax Media on Wednesday that the proposal was "a genuine and generous offer to the states and territories for hospital funding through until 2025. We look forward to a constructive discussion with the states and territories in the months ahead, beginning this week at COAG."

It is similar to a deal struck by Turnbull and Hunt with the states for the period from July 2017 to June 2020, a deal which angered state governments and the Australian Medical Association (AMA).

Brian Owler, president of the AMA at the time of the previous deal, described it as "an inadequate short-term public hospital funding downpayment."

In its 2018-19 pre-budget submission, the AMA called for the cap to be lifted so as to "lift public hospitals out of their current funding crisis."

Despite signing on to the deal, Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews in 2016 said "there's no getting away from or getting around or politely explaining away the fact that many billions of dollars will not be flowing to hospitals in my state and hospitals right across the nation."

Public hospital funding was a key issue at the 2016 election with Turnbull promising to match the Australian Labor Party's policy of paying 50 percent of hospital funding with uncapped spending.
PARIS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Using one's cellphone while pulling over could lead to the suspension of one's driver's license in France, according to a local news report.

In a new high court ruling in February, drivers in France are banned from cellphone use not only when driving, but even when the engine is off, as long as one has not stopped in a designated parking area, according to the French newspaper Le Figaro.

A driver who breaches the law might face an immediate suspension of his or her driver's license, a much harsher punishment than the previous points deduction and fines.

The only exception is when one's car breaks down, and of course when one has an accident, according to the new ruling.

France has stepped up its measures against dangerous driving in the wake of a rising road accident rate after decades of steady decline. It recently reduced the speed limits on two-lane roads from 90 to 80 km per hour.
BUJUMBURA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza said a recent report accusing China of spying on the African Union (AU) is groundless and has been fabricated by some Western media to drive a wedge between African countries and China.

Nkurunziza told Chinese media in an interview on Tuesday that compiling such a report ahead of the 30th AU summit aims to divide Africa and China at a time when China remains an irreplaceable partner of the AU.

The French newspaper Le Monde said China had bugged the building it had built and gifted to the AU in 2012 and had been downloading data from servers in the building.

Nkurunziza said this is not the first time that some Western media are trying to divide countries and stir up hatred.

China and Africa are friends working together, and their relationship is characterized by mutual respect and a win-win spirit, he said.

The 30th AU summit was held at the headquarters of the pan-African block in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa from Jan. 22 to 29.

AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki told a press conference at the end of the summit that he did not find any sign that the AU building was being spied upon.
SYDNEY, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The New South Wales (NSW) State Government in Australian Wednesday introduced a new counter-terrorism unit that will focus solely on radicalised young people.

Operating within Juvenile correctional facilities, the Countering Violent Extremism Unit is tasked with identifying and monitoring detainees that are of "high risk."

The move comes in the wake of a string of incidents that have shocked the nation in recent years.

In 2015, a 15 year-old schoolboy shot and killed a police accountant in a terror attack during daylight hours in Sydney's western suburbs.

One year prior, an 18-year-old stabbed two police officers on the outskirts of Melbourne before being shot dead.

According to Police several more attacks have also been prevented or thwarted over the past number of years.

Under the new regime, those given a "National Security Interest designation" will be monitored and face restrictions on mail, phone calls and visitors.

As part of the strategy, detainees will also undergo groundbreaking de-radicalisation programs, which are the first of their kind to be implemented in Australia.

Meanwhile frontline staff within the justice system will receive new training to assess and gather intelligence on extremist detainees.

"We have the most robust counter-terrorism arrangements in the country and this new strategy complements other initiatives such as our post-sentence detention scheme and stronger parole provisions," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

"We must ensure young children who are exposed to radicalisation are given counselling and a pathway back to life in the community."
BUJUMBURA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza said Tuesday that the partnership between Burundi and China is the most dynamic one among his country's partnerships with other countries.

Also, he praised China as being a faithful and reliable friend.

Nkurunziza told Chinese media in an interview that what makes the Burundi-China cooperation exemplary is that the two countries' partnership is based on the principles of mutual respect and mutual benefits.

According to statistics from the Chinese Embassy in Burundi, the trade volume between the two countries reached 46 million U.S. dollars in 2015. China imports a large amount of coffee and tea from Burundi, and exports telecommunication products, textiles and computers to Burundi.

Nkurunziza said China has been more than a partner because China has stood by the Burundian people even during the most difficult times in the past.

At present China has also been actively supporting Burundi in the international arena, he added.

On the occasion of the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, Nkurunziza wished the Chinese people a happy Chinese New Year. He also said he wished this year would be another dynamic one for relations between Burundi and China.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 13:06:32|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) will stage "The Nutcracker" on Friday and Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year.

The ballet, featuring a score by renowned Russian composer Tchaikovsky, first debuted in 1892.

The ballet will be performed by the Guangzhou Ballet, which was established in 1994 and is headed by famed dancer Zhang Dandan.

The Chinese New Year will begin on Feb. 16, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 13:21:34|Editor: Liangyu

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by Misbah Saba Malik

ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Rubab Batool, a student from an underdeveloped village of Nawab Shah district in Pakistan's southern Sindh Province, recently left for China to pursue a master's degree of management sciences.

Talking to Xinhua upon her departure, Batool said that she chose China for higher studies because the launch of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has opened up a huge demand for Pakistani graduates from Chinese universities.

Batool is only one of 22,000 Pakistani students who have chosen China for their higher education. In 2017 alone, about 2,500 new students were enrolled in China to pursue their degrees in various fields, according to a recent statistics released by the Pakistani embassy in China.

Muhammad Shaheen, Batool's father said that he belongs to a conservative family and many of his relatives stopped him from sending his daughter to a foreign country for education, but he has faith in Batool and the Chinese education system.

"I am sure she will achieve her dreams by acquiring quality education from China," Shaheen said.

Last month, the first batch of Pakistani students who were enrolled in a two-year program of Chinese language learning program at Beijing Language and Culture University returned home after successfully completing their course.

The students, who left for China in 2016, said that they not only learnt the Chinese language but also got a clearer idea of the Chinese culture and the people.

An official with the country's Higher Education Commission said that they provide merit-based doctorate scholarships annually to brilliant students to five top-rated Chinese universities.

"The students showed great interest in studying in China as Chinese universities are among the best universities of the world so students from different faculties including science and technology and arts chose China for pursuing their degrees," the official said.

According to latest statistics of Pakistani embassy in Beijing, currently, 2,700 Pakistani students are pursuing masters and doctorate degrees in top Chinese universities on fully funded scholarships sponsored by the Chinese Government.

Kalsoom Sumra, a doctorate degree holder in policy sciences from Peking University, is working as an associate professor in Pakistan's top-ranked university Comsats University of Information Technology in Islamabad.

Sumra told Xinhua that as a Pakistani, it was a good experience for her to know the culture of China and the deep ties of Pakistan with China.

She said that China is becoming a destination for students from Pakistan and other Asian countries as the country is competing with higher education in developed countries and Chinese higher education institutes have introduced advanced teaching resources.

Usman Ali, a 28-year-old Pakistani who got a Bachelors degree in medical sciences from China, is now serving at a well reputed government hospital in Pakistan. He said Chinese universities provide medical studies to Pakistani students at affordable rates.

In Pakistan, private medical colleges charge 0.6 to 1 million rupees (about 6,000 to 10,000 U.S. dollars) from a student a year, whereas Chinese universities provide much better education at a cost as low as 3,000 dollars a year.

"I have had a great learning experience from my practical work in Chinese hospitals. Pakistan has a long way to go to get to the level of China in health sector and I hope that I and other graduates from China will use our experience to improve the situation of medical health care in Pakistan."

Most of the students who are studying in China say that the attitude of Chinese people towards them is very friendly and affectionate. Naima Sadiq, a Pakistani student in Beijing, said that she feels like at home in China as people give the Pakistani students love and respect when they tell them they are from Pakistan.

Her father told her that China is the best friend of Pakistan when she was a small kid, and now when she is living and studying in China, she herself believes that the friendship is "higher than Himalayas and deeper than oceans," said Sadiq.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 13:26:35|Editor: Liangyu

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese investment in the U.S. tech sector could bring more opportunities than threats and should be viewed from the right perspective, according to a U.S. private equity (PE) investment fund.

Policymakers may bemoan Chinese investment in U.S. companies, but those same investments can provide access and acceleration for small and medium-sized firms to gain a foothold in the largest, fastest-growing electronics market on earth, according to Ray Bingham, co-founder and partner at Canyon Bridge Capital Partners, a global PE fund focusing on the tech sector.

The PE firm's anchor investor is from China and the firm has offices in Silicon Valley and Beijing. It made headlines last year with a failed attempt to buy U.S. semiconductor maker Lattice Semiconductor. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) believed the deal might compromise national security.

In January, the U.S. government blocked Alibaba's financial arm's purchase of U.S. money transfer platform MoneyGram and Huawei's cooperation with one leading U.S. telecom service provider over similar concerns.

"I think that as the U.S. economy realizes the interdependence between China and the United States in particular, they will understand that free and open markets also means free and open capital markets. And the ability for a PE fund whose money comes from China should be viewed as a reasonable and constructive thing," said Bingham.

Canyon Bridge successfully bought UK graphic processor maker Imagination Technologies Group last November. Bingham said the reaction in Europe has been very different than the reaction in Washington as European officials saw the investment as a good thing that could strengthen UK technology jobs and infrastructure.

"We not only bring money, but also help build businesses with our networks all over the world to help companies expand into new markets," he pointed out.

As a veteran in the semiconductor business, Bingham was impressed with the rapid growth of the industry in China.

"When I came into this business, the semiconductor was just being developed, and now there are many foundries and chip factories in China that are producing very advanced semiconductors. Nobody could have seen that 20 years ago," he said.

China consumes about 40 percent of the world's semiconductors, most of which are assembled into products that are then exported to the West, Bingham said, noting that this is a good thing because it forces innovation on both sides of the ocean.

"Allowing the right kinds of foreign investment can help Western companies become players in this exploding market, continue to compete and reap dividends from China's vast innovation ecosystem. But ultimately it's up to policymakers to make smart decisions that allow a constructive flow of capital and keep the economic engine primed," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 13:44:38|Editor: Lifang

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Illegal immigrants raise their hands protesting their detention and demanding deportation to Europe at Al Hamra housing center in Gharyan city, Libya, on Feb. 2, 2018. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has deported 20,000 illegal migrants voluntarily from Libya to their countries of origin in 2017. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)
KIEV, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday adopted a resolution denouncing a new Polish law on the military offenses and crimes against humanity committed during World War II (WWII).

The legislation, which was signed by Polish President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday, criminalizes any denial of "crimes against the Polish population committed by Ukrainian nationalists."

"The adopted legislative changes contradict the content and the spirit of the strategic partnership between Ukraine and the Republic of Poland," and contains a "biased and controversial" reading of history, said the resolution of the Ukrainian parliament.

The resolution, approved by the Ukrainian parliament with the support of 242 out of 349 lawmakers present, expressed its "disappointment and deep concern" over the Polish bill.

However, the controversial law has been sent to the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland for consideration before it comes into force.

The Polish bill also foresees fines or jail time for anyone who blames the Polish state and Poles for the Nazis' WWII crimes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had earlier criticized the law as an attempt "to rewrite history."

Duda said that Poland has the right to protect itself from false accusations.
TALUQAN, Afghanistan, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Eight militants including a key commander were killed as security forces aircrafts targeted Taliban hideouts in Yangi Qala district of Afghanistan's northern Takhar province on Wednesday, police spokesman in the province, Abdul Khalil Asir said.

"Acting upon intelligence report the security forces aircrafts attacked Taliban hideouts in Bazaar Omari area of Yangi Qala district early today morning killing eight rebels including notorious commander Mullah Zindani on the spot," Asir told Xinhua.

He added that the Taliban shadow district governor for the neighboring Rustaq district and two other local commanders named Wakil Gajar and Abu Bakar are among those killed in the raid.

Ten more militants sustained injuries in the sorties, the official said. Taliban militants haven't commented on the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 14:16:45|Editor: Lifang

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QUITO, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Ecuadorian government on Tuesday reiterated continued protection for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after a British court ratified the validity of an arrest warrant against him.

"The government of Ecuador will maintain international protection for the citizen Julian Assange, while the threat to his life persists," said the foreign affairs ministry in a statement.

The statement added that the government "maintains the best relations with the United Kingdom and will maintain efforts to find a satisfactory solution for the two countries, respectful of human rights."

Assange, 46, has taken refuge at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London since 2012 to avoid being extradited to Sweden, where he is wanted to answer charges for alleged sexual crimes in 2010, which he denies.

In May, the Swedish prosecutor-general shelved the case, giving a glimmer of hope to Assange as the sex assault claims on which the original arrest warrant was based have been dropped.

However, London police said that Assange would still be arrested if he ever left the Ecuadorian embassy, since he was the subject of a British arrest warrant for a parole violation when he fled to the embassy.

On Jan. 26, Assange's lawyers put forward an argument to a British court that as the case against him had been dropped, the arrest warrant was no longer applicable.

The arrest warrant was ruled by the court on Tuesday as still valid, dashing the asylum seeker's hope of freedom.

Earlier in January, the Ecuadorian government, in an effort to resolve the impasse, granted citizenship to Assange and asked Britain to give him diplomatic status, a request that was later denied.

According to his lawyers, Assange is living in a virtual prison and has seen his health deteriorate. He has stated that the case in Sweden is merely an excuse to deport him to the United States, where he is sought for WikiLeaks' publication of classified documents.

The WikiLeaks website gained fame after it released thousands of confidential diplomatic cables showing the U.S. manipulation of foreign governments and video footage of a U.S. military strike on civilians in Iraq, moves that angered Washington.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 14:26:46|Editor: Yamei

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Rescuers work in front of a collapsed building in quake-hit Hualien County, southeast China's Taiwan, Feb. 7, 2018. Four people were killed and 225 were injured as of 10:40 a.m. Wednesday after a 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit Taiwan. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

HUALIEN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and 225 were injured as of 10:40 a.m. Wednesday after a magnitude 6.5 earthquake hit Taiwan.

A total of 236 people have been rescued, but there are still 145 people missing, with 143 trapped in the Yun Men Tusi Ti building, according to the local disaster relief administration.

Five tourists from the mainland were found in disaster areas and two were injured in the earthquake, the injured have been sent to hospital.

One of the injured, from east China's Fujian Province, was in unstable condition and the other tourist, from Beijing, was slightly injured.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council(TAOSC), received details about the casualties, property losses and rescue work through a phone call with Fu Kun-Chi, head of Hualien County.

Zhang expressed deep condolences to all the victims and sincere regards to Taiwan compatriots who suffered, saying that people from the mainland were deeply concerned about the earthquake and could feel what their Taiwan compatriots felt.

Knowing that quake-hit areas were in need of professional rescuers, Zhang said that the mainland was willing to send rescue teams to help.

"We hope local people will overcome the difficulty and rebuild their home at an early date," he said.

Chen Deming, president of mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, also said the mainland was willing to assist disaster relief, including sending rescue teams to the island.

"The mainland is learning of the conditions of mainland tourists, students and spouses living in disaster-hit areas," said An Fengshan, spokesperson for the TAOSC.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the earthquake jolted waters near Hualien at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday.

The epicenter was monitored at 24.13 degrees north latitude and 121.71 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 11 kilometers, according to CENC.

The earthquake was followed by a series of aftershocks including several measuring over magnitude 5.

It is the most severe earthquake to hit Hualien in five decades, and 26 aftershocks hit the county as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to Fu.

The earthquake also caused 200 households to lose power, and 35,000 households to lose their water supply, the local fire agency said

Since Feb. 4, more than 100 earthquakes have jolted the area. Taiwan's earthquake experts said more quakes might arrive in the coming weeks.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 14:26:47|Editor: Lifang

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DAMASCUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Syrian air defenses responded to a fresh Israeli missile attack on a military position in the countryside of the Syrian capital before the break of dawn Wednesday, state news agency SANA reported.

No further details were revealed, but residents in western Damascus woke up to the rattling sound of explosions.

Other reports said the missile attack targeted the Scientific Research Center in Jamraya, west of Damascus.

The same position had been targeted by the Israelis twice before.

Some activists said the position contains arms depots used by the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Israel has repeatedly warned that it will not tolerate Iranian influence in Syria or support to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 14:31:48|Editor: Lifang

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China and Britain have made positive progress toward an enhanced version of the "Golden Era" of bilateral ties, following British Prime Minister Theresa May's visit.

Business deals worth more than 9 billion pounds (12.6 billion U.S. dollars) signed during the trip are eye-catching. But what's more, the interaction between the Chinese and British leaders show that countries, with different political and social systems, can dovetail their development strategies and deepen ties in their core interests.

In 2017, bilateral trade rose 6.2 percent to 79.03 billion U.S. dollars, with China's exports to Britain up 1.8 percent, while its imports from Britain surged 19.4 percent.

Facing a changing world full of multiple challenges, no single country can make the world better.

It's unwise to use political and ideological gauges to distinguish between friends and enemies, let alone to prevent economic cooperation.

"Gentlemen seek harmony but not uniformity," Chinese philosopher Confucius said, and his words are as valuable as ever.

Both China and Britain are at the entrance to a new era. China is seeking to achieve high-quality development after decades of high-speed growth while Britain aims to become a "Global Britain."

The two countries have showed their need at adapt to the modern era respond to the needs of their respective development stages and broaden bilateral cooperation.

An enhanced version of the "Golden Era" has come into view.

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative offers huge potential for China-Britain cooperation. It provides opportunities in logistics and infrastructure construction, stimulating supply on both sides.

To meet China halfway, the British government recently announced the British export finance agency will support up to 25 billion pounds of new business along the Belt and Road in Asia.

More opportunities, especially in areas including infrastructure, the internationalization of the Chinese currency RMB, green finance, and technological innovation will emerge, as a post-Brexit Britain seeks to build global partnerships while sticking to free trade and an open economy.

Both sides will also seek to make new achievements in corporate cooperation in the financial, innovation, telecom, new energy and other fields.

Not only this, the two countries can also further tap cooperation potential in global governance, climate change, sustainable development and fighting terrorism.

Maybe the world should take a leaf out of the China-Britain cooperation playbook by being open, pragmatic and inclusive.
SHIBERGHAN, Afghanistan, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Up to 13 militants loyal to the hardliner Islamic State (IS) group were killed during overnight air raids against the armed group in Darzab district of Afghanistan's northern Jawzjan province, provincial government spokesman Reza Ghafori said Wednesday.

The strikes, according to the official, was carried out Monday night against the IS training center in Darzab district, killing 13 insurgents and injuring a few others.

A detention center of the hardliner group was also destroyed in the air raids, the official said.

IS group, which is active in Darzab and the neighboring Qush Tepa district of Jawzjan province, has yet to make comment on the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 14:56:52|Editor: Liangyu

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SHENZHEN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Times Higher Education (THE) Asia Universities Summit is being held in south China's Guangdong Province.

The three-day event started Monday in Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, a city in Guangdong. Thirty-seven presidents and experts from the world's top-ranking universities from 16 countries and regions are taking part.

They are holding discussions about the role of research universities in the world, trends in global higher education, and the opportunities and challenges that world's higher education is facing.

Phil Baty, editorial director of global rankings for THE, said that this was the first time that the event is being held in a city on the Chinese mainland.

Two universities from the Chinese mainland and three from China's Hong Kong SAR are among the top 10 in the 2018 THE Asia University Rankings.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least two security personnel were killed and four others injured when their vehicle came under attack in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of North Waziristan on Wednesday, local reports said.

The incident happened when some unknown militants fired a rocket at the military vehicle, and fled the scene, Dawn News said.

The attack was launched in Mir Ali town of North Waziristan, a semi-autonomous tribal area along Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

No group or person has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

North Waziristan was once a hotbed of militants belonging to various outlawed organizations. The army removed safe havens of the terrorists from the area by launching an armed offensive "Operation Zarb-i-Azb" in mid-June 2014.

The terrorist incidents have sharply dropped in the whole country following the operation. However, the militants carry out attacks particularly at security forces whenever chance arises for them.

Earlier on Saturday, 11 soldiers were killed and 13 others injured in a suicide attack inside an army unit in the neighboring Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Source:Xinhua| 2018-02-07 15:50:24|Editor: Mengjie

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Participants learn to make dumplings during an event in Vancouver, Canada, Feb. 6, 2018. Local community hosts a Chinese cuisines workshop for local people in celebration of the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year. (Xinhua/Liang Sen)
PYONGYANG, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The latest U.S. nuclear policy outlined in Washington's Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) exposes the American ambition of world domination with nuclear supremacy, an official from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Tuesday.

The NPR has exposed U.S. President Donald Trump's "heinous ambition to blackmail other sovereign states and dominate the world with nuclear weapons," the Korean Central News Agency said, quoting a spokesperson of the Institute of American Studies under the DPRK's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Washington was "speeding up modernization and diversification of all its nuclear lethal weapons for possible use," the spokesperson said, adding that it has been a consistent policy of U.S. authorities to realize their wild ambition for world domination by relying on absolute nuclear supremacy.

By developing new nuclear weapons and readying to carry out preemptive strikes against adversaries, whether nuclear-armed or not, "the United States has made (a) declaration of war against the whole world," the spokesperson added.

The U.S. Defense Ministry on Friday officially published the 2018 NPR, the guiding principle for the future U.S. policy seeking enhanced nuclear deterrent which is already the world's most powerful. The NPR has drawn wide criticism.
MANILA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) approved on Wednesday the nomination of Francisco Duque as health secretary.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Duque in October last year after the commission rejected the appointment of then acting Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial.

Philippine presidential spokesperson Harry Roque made a statement to welcome the confirmation of the appointment.

"We are confident that Secretary Duque would be able to deliver better health programs and services as the Department of Health (DOH) once again aims to regain the trust of our people through integrity, professionalism and good governance," said Roque.

Duque first served as health secretary during the administration of then President Gloria Arroyo from 2005 to 2010.

Before his appointment by Duterte to the DOH, Duque was named the chairman of the Government Service Insurance System.

Duque finished medicine at the University of Santo Tomas and later took up a master degree in pathology at Georgetown University in Washington DC, the United States.

Duque's re-entry in the DOH came as the health department "struggles" to regain its credibility amid the controversy surrounding the Dengvaxia dengue immunization program.

The Philippines has decided to suspend its dengue immunization program for public school students for potential risks.

It is revealed that the Dengvaxia vaccine, produced by French drugmaker Sanofi Pasteur, may cause a severe case of dengue infection if applied to a person who had not been previously infected with the mosquito-borne disease.

Duque said the immunization campaign of DOH has suffered because of the Dengvaxia controversy.

"It's a tall order. It's a struggle, I would be the first to admit -- to rebuild the morale of our ailing organization. But as doctors, we are prepared to deal with it," Duque told the commission.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 16:47:21|Editor: Mengjie

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WUHAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The first 1,080 boxes of Sunkist oranges from the United States arrived in central China's Hubei Province Tuesday, marking Hubei's first direct import of American fruit.

Fruit imported from abroad normally arrives in China's coastal areas including Shanghai, Xiamen and Guangzhou and is transported to inland areas later. The long distance and high transportation fees often add to the price of the fruit.

As Wuhan import fruit port started operation, the capital of Hubei is likely to become a distribution center of imported fruit in central China.

There is a huge market demand in central China areas around Wuhan, said Ryan Scott, Director of the Agricultural Trade Office of the U.S. Consulate in Shanghai.

Jamie Fouss, Consul General of the U.S. Consulate in Wuhan, said, taking advantage of opportunities to expand trade from Wuhan's good port and friendly foreign trade policies, U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan will help bring more agricultural products to central China.

Wuhan is the biggest waterway-rail hub in inland China. It is also one of China's major industrial and educational bases.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 16:52:24|Editor: Mengjie

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BUJUMBURA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is a very good opportunity to deepen cooperation and relations between China and Africa, said Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza on Tuesday.

Nkurunziza told Chinese media in an interview that he is very grateful for inviting Burundi to participate in this year's FOCAC summit to be held in Beijing.

Burundi is very willing to take part in this important event, he said.

Nkurunziza said since the founding of FOCAC, China has been providing great support for Africa to help promote the development of the region through the forum, from which Burundi has benefited a lot.

He said the upcoming FOCAC summit is a good opportunity for Burundi and China to deepen the bilateral cooperation based on mutual trust and mutual benefits, and a great chance for other African countries to expand their cooperation with China.

FOCAC was formally established in 2000 under the joint initiative of China and Africa with the purpose of further strengthening friendly cooperation between China and African countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 17:02:29|Editor: Chengcheng

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DAMASCUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses destroyed most of the Israeli missiles targeting a military position in the countryside of the Syrian capital Damascus early Wednesday, the Syrian army said in a statement.

The Israeli warplanes fired the missiles from inside the Lebanese airspace, it noted.

The army warned of the dangerous repercussions of the Israeli attack and its "repetitive aggressive adventure."

It also highlighted its readiness to foil any future aggression.

No further details were revealed about the exact location of the attack but other reports said the missile attack targeted the Scientific Research Center in Jamraya in the west of Damascus.

The same position had been targeted by the Israelis twice before.

Some activists said the position contains arms depots used by the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Israel has repeatedly warned that it will not tolerate Iranian influence in Syria or support to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 17:07:34|Editor: Chengcheng

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UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy on Tuesday urged the United Nations (UN) Security Council to stay focused on key issues and ensure an effective execution of its mandate.

"The council needs to focus its resources and energy on addressing major and urgent issues concerning international peace and security, and strengthen the practical effect of its actions," Ma Zhaoxu, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said at the Security Council Open Debate on Its Working Methods.

"In deliberating on thematic issues, the council needs to coordinate with the GA (General Assembly), ECOSOC (the Economic and Social Council) and other UN bodies so that all can play their respective roles and avoid duplication," he said.

Speaking of the process of the council's decision-making, Ma said that "full consultations are needed with a view to achieving consensus. It is necessary to ensure that all council members have adequate time to examine draft resolutions and draft presidential statements."

"We should do our best to refrain from steamrolling drafts when divisions still remain, seek the broadest possible consensus and safeguard the council's authority and unity," he added.

As for coordination among member states, he noted that it is important to enhance information exchange and value the views of all parties.

"The council needs to more actively engage troop contributing countries (TCCs) and enhance exchanges with them through mechanisms such as the Working Group on Peacekeeping Operations and meetings with TCCs. It should also value the views and concerns of TCCs during mission deployment and mandate adjustment," he said.
by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Edith Pereira, a Cuban great-grandmother, has childhood links with the Chinese culture.

She was born in Santa Clara, a city about 280 km east of Havana, where many Chinese families had settled in the early 20th century. From their descendants she learned Chinese traditional breathing exercises to keep fit and developed a taste for healthy Chinese food.

The 75-year-old was filled with joy when she went to the 27th Havana International Book Fair and experienced Chinese culture again.

"It reminded me of my childhood," she said. "In the neighborhood where I grew up, there were many Chinese and I learned to speak some words as a young girl."

Both she and her eight-year-old great-grandson Gabriel were delighted with the China pavilion at the fair. "We really liked what they have brought to this fair," she said.

The activities at the pavilion included Chinese pronunciation workshops and calligraphy as volunteers showed visitors how to pronounce words in Mandarin as well as the art of writing Chinese characters.

"They drew a mouse for me in the form of Chinese characters. I liked it a lot... I would like to learn (Chinese) in the future," Gabriel said.

Renowned Chinese writers, representatives of more than 60 publishing houses and guest artists have been showcasing the diversity of Chinese culture through book presentations, contests and recreational activities at the book fair where China is the guest country of honor.

The literary event, considered the most important cultural event in the Caribbean nation, opened on Feb. 1 at the old fortress of San Carlos de la Cabana in Havana.

It will conclude in the capital on Feb. 11 and then travel through the rest of the country, ending on May 13 in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba.

China have committed to a strong participation every year at the book fair to deepen ties between the two nations.
Source: Xinhuanet| 2018-02-07 17:30:04|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhuanet) -- A report on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight safety was recently published in China.

The report further validates the technical feasibility of using existing cellular networks to regulate small low-altitude UAVs, as proposed by the International Telecommunication Union.

With the rapid development of civilian UAV technology, the use of UAVs has expanded to the fields of patrolling, agriculture, logistics, security, etc.

By 2020, 4.33 million UAVs are expected to be sold worldwide, according to the research institute EVTank.

According to officials from Chinas Civil Aviation Administration, UAV flight safety requires close coordination and cooperation among UAV manufacturers, telecommunication operators and other sectors.

The administration will collaborate with more telecommunication operators and communication device manufacturers to achieve efficient and orderly UAV traffic management.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 17:32:40|Editor: Yamei

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HUALIEN, Taiwan, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland is willing to send rescue teams after an earthquake of magnitude 6.5 hit Taiwan late Tuesday, killing seven and injuring 254.

More than 200 people have been rescued, but there are still 88 people missing, with most of them trapped in the Yun Men Tusi Ti building in Hualien County, according to the local disaster relief administration.

Six tourists from the mainland have been sent to a hospital in Hualien. One of the injured, a woman from east China's Fujian Province, was in critical condition.

Zhang Zhijun, head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, received details about the casualties, property losses and rescue work through a phone call with Fu Kun-Chi, head of Hualien County.

Zhang expressed deep sympathy to all the victims and sincere regards to Taiwan compatriots who suffered, saying that people from the mainland were deeply concerned about the earthquake and sympathize with their Taiwan compatriots.

"We hope local people will overcome the difficulties and rebuild their homes at an early date," he said.

Chen Deming, president of the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, also said the mainland was willing to assist with the quake relief, including sending rescue teams to the island.

"The mainland is learning about the conditions of mainland tourists, students and spouses living in disaster-hit areas," said An Fengshan, the spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

The All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots also expressed sympathy to residents from the quake-hit areas in a letter, saying Taiwanese living on the mainland are ready to offer as much help as they can.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Center (CENC), the earthquake jolted waters near Hualien at 11:50 p.m. Tuesday. The epicenter was monitored at 24.13 degrees north latitude and 121.71 degrees east longitude, with a depth of 11 kilometers.

The earthquake was followed by a series of aftershocks including several measuring over magnitude 5.

It is the most severe earthquake to hit Hualien in five decades, and 26 aftershocks hit the county as of 9 a.m. Wednesday, according to Fu, the head of Hualien County.

In Hualien, four buildings have partially collapsed or tilted, including Marshal Hotel and two residential buildings. The Marshal Hotel has caved in, with its first two floors caving into the ground, according to Taiwan's emergency operation center.

The highway from Suao to Hualien was temporarily closed.

The earthquake also caused 200 households to lose power and 35,000 households to lose their water supply, the local fire agency said.

Since Feb. 4, more than 100 earthquakes have jolted the area. Taiwan's earthquake experts said more quakes might arrive in the coming weeks.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 17:47:43|Editor: Chengcheng

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BAGHDAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces Wednesday launched an operation to hunt down rebel groups, including remnants of Islamic State (IS) militants, in rural areas in Iraq's central province of Salahudin, security sources said.

A joint force from the Iraqi army, police and paramilitary Hashd Shaabi brigades advanced in five routes in north and south of the city of Tuz-Khurmato, some 90 km east of Salahudin's capital Tikrit, to chase the terrorist rebel groups of IS, Ansar al-Sunna and the so-called the White Flags, who repeatedly carried out attacks against civilians and Iraqi security forces in Tuz-Khurmato and nearby Kirkuk province, Colonel Mohammed Khalaf from Salahudin provincial police told Xinhua.

The advance of the troops and their armored vehicles, which was backed by helicopter gunships and artillery, was targeting the rebel groups hiding in the mountainous area in east of Tuz-Khurmato that extends to neighboring provinces of Diyala and Sulaimaniyah, Khalaf said.

Meanwhile, a statement from the federal police said their special forces, known as Rapid Response, cleared three villages, a mountain and some hills in east of Tuz-Khurmato from the rebels and seized a camp for IS militants in the area.

The Hashd Shaabi also said in a statement that its forces seized two villages in east of Tuz-Khurmato in the first hours of the operation and destroyed some tunnels of the White Flags group, which is an extremist Sunni militant group that has suspected ties with some Kurdish parties.

The ethnically-mixed city of Tuz-Khurmato is mostly made up of Turkoman Shiite as well as sizable Kurdish and Sunni Arab population.

Previously, the city witnessed repeated clashes between the Kurds and Shiite militias, as the city and surrounding areas are part of the disputed areas outside the Kurdistan region, which are claimed by the Kurds and both Arabs and Turkomans. The Kurds want to incorporate the areas on the edge of their Kurdistan region, but their move is fiercely opposed by Baghdad government and non-Kurdish residents.

The operation came as tensions are running high between Baghdad government and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan after the Kurdish region held a controversial referendum on independence of Kurdistan and disputed areas.

Ahmed al-Jubouri, the governor of Salahudin province, frequently complained that rebel group has been regrouping in the vast rugged areas in the eastern part of the province that stretch to the neighboring Diyala province and the nearby Himreen mountainous area.

During the past few months, dozens of IS militants fled their former bases in the key cities of the predominately Sunni Arab province of Salahudin, including the provincial capital Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, after the Iraqi forces cleared these areas during major anti-IS offensives.
Illegal immigrants raise their hands protesting their detention and demanding deportation to Europe at Al Hamra housing center in Gharyan city, Libya, on Feb. 2, 2018. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has deported 20,000 illegal migrants voluntarily from Libya to their countries of origin in 2017. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia) (srb)

TRIPOLI, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Stefano Chammen is a 27-year-old illegal immigrant from Eritrea, who is now in the Al-Hamra refugee center in Gharyan city, some 75 km south of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

He recently told Xinhua about his difficult and risky trip, which took him more than a year to reach Libya's Sabratha coast, from where he was hoping to reach European shores like many of his African peers did.

"I left my country in mid-2016, at which period many young people cannot find jobs, and therefore they go to Europe through Libya, looking for settlement in a foreign country that offers us a decent life," Chammen said.

"I entered Sudan, and from there to Kufra in southern Libya. Then, Libyan and Sudanese smugglers transferred me to the city of Bani Walid near Tripoli. I was detained for a full year there," he added.

Chammen was detained because his family could not afford the 7,000 U.S. dollars demanded by an Eritrean human smuggler.

"But eventually, my family paid the money after selling our modest house. After that, I was transferred to Tripoli by a truck along with 187 migrants hiding under a plastic wrap. We had fainted for multiple times because the truck was overcrowded and tight," Chammen said.

On his way to the eventual destination Sabratha, Chammen and other immigrants were kidnapped by gunmen from Zaweya city, a place less than 25 km from Sabratha.

The immigrants were taken to a farm and held for 45 days, given little food and severely beaten. The kidnappers filmed them and asked for a ransom of 1,500 dollars. They were released after the Eritrean smuggler paid the money.

"From there, we were transferred to Sabratha in July 2017," Chammen added.

"After arrival in Sabratha, we were overwhelmed by an unimaginable joy. The dream of Europe began to tickle our imagination," he described.

But the war suddenly erupted with the involvement of the smuggling network. Chammen was held in a small house off the city coast until he was arrested early last October.

"I was taken to Gharyan. Since then, I have been waiting for representatives of international organizations to fulfill promises to move us from Libya to Europe," he said.

After weeks of fighting in Sabratha, forces of the Anti-IS Operations Chamber took over the city, which was Libya's main crossing point of illegal immigrants to Europe.

The operation, which killed more than 40 people and injured 200, came to an end after withdrawal of Anas al-Dabbashi and the 48th Infantry Battalion from the city earlier in October. The two groups are accused by the chamber of human smuggling and trafficking along the city's shores, as well as kidnapping of businessmen and abuse of migrants.

Smuggling gangs transport migrants through boats across the Mediterranean to Italian shores on a risky journey that takes only a few hours.

Bahlul Shnana, official of immigration housing centers in Gharyan, believed that the uncontrolled flow of migrants into Libya has caused serious security and social risks. "It requires cooperation of Libya's neighbors and international organizations concerned to find a final solution for inmates of our shelters."

"We have seized criminal networks with evidence engaging in illegal acts, such as trafficking of drug, arms and prostitutes, as well as infiltration of terrorist groups among illegal immigrants to Libya," Shnana told Xinhua.

"We have to protect ourselves from any dangers that migrants bring with them, because the issue has become a matter of national security that we need to be careful about," Shnana added.

"This does not rule out the right of migrants to live in dignity. Their governments have not dealt with their economic situation, which is the basis for their departure on dangerous trips. International organizations concerned with migrants have not fulfilled their promises that European countries would receive them and grant them humanitarian asylum," Shnana explained.

Illegal immigration centers, run by the Ministry of the Interior's Anti-Illegal Immigration Department, receive tens of thousands of immigrants, mostly Africans and some Asians.

Immigrant shelters in Libya house illegal immigrants until they are settled by international organizations for voluntary repatriation to their countries of origin or resettlement in a third country in Europe.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has deported 20,000 illegal migrants voluntarily from Libya to their countries of origin in 2017.

The voluntary return program, implemented by the organization in Libya since 2006, arranges the return of illegal migrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origins.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 18:02:47|Editor: Chengcheng

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- It seems that the snow which has swept through China this winter has forgotten to call at Beijing.

Eastern and central China have been hit by heavy snow or even blizzards, but in the northern city of Beijing, only some mountainous areas received a light sprinkling which turned them briefly white. Downtown, the very slight snow on Jan. 21 was barely noticeable.

According to Beijing's climate observatory, the city has recorded 108 consecutive days without "effective precipitation" since Oct. 23, 2017, the longest dry spell for ten years. "Effective precipitation" refers to rain or snow of more than 0.1 millimeters.

The longest period without effective precipitation recorded by the station was 114 days between 1970 and 1971.

Guo Jianxing with Beijing meteorological service bureau, said that although the city has seen plenty of cold air this winter, there has been a lack of moisture in the atmosphere and no conditions for snow to form.

Since November 2017, under the influence of the La Nina, the Siberian high pressure area and the East Asian trough have intensified, leading to colder air in northern China.

However, the Subtropical high in the West Pacific is in a position which is not conducive to wet, warm air from China's south moving northward to meet the cold air, said Shi Hongbo with the bureau.

WHY IS IT SO COLD THIS WINTER

Parts of China, especially in the northeast and the north, have seen their temperatures near to historical lows, and the snow in the east has been especially heavy this winter.

Scientists say the warming Arctic is one reason.

Last year saw the highest ocean temperature since records began.

"Rising temperatures in seas such as the North Pacific and the North Atlantic have affected the temperatures around the North Pole, which pushed the Arctic vortex southward," said head of the Chinese Academy of Sciences atmospheric research institute Zhu Jiang.

The polar vortex is like a pot lid restricting the movement of cold air at the Arctic. The shift of the vortex has forced cold air southward, he said.

When the cold air met moist, warm air from the south snow fell in central and eastern China, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 18:07:49|Editor: Chengcheng

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BUJUMBURA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza said a recent report accusing China of spying on the African Union (AU) is groundless and has been fabricated by Western media to drive a wedge between Africa and China.

Nkurunziza told Chinese media in an interview on Tuesday the spying reports released ahead of the 30th AU summit aims to divide Africa and China at a time when China remains an irreplaceable partner of the AU.

The French newspaper Le Monde said China had bugged the building it had built and gifted to the AU in 2012 and had been downloading data from servers in the building.

Nkurunziza said this is not the first time that Western media has tried to divide countries and stir up hatred.

China and Africa are friends working together, and their relationship is characterized by mutual respect and a win-win spirit, he said.

On cooperation between China and African countries, Nkurunziza said the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is a very good opportunity to deepen the cooperation and relations between China and Africa.

He said he is very grateful for China's invitation for Burundi to participate in this year's FOCAC summit to be held in Beijing.

Burundi is very willing to take part in this important event, he said.

Nkurunziza said since the founding of FOCAC, China has been providing great support for Africa to help promote the region's development through the forum, from which Burundi has benefited a lot.

He said the upcoming FOCAC summit is a good opportunity for Burundi and China to deepen the bilateral cooperation based on mutual trust and mutual benefits, and a great chance for other African countries to expand ties with China.

Nkurunziza said cooperation between Burundi and China is the most dynamic one among Burundi's partnerships, while hailing China as a reliable brother country.

According to statistics from the Chinese Embassy in Burundi, the trade volume between the two countries reached 46 million U.S. dollars in 2015. China imports a large amount of coffee and tea from Burundi, and exports telecommunication products, textiles and computers to Burundi.

Nkurunziza said China has been more than a partner because China has stood by the Burundian people even during the most difficult times in the past.

At present China has also been actively supporting Burundi in the international arena, he added.

Nkurunziza also congratulated Chinese President Xi Jinping on his re-election as general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

He said it is Xi's leadership that has empowered Sino-Burundian cooperation.

On the occasion of the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, Nkurunziza wished the Chinese people a happy Chinese New Year. He also said he wished this year would be another dynamic one for Sino-Africa relations and also relations between Burundi and China.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 18:17:51|Editor: Chengcheng

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LUANDA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The World Bank (WB) signed an agreement with Angola Tuesday in Luanda, providing 70 million U.S. dollars to develop the local economy.

The agreement was signed by Angolan Finance Minister Archer Mangueira and Olivier Godron, the WB's acting representative.

The grant will finance the Local Development Project aimed at strengthening basic social infrastructure, especially hospitals and medical care centers.

It will also assist private initiatives primarily in agriculture and trade.

Mangueira said the agreement will help reinforce the capacity of local institutions.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 18:37:57|Editor: Mengjie

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NEW YORK, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- Starting from Feb. 13, New Yorkers can celebrate the Year of the Dog in Chinese culture with a city-wide series of festive and cultural events.

Besides a light show using the top of the Empire State Building as canvas, fireworks over the Hudson River, and a New York Philharmonic concert, the New York City Lunar New Year Festival will also hold a free Students Day event with music, art and dance in Lincoln Center.

YEAR OF THE DOG

On Feb. 16, one million public school students in New York will have a holiday for the Chinese New Year, or the Lunar New Year. New York is one of the few cities in the United States where the Chinese New Year is a public holiday.

In Chinese culture, Feb. 16 of 2018 will indicate the end of the Year of the Rooster and people will embrace the Year of the Dog for the next 12 lunar cycles.

"I think it's important ... for China and the United States to really understand each other,... particularly young people," Shirley Young, chair of U.S.-China Cultural Institute, told Xinhua. "And they have a perfect opportunity -- they get a vacation."

One of the highlights of Students Day will be a 40-foot (12-meter) scroll depicting the landmarks of all five boroughs of New York -- Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Bronx.

This art project, in which over 400 students have participated, has been inspired by the Chinese painting Qingming Shanghe Tu, a masterpiece that depicts the lives of people along the Bian River during the Song Dynasty over 800 years ago.

On Feb. 16, students can add images of their own New York lives onto the giant scroll.

Musicians and young composers from the New York Philharmonic will join the Students Day celebration along with a show from Lang Lang International Music Foundation's Young Scholar Program, an exhibition of 150 artworks selected from 40,000 child participants by China's Central Academy of Fine Arts, and other performances.

Two Chinese artists will present sugar sculptures in the lobby of David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. The 1,400-year-old folk art form is both ornamental and edible.

"They do not just watch... they are actually part of it," Young said. "They are drawing, they are singing, they are dancing. They are doing things that are related to Chinese culture. Hopefully, it will give them a better understanding of what China is about."

DIVERSITY, INCLUSIVITY

The arts are a universal language that can connect people and cultures. "What's a better way to celebrate the Lunar New Year than with music?" said Lukas Barwinski-Brown, chief executive officer of Lang Lang International Music Foundation.

Diversity and inclusivity are the reasons why New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made the Chinese New Year a public school holiday.

The New York Philharmonic's annual Lunar New Year Concert and Gala on Feb. 20 is a big event.

Bill Thomas, executive director of the New York Philharmonic, said, "We've been doing it now for seven years ... and we'll probably continue to do it for 70 more years."

This year, Thomas said, the audience will hear a "ping pong concerto" called Ricochet. Over 1,000 ping pong balls will bounce back and forth on stage, serving as a form of percussion. The piece debuted in Shanghai in 2015.

With children being a country's future, it's important for American youngsters to understand China.

"China is a lot in the news... It's a big country and they hear more about it. Lots of American kids are learning the Chinese language. So they are interested in it," Young said.
Gaudence Milanzi, the Permanent Secretary in the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, speaks at the China-Tanzania Forum on Wildlife Conservation and Tourism Development held on February 6. 2018 in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.(Xinhua)

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian and Chinese officials and diplomats Tuesday hailed the two countries' cooperation in wildlife conservation.

They also promised closer cooperation at the China-Tanzania Forum on Wildlife Conservation and Tourism Development held in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam.

Gaudence Milanzi, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, said Tanzania looks at China as an important partner in conservation.

"It is evident that the future of wildlife conservation depends on the involvement of different players in planning and implementing measures to combat poaching," said Milanzi.

Photo taken on April 11, 2016 shows two cheetahs in Serengeti National Park in northern Tanzania. (Xinhua/Li Sibo)

Hu Zhengyue, vice president of China Public Diplomacy Association, which co-hosts the event with Tanzania Tourist Board and the Chinese embassy in Tanzania, said China was very concerned with protection of wildlife.

He said the ban on ivory trade in various markets in China was a symbol of the country's commitment in conservation.

Xu Chen, Minister-Counselor of Chinese embassy in Tanzania, said the Chinese government cooperated actively with the international community on wildlife conservation.

He added that to improve inspection capacity on wildlife product trafficking, China has donated container inspection facilities to Tanzania.

"China has also spared no effort to advocate for wildlife conservation and educate the Chinese community in Tanzania on the importance of raising awareness on wildlife protection," Xu said.
NAIROBI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Kenyan government's crackdown on opposition leaders after inauguration of Raila Odinga as "people's president" intensified on Tuesday night when it deported lawyer Miguna Miguna to Canada a few hours after the High Court ordered that he be set free or produced in court on Wednesday.

Miguna's lawyer Nelson Havi confirmed on Tuesday night that his client was put into a KLM flight departing Nairobi for Amsterdam minutes to 10 pm.

"We are reliably informed that Miguna Miguna has been forced into a KLM flight for 'deportation' to Canada. Now, how do you deport a Kenyan? This country has been overrun by criminals," Havi said on Twitter.

Before departure, Miguna said he will fight the heinous violation of his rights by the Jubilee government. "The despots have put me in a flight to Amsterdam en route to Toronto, departure time right now."

"Instead of taking me to court as ordered repeatedly by the courts, they seized my passports and drove me to the runaway at the JKIA from 6pm up to now," Miguna tweeted moments before he left JKIA.

However, Interior Ministry spokesman Mwenda Njoka who confirmed the deportation, said Miguna had denounced his Kenyan citizenship years back, acquired Canadian citizenship and never reclaimed his Kenyan citizenship in the legally prescribed manner.

It is not clear what law the government used to exile him from Kenya as the Constitution guarantees him citizenship since he is Kenyan by birth.

Miguna contested for governorship seat for Nairobi County in the concluded 2017 elections and he must have produced documents to show he is a Kenyan.

His problems began when he stamped documents used for Nasa leader Raila Odinga's self-inauguration as the "people's president" in Nairobi on Jan. 30.

He was there with leaders including Ruaraka lawmaker Tom Kajwang, who administered the oath. Miguna was arrested last Friday in connection with the "swearing-in" of Nasa leader Raila Odinga.

Lawyer Donald Kipkorir also protested the deportation saying the move had violated the constitution.

Meanwhile, the Department of Immigration Services has suspended passports belonging to a section of National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders.

Among those affected are Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, Siaya Senator James Orengo, businessman Jimi Wanjigi and NASA strategist David Ndii.

The immigration authorities asked the affected persons to surrender their passports within 21 days following the notice.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 18:47:59|Editor: pengying

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DOHA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Qatari senior official called on the EU to do more to resolve the ongoing crisis surrounding the Gulf country, Qatar News Agency reported Wednesday.

Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, the chairman of the National Human Rights Committee, made the call on Tuesday during his visit to France, one of the legs of his European tour.

According to al-Marri, the neutral position may lead to collusion and encourage continuing violations of human rights.

"We call on the EU to join international human rights organizations to support efforts for an immediate end to the siege imposed on Qatar," he said.

The Qatari senior official also highlighted the official report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which condemned the violations against the Qatari people.

In January, the EU High Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini called on all parties to enter into negotiations during her visit to Kuwait.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic ties as well as all air, sea and land links to Qatar, accusing the gas-rich Gulf state of supporting terrorism and aligning with Iran against Arab interests, which Doha has repeatedly denied.
ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- When peace talks resumed early this week in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to end South Sudan's brutal civil war, it was with a warning the talks could be the last chance to salvage peace.

The Addis Ababa peace talks called "Second Phase of High-Level Revitalization Forum" came after the December 24, 2017 ceasefire agreement in which warring parties signed a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. The deal was broken hours after its enforcement was supposed to start.

IGAD Council of Ministers Chairman, Workneh Gebeyehu, told the warring parities and stakeholders at the beginning of the 10-day peace talks that "this is your last chance." South Sudan is a member nation of the eight-nations East African bloc IGAD.

Gebeyehu, who is also Ethiopia's foreign minister, said after the cessation of hostilities agreement was signed last December there had been multiple reports of violations.

Already, heads of the UN, AU and IGAD had during the 30th AU summit last month jointly voiced their frustrations and warned South Sudan's warring factions against violating the recent peace deal.

With exasperation reaching boiling point among mediators and donor nations with inability of South Sudanese warring parties to end the civil war, some have taken unilateral punitive stances.

Earlier this month, the US imposed arms embargo on South Sudan ,while the EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on three current and former South Sudan officials.

With South Sudan's civil war that has killed thousands and displaced millions entering its fifth year without an end in sight, analysts say the international community especially neighboring countries can't afford to abandon the world's newest nation.

Abebe Aynete, senior researcher at the Ethiopian Foreign Relations Strategic Studies, a local think thank, told Xinhua what will most likely happen in 2018 is IGAD and its individual member nations could slap targeted sanctions on individuals suspected of fueling the conflict.

Ethiopia, an influential South Sudan neighbor, currently shelters around half a million South Sudanese refugees and has hosted several rounds of peace talks ever since the South Sudan civil war erupted in December 2013.

Aynete painted a pessimistic picture in 2018 for South Sudan, saying the much-awaited 2018 election that was supposed to solve the country's bitter division is unlikely to happen.

South Sudan has not had democratic elections since it won independence from Sudan in 2011 after more than two decades of civil war that ended with President Salva Kiir ascending to power through referendum vote, ushering in a transition period in the oil-rich and yet impoverished country.

It descended into violence starting December 2013 after a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel chief Riek Machar led to split in the army, leaving soldiers to fight alongside ethnic lines.

The conflict has since then fragmented with shifting alliances and a fractured armed opposition making it harder for mediators to bring all sides to the negotiating table.

James Morgan, South Sudan's ambassador to Ethiopia, told Xinhua that mediators and donor nations need to have full picture to resolve the conflict instead of threatening punitive measures.

"There are elements in the rebellion not interested in cessation of hostilities, the body tasked with monitoring ceasefire doesn't have the capacity to monitor," he said.

Morgan was referring to a Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism established by IGAD to investigate and report on cease fire violations among its tasks.

The ambassador was also defiant to threat of further sanctions especially being made by western nations out of "own self-interest and ego".

With the US and EU starting to impose sanctions and IGAD warning it could take a range of political measures on violators and spoilers of South Sudan peace process, others are advising a more cautious approach.

Speaking exclusively to Xinhua, Chinese ambassador to South Sudan, He Xiangdong said on Monday the conflict in South Sudan may seem difficult to resolve, but every effort must be made to find sustainable solution.

"I think on punitive matters we need to further consultation with IGAD countries and AU. Definitely, a certain kind of pressure is needed to push the peace process to move forward, while at the same time be cautious of results of all the possible measures, because we need to put result first. Any measure needs to be carefully calculated to see if it's helpful to resolve the problems or not," said the ambassador.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 19:08:06|Editor: pengying

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ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Wednesday showed serious concerns about the recent missile attack by Yemen's Houthi rebels, targeting the Saudi city of Khamis Mushait in Asir province.

Saudi Arabia's air force had downed the ballistic missile on Feb. 5, according to Saudi officials.

"We are deeply concerned over media reports of a missile attack by Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushait on Feb. 5. The timely interception by Saudi Air Defense saved the civilian populated city from grave consequences," the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Such attacks targeting the unarmed civilian population are a violation of international law and condemnable," the statement said.

It further said Pakistan denounces the repeated missile attacks on Saudi territory by Houthi militia, adding these attacks pose a threat to the security of the Kingdom and the Holy Places.

"Pakistan reiterates its solidarity with the Government and people of the Saudi Arabia and renews its commitment to support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as to protect its Holy Places," the foreign ministry said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 19:28:33|Editor: pengying

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Liberian President George Weah (7th R, front) poses for a group photo with Chinese peacekeeping troops in Monrovia, Liberia, on Feb. 5, 2018. Weah said the multinational troops who took part in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Liberia will forever be remembered for their bravery and sacrifice. Speaking at the sent-forth for the troops in Monrovia on Monday, Weah particularly thanked the Chinese troops for being highly professional and well-disciplined, hailing them for their memorable sacrifice, although their peacekeeping mission in Liberia had come to an end. China and a few other countries including Nigeria and Pakistan remained on the peacekeeping mission till the very end. The peacekeeping mission will formally withdraw on March 30. (Xinhua/Zhao Xiaoxin)
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's exports surged 18.9 percent year-on-year to 935.39 billion ringgit (239.6 billion U.S. dollar) in 2017, the strongest growth since 2005, the government said Wednesday.

Malaysia saw its export growth rebound sharply in 2017, despite the exports in December grew only 4.7 percent year-on-year.

The yearly growth was mainly supported by electrical and electronics (E&E) sector, which expanded 19.2 percent year-on-year, according to the data released by the International Trade and Industry Ministry.

Overall, Malaysia's exports of manufactured goods in 2017 rose 18.9 percent year-on-year; mining goods increased by 23.9 percent while agriculture goods rose 10.9 percent.

As for export markets, Malaysia's exports to other members of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) expanded by 18 percent year-on-year, with Singapore remaining the largest export market in ASEAN.

Its exports to European Union and the United States were up by 19.4 percent and 10.5 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, Malaysia's exports to China jumped 28 percent year-on-year to 126.15 billion ringgit, supported mainly by E&E products, petroleum products, rubber products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), chemicals and chemical products, optical and scientific equipment, manufactures of metal as well as natural rubber.

China, which has been Malaysia's largest trading partner since 2009, remained as Malaysia's largest trading partner in 2017. Malaysia's trade with China increased by 20.6 percent.

China also remained as Malaysia's largest import source with 19.6 percent share of total imports in 2017.

Malaysia's imports from China rose 15.5 percent last year, mainly supported by E&E products, machinery, equipment and parts as well as petroleum products.

Overall, Malaysia's imports expanded 19.9 percent year-on-year to 838.14 billion ringgit last year. Its surplus widened by 10.3 percent to 97.25 billion ringgit.

When announcing the trade performance, Malaysia's Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed also highlighted that Malaysia's trade last year rose 19.4 percent year-on-year to 1.774 trillion ringgit, the highest rate in 13 years.

Going forward, Mustapa expected the country's trade growth rate to moderate to 5 percent, due to high base effect, driven by steady domestic demand amid favorable external sector.

"The trades growth forecast is supported by the global growth which is projected to strengthen marginally," he told a press conference.

Besides, major trading partners are likely to continue to sustain good performance, and commodity prices is expected to improve, he said, adding that the rising protectionism is the biggest challenge for the open economies like Malaysia.
NEW DELHI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Despite the gloom in global markets, India's economic growth is expected to accelerate to 7-7.5 percent in the next fiscal, as experts say the country has now managed to overcome the "temporary setback" and pick up.

The twin exercises of demonetization and a unified tax reform, popularly known as Goods and Services Tax (GST), in November 2016 and mid-2017, respectively, had hit the economy and set in a gloom that was expected to slow down India's growth.

"The slowdown was a result of a rather chaotic rollout of the twin policies besides the perception of lack of creation of new jobs. Things are being streamlined now and the long-term benefits of these policies will begin to emerge," Bisht Singh, an economist in Delhi, told Xinhua recently.

"If the idea behind demonetization was to root out corruption and black money, GST made tax collection efficient, empowered small businesses and enabled financial inclusion. Temporary disruptions apart, the growth and optimism showed in the Economic Survey," he added.

The Indian government released the Economic Survey, a factsheet of the country's economic health, a couple of days ahead of its annual budget on Feb. 1.

Experts credit the stability that the Indian economy displays at present after a tough phase to the many decisions taken by the government.

"Whenever the government took serious risks by taking hard-hitting decisions, it followed it up with stimulus packages to revive the economy, thus remaining agile towards ensuring that there was no stagnation," Prof D.S. Mathur, formerly of the economics department at Delhi University, told Xinhua.

Some opine that India's new growth opportunities are being reflected in the push factors by the government.

"India's middle class and youth are becoming highly aspirational. The economic roadmap laid out by the government in the past three years addressed this aspiration," Ravinder Ahuja, another Delhi-based economist, said to Xinhua in a recent interview.

Experts say that income tax collections as a percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) are seen to rise sharply once average incomes increase.

India's fiscal foundations, which are weak because of low tax revenue, will start to climb as the GDP will rise, Sumit Kuhar, a stock market analyst, told Xinhua.

"Wage earners in the labor force will become more formalized, bringing in tax collections. We can also expect adequate job creation, investment activity and export growth," Kuhar said.

Meanwhile, many have words of caution for the government.

"The combination of stronger growth with greater macro risks suggests that the Indian finance minister should avoid fiscal adventurism. The economic recovery has enough internal strength to move ahead without fiscal support while it makes sense to preserve fiscal firepower in case there is a global shock over the rest of the year," said Ahuja.
MANILA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is searching for three people who went missing after big waves capsized a ferry boat in the central Philippines, the PCG said on Wednesday.

In a statement, the PCG said two died in the sea accident that took place on Tuesday morning off San Francisco town on Camotes Islands, Northeast of Cebu province.

The PCG said that the boat with 34 passengers and crew aboard left Carmen town in Cebu on its way to Consuelo in San Francisco, Camotes Islands when the accident happened.

The rest of the passengers and crew have been rescued, the PCG said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 19:28:12|Editor: pengying

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BEIRUT, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Lebanese judge has accepted to look into a lawsuit filed against Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan, on charges of sowing discord among the Lebanese, the National News Agency (NNA) said.

"Beirut First Examining Magistrate Ghassan Oueidat has decided to accept the lawsuit filed by liberated captive Nabih Awada against Saudi State Minister for Gulf Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan on charges of sowing discord among the Lebanese, inciting them to strife and disrupting Lebanon's ties with a foreign state," according to the report.

A few days before Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's controversial resignation on Nov. 4, al-Sabhan issued threats against Lebanon's government as well as Iran and its ally Hezbollah via Twitter, unnerving many Lebanese who feared being dragged into the forefront of the Saudi-Iranian rivalry.

The Saudi minister warned in an interview with Lebanon's MTV that there would be "astonishing" developments to "topple" Hezbollah.

He also said that Lebanon's government, headed by Hariri, would be dealt with as a hostile government that declared war against Saudi Arabia because of Hezbollah's power-sharing role.

"It is up to (Lebanon's) leaders to decide whether it is a state of terror or peace," al-Sabhan wrote on Twitter two days after Hariri's resignation.

Hariri announced his surprise resignation in a televised speech from Saudi Arabia on Nov. 4, triggering a political crisis in Lebanon and heightened regional tensions. Hariri withdrew his resignation earlier December.
MALE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen has thanked the military and police for their "unwavering loyalty" to defend the government after thwarting what he called a "coup" attempt led by the country's chief justice, local media reported Wednesday.

Yameen, during a ruling party rally in capital Male, thanked the security forces for the protection of his administration.

Yameen also extended his gratitude to the Supreme Court on revoking last week's release order, saying this was a "well deserved victory."

Maldives has been plunged into a political crisis following last week's Supreme Court ruling ordering the release of nine opposition leaders including self exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed.

On Monday night, the president declared a 15-day state of emergency, urging all Maldivians to remain calm and restore normalcy.

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed were arrested shortly after the state of emergency was declared, on charges of plotting to overthrow the government.

Yameen, in his address to the nation on Tuesday, accused the chief justice of being bribed to issue last week's court order, in a bid to overthrow the government.

The Supreme Court rescinded its landmark ruling late Tuesday.

"This could not have been possible without the support of both military and police. They have done commendable work in upholding the Maldives Constitution and the state government," Yameen said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 19:38:16|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong (R) poses a photo with a Nepali diplomat who holds his certificate of graduation from a basic Chinese language course in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal, on Feb. 7, 2018. Some 28 government officials from Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday graduated from the basic Chinese language course provided by the Chinese government. (Xinhua/Sunil Sharma)

KATHMANDU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Some 28 government officials from Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday graduated from the basic Chinese language course provided by the Chinese government.

The officials took part in the 80-hour-long basic Chinese language course organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with the Chinese Embassy in Nepal.

The young diplomats, who took the classes for two and half months in the Confucius Institute at Kathmandu University, were provided with certificates of graduation at a special event held in the ministry.

Addressing the ceremony, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong congratulated the trainees on the completion of the course and expressed hope that the language facilitate their work in the future.

The ambassador also noted that the cooperation between China and Nepal will be further strengthened under China's Belt and Road Initiative.

It has always been China's wish that Nepal realizes political stability and economic prosperity, said the Chinese ambassador.

This is not the first time that Nepalese government officials have received Chinese language training. Prior to this, the Confucius Institute has already provided Chinese language training to officials from the Ministry of Education, the Nepal Army and tourism professionals.

On the same occasion, Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Shanker Das Bairagi said the Chinese language would be instrumental in promoting the understanding of China among Nepali young diplomats.

"China is our oldest friend and a very important and trusted partner for peace, development and prosperity. Since we are heading for more cooperation in different areas, Chinese language is very important for our officials."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 19:43:17|Editor: Mengjie

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ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Wednesday pledged to arrest the killers of a Chinese national who was gunned down in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday.

Police said unknown assailants had fired at the Chinese national's car in Karachi's Defense locality.

The foreign ministry said it condemned the killing "in strongest possible terms."

"Pakistan will take all possible measures to apprehend the culprits and carry out thorough investigation against perpetrators of the crime," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal said on his Twitter.

Police had said earlier that the assailants had fled from the scene after the attack.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 19:43:19|Editor: Mengjie

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CHANGSHA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A total of 37 people have received sentences of up to 14 years and been fined up to 500,000 yuan for telecom fraud in central China's Hunan Province.

According to the people's court of Yuelu district in Changsha City on Tuesday, the gang posted fake second-hand car advertisements online. When the victims made the down payment, they were asked to come to see the vehicle and complete the transaction in person.

While the buyers were examining the cars, one of the gang members would call them to keep their phones busy. The buyers' phones were then cloned and another gang member would call the victims' companions, pretending to be the victims, and asked them to make a previously arranged payment.

The gang stole over 1 million yuan (160,000 U.S. dollars) in 28 cases between February 2015 to January 2016.

In the first nine months of 2017, prosecutors indicted 22,268 people in 8,257 cases involving property violations via the Internet or telecommunications.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 19:48:23|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China has asked major Internet companies to strengthen their self-discipline and examination against pornographic, obscene and vulgar content online.

A total of 16 companies, including Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, were called up by the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications recently to underscore the issue.

Based on the ongoing national campaign to clean up the online environment, including inappropriate online videos distorting popular cartoon characters and online games, Internet companies should improve their censorship of online content and the filtering of harmful information, according to the office.

The companies should not only clear the already found harmful information, but also take action to examine and eliminate its variations, in order to take on their legal duties and social responsibilities as enterprises, the office said.

Enterprises that caused harmful information to spread will face severe punishment, the office continued.

China's authorities have already handled a number of cases involving obscene content in online games and live streaming platforms this year.

One that drew much attention from the public involved two offices of the Guangzhou Yinjun Trade Company in south China's Guangdong Province, which were closed in late January for producing online videos featuring popular children's characters in sexual, violent, and terrorist scenarios.
BERLIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A fire on a luxury hotel in downtown Berlin on Wednesday has been brought under control, local fire police said on its social media account.

The fire started from the sauna room at a higher level of the hotel near noon, leading to an evacuation of the whole building, according to the police.

No injury has been reported, but nearby traffic is affected, said the police, who added that cleanup work is going on.

The hotel is located in the city's famous tourist site Potsdamer Platz.
DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Tanzanian senior official said on Wednesday the government planned to construct 15 airstrips in the southern circuit of the east African country to boost tourism.

Hamisi Kiganwalla, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said the construction of the airstrips will go in tandem with the diversification of tourist attraction centers.

"The southern tourist circuit is overwhelmed with too many attractions. It needs to be improved to attract more tourists from across the world," Kigwangalla told the National assembly in the capital Dodoma.

The minister said the government's focus for now was to develop the southern tourism circuit and look for other tourism products across the country.

He said airstrips to be built at four national parks in the southern tourism circuit will facilitate smooth transport services to local and foreign tourists.

Kigwangalla said the airstrips will be built at the Selous Game Reserve, the Ruaha National Park, the Mikumi National Park and the Udzungwa Mountains National Park.

Kigwangalla, responding to a number of issues raised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism, said improvement of the southern circuit will also involve construction of a road from Iringa town to the entrance of the Ruaha National Park.

He told the House that tourism was among the number one sectors with huge contributions to the country's foreign currency earnings, adding that in the 2016/2017 financial year tourism contributed 2.1 billion U.S. dollars.

He said the tourism sector contributed 17.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 12 percent of employment.

Kemilembe Lwota, the vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism, faulted the government over poor marketing strategies to advertise the country's tourist attractions within and outside the country.

Lwota said it was high time the government put in place strategies to identify, improve and market tourist attractions to be able to get intended revenues.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 20:03:25|Editor: Mengjie

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DUBAI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Dubai tourism authorities said on Wednesday that the Chinese tourists to Dubai increased 41 percent to 764,000 in 2017 after the visa-on-arrival policy for the Chinese was implemented in late 2016.

Dubai attracted a total of 15.79 million international overnight visitors in 2017, posting a 6.2-percent increase compared to the 5-percent growth in 2016, the Dubai Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing (DTCM) said in an e-mailed press release.

"As the destination offering continues to evolve, maintaining momentum will be crucial as we look to remain on track to achieve our Tourism Vision 2020 goals," said DTCM Director General Helal Saeed Almarri.

Meanwhile, Dubai aims to attract between 20 million to 25 million visitors during the six-month world expo which will run from October 2020 until April 2021.

Most hotels and shopping malls in Dubai are ready to juice up their activities during the upcoming Spring Festival, or the Chinese Lunar New Year.

At the Dubai Airshow held in November last year, Tim Clark, the president of Dubai's government-controlled Emirates Airline, said the carrier is keen on expanding its destinations in the Chinese mainland in 2018 from the current five: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou.

The sheikdom of Dubai, known for the world's tallest mixed-use tower Burj Khalifa (829 meters) and its seven-star hotel Burj Al Arab, boasts 681 hotels and guest apartments by the end of 2017.

By the end of 2017, 107,431 hotel rooms and apartments were available across all overnight hospitality facilities in Dubai, up 4 percent year-on-year.
PARIS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Military forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were likely using chlorine gas in the offensive against rebel-held areas, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Wednesday.

"I'm speaking with a degree of caution because we have to be careful pending full documentation, but all the indications that we have show that at the moment chlorine is being used" by the Syrian government, Le Drian told news channel BFMTV.

Warning about "very serious situation," the French top diplomat said the United Nations opened on Tuesday an investigation into the persistent "threat of chemical weapons'use."

Recent reports said al-Assad government had used chlorine gas in the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta, near Damascus on January.

The Syrian government has repeatedly rejected allegations of using chemical arms which it said were all handed to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons as part of 2013 accord brokered by Moscow and Washington.

Speaking about Turkish offensive against Kurdish militias in northern Syria, Le Drian said "ensuring the security of its borders does not mean killing civilians and that should be condemned."

"In a dangerous situation in Syria, (Turkey) should not add war to war," it added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 20:23:31|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Last month, a microblogger known as "Hacker Kevin" received a message from a social media follower, accusing a man in northern China surnamed Li of being a child molestor.

Kevin quickly dug into Li's social media accounts and discovered photos of him kissing young boys, chat records showing how he groomed children, as well as him boasting about his behavior.

After blurring the faces of the victims to protect their privacy, Kevin posted the evidence on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter, and alerted the local police. Three days later, Li was arrested.

Kevin, who has 780,000 followers on Weibo, has been using social media to hunt and expose pedophiles for more than a year. He is among a group of online vigilantes waging war against online child pornography and pedophiles.

"You may call me a busybody but I have made stopping child porn my mission, and I will stick with it until the end," Kevin says.

An investigation by Xinhua reporters uncovered a large network in China's cyberspace making huge profits by selling child pornography on various platforms, from members-only forums and private social media groups, to live streaming websites and gaming communities.

In one private social media group, those who paid 50 yuan (7.5 U.S. dollars) could become members and access pictures and videos of pornography. The group had nearly 2,000 members by the time it was exposed.

Those who paid 333 yuan a month could become VIP members, and they could not only watch child sex acts live, but also negotiate transactions with agents to engage in sex acts with children. The agents all used pictures of children as their profile photos.

Chat records obtained by Xinhua between a potential customer and an agent showed a sexual act with a young boy cost 2,000 yuan.

In recent years, Chinese authorities have intensified efforts to crack down on illegal online activity against children.

The National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications said that Internet enterprises and individuals who had produced or distributed child pornography were severely punished in 2017.

Last month, the office exposed details of five typical cases uncovered during the crackdown on online pornography.

In one case, police in Zhengzhou City, central China's Henan Province, arrested Wu Pengsheng and three associates for distributing photos and videos of child pornography on a profit-making website.

The case was first revealed last August by an online crusader known as "Xiao Dang." Tipped off by a follower, Xiao registered on Wu's website and collected a large amount of evidence showing him profiting from child pornography. Xiao was also able to uncover personal information about Wu through his email address and alias.

Xiao then posted his findings on Weibo, which soon generated over 10,000 forwards and nearly as many comments, causing huge public uproar. Local police immediately arrested Wu.

A police investigation found that from 2011 to August 2017, Wu and his associates lured more than 100 juveniles to film indecent videos under the guise of "child education."

They then distributed the videos online and raked in over 500,000 yuan. They have been transferred to prosecution authorities.

For those crusading against child pornography, like Kevin and Xiao, these high-profile cases only account for a small part of their work. More often than not, their reports end up leading nowhere.

Kevin says that though local police are quite diligent in pursuing such cases, the anonymity of the Internet makes busting online rings and securing evidence difficult.

"Online suspects are experts in using guerrilla warfare to dodge cyberpolice. It is very difficult to make coordinated arrests when the illegal activities are committed across regions or borders," Kevin says.

"Child porn suspects are very good at exploiting loopholes or grey areas in law to avoid punishment," said Zhang Hongwei, a professor with Jinan University who specializes in juvenile and family law.

As the law stipulates that criminal punishment only applies to those who "publicly" distribute obscene materials, suspects often choose members-only websites and private social media groups to sell child porn, which makes the number of recipients hard to determine, according to Zhang.

To better protect the underage in the digital age, Chinese authorities have taken tougher measures against pedophiles.

In November last year, the government in Huaiyin District, Huai'an City in east China's Jiangsu Province, issued a policy in which all convicted child sex offenders would have their personal information made public, including names, ID card number, photo, age, gender and the nature of their crimes.

The information will be available to the public on law enforcement authority websites and social networking platforms.

The city of Cixi in Zhejiang Province and Shanghai's Minhang District issued similar policies in June 2016 and July 2017, respectively.

Kevin is hopeful that these measures will help deter crimes against children.

"At the end of the day, all the perpetrators will receive the punishment they deserve," he says. "Justice will be served for all the young victims."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 20:33:36|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, also presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia, attend the opening ceremony of the years of China-Russia local cooperation and exchange, in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, Feb. 7, 2018. (Xinhua/Zhang Duo)

HARBIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday sent congratulatory messages to the opening ceremony of the years of China-Russia local cooperation and exchange.

Calling localities an important force for China-Russia all-round win-win cooperation, Xi said he and President Putin decided to hold years of China-Russia local cooperation and exchange in 2018 and 2019.

Xi voiced his hope that it would inspire enthusiasm for local bilateral cooperation, further tap cooperation potential and encourage more localities, enterprises and people to join the cause of China-Russia friendly cooperation and common development.

Both China and Russia are at an important period of national development and rejuvenation, Xi said in his message, adding the development plans of both countries enjoy a high degree of affinity, and bilateral local cooperation is promising.

He called on both sides to make the event a new spotlight in bilateral ties, and work together for a splendid future in relations.

Putin hailed the progress of Russia-China all-round partnership of strategic coordination, adding that the years of local cooperation and exchange would cement contact and cooperation between various Russian federal subjects and Chinese localities.

There will be more than 100 activities including an investment conference; trade, industry and agriculture exhibitions; seminars; art festivals; and exchange of visits.

Representatives of the two countries will meet at the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Eastern Economic Forum and Russia-China Expo, Putin said, adding that he believes the years will fully exploit the potential for local cooperation.

Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang addressed the opening ceremony in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, together with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, also presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia.

They also hosted the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission for Cooperation of the Northeast China and the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia.

Wang hailed the progress of China-Russia local cooperation, citing rapid growth of trade between China and Russia's Far East, as well as enhanced investment cooperation and cultural exchanges, and progress in interconnectivity projects.

China appreciates Russia's new measures to promote development in the Far East and facilitate people-to-people exchanges, and expects these measures to have good outcomes, Wang said.

Calling China one of Russia's most important political and economic partners, Trutnev said Russia hopes to work closely with China to speed up infrastructure building, and boost local cooperation.
Source:Xinhua| 2018-02-07 20:40:53|Editor: Mengjie

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A "Wing Loong II" drone is displayed at static display booth of China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) during the Singapore Airshow in Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore on Feb. 7, 2018. The biennial Singapore Airshow kicked off here on Tuesday and will last to Feb. 11. (Xinhua/Then Chih Wey)
DUBLIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 people were injured when a school bus collided with a car in Ireland's southwest city of Limerick on Wednesday morning, reported local media RTE.

The injured include 18 teenage students and two drivers, said the report.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 20:53:44|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese taikonauts have "maintained an indomitable spirit while carrying out space exploration," said Zhang Youxia, vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, Wednesday.

Zhang made the remarks at a seminar while listening to reports delivered by Chinese taikonauts Jing Haipeng, Liu Yang and Deng Qingming about their work over the years.

The Taikonaut Corps of the People's Liberation Army celebrated its 20th anniversary last month.

Over the past two decades, 21 taikonauts were selected from the ranks of air force pilots. They have completed six missions, conducted over 100 experiments in space and orbited the earth for a total 68 days and nights.

Zhang called on the military and the armed forces to learn from taikonauts.

About 750 representatives from China's central and state organs, armed forces and youth attended the seminar in Beijing.
MADRID, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish Congress on Tuesday voted to reject a motion presented by the Catalan Republican Left party (ERC) asking for a dialogue with any future Catalan regional government.

Combined votes of the ruling People's Party (PP), the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the center-right Ciudadanos party defeated the motion as Catalonia lacks a regional government following last week's decision to postpone the investiture of Carles Puigdemont, who is currently exiled in Belgium.

PP Deputy Alicia Sanchez Camacho said ERC "cannot give lessons in dialogue when they have attempted a coup against the Spanish State, the law institutions and history."

Meanwhile, PSOE member Marc Lamu told pro-independence parties in Catalonia to form a government which returns to respect, legality and the Spanish Constitution.

In contrast, ERC spokesman Joan Tarda compared the leaders of the Catalan independence movement to Mahatma Gandhi, who had led India to independence in 1947 from the colonial British rule, and Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first democratically elected president.

"The British Empire never dared to charge Gandhi with rebellion and he also fought for independence," said Tarda.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 21:08:47|Editor: pengying

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MOGADISHU, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Somali National Army (SNA) on Wednesday arrested four Al-Shabaab militants behind the killing of former Bulo-burte commissioner and other terror plots against government officials and community leaders in Beledweyne town in Hiiraan region of central Somalia, officials said.

Isak Ali Abdule, a police commander, said the forces successfully captured the militants believed to be behind several deadly attacks and killings of regional officials in the region.

Ali Jeyte Osman, Governor of Hiiraan region, said the militants had escaped after killing several people in the region, adding authorities are still in operation to arrest more militants.

Al-Shabaab militants often carry out assassinations in Beledweyne town despite the presence of African Union and SNA forces.
MOSCOW, Feb 7. (Xinhua) -- The Russian-Turkish commission to oversee ceasefire breaches in Syria recorded 14 cases of violation in the last 24 hours, Russia Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

Six breaches were recorded in the province of Damascus, five in Latakia, and one each respectively in Aleppo, Idlib and Homs, the ministry said in its daily bulletin published on its website.

Most cases of indiscriminate firing from mortars and small arms were registered in areas controlled by the Nusra Front terrorist group, it said.

Both Russia and Turkey are guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime which came into force on Dec. 30, 2016.

One ceasefire agreement has been signed with the settlement of Rasm as Saharij in the province of Aleppo in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of such settlements to 2,352, the bulletin said.
BEIRUT, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon and Russia will sign a military cooperation treaty that includes a "comprehensive framework for coordination," the Naharnet news website said.

Russian government has published a decree authorizing the Russian Defense Ministry to conduct "necessary talks with the relevant Lebanese authorities to draft a final format of the treaty," the report said.

According to the decree, the treaty includes "exchanging information on defense means and enhancing international security capabilities; activating anti-terror cooperation; improving joint cooperation in the fields of cadre training, military exercises and armed forces building; exchanging IT expertise; establishing mechanisms for cooperation between the two countries' armies."
ANKARA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkey was involved in efforts to deliver the body of a Russian pilot to Moscow who was killed in a mission in Syria on Saturday, a Turkish official told Xinhua on Wednesday.

A Russian transport plane landed in southern Hatay Province of Turkey late Monday to transfer the body of the Russian pilot, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that they had asked for help from Turkey after a Su-25 fighter jet was shot down when it overflew a de-escalation zone in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, and the pilot blew himself up with a grenade after being seriously wounded and surrounded by the militants.

The downing of the aircraft was claimed by Tahrir al-Sham, a group spearheaded by the former al-Nusra Front.

"The pilot, Maj. Roman Filipov, who died heroically in Syria on Feb. 3, has been brought back to Russia by the Russian military intelligence service in collaboration with our Turkish colleagues," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it sent a request to the Turkish side to assist in obtaining all the debris of the downed fighter jet.

The ministry said its experts were "particularly interested in the remains of the Russian aircraft's engines with traces of the missile impact in order to precisely identify the MANPADS (man-portable air defense systems) type used by terrorists, production site and channels of supply to Syria."

Turkey, Russia and Iran are working together to promote de-escalation zones in Syria. Idlib is one of those de-escalation zones, where the Turkish army has established three observation positions and is working on the fourth.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 21:38:59|Editor: Mengjie

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SHANGHAI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Lujiazui, the commercial and financial center of Shanghai, plans to set up the Global Asset Management Association of Lujiazui (GAMAL) in the first half of this year.

On Tuesday, more than 60 global asset management institutions, including BlackRock, Fidelity International and J.P. Morgan, attended a preparatory meeting in Lujiazui.

The association aims to establish an exchange platform for global asset management institutions to help them set up in Lujiazui and understand China's asset management industry.

Yuan Yefeng, director of Lujiazui Financial City Authority's department for finance, shipping and innovation, told Xinhua that the association would attract more leading asset management organizations to do business in Shanghai.

Currently, more than 60 overseas asset management institutions have subsidiaries or plan to establish branches in Lujiazui. Nine of the top 10 global asset management institutions have wholly foreign-owned enterprises in Lujiazui.

By 2019, China will be the second largest asset management market in the world, with more than 17 trillion U.S. dollars of assets under management by 2030, up from 2.8 trillion dollars in 2016, according to Casey Quirk.

In September 2016, J.P. Morgan set up a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) in Shanghai Free Trade Zone with the first WFOE asset management license in China.

The license allows a WFOE to offer onshore fixed income, equity, and multi-asset private funds to both institutional and high net worth investors in China.

"There was only member of staff when the WFOE was founded, but now there are 13. We are growing fast," said Zhou Lingling, deputy general manager with J.P. Morgan Asset Management (Shanghai) Ltd.

"We are confident of our performance in China and we will seize every chance in this market," said Zhou. She said China is expected to become the largest asset management market in the next five to 10 years.

"We are so glad to be a member of the coming Global Asset Management Association of Lujiazui. I believe it will be a great exchange platform for financial institutions like us," Zhou said.

In July last year, UBS Asset Management became the first international manager with a Qualified Domestic Limited Partner quota to receive a Private Fund Management license in China.

Given the license, UBS is able to provide a broad range of services to onshore and global investors, and to work more closely with subsidiaries of global firms in China to meet their domestic investment needs.

Gao Ting, head of China Strategy at UBS Securities Equity Research, said at the preparatory meeting that with China's efforts to open its capital markets to the world, A-shares will be included in the MSCI indices in June, making China's stock market more important for both onshore and offshore investors.

Meanwhile, Chen Ting, general manager with BlackRock Investment Management (Shanghai) Limited Company, also showed her passion for the Chinese market.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, China reiterated its commitment to opening banking, securities and insurance sectors.

"Given the opening-up policies and the pleasant business environment, Lujiazui Financial City in Shanghai will be the first choice for global financial companies to do business in China," Chen said.

Global investment managers like J.P. Morgan and Vanguard are eyeing a share of China's public fund market as well as China's pension market, according to Chen.

"China plans to further open up the financial sector, which really means a lot to global market players. I hope foreign investment managers like us will be allowed to manage China's public fund in five to 10 years," she said.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The recent round of negotiations regarding the balance of trade in the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) between Pakistan and Indonesia is likely to increase Islamabad's exports to Jakarta by 200 million U.S. dollars annually, officials said Wednesday.

Senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Trade told the local media that the trade volume between Pakistan and Indonesia currently stands at 170 million U.S. dollars annually.

The current figure is likely to swell to 370 million U.S. dollars after the recent PTA talks. The both sides agreed to expand the scope of PTA and turn it into a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

During the recent talks, the two countries discussed 20 tariff lines, of which, Indonesia agreed to give unilateral concession to Pakistan's major exports including zero-rated tariff on textile fabric, tobacco, citrus, T-shirts, mangoes, ethanol, rice, apparel and woven fabric.

The ministry official termed the unilateral concession on 20 tariff line as a major success for Islamabad as it would lead to the exports of Pakistani mangoes and citrus to Indonesia, which is set to increase trade volume and earning through exports for Pakistan.

The official pointed out that before the recently held PTA negotiations, Pakistan could export mangoes and citrus to Indonesia for only two months in the year, but now these two fruits can be exported to the country anytime in the year.

The Pakistan-Indonesia PTA was executed in February 2012, he added.

The official further stated that the Islamabad wanted to kick off negotiations process with the Pacific and the South East Asian nations on the proposed FTA in a bid to augment the multilateral trade and the improved trade and competitiveness in Pakistan's trade.

Countries like Japan, Indonesia, and Philippines in the Pacific region were also part of the list for starting PTA dialogue leading to FTA for the promotion of trade liberalization, he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 21:44:00|Editor: Mengjie

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China has launched a campaign to crack down on gambling in rural areas ahead of the Spring Festival holidays, according to a circular released Wednesday.

The campaign will focus on mafia-style gangs involved in gambling-related activities, according to the document jointly issued by three law-enforcement departments, including the Ministry of Public Security.

The circular says that gambling-related crimes remain severe in rural areas and are threatening social stability.

"Gambling is drawing in people who have received demolition compensation and the left-behind family members of migrant workers," the document said.

Local authorities were asked to mobilize the public to report gambling activities, and to strengthen investigation into online gambling.

It also called for better cultural services for rural residents.

Organizing gambling for profit and gambling professionally are crimes on the Chinese mainland.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 21:49:01|Editor: Mengjie

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LIMA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China, buying products worth 11.455 billion U.S. dollars from Peru in 2017, has become the primary market for the South American country, the Chamber of Commerce of Lima (CCL) announced on Tuesday.

"China's most demanded commodities were copper minerals, copper cathodes, fish meal, iron minerals and silver minerals. The export value of these items increased by 31 percent, 37 percent, 65 percent, 26 percent and 23 percent, respectively, compared to 2016," said Carlos Posada, the executive director of CCL's Institute of Research and Development of Foreign Trade.

He also said the increase was principally due to the rise in the price of the mentioned products in the international market.

With a 36 percent increase in imports from Peru year-on-year, China, accounting for 26 percent of its partner's total exports in 2017, topped other countries and regions which import from Peru. The United States accounted for 16 percent, while the European Union (EU) occupied 15 percent.

Posada added that the United States mainly imported gold, gasoline, fresh grapes, asparagus and molybdenum while the EU focused on copper, natural gas, zinc and avocados.
A Free Syrian Army fighter holds his weapon beside fellow fighters in Aleppo's Sheikh Saeed neighborhood, September 28, 2013. (REUTERS PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Feb 7. (Xinhua) -- The Russian-Turkish commission to oversee ceasefire breaches in Syria recorded 14 cases of violation in the last 24 hours, Russia Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

Six breaches were recorded in the province of Damascus, five in Latakia, and one each respectively in Aleppo, Idlib and Homs, the ministry said in its daily bulletin published on its website.

Most cases of indiscriminate firing from mortars and small arms were registered in areas controlled by the Nusra Front terrorist group, it said.

Both Russia and Turkey are guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime which came into force on Dec. 30, 2016.

One ceasefire agreement has been signed with the settlement of Rasm as Saharij in the province of Aleppo in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of such settlements to 2,352, the bulletin said.
Source:Xinhua| 2018-02-07 22:06:34|Editor: Mengjie

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Workers check rails at Suzhou Railway Station in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, Feb. 7, 2018. Engineers examine the rail every night to ensure the safety of trains and passengers. (Xinhua/Ding Ting)
Police officers check motorists in Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh, on Feb. 7, 2018. Authorities heightened security in the capital, one day ahead of the delivery of a verdict over former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's graft case. (Xinhua/Salim reza)

DHAKA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Paramilitary soldiers have been deployed in Bangladesh as part of security measures to thwart any untoward incident ahead of a court verdict on Thursday in the corruption trial of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia amid escalating tensions.

Major General Abul Hossain, director general of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), told Xinhua on Wednesday afternoon that the paramilitary BGB soldiers have been deployed.

He could not disclose immediately the exact number of troops being deployed.

"We're sending troops to different places based on calls from local administrations," he said.

Sources said the BGB deployment has been done initially in a limited scale but the forces have been asked to remain ready to carry out any further order to prevent any act of sabotage over the impending verdict in a graft case against Zia, chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).

Khaleda Zia has been charged in 30 cases, including five on corruption and 15 for masterminding violence in the BNP's anti-government movements since 2014.

Of the five corruption cases, the trial proceedings in Zia Orphanage Trust graft cases against Zia have been completed and will be delivered Thursday.

The graft case was filed in July 2008 which said Zia and five others including her son and BNP's senior vice president Tarique Rahman, had embezzled over 20 million takas (253,164 U.S. dollars) in foreign donations meant for the Zia Orphanage Trust during her 2001-2006 prime minister term.

BNP leaders have threatened to initiate a tough movement against the incumbent government if any unjustified verdict is given against Zia on Thursday.

Obaidul Quader, Awami League (AL) general secretary and the country's road transport and bridges minister, has warned that befitting reply will be given to BNP if they try to carry out destructive activities regarding the court verdict.

Security has been beefed up in places in the capital of Dhaka since Tuesday.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police has already imposed an indefinite ban on meetings, processions and rallies in the capital from Thursday morning, a step the opposition described as an attempt to mute dissenting voices.

Hundreds of BNP members including its several front line leaders have already been detained.

Experts said if the opposition chief is convicted in the Zia Orphanage Trust graft case, she might be barred from participating in the next general election slated for next year.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's AL party, which rose to power with a landslide election victory in early 2009 and won its second term in 2014, now eyes for the third consecutive victory.

The AL is facing challenges from Zia's BNP, which boycotted the 2014 elections.

Some 21 parties including Zia's BNP boycotted the parliament elections in 2014 as Hasina did not heed their demand for a non-party caretaker government to hold the polls.

BNP has been demanding parliament polls under a non-party government.
MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Senior diplomats of Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) discussed here on Wednesday the situation on the Korean Peninsula and their bilateral relations, said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

An unnamed source from the ministry told about the matter, giving no further information.

Interfax reported last week that Russia and DRPK were expected to have another regular round of regular consultations between their foreign ministries to address "a broad range of bilateral issues," citing the same source.

Last Friday, the Russian embassy to the DPRK said that a DPRK diplomat had left for Moscow to attend talks, according to Interfax.
Refugees from South Sudan rest at a refugee camp in Sudan's White Nile state near the border with South Sudan on May 17, 2017. The Sudanese Red Crescent Society (SRCS) on Tuesday said it is about to launch an urgent relief appeal to meet the growing influx of refugees from South Sudan. (Xinhua/Mohamed Babiker)

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- When peace talks resumed early this week in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to end South Sudan's brutal civil war, it was with a warning the talks could be the last chance to salvage peace.

The Addis Ababa peace talks called "Second Phase of High-Level Revitalization Forum" came after the December 24, 2017 ceasefire agreement in which warring parties signed a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. The deal was broken hours after its enforcement was supposed to start.

IGAD Council of Ministers Chairman, Workneh Gebeyehu, told the warring parities and stakeholders at the beginning of the 10-day peace talks that "this is your last chance." South Sudan is a member nation of the eight-nations East African bloc IGAD.

Gebeyehu, who is also Ethiopia's foreign minister, said after the cessation of hostilities agreement was signed last December there had been multiple reports of violations.

Already, heads of the UN, AU and IGAD had during the 30th AU summit last month jointly voiced their frustrations and warned South Sudan's warring factions against violating the recent peace deal.

With exasperation reaching boiling point among mediators and donor nations with inability of South Sudanese warring parties to end the civil war, some have taken unilateral punitive stances.

Earlier this month, the U.S. imposed arms embargo on South Sudan ,while the EU imposed travel bans and asset freezes on three current and former South Sudan officials.

With South Sudan's civil war that has killed thousands and displaced millions entering its fifth year without an end in sight, analysts say the international community especially neighboring countries can't afford to abandon the world's newest nation.

Abebe Aynete, senior researcher at the Ethiopian Foreign Relations Strategic Studies, a local think thank, told Xinhua what will most likely happen in 2018 is IGAD and its individual member nations could slap targeted sanctions on individuals suspected of fueling the conflict.

Ethiopia, an influential South Sudan neighbor, currently shelters around half a million South Sudanese refugees and has hosted several rounds of peace talks ever since the South Sudan civil war erupted in December 2013.

Aynete painted a pessimistic picture in 2018 for South Sudan, saying the much-awaited 2018 election that was supposed to solve the country's bitter division is unlikely to happen.

South Sudan has not had democratic elections since it won independence from Sudan in 2011 after more than two decades of civil war that ended with President Salva Kiir ascending to power through referendum vote, ushering in a transition period in the oil-rich and yet impoverished country.

It descended into violence starting December 2013 after a political dispute between President Salva Kiir and his former deputy turned rebel chief Riek Machar led to split in the army, leaving soldiers to fight alongside ethnic lines.

The conflict has since then fragmented with shifting alliances and a fractured armed opposition making it harder for mediators to bring all sides to the negotiating table.

James Morgan, South Sudan's ambassador to Ethiopia, told Xinhua that mediators and donor nations need to have full picture to resolve the conflict instead of threatening punitive measures.

"There are elements in the rebellion not interested in cessation of hostilities, the body tasked with monitoring ceasefire doesn't have the capacity to monitor," he said.

Morgan was referring to a Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism established by IGAD to investigate and report on cease fire violations among its tasks.

The ambassador was also defiant to threat of further sanctions especially being made by western nations out of "own self-interest and ego".

With the U.S. and EU starting to impose sanctions and IGAD warning it could take a range of political measures on violators and spoilers of South Sudan peace process, others are advising a more cautious approach.

Speaking exclusively to Xinhua, Chinese ambassador to South Sudan He Xiangdong said on Monday the conflict in South Sudan may seem difficult to resolve, but every effort must be made to find sustainable solution.

"I think on punitive matters we need to further consultation with IGAD countries and AU. Definitely, a certain kind of pressure is needed to push the peace process to move forward, while at the same time be cautious of results of all the possible measures, because we need to put result first. Any measure needs to be carefully calculated to see if it's helpful to resolve the problems or not," said the ambassador.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 22:14:09|Editor: Mengjie

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NANJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Intermediate People's Court of east China's Xuzhou City upheld a ruling made by a lower court which convicted 22 people of gang crime and sentenced them to jail with varying terms or detention.

At an open trial held Tuesday, the Intermediate People's Court of Xuzhou City, east China's Jiangsu Province, said they believe the verdict given by Suining Couty People's Court, the lower court, in December is appropriate and should be allowed to stay.

The higher court said Tuesday's ruling is final.

The court heard that the mafia-style gang, led by Tao Lei and Tao Shuai, were involved in acts including illegal dismantling civilian houses with violence, illegal property development and mining.

The illegal dismantling adversely affected over 200 villagers in Zhangji Village in Tongshan District, Xuzhou City of Jiangsu. The mining led to the deterioration of the local environment.

The gang also built over 40,000 square meters of shops and residential houses illegally, worth over 40 million yuan (about 6.4 million U.S. dollars), and they exploited more than 180,000 tonnes of ores, worth over 5.1 million yuan.

The gang was proven guilty of all above acts.

In a first-instance trial held in Decemeber, Suining Couty People's Court ruled that Tao Lei and Tao Shuai were given 20 years and 18 years in jail terms, respectively, while 20 others of the gang were sentenced to jail terms up to 11 years or detention. They were also given fines.

Tao Lei and others of the gang appealed their case after the first-instance trial.

The Chinese government in January ordered a new campaign against organized crime.

The Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, and the ministries of Public Security and Justice issued a joint circular Monday, saying that mafia-style gangsters and those who shelter gang members will get a lesser punishment if they turn themselves in before March 1.
A DPRK official attends the "Made In North Korea" exhibition held at the UMAM museum in Moscow, Russia January 20, 2018. (REUTERS PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Senior diplomats of Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) discussed here on Wednesday the situation on the Korean Peninsula and their bilateral relations, said the Russian Foreign Ministry.

An unnamed source from the ministry told about the matter, giving no further information.

Interfax reported last week that Russia and DRPK were expected to have another regular round of regular consultations between their foreign ministries to address "a broad range of bilateral issues," citing the same source.

Last Friday, the Russian embassy to the DPRK said that a DPRK diplomat had left for Moscow to attend talks, according to Interfax.
PYONGYANG, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) was sealed off Wednesday night in preparation for a major military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its armed forces, according to witnesses.

All the thoroughfares leading to the central Kim Il Sung Square were blocked by traffic control officers and military personnel, said witnesses.

The DPRK will hold a military parade Thursday at the Kim Il Sung Square in central Pyongyang to mark the founding day of its Korean People's Army, according to official media reports.

It is not known whether Pyongyang will display its latest inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBM), Hwasong 15 and 14, which are said to be able to strike the U.S. mainland, during the parade.

The last time the DPRK held its military parade was on March 25, 2017, when it showcased its latest missile arsenal including a simulated ICBM.h Such high level security measures indicate that DPRK top leader Kim Jong Un may attend the parade.

The few foreign correspondents based here have not been invited to cover the event.

Last month, the DPRK changed its official date to celebrate the army founding from March 25 to Feb. 8.

While some speculate the move could be a message to the upcoming PyeongChang Winter Olympics set to open Friday, Pyongyang insists that it is normal for any country to celebrate its army founding day.
MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Nusra Front terrorist group, an offspring of Al-Qaeda, is the main source of destabilization in Syria, a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

"The militants of this terrorist group, receiving supporting weapons and other materials from the third parties, seek to derail the peace process in the de-escalation zones, attempting to squeeze out the formation of the moderate opposition," Major-General Igor Konashenkov said in a statement.

Russia is deeply concerned by the fact that the Nusra Front has recently obtained portable air defense systems (MANPADS), which can also be used outside Syria and beyond combatting military aircraft.

On Saturday, militants of the Nusra Front shot down using MANPADS a Russian Su-25 jet fighter when it overflew a de-escalation zone in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria.

The pilot, Major Roman Filippov, managed to jettison, but blew himself up with a grenade after being surrounded by militants.

Shortly after the incident, the Russian Air Force group in Syria, in retaliation, carried out a massive strike against an area in Idlib in northwestern Syria, which was controlled by the Nusra Front, killing at least 30 militants.

Konashenkov said that the Russian Ministry of Defense was working to establish the types of MANPADS obtained by terrorists and channels for their delivery.

The spokesman recalled that the Nusra Front carried out a mass attack by shock drones earlier this year against Russia's Hmeymim and Tartus military bases in Syria, using technical solutions previously unavailable to terrorists.

"All this confirms our fears that the terrorists of the Syrian branch of Al-Qaeda became an obedient instrument in the hands of one or a group of technologically advanced countries that are not satisfied with Russia's key role in the liberation of Syria from the Islamic State," Konashenkov concluded.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 22:49:17|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The State Council Wednesday unveiled an array of measures to further reduce leverage of state firms in its latest effort to rein in financial risks.

China will provide stronger support for debt-to-equity swaps, promote mixed-ownership reform, and improve policies on business reorganizations and bankruptcy, said a statement released after an executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

State-owned enterprises will continue to be a priority in the deleveraging campaign, and the work should be carried out via market-oriented, law-based means, according to the statement.

The meeting agreed that positive progress was made last year as corporate leverage ratios ended their gaining streak.

The debt-to-asset ratio of industrial enterprises with annual turnover more than 20 million yuan (3.18 million U.S. dollars) went down to 55.5 percent at the end of 2017, from 56.1 percent a year earlier. The ratio for state-controlled firms stood at 60.4 percent.

Debt-to-equity swap programs were highlighted for SOE deleveraging during the meeting.

The government will widen the channel for private capital into debt-to-equity swaps of SOEs. Equity investment institutions will be encouraged to participate in the process, with measures to allow the establishment of private equity funds focused on debt-to-equity swaps.

Financial institutions including banks, state capital investment companies and insurers will be supported to conduct debt-to-equity swaps by using existing units and setting up new departments.

There will be targeted guidelines from the government to improve the quality of debt-to-equity swaps and push related deals to come into effect as soon as possible.

Measures can also be expected to improve corporate governance. A debt control mechanism will be established, and corporate capital can be replenished by additional share offering and bringing in strategic investors. Mixed-ownership reform will be promoted.

Policies on debt restructuring and bankruptcy will also be improved. Government, enterprises, and banks will share losses from the bankruptcy of debt-ridden, loss-making "zombie enterprises."
JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 7 (Xinhua)-- South Africa's deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed meeting with the embattled president Jacob Zuma to clarify matters relating to the latter's reluctance to step down.

Ramaphosa said their discussions were constructive and laid the basis for a speedy resolution to the leadership question in South Africa.

"This will enable President Zuma and myself to conclude our discussions and report back to our organisation and the country in the coming days," Ramaphosa said in a statement that is regarded by many political analysts as not clear.

Ramaphosa believed this was a "challenging time" for the country.

"Both President Zuma and myself are aware that our people want and deserve closure. The constructive process we have embarked on offers the greatest opportunity to conclude this matter without discord and division," he said.

"However, I am certain that the process we have now embarked on will achieve an outcome that not only addresses these concerns, but also unites our people around the tasks that all of us must necessarily undertake to build our country," according to Ramaphosa's statement issued by the ANC.

"We will be able to communicate further on President Zuma's position as President of the Republic once we have finalized all pertinent matters," he said.

The statement said on the basis of the progress made, a special meeting of the ANC NEC (National Executive Committee) that had been scheduled for Wednesday was postponed.
YANGON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese lion and dragon dance contest kicked off at Junction Square Shopping Center in Myanmar's Yangon on Wednesday evening as part of the pre-activities of Chinese New Year celebration.

A total of 17 lion dance groups and 12 dragon dance groups participated in the competition which will be held for eight consecutive nights until Feb. 14.

"We hold this contest to showcase Chinese traditional lion and dragon dances as well as to welcome the Chinese New Year which will fall in next week," U Thein Aung, secretary of Myanmar Lion and Dragon Dance Federation, told Xinhua.

Jointly organized by Myanmar Lion and Dragon Dance Federation and Junction Center Group, this is the fourth time that such dance contest was annually held.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-07 22:59:20|Editor: Zhou Xin

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Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Dutch King Willem-Alexander in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 7, 2018. Xi's wife Peng Liyuan and the queen Maxima also attended the meeting. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- China and the Netherlands on Wednesday agreed to carry out more mutually beneficial cooperation through joint implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018.

The agreement was reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Dutch King Willem-Alexander during their meeting in Beijing.

The president welcomed the royal couple's visit, from Feb. 7 to 8, ahead of the upcoming Chinese New Year.

Xi recalled his state visit to the Netherlands in 2014, when the two sides set up an open and practical China-Netherlands comprehensive cooperative partnership.

"Through joint efforts by both sides, the consensus we reached and the outcomes of our mutual visits have been implemented," said Xi, noting that bilateral relations have entered the best period in history.

He lauded the growing political mutual trust, mutual respect of each other's core interests and major concerns, as well as the fruitful cooperation in trade, investment, innovation and culture between the two countries.

China-Netherlands relations are currently at a new starting point, said Xi, suggesting the two sides carry out more mutually beneficial cooperation through the Belt and Road construction.

For his part, King Willem-Alexander extended his Chinese New Year's greetings to President Xi and the Chinese people.

He wished China more achievements in the new year and new development in bilateral ties.

Congratulating on the success of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Dutch king said China has a bright future for its development.

The Netherlands has always attached great importance to developing relations with China, he said, adding the Netherlands would like to actively participate in the Belt and Road construction.

He said the Netherlands is willing to participate in the first China International Import Expo, which is slated to be held in Shanghai from Nov. 5 to 10 this year.

The Netherlands hopes to enhance cooperation with China in international and regional affairs, the king said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also met with the Dutch monarch on Wednesday.

Li said the Netherlands is a world leader in terms of agriculture and agricultural technology, port logistics and port management.

China is willing to enhance cooperation with the Netherlands in the aforementioned areas, expand bilateral trade, strengthen the exchange of technology, facilitate customs clearance, and better dovetail the Belt and Road Initiative with Dutch development plans, said Li.

Saying that the relations between the Netherlands and China are at their best time in history, the king noted that his country is China's third-largest trade partner within the European Union and can serve as China's gateway to the European Union.

He encouraged China to expand investment in the Netherlands, calling for more trade exchanges and cooperation on agriculture, logistics and transportation between the two countries and advancing two-way opening of their markets.

This is the Dutch king's second visit to China since he ascended the throne in April 2013, following the abdication of his mother, Queen Beatrix.
JAKARTA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Maraud and her Italian counterpart Angelino Alfano discussed ways on Wednesday to expand bilateral ties to mark the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic relations.

The two met in Retno's office as part of Alfano's tour to Southeast Asian nations.

"We discussed several activities that Indonesia and Italy can do to mark 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year. We agreed to highlight the creative economy and Small Middle Enterprises (SMEs) to celebrate the anniversary," Retno told a joint press conference after the meeting.

She said Alfano's visit, which came four months after her visit to Italy, has showed commitment of the two countries to further expand bilateral relations.

She added that Indonesia and Italy saw increasing economy cooperation with Italy becoming Indonesia's third largest trade partner in Europe.

The Indonesian foreign minister said that two-way trade between Indonesia and Italy as of November last year stood at 3 billion U.S. dollars, or 16 percent higher than it was in the corresponding period a year earlier.

"We want to use this positive trend to further enhance our bilateral economy cooperation, particularly in the trade sector," Retno said.

For his part, Alfano expressed Italy's eagerness to enhance its bilateral cooperation with Indonesia, saying that the two countries have closely engaged in cooperation within the Group of 20.

"Italy and Indonesia relation is very excellent. Italy sees Indonesia as a partner which is very supportive in strengthening the cooperation," he said.
A picture taken on February 3, 2018, shows smoke billowing from the site of a downed Sukhoi-25 fighter jet in Syria's northwest province of Idlib. Rebel fighters shot down a Russian plane over Syria's northwest Idlib province and captured its pilot. (AFP Photo)

ANKARA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkey was involved in efforts to deliver the body of a Russian pilot to Moscow who was killed in a mission in Syria on Saturday, a Turkish official told Xinhua on Wednesday.

A Russian transport plane landed in southern Hatay Province of Turkey late Monday to transfer the body of the Russian pilot, the official said on condition of anonymity.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that they had asked for help from Turkey after a Su-25 fighter jet was shot down when it overflew a de-escalation zone in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria, and the pilot blew himself up with a grenade after being seriously wounded and surrounded by the militants.

The downing of the aircraft was claimed by Tahrir al-Sham, a group spearheaded by the former al-Nusra Front.

"The pilot, Maj. Roman Filipov, who died heroically in Syria on Feb. 3, has been brought back to Russia by the Russian military intelligence service in collaboration with our Turkish colleagues," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it sent a request to the Turkish side to assist in obtaining all the debris of the downed fighter jet.

The ministry said its experts were "particularly interested in the remains of the Russian aircraft's engines with traces of the missile impact in order to precisely identify the MANPADS (man-portable air defense systems) type used by terrorists, production site and channels of supply to Syria."

Turkey, Russia and Iran are working together to promote de-escalation zones in Syria. Idlib is one of those de-escalation zones, where the Turkish army has established three observation positions and is working on the fourth.
Syrian air defense on Wednesday destroyed most of Israeli missiles targeting military position in the countryside of Damascus. (AFP Photo)

DAMASCUS, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Syrian air defenses destroyed most of the Israeli missiles targeting a military position in the countryside of the Syrian capital Damascus early Wednesday, the Syrian army said in a statement.

The Israeli warplanes fired the missiles from inside the Lebanese airspace, it noted.

The army warned of the dangerous repercussions of the Israeli attack and its "repetitive aggressive adventure."

It also highlighted its readiness to foil any future aggression.

No further details were revealed about the exact location of the attack but other reports said the missile attack targeted the Scientific Research Center in Jamraya in the west of Damascus.

The same position had been targeted by the Israelis twice before.

Some activists said the position contains arms depots used by the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

Israel has repeatedly warned that it will not tolerate Iranian influence in Syria or support to the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group.
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MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The new nuclear policy recently announced by the United States shows its ambition of global domination and will destabilize the world by damaging the existing checks-and-balance system, a Russian expert said.

"This is a strategy of intimidation and threats, including the use of nuclear weapons, against any state which do not fit in the American world concept," editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine National Defense Igor Korotchenko told Xinhua Tuesday.

The U.S. Defense Ministry on Friday officially published the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the guiding principle for the future U.S. policy seeking enhanced nuclear deterrent, which is already the world's most powerful.

Korotchenko noted what is new in the NPR is that now the United States declares its readiness to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states, meaning Washington intends to use nuclear weapons whenever and wherever it thinks fit.

"The United States is ready to use nuclear weapons or is threatening to use them, as a form of political blackmail," Korotchenko said.

The NPR has drawn wide criticism after its publication, although Washington justifies its decision on nuclear expansion by underlining the worsening global security.

To Korotchenko, it is just a far-fetched pretext used by Washington to cover up its steps.

"The United States itself is fanning the flame ... Russia and China are not involved in land-grabbing actions. The DPRK is only asking to be left in peace. So all this noise only serves as a propaganda curtain for the aggressive plans of the United States," he said.

Nevertheless, the new doctrine is mainly targeted at Russia and China, which are deemed by Washington as major threats to its global domination, Korotchenko said.

"The real reason is its wish to dominate the globe. Trump declared that he wanted to make America great again," he said.

He added that the United States may use nuclear weapons against China and Russia when disputes arise in cases concerning the South China Sea and NATO countries.

However, this direct military and political threat will by no means strengthen its national security, for such action will only provoke other countries like Russia to respond with equally increasing nuclear arsenal, thus leading to a potential arms race.

He warned that the United States lowering the threshold of using nuclear weapons represents a direct threat to the world's stability.

"Globally, it will destabilize the world, as the existing checks-and-balance system will collapse. And it will make the world more dangerous, more unpredictable," he said.
ARUSHA, Tanzania, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian authorities on Wednesday announced to have destroyed six hectares of marijuana planted inside a forest in northern part of the East African nation.

Mwigulu Nchemba, Tanzania's Minister for Home Affairs who lead the operation, said the destroyed farms were found in Engalaoni village, one of the villages located on the foothills of Mount Meru, the second tallest peak in Tanzania after Mount Kilimanjaro.

Nchemba said in an interview that owners of the destroyed marijuana farms managed to escape, and the manhunt is ongoing.

He said the operation is part of the countrywide anti-narcotics campaign aimed at making Tanzania free from illicit drugs.

The minister said the government will continue with the operation across the country, warning people behind the farming, trading and transporting marijuana to look for another job.

He also tasked local governments to offer support in the fight against marijuana.

Charles Mkumbo, Arusha Regional Police Commander, also said that all the six hectares of marijuana planted in the area were burnt down.

He also noted that the fight against cannabis farming will continue across the region, saying that in recent years perpetrators have changed tactics to move away from police hands by farming the illegal crops in areas that can not be easily reached.

According to him, marijuana is widely grown on the slopes of Mount Meru, protected by poor terrain and resistance from local residents in Arusha region.
South African President Jacob Zuma speaks during the Annual Opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders at the Old Assembly Chamber in Parliament, Cape Town, South Africa, on March 3, 2016. (Xinhua/DOC/Siya Duda)

JOHANNESBURG, Feb. 7 (Xinhua)-- South Africa's deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed meeting with the embattled president Jacob Zuma to clarify matters relating to the latter's reluctance to step down.

Ramaphosa said their discussions were constructive and laid the basis for a speedy resolution to the leadership question in South Africa.

"This will enable President Zuma and myself to conclude our discussions and report back to our organisation and the country in the coming days," Ramaphosa said in a statement on Wednesday that is regarded by many political analysts as not clear.

Ramaphosa believed this was a "challenging time" for the country.

"Both President Zuma and myself are aware that our people want and deserve closure. The constructive process we have embarked on offers the greatest opportunity to conclude this matter without discord and division," he said.

"However, I am certain that the process we have now embarked on will achieve an outcome that not only addresses these concerns, but also unites our people around the tasks that all of us must necessarily undertake to build our country," according to Ramaphosa's statement issued by the ANC.

"We will be able to communicate further on President Zuma's position as President of the Republic once we have finalized all pertinent matters," he said.

The statement said on the basis of the progress made, a special meeting of the ANC NEC (National Executive Committee) that had been scheduled for Wednesday was postponed.

The statement came amid speculation in the county about Zuma's future as head of state. There has been media reports that Zuma will resign or his party will force him to do that.

Zuma also postponed the State of the Nation Address which was schedule for Thursday. Ramaphosa said despite this, the work of government and parliament is continuing.
A lion couple enjoy cool air in the rain at the Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya, Nov. 23, 2013. To pursue food and water, a large number of wild animals made their second migration trip of this year to the Kenyan Maasai Mara National Reserve due to drought in Serengeti National Park of Tanzania. (Xinhua/Meng Chenguang)

DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A Tanzanian senior official said on Wednesday the government planned to construct 15 airstrips in the southern circuit of the east African country to boost tourism.

Hamisi Kiganwalla, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, said the construction of the airstrips will go in tandem with the diversification of tourist attraction centers.

"The southern tourist circuit is overwhelmed with too many attractions. It needs to be improved to attract more tourists from across the world," Kigwangalla told the National assembly in the capital Dodoma.

The minister said the government's focus for now was to develop the southern tourism circuit and look for other tourism products across the country.

He said airstrips to be built at four national parks in the southern tourism circuit will facilitate smooth transport services to local and foreign tourists.

Kigwangalla said the airstrips will be built at the Selous Game Reserve, the Ruaha National Park, the Mikumi National Park and the Udzungwa Mountains National Park.

Kigwangalla, responding to a number of issues raised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism, said improvement of the southern circuit will also involve construction of a road from Iringa town to the entrance of the Ruaha National Park.

He told the House that tourism was among the number one sectors with huge contributions to the country's foreign currency earnings, adding that in the 2016/2017 financial year tourism contributed 2.1 billion U.S. dollars.

He said the tourism sector contributed 17.6 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 12 percent of employment.

Kemilembe Lwota, the vice-chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Lands, Natural Resources and Tourism, faulted the government over poor marketing strategies to advertise the country's tourist attractions within and outside the country.

Lwota said it was high time the government put in place strategies to identify, improve and market tourist attractions to be able to get intended revenues.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- E-commerce in Pakistan has had a slow start but it is gaining ground due to the growing number of internet users in the country as well as government efforts for digital inclusion.

E-commerce is set to cross 1 billion U.S. dollars by 2020, according to a recently published report by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

It is estimated that the size of Pakistan e-commerce market falls between 60-100 million U.S. dollars and expected to grow up to 1 billion U.S. dollars by 2020, the report revealed, citing current trends as basis for the calculations.

The yearly report of PTA for 2017 also said that on the orders of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the Ministry of Commerce has formulated an "e-commerce policy board" to monitor progress and ensure coordinated cross-institutional efforts for development of e-commerce in Pakistan.

Imran Ali Khan, CEO of Zameen.com, a leading online real estate database that connects realtors, developers, estate agencies with buyers, sellers and renters in Pakistan, told Xinhua that although Pakistan is a latecomer to this sector, e-commerce is rising massively and e-commerce players are mushrooming in the country.

"We need regulations and incentives for the industry from the government. There are lots of opportunities in Pakistan," Khan said, adding that growing incomes, coupled with advancement in communication technology and expansion of internet access and branchless banking, have been pushing the sector forward.

E-commerce is growing in Pakistan as 571 local e-commerce traders are already accepting payments through banking networks as of June 2017, with gross annual domestic sales worth 9.8 billion rupees (about 90 million U.S. dollars), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) said in its quarterly report quoting latest e-commerce data.

Various benefits such as ease of shopping from home, wider selection variety, availability of 24/7 service and interaction possibilities like reviews to make an informed decision were the main sources of attraction to the consumers, said the report from SBP.

Pakistan's explosive online progress has not gone unnoticed. Last year on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Jack Ma, chairperson of the world's largest e-commerce company Alibaba, met with then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to express his interest in investing in Pakistan's e-commerce sector.

Later in May last year, Alibaba and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the country's exports worldwide by small and medium enterprises through e-commerce.

Nadine Malik, CEO of Jovago, Pakistan's leading online hotel-booking company, opined that the government should take initiatives to support and further bolster e-commerce in Pakistan.

"The industry has phenomenal potential to grow and local investors have shown commendable ability to shape the economy through e-commerce but there is still a long way to go," adding that low literacy rate in the society, power outages and high internet rates are the major obstacles in the way of e-business in the country.

Pakistan is commonly a cash-driven economy as the number of debit or credit card holders is small and mobile-wallet accounts are also very low due to which more than 95 percent of the e-commerce transactions are done by cash on the delivery system, said e-commerce experts in the country.

Customers are still afraid to use online payment as a mode of transaction. They hardly give their credit card information on the internet to buy items, only 3 percent of Pakistani internet users have purchased items online. In this situation, cash on delivery allows a convenient alternate.

Online buying trend in the country is not just limited to day-to-day products, there are also websites for cars, property and travel which shows that the consumers are using internet to process a wide range of economic activities.

Recently, online shopping has been surged on Black Friday, a major shopping day across the globe and now in Pakistan too. In 2015, there were just a few portals to cater consumers online. In 2016 and 2017, Black Friday was much bigger. Revenues along with the number of e-commerce sites who participated by offering extraordinary discounts surpassed all records.

The rising trend of e-commerce has motivated many retail chains to setup online distribution networks as the system is more cost-effective, consumer-friendly and easily manageable compared with a traditional channel.

Pakistan may be lagging behind the rest of the world but the country's e-commerce is on the cusp of stability and prosperity for not only its business owners but also the society at large.
U.S. President Donald Trump attends the 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 26, 2018. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday asked the Pentagon to stage a military parade, the White House implied in a statement.

"President Trump is incredibly supportive of America's great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe. He has asked the Department of Defense to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said regarding inquiries about a possible military parade.

The Washington Post first reported that Trump expressed his desire for a grand military parade this year in Washington D.C. at a Jan. 18 meeting with top generals.

U.S. troops march during the annual Bastille Day military parade on the Concorde Square in Paris, France, on July 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Chen Yichen)

"We are aware of the request and are looking at possible dates," Charlie Summers, a Pentagon spokesman, told NBC News. He added that the process is in its "infancy" but cited Nov. 11 as a possible date.

French Alphajets of the Patrouille de France fly over the Pyramid of the Louvre Museum during the annual Bastille Day military parade in Paris, France, on July 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Genxing)

Trump was reportedly impressed by a military parade he witnessed in Paris to celebrate Bastille Day last year.
ISLAMABAD, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan Navy has seized 5,000 kg of narcotics and arrested some suspected drug traffickers in Arabian Sea off the country's shores, officials said Wednesday.

The operation was conducted by the ship ASLAT in Pakistan's Exclusive Economic Zone, a statement issued by the directorate of public relations of Pakistan Navy said on Wednesday.

The special warfare teams of ASLAT carried out the search operation at a suspected vessel after gathering credible evidence regarding the presence of 5,000 kg of hashish on it.

The sized drugs and the arrested suspects were handed over to Pakistan Maritime Security Agency for further legal proceedings, the statement added.

The Navy's ASLAT ship was deployed as part of the Multinational Combined Task Force-150, which is part of Operation Enduring Freedom. The Task Force-150 is mandated to ensure maritime security to prevent counter terrorism and associated illegal activities.

The success of Pakistan Navy ship in interrupting the flow of narcotics highlights the importance accorded by Pakistan Navy in patrolling the waters of North Indian Ocean to ensure free flow of legitimate commerce and deny use of high seas to terrorists and all associated miscreants, the statement said.
LONDON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Britain's first college to train a new generation of specialist staff for the nuclear industry opened its doors Wednesday.

The new National College for Nuclear will train thousands of technicians and engineers to support Britain's future nuclear programs, create cleaner energy and provide a highly skilled workforce.

The college has hubs in northern England's Cumbria region, known as the Lakes College, and in southern England in Somerset.

One of the partners in the new college is EDF Energy, currently building Hinkley Point C nuclear power station which is backed by investment from China.

Stuart Crooks, EDF Energy's managing director at Hinkley, said: "The college will support the new nuclear renaissance in Britain and is a prime example of industrial strategy in action."

The college is one of five national colleges being established by the British government. They are a key part of the industrial strategy -- the government's plan to develop the technical skills of young people, provide industry with a skilled workforce across a range of sectors and support the country's long-term economic growth.

Other colleges already open include the College of Creative and Cultural Industries; Digital Skills and High Speed Rail.

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: "The growing nuclear sector will see the development of 12 new reactors across five sites in the future, and with approximately 6,000 people each year needed for technical and professional roles, the National College for Nuclear will be key part of producing the workforce and expertise required.

Leading nuclear industry experts from Britain's main nuclear decommissioning site at Sellafield as well as from EDF Energy will work alongside the University of Cumbria and the University of Bristol to train up to 3,500 people by 2020.

Colin Reed, Chairman of the National College for Nuclear, said: "We are poised to grow to meet the challenge of nuclear skills in the years to come, both in student numbers at the existing hubs and also as we add further training deliverers at other locations to support the National demand."

Business Minister Richard Harrington described the opening of the new college as a pivotal moment for the future of nuclear energy in Britain.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 01:44:59|Editor: Lifang

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European Union Commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy Johannes Hahn speaks at a joint press conference with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic (not in the picture) in Belgrade, Serbia, on Feb. 7. 2018. Aleksandar Vucic and Johannes Hahn on Wednesday discussed the key challenges for Serbia on its path towards full EU membership. (Xinhua/Predrag Milosavljevic)

BELGRADE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and European Union Commissioner for enlargement and neighborhood policy Johannes Hahn on Wednesday discussed the key challenges for Serbia on its path towards full EU membership.

The duo agreed that relations with Kosovo, border disputes with Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), as well as harmonization of foreign policy with the European Union (EU) topped the list of outstanding issues.

Hahn arrived in Serbia for a two-day visit a day after the EU Commission adopted in Strasbourg the new enlargement strategy for the Western Balkans, which mentions Serbia and Montenegro as the next two countries that could join the EU by 2025 if they solve their bilateral disputes and implement reforms.

"EU accession must become the national goal of Serbia so that the people from different groups would accept that," Hahn said after his meeting with Vucic at a press conference, adding that Serbian people will see benefits from reforms in the rule of law, judiciary and other areas.

KOSOVO

Hahn said long-term stability demands reconciliation and good neighborhood relations, and repeated that the "EU does not wish to import bilateral disputes."

"Serbia needs to resolve and to implement a legally binding agreement with Kosovo, and we are here to help anyway we can, as well as in the case of other border disputes with Serbia's neighbors. Unsolved border disputes are not good for any country, and this is why Serbia needs to use this incentive, and this should be seen as something positive," he said.

He said that Serbia has among the toughest challenges of all regional countries. Chapter 35 of EU accession deals with the normalization of relations with its southern province Kosovo that unilaterally declared independence in 2008 that Serbia refutes.

Vucic stressed the solution will have to be a compromise in which "both sides will have to lose, and be satisfied only a little bit."

NEIGHBORHOOD RELATIONS

Other challenges, according to Vucic, include solving bilateral issues with neighboring Croatia and BiH around the demarcation of borders.

"We have to be responsible and to work hard, and we have to understand our difficult position. Our economic situation is not that difficult, but it can become difficult again if we do not solve political problems," he said.

Vucic commented that the harmonization of foreign policy will be a major political challenge and that it represents a pressure on Serbia because of its good relations with Russia.

However, he said that Serbia will be brave in proposing solutions for political problems that were left unsolved for decades, while citizens will be able to choose if they find these proposals acceptable, and if they wish to join EU or not.

Vucic maintained that the year 2025, set as the approximate time frame for Serbia's EU accession does not mean any guarantees, but that it is an important motivation for the citizens of Serbia, so that they acknowledge the progress that Serbia made in the past years.

During the first day of his visit to Serbia, Hahn also met Prime Minister Ana Brnabic, while on Thursday he will meet representatives of opposition parties, NGOs, and the media.

On Friday he will travel to Podgorica, capital of Montenegro.
WINDHOEK, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Namibia's capital Windhoek Wednesday defended safety of its potable water, dismissing social media reports that the water is unfit for human consumption.

The reports surfaced as Namibia struggles to contain an outbreak of Hepatitis E and a reported cholera case. The two diseases are transmitted via the faecal-oral route, principally via contaminated water and food.

The City of Windhoek Municipality's Public Relations Officer, Lydia Amutenya, said in a statement that the reports are detrimental to the city's good reputation in water reuse and management, and risks causing panic among residents and tourists.

"The water of the City of Windhoek undergoes rigorous scientific testing and meets all international water standards," she said.

Amutenya assured residents as well as visitors that the city's water is not infected with disease-causing micro-organisms such as cholera.

Currently central areas in Namibia get its potable water from three main sources: the bulk supplier NamWater, reclaimed water and from an underground aquifer.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 01:55:02|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIRUT, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese Higher Defense Council convened Wednesday and instructed the Lebanese Armed Forces to confront any Israeli territorial or maritime border violations.

"The council's meeting was dedicated to discussing the issue of the so-called cement wall off the southern border and within Lebanese territory, " said a statement by the secretary general of the council Saadallah al-Hamad.

The meeting discussed response to the claims by Israel's defense minister about the ownership of Block 9 within the territorial waters that are under Lebanese judicial sovereignty, it said.

"Following discussions, it turned out that this wall, should it be constructed, will be considered an encroachment on Lebanese territory and will represent a blatant violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701," al-Hamad added.

He revealed that "Israel is also encroaching on 860 square kilometers of the Exclusive Economic Zone in Lebanon's territorial waters.

Accordingly, and after deliberations, it was decided to continue the efforts at various regional and international levels to preserve Lebanon's rights, he said.

The Higher Defense Council has given instructions to confront these violations and prevent Israel from building a so-called wall of separation on Lebanese soil, al-Hamad added.

The conferees also rejected the Israeli statements and claims related to the oil and gas resources in Lebanese territorial waters.

The meeting was presided over by President Michel Aoun and attended by Prime Minister Saad Hariri as well as the ministers of defense, foreign affairs, finance, interior and economy.

The statement by the Higher Defense Council comes amid escalating tensions between Lebanon and Israel, who are technically at war.

At the heart of the current dispute is a new oil and gas exploration deal on the countries' maritime borders. Israel contests Lebanon's rights to Block 9.
CAIRO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Egypt warned Wednesday against any attempts that breach its sovereignty in the eastern Mediterranean's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), after Turkey denied a 2003 maritime border demarcation agreement between Egypt and Cyprus.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in a statement that any attempts to breach Egypt's rights were unacceptable and would be contested.

Abu Zeid said that no party can contest the agreement's validity, "as it is in line with the principles of international law and has been recognized as an international agreement by the UN."

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday said his country considers the maritime border demarcation agreement "null and void," adding that it "violates Turkey's continental shelf."

Cavusoglu said so in an interview with the Greek daily newspaper Kathimerini, saying Turkey has submitted to the UN its objection to the Egyptian-Cypriot agreement of 2003 regarding to the so-called "Delimitation of the Exclusive Economic Zone."

Cavusoglu continued that "no foreign country, company, or vessel may conduct any unauthorized hydrocarbon or scientific research activity on Turkey's continental shelf."

Cyprus has remained divided since 1974, when Turkish troops occupied the northern part of the island following a coup by Greek army junta officers.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus was declared in November 1983, but it is recognized only by Turkey.

Meanwhile, Ankara says that Cypriots should not take individual steps over the natural resources of the disputed island until the two sides agree on a comprehensive solution for reunification.

Turkey also has prickly relations with Egypt, which accuses Ankara of supporting terrorism and interfering in its domestic affairs by hosting fleeing members of the currently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan repeatedly rejected the Sisi-led military removal of Morsi in July 2013.
Egypt's rare dinosaur discovery reveals link between Africa, Europe 80 mln years ago. (Xinhua Photo)

MANSOURA, Egypt, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian discovery of remains of an ancient dinosaur in its Western Desert reveals a link between Africa and Europe in the Late Cretaceous Period some 80 million years ago, experts said Wednesday.

It filled in a gap of 30 million years in the history of dinosaurs in Africa, they held.

The discovery was made by a team of Egyptian researchers from Mansoura University's center for Vertebrate Paleontology (MUVP).

The team named the new species Mansourasaurus and the discovery marks a leap in the study of dinosaurs and represents a tangible evidence of the Gondwana split.

The MUVP team consists of the center's chief Hesham Sallam and four female researchers including his deputy Sanaa el-Sayed and researcher Iman el-Dawoudi.

"With our discovery of Mansourasaurus, we cover a missing period of about 30 million years in Africa before dinosaurs died out some 80 million years ago," she said.

"Now we have part of the story about this gap and about the history of dinosaurs in Africa in general after the Gondwana split," Dawoudi told Xinhua at Geology Lab 2 in the MUVP," she added.

"I can say that there is a connection between the dinosaurs living in Africa and those living in Europe during that period," she added.

Displayed on two stretched tables in the spacious lab, the rocky fossils of Mansourasaurus were carefully kept in jackets of gypsum and cloth, and covered with plastic material to keep them well preserved and steady when moved.

"Mansourasaurus is represented by about 65 percent of the discovered elements. We have parts of the jaw, parts of the front limb including the humerus, the radius and the ulna, some carpals and tarsals, in addition to the rips, the sternum, cervical vertebrae, dorsal vertebrae and caudal vertebrae," said the researcher.

She noted that the found parts were sufficient to make a description of the species and compare it with dinosaurs of other continents.

The team said that when they find the right forelimb, it is as if both forelimbs are found because they are identical. Unfortunately, they haven't found any traces of Mansourasaurus back limbs yet.

The team has been working on the big project since 2008 until they found the fossils of Mansourasaurus in the Western Desert's Dakhla Oasis in December 2013 and extracted them in March 2014 after a 21-day desert camping.

Afterwards, they conducted constant studies on Mansourasaurus from 2014 to 2018.

"Mansourasaurus is about five-ton weight and 10-meter length from nose to tail. We can imagine its size as that of an African elephant," Sanaa el-Sayed, MUVP deputy chief and team member, told Xinhua at the center.

She explained that it looked more like those dinosaurs of Europe, "which marks the first tangible evidence of the theory that Africa and Europe were once connected in that period about 80 million years ago."

"Since our finding is new and it resolves a gap in vertebrate paleontology, we contacted world scientific magazine Nature which got it reviewed and assessed by two of the world's top experts in the field before its release last week," said the MUVP senior researcher, who also lectures geology in Mansoura University's Faculty of Science.

Mansourasaurus belongs to a giant type of dinosaurs called Titanosauria, but this one discovered in Egypt is comparatively so small, although the bone studies indicate it was an adult, not a juvenile.

The researchers explained that dinosaurs of that period even in Europe were small and they attributed the reason to possible dwarfism due to scarcity of sufficient resources and land spaces after the Gondwana split.

Since its establishment 10 years ago, the MUVP has been cooperating with several world universities, including those of Ohio and Oxford, as well as other scientific institutions, foundations and museums.

The MUVP team has been honored by Mansoura University chief as well as the country's minister of higher education for their scientific massive effort and accomplishment.

"It is a big scientific discovery in geology that puts Mansoura University on the world map of scientific research," said Mohamed el-Kenawy, president of Mansoura University.

"We have a meeting today with the research team to discuss how to support them for further scientific discoveries. We're also planning to grant them a piece of land to build a museum with international standards and we may communicate with the UNESCO or similar interested world organizations for support," the university chief told Xinhua.

Groups of students of geology in the university occasionally asked permission to get in the lab and take a look at the fossilized skeletal remains of Mansourasaurus and listen to the explanations of the MUVP researchers to understand why it daw worldwide attention.

"We come here because we're curious to learn about the newly discovered dinosaur that got such international attention and coverage, which is an honor for our college, the MUVP and Mansoura University," Kamal Ali, one of the junior students, told Xinhua.
TRIPOLI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Libya's UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj discussed Wednesday with French Ambassador to Libya Brigitte Kormi on the economic forum to be held in Tripoli in March.

The forum will be attended by "major French companies in various sectors, including energy, health and infrastructure," the media office of the prime minister said in a statement.

A government source confirmed that the preparation committee of the forum intends to invite a number of companies and institutions, both governmental and private, to hold consultations on projects to be carried out in partnership with French companies.

"The forum will develop a comprehensive plan to monitor Libya's urgent programs to develop the health sector and in-house treatment, as well as important road projects and government institutions rehabilitation," the source told Xinhua.

During the meeting, Ambassador Kormi stressed "France's keenness to achieve stability in Libya and aspiration for the success of the upcoming elections," the statement said.

Serraj said that the eastern-based House of Representatives "must fulfill its commitment by issuing referendum law and elections law."
VIENNA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Two people died amidst turbulent traffic conditions following heavy snow in Austria on Wednesday, according to local media reports.

A 36-year-old female driver was killed in the state of Lower Austria when her car struck a traffic barrier and rolled, ending up on its roof. The driver of a truck following behind was not able to react in time, striking the vehicle.

Another accident occurred in the same state, when an elderly couple crashed into a telephone mast. The man driving the vehicle died, while his wife was seriously injured.

Further traffic accidents and disruptions were caused on roads particularly in the nation's east and south due to the snow, according to reports.

In the state of Styria, 750 fire brigade personnel were on duty for recovery efforts that were mostly related to vehicles. Two stretches of the autobahn network in the state were affected by the snow, leading to traffic jams.

Similar disruptions were reported in the states of Burgenland and Carinthia.
An Afghan security personnel stands beside a Black Hawk helicopter during a handover ceremony from the U.S. forces to the Afghan air force in Kandahar Province, south Afghanistan, Oct. 7, 2017. The U.S. forces has planned to hand over 159 military helicopters to the Afghan air force by 2021, an Afghan government official said. (Xinhua/Sanaullah Seiam)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. lawmakers on Tuesday questioned President Donald Trump's strategy regarding the ongoing Afghan war.

At a U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing held in the day, Senator Chris Coons said that 16 or 17 years in, he is not convinced that they have a strategy to win.

"I don't think there is a clear path out of Afghanistan and I worry that the Taliban will simply wait us out regardless of how long we are there, and as a result we may be there the rest of my life," said the Democratic lawmaker from Delaware.

At the hearing, Bob Corker, Republican chairman of the committee, asked how the United States could "get to a place where Afghanistan is able to function without significant support from the West and other countries."

John Sullivan, deputy secretary of state, and Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, defended the Trump administration's strategy at the hearing, saying that it was situation-oriented rather than setting a fixed timetable.

Afghan army soldiers are deployed to Achin district of Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, after the U.S. military dropped a GBU-43 or Massive Ordnance Air Blast (MOAB) bomb on an IS cave complex in Achin district, on April 14, 2017. (Xinhua/Rahman Safi)

During the hearing, neither Sullivan nor Schriver gave a specific number of the cost for the implementation of the strategy, only estimating that the U.S. involvement will cost more than 45 billion U.S. dollars this year.

Tens of billions have been "thrown down a hatch in Afghanistan," said Republican Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky.

"We're in an impossible situation," he added.

Trump unveiled his new Afghanistan strategy in a national address in late August, in which he called a rapid exit of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan "unacceptable."

A U.S. service member passes in front of a MQ-9 Reaper drone, one of a squadron that has arrived to step up the fight against the Taliban, at the Kandahar air base, Afghanistan, Jan. 23, 2018. (Xinhua/REUTERS)

The main change Trump made included taking restrictions off U.S. forces, which critics said hindered U.S. commanders in the field.

Currently, there are some 15,000 U.S. troops who are reportedly being deployed in the war-torn country under Trump's plan.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 03:35:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- About four militants of the Yemen-based al-Qaida branch were killed when a U.S. drone strike hit their hideout in the central province of al-Bayda on Wednesday, a security official told Xinhua.

"A number of missiles fired by an American aircraft hit an al-Qaida-held area in the central province of al-Bayda, leaving four militants killed at the scene," the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"Scores of the al-Qaida militants survived the aerial bombardment that only killed four militants and missed the others," the local security source said.

"The targeted site in a rural area was used as a training center for the terrorist group members," the source added.

In recent weeks, the newly-recruited southern troops backed by the United Arab Emirates drove scores of al-Qaida militants from several villages in the country's southeastern part.

The U.S. military has carried out several airstrikes against AQAP fighters in different provinces of the war-torn Arab country since U.S. President Donald Trump approved expanded military operations against the group.

That included intensified overnight airstrikes and ground military raids against the al-Qaida hideouts in the mountainous areas of al-Bayda and southeastern province of Shabwa.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, seen by the United States as the global terror network's most dangerous branch, has exploited years of deadly conflict between Yemen's government and Houthi rebels to expand its presence, especially in southeastern provinces.

Yemen's government, allied with a Saudi-led Arab military coalition, has for years been battling Iran-backed Shiite Houthi rebels for control of the impoverished country.

UN statistics showed that more than 8,000 people have been killed in Yemen's conflict, most of them civilians, since the Saudi-led coalition entered the conflict in 2015.

The impoverished Arab country is also suffering the world's largest cholera outbreak, where about 5,000 cases are reported every day.
ROME, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Intelligence sharing and information exchange against terrorism were discussed by police chiefs of nine southern European Union (EU) countries at the Rome's Police Academy on Tuesday.

The meeting of the European Relationship for Mediterranean Security (E.R.ME.S) drew top security officers from all EU members facing, or having direct links to, the Mediterranean: Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, Cyprus and Malta.

"Our forum today focuses on the connection between law enforcement forces and intelligence services, and on the need of immediate information sharing," Italian police chief Franco Gabrielli told reporters.

"This is crucial for security in the current context, which is marked by an extremely liquid and unpredictable terrorism threat," Gabrielli added.

Talks addressed the "main criminal phenomena in the Mediterranean" such as international terrorism, illegal immigration, and trans-national crime groups involved in the trafficking of drug, weapons, and human beings, the Italy's Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Officials also shared their respective national approaches in security and intelligence, and Italy brought its experience with the Strategic Anti-Terrorism Analysis Committee (CASA), which was set up in 2003 and involves in permanent synergy intelligence, all police forces (including finance and judicial police), and security forces.

At the end of the gathering, the nine countries signed a common declaration defining principles and guidelines for a joint anti-terrorism action to counter and fight terrorism.

The group pledged the maximum efforts in setting up "more effective forms of information osmosis in all of the sectors involved in counter-terrorism."

This effort would be made in the perspective that "the value of information does not lie in owning data, but in sharing them," the declaration stated.

Tuesday's appointment followed a first meeting of the E.R.ME.S on immigration, which took place in Italy's southern island of Lampedusa in June 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 03:35:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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AMMAN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Around 8,037 Syrian refugees returned to Syria from Jordan in 2017, according to figures released by a UN agency on Wednesday.

The figures, a copy of which was obtained by Xinhua, indicated that over half of those returned in the three months following the 9 July ceasefire signed between Jordan, Russia and the United States.

In December, a total of 375 refugees spontaneously returned to Syria from Jordan maintaining the decreasing trend from previous months, according to the UNHCR.

"In absolute figures, we are still talking about very small numbers when compared to the total registered Syrian refugee population in Jordan 656,692," the agency said in the statement.

In July 2017, Jordan, the U.S. and Russia agreed that the ceasefire aimed at permanently de-escalating the tension in southern Syria, ending acts of hostility, restoring stability and allowing free access of humanitarian aid for this key area in Syria.

According to official figures, the overall number of registered and unregistered Syrian refugees in Jordan stands at about 1.3 million.
PRAGUE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Czech government on Wednesday approved a draft amendment of the law on arms possession, aiming to conform with a new EU directive shortening the length of arms holders' permits and introducing two new arms categories.

The bill extends the current two arms categories to include another two, applying to legally possessed types of weapons whose holders are not currently bound to have them officially registered, such as historical, deactivated and gas weapons.

The number of bullets or cartridges that can be kept with weapons will also be curbed. The draft amendment will be submitted to Czech parliament for approval before it takes effect.

Until mid-2016, Czech Republic had about 301,000 arms permit holders with 819,000 weapons. So far, it is not clear how many weapons will have to be newly registered in Czech, but the number has been estimated at hundreds of thousands.

The EU directive is opposed by the Czech Republic which filed a lawsuit against it in 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 04:00:38|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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MANAMA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Four members of a sleeper cell who were trained in Iran have been arrested in connection with an oil pipeline blast in Bahrain, the country's interior ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry said the terrorists, who are members of the outlaw February 14 Coalition, were arrested for plotting and blasting an oil pipeline near the Buri village on Nov. 10.

"The incident was a serious terrorist crime that targeted the supreme interests of the nation and the people's safety," said the ministry.

No injuries were reported in the blasting, and investigations resulted in identifying the four men.

Two of those arrested had received intensive training at the Iranian Revolutionary Guard camps with the help of the leading fugitive terrorists living in Iran, the ministry said.

"The terrorists in Bahrain are recruited and their expenses for travelling to Iran are covered under the excuse of going on religious visits," added the ministry.

It stated the training included making and using bombs, using different types of guns such as Kalashnikovs and rocket-propelled grenades.

"Immediately after their return from Iran, they planned and got ready to blast the oil pipeline in Buri, in addition to committing a series of other terrorist acts," it added.

The Ministry said the oil pipeline blast caused financial losses and damage to people's homes and other properties.

Meanwhile, the search continues to arrest three fugitives involved in the financing, planning and implementation of the crime.

Bahrain is a close U.S. ally, hosting its Navy Fifth Fleet.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 04:10:40|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAQUBA, Iraq, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Three Islamic State (IS) militants were killed and four wounded Wednesday in an airstrike in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial security source said.

The Iraqi aircraft bombarded in the evening IS hideouts at an orchard in a village named Mkheisa, some 25 km northeast of the provincial capital Baquba, destroying the hideouts, killing at least three militants and wounding four others, Awad al-Rubaie, head of the provincial security committee council told Xinhua.

Iraqi security forces surrounded the village and the nearby dense orchards looking for more suspected militants, Rubaie said.

Despite repeated military operations in Diyala province, remnants of IS militants were still hiding in rugged areas near the border with Iran in eastern Diyala, as well as the sprawling areas extending from western part of the province to Himreen mountainous area.

The militants are still capable of carrying out attacks against civilians and the security forces despite operations from time to time to hunt them down.
LISBON, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of Spain, Italy and Portugal discussed the future of work at the COTEC Europe Summit in Mafra, near Lisbon, on Wednesday.

The summit is an annual event held to discuss changing business practices and technology. The three member countries of Spain, Italy and Portugal alternate as hosts. The title of this year's summit was "WORK 4.0: Rethinking the Human-Technology Alliance".

Portugal President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that technological change was inevitable, but argued that its pace and nature could nevertheless be managed.

"It will be more or less fast, more or less harsh and, above all else, more or less fair depending on how it is responded to, not to mention anticipated, by a 4.0 European Union, 4.0 political systems and 4.0 social systems," the president told the summit's 400-odd delegates.

"In other words," he continued, "an environment adjusted to suit the digital era that maximizes advantages and minimizes weaknesses within European institutions."

Italian president Sergio Mattarella also gave a Europe-focused speech.

"Research and innovation have always been the keys to progress," he said, "and to the extraordinary advances that have allowed our societies to lead lives that are unprecedented in history and enabled Europe to continue to represent a place of increased well-being."

For this to remain the case, "it is in the European Union's interest that our voices be heard in Brussels".

Mattarella said that Italy, Portugal and Spain offered "a different and specific perspective" and that "the Mediterranean context is now, more than ever, a place for meeting the global challenges of today."

For his part, the King of Spain, Felipe VI, advocated teaching "digital skills" in schools, but stressed that the emphasis should be on the human.

"We don't know what machines will be capable of in the medium term but we do know what men and women are capable of," he said, "which is good news because it enables us to prepare society for a more automated economy and focus our educational system on the competitive advantages of the human being."

"Work 4.0" is a concept first put forward in Germany in 2016. It serves as a framework to analyse and imagine social changes related to working lives in a digital age.

The title references "Industry 4.0", a term used to describe the so-called fourth industrial revolution. The first was powered by steam, the second by electricity and the third by computerization. The fourth will be characterized by mass automation and algorithms.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a Heads of States Luncheon hosted by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the UN headquarters in New York, Sept. 19, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

MOSCOW, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The new nuclear policy recently announced by the United States shows its ambition of global domination and will destabilize the world by damaging the existing checks-and-balance system, a Russian expert said.

"This is a strategy of intimidation and threats, including the use of nuclear weapons, against any state which do not fit in the American world concept," editor-in-chief of the Russian magazine National Defense Igor Korotchenko told Xinhua Tuesday.

The U.S. Defense Ministry on Friday officially published the 2018 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the guiding principle for the future U.S. policy seeking enhanced nuclear deterrent, which is already the world's most powerful.

Korotchenko noted what is new in the NPR is that now the United States declares its readiness to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states, meaning Washington intends to use nuclear weapons whenever and wherever it thinks fit.

"The United States is ready to use nuclear weapons or is threatening to use them, as a form of political blackmail," Korotchenko said.

The NPR has drawn wide criticism after its publication, although Washington justifies its decision on nuclear expansion by underlining the worsening global security.

To Korotchenko, it is just a far-fetched pretext used by Washington to cover up its steps.

"The United States itself is fanning the flame ... Russia and China are not involved in land-grabbing actions. The DPRK is only asking to be left in peace. So all this noise only serves as a propaganda curtain for the aggressive plans of the United States," he said.

Nevertheless, the new doctrine is mainly targeted at Russia and China, which are deemed by Washington as major threats to its global domination, Korotchenko said.

"The real reason is its wish to dominate the globe. Trump declared that he wanted to make America great again," he said.

He added that the United States may use nuclear weapons against China and Russia when disputes arise in cases concerning the South China Sea and NATO countries.

However, this direct military and political threat will by no means strengthen its national security, for such action will only provoke other countries like Russia to respond with equally increasing nuclear arsenal, thus leading to a potential arms race.

He warned that the United States lowering the threshold of using nuclear weapons represents a direct threat to the world's stability.

"Globally, it will destabilize the world, as the existing checks-and-balance system will collapse. And it will make the world more dangerous, more unpredictable," he said.
BELGRADE, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- European Union has given 28 million euros (34.38 million U.S. dollars) to Serbia to improve integrated border control, and 16 million euros for the needs of migrants in Serbia, the government stated in a press release.

The signing was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic and the EU Commissioner for neighborhood policy and enlargement Johannes Hahn, who is currently on a visit to Serbia.

Jadranka Joksimovic, Serbian minister of European Integration said that the first donation "will make possible that border patrols secure free movement of people and capital at the same time making borders better controlled, which is important in the context of the migrant crisis".

An additional 16 million euros is related to the needs of the migrants that are temporarily sheltered in Serbia -- their housing, health services and education, Joksimovic added.

Hahn said that the donations deliver on the promise that the EU will help countries struck by a massive wave of migrants, and stressed that the EU donated more than 2 billion euros to Serbia since 2007.

Brnabic said that the "agreements on donation present a sign of the partnership Serbia has with the EU, not only in political sense, but also in other segments of development, both social and economic".
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 04:35:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. aircraft leader Boeing Company said Wednesday that it is encouraging its employees to give more time and energy to non-profits via a program that expands its financial support for community investments.

Under the company's newly revised policies, Boeing said, its employees who work as volunteers for non-profit organizations or community services are qualified for a request of a maximum 10,000 U.S. dollars, up from a previous cap of 6,000 dollars, every year from the company as a donation to the organizations they have served.

The new policy revisions to Boeing's "Dollars for Doers" Employee Match Program, a volunteer and gift match scheme, are part of the company's 100-million-dollar tax relief investment earmarked for corporate charitable investments.

The enhanced stimulus measures aim to reward Boeing's employees who give their time, talent and resources to local communities around the world.

The "Dollars for Doers" program refers to a popular employee giving program adopted by many U.S. big companies, such as Boeing, Microsoft and Alaska Airline, under which those companies provide monetary grants to educational institutions, environment protection organizations, charities or other non-profits.

In order to encourage more employees to work as volunteers, Boeing has cut to 10 hours the amount of volunteer time needed to obtain a company match, calculated at 10 dollars per hour in 10 hour increments.

Current programs require that an employee donate at least 25 hours to the same organization in order to receive a company match.

"Through increased employee and community investments like the ones announced today, Boeing and its generous employees inspire the dreamers of tomorrow, and we move the world today through our products and our giving," said John Blazey, vice president of Boeing Global Engagement.

The world's largest aerospace company based in Chicago, Illinois, pledged continued efforts to play "a meaningful role in the growth of our nation and the world."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 04:55:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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ANKARA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Turkey is pushing for dialogue with European Union on visa-free travel for Turkish citizens in Schengen area amid its attempts to mend ties with EU.

Turkey has accomplished its work in order to fulfill remaining criteria of a total of 72 benchmarks for visa-free travel to Schengen zone of the EU, Ibrahim Kalin told reporters on Wednesday.

He said that Ankara has delivered its position paper to Vice President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans.

The launch of the visa liberalization in 2018 will "accelerate Turkey-EU relations," Kalin said, adding that "from today we can say there is a new process."

The move aims to break a longstanding stalemate on the visa liberalization deal which requires Turkey's fulfillment of 72 benchmarks.

In recent years Turkey has not made any attempt to launch the visa liberalization dialogue with the EU, because the benchmarks require amendment in the country's anti-terror law which Brussels says should be in line with the European standards.

The European Commission demands Turkey change its definition of what constitutes a "terrorism offense," to ensure that security laws are not used to crack down on journalists or academics.

Yet, so far Ankara was not willing to make amendment in the law on fighting terrorism, arguing that it is under by the members of Gulen Movement, which Ankara accuses of a failed coup attempt in 2016, by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Islamic State (IS).

The position paper envisages "re-expression" of the current anti-terror law, in a way that will not undermine Turkey's fight against terror, a Turkish diplomat told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

"Certain arrangements were made in a way that will not pave the way for the weakening Turkey's struggle against terrorism and these were submitted to the EU," the presidential spokesperson said.

The EU-Turkey deal to curb refugee influx into Europe came into force in March 2016.

Under the agreement, Turkey agreed to take back all undocumented migrants, while the EU has Syrian refugees resettled from Turkish camps on a one-for-one basis.

As part of the deal, Brussels promised to introduce visa liberalization for Turkish citizens.

According to the EU, Turkey still has to meet five benchmarks to secure visa-free travel, including reforming the country's anti-terrorism legislation, but Brussels says seven benchmarks have remained to be fulfilled.

Other benchmarks include reforming data protection law, an agreement is to be concluded with the continent's law enforcement agency, Europol, and judicial cooperation and measures to prevent corruption, in line with EU recommendations.

The EU Commission will assess Turkey's position paper in terms of meeting its requirements.

Turkey's move comes after European Council chief Donald Tusk's spokesman said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would meet top EU officials next month in Bulgaria, a meeting which Ankara has been waiting for since the last similar gathering in May 2017.

Turkey and the EU aim to intensify dialogue with a Turkey-EU summit scheduled in Bulgaria's Varna city on March 26 with the participation of President Erdogan, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council President Donald Tusk and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, whose country holds the bloc's rotating presidency.

Commission spokesman Alexander Winterstein Wednesday said the talks will focus on "subjects of mutual interest and recent developments in Turkey. That includes obviously the rule of law and fundamental rights."

Although Turkey and the EU have problems in opening new negotiation chapters for accession talks, the EU wants to keep bilateral relations at a certain level, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Wednesday, noting that the EU does not want to break off with Ankara.
HELSINKI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- A widely discussed plan of building a subsea railroad tunnel between Finnish capital Helsinki and Estonian capital Tallinn triggered heated debate as the official feasibility report of the project was published on Wednesday.

The planned railroad would be 100 kilometers long and cross the Gulf of Finland at a depth of 160 meters. The track would connect the Tallinn Ulemiste airport with the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.

Passengers could board the train at both airports, and also at the Helsinki central railway station. Two artificial islands could be created, one outside Tallinn and the other further north.

If financing is available, construction could begin in 2025 and trains would operate in 2040. Currently, some 9 million people travel across the Gulf of Finland on ferries and boats.

The report said the tunnel would raise the amount of passengers to 23 million, with 12.5 million using the tunnel. Freight services would grow essentially as well, it added.

The cost of the Finnish-Estonian project would range between 13 and 20 billion euros, estimated the report.

Barely profitable, the tunnel will nonetheless bring positive economic impact which may exceed the construction cost within a few years, concluded the joint study.

Estonian Prime Minister Juri Ratas said in Tallinn on Wednesday that the tunnel would improve the competitive edge of both Helsinki and Tallinn. Mayor of Helsinki Jan Vapaavuori told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat that he used to consider the tunnel as a "mad dream", but now he considered it "a dream". He cautioned against excessive optimism though.

An estimate of 40 percent of the budget needs to be financed by the European Union (EU), said the probe. However, Finnish media said the EU has not included the Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel in its Ten-T project list meant to clear regional bottlenecks in Europe, while the railroad from Estonia to Poland is on the list.

The tunnel project is not currently on any EU plan for investigations, reported Helsingin Sanomat.

The official feasibility report was commissioned by both cities and the transport ministries of Finland and Estonia.

Finnish media reported a parallel plan initiated by private entrepreneur Peter Vesterbacka, a veteran co-founder of Angry Birds' producer, Rovio. He told Finnish broadcaster Yle on Wednesday that his plan would be operational much faster.

Criticizing the public venture for its slowness in progress and uncertainty to raise fund, Vesterbacka said the construction would be completed in 2024 under his plan.

He expressed disbelief in the willingness of European states to finance the tunnel, and said his financing would be from China and from Nordic pension companies.

The plan promoted by Vesterbacka would give the tunnel a different routing at the Finnish end with a terminal in Espoo, the neighboring city west of Helsinki, and would then continue to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-02-08 05:45:59|Editor: Lifang

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Ghassan Salame (C), head of UN Support Mission in Libya and the special representative of the UN secretary-general, speaks at a press conference in Tripoli, Libya, on Feb. 7, 2018. Ghassan Salame on Wednesday confirmed that weapons continue to enter Libya in the absence of a unified Libyan authority protecting the borders. (Xinhua/Hamza Turkia)

TRIPOLI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Head of UN Support Mission in Libya Ghassan Salame on Wednesday confirmed that weapons continue to enter Libya in the absence of a unified Libyan authority protecting the borders.

Salame, also the special representative of the UN secretary-general, made his remarks following an expanded meeting with representatives of political and security elites of southern Libya to discuss problems facing their cities, especially border security.

"The continued illegal flow of weapons into the country should be dealt with firmly," Salame told a news conference in Tripoli, adding that the borders are "not monitored and there is no unified Libyan authority to protect it effectively."

"The United Nations is working intensively and is in contact with many countries to prevent the entry of weapons to Libya," Salame said.

The UN envoy did not reveal the countries with which the UN is communicating to stop the export of arms to Libya.

The Greek coast guards announced earlier in January that they seized a ship flying the flag of Tanzania and carrying materials used to make explosives while sailing to Libya.

The ship's cargo policy indicates that the cargo was loaded at the Turkish ports of Mersin and Iskenderun and was headed to Djibouti and Oman.

However, the Greek coast guards said preliminary investigation showed that the ship's captain had received orders from the ship's owner to sail to the Libyan city of Misurata, some 250 km east the capital Tripoli, to unload the entire cargo.

UN Security Council has been imposing arms embargo on Libya since 2011.

"Arms are widespread and if reports saying that there are more than 20 million weapons of the former regime are confirmed, it is dangerous. We believe that Libya does not need more weapons," Salame said, regarding solutions to stop smuggling of arms into Libya and controlling the spread of weapons inside the country.

Salame expressed hope that any efforts to reduce the number of weapons in the country would succeed, and that as many militia members as possible could be integrated into civilian life.

Libya suffers from security chaos and a power struggle amid proliferation of weapons since the overthrow of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

None of the successive Governments, since 2011, has been able to implement any integrated program for weapons collection or disarmament of militias, which often possess weapons and equipment more that the official security and military services.
DUBLIN, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Any legal action taken against Ryanair by its pilots's union in Spain will fail, a local media report quoted the Ireland-headquartered airline as saying on Wednesday.

The comments came shortly after SEPLA, a trade union representing Ryanair pilots in Spain, had reportedly threatened to take legal actions against Ryanair in relation to employment contract issues.

The report quoted an unidentified official of Ryanair as saying that Spanish courts have not jurisdiction over Ryanair crew contracts of employment as Ryanair fully complies with all EU employment law and relevant Spanish legislation.

"Any threatened SEPLA lawsuit will fail," said the official, adding that this is why SEPLA talks about lawsuits but has failed to initiate any.

SEPLA said in a memo to its Ryanair members in Spain that Ryanair has no intention of negotiating with the pilots representatives over the employment contract issues until it is forced to do so.

The trade union told the pilots that they have been naive in believing that Ryanair management really wanted to change the course of "toxic" labour relations. It accused Ryanair of only seeking to gain time.

It said that it has recruited lawyers to mount two lawsuits against the airline. One deals with Ryanair contracts which SEPLA believes fail to comply with Spanish law in a number of respects, and the other focuses on the regularisation of contractor pilots.

SEPLA also told the pilots that it will seek retrospective payment of anything that is owed to them.

Ryanair, the Europe's largest low-cost passenger flight operator, had experienced a crisis last year due to the tense relations with its pilots. The crisis had forced the airline to cancel more than 20,000 flights due to the lack of standby pilots. To avoid a threatened strike by its pilots before last year's Christmas, the company surprisingly agreed to recognize the trade union of its pilots for the first time in its 32-year history.

Despite this, talks between Ryanair and pilots trade union representatives over some specific issues are still facing problems, according to local media reports.
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 9:00 am

The Rotary Club of Yelm will host Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson 8 a.m. Thursday at the Tahoma Valley Bar and Grill.

The meeting begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and Ferguson will speak between 8 and 8:30 a.m., followed by a question and answer session.

With every Rotarian I meet, I learn more about the Washington communities I serve, Ferguson said in an October news release after visiting 100 rotary clubs. Listening to these local leaders has made me a better Attorney General.

Ferguson committed to visit all 187 Rotary clubs after he took office in 2013. Yelm will be number 111.

The attorney general is expected to discuss current issues in Washington state and gain insight from local community members about issues important to them.

I will be sharing updates on the work of my office, including our work fighting Washingtons opioid epidemic, our lawsuit against Comcast and our efforts to protect student loan borrowers, Ferguson said in a statement. And of course, I will be taking questions and talking with Yelm Rotarians and their guests about anything they want to talk about with respect to the work my office is doing.

Ferguson has recently responded to the Trump administrations marijuana crackdown, filed a lawsuit against Purdue Pharma for overprescribing opioids and pledged a lawsuit if Trumps offshore drilling plans include Washington.

Meeting with community members and local leaders is one of the most important ways I stay in touch with issues that matter to people across Washington, Ferguson said.

Yelm Rotarians encourage non-members to attend the event to listen to Ferguson speak and discover what the Yelm Rotary Club does for the city.

This should help us get some people in there and get people involved in the rotary, Ken McCulloch, Rotary Club director said. This is a good opportunity for us to talk with community members who might not know everything the Rotary does for the community.
By RICHARD JENKINS

[email protected]

HURLEY  Another item on the to-do list for rebuilding Saxon Harbor was accomplished Tuesday as the Iron County Board of Supervisors awarded the countys dredging contract to M. Jolma Inc.

The Ashland-based company was the lowest of six bidders vying for the project, submitting a bid of $220,542.

We had three bids below the engineers estimate (of $253,909), and three that were substantially above, Iron County Forestry and Parks Administrator Eric Peterson said.

He told the board the countys engineering firm for the Saxon Harbor...
ONTONAGON  Four felony charges have been filed against an Ontonagon man in an incident with a discharged gun.

Jeffrey Earnest, 68, pleaded not guilty in Ontonagon District Court to charges of felonious assault, carrying a concealed weapon, felon in possession of a firearmand reckless use of a firearm. The incident occurred on the Firesteel Road area in Ontonagon County Jan. 27. He is presently out on bail with a hearing set for Feb. 26.

In unrelated court cases Monday:

Edward Majurin, 26, was sentenced on two counts of assault and battery. On the first count he was sentenc...
Impresionant: Cate cadre didactice din Capitala s-au vaccinat cu prima doza anti-COVID

94 la suta din cadrele didactice din Capitala s-au vaccinat cu prima doza de ser, iar in curand acestia vor primi si cea de-a doua doza. Anuntul a fost facut de catre Ion Ceban in cadrul sedintei de astazi a Primariei. [citeste mai departe]
Study Abroad at the University of Delaware

In 1923, UD founded what is considered the first study abroad program by a U.S. institution. Today, UD offers 100+ programs in about 40 countries-- and over 30 percent of UD undergrads study abroad at least once!

Choose from semester-long programs in the Fall and Spring, and shorter programs during Winter and Summer Sessions.

While abroad, youll take a full load of academic credits, choose to engage in internships or community service, and sharpen your language and intercultural skills. Accommodations range from hotels (for some shorter programs) to residence halls, hostels and homestays.

Scholarships and financial aid are available for UD students participating in UD study abroad programs.
Washington: In another major blow to Islamabad, a bill seeking to end all economic aid to Pakistan was moved by the United States on Tuesday. The development comes a month after the Trump administration suspended it's $255-billion military aid to the country.

Unhappy with Pakistan's approach to terrorists on home soil, the US House of Representatives joined the Senate on Tuesday to end the US economic aid, reported Pakistan's national daily Dawn.

The legislation, introduced by Congressmen Mark Sanford from South Carolina and Thomas Massie from Kentucky, seeks to prohibit the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from sending American taxpayer money to Pakistan, said the report.

When the American people support other nations, our generosity shouldnt be used to reward terrorists with US taxpayer dollars, Congressman Sanford said. The money set aside for the purpose should be invested in infrastructure projects in the US, he added.

Armed with proofs, India has repeatedly pointed at Pakistan's trangressions and how it creates instability in the region by providing military aid and intelligence to terrorists.

Meanwhile, a top Trump administration official once asked Pakistan to expel terrorists, especially the Taliban leaders, operating from terror safe havens within its soil.

"We've had a number of discussions with our Pakistani partners on expectations for change and expelling terrorists from areas in which they've been allowed to operate," Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan on Tuesday.

"They (Pakistan) understand what we expect...Our suspension of security assistance continues until we see more evidence that they are in fact taking action," Sullivan said.

He said the US has been in discussions with Pakistan but there has been not a "sufficient amount of action" from it against terrorists.
New Delhi: Irrfan Khan's 'Hindi Medium' was widely acclaimed and got a big thumbs up from the audience and critics alike. The comedy-drama by Saket Chaudhary starred class actor Irrfan in the lead and Pakistani beauty Saba Qamar made her debut in Bollywood with this film.

The film is reportedly going to have a sequel and the makers are planning to kick off shooting it in the month of August this year. According to Mumbai Mirror, the sequel is ready to go on floors in August and Irrfan will be reprising his role from the original. The producer Dinesh Vijan is currently working on the story.

The report mentions that Saba might not be seen as the leading lady in the second part. A source has been quoted as saying, The story flash-forwards by a decade so five-year-old Pia will be in her teens now, around 15-16 years. The story will be a fresh take on the Indian educational system with little reference to the original.

'Hindi Medium' revolves around the life of a rich businessman named Raj Batra based in Delhi, his wife Mita and daughter Pia. The real drama begins when the parents, who themselves studied in a Hindi medium school want their daughter to get admission to a top-notch English medium school.

The film received six big nominations at the 63rd Filmfare Awards, including Best Director for Choudhary, Best Actor (Critics) for Irrfan, Best Actress for Saba Qamar, and Best Supporting Actor for Deepak Dobriyal.

It bagged two main honours, including Best Film and Best Actor For Irrfan Khan at Filmfare Awards.
Mumbai: Mrs Funnybones aka Twinkle Khanna is thrilled about her husbands (Akshay Kumar) next  Pad Man  a film which marks her debut as a producer. The author-interior designer took to Twitter to express ecstasy over that fact that PadMan will release in 50 countries and in Russia too.

She took to Twitter to post an adorable picture with her hubby with a long caption. It read: I once told my Pad Man that I will take him places.. Well, not only will Pad Man release in 50 countries all over the world but It is Bollywoods first film that will be releasing day and date in Russia, Ivory Coast and even Iraq #padman9thfeb @SonyPicsIndia @PadManTheFilm (sic).

I once told my Pad Man that I will take him places.. Well, not only will Pad Man release in 50 countries all over the world but It is Bollywoods first film that will be releasing day and date in Russia, Ivory Coast and even Iraq #padman9thfeb @SonyPicsIndia @PadManTheFilm pic.twitter.com/JpT5nYzJ9w  Twinkle Khanna (@mrsfunnybones) 7 February 2018

In the pic, we can see one of Bollywoods most iconic couples holding hands. The cute picture speaks volumes about their real-life chemistry.

Directed by R Balki, PadMan inspired by Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social activist, is slated to release on February 9. The film will showcase the Padma Shri awardees efforts that led to the invention of low-cost sanitary pad making machines.

Muruganantham also played a key role in creating awareness about menstrual hygiene in rural India. Interestingly, Twinkle had written about the real-life PadMan in a story titled The Sanitary Man from the Sacred Land in her second book The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad.

PadMan also stars Radhika Apte and Sonam Kapoor. The film was initially slated to hit the silverscreen on January 25 but was postponed to allow Sanjay Leela Bhansalis much delayed film Padmaavat have a solo release on that date.
NEW DELHI: A third-year student of Delhi University's Bharti College has alleged harassment by a college professor over the last few months.

This comes days after a sexual harassment complaint was filed against a Daulat Ram College teacher.

The student, in a formal letter to University proctor, alleged that the professor has been sending indecent messages and asked to meet-up outside the college campus.

Several college students staged a protest on Wednesday in the campus over the incident, demanding immediate action against the accused professor.

The student has reportedly submitted a video clip, shot in September 2017, in which she's seen slapping the professor for harassing her and five more girl students.

In the shaky footage, a group of girls are seen around a man (alleged to be the professor), before one girl slaps him. The girls had decided to confront the professor after he sent them lewd SMSs, asking to meet outside the college.

The video has now gone viral on the social media.

The third-year student added that the professor also targeted several first and second-year students, but none dared to speak up against him.

The college principal has claimed that he did not hear about such allegations against the professor before.

On Monday, February 5, a Political Science professor from Delhi University's Daulat Ram College was arrested for allegedly sexually harassing a 17-year-old student. The student claimed that the accused professor often tried to touch her inappropriately whenever he found her alone and had even threatened to fail her in her internal exams after she rejected his advances.
New Delhi: A tiger in Maharashtra whose paw had to be amputated in 2012, will soon be able to walk properly, thanks to a team of doctors who will provide him with a prosthetic limb.

Shushrut Babhulkar, a renowned orthopaedic surgeon, has joined hands with a group of veterinary doctors of the Maharashtra Animal & Fisheries Science University (MAFSU) and together, they will implant the prosthetic on the tiger.

Along with Babhulkar and the MAFSU vets, experts from IIT-Bombay and abroad will also be working to provide relief to the big cat named Sahebrao.

Babhulkar has adopted the eight-year-old tiger, now housed in the newly-opened Gorewada Rescue Centre in Nagpur.

Sahebrao had injured his front left paw after it got entangled in a steel trap laid by poachers near a waterhole in the Palasagaon forest range of the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Chandrapur district in 2012.

The feline, whose paw was amputated, was two-years-old at the time of the incident.

Speaking to PTI, Babhulkar said four to five days back, he along with his family visited the centre where many rescued wildlife animals had been kept.

"While in the rescue centre, I saw this huge tiger, probably one of the biggest in the world, in amputated condition barely able to walk and growling in pain," he said.

"Subsequently, I spoke to authorities concerned and offered to help treat the tiger," Babhulkar said, adding he then adopted the wildcat.

The surgeon said he will take help from veterinary doctors from abroad and ensure that Sahebrao starts walking gracefully.

The tiger will be treated in two phases, each spread over three to six months.

"In the first stage, we will be working to treat the pain the tiger is going through. Subsequently, an artificial limb will be implanted on its amputated limb."

Babhulkar said the IIT-Bombay will be helping in the treatment process by providing technological support in form of 3D printing of the left limb.

"Endolight, an American artificial limb manufacturing company, has shown interest in helping in the treatment of the tiger.

"I will work as a facilitator and best available treatment will be provided to Sahebrao," Babhulkar added.

(With PTI inputs)
HYDERABAD: Anyone calling Indian Muslims 'Pakistani' should be jailed, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi said on Tuesday.

Asking the government to bring in a law to punish people who make such statements, Owaisi suggested a three-year jail term.

"Bring a law that if any Muslim is called Pakistani, the person will face a three-year jail term," he said, but added that the BJP-led government will not bring such a bill.

Muslims living in India had rejected Mohammad Ali Jinnah's two-nation theory, he added.

Owaisi was speaking in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind's address.

Referring to the controversial triple talaq bill, Owaisi claimed it was "anti-women". The bill, introduced by Centre, makes instant 'triple talaq' illegal and void, awarding a jail term of up to three years to the husband. The bill was passed in the Lok Sabha but was stalled by the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

Meanwhile, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) is all set to hold its plenary meeting of general and executive members on February 9 and 10 in Hyderabad`s Owaisi hospital.

Over 50 members, including board president Asaduddin Owaisi, general secretary Moulana Saleem Khasmi, secretary board advocate Zafariyab are expected to attend the meet. The general body meeting will discuss the issue and evolve a strategy for the protection of Muslim Personal Law.

(With agency inputs)
It was a no holds barred attack by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the Congress and the Gandhi family in Lok Sabha on Wednesday as the former raised questions on the legacy of the party as well as its current leadership of Rahul Gandhi.

Attacking the basic ideology of the Congress party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader went on to question the appointment of Jawaharlal Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India. Accusing the Congress of muzzling democracy in the country, the Prime Minister said that Congress did injustice to even Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Here are 5 most hard-hitting quotes from PM Modis speech in Lok Sabha on Wednesday:

1. Had the Congress governments in the past worked responsibly, they would have taken the country to new heights. Had they kept the right directions with right intentions, this country would have been in a much better position at present.

2. I don't know if I should call it arrogance or lack of knowledge when they say Jawaharlal Nehru brought democracy to India. There was democracy in India even during the era of Lichhvi kingdom and Gautam Buddha.

3. What was the democracy that prevented Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from becoming the Prime Minister of India despite him getting the votes? Had Sardar been our first prime minister, a part of Kashmir that is with Pakistan would have been a part of India.

4. Which democracy does Congress talk about? When their prime minister Rajiv Gandhi landed in Hyderabad and a Dalit leader came to welcome him, he insulted him publicly. Is that the democracy that Congress talks about?

5. Congress leader tore an ordinance brought by a Prime Minister, so they have no right to teach us about democracy. It does not suit them. How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will? This is no commitment to democracy in Congress.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a fierce attack on the Congress party, accusing it of muzzling democracy and causing the partition of India. Addressing the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister attacked the Gandhi family as well and said that the Congress had no right to talk about democracy.

Joining the debate on the motion of thanks to President Ram Nath Kovinds address in the Lok Sabha, PM Modi targeted the Congress saying, Aapne desh ke tukde kiye (You divided this country).

Amid Jumlabazi band karo slogans by members of opposition parties on the floor of the House, the Prime Minister said that the country is suffering today because of the sins committed by the Congress party in the past.

Had the Congress governments in the past worked responsibly, they would have taken the country to new heights. Had they kept the right directions with right intentions, this country would have been in a much better position at present, said PM Modi.

PM Modi further used the opportunity to target the Congress legacy by saying, I don't know if I should call it arrogance or lack of knowledge when they say Jawaharlal Nehru brought democracy to India. He added, There was democracy in India even during the era of Lichhvi kingdom and Gautam Budha.

Referring to Jawaharlal Nehru becoming the first prime minister of India, Modi said that despite getting votes in his favour, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was not allowed to become the Prime Minister of India.

Claiming that Sardar Patel being the first prime minister of India would have solved the Kashmir issue, he said, What was the democracy that prevented Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from becoming the Prime Minister of India despite him getting the votes? Had Sardar been our first prime minister, a part of Kashmir that is with Pakistan would have been a part of India.

Citing another instance involving the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Modi further said, "Which democracy does Congress talk about? When their prime minister Rajiv Gandhi landed in Hyderabad and a Dalit leader came to welcome him, he insulted him publicly. Is that the democracy that Congress talks about?"

Talking about the new president of Congress, Rahul Gandhi, he accused the opposition party of following the democracy of just one (Gandhi) family in India. Referring to the tearing of an ordinance brought by the then prime minister, Manmohan Singh, by Rahul Gandhi, Modi said that the Congress leader tore an ordinance brought by a Prime Minister, so they have no right to teach us about democracy. It does not suit them.

How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will? This is no commitment to democracy, he added.
Dubai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India's energy security and infrastructural investments from the UAE will be the key topics of his discussions with the Gulf nation's top leadership this week.

In an interview to Gulf News' XPRESS ahead of his two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates from Saturday, Modi said that he will meet Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Modi said energy security and infrastructural investments in India will be the key topics that he will discuss with the UAE's leadership.

The investment from UAE to India exceeds USD 11 billion.

A number of initiatives taken during his earlier visit to the UAE in August 2015 and during the visit of Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed last year when he was the Chief Guest at India's Republic Day celebrations have come to fruition, he said.

"It is a matter of even greater happiness that new government-to-government and business-to-business initiatives promise to add even more strength and depth to the bilateral cooperation in various areas of economic activity," Modi said.

The prime minister noted that the UAE was home to over three million people of Indian origin. "The Indian community has acted as a bridge between the two countries and I hope my visit will further strengthen these ties," he said.

When asked whether he has had a holiday, Modi told the paper: "I have not been on a holiday either as Chief Minister or now as Prime Minister. However, my work does require me to travel across India and interact with people, learn about their joys, sorrows and aspirations. This is refreshing and rejuvenating for me."

On a question about his sleep habits and daily routine, the 67-year-old prime minister said, "My sleep cycle varies from four to six hours, depending on the workload. But I get a sound sleep every night. In fact, I fall asleep minutes after hitting the bed.

"I do not take any worry with me and wake up fresh every morning and welcome the new day in my life," he said.

Modi said his day begins with yoga.

"It refreshes me and keeps me agile through the day," he said, adding that he scans the newspapers, checks e-mails and makes a round of phone calls.

"I also spend time reading some comments and feedback shared by citizens on the 'Narendra Modi Mobile App' which he said was "a wonderful way to remain connected with people across India."

"Before hitting the bed, I read the documents sent to me during the day. I also prepare for the next day meetings and engagements," he said.

Asked about his favourite dish, Modi said, "I am not much of a foodie. I enjoy a simple vegetarian meal every day."

On his favourite day of the week, he said, "Today is my favourite day of the week! I believe in a simple tenet ? make the most of today, live life to the fullest. Today is the only day on our hands to work hard and make things happen."

He said he was a firm believer in the power of technology as it empowers people.

When asked the one person who inspires him the most, the prime minister replied that several people inspired him and listed Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Bhagat Singh, Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar as well as Benjamin Franklin, one of the founding fathers of the United States.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave a hard-hitting speech in Lok Sabha, targeting the Gandhi family and the legacy of Congress party. From injustice to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to partition of India, PM Modi blamed the Congress party for several instances since history. The opposition was, however, quick to respond to the attack by the Prime Minister, with the counter-attack led by Congress president Rahul Gandhi and senior party leader Shashi Tharoor.

Hitting out the Prime Minister outside Parliament, Tharoor termed his Lok Sabha speech as a farrago of misrepresentations and half-truth.

He said, Prime Minister may be a terrific orator, but this speech (in Lok Sabha) was a farrago of misrepresentations and half-truth. I mean to claim credit for example lowering the price of solar panels when everyone knows that worldwide solar panel prices have gone down.

To claim credit for lowering of prices for gas contract, of course gas prices have gone down. In fact at the pump, why we are paying more for petrol and diesel. Since UPAs time, prices of petrol and diesel have gone up, he added.

He further questioned the Prime Minister for comparing the last three years of UPA with the first three years of the NDA. Why doesnt he compare an average of 10 years of UPA with first three years average of NDA, he will find many different numbers, said Tharoor.

I think the problem was that the facts and figures given were simply not the kinds of figure that can stand up to detailed scrutiny. And I think the public would realise this, he added.

Before Tharoor, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also posed some questions to PM Modi shortly after his speech. Addressing mediapersons, Rahul Gandhi asked as to why the Prime Minister did not speak about the Rafale deal.

PM Modi spoke for over an hour, but said nothing about Rafale deal. We have just three questioned that the PM needs to answer - Did he consult Cabinet group on security before the deal? What was the price paid for the aircraft? Was there any discrepancy in the deal? said the Congress president.

Accusing the Prime Minister of avoiding real issues in his speech, the Gandhi scion pointed that the Prime Minister did not talk about needs of farmers and or job opportunities. "I think Modi ji has forgotten that he is the PM now, he should answer questions and not always accuse the opposition," said the Congress president, adding that, "It was a totally political speech."

Earlier on Wednesday, PM Modi launched a fierce attack on the Congress party, accusing it of muzzling democracy and causing the partition of India. Addressing the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister attacked the Gandhi family as well and said that the Congress had no right to talk about democracy.

Amid jumlabazi band karo slogans by members of opposition parties on the floor of the House, the Prime Minister said that the country is suffering today because of the sins committed by the Congress party in the past.

Had the Congress governments in the past worked responsibly, they would have taken the country to new heights. Had they kept the right directions with right intentions, this country would have been in a much better position at present, said PM Modi.

Referring to Jawaharlal Nehru becoming the first prime minister of India, Modi said that despite getting votes in his favour, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was not allowed to become the Prime Minister of India.

Claiming that Sardar Patel being the first prime minister of India would have solved the Kashmir issue, he said, What was the democracy that prevented Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel from becoming the Prime Minister of India despite him getting the votes? Had Sardar been our first prime minister, a part of Kashmir that is with Pakistan would have been a part of India.
AHMEDABAD: A GoAir flight suffered a bird-hit during takeoff from Ahmedabad on Wednesday morning. The Ahmedabad-Kolkata flight has been cancelled, informed the airline.

Nearly 166 passengers were on board when the incident took place. All passengers are safe, said GoAir.

On January 20, around 160 passengers, including Manipur Chief Minister Nongthombam Biren, had a close shave when their Air India plane suffered a bird hit while landing at the airport in Guwahati.

The Delhi-Guwahati-Imphal flight was grounded on January 19 and passengers travelling to Imphal were left stranded.

Our AI flight was hit by a flying bird and airplane landed safely in Guwahati today, Mr. Biren tweeted on Friday.

With agency inputs
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday responded to the Congress's dismissal of his government as a 'name-changer' and not a 'game-changer'. He said he had his government do not look at themselves with either of those terms, and instead think of themselves as 'aim changer'.

PM Modi's return salvo came in the Rajya Sabha, as part of the motion of thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind to a joint sitting of Parliament at the beginning of the Budget Session.

"You said we are 'name-changers' and not 'game-changers'. But if you notice our mode of operation and working pattern, you will realise we are 'aim-changers'. We plan our action, set the road map so that we take the nation on the path to development," he said, to applause from the treasury benches.

He also continued the attack on the Congress that he launched while delivering a speech on the same motion in the Lok Sabha earlier in the day. "After Independence, Gandhi said Congress's task is done and that it should be disbanded. The idea of a 'Congress-mukt Bharat' is not my idea, it is Gandhi's," said PM Modi.

He also asked the Congress why it could not be happy for the country because it has climbed in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi had launched a fierce attack on the Congress while speaking on the same motion in the Lok Sabha. He had said the Congress does not have the moral right to talk about democracy. He accused it of muzzling India's democracy and laid blame at its door for the Partition of India.

"Had the Congress governments in the past worked responsibly, they would have taken the country to new heights. Had they kept the right directions with right intentions, this country would have been in a much better position at present," said PM Modi.
New Delhi: Indian princess Sophia Alexandra Duleep Singh on Tuesday was honoured by the Royal Mail of the UK, which marked the centenary of the suffragette movement with eight special stamps. Suffragettes were members of women's organisations in the late-19th and early-20th centuries which advocated the extension of the 'franchise' or the right to vote in public elections, to women.

Princess Sophia Alexandra Duleep Singh, (August 8 1876-August 22 1948), the daughter of Maharajah Duleep Singh, is the only woman, who has one among the eight stamps to herself.

The image shows Princess Sophia "selling copies of the WSPU newspaper The Suffragette in April 1913. A member of the Women's Tax Resistance League, (whose official motto was 'No Taxation Without Representation'), the princess appeared in court on several occasions after refusing to pay taxes."

The stamps feature original photographs of campaigning in the decade before the right to vote was passed with the 1918 Representation of the People Act.

During the early twentieth century, Princess Sophia was one of the several South Asian women who pioneered the cause of women's rights in Britain. Although she is best remembered for her leading role in the Women's Tax Resistance League, she also participated in other women's suffrage groups, including the Women's Social and Political Union.

However, she was almost forgotten for 70 years, until BBC journalist Anita Anand, reportedly, came across the image in a magazine, pursued the story of the "Asian woman" behind the picture and wrote a book, Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary.

Princess Sophia's father, Maharaja Duleep Singh, was taken from his kingdom of Punjab to the British Raj owing to political manoeuvring by Governor-General Dalhousie in India, and was subsequently exiled to England.

Her mother was Maharani Bamba Muller, and her godmother was Queen Victoria. She lived in Hampton Court in an apartment in Faraday House given to her by Queen Victoria as a grace and favour.

The Norfolk Council, on its Twitter handle, posted a message, speaking about the honour given to Princess Sophia.

"Great to see Princess Sophia Duleep Singh featured on the latest batch of @RoyalMailStamps, announced today. A prominent Norfolk women's rights campaigner marked on the centenary of the Representation of the People Act 1918. Her family has links to @AncientHouseMus #Vote100," the tweet read.

Dawn Butler, UK's first elected female African-Caribbean Government Minister, also took to her Twitter handle to post a picture of hers with the Princess Sophia stamp and write alongside, "I was honoured to mark the centenary of some women gaining the right to vote with @RoyalMail of their issuing of special stamps to mark the #100years. This stamp is of Sophia Duleep Singh, a prominent Asian suffragette #TheNextSteps #Votes100".
The Defence Ministry has released a sharp response to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi's comments on the Rafale fighter jet deal with France. Rahul had earlier in the day accused the Modi government of protecting individuals allegedly involved in graft in the deal for the French fighter jets.



Here are the top 10 points from the Defence Ministry's response:

1. It ought to be remembered that it was under the ten-year tenure of the previous Government at the Centre that the earlier initiative of 2002 to meet a requirement of the Indian Air Force for much-needed augmentation of its fighter strength ran aground.

2. In 2012, the then Defence Minister exercised an unprecedented personal veto on the laid down institutional process then underway for procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft. All this happened when there was an alarming decline in IAFs fighter strength.

3. In another effort to twist facts, the Government is asked why it did not conduct negotiations with a particular company representing a competing fighter aircraft. It seems to have been conveniently forgotten that the then Government itself had rejected that companys unsolicited offer made days after closure of the bid process, declared Rafale (DA) as the L1 bidder and had commenced negotiations with it in February 2012.

4. The demand that the Government disclose the details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic. [In keeping with confidentiality requirements, the UPA Government had also expressed its inability to disclose the price of various defence procurements, including in its responses to Parliament Questions].

5. The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to the Parliament. Provision of exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal, inter alia, details regarding the various customizations and weapons systems specially designed to augment the effectiveness and lethality of the assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our national security.

6. Such details would also come under the ambit of the security agreement signed in 2008. Thus, in not revealing the item-wise details of the contract, the Government is merely following in letter and spirit the confidentiality provisions of a bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the previous Government.

7. As doubts are sought to be created about the 2016 contract for 36 aircraft, it is once again strongly reiterated that the deal secured by the Government is better in terms of capability, price, equipment, delivery, maintenance, training, etc., than that notionally negotiated by the then Government in a process it could not conclude in ten years. Moreover, the present Government completed these negotiations in just about one year.

8. It is also stressed once again that the procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft through an Inter-Governmental Agreement with France to meet the urgent need of the IAF is strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects including mandating, conducting and monitoring of negotiations and seeking all necessary approvals, including that of the Cabinet Committee on Security, before entering into the IGA. The aircraft had already been evaluated successfully by IAF during 2009-10.

9. It may also be noted that contrary to the impression sought, to be created by the Opposition, in the earlier proposal to procure Rafale, which ended in a stalemate, there was no provision for transfer of technology but only to manufacture under licence. The Government was unable to agree on the terms for even that in its negotiations with the vendor, resulting in the long-drawn exercise under the earlier Government ultimately turning futile.

10. Further, no Indian Offset Partner for the 2016 deal for 36 Rafale Aircraft has been so far selected by the vendor (DA) because as per the applicable guidelines, DA is free to select the Indian Offset Partners and provide their details at the time of seeking offset credits, or one year prior to discharge of offset obligation.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday thanked friends on social media for 'their kind words on the speeches in Parliament'.

"I thank friends on social media for their kind words on the speeches in Parliament today. Your blessings are indeed special and cherished," he tweeted.

I thank friends on social media for their kind words on the speeches in Parliament today. Your blessings are indeed special and cherished. https://t.co/WJnUoGnIjx  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 7, 2018

PM Modi on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Congress party in Parliament, accusing it of serving the interest of just one family and yearning for an "old India" - an era marked by "a series of scams".

In a speech that was made amidst continuous slogan shouting by Congress members in the Lok Sabha and later a largely uninterrupted Rajya Sabha, he took on the Congress for its various omissions and commissions in its more than five decades of rule and taunted the party over its demand for a "Gandhian India".

"I am also in favour of Gandhian India because Congress-free Bharat was the idea of Gandhi ji," he said in the Rajya Sabha. He was speaking in both the Houses of Parliament in reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address which was adopted without any amendments by the two Houses.

He accused the Congress of having a "small mind" and fostering one family's legacy at the country's cost and said there was "festival of honesty" under his government with people knowing they will get an account of the tax they pay.

PM Modi argued that the Congress had no right to give lessons on democracy and should not "mislead" the country on the issue of employment generation. He said Congress-led UPA was fully responsible for the NPAs of banks and the country will never forgive the party for its "sin".

PM Modi also sought to reach out to the middle class, which is seemingly feeling squeezed by the tax proposals in the Union Budget, saying the government was bringing about ease of living through good governance, improving education, infrastructure and housing.

(With IANS inputs)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member of Parliament Vinay Katiyar has fired a fresh salvo by saying that Muslims should not be allowed to live in India. According to news agency ANI, Katiyar has said that when the Muslims divided the country on the basis of their population, there is no need for them to live in India.

Musalman iss desh mein rehna hi nahi chahiye, unhone jansankhya ke aadhaar par desh ka batwara kardia toh iss desh mein rehne ki kya avashyakta thi? (Muslims should be living in this country at all. When they divided the country on the basis of population, what is the need for them to stay back in India?) said the BJP leader.

He further said, Unko alag bhu-bhaag de dia gaya, Bangladesh ya Pakistan jaayen yahan kya kaam hai unka? (They were given different regions. They should go to either Bangladesh or Pakistan, why are they needed here?).

Reacting to the demand of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who had sought a law to punish those who call Indian Muslims "Pakistani", Katiyar said that instead there should be a bill that calls for penalising those who hoist Pakistans flag in Indian territory.

There should be a bill that punishes those who do not respect Vande Matram, those who insult the national flag, said the BJP leader. Those who hoist the Pakistani flag, they should be punished, he added.

The controversial remarks of the BJP MP comes a day after All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) leader Asaduddin Owaisi said on Tuesday that anyone calling Indian Muslims Pakistani should be jailed.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Owaisi had asked the government to bring in a law to punish people who make such statements. He also called for a three-year jail term for anyone making such statements.

"Bring a law that if any Muslim is called Pakistani, the person will face a three-year jail term," he said, but added that the BJP-led government will not bring such a bill. Muslims living in India had rejected Mohammad Ali Jinnah's two-nation theory, he further said.

Owaisi was speaking in the Lok Sabha on the motion of thanks to President Ram Nath Kovind's address.
Here are the top headlines of the day:

1. Rajasthan unhappy with Raje, look for replacement: BJP wing writes to Amit Shah

Rajasthan is heading for state Assembly polls later this year. Read more



2. RBI monetary policy to be announced today: Here's what you can expect

The outcome of the 6-member MPC meeting is being keenly awaited by stakeholders amidst a huge sell-off in the stock markets globally. Read more



3. Major blow to Pakistan as US moves ahead with bill to end all economic aid

Last month, the Trump administration had suspended $2 billion military aid to Pakistan because of its inability to take actions against terror groups. Read more



4. Punish anyone calling Indian Muslim 'Pakistani': Asaduddin Owaisi

Owaisi suggested a three-year jail term for people making such statements. Read more



5. Imran Khans ex-wife Reham Khan declares when she will return to Pakistan

Pakistan-based news organisation Dawn quoted Reham Khan as saying that she has left Pakistan temporarily for the security of her kids. Read more



6. Valentine's Week 2018: Know when to celebrate Rose day, Kiss day, Chocolate day

Full list inside



7. Padmaavat: Ranveer Singh creates a new record: Deets

Though Shahid and Deepika were the main protagonists, it was Ranveers Khilji act that stole the show. Read more



8. Worlds biggest rocket soars on way to Mars after perfect launch

The world's most powerful rocket, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, blasted off Tuesday on its highly anticipated maiden test flight. Read more


New Delhi: Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday said there was "nothing new" in Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s speech in the Lok Sabha and that the people were interested in knowing about their future and jobs.

"The Prime Minister said nothing new. He is repeating old things, (but) people are interested about their jobs. They want to know about their future," Gandhi said, as per IANS.

PM Modi on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Congress party in Parliament, accusing it of serving the interest of just one family and yearning for an "old India" - an era marked by "a series of scams".

I thank friends on social media for their kind words on the speeches in Parliament today. Your blessings are indeed special and cherished. https://t.co/WJnUoGnIjx  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 7, 2018

In a speech that was made amidst continuous slogan shouting by Congress members in the Lok Sabha and later a largely uninterrupted Rajya Sabha, he took on the Congress for its various omissions and commissions in its more than five decades of rule and taunted the party over its demand for a "Gandhian India".

"I am also in favour of Gandhian India because Congress-free Bharat was the idea of Gandhi ji," he said in the Rajya Sabha. He was speaking in both the Houses of Parliament in reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the President's address which was adopted without any amendments by the two Houses.

He accused the Congress of having a "small mind" and fostering one family's legacy at the country's cost and said there was "festival of honesty" under his government with people knowing they will get an account of the tax they pay.

PM Modi argued that the Congress had no right to give lessons on democracy and should not "mislead" the country on the issue of employment generation. He said Congress-led UPA was fully responsible for the NPAs of banks and the country will never forgive the party for its "sin".

PM Modi also sought to reach out to the middle class, which is seemingly feeling squeezed by the tax proposals in the Union Budget, saying the government was bringing about ease of living through good governance, improving education, infrastructure and housing.

Referring to unemployment, he said four Opposition-ruled states - West Bengal, Karnataka, Odisha and Kerala - had claimed to have generated one crore jobs. "Will you not treat it as employment," he said, adding that unemployment was posed as a national problem and the answer has also to be in a national perspective.

PM Modi said the aspirational youth from the middle class were keen on setting up their own enterprise than on jobs. "We should support their aspirations," he said, adding that the NDA government has given 10 crore Mudra loans.

(With IANS inputs)
Prime Minister Narendra Modis wife Jashodaben on Wednesday morning got injured in a car accident in Chittorgarh in Rajasthan. According to the reports, the incident took place on a highway near Chittorgarh, following which Jashodaben was rushed to a nearby hospital.

Reports said that one of her relatives, Vasantbhai Modi, suffered critical injuries in the accident and later succumbed to them.

Jashodaben was returning from a marriage in Baran district near Kota in Rajasthan when she met with an accident.

Some media reports quoted police personnel as saying that Jashodaben, who was travelling in a Toyota Innova SUV, did not suffer serious injuries in the accident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reportedly acknowledged the Jashodaben as his wife for the first time at the time of filing his nomination for Vadodara seat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

She has also been provided with SPG security cover, which is given to the PM and members of immediate family. Modi married her in 1968 when they were teenagers.

She has retired as a school teacher and lives a quiet life with her two brothers in Ishwarwada village in Mehsana district of north Gujarat.
Jharkhand Chief Secretary Rajbala Verma, who has had a controversial career, has now courted a fresh trouble just ahead of her retirement. She has now been accused of shielding an officer who allegedly indulged in misconduct in coal block allocation.

The Prime Ministers Office had taken cognisance of the issue and sent a letter to the principal secretary of Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, asking for investigation against Rajbala Verma and senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer AP Singh, reported Prabhat Khabar.

The letter from the PMO is reportedly in response to letters sent to it by Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (JVM) leader Dilip Mishra in July and September 2017. In his letters to the PMO, Mishra had sought action against Rajbala Verma and AP Singh.

According to the letters, Rajbala Verma and AP Singh had made false report concerning then Palamau district collector Puja Singhal to protect her. Acting on the same, the Personnel and Training Department of Union Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievance and Pension recommended a probe against Verma and Singh to the PMO.

The letter from PMO, dated January 25, 2018, has asked the government to take necessary action in the case. The issue concerns allocation of 200 acre of land to Kathotia Coal Block Private Limited in Palamau.

Rajbala Verma is a 1983 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer, and has been in several controversies during her service. Earlier, she faced attack from opposition parties for allegedly writing to a private bank to pressure them for funding her sons company. Besides, she was also accused of laxity in the probe concerning fodder scam.
Riyadh: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and discussed steps to further intensify the bilateral strategic partnership in all sectors and to work towards each other's progress.

Swaraj, who arrived here yesterday on her maiden visit to Saudi Arabia, called on King Salman here.

"Steps to further intensify our strategic partnership in all sectors and to work together towards each other's progress came up during the warm discussion," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Earlier, Swaraj met her Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and discussed ways to enhance bilateral trade, energy, defence and security ties.

Kumar said the discussions between the two leaders focused on enhancing trade and investment, energy, defence and security, culture and people-to-people ties. The two leaders also discussed the regional and global situation, Kumar added.

A welcome sign in Hindi appreciating India's rich cultural heritage was placed at the Foreign Ministry building where Adel Jubeir hosted a lunch in honour of Swaraj.

Swaraj will also inaugurate the prestigious National Heritage and Culture Festival 'Janadriyah', at which India is the guest of honour country. The festival, organised by the National Guard, exhibits Saudi Arabia's rich tapestry of culture and heritage.

Swaraj thanked the Saudi government for according the 'Guest of Honour' status to India at the Janadriyah festival.

Last evening, Swaraj addressed Indian community members at a reception here and spoke in length about the growing relations between the two countries, Kumar said.

Swaraj thanked the Indian community for the goodwill it has earned for the country and lauded the Indian embassy for its promptness.

Saudi Arabia is home to more than 3 million Indian people and ties between the two countries are on an upswing in the last few years especially after the landmark visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Gulf Kingdom in April 2016.

Saudi Arabia is India's fourth largest trade partner after China, the US and the UAE. The country is a major source of India's energy requirement as it accounts for almost one-fifth of India's crude oil requirement.

The volume of bilateral trade during 2016-17 was recorded at $25.079 billion, a slight decrease from the $26.71 billion in 2015-16.
New Delhi: Hitting back at the Opposition, the government on Wednesday said that the Rafale deal was better in many aspects than the one "notionally negotiated" by the Congress regime, which could not conclude it in ten years.

The deal was better in aspects such as capability, price and equipment, it said in a statement.

"It is also stressed once again that the procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft through an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with France to meet the urgent need of the IAF is strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects...," it said.

"As doubts are sought to be created about the 2016 contract for 36 aircraft, it is once again strongly reiterated that the deal secured by the government is better in terms of capability, price, equipment, delivery, maintenance, training, etc, than that notionally negotiated by the then government in a process it could not conclude in ten years," the statement added.

The procurement of 36 #Rafale aircraft through the IGA with France to meet the urgent need of IAF is strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects including approval of CCS, before entering into the IGA. @nsitharamanhttps://t.co/EuNGzIFqI6  Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) February 7, 2018

Following is the full text of the statement by the government:

Unfounded allegations are being made regarding the 2016 inter-governmental agreement (IGA) to procure 36 Rafale aircraft in fly-away condition from France. This would normally not have merited a response but for the serious damage being caused by the misleading statements, sought to be repeatedly perpetrated on a serious matter of national security.

It ought to be remembered that it was under the ten-year tenure of the previous government at the Centre that the earlier initiative of 2002 to meet requirement of the Indian Air Force (IAF) for much-needed augmentation of its fighter strength ran aground. In 2012, the then Defence Minister exercised an unprecedented personal veto on the laid down institutional process then underway for procurement of 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). All this happened when there was an alarming decline in IAFs fighter strength.

In another effort to twist facts, the government is asked why it did not conduct negotiations with a particular company representing a competing fighter aircraft. It seems to have been conveniently forgotten that the then government itself had rejected that companys unsolicited offer made days after closure of the bid process, declared Rafale (DA) as the L1 bidder and had commenced negotiations with it in February 2012.

The demand that the government disclose the details and value of the contract for the Rafale aircraft contracted in 2016 is unrealistic. (In keeping with confidentiality requirements, the UPA government had also expressed its inability to disclose the price of various defence procurements, including in its responses to Parliament Questions). The approximate acquisition cost of the Rafale aircraft has already been provided to the Parliament. Provision of exact item-wise cost and other information will reveal, inter alia, details regarding the various customizations and weapons systems specially designed to augment the effectiveness and lethality of the assets, impact our military preparedness and compromise our national security. Such details would also come under the ambit of the security agreement signed in 2008. Thus, in not revealing the item-wise details of the contract, the Government is merely following in letter and spirit the confidentiality provisions of a bilateral India-France Agreement of 2008 signed by the previous Government.

As doubts are sought to be created about the 2016 contract for 36 aircraft, it is once again strongly reiterated that the deal secured by the Government is better in terms of capability, price, equipment, delivery, maintenance, training, etc, than that notionally negotiated by the then Government in a process it could not conclude in ten years. Moreover, the present Government completed these negotiations in just about one year.

It is also stressed once again that the procurement of 36 Rafale aircraft through an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with France to meet the urgent need of the IAF is strictly in accordance with the Defence Procurement Procedure in all aspects including mandating, conducting and monitoring of negotiations and seeking all necessary approvals, including that of the Cabinet Committee on Security, before entering into the IGA. The aircraft had already been evaluated successfully by IAF during 2009-10.

It may also be noted that contrary to the impression sought, to be created by the Opposition, in the earlier proposal to procure Rafale, which ended in a stalemate, there was no provision for transfer of technology but only to manufacture under licence. The government was unable to agree on the terms for even that in its negotiations with the vendor, resulting in the long-drawn exercise under the earlier government ultimately turning futile. Further, no Indian Offset Partner for the 2016 deal for 36 Rafale Aircraft has been so far selected by the vendor (DA) because as per the applicable guidelines, DA is free to select the Indian Offset Partners and provide their details at the time of seeking offset credits, or one year prior to discharge of offset obligation.

The government's strong reaction came a day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi launched an attack on the Modi government on Tuesday, alleging that the deal was a "scam" given that the government was not sharing the price of the aircraft.

He had also said that it was "for the first time" that the country's Defence Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) was not sharing the purchase price of the aircraft.

Sitharaman on Monday had refused to share the details of the deal on the grounds of the security agreement signed between India and France in 2008.

Her response was to a written question in Rajya Sabha by Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agrawal, who had asked why the government did not want to disclose in public domain the agreement between India and France for purchasing the aircraft.

(With PTI inputs)
Mumbai: The Congress will ally with "like-minded" parties in Maharashtra to take on the ruling BJP, party's state unit chief Ashok Chavan said on Wednesday.

Senior Congress leaders attended a meeting at the party office here.

"The prevailing social situation in Maharashtra, the political situation and the fight against the government in future was discussed at the meeting," Chavan said.

He said apart from Congress leaders, representatives from organisations working for safeguarding the Constitution also attended the meeting.

Separately, a joint meeting of leaders of the Congress and the NCP was held at the official residence of Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil in South Mumbai.

"The problems currently plaguing the state, the prevailing political situation and the upcoming Budget session of the Maharashtra Legislature were discussed at the meeting," Chavan said.

The Congress leader said both the parties have decided to fight against the government together on issues like "deteriorating condition of farmers in the state, issues being faced by middle class and rising dictatorship like attitude of the BJP-led government".
Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis on Wednesday directed the Urban Development Department (UDD) to submit a Detail Plan Report (DPR) of the proposed memorial to late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

Fadnavis chaired a review meeting over the progress of the memorial, which is set to come up at the location that earlier housed the Mumbai Mayor's bungalow in Shivaji Park area here.

Senior Shiv Sena minister Subhash Desai, who is also a trustee of the committee formed to oversee the development in the project, said Fadnavis has asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, UDD and the environment department to submit a DPR so that work can start soon.

"The work of the memorial will start soon once a detailed proposal is submitted," said Desai.

A presentation on the memorial was made at the meeting.

"The Chief Minister directed officials to take into consideration the number of visitors to the memorial, facilities to be provided to them, parking space, etc. While preparing the DPR of the memorial. Once the DPR is received, action can be taken towards completion of the memorial," Desai said.

The prime sea-facing property, measuring around 11,500 sq mt, was handed over to the "Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Nyas" last year, clearing the decks for the memorial.
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court it has drawn a set of draft guidelines for emergency organ retrieval and donation even for hospitals that are not registered for organ transplant.

The government said the guidelines will be ratified in about four weeks and a Government Resolution (GR) will then be issued notifying them.

The new guidelines will ensure, among other things, a mechanism to deal with emergency organ donation or retrieval situations even for patients who are undergoing treatment at hospitals that do not have the licenses and are not registered for conducting organ transplant.

The submissions were made before a bench of Justices Naresh Patil and NW Sambre that was hearing a petition filed by a kidney patient Swapnil Raut.

Raut's plea brought to light a recent incident at a Mumbai hospital, where another kidney patient awaiting donation from a brain-dead person, also at the same hospital, failed to get the organ since the potential donor suffered a sudden heart attack and died.

The hospital could not retrieve the donor's organ after his death since its licence for organ transplant is under suspension for the last few years.

At the previous hearing, the bench had taken a serious view of the matter and said the government should frame guidelines about it. It had asked the government to constitute a team of medical experts who can intervene in such situations in the future.
Mumbai: A class 10 student was found dead with grievous injuries inside his school in Maharashtra's Solapur district yesterday, police said on Wednesday.

Police on Wednesday apprehended two classmates of the deceased, identified as Mahesh Karande (16), who were absent since the incident and booked them for murder, an official said.

As per preliminary investigation, the accused duo had objected to Karande staring at a girl in his class and attacked him with a sickle, he said.

According to the official, the duo - one of them juvenile and another a 20-year-old--allegedly attacked Karande near the computer room of Samata High School in Pirale village ahead of practical tests for class 10.

"Karande was attacked with a sickle near the computer room of the school. He was rushed to a hospital by school authorities where he was declared brought dead," the official said.

Natepute police station incharge Rajkumar Bhujbal said they suspected the role of the two students as they were missing since the day of the incident and even didn't appear for the practical examination.

"An offence of murder was registered against the duo who were apprehended from the village this morning," Bhujbal said.

The officer said a scuffle had broken out between the duo and Karande after they accused him of staring at a girl in the class, before the fatal attack.

Further investigation is underway, he added.
Kohima: On the last day of filing of nominations, Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang was among the 253 candidates who filed their poll papers for the February 27 Assembly elections, the state's chief electoral officer said on Wednesday.

Apart from Zeliang of the ruling Naga People's Front, prominent among those who filed their nominations today included former chief minister KL Chishi of the BJP.

Chief Electoral Officer Abhijit Sinha told reporters that compiling the final list party-wise is taking time because of last-hour rush.

A scrutiny of nomination papers would be held on Thursday and the last date for withdrawal is February 12.

The ruling NPF is contesting on 59 seats, followed by the newly-floated Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party (NDPP), led by three-time chief minister Neiphiu Rio on 40 seats.

The BJP has fielded candidates on 20 seats, the Congress on 19, the National Peoples Party (NPP) on 28, the JD(U) on 15, the Nationalist Congress Party on 6, the Aam Aadmi Party on 3, and the Lok Jan Party on 2.

There are 17 independent candidates in the fray.

Chief Minister T R Zeliang has filed his papers from 7- Peren constituency, Rio from 11-Northern Angami-I A/C and former chief minister K L Chishi from 32-Atoizu seat.

Five women candidates, the highest ever in the state polls, have also filed their nomination papers this time.

CEO Abhijit Sinha also said that the NPF has filed a formal complaint against Rio for allegedly blocking the way of its candidate Chupfu-o while on way to file nomination papers.

The candidate, however, managed to file the nomination papers after security was provided by authorities, Sinha said.

He said the matter has been taken up with the Election Commission of India.

Though the filing of nominations for the election to the 60-member House started on January 31, the first batch of 22 contestants filed their nomination papers only yesterday.

Political parties in the north-eastern state had stayed away from the nomination process as the Core Committee of Nagaland Tribal Hohos and Civil Organisations (CCNTHCO) had, through a joint declaration on January 29, urged them to refrain from participating in the elections.

The CCNTHCO had sought the support of political parties to its call for a solution to the protracted Naga political issue first.
Shimla: Veteran Bollywood actor Jeetendra was on Wednesday accused of sexually harassing his cousin, who has come forward to file a police complaint 47 years after the alleged incident.

Jeetendra, whose real name is Ravi Kapoor, is the son of the victim's father's sister.

The victim made the allegation in a police complaint filed with Himachal Pradesh's Director General of Police. A copy of the complaint is with IANS.

As per the complaint, the incident took place in January 1971, when the victim was 18 and Jeetendra was 28. It happened when he "arranged" for the victim to join him from New Delhi to Shimla on the set of his movie without the complainant's "awareness".

The victim has claimed that on the night they reached Shimla, Jeetendra returned to the room in an inebriated state, joined the two separate beds and sexually assaulted her.

The allegation comes amid the #MeToo campaign as part of which women have come out about facing sexual abuse at the hands of powerful men. While several ladies have accused Hollywood's powerful men, the Hindi film industry -- while admitting the prevalence of abuse -- have not named and shamed as openly.

Jeetendra, now 75, is a well-known name in the Hindi film industry. He is also a film producer and has daughter Ekta and son Tusshar with wife Shobhaa.
NEW DELHI: Veteran actor Jeetendra's cousin on Wednesday accused the star of sexual assault. The shocking allegation dates back to the time when the victim was 18-year-old and the noted star was 28.

As per IANS, the woman filed a police complaint with Himachal Pradesh's Director General of Police. The star reportedly 'arranged' for the victim to join him from New Delhi to Shimla on the set of his movie without the complainant's 'awareness'. The incident took place in January 1971, when the victim was 18 and Jeetendra was 28.

In her complaint, the woman has alleged that on the night they reached Shimla, Jeetendra returned to the room in an inebriated state, joined the two separate beds and sexually assaulted her.

Now, the noted actor's lawyer has issued a statement denying all the claims made by the woman in question. BollywoodLife.com quoted advocate Rizwan Siddiquee, who represented the actor as stating, Foremost my client specifically and categorically denies any such incident. Besides even otherwise such baseless, ridiculous and fabricated claims cannot be entertained by any Court of law or the law enforcement agencies after a span of almost 50 years. The Statute has provided a justice delivery system through the Courts, and the Limitation Act 1963 was specifically enacted to ensure that all genuine complaints are made within a maximum time limit of three years so that a proper investigation is carried out and timely justice is delivered.

Besides I want to make it specifically clear that the law does not give any person any rights or liberties of making any baseless, ridiculous or fabricated claims against any man publicly and seek to defame him with a hidden personal agenda. Media is therefore adviced to cautiously refrain from giving any importance to such ridiculous, baseless and fabricated claims, and they should not participate in any way whatsoever in defaming or assassinating the character of any man in such cases.

In any event, the timing of this baseless complaint seems to be nothing but a miserable effort made by a jealous competitor to disrupt the business activities of my client and his esteemed Company. Such efforts are therefore in all fairness treated with the contempt it truly deserves.

(With IANS inputs)
New Delhi: Hundreds of thousands of central government employees who are eagerly waiting for the implementation of increased pay as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission may finally get some relief in April.

As per media reports Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has assured to implement the pay hike for government employees from April.

Reports further said that the proposal of pay hike will be sent to Cabinet in the beginning of April for approval. Employees on the level 1 and 5 pay matrix band will get the revised salary.

The Union Cabinet had in June approved recommendations of the CPC with 34 modifications, which will mean an additional annual burden of Rs 30,748 crore on the exchequer.

All allowances are given effect from July 1, 2017.

The recommendations benefit over 1 crore employees. This includes over 47 lakh central government employees and 53 lakh pensioners, of which 14 lakh employees and 18 lakh pensioners are from the defence forces.

The new scales of pay provide for entry-level basic pay going up from Rs 7,000 per month to Rs 18,000, while at the highest level i.e. Secretary, it would go up from Rs 90,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh. For Class 1 officers, the starting salary will be Rs 56,100.

Here we will show you how the 7th Pay Commission will change your exact salary keeping in mind the 4 main pay bands:

Existing Pay Band (5200-20200)

(All numbers are in rupees)

Basic pay = 5200

Grade pay = 1800

Total entry pay = 7000

Dearness allowance: 125% on Basic pay and Grade pay = 8750

Total salary = 7000+ 8750+ allowances = 16750 + allowances

New salary ( as per 7th Pay Commission) = 18000 + allowances

Net difference = 1250

Employees fall under this pay band: Security guard, Junior Attendant, Driver etc.

Existing Pay Band (9300-34800)

Basic pay = 9300

Grade pay = 4200

Total entry pay =13500

Dearness allowance: 125% on Basic pay and Grade pay = 16875

Total salary = 13500+ 16875 + allowances = 30375 + allowances

New salary ( as per 7th Pay Commission) = 35400 + allowances

Net difference = 5025

Employees fall under this pay band: TGT Teacher, Pharmacist, Senior Security Inspector, Junior Engineer etc.

Existing Pay Band (15600-39100)

Basic pay = 15600

Grade pay = 5400

Total entry pay = 21000

Dearness allowance: 125% on Basic pay and Grade pay = 26250

Total salary = 21000+ 26250 + allowances = 47250 + allowances

New salary ( as per 7th Pay Commission) = 56100 + allowances

Net difference = 8850

Employees fall under this pay band: Medical Officer, Manager, Scientific Officer, Assistant Professor, Engineer etc.

Existing Pay Band (37400-67000)

Basic pay = 37400

Grade pay = 8700

Total entry pay = 46100

Dearness allowance: 125% on Basic pay and Grade pay = 57625

Total salary = 46100 + 57625 + allowances = 103725 + allowances

New salary ( as per 7th Pay Commission) = 118500 + allowances

Net difference = 14775

Employees fall under this pay band: Associate Professor
Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged the Centre to introduce direct flights between Bhubaneswar and Pune.

"I would like to seek your personal intervention in the matter the for introduction of direct flight between Bhubaneswar and Pune by Air India or any other private Airline at the earliest," Patnaik wrote to Union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

Noting that Bhubaneswar and Pune share a long-standing relationship being two prominent educational and IT hubs of the country, Patnaik said many academicians and IT professionals frequently visit both the places.

Patnaik said passengers now have to take flight via Hyderabad or Mumbai as there is no direct flight between these two cities. It is costlier as well as time-consuming for them, the chief minister said.

This apart, Patnaik pointed out that tourists from Pune undertake a journey to visit places like Puri, Konark, Chilika near Bhubaneswar and people of Odisha visit Shirdi, Mahabaleshwar, Trimbakeshwar near Pune.
Kota: The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP's) OBC wing in Kota is 'unhappy' with incumbent state Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje. Several sections of the society, including farmers, are angry with the Raje government, claimed party members in a letter to BJP chief Amit Shah.

"The people of the state are not happy with Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's style of functioning. The party workers are losing confidence due to her working style," wrote Ashok Choudhary, head of the BJP's Kota district OBC wing.

Rajasthan is heading for state Assembly polls later this year.

On February 1, the BJP government lost the by-polls to Lok Sabha seats of Ajmer and Alwar and Mandalgarh Assembly seat. Defeating BJPs Shakti Singh Hada, Congress candidate Vivek Dhakar won Mandalgarh Assembly seat. In Ajmer, Congress candidate Raghu Sharma defeated BJP's Ramswaroop Lamba, while in Alwar, Congress leader Dr Karan Singh Yadav defeated the BJPs Jaswant Yadav.

On February 2, the very next day, Choudhary wrote the letter to Shah.

Terming state president Ashok Parnami as a "slave of Raje", Choudhary said he was continuously causing damage to the organisation.

He further added that Raje had fallen into the "trap" of bureaucracy (IAS, IPS, RAS, RPS) and that her present actions can only lead to the party's defeat in the state.

Requesting the party high command to change the party leadership in the state, Choudhary claimed that new leadership will infuse energy into the organisation ahead of the Assembly polls.

Kota is known as a BJP bastion. The saffron party had lost in only one of the 17 seats in the district in the 2013 state Assembly polls.

When contacted, Choudhary admitted that he had written the letter to Shah.

Maintaining that he had put forward the plight of the workers to the party's national head, he said, "Each and every word in the letter is that of the party workers."

Bundi district BJP spokesperson Sanjay Lathi echoed the views expressed by Choudhary and admitted that there was a deep unrest among the party workers against the state leadership.

He suggested that the government and the party jointly probed the reasons of its bypoll defeat and worked towards gaining the lost confidence and energy of the party workers.

With PTI inputs
The world's most powerful rocket, SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, blasted off Tuesday on its highly anticipated maiden test flight, carrying CEO Elon Musk's cherry red Tesla roadster toward an orbit near Mars. Screams and cheers erupted at Cape Canaveral, Florida as the massive rocket fired its 27 engines and rumbled into the blue sky over the same NASA launchpad that served as a base for the US missions to Moon four decades ago.

"Wow, did you guys see that? That was awesome," said SpaceX commentator Lauren Lyons as applause thundered through mission control. SpaceX commentator John Innsbrucker said it was "everything you could want in a test flight."

Loaded with Musk's red Tesla and a mannequin in a spacesuit, the monster rocket's historic test voyage has captured the world's imagination.

SpaceX's webcast showed Musk's Tesla roadster soaring into space, as David Bowie's "Space Oddity" played in the background -- with the words "DON'T PANIC" visible on the dashboard, in an apparent nod to the sci-fi series the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

Musk posted a video of the car on Twitter after launch, in which he can be heard laughing in the background as a camera behind the mannequin's head shows the car apparently in orbit around Earth. "It actually really doesn't look real, it's crazy," Musk can be heard saying.

He later posted another video showing a "live view of Starman" appearing to cruise, its gloved hand on the wheel, through the darkness of space, the Earth's image reflected on its glossy red surface.

The car was also outfitted with a high-data storage unit containing Isaac Asimov's science fiction book series, the Foundation Trilogy, and a plaque bearing the names of 6,000 SpaceX employees.About two minutes into the flight, the two side boosters peeled away from the center core and made their way back toward Earth for an upright landing.

Both rockets landed side by side in unison on launchpads, live video images showed.

"New Olympic sport - Synchronized Landings!" wrote NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik on Twitter. "HUGE congrats to the @SpaceX team on your maiden flight! Another giant step towards making spaceflight for everyone a reality."

The third, center booster was to attempt a landing on an ocean platform although its status was still unclear.

Experts said the launch would likely catch the eye of the US space agency NASA, which may consider using the Falcon Heavy as a way to fast-track its plans to reach the Moon again for the first time since 1972. Acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot congratulated SpaceX and called it a "tremendous accomplishment."

Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana said, "the successful launch of a new vehicle on its first flight is a significant accomplishment they can be very proud of."

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield tweeted: "What we're watching is @SpaceX leaving all other rocket companies in the dust. Congrats to everyone there!"The Falcon Heavy launched from the same NASA pad that was the base for the Apollo-era Moon missions of the 1960s and 1970s.

It is "the most powerful operational rocket in the world by a factor of two," SpaceX said.

That means it can carry twice the payload of United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy, at a far lower cost -- about $90 million per launch compared to $350 million for its competitor. But the Falcon Heavy is not the most powerful rocket ever -- just the biggest in operation today.

The Saturn V rocket that propelled astronauts to the Moon could deliver more payload to orbit. The Soviet-era Energia, which flew twice in 1987 and 1988, was also more powerful.

The Falcon Heavy is essentially three smaller, Falcon 9 rockets strapped together, adding up to a total of 27 engines.

The 230-foot (70-meter) tall rocket is designed to carry nearly 141,000 pounds (64 metric tonnes) into orbit -- more than the mass of a fully loaded 737 jetliner.

It was initially designed to restore the possibility of sending humans to the Moon or Mars, but those plans have shifted and now the Falcon Heavy is being considered mainly as a potential equipment carrier to these deep space destinations, Musk said Monday.

Instead, another rocket and spaceship combination being developed by SpaceX, nicknamed BFR -- alternately known as "Big Fucking Rocket," or "Big Falcon Rocket" -- would be the vehicle eventually certified for travellers.
WASHINGTON : A Saudi man who attended flight school in Oklahoma was charged on Tuesday with visa fraud for allegedly having lied about attending an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in 2000, the U.S. Justice Department said.

A federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Naif Abdulaziz M. Alfallaj, 34, after his fingerprints turned up on documents found by the U.S. military at an al Qaeda safe house in Afghanistan, the Justice Department said in a statement.

Court documents show that Alfallaj, of Weatherford, Oklahoma, was issued a private pilot`s certificate in November 2016, but it was revoked last year because federal authorities considered him at risk for air piracy or terrorism.

Based on a criminal complaint signed in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma and unsealed on Tuesday, Alfallaj was taken into custody by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Feb. 5, the Justice Department said.

According to the complaint, the FBI found 15 of Alfallajs fingerprints on an application to a training camp known as al Farooq, which was one of al Qaedas key training sites in Afghanistan.

Alfallaj is alleged to have first entered the United States in late 2011 on a nonimmigrant visa based on his wifes status as a foreign student, the Justice Department said.

According to the complaint, he answered several questions on his visa application falsely, including whether he had ever supported terrorist organizations.

Alfallaj faces up to 10 years in prison on each of two charges of visa fraud and up to eight years for lying about his involvement in international terrorism, the statement said.

There was no immediate response to a request for comment from Alfallaj`s attorney in Oklahoma City, Kyle Wackenheim.

In a series of four attacks coordinated by al Quaeda on Sept. 11, 2001, four passenger airliners were hijacked and used in suicide attempts to target buildings in New York and the Washington, D.C., area, resulting in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people. Most of the 19 attackers were Saudis, and several took flight training in Florida.
For the past year, the first year of the Trump administration, Washington has been roiled by the quarrel between anti-Trump and pro-Trump factions, roughly speaking Democrats against Republicans although some Republicans also have worked against the president. The anti-Trumpers have tried to delegitimize Trump and his presidency. Allegations have been made by the anti-Trump side --including most of the press & media-- of Trump complicity or collusion with Russia in order to win the election. These charges led Trump to appoint a special investigator to conduct an inquiry. The special investigator was Robert Mueller, former head of the FBI.The investigation has turned up little so far to support those allegations, as far as the public knows, even according to anti-Trump sources. Be that as it may, one essential question has not been asked, to my knowledge. That is:? After all, if they colluded with Trump's representatives to support him, if they wanted to put him in the White House, and colluded with Trump or his campaign for that purpose, would they have done it expecting nothing in return?In fact, if we look at Trump's foreign policy over the past year since the inauguration, we see that he in fact worked against Russian policy in three areas, Syria, the Ukraine, and North Korea. In Syria, Trump had American aircraft attack a Syrian air force base from which planes flew to make a chemical warfare attack on civilians in rebel-held areas. The Syrian regime of Bashar Assad is being protected and aided by Russia. In Ukraine, the Trump administration sold weapons to the Ukrainian government which is engaged in a war, now in a cease fire phase, with Russian-backed, ethnic Russian rebel militias in eastern Ukraine. Perhaps Russian troops too are directly involved in combat on the side of the rebels.As to North Korea, Trump has several times attacked and threatened the regime and its dictator, Kim Jung Un [Little Rocket Man]. This policy on Trump's part has led to clashes with Russia at the UN Security Council. Further, Trump succeeded in getting Security Council resolutions passed critical of North Korea. Hence, we do not see what Russia got in return for any help to Trump and his campaign.Next, we have to ask whether Russia or its government did anything that gave or might have given the election to Trump. This question is important because it was being alleged by Democrats that Russia did indeed help Trump against Hillary Clinton. Did the Russkis do anything to swing the election in Trump's favor? And if so, the thinking ran, then Trump's election was illegitimate. This is obviously a partisan claim on behalf of the Democrats and Hillary. But is there any truth to it? Anti-Trumpers have pointed to a massive dump of information by Wikileaks of emails exchanged among active employes of the Democratic National Committee and other Democratic figures, emails which put the Democratic Party and Clinton's campaign in a very bad light. Indeed, these emails were embarassing to Clinton, her party and her campaign organization. One item that emerged was that high officials of the DNC [democratic national committee] had worked against Hillary's rival in the primary elections, one Bernie Sanders --who espoused a political line allegedly to the "Left" of Clinton-- whereas the DNC was supposed be impartial.The Democrats and Hillary did not deny that these embarassing emails were real and truthful. Rather they counter-attacked, after release of the emails, by claiming that Russia had leaked them to Wikileaks, as if only a state or only Russia could have hacked into the computers of the DNC and then supplied the emails to Wikileaks. However, Julian Assange, the head of Wikileaks, specifically denied on TV [I watched the TV program] that his organization had gotten the emails from Russia. You don't have to believe Assange of course. However, did the emails uploaded to the Internet by Wikileaks have to have come from a hacking operation? Besides, there are other hackers and other interested parties. Another possible explanation is that someone in the DNC organization had leaked them to Wikileaks. And here we have the unexplained murder of Seth Rich, an employe of the DNC whose body was found in Washington with valuable personal effects like his watch and wallet still with him. Did Rich have anything to do with supplying the emails to Wikileaks? We can only speculate.If anything or any person swung votes from Hillary to Trump, it was FBI director, James Comey's last minute revelation before the election that the investigation into Hillary had to be renewed because additional emails. from and to Hillary had been found on the computer of Anthony Weiner, estranged husband of Hillary's gal Friday, Huma Abedin [before, after and during Hillary's presence at the State Department]. That's why Hillary was so angry at Comey. She wanted him fired from the FBI. She in fact called for him to be fired from the FBI about a week before Trump did in fact fire him in early 2017. At that time, nobody was saying that Hillary was undermining public respect for law and order.Before concluding, we must say that many countries want to influence elections in other countries. Least of all is the United States ashamed of doing that. During the 2015 election campaign for the Knesset, it was notorious in Israel that the Obama administration, of which a Hillary presidency would have been a continuation, was interfering with money and personnel in Israel's election in favor of the Labor Party , or to be more precise, in favor of the Zionist Union party which brought together Labor with a few members of Tsipi Livni's HaTenu`ah party.So it would come as no surprise to learn that Russia wanted to influence the 2016 US presidential election. But Russia would hardly be unique in doing that or trying to do that.Before concluding, one might argue that Obama's administration, of which Hillary was a shameful part, both aided Russia and hurt Russia. Obama helped Russia in Syria among other ways by allowing Assad's regime to get away with using poison gas against his own population through not enforcing Obama's own "red line" against such use and making an agreement that Russia would take Syria's stock of poison gas and chemical weapons away from Syria, as a substitute for US military action against Syria's stock of such weapons. In fact, Syria still has such weapons and they were reportedly used just the other day against the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta. Moreover, while Hillary was secretary of state, it is credibly alleged, she intervened to facilitate the purchase by a Russian company of part of US uranium production [used in building nuclear weapons]. This facilitating of the Russian purchase took place after the Russian company had made a sizable "charitable" contribution to the Clinton family foundation, widely considered a tax free depository for moneys paid to the Clintons.But back to the point. While letting Russia's protege, Assad in Syria, get away with murder literally, the Obama administration also worked against Russia in its next door neighbor, the Ukraine. Victoria Nuland of the State Department and other US officials were encouraging neo-fascist parties in the Ukraine --Right Sektor & Svoboda-- to work to overthrow the Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovich, who was considered pro-Russian. This overthrow was in fact accomplished. Ms Nuland, by the way, met with leaders of the anti-Yanukovich movement in Kiev, such as Mr Klichko, whom she affectionately called Klich. So the Russians had reason to hate Obama as well as reasons to appreciate his help for them, as in Syria. Furthermore, it is hardly clear that any help or support Russia may have given to Trump's candidacy won or swung the election for him.Nevertheless, the most important argument against Russian complicity or collusion with Trump to help him win the election is the lack of any sign that Trump has delivered any return orto Russia or Putin personally. Rather, Trump record has been more anti-Russian.

Labels: Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, Russia, Syria, Ukraine
After Shell and Chevron have left Ukraine, only state and private companies, mostly controlled by the Ukrainian oligarchs, have been operating in the country

Read the original text at 112.ua.

Open source

Slovak company Nafta is interested in the Yuzivska gas field in Ukraine, its press service has reported to 112.ua. "We might confirm our interest in getting the license for Yuzivska gas field, but as negotiations with partners continue, we cannot disclose all the details," the company said in reply to our request.

Nafta has told that it already has experience in Ukraine, in particular in a joint (with American Cub Energy Inc.) project on the Uzhorod gas area (301.4 sq. km). Since July 2016, these Slovak and American companies have been implementing the joint project. During this time they have conducted the 3D seismological studies on an area of 118 square kilometers. Based on the interpretation of the obtained data, the prospects for drilling do exist: the work is scheduled for the third quarter of 2018, Naftas press service notes.

Having more than 100 years of experience, Nafta is a leader in the field of exploration and production of hydrocarbons in Slovakia. The company also owns underground gas storage facilities for natural gas in the country with a total volume of 2.74 billion cubic meters.

Chairman of the board of the state Ukraine National Oil Company Nadra Ukrainy (which owns 99% in Nadra Yuzivska - the only investor in Yuzivska gas field, - Ed.) Yaroslav Klymovych told 112.ua that cooperation with Nafta began in 2014: "And in early 2015, a Memorandum of Cooperation between our companies was signed. We have presented some prospective projects in the Carpathian region, as well as the Yuzivka project."

Klymovych has also added that after receiving Cabinets approval, Nafta will be the majority shareholder of "Yuzgaz BV" (a project company founded by the Emerstone Energy SCSP private equity fund, - Ed.) at the time of the conclusion of the production sharing agreement. State Nadra Yuzivska must assign 90% of its participation in the production sharing agreement on the Yuzivska gas field in favor of this company.

Yaroslav Klymovych stated that after Naftas entering the project, a new Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) will not be signed; the parties of the agreement will just change (Nadra Yuzivska will be replaced by Yuzgaz BV). Also, according to the chairman of the board of Nadra Ukrainy, "certain economic indicators (PSA, - Ed.) will change due to changes in the economic situation (falling prices for hydrocarbons and hostilities in the east of Ukraine.) According to the original version of the PSA, investment obligations for the Yuzivska gas field amounted to about $ 400 million.

Map of the Yuzivska gas field

August 4, 2016, Nadra Yuzivska and Yuzgaz have appealed to the Cabinet for getting consent to the transfer of rights. December 5, Interdepartmental Commission has approved the drafts of additional agreements on the Yuzivska PSA, which formulate the transfer of some rights and amend the agreement. The draft of the relevant decision will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers, Klymovych specified.

This is a production sharing agreement on the Yuzivska gas field, which was signed by Ukraine, Shell Exploration and Production Ukraine Investments BV (daughter of Dutch-British Shell) and Nadra Yuzivska on January 4, 2013. At that time of Yanukovychs presidency, Eduard Stavytsky held the post of Minister of Energy and Coal Industry. According to the media, then 25% of Nadra Yuzivska belonged to Stavytsky. The agreement was signed for 50 years (with the possibility of extending the term by agreement of the parties).

In 2015, Shell withdrew from the Nadra Yuzivska project and announced about the continuation of the investor's obligations under the PSA on Yuzivska gas field. And this right was retained for it.

According to Klymovych, investors intend to carry out an ambitious program of prospecting for the first five-year search period. It will be aimed at early extraction, a comprehensive study of Yuzivska gas field. At the same time, Yuzgaz BV wants to implement a drilling program on at least four different promising oil and gas fields, whereas the previous program assumed coverage of only three areas. Nadra Ukrainy subcommittee specified that 15 wells will be drilled on four sites.

"If all the conditions are agreed, the PSA is concluded and the conditions necessary for starting work are fulfilled, the investor will make every effort in the coming months to re-interpret the data and start fieldwork as early as possible in 2018. The first gas could be received in 2019-2020, which will support the government's plan to achieve Ukraine's energy independence - the 2020 Program," Klymovych noted.

Yuzivska gas field is located in the Donetsk-Prydniprovsk valley (in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions), where many enterprises are engaged in gas production. Almost 80% of the proven Ukrainian reserves are concentrated there, Roman Opimakh, executive director of the Association of Gas Producers, told 112.ua: "The prospects for this sector are quite promising, but the company will have to invest substantial funds in geological exploration. As far as I know, Nafta has a sufficiently mobile and professional team, and it fully meets the criteria for investor selection in Yuzivska gas field. For Ukraine, it is important to promptly attract a professional mining company with an impeccable reputation, good experience, and sufficient investment capital. If Nafta gets the right to invest in the Yuzivska gas field in a transparent and understandable way, this will be a mega-successful event for Yuzivska gas field and for the whole gas production system of Ukraine," the Director of Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine Danylo Maydanik adds.

According to Nadra Ukrainy, Yuzivska gas field might be rich in natural gas reserves, shale gas, central-basin gas, methane, oil, condensate, and coal deposits. Potential reserves of the area are estimated at 148 billion cubic meters of natural gas, 3200 billion cubic meters of shale gas/gas of the central-basin type. The annual output of this gas field might be more than 10 billion cubic meters. Its total area is 7 886 sq. km (for comparison: the area of the Uzhhorod gas area, where Nafta and Cub Energy are currently working, is only 301.4 square kilometers.

"Considerable part of both foreign and domestic mining companies are interested in the Yuzivska gas field. This interest only confirms the prospects of Yuzivska gas field," Maydanik stated. According to him, "probably, it can be argued that Shell (on June 10, 2015, it abandoned the previously signed agreement on the division of products at the Yuzivska gas field - Ed.) did not find large reserves of unconventional gas in the Yuzivska gas field that would correspond to their expectations and appetites . But still, there is a significant potential for the production of traditional gas."

According to Nadra Ukrainy, the depth of productive layers on the Yuzivska gas field is 2.5-5.5 km. According to the expert of the oil and gas industry Andriy Zakrevsky, in Ukraine, the construction of a 3-4 km deep production well costs $ 5.5 million, 4-4.5 km - $ 9.6 million, 5-5, 5 km - $ 14.2 million. According to Maidanik, the cost of drilling a well 5 km deep in Ukraine is about $ 7-10 million. "The smaller is the depth on which the gas reserves lie, the higher is the cost of the deposit development," Director of Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine stressed. At the same time, most companies in Ukraine have to work with gas reserves, which lie at a depth of more than 4 km. 30% of resources out of Ukraines 290 gas fields (1.1 trillion cubic meters) lie at a depth of 5-7 km, according to the materials of Nadra Ukrainy.

Formally Shell has realized the right to unilaterally refuse from the Yuzivska PSA in connection with the "long-term action of force majeure conditions and a significant change in circumstances." July 15, 2014, the company reported on the force majeure due to the situation in eastern Ukraine (active hostilities), and a year later it withdrew from the project.

"The main reasons for Shell's exit from the Yuzivska gas field project were the global drop in oil prices and it was decided to review the global investment program. At the time they entered Ukraine, the price of oil was $ 100 + per barrel, and gas was $ 450 per 1,000 cubic meters," Maidanik notes. In 2014, the oil collapsed to $ 40 per barrel. At that time, investment obligations on the Yuzivska section of Shell amounted to about $ 400 million, Maidanik said. Annexation of Crimea and military actions in Donbas have strengthened Shell's determination to withdraw from the gas production in Ukraine.

Our interlocutors in one of the state companies suppose that the "hand of Russia" is involved in the exit of the Dutch-British company. Shell is implementing a number of large-scale projects in the Russian Federation: it has a large filling network, as well as oil and gas production projects. In particular, the company owns a 27.5% stake in Sakhalin Energy, which is developing the Piltun-Astokhskoye and Lunskoye fields on the northeastern shelf of Sakhalin Island. The project also includes the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant. The majority shareholder in the project is the Russian Gazprom, which owns 50% of the shares and 1 share in Sakhalin Energy.

"Russia and Ukraine are significantly different in terms of the hydrocarbon production: most of the developed oil and gas fields in the Russian Federation are large deposits, which have no analogs in Ukraine. Moreover, such oil and gas reserves lie at a relatively shallow depth (up to 4 km) and are conventional reserves. Ukraine, in turn, has small deposits, most of which are already depleted and require modern, expensive mining technologies. A large part of the reserves of the Ukrainian deposits are unconventional, and total economic cost of production largely exceeds the similar value of hydrocarbon production (taking into account all geological risks) in Russia," Maidanik said to 112.ua.

Open source

Well # 17. European and Ukrainian record holder - 6750 m

The expert is convinced that due to natural features, the total cost of gas production in Ukraine (taking into account the investment component, all taxes, and geological risks) can reach up to $ 150-200 per 1,000 cubic meters. At the same time, the cost of gas production in Russia will not exceed $ 40 (at most fields). On the other hand, Russia spends a lot of money for transportation, as the deposits are usually located in remote areas.

All this largely explains the different profile and "caliber" of foreign mining companies operating in Ukraine and Russia. Director of Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine explained: "In Russia, these are large international corporations that are ready to invest hundreds of millions or even billions of US dollars. In the case of Ukraine, medium and large profile investors are interested in them; they are ready to invest up to $ 100 million per field."

Maidanik also notes that Ukraine is a country with high risks for any investment. Therefore, a segment of our investors are companies that are willing to take risks and have experience of mining in regions with complex geological, economic, and political conditions.

In addition to Shell, another giant of the global oil and gas industry, Chevron (the second largest in the US after Exxon Mobil), entered Ukraine in 2013. It has signed a PSA for Oleska gas field (6 324 sq. Km). In 2014, Chevron unilaterally broke the agreement with Ukraine: the only investor of the site remained LLC Nadra Oleska.

Chevron, just like Shell, left due to a set of problems, in particular, due to the drop in oil prices from $ 110 to $ 40. Another reason was military operations, Roman Opimakh said: "They could not find a common language with the authorities, they were not supported. How could you persuade investors to invest in a multi-billion dollar project that is not supported by the authorities?"

The executive director of the Association of Gas Producers of Ukraine stressed that "if an agreement with a reputable investor on the Yuzivska gas field is signed, this will be the first deal with a foreign mining company in the last 4 years (after the exit of Shell and Chevron from Ukraine). We are confident that if the project with one company is successful, then other investors will come to Ukraine as well."

Only state and local oligarchs are involved in the sphere of hydrocarbon production in Ukraine, and they have reduced the production volumes. According to the Association of Gas Producing Enterprises, in 2017 the volume of gas production in the country was 20.5 billion cubic meters, which is 2.4% more than a year earlier, but 2.4% less than in 2013 (21 billion cubic meters).

The increase in production in 2017 is visible thanks to the state companies: Ukrgazvydobuvannya (+ 4.4%) increased to 15.2 billion cubic meters, Ukrnafta has decreased the volume of production (-15%) to 1.1 billion cubic meters in 2017. Private companies reduced production by 0.4% (4.13 billion cubic meters). Private companies include DTEK of Rinat Akhmetov, as well as companies, controlled by Igor Kolomoisky (who, incidentally, controls Ukrnafta). It should be noted that the company Regal Petroleum of Vadim Novinsky's Smart Holding, Geo Alliance of Victor Pinchuk, Burisma of Mykola Zlochevsky are also represented on the market. Recently, companies that are supposedly associated with the current Interior Minister Arsen Avakov have also entered the gas production sphere.

Roman Opimach said that in previous years, the private sector in gas production showed significant growth: in 2015, volumes increased by 20%, but already in 2016 they slowed down to 7%. The executive director of the Association of Ukrainian Gas Producers said that the main reason for the slowdown was an unprecedentedly high tax burden on the industry in 2014-2015. "This load is atypical for any of the import-dependent countries (Ukraine has imported 14 billion cubic meters of gas in 2017 - Ed.)," he said.

Association of Gas Producing Companies notes that the state does not propose the new licenses on the development of the gas fields. Auctions for their sale in the past year were really small.

The situation might improve due to a reduction in the tax burden on the hydrocarbons production. In addition, since January 1, 5% of the rent for the development of local communities is reduced. This is expected to motivate the regions to engage in a constructive dialogue with the sector.

The situation will improve if the bill No. 3096-d "On Amending Certain Legislative Acts Relating to the Facilitation of Certain Aspects in the Oil and Gas Industry" is adopted in the second reading. Experts predict that the implementation of the norms of this draft law will allow shortening the terms of licensing procedures for 18 months.

Experts and market participants are quite skeptical about Nafta's gas production projects in Ukraine. They believe that the Ukrainian oligarchs will never agree to give the foreigners such a tasty pie.

Ukraines current industrial gas market allows selling gas to enterprises very profitably, sometimes these prices are even higher than in Europe. Of course, local mining companies have a significant advantage over import traders. At least they do not pay the entrance tariff on the border(12.47 dollars for 1 thousand cubic meters).

So, Nafta might be just a guise for the development of Yuzivska gas field, and the real beneficiaries of the project would be absolutely different people. It is not excluded that they just want the European company to invest in high-quality geological exploration of reserves. This is extremely important in the field of gas production, but at the same time is the most capital-intensive stage.

It is noteworthy that in the case of Nafta, the deal is achieved through Yuzgaz BV, and information on what proportion would belong to the Slovak company is not disclosed. 112.ua has directly asked whether Nafta will have partners in Yuzgaz, and Nadra Ukrainy presidium replied that "since this issue is the subject of the relationship between Nafta and Yuzgaz, we think it would be logical to apply directly to these companies."

112.ua has sent a request to the press service of Yuzgaz, and we will publish the company's response in case it is provided.
The Illinois Debt Transparency Act became law January 1, 2018, despite Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoing the bill after it passed the full legislature. The Illinois House unanimously voted, 112-0, to override the governors veto on October 25.

What does the bill do?

House Bill 3649 requires, on a monthly basis, each state agency to report to the Comptroller the amount of bills being held, the liabilities for which there are appropriations, and those liabilities subject to late payment interest penalties, according to Susan A. Mendoza, Illinois Comptroller. These reports will be shared on the Comptrollers website.

More HERE
They are people who were serving sentences in the DNR and wished to move to the territory under Ukraines control

Twenty prisoners detained on the so-called DNR, were transferred to Ukraine on Wednesday, February 7. This was reported by the press service of Ukrainian Ombudsman Valeriya Lutkovska.

20 prisoners who were serving sentences in the penitentiary facilities in the so-called DNR and expressed their wish to continue serving the sentence on Ukraine-controlled territory, the message says.

It is noted that in total 186 people were transferred from the DNR detention facilities.

As it was reported earlier the representatives of Ukraine and occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions exchanged the lists of the hostages. Also, the Ukrainian side will continue to further the initiative of the International Committee of the Red Cross on the creation of the international mechanism, for the search of the disappeared people.

Ukraines Foreign Ministry sent about 300 notes to Russia with the demand to release the Ukrainians, the press secretary of the ministry Mariana Betsa said during the round table "How to release the captives of the Kremlin" on January 31 in Kyiv. She also stated the need to strengthen sanctions against Russia, since this country does not understand the language of law, but only the language of force and sanctions. The diplomats believe that sanctions are the most effective means.
'Ukrspezexport' did not get any official claims from the Defense Ministry of Croatia as the official website of the company reported.

According to 'Ukrspezexport', the Ukrainian side did not get any official claims or reclamations from Croatia toward the supplied aircrafts. Moreover, the Croatian Defense Ministry invited 'Ukrspezexport' to participate in the tender for the capital repair of 10 helicopters MI-171SH. The company provided all needed documents in time and the representatives of the Croatian Defense Ministry checked the technical capabilities of the Ukrainian enterprises.

'Nevertheless, the contract was concluded with 'Helicopters of Russia', despite the presence of the Ukrainian enterprises of greater experience in the repair of the aeronautical equipment of such type and the EU sanctions against Russia' the company reported.

'Ukrspezexport' also claimed that they appealed to the Defense Ministry of Croatia many times with the offer to hold a bilateral meeting and discuss the possible problems within the contract. Unfortunately, the offer was ignored.

'Ukrspezexport' called the information about the demand of Croatia to change faulty MiG-21 improper and thinks that it was put about by the Russian competition. This information was actively spread in the Russian mass media after the publishing in the Croatian edition.

Earlier Croatia demanded from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to change four faulty MiG-21 interceptor aircrafts ordered in Ukraine as Jutarnji Vijesti reported citing the sources.

It is reported that the Croatian Defense Ministry sent the proper note to Ukraine last week. Zagreb demanded from Ukraine to provide new aircrafts instead of the improperly repaired in 2014. The agreement on the repair of the aircrafts and purchase of the second-hand vehicles meant that they will work another ten years until 2023. However, the Air Forces of Croatia found them disabled for the flights: the oil flew from them, the fuel tanks leaked and the internal navigation system came out of action. One of the last flights could end with the death of the crew.
France criticized the law on Institute of National Remembrance adopted in Poland, noting that nobody can rewrite the history. Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Foreign Minister of France claimed this as Le Figaro reported.

'This law is improper, we should not rewrite the history and it never ends well. Everything that can twist the history is negative', he noted, calling the voting in Poland 'culpable'.

He also noted that the moral pressure of the EU on Poland will be strong enough, talking about the response of the EU.

'Finally, I hope that it will be so', the minister noted.

'I also hope that the Polish people can change their opinion', Le Drian claimed.

As we reported Polish leader Andrzej Duda has signed the bill with amendments to the law about the Institute of the National Memory in Poland. They stipulate criminal responsibility for the denial of the Volyn Massacre of the 1940s and forbid the propaganda of the 'Banderite ideology.

It also provides the criminal penalty for public accusations of Poland of crimes during Holocaust, of helping Nazi Germany, of military crimes or crimes against humanity. The bill forbids to use the combination of words Polish death camp when describing concentration camps that were on the territory of Poland. Any citizen of the country, including foreigners that breached the law will have to pay a fine or imprisoned for up to three years.

Volodymyr Viatrovych, the director of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, thinks that discussing historic issues with Ukrainians in Poland becomes impossible because of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance act, which provides criminal liability for denying the Massacres of Poles in Volyn and Eastern Galicia and banderist ideology propaganda.
Ukraine to question the legitimacy of holding the Russian presidential election in the annexed peninsula at PACE, Iryna Gerashchenko says

Ukraine's delegation at PACE will be questioning the legitimacy of holding the Russian presidential election in the annexed Crimea. Iryna Gerashchenko, the deputy parliamentary speaker and the member of Ukrainian delegation at PACE said that during her meeting with Mimi Kodeli, the head of Albania's Foreign Affairs Committee.

According to the Ukrainian official, the issue will be further discussed at the sessions of OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and NATO.

'On the eve of the Russian presidential election, they force Ukrainian citizens to switch to the Russian citizenship and give them Russian passports - in order to make people vote on the illegitimate election. You cannot elect Russian president on the Ukrainian territory,' she said.

Gerashchenko asked the Albanian counterparts to support Ukraine in this regard.

Russian presidential elections are slated for March 18, 2018. The incumbent leader Vladimir Putin also intends to participate.
Open source

Ukraine might assist Moldova in seeking the middle ground on the Transnistria-related issues. Igor Dodon, the temporarily dismissed Moldovan president said that in his interview with Radio Liberty.

'Kyiv is a crucial partner in the 5+2 negotiation format, and it was very active in this regard. A lot will depend on Ukraine's position, of course,' he said.

Since his inauguration, Dodon had no official contacts with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko. 'All in good time', he said, answering the question when the two leaders could meet.

In early January, the Constitution Court temporarily dismissed Dodon from his office due to his refusal to release the law on forbidding Russian news.

Transnistria or the Pridnestrovian Moldovan Republic (PMR) is a landlocked self-proclaimed state situated in the geographical region of Transnistria between Ukraine and the River Dniester, recognized only by the other self-proclaimed states of Abkhazia, Republic of Artsakh and South Ossetia. The region is considered by the UN to be part of Moldova. The PMR controls a narrow strip of territory to the east of the River Dniester, and also the city of Bender and its surrounding localities on the west bank, in the historical region of Bessarabia. Transnistria is designated by the Republic of Moldova as the autonomous territorial unit with special legal status.

Ukraine has been supporting a peaceful solution to the conflict by means of peaceful negotiations that are based on Moldova's territorial integrity.
Mother of Russian soldier who deceased in Chechnya in 1994 claimed compensation; earlier the court ruled that Karpyuk and Klykh are 'involved' in his death

Open source

Stanislav Klykh and Mykola Karpyuk, the Ukrainians who are currently held as political prisoners in Russia have been fined in absentia; they will have to pay roughly 4,400 U.S. dollars. Klykh's lawyer Ilya Novikov posted this on Facebook.

'A mother of a deceased Russian conscript who was left to die in Grozny, Chechnya, on December 31, 1994, turned to Tugulym district court in Sverdlovsk Oblast. She claimed a compensation in the amount of 5 million Russian rubles (approximately USD 87,000, - 112 International). Earlier, the verdict of the Superior Court of the Chechen Republic stated Karpyuk and Klykh were allegedly 'involved' in the death of her son,' the message says.

Eventually, the Tugulym court ruled that the woman gets USD 4,400. Klykh and Karpyuk are obliged to pay USD 2,600 and 1,750, respectively.

Mykola Karpyuk, the leader of the Ukrainian National Assembly, was detained in March 2014. Stanislav Klykh was detained in Russia in September 2014, when he came to Russia to visit his pregnant girlfriend.

The Russian jury said they both allegedly joined the Viking unit, which fought on the side of Chechen nationalists as they sought independence from Russia in the 1990s. The jury accused Karpyuk and Klykh of killing and wounding dozens of Russian servicemen.

Klykh was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Lawyers and human rights activists have repeatedly reported that he suffers a mental disorder - due to the improper detention conditions and tortures.
The draft law suggests replacing military salute Wishing Health with Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes

The Ukrainian government made a suggestion to the Parliament to make the salute Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes! an obligatory for Ukrainian servicemen, according to the draft law #7549, registered in the Rada on Feb. 5.

The draft envisages that to the salute of a commander or serviceman of higher rank Glory to Ukraine!, all servicemen who are in or outside the ranks shall respond Glory to the heroes!, and the same procedure happens when a commander or serviceman of a higher rank leaves.

It is planned that the servicemen will also use the salute when the war flag of a military unit is being handed over.

The bill also is to introduce an hour of national and patriotic training in the schedule of Ukrainian soldiers.

The greeting Glory to Ukraine! And response Glory to the heroes! was in use during the Ukrainian War of Independence of 1917-1921, and later on during WWII by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists.

The phrase has undergone a resurgence in recent times, becoming a popular and prominent refrain during the 2014 Ukrainian revolution.

Russian disinformation has been trying to twist this slogan to describe Ukrainians as intolerant nationalists.
According to Poltorak, Ukraine will get the anti-tank missile systems in time

Open source

Stepan Poltorak, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine claimed that the anti-tank missile systems Javelin will be supplied to Ukraine in 2018 as 112 Ukraine reported.

'I want to tell precisely that we will get Javelins in time. Definitely this year', he said.

The minister also spoke on the results of the meeting with James Mattis, the U.S. Secretary of Defense.

'We discussed a lot of issues, almost all topics that worried me and I got the answers for all questions. There is a clear understanding how and when the things will take place. We discussed everything. We also discussed our further cooperation, cooperation with Alliance, our bilateral commitments and finish of the work out of the agreements between the US and Ukraine', he added.

As we reported Ukraines Armed Forces will gradually prepare to adopt the Javelins, the U.S.-made anti-tank missile launchers.

According to the information of ABC from its sources in the White House, US President Donald Trump is to announce his approval of a plan to sell anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. This plan is to include the anti-tank Javelin systems. The defense package of $47 million envisages selling 210 anti-tank missiles and 35 launching systems to them.
Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, the former head of the SBU claimed that up to 20% of the officers of the Department of the SBU in Crimea left the peninsula after the annexation of it by Russia and abided to the Ukrainian oath. He claimed this during the questioning on the state treason of Yanukovych in Obolon District Court as 112 Ukraine broadcasted.

'I remember that I publicly appealed to the SBU officers in Crimea to not join FSB and come to the territory controlled by Ukraine as the governmental connection was turned off and up to 20% SBU officers who abided to the Ukrainian oath. It is easy to check because we settled them at the health camps and the SBU dormitories, we knew everyone by face', he reported.

According to Nalyvaichenko, Oleksandr Yakymenko, the current governance of the SBU was among the traitors and ordered the Crimean law enforcers to stay in the peninsula.

'Yakymenko was in Sevastopol since February 21 (2014) to Yanukovych who already stayed there and they ordered together that contradicted those made by the legitimate Ukrainian authority after the Revolution of Dignity and I was among the first persons to order the departments of the SBU. It was a conscious choice of each SBU officer', Nalyvaichenko added.

Nalyvaichenko was a head of the SBU twice: in 2006-2010 and 2014-2015.

Crimea was annexed by Russia by way of the illegal referendum that was held at the peninsula in March 2014. Earlier the Russian militaries that stayed there without any marking conquered all strategic military objects and building of the force and state bodies. The results of the referendum were not recognized by Ukraine and the world society. The number of the European and world countries, including Ukraine imposed the economic sanctions against Russia.
Viktor Yanukovych, the former president of Ukraine and heads of the law enforcement bodies began the preparation of the annexation of Crimea by Russia in the beginning of 2010. Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, the former head of the SBU claimed this during the questioning on the state treason of Yanukovych in Obolon District Court as 112 Ukraine broadcasted.

'It is my belief that I terminated the agreement with Russia's FSB in 2009 that allowed them to stay in the territory of Autonomous Republic of Crimea, consciously understanding that the special services of the foreign state is the vanguard of the future aggression. I did not just terminate the agreement but also sent out all FSB officers from Ukrainian Crimea. When Yanukovych and his law enforcers took power, they began the preparatory phase of the aggression in the beginning of 2010. It means that Yanukovych and new heads of the law enforcement bodies returned FSB to Crimea and restored the agreements. Then they restored the complete cooperation and the people who were under the influence of the Russian special services or directly cooperated with them were appointed to the positions in the SBU and central bodies', Nalyvaichenko said.

He added that so-called 'cooperation' is not provided with the Ukrainian legislation and was held within the preparation of the future occupation of Crimea and Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Nalyvaichenko was a head of the SBU twice: in 2006-2010 and 2014-2015.
Now, active Republicans are claiming there's an ongoing attempt to "rig" the Illinois Republican Party's endorsement process in favor of Governor Rauner - at the very least, Tuesday night at the Palatine Township Republican Organization's (PTRO) endorsement session, members are saying.

PALATINE - During the 2016 presidential primaries, the cry among Democrats was Hillary Clinton "rigged" the procedures to win the party's nomination over Bernie Sanders. As more and more comes out about how high-ranking FBI insiders allegedly worked with the Department of Justice, the State Department and possibly even President Obama to spy on Trump campaign insiders, the phrase "attempted rigging" comes to mind.

The PTRO Chairman is Aaron Del Mar, former Cook County Republican Party chairman. Del Mar Is Palatine Township's Highway Commissioner and was appointed last month by Governor Rauner to serve on the Illinois International Port District Board of Directors (although he is yet to be listed on the District's website).

Del Mar and Cook County GOP Chairman Sean Morrison both endorsed Rauner in 2014, and claimed their endorsements won the primary for Rauner.

Accusations of inappropriate vote maneuvering hit Facebook Tuesday night when those attending began reporting what went on at the meeting.

"Rules were requested for this meeting. Committeeman Del Mar responded that he was not obligated to provide them and he can run the organization any way he feels," committeeman Vicki Gwozdz Wilson wrote on the group's FB page. "He told people tonight that if they didnt like it they could leave. He is an absolute dictator and Republicans who believe in transparency and ethical behavior need to demand the 'data' behind tonight."

The organization posted:



"Del Mar ran a sham endorsement session on numerous levels," Wilson - an Ives supporter - wrote. "This endorsement is completely meaningless. As the straw poll at the Christmas party and the standup vote tonight showed, the majority of Palatine Township Republicans endorse Jeanne Ives."

Julie Tragas, another person that attending the endorsement session said, " ... [W]hen I insisted on putting my ballot in the ballot box at the start of the evening, there was already a stack of ballots in there. This has been rigged.

"Unlike normal elections where the voters insert their ballots in the ballot box themselves, he was placing them in the box probably to keep others from seeing what I did. Disgraceful," Tragas wrote before the organization publicized its final results. "If this was a legitimate endorsement session there would have been transparency but there was none. My prediction is that Rauner will get the endorsement because Del Mar owes him- he's been bought and paid for in my opinion."

Jennifer Zold, another meeting attendee, wrote there were dozens of outbursts of protest and probing questions - "much in disbelief!"

"The weighting system of votes was among the most egregious of the covert manipulative tactics," Zold wrote. "When Del Mar was asked, 'Well who decides that?!' He proudly told the room of nearly 80, 'ME.'"

As the news of the evening's proceedings spread, Mark Cramer, Precinct Captain in the Schaumburg Township Republican Organization and a retired Navy Commander, expressed dismay with the situation.

"Del Mar destroyed all credibility of the GOP endorsement process in Cook County and calls into clear question the unethical practices of the Rauner campaign," Cramer told Illinois Review Wednesday morning.

Illinois Review has asked Chairman Del Mar for a comment concerning the accusations being publicly made by members of his organization. We will report as soon as we hear back.

UPDATE: Chairman Del Mar did respond and his response has been published in its entirety HERE.
PLEASE NOTE!

Due to the March 23, 2020 NM DOH Public Health Order, These Event Listings Are Not Accurate!

All non-essential businesses are closed, public gatherings are prohibited!

(One day some of these events will be rescheduled or will resume, but they are not happening now!)
In 2018, the Far Eastern Federal University will mark the 100th anniversary of engineering education in the Russian Far East by opening two laboratories, TASS reports, citing Alexander Bekker, director of the School of Engineering at FEFU. At the first laboratory, researchers will be studying ice, while the second will deal with advanced technologies of combustion and thermal power.

"We are currently creating an ice laboratory," Bekker said. "We want to finish working on it by summer, so that we can hold an opening ceremony ahead of the Eastern Economic Forum. In 2018, we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of engineering education in the Russian Far East, and we want to mark the occasion by opening several laboratories. This laboratory was sponsored by Rosneft."

At the ice laboratory, researchers will study the properties of ice and its interaction with various materials, Bekker added. There, scientists will also be able to simulate ice loads on various structures as well as icing of ships and structures. All these studies are necessary for the development of Arctic resources. For these experiments, the university is planning to build a small ice pool, TASS reports. The laboratory is currently partially open. Once it is fully operational, researchers will be able to conduct detailed, in-depth studies.

"We are also planning to complete the construction of a laboratory complex at Cape Akhlestysheva this year," Bekker added. "Before that, a dilapidated boiler room was there. We decided to use it for the laboratory complex that is currently under construction. We plan to establish a laboratory of the department of thermal power and thermal engineering and a laboratory of advanced combustion technologies fitted out with special equipment."

To showcase our latest developments, researchers will invite foreign, mostly Japanese, businessmen. This will allow the university to enhance cooperation with foreign entrepreneurs. Since the laboratory requires heavy equipment and special safety measures, it was decided that the laboratory will be located at Cape Akhlestysheva.
We are actively working on trying to attract Seoul to cooperate within the Arctic Council, including the involvement of South Korean shipping companies in the development of the Northern Sea Route, Russian Ambassador to South Korea Alexander Timonin said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

"We are going to great lengths to invite the Republic of Korea to cooperate in the Arctic Council, to attract South Korean shipping companies to use the Northern Sea Route, and also to get South Korean businesses to participate in the development of its infrastructure," Timonin said.

According to previous RIA Novosti reports, the Rosatom State Corporation earlier on drafted a law authorizing it to supervise and control the navigation on the Northern Sea Route. The bill gives Rosatom the authority to organize the passage of vessels in the Northern Sea Route water area, the right to make decisions on opening seaports on the Northern Sea Route and approve the procedure for leasing federally owned facilities in these ports.

Rosatom will be expected to approve the rules for the provision of services as well as the list of port charges to be applied at seaports located in the Northern Sea Route water area. The new legislation should significantly enhance the NSR development as a national transport artery in the Arctic. It is expected to be adopted this year.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Swiss investor first of all needs a good partner in Armenia, Hayk Hovhannisyan - Armenia's Trade Representative to Switzerland, official representative of the Development Foundation of Armenia (DFA), told Armenpress.

I assure that everything else, such as the legislation field, property rights, all institutional mechanisms that should protect the investor, exist and function perfectly in Armenia. Yes, of course, there can be some shortcomings of business in this or that stage, but they exist in all countries. I think the first precondition is to have a good partner here, he said.

The Armenian-Swiss commercial relations are satisfactory, and although last year the two countries have recorded quite a big growth in trade turnover volumes, Hayk Hovhannisyan believes that there is a greater potential for further boosting the bilateral trade.

I see many similarities and commonalities between the two countries. As our Swiss counterperts say, the two countries are very similar, both have a small population, do not have sea, are surrounded by quite big neighbors, but at the same time they are creative, smart and good friends at the international arena, Hayk Hovhannisyan said.

According to him, Armenias membership to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is quite attractive for the European investor. The cooperation with Iran is also an important factor.

THe foreign policy of Armenia has allowed to develop open, transparent and predictable relations all partners. While talking to the Swiss businessmen, it is noticed that they are focused on this factor: the EAEU is very good, and also with Iran is even better, he stated.

Hayk Hovhannisyan also touched upon the great cooperation prospects in the fields of tourism, IT and infrastructure development. He informed that at the moment the project of constructing small reservoirs in Armenia is at the examination stage.

This is an opportunity to store water during the abundant season and solve many issues for a lot of communities during the irrigation season. At the same time it will have a certain energy potential. The Swiss-Armenian investor and philanthropist Vartan Sirmakes is championing this project along with several others all over our motherland, he said.

Hayk Hovhannisyan added that on the state level Armenia has undertaken all the necessary steps and at the moment the ball is in the field of the Armenian private sector. The Armenian businessman has to open up to the world, find partners, create a reliable image for him and his home country.

Syuzi Muradyan
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 6, ARMENPRESS. The US House of Representatives has approved funding for US government operations through March 23, RT reports.

The measure is unlikely to get approval in the Senate, threatening another government shutdown.

There are concerns that the resolution will not be approved by the Senate, however, as the Republican-drafted measure boosts military funding without a corresponding increase in civilian expenditures.

The most recent government shutdown was on January 20, after Senate Democrats filibustered the continuing resolution over the issue of immigrants brought into the US illegally as children, recipients of the Obama administration's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

The shutdown ended by the morning of January 23, after Republicans promised a debate on immigration.

Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he would be willing to have a government shutdown if Democrats are unwilling to work with him on immigration reform.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered the establishment of a new National Vetting Center to focus on screening people who wish to come to the United States, like immigrants, refugees and other visitors, Fox News reports.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the center would work to identify people who present a threat to national security, border security, homeland security, or public safety.

The federal governments current vetting efforts are ad hoc, which impedes our ability to keep up with todays threats, Sanders said in a statement

The National Vetting Center will be housed within the Department of Homeland Security, the White House said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The European Union is concerned over the Turkish military operations in Syrias north, Federica Mogherini  EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said during the session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, TASS reports.

We are deeply concerned over the appearance of new military fronts in Syrias north, Mogherini said. The opening of new military fronts is not a solution to the issue, and this will not make Turkey more secure.

Mogherini said stable security can be reached only based on the political settlement, through negotiations.

The High Representative said all military operations should concentrate on fight against terrorist organizations that are included in the UNs respective list, rather than against someone else. According to her, the EU is committed to Syrias unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. During his tours renowned Armenian composer Aram Khachaturyan met with the leaders of countries, received interesting offers, as well as valuable gifts from them.

ARMENPRESS this time presents the composers meetings with the Royal families.

The composer was on tour in Belgium in 1960. Queen Elizabeth was unable to attend his concert due to health problems, but after the concert people approached Khachaturyan and conveyed the Queens invitation to meet. Accepting the invitation with pleasure, the next day the renowned composer and his wife were hosted at the Queens Palace. They had a very warm and interesting meeting. The Queen Elizabeth had a great contribution in the art world the evidence of which is the international contest named after her. She also played violin and has been taught by renowned violinist Eugene Ysaye. This is the reason that the Armenian composer and the Queen talked about the art, the innovations in the music art, the composers creative path and the Brussels Symphonic Orchestra. They have also talked about people they know among whom were world-renowned musicians, director of the Aram Khachaturyan House-Museum Armine Grigoryan said.

The Queen also had a little knowledge of Russian the evidence of which is her note written on a photograph. The photos of this meeting are still kept in the Museum.

In 1973 the composer was invited to France where his 70th anniversary was celebrated with a great event. During this tour he decided to visit Monaco. During this period the Monaco Prince and his wife, world-renowned star Grace Kelly, were outside the country, but being informed about the composers visit, they returned from London cutting short their tour and immediately arrived in the house where Khachaturyan stopped. The Prince as well was very fond of art and he organized different contests and festivals in his country every two years dedicated to the composer art. In 1974 he not only invited the composer to the contest-festival, but also asked to write a new work to be performed at the opening ceremony of the festival.

Again on a concert tour in Iran in 1965, the Persian Shah showed his sympathy to the composer by providing one of his personal vehicles to the composer for touring the country. The Persian Shah and his wife also attended Khachaturyans concert. Usually, after the completion of the concert the Shah left the concert hall, but this case differed from the remaining ones. The Shah and his wife applauded the maestro as a result of which he again performed his works.

Then the Shah and his wife went to the backstage to meet with the renowned composer the evidence of which is the photo still maintained. The Persian Shah handed over many gifts to the composer, among which was quite a valuable Persian blue carpet. Khachatruyan brought it to Moscow to decorate his apartment.

In 1961 during the trip in Egypt, President Gamal Abdel Nasser welcomed him at the airport. The Egyptian President also attended the composers concert. He handed over one of the highest certificates of the country to Aram Khachaturyan for the great contribution in the field of art. During the same tour Khachaturyan also met with President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito.

Anna Grigoryan

Photo  courtesy of Aram Khachaturyan House Museum
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, during Congressional testimony today before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, agreed  in response to direct questioning by Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA)  to commit Treasury Department officials to pursue a new U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty, a long-overdue bilateral accord that will remove barriers to the growth of U.S.-Armenia economic relations, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Rep. Sherman was joined by Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) in collecting the Congressional signatures of their House colleagues on a letter to Secretary Mnuchin in support of the Tax Treaty. He referenced the legislators in his question to the Secretary, asking whether, in response to their calls to action, the Treasury Department would dedicate 28 hours (the number of Congressional signatures collected to date) to negotiating this agreement. Secretary Mnuchin replied in the affirmative, noting: Yes, I can commit the 28 hours.

We are grateful for Congressman Shermans policy expertise and persistence in securing the support of Secretary Mnuchin for a mutually-beneficial U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty, said ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament adopted the judicial code constitutional law upon second hearing.

72 MPs voted in favor, 12 were against and 12 others abstained.

Edmon Marukyan from the opposition Yelk faction said that overall there are positive regulations in the bill. However I have presented more than a dozen proposals during the period of the first to second hearing and they havent been accepted, he said.

The judicial code regulates the relations related to forming of the judicial authority and organizing of its activity.
In part because of an extremely weak GOP organization, 70-year-old Lyons resident Arthur Jones has no opponent on the GOP Primary Ballot for the 3rd Congressional District.

The district is now represented by moderate to conservative Democrat Dan Lipinski and leans hard to Democratic voters who gave Donald Trump only 40 percent of the vote in 2016 to 55 percent for Hillary Clinton. Lipinski himself has won over 70 percent of the vote in recent elections.

So Jones has zero chance to win even if he were a normal candidate. But his odious views on the Holocaust only serve to further tarnish the GOP brand name in Cook County. If Jones stays on the ballot as the GOP nominee for the fall, GOP officials at all levels must actively attack his views if they want any credibility with decent Americans in future years.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenias Ambassador to Romania Sergey Minasyan on February 6 met with Romanian national defense minister Mihai-Viorel Fifor, the Armenian foreign ministry told Armenpress.

Welcoming the Ambassador, minister Fifor said after the formation of the new government in Romania and his re-appointment as the national defense minister this is his first meeting with a foreign Ambassador, adding that this meeting is first of all with the Armenian Ambassador.

Ambassador Minasyan said the Armenia-EU Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement signed in November 2017 creates a favorable environment for deepening the cooperation at bilateral and multilateral formats. The Ambassador also highlighted the importance of international military and military-political cooperation for Armenia under the process of modernization and development of the Armenian Armed Forces. The Ambassador stated that the bilateral contacts will contribute to outlining possible directions for defense cooperation.

The Romanian minister welcomed the idea of promoting dialogue and forming a bilateral agenda which can include the military and defense education, military medicine and other spheres.

The officials also touched upon the Karabakh conflict, noting that the conflict should be settled exclusively through negotiations and dialogue within the frames of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship as the only format having an international mandate for the conflict settlement.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan chaired the first session of the Cabinet of 2018, the Artsakh Presidential Office told Armenpress.

Representatives of concerned agencies presented corresponding reports on the issues included in the session's agenda.

President Sahakyan gave instructions towards proper realization of the discussed tasks with a special focus on the Agriculture Development Doctrine and the 2018 State Capital Investment Program, pointing out that the issues were of crucial importance for the further socioeconomic development of the country, adding that their solution would require active and purposeful work implementation both by corresponding structures and other state government bodies and economic entities.

Speaking about the Agriculture Development Doctrine the President noted that it would become the most significant guarantee for the proportionate and intensive development of all the sectors of the sphere over the medium and long-term outlook.

"The doctrine's implementation will result in a dynamically developing agriculture ensuring economic stability and predictability, rising self-sufficiency level in the country and tangible increase of the international competitiveness degree", highlighted in his speech the Head of the State, adding that all the concerned agencies and circles must do the utmost to support within their mandate the successful implementation of this pivotal program.

Touching upon the 2018 State Capital Investment Program the President noted that the activities carried out in the sphere would be mostly directed towards housing construction, improvement of building conditions of educational institutions, the construction and reconstruction of cultural centers, healthcare facilities, municipal construction, road construction and repairing, their maintenance and exploitation, as well as securing drinking water supply to various settlements.

"Projects envisaged for the year of 2018 in the municipal engineering sphere are extensive enough, however they are absolutely realistic and necessitate active and organized work first of all by the ministry of municipal engineering and all the concerned bodies and structures. No efforts must be spared to solve those tasks", the Artsakh President noted.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have liberated Sheikh Khoruz, a village in Afrin, from pro-Turkish militants after heavy battles.

The liberation operation began on February 4 and was completed in the evening of February 6, SDF said in a statement.

SDF said that many militants were killed, and two were captured.

Mentioning theyve captured a tank, the SDF said they discovered documents of Turkish soldiers inside.

In January 2018, the Turkish military began an operation in the Kurdish-majority Afrin Canton and the Tel Rifaat Area of Shahba Canton in Northern Syria. Turkey code-named the operation as Operation Olive Branch. In the pretext of fighting terror, Turkey is actually targeting the Kurdish population.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Ara Saghatelyan, secretary general of the Armenian Parliament, met with Philippe Schwab, secretary general of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, president of the Association of the Secretaries General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, who is in Armenia among the delegation members of the Swiss National Council, the Armenian Parliament told Armenpress.

The Armenian Parliaments secretary general said the imperative of making reforms in the staff is conditioned with the necessity to develop expert and analytical capacities and parliamentary control mechanisms over which respective actions are already being taken. Ara Saghatelyan presented to the Swiss counterpart the ongoing works within the frames of the Open Parliament initiative.

Philippe Schwab highlighted the leading experience of Switzerland in parliamentary control and expressed readiness to exchange experience.

The officials discussed the long-term cooperation prospects between the staffs of the two parliaments.

Ara Saghatelyan informed that the Armenian Parliaments staff has submitted an application for membership to the Association of the Secretaries General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union the discussion of which is scheduled on the March 26 session of the Associations executive committee in Geneva.

Philippe Schwab welcomed this initiative and said he will carefully examine Armenias membership application.

At the end of the meeting the officials expressed readiness to continue the working contacts at different levels and to develop the cooperation.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The terming which the interior ministry of Turkey used regarding the elected patriarchal locum tenens Archbishop Garegin Bekchian in a letter sent to Istanbuls Armenian Patriarchate has caused serious discontent among the local Armenian community.

Columnist of the Istanbul-based Agos newspaper Ohannes Klcdag published an article about the letter and namely the terming Turkish authorities used  So-called patriarchal locum tenens.

The columnist reminded that the interior ministry said that as long as Mesrop Mutafyan is Patriarch and the seat is not vacant new elections cannot be held.

In addition, the letter said that Patriarchal Vicar Archbishop Aram Ateshyan continues to remain the only official representative in these conditions. While Bekchians election and all decisions made after it are invalid.

The letter also contained a terming  so-called patriarchal locum tenens. In Turkey, the term so-called is primarily used when referred to the Armenian Genocide.

Those who think that this term was used by accident are wrong. Armenians of Turkey know this term very well. For many years it has become a tool of symbolic pressure on them. However, if there is a position worthy of being labeled so-called, then it is the position of patriarchal vicar. This is a totally made up position created for Ateshyan, he said, adding that Ateshyan is guilty for the current situation.

Commenting on the interior ministrys remarks on Mutafyans health, the Agos writer says that health issues are the most clear and practical reasons of considering a position vacant.

The ministry is in a situation which denies the absolute and logical truth. In particular, this is about a serious neurological illness and unfortunately Mesrop Mutafyan is in a coma for many years. How can they say that this situation isnt a reason for declaring the seat vacant?

The author also emphasizes, that if there is a problem in this condition, then why was Turkey in favor of the patriarchal vicar position, which Ateshyan assumed.

If practically the patriarchal seat isnt vacant, then theres no need for a vicar. But if it is, then it must be occupied only through the peoples vote. It turns out that the ministrys letter itself says that Mutafyan has stopped leading the patriarchate, Agos said.

On February 7, Armenian community members are invited to the Istanbul Governors Office to a meeting, which the interior minister himself might attend.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The United States is preparing a new package of economic sanctions against North Korea aimed at stopping its nuclear program, Vice President Mike Pence said on February 7.

The US will soon release the harshest and most aggressive economic sanctions against North Korea. We will continue isolating it as long as it hasnt abandoned its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs, he said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Newly appointed Ambassador of Malta to Armenia Natasha Meli Daudey (residence in Warsaw) on February 7 presented her credentials to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, the Presidential Office told Armenpress.

The President congratulated the Ambassador on appointment and wished her success in conducting a diplomatic mission in Armenia.

President Sargsyan warmly remembered his visit to Malta last year on the sidelines of the EPP summit and reaffirmed Armenias desire to deepen the relations with the Republic of Malta. Serzh Sargsyan stated that the great cooperation potential existing in the bilateral inter-state relations has not been fully utilized over the past 25 years. The President expressed hope that the Ambassador, as well as Armenias Ambassador to Malta will be able to fill that gap through their activities.

Ambassador Natasha Meli Daudey thanked the Armenian President for the reception and assured that she will do everything possible to develop the inter-state ties both at bilateral and multilateral platforms.

The sides attached importance to the high-level mutual visits which significantly contribute to expanding the cooperation at different sectors and boosting the relations.

President Sargsyan highlighted holding regular political consultations between the two foreign ministries, as well as expanding the legal framework which, according to him, will give major impetus for deepening the economic cooperation.

The sides attached great importance to the role of parliamentary diplomacy on strengthening the inter-state relations. The President said the Armenia-Malta parliamentary friendship group already operates and expressed hope that a new parliamentary group will be formed in Malta in the future.

During the meeting importance was also attached to the deepening and strengthening of the mutual partnership between Armenia and Malta as an EU member state.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenias minister of agriculture held a meeting on February 7 with Ambassador of Netherlands H.E. Johannes Douma to discuss prospects of cooperation between the countries.

During the meeting the Armenian minister presented the vision of developing the sector in Armenia.

Emphasizing that investments and modern equipment are necessary for achieving results, the minister suggested the Netherlands Ambassador to study the possibility of attracting investments in this field.

The minister proposed to discuss the possibility of jointly designing and realizing a PPP (Public Sector-Private Sector Partnership) format program.

The sides discussed a wide range of issues, and reached an agreement to study the local dairy market to present potential investors with opportunities of launching businesses in Armenia.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan on February 7 received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Armenia Ivan Volynkin, the government told Armenpress.

The officials exchanged views on the current agenda of the Armenian-Russian economic relations and the prospects to expand them. They also touched upon the preparation works of the upcoming session of the Armenian-Russian intergovernmental commission in Yerevan.

The opportunities to develop the cooperation within the Meghri Free Economic Zone, as well as to boost the business ties in air communication, small aviation, infrastructures, agriculture and tourism fields were discussed during the meeting.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The meeting of Tsarukyan faction MPs with Armen Sarkissian, candidate for the President of Armenia nominated by the Republican Party, will be held in the coming days, Tsarukyan faction MP Iveta Tonoyan told reporters in the Parliament, reports Armenpress.

As for the question whether Gagik Tsarukyan will attend the meeting or not, I urge everyone to allow us to make our own decision on who will take part in that meeting and in which format it will be held, Tonoyan said.

She added that the meeting will be attended by the lawmakers of the Tsarukyan faction. She stated that a lot of issues concern the lawmakers.

Recently the Tsarukyan faction MPs had a working discussion led by faction head Gagik Tsarukyan dedicated to the factions working agenda. In addition to other issues, we also discussed Armen Sarkissians candidacy. The lawmakers expressed their views and positions, but we will express our final position after the meeting with Armen Sarkissian, she said.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenian justice minister Davit Harutyunyan on February 7 received the Venice Commission and OSCE/ODIHR representatives, the ministry told Armenpress.

The minister highlighted the usefulness and importance of such regular meetings and discussed with the guests a number of issues relating to the draft law on Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations.

The minister answered the questions of the guests, thoroughly introduced the regulations proposed by the draft law and the proposals of the expert group on them.

At the end of the meeting the justice minister thanked the representatives of international structures for the productive cooperation in the preparation works of drafts laws.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan to Armenia Muhammetniyaz Mashalov, the government told Armenpress.

The officials discussed issues relating to further developing and expanding the Armenian-Turkmen economic relations, stating that there is a great potential in this sphere which is still not utilized. The PM and the Ambassador touched upon the implementation process of agreements reached between the two governments and expressed confidence that their implementation will give new impetus to the increase of bilateral trade turnover volumes.

During the meeting the officials attached great importance to the operation of Ashgabat-Yerevan-Frankfurt flights. The Ambassador informed that at the moment the possibility to increase their weekly number is being discussed. In this context the PM proposed the Turkmen side to consider the opportunity to organize flights at other directions from Yerevans Zvartnots airport.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan held a meeting on February 7 with the delegation led by Germanys Ambassador Matthias Kiesler.

The delegation included representatives from the KfW  the German Development Bank, MF Strategy, MicroInsurance Centre and AgroConsulting consultants, Swiss Re and Agroinsurance International.

A consortium comprised of the three abovementioned organizations has been selected as result of a tender announced by KfW, with which the agriculture ministry of Armenia and the Central Bank will jointly prepare pilot programs of agricultural insurance.

The Armenian PM thanked the German government for supporting the introduction of an insurance system in the agriculture field and expressed willingness to expand partnership in other branches also.

The Ambassador said the insurance program is innovative, promising, and the German government is ready to continue supporting the Armenian government to develop cooperation.

As part of the pilot program, the KfW will provide 5 million Euros in grant and another 5 million will be co-financed from the state budget for subsidization.
YEREVAN, 7 FEBUARY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 7 February, USD exchange rate up by 0.37 drams to 482.35 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 2.15 drams to 595.70 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 8.44 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 3.05 drams to 671.38 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price down by 18.26 drams to 20647.23 drams. Silver price down by 0.89 drams to 260.61 drams. Platinum price down by 112.23 drams to 15306.31 drams.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. The 80th anniversary of Zartonk daily was solemnly marked at Tekeyan Center on February 5 under the auspices of the Lebanese Ministry of Information. The representative of His Holiness Aram I Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Smbat Spunjian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Lebanon Samvel Mkrtchyan, Director of ARMENPRESS news agency Aram Ananyan, readers of Zartonk.

In his speech called Zartonk in the pan-Armenian media landscape  thoughts over future media, Aram Ananyan praised the consistent work of Lebanese-Armenian Zartonk to withstand modern media challenges and referred to the cooperation of ARMENPRESS and Diaspora-based media. More than 5 decades ago, in 1967, when remote connection was established, ARMENPRESS started to provide native-language articles to the Diaspora news outlet. Zartonk was one of the first periodicals to which the Armenian telegraphic agency provided both local and international information on daily basis. I can say without exaggeration that the mentioned historical event gave new impetus to the journalists of Armenia and Diaspora, Aram Ananyan said.

Congratulating on the anniversary of the periodical, the Director of ARMENPRESS underlined that there is another jubilee year of key importance for Armenia  the 100th anniversaries of the first Republic of Armenia and the heroic battles of May. ARMENPRESS was also born in the first Republic of Armenia and will mark the 100th anniversary this December, he said, adding that this jubilee anniversary is a chance for adopting innovative approaches and entering a new phase for ARENPRESS as a state-run pan-Armenian media outlet.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan received on February 7 the delegation led by President of National Council of Swiss Confederation Dominique de Buman comprised of the Vice Presidents of the National Council and representatives of all the parliamentary factions.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office, greeting the guests the President of the Republic noted that the visit of such a representational delegation from friendly Switzerland to Armenia once again shows the high level of political relations between the two countries and the mutual sympathy of the two peoples. President Sargsyan talked with satisfaction about the consistently developing inter-state relations and expressed confidence that the visit of the delegation with its saturated agenda will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the strengthening of Armenian-Swiss cooperation.

Serzh Sargsyan congratulated Dominique de Buman on the occasion of being elected President of the National Council of Switzerland at the end of last year and wished him productive work. The President thanked Dominique de Buman for his devotion and consistent works aimed at the strengthening of Armenian-Swiss relations. Emphasizing that Switzerland has always been a reliable partner for Armenia, President Sargsyan thanked friendly Switzerland for supporting and standing with the Armenian people during difficult periods for Armenia.

The President of Armenia and the President of the National Council of Switzerland highlighted the role of inter-parliamentary cooperation for the development of interstate relations. In this context Serzh Sargsyan assessed it symbolic that by an interesting coincidence that former heads of parliamentary friendship groups of Armenia and Switzerland now head the legislative bodies of Armenia and Switzerland, which doubles the obligation to deepen parliamentary relations between the two states.

The interlocutors assessed the International Organisation of la Francophonie, the Presidency of which has been taken over by Armenia, as another good platform for making Armenian-Swiss ties closer, and hoped that the Francophonie summit to be held in Yerevan in October will be held at a high level.

Serzh Sargsyan and Dominique de Buman highlighted the close cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries in international organizations. President Sargsyan particularly highlighted the visit of the parliamentary friendship group of Switzerland led by Dominique de Buman to Artsakh in 2012, noting that such visits allow to get acquainted with the situation on site and personally.

During the meeting President Serzh Sargsyan and Dominique de Buman exchanged ideas over Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process. The President of Armenia thanked the Swiss Confederation for its balanced position on the issue and the support to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, as well as its readiness and efforts aimed at contributing to the solution of the issue.
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. Sudden readiness checks were held in the Defense Army of Artsakh on February 6-7, which involved the administrations of the Defense Army, a number of military units, management and supply agencies under the leadership of the Defense Minister of the Artsakh Republic, Defense Army commander, Lieutenant-General Levon Mnatsakanyan. According to the program of military cooperation, action coordination and exchange of experience of the two Armenian states, the representatives of the command staff of Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia headed by Colonel-General Movses Hakobyan tracked the military processes of paramount importance.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Artsakh, according to the sources, all the structures and subdivisions involved in the chekings were brought to the state of combat readiness of the "high" level, positioned in pre-calculated clusters in full readiness for combat actions, then, completed the orders of the command.

During the trainings according to the emerging combat situation requirements of nominal war, various subdivisions of the participating military units also performed separate combat tasks. The superior command reviewed the submitted reports, followed the requirements for the compliance of the processes, and also directed and made some corrections in the operations.

All commanders, divisions, military units and administrative bodies demonstrated a proper level of combat readiness. As a result the army improved the management system, the level of harmonization of all types of troops and military units, and the ability to get to combat readiness of a ''high'' degree.

The Defense Army with the subdivisions once again proved that they are able to rapidly respond to the existing and possible developments and make decisive combat resolutions.

During the summarizing of the results, the Artsakh Republic Defense Minister and Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Armenia highly appreciated the measures of combat readiness and stated that the Defense Army is capable of timely and adequate reaction to the developments in the operational tactical situation and thus effectively counteracting the enemy's possible actions.
American sandwich brand Which Wich is set to open its first site in the UK at the St Giles Plaza in London.

Opening on 28 February, the site will be led by Rami Awada from AAA Investment House and Kevin Todd, former managing director of pub chain Mitchells & Butler.

The brand said the UKs first Which Wich site would be adapted to match Londoners sophisticated needs and would feature a hip new look and a bespoke London menu.

Which Wich creates hot sandwiches using high-quality, local ingredients and revealed to British Baker that its breads would be supplied by Le Pain Nouveau who source their flour from GR Wright & Sons. The bread will be delivered by 6am every morning to its UK site.

Innovation is essential to enter the London market, said Which Wich managing director Awada.

We have looked at every aspect of the guest journey and taken each element apart and built it back again with quality, speed and fun in mind. The brand is famous for its ordering system, which we have enhanced, and our menu innovation  from breakfast through to lunch and even dinner  is very exciting.

The American sandwich brand was founded in Dallas, Texas, in 2003 by entrepreneur Jeff Sinelli and has 500 sites in 10 different countries across the Middle East and Central America.
Public school choice remains a popular option as charters continue embracing innovation and trying to attract a more diverse student population

A new report shows that charter schools are becoming more racially diverse, enrolling more impoverished students, and performing better than in previous years, but experts say challenges remain.Since the first charter school opened in North Carolina in 1997, the legislature has required that the State Board of Education compile an annual report on how charter schools are doing and the impact they have on their communities.Charter schools are taxpayer-funded public schools, but with key differences. While charter schools have more flexibility when it comes to setting the academic calendar and hiring teachers, they aren't required to offer transportation or free or reduced lunches.said Terry Stoops, vice president of research and director of education studies at the John Locke Foundation.David Machado, director of the Office of Charter Schools, presented the report to the SBE. Machado said about 55,000 students are on waiting lists to attend charter schools.Despite growing enrollment, charter schools face criticism over what some say is a lack of student diversity. The report, though, shows the racial makeup of charter schools mirrors that of traditional public schools. The exception is with Hispanic student enrollment. Hispanic students account for 9.2 percent of charter school enrollment, compared to 17.3 percent in traditional public schools.The trend may be changing as Hispanic student enrollment has increased 0.8 percent over last year. Enrollment of white students decreased 1.3 percent.Machado told the SBE.In 2016, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest created a task force to study how charter schools are doing in reaching reaching out to Hispanic families. It found only 12 percent of Hispanic parents polled knew what a charter school was or even knew the schools existed. The task force also found several charter schools did not have applications in Spanish.The task force reported that North Carolina isn't alone in struggling to enroll more Hispanic students in charter schools, and suggested educators look to Florida - a state with higher Hispanic student enrollment - for answers. Referring to charter schools as public charter schools, thus avoiding confusion, was another recommendation.Not only are charter schools accused of lacking racial diversity, but they are also criticized for serving fewer economically disadvantaged students than traditional public schools. ED students account for 30.6 percent of charter school enrollment - although that is trending upward - compared to 50.4 percent at traditional public schools.Academic performance has improved, too. More charter schools are scoring an A or A+NG than traditional public schools. Almost 10 percent of charter schools scored high marks, compared to about 7 percent of traditional public schools. At the same time, charter schools also make up a larger percentage of D and F grades. About 25 percent of charter schools received a D or F; 22 percent of traditional public schools received the same grade.Machado highlighted innovative practices by charter schools in North Carolina.Machado said.Machado sees room for improvement, and Stoops agrees.Stoops said.
In a state as purple as North Carolina, a congressional delegation featuring 10 Republicans and three Democrats offers proof of "extreme" partisan gerrymandering. Or at least that's what many critics of the Republican-led General Assembly would like you to believe.As with many political debates, the truth is not as simple as the rhetoric. In this case, N.C. Democrats transform a geographic disadvantage into a rhetorical tool. That tool helps them fight the GOP - both in court and in the court of public opinion.Before explaining how, let's be clear: Gerrymandering is bad. It's just as bad when Republicans use it now as when Democrats used it in the past. Ever since North Carolina became a competitive two-party state, the party in power has used gerrymandering to preserve its power.North Carolina would benefit from redistricting reform . The ideal reform would take election mapmaking out of the hands of the politicians who stand to benefit directly from those maps. The John Locke Foundation has been arguing in favor of that type of reform for decades.That said, recent left-leaning recruits can hurt the redistricting reform cause when they misstate their case. As JLF Chairman John Hood suggested recently One area in which this phenomenon plays out involves faulty claims about the current congressional delegation.Here are the facts: In 2012, the first N.C. election conducted with GOP-drawn maps, the delegation flipped from a 7-6 Democratic advantage to 9-4 in favor of Republicans. The GOP flipped another Democratic seat in 2014 and has maintained the 10-3 advantage under the current congressional map adopted in 2016. Discussing that change recently with the Raleigh News & Observer, Senate Minority Leader Dan Blue, D-Wake, admitted that Democrats "invoked a partisan advantage" during their years of controlling the General Assembly.Blue told the newspaper.Democrats had the power to draw lines in their favor, yet decided to draw them in such a way that the state's congressional delegation mirrored its closely divided electorate? It's a powerful argument.It's also wrong.Democrats never drew congressional lines to give themselves a 10-3 advantage because they couldn't do it. It would not be possible for Democrats to achieve that partisan goal with a map that any court would accept.Why? Democrats cluster in high concentrations geographically in North Carolina. In contrast, Republicans are dispersed more widely. The latest presidential election illustrates this fact. Donald Trump won a plurality of the state's votes and triumphed 52-48 over Hillary Clinton in a head-to-head matchup. Yet Trump won a far higher share - 76 - of North Carolina's 100 counties.Clinton won her 24 counties with wider margins than Trump won his 76. That's the only way to account for the disparity between overall votes and the 3-1 margin in county "victories." Congressional elections and legislative races follow a similar pattern.As statistical research posted at Fivethirtyeight.com suggests, N.C. congressional election maps that maximize either compactness or partisan proportionality are likely to produce an 8-5 Republican delegation. Even maps designed to maximize Democrats' gains are unlikely to produce more than a 7-6 Democratic advantage under normal conditions.In other words, the congressional delegation is unlikely to get much more Democratic than a split that mirrors the state's closely divided electorate - no matter how hard Democrats might try to extend their advantage.Contrary to Blue's comments, recent N.C. political history is full of examples of gerrymandering designed to maximize Democrats' partisan advantage. Exhibit No. 1: the snakelike 12th Congressional District that pocked the N.C. congressional map for more than 20 years.Democrats drew that district in the early 1990s, when Blue led the N.C. House as its speaker. Lawmakers designed the 12th not to test the lengths to which a congressman could drive and still remain within his district. (Remember that the original version of that snake stretched from Durham to Gastonia.) Instead lawmakers wanted to comply with a federal mandate to create a second "majority-minority" district while still giving Democrats an opportunity to win as many of North Carolina's 12 congressional districts as possible.And it worked. Democrats built upon an existing 7-4 advantage within the congressional delegation and extended their edge to 8-4 in 1992. The Republican landslide of 1994 flipped that delegation to 8-4 in the GOP's favor. Democrats recovered some of their losses two years later, but the GOP maintained a slight edge for most of the rest of the decade.When Democrats had another chance to redraw election lines in 2001, with another new U.S. House seat at stake, they preserved the snake in the 12th District while creating another new district. It should surprise no one that Democrats drew the new district to elect another Democrat. The ensuing 2002 election dropped Republicans' partisan advantage from 7-5 to 7-6.Lest one think that Democrats proceeded in 2001 with a goal of maintaining some degree of partisan balance, later comments from one of Blue's top lieutenants paint a different picture.Asheville's Martin Nesbitt, the House's top budget writer under Blue, had moved to the state Senate by 2010. He spoke with rare candor that year during a Democratic Party campaign rally in western North Carolina. Nesbitt's comments focused on legislative redistricting, rather than congressional races, but the same partisan priorities applied to both cases.Nesbitt warned his partisan audience.Despite the abundance of Republican voters, Democrats still controlled most western N.C. Senate seats at the time of Nesbitt's remarks.Nesbitt then urged support for Apodaca's Democratic challenger.Nesbitt said.So much for drawing districtsNesbitt admitted to a friendly audience that he and his fellow Democrats drew election maps to elect Democrats - even if that meant concentrating as many western N.C. Republicans into a single state Senate district as possible.Now Republicans draw election maps to elect as many Republicans as possible. Same as it ever was.The system needs fixing. Redistricting reform makes sense. More Republicans are likely to support that proposition once Democrats drop the rhetoric and admit their own complicity in the current broken process.
That's what school choice opponents claim.In a recent article on Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) in the News and Observer, Keith Poston of the Public School Forum said the newly- approved ESA program for special needs students isKeith Poston has a right to his opinion. He doesn't have a right to his own facts.Some relevant background. Under the new ESA program, parents of eligible special needs children would receive up to $9000 to use for educational expenses. Money could be used to pay for private school tuition, medical therapies, books, tutoring and other approved expenses. Most importantly, the new legislation stipulates ESA recipients will be required to file quarterly reports of expenses with each quarterly disbursement of funds. Misuse of funds will result in loss of the scholarship and prosecution. Also referenced in the article is an Arizona state audit of that state's ESA program. The report found $102,000 in misspent funds, what you didn't hear is that the money constitutes less than one percent of total ESA spending. The fact is, most any state agency would be happy with such results.Later in the same article Poston claims the ESA program hasWrong again. Schools that enroll ESA recipients are accountable to their students in a number of ways. Such schools are already required to comply with various health, safety and nondiscriminatory regulations. Academic quality in ESA schools is monitored through membership in various accrediting associations as well as having students participate in nationally-recognized standardized tests. In addition to these efforts, the State Agency that administers the ESA program (State Education Assistance Authority) is required to conduct annual audits of the Personal Education Savings Account and can remove parents or recipients from the program if they fail to comply with the terms of the parental agreement. In addition, recipient schools are subject to an audit if they receive a certain number of ESA recipients. The SEAA is also required to furnish the Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee a report detailing the makeup of PESA recipients and the number of fraud cases as well as the number of students removed from the program.Because ESA schools are not subject to the same requirements as the public schools, don't mistake the current conditions with a lack of accountability. Such a statement incorrectly assumes that private school accountability should look the same as the public schools. Accountability is important. However, it's also important that the type of accountability fit the school.Schools that accept ESAs are not only accountable to their students in the ways previously mentioned, but include the ultimate source of accountability - parents. Since private schools derive the overwhelming majority of their revenue from tuition, these schools have a built-in incentive to be receptive to the concerns of parents - or risk closing. If parents are dissatisfied with the education their child is receiving, they can remove the child from the school. It is a form of accountability that doesn't exist in the vast majority of public schools.ESAs work, include a variety of accountability mechanisms and expand the array of educational options available to parents. They are a lifeline for parents whose children's special or academic needs aren't being served by the public schools. That's the truth. Just ask parents in Arizona and Florida, states with large and popular ESA programs.Opponents of school choice continue to cling to the strategy that if you repeat something often enough people may believe it - even if the statements aren't true.Facts have a habit of getting in the way. And, trying to deny them won't make them go away.
Now that it is fully apparent, to all who have the ability to pay some modicum of attention, that Imposter President Biden has extreme cognitive issues, in addition to being an inveterate liar: Can OUR Republic continue with this Executive Office that has completely failed, so many times, on far too many issues here at this early date in this abysmal presidency?

No, Joseph R. Biden is completely unqualified, morally and cognitively, to represent real Americans, and lead this Republic of disparate peoples.

Yes, Joseph R. Biden has started whispering again, even softer now than before; so, I know he still cares, plus, OUR media will soon stop reporting on Afghanistan in favor of OUR Socialist issues.
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Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson  Anchorage, AlaskaGreat. Well, first off, General Robinson, thank you for this gracious welcome to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. And to Governor Walker, thank you for your presence here today and for your leadership.And to all of the tremendous members of this command, I bring you greetings from our Commander-in-Chief, and the gratitude of President Trump as well as the American people for the extraordinary service that you render here in providing for the common defense.As the President has made clear, he has no higher priority than the safety and security of the American people, and missile defense is essential to our national defense. And the work that you do at this base and at other facilities across Alaska is the tip of the spear in missile defense for the United States.And General, you and I have met at other locations associated with NORAD, and I'm particularly grateful for your great leadership and efforts.But missile defense really begins here in Alaska at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson and other bases - Fort Greely, the Missile Defense Agency, North American Aerospace Defense Command. These are the facilities, these are the men and women, and the technologies that identify, track, and ultimately destroy ballistic missile threats inbound from the United States.And with the ongoing threats and provocations from North Korea, your work here is even more urgent and more important in the life of the nation. And it's the reason I wanted to be here on my way to the region: to learn more about the work that you're doing, but also to assure you that this Commander-in-Chief, our entire administration has your back.I know, in the last fiscal year, we were able to secure an additional $5 billion in funding for missile defense. I also know there will be another 20 new ground-based interceptors here in Alaska.And we'll soon be releasing our missile defense review, which, in combination with our nuclear posture review, will continue to formulate and inform decisions within the administration and policymakers in the Congress about how we ensure that the men and women who serve here with such distinction have the resources and the training you need to accomplish your mission.So to General Robinson and to all the other members of the command here, again, on behalf of your Commander-in-Chief, thank you for your leadership, thank you for your service, and thank you for the work that you do here 24/7 to keep America safe.Thank you, sir. We appreciate it.
Dr. Chris Mansfield (right) points out how death rates are declining for nonwhites but going up for whites. (Photos by Rich Klindworth)

Middle-aged whites in North Carolina are dying at an unprecedented rate, according to a new study by researchers at East Carolina University.The study - authored by ECU professor emeritus Dr. Chris Mansfield and colleagues in the Department of Public Health, and published in the current issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal - found that suicide and liver disease were major contributors to the increase in deaths from 2000 to 2013 for whites ages 45 to 54.said Mansfield.The study reported a 52-percent increase in the suicide rate and a 38.8-percent increase in midlife white deaths due to liver disease from 2000 to 2013, which translates into 623 more middle-aged whites who died by suicide in this time period than would have died if the 2000 rate had held constant. According to the study, these numbers are projected to rise through 2020.The death rates rose most dramatically for midlife whites in the state's 40 most economically distressed counties, termed Tier 1 counties by the N.C. Department of Commerce. In these counties, midlife white deaths increased for all causes studied, which included heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes, suicide and liver disease. These causes of death were linked to a rise in health risk factors like drinking, obesity and lack of health insurance. The study did not take into account the impact of opioid drug use because the authors questioned the validity of the coding on death certificates.said Mansfield.Such findings by Mansfield and colleagues mirror national trends, as the death rates for middle-aged whites have risen across the country. However, the trend is not an international one. There was an increase in life expectancy for midlife whites in Canada and European countries for the same study period, from 2000 to 2013.Mansfield said.And as midlife white death rates rise nationally, how are nonwhites faring in comparison? This study showed that in North Carolina the rising trend in midlife white deaths contrasts with that of nonwhites, even in the poorest counties.said Mansfield.This finding that life expectancy was on the rise for middle-aged nonwhites seems counterintuitive in light of the reality that risk factors such as poor economic circumstance and lack of insurance were reportedly worse for nonwhites than whites. However, Mansfield said these risk factors don't seem to have the same effect on health behaviors for nonwhites. For example, there was an increase in binge drinking among whites but not among nonwhites.said Adam Zolotor, president and CEO of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine, a co-publisher of the NCMJ.Mansfield and colleagues conclude their study by asking researchers if it's still appropriate to benchmark improvement for one group against another. For future studies, Mansfield would like to see researchers develop and observe measures of well-being like optimism in population groups, life satisfaction, stress and resilience.the study authors wrote.To read the full study, "Increased Mortality and Health Risk Behaviors of Midlife White North Carolinians: A Marked Contrast to Nonwhites," visit ncmedicaljournal.com
the FBI initiates an investigation into Trump associates' ties to Russia

insurance policy

The Nunes Memo highlights just how easy it is to spy on an American citizen, and even a candidate for the highest office of the land, when the administration in DC is politicized enough and when it becomes corrupted by political ambition. This should scare everyone.Richard Nixon won the presidency in 1968 in a tight contest with Democratic nominee, Hubert H. Humphrey. During that election, he ran as a moderate candidate, pledging to end the war in Vietnam with honor and to make a clean break from the controversial administration of Lyndon Johnson, his predecessor. By 1972, Nixon remained popular with most Americans and was expected to defeat his opponent, Senator George McGovern.On June 17, 1972, two police officers responded to a report of a break-in at the Watergate, a hotel and office complex in Washington, D.C. where many political professionals lived and worked. That year, it was also the home of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). When the police arrived and entered the fifth-floor offices of the DNC, they surprised five men carrying surveillance devices they were trying to attach to the office phones. One of the men was James McCord, a former employee of the CIA and a Republican Party aide. In the address books of two of the burglars, police found the name H. Howard Hunt, a former CIA employee who, at the time, was associated with the White House. Over time, it became clear that Hunt was part of a group nicknamed the 'Plumbers,' because they stopped political leaks and who'd been conducting a 'dirty tricks' campaign against the Democrats for over a year. Their activities included canceling Democratic rallies, spying on candidates, and stealing confidential files.In a nutshell, here's what happened in the greatest presidential scandal in U.S. history: On June 17, 1972, McCord and four other men working for the Committee to Re-Elect the President (or CREEP - really) broke into the Democratic Party's headquarters in the Watergate, a hotel-office building in Washington, D.C. They got caught going through files and trying to plant listening devices. Five days later, Nixon denied any knowledge of it or that his administration played any role in it. The burglars went to trial in 1973 and either pled guilty or were convicted. Before sentencing, McCord wrote a letter to Judge John Sirica, contending that high Republican and White House officials knew about the break-in and had paid the defendants to keep quiet or lie during the trial Investigation of McCord's charges spread to a special Senate committee. John Dean, a White House lawyer, told the committee McCord was telling the truth and that Nixon had known of the effort to cover up White House involvement. Eventually, all sorts of damaging stuff began to surface, including evidence that key documents linking Nixon to the cover-up of the break-in had been destroyed, that the Nixon reelection committee had run a "dirty tricks" campaign against the Democrats, and that the administration had illegally wiretapped the phones of "enemies," such as journalists who had been critical of Nixon. In March 1974, former Attorney. General John Mitchell and six top Nixon aides were indicted by a federal grand jury for trying to block the investigation. They were eventually convicted. While Nixon continued to deny any involvement, it was revealed he routinely made secret tapes of conversations in his office. Nixon refused to turn over the tapes at first, and when he did agree (after firing a special prosecutor he had appointed to look into the mess and seeing his new attorney general resign in protest), it turned out some of them were missing or had been destroyed. (They were also full of profanity, which greatly surprised people who had an entirely different perception of Nixon.) In the summer of 1974, the House Judiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment against the president for obstructing justice.The Watergate scandal hinged on a pivotal question posed by U.S. Senator Howard Baker during a senate hearing: 'What did the President know, and when did he know it? While it has never been proven that Nixon knew about the planning of the break-in or even of the break-in itself when it happened, it was his part in the cover-up that sealed his fate. The tapes clearly showed Nixon had been part of the cover-up. On August 8, 1974, he submitted a one-sentence letter of resignation, and then went on television and said, "I have always tried to do what is best for the nation." He was the first and, so far, only U.S. president to quit the job."In a nutshell, the surveillance abuses under the Obama administration can be summed up as follows:January 2013: At an energy conference in New York, Carter Page, who founded an investment company in New York called Global Energy Capital, attended an energy conference (in New York), where he meet Victor Pobodnyy, later determined to be a Russian intelligence agent. Page provided documents to Pobodnyy about his energy business, thinking he was a businessman who could help with brokering deals in Russia. This was according to court documents. The two exchange contact information and have several more meetings discussing energy policy.[A brief history of Carter Page: After growing up in New York and spending a few years in the navy in the late 1990's, Page completed a few graduate degrees in International Relations and in Business. Then for most of the 2000's, he worked at the investment banking firm Merrill Lynch, where he focused on investments related to Russia and Eastern Europe. His work led him to move to Moscow from 2004 - 2007, and it entailed advising Gazprom, the majority Russia state-owned oil firm, on deals. Soon afterwards, he moved back to the US, left Merrill, and went into business for himself, advising investors on Russia-related projects.]June 2013: Learning about the documents given to Pobodnyy at the conference, the FBI decides to interview Page.. (So why did the FBI later decide to target him again? There is no good answer for this. Refer to the entry below and the entry of July 2016)January 2015: Nunes, a six-term Congressman, becomes chairman of House Intelligence Committee.January 26, 2015: Pobodnyy and two other Russians are charged with working as agents for Russian intelligence in New York. Court records include a transcript of a recorded conversation in which Pobodnyy talked about trying to recruit someone identified as "Male - 1," which is later revealed to be Page. But Pobodnyy admits "I think he's an idiot" in the transcript. Russian intelligence's interest in Page goes no further.December 2015: Feeling that the Trump campaign aligns with his ideas on Russia, Page asks Ed Cox, chairman of the NY Republican Party, to recommend him as an adviser. He is brought on right away. "Anyone with a pulse, a resume, and who seemed legit would be welcomed," a campaign official admitted. Put another way, the only reason the Trump team took Page on was because "they were taking anyone with a pulse."March 21, 2016: Trump meets with the editorial board of the Washington Post. Asked about his foreign policy team, he names, among others, Page and George Papadopoulos.March 2016: In March of 2016, Papadopoulos communicates with a London professor, Joseph Mifsud, who has ties to Russia. Mifsud reportedly tells Papadopoulos that Russia has "dirt" on Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and then works with him to try to arrange a meeting between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. [In October, Papadopoulos will plead guilty to lying to the FBI about his attempts to contact Russian officials].May 2016: In May of 2016, Papadopoulos converses over drinks at a British pub with a top Australian diplomat named Alexander Downer. He tells Downer that he knows that Russia has "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. Two months later, Australia passed this information on to American intelligence officials.Page joins a group dinner of Trump campaign National Security advisors, including then Senator Jeff Sessions, at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington. He later testifies that he casually told Sessions about an upcoming trip to Russia during dinner. [The trip was tentatively approved by Trump campaign manager, Corey Lewandowki, on the condition that he NOT act as an official representative of the campaign while in Moscow].Page spends 2 days (July 6-7) in Moscow, where he gives a talk at the New Economic School that is critical of American policy towards Russia and favorable towards Russian president Vladimir Putin.Receiving the tip from Australian diplomats that George Papadopoulos had bragged about the fact that he knew Russia had dirt on Hillary Clinton,After learning of Page's trip to Moscow, on July 19, 2016, former British intelligence (M-16) agent Christopher Steele files a report for what become known as his "dossier"; it focused on Page's Russia trip. This would be the information he uncovered while doing opposition research on behalf of the DNC and the Hillary Clinton campaign. Citing Russian sources (not corroborated), he includes in his dossier: That Page had met with Igor Sechin, the CEO of Rosneft, the majority Russian government-owned oil company, and discussed lifting US sanctions That Page had also met with Igor Diveykin, a Russian intelligence official, and discussed Russian "kompromat" on Clinton (and Trump)Around this time, Steele, who has admitted being extremely politicized against Donald Trump and would do anything to prevent him from being president, approaches an FBI agent with this information (more correctly, "rumors") that he has "uncovered."In a later report, dated October 18, 2016, Steele makes an even more astonishing claim: That when Page allegedly met with Sechin, the oil executive had offered Page and Trump's associates "the brokerage of up to a 19 per cent (privatized) stake in Rosneft in return" for lifting sanctions, and that Page "expressed interest" and confirmed that Trump would lift sanctions if he won.But, note - and this is VERY IMPORTANT -- that in the year and a half since, no one has yet managed to confirm or corroborate any of the claims in Steele's dossier about Page's trip. FURTHERMORE, Page has furiously denied the claims, saying that he's never met either Sechin or Diveykin and disparaging what he calls the "dodgy dossier" both in media appearances and under oath. He continues to deny these claims today.]*** In fact, Carter Page has filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, demanding to know what information the FBI and Justice Department compiled on him and what information they used to request the FISA warrants in order to surveille him. He has not received anything yet.Back to the Timeline ---August 15, 2016: Just one month into the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign regarding ties to Russia, and only two weeks after the FBI had been given a copy of Steele's anti-Trump dossier, one of the FBI's top Russian counter-intelligence experts, Peter Strzok spoke of an "insurance policy" in the event that then-candidate Donald Trump was elected president. Strzok sent a text message to his lover, Lisa Paige, a senior FBI attorney, which read: "I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy's office - that there's no way he gets elected - but I'm afraid we can't take that risk. It's like anin the unlikely event you die before you're 40."August 29, 2016: Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid writes a letter to then-FBI Director James Comey calling for an investigation into evidence suggesting that Russia may try to manipulate the results of the 2016 election. In the letter, he cites Page's trip to Moscow and writes that "questions have been raised" about whether Page met with "high-ranking sanctioned individuals" during the trip. Also in the letter, he indirectly refers to Page's speech in Moscow criticizing U.S. sanctions policy toward Russia., after convincing the judge that there was probable cause to believe Page was acting as an agent of a foreign power. The FBI waited until the Trump campaign had parted ways with Page to begin surveilling him. [Apparently. the bureau's renewed interest in him in 2016 is sparked by concerns that Russian intelligence may be continuing to target him for possible use as an asset. Note that since 2013, the FBI had found no evidence that Page was actually being recruited, or that any credible attempts to recruit him were made; the fact is that it was clear to the FBI that Page was not even open to such a relationship. But apparently, Page continued to be a target they could continue to spy on, even if it was for the purposes of gaining information on others]
The #MeToo movement has had an impact on many in Hollywood, but maybe not so much in other arenas. Take Trump's arena, for example. Rachel Crooks, one of many who has accused Trump of sexual misconduct, says Donald Trump forcibly kissed her on the lips in 2005 near an elevator in Trump Tower.

Crooks had been working in the Tower and saw Trump passing her office every day, so she decided to introduce herself. "He gave me a kiss on each cheek, which was normal, but he held on to my hand and he continued to kiss my cheeks, over and over againand then finally he kissed me on the lips," she told CNN (video below). When asked if it was unwanted and forcible, she said, "Definitely."

But, she says, when she came out publicly about the incident, it was pushed under the rug  her voice was never heard  and this is what has inspired her to run for office.

Crooks, age 35, filed petitions yesterday to run for Ohio's state legislature.

Rachel Crooks today filed petitions to run for Ohio's 88th State House District, which includes Sandusky County and most of Seneca County in northwest Ohio. Follow her campaign:

Twitter: @RachelforOhio

Facebook: https://t.co/1GI6m2YN98https://t.co/1GI6m2YN98 pic.twitter.com/bbjHuw4uS9  Ohio House Dems (@OhioHouseDems) February 5, 2018

According to TIME, her campaign is not actually about Trump, but about being a voice for Americans who are sick of politics as usual.

Crooks, one of a record number of first-time female candidates running for office in 2018, said she doesn't want the allegations to define her campaign, which has the backing of the Ohio Democratic Party. She said she wants to help create jobs, repair the state's education system and increase access to affordable health care.

Here is Crooks describing what happened the day Trump allegedly kissed her without her consent:


Over the weekend, flat-Earther and DIY rocketeer Mike Hughes tried again to launch himself into space. Unfortunately, he failed. As a result, his belief that the Earth isn't round stands. The Washington Post has been following Hughes's misadventures:

All critics would be silenced, Hughes promised then, when he finally launched on private property outside the town of Amboy, Calif., on Saturday.



"I pulled the plunger five different times," Hughes said. "I considered beating on the rocket nozzle from the underneath side. But you can't get anyone under there. It'll kill you. It'll scald you to death. It'll blow the skin and muscle off your bones."..

Hughes's plans are unclear now. He said he'd take apart the rocket to see what went wrong, but he has commitments to think of besides science. He was supposed to be in court on Tuesday, he told the crowd, because he was suing the governor of California for unspecified reasons. He was also trying to claim the legal right to Charles Manson's guitar. He is a man of many ambitions

"Guys, I'm sorry," Hughes said. "What can you do?"
Back in 2015, U2, Sinead O'Conner and Hozier were all up for Choice Music Prize for Best Irish Album of the Year. Big names, but none of them walked away with the award. Instead, the accolades went to The Gloaming. There's a very good chance that you haven't heard of them. You may not like them. But man, you gotta give them a chance.

Comprised of Irishmen Iarla O Lionaird, Martin Hayes and Caoimhin O Raghallaigh on vocals and fiddle, respectively, as well as Americans Thomas Bartlett on piano with Dennis Cahill on guitar, they're a musical force like none other. Each musician in The Gloaming came to the band with successful careers of their own. Not a one of them has a damn thing to prove. You won't find any ego on stage at one of their concerts  just some of the best music you'll ever have the privilege of hearing. It's moody stuff, and at times joyous, with many of their compositions moving from slow dirges into barn burning reels in a matter of minutes. This video of their tune, Opening Set, runs SIXTEEN MINUTES LONG. They don't stop for a break, there are no solos. Just a wall of beautiful noise. The Gloaming don't fuck around.

Seriously give this song a chance, from start to finish, before you form an opinion. Then, stop by the comments and tell me what you think. Oh, and if you're into them, you can hear both of their records on Apple Music, and Spotify.
News / National

by Staff reporter

THE Government should act decisively against aspiring Members of Parliament and councillors whose areas become political violence hotspots and those who may have a hand in sponsoring intolerance to gain political mileage.In an interview yesterday, the chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence, Home Affairs and Security Services, Retired Colonel Tshinga Dube, said to curb incidents of political violence, those who aspire to hold political office must be held to account whenever violence is recorded in their areas.He said politicians who fail to charm the electorate tend to use force to gain political relevance.Rtd Col Dube called for tolerance across the political divide saying politicians who sponsor violence are cowards who cannot convince the electorate on their policies."I believe violence is sponsored by those people who cannot convince people in their constituencies and they end up resorting to violence. When you cannot convince the people, you end up trying to use violence to force people to vote for you," he said."Those who are used to cause political violence are used like mercenaries. They are hired by candidates to further their interests. If candidates are strictly told that if there is violence in the constituencies they will be held responsible, we won't have incidents of political violence."Rtd Col Dube said it was highly unlikely that members of the public would be involved in political violence if they were not being paid for it.He said his committee is satisfied with how Government is dealing with incidents of political violence following the arrest of two people over violence in Harare at a rally addressed by former Vice President and leader of National People's Party Dr Joice Mujuru.Zanu-PF has distanced itself from perpetrators of violence while Government has declared zero tolerance towards political intolerance.Rtd Col Dube said the arrest of the culprits has given confidence to his committee that Government abhors political violence.He said his committee was only going to act if there was no action from law enforcement agents."The fact that culprits have been arrested is satisfactory, the law has taken its course," Rtd Col Dube said.
Apple's HomePod Receives Mixed Reviews Ahead Of Friday Release

Trending News: The Reviews For Apple's HomePod Are In And They're... Mixed

Long Story Short

Apple lifted the embargo on reviews for its highly-anticipated HomePod smart speaker ahead of its Friday release. They're honestly pretty mixed, but in aggregate they actually create a roadmap for who the speaker's for (and who it isn't).

Long Story

I can't think of any point in my lifetime when there were more options for home audio. All the standard crap  home theaters, big honking stereo systems, shelf-top speakers, etc.  is still out there. But now there are also approximately 50,000 Bluetooth speakers on the market, large and small and cheap and expensive. The latest entries are of the "smart" speaker variety: expensive, high-quality, self-contained speakers that can a) listen to themselves and automatically adjust their sound to their environment, and b) listen to you so you can use your voice to dim your lights or check the weather or order a hooker or whatever.

Apple's newest device, the HomePod, falls into the latter category. Finally set for release this Friday after months of speculation as to when it would be available, Apple's lifted the embargo on the first online reviews. While I didn't have the good fortune of receiving one to review (a huge oversight on the part of Tim Cook, imo), I was able to compile some reviews from (apparently more important) tech outlets. They break down along the sound quality and capability of Siri (Apple's on-board AI assistant), and coincidentally that seems to be what makes these reviews kind of a mixed bag.

Sound Quality

One thing is pretty clear: All the months of R&D on Apple's part resulted in an exceptionally well-built machine.

Nilay Patel, The Verge:

All of this means the HomePod sounds noticeably richer and fuller than almost every other speaker weve tested. You get a surprisingly impressive amount of bass out of it, but you can still hear all of the details in the midrange and the bass never overwhelms the music. And its immediately, obviously noticeable: set in a corner of my kitchen, the HomePod sounded so much better than everything else that our video director Phil Esposito went from thinking the whole thing was kind of dumb to actively pointing out that other speakers sounded bad in comparison.

Matthew Panzarino, TechCrunch:

The sound that comes from the HomePod can best be described as precise. Its not as loud as some others like Google Home Max or as bright (and versatile) as the Sonos Play 1, but it destroys the muddy sound of less sophisticated options like the Amazon Echo. To genuinely fill a large room you need two but anyone in a small house or apartment will get great sound from one.

Jim Dalrymple, The Loop:

To be absolutely clear, there was no comparison in sound quality. HomePod offered so much more quality that it was quite literally laughable to hear the others. The only speaker that sounded decent was the Sonos One, but even it couldnt compete with HomePod. Its hard to explain the sound of HomePod, but you get a feeling that the sound is enveloping you, even when using just one speaker. There is a sense that this is how the songwriter and producer wanted the song to be heard when they recorded it.

You get the idea. Pretty much across the board, the HomePod is among the best-sounding speakers in its class. It may not be as loud as competitors like the (more expensive) Google Home Max, but it's undeniably better at mastering sound across the spectrum. And compared the the smaller, smart-first speakers like the Amazon Echo and Google Home, it's not even a comparison. However...

Intelligence

The "smartness" of a smart speaker may be a secondary concern, but it shouldn't be  these are $300-$400 pieces of equipment we're talking about, and you could get at least as much audio quality for a fraction of the price if not for the on-board computer. Unfortunately, this is where Apple fell short.

Brian X. Chen, The New York Times:

At the time, I gave Siri a pass. After all, Apples HomePod, a rival to smart speakers from Amazon and Google, is supposed to study your music preferences over time to create special playlists just for you. I had had only one day with HomePod. But after a week  during which I asked HomePod to play my favorite tunes from artists like Beck, Talking Heads and David Bowie  the smart speaker still did not learn. Instead, like a stubborn D.J., Siri kept playing music by artists outside my music palette: Taylor Swift and Leroy Francis, to name just two.

Nicole Nguyen, Buzzfeed:

If you live in a shared household, you cant switch profiles to take advantage of Apple Musics personalized playlist features, or access different accounts reminders, notes, or messages, which are what Apple calls Personal Requests. Both Amazon and Googles devices can recognize different peoples voices and automatically switch to their profiles. The HomePod cant do this.

James Titcomb, The Telegraph:

You can also dictate to-do lists and shopping lists to the HomePod, which will show up in the reminders app on your iPhone (integrated apps like Evernote and Streaks are also supported). This all works, but theres a problem: the HomePod is tied to one iPhone for some features, and these features will only work if that iPhone is on the same network. If Im out of the house and my partner wants to add something to the Shopping List, the HomePod wont let her, because my iPhone isn't in range.

And on, and on and on. The consensus is pretty strong here: Siri works well, at least to the extent that she's designed to function  the problem is just that she's not designed to do all that much. It's surprisingly primitive for the company that more or less brought AI assistants into the mainstream, though in fairness to them plenty of people buy smart speakers primarily as music devices. But if you want more than that  like an actual virtual assistant  the HomePod might disappoint.

So Should I Buy It?

Based on all the reviews I read, there's a very specific slice of people for whom the HomePod is the best choice. If you have a small to medium-sized space, value sound fidelity above all else and (most importantly) already enjoy the Apple ecosystem, then this is probably as good as it gets. Apple Music, podcasts, iTunes songs and Beats 1 Music are the only streaming services that you can control with your voice. Anything else has to be slung via Airplay, which kind of defeats the purpose.

Otherwise? You might want to look elsewhere. Amazon and Google both offer "smarter" on-board assistants, and in the case of Google's flagship Home Max, in a similarly impressive (though less sophisticated) audio component. And if it's booming, room-filling sound you're after, the HomePod probably won't satisfy there, either. Even those who praised its sound quality noted that it could be a little louder, and Apple has yet to ship the software update that allows you to pair multiple HomePods together. And even when they do, $700+ could go a lot farther if big sound is your goal.

In the end, it's just another quality option to add to the list.

Own The Conversation

Ask The Big Question

Did Apple feel pressured to release it, and that's why the software isn't all there?

Drop This Fact

Apple's HomePod has seven microphones  six to listen for you, and one to keep track of the location of the woofer so it can automatically control the bass.
Research

Adults Considering a Return to College Are Leery of Cost and Online Ed

A new survey reported that while most adults see the value in higher education to prepare them for career advancement  especially those who have some level of college experience  concerns about incurring student debt and college affordability are the major barriers they face in returning to school. Sixty percent of all respondents said they've considered returning to school to earn a degree or certificate; 72 percent of those who have already attended some college said the same.

The survey, conducted in November by a market research firm for Champlain College Online, queried 1,004 U.S. adults between the ages of 23 and 55 from around the country about how they valued higher education, what would motivate them to return to school or prevent them from doing so, and what they thought about online learning. They were evenly split by gender and by geographic region. None had completed a bachelor's degree, but all had either finished high school or earned a GED (35 percent), attended some college (42 percent) or achieved an associate degree (23 percent). Champlain is a private nonprofit institution in Vermont with both on-campus and online programs.

The top barriers to pursuing higher education, according to the survey results, were financial. Three-quarters of respondents said they didn't want to be "burdened with student debt." Seven in 10 said they couldn't afford college. A solid third said they couldn't afford to return to school because they were supporting their children's education.

Increasing earning potential was the top reason people gave for wanting to return to college, specified by 73 percent of respondents. Also motivating: wanting to feel "better about myself for having completed a degree," cited by 59 percent; and wanting to be an inspiration to family members, picked by 54 percent.

In the area of learning modes, this group of adults wasn't convinced of the effectiveness of online learning. "On nearly every measure," the report stated, "respondents judged face-to-face learning to be significantly better than online learning." When people were asked to compare the effectiveness of online learning to traditionally delivered courses, for example, the largest gaps surfaced for teaching excellence and academic support.

"While a number of institutions have made huge strides in these areas, and offer an educational experience that is on a par with, if not superior to, the offerings of comparable campus-based institutions, students are either not convinced of this, or are simply not aware of online higher education's measures of quality," the report asserted. "This indicates that online higher education leaders have quite a bit of work to do when it comes to educating potential students about the value and quality of online learning."

"Champlain College Online's survey reveals that many adults would go back to school with the hope that higher education will unlock greater opportunities and gratifying careers for them, but barriers range from self-doubt to financial and physical realities," said Laurie Quinn, provost and senior vice president for academics at the college, in a prepared statement. "More awareness and action can close this gap, so adults have access to the quality, affordable education they deserve."

The survey report, "Adult Viewpoints 2017: Online Learning & the Back-to-school Decision," is available with registration on the Champlain College Online website.
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- New insights into what gives one bat species a long life span could offer clues to helping people live longer, scientists say.

European researchers analyzed DNA from about 500 wild bats from four species. Their focus was on telomeres, the protective structures on the end of chromosomes.

In humans and most other animals, telomeres shorten with age, causing aging-related breakdown of cells that lead to tissue deterioration and ultimately death.

That's not the case with Myotis, the longest-lived species of bat. Compared to the other bat species, telomeres in this mouse-eared bat don't shorten with age, according to the study authors.

To determine how these little brown bats maintain their telomeres, the researchers examined the animals' genomes -- their complete set of genes. The researchers compared them with those of 52 other mammals, focusing on 225 genes associated with the maintenance of telomeres.

"Our results suggest that long-lived bats have evolved better mechanisms to prevent and repair age-induced cellular damage," said study senior author Emma Teeling.

In particular, two genes -- ATM and SETX -- may drive this, said Teeling, a professor at University College Dublin in Ireland.

It appears that the bats may have evolved a unique process to lengthen their chromosomes without inducing cancer, she noted in a university news release.

Teeling said these are new results "that we need to further explore to uncover how bats can remain healthy as time passes."

The findings are the first step in understanding the molecular mechanisms behind this bat species' long life spans, according to the researchers. They hope they'll eventually point to ways to slow aging in humans and extend human life spans.

The findings were published Feb. 7 in the journal Science Advances.

More information

The American Federation for Aging Research has more on the biology of aging.
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Beirut, February 6, 2018The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the arrest of Iraqi freelance journalist and political commentator Samir Obeid and called on Iraqi authorities to release him immediately.

Men who identified themselves as Iraqi security forces arrested Obeid at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Baghdad on February 2 while he was on his way to visit relatives in the south-central city of Najaf, according to news reports and the journalists brother, Hassan Obeid Hassan.

The agents took Obeid to intelligence headquarters in Baghdad, where he has been held since his arrest, Hassan said. During Obeids arrest, authorities also seized his car, luggage, and money without a warrant, according to his brother.

In the weeks prior to his arrest, Obeid posted an article to his Facebook page, which has over 24,000 followers, that was critical of the Iraqi government, and an alleged government document that indicates corrupt practices.

Iraqi authorities should stop harassing and arresting journalists like Samir Obeid for posting their reporting and opinions to social media, said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour from Washington D.C. We call on Iraqi authorities to immediately release Obeid and allow journalists to work freely and without fear of reprisal.

The Iraqi prime ministers office did not immediately reply to CPJs request for comment.

According to the journalists brother, neither Obeids family nor lawyer has been able to contact the journalist since his arrest; they were unable to determine if charges had been filed against Obeid.

The journalists brother said he thinks that authorities arrested Obeid because they expect an Iraqi high court to overturn a Baghdad criminal courts decision to release Obeid late last year due to insufficient evidence. The next high court hearing is scheduled for February 18, according to Hassan.

Iraqi armed forces previously arrested Obeid at his Baghdad home on October 22, 2017, a day after Obeid had published an article to his Facebook page criticizing Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, CPJ documented.

Since his release on December 11, 2017, Iraqi authorities have withheld Obeids passport and other documents, according to Hassan.

Following his December release, Obeid continued to be active on social media. On January 27, 2018, he wrote a post entitled Why 85 percent of the Iraqi officials are corrupt and liars? that criticized political and religious authorities, the lack of rule of law in Iraq, as well as the prevailing censorship and a subservient civil society. Earlier, on January 17, he posted what he said was an official document of the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers calling on public servants to vote in the upcoming Parliamentary Elections, which are due to be held on May 12, under threat of cutting off their salaries.

[EDITORS NOTE: This alert has been updated to correct the spelling of Hassan Obeid Hassans name and to clarify that he is Samir Obeids brother.]
The Fifth edition of South Asia Region Public Procurement Conference was held in New Delhi. It was hosted by Public Procurement Division (PPD) of Ministry of Finance and All India Management Association (AIMA).

It was held under auspices of South Asia Region Public Procurement Network (SARPPN), which is sponsored and facilitated by the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and Islamic Development Bank.

Key Facts

The theme this edition of conference was Public Procurement and Service Delivery. It aims to strive to improve public procurement of member countries to ensure timely and quality delivery of public services. Its objective was to enable heads of Public Procurement and other key stakeholders in 8 South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan) to meet and learn from one another and from experts in field of public procurement. It will help South Asian Governments to consider enhancements and innovations in their public procurement systems, enable efficient utilization of public resources, ensure quality and timeliness in delivery of services.

Background

The First Conference was held in Kathmandu in 2010, second in Islamabad (2014), third in Dhaka (2015) and fourth in Sri Lanka (2017). All eight SAR countries spend approximately $550 billion equivalent on public procurement of goods, works and services, which eventually convert to public services.
Nine member committee constituted by Karnataka government has recommended separate state flag. It submitted report on designing separate flag for the state and providing a legal standing for it. It has discounted any constitutional or legal hurdles for it.

Key Facts

The committee has recommended new tricolour having yellow (at top), white (in middle) and red (at bottom) colorus, with states emblem Gandaberunda (a two-headed mythological bird) in centre. It has changed pattern of earlier unofficial flag having yellow and red which is unofficially used now. The white colour in new flag symbolizes peace and captures Karnatakas image the best, while other two colours are synonymous with Kannada identity.

Centres Approval

After getting formal state Cabinet approval, state government will make a formal application to Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) under whose purview the issue falls to amend the Flag Code 2002. The amendment will add provisions of including Karnataka flag as one of the symbols in the Flag Code.

Background

The committee was headed by the principal secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture and was set up in June 2017 after a representation from noted Kannada writer and journalist Patil Puttappa, and social worker Bheemappa Gundappa Gadada had requested state government to design a separate flag for Kannada Naadu and accord it legal standing. Currently, unofficial yellow and red Kannada flag is hoisted in state on 1 November every year to commemorate state formation day. It was designed by Veera Senani Ma.Ramamurthy in the 1960s.

At present, there is no provision allowing or disallowing state to have separate flag, even there has been no precedent. Jammu and Kashmir is only state having its own flag as it enjoys special powers under Article 370 of Constitution. It had adopted its own flag in 2015. Under Article 144 of J&K Constitution, the state flag is red in colour with three equidistant white vertical strips of equal width next to staff and white plough in middle with handle facing the strips.
Nepal: Wetlands for humanity: We must preserve them for future

by BIJAYA RAJ PAUDYAL

February 07,2018 | Source: The Himalayan Times

World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year globally on February 2. The Convention on Wetlands was adopted on February 2, 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea. Hence the convention is also called Ramsar Convention. The first World Wetlands Day was celebrated in 1997 and since then it is observed across the world every year on February 2 with an aim to generate awareness on wetlands and their importance. The theme for this years World Wetlands Day is Wetlands for a Sustainable Urban Future as approved by the Standing Committee of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

Wetlands are an important part of the freshwater ecosystem. They are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. Since a rich array of species of microbes, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and mammals can be part of a wetland ecosystem, it has a huge significance on water resources, biodiversity, culture and livelihood of the people.



Wetlands are beneficial for life because they provide ecosystem services. Wetlands include all lakes and rivers, underground aquifers, swamps and marshes, wet grasslands, peat lands, oases, estuaries, deltas and tidal flats, mangroves and other coastal areas, coral reefs, and all human-made sites such as fish ponds, rice paddies, reservoirs and salt pans. Wetlands provide humanity, ranging from freshwater supply, food and building materials and biodiversity, to flood control, groundwater recharge and climate change mitigation. Wetlands are also called Ramsar sites, and their number across the world today stands at 2,200, which cover over 2.1 million square kilometers, an area larger than Mexico. Presently there are over 160 countries that are Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention.



When Contracting Parties accede to the convention, they commit to working towards the wise use of all the wetlands and water resources in their territory through national plans, policies and legislation, management actions and public education. Nepal became signatory to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands on December 17, 1987 by enlisting Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve (KTWR). The Nepali term for wetlands is Simsar, which means lands with perennial source of water. Swampy rice fields, water logged areas and ponds are also understood as wetlands in the country. There are 10 wetlands of international importance in Nepal in all geographic regions. The latest entry is the lake cluster of Pokhara Valley of Kaski district, which comprises Fewa, Rupa, Begnas, Khaste, Kamalpokhari, Guide, Neureli, Dipang and Maidital lakes.



The constitution also has laid stress on protection of environment and natural resources. Article 51 (g)of the constitution has provisioned policies relating to protection, promotion and use of natural resources, with an aim to protect, promote, and make environmental friendly, and sustainable use of natural resources available in the country by mitigating possible risks to environment from industrial and physical development, while raising awareness of general public about environment cleanliness. Similarly, Schedules 5 to 9 of constitution outline the powers of federal, provincial and local governments. The three tiers of government have the rights in one or the other way for the protection and wise use of wetlands. The government of Nepal first approved the National Wetland Policy in 2003. It was revised and updated in 2012.



The policy envisages a detailed and complete inventory of Nepals all wetlands. Further, it has mentioned that wetlands can be categorised under three conditions  under risk, endangered and lost. In addition, the policy has also provisioned implementation of the watershed based plan for wetland conservation.

Wetland conservation is a cross cutting area and multi-disciplinary in nature, which requires an integrated and a coordinated approach. Therefore, the National Wetland Policy has envisioned a national wetland committee under the secretary of the Ministry of Forests and Soil Conservation. Members are from the forestry sector as well as Agriculture, Energy, Irrigation, Federal Affairs and Local Development, Industry, Tourism and Civil Aviation ministries. For the sustainable urban future, conservation of wetlands is a must. It is high time we became sensitive towards maintaining and protecting our wetlands for the future generations. The rapid urbanisation that we are seeing today can have a serious impact on our wetlands.



According to a report Inclusive Cities: Resilient Communities recently published by the Ministry of Urban Development, compared to 17 per cent of the total population living in the municipalities in 2011, the urban population now has risen to around 40 per cent. This urban shift will continue in the years to come. Hence this is the right time to think, plan and implement programmes for wetland conservation. The concerned stakeholders hence first should focus on making a complete inventory of our wetlands for their proper categorisation. Secondly, the authorities must take necessary actions for the protection of wetlands that are endangered and under risk. Thirdly, all the Ramsar sites of Nepal must be managed based on integrated watershed management plan by applying the River Basin Approach. The federal, province and local governments need to pay attention to the conservation of the wetlands for urban future as well as future generations.

 2018 The Himalayan Times
Ukraine's international reserves shrink to $18.44 bln

The reserves also decreased due to reassessment of financial tools.

If you see a spelling error on our site, select it and press Ctrl+Enter
The area sown for soybeans in Ukraine is likely to shrink by 14-17% this year due to an expected decrease in profits for the crop, analyst UkrAgroConsult said on Tuesday.

Ukraine harvested 3.89 million tonnes of soybean from 1.9 million hectares in 2017.

Soybean margins will decrease almost by half to 25.4% in 2017. Combined with tax innovations, this will make growers less interested in this crop and entail a 200,000 to 300,000 hectare cut in plantings for the 2018 harvest, the consultancy said in a report, according to Reuters.

Last year, the Ukrainian parliament canceled a VAT refund for exports of oilseeds from Sept 1, 2018, a move which could cause a significant decrease in Ukrainian purchasing prices and prompt growers to reduce sowing area.

Read alsoUkraine wheat crop to fall to four-year low in 2018 - expertsUkraine, which produced only around 120,000 tonnes of soybeans in 2000/01, has boosted its soybean exports to 1.5 million tonnes so far for the 2017/18 season.

The country exported a total of 3.5 million tonnes of oilseeds so far in 2017/18, 52% more than for the same period in the previous crop year, according to Ukrainian state statistics service.
The IT sector was the third most important in the country in 2017, with national export volumes worth $3.2 billion.

Ukraines young millennial tech entrepreneurs are starting to go in a new direction to launch their own companies with global ambitions.

According to Emerging Europe, besides some already major success stories like Grammarly, Looksery and Readdle, newer Ukrainian entrants are now looking to compete outside the country: Ecoisme, Hideez, Petcube, PassivDom, Agrieye, Cardiomo and Delfast. And others are coming up fast like Hushme, Senstone, Getyu and Anryze.

Read alsoUkrainian killer robots could lessen countrys human costs in Donbas warAccording to IT Ukraine, a trade association for 58 IT-companies in Ukraine, the sector was the third most important in 2017, with national export volumes worth $3.2 billion. About 100 research and development centers of major global companies are located in Ukraine. There are 13 Ukrainian companies on the 2017 IAOP Top 100 list of the best outsourcing providers. And Ukraine is a key destination for outsourcing with 166,000 skilled IT specialists whose number one area of specialization is software engineering.

Ukrainian tech startups offer products and services in a wide variety of industries. Home energy management, cybersecurity, the IoT of pets, construction of autonomous smart houses, agtech, health care, transportation, wearable technology and speech recognition. Ukrainian millennials are developing new products that will push the boundaries of existing market niches while defining new ones.

Read alsoEconomy Ministry counts high-tech start-ups in UkraineIn increasing numbers, these innovators are becoming digital nomads. Most of their companies maintain research and development operations in Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Kharkiv or Odesa, while establishing a marketing and sales presence in Silicon Valley or New York. Some have even incorporated in the State of Delaware in the U.S. and others have taken advantage of the unique Estonian e-residency program that offers digital access to global markets without leaving home in Ukraine.

Ukrainian IT has become a strong growth engine for the local economy. With the globalization of Ukraine tech startups, there is an excellent opportunity to establish a worldwide brand for the country that focuses on innovation, creativity and a high level of technical development, the article concludes. This will enable Ukraine to evolve from its reputation as the breadbasket of Europe to a technology development powerhouse with its own unique contributions to the global economy.
Ukraine's central bank spends almost $16 mln to support hryvnia in Jan

Over the period under review, the regulator sold $266.8 million on the market and bought $250.9 million.

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Ukraine fails to ratify trade agreement with Thailand

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The United States has been a net energy importer since 1953, but new projections from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) indicate that will soon change. On the heels of the news that the country became a net natural gas exporter last year for the first time in six decades, continued robust domestic energy productions could enable the United States to be a net energy exporter by 2022.

In the announcement for this years Annual Energy Outlook, EIA Administrator Capuano acknowledged that the U.S. energy sectors ongoing transformation has led to a very different set of expectations than we imagined even five or ten years ago.

A stronger, more productive energy sector is undoubtedly a positive development. It can help fuel higher economic growth, and attenuate energy-related national security concerns. Americas policy framework should take care to avoid imposing policies that would impede the thriving sector, particularly in complementary areas, including energy transportation infrastructure such as pipelines and liquefied natural gas terminals. Corresponding improvements and development of this infrastructure are vital in getting the energy production to where it needs to go, whether it is for domestic use or to global markets for export.

The EIA report includes a range of different projections based on different assumptions about energy prices, technological improvements, and other variables. The reference case only includes existing laws and policies, and assumes that current economic, demographic, and technological trends reflect the current views of forecasters. The EIA states that the reference case should not be interpreted as its pick for the most probable scenario. But since the reference case projection tends to fall in the middle of the range of different scenarios, it is useful as an indicator and it is the main scenario referenced in this article.

While the date is still only a projection, and obviously subject to change, it is striking how rapidly the projected date of the countrys net energy exporter status has moved closer in iterations of the report. In 2010, the United States was projected to still be a net energy importer throughout the projected 25-year range, to the tune of 30.2 quadrillion Btu per year in 2035.

In the 2015 report, the country was projected to finally become a net energy exporter by 2029. In last years report the United States was projected to become a net energy exporter by 2026. In the latest 2018 report, the country is projected to reach that milestone by 2022, and net energy exports in 2035 would exceed 7.7 quadrillion Btu.

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook 2018.

In all but the two most pessimistic scenarios, the country will become a net energy exporter. In the more optimistic projections with higher oil prices and more rapid technological developments, the United States would become a net exporter even sooner than 2022.

The major factors behind the new projections have to do with natural gas production, which accounts for almost 40 percent of domestic energy production by 2050. The report specifically mentions the continued development of the Marcellus and Utica shales as the main driver of growth in shale production.

While natural gas plays the primary role, crude oil projections is also now projected to increase significantly, at least in the medium-term. In the reference case, production in 2018 is set to eclipse the 9.6 million barrels per day record set in 1970, and will continue to grow until eventually plateauing around 11.7 million barrels per day.

These two factors, along with more production of renewables, result in total U.S. energy production increasing by 31 percent by 2050.

As mentioned, these are only projections, albeit credible ones from a respected government agency. Government policy is one area that will affect the trajectory of domestic energy production and how long the country will remain a net energy importer. Blanket antagonism to energy production or infrastructure proposals could severely limit any potential benefits that would otherwise accrue from a booming energy sector.

For example, a cargo load of liquefied natural gas from Russia arrived in Boston at the end of January. These constraints in the natural gas pipeline capacity, themselves the result of antipathy from states in the region, caused natural gas prices to spike during a recent cold spell. Policies hindering the domestic energy sector are increasing the role of energy imports. Some Massachusetts liberals were no doubt glad to use Russian rather than American oil.

The surge in domestic energy production has changed the landscape of energy around the world, and could allow the United States to become a net energy exporter by 2022. While some developments have been encouraging, in other areas and regions the energy sectors policy and regulatory framework has not evolved in kind. In order for the country to tap into the full potential of its energy sector. Federal and state governments should foster investment and development. Allowing well-vetted energy infrastructure projects to be constructed and put into service will help domestic markets and enable U.S. energy exports to thrive.

Charles Hughes is a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter @CharlesHHughes.

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(Reuters) - France's foreign minister on Wednesday demanded that all Iranian-backed militia, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, leave Syria and said that Turkey and Iran were violating international law through their actions in the country.

Speaking on BFM television, Jean-Yves Le Drian also said there were indications Syrian government forces were using toxic gas against civilians although the U.N. would need to confirm that.

Asked whether he wanted Turkish armed forces to withdraw from Syria, Le Drian replied that he wanted "the withdrawal of all of those who ought not to be in Syria, including Iranian militia, including Hezbollah."

While not specifically calling for Turkey to pull back from its offensive against Kurdish militias in northern Syria, he said that Ankara should not worsen the conflict.

"Ensuring the security of its borders does not mean killing civilians and that should be condemned. In a dangerous situation in Syria, (Turkey) should not add war to war."

France has backed the Syrian opposition during the seven-year war and is part of the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State militants.

Le Drian said international law "is being violated by Turkey, by the Damascus regime, by Iran and those who are attacking eastern Ghouta and Idlib". His remarks amount to France's toughest line yet on Turkey's involvement in the Syrian conflict.

Le Drian is due in Tehran on March 5 for talks over its ballistic missile programme, the nuclear deal agreed with world powers in 2015 and the role of Iran in the region at a time when the United States has put pressure on its European allies to toughen their stance on Tehran.

Relations between France and Iran have deteriorated in recent months, with the sides repeatedly exchanging barbs. Le Drian has accused Iran of harbouring "hegemonic" aspirations in the region.

Iran is a key ally of the Syrian government in the seven-year civil war and it says it has no intention of withdrawing unless Syria requested it do so.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will travel to Iran later on Wednesday to hold talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said.

In a news conference in Ankara, spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Turkey's military operation in Syria will be discussed during the visit.

Earlier this week, Iran urged Turkey to stop its military offensive in Syria, saying the operation in the northern Afrin region breached Syrian sovereignty and would increase tension in the war-damaged country.

Le Drian also said it looked likely that President Bashar al-Assad's forces were using chlorine gas in their Russian-backed offensive on the rebel-held Idlib province and in the besieged enclave of eastern Ghouta.

"I'm speaking with a degree of caution because you have to be careful pending full documentation, but all the indications that we have show that at the moment chlorine is being used by the Syrian regime," Le Drian said, adding that the United Nations had opened an investigation.

French President Emmanuel Macron said in May last year that he had clear red lines on chemical weapons saying that "any use of chemical weapons would result in reprisals and an immediate riposte, at least where France is concerned."
Labor protests in the city of Arak, central Iran, gained momentum February 5 when hundreds of employees of Hepco, a private industrial complex, made a human chain around the citys main square to protest their dire living conditions and demand the months of back pay they say theyre owed.

The striking workers chanted We will not live under the burden of tyranny. Addressing Minister of Labor Ali Rabiei, they sarcastically shouted Down with labor, hail to the tyrant.

Many workers have not received their wages for the past 106 days, while scores of them have not been fully paid for 2016, one of the workers told local news website Arak Emrooz, (Arak Today).

Hepco, a lucrative industrial complex founded before the Islamic Revolution, was privatized last year. Labor rights activists say that immediately following the privatization the workers difficulties began.

The private owners sacked thousands of workers and many employees lost their health insurance and pension benefits.

Irans Free Trade Union reported on its Telegram channel that 8,000 workers used to work at the Hepco industrial complex before its privatization. Now, only 1,000 of them are left.

Past workers protests at the Hepco complex have been met with violence. According to media reports, as well as pictures and video clips published on social media, on September 19, 2017 anti-riot police attacked Hepco and another recently privatized industrial complex in Arak, Azarab, and arrested several protesters.

Some of the anti-riot forces drove through the protestors on motor bikes while firing tear gas and beating them with sticks, according to reports.

In one of the video clips published on social media, protesters can be heard shouting Poor workers dont deserve to be battered.

Article 27 of the Islamic Republics Constitution stipulates, Public assemblies and marches may be freely held, provided arms are not carried and that they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam.

Workers at both Hepco and Azarab have repeatedly gone on strike in recent months to demand their unpaid wages. Many residents of Arak sympathize with the workers, and have begun attending their protest rallies in solidarity.

Meanwhile, the provincial Governor General Ali Aqzadeh has promised that two or three new shareholders are going to take over Hepco and resolve the labor dispute.

We are going to transfer Hepco to the best alternative available, Aqazadeh promised.

Nevertheless, the angry workers have dismissed the Governor Generals promises as hollow and called it a delaying tactic and a trick for creating confusion among protesters.

In a related development, three labor unions in Iran have demanded a big increase to the minimum wage, which is currently about $200 a month, after a thirty percent loss of value for rial, the Iranian currency, in the last six months.

The union for Tehran bus drivers, the Haft Tapeh sugar conglomerate and the Union of Retirees issued a statement arguing that a four-member family now needs 50 million rials a month to stay above the poverty line. That is equivalent to $1,050 based on the current exchange rate.
The Syrian army says Israeli war planes fired rockets from Lebanese airspace targeting an army position in a military area near Damascus on February 7.

A statement broadcast by Syrian state television described the airstrikes as a new Israeli aggression.

The army destroyed most of the missiles, it said, but did not give details of any damage or casualties.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor of the war, said at least some Israeli missiles had hit military targets near Damascus.

"Syria's air defence system blocked some of the missiles, but others hit ammunition depots near Jamraya," Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman said.

Jamraya, which lies just over 10 kilometres (seven miles) northwest of Damascus, is home to several military positions and a branch of the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC).

Jerusalem Post quotes "unofficial media in Syria" that the target of the Israeli attack was an Iranian base in the Jamaraya region.

An AFP correspondent in Damascus heard loud blasts around 3:30 am (0130 GMT).

There was no immediate comment from Israel about the report.

It is the second accusation from Syrian President Bashar al-Assads forces in less than a month.

On January 9, Syrias military accused Israel of launching missiles at military outposts in the area of Qutayfeh in the Damascus countryside, causing damage.

Israeli has carried out numerous air strikes against targets within Syria during the seven-year civil war  often saying the attacks have targeted suspected arms shipments meant to supply Lebanons Hizballah militant group, which is fighting alongside Assads forces.

The February 7 attack came a day after United Nations war crimes experts said they are investigating numerous reports of alleged chlorine attacks against civilians in rebel-held towns of Syria.

The UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Syria said the targets of the alleged chemical attacks were town of Saraqeb in the northwestern province of Idlib and the Douma in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus.

Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, Jerusalem Post and SANA
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Gulgiz Muradova -Trend:

The Swiss Confederation has reiterated its support to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

"The Swiss Confederation has neither recognized the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh nor has it ever questioned the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) of the Swiss Confederation told Trend.

The Swiss Confederation is of the opinion that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict keeps preventing a normalization of the situation in the South Caucasus, the FDFA noted.

It is therefore essential that the progress made under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group since the presentation of the Madrid Document is not jeopardized, the FDFA said, adding the Swiss Confederation is concerned about the humanitarian situation caused by the conflict, particularly by the displaced people.

Furthermore, the FDFA said that in its travel advice to Swiss citizens, it recommends not to travel to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Previously, President of the National Council of Switzerland Dominique de Buman made prejudiced statements during his visit to Yerevan.

Commenting on the issue, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev said Dominique de Buman undermines the negotiations for settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Details added (first version posted on 14:40)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The US fully supports the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the US State Departments Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Bridget Brink said in a press conference in Baku Feb. 7.

Brink said the conflict has lasted for more than 20 years, which is a long period.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are in Baku to discuss the issue, she stressed.

Brink added that the US stands for peaceful settlement of the conflict.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
An event dedicated to the opening of the U.S. Branch of the Baku International Multiculturalism Centre (BIMC-US) was held in Los Angeles on February 5, 2018, Azerbaijans Consulate General in Los Angeles told Trend.



Jointly held by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles and the BIMC, the event was attended by foreign consuls general and honorary consuls, representatives of science and culture, journalists, members of Azerbaijani, Jewish, Muslim and other communities.

Opening the event, Consul General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles Nasimi Aghayev talked about the ancient traditions of multiculturalism and multi-faith tolerance in Azerbaijan, noting that these well-entrenched traditions have been flourishing in the country since ages. Aghayev also stressed that people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds have been living together in peace, brotherhood and mutual respect and have openly been practicing their religions, customs and traditions for many centuries in Azerbaijan. The Consul General wished great success to the BIMC-US in their future activities.



The Acting Executive Director of the BIMC Ravan Hasanov informed the attendees about the multiculturalism policy of Azerbaijan and the activities of the Centre. He noted that the Centre was founded to study the model of multiculturalism in Azerbaijan, study global experiences in this field and promote the countrys model of harmonious and peaceful coexistence. Hasanov said that over the last 3 years, the Centre has implemented a series of projects on multiculturalism in London, Berlin, Bern, Helsinki, Rome, Jakarta, Vatican and other cities. He stressed that the BIMC has opened branches in various foreign countries such as Germany, Italy, Russia, Moldova, Portugal and Israel, and expressed his hope that the opening of a branch in the U.S. will help to promote a variety of multicultural exchanges between the two countries over the years to come.

Speaking afterwards, the Founding Executive Director of the BIMC-US Dr. Jannah Scott recalled her visits to Azerbaijan, which, she noted, gave her a great opportunity to get first-hand knowledge about Azerbaijans multiculturalism, diversity and multi-faith harmony and tolerance. She expressed her confidence that the BIMC-US will work hard towards promoting the shared values of multiculturalism and harmonious coexistence, especially among younger generation, and through a wide range of exchanges bring the people of both countries even closer.

In ther remarks, members of the Board of Advisors of the BIMC-US - the President and Founder of the Faith and Community Empowerment (FACE) Hyepin Im, and the Chairman of the Council of Pakistan Adnan Khan hailed the traditions of multiculturalism and tolerance in Azerbaijan and stressed the unique tolerance model of Azerbaijan as a striking example to many others in the region and beyond.

Speeches were followed by signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of the U.S. branch of the Baku International Multiculturalism Centre. The MoU was signed by the Acting Executive Director of the BIMC Ravan Hasanov and the Founding Executive Director of the BIMC-US Dr. Jannah Scott.

The event also featured performance of Azerbaijani and American music by renowned musicians Burak Beshir and Dimitris Mahlis, which was received with much admiration by the audience.
Details added (first version posted on 12:32)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

The president of the Swiss National Council undermines the negotiations on settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev.

He was responding to Trends question on statements made by President of the Swiss National Council Dominique De Buman in Yerevan.

Abusing his official status as President of the National Council of Switzerland, De Buman during his visit to Yerevan, contradicting the policy of neutrality of Switzerland, made prejudiced statements, and he harms the negotiations for the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Hajiyev said.

The remarks of President of the National Council of Switzerland Dominique De Buman in Yerevan can be regarded as support for segregation and racism in its translation into an internationally accepted language, noted the spokesman.

He reminded that in 2012, De Buman, violating the laws, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, illegally visited the Azerbaijani territories occupied by the Armenian armed forces.

With the visit and the recent statements, he demonstrates justification to Armenias aggression against Azerbaijan, the occupation of the territory of Azerbaijan by the Armenian armed forces and the bloody ethnic cleansing committed in the occupied territories against more than one million Azerbaijanis, added Hajiyev.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

In accordance with the Azerbaijani troops combat training plan for 2018, rocket and artillery formations conducted live-fire exercises using the DANA 152-mm self-propelled artillery systems, Azerbaijans Defense Ministry told Trend Feb. 7.

During the exercises, state-of-the-art automated control systems were used to ensure high accuracy and intensity of practical combat firings.

Artillery units, fulfilling the assigned tasks in due time, destroyed all the targets.

The command staff highly appreciated the training, skills, and ability of the military personnel involved in the exercises.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

Azerbaijan is an important strategic partner of Russia, said Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the lower house of the Russian parliament, the Russian media reported.

Volodin made the remarks Feb. 7 during a meeting with Ogtay Asadov, chairman of the Azerbaijani parliament.

The meeting was held as part of the Azerbaijani delegations visit dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Azerbaijan.

This meeting will give a new impetus to relations between the two countries, said Volodin. The Russian-Azerbaijani dialogue is based on the principles of good-neighborliness and mutual respect. Our partnership meets the interests of both states. It is necessary to coordinate joint efforts on international platforms.

He noted that strengthening of bilateral cooperation is facilitated by communication at the level of heads of state.

The relations of our presidents are the key to successful development of Russia and Azerbaijan, he said.
The scientific-practical seminar was held at UNEC with the representation of influential universities of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

In the seminar dedicated to the topic Feyk science and academic ethics: modern challenges and the development of new institutions, professor Dr. Sedat Murat, the pro-rector of Istanbul University talked about the importance of academic ethics in the formation of the knowledge society. The professor pointed out that, the plagiarism wide spread in the field of scientific research had turned into the global problem worrying about the world science, and took examples from Turkey's anti-plagiarism methods, noted that universities played the important role in this process. Positively evaluating the steps taken to protect scientific ethics at UNEC, S. Murat emphasized the importance of studying this practice.

The founder of Khazar University, professor Hamlet Isakhanli spoke about the importance of transformation of universities into research-oriented universities and stressed the importance of creating academic freedom and academic environment meeting international standards for conducting the research works. H. Isaxanli, referring to universities as think-tanks, spoke about the importance of involving strong researchers in teaching. The pro-rector of the Azerbaijan University, Professor Yusif Gasimov, spoke about the measures of combating them, explaining the criteria for determining the fake research market and "predatory" magazines. The fact that most of the scientific magazines are available on the Internet, the global scientific base and the services offered by the libraries stimulated scientific activity, and he pointed out that it created the fertile ground for plagiarism, stressing the need for the comprehensive approach of scientific institutions to scientific plagiarism. The professor of Baku State University Kamil Salimov spoke about European experience in the protection of ethical principles in scientific publications and emphasized the importance of adopting the academic ethics code in this direction. The head of the Science Department of UNEC, Professor Zahid Mammadov spoke about the steps taken in this direction at UNEC, which aims to become the research university. He, drawing attention to the increase of bibliometry and scientometrics in the development of modern science, spoke about the Index Hirsch the development of technology and imitation science.

The methods of fighting against "predatory" magazines were sounded at the scientific workshop. Along with the knowledge, the assessment of all the subjects producing knowledge, the perspectives of the policies adopted by states and international organizations in this area, the complex assessment and protection of scientific activities and the importance of scientific ethics in the formation of the knowledge society were discussed. The professors offered to prepare the book on the topic the academic ethics. The working group was created to publish the book as soon as possible.

At the end, the participants were presented the certificates.
A fifth-year Process Automation Engineering student of Baku Higher Oil School (BHOS) Elvin Ismayilov, who became a winner of 10th Grant competition conducted by the Youth Foundation under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic, has successfully completed a project entitled "Young 3D Printer Engineers".

A closing ceremony of the project, which was carried out with support of BHOS, took place at the Higher School. It gathered a founder of Azerbaijan Robotics Engineering Academy Rahman Rasulzada as well as students of BHOS and other national universities participating in the project implementation. Speaking at the event, Rahman Rasulzada praised the activities of the Higher School and BHOS talented students and shared his views on 3D Printer Engineering for youth.

Five training programs were implemented under the project, which started on 23 December last year. The students gained theoretical knowledge of working principles of 3D printers, three-dimensional modeling, and computer-based design programs. They also attended practical lessons to obtain experience in working with 3D printers. At the project closing ceremony, the successful participants were awarded with certificates and memorable gifts.

The project participants also became members of Garabagh RC team, which for the first time represented Azerbaijan in World Robot Olympiad held in Costa Rica on November-December 10-12, 2017.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

Armenias provocation was prevented at the 25th Anniversary International Exhibition for Food, Beverages and Food Raw Materials PRODEXPO in Moscow, the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry said in a message Feb. 7.

The ministry reacted to Stepanakert Brandy Factorys appeal for participation in the exhibition.

The Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) officially informed the organizer of the exhibition Expocentre OJSC that participation of the enterprise, illegally operating in Azerbaijans Khankendi city occupied by Armenians, in the exhibition is unacceptable and contradicts the norms of international law.

Participation of Stepanakert Brandy Factory in the exhibition was prevented by Expocentre due to the joint activity of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy and the Azerbaijani embassy in Russia.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.7

By Nigar Guliyeva - Trend:

Uzbekistan Airways, the flag carries of Uzbekistan, was granted a right to sell air tickets for international flights below the prime cost.

This is stipulated in a resolution On measures for development of inbound tourism signed by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Uzbekistan Airways was given the right to sell air tickets for international flights below prime cost in order to ensure the competitiveness of flights.

Mirziyoyev instructed the Finance Ministry in a two-month period together with Uzbekistan Airways to introduce a mechanism to reduce the taxable base of the airline for the amount of sale of air tickets at reduced prices.

The president recommended the airline in consultation with the State Committee for Tourism Development to approve the forecast for attracting foreign tourists and introduce a bonus system for managers and employees of the airlines representative offices abroad for increasing the tourist flow from the host country, and in case of failure to fulfill the tasks assigned  they will be punished.

The document reads that special buses (shuttle-bus) will be introduced in Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, which will connect international airports with railway stations and bus stations, as well as large hotels. The schedule of buses will be linked with the flight schedule.

Furthermore, passengers of Uzbekistan Airways will be able to use paid communications services on board airplanes.

Under the document, the airline will introduce such services as phone calls, sending SMS-messages and the Internet.

The president ordered to approve a plan of measures to provide additional paid services on the aircrafts of the airline by March 31.

Uzbekistan Airways is wholly owned by the state and has 11 airports located on the territory of Uzbekistan, six of which are international. The company has representative offices in 25 countries.

During the first half of 2017, the Uzbek company transported 1.227 million passengers, which provided an increase of 4.3 percent as compared to the same period of 2016.

The companys aircraft implemented 11,180 flights in the period that is by 489 flights more than in the first half of 2016.
Azer Turk Bank in order to provide its customers with high-quality service offers loans up to 3000 manats without the guarantor. Now everyone with salary starting from 200 manats can apply for the loan up to 15 000 manats. Another advantage of this offer is the fact that the Bank also dispenses its customers with life insurance expenses. Total work experience of borrower and guarantor should be at least 6 months, and the work experience at the most recent place should be at least 3 months.

Azer Turk Bank prioritizes customer satisfaction and simplified the process of loan applications by making it online through its official web page. So, clients interested in receiving a loan may apply both online and by approaching any of the Banks points of service.

More information about the Bank, its service network, products and services is available at www.azerturkbank.az, the Banks corporate pages at social networks or at (012) 945 Call Center.
President of CJSC Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Jahangir Askerov met with Richard Forson, the President and CEO of Cargolux in Baku.

At the meeting both sides expressed satisfaction with the fruitful 17-year cooperation between the two airlines, which was established in 2001 with the operation of regular flights by Cargolux to / from Heydar Aliyev International Airport. Cooperation between the airlines was further strengthened after a contract was signed, within which, Cargolux delivered three Boeing 747-400F aircrafts to the Azerbaijani Silk Way Airlines from 2010 to 2014. Currently, the cooperation between the two airlines also includes maintenance of Boeing 747 aircrafts, crew training on simulators of this aircraft, etc.

According to Jahangir Askerov, today Azerbaijan's civil aviation has announced itself as the official air carrier of the Great Silk Road project connecting East and West. The use of new wide-bodied long-haul Boeing 747-8F aircraft, well-established in cargo transportation market, is an important part of implementation of this strategy.

At the same time, Jahangir Askerov expressed his concern regarding Boeing's potential decision to stop the production of Boeing 747-8F aircraft. In particular, there will be a need to purchase 20 Boeing 747-8F aircrafts for Azerbaijani civil aviation within the next 10 years. Therefore, Jahangir Askerov intends to make a request to Boeing Corporation to continue the production of this type of aircraft.

In turn, Richard Forson expressed satisfaction with the high quality of services provided at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. He also agreed that the Boeing 747-8F aircraft proved itself in the world air cargo transportation market and there will also likely be a continuing need for such an aircraft type in the market.

The President of AZAL CJSC informed Mr Forson that, on his invitation, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Kevin McAllister, will pay a working visit to Baku in the coming weeks. An invitation was extended to Mr. Forson to participate in such a meeting regarding the future of wide-body freighter aircraft.

It should be noted that Silk Way Airlines operates regular flights to more than 20 destinations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. The Airlines fleet consists of modern and capacious cargo aircrafts such as Boeing 747-8F and Boeing 747-400F.

Over the past 10 years, Heydar Aliyev International Airport has become a major logistics hub for air cargo transportation.
Details added (first version posted on 12:03)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Within the frame of the Hungarian Presidency of the Visegrad Group, the Embassy of Hungary in Azerbaijan is planning to organize a conference on energy security, Hungarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Viktor Szederkenyi said at a briefing in Baku on Feb. 7.

He noted that Azerbaijan plays a strategic role in energy security of Europe.

Azerbaijan is also a strategic partner of NATO in the region, said the envoy, adding the proof of this is that Azerbaijan increased the number of its troops in Afghanistan.

Shandor Capitani, an embassy official for economic cooperation, for his part, noted that a positive trend is being observed in the development of economic relations between Azerbaijan and Hungary, but a major part of the trade turnover accounts for the import of products from Hungary.

Capitani said currently the Azerbaijani goods export to Hungary is not high.

He said Hungary is ready to buy Azerbaijani goods if there are proposals, adding, in this regard, Azerbaijan sent an export mission last year to develop cooperation.

According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover with Hungary amounted to $43.3 million in 2017, some $41.3 million of which accounted for the import of Hungarian goods.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The Czech Republic invites Azerbaijani companies to invest in petrochemical, electrical and mechanical industries, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic Tomas Huner said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

It is appropriate to add that the time is now very convenient for investing in the Czech Republic. Our economy has been steadily growing since 2015 and has been creating many opportunities for foreign investors, whether in existing companies or start-ups. The Czech government offers foreign investors assistance through the CzechInvest business and investment promotion agency, said Huner.

Due to its enormous mineral wealth, Azerbaijan enjoys a great interest from foreign investors, including Czech companies. They already invest in Azerbaijan and, in cooperation with the Czech Export Bank, are involved in major projects in the country, such as the construction and reconstruction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line. From 2005 to 2015, Czech banks provided export credits to Azerbaijan amounting to $2 billion. The Czech Republic thus became one of the largest foreign investors in the country (9th place in 2015). At present, 19 companies with the Czech capital operate in Azerbaijan, noted the minister.

On the other hand, Azerbaijani investments in the Czech economy are relatively smaller and amount to a maximum of two per cent of all foreign investments, he continued.

The largest investments of Azerbaijani entrepreneurs have so far been implemented in the field of real estate and hotels. This is related to tourism, which benefits from direct air links between Prague and Baku, said Huner.

The current state of our economic cooperation is based primarily on oil trade. However, there are broad possibilities of developing economic relations in other fields whose potential has not yet been fulfilled. The fields that are activated in the efforts of the Azerbaijani Government to diversify the economy and support the development of the non-oil sectors of the economy can be an opportunity for Czech companies, said the minister.

These include agriculture, the chemical and processing industry, engineering, services (especially the transport, logistics and tourism) and IT. The same applies to both ongoing and new projects for the modernization of the transport infrastructure, e.g. the reconstruction of the road and railway network together with the supply of means of transport. Czech companies can also succeed as suppliers in the field of pharmaceuticals, electrical engineering, consumer industry and environmental technologies, added Huner.

There is also a great potential for the future cooperation in the field of renewable energy sources. The technology of Czech companies can be used in the field of wind and water energy and in improving the efficiency of the energy industry, said the minister.

The mutual cooperation at regional level also creates potential for Azerbaijani investment projects, said the Czech minister.

Given the huge economic potential of Azerbaijan, Czech companies are interested in creating joint ventures in the future. Meanwhile, Czech companies as suppliers have been successfully involved in various projects in the country, totalling $16 billion. A recent example is the signing of a memorandum between Tatra Trucks and the Ganja Auto Plant, according to which the Tatra trucks will be produced in Azerbaijan from 2018 onwards, added Huner.

According to Azerbaijans State Customs Committee, trade turnover with the Czech Republic amounted to $664.5 million that is by twofold more than in 2016 ($316.3 million). Azerbaijani exports to the Czech Republic totalled $556.86 million in 2016 (an increase of 2.6 times).
Details added (first version posted on 14:01)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:

The cost per hectare to produce tobacco in Azerbaijan is higher than in the neighboring countries, Kamran Nabizade, director general of the Azerbaijan Industrial Corporation, said at the corporations meeting on Feb. 7.

It is necessary to reduce the cost of tobacco per hectare, he noted The cost exceeds 2,300 manats in Azerbaijan, whereas in Turkey it amounts to $800.

In turn, Fazil Rustamov, director of Intertobacco CJSC, explained the reasons for the high cost of tobacco in Azerbaijan.

Unlike other spheres, manual labor is widely used in tobacco production, and this leads to high production costs, Rustamov said. In order to reduce the cost, it is necessary to mechanize a part of tobacco production, and we are working in this direction.

According to Azerbaijans State Statistics Committee, 5,210 tons of tobacco were produced in Azerbaijan in 2017, which is 45.4 percent more than in 2016.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The Azerbaijani Justice Ministry has concluded four contracts within the joint Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project (JSSIP) with the World Bank (WB), a source in the Azerbaijani government told Trend Feb. 7.

The total value of contracts exceeds $1.1 million.

According to the source, the companies with which contracts were signed will help to develop an action plan and a gender strategy of the justice sector, implement a pilot project to render legal assistance and a number of other services within JSSIP project.

The source said that among the companies that will participate in the project is the Azerbaijan Accountants and Risk Professionals Association (ARPA).

Judicial Services and Smart Infrastructure Project (JSSIP) was approved in 2014. Its total cost is $200 million, $100 million of which accounts for the government share. The JSSIP project is expected to be implemented until December 31, 2018.

The project is aimed at increasing the transparency of the judicial system and the quality of services to render legal assistance to citizens, especially special layers of the population, for example, internally displaced people and residents of remote districts of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan joined the WB in 1992.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.7

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The Shah Deniz 2 project, thats to say, the second phase of development of Azerbaijans Shah Deniz gas and condensate field is on track for start-up in 2018, said BP Group Chief Executive Bob Dudley during the press conference in London.

Shah Deniz phase 2, part of the Southern Gas Corridor mega-project, is one of the most complex projects we have ever untaken, he said, adding that it spans six countries, involves 11 shareholder companies, with 176 million manhours worked since FID was taken four years ago.

Shah Deniz stage 2 is on track for start-up in 2018, currently on time and under budget, noted Dudley.

As part of the Shah Deniz 2 project, gas production will increase from 9 to 25 billion cubic meters per year. The produced gas will be exported to Turkey and the European markets through the expansion of the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of the Trans-Anatolian (TANAP) and Trans-Adriatic (TAP) gas pipelines.

A contract for development of the Shah Deniz offshore field was signed on June 4, 1996. The field's reserve is estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.7

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, which envisages transportation of Azerbaijani gas to Europe, is in the intensive stage, said Albanian Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Damian Gjiknuri.

He made the remarks during a meeting with Acting Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the US Department of State Sue Saarnio, said a message from Albanian Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed intensification of cooperation between Albania and the US in making efforts to increase energy security in Europe.

In this regard, they focused on the Southern Gas Corridor project, especially the construction of TAP pipeline.

Gjiknuri briefed the US official about the steps taken by Albanian government to facilitate the construction of this very important project that will change the countrys energy map.

The minister also highlighted the US support to the Ionian Adriatic Pipeline (IAP) project that affects not only Albania but Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia.

At the time when TAP project is already in the intensive stage of implementation, we are working closely with the neighboring countries to make a reality with IAP, said Gjiknuri.

He pointed out that as part of diversification of energy sources, Albania has already completed the master plan for gasification of the country.

The Southern Gas Corridor is one of the priority energy projects for the EU. It envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Stage 2 of development of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.



As part of the Stage 2 of the Shah Deniz development, the gas will be exported to Turkey and European markets by expanding the South Caucasus Pipeline and the construction of Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and Trans Adriatic Pipeline.

TAP, worth 4.5 billion euros, is a part of the Southern Gas Corridor, which is one of the priority energy projects for the European Union. The project envisages transportation of gas from Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz Stage 2 to the EU countries.

The pipeline will connect to the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) on the Turkish-Greek border, run through Greece, Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Italys south.

TAP will be 878 kilometers in length (Greece 550 kilometers, Albania 215 kilometers, Adriatic Sea 105 kilometers, and Italy 8 kilometers).

TAPs shareholding is comprised of BP (20 percent), SOCAR (20 percent), Snam S.p.A. (20 percent), Fluxys (19 percent), Enagas (16 percent) and Axpo (5 percent).

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Daily oil production at the Kashagan offshore field in Kazakhstan's Atyrau region has increased, said Antonio Vella, ENIs Chief Upstream Officer at the meeting with the head of Atyrau region Nurlan Nogayev, Kazakh media outlets reported.

"We have recently conducted a meeting with the Ministry of Energy in Astana, we discussed the plan of work which will be conducted in the near future at the Kashagan field. The plant is well designed, oil production is going in fast pace. Daily production at Kashagan makes 300 000 barrels per day with application of advanced technology of gas injection," said Antonio Vella, Chief Upstream Officer in ENI.

Nogayev said the executive bodies will provide comprehensive support to performance of the projects.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Maksim Tsurkov  Trend:

Azerbaijani oil exports through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline fell by 33 percent to 1.6 million tons in January 2018 compared to 2.4 million tons in January 2017, Reuters reported quoting a source in Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR.

Meanwhile, 550,000 tons of transit oil were pumped from Turkmenistan and Russia via BTC in January 2018.

In 2017, 33.76 million tons of oil were transported via BTC pipeline compared to 33.93 million tons in 2016.

The total length of the B is 1,768 kilometers, including a 443-kilometer section running through Azerbaijan, a 249-kilometer section in Georgia and a 1,076-kilometer section in Turkey.

The pipelines construction started in 2003. It was filled with oil in 2005.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @MaksimTsurkov
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Nigar Guliyeva  Trend:

Russia is not negotiating with Turkmenistan on resumption of gas supplies, Russian media reported referring to Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky.

Asked how the talks between the Russian Federation and Turkmenistan are processing on resumption of gas, Yanovsky said: "As far as I know, there are no talks. We paused it at the time, and it's still in place. As far as I know, there is no talks until the end of 2019."

In 2015, Russia's Gazprom Export initiated proceedings against Turkmengaz in the Stockholm Arbitration Court. Gazprom asked the arbitration court to reconsider the price of natural gas purchased from Turkmengaz.

Previously, the Turkmen side stated that Gazprom has not paid its debts to Turkmengaz for its gas supplies since early 2015.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.7

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Azerbaijans state oil company SOCAR hopes for success in talks with Pakistan on liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a source in Azerbaijans oil and gas market told Trend.

The source pointed out that talks are underway not only on LNG, but also other petroleum products supply.

SOCAR hopes for success in some of those issues, noted the source.

The source further said that in the case of successful talks, LNG will be supplied not from Azerbaijan, since the country doesnt produce this type of fuel.

Pakistan and Azerbaijan signed an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation on Feb.28, 2017 in the sphere of energy, which also includes LNG and petroleum products supply.

Currently, Pakistan imports around 4.5 million tons of LNG per year.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.7

By Nigar Guliyeva - Trend:

The Digital CASA project was discussed at a meeting held with a mission of the World Bank at the Information Technologies and Communications Ministry of Uzbekistan, the ministry said in a message.

The sides exchanged views on the implementation of the project, in particular, possibility of developing a digital infrastructure.

In Uzbekistan, the WB mission will also hold meetings in a number of ministries and departments, as well as IT enterprises.

Digital CASA aims to diversify the channels of transborder Internet traffic and create a communication hub in the region. Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan are among the participating countries. Central Asia could greatly benefit from the transit of Internet traffic, but this will require commitment to the principles of open access on their part.

The Digital CASA program is in line with the World Banks mission of ending extreme poverty and fostering shared prosperity.

The WB assists Uzbekistan in reaching a wide range of development goals by supporting 16 projects worth $ 2 billion. These projects support agriculture and water resources management, energy, transport, healthcare, education, urban development, water supply and sanitation.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Huseyn Valiyev - Trend:

The total revenues of Azercosmos OJSC, Azerbaijans satellite operator, from the operation of Azerspace-1 and Azersky satellites reached $91 million, the company said in a message.

The revenues from the operation of Azerspace-1, Azerbaijans first satellite, since its launch into orbit, amounted to $72 million, while the revenues from the operation of Azersky satellite amounted to $19 million.

Azerspace-1 was launched on Feb. 8, 2013. Its service area includes the countries of Europe, Caucasus, Central Asia, Middle East and Africa.

The Azersky satellite was handed over to Azerbaijan in line with an agreement inked Dec. 2, 2014 at the BakuTel exhibition by Azercosmos OJSC and the French Airbus Defence and Space company.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

The number of tourists who visited Azerbaijan in January 2018 exceeded 185,000 people, which is 17 percent more compared to January 2017, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Culture and Tourism said in a message Feb. 7.

Most of the visitors are Russian tourists (59,990 people), Georgian tourists (45,679 people), Turkish tourists (24,276 people), Iranian tourists (13,437) and UAE tourists (8,265 people).

Meanwhile, 82 percent of foreign tourists who visited Azerbaijan in January accounted for those who arrived from those five countries.

The number of tourists from Kuwait (540 percent), Pakistan (316 percent), India (234 percent) and Qatar (167 percent) increased by 5,720 people (21 percent of total growth) in January 2018 compared to January 2017.

Among foreign citizens who visited Azerbaijan, 130,118 people (69.9 percent) accounted for men, 55,795 people (30.1 percent) - women.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Law "On ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Azerbaijan on international road transport, the press service of the Kazakh president said in a message.

"The agreement establishes legal norms for the implementation of road transport between the two countries, regulates the types of trucking and the procedure for establishing quotas for the exchange of permission forms," the report said.

Roman Sklyar, the First Vice-Minister for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan said earlier, that the ratification of this agreement will promote further development of road transport between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, as well as increase the volume of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

In 2016, the volume of cargo transportation by road between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan amounted to 6.200 tons. The main transported goods are equipment, agricultural products, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and food products.

Kazakhstan has concluded automobile agreements with 41 states to date.
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev held a telephone conversation with his Kyrgyz counterpart Sooronbai Jeenbekov, Kazinform with reference to the press service of Akorda reported.

During the conversation, Nursultan Nazarbayev and Sooronbai Jeenbekov discussed the current state and prospects for bilateral cooperation, as well as the collaboration of the two countries within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

The presidents exchanged views on the topical issues of the regional and international agenda.

In addition, the sides discussed the schedule of the upcoming meetings.
Seven kinds of products from Kyrgyzstan will be exported to India (walnut, prunes, apples, apricots, dogrose, ghee and honey), chairman of the association of domestic producers Bakyt Degenbaev told, Kabar reports.

He said that the Kyrgyz cooperative union quite successfully has been representing the organic food from Kyrgyzstan at the exhibition in India these days.

Kyrgyzstan exposed there the products with export potential. Among them are medicinal herbs, dried fruits and many others.

By the end of the exhibition, an agreement will be signed for the supply of 7 types of products between the cooperative union of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Indian cooperative for the marketing of agricultural products for the further sale of Kyrgyz products throughout India.

"This is a very good result. India is a very promising market for domestic producers," Degenbaev said.
Moscow has strengthened the potential capacity of military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan in connection with the threats coming from Afghanistan. Within the CIS, work is in progress on a regional border security system, the Head of the Third CIS Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Alexander Sternik said in interview with RIA Novosti, Kabar reports.

"The southern direction has long been an object of special attention to us because of the situation in Afghanistan, but now we have to take into account the redeployment of militants (terrorists of the Islamic state) after their defeat in Syria and Iraq," Sternik specified.

He stressed that all these risks "did not arise yesterday" and therefore Russia, like its allies in the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the CIS, "is constantly taking the necessary measures."

"The border security, security agencies are being strengthened, the armed forces of our partners are being modernized, personnel are being trained." The 201st Russian military base in Tajikistan is optimized for supporting government forces to cover the most dangerous sectors of the border. The work is in progress on a regional border security system, all of these measures should be enough to make the allies feel safe," Sternik said.

At the same time, he stressed that "the overall process is beneficially affected by the process of improving" relations between the countries of the Fergana Valley - Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan."

"Until recently, with the appearance of tension in this triangle, "there was tension between the ethnic communities living in the valley in close proximity, which could be used by extremists for subversive purposes. Now, thanks to the revived" cooperation between Tashkent, Bishkek and Dushanbe, such risks are reduced," the diplomat said.
Tajik ambassador to Russia Imomuddin Sattorov met with the head of Federal Tourism Agency (Rustourism) Oleg Safonov, said the message of the Tajik Foreign Ministry.

The sides discussed key topics of bilateral and multilateral cooperation in tourism sphere, particularly, issues concerning provision of favorable conditions aimed to increase mutual tourist flow, said the message.

Imomuddin Sattorov at the meeting noted that President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon declared 2018 the Year of Tourism and Folk Crafts Development, adding that Russia is one of the key partners of Tajikistan in the tourism sphere.

He also expressed interest in increase of the tourist flow from Russia, experience exchange on investments drawing to the sphere, tuning of cooperation between tour operators of the two countries.

Oleg Safonov in turn pointed to sincere interest in establishment of close ties with a competent authority of Tajikistan in the tourism sphere.

Opinion exchange regarding strengthening of bilateral regulatory law base of the sphere also took place.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Nigar Guliyeva  Trend:

From May 1, foreign passengers traveling through Uzbekistan will be provided upon arrival with short-term entry visas for 72 hours.

This measure is stipulated by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyevs decree on measures for the development of inbound tourism.

According to the document, foreign passengers must have an air ticket and visa (if necessary) to a third country as well as pay consular fees.

The Uzbek Cabinet of Ministers will have to determine a list of countries the citizens of which will be provided with short stay visas upon arrival.

A Call Center Service will be created until March 1 to render necessary assistance to tourists.

The number of tourists who visited Uzbekistan in 2017 exceeded 2.5 million, which is 24 percent more than in 2016. More than 100 hotels launched activity in 2017.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Nigar Guliyeva  Trend:

Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov, who is on an official visit to Beijing, has met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said in a message on Feb.7.

The parties discussed key issues of bilateral relations, as well as implementation of the agreements reached during the state visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to China in May 2017 and his negotiations with the Chinese leadership.

The ministers paid special attention to the agenda of the forthcoming international conference on Afghanistan to be held in Tashkent on the joint initiative of Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

The parties also considered other issues of mutual interest.

In Beijing, Kamilov is expected to meet heads of a number of ministries and departments, where it is planned to discuss the prospects for further activating of the Uzbek-Chinese dialogue in the political, trade-economic, investment, cultural, humanitarian and other spheres, and also to exchange views on regional and international issues.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Iran will continue imposed ban on sugar import during the next fiscal year (to start March 2018), Jamal Modarresi, an official with the countrys agriculture ministry, said.

Given the high volume of the stored product, as well as high sugar production in the country, Iran does not need to import sugar in the coming year, Modarresi told ISNA news agency.

Earlier, in December 2017, Irans agriculture ministry banned sugar import till the end of the current fiscal year (March 2018) due to surplus supply.

At that time, it was announced that Iran may temporarily lift ban by the end of current fiscal year, to meet the sugar demand for summer.

Iranians consume around 2.2 million tons of sugar per year, Modarresi said, adding that there will be no need for imports due to planned output for current fiscal year and the first half of the next fiscal year.

The countrys annual sugar production is around 1.5 million tons.

According to the Islamic Republics Customs Administration data, Iran has imported 764,000 tons of sugar worth $379 million during the first nine months of current fiscal year (March 20-Dec. 21).

The imports indicate a rise by 27.7 percent in terms of volume and 31.2 percent in terms of value year-on-year.

Iranian government imposes ban on rice and sugar imports in various periods to support domestic producers.

In June 2016, the decision by the Iranian government to ban sugar import into the country led some chocolate manufacturers to halt production due to lack of the principal ingredients.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Rasht-Qazvin railroad in northern Iran which is a small but crucial part of the North-South transportation corridor is expected to be inaugurated over the next month.

Jabarali Zakeri, the deputy head of Irans railways for construction and development has said that the operation for placing rails along the Rasht-Qazvin segment will be completed over the current fiscal year (ending March 20), IRIB news agency reported.

According to the official, the constructors have almost completed the 165 kilometer long segment and only 12 kilometers remain which will be completed by March 20.

The International North-South Transport Corridor is meant to connect Northern Europe with Southeast Asia. It will serve as a link connecting the railways of Azerbaijan, Iran and Russia. At the initial stage, it is planned to transport 5 million tons of cargo per year through the corridor and over 10 million tons of cargo in future.

In order to complete the mega project of the North-South Corridor, three railroad segments connecting the northwestern city of Qazvin to the border city of Astara should be constructed inside Iran.

The first segment is Qazvin-Rasht, which, according to Iranian officials, is almost completed and expected to be inaugurated over the current Iranian calendar year.

The second segment connecting the cities of Rasht and Astara is expected to be constructed within three years with the financial aid of Azerbaijan.

In the meantime the sides are expected to utilize the Astara-Astara segment, which will connect the two border cites of the same name in Iran and Azerbaijan in near future.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Trend:

In 2018 Tehran hopes to sign partnership deals with Russian oil and gas companies, Iranian ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai said.

He made the remarks in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Rosneft and Gazprom have particularly good developments in cooperation, he added.

The 2017 was a good year from a perspective of bilateral contacts development in energy sphere. We can record substantial progress. Mutual understanding between Russian oil and gas companies and Iranian Oil Ministry was achieved, the official said.

He noted that six large Russian companies have memorandums of understanding and some has already presented their surveys on the projects.

We hope that such progress will lead to signing of contracts in 2018. The companies carry the exploration work on oilfields, but some companies are closer to the signing. Rosneft, for example, has a good advancement, Gazprom holds serious talks over LNG, Zarubezhneft has signed a preliminary contract, Sanai added.

Gazprom Oil and Lukoil and are also among Russian companies that have good cooperation with Tehran, according to him.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Trend:

Iran exported $8,067 million worth of services during the first nine months of the current fiscal year (March 20-Dec. 21, 2017).

Irans services exports registered a rise by 2.6 percent compared to the same period of the preceding year, according to the countrys Trade Promotion Organization (TPO).

Irans revenues via service exports accounted for $331 million in the ninth Iranian calendar month

The Islamic Republic includes technical and engineering services exports, tourism and transit sector in service sector exports.

Irans technical and engineering services export stood at $545 million in the 9-month period, registering a rise by 12.6 percent.

Tourism sector revenues stood at $5,180 million, registering a fall by 3.6 percent year-on-year.

The countrys revenues through transit increased by 17 percent to $2,342 million in the 9-month period.

The railway transit registered highest growth year-on-year by 58 percent and stood at $104.5 million.

The countrys revenues through road transit stood at $1,736 million (a 20 percent increase), followed by air transportation ($298.2 million, a 7.8 percent increase) and marine transit ($203.3 million, a 5 percent fall).

Iran plans to increase the value of the services provided to other countries to $30 billion by 2021.
Tehran, Iran, Feb. 7

By Kamyar Eghbalnejad  Trend:

Although two giant engine oil producers of Total and Shell have official representatives in Iran, counterfeit products under the giant brands are supplied in the country, a market expert told Trend.

Total and Shell are supplying their engine oil in the Iranian market. The main problem regarding their activity in the market is the issue of counterfeit products. Some underground networks are currently producing and supplying fake engine oil in the domestic market under the brand of the giant producers, Abbas Samavati, former head of Iran's tire and engine oil association told Trend.

Total's engine oil reaches Iran in two ways - first through Dubai and the second through its official representative in the Islamic Republic, namely Bahram Company, he said,

Pars Oil Company, headquartered in Tehran, officially supplies Shell engine oil across the country, Samavati added.
Insurance Back Deutsche Ruck becomes a member of InsurLab Germany

German reinsurer Deutsche Ruckversicherung AG announced it has joined InsurLab Germany, which was founded in May 2017. Deutsche Ruck's membership has become effective retroactively from 1 January 2018.



The InsurTech hub, which was launched in Cologne, aims to promote the digital transformation in the insurance industry by connecting InsurTech start-ups and established players in the industry.



The network encompasses around 45 representatives of the insurance sector, including insurers, start-ups, service providers, the Technical University of Cologne and the University of Cologne.



"Our experience shows that customer requirements are now increasingly calling for various overlapping services," says Michael Rohde, the member of Deutsche Ruck's Board of Executive Directors in charge of life insurance and non-life market divisions. "That means it's important for us to think beyond traditional business processes."



By joining InsurLab Germany, Deutsche Ruck will now be even more closely involved in technological developments in the sector. The aim is to help shape the digital future of the German insurance industry by working together, Rohde says.



"We want to make our reinsurance expertise available to the start-ups involved, while integrating the initiative's ideas and innovative spirit into our day-to-day work," adds Jamil Meier, the contact for InsurLab at Deutsche Ruck, who is also responsible for product development in life and health reinsurance.



Deutsche Ruck representatives' looks forward to contact and exchange with other members from the primary and reinsurance sectors and other industries related to insurance. "We believe there is added value in particular in technical exchange with specialists from a wide variety of fields and sectors," says Andreas Fey, Deutsche Ruck's contact for non-life reinsurance, who is responsible for contract design in the German market.



InsurLab is an initiative of the German insurance industry, which now includes over 20 insurance companies, InsurTech start-ups and leading service providers. The Cologne-based think tank supports young InsurTechs and champions innovation and digitalisation in the insurance sector. The aim is to look together at issues such as e-payment, blockchain, the Internet of Things, e-health, virtual reality and big data and to shape the insurance industry of the future. To this end, InsurLab has a strong international network of established InsurTechs and respected universities. The initiative is the first InsurTech hub to be admitted to the Digital Hub Initiative of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.





Author: Vlad BOLDIJAR on 07.02.2018





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Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 4

By Fatih Karimov  Trend:

Trade turnover between Iran and China stood at $37.18 billion in 2017.

The figure indicates a rise by 19 percent compared to January-December 2016, according to the latest data released by the Chinese Customs Administration.

China's exports to Iran in the 12-month period amounted to $18.599 billion, 13.3 percent more year-on-year.

China exported $2.065 billion worth of goods to the Islamic Republic in December 2017, compared to $1.8 billion worth of exports in December 2016.

The country also imported $18.579 billion worth of goods from Iran in the 12-month period, 25.3 percent more compared to 2016.

Chinas imports from Iran amounted to $1.576 billion in December 2017, while the figure stood at $1.579 billion in December 2016.

China mainly imports crude oil from Iran, which has witnessed price rise in recent months.

Trade turnover between the two countries was $51 billion in 2014, 31 percent more compared to the preceding year.



The figure stood at $34 billion in 2015, indicating a 34 percent plunge.

In 2016, trade turnover between Iran and China stood at $31.2 billion, down 7.7 percent from 2015.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

Trend:

Tehran has developed the measures in case of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is broken by the US, Iranian ambassador to Russia Mehdi Sanai said in an interview with Russias RIA Novosti news agency.

The ambassador said that the Iranian side has already notified Moscow of that.

"Of course, Iran will try to interact with Russia, China, as well as European countries, the ambassador said. Iran will try to keep JCPOA, but if it is broken, then, of course, Iran has its own scenarios. Iran has specific response actions."

The ambassador stressed that Iran always thanks its Russian colleagues for a very correct and fair position in relation to JCPOA.

"JCPOA is the result of a long dialogue between Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council, he added. If we question JCPOA, firstly, it shows that, unfortunately, the Americans again follow one-sided approaches in resolving various issues, which, of course, does not bring results. Secondly, this is bad experience."
President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that boosting friendly and brotherly relations with neighbors, Turkey in particular, is an important major principle in Irans regional and foreign policy, IRNA reports.

In a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Chavushoglu, he underlined the need for efforts to strengthen all-out relations with Ankara.

Describing consultations between high-ranking officials of both states to enhance bilateral, regional and international cooperation as a valuable opportunity in line with the two countries interests, Rouhani said, Today the two governments are determined to further bolster and consolidate all-out ties between the two neighboring, friendly and brotherly countries.

Stressing the need for efforts to attain the target of $30 billion in trade and economic exchanges, the Chief Executive said that boosting banking ties between the two countries, using national currencies in trade exchanges and accelerating implementation of agreements reached between Tehran and Ankara can give an impetus to Iran-Turkey economic relations.

Rouhani also voiced his countrys readiness to step up cooperation with Turkey in the energy sector and welcomed presence of Turkish investors and economic activists in Irans oil and gas sector.

He further noted that holding summit of member states of Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Quds had great impacts on regional situation and called for further attempts to counter enemies plots.

Describing Sochi trilateral meeting as a major step in line with solving regional problems, Rouhani said that fortunately, Iran-Turkey-Russia trilateral ties have greatly affected regional developments, but settlement of crises under current situation requires further consultations and cooperation.

The Iranian President stressed the need for stepping up counter-terrorism campaign and preventing separatist actions in the region, saying that unfortunately, some are seeking to disturb geographical borders and after their failure in north Iraq, they have embarked on hatching plots in northern Syria.

We believe that unity in Syria should be maintained and terrorism should be uprooted so that through peace and calm in the country, regional states can also feel secure, he said.

We are ready to promote cooperation with Turkey to help address regional problems and concerns, Rouhani said.

Maintaining independence of countries and their geographical borders will help promote stability in the region, he said.

Chavushoglu, for his part, evaluated the two countries relations as positive, calling for efforts to enhance trade and economic cooperation and facilitate banking relations.

Today, we should take long steps, through constant consultations and collaboration, in line with promoting Tehran-Ankara relations, he said.

He also hailed the summit of OIC member states in Istanbul, saying that the event produced good results and foiled the plots against the region.

The Turkish top diplomat said that one of the main goals of the US is to harm friendly and growing relations between Iran and Turkey.

We believe that we should withstand plots aimed at disturbing regional states territorial integrity, he said.

Turkish military operation in north Syria is temporary and is only against the terrorists in that region and we have no covetous eye on the Syrian soil, he said.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

Heavy air pollution has shrouded capital Tehrans sky alongside with several other large cities, shutting down schools for a third consecutive day in the capital city.

The air quality index of Tehran on Wednesday morning hit 172, dangerous for all groups, the state-run IRINN TV channel reported.

Iranian officials have urged the people to refrain from unnecessary commutes across the mega city.

In the meantime, air pollution has reached a dangerous level in the southwestern cities of Karoun and Ahvaz.

The authorities have announced that the air condition in all populated and industrialized cities of the country is far beyond the accepted threshold.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:

For the first three weeks of 2018, prices of gasoline, gas and diesel fuel increased twice in Armenia.

The Armenian media report an unprecedented rise in prices for gasoline both in euros and Armenian drams. Before the last rise in prices, the price of gasoline in Armenia grew 100 drams or 30.3 percent for the year and by 0.09 euros (a 14 percent growth for the year).

The first rise in prices was conditioned by the changes in Armenias tax legislation, and to be more precise, the increase in excise tax and the introduction of VAT on liquefied gas and diesel fuel, respectively. The second rise in prices has no objective reasons, but experts agree that the growth was triggered by the desire of sellers to ensure their profits. The experts also predict another increase in prices after the upcoming election in Armenia.

The rise in fuel prices inevitably affected the prices of consumer products. Moreover, experts express concern that the current situation will lead to an increase in transport tariffs.

Considering that five years earlier the attempt to change the fare for public transport in Yerevan led to mass protests, which forced the mayor of the Armenian capital to cancel own decision, the authorities didnt dare play with fire once again and immediately made a refutation.

About 80 percent of the motor transport operating in Armenia and implementing passenger transportation uses liquefied gas, the price of which has risen from 190 drams to 210 drams (about 43 cents) since the beginning of the year, just like it was in 2015, said Arman Khachatryan, deputy minister of transport, communication and information technologies of Armenia. This means that economic entities already worked under similar conditions and didnt raise tariffs. That is, one shouldnt expect an increase in prices now as well.

However, the price hike made it impossible to avoid mass unrest in Armenia.

Yelq (Exit) opposition political faction on Feb. 5 held the second protest rally for the year and initiated an extraordinary session of the parliament. Tsarukyan bloc also joined the movement against the rise in prices.

Edmon Marukyan, MP from the Yelq faction, said in an interview with Armenian journalists that an extraordinary meeting will be convened. Touching upon the parliamentary discussions on the price increase, the MP noted that the hearings were allegedly organized to mitigate the situation, but became a mockery.

Indeed, the comments by the head of the Central Bank of Armenia, who justified the rise in prices for butter by its nutritional qualities, can only be called a mockery.

Patience of the Armenian people will sooner or later near its limit and another protest will start. After all, the situation in the country has become unbearable. Experts have been long talking about the population decline in Armenia.

From 1998 to 2007, 129,300 people left Armenia, whereas from 2008 to 2015, during the reign of incumbent President Serzh Sargsyan, 307,600 people left the country, which is more than 10 percent of Armenia's total population.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Fikret Dolukhanov - Trend:

Armenian media outlets have nearly exploded as soon as February kicked in: the government sessions in Armenia will be held behind closed doors from now on. The controversial bill quickly became hot topic among both local and foreign analysts.

Meanwhile, the government of Armenia tirelessly talks about European values, democracy, human rights and so on, while on the other hand it decides to shut out the country's population from the information considering state management.

For a long time already speeches of the government representatives about the so-called European choice have been considered a primitive fallacy and an attempt to hide many sharp issues that seem to have appeared after the EU-Armenia association agreement, which, by the way, has nothing to do with democracy building and real European integration, but is rather connected with Sargsyans desire to reach his personal financial goals.

This time, however, Sargsyan has gone too far and shown what kind of values are really important for him and his suite.

Armenian government approved a bill On structure and functioning of government providing a new position of a vice-premier on Feb. 1. Among important provisions  a decision to hold government sessions behind closed doors. Only in certain exceptional cases some parts of the sessions may be held openly, said the reports of the Armenian media.

And the exceptional cases will surely be very exceptional. Obviously, nothing really essential (of what Sargsyans regime desperately and vainly tries to hide from their own people) will be discussed at those rare open sessions.

Moreover, the ruling party apparently decided to go the whole nine yards and leave no bridges behind: not one from the members of government will have the right to share information from sessions, according to Minister of Justice David Arutyunyan, who himself introduced the controversial bill.

The news brought a storm of discontent both in and outside Armenia.

Chairman of Helsinki Citizens' Assembly Vanadzor Office and human rights advocate Artur Sakunts was one of the first to comment on the whole issue.

Corruption, as well as lawlessness, irresponsibility and amorality tend to flourish in closed systems. This is a direct road to management methods of top-secret organizations, he said.

The civil advocate slightly missed the mark only by one point: Armenian government has become a top-secret, regime establishment from the very moment Karabakh warlords clan and their friends had settled down there and took a steering wheel in their hands.

International organizations also criticized the novelty of state political life that continues to amaze all and everyone with its nonsense.

They [international institutions] expressed their concern to the Armenian government and noted that a country which chose a road of democracy cannot make such anti-democratic decisions. It contradicts the freedom of speech and runs counter to the European values, according to them, Armenian media reports said.

It doesnt seem that Sargsyan and his sock-puppet government care about someones opinion on the matter though. Press-secretary of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia, Deputy Chairman of National Assembly of Armenia Eduard Sharmazanov already called the concerns groundless. He also shared a wordy discourse of his own, comparing the political systems of Germany, the UK and Israel with that of Armenia.

It seems, he has forgotten that Armenia is nowhere close to the mentioned countries in terms of socio-economic indicators and the management in the country is carried out not by legit authorities, but rather impostors holding their own people in an oligarchic criminal captivity.

Considering the upcoming political rearrangements in Armenia, during which Serzh Sargsyan plans to move to another position and keep all the power in his hands, according to many experts, it becomes clear what goals the closing of government sessions serve.

The future prime-minister plans to try on Cardinal Richelieus red robe and control the country from behind the curtain not accounting to anyone. The government, in such case, will completely be transformed into an invitation only elite club.

How far can Armenian political establishment go by the road of lies and hypocrisy, both in front of world society and its own people?
Georgias Finance Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze is paying a working visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland where he is holding official meetings, Agenda reports.

Bakhtadze met the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Sir Suma Chakrabarti, where they talked about ongoing and future projects.

Bakhtadze also participated in the presentation of a study published by the International Budget Partnership.

On the first day of the visit Bakhtadze attended a presentation organised by one of the leading Georgian banks, TBC Bank, on economic conditions and investment in Georgia, which was attended by representatives of business circles, investment funds and financial institutions.

Later Bakhtadze gave an interview to Bloomberg during which he talked about already implemented reforms in Georgia and the governments future plans for economic development.
Georgias Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze is paying an official visit to the United States, Agenda reports.

He has already met with high ranking executive officials and lawmakers, who pledged their support to Georgias further development and territorial integrity.

Kobakhidze met with the Executive Vice President of the Atlantic Council Damon Wilson in Washington today, where the latter stated that in terms of military and security cooperation, "significant progress has been achieved between Georgia and the US.

"The Atlantic Council team has worked seriously to persuade decision-makers in Washington to support Georgia and Ukraine, Wilson said.

Kobakhidze also met with co-chairs of Georgias Friends Group in the US Congress and thanked them for their resolutions on Georgias territorial issues.

Yesterday Kobakhidze met with the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Elizabeth Millard.

The officials discussed bilateral relations and strategic cooperation. Millard thanked Georgia for its participation in the peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan and for contributing to the maintenance of world security.

They also touched upon ongoing democratic reforms in Georgia, the Bill on Labor Safety and liberal trade and economic policies in Georgia.

Yesterday Kobakhidze also met with Congressman Harold Rogers and discussed bilateral trade-economic relations and cooperation.

Rogers stated that the US will "further unconditionally support Georgia.

During the meeting with the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives of the Congress, Steve Scalise, the officials discussed strategic cooperation in various fields.

"The US continues its financial support of Georgia  a friend and an ally, Scalise stated.
Saudi Arabia has granted Air India approval to operate direct flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv, sources in the Israeli flight industry told Haaretz. This is the first time the Saudis are allowing flights to Israel to use their airspace.

The approval means that the duration of flights from India to Israel will be shortened by two-and-a-half hours, compared to the route currently in use. The new route will allow the airline to reduce fuel costs and sell cheaper tickers to passengers.

Right now the only carrier that flies directly to India is El Al, which flies an 8-hour route from Ben-Gurion International Airport to Mumbai. The route crosses the Red Sea south of Yemen, then turns east to India. Since New Delhi is a new destination from which there are no flights to Israel, the aviation company will be getting a 750,000 euro grant from the Tourism Ministry for operating the new line, according to a calculation of 250,000 euros per weekly flight. This grant is, among other things, the impetus for Air India to launch the line.

This is not the first time Air India has asked for such approval. Last year, the airline sought the Israel Airports Authority's approval for flights to and from Israel. It was not implemented, however, due to its insistence to operate the shorter route. Discussions on the matter evolved following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to India last month, where intensive talks were held between the two countries in order to approve the flight route over Saudi Arabia.

Air India's New Delhi-Tel Aviv route is the first concrete and public piece of evidence to the warming of ties between Israel and the Saudi leadership. Though we have known for years of quiet coordination on security issues, there has not yet been any tangible evidence above the surface.

For seventy years now, Saudi airspace has been closed not only to Israeli aircraft, but to those of other nations with a flight-path to Israel. In recent decades there have only been two flights, that we know of, which have flown directly from Saudi Arabia to Israel: the United States Air Force One bearing Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump, respectively. It is not rare to see on the air-travel tracking websites private business jets flying from Saudi airports and other destinations in the Arabian Gulf toward Israel. However all these flights make a short stop-over first in Amman airport.

A direct Air India flight through Saudi airspace will not only be a sign of the warming relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but also of the growing interests and influence of India's Prime Minister Nardendra Modi in the region. He visited Israel last month and is expected in Jordan and Ramallah next week.

Beyond the diplomatic implications, the direct flights will be a blow to Israel's flagship carrier El Al, which is not expected to receive at this point similar overflight privileges. Air India will now be able to operate a flight which will be at least three hours shorter and most likely significantly cheaper, than El Al's Mumbai service which has to make a long detour around the Arabian peninsula.

Air India recently asked Israel's Airports Authority for slots for departing flights, starting March 20. The airline is waiting for final approval before opening the flights for booking.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officially expressed apologies to Turkey in a letter, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, the countrys media reported Feb. 7.

Cavusoglu said that earlier, former US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the CIA has precise information that Turkey buys oil from the Islamic State (IS) terrorists. The Turkish foreign minister added that he rejected those charges and demanded evidence.

However, despite all the demands of Ankara to present evidence that Turkey allegedly buys oil from the IS terrorists, the CIA couldnt do this, and the Turkish Foreign Ministry demanded official apology letter from the CIA, Cavusoglu said.
A court in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has authorised the shipment of live animals for slaughter abroad from any terminal in the country. The decision comes after a ship with around 27,000 cattle was recently retained from sailing in the Port of Santos by a judicial decision.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The Turkish Armed Forces have neutralized 999 terrorists in the Syrias Afrin from the beginning of the Operation Olive Branch, the Turkish General Staff said in a message Feb. 7.

Meanwhile, 29 PYD, YPG and IS members have been killed today in Afrin.

On Jan. 20, the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

Turkey has fulfilled all 72 commitments within the EU accession, the Turkish Ministry for EU Affairs told Trend Feb. 7.

"Turkey has not changed its strategy towards the EU," the ministry said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with President of the European Council Donald Tusk, Head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov in Varna (Bulgaria) on March 26.

The association agreement between the EU and Turkey was signed in 1963. Ankara filed an application for membership in the EU in 1987, but accession negotiations were launched in 2005.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 7

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

An espionage group has been revealed in Turkeys Sanliurfa Province on the border with Syria, which transmitted information to terrorists in Syrias Afrin, the Turkish media reported Feb. 7.

Reportedly, 14 people were detained as part of the operation against the espionage group.

The detainees maintained contacts with terrorists in Afrin and periodically informed them of the location and movement of the Turkish Armed Forces in Sanliurfa. The identity of the detainees has not been reported.

On Jan. 20, the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria.

F-16 fighters of the Turkish Air Force are involved in the operation, inflicting strikes on the positions of PYD/YPG on the Syrian-Turkish border.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu
Uzbekistans president asked Turkeys president on Wednesday to pay an official visit to his country, according to the Uzbekistan presidential press office, Anadolu reported.

Uzbekistans Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke on the phone, the press office said.

During the phone call, Mirziyoyev mentioned his two-day official visit to Turkey last October.

The two leaders found the visit multi-directional and said it had upgraded Uzbek-Turkish cooperation based on mutual interests, said the office.

Their conversation also covered such issues as carrying out agreements signed during the visit and preparing joint projects in the fields of commerce, technology, banking, finance, transportation, tourism, and other areas.

Both sides agreed to realize the agreements fully and on time, and to hold permanent dialogues between the governments of both countries to accelerate important projects.

Erdogan also praised the Uzbek decision to give 30-day visa exemptions to Turkish citizens and thanked Mirziyoyev.

On Feb. 3, the Uzbek leader approved the decision that allows citizens of seven countries -- Israel, Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Turkey -- to have 30-day visa exemptions.

Mirziyoyev said the decision would open up new opportunities in commerce and economics, investment and tourism, as well as pave the way for Turkish citizens to visit Uzbekistan and strengthen friendship between the brotherly societies.

Other current issues were also discussed during the phone call.

Mirziyoyev also called on Turkey to send a delegation to the international conference on establishing peace in Afghanistan set to be held in Uzbek capital of Tashkent in March.

Erdogan voiced full support for the conference, saying that a high-level committee from Turkey would attend.
Two Turkish soldiers were martyred in a mortar attack by PYD-YPG/PKK and Daesh terrorists in Syrias northwestern Afrin region, according to a military statement on Wednesday, Anadolu reports.

The Turkish General Staff in a statement said that the soldiers were martyred in a region close to Afrins al-Maski region and southwest of the village of Bulbul. Turkish forces responded to the attack immediately, it added.

Turkey on Jan 20. launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkeys borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkeys rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria's territorial integrity, it said.

The military has also said that only terrorist targets are being destroyed and "utmost care" is being taken to avoid harming civilians.

Afrin has been a major hideout for the PYD/PKK since July 2012 when the Assad regime in Syria left the city to the terror group without a fight.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday Washington would stand with its allies and not waver from its goal of denuclearizing North Korea, Reuters reports.

Pence is in Tokyo on his way to the Winter Olympics in South Korea and was speaking at the start of talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. His talks with Abe were expected to showcase the U.S.-Japan security alliance in the face of the threat from Pyongyangs nuclear and missile programs.
EDMONTON (Wednesday, January 31, 2018)--Paleontologists from the University of Alberta have discovered a never-before-seen species of fish in South America, with the help of a curious tourist.

The fossil, called Candelarhynchus padillai, is approximately 90 million years old, and has no modern relatives, explained Oksana Vernygora, PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences and lead author on the study.

The discovery was made with the unlikely assistance of a young tourist, visiting the Monastery of La Candelaria, near the town of Raquira Boyaca, Colombia. "A kid was walking into the monastery during a tour when he noticed the shape of a fish in flagstones on the ground," explained Javier Luque, PhD candidate and co-author on the study. "He took a photo and, a few days later, showed it to staff at the Centro de Investigaciones Paleontologicas, a local museum with whom we collaborate to protect and study fossil findings from the region."

Staff at the centre recognized the image as a fossil fish right away and shared the finding with their colleagues at the University of Alberta. Alison Murray, professor of biological sciences and Vernygora's supervisor joined their colleagues in Colombia to retrace the steps of the young tourist. The team found a nearly perfect, intact fossil of an ancient fish. In fact, it was the very first fossil 'lizard fish' from the Cretaceous period ever found in Colombia and tropical South America.

Rare discovery

"It is rare to find such a complete fossil of a fish from this moment in the Cretaceous period. Deepwater fish are difficult to recover, as well as those from environments with fast flowing waters," said Vernygora. "But what surprises me the most is that, after two years of being on a walkway, it was still intact. It's amazing."

Aside from an incredible origin story, this discovery contributes to the growing and important body of literature on the fossil record in the tropics.

"The tropics worldwide are hotspots of diversity," explains Luque. "Interestingly, we know a great deal about modern biodiversity in these areas, but the fossil record is poorly understood in comparison. This adds another piece to that puzzle."

And the importance of understanding fossil fish, Vernygora explains, is often underestimated.

"Often we think, we have fish now, we had fish then, and we'll likely have fish in the future. But the importance of fish is just that," she said. "We can see how fish have changed as their environments have changed throughout history. Studying fish diversity gives us amazing predicting power for the future--especially as we start to see the effects of climate change."

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The paper, "A new Cretaceous dercetid fish (Neoteleostei: Aulopiformes) from the Turonian of Colombia," was published in Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, one of the most prestigious journals in the field (doi: 10.1080/14772019.2017.1391884).

The University of Alberta Faculty of Science is a research and teaching powerhouse dedicated to shaping the future by pushing the boundaries of knowledge in the classroom, laboratory, and field. Through exceptional teaching, learning, and research experiences, we competitively position our students, staff, and faculty for current and future success.
Cybersecurity

Feds warn on ransomware threat to schools

Hackers have tried to sell over 100 million private records extorted from almost 100 schools and businesses as of the end of last year after escalating, sometimes violent, threats, according to an industry warning issued Jan. 31 by the FBI and the Department of Education inspector general.

Attacks by a hacker group called TheDarkOverlord, described in the warning as "a loosely affiliated group of highly trained hackers," have recently focused threatening cyberattacks on schools and even students.

As of this January, the group was responsible for 69 intrusions into schools and other businesses and the attempted sale of almost 100 million records containing personally identifiable information.

The group pilfers records from schools and threatens to release them if it is not paid a ransom. According to the notice, 200,000 records on more than 7,000 students have been released by TheDarkOverlord. Additionally, the group has threatened school shootings in text messages and emails sent directly to students.

In a recent incident, TheDarkOverlord threatened to release sensitive behavioral reports and private health data on students.

The FBI said it does not recommend schools make a ransom payment when they're threatened, as it does not guarantee they will regain access to data. Instead, the FBI wants schools targeted by the hacker group to contact law enforcement. Additionally, schools must do a better job of protecting their networks and data, it said.
Cybersecurity

Trump administration announces new cyber office at State

The Trump administration announced a proposal to create a new State Department bureau to handle cyberspace and the digital economy.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made the announcement in a Feb. 6 letter that was offered into the record at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing convened to discuss the repercussions of the State Department's decision last year to downgrade its cyber coordinator office.

Under Tillerson's proposal, the new office will be led by a Senate-confirmed assistant secretary.

The move appears intended to check the progress of the Cyber Diplomacy Act, a House bill sponsored by Foreign Affairs Chairman Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) to re-establish the former cybersecurity policy structure at State. That bill passed the House by voice vote Jan. 17 and remains without a sponsor in the Senate.

"I think this is a positive step, but were going to continue to work with the department and continue to work with our colleagues on the Senate side to make sure that this assistant secretary and bureau is empowered and engaged on the full range of cyber issues dealing with security and human rights and the economy," Royce said.

The move represents an about-face for the State Department, which earned bipartisan ire from Congress last year after announcing it would be merging its cyber office with the Bureau of Economic Affairs.

Its not clear what will happen to the Cyber Diplomacy Act. At the hearing, several lawmakers said they still hoped for a Senate vote on the measure.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not reply to requests for comment.

The letter was the only administration input at the hearing, and several committee members complained about the administrations refusal to send representatives to testify.

"I would say again its important to have actual members of the Trump administration here, it's important for our committee," said Rep. William Keating (D-Mass.). "The continued lack of having these people here is at best indifference, at worst case, arrogance."

In a statement to FCW, a State Department spokesperson provided further details and timelines for the new office.

The State Department recognizes its leadership role of diplomatic efforts related to all aspects of cyberspace and the need to have an effective platform from which to engage relevant global stakeholders and exercise that leadership role, the statement reads. The proposal, which will be further briefed to our committees of jurisdiction in the weeks to come, would cohesively unify the Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues and the Bureau of Economic Affairs Office of International Communications and Information Policy.

Christopher Painter, who served as the cyber coordinator at the State Department before stepping down last year, testified that he believed the administration was focused on broader reorganization priorities and did not fully appreciate the implications of its decision to merge the cyber coordinator office into State's Bureau of Economic Affairs.

"They are working on some of these issues; however, the level of the person who is assigned over there is at a lower level, a deputy assistant secretary level in an economic reporting chain," said Painter. "As important as those issues are, it doesnt give full voice to all these other issues around deterrence, around incident response. I think its an unfortunate [signal]."

After the hearing, Painter took to Twitter to further flesh out his thoughts on the administration's proposal.

To be clear, though I applaud establishing a bureau, I think a neutral reporting chain ... that gives full voice to all the issues -- including vital security and human rights ones -- rather than one restricted to primarily [economic] issues makes much more sense," Painter said.
Cybersecurity

Lawmakers probe bug bounty payouts

A 2016 payout to hackers put Uber in the crosshairs of a Senate panel investigating the practices of companies using "bug bounties" to encourage researchers to identify and report security flaws.

Uber's Chief Information Security Officer John Flynn was in the spotlight for much of the hearing, inundated with questions about the ride-hailing app company's failure to notify drivers of a breach in 2016 and use of its bug bounty program to pay ransom to hackers for stolen data.

"We strongly support a unified, national approach to data security and breach standards," Flynn said in his testimony, adding in the question-and-answer session that patchwork state breach notification laws "are a challenge for all companies and defenders to contend with."

But legal and regulatory challenges also confront companies looking to harness the expertise of the security community.

HackerOne CEO Marten Mickos called on Congress to reform the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, which criminalizes unauthorized computer access without making specific allowances for some security research activities.

"Individuals that act in good faith to identify and report potential vulnerabilities should not be legally exposed," said Mickos, who criticized the CFAA for having "vague wording that has not kept pace with the proliferation of the internet."

The Justice Department is at work on guidance to allow for the CFAA to take security research into account.

Mickos also encouraged senators to remove the CFAA's criminal penalties for actions that don't harm consumers, such as white-hat hacking or vulnerability research.

Flynn admitted Uber "made a misstep" in not reporting the breach to customers, employees and law enforcement. He also used his testimony to advocate for a national breach notification standard.

But bug bounty programs' high-dollar rewards drew the most scrutiny during the hearing, as senators worried about incentivizing malicious hackers to find vulnerabilities and exploit them for economic gain.

"There's a difference between a security consultant who says, about your home, 'You have this vulnerability to forced entry,' and the criminal who says, 'You have this vulnerability to force entry, and I have your child: pay me $100,000,'" Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said to Flynn about Uber. "So concealing it in my view is aiding and abetting that crime."

Bugcrowd founder Casey Ellis said in an emailed statement that Uber's response "was not a bug bounty payout."

"This was extortion," he said. "Bug bounty programs operate in a controlled environment with secure communication on all ends to facilitate interactions between businesses and the researcher community for safe and effective security testing."

Mickos named Hack the Pentagon as an example of success, where the Defense Department paid $150,000 in bounties for 138 vulnerabilities during its two-month pilot program, which could have cost upwards of $1 million in cybersecurity firm contracts. Mikos added that HackerOne, which worked as a contractor on Uber's bounty program, only pays bounties after verifying with the contracted company that the bug find was legitimate.

Flynn said Uber was wrong and its behavior was inconsistent with how the bug bounty program should work, adding that and the "multistep malicious intrusion" bore a valuable lesson: any organization with a bounty bug program needs a contingency plan for data extortion attempts.

But the problem with bounty programs could be in the reward itself rather than an organization's policy.

Luta Security's CEO Katie Moussouris warned that bounties should have limits because it is more lucrative to be a security researcher than a developer.

Bounties that are too high "create a perverse set of incentives where you might essentially incent some developers inside of an organization to collude with a member of the outside, to write bugs into the code," Moussouris said. "You may create an environment where it's much more lucrative to spend your time hunting for bugs than it is to develop fixes or to develop new code."

Moussouris said there's already a skew in the market "where it actually is much more lucrative to be a bug bounty hunter than it is to be developer."

According to a recent HackerOne report, software engineers can earn up to 16 times more than their standard salary worldwide by hunting for vulnerabilities, with top researchers earning nearly three times a typical salary in their home country.

Ultimately, she said, bounties are "more of a token of appreciation even if it's a six-figure payout," and that's how they should be treated.
Join us to hear how managing your call center efficiently can lead to increased revenues and user retention on February 13-16, 2018 at worlds leading business technology event

Fort Lauderdale, FL  February 7, 2018  Cloudonix announced today that Eric Klein, its COO, will be presenting at ITEXPO, February 13-16, 2018 at the Greater Ft. Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. ITEXPO  the worlds largest and best-attended business technology trade show  brings together the IT industrys leading professionals and thought-leaders for educational and networking programs covering the latest technology and trends in IP Communications.

Eric will be speaking about Case Studies  Managing Your Asterisk System, on Thursday, February 15 at 3:00 pm, on the Asterisk World Track.

When it comes to businesses and customer services, contact centers are of the essence. That is why these networks need to be managed and monitored with great care, so that customers receive what they want when they want it, without straying to greener pastures. Join this session to learn about the range of commercial and open source systems that can be integrated seamlessly into your network, for this very purpose. Cloudonix enhances contact center capabilities to increase revenues, improve customer services and enhance user retention, while ensuring consumer security and privacy. Throughout his talk, Eric will provide examples and case studies from cellular carriers and additional industries, with an emphasis on network up-time and security.

Eric will also be participating in the My Phone System Sucks  What Are My Options? Panel on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 at 1:00-1:55 pm, on the Business Communications Essentials Track.

Nowadays, communication systems are an inseparable part of any business, regardless of its type and size explains Eric. "Consumers expect your phone system and network to be up and running, all day every day, simply and smoothly. Rest assure  this can be achieved, quickly and at prices you can afford, through a variety of open source and commercial tools.

Registration for ITEXPO is now open. For the latest ITEXPO news, updates and information follow the event on Twitter at @ITEXPO.

About Cloudonix:

Cloudonix offers top-notch, high-quality voice, text and video communication services that enable apps, enterprises and telecom companies to boost customer retention, ensure privacy, reduce costs and increase revenues. This unique service is configured to suit all communication devices, from phones to connected cars, providing secure and scalable IP-based services for consumers worldwide. Cloudonix delivers maximum communication anywhere, anytime  even in areas with low connectivity. A subsidiary of Greenfield, Cloudonix is HIPAA, FCA and GDPR compliant, with a proven track record that spans 10 years and over 10 million users across the globe.

Cloudonix Media Contact

Eric Klein, COO

+1 8054101010

eric@cloudonix.io

www.cloudonix.io



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The reinsurance industry can be a rather lucrative business, and several reinsurance stocks have great track records of delivering market-beating performance over long periods. After a rough year for the reinsurance industry in 2017, here are three reinsurance stocks that could be excellent additions to your portfolio for decades to come.

Company (Symbol) Recent Stock Price Market Capitalization Dividend Yield Everest RE Group (NYSE: RE) $230.61 $9.5 billion 2.3% Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A) (NYSE: BRK-B) $214.98 (B shares) $530.1 billion N/A Reinsurance Group of America (NYSE: RGA) $163.32 $10.5 billion 1.2%

Data source: TD Ameritrade. Prices and dividend yields as of 1/22/18.

What is reinsurance?

In simplest terms, reinsurance is insurance for insurance companies. Reinsurance can protect insurance companies from excessive losses resulting from catastrophic events -- such as major natural disasters. For example, the major hurricanes of summer 2017 could have potentially caused several smaller insurers to become insolvent if it wasn't for reinsurance.

There are two basic ways reinsurers make money, and they are the same ways that apply to traditional insurers as well. If a reinsurer collects more money in premiums than it pays out for claims, it generates an underwriting profit. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, reinsurers invest the premiums they collect and generate income while they're waiting to pay claims.

Arial view of flooded streets after a hurricane.

Image source: Getty Images.

A tough year in 2017 for reinsurers

As you can probably gather, 2017 was a difficult year for reinsurers. In fact, insured catastrophe losses reached $135 billion in 2017, an all-time high. Between the damage from Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Hurricane Irma in Florida and the Caribbean, and wildfires in California, natural disasters were an especially destructive force.

To be clear, reinsurers had more than enough capital to absorb these losses and only took a mild hit. However, it was enough to drive down stock prices and create some attractive long-term investments in the industry.

Story continues

Three top reinsurance stocks

With that in mind, here are three great ways to invest in reinsurance. One has been beaten down by disaster-related losses, one has several other businesses to pick up the slack, and the third didn't feel the sting from 2017's disasters at all.

1. Everest Re Group

Everest Re provides reinsurance solutions to a wide variety of property and casualty insurers and had significant exposure to 2017's natural disasters. In the third quarter, the company had losses of $1.2 billion related to the year's major hurricanes and the Mexico City earthquake -- a pretty large amount for a company with a market cap of less than $10 billion. As a result, the company's stock plunged, and it currently trades for roughly 15% less than it did before the losses were revealed.

However, Everest is a strong reinsurer that should do just fine over the long run. The company is well capitalized and has excellent credit ratings (A+/A1 from S&P and Moody's). Over the past five years, Everest's book value per share has grown by 75% on 41% growth in gross written premiums. And over the past two decades, the company has operated at an average 11.8% return on equity and has grown shareholder value at a compound annual rate of 12.4%.

2. Berkshire Hathaway

Although it's not a pure play on the reinsurance business, no discussion of the industry's best companies would be complete without mentioning Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate led by Warren Buffett.

Insurance has been Berkshire's core business for some time. In fact, the reason for the company's long-term success is savvy investing of its insurance business' float. And although its Geico auto insurance subsidiary is perhaps the best-known component of its insurance business, reinsurance makes up more than two-thirds of the company's insurance operations, in terms of float size. Geico is actually Berkshire's third-largest insurance subsidiary, behind the Berkshire Hathaway Reinsurance Group and General Re.

Berkshire wasn't immune to the disaster-related losses by any means. In fact, the company said it lost $3 billion (pre-tax) to natural disasters during the third quarter, more than most analysts had been expecting. Even Geico took a big hit.

However, Berkshire's collection of dozens of non-insurance subsidiaries and its massive stock portfolio have helped to lessen the impact, and this diversification should continue to provide some cushion if another bad year for reinsurers happens. In fact, Berkshire's stock price is up 31% over the past year, handily beating the S&P; 500.

3. Reinsurance Group of America

Given the major catastrophe losses plaguing other reinsurers, it may seem odd at first that Reinsurance Group of America's stock price has risen by 24% over the past year. However, the company focuses on the life and health insurance industries, not property-casualty, so the impact of the disasters was minimal. In fact, while most of the industry reported massive losses in the third quarter, Reinsurance Group of America (also known as RGA) reported EPS that increased by 13% year over year.

As of the end of 2017, RGA has approximately $3.3 trillion of life reinsurance in force, is the third-largest life and health insurer in the world by revenue, and is the only pure-play life and health reinsurer with global operations. About 61% of the company's revenue comes from the U.S. and Latin America, with the other 39% coming from many international markets.

RGA has an excellent track record of creating shareholder value. Over the past 15 years, the company has grown book value per share total returns at a 11.4% annualized rate, and since its 1993 IPO, the company has generated roughly double the return of the S&P 500.

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Matthew Frankel owns shares of Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Berkshire Hathaway (B shares). The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
(Clarifies headline, paragraph 1 to show regional airlines are affected, not all airlines)

* Regional airlines limited to 100-seat jets - execs

* Chinese regulator has not publicly released full policy

* Embraer pushing E175, Bombardier CRJ 900 and Q400

By Jamie Freed and Allison Lampert

SINGAPORE/MONTREAL Feb 7 (Reuters) - Embraer SA and Bombardier Inc are targeting the Chinese market with a limited offering of smaller aircraft for regional airlines because they are allowed to only operate jets with 100 seats or less, according to company executives.

A government policy aimed at boosting domestic flights serving secondary markets in China requires fledgling carriers to operate at least 25 city-hopper jets with 100 seats or less, before graduating to bigger aircraft, the executives said.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) policy issued in 2016 but never fully published in its entirety, would exclude the newer Embraer E190-E2 and the Bombardier C Series. CAAC did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Embraer Commercial Aviation CEO John Slattery said the policy was designed to stimulate economic activity beyond China's heavily populated eastern seaboard.

"As we look at the terms of the detail of the policy document, the E175 is an ideal aircraft to be compliant with the policy and address those requirements," he told Reuters at the Singapore Airshow. The E175 has around 80 seats.

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft sales head Colin Bole said he sees Chinese regional carriers "graduating to the C Series," eventually but the 100-seat cap could delay the plane's proliferation in the country.

"We are definitely going to get to the point where the C Series will have a significant footprint in China," Bole said. "But because of that polarisation at this stage there will be a delay before that actually happens."

Bombardier is looking to boost sales of the 90-seater CRJ 900 regional jet and Q400 turboprop which meet the regional policy requirements, Bole said. (Reporting By Jamie Freed in Singapore and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Additional reporting by Tim Hepher and Brenda Goh in Singapore Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
The Alabama attorney general has hired two personal injury law firmsone with offices in Atlantato take on big pharma in the war on opioid addiction. They filed a 65-page lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division against Purdue Pharma, one of the largest opioid manufacturers in the country. The complaint lays out in detail allegations that the company intentionally marketed drugs that created the opioid epidemic. Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, the Montgomery-based plaintiffs firm with an office in Atlanta, announced the filing of the lawsuit on its news website Tuesday. Beasley Allens Rhon Jones, head of the firms toxic torts section, is acting as a deputy attorney general for the litigation. Firm principal and founder Jere Beasley is also working on the case, along with Richard Stratton, William Sutton and J. Ryan Kral. They have joined forces with Joshua Hayes, also acting as a deputy attorney general, and Robert Prince of Prince, Glover & Hayes in Tuscaloosa. Alabamas opioid crisis has been, and is still being, fueled by pharmaceutical manufacturer Purdue, which has deceptively and illegally marketed opioids in order to generate billions of dollars in sales, Jones said in a Beasley Allen news release Tuesday. Purdue primarily manufactures and sells opioids, and is misrepresenting the risks of these highly addictive painkillers, plainly putting profits over people. The rampant use and abuse of opioids is devastating to both the citizens of and the State of Alabama. Purdue Pharma responded to the lawsuit Wednesday with the following statement emailed to the Daily Report: We are deeply troubled by the opioid crisis and we are dedicated to being part of the solution. As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge. Although our products account for approximately 2% of the total opioid prescriptions, as a company, weve distributed the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, developed the first FDA-approved opioid medication with abuse-deterrent properties and partner with law enforcement to ensure access to naloxone. We vigorously deny these allegations and look forward to the opportunity to present our defense. The complaint seeks punitive damages, attorney fees, civil penalties and full restitution and disgorgement of Purdues unjust enrichment and ill-gotten gain, plus interest. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a news advisory Tuesday that he expects the lawsuit to be transferred to federal court in Cleveland, Ohio, as part of the national multidistrict litigation against Purdue. The opioid epidemic has devastated Alabama families, leaving a trail of addiction and death winding though every community of this state, Marshall said in the news release. Alabama ranks first in the nation for the number of painkiller prescriptions per capita. As a result, it is estimated that almost 30,000 of our residents over age 17 are dependent upon heroin and prescription painkillers. Alabamas drug overdose death rate skyrocketed by 82 percent from 2006 to 2014 and it is believed that many of those deaths were from opioid painkillers and heroin. Marshalls statement reflects those made by his counterparts all over the country regarding the opioid crisis. He added, It will take years to undo the damage but an important first step we must take is to hold the parties responsible for this epidemic legally liable for the destruction they have unleashed upon our citizens. The lawsuit seeks economic damages resulting from the opioid epidemic, including costs for providing medical care, therapeutic care and treatments for patients suffering from opioid-related addiction or disease, including overdoses and deaths; costs for providing counseling and rehabilitation services; costs for treating infants born with opioid-related medical conditions; public safety and law enforcement expenses; and care for children whose parents suffer from opioid-related disability or incapacitation. Purdue manufactures, markets and sells prescription opioid pain medications, including the brand name drugs OxyContin, MS Contin, Dilaudid/Dilaudid-HP, Butrans, Hysingla ER, and Targiniq ER, as well as generic opioids. OxyContin constitutes roughly 30 percent of the entire market for painkillers, according to Beasley Allen. Purdues drugs compose a majority of the extended release market, for use with chronic noncancer pain patients, which is the most dangerous method of use.
Tim Cook

REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Apple responded to Senate questions about an extremely controversial software update that slowed down older iPhones.

In the letter, Apple says it is "exploring" giving a rebate to people who bought battery replacements at full price.

It also provides a detailed timeline of how it told customers about the software update.

Apple provided additional details about its practice of slowing down certain older iPhones in a letter to Senate lawmakers released on Tuesday.

In the letter, Apple confirmed that the controverisal power management feature at the heart of the issue was released to iPhones in January  and yet, Apple confirms that it did not publicly acknowledge the change until a month later, on February 23, 2017.

Apple also says in the letter that it is "exploring" the possibility of giving money back to those customers who paid the full price of $79 for a replacement battery. In the wake of the battery scandal, Apple lowered the price for an iPhone battery replacement to $29. While the move was welcomed, it disappointed customers who paid the original price.

The letter, signed by Apple VP of public policy Cynthia Hogan, is dated February 2. It was sent in response to a January letter from the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.

Apple has been under intense fire for a software update that slows down the CPU speed on certain iPhone models when their batteries wear down.

The company says that the reason for the software update is to prevent unexpected shutdowns when a battery cannot provide enough current for the iPhone's CPU.

But there is a lot of consumer anger around the software feature, particularly because it seems to confirm a long-time conspiracy theory that Apple slows down old iPhones to get people to upgrade to newer models.

"Apple's recent actions related to performance of iPhones with older batteries were based on providing our customers with the best experience," Hogan wrote.

Story continues

"As we said publicly, we have never  and would never  do anything to intentionally shorten the life of any Apple product or degrade the user experience to drive customer upgrades," she continued.

How Apple notified its customers

Girl iPhone X

Tomohiro Ohsumi/GettyWhen asked about the scandal on television last month, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that customers were told about the power management feature at the time.

"When we did put [the software update] out, we did say what it was, but I don't think a lot of people were paying attention," Cook told ABC News. "And maybe we should have been clearer, as well."

But in the timeline provided to the Senate, Apple acknowledges that the power management feature had been rolling out to customer iPhones for a month before it was added to the update's release notes or disclosed to the press.

"We first delivered this power management feature to iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone SE as part of iOS 10.2.1, in January 2017," Hogan wrote.

"Once we verified that the feature was effective in avoiding unexpected shutdowns, we updated the iOS 10.2.1 ReadMe notes in February, 2017. Specifically, the iOS 10.2.1 ReadMe notes said that this update 'also improves power management during peak workloads to avoid unexpected shutdowns on iPhone," the Apple VP continued, also noting a press statement provided on Febuary 23 to several publications including Business Insider.

Republican Senator John Thune, who chairs the Senate Commitee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, said in a statement that Apple has acknowledged that its initial disclosures of the software update "came up short."

"I appreciate Apples response to my inquiry and the companys ongoing discussions with the committee," Thune said. "In those conversations, Apple has acknowledged that its initial disclosures came up short."

"Apple has also promised the committee some follow-up information, including an answer about additional steps it may take to address customers who purchased a new battery at full price," he continued.

What's next

Apple Store

GettyApple said in its letter that the CPU-slowing feature is not needed in new iPhones, including the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, because of "hardware updates that allow a more advanced performance management system."

So newer iPhones should not suffer the same battery-related sluggishness that affects iPhones released between 2014 and 2017.

Apple also said on Tuesday that a future software update will give users metrics on how well their battery works, as well as the option to turn the power management feature off.

Apple also says that its users were not forced to download the original update. "All of our software updates are optional and the customer decides whether to update or not," Hogan wrote. However, Apple says in its statement that over 50% percent of active iPhones had installed the update on their phones by the time it disclosed the throttling.

A House committee also questioned Apple about the battery-related slowdown, and the company faces over 45 class-action lawsuits about the software update. Apple also faces investigations from several international bodies over how it disclosed the software update as well.

Apple didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Read Apple's entire letter below:

NOW WATCH: These inventions will help save the earth

See Also:

SEE ALSO: There are problems with Apples iPhone battery explanation
With major banks blocking customers from buying Bitcoin with credit cards and governments cracking down on cryptocurrencies, a Senate hearing on the topic Tuesday was a surprising respite for HODLers (the typo-inspired term for people who plan to hold their crypto indefinitely).

The Senate Banking Committee heard testimony from the chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Christopher Giancarlo, and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, on the potential dangers of digital currencies as investments. Their testimony, amid a crackdown on Bitcoin exchanges in China and South Korea, wasnt as negative as many cyrptocurrency investors had feared.

As a result, Bitcoin prices rose to $7,650 on Tuesday, after dipping below $6,000 just a day earlier.

We owe it to this new generation to respect their enthusiasm for virtual currencies, with a thoughtful and balance response, and not a dismissive one, Giancarlo said.

With the rise of Bitcoin, banking giants such as J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon have dismissed digital currencies, but have been careful to differentiate it from Blockchain, the distributed ledger that allows Bitcoin to function. While Dimon has called Bitcoin a fraud, he said that Blockchain is something real.

But Giancarlo struck a different tone by saying that Bitcoin and Blockchain are not so easily separateda sign investors took as a positive.

Its important to remember that if there were no Bitcoin, there would be no distributed ledger technology, said Giancarlo when asked about the value of Bitcoins underlying technology, Blockchain.

Giancarlo, who was sworn in during the Obama era, went on to point to the many uses of the distributed ledger technology including making it easier to figure out who owned which mortgages during the 2008 financial crisis.

Sixty-six million tons of American soybeans were just handled through a blockchain transaction by the Dreyfus company to China. So Bitcoin is now being used, its being used in our American transportation and logistics system, Giancarlo said, professing that his niece is a so-called cryptocurrency HODLer. I think this distributed ledger technology has enormous potential. Now how it will be realized, when it will be realized are challenges, and those we cant say.

Story continues

I hope people pursue it vigorously, Clayton, who was nominated by President Donald Trump, added about Blockchain.

On Twitter, Bitcoins fans were effusive about the hearing.

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Still, thats not to say the cryptocurrency markets will be smooth sailing for investors. Scammers are already targeting the newly formed industry. Meanwhile, some criminals have sought to kidnap Bitcoin investors for ransom.

We intend to be very aggressive, if nothing else, so that people like my niece can have some security that there arent fraudsters and manipulators out thereand there are a lot, too many, far too many of them, Giancarlo said.

Still, in light of recent events, it does stand to question whether investors are getting ahead of themselves. Bitcoin prices may fall further because of increased regulatory scrutiny. Part of Bitcoins recent slide, for instance, has come as a result of an subpoena of Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex by the CFTC for information about its relationship with its dollar-pegged cryptocurrency Tether. That comes amid speculation about whether Tether is artificially propping up Bitcoin prices.
The two companies had announced in July that American Boeing would take control of Brazilian Embraer's commercial aeroplane manufacturing business but the deal hit a snag last week when Bolsonaro expressed concerns over the deal (AFP Photo/ERIC PIERMONT)

New York (AFP) - US aerospace giant Boeing and Brazil's Embraer are close to an agreement to combine their commercial air operations into a new company, a person familiar with the talks told AFP Tuesday.

The deal is designed to address the main roadblock to a merger between the two aerospace companies: Brazilian government opposition.

Boeing would hold 80 to 90 percent of the new company, which would be based in Chicago, while Embraer's military operations would not be affected by the transaction and would remain under Brazilian control, the source said.

The companies in December confirmed they were in talks on a possible combination, a move seen as part of Boeing's strategy to counter archrival Airbus' ambitions in the smaller commercial aircraft category with a venture with Canadian company Bombardier.

However, the talk of a merger drew immediate objections from the government in Brazil, which holds a so-called golden share with veto power over Embraer transactions.

Boeing presented this structure to the government, and the discussions "are moving in the right direction," the source said, noting the announcement of an agreement could be made in the coming weeks.

- 'Golden share' -

Brazil's Defense Ministry has referred to government control of Embraer as "a matter of national sovereignty." According to a report in Brazilian daily Valor Economico, the government would retain the "golden share" in Embraer.

Boeing declined to comment on the reports, but chief Dennis Muilenburg told investors last week that the combination with Embraer would be "a great strategic fit," and that the company was working to address the Brazilian government's concerns.

"These discussions are productive and we're continuing to have active dialogue with the key stakeholders," Muilenburg said.

The takeover of Embraer's commercial airliners would enable Boeing to complete its portfolio by adding aircraft with a capacity of up to 150 seats and to regain ground in the medium-haul against Airbus.

Story continues

Airbus announced in mid-October a strategic partnership with Canadian Bombardier on CSeries aircraft in that size range, which was the subject of a bitter trade complaint brought by Boeing, which failed.

The world's third-largest aircraft manufacturer with nearly $6 billion in sales, Embraer was privatized in 1994 and is one of Brazil's success stories. It offers a range of civil and military aircraft as well as business jets.

In 2013, Embraer launched the E-Jets E2 family, a new generation of aircraft due to enter the market this year as a potential competitor of the CSeries.

Its defense branch includes models such as the A-29 Super Tucano for attack or training missions, and the KC-390 for military transport.

The reaction to the proposed deal was largely positive, given the potential to address the government's objections and put Boeing on surer footing in its battle with Airbus and Bombardier.

The agreement to keep Embraer's "military division in-house... would hopefully satisfy the Brazilian government," CFRA's Jim Corridore said in a research note.

"We think that Boeing would benefit, gaining entry into a plane size they are not currently in."

Canaccord Genuity aviation analyst Ken Herbert said he is "not convinced of the strategic long-term benefit for Boeing," but noted that the combination "does position Boeing as a leader from the mid-size business jet market through regional aircraft on up."
BP says its profits soared in 2017 on recovering oil prices (AFP Photo/BEN STANSALL)

London (AFP) - British energy major BP said Tuesday that 2017 net profits rocketed to almost $3.4 billion (2.7 billion euros), boosted mostly by a recovery in the crude oil market.

Earnings after taxation for the full year compared with $115 million in 2016, BP said in a statement.

"The results primarily reflected higher oil prices," the London-listed giant said.

The news comes one week after Anglo-Dutch rival Royal Dutch Shell announced an annual profit of $13 billion, also energised by rising oil and gas prices.

World oil prices had leapt by some 15 percent to finish the year at $60 per barrel, helped by oil cartel OPEC's efforts to limit its production.

BP's underlying replacement-cost profit -- which excludes fluctuations in the value of crude oil inventories -- more than doubled to $6.2 billion last year.

The company's upstream business, comprising exploration and production, saw output leap 12 percent to 2.47 million barrels of oil equivalent per day -- the highest level since the year of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster.

The performance was also lifted by solid earnings at its downstream division that comprises refining, marketing and distribution.

BP said it was hit by an additional $3.18 billion of Gulf-related costs in 2017. That brought total costs linked to the disaster -- including fines and compensation to businesses -- to $65.8 billion.

"2017 was one of the strongest years in BP's recent history," said chief executive Bob Dudley.

"We delivered operationally and financially, with very strong earnings in the downstream, upstream production up 12 percent, and our finances rebalanced. And we did all this while maintaining safe and reliable operations," the CEO said.

"We enter the second year of our five-year plan with real momentum, increasingly confident that we can continue to deliver growth across our business, improving cash flows and returns for shareholders out to 2021 and beyond."

Story continues

The results come one year after BP launched a five-year strategy aimed at returning the group to growth, as it continues to recover from the devastating 2010 oil spill catastrophe.

"We had strong delivery and growth across BP in 2017," noted chief financial officer Brian Gilvary.

"The full-year underlying result was more than double a year earlier, our organic cash flows are back in balance and our financial frame remains resilient."

BP saw its fortunes and reputation ravaged by the devastating oil spill disaster eight years ago caused by an explosion at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that the company leased.

The blast killed 11 men off the coast of Louisiana and caused 134 million gallons (507 million litres) of oil to spew into Gulf waters, sparking the worst environmental catastrophe in US history.
Billionaire casino magnate and former Republican National Committee finance chairman Steve Wynn has stepped down as CEO of his company after allegations he sexually harassed employees.

"In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity," Wynn said in a statement.

"As I have reflected upon the environment this has createdone in which a rush to judgment takes precedence over everything else, including the factsI have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles."

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Steve Wynn

REUTERS/Mike Blake

The board of directors for Wynn Resorts announced it had accepted his resignation.

"It is with a collective heavy heart, that the board of directors of Wynn Resorts today accepted the resignation of our founder, CEO and friend Steve Wynn," board member Boone Wayson said in a statement.

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In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that Wynn had been accused of sexual assault by dozens of former and current Wynn Resorts employees. According to the report, Wynn agreed to pay a manicurist at one of his hotels a $7.5 million settlement after she accused him of pressuring her into sex.

The board has appointed Matt Maddox, currently the company's president, to be the CEO, the statement said.

Wynn has denied the accusations, claiming the report reflects accusations made in court by his ex-wife "in her legal battle with him and the company."

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Wynn Resorts has formed a special committee to investigate the allegations, the board said in a statement.

Story continues

A supporter of President Donald Trump, Wynn stepped down as RNC finance chief in January, after the allegations emerged. He had presided over a record breaking fundraising haul, with the RNC raising more than $130 million in 2017.

This article was first written by Newsweek

More from Newsweek
bitcoin china

ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images)

China has previously taken steps to curb cryptocurrency trading in the country, but recent moves may eliminate trading in the country completely.

People's Bank of China said on Sunday that it would block access to all domestic and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO websites.

China already banned Bitcoin exchanges in late 2017 as a way to stem online trading, but the attempt failed to eliminate cryptocurrency trading completely.

The cryptocurrency market has lost $340 billion of value since the start of January, and many speculate it has much to do with a regulatory crackdown in Asia.



China has previously taken steps to curb cryptocurrency trading in the country, but recent moves may eliminate trading in the country completely.

A news publication affiliated with the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in an article on Sunday that it would block access to all domestic and foreign cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO websites, the South China Morning Post reported.

China already banned bitcoin exchanges in late 2017 as a way to stem online trading, but the attempt failed to eliminate cryptocurrency trading completely.

ICOs and virtual currency trading did not completely withdraw from China following the official ban," the article said, according to SCMP.

Instead, many traders turned to foreign exchanges to make cryptocurrency transactions.

Overseas transactions and regulatory evasion have resumed  risks are still there, fueled by illegal issuance, and even fraud and pyramid selling, the article said.

ICOs are a cryptocurrency-based fundraising method that has become popular with startups to raise money. Some industry experts have warned that many ICOs are fraudulent, and operate in the gray area as they remain unregulated.

China news agency Xinhua said the PBOC would tighten its regulations on domestic crypto investors engaging in foreign transactions of ICOs and virtual currency as the market remains unstable.

Story continues

Earlier this month, the PBOC prohibited financial institutions from providing any funding to activities related to cryptocurrencies.

The bans have already affected major cryptocurrency exchanges in the country. In September, Shanghai-based bitcoin exchange BTCC announced the closure of its China trading operations.

According to the Post, China's moves to ban cryptocurrency trading in the country has yet to deter individual investors, who move their trading to other areas like Hong Kong or Japan while still raising funds from mainland investors.

It's uncertain whether new regulations will be effective in eliminate trading in the country completely, as China houses some of the world's largest bitcoin mines. However, many agree that the moves will certainly have an impact on the Bitcoin market overall.

Stricter regulations by the PBOC will definitely weigh on the cryptocurrency universe, Wayne Cao, who runs a company that recently offered 10 billion tokens in an ICO, told the Post.

Cao added that most of the Chinese ICO's, are invested in by Chinese investors, so a complete cryptocurrency shutdown would drag the entire cryptocurrency market down.

The bitcoin market has seen increased volatility in the last month, and many have speculated that the bitcoin bubble may soon burst.

Bitcoin was trading below $8,000 a coin on Monday and closed in on $7,000 for the first time since November. Bitcoin is now at less than half its December peak of over $19,000.

The cryptocurrency market has lost $340 billion of value since the start of January, and many speculate it has much to do with a regulatory crackdown in Asia.

This month, South Korea considered banning all cryptocurrencies exchanges in the country, which sent the market plummeting and caused mass panic.

The country did not ban all crypto trading, however did tighten regulations on anonymous trading, and has set the tone for other countries looking to crackdown on the cryptocurrency market.

NOW WATCH: Microsoft President Brad Smith says the US shouldn't get 'too isolationist'

See Also:

SEE ALSO: South Korea will ban anonymous cryptocurrency trading to help boost transparency
- By James Li





Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG), a restaurant specializing in fast-casual Mexican food, reported fourth-quarter diluted earnings of $1.55 per share, including a tax benefit of 21 cents per share. Although the company's revenue increased 7.3% year over year, revenues of $1.1 billion were slightly lower than analyst expectations.

Brief summary of earnings





The Denver-based restaurant chain increased comparable restaurant sales by 0.9% for the quarter and 6.4% for 2017, driven primarily by higher menu prices. Founder and CEO Steve Ells mentioned in the earnings call that the updated queso offering also contributed to good comp sales growth for 2017.

Chipotle increased its restaurant-level operating margins by approximately 4% primarily due to higher sales leverage, decreased marketing and higher labor efficiencies. Ells celebrated Chipotle's 25th anniversary by announcing new initiatives to "continue perfecting the dining experience" for customers. The restaurant announced it will add between 130 and 150 stores in 2018, with approximately 80% in "proven markets" according to Chief Financial Officer Jack Hartung.

Ells also provided an update on the search for a new CEO, one that has a passion for driving excellence across Chipotle's business and "enable [the restaurant] to realize full potential."

Company offers lower comp sales guidance for 2018

Although management announced several initiatives to promote the Chipotle brand, the restaurant expects full-year 2018 comparable sales to decline to the low single digits.

Hartung mentioned in the earnings call that one driver for high comparable sales growth is milder February weather. On the other hand, colder temperatures can reduce comparable sales. Due to the potential for wintry weather, Hartung mentioned that while comparable sales growth will improve during the second half of the year, the expected growth for the first quarter is between 1% and 2%.

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Chipotle's share price tumbled about 5% in after-hours trading as the company reported a lower comparable sales guidance for the upcoming year. Despite this, the company still has strong financial strength, including a Piotroski F-score of a perfect 9 and a strong Altman Z-score of 11.82.

Disclosure: No positions.

This article first appeared on GuruFocus.






Rio Tinto has declared a record dividend to shareholders - 2011 Aaron Bunch

The boss of Rio Tinto has vowed to keep delivering returns to shareholders after declaring a record dividend of $5.2bn (3.7bn), or 290 US cents a share.

Jean Sebastian J-S Jacques, chief executive, claimed the mining giants value over volume strategy was working: Were not interested in being the largest, were interested in being the most profitable.

Its a very good day for Rio. Weve delivered on our promises to shareholders.

Rio was boosted in 2017 by rising prices for its key products such as iron ore, used to make steel, and copper. This, along with cost savings, helped push Rios margins to 44pc, and resulted in cashflow of $13.9bn - its best in four years.

This meant that Rio was able to return $9.7bn to shareholders in the last year, including share buybacks. The company announced a further $1bn buyback today.

Something to smile about: Rio Tinto boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques

Mr Jacques insisted the performance was not just due to luck, pointing out the company had hit its $2bn, two-year cost savings target six months early.

We are building a stronger portfolio and driving those assets harder, he said.

Rio has been exiting the coal industry and last year banked $2.69bn from the sale of coal assets in Australia, most of which will be returned to investors.

The 41pc jump in the final dividend is a far cry from the depths of 2015, when mining companies were rocked by plunging commodities prices and firms such as Rio abandoned long-standing policies to increase their dividends each year.

Rio digs up iron ore in Australia

Mr Jacques, in post since 2016, had pledged to keep Rio boring. He downplayed hopes of using excess cash to fund acquisitions, saying: We have the strength to add assets but only at the right value.

However the Anglo-Australian company is quietly exploring new commodities through its Rio Tinto Ventures arm, set up last year. Mr Jacques said the division had a pretty broad mandate to look at new geographies and assets. But he added that Rio was already very well placed to capitalise on any boom in materials for electrical vehicles, noting it is a big producer of copper and bauxite, used to make aluminium, which are likely to feature heavily in new cars.

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For the year to Dec 31, Rio's revenue rose 15.5pc to $40bn while pre-tax profits doubled to $14.5bn. In a further sign of how much cash the miner is generating, its net debt tumbled 60pc to $3.8bn.

Rio Tinto

Even during the downturn, Rio was regarded as the most financially stable of the major miners. But its operational achievements have been overshadowed by corporate scandals in recent years.

Last year the US markets regulator charged Rios former chief executive and former chief financial officer with fraud in relation to a botched coal deal in Mozambique in 2011. The UKs Serious Fraud Office is pursuing a corruption investigation into Rios activities in Guinea in the late 2000s.

Last month a Dutch non-profit organisation accused the company of avoiding paying $700m of tax to Mongolian and Canadian authorities over its giant Oyu Tolgoi copper project - charges it has denied.

Mr Jacques said: Let me be clear: we pay our fair share of tax wherever we operate."

Rio's London shares rose 1pc in lunchtime trade to 38.86.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire speaks during a news conference after a meeting about Lactalis baby milk contamination scandal at the Bercy Finance Ministry in Paris, France, January 12, 2018. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

PARIS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Tuesday said a global market sell-off was an expected correction of high asset prices.

Asked if he was worried as world stock markets nosedived for a fourth day running on Tuesday, Le Maire told reporters:

"It's not a surprise. Some assets had reached very high prices and there is therefore a correction on stock markets."

"At the last IMF (International Monetary Fund) meeting in Washington several people, including me, had said that asset prices, as well as the abundance of liquidity, were a concern. So a correction was something to be expected."

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander; editing by Michel Rose)
UPDATED with more details, clarification: As the ninth and final film in the original Star Wars series looms, Disney and Lucasfilm are stepping up big time to continue Hollywoods most iconic film franchise. They just unveiled that HBOs Game of Thrones masterminds David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have been set to write and produce a new series of movies set in the galaxy.

The deal will see the new films as separate from the episodic Skywalker saga, which just bowed Star Wars: The Last Jedi in December, and also separate from the recently announced trilogy being developed by Last Jedi writer-director Rian Johnson.

Like the Johnson trilogy announced in November, no release dates have been set for the new films. The next movie in the Star Wars franchise is the second stand-alone pic, Solo: A Star Wars Story directed by Ron Howard, which bows May 25.

Star Wars: Episode IX, to be directed by J.J. Abrams, has a December 20, 2019 release date.

On Disneys first-quarter earnings call after the Benioff-Weiss news went public, chairman and CEO Bob Iger was asked why the pair werent doing a Star Wars-centered series (like the one being developed for Disneys new OTT service). Their interest was in creating Star Wars films, Iger responded. Weve been talking with them for some time. They didnt express interest in a series. He added that the pair was focused on a particular point in time in the Star Wars franchise with the new movies.

David and Dan are some of the best storytellers working today, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy said in making the announcement today on StarWars.com. Their command of complex characters, depth of story and richness of mythology will break new ground and boldly push Star Wars in ways I find incredibly exciting.

Said Benioff and Weiss: In the summer of 1977 we traveled to a galaxy far, far away, and weve been dreaming of it ever since. We are honored by the opportunity, a little terrified by the responsibility, and so excited to get started as soon as the final season of Game of Thrones is complete.

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Game of Thrones is now in production on its final season, with six supersized episodes in the works aiming for a 2019 run to wrap its runs. Work also is under way on five proposed GoT prequels of the Emmy-winning fantasy series.

Benioff and Weiss are repped by CAA, Management 360 and Gretchen Rush.

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By Manoj Kumar NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is planning steps to ensure cryptocurrencies are illegal within its payments system, while at the same time appointing a regulator to oversee unregulated exchanges that trade in "crypto assets," a finance ministry official said on Monday. A panel set by the government to look into issues relating to cryptocurrencies is expected to submit its report in the current fiscal year, ending on March 31, S.C. Garg, Economic Affairs Secretary, told CNBC TV18 news channel. "The government will take steps to make it illegal as a payment system," he said at a post-budget event telecast by the news channel, adding the trading of "crypto assets" at the unregulated exchanges would be regulated. "We hope now within this financial year the committee will finalize its recommendations ... certainly there will be a regulator," Garg, who is heading the panel, said. The government does not consider cryptocurrencies legal tender and will take all measures to eliminate use of crypto assets in financing illegitimate activities or as part of payment system, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told parliament while presenting his annual budget last week. The Indian government has issued repeated warnings against digital currency investments, saying these were like "Ponzi schemes" that offer unusually high returns to early investors. But it has not so far imposed curbs on an industry estimated to be adding 200,000 users in India every month. Ajeet Khurana, president of Block Chain and Cryptocurrency Committee, an industry body, said the decision to regulate crypto exchanges was good news. Nischint Sanghavi, head of exchange at Zebpay, India's largest bitcoin exchange, said the exchanges would cooperate with the government in framing the regulations. (Additional reporting by Rupam Jain and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
Boeing's logo is seen during the Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo, Japan, October 12, 2016. RUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon/Files

By Tim Hepher and Jamie Freed

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Boeing played up the prospects for a potential new mid-market jet on the eve of the Singapore Airshow on Monday - but the war for sales has already begun in this area of the market worth hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 20 years.

Even before Boeing decides whether to launch its much-touted new jet, the U.S. planemaker and European rival Airbus are stepping up sales of existing models to seize market share and disrupt each other's profits without the temporary respite many had been expecting after a busier than expected 2017.

Their battle is focused on aircraft with around 200-270 seats, where Boeing leads at the top end with its twin-aisle 787 Dreamliner and Airbus seeks to maintain its dominance of the largest single-aisle planes like the A321neo, executives say.

Although few immediate orders are expected, aggressive sales pitches have increased the tension going into this week's air show, where airlines will be hoping for updates on Boeing's development plans and Airbus's possible response.

After trouncing Airbus in the market for wide-body planes last year, Boeing is trying to seize the advantage by directly targeting Airbus's slow-selling A330neo with further sales to airlines of its competing 787, several industry sources said.

Airbus, by contrast, hopes to keep pumping its hot-selling single-aisle AA321neo into the market to minimise the space left for Boeing in the niche between single-aisle and long-haul jets, where Boeing's new jet is waiting on the drawing board.

"You can expect Airbus to be pushing as many A321s as possible this year. Boeing is attacking the A330neo wherever it pops up," said the fleet manager of a large Western airline.

Several U.S. airlines and low-cost, long-haul carriers such as Level, part of the IAG group, are comparing the Boeing 787 and the recently upgraded A330neo as competition intensifies, market sources said.

Even AirAsia, Airbus's top Asian customer, has said it is considering the Boeing 787 for long-haul operations, in what would be a significant upset for the European company.

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Airbus officials were not available for comment.

INTERNAL GOAL

Boeing's potential new mid-market jet would seat 225 to 275 people and enter service in the middle of next decade, senior vice president Dinesh Keskar told reporters, adding interest was coming from markets like Australia, India and the Middle East.

Asked about expectations that Boeing would launch the plane this year, he said, "Certainly the interest is there and we continue to have our dialogue with customers".

Airbus argues it already controls much of that space with its 185-240-seat A321neo, which boasts 80 percent of comparable sales, and the albeit less-in-demand A330neo wide-body.

But despite winning the 2017 order battle thanks to a record deal for small jets, Airbus took a severe hit in the high-margin wide-body market, where Boeing won three times as many orders.

Airbus has shrugged off the loss, claiming a 50 percent share of average sales over 10 years. But privately, it has made closing the gap its top internal goal this year, sources say.

These concerns have intensified as Airbus faces a wave of new departures following the retirement of sales chief John Leahy, who is in Singapore this week to facilitate the handover to his successor, ex-Rolls-Royce executive Eric Schulz.

"The A330neo is a big priority for Airbus this year in sales," BOC Aviation Chief Executive Robert Martin told Reuters.

"There are new markets opening up this year for mid-sized wide bodies. India is probably going to have more growth ... Maybe some of the U.S. majors will add to their growth. I think we are going to see a big battleground in this area."

(Additional reporting by Brenda Goh. Editing by Jane Merriman)
By Jamie Freed and Tim Hepher SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The world's largest planemakers signaled a possible increase in output of their most popular passenger jets on Tuesday, highlighting their confidence about growth in demand for air travel. Although new orders have dwindled following a seven-year boom, executives at the Singapore Airshow suggested Airbus and Boeing have enough business in their bulging order books to speed up their already-record production of narrowbody jets. "The success of the product is forcing us to look at any opportunities we have to improve the rate. We have not come to any conclusion yet but this is something we are looking at very closely," Airbus sales chief Eric Schulz told a news conference. Schulz, making his first appearance since being recruited from Rolls-Royce to replace retired sales chief John Leahy, shrugged off concerns about the ability of the supply chain to keep up with higher production rates. "I think the supply chain will be able to cope and we will be able to raise rates as needed in the market," he said. His comments match confidence from rival Boeing as the industry responds to growing demand for medium-haul jets. In an interview with Reuters, a senior Boeing official said the U.S. company was confident in demand for its 737 MAX jet, the latest version of which was rolled out on Monday."There is upward pressure (on production rates) because we are oversold," Marketing Vice President Randy Tinseth said. "If you want a (737) MAX today, we are talking 2023," he added, referring to long waiting times for new jets. Just as airlines overbook seats, planemakers typically sell more aircraft than they plan to produce to protect themselves from airlines going bankrupt or failing to take delivery. These comments show both planemakers are confident they can preserve an adequate buffer, even with higher output. Engine maker CFM International, which supplies both Boeing and Airbus, said last month that planemakers had begun asking about its ability to support higher production. Boeing currently produces 47 of its 737 narrowbody aircraft per month and is heading toward 57 per month next year. Airbus is increasing production to 60 per month by mid-2019. Industry sources have said both companies are looking at increasing production to as much as 70 single-aisle jets a month. But the head of the world's largest aircraft leasing company is yet to be convinced that markets can support such levels. "Can both of them go to 70? I dont think so. 140 a month, I don't think that is possible at the moment," AerCap Chief Executive Aengus Kelly told Reuters when asked whether the market could support such levels of production. Even so, he expected Airbus and Boeing, who make up the bulk of the $140 billion a year jet market, to exercise restraint. "If the market can take it, they will give it. If the market wont take it, they wont," he said. "What is much more important for the manufacturers is not what they say they do, and not what the orders are but what they are delivering," Kelly said. "If you look back over the last 20 years what you see is a very strong correlation between traffic growth and deliveries," he added. (Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga, Fathin Ungku, Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman. Editing by Jane Merriman)
A top U.S. financial regulator encouraged the digital currency industry to formally begin regulating itself, at the Yahoo Finance All-Markets Summit on Feb. 7 in New York City.

Brian Quintenz, a commissioner with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said that while the government tries to figure out what to do about bitcoin and hundreds of other cryptocurrencies, the crypto industry should form a so-called self-regulatory organization, or SRO, similar to those that exist in other parts of the financial system.

I would like to use this opportunity right now to call on the investment community and the advocacy community around digital currencies to create some type of self-regulatory organization that can develop standards around cyber policies, data retention, record keeping, financial records obligations, insider trading, ethics, codes of conduct, Quintenz said during an interview at the Yahoo Finance event. Self-regulation has a strong history in our markets.

Regulation is a fraught topic in the cryptocurrency world. Some purists feel the main virtue of cryptocurrencies is the ability to evade government regulation and the myriad rules that govern most financial markets. But others feel regulation is inevitable, and say its in the industrys interest to be proactive and acceptor even promotesensible regulation.

At a Senate hearing on Feb. 6, the heads of the CFTC and the Securities and Exchange Commission expressed both enthusiasm and alarm at the rapid, turbulent rise of cryptocurrencies. The regulators pointed out that there are no government backstops for crypto exchanges such as Coinbase and Kraken that handle billions of dollars in consumer funds, the way theres FDIC insurance for bank deposits. But they also said new forms of currency represent worthwhile financial innovation, suggesting they ought to be regulated deftly.

Industry analysts say cryptos are so new and different that Congress would have to pass a law stipulating which federal agency should govern them, while outlining how they should be governedas a tradeable security? A commodity? A currency similar to the U.S. dollar? States have some jurisdiction, too, muddying the picture of who should be in charge.

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But it could take years for Congress to act, given the plodding pace of action on Capitol Hill. In the interim, Quintenz said at the Yahoo Finance event, the industry has an opportunity to establish its own regulatory structure and possibly pre-empt a sterner government hand. One risk is that some cataclysmic eventsuch as the 2013 collapse of the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange, Mt. Goxcould occur while theres no regulatory structure in place, harming consumers and generating a backlash against the industry.

The best model for a crypto SRO is probably the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, which oversees more than 4,500 brokerage firms in the United States, setting licensing requirements, enforcing trading rules and settling disputes. SROs arent free of government regulation. In essence, the government sort of deputizes such groups to enforce rules that regulators deem to be in the publics interest, on matters such as consumer protection, ethics enforcement and professional requirements.

SROs arent a panacea, however, and some consumer advocates liken them to coyotes guarding the henhouse. In the lead-up to the 2008 financial crash, for instance, FINRA and other financial-industry groups clearly failed to stop the fraud and excess that eventually threatened the entire financial system. Congress, as a result, passed strict new rules in subsequent yearsexactly the kind of muscular intervention the crypto industry hopes to avoid.
SenateHearing.jpg





Today, February 6, 2018, the prospects for coherent U.S. regulation on cryptocurrencies became a little more clear, as were the impasses that were frustrating progress on the issue. The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs (the Committee) heard joint testimony from the heads of both the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). While both the SEC Chairman Jay Clayton and CFTC Chairman J. Christopher Giancarlo provided written testimonies on February 5, 2018, the statements from the chairmen as well as the answers later garnered from Senate questioning gave some clarity as to the direction U.S. regulation of virtual currencies is headed. Below is a general overview. Jay Clayton Loves Blockchains, Lukewarm on Cryptos, Not a Fan of ICOs In his opening testimony, the SEC chairman called the topic of regulating cryptocurrencies, ICOs and related trading activities important, stating that these markets are local, national and international. From a market regulatory perspective, he stated, For ease of analysis, I break this space into three categories. First, a promising new technology referred to as distributed ledger technology or blockchain  The second and third categories are cryptocurrencies and ICOs. While the chairman lauded and even asked for blockchain technology startups to alleviate inefficiencies in market regulatory frameworks, he was less enthusiastic about both cryptocurrencies and ICOs, stating that they are subsets of the products seeking to take advantage of the commercial opportunities presented by blockchain. Cryptocurrencies, according to Clayton, are promoted to be a replacement for dollars, while ICOs in his view are like a stock offering. Clayton went on to state that while those who promote these so-called virtual currencies assert that they will make it easier and cheaper to buy and sell goods, particularly across borders and that transaction fees and costs will be eliminated or reduced ... to date these assertions have proved elusive in many areas. While some could argue that the chairmans opening commentary on cryptocurrencies was less than favorable, that impression was far overshadowed by his stance on ICOs. Per Clayton, From what I have seen, initial coin offerings are securities offerings. They are interesting companies, much like stocks and bonds, under a new label. He didnt stop there, however, stating, You can call it a coin, but if it functions as a security, it is a security. Another cause of concern for Clayton on the ICO front: The two problems worth particular attention, however, were the lack of regulatory oversight on the markets and that many ICOs are being conducted illegally by not following securities laws. Clayton wrapped up his opening volley at ICOs by warning the ICO market that those who engage in semantic gymnastics or elaborate structuring exercises in an effort to avoid having a coin be a security are squarely within the crosshairs of our enforcement division. So much for ease of analysis. Chairman Giancarlos Opening Remarks Add More Hopeful Balance The CFTC chairman began his opening remarks by revealing a story about how his own childrens interest in investing bloomed only last year with the rise of Bitcoin. Giancarlo remarked, It strikes me that we owe it to this generation to respect their enthusiasm about virtual currencies with a thoughtful and balanced response, not a dismissive one. He did urge, however, that regulators must crack down hard on those who try to abuse [the younger generations] enthusiasm with fraud and manipulation. Chairman Giancarlos remarks went on to elucidate the CFTCs wish for regulators to thoroughly educate themselves and the public in order to create good policy choices and sound regulatory frameworks to protect consumers. Giancarlo followed up his prudent remarks by saying, I suggest the right regulatory response to virtual currencies has at least several elements. Specifying further, he stated that we must first learn everything we can. He then suggested that perspective with regard to the market cap of virtual currencies is key, stating that the total value of all virtual currency in the world is around $313 billion. In comparison, global money supply is around $7.6 trillion, while the value of all the gold in the world is around $8 trillion. The next task, according to Giancarlo, is to educate consumers. According to him: Another element, according to the chair, is regulatory coordination because no one agency has direct authority over virtual currencies. He was careful to point out the need for finding a balance between exercising legal authority over virtual currency derivatives while clarifying the CFTCs statutory limitations. Those limitations, as Giancarlo made abundantly clear, include the CFTCs lack of authority over regulating the spot markets for cryptocurrencies. He did, however, say that the CFTC has enforcement authority in the spot markets through their authority over the cryptocurrency derivatives markets. Patchwork Regulation Isnt Enough Senator Mike Crapo, the head of the Senate Committee, asked both regulators, Both of you said you dont have complete jurisdiction, but do you have sufficient jurisdiction? Should Congress address by law the issue [of regulating virtual currencies]? SEC Chairman Clayton posited that all federal banking regulators should come together and have a coordinated plan for dealing with a virtual currency trading market, though he noted that they may at some point in the future find they need additional legislative authority. CFTC Chair Giancarlo concurred but directed the Committee to look at gaps in the legislation that could be presented. According to Giancarlo, there is patchwork coverage, but it is not enough to handle a regulatory framework that could be covered by a coordinated effort. ICOs That Have Raised Funds from U.S. Investors Violated U.S. Securities Laws The issue of ICOs and their legality was an oft-revisited point during the Q&A portion of the hearing. The minority leader on the Committee, Senator Sherrod Brown, asked Clayton how much of the $4 billion in capital raised last year through ICOs was raised in the United States. The SEC chair couldnt give any clarity but suggested the number was probably enough that regulators should be talking about the issue. Senator Elizabeth Warren also had her say on the issue, stating, Some ICOs raise money for legitimate companies, but others, we know, are just Ponzi schemes. Senator Warren then referenced Facebooks recent ban of cryptocurrency and ICO ads and asked SEC Chairman Clayton a series of questions around how to make ICOs safer. The senator asked, In 2017, companies raised more than $4 billion in ICOs. How many of those companies registered with the SEC? Clayton told Senator Warren that not one had registered. Pressing further, the senator asked the chairman how many companies with upcoming ICOs had registered with the SEC, to which Clayton gave the same answer. Unfazed, Senator Warren asked Clayton for a comment on why no one registered an ICO with the SEC. The chairmans response was a vague admonishment of the gatekeepers [the SEC] rely on to assist them in ensuring securities laws are followed, saying they have not done their jobs. Elaborating further, he stated, What ICOs do is take the disclosure-like benefits of a private placement and then add to it general solicitation and promise to the investor of a secondary market without registering to us. Senator Warren finished off her line of questioning, saying to Clayton, I am understanding you to say [that] it [what ICOs do by not registering] is a violation of the law? The SEC chairman simply answered, Correct. But he did moderate his views on the illegality of ICOs by stating, Im perfectly happy for these people to do private placements, but do them right. Senatorial Enlightenment: Hacks, HODLs and Kimchi Premiums While not all of the questions were focused directly on clarifying future U.S. regulatory frameworks on virtual currencies, the cryptocurrency industry was made aware of the effort regulators and lawmakers alike took to learn about the new asset class. Throughout the hearing, several senators demonstrated an awareness of problems currently plaguing the industry. References to the Coincheck hack in Japan, Mt. Gox and exchange vulnerabilities, and North Korean and Russian state agents potential for abusing prices in the cryptocurrency market all came up. Senator Robert Menendez cited Venezuelas attempt to circumvent sanctions using Petrocoin, while Senator Jack Reed stressed the need for technologists and computer expert personnel among the regulators to help them understand the burgeoning asset class. Senator David Perdue began a line of questioning about combating pump-and-dump schemes, regulatory arbitrage and financial arbitrage that prompted the CFTC chair to explain what kimchi premiums were. Most surprisingly, however, was Chairman Giancarlos attempt to define hodling to the Committee in the middle of an answer to Senator Mike Rounds about the commodity-like aspects of cryptocurrencies. Some senators did conflate which countries took recent regulatory actions on virtual currencies, but it is a confusing enough subject that it is the cover story for Bitcoin Magazine this month. While not directly indicative of which regulatory measures the U.S. will take, industry participants can take some benefit from knowing legislators and top regulators are making an attempt to educate themselves and to thoughtfully institute measured regulatory frameworks in an effort to protect investors while not ruining the industry.

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An ICO may have nothing to do with distributed ledger technology beyond the coin itself.

Weve never conducted this much outreach for any other financial product.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
SEC_testimony.jpg





The written testimony from Jay Clayton, chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was released on February 5, 2018. It comes ahead of the chairmans oral testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on February 6, 2018, on the matter of Virtual Currencies: The Oversight Role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Usually the written testimony closely mirrors the language we can expect in the oral testimony today. Going through the written testimony, there are several key takeaways to note. (If the opinions of the chairs contained in this article seem familiar, its because they co-authored an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on January 24, 2018, ostensibly laying the groundwork ahead of their testimony.) Point #1: IF you seek to raise capital to fund an enterprise via an ICO, the SEC views this as the offer and sale of securities, and your venture is subject to the laws governing the sale of securities. For those in the cryptocurrency world, this is bad news if the coin you are invested in is determined to be an actual security. On page 3 of his written testimony, Clayton stated: It seems Chairman Clayton believes most ICOs are unregistered securities; meaning, if they are to be considered as such, theyd be in violation of state and federal laws. Clayton further evidences this supposition, noting, For those who seek to raise capital to fund an enterprise, as many in the ICO space have sought to do, a primary entry into the SECs jurisdiction is the offer and sale of securities, as set forth in the Securities Act of 1933. Here, Clayton is stating that ventures seeking to raise funds via an ICO should consider, as a primary entry, registering as a security with the SEC. At the crux of the chairmans points here is an argument the industry has faced in a fundamental fashion, especially on ICOs. That argument is, as Clayton puts it on page 6 of his testimony, Is the coin or token a security? While Clayton does demur to say that the answer to his ICO question depends on the individual facts of each coin or token, he does state that to date no ICOs have been registered with the SEC, and the SEC also has not approved for listing and trading any exchange-traded products (such as ETFs) holding cryptocurrencies or other assets related to cryptocurrencies. How Clayton Arrives at That Point: As a governing definition of securities, Chairman Clayton cited 2(a)(1) of the Securities Act of 1933 as well as 3(a)(10) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. (These two Acts are two of the primary three bodies of law that outline most of the regulations of the U.S. investment industry  the third being the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, or the 40 Act colloquially.) These sections define a security as includ[ing], among other items, an investment contract. According to federal laws under Title 15 of the U.S. Code, an investment contract is an investment of money in a common enterprise with a reasonable expectation of profits to be derived from the entrepreneurial or managerial efforts of others. See 15 U.S.C.  77b77c. Point #2: The U.S. regulators will apply the same facts and circumstances analysis, utilizing a principles-based framework to determine if ICOs and cryptocurrency markets should be classified as securities. This is a potential sigh of relief for the cryptocurrency industry. If the chairs remain steadfast on this point, it appears that any crackdown on different coins will come in piecemeal fashion and on the merits of the coins individually, rather than from a broad-swept ruling. Referring in his testimony to a report issued on July 25, 2017, on DAO tokens as a test case, the chair seems to suggest the methodology for determining that DAO tokens are securities should be allegorized to other coins or tokens offered in the space. Going further on page 7 of his testimony, the chair states that the Commissions message to issuers [those who conduct the ICO] and market professionals in the space was clear: those who would use distributed ledger technology to raise capital or engage in securities transactions must take appropriate steps to ensure compliance with federal securities laws. Point #3: We are doing this in the name of Investor Protection. This is the preemptive Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) propagating line that is being towed about by every regulator safeguarding an economy more prosperous than North Koreas. However, the point that Chairman Clayton makes on cryptocurrencies is not without merit. Specific types of investor protection that the new application of the current regulatory framework to cryptocurrencies hopes to improve on include: As the chair puts it in the portion of his written testimony entitled Enforcement, there has been a new cyber unit established within the SECs Enforcement Division in September of 2017, focused on misconduct involving the industry specifically targeting those types of behaviors listed above. Point #4: Cryptocurrencies arent currency, but some of them arent securities either. The chairman doesnt come out right and directly say this, but on page 5 of his written testimony, he states: The chair does note slightly above in his testimony that the SEC does not have direct oversight of transactions in currencies or commodities, including currency trading platforms. Point #5: But save some prohibition for the average individual investor... Prohibiting certain classes of investors from participating in a security or marketplace is nothing new. For example, certain private offerings are only allowed to accredited individual investors, while others are reserved for the more specific classes of investor. As individual investors in the cryptocurrency space (Retail Investors or Main Street Investors), the following statements in the written testimony are disheartening. SEC Chair Clayton states on page 2 of his written testimony that his efforts have been driven by various factors, but most significantly by the concern that too many Main Street investors do not understand all the material facts and risks involved. While its no surprise to investors that cryptocurrencies are currently a volatile and risky asset class, even the hint that Main Street investors lack the understanding of this notion often serves as rationale for restricting non-accredited retail investors from access to more complicated or illiquid financial instruments. The chair then further stated, Many trading platforms are even referred to as exchanges. I am concerned that this appearance is deceiving. In Claytons view, investors transacting on these exchanges do not receive many of the market protections that they would in traditional investment exchanges. While the chairman could be lauded for his sentiment on protecting investors, especially given that the risks of trading on exchanges have exposed investors to loss in the past, the alternative view of his statement is that the SEC chairman is seeking to find a way to regulate the exchanges that provide Retail Investors access  leaving cryptocurrencies legally accessible only to those sufficiently educated on the risks, the product and the space or, as in the case of accredited investors, allowing only the rich to invest in cryptocurrencies. We will have an update on takeaways from the Senate Hearing shortly.

Story continues

There should be no misunderstanding about the law. When investors are offered and sold securities  which to date ICOs have largely been  they are entitled to the benefits of state and federal securities laws and sellers and other market participants must follow these laws.

improper or nonexistent disclosure (KYC/AML);



volatility (flash-crash-like issues, endemic asset class issues that could cause a marketwide panic among all investable asset classes); and



all of the theft and fraud in the industry.



While there are cryptocurrencies that, at least as currently designed, promoted and used, do not appear to be securities, simply calling something a currency or a currency-based product does not mean that it is not a security.

This article originally appeared on Bitcoin Magazine.
On Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. ET, the Senate Banking Committee will hear testimony from the top two U.S. financial regulators on the opportunities, challenges, and dangers of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Heres what you need to know:

Why is the hearing happening now?

The past 14 months have been a volatile time for bitcoin valuation. The virtual currency increased in value by more than 1,300% last year to a December high of $20,000. But the valuation has fallen to less than half that on some exchanges in 2018. That level of volatility has spooked lawmakers and banks, some of which have banned customers from using their credit cards to buy bitcoin. Amid the uncertainty, Congress wants a better understanding of how bitcoin will fit into the existing landscape of financial regulation in the United States, and what more needs to be done to protect consumers.

Who will be testifying?

The chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Christopher Giancarlo, and the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, will testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Together, they and their organizations bear the lions share of responsibility for protecting American investors and ensuring efficient markets. They are expected to highlight the danger that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies present in terms of volatility, fraud, and vulnerability to cyber theft. Theyll also discuss their agencies efforts to regulate virtual currencies, and ask for more power to regulate them.

Why does it matter?

If granted, regulatory oversight of cryptocurrencies by the CFTC and SEC could provide the foundation for cryptocurrency exchange traded funds (ETFs). Several financiers have tried to gain approval for these new instruments, but have so far been unsuccessful in the U.S. (an exchange traded note or ETN is available to investors in Europe). In at least one instance, the SEC cited a lack of regulation as the basis for rejecting an application for a cryptocurrency ETF, so an expansion of its regulatory authority could lead to a flourishing of such vehicles.

Still, Giancarlo and Clayton, appointees of President Donald Trump who have been tasked with reducing regulation, will be hard pressed to walk the fine line between asking for more regulatory authority without expanding regulatory bureaucracy.
By Michelle Price and Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators may ask Congress to pass legislation to improve oversight of virtual currencies like bitcoin amid concerns about the risks posed by the emerging asset class, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday. The comments by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton before the Senate Banking Committee are the strongest indication yet that federal authorities are mulling new laws to scrutinize virtual currency trading and investing. Clayton, who testified alongside Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said the agencies were coordinating with the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve on the matter, but added that lawmakers may have to clarify and enhance regulatory powers. "We may be back with our friends from Treasury and the Fed to ask for additional legislation," Clayton said when asked whether Congress needed to act on virtual currencies. The hearing followed a rout in the price of bitcoin, which has lost about half its value since the start of the year on concerns ranging from a global regulatory clampdown to a ban by some banks on using credit cards to buy bitcoin. Senator Mike Crapo, the Republican chairman of the panel, and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown were among the lawmakers to express worries about volatility, investor protections and the risks posed by cyber criminals in the virtual currency market. "Between the enforcement actions brought by your agencies, the hack of the international Coincheck exchange...there is no shortage of examples that increase investor concerns," Crapo said, referring to hackers' recent theft of $530 million from Japanese bitcoin exchange Coincheck. Both Clayton and Giancarlo used the hearing to showcase the efforts their agencies have made to police the market and to highlight limitations in the current U.S. regulatory structure, whereby virtual currencies fall into a gray area between the SEC, CFTC, Treasury, the Fed and state regulators. Federal legislation could help rationalize this patchwork and clarify which agency has the authority to police the underlying virtual currency cash market, the regulators said. Giancarlo and Clayton warned, however, that while they had limited authority to write virtual currency rules, they would use their enforcement powers aggressively to protect investors from fraudsters. Clayton repeated his position that public offerings comprising digital tokens, known as initial coin offerings (ICOs), are securities and subject to the same investor protection rules as equity market offerings. The SEC will go after lawyers and firms that try to circumvent those rules, he said, although he did not clarify if the SEC would pursue ICOs that have already happened. The CFTC is also working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on money laundering and terrorist financing issues, Giancarlo said. "As word is getting out that we will go after misconduct I think you're starting to see that reflected in the price" of bitcoin, he added. FUNDING ISSUES The regulatory chiefs questioned how their respective agencies would fund increased scrutiny of the rapidly growing virtual currency market, with Clayton saying he needed more people to staff the trading and markets division. "Personnel is my biggest challenge at the moment," he added. Committee members, however, did not appear to stake out a clear position on whether to pass virtual currency legislation. Crapo noted that the underlying distributed ledger technology offered "present significant positive potential" to increase investor access to financial markets. Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a consumer advocate, also used the hearing as an opportunity to grill Clayton on other issues. These included reports the SEC is mulling rule changes that would block investors from being able to band together to sue companies, an idea Clayton said he personally is "not anxious" to pursue. On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, bitcoin hit $5,920 on Tuesday, its lowest since mid-November, before recovering to above $8,000 . It hit a high of $8,150 and was last at $7,922.79 in late trading in New York, up nearly 15 percent on the day. (Reporting by Michelle Price, Pete Schroeder and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Paul Simao and Bernadette Baum)
The Black Eagles plane from flight display team of Republic of Korea Air Force catches fire at Changi Airport in Singapore, February 6, 2018 in this picture obtained from social media. CONOR DOHENY/via REUTERS

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A supersonic aerobatic jet of South Korea's Air Force skidded off one of the two runways at Singapore's Changi Airport during the Singapore Airshow, closing one runway and causing flight delays, authorities said. "At around 1324 Singapore local time, one aircraft of the Black Eagles aerobatic team from the Republic of Korea Air Force skidded and crashed into the grass verge at the side of Changi Airport's Runway 1 and caught fire," the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said in a news release on Tuesday. It said the pilot suffered light injuries. The Black Eagles demonstration team flies T-50B jets manufactured by Korea Aerospace Industries. The accident happened as the jet was taking off for a flight display at the airshow. Changi Airport said in a tweet that departing and arriving flights would be delayed during the next few hours. Changi, the world's sixth-busiest airport for international traffic, has more than 100 airlines operating from it and handled a record 62.2 million passenger movements in 2017. The T-50 was developed jointly with Lockheed Martin. The T-50A variant is participating in the U.S. Air Force's multibillion-dollar T-X competition for the service's next-generation training aircraft. (Reporting by Anshuman DagaEditnig by Gerry Doyle)
A cherry red Tesla Roadster owned by Elon Musk is set to be fired into space on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket. The private space company, headed by Tesla CEO Musk, hopes to launch what it calls "the most powerful operational rocket" from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday. On the social media site Instagram, Musk posted an image of his car fixed to a part of the rocket with a dummy figure at the wheel.

It has been reported that the car will be playing the song "Starman" by David Bowie when it's released into zero gravity. The Tesla Roadster is to be sent on an elliptical orbit around the Sun and will at one stage pass closely by Mars. Should the launch succeed, Falcon Heavy will be the biggest and most powerful rocket to be launched into space since Nasa's giant Saturn V in 1973. SpaceX has described it on its own website as the most powerful rocket around today. Built from three boosters of SpaceX's smaller Falcon 9, and with an estimated 2,500 tons of thrust, the rocket is equivalent to 18 Boeing 747 aircraft at full throttle. According to the SpaceX website, the 70-meter-long Falcon Heavy could carry up to 37,000 pounds of cargo and crew to Mars. The program has suffered delays of up to five years and, in July 2017, Musk admitted his team had been "pretty naive" and that development had been "way harder" than he had first thought. Tweet 1 On Twitter, Musk said the launch remained on target for 1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.



More From CNBC


Tesla said its prior experience on ramping up production on Model 3 vehicles 'had demonstrated the difficulty of accurately forecasting specific production rates at specific points in time' - AP

Tesla said it is on track to meet its Model 3 production targets, having repeatedly pushed back deadlines in the past and after reports emerged in the US that the company looked set to warn over further delays.

The news caused Tesla's shares to spike in after hours trading, up as much as 3pc.

Late on Wednesday, Elon Musk's electric car maker said it was still expecting to build 5,000 Model 3 sedans per week by the end of June, a target it set out last month.

It had initially been expecting to hit the 5,000 figure by the end of 2017, then pushed it back to March late last year and later said it was likely to hit this target by the end of June.

Tesla has struggled to ramp up manufacturing of the Model 3 vehicles  the cheapest of its electric car range  saying its sub-systems had been unable to cope with mass production, causing bottlenecks.

Investors had not been expecting such an upbeat update on Wednesday, amid rumours that problems at the battery production factory in Nevada were worse than had previously been disclosed.

According to CNBC, a number of current and former employees claimed Tesla's quality control workers were not experienced, and that they were making the batteries partly by hand at the site.

"Until we reach full production, by definition some elements of the production process will be more manual," a Tesla spokesman had said.

In Wednesday's update, Tesla said its prior experience on ramping up production on Model 3 vehicles "had demonstrated the difficulty of accurately forecasting specific production rates at specific points in time".

Tesla Model 3 in pictures

However, it said it was "taking many actions" to address earlier bottlenecks and add capacity in its battery factory, which it said should mean production ramps up "significantly" in both this quarter and the next.

Story continues

Amid progress on Model 3, Tesla managed to burn cash at a slower rate than in previous quarters, with its negative free cash flow at around $276.8m (199m) in the period, compared with $1.4bn for the prior quarter. It is expected to undertake a fundraising this year.

Although its loss came in at $675m for the final three months of 2017, Telsa said it was expecting its operating income to turn positive at some point during 2018.

"This is the year when we believe we can achieve true cost parity  producing a premium electric vehicle like the Model 3 will be no more expensive than producing an internal combustion engine vehicle, something that many believe is not yet possible," the company said.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The Zacks Research Daily presents the best research output of our analyst team. Today's Research Daily features new research reports on 16 major stocks, including Wells Fargo (WFC), Caterpillar (CAT) and Schlumberger (SLB). These research reports have been hand-picked from the roughly 70 reports published by our analyst team today.

You can see all of todays research reports here >>>

Buy-rated Wells Fargos shares have underperformed the Zacks Major Banks industry over the last six months (+8.7% vs. +13.5%). Yet, the company has a decent earnings surprise history. The company surpassed expectations for earnings in two out of the trailing four quarters.

Wells Fargos fourth-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings improved from the prior-year quarter. Notably, results recorded tax benefit related to the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. Recently, Wells Fargo has been slapped with new sanctions including a cap on its assets position related to its past misconducts and its outlook has been downgraded to negative by Moodys.

While the current crisis related to the revelation of illegally opening millions of illegal accounts in 2016 at the company will take some time to alleviate, the Zacks analyst thinks consistent growth in loans and deposits, lower tax rate and expansions will likely support its growth profile.

(You can read the full research report on Wells Fargo here >>> ).

Shares of Buy-rated Caterpillar have gained +68.3% over the past one year, outperforming the Zacks Construction and Mining industry which has increased +65.6% over the same period. Caterpillars Q4 adjusted earnings per share (EPS) surged 160% and revenues jumped 35%, on a year-over-year basis  the fourth consecutive quarter of growth in both metrics, after a string of dismal performances. December retail sales rose 34%, at levels last seen in August 2011.

Backed by strong order rates, lean dealer inventories and strong backlog, Caterpillar projects EPS in $8.25-$9.25 range for 2018, a 27% year-over-year rise at the mid-point. The Construction segment will benefit from continued improvement in North American residential, non-residential and infrastructure markets.

Story continues

Rising commodity prices will drive Resource Industries and Energy & Transportations revenues. Ongoing cost cutting efforts and additional investments in expanded offerings and services will drive growth.

(You can read the full research report on Caterpillar here >>> ).

Schlumbergers shares have lost -12.4% over the last one year, following the Zacks Oil and Gas Field Services industrys -22.5% decline. Further, it has underperformed rival Halliburton (-8.7%) over the same period. The Zacks analyst stresses that Schlumberger is the largest oilfield services player in the world with presence in every energy market across the world.

Also, in all the operating business segments, the company is among the top players. The firm has been banking on growing hydraulic fracturing work in the North American land market. Schlumbergers consistent efforts toward strengthening technologies helped it serve complex oilfield services projects globally.

The company is also expected to generate significant cashflow from the Palliser Block project where it is assisting Torxen Energy in setting up more than 1,600 oil wells. However, since 2015, Schlumbergers long-term debt load increased considerably. Moreover, the companys cash balance declined 45% year-over-year in 2017, reflecting significant balance sheet weakness.

(You can read the full research report on Schlumberger here >>> ).

Other noteworthy reports we are featuring today include Vertex (VRTX), Roper (ROP) and Republic Services (RSG).

Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2018

In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-hold tickers for the entirety of 2018?

Last year's 2017 Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolio produced double-digit winners, including FMC Corp. and VMware which racked up stellar gains of +67.9% and +61%. Now a brand-new portfolio has been handpicked from over 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank. Dont miss your chance to get in on these long-term buys.

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Mark Vickery

Senior Editor

Note: Sheraz Mian heads the Zacks Equity Research department and is a well-regarded expert of aggregate earnings. He is frequently quoted in the print and electronic media and publishes the weekly Earnings Trends and Earnings Preview reports. If you want an email notification each time Sheraz publishes a new article, please click here>>>

Today's Must Read

Loan Growth & Streamlining Support Wells Fargo (WFC)

Caterpillar (CAT) Rides on Buoyant Global Demand, Cost Cuts

Schlumberger's (SLB) Higher Fracking Work Counters Debt Load

Featured Reports

Vertex's (VRTX) Cystic Fibrosis Sales Solid, Pipeline Strong

The Zacks analyst stresses that sales of Vertex's cystic fibrosis (CF) drugs - Kalydeco & Orkambi - are strong. A tezacaftor/ivacaftor combo drug is to get FDA nod soon.

Optimum Mix, Asset-light Business Model Benefits Roper (ROP)

Per the Zacks Analyst, optimum mix of highly engineered and niche-oriented products is helping Roper to gain market share. Moreover, asset-light business model is driving cash flow.

Hess' (HES) Gain from Guyana Finds Offset by Rising Costs

The Zacks analyst believes that world-class discoveries made in the offshore Guyana resources will boost Hess' crude production. However, rising total operating expenses are a concern.

LMR Products, Dividends & Buybacks Buoy Motorola (MSI)

The Zacks analyst likes the strong demand for Motorola's land and mobile radio (LMR). Efforts to reward shareholders are impressive too. Its growth-by-acquisition strategy also raises optimism.

Reorganization to Drive Pentair (PNR), Water Business Ails

Per the Zacks analyst, reorganization activities like the spin-off of Electrical business will aid growth.

XL Group (XL) Gains from Insurance Unit, High Costs Ail

Per the Zacks analyst, XL Group continues to gain from its insurance segment, thereby boosting overall performance.

Snap (SNAP) Rides on Advertising Growth, Competition Hurts

Per the Zacks analyst, Snap's transition to automated or programmatic auction of Snap Ads is driving its advertising revenues.

New Upgrades

Strong Bookings Growth & RCM Unit Aid Cerner (CERN)

Cerner has been gaining prominence in the MedTech space on the back of strong bookings growth. The Zacks analyst is also bullish on solid growth in Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) suite of solutions.

Republic Services' (RSG) Cost Cuts to Aid Bottom-Line Growth

Per the Zacks analyst, Republic Services' diligent execution of operational plans and streamlining of the cost structure will lead to healthy bottom-line growth.

Solid Bookings for Solar Modules Aid First Solar (FSLR)

Per the Zacks analyst, First Solar enjoys solid bookings for its solar modules across the globe indicating high demand for its products. This in turn has been boosting its growth trajectory.

New Downgrades

Offshore Market Weakness Weighs on National Oilwell (NOV)

With lack of demand from offshore markets adversely affecting equipment order backlog, the Zacks analyst has turned bearish on National Oilwell Varco.

Rising Costs & Competition Woes Ail Itau Unibanco (ITUB)

Per the Zacks analyst, ongoing investment in digitalization is escalating costs for the company. Moreover, rising competition as a result of consolidations among banks in Brazil act as a headwind.

Aging Infrastructure, Emission Rules Hurt Ameren Corp. (AEE)

Per the Zacks analyst, aging infrastructure raises the risks of unplanned outages, reduced generation output and high maintenance costs for Ameren. Stringent emission regulations are pushing up costs.



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Schlumberger N.V. (SLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report



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TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> expects a weaker yen to lift net profit to a record high this year, offsetting sluggishness in the United States, the automaker's biggest market where it has been grappling with lower sales and steeper discounting.

Japan's biggest automaker on Tuesday forecast a 31 percent profit jump for the year through March to 2.4 trillion yen ($22.02 billion), on the back of an expected 10 percent rise in operating profit to 2.2 trillion yen - up from previous forecasts of 1.95 trillion yen and 2.0 trillion yen respectively.

A year after a strong domestic currency wiped out nearly 1 trillion yen from Toyota's operating profit, the automaker this year sees a positive currency impact of 240 billion yen, softening the blow of expected lower sales in Japan, North America, and Asia.

Reducing development costs by increasing integration between design and engineering teams, and lower expenses for quality-related issues including product recalls, were helping to cut overall costs, but Executive Vice President Koji Kobayashi said more work needed to be done to buffer against yen moves.

"We need to become more resilient to currency volatility," Kobayashi told reporters at a briefing.

"Even though we have upgraded our forecast ... excluding the currency impact, our operating profit would be down 55 billion yen on the year. That's unacceptable."

For the third quarter, Toyota posted 673.6 billion yen in operating profit, a 54 percent jump from a year earlier and its best quarterly operating profit in two years.

The result exceeded a mean estimate of 527.22 billion yen taken from 11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, and included a 291.9 billion yen reduction in income taxes, largely resulting from the impact of a cut in U.S. tax.

NORTH AMERICA SLUMP

On a consolidated basis, Toyota sold 2.29 million vehicles globally in October-December, largely flat from a year prior. Sales in Japan rose 3.3 percent but fell 1.3 percent in North America, where the automaker is struggling with heavy discounting as it tries to produce and sell larger vehicles.

Story continues

Central and South America and other regions were a bright spot for sales, which rose 6.2 percent, while in Europe they rose 1.7 percent.

Operating profit in North America tumbled 73.3 percent.

Toyota has had a bumpy ride in the United States, its biggest market where it trails only General Motors Co <GM.N> and Ford Motor Co <F.N> in terms of sales, as automakers continue to angle for higher market share as overall sales retreat from a record high hit in 2016.

Profitability in the U.S. market is key for Toyota to help generate funds as it invests heavily in new technologies including self-driving functions, electric cars and new mobility services.

As U.S. drivers continue to gravitate toward larger pick-up trucks and SUVs over sedans and hatchbacks, Toyota, best known for its Camry and Corolla sedans, has been scrambling to shift more production from cars to trucks.

Meanwhile, it sold its sedans at hefty discounts for much of 2017 to bolster demand for models like the Camry, while also raising incentives on its SUVs and trucks including its popular RAV4, to remain competitive in the U.S. market.

This has lifted overall marketing costs per vehicle by 10 percent in 2017 from 2016, according to figures from Autodata, and making marketing costs a key drag on the company's profits.

(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
Koji Kobayashi, chief financial officer of Toyota, left, and Mitsuru Kawai, executive vice-president, forecast record profits for the car company - Bloomberg

Donald Trumps tax reforms have helped boost Toyota, putting the Japanese car maker on track for record profits.

Announcing profits had near doubled in the first nine months of the year to 941.8bn yen (6.1bn) on vehicle sales just 35,000 higher at 6.7m vehicles over the period compared with the same period the previous year, Toyota said tax changes in the US had given it a 292bn yen boost. Revenues over the period rose 8.1pc to 21.8 trillion yen.

The strong financial performance - which was also given a lift by the weaker yen - led Toyota to forecast annual profits will hit 2.4 trillion yen, a new record for the company.

President Trump has pledged to support US manufacturing jobs - such as car workers - putting foreign auto companies in the spotlight Credit: Getty

President Trump has previously hit out at Japanese car makers, indicating he believes car imports are denying US workers manufacturing jobs and raised the prospect of trade tariffs.

However, about 75pc of the 4 million Japanese marques sold in the US are built at American plants.

Toyota has manufacturing plants in Kentucky, Indiana, Texas and Mississippi, building models including the Corolla, Camry, Tundra and Tacoma, as well as the sub-brand Lexus.

The company is also planning to build a new $1.6bn joint plant with Mazda, in Alabama, due to start production in 2021 and capable of turning out 300,000 vehicles a year.

Toyota is now forecasting it will sell 10.3m vehicles worldwide this financial year, lagging Volkswagen Group which is forecasting 10.7m sales, and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, which is pencilled in for 10.6m.
US President Donald Trump says lawmakers who did not applaud his State of the Union speech last week are treasonous (AFP Photo/MANDEL NGAN)

Cincinnati (AFP) - US President Donald Trump described lawmakers who did not applaud his State of the Union address as unpatriotic and treasonous Monday.

During a speech in Cincinnati, Trump suggested Democrats were "un-American" because they did not full-throatedly embrace his address to a joint session of Congress last week.

"They would rather see Trump do badly, okay, than our country do well," he said."It's very selfish. And it got to a point where I really didn't even want to look."

"They were like death and un-American. Un-American. Somebody said, 'treasonous.' I mean, yeah, I guess, why not?"

"Can we call that treason? Why not? I mean, they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much," he added.

Trump has falsely boasted that his generally well-received speech had the highest television audience numbers in history.

But Nielsen ratings show that three of Trump's predecessors surpassed his audience numbers during their first time giving the high-profile speech before Congress.

Trump did see a slight bump in the polls however, with his Gallup approval rating edging up two points to 40%, its highest level in months.
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican U.S. senators left a trade-focused meeting with President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressing optimism that Trump is less likely to scuttle the NAFTA trade pact than previously feared, and would press ahead with talks to modernize it. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch said Republican members of the panel told Trump that preserving the North American Free Trade Agreement was "vital" for U.S. jobs and that weakening the agreement would "jeopardize American economic growth." "We committed to working with the president to improve and modernize the agreement," Hatch said, in a statement released after the meeting. Trump has repeatedly threatened to end the 24-year-old trade pact if it cannot be renegotiated to terms that shrink U.S. trade deficits with Canada and Mexico and return jobs to the United States. He has said that terminating NAFTA could result in the "best deal" for the United States. Hatch later told reporters that Trump gave senators no guarantee that he would not quit NAFTA. "But I think he wants to do NAFTA," Hatch added, referring to a modernization deal. Ongoing NAFTA negotiations have less than two months to run before the official start of Mexico's presidential election campaign in April, with two scheduled negotiating rounds remaining. Deep divisions persist over automotive content rules, dispute settlement mechanisms and other issues. The senators meeting with Trump were largely pro-trade Republicans, including several from farming states who have expressed concerns that a NAFTA exit would seriously damage U.S. agricultural exports. Hatch also said the senators "discussed the mutual desire to confront the challenges China poses to American businesses and workers." While offering no specifics of how these issues could be tackled, Hatch said Trump has a "bold vision" and would work with the White House to advance trade policies that help grow the U.S. economy and U.S. jobs. Senator John Cornyn, the second-ranking Senate Republican, told Reuters after the meeting that he is "more optimistic" that Trump won't terminate NAFTA. He said the senators emphasized NAFTA's importance to the U.S. economy and cautioned against trade moves that would reverse economic progress fostered by tax cuts passed by Republicans in December. "We just encouraged him to continue to modernize NAFTA," Cornyn said. Cornyn said that making progress in the next few weeks would be important to a successful NAFTA deal, as Trump was "very aware of the election in Mexico and not wanting to have an untoward effect on that." The White House said in a statement that Trump discussed "ways to promote fair and reciprocal trade" with the senators. It did not reveal any details of the discussion, but added that Trump "appreciates hearing the perspectives of his friends on the Finance Committee and will continue to consult with them." (Additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rosalba O'Brien)
A United Parcel Service (UPS) truck on delivery is pictured in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S., October 29, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files

By Tim Hepher

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A recovery in international trade is reviving demand for aircraft once proudly linked to long-haul passenger travel and now mainly dependent on hauling cargo to stay in production.

The upturn underscores a solid economic backdrop to this week's Singapore Airshow, as the airline industry heads into its ninth year of global profits.

On the eve of the show, the world's second-largest domestic cargo airline, United Parcel Service, handed Boeing a lifeline order for 14 more 747-8 freighters, easing doubts over the jumbo's future.

The deal extends a turnaround since a year ago when half a dozen 747-8s were sitting unsold after being built: a sure way of allowing cash to rot on a manufacturer's balance sheet.

It comes as air freight markets respond to higher consumer confidence after years of volatility and tepid growth at best.

Last year was the best for cargo since 2010, with traffic growth more than doubling to 9 percent, three times the growth in capacity, the International Air Transport Association reported.

Although Boeing offers a 467-seat passenger version of the modernized 747-8, its future is tied firmly to cargo.

But to make money, carriers have to fill about four fifths of its vast interior: a risky bet in uncertain economic times and one that has focused their attention on smaller planes.

Dedicated freighters must also compete with increasing amounts of cargo shipped in the belly of passenger jets.

Keeping the 747 on life support helps Boeing avoid charges and layoffs for halting production, or the headache of switching its share of overheads at the mammoth wide-body plant outside Seattle to newer programs like the 787 Dreamliner.

Air freight is among several indicators, such as rising electronics shipments, contributing to a positive trade outlook, according to Flight Ascend economist Peter Morris.

In a further sign of confidence, Vertical Research Partners analyst Rob Stallard noted the new 747-8s are for growth and do not replace planes being retired at UPS.

Story continues

Boeing hopes such growth will also sustain demand for the mid-sized 767, a model that has all but served out its usefulness as a passenger jet and relies on freight and its role as a future tanker for the U.S. Air Force.

Having started producing more 767s to fulfill a big 2015 order from FedEx, the world's largest freight carrier, Boeing is pushing for more sales to preserve momentum and deny a home at players like UPS to the newer Airbus A330 freighter.

UPS said its $6.2 billion order includes four 767s.

Even small aircraft like the Franco-Italian ATR turboprop are benefiting from stronger trade winds, with FedEX recently ordering a new cargo version.

With last year's rush helped by re-stocking, economists say it will be hard to maintain the same growth. But IATA says the cargo trend has turned "optimistic" and that projected 2018 growth of 4.5 percent will still be enough to tighten capacity.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher)
President Donald Trump was joking when he suggested that Democrats were being "treasonous" by not clapping for him during his State of the Union address , a White House spokesman said Tuesday. Trump's remarks were "tongue in cheek," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told NBC News. The president's point, he added, was that all Americans, regardless of political party, should applaud positive news for the country. CNBC reached out to the White House for further clarification on the president's remarks in light of Gidley's explanation Tuesday. Treason is a federal crime punishable by death or imprisonment. Trump made his remarks Monday during a speech in Ohio meant to tout the GOP tax-cut plan and the Republican message for the midterm election campaign this year. In one of his trademark riffs, the president zeroed in on his Democratic rivals for not applauding during parts of his State of the Union address last week. "You're up there, you've got half the room going totally crazy  wild, they loved everything, they want to do something great for our country," Trump said. "And you have the other side  even on positive news, really positive news like that  they were like death. And un-American. Un-American. Somebody said, 'treasonous.' I mean, yeah, I guess, why not? Can we call that treason? Why not! I mean they certainly didn't seem to love our country very much." This isn't the first time the White House has walked back incendiary remarks from the president by suggesting he was only kidding. In August, for instance, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump was being "sarcastic" after he thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for cutting the U.S. diplomatic mission in Russia . In July, Sanders said Trump was probably joking when he said police officers should treat gang suspects roughly when they are arrested.



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FILE PHOTO: A general view of Wynn Macau resort in Macau FILE PHOTO: A general view of Wynn Macau resort in Macau, China November 21, 2015. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/FIle Photo

(Reuters) - Matt Maddox taking the reins at Wynn Resorts Ltd could help the casino operator win back some investor confidence, after shares were hammered following reports of sexual misconduct allegations against Steve Wynn broke over a week ago.

Wynn, 76, who resigned as CEO on Tuesday, has denied the allegations. Analysts have applauded the decision to move a veteran of the company to the top post.

Wynn's shares fell briefly in premarket trading on Wednesday, but then rose 5.5 percent. The company has lost nearly a fifth of its value since Jan. 26 when reports of the allegations first surfaced.

Up to Jan. 26, Wynn's shares had risen more than 15-fold since its initial public offering in 2002.

"We believe it is important to highlight the strong, tenured management team Mr. Wynn leaves behind," Morgan Stanley analyst Praveen Choudhary said in a note.

Maddox, 42, has been with the company since it was founded 16 years ago and was named president in 2013. He has taken an increasingly active role in investor conference calls and discussions over business operations.

"WYNN continues to have operational presidents in both Las Vegas (Maurice Wooden) and Macau (Ian Coughlan), with Linda Chen president of marketing, and John Littell president of design and development," Choudhary noted.

Maddox moved to the Chinese-controlled territory of Macau soon after Wynn Resorts secured its concession there. Wynn Macau currently operates two lavish casinos in the casino hub and the business accounts for more than 70 percent of Wynn Resorts' revenue.

Still, Maddox has big shoes to fill.

Wynn, who owns a roughly 12 percent stake in the company, started in Las Vegas casinos in the 1960s, creating some of Las Vegas' most iconic landmarks  the Mirage, Bellagio and Treasure Island.

But he was forced to sell his multi-billion dollar operation Mirage Resorts to tycoon Kirk Kerkorian in a hostile takeover in 2000. Kerkorian then created MGM Mirage and Wynn went on to create Wynn Resorts in 2002.

Story continues

"Wynn's value to the company is unarguably profound as its chief visionary and diplomat," Jefferies analyst David Katz said in a note.

"We do not believe the company can grow at the same trajectory nor can it maintain its cutting edge position."

(Reporting by Rachit Vats and Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Farah Master in Hong Kong; Editing by Sayantani Ghosh)
The State Department's No. 2 official has suggested that President Donald Trump's administration has so far seen no evidence that Pakistan has met its demands for a crackdown on militants operating in the country.

Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said on February 6 that Washington recognizes the "benefits of cooperation" with Pakistan and acknowledges the "enormous sacrifices the Pakistani people and security forces have made to combat terrorism."

But he also said that the United States intends to "hold Pakistan accountable for its failure to deny sanctuary to militant proxies."

Early last month, the U.S. government announced it was suspending security assistance to the Pakistani military until it took "decisive action" against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network that are operating in neighboring Afghanistan. U.S. officials said the freeze could affect $2 billion worth of assistance.

"We may consider lifting the suspension when we see decisive and sustained actions to address our concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory, without distinction," Sullivan said.

Islamabad denies harboring militant groups that carry out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan.

The deputy secretary of state, who met with President Ashraf Ghani and other top Afghan officials during a visit to Kabul last week, said they "reiterated their support for our strategy," and pledged to create "the conditions that will bring the Taliban to the negotiation table."

"We hope the Pakistanis will also help to convince the Taliban to enter a peace process," Sullivan added.

The Western-backed government in Kabul has been struggling to fend off the Taliban and other militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014.

In recent weeks, Kabul has been hit by several deadly assaults, including a massive suicide car bombing in a crowded central area on January 27 that killed more than 100 people and was claimed by the Taliban.

After the attack, Trump rejected the possibility of negotiations with the Taliban anytime soon.

"We don't want to talk with the Taliban," Trump said on January 29. "There may be a time, but it's going to be a long time."

Trump in August unveiled his new strategy for the South Asia region, under which Washington has deployed 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan to train, advise, and assist local security forces, and to carry out counterterrorism missions.

The United States currently has around 14,000 uniformed personnel in the country.
Another false emergency alert ahead of House hearing

Some east coast residents woke up Feb. 6 to a tsunami alert, mistakenly sent by a private company. Intended as a test, the alert was sent at 8:30 a.m. by AccuWeather, according to the National Weather Service.

We have been notified that some users received this test message as an actual Tsunami Warning, the agency later tweeted. A Tsunami Warning is not in effect.

For its part, AccuWeather said a National Weather Service coding error caused the test alert to be sent as a real warning, according to The Post and Courier.

Not two hours after the false alert was sent, lawmakers convened in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center to talk about a similar incident that occurred earlier this year in Hawaii. In that case, residents were incorrectly told a ballistic missile was headed toward the state. The warning system more commonly used for Amber alerts and weather emergencies sent messages to phones across the state. It took almost 40 minutes to fix the error. One of the states senators described the incident as harrowing.

Considering the technological advances that have been made over the past decade, we have high expectations for what our phones, tablets and computers can do, Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.) said in a Feb. 6 hearing of the House Homeland Security Committees Emergency Preparedness, Response and Communications Subcommittee. At the very least, we expect that the alerts that come through on our devices are timely, accurate and only sent when necessary.

The alert in Hawaii was broadcast over the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System, which is largely overseen by Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA provides states with the authorization to send alerts, but private companies provide the software emergency managers use to create and send the messages to telecom and broadcast companies.

FEMA's Director of Continuity Communications Antwane Johnson testified that the agency was working directly with the software vendor providing Hawaiis interface for sending these kinds of emergency alerts. FEMA has been advised not to disclose the vendor, Johnson told GCN after his testimony.

We have meet with and talked to the vendor that provides that software application tool to the state of Hawaii as well as 47 other state and local governments, Johnson told lawmakers. They will be rolling out, this week, improvements to their system for their software to prevent  these types of errors from occurring in the future.

Those improvements are largely in the design of the user interface. The screen of the test environment will be a different color than that of the live environment, as will buttons and other features.

When you go live thats going to be a different screen, and theres going to be some additional checks in the software that will clearly articulate to the user that youre in a live environment, Johnson said.

Lisa M. Fowlkes, the chief of the public safety and homeland security bureau for the Federal Communications Commission, told lawmakers Hawaii didnt have a process in place to send out a correction to an alert, and thats why it took so long for the accurate information to get out.

They never contemplated that they would have a false alert. Fowlkes said. Someone from the [Hawaii Emergency Management Agency] had to write the correction and call FEMA to get the code needed to send it.

A plan for how to issue a correction is now in place, Johnson said.

The day before the hearing, the employee who issued the false alert and has since been fired spoke with some media organizations.

"I thought 100 percent it was real," he said, according to CNN. He added that the words "exercise, exercise, exercise" were never spoken, and he only heard, This is not a drill.

The FCC has spoken with people in the room at the time who said "exercise, exercise, exercise" was indeed part of the message, Fowlkes told lawmakers. The script still should not have said, This is not a drill, she said.
Press Release

Successful interoperability and over-the-air testing compliant with the 5G New Radio (NR) specification between network infrastructure and devices

5G NR testing has been performed on a commercially-available Nokia AirScale base station and Qualcomm Technologies' 5G NR UE prototypes

Heralds operator trials as Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies drive ecosystem for widescale 5G deployments in 2019 with standards-compliant infrastructure and devices

Operators* BT/EE, Deutsche Telekom, Elisa, KT, LGU+, NTT DOCOMO, Optus, SKT, Telia and Vodafone Group committed to working with Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies in verifying and trialling 5G NR

7 February, 2018

Oulu, Finland/San Diego, CA - Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, have successfully completed interoperability testing in the 3.5Ghz and 28Ghz spectrum compliant with the global 3GPP 5G NR Release 15 standard - which was formally confirmed in December - and using the commercially available Nokia AirScale base station and device prototypes from Qualcomm Technologies.

Focusing on the commercialization of 5G technology, with New Radio as its foundation, Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies testing at Nokia's 5G center of excellence in Oulu, Finland, will provide the basis for 5G NR field trials with operators in 2018. Nokia, Qualcomm Technologies and operators* including BT/EE, Deutsche Telekom, Elisa, KT, LGU+, NTT DOCOMO, Optus, SKT, Telia and Vodafone Group are already committed to working together in verifying and trialing 5G NR technology. This will be based on the successful interoperability tests of the flexible 5G NR interface from Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies which will support a wide array of 5G services and various deployment scenarios.

In line with Qualcomm Technologies' and Nokia's announcement in September 2017 to collaborate on 5G NR and with the success of these recent tests, Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies continue working closely in driving the industry, leading to widescale 5G deployments in 2019 based on 3GPP standard-compliant 5G infrastructure and devices. This will enable timely commercial network launches in 2019, in particular in the United States, China, Japan, Korea and Europe.

Marc Rouanne, President of Mobile Networks, Nokia said: "These tests by Nokia and Qualcomm Technologies are important to the progress of 5G. Importantly, they demonstrate how we have quickly applied the 3GPP Release 15 specifications that were set in December, using our AirScale base station - which has been shipped to more than 100 customers - together with a prototype Qualcomm Technologies UE. Now, we can look forward to commencing standards-based, over-the-air 5G NR trials with operators."

Cristiano Amon, president of Qualcomm Incorporated, said: "The successful completion of an end-to-end interoperable connection based on the global 5G NR standard is a significant step on the path to launching 5G NR commercial networks and devices starting in 2019. We look forward to further collaboration on standard-compliant field trials with Nokia and global operators on the path to commercialization."

*Operators listed in alphabetical order

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About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing.

From the enabling infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, to emerging applications in digital health, we are shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. nokia.com

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Washington, D.C., Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ambassador John Bolton has announced poll results that highlight the effectiveness of the first three weeks of a multi-month radio, TV and online advertising campaign in the Green Bay media market, targeted to Republican voters. The ads supported Kevin Nicholson for U.S. Senate, and are part of a projected $1 million independent expenditure (IE) by the John Bolton SuperPAC in Wisconsin.

The Ambassadors SuperPAC conducted two polls: the first taken at the start of the ad campaign to establish a baseline for attitudes towards Nicholson, and the second, three weeks later to measure impact. Polling revealed that citizens opinions on Nicholson shifted significantly due to the IE campaign. Nicholson currently holds a 39 percent lead over his closest primary opponent in the Green Bay region.

Other key results of the SuperPACs advertising (over three weeks):

Nicholson experienced a 22-point increase in favorability

Nicholson experienced a 21-point increase in ballot support

GOP voters now see national defense as a top issue, equal to the state of the economy

78 percent of respondents believe military and international affairs experience is an important

qualification for candidates running for U.S. Senate

To see additional topline poll results, click here and here.

The results of our two surveys show that our SuperPACs ad campaign has been successful: it raised Kevin Nicholsons profile and favorability, it re-affirmed the importance of national security in the election, and it increased Nicholsons lead over his opponents, said Ambassador Bolton. While we are not the only one with TV ads supporting Kevin Nicholson, we are the only online ad campaign in this race. This is important because there was a 15 percent increase, from poll one to poll two, among respondents who said they heard of Nicholson through a digital ad. With voters spending more time online, we have proven that the combination of TV, radio and digital ads can shape opinions and persuade voters like never before.

The ads, which vary from six to ninety seconds and can be seen here, highlight Nicholsons military experience in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the bravery he displayed while facing suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) daily. At a time of grave international threats to the United States, this background is critical. Ambassador Boltons ad emphasizes that, Its time to send a Marine to the U.S. Senate.

Due to the tremendous success of these ads, Ambassador Bolton and his team are producing a new round of ads targeted to different regions across Wisconsin. This is the first independent expenditure that the John Bolton SuperPAC has made in the 2018 election cycle. In 2016, the John Bolton SuperPAC produced three major independent expenditures for a total of nearly $5,000,000. Ambassador Bolton looks to increase those contributions for the 2018 midterm elections and is identifying races in which his SuperPAC can make a difference. In addition to the John Bolton SuperPAC IE ads, Ambassador Boltons leadership PAC previously contributed $10,000 to Nicholsons campaign in 2017.

###

About John Bolton SuperPAC (www.boltonsuperpac.com): The John Bolton SuperPAC aims to make U.S. defense and national security significant factors in federal elections through independent expenditures, campaigns, and issue-oriented education. The SuperPAC does not make contributions to candidates, parties, or PACs.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fc897bc3-c293-4f35-8d7b-ff4800561acf
Hi all,



I have been lucky enough to be accepted at these two programs. Price would be the same (except higher cost of living in NYC of course).



I have lived in NYC for the last six years and have worked in nonprofit consulting. I want to pursue management consulting. I will shoot for the big 4 but would likely be happy at a smaller firm as well. I am also interested in environmental and social impact, and while I don't necessarily expect that those will factor into my first job out of business school, I do think they will factor in longer term.



Ross

-Very solid approach to consulting track

-Strong presence of environmental and social impact related opportunities

-MAP seems wonderful, a chance to travel AND complete a substantive, 7-week consulting project as opposed to some of the fluffier travel opportunities at most schools [I will definitely take advantage of one or two fluffier opportunities as well though]

-Network seems very supportive and enthusiastic

-Where people go after graduation is quite varied (Chicago, Seattle, NYC, and SF all have at least 10% but nowhere has more than 21%), which is both a strength due to potential variety and maybe also a weakness (no one location where Ross is king)

-Ann Arbor seems fine, I'm not in love with it



Stern

-It's in NYC! I'm pretty tied to this city. On the one hand, a break doesn't sound bad. On the other, I will likely want to be in NYC post-school.

-In-semester internships and networking with companies in NYC are opportunities that won't exist in the same way at Ross

-Environmental and social impact opportunities are certainly there but don't seem as ingrained as they are at Ross

-I get the impression that the consulting track is ever so slightly weaker than at Ross, but it's probably functionally about the same?

-Being in a big city, it seems like more people have more of a life outside of business school, which I kind of see as a weakness in terms of network strength and trying new things (could be tempted to fall back on the friends/support system that I already have, although having that support system is a nice thing of course- hard to say if this is a positive or negative I suppose)



Basically, I'm fairly confident about the education and career support at both schools. I don't need to stay in NYC for school, but want to have the option to be there afterwards.
" " Zombie deer disease actually can spread to humans. Ruben Earth/Moment/Getty Images

In at least 22 states and portions of Canada, deer are dying from a neurological disease that has some people talking about a zombie deer-pocalypse. The deer, dying of a malady the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls "chronic wasting disease," stumble around with vacant facial expressions as they drool, drop dangerous amounts of weight and completely lose their fear of people. But can this "zombie deer disease" spread to humans, infecting our brains the way mad cow disease has done in years past?

Unfortunately, the answer is "yes." Like mad cow disease, which is a brain-infecting bovine spongiform encephalopathy that crosses the animal-human barrier, zombie deer disease can be transmitted to people. The infectious proteins responsible for chronic wasting disease are called prions, and they are known for their ability to evolve into infections that can attack other species. The concern is that people who eat infected deer meat may get sick, too. And deer aren't the only worrisome creatures. In addition to white-tailed deer, mule deer and reindeer, moose and elk are contracting chronic wasting disease, as well.

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The good news is that, as of Feb. 5, 2018, there have been no reports anywhere in the world of people contracting zombie deer disease. This is especially positive, considering the disease has been around since 1967, when it was discovered in deer living in Colorado. And, since consumption of venison and elk meat by people is ever-popular, there's a very real concern about transmission. This is especially true for hunters, whom the CDC cautions not to harvest meat from areas known to be infected with chronic wasting disease.

Now That's Interesting A 2017 study by the Alberta Prion Research Institute found that chronic wasting disease can spread from deer to monkeys that have eaten infected venison. The monkeys were selected for the study because of their genetic similarity to people.
Hualien, Feb 7 (IBNS): At least two people were killed 219 others were injured as an earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter Scale hit Taiwan's Hualien County on Wednesday, media reports said.

177 people are still missing.

After the magnitude 6.0 quake struck 18.3 kilometers northeast of Hualien County hall at a shallow depth of 10 kilometers, an intensity level of 7 was felt in Hualien County for a full 70 seconds, causing multiple buildings to collapse, trapping many inside as they slept. Of the 177 missing, 147 people are trapped in the 12-story Yun Tsui residential complex which partially collapsed and titled 45 degrees, Taiwan News reported quoting Apple Daily report.

The first three floors of the 11-story Marshal Hotel collapsed following the

quake.

Some people are still trapped inside the debris, reports said.

After the major 6.0 earthquake hit the area, there have been 14 perceptible temblors and 104 smaller quakes for a total of 118 aftershocks so far.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen reached the Yun Tsui residential complex to observe the rescue operations carried out.

According to reports, five buildings have collapsed in the area.

Rescue operation is still going on.

The injured people have been rushed to different hospitals across the area for treatment.
New York, Feb 7 (JEN): After 14 years of serving in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), an official farewell ceremony was held on Tuesday in the capital, Monrovia, to honour the last departing Police and Military personnel serving there.

Today, Liberia is a success story and classical example of a post conflict nation that has emerged stronger than ever before, the country is indeed a symbol of hope for other nations engulfed in conflicts and wars said Force Commander Major General Salihu Zaway Uba, who heads UNMILs Military component  that includes Nigeria, Pakistan and Ukraine personnel.

In 2003, UNMIL began with 16,475 uniformed personnel. Since that time, 61 contingents from various countries have served there. At Tuesdays farewell ceremony 404 Military and 285 Police personnel were honoured.

According to the Major General, the Missions military and police have taken greater stride towards strengthening peace and security, rule of law and governance, among others in Liberia.

Police Commissioner Simon Blatchly Heads the Formed Police Unit, which is composed of Nigerian and Chinese personnel.

The Force Commander stated that it was not all roses particularly for the military, which had the highest fatalities of 138 personnel, while the police lost 21 persons.

As we are closing, the memory of those 159 persons and others in the Mission will continue to live in our minds, we will continue to pay special tribute to them and those who contributed to peace and security in Liberia said the Major General.

On behalf of Police Commissioner Blatchly, the Force Commander expressed their profound appreciation to the uniformed component of UNMI, saying As individual units and contingents, you have done remarkably well to keep the flags high, we are proud of your endeavours as significant contribution to peace in Liberia.

Photo: UNMIL
Image: Google Maps

Kabul, Feb 7 (IBNS): At least 10 Taliban militants gave up their weapons and joined the government initiated peace process in Afghanistan.

The incident took place in Nangarhar province on Wednesday.

According to a NDS statement, the militants were involved in 'destructive and terrorist activities in Khogyani district'.

The NDS said that while joining the peace process, the militants handed over five AK-47 guns along with other weapons.

"The group handed over five AK-47 weapons, two pistols, an RPG and an amount of ammunition," the statement read.

Image: Google Maps
Kabul, Feb 7 (IBNS): An unidentified gunman killed three police personnel in Afghanistan's Kandahar province on Wednesday, media reports said.

A well-placed source, who did not wanted to be named, told Pajhwok Afghan News the incident took place in the Faqeer Baba Street in Kandahar City early in the morning.

The gunman escaped from the area after the attack.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Ottawa, Feb 7 (IBNS): Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be on his maiden India visit later this month but some sections of Indian media seem to be not much interested, media reports said.

The Indian media seems to be upset with the growing Sikh terrorism in Canada.

One of the Indian magazines, Outlook India, mocked Trudeau referring to him as "Khalistan II. Made in Canada".

The magazine consists of few articles about Canada's alleged involvement with Sikh independence movement in Punjab, India.

The articles were supplemented by an interview of Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh.

The Sikh nationalist movement is a movement which aims to make Punjab region of India, a separate country named Khalistan.

Trudeau will visit India with a primary aim to develop and strengthen the trade relations between the two nations.

Trudeau will tour India between Feb 17 and 23.

The Canada PM will visit Agra, Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Mumbai and New Delhi during his stay in India.

Trudeau will engage with Indian leaders in talks related to government and business, empowerment of women and girls and economic ties between the two countries.

He will discuss the ways with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create good, middle class jobs for people of both the nations.

Apart from bilateral talks, Trudeau is scheduled to visit prominent Indian places like Taj Mahal in Agra, Golden Temple in Amritsar and Swaminarayan Akshardham in Gujarat.

Last month, both the leaders had met on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
In January, the Ukrainian capitals budget was replenished by UAH 4.426 billion.

Kyiv taxpayers in the first month of 2018 transferred to the consolidated budget some UAH 6.17 billion, which is UAH 1.674 billion more year on year.

According to the press service of the State Fiscal Services Kyiv office, UAH 4.426 billion of these funds were directed to the Kyiv budget.

Read alsoNumber of individual entrepreneurs in Ukraine declines by 8,500 within two monthsIn January 2017 compared to January last year, revenues on the value-added tax increased by UAH 863 million, on personal income tax  by UAH 342 million, and military fees  by UAH 56 million, the SFS says.

As UNIAN reported earlier, revenues to the consolidated budget of Ukraine in January 2018 amounted to UAH 65.8 billion, which is UAH 9.3 billion, or 14.3%, more than in January 2017.
Ghana Begins Water Rationing Shortage Grips Nation

(GIN)  The state-owned Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL) has announced that due to severe dry winter winds (called harmattan) and the drying up of rivers, water deliveries will be rationed over the coming months while the country awaits the rain.

We are sorry to inform the consuming public that the situation has led to intermittent water supply in most cities and towns in the country, said Stanley Martey, communications director of the national company. The rate of evaporation of water bodies nationwide has become alarming and there will be consequences for some communities, he said.

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This has not gone down well with government.

A briefing has been demanded by parliamentarian Sampson Ahi on the water crisis.

In addition to blaming bad farming practices, the illegal felling of trees and illegal small-scale gold mining, the water company cites pollution of the countrys water bodies for the shortages.

In a recent interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra, Martey revealed that with the exception of the Eastern and the Ashanti regions, all regions in Ghana will have water rationed.

But Martey may have been putting the best face on an already dismal reality. Most of the rivers in the Northern region have dried up completely, residents told Martina Bugria, a reporter with Joy News. The situation has forced residents to trek several miles for water, often polluted by animal waste.

Martey dismissed charges that the Water Company was responsible for the dire water crisis. The resource is unavailable or depleting at a fast rate, he declared. But despite the urgency of the crisis, there is no national rationing plan.

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Every region has its own peculiar problems, but a timetable will soon be provided to guide consumers as to when taps will be opened or closed.

No community will go without water for two days, he promised, assuring in the third day there would be water, he said.

Meanwhile, some 23.1 million Ghanaians, representing 73% of the 27 million population, are using water that does not meet the benchmark of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) requirements of at-home availability, reliable, and contaminant-free drinking water.

This means that only 3.9 million Ghanaians have access to drinking water from an improved water source that is located on premises, available when needed and free from fecal and priority chemical contamination  the standard SDG requirement.
Pope Francis reportedly received a letter in 2015 that describes a Chilean church cover-up of sexual abuse by a priest there.

The pope had said recently that no victims had reported a cover-up.

But one victim wrote in an eight-page letter that several clergy members witnessed and tried to hide the abuse, including Juan Barros. He is the Bishop of Osnorno, Chile, and was appointed by the Pope in early 2015.

Member of Francis' sex abuse commission told the Associated Press that the victims letter was given to the Pope.

Pope Francis has repeatedly said that he has zero tolerance'' for sex abuse or attempts to hide it or protect abusers. He also has expressed his understanding and sympathy for abuse survivors.

But last month, demonstrators in South America protested a visit by the Pope because of his forceful defense of Barros.

Defending Barros

Barros is accused of witnessing and ignoring sex abuse by Chilean priest Fernando Karadima. During the Popes trip to South America, he dismissed accusations against Barros as slander.

The Pope spoke to an AP reporter on his flight home. He said, You, in all good will, tell me that there are victims, but I haven't seen any, because they haven't come forward.

Yet members of the Pope's Commission for the Protection of Minors say the Roman Catholic Church leader did have such information. The team says it sent a delegation to Rome in April 2015 to give the letter about Barros to the Pope.

Victim's letter reportedly given to Pope

The victim, Juan Carlos Cruz, wrote in the letter that Karadima had repeatedly sexually assaulted him. He said Barros and others saw the assaults and did nothing to stop them.

Four members of the commission met with Francis' top abuse adviser, Cardinal Sean O'Malley. They explained their objections to Francis' appointment of Barros as a bishop in southern Chile.

They also gave OMalley the letter to give to Francis.

Marie Collins was a member of the commission. She was at the meeting. When we gave him (O'Malley) the letter for the pope, he assured us he would give it to the pope and speak of the concerns, she told the AP. And at a later date, he assured us that that had been done.

Cruz said he was told the same thing later that year. He spoke to the AP in an interview from his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Cardinal O'Malley called me after the Pope's visit here in Philadelphia and he told me, among other things, that he had given the letter to the pope in his hands,'' Cruz said.

Neither the Vatican nor O'Malley answered requests for comment.

Karadima refuses media visits

Cruz arrived at Karadima's community in 1980 as a troubled teenager whose father had recently died. Cruz has said Karadima told him he would be like a spiritual father to him.

Cruz provided AP reporters with a copy of his letter. In it, he asks for Francis to honor his promise to punish abusers and those who help them.

Following testimony from Cruz and other former members of the local church, the Vatican removed Karadima in 2011 from religious leadership and sentenced him to a lifetime of ''penance and prayer'' for his crimes.

Karadima is now 87 years old and lives in a home for old priests in Santiago. He has not publicly commented on any of the reports and does not accept calls or visits from the news media.

'I never knew anything...'

Barros has repeatedly denied witnessing any abuse or covering it up. ''I never knew anything about, nor ever imagined, the serious abuses which that priest committed against the victims,'' he told the AP recently.

The Vatican announced last week it was sending its most respected sex-crimes investigator to take testimony from Cruz and others about Barros.

Although the Vatican and Chilean government officials considered the victims' testimony credible, the local church did not. That may have influenced Francis's view. Chilean Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa has said he did not believe the victims at first and cancelled an investigation as a result. He was forced to reopen it when the victims made their case public. He has also apologized.

Errazuriz is one of the Pope Franciss key cardinal advisers.

By the time Cruz got his letter to cardinal O'Malley in 2015, he had already sent versions of it to many other people. He and other survivors had tried for months to get an appointment with the Vatican ambassador to Chile. The embassy sent Cruz a short message in answer to an email he sent December 7, 2014  one month before Barros was appointed bishop. It said your request has been met with an unfavorable response.

Im Caty Weaver.

And Im Ashley Thompson.

The Associated Press reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, or visit our Facebook page.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

priest - n. a person who has the authority to lead or perform ceremonies in some religions and especially in some Christian religions

zero tolerance - n. a policy of giving the most severe punishment possible to every person who commits a crime or breaks a rule

assault - v. to violently attack (someone or something)

slander - n. the act of making a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone

assure - v. to make (something) certain 

interview - n. a meeting at which people talk to each other in order to ask questions and get information:

penance - n. something that you do or are given to do in order to show that you are sad or sorry about doing something wrong

commit - v. to do (something that is illegal or harmful)

testimony - n. something that someone says especially in a court of law while formally promising to tell the truth

credible - adj. able to be believed : reasonable to trust or believe
4 A Mercedes SUV lies on the gravestones at a cemetery in the Sydney suburb of South Coogee, Australia. The early morning crash caused significant damage after the driver failed to take a corner, crashing through a wall before landing on the gravestones. Police said the driver failed a roadside alcohol breath test before going to hospital.
A powerful earthquake struck Taiwan late Tuesday, killing at least seven people and leaving several buildings leaning, near total collapse.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit around the middle of the night local time near the coastal city of Hualien. Search and rescue operations continued in an effort to save dozens of people missing.

Taiwans President Tsai Ing-wen visited the damaged areas. She promised that every effort would be made to rescue survivors. At least 260 people were reported injured and more than 80 are missing.

The earthquake split some roads in half and left about 40,000 homes without water. Nearly 2,000 others did not have electricity.

Some of the most powerful pictures and video of the disaster showed high-rise buildings tilting heavily after the earthquake.

Taiwans Central Emergency Operation Center said rescue efforts in one area were briefly halted over safety concerns. One residential building continued to lean towards collapse causing rescuers to stop their efforts.

Rescue workers put up steel beams against the building in an effort to prevent it from completely collapsing. Large concrete blocks were also placed against the beams for added support.

The building was among at least four in the area that sank and shifted because of the earthquake. Experts say the shifts were likely caused by soil liquefaction. This process can cause the ground underneath a building to lose its solidity under great physical stress.

Shifting destroyed the lower floors of several buildings, forcing rescue workers to enter windows to reach people trapped inside.

Hualien prosecutors said they had launched an investigation. They want to know about possible negligence in construction of buildings that collapsed or tilted from the earthquake, the Taipei Times reported.

Government officials are seeking building records and said they would question companies in the buildings planning and construction. The investigation will look into whether shortcuts were taken, if poor building materials were used and whether all government rules were followed.

Taiwan sits in a very seismically active area known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. Earthquakes regularly strike the area.

Im Bryan Lynn.

Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse and other sources. Mario Ritter was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

_______________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

lean  v. to bend or move from a straight position

tilt  v. to move into a position where one end or side is higher than the other

residential  adj. of or relating to the places where people live

beam  n. long and heavy piece of wood or metal used to support parts of a building, ship, etc.

concrete  n. a hard substance used in construction

shift  v. to move to a different place, position, etc.

negligence  n. failure to take the care that a responsible person usually takes

shortcut  n. a faster or easier way to do something

seismically  adv. relating to or caused by an earthquake


Experts say four large nations can be expected to hold joint naval exercises and release statements about the South China Sea in the future.

Australia, India, Japan and the United States form a group that some experts are calling the quad.

Observers say the four are likely to take such measures rather than directly challenging China over its claims to the disputed waterway in the Pacific Ocean.

Stuart Orr is professor of strategic management at Dearkin University in Australia. He said, of the four countries, the United States is likely to take the largest part in such efforts.

[The] number one presence is probably going to be driven by the U.S., said Orr. The professor said that India would also play a large part. He added that Japan and Australia would likely be providing high-level logistical support.

The four nations want the South China Sea to remain open. It is an important path for trade and rich in resources. But experts say the countries do not want to damage their trade ties with China.

Rules-based order in the disputed waterway

Leaders of the four nations met in the Philippine capital, Manila, in November to discuss how to keep the sea open.

At the time, Australia and Japan called for a rules-based order and respect for international law.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to leaders of 10 Southeast Asian countries on January 26. Four of them also claim parts of the sea. The countries are members of ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Modi said that India has promised to work with those nations on maritime issues.

Experts on the issue say more statements from the group are likely.

Ben Ho is an expert with the Military Studies Programme at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.

He said the most concrete thing they can do is to issue some statement on the South China Sea dispute, and even then I believe that China might not even be explicitly named in such a statement.



Joint military exercises possible

The four countries also might send navy ships through the South China Sea, especially along its borders experts say. The action might take place in coastal waters of countries that want help resisting Chinese ships.

The United States has sent navy ships into the sea five times since Donald Trump became president last year. The policy of freedom of navigation in the sea has continued from the earlier administration of President Barack Obama.

Oh Ei Sun teaches international studies at Singapore Nanyang University.

He says Japan may break out of its self-imposed restraints, and carry out its own military exercises.

Oh said, You will see Japan trying to make more frequent port calls and indeed join military exercises, providing training and so on to these nations.

India and Australia would likely support military exercises aimed at warning China.

Stephen Nagy is a professor of politics and international studies at International Christian University in Tokyo. He pointed out that training and new equipment are things to be expected this year for Vietnam.

Vietnam has aggressively pushed its claims to areas of the South China Sea. In January 2017, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe promised to provide six boats for Vietnams coast guard.

The U.S. is to soon send an aircraft carrier to visit the Vietnamese port of Da Nang.

Ho says China is expected to deal with each action individually. He believes China might add to its developments on small landforms it controls in the South China Sea.

However, Ho says it is unlikely that India and Japan will push too hard in the area. Both have territorial disputes with China outside of the South China Sea.

Economic and trade ties also will play an important part in dealings linked to the sea. China, for example, is Australias largest trading partner.

Canberra will not do anything drastic to damage the relationship, Ho said.

Im Mario Ritter.

Ralph Jennings reported this story for VOA News. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOA Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

challenge v. to test the ability of

management n. the skill of overseeing a business, department or office

logistical adj. things that must be done to plan and organize a complicate activity or event

maritime adj. having to do with the sea or travel on it

explicitly adv. very clear, without doubt

perimeters n. the outside edge of something such as a territory or area

navigation n. the act of finding ones way from one place to another

drastic adj. severe

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1 hour ago

World shares meander after Wall St ends with weekly loss

World shares and U.S. futures were mostly higher Monday, bouncing back from losses last week on Wall Street. Stocks rose in London, Paris, Tokyo and Shanghai but fell in Hong Kong, where a Financial Times report that Chinese regulators want to break up the mammoth e-commerce payments platform Alipay dragged shares in Alibaba Group Holding nearly 4.3% lower.

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ConocoPhillips engages in the exploration, production, transportation and marketing of crude oil, bitumen, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and liquefied natural gas on a worldwide basis. It operates through the following geographical segments: Alaska; Lower 48; Canada; Europe, Middle East and North Africa; Asia Pacific; and Other International. The Alaska segment primarily explores for produces, transports and markets crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. The Lower 48 segment consists of operations in the U.S. and the Gulf of Mexico. The Canada segment is comprised of oil sands development in the Athabasca Region of northeastern Alberta and a liquids-rich unconventional play in western Canada. The Europe, Middle East and North Africa segment consists of operations and exploration activities in Norway, the United Kingdom and Libya. The Asia Pacific segment has explorations and product operations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia. The Other International segment handles exploration activities in Columbia and Argentina. The company was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Houston, TX.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. operates as a multinational, specialty pharmaceutical, and medical device company that develops, manufactures, and markets a range of pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter (OTC) products, and medical devices. The company operates through three segments: Bausch + Lomb/International, Branded Rx, and U.S. Diversified Products. The Bausch + Lomb/International segment provides pharmaceutical products, OTC products, and medical device products, primarily consist of Bausch + Lomb products, with a focus on the vision care, surgical, consumer, and ophthalmology Rx products in the United States; and pharmaceutical products, generic pharmaceutical products, OTC products, medical device products, and Bausch + Lomb products in Canada, Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. The Branded Rx segment sells gastrointestinal and dermatological products in the United States. The U.S. Diversified Products segment offers pharmaceutical products, OTC products, and medical device products in the areas of neurology and certain other therapeutic classes, including aesthetics. The company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Laval, Canada.

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WABCO Holdings Inc., together with its subsidiaries, supplies electronic, mechanical, electro-mechanical, and aerodynamic products worldwide. The company engineers, develops, manufactures, and sells braking, stability, suspension, steering, transmission automation, and air management systems primarily for commercial vehicles. The company's products include pneumatic anti-lock braking systems, electronic braking systems, electronic stability control systems, brake controls, automated manual transmission systems, and air disc brakes; and various conventional mechanical products, such as actuators, air compressors, and air control valves for medium and heavy-duty trucks, buses, and trailers. It also offers pneumatic and hydraulic braking and control systems for off-highway vehicles; conventional braking systems; electronic and conventional air suspension systems; steering technologies; and vehicle electronic stability control and roll stability support products, and advanced driver assistance systems. In addition, the company supplies electronic suspension controls and vacuum pumps to the passenger car and SUV markets, as well as provides remanufacturing services. Further, it offers replacement parts, fleet management solutions, diagnostic tools, training, and other expert services for commercial vehicle aftermarket distributors and service partners, and fleet operators. The company sells its products primarily to truck and bus original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), trailer OEMs, and car manufacturers; and manufacturers of heavy duty and off-highway vehicles in agriculture, construction, mining, and other industries. WABCO Holdings Inc. was founded in 1869 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Xerox: A B S Digital Limited, Acorn Business Machines (Holmfirth) Limited, Alloy Acquisitions Corp. LLC, Altodigital Networks, Altodigital Networks Limited, American Photocopy Equipment Company of Pittsburgh LLC, Amici, Arena Group, Arena Group Holdings Limited, Arena Group Limited, Arizona Office Technologies Inc., B 2 Business Systems Limited, Back2Business Limited, Bessemer Insurance Limited, Bessemer Trust Limited, Boise Office Equipment Inc., Bright Ceramic Technologies Inc., Bunch CareSolutions, Business Systems (North Wales) Limited, CPAS Systems, CREDITEX - Aluguer de Equipamentos S.A., CTX Business Solutions Inc., Capitol Office Solutions LLC, CareAR Holdings LLC, CareAR Inc., Carolina Office Systems Inc., Carr Business Systems Inc., Chicago Office Technology Group Inc., ComDoc Inc., Concept Group, Concept Group Limited, Connecticut Business Systems LLC, Consilience Software, Continua Limited, Continua Sanctum Limited, Conway Technology Group LLC, Copyrite Business Solutions (Holdings) Limited, Copyrite Business Solutions Limited, Copytrend Limited, Criterion IT Limited, Customer Value Group, Dahill Office Technology Corporation, Digitex, Digitex Canada Inc., Docucentric Holdings Limited, Eastern Managed Print Network LLC, Elan Marketing Inc., Electronic Systems Inc., Fovia (Innovation) Limited, G-Five Inc., GDP Technologies Inc., Global Imaging Systems, Global PR Corporation, Gyricon LLC, Healthy Communities Institute, Heritage Business Systems Inc., ITEC Group, Image Technology Specialists Inc., ImageQuest Inc., Imagetek Office Systems, Impika, Impika SAS, Inland Business Machines Inc., Institute for Research on Learning, Integrity One Technologies Inc., Intrepid Learning, Invoco Group, Irish Business Systems, LRI LLC, LaserNetworks, LaserNetworks Inc., Lateral Data, Learn Something, Lewan & Associates Inc., Limited Liability Company Xerox (C.I.S.), M & S Reprographics Limited, MRC Smart Technology Solutions Inc., MT Business Holdings Inc., MT Business Technologies Inc., MWB Copy Products Inc., Mail A Doc Limited, Merizon Group Incorporated, Michigan Office Solutions Inc., Minnesota Office Technology Group Inc., Mitral Systems Limited, Mr. Copy Inc., Nemo (AKS) Limited, NewField IT, NewField Information Technology LLC, NewField Information Technology Limited, Northeast Office Systems LLC, Osprey Business Systems Limited, PARC China Holdings Inc., Pacific Services and Development Corporation, Palo Alto Research Center Incorporated, Platinum Digital Print Solutions Limited, Precision Copier Service Inc., Quality Business Systems Inc., Quilver Business Services Limited, R. K. Dixon Company, RRXH Limited, RRXIL Limited, RRXO Limited, RSA Medical, Rabbit Copiers Inc., Reflex Digital Solutions (UK) Limited, Reprographics Egypt Limited, Saxon Business Systems Inc., Smart Data Consulting, SoCal Office Technologies Inc., Stem Networks Limited, Stewart Business Systems LLC, Stewart of Alabama Inc., StrataCare, Talegen Holdings Inc., Tektronix - color printing, Text Comm Limited (in receivership), The Xerox (UK) Trust, The Xerox Foundation, Time Business Systems Limited, Triton Business Finance Limited, Una-Stem Limited, Veenman B.V., Veenman Financial Services B.V., WDS, WaterWare Internet Services, XC Asia LLC, XC Global Trading B.V., XC Trading Hong Kong Limited, XC Trading Japan G.K., XC Trading Korea YH, XC Trading Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., XC Trading Shenzhen Co. Ltd., XC Trading Singapore Pte Ltd., XEROX CZECH REPUBLIC s r.o., XESystems Foreign Sales Corporation, XFS Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, XHC Acquisition Corp., XMPie, XMPie Inc., XMPie Ltd., XRI Limited, XRO Limited, Xerox (Europe) Limited, Xerox (Ireland) Limited, Xerox (Nederland) BV, Xerox (Romania) Echipmante Si Servici S.A., Xerox (UK) Limited, Xerox (Ukraine) Ltd LLC, Xerox A/S, Xerox AG, Xerox AS, Xerox Argentina Industrial y Comercial S.A., Xerox Austria GmbH, Xerox Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Equipment Limited, Xerox Business Services Bulgaria EOOD, Xerox Business Solutions Inc., Xerox Business Solutions Southeast LLC, Xerox Buro Araclari Servis ve Ticaret Ltd. Sti, Xerox Canada Inc., Xerox Canada Ltd., Xerox Canada N.S. ULC, Xerox Capital (Europe) Limited, Xerox Capital LLC, Xerox Computer Services Limited, Xerox Comercio e Industria Ltda, Xerox Corporation, Xerox DNHC LLC, Xerox Dienstleistungsgesellschaft GmbH, Xerox Distributor Operations Limited, Xerox Egypt S.A.E., Xerox Equipment Limited, Xerox Equipment UK Limited, Xerox Espana S.A.U., Xerox Exports Limited, Xerox Finance AG, Xerox Finance Leasing S.A.E., Xerox Finance Limited, Xerox Financial Services B.V., Xerox Financial Services Belux NV, Xerox Financial Services Canada Ltd., Xerox Financial Services Danmark A/S, Xerox Financial Services Finland Oy, Xerox Financial Services LLC, Xerox Financial Services Norway AS, Xerox Financial Services SAS, Xerox Financial Services Sverige AB, Xerox Foreign Holdings LLC, Xerox Foreign Sales Corporation, Xerox GmbH, Xerox Health Care LLC, Xerox Hellas AEE, Xerox Holding Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Holdings (Ireland) Limited, Xerox Holdings Inc., Xerox Hungary Trading Limited, Xerox IBS Limited, Xerox IBS NI Limited, Xerox India Limited, Xerox International Joint Marketing Inc., Xerox Investments Europe B.V., Xerox Israel Ltd., Xerox Italia Rental Services Srl, Xerox Kazakhstan Limited Liability Partnership, Xerox Latinamerican Holdings Inc., Xerox Leasing Deutschland GmbH, Xerox Leasing GmbH, Xerox Limited, Xerox Luxembourg SA, Xerox Mailing Systems Limited, Xerox Manufacturing (Nederland) B.V., Xerox Maroc S.A., Xerox Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Xerox Middle East Investments (Bermuda) Limited, Xerox N.V., Xerox Overseas Holdings Limited, Xerox Overseas Inc., Xerox Oy, Xerox Pensions Limited, Xerox Polska Sp. z o. o, Xerox Portugal Equipamentos de Escritorio Limitada, Xerox Products Limited, Xerox Products UK Limited, Xerox Professional Services Limited, Xerox Realty Corporation, Xerox Renting S.A.U., Xerox Reprographische Services GmbH, Xerox S.A.S., Xerox S.p.A., Xerox Secured Borrowing 2020-1 LLC, Xerox Servicios Compartidos Guatemala y Compani Limitada, Xerox Servicos e Participacoes Ltda, Xerox Shared Services Romania SRL, Xerox Sverige AB, Xerox Technology Services India LLP, Xerox Technology Services SAS, Xerox Telebusiness GmbH, Xerox Trading Enterprises Limited, Xerox Trinidad Limited, Xerox UK Holdings Limited, Xerox XHB Limited, Xerox XIB Limited, Xerox Xf Holdings (Ireland) DAC, Xerox de Chile S.A., Xerox del Ecuador S.A., Xerox del Peru S.A., Zeno Office Solutions, Zeno Office Solutions Inc., Zoom Imaging Solutions Inc., and inVentiv Patient Access Solutions.
The memory of a beloved pet inspires one couple's fight against injustice.
For many people, vacation time means forgetting your worries and visiting sandy sunny beaches, exploring wild life parks, and discovering international culture. But great vacation packages offered by travel agents are usually very costly, which is why only the lucky few get to enjoy truly luxurious and thrilling vacations every year. However, if you play your cards right, even people on tight budgets can take a fancy vacation every year. For example, here are eight great budget vacations that anyone can enjoy:

Orlando, Florida

This vacation features a trip to the home of the best three theme parks in Florida: Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld. More good news: This is the best time to visit Orlando in several years as hotel prices there recently dropped; right now you can get a room at a luxury hotel for as low as $70 per night.

Etosha National Park Namibia

This National Park provides an excellent safari vacation opportunity; its most popular for its game herds. There are more than 150 different animal species and more than 320 bird species in this park. A three day vacation here with accommodation costs around $500. For very little money, you can also rent a vehicle with a tour guide.

Argentina

For as little as $800, you can typically get a budget vacation package for three nights in Buenos Aires and two nights at the Puerto Iguazu  home to some of the most beautiful places in Argentina. See the majestic Iguazu Falls and its National Park. Dont forget to visit nearby places like San Telmo, La Boca, and Recoleta too. Taste the excellent local food and be sure to check out the numerous tango dance clubs. If you love to tango, this is the place!

Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa

This beautiful national park is just a three hour drive from the largest city of South Africa: Johannesburg. For around $500, you can enjoy a three day tour that gives you the opportunity to see the best city in Africa. Pilanesberg National Park is set at the site of a volcano crater that was active some 1.2 billion years ago. The park offers a number of different adventures that visitors can choose from, including a special Elephant Back Safari where you can explore the area by riding an elephant! For a different park perspective, there are hot air balloon rides are also available.

Dominican Republic

With its amazing beaches, beautiful national parks, beautiful canals, and delicious food, the Dominican Republic offers the most variety at a very affordable price. Accommodation are reasonably priced, with decent rooms typically starting at around $120. With so much to offer for so little, its no wonder the Dominican Republic is among the most recommended destinations for a memorable honeymoon or family vacation for folks on a tight budget.

Masai Mara

A Masai Mara vacation requires a budget of around $200 per night. This Kenyan national park is a beautiful place to visit and its most famous for its glorious lions. Other animals including zebras, giraffe, hyena, and vultures can also be seen. Youll also be able to enjoy the sight of huge hippos and crocodiles. When youre not on safari, you can shop in Nairobis modern malls and shopping outlets.

Eastern Germany



A room at a decent hotel here will cost you around $150 per day. Visit Dresden and Leipzig; both beautiful cities have a lot of history to offer. You can also visit popular tourist resorts like Bastei which is the German Switzerland.

Botswana

This is one of the best Safari destinations in the world, but Botswana is not actually a place you can enjoy in just one vacation  there are more than 100 different tours here offered by many different providers. Safaris in Botswana range from $400 to $2000 depending on the tour you select. Botswana is so popular because it offers the best safari animals in Africa  from the fiercest jungle animals to the most beautiful birds. The safaris there are truly second to none.

So, if youre on a tight budget but eagerly want to go for a vacation, any of these eight options offer the trip of a lifetime at a very affordable price. Hey, what are you waiting for?

Photo Credit: Adorenomis
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong, was yesterday at the Legislative Assembly (AL) to present two bills that aim, according to the government, to cool down the regions real estate prices.

The measures approved yesterday amend existing laws in what concerns tax payments and contributions. They were presented to the AL by order of the chief executive (CE) to be treated as a matter of urgency. However, many of the lawmakers considered their content insufficient and doubted the effectiveness of such measures.

Although there were two separate topics and two separate bills being discussed, it was in fact a two-in-one bill that Leong presented, proposing to change in one hand the rates of the urban property tax and in another, the amount of stamp duty in the acquisition of second and subsequent housing units.

As explained by Leong, the aim of the bills is to pry open some 12,000 housing units that according to government studies have been purchased but are considered to be unoccupied, as well as to deter investors from acquiring several housing units. These measures arose from an announcement from the CE in December, who, after a meeting in Beijing, said that the government would enforce measures to tackle the speculative use of housing units.

Although the approval of the bills by the plenary was almost consensual, there were several issues that raised questions, starting with the need of the topic to be addressed as a matter of urgency.

Lawmakers Kou Hoi In and Ip Sio Kai questioned from the start the need for the bills to the addressed in this way, questioning the method and suggesting that under normal procedure, the topic could be addressed in more depth resulting in more quality.

To the questions, the Secretary explained, this is a sensitive topic and that can lead to fluctuations in the market, adding, we intend to treat this [topic] as a combined package and we also intend this method or urgency in order to allow a healthy development of the market.

When it came to vote on whether the bill should be addressed as a matter of urgency, Kou voted against the motion and Ip abstained.

In the discussion of the bills and namely on the one regarding the changes to the urban property tax, many lawmakers expressed concerns over the effectiveness of the measure that proposes to withdraw the exemption of tax for the non-rented units, which will now have a 6 percent tax levied. They also disagreed with a similar tax rate of 10 percent for rented units.

Leong Sun Iok, Mak Soi Kun, Ho Ion Sang, Agnes Lam and Zheng Anting argued that some of these measures were insufficient and were unlikely to promote the expected effects. They also questioned the government on the reasons for the high number of unoccupied units.

Mak Soi Kun was one of the most active lawmakers at this stage, questioning the government on the reasons that lead owners not to want to lease the units, claiming that it often regards a phenomenon that he called Scammer Tenants.

Mak added that the renting law does not protect owners and landlords from these scammer tenants that fail to comply with rent payments and other problems, noting that the judicial processes that landlords need to resort to in order to get their units back are slow and time-consuming.

We need to have measures to improve the renting law, he said adding, We know what is the reality of the market in Macau and neighboring regions. Everyone buys houses to speculate. Even president Xi [Jiping] warned us about this.

According to Mak, property owners would rather put them in the bank, taking profit from them The ones that have a good finance capacity rather not to rent.

Supporting this idea was Angela Leong, saying that she agrees fully with Mak and that what Macau needs is to perfect the renting market and to improve the efficiency of the judicial processes to put order to the market. Thats the incentive they [the owners] need.

As for Ho Ion Sang, he noted, this is a very light and simple way to do it, recalling that the Secretary had promised before to reduce the tax to 10 percent for rented units in order to incentivize leasing them. Ho questioned what progress had been made in regards to the promise.

Ip Sio Kai, definitely one of the most troubled by the measure suggested that government should, adopt an even solution for all but separate housing units from commercial units, adding, this measure [as it is presented] will affect all as a whole and if the legislative intention has to do with housing units, we should have a differentiated treatment [for the non-residential ones].

Ip also pointed the finger to the bill saying, This is a repressive measure, missing the incentive measures.

Lawmaker Pereira Coutinho noted that the problem arises from the lack of balance between demand and supply, remarking, in one year time you will be here again to approve another one.

In his opinion the problem has deeper roots that have to do with the fact that the government did not launch, for several years, any public tenders of land plots for residential housing construction.

Coutinho agrees with Ho that a real incentive would be to exempt the rented housing units from paying this tax.

As for Ng Kuok Cheong, the pro-democrat lawmaker came to refute the accusations of Mak and Leong regarding the so-called scammer tenants, according to Ng, that is a very small percentage. The major share [of the housing units not in the rental market] are in the hands of the developers, to which were granted land plots without a public tender, and where they only build luxury units at low cost and then only sell 20 percent [of the units] because that is already enough to make profit, keeping the others to make prices raise, adding, this is not like Hong Kong, in Hong Kong there is rush to sell, in Macau no, there is no rush, they can keep them to speculate.

Nevertheless Ng said he agreed with the fact that the proposal taxes unoccupied units.

Replying to the questions, Leong noted we are trying possible methods to raise the supply, reaffirming in a reply to Ho, that continues to exist the intention of reducing the difference between both tax rates but we need to consider in between the people that are taking income from the houses and the ones that arent.

Nevertheless he agreed with the majority of the opinions expressed and said he would discuss them with Secretariat of the Administration and Justice in order to see what can be done in terms of a simplification of the judicial process regarding rental disputes.

The bill passed with all votes in favor, except for one vote abstained by lawmaker Ip.
The Commission Against Corruption (CCAC) have released their Investigation report on the construction project at Alto de Coloane. The report highlights the existing doubts concerning the exact location of the construction project and how this uncertainty has and will affect the land parcels title inheritance process.

The parcel involved with the construction project at Alto de Coloane has land description number 6150 and was located near Largo do Presidente Antonio Ramalho Eanes in the old Coloane Village instead of being at Alto de Coloane. The actual area of the parcel was, at the most, only a few hundred square meters instead of 53,866 m2. and the registered parcel owner, from 1903, was Chui Lan.

In July 1991, residents in Coloane, Vong Tam Seng and Vong Tak Heng, represented by lawyer Paulo dos Remedios, brought a suit claiming their eligibility as the heirs to this land parcel to the court, claiming that Vong Tam Kuong, who was also named Chui Lan, was their grandfather. Vong Tam Seng and Vong Tak Heng made their formal request to inherit the title of the land parcel (description no. 6150).

In the April of 1999, the court ruled that the two were the only heirs of Vong Tam Kuong, and they eventually inherited the title of the parcel which was originally owned by Chui Lan.

One cannot rule out the possibility that some people made use of judicial proceedings and falsely claimed to be the parcel owners descendants and obtained the title illegally, the CCAC report says.

Vong Tam Seng and Vong Tak Heng sold the parcel to Chong Fai Properties Investment Company Limited for 150,000,000 patacas in October 1993.

After obtaining the title of the parcel with description number 6150 as an heir, Vong Tam Seng applied for two land boundary surveys, in 1992 and 1993 respectively, where he claimed that the parcel was located at Alto de Coloane adjacent to Estrada do Campo and Estrada de Seac Pai Van.

Vong Tam Seng claimed in the two applications that the area of the parcel was 111,848 square meters and 57,300 square meters respectively.

The CCAC found in the investigation that in the legal proceedings of their eligibility confirmation, there was lack of evidence for the verification of statements, the CCAC report reads.

Moreover, due to a complete lack of proof, the then Department for Cartography and Cadastre refused to issue a cadastral map.

In August 1994, Chong Fai Limited, after already having purchased the parcel, applied for a land boundary survey.

The then named Department for Cartography and Cadastre believed the parcel area was added to the property registration and that the location of the parcel was confirmed by the transcription certificate issued by the Financial Services. The department issued a cadastral map for the parcel as it was believed that the parcels location and destination were known.

The CCAC reports judged that since the information that the land boundary survey was based on was obviously at odds with reality, the administrative act of the confirmation of the boundary was groundless.

It continues by saying that the cadastral map issued by the then Department for Cartography and Cadastre is invalid, the report reads.

The CCAC considered that since the southern part of the site of the Alto de Coloane project adjacent to Estrada do Campo fell within the area of the planning laid down in Administrative Instruction no. 01/DSSOPT/2009, the permitted maximum building height should only be 8.9 m.

However, according to the street alignment plan issued by the DSSOPT, the permitted maximum building height was 100 m, which obviously contradicted the planning terms set forth in the administrative instruction.

Moreover, the street alignment plan and the official building plan approved based on the relevant cadastral information is also invalid. The street alignment plan of the Alto de Coloane project went against the planning terms provided for in the administrative instruction. Therefore, the DSSOPT (Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau) should reject the application for the official building plan, the report writes.

The CCAC pointed out that if there was no problem or dispute concerning the title, location and area of the parcel where the Alto de Coloane project is located, the parcel owner might apply for a new planning proposal according to the Urban Planning Law and subsequent approval procedures might follow. However, since the parcel is a State property, whether the relevant street alignment plan is valid is now a minor problem.

Finally, the CCAC claims that the parcel at Alto de Coloane adjacent to Estrada do Campo and Estrada de Seac Pai Van, where the construction project at Alto de Coloane is located, is not registered in the Real Estate Registry.

Therefore, according to Article 7 of the Basic Law, it is a State property. The CCAC [have suggested that] the Macau SAR Government [should] recover the land parcel following appropriate procedure and method, the CCAC report reads.

According to a statement released by the Gabinete do Porta-voz do Governo, the Chief Executive has already received the report and has decided to deliver the report to the Public Prosecution Office for further investigation.

CE refers report to Public Prosecutions Office

The Chief Executive, Chui Sai On, has decided to refer the report to the Public Prosecutions Office. According to a statement from the Government Information Bureau, Chui made the decision after an analysis of relevant laws, and with a view to safeguarding public land rights, as well as the legitimate rights of land owners. The issues raised in the CCAC report are complicated and serious, the statement read. Chui said he was highly concerned about issues raised in the report regarding demarcation of land in general, and in particular, the area involved in the Alto de Coloane construction project.
The International Federation of Journalists has released its China Press Freedom Report 2017, which includes a brief reference to the problems foreign journalists faced when trying to enter Macau last year in the aftermath of Typhoon Hato.

The report, which is subtitled Ten-year edition: A decade of decline, expressed concern with the fact that five Hong Kong journalists were barred from entering Macau in the aftermath of Hato on the grounds that they might have posed a threat to internal security.

Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak has said on several occasions that the ban was in accordance with the law and that other regions had also banned entry and Macau was not an exception. He adds that there is no blacklist for journalists, political activists or lawmakers, but that the decisions are also not made on arbitrary basis by immigration officers.

The China Press Freedom Report notes that the Macau government is believed to closely follow the instructions of the Central Government of China, in particular through its barring of journalists when sensitive events occur.

Citing a recent press freedom survey conducted by the Macau Portuguese and English Press Association (AIPIM), the China Press Freedom Report said that most journalists in Macau face some form of restraints in reporting on the judiciary, executive and legislative branches of government.

As an example, the report recalled an incident on August 29 when the Journalists Association of Macau said the local government was pressuring at least five media outlets to report positively on the governments response to Typhoon Hato and not to hold Chief Executive Chui Sai On responsible for any unpreparedness or inadequacy.

Reviewing the situation in Hong Kong last year, the IFJ expressed considerable concern over censorship and self-censorship. It also says that several journalists were threatened, coerced and silenced, and referred to several attacks on media personnel by Chinese nationalists.

In one example at the Hong Kong Free Press, staff were sent threatening letters over the course of several months from a non-identified origin. Non-Chinese journalists were allegedly the primary target of such action and were told to leave Hong Kong, while ethnically Chinese staff were reminded not to follow the brainwashing through the distortions by foreigners of your mind. [] You have Chinese blood running through your veins and heart.

On the government front, there were numerous examples of activists and journalists harassed and charged  with particular reference to involvement in or reporting on the 2014 Umbrella Movement.

In the conclusion of the China Press Freedom Report, the IFJ makes 15 recommendations for mainland China and 10 for the Hong Kong SAR. The recommendations are strongly-worded  even presumptuous  and dictate the changes that the central and Hong Kong local governments ought to implement to better protect press freedoms. There are no recommendations listed for the Macau SAR.

In regards to mainland China, the IFJ calls for the release of all jailed journalists and writers, an end to arbitrary border entry denials, the ceasing of telecommunication manipulation during sensitive times, and for the central government to establish an independent body to investigate acts of violence against media personnel.

For Hong Kong, the report recommends that the HKSAR government direct all civil servants to uphold press freedoms by directly answering media questions, that police authorities should disseminate information to the press in a timely manner, and that online media must be treated equally to print media in their access to official events.
One of Chinas biggest makers of solar panels said yesterday it will invest USD309 million to expand manufacturing in India in a move to guard against what it complained is a rising threat of import controls in the United States and other markets.

Longi Solar Technology Ltd.s announcement follows the Trump administrations Jan. 24 decision to impose an extra 30 percent duty on imported solar modules. An Indian regulator says it is considering a safeguard tariff of 70 percent on solar panels from China and Malaysia.

Chinese manufacturers dominate global solar panel production. Their explosive growth has helped to propel adoption of renewable energy by driving down costs. But the United States, Europe, India and others complain unfairly low-priced exports hurt their manufacturers and threaten thousands of jobs.

The United States, Europe and other non-Chinese markets account for only 10 percent of Longis sales, according to its strategy director, Max Xia. But he said Longi wants to promote global sales of its latest technology this year.

We think sooner or later anti-dumping and trade protection will be happening in several countries, said Xia at a news conference. This is why we choose to do the investment in Malaysia and also in India, because we dont know when and where it will happen, this kind of anti-dumping. So we prepare to counter it.

Xias comment represented an unusually explicit statement by the Chinese industry that it is moving production to avoid trade controls. Other Chinese producers have set up factories in India and Southeast Asia but usually say they are getting closer to customers or taking advantage of local talent and supply chains.

That migration has complicated efforts by the United States, the European Union and other governments to control imports from China.

Some Chinese solar manufacturers responded to earlier U.S. and European trade measures by supplying those markets from factories outside China, avoiding higher tariffs and quotas on Chinese-made products.

Longi already has a solar module factory in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The latest investment will double production there, the company said.

Xia repeated warnings by Chinese manufacturers that import controls are hampering efforts to encourage adoption of renewable energy.

That possibly could start a green energy trade war,' he said. That is, with the whole world concerned about climate change, what people who want to solve energy problems and realize green development arent willing to see.

Longi, headquartered in the western city of Xian, ranked No. 7 among global solar panel producers by 2017 output, according to PV Tech, an industry journal. The South Korean-German supplier Hanhwa-Q Cells was the only non-Chinese competitor in the Top 10.

India is regarded by the solar industry as one of the most promising markets but low-cost Chinese imports have undercut the New Delhi governments ambitions to develop its own solar technology suppliers. Government data show imports, mostly from China, account for 90 percent of last years sales, up from 86 percent in 2014.

Indias Finance Ministry said Jan. 5 it was considering adding a temporary 70 percent safeguard tariff on solar equipment from China and Malaysia to prevent further serious injury to the Indian industry. The ministry said Chinese exporters shifted their focus to India in early 2017 after the United States and Europe stepped up import controls. Joe McDonald, Beijing, AP

Senior foreign policy adviser to meet Tillerson

Chinas senior foreign policy adviser will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson later this week, state media reported, amid concerns over North Korea and growing trade tensions. The official Xinhua News Agency gave no further details in its report this week, but the meeting between Tillerson and Yang Jiechi comes as both sides are upping pressure on North Korea over its nuclear weapons program. China has long been the Norths main economic and diplomatic partner, but has also backed increasingly strict U.N. sanctions on Kim Jong Uns regime. The statement cited foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang as its source. He said Yang, a state counselor and former foreign minister, would visit the U.S. on Thursday and Friday. The visit comes amid rising U.S.-China economic tensions underscored by Washingtons move to raise tariffs on imported solar modules, most of which come from China.
Princess Elizabeth has formally proclaimed herself Queen and Head of the Commonwealth and Defender of the Faith.

Lords of the Council  numbering 150  representatives from the Commonwealth, officials from the City of London  including the Lord Mayor  and other dignitaries witnessed the accession of the deceased kings eldest daughter this morning.

The new monarch read an official Proclamation  also ordered to be published  declaring her reign as Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.

Queen Elizabeth II read: By the sudden death of my dear father I am called to assume the duties and responsibilities of sovereignty.

My heart is too full for me to say more to you today than I shall always work, as my father did throughout his reign, to advance the happiness and prosperity of my peoples, spread as they are all the world over.

Her husband, Prince Philip of Greece, the Duke of Edinburgh, was also present at the 20 minute meeting at St Jamess Palace.

The couple returned to the UK yesterday after cutting short a tour of the Commonwealth  beginning in Kenya a week ago  because of King George VIs sudden death on 6 February.

After the Accession Declaration, at 1000 GMT, the new Queen held her first Privy Council meeting and her Proclamation was signed by the Lord Chancellor, the prime minister, and many other privy counselors along with representatives of the Commonwealth and the City and the Lord Mayor of London.

During the ceremonies the 25-year-old Queen also took an oath to assure the security of the Church of Scotland and approved several other Orders in Council.

Other dignitaries formally announced the new sovereign across the UK and Commonwealth.

In a statement this evening the Home Secretary, Sir David Fyfe, asked the nation for two minutes silence on 15 February when the late King will be buried at St Georges Chapel, Windsor.

Courtesy BBC News

In context

King George VIs body lay in state in the Great Hall in Westminster from 11 February until the funeral.

Many thousands of people queued for hours to pay their respects.

His funeral was held on 15 February 1952.

Queen Elizabeth IIs coronation was held in Westminster Abbey on 2 June 1953.

In 2002 the Queen enjoyed a year of celebrations and special visits to commemorate 50 years on the British throne.
China said yesterday it successfully tested a mid-course anti-missile defense system within its own territory, a move that comes amid tensions over North Koreas nuclear weapons program and Chinas own military developments in disputed regional waters.

The defense ministry said in a brief statement on its website that Mondays test achieved its preset goal, while offering no further details.

Mid-course interception involves destroying a ballistic missile while it is flying in space before re-entering the atmosphere.

The defense ministry said the test was defensive and does not target any country.

China is North Koreas closest economic and diplomatic partner but has signed on to increasingly tough United Nations sanctions aimed at curbing the Norths nuclear weapons program. Despite that threat, it has adamantly opposed the deployment of an advanced U.S. anti-missile system known as THAAD in South Korea, saying it would respond with countermeasures.

Beijing has also rapidly expanded its military presence on manmade islands in the South China Sea, most of which it claims, despite rival claims from other nations. It has also repeatedly sent coast guard vessels into waters controlled by Japan around uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that China claims as its own.

Given the description, Mondays test was likely to be of the SC-19 system that was believed to have been used in knocking out a Chinese satellite in a 2007 test, said Sam Roggeveen, a senior fellow with the Sydney-based Lowy Institute international policy think tank.

However, the exercise may not have included an actual interception utilizing the missiles kill vehicle, but might have simply been a test of the missiles booster, Roggeveen said. He also warned against assuming that the test was aimed at the U.S., pointing instead to other regional players.

This missile system is designed to intercept medium-range ballistic missiles, and Washington does not deploy those in the Asia-Pacific, Roggeveen said. On the other hand, both North Korea and India do have such missiles, so this test is more about them, he said.

India, Chinas nuclear-armed southern neighbor, has a border dispute with Beijing that resulted in a weekslong standoff last year between their armed forces. The two are also locked in an increasingly tense rivalry for influence in the Indian Ocean.

The ability to independently manufacture advanced armaments, including stealth fighters, aircraft carriers and missile defense systems, is key to Chinas rise as a global military power, Roggeveen said.

It is clear that China is striving to become a military-industrial superpower of equal standing to the U.S., he said.

AP
Hong Kongs highest court yesterday overturned prison sentences for three young pro-democracy activists convicted for their roles in kicking off 2014s Umbrella Movement protests in the semiautonomous Chinese city.

A panel of five judges sided with Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and Alex Chow in their appeal against monthslong prison terms for unlawful assembly.

The case sparked controversy because a magistrate initially gave the three lenient sentences but the justice secretary requested a review that resulted in prison time ranging from six to eight months, raising worries about judicial independence and rule of law in the former British colony.

The Court of Final Appeals ruling was an unexpected victory for the citys youthful opposition movement after recent setbacks. But the activists said they feared it would have a chilling effect on future protests because the judges also said they endorsed the lower courts view that a new, tougher sentencing approach was needed for unlawful assemblies.

Hong Kong is on the whole a peaceful society and elements of disorder and violence must be deterred, Chief Justice Geoffrey Ma said. Even a low degree of violence requires an immediate prison sentence, he said.

He added, though, that it would be inappropriate to retroactively apply harsher penalties to the three, who were initially given community service or suspended sentences according to sentencing guidelines at the time.

Maybe more and more activists will be locked up because of this harsh judgment, Wong, 21, told reporters on the courthouse steps after the decision. We just urge people to continue to fight for democracy. At the same time its not the time for any congratulations or celebrations.

The three were convicted on unlawful assembly charges for their part in storming a courtyard at government headquarters in September 2014 to protest Beijings plan to restrict elections, kicking off Hong Kongs most turbulent period in decades and putting Wong, then still a teen, in the global spotlight.

Wong, Law, 24, and Chow, 27, had already served about two months of their sentences before they were bailed for their appeal.

The 2014 protests, which saw activists block major thoroughfares for 11 weeks, fizzled out but spawned a youth-led opposition movement that gained political traction while facing increasing resistance from Hong Kongs Beijing-backed government.

Law was elected to the semi-democratic legislature in 2016 but was one of six pro-democracy lawmakers disqualified after a government legal challenge. Wong had plans to run for office was forced to put them on hold to fight the prison sentence, which barred him from standing for office for five years.

Another member of their Demosisto political party, 21-year-old Agnes Chow, was blocked last month from a March election by officials who said their partys political platform advocating self-determination or independence for Hong Kong violated the citys constitution.

Wong may still end up behind bars. He is also appealing a three-month prison sentence for a separate contempt case related to the 2014 protests.

Last week a dozen U.S. lawmakers nominated Wong, Law, and Chow along with Hong Kongs entire pro-democracy movement for the Nobel Peace Prize, in an effort to recognize what they said were peaceful efforts to bring political reform to Hong Kong and uphold its rule of law and human rights. Officials in Beijing and Hong Kong decried it as foreign meddling. AP
John Mahoney, who as the cranky, blue-collar dad in Frasier played counterpoint to pompous sons Frasier and Niles, has died. Mahoney was 77.

The actor died Sunday in Chicago after a brief hospitalization, Paul Martino, his manager for more than 30 years, said Monday. The cause of death was not immediately provided.

In Frasier, the hit Cheers spinoff that aired from 1993 to 2004, Mahoney played Martin Crane, a disabled ex-policeman who parked himself in a battered old armchair in Frasiers chic Seattle living room.

Kelsey Grammers Frasier and David Hyde Pierces Niles, both psychiatrists with lofty views of their own intellect, squabbled constantly with their dad but, when needed, the family closed ranks.

Martins beloved dog, Eddie, also took up residence to annoy the fussy Frasier.

Mahoney, a British native who made Chicago his hometown, was a two-time Emmy nominee for Frasier, won a 1986 Tony Award for The House of Blue Leaves, and worked steadily in movies.

John Cusack, who appeared with Mahoney is the 1989 film Say Anything, tweeted that he was a great actor and a lovely kind human  any time you saw him you left feeling better.

Mahoneys recent TV credits included a recurring role as Betty Whites love interest on Hot in Cleveland and a 2015 guest appearance on Foyles War. On the big screen, he was in The American President, Eight Men Out and Tin Men, with 2007s Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carell among his last movie credits.

The actor was born in 1940 in Blackpool, England, during World War II. Thats where his pregnant mother had been evacuated for safety from Nazi attacks, but the family soon returned to its home in Manchester.

One of his four sisters, who moved to the Midwest after marrying a U.S. sailor, was responsible for Mahoneys decision to make his life in America. He visited Chicago as a college student and fell in love with it. Lynn Elber, Los Angeles, AP
The main political rival to the president of the Maldives called on India yesterday to send an envoy  backed by its military  to free imprisoned Supreme Court justices and opposition leaders, as political turmoil battered the Indian Ocean nation.

The request from exiled former President Mohammed Nasheed came as Maldives security forces stormed the Supreme Court building overnight, arresting two judges and later a top opposition politician, after the government declared a state of emergency.

The government of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom has moved to assert its power since the Supreme Court ordered several imprisoned opposition politicians to be freed late last week. The government announced a 15-day state of emergency Monday night, giving it sweeping powers, including to make arrests, search and seize property and restrict freedom of assembly.

Nasheed, who was among the opposition politicians ordered freed by the Supreme Court and who is now in neighboring Sri Lanka, denounced the governments actions.

President Yameen has illegally declared martial law and overrun the state. We must remove him from power, he said in a statement, calling for the Indian envoy and military to be sent. We are asking for a physical presence.

He also called on the U.S. to stop Maldives government officials from making transactions through U.S. banks.

There was no immediate response from India.

Yameen has cracked down on civil liberties since coming to power in 2013, imprisoning or forcing into exile nearly every politician who opposes him.

Hours after the emergency was declared, security forces in riot gear and blue camouflage stormed the Supreme Court building, arresting two of its judges, including Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed. It was not immediately clear what charges they faced, if any. The whereabouts of the courts other two judges were not clear yesterday.

Later, former dictator and opposition politician Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was seen on cellphone video shot by his daughter being quietly escorted from his home by security forces, hugging friends and family and waving to supporters before being driven away.

Shortly before his arrest he sent a message on Twitter saying a large deployment of police had surrounded his house: To protect me or to arrest me? No idea.

His lawyer, Maumoon Hameed, said Gayoom faced charges including bribery and attempting to overthrow the government.

Gayoom was president from 1978 to 2008, when the Maldives became a multiparty democracy.

The Maldives is an archipelago of more than 1,000 islands with fewer than 400,000 citizens, more than one-third of them living in the crowded capital city, Male. Tourism now dominates the economy, with wealthy foreigners flown to hyper-expensive resort islands.

But it remains, in many ways, a small community. Gayoom, the former dictator, is the half brother of President Yameen. The two men are now political enemies. Nasheed, the opposition leader, unseated Gayoom in the countrys first democratic elections in 2008. But he and Gayoom are now political allies in an opposition alliance.

The surprise, unanimous Supreme Court ruling last week ordering the release of the imprisoned opposition leaders has led to increasing turmoil, with Yameen lashing out at the court, opposition protests spilling into the streets of Male, and soldiers in riot gear stopping lawmakers from meeting in the parliament building.

The United Nations, United States and other foreign governments have urged the Maldives to respect the court order.

During Gayooms rule, he was repeatedly the only candidate for the presidency.

Nasheed resigned during his presidential term following protests over the arrest of a judge. He lost the 2013 election to Yameen, then was convicted under Maldives anti-terrorism laws in a trial widely criticized by international rights groups.

He was granted medical leave in 2016 and traveled to Britain where he was granted asylum.

Nasheed said last week after the court ruling that he would mount a fresh challenge for the presidency this year.

China, Australia and the United States updated their travel advice during the latest unrest. China urged people to avoid travel there and Australia and the U.S. told citizens to be cautious.

There is a history of Indian military involvement in the Maldives.

In 1988, Sri Lankan militants working for a Maldivian businessman tried to take control of the country and seized control of many government buildings.

Then-President Gayoom asked for Indian military help to drive back the militants. India dispatched 1,600 paratroopers to the Maldives, who quickly restored Gayooms control. Mohamed Sharuhaan, Male, AP
Professor Jao Tsung I, an expert of sinology and a former recipient of an honorary doctorate from the University of Macau (UM), passed away yesterday morning, at the age of 101.

An erudite scholar and a prolific writer, Jao was a renowned expert of sinology, a historian, archaeologist, writer, Confucian scholar, educator, and painter. He dedicated his whole life to promoting sinology, with remarkable accomplishments in both art and literature.

Jao served as a chair professor in the School of Arts at the University of East Asia (UEA), the predecessor of UM. He assisted with the establishment of the Department of Chinese Literary History and served as the department head and founding professor.

During the early days of UM, he worked tirelessly to develop programs in the field of humanities, which had a far-reaching impact in laying the groundwork for the development of teaching and research in the Chinese discipline, and in nurturing for Macau a group of experts well-versed in Chinese language and literature. He also pioneered research in the history of Macau at UM. Later, he actively supported the development of Macaology, making a groundbreaking contribution to UM in the establishment and development of this discipline.

In 2004, UM conferred the titles of honorary doctor and honorary professor upon Jao, in recognition of his original academic contributions.

According to statement from UM, the outstanding achievements UM has attained in the field of humanities would not have been possible without the significant contributions of Prof Jao.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered an end to all foreign scientific research missions in a vast expanse of waters off the countrys northeast and called on the military to chase out unauthorized vessels, an official said yesterday.

Duterte issued the order in a Cabinet meeting late Monday after doubts were raised over the countrys sovereign rights in the offshore region called Benham Rise, which the government has renamed Philippine Rise, said Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Pinol.

Let me be very clear about this: The Philippine Rise is ours and any insinuation that it is open to everybody should end with this declaration, Pinol quoted Duterte as telling Cabinet members.

Benham Rise is an off-shore frontier facing the Pacific Ocean that is approximately 24 million hectares in size and is in the Philippines exclusive economic zone, an area where nations have internationally recognized exclusive rights to exploit fish and fuel resources, and continental shelf further out in the ocean.

Philippine security officials raised concerns about intrusions when a Chinese ship was monitored crisscrossing the waters early last year, drawing public attention to the territory, which some believe could be harboring undersea gas and oil deposits aside from its rich fishing areas.

Benham Rise lies on the other side of the Philippine archipelago from where Manila, Beijing and four other governments have been locked for decades in territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

Dutertes spokesman, Harry Roque Jr., told a news conference Tuesday that all foreign scientific groups, including from China, Japan, South Korea and the United States, have concluded their research work in the waters and the president wanted Filipinos to carry out research works from now on.

About 30 existing research permits would be deemed revoked and foreign scientific research groups may try to reapply but should get additional permission from Dutertes national security adviser due to the security implications of their presence in the waters, Roque said.

While the Philippine could halt foreign scientific research, foreign ships could freely pass through the waters under an international maritime treaty but could not tap its resources or lay submarine cables, Roque said.

Critics have questioned why the Duterte administration allowed a group from China to undertake scientific research in the waters given Manilas long-simmering territorial conflict with Beijing in the South China Sea. China has also defied and refuses to comply with an international arbitration ruling that heavily favored the Philippines in the disputed South China Sea.

But tensions between China and the Philippines over South China Sea territories have eased considerably since Duterte took office in mid-2016 and began reaching out to China. He has placed the dispute on the backburner while seeking Chinese trade and economic aid. Jim Gomez, Manila, AP
NORTH KOREA leader Kim Jong Uns sister, an increasingly prominent figure in the countrys leadership, will be part of the Norths delegation to the South Korean Winter Olympics, officials said yesterday. More on p12, 13, 19

PHILIPPINES Drugmaker Sanofi insists theres no evidence of a link between the worlds first dengue vaccine and childrens deaths in the Philippines.

INDONESIA A male orangutan on the Indonesian portion of Borneo died after being shot at least 130 times with an air gun and apparently being stabbed and clubbed, in the second known killing of a critically endangered orangutan this year.

PAKISTAN-AFGHANISTAN Afghanistans former president lashed out at both the United States and Pakistan yesterday, accusing them of using the Afghan war to further their own interests.

SOUTH AFRICA President Jacob Zumas (left) exit from power because of scandals appeared to be getting closer yesterday as his deputy, who is expected to replace him, said he anticipated a speedy resolution to transition talks he is holding with the president.

KENYAs government said yesterday it had deported a politician arrested for witnessing the mock inauguration of opposition leader Raila Odinga as the peoples president, an event it calls treason.

IRAQ-SYRIA French foreign minister Jean-Yves le Drian says some 100 French citizens who fought with the Islamic State group before being arrested in Syria or Iraq will be judged by local authorities.

ISRAEL-LEBANON Lebanons top security body has instructed the countrys military to confront any Israeli aggression on its land or maritime borders. The instruction comes amid escalating tensions between the two neighbors, who are technically at war.

GERMANY Chancellor Angela Merkels conservatives and Germanys main center-left party reached a deal yesterday to form a new coalition government after a final session of talks that dragged on for 24 hours.

EU The European Parliament voted yesterday to dismiss one of its vice presidents, Ryszard Czarnecki of Poland, after he compared a rival Polish parliament member to a Nazi collaborator.



BRAZIL Police and military forces have arrested 23 people in a series of raids two days into violence-plagued parts of Rio de Janeiro two days before the citys famed Carnival celebrations.

VENEZUELA Negotiations between the government and opposition were hanging by a thread after they failed to reach an agreement on a formula for upcoming presidential elections.
February 7, 2018 10:42

Diabetics are twice as likely to develop cataracts than adults who don't suffer from the killer condition, new research suggests.

As The Daily Mail reports, women sufferers had the greatest risk of cataracts - the leading cause of blindness across the world that starts as a clouding of the lens in the eye.

And the 15-year study concluded that middle-aged patients were nearly six times more likely to develop the vision-robbing condition.

It is unsure why diabetes leads to cataracts, however, charities consider it a known complication for adults with poorly managed blood sugar levels.

Cataracts often strike older adults, and gradually worsen their vision over time. It's estimated to strike 4.5 million over-65s in England.

Surgery costing 750 per eye can reverse the condition, and patients claim that it transforms their lives and allows them to regain their independence.

However, the Mail has campaigned for years to end the postcode lottery that has led to thousands being denied the straightforward 30 minute operations.

Health watchdogs ordered the end of the shameful rationing of the procedures back in October, and sufferers can now get it as soon as their life is affected by vision loss.

The latest study involved a team of international researchers from Anglia Ruskin University, University Hospitals Bristol, Switzerland and Boston University.

It aimed to assess incidence rates of cataracts in 56,000 patients, all aged over 40, with diabetes. Cataracts are a known complication of diabetes.

The participants were all followed for 15 years to determine the link between the two conditions, which has existed for years.

The research, published in the journal Eye, found that cataracts was diagnosed at an overall rate of 20.4 per 1,000 people with diabetes.

In comparison, just 10.8 per 1,000 of the general population were diagnosed with cataracts - which is also linked to smoking and boozing.

Diabetics aged between 45 and 54 were considerably more likely than non-sufferers to develop cataract, with their risk being 4.6 times higher.

And those aged between 50 and 54 were nearly 6 times more likely to develop cataracts, according to the results.

Professor Rupert Bourne, co-author, at Anglia Ruskin University, said: 'Cataract is the primary cause of blindness worldwide.

'It is defined as a decrease in the transparency of the crystalline lens and can be further differentiated into nuclear, cortical, or posterior subcapsular cataract (PSC).

'Main risk factors in the developed world, besides advanced age, appear to be smoking, exposure to sunlight, and use of corticosteroids.

'A potential association between female gender and cataract remains controversial. Several studies have reported diabetes as a risk factor for cataract.

'However, there are only few studies conducted with data from the UK, and only one previous study from the 1980s reported on incidence rates of cataract in a diabetic population.'

Faye Riley, Diabetes UK research communications officer, said: 'This large study adds to an existing body of research linking diabetes with a greater risk of cataracts.

'While this study doesn't prove diabetes directly causes cataracts, we know that people with diabetes are at increased risk of problems with their eyes, which if left untreated could lead to visual impairment, and even blindness.

'That's why it's really important that people with diabetes have regular eye checks to ensure that any early signs of eye damage can be identified and treated before turning into serious problems.'

There are 3.8 million diabetes patients in the UK - with 90 per cent having type 2. Drugs to treat the conditions cost the NHS a tenth of its yearly budget.

In the US, there are 29 million diabetics, with a similar breakdown between type 1 and 2, with the latter often triggered by poor lifestyles.

The World Health Organization issued a warning to say the world is facing 'a growing diabetes epidemic of potentially devastating proportions' in 2004.

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Credit: Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers

Using RNA interference (RNAi) technology to silence an immune-stimulating complex in endothelial cells (EC), the main cellular component of blood vessels, researchers have made it possible to use the plentiful supply of donor ECs instead of a patient's own cells to generate tissue engineered vascular grafts for transplantation. This innovative method, in which the treated EC retain their key features and functions, is reported in Tissue Engineering, Part A.

In the article entitled "Low Immunogenic Endothelial Cells Maintain Morphofunctional Properties Needed for Tissue Engineering," Skadi Lau, Dorothee Eicke, Constanca Figueiredo, Ulrike Boer, and coauthors from Hannover Medical School, Germany describe their approach using lentiviral vector-mediated RNAi to silence the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I complex in donor EC collected from three different sources: peripheral blood, umbilical cord blood, and vein. The researchers demonstrated that HLA I-silenced EC were still able to express essential surface biomarkers and compounds needed to form a tight barrier between cells, to produce factors important for blood coagulation and regulating blood vessel tone, and to form capillary-like tube structures when put into 3D fibrin gels.

"This article demonstrates the impact of RNA interference technology on the development of tissue engineered vascular grafts leveraging available allogeneic cell sources," says Tissue Engineering Co-Editor-in-Chief Antonios G. Mikos, PhD, Louis Calder Professor at Rice University, Houston, TX.

Explore further Vascular bypass grafting: A biomimetic engineering approach

More information: Skadi Lau et al, Low Immunogenic Endothelial Cells Maintain Morphological and Functional Properties Required for Vascular Tissue Engineering, Tissue Engineering Part A (2017). Skadi Lau et al, Low Immunogenic Endothelial Cells Maintain Morphological and Functional Properties Required for Vascular Tissue Engineering,(2017). DOI: 10.1089/ten.tea.2016.0541
This figure illustrates the six different fetal size standards choices presented in this supplement and represents the assumptions made by the investigators when they developed the size standards. Credit: American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology

In this special supplement to the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology (AJOG) leading experts describe six fetal growth size standards in current use and discuss their strengths and limitations.

It is estimated that at least 13 million newborns are small for gestational age (SGA) in low- and middle-income countries. Fetal growth acceleration can lead to a large for gestational age (LGA) neonate. Standards for the assessment of fetal growth and birthweight are essential for providing good clinical care and have become even more important with increasing evidence that growth-related problems are potentially avoidable and may have long-term consequences. Due to the proliferation of fetal size standards, practicing obstetricians are faced with different guidelines for diagnosing an SGA or LGA fetus.

"An SGA fetus is at greater risk for fetal death and perinatal death, fetal distress requiring a Cesarean delivery, and short- and long-term complications. For example, a recent study suggests that 15 percent of babies who are born SGA at term have difficulties climbing stairs and composing sentences with more than two words at the age of two," comments Roberto Romero, MD, DMedSci, MD, Chief of the Perinatology Research Branch of the NICHD/NIH, Bethesda, MD. "Infants who were born SGA are at greater risk for the development of adult disease such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease in the form of heart attack, stroke, etc. LGA infants are also at risk for complications."

The practical question is which standard is best to detect SGA fetuses. Several have been proposed and are described in the accompanying figure. The pros and cons of each standard are a major subject of this special supplement.

International Fetal and Newborn Growth Consortium for the 21st Century (INTERGROWTH-21st)

Jose Villar, MD, Professor of Perinatal Medicine at the University of Oxford, and colleagues representing the INTERGROWTH-21st consortium explain that its purpose was to develop international, prescriptive standards for fetal growth assessed by ultrasound and fundal height, preterm postnatal growth, newborn size and body composition, maternal weight gain, and infant development at the age of two years. Funded by the Bill & Melissa Gates Foundation, it is the first comprehensive set of international standards of optimal fetal and newborn growth that perfectly match the existing World Health Organization (WHO) child growth standards.

The standard was developed from data collected in an international cohort of healthy, well-nourished women from eight urban areas in Brazil, Italy, Oman, UK, USA, China, India, and Kenya, who were at low risk of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes. It concluded that in the absence of maternal constraints, fetuses grow at the same rate and that fetuses of all ethnic groups grow at a similar rate. The subject of growth rates among ethnic groups has been debated within the field.

Customized gestation-related optimal weight (GROW)

Jason Gardosi, MD, and colleagues from the Perinatal Institute, Birmingham, United Kingdom, who developed the GROW standard (customized gestation-related optimal weight) compare the GROW and INTERGROWTH-21st standards. The GROW standard assumes that maternal weight, height, ethnicity, and parity, as well as fetal sex, have a proportional effect on estimated fetal weight.

The Birmingham team analyzed routinely collected maternity data from ten countries with a total of 1.25 million term pregnancies in their respective main ethnic groups. The GROW and INTERGROWTH-21st standards were each applied to the data to determine SGA and LGA rates, with associated relative risk and population-attributable risk of stillbirth. They found that customized assessment resulted in increased identification of SGA and stillbirth risk, while the wide variation in SGA rates using the INTERGROWTH-21st standard appeared to reflect differences in physiologic pregnancy characteristics in the ten maternity populations.

"There has been no evidence presented to suggest that INTERGROWTH-21st improves the identification of fetuses or neonates at an increased risk of adverse outcome," observes Professor Gardini in an accompanying review published in AJOG. "To the contrary, there is evidence of significant variation between different populations and individuals and mounting evidence against a one-size-fits-all approach. It is more logical to adjust for the characteristics of each mother, taking her ethnic origin and her height, weight, and parity into account and to set a growth and birthweight standard for each pregnancy against which actual growth can be assessed. A customized standard better reflects adverse pregnancy outcome at both ends of the fetal size spectrum and has increased clinicians' confidence in growth assessment, while providing reassurance when abnormal size merely represents physiologic variation."

World Health Organization (WHO)

The World Health Organization (WHO) sponsored a study about fetal growth, which is discussed by Torvid Kiserud, MD, PhD, of the University of Bergen, Norway, and colleagues.

Dr. Kiserud explains, "The WHO fetal growth charts are intended to be used internationally based on low-risk pregnancies from populations in Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America. We consider it prudent to test and monitor whether the growth charts' performance meets the local needs, because refinements are possible by a change in cut-offs or customization for fetal sex, maternal factors, and populations. This study has different conclusions from those proposed by INTERGROWTH-21st.

Fetal Growth Study by NICHD

The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) fetal size charts were developed by studying pregnant women of different ethnic groups living in the USA (Caucasian, African-American, Hispanic, and Asian). Unlike the customized approach of GROW, the authors did not assume that ethnicity does not have a proportional effect on estimated fetal weight during gestation, and hence, the investigators derived separate charts for each ethic group. The study included a low risk population of women who delivered at term.

An expert review by Katherine L. Grantz, MD, MS, of the NICHD, and colleagues, compares and contrasts the NICHD Study, INTERGROWTH-21st, and WHO Multicentre Growth Reference Study and draws conclusions in light of differences in aims, sampling frames, and analytical approaches.

"Assessment of fetal growth with a one-time measurement remains standard clinical practice, despite recognition that a single measurement can indicate only size," comments Dr. Grantz. "Ultimately, it is knowledge about fetal growth in addition to other factors and clinical judgment that should trigger intervention."

Perinatology Research Branch (PRB of NICHD) - Detroit, Michigan, USA

The Perinatology Research Branch of the NICHD describes the development of a fetal size/growth chart derived from longitudinal estimated fetal weight data from African American women in Detroit and compares this with three existing standards. The investigators observe that fetal sex and maternal height have a proportional effect during gestation, while maternal weight and parity have an increasing effect on estimated fetal weight with advancing gestational age. They define fetal size for a pregnancy with optimal conditions (excluding the effect of clinical pathology) in a manner similar to that described by the customized GROW approach. "This standard classified more fetuses as being at risk for SGA compared to existing standards, especially among fetuses delivered preterm, but classified about the same number of LGA," comments Dr. Roberto Romero, who led the study. "The comparison among the four growth standards revealed that the most important factor determining agreement among standards is whether they account for the same factors known to affect fetal growth."

Individualized Growth Assessment (IGA/Baylor/PRB of NICHD)

Accumulating evidence suggests that perinatal morbidity is associated with abnormal fetal growth velocity of the abdominal circumference in both SGA and LGA infants, report Russell L. Deter, MD, of Texas Children's Hospital, and colleagues. They describe the conceptual framework for a practical and freely available software application, the Individualized Growth Assessment Program (IGA), which has been developed to allow implementation of this approach for clinical and research purposes. The IGA assumes that the growth potential of a fetus can be inferred from the rate of growth derived from two or three observations during the second trimester. "Individualized growth assessment provides a comprehensive method for identifying third-trimester fetal and/or neonatal growth abnormalities based on an individual's growth potential," explains Dr. Deter. "The clinical use of individualized growth assessment to characterize abnormal growth and its relationships to physiological changes, perinatal complications, and long-term disabilities warrants further study."

The most important contribution of this method that it uses the growth rate of each fetus individually as its own control to assess growth potential.

Other articles in this supplement also address mechanisms of disease responsible for fetal growth restriction, optimal time of delivery, and the role of aspirin, heparin, and other interventions in the prevention and treatment of fetal growth restriction.

Dr. Romero adds that "this supplement represents a major commitment by AJOG and its publisher, Elsevier, to improve the healthcare of pregnant women, unborn children, and their families by making this collection of high quality expert reviews and original research freely available to all readers worldwide."

Explore further New WHO international fetal growth charts

More information: The supplement is "Fetal Growth: Evaluation and Management," The supplement is "Fetal Growth: Evaluation and Management," www.ajog.org/issue/S0002-9378(17)X0017-3
Exposure to androgens (male hormones) during brain development alters genes related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a new study published in Biological Psychiatry. Using male human cells, researchers at the University of Strasbourg, France, identified key genes that are regulated by testosterone and that contribute to the risk for autism, generating important insight into how male hormones might contribute to the increased male susceptibility to ASD.

The findings provide a clue as to why ASD affects boys about four times as much as girls. Male fetuses produce androgens during critical stages of brain development when cells divide and develop into neurons. The researchers showed that androgens increase the spread of cells and prevent them from death, which could predispose boys to ASD by contributing to the excessive brain growth that occurs in people with ASD during the first years of life.

"Understanding the mechanisms for the male preponderance for autism is like pulling on a lose thread. It could help to 'unravel' important mechanisms contributing to autism risk," said John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. Identifying a role of androgens in this risk could be important for prevention or the development of potential treatments for ASD.

In the study, co-senior authors Jean-Louis Mandel, M.D., Ph.D., and Amelie Piton, Ph.D., and colleagues used human pluripotent neural stems cells to model the cells that generate neurons during brain development. Treatment with the testosterone metabolite DHT led to subtle changes in the expression of about 200 genes, several of which have previously been associated with ASD. Some of the genes that were most affected by DHT treatment included NRCAM, which has been linked to the brain abnormalities and symptoms in ASD, and FAM107A, which is increased in people with ASD. FAM107A also appeared to play a part in androgen's ability to increase cell numbers in the study.

"These effects of male hormones may therefore contribute to the increased sensitivity of the male brain to develop ASD when also exposed to other genetic or environmental factors," said Dr. Piton, suggesting that the biological explanation for the sex-specific inequality of ASD points to a predisposition in males, rather than a protective effect in females.

In addition to providing a clue into the male susceptibility to ASD, Dr. Piton says that the list of genes that were altered by androgens in the study might be useful to identify new genes that might be involved in ASD or in other diseases that occur more often in males.

Explore further Team finds differences in RORA levels in brain may contribute to autism sex bias

More information: Angelique Quartier et al. Genes and pathways regulated by androgens in human neural cells, potential candidates for the male excess in autism spectrum disorders, Biological Psychiatry (2018). Journal information: Biological Psychiatry Angelique Quartier et al. Genes and pathways regulated by androgens in human neural cells, potential candidates for the male excess in autism spectrum disorders,(2018). DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2018.01.002
The odds of having both red hair and blue eyes sits at around 0.17 per cent. Credit: Shutterstock

For every 100 people in the world, only one or two will have red hair.

And when you meet a red head with blue eyes, you are looking at the rarest colour combination of all for human beings.

Around 17 per cent of people have blue eyes, and when combined with 1-2 per cent having red hair, the odds of having both traits are around 0.17 per cent. That's 13 million people, out of the 7.6 billion on Earth.

So with numbers this low, could redheads with blue eyes actually go extinct?

The reason these looks are so unusual is because they are the result of two different sets of DNA instructions, or mutations, happening in the same person, explains Professor Mark Elgar, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Melbourne.

"The mutations occurred tens of thousands of years ago, and have now become established as different versions or variants of the genes that help determine our skin and eye colour.

"Red hair and blue eyes are both recessive traits which means a person needs to inherit both of the genes for red hair and blue eyes, from both parents. In contrast, brown hair and brown eyes are dominant traits, which is why they are much more prevalent."

In some regions of the world, red heads are more common, making up 10-30 per cent of the population in Scotland and Ireland for example. Blue-eyed people are also more common in the Baltic regions of Northern Europe.

"There are a number of ways rare traits can be lost from a population," says Professor Elgar.

"A common misconception is that when a trait is rare, it could be lost through a dilution effect  the few individuals that carry the gene don't reproduce, and so it is lost to future generations.

"But although it is recessive, red hair is unlikely to suffer from this effect. Even when we can't always see red hair, many people still carry the genes.

"Another case is where a gene reduces an individual's chance of reproducing, perhaps by increasing the risk of early mortality, and again, these genes would become rarer over successive generations," he explains.

The origins of red hair

Red hair originates from mutations in a gene involved in skin and hair pigmentation, called melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) on chromosome 16.

MC1R is like a control point for the pigment melanin. The 'red hair' mutations in this gene results in a person producing more of the red pigment phaeomelanin, present in our lips and nipples, and less of the eumelanin pigment that results in brown skin and hair and tanning of skin.

The flow-on effect of the mutation is not only pale skin, but red hair and often freckles too.

Professor Elgar notes that MCR1 is also 'quantitative trait' which means that depending on which version of the mutation a person carries, there is variation in the appearance of those who carry the gene.

"This is why redheads can range from strawberry blonde, brownish auburn hair or flaming red tresses."

There may also be other genes involved in the red hair colour, such as on chromosome 4, but changes in MC1R are a common factor.

Several studies have revealed a surprising, non-visible effect of the MC1R mutation. They found that redheads have a different response to pain than people with other hair colours.

One study found that people with red hair are more sensitive to thermal pain while other researchers concluded that redheads are less sensitive to electrically induced pain.

Studies also show that surgeons need to use 19 per cent more anaesthetic on redheaded women than brown-haired women to sedate them.

The theory behind the red hair and pain relationship is that the MCR1 protein has two roles. It acts as a receptor or 'receiver' for pigment-driving hormones as well as the pain-relieving hormones known as endorphins.

Many more people carry the traits for red hair and blue eyes than are actually expressed. Credit: iStock

The origins of blue eyes

In 2008, researchers discovered a genetic mutation that took place 6,000-10,000 years ago and is thought to be the original genetic source of all blue-eyed humans alive on the planet today. The mutation is also in a gene responsible for the pigment melanin, this time in the iris of the eyes.

Scientists originally thought eye colour was determined by a single gene and followed a simple inheritance pattern in which brown eyes were dominant to blue eyes. However, later studies showed this model was too simplistic and there are multiple genes involved in eye colour.

The main genes responsible are OCA2 and HERC2, located on chromosome 15. Several common variations in the OCA2 gene result in less melanin in the iris, leading to blue eyes instead of brown in people that carry the variation.

A region of the nearby HERC2 gene also controls the activity (expression) of the OCA2 gene, turning it on or off as needed. So, although it is uncommon, parents with blue eyes can have children with brown eyes.

The good news for the recessive traits of both red hair and blue eyes is that many more people carry the genes than we can see.

"Recessive genes can stay hidden for a long time, which is why brown-eyed parents can have blue eyed child, just as brown-haired parents can have a redheaded baby," says Professor Elgar.

"If both parents carry the MC1R gene, there is a one in four chance their baby will have red hair, a two in four chance they will be a carrier of the gene and only a one in four chance of not passing on the gene at all.

"So happily, it does not look like the traits will disappear due to dilution of either the redhead or the blue-eyed genes from the human population."

Redheads in the sun

But the MC1R mutation can affect the health of redheads.

A recent study found 42 per cent more sun-associated DNA mutations in melanomas from people carrying just one copy of the 'red hair' MC1R gene variant. These are people with one copy of the mutation who don't always have red hair and pale skinredheads have two copies of the mutation.

Researchers predict that because the MC1R mutation results in higher levels of the reddish pigment phaeomelanin, this results in greater susceptibility to UV damage to DNA.

The higher DNA mutations are estimated to be equivalent to two decades more sun exposure than other skin types.

Professor Elgar points out that the mutation for paler skin may actually have been an advantage as humans moved out of Africa into northern latitudes, where sunlight is less intense.

"Because lighter skin improves the absorption of sunlight, it would have enhanced the production of vitamin D by the body in these countries.

"Conversely, redheads now living in regions with intense sunlight, like Australia, are at a disadvantage because they lack the pigment eumelanin in their skin. This pigment makes the skin darker and act as a natural sunscreen. The high amounts of melanin in the iris of brown eyes also provides sun protection, which blue eyes do not."

The mechanisms that result in melanoma are complex, and the effects of MC1R are just one piece of the puzzle because people with only one copy of the MC1R mutation have increased risk, and melanomas also occur in areas of skin that are not exposed to sunlight.

Cancer Council Victoria's SunSmart Manager Heather Walker says the good news is sun protection can reduce the risk of skin cancer risk at any age.

While redheads may be at higher risk of skin cancer than other Australians, we are all susceptible to the disease. So all of us need to protect our skin when we're outdoors during sun protection times (when the UV level is 3 or higher).

"In summer, most Victorians need just a few minutes of sun exposure mid-morning or mid-afternoon for vitamin D levels. The body only absorbs a limited amount of vitamin D at a time, so spending extra time in the sun won't increase vitamin D levels, but will increase your risk of skin cancer.

The Cancer Council also advise monitoring skin for new spots or spots that change in shape, size or colour and to see your doctor as soon as possible to get checked out.

Professor Elgar adds that with respect to cancer and other life-threatening conditions, ultimately and sometimes unfortunately, the survival of particular attributes of our species only comes down to whether individuals living long enough to pass on their genes to offspring.

"Female, redheaded humans usually reproduce long before the average onset age of skin cancer, around 60 years (but it can occur as young as 30 especially in women). So we wouldn't expect the gene for red hair to die out due to the negative effects of the MC1R gene."

It seems the future looks bright for blue-eyed redheads, because enough people carry the genes to keep these traits appearing in the human population.

So as long as redheads look after their pale skin in the sun, they should have a healthy life with their glorious locks.
Officials from Bavarian Nordic yesterday announced the results of a successful Phase 3 clinical trial led by USAMRIID that demonstrated the safety and efficacy of the company's investigational, non-replicating smallpox vaccine, IMVAMUNE.

The product is being developed as an alternative to the current U.S. licensed replicating smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, which cannot be used by certain populations, including people with atopic dermatitis and HIV. It is already approved in Canada and the European Union.

USAMRIID study director Phillip R. Pittman, M.D., collaborated with the U.S. Defense Health Agency to enroll 440 subjects at a U.S. military post in South Korea. The randomized, open-label study had two co-primary endpoints. The first was to show that IMVAMUNE induced a non-inferior antibody response when compared with ACAM2000. In this study, the peak neutralizing antibodies induced by IMVAMUNE were shown to be twofold higher than those stimulated by ACAM2000, demonstrating a statistically superior immune response.

The second co-primary endpoint was to demonstrate an attenuation or prevention of a "take" in volunteers previously vaccinated with IMVAMUNE. Historically, a take is a measure of efficacy against smallpox in people vaccinated for the first time. It consisted of a pustule, scab and scar that developed on the skin following initial vaccination with replicating smallpox vaccines like ACAM2000. Following the second vaccination, those who had developed a protective immune response showed either a reduced take or none at all. This also was achieved in the USAMRIID-Bavarian Nordic study.

"If approved, this vaccine will have a direct impact on improving force health protection for U.S. Soldiers and other service members who are required to be immunized against smallpox," said COL Gary Wheeler, commander of USAMRIID.

According to Paul Chaplin, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bavarian Nordic, IMVAMUNE has been given to more than 7,800 subjects in 21 clinical studies, including this trial and one other Phase 3 study. He said the company plans to file a Biological License Application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this year.

"This program has only been possible through the consistent and strong support of numerous U.S. Government agencies and demonstrates what can be achieved through a successful public-private partnership to protect the public from the deliberate release of the smallpox virus," Chaplin added.

Explore further Next-generation smallpox vaccine being stockpiled

More information: Study details are available at Study details are available at clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01913353
Two new studies look at the effects of stopping the newer, stronger drug natalizumab for multiple sclerosis (MS) during pregnancy. Natalizumab is generally prescribed for people with MS who have not responded to or cannot tolerate other treatments for MS as it can have a rare but potentially fatal side effect.

The researchers found that women who take natalizumab for MS may experience increased disease activity if they stop taking the drug prior to pregnancy, however the risk may be reduced if they take the drug up until conception, according to a study published the February 7, 2018, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The second, related study says taking natalizumab during the first trimester may increase the risk of miscarriage, but the risk is small and within the risk range of miscarriage in the general population.

Earlier studies have shown that MS is not associated with a greater risk of birth defects and pregnancy has no long-term effects on the disease process, and older medications, interferon betas, have been shown to be generally safe to take during pregnancy. But little research has been done on the effects of natalizumab. Studies in people who were not pregnant have shown that disease activity can increase severely after people stop taking the drug.

"Pregnancy planning can be difficult when a woman has MS because she and her physician must weigh the risks versus the benefits of medications that control MS disease activity," said study author Emilio Portaccio, MD, of the Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation in Florence, Italy. "We chose to conduct two studies to investigate the risks of natalizumab to mother and child so that women, with the help of their physicians, may make more informed decisions about pregnancy."

For both studies, researchers tracked 92 pregnancies in 83 women taking natalizumab for relapsing-remitting MS. They were divided into two groups, those who stopped taking natalizumab before their last menstrual period and those who stopped taking the drug after their last period. In all, 75 percent of the pregnancies were exposed to natalizumab for an average of just over a week. Researchers followed up with the women every six months, as well as when they had a relapse and one year after birth. There were 75 live births among the 92 pregnancies.

For the study on the risks to mothers, disease activity in the 92 pregnancies was compared to disease activity in 350 pregnancies in women with MS who either took no medication or who took interferon betas.

Among the pregnancies that were exposed to natalizumab, the relapse rate during pregnancy was three times higher, with more disease activity seen in the first trimester and after giving birth when compared to pregnancies in women who took interferon betas or no drug for MS. During pregnancy, 37 percent of the women taking natalizumab had at least one relapse, compared to 10 percent of the other women. Disease progression occurred in 16 percent of the women taking natalizumab and was reduced in those for whom medication was reintroduced earlier.

For the study on risks to babies, researchers found that for pregnancies exposed to natalizumab in the first trimester, the risk of miscarriage was four times higher than pregnancies where a mother took interferon betas or nothing for MS. However, that rate of 17 percent for natalizumab-exposed pregnancies was close to the rate for the general population, which was 14 percent.

While researchers also looked at risk of birth defects, the results were not conclusive, and more research needs to be done in a larger group of pregnancies.

Portaccio said, "Our findings suggest that if women who take natalizumab for MS want to become pregnant, it may be best to continue treatment up until a pregnancy test is positive and then at that point discontinue use," said Portaccio. "While there is still a risk of increased disease activity, this course of action may lower that risk."

Limitations of these studies include that women treated with natalizumab may differ from women not treated with that drug in ways that were not measured by the study and that relapse severity was not measured.

Explore further Rituximab tops other disease-modifying tx options in MS
Armenia, Azerbaijan leaders can have more effective discussion today too on possible compromises, says Carey Cavanaugh

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Armenia President meets with outgoing Ambassador of France

Armenia Security Council holds session chaired by PM

Armenia Investigative Committee chairman meets with Russian and Belarusian counterparts
YEREVAN.- Armenian PM Karen Karapetyan received the delegation led by the President of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation Dominique de Buman on February 6, the press service of the Government of Armenia reported.

Greeting the guest, the Armenian PM noted that he greatly highlights the continuous development of inter-parliamentary relations and stressed that Armenia is ready to develop bilateral relations with Switzerland in all the possible spheres. As I have already had the chance to say in Davos, I particularly highlight the implementation of measures in the direction of strengthening economic cooperation between Switzerland and Armenia. And in this context I wish to stress the importance of yesterdays business forum organized in the sidelines of your visit, Karen Karapetyan noted.

Dominique de Buman noted that the Yerevan forum was productive. The sides discussed the prospects of Armenian-Swiss economic partnership and joint projects. The President of the Swiss National Council assessed the development of cooperation in agriculture, including in the area of wine making as promising and informed that one of the major wine making companies of Switzerland with deep wine making traditions has already established partnership with Armenian colleagues. I am convinced we can set productive relations in the sphere of agriculture, implement exchange of experience, various business projects since there is reliable production and necessary conditions in Armenia, Dominique de Buman said. He also highlighted cooperation in the sphere of renewable energy, particularly in the direction of the export of solar energy panels produced in Armenia, as well as development and expansion of partnership in the spheres of pharmaceutics and tourism. According to Dominique de Buman, Armenia can be of great interest for Swiss businessmen thank to its attractiveness.

Karen Karapetyan thanked for the projects implemented in Armenia by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and hoped they will be continuous. We are open for cooperation and are ready to fully support Swiss companies. In 2017 trade turnover between the two countries increased 3.6 folds, therefore, we have to consistently develop the achievements in the bilateral economic relations. We are convinced Armenia can be interesting for the Swiss capital considering the privileged trade regimes of our country with the EAEU, EU, USA and Iran, Karen Karapetyan underlined.
YEREVAN.  The expert community reflected on all arguments, except, perhaps, the main reasons, a diplomat told Hraparak (Square) newspaper of Armenia, regarding the forthcoming snap presidential election in Azerbaijan. We should take into consideration the recent days Turkish-American tension in [Syrias] Afrin [district], related to the Kurdish issue. For [Azerbaijan President Ilham] Aliyev, such tensions can be a force majeure because is not known where the parties will reach until, and what they will agree upon.

The next substantial circumstance also should be recorded. Azerbaijan promised to Europe to release political prisonersabout 100 peoplein May. The point is that Aliyev wishes to sign a neighborhood agreement with EU by the years end, and to get from this chapter the EU bonuses-praise that Azerbaijan is becoming a democratic country, at the same time also getting the EU-American assistance on his way to khanate for the fourth time.
Maltas new Ambassador to Armenia, Natasha Meli Daudeywith residence in the Polish capital city of Warsaw, on Wednesday presented her credentials to President Serzh Sargsyan.

Congratulating the ambassador on her appointment, Sargsyan wished her success in carrying out her diplomatic mission in Armenia. Also, the President reaffirmed Armenias wish to deepen relations with Malta, and expressed the hope that Ambassador Daudey and Armenias ambassador to Malta will work actively to this end.

The Maltese diplomat, in turn, assured that she will do her utmost to develop Armenia-Malta state relations.

The interlocutors underscored high-level mutual visits.

President Sargsyan stressed the need for political consultations between the foreign ministries of the two countries, and for the expansion of legal framework.

The Armenian President and the Maltese ambassador highlighted the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the strengthening of state relations between the two countries.

And within the framework of the European Union (EU), Serzh Sargsyan and Natasha Meli Daudey drew attention to the strengthening and deepening of cooperation between Armenia and EU member Malta.
Prime Minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan on Wednesday received a delegation, led by German Ambassador Bernhard Matthias Kiesler. The delegation comprised representatives from the German Development Bank (KfW), MF Strategy, MicroInsurance Centre and AgroConsulting, and Re and Agroinsurance International (Switzerland) reinsurance organization.

Following a tender announced by the KfW Bank, a consortium consisting of the three aforementioned companies was selected to prepare a pilot agricultural insurance program in Armenia, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Central Bank of Armenia.

Thanking the German government for its assistance in the initiative, Karapetyan expressed readiness to expand cooperation also in other related domains. Presenting the respective ongoing reforms, the PM noted that the Armenian governments objective is to have an efficacious and smart farming sector, with insurance being a key component. The Premier said in order to reduce risks, a pilot project for introducing anti-hail missile systems is implemented in Armenia.

The German ambassador, in turn, said the agricultural insurance program is innovative and promising, and that his government is ready to continue assisting the Armenian government in all areas of mutual interest.

KfW representative Monica Guntner, for her part, welcomed the Armenian governments commitment to implement long-term sustainable development projects in the agricultural sector, and noted that the German Development Bank is keen to build close ties of cooperation with Armenia and to implement prospective initiatives.

The interlocutors exchanged views on the relevant action plan and the agenda of the forthcoming discussions between the Armenian Ministry of Agriculture, the Central Bank, insurance market representatives, and international experts.

KfW will provide a 5mn grant for the pilot project, which will be co-funded to the same extent by the Armenian state budget. The proceeds will be used for subsidizing insurance payments.
YEREVAN.- Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received on Wednesday the delegation led by the President of the National Council of the Swiss Confederation Dominique de Buman, comprised of the Vice Presidents of the National Council and representatives of all the parliamentary factions, the press service of the Armenian Presidents Office reported.

Greeting the guests the President of the Republic noted that the visit of such a representational delegation from friendly Switzerland to Armenia once again shows the high level of political relations between the two countries and the mutual sympathy of the two peoples. President Sargsyan talked with satisfaction about the consistently developing inter-state relations and expressed confidence that the visit of the delegation with its saturated agenda will undoubtedly have a positive impact on the strengthening of Armenian-Swiss cooperation.

Serzh Sargsyan congratulated Dominique de Buman on the occasion of being elected President of the National Council of Switzerland at the end of last year and wished him productive work. The President thanked Dominique de Buman for his devotion and consistent works aimed at the strengthening of Armenian-Swiss relations. Emphasizing that Switzerland has always been a reliable partner for Armenia, President Sargsyan thanked friendly Switzerland for supporting and standing with the Armenian people during difficult periods for Armenia.

The President of Armenia and the President of the National Council of Switzerland highlighted the role of inter-parliamentary cooperation for the development of interstate relations. In this context Serzh Sargsyan assessed it symbolic that by an interesting coincidence that former heads of parliamentary friendship groups of Armenia and Switzerland now head the legislative bodies of Armenia and Switzerland, which doubles the obligation to deepen parliamentary relations between the two states.

The interlocutors assessed the International Organisation of la Francophonie, the Presidency of which has been taken over by Armenia, as another good platform for making Armenian-Swiss ties closer, and hoped that the Francophonie summit to be held in Yerevan in October will be held at a high level.

Serzh Sargsyan and Dominique de Buman highlighted the close cooperation between the parliaments of the two countries in international organizations. President Sargsyan particularly highlighted the visit of the parliamentary friendship group of Switzerland led by Dominique de Buman to Artsakh in 2012, noting that such visits allow to get acquainted with the situation on site and personally.

During the meeting President Serzh Sargsyan and Dominique de Buman exchanged ideas over Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process. The President of Armenia thanked the Swiss Confederation for its balanced position on the issue and the support to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs, as well as its readiness and efforts aimed at contributing to the solution of the issue.
Sudden readiness checks were held in the Defense Army of Karabakh on February 6-7, which involved the administrations of the Defense Army, a number of military units, management and supply agencies under the leadership of the Defense Minister of the Artsakh Republic, Defense Army commander, Lieutenant-General Levon Mnatsakanyan.

According to the program of military cooperation, action coordination and exchange of experience of the two Armenian states, the representatives of the command staff of Armed Forces of the Republic of Armenia headed by Colonel-General Movses Hakobyan tracked the military processes of paramount importance, the press service of the Defense Ministry of Artsakh reported.

All the structures and subdivisions involved in the chekings were brought to the state of combat readiness of the "high" level, positioned in pre-calculated clusters in full readiness for combat actions, then, completed the orders of the command.

During the trainings according to the emerging combat situation requirements of nominal war, various subdivisions of the participating military units also performed separate combat tasks. The superior command reviewed the submitted reports, followed the requirements for the compliance of the processes, and also directed and made some corrections in the operations.

All commanders, divisions, military units and administrative bodies demonstrated a proper level of combat readiness. As a result the army improved the management system, the level of harmonization of all types of troops and military units, and the ability to get to combat readiness of a ''high'' degree.
Only one member of the Pena family of Que Pasa, USA? fame was at the Newman Alumni Center on the evening of January 31. But all the characters who starred in Americas first bilingual sitcom were there in spirit.

Luis Santeiro, the award-winning screenwriter of the popular PBS series, was warmly greeted by a very enthusiastic audience of nearly 200 fans, most of them Cuban-Americans, who have fond memories of the popular show.

Hosted by UM Libraries and its Cuban Heritage Collection (CHC), the star of the evening was Santieros memoir, Dancing with Dictators: A Familys Journey from Pre-Castro Cuba to Exile in the Turbulent Sixties, from which he read.

Dean of Libraries Charles Eckman welcomed the audience and gave an overview of the CHCs role in preserving and providing access to the cultural heritage of Cuba by collecting books, photographs, letters and other records. Santeiro himself donated all his documents, including the original scripts for the bilingual sitcom, to the CHC in 2003.

Others who spoke were Aida Levitan, chair of the Amigos of the CHC, and Luis Santeiro's brother, Frank, also a member of the Amigos board, who introduced his brother. Manolo Villaverde, the actor who played Pepe Pena, the sitcom's stubborn Cuban dad who called his children Sonny boy'' and Sonny girl, was in the audience, but did not speak.

Born in Havana, Cuba, Santeiro left his native country at age 12, when his family escaped the Castro regime. The memoir spans the period from the mid 50s to the 60s.

Although his great-grandfather was Gerardo Machado, president of Cuba from 1925-1933, Santeiro told the audience that he deliberately avoided politics in his memoir. Instead, he chose to share the memories of his family members in their own voices.

When I started writing it as a memoir I found that I loved it, he said, noting he initially tried writing the work as fiction. All these memories started coming back to me and I was spending time with people that I loved who were no longer here.

He read a moving excerpt about the day in October 1960 when Fidel Castro, after hemming and hawing about his political tendencies, declared himself a Marxist-Leninist and read a list of the companies on national television that he was nationalizing.

Santeiros parents were homesick with the Asian fluand watched the telecast. After it ended, all the businesses the Santeiros owned were seized. The next morning, when his father showed up at Crusellas and Company, which had belonged to his family for generations, he was stopped by a miliciano or revolutionary police member. Santeiro read in his fathers voice:

There was a young miliciano posted at the main gate who told me that this was no longer my property and I would not be allowed in, he read. But I sped on past him, quickly parked and headed to my office.

His father, Santeiro said, ran into two other men who tried to stop him as he entered his office. One of them was one of his loyal employees.

You have to leave the building, he was told. The company now belongs to the people. When the senior Santiero protested, saying that his family name was still outside, one of the men curtly responded, That will soon be gone.

As Santeiros father gathered his belongings to leave his office, he stuffed several picture frames into a box and noticed one with a poignant engraving: To our beloved Luisito from your ever grateful staff  Christmas 1958.

Although the exile experience related in Santiero memoir is painful, there is humor throughout his narrative. He recalls the never-ending tide of newly arrived Cuban refugees who would set up pin-pan-puns, or makeshift cots, in the Santeiros modest Miami apartment, as well as his grandmothers friends who reminisced about their days on the island.

One lady asks another: What do you miss the most about Cuba? he read. I must say that what I miss the most is my bidet. Had I known that they were not available here I would have brought one instead of my husband.
Home | News | Crime/Legal | Police arrest fake lawyer at Magistrates Court in Lagos

The Lagos State Police Command on Wednesday, said it had arrested a fake lawyer who had been representing people at different magistrates courts in the state.

The spokesman of the command, SP Chike Oti, told newsmen that the suspect was arrested on Tuesday at Ojo Magistrates Court while representing a client.

Oti said that the fake lawyer, who identified himself as Barrister Chris Elisha, claimed he had been practicing as a lawyer illegally for the past 15 years without being spotted.

Police

Nemesis caught up with him on 6th of February, at Ojo Magistrates Court where he appeared on behalf of an accused person but found it difficult to move a motion for the variation of the bail condition of his client.

His predicament did not go unnoticed by one Barrister Nnamdi Samuel Nwafor who challenged his qualification.

Nwafor, a newly qualified lawyer that is yet to cut his teeth at the bar, would have been able to move a motion without problems.

The hot argument between both men attracted the attention of other lawyers and the court duty police men. The police officers took the suspect to the nearby Ojo Police Station where he confessed that he is a mere  charge and bail lawyer.

 He confessed he was more into corporate law practice and did little of litigation. He claimed he read law at Eastern Ukrainian University in the former Soviet Union but had no certificate to show for it, Oti said.

The spokesman said the suspect was undergoing interrogation at the X- Squad Section of the State Police Command Headquarters and would be charged to court at the conclusion of investigation.

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President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged victims of herdsmen attacks not to engage in reprisals.

He reassured the people of the Northcentral, who are mostly at the receiving end of the attacks, that his administration would not tolerate such barbaric acts.

The President spoke while commissioning the Comprehensive Special School, Lafia, Nasarawa State.

He plans to visit other states where herdsmen-farmers clashes have led to many deaths. Buhari will be in Taraba, Zamfara and Benue, but no dates have been set for the trips.

Buhari said that the Federal Government was working hard to ensure that peace and stability returned to the region.

According to him, additional resources have been deployed to end the crisis and maintain law and order.

The President said: I also want to assure the people of the Northcentral and indeed all Nigerians that the Federal Government is working day night to ensure that peace and stability return.

We have deployed additional resources to all the affected areas to maintain law and order.

The attacks by suspected herdsmen and other bandits will not be tolerated.

I appeal to all Nigerians to refrain from reprisal attacks. The security agencies have standing order to arrest and prosecute any and all persons found with illegal arms.

I will, once again, express my condolences and sympathy to all the affected victims of these barbaric acts.

He pledge that the change mantra of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would continue to be the basis for solutions to Nigerias problems.

He said: Let me use this opportunity to stress that the Change philosophy which precipitated the APC Government will continue to idealise and identify issues that are critical to our socio-economic development with a view to proffering lasting solutions to them.

I want to assure Nigerians that we would intensify our commitment towards the realisation of the cardinal objectives of this Administration anchored on securing lives and property, curbing corruption and ensuring economic growth through diversification.

The President noted that the people of Nasarawa have always been with the Change movement, since the early days of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) through APC.

He said: In 2011, the people of Nasarawa decided to vote for Change, voted for the CPC in order to have a government for the people, and in 2015 they voted for continuity.

Today, I am obliged to reiterate Governor Al-Makuras proclamation that, indeed, Nasarawa State is my political home.

Since the inauguration of His Excellency Umar Tanko Al-Makura as the Governor of Nasarawa State in May, 2011; the occasion which I attended personally, I have been following the trend of events in the state and the reports I receive are that of execution of many projects.

Accordingly, during my campaign visit to Nasarawa State in 2015, I noticed the transformation within Lafia metropolis.

Other projects the President commissioned included the Electronic Library, a Fire Service facility and a township road, a model primary health care centre and the Karu International Market.

Noting that this is the Change people of Nasarawa voted for, Buhari said: I must add that these projects, I believe, were executed owing largely to the frugality of Governor Al-Makura in the management of the meagre resources at the disposal of the administration in the state.

Pleased with the launch of the pilot scheme of the Community Health Influencers, Promoters and Services (CHIPS) National Programme at Kwandare, Lafia Local Government Area, the President directed the Federal Ministry of Health to synergise with other states to roll out the programme to enable the less privileged and rural dwellers have access to health services.

He assured the state that all ongoing federal strategic projects, especially the power transmission sub-stations and roads, would be completed to further enhance the socio-economic development of Nasarawa State and the Northcentral.

Speaking earlier during a courtesy call on the Emir of Lafia, Alhaji Isa Mustafa Agwai, the President said he was honoured to visit the state for the first time since he assumed office.

He said: I am very pleased to honour this invitation which your governor booked as soon as I was sworn in as the President.

I tried to remain within the castle called Aso Villa but I had to break out and come in order to honour this invitation which has been outstanding for so long.

Governor Al-Makura urged the Federal Government to take over the construction of the Keffi-Lafia-Vaji road, which will reduce Lafia  Abuja travel time to one hour from three hours.

He described Nasarawa as the political laboratory of President Buhari as it was the only state won by the defunct CPC founded by the president.

He said the state had adopted the Presidents Change template to ensure the best practices which will bring development to the people especially the downtrodden.
Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has described the comment made on Channels Television Sunrise Daily today, by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO); Mr. Jimoh Moshood, describing the Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State as a drowning man as an insult on all the governors in Nigeria, saying the police authority must retract the comment and tender an unreserved apology to Governor Ortom, the people of Benue State and the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF).

The governor said it was unfortunate, regrettable and a height of irresponsibility for the PPRO to have insulted a whole governor who represents one of the federating units in Nigeria, noting that It is now clear that the police has turned itself to an organ of the All Progressives Congress (APC) government, acting as if its only duty is to protect the interests of President Muhammadu Buhari and his allies.

Governor Fayose, who also condemned the police for declaring Mr. Kassim Afegbua, the spokesman for ex-military Head of State, General Ibrahim Babangida (retd.) wanted, asked the police whether there was any report by General Babangida against him (Afegbua). In a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, Governor Fayose said; Rather than trying to gag Nigerians and acting as if it has become laws unto itself, the police should go after the killer herdsmen and their collaborators.

On whose complaints did the police declare Afegbua wanted? Did General Babangida lodge any complain against him? Was there anything in the statement released by him that Nigerians do not know before now? Is it not true that President Buhari has looked the other way while herdsmen were killing Nigerians? Which one should interest the police? Arresting those herdsmen and their collaborators that have killed thousands of Nigerians in Benue, Taraba, Kaduna, Plateau, Adamawa, Ogun, Ekiti and other States or rushing to declare a Nigerians who only exercised his rights to freedom of expression wanted? Most importantly, why didnt the police arrest former President Olusegun Obasanjo when he released similar statement against President Buhari?

That declaration by the police against Mr Afegbua is malicious, reckless, unlawful, unwarranted and against all democratic ethos. It should be withdrawn forthwith. While calling on governors in the country to speak against the disparaging of the Benue State governor, Governor Fayose said; I speak as the Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum and I condemn that insult on Governor Ortom by the PPRO.

I expect the NGF to also rise in condemnation of this affront on one of its members because an injury to one is an injury to all. Besides, it is Governor Ortom that the PPRO insulted on National Television today; it can be any other governor tomorrow. On behalf of PDP governors, I condemn this irresponsible act of the PPRO and demand for immediate retraction of the statement as well as unreserved apology from the Inspector General of Police (IGP).
Home | News | General | Obiano gives cattle dealers 14-day ultimatum to pay farmers compensation

As Igbo patriots reject cattle colony, open grazing

By Enyim Enyim & Dennis Agbo

AWKAGOVERNOR Willie Obiano of Anambra State has given the cattle dealers association two weeks ultimatum to pay compensation to farmers in some communities whose crops were destroyed last year by herdsmen.

The South East zonal chairman of Miyetti Allah Cattle breaders Association, MACBAN, Alhaji Idris Sadiq Gidado stated this in an interview with the Vanguard.

He said they have N137,000 to pay the affected communities, adding that it was only Ufuma community that had outstanding compensation that would be paid in the next five days.

Obiano

This came as the Patriots, an amalgamation of Igbo progressives, yesterday rejected any form of colony, open grazing or grazing bills for cattles in Igbo land.

Gidado, however said that so far, they have paid compensation to Ezeagu, Mbaukwu, Okija, Omo, Aguleri, Ayamelum and a few others.

He said the association and communities had entered into an agreement that if a herdsman destroys farmers crops, the owner of the cattle will pay heavy compensation to the farmers whose crops were destroyed.

Cattle that were killed last year by aggrieved farmers in some communities were more than 100, but governor Willie Obiano asked the communities to pay for 78 cattle whose cost stood at N50, 000 each.

According to him, the agreement was reached by the leadership of the association, cattle owners, community leaders, leaders of farmers association and government

However, he said it was further agreed that if a cattle is killed, the community will produce the killer or pay compensation to the owner of the cattle at the current market value.

Patriots reject cattle colony, open grazing

The patriots, an amalgamation of Igbo Progressives have equivocally rejected any form of colony, open grazing or grazing bills for cattles in Igbo land.

The group in a press conference in Enugu, yesterday, also urged Ndigbo to embrace the ongoing voters registration and obtain their permanent voters cards, PVCs.

The Patriots said they were amazed on how some Igbo leaders were moving towards accepting any of the cattle-intended occupation of some parts of Igbo land and describe the move as reprehensible.

Coordinator of the group, Mr. Obumneme Okafor in conjunction with other members of the group said it was perplexing that the federal government was moving for cattle settlements, while it ignores the horrendous actions and atrocities by herdsmen that have led to unconscionable destruction of lives and food crops.

We appeal to all men and women of goodwill of Igbo extraction in all forms of government and authority to heed the clarion call, lend their voices, influence, connections, power defacto and dejure in this struggle against internal neo colonialism and subjugation, the group pleaded.

They went further to call on legislative houses on the South East geopolitical zone to enact anti-grazing and Cattle colony laws with dire consequences for infractions and empower the state governors to enforce the law without let or hindrance.

In the light of the challenges, the group called on all Igbo that are 18 years and above to obtain their permanent voters cards, PVC, in the ongoing continuous voters registration for electoral process.

That is the only legitimate weapon through which you can participate and influence the electoral process by electing true representatives who will be on sync with our yearnings and aspirations as a people.

We urge President Muhammadu Buhari to deescalate the tension in the land by being more sensitive, just, considerate, humane and parochial in dealing with affairs of the nation taking into cognizance the ethnic, cultural and religious diversities of Nigerians, the group stated.

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Home | News | General | Senate summons IGP Idris, wants police officers redeployed to their state of origin

- The Senatehas mandated its committee on police affairs to invite the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris

- IGP Idris is expected to suggest ways and means Nigeria could actualise community policing

- Senators were of the view that implementing community policing would help check crime in communities across the country

The Senate on Tuesday, February 6, mandated its committee on police affairs to invite the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, to suggest ways and means the country could actualise community policing.

The directive followed a motion on The need to post junior cadre of Nigeria Police Force to their states and local government to enhance community policing in Nigeria sponsored by Senator Ademola Adeleke (PDP-Osun).

While leading debate on the motion, Adeleke said that the Senate was concerned that government inconsistency in policy implementation had affected welfare of police personnel.

Nigerian Senate wants IGP Idris to suggest ways to actualise community policing. Photo credit: Nigeria Police Force

READ ALSO: Nigeria Police Force lacks power to proscribe us - Peace Corps

He said that the implication of the situation was that it was adversely affecting citizens in the society in terms of service delivery.

He stressed that it was desirous that the lower rank of the police force should be posted to their respective states of origin to improve and impact positively on community policing.

According to the lawmaker, this will be possible through synergising with vigilante groups, traditional rulers so as to address the current state of insecurity in the country.

He said that there had been calls for the establishment of state police to proffer lasting solution to the perennial security challenges due in the country.

Adeleke said that the lapse in security was due to ineffectiveness or outright bias of the Nigerian Police Force in carrying out their national assignment.

He also observed that the disconnection between the Nigerian police and the various communities with their different cultural values and orientation created a vacuum that needed to be filled through community policing.

According to him, it would avail the federal police the opportunity to concentrate on its primary duties of detection, prevention and prosecution of crime at the national level.

In his contribution, deputy minority leader of the Senate, Senator Emmanuel Bwacha (PDP-Taraba) said implementing community policing would help check crime in communities across the country.

Bwacha noted that persistent killings and other criminal activities would have reduced drastically or even stopped if the police had been working with vigilante or other community security groups.

His words: Community policing is very important in stopping criminals and enhance security in the country.

It will be easier for the police to maintain law and order if there is community policing, because it will create a synergy in policing and create sense of belonging in the people of the community..

Senator Sam Egwu (PDP-Ebonyi) said this motion will go a long way in addressing the well-being and accommodation of junior cadre of the police.

He added that it would also help in securing and protecting communities in the country.

On his part, Senate Chief Whip, Senator Olusola Adeyeye, said in this atmosphere of insecurity, the time has come to promote community policing.

He said that if the central police worked with the community police, the synergy would ensure that communities were well fortified and closely secured.

All crimes are local and if you cant speak the local language, you are not likely to address the security issues in the communities, he said. (NAN)

READ ALSO: Group drags IGP, AGF before House of Reps for disobeying court order on Peace Corps

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police Ibrahim Idris has lost his bid to stop the contempt charge brought against him by the Peace Corps of Nigeria over his alleged persistent flouting of court orders.

Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in a ruling on Thursday, February 1, dismissed the preliminary objection raised by the IGP against his personal appearance before the court.

The judge in the ruling ordered him to be in court on Tuesday, March 13, to answer why he should not be committed to prison for his disobedience to the lawful order of the court made on March 26, 2014 stopping the Nigeria police from interfering with the activities of the Peace Corps.

Are Nigerian Policemen the worst in the world? on NAIJ.com TV

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Source: Naija.ng

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Home | News | General | Obiano gives cattle dealers 14-day ultimatum to pay farmers compensation

- The governor of Anambra state has issued an ultimatum to herdsmen in the state

- Willie Obiano mandated herdsmen to pay a compensation to farmers in some communities in Anambra

- Cattle belonging to the herders were said to have destroyed crops on some farmlands

The governor of Anambra state, Willie Obiano has giver cattle dealers in the state 14-day ultimatum to pay compensation to farmers in some communities.

Obiano's ultimatum followed the destruction of crops by some herdsmen in these communities, Vanguard reports.

Speaking on the ultimatum, the southeast zonal chairman of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Sadiq Gidado, said the herders have N137,000 to pay to the affected communities in the state.

READ ALSO: 2019: Buhari would be defeated if he contests - Popular blind prophet

He said only Ufuma community had an outstanding compensation to be made.

Gidado also promised that the payments will be made within next five days.

He added that compensations have been paid to farmers in Ezeagu, Mbaukwu, Okija, Omo, Aguleri, Ayamelum among others.

He noted that the association and communities had entered into an agreement that if a herdsman destroys farmers crops, the owner of the cattle will pay heavy compensation to the farmers whose crops were destroyed.

READ ALSO: NDLEA arrests man transporting firearms to Benue, read his confession

Cattle that were killed last year by aggrieved farmers in some communities were more than 100, but governor Willie Obiano asked the communities to pay for 78 cattle whose cost stood at N50, 000 each," Gidado said.

The herder said it was further agreed that if a cattle is killed, the community will produce the killer or pay compensation to the owner of the cattle at the current market value.

NAIJ.com earlier reported that the governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom had ordered residents in the state to defend themselves from herdsmen.

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Ortom accused the police IG of not taking action against perpetrators of violence - He claimed there were threats to his life.

The Benue governor told the people to defend themselves legally.

Victims of herdsmen killing buried in Benue state - on NAIJ.com TV

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Home | News | General | 2019: Support the emergence of a younger person - Catholic priest to Buhari

- President Muhammadu Buhari should support the emergence of a younger person than seek second term in the 2019 election

- This is the opinion of a radical priest, Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey

- He advised the president to retire and get a well deserved rest

For peace to reign in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari should convince his cronies that in national interest he would support the emergence of a younger person than seek second term in the 2019 presidential election, a radical priest, Rev. Fr. Evaristus Bassey, has said.

Bassey who is the international director of Catholic Caritas Foundation of Nigeria and executive secretary, Justice Development and Peace Commission, two agencies of the Catholic Church, said this in a statement sent to journalists on Tuesday, February 6.

Rev. Fr. Bassey advised the president to suport the emergence of a younger candidate. Photo credit: www.caritasnigeria.org

READ ALSO: Spokesman insists IBB authorised Vote out Buhari in 2019 statement

According to Bassey, it is obvious that many Nigerians may not vote for Buhari, not because of his religion or tribe but because it is perceived that people are hiding in his government to promote a regional and religious agenda.

Assuming his confidence to run is not in the ability of state apparatus to conjure results and he truly loses, shall there be peace? What if, despite the fact that the two major parties put forward Northern Muslims as presidential candidates and Nigerians revolt and vote someone in from a totally unknown party because of the amendment to the Electoral Act reordering the order of elections and because of the high political consciousness now, shall there be peace? he asked.

President Buhari, he advised, should at his age and with his present state of health be thinking of having a well deserved rest.

He queried when people would start seeing everyone first as a Nigerian, and evaluate things objectively devoid of regional, religious and ethnic sentiments.

His words: What would happen if Mr. Buhari insists on contesting and loses at the polls? Ordinarily, President Buhari at his age and his state of health should be thinking of having a well deserved rest. At a certain age neuro-scientists tell us that brain neurons begin to degenerate, which is why older people are more susceptible to Alzheimers.

As we get older it is more difficult to have fresh ideas and be innovative, we rely more on residual knowledge and skills we acquired over the years. At an official age of 75 and his undisclosed health issues, President Buhari should know that except there are ulterior interests to be served, his putting himself forward cannot be altruistic.

It will behove him therefore to talk sense to his very restive support base, that for everyones good, he would rather support the emergence of a younger person than put himself forward, and that his restive support base should take things easy and accept the results whatever the outcome. After all everything is Gods will.

I am emphasizing this because when Buhari lost in 2011, many innocent people died because of protests; and now that Fulani herdsmen are scattered all over the nooks and cranny of Nigeria well armed, and the security forces are helpless, shall there not be an eruption of killings all over the country if President Buhari loses.

Bassey said If Nigeria was to remain as one nation, the citizens have to start sowing the seeds of mutual acceptance and respect.

According to him, it might be more difficult for religions and denominations that teach their adherents from youth to see themselves as superior and other religions or denominations as inferior, adding however that it is a task we owe to humanity.

Meanwhile, the famous blind prophet and General Overseer of the Mountain of Mercy (aka Ori-Oke Alaseyori Church) in Ibadan, Oyo state, Moses Muyideen Kasali, has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari would be defeated should he contest in the 2019 presidential election.

In a press statement sent to journalists, the prophet warned that an attempt to rig the 2019 presidential election by factions desperate for Buharis second term at the detriment of Nigerians would not only fail, but also bring ruin to those plotting it.

He also warned President Buhari to beware of sycophants and political jobbers who are likely to hijack his government and render him incapacitated and unable to please God in the assignment the Almighty has given to him.

READ ALSO: 2019 polls: Ekweremadu tasks President Buhari on free, fair and credible elections

2019 reelection bid: Should President Buhari heed Obasanjo's advice? on Street Gist

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Home | News | General | 2019: Atikus group begins mobilisation in southeast

The Atiku WAZOBIA said former vice president Abubakar is capable to move Nigeria forward

- The national coordinator of the group Gabriel Churchill Chukwuemeka said the country needs a leader that does not practice nepotism

- Chukwuemeka, however, called on Atiku to come and save the country from collapsing

The national coordinator of Atiku WAZOBIA, Gabriel Churchill Chukwuemeka , on Tuesday, February 6, disclosed the groups plan to hand over the south east region to a presidential aspirant, former vice president Atiku Abubakar.

Chukwuemeka said Nigeria needs a leader that is well experienced about the issue of governance and that does not discriminate.

Vanguard reports that he inaugurated coordinators of the group in the southeast region in Owerri.

He gave as the names of the coordinators as Chukwura Onochie, Anambra; Emeka Charles, Ebonyi; Uche Umazi, Abia; Kanayo Afunugo, Enugu; and Ikechukwu Ohanedo, Imo state.

READ ALSO: 2019: Buhari would be defeated if he contests - Prophet Kasali

Chukwuemka said: ''All of us have seen what this country has been turned into and we need a saviour that will rescue us from this bad governance.

''We need a leader that is well experienced about the issue of governance and that does not discriminate. We need a leader that does not practice nepotism.

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''We need a leader that believes in equality and does not segregate along ethnic lines; a leader who believes in the collective interest of the different climes that make up a country.

Because we are tired of this favouritism style of administration, we are calling on Atiku to come and save this country from collapsing. This is a move to ensure that the zone is carried along in the wind of positive change coming to Nigerians and also for the zone to speak in one voice.''

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that Aubakar allegedly met former president Goodluck Jonathan to consider offers made to him by a section of the leadership of the opposition party to return.

There are reports that some PDP chieftains are making efforts to bring Atiku back to the partys fold but that he gave them conditions which include being given automatic ticket to contest the 2019 presidential election.

2019 Presidency: Nigerians reveal why they prefer Atiku to Buhari - on NAIJ.com TV:

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Home | News | General | 2019: Buhari would be defeated if he contests - Popular blind prophet

- Talks around the 2019 presidential election are becoming a daily affair

- The clergy are also not left out in the comments concerning the election

- A popular blind prophet, Moses Muyideen Kasali has given his own verdict concerning the polls

The famous blind prophet and General Overseer of the Mountain of Mercy (aka Ori-Oke Alaseyori Church) in Ibadan, Oyo state, Moses Muyideen Kasali, has declared that President Muhammadu Buhari would be defeated should he contest in the 2019 presidential election.

In a press statement sent to journalists, the prophet warned that an attempt to rig the 2019 presidential election by factions desperate for Buharis second term at the detriment of Nigerians would not only fail, but also bring ruin to those plotting it.

He also warned President Buhari to beware of sycophants and political jobbers who are likely to hijack his government and render him incapacitated and unable to please God in the assignment the Almighty has given to him.

There seems to be a growing discontent of the Buhari administration as the day goes by. Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Nigerians react to threat by northern man to set Nigeria ablaze if Buhari doesn't win in 2019

Part of the statement read: The APC itself was founded on deception and insincerity. It is a pity that the partys merger that produced the current leadership is largely composed of selfish men who became strange bedfellows.

The few ones who have genuine intentions to lead the nation like President Buhari have been overwhelmed by the bad heads. My candid advice for President Buhari is to heed the counsel of the wise and godly and retire to his home in Daura and perish the thought of re-contesting in 2019.

I pray he would be wise enough to do this and allow Nigeria to have peace. If those who have constituted themselves as a cabal of this government make any untoward attempt to deploy state machinery to rig President Buhari into power in 2019 they will not only fail but would bring damnation on themselves and their families.

Prophet Kasali was among the numerous clergy who had predicted Buharis presidency shortly before the 2015 presidential poll.

Kasali had declared then that God was backing the emergence of Buhari as the nations leader because He knew that the retired general had a very good intention of cleaning up the mess created by his predecessors.

Meanwhile, there are ongoing plans for the Coalition for Nigeria Movement (CNM) led by former president Olusegun Obasanjo and the Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM) led by Chief Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) to merge and join forces ahead of the 2019 general election.

Leaders of both movement believe that it is time to unite forces and form a coalition, a political third force that will rescue the country.

While the Obasanjo-led CNM is peopled by mostly politicians and elder statesmen, the NIM on its part is filled with technocrats, rights activists, and other Nigerians who share the same ideology on how to move the country forward.

READ ALSO: 2019 polls: Ekweremadu tasks President Buhari on free, fair and credible elections

2019 reelection bid: Should President Buhari heed Obasanjo's advice? on Street Gist

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Home | News | General | 2019: Senate, Reps agree on order of elections

As NASS fixes Presidential election last

Override of Presidential Veto looms

As Saraki Knocks Buhari on Anti- Corruption War

By Henry Umoru

ABUJA  THE Senate yesterday finally adopted a reordered of sequence of elections by the National Assembly conference committee on electoral Act ( amendment) bill which places the Presidential as the last of the elections to be conducted in the country.

With this adoption of the amendment yesterday by the Senate, the National Assembly election is to hold first, followed by gubernatorial and state assembly polls.

Following this arrangement, it is a clear indication that President Muhammadu Buhari and other presidential candidates in the 2019 general election may be made to walk on tight rope to get elected.

It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has on March 9th, 2017 announced the dates for the 2019 general elections, scheduling the Presidential and National Assembly elections first to hold February 16th, 2019 while the governorship and State Assembly elections will hold two weeks later n March 2nd, 2019.

Also recall that the House of Representatives committee on electoral act ( amendment) bill had in its amendments to the 2010 electoral act included section 25(1) into the act by reordering the sequence of the elections to start from that of the National Assembly, followed by governorship and state assembly election before the Presidential election, just as this was against the time table rolled out by INEC.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly has vowed that if the bill was not assented to by the President, it will surely use constitutional provisions at its disposal to make it see the light of the day for the overall interest of Nigeria and Nigerians.

The Senate in adopting the reordered sequence of election contained in the House of Representatives version of the amended electoral act, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Suleiman Nazif, APC Bauchi North, put it to voice votes of the twelve members present to which they all shouted ayes !

The House of Representatives has also maintained that both presidential and governorship candidates will now spend N5 billion and N1 Billion naira as expenses. House of Representatives.

In his remarks after the adoption of the new sequence of election, Senator Nazif who noted that the bill did not in anyway violate any provisions of section 76 of the 1999 constitution which empowers INEC to fix dates and conduct elections, said that the words empowering INEC to that effect were duplicated in the bill just as powers confers on the National Assembly by section 4 sub section 2 of the Constitution were exercised in relation to rescheduling of elections .

Senator Nazif said, For the avoidance of doubt , this bill with the inclusion of section 25(1) which makes provision for sequence of election different from the one earlier rolled out by INEC has not in any way violates any provisions of the laws governing the operations of the electoral body.

Also commenting , the Chairman of the House Committee on INEC, Hon Edward Pwajok who noted that what the House did concurred to, by the Senate was very necessary in giving credibility to the electoral process in the country, said, The sequence of election provision in the bill is not targeted at anybody but aimed at further given credibility to the electoral process by way of giving the electorates the opportunity to vote based on individual qualities of candidates vying for National Assembly seat.

According to him, if the bill is not assented to by the President, the lawmakers who based their decision on national interest before adopting it , will surely use constitutional provisions at their disposal to make it see the light of the day.

He said, On whether it would be assented to or not by the President as far as we are concerned remains in the realm of conjuncture for now but if such eventually happens , we ll know how to cross the bridge.

Also contributing, a member of the Committee, Senator Dino Melaye, APC, Kogi West while making further clarification on the sequence of election, said that while date for election is the prerogative right of INEC, extant laws of the land gives schedules for such elections as sole responsibility of the National Assembly, adding, So contrary to reports and comments by some Nigerians on the reordered sequence of election, National Assembly have not overlapped its boundaries , he said.

Other members of the committee, Senators Shehu Sani ( APC Kaduna Central), Gilbert Nnaji ( PDP Enugu South), Abiodun Olujimi ( PDP Ekiti South), Peter Nwaoboshi ( PDP Delta North) etc, also commented in support of the reordered sequence of elections.

It would be recalled that the sequence of election now adopted by the 8th National Assembly was earlier proposed by the 4th National Assembly in the 2002 electoral bill before it was later amended by merging Presidential and National Assembly election together which has been the practice since then.

Also recall that the House amended section 25 of the Principal Act and substituted it with a new section 25 (1) and according to the section, the elections shall be held in the following order: (a) National Assembly election (b) State Houses of Assembly and Governorship elections (c) Presidential election.

Similarly, section 87 was amended by adding a new section 87 (11) with a marginal note time for primaries of political parties.

The primaries of political parties shall follow the following sequence (i) State House of Assembly (ii) National Assembly (iii) Governorship, and (iv), President. The dates for the above stated primaries shall not be held earlier than 120 days and not later than 90 days before the date of elections to the offices.

The House also amended section 36 to allow running mate of candidate that dies before the conclusion of elections inherit his votes and continue with the process. Section 35 which states that if before an election, a candidate dies, he will be replaced by the next contestant with the highest vote was also amended.

The amendment indicated that if a nominated candidate died in the election process, the next person from the same political party with the second highest votes in the primary election should replace the deceased. It stated that the name of the new person should be submitted to INEC, which should accept such replacement as if the deceased was alive.

The House also made an increment in the limitation of election expenses to be incurred by candidates for presidential candidates from N1 billion to N5 billion. It raised the governorship bill from N200 million to N1 billion, while Senatorial and Representatives candidates expenses are not to exceed N100 million and N70 million, respectively.

For State Assembly and local government chairmanship elections, candidates expenses had been raised from N10 million to N30 million while councillorship candidates ceiling was raised from N1 million to N5 million. Similarly, individual contribution had been jacked up from N1 million to N10 million.

Meanwhile, Senate President Bukola Saraki yesterday took a swipe at the Anti- graft war of President Muhammadu Buhari as being carried out by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

In his Facebook posting yesterday, Senate President Saraki who noted that he sympathized with the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal CCT, Danladi Umar over what he was presently going through in the hands of the EFCC, said, I sympathize with the Chairman of the Tribunal, Mr. Danladi Umar, for his travail in the hands of the EFCC which suddenly woke up 4 days to the resumption of this case to file criminal charges against him.

You will recall that in April 2016, when our lawyers asked the Tribunal Chairman to recuse himself from our case, because of the criminal investigation against him, the EFCC swiftly cleared Mr. Umar of any wrongdoing.

Now, I find it amusing, that in a dramatic turnaround, this same EFCC now thinks that Mr. Umar has a case to answer just before the commencement of my case before him. What has changed since April 2016?

As much as many Nigerians want to continue to believe that this my case is merely about asset declaration irregularities, the maneuvers, manipulation, intrigues, schemes, and House of Cards nature of this whole case proves otherwise.

I really wonder whether those who genuinely love this Government appreciate the damage that all this is doing to our so-called War Against Corruption.

However, in all of this, my confidence in the judiciary and its ability to do justice in all cases, remains unshakeable.

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Home | News | General | How 5 men allegedly used social media to lure, kidnap, rape 2 women

By Abdulwahab Abdulah

LAGOSFive men were, yesterday, arraigned at the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court for allegedly using social media to lure, kidnap and rape two women in Lagos.

Gabriel Obinna, 20; Nnadozie Akabueze, 21; Hector Ugochukwu, 32; Chinedu Ezechukwu, 21, and Godwin Balogun are facing a six-count charge of conspiracy, kidnapping and rape.

Moments after they pleaded not guilty, the state prosecuting counsel, Mrs O. Akinsete, requested that the defendants be remanded in custody.

He said: We humbly apply for a date to come for trial and that the defendants be remanded in custody.

Obliging Akinsete, Justice Sybil Nwaka ordered that the alleged gang-rapists be remanded at the Kirikiri Prisons.

According to Akinsete, the defendants committed the offences at 4.30p.m. on July 25, 2016, at a hotel in Agege, Lagos.

The defendants posed as a female called Vanessa on social media platforms, befriended and lured Complainant A (name withheld) and Complainant B (name withheld) each to the hotel on two different occasions.

When the women arrived the hotel, instead of meeting their friend Vanessa, they encountered the five defendants, who were lying in wait.

The complainants, in their similar experiences, were beaten, gang-raped by the men and forced to call family and friends to send money for their release.

The prosecution said the offences violated Sections 260(1), 271(3) and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.

Justice Nwaka adjourned the case till February 15 for trial.

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Home | News | General | Buharis tough job for Tinubu

By Emmanuel Aziken, Political Editor

After months of dithering procrastination, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday moved to stem the multidimensional crises in different strata of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC with the appointment of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as lead troubleshooter. The premise is that Buhari now desires the platform of his party to further his political aspiration. Tinubu undoubtedly has his job well cut out for him.

Bola Tinubu and President Muhammadu Buhari: Mending fences

The news that President Buhari appointed Asiwaju Tinubu to heal the many wounds in the party is itself premised on the fact that Buhari and Tinubu are themselves at peace with one another. Until about three months ago, the relationship between both men had been the butt of gossip among politicians in high and low quarters.

Many were especially mindful of the fact that Tinubu played a pivotal role in remodeling Buhari from a three-time election loser into an Election Tsunami. However, following the inauguration, there were allegations of misgivings in the way the administration carved out its policies and appointments. There were claims that those who had fallen out with Tinubu in the Southwest were given prime positions in the Buhari cabinet apparently with the intention of whittling down the influence of the Jagaban Borgu as Tinubu is idolized among his many followers, especially in the Southwest.

Tinubu was also said to have been seriously displeased with the bumps and controversies that shadowed the affairs of the new administration.

One of the many lows in the relationship between Tinubu and the administration was in May 2016 when Buhari cancelled a much-advertised visit to Lagos after months of preparation on the claim that he was unwell. To rub it in for Tinubu, was the fact that the same day that he cancelled the visit, that the State House in Abuja gave out pictures of the president in a paddy-paddy encounter with Governor Ibikunle Amosun in the Presidential Villa. Given insinuations of the rivalry between Governor Amosun and Tinubu, it was not difficult for that photograph to irritate Tinubus men in Lagos.

Later in 2016 the rift between Tinubu and the party sunk to the lowest low when the former Lagos State governor published an open letter of rebuke to the party chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, who incidentally came to office reportedly on Tinubus patronage.

Tinubu was miffed over the conduct of the Ondo State primaries which produced Chief Rotimi Akeredolu. Akeredolu though a one time political protegee of Tinubu had before the election fallen out with the later leading to open media attacks following the open claim that Tinubu was backing a rival aspirant.

Tinubu accused the national chairman of twisting the facts of the primaries and reportedly vowed not to sit with Odigie-Oyegun on any issue again.

Following that, Tinubu was hardly seen around Abuja and party activities. Aides and associates said he had become preoccupied with his business concerns in the West African sub-region.

The turning point was on November 16, 2017, at the launch of a book written on Buhari in Abuja. It was an occasion that brought together several of the warring party leaders and many internally displaced politicians in the party.

It was also the first time that Tinubu and Odigie-Oyegun were seen together since the Ondo primary debacle that occurred more than a year earlier.

Following that, Buhari seemed to have turned his charm on Tinubu when he invited him to fly with him to a summit of African leaders in Ivory Coast the same month.

Since then news of a gulf between the Southwest leader and the president seems to have quenched as they seem to have rediscovered their political chemistry.

So, the news yesterday of the appointment of Asiwaju Tinubu to lead the reconciliation process did not come with a bang.

The statement issued by presidential media aide, Garba Shehu on the appointment read thus: As part of on-going efforts to improve cohesion within the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari has designated Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the consultation, reconciliation and confidence building efforts.

The assignment will involve resolving disagreements among party members, party leadership and political office holders in some states of the Federation.

Senator Bukola Saraki

It was remarkable that just before the announcement of Tinubus appointment was made, that the countrys number three citizen and leading APC chieftain, Senator Bukola Saraki had just jumped out of the court in a trial that has been dubbed a political prosecution. Saraki is being tried on the allegation of false declaration of assets. The Senate President as well as his supporters within and outside the Senate claim he is being tried for his effrontery in contesting the Senate Presidents office.

In reconciling the party, Tinubu may have to start from that point. It is a particularly unpleasing task for the Jagaban given the popular claim that he, Tinubu, was particularly opposed to Sarakis emergence.

Tinubu would have to act fast on the Saraki issue given claims by the Senate President that he would give an indication of his next political move in February.

Kaduna State

In Kaduna State the party is divided between APC Akida who claim to be reform minded and the party establishment which is firmly in the grip of Governor Nasir El-Rufai. The division in the state chapter of the party has seen Governor El-Rufai and his traducers notably, Senator Shehu Sani in open media warfare.

Katsina State

Like in Kaduna, the APC in Katsina State is divided between the establishment which is in the grip of Governor Aminu Masari and the rebels who have styled themselves as APC Akida. The APC Akida has some respected party members including Dr. Usman Bugaje and others who have related with Tinubu in the past and he is expected to know how to engage them. However, such engagement would be challenged by the fact that APC Akida in Katsina has established parallel structures with that framed by the official structure.

Kano State

The division in the APC in Kano is reflected by the fact that it took the persuasion of the police hierarchy to stop a possible flow of blood that would have arisen from the visit of Senator Rabiu Kwankwanso to his senatorial district last week. Kwankwanso has only been to Kano once since he left office as governor in 2015 mainly because of the crisis that developed between him and his chosen successor. With Kwankwansos sight set on a presidential run, Tinubu task would be how to draw him back and give him the confidence to seat in peace with Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

Oyo

In Oyo, the main crisis is that between the minister representing the state, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu and Governor Abiola Ajimobi. Shittu eyes are set on replacing Ajimobi who is not eligible to seek a third term, but the outgoing governor seems to be putting his eyes elsewhere for a successor. Shittu is entering the contest on the prism that he has been one of Buharis oldest political allies in the Southwest having been with him in the now defunct Congress for Progressive Change, CPC.

Plateau

In Plateau just as in Oyo State, Governor Simon Lalong and the minister from the state, Barrister Solomon Dalung who is also from the old CPC block have been said to be on the war path for long. Though they claim not to be at odds in public, among their supporters, there is no love lost. Supporters of Governor Lalong have been heard to ask for the removal of Dalung on the claim that the governor and the minister are from the same senatorial district and as such twisting the application of state character in positions.

Benue State

Undoubtedly, Asiwaju Tinubu is going to find one of the strongest resistance to his mission in Benue State where the citizenry appear to have come out in unison against alleged killings by herdsmen. The faceoff between the herdsmen and the alleged indifference by the president to the situation seem to have put the party at a disadvantage in the mind of the Benue people, and the Tinubu committee has to work to reverse that.

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Home | News | General | Buhari declines assent to Police Fund bill, 2 others passed by NASS

By Henry Umoru

ABUJATHREE passed bills by the National Assembly, yesterday suffered major setbacks, as President Muhammadu Buhari declined assent to the Bills.

President Muhammadu Buhari

They are the Police Fund bill, Chartered Institute of Management and Nigeria Council of Social works bills.

In a letter to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki by President Muhammadu Buhari, read by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over plenary, Buhari explained that he did not sign them into law because the bills were ambiguous and lacked clarity.

The letter, which was dated January 26, 2018, was received February 2nd, 2018.

President Buharis letter read, Pursuant to sections 58(4) of the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, I hereby convey to the senate, my decision on 25th of January 2018 to decline presidential assent to three bills recently passed by the national assembly namely: A. Police procurement fund establishment bill 2017. Due to lack of clarity, regarding the disbursement of funds as well as constraining issues regarding the powers of the national assembly to appropriate funds allocated to the 36 state governments and 754 local governments which conflicts with sections 80-82 and 120-122 of the 1999 constitution as amended.

Chattered Institute of Management of Nigeria bill 2017. Due to lack of clarity over the scope of the profession of public management, that this bill prohibits all persons who are not members of the institute from practicing.

Nigerian council for social works establishment bills 2017. Due to the lack of clarity over the scope of the profession of social works, that this bill prohibits all persons who are not members of the institute from practicing.

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The Federal Government of Nigeria says it will release suspected Boko Haram members from detention, once it is established that they are not insurgents.

The FG also explained its policy of integrating the Civilian Joint Task Force into the security forces, giving them concession,n without jettisoning such requirements as medical fitness, educational qualification, federal character principle and others.

Minister of Defence, Brig. General Dan Mansur-Ali (retd), who disclosed these in Maiduguri, Borno State, at the special town hall meeting on security situation in the North East, said every relevant agency including medical doctors, psychologists, judiciary officers and others, was working round the clock to ensure they were properly profiled.

Through the Operation Safe Corridor, he said, those cleared after painstaking screening would be released.

We have so many tables they are going through what level of depth some of these prisoners have been with the Boko Haram. Some of them are being sourced; some are going to be released; some of them will be detained. Its an issue of time; and the judiciary is also doing its own part.

The Attorney General of the Federation is in consonance with the Ministry of Defence, Defence Headquarters and other medical personnel that are searching through these people to source out, so that those that have very criminal cases will be removed and others will be free as soon as possible, he said.
The Forum of Non-Governmental Organisations in Nigeria says former military dictator, Ibrahim Babangida, lacks the moral right to advise President Muhammadu Buhari.

The group therefore called on Babangida to keep quiet and stay away from politics.

The National Coordinator of FONGON, Mr. Wole Badmus, said this during an interview with our correspondent shortly after a rally held in honour of Buhari in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said, Everything happening now is characteristic of IBB. He was never a bold soldier. He has always been a chameleon, trying to wriggle himself out of anything that appears challenging. He is not a man of his word.

How can he have the right to advise Buhari or make public comments? He lacks the moral right to comment on Nigerian democracy or politics because all he has ever done is try to destroy it. He annulled a free and fair election after spending eight years as a military President. He called himself President without winning any election.

We can condone Obasanjo and his nuisance but not IBB. He doesnt exist as far as we are concerned.

While addressing hundreds of supporters at the Unity Fountain, Badmus said the fact that many perceived corrupt persons were against Buhari had shown that the President was on the right path.

Badmus said, The recent spate of letter writing and memo writing is not an accident. We believe it is aimed at discouraging the President from running for a constitutionally-guaranteed second term which they are afraid will put Nigeria on an irreversible path of probity, prudence and progress.

Badmus had earlier read a letter dated February 6, 2018 FONGON had written to Buhari wherein the group said those against the Presidents re-election in 2019 were treasury looters.

FONGON stated, The looters, economic saboteurs and unpatriotic fellows are feeling the heat of Buhari administrations fight against corruption. They are earnestly yearning for a return to the immediate unedifying past in which the national treasury became the piggy bank of a few.

They also want to pave the way for the return of the same people who brought the country to where it was before you assumed office.

Your Excellency, the recent spate of letter and memo writing is not an accident. We believe it is aimed at discouraging you from running for a constitutionally-guaranteed second term which they are afraid will put Nigeria on irreversible path of probity, prudence and progress.
Home | News | General | Contractors handling federal roads have been paid - FG

- The minister of power, works and housing Babatunde Fashola said all contractors handling federal roads have been paid

- Fashola, however, declared that no contractor has any excuse to delay the ongoing construction works

- He also said government was committed to infrastructure development as a critical foundation for the nations economic revival and growth

Federal government on Tuesday, February 6, declared that all contractors involved in the construction of federal road projects across the country have been paid.

Punch reports that minister of power, works and housing Babatunde Fashola confirmed that no contractor is being owed by the government and as a result none of them should delay construction and rehabilitation works on any federal road that is assigned to them.

According to a statement issued in Abuja by Fasholas communications adviser Hakeem Bello, the minister stated that government had paid all the contractors now engaged in road projects across the country.

READ ALSO: 2019: Buhari would be defeated if he contests - Prophet Kasali

The statement read: ''No contractor has any excuse to delay our work. For any contractor that does not perform, we have our remedies. It promises to be a profitable dry season that heralds a motorable rainy season.

''This is what president committed to in his January speech that you will see this government busy with infrastructure that will lay the critical foundation for economic revival and growth; and it is infrastructure that does it.''

According to the statement, the minister stated this after inspecting the phase I of the Section IV of the Benin-Lokoja dualisation project, Ehor-Benin City in Edo state.

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Fashola said the government was committed to infrastructure development as a critical foundation for the nations economic revival and growth, adding that it would determine how much fuel was burnt on roads by drivers, how much time was being wasted on roads and how that would affect the cost of goods and services.

The minister added: So as this road moves, we expect to see shorter journey times, more efficient fuel use and that is money being saved in commuters pockets and we expect to see more competitive prices of goods and services. That is our economic journey; and we will deliver.''

Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had reported that Fashola unveiled plans by the federal government to build a better network of roads and bridges across the country.

Fashola said that the intention was to connect states, drive economy, move fuel, food and the import and export of goods.

He unveiled a plan for the construction of 44 federal highways, 63 roads and an emergency intervention across the country ahead of the rainy season to give relief to Nigerians subject to appropriation.

People with disabilities challenge Nigerian ministers - on NAIJ.com TV:

[embedded content]

Source: Naija.ng

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Hawaii continues it's assault against the 2A

Jayson Veley. January 30th, 2018

Once again, we have another story about left-wing politicians introducing gun control legislation that has absolutely nothing to do with mass shootings or gun-related crime.

As reported by AmmoLand.com, democratic Hawaii Senator Karl Rhoads has introduced legislation that would establish a ban on modifications that law-abiding citizens commonly make to their firearms.

While it is still pending a committee referral, SB 2046 would make it a crime to own, manufacture, possess, sell, barter, trade, gift, transfer or acquire a firearm accessory that can be used to increase the gun's rate of fire. Such accessories include competition triggers, muzzle brakes, and ergonomic changes, all of which are modifications that law-abiding gun owners commonly make to their firearms. If this legislation passes, those who modify their guns using any of the previously mentioned accessories will automatically become a criminal.

Whenever liberal politicians introduce gun control legislation like SB 2046, you'll notice that they never provide the people with any facts or evidence that proves that their new law will actually be a solution to the problem. .......

Hawaii seems to be continuing to find about everything they can to further their 'gun control' efforts. So now within their already long list of things they want to ban, we can add 'competition triggers' - really? One has to wonder just how such a modification can render a firearm to be suddenly a much more lethal device. Hawaii's disregard for people's ability to defend themselves is beyond reprehensible.

"You don't have to be Jewish to fight by our side."

You just have to love freedom.

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Home | News | General | Gov Wike urges Benue people to defend themselves against bloodthirsty herdsmen

BY PETER DURU

MAKURDI  Governor Nyesom Wike has added his voice to the call on Benue people to defend themselves against attacks by bloodthirsty herdsmen to stop the unending killings in the state.

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike(r), Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom (2nd R) and other leaders at the graveside of 73 victims of Fulani herdsmen invasion during the Rivers State Governors condolence visit with Rivers Elders to Benue State on Wednesday.

The Governor who spoke yesterday when he led a high-powered delegation to commiserate with the people and government of Benue state over the new year day killings in Guma and Logo local government areas that claimed over 70 lives decried the level of killings in the state.

Wike who also visited the graveside of the slain persons also made a donation of N200m to assist the government cater for the needs of the displaced and affected persons.

According to him We came to commiserate with the government and people if Benue state because when you have a brother who has problems you must identify with him.

This has nothing to do with party, we are talking about problems that affect Nigeria and us as human beings.

The South South and the Middle Belt share one thing in common. Benue is part of the Middle Belt and Rivers is part of the South South and we are known as minorities, but by the special grace of God we are not minorities.

Anybody who has in the last few weeks listened to the electronic media or read the newspapers must urgently come and identity with the people of Benue state even if you hate them.

You must recognise the fact that they have lost lives and you have no choice but to commensurate with them because we cherish live and know what it means to lose loved ones not to talk of when they did not commit any offence. People who were either sleeping or doing one thing or the other to help themselves were killed like cows and ordinary animals.

We just visited the graveside and it is quite touchy, you should take heart God will fight for you. But let me say that God fighting for you does not mean that you will not defend yourself. The problem we Christians have is that we like to misinterpret the Bible. Which says that when you are slapped you will turn the other chick.

Assuming that you dont have the other chick to turn to. God will only fight for you when you are ready to fight for yourself.

I was shouting this from the onset. I shouted that they were after me and nobody believed. Now they are going everywhere. At this time you must stay and identify with your people. Dont stay away from your people because they will be your foot soldiers. They will be your police. This is the time to look inward knowing that you have no other but Benue people.

For us we should know that what affects a state affect others. This is the time for us leaders to put our heads together to fight this crime.

There is no way anybody can justify the unnecessary loss of one life not to talk of many lives. Whether the Governor is doing right or wrong that is not enough justification for the killings.

Moreover the Governor has not done anything wrong. So the people of Benue state must rally round the Governor because he needs you now.

Though we are not of the same party so I am not here to condemn the APC as a party, no. But they know that I know that they are not doing well.

I am here to say what happened to you has affected me. They were killing my people before and I cried for help and they say I was playing politics. Now see deaths everywhere, nobody is free again.

People dont seem to know the level of the magnitude of injury inflicted on the people of Benue. 73 persons at a go, leaving orphans and widows behind.

The country must sit down and proffer solutions of how this menace must be tackled.

We must not engage in blame game but sit down and accept that we have failed and something must be done. If we dont do that, it means that we are not serious.

Though the unfortunate incident has happened, we must not take the laws into our hands, but that does not mean that if you see an armed robber coming to your house you should run. You must defend yourself when you see an armed robber coming. That is not taking laws into your hand.

If someone knocks on your door at 2am do you kneel down and ask God to help you?. It is my house, so I will ensure that I prepare myself.

Today people have been rendered homeless with unnecessary IDPs everywhere. We are supporting you with N200million to help the government buy drugs, food and other essential items for the affected people. Though I must acknowledge that this support will not bring back the lives of those killed or property destroyed but it will assist in a little way to lessen the burden of the government. I know what your government is passing through.

I know Governor Ortom is a man of peace, Im also a man of peace but be peaceful and watchful as well. We must keep our eyes open.

Even this our visit today may create problems for you. That is the problem we are having in Nigeria, everything is politics. You cannot go and symphysis with a colleague. Im sorry if I have created any problems for you by my visit. I did not bring problems but assuming they say I brought problems, Im sorry.

Reacting on the comments by the Police Force Public Relations Officer who referred to Governor Ortom as a drowning man, Governor Wike said first of all I must condemn that particular attack, I dont see how a Governor would be referred to as a drowning man. Im expecting the Governors Forum to react to that statement by the Force Public Relations Officer.

It is very unfortunate that an elected Governor would be described to be drowning. Its very unfortunate, and it is only in this type of our democracy that you will hear that kind of statement.

I expect that the chairman of the Governors Forum to call an emergency meeting and the issue will be discussed. The problem I have is that when we see issue that affects the nation we start playing party politics.

This issue goes beyond party politics, it doesnt matter if the Governor is PDP or APC. Once you get into office you are no longer talking of the person but the office.

All of us are Governors and if you say today it is Benue Governor and nothing is done, Tomorrow it may be Zamfara Governor. So lets not play politics but come out to speak out on issues that affect this nation.

You know that I have had issues in my state as well with security agencies and people know my position. And I have always said that once something affect one state dont look at it as being a PDP or APC state.

Today this is a Governor of the APC and because it has happened to him and no body wants to speak out. But for me what you see affecting Benue today has affected me before and if nothing is done it will affect other states and the governors will not be united when people come with one thing or the other to divide the forum.

Ive told them that they have the tendency of dividing us. Lets speak with one voice and tell Mr. President that what we see going on in this country is not acceptable.

Of course you know everybody will want to be the favorite child of the President. But for me I will always speak the truth because of God and because my salvation will not come from man. 

On his part, Governor Samuel Ortom who lauded his Rivers State counterpart for the visit and cash donation lamented the the state was still under the siege of herdsmen who were occupying parts of the state.

He stated that we would not relent to encourage the people to adopt every lawful means to defend themselves from the invaders insisting further that the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore should be arrested for allegedly masterminding the killings.

Today they have taken over part of our land and converted our farm produce as feeds for their cow, that is the position we have found ourselves. Ortom added.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM: General

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Srinagar: Militants opened fire in the citys busy SMHS hospital killing two policemen and freeing Pakistani Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) militant, Naveed Jutt alias Abu Hanzullah, from police custody on Tuesday.

The dramatic shootout has thrown a fresh challenge for government forces as the militant, earlier the right-hand man of slain Lashkar commander, Abu Qasim, was involved in many deadly attacks including the fidayeen attack on army men in Hyderpora in the year 2013.

An eyewitness said that armed persons opened fire inside the hospital passage that connects the casualty ward with the outdoor patient department (OPD) when Hanzullah was being taken for a medical check-up.

From a distance, we spotted a man wearing pheran (Kashmiri gown) who opened fire on the policemen who were guarding the militant, an eyewitness said. When the policemen fell, the huge number of visitors panicked and it created chaos. The pheran-clad man opened more fire in the air. Later he pushed away the person in handcuffs and took him along with him. The prisoner stumbled at many places due to the weight of the iron cuffs.

Eyewitnesses said that due to the commotion, nobody knew what happened later as people rushed towards safer zones.

Police said that policemen escorting the Pakistani prisoner were fired upon by unknown militants, resulting in injuries to two police personnel who later succumbed to their injuries.

Meanwhile the prisoner managed to escape. A manhunt has been launched to nab the terrorists, the police said.

The police identified the slain cops as Head-Constable Mushtaq Ahmad, resident of Dildar Karnah, and Cconstable Babar Ahmad Khan, resident of Shangus Achabal.

Its a very unfortunate incident. The militants managed to free one of their hardcore accomplices. We have sounded a red alert to nab all those involved in this crime, said Director General of Police SP Vaid.

Deputy Inspector General, Central Kashmir, Ghulam Hassan Bhat said that a police team was taking six prisoners including Abu Hanzullah for medical check-up to SMHS when they were fired upon.

Police sources told Kashmir Reader that they believe more militants were waiting outside the hospital and they whisked Hanzullah away.

Soon after the incident, police started frisking of vehicles at major roads and intersections, but without any success as the day passed.

According to the senior police officers, the fleeing of Abu Hanzullah will strengthen the Lashkar, which is facing a crisis of sorts in Kashmir, especially in the south.

Hanzullah, 22, was arrested by police in the year 2014, in south Kashmirs Kulgam area.

He is a daring militant, a police officer said. He has a strategic brain and does not hesitate from taking action on the ground. He is a practical man who knows how to execute things.

The official said that slain Lashkar commander Abu Qasim used to execute daring acts in south Kashmir only due to Hanzullah. If Qasim is known, it is because of him (Hanzullah), the official said. He executed Qasims plans. He was involved in several attacks in Kashmir. He was part of the suicide attack on army in Hyderpora which led to the killing of several army men. He managed to flee there as well.

Lashkar commander Abu Qasim was based in south Kashmir and was involved in several attacks on government forces including the killing of top counter-insurgent Sub Inspector Altaf Ahmad. He was later killed in an encounter with government forces in 2015.

Hanzullah was the power behind Qasim, a police officer said. He was also involved in the killing of a police officer in Pulwama, another policeman in Anantnag, and other attacks like the one at Silver Star Hotel and another on the BSF on the highway.

So, he has the capability to become a potent commander for Lashkar, which is grappling with a leadership crisis. I think he will give real headaches, given his motivation, military brain and tactics, the officer said.

The police officer also said that Hanzullah had a good know-how of information technology and could handle equipment like compasses, GPS, wireless sets and mobile phones installed with Skype software.

Dujana came along with four other militants, while Hanzullah crossed into Kashmir in a separate group with six militants, the police officer said. Only Hanzullah survived among them.

Courtesy: Reader
5 rape cases reported in 2 days from Bhaktapur

Police have made public five cases of rape in two days in Bhaktapur district. The cases include rape of four children and one woman.
I love that he made this illustration to go with his tweet

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Same.



That's true dedication.

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I like that he also signed it lmao

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oh the weird love/hate i have for jim is overwhelming lol

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IKR I love an enlightened queen but I am fully prepared to cringe at things he says haha. I agree with this tweet and the illustration

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lol yes, there's a lot i agree with here, but then i think about his extremely long relationship with jenny mccarthy and i can't

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A bad childhood, a lot of shitty events as an adult, and being in an industry that consumes people?

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why do you ask? seems fine to me.

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Facebook and Twitter get away with way too much shit, especially when it comes to bots and trolls harassing people. They do the bare minimum to erase hate speech so having Russian accounts involved in the US election does not shock me.

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I had a guy make crude remarks about my father r*ping me and then he threatened that he would too.



I said "men remain trash, surprising" and got my account DELETED.

Then I set up another one and got it disabled. I argued my case with facebook and much to my absolute dismay, they let me keep the new one.

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hate speech gets dem hate click coins $$$

they'll never do a damn thing

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instagram can be bad too. ive reported a few pictures moms will post of their kids naked and the report comes back "this doesnt violate our terms" even though one of the bullet points says "we remove posts of nude or partially nude children".

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twitter in particular seems to be really bad with that

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do you think they don't have US accounts involved in foreign elections there?

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oop



/post

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MTE

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put this under a cut please

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Is he still?

I thought he stopped once he broke up with Jenny?



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is he still one?

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Today I learned, Jim Carrey has dual citizenship in Canada and the US

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he knows what's up

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Uhhhh, because he is originally from Canada....

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I know, that's why I was confused on why he said 'our election,' lol. I had no idea he became a US citizen in 2004

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God.

I love that scene.

I use that Lawyer Up, Asshole line all the time.



Also, this role was JT's best, he should've stuck to be a side douche.



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I thought Justin looked so much older here but he looks SO much older now. I still love this movie.

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I think that every time I watch a movie with Leo.



I remember when I thought he looked old and beat up in The Departed.

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When he makes Justin flinch was my favorite. Andrew was AMAZING in this scene.

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I applaud him but as I am not American and also I need Facebook in the Arctic, I will encourage others but I myself will not delete my account.



Good effort though.



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Arctic, artic, attic. All at the top and freezing cold.

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that's cool, lolol. no pun intended. what do you do?

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I think youre lying.

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That's so cool, what do you do there? do u see a lot of polar bears?

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But what about your "vaccines cause autism" fake news, sis?

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I just watched this whole routine this gif is part of yesterday - competitive cheer is gd amazing tbh.

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omg last week I got sucked into "elite cheerleading twitter", it was an experience

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can you link the video? i wanna see it pls

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Right? People seriously underestimate cheerleading as a sport; cheerleaders are strong and athletic as hell and you've got to have nerves of steel to do those stunts.

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deep

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He's right in this instance and I hate Facebook's algorithm (show me everything my friends post!! in chronological order!!! UGH) but I also need it b/c everyone and their moms (literally--and also mostly lbr) are on it

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ikr! Same with Instagram >:( (but at least with IG there's less to scroll through, at least for me)

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I always have to click that "most recent"

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It's really easy to change fb to chronological order lol. You just click the '...' on the sidebar where it says New Feed, then click 'Most Recent'.

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I hate the nonchronological order shit. I miss so many posts on IG and it drives me crazy

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If you don't want to keep clicking "most recent," I always use this link facebook.com/?sk=h_chr as my autofill in my browser. Same effect.

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this is why i 'unliked' a whole bunch of shit from fb, i was always seeing ads for those things instead of friends. ive also unfollowed a lot of celebs from ig because of their shit too.

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Let me just whine about social media algorithms here lol



I miss so much shit with the stupid Facebook and Insta and Twitter algorithms. Facebook even gives me delayed event notifications lately, it's insane. I try doing the recent filter, but it still resets constantly so I'll see the same 2-3 active posts at the top of my feed for days while missing everything else.



Instagram, for its part, never seems to show me anything that isn't already at least a day old. It sucks seeing local places promote a daily promo or special and then looking at the timestamp and realizing it was posted 24 hours ago :/



Twitter is annoying too because to keep in the loop with the people I want to follow the most, I have to actually go to their profiles and feel creepy... but they never show up on my feed at all, always being bumped in favor of "someone you follow liked this random tweet you don't care about from someone you don't follow" even though I unchecked the option for Twitter to 'curate' my feed like this months ago - and it can be so creepily invasive with what it picks, too. The other day it was showing me some pornstar tweets that some guy I follow was liking, I was just like... I wonder if dude knows that his taste in porn is not only visible but that Twitter is actively spotlighting it to one of the irl girls he tries to DM flirt with hahaha

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I'm glad his crazy ass did this.

A sell off is the only thing that'll make something happen. It's so politicized i doubt the democrats will touch it.. Ever.

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I agree with this and other thigns he does but there are a lot of things I do not agree with at all.

His Anti Vaxx has made me look at him so different.

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Good! More celebs should delete their FB. Nobody cares about it anymore anyway.

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Are they still gonna be black? Cause thats the only positive to this piece of shit thats happening.

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The only positive it would be a diverse cast not just black and white.

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Well it is San Francisco so a good amount of characters should be Asian

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Thank you for this

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The description itself says she can hear people's thoughts.



Edited at 2018-02-07 04:37 pm (UTC)

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I would hate to have this power

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Yeah, that's the first thing I noticed. Phoebe's visions were pretty fun imo.

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phoebe's power was so boring and lame in the beginning so i think telepathy is way better tbh

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Thank god. Phoebe was my fave but damn were her powers boring, even levitation sucked.

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Phoebe's power was eventually going to evolve into something more. She had precognition, then levitation, then empathy. She was bound to become telepathic at some point.



And the thing is, their line is also dictated by their ancestors, specifically who they had precedent of their powers.



Phoebe had a passive power at the beginning because of how her specific ancestors (of the same power) were abusing them. Her past lives had powerful power to begin with, Phoebe received the karma for it.



And if the Halliwells are still part in this storyline, and how their line, especially Phoebe's behaved, the third sister having telepathic powers to begin with should be understandable.

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Fuck it, I'm in. And I hope they're serious about casting all ethnicities for the sisters.



I have no idea who I want cast in this, though.

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Are they all gonna be white?

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The casting call for the sisters is for all ethnicities.





But these three white girls were the best fit!

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lmao literally always how it goes

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Lmao Ill be surprised if this doesnt happen.

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lollllbye

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lol yup

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oop

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The two sister who were raised together will be white and the third sister will be half not white. Calling it now. And it'll be "so progressive and inclusive" blahblahblah

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we all know how the casting for Sabrina went

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No, one will be Spray Tan-American

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Me too. Shame on me.

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We can only hope. If I have to deal with fuller house and Roseanne gimme charmed with my original cast back. -.-

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An angry, violent lesbian? Okay, that's definitely not going to be messy at all!



That being said, I'm not going to judge it before I see it, but like...can't we have happy lesbians?



Edited at 2018-02-07 04:40 pm (UTC)

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nope!!! all lesbians must be TRAUMATIZED bc otherwise it's not realistic yknow

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My first thought!

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MTE

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lmao that was mte. has to be the lesbian who's violent and angry, even though prue was the more reactive one in the original imo.

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happy lesbians don't exist

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idk why but the phrase "can't we have happy lesbians?" is making me lol

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Wait, so are they doing a Charmed 2.0 thing where Macy is going to be a Paige situation from start?

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i think so

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So does that make her the youngest? It all seems a bit to...pat? Like everything is dotted and crossed to seem great but it's taking away a lot of the tension by already explaining their entire personalities. The one thing I liked about the original was the chance to watch the characters develop.

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Mte. There will be no prue dying i guess

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I want to be into this because it seems to be hitting all the right spots, but I'm just so tired of reboots.

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I still need to finish the original.

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Just skip the entire season 8 and only watch the series finale. Billie and her stupid sister aren't worth wasting your time on.

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You really don't.

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aw :(

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Do NOT watch the last season; so bad and embarrassingspare yourself

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The first season is the best one. Seasons 3-5 aren't terrible but anything after it isn't worth it and I say this as a huge Charmed stan.

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I'm sure we would be complaining for the abrupt ending but after watching season 8, the end of season 7 is SO MUCH BETTER.



I think s8 only works when you are a die hard fan who just NEEDS more episodes, which is my case. LOL

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Whats up with the comment about the science nerd believing that she has sisters? I dont get it.

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probably going to be like paige from the original

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She was probably put for adoption.

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She accidentally mixes up their 23AndMe test results at work with her own, before freaking out over "zomg, if this isn't mine then I've found siblings!"



Edited at 2018-02-07 08:47 pm (UTC)

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Mel Pruitt is a strong-willed feminist and a lesbian. After a tragic accident, her grief causes her to becomes angry and violent and pushing away any who want to help, including her girlfriend (Soo Jin, a detective).



A korean lesbian detective? You can already tell they're gonna kill her after one season just to make the angry, violent witch even angrier. Sigh.

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You know Katherine Heigl is going to retweet 20 times "I have a Korean sister who likes detective shows! I'm so in!"



Edited at 2018-02-07 08:43 pm (UTC)

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So, a quirky nerd, an angry lesbian and a bitchy cheerleader



SUCH GROUNDBREAKING. HOW FEMINISM.

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Stop or I'll agree.

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how does he keep getting hired lmfao

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it's not that he's bad at the job it's that he wants his vision 100% or not at all. he's not big on compromising anymore.

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i mean... that does imply he's bad at his job since his job involves compromise. unless he's planning on starting his own studio and funding his own projects, he's always going to have to give a little to get a little.

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He's the Guillermo Del Toro of television lol

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it does make you wonder

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lmao, this is killing me!! Hopefully The Vampire Chronicles makes it because I'm looking forward to it.



I also hope American Gods remains great, istg!!

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American Gods going down the way it did is such a shame, I really like it.



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I could see how budget would be an issue when it didn't catch on like Game of Thrones, but that first season was fucking fantastic. I think the first episode was just too inaccessible for most audiences.

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me too, i'm really bummed abt that

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there's a username i haven't seen in a while! you were missed 

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Bryan Fuller disappointing us? How surprising.

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Only a mediocre white man would get this many passes istg

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i mean normally I'd agree but he's proven his worth as a creative showrunner a few times over at this point. It's not like his work is shitty and mediocre, he's just terrible at compromising over budgets.

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Yeah, and his shows always get critical acclaim. So, on paper, he looks good, but his track record with follow-through is all but absent.

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i haven't been a fan of his recent projects, but ia. it's not his ability that's the problem here.

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ia. i mean, i also think a woman would be blacklisted real fast if she did even once what he does on a regular basis, but yeah mediocrity isn't the problem here.

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I don't think I agree that he's proven his worth considering that most of his shows have ended up cancelled or with him leaving, over budget and haven't gotten mainstream critical awards acclaim except for Pushing Daisies, which was cancelled a decade ago. Don't get me wrong, I love his shows, but while he's a genius if I was a producer at this point I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole.

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So what? HOW many times has this happened now? idgaf HOW much critical acclaim he gets, NO woman or POC would be able to walk away from this many projects and STILL get people saying 'BUT HE'S A GENIUS' 'BUT HIS SHOWS' 'BUT HANNIBAL'



I D G A F





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Right??? And his stans act like he isnt replaceable but that's rubbish.



If he was a woman or not white all the critical acclaim in the world wouldn't help him

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He's far far from mediocre though? I agree with you, but generally just 'white man', like whether he's mediocre or not has nothing to do with getting passes.



Just generally white men tend to be extremely mediocre.

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Bryan Fuller is a goddamn mess, but he's not mediocre. Accurate that his career would be over by now if he wasn't a white man, though.

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hmmmmmt and here y'all are defending him...I wonder if someone like Ava DuVernay or Shonda Rhimes did this there would be as many people caping for THEM...?

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how the fuck does he keep getting this many chances



Edited at 2018-02-07 09:43 pm (UTC)

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I can see Apple being a real pain in the ass when it comes to a creative process

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Both tbh? Like the studios KNOW what he's like, and give him everything he wants to craft his vision, then second season rolls around and they're like "nah now do it on half the budget" which just isn't feasible.



It's a known thing he won't compromise on his creative vision and auteurship, and will do it his way or not at all. So could he do with negotiating more? Yes for sure. But also they hire him knowing what he'll cost, and knowing that he won't budge on expenditure, and knowing that they won't intend to keep funding that. So takes two to tango.

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he is notoriously horrible to work with

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They went $30 million over budget for the first season, so I'm leaning toward him (them) being the problem.

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considering how often it's happened with several studios over how many years? the answer is not really all that difficult imo lol

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Can't believe people are still hiring him based on his track record; his shows are either prematurely canceled, or he leaves them after a season. In this case... before it even airs!



Justice for Wonderfalls & Dead Like Me. I loved those shows and wished they'd lasted much longer. Although he likely would have left them too had he been given the chance lol

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i do wish there'd been a third season of dead like me to wrap up everything, not the movie we got. also, the show will turn 15 this summer! wonderfalls is a perfect one season show so i'm okay with it.i do wish there'd been a third season of dead like me to wrap up everything, not the movie we got. also, the show will turn 15 this summer!

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You're right. I love that the show has a good beginning, middle, and end. It likely would have gone to shit (or Bryan would have left lmao) had it kept going.



Love Jaye! I love that's she's super intelligent yet genuinely uninterested in work.. or anything much really, lmao. And I had a gay crush on her love interest on the show (Eric).



edit: the Dead Like Me movie was terrible :(



Edited at 2018-02-07 09:54 pm (UTC)

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I don't know that I've ever related to a character harder than Jaye

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I rewatch this every couple of years 

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tbh i had no idea what he looked like until now and i'm not surprised at all

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same tbh

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i'm still bitter about Pushing Daisies being cancelled too soon.

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Me too, bb. Me too... TT()

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Me too. :( That show made me so happy.

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same

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same although the good place is finally filling the gaping hole in my heart

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same tbh



i thought Selfie would do that, BUT

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idg the good place comparisons, tbh. pushing daisies has a lot more in common with the series of unfortunate events reboot than the good place

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ot

and selfie too!

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didnt he also leave dead like me after the first couple of episodes?

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any women would be blacklisted for being perceived to be even 10% as difficult to work with as he is.

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Third FAA UAS Symposium Set for March 6-8

The event will include panels, breakout sessions, and workshops, and the FAA will operate an on-site resource center to help owners and operators with airspace authorizations, waivers, understanding the Part 107 small UAS rule, and other policies and regulations.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) will co-host the 3rd Annual FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Symposium on March 6-8, 2018, at the Baltimore Convention Center, giving drone enthusiasts, government officials, and representatives from industry and academia a chance to discuss the latest issues as unmanned aircraft are being integrated into the National Airspace System.

The event will include panels, breakout sessions, and workshops, and the FAA will operate an on-site resource center to help owners and operators with airspace authorizations, waivers, understanding the Part 107 small UAS rule, and other policies and regulations.

The agency promises it will provide "up-to-the-minute information on government regulations" and opportunities to participate in "hands-on, collaborative discussions with the most innovative minds in the UAS field."
DAO refuses to provide information about CJ Parajulis citizenship

The District Administration Office (DAO) has refused to give details of Chief Justice (CJ) Gopal Parajulis citizenship citing it has already sent the information to the Supreme Court.
February 2018, Phuket  Make this Chinese New Year a memorable one by joining the festivities and enjoying the BONAP Family Reunion Dinner at Amor Restaurant, Novotel Phuket Phokeethra from 16-18 February.

A time of celebration and family togetherness, Chinese New Year is one of the worlds biggest festivals. Guests at Novotel Phuket Phokeethra can choose one of two buffet highlights, which feature seafood and Chinese cuisine delights such as dim sum, to help ring in this auspicious occasion.

The Ta-Lay Buffet presents a fantastic seafood buffet where families can truly enjoy the treasures of the ocean with generous offerings of Phuket Lobsters, Oysters, Alaska Crab, and hard-to-find sweet treats like Crepe Suzette.

Meanwhile, the Hao Chi Buffet offers Chinese cuisine with a French twist. Flavour-packed, bite-sized Chinese Dim Sum, Trangs Roast Pork and BeiJing Roast Duck await you. End the meal with the always-delightful Crepe Suzette and Haagan-Dazs ice-cream, while discovering Amors truly global buffet concept. Included are eight additional counters for salads, soup, BBQs, cocotte, seafoods, noodles and rice, and desserts to keep you satisfied.

Available from 18.00 p.m. to 9.30 p.m., guests can also enjoy a live band during dinner with special price THB 1,999 per person and those who book through Table Plus https://goo.gl/YhwBxC will get super offer buy 1 get 1 free! and get 50% Discount on selected special beverages.

As an added attraction for those who book on the evening of 17 February, Amor Restaurant will host a special Chinese New Year show which will feature a lion blessing ritual, cocktail reception, lion dance and dragon show.

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www.novotel-phuket-phokeethra.com
When Amazon discloses its plans to build a new warehouse, the news release is predictable.

An Amazon executive cites the number of jobs that the company plans to fill. Elected officials thank Amazon and praise the vibrancy of their business community. And, sometimes, they predict benefits that will flow from Amazon's investment.

Middletown, Del., Mayor Kenneth Branner, for example, said an Amazon facility announced in 2012 would "be a jump start to our economy and bring additional employment growth to our area."

A new study challenges that premise, finding that counties that house a new Amazon depot show no growth in the number of total jobs in the wider economy during the two years after a facility's opening.

"Amazon, when it opens a fulfillment center, does add warehousing jobs," said Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and a co-author of the study released last week, using Amazon's term for its warehouses, which tend to employ between 500 and 1,500 people each. "But those don't really translate to any sort of broad-based economic growth in the county that they open the centers in."

In the absence of an obvious hiring boom, the study's authors contend that mayors and state officials should refrain from spending public dollars and providing tax breaks to secure Amazon's commitment to build warehouses in their region.

The report is the latest fodder for the debate about Amazon's growing role in the U.S. economy, and the use of public funds to offset the costs of the company's rapid expansion.

The Seattle company's warehousing footprint has expanded dramatically in recent years, as Amazon placed depots closer to major population centers to deliver packages quicker and cheaper. The company had fewer than 10 centers through the mid-2000s, the study says, and was nearing 100 by the end of 2017.

In the process, the company has become the second-largest U.S.-based employer, trailing only Walmart. Critics have scrutinized the high-pressure working conditions present in its warehousing arm, as well as the public subsidies spent to lure warehouses in the first place.

"They are clearly opening a lot more fulfillment centers, this is a big development in our economy," Zipperer said. "Local governments are more or less falling over themselves to attract Amazon. That raises the question, what are you actually getting when you basically sacrifice future tax revenue? How big is that trade off?"

In one case cited by Good Jobs First, a corporate subsidy watchdog that has criticized payments to Amazon, Chattanooga, Tenn., offered Amazon $30 million in property tax rebates, 80 acres of free land and $4 million in state payments to prepare the site for a warehouse built in the area that came online in 2011. .

In a statement last week, Amazon pushed back against the EPI study.

The company says it employed more than 200,000 people in the U.S. in 2016, and estimates that its spending led to the creation of another 200,000 jobs outside the company, including temporary construction jobs. (Amazon didn't provide a breakdown of how many of those jobs were created by high-paying corporate and software development positions, versus the lower-paying roles in warehousing and logistics.)

"These data points are not demonstrative of our current network, community impact, and both the direct and indirect job creation near fulfillment centers," the statement said.

Michael Mandel, an economist with the Progressive Policy Institute who contends that e-commerce jobs of the sort Amazon creates reduce income inequality, criticized the EPI study in a blog post. He noted that the study didn't include in its data set the case of Kenosha, Wisconsin, home to an Amazon warehouse since 2015 that has seen stronger employment growth than the state as a whole.

Zipperer said EPI limited its study to counties with warehouse employment data in a Bureau of Labor Statistics database available for the period between 2001 and 2015.

The study examined 54 Amazon fulfillment centers located in 34 U.S. counties, which the authors say covered about three-fourths of Amazon's warehousing network as it stood in 2015. The authors limited their sample to warehouses opened by that year, an effort to evaluate employment changes in the years following the opening.

"We used the data we had, and tried to compare apples to apples," Zipperer said. "We will almost surely update this, the more data we get."

EPI, based in Washington, D.C., describes itself as a nonpartisan think tank that advocates for worker-friendly policies. About 30 percent of its funding comes from labor unions.

Zipperer said he had two theories as to why Amazon didn't show up as a larger contributor to employment in his data.

"The most charitable explanation that would mesh with our findings is Amazon is creating jobs, but they're not that many to actually detect as a (meaningful) addition to overall employment," Zipperer said. Warehousing has historically been a small employer, he said, accounting for about 1 percent of total employment in most areas covered by the study.

The other possibility, he said, is that Amazon warehouse jobs "are just pulling people away from other sectors of the economy," he said. "Some retail worker is now going to take a job at the warehouse."

Explore further Amazon to build fulfillment center employing 1,500 near Orlando airport

2018 The Seattle Times

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Africas massive variety of languages should be celebrated and used in tertiary education. Credit: Shutterstock

Africa is the home of 2144 languages. Oddly, most development theoreticians consider this a barrier to economic and social growth. Sociolinguists and educationists know better: the African continent's multilingualism is a powerful resource.

The problem begins at school, and continues right through the education system. This includes tertiary level.

I have watched South African university students' call for "fees to fall", and  coming as I do from a country that offers free primary through tertiary education and whose economy thrives partly for this reason  I fully support them. However, in terms of just and sustainable education, fees are only one side of the coin. Language is the other. As a linguist whose work has focused for decades on African language matters, I remain convinced what Africa needs are political campaigns that tackle language: #EnglishOnlyMustFall. #FrenchOnlyMustFall. #PortugueseOnlyMustFall.

The continent needs a new strategy for mother-tongue based bilingual education, from primary through to tertiary level. In this, it can draw from what many other emerging markets and societies, as well as developed countries, do very successfully. From South Korea through Japan and China, to Russia, all of Europe and North America, schools' language of instruction is children's mother tongue (also known as first or home language). They also learn "global" languages like English and French so they can later function and communicate all over the world.

Crucially in these countries, the mother tongue is not suddenly abandoned at university. That's because research has shown the level of a foreign language acquired at school is not enough for the required "Cognitive Academic Linguistic Proficiency", or CALP. So students continue to learn in their mother tongue, while also studying a global language  or two, or even three. They do this at a stage when their cognitive, creative and critical potential are reaching maturity. In this way, they come to fully grasp the complexities and applications of their own home languages and a foreign language.

Applying these lessons in postcolonial Africa means embracing truly multilingual education. Unfortunately too many African tertiary systems operate solely through a foreign language  English, French or Portuguese. This disadvantages mainly black African students and creates what South African educationist Neville Alexander called a kind of "neo-apartheid".

Putting African languages first

Research has made it explicitly clear: if efficiency of learning and cognitive development is the target, the mother tongue should be the medium of instruction from primary school, through secondary and into universities. Other languages, like English, can be introduced as subjects from lower primary level.

There are several objections to introducing African languages into the education system. Cost is one. But this is a myth. Sociolinguist Kathleen Heugh has shown that "investment in such programmes in Africa at the moment is usually less than 2% of a country's education budget  and is recovered within five years".

Another argument is that multilingualism is somehow difficult to achieve. Yet many African children learn two or more languages before they ever reach school, and often use such languages interchangeably. Sociolinguists are intrigued by the ways in which Africans communicate mainly in urban contexts  in what appears to be talking in two or more languages at the same time. The new academic terminology for this is translanguaging or polylanguaging.

Why not use this as a highly welcome asset to teach through both African and European languages across the educational system, since people freely apply this strategy outside classrooms and lecture halls anyway? Why should educational authorities insist on using only English rather than "translanguaging" when teaching content subjects?

Others have inferred that African languages are simply not fit for teaching and learning at university level. This argument combines ignorance with racism. And it's not borne out by evidence. In fact, the reverse is true. A recent Ph.D. thesis currently being submitted at Rhodes University in South Africa, where I am a visiting Fellow, found that students with a background in languages other than English profit immensely from being assisted with teaching materials, terminology and translation aids in their mother tongues.

At Rhodes, isiXhosa features as more than a language subject. It is used as a medium of instruction in support courses for Journalism and Media Studies. Pharmacy students are taught vocation-specific isiXhosa skills. Bilingual teachers in Politics, Commerce, Sociology and Economics are recognising the linguistic diversity of their classes by using students' lived experience as an important aspect of teaching and learning.

There's more. The University of Limpopo offers multilingual studies, including a BA in Contemporary English language studies in both English and Sesotho sa Leboa. Masters and Ph.D. students write their theses in any official language of their choice  recent examples have included theses in Sepedi, Tshivenda and Xitsonga. Both Stellenbosch University and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology offer multilingual glossaries in English, isiXhosa and Afrikaans for various faculties. These are also accessible online.

Multilingualism opens doors

These and other initiatives work towards two outcomes. The first is to produce university graduates who are able to converse freely in both a world language like English and in one or more African languages. A good command of global languages will open a window to the world for all those who've come through such a tertiary system  and put an end to the marginalisation of Africa.

The second outcome is that ultimately, African societies can be transformed from merely consuming knowledge to producing it. Until today and exclusively, knowledge came to Africa from the North, wrapped up in the languages of former colonial masters. This one-way road must change into a bidirectional one. For this, universities are the hub.

One of the ways to ensure this happens is to upgrade teacher (or lecturer) training. Whatever language is used in teaching content subjects, when language is the subject it must be taught professionally and well. Good English, but likewise good isiXhosa, for instance, must remain the teaching goal. Teacher training is critical.

All of this work is a worthy investment in the quest to give African languages their rightful place in African societies. Re-empowering African languages is a way to contribute sustainably to societal transformation and economic progress by fully exploiting the cognitive and creative potential of all young Africans.

Explore further Is tech killing indigenous African languages?

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
"Medicalizing Blackness is published by The University of North Carolina Press.

Slavery and racism played their roles in planting beliefs about race and racial difference, but so did medicine, says the author of a new book.

Many physicians in pre-Civil War America and the West Indies developed ideas that black bodies were different in basic ways: naturally immune to some diseases, more susceptible to others, more tolerant of pain, in need of specialized care.

Some of those ideas have survived to the present day, in both formal research and informal attitudes, according to University of Illinois history professor Rana Hogarth.

The physicians were "Medicalizing Blackness," per the title of Hogarth's book. It makes the case, she said, that "medicine and science were certainly complicit, at least in making it acceptable, to say that race is real and here's our proof of it and here are these physical differences."

Some previous research has suggested that doctors' ideas about racial difference were driven by the desire to justify slavery, Hogarth said. But she found too many contradictions in that explanation. "I don't think that slavery was the driving force," she said.

For one thing, slavery didn't need defending through much of the 1780-1840 time period Hogarth covers. The abolition movement was certainly growing, but for the average slaveholder, "slavery wasn't going anywhere," she said.

Some of these ideas also conflicted with slaveholders' interests, Hogarth said. The belief that black people were immune to yellow fever, for instance, may have made them more attractive as slave labor in tropical regions  but it also prompted British governors of several West Indies islands to lobby at one point for arming black troops for the islands' defenses.

At another point, relying on the same belief, Great Britain sent 800 African troops from Sierra Leone to Barbados. Many soon became ill with the disease, though their commander looked for alternative explanations.

Slavery also was not served by physicians' diagnosis of a dirt-eating disease among black slaves, called Cachexia Africana, Hogarth said. It caused them to languish, made them unable to work. Production would suffer as a result, purportedly causing the ruin of some plantations. "It doesn't make sense as a justification for slavery because it's a disaster," Hogarth said.

Hogarth also noted that some of those involved in this medical discourse held anti-slavery views, among them Benjamin Rush, a prominent Philadelphia physician. In lectures, he told his students that black people were more tolerant of pain. When a yellow fever epidemic struck the city, he asked black friends to stay behind, thinking they would be immune  then finding they weren't.

"There's a lot of contradiction and a lot of messiness in terms of how physicians articulated these ideas about difference," Hogarth said. "It was really interesting to see how they tried to justify or explain things away."

As a medical historian, she was also fascinated with how these doctors conducted much of their discourse in a kind of research bubble, continually citing and reinforcing each other. "One respected physician would publish a treatise saying he had observed that Africans do not get yellow fever. Then somebody else would repeat it. Then somebody else. So it became this sort of historical game of telephone," Hogarth said.

Some black people were, in fact, immune to yellow fever, but only if they had been previously exposed in an epidemic and survived, Hogarth said. Physicians at the time were not yet aware of acquired immunity in the modern sense or the genetics involved in susceptibility to certain diseases, making a racial explanation that much more attractive.

Yet despite advances in medical science and research methods, these ideas of "medicalized blackness" have continued up to the present, Hogarth said. Sickle cell anemia has been described as a black disease, yet it's caused by factors related to genetic adaptations to malaria in various regions and affects many non-African populations.

In 2005, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a drug to treat congestive heart failure in people who self-identify as African-Americans  the first drug ever approved for a specific racial group, Hogarth said. "This approval was based on the faulty logic that disease runs a different course in people because of their race, rather than other factors."

And a 2016 University of Virginia study found that half of a sample of white medical students and residents held false beliefs about biological differences  such as that black people had thicker skin, blood that coagulated more quickly, and were more tolerant of pain.

"We keep thinking that race, that blackness, rather than racial inequities, is this thing that carries weight in the clinical setting, and it doesn't," Hogarth said. "And of course that spills out into the social, too."

Explore further Impact of religion and racial pride on classroom discrimination

More information: "Medicalizing Blackness: Making Racial Difference in the Atlantic World, 1780-1840": "Medicalizing Blackness: Making Racial Difference in the Atlantic World, 1780-1840": www.uncpress.org/book/97814696  icalizing-blackness/
Newly-hatched loggerhead sea turtles at sundown on the beach along the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Sanibel Island in southwest Florida. Credit: Jacob Lasala, Florida Atlantic University

Who's your daddy? No, it's not a TV clip from "The Jerry Springer Show" to identify who the "real" father is. Rather, it is a groundbreaking study of sea turtle nests and hatchlings using paternity tests to uncover "who are your daddies?"

The study conducted by researchers at Florida Atlantic University and published in PLOS One, is the first to document multiple paternity in loggerhead sea turtle nests in southwest Florida. What started out as a study on female sea turtle promiscuity - females can have multiple partners and can store sperm for more than three months after mating events - is proving to be very good news for this female-biased species facing rising risks of extinction due to climate change.

Due to their accessibility, nesting female sea turtles, nest success, and hatchlings are frequently examined and used for demographic studies and population models (key areas for the management of imperiled species). Yet, there is very limited understanding of the proportion of adult males and males approaching sexual maturity in any sea turtle population. Consequently, male sea turtles' reproductive behavior is poorly understood and adult sex ratio cannot be estimated directly.

"Studying sex ratios of adult sea turtles in the ocean is logistically difficult because they are widely distributed and males are especially difficult to access because they rarely come to land," said Jacob Lasala, corresponding author of the study and a Ph.D. student working with Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., co-author and a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. "We decided to use a different approach and measure 'breeding sex ratios' using genotyping to examine the number of male sea turtles that contribute to nests."

The researchers identified the paternity of 51 nests and 989 sea turtle hatchlings along the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Sanibel Island in Florida over the course of three nesting seasons (2013 to 2015). Because there are fewer male sea turtles and sea turtle populations have been female-biased, the researchers expected to find the same male sea turtles showing up as fathers in different nests across hundreds of hatchlings sampled in their study. Much to their surprise, and relief, that did not happen.

The researchers found that 70 percent of the nests and hatchlings they analyzed in their study had different fathers. They also did not find any repeat males in any of the nests, and identified the genotypes of 126 distinct males. No male loggerhead sea turtle fertilized eggs in more than one nest within or across years. The breeding sex ratio was approximately 1 female for every 2.5 males. These findings suggest that several males contribute to multiple nests during a nesting season and might breed more frequently than females.

Breeding sex ratio is the proportion of males and females that can mate at any time; the metric can be used to identify the minimum number of males and females contributing to populations. A single female can have offspring from more than one male in a nest within a year. The number of males fathering each nest can be determined genetically and used to estimate the minimum breeding sex ratios.

For the study, Lasala, Wyneken and Colin R. Hughes, Ph.D., study co-author and an associate professor in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, genotyped the nests and hatchlings using seven polymorphic microsatellite markers to estimate the breeding sex ratios of these loggerhead turtles. Paternal genotypes were identified through exclusion analysis and were used to estimate the number of males contributing to this population. Results of their study also provide an alternative hypothesis of loggerhead breeding.

By sampling turtles over three years, the researchers were able to estimate the population breeding sex ratios independent of the complications created by females nesting every second or third year, and males breeding every year.

"Our study presents baseline results against which those future sex ratios can be compared. If loggerhead hatchling sex ratios have skewed the adult sex ratios, we are not yet seeing the effects in the breeding sex ratio for the Gulf of Mexico," said Wyneken. "Rather, it seems that females have access to a larger number of males, perhaps as they migrate from multiple feeding grounds to the nesting beaches. There is no indication from our data that sex ratio bias has become so severe that extinction risk is elevated at this time. However, loggerhead sea turtles take several decades to reach sexual maturity so female bias in hatchlings may take a while to show up in the adult populations."

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is listed globally as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Along the continental United States and adjacent waters in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, it is listed as threatened. The northwest Atlantic contains one of only two marine turtle aggregations of more than 10,000 individuals nesting annually. Florida nesting loggerheads make up approximately 90 percent of the loggerhead production in the Atlantic north of the equator.

Explore further Warmer weather is turning turtles on this South Florida beach female
Magnetic loops gyrate above the sun, March 23-24, 2017. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Solar Dynamics Observatory

The sun might emit less radiation by mid-century, giving planet Earth a chance to warm a bit more slowly but not halt the trend of human-induced climate change.

The cooldown would be the result of what scientists call a grand minimum, a periodic event during which the sun's magnetism diminishes, sunspots form infrequently, and less ultraviolet radiation makes it to the surface of the planet. Scientists believe that the event is triggered at irregular intervals by random fluctuations related to the sun's magnetic field.

Scientists have used reconstructions based on geological and historical data to attribute a cold period in Europe in the mid-17th Century to such an event, named the "Maunder Minimum." Temperatures were low enough to freeze the Thames River on a regular basis and freeze the Baltic Sea to such an extent that a Swedish army was able to invade Denmark in 1658 on foot by marching across the sea ice.

A team of scientists led by research physicist Dan Lubin at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego has created for the first time an estimate of how much dimmer the sun should be when the next minimum takes place.

There is a well-known 11-year cycle in which the sun's ultraviolet radiation peaks and declines as a result of sunspot activity. During a grand minimum, Lubin estimates that ultraviolet radiation diminishes an additional seven percent beyond the lowest point of that cycle. His team's study, "Ultraviolet Flux Decrease Under a Grand Minimum from IUE Short-wavelength Observation of Solar Analogs," appears in the publication Astrophysical Journal Letters and was funded by the state of California.

"Now we have a benchmark from which we can perform better climate model simulations," Lubin said. "We can therefore have a better idea of how changes in solar UV radiation affect climate change."

Lubin and colleagues David Tytler and Carl Melis of UC San Diego's Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences arrived at their estimate of a grand minimum's intensity by reviewing nearly 20 years of data gathered by the International Ultraviolet Explorer satellite mission. They compared radiation from stars that are analogous to the sun and identified those that were experiencing minima.

The reduced energy from the sun sets into motion a sequence of events on Earth beginning with a thinning of the stratospheric ozone layer. That thinning in turn changes the temperature structure of the stratosphere, which then changes the dynamics of the lower atmosphere, especially wind and weather patterns. The cooling is not uniform. While areas of Europe chilled during the Maunder Minimum, other areas such as Alaska and southern Greenland warmed correspondingly.

Lubin and other scientists predict a significant probability of a near-future grand minimum because the downward sunspot pattern in recent solar cycles resembles the run-ups to past grand minimum events.

Despite how much the Maunder Minimum might have affected Earth the last time, Lubin said that an upcoming event would not stop the current trend of planetary warming but might slow it somewhat. The cooling effect of a grand minimum is only a fraction of the warming effect caused by the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. After hundreds of thousands of years of CO2 levels never exceeding 300 parts per million in air, the concentration of the greenhouse gas is now over 400 parts per million, continuing a rise that began with the Industrial Revolution. Other researchers have used computer models to estimate what an event similar to a Maunder Minimum, if it were to occur in coming decades, might mean for our current climate, which is now rapidly warming.

One such study looked at the climate consequences of a future Maunder Minimum-type grand solar minimum, assuming a total solar irradiance reduced by 0.25 percent over a 50-year period from 2020 to 2070. The study found that after the initial decrease of solar radiation in 2020, globally averaged surface air temperature cooled by up to several tenths of a degree Celsius. By the end of the simulated grand solar minimum, however, the warming in the model with the simulated Maunder Minimum had nearly caught up to the reference simulation. Thus, a main conclusion of the study is that "a future grand solar minimum could slow down but not stop global warming."

More information: Dan Lubin et al. Ultraviolet Flux Decrease Under a Grand Minimum from IUE Short-wavelength Observation of Solar Analogs, The Astrophysical Journal (2017). Journal information: Astrophysical Journal Letters , Astrophysical Journal Dan Lubin et al. Ultraviolet Flux Decrease Under a Grand Minimum from IUE Short-wavelength Observation of Solar Analogs,(2017). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/aaa124
Credit: Dominik Kopp

CRISPR/Cas systems are known as promising "gene scissors," editing the genomes of plants, animals and microorganisms by targeting specific regions in their DNA. They might also be used to correct genetic defects. A team of scientists led by Juliane Behler and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Hess from the University of Freiburg have now identified an enzyme that functions as a pair of RNA scissors involved in CRISPR/Cas systems and the correct regulation of gene expressionit reads genes and translates their information into proteins. The researchers have published their work in the scientific journal Nature Microbiology.

Natural CRISPR/Cas systems can be found in most bacteria and archaea, where they form a microbial immune system with which these organisms can defend themselves against viral intruders. In order for this line of defense to work, a long RNA molecule must first be cut into smaller units. An enzyme is therefore used as a pair of RNA scissors to cut the RNA molecule and "arm" the system. Natural CRISPR/Cas systems often function autonomously: They can be exchanged between different bacteria quickly, and they are not dependent on other proteins in their host cells. An exception to this can be found in the popular CRISPR/Cas9 systems, in which the host enzyme RNase III acts as RNA scissors.

The scientists from the University of Freiburg, who are studying CRISPR/Cas systems, have now demonstrated that the enzyme RNase E acts as RNA scissors in the CRISPR/Cas systems of cyanobacteria. This enzyme is very common, and it can be found not only in photosynthetic cyanobacteria, but also in pathogenic bacteria and plant chloroplasts. It is an important factor for the correct regulation of gene expression within all these groups of organisms. What was not known until now, however, was that it also plays a role in CRISPR/Cas systems.

The team's research shows that the interaction of CRISPR/Cas systems with the cellular mechanisms of their host organisms is stronger than previously suspected, meaning there could be greater potential for the use of such systems.

Explore further Alternative CRISPR system is less specific, more robust

More information: Juliane Behler et al. The host-encoded RNase E endonuclease as the crRNA maturation enzyme in a CRISPRCas subtype III-Bv system, Nature Microbiology (2018). Journal information: Nature Microbiology Juliane Behler et al. The host-encoded RNase E endonuclease as the crRNA maturation enzyme in a CRISPRCas subtype III-Bv system,(2018). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-017-0103-5
Credit: knoelle44/flickr

Fireflies are the flashy stars of the insect world. At night, you can see them coming because each little bug shines like a lamp  and, appropriately, they belong to the beetle family Lampyridae.

The "lamplight" of fireflies is generated by an enzyme inside the bugs' abdomens called luciferase, which reacts with other elements and compounds to produce a cold light. This turns each individual firefly into a bioluminescent beauty.

Their glow is also used for courtship. Males of different firefly species use different flash patterns to attract potential mates. A male firefly will flash in a certain pattern for a particular length of time; he knows whether the female he's spotted is interested based on how long it takes her to "flash" in reply.

This all sounds very romantic and beautiful. But there's a dark secret lurking behind the facade: some female fireflies dupe the males with false flash patterns  then, when their amorous would-be partners approach, they attack and eat them. The femme fatales aren't doing this from malice or hunger: they're trying to ingest a toxin that will keep them safe from predators.

"Come closer"

This lethal mating ritual happens in two genera of fireflies, Photinus and Photuris. Both of the fireflies are native to North America.

Predation in fireflies: Photuris versicolor preys on Photinus pyralis

The Photuris female is able to mimic Photinus' flashing patterns; with this deception, she answers the flash patterns of a Photinus male. He comes closer, hoping to consummate their new relationship. Instead, she captures and eats him.

Why? Because, as the saying goes, "You are what you eat." In this case, the Photuris female eats the Photinus male to get chemical defences that are present in his blood. The toxins can be used to fight off predators like birds, spiders, ants and others.

When the Photinus male is under attack, the toxins are released as tiny droplets. By eating the male, the Photuris female absorbs that toxic power and makes herself safer from predation. The powerful toxins are called lucibufagins, which are steroids similar to the heart poison generated from the foxglove plant, Digitalis.

When a firefly is attacked its outer skin, called the cuticle, ruptures and bitter tasting blood loaded with lucibufagins oozes out. Predators release the firefly because they can't stand the taste.

A firefly (Photuris) exuding the poisonous fluid from its body when disturbed. Credit: Thomas Eisner, 1997

Avoidance tactics

When a female Photuris eats a Photinus male and absorbs his lucibufagins, she is also protecting her young. The females are able to pass on this toxic defence mechanism to their offspring.

The Photinus males try to protect themselves from being eaten by Photuris females. They take their time looking for the real thing: a female of their own species. One study, in a laboratory showed that Photinus males took more than seven nights to find a female of its own species, while a Photinus female of the same species took less than six minutes to attract a male for mating.

The Photinus males also change their light emitting patterns in a bid to mislead their nemesis or  if they're quick enough  simply fly away as soon as they are realise they've been drawn into a trap.

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
The excavation site at Tell Edfu (with the temple of Horus and the modern town of Edfu in the background). Credit: G. Marouard

The archaeological excavation of an ancient Egyptian city at Tell Edfu in southern Egypt, led by the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, has discovered well-preserved settlement remains dating to an important turning point in ancient Egyptian history, when the pharaohs began to renew interest in the provincial regions in the far south of their kingdom.

The dig revealed two large buildings that mark the earliest occupation uncovered so far in this part of the town, dating to about 2400-2350 BCE in the late Fifth Dynasty of Egypt. Ancient Egyptians made beer and bread and smelted copper in the complex, which was likely built to accommodate important officials sent from the royal capital in Memphis to oversee expeditions to mine precious metals and stones from the surrounding deserts.

"It's a wonderful find because we have so little information about this era of settlement in the southern provinces," said Nadine Moeller, associate professor of Egyptian archaeology, who leads the excavation together with Oriental Institute research associate Gregory Marouard. "We don't know any such similar complex for the Old Kingdom."

Archaeologists investigate mysteries at Tell Edfu

The Oriental Institute team has been excavating Tell Edfu, an ancient city located in the Nile Valley about 400 miles south of Cairo, for more than 16 years. In that time, they've worked backward through time to finally reveal the earliest parts of the settlement at the site.

Archaeologists investigate mysteries at Tell Edfu. Credit: University of Chicago

Last December, they unearthed two large mudbrick buildings that appear to be centers for official administration. They are surrounded by vast open courtyards and workshops, where the excavation uncovered storage containers and other artifacts that suggest manufacturing activities such as bread and beer-making, as well as copper slag, pieces of crucibles, small weights and other evidence of metallurgy.

Inside the complex, in rooms and pits dug into the courtyard floors, they uncovered more than 200 broken clay sealings. These once served as official sealing stamps on boxes, bags and ceramic storage containers, as well as sealed papyrus letters. Many of these clay sealings carry hieroglyph names and titles of high officials, including an official who was the leader of the sementiu, a group of royal prospectors who carried out mining missions for King Djedkare-Isesi.

These expeditions would have supplied metals for the king, the elites of his court and construction projects in the capital at Memphis. Red Sea shells and rare Nubian imported ceramics further confirm the link to royal expeditions into the Eastern Desert, the researchers said.

"It's just about this time that the Egyptian royalty, until then focused on the northern area directly around the capital Memphis, began to expand its reach after a period of contraction during the fourth and much of the fifth dynasties," Moeller said. "This is a first sign that the ancient city of Edfu was evolving into an important departure point for large expeditions leaving for the Eastern desert regions, and possibly the Red Sea shore, located about 125 miles to the east."

UChicago graduate student Emilie Sarrazin and researcher Katarina Arias (Charles University, Prague) sampling the content of a large Old Kingdom storage jar. Credit: G. Marouard

A number of oddities puzzled the archaeologists. The largest building has outer facades with a very distinct slope. "It's very well-constructed and so the slope is certainly intentional, which highlights the architectural peculiarity of this monument," Marouard said. "We don't know of any other structure within an urban context in Egypt that looks like this."

Additionally, even after the complex was abandoned, the massive, eight-foot-thick walls were never stripped and recycled for new buildings, as was the general practice. Even the entrance is perfectly preserved with the wooden door still in placein a country where wood is rare and expensive.

Given that the buildings were set so close to the templeabout 20 yardsit's possible they had religious or cult ties, the researchers said.

"It's such a unique site. We've had a hard time finding architectural parallels, because no other settlement in Upper Egypt has such extensive remains from this time period," Moeller said. "We've learned so much at Tell Edfu, and there's still more to come."

Explore further Book chronicles rise of urban planning in ancient Egypt
The lingering oil slick from DeepWater Horizon was imaged off the Mississippi Delta on May 24, 2010. Credit: NASA/ picture is in public domain

Spills of crude oil that devastate huge areas of the oceanic environment could be cleaned up by naturally occurring microorganisms.

It's one application of new research into how bacteria break down oil, which could also help oil companies assess the quality of new reserves.

In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill released around 5 million barrels into the Gulf of Mexico, becoming the largest oil spill in US history. In such a case, some of the oil can be cleaned up by skimming it from the surface, while detergents added to the water together with wave action can cause much of the oil to disperse as droplets.

While this breaks up the slick, the oil droplets spread far and wide, becoming difficult to treat and creating pollution in wide areas of ocean. Now, researchers believe it may be possible to counteract this issue with the help of ocean bacteria which have evolved to consume naturally-emerging oil from underwater seeps.

In an EU-funded project called OILY MICROCOSM, a team at the Technical University of Crete, Greece, are investigating how the bacteria help to break down oil in these droplets.

"About 40% of the oil that ends up in the sea is from natural seeps," said Dr. George Kapellos, who works on the project. "So microbial species have evolved to degrade it."

Problems arise when the concentration of the oil is very high and when microdroplets spread far and wide through the action of ocean currents.

"We are trying to track the fate of the microdroplets when they are degraded by the microbes," said Dr. Kapellos, who is cooperating with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Although in its early stagesthe project only began in November last yearhe has already identified three potential mechanisms that allow the bacteria to break down the oil.

The first involves the droplets dissolving in the water column and being consumed by the microbes as they do so. A second is that the microbes attach to the surface of the oil droplet and consume the oil without it needing to be dissolved. The third potential mechanism involves the formation around the oil of colonies of bacteria known as biofilms.

"The first two mechanisms are quite well known, but the third is less well understood," said Dr. Kapellos, who is presenting his initial findings at the GoMRI Conference in New Orleans in the US which runs until 7 February. "One might think, the thicker a biofilm is (with a high number of) microbes, the faster the degradation of the oil droplet would be," he said. "But this is not necessarily the case, as biofilms also act as diffusive barriers that impede the dissolution of the droplet."

"A biofilm that covers a microdroplet and grows thicker over time will accelerate the droplet shrinking rate only if oil is more soluble and mobile in the biofilm than in the seawater," he said. This could raise the prospect of exploiting these oleophilic (oil-loving) biofilms to help break down oil spills faster.

There can be 100 billion bacteria (bright dots) per ml of oil droplet (red) in water (green). Credit: Prof. Rainer Meckenstock

Toxic microdroplets

The modelling work undertaken by Dr. Kapellos demonstrates that, when oil microdroplets descend on the sea bed, they concentrate in a way that affects how microbes will break them down.

"Just now there is no method for handling the dispersal of droplets in deep waters below 300 metres," he said. "It is important, as microdroplets are known to be more toxic to fish, sea mammals and invertebrates, and spills can have major impacts on local economies that rely upon them.

"We are hoping that the fundamental work we are doing will have a positive impact on developing methods that combat oil spills in the sea," he said.

Yet, although microorganisms that eat oil could help to clean it up in places where it is not welcome, they can also create a major headache for the oil industry.

Recent research by scientists in Germany shows that microbes appear to live within oil reservoirs themselvessuspended within microscopic droplets of water, hundreds of metres beneath the sea floor.

Professor Rainer Meckenstock, a microbiologist at the University of Duisburg-Essen, believes these complex microbial communities became trapped with the water in the oil long ago and thrive inside the water droplets as miniature ecosystems. It is an extraordinary discovery, as many scientists doubted life could survive in such a toxic, hostile environment.

He is now leading a project about microbial life in oil called EcOilogy, funded by the EU's European Research Council, that is investigating whether bacteria commonly live within oil reservoirs and what role they play in degrading the oil there.

"Oil reservoirs usually contain water," said Prof. Meckenstock. "The organisms in the droplets are mostly bacteria that are known in oil reservoirs and some of which we know as typical hydrocarbon degraders."

As the droplets of water in the oil must be saturated with oil, it makes the system very toxic.

"It was really surprising to find these droplets so well populated with a vibrating microbial community," said Meckenstock. Unfortunately, a thriving community of micro-organisms can dramatically reduce the quality of the oil. In the Athabasca oil sands in Canada and the Pitch Lake in Trinidad, for example, the oil has degraded to the point that only low-grade bitumen remains.

Mini-ecosystem

If bacteria are found to be responsible for causing this kind of degradation, it could help oil companies assess how biodegraded a new oil reserve might be. Not only that, Meckenstock also believes the microbial-filled droplets also provide another unique research opportunity. He compares the droplets to discrete mini-planets floating in spacesimilar in many ways, but totally isolated from each other. Studying how the bacteria evolve in such droplets could provide new insights into how microbial ecosystems develop.

"There are hundreds of different microbial species in each droplet," he said. "The droplets constitute mini-ecosystems that are totally separated from each othera unique feature for microorganisms on this planet.

"This enables us to study fundamentals of microbial ecosystem assembly."

Explore further Microbe mystery solved: What happened to the Deepwater Horizon oil plume
Dharan police investigates abduction, rape of student

Dharan police is investigating into an alleged kidnapping and rape of a 20-year-old college student after a complaint was filed by the womans family.
Lion (Panthera leo). Credit: Regina Hart, Flickr

The lion population of Zimbabwe's Save Valley Conservancy shows low genetic diversity despite improved numbers, according to a study published February 7, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Laura Tensen from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and colleagues based in the Save Valley Conservancy.

The African lion (Panthera leo) population in the Save Valley Conservancy of the Lowveld region of Zimbabwe fell to less than ten known individuals, until the 2005 introduction of ten new lions helped it recover to around 200 in 2016. But since this population originated from just a few individuals, there are concerns about potential low genetic diversity due to inbreeding. The authors of the present study genotyped a sample of 42 Save Valley lions, using mitochondrial and nuclear markers to compare the genetic diversity of this population to that of other African lion populations.

The researchers found that the Save Valley lion population appears to be the least genetically diverse of those in Zimbabwe's Lowveld region, with evidence of inbreeding. The population also appeared genetically distinct from others, likely because factors such as human development may have prevented the populations mixing.

Lion populations with low genetic diversity are known to be at risk for reduced fertility and increased death rates compared to more diverse populations. Given their findings, the authors suggest the introduction of new unrelated lions into the Save Valley population may become necessary to enhance its genetic diversity and ensure its long-term future.

Explore further Unraveling the natural history of the lion using host and virus population genomics

More information: Tensen L, Groom RJ, Khuzwayo J, Jansen van Vuuren B (2018) The genetic tale of a recovering lion population (Panthera leo) in the Save Valley region (Zimbabwe): A better understanding of the history and managing the future. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0190369. Journal information: PLoS ONE Tensen L, Groom RJ, Khuzwayo J, Jansen van Vuuren B (2018) The genetic tale of a recovering lion population (Panthera leo) in the Save Valley region (Zimbabwe): A better understanding of the history and managing the future.13(2): e0190369. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190369
Measuring of temperature down through one of the collected ice cores. Credit: Kasper Hancke

Researchers from Aarhus University have measured a new world record: Small ice algae on the underside of the Arctic sea ice live and grow at a light level corresponding to only 0.02 percent of the light at the surface of the ice. Algae are the primary component of the Arctic food web and produce food far earlier in the year than previously thought.

It is pitch dark all winter in the Arctic. And even in the spring, the compact ice and snow layer allows only a tiny amount of sunlight to penetrate into the sea. But on the underside of the sea ice, microscopic algae have adapted to the extreme prevailing conditions. Among these algae are diatoms that reside on the underside of the ice and in small brine channels, where heavier saline water flows out of the ice and into the sea.

In this extreme environment, temperatures are below the freezing point and salinity is higher than in seawater, and light penetration is extremely low for a large part of the year. All algae require light, and it has long been a mystery why algae are found in a habitat with almost no light for long periods of the year.

Researchers from Aarhus University went to the Villum Research Station in the northeastern corner of Greenland to study the living conditions of the algae. The results of the research efforts have just been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

The temperature in North-East Greenland may decrease to -20 oC in May, so researchers need to be well-dressed when the laboratory is located on the surface of the sea ice. Credit: Kasper Hancke

"We worked on the sea ice in April and May, where there was a metre of sea ice and a metre of snow on top of the ice. With special ice corers, we drilled holes in the ice so that we could measure the ice algae on the underside and collect samples," says Lars Chresten Lund-Hansen of Aarhus University, who was in charge of the studies.

As primary producers constitute the base of the food web, ice algae are essential for the vulnerable Arctic marine ecosystem. Especially in the early spring where plankton algae in the sea are not yet active.

"Our measurements showed that the ice algae began to grow at a light intensity below 0.17 mol photons m-2 s-1. This corresponds to less than 0.02 percent of the amount of light that reaches the surface of the snow on a sunny day," says Kasper Hancke, currently working at the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA) in Oslo, who was responsible for the field work.

This is the lowest light level where active photosynthesis and growth of ice algae have been observed.

The researchers have to transport their equipment to the ice from Villum Research Station with snowmobiles. Credit: Stine Hjlund Pedersen

The general view has been that ice algae do not obtain sufficient light for growth when they are covered by more than 30 to 50 cm of snow and ice. The new measurements completely change that view and show that ice algae may play an important role much earlier in the spring in the Arctic than hitherto assumed.

During May, the depth of the snow on top of the sea ice did not change significantlyshowing only a reduction from 110 to 91 cm. However, when the snow became warmer, its optical conditions changed so that a larger amount of light reached the underside of the sea ice, boosting the growth of the ice algae.

"Temperatures are rising in the Arctic. When the snow on top of the ice gets warmer, the algae residing on the underside of the ice receive more light. This may significantly impact the growth of the algae and the extent of the spring bloom. This new knowledge must be considered in the puzzle of how the Arctic will respond to a warmer world," says Lars Chresten Lund-Hansen.

Explore further Algae growing on snow found to cause ice field to melt faster in Alaska

More information: Kasper Hancke et al, Extreme Low Light Requirement for Algae Growth Underneath Sea Ice: A Case Study From Station Nord, NE Greenland, Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans (2018). Journal information: Journal of Geophysical Research Kasper Hancke et al, Extreme Low Light Requirement for Algae Growth Underneath Sea Ice: A Case Study From Station Nord, NE Greenland,(2018). DOI: 10.1002/2017JC013263
The amount of seafloor exhibiting small structural anomalies is plotted as a function of the age of seafloor. Trends that persist over 10 million years have been subtracted to highlight transient features, and only high spreading rates are plotted here. The highest peak, which indicates the production of 8 percent more anomalous seafloor than on average, occurs at 66 million years ago and is coincident with the age of the Chicxulub meteorite impact. Credit: Joseph Byrnes

A record of volcanism preserved along ancient mid-ocean ridges provides evidence for heightened worldwide magmatic activity 66 million years ago just after the Chicxulub meteor struck Earth, according to University of Oregon scientists.

The research, published in Science Advances, points to changes in the strength of gravity above the seafloor, which indicate a transient period of increased volumes of magma being released along ridges that mark the oceanic boundaries of tectonic plates.

Lead author Joseph Byrnes, a former UO doctoral student, says that this global volcanic activity was likely triggered by strong seismic waves radiated from the meteorite impact site. Subsequently accelerated volcanism, he said, likely would have been active during the mass extinction of the world's non-avian dinosaurs.

Volcanism, particularly a massive outpouring of basalt recorded by the Deccan Traps in India, has been in and out of the extinction debate. Rare volcanic events at such a scale are known to cause catastrophic disturbances to Earth's climate and, when they occur, they are often linked to mass extinctions.

Since evidence of the meteor strike near present day Mexico surfaced in the 1980s, scientists have debated whether the impact or the Deccan Traps volcanic eruptions was the primary driver for extinction of the dinosaurs.

Colored and black points mark the global distribution of mid-ocean ridges, with ages of 66 million years ago created at spreading rates above and below 35 millimeters a year, respectively. Colors indicate the maximum gravity anomaly within 2 degrees. Credit: Joseph Byrnes

Progressively more accurate dating methods indicate that while the Deccan Traps eruptions were active during the mass extinction, they actually began significantly before the Chicxulub impact, said Leif Karlstrom, a professor in the UO's Department of Earth Sciences and co-author on the study with Byrnes.

The meteor is closely aligned in time with the onset of mass extinction, seeming to indicate a dominant role, he said. Still, the near coincidence in time of such globally catastrophic events continues to spur debate.

In 2015, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, proposed that the two events might be connected. They suggested that Chixculub may have modulated distant volcanism by sending seismic waves through the Earth and accelerating volcanic activity in the Deccan Traps. Similar to the impacts that normal tectonic earthquakes sometimes have on wells and streams, Karlstrom said, the study proposed that powerful shaking liberated magma stored in the mantle beneath the Deccan Traps and caused the largest eruptions there.

The new National Science Foundation-supported study at the UO adds another layer to the story, said Karlstrom, who also co-authored on the UC-Berkeley research. It suggests that other volcanic activity around the world was triggered by the meteor. Seismic waves moving through the Earth, he said, may have accelerated volcanism already occurring along mid-ocean ridges.

"Our work suggests a connection between these exceedingly rare and catastrophic events, distributed over the entire planet," Karlstrom said. "The meteorite's impact may have influenced volcanic eruptions that were already going on, making for a one-two punch."

Video summarizes new findings from the University of Oregon that suggest the Chicxulub meteorite impact set off the release of magma along seafloor ridges around the world, adding a new layer of complexity to the debate on what drove a major extinction event. The research suggests the meteor's impact enhanced already existing volcanism in the Deccan Traps and triggered a pulse of global volcanic activity. Credit: Carla Schaffer, Science Advances

The findings emerged as Byrnes, now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota, discovered the evidence for volcanic activity by analyzing publicly available global datasets, including two updated in the last decade, on free-air gravity, ocean floor topography and tectonic spreading rates.

In his analyses, Byrnes divided the seafloor into one-million-year old groupings, constructing a record back to 100 million years ago. At about 66 million years, he found evidence for a "short-lived pulse of marine magmatism" along ancient ocean ridges. This pulse is suggested by a spike in the rate of the occurrence of free-air gravity anomalies seen in the dataset.

Free-air gravity anomalies, measured in milligals, account for variations in gravitational acceleration, found from satellite measurements of additional seawater collecting where the Earth's gravity is stronger.

Excess matter on the ocean floor, such as new magma, is a primary cause of elevated marine gravity anomalies. A gal reflects a change in the rate of motion of a centimeter, about 0.4 of an inch, per second squared. Byrnes and Karlstrom found changes in free-air gravity anomalies of between five and 20 milligals associated with seafloor created in the first million years after the meteor.

"We found evidence for a previously unknown period of globally heighted volcanic activity during the mass-extinction event," Byrnes said. "This study does not say precisely that this volcanic activity is what killed the dinosaurs. What we are adding to the conversation is global volcanic activity during the known environmental crisis."

The gravity data analyzed in the research came from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, the seafloor ages from the EarthByte group at the University of Sydney, and seafloor elevation from the National Geophysical Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

More information: J.S. Byrnes at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN el al., "Anomalous K-Pgaged seafloor attributed to impact-induced mid-ocean ridge magmatism," Science Advances (2018). advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/eaao2994 Journal information: Science Advances J.S. Byrnes at University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, MN el al., "Anomalous K-Pgaged seafloor attributed to impact-induced mid-ocean ridge magmatism,"(2018). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao2994
A pair of stickleback fish. Credit: Jolle Jolles

Research from the University of Cambridge has revealed that, among schooling fish, groups can have different collective personalities, with some shoals sticking closer together, being better coordinated, and showing clearer leadership than others.

For centuries, scientists and non-scientists alike have been fascinated by the beautiful and often complex collective behaviour of animal groups, such as the highly synchronised movements of flocks of birds and schools of fish. Often, those spectacular collective patterns emerge from individual group members using simple rules in their interactions, without requiring global knowledge of their group.

In recent years it has also become apparent that, across the animal kingdom, individual animals often differ considerably and consistently in their behaviour, with some individuals being bolder, more active, or more social than others.

New research conducted at the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology suggests that observations of different groups of schooling fish could provide important insights into how the make-up of groups can drive collective behaviour and performance.

In the study, published today in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the researchers created random groups of wild-caught stickleback fish and subjected them repeatedly to a range of environments that included open spaces, plant cover, and patches of food.

Dr Jolle Jolles, lead author of the study, now based at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, said: "By filming the schooling fish from above and tracking the groups' movements in detail, we found that the randomly composed shoals showed profound differences in their collective behaviour that persisted across different ecological contexts. Some groups were consistently faster, better coordinated, more cohesive, and showed clearer leadership structure than others.

"That such differences existed among the groups is remarkable as individuals were randomly grouped with others that were of similar age and size and with which they had very limited previous social contact."

This research shows for the first time that, even among animals where group membership changes frequently over time and individuals are not very strongly related to each other, such as schooling fish or flocking birds, stable differences can emerge in the collective performance of animal groups.

Such behavioural variability among groups may directly affect the survival and reproductive success of the individuals within them and influence how they associate with one another. Ultimately these findings may therefore help understand the selective pressures that have shaped social behaviour.

Dr Andrea Manica, co-author of the paper from the University of Cambridge, added: "Our research reveals that the collective performance of groups is strongly driven by their composition, suggesting that consistent behavioural differences among groups could be a widespread phenomenon in animal societies."

These research findings provide important new insights that may help explain and predict the performance of social groups, which could be beneficial in building human teams or constructing automated robot swarms.

Explore further Individuality drives collective behavior of schooling fish

More information: Repeatable group differences in the collective behaviour of stickleback shoals across ecological contexts, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, rspb.royalsocietypublishing.or  .1098/rspb.2017.2629 Journal information: Proceedings of the Royal Society B Repeatable group differences in the collective behaviour of stickleback shoals across ecological contexts,
UC Berkeley researchers subjected dwarf pines (Pinus mugo) to enhanced UV-B radiation in growth chambers for two months. The irradiated pines not only produced malformed pollen, but they dropped all their seed cones, becoming temporarily sterile. Th experiment suggests that enhanced UV-B at the end of the Permian, caused by ozone depletion from volcanic eruptions, could have contributed to Earth's largest mass extinction. Credit: Jeffrey Benca, UC Berkeley

Pine trees become temporarily sterile when exposed to ultraviolet radiation as intense as some scientists believe the Earth experienced 252 million years ago during the planet's largest mass extinction, lending support to the theory that ozone depletion contributed to the crisis.

The effect of high UV on conifers and potentially other trees also suggests caution today in introducing chemicals that deplete Earth's ozone layer, which has yet to recover after a global ban on chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants in the 1980s instituted after ozone holes developed over the poles. Some industrial chemicals also destroy atmospheric ozone, which is the planet's sunscreen, protecting all life from excessive UV rays, in particular UV-B wavelengths, which causes mutations in DNA.

Results of the experiment, which was conducted by University of California, Berkeley graduate student Jeffrey Benca, will be published Feb. 7 in the online journal Science Advances.

Benca irradiated 18-inch-tall, bonsai-like pines with UV-B dosages up to 13 times stronger than on Earth today, simulating the effects of ozone depletion caused by immense volcanic eruptions that occurred at the end of the Permian Period. During the two-month experiment, none of the trees died but all seed cones, or pine cones, shriveled up only days after emerging, leaving the trees sterile.

When placed outside, the trees regained the ability to produce healthy seed cones in later years.

Scientists have proposed that ozone depletion caused by periodic volcanic eruptions over nearly a million years was one cause of the end-Permian extinction, but how has been unclear. Acid rain would have been a local effect, but the extinction of nearly 70 percent of known land animals, 95 percent of marine life and many plant lineages was global.

Previous paleoclimate modeling studies suggest the volcanic spurts could have wiped out the ozone layer worldwide, though temporarily. Nevertheless, even if ancient trees regained their fertility, repeated bouts of sterility could have hampered population growth over time, leading to collapse of the biosphere planet-wide, according to Benca.

Long-term biosphere collapse

Jeff Benca explains how increased UV from ozone depletion sterilizes trees. Credit: Roxanne Makasdjian and Stephen McNally, UC Berkeley

"During the end-Permian crisis, the forests may have disappeared in part or fully because of increased UV exposure," Benca said. "With pulses of volcanic eruptions happening, we would expect pulsed ozone shield weakening, which may have led to forest declines previously observed in the fossil record."

"If you disrupt some of the dominant plant lineages globally repeatedly, you could trigger trophic cascades by destabilizing the food web base, which doesn't work out very well for land animals," he added.

The surprise findings tell scientists something about past extinctions and Earth's future prospects as climate change, habitat destruction and pollution set us up for Earth's sixth mass extinction.

"Paleontologists have come up with various kill scenarios for mass extinctions, but plant life may not be affected by dying suddenly as much as through interrupting one part of the life cycle, such as reproduction, over a long period of time, causing the population to dwindle and potentially disappear," said co-author Cindy Looy, a UC Berkeley associate professor of integrative biology.

"Global biodiversity catastrophes are not about death but about the pruning of evolutionary branches on the tree of life at a rate much higher than the sprouting of new shoots," added co-author Ivo Duijnstee, an adjunct assistant professor of integrative biology. "Jeff, who used his plant growth chambers as a time machine to test the potential of a hypothesis about what may have happened 252 million years ago, provides an excellent example illustrating how the slowly unfolding extinction on land over maybe tens or hundreds of thousands of years may have been caused by reproductive troubles at the base of the food chain."

Siberian volcanoes

The extinction at the end of the Permian is thought to have been caused by volcanic eruptions in Siberia over hundreds of thousands if not a million years that produced what are known today as the Siberian Traps: lava fields covering much of northern Russia and originally encompassing nearly 3 million square miles with an average thickness of about 1,000 feet.

In 2004, Looy and her former Ph.D. advisor Henk Visscher proposed one way this might have played out, bases on fossilized abnormal plant spores found worldwide: volcanic gases - halocarbons like methyl chloride and methyl bromide - destroyed much or all of Earth's ozone layer, boosting UV-B exposure that would have affected life and potentially increased the genetic mutation rates in pollen and spores of plants worldwide.

Normal seed cones (left) of the dwarf pine Pinus mugo compared to the shriveled seed cones of trees irradiated with more than 10 times the amount of UV-B that hits Earth's surface today. Once removed from the UV-B growth chambers, the trees regained their fertility. The irradiated trees also produced malformed pollen, which has been observed in fossils from the end of the Permian Period 252 million years ago. Credit: Jeffrey Benca, UC Berkeley

Evidence for this hypothesis grew in 2005 when an independent research team led by Clinton Foster of Geoscience Australia discovered malformed pollen grains from end-Permian seed plants. The rise in the percentage of malformed pollen, which is seen in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, coincided with the decline of forests globally.

Finding evidence of malformation mechanisms in 252 million year old pollen fossils is impossible, so Looy and others have looked for other ways to determine whether increased UV-B disrupted the end-Permian ecosystem. Benca came up with a series of experiments using living plants to test the hypothesis.

The first experiment, using pines, was designed to find out whether high levels of UV-B could cause malformed pollen grains in today's seed plants similar to those described by Foster, and whether these malformations could affect reproduction. Squeezing a mature pine tree into a laboratory was a sticking point until Benca hit upon a novel solution: using a dwarf cultivar selected for bonsai that readily produces pollen and seed cones.

In 2013, he trucked 60 dwarf clonal pines to Berkeley from a conifer nursery in Boring, Oregon. After acclimating them for a year outdoors in full sun with sparse water and nutrient-poor soil - typical conditions for this alpine species, Pinus mugo - ran a 56-day indoor experiment using high-intensity UV-B-emitting lamps.

In three separate indoor UV chambers, Benca exposed the dwarf pines to 7.5, 10 and 13 times Berkeley's normal UV-B intensity, in line with estimates of the impact Siberian Trap eruptions would have had on the ozone layer if their emissions occurred over various lengths of time, ranging from 400,000 years to less than 200,000 years.

Indeed, the pines did produce malformed pollen. At the medium and extreme exposures, 12 to 15 percent of pollen grains were misshapen, versus 3 percent in normal and low-exposure trees. Foster's previous study suggested that pollen yields having more than 3 percent malformed grains are associated with environmental stress in modern conifers, Benca said. In total, he spent three years conducting the experiments and comparing more than 57,000 pollen grains produced by trees in the chambers.

To the researchers' amazement, however, all trees subjected to increased UV levels became sterile. Their seed cones shriveled up before they had a chance to be fertilized. This seemed to be a systemic reaction to the UV-B stress, since even seed cones hidden among foliage died.

"The system we used was really quite conservative," Benca said. "Unlike the relatively unprotected seed-bearing structures of affected end-Permian seed plants, today's pines have elaborate and very heavily reinforced, interlocking cone scales that shield their seeds from predators and the external environment. Even so, these trees just ditched all their seed cones. Pinus mugo is an alpine species that should be quite resilient to increased UV levels."

"That Jeff's UV-B-blast experiment - somewhat of a calculated long shot - produced pollen abnormalities in a modern conifer similar to abnormalities observed in 252-million-year old microfossils was one of the most exciting things I've seen this decade," Duijnstee said.

Explore further New evidence that Siberian volcanic eruptions caused extinction 250 million yrs ago

More information: J.P. Benca el al., "UV-Binduced forest sterility: Implications of ozone shield failure in Earth's largest extinction," Science Advances (2018). Journal information: Science Advances J.P. Benca el al., "UV-Binduced forest sterility: Implications of ozone shield failure in Earth's largest extinction,"(2018). advances.sciencemag.org/content/4/2/e1700618
Credit: Laura Tiitto/public domain

A team of researchers from Jiangnan University in China and the University of Nebraska in the U.S. has found that integrating wheat gluten into a shampoo helps restore bonds, making hair less brittle. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the team describes their experiments with wheat gluten and hair and what they found.

Human hair is made mostly of keratin, a fibrous protein. In its natural state, hair is generally soft due to secure and unbroken bonds known as disulfide bridges. But shampoos meant to clean away oil and dirt also harm the bonds that hold the keratin together. The result is brittle hair that quite often develops split ends.

Scientists have known for some time that treatment of brittle hair requires the application of a protein to replace the broken bonds, but have been stymied by a simple problemfor such proteins to bond, they must have the same pH value as the hair. And a matching protein has proved elusive. To overcome this problem, the researchers turned to wheat gluten because it is inexpensive and plentiful. It does not have the right pH value, but the team wondered whether changing its pH might help it repair hair. After some trial and error, they came up with a procedure that workedthey soaked the gluten in an enzyme that broke down its proteins into their base peptides. They added EDDAC, a chemical formula that raised the isoelectric point of the peptides to match that in hair. They then mixed the result into a shampoo and applied to it hair samples.

The team tested their approach by running a comb through the treated hair samples using measurements of friction as a gauge for the degree of hair damage. They report that application of their gluten-infused shampoo resulted in 21 percent less friction in dry hair and 50 percent less in wet hair. They also looked at the hair samples under a microscope and report that they were able to see newly formed bondsthe hair was smoother and less brittle. More testing is required, but the researchers are confident that they have at long last found a cure for split ends.

Explore further Practical hair regeneration technology

More information: Modification of wheat gluten for improvement of binding capacity with keratin in hair, Royal Society Open Science (2018). Published 7 February 2018.rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/5/2/171216 Modification of wheat gluten for improvement of binding capacity with keratin in hair,(2018). Published 7 February 2018. DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171216 Abstract

In this study, enzymatic hydrolysis and cationization with epoxypropyldodecyldimethylammonium chloride of wheat protein, an economic protein complex containing great amount of disulfide bonds, were conducted to improve properties such as solubility and disassociation behaviour for recovery of damaged hair when used in shampoo. The optimal conditions for enzymatic hydrolysis were pH 8.2, 55C with Alcalase for 60 min. After the selected hydrolysis, the degree of hydrolysis, nitrogen solubility index, foaming capacity index, foam stability index, emulsifying activity index and emulsion stability index of hydrolysate with 58.71% of short-chain peptides (less than 1000 Da) were 8.81%, 39.07%, 225%, 56.67%, 9.62 m2 g1 and 49.08, respectively. The cationization was followed to raise the isoelectric point of wheat protein hydrolysate from 7.0 to 10.0, which could facilitate the quaternized protein hydrolysate to adhere to the surface of hair at the range of pH 56 of hair care products to form more disulfide bonds. The results show that a shampoo with quaternized wheat proteins hydrolysate possesses excellent properties in recovering damaged hair, making the surface of hair smooth and compact. Journal information: Royal Society Open Science

 2018 Phys.org
Elderly man killed in Bhaktapur mini-truck hit

An elderly man died after being hit by a mini-truck in Bhaktapur on Wednesday.
Energy Min mulling to dump deal with CTGC

The Energy Ministry has been mulling to scrap the contract signed between the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC) for the development of the West Seti Hydropower Project after the Chinese company threatened to pull out from the deal unless the state-owned power utility revised the power purchase rate.
WASHINGTON -- Current Time is marking steady growth and expanding demand since its formal launch one year ago as a 24/7 Russian-language alternative to Kremlin-controlled media.

Created in 2014 to provide reliable news to Russian-speaking audiences in the former Soviet space, Current Time has exploded from a single 30-minute program to a round-the-clock network, bringing dynamic reporting and fresh feature coverage to leading digital platforms, 77 distribution networks, and 47 affiliate stations in Russia and nearly 30 other countries, including the Baltics, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, and Central Asia.

Led by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) in cooperation with the Voice of America (VOA), Current Time places a premium on live news coverage, accompanied by robust debate -- aiming to present audiences with balanced, spin-free coverage of key political events, including the March 2018 presidential elections in Russia. It has covered social and political protests that state media ignore, and reported extensively on corruption and the war in eastern Ukraine. Its feature programs have cast a more intimate light on life in Russia, Ukraine, and beyond, telling the untold stories of ordinary residents in unheralded places whose efforts are improving life for their neighbors and communities. Still other programs spotlight start-up businesses, food and travel, and satire. The channels documentary series has opened a wider world of experience to its audiences by screening 100 films on its platforms that are often barred from mainstream distribution in Russia because of political content.

Prominent Russian documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky has called Current Time the only television in the world that tells [Russians], in Russian, the truth about the current state of affairs. And it is television that is the most effective way of gaining their trust.

On digital platforms, Current Times innovative social media videos, designed for younger audiences and particularly successful inside Russia, were viewed 400 million times in 2017. The channels subscriber base on Facebook and Russian-language social media sites like VKontakte tripled during the year, and the channels YouTube page grew from 35,000 subscribers to 220,000. Current Time has nearly 1 million subscribers across all social media.

While Current Time is, under U.S. law, editorially independent of any government, it was designated a foreign agent by Russia in December, together with VOA and RFE/RLs other units inside the country, including its Russian Service and regional programs covering the North Caucasus, the Volga region, and Siberia.

In addition to social media, Current Time can be watched through its website at currenttime.tv, and worldwide on OTT outlets such as MeGoGo and Plex TV, as well as the AppleTV, and LG and Samsung SmartTV platforms.
February 7, 2018 in Productivity (E)

[prMac.com] London, England - Open Screen Ltd. is proud to announce the release of the latest version of Archisketch, the scale-aware sketching app for iPad. With its freehand sketching features and solid line drawing tools, Archisketch provides a simple, effective early-stage design and development solution with none of the complications of the CAD and BIM software traditionally used in the design industry.



Archisketch users are not only enjoying the ease with which they can now produce scale drawings but many of them are also finding the app to be a useful stepping stone to the digital age. Take dvdbrwn, for example, who ended his five-star App Store review with these words: "This review from a senior, now transitioning to digital drawing after 35 years in the world of paper, pencil, pens and brushes." Or Ian Clifford, a Project Engineer from Revolusun Massachusetts, who said: "The app is great by the way and saves me so much time! Actually it got me a big raise at work, once I was able to show how much faster solar systems could be designed."



As well as adding a number of new features and improvements, this version of Archisketch will allow works to be submitted for the "Archisketch Drawing Contest", which is running during the month of February 2018.



Archisketch Drawing Contest:

Open Screen Limited is now accepting submissions for its "Archisketch Drawing Contest", with more than $2,500 in prize monies to be won. The competition is free to enter and it's open to all existing and potential users of Archisketch. The competition aims to demonstrate the wide variety of work that can be produced using Archisketch on the iPad. If you are not an Archisketch user, you can still participate in the competition by becoming a beta tester. This not only gives you full access to Archisketch and allows you to submit to the "Archisketch Drawing Contest", but it also lets you use the application's upcoming drawing features in your submissions. To register as a beta tester or for more information on the "Archisketch Drawing Contest" please visit the Archisketch Competition Page.



New Features:

Version 2.9 of Archisketch features major improvements to the polygon drawing tool - users can now select multiple nodes and then either move them, delete them or round off their corners. In addition, improvements to PDF integration allow sub sets of pdf pages to be imported from multi-page PDF documents. And, wherever possible, non-rasterised PDF files are now generated for emailing. Other enhancements include the ability to search for specific projects by title, and refinements to the measuring tools, allowing for the rounding of two decimal places.



About Archisketch:

Archisketch is a scale-aware sketching program ideal for Architects, interior and landscape designers, product designers, design students, or anyone working in the construction industry on an iPad. Inspired by the tradition of sketching on a tracing pad, Archisketch brings sketching into the modern era on an iPad. Archisketch helps architects and designers visualise, capture and explore their ideas using layers, symbols, colours, dimension guidelines, 2D grids, isometric and axonometric 3D grids, and even smart one- and two-point perspectives for 3D. When finished, drawings can be printed to scale directly from the iPad up to A1 size, or exported to PDF, which can be included in a CAD application, or uploaded to Adobe Creative Cloud.



Pricing, Availability and Compatibility:

Archisketch 2.9 is available immediately from the App Store as a free download for use with up to 50 shapes in two projects, with an in-app purchase for unlimited shapes and projects for US$9.99 (USD). Version 2.9 requires iOS 11 or later on an iPad, iPad Air or iPad Pro. Support for Apple Pencil requires an iPad Pro.

Open Screen Ltd. is a privately held company headquartered in London. Archisketch is a trademark of Open Screen Ltd. Copyright (c) 2018, all rights reserved. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

###
Marseille Zoo Episode 4  Chilled out French skateboarding

If, like me, youre looking out of the window in despair at the snow falling from the heavens with the heating on as high as you can afford, then we might just have a (temporary) antidote to those February blues.

Marseille Zoo Episode 4, filmed and edited by Remi Luciani, (with additional filming by Zach Chamberlin and still photography by George Booth Cole) serves up 30 minutes of sun-drenched beach-side vibes from the city of Marseille accompanied by a mellow, varied soundtrack  about as far removed from todays British reality as possible, right?

Featuring the likes of Yoan Taillandier, Zach Chamberlin, Antoine Jouguet, Leo Valls, Louis Woodhead and Masaki Ui to name just a few, this is a tour de force in enjoyable, relatable skateboarding. With a definite Magenta/Minuit influence (never a bad thing) and an array of amazing looking spots hidden throughout the beautiful city of Marseille  youre not going to regret watching this, believe us.

This is part 4 of an ongoing series by Remi, so if you enjoy this, (and Im hard pressed to see why you wouldnt) go check out his YouTube channel to watch the previous ones. If the description hasnt made it obvious to you yet, this is mellow, low-impact skateboarding, so lots of wallies and cruising lines through interesting architecture  you know what we mean. If youre a stair-counter, or someone only interested in skateboarding where theres a distinct possibility of death or serious injury then yeah, its probably not for you.

Bravo to all involved and merci to Remi for bringing it to our our attention  definitely just brightened up this horribly cold, depressing Wednesday morning.

Go give it a watch, stick your headphones on and imagine that youre in Marseille and its not freezing
While Elon Musk launched a car into outer space Tuesday, I was reading about his plans underground. Musks Boring Company is a Los Angeles-based venture with a mission less spectacular but more relevant than that of SpaceX: Helping people get around on earth. The idea is to reinvent the science of tunneling (boring, get it?). Musks argument is that by making tunneling cheap, we can unleash a wave of underground infrastructure that will solve the problem of soul-destroying traffic. And you can imagine it doing a lot more, too.

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But Musk is focused on something thats not the problem. And hes not alone.

Of course Americans could stand to learn to dig better: As Brian Rosenthals New York Times investigation of New York Citys scandalously expensive Second Avenue Subway project demonstrated, our sandhogs dont always use state-of-the-art technology. Labor unions mandate elevated staffing arrangements, putting twice as many workers as necessary on a TBM (tunnel-boring machine). Per mile, the Second Avenue Subway is the most expensive stretch of heavy rail built in the world. Ergo, we must fix the tunneling. Or at least thats how many of Musks supporters framed his idea.

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But a new report out of New York by the Regional Planning Association, a powerful civic advocacy group, shows (again) that TBMsthe giant cylinders that grind down the earth and lock tunnel walls into placeare not what has made the citys megaprojects so expensive.

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Tunneling made up just 6.5 percent of the Second Avenue Subways $2.91 billion in construction costsand construction made up barely more than half of the record-breaking $5.57 billion figure. Stations cost far more. Financing, design, and real estate played an even greater role. Should Musk achieve his almost unimaginable goal of reducing the cost of boring by 90 percent, he would still barely put a dent in the tab for one of the countrys largest public works projects.

Every tourist will be familiar with the New York Premium, the idea that things cost more in New York because, eh, it is what it is. This extra cost of doing business has been part of the citys self-image since Boss Tweed spent as much money on a courthouse as the United States spent acquiring Alaska.

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Periodically, New Yorkers get upset about this, and one of those reckonings is currently upon us. The Times hired Rosenthal to spend half a year investigating the MTA, the agency that runs the subway; the new speaker of the City Council, Corey Johnson, is talking about it too; the citys most esteemed planning organization has dedicated a new 80-page report to out-of-control costs. The problem is basically everything but the tunnel machines: Short-term thinking, interminable environmental reviews, labor unions, incompetent bidders, fragmented management authority, and bad decisions.

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While speaking Tuesday night at the Transit Center, a Manhattan-based research and advocacy organization, Rosenthal said he didnt mean to dig into construction costs. He was trying to figure out the source of delays. Reduced operating expenditures led him to inflated capital projects sucking up time, money, and attention. His had expected to have a lightbulb moment, uncovering the one thing that explained how New York built itself into a standstill. Like, for example, tunneling.

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The example should resonate beyond New York. On Sunday, Amtrak suffered its third fatal crash in two months. Many observers have pointed to the delayed roll-out of positive train control, the sensor-based technology that can prevent such incidents, as a root cause. But Amtraks issues clearly run deeper. On Tuesday, the rear cars detached from an Acela train traveling at 125 mph through Maryland. Its always alluring to think that there is one broken link that could be fixed with an influx of money or a fancy new piece of technology, and thereby render the entire chain whole. Its rarely the case.

Its time to look beyond better boring machines and positive train control. Jacob Anbinder observed in Democracy Journal last week that interrogating the record of public agencies of any kind can easily start to sound like the bad-faith calls for reform that conservatives make to undermine and privatize those assets. He argues this should not be the case: [A]ctively questioning the competence of large bureaucracies is not conservatism in disguise; it is the essence of progressivism itself.

This misplaced wish for a magic bullet is not just present in the public sector. McKinseys analysis of the construction sectors dismal productivity also finds technology to be a minor impediment. When Google announced its plans to build a smart city on the Toronto waterfront, the powerful tech companys vision was surprisingly dependent on techniques that had been around for decades, like streamlined, timber-frame construction.

Thats not to say a better tunnel machine would be a bad idea. Just a small one.
Game of Thrones creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will tackle the Star Wars universe next, Disney and Lucasfilm announced Tuesday. The duo will write and produce a series of Star Wars movies, which will be separate from both the main Skywalker saga and Rian Johnsons upcoming trilogy. While the press release did not specify how many films will be in the Benioff-Weiss series or what corner of the galaxy theyll explore, the future now holds an overwhelming number of Star Wars moviestheres also the Han Solo standalone later this year, not to mention several rumored projects, like the still-unconfirmed Obi-Wan Kenobi centered movie.

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Its quite a time to be a Star Wars fan, but with so much Star Wars to look forward to in theaters, the TV front is beginning to look a little bit neglected, especially with animated series Star Wars Rebels wrapping up later this year. Benioff and Weiss seem like they would have been obvious choices for a live-action Star Wars show, given the success of Game of Thrones, which is why its surprising that theyve been tapped for a series of films instead. Fortunately, Disney is looking to expand its television offerings for the franchise, with multiple Star Wars TV series in development, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Disney CEO Bob Iger recently told investors that those series are destined for the companys direct-to-consumer streaming platform, which is expected to launch in 2019.

Benioff and Weiss said in a joint statement that they will begin working on the film series after they finish the final season of Game of Thrones, which is also expected to air in 2019. What any of this news means for their other planned HBO series, Confederate, a controversial alternate history of the Civil War, remains to be seen.
Superhero movie reviews, like superhero movies themselves, can be kind of mind-numbing (there, I said it). But based on the impassioned, political reviews of Black Panther available thus far, its clear this is a wholly different kind of movie.

Written and directed by black people and with an almost entirely black cast, the film has been hailed as the blackest movie of all time. It currently has a 100 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though the site has been forced to release a statement condemning attempts by an alt-right hate group to sabotage its audience score, as it did with Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Alt-right haters gonna alt-right hate, because Black Panther has already sold more advance tickets than any other superhero movie, making it the most highly anticipated superhero movieMarvel or DCof all time.

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So what are critics saying about the first black superhero movie?

Cooglers vision lends the film a deep respect for blackness and black culture 

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly:

Ryan Coogler, the 31-year-old director whose brief resume already includes an acclaimed indie drama (the 2013 festival breakout Fruitvale Station) and an underdog triumph (2015s stellar Rocky reboot Creed), clearly fought hard to get Panther to the screen the way he envisioned it: Not as a boilerplate blockbuster window-dressed with African-American faces, but a story fully, joyfully rooted in black culture.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone:

Not just a correction for years of diversity neglect, its a big-budget blockbuster that digs into the roots of blackness itself. In Get Out, Jordan Peele satirized white appropriation of black culture. Here, Coogler makes black identity invincible, but avoids simplification by turning Wakanda into a society of different tribes, each with its own customs, goals and political agendas.

 making it like no other superhero movie before it.

Kenneth Turan, L.A. Times:

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Black Panther is an against-the-grain $100-million-plus epic so intensely personal that when the usual Marvel touchstones (Stan Lee, anyone) appear, they feel out of place.

Manohla Dargis, New York Times:

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Most big studio fantasies take you out for a joy ride only to hit the same exhausted story and franchise-expanding beats. Not this one  As with all Marvel screen ventures, the story has a lot of moving parts, but in general the results dont register as the same-old superhero busywork, the kind that makes for forgettable stories and strenuously overinflated running times.

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly:

In that context, Panthers nuanced celebration of pride and identity and personal responsibility doesnt just feel like a fresh direction for the genre, its the movies own true superpower.

The fictional universes politics may be complex and conflicting 

Manohla Dargis, New York Times:

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The movie also rather too breezily establishes Wakanda as a militaristic monarchy that is nevertheless fair and democratic.

Peter Debruge, Variety:

TChalla doesnt feel like a superhero so much as a deeply conflicted world leader  albeit one who must defend his title via brutal hand-to-hand bloodmatches (in a ritual that suggests a considerably more primordial, and decidedly anti-democratic, form of governance)  Rather than simply concocting another generic plan to save the world from annihilation, Coogler revives the age-old debate between Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X  between passive resistance and the call for militant black activism. Think of it as Black Panther vs. the Black Panthers, except you cant have a nonviolent action hero, which puts TChalla in a strange position. Its not quite clear what he stands for.

 but its racial politics are clear.

Peter Debruge, Variety:

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Its  a reminder that throughout the African diaspora, the black-white power balance remains as it is courtesy of Jim Crow practices designed to keep minorities in check: persistent segregation, broken drug laws, racially targeted policing, disproportionately high incarceration ratesall of which are identified and indicted by Cooglers truth-to-power script. Arm the oppressed, Killmonger passionately argues, and it wont take a century for the system that produced The Birth of a Nation to grant a black artist the right to tell this kind of storynot that Coogler endorses the characters lunatic ideas.

Manohla Dargis, New York Times:

Race matters in Black Panther and it matters deeply, not in terms of Manichaean good guys and bad but as a means to explore larger human concerns about the past, the present and the uses and abuses of power. That alone makes it more thoughtful about how the world works than a lot of mainstream movies  in its emphasis on black imagination, creation and liberation, the movie becomes an emblem of a past that was denied and a future that feels very present.

Critics are praising the films villains, especially Michael B. Jordans Erik Killmonger 

Peter Debruge, Variety:

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Black Panther may not have the most impressive action sequences or visual effects of any Marvel movie, but it boasts the best villains. As an arms dealer whose arm doubles as a Vibranium super-cannon, Klaue makes for a nasty henchman, while Killmonger keeps his cards up his sleeve until relatively late in the film but emerges as the most satisfying comic-book adversary since Heath Ledgers Joker. Both characters have a ruthless anarchic streak, although Killmonger has more than just wreaking chaos in mind. Hes motivated by a feeling of deep political injustice, plus a This time its personal sense of vengeance.

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly:

Jordans kinetic Killmonger is no cat-stroking cartoon villain; hes a genuinely tragic figure, a self-appointed warden of social justice irreparably warped by the wrongs done to him.

 and its celebration of strong, assertive black women 

Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly:

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Thank God (and great casting agents) for the women beside him  Theyre indomitable, and so gorgeously, vividly drawn that Boseman sometimes feels like a supporting player in his own story. (The effervescent British import Wright and actress/playwright Gurira, especially, feel like they could easily hold their own films; its hard to remember the last time any females, let alone women of color, even came close to creating such fully formed roles in a cineplex tentpole.)

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Manohla Dargis, New York Times:

Its important to the movies politics and myth-building that he is surrounded by a phalanx of women, among them a battalion of women warriors called the Dora Milaje. These arent moviedoms irritatingly token strong chicks, the tough babes with sizable biceps and skills but no real roles. For all his father issues, TChalla is enveloped by women who cushion him in maternal, military, sisterly and scientific support. A female general (Danai Gurira) stands by his side; his baby sister (a vivacious Letitia Wright) provides gadgets and withering asides a la Bonds gadget guy. Angela Bassett swans in as the royal mother, while Lupita Nyongo, as a spy, makes the case for her own spinoff.

 especially Letitia Wright as Princess Shuri 

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone:

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Theres no beating the smarts and sass of the wonderous Letitia Wright, who brings scene-stealing to the level of grand larceny as Princess Shuri, TChallas kid sister. Did you freeze again? Shuri asks her big brother, teasing his surprisingly slow reflexes in the heat of battle once he catches sight of true loveWright is a star in the making, who makes damn sure that Shuri will be a role model to young girls for years to come.

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Peter Debruge, Variety:

Scene-stealer Letitia Wright, whose irreverent delivery makes a welcome counterbalance to Bosemans dead-serious attitude

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter:

Wrightgives her every scene extra punch and humor.

 who is responsible for a number of the films unexpected James Bond comparisons.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone:

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A scientist and tech-tinkerer, shes always the brainiest person in the room, giving Q from the James Bond series a run for his money by inventing the coolest gadgets.

Peter Debruge, Variety:

Because Black Panthers skills seem to rely more on gadgets than fantastical powers, his standalone Marvel outing actually feels more like a James Bond adventure than a conventional superhero movie at times  as in the subsequent set piece, which was clearly inspired by the Macau casino scene in Skyfall.

Manohla Dargis, New York Times:

For a while, as the story and the Black Panther veer here and there, jumping from Wakanda to Busan, South Korea, the filmmakers seem as if theyre simply going to deliver a remix of James Bond with a touch of Spidey shenanigans.

Meanwhile, the most important character in Black Panther might just be Wakanda itself.

Kenneth Turan, L.A. Times:

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One of the great things about Black Panther is the specificity of this mythical place Not only have production designer Beachler and her team created marvelous locations like the Challenge Pool at Warrior Falls, but veteran costume designer Ruth E. Carter was instrumental as well. Both referenced everything including Ghanaian textiles, a 5th century Nigerian script and the dress of tribes like the Maasai, Tuareg, Dogon and Zulu.

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Manohla Dargis, New York Times:

Part of the movies pleasure and its ethos  which wends through its visuals  is how it dispenses with familiar either/or divides, including the binary opposition that tends to shape our discourse on race. Life in Wakanda is at once urban and rural, futuristic and traditional, technological and mystical. Spaceships zoom over soaring buildings with thatched tops; a hover train zips over a market with hanging woven baskets. In one of the most striking locales, an open-air throne room is horizontally lined with suspended tree limbs, creating a loose pattern that pointedly blurs the divide between the interior and exterior worlds and is echoed by the fretwork in costumes and other sets. Wakanda itself is finally the movies strength, its rallying cry and state of mind

But of course, as with too many movies these days, timeliness is next to Trumpiness.

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone:

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There arent many superhero films that blow you away with thunderous effects and also tackle ethnic and gender issues, crush racial stereotypes, celebrate women and condemn Trump-era notions of exclusionism.

Peter Debruge, Variety

Opening in the mythical kingdom of Wakanda, Black Panther effectively anticipates President Trumps alleged comments about shithole countries whose refugees prefer the American way of life to their huts. Without disparaging the rest of Africa, Coogler and his crew suggest what the continent might have become had it never been stripped of its resources.

Pete Hammond, Deadline:
Heres the story of a lovely lady 

If youve heard the theme song, you know the premiseor you think you do. A lovely lady with three very lovely girls meets and marries a man named Brady who had three boys of his own. Thats the way they became the blandly blended suburban family in the tic-tac-toe square at the end of the opening credits. They had a genial housekeeper named Alice whose face filled the center square, though she didnt rate a mention in the song.

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Every day after school Id step off the school bus and let myself into our empty house. Id smear peanut butter on some crackers and glance at the conspiracy-filled stories in the afternoon paperWatergate, the Mafia working with the CIA against Castro, new evidence about who shot JFK.

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Moms rule was clear: No TV until my homework was all done. Of course, I broke that rule every day. The TVs blare filled up that quiet house, making me feel less alone. Id race through my assignments during the commercials. One of the shows I often watched, broadcast in syndication, was the blandest sitcom ever conceived, The Brady Bunch. I came to know that earworm theme song by heart.

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But after a while a question occurred to me: How did Mike and Carol hook up?

The show conveniently skips over that question. You never learn what happened to Mikes first wife or Carols first husband. The kids never mention their original mother or father. The kids grandparents never visit after the wedding. Only once, in the series pilot, did anyone display a photo of one of the missing parents.

Clearly, something had happened to these two families that was so traumatic no one dared to bring it up. But what? Nuclear meltdown? Alien abduction? Evil clown attack?

One day, while watching another channels afternoon moviethe Alfred Hitchcock classic Strangers on a Trainsuddenly I saw, with a startling clarity, the answer to my mystery: Mike murdered Carols husband and Carol killed Mikes wife. It was a crisscross killing.

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No one would suspect a thing. Each lover would have an alibi for their spouses death. Then, when the heat died down, they could marry and move in together.

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Thats really the way they became the Brady Bunch.

How did they do it? I had my suspicions: As an architect, Mike knew how to weaken a balcony railing or sabotage a staircase, making Carols husbands death look like an accident. How did Carol off Mikes wife? A phony mugging outside Sams meat market, perhaps. Given Carols size, maybe she got an assist from Alice. That woman knew how to handle a knife.

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You might ask, Why not just divorce their spouses? But these were the dark ages of the 1970s. Divorce still carried a stigma. It would have ruined Mike professionally. That minx Carol wouldnt have been welcomed by the PTA crowd. Another motive for murder occurred to me: How do you support six kids, two adults, and a housekeeper on one salary? You collect the insurance on two dead spouses, thats how.

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Knowing what I now knew, I spotted things I hadnt noticed before. Mike was clearly a man desperate to hide a secret, one that apparently curled his hair. Carol displayed a nervousness that lent a certain hesitation to her manner. Because of my secret knowledge, the show took on an edge it hadnt had before. The once-tame laugh lines now carried a darker tone, even in the silliest dialogue about Davy Jones and Marcias nose.

In those pre-internet days, I had no outlet on which to announce my theories. If I told my parents, theyd say I was watching too much TV. My pals at school would look at me as if I had grown a third arm. So I brooded on it, alone, as the show became a pop culture phenomenon, the subject of several revivals, even two feature films. By then, I had moved onor thought I had.

Whenever I heard that song, it would all come flooding back. It happened again the other day. This time, I checked Google. A year before she died, Florence Henderson, who played Carol, was asked in an interview what happened to that lovely ladys first spouse.

I killed my husband, she said. I was the original Black Widow.

The interviewer thought she was joking. I knew better. Id known all along. It had been much more than a hunch.
Better Life Lab is a partnership of Slate and New America.

Taking Leave is a Better Life Lab series marking the 25th anniversary of the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Kristyn and her longtime partner Whitney both work multiple restaurant jobs in downtown Detroit. The couple moved back to their hometown in 2014 after finally deciding to foster a child, fulfilling a decadelong dream. As for many new parents, everything changed when their daughter came into their lives. But as Kristyn says, Unfortunately, because of our jobs, not always in the ways wed hoped.

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Like many hourly wage employees, the couple were not able to take family leave when they began fostering their daughter as an infant. And, like many LGBTQ people, they do not have any supportive biological family to rely on for help. After getting matched with their daughter four years ago, Kristyn and Whitney turned to chosen familyaccepting friends and loved onesfor child care support. Both parents took four days off after getting matched through the foster system before returning to work for fear of losing their incomes altogether. Their daughter, now 3, attends HeadStart, a program that provides comprehensive early childhood education to low-income children, while they work.

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Despite the broadening conversation around parental leave and employee rights, low-income LGBTQ parents and workers are still largely left out. This may be due in part to the perception that stories like Kristyn and Whitneys are uncommon. Theyre not. The Williams Institute estimates that more than 111,000 same-sex couples are raising children in the U.S., which doesnt account for LGBTQ-identified single parents or straight transgender parents. On top of that, Pew Research Center data point to an increase in recent years in the number of blended and non-nuclear families, two models especially common among LGBTQ families living at or below the poverty line. Low-income LGBTQ parents are not only a growing population, theyre also some of the most in need of parental and family leaveand still the least served by current policies.

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Of the dismal 14 percent of civilian American workers with access to paid leave, those who take it are likely to be married and high-wage earners. Parents with access to paid leave are likely to be biological parents and part of an opposite-sex marriage.

These numbers paint a grim picture for LGBTQ parents and workers. Heres why.

Low-income LGBTQ parents are some of the most in need of parental and family leaveand still the least served by current policies.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people are more likely to be low-wage earners than non-LGBTQ people. As a whole, theyre more likely to be living at or below the poverty line than non-LGBTQ people (transgender people are are twice as likely, and trans women of color four times as likely). Yet LGBTQ parents are also four times more likely to adopt and six times more likely to foster children than their straight counterparts. LGBTQ parents are more likely to be hourly employees and less likely to have supportive biological family than different-sex parentsall factors that translate to narrow access to family leave.

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To compound these statistics, research shows LGBTQ people are less likely to be married and less likely to believe in marriage than their straight counterparts. For those who see marriage as counterintuitive to the fight for true equality, the benefits it offers may be completely out of reach. Family and workplace benefits associated with marital status, like legal relationship to children and access to parental leave among others, are then often out of reach to many LGBTQ people.

In her latest book, How All Politics Became Reproductive Politics, Laura Briggs, professor and chair of the women, gender, and sexuality studies department at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, argues that marriage rights for the LGBTQ community were not the movements first-choice solution. But in lieu of more comprehensive family rights for all, LGBTQ activists of the 70s and 80s began seeking marriage rights for same-sex couples as a more attainable alternative to broader class and racial equity.

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Briggs says the fight for marriage equality then became the face of the LGBTQ struggle, an idealistic goal that, if achieved, might solve all the problems caused by discrimination and marginalization. But as it turns out, broadening the legal rights for conjugal couples just barely enough to include same-sex couples does not solve the wide spectrum of challenges LGBTQ people face.

Chief among the problems it does not solve is workers rights, particularly for low-wage earners. Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 case that resulted in nationwide marriage equality, fell short of addressing workers needs, as evidenced by the continuing struggles of families like Kristyn and Whitneys. In the wake of the Obergefell ruling, many LGBTQ parents who did not wish to get married or couldnt afford to do so turned instead to the now25-year-old Family and Medical Leave Act for protection.

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But in many cases, the FMLA de facto excludes low-income LGBTQ workers. The law provides 12 weeks of unpaid leave for employees who have worked at least 1,250 hours within the 12 months prior to leave. This discounts many workers in hourly wage jobs, who are more likely to be LGBTQ people, and have high turnover rates. Those who are eligible may only take leave to care for themselves or for immediate biological or legal family members, and because LGBTQ parents are more likely to be caring for youth to whom they have no biological or legal relation, the chances of securing leave for child care purposes are even slimmer. The law does grant access for foster parents and any caretaker who actually has day-to-day responsibility for caring for a child regardless of legal relationship. However, it also leaves open room for employers to interpret day-to-day responsibilities differently, making cases like Kristyn and Whitneys common.

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Beyond the complicated web of rules and requirements to qualify for FMLA, the problem remains that leave granted under FMLA is unpaid. Low-income workers may very well not be financially able to take unpaid time off regardless of daily schedules. For LGBTQ employees facing a slew of obstacles on top of compensation, the options are few.

In an interview, Briggs says her own experience helping a colleague who is caring for an 18-year-old family member facing a medical crisis was particularly challenging. The colleague, who is queer herself and has been caring for her uncles queer child for 10 years, isnt eligible for FMLA because her only relation to the kid is cousin. [The] FMLA is a great example of why Obergefell didnt get queer folks comprehensive family rights, she says.

Broadening access to family leave through the FMLA or whatever national paid leave policy Republicans are currently courting support for will take a robust reimagining of the lived realities of workers across the spectrumthose caring for nonbiological children, those without marital benefits, and those navigating the harsh realities of hourly wage work.
Flood victims get new homes

An integrated settlement built by the Dhurmus-Suntali Foundation has been handed over to the families of Chandrapur Municipality-8, Rautahat, who were displaced by August 2017 flood.
This post is part of Outward, Slates home for coverage of LGBTQ life, thought, and culture. Read more here.

In the popular imaginationone reflected in shows like Modern Family and The New Normalgay dads are white, coupled, and urban-dwelling. They drive Priuses and argue about which kind of organic baby food to buy at Whole Foods. Theyre such perfectionist parents that they grow to hate each other. Essentially, theyre just like their straight, upper-middle-class counterparts.

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Sociology departments have also played a role in perpetuating this monolithic image of gay parenthood. For a long time, our research was driven by demand from the courts to know, Are children harmed by gay parents?  Megan Carroll, a doctoral student in sociology at USC, told me. In study after study, we analyzed gay families that very closely resembled the heterosexual ideal in order to prove those theories wrong, but what were realizing now is that we havent explored the diversity within gay family life.

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That diversity may come as a surprise to casual observers of the same-sex marriage debate. You might not know it from pop culture, but statistically, same-sex couples with kids are more likely to live in red states than in blue ones, more likely to be brown or black than white, and more likely to have kids from heterosexual partnerships than from surrogacy or adoption. Our discourse, Carroll explained, isnt in line with our demographics.

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To better understand why this might be the case, Carroll attended gay parenting groups in three statesTexas, California, and Utahand talked to 56 gay dads, focusing on those who were single, from diverse ethnic backgrounds, or had children from heterosexual relationships. In California, she spent three years regularly attending a prominent group for gay dads.

(Fortuitously, the group had been looking for an intern and Carroll fit the bill.) In a recent paper, Carroll writes about how these men feel cast aside from the larger queer dad community.

In other words, theres still a social hierarchy in the gay fatherhood world, with coupled white parents at the top. Unsurprisingly, these men also tend to have lots of disposable income. (Surrogacy can cost upward of $75,000, though Carroll says it was uncouth to discuss these costs explicitly in the group.)

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Even adoption is stratified, Carroll said. Potential adoptees, she noted, must prove they have the physical space and income to provide a stable home.

While the myth of gay affluence has been proven to be just thatat least until the picture was recently complicated by an apparent gay earnings bumpeconomic stratification within the gay community hasnt been as widely discussed. Part of this has to do with politics: In the fight for marriage equality, the gay community concerned itself with selling sameness, Suzanna Walters wrote in her landmark book, All the Rage: The Story of Gay Visibility in America. The representations of lesbian and gay parents by the enlightened media evinces a form of homophobia that is at once less dramatic and more insidious, focusing as it does on acceptance of gay parents as heterosexual clones, she writes. Gay parents who didnt fit a certain mold were sidelined to present a comforting image to straight society.

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Marginalized queer dads have to contend with their own unique challenges, including prejudice from other gay dads, lack of resources, and cultural invisibility. Single dads, for example, often encounter heterosexist assumptions in public (like the dreaded Is it Moms day off?), forcing them to come out to strangers again and again. Gay dads of color, meanwhile, report feeling caught between their sexual and ethnic identities.

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Divorced gay dads, thought to comprise a majority of gay households, arent embraced with open arms at gay parent groups. Theres a perception that theyre relics of a bygone era, Carroll said. Like, Oh, this is how we used to form families, but arent we so lucky now? 

Gay fathers with children from previous heterosexual relationships may feel socially ostracized from the broader queer dad community. Gay men think Im an anomaly, said Chet Errett Atkins, a nurse and regional marketing director in Fort Worth, Texas. I cant relate to gays who are dads through surrogacy, he added, because neither of my children were planned nor thought out. There just isnt a lot of commonality.

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Scott Morrison, an account manager living in Oklahoma City, said that hes often asked ignorant questions by gays and straights alike. Straight people always ask, Are you sure youre gay? I bet you could change back! I mean, you used to be straight, right? Gay people, on the other hand, tell me they could never be with a guy who has children, he told me.

In Utah, Carroll attended a group for divorced dads whod recently left the Mormon church. Meetings were held in a public building so that group members could easily make an excuse if they ran into someone they knew. Instead of trading advice on surrogacy and adoptions, the fathers tried to support each other through messy divorces and conflicts between their religious and sexual identities. Some had dealt with depression or attempted suicide.

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Gay father groups tend to be very happy places where you could bring your children, and were all about building and celebrating families, said Carroll. This functioned much more as a support group.

Carroll also found that gay parents of color were underrepresented in meetings. These dads talked about feeling isolated or dismissed, she said. There were no rituals, community, or organization to help their children connect to their race as well as their fathers sexuality.

Those with intersectional identities often struggled the most. William, a Latino single father in California, told Carroll that being part of a gay parenting group was painful. I feel like  they all have a home. They all are living the American Dream while Im living in a room and Im in debt and I feel like Ill never get out. I feel like Im stuck within the ghetto.

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Social dynamics can also isolate single gay fathers, who are sometimes seen as interlopers in gay fathering communities. Christopher Harris, a pediatrician at Cedars Sinai, says that he often received a cold shoulder from the coupled parents at the storied Pop Luck Club in Los Angeles, which is known for hosting an annual Fathers Day brunch at the Abbey. Sometimes I was treated as if I was there to steal a husband! he said.

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Of course, running an inclusive gay fatherhood community is no easy featit requires not only significant outreach but also an awareness of the breadth of experiences its members bring to the table. But first, gay men have to recognize that no route to parenthood is more valid than another one.

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In Texas, Carroll said, a gay parenting group advertised that they welcomed dads from all backgrounds, but when you showed up in person, the community was very insular towards adoption and surrogacy dads.

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Segregation of gay fathers by pathway to parenthood is not an accident, Carroll added. Its very much rooted in these networks fostered within the gay parenting community. If were not creating resources specifically for gay fathers from different backgrounds, she said, Its very unlikely theyre going to benefit from the resources already in place.

Excluding certain types of dads from gay parenting groups isnt just cruelits regressive. It points to a compulsion within gay communities to present a more palatable image to straight society. Given how many queer dads are of color, single, or divorced, its also demographically a clueless approach. In the rush to present gay families as just like straights, weve overlooked broad swaths who dont fit a cookie-cutter ideal. Theres nothing liberating about that.
Over the past several decades, the Clinton family has had no more loyal friend than Lanny J.

Davis. A Washington lawyer and lobbyist, Davis once served as special counsel to Bill Clinton, and became well-known for defending him on television; meanwhile, he once wrote to Hillary Clinton that The honest to goodness truth is  aside from Carolyn, my four children, and my immediate family, I consider you to be the best friend and the best person I have met in my long life. To say that Davis is fanatically committed to all things Clinton would probably be considered a compliment by the man himself.

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Davis has been known to wade into even murkier waters. He was on the payroll of the former president of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, who tried to steal an election that he had already delayed to keep himself in power. (Thousands died in the ensuing conflict.) He also worked for the president of Equatorial Guinea, Teodoro Obiang, who has committed major human rights violations for almost four decades. Other Davis clients have included Penn State during the Sandusky scandal, Harvey Weinstein, and for-profit colleges. More recently, he has given unpaid advice to Steve Bannon.

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Davis has now written a new book, The Unmaking of the President 2016: How FBI Director James Comey Cost Hillary Clinton the Presidency, and agreed to speak with me by phone. (I had previously written harsh critiques of Davis when I was at the New Republic; he wrote into the magazine and repeatedly complained to my editor.) During the course of our conversation, which has been edited and condensed for clarity, we discussed what he told Steve Bannon about Robert Mueller, why he worked for dictators, and whether the media is unfair to him.

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Isaac Chotiner: What argument does your book make about Comey and the election?

Lanny Davis: I started out with the fact I discovered in my grief, after two months of research, that on Oct. 28, 2016 [the day of the Comey letter], it was indisputable that Hillary Clinton was going to be president of the United States by a large margin, larger than Barack Obama beat Mitt Romney. She is up by 5.9 percent by every aggregator that is respected in the polling business. She is substantially ahead in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. She is ahead in Florida, North Carolina, and Arizona. She probably has a chance of winning Georgia. The electoral map is 322 electoral votes on Oct. 28, in the morning. I know that as certainly I know 2+2 is 4.

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When Trump fired Comey, he used the rationale that Comey had messed up the Clinton email case. What was your first response when Comey was fired, and what do you think about it now?

I would love to tell you off the record what my first response was but I hate to do off the record. Let me see if I can clean it up and put it on the record. When Trump fired Comey because he messed up on the Hillary Clinton emails investigation, and I read the Rod Rosenstein memo, I thought to myself, I just lost my book. Trump got it right; Rosenstein nailed it. There were literally sentences in the chapter I was writing about the Comey decision to send the Oct. 28 letter, which violated every Justice Department policy violating practices going back 50 years.

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When Trump fires Rosenstein, he can appoint you.

I almost changed a chapter to Rod Rosenstein Nailed It. But then two days later Donald Trump returned to his true self and had a rare moment of truth-telling, telling Lester Holt that it wasnt about Hillary Clintons emails, it was about the Russia investigation.

Robert Mueller is now investigating Trump, which has some parallels to when Ken Starr was investigating Bill Clinton, and you were a defender of Clinton during that time. The writer Joshua Green said that he told you Steve Bannon modeled his shop after yours and had admiration for the way you dealt with the investigation, and that the two of you ended up talking. What advice did you give Bannon?

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First, thats all true. It was Josh Green whoare you Jewish? I dont know if you are or not, but there is an expression called a yenta, which is a matchmaker. It was Josh Green who connected me or introduced me to Steve Bannon. Green called me and said there is someone in the White House using you as a noun: We need to have a Lanny Davis here. I said, That is quite a compliment. Would you mind telling me who? So he said, Let me ask his permission. He called me back and said, Believe it or not, its Steve Bannon. I said I was very curious, not just to thank him for using me as a noun but Id like to talk to the guy. He is probably very interesting. So since then we have exchanged kind of funny messages with each other. What he was saying to me when I talked to him was, Our politics are completely different. I said, To say the least. Thats an understatement, Steve.

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Yeah, Steve Bannon is not Jewish.

Hes not a mensch, but he knew what the word mensch meant, because he used that word. What he said to me, and what the Trump White House is missing, is that if you bullshit the media, you will not get away with it. But what Bannon was saying to me was we dont have anyone here who follows your principles, which is to volunteer and get it out quickly. People around here have the opposite instinct. I said thank you, you are using me as a noun, but please dont say anything nice about me. [Laughs.]

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Did you feel weird about giving advice to Steve Bannon and maybe helping undermine the Mueller investigation?

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Actually, the opposite. I said, Youve got to tell the truth, whatever it is. It will catch up to Trump sooner or later. It always catches up. Maybe he thinks the base doesnt care. Hes wrong. Richard Nixon had a fantastic base and he lost his base by lying and lying and lying, and it became criminal. I told Bannon, You cannot avoid Mueller. He is either guilty or he is not. You are just deferring your pain. So just admit it and dont try to spin it as Trump did on Air Force One. Hes following the Richard Nixon roadmap. But anyway, thats not what my book is about.

Do you think Trump has authoritarian tendencies?

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No doubt. It is probably the second-most worrisome aspect of Trump that I fear, just as a father and as an American. He reveres the authoritarians who are currently allied in the world.

The first is what he has done with North Korea.

I ask because you have gotten into hot water for representing people with authoritarian tendencies, from the former leader of the Ivory Coast, to the leader of Equatorial Guinea, both of whom took up your services for substantial sums of money, and both of whom are not democrats and violators of human rights. Has Trumps rise made you think differently about those commissions?

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So what you just said is all false or misleading.  Lanny Davis

So, you are unfortunately opening up the subject that I am best at, which is youve got to tell the truth and get the facts out no matter how many times misinformation is repeated on the internet. For what you just said, if you Googled you would find 1 million hits or something in that neighborhood. A million times a zero is just a zero. So what you just said is all false or misleading, because you didnt tell the rest of the story. But you are absolutely in good company because if you Googled Lanny Davis Equatorial Guinea you wouldnt see the name Archbishop Desmond Tutu. So when I represented Equatorial Guinea, it was to make a bad dictatorial government, terrible on human rights, murdering and abusing people, to make them into a humane government. I went to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, not exactly a protector of authoritarian dictators, and he supported what I was trying to do in Equatorial Guinea, and when I didnt see any hope of accomplishing it, I quit.

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I read a quote from that time where you said, regarding Teodoro Obiang and the political prisoners in his country, If there are political prisoners and no substantive charges against them, they will be freed.

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Well, I said many things about what I thought would happen, including writing a speech for him in Cape Town in front of CNN, Time magazine, and Fortune at a media forum where he committed to human rights.

Mmmmmm.

Thats where Archbishop Tutu wrote me a letter.

Did Obiang follow through?

Its on my internet site. Since I do what I do to correct people in your business, I published the letter thanking me for the work I did. But that never made it into a Glenn Greenwald [piece] on Slate, which was one of the first.

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I think thats Salon.

Well, I think there were other Slate articles.

And on the Ivory Coast, by the way, I worked for them for 10 days, working with the White House and the State Department to get that thug out of the Ivory Coast, and ultimately I wrote a chapter in a book telling a story of how people slurred me.

Hes in the Hague now, correct?

Babo? Whatever his name is. I have no idea. All I know is that the White House and the State Department confirmed my role after I quit. They had asked me, because I was hired by the embassy, to try to get him out of the Ivory Coast, to Boston University to be a professor. I was a backchannel, and its an awful story because I had a horrible New York Times story written about me defending this thug. And the State Department and the White House wouldnt let me defend myself. So I wrote a chapter in my book, Crisis Tales, and the chapter of the book was A Fool For A Client.

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Laurent Gbagbo tried to steal an election. But in a Justice Department filing, you said that you would present the facts and the law as to why there is substantial documentary evidence that President Laurent Gbagbo is the duly elected president as a result of the Nov. 28 elections. Is that one of the things you said during your 10 days?

Yes, that is one of the things the State Department wrote for me to say so we could buy negotiating leverage and get him the hell out of there so he wouldnt kill people.

Who paid you $100,000 per month?

The embassy.

Which embassy?

The Ivory Coast embassy hired me.

OK.

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Listen, I will give you a shortcut if you want to do the usual thing of associating me with dictators. Read my chapter in Crisis Tales.

Youve said that aside from your family, Hillary Clinton is my best friend and the best person I have met in my long life. Do you ever look back on the stories about Bill Clinton and women differently than when you were defending him?

The answer is of course, and I said it at the time. My best friend was Hillary Clinton, and Bill Clinton was doing what Bill Clinton was doing, and hurting a lot of people by what he was doing. The harshest critic of his personal and private behavior was Bill Clinton. He made a public apology to the American people, and had to make a confession on national television that most husbands or wives wouldnt want to do in private to their spouse.

There were other accusations, too.

The accusations from other women have as yet been untested and unproven. Nowadays there is a presumption of truth when any woman makes an accusation, but some of those accusations have been looked into and investigated, for example by Ken Starr, and found to be not meritorious.
James Mattis has fully joined the nuclear tribesmen.

As recently as 2015, Mattis urged Congress to reassess the need for the triad, the long-standing practice of placing nuclear weapons on three types of platformsland-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched missiles, and long-range aircraft. He even advocated dismantling the land-based missiles. He argued that their hair-trigger posture increased the chance of nuclear war.

His views at the time reflected his status as a just-retired Marine four-star generalthe Marines being the only branch of the U.S. military that has never possessed nuclear weaponsand his friendship, as a fellow at Stanford University, with prominent arms-control advocates on campus, notably former secretary of defense William Perry.

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If Mattis ever finds himself staring down the abyss of a nuclear war, hes likely to find the books hes consumed nearly useless.

But now Mattis himself has been secretary of defense for a year, and, as he acknowledged at a House hearing Tuesday morning, his views have evolved. He came in to the Pentagon, he testified, wanting to challenge just about everything, but after speaking with experts of all stripes, he realized that the land-based ICBMs are a stabilizing element and that other weapons he once looked at askance also have their merits.

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We must look reality in the eye and see the world as it is, not as we wish it to be, Mattis wrote in the introduction of the Nuclear Posture Review, a 75-page document that the Pentagon released last week. In a Washington Post article on Monday called How Mattis Changed His Mind on Nuclear Weapons, Thomas Karako, a think-tank nuclear strategist, is quoted as saying that Mattis, like many incoming officials over the years, was mugged by reality.

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As someone who has studied the nuclear world for 40 years and has interviewed hundreds of its denizens for a book and many articles, I have learned this: When it comes to nuclear strategy, there is no reality. The weapons are real, and their destructive power is cataclysmic. But the countless attempts to harness this destruction into an elaborate war-fighting strategy are excursions into metaphysics, not the hard-boiled realism that its purveyors like to believe.

Mattis owns a famously vast library, and he has said that, in coming to his new views on nuclear matters, he read many books on the subject. This kind of scholarly rigor has served him well in the past, but when Mattis commanded troops in Iraq, he saw connections between the battles he was fighting and the campaigns hed studied in the classic volumes on strategybecause those volumes were based on what has actually worked and not worked across centuries of real warfare. If Mattis ever finds himself staring down the abyss of a nuclear war, hes likely to find the books hes consumed nearly useless; the scenarios they spin, however tightly, have no grounding in reality, as no one has ever fought this kind of war.

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In a fundamental sense, Mattis seems to know this. At the hearing, he quoted a line from the Nuclear Posture Review stressing that the United States would use these weapons only in the most extreme circumstances. He also noted that he never says nuclear strategy but rather nuclear deterrence strategy, suggesting that the main goal is to deter nuclear war, not to fight one. This is assuring, but he also said that a deterrent isnt credible unless your opponent believes that you would actually use itin other words, that you would retaliate to a nuclear strike with a nuclear counterstrikeand that, to foster this impression, you need plans and weapons that enable you to do this.

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The nuclear debate that embroiled hawks and doves during the Cold War, and that seems primed for a revival now, was in good part over the question of what you need for deterrence: How far do you need to go toward planning to fight a nuclear war to convince your opponent that you will do so if necessary, and at what point will these preparations have the effect of increasing, rather than lowering, the chance that a nuclear war breaks out?

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In the course of immersing himself in this debate, Mattis, it seems, has gone native. He has bought in to the premises of the more hawkish faction of this debate, which once dominated this discussion and, in the postCold War years, has continued itall but unnoticed by the wider publicin specialized military branches and think tanks.

Lets take a close look at his conversion on the question of land-based ICBMs. The argument for dismantling them is straightforward. These missiles are the most lethal weapons in the nuclear arsenalaccurate and powerful enough to destroy Russias ICBMs, which sit in underground silos. Yet, by the same token, they are also the most vulnerable weaponsthe Russians ICBMs can destroy ours, just as ours can destroy theirs. Both sides missiles can reach their targets in less than a half-hour.

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In other words, the very existence of these weapons creates a hair-trigger situation. If a crisis is building, one side might feel compelled to launch a first strike on the other sides ICBMsif just to pre-empt the other side from launching a first strike on its ICBMs. Dismantling the ICBMs removes this hair-trigger pressure. This was the argumentlong held by many arms-control advocatesthat Mattis recited back in 2015.

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In recent years, the more hawkish advocates in this debate have come up with a new rationale for keeping the land-based ICBMs. We have 400 of these missiles scattered around remote areas of the United States. To have a high confidence of destroying them, Russia (or some other enemy) would have to launch 800 warheads, two at each target. Thats a complicated attackand the radioactive fallout would kill tens of millions of Americans, ensuring that we would retaliate. In other words, these advocates conclude, the ICBMs strengthen deterrence. This is the argument that Mattis has now bought.

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There are three things wrong with this argument. First, back during the Cold War, these same advocates warned that the Soviet Union might fire 2,000 warheads at the 1,000 ICBMs that we had at the time, then threaten to launch its remaining nukes at American cities if we didnt surrenderand that, faced with this dilemma, the American president would surrender and not retaliate. It was a crazy argument at the time, but, more to the point, it was made to rationalize a new generation of ICBMsjust as the new theory is made, chiefly, to rationalize retaining the ICBMs.

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Second, the U.S. also currently has 280 submarine-launched ballistic missiles (on 14 submarines) and 60 nuclear-capable bombersloaded, all told, with 2,768 nuclear bombs and warheads. Thats more than five times the number of nukes that the ICBMs carry. Half the submarines roam underwater, undetectable, at any one time. (In the event of a crisis, the other half could be put out to sea, as well.) And the bombersthe third component of the triadcould take off from their bases quickly too. In other words, the weapons on submarines and bombers should discourage any foreign leader from contemplating a nuclear attack on American soilat least as much as a few hundred ICBMs do, if not more so.

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Third, lets say theres something to the theory that ICBMs are needed to soak up Russian warheads and that three nuclear platforms (air, land, and sea), as opposed to just two, make an enemy attack even a little more complicatedand, therefore, a little more unlikely. Do we need 440 ICBMs? Would, say, 100 be enoughor a dozen? It seems unlikely that the number needed for a sufficiently absorbent sponge just happens to be the number we now have. And do we need to replace them with a new generation of these sponges, at great cost, as Mattis is now proposing? The current ICBMs, called Minutemen, are old, but theyve been refurbished many times, from top to bottom. No one asked these questions at Mattis House hearing

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The other controversial program that Mattis once opposed, but now endorses, is a new low-yield warhead for at least some of the Trident II missiles on U.S. submarines. (Low-yield means warheads with the explosive power of 510 kilotons, far smaller than their current yield of roughly 100 kilotons. Even so, its worth noting, the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima was only 14 kilotons.)

Mattis argument, as laid out in the Nuclear Posture Review, is that the Russians have low-yield weapons and that theyve simulated using them in military exercises that simulate a war with the NATO nations in Europe. Therefore, we have to match this capability, so the Russians dont think that they can lob some mininukes at Western Europe, as a pressure tactic, leaving us no choice but to surrender or to fire back with much more powerful weapons, which would prompt the Russians to fire back at us.

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There are two problems with this argument. First, the United States already has about 1,000 low-yield nuclear weapons. Rep. Joe Wilson, Republican of South Carolina, did raise this at the House hearing on Tuesday. Mattis replied that those weapons are on bomber aircraft, which could be shot down by Russian air-defense weapons. However, 528 of those weapons are on air-launched cruise missiles, which fly at low altitudes after being fired by aircraft from far outside the battle zonein other words, they are much harder to shoot down.

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Second, deterrence requires the ability to respond in kind to an attack, but its a bit baroque to insist that we need to respond with exactly the same kinds of weapons. The trick to deterrence is convincing adversaries and allies that we will respond. This trick involves a combination of military firepower and diplomatic signaling. It doesnt require copying whatever the adversary does.

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At Tuesdays hearing, Mattis committed this fallacy in another, particularly crude manner. Several times, he pointed to a chart, which he had on display, listing the number of new nuclear weapons fielded in the past decade by Russia (14), China (nine), and the United States (one). Since they are building new nukes, we need to build new nukes, too.

But the obvious question, which no legislator asked, is, why? As long as we have enough weapons to deter an adversary from attacking us, and as long as this stance seems persuasive, the rest is secondary. (It should be noted that Russia isnt building more nuclear weapons. The United States and Russia signed the New START agreement in 2010, reducing the number of weapons in both sides arsenals, and both sides are in compliance with that accord.) The relative number of production lines has never been a measure of strength in the balance of power. If Russia and China want to waste their money, it doesnt mean we have to waste ours too.

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By all accounts, Mattis is a smart man who likes a lively debate. Why did he change his mind on nuclear weapons? One answer is that people who assume high posts of power almost always change their minds on nuclear weapons. Barack Obamawho came into office wanting to abolish nuclear weapons (eventually) and whose Nuclear Posture Review called for reducing the role that nuclear weapons play in military policynonetheless upheld the sanctity of the nuclear triad (including land-based ICBMs) and declined to adopt a no-first-use nuclear policy. Though he canceled George W. Bushs plans to build a low-yield Trident II warhead, he approved every other new missile, bomber, and submarine that the Trump administration is now continuing. Trumps $1.3 trillion plan for nuclear modernization over the next 30 years is very similar to Obamas plan.

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How does this conversion take place? Nuclear weapons are, properly, frightening to behold. They cross a lineof destruction, chaos, and inhumanitythat very few presidents or politicians want to get near. (The fact that Trump has spoken of them, at times so casually and at other times so aggressively, is one of the biggest reasons why his presidency is so frightening.) Nobody wants to take chances. If an expert or a general argues that some weapon or another enhances deterrence even a little bit, its hard for a president, or secretary of defense, to refuse it. Other experts may argue the contrary, but what if theyre wrong? If the Russians seem to believe the nonsense theyre spouting, if they do believe they can lob a mininuke at Europe and make us back off, is it enough simply to wave them away and insist that we have all the firepower we need to deter them? What if it isnt?

Another problem is that there hasnt been a public debate on nuclear weapons for the past 35 years. The experts Mattis consulted are members of the community that has pondered nuclear weapons for all this time, even after most of us moved on to other things. To varying degrees, they have accepted the logical strands of nuclear strategy as first principleswhen, in fact, they are built on flimsy premises. There once was a debate in which the premises were challenged, then rejected or modified or embraced but with eyes open. Not enough eyes are staring at the nuclear abyss with an analytic squint. If were now witnessing the second coming of the nuclear age, its time for more people to start looking, studying, and talking back.
President Trump may finally get his military parade. Trump had mused before his inauguration last year about having the armed forces march through Washington to mark his taking office but was reportedly rebuffed by the Pentagon. But now, according to a report by the Washington Post, plans are underway to make this spectacle a reality. Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day have been mentioned as possible dates.

Beyond simply feeding the presidents known proclivity for pomp and pageantry, an impromptu military spectacle of this type would also underline the Trump administrations deep sense of insecurity and mistrust of American political institutions.

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Parades are as old as military history itself. The term parade is derived from the Latin word parare, to preparein a military contextfor war. Our modern day ideas of paradessoldiers marching in step in perfect unison wearing dress uniformscan be traced back to the European military drill, originally devised in the 17th century by Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, to quickly maneuver troops into column and line formations in order to discharge volley fire and to attack the enemy with fixed bayonets.

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More importantly for discussing Trumps plans, however, is the historical distinction between a triumph, a military parade held to mark victory or the end of war, developed and perfected by the ancient Romans, and military processions as part of the ceremonial structures of annual national patriotic holidays. A good modern-day example of the former is the parade of British troops in London after the retaking of the Falkland Islands from Argentina in October 1982, and of the latter the annually held Bastille Day military parade in France. It was the Bastille Day parade, witnessed during a trip to France last summer, that seems to have inspired Trumps latest whim. Trump had gushed to reporters previously about how the display was one of the greatest parades Ive ever seen and vowed that the U.S. would top it. The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, a military official told the Post about the latest preparations.

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Unlike France, however, the United States until now has primarily conducted large-scale military parades to mark military triumphs. The largest in U.S. history was the Grand Review of the Armies on May 2324, 1865, to mark the end of the Civil War. 145,000 men paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue for two days under the watchful eyes of President Andrew Johnson and the commanding general of the Army, Ulysses S. Grant.

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The U.S. military marched down the avenues of D.C., New York, and smaller American cities on multiple other occasions during and following the victorious ends of the Spanish-American War, as well as the First and Second World Wars. The most spectacular modern-day example was the June 1991 National Victory Celebration to commemorate U.S. victory in the Gulf War.

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What Trump appears to have in mind is something grander than the smaller military processions that have been part of American national holidays for the past 200 years. The idea seems to be to throw a Roman-style triumph, without actually triumphing. Needless to say, there are a number of obvious problems with a military triumph, and not just the exorbitant cost and the fact that the military has more important things to do.

For one thing, an impromptu military triumphlike parade is a political anomaly as there is no equivalent to the Bastille Day parade in American political and military culture. More importantly, the United States has not won any of the wars it has been engaged in since 9/11.

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U.S. military leaders have never before felt the need to hold parades to illustrate the strengths of the armed forces. Trump apparently thinks the opposite.

These objections probably wouldnt deter this president. A large military triumphal procession down Pennsylvania Avenue, ostensibly to show the presidents devotion to the U.S. armed forces, can easily turn an actual military stalemate into a temporary political victory. Indeed, perhaps the president sees such a parade as just another opportunity to solidify his political standing by emphasizing his support for the armed forces. (The fact that it would pass by the hotel emblazoned with his name probably doesnt hurt either.)

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But a large-scale military parade would also reinforce two negative themes of Trumps own presidency: insecurity and isolation.

Military parades, if not part of an annual patriotic holiday cycle and absent a military victory, symbolize a deep sense of insecurity of a countrys political and military leadership. Thats the reason why impromptu large-scale military spectaclesthink of North Koreas Kim Jong-unare usually the purview of isolated autocratic leaders and dictatorships that feel threatened by outside forces.

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This is not exclusive to autocratic regimes. The French Bastille Day military parade became a fixture only in 1880, following the humiliating French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 18701871 and the loss of the Alsace-Lorraine territory to Germany. The parade was an expression of forced militarism to challenge German military superiority and to overcome a prevailing sense of the decline of French power among French citizens.

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Yet insecurity and paranoia generally run deeper in autocratic regimes, and as a consequence, their military spectacles usually eclipse parades of democratic countries, as they serve multiple purposes. For examples, for countries such as China or North Korea, by displaying their latest military hardware, parades serve a deterrence purpose both internally and externally. By combining militarism and nationalism, they are meant to reinforce to a regimes subjects that only the military stands between them and foreign invasion; to outsiders, large-scale parades are designed to signal resolve and deter them from domestically interfering.

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Parades are also used to create conformity in both action and thought, as I have written before. A peculiar bond is forged between the soldier and the onlooker, who, in a frenzied state of excitement accentuated by martial tunes and synchronized step, feel not only empowered but also form a collective identity pitting them against the rest of the world. On a number of occasions when I participated in parades, I not only had a similar sense of empowerment (I strangely also always felt taller when in parade formation) but was also itching for a fight to, for the lack of a better term, defend the collective values of the group. In other words, there is a thinner red line separating a disciplined soldier from a goose-stepping moron, as Professor Henry Jones would have put it, as one would expect during military spectacles of this kind.

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Impromptu parades in autocratic regimes have usually signified times of political crisis and insecurity. For example, in 1941, Stalin held a large October Revolution parade on Red Square to rally Moscows citizens during the Battle of Moscow, with the soldiers participating in the procession moving to the frontlines immediately after the parade. Joseph Goebbels conducted parades of the Volkssturm, a Nazi militia, in November 1944 to solidify the Germans belief in final victory. Saddam Hussein held large parades when he felt vulnerable, following the end of the Iran-Iraq War in 1988 and in the runup to the first Gulf War in 1990.

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Kim Jong-uns decision to hold a parade the day before the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics this week is also likely intended to camouflage the insecurity over possible U.S. military action. Consequently, the flipside of staged military rallies is that rather than projecting strength, they tend to have the opposite effect and vicariously reveal the timidity and political isolation of a political leader.

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In that sense, while a democratically elected leader, Trumps military parade could be interpreted as an exposition of just how tenuous he appears to think his hold on power is, how little he believes in existing political institutions in the United States, and, perhaps more importantly in context of military parades, how little he makes of U.S. military power.

As Margaret Thatcher once put it, Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you arent. U.S. military leaders have never before felt the need to hold parades to illustrate the strengths of the armed forces. Trump apparently thinks the opposite. Consequently, his desire to hold a large-scale impromptu parade is perhaps more revealing than intended about what he truly thinks of Americas war-fighting capabilities.

Impromptu large-scale military parades, with the exception of genuine victory processions, are ultimately a sign of insecurity, irrespective of the government that orders them. In that sense, the presidents decision to hold a military spectacle is in the tune with the prevailing zeitgeist of his supporters and the idea of an age of American carnage. A parade might seem like an easy way to emphasize the presidents forte and political and military leadership. Yet it will likely have the opposite effect for the president and make America and his administration vicariously look weak.
Senate leaders have reached a two-year spending deal in time to avoid another government shutdown, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday. The deal is expected to increase spending by roughly $400 billion, according to the Washington Post.

According to the Los Angeles Times, $80 billion of the spending would be reserved for defense spending, and $63 billion for non-defense. Nearly $100 billion would go toward disaster aid.

McConnell has said the deal includes funding for disaster relief, infrastructure, and the opioid crisis. The deal also extended funding for the Childrens Health Insurance Program four more years, for a total of 10 years.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had been planning to reject the deal but was swayed when House Speaker Paul Ryan committed to protecting Dreamers from deportation, the Times reported.

Without reaching a deal, the government would have shut down on midnight Thursday.
The casino mogul behind some of Las Vegas most prominent casinos resigned from his position as CEO and board chairman of Wynn Resorts on Tuesday, less than two weeks after a Wall Street Journal story detailed decades of sexual harassment and assault allegations, including accusations that Wynn used his power to pressure employees into sex acts.

Wynn has maintained his innocence. In the last couple of weeks, I have found myself the focus of an avalanche of negative publicity, he said in a statement released by Wynn Resorts. As I have reflected upon the environment this has createdone in which a rush to judgement takes precedence over everything else, including the factsI have reached the conclusion I cannot continue to be effective in my current roles.

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Wynn had called the allegations fabrications, telling the Journal, the instigation of these accusations is the continued work of my ex-wife Elaine Wynn, with whom I am involved in a terrible and nasty lawsuit in which she is seeking a revised divorce settlement. (Elaine Wynn has said in a statement that this assertion is categorically untrue.)

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After the allegations came to light, stocks in Wynn Resorts plunged.*

In late January, just a day after the Journal report, Wynn, a major Republican donor, stepped down from his position as the finance chair of the Republican National Committee. President Trump, who had picked Wynn for the role, allegedly supported Wynns decision to resign because of the potential political fallout.
Congressional Republicans are looking for an off-ramp. Having given aid and comfort to a reality show presidency for just more than a year, the smart ones are beginning to figure out that voters are on to them. This is particularly the case for the large crop of elected Republicans who have historically cast themselves as the protectors and defenders of the rule of law and the primacy of the American justice system. Long after it became openly embarrassing to claim both a love of the law and a love for Donald Trump, Republican representatives have attempted to split the baby with claims that they love the Constitution but hate the free press, or that they love the courts but hate judges, or that they love the Mueller investigation but hate the FBI and the Department of Justice.

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There are a few exit strategies for those Republicans whove decided their best option is to exit Congress en masse. There is the Gutless Retirement, wherein the elected official deplores the ugliness of public life, then grabs a life vest and jumps without actually doing anything to stop Trump or Trumpism on the way out. There is the Noble Speech, followed by a similar absence of word or action or attempt to legislate a reversal of the current insanity. And we are starting to see what may be a third exit ramp: a flight back to the warm embrace of the Law, under the pretense that politics and law are binary and severable enterprises, and that having corroded the former beyond salvaging, the latter is a noble and purifying refuge.

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Consider the case of Trey Gowdy, the South Carolina Republican who was elected to the House of Representatives in 2010. Gowdy quickly gained national notoriety for tireless and fruitless investigations of the Obama administration on the House Oversight Committee and then as the chairman of the House Select Committee on Benghazi, a group that turned up nothing many, many times over, but kept him and his work in the spotlight.

Character matters in the law. Partisan history matters in the law. Cynicism about politics matters in the law.

Gowdy announced last week that he would not be seeking re-election, issuing a statement that he would not be seeking any other political or elected office; instead I will be returning to the justice system. Rumors that he had his eye on a vacant seat at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals were quickly squelched, but the 53-year-old congressman has made no secret of the fact that his heart lies back in the life of the law and not politics. Whatever skills I may have are better utilized in a courtroom than in Congress, and I enjoy our justice system more than our political system, Gowdy said in his statement. Gowdy amplified that sentiment on CBS Face the Nation on Sunday, downgrading his career as a politician to failed hobby status: I enjoy the justice system more.  I enjoy the pursuit of fairness as a virtue, and Im just more comfortable in that system. I was a pretty good prosecutor, I think, but Ive been a pretty lousy politician.

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Stop and read those words again. The man who dedicated his political career (and our tax dollars) to fruitless investigations of his enemies is claiming that he was a lousy politician and wants to return to the cleansing pursuit of justice. The man who was, by his own admission pretty integrally involved in the drafting and the release of the Nunes memoa document that contains more smoke than gun, and is increasingly being seen by both sides as a partisan misreading of the warrant process before the FISA courtwants to get back to his roots in doing justice. It beggars belief.

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How did we get to a place where elected officials and partisans could breezily claim there is some sort of invisible and impenetrable wall between politics and law? That there is an accepted dialectic in which the making of law is a filthy and lawless enterprise while the doing of justice is a sacred calling, removed from all politics and bias?

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At least some of the blame can be leveled at the poster-board myth of conservative judicial processthe one that claims that being a judge is a matter of calling mechanical balls and strikes, and that anyone who can read what the framers wrote and what the legislature drafted is qualified to be a jurist, regardless of temperament, character, or background. If the parade of largely goofy and unqualified Trump judicial nomineesespecially to the lower courtshas taught us anything, its that Trumps judicial vetting machinery is fully committed to the principle that legal experience no longer matters to the business of judging, but also that a lengthy career in partisan politics doesnt matter either.

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This is a deeply cynical read on what judges do when they call balls and strikes, but its also the central talking point at the drive-by confirmation hearings, in which one nominee after the next insists his lengthy and indisputable history of partisan activism, blogging, and openly political work is irrelevant because when he dons a black robe he will be transformed into a neutral umpire making easy calls.

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To be sure, nominees named by Democratic and Republican presidents have long sought to argue that they will be different creatures once theyre sworn in as judges. And to be sure, there are judges on every court who engaged in political work before taking the bench. But what Gowdy is trying to say here is profoundly different from a former lawyer for the ACLU or the Heritage Foundation would assert. He isnt saying, I will put my advocacy and politics aside going forward. He is saying that politics and lawmaking and congressional oversight are all dirty and that he will seek refuge in a magical unicorn courtroom that is untethered from all those things. On Sunday, he tried to say that law is about fairness while politics is just about winning. And no matter what job you seek back in the world of the courtroom, this deeply jaundiced view of the political process necessarily infects everything you do.



That binary view has to be wrong. Its not just wrong because judges are literally tasked with deciding who wins and loses. Its not just wrong because judges have to look at legislatures and legislators as serious enterprises to be credited with serious purposes. Its also wrong because politics and justice are inextricably linked, and congressional oversight and investigations are as much about process and fact-finding as legal proceedings are. Its unconscionable to assert that political systems have been degraded and corroded by partisans, so lets throw all the partisans into the court system to be cleansed of their prior sins. The inevitable result will be the degradation and corrosion of the legal system.

The law is about politics, and politics is about justice.

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I use the word sins advisedly here. The image of the courts and the law as a source of purification and penance is a tempting one. But those seeking absolution for their role in undermining the Constitution and the rule of law would do better to talk to their religious confessors or their shrinks than to repurpose the myth of the courts as Americas constitutional mikveh or baptismal bath. Character matters in the law. Partisan history matters in the law. Cynicism about politics matters in the law. The off-ramp from politics, especially politics as practiced in defense of Donald Trump, should not come via the courts. The off-ramp from corrosive and defeatist politics should be better politics, a project nobody in the GOP appears to have any interest in pursuing.
In January, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered the legislature to redraw the states congressional districts, invalidating the current map as an impermissible gerrymander under the state constitution. The Republican Party has responded swiftly and aggressively. GOP legislators filed a flagrantly partisan appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court that assailed the ruling as lawless judicial activism. (Justice Samuel Alito rejected it without comment.) State Senate president pro tempore Joseph Scarnati refused to comply with an order from the state supreme court. Republican leaders moved to vacate the decision because one justice in the majority had criticized gerrymandering during a campaign. And on Monday, GOP Rep. Cris Dush called for the impeachment of all five Democratic justices who voted to strike down the gerrymander.

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These antics should surprise no one. In recent years, many Republicansespecially swing-state legislatorshave countered judicial efforts to protect voting rights by assailing the legitimacy of the courts themselves. Theyve also manipulated the machinery of government to disenfranchise disfavored communities, then tried to insulate their machinations from judicial scrutiny. The Pennsylvania GOPs crusade against the courts is not an outlier. It is a distressingly familiar example of the tactics vulnerable Republicans use to entrench their own power.

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Consider the GOPs chicanery in North Carolina. After the U.S. Supreme Court hobbled the Voting Rights Act, North Carolina Republicans requested a breakdown of voter data on the basis of race. It then passed a sweeping law imposing new burdens on the right to vote, including a stringent voter ID requirement that eliminated the forms of identification most commonly used by black voters. In July 2016, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the act, ruling that it appeared to target African Americans with almost surgical precision. Republican then-Gov. Pat McCrory promptly charged three Democratic judges with undermining the integrity of our elections while also maligning our state. (All three judges were appointed by Democratic presidents.) Senate leader Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, both Republicans, went further, issuing an enraged statement indicating their intention to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court:

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Since todays decision by three partisan Democrats ignores legal precedent, ignores the fact that other federal courts have used North Carolinas law as a model, and ignores the fact that a majority of other states have similar protections in place, we can only wonder if the intent is to reopen the door for voter fraud, potentially allowing fellow Democrat politicians like Hillary Clinton and Roy Cooper to steal the election.

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The Supreme Court rejected their appeal with no noted dissents.

But that was just the start of North Carolina Republicans campaign against any court that defied their agenda. In November 2016, Democrat Roy Cooper won the governors race, which should have entitled him to take control of the state elections board and expand voting rights. But the GOP changed the law to prevent him from appointing a majority of Democrats to the board. Lower courts soon blocked the measure, along with several other laws stripping power from Cooper, as an infringement on the states constitution.

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Moore and Berger tore into these judges, declaring that they should hang up their robes and run for a legislative seat. They also backed one measure that would gerrymander judicial districts to elect more Republican judges, and another that would eliminate judicial primaries and turn judicial races into confusing free-for-alls. When U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles blocked the latter law, Republicans responded by castigating Eagles as a biased Obama appointee. Then, when a Democratic majority on the state supreme court struck down a retooled election board bill, Berger declared that the Democrats on the Supreme Court delivered a partisan decision for their Democratic governor.

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Elsewhere in the country, anxious Republicans have played similar games. The New Hampshire GOP has seized upon Donald Trumps claims of voter fraud in the state to suppress the franchise. Republicans have already passed one bill that tightens the documentation requirements for new voters, and allows law enforcement to interrogate voters at their homes if they fail to provide the necessary paperwork. When a state judge blocked part of the act, the state GOP scorned Democrats for cherry picking a liberal judge. Republicans are now poised to pass another bill that would force all new voters to pay hundreds of dollars to obtain a New Hampshire drivers license and register their car with the state. The bill is aimed squarely at college students, whom the state GOP blames for swinging elections toward Democrats.

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Virginia Republicans have also borrowed ideas from North Carolina. Under current law, the Virginia elections board is composed of three members, with two from the governors party, and overseen by a commissioner chosen by the governor. Over the last four years, under Democratic control, the board helped streamline the process of registration and voting. Now Republicans want to overhaul the board to abolish its Democratic edge. In January, a subcommittee voted along party lines to expand the board to six membersthree Republicans and three Democratswith a commission chosen by those members instead of Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat. The result would be a perpetually deadlocked body incapable of acting to protect Virginians access to the ballot.

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Its easy to see why Republicans feel empowered to attack courts and interfere with elections. President Donald Trump has a history of condemning judges who rule against him on the basis of their ethnicity or decisions. He is egged on by conservative commentators who call for the impeachment of judges who rule against him and peddle the myth of a judicial resistance. He has insisted voter fraud is rampant in swing states, including New Hampshire and Virginia, and put together a failed commission designed to justify a federal voter suppression law. In many respects, the GOP is rotting from the head down.

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Thus far, the Pennsylvania GOPs tantrum has amounted to little more than impotent whining. We should still take it seriously. Republicans long-term goal is to delegitimize any institution that limits their power. By calling for the impeachment of the judges who ruled against Pennsylvanias political gerrymander, Rep. Dush is simply making this project explicit. His impeachment push will almost certainly fail, but his zeal to kneecap the court may inspire a new round of legislative attacks on its independence. Dush is testing the limits of the GOP rebellion against the rule of law. We ignore his stunt at our own peril.
Donald Trump wants a parade. Real bad. And not just any parade, a big military one just like hes seen on TV from far off lands where usually the size of the tanks is compensating for other, more significant shortcomings. It makes sense a parade, unconvoluted in its messaging, would appeal to Trumps pervasive sense of nostalgia for a time when orchestrated displays of bravado werent considered crass, but quaint. In fact, Trumps mused publicly about just such a military exhibition. Then, last month, the presidents brain asked his mouth to make it happen.

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From the Washington Post:

[A] Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagons tank a room reserved for top-secret discussionsmarked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning Trumps seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said. The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France, said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.

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There are questions of cost, the Post points out, but a White House official assures the news outlet all thats been completed is brainstorming, nothing is set in stone. The bigger question is: why is the president brainstorming about this? Doesnt he have tweets to send? Under normal circumstances, this doesnt seem like something that would rise to the level of the president, but Trump needs projects to keep him occupied. The tradition of military hardware inching down capital streets might ring a wee bit totalitarian to the average American thats not on Snapchat, but Trump is, of course, the Godzilla of democracy.

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The impetus behind Trumps move to stage a military parade is that he saw one that he liked and now he wants one too. Last year, during a Bastille Day celebration in France, the Post describes Trump reacting to the military parade that day much like a 7-year-old. Trump was awestruck by the tableau of uniformed French troops marching down Avenue des Champs-Elysees with military tanks, armored vehicles, gun trucks and carrierscomplete with fighter jets flying over the Arc de Triomphe and painting the sky with streaks of blue, white and red smoke for the colors of the French flag, the Post recalls. Flags! Colored smoke! Guns and tanks! Gimme, I want one. It was one of the greatest parades Ive ever seen, Trump told reporters. It was two hours on the button, and it was military might, and I think a tremendous thing for France and for the spirit of France. Were going to have to try to top it, Trump added.

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Its not totally clear when or where the hypothetical parade will take place. Trump officials had discussed Memorial Day on May 28, and July 4, but the Pentagon prefers Veterans Day on Nov. 11in part because it would coincide with 100th anniversary of the victorious end of World War I and therefore be less associated with the president and politics, according to the Post. It is unclear what role Trump would play, whether he may perhaps serve as a grand marshal or observe the spectacle from a reviewing stand. Those are just two options though. A third possible role for Trump would be tank driver.
Ginger farmers breathe sigh of relief after India lifts ban

Ginger growers in the district have been elated by the Indian governments recent decision to lift the ban on ginger export.
Trump University is back in the news! And the news is that the president still has to pay $25 million to his former students, who sued him for ripping them off:

A federal appeals court has upheld the $25 million settlement President Donald Trump agreed to in a bid to resolve long running lawsuits claiming fraud in his Trump University real estate seminar venture.

Thats from Politico, which explains that the appeals court had heard a challenge that originated not with Trump but with one of the approximately 4,000 plaintiffs involved in the class-action suit. (The plaintiff asked to opt out of the settlement and pursue her own litigation, but her request was denied.)

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If you dont recall, Trump University ostensibly existed to educate students about the ins and outs of the real-estate business; in reality it involved instructors who may not have had high school degrees selling intellectually flimsy seminars that cost tens of thousands of dollars using infomercial-style high-pressure sales tactics. The for-profit institution was ultimately forced to change its name (becoming the Trump Entrepreneur Initiative) by New York officials who wrote that its use of the word university  was misleading and violated state law. When disgruntled students lawsuits became an issue during the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump disparaged the judge handling the casesa highly regarded former prosecutor who has Mexican ancestry but was born in Indianaas a Mexican who was biased against him because of  Mexico:

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I have a judge who is a hater of Donald Trump, a hater. Hes a hater. His name is Gonzalo Curiel and he is not doing the right thing. So what happens is the judge, who happens to be, we believe, Mexican, which is great. I think thats fine. You know what? I think the Mexicans are going to end up loving Donald Trump when I give all these jobs, OK? I think theyre going to end up. I think theyre going to love me. So Ill be seeing you in November either as presidentand I will say this. I think Judge Curiel should be ashamed of himself. I think its a disgrace.

Cogent stuff. As it happens, Judge Curielwho was not one of the judges who ruled on the appeal that was just decidedis about to begin hearing a case that involves a dispute over the federal governments authority to implement certain border security measures including, yes, giant walls between the Southern U.S. and Mexico. Good times are here again!
White House aide Rob Porterwhose title was staff secretary and who was reportedly tasked with, among other jobs, filtering all the written material that Donald Trump seesresigned Wednesday after two publications reported that his two ex-wives have both accused him of physical abuse. One of the strange aspects of Porters resignation is that, at least when the first story about the allegations broke Tuesday night, top Trump officials issued statements vouching for Porters character and seemingly implying that his job was not at all in danger. Wrote chief of staff John Kelly:

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Rob Porter is a man of true integrity and honor and I cant say enough good things about him. He is a friend, a confidante and a trusted professional. I am proud to serve alongside him.

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And press secretary Sarah Sanders:

I have worked directly with Rob Porter nearly every day for the last year and the person I know is someone of the highest integrity and exemplary character. Those of us who have the privilege of knowing him are better people because of it.

This statement was issued by the White House at the same time and attributed to Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, Porters former boss:

Its incredibly discouraging to see such a vile attack on such a decent man. Shame on any publication that would print this  and shame on the politically motivated, morally bankrupt character assassins that would attempt to sully a mans good name. I know Rob. Ive known him for years, both as a close friend and as a personal advisor. He is kind and considerate towards all. The country needs more honest, principled people like Rob Porter, which is why I hope that this cynical campaign to discredit his character ultimately fails.

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(For his part, Porter says the allegations against him are simply false.)

All these statementsparticularly Hatchs!seem like the kind of things officials say when theyre closing ranks around someone who intends to counterattack against a storm of bad PRand, in fact, the Washington Post reported Wednesday that many senior officials, including Kelly, urged Porter to stay in his job at the White House rather than quit. Its a stance seemingly incompatible with the extent of the allegations made by Porters ex-wives in interviews with the Intercept, which the site corroborated via other sources. Both the Intercept and the Daily Mail also published graphic photos of a bruise that ex-wife Colbie Holderness says she sustained after Porter punched her in the face; the Intercept moreover says both women told the FBI about Porters alleged abusive behavior last year when they were contacted in reference to his prospective security clearance.

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We dont know when and if the FBI conveyed the results of its investigation to White House officials. However, Politico reports that chief of staff John Kelly was aware of a 2010 protective order that one of Porters accusers applied for, while CNN reports that the White House was generally aware of the nature of these allegations  for months. In sum, the administration not only left Porter in his job after finding out at least some of what he was accused of, it was prepared to stand by him from a public-relations standpoint even when it knew at least some of those accusationswhich are credible and detailedwere going to be aired publicly. What gives? Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo has one plausible-seeming theory:

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I think the translation of this is White House officials knew about Porter allegations "for months" but didn't know there were pictures. pic.twitter.com/yiG66cqdOj  Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) February 7, 2018

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For its part, Orrin Hatchs office has done a total 180. Heres Wednesdays statement:

I am heartbroken by todays allegations. In every interaction Ive had with Rob, he has been courteous, professional, and respectful. My staff loved him and he was a trusted advisor. I do not know the details of Robs personal life. Domestic violence in any form is abhorrent and unacceptable.

Thats less than 24 hours after calling Porters ex-wives morally bankrupt character assassins! It would seem that theres more to come about who in Washington, D.C. knew about Rob Porters history, and when they knew it.
President Trump on Tuesday called for a government shutdown if he doesnt get his way on immigration. To the horror of his communications office, the president actually said, Id love to see a shutdown, following an unrelated meeting at the White House.

The expression of love for a government shutdown isnt noteworthy just for its unorthodox political sentiment. Its also detached from the spending debate currently underway on Capitol Hill. There will be no immigration deal reached before the shutdown deadline, Thursday at midnight. Senate Democrats had already backed off their demand that the spending talks be linked to the status of nearly 2 million Dreamers.

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But immigration is related to the spending talks in a different way. Because Senate Democrats divorced the two issues, negotiators are suddenly on the cusp of reaching the long-term budget deal thats eluded Congress since last fall. That presents a big question to House Democrats: Should they supply the necessary votes for this budget deal without a path forward on Dreamers?

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After Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his Democratic counterpart, Chuck Schumer, met Tuesday morning, they each said that a budget agreement is in sight, and that they hoped to wrap it up imminently. When I asked Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, a leading appropriator, if there were still difficult decisions to be made, or if it was just a matter of finishing touches, he said the two sides are that close, separating his thumb and index finger by about a centimeter.

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Sometimes you get that close, and things happen, he said. Good and bad.

By late Tuesday afternoon, everyone on Capitol Hill was treating the budget deal as a sure thing.

It turns out the key to reaching a bipartisan budget deal is just to, well, throw a lot of money around. The two-year deal is expected to increase spending by about $300 billion over that period, much more than the previous spending deals reached in 2013 and 2015. It would vastly increase the defense budget and substantially boost domestic spending, if not precisely to the level of parity that Democrats have been demanding.

House Republicans are expected to pass their own funding bill on Tuesday night. If the Senate can reach its big deal before the Thursday deadline, then the expectation is that theyll strip the House bill and tack the budget deal onto the shell that remains. That process would give appropriators until late March to write a final package that funds the government through September.

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But the deal would also scramble the vote count as the clock ticks toward another shutdown.

A caps deal that vastly expands domestic spending would lose conservative votes in both chambers. These conservatives, who are not the most compromise-minded individuals, want military spending sent through the roof and domestic spending cut to the bone. They believe they can heckle enough Senate Democrats into agreeing to that.

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The thinking seems to be that in order to get much-needed military spending, were gonna have to waste more taxpayer dollars on domestic spending, Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy told reporters Tuesday. It gives him a stomachache, he said, adding that he wasnt sure how he would vote on such a bill.

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In the Senate, leaders could lose conservatives like Kennedy, as well as the dozen or so Democratic senators who are running for president in 2020 and refuse to vote for spending bills that dont offer a resolution for Dreamers. But the Senate is an institution that thrives on sticking it to party bases. This shouldnt be too hard of a lift.

The House is a more interesting question.

Since December, Speaker Paul Ryan has relied exclusively on Republican votes to pass stop-gap bills. If the Senates spending caps deal raises domestic spending by a 12-digit number, it would lead to serious bleeding from the right flank of the partyand even among the rank-and-file. North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus, told reporters Tuesday that he believed such a deal could lose about 90 Republican votes. (He added that the number would increase if the Senate also attaches a debt ceiling increase to the bill, something thats still being debated.) This would require Ryan to turn to Democrats to supply a substantial number missing votes.

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Many House Democrats are furious at their colleagues in the Senate for selling them out on Dreamers. Though the Senate will have an open debate and amendment next week on an immigration bill, House Democrats have been promised no such thing in their own chamber, which is why theyve wanted it tacked on to a piece of must-pass legislation. The stakes were raised on Tuesday when Ryan made his presumed position official: He would not bring immigration legislation to the floor without Trumps support.

If negotiators can finalize a caps deal and attach it to the Senates funding bill, watch House Democrats. How much would they ask for? And what would they be willing to settle for?
If youre not Donald Trump, its pretty clear that the U.S. federal governments response to the devastation of Hurricane Maria last September has been woefully inadequate. The response has been fraught with clear signs of corruption, trademark Trump quarreling, and general organizational ineptitude. Meanwhile, Trump has lobbed paper towels to desperate Puerto Ricans, while smearing lipstick all over the disasters face. But if that all seemed bad, a New York Times report Tuesday that a FEMA contractor delivered only 50,000 of the 30 million meals the company was contracted to provide, is possibly the worst tale of government malfeasance so far. The governments Maria response wasnt a relief effort; this was a land grab, a collection of kickbacks bundled like toxic mortgages in a credit default swap.

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The details of the food delivery contract are even worse than it sounds. The $156 million contract to deliver the tens of millions of meals to Puerto Ricans struggling to rebuild was granted to Tribute Contracting LLC. The companys sole employee is also its owner, Tiffany Brown. Brown, an Atlanta-based entrepreneur, the Times notes, had no experience in large-scale disaster relief and at least five canceled government contracts in her past when she was awarded the largest direct meals contract of the 2017 hurricane season.

It gets even worse. From the Times:

Ms. Brown, who is adept at navigating the federal contracting system, hired a wedding caterer in Atlanta with a staff of 11 to freeze-dry wild mushrooms and rice, chicken and rice, and vegetable soup. She found a nonprofit in Texas that had shipped food aid overseas and domestically, including to a Houston food bank after Hurricane Harvey. By the time 18.5 million meals were due, Tribute had delivered only 50,000. And FEMA inspectors discovered a problem: The food had been packaged separately from the pouches used to heat them. FEMAs solicitation required self-heating meals.

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Do not ship another meal. Your contract is terminated, the FEMA contracting officer emailed Brown on Oct. 19. Four days later, on Oct. 23, the contract was officially terminated, just 20 days after it was signed.

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Still somehow it gets worse.

Brown admits she didnt have the money to finance to project but insists she wasnt awarded the contract as part of a sweetheart deal. I got it because I had a very good proposal and understanding of what was needed, she told CNN. Here is what I can say, Ive had challenges with government contracts in the past. The primary reason is financial resources, and lack of support, she said. She says FEMA was the real problem. They need to really shore up their infrastructure for payment for their contractors, Brown said. If you want someone to provide a service of $155 million, you really should pay or wire transfer within 24 hours or pay a percentage.

Brown told CNN she plans to sue the government for $70 million.
Without any fanfare, Twitter rolled out a new feature globally on Tuesday that changes the way tweets look when embedded on other websites, like in news stories. Now, instead of showing how many times a tweet has been retweeted, the company is displaying a new metric that includes a combination of replies and retweets that shows how many people are talking about this. Its a change the company confirmed to Slate on Tuesday evening, but has not yet announced publicly. It looks like this:

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what did we do to deserve dogs pic.twitter.com/NkjbanT9gu  kiersten (@kierstennamber) September 10, 2015

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The company started experimenting with new ways to show how many people engaged with a tweet late last year, according to Twitter spokesperson Dan Jackson. We found that people viewing Tweets off-platform were more likely to engage with them when we focused on providing conversational context, Jackson said. In other words, if a tweet shows up on a news story read by someone who isnt a Twitter user, seeing that its been retweeted thousands of times might not make much sense. But Twitter believes that knowing how many people are sharing and commentingthat is, talking about the tweetis a clearer indicator of popularity for those who arent familiar with how Twitter works.

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By being less specific about the how much tweets embedded around the internet are shared, Twitter is in a way downgrading the importance of retweets as an overall indicator of a popularity. Its also a move that could help counteract the social networks massive bot infestation; bots are automated accounts that use software to act on their own to tweet, follow, and retweet others. (There are also bots that automatically reply to tweets, but they are less common.)

Russian-linked bots retweeted Donald Trumps tweet almost 500,000 times in the final weeks before the 2016 presidential election, according to testimony the company provided for the Senate Judiciary Committee last month. The Russian-bot retweets accounted for 4.25 percent of all retweets from Trumps account between September 1 and November 15, 2016. To put that in perspective, Twitter said Hillary Clinton received nearly 48,000 retweets from Russia-linked bots during the same time period, meaning the accounts retweeted Trump 10 times more than Clinton in the run-up to and days immediately after Election Day. Last month, Twitter also said its removed more than 50,000 Russia-linked bots as part of its larger effortalong with Facebook and Googleto purge Kremlin-backed accounts that flooded U.S. social media networks around the 2016 election that were being used to spread divisive messages and confuse voters on some of Americas most polarizing social and political issues, like gun control, racial profiling, and Donald Trump.

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When thousands of Twitter bots retweet a missive, particularly a political one, it can give the impression that the message has larger grassroots support than it actually does, since a retweet generally indicates that someone found the content of the post interesting or important enough to spread to their followers. If a large number of the retweets arent coming from a real person and is then being embedded on a news website, the result is misleading. When a tweet appears to have been retweeted thousands of times, its reasonable to conclude the sentiment is shared by thousands of others.

For its part, Twitter has said that its making strides in cleaning up its bot problem. It now blocks 523,000 suspicious logins every day for being automated, the company said in a January blog post. Twitter says its become better at spotting things like when a bot replies faster to a tweet than a human could and when multiple tweets are suspiciously timed. Some extra thoughtfulness in tackling this problem is important, because not all automation on Twitter is bad thing. Artists make bots that tweet from archives and pull together strings of words to make poetry, not the mention bots that live tweet events, such as information about earthquakes as theyre reported by the United States Geological Survey for places that are at risk, like the Bay Area and Los Angeles.

With this latest move, beating back bots probably isnt the main motivation. Its likely the idea is simply to use less language that only people who already use Twitter would understand. But even so, removing the retweet count on embedded tweets that end up in news stories and replacing it with a broader metric does take away some of the bots raison detreat least until they figure out how to game this measurement, too.
Marketing strategies are not as straight-forward as they once were. Gone are the days of billboards, newspaper ads, and brochures. Online content marketing is quickly paving the way as a lead marketing choice, due to its ability to reach a large audience. But did you know that, with a strategic plan, its low cost is also a benefit to many small businesses?

Statistics prove that more and more business owners are understanding the value in content marketing each year. A Twitter survey hosted in 2017 revealed that 91 percent of respondents are participating in content marketing, which is strong evidence to support its popularity and effectiveness. It takes an experienced hand to know how to make your content marketing strategy work, but only 53 percent of those respondents stated they have a content specialist on their payroll. This is evidence that many business owners are handling their content marketing on their own.

How to Create Content on a Budget

If youre one of the thousands of small businesses trying to navigate the process of successful content marketing on your own, use the following four tips to stay on pace without blowing your budget.

Tip 1: Document a Strategy

You dont have to take Marketing 101 to know that a defined marketing plan is a necessity for businesses across industries. Because of the massive amount of technology available, marketing plans are no longer simple strategies. The intent of marketing is to reach the largest audience possible, so your platform must be wide and varied. Simply updating a business website monthly is inadequate and will not draw in a steady amount of internet traffic.

You should work to develop and document a multi-tiered strategy, so your content marketing can reach a larger audience. Use the three methods listed below to focus your marketing to a responsive audience using the most cost-effective means:

1. Identify (or Redefine) Your Audience. If you havent already, you should create an individual persona for the audience you want to reach by determining target age, gender, lifestyles and income. Think of your content marketing as the light through a magnifying glass, concentrating the light beam in one specific area. This will save you costs associated with marketing to unresponsive audiences. From there, decide how this individual may spend their time online. Do they enjoy blogs, social media or news content? That will determine the type of content you need to deliver.

2. Create an Editorial Calendar. Create an amazing editorial calendar to ensure you remain consistent when delivering your content. It will clue you in to when the content needs to be created and how often it should be distributed. Your audience will come to depend on your consistency, and then your site will become a trusted resource for your customers.

3. With the help of your editorial calendar, you can follow a consistent distribution timeline. Never neglect content targeting and timing when youre content marketing on a budget. You must publish the content for the right people at the right time. Dont be afraid to get creative with your content, but make sure it is appropriate for current events. Holidays, large sporting events, and important news items can all be tied into your marketing strategy. This will generate more traffic, be more engaging for your audience, and get you the biggest bang for your buck.

Tip 2: Mix Up Your Content

Variety is the spice of content marketing, especially when working on a strict budget. You should switch up your content topics as well as your delivery method. Dont settle for short blurbs on your websites blog or social media account. Browse websites and timelines to understand what your target audience is talking about and use it to your advantage. Industry news, trends and new legislation that affects your audience are always useful.

If your content is an article one week, consider combining it with a video or podcast the next. Create memes if you think your audience will appreciate them. If you are not technologically inclined, a quick Google search of how to create cheap marketing videos for blogs can assist. It is also possible to repurpose videos or memes for your own use, as long as copyrights do not apply.

You should also alternate the format and length of your content. It can take the form of short and concise 400-word posts or much longer articles. If you have the time, create long-form posts or white papers. Ebooks are also an option that can separate you from competitors and substantiate your brand as an informative and thorough resource. Creating different formats will establish you as well-versed and flexible within your market. People like to trust the companies they do business with, so educate them, open up conversations and invite them to actually enjoy your marketing content.

Tip 3: Recruit Guest Posters

One creative and free technique to create content is to invite guest posters to contribute to your media platforms. Many business experts, bloggers or other professionals would like help publicizing their names. When guest posters create original posts for your sites, you will receive free content, while they receive publicity. This is a win-win for both parties.

See Also: Tips to Become an Authority Through Content Marketing

And dont forget to be creative with your guest choices. Past customers of your business, experts in your field and local celebrities are all possible options. Be open to anyone who can provide high-quality, free content that your audience would enjoy. If you choose to market with this option, be sure to include a button for guest submissions on your website to help recruit posters.

Tip 4: Hire Outside Help

The task of marketing your content may seem daunting or time-consuming, but there is always the option of hiring someone to do it for you. If this is the path you choose, be aware of a few red flags, especially if you are trying to content market on a tight budget.

Freelancers are an option, but they are typically the most expensive option. Many freelancers charge up to $200 per post. On the flip side of that coin are seemingly reliable U.S.-based companies that often outsource their projects to non-native English speakers. This option is often very cheap, around $10 per post. As you can imagine, the writing quality is low and can cause rank penalties.

The safest option for hiring a company is to remain somewhere in the middle of those two options. With a strict budget, you need to find reliable yet affordable options for content creation. Look for a company that offers fixed pricing and only hires college-educated, U.S.-based writers and editors. This affordable option will help you remain within your budget while delivering the high-quality content your audience deserves.

Last years marketing trends are an indicator of how important content marketing will be in 2018. Your business should participate in content marketing to remain competitive within your verticals. If you are too busy or dont have the staff to create the strategy and content yourself, make it a priority to hire an affordable company to do it for you!
Theres a good chance that your sales processes are broken, according to a recent study from workflow automation software company Nintex.

Nintexs Definitive Guide to Americas Most Broken Processes report details just how frustrated employees, including sales professionals, tend to be with regards to their employers manual processes. The report includes some insights that could help small businesses looking to improve processes to support their sales staff so they can spend less time on administrative tasks and more time actually selling.

How to Fix Your Sales Process

Here are some tips for businesses looking to make positive changes to their sales processes.

Have a Set System for Document Management

If the members of your sales staff are constantly sorting through paper documents to find information on a client or attempting to create their own system to stay organized, that can take up a lot of their selling time. In fact, Nintexs study found that 39 percent of employees have observed broken document management and sales processes in their organization. So this appears to be a major problem for businesses.

Instead, utilize a platform like Google Docs or Dropbox, or even a more robust system like Nintex, and outline how exactly employees should file their documents. Maybe youll have folders for specific types of documents or clients and keep items filed by client name alphabetically.

Ryan Duguid, senior Vice President of technology strategy at Nintex told Small Business Trends, With so many qualified salespeople spending more time than necessary simply finding and sharing documents and data, valuable hours, opportunities and dollars are left on the table.

Streamline Contract Approval

Getting sales contracts approved is also a major pain point for sales professionals, according to Nintex. The study found that 27 percent of employees believe the process of getting a sales contract signed, negotiated and approved is flawed. So this is a process you should definitely examine in your own business. There are plenty of virtual signature options out there that you can use to get everything signed and filed quickly, rather than relying on your staff to meet with clients and managers or supervisors in person just to get a few signatures.

Automate Where Possible

The theme of all these broken processes is that theyre tedious tasks that could simply be automated, as long as youre willing to invest in the automation tools that will support your sales staff. Using a CRM can help you automate communication with customers. And tools like Nintex also give companies a way to automate things like document generation and workflows. These tools do represent an investment for your business. But Duguid argues that the benefits far outweigh that cost over the long run.

He says, Even for small businesses, executives need to realize the impact that effective automation can have on productivity and ROI, as well as employee satisfaction.

Provide CRM Training

However, simply investing in a CRM or automation system isnt enough for a business to fix every broken process. Your employees also have to be able to use it effectively. According to a study from Introhive, 60 percent of sales professionals say they use CRM tools daily. But only 23 percent of them said that their CRM is very easy to use when looking for insights.

So to actually make the most of your CRM, you have to first choose the right option for your team  one that will make insight discovery simple. Then you have to actually teach your sales staff how to use it to uncover those insights. Both of these steps can take some time and trial and error. But its an important process if you want people to be able to actually use the information you collect.

Brent Leary of CRM Essentials said as part of the study, Using a system that brings to your attention and surfaces

an insight that is relevant to your customer today can help salespeople build a strong customer relationship. Thats why these systems are so important  you cant do it on your gut anymore, you need a system to help find a solution to your customers problem.

See Also: Legalized Marijuana Sales Cause Drop in Alcohol Sales

Evaluate Your Current Systems Constantly

There are already so many automation tools out there. But there are new ones coming out constantly that could make an impact on your business. However, adopting new technology and processes can be difficult for businesses once they get into routines. So you have to set aside time to evaluate processes on a regular basis.

Duguid says, Broken processes are typically deeply embedded in a workplaces culture. Therefore, organizations need to do their due diligence when it comes to identifying and addressing inefficiencies and chart a plan to make improvements, automating one process at a time. Ask: what manual processes are our employees completing by hand that could easily be digitized? Next, evaluate which types of intelligent process automation platforms could improve processes quickly and affordably. This could mean implementing a cloud-based intelligent process automation platform like Nintex to automate, orchestrate and optimize business processes.

Related reading: Creating a Sales Process for Your Business
Phishing scams  There are so many. Cyberspace is an awesome frontier, but just as in those old Western movies, attacks can come from any horizon. Most are ambushes.

I have two phishing emails in my junk mail now. One is from Donna, and hey, I do have a friend named Donna. However, my friend Donna wouldnt say as a subject line, Hey do we meet before. The other is from a cell phone company I dont use, asking me to claim my $50 refund.

Lets talk about the types of Phishing scams, how they can affect both individuals and businesses, and steps you can take to prevent them.

What is a Phishing Scam?

In short, these scams are attempts to get information such as account numbers and passwords. That information is then most commonly used to steal money or accomplish identity theft.

How do Phishing Scams Work?

There are thousands of attempts by attackers every day. The attackers most often masquerade as a trusted source.

For example, business people use common delivery services such as FedEx and UPS. They may order via Amazon. They use credit cards to complete the orders. Since we are regular customers, we trust these entities. And scammers know this, and use it to their advantage.

Lets make up a scenario. The owner of a small business is getting increasingly irate. Time-sensitive materials were ordered, but havent yet been delivered. If the materials dont arrive soon, production will stop for the remainder of the day.

Aha! The small business owner sees an email from the delivery service stating that theres a problem with payment. The owner opens the email and fills in the requested information, which includes his credit card number.

Gotcha. Just like that. Caught in a vulnerable moment. The phishing email has worked.

There are many more methods of Phishing attacks:

Email Phishing Scams

These are common because it can be easy to get email address information. We commonly enter our email address as contact information with many companies. Thats why email phishing is the most common attack launched by scammers.

We can accept that its relatively easy for hackers to get our email address information. Most of the time, its easy to identify a scam message.

See Also: Following These 6 Tips Will Help You Avoid a Macro Phishing Attack

Here is a sample phishing email: Theres a problem with your account, and you must confirm information.

Here is how to respond: There could actually be a problem with an account. Dont respond to the email. Make a phone call directly to the account.

Whaling and Spear Phishing Attacks

Just as it sounds, these are attacks by cyber criminals on the big fish such as companies and/or a company CEO.

The attackers for these phishing campaigns has a higher level of sophistication. In law enforcement, those who break the law are called actors.

There are levels of skill to these criminal actors. Whaling and Spear Phishing are extremely well-planned with a high degree of organization. They arent just trying to get one person  bad enough. They are trying to take down a business.

Most often, the victims fall prey to personalized phishing emails that looks like they came from within the company  from a fellow employee or from the boss. The phishing emails may seem very believable, with a subject line that is appropriate to some ongoing company business.

More Common Phishing Techniques

Basic email scams and spear phishing attacks may be the main types of phishing, but there are plenty of other phishing techniques you should be keeping an eye out for.

Business Email Compromise Scams or CEO Fraud

Once you know how this works, you can take steps to prevent it. This fraud may be the worst of all, because it can take down an organization.

First, the sneak attack begins as the infiltrator researches the CEO or manager. Next, typically, a specific employee is contacted, usually through emails. A fraudulent request is made and research shows  the request comes when the CEO or manager is out of the office.

How do they know this? Scammers are smart, wickedly smart. Part of their research may show that the CEO will be attending a certain sales meeting or convention, as announced on the company site. They may choose an employee from the same data source  a new hire is announced.

Smishing Attacks or Fraudulent Text Messages

The name Smishing comes from combing SMS and Phishing. And thats just what it is. Its scam phishing via text message. Recipients will see the same types of phishing messages that are used with email, such as problem with delivery or credit card has been compromised. There are mobile applications (apps) that effectively block spam text messages.

Malware Phishing

This type of message has viruses, worms, spyware or other malware imbedded within it. Open the message  whether its delivered via email or text message- and the recipients quickly turn into victims.

Search Engine Phishing

If youre surfing the web  shopping for supplies or information  you are vulnerable every time you click on a link. You can inadvertently click on scam phishing websites. These scam web sites may be imbedded as a submenu.

The website and/or the submenu look legitimate, in fact, scammers can make the sites look as if they are the actual company. They use getty images of logos to make the link look real.

Heres how to defeat this. Before clicking on any link, look at the URL address for the link. Although a site can look real, you cant fake the URL. The URL link for a fake website will often be a jumble of letters and numbers.

DNS Service Phishing

This scam is Domain Name Server hacking. This is another sophisticated attack, and the scammer can infiltrate via domain names, and actually take over routers. If thats accomplished, the door is open wide to obtain all kinds of data, including passwords, account information, phone numbers and other information. If you think this has happened, immediately call your internet service provider, and your bank and credit card company.

Pharming

Pharming is insidious. A hacker slips a malicious code into your computer. This code directs you to a link for fake sites.

Social Media Phishing

This phishing scam takes the form of spying. Its as if someone was looking over your shoulder. A hacker infiltrates, and records what keystrokes you are making.

This is called Keylogging. It can be recording data you enter, such as the letters, numbers and symbols for a password.

Malvertising

This is also called Clickjacking. Malware is included in online ads and all internet users are suseptible when they click on a link. Malvertising is a particularly successful cyber attack, because well, we cant resist a good deal.

Man-In-The-Middle-Attack

Pure evil, and feared by companies. Emails are intercepted by hackers, and altered before they are continue the recipients. Pictures emails being batted back and forth between two employees, while a crocodile periodically launches from the water, grabs the email, maims it, and sends it on its way.

Clone Phishing

Similar to Man-In-The-Middle. Messages between people are intercepted. Theres a difference though. Often, a new message is created and the new message refers to information in a previous email.

Vishing

These are phishing attempts delivered via phone calls, voice mail and/or VOIP calls. Same drill  sound like messages from credit card companies or even a bank. Dont fall for it. But, could it be real? Call the organization directly.

Phishing Attack Examples

We want to notify you of some suspicious activity on your credit card account. We want to notify you of some problems with your bank accounts. Please confirm your account information for our website. Heres a coupon for free samples. Just visit our website. You are eligible for a refund.

Those are some examples of typical phishing attack examples. As a response to each one, make a phone call.

What are the Signs of Phishing?

They often make an error in either grammar or spelling. The URL for a website is strange. The attachment is suspicious. The greeting is, well, strange. Such as Hello, dear. A sense of desperate urgency is conveyed. Theres a request for details about accounts.

Reporting Suspected Phishing

Yes, youre busy and phishing is so rampant. And when you look at the phishing statistics it can be overwhelming and its tough to keep up with any kind of response. But if all phishing isnt reported, itll never diminish and preventing hacking attacks is everyones responsibility. Because each report gives authorities more information how to stop the attacks.

Forward emails to reportphishing@apwg.org. Forward texts to SPAM (7726).

How To Prevent Your Business Falling Victim to Phishing Attacks

Use email signing certificates. Use top notch computer security software and update it regularly. Conduct training for employees. Require multifactor identification (more than 2 credentials). Back up data.

What Are Phishing Kits?

As phishing is like fishing, a phishing kit is like a tackle box. Its a collection of software tools assembled by a scammer. If one doesnt work, the scammer will have other lures to choose from.

What are current phishing scams?

Wow, its cool to have hundreds of FB friends. But a current scam is via the seemingly-innocuous friend request. Your new BFF now trolls your page to glean as much personal information as possible.

This information can be parlayed into use with the Business Email Compromise or CEO fraud scams. Keep a careful watch and rein on what you reveal on your FB page or any public site, such as a group.

How to spot and thwart a phishing email

Watch for errors in grammar and misspellings. If in doubt, contact the source directly. Dont respond to the email. Remember that reputable companies dont ask for personal information by email (or text). Dont open attachments. If the email is work related, contact IT.

How does someone steal your credit card numbers and use them?

Here are some of the ways:

Phishers call or text and ask for info. Always remember that reputable companies dont call you and ask for personal info. Dont give out credit card info over the phone unless you have initiated the call. Phishers use fake sites. If youre online shopping or ordering, look for the https heading for the URL, and the lock symbol on the site.

What are the two types of phishing attack methods?

Email phishing is the most common form of phishing attack. Spear phishing is the same, but different, because the victim is used to spear a bigger fish. Heres how.

The phishing email is typically an attack on an individual, to get data from that person. Spear fishing may attack an individual, but the aim is to use that individual to get to the bigger fish such as an entire business.
Govt awaits AG Offices advice

The government decision to continue Dr Jagdish Agrawal as the Dean of Institute of Medicine (IoM) hangs in the balance as the Attorney General Office has yet to give its final advice on the matter.
Hungarian state opera tours Slovakia. Where can you see it?

Due to the closure and renovation of its residence, the Hungarian State Opera, including its ballet section, has embarked on a tour that makes three stops in Slovakia.

The building of Hungarian State Opera will be closed for renovaiton, and so the ensemble will tour - also Slovakia. (Source: Courtesy of HSO)

The Hungarian State Opera in Budapest will present its upcoming "Carpathian Homeland Opera Tour" in Slovakia. Between February 8 and 13, in six performances in three venues, it will play national gems: the Laszlo Hunyadi opera by Ferenc Erkel, and the ballet version of famous operetta by Franz Lehar, The Merry Widow (Vesela vdova).

As the historical building of the Hungarian State Opera will be closed for 18 months due to renovation, we decided to make a tour along the Slovak border with our pieces, general manager of the Hungarian State Opera, Szilveszter Okovacs said in Bratislava on January 31, as quoted by the TASR newswire. We want to lure the Hungarian ethnic minority living close to the common border but also representatives of the majority population.

The opera troupe, with about 400 members including top artists, will make a full version of their stagings, including orchestra, choir, ballet ensemble, soloists, conductors and technical staffers. The operation is possible thanks to the financial support of the Hungarian government, as well as logistic support from the Slovak side, including the Slovak National Theatre (SND).

What Hungarian opera, ballet brings to Slovakia

The opera Laszlo Hunyadi is the second opera by Erkel but his first real masterpiece that is often played by various opera houses, Okovacs told TASR. He added that Erkel spent some time in Bratislava, then called Pressburg/Pozsony/Presporok. His son was the music teacher of the world-renowned composer, Bela Bartok. The opera will be performed in Hungarian, with Hungarian and Slovak subtitles.

The Merry Widow, on the other hand, a famous work by Lehar, was adapted for ballet by British choreographer Ronald Hynd in 1975 for the Australian Ballet. Okovacs stressed that despite the ballet version, all popular and famous musical pieces have been preserved.

SND representatives stressed the importance of the Hungarian State Opera, the fact that it will also perform within the Eurokontext festival on June 7, and hopefully also give guest performances in September, SNDs head of ballet section, Jozef Dolinsky, told TASR.

On February 8, the opera by Ferenc Erkel will be staged in the Angels Arena in Kosice; the next day the merry ballet will take place in the same venue. On February 10, Laszlo Hunyadi will be performed in the Milenium Arena in Nove Zamky, and on February 11, visitors there will get to see The Merry Widow.

On February 12 and 13, these Hungarian works will be offered (respectively) in the Incheba Expo Arena in Bratislava. All performances start at 19:00 and tickets  to be purchased via the Eventim ticket website  cost 10. They can be also bought at Dr. Horak in Medena 19 in the capital.

7. Feb 2018 at 16:02 | Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovska
Foreigners, do you want to open a bank account?

The Slovak Spectator addressed six banks in Slovakia, asking them what documents foreigners need to open an account in a Slovak bank.

Are you a foreigner with plans to settle and work in Slovakia? Do you plan to open an account in a Slovak bank so your employer can send you your paycheck? If so, be prepared for phone calls or personal visits to the banks branches.

If you are a Slovak, all you need to set up a bank account is your ID card. Foreigners, however, need to provide far more documents.

Another problem is apart from one, none of the banks publish the conditions on their websites. For banks that do not list their conditions, potential clients should either call the bank's helpline or visit the branch in person.

The banks addressed by The Slovak Spectator confirmed they do not plan to make any changes.

What do the banks require?

7. Feb 2018 at 15:28 | Radka Minarechova
Students change prime ministers mind

Prime Minister Robert Fico promises to allocate 50 million to reconstruct university residence halls.

Up to 50 million should be spent on the reconstruction of university halls of residence in the following two years.

The government will allocate 20 million this year. If the project ends up costing more, Prime Minister Robert Fico promised to allocate additional funds, the TASR newswire reported.

Read also:

Read also: Too little, too late Read more

The decision comes after the students wrote a letter to the prime minister in late January, reminding him of a promise he made two years to allocate 50 million for the project during his pre-election campaign.

After the elections, the Education Ministry was given to the Slovak National Party (SNS), and Smer forgot about it, the Dennik N daily reported.

Reconstruction as well as insulation

No other government has openly talked about money for reconstructing halls of residence, Fico said after meeting with rectors on February 7, as quoted by TASR.

He added it is not possible to spend 50 million this year, mostly due to difficulties and the character of the public procurement.

At the same time, the buildings will also be insulated through the so-called EPC projects. They result from closing deals with selected energy service providers and owners of the buildings, while the costs of modernisation are funded by the money saved on operation, TASR reported.

If rectors exceed the 20 million allocated for this year, the government will give them more.

I welcome the agreement, its a correct one, said Rudolf Kropil, chair of the Slovak Rectors Conference, as quoted by TASR. Weve confirmed the processes specified two years ago.

Gradual concessions

Though Fico said after meeting the rectors that they made the promise two years ago, when the students sent a letter in late January, it seemed like both the Smer party and the Finance Ministry led by Peter Kazimir would not keep the pre-election pledge, Dennik N wrote.

The promises of the previous government are the promises of the previous government, Kazimir said, as quoted by Dennik N.

Smer claimed that since it did not receive enough votes to create a one-party cabinet, it would not be able to keep the promise in a coalition cabinet, the daily reported.

Fico, however, started making gradual concessions. After the meeting of the coalition parties leaders in late January, he said that they would immediately allocate 10 million, and another 10 the following year. Neither students nor rectors were satisfied, claiming some halls of residence are in a critical condition and require higher investments.

On February 5, the prime minister claimed he would pay off all invoices of reconstruction carried out this year. Finally, he said after meeting with rectors on February 7 that the schools will receive 50 million.

It took two weeks for Fico and Education Minister Martina Lubyova (SNS nominee) to meet with rectors, Dennik N wrote.

7. Feb 2018 at 19:50 | Compiled by Spectator staff
High-speed internet for every village

By the end of 2020, all municipalities in Slovakia should have high-speed internet coverage.

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Telecom operators promised to bring high-speed internet coverage to each and every municipality around Slovakia within three years. Officials from Orange Slovensko, O2 Slovakia and Slovak Telekom made this commitment in a memorandum of cooperation with the Office of Deputy-Prime Minister for Investments and Informatisation, led by Peter Pellegrini.

To remove white spots from the map of Slovakia is one of the priorities of my office, so I am very glad that we managed to reach an accord with the operators, Pellegrini said on February 6, as cited by the Pravda daily. By the end of 2020, every village in Slovakia should have the possibility to connect to high-speed internet, which I consider fantastic.

In 2015, the National Agency for Network and Electronic Services (NASES) counted up to 1,808 municipalities without high-speed internet.

Operators have obligation to invest

The three major telecom operators, as well as the Local Internet Providers Association, have pledged to cover the country with internet through their own investments.

Digital infrastructure in this country is at least as important as transport infrastructure, stressed the deputy-PM, adding that this means there is an obligation for operators to invest hundreds of millions of euros. Pellegrini also told the Slovak government that they would be good partners and asked that they create the conditions necessary to implement such a large investment.

If the memorandums goal is met, Slovakia will belong among the leaders in the European Union without white spots, Pellegrini said. According to him, some 80 million has been allocated for expanding internet access in the Operational Programme Integrated Infrastructure.

Allocating money for free internet access

Slovakia will not have to invest in building optic cables in remote villages, and can thus shift the funds elsewhere. We would like to use some of this money for towns and villages that want to provide free internet access in their squares, libraries or hospitals, while another portion should be used to cover transport corridors, the deputy-prime minister said.

Talks will also be held with the Transport Ministry as the steering body of this operational programme, he added. If there are dozens of millions of euros left after financing wi-fi connections and covering railway corridors and highways, he would like to shift the money to covering motorway and expressway project documentation.

7. Feb 2018 at 20:45 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Police: Beware of Slovak witches

Scammers are using witchcraft to get money from their victims, warn Slovak police.

In Bratislava parking lots, drivers may meet a woman who is a witch/fortune teller. She offers them help to get rid of spells, informed Slovak police on social networks.

Police officers cite a specific case from one of the Bratislava parking lots, the TASR newswire wrote on February 7.

A driver described to police how a woman approached him when he was cleaning his car in the parking lot, telling him he was bewitched. She started to speak rapidly, without any break.

The driver gave her two euros to get rid of her but the alleged fortune teller ultimately managed to charm two more banknotes from him, totalling 30. Without truly realising why or how, he gave her the money, police report.

At the same parking lot, she allegedly discovered more people who needed help to be unspelled.

Thus, police warn of similar cases and advise that the solution is easy.

If anyone similar addresses you tell them that your personal unspellers have green cloaks, winking transmitters and small, black wands behind their belts  and that they will gladly come to your help, police write on Facebook, as cited by TASR.

7. Feb 2018 at 20:49 | Compiled by Spectator staff
Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia

By: Peter Pomerantsev

PublicAffairs; 1 edition (November 11, 2014)

256 pages

When I was in the 7th grade, the international school I went to overseas took a week-long field-trip to Russia. St. Petersburg and Moscow. I wanted so bad to go. My parents said I was too young. Even now, I dont know if they were right or wrong. Missing an adventure like that. Would I let my children do the same? Maybe they should have volunteered to come too. All I know for sure is that this book was an amazing read. It was eye-opening, to say the least. If you are interested in Russia  or a culture other than your own  read this book. And if you are going to Russia for a few days, please take me with you.

Two of my favorite quotes:

This isnt a country in transition but some sort of postmodern dictatorship that uses the language and institutions of democratic capitalism for authoritarian ends.

Politics is the ability to use any situation to advance your own status, Sergey told me with a smile that seemed to mimic Surkovs (who in turn mimics the KGB men). How do you define your political views? I asked him. He looked at me like I was a fool to ask, then smiled: Im a liberal . . . it can mean anything!
Lloyds Banking Group plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides a range of banking and financial services in the United Kingdom and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail; Commercial Banking; and Insurance and Wealth. The Retail segment offers a range of financial service products, including current accounts, savings accounts, mortgages, motor finance, unsecured loans, leasing solutions, credit cards, and other financial services to personal and small business customers. The Commercial Banking segment provides lending, transactional banking, working capital management, risk management, and debt capital market services to small and medium-sized entities, corporates, and financial institutions. The Insurance and Wealth segment offers life, home, and car insurance products; and pension, investment, and wealth management products and services. It also provides digital and mobile banking, and telephone services, as well as advisory services for savings, investments, and planning for retirement. The company offers its products and services under the Lloyds Bank, Halifax, Bank of Scotland, Scottish Widows, MBNA, Schroders Personal Wealth, Black Horse, Lex Autolease, Birmingham Midshires, LDC, IWeb, and Agricultural Mortgage Corporation brands. Lloyds Banking Group plc was founded in 1695 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.

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Itahari gang rape: SP, Inspector suspended

The Ministry of Home Affairs has suspended Superintendent of Police (SP) Bidyananda Majhi and Inspector Chiranjeevi Dahal for trying to settle a gang rape case by suggesting the victim to reconcile with perpetrators.
MIT engineers working with scientists in Kuwait have found that volcanic rocks, when pulverized into a fine ash, can be used as a sustainable additive in concrete structures. MIT engineers working with scientists in Kuwait have found that volcanic rocks, when pulverized into a fine ash, can be used as a sustainable additive in concrete structures. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MIT engineers working with scientists in Kuwait have found that volcanic rocks, when pulverized into a fine ash, can be used as a sustainable additive in concrete structures.

In a paper published online in the Journal of Cleaner Production, the researchers report that, by replacing a certain percentage of traditional cement with volcanic ash, they can reduce a concrete structure's "embodied energy," or the total energy that goes into making concrete. According to their calculations, it takes 16 percent less energy to construct a pilot neighborhood with 26 concrete buildings made with 50 percent volcanic ash, compared with the energy it takes to make the same structures entirely of traditional Portland cement.

When they ground volcanic ash down to increasingly small particle sizes, the researchers found that a mixture of the finer powder and Portland cement produced stronger concrete structures, compared with those made from cement alone. However, the process of grinding volcanic ash down to such fine particles requires energy, which in turn increases the resulting structure's embodied energy. There is, then, a tradeoff between a concrete structure's strength and its embodied energy, when volcanic ash is used.

Based on experiments with various concrete and volcanic ash mixtures, and calculations of the resulting structure's embodied energy, the researchers have mapped out the relationship between strength and embodied energy. They say engineers can use this relationship as a blueprint of sorts to help them choose, for instance, the percent of cement they would want to replace with volcanic ash to produce a given structure.

"You can customize this," says Oral Buyukozturk, a professor in MIT's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). "If it is for a traffic block, for example, where you may not need as much strength as, say, for a high-rise building. So you could produce those things with much less energy. That is huge if you think of the amount of concrete that's used over the world."

Buyukozturk is joined on a paper by an interdisciplinary team of researchers, including research scientist Kunal Kupwade-Patil and undergraduate Stephanie Chin of CEE, former doctoral student Catherine De Wolf and Professor John Ochsendorf of MIT's Department of Architecture, Ali Hajiah of the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, and Adil Al-Mumin of Kuwait University.

A natural additive

Concrete is the most abundantly used material in the world, second only to water. The manufacturing of concrete involves first blasting rocks such as limestone out from quarries, then transporting the rocks to mills, where they are further crushed and treated under high temperature through various processes resulting in the production of cement.

Such energy-intensive processes create a significant environmental footprint; the production of traditional Portland cement accounts for about 5 percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. To cut down on these emissions, Buyukozturk and others have been looking for sustainable additives and alternatives to cement.

Volcanic ash has several sustainable advantages as an additive in manufacturing concrete: The rocky material, which lies in ample supply around active and inactive volcanoes around the world, is naturally available; it is typically considered a waste material, as people typically do not use it for any widespread purpose; some volcanic ashes have intrinsic, "pozzolonic" properties, meaning that, in powder form, the ash with a reduced amount of cement can naturally bind with water and other materials to form cement-like pastes.

"Cement production takes a lot of energy because there are high temperatures involved, and it's a multistage process," says Chin, who with Kupwade-Patil led much of the group's experimental work as a student in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) with Buyukozturk. "That's the main motivation for trying to find an alternative. Volcanic ash forms under high heat and high pressure, and nature kind of does all those chemical reactions for us."

The team looked first at how much energy it would take to make concrete from a mixture of cement and volcanic ash, versus cement alone. To do this, the researchers consulted several databases in which others had calculated the embodied energy associated with various industrial processes, such as the energy that goes into crushing rock or curing cement. The researchers picked through the databases to assemble the individual processes associated with producing traditional cement and cement containing 10 to 50 percent volcanic ash.

They then went into the lab, where they manufactured small samples of concrete with various percentages of volcanic ash, as well as samples made only of Portland cement. Chin and her colleagues subjected each sample to standard tests of strength, such as compressing the structures until they began to crack. Then they mapped out each sample's strength against its calculated embodied energy.

According to their results, replacing 50 percent of traditional cement with volcanic ash with an average particle size of 17 micrometers can bring down concrete's embodied energy by 16 percent. However, at this particle size, volcanic ash can compromise concrete's overall strength. Grinding the ash down to a particle size of about 6 micrometers significantly increases concrete's strength, as smaller particles provide more surface area with which water and cement can chemically bind.

Cities of ash

The team extrapolated its results to see how structures made partly with volcanic ash would affect concrete's embodied energy at the scale of entire buildings and neighborhoods.

The researchers focused on a neighborhood in Kuwait with 13 residential and 13 commercial buildings, all made with traditional Portland cement, mostly imported from Europe. With the help of their collaborators in Kuwait, they flew a drone over the neighborhood to collect images and measurements. They also consulted local authorities, who provided them with additional information on each building system.

Using all this information, the team calculated the neighborhood's existing embodied energy, and then calculated how that embodied energy would change if buildings were made with concrete composed of various percentages of volcanic ash, which is in ample supply in the Middle East.

As with their experiments in the lab, they found that a neighborhood's infrastructure can be made with considerably less energy if the same buildings are built with concrete made from a cement mixture that is 30 percent volcanic ash.

"What we've found out is that concrete can be manufactured with natural additives with desired properties, and reduced embodied energy, which can be translated into significant energy savings when you are creating a neighborhood or a city," Buyukozturk says.

This research was supported in part by the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences. The project was conducted as part of the Kuwait-MIT signature project on sustainability of Kuwait's built environment for which Buyukozturk was the principal investigator.

Undergraduates share authorship

In a second paper, which will soon appear in the ASCE Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, co-authors Chin and Maranda L. Johnston, also a former UROP student, explore the binding mechanism involved when Portland cement is replaced with finely ground volcanic ash. The team used various techniques including synchrotron X-Ray diffraction at Argonne National Laboratory to examine the microstructure of hardened cement pastes.

They found the finer-sized volcanic ash particles produced nanometer-scale products within the cement paste as it hardened, which helped to densify the matrix as it cured. "Our work provides a basis for the engineers to optimize their mixes with natural additives according to their specified requirements," Kupwade-Patil says.

"It has become in a way a tradition in my laboratory to involve freshman and other UROP students in high-level multidisciplinary research leading to journal publications," Buyukozturk says. "This learning experience is an important part of our educational system."

Explore further Technique offers advance in testing micro-scale compressive strength of cement

More information: Kunal Kupwade-Patil et al. Impact of Embodied Energy on materials/buildings with partial replacement of ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by natural Pozzolanic Volcanic Ash, Journal of Cleaner Production (2017). Journal information: Journal of Cleaner Production Kunal Kupwade-Patil et al. Impact of Embodied Energy on materials/buildings with partial replacement of ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) by natural Pozzolanic Volcanic Ash,(2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.234

This story is republished courtesy of MIT News (web.mit.edu/newsoffice/), a popular site that covers news about MIT research, innovation and teaching.
Janakpur residents unhappy with leaders addressing assembly in Hindi

Residents of Janakpur burned effigies of leaders from the Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal (SSF-N) and the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) on Tuesday to protest their decision to address the first Provincial Assembly (PA) meeting in Hindi.
Nepal Natl Hospital ordered to shut down

The Department of Supply Management on Monday ordered Nepal National Hospital at Kalanki to shut down for not possessing an operating licence and failing to meet various government standards. The errant hospital has been given a week to transfer its inpatients and close down.
West Ham to win race for Evra

| Tuesday, 06 February 2018



The former Manchester United left back is available for acquisition outside of the transfer window because he is a free agent following the termination of his contract at Marseille last November.

Evra was banned from European cup competition for assaulting a spectator during the warm-up for a Europa League fixture but he is eligible to play in the Premier League this season.

According to the likes of Sky Sports, Everton declared their interest in the French international but he is believed to prefer a move to London.

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Vietnams Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has requested Vietnamese trade commissioners to ask themselves if they are trying hard enough at work, and suggested that they do their job with more passion and diligence.

Trade commissioners are officials who present the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade in a foreign land.

These personnel can either work at the Vietnamese embassies or trade offices in other countries, mainly tasked with promoting international trade agreements and export trade programs on behalf of the Vietnamese government

At the Trade Commissioner Conference held by the trade ministry in Hanoi on Wednesday, PM Phuc underlined that these officials should make a self-evaluation of their working attitude.

In his remarks, the premier told the conference a story about a Japanese trade commissioner in Vietnam, who has managed to have good relationships with local authorities and traversed the country for his work.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers remarks at a conference in Hanoi on February 7, 2018. Photo: VGP

That Japanese official has equipped himself with an extensive knowledge about Vietnamese laws and is always ready to fight for his country with regard to trade barriers set by Vietnam, PM Phuc said, adding this is a great example Vietnamese trade commissioners should learn from.

Can we Vietnamese trade commissioners do the same? he questioned.

Can we be so absorbed in work, or have we been quite complacent about our job?

The premier underlined that he raised those questions for the trade officials to get their own answers.

PM Phuc also underlined that trade commissioners should not do their tasks half-heartedly or without passion.

Be more proactive

Vietnams exports in 2017 topped US$214.01 billion, a 21 percent jump from 2016. This sent the countrys total export-import turnover to $425.12 billion, with the government now targeting to increase the number to $500 billion in the next two years.

To this end, PM Phuc told the trade commissioners that they have to try to make Vietnams export stables, including fruit and vegetables, seafood and rice generate annual revenue of more than $10 billion each.

Amid this fast-changing global economy, every commissioner and trade office has to proactively try to get to know what needs to be done to promote Vietnamese exports, the prime minister said.

Instead of waiting for businesses to come to seek help, trade commissioners should provide information to and assist Vietnamese enterprises even before they need them, he added.

Upon taking office in 2016, PM Phuc pledged to build a pro-creativity government that supports businesses with the motto of discipline, integrity, action, creativity and effectiveness.

He demanded that trade commissioners also do their job in this spirit, knowing that the government is always willing to help them when needed.

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers remarks at a conference in Hanoi on February 7, 2018. Photo: VGP

A Vietnamese trade office is typically tasked with enhancing government to government trade relations, monitoring and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese enterprises, and providing business information and guidance to Vietnamese firms interested in doing business in the host country.

The office also works to promote Vietnams national image and the brand names of made-in-Vietnam products.
Two Vietnamese men have led a team in successfully designing a smartphone app for urban drivers searching for an available parking spot in a bid to reduce common issues related to parking.

Trieu Khac Thiep and Dang Duc Huy, 31, who are long-standing close schoolmates from the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City, have implemented a joint project of creating Pakme  a free application for iOS and Android platforms.

Their technological brainchild encapsulates information regarding about 1,400 parking locations in two of Vietnams largest cities  Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh.

Thiep said one of the main reasons for the creation of Pakme was his empathy with frustrated spot seekers in big cities.

Many drivers face difficulty in finding parking spaces, or are prone to be fined for parking their cars in the wrong place, Thiep said.

He clarified that if drivers fail to secure an available spot, they can be forced to drive up to one kilometer searching for an on-street spot, which requires more fuel consumption, more time and helps cause air pollution and congestion.

Additionally, drivers are unlikely to know the charge and operating timeframe of new parking lots, or unsure whether there are any empty spaces left there.

The team working on the Pakme project. Photo: Tuoi Tre

His passion for the app caused Thiep to depart from his stable, high-income job in a foreign company in April 2017 to concentrate on the Pakme project, which at the time was in its second phase.

In its early stages, Thiep and Huy hired college students to collect such pieces of information as capacity and costs of all parking facilities in the two cities.

The two men then examined the data for veracity and integrated it into Pakme so that anyone with the app can reach the nearest parking lot before arriving at their destination.

The difficult time for the project is over, according to Thiep, with the software currently used by roughly 10,000 people.

Latterly, on September 11, 2017, Pakme was introduced as a noteworthy idea in APEC 2017 Start-up Forum, an event for companies in their nascent stages, attended by over 300 investors and guests in Da Nang.

With the slogan Connect with Technology  Park Smartly, the app was praised in the annual national event for newly-established enterprises held by the Business Start-up Support Center.

Thiep, Huy and their team are planning to perfect the app.

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Vinasun has accused Grab of multiple violations in providing taxi services, causing the taxi company profound losses, whilst Grab maintained that it had conducted its business pursuant to Vietnamese laws and was not responsible for the losses suffered by Vinasun.

Vinasuns claims

Truong Dinh Quy, deputy general director of Vinasun, submitted to the court documents, photos and videos which he claimed to be evidence of Grabs illegal practices in Vietnam.

Quy asserted that while Grab had constantly promoted itself as a technology solution provider, in reality it was operating as a transport company offering taxi services, and therefore should be answerable to the same laws and regulations as Vinasun or any other taxi company in Vietnam.

Vinasun had reported growing every year up until 2015, when Grab and Uber started to enter the Vietnamese market, Quy said, citing two independent studies conducted between January 2016 and June 2017.

In 2015, the Ho Chi Minh City-based taxi company reported over VND318 billion (US$14.01 million) in after-tax profit, which dropped to VND295 billion ($13 million) in 2016.

The company went into a tailspin in the first half of 2017, raking in just over VND53 billion ($2.33 million), a 50-percent drop from the same period of 2016.

Over 8,000 employees departed from Vinasun in the same period, causing hundreds of its cabs to gather dust in the companys garages, the Vinasun executive said at Tuesdays court.

Vinasun had to comply with 13 different business conditions required of taxi companies, while Grab was subject to only three, he pointed out.

Two Vinasun taxis bear bumper stickers denouncing Grab and Uber in this photo taken on October 8, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Grabs response

In response to Vinasuns accusations, a representative of Grab present at the court in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday said it was operating in conformity with Decision 14 issued by the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport in January 2016.

The decision allowed Grab to pilot its business model in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa and Quang Ninh for two years between January 2016 and January 2018.

Therefore, if Vinasun had suffered from any damages following the issuance of Decision 24, it should have filed a complaint to the transport ministry rather than seek legal actions against Grab, the representative said.

Grab is well-equipped with the experience and expertise needed to operate the ride-hailing application, and will continue to offer its service in Vietnam as long as the laws allow it to, he stressed.

The Grab representative added that the company had adhered strictly to Vietnamese law by entering into contracts with its transport partners and collecting personal income tax on their behalf.

He refused a request to submit the contracts as evidence before the court, citing them being business secrets.

If you fail to submit the contracts, on what grounds are you maintaining that Grab has been conforming to Vietnamese laws? a Vinasun lawyer pressed, to which there was no response from the defendants.

Further questions from lawyers of the plaintiffs regarding Grabs business operations were also left unanswered.

A Grab representative speaks at a court in Ho Chi Minh City on February 6, 2018. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Disruptive pricing According to Vinasun, Grab now has around 17,000 cars in its fleet, an increase from 13,000 as of June 2017. The large number of cars coupled with disruptive pricing and promotions has caused profound losses to Vinasun and other taxi companies in Vietnam. Grab has a charter capital of around VND40 billion [$1.76 million], while cumulative losses from its business operations have amounted to over VND930 billion [$40.97 million]. Such promotions and pricing strategies are disruptive against other competitors, a Vinasun representative complained.

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A diminutive Vietnamese university student has ridden a childrens bike to university, ambitiously pursuing his career in computing.

Duong Van Thanh, 21, born in Quang Tri Province, north-central Vietnam, is a senior in information systems at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Information Technology, a prestigious higher-education institution in Vietnam.

Unlike many of his peers, he has a modest height of 80cm and weighs only 30kg.

He has a congenital spine distortion, with two feeble legs that do not allow him to walk on his own.

At nine months old, he was diagnosed with inborn heart condition, forcing him to undergo surgery.

His feet, which are ill-proportioned and unusually shaped, have been bare since childhood for no shoes can fit them.

A doctor once gave me a tailor-made pair of slippers when I was receiving bone readjustment, but I didnt get used to it, so I gave it up, Thanh said.

Long scars from several operations run on his feet, which reveal a hollow where a nail used in medical treatment was driven.

One such object still remains fixed in his foot as his family did not have sufficient money for the removal, he said.

If I happen to hit my feet against something, Ill find it incredibly painful and have to sit for a while before standing up again, he said.

His ambition is to become a computer engineer, which has motivated him to persevere in studying at all educational levels with a successful academic performance.

A company has promised to employ him, an opportunity he is extremely grateful for.

The important thing I need to do now is study and improve my skills, he said with excitement.

He has received a great deal of help from those around him, especially his mother.

She piggybacked him to school as a child, crossing many streams before arriving at his classroom on the second floor of his elementary school building, he recalled.

His schoolmates also assisted him and on rainy days, they may fall off the bicycle when navigating a slippery dirt road before arriving at the class, drenched and cold, he said smilingly at the memory.

During his time as a college student, he pedaled his bicycle to the school over one kilometer away from the on-campus dormitory in which he is residing with those having similar disabilities as him.

His family first moved to Ho Chi Minh City when he started studying, but later his father had to return to his hometown, Quang Tri Province, to earn a livelihood.

His young brother has worked in the city, and his mother stayed in the dormitory with him but also went back to the province since his father was injured whilst working.

Now he has to manage things by himself.

When my mom was still here, I was taken care of. I ate rice gruel cooked by her when I was sick; took the medicine bought by her, Thanh said.

Its most wonderful to have my mom.

Among his wishes is the desire to have a bus ride, since he is not allowed to bring the bike with him aboard.

He thinks he is blessed with his family.

Many people born with birth defects are abandoned by their parents at a young age. But Im different. I am taken care of by my parents, who afford to give me a decent formal education. To me, that is so lucky, he said.

Thanh has surmounted every problem arising from his situation. In my view, he sets a good example of a student overcoming difficulties to shine academically, said Phan Thanh Chuong, one of his lecturers.

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China has promised to boost its non-refundable aid for Vietnam during a regular meeting between the two countries foreign ministries.

The annual Vietnam-China deputy foreign ministers meeting was held in Guangzhou Province on February 5 and 6, aimed at reviewing the bilateral ties in 2017 and discussing cooperation plans between the two parties in 2018.

During the gathering, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung and his Chinese counterpart Kong Xuanyou agreed that the two nations relationship had achieved positive development over the past year.

In order to further cement the bilateral cooperation for 2018, the two high-ranking officials consented on implement high-level agreements and common perceptions, as well as strengthening political trust by maintaining visits and meetings between senior leaders.

The two sides also looked into partnership in diplomacy, national defense and security, economic matters, trade and investment, tourism, science and technology, transport, agriculture, and environmental protection.

They reached agreements on facilitating the entry of Vietnamese products into the Chinese market, especially farm produce, milk and dairy products, fruit, seafood and pork.

China promised to expedite the implementation of its credit packages and non-refundable aid for Vietnam.

Vietnamese and Chinese localities, particularly those along the common border, will be encouraged to enhance exchanges and mutually beneficial cooperation, which will help intensify the friendship, mutual trust and understanding between the two nations.

Efforts will be exerted to realize legal documents on land borders, contributing to building a common border of peace, stability, friendship, and cooperation.

Minister Trung and Kong agreed that the maintenance of negotiation mechanisms for sea-related issues has helped intensify mutual understanding and reached specific progress.

In the spirit of frankness and friendship, they discussed issues regarding the recent situation in the East Vietnam Sea.

China has remained Vietnams biggest trade partner, while Vietnam has become Chinas largest trade partner in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the foreign officials said.

They highlighted the improvement in ties between two peoples, mentioning the inauguration of the Vietnam-China Friendship Palace and the Chinese Cultural Center in Hanoi.

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Vietnam has mentioned the situation in the East Vietnam Sea during a special meeting between ASEAN officials in Singapore this week.

The ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM) Retreat was organized in the city-state on Tuesday, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Authorized by General Ngo Xuan Lich, Vietnams Minister of National Defense, Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, his deputy, led a delegation of high-ranking officials to attend the meeting.

The retreat discussed orientations for defense-security cooperation among ASEAN nations in 2018, focusing on counter-terrorism, collaboration in responding to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, and a Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) as proposed by Singapore, the Chair of ASEAN this year.

Along with existing challenges, the delegates agreed that ASEAN member states need to maintain unity and remain vigilant over issues relating to sovereignty, territorial disputes and maritime security.

ASEAN is short for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which is a political and economic organization whose members include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Speaking at the event, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Vinh expressed his support for the targets proposed by Singapore, stressing that Vietnam is willing to share experience in preventing and decontaminating toxic chemicals.

Regarding the CUES, Vinh emphasized that it must be associated with the East Vietnam Sea issue, especially in preparation for the formation of a Code of Conduct (COC) for the maritime area.

ASEAN member nations should continue intensifying cooperation and sharing information about the sea situation, abiding by international law, respecting diplomatic and legal processes, and maintaining maritime and aviation security and safety, the Vietnamese official said.

They should also implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Vietnam Sea (DOC) and work toward the early finalization of the legally-binding COC, he suggested.

During the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Retreat, which was held on the same day, Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh stated that the bloc needs to highly appreciate fundamental principles to strengthen solidarity and unification.

He suggested member countries stand firm with ASEAN viewpoints on regional and international issues of mutual concern, including that of the East Vietnam Sea.

The foreign ministers consented on the proposal about practical negotiation between ASEAN and China regarding the COC for the sea.

They are expected to direct competent authorities to successfully carry out the first negotiation, which will take place in Vietnam in March.

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam on Tuesday advised that its citizens not travel to The Maldives until the island nation lifts the state of emergency currently declared.

Vietnamese nationals who are working, studying or having a tour in Maldives should steer clear of crowded or sensitive areas and pay close attention to warnings by local authorities to ensure their own safety, according to the Consular Department of the ministry.

Such Vietnamese people abroad are recommended to contact the Vietnamese Embassy in Sri Lanka and The Maldives via the hotline 94.11.2696050 or call the citizen protection hotline +84.981.84.84.84.

The emergency was declared for 15 days by Maldives President Abdulla Yameen on February 5 due to political turmoil, according to Reuters.

The news agency reported that the crisis stems from a conflict between the Maldives government and the countrys Supreme Court, in which the administration has rejected the courts ruling to free nine imprisoned opposition leaders.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger will star in and executive produce an upcoming Western series, Outrider, in development from Amazon.

Billed as an event series it will follow a deputy in Oklahoma Indian Territory in the late 1800s, tasked by a notorious judge with apprehending a legendary outlaw in the wilderness. The deputy is forced to partner with a ruthless Federal Marshall (Schwarzenegger) to make sure justice is properly served. No word as yet on the other key role.

Should the project move forward, it would mark Schwarzeneggers first regular role in a drama series, having previously hosted one season of The Celebrity Apprentice.

The creative team includes Trey Callaway (Jack Ryan, APB, Rush Hour, CSI: NY) and Mark Montgomery (Jack Ryan).

Source: Variety
Polls for 32 Upper House seats today

Elections to the National Assembly are set to be held on Wednesday, in a move to create the Upper House for the first time in 11 years.
Raut close to Chief ministers chair in state 2

The Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal and the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal started discussions in Janakpur on Tuesday to form the government in Province 2.
"Hulk9950" Wins PokerStars 12th Anniversary Sunday Million for $960K

February 07 2018 Valerie Cross

It was 12 years ago when PokerStars decided to launch the weekly Sunday Million event, giving online players a chance to turn a relatively small investment into much, much more. Hundreds of millions of dollars in prize money later, PokerStars resolved to celebrate the Sunday Millions 12th anniversary in style, guaranteeing a monstrous $10 million prize pool for just a $215 buy-in.

A total of 43,975 entries were tallied and with 9,701 being re-entries, that means 34,274 players took their shot at the $1.2 million scheduled first-place prize. The 7,334 in the money benefited from an overlay of more than $1.2 million.

Sundays play took the field down to 535 runners with Latvias LV_Arturs and Brazils ViDss leading the way. Those players returned Monday, and after another long day of online grinding, Hulk9950 claimed the title along with $960,000 after a three-way deal.

Final Table Results

Place Name Country Prize Amount 1st "Hulk9950" Brazil $960,000* 2nd "kapchin" Bulgaria $707,574* 3rd "Sasuke234" Sweden $640,000* 4th "moutsoun75" Greece $391,554 5th "kiwis1966" Romania $284,150 6th "zelikzelik8" Russia $206,207 7th "FrCnnctn1960" Malta $149,644 8th "botteonpoker" Brazil $108,596 9th "oddscompile" Romania $78,808

*denotes results of a three-way deal leaving $200,000 for the winner

A small-stakes player from Brazil, according to the PokerStars blog, Hulk9950 started Day 2 in 21st place with more than 60 big blinds to work with. After hovering around average chips for around five hours of play to get down to two tables, Hulk9950 got a key double up and never really looked back from there.

Hulk9950 three-bet shoved with ace-queen from the small blind, only to have FrCnnctn1960 re-shove from the big blind with pocket kings. Tournament life on the line, Hulk9950 found an ace on the flop and another on the river to stay alive and briefly take over the chip lead.

Hulk9950 regained that chip lead on the final table bubble and then picked up pocket tens on the button, facing an under-the-gun all-in shove from jeffzhang888 who held ace-jack. Hulk re-raised to isolate and then eliminated the bubble when the board ran out clean. And the final table was set with the following chip distribution and blinds at 3M/6M/750K.

Position Name Chips Notable PokerStars accomplishments Seat 1 "botteonpoker" 65,095,490 past Sunday Million finalist Seat 2 "kiwis1966" 167,047,594 Seat 3 "kapchin" 173,308,654 Seat 4 "zelikzelik8" 12,185,7645 Seat 5 "FrCnnctn1960" 53,170,013 SCOOP 2017 Limit O/8 finalist Seat 6 "Hulk9950" 262,145,866 Seat 7 "moutsoun75" 100,384,443 Seat 8 "oddscompile" 45,978,360 Seat 9 "Sasuke234" 110,386,935 past SCOOP runner-up & Sunday Million finalist

Hulk9950 extended the lead after defending the big blind against a 1.3 million chip-raise from kiwis1966 two hands in. The pair checked flop and then Hulk9950 check-called a bet of 14.6 million on the turn. Hulk checked the river, only to move all in after a bet of 22.9 million from kiwis, putting the latter to a decision for 101 million more chips. kiwis1966 folded king-queen face-up and the big pot went to Hulk9950.

Six hands later, oddscompile three-bet shoved all in with ace-jack in the hijack for an additional 17 million after a 13.2 million raise from moutsoun75 in middle position with . After making the call, moutsoun75 flopped the nuts when three clubs appeared on the board, and that was it for the Romanian player.

Next out was past Sunday Million finalist botteonpoker in eighth after jamming with ace-jack over an open min-raise from Hulk9950, who called with the superior ace-queen and held.

Shortly after, a large three-way pot started with a 38.4 million-chip raise from FrCnnctn1960 with ace-jack suited. The most accomplished player at the final, Sasuke234, moved in for 51.5 million with pocket kings and zelikzelik8 called with ace-queen suited in the big blind. Sasuke234 tripled up after flopping top set and holding, while FrCnnctn1960 took seventh place.

zelikzelik8 was left with 106 million after the three-way clash, and got it in shortly thereafter, raising nearly all in with king-jack and getting the rest in on a four-high flop. It was Hulk9950 doing the dirty work again, calling down with ace-eight to send the sixth-place finisher to the rail.

Then, Sasuke234 claimed another knockout after open-shoving with ace-nine suited on the button and getting called by kiwis1966 in the small blind with pocket queens and the shorter stack. The ace-high flop sprung Sasuke234 into the lead and kiwis1966 was unable to catch up, exiting in fifth place.

A few hands later, moutsoun75 moved all in for 69.9 million on the button. After Sasuke234 flat-called in the small blind with pocket eights, Big Blind kapchin re-shoved for 274 million and Sasuke234 got out of the way. A paired flop and a nine on the river improved kapchin to nines-full and moutsoun75 was the fourth-place finisher.

Final Three Strike a Deal

With three left, a deal was made that saw each player lock up at least $640,000, leaving $200,000 additional for the eventual winner. Four hands later, Hulk9950 limped in for 8 million in the small blind with ace-deuce and Sasuke234 made it 24 million with pocket eights. That was met by an all-in shove, and Sasuke234 called for 202 million chips with the best hand, only to see an ace on the flop end his bid for the title.

The heads-up match between Hulk9950 (710 million chips) and kapchin (389 million) lasted longer than it took to get from nine down to two, which was only 45 minutes.

kapchin put up a strong fight, taking over the lead at one point, but eventually losing it back to Hulk9950, who then maintained around a two-to-one chip advantage over kapchin for a long stretch.

Then, kapchin limped in on the button with seven-eight and called a raise from Hulk9950 who had pocket kings. kapchin made a pair of eights on the jack-high flop and shoved 178 million after Hulk9950 led out. Hulk9950 called, and after a safe turn, a seven landed on the river to give kapchin two pair and stay alive.

The tides seemed to be turning in favor of kapchin, but Hulk9950 went on to win 17 of the next 22 hands, including a 219 million chip-pot where Hulk9950 defended the big blind with queen-six suited and check-called all three streets, showing down two pair, which was good against the ace-king suited of kapchin.

Whittled down to around ten big blinds, kapchin shoved with queen-ten and Hulk9950 called with ace-three. The king-high flop also contained a three, giving Hulk9950 bottom pair, and that would prove plenty good to win the pot and close out the tournament for what is sure to be a life-changing victory for the Brazilian.

The Stars Group owns a majority shareholding in iBus Media.
Michael Tchong Bests Mustapha Kanit to Win Aussie Millions Event #22

February 07 2018 Jason Glatzer

Australia's Michael Tchong outlasted a field of 105 entrants including a final table filled with big names to win the 2018 Aussie Millions Event #22: A$5,000 No Limit Holdem Six Max for A$138,180 ($110,162).

The victory was Tchong's eighth Aussie Millions cash and pushed him past the $300,000-mark in career live tournament winnings.

Aussie Millions Event #22: A$5,000 No Limit Holdem Six Max Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize in A$ Prize in US$ 1 Michael Tchong Australia A$138,180 $110,162 2 Mustapha Kanit Italy A$93,770 $74,756 3 Patrick Serda Canada A$61,670 $49,165 4 Tanner Millen United States A$45,650 $36,394 5 Edward Hatzkortzian Australia A$33,310 $26,566 6 Rory Young Australia A$27,145 $21,641

Australia's Rory Young was the first player eliminated at the final table in sixth place for A$27,145. Young now has over $500,000 in live tournament cashes according to The Hendon Mob to go along with nearly $1.6 million in online cashes according to PocketFives.

Fellow Aussie Edward Hatzkortzian secured his second Aussie Millions cash this festival with a fifth-place finish for A$33,310. This left players from four different countries representing the final four.

American Tanner Millen notched his biggest live tournament cash after he hit the rail in fourth place for A$45,650. He now has more than $200,000 in live tournament earnings.

Tchong was left facing off against two players with very impressive resumes. Canada's Patrick Serda, who in 2016 allowed William Kassouf to buy himself a trophy in the EPT Prague High Roller, added to his $1 million in live cashes after bowing out in third place for A$61,670.

Serda, who also is known for playing cash games, also has amassed nearly $1.3 million in online tournament cashes including a win in the PokerStars WCOOP High Roller last year.

3rd for 62k. Couldnt hold J2 vs 75cc on J76cc Ax when we got the money in.  Patrick Serda (@SuperSerda)

This left Tchong facing off against Italy's most successful poker player, Mustapha Kanit, heads-up for the title. Kanit has amassed $10.1 million in live tournament cashes to go along with $4.7 million in online tournament cashes. The Italian also found gold in two Aussie Millions events in 2014. However, Kanit was unable to hit the trifecta and bowed out in second place for A$93,770, while Tchong claimed the title and the coveted ANTON gold ring.

Michael Tchong
UK and Netherlands-focussed independent energy group Parkmead announced on Wednesday that it has significantly increased its equity in the Perth and Dolphin oil fields in the UK Central North Sea.

The AIM-traded firm said the Perth and Dolphin fields lie at the core of its Greater Perth Area oil hub project, with the company increasing its equity in the licences to 100% from 60.05%.

Parkmead said it also signed an agreement with Nexen Petroleum, a subsidiary of the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), to conduct a detailed engineering study in relation to the potential subsea tie-back of the Greater Perth Area project to the Nexen operated Scott platform and associated facilities in the UK Central North Sea. The Scott facilities lie just some 10km southeast of Parkmead's GPA project.

In addition, the company commissioned a new reservoir study with AGR Tracs International in relation to well stimulation, which it said could lead to increasing oil flow rates and oil reserves recovery from the two fields by analysing the effect of fracture stimulation on the reservoir.

We are delighted with the significant progress we have achieved with the Greater Perth Area project, said Parkmead executive chairman Tom Cross.

By increasing our stake in the Perth and Dolphin oil fields, Parkmead's oil and gas reserves grow by some 63%.

The study with Nexen will examine one path to potentially unlock the substantial value of the GPA project for the benefit of the UK and Parkmead shareholders, as well as providing further value for the existing infrastructure partners.
Contracts-for-difference trading service provider Plus500 announced on Wednesday that the Financial Services Board of South Africa has granted the company a licence to operate as an authorised financial service provider in South Africa, through a newly created subsidiary Plus500SA Pty Ltd.

The AIM-traded firms announcement followed a similar one made on 7 February 2017, that the FSB had granted Plus500AU Pty Ltd - the company's Australian operating subsidiary - a licence to operate an online trading platform for customers to trade CFDs in South Africa.

It said the new licence would enable it to now build a fully staffed operation in South Africa, taking advantage of the local pool of talented professional staff.

The board added that the licence further demonstrated the scalability of Plus500's platform, as well as the further geographical diversification of its business, adding to its existing jurisdictions in UK, Australia, Cyprus, New Zealand, Israel and Singapore.

We are pleased that the FSB has granted us this licence which will enable us to grow our global customer base further, said Plus500 chief executive Asaf Elimelech.

We continue to identify opportunities to add new licences in order to expand globally and diversify our geographical revenues.
AIM-quoted mining group Strategic Minerals has appointed former Wolf Minerals operations manager Jeffrey Harrison to its board as a non-executive director to support the planned redevelopment of its Redmoor project in Cornwall.

Harrison, who will continue in his current role as a consultant to Cornwall Resources following the appointment, has more than 40 years' worth of experience in the mining industry, specifically in the UK and Australia.

Strategic Mineral's chairman, Alan Broome, said, "The board is delighted to welcome Jeff to the team. His skills blend well with those of the existing board members and over the past year he has impressed us with his mining skills and his calm, objective view on geological issues associated with our Redmoor project."

"We are confident that Jeff's appointment is a positive step towards bringing Redmoor through to operations, where his Wolf Minerals experience will prove invaluable. Further, we are confident that he will also make a considerable contribution to the re-commissioning of the Leigh Creek Copper Mine once we complete the transaction," he added.

As of 0910 GMT, shares had advanced 2.41% to 2.02p.
BT has cut its profit guidance for the next two years after an investigation into accounting blunders at the telecoms giant's Italian business forced it to more than triple its expected write-downs to 530m, while the UK business has also seen a deterioration in its outlook.

An investigation alongside accountants from KPMG, which was first announced in October, has now discovered earnings in the country found to have been overstated for several years.

BT said "the extent and complexity of inappropriate behaviour in the Italian business were far greater than previously identified and have revealed improper accounting practices and a complex set of improper sales, purchase, factoring and leasing transactions".

The FTSE 100 telecoms group said its original 145m write-down assessment announced in our half-year update in October had escalated to a total of around 530m.

On top of that, for the 2016/17 financial year as a whole, it had cut its outlook for adjusted revenue by around 200m, in adjusted EBITDA by around 175m, and by 500m for normalised free cash flow due to the EBITDA impact and the one-off unwind of the effects of inappropriate working capital transactions.

For 2017/18, it expects a similar annual 200m impact to adjusted revenue and adjusted EBITDA, though the impact should flow through to normalised free cash flow.

"We are deeply disappointed with the improper practices which we have found in our Italian business," said group chief executive Gavin Patterson.

"We have undertaken extensive investigations into that business and are committed to ensuring the highest standards across the whole of BT for the benefit of our customers, shareholders, employees and all other stakeholders."

He said it was an extremely serious matter and immediate steps have been taken to strengthen the financial processes and controls in BT Italy, with a number of senior management cleared out and a new chief executive starting on 1 February who will work with BT Group ethics and compliance to improve governance, compliance and financial safeguards.

Furthermore, the company's UK business endured a tough end to the year and revenues for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 financial years are now both expected to be flat.

BT said it expects a double-digit decline in underlying earnings from its business and public sector arm in the fourth-quarter as the outlook for UK public sector and international corporate markets has deteriorated.

Combined with the results of the BT Italy investigation, underlying revenue excluding transit adjusted for the acquisition of EE is now guided to be "broadly flat" in 2016/17 with adjusted EBITDA of around 7.6bn, with little change in both metrics in 2017/18.

Normalised free cash flow is now predicted to be around 2.5bn this year and in a range of 3.0-3.2bn in 2017/18.

BT continues to expect to grow the dividend per share by at least 10% in both 2016/17 and 2017/18 and pointed out that it had completed the 206m buy back of shares last year to help counteract the dilutive effect of all-employee share option plans maturing in the year.

It was a dark day for BT shares, which slid 18% to below 313p, levels last seen in mid-2013.

"The problem is that investors will fear that this is not the end  what else will be uncovered? The costs could yet rise and that fear is driving the selling this morning," said analyst Neil Wilson at ETX Capital.

Michael van Dulken at Accendo Markets noted that last Octobers suggestion of a 145m charge did not send out too many ripples as regulatory issues and a rising pension deficit hogged the headlines at the time.

"Todays admission adds this to these nasty headwinds, especially as it could weigh on profits for the next two years. Even management isnt sure what the final figure will be. The group still expects 10% dividend increases for the next two years but is this enough to appease disgruntled shareholders who had already been wearing a 20% downtrend since early 2016," he said.
Engineer GKN reported a jump in first-half profits on Wednesday as it said it has closed its UK defined pension scheme, but margins were down across the board and the performance of the aerospace division failed to impress.

In the six months to the end of June, pre-tax profit rose to 559m from 182m in the same period a year ago, as sales increased to 4.9bn fro 4.2bn. The company upped its interim dividend by 5% to 3.1p per share.

GKN also said that it has closed its UK defined pension scheme and plans to inject a lump sum of 250m to address the deficit and reduce future deficit recovery payments.

In the aerospace division, the company saw organic sales growth of 1%, as a 3% drop in commercial sales was offset by a 15% increase in military. The driveline business saw organic sales growth of 8%, helped by the group's broad geographic footprint and increased content per vehicle, while the powder metallurgy unit saw organic sales growth of 4%.

Margins were down across all three divisions. The margin in aerospace fell to 9.3% from 9.9% in 2016, partly due to higher UK pension costs, while the trading margin in the Driveline business slipped to 7.8% from 7.9%. Powder Metallurgy saw a drop to 11.3% from 12.6%, reflecting principally the higher raw material surcharge and an investment in powder capability in China.

Chief executive Nigel Stein said: "We made progress in the first half and are on track for the full year. We are performing well against our key markets, demonstrating once again the strength of our businesses, strong market positions and leading technology. We continue to invest for growth and have made significant progress to address our UK pension deficit.

"Our focus on innovation in key areas such as electrified drivetrains, additive manufacturing and Industry 4.0 is paying dividends and underpins our confidence in the longer term.

"2017 is expected to be another year of growth. Our reputation for technological leadership in our key markets, our focus on driving flexibility and productivity through our manufacturing plants and our market leading position in all three divisions mean we are well placed for the future."

At 1010 BST, the shares were down 1.3% to 322.60p, with some analysts suggesting that news of a ban on new diesel and petrol cars in the UK from 2040 could be weighing on the stock.

Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Nicholas Hyett pointed to the lower margins and the fact that the performance in the aerospace unit was "fine rather than spectacular" as possible reasons behind the move lower.

He added: "The group is alive to the dangers a shift to electric vehicles might pose and an early move into the market has given it a strong position, with 400,000 systems already delivered to the groups global customer base.
Two former HBOS bankers are among six people who have been found guilty of bribery and fraud.

Lynden Scourfield, a former manager with HBOS - which was rescued by Lloyds Banking Group during the financial crisis - pleaded guilty to six counts, including corruption.

Mark Dobson, who was also a manager at HBOS, was convicted on counts including bribery, fraud and money laundering at Southwark Crown Court.

David Mills, Michael Bancroft, Alison Mills, and John Cartwright were also convicted. Another defendant, Jonathan Cohen, was acquitted of charges.

Scourfield accepted bribes from businessmen Bancroft and Mills to get small business customers of HBOS to use consultancy firm Quayside Corporate Services. Quayside, a turnaround consultancy offering business experience and expertise to small businesses, is run by Mills and his wife Alison.

The bribes included sex parties, exotic foreign holidays, cash in brown envelopes and other favours between 2003 and 2007.

Prosecutors said 28m in cash fees went through the accounts of Mills, his wife and their associated companies.

"What Scourfield gave Mills in addition to fees was the opportunity to take control of the various businesses and, in some cases, to acquire ownership of them. Mills and his associates used the bank's customers and the banks's money dishonestly to enrich themselves," prosecutor Brian O'Neill QC told the court.

HBOS said the estimated cost of Scourfield's lending activity in early 2007 was more than 300m.

Since then, there have been further losses, including the impact on business customers. Sources told the BBC the total value of the fraud may be closer to 1bn.
Johnson Matthey said on Wednesday that it will recognise a charge of 50m after settling a lawsuit, as it announced that changes to the US tax system would have a positive impact on the group.

The specialty chemicals company said that Johnson Matthey Inc (JMI) had settled a dispute with an automotive original equipment manufacturer supplier in the US on "mutually acceptable terms with no admission of fault". The 50m charge will be excluded from underlying operating profit for the year to the end of March 2018.

The group also said the lowering of the US tax rate should result in a 30m one-off non-cash benefit in the income tax expense line in the income statement for the year ending 31 March 2018. This will be excluded from the tax on underlying profit.

For the current year to the end of March, it does not expect any change to the effective tax rate on underlying profit and continues to expect it to be around 18%. For the financial year ending 31 March 2019 and beyond, the changes are seen cutting the effective tax rate on underlying profit by around two percentage points.

The group added that its outlook for the full year remains unchanged.
Rights groups demand justice for 14-year-old rape victim in Itahari

Various rights groups and social organisations organised a sit-in outside the Area Police Office, Itahari, demanding justice for a 14-year-old rape victim on Tuesday.
Up to 200,000 of Tesco's female store workers could demand up to 4bn in total from the supermarket group by claiming they were paid less than their male counterparts, after a legal bid was launched on behalf of 100 workers.

Female workers claim they have been paid 5,000 less than the male workers on the same role. Women commonly are paid 8 an hour whereas the men could earn up to 11 an hour.

Law firm Leigh Day has lodged complaints on behalf of almost 100 workers although almost 200,000 could be affected, with female store workers putting in the claim for around 20,000 each.

The claims were submitted through the Acas conciliation service, which has dealt with similar claims against Asda and Sainsburys.

Paula Dee, the lawyer representing the Tesco female workers said We believe an inherent bias has allowed store workers to be underpaid over many years.

"In terms of equal worth to the company there really should be no argument that workers in stores, compared to those working in the depots, contribute at least equal value to the vast profits made by Tesco.

There might be lifting and carrying in the distribution centre but there is also lifting and carrying in shops as well as dealing with customers asking questions and handling money.

Tesco said it will consider the changes in pay negotiating with the union Usdaw.

We are unable to comment on a claim that we have not received. Tesco has always been a place for people to get on in their career, regardless of their gender, background or education, and we work hard to make sure all our colleagues are paid fairly and equally for the jobs they do, said the company.

Tesco shares were down more than 1% down after the case was revealed and is now falling 0.83% to 199.3p.
Tullow Oil generated $543m of free cash flow in 2017 but said it will not pay a final dividend as it invests $460m this year in current oil-producing projects and the first of a series of "high impact" exploration campaigns.

Production of 89,100 barrels of oil per day from its Jubilee and TEN fields offshore Ghana and 5,600 barrels of oil equivalent per day from its European interests led to revenue of $1.7bn for the calendar year, an annual increase of 36%.

A $2.5bn refinancing during the year saw the giant net debt pile reduced from $4.8bn to $3.5bn by year end, meaning, including the cash generated from the business, Tullow had bank headroom of $1.1bn for its investment projects.

Addressing the sensitive issue of the dividend, Tullow said: "While significantly improved free cash flow is creating a broader range of options for Tullow in how it allocates capital, the group is currently focused on investing in its portfolio of assets and debt reduction. Therefore, after careful consideration, the board has recommended that no dividend is paid for 2017."

After topping 1,500p in six years ago, Tullow shareholders have seen significant value destruction from failed exploration projects, with the shares falling 30% in 2017. In its preview note, Deutsche Bank said investors "will require firm direction" on how future excess cash flow will be allocated between investment and returns.

A 2.5% rise to 188.15p in early trading suggested they were not too surprised by the dividend news.

Looking back at Tullow's financials, gross profits of 815m were up 49%, though this dwindled to a 2017 operating profit of 22m after a $143m write-off of exploration costs and $539m impairment of property, plant and equipment, plus $15m of restructuring costs and general admin.

However, this was a swing into the black from the $755m operating loss the previous year, while the post-tax loss shrank to $189m from $597m.

Chief executive Paul McDade said the substantial free cash flow generation and significantly reduced gearing made this a year of "excellent progress".

"Strong production and disciplined cost management has allowed us to continue to both reduce debt and invest in our high-return production assets in Ghana," he said, where drilling is due to begin on the Ntomme field by the end of February.

Tullow expects 2018 gross oil production from the Jubilee and TEN fields to average a net 57,100 bopd combined, with production from non-operated and European projects adding around 19,100 bopd and around 1,900 boepd respectively.

McDade said the assessment of appraisal drilling results from a campaign in Kenya "fully supports progress towards a major development of the South Lokichar Basin", with a 560mmbo best estimate of recoverable resources and phased development planned with final investment decision in 2019 and first oil seen in 2021/22.

Finance director Les Wood said gearing was approaching the target level of below 2.5x net debt/EBITDAX, which provided "the financial and operational flexibility we need to invest in our business", while corporate and asset costs have been driven down amid a new financial discipline across the group. "Tullow is well placed to build on this strong financial platform in 2018."

New ventures boss Ian Cloke highlighted the series of farm-downs, country exits and large-scale licence acquisitions that have reshaped the portfolio. "Our high-impact, low-cost, basin-testing prospects across Africa and South America have been carefully screened, both technically and commercially, and we look forward to starting this new exploration cycle with the Cormorant well, offshore Namibia, later this year."
SC orders banks to free Sumargis frozen funds

The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued an interim order to Nepal Rastra Bank and the Nepal Investment Bank Limited to release Rs2.19 billion ($21.38 million) belonging to businessman Ajeya Raj Sumargi that had been frozen by the NRB.
In a new position designed to capitalize on Virginia Techs growing role in the Roanoke region, Lesa Hanlin has been hired as the executive director of Roanoke Regional Initiatives.

As a key member of the Outreach and International Affairs leadership team, Hanlin will serve as the chief administrator for the Virginia Tech Roanoke Center and the Center for Organizational and Technological Advancement.



Both centers provide educational opportunities through professional development and customized training, while the Roanoke center also offers several graduate programs, including a master of business administration, master of arts in education, and a doctoral program in education leadership and policy studies.



Hanlin will also collaborate with the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute to create engagement programs that focus on the fields of neuroscience, health sciences, and technology.



Most recently the director of the Virginia Tech Richmond and Hampton Roads centers, Hanlin will assume her duties in Roanoke on Feb. 12.



In less than a minute, Hanlin talks about how an orientation toward entrepreneurship can help higher-education administrators be better at their jobs.


Award-winning Washington Post reporter Amy Goldstein spent years getting to know Janesville, Wisconsin, where the nations oldest operating General Motors plant shut down in 2008 in the midst of the Great Recession.

She wove the stories of the small city and its people together in "Janesville: An American Story." The book explores what happens to workers, families, businesses, schools, and a proud community when the leading employers and the good industrial jobs they provide disappear.

Goldstein will discuss her book and the lessons it offers about economic pain and community resilience at three Community Voices events on Feb. 19.

She will participate in a lunch-time interactive roundtable discussion at noon that day in Room F of the Graduate Life Center at Donaldson-Brown on Otey Street. Snacks will be provided. At 2 p.m., she will answer questions from graduate students during a public interview session at the same location. Later, at 7 p.m., she will present, Reflections on Janesville: An American Story, in Colonial Hall in Squires Student Center on College Avenue. Goldstein will be available to sign books after the event.

All events are free and open to university students, faculty, staff, and administrators, and to the general public.

Goldstein has been a staff writer at The Washington Post for 30 years. She currently covers health care policy, focusing on the Affordable Care Act and the Trump administrations approach to the U.S. health care system. Over the years, she has covered the White House and written widely about social policy issues, including Medicare and Medicaid, Social Security, welfare, housing, and the strains placed on the social safety net by the Great Recession.

She was one of a team of Washington Post reporters awarded the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting for the newspapers coverage of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the governments response to them. She was also a 2009 Pulitzer Prize finalist for national reporting for an investigative series she co-wrote on the medical treatment of immigrants detained by the federal government.

At Harvard University, she has been a Nieman Fellow and a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. She holds an A.B. in American civilization from Brown University.

Goldsteins website notes, She is especially drawn to stories that lie at the intersection of politics and public policy and explore the effects of both on ordinary people. Her reporting on Janesville reflects that passion. In the book, she offers her readers compelling stories of the lives of autoworkers, educators, bankers, politicians, and job re-trainers in that community. Her narrative illustrates why creating a healthy, prosperous working class is so difficult in the 21st century.

Community Voices is an interdisciplinary group of Virginia Tech graduate students and faculty, as well as community representatives, interested in exploring innovative approaches to community building and engagement. The group, affiliated with the School of Public and International Affairs' Institute for Policy and Governance, organizes a series of public talks and roundtable discussions by leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors who share their insights and experiences helping communities shape their futures.

Graduate students also interview the speakers for Trustees Without Borders, a podcast produced by Institute Senior Fellow Andy Morikawa. The public presentations and interview recordings are archived on the Community Voices website.

The College of Architecture and Urban Studies; School of Public and International Affairs; Urban Affairs and Planning Program; Department of Political Science in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences; Graduate School; Institute for Policy and Governance; Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment; Outreach and International Affairs; and Virginia Cooperative Extension-College of Agriculture and Life Sciences are sponsoring this event.
Wall Street analysts have given Enel Generacion Chile a "N/A" rating, but there may be better buying opportunities in the stock market. Some of MarketBeat's past winning trading ideas have resulted in 5-15% weekly gains. MarketBeat just released five new stock ideas, but Enel Generacion Chile wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
Smoke screen

Though banning old vehicles welcome, promotion of public transportation is the long-term answer
Mississippi native Jesmyn Wards novels often stray into that zone of discomfort but rarely leave readers without the feeling that there is hope in the despair. The Tulane University professor burst onto the scene in 2008 with her first novel, Where the Line Bleeds, and went on to win a National Book Award for her second effort, Salvage the Bones, about a family coping with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Wards latest work, Sing, Unburied, Sing, an unflinching new take on the American road novel, was published to equally effusive reviews when it came out in 2017, and it also received the National Book Award. Ward is the first woman to win the coveted prize twice.

Yaa Gyasi was born in Ghana but came to America before her second birthday and was raised in Huntsville, Ala. After graduating from Stanford and the Iowa Writers Workshop, she penned her debut novel, Homegoing, in 2015 following a return trip to the homeland she never knew. The work, an account of slavery stretching over eight generations and two continents, instantly catapulted her into the category of rising stars and earned accolades from the National Book Critics Circle and the American Book Awards.

One of the freshest voices in the fantasy and science-fiction genres is Ohio-born Nnedi Okorafor, whos made a name for herself by weaving her parents Nigerian culture into her wildly imaginative series for both children and adults. Her Akata series, about a young girl who moves from New York to Nigeria and joins a secret society of people with magical powers, has been called the Nigerian Harry Potter, and her novella Binti, about a galaxy-hopping college kid, won both the Nebula and Hugo awards in 2016. Her first adult novel, Who Fears Death, has been optioned by HBO to be developed into a TV series with the help of Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin.

Novelist Colson Whitehead returns to a familiar theme in his celebrated work The Underground Railroad, but with a sensational new twist  the railroad is an actual collection of tracks and engineers beneath the soil of the American South, and two young slaves are using it to escape their captors. Described as a potent, almost hallucinatory novel by the New York Times, it was awarded both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award when it was published in 2016. Oprah Winfrey gave it the ultimate imprimatur when she selected it for her book club. In her review of the book, she said her heart was pumping from the first sentence and after turning the final page, I knew immediately Id read something that would never leave me.

Winfrey also bestowed her blessing on the second book by poet Morgan Parker, whose 2017 collection titled There Are More Beautiful Things Than Beyonce was dubbed one of the TV icons 10 best books of the year. Described as a meditation on black womanhood, Parkers writing comes across as self-assured as the pop culture icons who grace its pages  everyone from Queen Latifah to Michelle Obama  and brings readers into the consciousness of the millennial experience in America. Parker is at work on a third collection of poems, Magical Negro, to be published in 2019, along with a young adult novel.

In the realm of nonfiction and cultural criticism, Ta-Nehisi Coates is far and away the standout voice of the moment. The second book from the 40-something national correspondent for the Atlantic magazine, Between the World and Me, published in 2015, earned the National Book Award for nonfiction that year and was followed by a genius grant from the MacArthur Foundation. Coates collection of essays on the Obama era, We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, was published in the fall of 2017 and heralded by Time magazine as one of the top 10 nonfiction books of the year.
When people faint, they lose consciousness because of a drop in blood pressure. That results in a lack of oxygen to the brain. Occasional fainting is not necessarily cause for concern, but if its repetitive, it needs to be addressed. About 14 percent of people have recurrent fainting.

The guidelines say people who faint for any reason should get a physical exam and provide their doctor with a detailed medical history.

The office visit may include an electrocardiogram  a simple, inexpensive test of the hearts electrical activity that can help spot heart-related causes of fainting.
Library painting dedication is Thursday

A new painting will soon be on display at the K.O. Lee Aberdeen Public Library showing the libraries of the past.
Student unions to curb anomalies in education sector

Student Unions close to three major political parties have formed a joint monitoring team to curb exorbitant fees charged by medical colleges and initiate action against the colleges.
State Police say a man walking along Interstate 40, a few miles west of Gallup, died after being hit by a vehicle Monday night.

Officer Ray Wilson said the man, who has not been identified, was wearing dark clothing and walking on the entrance ramp to I-40 when a vehicle hit him.

The area was a dark, unlit, and rural location near the New Mexico Arizona border, Wilson said.

He said the man was pronounced dead at the scene and the driver has not been charged with a crime.

Wilson said the incident is still under investigation by New Mexico State Police.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  A proposal to tap more heavily into New Mexicos largest permanent fund  generating about $150 million a year for early childhood programs  barely cleared the state House on Tuesday.

It squeaked by on a 36-33 vote, the bare minimum of yes votes needed for a constitutional amendment to advance out of the 70-member House.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, where similar proposals have repeatedly run into opposition over the years.

But Reps. Antonio Moe Maestas and Javier Martinez  Albuquerque Democrats who are sponsoring the measure  said theyre optimistic about the chances for passage in the Senate. They said theyre willing to consider changes to the legislation as a way to sway skeptics.

Were interested in getting this done and getting this done now, Martinez said after the House vote.

Voter and congressional approval would also be required if the proposed constitutional amendment makes it through the Legislature.

House Joint Resolution 1 was adopted on a mostly party-line vote Tuesday, with all but two Democrats in favor and all Republicans opposed.

Democrats Bobby Gonzales and Candie Sweetser voted no, and Republican Sarah Maestas Barnes wasnt present for the vote.

Maestas, Martinez and Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, D-White Rock, the third co-sponsor, pitched the proposed constitutional amendment as a cost-effective way to ensure children are ready to learn when they start kindergarten, in a state were 36 percent of the children live in poverty, the highest rate in the nation.

We have generations of poverty and decades of dysfunction we must overcome, Maestas said as the three-hour debate started.

Opponents, in turn, questioned whether New Mexico is prepared to spend the money wisely. They agreed that early childhood programs are worthwhile but said supporters havent offered enough details on how the money would be used in the years to come.

We are being asked today to spend $1 billion, and were not getting a comprehensive plan, said Rep. Jim Dines, R-Albuquerque.

Senate opposition

The debate now turns to the Senate, where Republicans and some Democrats have opposed the legislation. Just last year, in fact, a similar proposal died in the Senate Rules Committee by one vote  with two of the panels Democrats  Clemente Sanchez of Grants and Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces  joining Republicans to defeat it.

Papen is the Senate president pro tem.

Another powerful Senate Democrat, John Arthur Smith, chairman of the influential Senate Finance Committee, has also opposed the measure. He said Tuesday that his position hasnt changed.

Sen. Carlos Cisneros, a Questa Democrat and vice chairman of the Finance Committee, said he and other members will take a close look at the legislation, paying particular attention to how it would affect the financial future of the permanent fund. He noted that there are other proposals to divert money from the fund.

Sen. George Munoz, a Gallup Democrat and member of the Finance Committee, said he would keep an open mind about the proposal. In general, he said, the state must find a stable way to fund the education system and reduce its dependence on oil and gas revenue.

Pros and cons

The legislation passed by the House on Tuesday would increase distributions from the Land Grant Permanent Fund by 1 percentage point, from 5 percent to 6 percent.

The extra money would go to school districts and tribes to provide services to children before they reach kindergarten. That could include home-visiting programs to help young parents and pre-K services to help children prepare for the start of school.

The extra money would be phased in over a few years, with the bulk of the funds supporting general public education in the first few years and later about 85 percent going to early childhood programs. Four years from now, for example, after the phase-in, early childhood programs would get an extra $150 million a year and other beneficiaries of the permanent fund  such as universities  would get $26 million, according to legislative estimates.

Supporters say early childhood programs have a proven record. Pre-kindergarten programs have resulted in academic gains sticking with children through at the least the fifth grade, according to nonpartisan analysts working for the Legislative Finance Committee.

Opponents said the improvements depend on carrying out effective programs, not just plowing more money into school districts.

Its not just about money, Republican Rep. Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences said. Its not that simple.

Opponents also said the proposal would damage the health of the permanent fund, which already provides about $747 million a year for public schools, universities and other beneficiaries. Taking more money out now, they say, will slow the growth of the fund and  after about 26 years  actually mean less for schools and other beneficiaries than if the fund had been left alone at the 5 percent distribution rate.

Martinez, one of the sponsors, said New Mexicos children need more help.

Theres clearly something broken, Martinez said.

Constitutional amendments dont require approval of the governor.
A teen killer is behind bars again after deputies say he spit blood on them, and tried to bite them, while his two-year-old son watched from the car Sunday night.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court, a drunk driver tip hotline, Drunk Busters, led deputies to a vehicle driven by 30-year-old Edgar Rios.

Rios made headlines in 2004 when he was convicted at the age of 17 of stabbing a Placitas drug dealer to death.

When deputies stopped Rios in southwest Albuquerque around 11 p.m., they say he smelled of marijuana and alcohol.

Rios was uncooperative from the beginning, rolling up the windows and not following orders, according to the complaint.

He placed his hand on the vehicles shifter which led me to believe he was going to attempt to leave the scene, and possible ram or run over deputies with his vehicle, a deputy wrote.

Rios two-year-old son sat unbuckled in the car during the whole ordeal, according to the complaint.

Deputies say when they tried to remove Rios from the car he immediately began to fight with them.

I was kicked, then punched in my testicles, a deputy wrote in the complaint.

Deputies say Rios also spit blood on them while yelling that he had Aids, and tried to bite them, before being arrested.

Rio is charged with two counts of aggravated battery on a police officer and aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon in addition to one count of child abuse.

A judge ordered Rios to be released on his own recognizance Tuesday.

Back in 2004 a judge sentenced Rios to 3 1/2 years in the New Mexico Boys School for stabbing 47-year-old Jerry Lopez, a Placitas drug dealer, to death.

A 16-year-old Rios stabbed Lopez 34 times, while is cousin Jaime Ruiz shot Lopez three times, in Sept. 2003.

A jury convicted Rios of a slew of charges, including second-degree murder, armed robbery and aggravated burglary.
ROSWELL, N.M.  Authorities found two bodies and a vehicle in a remote stretch of eastern New Mexico on Tuesday, following a weekslong search for a missing elderly couple from Texas, a sheriffs deputy said.

The deceased include a man and a woman, and investigators are awaiting a medical examiners report to determine whether they are Rosendo and Hortencia Lara, of Bovina, Texas, said Chaves County Chief Deputy Shane Baker. The Laras, both in their 80s, were last seen Jan. 19 in the small Texas town just east of the New Mexico border.

They were reported missing by family members who said they had planned to drive to Clovis, a New Mexico town 30 miles (48 kilometers) from their home.

Authorities said a rancher discovered the bodies Tuesday roughly 90 miles (145 kilometers) south of Clovis in an area only accessible by dirt roads.

Its slow going in there, Baker said. The rancher doesnt go out there every day.

Baker could not confirm whether the vehicle that was found matched the description of one belonging to the Laras, saying that investigators were working in an area where even radio transmissions have been known to fail and that he was awaiting details in the case.

There was no sign of foul play, and authorities suspect exposure was the likely cause of death, according to the Chaves County Sheriffs Office.

It also appeared the man and woman had been dead for a few days, although it remained unclear how long they may have been in the location before they died, the sheriff said.

Anna De La Cruz, the couples daughter, told KAMR-TV in Amarillo, Texas, last month that she last saw the couple when she went to their home to give her father dementia medication.

Texas authorities issued a Silver alert for the couple, but discontinued it before the end of January.
DENVER  Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper is exploring the idea of granting clemency to nearly 40 inmates convicted of nonviolent marijuana offenses.

The Democrat tells The Denver Post that it might be a good idea to invite qualifying inmates to apply for clemency for nonviolent pot crimes. The governors staff is reviewing the cases with the Department of Corrections.

Hickenlooper publicly acknowledged his support for the idea during a Monday interview with the streaming television channel Cheddar.

We have been discussing this idea for some time and are carefully evaluating whether there are some inmates who are appropriate candidates for clemency, said Jacque Montgomery, press secretary for the governor.

Hickenloopers administration has identified inmates serving time only for possessing or selling marijuana, and his attorneys are investigating the inmates conduct in prison. After the review, qualifying inmates would be encouraged to apply for clemency.

Colorado voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2012. In November, the governor granted pardons to seven people convicted of marijuana possession.

In 2017, Colorado adopted a law allowing people convicted of misdemeanors for using or possessing pot to ask a court to seal those criminal records if their behavior wouldnt have been a crime under recreational marijuana legalization that went into effect in December 2012.

Possessing and home cultivation of marijuana by residents 21 and older became legal after voters passed Amendment 64 in November 2012.

Hickenloopers clemency review differs starkly from moves by prosecutors in San Francisco to review and dismiss thousands of misdemeanor pot convictions dating to 1975, among other measures.

San Francisco acted unilaterally based on a provision in Californias pot legalization law that allows those convicted of misdemeanor pot crimes to seek to have their records expunged, and to reduce felony convictions.

Prosecutors in San Diego have undertaken similar reviews.
Wearing T-shirts saying We were robbed, with images of loved ones killed by violence, members of the grass-roots organization ROBD, Repeat Offenders Bring Destruction, called on the state Legislature to allocate more money for prosecuting crimes in Bernalillo County.

Albuquerque accounts for about 50 percent of the states crimes, but the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office, which encompasses Bernalillo County, gets only about 25 percent of the budget allocation for DA offices statewide, said founding member Nicole Chavez-Lucero, citing FBI crime statistics.

Her 17-year-old son, Jayden Chavez-Silver, was at a friends home when bullets from a drive-by shooters gun entered through a kitchen window and killed him in 2015.

During a Tuesday news conference outside the district courthouse at Lomas and Fourth, the members called on residents of Albuquerque and the county to support 2nd Judicial District Attorney Raul Torrez in his bid to get an additional $5.4 million to operate his office.

A $6.3 billion budget bill approved 66-3 last week by the House would increase base funding for the DAs Office by about $2.3 million from current levels but would also authorize one-time funding for a crime-fighting pilot project and the Victoria Martens case. The budget under consideration calls for Torrezs office to receive $20.6 million.

The ROBD members, many of whom were touched in some way by violent crime, asked people to call members of the Senate Finance Committee as well as their legislators to push for more funding for the DAs Office.

Unless you are a victim of violent crime, I dont think you truly understand how important this is, Chavez-Lucero said. There are 8,000 backlogged cases that are waiting for our district attorney to try in court, but they dont have the manpower. This is why you see those repeat offenders constantly walking on our streets.

Founding member Veronica Rael-Garcia, whose 4-year-old daughter, Lilly, was killed in a 2015 road rage incident when a bullet ripped through a pickup truck driven by her father, said any employer should be able to assume that it will have sufficient tools to fully perform its job. Unfortunately, the DAs Office has not had those resources and has been unable to hire enough prosecutors, victim advocates and paralegals, she said.

The majority of members of the Senate Finance Committee are not from Bernalillo County, ROBD member Ivon Ulibarri said, and perhaps they are of the opinion that a greater budget is not needed because crime is not impacting their towns and communities.

However, crime in Albuquerque affects the entire state, she said, and eventually it will reach into their own backyards. Only then will they understand the outcry of the people who have been touched by this hell.

Some lawmakers during this years session have said other parts of the state are also facing crime problems and have questioned the size of Torrezs budget request.

Journal Capitol Bureau chief Dan Boyd contributed to this report.
When North Korea tested its sixth nuclear weapon in September 2017, instruments all over the world and in orbit lit up, gathering vast streams of data that scientists used to characterize the blast. Was it nuclear? How big was it? What materials were used? What kind of device blew up? And how did we know?

An entire branch of multidisciplinary science  the science of nuclear nonproliferation  is devoted to answering those questions. Timely, accurate, science-based answers are indispensable to evaluating nuclear threats to national and global security and giving policy makers the information they need to formulate appropriately measured responses.

Easy to describe, but complex to carry out, nonproliferation science tracks peaceful nuclear activity and weapons programs and develops tools and methods to counter the spread of nuclear weapons, materials and technologies. This nonproliferation work includes nuclear safeguards, which verify nuclear materials are secure and kept from a weapons program, and proliferation detection, which involves continuously scanning the atmosphere and tracking earth-shaking events to determine if a weapons test has occurred.

Few organizations on the planet have the breadth and depth of scientific expertise across a range of disciplines  from nuclear physics to seismology  to detect a nuclear detonation, characterize it and distinguish it from natural events such as earthquakes and space weather. Figuring out whether a nation is pursuing a nuclear weapons program requires recognizing that program, spotting the materials it requires, identifying the processing involved, and so forth. In other words, it takes a nuclear weapons lab to find a nuclear weapons lab.

Decades ago, after developing the first atomic bomb, Los Alamos National Laboratory developed and implemented scrupulous material control and accounting for its own nuclear material. That research led to inventing a wide range of satellite-borne and Earth-based instruments; many of the latter are used by the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor nuclear activity. Instruments in space detect X-rays, gamma rays, and neutrons  all signatures of a nuclear explosion  anywhere on the globe, including hyper-secretive North Korea. Scientists tease out those signatures from the data noise.

We do this work in concert with the other National Nuclear Security Administration laboratories, Sandia and Lawrence Livermore, which have their own areas of expertise related to nonproliferation. For instance, using a ground-based global network of sensors designed by Los Alamos and developed by Sandia, scientists can distinguish the unique seismic signature of an underground nuclear test from the similar tremors caused by an earthquake or a mining operation. Those distinctions are crucial  no one wants to start a war over a misinterpreted mineshaft collapse in Asia.

Detecting a detonation is crucial  but what about detecting a weapons program before a test? The best pre-emptive strategy would be to understand, detect and block the pathways to nuclear weapons development before its too late. Los Alamos is leading the science to achieve that goal through continuous theoretical exploration, supercomputer modeling and actual experiment.

The global watch provided by these nuclear nonproliferation strategies, which support the 180 nations agreeing not to pursue nuclear weapons under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, has succeeded in stemming, but not eliminating, the spread of nuclear weapons. Its not easy. The North Korea tests remind us all to maintain our focus on the cutting-edge science underpinning the treatys success. If other rogue nations grow emboldened to test nuclear weapons despite international pressure, teams of dedicated physicists, seismologists, space-weather scientists, geologists and a wide range of other researchers will continue to answer the call for fact-based analysis that only nonproliferation science can deliver.

Nancy Jo Nicholas is the Principal Associate Director of Global Security at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where she oversees the science of nuclear nonproliferation.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

Over 10 years ago, in 2007, when then-N.M. House Speaker Ben Lujan and I succeeded in pushing through a bill to publicly finance elections for the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals, we rejoiced at the prospect of keeping big money and special interests out of some of the states most important courtrooms.

Since then the system has worked, with candidates from both sides of the aisle spending much less on races than their counterparts in other states, where the cost of judicial campaigns  and the influence of big contributors who have business before the court  has skyrocketed.

But in the past few years, the N.M. Legislature has raided the public election fund, which provides the funding for candidates for the higher courts and the Public Regulation Commission. The money has been used to help the Secretary of States Office run regular elections, despite a clear statutory obligation to use the funds to implement the Voter Action Act. Now, as we enter the 2018 election season, the fund is more than $1.5 million short, and the 15 candidates who want to run for some of the states highest offices are left in the lurch.

Its time for the Legislature to keep its promises. In 2015, then-Secretary of State Brad Winter went to the Board of Finance for an emergency loan to cover the costs of financing candidates in five races. He got it. This year, the money is there  and so is the public support.

A University of New Mexico survey taken this fall found that about 55 percent of voters support public financing for all campaigns  and some consider court races to be among the most important to shield the judiciary from the influence of powerful contributors.

In order to qualify for the New Mexico system candidates must raise a large number of small  $5  contributions from a percentage of registered voters in their districts. In statewide races, its usually well over a thousand. They must also agree not to raise private funds and limit their expenditures to the amount they get from the state. Its not easy, but a large number of judicial candidates have participated since 2014. As a result, costs have remained low, although there is always the possibility that an independent PAC could get into the act, something that the Voter Action Act did not anticipate and cannot prevent.

In 2014 both Republican Miles Hanisee and Democrat Kerry Kiernan ran for the Court of Appeals using the system, keeping the cost of that race down to about $450,000. Two years later when Republican Judith Nakamura ran against Democrat Michael Vigil for the Supreme Court, the race cost $464,000. All four are supporters of the system.

Meanwhile in states like Pennsylvania, without public financing, candidates for three Supreme Court seats spent $15 million, with parties and independent groups kicking in another $5.75 million. In Louisiana, races for the higher court have cost $4.9 million.

But the main benefit of a judicial public financing system is not keeping costs down. It is maintaining an independent judiciary, a bedrock American principle ever since the founding fathers set up three branches of government. Judges elected with public financing are shielded from conflicts and they are no longer dependent on the contributions of those they meet in court, either as lawyers, defendants or plaintiffs.

In New Mexico, we are in danger of losing the high ground weve established here thanks to the Voter Action Act. To regain it, the Legislature should replenish the public election fund to fully enable candidates who want to participate in the voluntary system.

Dede Feldman served 16 years in the New Mexico Senate representing Albuquerque. A Democrat, and the sponsor of the Voter Action Act, she is the author of Inside the New Mexico Senate: Boots, Suits and Citizens and Another Way Forward: Grassroots Solutions from New Mexico.
WASHINGTON  For the sake of argument, lets take President Donald Trump and his Fox News cheerleaders at their word that they really believe that the memo Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., released Friday reveals a serious assault on our freedoms by the FBI and the Justice Department.

Nah. Just kidding.

Its simply not possible, on any level, to take seriously the histrionics from Trump and his true-believer allies over the Nunes memo  except as evidence of how far the GOP has plunged into cynicism and madness.

A bunch of law-and-order, war-on-terrorism, lock-em-up Republicans suddenly sound like spokesmen for the American Civil Liberties Union, so grave is their concern that our government might in any way trespass upon sacred due process. Imagine how such guardians of the Constitution would protest if, say, that self-same government were to hold suspects in detention for a decade or more without charges or trials. Wait, my bad: I seem to recall Republicans applauding with gusto when Trump, in his State of the Union address, announced that the prison at Guantanamo Bay will remain open.

Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, packed so much half-truth and distortion into four short pages that its hard to know where to begin. His hope must have been that everyone would get lost in thick weeds of arcane detail, losing sight of the big picture. Which is not a picture at all.

The point of the memo is to suggest that in October 2016, the FBI and Justice Department  under Barack Obama  improperly obtained a secret warrant to conduct surveillance on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. We are supposed to believe the warrant was based on information in the discredited Christopher Steele dossier about Trumps connections with Russia. We are also given to understand that pertinent information was improperly withheld from the judge: the fact that Steeles firm was initially hired by Democrats seeking dirt on Trump. Nunes strongly implies, but doesnt quite say, that without the dossier, which was misrepresented by prosecutors, there would be no Russia investigation.

Ta-da! This memo totally vindicates Trump in probe, the president desperately claimed in a tweet.

Stop laughing, readers.

The problem with Trumps self-exoneration, of course, is that everything the memo tries to make us believe is false. The dossier was not the only information the court relied on to approve the warrant. Steele is a respected former British intelligence agent, and some of the dossiers findings, though by no means all, appear to be accurate. The judge wasnt told that the dossier was funded by the Democrats, merely a partisan political entity, but the materials provided by the FBI made it obvious it was an entity opposed to Trump. The memo itself acknowledges  quietly  that the whole probe began with George Papadopoulos, another campaign adviser, months before Page even came into the picture.

Break this gently to Sean Hannity, who might blow his last remaining gasket: Even if the dossier had never been written, Trump and his campaign would still be under investigation.

If you dont believe me, take it from Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., whose partisan credentials are unimpeachable  he led the Benghazi inquisition  and who was dispatched by Nunes to review all the classified intelligence used to obtain the Page warrant.

There is a Russia investigation without a dossier, he said Sunday. The dossier has nothing to do with the meeting at Trump Tower. The dossier has nothing to do with an email sent by Cambridge Analytica. The dossier really has nothing to do with George Papadopoulos meeting in Great Britain. It also doesnt have anything to do with obstruction of justice.

Gowdy announced recently that he will not run for re-election this fall. I wonder which comes first for Republicans these days: The decision to retire? Or the pangs of honesty, duty and  one hopes  remorse?

Three other Republican members of the Intelligence Committee  Chris Stewart of Utah, Will Hurd of Texas and Brad Wenstrup of Ohio  joined Gowdy on the rounds of the Sunday shows to deliver what sounded like a coordinated message: Of course the memo is a Terribly Serious Thing, but it doesnt undercut special counsel Robert Muellers investigation.

It sounded like a warning to Trump, who might be tempted to use the memo as a pretense to rid himself of the troublesome Mueller. This isnt the way Trumps fawning courtiers on Fox & Friends told him this memo gambit was going to work out. The whole Russia thing was supposed to be over.

Maybe he should change the channel every once in a while.

Robinsons columns, including those not published in the Journal, can be read at abqjournal.com/opinion  look for the syndicated columnist link. E-mail: eugenerobinson@washpost.com; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.
Two bipartisan bills on education made it through a House committee last week and are now headed to the House Education Committee for consideration.

For the sake of New Mexico students we hope lawmakers ignore the naysayers and defenders of the status quo and send them to Gov. Susana Martinez for her signature.

One  House Bill 22  would require high schools to text the parents of students who fall behind or are facing a coming test. House Bill 23, meanwhile, would require students to apply to college, for an internship, to the military or for a job before graduating. The bills are sponsored by House Minority Leader Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque, and Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque.

These are commonsense, bipartisan measures that should enjoy wide support because they have produced results where they have been tried.

According to the Fiscal Impact Report prepared on the texting bill, a 2017 study by Columbia University found weekly text-message alerts to parents about missing assignments, grades and class absences reduced student course failures by 38 percent, increased class attendance by 17 percent and improved district retention rates by 2 percentage points.

And at least one study found the mere act of applying and being accepted to college  remember they are not required to actually enroll  may change the way students perceive their qualifications as well as the value of college itself, according to that bills fiscal impact report.

Preparing students for postsecondary education is increasingly important as two-thirds of jobs created by 2022 will require some form of postsecondary education, the analysis states.

Unfortunately teachers unions and an association of school boards oppose the texting bill, arguing it will create inequalities because some parents may not have smartphones and because school districts may not have enough money to carry out the text messaging.

The inequalities argument is silly. By that rationale, school districts shouldnt have computers because some students may not have computers in their homes. And while it may be true that some districts may not have the resources needed to carry out the proposed requirement, it would be worth getting the ball rolling on this program and figuring out how to cover the cost for those school districts that dont currently have the capability.

At its core, this bill is about providing parents with another tool to help their children succeed and a way to boost parental involvement in childrens education.

As for the legislation requiring students to apply to college, the military, an internship or for a job, Rep. Debbie Rodella, D-Espanola, questions whether its fair to keep students from graduating simply on the grounds of having failed to fill out an application, assuming theyd met every other requirement.

Wed argue that the benefit far outweighs any perceived inconvenience for students. This bill is aimed at nudging students to think about what theyll do after high school and to take steps to make that happen.

Together these bills promise to help students before graduation and after. Lawmakers who want them to succeed in school and life will vote yes on both.

This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.
TourMin, Caan lock horns over intl flying licences

The Tourism Ministry is at loggerheads with the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) over issuing and renewing licences to fly international routes.
During the past three years, the state Office of Guardianship has amassed a surplus of nearly $3 million over its annual $5.5 million budget to provide guardianship services to low-income New Mexicans.

Now state lawmakers have their eye on $1 million of that nest egg to help initiate guardianship changes proposed in Senate Bill 19, which is set for a Senate vote today.

The executive director of the office is crying foul.

I dont believe one agency should be able to raid another agencys funds, John Block III, the executive director, told the Journal. The agency he oversees manages 21 private contractors who provide court-ordered guardianship services to about 900 indigent incapacitated people. The office has a waiting list of nearly 170 people.

On Monday, state Sen. Jim White, R-Albuquerque, a sponsor of the guardianship bill, told the Senate Judiciary Committee, We do have money in House Bill 2 to start the (reform) process and set up a system to ease the burden (on the states courts).

A special appropriation of $1 million would be diverted from the Office of Guardianship, according to the latest version of the budget bill.

But Block told the Judiciary Committee on Monday, If you take that $1 million, thats 185 people that we could provide guardianship services for.

Block said Tuesday that there are no plans to use that $1 million for additional guardianships. But he told the Journal that $1 million would eliminate the waiting list, if only for a year of services.

Such surplus funds cant be tapped for recurring expenses. So Block said his office would have to get more funding in the following years to afford any expansion of the guardianship rolls.

Block said some past efforts to transfer money from the surplus has been denied by the administration of Gov. Susana Martinez. Meanwhile, hes seeking funding this session to expand the six-person office staff.

Block also said he hopes to use surplus funds for a $50,000 contract so an outside agency can provide oversight and investigate, if necessary, the offices guardianship contractors. The contract, however, hasnt been approved.

State Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, on Tuesday dismissed Blocks arguments, saying, The point is, why havent they spent that (fund balance)? They havent taken people off the waiting list. Even if $1 million is diverted, Ortiz y Pino said, that still leaves $2 million for the office.

Last fall, the office of then-State Auditor Tim Keller said an initial fact-finding audit revealed a widespread failure of the (Office of Guardianship) to oversee contract guardians.

An LFC budget recommendation in January said, The office is not providing the leadership needed to meet guardianship challenges.

State Rep. Deborah Armstrong, D-Albuquerque, chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee, echoed the criticism at a hearing last fall.

You might be short-staffed, she told Block, but it feels like a huge failure.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

Currently, New Mexico is one of 31 states with no appeal process for patients forced to try  and fail with  several rounds of less ideal, and sometimes cheaper, drugs before insurance will cover the medicine deemed necessary for them by their physician.

That try-and-fail process is called step therapy and is common across the nation as a strategy for insurance companies, including those in New Mexico, to save money by requiring doctors to treat patients with less expensive drugs before paying for more expensive drugs  even if a physician knows the drugs wont help or could even hurt.

This is entirely backwards from how medicine is supposed to be, Dr. Barbara McAneny, CEO of the New Mexico Cancer Center and president-elect of the American Medical Association, said Tuesday.

She said the problem physicians and patients have with certain step therapy decisions is that some patients have already tried and failed on the suggested first-step drugs or would be harmed by not immediately taking the prescribed, ideal drugs. That leaves them suffering on less adequate treatment or even worsening their conditions by prolonging efficient treatment with no recourse for appeal.

She said she supports a bill moving through the Legislature that would bring New Mexico in line with the 15 other states with laws allowing for an appeal process if a patient is denied his or her ideal drug.

Senate Bill 11, sponsored by Reps. Liz Thomson, D-Albuquerque, and Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, and Sens. Gay Kernan, R-Hobbs, and Liz Stefanics, D-Cerrillos, would mandate a fast-track internal company appeal process in which a doctor can petition for a patients needed medicine.

If denied again, the patient could then file his or her own appeal with the state Office of Superintendent of Insurance.

The bill has passed two Senate committees and could be debated on the Senate floor as early as today. A House bill was also introduced, but it has not gained traction.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Tracy Pena gave up her son and daughter twice to relatives, at one point saying shed been causing distruction in the childrens lives.

But the boy and girl were back with Pena, 35, last year when true destruction arrived. Her son, Jeremiah Valencia, was killed just short of his 14th birthday. Investigators say Penas boyfriend, Thomas Ferguson, 42, had tortured the boy and kept him in a dog kennel before beating him to death on Nov. 26  the same day Pena was released from one of her more-or-less regular jail stays.

And her daughter, born less than a year after Jeremiah, told detectives she witnessed the fatal beating.

Efforts to reach relatives to talk about Penas history were unsuccessful. But shes been a frequent flier at the Santa Fe County jail with probation and parole violations.

And shes a prime example of New Mexicos many revolving-door inmates who do not have violent records, but appear to have serious drug problems that lead to arrest after arrest, and then quick release after release.

Judges had ordered Pena to interact with drug rehabilitation services, but based on court records, she probably didnt follow through. Nothing in the online records show shes ever been charged with a violent crime.

In such cases, its often the children who suffer the most. That was certainly the case here.

Jail bookings

Pena, also known as Tracy or Tracy Ann Valencia, Tracy Tapia and, at least on Facebook, as Tracy Olivas, has been booked into the Santa Fe County jail 22 times since 2009, mostly on shoplifting counts, probation violations, failure to appear for not showing up in court and failure to comply for not following court orders. She had one earlier booking, in 2003 at age 20, under a hold until she was sober.

Shes also faced a heroin possession count and, in a separate case, a charge of tampering with evidence for popping a bag of cocaine into her mouth after she was confronted about shoplifting at a Wal-Mart store. Pena has spent a total of about 120 days in jail since 2009, according to the jail records.

Her longest stay behind bars lasted 36 days in a case that started when she was indicted in state District Court for stealing more than $500 worth of Levis jeans from the now-defunct Santa Fe Sears store, and ended up including a probation violation and a dirty drug test.

Court records also show that in October 2008, Penas parents petitioned for guardianship of her two children. The following February, Pena signed off on the arrangement.

She wrote, I do not want to cause any more distruction (sic) in the childrens lifes (sic).

In 2011, when her arrest rate picked up  she was booked into the jail five times that year  Pena again OKd granting guardianship to relatives, first to an aunt and uncle. Parents dont have (a) steady place to live, a court motion says.

Later, Penas parents again were named temporary kinship guardians. An amended order in June 2012 granted them guardianship for 12 months.

State Children, Youth and Families Department spokesman Henry Varela has said the department had a protective service interaction with Jeremiah and his now 13-year-old sister in 2011, and placed them with family members.

Andrew Valencia, who court records indicate is Jeremiahs father, also has a long criminal record. He has been in the Central New Mexico Correctional Facility since July after violating probation stemming from 2014 robbery convictions. Divorce proceedings between Pena and Valencia resulted in final decrees in both 2007 and 2009.

Failed drug test

In the case involving the jeans from Sears, Pena pleaded guilty to attempted shoplifting in May 2015, and District Court Judge T. Glenn Ellington gave her a 364-day suspended sentence and 364 days probation. After an initial probation violation  She has not adjusted to probation supervision at all, a probation officer wrote  and 13 days in jail, Ellington let her out under electronic monitoring and a requirement for twice-a-week drug tests via urine analysis.

When Pena quickly failed one of the drug tests, Ellington sentenced her to the 36 days in jail that she served in March and April 2016.

While these court proceedings were ongoing, Pena also was charged  in Magistrate Count on June 15, 2015  with felony possession of heroin. She quickly entered a no contest plea to a charge of attempt to possess heroin. It appears she was ordered to perform community service, and online documents say she was required to complete a drug and alcohol screening and any recommended treatment recommended by Ayudantes or The Life Link. The Life Link is a nonprofit that provides services such as behavioral health, substance abuse counseling and housing programs. Ayudantes was a now-closed substance abuse treatment center.

A few months later, in November 2015, a bench warrant was issued for her arrest for failure to appear at a compliance hearing. She wasnt subsequently arrested until Feb. 24, 2016. She was released about a week later and ordered to serve 34 hours community service at a Santa Fe senior center in lieu of fines and fees. But yet another bench warrant was issued on Aug, 3, 2016. The documents say she surrendered herself to the court nine days later.

Online records say the case was closed the following month because jurisdiction lapsed, possibly a reference to the fact that felony cases are typically sent on to the higher-level District Court. But the heroin charge doesnt show up again.

Pending case

Penas next case started in Dec. 13, 2016, and is still pending.

According to a criminal complaint, Pena was taken into custody at a Santa Fe Walmart when she had stashed several items in her purse. When confronted, she said she had intended to pay for items and did so. She was escorted to a store security office, where she put a small baggy in her mouth and said, It was only cocaine, the complaint states.

There were several syringes in her purse, as well as a silver spoon containing brown residue consistent with the use of heroin. Pena was charged with shoplifting, possession of cocaine, tampering with evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia. She also was taken to Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital and was admitted for care; she does not appear to have been jailed at this point.

But the incident resulted in a March 10, 2017, grand jury indictment of Pena for attempt to tamper with evidence. She missed a hearing in July, and a warrant was issued and she was arrested July 31. Before Judge Ellington, she subsequently pleaded guilty to attempt to commit tampering with evidence, got a 364-day suspended sentence and unsupervised probation for 364 days.

Ellington ordered her to obtain naxolone  a life-saving drug that can reverse the effects of an opiate overdose  and to complete an intake assessment with The Life Link.

Pena also was ordered to complete 12 hours of community service at a homeless shelter, needle exchange program or substance abuse facility.

But within about six weeks, in mid-September, a prosecutor filed for revocation of the probation. Then, on Nov. 27, the prosecutor asked for a hearing, writing in a motion that Pena was in the county jail on other charges. But jail records show she had been released from jail the day before, Nov. 26, after serving two days for failure to appear.

Nov. 26 is the same the day the sheriffs office says her son Jeremiah Valencia was beaten to death by her boyfriend. Pena told investigators that she found the 13-year-old boy dead on a bed when she returned to the family groups Nambe home after she was released from jail. Jeremiahs 14th birthday would have been Dec. 6.

Court records also show that Pena missed a hearing scheduled for Dec. 11. She was arrested on Jan. 17 and has been in jail ever since, awaiting a hearing on her latest probation violation, scheduled for Feb. 21, and now because of the ongoing proceedings in the death of Jeremiah.

That case emerged when another prisoner in the jail overheard Pena talking about Jeremiahs death.

A detective then listened to a recorded jailhouse phone call from January where Pena talked to Ferguson. She told him, Ive been crying like every (expletive) day, I cry like almost all night long, every (expletive) day, no matter what, its ridiculous.

When Ferguson asks what shes cries about, Pena says for the hito!
The girlfriend of an accused triple murderer has agreed to testify against him in exchange for a six-year prison sentence.

Gloria Chavez, 27, faced 13 charges for her alleged role in a May 2017, 12-day spree that left three dead in Albuquerque. Her then-boyfriend Yoan Santiesteban is facing first-degree murder and lesser charges in the deaths of Samir Al-Abboudy, 44, Celina Arrellanes, 27, and Matthew Severinghaus, 25. He is set for trial in June.

On Tuesday, Chavez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit murder before 2nd Judicial District Judge Brett Loveless. She will be sentenced at some point after Santiestebans case is resolved.

Chavez told investigators that she and Santiesteban only planned to rob the victims, but that Santiesteban killed each of them. The couple met at a casino months before the deadly spree.

Al-Abboudy, a political refugee from Iraq, was found dead in his room at the Days Inn near Menaul and Princeton NE on May 14, police said.

On May 24, the couple arranged to buy drugs from a man at a mobile home park near Zuni and Wyoming SE. When they arrived, police said, Santiesteban fired repeatedly at the seller, but instead hit his girlfriend, Arrellanes, who was sitting in a car nearby.

On May 26, Severinghaus was shot in the driveway of his home near Montgomery and Tramway NE while he was on his way to work.
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  Thomas Ferguson is a violent man who seems to hurt those closest to him.

He also intimidates his victims, and threatens to harm them and their families if they tell law enforcement of his abuse, according to reports from his extensive violent criminal record.

His record has resulted in him being incarcerated several times, but the longest stint behind bars was 16 months, despite the repeated arrests and probation violations.

The 42-year-old is most recently accused of beating his girlfriends 13-year-old son to death in late November and then forcing the boys mother, Tracy Ann Pena, 35, and his own son, 19-year-old Jordan Nunez, to help dispose of the body.

The three are now each charged with child abuse resulting in death, tampering with evidence and conspiracy to tamper with evidence in the killing of Jeremiah Valencia.

Its the fourth time that Ferguson has been accused of beating someone in New Mexico  all of them girlfriends or family members.

On Tuesday, prosecutors and defense attorneys came to an agreement that Ferguson will remain in jail until trial for Jeremiah Valencias death. He already was facing long-term incarceration for violating probation in a 2014 case. Judge T. Glenn Ellington agreed to the terms at a hearing in Santa Fe District Court.

Santa Fe County deputies began investigating Jeremiahs death Jan. 25. An inmate at the Santa Fe County jail told authorities that Pena, who was in the jail on a probation violation, had recounted how she went to her house in Nambe on Nov. 26 after being released from jail previously and found her son dead inside his room, and that Ferguson had killed him. Pena and Nunez were allegedly forced to help stuff the body into a plastic container before the remains were buried a few miles from the home.

In the crime that has shocked the state, subsequent reports say Ferguson abused and tortured Jeremiah for some time with a hammer, brass knuckles and other implements. Jeremiah was beaten so badly by Ferguson that he required a cane and wheelchair to get around. Ferguson also allegedly kept Jeremiah in a dog kennel, starved him and forced him to wear an adult diaper.

In his most recent prior case, he received a prison sentence in 2015 that could have kept him behind bars for more than seven years for allegedly kidnapping and raping his girlfriend over five days.

But the prison sentence was suspended by Judge Ellington. Ferguson was placed on probation, yet he didnt have to go back to prison after a probation violation for allegedly beating another woman.

Rape charge

The case started in 2014, when Ferguson was charged with one count each of criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping, aggravated battery on a household member and interference with communications. A Santa Fe Police report says a woman, who was identified as Fergusons longtime girlfriend, was kept at Fergusons house for five days, and was repeatedly beaten and sexually assaulted.

The woman was finally able to contact her mother, who called police. On Feb. 18, 2014, SWAT members entered the house and found Ferguson unconscious and took him to the hospital, believing he had overdosed on prescription pills.

The woman told police that the whole ordeal was a blur and at one point she remembered that she was just laying there staring at the ceiling, just praying, just praying for God to get me out of this situation, a report says.

Judge Ellington eventually approved a plea deal under which Ferguson pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping and one count of aggravated battery on a household member, according to a court document filed in May 2015. He was sentenced to nine years in prison, but with seven years, seven months and 23 days suspended, and was credited with the time hed served in jail. He was released on June 30, 2015.

The prosecution also stipulated to the charges being classified as non-violent. Ferguson also was placed on five years supervised probation.

Santa Fe District Attorney Marco Serna, who didnt take over the office until the start of 2017, said this week he recently spoke with prosecutor Anastasia Martin about why Ferguson was given the plea deal.

Serna said Martin told him that the woman who allegedly was assaulted by Ferguson went to the Santa Fe police after Ferguson was indicted and gave an account that was different from her initial story.

Serna said defense attorneys could have used the differing accounts to discredit the victim at trial. The attorneys decided it would be best to secure a guilty plea rather than take chances at trial, Serna said.

Seven months after his release, Ferguson was accused of violating his probation after police responded to a domestic violence call in Rio Rancho in February 2016.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Sandoval County Magistrate Court, a woman who answered the door for a probation officer showed signs of battery. When the officer asked if Ferguson was beating her, she appeared scared and he noticed a hesitation about her that she was scared to tell him the truth. The woman had bruising around her eyes, but said it was a birthmark.

She said the last time Ferguson beat her was about two weeks before when he pushed her over a chair in the kitchen over an argument. She stated that she didnt know how to get him out of her house, the complaint says. She indicated that Thomas doesnt work or do anything and that he physically abuses her.

When asked why she hadnt reported him, she said she was scared of retaliation or of him sending someone to hurt her and her family. She indicated that he tells her kids that he will beat them if they get involved, the complaint states.

She had pictures on her phone that she said she had to hide from Ferguson. She said he was paranoid and if she did anything that he perceived as a threat, he would argue with her and hit her. She showed pictures of bruising on her right arm.

Ferguson was taken to the Sandoval County jail and held on a five-day probation violation hold, but no criminal charge for beating the woman in Rio Rancho shows up in the state court system.

Ellington issued an order in April 2016 that is hard to interpret in written form.

It says, The court finds that the States Motion to Revoke Probation is well taken and GRANTED and the defendant violated probation.

But the very next line in the document says, It is ordered that the Defendant be reinstated on probation  meaning Ferguson would not be incarcerated or have to complete the full nine-year sentence that had been suspended before.

The document originally said Ferguson had admitted to a probation violation by picking up new charges, but that line was crossed out and having negative contact with police was written in by hand. Serna said Tuesday that his office has requested transcripts from that hearing to see what happened since the attorney who worked the case has moved on.

Ferguson now faces a probation violation for not showing up for a scheduled meeting at the Las Vegas probation office June 20, according to a report, and continually evading probation officers. His probation officer declared him an absconder, but a petition to revoke probation wasnt filed by Deputy District Attorney Michael Nunez until Nov. 20.

Jeremiah Valencia was killed six days later.

Ferguson was arrested and booked into the Santa Fe County jail for the probation revocation on Jan. 17, online records show. He was in jail when authorities learned of the beating death of Jeremiah Valencia and has been incarcerated ever since.

Prior cases

In an earlier case, from May 2003, Fergusons then-wife told Santa Fe police officers she began to argue with Ferguson at their Hopewell Street home after she accused him of having an affair. She said he knocked her down, punched her in the head and choked her until she lost consciousness. He also kicked her in the torso and upper back area while she was holding their 8-month-old baby and was two months pregnant, she told police.

The woman, who had injuries on her face, neck and legs, and the baby, who got a contusion on her forehead, were taken to the hospital in an ambulance.

Ferguson was acquitted of a felony child abuse charge, but found guilty of misdemeanor battery on a household member. He was given credit for the five months he spent in jail or on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial, was placed on supervised probation for six months, and was required to get counseling for family, parenting and anger issues, according to court documents.

Fergusons criminal career began in New Mexico in 1996 when he was charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. He violated his probation and served six months in the Quay County jail, according to Corrections.

Ferguson also was sentenced to probation again by former state District Court Judge Michael Vigil for a 2001 shoplifting charge.

Fergusons criminal history in Texas dates back to April 2005 with a charge of assault causing bodily injury to a family member. He racked up several more charges, including violating a protective order and carrying a prohibited weapon, before June 2006 when he was sentenced to nine years incarceration and four years probation for obstruction or retaliation, as well as a violation of a protective order against him.

Its unclear when or why he got out of prison in Texas, but records provided by Corrections show he was under New Mexico supervision for the obstruction conviction between August 2009 and October 2014.
Voters approved two bond questions on Tuesday that will provide $17 million of financing for capital projects at Santa Fe Community College over the next four years and continuation of a 2-mill levy that will generate about $78 million over six years to be used for maintenance, repair, and remodeling facilities at Santa Fe Public Schools and area charter schools.

The funding comes through payment of property taxes, which will not increase as a result of Tuesdays vote.

According to unofficial results provided by the County Clerks Office, the 2-mill levy for public schools, also known as Senate Bill 9 funding, was approved by 73 percent of voters, with 5,042 votes cast in favor and 1,883 votes against.

Thank you Santa Fe! SFPS Superintendent Veronica Garcia said, reacting to the outcome of the vote at a watch party held at Cowgirls. Our children and families are the beneficiaries.

Santa Fe Public Schools will receive about $11.5 million per year in funding for maintenance, remodeling and repairs to buildings on its approximately 30 school campuses. Another $1.5 million per year is distributed to six local charter schools.

In the community college election, 77 percent of voters supported a general obligation bond  5,924 voting in favor and 1,763 against  and 73 percent supported a tax levy question, with 5,564 voting for it and 2,104 voting against.

About $7 million of the funding will go to the construction of a 17,000 square-foot building on campus to house the upstart automotive technology program. Another $5 million will go toward on-campus infrastructure and building improvements.

The William C. Witter Fitness Center will get about $2 million for improvements to the pool, bleachers, weight room and other areas. Another $2 million is earmarked for technology upgrades, while the remaining $1 million is intended for improvements to learning spaces.

We are incredibly grateful to Santa Fe County residents for approving this bond measure, which will bring much-needed improvements to SFCC, interim president Cecilia Cervantes said in a statement on Wednesday. Santa Fe voters understand that higher education plays a key role in the vitality of our community and they reaffirmed this commitment. We are humbled and inspired to move forward with our bond projects, which will bolster the education of tens of thousands of local community college students annually. We take our responsibility as stewards of public money seriously and thank the voters of Santa Fe for continuing to put their trust in us.
LAS CRUCES  A former Hobbs resident allegedly sexually abused by a former Las Cruces priest is suing the priest and the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces over allegations that church officials facilitated the priests abuses and helped him flee the state.

The mans allegations were detailed in a lawsuit filed Monday in 3rd Judicial District Court in Las Cruces.

In addition to the Las Cruces diocese, Father Ricardo Bauza, the former pastor of St. Genevieve Catholic Church in Las Cruces, was named as a defendant in the lawsuit, as well as St. Helena Catholic Church, where Bauza mostly recently served as a pastor.

The allegations in the lawsuit are related to an alleged criminal incident involving Bauza that allegedly occurred in April 2016 in Hobbs.

The lawsuit accuses of Bauza of sexual battery, alleging he sexually abused the plaintiff  listed as John Doe 81  in the rectory of the Hobbs parish.

The law firm representing the plaintiff  Flores, Twaney and Acosta, P.C.  says its client was not a minor at the time of alleged incident and now lives in Florida.

Bauza is also facing criminal charges in the same alleged incident, court records show.

He was charged in October with one misdemeanor count of criminal sexual contact, according to a criminal complaint filed in Lea County Magistrate Court in Hobbs.

The 15-page criminal complaint alleges that Bauza allowed the plaintiff to use the shower at his residence, the parish rectory, in April 2016 and that Bauza entered the shower, unclothed, and began to wash the plaintiffs body, including his genitals.

The plaintiff told investigators that he felt violated and confused and got out of the shower and left the rectory. But he returned a week later to use the shower, according to to the complaint, at which time Bauza allegedly attempted to bathe with the man.

The plaintiff left without using the shower and later told two church workers about the incidents, according to the complaint. The workers later contacted law enforcement and the Las Cruces diocese, which oversees parishes in southern New Mexico counties.

Plaintiff now suffers from embarrassment, humiliation, loss of self-esteem, depression and other damages, the lawsuit stated. His trust in his religion and in authority figures has been seriously breached. His faith has been badly damaged.

According to the criminal complaint, Bauza also allegedly showed pictures of his penis and other sexually explicit images to the two church workers. One of the workers also alleged that Bauza had engaged in sexual activities with males in the parish rectory.

Connie Flores, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiff, told the Sun-News on Tuesday that the two church workers were fired after reporting the incidents and are in the process of filing a separate lawsuit against the diocese.

A cleaning lady who worked for the Hobbs parish also told investigators that when she was cleaning the rectory one day, she saw Bauza standing naked in the hallway with his backside exposed to her, according to the complaint.

Sometime later, she said she overheard the shower incident involving the plaintiff.

She told investigators that she could hear Bauza and the plaintiff talking in the shower. At one point, she overheard Bauza telling the plaintiff, (I)t is okay for me to be in the shower you, it is like a boys locker room, according to the complaint.

A warrant for Bauzas arrest remains active, court records show. The lawsuit alleges that he fled the state to evade law enforcement, but his defense attorney, Jason Bowles of Albuquerque, told the Sun-News on Tuesday that Bauza has not fled the state and that he remains in contact with his counsel.

Bowles said he was unaware of the recently filed lawsuit against Bauza and had not been retained to represent Bauza in the new case.

Bishop Oscar Cantu declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by the Sun-News on Tuesday.

According to the Hobbs News-Sun, Bauza was assigned to St. Helena in July 2014 after serving at St. Genevieve Church in Las Cruces for nine years. He was ordained into the priesthood in June 2005 after joining the Diocese of Las Cruces in 2003.

In a news release issued in November, Cantu said asked Bauza to absent himself from the parish and enter a rehab facility after learning of the allegations.

The Bishops public statement demonstrates a lack of conviction, Flores said in a statement. Why order Fr. Bauza to therapy if he didnt believe the allegations? And if he believed the allegations, why not report them to the police himself? Why continue to tell parishioners that Fr. Bauza is on sabbatical?

Flores on Tuesday said Bauza possibly abused people in Las Cruces.

We are convinced there are victims in Las Cruces, she said, and we hope these victims come forward.

The lawsuit stated the plaintiff is seeking an unspecified amount of compensation from a jury trial.

Carlos Andres Lopez can be reached 575-541-5453, carlopez@lcsun-news.com or @carlopez_los on Twitter.



2018 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

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_____
LAS CRUCES  The mechanical harvesting of one of New Mexicos favorite crops is inching closer to reality, experts said Tuesday at a yearly chile conference.

Green chile is still harvested by laborers due to challenges in picking peppers  and removing the stems  by machine. Some experts have said the move to mechanical harvesting is needed to keep the commercial chile industry alive in the long-term in the face of a labor shortage and growing competition from Mexico.

More than 200 attendees, including some from other countries, gathered Tuesday at Hotel Encanto for the second and final day of the 2018 New Mexico Chile Conference. The move toward mechanical harvesting was a topic of discussion in the hotels halls and meeting rooms.

Stephanie Walker, conference co-chair and chile researcher for New Mexico State Universitys Cooperative Extension Service, has been working to develop a type of green chile thats more easily harvested by machines. Last summer was the second that the particular chile breeding lines reached certain benchmarks when harvested using a machine, she said.

It left less in the field, she said. The breakage was about equivalent to the commercial varieties (of chile).

If the green chile passes its third trial this year, the next step would be to release it as a chile strain to be grown by farmers who want to mechanically harvest the crop, Walker said.

Its been a slow but steady process reaching this point, Walker said. Developing chile varieties, creating a successful mechanical harvesting machine and developing a chile de-stemming machine have all been components taken on by different people at the university or in the industry.

We started developing these breed lines 10 years ago, she said. We had to put a lot of pieces together.

The mechanical de-stemming of green chile is considered to be one of the biggest remaining hurdles to large-scale mechanical harvesting. Thats because laborers now carry out the task in the field by hand when pulling chile off the plants. But its proven to be a much more difficult task to accomplish by machine.

De-stemmer progress

Nag Kodali of New Hampshire, inventor of a chile de-stemming machine, was among the conference attendees. His machine was part of a 2015 trial near Hatch that paired the de-stemming machine with a mechanical harvester.

Since then, Kodali said, hes made a number of advancements to the device, which uses a conveyor belt to align and chop off chile stems. He said hes working with a southeastern Arizona farmer whos breeding chile peppers that are more easily de-stemmed than current varieties. In particular, the breeding line are straighter, have stems that readily break off the pepper and are heavier than normal varieties.

Kodali said the first of his machines to be installed in a commercial chile processing plant is set happen in California. A production facility near Deming is considering installing the device, too.

It took four or five years to reach this stage with the de-stemmer, but finally we are here, he said. If we are talking next year at this same time, I think Im going to tell you: Mission accomplished.'

Dina St. Clair, professor at UC Davis, said shes been working with NMSU on developing a device, equipped with cameras, that would assess chile pepper plants in the field, particularly to find which ones are the most desirable to breed. This process is currently labor-intensive, which hinders the pace of chile breeding.

Were trying to bring technology to the field in terms of evaluating plants for breeding, she said.

The project enters its second year in 2018.

Paul Bosland, conference co-chair and regents professor of horticulture at NMSU, said now it takes about 10 years to develop a new variety of chile.

But with the ongoing research, we hope to speed it up, he said.

Bosland and St. Clair said faster development of new chile varieties will help in the development of plants that will tolerate the effects of climate change.

Endowed chair update

An effort to create an endowed chair position at NMSU dedicated to future chile research has continued to progress, said Cindy Nicholson, director of development for the universitys College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences.

The campaign is attempting to raise $1 million, which would be put into a permanent fund to support the salary of a researcher. The nearly decade-long effort has generated $910,000.

Nicholson said the goal is to create a job that will exist in perpetuity and wont be subject to position curtailments by the university.

That chair is important to everybody from our processors to our growers to our consumers, she said.

Theres a push underway to raise the final $90,000.

For information, visit the Chile Pepper Institute website: https://cpi.nmsu.edu.

Diana Alba Soular may be reached at 575-541-5443, dalba@lcsun-news.com or @AlbaSoular on Twitter.



2018 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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For older adults who grew up before the personal computer, iPhones and Amazon Echo became technological mainstays in everyday life, a growing number of startups are working on smart devices with features designed to keep aging minds and bodies healthy.

Personal-assistant robots such as the ElliQ and Cutii, smart shoes that signal a fall and even a smart hip-protection airbag  all still in prototype and not yet available in the consumer market  recently debuted at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, designed with features for aging people whose senses may no longer be pin sharp.

From technology-assisted home-care services such as Honor to hardware products such as grandPads tablet for seniors, with a magnifying glass and simplified apps, businesses are seeking to tap into a booming population of older adults and help them tackle a critical challenge of modern aging: social isolation.

More than 8 million Americans over 50 are affected by isolation, which is a growing health epidemic, according to Connect2Affect, an advocacy group launched by the American Association of Retired Persons to erase social isolation.

Social isolation  feeling lonely and cut off from the world  may accelerate many diseases, such as heart disease, and impair immune systems, according to research from the University of York in the United Kingdom and the University of Chicago. Researchers at Utahs Brigham Young University have suggested that the heightened risk of dying from social isolation is on par with smoking 15 cigarettes every day and being an alcoholic.

The number of Americans aged 65 or older is expected to nearly double in the next three decades. And as that population grows, the technology market catering to older adults is projected to grow to at least $20 billion in 2020, according to Laurie Orlov, a Florida-based analyst who specializes in technology for the elderly.

Although many of the startups working on products for an older market are based overseas, Israels ElliQ is testing its personal robot in the Bay Area and tablet-maker grandPad is headquartered in Orange, Calif.

While Silicon Valley venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers dont have elderly-friendly device startups in their portfolios, they have invested in other businesses that help the elderly. San Francisco-based Honor, a personalized elderly care service with an app for scheduling services related to home care, has raised $20 million from Andreessen Horowitz and $42 million from Thrive Capital.

Yet, as companies jump into this burgeoning market, gerontologists are urging caution rather than rushing out tech products for the elderly. They say many of the startups, run by young entrepreneurs eager to serve a demographic often forgotten by the technology industry, do not always understand what older adults really want.

Theres no denying that we have a growing aging population and with that, there is a business opportunity, said Dr. Carla Perissinotto, an associate professor in geriatrics at UC San Francisco. The devices are generally designed by younger folks, and many of the devices are very complicated to use. Unless they are going to be designed by or with elderly folks, there is a high chance for failure.

For older adults, the current landscape of technological devices may already be too hard to navigate. A May 2017 survey by Pew Research found only 26 percent of adults over the age of 65 were very confident in using smartphones, tablets and computers  compared to 74 percent of adults between 18 and 29 years old.

Some of the design features that younger adults look for in devices, like a smaller size and a quieter speaker, are undesirable for older adults, Perissinotto said. Older adults often struggle to hear or read fine print, and they may lose sensitivity in their fingertips, requiring more force to press icons on a touchscreen. They also may forget basic digital tasks or not know how to do them, such as signing into a Wi-Fi network.

Barry Sardis, 70, a retired Silicon Valley computer programmer who lives in a San Jose retirement community, is interested in the new generation of personal-assistant devices for the elderly. Sardis is testing a prototype personal robot from ElliQ, which won a Best of Innovation award at CES.

Sardis said he is testing ElliQs ability to proactively ask questions or suggest activities that exceed capabilities of popular smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home, which only respond when they are called.

ElliQ is made of two parts: a movable smart speaker and a tablet screen. The smart speaker moves on its own when communicating with a user to convey body language and lights up during certain actions to signal that its paying attention. The tablet will display music, send messages to ride-hailing apps and provide closed captioning responses so users who are hard of hearing can read what ElliQ says.

The reason the social robots struck me as something for the elder-care market is that I see them as something like smartphones, Sardis said. Smartphones are multi-functional, and there is a broad range of requirements and desires from the elder community.

Unlike other personal robots, which normally have a face and are able to move around the room with wheels or mechanical legs, ElliQ purposely does not look human to prevent any notion that the robot is a suitable alternative to human-to-human interaction.

Body language with lights and closed captioning make (ElliQ) more intuitive, but ElliQ is not a person, said ElliQ founder Dor Skuler, whose company has announced plans to test the device with more people in retirement homes in Marin County and Florida.

Other startups aim to ease older adults into using their products with simpler features. grandPad makes iPad-like tablets for the elderly with bigger icons and a bigger power button. The tablet, which provides a dozen basic apps, has senior-friendly features such as a magnifying glass to help read small text, a wireless charger since some users may forget to charge the tablet regularly, and a simplified transportation app to hail Lyft in a few clicks.

We need to make the technology sophisticated enough that it makes it look easy, said Dr. Kerry Burnight, a former professor of geriatrics at UC Irvine who now serves as chief gerontologist for grandPad. Its not dumbing down; its the opposite.

ElliQ and grandPad focus their apps on keeping older adults socially and mentally engaged by providing easy video calls or playing music playlists to improve ones mood and decrease stress.

French startup Cutii, with its eponymous personal robot, seeks to connect older adults through organized activities and exercises arranged by the robot, said founder Antoine Bataille.

Yet even with robots designed to help the elderly stave off social isolation, doctors still say the human touch is the best medicine.

There is no substitution for in-human connections, said Perissinotto. Even if you use technology, it should be only as a supplement.



2018 The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)

Visit The Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.) at www.mercurynews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
DETROIT  A Detroit man is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to making threats on Facebook against police officers.

The office of Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette says 42-year-old Nheru Littleton entered the plea Tuesday in a Detroit courtroom to making a threat of terrorism. Sentencing is scheduled for April 10.

Authorities say he used social media in July 2016 to encourage the killing of white officers after the fatal shooting of five officers in Dallas.

Littletons attorney had earlier argued that Littletons posts were protected by the First Amendment. The defense had challenged on appeal whether the charge could proceed, but higher courts including the Michigan Court of Appeals let it move forward.
Trump tells Pentagon to plan military parade in Washington

US President Donald Trump has asked the Pentagon to organise a large military parade in the nation's capital.
HOUSTON  Texas highest criminal court on Wednesday rejected the appeal of a condemned British national who was convicted of arranging the killing of a neighbor so she could take the womans baby.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the ruling of a lower court, which rejected Linda Cartys arguments that prosecutors had coerced witnesses and improperly hidden information that could have affected the outcome of her capital murder trial.

Carty, a native of St. Kitts and Nevis and the only British woman on death row in the United States, was convicted in the 2001 suffocation of 20-year-old Joana Rodriguez.

Prosecutors said Carty, who had been living in Houston for about 20 years by the time of her trial, recruited three men to abduct Rodriguez and her newborn in the hopes of saving her relationship with her common-law husband by passing off the child as her own.

Rodriguez and her days-old son, Ray Cabrera, were abducted from their Houston apartment on May 16, 2001. The boy was found safe in a car that same day, but his mother was found suffocated in the trunk of another car. Her arms and legs were wrapped in duct tape, her mouth and nose also were taped and she had a plastic bag over her head.

The three men charged as Cartys accomplices received long prison terms. Carty was sentenced to death.

Cartys lawyer, Michael Goldberg, said Wednesday that he was unaware of the ruling and had no immediate comment.

The appeals court ruling supported the findings of District Judge David Garner, who decided in 2016 that Harris County prosecutors should have turned over some witness statements to Cartys trial lawyers, but that the evidence was overwhelming and wouldnt have changed the trials outcome. Garner also determined that prosecutors didnt knowingly use perjured testimony or allow untrue testimony at the trial.

In a concurring opinion joined by two other appeals court judges, Judge Bert Richardson wrote that while Cartys lawyers contended that prosecutors committed egregious misconduct, those claims werent supported in the court record.

None of the evidence eliminates her or even casts reasonable doubt on her role as a party to this offense, Richardson wrote.

When she was arrested, Carty was on probation for impersonating a federal agent and previously had been arrested for auto theft and drug charges.

She does not yet have an execution date.

In other rulings Wednesday, the appeals court rejected a condemned San Antonio mans request for DNA testing. Juan Castillo, on death row for the 2003 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Tommy Garcia Jr., sought testing on a knit ski mask found in the area near the killing. Evidence showed that Garcia was lured to a San Antonio lovers lane by Castillos girlfriend and then ambushed.

The appeals court also upheld the conviction and death sentence of Steven Alan Thomas for the 1980 killing of a 73-year-old Austin-area woman. Mildred McKinneys slaying in Williamson County remained unsolved for more than 30 years until Thomas was arrested in 2012 after his DNA was matched to the murder scene.

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Follow Michael Graczyk on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeGraczyk
The 46th annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta generated $172.98 million in total economic impact, according to a just released economic impact survey from the marketing research firm Forward Analytics.

Of that number, $101.75 million was in direct impact and $71.23 million was in indirect impact.

The nine-day fiesta attracted 887,970 guests, of which 572,000, or 64 percent, were from outside New Mexico. Most out-of-state guests came from Texas, California, Colorado and Arizona, the report says. Guests spent an average of $28 per person on Balloon Fiesta grounds, excluding parking and admission charges.

The survey, commissioned by Balloon Fiesta management, was based on in-person interviews with 1,287 adult attendees during 14 Balloon Fiesta sessions. The sample size represents a 95 percent level of confidence.

The last economic impact surveys were done in 2015 and 2011.

In 2015, the fiestas total economic impact was $177.44 million, of which $105.31 million was direct impact and $72.13 million was indirect impact. That year, fiesta attendance was 955,700.

In 2011, the total economic impact was $117 million, of which $91 million was direct impact and $26 million was indirect impact. Attendance that year was 737,466.

The fluctuations in economic impact, said fiesta spokesman Tom Garrity of The Garrity Group Public Relations, are due to fluctuations in attendance. In 2015, we had 67,730 more attendees at the event than in 2017. Economic impact models are all based on the number of people at fiesta and their spending patterns, which also change from year to year.

One thing that is clear, regardless of the fluctuations, is that fiesta is a signature visitor event for the tourist industry and it generates a significant amount of money into the area economy as well as the state economy.

The 2017 Balloon Fiesta also generated nearly $10 million in tax receipts, including $5.71 million for the State of New Mexico, $3.51 million for the City of Albuquerque, and $826,735 for Bernalillo County, the report said.

Out of state visitors spent an estimated $40.09 million in local lodging revenue, generating $1.84 million in lodgers tax for the Albuquerque area and $16.62 million at local restaurants.

Among fiesta guests, 52.4 percent of them were experiencing Balloon Fiesta for the first time, while 26.2 percent have attended for the last five years or more. More than 95 percent of fiesta guests said thew were very satisfied or satisfied with their experience.

Ty Young, president of the Balloon Fiestga Board of Directors said With more than 95 percent of our guests saying they are very satisfied or satisfied with their Balloon Fiesta experience we are confident that adding trollies and other on-site amenities enhanced visitors time at the park.

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the largest gathering of balloons and balloonists in the world. The 2017 event generated 1.71 billion mentions in traditional and social media, and 70 percent of fiesta guests shared images of the event on social media, the Forward Analytics report said.
SANTA FE  A proposal to tap into New Mexicos largest permanent fund to expand early childhood programs may have competition.

A slimmed-down proposal that would target a smaller pot of money  the Severance Tax Permanent Fund  is advancing through the Senate.

It cleared the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday, the same panel that rejected the larger proposal just last year.

This give us a shot at doing something a little different, said Sen. John Sapien, a Corrales Democrat and the sponsor of the measure.

His proposed constitutional amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 7, would generate about $39 million a year for early childhood programs. It would boost annual distributions from the Severance Tax Permanent Fund to 5.5 percent, up from 4.7 percent now.

The proposal still must clear the Senate Finance Committee before reaching the full Senate for consideration. It would also need approval from the House and by voters.

Sapiens measure is a potential alternative to the larger proposal that narrowly won House approval this week. That proposal, House Joint Resolution 1, would tap into the Land Grant Permanent Fund and generate about $175 million a year, with most of the money going to early childhood programs, such as home-visiting services for new parents and pre-kindergarten.

The annual distribution from the land grant fund would climb 1 percentage point, from 5 percent to 6 percent, under the House measure.

The House proposal, however, has repeatedly run into opposition in the Senate, where skeptics have questioned whether it would damage the health of the Land Grant Permanent Fund by slowing its growth.

Sapiens proposal and the House measure, however, arent mutually exclusive, given that they pull from different sources of money.

In any case, his proposed constitutional amendment won approval 6-4 in the Senate Rules Committee. The six yes votes came from Democrats, and three Republicans and one Democrat voted in opposition.

Senate President Pro Tem Mary Kay Papen of Las Cruces was the lone Democratic no vote. She also has opposed the House measure.

The House proposal won approval 36-33 on Tuesday and hasnt yet been heard by a Senate committee. Its sponsors have expressed optimism that the measure will pass the Senate this year, and they say theyre willing to consider changes to win over skeptics.

Each proposal faces a time crunch. The 30-day legislative session ends Feb. 15.

The proposed constitutional amendments come as lawmakers look for ways to boost state funding for early childhood programs. Pre-kindergarten programs have resulted in academic gains sticking with children through at the least the fifth grade, according to nonpartisan analysts working for the Legislative Finance Committee.
ad:tech India 2018, the original industry authority for marketing and media technology practitioners and digitally savvy brand marketers, openned the call for submissions, for the 2nd Edition of, "The Next Big Thing Startup Competition," (TNBT). After the phenomenal success of its debut year in 2017, and following a long-standing global run in other ad:tech markets, like New York and London the competition will shine the spotlight on some of the most valuable, new and up-and-coming companies in the advertising, marketing and digital media space.

The world is going through a time of unprecedented change, with technological advancements like weve never seen before. Keeping this thought in mind Nestle India partnered with ad:tech for The Next Big Thing 2017. The winners of the 1st edition were SilverPush and Klove media  both of whom have innovative products in the Media and the Cooking space. 2017 proved to be a phenomenal year for these startups, moving them into previously unexplored markets and winning new clients, thanks to their association with Nestle India. The 2nd edition of The Next Big Thing will be even bigger with the promise of sustained mentoring from Nestle Indias top management to the finalists followed by a fully funded pilot project from Nestle for the winner. Established brands like Nestle always stand to learn from disruptive startups - access to innovation, introduce entrepreneurial spirit, learning to think differently, fail fast and iterate quickly.

Marketing challenges in 2018 includes 3 specific briefs from Nestle India in the field of Nutrition & Health Digital Solutions and Services, Digitally Enabled Market Research and Content Creation Powered by Data and Technology. An eminent jury consisting of organizations top management will hand pick a few finalists following this call for submissions. Then, at the 2018 ad:tech New Delhi event, the finalists will vie for jury votes. ad:tech New Delhis annual "The Next Big Thing Startup Competition" in association with Nestle , will help both attendees and the greater ad:tech audience discover new technologies and/or services that will take business to the next level.

The companies featured in TNBT should be in the early stages of funding, and should have a technology or service that could potentially bring new value to the advertising and marketing audience -- the community present at the show on March 8-9, 2018, at the Leela Ambience Hotel, Gurgaon. The search committee -- seated with influential executives from major brands, technology companies, agencies and holding companies -- is looking for true game-changers. Finalists and winners will represent the best and brightest in a variety of emerging technology platforms and will stand to win a fully-funded Pilot Project with Nestle.

Speaking on the announcement, Rashi Goel, Head Consumer Communications at Nestle India said, The Next Big Thing 2017 inspired startups to showcase innovation rooted in digital and technology which can be used to complement Nestles existing initiatives. With the launch of the second edition we are looking forward to increased participation from the entire startup community with solutions which are sustainable & effective for Nestle India

Also, Jaswant Singh, Country MD at Comexposium stated, We are really excited to conduct the second edition of The Next Big Thing Challenge and contribute to the whole ecosystem of building the next set of entrepreneurs in India. Having received an overwhelming response last year; we are expecting an increase in participation in this edition. This competition will undoubtedly enable start ups to raise their profile by getting mentorship from industry leaders and provide the much needed impetus to growth.

Timeline:

Submission Period: 24/01 - 20/02

Finalists Notified: 25/02

The Next Big Thing Startup Competition at ad:tech New Delhi: 9/03

Finalists will receive:

Complimentary passes to ad:tech New Delhi 201

10-minute pitch at ad:tech New Delhi 2018 to the Jury members.

Editorial coverage in ad:tech PR, and visibility to the greater Comexposium community of over 150,000 marketers, media technology and digital marketing solution provider

For more news on ad:tech 2018 visit here.
The Union Budget 2018 has been hailed as giving some much-needed fillip to Indias insurance sector. The Government will be merging three insurance companies  Oriental Insurance, National Insurance and United India Assurance  into a single insurance company and listing it on the bourses. This is being seen as a positive move by industry experts. Various government insurance schemes have been extended to cover more poor households  be it in terms of health insurance or life insurance.

Apollo Munich Health Insurance is in bullish mode and in the lead up to the Budget presentation on February 1, 2018, rolled out its #BeWinsured campaign to highlight the unique benefits of its unique Health Wallet plan, recently launched under a new category Winsure.

Health Wallet, a next-gen health insurance plan, not only addresses the current needs of the customers by paying for their hospitalisation, but also covers their OPD expenses that are usually not covered by health insurance policies. Interestingly, Health Wallet also ensures affordability of continuing the policy in later years.

Conceptualised by Cheil India, the campaign features brand ambassador Farhan Akhtar in a series of TVCs that bring alive the unique features of Health Wallet. Each 20 seconder ad ends with the brand pay off: When your health insurance pays for the unusual  you are not insured, you are winsured. A 360- degree campaign, #BeWinsured is being leveraged both on traditional mediums like television, outdoor, and radio, along with key social media platforms of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Watch the ads:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hHtjz_M38U&feature=youtu.be

Commenting on the insight behind the campaign, Dr Nandini Ali, CMO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance, said, Keeping in line with our brand promise of Lets Uncomplicate, we conduct regular market research to understand consumers sentiments and the gaps with regards to healthcare financing and we aim to bridge the same with our innovative health insurance solutions. Our latest innovation Health Wallet, introduced under the Winsure category, is a derivative of some very pertinent consumer insights (a) pressure on individuals to pay for day to day healthcare expenses like doctor consultancy, pharmacy, diagnostics, etc. from their own pockets, (b) affordability of health insurance premiums post retirement, and (c) need for an interesting healthcare financing tool for youngsters.

The category Winsure has been conceived on the Win-Win premise and Health Wallet is the first product in this category. Its a Win when health insurance covers hospitalisation, its also a Win when ones health expenses are covered even when one is not hospitalised. Its a Win when unused cover amount carries forward as Reserve benefit and also a Win when the Reserve amount earns cumulative bonus. Its a Win when customers money is working for them today, and also a Win when their health insurance can take care of their premium tomorrow (from the Reserve benefit post 5 continuous renewals). Its a Win when health insurance pays for allopathy the world believes in, and also a Win when it funds for alternate medicine. With Health Wallet, one never loses.

Dr Ali further added, Considering low involvement and a general apathy, we have stayed away from the insurance category code and used straight and simple communication to strike a chord with audiences at large. The TVCs have been given a direct and interactive treatment with a genuine, positive and upbeat tonality.

On the choice of Farhan Akhtar as the brand ambassador, Dr Ali said, We have taken the celebrity route to strengthen the impact of our communication. With Farhans attitude of challenging the status quo, commitment and versatility, he has succeeded and emerged as a winner across various spheres of life; he is an inspiration to millions and people across age groups resonate well with him.

Elaborating on the execution of the campaign, Vijay Simha Vellanki, Group Creative Director, Cheil, said, Since it was the launch of a revolutionary health insurance product with multiple benefits that have never been talked about, we tried to keep the treatment of these films very sharp and in-the-face. And putting Farhan Akhtar in the thick of things also gave us the opportunity to use his persona to ride home the message clearly with more punch and authenticity.

He added, In a low-interest category like health insurance, the challenge is to overcome here comes another health insurance product. So, we needed something definitive, something that makes people sit up and take notice. Winsure does exactly that. And each film simplifies an otherwise complex product, with all honesty. Each distinctive feature became our trigger to talk to our audience in a one-on-one manner. So, Dont just be insured, be winsured became our war cry for the brand.

The Health Wallet plan pays for other medical expenses that are not covered under any other medical insurance such as dental treatment, spectacles, Alzheimers, etc. Moreover, customers can even use the reserve amount to fund for co-payment and deductible cost.

We expect #BeWinsured campaign to help us enhance the brand and product recall while positively impacting sales and creating a rub off effect on our other health insurance plans, Dr Ali concluded.

Campaign Credits:

Creative Agency: Cheil

Chief Creative Officer: Sagar Mahabaleshwarkar

Creative Team: Vijayasimha, Mithun Purkayastha, Suketu Gohel

Account Management: Abhishek Sen

Strategic Planning: Megha Deorani

Production House: Film Philosophy

Producer: Payal Davda

Director: Shiraz Bhattacharya

DOP: Sejal

Music Director: Subhajit Mukherjee

To Read More Marketing Related Stories Click Here.
UK minister, Army chief to begin weeklong visit tomorrow

Minister of State for the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, Mark Lancaster and his wife Caroline Dinenage, Minister of State for Health and Social Care, are arriving in Nepal on Thursday on a weeklong visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
Havas Media, India has bagged the integrated media duties of Muthoot Pappachan Group (MPG), a leading financial services conglomerate along with business ventures in various other domains.

The account size is estimated to be upwards of INR 50 crores and will be handled out of the Bangalore and Cochin office led by Saurabh Jain, Vice President - South, Havas Media India.

Founded in 1887 by Muthoot Ninan Mathai, Muthoot Pappachan Group (MPG) is an Indian business house headquartered in Trivandrum, Kerala. It encompasses several businesses, including financial services, automotive dealerships, hospitality, real estate, information technology, precious metals and alternate energy and others. Counted among Indias largest non-banking financial services companies (NBFC) with total assets under management equivalent to over INR 8,000 crore as of 31 March, 2017, Muthoot Fincorp, the groups flagship company, operates country wide with a network of over 3500 branches with over 50,000 customers walk-ins every day. Besides the financial services super house, Muthoot Fincorp Ltd., the group comprises a housing finance subsidiary Muthoot Housing Finance Co. Ltd, publicly traded two-wheeler financing arm Muthoot Capital Services Ltd, micro finance company, Muthoot Microfin Ltd, and insurance broking firm Muthoot Risk and Insurance Broking Services Pvt. Ltd, among some other non-financial business units.

Sanjeev Shukla, Group Chief Marketing Officer, Muthoot Pappachan Group said, Being a legacy company, it is paramount that we maintain our reputation that has been shaped over decades with high quality practices towards helping ordinary men and women fulfil their dreams, while adopting and preparing ourselves for the next generation. Havas agility and consumer-centric approach has made us believe that they are the right partner for us. We hope this partnership takes the brand to newer heights and towards meaningful growth.

Anita Nayyar, CEO, Havas Media Group, India and South Asia said, We are excited to kick start the year with a legacy brand like Muthoot. Being in a highly regulated domain, consumer trust and transparency will be at the core of Muthoots marketing strategy. With this win, we have strengthened our operations in the South and are aiming to expand our footprint. We look forward to a meaningful association and to add to the relationship of belief and trust with customers that Muthoot has built since 1887.

Spanning 131 years in the field of business, Muthoot Pappachan Group has grown to become a significant entity in the Indian business landscape that thrives on consumer-centricity and innovation. At play will be Havas Media Group's integrated media skills centered on digital and our 'Meaningful Brands' framework which will together map the brand chart for Muthoot. According to our research, brands that are meaningful enjoy 64% higher trust among consumers in the finance industry. We are excited to take on the first mandate for 2018., added Mohit Joshi, Managing Director, Havas Media Group, India.
From small steps within South Asia, World Is One News (WION), the first global English news network from India, is now taking giant strides across the world. It has been 1 year since its first telecast and already, Indian viewers are rivetted by the countrys first truly international news channel. Particularly appealing is the fact that for the first time, Indian viewers can enjoy in-depth coverage of stories from far-flung corners of the world through a perspective and prism of their choice.

WION has now entered the Middle East. The channel has been launched on Etisalat - one of the biggest networks in the Middle East  in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Viewers in those countries can also watch WION on Du & Ooredoo. WIONs Middle East debut comes on the heels of its launch in seven African countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Botswana & Rwanda. WION is now one of Indias fastest-growing news networks. Come the months February to April, WION will be spreading its outreach to other South Asian countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.

Celebrating 25 years of ZEE in Dubai, Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra said, After a successful start in India, WION is gearing up to bring world-class journalism to the people of UAE & Qatar who have long been waiting for a global network from India.

Australians, too are enjoying shows by WION. The channel has been launched on Yupp TV there while talks are underway to launch it on other platforms in Australia & New Zealand too. WION is keeping its promise of providing in-depth and non-biased coverage of global stories, a space so far dominated by the western media.
Discover, from India's leading two-wheeler brand  Bajaj Auto, has released a new campaign. It has been conceptualized by Mullen Lintas. Bajaj Auto had recently re-launched the Discover with an upgraded Discover 125, and an all-new Discover 110

Discover has always stood for excitement. Every Discover is known for its peppy, powerful engine which delivers an exciting ride at the twist of the throttle. The new Discovers carry forward that legacy of exciting performance with an all-new long-stroke engine. It also has the additional advantage of exciting looks with first-in-class LED DRLs, first-in-class digital instrument display panel, all new stylish graphics, and a host of other style and performance upgrades. The new campaign shows how an exciting ride on the new Discover makes you as zindadil as in your younger days.

Sumeet Narang, Vice President  Marketing, Bajaj Auto said Discover is our brand which offers an energetic and spirited riding experience to daily commuters. It differentiates itself from the rest of 100-125cc commuter brands by offering a more fun bike to our customers who see themselves as hard working family men burdened with responsibilities. Finding a relevance for Discovers promise of performance was critical. Immersions with family men between 30-40yrs in large and small towns helped us arrive at the brand insight of how the boy in every man is always alive. Discovers spirited riding can help him come out, once in while

Commenting on the campaign, Ayyappan Raj, Executive Vice President, Mullen Lintas said Its quite an important and significant campaign for us, considering the task of reintroducing brand Discover. The brief from the brand team was about how the new Bajaj Discover with stylish features, powerful engine brings out the youthfulness in the rider and thats exactly what we have managed to capture with Bano Zindadil. Theres a lot of activities planned across media, ensuring this idea travels to a larger audience.

The song in the film, Behti Hawa from the movie 3 Idiots interestingly stirs the youthful memories in an office-goer. The communication captures the emotions that the rider goes through while enjoying the experience of his new Bajaj Discover.

Shriram Iyer, President & NCD, Mullen Lintas said Bikes have always evoked or revived youthfulness in the rider. We worked this insight into our story for this campaign. In this spot, the power and looks of the new discover add life back to the rider and help him find the missing boy inside him. The message Bano Zindadil caps the proposition and the attitude that we wanted to land. The song Behti Hawa from the movie 3 idiots transforms it into a more present tense as the rider begins to discover that the boy in him is back!

The campaign has gone live from 1st February, and will be visible on television, print, outdoor and digital.

Youtube URL: https://youtu.be/vUXU1V0dnFU

Credits

CLIENT: Sumeet Narang, Soumya Das

AGENCY: Mullen Lintas

CREATIVE: Amer Jaleel, Shriram Iyer, Garima Khandelwal, Satish Sethumadhavan, Ripanka Kalita, Ashwin Joharapurkar, Merlyn Miranda, Shashank Salaskar, Anjali Ahuja

ACCOUNT MGMT: Ayyappan Raj, Ahsan Khan, Anchal Shah

PLANNING: Ekta Relan, Pallavi Bhosale

PRODUCTION HOUSE: Crazy Few Films

DIRECTOR: Anupam Mishra

To Read More Advertising Related stories Click Here.
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The Aiken County Legislative Delegation, comprising three state senators and five state representatives, collectively supports relocating plutonium pit production to the Savannah River Site.

The eight delegation members signed a letter  addressed to National Nuclear Security Administration leaders  Feb. 6 that states SRS and the two-state surrounding area are conducive to a successful pit production mission.

During a Tuesday morning S.C. Senate conference call, Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, said the delegation is "obviously supportive" of SRS's future. He said SRS is "strategically located" for pit production, adding: "We've got the talent."

Massey said South Carolina-based pit production has not yet become a full-blown state-level conversation, though.

Aiken County legislators' letter The Aiken County Legislative Delegation's full letter supporting Savannah River Site pit production.

Plutonium pits, grapefruit-sized triggers for nuclear weapons, have not been made since 2011. Pits, historically, were produced at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Before that, pits were made at the Rocky Flats Plant outside of Denver.

The NNSA, an agency charged with maintaining the nation's nuclear arsenal and nonproliferation parameters, has been ordered to produce a minimum 80 pits per year by 2030. A 2017 NNSA analysis shows two possible solutions: revitalizing the New Mexico lab or bringing pit production to SRS. According to the NNSA analysis, the SRS option is both cheaper and quicker.

The letter says "many" Aiken County legislators told U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry they believed SRS to be the right location for production. Perry toured SRS last Thursday and Friday.

"It's just a fantastic opportunity for a new mission at the Site and the local community," state Rep. Bart Blackwell, R-Aiken, said Tuesday evening. "I can't imagine not supporting it."

The letter, a week in the making, also says the current and future SRS workforce is prepared to take on such a big  it's a matter of national security, according to the U.S. Department of Energy  job.

The Aiken County Legislative Delegation now joins a chorus of formal pit production support: The cities of Aiken, North Augusta and New Ellenton, as well as Aiken County, have issued pro-pit production resolutions. The Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization and the South Carolina Governor's Nuclear Advisory Council have sponsored SRS pit production, too.

DOE Secretary Rick Perry certain SRS has 'very bright' future ahead of it The future of the Savannah River Site is "very bright," according to U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who toured the Site on Thursday and Friday.

State Sen. Tom Young, R-Aiken, is a member of the Aiken delegation and Gov. Henry McMaster's nuclear advisory team. Young said the region will "embrace" pit production should it come to SRS.

Like many of the resolutions issued by local municipalities, the legislators' letter states pit production at SRS would be separate from the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility currently under construction.

The 80 pits per year requirement could be met as early as fiscal year 2029 if MOX is repurposed, according to the NNSA. A new facility at SRS could fulfill the requirement as early as fiscal year 2033.

On Feb. 2, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., said pit production at SRS would not kill MOX. On Feb. 5, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said he wants a "nuclear renaissance" for South Carolina  including MOX completion and new SRS missions.
US Army Pacific Gen Brown arrives tomorrow

Commander of the US Army Pacific (USARPAC) General Robert B Brown arrives on Thursday for a four-day visit. A senior Foreign Ministry official on Tuesday said the Nepal Army has made arrangements for his visit including meetings with senior political leaders.
CAIRO  As would-be challengers to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi slip off the campaign trail  or are pushed  people are wondering what the future holds for the country's political parties. Human rights lawyer Khaled Ali's withdrawal Jan. 24 from Egypt's presidential race  a day after candidate Gen. Sami Anan was arrested  raised questions about what role parties might play in the upcoming elections.

Also, on Jan. 26, Wafd Party leader El-Sayyid el-Badawi announced he was running for president, but the partys supreme body withdrew his candidacy the next day and endorsed Sisi in the elections, scheduled for late March. In December, a military court sentenced Col. Ahmed Qonsowa to six years in prison. He had been arrested soon after he announced he would run.

More than a half-dozen proposed candidates have come and gone, leaving only one  a staunch Sisi supporter  to "challenge" him.

Several Egyptian parties, mainly Wafd, the Free Egyptians Party, the Nour Party and the National Progressive Unionist Party, have all endorsed Sisi for a second four-year term and refused to nominate anyone to run against him. These parties faced stiff criticism in the media. Finally, El-Ghad Party leader Moussa Moustafa Moussa submitted his candidacy at the last minute Jan. 29 before the application deadline.

Moussa, however, is a Sisi supporter who said he is only running to keep the election from being viewed as a joke, a one-horse race. The ploy hasn't worked. Not only do some members of parliament not take Moussa seriously, the move has led to blatant derision by the international media.

In a Jan. 28 statement, parliament member Saeed Shababik said political parties have lost their credibility among Egyptians and are unable to train cadres qualified to take part in political life.

There are 104 political parties in Egypt, according to statements by Egyptian parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal. Most of these parties were founded after the January 25 Revolution in 2011. Only 19 secured enough support to win seats in parliament in the 2015 elections.

Dignity Party head Mohammed Sami told Al-Monitor via phone, The states lethargy has spread to the political parties and human rights organizations.

Parliament member Sayed Abdel Aal of the National Progressive Unionist Party, commenting on why his party did not nominate a presidential candidate, said Egypt needs the strength of solidarity.

The current situation in Egypt in terms of security and economic challenges does not require more than one presidential candidate. The situation rather requires an agreement on a single national program to confront [outside] attempts to interfere in Egyptian affairs and to achieve economic development," Abdel Aal told Al-Monitor.

Therefore, we do not need to nominate candidates. We can simply endorse President Sisis program aimed at implementing numerous national projects for another four years. Other political parties that endorsed Sisi share the same opinion, Abdel Aal said.

Asked if Egyptian political parties actually have little influence on the ground, he said, Some might think so, but that's not everyones opinion in Egypt. In fact, in the 2012 presidential elections, we nominated Judge Hisham Bastawisi. The party might nominate another candidate in the 2022 elections.

Wafd Party Deputy Chairman Hossam El Kholy believes the June 30 Revolution in 2013 that ousted President Mohammed Morsi is the main reason political parties are unable to endorse a strong candidate to compete against Sisi. After Morsi was deposed, political parties joined hands in the face of terrorist groups that were trying to stir up strife in the country. Those parties then weren't prepared to nominate a candidate for president as they had been standing by the political regime during a critical period.

I believe that the parties should focus on building grass-roots bases and secure a large number of seats in parliament. Then they can start thinking of a strong candidate to run in the elections, Kholy told Al-Monitor, stressing that the Wafd Party might also nominate a candidate for the 2022 elections.

Abdel Moneim Saeed, the director of the Regional Center for Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor some of the reasons political parties are failing to nominate candidates: They lack funding; they tend to represent the interests of only parts of the public; they must compete against two strong groups  the Muslim Brotherhood and the army; and the parties are unproductively competitive.

"Usually a wealthy businessman endorses and funds a political party, which means that the party only reflects one single point of view instead of upholding the general interest of its supporters and implementing its political program. This is the problem of most Egyptian parties," Saeed said.

"The Muslim Brotherhood, which tends toward the use of violence, receives funding from some of its members and has an international base in Islamic and Arab countries," and the army is the only structured organization in the country. "Both groups view multipartyism negatively.  Multipartyism is viewed on the basis of rivalry, rather than the acceptance of the other.

Another problem, according to media reports, is that leaders within political parties have been vying against each other for positions in recent years, which has damaged those parties' structures. That kind of struggle culminated in a split in the Free Egyptians Party that ended in court in February 2017.

Saeed rejected some political parties' allegations that the government is cracking down on them  though the candidates who are imprisoned or whose campaigns were derailed before they began most likely beg to differ.

These allegations are baseless," Saeed said. "With todays technology, any political party has the ability to mobilize its supporters. [Instead of making such allegations], parties ought to start acting without fear of victimization. They should also start training their cadres and secure means of self-financing.
It is customary for the leaders of Turkeys political parties represented in the parliament to address their members and rant about the burning issues of the day. In that way, yesterday was no exception  but it was extraordinary.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the president of Turkey's notionally secular republic, stood over a pair of little girls flanking a little boy as they proceeded to recite nationalist poems spiked with heavy dollops of Islam in front of the speaker's podium. Set against the tidal wave of Islamic nationalism engulfing Turkey, there was nothing singularly unusual about that.

But one of the little girls  she looked not a day older than six  was being paraded by the president in a snowy white hijab covering her head and shoulders and a matching ankle-length dress.

With a red satin ribbon emblazoned with Turkey wound around the childs head, the outfit certainly captured the so-called Turkish-Islamic synthesis that has prevailed over Turkish politics since the days of the Young Turk revolutionaries. And military-inspired bans on the Islamic-style headscarf in the parliament, universities and government offices are a thing of the past.

Yet even the most open-minded pro-secular liberals saw yesterdays bizarre display as a step too far: The president had formally sanctioned the covering of little girls. It was no accident that she was the first to recite a poem. He beamed with patriarchal pride as he handed her a microphone.

The verses she recited and concluded with a loud Allahu akbar were composed by the proto-Turkish nationalist Ziya Gokalp, a Kurd  the very same ones that landed Erdogan briefly in prison in 1997 and cost him his seat as the metropolitan mayor of Istanbul: The minarets are our bayonets, the domes our helmets, the mosques our barracks and the faithful our soldiers.

Turkish prosecutors swooped on his public recitation of these lines as proof that he was inciting religious hatred and locked him up for four months. Islamists and their former liberal allies flocked to his defense, citing freedom of speech.

Today, Erdogans government is locking up anyone who is even mildly critical of its actions. At least 150 journalists and scores of democratically elected Kurdish mayors and lawmakers are among them. Just today university student Helin Yigit was arrested and jailed for social media posts in which she took aim at Erdogan. Estimates vary, but around 132,000 people are thought to have been detained and 64,000 others arrested since 2016 coup attempt, mostly on thinly evidenced terror charges.

The climate of fear is growing thicker by the day. A young pro-secular urbanite described it in a private chat group thus: I didnt feel this constrained even a few months back. Everyone is terrified. Now I go to the theater or an art show: Its all imbued with politics. Since we cannot have normal political discourse it seeps into all other arenas to the point where even the most simple acts are viewed in a political prism.

Erdogan was making no bones about where his political affections lie. The second poem, delivered by the other little girl, was by Necip Fazil Kisakurek, an unabashed anti-Semite and Islamist who embraced many of the tenets of 1930s European fascism. When this reporter asked Erdogan in a 2002 interview whom he considered to be his role model, he replied without hesitation: Necip Fazil Kisakurek.

Not everyone was impressed. A prominent conservative thinker who sought anonymity noted in a telephone exchange with Al-Monitor, "Trotting out children for propaganda purpose is typical of dictatorships like North Korea." He added, "Business with Israel is booming, by the way."

The finale rendered by the little boy was a verse from the Quran typically read at funerals. He wants to say a prayer for our martyred soldiers, Erdogan noted approvingly. His prime minister, Binali Yildirim, screwed his face up in a gesture of barely retained tears. The boy completed the prayer. The president planted a kiss on his head.

Amin, the boy cried. Amin, the audience roared. The children scooped up their rewards  dolls for the girls, a car for the boy. The show was over.
AMMAN, Jordan  Suha Sultan was only 18 when she started her first graffiti artwork on the outside wall of her parents apartment in Amman. Her neighbors only had one condition: that she would create something beautiful with her spray paint and brushes.

The young artist, now 20, has since brightened up several of Amman's drab city walls coated with soot, sand and car exhaust.

Ive been drawing forever, she told Al-Monitor. But when I entered the School of Arts and Design at the University of Jordan, I decided I should try to go big and make sure that my artwork can be seen by the whole city.

When she wanted to work with other female graffiti artists, she discovered that there were only a few. So I set out to build a women graffiti network, she explained. You know how Jordan is, it is more of a patriarchal society.

Sultan, however, is not the only female street artist in Jordan. Yara Hindawi, who grew up in Dubai, created a mural in Mafraq, a city 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Amman, in May 2015. Hindawis iconic artworks combine geometric shapes and fantasy figures, where cartoon-like creatures pose alongside colorful flowers.

Other well-known female artists include graphic designer and illustrator Dina Fawakhiri, muralists Sara Allan and Miramar Mohd, and writer/street stencil letterer Amanee Hasan. These graffiti artists have recently participated in a local art in pizza boxes exhibition and their artwork is often featured on the Instagram page Amman Street Art  most of which can be spotted while strolling around the capital.

I moved here from the United States five years ago. One of the reasons I started appreciating Amman more was because of the unusual amount of street art, said Hasan, who began tracking these street murals and stenciling her own English-language quotes next to them after obtaining permission from the artists. We come from two different worlds and together we can make our own, she stenciled in between murals of a robot by street artist Mike Derderian and a watercolor textured self-representation by Mohd near the C-Town supermarket in Ammans seventh circle.

However, many female artists find it a struggle to get accepted in this job. If you are a woman you should work in a bank or teach in a school so you can go home early and make dinner for your husband.  An artist with no commitment, going out in the streets and painting in our community, that is not really acceptable, said Rand Tarifi, a sculpture student at the School of Arts and Design at the University of Jordan.

My father was initially against the idea of me participating in graffiti art projects because I would be surrounded by predominantly men, Sultan said. We are a society that doesnt accept differences; we love our tradition, our own culture and homogeneity.

However, Sultan, with her grit and passion, is dedicated to shaking society from these patriarchal chains with provocative street art. When she participated in the 2016 Baladk Street Art Project, which started in 2013, Sultan drew several similar female characters around Jordan. In one mural, on a parking lot wall next to Jameeda Khanum restaurant in the city center, she drew a punk rock girl smoking a cigarette with a mohawk and an ear gauge. This was particularly provocative because Jordan, which leads the region in prevalence of smoking among males, frowns upon women who smoke in public. Moreover, the woman was shown without a headscarf, which many conservatives disapprove of.

Currently, Jordan also ranks 135th out of 144 in the 2017 Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum. Despite the patriarchal attitude toward women, female graffiti artists can overcome prejudices, as the community has been very receptive to street art in recent years. Reports about graffiti being outlawed by the municipality, or being under pressure, are false because artists know not to cross certain boundaries of religion, the royal family or sexuality, Derderian, who participated in the Baladk Street Art Project, told Al-Monitor. When Suha tags her portraits or street artist Wisam creates his Afroed ladies, there is no political message; it is a statement in itself, altering misconceptions about the country.

He related one of his favorite memories of a group of elderly bearded men who found him working on a graffiti artwork when returning from Friday prayers at a local mosque. Once he explained to them that the bunnies he had drawn were not a political message but an attempt to bring color to the walls they applauded. My experience is, adding colors to walls always brings a smile, he said.

Every street artist has developed a set of street-smart codes to avoid trouble: paint in broad daylight, be respectful and sensitive to the area where you are painting, and always be able to explain yourself and your work to both the police and passersby. Sultan reiterated how encouraging her fellow male graffiti artists are, such as Suhaib Attar, and how she receives far more applause than discouragement from the public. Now, even her father is proud of her work.

Shes delivering the message, 'I am a female Jordanian artist,' said Tarifi, who regards Sultan as an inspiration. Despite all the things people say about her  whether good or bad  she believes in Amman and wants to showcase its beauty. She could have a private page or her own exhibition to display her artwork, but she chooses to share it with the public, improving Jordanian culture, one wall at a time.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian recently gave an extensive interview to Le Figaro on France's diplomatic orientations. Most of the Jan. 21 interview dealt with Middle Eastern issues, with emphasis on the Syrian crisis and Iran. Le Drians interview prepared the ground for the International Partnership Against Impunity for the Use of Chemical Weapons, an international meeting held Jan. 23 in Paris. Spearheaded by France, Great Britain, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, or the Group of Five, the meeting focused on stopping chemical weapons attacks and denying impunity to those who use or enable the use of such weapons.

The Paris meeting was timely given that it took place a few days before a new round of (unfruitful) peace talks in Vienna on resolving the Syrian crisis and less than a week ahead of the Russia-sponsored Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi Jan. 29-30. Moreover, a few hours before the meeting, the United States had accused the Syrian government of a chlorine gas attack in Eastern Ghouta.

Contrary to possible appearances, the Paris meeting was not aimed at torpedoing the Sochi gathering. Le Drian mentioned in his interview that France did not formally oppose the Russian initiative  something he repeated a few days later before the French National Assembly  but he also stated that the only legitimate framework for resolving the Syrian crisis remains the United Nations-sponsored Geneva process.

A French diplomatic source talking to Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity remarked, Assads case was not at the core of the Group of Five meeting. He is just part of a bigger picture. According to the diplomat, the international community cannot accept the banalization of the use of chemical weapons, be it in Syria or by North Korea. It should be recalled that the North Korean regime used VX nerve agent to kill Kim Jong-uns brother in February 2017 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The diplomat added, If we do not react, one day or another, these weapons will make their way to the streets of Paris. This posture is very much consistent with the strong appetite for disarmament in France's diplomatic circles today.

At the same time, the Paris meeting could be seen as a new French attempt to regain a diplomatic foothold in Syria after President Emmanuel Macrons failed initiative last summer to create a Syria contact group at the United Nations. France plays a key role in the Group of Five, along with the United States and Saudi Arabia. Yet, Washingtons position with regard to Sochi has been characterized by a certain detachment and is expressive of a broader US disinterest in the political settlement process in Syria, something deplored in Paris. Another French diplomatic source who also spoke on the condition of anonymity told Al-Monitor that the territorial collapse of Daesh, the Islamic State, is likely to fuel waning interest by Washington in the political angle of the Syrian crisis. He added, Having the US on board with us would obviously provide our role with a greater weight. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia had reportedly been pushing the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), the Syrian opposition platform based in Riyadh, to attend the Syrian National Dialogue Congress. The HNC ultimately voted against going to Sochi, however, derailing the Saudis' efforts.

Thus, through the chemical weapons initiative, better described as diplomatic signaling, Paris sought to demonstrate that it is sticking to principles divergent from the Sochi congress. The Group of Five embodies the limits of Paris diplomatic capacity on the Syrian issue and implicitly acknowledges Russia as the main arbiter of the crisis. Beyond the issue of chemical disarmament, the initiative is likely to remain short-lived.

On the Libyan front, France has been more proactive. In fact, it holds the highest priority for Paris in the Middle East and North Africa, but with few results so far. Guided by two main priorities  containing the flow of migrants and fighting terrorism  Paris has sought to bring together the various parties of the war-torn country. There were no significant outcomes, however, from last July's meeting between Field Marshal Khalifa Hifter and Fayez al-Sarraj, prime minister of the UN-backed Government of National Accord, in La Celle Saint-Cloud, near Paris, despite visits by Le Drian to Libya.

Macron recently visited Tunisia and in a speech before the Tunisian Assembly on Feb. 1 declared that the 2011 French-British co-led military intervention in Libya had been a deep mistake. This pragmatic acknowledgment of a strategic reality turns out to be a demonstration of Macrons proclaimed aggiornamento (update) of French foreign policy, outlined last summer. Could such an aggiornamento occur on the Syrian dossier?

While during President Francois Hollands tenure one of Frances goals in Syria was to topple President Bashar al-Assad, Macron has realistically accepted Assads presence, at least for the near future, which is a pragmatic step. Macron is not known for having adopted an openly hostile stance toward the Syrian president, even before he campaigned for the presidency. He therefore enjoys a kind of diplomatic freshness in regard to the Syrian dossier, allowing him political flexibility.

What has been made possible on the Libyan issue, however, does not yet seem feasible in Syria, where there are several irritants, including chemical weapons and what is perceived in Paris as Russias monopoly over the peace process.
National Assembly elections: Voting concludes in Province 3

The National Assembly elections in Province 3 have ended before the scheduled time on Wednesday.
Irans President Hassan Rouhani has declared that his US counterpart, Donald Trump, has ruined all potential opportunities for a dialogue between Tehran and Washington.

Speaking at a press conference on Feb. 6, Rouhani stated in response to a question about the recent protests across Iran, You shouldnt consider the demands of the people [as limited to] issues to do with the economy. Political, social and foreign policy issues were [also the subject of] protests. We should open our ears to listen to the peoples remarks, and [we should] see what the people want.

Mentioning the US reaction to the protests, Rouhani added, The United States turned the issue of the recent protests in Iran into a political, international and security issue. However, the first awful defeat of the US government in the UN Security Council happened in relation to this matter, [when] all of the present countries in the Security Council spoke of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] and its advantages instead of [pursuing] the goals of the United States to portray the protests as a political and security [matter].

He then took a swipe at the White House, saying sarcastically, It was maybe the first time that we saw that the [US] president gave kebab [lunch to Security Council member envoys] to gain the countries votes at the Security Council. We had seen previously in [Irans] presidential election that a number [of candidates] gave kebab [to people] to get their votes, but this was the first time that we saw such a thing [happening] in the White House.

Asked about Irans request from Turkey to withdraw its forces from Syria, Rouhani said, Our relationships with both Turkey and Russia are good, but our position regarding Turkish forces' withdrawal from Syria is a principled position, because the presence of the army of a country in another country must be done with the consent of the government and people of that country; otherwise, we dont accept this and we want this [operation] to end, because it will lead to killing on both sides.

Answering a question about Irans reaction if the United States withdraws from the JCPOA, Rouhani stated, Im very happy that Trump hasnt been able to fulfill his [promises] and shouts in the [campaigning for the 2016 US] presidential elections to tear up the JCPOA after one year in office. The JCPOA has been so strong that it has resisted the US [pressures]. We dont know what the United States will decide in the future. Even European friends who are close to Trump dont know what Trump will do.

He then emphasized, Trumps mistake is that he thinks the JCPOA is a commitment of the Democratic Party, while the JCPOA is the commitment of the US government, and if the US government breaches [the JCPOA] implementation, its own reputation will be harmed.

Rouhani added, As long as our interests are secured, we will remain in the JCPOA. The United States remaining [in the JCPOA] or its withdrawal doesnt influence our decision.

In response to a question about the possibility of Iran and the United States starting bilateral talks, Rouhani stated, If the United States wanted to create an opportunity for [establishing] a relationship with Iran, [they could] use the atmosphere [created by the signing] of the JCPOA. If America had honored all of its commitments, a new situation could be created, but unfortunately, they destroyed this golden opportunity.  I have always emphasized the issue that the key to the US-Iran relationship is in the hands of Washington.
BAGHDAD  Out of the 27 alliances registered with the Independent High Electoral Commission for the upcoming Iraqi general elections set for May, around 10 alliances represent the Sunni community. In fact, most of these alliances used to be part of the Coalition of Iraqi Sunni Forces.

The most notable coalitions are the Iraqi Decision Alliance led by Vice President Osama al-Nujaifi and Sheikh Khamis al-Khanjar; the National Coalition led by former Vice President Ayad Allawi, parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri and former Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq; and the Solidarity Coalition led by Sheikh Wadhah al-Sadid.

Although the parties organized conferences last year, namely in Ankara and Oman, with the support of some Arab countries and Turkey in the hopes of uniting the different Sunni parties and establishing a common political project, they were not able to form an inclusive political coalition. There were many reasons behind this failure, namely the struggle for power, as Dhafer al-Ani, a leader in the Iraqi Decision Alliance, expressed.

Ani told Al-Monitor that the conferences held by Sunni parties over the past period aimed at a unified Sunni project, yet this project could not be completed because of the current divisions between the Sunnis in power and those of the opposition.

He said, The main reason for these numerous Sunni electoral alliances is the struggle for power because many political figures consider that they should preside over coalitions and electoral lists. So if they are listed toward the end of a list, they perceive it as a threat to their popularity and what they represent.

Ani explained, alluding to the presence of the Popular Mobilization Units in the Sunni provinces, This dispersion could be as healthy for Sunnis as it is for Shiites and Kurds. For the latter, the dispersion of large confessional clusters resulted in less foreign interference in forming coalitions. Yet what worries the Sunnis is the irregular situation in the regions freed from the Islamic State [IS] and the presence of arms that could negatively influence the integrity of the elections.

While the Iraqi Decision Alliance strictly includes purely Sunni parties, other important parties have chosen to incorporate mixed coalitions such as the National Coalition under liberal Shiite leader Ayad Allawi, who led the majority of Sunni forces in 2010. The major parties joining the National Coalition are the Al-Arabiya Coalition led by Mutlaq, the Civil Society for Reform party led by Jabouri and 14 other Sunni parties from northern and western provinces.

Despite that, member of the National Coalition Abdul Karim Abtan refused to describe the coalition as a sectarian coalition that has lost its liberal identity. He told Al-Monitor, The coalition has tried to join all Iraqi parties that had undergone elections with it in 2010.

When it comes to leaving out major Shiite parties and the coalition with Nujaifi or Khanjar, Abtan noted, The dispute on the ranking of candidates names on electoral lists is the main reason behind this outcome. Despite that, the talks about expanding the National Coalition to include a greater number of parties have ended.

Abtan dismissed the possibility of having regional interference on how Sunni coalitions are mapped out. He expressed his concern about the possibility of creating obstacles to the return of refugees, endangering the stability of liberated cities and disabling the disarmament process for the parties participating in the elections as this would lead to a change in the political representation of factions.

The Solidarity Coalition led by Sadid, an unknown tribal figure in the political arena, also includes Amal al-Iraq and Iraq Hawiyatouna. None of these parties participated in the elections in the past. Therefore, expecting them to win parliamentary seats is far-fetched, especially since other Sunni alliances were formed to enter the elections in certain districts such as Salahuddin, Diyala and Anbar. These alliances include well-known political parties and have sufficient experience to get the largest number of votes, such as Al-Hal led by Jamal al-Karboli and Al-Wafa led by Qasem al-Fahdawi.

If suitable circumstances are met in the areas liberated from IS and if all Sunni parties managed to get the usual number of seats in each electoral round (80-90 seats), they will face the same test that other alliances are facing. They will have to work as national lists and ally together based on similar electoral programs and common goals as well as based on their sect. The speaker of parliament will be Sunni, as has always been the case.

The current chasm most probably stems from political reasons aiming at testing candidates popularity in the elections. The alliance that receives the most votes will get the key positions that are the Sunnis share. The way candidates were distributed in the lists and leaders were chosen have played a part in forming the map of Sunni parties and alliances that will participate in the upcoming elections.

The lack of secular parties participating in the elections has made it more difficult to form interreligious lists. The lists include a few figures from other sects at best and are not made up of national parties. The sectarian division persists even within the same coalition or list, thus affecting the distribution of positions later.
BAGHDAD  The reconstruction of Iraqs liberated Sunni areas will open new horizons for the country, as 400 companies worldwide are engaged in the Reconstruction Fund for Areas Affected by Terroristic Operations to restore life to areas freed of the Islamic State (IS). Iraq will need $100 billion from other countries for the project, according to Planning Minister Salman al-Jumaili.

Chief among those countries is Saudi Arabia, which will take this opportunity to stem what it sees as the rising tide of Iranian influence in Mesopotamia. Iraq looks to Saudi Arabia as one of the big players in this process and wants it to play a large role.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sent a letter Jan. 18 to Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud asking for support. On the same day, Salman stressed Saudi Arabia's willingness to help Iraq. He said Iraq is Saudi Arabias brotherly country  one that holds deep strategic importance for Saudi Arabia. In another sign of Iraq's outreach to Saudi Arabia, Iraqi parliament Speaker Salim al-Jabouri met Jan. 18 in Baghdad with Saudi Ambassador Abdul Aziz al-Shammari, who confirmed his country's support for Iraq in this issue.

Saudi Arabia wants to strengthen its relationship with Iraqs Sunnis but doesn't want to distance itself from Iraq's Shiites. Riyadh is working to return Iraq to a higher standing in the Arab world and reduce Tehran's influence, which became entrenched after Saddam Hussein was toppled in 2003.

Salman al-Ansari, head of the US-based Saudi American Public Relation Affairs Committee, told Al-Monitor, The size of Saudi Arabia's participation in the reconstruction of the liberated areas is not bound by any financial ceiling. This will be proved during the Saudi participation in the conference of donor countries, which will be held in Kuwait between Feb. 14 and 16.

Iraq expects 70 countries to take part in the donor conference, and Abadi has paved the way for the meeting by calling state leaders and explaining to them how much the reconstruction will cost.

Iraqi Planning Ministry spokesman Abdul-Zahra al-Hindawi told Al-Monitor the king has confirmed he will attend the conference but hasn't disclosed how much Saudi Arabia plans to invest.

Iraq is relying heavily on the role of Saudi Arabia in the reconstruction process because of Saudi Arabias economic and political clout in the region, Hindawi said.

The political blocs of the liberated areas are on good terms with Saudi Arabia, which allows Riyadh to hit two birds with one stone: It can prove its good faith toward Iraq as a country and build the community base in those areas for pro-Saudi parties. The two countries' political relationship has seen progress in the past three years, and the Saudi support in restoring life to the liberated areas is expected to crown this rapprochement.
As many as nine US tanks provided to Iraqs military for the fight against the Islamic State (IS) have ended up in the hands of Iranian-backed militants, a government audit revealed on Monday.

The latest quarterly inspector general report for the US mission in Iraq and Syria confirms a string of on-the-ground reports that M1 Abrams battle tanks and other lethal equipment provided by the US government have ended up with the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). The news adds credence to recent reporting by Iraqs Al-Ghad news agency that Abrams manufacturer General Dynamics has suspended maintenance support for 160 of its tanks amid allegations that the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) broke an agreement on their use.

The challenge of keeping US-supplied weapons and equipment out of the hands of groups with ties to Iran has grown over the course of the three-year mission, the report said, even as the State Department has continued to push Prime Minister Haider al-Abadis government to keep US arms confined to ISF units. In December, Abadi announced plans to cut back the Iranian-backed PMU, taking away some arms and vehicles.

This isnt the first time that US weapons, including vehicles, have found their way to Iran-backed groups. In 2015, Iraqi Hezbollah brigades showed up in YouTube videos driving American-made M1 Abrams tanks, armored personnel carriers, Humvees and Canadian MRAP all-terrain vehicles, sparking concerns from Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz.

The latest finding, disclosed by a State Department office that tracks US arms deliveries, is raising new questions among congressional oversight committees and weapons experts. One of their chief concerns is that Iran, which introduced complex improvised explosive devices into the Iraqi conflict, may pore over US military technology to look for battlefield flaws.

Is there any sensitive technology that could be reverse engineered, picked apart and then used by the Iranian military to attack US armor? That may be the bigger concern than militias driving around in tanks, Matt Schroeder, a senior researcher for Small Arms Survey, told Al-Monitor.

The news comes as the United States appears set to begin withdrawing some of its 5,200 troops from Iraq as the Pentagon refocuses on the fight in Afghanistan. Its not yet clear how that shift will impact the defense bill signed by President Donald Trump in December, which authorized $1.3 billion to train and equip the Iraqi military for the next year.

Testifying before the House Armed Services Committee this summer, Army Col. David Navratil, then the Pentagons director for Iraq, acknowledged that some US equipment has more than likely found its way into enemy hands.

The State Department gave Iraqs military $3.8 billion from 2015 to 2017 as it cleared out IS strongholds such as Mosul, Tal Afar and Fallujah. Iraqs military now possesses more than 250 battle tanks and 1,000 armored personnel carriers.

But even as support to Iraqs military increased to root out IS in urban centers, the Defense Department has had limited direct insight into how effective more than 120,000 US-trained troops in Iraq will be, according to the inspector general report. Thats mainly because the US military relied on Iraqi information and self-reporting to determine the skill and readiness of ISF troops, the report found.

While Pentagon officials regularly describe the ISF and Iraqs elite Counterterrorism Service as combat-ready, US troops collect limited firsthand data on Iraqs ability to fight off the remnants of IS and other militant groups. US advisers, meanwhile, are usually embedded only at higher levels away from combat.

The [Department of Defense] continued to rely on Iraqi information and self-reporting to assess the capability and readiness of the ISF, particularly at the tactical level, said the report.

Because of the lack of firsthand reporting on Iraqs train and equip effort, Defense Department officials relied on meetings with Iraqi military leaders for information. But those meetings often did not provide enough data available to gauge the accuracy or reliability of details on the readiness and capability of Iraqi troops to fight.
Faisal Masud, who has been employed by Amazon in the past, and has worked as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Staples, is now moving to Alphabet. Alphabet is Googles parent company and is currently working on a method of delivery which includes drones. Masud, who has worked at Amazon for nearly a decade, and helped develop AmazonBasics, has now made his way to help with Alphabets Project Wing, whose goal is to develop a new way to deliver packages to your door using drones. Masud will join co-heads James Ryan Burgess and Adam Woodworth at Project Wing, and hell become a new Head of Operations. Project Wing is similar to Amazons Prime Air drone delivery system, which is currently being tested in the United Kingdom.

One spokesperson at Alphabet said that Faisal has a strong track record of building and scaling new delivery technologies. On top of that, that spokesperson also said that Masuds experience will help Project Wing develop properly, or at least thats whats expected of him. Masuds previous experience at Amazon could prove beneficial for Alphablet, as he worked on a similar project at Amazon, it seems. Masuds talent was much needed after the former head of Project Wing, Dave Vos, left in the fall of 2016 due to reports of disagreement between leaders and the engineering team at Project Wing.

Trials for Project Wing begun back in the fall of 2017. Project Wing had partnered with a local restaurant and local pharmacy chain in Australia, where drones would deliver food from a restaurant, as well as vitamins, prescriptions and over-the-counter medicines to the yards of customers living in rural areas where the closest store is quite far away. Project Wing and Amazon Prime Air are only available in specific locations, at the moment, and only time will tell if theyll prove useful, at which point they may become available in a number of other regions all over the world. Project Wing could prove to be useful, as it has huge potential, but its currently doing rather simple tasks, during testing. Project Wing could end up being useful in providing resources to locations that are otherwise unreachable, for example, which is why Alphabet is pushing that project as much as it does.
Famous comedian and actor Jim Carrey on Tuesday publicly criticized Facebook for its role in the 2016 presidential election in the United States, proclaiming that hes dumping his stock in the worlds largest social media platform and deleting his Facebook page so as to stop supporting a company that profited from Russian interference in our elections. While referring to the controversy surrounding politically motivated misinformation campaigns that some intelligence communities claimed were previously targeting U.S. citizens, the 56-year-old said the Menlo Park, California-based firm is still not doing enough to stop it, adding that anyone who is concerned about the future of the country should follow suit.

The tweet that can be seen below also contained a caricature of Facebook co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg accompanied by a derogatory term fakebook and a hashtag used by Mr. Carrey to urge people to unfriend Facebook. In a statement later provided to CNBC, the actor and filmmaker additionally criticized the social media giant for a lack of corporate responsibility, calling for more regulatory oversight over the platform and similar services. Investor activism is a good starting point for prompting significant change at the firm, Mr. Carrey believes, having concluded that what the world needs now is capitalism with a conscience. The celebrity whose net worth was estimated at approximately $150 million last year did not clarify how many Facebook stock he owned prior to dumping it in response to Facebooks recent controversies. The company rose nearly $7 on Tuesday, with its shares ending the day north of $185 in after-hours trading.

Mr. Carrey is just the latest name on the list of high-profile individuals who criticized Facebook in recent times, with the majority of such complaints being directed at its practices that previously allowed for the dissemination of the so-called fake news. Despite holding largely opposite political views, media moguls and investors George Soros and Rupert Murdoch both called out Facebook in the last several weeks, with their comments ranging from pressure on Facebook to pay publishers whose content its using to promote its service and present it as credible to proclamations that the social media platform is a menace that needs to be broken. Facebook recently said its looking to make its offerings more socially responsible going forward and try to ensure theyre beneficial to peoples wellbeing. The company posted yet another consecutive record-breaking quarter last week, revealing it generated $4.2 billion in net profit over the final quarter of 2017.

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Im dumping my @facebook stock and deleting my page because @facebook profited from Russian interference in our elections and theyre still not doing enough to stop it. I encourage all other investors who care about our future to do the same. #unfriendfacebook pic.twitter.com/KHWgZzhhmp  Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) February 6, 2018
Web giant Google has joined up with Matter Ventures and the News Media Alliance to create a series of bootcamps for local news staff. There will be four bootcamps over the length of the program, all tuition-free. Each one will accommodate twenty teams of six, all from different local news stations around the country, and will last three days. Googles own Google News Lab will be helping with the event by hosting one bootcamp at each of its four campus locations in Georgia, Missouri, California and New York. The bootcamps will be Design-Thinking, according to Googles press release. Applications are currently open to teams of six, and there is no listed date for when applications will close or when the bootcamps will begin.

The bootcamps arent focused on conventional news skills like research, reporting, and interviewing, but rather on principles of design and presentation. Newscasters who get into the bootcamps will learn how to create media and experiences that cater to the modern population. In Googles blog post, the company cites mobile-focused content that ties into e-commerce, a marketplace, and social media engagement with viewers as just a few examples, with the overarching theme being news networks reaching beyond just delivering the news to their viewers, and truly becoming a part of the communities that they reach. Naturally, modern design skills and basic aesthetic teachings are woven into the curriculum.

This intiative ties into Googles ongoing battle against fake news, and the company implicitly says as much in its blog post, calling local news the bedrock of the news industry. In addition to fighting against fake news directly by helping to decrease its influence and make it harder for it to find an audience, Google has been focused on pushing real news and helping news sources to find readers. Most of the ways that Google has pursued this goal thus far have been indirect, providing newscasters with tools, guidelines, and a search boost, among other perks. This initiative will seemingly be the first public initiative by Google thats aimed at working directly with the people who research, write, edit, report, and publish news.
Huawei pledged to invest 3 billion ($4.17 billion) in the United Kingdom as part of a procurement commitment signed by its chairwoman Sun Yafang with British PM Theresa May last week after already pumping 2 billion ($2.78 billion) into the UK economy over the four-year period ending 2017. Ms. May publicly welcomed the move that it claims will additionally strengthen the trade between the UK and China thats already at record levels. While the relations between the West and China have been tested in recent times due to trade-related tensions among Washington and Beijing, the UK is pushing for its own deals with the Far East as it will soon be left without the economic protections of the European Union which it voted to leave in mid-2016. In accordance with the Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, the UK will leave the EU by March 29, 2019, though the same pact dictates a 21-month transitional period required for the change to fully take place.

London has hence been keen to attract new foreign investors and prove that the so-called Brexit referendum wasnt a mistake that will weaken its economy, having repeatedly catered to the Silicon Valley and tech giants from other parts of the world in the process of doing so, with the only major exception being Uber. Huaweis decision to strengthen its ties with the UK has also been prompted by politics as the companys planned entry into the United States has been effectively blocked by Washington last month, with AT&T dropping the agreement to carry Huawei-made devices due to a fear of losing out on lucrative federal contracts. Intelligence communities in the U.S. repeatedly pointed to Huawei as a major spying threat because of its close ties with the Chinese government, though no such allegations have ever been proven. The politics that are now preventing Huawei from striking a major retail partnership in the U.S. have reportedly prompted it to completely refocus its international expansion efforts on Europe, with the announcement of the UK deal seemingly being the first step in that plan.

Huawei said its looking to assist British companies in their efforts to establish a presence in China while continuing to collaborate with the countrys telecom giants such as Vodafone and BT on various fronts, including 5G research and development. Today, Huawei is estimated to be employing approximately 1,500 people in the UK across fifteen offices.
Nest is rejoining Google under the hardware teams Rick Osterloh who now currently heads that division, following Osterlohs previous position as head of Motorola Mobility prior to Motorola being sold off to Lenovo. Nests current CEO, Marwan Fawaz, will remain with Nest but will now report to Osterloh as the two companies reunite for the future of Nests products going forward under the Google umbrella.

The decision to bring Nest back into the fold under Google was announced today, February 7, on Googles official Keyword blog. Nest is still going to focus on making the home smarter by way of providing the consumer with products that safeguard the home, save energy, and make things more convenient, but under Googles hardware team there will also be another big core focus  artificial intelligence. As noted by Osterloh, Nest and Google will be working together with a focus of making future Nest products with Googles A.I. technology and Google Assistant at the core of those offerings, though nothing was specifically mentioned in regards to what those products would be or how exactly those technologies would be incorporated. That said it isnt too hard to imagine how Google might plan to lump its A.I. tech, including Google Assistant, into Nests products.

All of Nests current offerings that are available on the market today are already compatible with Google Assistant, so the core focus on adding these technologies going forward likely builds upon this, perhaps by integrating it directly into some or all future devices. The changes take place today as Nest is now officially back with Google and the two already have a head start as Osterloh points out that both companies have already been working closely together. This doesnt explicitly signify that there may already be something new in the works but its entirely possible that Google and Nest could have already been working on a product that centers around this new core focus artificial intelligence driving the functions of whatevers to come. With this official announcement out of the way, Google upcoming I/O developer conference could be a likely time for announcing new products with Nest being part of the hardware team.
A new cryptocurrency mining malware that infects both Android smartphones and smart TV set-top boxes, dubbed as the ADB.Miner, has been discovered by Wang Hui, a researcher from the security firm 360NetLab. There are around 7,000 infected IP addresses that have been detected by the tech firm, and almost 80 percent of these victims are from China and South Korea. The ADB.Miner takes advantage of an open port 5555, a port that is usually closed in Android devices. However, the Android Debug Bridge (ADB) tool, a software tool that is commonly used to diagnose problems in an Android device, opens this port. The malware cannot open the port by itself, the researcher noted, which means that the port 5555 of affected devices have already been opened before they were infected by the ADB.Miner. After infecting a device with an open port 5555, the malware will then replicate itself and spread to other Android devices that also have an open port. The tech firm noted that the software is capable of doubling every 12 hours.

The security firm was able to collect nine sample files from the malware. One of the sample files, named as the droidbot, has the same code and structure as the SYN scanning module of the Mirai malware. The droidbot code, according to Wang Hui, executes an ADB command that replicates the malware. The tech company noted that the ADB.Miner does not have a Command and Control (C&C) server, and it instead transfers to a single wallet address the cryptocurrency tokens mined in the infected devices.

This is not the first time that a malware used Android devices to mine cryptocurrency. In November 2017, the security firm Trend Micro discovered several apps in the Google Play Store that utilized the handsets CPU in order to mine cryptocurrencies like Magicoin, Feathercoin, and Vericoin. These apps manage to evade the security measures developed by the Mountain View-based search giant. Some of these apps use a Webview that is set in invisible mode in order to mine on the users handsets. Trend Micro also discovered that a number of advertisements on YouTube used the Javascript-based cryptocurrency mining code developed by Coinhive in order to mine Monero. This cryptocurrency, which is resistant to mining by ASICs, can be traded to Bitcoin.
Orange is preparing a variety of extensive 5G trials in Europe over the course of this year that should bring the Paris-based mobile service provider much closer to commercializing the fifth generation of wireless networks, the company said Wednesday at an event held in its home city. The firm is set to test an end-to-end 5G solution in Douai and Lille in mid-2018, with the trial being specifically aimed at consumer applications of the wireless technology. No specific starting dates have yet been given as Orange is still in the process of having the experiment approved by French telecom regulator ARCEP so should the project be greenlit in early spring, the wireless carrier may accelerate its preparations for it that are already said to be underway.

Following the trial in its home country, Orange will embark on a joint venture with Samsung and Cisco with whom its set to test 5G-based broadband in Romania. The experiment will take place at some point in the second half of the year and its initial description is indicative of a fixed wireless access solution, similar to the one Verizon is planning to deploy in the United States later this year. That possibility appears even more likely given how Samsung is involved in both projects with its experimental network equipment designed for a broad range of use cases. Oranges plans in Romania will hence be exclusively focused on fixed broadband solutions based on 5G that it hopes will eventually allow for temporary industrial connectivity platforms, among other technologies.

The wireless carrier is simultaneously working on new antennas in collaboration with Nokia, having described the venture as being consumer-oriented. The upcoming antennas should be relatively versatile and support both 4G and 5G so as to allow the electronics industry to easily transition to the next generation of the technology, the company revealed. Orange is also committing additional resources to self-driving vehicles, having confirmed plans to install 4G+ infrastructure at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhery in order to test its vehicle-to-everything platform in partnership with UTAC CERAM. Following additional trials in 2019, Orange is planning to begin large-scale commercial deployment of 5G infrastructure in 2020, thus being one of the first telecom giants in Europe to do so.
Samsung Electronics is considering building a second chip factory in Korea, Yonhap News Agency reported Tuesday, citing industry sources close to the company. The plan that has supposedly been under review for months still hasnt been greenlit, with the firms management deliberating over building a chip production line in Pyeongtaek, a city 70 kilometers (43 miles) south of its hometown of Seoul. Its presently unclear when the tech giant might reach a final decision on the matter but its main point of concern that prevented a swifter decision is understood to be the uncertainty in regards to the global state of the semiconductor market. The rising demand for such offerings led the firm to extreme highs over the course of 2017, allowing it to post consecutive record-breaking profits despite a major leadership crisis, yet most analysts are highly skeptical such a state of affairs will continue in the medium term.

With more chipmakers now ramping up their production capacities to compete with Samsung and the demand showing signs of dropping off on its own going forward, the market may not be nearly as profitable in the near future to warrant another significant investment in a major production line. For much the same reasons, the company is presently understood to be having second thoughts about pouring billions of dollars into the OLED industry, being skeptical about its returns. The size of the potential second chipmaking facility in Pyeongtaek remains unclear, as does the approximate value of the investment. The first factory in the area started operating just over half a year ago, having begun production last July.

Samsung Vice Chairman Yoon Boo-keun recently signaled a decision on the matter may be reached in the immediate future, local media reports, speculating that all of the tech giants M&A deliberations may be significantly accelerated following the release of its heir apparent Jay Y. Lee who was freed earlier this week after spending nearly a year in detention on charges of corruption and bribery. While first sentenced to five years in prison by the Seoul Central District Court, Mr. Lee had his term halved and suspended by the Seoul High Court on Monday. Hes been placed on a four-year probation period and has yet to clarify whether he intends to immediately return to Samsung in an official capacity, though Mr. Yoons recent remarks are indicative of that scenario.
The rumored Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S smartphone has just surfaced yet again, it seems like the phone popped up on AnTuTu, this time around. Weve exclusively reported that the Xiaomi Mi 7 will not launch at this years Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, and even though the Mi MIX 2S probably will not launch at the tradeshow either, as Xiaomi does not plan to make any major announcements in Barcelona, the device could be announced in the near future at a separate event, probably in China.

The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S rumors and leaks have been popping up for quite some time now, and even though were still not convinced that the phone actually exists, a new listing seems to prove it does. The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S is expected to be a more powerful variant of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2 which was announced last year, and the device is expected to ship with the Snapdragon 845 64-bit octa-core SoC, Qualcomms all-new flagship processor. Now, if you take a look at the image down below, you will be able to see a screenshot of the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S AnTuTu test, which was shared by @Universeice on Twitter. The Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S comes with a codename polaris, and it managed to score 270,461 points on AnTuTu. Do keep in mind that the phone has not been listed under its real name, the Mi MIX 2S, but the listing only says polaris, though if rumors are to be believed, that is a codename of the Mi MIX 2S.

Some leaks that surfaced actually showed alleged pictures of the Mi MIX 2S, and if that info is to be believed, the device will sport a notch at the top of the display, though it may be wise to take such info with a grain of salt, as those images could have been fabricated rather easily. If this smartphone exists, and the company has plans to release it, theres a good chance that it will resemble the Xiaomi Mi MIX 2, it is even possible that its design will remain unchanged, but well see a more powerful hardware included in the package. Other than the Snapdragon 845, the phone is rumored to ship with 6GB / 8GB of RAM, and a 6-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio.

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MADRID - Galicia, the northwestern region in Spain, is looking for investments and innovative startups in Israel.

The region's president, Alberto Feijoo, led a delegation of 30 businesses from Galicia to the '2018 OurCrowd Global Investor Summit', a trade show that brought together 300 multinational companies, 500 venture capital funds, and about a thousand startups from 90 countries.

During the official visit, Feijoo met with the president of the Israeli Parliament, Yuli Kneset, and visited the Yissum Technology Transfer Centre of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, to promote cooperation with Galicia, said sources from the government of Galicia.

Feijoo presented his administration's "Innova Plan 2020", which calls for 1.8 billion euros in investments for innovation and entrepreneurial promotion.

"Israel's model of tehcnological innovation is exportable worldwide," said the president of Galicia at the end of the visit.


WriterOn October 1st, the day of the referendum on independence, Spanish Guardia Civil officers entered a school in Callus where people were voting. The mayor stopped them at the door and asked if they had a warrant to enter. The Guardia Civil pushed him to the ground and broke into the polling station. The events are similar to those recorded in other Catalan towns. There are two versions. The mayors a person whom I know and believe, and which appears to be confirmed by video footage recorded at the time explains that the Guardia Civil knocked him to the ground with a blow from a shield. The Guardia Civil filed a report claiming that the mayor blocked their way, tried to grab the shield, and ended up falling to the ground. The two accounts are not the same. Based on his version, the mayor reported the Guardia Civil for assaulting him. Based on the Guardia Civils version, a judge has now pressed charges against him for disobeying the authority.

I find it a paradigmatic case of what has happened in recent months. We have some events. The Spanish police present their own version of them, which often clashes with recorded images or the accounts of eyewitnesses. But the justice system makes a decision based on the police reports, which are biased and speak of disobedience, tumult, and violence. The account of those in charge prevails. And their account turns the victim into the aggressor.
Iveco Defence Vehicles has handed over the last tranche of 62 Light Armoured Vehicles (LAV) internationally known as the Light Multirole Vehicle (LMV), to the Norwegian Defence Material Agency (NDMA). The handover ceremony was held at Iveco DV Headquarters in Bolzano, Italy, attended by Brigadier General Morten Eggen, Head of Norwegian Defence Material Agency, Land Systems Division.



LAV 4x4 Light armoured Vehicle (Picture source IVECO Defence Vehicles)

This order constitutes the fourth LAV procurement by the Norwegian Armed Forces, which has extensively operated the vehicle in missions abroad.

The fourth generation LAV is a further step development to the Light Multirole Vehicle design. It has integrated a variety of improvements requested by the customer.

Such improvements include the new driveline, which offers a higher performance and a new air filtration system. The LAV furthermore incorporates all the lessons learned from the field, providing more payload, better performance and higher reliability. The internal layout of the crew cell has been extensively redesigned to improve crew ergonomics and incorporate new seats, a next-generation dashboard and an upgraded hardtop. These measures have the additional benefit of significantly increasing the usable internal volume.

This important supply contract consolidates Iveco Defence Vehicles market leadership in the multirole military sector, providing a response to current and future requirements of the Norwegian Armed forces in terms of performance, mobility and crew protection

With total sales of more than 4,000 units to 13 different countries, the LMV is Europes vehicle of choice to date in its category. Customers include Albania, Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Lebanon, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Tunisia and United Kingdom.
Lee Mulcahy, seen here talking with Aspen Public Radios Alycin Bektesh during last years election season, said Tuesday that he will go to jail rather than comply with a judges order that he sell his Burlingame home.
Thomson Geer has grown its partnership to 97 with the addition of a new partner in Melbourne.

Sarah Rizk joins the firms property and development team from Page Seager Lawyers in the city. She was also formerly a principal at Sladen Legal.

Rizk has a particular focus on property acquisitions and disposals, property development and subdivisions, structuring advice, property related tax advice, and leasing matters. Her clients include landowners and investors, who she advises in commercial, industrial, and residential property matters.

The lawyers recent mandates include acting for the developer of one of the largest new community broad-acre developments in Australia, Thomson Geer said. The project involved more than 7,000 dwellings, schools, shopping centres, and community facilities.

Adrian Tembel, the firms chief executive partner, said that Rizk will be working closely with partners Eu Ming Lim and Vicki Sharp.

Sarah's project development practice focussing on emerging developers perfectly complements the Asian inbound project work and institutional client work undertaken by our existing team, Tembel said.

Eu Ming Lim and Sarah Rizk

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First things first, it must be highlighted that the Hurricane can be had exclusively with the eight-speed automatic transmission developed by ZF. That makes the 2.0-liter turbo $3,000 more expensive than the cheapest JL Wrangler on sale, and $1,000 more than the auto-equipped Pentastar V6.One forum member called Tod highlights that he received an email from the dealer, saying hes JB status, should be shipping soon. In all likelihood, the Hurricane turbo-engined JL Wrangler models will start arriving at dealers across the United States of America late in the spring.The Pentastar is rated at 285 horsepower (213) and 260 pound-feet (353 Nm) of torque, which is enough to pull off an off-road stunt as impressive as Jeep did in the Anti-Manifesto Super Bowl 2018 ad . As for the Hurricane, the 2.0-liter engine and eTorque mild-hybrid system develop 270 horsepower (201 kW) and 295 pound-feet (400 Nm) combined, making the four-cylinder turbo the more interesting choice.A bit later on, the 2019 Jeep Wrangler will get two turbocharged diesel engines in the form of the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 and the 2.2-liter Multijet I4. The latter is sourced from the Alfa Romeo Giulia and Stelvio, while the 260-horsepower and 442-lb.ft. (598 Nm) EcoDiesel manufactured by VM Motori in Italy will be shared with the likes of the Grand Cherokee.Regarding the Wrangler-like Scrambler pickup truck, the U.S.-spec model will be offered with a choice of two engines: the Pentastar and EcoDiesel. And as expected from a Jeep-branded workhorse, towing and payload capacities are good, but not on par with the light-duty 2019 Ram truck. What the Scrambler is, though, is more capable off the beaten path than the Ram.
As was the case with the new A-Class release earlier this month, the launch of the new generation Sprinter emphasized the technologies with which driver experience and fleet management will be enriched.Technically, the new Sprinter will be offered with a new front-wheel-drive system to complete the rear and all-wheel-drive system already on the market in the previous version, which has been made since 2006. For this new version, Mercedes-Benz will supply two new transmissions: a six-speed manual and a nine-speed automatic torque converter, the first of its kind to be used n the large van segment.Connectivity of the van is supported, as said, with the high-speed LTE-capable Internet connection. The manufacturer pairs the connection with the Mercedes PRO service it provides, but it also can be used with any mobile devices.The PRO service will allow anything from planning servicing and maintenance to simplified fleet communications. Navigation, done via a 10.25-inch telematics display system, is also handled by PRO.PRO will work in conjunction with the Mercedes-Benz User Experience system (MBUX), also debuted on the A-Class. The new Sprinter is the first Mercedes van to allow the use of MBUX.The new Sprinter can already be ordered in Germany for 19,990 euros (excluding VAT). It is available with a segment-only 3.0-liter V6 (190 hp), or a four-cylinder 2.1-liter with three different outputs: 114 hp, 163 hp or 177 hp.Next year, the manufacturer will also introduce the electric version of the Sprinter. Mercedes-Benz has big plans for the van, announcing it will invest 2.5 billion euros ($3.1 billion) in development, production network, sales, and after-sales.
Only if we could get them started. Because, you know, to prove our point we need to get up there and unravel the lie. We'll come back with pictures, and perhaps even a piece of the string that attaches our flat world to the ceiling of the Universe.Our most recent attempt took place last weekend. Before that evil, plotting Elon Musk sent his car into space to avoid it being identified as part of a crime of some sorts. Unfortunately, our esteemed colleague Mad Mike Hughes (he's not mad, he just likes to be called that) failed to send himself into space. For now.As you might know, he was trying to get his homemade space rocket to lift off from the Mojave Desert, where the beautiful flat city of Amboy is located. Two times he tried that last weekend, only to be stopped by the perpetrators of the continuous Earth-is-round lie.First, he was told by the Bureau of Land Management he cannot fly over public lands. He aborted the launch and now plans to sue the entire state of California: the Governor, the Tax Board, all the legal department for the Tax Board, and the attorney general, and senator Kamala Harris. His promise to us is that they would all be in prison by the end of the year.Then, on his second attempt, a malfunction prevented him from taking off at 500 mph and revealing the truth for the benefit of all mankind. More precisely, an apparent O-ring failed. We have a theory that the O-ring itself is actually a square-ring, but that's another story.Thankfully, the Washington Post is the only news outlet that covered our entire ordeal. We'll be back with updates, and proof, as soon as we get them.
In the first day of the week, Mercedes-Benz thought to give its fans a great reason to start the week, so it chose a quote by Dalai Lama, written all over a C-Class Coupe sittin' on a beach: "Look at situations from all angles, and you will become more open.The quote was posted on Instagram, which is officially blocked in China. Chinese people, however, are computer savvy and they do use VPNs, despite the authorities' efforts, no it wasn't long until the photo of the Merc with the Dalai Lama quote popped up all over the place.The Chinese and the Tibetans, which the Dalai Lama represents, have been at odds for several decades now. Tibet, which has been occupied and ruled by China since 1951, was witness to cultural genocide, say the Tibetans, and spiritual terrorism, argue the Chinese.So one might understand why posting a quote of an archenemy to advertise a product might cause some disturbance here and there. It's like having Kim Jong-un give you career advice on Mondays, or Hitler summing up the week.Mercedes quickly picked up on the fact that it messed up, so it removed the ad and issued an official apology on Tuesday: "Even though we deleted the related information as soon as possible, we know this has hurt the feelings of people of this country," Mercedes-Benz said according to Deutsche Welle 'We published extremely incorrect information, for this we are sincerely sorry."
SUV

It was a bold decision considering the Polestar name has long been associated with models that go faster than their non-Polestar lookalikes, a trait that doesn't seem to bode well with electric propulsion.The first model of the newly created brand, the Polestar 1, quickly shooed away any worries that its products might not meet the required performance levels to be worthy of the name. Granted, the sporty coupe uses a hybrid powertrain, but it puts out 600 hp and no fewer than 1,000 Nm (737 lb-ft). With two electric motors driving the rear wheels and a 2.0-liter turbo doing the same for the front ones, the Polestar 1 also comes with all-wheel-drive, meaning it should be both quick and agile.However, the Polestar 1 will act as a flagship model of sorts and will only be built in 500 units each year. That means it'll be more of an image vector than an actual source of income, provided Polestar doesn't slap an astronomical price tag on it.But if everybody's lips are sealed about how much a Polestar 1 is going to go for, not the same can be said about the company's second model called, obviously, "2." According to the Brits at AutoExpress , the mid-sized sedan - Volvo and Polestar's first full battery-powered model - will sell for 40,000 (about $50,000) and should hit the still non-existent Polestar showrooms in 2020.Not much is known about the model other than its approximate size and the fact its development is all but complete . The same can be said about the third model - yes, the "3" - which is definitely going to be an all-electric, probably based on Volvo's XC60. This one should follow the sedan one year later, maintaining the company's one model per year cadence (1 - 2019, 2 - 2020, 3 - 2021).The Polestar 1 and 3 will be assembled at Geely 's plant in Chengdu, China, while the sedan's birthplace is still a mystery. With a plan of 50,000 units a year, it's clear the 2 will be the company's bread and butter, even though we shouldn't underestimate the market's apetite for SUVs. Especially since Polestar's has been described as "low and aerodynamic."
SpaceX launched their Falcon Heavy test flight from Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday, and wowed the crowds with a picture-perfect flight of the worlds biggest rocket. From the blue Florida skies and billowing white smoke on takeoff, to the incredible double upright in-sync landings of the two booster rockets, the team couldnt have asked for a better show. Topping it off, the Falcon Heavy carried a bright-red Tesla Roadster into space, complete with a spaceman mockup wearing a SpaceX high-fashion version of a spacesuit. The Tesla and its driver will travel as far as the orbit of Mars, and then settle into orbit around the Sun for millions of years. It was everything you could ask for in a test flight, enthused one of the crew during the live online feed.

The flight wasnt without its glitches though. The center core didnt land on the drone ship as planned, SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk told the press in a conference call on Tuesday evening. In the live feed, the cameras went blank, and the on-air commentators blamed it on a video transmission glitch, due to vibrations from the landing. But Musk said the core hit the water at about 500 kilometers an hour, about 100 meters away from the drone ship, and that was enough to shower the deck with shrapnel and take out two of the engines. He said the company hadnt planned to re-use the core anyway, so he didnt consider it a major problem. He said SpaceX has a number of commercial customers already lined up for Falcon Heavy and will be proceeding with the program.

The Falcon Heavy generates 4.7 million pounds of thrust at takeoff, and can lift up to 70 tons into low-Earth orbit, the heaviest payload and highest thrust of any rocket in operation today. The booster rockets can be recovered to fly again, keeping the costs relatively low. The day before launch, Musk told The New York Times he couldnt predict the outcome: Im looking forward to it. Its either going to be an exciting success or an exciting failure, he said. One big boom! Id say tune in, its going to be worth your time. Future versions of the Falcon Heavy could someday be used to launch missions to the moon or Mars, according to the Times. SpaceX lists a price of $90 million for a Falcon Heavy flight, compared to $62 million by the smaller Falcon 9.

In case you missed it, heres the full launch video.
The latest effort to find the crash site of Malaysian Airlines MH370 continues, after a three-day blackout from the survey ship conducting the search set the Internet on fire with theories about what might be going on. Ocean Infinity Ltd. is conducting the search on a contingency basis, with a payday of up to $70 million from the Malaysian government if they find the wreck, but nothing will be paid if they come up empty. This arrangement has raised speculation about the real mission or motivation of the search, with a range of theories offered online. The Ocean Infinity website offers no response to the uproar, but does note, in a report dated Feb. 6: Please be assured that work is continuing and is aimed at finding MH370. Trackers are able to follow the ships movements via a satellite-based Automatic Identification System, and post updates online.

The Feb. 6 report also notes that on Feb. 4, the ship conducting the search operations, Seabed Constructor, left the search area to transit to the Australian port of Fremantle for supplies and a crew change. The vessel is expected to return to the search area on Feb. 12. The ship deploys eight autonomous underwater vehicles to conduct the search, which so far have covered nearly 3,000 square miles. Two points of interest were identified by the AUV missions, but on further investigation they were classified as geological features, according to the report. Under its arrangement with Malaysia, the ship operators have 90 days to find the wreckage.
Hundreds of Armenian lawyers staged a fresh strike on Wednesday in protest against government plans to allow judges to fine them for contempt of court.

The one-day strike organized by the Chamber of Advocates led to the cancellation of court hearings across Armenia.

Our actions are approved by many of our international partners, said Ara Zohrabian, the chairman of the national bar association. We will publicize their positions soon.

Government-drafted amendments to Armenias Judicial Code passed by the parliament in the first reading in November set the maximum amount of such fines at 100,000 drams ($210). They triggered vehement objections from lawyers fearing that judges would use the new power to limit their rights during court hearings. A large group of them already went on a one-day strike in December.

Justice Minister Davit Harutiunian, the key author of the controversial amendments, said last week that they have been removed from the Judicial Code before being passed in the final reading. But he made clear that the amendments will be incorporated into another code which the Armenian authorities plan to amend later this year.

The postponement failed to satisfy the lawyers. They insist that the authorities have failed to substantiate the need for financial penalties against purportedly unruly attorneys.

Lawyers representing radical opposition activists currently standing trial feel that they are the main target of the proposed penalties. They frequently argue with judges and are sanctioned by the latter during those trials

Harutiunian has defended the fines sought by the authorities, saying that they are needed to increase public respect for the Armenian judiciary.
By Rashid Shirinov

Another Armenian provocation on the international arena was prevented in the capital of Russia Moscow, where Prodexpo 2018 exhibition is being held.

The Azerbaijani Economy Ministry noticed the appeal of Stepanakert cognac factory, operating in the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, for participation in the exhibition, the Ministry informed on February 7.

Subsequently, the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO) officially informed the exhibition organizer ExpoCentre OJSC that participation of an enterprise illegally operating in the occupied Azerbaijani territories is unacceptable and contrary to the norms of international law.

Thanks to the joint activities of the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry and the Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia, the participation of Stepanakert Cognac Factory in the exhibition was foiled.

Armenian Diaspora and lobbies often use international exhibitions to distort the essence of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue and present this region of Azerbaijan as Armenian. However, Azerbaijan timely prevents such provocative attempts.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

To this day, Armenia has not implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Trend

There are great opportunities for attracting Chinese investments to the non-oil sector of the Azerbaijani economy, Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev, who is on a visit in China, said at the joint Azerbaijani-Chinese business forum in Beijing.

He said that there are 113 companies with Chinese capital operating in Azerbaijan in the construction, agriculture, communications, services, trade and other spheres.

Speaking at the event, the minister noted special importance that Azerbaijan attaches to the development of relations with China.

Mustafayev stressed that Azerbaijan is interested in developing relations with China in all spheres.

The minister noted that the trade turnover between China and Azerbaijan grew 43 percent to $1.2 billion in 2017. Export of Azerbaijani products to China grew 2.1 times, he added.

He stressed that the opening of Azerbaijans trade representation in Beijing on Feb. 5 will play a significant role in increasing the trade turnover and expanding the investment cooperation.

Mustafayev reminded that three export delegations visited China in 2016 and 2017.

Azerbaijani products under the Made in Azerbaijan brand were presented at two exhibitions in China, and this year, Azerbaijani companies plan to take part in three more exhibitions in China, he added.

Negotiations are also underway to open the wine house of Azerbaijan in the Shanghai International Trade Center, he said.

The event also included a presentation on the nomination of Bakus candidacy for the EXPO 2025.

Following the forum, Azerbaijans AS Group Investment company signed a memorandum of understanding with Chinas Camce Co Ltd.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Kazakhstans President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed the Law on ratification of agreement between governments of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan on international road transport, the press service of Akorda reported.

The text of the law is published in the press.

The agreement establishes legal norms for the implementation of road transport between the two countries, regulates the types of trucking and the procedure for establishing quotas for the exchange of permit forms.

Earlier, Kazakh First Vice-Minister of Investment and Development Roman Sklyar explained that the implementation of the agreement will also contribute to the further development of road transport between the two countries and the development of Kazakh-Azerbaijani trade and economic cooperation.

So far, Kazakhstan has signed agreements on road transportation with 41 foreign countries.

In 2016, the volume of cargo transportation by road between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan amounted to 6,200 tons. The main transported goods are equipment, products of plant and animal origin, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and finished food products.

In 2017, the number of vehicles transported between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan amounted to 9,744.

The most important areas of Kazakh-Azerbaijan cooperation include energy issues, transportation, agriculture, and the use of the Caspian Sea as an important international traffic artery.

Currently, the two countries are working on promotion of a joint transport project - the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), which involves cargo transportation from China via Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and further via Turkey and Ukraine to Europe.

With the modernization of the ports and launch of new railway branches between the two countries, the cargo flow has significantly increased.

Trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan grew by $3 million last year. In 2017 the trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan amounted to $127 million, and in 2016 this figure was estimated at over $124 million.

Over the past 10 years, Azerbaijani investments in Kazakhstan amounted to $168 million, and investments from Kazakhstan to Azerbaijan about $20 million.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Trend

Azerbaijan plans to restore activity of housing construction cooperatives in the country, Kamran Nabizade, director general of the Azerbaijan Industrial Corporation, said at the corporations meeting on February 7.

He said that this concerns cooperatives that are subordinate to the corporation.

The goal of restoring the activity of cooperatives is to satisfy the housing needs of the Azerbaijani population, he noted. As you know, acceleration of economic growth leads to improvement of the social condition of the population. So it is necessary to meet the needs of those who want to buy an apartment.

He added that it is planned to bring together all cooperatives after the restoration of their activity under the leadership of one company.

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By Sara Israfilbayova

Wolfgang Buechele, Chairman of Germanys Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations will visit Azerbaijan on February 12-14.

During the visit to Baku, he will hold a series of meetings to discuss the expansion of economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Germany, said Executive Director of the German-Azerbaijani Chamber of Commerce at a meeting in Baku with Head of Administration of the Ministry of Economy Ayaz Aliyev in Baku.

During the meeting, issues of development of bilateral economic relations were discussed.

Aliyev noted that more than 200 German companies operate in Azerbaijan, adding that Germanys investments in Azerbaijans economy totaled $556 million.

In addition, a number of German companies operate as contractors in various projects, Aliyev stressed.

In turn, Baumann expressed his vision regarding acquaintance with the regions of Azerbaijan, and establishing ties between German companies and enterprises operating in the territory of Azerbaijan.

Moreover, Azerbaijan will take part in the International Trade Fair for Fruit and Vegetable Marketing Fruit Logistica, to be held in Berlin on February 7-9.

The trade turnover between the countries amounted to $500 million during January-August 2017.

Germany recognized independence of Azerbaijan on January, 12 1992. The diplomatic relations were established on February 20, 1992.

Germany is among Azerbaijans top five most important trading partners. The major portion of trade turnover figures fall to the share of industrial production. German exports to Azerbaijan consist mainly of motor vehicles, iron and steel goods, machinery and production facilities.

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By Laman Ismayilova

The first Youth Career Exhibition will be held in Baku.

The event will be held in the new campus of Baku Higher Oil School on March 1, Trend Life reported.

Representatives of domestic and foreign companies will present free working vacancies.

All interested persons, companies, human resources specialists and private individuals are invited to participate in the exhibition. For young people, this exhibition will be a great opportunity to find a job in the public and private sectors. Participants have a chance to turn their ideas into reality and realize their creative potential.

With the help of ASAN Kadr, more than 850 ASAN Volunteers have been employed since 2015.

Youth Career Exhibition is co-organized by ASAN Kadr and Baku Higher Oil School, Trend Life reported.

For more information, please visit: www.asankadr.az

Media partners of the event are Trend.az, Day.az, Milli.az, Azernews.az

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Laman Ismayilova is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Lam_Ismayilova

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By Trend

Turkey will open a monument dedicated to the Khojaly genocide, the Turkish media reported on February 6.

The monument will be opened in Turkeys Edirne Province on February 26 on the 26th anniversary of the Khojaly tragedy.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Hakan Cavusoglu, as well as a number of Turkish and Azerbaijani MPs are expected to attend the opening ceremony.

On February 25-26, 1992, the Armenian armed forces, together with the 366th infantry regiment of Soviet troops, stationed in Khankendi, committed an act of genocide against the population of the Azerbaijani town of Khojaly.

As many as 613 people, including 63 children, 106 women and 70 old people were killed in the massacre. Eight families were totally exterminated, 130 children lost one parent and 25 children lost both. Some 1,275 innocent residents were taken hostage, while the fate of 150 people still remains unknown.

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By Rashid Shirinov

Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met with Bridget Brink, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, in Baku, the Foreign Ministry informed on February 6.

Mammadyarov briefed Brink about the negotiation process on resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and underlined the importance of strengthening the efforts by the U.S. along with other OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs for the fair and just settlement of the conflict based on the UN Security Council resolutions.

The FM said that the attempts to alter the internationally recognized borders of states by use of force are unacceptable.

He further noted that Azerbaijan is interested in further development of relations with the U.S.

Speaking about the fundamental economic reforms conducted in Azerbaijan, Mammadyarov mentioned the importance of redoubling joint efforts for the development of economic relations and active involvement of U.S. companies in the non-oil sector of Azerbaijan.

Brink, in turn, emphasized the necessity of reinforcing the political dialogue on strategic partnership between the two countries and said that her country attaches importance to the relations with Azerbaijan. She noted the necessity of further development of current bilateral cooperation.

The U.S. official highly appreciated the contribution of Azerbaijan to the peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan as part of the fight against terrorism.

During the meeting, the sides also discussed energy and transport projects being implemented by the initiative of Azerbaijan, especially the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Southern Gas Corridor projects. The parties also exchanged views on issues of mutual interest.

American co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group Andrew Schofer and U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Robert Cekuta also participated in the meeting.

Azerbaijan and the U.S. established diplomatic relations in 1992. Today, the two countries work to promote European energy security, expand trade and investment, and combat terrorism and transnational threats. The U.S. is committed to strengthening democracy and promoting economic diversification in Azerbaijan.

Currently, the U.S. companies are actively involved in the development of Caspian hydrocarbons in offshore Azerbaijani oilfields, and the U.S. government actively supported the BakuTbilisiCeyhan pipeline as the primary route of transportation for Caspian oil.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Rashid Shirinov

The president of the Swiss National Council undermines the negotiations on settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministrys Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend on February 7.

He commented on the statements, Dominique De Buman, President of the Swiss National Council, made in Yerevan. Hajiyev noted that De Buman, abusing his official status, makes biased statements contradicting Switzerlands neutrality policy and harms the negotiations on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

De Bumans statements in Yerevan, translated into an internationally accepted language, can be regarded as support for segregation and racism, Hajiyev said.

The spokesman further reminded that in 2012, De Buman, violating the laws, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, illegally visited the Azerbaijani territories occupied by the Armenian armed forces.

By this visit and current statements, he demonstrates justification of Armenias aggression against Azerbaijan, the occupation of Azerbaijans territory by the Armenian armed forces and the bloody ethnic cleansing committed in the occupied territories against more than one million Azerbaijanis," Hajiyev emphasized.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Until now, Armenia controls fifth part of Azerbaijans territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding regions.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Rashid Shirinov

Relations between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia are successfully developing in different fields, Azerbaijans Defense Minister, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov said on February 6.

He made the remarks during a meeting with the delegation of the Defense Ministry of Saudi Arabia, led by Major General Ali bin Ibrahim Fevvaz.

Having greeted the guests, Hasanov brought to their attention the instructions of the President of Azerbaijan, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Ilham Aliyev about the expansion of relations and cooperation between Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia in all areas, particularly in the military and military-technical spheres.

Touching upon the security issue in the region, Hasanov expressed gratitude for Saudi Arabia's support of Azerbaijan's position in the solution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and for non-establishment of diplomatic relations with Armenia.

Fevvaz, in turn, noted that Saudi Arabia regards Azerbaijan as a friendly and fraternal state and attaches great importance to military cooperation between the two countries.

The guest added that as a Muslim country, Saudi Arabia strongly condemns Armenia's aggressive policy and is constantly close to Azerbaijan in its rightful cause.

During the meeting, the parties also discussed issues of strengthening ties between the armies of the two countries, holding joint military exercises, organizing visits, as well as a number of other issues of mutual interest.

Saudi Arabia was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan in 1991.The diplomatic relations between the two countries were established in 1992. The Azerbaijani Embassy in Riyadh was opened in 1994, and since 1999, the embassy of Saudi Arabia has been operating in Baku.

Over the past years, the bilateral economic relations with the increased interest in investment strengthened and expanded. Currently, several companies of Saudi Arabia operate in various fields in Azerbaijan.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

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By Trend

The early presidential election is important for solving important issues facing the Azerbaijani state, Novruz Mammadov, assistant of the Azerbaijani president for foreign policy issues, head of department, told AzerTag.

Today, Azerbaijan is a country that has gained a special place in the world community, a country that has achieved internal stability, security and sustainable development, and has become an initiator and participant of large-scale regional and international projects. On the backdrop of the complex processes and threats around the world, Azerbaijan has showed that it is a reliable and responsible partner, and it has ensured, strengthened and kept the unity of the people and the leader. All these achievements are based on President Ilham Aliyevs activity for the good of the Azerbaijani statehood and people, continuing the political course of National Leader Heydar Aliyev.

The domestic and foreign policies pursued by the head of state over the past 15 years have ensured stability, security and sustainable development of Azerbaijan. Serious qualitative changes have taken place in all spheres of society's life in the country thanks to political, social, economic, cultural, scientific, religious and other reforms. Thanks to the political vision and wisdom of the head of state, Azerbaijan has become a leading force in realization of major and important international projects such as the Southern Gas Corridor, TANAP, TAP, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars and North-South Transport Corridor. Today, Azerbaijan is an exemplary country, contributing to the intercultural dialogue worldwide with its multicultural and tolerant society.

At this time, President Ilham Aliyev, using the right given him by the Constitution of Azerbaijan, has made a decision to appoint an early presidential election in Azerbaijan for April 11, and signed a relevant order, he said.

Mammadov, talking about the reasons that make the early presidential election expedient, noted that the presidents term of office was extended from five to seven years in a referendum amending the Constitution, held in September 2016.

As this is the beginning of a new historical era, the head of state appeals to voters for a vote of confidence through the early election, he added. The appointment of the election to a much earlier date is crucial for resolving important issues facing the state and mobilizing political and economic resources more effectively for the new era. Undoubtedly, it is expedient to appoint the presidential election for April with a view to increase the effectiveness of reforms on the agenda, hold personnel and structural reforms, and adopt relevant legislative acts.

In 2018, Azerbaijan plans to host dozens of international and local events. Holding of a series of events, starting with the Formula 1 races in late April, the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, the events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijani Army, the flag of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic and the Azerbaijani Parliament, the Baku International Humanitarian Forum, and other similar events could have created additional difficulties in the pre-election and election period. Therefore, it is more appropriate to finalize the election before such important events, Mammadov said.

He emphasized that the intensity of trends in the international relations system of the modern world, the processes taking place in Azerbaijans region and the wider geography can create some questions at any time.

This requires increasing readiness and demonstrating flexibility in foreign policy.

Furthermore, there is a risk that negative processes taking place in the South Caucasus and in the neighboring regions may become increasingly acute and may affect Azerbaijans region. One of the preventive steps to neutralize those negative impacts is the appointment of the presidential election to a much earlier date.

Today, in the political life of Azerbaijan there is no second politician, state figure or leader who can be compared to Mr. Ilham Aliyev. The people of Azerbaijan give the highest value to the activity of the head of state and have infinite confidence in him, Mammadov concluded.

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By Trend

Announcement of early presidential election by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev is the right decision, which fully corresponds to the legislation of the country, Azerbaijani MP Bakhtiyar Aliyev told Trend on February 6.

The MP reminded that on September 26, 2016, Azerbaijan held a referendum, as a result of which amendments to the Constitution were made and a new presidential term and procedure for holding early presidential election were established.

This referendum, held at the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev, demonstrated the peoples great confidence in the head of state, the MP said.

He noted that the early presidential election was announced taking into account the ongoing processes in Azerbaijan, big events of local and international level envisaged in the country, as well as the coincidence of the parliamentary election to be held in 2025 with the next presidential election.

The announcement of early presidential election is another success of democracy in Azerbaijan, he added. President Ilham Aliyev once again demonstrated that Azerbaijan is a democratic state with the rule of law and political will.

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev signed an order Feb. 5 announcing early presidential election for April 11.

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By Trend

Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the lower house of the Russian Parliament, will visit Azerbaijan, TASS news agency reported, referring to Volodin as saying on February 7.

Volodin noted that he will visit Azerbaijan in about 6 months after the early presidential election to be held on April 11 this year in the country.

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By Aygul Salmanova

The Azerbaijan Industrial Corporation held a meeting devoted to realization of the State Program of Social and Economic Development of Regions 2014-18 on February 7.

Corporations CEO Kamran Nabizade stated during the meeting that AIC is taking measures to ensure the efficiency of the enterprises within the Corporation.

In particular, work is underway to develop a strategy on the Corporation, including a strategy on the development of each AIC enterprise separately, he emphasized.

Nabizade also noted that Azerbaijan plans to restore and restart Ganja aluminum plant in the country.

The goal is to organize the manufacture of primary and final aluminum products, he said. This will make it possible to increase competitiveness of the aluminum production sphere and export potential.

The CEO also spoke about the need to restore the activity of the Ganja Alumina Plant.

This is necessary for the development of alunite mining in Azerbaijans Dashkesan region, Nabizade said. The plant will produce alumina and other products from the alunite ore. To do this, the plant needs to be reorganized in accordance with modern technological requirements.

In general, it is planned to restore and reorganize activity of a dozen facilities with the use of modern technologies, he noted.

In particular, it is planned to implement the development strategy for the reorganization of Sheki-Ipek JSC with the involvement of foreign and local consultants, the CEO said. We also need to reduce dependence on imports.

He went on saying that it is necessary to improve the quality of tobacco grown in Azerbaijan, noting that the low quality of tobacco produced in the country negatively affects its final price and export volumes.

The problem of the quality of tobacco is still on the agenda, Nabizade said. We must do everything necessary to ensure that this problem is solved. This adversely affects the whole sphere of tobacco growing and hinders its development.

We need to encourage honest producers, and apply legal measures regarding those who dont fulfill their commitments, he added.

He also noted that the cost per hectare to produce tobacco in Azerbaijan is higher than in neighboring countries.

It is necessary to reduce the cost of tobacco per hectare, he noted The cost exceeds 2,300 manats ($1.352) in Azerbaijan, whereas in Turkey it amounts to $800.

In turn, Fazil Rustamov, director of Intertobacco CJSC, explained the reasons for the high cost of tobacco in Azerbaijan.

Unlike other spheres, manual labor is widely used in tobacco production, and this leads to high production costs, Rustamov said. In order to reduce the cost, it is necessary to mechanize a part of tobacco production, and we are working in this direction.

While making remarks during the meeting Zakir Azimov, acting director of CTS-AGRO LLC, said that in the coming years, cotton production in Azerbaijan will increase to 100,000 tons per year.

In order to increase cotton production in Azerbaijan, first of all, it is necessary to increase the yield, he said.

We have a goal to increase the yield to 25 centners per hectare in the next five years from the current 18 centners, Azimov said.

The director noted that last year, the company sowed cotton in 14 regions of Azerbaijan.

A total of 28,600 hectares of land were sown in 2017, and in the result, we received 51,200 tons of raw cotton, which is 1.8 times more than in 2016, Azimov said. This year we sowed 35,000 hectares of land and plan to receive 70,000 tons of cotton.

He added that in order to achieve this result, it is necessary to carefully study the mistakes and shortcomings made last year.

We need to take a more careful approach to the selection of lands for sowing cotton, properly and efficiently use agricultural machinery and pay special attention to the means used to combat pests, Azimov said.

Furthermore, Hilal Ahmadov, chairman of the companys board noted that Inter Glass, an Azerbaijani glass manufacturing company, intends to reach full production capacity.

He said that presently the companys glass plant operates at half its capacity.

The plant produced 36 million bottles in 2017, whereas in 2014, when operating at full capacity, the plant produced only 38 million bottles, Ahmadov said.

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By Trend

Azerbaijan and the Czech Republic are holding talks to sign a new energy agreement, Czech Minister for Industry and Trade Tomas Huner said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

The minister added that expert discussions on an inter-ministerial agreement on energy cooperation to be signed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic and the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy are currently underway.

The essence of the document is to underline the strategic importance of supplies of Azerbaijani oil to the Czech Republic, but also to facilitate the cooperation in the development of alternative energy sources (e.g. the hydro power and other green energy sources) and create conditions for the involvement of entrepreneurial subjects in energy projects in both countries, Huner said.

Huner said that in this context and in connection with signing of the aforementioned international document, consultations on this year's working visit to the Czech Republic by Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov are in progress.

Today, Azerbaijan significantly increases the energy security of the Czech Republic as Azerbaijani oil represents the one-third of its annual consumption, the minister said. Azerbaijan, which has significantly contributed to the diversification of Czech energy sources, has therefore become an important strategic partner of the Czech Republic. For this reason, the Czech Republic has a great interest in expanding cooperation with Azerbaijan in the energy field.

The minister added that another prospective field for expanding cooperation is the Southern Gas Corridor project.

Potential supplies of Azerbaijani gas to the Czech Republic offer another possibility to diversify our energy sources, the minister said. This issue will be dependent on the political will of representatives of both countries.

The Southern Gas Corridor is considered as one of the priority energy projects for the EU. The project envisages the transportation of gas from the Caspian region to the European countries through Georgia and Turkey.

At the initial stage, the gas to be produced as part of the Shah Deniz Stage 2 is considered as the main source for the Southern Gas Corridor projects. Other sources can also connect to this project at a later stage.

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By Sara Israfilbayova

World oil prices are growing in the course of trading on Tuesday amid the data of the American Petroleum Institute (API) about the unexpected weekly decline in U.S. stocks of raw materials, as well as with support from the correction in the U.S. stock market after a strong fall.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.1 percent to $66.93 a barrel on Londons ICE Futures exchange. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down 0.1 percent at $63.35 a barrel, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Prices for black gold are supported by API statistics, according to which the oil reserves in the U.S. decreased by 1.05 million barrels to 418.4 million barrels following the results of the working week, which ended on February 2. At the same time, analysts predicted an increase in stocks of raw materials by 2.5 million barrels.

Now investors are expecting the publication of data from the U.S. Energy Department. Experts predict an increase in the gold reserves in the U.S. by 3.189 million barrels after an increase of 6.776 million the previous week.

Moreover, an additional positive factor for the global oil market is the correction on the U.S. stock exchanges after a sharp fall on February 5. In particular, the main U.S. stock indexes on February 6, rose by 1.8-2.3 percent.

OPEC and non-OPEC producers reached an agreement in December 2016 to curtail oil output jointly and ease a global glut after more than two years of low prices. OPEC agreed to slash the output by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1.

Non-OPEC oil producers such as Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, and South Sudan agreed to reduce output by 558,000 barrels per day starting from January 1, 2017.

OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till the end of 2018 in Vienna on November 30, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

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By Trend

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has advised his fellow people to refrain from purchasing foreign currencies in order to protect their assets.

My advice to the people is to refrain from stepping in this risky path [currency market] for their own good. There are much better ways for people to benefit from their money and assets, Rouhani told a press conference in Tehran aired live by the public broadcaster on February 6.

The US dollar over the current fiscal year (started March 20, 2017) has surged against the Iranian national currency by at least 25 percent, posting 46,864 on Tuesday. The rate of euro has also jumped by 45 percent to stand at 58,937 rials on the same day.

Saying that the currency market is experiencing imbalance days, Rouhani denied that the recent developments in the currency market are linked to the economic and commercial reasons.

There are no commercial reasons [for surge in currency prices] because  our income in foreign currency is more than our expenses.

He further dismissed the allegations accusing the government of intentionally pushing up the rate of foreign currencies against the national currency, rial.

This decision could be made in case the government faced a budget deficit. This year, we have no budget deficit, he added.

The president described the psychological factors as the main reason behind the surging currency prices, assuring the nation about a better future.

The spokesman for the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejehi, on Feb. 4 announced that security officials had brought at least six individuals to prosecution over the recent fluctuations in the currency rate.

Iranian governments total revenues stood at 840.4 trillion rials (some $23 billion based on official rate of 36,600 rials per each USD) during first eight months of the current fiscal year (March 20-Nov. 21).

Meanwhile, over 1,173.4 trillion rials of revenues were envisaged in the national budget for the mentioned period, which means that the government revenues were materialized by 71.6 percent, based on latest data released by Central Bank of Iran (CBI).

Total revenues of the Iranian government registered a rise by 7 percent during the eight-month period, year-on-year.

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By Trend

Irans President Hassan Rouhani requested Turkey to stop its operation in Afrin, Syria, as soon as possible.

During a press conference in Tehran on Feb. 6, broadcast by state-run IRINN TV, Rouhani said the operation will bear no fruit.

He added that Turkey's army members as well as people from the opposite side are killed in the operation and Iran is not satisfied with that.

He also stressed that gaining the permission of the Syrian government is a necessity for the operation.

Our ties with Turkey and Russia are very good, but our principled stance is that entry of a country's army to another country should be on consent of the people and government of that country. Otherwise, that would not be right, Rouhani said.

On Jan. 20, the Turkish Armed Forces, together with the Free Syrian Army, launched the Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria. F-16 fighters of the Turkish Air Force are involved in the operation, inflicting strikes on the positions of PYD/YPG on the Syrian-Turkish border.

Rouhani emphasized that Iran has good relations with Syria, Russia and Turkey, underlining that cooperation between Iran, Russia and Turkey is necessary for establishing peace in Syria.

He also condemned the US presence in the territory of the Syria.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani said the Islamic Republic favors dialogue among regional countries.

He underlined that political approach and dialogue are the basic solutions for problems.

We are talking to the regional countries and countries outside the region to resolve issues, Rouhani said, underlining that people of the region should themselves decide about their future.

"Foreign powers should not interfere in the internal affairs of the region's countries," he added.

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By Trend

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officially expressed apologies to Turkey in a letter, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said, the countrys media reported on February 7.

Cavusoglu said that earlier, former US Secretary of State John Kerry said that the CIA has precise information that Turkey buys oil from the Islamic State (IS) terrorists. The Turkish foreign minister added that he rejected those charges and demanded evidence.

However, despite all the demands of Ankara to present evidence that Turkey allegedly buys oil from the IS terrorists, the CIA couldnt do this, and the Turkish Foreign Ministry demanded official apology letter from the CIA, Cavusoglu said.

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Kazakhstan intends to increase the volumes of cargo transportation to Turkey via sea routes by three times.

This was announced by Kazakh Minister of Investment and Development Zhenis Kasymbek at a plenary session of the lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament on February 7.

Kazakhstans Majilis approved the bill of ratification of the Protocol of 2005 to the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, Kazinform reported.

The Protocol enlarges the list of the acts classified as terrorist and defines the response mechanisms and mutual help in the event of assault on ships. Today 40 states have joined the Protocol, and almost all Baltic and Black Sea countries, Kasymbek said.

Currently, Kazakh trade ships are actively developing marine routes to open sea ports, he noted.

Up to 35,000 tons of general cargo were shipped in 2017 from the port of Aktau to the ports of Turkey. In 2018 the volume of shipment will be increased three times, the official said.

Also it is planned to start shipping oversize equipment from the Black and Baltic ports to Kazakhstan for construction of the plant of Tengizchevroil company, he said.

The agreement between Kazakhstan and Russia reached within the Eurasian Economic Union to introduce simplified transit of Kazakhstan ships via Russian water ways has also fostered the growth of traffic volume, according to the minister.

The ratification of the Protocol contributes to the strengthening of legal guarantees for ensuring security of Kazakh ships floating in the high seas, he stressed.

Commenting on the questions of MPs, Kasymbek noted that the provisions of the Protocol fully comply with the legislation of Kazakhstan, including - regarding the possibility of using the vessel as a weapon of crime.

Therefore, after the ratification of the Protocol, there will be no need to amend the current legislation.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Direct work on the construction of a high-voltage regional power transmission line CASA-1000 is planned to be launched this year.

This line is supposed to supply Tajik and Kyrgyz electricity to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the press service of the Tajik Ministry of Energy and Water Resources reported.

The Energy Ministry noted that at the first stage it is planned to begin construction of converter substations in Tajikistan and Pakistan.

On the territory of Tajikistan, a converter station with a capacity of 1300 mW will be built in Sangtuda. The tender for the technical part is completed. From the side of the World Bank, which is the main investor of the project, it was decided that in the beginning of March financial proposals of companies interested in the construction of this facility will be opened. If the proposals of the companies are within the budget, a corresponding contract with the winner of the tender will be signed and the physical realization of the project will begin, the ministry said.

CASA-1000 is an interregional electricity transmission project in Central and South Asia to connect four countries - Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. It is presupposed that the project will create opportunities for the export of electricity surplus in summer period from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Pakistan through Afghanistan.

Implementation of this project will result in peace and stability in Afghanistan and the region. This project will bring prosperity to the nations of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The regional CASA-1000 project will not only have economic benefits for Afghanistan and Pakistan, but it will also have a positive impact on the security situation and political stability in these countries.

Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have the worlds most abundant clean hydropower resources. Both countries have the surplus of electricity during the summer due to water cascading from the mountain ranges, while Afghanistan and Pakistan face chronic electricity shortages and cannot keep pace with demand for it.

The project initially also included transfer of electricity to Afghanistan, however the country abandoned its share of electricity due to dearth of demand, hence Pakistan will receive 1,300 megawatts of electricity.

Groundbreaking for the project took place on May 12, 2016 in Tajikistan in a ceremony attended by the Kyrgyz, Tajik, and Pakistani Prime Ministers. The total cost of CASA-1000 regional project is estimated at $1.2 billion and is expected to be completed by 2020.

Such international financial institution as the World Bank (WB), the European Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), as well as the UK government and others act as investors in the project.

In particular, for the implementation of the Tajik section of the project, the World Bank will allocate $45 million the IDB - $70 million, and the EBRD - $110 million.

Economy analysts are not very hopeful about the implementation of the project due to lack of cooperation between the countries involved. The experts note the insecurity in Afghanistan as another hurdle for the electricity transmission project.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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By Kamila Aliyeva

Industrial enterprises in Tajikistan will get a relief from a number of inspections for a period of two years.

The lower house of the parliament supported the initiative of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon to declare a two-year moratorium on all types of inspections on the subjects of industrial entrepreneurship on February 7.

To abolish groundless repeated inspections and create a favorable climate for the development of industrial entrepreneurship, the president signed a decree on January 16 this year, said the head of the State Property Committee of Tajikistan Farrukh Hamralizoda.

Thus, entrepreneurs engaged in production are exempted from all types of inspections except for the planned ones conducted by the Anti-Corruption Agency, the National Bank, the Prosecutor General's Office, the Accounts Chamber and the Tax Committee.

It is assumed that this measure will help support industrial entrepreneurship and increase export potential, as well as reduce the number of inspections.

Hamralizoda stressed that after the adoption of the law On the moratorium in Tajikistan, a special register of business entities in production spheres will be created.

Under the moratorium decree adopted by the parliament, checks could only go ahead when there was a suspicion that consumer rights were somehow being violated. The moratorium only extends to production facilities, not other types of enterprises.

There are no less than 78 different government bodies empowered to run checks in Tajikistan.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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The President of CJSC Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) Jahangir Askerov met with Richard Forson, the President and CEO of Cargolux in Baku.

At the meeting both sides expressed satisfaction with the fruitful 17-year cooperation between the two airlines, which was established in 2001 with the operation of regular flights by Cargolux to / from Heydar Aliyev International Airport. Cooperation between the airlines was further strengthened after a contract was signed, within which, Cargolux delivered three Boeing 747-400F aircrafts to the Azerbaijani Silk Way Airlines from 2010 to 2014. Currently, the cooperation between the two airlines also includes maintenance of Boeing 747 aircrafts, crew training on simulators of this aircraft, etc.

According to Jahangir Askerov, today Azerbaijan's civil aviation has announced itself as the official air carrier of the Great Silk Road project connecting East and West. The use of new wide-bodied long-haul Boeing 747-8F aircraft, well-established in cargo transportation market, is an important part of implementation of this strategy.

At the same time, Jahangir Askerov expressed his concern regarding Boeing's potential decision to stop the production of Boeing 747-8F aircraft. In particular, there will be a need to purchase 20 Boeing 747-8F aircrafts for Azerbaijani civil aviation within the next 10 years. Therefore, Jahangir Askerov intends to make a request to Boeing Corporation to continue the production of this type of aircraft.

In turn, Richard Forson expressed satisfaction with the high quality of services provided at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. He also agreed that the Boeing 747-8F aircraft proved itself in the world air cargo transportation market and there will also likely be a continuing need for such an aircraft type in the market.

The President of AZAL CJSC informed Mr Forson that, on his invitation, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Kevin McAllister, will pay a working visit to Baku in the coming weeks. An invitation was extended to Mr. Forson to participate in such a meeting regarding the future of wide-body freighter aircraft.

It should be noted that Silk Way Airlines operates regular flights to more than 20 destinations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America. The Airlines fleet consists of modern and capacious cargo aircrafts such as Boeing 747-8F and Boeing 747-400F.

Over the past 10 years, Heydar Aliyev International Airport has become a major logistics hub for air cargo transportation.

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By Aygul Salmanova

The number of direct flights between Azerbaijan and other international airline companies, a small country located in Southern Caucasus has been considerably increasing.

PASHA Holidays (PASHA Travel) will organize charter flights to Montenegro's Tivata from July 5 to September 13, 2018.

The presentation of the opportunities of this European tourism region will take place at the JW Marriott Absheron Baku hotel on February 8.

The event will focus on the prospects of bilateral cooperation between Azerbaijan and Montenegro and Croatia, the National Tourism Propaganda Bureau told AZERTAC.

Representatives of about 300 tourism companies from Azerbaijan will take part in the presentation.

It should be noted that Montenegro has applied visa-free regime with Azerbaijan.

For the year 2018, more direct flights from some foreign countries to Azerbaijan will be organized, the chairman of the Azerbaijani Tourism Association, Nahid Bagirov earlier.

Earlier, Azerbaijan's low-cost air carrier Buta Airways launched direct flight from the capital of Azerbaijan, Baku to Bulgarian Sofia on January 16.

Furthermore, starting from March 2 of the year 2018, direct flights of Etihad Airways of United Arab Emirates in the direction of Abu Dhabi-Baku will be carried out.

Azerbaijan also offers Croatia to launch direct flights for development of tourism, stated Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev at a meeting with Croatian Deputy Prime Minister Martina Dalic.

Additionally, recently Poltava airport was granted the status of an international airport, due to which direct flights from Poltava to Azerbaijan is planned to be opened.

Direct flights between Etihad Airways of UAE, considered to be one of the top ten world airlines, and Azerbaijan will be opened soon.

Another country intending to launch direct flights to the Land of Fire is Tajikistan. The Ambassador of Tajikistan to Azerbaijan Zohir Saidov noted that the country is interested in opening direct flight Dushanbe-Baku in an effort to deepen the interaction in the toursim sector.

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Anthem recently made a policy change that claimed monitored anesthesia care during routine cataract surgery was not medically necessary, YubaNet.com reports.

Here's what you should know:

1. The change is being met with resistance from several professional societies including the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons and the California Society of Anesthesiologists.

2. Both societies are requesting that Anthem review the policy before a disastrous error takes place.

3. The societies also issued complaints to the California Department of Managed Health Care and the California Department of Insurance.

4. The groups argue a lack of monitored anesthesia care would put patients' sight at risk. If patients were to move at all during the procedure, the consequences could be sight altering.

5. If the policy remains in place, patients will either have to pay for monitored anesthesia care themselves or undergo a procedure in suboptimal conditions.
Here are 15 new ASCs and outpatient surgery centers that were announced or opened over the past month.

1. Pueblo, Colo.-based Parkview Medical Center opened a new outpatient center that will be able to accommodate as many as 60 procedures per day.

2. Moreno Valley, Calif.-based Riverside University Health System plans to build a neighboring 200,000-square-foot ambulatory care campus with an outpatient surgery center this spring.

3. Phoenix-based Barnet Dulaney Perkins Eye Center opened a clinic that provides cataract evaluations, glaucoma care and treatment in Mesa, Ariz.

4. Philadelphia-based Jefferson Health opened a surgery center in Cherry Hill, N.J. The ASC can accommodate an estimated 10,000 surgical procedures annually.

5. Lincoln, Neb.-based Bryan Medical Center plans to open its new medical building with a 17,000-square-foot outpatient surgery center, along with clinical and office space, in March.

6. Los Angeles-based Keck Medicine of University of Southern California opened the Norris Healthcare Center, also in Los Angeles.

7. Construction on a Bend, Ore.-based surgery center is expected to be complete in June.

8. Pocatello, Idaho-based Skyline Surgery Center invested in a planned medical campus development in Chubbuck, Idaho.

9. Medford, Mass.-based Hallmark Health System plans to build an ASC, which will cost an estimated $16 million, at its Lawrence Memorial Hospital campus in Medford, Mass.

10. Tenet Healthcare subsidiary United Surgical Partners International will open an ASC in West Palm Beach, Fla. in partnership with New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery.

11. Wichita (Kan.) Nephrology Group began construction on a clinic and surgery center scheduled to open in the eastern part of the city this summer.

12. Charleston-based Medical University of South Carolina is opening an outpatient surgical facility in a shopping mall.

13. Marquette, Mich.-based Advanced Center for Orthopedics and Plastic Surgery plans on opening another Marquette location in March.

14. Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Cottage Children's Medical Center opened a pediatric surgery center in Goleta, Calif.

15. The Hospital Authority of Tift County will begin construction on a replacement facility for Adel, Ga.-based Cook Medical Center in March. The building will include an outpatient surgery center.
At least 24 percent of physicians couldn't differentiate phishing emails from legitimate ones, according to Media Pro's 2017 State of Privacy and Security Awareness Report.

Media Pro asked 1,009 U.S. healthcare employees about their privacy and security awareness.

Here are five survey insights.

1. About 18 percent of respondents identified phishing emails as legitimate ones  physicians were three times worse at identifying phishing emails than their non-physician counterparts. The most misidentified email of the four examples presented was an email from a suspicious "from" address containing an image attachment.

2. Overall, 78 percent of healthcare employees showed some lack of preparedness when it came to common privacy and security threats. That is compared to 70 percent of employees across all industries.

3. Nearly 37 percent of respondents  and about half of physicians  scored in the survey's "risk" category, meaning they put their organizations at a serious risk for a privacy or security incident.

4. Twenty-three percent of healthcare employees failed to report a variety of potential security incidents, such as unsecured personnel files or potentially malware-infected systems.

5. Nearly 21 percent of respondents did not recognize some forms of personally identifiable information.

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Four of the top vendors hospitals use to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program are Allscripts, Cerner, Epic and Meditech, according to July 2017 ONC data.

Here are 20 hospitals and health systems that posted job listings during the past two weeks seeking EHR and IT expertise.

Editor's note: This is not an exhaustive list. Job listings were compiled from job seeker websites.

Allscripts

1. Community Hospital of the Monterey (Calif.) Peninsula: Seeks an applications analyst

2. Crouse Hospital (Syracuse, N.Y.): Seeks a clinical information systems specialist

3. Hendrick Health System (Abilene, Texas): Seeks an interface analyst

4. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (New York City): Seeks a senior systems analyst

5. St. Joseph Health (Irvine, Calif.): Seeks a lead IT analyst

Cerner

1. Adventist Health System (Altamonte Springs, Fla.): Seeks a regional manager of clinical informatics

2. Seattle Children's Hospital: Seeks a senior systems analyst

3. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Memphis, Tenn.): Seeks a clinical informatics manager

4. Virginia Mason Medical Center (Seattle): Seeks a clinical information systems manager

5. Wood County Hospital (Bowling Green, Ohio): Seeks a CIO

Epic

1. Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago: Seeks a health information management and population health applications manager

2. Johns Hopkins Hospital (Baltimore): Seeks a health information management systems development manager

3. Rush University Medical Center (Chicago): Seeks a clinical applications project lead

4. Providence Health & Services (Renton, Wash.): Seeks a system clinical informatics specialty manager

5. The University of Chicago Medicine: Senior Epic Healthy Planet analyst

Meditech

1. Doylestown (Pa.) Hospital: Seeks a senior healthcare data analyst

2. Franciscan Children's (Brighton, Mass.): Seeks an applications analyst

3. Presence Health (Chicago): Seeks a senior clinical analyst

4. St. Joseph Health (Irvine, Calif.): Seeks a clinical documentation integrity regional manager

5. Thorek Memorial Hospital (Chicago): Seeks a data integration analyst
The federal government's new "conscience and religious freedom" rule will cost the healthcare system $312.3 million the first year and $125.5 million annually the following four years, according to estimates published by HHS in the Federal Register.

The rule offers protections for healthcare workers with religious or moral objections to abortions, euthanasia and other medical services.

Federal officials said it aims to "ensure that persons or entities are not subjected to certain practices or policies that violate conscience, coerce or discriminate, in violation of such federal laws." A new HHS Office for Civil Rights division will be responsible for compliance and enforcement.

Overall, the government estimates the rule will cost affected individual healthcare entities, including hospitals, an average of $665 the first year and about $266 annually the following four years. The government estimates its own annual cost at $900,000, according to an Associated Press report published by The Washington Post.

In the report, Roger Severino, director of the civil rights office, described the industry requirements as "standard civil rights stuff," and said federal officials are "trying to make the burden as light as possible."

The rule has prompted mixed reactions. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins praised the new division, saying it is "another moment in which President Trump's promises are becoming a reality." However, the American Civil Liberties Union opposed the rule, saying federal officials are "prioritizing providers' beliefs over patients' health and lives. This administration isn't increasing freedom  they're paving the way for discrimination."

The Catholic Health Association of the United States said in a statement although its hospitals do not participate in certain procedures the association is opposed to, such as abortion and euthanasia, "there is no one who is not welcome for the care that we do provide in our hospitals."



"This is a moment where the decency and integrity of the American people should frame the discussion. One more polarized and politicized argument is not going to serve the people of this nation well. CHA looks forward to participating in a productive dialogue on this important issue," said the CHA in the statement.

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Tyler, Texas-based East Texas Medical Center Regional Healthcare System President and CEO Elmer G. Ellis plans to retire, effective Feb. 28. He has worked at the organization for 50 years.

Mr. Ellis joined Medical Center Hospital, now ETMC Tyler, in 1968 as assistant administrator. He assumed the ETMC president and CEO role in 1985. He began his healthcare career at St. Joseph Hospital in Paris, Texas.

During his tenure, ETMC grew into a multi-hospital health network. Mr. Ellis spearheaded the development of East Texas Medical Center EMS, a nonprofit ambulance service, and expanded ETMC Tylers centers of excellence to include advanced specialties in cardiology, cancer, neurology and behavioral health.

Mr. Ellis earned numerous accolades throughout his career, including the Earl M. Collier Award for Distinguished Healthcare Administration from the Texas Hospital Association.

ETMC is on the cusp of a new phase of growth. In September 2017, Nashville, Tenn.-based Ardent Health Services and Austin-based the University of Texas System formed a joint venture to acquire ETMC. Officials involved in the sale are nearing an agreement, but the closing date has not been set.
Andy Slavitt, a former United Healthcare executive and CMS administrator during the Obama administration, discussed how changing political tides affect healthcare in the U.S., saying that when the next debate begins, the nation as a whole "should start with fresh thinking that can unite us in a common goal of putting the health of our nation over politics."

In an op-ed for USA Today Feb. 6, Mr. Slavitt addressed the turmoil of the current political climate and how it affects Americans' healthcare needs.

"We believe all Americans should have access to a regular source of care for themselves and their families; no one should face financial devastation due to illness or injury, and we need to achieve these goals through policies that are fiscally responsible and have the political support to last," he wrote.

To assist in the challenge of ensuring all Americans have access to healthcare, Mr. Slavitt announced the launch of a new nonprofit, United States of Care, Tuesday. The organization has thus far received the support of nearly 60 prominent healthcare officials, advocates, clinicians, former elected officials, business leaders and inventors.

"Some are skeptical that we will ever get past the current political stalemate. This will not happen overnight. Our first step is a national listening tour to hear from families and local experts and turn what we learn into real policy changes, beginning at the state level," he wrote.

"We can't sit back and bemoan the politics. If we expect our children and grandchildren to have a future where they can live up to their potential, change jobs without fear, benefit from the cures which are coming, and not bankrupt themselves or our nation, we must come get together now and put our health ahead of our politics."

To read Mr. Slavitt's full op-ed, click here.
Andy Slavitt, a former healthcare executive who served as CMS administrator during the Obama administration, launched a new nonprofit aimed at promoting grassroots healthcare policy, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Mr. Slavitt was a group executive vice president at UnitedHealth Group when he led a troubleshooting team that helped rescue HealthCare.gov during the website's troubled rollout in 2013. He later served as CMS administrator from 2015 to 2017, and now, his new nonprofit venture  United States of Care  will focus on improving access to healthcare. The group, however, will not dedicate any resources to lobbying.

United States of Care will be co-headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Minneapolis. Its board of directors includes former Sen. David Durenberger, R-Minn., and Penny Wheeler, MD, president and CEO of Minneapolis-based Allina Health.

Mr. Slavitt said the nonprofit is necessary because people cannot count on politicians to craft effective healthcare legislation.

"People around healthcare are concerned that if we wait for Washington to fix things, we're point to end up with either a solution that is only backed by one party or we'll remain in a volatile situation," said Mr. Slavitt, according to The Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Ronald Reed, former longtime CEO of Mercy Iowa City, died Feb. 6 at age 64 after a long battle with a chronic illness, according to The Gazette.

Mr. Reed served as CEO of Mercy Iowa City from 1995 until his retirement in 2016. During his tenure, he oversaw the expansion of the hospital's services, including new primary care clinics, a wound and vein center and a hospice care unit.

In addition, Mr. Reed led Mercy Iowa City through a period of low inpatient admissions while Iowa City-based University of Iowa brought more services into the area. Despite the competition, Mr. Reed helped the hospital maintain a strong profit margin by developing niche markets.

"Our hope is we can continue to provide choice in the community," Reed told The Gazette in 2015.
Pittsburgh-based UPMC and Highmark Health, also in Pittsburgh, are ending their joint venture to operate Erie, Pa.-based The Regional Cancer Center, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Here are five things to know about the deal's dissolution.

1. Highmark Health owns Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network, the parent organization of Erie-based St. Vincent Hospital. UPMC owns UPMC Hamot, also in Erie.

2. Prior to the respective acquisitions of both hospitals by UPMC and Highmark, St. Vincent Hospital and UPMC Hamot jointly owned and operated The Regional Cancer Center.

3. UPMC Hamot President David Gibbons, RN, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Each hospital will move forward independently to form their own cancer centers."

4. The breakup of the cancer center began roughly two years ago, when St. Vincent Hospital and UPMC Hamot began transitioning chemotherapy care to their respective facilities.

5. Officials expect to complete St. Vincent Hospital's withdrawal from the joint venture operation by the end of 2019. UPMC officials are reportedly considering acquiring the building housing The Regional Cancer Center, according to the report.
Healthcare workers are set to protest beginning next week at 32 hospitals owned by Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente, according to the Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West.

SEIU-UHW, which represents more than 55,000 California Kaiser Permanente employees, said in a statement the healthcare workers are protesting what they deem as plans to diminish patient care. The union claims Kaiser Permanente is seeking a 20 percent pay cut for thousands of employees in Fresno, Stockton, Modesto, Manteca and Tracy, and a 10 percent pay cut for workers in Sacramento, Davis and Roseville. It also contends the healthcare giant plans to outsource nearly 300 pharmacy warehouse jobs in Oakland, Livermore and Downey, and move hundreds of jobs at Los Angeles call centers to other areas of California.

In a statement to Becker's Hospital Review, Kaiser Permanente Vice President of Communications John Nelson said the union has "launch[ed] loud, false criticism and wage misleading attacks."

"That may be their approach now, but its certainly not supported by the facts," the statement reads. "For 20 years, we have enjoyed a historically productive labor management partnership that has resulted in improved quality and efficiency, better working relationships, and cemented Kaiser Permanente as a great place to work, and to receive care. We will continue to stay focused on the important work of delivering affordable, high-quality care to our members, and improving the health of the communities we serve."

The protests are scheduled between Feb. 14 and March 9. Union officials expect thousands of healthcare employees to participate.

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California's Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers West filed 10 propositions to potentially be voted on in November aimed at lowering healthcare costs and improving patient care, according to a Politico.

Here are 10 things to know.

1. The union propositions consist of three at the state level and seven at the local level.

2. California granted SEIU-UHW approval to collect signatures for two propositions, according to the report. The first aims to contain premium costs by curbing insurers' reserves, and the other is a 1 percent tax on millionaires, which would help pay for safety-net hospitals and community health clinics, reoprts Politico.

3. According to the report, the first statewide proposition regarding reserves appears to target Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente. The healthcare giant told Politico: "This particular initiative targets Kaiser Permanente by claiming our hospitals and medical equipment are 'excess surplus' that we should eliminate."

4. A third statewide proposition is aimed at dialysis clinics. In a statement, the union said the ballot initiative would ensure patients aren't charged more than 15 percent above the care cost. SEIU-UHW anticipates submitting signatures to the state for verification by April 11. Additionally, Senate Bill 349 is up for consideration in California. The union said the legislation related to dialysis clinics would require "safer staffing levels and more time for patients to recover after treatment."

5. Local propositions include ballot initiatives in five Bay Area cities  Emeryville, Livermore, Pleasanton, Redwood City and Palo Alto. The five cities include facilities owned by Stanford (Calif.) Health Care.

6. Like the statewide proposition regarding dialysis clinics, the local propositions would ensure patients aren't charged more than 15 percent above the care cost.

7. Union officials said state records show Stanford University Medical Center charges nearly $73,000 above the statewide average for alcohol or drug abuse treatment, $60,000 more for treatment of a patient with kidney failure, and nearly $46,000 more for treatment of chest pain.

8. Stanford Health Care said in a statement to Becker's Hospital Review: "We are committed to providing the best value for our patients and community. All hospital charges reflect the various levels and complexities of care provided by these healthcare organizations."

The statement added, "Local initiatives such as these would impose substantial and burdensome administrative and related costs for the cities affected, in addition to having a disastrous impact on individual institutions and our patients. If each city in our country were to adapt similar measures, the entire U.S. healthcare system would be in jeopardy. Stanford Health Care believes that the proposed initiatives would be unconstitutional and invalid if enacted."

9. SEIU-UHW also filed a proposition to limit charges at Watsonville Community Hospital, as well as a proposition that would affect the Pomona-based hospital Casa Colina and Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. The union said the Pomona initiative would increase the amount of hours housekeeping staff work.

Felice Loverso, PhD, president and CEO of Casa Colina, opposed the initiative, calling it "bad policy and would negatively impact our organization." He said in a statement to Becker's Hospital Review: "We also believe that this is an unlawful strategy and Casa Colina cannot support this initiative."

10. According to the report, it remains unclear whether the state and local propositions will make it on the November ballot.

Read the full Politico report here.
High Point (N.C.) Regional Hospital's former director of finance pleaded guilty Tuesday to bank fraud, wire fraud and identity theft after she was accused of embezzling $3 million from the hospital between Jan. 1, 2003, and Aug. 15, 2017, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

According to a federal indictment, Kimberly Russell Hobson defrauded the hospital by issuing unauthorized and forged checks payable to herself and relatives. She was also accused of using the hospital's credit cards for personal expenses.

Ms. Hobson used money embezzled from the hospital to purchase luxury vehicles, a motorcycle and other items for personal use, according to court documents.

Ms. Hobson, who is scheduled to be sentenced May 2, faces up to 32 years in federal prison, according to the report.

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A Florida district court judge tossed out a lawsuit against Epic that alleged its software double-billed the government for anesthesia services.

The complaint was filed in 2015 under the qui tam provision of the False Claims Act by former Raleigh, N.C.-based WakeMed Health supervisor of physician's coding Geraldine Petrowski. She claimed Epic's billing software caused "hundreds of millions of dollars" in fraudulent payments from Medicare and Medicaid. The lawsuit wasn't unsealed until November.

In his dismissal, U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. argued Ms. Petrowski parroted language in the False Claims Act without actually pointing to specific allegations. He wrote that Ms. Petrowski asserted "that Epic purportedly 'made false representations about [its] software' and 'presented or caused to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment ...' '[a]s set forth above.' Yet, there are no allegations 'set forth above' of representations by Epic about its software, let alone misrepresentations to anesthesia providers or the government. Nor are there any credible allegations that any false or fraudulent claim was submitted to Medicare."

According to the lawsuit, the software's default protocol is to charge for both the applicable base units for anesthesia provided on a procedure and the actual time taken for the procedure, resulting in the provider being reimbursed twice for the base unit component. However, Judge Moody wrote in his dismissal Ms. Petrowski did not present evidence this was actually occurring.

He added that Ms. Petrowski failed to amend her complaint or add additional details after Epic moved to dismiss the lawsuit in December.

"[Ms.] Petrowski alleges only that Epic's software could be used in such a way that would allow its hospital customers to generate bills that cause the Medicare program to double pay for certain aspects of professional anesthesia services," Judge Moody wrote. "This is woefully deficient because it is based on pure speculation."

Epic spokesperson Meghan Roh hailed the decision as consistent with Epic's argument throughout the case. She told Becker's Hospital Review, "As we previously stated, the plaintiff's assertions represented a fundamental misunderstanding of how claims software works. We are pleased the court dismissed this case."
A former physician at Los Angeles-based UCLA Health said she was forced from her position as director of the medical school's lymphoma program because the school's male administration did not acknowledge her complaints of age and gender discrimination, MyNewsLA.com reports.

Lauren Pinter-Brown, MD, 63, an expert in T-cell lymphoma research, is the plaintiff in a lawsuit against the Regents of the University of California. Dr. Pinter-Brown's complaint, which alleges age-based harassment and discrimination and gender discrimination, is being heard by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury.

Dr. Pinter-Brown, who became director of the lymphoma program in 2005, alleges she was repeatedly criticized for her clinical trial work by a subordinate physician, Sven De Vos, MD, PhD. Dr. De Vos allegedly also turned his back to her during a meeting and frequently interrupted her. "I was trying to establish myself as someone who was respected," she said. "It was like the butt of a joke."

However, a lawyer for the regents argued the conflict between Dr. Pinter-Brown and Dr. De Vos primarily stemmed from their different ideas about how clinical trials should be conducted.

The lawyer said several medical committee members became concerned about how Dr. Pinter-Brown's trials were proceeding, resulting in a suspension of her research privileges in June 2012. Dr. Pinter-Brown's research privileges were reinstated in October 2013, but she left UCLA Health for UC Irvine in December 2015.

When asked by her lawyer if she had attempted to resolve conflicts with Dr. De Vos, Dr. Pinter-Brown said he was not approachable. "He'd shut me up pretty quick," she said. However, Dr. Pinter-Brown said Dr. De Vos was "very collegial" with male physicians.

Additionally, Dr. Pinter-Brown said she made as much as $250,000 less than her male peers, but one physician said her pay was below what men received because she had a nurse practitioner.

Outside the university setting, Dr. Pinter-Brown said she received praise for her work at medical conferences and physicians and patients across the globe consulted with her. "It was like night and day," she said.
A patient at Oklahoma City-based St. Anthony's Hospital was arrested just after midnight Tuesday after he allegedly assaulted a nurse, reports KFOR.

According to the complaint, 47-year-old patient Barius Hayzlett, who was admitted to the hospital for observation, intentionally exposed himself to the nursing staff. At one point during his stay, Mr. Hayzlett called the nurse in to help with his gown. While the nurse was assisting Mr. Hayzlett, he reportedly grabbed the nurse's genitals, according to Fox 25.

Immediately following the incident, the nurse left the room to call the police.

The patient was arrested on one complaint of sexual battery.
Although more health systems are partnering with ridesharing companies to provide inexpensive transportation for low-income patients, these services may not solve the problem of missed medical appointments, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study gathered data from approximately 800 Philadelphia residents who were Medicaid patients at one of two Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine primary care practices.

Here are four things to know about the study.

1. Patients who were offered a free Lyft ride and those who were not offered a ride had nearly identical rates of missing medical appointments  36.5 percent vs. 36.7 percent, respectively.

2. "Transportation is often a barrier to care for many patients, but solutions that don't address other barriers may not be enough to help patients get to doctor appointments," said lead study author Krisda Chaiyachati, MD.

3. Approximately 3.6 million people, many of whom are low income, miss medical appointments due to transportation issues each year, according to a 2006 study. As a result, patients often choose to receive treatment in more costly, acute care settings. Missed medical appointments also negatively affect clinical productivity and unused clinical space can contribute to a health system's revenue loss.

4. Although Dr. Chaiyachati recognizes this is a negative finding, it will prove to be important to solving patient transportation barriers. "[The finding] can inform future efforts to help improve attendance rates and highlights the complexity of social barriers when caring for poor patients," he said.
The flu season started early in St. Louis, compared to national trends, and hit the area hard, according to Nirav Patel, MD, CMO at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital and SLUCare physician in infectious diseases and critical care medicine.

Dr. Patel told Becker's Hospital Review the hospital's biggest challenge in managing the flu is keeping its large population of chronic disease patients healthy, since the flu  especially H3 strains  can exacerbate these conditions.

SLUH has taken numerous steps to limit flu transmission at the hospital and ensure timely treatment for flu patients.

Each flu season, the hospital sets up hygiene tripods throughout the facility, including at all major entrances and elevator banks leading to patient care areas. The tripods are stocked with alcohol-based hand sanitizer, face masks and Kleenex. "The idea is to provide additional access [to flu prevention methods] for staff, visitors and whoever else comes to the facility during flu season," Dr. Patel says.

While SLUH always runs a fairly busy emergency department at high capacity, the hospital made extra efforts to ensure smooth patient flow amid an influx of flu patients. The hospital implemented existing surge protocols, along with rapid diagnostic and treatment algorithms, to evaluate flu patients and discharge healthier individuals from the ED without an inpatient stay, according to Dr. Patel. SLUH has also partnered with other facilities in the SSM Health network to transfer or receive patients who require different levels of care.

Most of the U.S. is still experiencing elevated flu activity. However, Dr. Patel said flu cases are finally starting to taper off at SLUH.
The ongoing shortage of IV saline solutions, exacerbated by a relentless flu season and manufacturing disruptions of IV mini-bags following Hurricane Maria, is causing care costs to rise in Wisconsin, reports the Wisconsin Public Radio.

Here are five things to know.

1. IV saline bags were in short supply prior to the manufacturing disruptions and severe flu season, but both of these factors are stretching resources thin  particularly for mini-saline bags, which hospitals often use to administer medicine to patients.

2. To mitigate the saline shortages, many hospitals are employing alternative strategies, such as administering drugs using syringes, switching patients to the same medication in pill form or using larger IV bags. These alternatives pose different challenges, including new supply shortages, explains Ann Zenk, RN, Wisconsin Hospital Association vice president of workforce and clinical practice.

"It's the domino effect," Ms. Zenk said. "We started with IV solution shortages in small bags used to administer medication, and mitigation strategies cause increased use of syringes and larger volume IV bags, so we are now seeing shortages of those key supplies."

3. Not only do these alternatives cause domino-like supply chain disruptions, but in the case of syringes, the time it takes to prescribe, dispense and administer a drug can quadruple. In particular, administering a drug via a syringe requires more attention from pharmacists and nurses must physically administer the IV to the patient. This workflow change increases healthcare costs and stretches staff thin.

"[C]linicians have been forced to develop resource intensive workarounds that reduce efficiency and increase healthcare costs," explained Ms. Zenk.

4. According to a survey of nearly 70 hospital and health systems in Wisconsin conducted by the Wisconsin Hospital Association, 86 percent of hospitals are using conservation strategies to mitigate the shortages. However, nearly half of the hospitals using conservation strategies reported these alternatives are significantly impacting staffing, scheduling and other operations.

5. Although the FDA has already implemented strategies to remedy the shortage by allowing certain saline products to be imported from other countries and approving new saline, hospitals nationwide are still concerned about the availability of the products. The Wisconsin Hospital Association is urging state lawmakers to lobby the FDA for more long-term solutions.
Everett-based Western Washington Medical Group notified patients of a possible data breach between its orthopedic, sports, spine and hand patients.

Here are four points:

1. On Nov. 13, 2017, the janitorial services may have improperly disposed of some medical records. WWMG discovered the janitorial service mistakenly combined records from the group's orthopedic, sports, spine and hand shred bins with other trash throughout the office.

2. WWMG noticed the disposal error the following morning. They believe all the disposed records are now part of a landfill and patients face little risk.

3. Patients who may have been affected were contacted on the details of the breach. Information in the shred bins may have included names, addresses, diagnoses, medical history forms, appointment dates, medical history and health care insurance billing information.

4. WWMG janitorial service employees received additional training following the breach. There is no indication any information has since been used improperly.
Here are seven spine surgeons or neurosurgeons who recently received awards or promotions.

Robert Holtzman, MD, received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Holtzman is board certified in neurosurgery as well as in psychiatry and neurology.

Top Doctors named Rockford, Ill.-based SwedishAmerican Hospital neurosurgeon Gayatri Sonti, DO, PhD, a 2017 Top Doctor in Rockford. He has been practicing for more than 14 years, specializing in scoliosis, degenerative disc disease, spina bifida and cranial trauma.

John S. Kuo, MD, PhD, will serve as the inaugural neurosurgery chair of the Mulva Clinic for the Neurosciences at The University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School.

Marquis Who's Who recognized Andrew E. Sloan, MD, for his neurosurgery career. Dr. Sloan was on the front lines of developing brain tumor immunotherapy as well as Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy.

UC San Diego Health selected Alexander Khalessi, MD, to serve as its neurosurgery chair. He will also serve as chief of neurosurgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Southfield, Mich.-based neurosurgeon Pradeep Setty, DO, was named a 2018 Top Doctor. He specializes in minimally invasive approaches to treat brain and spine disorders.

John Pollina Jr., MD, has earned recognition as a 2018 Top Doctor in Amherst, N.Y. He is clinical vice chairman of Buffalo Surgery Group and director of spine surgery at State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.
Northern Ireland is losing 440 jobs as two companies shut up shop and another slashes its workforce.

Williams Industrial Services (WIS), which employed 145 people in Mallusk, has been put into administration with most of its workforce made redundant straight away after it ran out of funds. Energy firm NIE Networks has also said it is cutting 90 jobs.

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And a trade union claimed that French oil services firm Schlumberger would be going ahead with the closure of its site, which employs 205 people in Newtownabbey.

Combined with the loss of 270 jobs announced on January 27 over the planned closure of Kilroot power station by energy company AES, it means Northern Ireland will see 700 jobs go in the next few months.

UUP finance spokesman Steve Aiken MLA said the 440 job losses announced yesterday were devastating.

"These are exactly the type of highly skilled manufacturing jobs which Northern Ireland simply cannot afford to lose," he commented.

He called on the Department for the Economy to take "urgent action to help the workforces affected by the announcements".

Stephen Kelly, managing director at lobby group Manufacturing NI, said trade unions and management at the Schlumberger plant at Newtownabbey had made "great efforts" to convince its parent company to keep the site open.

But he said he was "shocked" at the speed of the job losses at WIS, which specialised in water-treatment and anaerobic digestion technology.

Its chairman John Toner said: "Having explored all possible rescue options, it is with deep regret that the directors have had to take steps to have the company placed into administration."

Stephen Cave, an administrator at PwC, said: "The company ran into a number of commercial issues on some of its key contracts in recent months, culminating in contractual disputes which had a significant and adverse impact on trading cash flow.

"Despite endeavours to resolve the matters and secure a way forward, the company ran out of funds, leaving the directors facing the decision to enter administration.

"Whilst we are urgently reviewing the company's financial and trading position, we have unfortunately had to make the majority of the workforce redundant with immediate effect."

It is believed workers at Schlumberger could be out as early as the first week of April, but the plant may not close until around June. In a statement, the company said: "Following an extensive consultation period, it is with great regret that Schlumberger can confirm that the centre will cease production around June 2018. The Belfast facility has been in our company for almost 20 years and has been valued for its expertise and dedicated workforce.

"The decision to close the centre has not been made lightly, and multiple options and proposals were considered. Due to the prolonged industry downturn, we have had to restructure our manufacturing organisation in line with current and anticipated future activity which has resulted in closures in the Americas, Europe and Asia."

Susan Fitzgerald, Unite regional officer at Schlumberger, said the company had rejected its proposal for keeping the site open. "The proposal would have resulted in a significant increase in operating utilisation rates but was rejected by a corporate management who remain intent on off-shoring production to low cost centres in Mexico and China and back to the United States."

Around 90 jobs look set to go at Northern Ireland Electricity amid "efficiency" plans across the business. NIE has said it has been in discussions with trade unions "on a number of measures to drive operating efficiency within its business and to deliver a good value service to all electricity customers".

It said this "includes proposals to reduce the number of job roles by 90 across the business".

Trade union GMB said it has been advised by senior management within NIE that it will be entering into a 30-day consultation regarding reductions in its workforce. It employs around 1,250 people.
The Q400 aircraft has proven popular with airlines around the world

Sales of Bombardier's Q400 passenger planes could be even better than last year, one senior executive has said.

The small turboprop used by airlines such as Flybe is part-made in Northern Ireland.

Bombardier commercial aircraft sales head Colin Bole told Reuters at the Singapore Airshow the company was confident of surpassing the 41 firm orders landed in 2017.

"Last year was a very successful year for the Q400," he explained.

"I expect a similar year or even better one this year. We are building that market share."

The team in Belfast designs and manufactures the wing-mounted flight components for the Q400.

Bombardier won a major order worth 1.3bn for up to 50 of the planes from budget Indian carrier SpiceJet last summer.

Mr Bole also explained that as Bombardier aimed to complete its tie-up with Airbus, sales of its C Series plane - also part-made in Belfast - had been affected.

Bombardier agreed the deal last year to complete construction of the C Series jets at the French firm's plant in Alabama in an attempt to get round a 292% tariff imposed by the US Department of Commerce following a complaint by Boeing.

Its American rival had claimed the C Series was being unfairly subsidised, allowing them to be sold at below cost in the US.

Had the tariff stood, it could have affected thousands of jobs in Belfast.

However, at the end of last month the US International Trade Commission overturned the initial decision and ruled in favour of Bombardier.

Mr Bole added: "I won't deny it (the tie-up) does create probably a bit of a pause in the meantime.

"Most airlines at least are trying to understand what this means in the long run."

Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said it was "full steam ahead" with Bombardier over the C Series deal following the "hands down" legal win in the US.

And speaking to the Belfast Telegraph last week, Northern Ireland industrialist and Airbus board member Sir John Parker (left) said Bombardier's victory against Boeing was "positive news" for the firm's Belfast workforce.

Bombardier is hoping to deliver 40 C Series jets this year as the firm bids to grow global revenue to $17.5bn (13bn).

It also predicts its commercial aircraft business will be in profit by 2020.
Irish dairy giant LacPatrick has unveiled a "Brexit-proofing" technology centre in Co Tyrone in a 30m investment creating 20 jobs.

The site at Artigarvan near Strabane has now doubled its capacity, with a total workforce of 90, and will be able to make two new milk powder products for export.

LacPatrick was formed three years ago following a merger between Town of Monaghan Co-Operative - which had a long history of taking milk from Northern Ireland farmers - and Co Antrim's Ballyrashane Co-Operative.

Its investment has been supported by Danske Bank.

Chief executive Gabriel D'Arcy said: "The new dairy technology centre at Artigarvan will provide security of capacity for local dairy farmers producing milk to the highest standards. The plant provides long-term security to our supplier base and positions the business at the forefront of global dairy technologies.

"We are now able to produce two new lines of milk powder for international markets, with the dairy technology centre able to process milk all-year round."

Mr D'Arcy said the "core logistical risk of" Brexit has been mitigated by the Artigarvan expansion. As an exporter out of the UK, LacPatrick will be closely monitoring the trading agreements being negotiated by London.

Mr D'Arcy added: "We will be focused on driving product development, building relationships with processors seeking access to our technology and expanding our customer base in Asia and the Middle East.

"We have made a significant capital investment with the clear purpose of delivering a sustainable return to our suppliers over the coming months and years ahead."
Scandinavian airline Norwegian is to add a second daily service to its Dublin-New York route from April for the summer season.

It's also increasing its summer service from Shannon, doubling the frequency of flights to Providence, Rhode Island, from two to four a week, and adding a third weekly flight to New York. It also flies from Belfast International Airport to the destinations.

Norwegian is adding the additional flights due to the level of demand from both leisure and business travellers for the services. The airline flies to Stewart International Airport about 100km from Manhattan. Its service to Providence is designed to cater for passengers travelling to Boston.

A spokesman for Norwegian said the double-daily service between Dublin and Stewart International may become year-round if there's enough demand.
Having scoured Brazil and the Middle East for pilots last year, Ryanair is embarking on a trawl of South Africa in its bid to boost crew numbers.

Having scoured Brazil and the Middle East for pilots last year, Ryanair is embarking on a trawl of South Africa in its bid to boost crew numbers.

It's hoping to hire experienced Boeing 737 captains, as well as captains currently flying other aircraft such as Airbus jets.

Ryanair is hosting open days in Johannesburg and Cape Town later this month as it continues to source pilots for its bases across Europe.

The airline has pointed out to candidates that its fleet of 425 jets will increase to almost 600 by 2024, as annual passenger numbers hit 200 million.

Ryanair stepped up its pilot hiring and training last year after a rostering debacle that saw it ground thousands of flights.

Chief operations officer Peter Bellew said before Christmas that retaining existing pilots was one of his top priorities.

As Ryanair released strong third-quarter results , Mr Bellew insisted the airline is not experiencing issues hiring pilots.
Fifteen years of lies. Two sets of wives and kids. One very complicated life. Yep - to say travel writer Andrew Ballard, the protagonist of new Sky One show Bliss, has got himself in a bit of a pickle would be a massive understatement.

But, says Stephen Mangan, his character's situation is actually quite common.

"I met one cabbie who told me his dad had three women on the go," elaborates the 49-year-old. "He had built up lives that the other people didn't know about.

"We can all relate to that in a way. We all have hobbies or read books our partners don't know about. This is that in extremis."

Here, Mangan, and co-stars Jo Hartley and Heather Graham, tell us more about their characters.

DIFFICULT DILEMMA

Importantly, the show doesn't glorify Andrew's bigamy. "It's not a, 'Wey-hey, I've-got-a-harem' thing," quips London-born Mangan.

"Andrew absolutely loves both women - he's not lying about that at all," continues the star, best known for comedies such as Green Wing and I'm Alan Partridge. "When he leaves each woman, he's heartbroken. He goes around the corner and cries because it's so stressful."

While most people will probably feel more sorry for the wives (called Kim and Denise), who each have no idea the other exists, you may find yourself empathising with Andrew too.

"When I read the scripts, I really liked Andrew's character a lot and that's what I thought was very clever, because you don't want to like this person, do you?" remarks Hartley, who plays Denise and is recognisable from shows such as This Is England.

And it was this approach from writer and director David Cross, star of US comedy Arrested Development, that won The Hangover's Graham over.

"When I first heard the premise, I thought it might be gross and be about this guy boasting about getting all the girls," the 48-year-old admits. "But then I read it, and I instantly loved it."

KIM'S LIFE WITH ANDREW

Graham plays American Kim, who seems "proper and conservative on the surface" but is becoming frustrated with Andrew and decides to pursue her dreams.

However, we'll see Andrew desperately try to dissuade her from this. "He tries to keep her off social media and make sure she doesn't have a lot of friends," explains Wisconsin-born Graham, who people might know best for her role in Boogie Nights. "The less she is out there, the less chance there is of him being found out."

Andrew also tries to keep his children - Christina and Kris, both 15 - off social media. "His worst nightmare is that he thinks his son by one woman might have fallen in love with his daughter by the other," suggests Mangan.

"He's trying to be a good dad," says Graham, "but he's not doing a great job.

"His decisions have turned him into a basket case on the verge of a nervous breakdown."

Andrew's mission to keep his families apart meant Mangan found filming "like having two separate jobs".

"I'd say goodbye to Heather, have a cry for 10 minutes and then do my scenes with Jo," he says.

DENISE'S LIFE WITH ANDREW

Hartley immediately identified with her character, Denise.

"All women are strong, but she is a particularly focused, positive woman," says the actress, who was born in Oldham.

"Her wealthy parents disowned her because of her partying, and now she doesn't drink," she continues. "She's trying to change. She's frustrated, and wants to do something with her life."

"Feisty" Denise doesn't regret having her son, Hartley explains, but she "gets to that point where she's like, 'What's going on? He [Andrew] is never here! Where's my life'?"

You've probably wondered by now how neither wife suspects Andrew of having an affair - and it's often a comically close shave, like in episode one when Andrew worries the two will meet in a restaurant.

But while lonely Denise struggles with how much her husband is away writing his travel books (he actually just uses Google for everything), she genuinely doesn't think that he would cheat.

"I think Denise is quite maladjusted in a lot of ways and she probably is not facing some things herself ... she's never really fulfilled her full potential," remarks Hartley, who, after doing a lot of comedy recently, embraced the chance to do something more serious. "Which isn't Andrew's fault. It's her own fault.

MORE DRAMA TO COME

Mangan blames Andrew's predicament on making a lot of small decisions "motivated by a desire not to upset people" - and it's this the cast thinks will resonate with audiences. "I can relate to being a people pleaser," says Graham. "It can make you crazy, and yet you keep convincing yourself that it's a good thing. Andrew has good intentions, but they only make things much worse."

What do the stars hope would happen to the characters in future?

"I hope she keeps pursuing her dream," says Graham of Kim.

"I also hope Andrew gets discovered. He deserves his comeuppance. He's not having a great time because he's always so anxious, but I hope he does suffer!"

Bliss starts on Sky One on Wednesday, February 14, 10pm
5 gin trends we will be seeing in Northern Ireland for 2018

You might have thought 2017 was peak gin what with pink gin, glittered bottles and even gin baubles. But experts say gin is set to get even bigger this year - and were certainly not complaining.

So to help you get ahead of the curve, weve chatted to some experts to find out what gin trends we can expect to be GINormous this year.

1. Regionality

Gerry White, founder of Jawbox Small Batch Gin in Newtownards thinks that provenance and heritage will be even more important this year.

He said: I think well start to see more focus return to quality and provenance messaging this year. Last year, social media helped to spur on the gin craze sharing trends from brands such as hot gin, coloured gin, over-garnished gin, glitter gin.

This year however, messages of provenance, heritage, technique and quality ingredients will be pushed to the forefront again and consumers will start to enjoy gin in a new way - discovering different regions, methods and food-pairings.

Irish gin was the stand out spirit last year, with exports more than trebling and the number of producers exploding to over 30.

Similarly, regionality will become important to consumers when choosing mixers and garnishes too. Why spoil a premium gin with a sub-standard mixer or overpowering garnish? Our signature serve is a simple gin, ginger ale and lime but with ginger ale invented in Belfast and Jawbox inspired by Belfast heritage, this serve perfectly embodies quality and provenance. One of the most popular garnishes with our fans has been shards of artisan honeycomb, another nod to local Irish producers.

2. Simple cocktails

Jason Scott of Bramble Cocktail Bar in Edinburgh reckons gin cocktails are about to get a shake-up.

He said: Cocktail culture is back in full swing, especially in Northern Ireland. Three out of every four drinks we serve in our bar are cocktails. With a huge selection of artisan brands and an ability to perform in both classic cocktails and signature serves, gin is our most popular spirit at the moment.

Consumers are gradually starting to focus more on the quality of the spirit, letting it speak for itself.

"Leading cocktail venues like ours are seeking out versatile, local small-batch gins to compete with the better-known brands. We want to offer our customers cocktails with a point of difference. We notice our customers are starting to appreciate and request simplicity over theatrics.

3. New gin styles

In response to consumer demand for simple, quality cocktails, Jason has developed Braemble Gin Liqueur along with co-owner of the bar, Mike Aikman and all-round gin-genius Craig Harper.

Aikman said: Gin liqueurs and flavoured gin are set to stir up the market this year and were really excited to introduce our product to the NI market. Flavoured gins from local distilleries or gin liqueurs that use a quality gin as the base will see us still enjoying the quality gin we love, just in a new, exciting way.

Were confident that weve arrived to market right on time to impress both NI trade and consumers. With non-alcoholic and low ABV becoming increasingly important to younger drinkers, the gin category will have to respond with lower volume offerings, but maintain the quality taste and premium feeling.

The classic Bramble is one of the most popular cocktails for gin lovers but a great tasting, strong performing liqueur is actually quite difficult to get right. The versatility and complexity of Braemble Gin Liqueur allows it to be enjoyed with just a little tonic or ginger ale but additional gin can be added for those inclined too.

4. Mixing it up

With the sugar tax on soft drinks arriving in April, the cost of your weekend drinks could increase.

Steven Pattison, director of Drinksology which works exclusively in the alcoholic drinks industry, thinks it will change the way brands and bars will think about serves.

He said: The tax on sugary drinks comes with two realities. The first is that consumers are growing increasingly heath conscious. The second is that soft drinks companies will respond by increasing price and possibly reducing packaging size - this will have a knock on effect, making your favourite long drink or cocktail more expensive for a bar to make.

We have developed cocktails and signature serves for some of the worlds best-loved bars and brands including GONG Bar at The Shard, The Dead Rabbit, The Ivy, Malfy Gin and more. We understand how consumers around the world want to drink their gin, but we know that margin is everything for a bar manager. Aprils tax poses a challenge for bars but with it comes an opportunity to get creative, especially with gin as it is a spirit that needs to be mixed to release its full flavour profile.

Bars may start to make more of their own in-house mixers, both carbonated and non-carbonated so they can control the cost whilst at the same time increase appeal amongst growing health-conscious audiences. Gin brands may have to revisit their existing classic serves so they can continue to lead sector development and compete.

5. New gin experiences

As the Irish gin category grows, we can expect more local distilleries to launch day tours, providing further edutainment opportunities for gin lovers from both home and abroad. But the experiences wont stop there!

Its only a matter of time before the gin-related experiences we saw pop up in London and NYC last year are re-created here.

Day spas dedicated to gin will see us enjoying botanical-inspired treatments whilst gins with beauty focused botanicals will also grow in popularity - matcha gin, collagen gin and so on.

Please enjoy responsibly. For more information, visit www.drinkaware.co.uk.
This is a very special week for me as I mark an important anniversary - it's nine years since I received my first kidney transplant and all because of the selfless generosity of a family I will never know.

Because of the kidney problems I had since I was five weeks old, and when I turned 13, I entered end-stage renal failure, which meant I needed a transplant. I will never, ever forget the telephone call mum received in the middle of the night on February 5, 2009, when she was told that a match kidney had been found for me.

I don't know how she managed to let me sleep, but she knew it was best for me to be fit and ready for surgery the next day. Early in the morning she told me the amazing news and I remember like it was yesterday our frantic drive through the snow to the Royal Children's Hospital in Belfast to undergo my surgery.

My kidney was flown across from the mainland and because of the snow it didn't arrive in Northern Ireland until around 4pm in the afternoon. I then had six hours to wait until the doctors had fully cross-matched and tested the kidney to ensure it was a match for me.

Only then could my surgery, and my new life, begin!

February 5 and 6 are dates which are etched on my mind and which we never fail to celebrate, as my transplant gave me back my life. A family, at a time of unimaginable grief, made the decision to donate their loved one's organs and through that wonderful gift I received a new kidney.

Sadly, I lost that kidney back in August last year, as it had begun to fail from January, but that didn't stop me marking what I have always called my second birthday.

Organ donation is truly a gift of life, and as anyone who has received a transplant will tell you, it is something which you live your life to honour, to remember and to inspire others to become life-savers.

On Saturday, mum and I were on the gates at Mourneview Park in Lurgan to raise awareness and collect on behalf of charity Kidney Care UK. We braved the rain and the cold with our team of collectors and were totally overwhelmed by the amazing support from Glenavon FC and Dungannon Swifts fans as their teams met in an Irish Cup match.

It was lovely to get the chance to chat with so many people, including liver recipient Daniel and long-term kidney recipient Noel, who is also a Glenavon FC director. Mum and I would like to thank Eddie Drury and his fellow members of the Glenavon board for their generosity in allowing us to collect and raise awareness for a cause so dear to our hearts. Thanks also to everyone who donated - donations save lives.

Speaking of Kidney Care UK I am absolutely delighted that mum is taking up a new role as their Northern Ireland Charity Ambassador. The charity is the UK's leading kidney patient support charity and in the form of William Johnston, a legend for all kidney patients in Northern Ireland, is helping to support patients across the local health trusts every single day.

Mum and I have supported so many terrific charities and have the privilege of knowing so many amazing people who have been touched by organ donation. I have always talked about how close the members of our transplant family are and it has been lovely for mum to receive so many good wishes as she begins an exciting new role.

A special shout out to all those regular column readers who came up and said hello to me before the match on Saturday.

It was really great to hear your own stories and links with the transplant family - once again thanks for your generosity and continued support.
The UK Government was told to take a "no surrender" attitude to the Brexit talks by a DUP MP.

Ian Paisley accused the EU of trying to blackmail and bully the British Government as he asked an impassioned question in the Commons.

During Northern Ireland questions, ministers were pressed on their commitment to the border in Ireland.

Kinda Ulster Says No meets #Brexit here as Ian Paisley Jnr thunders "No surrender" to the EUpic.twitter.com/5DRSR5k40T  Paul O'Donoghue (@paulodonoghue93) February 7, 2018

"It's about time the government demonstrated a no surrender attitude to the EU bureaucrats, who try to blackmail us, bully us, over air flights, passenger duty and everything else," he said.

"Stand up to them man, and stand up to the EU and let's get on with leaving the EU."

In response he was told the government was committed to getting the best deal for all the UK.

The North Antrim MP's comments echoed those of fellow DUP MP Sammy Wilson, who tweeted the sentiment earlier on Wednesday.

The SDLP's Claire Hanna described the DUP attitude to Brexit as "irresponsible, illogical and insulting".

"This is a typical headline grabbing stunt by Ian Paisley, seeking only to move the spotlight that is firmly on restoring talks here in Northern Ireland back onto him and his colleagues in London," she said.

"If the DUP MPs still cant get their heads around the grave and far-reaching challenges posed by Brexit, Id be happy to help them formulate a few questions to put to their pals in the Tory Party.

People here are deeply frustrated and worried about their futures, particularly the business community yet the DUP at every opportunity fail to squeeze any clarity out of the British Government."

The South Belfast MLA added: The unionist mantra of 'no surrender' belongs in the past. For a party that professes to want to restore power-sharing here, this language is sending the opposite signal."

Talks are continuing on the finer details in the second phase of the ongoing negotiations between the UK and the EU over its departure from the bloc.

The Prime Minister's inner war cabinet of senior ministers was to meet on Wednesday to chart a course through some of the most difficult issues in the Brexit process.

The blackmailing burghers from Brussels and the cheap political opportunists in Dublin must meet a tough UK Government response. In these negotiations, if the gloves are off, it is time we went into the fray with a no surrender attitude.  Sammy Wilson MP (@eastantrimmp) February 7, 2018

Earlier it emerged the EU wants to put in place a method to rapidly curtail the UKs single market benefits if it breaches agreements on a transition deal.

There have been reports the EU would be able to "punish" the UK during the two-year transition phase after March 2019.

Whitehall attempted to play down the significance of a draft text, insisting it would form the basis for a negotiation on the terms of a transitional deal.

"The blackmailing burghers from Brussels and the cheap political opportunists in Dublin must meet a tough UK Government response," tweeted Sammy Wilson.

"In these negotiations, if the gloves are off, it is time we went into the fray with a no surrender attitude."
Fei Lin, from Belfast, has not been seen since mid-day on Friday January 26. Pic: PSNI

Police are appealing for help in tracking down a missing 47-year-old man from Belfast.

Fei Lin was last seen around mid-day on Friday, January 26, close to a hotel in the Springfield Road area of Belfast.

The PSNI said it is becoming increasingly concerned for his welfare.

He is described as being around 5' 10, of thin to medium build with dark, but slightly greying hair. He was believed to be wearing a long blue anorak and jeans.

Detective Inspector Anthony Kelly said: There have been a number of reports of sightings of him across Northern Ireland in recent days and we would appeal to Mr Lin or anyone who knows of his whereabouts to contact police on 101, quoting reference number 956 of 2/2/18.
Righnach Aine Gribben was found dead in a house in Millview Manor, Coalisland

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the sudden death of a young Co Tyrone mum whose body was found in a house on Saturday.

Coalisland woman Righnach Aine Gribben, who was in her 20s and a mother to two young sons, was found dead in a house in the town's Millview Manor at the weekend.

Police say her death is not being treated as suspicious at this time.

A post mortem examination has taken place, and police are awaiting the results of toxicology reports.

Righnach's funeral was taking place at 11am today at St Mary and St Joseph's Church on Coalisland's Brackaville Road.

She will then be laid to rest in the adjoining cemetery.

The young woman is survived by her parents Paul and Joanne, sister Faoiltirna and brothers Padraig, Caoimhin and Lorcan.

The family's death notice said: "Sacred Heart of Jesus have mercy on her soul.

"Very deeply regretted by her much-loved cousins and extended Gribben and Rushe family circle and friends."

Touching pictures posted online by the devoted mum show her spending time with her loved ones.

Righnach's friends and family took to social media to thank the local community for the tributes paid to "our brown-eyed girl".

Momhaine Nic Aogain wrote: "We would like to thank everyone for their messages of love and support.

"This has been the most difficult thing we have ever been through and our hearts are broken in a million pieces for our brown-eyed girl.

"Again we sincerely thank and appreciate everyone's words of love and support."

One grieving friend wrote: "Righnach Aine Gribben sleep well with the angels wee pet."

Another posted: "RIP Righnach Aine Gribben fly high beautiful! Thoughts and prayers go out to the family."

Popular Rignach was also described as a "beautiful wee woman" by a devastated friend.

She posted: "She has always had a place in my heart, and always will.

"Rest easy wee pet until we meet again."

Righnach's former school, Gaelscoil Ui Neill in Clonoe, also expressed its "deepest commiserations" in a death notice posted in the Irish News.

And Tir Eoghain No 1 Celtic Supporters Club said they were "saddened to learn of the death of Righnach, sister of club member Padraig".

They wrote: "We extend our deepest sympathies to the Gribben family."

SDLP councillor Malachy Quinn said the local community had been left "devastated" by the young woman's untimely death.

"It has been quite a shock to everyone - when any young person dies it is a tragedy, but the suddenness of this makes it particularly so," he said.

"This is the second death of a young person in this area in recent months.

"In January we lost GAA player Christopher Colhoun, who was only 33, after he fell ill.

"I would like to pass on my condolences to Righnach's friends and family."
DUP leader Arlene Foster has said she does not support proposed pardons for suffragettes who were convicted of crimes during the struggle for women's right to vote.

The former First Minister said she greatly admired many who were involved in the Suffragette movement - but insisted that a crime was still a crime.

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On the 100th anniversary yesterday of the vote being extended to some women, Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson led calls for pardons for those who had been convicted of crimes during the campaign for universal suffrage, a call backed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Some suffragettes sent letter bombs, took part in arson attacks and in June 1914 are believed to have caused an explosion at Westminster Abbey.

There were more than 1,300 suffragette arrests.

Many went on to be jailed, including leader Emmeline Pankhurst.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she would "look at" calls to pardon suffragettes.

She stressed it was "complicated" when looking at cases of arson and violence, but promised to analyse individual proposals.

Mrs Foster told the Belfast Telegraph: "I have a lot of respect for Ruth Davidson, but I don't agree with her in terms of giving an amnesty to those people who were involved in those sorts of activities because, at the end of the day, they were involved in criminal activity.

"When you look at the Suffragette movement, there is a lot of talk about Pankhurst, and I can understand why, but there were many women involved who used democracy and the power of persuasion to move the issue forward. "Here in Northern Ireland, Edith Londonderry was a great supporter in terms of the suffragette movement, much to the distress of her mother-in-law Theresa Londonderry, who was a great anti-suffragettist."

The 1918 Representation of the People Act granted some women the right to vote in general elections.

However, around 60% of women - those under 30 or not meeting property qualifications - remained excluded. Universal suffrage was not won in the UK until the 1928 Equal Franchise Act, when women were granted the vote on the same terms as men.

Mrs Foster described yesterday's centenary as a "very significant anniversary".

"Without the vote, women would not be involved in participative politics either, it's very important for those of us involved in politics that that happened 100 years ago today," she said. Speaking about coming up through the ranks of the UUP and then the DUP, Mrs Foster said she was generally encouraged by becoming chair of the Young Unionists as a law student at Queen's, and then going on to become the youngest party officer in the UUP at the age of 25, after she was proposed by Lord Kilclooney.

However, Mrs Foster revealed she was once ordered to make the tea at a meeting.

"Just once - and I told him to make his own," she recalled.

"I have always been very fortunate; male colleagues have always been hugely supportive and I was put in as the youngest party officer in the Ulster Unionist Party when I was 25.

"That was John Taylor who proposed me for that. Male colleagues right throughout have been very supportive.

"Actually, sometimes it can be the older females who are more difficult, because they had chosen a particular route and they couldn't understand why you as a young female would choose to go a different route."

A number of other local female politicians also paid tribute to the suffragettes.

Sinn Fein MLA Megan Fearon described the Representation of the People Act as "a major milestone for the Women's Suffrage movement".

"It paved the way for the eventual extension of voting rights to all women," she said.

"However, we are also very conscious that it would be more than five decades before we had universal suffrage in the North."

SDLP MLA Sinead Bradley said: "One hundred years ago, women marched in the streets and campaigned for the right to vote. They took on an Establishment that was pale, stale and male. We must however remember that it took the Civil Rights Association here to ensure that all people got full access to voting rights."
Richard OHara: sentenced to life for the murder of Deborah Robinson in 1982

Tanya Taylor from Rawtenstall, Lancashire, whose half-sister Sharon Sparks was killed in 1974

Edward and Laura Robinson at the funeral of their daughter Deborah, raped and strangled by Richard OHara

The family of a nine-year-old girl killed more than 40 years ago has demanded to know why the Northern Ireland man suspected of her manslaughter was allowed to walk free - to rape and murder a woman from Belfast.

Sharon Sparks' body was found with severe head and facial injuries on a country lane in Milnrow, Greater Manchester, on September 11, 1974.

Richard O'Hara, a Belfast-born security guard, admitted in police interviews to killing Sharon, telling detectives he had picked her up from a bus stop before accidentally running her over.

O'Hara, a former soldier, then 21, was charged with a string of offences, including manslaughter, abduction, and child stealing. But in 1975, a nine-man jury at Sharon's inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death by a majority of eight to one - despite the coroner suggesting a manslaughter conclusion.

All charges against O'Hara were dropped and no-one has ever been brought to justice for Sharon's death.

Seven years later, O'Hara was jailed for life for the rape and murder of 19-year-old secretary Deborah Robinson. The young woman, who was from south Belfast, was strangled during a trip to Dublin.

O'Hara abducted her before taking her to a factory where he raped and killed her. He then drove her body 30 miles to the Kildare countryside and dumped it in a ditch.

In 2004 he married Carole Cathcart, a Presbyterian deaconess, who stepped down from her role after O'Hara's past was revealed by the press.

The family of Sharon Sparks is now demanding to know why O'Hara was allowed to walk free to kill again.

Tanya Taylor was just seven when Sharon, her half-sister, died.

Expand Close Sharon Sparks, aged nine / Facebook

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She said: "It's about getting justice for Sharon.

"I want answers. How can O'Hara get away with what he did? If he had not been allowed to walk free after killing Sharon, Deborah Robinson would be alive today.

"That tragedy could have been avoided. Why was that allowed to happen? That's what I can't get my head round.

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"He should face justice for what he did."

After a huge investigation involving 60 detectives at the time, forensic evidence led cops to a blue Ford Escort owned by O'Hara.

After several police interviews, he admitted killing Sharon, telling police he had picked the schoolgirl up from a bus stop near her home in Shawforth, Lancashire.

O'Hara said he had driven until Sharon "started screaming", before she got out of the car in a lay-by off Wildhouse Lane in Milnrow, seven miles away, where he had accidentally run her over.

Tanya, a carer who now lives in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, said: "I would go visit her on a weekend because she lived with our grandma.

"We'd play doctors and nurses, I can remember her in a nurse's outfit with a little doctor's bag.

"She was always the nurse and I was the patient and she would shout at me if I moved. She was so bossy but so funny."

Despite being too young to initially understand what had happened to Sharon, Tanya, now a mum-of-four and a grandmother-of-five, said her death had a devastating effect on her.

"Mum and dad told me Sharon had been picked up by a bad man, but in those days it was hush, hush. We didn't really speak about it.

"It didn't really sink in. At that age I didn't really understand what had happened, but I can remember thinking 'Why can't I go to see Sharon any more?'.

"It was only later, when I was about 11 or 12, that I really began to understand," Tanya said.

"It had a massive effect on me and my life. Because of what happened to Sharon my dad was really strict with me. He wouldn't let me out of the house, so I had no teenage life really.

"It meant that whenever I got the chance I rebelled.

"I made some bad decisions and that's had a knock-on effect throughout my life. It also had a massive effect on the village. Everyone talked about it.

"To this day people in Shawforth still talk about what happened to Sharon.

"I have no other sisters and she was older than me so I looked up to her. I still think about her most days."

In a remarkable statement, O'Hara told the 1975 inquest how he saw a "little girl thumbing a lift" at the bus stop. O'Hara, then of Brimrod, in Rochdale, told the hearing: "I stopped and told her she shouldn't thumb lifts, then offered to run her home."

Sharon "seemed happy enough with me" continued O'Hara, so the pair drove around Rochdale.

But when they got to Wildhouse Lane he said Sharon "started screaming, saying she wanted to get out".

O'Hara added: "I was panicking and decided to look for somewhere to stop so I could calm her down.

"I saw the lay-by so I turned in. I was going about 50-60mph and I saw the passenger door open. When I stopped she wasn't there.

"I reversed the car. There was a wobble of the steering wheel as if I had run over something.

"I got out and she was lying under the wheel. I felt for a heartbeat but I couldn't feel anything.

"I panicked and tried to get help by radio but there was too much static.

"I lifted her up and put her over the wall but I thought I heard her moan so I left her on a grass verge. She was dead when I left her.

"I wouldn't have left her if she had been alive.

"One of her shoes was still in the car so I threw it out over Pilsworth, near Heywood.

"The journey was innocent and I intended to take her home. I didn't mean her any harm. I was afraid of the consequences and this is why I didn't come to the police station."

Later that month all charges against O'Hara were dropped when the prosecution offered no evidence during a hearing at Rochdale Magistrates Court.

The prosecuting solicitor told the court he was acting on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

O'Hara, the court heard, had served with the Royal Green Jackets in Belfast for two years, but in 1972 was discharged for disobeying orders after refusing to go back for a fourth tour of duty.

He returned to Ireland, the court heard, but lived in constant fear of the IRA, who had twice threatened him because of his Army background

He moved back to England in 1973, settling in Rochdale.

At some point in the years following Sharon's death, O'Hara once again returned to Ireland.

In September 1980 he met Deborah Robinson, a secretary from south Belfast, as she waited for a bus home at Parnell Square in Dublin, following a blind date in the city.

O'Hara lured Deborah back to the factory where he worked and then raped and strangled her to death.

The next day he drove 30 miles outside Dublin to dump her body in a ditch near Clane, Co Kildare.

O'Hara confessed to the killing but denied raping Deborah. That was a lie. He claimed he got angry when Deborah told him she "felt nothing" after they had sex.

O'Hara was sentenced to life in jail in 1982 and eventually served 25 years behind bars, becoming one of Ireland's most notorious and longest-serving prisoners.

On his release O'Hara again made the headlines when he married Ms Cathcart, at the time a Presbyterian deaconess. She later stepped down.

Previously he had been jailed for two years in December 1975 when he admitted attempting to rob a young woman he gave a lift to near Newry.

Police investigating the Deborah Robinson murder also discovered that O'Hara had been given a suspended sentence at Winchester, Hampshire, for housebreaking and assaulting a 15-year-old girl.

The National Archives hold a file on the Sharon Sparks case, but it is not due to be made public until 2054.

Tanya believes it could hold the key to explaining why O'Hara walked free.

But both Tanya and the press have had requests for the file to be released turned down on the grounds that it contains "sensitive personal information of a number of identified individuals assumed to be still living, including financial information, unsubstantiated allegations, and details of the personal lives of named individuals", and that the release of the information would be "unfair and risk causing damage and distress".
The family of a Co Armagh man whose body was found after he went missing have spoken of their relief that their agonising wait is over.

Norman Prentice's sister spoke as heartbroken relatives prepare to lay him to rest today.

Mr Prentice's body was recovered from a river in the Corcrain area of Portadown on Saturday.

The 55-year-old local man was reported missing on January 15, but had not been seen for a number of days before then.

His distressed relatives had issued an appeal for his safe return, telling him: "Come home, we are waiting for you."

Following the recovery of his remains, Mr Prentice's sister Eileen told the Belfast Telegraph the family were holding up but that it hadn't really sunk in yet as they prepare to say goodbye to him.

Mr Prentice's funeral will take place at St John's, Drumcree, at 11am.

In a death notice he was described as the beloved father of John, Peter, Maria and Conlon.

Speaking ahead of his funeral, Eileen said: "We're OK. We are glad to get him home and glad he is found and we can put closure to the whole lot now.

"We are relieved, although the waiting at the river to get him out felt longer than the actual process of searching for him.

"But we knew it was going to be that way, we were prepared for him to be coming home the way he was.

"It was an accident, there was no foul play suspected. It hasn't sunk in, but it will over the next couple of days."

She said the family had been sharing fond memories of Norman in recent days, as she described him as a real character who will be sorely missed.

"He was the one that got the good looks and the gift of the gab," she added.

Extensive searches were carried out to find Mr Prentice and his family have thanked all those who were involved for their support and help.

Eileen added: "It was fantastic. There are no words in the dictionary that could praise them enough. The police and the support we are getting at the minute, and from the public.

"It gives us comfort that there are people out there that cared for Norman and were willing to look for him, regardless of weather."

She said the family, including her elderly father, were going through a range of emotions.

"We are heartbroken at the minute; at the end of the day, that's my baby brother.

"But time will heal.

"My dad is going through many emotions, I can't tell how he feels exactly.

"He's going through the relief of finding him, the relief of him being home, and then that he will be buried. But there is so much going on it's keeping his mind occupied, he only has his own thoughts when the house is quiet."

Eileen said the hardest time for the family will come after the funeral.

"Then you will be left thinking about it, and the what ifs, buts and whys and picking up the pieces and trying to get the family back again as best you can," she explained.

She said what she will miss most is the "banter" she and her brother shared.

"He was a character and he will be sorely missed a lot. I'll just miss his banter and his words of wit."

The PSNI also paid tribute to those involved in the search effort, including the Community Rescue Service, Lough Neagh Rescue, a dive team, a locally organised search, and police investigators.
The owners of a family business have hit out after heartless thieves stole charity boxes.

Police in Strabane are investigating a burglary at Dolan's Restaurant and Takeaway on Lifford Road at the weekend.

It happened early on Sunday. A door and glass panel were damaged when thieves, one of them carrying a bottle of Buckfast, broke in.

The incident was captured on CCTV, which the owners have shared on social media.

Shop assistant Alan Orr said the whole incident was over very quickly.

He told the Belfast Telegraph: "On Sunday morning around 4.10am two youths broke a double glazed window and a single glazed and came into the restaurant. In about 30 seconds there was an alarm going off and they started rustling around.

"The only thing they could find was charity boxes. They proceeded to go out the back and carted up to six charity boxes with them. It was all done within 90 seconds."

Mr Orr said he was more disappointed than angry.

He said: "These charity boxes provide a service. One was Trocaire, one was the Foyle Hospice as well as the Donegal Hospice - so it's both north and south.

"There were two boxes for Mourne Search and Rescue.

"It's disappointing because you never know when their friends or family will need any kind of support, so they never thought of that when they came in".

He added: "We have had one or two people ringing in to donate into the charity boxes, which is good. People are just disgusted at how it came about."

Mr Orr said local off-licences had checked their sales over the weekend after one of the intruders was seen with the Buckfast. He said: "The owner is asking people to share it, so more people see it and inform the PSNI or Garda or private message ourselves."

SDLP MLA Daniel McCrossan appealed for anyone with information to come forward. He branded the theft "despicable".

He said: "It speaks volumes for the types of low-lifes that these guys are, that they damaged property of a family-run business and a large local employer and made through the restaurant and targeted charity boxes."

Police Sergeant Joni Beatty said: "I am appealing to anyone who has any information about this incident, or comes across any discarded charity boxes, to contact police in Strabane on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 380 of 04/02/18.

"Alternatively, information can also be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous."
A woman jailed for trying to murder police officers was only concerned with being wrongly depicted as a lone wolf terrorist, the Court of Appeal has heard.

Christine Connor's former barrister testified that she raised no issue about her legal advice at a meeting in the aftermath of pleading guilty.

He told three senior judges: "The sole issue was that she was not alone, that she was part of a network of individuals."

The 32-year-old north Belfast woman is seeking to overturn convictions for a plot which involved her posing online as a Swedish model to lure men into supporting her bid to kill.

Her current lawyers argue that her pleas were equivocal and should never have been accepted.

On day two of the hearing she was warned over repeated courtroom outbursts where she called her former counsel "an absolute liar" as he gave evidence.

Connor, who is serving a 16-year sentence for a number of terrorist offences, also hit out at how she was portrayed by the police and Press following her conviction last year.

"It was the most disgusting, derogatory thing I ever heard," she said.

Charges against her included a role in home-made bomb attacks on police patrols lured to the city's Crumlin Road in May 2013. Although the grenades detonated in the first attack, no one was injured.

Twelve days later one policeman was wounded when more bombs were thrown.

Police said she had exploited two men to further her aims - both of whom later took their own lives.

Her efforts to dupe them allegedly included using online photographs of a Swedish model and creating a fake social media profile.

Connor was also jailed for possessing explosives with intent to endanger life and preparation of terrorist acts.

At a rearraignment as she was set to go on trial in May 2017, she replied to each of the charges: "I am not guilty, but on advice I will plead guilty."

She is now attempting to have those convictions set aside on the basis that the trial judge failed to intervene and examine ambiguities around those pleas.

In court yesterday she claimed to have acted under immense pressure.

Cross-examined by Ciaran Murphy QC, for the prosecution, she acknowledged her political views but insisted they should have no bearing.

The appellant, who once again refused to stand when the judges entered, said: "Being a republican does not make me guilty. That's ridiculous.

"I stand over that and I have absolutely nothing to be ashamed about."

Later Mr Murphy put it to her that her only regret was over the length of sentence imposed.

But referring to her former legal representatives, Connor replied: "No, my regret was that I was weak enough to allow four men to manipulate me."

Her response brought accusations of lying about being made to plead guilty. "You have tried to manipulate the circumstances to give support to that lie," Mr Murphy insisted.

"You made a choice which you said yourself you bitterly regret; it was your choice."

Her former barrister, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was then called to rebut her allegations.

He told the court Connor had advanced no positive case, instead leaving the prosecution faced with proving their evidence.

With the case against her described as "overwhelming", counsel said that at a consultation she expected evidence to be challenged but not to be acquitted.

It was always emphasised that the decision on whether to plead guilty was for her to take, the appeal judges heard.

The barrister also testified that Connor did not want any approach made to the prosecution to try to secure a reduced jail term for the attempted murder charge because she would be seen as a "tout".

He insisted that everyone involved in the rearraignment understood and accepted it as being a guilty plea.

"In pleading guilty she was also making a statement, perhaps to others outside the court that she was still challenging anyone to make a judgment on her political actions," the barrister said.

According to a police statement following her conviction Connor was not aligned to any dissident republican organisations and had acted alone.

Her ex-counsel told the court that when he met her again following the guilty pleas she was distressed at that depiction.

Connor's former lawyer continued: "Police indicated she was a lone wolf, had constructed these particular items and in that way she felt that was not accurate because she was part of a network of individuals within the community.

"That was important to her."

The appeal continues.
Judge Geoffrey Miller QC said the court must send out a clear signal that such street dealing would not be tolerated.

A 24-year-old man caught on CCTV last July drug dealing on the front lawn of Belfast's City Hall, was sentenced to 14 months on Wednesday for his "blatant act".

Judge Geoffrey Miller QC also told Michael James Mark McGann that a custodial sentence was not only called for, but justified as the court must send out a clear signal that such street dealing would not be tolerated.

McGann, a father of two, from Glengormley Park, Newtownabbey, with 42 previous convictions, including five for involvement with drugs, pleaded guilty to possession of Cannabis, having the Class B drug with intent to supply and possession of over 400 in criminal property.

Prosecution lawyer Simon Jenkins told the city Crown Court that on July 24 last year McGann was spotted on CCTV by City Hall security staff taking a package from under the waistband of his trousers and handing it over to another male.

Mr Jenskins said police who arrested McGann found three other packages of Cannabis together with 410 in cash. Initially he made a "no comment" interview, but in a second denied drug dealing, claiming he was there to buy drugs and that the cash came from a friend repaying a previous loan.

Defence barrister Michael Boyd said that despite McGann reverting back to these claims in his pre-sentence report, he did acknowledge his guilt, and that it was "clear as the light of day" that he had been drug dealing.

Mr Boyd said McGann's involvement in this particular enterprise was to feed his own addiction and to pay for his own drugs. However, since then he has begun to reflect on his situation in life with a growing realisation he is getting "a bit long in the tooth for being involved in this kind of thing".

Judge Miller, who ordered that from Wednesday McGann serve seven months custody, followed by a similar period on licence, directed that the cash found on him should be given to charity
A man allegedly killed his friend by injecting heroin after the victim couldn't find a vein, the High Court heard.

Mantas Cepas, 32, administered the lethal dose to Stephen Millington during a two-day drinking binge with their partners in Newry last month, a judge was told on Wednesday.

The defendant, a Lithuanian national with an address at Cowan Street in the city, is charged with manslaughter, along with possessing and supplying Class A drugs.

Bail was refused amid claims he may try to leave Northern Ireland.

Mr Millington, 51 and originally from South Africa, died of the suspected overdose at his Dublin Road flat on January 17.

Police called to the scene found him unconscious on the bathroom floor. He was pronounced dead a short time later.

Prosecution counsel David McClean said when officers arrived Cepas was holding a syringe and at first unwilling to hand it over.

The two friends' girlfriends were also present, with one of them stating that Mr Millington had given the accused 40 to go out and buy drugs.

Cepas returned with heroin power and then prepared it in solution form, the court heard.

Mr McClean said: "The witness stated that the deceased hadn't injected heroin prior to this... and asked for the applicant's assistance."

During interviews Cepas admitted purchasing the drugs with the money provided by his friend.

According to his account he mixed it up with water on a spoon and then agreed to inject it for Mr Millington.

"He said he asked the deceased if he was ok as he administered the injection, and got the response that it was 'good stuff'," Mr McClean continued.

"He emptied the contents of the syringe into his arm and then the deceased collapsed."

Cepas tried to perform emergency first aid before phoning for an ambulance, the court was told.

Defence barrister Kevin Magill argued that his client provided a full and frank account of what happened.

Mr Millington was to be "first in the queue" for the heroin before others in the flat took their turn, counsel said.

"He tried to self-administer, only when he couldn't find a vein he asked the defendant to administer on his behalf," Mr Magill contended.

"That's why the defendant finds himself here, because he acted on that request."

The barrister added that Cepas has been left deeply upset over the loss of his friend.

Denying bail, however, Mr Justice Burgess expressed concerns at the events surrounding the tragic events.

"It would appear that he (Cepas) had been taking heroin for some time... and was drinking for some two days," the judge said.

"I think there must be a grave concern on the part of the court that this applicant may well decide to leave the jurisdiction."
Groundhog day may have passed (or has it?) but it was a case of the same again in the Northern Ireland secretary's update to the house of commons on Wednesday.

Progress has been made but big gaps still need to be bridged, she told MPs at Northern Ireland questions.

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She said that while an agreement in the coming days was "not certain" it was her "firm belief" a deal - which she said all were committed to reaching - could be done in the coming days.

She repeatedly refused to go into the specifics around what had been discussed saying to do so might jeopardise the process.

Mrs Bradley said she understood the frustration of the Northern Ireland people in having no government "but there are differences and those differences need to be overcome".

The DUP's Nigel Dodds pressed Mrs Bradley to make a firm commitment that she would intervene to set a budget.

The Secretary of State declined to offer such a direct pledge, but she highlighted that her predecessor, James Brokenshire, had done something similar for the current year's budget.

Lady Sylvia asked about the level of engagement with the smaller parties, namely the SDLP, UUP and Alliance who were involved in the first all-party talks on Monday.

The independent unionist said she had heard it was a case of "a cup of tea, a bit of a chat and a 'see you on Thursday,'" which she found hard to believe.

Mrs Bradley said all parties had been included and she had met with all their leaders, adding: "Unless the two big parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein can reach an agreement then we are not able to achieve devolved government therefore it is right there are detailed bi-lateral discussion between those two parties."

In announcing a renewed and "final opportunity" for talks to restore the Northern Ireland institutions Karen Bradley said she would update parliament on February 7 on the state of play.

She said it was not a deadline but rather a "milestone". Later she played down the significance of the update and apologised to a committee of MPs claiming there appeared to be a misunderstanding that she was going to make a definitive statement on negotiations.

Below is how her first appearance at Northern Ireland Commons unfolded:
7/2/18: Pictured left to right are Chair of the Victims and Survivors Service Oliver Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer of the VSS, Margaret Bateson, and Chief Executive Officer of the Special EU Programmes Body, Gina McIntyre, at the launch of the EU PEACE IV Victims and Survivors Programme. Picture: Michael Cooper

A new EU-funded programme has been launched to help improve the health and wellbeing of victims and survivors of the Troubles.

The EU PEACE IV project is to target hard to reach and marginalised individuals and communities that have suffered as a result of the regions past.

Officially launched on Wednesday by the Victims and Survivors Service (VSS) in Northern Ireland, it is hoped that the programme, Shared Spaces and Services  Victims and Survivors 2017-21, will help bring about real changes to many lives.

This morning at The MAC are Chair of the Victims and Survivors Service Oliver Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer of the VSS, Margaret Bateson, and Chief Executive Officer of the Special EU Prog Body, Gina McIntyre, at the launch of the EU PEACE IV Victims and Survivors Programme. pic.twitter.com/2rOAiMeK27  Brown O'Connor (@Brown_OConnor) February 7, 2018

VSS chief executive Margaret Bateson said: The new programme will look at how victims and survivors can be supported through a range of services, with a specific focus on improving health and well-being.

We know we still have lots to do but we are already seeing early indications that this new approach is working, and we are seeing some real changes to the lives of victims and survivors.

Gina McIntyre, CEO of the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB)  which manages the project, said: The support that has been provided under the current PEACE IV Programme recognises that victims and survivors are an extremely diverse group with very unique and complex needs.

This funding support being announced today will be used to develop a number of important new services that will improve their health and wellbeing including a resilience building and advocacy support programme.

The PEACE IV Programme has a value of 270 million euro (239 million) and aims to promote peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border Region of Ireland.

Anyone in need of support can contact the VSS on 02890 279100 or through one of its community partners
Since 2011 it's understood the taxpayer has paid for storage fees of 76,715 - nearly 13,000 a year

An historic collection of Stormont's artefacts is to be unveiled to MLAs and the media - but will be kept hidden from the public, it has emerged.

The valuable art, furniture and other items is currently being held in a specialist Co Antrim storage facility in Dunmurry under dust covers.

Since 2011 it's understood the taxpayer has paid for storage fees of 76,715 - nearly 13,000 a year.

TUV leader Jim Allister wrote to the Assembly Commission about showing the artefacts and, following a meeting on January 31, the administrative body has agreed to arrange a viewing of the items.

But the MLA said he was disappointed there were no plans for a full public exhibition.

"I have been interested in getting the dust covers off the historic artefacts held by the Assembly and getting them on public display for a considerable time," said Mr Allister, who first began inquiries in 2012.

The hidden treasures include a ceremonial sword, a model of Thiepval Tower, a collection of clerks' uniforms and portraits of former prime ministers JM Andrews and Lord Craigavon.

"I have repeatedly pressed the Commission to put these items on public display and, while I believed that initially the response was going to be favourable, this has proved not to be the case," Mr Allister explained.

He added he was pleased to finally see the items, but called for the Commission to go further.

"I look forward to viewing the items with the press, but I am deeply disappointed that the public are to be denied the opportunity to see artefacts which are part of the history of Northern Ireland," he continued.

"The Commission needs to explain why it has been dragging its feet on this issue until now and why it still isn't allowing the public to see items which are hidden away in warehouses at taxpayers' expense."

Mr Allister explained he was advised in June last year of the high storage costs involved.

"It's long past time that people got to see what their money is being spent on to keep hidden," he commented.

An Assembly spokesperson said: "The Assembly Commission has no current plans to arrange a public display of items that are currently held in off-site storage."

In 2016, when Mr Allister previously raised the matter, items of interest were understood to include the table used to sign the Act of Union in 1800, silver maces, a gilded throne and two jardinieres believed to be made from the timbers of the ship, The Mountjoy, which famously breached a protective boom on the River Foyle during the Siege of Derry in 1689.

Another item is a special Union flag presented to the former Northern Ireland Parliament in memory of Ulster Unionist Senator James Baillie, as well as a framed letter from the Duke of Edinburgh. The Stormont art collection is thought to include over 1,400 works, with most in storage. Still on display in the Assembly Buildings is the 2010 portrait of the late Ian Paisley by the Irish artist David Nolan.

The oil on canvas portrait with the late First Minister in a coat and hat hangs on the first floor, giving visitors the impression he is watching over the Great Hall.

Another, The House will Divide by Noel Murphy, was unveiled in 2003 showing all 108 MLAs. This was inspired by a 1921 work by William O'Connor depicting King George V opening the very first Northern Ireland Parliament.
There has been a report of a small explosion in west Belfast on Wednesday.

Police were called just after 8pm to the rear of a house in the Crees Lough Court area.

There are no reports of any injuries at this time.

Police enquiries are continuing and anyone with information is asked to contact police on the non emergency number 101 quoting reference number 1198 of 07/07/18.

Sinn Fein Councillor Arder Carson has condemned the bomb attack on the house in the Lenadoon area.

Mr Carson said: "An explosive device was thrown at a home near Carrigart Avenue in Lenadoon.

This device was thrown in a residential area, populated with young families and elderly residents.

The PSNI have now mounted an operation in the surrounding area.

The west Belfast representative added: "My understanding is that this was a viable bomb and this is an extremely reckless incident which has place the lives of residents at risk.

Those responsible have no regard at all for local people.

I unreservedly condemn this attack and anyone with information should bring that forward to the PSNI.
The inquiry into the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) has been told there was a "conspiracy theory" over a letter from Arlene Foster encouraging banks to grant loans to scheme participants.

The failed scheme was set up in 2012 with the aim of encouraging businesses to switch to green energy. But a crucial lack of cost control measures left it open to abuse, with applicants able to earn money by burning more fuel than they needed.

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When it collapsed in late 2015 it was feared the public would be faced with an overspend bill of nearly 500m.

However, when it was established in 2012, uptake was poor as businesses struggled to secure loans to finance boiler installation. A letter from the then Enterprise Minister Mrs Foster was sent to banks to encourage lending to those availing of green energy schemes.

Yesterday at the RHI public inquiry, junior counsel to the probe Joseph Aiken said there was "considerable media speculation" over what Mrs Foster's motivation had been in sending the letter. The inquiry heard that it had been written by Fiona Hepper, head of the energy division at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (Deti). It was sent to the banks without amendment by Mrs Foster, after being passed by her special adviser Andrew Crawford,

Mr Aiken told inquiry chair, retired judge Sir Patrick Coghlin, that 2016 media coverage about the letter was part of a "conspiracy theory" that the RHI scheme was a "vehicle for getting more money than you should be getting", and Mrs Foster's letter to the banks was "a way of increasing that".

Sir Patrick said he believed it "highly unlikely" the letter was connected to such a conspiracy.

The inquiry also heard that Mrs Foster was warned that RHI contained a "perverse incentive" for participants to 'burn to earn' just 10 weeks into the scheme.

The Inews website reported that a company wrote to then environment minister, Alex Attwood, to complain that RHI tariffs were deterring farmers from using its own system for reducing the use of poultry manure on fields.

It also highlighted how the lack of proper cost controls meant a farmer with two small biomass boilers would receive "nearly four times more" in grants than a single one with the same capacity. The firm said "the result is a 'perverse incentive' for farmers" to install multiple small wood chip boilers, rather than fewer, bigger, poultry manure to energy systems.

The letter was passed to Mrs Foster, but Deti officials did not accept the company's concerns over boilers. Mrs Foster's private secretary wrote back to the company to say: "I can assure you that this is not the case."
THE DUP is calling on Sinn Fein president-elect Mary Lou McDonald to "demonstrate leadership" and take action against Alex Maskey for a controversial post that it claims appears to "justify terrorism".

The West Belfast MLA tweeted: "Unfortunately it took more than the CRA (Civil Rights Association) to secure rights in the putrid little statelet NI."

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His comment was posted in response to an unrelated tweet by SDLP leader Colum Eastwood.

Mr Maskey's tweet has been condemned by the UUP, SDLP and TUV. But the Sinn Fein MLA last night hit back at his critics, accusing them of "faux outrage" and saying that peaceful civil rights demonstrators had been beaten off the streets here.

South Belfast DUP MP Emma Little-Pengelly said: "Alex Maskey's description of Northern Ireland as a 'putrid little statelet' exemplifies a continued attitude of disrespect within Sinn Fein. This is all the more offensive as the reference is within a tweet appearing to justify terrorism.

"Time and time again we see Sinn Fein representatives demanding standards from others which they are unwilling to uphold themselves. We are entitled to know whether such comments are representative of Mary Lou McDonald's view when she talks about 'unionist brothers and sisters'."

Ms Little-Pengelly said people were questioning whether Ms McDonald and Sinn Fein deputy president-elect Michelle O'Neill were "either unwilling or unable to take action and demonstrate leadership".

Last night Mr Eastwood said: "The only thing achieved by violence was the hardening of hearts and the filling of graves. That reality might be uncomfortable for people like Alex Maskey and Sinn Fein but it is a truth that can't be unwritten or rewritten.

"The Civil Rights Association achieved more in 18 months than all the years of violence that followed.

"I would suggest that finally getting government up and running again would be a better use of Alex's time instead of constantly posting Twitter attacks on the SDLP."

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UUP MLA Doug Beattie branded Mr Maskey's tweet "absolute offensive rubbish" and said Sinn Fein didn't know the meaning of the word "respect".

He claimed that the words "it took more than the CRA" could be categorised as "the IRA was justified in burning people alive, kidnapping, torturing and murdering innocent Protestants and Catholics".

He added: "Let us be absolutely clear.

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"We could have got to where we are today without the murder of a single person, let alone almost 3,600 men, women and children."

TUV leader Jim Allister said: "The many victims of IRA terrorism will be in no doubt as to what Maskey was referring to.

"Those unionists who today are engaged in talks with Sinn Fein/IRA would do well to reflect upon the fact that republicans are openly boasting of how far the IRA campaign of bombing and shooting got them.

"Thirty years of terror. Hundreds dead. Thousands injured.

"No respect for the most fundamental of human rights, the right to life. But it is all all right. Because Alex Maskey got his 'rights'."

In his statement last night, Mr Maskey said Northern Ireland had been "a unionist-dominated apartheid state, founded on religious and civil discrimination and which denied citizens fundamental rights such as the right to vote".

He added: "Peaceful civil rights demonstrators were beaten off the streets in an effort to crush the demands for civil and human rights, Special Powers were used to suppress protest, and the state forces played an active role in sectarian progroms of the 1920s, 1930s and 1960s.

"The Unionist Party presided over all of that.

"Faux outrage by some unionists at my comments ignore the facts that a wide range of people from the Civil Rights Association right through to progressive unionists opposed this sectarian discrimination and demanded civil and human rights for all."
A deal to save powersharing at Stormont is achievable within the coming days, the Northern Ireland Secretary has said.

Karen Bradley said an agreement was by no means certain, but she expressed hope resolution between Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionists could be secured in the near future.

However, Mrs Bradley declined to outline specific details on the ongoing political negotiations in Belfast as she updated the House of Commons, insisting she did not want to jeopardise a successful outcome.

An accommodation between the parties has not yet been reached, but there is no doubt as to the parties collective commitment towards the restoration of devolution, said told MPs.

I firmly believe that an agreement in the coming days, while not certain, is achievable and this remains my focus.

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Northern Ireland has been without a functioning administration for over a year after the last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded in a row over a botched green energy scheme.

That rift subsequently widened to take in long-running disputes over culture, social issues and legacy.

The current talks process has been characterised as a final opportunity to save the devolved institutions before the UK Government moves to introduce a form of Westminster direct rule.

The process involved all five main Stormont parties and the UK and Irish governments. Another round table engagement is scheduled for the end of the week.

Civil servants have been running Stormonts public services during the impasse, however they are hamstrung by their inability to take major policy decisions.

With the pressing need for budget to be struck for the next financial year, if the latest talks bid fails, the UK Government will face mounting pressure to introduce a form of Westminster direct rule to provide financial certainty.

During Northern Ireland questions in the Commons, the DUPs Nigel Dodds pressed Mrs Bradley to make a firm commitment that she would intervene to set a budget.

The Secretary of State declined to offer such a direct pledge, but she highlighted that her predecessor, James Brokenshire, had done something similar for the current years budget.

One of the key sticking points in the impasse is the regions ongoing ban on same sex marriage. Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Smith urged Mrs Bradley to take the issue off the table by legislating for a change in marriage laws at Westminster.

The Conservative MP insisted it was for local politicians to decide on the contentious issue.

This is clearly a matter which is a devolved issue and quite rightly should be legislated for at Stormont.

.@simoncoveney says the two governments are confident current talks format is working. aIf it wasnat wead be looking to try to change that approach - weare sticking with ita. pic.twitter.com/I5rsMd5l7P  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) February 7, 2018

Earlier, Irelands deputy premier Simon Coveney also struck an optimistic note as he addressed a business conference in Co Louth.

There remain challenges for the parties, but I remain convinced that an agreement can and will be reached, the tanaiste said.

I am convinced each of the parties want to see the devolved institutions in operation, but of course they must come to an accommodation for each other and that cant be forced on them.

A new executive though is critical  for decision making in Northern Ireland, for the peace process and for ensuring that Northern Irelands interests as a whole can be directly and effectively represented through the Brexit negotiations.

Chief Constable George Hamilton and Chief Superintendent Philip Knox meeting @simoncoveney TAnaiste & Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade today to at the Police College , Garnerville. #KeepingPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/EKzD0EoUlf  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) February 7, 2018

Mr Coveney later visited the Police Service of Northern Irelands training college in east Belfast.

While he said it was not his role to disclose details of the negotiations or a timeframe for their conclusion, he insisted the format of the talks was working.

The parties are working intensively to try to find a way forward, she said.

If the two governments didnt believe that the current approach towards trying to find a way forward wasnt going to work then we would be looking to try to change that approach, we are sticking with it and its up to the parties to give information to the public in terms of where things stand and what timescale they are on and I think the two governments are working together on this.
Peter Coll QC advanced an extreme, hypothetical scenario in countering a challenge brought by the widow of an innocent civilian shot dead along with eight IRA men.

The State cannot be under a legal onus to provide a "blank cheque" for legacy inquests at the expense of all other services in Northern Ireland, the High Court heard on Wednesday.

Counsel for the Department of Justice (DoJ) argued that human rights legislation should not require funding all outstanding tribunals if the costs meant everything else was "brought to a halt".

Peter Coll QC advanced an extreme, hypothetical scenario in countering a challenge brought by the widow of an innocent civilian shot dead along with eight IRA men.

He argued: "Hospitals would have to be closed, schools closed, lights turned off - all to fund legacy inquests at the exclusion of everything else.

"That simply cannot be what the European court would expect."

Brigid Hughes is seeking to judicially review the governments in London and Belfast for failing to release the funds necessary to hold a series of tribunals into killings which occurred during the conflict.

Her husband, Anthony, died after being unwittingly caught up in the SAS ambush of an IRA unit at Loughgall, Co Armagh in May 1987.

Although the Stormont House Agreement includes a 150 million package to deal with all legacy issues, the government has said financial resources will not be released until political consensus is reached on dealing with the past.

Proceedings have been issued against the Secretary of State, the Stormont Executive and former First Minister Arlene Foster personally due to her alleged responsibility for the logjam.

It is claimed that in 2016 she unlawfully blocked a paper on bidding for inquest funding before it could be discussed by cabinet colleagues.

Those proposals, drawn up by the DoJ, came after Northern Ireland's Lord Chief Justice, Sir Declan Morgan, put up a plan to have a backlog of cases dealt with within five years.

More than 50 Troubles-related inquests remain outstanding, with another 72 cases said to be on the Attorney General's desk for consideration.

Lawyers for Mrs Hughes insist Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights imposes a legal obligation to ensure the inquests are held.

However, the court heard the DoJ paper only covered 16 of the legacy cases, at a cost of more than 16m.

Northern Ireland Office officials were said to be concerned that it lacked a proper business case, reform proposals and could have drained the 150m government package.

Putting forward the Department's case, Mr Coll insisted responsibility for managing the inquests lies with the coroner.

He also told the judge, Sir Paul Girvan, that Parliament never intended to put bodies responsible for funding in a "financial straightjacket" with an absolute duty to provide whatever money was needed.

Instead, he submitted, requirements must be balanced against demands from elsewhere.

Mr Coll said: "The argument put forward by the applicant is that if Article 2 is engaged it's just a question of a blank cheque.

"The world doesn't work like that and the law doesn't work like that in domestic terms, nor does it work like that in Strasbourg. Things are more nuanced."

The barrister contended that just because human rights law is involved the State must provide funding at the expense of everything else.

"It cannot simply be right that Strasbourg would require, to use a facetious example where there was so much money required for this issue, that all other functions in Northern Ireland would have to be brought to a halt," he added.

Later, responding to Sir Paul's assessment that the funding proposals were vague, Barry Macdonald QC, for Mrs Hughes, stressed: "There was sufficient detail to allow the Minister of Justice to work up a paper put forward for consideration.

"The important point is that it wasn't given any consideration at all, it was blocked. That's incompatible with Convention rights."

The case continues.
A former Harland & Wolff worker has died, aged 105.

Rosemary Graham, who worked as a blueprint tracer on major vessels including HMS Belfast, passed away peacefully last Wednesday.

Mrs Graham's daughter, Patricia Effard, described her mother as "remarkable".

A service for Mrs Graham, who finished writing her memoirs at the age of 98, will be held today at 11am at Dunmurry Presbyterian Church.

"We have people coming from all over," her daughter said. "My mother was such a warm, outgoing person she made friends everywhere she went. She was always helping people. She had so many friends and we've got people coming from all over for the service, from Sheffield, London, Bristol, everywhere."

The art enthusiast, who studied jewellery and embroidery, sadly lost the sight in one eye a number of years ago and became an advocate of research into eye conditions.

Mrs Graham attended Belfast College of Art in the 1930s, and worked on the Royal Coat of Arms for the King, which hung behind the throne in Hillsborough Castle. For her 97th birthday, the family arranged a private visit and afternoon tea there.

Marking her 105th birthday in October, the Dunmurry centenarian visited the newly opened Titanic Hotel, and remembered the exact spot where she worked all those years ago.

Mrs Effard (60) previously told how her mother left her job after marrying her father George in 1939, but the war effort meant her 'retirement' didn't last long.

"She didn't ever say much about that time, it was difficult," said Mrs Effard, who now lives in the East Midlands. "She just did her bit."

Mrs Graham raised her daughter and son, Howard, now 65, alone as her husband died when the children were young.
A 32-year-old man has gone on trial for charges concerning the alleged incitement of a child to engage in sexual activity, during a phone call in which a suggestion was made to meet up at a hotel

A 32-year-old man has gone on trial for charges concerning the alleged incitement of a child to engage in sexual activity, during a phone call in which a suggestion was made to meet up at a hotel.

The victim, who was 15 at the time, claimed the accused called himself Polish Michal and rejected any suggestion she misheard him due to a "non-local accent".

Michal Paraszkiewicz of O'Neill Park, Cookstown denies both charges against him at Dungannon Crown Court yesterday.

It is alleged that on August 15, 2015 he intentionally incited a female child to engage in sexual activity, and sought to meet her for sexual activity.

The jury was played video-footage of the victim's interview with police, before she was cross-examined by defence counsel.

The victim recalled being in bed but awake when she received a call at around 1.30am on her mobile phone.

The caller identified himself as "Polish Michal" - someone the victim had never heard of before.

She claims he said, "You don't know me, but I know you", before making a sexually suggestive inquiry.

The victim continued, "He asked me to meet him at (a hotel) in 15 minutes. He would wear something nice and I would wear something nice.

"He said, 'We meet. I'll be there.' I told him I wouldn't be going to a hotel. I'm not that kind of person."

It is alleged Paraszkiewicz then provided the victim with his name and address.

The victim said: "I got really creeped out, to the point I was shaking", adding she then muted the phone, went into her mother's bedroom and explained what happened.

Her mother took the phone, put it on speaker and pretended to be her daughter.

Paraszkiewicz allegedly went through a similar conversation, and the mother said, "You do realise I'm only 15?"

The response to this was, "I don't care - just come alone."

The mother hung up and said "This is a matter for police."

She instructed the victim to block Paraszkiewicz's number. On doing so, her phone began to ring from a land-line, but was not answered.

Defence counsel Andrew Moriarty asked "You say my client used the phrase, 'I don't care, just come alone.' Could that perhaps have been, 'I don't care, just come along' given the difficulties with English? Because he believed he was talking to an adult woman."

The victim rejected this assertion.

The defence argued the phone records show calls from Paraszkiewicz of very short durations - some just a matter of seconds.

Mr Moriarty challenged, given the short timings, how the exchanges as described by the victim, could have taken place.

It was also put to the victim the phone logs showed the call of the longest duration was made from her phone to Paraszkiewicz.

The victim responded, "No I did not ring him. Why would I? That doesn't make sense."

Mr Moriarty continued: "I agree. Why ring up someone who is looking sex from you? I agree, it doesn't make sense.

"There is a lot which doesn't make sense."

The victim remained adamant she had not contacted Paraszkiewicz at any time.

The trial continues.
A homophobic neo-Nazi terrorist is due to be sentenced for plotting an axe and machete attack on a pubs gay pride night.

Armed police swooped on 20-year-old Ethan Stables as he walked towards the New Empire in his home town of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, last summer.

Officers had received a tip-off from a member of a Facebook group where he posted a message saying he was going to war and that he planned to slaughter every single one of the gay bastards.

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Although he was unarmed when he was arrested on June 23, police found an axe, a machete and knives at his home, his trial heard.

On Monday, Stables was found guilty at Leeds Crown Court of preparing an act of terrorism and making threats to kill.

He had admitted a number of other offences before the start of his trial at Leeds Crown Court.

The jury was shown a video of him burning a rainbow flag and posing next to a swastika hanging on his bedroom wall.

He had espoused homophobic, racist and Nazi views online, the court was told.

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Giving evidence, Stables, who has been diagnosed with Aspergers syndrome, claimed he was a just fantasist and was himself bisexual.

Following his conviction, his barrister Patrick Upward QC told the Recorder of Leeds, Judge Peter Collier QC, that Stables led a melancholy life up to the day of his arrest and lived in almost squalid conditions.

Mr Upward said: He bears no comparison with the men who attacked Corporal (Lee) Rigby, no comparison with the men who went on the rampage at Borough Market and no comparison with the man who ran people over on Westminster Bridge and stabbed a police officer.

Whatever he was doing that night, he did not have a fuse to set it off. He did not have the wherewithal to make the fuse.

Prosecutor Jonathan Sandiford told the judge that Stables had intended to attack multiple persons and had looked at a number of ways of doing it.

Stables will be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court by Judge Collier on Wednesday morning.
From left: lawyer Matt Jury, Judith Jenkins (widow of Jeffrey Young who was killed by the 1982 IRA Hyde Park bomb), her daughter Sarahjane Young, Mark Tipper (brother of Trooper Simon Tipper also killed in the bomb attack), survivor Simon Utley and Danny Kinahan MP outside the Houses of Parliament. The families have been granted legal aid to pursue a civil case against the bombing suspect

A man whose teenage brother was among four soldiers killed in the IRA's 1982 Hyde Park bombing says the families want to get one of the alleged bombers back in court for a civil case before the end of this year.

Mark Tipper, brother of victim Simon, said he and his wife sobbed with relief when they heard the news that - after five unsuccessful attempts - the families had been granted legal aid in their bid to bring Co Donegal man John Downey (66) before a civil court over the Hyde Park nail bomb.

Mr Tipper told the Belfast Telegraph that he had been inspired by the families of the Omagh bomb victims.

Legal history was made in 2013 when the Omagh bomb families took a civil case against Colm Murphy and Seamus Daly, who were found liable for the atrocity at their civil retrial.

Now the Hyde Park families hopes to replicate their success, and will use some of the same legal team.

Mr Downey was charged with the Hyde Park murders and stood trial at the Old Bailey in 2013. But the case dramatically collapsed after it was revealed he had received a written assurance from former prime minister Tony Blair's government that he was no longer wanted. The letter was issued under the terms of the controversial On-The-Runs (OTRs) scheme.

Trial judge Mr Justice Sweeney ruled that Mr Downey's arrest at Gatwick Airport, as he passed through the UK on the way to a holiday, represented an abuse of process and he put a stay on any future prosecution.

Downey has always denied any involvement in the attack.

The families of the murdered soldiers - Roy Bright, Anthony Daly, Simon Tipper and Geoffrey Young, all from the Household Cavalry - have served a writ signalling their intent to pursue a civil case against Mr Downey.

Mr Tipper said they hope the case will be heard towards the end of 2018. "After the case collapsed I was left in shock - it was then that the Omagh families inspired me to go through the civil courts," he said.

"But there has been a lot of fighting to get here. I felt like we had almost lost sight of our goal to hold someone to account for this after almost five years' fighting to get legal aid. I wasn't sure we would ever see this day."
Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg has told a parliamentary committee he did not fear violence when he was confronted by masked protesters at a university meeting.

The North-East Somerset MP made clear he was not bothered by being heckled at the event at the University of the West of England in Bristol, but described the use of masks as sinister and said he was concerned that MPs should not feel they need security when appearing in public.

The arch-Brexiteer was giving evidence to a hearing of Parliaments Joint Human Rights Committee, which is carrying out an inquiry into freedom of speech in universities.

A video of Mr Rees-Mogg intervening to stop a scuffle at the event last week was widely shared on social media.

But he told the committee that the images made the disruption to his speech caused by a group of around six shouting people appear much more dramatic than it was.

They dont want me to be heard, thats the point of their protest, he said.

I think a protest of that kind is perfectly legitimate. I think that as a politician, you should expect that people may come and heckle.

People coming along and shouting at you, people heckling, is part of political life and to be honest as a politician a bit of heckling can make your speech.

But masks is a little bit sinister.

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Mr Rees-Mogg said he walked up to the protesters and tried to talk with them but they didnt want to engage.

At this point, a member of the audience tried to persuade them to leave, and the protesters claimed that he had hit a female member of their group.

It looked as though two people were going to hit each other, which I obviously wanted to avoid, so I stood between them because I knew that they werent going to hit me, he said.

The people who were there to hear me were very unlikely to want to hit me and the protesters had given no indication that they wanted to be violent until they said this lady had been hit.

Mr Rees-Mogg said he was much more concerned about the impact of online threats and abuse directed particularly at female politicians, which he condemned as deeply unpleasant and very risky for who will represent us in future.

He added: I think it would be a shame if MPs felt they had to go along with security or always had to be accompanied, because part of the strength of our political system is that MPs are part of the ordinary population.

Absolutely, some of the highest officeholders of state have to have protection for very good reasons, but it would be really sad if backbench MPs felt that to be necessary because how else do we know what is going on in the country if we are always behind some protective cordon?

Universities minister Sam Gyimah told the committee that the UWE protesters were wreckers of a kind that have tried to restrict free speech at higher education institutions in an unacceptable way.

He said that universities should be ready to involve police where necessary if public order issues arise. And he said he would be contacting the Charity Commission to ensure that its guidance on external speakers facilitates the promotion of freedom of speech on controversial issues.

There is a section in our universities who feel you can restrict free speech if what you are doing is mollycoddling someone from opinions and views they might find offensive. I find that wrong and unacceptable, said Mr Gyimah.

Some of the people who do engage in restriction of free speech on campus are the wreckers on campus, the offline trolls, the ones who use the no platform rules and safe spaces in order to obstruct, restrict, annoy other students. They are the ones I have in my sights.

Some of them even think it is a way to launch a political career. I wasnt surprised that one of the wreckers who was unmasked at the University of the West of England had stood for election before.

Mr Gyimah rejected suggestions that the current generation of students was averse to dealing with opinions which challenge their views: I wouldnt tar all students with the same brush Snowflakes melt under the heat. A lot of students I have met are made of much sterner stuff.

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Security minister Ben Wallace told the committee he had received no evidence that the Governments Prevent programme  which requires universities to report suspicions that students may be being radicalised  was stifling free speech on campus.

But he said there was no doubt that recruiters for terrorist groups like Islamic State, right-wing extremists and sex abusers target students for grooming, and that universities had a role to play in safeguarding young adults in their care.

One of the organisers of the UWE event, who gave his name as Jonathan and spoke to the committee via a speakerphone, said he did not believe that the protesters or the member of the audience who confronted them were students. He said no students had expressed opposition to Mr Rees-Mogg being invited to speak.

Mr Rees-Mogg is a member of the charitable trust which supports the Oxford Union debating society, and said that Charity Commission rules were more of a concern than student opposition when decisions were made over issuing invitiations to controversial speakers.

I am much more worried about about the Charity Commission saying it is against our charitable objectives to invite somebody with controversial views than I am about the students, he said.

I think the students like inviting people with controversial views.

We have had to develop detailed policies for the sake of the Charity Commissionas to who the students are allowed to invite and this to my mind is deeply objectionable.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange received another visit from actress Pamela Anderson, a day after launching a legal fight against a UK arrest warrant.

The former Baywatch star carried two takeaway coffee cups into the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where Mr Assange has been living for over five years.

Wearing a black dress and dark glasses, she smiled but made no comment as she was let into the embassy building.

Honored to meet today with tough Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo PArez Esquivel who was jailed in Argentina, Ecuador & Brazil. Unlike some, Adolfo actually met the requirements to win. He is an inspiration to me and many others and continues to do impressive work. pic.twitter.com/2R8jGbdXd9  Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) February 7, 2018

An earlier visitor to the embassy was Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel.

Mr Assange said in a message: Honoured to meet today with tough Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel who was jailed in Argentina, Ecuador & Brazil.

Unlike some, Adolfo actually met the requirements to win. He is an inspiration to me and many others and continues to do impressive work.

At Westminster Magistrates Court on Tuesday, Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected Mr Assanges legal teams argument that a warrant issued in 2012 was no longer valid because an investigation by the Swedish authorities into a sex-related allegation has been dropped.

His lawyers went on to argue it was no longer proportionate or in the public interest to pursue him for failing to answer bail at a police station as he fought extradition to Sweden.

Judge Arbuthnot adjourned the case until Tuesday February 13 at 2pm at the same court, when she will give her judgment on the public interest argument.
The Duchess of Cambridge during a visit to open an Action on Addiction treatment centre in Wickford, Essex (Eddie Mulholland/Daily Telegraph/PA)

The Duchess of Cambridge smiled and took it in her stride as her heel got caught in a metal grate on a visit to open a new addiction treatment centre.

Kate wore a blue Goat coat as she visited the centre run by the charity Action on Addiction, of which she is patron.

As she arrived at the community-based facility in Wickford, Essex, her heel got caught in a grate for a split second, but she smiled and carried on.

The Duchess chats to clients at various stages of their recovery about the benefits of 'Clouds in the Community', a non-residential recovery programme that is based at the centre. pic.twitter.com/XPihsb7XmW  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) February 7, 2018

Kate unveiled a plaque to officially open the centre, and extended her huge congratulations to all involved.

It seems like a long time ago since I first got involved with Action on Addiction, I think its about six years ago, but they have a very special place for me and were really the starting of my learning particularly with now the development into mental health, she said.

So you are very special to me, its great to be here and actually seeing the development of where the charitys gone in the years gone past.

Expand Close The Duchess of Cambridge arrives to open an Action on Addiction treatment centre in Wickford (Eddie Mulholland/Daily Telegraph/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Huge congratulations, I believe so passionately in community projects so I wish it all the best of success in the future.

Kate was then presented with a bunch of flowers by 21-month-old Myla Clancy, whose mother Laura Clancy, 27, is a friend of fundraisers.

The Duchess of Cambridge is presented with flowers by 21-month-old Myla Clancy on a visit to a charity centre in Wickford, Essex pic.twitter.com/HjaTyh4V6k  Sam Russell (@SamRussellPA) February 7, 2018

She thanked Myla, said its very sweet of you and as the toddler reached out for the petals, Kate joked: Have you smelt it? Lets smell. Ah, is that nice? Thank you very much.

She earlier met with staff and people at different points of their recovery on a visit to the community-based facility.

The centre, which opened its doors to clients last year, hosts a rolling cycle of nine-week long self-help addiction recovery programmes called Clouds in the Community.

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The community-based programmes are described as an effective alternative to residential treatment and allow the charity to provide services in more places and to help more people.

Clouds in the Community serves as a starting point for long-term recovery and abstinence, leading to improvements in participants physical and mental health and overall quality of life.

Action on Addiction said independent evaluation of its Essex programme showed almost 80% of clients did not return to any treatment service after completing the scheme.

'Clouds in the Community' aims to reach more people in more places by helping clients to recover in their own neighbourhoods. pic.twitter.com/VEXSLkxSa2  The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) February 7, 2018

The charity has several sites around the country, including its flagship Clouds House centre in Wiltshire which offers residential treatment, and a further community-based site in Liverpool.

It treats all forms of addiction including alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling addiction, sex addiction and food-related disorders.
The judge said David Spencer's application was 'apparently unprecedented' in England and Wales (David Davies/PA)

A man who might be at risk of falling victim to a form of hereditary cancer has won the latest round of an unprecedented legal fight over DNA testing with a woman he suspects is his grandmother.

David Spencer thought that his father was William Anderson  who died several years ago  and wanted a stored DNA sample taken from Mr Anderson for medical purposes before death to be tested so that he could establish his paternity.

Mr Andersons mother, Valerie Anderson, was against the idea.

Last year Mr Spencer won a High Court fight and Court of Appeal judges have also now ruled in his favour.

Mr Justice Peter Jackson had analysed evidence at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court in Manchester in March 2016  and ruled that testing should take place.

Mrs Anderson had then challenged that ruling in the Court of Appeal.

But three appeal judges have backed Mr Justice Jacksons decision.

Lord Justice McFarlane, Lady Justice King and Lord Justice Simon published a ruling on Wednesday after reviewing the case at a Court of Appeal hearing in London in October.

In my judgment there is no basis for interfering with the judges decision that on the facts of the case the order for DNA testing should be made, said Lady Justice King.

This was a case of a claimant wanting to know his paternity for a sound medical reason and in my view, once the issues in relation to jurisdiction and the human rights obligations have been cleared away, the wording of the order made by the judge allowing the DNA testing to take place, was not only inevitable but right.

The two other appeal judges said they agreed.

Detail of the case had emerged last year in a written ruling by Mr Justice Jackson published on a legal website.

He named people involved but gave no indication of where they lived.

The judge said Mr Spencers application was apparently unprecedented in England and Wales.

He outlined family histories which had led to litigation in his ruling.

Mr Spencer said his mother, Carol Spencer, had him told that his father was Mr Anderson.

Mrs Spencer had said the relationship ended when she was pregnant.

She had married another man  and he had been registered as Mr Spencers father.

That marriage had ended and Mrs Spencer had gone on to marry a man called Spencer.

Mr Justice Jackson said Mr Anderson had been diagnosed with a form of cancer a decade ago.

He said there was a history of cancer in the Anderson family.

Mr Spencer had said that, following Mr Andersons death in 2012, Mrs Anderson had contacted him and said he could be at risk.

He had subsequently launched legal action and asked for a DNA testing order.

Mrs Anderson had opposed testing  saying her son had provided a DNA sample during the course of medical treatment and was entitled to a high expectation of confidentiality.
Theresa May speaks during Prime Ministers Questions in the House of Commons (PA)

Theresa May has insisted she will be robust in Brexit talks as she dismissed noises off after Brussels set out plans that would allow it to sanction the UK during transition.

The Prime Ministers inner war cabinet of senior ministers is meeting on Wednesday to chart a course through some of the most difficult issues in the Brexit process.

Brussels released papers showing it wants to put in place a method to rapidly curtail the UKs single market benefits if it breaches agreements on a transition deal.

We have published the draft legal text on transitional arrangements to be included in the #Article50 Withdrawal Agreement a https://t.co/fqIcueTKH3 #Brexit pic.twitter.com/kZ6n9L4mJo  European Commission  (@EU_Commission) February 7, 2018

Asked during Prime Ministers Questions if she would see off any threats from the European Union, Mrs May said: We will be robust in our arguments.

As I have said right from the very beginning we will here noises off, we will hear all sorts of things being said about positions that are being taken.

What matters is the positions we take in the negotiations as we sit down and negotiate the best deal. Weve shown we can do that. We did it in December and we are going to do it again.

Under plans released by the European Commission, Brussels would be able to restrict the UKs access to the single market without going through the lengthy European Court of Justice (ECJ) legal process.

At #pmqs, @theresa_may dismisses "noises off" on #Brexit. "What matters is the positions we take... We did it in December and we are going to do it again."  Andrew Woodcock (@AndyWoodcock) February 7, 2018

The position paper on transitional arrangements in the withdrawal agreement said there should be a mechanism allowing the EU to suspend certain benefits of single market membership during the transition period.

Such a move would be considered if referring the matter to the ECJ would not bring in time the necessary remedies, according to the document, which sets out the EUs position on a transition deal in legal language.

The document also said the UK would only be consulted when decisions are made on fishing quotas during the period.

Mrs May is chairing the European Union exit and trade (strategy and negotiations) sub-committee in sessions on Wednesday and Thursday to thrash out the UKs position on crunch issues regarding the future relationship with Brussels.

Wednesdays talks are expected to focus on immigration and Northern Ireland, with the future partnership being considered on Thursday.
Paedophile Dr Matthew Falder will be sentenced for more than 100 offences (National Crime Agency/PA)

A paedophile who blackmailed his internet victims into carrying out degrading sex acts is to be sentenced.

Cambridge graduate Matthew Falder admitted more than 100 offences, including encouraging a teenager to rape a four-year-old boy, at a court hearing in October last year.

Posing as a female artist he used dozens of aliases to contact more than 50 victims over seven years, but was brought to justice after the UKs first successful prosecution relating to the so-called hurtcore online underworld.

Falder duped those he contacted into sending compromising images of themselves, before blackmailing them with the material and then sharing his efforts with others in hidden forums on the internets secretive dark web.

Falder, of Edgbaston, Birmingham, a former geophysicist researcher at Birmingham University, has admitted 137 charges in all.

The 28-year-olds sentencing begins at Birmingham Crown Court on Wednesday, and is expected to take three days.
Red squirrels have struggled to compete with their grey cousins (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Red squirrels have seen a surge in numbers in Scotlands north east and stabilised nationwide, according to new figures.

Research carried out by conservation workers shows the rodents population has stopped shrinking across the country.

The most positive results from Scotlands Red Squirrels 2017 survey revealed numbers have seen a significant boost around Aberdeen.

2017 squirrel survey reveals Scotland's red squirrels are holding on strong: https://t.co/z9eUZ5PFxp



 Raymond Leinster pic.twitter.com/SbQZ88pkGB  Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels (@ScotSquirrels) February 7, 2018

They are also starting to appear in areas they have long abandoned, according to researchers.

Conservation officer Mary-Anne Collis said: In the Central Lowlands, red squirrels are holding their ground and as a result weve started to see them in areas where they havent been seen for a long time.

This is particularly noticeable to the south and east of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, which is now predominantly a red-only zone.

If it wasnt for our fantastic volunteers that brave the unpredictable spring weather to help us with these surveys then we wouldnt be able to see the positive impact that our conservation work is having.

Grey squirrels, which were introduced to Britain from North America in the 19th century, out-compete red squirrels for resources.

They can also carry squirrelpox, a virus that does not harm them but is deadly to reds.

It is vital that the work we do here is stepped upDr Mel Tonkin, Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels

Since 2011, Saving Scotlands Red Squirrels has been monitoring populations in the parts of the country where the rodents are most under threat from non-native greys.

Numbers are surveyed using feeder boxes placed in the same areas of woodland each spring.

When a squirrel visits a feeder box, a sticky tab collects some of its hair, which can then be identified under a microscope.

Despite most areas successfully maintaining population levels, southern parts of Scotland saw mixed results.

The survey produced no positive results in Berwickshire, where reds are now very rarely seen.

Project manager Dr Mel Tonkin said: Unfortunately red squirrel numbers have continued to fall in parts of the Scottish Borders, especially since the arrival in Berwickshire of the deadly Squirrelpox virus from south of the border in 2011.

In Dumfries and Galloway, red squirrels continue to do well, but are threatened by increasing records of grey squirrels which appear to be spreading into Nithsdale from the east and north.

It is vital that the work we do here is stepped up to make sure these red squirrel populations remain healthy.
Supermarket giant Tesco is facing Britains largest ever equal pay challenge with a bill potentially running to 4 billion, a law firm claims.

Leigh Day has launched legal action against the company on behalf of shop assistants who claim they are paid up to 3 an hour less than their male warehouse workers.

It said distribution centre workers  who are predominantly male  earn in excess of 11 an hour, compared to the largely female-staffed Tesco stores where the common grade sits at 8 an hour.

The disparity could see a male distribution worker earning 5,000 more a year than a female worker doing the same hours, Leigh Day said.

There really should be no argument that workers in stores, compared to those working in distribution centres, contribute at least equal value to the vast profits made by Tesco.Paula Lee

Tesco said they work hard to ensure all staff are paid fairly and equally.

Paula Lee, from Leigh Day, who is representing the Tesco women, said: We believe an inherent bias has allowed store workers to be underpaid for many years.

In terms of equal worth to the company there really should be no argument that workers in stores, compared to those working in distribution centres, contribute at least equal value to the vast profits made by Tesco, which last year had group sales of 49.9bn.

In the week where we have marked the 100-year anniversary since women began to get the vote, the time has come for companies and public organisations to have a long hard look at themselves, to see the inequality which is still deeply entrenched in their organisations.

The claims have been submitted to conciliation body Acas and it follows similar claims against Asda and Sainsburys which are currently being dealt with by the employment tribunal process.

A Tesco spokesman said: We are unable to comment on a claim that we have not received.

Tesco has always been a place for people to get on in their career, regardless of their gender, background or education, and we work hard to make sure all our colleagues are paid fairly and equally for the jobs they do.
Death-row inmate Linda Carty poses for a photo at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Mountain View Unit outside Gatesville, Texas (Michael Graczyk/AP)

Texas highest criminal court has rejected the appeal of a British national who was convicted of arranging the killing of a neighbour so she could take the womans baby.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the ruling of a lower court, which rejected Linda Cartys arguments that prosecutors had coerced witnesses and improperly hidden information that could have affected the outcome of her capital murder trial.

Carty, a native of St Kitts and Nevis and the only British woman on death row in the United States, was convicted over the 2001 suffocation of 20-year-old Joana Rodriguez.

Prosecutors said Carty, who had been living in Houston for about 20 years by the time of her trial, recruited three men to abduct Rodriguez and her newborn in the hopes of saving her relationship with her common-law husband by passing off the child as her own.

Rodriguez and her days-old son, Ray Cabrera, were abducted from their Houston apartment on May 16 2001.

The boy was found safe in a car that same day, but his mother was found suffocated in the trunk of another car.

Her arms and legs were wrapped in duct tape, her mouth and nose also were taped and she had a plastic bag over her head.

The three men charged as Cartys accomplices received long prison terms. Carty was sentenced to death.

Cartys lawyer Michael Goldberg said on Wednesday that he was unaware of the ruling and had no immediate comment.

The appeals court ruling supported the findings of District Judge David Garner, who decided in 2016 that Harris County prosecutors should have turned over some witness statements to Cartys trial lawyers, but that the evidence was overwhelming and would not have changed the trials outcome.

He also determined that prosecutors did not knowingly use perjured testimony or allow untrue testimony at the trial.

In a concurring opinion joined by two other appeals court judges, Judge Bert Richardson wrote that while Cartys lawyers contended that prosecutors committed egregious misconduct, those claims were not supported in the court record.

None of the evidence eliminates her or even casts reasonable doubt on her role as a party to this offence, he wrote.

When she was arrested, Carty was on probation for impersonating a federal agent and previously had been arrested for car theft and drug charges.

She does not yet have an execution date.
Protestors insisted they were peaceful and would cause no damage (STAG/PA)

Protesters against controversial plans to cut down trees in Sheffield have occupied the city council chamber.

A group of around 20 people descended from the public gallery at the end of a council meeting which finished at around 8.30pm on Wednesday.

Police were called to the building and were negotiating with the occupiers who insisted it was a peaceful protest and there would be no damage.

There's about 20 of us, we have a musician and a poet here, and it's all friendly and fineRussell Johnson

They held aloft a banner saying Show us the contract please  a reference to a 2.2 billion Private Finance Initiative deal with contractor Amey.

Russell Johnson, of Sheffield Tree Action Groups (STAG), said: We attended the full council meeting which is open to the public.

We asked questions of the councillors, seeking democratic accountability.

The councillors, as they always do, refused to give us meaningful answers.

He said the occupiers may stay all night.

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They were in discussions with the police and there were no elected members still there.

Theres about 20 of us, we have a musician and a poet here, and its all friendly and fine, he said.

The ongoing and long-running row over Sheffields street trees has seen daily demonstrations in some of the citys leafiest suburbs.

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The dispute has its origin in a 25-year PFI deal the council signed with Amey in 2009.

The contract includes a huge programme to resurface thousands of miles of Sheffields pothole-ridden road system and, as part of this, Amey is tasked with maintaining roadside trees.

The council says only a small proportion of the citys 36,000 street trees are being removed because they are diseased or dangerous, and all are being replaced.

But protesters say many of the trees are being felled because their roots are getting in the way of the resurfacing methods used by Amey.
Rev Charles McMullen is the new Moderator of the Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church has chosen the Reverend Charles McMullen of West Church Bangor to be its next Moderator.

He will be installed at the opening night of the General Assembly in June, when he will succeed the Rt Rev Dr Noble McNeely.

Rev McMullen received nine of the Church's 19 Presbytery votes.

Rev Brian Boyd from Kells and Eskylane was second with six votes, and Rev William Henry from Maze and Ballinderry was third with four.

Rev McMullen said he was "overwhelmed" by last night's result.

"I commit myself to the Lord for His help and guidance over what I am sure will be an exciting, challenging and enriching year that lies ahead," he said.

"I know that I can draw on the prayers and good wishes of the entire Presbyterian denomination, and much further afield.

"I hope that I can be involved in a ministry of building relationships and offering encouragement, both within the Presbyterian Church and with others as I reach out in Christ's name."

He said that one of the most important factors in his ministry was relationships.

"I include our relationship with God in Christ, our relationship with one another in Christian community, and the sense of building relationships as we share the love of Christ with outsiders," he explained.

As Moderator, Rev McMullen will preside over and represent the General Assembly at a time of great challenge and opportunity for all the Churches.

The Presbyterian Church, like others, is currently divided over same-sex marriage, and the General Assembly may re-visit its decision in June over whether or not to send the Moderator to the Scottish General Assembly.

The Irish Church has not sent a Moderator to Edinburgh for the past two years because of the Scots' more liberal views on same-sex issues. And in the Irish Republic, there will be a spring referendum to decide whether or not to make abortion more readily available, and the Presbyterians have already voiced their opposition to "abortion on demand".

Rev McMullen, who is 57, runs a lively ministry at West Church Bangor. It has around 1,100 families with some 2,700 members in its congregation, and there are four morning services each Sunday. Rev McMullen has been minister of West Church since 1999.

He was previously minister at Legacurry and assistant minister at Harmony Hill in Lisburn.

He is married to Barbara, and they have three adult children.
Michael Gallagher, chair of the Omagh Self-Help and Support Group, speaking to the press outside Belfast High Court

The news yesterday that the Hyde Park Justice Campaign has scored a famous victory took me back almost 15 years. It was on August 8, 2003 that Paul Murphy, the then Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that legal aid would be provided to the families taking a civil case against the Omagh bombers. Their loved ones had been murdered by the IRA on August 15, 1998.

As with all terrorist outrages, politicians had lined up to say that the perpetrators would be chased to the ends of the earth, but as with the families of the four soldiers murdered in 1982, the criminal justice system had let them down.

As Lindy McDowell put it, the authorities didn't even pursue the killers as far as Dundalk.

The dogs in the street knew the names of the suspects, but what with most of them living across the border and tensions between police forces and justice systems, the RUC couldn't find the evidence to nail them.

I had got involved in January 2000, when I was introduced to an English solicitor called Victor Barker, whose 12-year-old son had been killed, and who said to me: "I've wondered about bringing a civil case against the bombers, but no one takes the idea seriously."

I did, and many people didn't, but the lawyer Jason McCue was mad enough to take it on, private fundraising provided the seed-corn money, the Daily Mail - outraged that legal aid was denied to the families when it was available to the suspects - agreed to run a fundraising campaign, and to the surprise of most people, ex-Secretary of State Peter Mandelson showed deep commitment to the families and bullied Tony Blair into giving them legal aid, just as we were about to run out of money.

Since that legal aid came from the Northern Irish jurisdiction, it did not provide a precedent for the Hyde Park families, but it gave them hope.

And their lawyers, Mr McCue and his colleague Matthew Jury, had survived all the frustrations of the Omagh case and were not quitters.

Those of us supporting the Omagh families were reviled for being associated with the Daily Mail - which is loathed by the left - but the simple truth was that only right-wing newspapers seem interested in backing victims rather than perpetrators whining about their "human rights".

When John Downey's criminal trial collapsed in 2014 because he had one of the 187 "on-the-run" letters telling him he would not be prosecuted, it was the Sun newspaper whose furious readers provided the funds that enabled the families to start legal proceedings against him and keep them going despite five rejections from the Legal Aid Agency. Look, I know the legal system is as strapped for cash as any other part of the public service, but you'd think that the needs of victims were paramount.

Yet the LAA's excuses were almost beyond credence. The case, it explained in October 2015, was "not in the significant wider public interest".

What? Isn't the United Kingdom a target for terrorists and shouldn't they be pursued?

An appeal was turned down on the grounds that there was no "real benefit".

Huh? After the family sought a judicial review, this was changed to the meaningless statement that it was "not proportionate". In June, the LAA explained that Downey was highly unlikely to defend himself, and that anyway the Sun's appeal meant there were "alternative sources of funding".

But they were wrong about Downey, who came up with an imaginative defence that he had been the victim of a conspiracy between MI5, the Metropolitan Police, the PSNI and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Ah, said the LLA, now they wouldn't fund it because this defence was so strong the families couldn't win.

Like the Omagh families, the Hyde Park victims have sought and found many friends in public life, and at some stage as it coped with the barrage of letters and MPs' complaints, the LAA realized that it had to cave in.

These families, like those of Omagh, were just not going to go away.

I'm very happy for them, but this really is the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end.

With the Omagh case, there were almost five years between the promise of legal aid and the beginning of the court case.

I'll be astounded if there are not endless (often frivolous) legal challenges from defence lawyers, whose task will be made easier because Mr Downey lives in the Republic. And it is in the interests of defence lawyers to wear down the other side.

Like the Omagh families, the families of the four murdered soldiers have gone through hell and shown dignity and resolve.

But they need to know there could be years of frustration to come, for the law grinds exceeding slow, it breaks people and victims die, abandon ship and fall out.

There will also be endless criticism from those who say loftily: "Surely you should just move on?"

The Omagh families ignored that defeatist talk, won their civil case and inspired the Hyde Park families.

And as Matthew Jury said today: "Perhaps they'll inspire other victims denied justice to come forward and take the fight to the terrorists."

As Sinn Fein works cynically to revise history, the Hyde Park families remind us that the bombers are the murderers and the murdered are the victims, and the government should be clear about whose side it's on.
We're only five weeks into 2018, but so far it's been an annus horribilis for Sinn Fein in terms of social media.

In just three days' time Gerry Adams will step down as party president and hand over the reins of power to Mary Lou McDonald, whose leadership some predict will mark a break with the past.

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The last thing either wanted was one of their representatives caught in yet another social media storm.

The tweet at the centre of the latest controversy came from West Belfast MLA Alex Maskey in response to an unrelated tweet from SDLP leader Colum Eastwood.

Commenting on the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage, Mr Eastwood noted: "We can't forget that it took the Civil Rights Association here to ensure that all people got full access to voting rights."

Mr Maskey retorted: "Unfortunately it took more than the CRA to secure rights in the putrid little statelet NI."

The IRA campaign was waged for a united Ireland, not civil rights. History is being rewritten in that regard, but that's an argument for another day. Unionists have called for Ms McDonald to take action against the MLA.

Last month saw Barry McElduff resign as West Tyrone MP after widespread anger at a video he posted of himself with a Kingsmill loaf on his head on the anniversary of the massacre.

There were also calls for Sinn Fein's high-profile South Belfast MLA Mairtin O Muilleoir to follow suit and step down for retweeting the video.

Unionist politicians see Mr Maskey's tweet as the latest instalment in a series of incidents which undermine Sinn Fein's 'respect' agenda.

Gerry Kelly being captured on camera last week removing a clamp from his car with bolt cutters illustrates Sinn Fein's attitude that it alone can break the rules, unionists say. UUP MLA Doug Beattie claimed that the republican party's "respect, rights and equality campaign" was "in shreds and their credibility as a partner in government is in tatters".

TUV leader Jim Allister said Mr Maskey's tweet proved that Sinn Fein was unfit to hold ministerial office at Stormont and called on the DUP to take note.

"There can be no more concessions to republicans who openly glory in their campaign of terror," he said.

The reality is that despite the noise following Mr Maskey's tweet, it will have no impact whatsoever on the current talks or the DUP's willingness to form a coalition government with Sinn Fein.

The West Belfast MLA's description of Northern Ireland as "a putrid little statelet" initially seems a far cry from Martin McGuinness's reconciliatory gestures over the years, especially in meeting - and so warmly greeting - the Queen.

Yet while Mr McGuinness's language was not so careless or crude as Mr Maskey's, it should be remembered that he certainly didn't disown the IRA campaign, and indeed spoke of it with pride.

Sinn Fein adopted an apologetic stance over Mr McElduff's tweet but the party's tone on Mr Maskey's appeared defiant. And while there was cross-community outrage at the Kingsmill video, there seems to be a markedly different response from nationalists on social media this time, with some arguing that the MLA was "telling the truth" about how life had been here.

Today, with Sinn Fein signed up to the Good Friday Agreement and policing, it's only dissident republicans who persist in seeing Northern Ireland as "a putrid little statelet".

But it's clear that unionists and nationalists continue to view the origins of the conflict very differently. The question is whether disagreement over the past ultimately prevents building a different future.
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Police check a mans bag at Postogola, one of the eight entry points to Dhaka, Feb. 6, 2018.

Bangladesh police have arrested about 1,700 people, including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activists, during a nationwide crackdown ahead of Thursdays scheduled verdict in a graft case involving opposition leader Khaleda Zia.

Zia, the BNP chairwoman and former prime minister who plans to run again in the 2019 election, could face five years in prison if she, along with her son and four others, are found guilty of misappropriating 21.7 million taka (about U.S. $260,000) from the Zia Orphanage Trust. A guilty verdict would disqualify Zia from seeking to oust Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her ruling Awami League party in next year's polls.

More than 700 people, mostly BNP activists, were arrested in Dhaka and other parts of the country Tuesday, police sources said. Over the previous six days, another 1,000 people had been arrested.

During a video conference, Inspector General of Police Javed Patwari instructed fellow officials to take all-out measures to maintain law and order at any cost.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) issued an indefinite ban on street protests in the capital, starting at 4 a.m. Thursday.

Police were arresting party members on false charges, BNP Joint Secretary General Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told reporters.

More than 1,200 leaders and activists of BNP have been arrested so far, he said during a news conference at the partys central office in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The law enforcement agencies are in a desperate drive against BNP to implement the desire of the prime minister on Thursday, he said. They have predetermined the verdict.

Awami League leaders, on the other hand, point at BNP for creating turmoil in the country as the verdict nears.

Why would we bring unrest in the country when we are in power?" Awami League General Secretary Obaidul Quader told reporters. But if BNP provokes anarchy and attacks police as they did few days ago, the law enforcement agencies will resist them.

Uncertainty in Bangladesh

Political analysts said they were worried about possible political turmoil.

This kind of unrest will not bring any good. The political confrontations should be resolved through dialogue, said Badiul Alam Majumder, general secretary of Shujan (Citizens for Good Governance), a civil society organization.

Awami League will not be able to eliminate BNP by force. At the same time BNP will not be able to eliminate the ruling party by force. So they will have to reach a political compromise, he said.

Students and teachers said they were anxious about the repercussions of Thursdays verdict.

Both parties are threatening each other. Police have been arresting enemies, said Anisul Islam, a teacher at a private university in Dhaka. It seems that the country will once again tumble down amid political chaos.

We are afraid, but our students are more anxious. They ask us whether regular class seminars will take place. We could not tell them anything, he said.

About 2 million students across Bangladesh are expected to take the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and equivalent examinations on Thursday.

Verdict aftermath

Last week, police officials issued an 18-point guideline for officers to prepare for the verdicts aftermath. In addition, eight checkpoints were set up on roads leading to the capital.

Meanwhile, Awami League-backed transportation companies and employees will guard bus terminals in Dhaka to keep BNP activists from entering the city.

Company employees will check passengers and limit the number of buses, according to Khandaker Enayet Ullah, general secretary of the National Road Transport Owners Association.

At least 20,000 transport workers will guard four bus terminals in the city, he told BenarNews.

DMP imposed a ban on processions or rallies and on carrying sharp weapons, explosives or flammable materials.

Police will conduct searches in every vehicle at all points of Dhaka, DMP Commissioner Assaduzzaman Mia said in a statement. It is essential to ensure discipline, peace and public safety in DMP areas.
Muslim protesters pray as they burn an effigy during an anti-LGBT rally in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Feb. 2, 2018.

The U.N.s human rights chief and parliamentarians from Southeast Asian countries on Wednesday called on Indonesia to refrain from fanning discrimination against LGBT people and others by dropping efforts to make sex outside of marriage and same-sex relationships unlawful.

Zeid Raad al-Hussein, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, issued a statement during a visit to Jakarta urging Indonesian lawmakers to not pass amendments to the countrys criminal code. He said these could make members of its LGBT community more vulnerable to discrimination amid an atmosphere of growing hostility.

At a time when it is consolidating its democratic gains, we urge Indonesians to move forward  not backwards  on human rights and resist attempts to introduce new forms of discrimination in law, Zeid said on the final day of his three-day trip to Indonesias capital.

LGBT Indonesians already face increasing stigma, threats and intimidation. The hateful rhetoric against this community that is being cultivated seemingly for cynical purposes will only deepen their suffering and create unnecessary divisions, he said, noting that the amendments would effectively criminalize large sections of the poor and marginalized.

In response, a government official said Indonesia would punish LGBT behavior, not the people themselves.

Indonesia has its own culture and beliefs that promoting LGBT publically cannot be accepted, kompas.com, an Indonesian news website, quoted Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly as saying.

Meanwhile, the ASEAN Parliamentarian for Human Rights (APHR), which describes itself as an organization of parliamentarians and influential people from member-states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the legislative amendments being debated in Indonesia went against freedom. Indonesia is one of 10 ASEAN members and one of the 50-year-old blocs founders.

These amendments are a blatant violation of all Indonesians right to privacy and their fundamental liberties. It is extremely worrying that private affairs between two consenting, law-abiding adults could very soon be opened to government interference and scrutiny, board member Teddy Baguilat of the Philippines said in a statement issued by APHR.

If passed, these changes to the Criminal Code will reinforce existing prejudices and discrimination faced by an already vulnerable community in Indonesia, and legitimize ongoing bullying, homophobic violence, and police abuse, he added.

The group noted that support for the changes comes at a time of growing religious extremism in Indonesia.

In January, Aceh police arrested 12 transgender people following raids of five salons, cut their hair, ordered them to roll on the ground, run and chant loudly to bring out their male voices. Islamic Sharia law is in force in Aceh, Indonesias most religiously conservative province.

Indonesian rights activist Hartoyo, who goes by one name, said Zeids statement affirmed his belief that anti-LGBT discrimination in Indonesia was something to be concerned about.

This issue has become an international concern. This is the challenge of this nation, that there is discrimination and violence against LGBT community, and there should be protections for this group, he told BenarNews.

Anti-LGBT sentiment growing: polls

Zeid, the U.N. rights chief, discussed his concerns about the LGBT community on Tuesday when he met with President Joko Jokowi Widodo, who is likely to seek re-election in 2019. In 2016, the president declared there should be no discrimination against anyone and that police needed to stop groups or individuals who sought to harm members of the LGBT community.

Most of the country sees the LGBT community as a threat, according to a recent survey by a Jakarta-based firm, Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting.

A September 2017 survey showed 85.4 percent of the nation felt threatened by LGBT people  a figure that increased to 87.6 percent three months later. Additionally, 79.1 percent of respondents objected to having LGBT neighbors.

The majority of citizens also object if LGBT become government officials, such as mayors, governors, or president, SMRC Director Ade Armando said in a news release posted on the firms website.

Despite those concerns, 57.7 percent of Indonesians believed that LGBT members had rights and about 50 percent of the public believed the government was obligated to protect them, according to the survey.
An Indonesian court convicted and sentenced a militant linked to the Islamic State (IS) to 10 years in prison Tuesday for smuggling handguns from the Philippines and being involved in funding terrorism and plotting attacks in Indonesia.

Suryadi Masud (alias Abu Ridho), 45, a member of pro-IS Indonesian extremist group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), had purchased firearms in the Philippines for terrorist acts in his home country, chief judge Machri Hendra, who led a three-judge panel, told the West Jakarta District Court.

What the defendant did has created public fear, the judge said. On top of the 10-year sentence, the court ordered Suryadi to pay a fine of 50 million rupiah (about U.S. $3,690).

The defendant reacted to the verdict with a smile, then walked toward reporters who were clustered at the back of the courtroom, and said, You all have to abide by Allah and repent. We are nearing the apocalypse.

Suryadi then turned around, raised a finger and shouted Allahu Akbar [God is the greatest.]

I accept [the verdict], he told the judges.

His prison term matched the punishment sought by prosecutors.

Involved in 2002 bombing

The conviction is Suryadis third. In 2003, he was sentenced to eight years in prison for a bombing that killed three people and injured 11 at a McDonalds in Makassar, South Sulawesi province, the year before.

During his sentencing in that case, prosecutors said Suryadi had facilitated the travel of Indonesians to the southern Philippines and helped them join insurgents fighting the Manila government.

He was released in April 2009 and arrested in 2010 by Densus 88, the Indonesian police anti-terror unit, for his alleged involvement in paramilitary training for the terrorist group Jamaah Islamiyah, the forerunner of JAD, in Aceh province. He was released in 2014.

In March 2017, Densus 88 arrested Suryadi in West Java for allegedly smuggling firearms from the southern Philippines into Indonesia.

The court said it had considered Suryadis previous crimes before handing down his latest sentence.

The defendant has not shown any remorse, judge Machri said.

Suryadi fought alongside the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel group against Philippine security forces from 1996 to 2000, court documents said.

Suryadi paid Muslim rebels in the southern Philippines about $30,000 for 18 assault rifles and five handguns, but was able to smuggle only five handguns into Indonesia through North Sulawesi, prosecutors said.

His lawyer, Faris, who uses one name, told BenarNews his client did not plan to appeal.

Although we did not get justice, all is back to the defendant, who already accepted the ruling, he said.

Indonesian police have blamed JAD as the group responsible for a terrorist attack in central Jakarta that left eight people dead, including four perpetrators, in January 2016, in the first terror act claimed by IS in Southeast Asia.

Last year, as many as 156 suspected terrorists were caught in Indonesia and another 16 were shot and killed during police raids. Of those arrested, 76 people, including Suryadi, were put on trial and 10 were convicted, as of the end of December.
An Afghani refugee acts in a scene from Screaming in Silence, a play staged at the Damansara Performing Arts Center, near Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 3, 2018.

Two plays performed near Kuala Lumpur this month, including a retelling of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, offered a new twist at looking at staged dramas: both were directed and acted by casts of refugees from war-torn and strife-ridden countries.

The twin-billed Romeo and Juliet 2000+ and Screaming in Silence, which featured performances by people who had fled upheavals in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and other places, were presented at the Damansara Performing Arts Center (DPAC) in Petaling Jaya, Selangor on Feb. 1-3, according to organizers of the plays.

The real-life refugees behind these plays who are sheltering in Malaysia belong to the Theatrefugee and Parastoo troupes. These seek to give playgoers an appreciation for the plight of people affected by conflict and to give refugees an opportunity to express themselves through the medium of dramatic arts, production managers said.

Im still going through some challenges but Ive decided to channel my energy into something more positive in art, culture and society, Saleh Sepas, a 35-year-old theater director from Afghanistan who directed Screaming in Silence, told BenarNews.

The refugee-run theater companies receive management and production support from the Geutanyoe Foundation, a humanitarian charity that was established in Aceh, Indonesia in 1999.

The two productions were funded through a seed grant from the Malaysian office of the U.N.s refugee agency, UNHCR, as well as public donations to Theatrefugee and Parastoo funneled by the Geutanyoe Foundation. Proceeds from the performances will fund programs to support Rohingya women and other projects backed by Theatrefugee.

The Queen consort of the Malaysian state of Johore, Raja Zarith Sofiah, donated 100 tickets to refugees in Malaysia so they could attend the plays.

Geutanyoe Foundation is proud to work with these two talented refugee theater troupes as part of our refugee arts program. The directors are highly professional and the actors are very hardworking and talented, Lilianne Fan, Geutanyoes co-founder, told BenarNews.

The productions of the two plays debunked a dominant perception that refugees are always helpless victims, Fan said.

A scene from Romeo and Juliet 2000+, played by refugees at the Damansara Performing Arts Center near Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 3, 2018. Courtesy of the Geutanyoe Foundation

Death could take you at any moment

Sepas, who is from Kabul, said he and his family were forced to escape from Afghanistan and come to Malaysia in 2016 after the Taliban had threatened them. The journey was not easy, he said.

Screaming in Silence, an original play that Sepas also wrote, explores the tragic tale of a 12-year-old Afghan girl forced by her father into marriage to an older man as a result of a gambling debt.

The play ends with the protagonist running away only to realize that the very institutions responsible for enforcing the law have failed to protect her rights.

Life as a refugee is a frustrating and depressing one, according to Sepas, but he said he hoped his plays could provide an outlet for refugees to reflect on their experiences, as well as be entertained while entertaining others.

As of December 2017, more than 152,000 refugees and asylum-seekers were registered with UNHCR in Malaysia. More than 133,000 were from Myanmar, officials said.

Despite the number of refugees and immigrants, the stage directors said they were having difficulty casting the right actresses to play certain roles.

I have been trying hard to choose actresses among Afghan women and girls. It was hard because nobody had a strong desire for theater and my actors had no prior knowledge of the principle of acting and theater, Sepas said.

Romeo and Juliet 2000+ was directed by Omar Alkhammash, a 19-year-old artist and refugee from Syria.

Alkhammash, a professional musician, said he learned to play the oud, a pear-shaped Middle Eastern stringed instrument, and piano when he was nine years old. He began performing around Syria when he was 15.

The first theater production he was involved in co-directing was at the Syrian Private University in 2012, following the killings of several students there. It was at university where he fell in love with the power of theater to communicate messages in a pure and inspiring way.



The Syrian war, Alkhammash said, molded his experience of being alive.

When you live in war, with the constant threat of being killed, at some point you dont care anymore about whether you will live or die, Alkhammash, the creative director of Theatrefugee, told BenarNews. What you care about is how you live until you die because death could come and take you at any moment.
A series of gun battles between troops and communist rebels in the southern Philippines killed a soldier and two civilians this week amid a crackdown ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte, the military said Wednesday.



The soldier who died, Roger Badayos, was with a unit responding to a report that guerrillas with the communist New Peoples Army (NPA) were massing in a remote village near Butuan City, in the countrys far south, said Capt. Anthony Pueblas, spokesman for the 402 Infantry Brigade.



The encounter happened around noon Monday as our troops approached the village, Pueblas said.



The rebels appear to be encroaching increasingly on communities around Butuan City, in what could be a tactical move to surround the urban center, he said.



The encounter was the second one on Monday involving NPA guerrillas. Troops also clashed with a rebel unit near the town of Kitcharao in nearby Agusan del Norte province.



On Sunday, suspected NPA members ambushed and killed a father and son who had attended a peace and development meeting hosted by President Duterte at a military camp in southern Davao city last week, officials said.



The two were among several members of an indigenous tribe who had expressed support to Dutertes call for them to distance themselves [from] the NPA.



The military has said that about 60 to 80 percent of NPA cadres in parts of surrounding Mindanao island belong to indigenous tribes. Those who support the government are increasingly being attacked by the rebels, it said.



The latest incidents came days after the government announced the capture of top NPA cadre Rafael Baylosis and his aide, Guillermo Roque, near Manila last week. Baylosis is believed to be the head of the NPA, the armed unit of the underground Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), which has been waging a rebellion since 1969.



Duterte, a self-described leftist and one-time student of Communist Party founder Jose Maria Sison launched peace talks with the groups shortly after winning the presidency in 2016.



But late last year, he terminated the talks and declared both the CPP and NPA terrorist organizations. Duterte accused the communist rebels of insincerity in negotiations by attacking government positions despite a ceasefire agreement.
A Philippine court issued arrest warrants Wednesday for three police officers over the killing of a 17-year-old student in a raid last year that was part of President Rodrigo Dutertes drug war, which has left thousands dead.



Police would arrest the accused officers, Arnel Oares, Jerwin Cruz and Jeremias Pareda, and send them to jail as soon as they received the courts orders, National Police spokesman Chief Supt. John Bulalacao said.



They will be transferred. We will comply with the arrest order, Bulalacao said.



The three policemen would become the first Philippine officers facing potential murder charges under the Duterte administrations controversial crackdown on illegal narcotics.



The three are accused of killing student Kian Loyd delos Santos after an informant erroneously identified the boy as a drug pusher. The warrants were issued by a regional trial court in Manilas northern suburb of Caloocan City, where the incident happened.



The three officers are currently on restricted duty at the regional headquarters south of Manila.



Witnesses had described seeing them dragging delos Santos away and finding his body near a pigsty, contradicting the official police version that the boy had provoked a fatal shootout by pulling a gun on the officers.



News of delos Santos death led to widespread public anger led by the Catholic Church, which turned his funeral march into a protest action to denounce Dutertes drug war. According to police, 4,014 suspects were killed in counter-narcotics operations between June 2016, when Duterte took office, and December 2017. But international and local rights groups have put the death toll at about three times that number.



Following the death of delos Santos, two other teenagers were allegedly killed by police in similar circumstances, putting further pressure on Dutertes government.



Mounting public anger subsequently forced the president to remove the police from a frontline role in the anti-drug operations. Rights groups had hailed the decision, only to see Duterte reinstating the national police in December.



Rights groups also expressed apprehension over the arrest warrants, pointing to how Duterte previously told police officers on several occasions that they had nothing to fear because they were only carrying out his orders. He had vowed to pardon officers who would be convicted.



Last week, church officials called on the national police to do away with theatrics and urged the department instead to stop the bloodletting.



They need not exaggerate it, the official news service of the Philippine church quoted Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, vice president of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, as saying.



This came after the police in eastern Manila said they would carry out their anti-drug raids with rosaries and bibles, in hopes that if suspects saw officers carrying those religious items, they would surrender peacefully.



Instead of publicity stunts, the church said, the police should strictly adhere to standard operating guidelines and arrest suspects, instead of gunning them down.



Felipe Villamor in Manila contributed to this report.
Bowling Green State University Associate Professor Timothy Davis will serve as a national expert at upcoming harmful algal bloom (HAB) summits in New York. The summits are part of Gov. Andrew Cuomos recent announcement of a large-scale initiative to combat cyanobacterial HABs in upstate New York lakes.

The $65 million, four-point initiative will focus on 12 priority lakes vulnerable to HABs that are critical sources of drinking water and vital to tourism. The proposal includes the convening of four regional summits to bring together nation-leading experts and local stakeholders for each lake. Along with the states Water Quality Rapid Response Team, the participants will develop action plans to identify contributing factors impacting HABs.

Davis will participate in summits in Syracuse and Ticonderoga.

I am honored to have been invited to participate in these summits, Davis said. I hope that I can assist the state of New York in developing a comprehensive action plan to combat HABs by bringing my background in studying these events in Lake Erie and other large lakes around the globe.

Davis joined the BGSU Department of Biological Sciences in August. He has spent the last 11 years studying the ecology of harmful algal blooms. During the course of his research, Davis looked at understanding the environmental drivers of HABs in several lakes throughout the Northeast, including Lake Erie and Lake Champlain. He also studied the ecology of the toxic HABs that occur in drinking water reservoirs that serve Greater Brisbane, Australia, which has a population of 2.3 million people.

He completed additional research on water quality and harmful algal bloom issues in Lake Erie, Lake Ontario, Lake Huron and Lake Winnipeg while at the Canada Centre for Inland Waters, part of Environment and Climate Change Canada. In 2014, he joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he led GLERL's HAB monitoring and research program, which supports critical NOAA HAB forecasting products.

Davis was also recently appointed to the EPAs Board of Scientific Counselors, a federal advisory committee that provides advice, information and recommendations to the EPAs Office of Research and Development on its research programs.
Existing investor Orbimed, which had invested Rs 100 crore in AIMS in 2014, will continue to hold its stake post the transaction.

Super-specialty hospital Asian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) has raised $21 million (Rs 139 crore) from UKs development finance institution CDC Group Plc in a fresh round of funding. Existing investor Orbimed, which had invested Rs 100 crore in AIMS in 2014, will continue to hold its stake post the transaction.

CDC's long-term investment will support the hospital's five-year expansion into small towns in Jharkhand, Bihar and UP, where it will add 1,000 beds at the new and existing multi-specialty facilities. This expansion will create around 2,000 new jobs and deliver training and improved skills for nursing and paramedic staff in these cities.

The CDC Group, wholly-owned by the British government, invests in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia with the aim of supporting economic development to create jobs. CDC has been actively investing in Indias healthcare space. Earlier in 2013, it invested in Hyderabad-based Rainbow Hospitals, which primarily focuses on paediatric and maternal care. Subsequently in 2015, it invested in another hospital chain Narayana Health, which went on to float an initial public offering (IPO) in 2016.
The new Thermo Scientific inSPIRE vertical modular robotic platform is designed to integrate multiple instruments in an easy-to-use, space-saving solution

Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, announced new laboratory automation technologies designed to streamline workflows, optimize productivity, and speed time to results.

The new solutions are on display this week at the 2018 Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) conference, Booth 1105, San Diego Convention Center, California.

The new Thermo Scientific inSPIRE vertical modular robotic platform is designed to integrate multiple instruments in an easy-to-use, space-saving solution.

It provides intuitive control of all integrated systems, both online and offline, and uses the Thermo Scientific Spinnaker XT robot.

As a microplate mover with built-in vision capability, Spinnaker XT can identify potential positional issues and take corrective actions to improve sample safety without interrupting the systems operation.

The platform operates on Thermo Scientific Momentum software, which enables users to define, execute and monitor multiple workflows through a simple yet powerful interface.

Designed to address the high throughput needs of pharmaceutical and biotechnology laboratories, the Thermo Scientific Cytomat SkyLine microplate storage and sequential delivery device can hold up to 728 microplates and/or lids in 14-stackers.

Providing rapid plate access in less than 12 seconds, its built-in plate sequencer is designed to allow for the safe separation and precise centering of labware for optimal transfer placement.

Following use, plates can be loaded back into the system and stored at ambient conditions, eliminating the need for any additional storage.

With laboratory space at a premium, an optional plate lift device enables up to 150 mm of transfer position range, allowing flexible placement of the Cytomat SkyLine in laboratory automation systems.

For researchers looking to optimize results and accelerate throughput using less time and budget as is needed to develop and program customized systems, Thermo Fisher is introducing a series of automated turnkey workflow-based solutions.

The first in a series of systems is a cell-free DNA (cfDNA) extraction device, which combines the Thermo Scientific Spinnaker robot, Thermo Scientific KingFisher Presto purification system and MagMAX Cell-Free DNA Isolation Kit with Analytik Jenas CyBio FeliX liquid handling system.

Leveraging Thermo Fishers genomics expertise, this end-to-end solution is easily configurable and expandable, offering a complete sample-to-knowledge workflow for next generation sequencing (NGS), reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and capillary electrophoresis (CE) sequencing applications.

In conjunction with industry and company experts, Thermo Fisher will also host educational tutorials to highlight the latest scientific developments, innovations and applications.
South San Francisco city is known as a global biotech hub that houses companies like Genentech, Merck and Johnson & Johnson.

The city council of South San Francisco city represented by IIT-M alumnus Dr Pradeep Gupta has proposed a collaboration between the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC), a multidisciplinary research and development centre at IIT-M, and life sciences firms in South San Francisco involved in cutting edge research in disciplines ranging from oncology to neurodegenerative diseases.

South San Francisco city is known as a global biotech hub that houses companies like Genentech, Merck and Johnson & Johnson. The collaboration would be between three categories of companies and the university  startups, mid-sized companies looking to outsource R&D projects and bigger companies which require a fresh a pipeline of drugs and technology.

Dr. Pradeep Gupta, who served as the Mayor of South San Francisco city in 2017 is also keen for HTIC to sign MoUs with earlystage Google-funded startups like Verily and Calico, apart from traditional drug manufacturers looking to revive their product lines.
An independent review is to draw up proposals to ensure the survival of Britain's free press and tackle the growth of "clickbait" news online.

The review was launched by Theresa May in a speech in Manchester, in which she described the free press as "one of the foundations on which our democracy is built" and declared: "It must be preserved."

The closure of hundreds of newspaper titles across the UK in recent years was "dangerous for our democracy" because of the risk that voters will turn to "untrustworthy" sources for the information on which to form their views, said the Prime Minister.

The review will examine how the press is adapting to the new digital marketplace, including the role and impact of online platforms like Facebook and Google.

It will look at whether the journalistic organisations writing online content are getting a big enough slice of the income from online advertising in return.

And it will consider action to remove the commercial incentives driving the proliferation of "clickbait" stories, whose carefully crafted headlines attract large numbers of internet users to material of little or no journalistic value.

Culture Secretary Matt Hancock said a key focus of the review would be the regional and local press, after studies showed that two-thirds of local authority areas have no local newspaper.

The aim will be to ensure that the UK has "a vibrant, independent and plural free press", he said.

Mrs May said the development of digital media has had a "profound impact" on the newspaper industry.

Recent estimates suggest that the press earns only around 15 a year from each user of digital media, compared with 124 for those still reading print.

"Good quality journalism provides us with the information and analysis we need to inform our viewpoints and conduct a genuine discussion," said the Prime Minister. "It is a huge force for good.

"But in recent years, especially in local journalism, we've seen falling circulations, a hollowing-out of local newsrooms and fears for the future sustainability of high-quality journalism."

The closure of more than 200 local papers since 2005 was "dangerous for our democracy", said Mrs May.

She warned: "When trusted and credible news sources decline, we can become vulnerable to news which is untrustworthy."

The new review will look at different business models for high-quality journalism in national, regional and local press, and will recommend possible Government or industry action to improve the sustainability of the press.

An expert panel will be appointed within the next few months, with the aim of producing a report early in 2019.

The chairman of the News Media Association, David Dinsmore, welcomed the announcement.

"This review acknowledges the importance of journalism in a democratic society, the vital role that the press takes in holding the powerful to account and producing verified news which informs the public," said Mr Dinsmore.

"Viable business models must be found that ensure a wide variety of media are able to have a long and healthy future.

"Through digital platforms, news content is more widely consumed than ever before but the revenues to sustain the investment in that quality content are challenged. This review on a sustainable future is very welcome."

- PA
Vodafone Ireland, in partnership with Ericsson, have today announced Irelands first successful live demonstration of pre-standard 5G technology in Ireland.

In an event at the Douglas Hyde Gallery at Trinity College, Vodafone Ireland and Ericsson achieved 15 Gigabit per second speeds with a latency of less than five milliseconds, demonstrating 5G speeds of the future.

Vodafone also tested pre-standard 5G across Vodafones recently acquired 3.6GHz spectrum.

The event showcased real-life customer applications ranging from remote experts and augmented reality to high speed, low latency, immersive gaming.

5G technology allows a vast array of services delivered in a super-fast and efficient manner simultaneously.

Some of the use cases that 5G will gradually enable over time include:

- driving super-high speed broadband and media: supporting increasing traffic demands from video services and interactive applications e.g. 4K streaming, video analytics and holograms;

- connecting massive numbers of devices: the exponential growth of connected IoT devices is driving more and more use cases, such as smart vehicles (from asset tracking and remote monitoring to Vehicle to Everything), with the next generation network needing to provide a reliable response to billions of devices;

- providing faster, secure, reliable and robust connectivity which is essential to delivering mission-critical services such as real-time video surveillance, self-driving cars, eHealth remote surgery and remote patient monitoring; and

- providing ultra-low latency for human-machine interaction: supporting real-time response requirements for allowing virtual reality, augmented reality and real-time control of robotics.

The launch event in Dublin showcased what customers and businesses can expect from 5G through demonstration of future technology.

Madalina Suceveanu, Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Ireland said: This first successful trial of pre-standard 5G is an essential step forward in achieving our vision of a Gigabit Society for Ireland.

"As our network evolves toward 5G it will become even faster and more resilient, will have significantly lower latency, and will allow a huge number of devices to connect simultaneously.

Vodafone Irelands path to 5G will build on the great foundation of our advanced 4G network and will enhance and complement our recently launched NB-IoT network that will support the growth of the Internet of Things.

We are committed to continuing to prioritise our network investment across both advanced 4G and 5G platforms, ensuring all our customers will have seamless connectivity to suit their individual digital needs as well as enabling businesses to be more agile.

John Griffin, Managing Director of Ericsson Ireland: Were proud to be working with Vodafone to showcase pre-standard 5G technology in Ireland for the first time.

"5G, with its many and new attributes, will offer a raft of benefits both for consumers and businesses, that will enhance lives and bring to life new and exciting use cases for industries and society.

"Through these trials, Vodafone can evaluate 5G technology and its opportunities to provide better services to consumers and businesses prior to the commercial deployment of 5G. In addition, these trials will provide us with insights about what use cases will benefit from 5G in the future.
Update 6.54pm: A number of children are reported to have suffered skin rashes and illness due to unsafe chlorine levels in water supplies in County Meath.

Around 1,000 households are affected in the Kilcloon area near Dunboyne.

Meath East TD Thomas Byrne says some of his constituents raised concerns last Sunday, but Irish Water only issued a warning today.

They had reported chemical burns, which arise in the form of rashes, children getting sick and going to the doctor, because of that.

In one case, an adult was reported as having got sick.

Original story (5.43pm): 1,000 Meath households warned of unsafe water supply

Around 1,000 households in south County Meath have been warned that their water supplies have unsafe levels of chlorine.

The problem has occurred in the Kilcloon area, near Dunboyne.

Irish Water customers are being told not to drink, wash or use their water for food preparation.

The utility says its currently flushing out the network in order to make the supply safe again.

Bottled water is being made available to customers in the area.

Customers are being told to run taps and flush toilets to get rid of the chlorinated water in homes.
An Aer Lingus worker has been jailed for four years for helping to smuggle people through Dublin Airport.

Frederick Cham from Railway Cottages, Hazelhatch in Co Kildare pleaded guilty to charges relating to the illegal entry of seven people into the country.
By Ann O'Loughlin

A High Court finding that a farmer is entitled to 120 acres of land belonging to a man who turned out to be his biological father has been upheld by the Court of Appeal.

However, the three-judge court set aside a High Court finding that William Naylor should receive a bequest of 150,000 left to him by the late Michael Hoare who died in 2007 aged 82.

In proceedings that ran for 21 days before the High Court in 2012, Mr Naylor sued his sister Mrs Jean Maher who was the executrix of Mr Hoare's estate, seeking to have a will executed by Mr Hoare set aside.

In that will Mr Hoare left Mrs Maher, who had cared for the deceased in his latter years, the farm at Derrylahan, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, while Mr Naylor was to receive 150,000.

That 2006 will replaced one made a year earlier in which Mr Hoare left the land to Mr Naylor.

Mr Naylor who is aged in his early 60s, claimed he was promised the farm, which he had lived and worked on for more than 30 years, by Mr Hoare, who he only discovered was his biological father after his death.

The court heard that Mr Hoare married Mr Naylor's mother in the 1980s. He had always believed another man - his mother's first husband - was his father.

Mrs Maher of The Crescent, Townsend Street, Birr, Co Offaly opposed the claim.

In a lengthy judgment delivered in 2012, Mr Justice Daniel OKeeffe ruled that Mr Naylor of Lelagh, Rathcabbin, Derrylahan, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, but originally from Birr in Co Offaly had established a legal claim and was entitled to the lands at Derrylahan, as well as the money left to him in the 2006 will.

The Judge said for many years Mr Naylor was entitled to the land as he worked the farm for minimal remuneration, and Mr Hoare had promised him on many occasions that he would leave him the property.

Mr Naylor, who was a truthful witness, returned from Dublin in the early 1970s to work the farm at the expressed wishes of Mr Hoare. The Judge also accepted the evidence of other witnesses that Mr Hoare had promised Mr Naylor the land.

The Judge found Mr Naylor had "failed to establish his claim that the 2006 will was procured by duress and undue influence by Mrs Maher", and dismissed his claims in that regard.

He also awarded Mr Naylor his legal costs from the lengthy hearing.

Ms Maher appealed some of those findings to the Court of Appeal, on grounds including the trial judge had erred in deciding her brother's claim should have been satisfied by the transfer of lands to him, and that he was entitled to his legal costs.

In her appeal it was argued the High Court should have ordered Mr Naylor be compensated with a sum of money sufficient to repay him the amount he lost when he moved back from Dublin to assist his father on the farm. Evidence was given that 163,000 represented his loss.

Mr Naylor opposed the appeal, and argued the High Court decision should remain undisturbed.

In its judgement the court, comprised of the President Mr Justice Sean Ryan, Mr Justice Michael Peart and Mr Justice Gerard Hogan, unanimously held Mr Naylor was entitled to the land based on the promises that were made to him.

Giving the court's decision Mr Justice Michael Peart said it disagreed with the High Court's finding that he was also entitled to the 150,000 bequeathed to him in the 2006 will.

The court found the 150,000 bequeathed to him in the 2006 will was intended as substitution for the lands. The earlier will did not contain such a bequeath.

"To do justice between the parties" in "these unusual circumstances" the Judge said the court was ordering that Mr Naylor should receive the lands after he executes a disclaimer in the 150,000 left to him in the 2006 will.

Any other conclusion would be "unduly severe" the judge said.

Mr Naylor was entitled to 75% of his legal costs, and not all as the High Court had ruled, because he was not successful in all arguments he had raised which had taken up some time at the hearing of the dispute at High Court, Mr Justice Peart added.
Update 2.52pm: An Oireachtas committee has thrown out a petition to remove a statue of Prince Albert from the grounds of Leinster House.

Part of the decision was the fact the Dail doesn't actually own the statue.

The Petitions Committee also said the artistic work should be appreciated despite the subject, after claims it was a relic of colonialism.

Committee Chair Sean Sherlock said you don't need to tear out the pages of history to turn them over.

It is the view of this committee that the statue should absolutely and utterly remain, said Sherlock.

We are saying, from a technical point of view, that the petition is deemed inadmissible because its seeking to ask us to do something that we do not have the power to do.

Update 12.10pm: Taoiseach has 'no objection' to Prince Albert statue

The Taoiseach says he doesnt know what all the fuss is about over the Prince Albert Statue.

A member of the public wants it removed from the grounds of Leinster House amid claims its a symbol of British rule.

An Oireachtas Petitions Committee will discuss the matter today.

But Leo Varadkar does not think it is an issue.

He said: "I have no objection to Prince Albert being on Leinster lawn, I think it is part of our history.

"I have no problem with the statue quite frankly, it has been there for a hundred years, I don't know what the fuss is about."

Earlier: Calls for statue of Prince Albert to be removed from grounds of Leinster House

Dublin City Councillor is calling for a statue of Prince Albert on the grounds of Leinster House to be put in a museum.

An Oireachtas Petitions Committee is set to discuss the matter later today.

A member of the public asked for it to be removed, claiming that it is a symbol of British rule.

Independent Councillor Mannix Flynn believes that it should be moved from its current position.

"I believe it should be removed, but I don't believe it should be removed entirely out of public view, I think it should be consigned to the Collins' Barracks," he said.

"It should be put on display there as an example of such memorialisation.

"Don't forget that the person who created this piece, Mr [John Henry] Foley, was from Montgomery Street in north inner city Dublin [since renamed Foley Street], so he's an Irish artist. It is a worthy work."

- Digital desk
Update 10.28pm: The debate on the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill has heard a call for the closures of the bars in Leinster House.

The legislation includes minimum unit pricing, a ban on sports sponsorship and restrictions on off-license sales.

Michael Collins from the Rural Independent group said he agreed with the aim of the bill but said the measures go too far.

He believes politicians should instead be setting an example.

We talk about road traffic and we talk about the Alcohol Bill, and weve two bars inside here, he said.

What kind of a message is that sending to the people of this country?

What are we doing? Were supposed to be in here doing our work. We dont need Dail bars. If you were serious about tackling the drink, start at home.

Original story (9.41pm): Concerns raised over labelling regulations in Alcohol Bill

Concerns have been raised that new labelling regulations in the Public Health (Alcohol) Bill may end up in conflict with EU rules.

The Dail's continuing its debate on the legislation, which makes it mandatory to include health warnings on the labels of alcoholic drinks.

Labour's Alan Kelly says he agrees with the idea of health warnings.

However, he's warned that the EU is also considering such measures, and Irish law may end up out of sync with Europe.

I'm not sure if this will actually cut the mustard when it comes to European law.

I know we have a process to go through, we have a pre-warning for six months and I just want to make sure that, one way or the other, labelling will be in place, and if not through this, at a European level.
There are concerns that injured patients in rural areas could end up with inferior care if new trauma centres go ahead.

The Government is looking to centralise services by establishing one centre in Cork and one in Dublin.
By Ann O'Loughlin

A 23-year-old university student claims his constitutional rights were breached after he was evicted from his parent's home by the Cork County Sheriff on foot of an order obtained by KBC bank.

UCC student Jack Kelleher claims his rights were breached after he was evicted from the family home he shared all his life at Bridgewater, Carrigrohane, Co Cork on January 24 last.

The house was repossessed on foot of an order obtained at the Circuit Court in 2016 by KBC bank against his parents John and Catherine Kelleher.

Mr Kelleher claims the house was repossessed after a group of 15 people called to the property.

In a sworn statement to the court Mr Kelleher said he was stunned, shocked and traumatised by the eviction.

He claims the orders obtained from the Circuit Court cannot be used to evict him.

He says he should have been named on the order or at least the orders should have stated they could be used against all occupiers of the property.

He also claims he was not a party to the Circuit Court action and his rights to a home were not considered when the case was before that court.

At the High Court, Gary Fitzgerald Bl for Mr Kelleher said his client was aware his parents had financial difficulties but was never told about letters from the Sheriff about an eviction.

He said he and his family were given 28 days by representatives of KBC to remove their possessions from the house or they would be destroyed.

Prior to the eviction the marriage of Mr Kelleher's parents had broken up. Counsel said Mr Kelleher, his brothers and their mother are now living in Macroom, which has caused them some hardship.

In proceedings against both KBC Bank Ireland PlC, and the Cork County Sheriff Mr Kelleher yesterday asked the High Court for a temporary injunction allowing him back into the property.

Counsel said his client's case was the repossession order from the Circuit Court cannot be used to evict him from his home.

As part of his action, Counsel said Mr Kelleher will be seeking declarations the repossession order and execution orders can only lawfully interfere with the right to a home of individuals named on the face of the orders.

He further seeks damages for breaches of his constitutional right to the inviolability of the dwelling under Article 40.5 and breaches of his rights under Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights.

In her ruling Mr Justice Carmel Stewart said she was not prepared to grant a temporary injunction in the matter, but did grant Mr Kelleher's lawyers permission to serve short notice of the proceedings on KBC and the Sherriff.

During the course of submissions the judge questioned if the application had the appearance of "a rear guard attack" on the Circuit Court order.

This was rejected by Counsel for Mr Kelleher.

The matter will return before the court next week.
By Ann O'Loughlin

The High Court has adjourned an application by joint receivers for possession of 31 apartments in Dublin.

The receivers Luke Charleton and Andrew Collier of EY and Promontoria (Aran) Ltd (PAL) claim there has been interference with the properties located at North Circular Road Dublin, St Clements Road and Upper St Bridget's Road which are all in Dublin 7 by the owner businessman Sean Mackin.

The plaintiffs allege the owner has leased out all of the units for a total of just 3,000 per month, which they claim is about 15% of their estimated rental value.

The properties have been leased to two persons the receivers have had difficulties making contact with.

As a result they have brought proceedings, where they seek various orders including injunctions restraining Mr Mackin with an address Cullyhanna, Newry, Co Armagh from interfering with the the receivership, and that he hand over possession of the properties to the receivers.

Mr Mackin has opposed the applications, which came before the High Court today.

The plaintiffs have also brought proceedings against the two persons who have entered into the lease agreement with the owner Mr Thierry Mangione, who resides at one of the apartments on the North Circular Road and a Ms Eulalia St Maria whose whereabouts are unknown.

Seeking the injunctions Kelly Smith Bl for the plaintiffs said the receivers were appointed by Promontoria, which acquired loans advanced to Mr Mackin by Ulster Bank, in 2014.

The fund made a demand on Mr Mackin for repayment of 17m allegedly owed, which it says was not satisfied. The receivers were appointed over the properties in May 2016.

Counsel said there were a number of "curiosities" about the case.

One was that Mr Mackin without the consent of either Ulster Bank or PAL had in 2016 entered into a letting agreement in respect of the properties, which they say he was not allegedly entitled to do.

Under that agreement all 31 units were let to Mr Mangione and Ms Santa Maria for a total of 3,000 per month, which counsel said was well below its full value.

Counsel said it appeared Mr Mackin seemed to be supporting a leasing agreement which on its face went against his interests.

Counsel, who said the lease agreement expired at the end of last month, said the rental income collected by the receivers went towards reducing Mr Mackin's debt to PAL.

Counsel said there had been difficulties reaching Mr Mangione, but he had e-mailed them looking for a copy of the court documents served on him in his native French.

It had been impossible to locate Ms Santa Maria. She had no on line presence and nobody at the units had heard of her, counsel added.

Counsel said Mr Mackin, who had not disputed the validity of the receivership, had only forwarded rent intermittently to the receivers.

The application for injunctions was adjourned by Ms Justice Carmel Stewart after she was informed by Gavin Ralston SC for Mr Mackin the tenants had applied to renew the tenancy agreement.

Some time was needed to put this renewal application on affidavit, counsel said adding that his client had made payments to the receivers.

The Judge, after voicing her concerns that no information about the purported renewal was given to either the court or the receivers in advance of the hearing, agreed to adjourn the case for two weeks.

The Judge also directed Mr Mackin's solicitors to provide lawyers for the receiver with contact details for the other defendants, including phone email and addresses.
The Dail has paid tribute to former Ceann Comhairle Seamus Pattison, who died at the age of 81 over the weekend.

Mr Pattison was the fifth-longest serving member of the Dail, having been a Labour TD for Carlow-Kilkenny for almost 50 years.
A deal to save powersharing at Stormont is achievable within the coming days, the Northern Ireland Secretary has said.

Karen Bradley said an agreement was by no means certain, but she expressed hope resolution between Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionists could be secured in the near future.

However, Mrs Bradley declined to outline specific details on the ongoing political negotiations in Belfast as she updated the House of Commons, insisting she did not want to jeopardise a successful outcome.

"An accommodation between the parties has not yet been reached, but there is no doubt as to the parties' collective commitment towards the restoration of devolution," said told MPs.

"I firmly believe that an agreement in the coming days, while not certain, is achievable and this remains my focus."

The North has been without a functioning administration for over a year after the last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded in a row over a botched green energy scheme.

That rift subsequently widened to take in long-running disputes over culture, social issues and legacy.

The current talks process has been characterised as a final opportunity to save the devolved institutions before the UK Government moves to introduce a form of Westminster direct rule.

The process involved all five main Stormont parties and the UK and Irish governments. Another round table engagement is scheduled for Thursday.

Civil servants have been running Stormont's public services during the impasse, however they are hamstrung by their inability to take major policy decisions.

With the pressing need for budget to be struck for the next financial year, if the latest talks bid fails, the UK government will face mounting pressure to introduce a form of Westminster direct rule to provide financial certainty.

During Northern Ireland questions in the Commons, the DUP's Nigel Dodds pressed Mrs Bradley to make a firm commitment that she would intervene to set a budget.

The Secretary of State declined to offer such a direct pledge, but she highlighted that her predecessor, James Brokenshire, had done something similar for the current year's budget.

Earlier, Tanaiste Simon Coveney also struck an optimistic note as he addressed a business conference in Co Louth.

"There remain challenges for the parties, but I remain convinced that an agreement can and will be reached," he said.

"I am convinced each of the parties want to see the devolved institutions in operation, but of course they must come to an accommodation for each other and that can't be forced on them.

"A new executive though is critical - for decision making in Northern Ireland, for the peace process and for ensuring that Northern Ireland's interests as a whole can be directly and effectively represented through the Brexit negotiations."
By Isabel Hayes and Declan Brennan

A disqualified truck driver who crossed onto the wrong side of the road, causing the death of a motorcyclist, has been jailed for ten months.

The victim, Slawomir Korytowski, was travelling with a group of four other motorcyclists to catch a ferry to Scotland when he swerved to avoid colliding with Patrick McArdle's truck at the quays in Dublin in July 2015.

Korytowski, a married father-of-two, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Patrick McArdle (48) of Forest Park, Drumintree, Co. Armagh pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to careless driving causing the death of Mr Korytowski at North Wall Quay in Dublin on July 3, 2015.

The court heard McArdle pulled out of a loading bay shortly after 7.20am and crossed briefly on to the wrong side of the road.

Judge Martin Nolan said that the deceased man probably panicked when he saw the oncoming lorry and applied the brakes forcefully. The victim was thrown from the bike and fell under the wheel of another lorry.

McArdle, who has six previous convictions, had been disqualified from driving for six years a year before the crash for drink-driving. He was disqualified for a further 10 years last year for more driving-related offences. That matter is under appeal, the court heard.

Sentencing McArdle, Judge Martin Nolan said this was a tragic accident but that there was no element of speed or recklessness in McArdle's driving. He said there was a misjudgment and that all of us were capable of misjudgments.

But, he said, the fact that McArdle should not have been lawfully driving was a severely aggravating factor. He said but for this he could consider a non-custodial sentence.

Noting that the maximum custodial penalty available to the court was two years, Judge Nolan jailed McArdle for ten months. He also banned McArdle from driving for six years.

Judge Nolan said he was aware that McArdle was remorseful and was in many ways a very good man who had worked all his life. He also noted McArdle's history alcohol problems.

Detective Sergeant Karl Murray told the court that Mr Korytowski, was travelling to Scotland for a motorbike holiday.

McArdle, a mechanic by trade who also worked as a casual truck driver, was waiting in a loading bay at North Wall Quay, Dublin for a colleague to arrive for a job. When the colleague arrived in his truck, he flashed at McArdle who then pulled out of his loading bay to follow his colleague but ended up driving alongside his truck in the oncoming lane.

McArdle was driving on the wrong side of the road for up to ten seconds, during which time he met the motorcyclists. Speed was not an issue for either party, the court heard.

McArdle was taken to the Mater Hospital and treated for shock. In an interview with gardai, he mistakenly believed that there was an element of speed on the part of Mr Korytowski and that he had been driving on the right side of the road.

When shown CCTV footage of the event, McArdle was taken aback by what he saw, the court heard. He told gardai: My heartfelt sorrow goes out to the man's wife and children. I did not intend for this to happen.

A victim impact statement from Mr Korytowski's wife was handed in to court, but not read out. It was described as heart-rending. The court heard that since her husband's death, she and their two children have moved back to Poland for family support.

Defence barrister Tony McGillicuddy BL, handed up a handwritten letter of apology from his client who he said was haunted by the events of that day.

He recognises the enormity of the consequences which has befallen the family of the deceased man, Mr McGillicuddy said.

The court heard McArdle, a separated father-of-five, has not worked since the incident and is on disability benefit.

A number of medical documents outlining his mental health issues were also handed into court. He was covered by insurance for the accident, the court heard.

He said McArdle had a lengthy work history and had driven trucks in Saudi Arabia and Scandinavia.

He prided himself as someone who had never touched another vehicle in his work life, Mr McGillicuddy said.
Gardai are warning people about the dangers of giving personal and financial details to third parties.

It's after a number of recently reported scams, one of which relates to so-called "vishing".

That's where a victim was contacted by someone purporting to be from their bank, saying there had been some suspicious transactions with their account.

The person was told to transfer money to places like Kenya and Nepal in order to get a refund.

Gardai are reminding people that banks and financial institutions will never phone or email to ask for any personal details.

Garda National Economic Crime Bureau Detective Chief Superintendent Patrick Lordan said, I want to highlight the fact that Banks and Financial Institutions will never telephone or email anyone to send or provide their personal details of bank cards, date of birth, address or other personal details.

Please disregard any such requests, as these criminals are seeking out your personal details, including some current scams where foreign nationals are receiving calls that there are issues with their visas and to forward finances to rectify the problem.

- Digital Desk
By Ann O'Loughlin

An action for damages by a "human cannonball" circus performer was dramatically withdrawn at the High Court.

Eight generation circus performer Juan Domingo Morales had sued for damages claiming he had been injured when he was propelled from a circus canon but fell short of the safety net in a big top performance in Monaghan ten years ago.

But just over an hour in to cross examination by the circus side and after Mr Justice Michael Hanna had given a short recess , Mr Morales withdrew his case.

The circus performer had earlier told the court how he is now scared of the cannnonball act and he did not have the same power after fracturing his right wrist in the 2008 accident.

Mr Morales was knocked unconscious and was in hospital for about six days after the accident at a circus in Clones, Co Monaghan.

"I got in and waited for the countdown from five. I missed the net and landed in the ring . I cant say what happened. I covered my head, after that I cant remember,"he said.He agreed he was propelled to the correct height but not to the correct distance and said it was like there was  a loss of airin the canon.

He told me Justice Michael Hanna: I have not done the human cannonball since. I am scared. I can't do half of what I was doing before."

Juan Domingo Morales, 35, from Tymon Drive, Tallaght, Co Dublin had sued John Courtney and Stephen Courtney the owners and operators of Circus Vegas and American Circus with registered offices at Earl Street, Longford town, Co Longford.

It was claimed on March 19, 2008 Mr Morales was at work wit the circus in Clones, Co Monaghan when during his performance the canon allegedly malfunctioned and-he was propelled causing him to miss the safety net and collide heavily with the metal ring of the performance area.

He claimed there was an alleged failure to provide equipment that was safe and free from defects and an alleged failure to maintain the equipment in a proper manner which would render it from defect.

The claims were denied and the circus contended Mr Morales was at all times engaged to perform as a human cannonball at circus performances. It contended Mr Morales was expressly required to inspect all equipment used in his performance on a daily basis and to ensure it was safe and fit for use.

On the day of the accident the circus contended Mr Morales inspected the canon and concluded it was safe for use.

The circus also contended there was contributory negligence on the part of Mr Morales in that he allegedly failed to take any or any adequate care for his own safety and allegedly failed to carry out a proper inspection of the canon before his performance.

Cross examined by David Nolan SC with Genieve Reid BL for the circus, Mr Morales agreed he fell from the wheel of death at a performance in the UK in 2012.

Counsel put it to him that he climbed on to a wheel of death which was up thirty feet when he was trying to make a case in court he had a problem with vertigo.

Mr Morales replied it was not thirty feet.

Counsel also put it to him he had been a "Spiderman" trapeze artist just months after the cannoball accident and a video of a circus performance was shown to the court where counsel said Mr Morales had no problems with his wrists.

Referring to the wheel of death accident in 2012, Mr Morales said it was because his hand did not respond.

Mr Justice Hanna put it to Mr Morales he was saying the wheel of death accident was because of his wrists failing. The judge asked would that not be a significant thing " if there was any substance to it" to have said it to his legal team in this action.

"If your wrists contributed to your near death fall ,wouldnt it be the first thing we would have heard about in the case," the judge said before giving a short recess.

When the court resumed after talks between the parties, Richard McDonnell SC for Mr Morales said the case could be withdrawn and struck out.
The defence team in the Regency Hotel murder trial is looking for email communications between four gardai involved in the case.

Patrick Hutch (aged 25) of Champions Avenue in Dublin 1 denies murdering David Byrne at the Dublin premises two years ago.

Father-of-two David Byrne was shot dead at the Regency Hotel two years ago.

A man dressed as a woman was pictured at the scene of the shooting and it is the prosecutions case that Patrick Hutch was that man  and that he did not shoot Mr Byrne but he was part of a shared intention to commit the offence.

Mr Hutchs trial was due to resume this morning at the Special Criminal Court after being adjourned earlier this week.

However, the three judges at the non-jury court were told that disclosure is being requested of email communications between four gardai during the Regency hotel murder investigation.

The court was told this means thousands of communications will have to be downloaded.

Judge Tony Hunt said he was very frustrated at the hold-up and adjourned the case until next Tuesday.

He said it will go ahead then unless there is an extraordinary reason for why it should not.

- Digital desk
British Ministers have been urged to take a "no surrender attitude to the EU bureaucrats" by a DUP MP.

Ian Paisley accused the bloc of trying to blackmail and bully Britain as he asked an impassioned question in the Commons.

His comments came as MPs pressed Northern ministers for further details about Brexit and how the Irish border issue will be addressed.

Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley and minister Shailesh Vara reiterated the UK's commitment to maintain a frictionless border, without undermining the integrity of the UK.

North Antrim MP Mr Paisley said: "Does the minister agree with me that it's about time the Government demonstrated a no surrender attitude to the EU bureaucrats, who try to blackmail us, bully us, over air flights, passenger duty and everything else.

"Stand up to them man, and stand up to the EU and let's get on with leaving the EU."

Mr Vara replied: "The Prime Minister will stand up to anyone and everyone when it comes to maintaining the best interests of the United Kingdom."

There was further criticism of the EU and Irish ministers by DUP MPs during Northern Ireland questions.

Jim Shannon (Strangford) urged trading with Ireland to continue "unhindered by petty point scoring, statement making, headline grabbing whims of EU leadership".

Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) raised concerns about "the frictions in relationships between the UK Government and the Irish Republic".

He added: "What comment has he got to make about the threat issued by the foreign minister yesterday, that he will block negotiations if he does not get the legislation produced to force the Northern Ireland assembly to introduce EU regulations."

Mr Vara said the Brexit tales would be difficult but all parties were committed to being flexible and coming up with solutions.

Elsewhere, shadow Northern Ireland minister Stephen Pound asked whether an electronic border was "feasible or is it just a fantasy".

Ms Bradley said: "We are determined there will be no new physical infrastructure at the border and we will maintain things like the Common Travel Area, which has been in existence since well before the EU."

SNP spokeswoman Deidre Brock questioned if Britain leaving the customs union would mean a divergence of regulations on the island of Ireland.

"Will she tell us what, and I quote, specific solutions to address the unique circumstances of the island of Ireland she is proposing," she added.

Ms Bradley said: "There are unique circumstances in Northern Ireland, unique to anywhere across the whole of Europe, and those unique circumstances have to be reflected.

"The UK Government's intention is that we resolve the matter of north-south trade and east-west through the overall UK EU agreement.

"But we are absolutely determined to make sure that we respect the integrity of the north-south border and that we respect the agreements that were made in Belfast nearly 20 years ago."

Mr Vara added: "Let's be absolutely clear. We have said that we will be leaving the customs union and we will be leaving the single market as well.

"What we hope to do is, in phase two, engage in those negotiations to make sure that we have the best possible trade deal that we possibly can have with the European Union, but we are committed to having a frictionless border."
Update 3.48pm: Animal rights organisations have slammed the culling of deer in Dublin's Phoenix Park.

Over 200 were killed over the past two years by order of the Office of Public Works.

The carcasses were then sold to a meat supplier for 19,488.

The OPW says culling is necessary to prevent over-population.

But Laura Broxon from the National Animal Rights Association says killing shouldn't be the answer.

They should be getting in people from the Department of Agriculture and veterinarians to put their heads together to see what can we do, killing cant be an option, what are the alternatives?

A lot of the sniper activity, they do it at five or six in the morning. They dont want the public to see it because if they public did theyd be horrified.

Original story (9.30am): OPW hires sniper to target Phoenix Park deer

The Office of Public Works (OPW) has hired a sniper to kill more than 200 deer in Dublins Phoenix Park during the past two years, selling the carcasses to a meat supplier for 19,488, writes Darragh Mc Donagh.

A total of 203 deer were shot by the marksman as part of eight culls in 2016 and 2017. A further 57 animals died as a result of road accidents and natural causes during the same period.

The OPW said Phoenix Park remained open to the public while the culls were performed by a 68-year-old sniper from Bray, Co Wicklow. However, it said a detailed protocol was followed, which took account of the welfare of the deer and the safety of the public.

The carcasses of the culled deer were sold for an average of 96 each to a Wicklow-based meat supplier, which specialises in processing game and stocks butchers and supermarkets in 10 counties.

A cull of 38 female and 11 male deer over two days in January and February 2017 reduced the herd to 540, compared with 570 recorded in October 2016. A further two culls were carried in November 2017, during which an additional 43 deer were killed.

In total, 111 deer were shot during four culls during 2016, while 92 deer were culled over four days last year. These were comprised of 138 females and 65 males.

The figures, which were released in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, also show that 38 deer were killed as a result of road accidents and other causes in 2016, while 19 died in this manner last year.

A spokesperson for the OPW said that the cause of these deaths included traffic accidents, injuries sustained during the rutting or mating season, and other natural causes.

The Phoenix Park remains open to the public during deer culls. Deer culling is carried out according to a detailed protocol using best practices taking full regard of the welfare of the deer and the safety of the staff and the public, she said.

An over-abundant deer population can result in increasing incidence of road traffic accidents and increase the potential role for deer in the epidemiology of specific diseases.

The OPW works with the School of Biology and Environmental Science in University College Dublin with regard to the management and scientific research of the deer herd in the Phoenix Park, she added.

The OPW declined to state how much the sniper was paid to shoot deer in Phoenix Park, citing reasons of commercial sensitivity.

- Irish Examiner
The family of a motorcyclist have said he would still be alive if his helmet had not come off in the collision that killed him.

Stephen Hyland (24) from Rusheeney Avenue, Clonsilla, Dublin 15 died of head injuries following a collision on Hartstown Road in Dublin on October 22 2016.

Mr Hyland clipped the bike in front of him and lost control of his Yamaha bike.

We believe hed still be alive if his helmet had not come off. Physically he was fine but for his head injuries, the man's brother Michael Lowry said.

Family members described Stephen as kind, thoughtful, quiet and much loved.

He had a heart of gold, Mr Lowry said. People need to be aware of this danger. We just want to prevent this happening anyone else, he added.

Mr Hyland was travelling at the rear of a convoy of four motorcyclists along Hartstown Road when the accident happened around 6.45pm.

As the bikers ahead of him slowed down, his Yamaha bike struck "a glancing blow" to the motorcycle directly in front.

Dublin Coroners Court heard that the rear of his bike kicked out and the bike went into a slide. Mr Hyland slid a total of 34m along the road and lost his helmet as he slid. He collided with a kerb and sustained devastating injuries described by the coroner as "inconsistent with survival".

Witness Chris Doyle said he saw "a massive amount of sparks".

The four were in single file...Next thing I saw the tail of the bike kick out towards the grass verge and the motorcyclist went straight down. he said.

Mr Hyland was wearing a helmet with a clasp buckle and a strap that has no stitching at the end to prevent the strap pulling right through the clasp.

This type of helmet can be bought online for less than 100, Alan Kavanagh of Arai Helmets, told the court. His company supplies helmets to An Garda Siochana.

A traditional Double D strap will not pull through. The double D is the only strap thats approved in all types of motor sport. Mr Kavanagh said.

Asked if there were any guidelines for motorcyclists buying helmets, Mr Kavanagh said the only advice would be from sales assistants in shops.

However in a lot of cases helmets are bought online where there is no advice, he said.

Mr Hyland sustained devastating injuries in the collision. He was pronounced dead at Connolly Hospital. The cause of death given at autopsy was head injuries due to a road traffic collision.The autopsy found no trace of alcohol or drugs in his system.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.
Senior Irish and UK government ministers have urged politicians to be careful about the language they use in the wake of the latest Twitter row between elected representatives in the North.

Tanaiste Simon Coveney and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley both stressed the need for moderation after being asked for their reaction to a spat triggered by Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey branding Northern Ireland a "putrid little statelet".

When pressed for her response in the House of Commons by DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds, Mrs Bradley said: "I think what this matter shows is it is incumbent on everyone in public life to think very carefully about the words they use in public and the way that may be interpreted."

Mr Coveney was also asked about the furore during a visit to a police training college in Belfast.

The Tanaiste replied: "I think we need to be very careful. I have learned that too."

Unionists have described Mr Maskey's remarks as "offensive", further accusing the West Belfast MLA of trying to "justify terrorism".

But Mr Maskey has claimed the unionist outrage is contrived.

In the contentious Twitter comment, Mr Maskey said: "Unfortunately it took more than the CRA (civil rights association) to secure rights in the putrid little statelet NI."

Critics claim Mr Maskey was making reference to the IRA's campaign of violence.

Raising the issue with Mrs Bradley in the Commons on Wednesday, Mr Dodds said: "The sheer disgrace, the irony, the hypocrisy of Sinn Fein preaching rights and equality while justifying murder and disrespecting the state of Northern Ireland, would she agree that this sort of attitude must stop.

"If respect is to mean anything it has to mean respect by Sinn Fein toward unionists and those who believe in the Union."

The row is the latest controversy involving politicians' use of social media.

Last month Sinn Fein's Barry McElduff resigned as West Tyrone MP after posting a video of himself posing with a loaf of Kingsmill bread on his head on the 42nd anniversary of the Kingsmill massacre.

The DUP's Christopher Stalford and Doug Beattie of the UUP were also criticised for retweeting a controversial cartoon sketch of the Kingsmill attack.

On Saturday, Sinn Fein's policing spokesman Gerry Kelly apologised after videos of him removing a wheel clamp in Belfast city centre appeared on social media.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mr Maskey said: "Faux outrage by some unionists at my comments ignore the facts that a wide range of people from the Civil Rights Association right through to progressive unionists opposed this sectarian discrimination and demanded civil and human rights for all."

- PA
There is speculation that Pope Francis could visit Mountjoy Prison in Dublin when he comes to Ireland this year.

The Irish Prison Service has said that no formal application has been made, but it stands ready to assist if required.
Tanaiste Simon Coveney has today called on the British government to drop its red lines and tough talk on its future relationship with the EU.

Mr Coveney said a calm and rational debate on the merits of continued membership of extended customs union and single market structures was overdue.

Addressing a packed audience at a conference bringing together concerned business representatives on both sides of the Irish border, he warned that the clock was ticking on a decision on what future trading relations will look like after Brexit.

The Tanaiste and foreign affairs minister told the event in Co Louth that the best interests of the UK, Ireland and the wider EU would be served by an arrangement as close as possible to the current free-flowing status quo.

Britain should stop 'red line' talk on Brexit - Tanaiste | Read more: https://t.co/yFYTXOWFg7 pic.twitter.com/28NuKS8DT0  RTE News (@rtenews) February 7, 2018

"In our view this is best accomplished by the UK indicating that it wishes to be part of an extended single market and customs unions, allowing it to continue to access the world's largest and most successful free market - a market British genius has helped design," he said.

"Thus far however, as we know, the British government has not been prepared to seek that type of relationship.

"My hope is that in the coming weeks, previous red lines and tough talking points will be put to one side and a calm and rational debate about what is in the best interests of the people of Britain and Northern Ireland can prevail.

"That deliberation is overdue.

"And the clock is now ticking closer to the time when a decision on the future direction is needed.

"The closest possible customs and regulatory partnership is in the best interests of everybody, in my view, across these islands, and indeed in the best interests of the European Union and its future also."

Mr Coveney said despite some media commentary on the phase one deal struck between the UK and the EU, there was no uncertainty over what had been agreed in relation to the alignment of regulations in key economic sectors on both sides of the border after Brexit.

He said other EU nations remained "unstinting" in their support of Ireland's stance on that issue.

- PA
By Tom Tuite

A teenager described by a judge as a risk to the public at large was granted bail today because the States main detention centre for minors had no room to hold him.

The 16-year-old boy appeared before the Dublin Childrens Court charged over a vicious drug fuelled raids at two corner shops in which staff members were attacked and beaten with a pole and a glass bottle on Monday evening.

The teen, who had taken a cocktail of drink and drugs, was arrested after his terrified mother contacted gardai who were waiting at his house when he arrived back after he allegedly tried to rob the second shop.

Following objections to bail, Judge John OConnor heard there were no places available in Oberstown detention centre. He said the teenager was, a risk to himself, a risk to his mother and a risk to the public at large.

He said that having heard the objections to bail and viewed CCTV footage there was enough evidence to warrant a refusal of bail. Judge OConnor said the teenage boy, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was a complete threat to the public, a threat to himself and his mother could not cope.

He also said that Tusla social workers needed to reopen a file on the boy which they had closed. One of the shop owners told gardai he was closing early for the night after learning that the teen would be getting released, the court was told.

The teen is charged with theft, robbery, attempted robbery and assault causing harm, in connection with three incidents which happened over a four-hour period on Monday in Dublin.

Attending Garda objected to bail citing the seriousness of the incidents.

A garda told the court that at 5.20pm two youths entered a shop at Mercer Street. CCTV evidence showed the pair with their faces covered. The garda said it was a vicious incident and the teen had a pole and repeatedly used it beat the shop worker and continued striking him with it even after 150 from the till was handed over.

It was alleged the teen went home and changed clothes and left again however his mother then alerted the gardai who went to the house. They saw the clothes which matched the description they had from the raid at the shop on Mercer Street.

It was alleged at 6.55pm the masked teen entered a shop at Bride Street and during an attempted robbery he repeatedly beat an employee who was behind the counter with a glass bottle. CCTV evidence showed the man received at least 10 blows with the bottle within a few seconds.

The court heard that the boy fled but when he arrived home a garda was still there and he was arrested.

It was alleged that the teenager was involved in bag snatch at St Stephens Green at about 3pm on Monday.

Judge John OConnor heard that the boy was in a highly intoxicated state and had a drug addiction. It was alleged he admitted to gardai he had used cocaine, cannabis and Xanax as well a large volume of alcohol on a daily basis. The teen stated to gardai he had been sleeping on the streets and depending on food given to him by friends.

The teen also admitted that he had taken up to 20 Xanax tablets. Defence solicitor Brian Keenan said that he has repeatedly contacted social services over the boy but they had closed their file on the teenager.

The boys mother said she had become afraid of her son and had to put him out of the home a few days ago as a result of his violence.

The gardai feared that if bail were granted the teenager would carry out more serious offences.

Garda Johnson told defence solicitor Brian Keenan that he would not be satisfied with any bail conditions and added that due to the teens chaotic lifestyle, things have escalated.

At one point the teenager broke down and the judge allowed a short recess before the proceedings resumed. However, the court heard that there were no places in Oberstown detention centre.

The court heard Tusla could only offer emergency accommodation in a hostel but the judge said he would have concerns for the other people staying there.

At the end of the hearing, the teen's mother agreed to take him home after her son promised that he would not leave the house, would abide by a curfew and remain sober. He also agreed to stay away from the two shops.

The case resumes tomorrow.
The North could face a 12% drop in its GDP if there's a no deal Brexit.

Details of the British government's own analysis of the impact on the economy have been revealed.
Update 8.17pm: The Government says it could take another ten years for Irelands education system to be the best in Europe.

The latest action plan on education was launched earlier today.

It includes proposals around STEM (Science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects and additional supports for those in disadvantaged areas.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says the plan also aims to increase the numbers learning foreign languages.

Ireland is an increasingly diverse country and yet most people in Ireland still can only master one language, which is the English language. I think thats a real shame, said Mr Varadkar.

Its so different when you go to other countries, whether its Germany or the Netherlands or most of Northern Europe, where people can very commonly speak two or three languages.

I think were losing out in that regard.

Original story (5.38pm): Varadkar hopes Brexit leads to more students learning a foreign language

The Taoiseach says one of his biggest regrets is not studying abroad.

The Government has today launched its latest action plan on education, which encourages students to learn a foreign language.

Leo Varadkar says Brexit may also be a good thing when it comes to people studying overseas.

British universities will probably not be part of Erasmus anymore, meaning that more Irish students, rather than studying in Manchester or Edinburgh or London in English-speaking universities, will hopefully take the opportunity to study in continental Europe, thereby increasing their language competence, he said.

The Society of St Vincent de Paul has welcomed the Action Plan for Education 2018 but is disappointed by the lack of focus on education costs.

It is good to see that the Minister reiterated his Departments commitment to giving every child an equal opportunity in life.

But unless there is a strong focus on addressing education costs at all levels, children and young people from low-income families will continue to be locked out of our education system.

"The plan launched this morning will do little to prevent the significant stress and strain parents experience at back to school time. Nor will it break down the financial barriers to further and higher education experienced by students from non-traditional and disadvantaged backgrounds, said Dr Tricia Keilthy, SVP Head of Social Justice & Policy.
Large swathes of the country are going to be left without any GP if supports are not given to doctors.

That's according to the Irish College of General Practitioners who were before a Dail committee.
A blind man is to become the first person in the UK to get a guide horse - because he is scared of dogs.

23-year-old Mohammed Salim Patel, who has a degenerative eye condition, says he had given up hope of having a guide animal because of his phobia.
A California cake maker may refuse service to same-sex couples over her religious objections and right to free speech, a Superior Court judge in the US state has ruled.

The BBC are reporting how the bakery owner's lawyers argued that making the cakes for same sex couples would violate her Christian beliefs and rights to free religious expression.

The case echoes back to a similar row in Northern Ireland in 2015 when a judge ruled a bakery discriminated against a gay customer by refusing to make a cake with a pro-gay marriage slogan.

The Antrim bakery had been taken to court by a gay rights activist assisted by the North's Equality Commission.

In today's case in the US the judge ruled the act of making cakes is protected as artistic expression and did not therefore violate anti-discrimination law.

"A wedding cake is not just a cake in a Free Speech analysis. It is an artistic expression by the person making it that is to be used traditionally as a centerpiece in the celebration of a marriage," Kern County Superior Court Judge David Lampe wrote.

The BBC report that Tastries Bakery owner Cathy Miller said she was "very happy to serve everything from my cases to anybody", but could not "be a part of a celebration that goes against my lord and saviour".

The US Supreme Court is set to rule on another case involving Colorado baker Jack C Phillips who has argued he can refuse service to same-sex couples based on his First Amendment rights.

The court will hear the case in December.

- Digital Desk
A cinema has cancelled a screening of a film promoting therapies to "cure" gay people.

The film, Voices of the Silenced, was due to be shown at Vue Piccadilly in central London on Thursday as part of a private booking.

Christian group Core Issues Trust, which had hired a screen for the premiere, said it was "disappointed" by the decision and insisted that the documentary was not "hateful".

LGBT charity Stonewall said it was "shocking" that the cinema had initially agreed to show a film about the "unethical and degrading" practice.

A spokeswoman for Vue said: "Vue review all private screening bookings once content and full details have been received in full.

"While it is not our intention to censor content, in some instances where we feel an activity is in direct contradiction to Vue's values a decision will be made to refrain from allowing a private event to go ahead.

"Vue has therefore cancelled a private event request by Core Issues Trust and Christian Concern due to the event endorsing and promoting a 'cure' to being gay."

Statement regarding Core Issues Trust and Christian Concern event: https://t.co/P6e3FUJwcC  Vue (@vuecinemas) February 7, 2018

Voices of the Silenced follows the stories of 15 individuals "coming out of homosexual practices".

The film is being released by the Core Issues Trust, which offers "therapeutic support for those with unwanted homosexual feelings".

Mike Davidson, chief executive of the group, said: "I really don't see what their problem is.

"This is not anything that is hateful, it's about representing the needs and aspirations of a group in the population who are underrepresented, misunderstood and frankly poorly treated in society."

He added: "We think this is an appalling way for Vue to treat anybody."

Mr Davidson said 126 ticket-holders, including people from Africa, Northern Ireland and Europe, were due to attend the event.

Core Issues Trust is seeking legal advice about the cancelled booking, he added.

A spokesman for Stonewall said: "It's disappointing that Vue Piccadilly would consider screening a documentary about so-called 'conversion therapy'.

"LGBT people aren't ill. Being gay, lesbian, bi or trans is not something that should be 'cured' or changed.

"This unethical and degrading practice has been condemned by all major UK health organisations. It's shocking that Vue Piccadilly initially viewed this as a suitable film to screen."

- PA
A hotel in Berlin's central Potsdamer Platz has been evacuated after a fire broke out on an upper floor of the 11-storey building.

The fire started in a sauna of the Mandala Hotel sometime around 10am and then spread rapidly to the roof level, fire department spokesman Andreas Ohlwein said.
A paedophile who blackmailed his internet victims into carrying out degrading sex acts is to be sentenced.

Cambridge graduate Matthew Falder admitted more than 100 offences, including encouraging a teenager to rape a four-year-old boy, at a court hearing in October last year.
A secondary school has introduced a new rule in which its students are not permitted to grow their fingernails longer than 1.5cm.

The "nail legislation" was detailed to parents of Rawlett School in Tamworth, Staffordshire, on January 24 on its Facebook page.

The new guidelines tell pupils their nails must not extend more than 1.5cm from the cuticle after "requests from parents for consistency".

Some social media users disagreed with the rule change, and took to the school's Facebook page to express their opinions.

A comment from James Mortimer, who claims to be a former head boy at the school, read: "Once again, The Rawlett School has proven that it cares more about how the students look than their actual education.

"There is nothing wrong with looking smart but when I was there, and I know others that feel the same, some members of staff seemed to focus more on your uniform than actually delivering quality education - it is a shame."

However, some were in favour of the new measures and defended the school's new policy.

Jo Tyrell said: "What's wrong with looking smart? After all, when you go to work you need to be smart and the education is fab."

A spokesman for The Rawlett School said: "The policy was introduced following requests from parents for consistency.

"Students were involved in drawing up the guidance and since it was issued we've had no further issues. It remains in place.

"A number of parents have contacted us to say they appreciate that the guidance was introduced."

- PA
The number of sheep slaughtered in Britain without being stunned first has doubled in the last six years to more than 11 million, official figures show.

Former president of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, Lord Trees, pointed out this meant animals were having their throats cut while still conscious and argued the country was moving "backwards" in this area of animal welfare.

The Government has said it would prefer all animals going to slaughter to be stunned first, but there was long-standing convention to respect the rights of Jewish and Muslim communities to prepare meat in accordance with their religious beliefs.

Ministers also pointed to plans to introduce CCTV at all abattoirs as part of a drive to improve animal welfare.

They attributed the increase in animals killed without being stunned to the Muslim community eating more sheep meat and "an enhanced religious observance".

Highlighting the latest Food Standards Agency figures, independent crossbencher Lord Trees said: "That is 11 million sheep that have their throats cut without being rendered unconscious first.

"Does the minister agree with me that in that aspect of animal welfare we are going backwards?"

Environment Minister Lord Gardiner of Kimble said: "The Government would prefer all animals to be stunned before slaughter but we have been very clear over a long period of time... that we do respect the rights of the Jewish and Muslim communities to consume meat in accordance with their religious practices."

Labour former environment minister Lord Rooker pointed out all New Zealand sheep and lamb that arrived in this country was halal, but had been stunned prior to slaughter.

He said: "So if it's good enough to have a standard in New Zealand that classifies as halal, why do we put up with a local decision that is not an international rule?

"Why can't we adopt the New Zealand practice in respect of the Muslim community?"

Lord Gardiner said there were different requirements within the Muslim community.

On the introduction of security cameras in abattoirs, the minister said: "What we want is for all animals to have a good life and a respectful end to their life and I think this will advance that."

Tory peer Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts pressed the minister about labelling to ensure people did not end up eating meat they believed to have been killed by a method that caused unnecessary suffering.

Lord Gardiner said it was "absolutely essential that there is an informed choice for everyone".

He pointed out farm assurance schemes such as the Red Tractor and the RSPCA ethical food label required the stunning of animals before slaughter.

- PA
British model Chloe Ayling suffered physical violence including being drugged, handcuffed and "brutally transported in luggage" when she was kidnapped last summer in Milan, an Italian court has heard.

Police opened testimony in the trial of Lukasz Pawel Herba, a 30-year-old Pole arrested last July on kidnapping charges, the ANSA news agency reported.

Herba was arrested after he released 20-year-old Ms Ayling at the British consulate in Milan, after allegedly having a change of heart.

Italian authorities are seeking the extradition of Herba's brother, Michal Herba, who was arrested in the UK.

Prosecutors in Milan say Ms Ayling was lured to the city for what she thought was a modelling job, before being kidnapped when she showed up for a photoshoot.

She was held for six days at a farm near Turin.

Italian police have claimed Herba was part of a group active on the dark web called Black Death.

Black Death said it sells women as sex slaves online to buyers in the Middle East.

Ms Ayling's captors allegedly demanded 270,000 from her agent, but eventually agreed to accept 50,000, she said, although the money was never paid.

According to Ms Ayling, one of her kidnappers told her they had made a mistake in snatching her because she is the mother of a young child.

Doubts had been cast on the model's account after it emerged she went shoe shopping with one of her alleged captors, but she insists she had been threatened and was in fear for her life.

- PA
Before founding SpaceX in 2002, Elon Musk had a wild plan to fly a plant to Mars. The idea was to show life on the desolate planet, a brushstroke of vibrant green on a lifeless red canvas.

If nothing else, it would inspire people, he figured, reignite interest in space, while furthering his ambitions to push deeper into the cosmos, even though at the time he had never flown a rocket.

On Tuesday, Musk launched his biggest one yet from the same launchpad that sent Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins to the moon in 1969, a rocket capable of boosting a payload to Mars that's currently the most powerful in the world. With the maiden flight of the Falcon Heavy, Musk achieved an extraordinary engineering feat, pulling off a launch of a 27-engine beast that boosted a Tesla Roadster deep into space.
The Girlfriends, 1916-17 (destroyed in 1945) by Klimt, Gustav (1862-1918); Osterreichisches Galerie, Vienna, Austria. Print available from Thestore.com.au/klimt He was also self-deprecating, stating: "I have the gift of neither the spoken nor written word, especially if I have to say something about myself or my work. Whoever wants to know something about me  as an artist, the only notable thing  ought to look carefully at my pictures and try and see in them what I am and what I want to do." Golden Glory The Maiden, 1913 (oil on canvas) by Klimt, Gustav (1862-1918); 190x200 cm; Narodni Galerie, Prague, Czech Republic. Print available from Thestore.com.au/klimt Gustav Klimt is perhaps best known for his successful Golden phase, in which he incorporated gold leaf into his paintings.

It is the period when he created his most famous work, The Kiss (1909). The Birch Wood, 1903 (oil on canvas) by Klimt, Gustav (1862-1918); 110x110 cm; Private Collection; (add.info.: this work was in the collection of the Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna until 2006 when it was returned to the heirs of its pre-WW2 owner and sold at auction). Print available from Thestore.com.au/klimt This phase was undoubtedly inspired by his father, the engraver, as well as the golden aspects of Byzantine art located in Venice and Ravenna. His infatuation for all things gilded is one of the reasons that his works stand out so much compared to his contemporaries of the time. Who can resist a painting infused with shimmering swirls of gold, amidst bright blocks of shapes and colour? Farm Garden with Sunflowers, 1905-06 (oil on canvas) by Klimt, Gustav (1862-1918); 110x110 cm; Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, Austria. Print available from Thestore.com.au/klimt

The Female Portraitist Klimt championed femininity and the female form; with the exception of the early works he painted women exclusively. "Klimt was a serial seducer in a society that at the beginning of the 20th century was wrestling with its sexual impulses  and for the most part giving in to them." - Telegraph Film The artist was very active sexually and although he kept his affairs discreet and avoided personal scandal, his works are marked by a frank eroticism. He was the subject of controversy and criticism when, in 1884, he was commissioned to design three paintings to decorate the ceiling of the Great Hall of the University of Vienna. Philosophy, Medicine and Jurisprudence were regarded as decidedly pornographic and disturbed viewers with their sexual interpretation of traditional allegories.

The resulting public outcry meant that this would be the last public commission that the artist accepted, while he continued his strong focus on depicting females. More than 20 years later, his attempt to bring sexuality to the public sphere was once again rejected and he was forced to take down a painting of a naked pregnant woman. Viennese artist Egon Schiele, who also painted explicit images on the subject of human sexuality, looked to Klimt as a guiding mentor for the majority of his artistic career. In 2015 Helen Mirren starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in the film The Woman in Gold, which revolves around the true story of a Jewish refugee who embarked on a mission to reclaim the painting of her aunt (the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer). International Influences

The artist's works seem strongly influenced by Japonism, even though Klimt never actually set foot in Japan himself. His seminal drawing Fish Blood or The Blood of Fish shows how deeply he was influenced by Japanese art; the linear mode of representation and contrast of dark blocks against empty space echoes Japanese woodcuts. The imagery of the graphic design also embodies Klimt's metaphysical view of life as an endless floating form. The long hair of the ethereal figures becomes one with the water and the flow of the composition suggests it has no end. Many of Klimt's works have this dreamy quality and are often characterised by a soft focus that stems from Symbolism. The details are usually both captivating and vague  enhancing the imaginative power of the viewer. Legacy

2012 saw the 150th anniversary of Klimt's birthday and it certainly wasn't forgotten! In addition to the permanent exhibitions on display, Vienna celebrated with special exhibitions throughout the city and guided tours allowed people to explore some of the buildings where he worked. The Austrian Mint also began a five-coin gold series to coincide with the anniversary, featuring a portrait of Klimt on one side and a portion of his painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer on the other. At auction, Klimt's works always fetch astonishing sums and some are ranked among the most expensive in the world. It is estimated that Adele Bloch-Bauer I changed hands for more than $135 million. In the upcoming months, there are sure to be numerous exhibitions and cultural events to further commemorate this veritable treasure of art history.
From a ballooning housing market that has locked homebuyers out, to the cost of living day to day life, for many Australians, the state of things is untenable. According to Bankwest's First Time Buyer report for 2017, an average of 6 years is needed for first time buyers in New South Wales to come up with a 20 per cent deposit, and only 8.1 per cent of the state's residents are able to break into the market. In Sydney, where the price of a deposit on a median priced home sits at a staggering $215,133, it will take 8.2 years to come up with the necessary funds. House prices are rising while wages stagger further behind, leaving Australian households established and otherwisewith immense hurdles and little recourse.

According to a recent report, Australian households are finding it a challenge to eat on a regular basis, with data showing that "1.5 million families have skipped a meal in order to feed their children first". A recent Foodbank study uncovered that 652,000 Australians are receiving food assistance every month, with 27 per cent of them being childrenin the last 12 months alone there has been a 10 per cent surge in the number of individuals seeking food relief from charities.

Far from chugging down on avocado taost, "Almost 38 per cent of those who have experienced food insecurity have been unable to buy food because of their rent or mortgage payments."

Foodbank, which serves as Australia's leading hunger relief organisation, disclosed that even working Australians are at risk of food insecurity, and that the high cost of living is the central motivating factor behind the need for food assistance. The Foodbank study reveals that "over the past five years, earnings have not kept pace with growth in rental prices", and the share of households that pay 30 per cent or more of their income in rent has grown from 10.4 per cent to 11.5 per cent over these same years. "Almost two in five (38 per cent) of those who have experienced food insecurity in the last 12 months have been unable to buy food because of their rent or mortgage payments."

Ned Cutcher, Senior Policy Officer with the Tenants' Union of New South Wales, tells Fairfax Media that the second class citizen in the case of housing is the Australian renter. The Tenants' Union of NSW, which assists between 25,000 to 30,000 Australians, providing them with information, advice, and advocacy, has been stretched to their capacity, and have so far been unable to convince the NSW government to increase necessary funding. Cutcher explains that the Tenants' Union is accustomed to working and speaking with what he describes as being a socially disadvantaged constituent "but over the last few years the number of renters has swollen, and our demographics have changed, and we find ourselves working for a much broader (and sometimes better off) group of Australians."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau drew cheers  and then some backlash  after he told a woman to use the word "peoplekind" instead of "mankind".

Trudeau was quickly criticised by conservative media outlets and personalities who said his political correctness has gone haywire. But others said the comments, which were made during a town hall event, were taken out of context.

The exchange happened last Thursday when Trudeau was fielding questions from the audience in Edmonton, Alberta. The woman, who said she was with the World Mission Society Church of God, first thanked Trudeau, a self-proclaimed feminist, for filling his Cabinet seats with women and recognising the "ability and power that women actually possess". She went on to talk about concepts such as "maternal love" and "God the Mother" and said the world needs more female leaders who possess such love.

She then proceeded to ask Trudeau to look into policies on volunteering for religious charitable organisations and pivoted back to "maternal love", describing it as "the love that's going to change the future of mankind".
Banks mum Samantha Stott was, by her own admission, in a pretty bad place until late 2016.

She was unhealthy and unhappy, confined to one bedroom of a share house with a newborn, a two-year-old with autism and an unsupportive partner.

Samantha Stott with her kids Lachlan Ryan, four, and Grace Ryan, two. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

The 23-year-old credits Canberra College's CCCares program with changing her life. The aspiring police officer left school in year 11 but aims to get her ACT Senior Secondary Certificate by the end of 2019 with the support of the initiative's staff.

"If it wasn't for my girls and [deputy principal] Jan [Marshall] and the school and the teachers helping me through everything I've been through, I wouldn't be where I am today," Ms Stott said.
Five more men will face court on Wednesday, following ongoing federal police investigations into international drug syndicates.

It takes the total number of people charged in the operation to 17, and the Australian Federal Police said further charges and arrests in the ongoing Operation Veyda investigation have not been ruled out.

Five more men are facing charges in relation to Operation Veyda. Credit:Jason South

The five men are due to appear in Sydney Central Local Court to face Commonwealth charges.

Four of the men will face charges related to alleged tobacco importation offences, while the fifth man will face charges for allegedly dealing with an instrument of crime - money worth $100,000 or more.
A mother and daughter scammed dozens of African Australians out of $1.5 million in home deposits, a court has heard.

Maria Alimic, 51, and daughter Klementina, 32, are alleged to have defrauded 60 customers of their LoanMart business out of deposits for home and land packages, which were never purchased, between June 2015 and February 2016. All but three of the alleged victims were Sudanese Australians.

Klementina Alimic outside Melbourne Magistrates Court. Credit:AAP

The two women are currently before Melbourne Magistrates Court for a four-week hearing, which will determine whether they face trial.

Two Sudanese women, identified as Martha and Rose, recruited clients for LoanMart, the court heard.
"This case demonstrates a failing in sentencing legislation," he said. "The real issue here is conviction. If you take a myriad of views about the length of that sentence out of the equation and competing views about the age of the young person, 99 out of 100 people will say that action against a police officer should be etched in time on the record. "That is probably the smallest element of the sentence but is the biggest oversight." The officer returned to work almost immediately after he was kicked in the head and left with a black eye. He was detaining another person for shoplifting when he was assaulted. Attorney-General Martin Pakula said he had a longstanding practice of not commenting on individual sentences but maintained he understood why the Police Association was disappointed.

He said the community often queries individual decisions but the broader context was also important, citing another decision on the same day in which the Childrens Court uplifted another youth offender to the adult system because of the seriousness of that offending. Police union secretary Sergeant Wayne Gatt. Credit:Jason South I dont think any one decision gives you a complete reflection or a complete story of whats going on in our youth justice system, he said. Mr Pakula said he understood that in the latest case police prosecutors did not make a sentencing submission seeking a custodial sentence. So the court makes decisions based on the materials that is before it.

Mr Pakula said new laws would make it much more likely that young offenders would be dealt with by the adult system if they were serious repeat offenders. But shadow attorney-general John Pesutto said the decision would send a "terrible signal" that offenders on probation could assault a police officer and "escape the consequences". "This decision will outrage Victorians who are crying out for the Andrews government and courts, including the Childrens Court, to attach real and meaningful consequences to violent behaviour, especially when its aimed at police officers or other first responders." Mr Pesutto alleged youth control orders - introduced by the Andrews government to give the Children's Court power to implement curfews and enforce school attendance - would make it easier for young offender to avoid custodial sentences. In another assault last year, a female police officer needed reconstructive surgery when she was bashed by an ice addict while making an arrest in Glenroy in April.

Her attacker escaped with 200 hours' of community work. He originally faced the charge of assaulting an emergency worker - which carries a mandatory six months' jail sentence - but this was dropped due to his mental illness. Denis Nelthorpe, chief executive at West Justice, a community legal service in Melbournes outer western suburbs said there must have been a "powerful argument" as to why to prosecutors did not apply for a custodial sentence. "This is one of the most high profile cases in the Children's Court in recent times, and the police prosecutors are not fools, so it's reasonable to assume they have talked to the informant and they have made a considered decision not to apply for a custodial sentence," Mr Nelthorpe said. "This is one of the most high profile cases in the Children's Court in recent times, and the police prosecutors are not fools, so it's reasonable to assume they have talked to the informant and they have made a considered decision not to apply for a custodial sentence," Mr Nelthorpe said. "As a community we need to let the judges, prosecutors and defence lawyers do their job. Police in the west, like everyone else, are concerned that putting young offenders into detention for significant periods, if there is another alternative, creates the risk it will influence their behaviour negatively and increase the likelihood they will become lifelong, hardened criminals." Mr Nelthorpe said investment into resources to support young people found guilty of serious offences to the "greatest extent possible" is critical to reducing re-offending. Mr Nelthorpe said investment into resources to support young people found guilty of serious offences to the "greatest extent possible" is critical to reducing re-offending.
Former attorney-general George Brandis departed Parliament on Wednesday with an outgoing swipe at cabinet nemesis Peter Dutton and other right-wingers in Coalition ranks.

After 18 years in Parliament and 11 on the frontbench, Senator Brandis lamented that "being a liberal is not easy" - even in the Liberal Party, in which he was a giant of the moderate faction.

He observed "powerful elements of right-wing politics" had abandoned the liberal tradition in favour of "a belligerent, intolerant populism which shows no respect for either the rights of individual citizens or the traditional institutions which protect them".

Senator Brandis is congratulated by Mitch Fifield and Marise Payne. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

Senator Brandis did not name Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton in his speech, but delivered a pointed barb at Mr Dutton's recent disparaging of "un-Australian" lawyers and "weak" judges.
Mr Turnbull is also expected to meet with top US defence and intelligence officials, including Defence Secretary James Mattis and the Director of National Intelligence, Dan Coats.

The status of the 2018 trip stands in contrast to early 2017, when details of a fiery phone call between the pair were leaked to the media.

Fairfax Media has been told Mr Turnbulls visit later this month will include lunch with President Donald Trump at the White House and will be badged as an official visit - the first at such level since John Howard met with George W. Bush in 2006.

Malcolm Turnbulls Washington trip will be highest-level visit by an Australian leader in more than a decade, in a signal the United States is eager to keep its key allies such as Australia close.

Defence and security will be a central focus of the trip from February 21 to 24. One leading expert, Ashley Townshend from the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney, said Mr Turnbull would likely be seeking a clearer understanding of the implications of Washingtons recent defence and national security strategy papers.

Together, these papers made it clear the US regards China as a strategic competitor rather than a country that will necessarily become a trustworthy and benign player within the existing set of international rules.

One of the main things the PM will be seeking in Washington is a detailed understanding of the national defence strategy and its implications for Australia, Mr Townshend said.

The key issue in the Australia-US alliance is what role Australia is willing and able to play as the US charts a competitive strategy in the Indo-Pacific. This will require Australians in and out of government to take stock of our position between the US and China in a way that we havent had to until now.

It is widely expected that the US will announce the appointment of hawkish US Pacific commander Admiral Harry Harris as the next ambassador to Canberra. His strong views on China, which include recent remarks that they are the owner of the trust deficit in Asia, mean his appointment is likely to provoke Beijings condemnation.
Bill Shorten has attempted to draw a line under the citizenship fiasco, calling on the Turnbull government to back off its pursuit of Labor MP Susan Lamb and instead refer a "job lot" of MPs to the High Court.

But the Attorney-General, Christian Porter, says although Ms Lamb's personal situation is unique, the MP remains a British citizen and must be referred to the High Court because of an unavoidable "legal fact".

Ms Lamb made an emotional speech in Parliament on Wednesday in which she explained why she had no relationship with her mother, which she says prevented her from gaining access to the marriage certificate requested as part of the process to renounce her British citizenship.

The Opposition Leader said the speech had been strong and courageous and, "I dont think anyone who is fair dinkum couldnt have been moved by what she said".
In nine out of 14 prisons, prisoners with physical disabilities had to either wait for access to a bathroom or otherwise had to shower, urinate or defecate in humiliating conditions because bathrooms were not accessible. "Toilets are not accessible," one prisoner said. "I can't get my chair in. I have to pee in a bottle." Another prisoner said: "I have to wear a nappy every day. I don't feel like a man; I feel like my dignity is taken away." The report also said prisoners were forced to "double-up" in overcrowded cells, which could place prisoners with disabilities at heightened danger of verbal, physical or sexual violence.

If the physical infrastructure is not accessible, simple tasks, such as going to the toilet or getting into bed, become painful and humiliating for prisoners with physical or sensory disabilities. Credit:Human Rights Watch, Daniel Soekov Human Rights Watch investigated 14 adult prisons across Western Australia and Queensland and interviewed 275 people, including current or recently released prisoners with disabilities. Researchers also spoke to prison staff, health and mental health professionals, lawyers, academics, activists, family members or guardians and government officials. Of those interviewed, 41 people said they had suffered physical violence and another 32 experienced sexual violence.

Some prisoners with disabilities with high support needs had "prison carers". In one prison, staff told Human Rights Watch that six out of eight carers were convicted sex offenders and one had repeatedly raped the prisoner with a disability in his charge. In 11 out of 14 prisons, Human Rights Watch found evidence of racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners. One Queensland prisoner with a psychosocial disability said: "Officers call me 'black c---' heaps of times, it's normal." Almost all solitary confinement units Human Rights Watch visited were full and most prisoners with disabilities interviewed had spent time in one. The group alleged some prisoners could spend years in prolonged solitary confinement, with one man with a psychosocial disability spending more than 19 years in solitary confinement in a maximum security unit.

Prisoners in solitary confinement typically spend 22 hours or more a day locked in small cells, sealed with solid doors, and contact with staff may be wordless. A padded cell in Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre. Human Rights Watch documented at least three cases of female prisoners who were kept in windowless, perpetually lit, padded cells for several consecutive days, and in one case for over a month. Credit:Human Rights Watch, Daniel Soekov Human Rights Watch called for state and territory governments to conduct regular and independent monitoring of prisons to investigate confinement for prisoners with disabilities and end solitary confinement for prisoners with disabilities. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, people with disabilities comprise 18 per cent of the general population, but 50 per cent of the prison population. In response to the report, Mr Martin said the allegations of abuse of prisoners needed to be properly investigated, announcing there would be several internal Queensland Corrective Services reviews, including into prison carers and methods used.

But he said it was unlikely the reviews would be released publicly, as they were related to prison operations. "Given seriousness of the allegations, I would encourage Human Rights Watch to refer these issues to the appropriate authorities, such as the Queensland Police Service and the Crime and Corruption Commission," he said. But Mr Martin described the examples provided as "extreme". "In no way do I believe that they're endemic of the state of prisons in Queensland," he said. Mr Martin said prison officers were required to treat prisoners in a respectful manner and any breach would result in disciplinary action, which could include being fired.

"Racism is not tolerated," he said. "In relation to separate confinement, prisoners are only sent there after rigorous assessment and for the safety of other prisoners, staff and for themselves." Mr Martin described prisoners with disabilities being held in solitary confinement for 22 hours a day as "less than optimal". "But the reality is we're dealing with the most complex, the most difficult, the most violent, challenging people on the face of the planet," he said. Loading

"[Solitary confinement] is taken in extreme circumstances and always having regard for safety, safety of the prisoner, safety of the general prison population, and more importantly, safety of my workforce." Mr Martin said more than $200 million was allocated to increase the capacity of the Capricornia Correctional Centre, and expansions were also planned at the Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre and Borallon Training and Correctional Centre. He said Queensland had significant resources to deal with prisoners with disabilities, including purpose-built facilities in some correctional centres and assistance from Queensland Health. Mr Martin said many of the recommendations had already been implemented as a result of the parole system review, conducted by Walter Sofronoff QC, including establishing an independent inspector. LNP leader Deb Frecklington said if true, the allegations were "very disturbing".
1. Yes. COVID-19 can only be stopped through vaccinations. A mandate is needed.

2. Yes. This is a major step, but were facing a national emergency. It is a justifiable move.

3. No. The government is right to promote vaccinations, but not to require them.

4. No. This is government overreach and legally questionable. A mandate is wrong.

5. Unsure. Its in the publics interest, but mandates infringe on individuals rights.

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Johannesburg: South Africa's ruling ANC said "fruitful discussions" were held between Jacob Zuma and his deputy, amid reports a deal for the embattled president's resignation was close.

The Time Lives news service said Zuma had agreed to resign as soon as a list of preconditions were finalised. It was not clear what those conditions would be.

The move came as the ANC's highest decision-making body on Tuesday postponed a meeting set to take place on Wednesday that could have forced Zuma out of office, after he held the talks with Cyril Ramaphosa, his deputy.

Earlier, Baleka Mbete, the speaker of the national assembly, said the ANC had postponed Zuma's State of the Nation address, saying the decision was taken in the "best interest of parliament and the country".
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Overstated borrowers income is raising the risk of mortgage mis-selling and such misconduct poses material risk to banks, said UBS analysts as they expressed concern over the weak mortgage underwriting standards of banks.



In a research note, the analysts said their findings regarding high levels of mortgage borrowers' gross household income  as reported by major Australian banks  support their concerns over factually inaccurate mortgage applications that are permeating the country.



They called these high levels of income as highly improbable and said they do not add up across the economy.



The analysts are referring to the data on mortgage borrowers' gross income that CBA, NAB and Westpac have begun disclosing over the last two years. The data shows an average gross household income for owner occupied borrowers of $208,000 and investment property borrowers of $236,000.



In isolation these numbers appear high. However, when we aggregate this across the 950,000 mortgages written last year, material contradictions become apparent, said analysts Jonathan Mott and Rachel Bentvelzen.



Benchmarking the figures from the banks against the Australian population using Census, Household Income & Wealth Survey and Tax Office data, they found that the population data shows much lower household income levels and fewer very high income earners.



The analysts said the banks' disclosures imply that approximately 42% of all households with income of more than $500,000 must have taken out a mortgage in 2017, and that about 27% of all households with income of $200,000-500,000 also leveraged into a property over the past year.



We remain concerned with mortgage underwriting standards in Australia. We believe that responsible lending and mortgage mis-selling are material risks for the banks, said the analysts.



They noted that the inclusion of mortgage brokers and intermediaries in the royal banking commission indicates the commission will likely focus on misconduct in the mortgage market.



We see this as a material risk given the size of the mortgage market at $1.7 trillion, they said.



While there is always room for improvement both in the collection and reporting of borrower information, the industry has evolved and improved dramatically over the years, said Mortgage Choice CEO John Flavell.



"Twenty years ago, a home loan application was a single sheet of paper and the level of data that was collected by a lender was scant. Only 10 years ago, approximately 50% of all home loan applications in Australia required borrowers to certify their income and their asset position," he said.



"When you contrast these lending practices with what we have today, it is fair to say things have come a long way."



Flavell emphasised that borrowers are not being forced into higher loans -- they are simply choosing to borrow more to buy their desired assets.



Responding to Mott and Bentvelzen's call that APRA give further focus on overstated gross household income, FBAA executive director Peter White said APRA needs to do what it believes it needs to do.



"Brokers (in the main) unquestionably do the right thing. Big questions, however, hover over bank branches where brokers decline loans, yet the branch writes them," he said.



As to the analysts' suggestion that borrowers be required to provide their tax file numbers to address the risks of overstating their income, White said the validation process is significantly rigorous.



"And there are huge legal and privacy issues with providing TFNs, so thats not the answer to what may be a 'non-existant' problem."



The analysts said that given the findings of their report, they do not believe the current income validation processes in Australia are sufficient.



However, Flavell said new legislation already requires brokers and lenders to forensically examine a borrowers assets and liability situation. Brokers and lenders also need to verify a borrowers employment through documentation as well as telephone checks and discussions with employers.



"At the end of the day, nobody -- lender or mortgage broker -- wants a consumer to be in a situation where they access credit they can't afford," said Flavell.



Related stories:

CBA changes caused friction with brokers

UNSW professor lists troubling signs in the Australian housing market

ASIC to shine spotlight on broker fraud
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Its a unit of merriment!

A group of Bushwick musicians, videographers, actors, and sound engineers have turned their living room into a performance space. Unit J is a factory-turned-apartment and venue for music concerts, play readings, yoga sessions, and more. Musician and Unit J founding resident Dru Cutler, who will launch a new single later this month, says that living and performing alongside his fellow artists motivates him to make better music.

It really inspires me. I like that people do all kinds of art here, he said. I love the energy.

Cutler said that he started playing music for friends who came to visit, and those casual get-togethers evolved into a formal space about six years ago.

A lot of it happened accidentally, he said. Friends coming over turned into parties, which turned into shows. I thought we should organize it.

Now Unit J holds at least two events each month; including concerts, film screenings, and art shows. Sometimes Cutler and his roommates perform; sometimes they bring in outsiders, such as Philadelphia rock group the People, who will perform there on Feb. 17.

Unit J occupies a large space in a former factory that once made headstones for nearby Trinity Cemetery, said Cutler. Its living room is divided between couches and a stage, which Cutler and his roommates built themselves. The area around the stage is decorated by artwork and Cutlers array of guitars, banjos and basses. A loft floor overlooking the performance space contains bedrooms for Cutler and his five roommates.

The artsy venue is surrounded by active factories and garages, and Cutler hopes that the industrial neighborhood will remain free of the development that has driven out artist enclaves in other neighborhoods.

People come here cause they need more space. Everyones been pushed out of somewhere, he said. We live on a one-way street near a graveyard and factories  I think itll take a lot longer to push us out of this little nook.

Cutler composed much of his upcoming album Bring Closer the Distance at Unit J, including the single Oceanside, which he will launch with a show at Petes Candy Store in Williamsburg on Feb. 18. Recording the album, coming in April, was new territory for Cutler  despite his many collaborations with his housemates, it was his first time working with a producer and an engineer.

It was eye-opening, he said. I had to trust people with my songs.

The People at Unit J (338 Moffat St., Unit J, between Irving and Knickerbocker avenues in Bushwick, www.unitj bushw ick.com ). Feb. 17 at 9 pm. $10.

Dru Cutler single release party at Petes Candy Store [709 Lorimer St., between Frost and Richardson streets in Williamsburg, (718) 3023770, www.petes candy store.com ). Feb. 18 at 8:30 pm. Free.

Reach reporter Adam Lucente at aluce nte@c ngloc al.com or by calling (718) 2602511. Follow him on Twitter @Adam_Lucente.
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61st Precinct

Sheepshead BayHomecrest

Manhattan BeachGravesend

Cut and steal

Two miscreants cut a teenager and robbed him on E. 27th Street on Jan. 29.

The 17-year-old victim was walking near Avenue V at 5 pm when the two men walked up to him from behind, cut his face and hand with an unknown object, and then took his wallet and iPhone. The wallet had $100 in it.

Police said they did not find the men nor the phone after looking at footage of the area and using the Find My iPhone app.

The teen was brought to Coney Island Hospital for treatment of the cuts.

Sneaker theft

Three lowlifes beat up a boy and stole his sneakers in Kelly Park on Feb. 2.

The 14-year-old boy said he was in the park around 3:15 pm on Avenue S when three people punched and kicked him in the head, causing him pain and giving him a swollen right eye. They then took his orange and white Air Jordan sneakers, cash, and a MetroCard.

Police said there is no video at the location, and that the boy was taken to Maimonides Medical Center for treatment.

Gas station stickup

Two good-for-nothings robbed a gas station on Knapp Street at gunpoint on Feb. 4.

An employee told police that that two men entered the store near Avenue Y at 4:18 pm and one of them pulled out and silver and black revolver and asked where the money was. The gunman then took cash out of the register and handed it to the other thief. He asked the employee where the safe was, and when the employee said he did not know, the men fled on foot on Knapp Street towards Avenue Y.

Police said they did not find the men after searching the area and are looking into video footage of the incident.

Gucci bandit

A no-goodnik stole high-end clothing from a friend on E. 18th Street on Jan. 29.

The victim told police that his so-called friend entered his home near Avenue W around 12:35 pm without permission via the side basement window and took a Gucci hat, a Gucci scarf, a Gucci belt, a Louis Vuitton belt, and coins.

No crying in burglary

Two gunman broke into an Avenue W house on Jan. 31, but left when they made kids inside cry.

The victim said the two men around 18 years of age pushed through the front door of the home near E. 29th Street at 7:55 pm. One of the men had a black gun.

However, the victim said that when she her children noticed the intruders, the children started crying. The men then fled on foot in an unknown direction.

Police said nobody was injured and nothing was taken from the house.

 Adam Lucente
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They dont want to say goodbye to all that.

Former orphans adopted from the Angel Guardian campus lamented the possibility that the historic structure they once called home will be bulldozed by the mystery developer who recently bought the sprawling property.

One former orphan said the 12th Avenue campus  which the Sisters of Mercy built in 1899 and takes up an entire city block  should be preserved, and that its destruction would prove devastating.

It just has a feeling of another time and another place, said Greg Mango, a professional photographer who was adopted from the Angel Guardian home as a 10-month-old in January 1966. Itd be heartbreaking [if it was torn down]. Id be pretty upset.

The home housed thousands of orphaned children from the time the Sisters had it built until 1973, and then housed the Sisters foster program, MercyFirst, according to the programs CEO, Jerry McCaffery, who added that the Sisters also took care of some babies in the building during the crack cocaine and AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. The nuns also took young, homeless, and unmarried mothers into the Angel Guardian home until 1959, McCaffery said.

After the orphanage closed down, the grounds housed a medical clinic for the foster programs babies and a convent for the nuns, who left about three years ago, according to McCaffery. The soon-to-depart Narrows Senior Center set up shop in part of the building in 2003.

Locals who called for the nuns to choose a developer who would create affordable senior housing or a school for kids of the overcrowded nabe have been sounding the alarm ever since our sister publication the Bay Ridge Courier last year broke the news of the secret sale  rumored to be worth up to $24 million  to a developer who a spokeswoman for the Sisters said intends to include some affordable housing and open space.

But Mango said that he wished the nuns had sold the property to a developer who was sure to include the community in its plans for the future  and that they were more forthcoming about the details of the sale.

Even though its private property and they have the right to do whatever they want with it, one would hope that the Sisters of Mercy have their thinking caps on and think, How can we do this so we get a decent price for the property and also benefit the community in some way?  Mango said. And if theyre not doing that, thats a problem. Its unfortunate that its all being done in a secretive way. Theyre supposed to be in the business of helping underserved communities.

Another former orphan agreed, adding that the Sisters could have honored the buildings legacy by once again making it a space for youngsters or the elderly.

A new life: Angel Guardian orphan Joanne Sullivan Silva with her parents, Mary and John Sullivan, at 3-and-a-half years old at home in Garden City, Long Island, after they adopted her from the home that same year. Joanne Sullivan Silva

I think it wouldve been very nice if the history had come into play in determining the future of the property, said Joanne Silva, who said her parents, John and Mary Sullivan, adopted her from the home when she was 3-years-old, in 1954. I think the idea of a school or of having an old-age home wouldve been an excellent idea.

Silva said she even remembers details of the historic structure because she was adopted as a toddler, rather than as an infant.

I remember the brick and I remember the wrought-iron gate, she said.

Silva said she is forever grateful to the Sisters for setting her up for an ideal childhood on Long Island, despite the current controversy surrounding the property. She eventually moved to Connecticut, where she raised her three children, and then to Pennsylvania, where she worked her way up to becoming executive editor of a weekly newspaper, the Chester County Press.

I was very fortunate to be adopted, Silva said. I just loved my life. And I love the Sisters of Mercy, I have wonderful memories of them.

Mango shared similar sentiments. His parents, Gloria and Alfred Mango, raised him on Long Island and gave him a childhood filled with home-cooked meals and vacations. Hes now a freelance photographer who regularly works for the New York Post.

I couldnt have asked for any better parents, quite frankly, Mango said. The Sisters of Mercy saved my life.

Another former Angel orphan said that she doubted the new structure could match the splendor or character of the current one, and that she feared the rumored luxury condos that may replace it wouldnt hold the same significance for locals and for the orphans who spent parts of their childhoods in the building.

Its a beautiful building with a lot of character and architecture that new construction is never capable of replicating, said Jenny Holdorff, who spent the first three months of her life in the home with her identical twin sister, Barbara, in 1973, before they were adopted together. And what they did there, what that building was for and what they did for people, I think is remarkable and compassionate. When you go and knock something down and make it a luxury condominium, youre just changing the entire essence of the neighborhood and what it stands for.

Reach reporter Julianne McShane at (718) 2602523 or by e-mail at jmcsh ane@c ngloc al.com . Follow her on Twitter @juliannemcshane.
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They collected a pot of gold!

Brooklynites danced the night away for a good cause on Feb. 3, when they gathered at El Caribe Country Club in Mill Basin to fund-raise for the upcoming 25th-annual Bay Ridge St. Patricks Day Parade. The gala brought together some of the boroughs most civically engaged Irish-Americans and was a success thanks to its organizers, according to this years grand marshal.

It was a great event, very well done, said Marty Cottingham, who lives in Windsor Terrace. The committee did a wonderful job.

The 445 attendees raised more than $5,000 for the March 25 parade, according to the president of the organizing committee, who said that guests enjoyed a performance by dancers from the Donny Golden School of Irish Dance and busted their own moves when the local Canny Brothers Band took the stage to belt out covers and Celtic rock.

They were fantastic, we had the dance floor packed all night, said Linda Gallagher-Lomanto.

The hosts also handed out awards to local luminaries, including Cottingham, who Gallagher-Lomanto said made his mark as the boroughs Irish-culture booster with his ten-year commitment to reviving and organizing the annual Great Irish Fair.

Marty Cottingham is a supporter of Irish-American history and culture  and overall, hes a great individual, she said. Everybody that we picked shows the character of Irish America and its tradition.

Deputy marshals Stephen Gorton, Mary Koren, Brother Campion Lally, Deirdre Cronin-Butler, Angela Connolly-Coyle, Mary Manning, Greg McGuinness, Brendan Moloney, Connor OMara, and Liza Schneider-Lloyd were toasted for their service to the borough, and state Sen. Marty Golden (RBay Ridge) picked up an honor for his decades-long commitment to the parade, which he co-founded in 1994.

Next months event will feature floats, twenty pipe-and-drum bands, and marching bands from local high schools, including Fort Hamilton and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, according to Gallagher-Lomanto.

Cottingham said he appreciated the parade committees recognition of his commitment to his culture and that hes looking forward to the event.

Its a tremendous honor, and Im looking forward to the big day of the parade, he said.
It was announced today that Bank of Ireland will open a second FDI Hub for international companies looking to locate to Ireland. The FDI Hub, based in the Banks building on College Green, will complement the existing space on Stephens Green. The space provides complimentary office and meeting space for international companies planning to set up in Ireland.

The spaces at Stephens Green and College Green will provided 55 hot desks and 7 meeting rooms for FDI companies in prime Dublin city centre locations. The Bank will also offer spaces for these companies at the Banks innovative Workbenches based in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Kilkenny.

Bank of Ireland is the first and only Irish bank offering this service to FDI companies and it continues Bank of Irelands support for businesses of all stages through its workbenches, startlabs and FDI spaces.

This follows the success of the Stephens Green FDI Hub, which opened its doors in March 2017. Over 30 FDI companies have availed of the space in just under a year, with the Bank of Ireland Innovation and Corporate Banking teams noticing an increasing demand from UK and International companies since Brexit. The top markets that are utilising the space include the US, UK, China, Australia, Japan and Canada.

Speaking about the announcement, Chief Executive Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking, Tom Hayes said, "Its also great to see the breath of countries where the companies are from, showing that Ireland is firmly on the map for companies exploring their post-Brexit options. In particular, we have noticed an increase in companies coming to us from countries that would have normally focused FDI activity in the UK. Launching a second FDI Workbench, in just under a year from when we opened our first, is testament to how successful this initiative is."

He added, "We look forward to welcoming and supporting a new crop of international companies in the weeks and months ahead."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
It was announced today that 4site has invested 250,000 in their headquarters in Limerick to create Irelands first Fibre Centre of Excellence.

The company provides innovative engineering solutions for major infrastructural developments in telecommunications, power, renewables and multi-site networks. Clients include Vodafone, SIRO, Cignal, Huawei, Netshare, 2RN (RTE), Three, Ericsson, Nokia and enet.

Established in 2002, 4site currently employs 70 highly skilled professionals and the company now plans to expand their team further by adding 20 additional positions over the coming months. Their highly skilled in-house technical teams design, survey, build and maintain world-class communications networks, adapting technology, tools and processes to deliver reliable and future-proofed turnkey services for clients.

The new Centre will bring together the expertise of fibre design, survey and planning engineers who will continually innovate how fibre networks are designed and delivered, while also focusing on specialised training for graduate engineers to meet not just the current demands, but future 5G or next generation network developments.

The company offers a very successful graduate programme, complete with their own specially created training programmes, to upcoming graduates from Limerick Institute of Technology, University of Limerick and further afield.

Speaking at the new opening of the new site today, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Minister Denis Naughten said, "4sites business is a vital part of the larger telecommunications industry in Ireland. It is a real example of a company spotting gaps in their industry and applying expertise and new technologies to find practical solutions. "

CEO of 4site, Ian Duggan added, "This is a very exciting time for our business. Insatiable demand for bandwidth and rapid developments in technology are pushing the limits of existing communications networks. The pressure to roll out advanced networks is huge and we are delighted to provide smart and effective solutions that speed up delivery time for the service providers bringing fibre to homes, businesses and existing wireless networks."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
A view of the People's Bank of China headquarters in Beijing. The draft rules released on Nov. 17, which may soon come into force, aim to set industry-wide requirements for leverage ratios, risk reserve funds and investment restrictions, in an effort to get banks off-balance sheet assets back under a regulatory framework. Photo: VCG

Beijing is likely to roll out unified regulations to tame the countrys shadow banking sector before its annual legislative sessions, which are slated to open in early March, people familiar with the matter told Caixin.

The proposed regulations for the $15 trillion asset-management industry were published in November on the Peoples Bank of Chinas website. The final version is likely to be subject to amendments that will have to be approved by the Financial Stability and Development Committee of the State Council, Chinas cabinet, knowledgeable sources close to the regulator said.

A final version could be published before the country holds its annual legislative sessions or even earlier in mid-February, the sources added.

The draft of the new rules marked the first joint effort of the central bank and three top regulatory commissions overseeing banking, securities and insurance to curtail the rampant growth of Chinas massive asset-management market, which is plagued by lax supervision, excessive leverage and risks from mismatches between the duration of products and the maturity of assets.

The proposed rules are set to introduce industry-wide requirements on leverage ratios, risk reserve funds and investment restrictions to all types of asset management products offers by financial institutions including banks, brokerage, trust firms and insurance companies. The rules prevent financial institutions from offering guarantee of return for investors, and require institutions to provide investment yields based on the net asset value of their products that actually reflect the performance of the underlying assets.

The sweeping rules are aimed to bring Chinas huge shadow banking industry more into the sunlight. The market, worth 102 trillion yuan ($15 trillion) at the end of 2016, largely stay out of financial institutions balance sheet, including 30 trillion yuan worth of wealth management products managed by banks and 53 trillion yuan worth of investment plans issued by securities brokerages.

According to the draft released on Nov.17, the new rules were open to public consultation until Dec. 16 and set to be fully implemented after a grace period until June 30, 2019.

A person close to the regulators told Caixin that about 2,000 comments on the new rules have been collected during the consultation period but most of the comments are similar and asking for relaxed regulations, said the source.

Caixin learned that banks are pushing back against the new rules, demanding easing requirements such as extension of the grace period, as well as reducing proposed barriers to investing in nonstandard assets, and allowing privately offered funds to recruit more than their current limit of 200 investors.

In December, sources close to the regulatory bodies told Caixin that regulators are determined to push forward the new rules and wont change the overall direction toward tougher scrutiny, despite resistance in the market.

Separate sources told Caixin that based on market opinions, regulators are considering revisions. These include extending the transition period by six months to the end of 2019. But the transition period wont be extended to 2020 as many in the market lobbied for, said the source.

The regulators might also give banks more flexibility to roll over long-maturity asset-management products invested in nonstandard assets, which are illiquid assets that are not traded on the stock, bond or money markets, sources said.

Top financial regulators have vowed continued efforts to tame the shadow-banking sector, which helps to fund both public and private sector borrowers who cant get loans through traditional channels due to government restrictions. Officials worry that the loosely-regulated lending activities could pose a major risk in the event of an economic downturn due to their opaque structure, high leverage ratios and maturity mismatches.

Echoing the proposed new rules, the banking and securities regulators have taken separated move to curb shadow lending. On Jan. 5, the China Banking Regulatory Commission announced a set of new rules on off-balance sheet entrusted loans, in which a bank acts as an agent to facilitate a loan between two businesses, stepping up scrutiny of one of the main segments of the countrys shadow-banking industry.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission in mid-January also ordered a ban on investing collective asset-management plans  investment pools managed by brokerages for as much as 200 retail investors  into entrusted loans, trust loans and other non-standard credit assets.

Contact reporter Pan Che (chepan@caixin.com), Han Wei (weihan@caixin.com)
The China Guodian Corp. power plant in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, is seen in March 2017. A new company will facilitate the transmission of electricity from Shanxi province to Jiangsu province. Photo: VCG

Six Chinese coal and power companies have agreed to form a new joint venture for cross-region power transmission.

The new company, provisionally named Sujin Energy with an initial investment of 6 billion yuan ($953 million), will facilitate the transmission of electricity from the northern province of Shanxi to coastal Jiangsu province. The agreement comes as the central government works to solve regional imbalances between power production and consumption.

Other businesses operated by Sujin Energy will include trade in coal and natural gas between the two areas, as well as investment in coal mines, according to a filing by Jiangsu Guoxin Corp. Ltd., one of the six founding companies.

Shanxi is one of the countrys coal and power hubs, which can offer nearly half of its power generation capacity to areas outside the province, while Jiangsu, the second-most developed province by gross domestic product, imported 18% of the power it consumed last year from other parts of China, according to the state-owned Xinhua News Agency.

The other five companies that have agreed to co-form the joint venture are ChinaCoal Pingshuo Group Co. Ltd., Datong Coal Mine Group Co. Ltd., Shanxi Shentou Power Co. Ltd., Datang International Power Generation Co. Ltd., and Shanxi Yangguang Power Generation Co. Ltd.

The deal came after the provincial governments of Shanxi and Jiangsu inked a deal in November to encourage the trading of power between the regions. Shanxi has suffered from overcapacity in both the coal and power-generation sectors and is seeking to trim or export its excess capacity.

Wang Yixin, a vice governor of the Shanxi provincial government, said that he hopes this equity partnership will further expand to other sectors such as coal, coke, steel and aluminum, according to Xinhua.

Contact reporter Coco Feng (renkefeng@caixin.com)
Midea Group founder He Xiangjian led the list of China 100 biggest philanthropists in 2017. The individuals on the list gave away 23.3 billion yuan ($3.7 billion) last year, a drop of over one-third year-on-year. Photo: VCG

Founder of home appliance-maker Midea Group Co. Ltd. He Xiangjian donated 6.8 billion yuan ($1.09 billon) to charity last year, leading the list of Chinas top 100 philanthropists for the first time.

The top 100 givers on the Chinese mainland donated 23.3 billion yuan in total last year, according to a report published Tuesday by Beijing Normal Universitys China Philanthropy Research Institute.

That represented a drop of over one-third from the previous year due to the absence of big-name philanthropists including Pony Ma, founder of Chinese internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd.

Pony Ma topped the 2016 list after giving 16.97 billion yuan worth of equity to a nonprofit foundation affiliated to his company. Ma broke the record for the biggest donation held by Jack Ma  founder of e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.  who gave away 16.9 billion yuan worth of shares in 2014.

Jack Ma preferred to keep a low-profile about his charity work. He gave 100 million yuan last year to a medical foundation linked to a hospital affiliated to Zhejiang Universitys School of Medicine.

In comparison, the top 50 givers in the United States donated $12.2 billion to charity in 2016, up from $11.1 billion from the previous year, according to Forbes Magazine.

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. chairman Warren Buffett topped the list by giving away $2.86 billion in 2016.

35 of the 100 most generous people in China last year have been regular names in the annual list. This includes Wang Jianlin, chairman of Dalian Wanda Group Co. Ltd., and Xu Jiayin, chairman of Evergrande Real Estate Group, who have been on the list for seven years in a row.

Many Chinese donors chose to fund poverty alleviation operations and education projects, according to the report.

Xu, second on the list, pledged 3.4 billion yuan to fight poverty in the southern province of Guangdong and in Bijie, an impoverished city in the southwestern province of Guizhou.





But, the countrys tax laws still dampen donor enthusiasm, particularly when it comes to giving away company shares. Midea founder He was forced in July to cancel a plan to donate 100 million shares of his company to set up a charitable trust. Instead, he opted to divert dividends from the shares into a foundation under his name to avoid huge taxes.

Chinas tax law came under scrutiny after Cao Dewang, chairman of automotive glass giant Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. Ltd., disclosed he had to pay an additional 500 million yuan in taxes to donate 300 million company shares worth 3.75 billion yuan in 2011.

Authorities have since overhauled the tax code, exempting stock donations to foundations and charitable organizations registered in China.

Contact reporter Li Rongde (rongdeli@caixin.com)
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
1. Lady Shri Ram College For Women, New Delhi

Traditionally, it was believed that arts are for the fairer sex. Thus, that period saw a number of centres for learning coming up exclusively for women. Very few of them have survived till date.

Founded in 1956, Lady Shri Ram College for women is one that has not just survived but has established itself as the top college for pursuing a degree in arts in the country. With a three-year undergraduate course costing a little over Rs. 60,000, the college has a very active placement cell.

Students are encouraged to go for internships while pursuing the course, during which they make Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 15,000 per month.

Visit Us At: Lady Shri Ram College for Women

2. Loyola College, Chennai

With its proud alumni base consisting of people like Viswanathan Anand, P Chidambaram and Mahesh Babu, this institution has ensured that it always remains on the top in terms of imparting quality education to its students.

Loyola focuses on imparting practical and industry-related knowledge to its students and that is why the placement cell ensures that all final year students go through some form of an internship. Following this the candidates are made to sit for the actual placements wherein a number of top-notch companies visit the campus.

Google, Goldman Sachs, EY are few of the top companies that contribute to the placement scene in the college.

Visit Us At:Loyola College (Autonomous)

3. Christ College, Bengaluru

With an average course fee of about Rs. 60,000, this college provides the best of facilities in terms of infrastructure and quality of education. The psychology and performing arts courses in the college are also amongst the most innovative ones offered by any institution.

With an average student package of Rs. 4.5L per annum, the highest compensation went all the way up to Rs. 14L, making it one of the most sought-after colleges in the country.

Visit Us At:Christ College, Bengaluru

4. St. Xaviers College, Mumbai

The first college to become autonomous under the Mumbai University in 2010 is St. Xavier's College. The fee structure of the college is very affordable to say the least. The students do not have to pay more than Rs. 17,000 for a three-year undergraduate course in this institution. But this does not mean the college compromises on its quality of education or the placement of its students.

The college had recorded a placement of 98% last academic year. St. Xavier's does not accept donations in any form and does not have collaborations with any bank whatsoever. The focus of the institution is imparting quality education.

Visit Us At:St. Xavier's College - Autonomous, Mumbai

5. Miranda House, New Delhi

Another all women's institution under the University of Delhi, Miranda House believes in providing equal opportunities to all women so that they can take on the mantle of civilisation and take the country to newer heights of glory.

It has a modest fee structure of Rs. 12,000 for an undergraduate course in arts. The placement scene in the college is pretty promising with a number of MNCs visiting the same year after year.

Visit Us At:Miranda House, Delhi

6. Hansraj College, New Delhi

Founded a year after independence, the college has stood true to its values and over the years it has established itself as a temple of learning in the capital of the nation.

Companies that visit the campus range from start-ups like Flipkart to established firms like TCS; the college has recorded an average placement of 80%. The average package in the campus goes all the way up to Rs. 6L per annum.

Visit Us At:Hansraj College

7. Shri Ram College Of Commerce, New Delhi

A typical government college, the Shri Ram College of Commerce aims at bringing quality education to the fingertips of the average Indian. Founded way back in 1926, the college has an illustrious line of alumni to its credit.

The fee structure in this college is pretty nominal and if the student is hard working and puts in due effort, it can be assured that she or he will be campus placed.

Visit Us At:Shri Ram College of Commerce

8. Hindu College, New Delhi

Founded in 1899, this college has a legacy to tell. This college has a modest fee structure of about Rs. 14,500 for an undergraduate course in arts. The infrastructure and hostel facilities of the college are commendable. With a highest placement package of Rs. 29L, this college is surely making its way to the top in the country.

Visit Us At:Hindu College, Delhi

9. Ramjas College, New Delhi

Founded in 1918, this college is one of the strongest pillars of the University of Delhi. With Wipro, Deloitte, ICICI Prudential, Protiviti and other top-notch companies visiting the campus year after year, the placement scene is pretty commendable to say the least.

The fee structure is also pretty low (standing at approximately Rs. 10, 000 for an undergraduate course in arts). Thus, with this sort of college on offer, the average lower and middle-class students who are good in academics do not have to worry about financial independence post the course.

Visit Us At:Ramjas College

10. Madras Christian College, Chennai

This is one of the top minority-run institutions in the country. The fee structure here is just right; it is neither too low nor too high. The placement scene is also pretty commendable, thus, making it one of the most loved institutions of the south. Some of its lustrous line of alumni includes Prakash Karat and Indira Nooyi, amongst others.

Visit Us At:Madras Christian College
1. St. Stephens College, New Delhi

One of the pillars of establishment of the Delhi University, this college has held its stance as one of the top colleges of the country since its inception in 1881. The legacy of the college has been passed on in the form of values inculcated in its students.

At the same time, the college has kept up with the changing times and introduced a number of new courses in the field of science and technology. With its modest fee structure, the college has been able to provide an average salary of Rs. 8L per annum to its graduating students in the academic year 2016 - 2017.

Visit Us At: St. Stephen's College, New Delhi

2. Loyola College, Chennai

An autonomous college under the Madras University, this institution holds its grounds as a top college in almost all disciplines. With a fee structure that is neither too less nor too much (about Rs. 50K for a two-year MSc course), the college has been able to deliver value for the money paid.

The college invests a lot of money and effort in its placement training programs, resulting in 100% or near 100% placement year after year.

Visit Us At: Loyola College (Autonomous)

3. St. Xaviers College, Kolkata

With the motto being, Nihil Ultra,' the college fosters the understanding that there is nothing that one cannot achieve. Although the college is better known for its commerce section, its science section is so good that the college makes its way to the top 3 science colleges of the country. The fee structure here is on the lower side.

For self-financing courses it is Rs. 10K; whereas, for the rest of the courses, it is a mere Rs. 5K. However, this does not mean that the college compromises on its placements. Over the course of the last few years, the college was able to place more than 500 of its students into some of the most reputed global companies.

Visit Us At: St. Xavier's College, Kolkata

4. Christ College, Bengaluru

Founded in 1969, the college became autonomous only recently, in 2008. It is one of the most expensive colleges in the list having a whooping average fee structure of 4L per course. However, the college is equally good in its placements.

In fact, it would not be wrong to say that placements are the crowning glory of the institution. Over 700 students were placed in different companies last year alone. The fact that this college has some of the most modern and well-equipped laboratories in the country is an added advantage.

Visit Us At: Christ College, Bengaluru

5. Ramjas College, Delhi

This is another college in Delhi that is older than the Delhi University itself. The institution is well known for its study abroad and student exchange programs. The placement scene itself is commendable, to say the least.

What sets this college apart from the others is the fact that this institution was able to maintain its placement record even during the time of recession. It has a modest fee structure (of about Rs. 10K per course on an average) and focuses on providing education for all.

Visit Us At: Ramjas College, Delhi

6. Miranda House, Delhi

In a country that believes education is an exclusive privilege for men, Miranda House is a centre for excellence in learning that was set-up exclusively for women a year after the nation gained its independence. The fact that even seven decades down the line the institution is able to maintain its stance speaks volumes about the firm foundation of values that the institution inculcates.

Its science courses are way above that offered by other colleges because of the fact that the college invests a significant amount in its laboratory facilities. With a fee structure of about Rs. 15K per course, the college is able to produce exceptional science graduates and maintain its average placement record of above 80% year after year.

Visit Us At: Miranda House, Delhi

7. Madras Christian College, Chennai

One of the most prestigious colleges of the country, the college has Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Prakash Karat and Indra Nooyi amongst its alumni list. The fee structure is evenly distributed with the students having to pay the amount per semester instead of paying the whole thing at a go.

Being one of the top minority-run institutions of the country, it is very strict with its values, and donations in any form are not encouraged. With an average student package of Rs. 2.3L per annum, the college has recorded the highest package of Rs 3L per annum in the last financial year.

Visit Us At: Madras Christian College

8. Hansraj College, New Delhi

Another top college under the Delhi University, the college is comparatively newer than the ones discussed previously. The fee structure for an average science course is Rs. 70K. However, the money that is spent on the fees is a worthy investment because the college records placement as such.

The scientific facilities that are offered by the institution are also noteworthy. With state of the art technologies available at the fingertips of its students, this institution produces some of the most promising science graduates of the country.

Visit Us At: Hansraj College

9. Fergusson College, Pune

One of the oldest colleges of the region, this institution has a heritage to hold on to. Maybe this is the reason why it has held on to a low fee structure that has not escalated over the years as much as it should have.

However, there are things that the college has kept up with along with the changing times, the host of new courses on offer speaks volumes in support of this fact. The college recorded an overall placement of 70% in the last academic year.

Visit Us At: Fergusson College, Pune

10. Hindu College, Delhi

Another very old college under the Delhi University, this is one of the best majority-run institutions in the country. Having a modest fee structure of less than Rs. 50K for a science program, this institution makes sure that all its competent students are placed in the top-notch global and national companies.

In this regard, the efforts of the placement cell, DISHA, are commendable. It is the placement scene in the college that ensures that the college features in the top 10 institutions of scientific learning in the country.

Visit Us At: Hindu College, Delhi
Kia has said Namaste to the Indian car market by unveiling a new SUV concept and putting its full range on display for the Indian car market to see at the 2018 Auto Expo. The SUV concept is called the SP and will be the first model that Kia will produce at their India plant in 2019. It will be joined by a compact SUV as well as an India specific compact sedan as the vehicles that will lead Kias foray into India.

While the SP was the highlight of the unveiling, the South Korean brand also showcased its entire range that is currently on sale in a variety of markets across the world. This range includes SUVs, hatchbacks, MPVs, sedans and of course their first attempt a premium sedan- the Stinger GT.

The hatchbacks were represented by the Picanto GT and Ceed premium hatchback. The former is a sibling of the Hyundai Grand i10 , though in this form it is a hot hatchback while most Indian readers will remember that a previous generation of the Ceed was the reasonably priced car on the Jeremy Clarkson era of Top Gear motoring programme. Among the sedans were the Rio, Cadenza and Cerato. We believe that of these three Kia will base its compact sedan on the Rio.

Given that this is the era of SUVs, Kia had to bring its high riding vehicles and had everything from the little Sportage (in GT guise no less) to the Sorento and the massive Mohave which appears to be a slightly older design than the rest.

Lastly, Kia also showcased three plugin hybrid vehicles- the Optima sedan, Niro small SUV and the rather funky looking Soul full electric vehicle.

Hyundai
Transcript for VitalSigns Teleconference: Asthma in Children

Press Briefing Transcript Tuesday, February 6, 2018 Audio recording media icon [MP3  3 MB] Please Note: This transcript is not edited and may contain errors.

OPERATOR: Welcome and thank you for standing by. All participants will be on a listen only mode until the question and answer session of todays conference. At that time, you may press star then one to ask a question from the phone lines. Also, this conference is being recorded. If you have any objections, you may disconnect at this time. I will now like to turn the call over to your host, Ms. Kathy Harben. Thank you maam, you may begin.

KATHY HARBEN: Thank you Katie. And thank you all for joining us today for the release of a new CDC Vital Signs. We are joined by CDCs Acting Director Dr. Anne Schuchat, and were also joined by Dr. Cathy Bailey. Shes Acting Chief of the Air Pollution and Respiratory Health Branch in CDCs National Center for Environmental Health. Following their brief remarks, Drs. Schuchat and Bailey will take your questions.

ANNE SCHUCHAT: Good afternoon and thank you for joining us today. CDC works 24/7 protecting Americas health, safety, and security. Each month in our Vital Signs report, we focus on a major health threat to tell you what we are doing about it, and how you can help. Todays Vital Signs contains new information about asthma in children. Now I know that were all focused on influenza right now and I want to remind you that flu can be very hard on people with asthma. In fact, of the children who have been hospitalized for influenza so far this season, asthma has been the most common medical condition that weve seen. Todays Vital Signs is reporting on asthma in children based on findings from the National Health Interview Survey for 2001 to 2016. Overall, there are some encouraging trends. Children and caregivers are reporting fewer asthma attacks, fewer missed school days, and fewer hospitalizations. Clinicians, families, communities and schools have contributed to great progress in teaching children how to recognize asthma attacks early and how to respond to them. But not all of the news is good. Severe asthma attacks can be terrifying for children and for their families. Todays report reveals that in 2016, one in six children with asthma still ended up in the emergency department or urgent care. In 2013, about one in 20 children with asthma was hospitalized. More than half of all children with asthma had one or more attacks in 2016. Todays Vital Signs report also shows that asthma prevalence among children increased between 2001 and 2010 and then decreased between 2010 and 2016. The percent of children with asthma who had an asthma attack declined from 2001 to 2016. The decline went from 61.7 percent in 2001 to 53.7 percent in 2016. This decline in the percent of children who had an asthma attack was seen among both boys and girls and all ages and races and ethnicities. Children with asthma had fewer missed school days and hospitalizations in 2013 compared with 2003. Clearly, our work is not done. Asthma cant be cured  but most of the time, we can control asthma symptoms and prevent asthma attacks. To do this, healthcare providers, parents, children, and schools must work together. Healthcare providers play a crucial role in these efforts, working with children and parents on asthma control. For example, we know that children need to use medicine as prescribed to prevent asthma attacks. However, our data show about half or 45.5 percent of children prescribed asthma control medicines do not use them regularly. Why have we seen these improvements? Todays study was not designed to specifically examine the reasons. But we do have evidence from a number of small projects that show us we have the tools to help children and parents manage asthma, to help them avoid hospital stays, and reduce missed school days. One example we want to highlight comes from Rhode Island, where their home asthma response program showed improved control and reduced cost by a home visit program targeting high risk children. There is no single strategy or magic bullet that prevents asthma attacks. But recent evidence shows that a combination of actions can be highly effective. These actions include using asthma action plans, reducing asthma triggers like pet dander, using medicines properly, self-management education offered at home and in school, and providing guidelines-based care. Also, avoiding second-hand smoke. Whats needed now is to help children have more control over their asthma by scaling up these effective strategies so that children have fewer of these awful episodes. Next, Im going to turn things over to Dr. Bailey.

CATHY BAILEY: There are many things that can be done to continue and increase the progress we are making with asthma in children. For example, CDC is working with state, territorial, private and non-government partners to support good medical management, asthma-self management education, and, for people at high risk, home visits to reduce triggers and help with asthma management. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers are working with children and parents to assess each childs asthma, prescribe appropriate medicines, and determine whether home health visits would help prevent attacks. Schools have a large part to play to help children manage their asthma, including having asthma friendly policies about childrens medicine use. Parents and children can reduce triggers in the home, including not smoking. They can make sure children use their medicines as prescribed and let others know about their childs asthma action plan. Payers/health insurance plans are reimbursing healthcare providers for education of children with asthma, including development of their personalized asthma action plans. By linking the efforts of health systems, state and local health departments, schools, individuals and CDC, we can control asthma in children. Thank you. Ill turn it back to our moderator now.

KATHY HARBEN: Thank you Dr. Bailey. Katie, we are ready for questions please.

OPERATOR: Thank you. At this time, we would like to begin the question and answer portion of this conference. If you would like to ask a question from the phone lines, please press star then one, unmute your phone and record your name when prompted. If you need to withdraw your question, please press star then two. Once again, to ask a question from the phone line, please press star then one and record your name when prompted. One moment please while questions que up. Our first question comes from Mike Stobbe with the Associated Press. Your line is now open.

MIKE STOBBE: Hi, thank you for taking my call. If I could ask two questions. I was wondering regarding asthma prevalence among children, the report says it increased from 8.7 percent in 2010 and then back to 8.3. I was wondering between 2001 and 2016, the 8.7 to 8.3, was that change statistically significant or does it basically stay the same between those two points of time. And my second question, about the fewer asthma attacks, you all mentioned smoking. I was wondering to what extent you think smoking rules about indoor smoking and other things might have contributed to that decline. Thank you.

ANNE SCHUCHAT: Thanks for those questions Mike. The changes over time were significant. The increase and then the decrease were both statistically significant. This change in asthma attacks, you know, certainly the reduction in secondhand smoke is a good thing. Whether that accounts for all of this progress, I think its unlikely. We do know that from some of these smaller scale demonstration projects, that the community efforts, the school efforts, the home visits probably have quite a lot to do with it. Part of that of course is talking to the family about the triggers in the household whether its the family pet or the household smoking. So I think addressing multiple effort is needed. We cant attribute all of this progress to secondhand smoke reduction. Operator, next question.

OPERATOR: We are currently showing no questions in queue. If you would like to ask a question from the phone line, please press star then one and record your name when prompted. One moment please while questions queue up. Our next question comes from Tom Corwin with the Augusta Chronicle. Your line is now open.

TOM CORWIN: Hi thanks for taking my question. I noticed from the report that just over half of the children have an asthma action plan and I wonder if that is, in your minds, might also be responsible for the poor asthma medication adherence. Thanks.

ANNE SCHUCHAT: We do think that having an asthma action plan is important, but we do think it takes multiple efforts to make sure kids are under good control. The plan alone is not enough, so in addition to that we recommend assessing the home environment for those triggers. And self-management education can be helpful, but the action plans, wed like to see more of those. We saw that advice on environmental control was present in only 46 percent of the kids, so we think there are a number of efforts to where higher uptake could reduce the asthma attack.

TOM CORWIN: If I could ask a quick follow-up, where do you feel like that maybe this isnt being done? Is this in the routine doctor visit? Is this follow-up from ER visits? Where do you think this is falling through?

ANNE SCHUCHAT: You know, I think this is an area where we need multiple interventions. We need the docs, or the nurses or the team in the office to help reinforce the appropriate use of medication and the self-management. We want the schools to have information about the asthma action plan. We know that parents have a huge role in how children manage their asthma and other caregivers as well of children. This is one of those areas where it takes a village to reinforce the asthma help that a child has, but we have good data now emerging from one of those smaller interventions and wed really like to see it go broader in all states and communities. We dont think that children need to be hospitalized for asthma. Wed like to really reduce that number from whats it been. We know that the progress we are reporting today is just the beginning. We hope we can see a lot more progress in the future.

OPERATOR: Our next question comes from Marie Rosenthal with PPN.

MARIE ROSENTHAL: Hi, thanks for taking my call. Can you talk a little about the disparities in asthma prevalence based on race?

ANNE SCHUCHAT: Yes, thank you. The statistics from the National Health Interview Survey show that there are some differences in asthma among children. Boys are more likely to have asthma than girls. Children over five are more likely to have asthma, although it can be more severe in the children under five. We saw that non-Hispanic Black children and children of Puerto Rican descent were more likely to have asthma than those who were non-Hispanic white or other race ethnicity groups. The issue though with the trend in declining asthma attacks is that we saw that in all race ethnicities. There wasnt any race ethnicity difference for medication use or self-management, so what we see is sort of a baseline difference in prevalence, but with improvements in the asthma attacks in all groups. Thanks for that question.

OPERATOR: Our next question comes from Mike Stobbe with the Associated Press. Your line is now open.

MIKE STOBBE: Thank, sorry Im going to throw one more in if you dont mind. Dr. Schuchat, you said in the beginning, the thing about asthma being the most common medical condition weve seen in children hospitalized with the flu. Did you mean generally or are there some statistics from this particular season that you can share with us? How many children are hospitalized with the flu and what proportion of them have asthma? Thank you.

ANNE SCHUCHAT: Yeah, the surveillance that we have for hospitalizations is just in a sample of states, in counties within 13 states. But in that so far this year we have data on underlying conditions on 180 children who were hospitalized with influenza and about half of the children did not have a medical condition, but about 24 percent of them had asthma. That was the most common underlying condition. Year in and year out this is pretty much what we see. That a number of otherwise health kids get hospitalized with influenza, but among those who have a medical condition, asthma is the leading one. We know that when you have asthma a respiratory virus can be really hard for you to fight off. It can trigger your asthma getting worse, as well as, of course the influenza being potentially severe. Those numbers I gave you were for this season, but its been the same in years past. And we recommend everybody with asthma get an influenza vaccine every year and of course we now have universal recommendation for everybody six months and up because we know its just so much harder to fight the flu when you have an underlying condition like asthma.

KATHY HARBEN: Thank you very much. Thank you Drs. Schuchat and Bailey for joining us today, as well as reporters. For follow-up questions, call the press office at 404-639-3286 or send an email to media@cdc.gov. Thank you for joining us; this concludes our call.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESexternal icon
The Economists Intelligence Unit has recorded the sharpest decline in democracy around the world since it began publishing its Democracy Index. All around the world, threats to democracy are becoming more and more prevalent as nativism and erosions of the press grow more intense. Democracies around the world are fragile, and its up to each countrys people to make them better and more stable.

The Economists Intelligence Unit judges the strength of a democracy on five different categories: Electoral process and pluralism; civil liberties; the functioning of government; political participation; and political culture. Of those five categories, there are an additional 60 factors that are calculated to give an index number for each country. If your country scores an eight or more, then you have a full democracy. If your country scores less than three, then your country is an authoritarian regime.

Of the 133 countries in the world that this index is based on, only 19 of them are considered a full democracy. The United States was downgraded last year to a flawed democracy, and remains in that same dubious category this year. Lets take a look at the top 15 countries if you dare by scrolling down to the next page.

Next: See what countries ranked in the top 15.

15. Austria  8.14/10.00

Out of the five categories, Austria scored the lowest under the political culture section with a score of 6.88. Their strongest category was the electoral process and pluralism with a score of 9.58.

Next: Its hard to imagine a monarchy having a better democracy than the U.S., yet here we are.

14. The United Kingdom  8.53/10.00

Although the monarchy is the face of the nation, the government is very much a democracy. Their functioning of government category could use some help with a score of 7.5. But, they more than make up for it with their best score from the electoral process and pluralism category, sitting at 9.58.

Next: They were once one of the most oppressive countries on the planet.

13. Germany  8.61/10.00

Its hard to imagine that less than 100 years ago, the Germans were our sworn enemy and the definition of an authoritarian regime. Now they have some of the freest elections with a score of 9.58 in that category. But, they still need some work in their political culture segment with a score of 7.5.

Next: A little country that has a stronger democracy than ours

12. Luxembourg  8.81/10.00

Luxembourg is the first country to get a perfect score in a single category of the top 15 countries listed here. They scored a 10 in the electoral process and pluralism section. Oddly enough, their lowest score was in political participation with 6.67. If only people knew how easy it was to participate in their government in Luxembourg.

Next: This country didnt score below an eight in any category.

11. The Netherlands  8.89/10.00

The Dutch really know how to do it. In every category, they scored above an eight. Their strongest category was the electoral process and pluralism where they score a 9.58. Political culture was their lowest score with 8.13.

Next: We have our first tie, so please excuse the wonky numbering.

T-9 Switzerland  9.03/10

Like the Netherlands, Switzerlands strongest category was the electoral process and pluralism section. They scored a 9.58 out of 10. But unfortunately, their political participation was way down at 7.78.

Next: They [Finnish] nicely tied at No. 9.

T-9 Finland  9.03/10.00

The Finnish must have a very robust electoral system because they scored a 10 in the electoral process and pluralism category. Everywhere else was above a nine except for the political participation section, where they scored a 7.78.

Next: Now we can leave Europe for a bit.

8. Australia  9.09/10.00

Australia got a perfect score in the civil liberties and electoral process and pluralism categories. That weighted nicely against a low score of 7.78 in the political participation section. For a country founded from a penal colony, wed say theyre doing a heck of a job.

Next: Another tie for the books

T-6 Canada  9.15/10.00

Political participation continues to be most of these countries struggling section. Canada is no different with a score of 7.78. They do, however, have a perfect score on civil liberties. Those two scores balance out nicely and set them in a great spot on the EIU index.

Next: Lets go back across the pond for this next country.

T-6 Ireland  9.15/10.00

Ireland posted two perfect scores in the political culture and civil liberties categories. Their biggest pitfall was the functioning of government section where they scored a 7.86. Just like the U.S., it seems other countries have difficulty getting things done in their governments.

Next: The top five are predominantly European.

5. Denmark  9.22/10.00

Denmark is doing great with a healthy position at number five on the list of the full democracies. They scored a 10 in both the electoral process and pluralism and civil liberties categories. Their lowest score was political participation with 8.33, but that is still pretty great.

Next: Those Kiwis really have something going for them down there.

4. New Zealand  9.26/10.00

As we get into these higher numbers, youll notice that the countries listed do very well in the electoral process and pluralism, and the civil liberties categories. New Zealand scored a 10 in each category. Their political culture is at 8.13, but I think theyre doing just fine.

Next: Heres where Northern Europe takes the lead.

3. Sweden  9.39/10.00

Oddly enough, Sweden participated in some very horrible things in their recent history. But, it seems they have made a complete recovery because they now have a perfect score in civil liberties and electoral process and pluralism.

Next: Can you guess what No. 2 is?

2. Iceland  9.58

With only one score below a nine, Iceland holds the No. 2 spot on the list of the worlds strongest democracies. They have a perfect score in political culture and the electoral process. The lowest section was their political participation with a score of 8.89.

Next: The No. 1 democracy in the world is 

1. Norway 9.87/10

Norway has democracy down. They scored a perfect 10 in three separate categories and their weakest section was functioning of government; they scored a 9.29. To put that into perspective, the U.S. scored a 7.22 in that category. Norway certainly has an amazing democracy according to this index.

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Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement last November, they have garnered a ton of international media attention and became the couple everyone cant stop talking about. Therefore, Lifetime decided we needed a movie about them.

What can we expect from this made-for-TV movie? Well, if youve seen any of Lifetimes unauthorized biographies, you know why they dont get the best reviews. Theyre usually pretty bad actually, but they do attract a decent number of viewers. Its almost like people tune in to see how cheesy they will be.

So, lets dive into just how awesomely bad Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance may be.

Their whirlwind romance

The film will chronicle the love story between the American actress and the British prince. It will begin with the moment they met to their inter-continental courtship to their romantic getaway in Botswana, and finally, to the global media frenzy that is their royal engagement.

Viewers love to take to social media during these Lifetime movies and point out all the inaccuracies, especially because some scenes are so outrageous, no one believes they ever occurred. Were definitely looking forward to that.

Next: Who will play the prince?

Murray Fraser will play Harry

Murray Frasier will play Prince Harry, and people are not happy about that choice. Many think that Fraser, who starred in the British mini-series The Loch as well as Victoria, doesnt really look like Harry.

But Lifetime has cast lots of people who look nothing like the famous faces they are portraying. Thats part of what makes these TV movies so awesomely bad.

Next: Who will play Markle?

Parisa Fitz-Henley will play Markle

Parisa Fitz-Henley will play Harrys fiancee. This is a decision that most people seem happy about.

Fitz-Henley, who has had roles on Netflixs Jessica Jones as well as on Midnight, Texas, does bear a resemblance to Markle. But she has much more in common with the bride-to-be than just her looks and acting.

Next: What do the actresses have in common?



Fitz-Henley and Markle are both bi-racial

The network really may have hit it out of the park with this one because not only do the two actresses resemble one another, they have a lot in common. Both women are bi-racial and have parents who divorced when they were very young.

And, like Markle, Fitz-Henley has talked publicly about being a bi-racial actress. She told the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder the following:

My mother is white, my father is black. Growing up, I never saw interracial relationships. I didnt even get to see my own parents together, so I was always super-excited when I saw an interracial family anywhere. So to be on a show (NBCs Midnight, Texas) where interracial relationships are the norm, is incredible to me.

Next: What do the royals think of the upcoming flick?



Reaction from the royal family

Not surprisingly the royals arent commenting on the upcoming Lifetime movie and really, why would they? Its not like this is something they can stop. It just comes with being a public figure.

However, we think they may be curious enough to tune in or at least set their DVRs. Then again, they may just b used to this type of thing since it isnt the first movie made about their family. It isnt even the first movie to air on Lifetime about their family.

Next: What other royals had their love story turned into a Lifetime movie?

William and Kate had a Lifetime movie about them too

The same network also released a TV movie about Prince Harrys brother, Prince William, and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton.

That flick, simply titled William & Kate: The Movie, starred Nico Evers-Swindell and Camilla Luddington as The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The movie aired on April 18, 2011, just days before the couple tied the knot at Westminster Abbey.

Next: When will Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance air?

The premiere date

So, when will the movie about Harry and Markle debut? May 13, just days before the royal wedding itself, is the premiere of the Lifetime flick.

Harry & Meghan: A Royal Romance was directed by Menhaj Huda, who also served as the director on an episode of the E! scripted drama The Royals.

Follow Michelle Kapusta on Twitter @philamichelle.

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Gus Kenworthy, an openly gay freeskier representing the U.S. in the Winter Olympics, says that Vice President Mike Pence is a bad fit to lead the U.S. delegation to South Korea later this month.

(Pence) seems like such a strange choice, he told Ellen DeGeneres on her show.

To have somebody leading the delegation thats directly attacked the LGBTQ community, and a Cabinet in general that just sorts of stands against us and has tried to do things to set us back, it just seems like a bad fit, he added.

The Trump administration has been criticized for what the LGBTQ community calls anti-LGBTQ policies. Trump has tried to block transgender people from enlisting in the military, and the Justice Department reversed a policy that protected transgender employees.

Pence, the former governor of Indiana, signed a religious freedom law while in the governors office that the LGBTQ community criticized. As a congressman, he supported a constitutional amendment that defined marriage has between a man and a woman.

I feel like the Olympics is all about inclusion and people coming together, and it seems like its not really doing that, Kenworthy said.

Kenworthy is the second U.S. Olympian to criticize Pence. Earlier this year, openly gay figure skater Adam Rippon said he would not go to the White House if he were invited.

He said Pence doesnt stand for anything that I really believe in.

Adam Rippon, the other openly gay U.S. athlete who will be competing in the Pyeongchang Olympics, has also criticized Pence and turned down an opportunity to meet with him.

Photo courtesy: Flickr.com

Publication date: February 7, 2018
In another example of free speech being denied on a university campus, Ken Ham, founder of the popular Creation Museum and Ark Encounter attractions, has been booted from speaking at Oklahoma Central University next month.

Ham's presentation in the school's Constitution Hall was objectionable to a campus LGBT group, which put heavy pressure on the UCO Student Association (UCOSA) and university officials to cancel the March 5 speaking engagement. In his proposed talk at UCO, Ham would have discussed the two different worldviews and their starting points when interpreting scientific evidence, as he did in his evolution/creation debate with Bill Nye "The Science Guy" four years ago.

Ham noted: "Free speech in America is under increasing attack by some very intolerant people. In this case of discrimination, I find it highly ironic that after being booked to speak in the school's Constitution Hall, our constitutional right to free speech and the free exercise of religion, guaranteed under the First Amendment, have been denied."

Ham added: "A small but vocal group on campus put up a fuss about my talk and the university caved in, tearing up the contract and contradicting its policies of promoting 'free inquiry' and 'inclusiveness' on campus."

Answers in Genesis has posted a web article with more details about the cancellation.

Local pastor Paul Blair, who worked through a campus group to arrange to have Ken Ham appear in UCO's Constitution Hall, will now host the free lecture at his church, Fairview Baptist in Edmond, on March 5.

Ken Ham is president and founder of Answers in Genesis (AiG), an apologetics (i.e., Bible-defending) ministry based in northern Kentucky, near Cincinnati. In 2016 AiG opened the Ark Encounter, a one-of-a-kind Christian themed attraction with a massive Noah's Ark in Williamstown, Ky., which draws up to 8,000 guests in a day. The Creation Museum, located west of the Cincinnati Airport, has welcomed well over 3.5 million visitors and has proved to be a major family attraction in the Midwest. For more information, visit www.answersingenesis.org.

Photo courtesy: Flickr.com

Publication date: February 6, 2018
International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that 11 Iranian Members of Parliament (MPs) visited Evin Prison in Tehran on January 30, claiming that they were investigating reports of abuse. Evin Prison has a notorious reputation, at times being called the regime's torture factory. The MPs were at the prison for only three hours, which included a visit to the infamous Ward 209. However, according to Radio Farda, the MPs only spoke to four detainees and the visit was heavily supervised by intelligence agents.

The abuse of Christians imprisoned in Evin has been well documented by those who have survived their incarceration. Many have passed through Ward 209, which is administered by the Intelligence Ministry and often referred to as a "prison within a prison."

World Watch Monitor recently shared a November interview with Maryam Rostampour, a Christian convert who was imprisoned in Evin for eight months. She said, "One day is like a year, some days you can't breathe because you don't know what's going to happen to you the next day...When people experience living in Evin Prison, they will never be the same again. The stress is too much. We can't be the same people. We can't be as happy as before. We don't enjoy activities like normal people because all the time we think of those who are still there."

A number of high-profile Christians have experienced imprisonment in Evin Prison. Their names include:

Pastor Saeed Abedini was tortured during his imprisonment in Evin Prison and he reported witnessing the mistreatment of other prisoners of conscience. He was released in January 2016.

Maryam Naghash Zargaran reported that during her incarceration at Evin Prison, she endured severe torture and was denied medical treatment for preexisting health conditions. Maryam was released in August 2017 after serving more than her sentence.

Pastor Victor Bet-Tamraz reported weakness, breathing difficulties, weight loss, and a tooth infection following his conditional release from solitary confinement in Evin Prison in 2015. His judicial case is ongoing.

In February 2017, Amin Afshar Naderi and Hadi Askari went on a hunger strike to demand medical care after being refused treatment for serious medical conditions. Hadi remains detained in Evin Prison; both men report intense pressure to convert back to Islam. Their judicial case is ongoing.

Claire Evans, ICC's Regional Manager, said, "The plight of Iranian Christians is truly quite dire. Iran's regime is built upon fear and suppression, both of which are fully evident in the notorious operations of Evin Prison. Orchestrated visits with restricted visibility does nothing to improve the human rights conditions in the prison; instead, it is an attempt to hide the truth of the prison's brutality. Imprisoned Christians in Evin survive through the worst of the prison's cruelty, their lives forever changed because of the experience."

To read more Christian persecution news, visit www.persecution.org

Photo courtesy: Thinkstock/tiero

Publication date: February 7, 2018
On February 1, a federal judge put a halt to the deportation of about 50 Indonesian Christians living in New Hampshire. The next day, a different judge took the same measure to protect another 50 Indonesian Christians in New Jersey.

Despite an ongoing crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on immigrants living in the United States illegally, these 100 Christians from Southeast Asia can breathe a little easierfor now.

In the New Hampshire case, US District Judge Patti Saris gave the immigrants living mostly in the states coastal towns 90 days to reopen their cases once they receive the necessary paperwork.

Most of the endangered immigrants are counted among a group of about 2,000 ethnic Chinese Indonesian Christians who fled violence in their home country two decades ago. Each of them entered the United States legally, typically via tourist visas now long overstayed. While some have been granted legal status, othersincluding the dozens now threatened with deportationhave seen their applications denied or stalled.

The immigrants have held jobs, raised families, and lived peacefully in the US over the last 20 years. But their reprieve granted under previous administrations has ended as President Donald Trump emphasized a policy of removing illegal aliens.

The Last Fight

This is a hard case, said Saris at a hearing, according to Reuters. These are good and decent people who have stayed here with our blessing and were given work authority and havent violated the opinions we imposed on them.

In her opinion, Saris concluded that the 90-day pause was warranted in light of the potentially deadly circumstances that may await Christians forcibly returned to Indonesia.

A brief delay in unlawful deportation of residents who have lived here with government permission for over a decade outweighs the public interest in prompt execution of removal orders, where petitioners have been law-abiding and pose no threat to public safety, Saris wrote.

The immigrants have lived in the US for years, protected since 2010 by a now-defunct humanitarian program called Operation Indonesian Surrender. However, beginning in August of last year, as these individuals attended their regular ICE check-ins, they were informed of their impending deportation.

The plight of the dozens of Indonesian Christians in the New Jersey case is similar. In that case, US District Judge Esther Salas granted a temporary stay to deportations in response to a lawsuit put forth by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

New Hampshire governor, Chris Sununu, lauded the decision in his state and affirmed the courts call for further re-examination in the case. I will continue to advocate for a resolution that protects these individuals from religious persecution and allows them to remain in the United States, he stated.

Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the ACLU, critiqued ICE tactics in the case and expressed relief at the stay. The ruling ensures that the fundamental principles of habeas corpus and due process will not be discarded in the rush to deport these longtime residents, he told Law360.

Sandra Pontoh, pastor of the Madbury Maranatha Indonesian Fellowship in Madbury, New Hampshire, also rejoiced at the ruling.

I was hoping the judge would decide to let my friends work on their case for 90 days. That is what we hoped, Pontoh told the Associated Press. This is wonderful. That means my friends can have time, their lawyers will have more time to work on their cases. This is the last fight for them.

Battles for Religious Freedom in Indonesia

Indonesia ranks No. 38 on Open Doorss World Watch List, which tracks the most dangerous countries for Christians. After moves toward increased openness and democratic freedoms over the last two decades, Indonesia has sent mixed messages on persecution in recent years.

Last year, the Christian governor of Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, was convicted of blasphemy against Islam. The governor, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, received a two-year jail sentence for challenging political rivals on their use of the Quran to dissuade the countrys Muslims from voting for a non-Muslim.

Social, political, and religious forces have converged against Christians in the country that is home to the largest Muslim population in the world. Especially following Ahoks conviction, fringe Islamist groups have leveraged increased political influence. A 2006 law allegedly promoting religious harmony prompted the closure or destruction of more than 1,000 Indonesian churches. In 2015, threats against churches ultimately scared thousands of Christians from their homes in the nations Aceh province.

However, the last year has been somewhat more measured. Ahoks replacement in Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, has attempted to reach out to the archipelagos embittered Christians, inviting them to host their public Christmas celebration at the citys National Monument. (The Christians expressed appreciation, but rejected the offer.) In a far more significant move that came last November, Indonesias top court discarded the national requirement that compelled citizens to identify with one of six religions on their national identification cards.

According to Open Doors, Indonesia is on an overall negative trajectory in terms of freedom and protections for Christians. The continuing persecution of Christians in Indonesia provided the US judges grounds for staying deportation orders, as it is considered unconstitutional to deport immigrants to countries where they are likely to face persecution or torture.

A Temporary Respite

In New Jersey, four Indonesian Christian men sought refuge in the Reformed Church of Highland Park last month to avoid deportation. One of the men, Harry Pangemanan, who watched as two companions were arrested while he fled to the church, has a wife and two children and is an elder at the church. He helped rebuild hundreds of homes in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The court ruling means these men can now leave the church without fear of arrest for deportation.

Praise God, Pangemanan told USA Today. I feel so much relief and for my daughters. Theres still so much to do, but I just praise God for what we have now.

Reformed Church of Highland Parks pastor, Seth Kaper-Dale, is familiar with the predicament facing some of his congregants. In 2006, more than three dozen men connected to the church community were deported. Last year, eight Indonesian refugees moved into the church to find sanctuary in light of increased ICE threats of removal.

At the time, Kaper-Dale received a call from Arino Massie, an Indonesian Christian and one of his flock, saying, Pastor, Im already on the plane. Im headed for Japan. Thanks for all the efforts of the community. Tell the community I love them. Tell my son I love him.

The 100 Indonesian Christians in New Hampshire and New Jersey are now fighting a legal battle that, if lost, could lead them to the same fate that befell Massie.

For the moment, however, some of the pressure is off.

Judges Saris and Salas have rejected ICEs deportation initiatives for the time being. But the long-term threat is no less potent.

Under this Kafkaesque procedure, wrote Saris in her opinion, [the Indonesian Christians] will be removed back to the very country where they fear persecution and torture while awaiting a decision on whether they should be subject to removal because of their fears of persecution and torture.
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"Hope deferred makes the heart sick," the Bible tells us.

Regrettably, Dreamers throughout the country have lived that experience repeatedly in recent months and in new ways in recent days. The creation of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in 2012 was life-changing for hundreds of thousands of young peoplebut the announcement of its termination last September meant, barring legislative intervention, that they would lose their jobs and potentially even face deportation. Reports of a bipartisan "deal" gave us new hopeonly for it to be dashed within hours. We're fervently praying that our elected officials will come together quickly to find consensus.

We write, respectively, as the leader of a network of more than forty thousand Hispanic evangelical congregations and as a staff member at one of those local churchesWorld Impact Center - Impacto de Fe in Commerce City, Coloradowhose employment is possible only because of the DACA program.

My (Abigail's) story is similar in many ways to those of tens of thousands of others within churches that are represented by the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC). I arrived in the U.S. on a tourist visa with my family on July 4, 1999. I thought the fireworks were there to welcome us to our new home. But when my family overstayed their visasa concept I could not understand as a small childand became undocumented, our life was very challenging. When my friends were applying for driver's licenses, I discovered I could not. Though I was a strong student, I was ineligible for federal financial aid or for in-state tuition rates, so I could only afford to attend college part-time.

My family and I found strength in our local church, though, and I genuinely believe it came as an answer to the prayers of many in that church and in churches throughout the country that the DACA program came about, allowing me to work lawfully, pay my taxes, pay my way through college, and give back, serving on the staff of a local elementary school and now at my church. I am so incredibly grateful for this country and the many blessings it has offered to me, and I desperately want to be able to continue to contribute. But, without congressional action, I will lose my work authorization next yeara message I conveyed to legislators as I joined a delegation of other Christian Dreamers in Washington, D.C. recently.

I (Samuel) meet young people like Abigail on a regular basis in my role with the NHCLC and within the church that I pastor in Sacramento, California. They want nothing more than to continue to live, work, and contribute, using the gifts that God has given each of them to their fullest potential. Their churches are standing with them in pleading with both Republicans and Democrats in Congress to come together to pass legislation.

But it's not just Latino Christians who care about this: a poll last fall found that more than 70 percent of evangelical Christians of all ethnicities support legislation to allow Dreamers to stay in the U.S. and keep their jobs. More than 60 percent of those who voted for President Trump want these individuals to be able to become U.S. citizens, according to a Fox News poll. By roughly an eight-to-one margin, a recent Quinnipiac University poll found, Americans prefer allowing Dreamers to stay to their deportation.

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick," the author of Proverbs continues, "but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Members of Congress from both parties can come together quickly to resolve their differences, and President Trump can have the opportunity to do something none of his predecessors have been able to do: offer real, permanent hope to young people who are Americans in every way except on paper. In doing so, we promise that they will bear fruit, giving back many times over to this great country.

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. Abigail Molina serves on the staff of World Impact Center - Impacto de Fe, a non-denominational evangelical church that is a part of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference.
GAFCON head urges evangelical Anglicans to act on 'visible differentiation' warning

The chair of the GAFCON conservative Anglican grouping has urged evangelicals in the Church of England to act on a warning that they may distance themselves from the Church if it liberalises its doctrine of marriage and sexuality.

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) issued the document Gospel, Church & Marriage: Preserving Apostolic Faith and Life at the end of January. It said the doctrine that sexual relations were only for heterosexual marriage was not an 'optional extra' on which Christians could disagree and that a departure from apostolic teaching 'regrettably requires in response some degree of visible differentiation'.

Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, Primate of All Nigeria and chairma of the Gafcon Primates Council, said in his monthly letter to supporters: 'At a time when the Church of England's senior leadership seems unable to resist the pressure to compromise with a highly secular culture, it is a sign of hope that evangelical leaders are able to come together in this way.'

He quotes the statement about 'visible differentiation' and appears to encourage conservatives to distance themselves from the Church of England, saying: 'However, the question I humbly wish to ask my brothers and sisters in England is this: will you take courage and act on these words? As members of the Mother Church of our beloved Communion you have a great responsibility. We will pray for you and stand with you, but we cannot stand for you.

'If you do not act, sexual practices and gender identities which represent a radical rejection of God's will and purpose will become entrenched and lead to a tragic separation from the great majority of the Communion.'

Okoh says: 'There is much in our shared history that we can thank God for, but that alone will not hold us together in the present.'

GAFCON is a global movement of Anglicans resolutely opposed to what it perceives as a liberal drift within the Church of England and specifically to any compromise over same-sex relationships.
John Piper and mental health: Is it someone's own fault if they're depressed?

John Piper, famed conservative Bible teacher and pastor, found himself in a world of trouble yesterday when he  or rather his Desiring God ministries team  tweeted out a crassly ignorant statement on mental health. It said: 'We will find mental health when we stop staring in the mirror, and fix our eyes on the strength and beauty of God.'

An inundation of outrage flooded DG's Twitter feed, and rightly so. Someone doesn't have poor mental health because they're narcissistic, self-indulgent and unspiritual. They have it because  well, they're ill, they don't need a reason. Spiritualising a psychiatric problem and implying it's the sufferer's own fault is just beyond dreadful.

It was, on the other hand, an odd thing for Piper  or whoever  to say. He doesn't like the name-it-and-claim-it prosperity gospel one bit. He is a biblical literalist and a Calvinist, so has no problem with God striking people down if they deserve it  and ultimately God orders everything anyway. But just on Monday he reflected on the story of the epileptic (or demonized) boy in Matthew 17: 17-20, concluding: 'We shouldn't assume that in every case of unanswered prayer  for healing, let's say  the problem lies with defective faith. That was the case here, but given the way Jesus answers and the other things he says about prayer, I would not assume that's always the case.'

So it was odd, and some clarity was provided in a later DG tweet: 'Thank you to those expressing kind concerns. We apologize for leaving off the link that gives the context quoting Clyde Kilby from more than 40 years ago when "mental health" didn't have the same technical connotations as today.'

The concerns were not all expressed very kindly, in fact, but a link to the old article by Piper is instructive. On December 31, 2007, he wrote '10 Resolutions for Mental Health', quoting Kilby from a 1976 lecture that had impressed him. The offensive tweet is a quote from that piece, which majors on learning to see the goodness of God in the world he's made.

And fair enough: people weren't as sensitized to 'mental health' in 1976 as they are today and it was possible to use the expression more widely than we would now. But they knew what it meant in 2006, which doesn't say much for Piper's sensitivities; and someone at Desiring God should clearly not be trusted with its Twitter password if they think it's appropriate today.

At one level, the furore over the offending tweet is quite heartening. Lots of people know it's just not OK to say something like that. But on the other hand, the anger comes from the fact that a lot of people think it is. There's a deeply confused, theologically illiterate assumption that needs to be challenged, and it's this: if we're sick in body, it's fine to go to a doctor. If we're sick in mind, it's our own problem because we're not right with God.

This assumption is confused because it recognises physical sickness but not mental. It's theologically illiterate because it sets a lower bar for miraculous intervention to heal the mind than to heal the body.

Because that's what these people  to whose abusive practices many of the commentators on DG's original tweet refer  appear to think. Only the most extreme believer would fail to consult a doctor about heart disease or cancer. But a mental illness is held to be different, because  well, why? Is it easier for God to heal a mind than a body? Is it that the mind is somehow conflated with the 'spirit', which is God's domain? Or is it just a feeling that mentally ill people should just snap out of it and pull themselves together?

I don't think Piper and Co deserve quite the hammering they received, given their explanation; it was thoughtlessness and a disconnection from wider culture rather than a serious theological failure  though that in itself ought to raise uncomfortable questions for them. But the fact that everyone knew what they were saying  or appeared to be saying  and that this is such a common view in Christian circles is deeply worrying. Rather than a corrective tweet that's actually no more than semi-apologetic, perhaps they should write, clearly and at length, about poor mental health, and say: if that's you, it's not your fault.

Follow Mark Woods on Twitter: @RevMarkWoods
Nokia 7 Plus release date, specs rumors: Latest leaks reveal mid-range smartphone's dual Zeiss camera

Apart from the 2018 version of HMD Global's flagship smartphones, Nokia 8 and Nokia 9, the Finnish tech firm is also expected to launch the mid-range Nokia 7 Plus later this year. The latest leaks available on the internet suggest that the upcoming handset will not be a typical mid-tier phone and could even match a high-end device, thanks to a dual-lens Zeiss camera.

As reported by Phone Arena, a tech tipster posted the alleged leaked renders of the Nokia 7 Plus on the Chinese social networking website Baidu. The images are included in what appears to be a presentation slide that could be used in the smartphone's launch in the coming weeks. The Nokia 7 Plus is said to sport a 6-inch screen display with 18:9 aspect ratio. While it is not specified in the presentation slide, the image hints that the phone could offer a Full high-definition plus (HD+) display.

Interestingly, the recent leaked photos on Baidu reveal that the Nokia 7 Plus will boast a dual-lens Zeiss camera, which was first featured in the top-tier Nokia smartphones in the past few years. The rear camera module will be a combination of a 12 MP and 13 MP Carl Zeiss sensors, and this camera setup can provide 2x optical zoom. The front-facing camera will have a 16 MP Carl Zeiss sensor.

The Nokia 7 Plus is also shown to pack with Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 chipset with Adreno 512 graphics processing unit (GPU). The handset will also receive 4 GB of random-access memory (RAM) and 64 GB worth of built-in storage. It has an expandable storage via microSD card slot. The device features fast charging with a USB-C port, and it will run the latest Android 8.0 Oreo operating system out of the box.

HMD Global has yet to confirm the release date of its upcoming Nokia 2018 smartphones, although it is speculated that the new handsets will be unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) later this February. Aside from the Nokia 7 Plus, the public can expect to see the updated Nokia 8 and Nokia 9 smartphones during the tech expo.
Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact release date, specs leak: Carrier company hints at the arrival of new Z series phone

Sony has yet to confirm the latest lineup of Xperia XZ smartphones coming this year; however, recent reports suggest that more than one model from the Z series will arrive in the next few weeks. One of these will be the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact, the info having been spilled recently by a carrier company.

As reported by Phone Arena, a carrier firm named Three Ireland revealed on Twitter that the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact is among the new set of Xperia handsets to hit the shelves soon. A customer sent a tweet to the company, asking about the available Sony Xperia handsets in the coming months, to which Three Ireland replied that instead of the Sony Xperia XA2, the XZ2 Compact smartphone will be put on sale.

The public has already been expecting that the Sony Xperia XZ Pro will be the one presented at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 later this February. However, with the information leak that the Xperia XZ Compact can be expected soon, there might be more than two brand-new XZ handsets to be unveiled in the tech expo. To recall, Sony has already showcased the new Xperia XA2, XA2 Ultra and Xperia L2 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) last month, and it is likely that more high-end smartphones will be revealed in the upcoming tech conventions, including the MWC.

Interestingly, Three Island's tweet confirming that a special Sony Xperia XZ2 smartphone is arriving soon has been deleted. It is possible that the company realized that Sony has not yet announced the existence of the Xperia XZ2 Compact, and it should not have mentioned the device's availability in the market at this point.

Regarding the specs of the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact, it is expected to share the same features with its predecessor, the 2017 Sony Xperia XZ1. The handset could have a 1,080p screen resolution with a display size of to 5.2 inches. On the other hand, the larger Xperia XZ2 Pro variant could sport a 5.7-inch display with potential 4K resolution. Both Xperia XZ2 devices are likely to boast Qualcomm's latest high-end mobile chipset, the Snapdragon 845.
Two more priests killed in Mexico as violence continues

Two more priests have been killed in Mexico as attacks against church leaders continue in the largely Catholic country.

Fr Ivan Anorve Jaimes, pastor of Holy Family Parish in the town of Las Vigas, and Fr Germain Muniz Garcia, the pastor of Mezcala, were killed by unidentified individuals in Taxco township, the Archdiocese of Acapulco announced on Monday.

The pair were travelling along the Iguala-Taxco highway when they were shot at from another vehicle, which then fled the scene, according to a statement from the Guerrero State Attorney General's Office.

'As a Church we are greatly troubled by this tragic event which is mourned by the entire archdiocesan community and that of the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa. We call on the authorities, that once the truth is known, that justice be served,' a statement from the Archdiocese of Acapulco said.

It went on to call for prayer for 'the conversion of those who, forgetting that we are brothers, commit this kind of crime, which injures the dignity of the human person so much, snatches away the sacred gift of life and sows pain and suffering in the family and in society.'

'Let us not relent in our efforts to build peace in our family, in our community, in our state, in our homeland. Let us ask the Lord for this peace every day.'

The latest killings are part of a widespread spate of attacks on Catholic priests in Mexico. Despite the country's high religiosity, it is one of the most dangerous in the world to be a Catholic priest, with nearly 50 murders in the past decade alone.

Trying to explain the rising trend of violence against priests, Jorge Eugenio Hernandez Trasloheros, a professor in Latin American studies at the University of Mexico, previously told Christian Today it was 'not strange that priests suffer the same fate of the people' and the deaths were part of typical levels of violence in Mexico.

'Mexican priests are leaders in their communities. They are no saints but they usually do their job very well. It is not strange that they are a target of the gangs. The criminals want people isolated and full of fear,' he said.

But Omar Sotelo, a priest and director of Mexico's Catholic Multimedia Center (CCM), said clergy attract particular violence because they preach against injustice and violence. 'They're defending migrants, they're against drug trafficking,' he said when his report was launched in February 2016. 'And the priests often know who the criminals are, having seen them grow up in the towns. Eventually, some criminals can see that as a threat.'

This explanation is echoed by the Christian persecution watchdog, World Watch Monitor, which previously said that Christians are often targeted because they stand against the drug trade by, for example, setting up rehabilitation centres. 'Christians are also targeted because of the perception that churches and their leaders have a lot of money, so congregations offer a ready source of cash  cartels can simply enter, lock the doors and ask the congregation to empty their pockets,' the group said.
US ambassador: 'Religious freedom is the most important foreign relations topic today'

The US ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, Sam Brownback, made his first public appearance yesterday addressing Muslim, Jewish, and Christians leaders gathered to discuss their shared commitment to promoting peace and protecting religious minorities in the Muslim world.

Brownback told the delegates at the Alliance of Virtue for the Common Good conference in Washington, DC: 'I think religious freedom is the most important foreign relations topic today.'

The ambassador, whose speech was reported by the Catholic News Agency (CNA), added: 'The world needs reconciliation. It needs it between the Abrahamic faiths.'

Brownback, the former controversial Republican governor of Kansas, was speaking at the three-day event hosted by the Middle East-based Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies, which culminates today in the signing of a declaration on religious freedom.

On the steering committee for the interfaith conference is Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of the Archdiocese of Washington, along with Rabbi David Saperstein and other Muslim and evangelical leaders.

According to the CNA, the 'Washington Declaration' will build upon the 2016 'Marrakesh Declaration', which affirmed the rights of religious minorities in Muslim-majority countries, by adding an additional call to respect Muslims living in the US. Hundreds of Muslim scholars and leaders from more than 60 countries signed the Marrakesh Declaration, according to the Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim Societies.

Finland's foreign minister, Timo Soini, spoke of his experience as being part of a Catholic minority in a Lutheran-majority country. Soini, who has worked with Iraqi Christian refugees in Finland, told the CNA that 'the Christian minorities are the most persecuted people at the moment. And that must be said aloud...this is something for us western and European people to be outspoken [about].'

A Nigerian nun, Sister Agatha O Chikelue, was invited to speak at the conference about her interfaith peace-building work among Christians and Muslims. 'I want to hear the experiences of others from different parts of the world on how they managed their conflict, how the improved their interreligious dialogue, so that I can bring this back home to Africa,' Sr Agatha told the CNA.

She is the executive director of the Cardinal Onaiyekan Foundation for Peace which works with refugees displaced by the Boko Haram, and has created a network for Christian and Muslim women to work together to stand up against violence.

Addressing the Muslim, Jewish, and Christian leaders, Chikelue said that the Marrakesh Declaration reminds her of the Second Vatican Council document 'Nostra Aetate' ('In our time'), 'which gave us the room to embrace people, to extend our hands in fellowship to other people from other religious communities, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists'.

She added: 'If we, the Catholics, have seen this 50 years ago, and the Muslims have seen it now, and understood the need for us to work together, then what stops us from doing that? So, it is only left to us to use this Marrakesh Declaration, use the Second Vatican Council, to build a platform for us to discover our commonalities.'
The grandparents of a Houston child have been charged with conspiracy and international parental kidnapping of the boy, according to a news release by U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.

Carlos Otavio Guimaraes, 67, and Jemima Guimaraes, 65, were apprehended at the Miami airport Wednesday morning upon arrival from Brazil. They are set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge John J. O'Sullivan in Miami and federal prosecutors seek their detention, Patrick said.
A North Texas teacher has died from complications from the flu.

Heather Holland, a second-grade teacher at Ikard Elementary School with the Weatherford Independent School District died over the weekend, the Weatherford Democrat reports. Holland got sick about a week ago and took medication, but delayed picking up the prescription due to the $116 copay, according to the newspaper.

BRUTAL SEASON: This map of Texas explains why everyone you know has the flu

By Friday night, Holland's condition worsened and she was taken to the hospital. Her husband Frank Holland told the Weatherford Democrat that she died Sunday morning.

"She loved helping people, helping the kids, and the kids loved her," Holland's husband told the Weatherford Democrat.

Charlotte LaGrone, a spokeswoman for Weatherford ISD, told news station CBS DFW that counselors are available at the school for the rest of the week to help students and school staff cope with the sudden loss. She added that custodians started deep cleaning the district's schools in December to keep students from getting sick, and that the specific campus where Holland was employed had received an additional cleaning on Friday, Feb. 2.

MORE FLU IN TEXAS: Texas teacher is on life support after contracting two strains of the flu

This year's flu season has been particularly deadly, with flu-related deaths being reported across the nation. Last month, five flu-related deaths were reported in the greater Houston area. The CDC reports the flu is widespread across America this year and possibly won't peak until March.

Scroll through the gallery above to see top prevention tips for avoiding the flu.

Will Axford is a digital reporter for Chron.com. Read more of his stories here and follow him on Twitter.
It seemed like such a good idea at the time. When the Charities Act 2006 abolished the role of chief charity commissioner and split the function between two newly created positions  chair of the board (to be appointed by a government minister) and chief executive  charities hoped that this would be the springboard for a bright new future for the Charity Commission. One in which the regulator would be more sensitive to the needs and aspirations of the sector, and less slow-moving and legalistic in its behaviour.

Be careful what you wish for

For 150 years chief charity commissioners had been senior civil servants. They were sometimes considered unresponsive to the changing dynamics of the charity sector and insufficiently accountable to the public, but they were never accused of party political bias.

But unfortunately, 12 years on, we can now see that the creation of a government-appointed chairs role has seriously damaged the Commissions reputation as an impartial body operating above the political fray. This hasnt happened overnight. Slowly but surely, over a series of four appointments, we have moved from the chair of the Charity Commission being selected on merit, to a situation in 2018 where the job appears to be little more than a party political appointment in the gift of the Prime Minister.

The first chair of the Commission under the post-2006 arrangements was Geraldine Peacock, a former chief executive of two national charities with zero political connections. That was a good start. Next up was Dame Suzi Leather. She brought excellent regulatory experience and a good understanding of the sector  unquestionably the best candidate for the job. But, despite her many achievements as the Commissions chair, Dame Suzi made one serious mistake. Although she had never held any political office, she was a member of the Labour Party and did not renounce her membership as she should have done when she became chair, given the Commissions impartial role.

This appears to have emboldened the coalition government when replacing Dame Suzi at the end of her term in 2012. Enter William Shawcross  someone with no experience of regulation, who had never led or even worked in a large, complex organisation, and who had only very limited experience of the charity sector. It is hard to see how he came out on top in an open recruitment competition, except that he was extremely well-connected, not least to senior members of the Conservative Party.

And so to the recent announcement that the Conservative peer Baroness Stowell, who is a former Leader of the House of Lords and member of David Camerons Cabinet, is the governments preferred candidate to succeed William Shawcross when he steps down later this month. This takes the politicisation of the Charity Commissions board to a whole new level.

Not the best candidate

I understand from sources close to the process that Baroness Stowell was not the favoured candidate of the independent assessment panel chaired by the permanent secretary of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). An individual with significant regulatory experience and impressive charity leadership credentials, but with no political connections, had been identified by the panel as the best candidate. But when the three names who crossed the line were put forward to Number 10  as the Public Appointments process requires  it was Baroness Stowell who emerged, after a long delay (and presumably after an almighty tussle between DCMS and Number 10), as the Prime Ministers preferred candidate. Politics had won the day.

Baroness Stowell has recently become a trustee of two charities. She joined the board of Crimestoppers (chaired by former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, Lord Ashcroft) in July 2017, just two weeks before the Charity Commission vacancy was publicly advertised by the Cabinet Office. Her second trusteeship, at the Transformation Trust, only began in January 2018. These timings may be coincidental, but look very much like someone with little sector experience hurriedly joining a couple of charity boards to strengthen her CV.

Why this matters

In a 2015 discussion paper on Charity Commission independence, NCVO rightly stated that: Independence from both government and party politics is vital for the Charity Commission, particularly as the regulator of a sector that is characterised by its party-political neutrality. A charity regulator perceived to be political risks undermining perceptions of charities more generally.

And it is worth emphasising that perceived independence  being seen to be independent  is just as important as actual independence. Charities cannot afford for their regulator to be anything other than beyond all suspicion.

To her credit, Baroness Stowell has been quick to say that if her appointment is confirmed following an appearance before the DCMS Select Committee on 20 February she will resign the party whip and her Conservative Party membership. However, there will be no getting away from the fact that a recently departed Conservative cabinet minister is chairing the Charity Commission.

Why, then, has Vicky Browning, chief executive of Acevo, been the only umbrella group leader so far to express concern about Baroness Stowells proposed appointment? Browning has said that Acevo is disappointed that the sectors calls for a politically neutral Commission chair have not been met. Full marks to Vicky Browning for speaking truth to power.

Many more people in the sector will surely be extremely concerned when they learn that an impressive, politically neutral candidate was identified by the assessment panel as the best person for the job, but turned down by Number 10 in favour of a senior member of the Conservative Party.

Questions for the pre-appointment hearing

I hope there will be some tough questions asked at Baroness Stowells pre-appointment hearing on 20 February. The DCMS Select Committee must, in particular, get answers to two critical questions. Who were the three candidates whose names were put forward by the independent assessment panel? And why does Number 10 think that Baroness Stowell is a better person for the job than the non-politically aligned and highly experienced candidate favoured by the panel?

It is unfortunately too late to improve the process this time round. But if, for the future, we are to stop the chair of the Charity Commission just becoming a grace and favour role handed out by the Prime Minister of the day, I also urge the Select Committee to push hard for the implementation of NCVOs 2015 proposals on changing the appointment process for the chair of the Charity Commission. These include:

Giving formal control of the appointment to the House of Commons, not the government;

Widening the membership of the Parliamentary committee responsible for the pre-appointment hearing so it includes representatives of both houses;

Giving Parliament an effective power of veto at the pre-appointment hearing;

Requiring a unanimous vote for appointment; and

Making the chairs term of office non-renewable and fixed.

The constitutional changes of 2006 have had the unintended consequence of politicising the role of Charity Commission chair. Both the public and the 168,000 charities regulated by the Commission deserve better. Regardless of whether Baroness Stowell is appointed this time round, and its almost impossible to think that she wont be, we urgently need a public consultation about how to implement NCVOs proposals for taking the appointment process for the Commissions chair out of the party-political arena.

Only in this way can full confidence in the Charity Commissions political impartiality be restored.

Andrew Hind was the first chief executive of the Charity Commission between 2004 and 2010. He is a director and executive editor of Civil Society Media.

22 February 2018

Editor's note: Since this story was published, Julia Unwin, who was an independent member of the appointments committee has said that Stowell was an "outstanding candidate" and that she was the only candidate put forward by the panel.
Just months after U.S. rail and highway regulators said they were withdrawing plans to screen truckers and railroad engineers for a dangerous sleep disorder, accident investigators blamed it for two New York-area transit crashes.

Its unacceptable to me, Robert Sumwalt, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday at a meeting on the accidents that occurred in 2016 and last year. Sumwalt said he was extremely disturbed by the governments lack of action on sleep apnea.

Both engineers failed to stop trains in stations, slamming into posts where the rail lines ended and flinging cars into where passengers were waiting to board. In the incident in Hoboken, a New Jersey Transit train killed one woman and injured more than 100 people on Sept. 29, 2016. Another on Long Island Rail Road in Brooklyn injured more than 100 on Jan. 4, 2017.

Afterward, both engineers were diagnosed with severe obstructive sleep apnea. OSA causes people to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep, which interrupts rest and can cause daytime drowsiness and significantly heighten risks of accidents. It has been repeatedly linked to accidents and incidents in all modes of transportation, according to the NTSB.

In 2016, under the administration of President Barack Obama, the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration took the first step to require better screening for the disorder. However, last year, the agencies withdrew the measure, saying they would address the issue in other unspecified ways.

New Jersey Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, both Democrats, issued statements criticizing the federal government for its change of policy on apnea testing. Menendez called the administration of President Donald Trump shortsighted and reckless.

Since the accidents, New Jersey Transit and LIRR, which is operated by New Yorks Metropolitan Transportation Authority, have adopted stricter screening and testing requirements for OSA among its safety-critical employees, NTSB said.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.
The federal government has withdrawn its appeal and agreed to pay $42 million to the parents of a young Pennsylvania boy left disabled from brain injuries apparently caused by the use of forceps during his birth, the parents lawyers and the government announced Thursday.

The government recognized that their issues on appeal were without merit and that the verdict was just and appropriate, said Regan Safier, of Kline & Specter, a Philadelphia law firm. The judge recognized the catastrophic injuries suffered by this child and awarded the money necessary to care for him over his lifetime.

In a statement, U.S. Attorney David J. Freed said, We respect the courts decision in this matter, and wish nothing but the best for the minor child and his parents.

The verdict last year by U.S. District Judge Sylvia Rambo in Harrisburg came after a six-day trial in 2016 on claims by the parents, Christiana Late and Nathan Armolt.

The Chambersburg couples 5-year-old son, identified only as D.A. in court documents, understands language but cant speak, read or write and eventually will have to use a motorized wheelchair.

The couple sued the federal government for errors allegedly made by an obstetrician for Keystone Womens Health Center, a federally-supported facility. An obstetrician, who was not sued, delivered the child Feb. 21, 2012, at Chambersburg Hospital.

The parents said the doctor used forceps to grab the boys head, causing skull fractures, brain bleeding and damage, even though the boy and his mother werent in distress and such a drastic measure wasnt necessary.

The judge noted that the doctor began using forceps after Late pushed just one time during her delivery and that he was straining, red-faced and sweaty trying to extract the baby, even though the childs and mothers vital signs were normal and indicated no distress at that point.

Most of the verdict  nearly $33 million  is to cover the boys future medical care and assisted living. The judge agreed with the couple that their son will be too difficult for his parents to handle by the time hes 22, and likely will need institutionalized care.

The verdict also includes $5 million for the boys pain and suffering, roughly $3.5 million for his loss of future earnings and fringe benefits, and $104,000 to cover past medical expenses.

Keystone officials have expressed sadness for the boys injuries and have said the hospital system has taken all the necessary quality assurance steps so that this does not happen again.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For every dollar the government spends to make existing buildings more resistant to wildfires, earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, $6 is saved in property losses, business interruption and health problems, according to a new study led by CU Boulder Professor Keith Porter.

The study also found that for every $1 spent to exceed building codes and make structures more hazard-resistant in the future, $4 would be saved. In all, over the next 75 years, these measures could prevent 600 deaths, 1 million injuries and 4,000 cases of post-traumatic stress disorder, the report concludes.

Considering that natural-hazard losses continue to climb, exceeding $300 billion in 2017 alone, mitigation decisions are more pressing now than ever, said principal investigator Porter, a research professor in the department of civil, environmental and architectural engineering. This study shows it pays to build new buildings better and to fix existing ones, and everybody wins when we do so.

The multi-year study, Natural Hazard Mitigation Saves, was commissioned by the congressionally chartered nonprofit National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) and carried out by Porters consulting business SPA Risk LLC. CU Boulder students participated in the research and Lori Peek, director of CU Boulders Natural Hazards Research Center, served on the oversight committee.

A 2005 version of the study found that for every $1 the Federal Emergency Management Agency spent to fortify existing buildings, taxpayers saved $4. That study has been instrumental in convincing governments around the world to invest in natural hazards mitigation. But the new expanded study suggests it underestimated how cost effective it can be.

For the revision, Porter and a national team of scientists calculated how much the federal government spent on mitigation over the past 23 years.

Then they used probabilistic risk assessment to calculate how much expense that mitigation avoided or will avoid. In addition to looking at earthquakes, hurricane winds, and river floodingas the 2005 study didthey looked at fire at the wildland-urban interface (a growing problem in Colorado and California) and hurricane storm surge, which caused the bulk of damage from Hurricane Harvey in Texas.

In addition to property and business losses, the new study included less-obvious costs like treating post-traumatic stress disorder, losing access to fire stations and hospitals, and paying search and rescue workers.

And researchers asked a new question: What would the cost-benefit ratio be if, for one year, all new private sector buildings in high-risk areas were constructed to exceed existing codes?

There is nothing wrong with existing codes. Their purpose is to protect human life and they do that very well, said Porter.

But when it comes to preventing buildings from becoming unusable, they can fall short, his research shows. (One CU Boulder study led by Porter found that should a 7.0 earthquake hit a metropolitan area in California, 25 percent of the buildings up to code would be collapsed, unsafe or damaged enough that use is restricted).

We wanted to find out what would happen if the goal of codes were to protect human life and to have the most resilient building stock possible that still makes economic sense.

With the $27.4 billion the government invested in the past quarter-century, it will save $157.9 billion, the study found. Going forward, if private builders invested an additional $3.6 billion for just one year to exceed code, society would save $15.5 billion.

In some areas of the country, the return would be even greater.

There are counties in California where it makes economic sense to make buildings three times as strong and stiff as code requires and the benefit cost ratio could reach 8-to-1, said Porter.

In several Colorado counties in the wildland-urban interface, requiring builders to adopt the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code, which requires things like fire-proof roofing materials, could save $3 for every $1 spent.

Porter hopes the study will encourage lawmakers to invest more in hazard mitigation. Future studies will explore what society can do to incentivize builders to do the same.

This past year was the costliest ever in the United States in terms of recorded disaster losses, said Peek. This report charts a clear path forward, illustrating that investments that we make before disaster strikes can help reduce the harm and suffering caused by these events.

Source: University of Colorado Boulder
AIG Names DeSett Head of Field Operations, North America General Insurance

American International Group, Inc. announced that Timothy DeSett will join the company as head of Field Operations, North America General Insurance, reporting to Ken Riegler, chief operating officer, North America General Insurance. DeSett will join the company in February.

In this role, he will lead the development and implementation of key strategic and operational plans for products, segments, and geographical markets in North America. He will also oversee AIG industry segment leaders, broker and client engagement, branch managers, and North America zonal leaders to drive business objectives and deliver tailored solutions for clients and distribution partners.

DeSett has over 25 years of experience in the insurance industry. He joins AIG from Lockton Companies, where he served as executive vice president  Risk Practices, with responsibility for overseeing Locktons national practice teams. Prior to joining Lockton in 2002, he served as vice president for CNA Insurance where he oversaw the structuring and distribution of alternative risk products to Fortune 1000 companies in the U.S.

AIR Worldwide Appoints Roger Grenier to Lead Global Resilience Practice

Catastrophe modeling firm AIR Worldwide (AIR) announced the appointment of Dr. Roger Grenier as senior vice president of global resilience to lead AIRs resilience initiatives across the globe. The initiatives are aimed at developing solutions that aid societys efforts to better prepare for and recover from extreme events. AIR Worldwide is a Verisk business.

AIRs global resilience practice serves these distinct roles:

Develop solutions that aid societys efforts to better prepare for extreme events.

Assist organizations in applying catastrophe modeling to disaster risk financing in an effort to close the global protection gap.

Establish alliances with organizations to share data and advance the science of modeling and help society better manage the risks from natural hazards.

Strengthen relationships with regulatory bodies and rating agencies globally.

Grenier began his career as an engineer where he worked on a wide array of models for environmental, flood, and coastal engineering projects, including helping to develop a comprehensive water quality and circulation model for New York Harbor. He has 20 years of experience working directly with global risk models and was formerly director of catastrophe research and development at Liberty Mutual, where he was responsible for developing the Liberty view of catastrophe risk and developing techniques to evaluate non-modeled catastrophe risk worldwide.

Insurance Fraud Attorney Tapped to Lead Coalitions Government Affairs Efforts

Nationally known insurance-fraud attorney and insurance law expert Matthew J. Smith has been named director of government affairs and general counsel for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.

Smith oversees the Coalitions extensive work in enacting stronger state anti-fraud laws across the U.S.

Smith also advises government and regulatory groups on anti-fraud strategy. He advises the NAICs Antifraud Task Force, and sits on the task forces of numerous state organizations such as the Virginia State Police. Smith also advises National Council of Insurance Legislators and National Conference of State Legislatures.

He also directs the Coalitions longtime program of filing amicus friend-of-the-court legal briefs. They give anti-fraud legal guidance to courts overseeing major cases that set national precedents on insurance fraud.

A frequent lecturer, panelist and noted insurance-fraud expert, Smith advises fraud fighters on how to balance use of technology while protecting privacy rights of consumers.

Smith founded a national insurance services law firms specializing in insurance-fraud investigation and bad-faith defense litigation. Cincinnati-based Smith, Rolfes & Skavdahl has eight offices throughout the midwest and Florida. The firm broke new ground by specializing in all aspects of insurer defense against insurance fraud, from investigations to civil actions.

He has won more than 100 civil actions  including cases against home and commercial insurance arsonists, chiropractors, pill mill operators, MRI clinics and other insurance swindlers. Many of Smiths appellate victories have set significant court precedents. Last year, he oversaw an amicus filing in Kentucky that helped to overturn a lower courts ruling prohibiting insurers from using examinations under oath.

Smith pioneered using data from cell towers as evidence in civil insurance-fraud cases  now standard practice around the U.S  and helped popularize searches of social-media to gather fraud evidence.
The engineer killed in a train crash in South Carolina visited a counselor to help him cope after being rattled in a previous wreck less than a year before, his mother said.

Michael Kempfs train hit a vehicle at a rail crossing in the first crash, Catherine Kempf, 86, said in a telephone interview Monday from the Savannah, Georgia, home she shared with her son and his wife.

Catherine Kempf said she didnt remember specifics about the collision on her sons normal route in the Carolinas, but she said the wreck left him upset because he knew he had peoples lives in his hands, she told The Associated Press.

Kempf and conductor Michael Cella, 36, of Orange Park, Florida, were killed in the train crash early Sunday near Cayce, South Carolina. More than 100 passengers were treated at hospitals for injuries. It was the third fatal Amtrak train crash in less than two months.

Cellas wife, Christine, declined to talk to the AP about the man who had been her partner for about 20 years. Theres just  its too much right now, she said by phone.

Investigators said Monday that railway signals were out while crews installed a safety system that could have prevented the exact type of crash that killed Kempf and Cella early Sunday near Cayce, South Carolina.

Their Amtrak train was diverted to a side track and slammed head-on into an empty freight train, authorities said.

Automated signals that could have warned the passenger train to stop before reaching the switch sending it down the side track were turned off as workers installed a GPS-based system called positive train control, or PTC, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.

A day before, Sumwalt told reporters an operational PTC is designed to prevent this type of incident.

The crew that parked the CSX freight train on the side track and left the padlocked switch in position to divert trains from the main line were interviewed Monday, along with the dispatcher keeping up with trains in the area as the signals werent working, Sumwalt said.

Sumwalt told reporters he had not been briefed about what the CSX workers said.

The Amtrak engineer sounded his horn seven seconds before the crash and applied emergency brakes three seconds before the train collided with the other locomotive at 50 mph (80 kph), Sumwalt said, citing information from the passenger trains data recorder.

The expectation for the Amtrak crew is that they were clear, Sumwalt said.

Positive train control is already installed in parts of the U.S. The system is designed to prevent two trains from traveling on the same track at the same time.

Positive train control relies on GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor train positions and automatically slow or stop trains that are in danger of colliding, derailing from excessive speed, or about to enter track where crews are working or that is otherwise off limits.

Railroads were given seven years to start using the technology across the countrys 20,000 locomotives and 60,000 miles of track. But when it became clear that few if any railroads would meet the deadline, Congress extended it another three years to Dec. 31, 2018, with the option to grant railroads that show progress an additional two years to Dec. 31, 2020. Several freight railroads have previously told the government they wont be able to meet the 2018 deadline.

Overall, freight railroads have implemented PTC on 56 percent of required route miles, according to the Association of American Railroads. The association said its not clear yet how many of the seven large freight railroads operating in the U.S. will require extensions.

(Dalesio contributed to this report from Raleigh, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles and Joan Lowy in Washington contributed to this report, along with AP video journalist Josh Replogle.)

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Discussions on a structure for a potential tie up with plane maker Boeing are ongoing, Embraer's commercial aviation chief executive said on Wednesday.

Speaking to CNBC at the Singapore Airshow, John Slattery said there is no offer yet, but the company had made submissions to the securities exchange in Brazil about the discussions that are taking place between the two companies and the Brazilian government.

"What I can confirm is Embraer has not received an offer as yet that we can review. Right now, the team is focusing on figuring out if there is a process, a structure that might work," Slattery said.

He added that he hopes to have 'visibility' on the matter in the near to medium term, but declined to reveal the transaction value.

News broke earlier that Boeing was in talks with Embraer  the world's third-largest plane maker  for a 80 to 90 percent stake in a new venture encompassing Embraer's commercial jet business.

The Brazilian government holds a so-called golden share in Embraer, giving it veto power over strategic decisions involving military programs and any change in its controlling interest.

Slattery said that a deal with Boeing now would make Embraer more productive.

"It probably would end up with Embraer being more productive in the market place, and selling more aircraft. We have the ability to broaden our reach,"he said.
Boeing has presented a plan to Brazil's government that would give it an 80 to 90 percent stake in a new venture encompassing Embraer's commercial jet business, a Brazilian newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The plan Boeing presented to the government on Thursday would let it take over Embraer's commercial operations by creating a new company, with defense operations remaining under the Brazilian plane maker's control in order to meet government demands, Valor Economico reported, without citing a source.

Reuters previously reported on Friday that Boeing was seeking approval in Brasilia for a plan creating a new joint company that excluded defense operations.

President Michel Temer's chief spokesman, Marcio de Freitas, said that only the Defense Ministry could evaluate Boeing's tie-up plans with Embraer. The Defense Ministry declined comment on the Valor report of a new Boeing proposal.

Boeing and Embraer did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Valor reported that under the proposal Boeing would pay Embraer in cash when the commercial assets are transferred to the new company, with most of the proceeds then distributed to shareholders as dividends.

Common shares of Embraer rose on the reported details of the proposed venture with Boeing and closed 5.2 percent higher at 22 reais on the Sao Paulo stock market.

Boeing's tie-up with Embraer, the world's third-largest planemaker, would give it a leading share of the 70- to 130-seat market, meaning stiffer competition for Bombardier and Airbus' joint CSeries program.

Embraer would retain the defense business that generates almost nothing in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. Shareholders would also have 10 to 20 percent of the commercial activities transferred to the new company and be entitled to dividends.

The deal would maintain the government's so-called golden share in Embraer, a former state enterprise, giving it veto power over certain strategic decisions, including Boeing's current push for a tie-up.

The plan  if supported by the government and Embraer  could be presented to shareholders for approval as soon as the second quarter, the newspaper said.

Further meetings between Boeing and the government will not occur until after the Carnival holiday, which ends next week, it reported.
Chipotle restaurant workers in Miami Getty Images

Chipotle Mexican Grill has a trust problem and its finally addressing it. The burrito chain has struggled to regain customer confidence since a series of food-borne illness outbreaks caused diners to flee the restaurant chain two years ago. On Tuesday, the company said it was aware of these issues and was making strides to revitalize its reputation. "Our results for the quarter clearly show that there's still work to be done to restore strong growth and customer trust," CEO Steve Ells said during an earnings conference call Tuesday. Ells said that the company would be focusing on operational changes, digital innovation and restaurant renovations to enhance guest experience.

Training and staff oversight

To start, Ells said that the company is launching a "dedicated centralized training program" in Denver that will combine classroom and in-store training to improve consistency and speed of service as well as hospitality. "We also completed the restructuring of our field leadership, reducing the number of regions and eliminating unnecessary layers above the restaurant," he said. "Our field leader ratios have been reduced, enabling our strong field leaders to spend more time in each restaurant. This has had a direct and lasting impact on the restaurant teams." In the past, Chipotle has had a hard time enforcing corporate policies in-store. Last year, a Chipotle employee told CNBC that sick employees would often not call out sick or be forced to work while sick. Another employee said that staff members were not always properly blanching vegetables and were asked to falsify food safety sheets. Since then, Chipotle has strengthened its paid-sick leave and held mandatory training sessions about proper food safety protocols.

Digital innovation

As digital ordering becomes a bigger piece of restaurant sales, Chipotle is looking to improve the speed at which it can push orders through. Digital sales are about 8.6 percent of Chipotle's overall sales, led by mobile ordering, which has increased 50 percent year over year. By the end of 2018, the company hopes to add a second make-line at about 1,000 locations, or 30 percent of its stores, to boost the number of orders it can handle and how fast it can handle them. Chipotle estimates that it will spend $45 million to retrofit second make-lines into existing and new restaurants. "We're also seeing higher guest satisfaction in the restaurants that have the new, second make-line, and we've seen further reduction in guest wait times to under 15 minutes as we continue to optimize our smarter pick up times," Ells said. Chipotle also plans to launch a loyalty program in the second half of 2018. The burrito chain's previous loyalty program, Chiptopia, which ran for about three month in 2016, was a major driver of sales for the brand. The company will spend an additional $15 million to improve IT infrastructure to help support its digital programs.

Refreshing old locations
Chipotle Mexican Grill employees will be able to earn up to $1,000 extra this year due to new tax legislation.

The burrito chain said Tuesday that its hourly crew members will be eligible to earn a $250 bonus and its general managers will be able to earn $1,000.

"We're pleased that the lower income tax rate from the tax law change will result in savings of approximately $40 [million] to $50 million in 2018," CFO Jack Hartung said Tuesday.

Hartung said that about a third of those savings will go directly to its employees in the form of a one-time cash bonus. The company will also award a one-time stock bonus to a group of staff.

In addition, Chipotle plans to expand its benefits program, which includes paid maternity and paternity leave, short-term disability and life insurance plans to its hourly restaurant managers.

Hartung said the remainder of Chipotle's tax savings would help fund the company's $50 million investment in enhancing its existing restaurant locations. The company plans to spend about $20,000 per store to upgrade the dining area and improve the guest experience.
At the urging of President Donald Trump, the Pentagon is moving forward on planning for "a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America's armed forces," the Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The paper said the cost of the parade "could run in the millions" given the cost to ship tanks and other hardware to Washington.

In September, Trump met with French President Emmanuel Macron and remarked how he enjoyed watching France's Bastille Day military parade in Paris.

"It was a tremendous day, and to a large extent because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4th in Washington down Pennsylvania Avenue," Trump said in September. "We're going to have to try to top it, but we have a lot of planes going over and a lot of military might, and it was really a beautiful thing to see, and representatives from different wars and different uniforms."

According to the Post, Trump also made his views on holding the U.S. military parade known to top defense officials during a Jan. 18 defense briefing in the "tank"  a Pentagon secure room. The paper said that discussion ultimately "marked a tipping point," citing two unnamed officials briefed on the planning.

"The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France," the paper said, quoting an unnamed military official. "This is being worked at the highest levels of the military."

The last major military parade held in Washington was in 1991 to mark victory in Operation Desert Storm, the first Persian Gulf War. It reportedly cost about $8 million and involved thousands of troops who fought in the war, nearly a dozen bands, a fleet of missiles, tanks and the flyover of more than 100 aircraft.

The 1991 parade was paid for with about $3 million in U.S. government funds and the remainder from private donations.

"Given budget realities, the opportunity cost of a parade is too high to justify," said Edward King, president and founder of Defense Priorities, a conservative think tank. "Math still applies to superpowers, so our $20 trillion of debt poses a serious threat to our national security."

CNBC reached out to the Pentagon for comment but it referred calls to the Army, which declined comment. The White House didn't respond to CNBC's request for comment.

However, the Post story quoted an official in the White House as saying, "The president wants to do something that highlights the service and sacrifice of the military and have a unifying moment for the country."

Meanwhile, North Korea is scheduled to have a massive military parade on Thursday  a day ahead of the opening of the Winter Olympics in South Korea. Defense analysts said the North Korean parade showing ballistic missiles and other hardware can provide useful information to U.S. intelligence.

Russia also has an annual Victory Day military parade in Moscow in May to mark the defeat of Nazi Germany. Also, Russia last July held a Navy Day military parade with thousands of sailors, warships, submarines and aircraft in St. Petersberg.

China also has regular military parades in Beijing showing its increasing military might. One held in July showed off thousands of troops, mobile missile launchers, tanks, a new stealth fighter aircraft.

Read the full story from the Washington Post here.
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) speaks to reporters ahead of an expected vote in the Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives on a short-term budget measure that would avert a rerun of last month's three-day partial government shutdown, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 6, 2018.

House Republicans on Tuesday passed a bill to lift caps on Pentagon spending for the next eight months and fund the rest of the government at current levels for just six weeks. The bill is the GOP's opening salvo in a high-stakes gamble set to play out this week in Washington.

With the government's latest short-term spending bill set to run out on Friday, it's imperative that the House and Senate agree on a spending bill, or risk another government shutdown.

Yet the House bill passed Tuesday evening is effectively doomed in the Senate, where Democrats are demanding that Congress raise caps on discretionary spending along with defense spending.

Meanwhile, Democratic and Republican senators huddled Tuesday morning to negotiate what could ultimately become the deal that averts the looming shutdown.

"Democrats have made our position in these negotiations very clear," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. said Tuesday. "We support an increase in funding for our military and for our middle class. The two are not mutually exclusive. We don't want to do just one and leave the other behind."

The delicate talks were further complicated by President Donald Trump on Tuesday, who seemed to endorse the idea of a government shutdown if lawmakers failed to reach a comprehensive immigration deal this week --- something that was not previously considered a top priority as part of the last-minute spending talks.

Speaking at a meeting of law enforcement officials, Trump said, "if we don't get rid of [certain immigration enforcement] loopholes ... if we don't change it, let's have a shutdown. We'll do a shutdown."

"I'd love to see a shutdown if we don't get this stuff taken care of," the president said.

It was unclear late Tuesday what the next steps would be for the House bill. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it is expected to undergo significant changes. These amendments will likely cost it the support of many of the same House Republicans who voted for it on Tuesday evening.
Heightened geopolitical threats in Asia could push governments in the region to spend more on enhancing their military prowess, which is good news for firms in the defense trade such as Lockheed Martin.

"Certainly, we see the threats that are emerging," Rick Edwards, executive vice-president of Lockheed Martin International, told CNBC Tuesday on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.

"We're seeing budget planning going up in most countries and I think it's going to be a very strong market driven by world affairs for the next few years," he added.

Defense spending actually slowed down in 2017 for Asia as a whole, according to a report by IHS Jane's. But the research firm said the region is expected to be "the driving force behind long term growth in global defense spending."

Japan, for one, approved the country's largest annual defense budget in December. China and India also increased military spending.

North Korea fired 23 missiles in 16 tests in 2017  adding to tensions in a region that's already plagued by territorial disputes in the South China Sea and clashes over the China-India border.

Edwards said demand for the company's F-35 fighter jets has been "very strong" in the region, with deliveries of those planes to Australia, South Korea and Japan.

He added he expects the F-35 jets to be well-received by more countries. Some, including Singapore, are studying the possibility of purchasing F-35s.

Correction: This article has been updated to reflect Lockheed Martin's comments on demand for its F-35 fighter jets.
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick shed more light on why he wanted to hire Anthony Levandowski, the engineer accused of stealing trade secrets from Waymo, the self-driving car company owned by Google parent Alphabet.

Kalanick's testimony came as part of the dramatic trade secrets trial between Uber and Waymo that is happening this week in San Francisco.

"I wanted to hire Anthony and he wanted to start a company, so I tried to come up with a situation where he could feel like he started a company and I could feel like I hired him," Kalanick said on the stand Tuesday afternoon.

Through testimony and presentations over last two days, Waymo's lawyers have tried to show how desperate Uber was to catch up to Google's self-driving car efforts and how Kalanick believed that Levandowski could provide a big advantage to closing that gap.

During proceedings on Tuesday, Kalanick admitted that Levandowski met at Uber's office in late 2015, before Levandowski left Waymo to start self-driving truck company Otto. Kalanick confirmed the two of them discussed the possibility of Uber acquiring his company, even though no business existed at that time. Kalanick saying it was either "late 2015 or early 2016"

Notes from John Bares, Uber's engineering manager, during a meeting with Kalanick suggest Kalanick wanted "IP" or intellectual property from the acquisition of Levandowski's company.
The latest actions by the Trump administration  including the recently proposed slashing of the Department of Energy's clean energy innovation budget by 72 percent, not to mention new tariffs on solar panel imports  call into question America's commitment to innovation and advanced energy leadership.

The tariffs are likely to raise the cost and slow deployment of solar energy in the U.S., with the aim of bringing back solar manufacturing jobs. These jobs, once a significant component of the U.S. solar sector, were mostly lost years ago lower labor costs abroad, as well as Chinese subsidies. But the U.S. also benefited from cheaper solar panels made abroad because falling prices increased solar installations. By 2016, there were already nearly four times as many jobs in solar installation as in solar manufacturing. And this disparity is only set to grow, despite the tariffs.

On the brink of bankruptcy, during the painful period after Chinese solar producers began competing in global markets, American manufacturers shut down old plants, streamlined them, and returned them to service  this time with far more robotics and far fewer workers.

Take First Solar's plant in Toledo, Ohio, for example, where automation and innovation are delivering state-of-the-art solar panels that can outperform Chinese-made ones, and at a lower price. Even JinkoSolar, a Chinese solar company that announced plans to build a U.S. factory following the solar tariff decision, will bring its own automated manufacturing platform, rather than returning with exported jobs.

The lower employment numbers associated with this new manufacturing model are rightfully raising anxieties, but the smaller staff that remains enjoys both higher wages and more stimulating work.

Moreover, not all parts of the value chain are of equal value, with some highly commoditized, low-margin functions  such as solar module assembly  dominated by countries such as China. Meanwhile, other specialized, higher-margin functions - such as silicon purification or wafer manufacturing - remain the strength of the United States. When the world deploys more inexpensive solar modules,regardless of where they are assembled, it creates more demand for the polysilicon wafer and ingot inputs that the U.S. excels in producing. America's manufacturing strength should come from innovation and ingenuity, rather than taxes on trade.

Of course, competitors in the clean energy race do not sit still, and other countries are seeking to overtake the U.S. in the very segments where it excels. Therefore, the United States must continue to innovate so that American products, processes, and intellectual property are the most valuable commodities of the clean energy future.

Slashing the budget of the Energy Department is shortsighted. Rather, the Trump administration should double down on the one area where the U.S. is truly without peer: energy research and development.

Almost every major global energy upheaval of the last half-century came with American government support, from nuclear power to shale drilling technologies to the modern solar industry. Newer government institutions, such as the "ARPA-E" innovation agency, are expanding upon this legacy with great success. Recent figures show China is on pace to overtake the United States in total R&D spending, a trend which could also soon carry over to energy R&D. Moreover, China is poised to capture more than half of global solar deployment and electric vehicle sales this year.

This is not only a cautionary tale for the Trump administration, but a call to action. The advanced energy race has not yet been lost. Indeed, it is only in its early stages. Last year was the eighth consecutive year in which worldwide clean energy investment totaled more than $250 billion. It will only grow over time.

CEOs of major oil companies are increasingly enthusiastic about advanced energy opportunities, and every day brings headlines of new acquisitions or partnerships in solar, wind, biofuels and beyond. Even one of President Donald Trump's top energy market regulators, Neil Chatterjee, has stated that "renewables, renewables, renewables" are the future of the U.S. power sector. The president should heed their cue, as the advanced energy race will be won by looking ahead  and not in the rearview mirror.



David Livingston is Deputy Director for climate and advanced energy of the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center. He previously served in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

For more insight from CNBC contributors, follow @CNBCopinion on Twitter.
If you're a financial advisor who is still giving clients advice based on today's life expectancy and goals, chances are you need to go back to the drawing board. "Most of the advice you are offering is fatally flawed, and I would even argue criminally negligent," Ric Edelman, founder and executive chairman of Edelman Financial Services, told attendees at the Technology Tools for Today Advisor Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Wednesday.

Camerique | Getty Images

"If you continue to give the advice to your clients that you are currently giving them, you will soon be out of business," Edelman said. Rapid technology advances coupled with changing life plans will fundamentally alter the way we live. And most of the financial plans that advisors come up with for clients are stuck on outdated expectations, said Edelman, author of the book, "The Truth About Your Future." Today's advisors are falling short in three key ways, according to Edelman.

Failing to plan for longer lives

While the average life expectancy hovers at around 89 now, many individuals will live until 110 and 120. Yet, many advisors fail to factor those additional years into their equations. "Your clients are going to live to 120, and if you haven't built that into your financial plan, you're not running accurate projections for them," Edelman said. More from Investor Toolkit:

Investing with borrowed money can be a big win

Beware of online financial quick-fix stories

So you're a 401(k) 'millionairess.' Now what? Those longer lives will also be more active, as developments in science eradicate diseases such as cancer and even reverse aging. "The notion of saving up for 40 years to spend it in 20 will simply no longer exist," Edelman said.

Not preparing for tomorrow's goals

Longer life expectancies will give way to completely new timelines, Edelman predicts. Instead of retiring indefinitely, people will work longer and will need to adjust their skills accordingly. "It's the cyclical lifeline, where you go to school, get a job, go back to school and then you get a new job and go back to school and you get a new job," Edelman said. But advisors are still stuck on planning for goals that are already outdated. One example: college planning.

You have to incorporate into the estate plan the transference of digital assets. ... If you haven't, you're negligent. Ric Edelman executive chairman of Edelman Financial Services

"Stop worrying about how your clients are going to send their kids to college," Edelman said. "It's irrelevant." That is because college will increasingly become free. New York, for example, is already offering free tuition for state residents, according to Edelman, and companies such as Starbucks are paying for their workers to get degrees. Advisors can better provide value by helping clients navigate those transitions, he said. "It's not just going to college, but paying for your education across your entire career, which is why it's career planning that matters," Edelman said.

Ignoring technology disruption
Google CEO Sundar Pichai speaks during Digital Unlocked Google event at Taj palace on Jan. 4, 2017, in New Delhi, India.

Alphabet is rolling its smart home unit, Nest, back into Google proper, the company announced in a pair of blog posts on Wednesday.

When Alphabet blew up its corporate structure in 2015, Nest was regarded as one of the model "Other Bets," but the unit subsequently experienced product struggles and the departure of its CEO. Meanwhile, Google increased its own focus on the home with its line of smart speakers, which compete with Amazon's Echo products.

The company writes that by bringing Nest back into Google, it can "supercharge Nest's mission." Nest's current CEO, Marwan Fawaz, will now report to Google hardware chief Rick Osterloh, and the merger will mean that Google's artificial intelligence, like its smart assistant, will be better baked into Nest products, CNET reports.

The potential of this move was originally reported by The Wall Street Journal in December, Google CEO Sundar Pichai hinted at it during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call.

Tweet on Sundar

"We've had a head start on collaborating since our teams already work closely together, and today we're excited to make Nest an integral part of Google's big bet on hardware," the company writes.
Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR is setting its sights on China as its next market, with as much as half of its worldwide sales of turboprop planes coming from Asia, the company's chief executive said Wednesday.

"The order pipeline is about 50 percent out of the Asia Pacific region," Christian Scherer told CNBC at the Singapore Airshow  and that's excluding China.

That may be about to change, however, with the company awaiting approval from Chinese authorities for the latest version of its ATR-600 series aircraft.

"That's a prerequisite," Scherer said. "Once we are certified  we already have the first indications of interest from customers in China  then we expect larger quantities of orders."
Bad incentive structures for employees and a lack of communication to management contributed to Wells Fargo's sales practices scandal, Federal Reserve Bank of New York president William Dudley said on Wednesday.

Dudley, who spoke at an event related to banking culture, said that Wells Fargo employees were given "really bad" incentives. He added that when employees complained, it went up the chain of command but concerns either were not heard or ignored.

The bank reached a $190 million settlement with U.S. authorities in 2016 over its employees opening accounts in customers' names without their permission to hit sales targets.
The regulation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies is far from being a top priority for the European Central Bank (ECB).

"We scrutinize the issue in a regulatory perspective, we are ready to do something if it was needed, but so far it's not exactly very high on our to-do list," the central bank's chief supervisor Daniele Nouy told CNBC on Wednesday.

Still, Nouy said the ECB would need to keep an eye on cryptocurrencies as new risks emerged, such as bitcoin futures contracts on U.S. stock exchanges. Nonetheless, she said there had been no signs of any developing interest among European lenders for the time-being.
Postcards showing the British Union flag, also known as Union Jack, sit on display at a souvenir store near to the Elizabeth Tower, also known as 'Big Ben', in London, U.K.

The U.K.'s looming separation from the European Union will have zero effect on the country's robust defense and security exports, according to a government official.

The idea that Brexit will influence foreign sales of U.K. military hardware, such as aircrafts, is "a bit of a red herring," Alexis Hammer, regional director for the Americas and Asia Pacific at the U.K. Department for International Trade's Defence and Security Organisation, told reporters at the Singapore Airshow.

"I don't think that [Brexit] has an effect on our industry," he said, noting that defense exports were always based on bilateral relationships.

Like other U.K. manufacturers, British defense and aerospace companies are expected to face an array of supply chain issues once their country formally exits the European Union. Still, some have maintained that U.K. arms exports could thrive: Michael Fallon, who resigned in November from his position as defense secretary, said last year that Brexit could spur the industry to compete for a larger slice of the international market.

The British share of the global defense export market was estimated at 9 percent in 2016, according to official data.
Careem, Uber's rival in the Middle East, will eventually go public, but not at this time, Magnus Olsson, co-founder of the ride-hailing service, has told CNBC.

Bloomberg reported last month that the start-up was in talks with investment banks about an IPO.

Olsson said that while this would be the ultimate goal, it's not a top priority right now.

"I think as our CEO... would say, you know our ambition is to build an amazing organization and institution in the region. And the way to do that is to stay independent," Olsson told CNBC in a TV interview filmed earlier this week and which will air Thursday.

"And, obviously at some point I think that the natural way to go would be to go for public listing and we would be very excited about doing that. Now that is not something that we are thinking about every day right now, but you know our focus is on building the business and serving our customers."

Careem, which was founded in 2012, operates in 13 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and Asia. It has big backers including Germany's Daimler and Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding, the firm owned by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. Both firms were part of a $150 million investment round last year.

The company competes with Uber in the region and is able to battle its deeper-pocketed U.S. rival through a better understanding of the local market.

"Careem are really giving the global players a hard fight," Olsson said. "And I think it comes from really understanding the customers and the captains better, the local nuances, and being able to adapt even faster."

Careem calls its drivers "captains."

The Dubai-based firm has been expanding across the region. Last month, it launched its service in Baghdad, Iraq. Olsson said that there are challenges on the ground in places like Iraq but the company is working on creating a smooth experience and the reception has been "amazing."

"So, we have seen tremendous growth. (But) obviously operations on the ground can be challenging, so we are doing everything we can to make sure we can deliver the same quality experience that we're doing in other countries and markets," he said.
Dfinity's Chief Scientist Dominic Williams told CNBC that Difinity has the power to disrupt the world of technology, calling it the "internet computer that will become the cloud 3.0."

This is the first token Andreesen Horowitz has invested in. Chris Dixon, general partner at Andreesen, led his firm's investment in Dfinity. Ryan Zurer, venture partner at Polychain Capital, led his fund's investment, which is its largest to date.

Dfinity, a new product that rivals ethereum, just raised $61 million by well-respected investors Andreesen Horowitz and Polychain Capital, which has investors ranging from Sequoia Capital to Union Square Ventures.

Williams says Dfinity runs extremely fast and doesn't have the security risks that many cryptocurrencies have fallen victim too.

"Dfinity is ultimately a new technology protocol with no back doors where hackers can get in," said Williams.

The security component is perhaps most compelling to investors given the number of hacks the cryptocurrency industry has seen in the last 12 months. The latest one in Japan involved over $500 million of tokens being stolen from consumers' digital wallets.

Time is also Dfinity's friend. Williams says he's built a technology that offers 3-5 second transaction finality, which is about 150 times faster than ethereum and over 900 times faster than bitcoin.

If this holds, experts say Dfinity could upend the cryptocurrency market.

"This is extremely important for scalability and transaction throughput on the network and will be important for any use-case that requires high-frequency transactions such as IoT or enterprise solutions. This will be the beginning of an architecture that becomes the new internet," said Zurer.

One of the challenges in transacting with bitcoin is the amount of time it can take. But software enhancements like the "lightning network" are said to dramatically increase the speed at which one can buy or sell bitcoin. Lightning Labs CEO Elizabeth Stark told CNBC that once the lightning network is rolled out, it could make bitcoin much easier to use and transact with. Bespoke Investment says its bullish forecast on bitcoin is contingent on the lightning network being enabled in the coming months.
Wynn Resorts (WYNN) CEO Steve Wynn resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct, claims that Wynn has denied. The casino and hotel operator's president, Matt Maddox, was appointed CEO effective immediately. Wynn stock was highe in premarket. (CNBC)

House GOP has passed a short-term spending bill that boosts defense spending for the rest of the year. The legislation, however, is likely doomed in the Senate, where lawmakers are negotiating a different spending plan. (CNBC)



* House Democrats relocate retreat as budget talks continue (Politico)

The Pentagon is reportedly moving ahead on a plan for a "grand military parade" later this year at President Trump's request. The parade could run in the millions given the cost of shipping tanks and other hardware to Washington. (Washington Post)

Vice President Mike Pence said the administration would soon announce tough sanctions to persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear and missile program. He called the North the planet's "most tyrannical and oppressive regime." (Reuters)

Former Vice President Joe Biden told CNN that President Donald Trump's attacks on the FBI are doing "everything" Russian President Vladimir Putin "ever wanted." Trump accused the FBI and the Justice Department of anti-Republican bias.



* Trump treason remarks were 'tongue-in-cheek': White House (CNBC)

At least five people are dead and 60 others are missing after a strong earthquake in the popular Taiwanese tourist city Hualien caused buildings to collapse last night. The quake injured 243 people and collapsed four buildings, officials said. (Reuters)

SpaceX successfully completed its first launch of Elon Musk's Falcon Heavy commercial rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Musk told reporters after the launch he was having difficulty comprehending the magnitute of the flight. (CNBC)

Comedian Jim Carrey is quitting Facebook (FB) and dumping his stock. He is urging everyone else to do the same. The comedian tweeted he was selling his shares because the company profited from Russian interference during the 2016 U.S. election. (CNBC)
Dunkin' Donuts said Tuesday it is getting rid of its controversial foam cups by 2020 and will replace them with a new double-walled paper cup.

The New England-based coffee chain will begin the process in New York and California this spring.

The polystyrene foam cups have been the target of petitions and angry fights on social media in the past. As recently as mid-January, viewers of a Facebook Live video reveal of Dunkin's next-generation concept store in its hometown of Quincy, Massachusetts, were vocal about the foam cups. The store was the first location to use the new paper cups.

One user commented, "Get rid of styrofoam cups in all your stores." Another added, "I hope they have new cups for the hot coffee. Those styrofoam cups gotta go!"

The foam material cannot be recycled and its manufacturing process is potentially dangerous. The main ingredient, styrene, has been named a possible human carcinogen.

The cup has some diehard fans in New England, though. The Boston Globe released an article in the summer of 2017 chronicling the Facebook war that broke out after a woman made a post declaring the use of styrofoam cups for iced coffee wasteful. New Englanders are notorious for insulating their iced coffee with the extra cups and released their fury in a slew of comments.

"GOOF we want our hot cups!!!!!!!! u don't want them, then don't get one," commented one angry foam cup fanatic. "crybaby!!!!!"

There have been no outcries against the new cups in Quincy. So far, the reaction looks to be positive, especially considering the amount of backlash the company has received over the years for its use of foam.

"Transitioning away from foam has been a critical goal for Dunkin' Donuts U.S., and with the double-walled cup, we will be able to offer a replacement that meets the needs and expectations of both our customers and the communities we serve," said Karen Raskopf, Dunkin's chief communications and sustainability officer.

With such a large presence around the world, the company hopes to create a global impact on its brand and the coffee industry in general.

Rival McDonald's said last month that it would stop using foam cups by the end of this year, and Starbucks uses paper cups.
Former Google employee Tristan Harris said large tech companies have a "moral responsibility" when it comes to shaping billions of people's attention  one he believes they are abusing in favor of profits.

"We're pointing the most powerful supercomputers in the world at our brains to suck the attention out of it," Harris, who once worked as a design ethicist at Google, told CNBC. "Then if that stock price has to keep going up I have to actually point it at your kids."

"I actually genuinely view this as an existential threat," said Harris. "When you're shaping people's attention you're shaping their thoughts. Their thoughts precede action, and you're really shaping society and culture. ... There's an entire set of consequences when you shape people's attention through design."

In 2014, amid growing concern about technology's dominance in people's lives, Harris and a few other Silicon Valley tech alums founded the Center for Humane Technology, where Harris is executive director.

The group's mission: Fight the tech addiction.

"Everybody in your audience knows [about the problem] because they're addicted to their phones and concerned about some of the fallout," Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, told CNBC.

Steyer and Harris were on "Squawk on the Street" to talk about their combined efforts to realign technology with society's best interests.

"Technology is often exploiting how our minds work," said Harris, who said he first brought up the issue back in 2013 to colleagues at Google when he was employed there.

On Monday, Common Sense Media and the Center for Humane Technology announced the Truth About Tech campaign, which aims to put pressure on the tech industry and alleviate some of the problems surrounding addictions to technology. Steyer and Harris were in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday for Truth About Tech: How Tech Has Kids Hooked, a one-day conference that focuses on the impact of technology on children over time and the ethics of technology, among other things.

The tech industry's main objective is to maximize people's attention, Harris said. Tech companies and democracy's intentions are "fundamentally misaligned," he said.

Google did not respond to a request for comment.

Harris said that on Twitter, which had approximately 330 million monthly active users in 2017, academic researchers estimate that 15 percent of users are bots.



"Most of us are interacting with these things every day and have no idea," Harris said of bots. "If researchers can figure this out, then why can't Twitter? Because their stock prices depend on them telling Wall Street, 'We've got this many users.'"

A spokesperson for Twitter pointed to a blog post the company wrote last month that said, "We recognize that Twitter is an important part of a larger ecosystem of how news and information spreads online, and that we have a responsibility to support external programs that empower our users, connecting them with resources to give them control over their online experience."
Political leaders in Germany have reached a breakthrough in talks to form a new coalition government, following months of uncertainty after elections in September failed to produce an overall majority for any party.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian alliance (the CDU-CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD), led by Martin Schulz, have agreed on a deal to form a coalition government. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Merkel said the talks had been difficult, but worth it.

"I am convinced the coalition treaty can be the basis of a good and stable government," she said, adding that solid finances, infrastructure investment and digitalization would be key focuses for the government.

German newspaper Bild reported that Merkel's Christian Democratic Party (and its sister party, the Christian Social Union, or CSU) will be given the economy and defense ministries in the agreement, while the SPD was reported to have been given the finance ministry.

German news agency DPA also reported that the SPD's Olaf Scholz, currently mayor of Hamburg, is to become the finance minister. The Exterior Ministry is also said to have been given to the SPD with speculation that party leader Schulz could be put in charge.

Merkel said compromises had been made, especially in the division of ministries. She also noted that many conservatives will not be happy with the SPD taking over the finance ministry.

Talks between the parties have been going on for days, having missed a self-imposed deadline of Sunday, and went into the night on Tuesday. In particular, health care and labor market policy proving sticking points in the talks.
China has aggressively backed its claims to the South China Sea in recent years, building man-made islands with military facilities. Last year, the construction projects covered 72 acres.

The area is globally important for a few reasons.

Firstly, the South China Sea is a prominent shipping passage with $5.3 trillion worth of trade cruising through its waters every year. That's nearly one-third of all global maritime trade.

Second is what's below the surface: oil and natural gas.

While U.S. estimates have put the amount at 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the South China Sea, one Chinese government-owned oil major actually put the figure closer to 125 billion barrels of oil and 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in undiscovered areas.

China claims a wide swath of the waterway based on a boundary first recorded in 1947. The line cited by Beijing reaches as far as 1,200 miles from the south of Mainland China, but it is less than 200 miles away from some coastal areas of Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

According to international law, every country has the right to claim up to 12 nautical miles from its coast as its territory and can claim an exclusive economic zone extending up to 200 nautical miles for activities like drilling or fishing.

In 2016, an international tribunal ruled against China, saying it has no legal basis for the extensive claims. That decision was legally binding per international law, but there's no enforcement mechanism.

Many in the region welcomed the news, but the Chinese government has ignored the ruling, building more artificial islands and bases.
US-trained Raqqa Security Forces Spotted in Afrin Convoy

Blue flags belonging to the so-called Raqqa Internal Security Force (RIFS) were spotted in a convoy of vehicles that traveled to Afrin from northeastern Syria on Monday night, according to pictures and videos provided by local media. The U.S.-led coalition has been training a Raqqa security force to police the so-called capital of Daesh since its liberation last year. Canadian Armed Forces Brigadier General D.J. Anderson, Director of Partner Force Development and Ministerial Liaison Team, told journalists last July that approximately 8,000 people were to be trained to provide security in the city. The RIFS has been presented by the coalition as local volunteers who are not tied to the Kurdish militant group People's Protection Units (YPG), which is an extension of U.S.-designated terror group PKK. Last November the Coalition announced that the RIFS had assumed security responsibility of the city under the leadership of the Raqqa Civil Council. The council itself has YPG-affiliated individuals on its board. Turkish news wire Anadolu Agency reported Tuesday that up to 500 YPG-aligned militants were transported to Afrin from northeastern Syria in a convoy of vehicles, in which the RISF flags were spotted. U.S. military officials told the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that hundreds of militants from YPG and the Assyrian group Syriac Military Council from across eastern Syria have left to oppose Turkey's operation in Afrin to clean the area of YPG and other terrorist groups. Both YPG and the Syriac Military Council are affiliated with the militia alliance the Syrian Democratic Forces, (SDF), which was essentially established by the U.S. to calm Turkish concerns on YPG and PKK. The U.S.-led coalition has provided both training and equipment to the SDF to counter Daesh in Syria. Speaking to Daily Sabah, Pentagon Spokesman Eric Pahon said that they were aware that the SDF had repositioned some forces in response to recent tensions, "however this was not under coalition direction." Pahon reiterated the U.S. warning that any alleged misuse or diversion of U.S. support would be taken seriously and, if verified, would result in the end of support. When Coalition leadership was asked Wednesday if they were aware of reports that RIFS, trained and equipped by the Coalition, traveled to Afrin, one representative responded: "We cannot confirm these reports, nor can we attest to the authenticity of these photos. The Coalition does not operate in or around Afrin."
Some of President Donald Trump's key allies are urging him to compromise with the special counsel in the Russia probe, according to a new report.

The president's legal team and close advisors are exploring ways to avoid an in-person interview with Robert Mueller without stonewalling the investigation outright, Politico reported Wednesday.

The development comes after recent news that Trump's lawyers have cautioned him against taking wide-ranging questions from Mueller's team, which is investigating potential ties between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. The special counsel has reportedly intensified its focus on possible obstruction of justice, and has begun interviewing members of Trump's inner circle.

Rather than risk the president  who has a history of contradicting himself  providing self-incriminating testimony in a live interview setting, Trump's lawyers are considering a partial, written exchange with the special counsel, a source familiar with the White House's strategy told Politico.
As the world's demand for energy grows, microgrids are going to become increasingly important  but what are they and why do they matter?

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) describes them as localized grids that are able to disconnect from traditional ones and operate autonomously.

This ability to operate independently from a larger grid makes them invaluable tools when the latter, for whatever reason, fail. As the DOE puts it, microgrids can "help mitigate grid disturbances to strengthen grid resilience."



The issue of access to power is an important one. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), 1.2 billion people do not have access to electricity. In rural communities, where electricity access can be difficult, microgrids can also prove to be very important.

San Francisco-based Dynamic Energy Networks owns and operates microgrids and distributed energy resources. "The excitement around internet technology and internet innovation enables these microgrids to be deployed faster and transform the electricity markets," Karen Morgan, its president and CEO, told CNBC in an interview broadcast this week.

Morgan highlighted their importance in a changing world. "We can't rely on the infrastructure of today, so we have to think about the opportunity to be independent of the grid whenever we can," she said.

"We've had, in the United States, several incidences of security breaches in the utility markets," Morgan added.



"If there is a security breach in the utility you have to be able to keep up and running," Morgan said. The cost of a business going down could impact it significantly, she added. This was in terms of revenue, profitability and in some cases taking companies out of business.

It's in such scenarios that microgrids have a role to play. Merging technology with microgrids, Morgan said, enabled energy to be dispatched back from a microgrid to the utility grid, if necessary.

"Why is that important? If you have two weeks of 105-degree weather in Texas and the utility grid is going to go down, or they can't dispatch enough energy, they look to the microgrids or the independent grids, to provide that energy," she said.

This interoperability among and between microgrids and with traditional grids, Morgan said, offered much more flexibility.

"For the end user, whether it's healthcare or institutional campuses or other(s), it provides them with a long-term predictable price of their electricity," Morgan said. This allowed them to manager their business better, offered them resilience whenever they needed it, and provided them with both stability and security, she said.

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At the annual MAKERS Conference in Los Angeles this morning, more than 40 business leaders took to the stage to pledge to make changes to help women in the workplace. As part of the culmination of the three-day conference, which was called #RaiseYourVoice and focused on issues of equal pay, representation and sexual harassment, the organization unveiled a list of historic pledges across a range of companies. The goal, says Allie Kline, CMO of Oath and the head of MAKERS, is for these pledges to inspire other organizations around the world to make changes to advance women in their workforces. MAKERS is a feminist media brand backed by Verizon's Oath, which hosts more than 4,500 original interviews and more than 400 Makers Interviews. It also has a partnership program for companies, called MAKERS@, which aims to give companies tools and inspiration for their employees.

The companies announcing pledges range from Adobe and Aetna to Microsoft, Unilever and Univision. The pledges are all unique to their brands, such as Barbie-maker Mattel pledging to launch at least 10 role model dolls each year featuring under-represented careers, "real life Sheroes from around the world, and important women in history." National Geographic Global Networks CEO Courteney Monroe pledged that by the end of 2020 the number of male- and female-led companies her organization partners with, from marketing agencies to production houses, will be equal. "We're going to create a high bar for ourselves and hope that it inspires companies to set a high bar for themselves, so that they can work with us." Monroe says this isn't just the right thing to do to help women; it will give National Geographic a competitive advantage. "We need to reflect the consumers we serve, and the only way we're going to do that is if the leadership team and the company itself reflects that diversity. And diversity of thought is what drives results," says Monroe. "The world is incredibly competitive right now. If you have a leadership team that looks the same, we're going to get stuck in the same places. The only way you're going to be able to power that and get better results is to be a diverse and inclusive company."

Diversity of thought is what drives results. Courteney Monroe CEO, National Geographic Global Networks
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said hundreds of newly disclosed text messages exchanged between two FBI officials in 2015 and in the runup to the 2016 presidential campaign are "bombshells."

Those texts were released Tuesday night by a Senate committee probing the FBI's handling of its investigation into Hillary Clinton's email practices. The committee said in a report that the texts confirm a need for further inquiry.

The texts include messages expressing disdain for then-presidential candidate Trump, references to then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch allegedly knowing in advance that Clinton would not face criminal charges and comparisons of possible Trump campaign collusion with Russia with the Watergate scandal.

Tweet

That tweet came 10 minutes after the scheduled start of Trump's intelligence briefing at the White House.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the FBI's investigation of possible coordination between officials in his campaign and Russian interests, and its probe of the Clinton emails.

The texts released were exchanged between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page. Strzok was removed last summer from special counsel Robert Mueller's ongoing investigation of Russian meddling after Mueller was made aware of his texts with Page.

Strzok had headed the Clinton email investigation before it was closed  temporarily, as it turned out  in July 2016 without criminal charges being filed.

He then was tasked with investigating Russian efforts to influence that year's elections.

On Sept. 2, 2016, Page texted Strzok confirming his suspicion that a scheduled meeting he was to have Sept. 7 was in connection with talking points for then-FBI Director James Comey.

"Yes, bc potus wants to know everything we are doing," Page texted, referring to then-President Barack Obama.

It is not clear, however, if Obama wanted to know about the Clinton email probe, the Russia investigation or something else.

The text was sent more than a month after the FBI first closed its probe of Clinton's email practices without recommending criminal charges. That probe was reopened temporarily in late September 2016 after the FBI learned that Clinton aide Huma Abedin had forwarded emails to a computer belonging to her husband, former congressman Anthony Weiner.

And the Sept. 2 text came in the midst of the FBI's investigation of Russian meddling in the upcoming presidential election.

Obama met three days after the Sept. 2, 2016, text with Russian leader Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in China.

In a December press conference, Obama said that at that summit he had confronted Putin about interference in the election.

"I felt that the most effective way to ensure that that didn't happen was to talk to him directly and tell him to cut it out, and there were going to be some serious consequences if he didn't," Obama told reporters at that time.

"And, in fact, we did not see further tampering of the election process."

The Republican majority of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs on Tuesday said the raft of text messages raises "several important questions that deserve further examination."

Those questions include if and to what extent any personal animus or political bias affected the FBI's investigation of Clinton's emails, whether the Obama administration influenced that investigation and if any political bias affected the FBI's actions toward Trump and his campaign.

"This report is not intended to answer these questions, but to demonstrate that the information received warrants further inquiry to examine possible bias and wrongdoing within the FBI and the Justice Department," the GOP majority said.

"Any serious and impartial reader of this material should find it hard to deny the need for further inquiry."

The committee, chaired by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., concluded that its report found:

The FBI did not use a grand jury to compel testimony and obtain the vast majority of evidence, choosing instead to offer immunity deals and allow fact witnesses to join key interviews. There were substantial edits to former FBI Director James Comey's public statement that served to downplay the severity of Secretary Clinton's actions, and that the first draft of the memo was distributed for editing two months before key witnesses were interviewed. Director Comey stated that he had not consulted with the Justice Department or White House, when text messages among FBI agents involved in the investigation suggest otherwise. Two key investigators discuss an "insurance policy" against the "risk" of a Trump presidency, and "OUR task." Messages discuss "unfinished business," "an investigation leading to impeachment," and "my gut sense and concern there's no big there there." The messages strongly underscore the need to obtain still-missing text messages and other information regarding the FBI's actions and investigations into the Clinton email scandal and Russian involvement in the November 2016 election. Senior FBI officials  likely including Deputy Director Andrew McCabe  knew about newly discovered emails on a laptop belonging to former U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner for almost a month before Director Comey notified Congress.

Spokesmen for both the FBI and for Obama declined to comment on the report.

CNBC has requested comment from the Democratic members of the Senate committee.
One of Israel's largest defense firms on Wednesday confirmed it remained engaged in talks with the Indian government over a deal for its Spike anti-tank guided missiles.

"We are [in] an ongoing process with India's Ministry of Defense ... We are now looking on the way to supply the most advanced anti-tank missile for India's use," Yoav Har-Even, president and CEO of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, told CNBC on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow.

The deal was first scrapped by India in January ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to India, Reuters said. Indian media outlets reported this month, however, that governments from both countries would embark on talks about the missile purchase after several terms in the agreement were updated.

"What we are doing in India is not only supplying," Har-Even said.

"Part of our strategy is to find strategic partners all over the world, and in India in particular ... not only to transfer the product, but also to establish an industrial entity that will be able to produce those products in the country that we're negotiating with," he added.

The Israeli state-owned company also facilitates the transfer of technology rather than purely cutting deals, with Har-Even describing the former as a "win-win situation."

Rafael Advanced Defense Systems last year inaugurated a joint venture in Hyderabad that was set up with India's Kalyani Group. The joint venture was targeted at developing weapons systems for the Indian Armed Forces and for exporting abroad.

"We understand that everyone doesn't want only to buy the product, [but] is looking for industrial cooperation, transfer of technology and this is something we are doing, and we will do it in the future also," Har-Even said.
Russians penetrated multiple states' voter registration rolls in the 2016 presidential election, the head of cybersecurity at the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News on Wednesday.

Of the 21 states targeted by Russians in the election, several were successfully penetrated, said Jeanette Manfra, in an exclusive interview with NBC.

U.S. officials have said there is no evidence that any states' voter registration rolls were tampered with or at all altered by the foreign intrusions.

Manfra, whose role is to protect American elections from hacking, did not specify which states had been successfully penetrated, saying she could not publicly disclose classified information.

"We saw a targeting of 21 states and an exceptionally small number of them were actually successfully penetrated," Manfra told NBC.
Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Ed Markey (D-MA) attend a press conference at the U.S Capitol on February 11, 2016 in Washington, DC. The senators are calling on senate Republicans to support the passage of emergency funding to tackle the prescription opioid and heroin crisis.

A bipartisan Senate agreement reached Wednesday on the federal budget would boost funding for a range of health programs, including efforts to combat the national opioid epidemic.

The deal, which would have to win approval from the House and President Donald Trump, would extend for a total of at least 10 years funding for the popular Children's Health Insurance Program.

CHIP, which provides health coverage to 9 million kids, recently had its funding extended for six years as part of an agreement to temporarily keep the government open last month.

Congress last fall failed to reauthorize CHIP. That had put several states, which jointly run the program with the federal government, on track to run out of money earmarked for children's health care within months.

The budget deal also would devote $6 billion to efforts to fight opioid abuse and would fund community health centers  which provide services for 26.5 million Americans  for at least the next two years.

The deal also calls for another $4 billion for veterans' hospitals and $2 billion for the National Institutes of Health.

The deal was announced Wednesday by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and the minority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) talks to reporters following the weekly policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol February 6, 2018 in Washington, DC.

Congressional leaders are moving closer to a long-term spending deal with the clock ticking down to what would become the second partial U.S. government shutdown in less than a month.

Senate leaders could announce an agreement to boost spending for defense and domestic programs as soon as Wednesday. A day earlier, President Donald Trump said he would "love" to see a shutdown if Democrats do not get behind his immigration demands. The government's funding authority lapses at the end of Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., showed optimism Tuesday about the progress toward a deal. They may have to extend funding for only another few weeks while they hash out the longer-term agreement.

Still, multiple factors could cause any deal reached by the chamber to fall apart before the deadline.

On Tuesday night, the GOP-controlled House passed another stopgap bill to extend government funding through March 23. The Senate likely will not approve that legislation and send a different version back to the House. The Senate's bill could reportedly fund the government for the short term, extend the federal debt ceiling and authorize relief funds for last year's string of natural disasters.

McConnell said Tuesday afternoon he was "optimistic that very soon we'll be able to reach an agreement" on a more stable spending plan to pass after a shutdown is averted. While specific terms of the deal appear not to be finalized, reports indicate it could fund the government for two years.

It would increase defense spending to appease Republicans, and boost domestic spending by nearly as much to meet Democrats' demands, according to The Washington Post.
News of the agreement comes ahead of the potential government shutdown at the end of Thursday . Congress aims to avoid letting funding lapse for the second time in less than a month.

Another four-year extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program, for a total of a decade

While acknowledging that both sides had to make "painful" concessions to strike the deal, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a "win for the American people" and a "genuine breakthrough."

"This bill is a product of extensive negotiations among congressional leaders and the White House. No one would suggest it is perfect, but we worked hard to find common ground and stay focused on serving the American people," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in announcing the agreement.

The two-year deal, which would increase current spending caps by roughly $300 billion , would include a major boost for military spending, with slightly smaller increases for domestic programs. It would also authorize funds for disaster aid, community health centers, the Children's Health Insurance Program and fighting the opioid crisis.

However, trouble brewed for the deal on both sides of the aisle on Wednesday. After McConnell and Schumer announced the agreement, it was unclear if it had enough support in the House.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said the U.S. "will be safer and stronger" because of the agreement and urged House members to back it.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that President Donald Trump is happy with the direction of the budget deal. He took to Twitter to endorse it Wednesday evening.

@realDonaldTrump tweet

The deal will require Congress to pass a stopgap spending bill for only a few weeks while lawmakers write the two-year spending legislation.

After the House passed a short-term funding bill Tuesday night, the Senate appeared set to pass a separate version and send it back to the House. The conservative House Freedom Caucus has already indicated it will not support the spending increases.

House Republicans were meeting Wednesday afternoon as the Senate leaders announced the deal.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also said she would support the emerging spending deal only if Ryan gives assurances about an open debate on immigration legislation. That puts pressure on Republicans, who could still pass a bill in the House even if nearly all Democrats voted against it.

Democrats previously wanted to pass a bill protecting hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation in tandem with legislation to raise budget caps. Schumer relented on that point after McConnell agreed to an open debate on immigration bill starting next week.

On Wednesday, McConnell said he would start the immigration legislation process without a set bill and allow a "fair" amendment process.

"While I obviously cannot guarantee any outcome, let alone supermajority of support, I can ensure the process is fair to all sides. And that is what I intend to do," he said.

Schumer urged Ryan to "allow a fair and open process" on an immigration bill.

Republicans want at least some border security measures passed along with protections for the immigrants. Trump and conservatives seek restrictions on legal immigration that Democrats are unlikely to support.

On Tuesday, Trump injected uncertainty into the funding debate when he said he would "love" to see a shutdown if Democrats do not back his immigration demands. The White House later said the president did not want to see a shutdown and did not expect to see specific immigration proposals included in a spending bill this week.

Schumer said congressional leaders struck the deal "without a great deal of help from the White House."

He added: "While President Trump threatens shutdowns and stalemates, congressional leaders have done the hard work of finding compromise and consensus."
A Southwest Airlines plane nearly slid off a taxiway before departure at Baltimore-Washington International airport on Wednesday morning, the airline said. No injuries were reported, according to the airport and the airline.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating the incident.

The Boeing 737, which was bound for Montego Bay, Jamaica, "traveled to the edge, but did not exit, the taxiway prior to departure," Southwest said in a statement.
Every year, institutions in the United States dominate rankings of the best colleges in the world.

Of the top 10 best universities in the world, eight are located in the U.S. But despite having some of the best educational institutions on earth, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranks the U.S. sixth for adult education level.

The OECD defined a country's adult education level as the percentage of people between the ages of 25 and 64 who have completed some kind of tertiary education in the form of a two-year degree, four-year degree or vocational program.

Here are the 10 most educated countries:
A start-up called Thor Trucks plans to beat Tesla to market with its electric truck, the ET-One. The Los Angeles-based company aims to have its vehicles in production in 2019, according to co-founders Giordano Sordoni and Dakota Semler.

Last November, Tesla showed off a prototype of its heavy-duty electric semi, which should be able to drive 300 to 500 miles on a single charge, and will include the company's semi-autonomous driving system, which will help drivers avoid collisions. Tesla has already scored reservations for its semis from high profile customers including Wal-Mart, DHL and Pepsi, and the company says it will begin production of the trucks in 2019.

Unlike Tesla, which manufactures its vehicles completely, Thor Trucks plans to partner with existing auto-manufacturers to build its trucks. It has its own battery technology, but otherwise its trucks will use off-the-shelf components, and have features that feel familiar to drivers and fleet managers. Thor has no plans for autonomous driving.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks at a press conference with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos (out of frame), in Bogota, on February 6, 2018.

Russia is already trying to meddle in this year's midterm congressional elections, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.

In an interview with Fox News, the former Exxon Mobil CEO casted doubt on whether the U.S. could prevent Russia from causing damage again.

"I don't know that I would say we are better prepared, because the Russians will adapt as well," Tillerson said in the Tuesday night interview. "The point is, if it's their intention to interfere, they are going to find ways to do that."

He added: "This is something that, once they decided they're going to do it, it's very difficult to pre-empt it."

Still, Tillerson said the U.S. should continue warning Russia against election meddling.

"I think it's important we just continue to say to Russia, 'Look, you think we don't see what you're doing. We do see it and you need to stop. If you don't, you're going to just continue to invite consequences for yourself,'" Tillerson told Fox.

The secretary of State's warnings follow similar statements from CIA Director Mike Pompeo, who told BBC News that he expects Russia to target this year's midterm elections.

"I have every expectation that they will continue to try and do that, but I'm confident that America will be able to have a free and fair election (and) that we will push back in a way that is sufficiently robust that the impact they have on our election won't be great," Pompeo told the BBC.

Pompeo also recently met with top Russian intelligence officers, according to CNN.

The U.S. intelligence community has said that Russia interfered in the 2016 general election, which pitted Democrat Hillary Clinton against Republican and eventual winner Donald Trump.

Special counsel Robert Mueller is investigating the extent of Russian involvement, and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin during the campaign. Trump has repeatedly denied collusion and called the Russia meddling story a "hoax" perpetrated by Democrats.

Read Fox News' full report on the Tillerson interview here.
Tronc said Wednesday it has struck a deal to sell the Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune and other titles in the California News Group to billionaire biotech investor Patrick Soon-Shiong.

The agreement with Soon-Shiong, a major shareholder in Tronc and chief executive of NantHealth, includes $500 million in cash plus the assumption of $90 million in pension liabilities.

The company also announced that Ross Levinsohn has been reinstated as LA Times CEO, after he agreed to take an unpaid leave of absence last month following disclosure of sexual harassment allegations against him while he worked at other companies.

Shares of Tronc were up 65 percent in premarket trading prior to being halted ahead of the announcement.

The proceeds of the sale will be used to repay corporate debt and allow for the company to pursue a continued push to acquire complementary digital properties, Tronc said in a statement.

The Times, acquired by Tronc's predecessor Tribune Co. in 2000, has undergone several management changes and rounds of layoffs, reflecting a struggle by newspapers in general to adapt to digital media.

Tronc acquired the San Diego Union-Tribune in May 2015. Its other newspapers include The Baltimore Sun and The Hartford Courant.

CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin and Reuters contributed to this report.
Piper Aircraft's Archer model that is commonly used to train new pilots.

U.S. airplane maker Piper Aircraft said Wednesday it will sell more than 150 trainer planes to China's Sichuan Fan-Mei Aviation Technologies, which runs a pilot training program in the mainland.

Piper Aircraft, which makes small general aviation aircraft and is based in Vero Beach, Florida, will sell 152 planes over seven years in a deal worth $75 million. It includes the sale of 100 Archer TX single engine aircraft that are used to train new pilots.

For the current year, Piper said it planned to deliver 20 planes, with the first delivery starting in March to the Fan-Mei flight school in Sichuan province. The deal was announced at the Singapore Airshow.

Piper President and CEO, Simon Caldecott, told CNBC that Asia has become a key market for the company because there is a growing demand for new pilots in the region.

"One of the things I've been looking at, and constantly monitoring, is the global shortage of new pilots," Caldecott said. He pointed to aircraft maker Boeing's predictions that Asia Pacific will eventually lead the global demand for pilots.

Indeed, in its 2017 pilot outlook, Boeing said that, by 2036, the Asia Pacific region will have a demand for 253,000 new pilots  about 40 percent of the global demand. Meanwhile, North America is predicted to need about 117,000 pilots and Europe about 106,000.

Overall, Boeing said, the aviation industry would need to supply more than 2 million new commercial airline pilots, maintenance technicians and cabin crew.

"So there's a big demand, just in Asia, for new pilots," Caldecott said. "In the past, historically, most of those (pilots) trained in either the U.S., Australia, some in South Africa. But as countries like China develop, they want to train more of their own."

Don Li, president of Sichuan Fan-Mei Aviation Technologies, told CNBC that the deal with Piper was the biggest ever in the company's history.

He added that there were plans to order between 40 and 60 additional Piper aircraft over the next two to three years for short-haul air shuttle and personal use  that estimate could also increase according to "how we cultivate the market," Li said.

The aircraft models that Li referred to  the Piper M-Class and Seneca  are awaiting certification in China at the moment.

As the company is privately owned, Fan-Mei did not receive any government subsidies to make the purchase, Li said.

Sichaun Fan-Mei Aviation Technologies is a subsidiary of Sichuan Fan-Mei Education Group which provides aviation education in China to about 40,000 students. That includes training for flight attendants, aviation mechanics, airport management and security.

On top of the five locations the firm has in China, there are plans to set up in other parts of the country, Li added. Previously, Fan-Mei bought training aircraft from companies like Robinson Helicopters and Bell Helicopter, while Piper is the only fixed-wing company it has purchased aircraft from, Li said.

He added the company was in talks with other companies to purchase different types of aircraft to continue investing in its pilot training efforts.

"This is only the start. We want to become the full-spectrum service provider for the general aviation industry," he said.
"[Reagan] said, 'I'm going to restore the lost prestige of the United States of America. And I'm going to do that by basically building out defense capability,'" Cooperman recalled.

"I kind of contrast Donald Trump with Ronald Reagan," Cooperman, chairman and CEO of the Omega Advisors hedge fund, which has about $3.8 billion in assets under management, said on " Fast Money Halftime Report ." "When Ronald Reagan ran for president, he said, 'I'm going to get the government off the backs of the people. And I'm going to do that by reducing regulation and reducing taxes.'"

Billionaire investor Leon Cooperman told CNBC on Wednesday that the best way to judge President Donald Trump is to compare him to Ronald Reagan.

But Cooperman indicated that Trump may also face problems in an area that Reagan was not able to execute on either. "Reagan also said ... he was going to balance the budget. What he found out very quickly is you can't rebuild defense, cut taxes, reduce regulation and balance the budget."

"[Reagan] said the hell with the budget, and he bankrupted the Soviet Union," Cooperman said.

While the ramifications of Trump's policies remain to be seen, Cooperman said, "The fiscal package we put in place runs significant risks, but not a 2018 risk  2019, 2020 and beyond."

The economy was doing well and did not need a lot of near-term stimulus, he said. "So we run the risk of an inflation surprise," which could lead to the Federal Reserve acting more forcefully to increase interest rates. The latest projections from the Fed called for three rate hikes in 2018 following the three from last year.

Trump's buy American push could also lead to higher inflation because some of the goods can be made cheaper overseas, Cooperman said.

Many analysts said concern about inflation finally picking up and what central bankers might do about it started the avalanche of stock market selling Friday, which turned into an ugly Monday and crazy volatility. Wall Street rebounded some on Tuesday and was heading for more gains on Wednesday.

Cooperman said he thinks the president's "economic ideas are good," but added Trump's "deportment is somewhat different" than he would like. "We have an unconventional president who likes to tweet."
A shareholder lawsuit alleging that Wynn Resorts' board and former CEO Steve Wynn breached their fiduciary duty was filed Wednesday by a pension group in Massachusetts.

The lawsuit follows the resignation late Tuesday of the 76-year-old Wynn as chairman and CEO. The casino mogul left the Las Vegas-based company after The Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 26 that Wynn engaged in a "pattern of sexual misconduct" in the workplace and that he paid a $7.5 million settlement to a manicurist who allegedly was pressured into having sex with him in 2005. Wynn has denied the allegations.

Despite news of the lawsuit, Wynn shares were up 7.8 percent Wednesday afternoon.

Analyst Tuna Amobi of CFRA Research said the gains represent a relief rally of sorts because Wynn's departure lifts a cloud around questions and clears some uncertainties around gaming licensing agency probes.

The suit was filed in District Court in Clark County, Nevada on behalf of the Norfolk County Retirement System, a current stockholder of Wynn Resorts. The company is listed as a "nominal plaintiff" in the complaint. A nominal plaintiff is considered one with a technical connection to a dispute.

A Wynn Resorts representative declined to comment on the lawsuit.

According to the complaint, the plaintiff is seeking a jury trial. Amobi said it's possible the lawsuit may ultimately get settled before a trial.

The complaint seeks unspecified financial damages for injury and losses sustained in connection with alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, abuse of fiduciary power and the alleged sexual harassment by Wynn. It claims "Wynn knowingly and intentionally breached his fiduciary duties by engaging in a pattern of intentional egregious misconduct and violations of law involving Wynn Resorts."

The lawsuit also claims "knowing and intentional breaches of fiduciary duty by all members of the [Wynn Resorts] board."

"The board knowingly turned a blind eye to allegations of patently egregious misconduct by Mr. Wynn involving the company, taking no action to protect the company and its suitability for regulatory compliance and to discharge the directors' known fiduciary duties to the company to do otherwise until the WSJ report shed light to the public, and even then the board is merely conducting an internal investigation," the lawsuit says.

The complaint claims that "a majority of the board members are beholden to Mr. Wynn or have a close personal relationship with Mr. Wynn and have a history of acquiescence to Mr. Wynn's. This lack of independence is further evidenced by their knowing and intentional failure to investigate and knowing and intentional concealment of alleged egregious misconduct involving the company which was obviously in violation of their duties as fiduciaries."

The misconduct allegations against Wynn also led to investigations by gaming regulators in Nevada, Massachusetts and Macau. The lawsuit claims the Wynn Resorts "board continued to approve of licensing applications to gambling authorities that omitted Wynn's conduct as the board continued to take no action to investigate the allegations of egregious misconduct involving the company."

At the same time, the complaint alleges that the compensation and benefits paid to Wynn and the company's directors during their fiduciary misconduct enriched them at the expense of the company. Wynn continues to own about 12 percent of Wynn Resorts stock.

Shares of Wynn Resorts stock about fell 10 percent on the day the Journal reported the allegations and 9 percent the next trading day.
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Cortana is a voice-enabled virtual assistant developed by Microsoft to help Windows 10 users initiate requests, complete tasks and anticipate future needs by surfacing relevant data in a personal context. Since Cortanas release on Windows 10 in January 2015, the technology has evolved to support Android and iOS devices, Xbox, the Edge browser, Windows Mixed Reality headsets and third-party devices such as thermostats and smart speakers. According to Microsoft, Cortana is currently used by more than 148 million people.

Cortana is always looking out for you, remembering things so you dont have to, proactively suggesting things you might need to do and helping you do more with less effort, said Kiesha Clayton, senior communications manager at Microsoft.

However, Microsofts ability to compete in the increasingly competitive voice assistant market is being tested by rivals with deep pockets and big plans. Amazon, Google and to a lesser extent, Apple, are all adding valuable features to their own voice-activated assistants, increasing interoperability and enabling more complex commands and scenarios. The battle for what many see as the next frontier for computing  and a superior method for interacting with software and hardware  has become fierce. Almost every connected device showcased at CES 2018 in January was equipped with Alexa, Google Assistant or both.

IDG / Mark Hachman Setting up Windows is now a pleasant, voice-driven experience with the cheery Cortana.

Like its counterparts, Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, Cortana can be described as the next stage in human-computer interaction, said Raul Castanon-Martinez, senior analyst at 451 Research.

How Cortana works

Most of Cortanas use cases today remain pretty simple, said J.P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester. Conducting searches and booking meetings or to-do reminders with contextual information about the users calendar are common functions, but Microsoft offers built-in benefits for users most heavily committed to its platforms.

Cortana appears to have very competitive technology in terms of how it performs against Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant, Gownder said.

According to Clayton, Microsofts position is unique because of the breadth of productivity and intelligence assets it can leverage behind Cortanas capabilities. Office 365, Outlook.com, LinkedIn, Bing, speech recognition technology and the Microsoft Graph, a developer platform that connects various services and devices, all contribute to Cortana and help the technology improve as it learns more about user needs.

Microsoft What Cortana's Suggested Reminders will look like.

Companies can also extend Cortanas skills by integrating valuable business data into Microsoft Dynamics 365, Microsoft Azure and building a custom analytics solution with Cortana Intelligence.

The biggest benefits Microsoft brings to the table is integration with Windows and Office, arguably the workers tools of choice, said Patrick Moorhead, president and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy. Adding Dynamics and LinkedIn integration adds yet another dimension. With Cortana, office workers can set up meetings and reminders with their voice and, based on what [theyve] said in emails, remind [them] to do things automatically.

Cortana is also designed to hand off work between PC, tablet and phone in a fluid way to keep the worker in the moment, Moorhead said.

For these reasons and others, Castanon-Martinez sees Microsoft as ahead of the curve in the enterprise. Microsofts deep roots in productivity and business create some naturally embedded strengths in Cortana and the uniquely contextual skills it can build for professionals. [Cortana] is integrated with Windows 10 and Microsoft productivity applications, which translates into a significant footprint in the enterprise, he said.

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The integration  goes far beyond the convenience of interacting with devices via voice commands, Castanon-Martinez said. There are many capabilities  including search, machine learning, natural language understanding  behind the scenes that will enable employees to automate workflows with an increasing degree of complexity.

IDG Suggested commands for Cortana.

Microsofts tightly integrated business communications and collaboration apps like Skype for Business and Teams can change how we interact with computing devices to get work done and can have a significant impact in productivity, Castanon-Martinez said.

Cortana's key features

With access to data on device and in the cloud, Cortana serves as a smart hub of sorts, connecting a users needs to relevant data and adding context to daily tasks. Users can create reminders based on time and location, and Cortana will automatically suggest reminders when the service is connected to Office 365, Outlook.com or Gmail. (It recognizes a commitment the user makes via email, for example.)

In late 2017, Microsoft added more accessibility features. It can now read an overview of new emails or read high-priority emails from specific people and allow the recipient to dictate replies by voice. Cortana can also help users find the best time for a meeting with someone in their company  all using voice commands.

Cortanas other core features include making lists, pulling helpful information from LinkedIn like the professional backgrounds and company details for participants in an upcoming meeting, and creating a leisure planner that tracks upcoming travel reservations and recommends activities.

Microsoft Cortana and live tiles.

Microsoft is continually bringing more capabilities to Cortana through the Cortana Devices SDK and the Cortana Skills program, which has the support of dozens of developers and third-party vendors including Spotify, Fitbit, Expedia, Dark Sky, OpenTable and others.

You can expect Cortana to continue to grow across devices and platforms and deliver new skills and capabilities through our third-party partners, both in the enterprise space and consumer space, Clayton said. We look forward to bringing additional productivity and work scenarios to Cortana in the near future.

How Cortana compares to rival assistants

Because Cortana is part of Windows 10, the voice assistant has the largest footprint in the market, and Microsoft is now trying to maintain its market dominance by leveraging this footprint, Castanon-Martinez said. On the other hand, the fact that users have Cortana does not necessarily mean they are using it; in fact, many might not even know it is available on their devices.

Moreover, despite its inherent advantages, Cortana is still punching below its weight in the market, said Gownder. PC makers like HP, Lenovo, and Acer plan to integrate Amazon's Alexa into a number of Windows 10 laptops and desktops this year -- a bad sign for Cortana, which is available on all Windows 10 PCs.

Harman Kardon Invoking Cortana on a Harmon Kardon speaker.

At CES, several major PC makers talked up Alexa support as a selling point. The list of devices already launched with Alexa support includes HPs Pavilion Wave PC; Acers Aspire, Spin, Switch and Swift notebooks; Asus 2018 ZenBook and VivoBook laptops; and Lenovos Thinkpad X1 Carbon and Yoga devices.

Microsoft is also lagging behind Amazons ecosystem of Alexa Skills, which boasts the largest catalog among voice assistants today. Meanwhile, Google is making a huge investment in promoting Google Assistant and its Google Home device, as was evident at CES 2018. Cortana is only available on niche dedicated speaker hardware and doesnt have the mindshare of Amazons Alexa, Gownder said. Microsoft would need to invest more in creating an ecosystem of partners, hardware options, and workplace use cases to truly compete.

From a technical perspective, Microsoft is on level footing with Google and Amazon, but it faces an uphill climb battling Siri, Alexa and Google, Castanon-Martinez said, especially for home devices. A recent survey by 451 Research showed that Amazon is the frontrunner among respondents intending to buy a smart speaker (38%), followed by Apples just-released HomePod (28%).

That matters because technology adopted first at home tends to make its way into the workplace, just as the iPhone gave birth to the BYOD movement a decade ago. This familiarity will likely influence user adoption in the enterprise, Castanon-Martinez said.

Despite Cortanas challenges in the overall market, Moorhead still considers it to be the digital assistant for workers.

Being governed by all the same data security protocols as Office 365 is one of its biggest differentiators for the enterprise, he said. Alexa, Siri and [Google Assistant] are optimized for consumers, not for the enterprise, he said. Do you really want to attach your work email, address book and calendar to Assistant through Google Home?

How to disable Cortana

Users concerned by the amount of personal information Cortana collects can disable the digital assistant, but doing so requires a bit of a workaround. Thats because turning off Cortana, which Microsoft now considers a core feature of its operating system, has become increasingly difficult with each Windows 10 update.

To completely disable Cortana and opt out of the data gathering it relies on, users must edit their computers registry. The process is best suited for advanced users because the registry contains settings that are crucial to a machines operation. That said anyone can effectively eradicate Cortana.

(Before you get started, be sure to create a backup or a system restore point so you can revert to the previous build if anything goes wrong.)

These steps should turn off Cortana:

Open the Run interface on your computer by pressing the Windows Key + R at the same time, type regedit into the box and press enter. In the left-side navigation pane go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > Software > Policies > Microsoft > Windows > Windows Search. If a Windows Search folder doesnt exist, right click on the Windows folder, select New > Key and name it Windows Search. Select the Windows Search folder in the left column, right click in the blank portion of the main panel and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Rename this new file in the right pane to AllowCortana, double click the file name and set the Value Data to 0. Click OK, close the Windows registry editor and restart your computer to make the changes stick.

Whats next for Cortana?

Microsoft is well positioned to expand upon the work scenarios Cortana can accomplish, but much of its development appears to be coming from within Microsoft and its deep bench of productivity tools, databases, software and cloud-based services. In some respects, the scale of Cortana will also be determined by how successful Microsoft is at convincing more important third-party vendors to develop skills and support the technology.

PCWorld Many popular apps can be controlled with Cortana voice commands.

The enterprise of the future will have access to the full Office Graph and automatically complete advanced tasks workers do like set up meetings, follow up with customers, submit expense reports, document meetings and send out action items, Moorhead said.

Meanwhile, speech recognition is becoming a standard feature in enterprise applications, and advances in natural language understanding and voice synthesis will give businesses even more flexibility to choose the best for human-computer interactions, according to Castanon-Martinez.

We expect to see more enterprise applications with conversational interfaces coming out this year, particularly where mobility has a direct impact on employees productivity and where data input via a voice interface is what works best.
The EU seeks punishment powers during transition

Leaked five-page draft  FT

New Immigration Bill only likely to be ready in time  The Sun

Whitehall has been too slow, MPs warn  The Times

SNP dereliction of duty over failure to prepare for Brexit  Daily Telegraph

Inside the ERG  The Guardian

Brussels is demanding that Theresa May submit to powers allowing the European Union to ground flights, suspend single market access and impose trade tariffs on the UK during the Brexit transition period. Under the proposals, the EU would have unprecedented legal powers  without the oversight of European courts  to punish Britain unilaterally if it breached the terms of the transition. The prime minister has also been warned by Brussels that she must make a legal commitment to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland within weeks or the EU will stall Brexit trade and transition talks. Both issues are expected to be discussed by ministers today when the cabinets Brexit sub-committee meets to try to reach agreement on the next stage of negotiations.  The Times

>Yesterday: Andrew R T Davies on Comment: Brexit. Stop leaking. Ignore the scare stories  and get a move on.

Ireland is reported to be making another push on the border question

Ireland is pushing for a settled legal text over the border question as early as next month in a move that threatens once again to derail the Brexit negotiations, The Daily Telegraph has learned. Simon Coveney, Irelands minister for foreign affairs and trade, is understood to have made Dublins uncompromising position clear to British counterparts, putting further pressure on Theresa May to make hard decisions on the future relationship between Ireland and the United KingdomThe Irish border will be one of the items on the agenda when the Prime Ministers inner Brexit war cabinet convenes this morning for the first of two meetings this week to try to agree the Governments position over Britains future relationship with Europe. The pressure from Ireland threatens to unravel the delicate diplomatic text over the Irish border question that was orchestrated in December.  Daily Telegraph

The fudge is back to haunt the talks  FT

Wanted: a pragmatic solution  The Times Leader

How we trade with the world is bigger than domestic politics  The Guardian Leader

Clegg says his soft Brexit fantasy is dead and urges MPs to vote against a deal  Daily Telegraph

Labours pro-Brexit votes could be key  Philip Johnston, Daily Telegraph

London continues to demand new office space  Daily Telegraph

>Today: Alex Mortons column: We could have had a radical Brexit. But were out of time for one  for the moment.

The search for a Stop BoMogg leadership candidate begins

Senior Conservatives have launched a search for a Stop BoMogg candidate to prevent Boris Johnson or Jacob Rees-Mogg becoming prime minister in a sudden leadership contest. One cabinet minister privately warned that there was a whiff of death about Theresa Mays premiership. Two Remain-supporting former ministers, Justine Greening and Anna Soubry, yesterday suggested they could not stay in a party led by Mr Rees-Mogg, who has emerged as a frontrunner to replace Mrs May. There is growing unease among the parliamentary party mainstream that the party could be captured by hard-right supporters of an extreme version of Brexit. While Mr Johnson and Mr Rees-Mogg have emerged as favourites to become Tory leader, their opponents have yet to identify a candidate. Amber Rudd, the home secretary, Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, and Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, are all seen as being from the moderate wing of the party and are expected to enter the race.  The Times

>Today: ToryDiary: What is a Conservative? Answers to Soubry on a postcard, please.

>Yesterday: WATCH: Soubry says  sling out 35 hard, ideological Brexiteers who are not Tories.

May launches investigation into fake news industry  and proposes new law on abuse of politicians

The PM launched a major review to protect newspapers as she accused social media giants of destroying reliable journalism. The Government-led probe will look into stopping the likes of Google and Facebook taking ad revenue from traditional outlets while peddling fake news. Theresa May told an audience in Manchester more than 200 local newspapers had closed since 2005. She warned: When trusted and credible news sources decline, we can become vulnerable to news which is untrustworthy.The PM also blasted web trolls who are making politics toxic  claiming far-left abusers have hounded out a senior Labour woman from office. Mrs May vowed to crack down on social media intimidation and abuse as she brings in new laws to tackle the most abusive trolls.  The Sun

Editorials

Stop social media giants killing off newspapers  The Sun Says

Freedom, not government interference, is the best defence of the press  Daily Telegraph Leader

>Yesterday: MPsETC: The ideal of a truly plural and open public sphere where everyone can take part is in danger. Mays speech on public life. Full text.

Rudd agrees to consider pardons for the Suffragettes

Dont pardon them  history has already exonerated them  Allison Pearson, Daily Telegraph

Its a silly gimmick  Lucy Fisher, The Times

Dawn Butlers response to the Home Secretary was petty, tribal and mediocre  The Times

How typical that misogynist Labour tried to hijack the centenary to make it all about them  The Sun Says

Finkelstein: Votes at 16 might inadvertently help the Conservatives

Suffragettes who were jailed while fighting to win the vote for women could be pardoned for their crimes, Amber Rudd has said following calls from campaigners on the 100th anniversary of their victory. More than 1,000 women were arrested and many were imprisoned during the battle for equality and the Fawcett Society, as well as relatives of the suffragettes and senior Tory MPs, called on the Home Secretary to grant a pardon. Ms Rudd responded and said she is certainly going to look at the individual cases and consider issuing pardons. She told ITVs Good Morning Britain programme: Instinctively I can see where that campaign is coming from so I will take a look and see if there is a proposal that I can take more seriously.  Daily Telegraph

Although 16-year-olds are almost all dependents, and therefore may not support low taxes, you would expect them to be quite fiscally conservative about borrowing, as they will have to pick up that bill. For the same reason they would exert pressure (although possibly fairly mild) for longer-term solutions to problems. Social attitude surveys show that young people tend to favour a more rugged individualism and are among the most sceptical about welfare spending and the most supportive of welfare reform. They are sympathetic to entrepreneurialism and risk-taking. Their attitude to the state is influenced by the fact that they are less trusting than older people. Attracting the support of young people will also pull politics in a socially liberal direction.  Daniel Finkelstein, The Times

Employment law shake-up to be presented today, but the IoD says ministers should go further

There could be legislation to bring new clarity to types of work  The Times

Boles, Penrose and Prisk urge Javid to be more radical on housing

Ministers will today announce that millions of people working flexible hours will be given new employment rights including holiday entitlement and sick pay. For the first time, workers in the so-called gig economy will have enforceable rights from their first day in a job, rather than having to wait weeks or months to build up entitlement to paid time off. Workers on zero hour contracts and agency workers will be given more stability and the right to a pay slip showing any costs deducted from their wages. But the Institute of Directors said the Governments response to the Taylor Review should have gone further. Stephen Martin, director general of the IoD, said: The lack of action on tax reform is a wasted opportunity. The different tax treatment of the employed and self-employed has been a driving force behind the rise in self-employment in recent years, but tax treatment should not determine a persons choice of employment status.  Daily Telegraph

The governments proposed planning reforms are too weak to make a difference, three former Tory ministers have said. Nick Boles, John Penrose and Mark Prisk said that Britain was facing a slow-motion crisis that would leave a generation locked out of home ownership, and that the governments response to the problem was inadequate. Sajid Javid, the housing secretary, announced this week that the government would consult on changes making it easier for developers to add new floors to existing buildings. MPs criticised the scale of the plans. You are absolutely right that overhauling our slow, expensive, uncertain and conflict-ridden planning laws is the place to start, they said in a letter to Mr Javid. But given the size of our housing crisis, wed like to encourage you to be even bolder. Unless these proposals allow for building up not out in all towns and cities, and without red tape, they will be too weak to make a difference on the scale thats going to be needed.  The Times

>Today: Peter Franklin: Allowing expansion where its needed will mean some building on the green belt. An open letter to Dominic Raab.

Network Rail boss quits

The chief executive of Network Rail is to leave the company after speculation that the government wanted him out because of delays to major upgrades. Mark Carne, 58, will retire in the summer after more than four years in charge of the state-owned group that operates and maintains infrastructure. He is one of the countrys highest paid public servants, with a package of 820,000 in 2016-17, and had been due to retire before April next year when the companys new five-year funding period starts. He is believed to have brought an announcement forward amid frustration over negative briefings in the past month. A Sunday newspaper quoted Whitehall sources attacking his pay and Network Rails performance last month.  The Times

>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Failing rail firms are among privatisations worst enemies  Grayling should hold them accountable

The late Carl Sargeants son has won his Welsh Assembly seat

The son of late Labour politician Carl Sargeant who committed suicide after being suspended over groping allegations has succeeded his father in the Welsh Assembly. Jack Sargeant, 23, won the vote at the by-election in Alyn and Deeside, which was sparked as a result of his fathers death, as Labour retained the seat. He had said he would fight to represent local people in the proud tradition of my father and vowed to find out the truth behind his fathers death in an apparent suicide in November. Mr Sargeant, 49, had been suspended from the party and dismissed as a Welsh Assembly minister following unspecified allegations about his personal conduct. In his winning speech following the by-election, Mr Sargeant said: I want to say a big thank you to every person standing in this room tonight, everyone across Wales, across the UK and across the world as well who have stood by my family during the toughest time of our lives.  Daily Mail

Momentum targets local government  The Guardian

The editor of LabourList is moving on  The Times

MI6 raises concerns over scandal of Putin-linked billionaire raising money in London

McMafia is a documentary  Con Coughlin, Daily Telegraph

Every NHS Trust failed cybersecurity tests  Daily Mail

Fantasist Nick, who made false allegations agains Heath, Bramall, Proctor and Brittan, arrested

Security sources have raised questions over how EN+, an energy company, came to be floated in London last November without the intelligence services being properly consulted. EN+ is controlled by Oleg Deripaska, one of Russias wealthiest men who is closely linked to Vladimir Putin. The company also owns half of Rusal, a giant Russian aluminium company which until recently said on its website that a fine metal powder it produced was used in the production of military equipment. Mr Deripaska is president of Rusal. The Telegraph understands that the same type of powder was used in the production of a Russian-built Buk missile that Dutch investigators said downed Flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014, killing 298 people. A senior British intelligence official familiar with the issue described the decision to allow the flotation to proceed as a scandal.  Daily Telegraph

A man who falsely claimed he had been raped and tortured as a boy by a VIP paedophile ring is to face trial for child sex offences. Allegations by Nick against bigwigs Sir Ted Heath, Leon Brittan, Harvey Proctor and Lord Bramall sparked a 3million witch-hunt by police. The man was arrested and charged with possessing and making indecent images of children. He has appeared at magistrates court and will go on trial later this year. He could face up to ten years in jail if convicted. The Crown Prosecution Service is also examining a file of evidence over his role as a witness in Operation Midland.  The Sun
Ben Roback: Trump knows what he thinks about the NHS, but does he know which healthcare policy he wants for his own country?

Ben Roback is Head of Trade and International Policy at Cicero Group and a member of the US Embassys Young Leaders UK programme.

The Democrats are pushing for Universal HealthCare while thousands of people are marching in the UK because their U system is going broke and not working. Dems want to greatly raise taxes for really bad and non-personal medical care. No thanks!

Under recent pressure over Embassy-gate, the Special Relationship was tested this week over questions about the NHS. Few would have expected President Trump to have sat up and taken notice of Saturdays Save the NHS march  which flew in the face of those who claimed that the #MainstreamMedia wouldnt cover it  let alone cite it is as an example of the kind of healthcare system the US should avoid.

The rebuttal from the Government was fast. Jeremy Hunt became a rare voice of unity, defending the national healthcare system:

I may disagree with claims made on that march but not ONE of them wants to live in a system where 28m people have no cover. NHS may have challenges but Im proud to be from the country that invented universal coverage  where all get care no matter the size of their bank balance

The Prime Minister backed him up. Despite treading a narrow tightrope with an American president who invests so heavily in personal relationships and resists any kind of criticism, Downing Street insisted the Prime Minister is proud of having an NHS that is free at the point of delivery. Though it was hardly a stinging rebuke, it was important for May and Hunt to defend a record on which the Conservatives are rightly proud to campaign. The top of the Party had to set an example, and they did.

If at first you dont succeed

So we know at least what President Trump doesnt want the healthcare system to look like. The GOP has tried to reform healthcare, but without success so far. Similar to this Governments Brexit position, Republicans seem like they have a loose idea of what they want but lack a detailed plan on how to get there.

Healthcare was the first legislative priority of this Trump White House and Republican Congress, but attempts at wholesale reform have failed. Since then, there have been various attempts to tweak the system around the edges. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act repealed the Obamacare individual mandate that required all Americans under 65 to have health insurance or pay an annual penalty. In January, the administration issued guidance that will allow states to impose work requirements on Medicaid recipients for the first time in the safety nets history. The letter to Medicaid directors creates a path to cutting off the provision unless recipients are employed, volunteering or in enrolled in education. Ten states are ready to press the start button with at least three more close to a decision.

It represents a clash of ideologies. Should the government provide some kind of healthcare provision to all, irrespective of income or circumstance? Or should recipients have to prove themselves in order to benefit from the generosity of the state? It is unclear where this president falls in that choice. It has left many wondering what this president really wants from a healthcare reform package; he has never truly settled on one position. The closest we got was the Murray-Alexander bill, a bipartisan piece of legislation that Trump was consulted on heavily during its creation. Despite that, within an hour of Senator Lamar Alexander (R) telling reporters he and the President had had a great talk, Trump tweeted he could never support bailing out insurance companies who have made money from Obamacare.

Insurance for everybody, or universal healthcare, will become a key pillar of progressive candidates running for president in 2020  the likes of Kirsten Gilibrand, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker  but it was once favoured by Trump. As recently as January 2017, the President said insurance for everybody was the ultimate goal for a healthcare package that would repeal and replace Obamacare. While aspirational, it is hard to see that being navigated through a Congressional Republican caucus that wants less state-provide healthcare and to expel out of Washington anything that could be branded as Obamacare-light.

Taking away free healthcare is hardly a vote winner

Tweaking healthcare around the edges or wholesale reform of Americas healthcare system will be politically difficult to say the least. Taking away free healthcare is hardly a vote winner. Medicaid enrolls more than 68 million low-income Americans. Under the Affordable Care Act, Obamas flagship healthcare legislation, Medicaid expanded in more than 30 states. Moderate Republicans are concerned about how Medicaid cuts and changes to Obamacare regulations will affect their constituents ahead of midterm elections in November. A further bump in the road ahead, like so many other of President Trumps attempts to shock the country into change  although in many cases through Executive Order and not legislation  fundamental shifts in the US healthcare system are likely to run into legal challenges at the state and federal level.

Those midterms in November make major healthcare reforms unlikely this year. The Republicans have tax cuts as their major piece of legislation to campaign on, with little incentive to upset the balance with another attempt at healthcare reforms that were unpopular at their first attempt. The White House is instead far more likely to focus on infrastructure and immigration, where it can present a bipartisan approach on the former and traditional Republican values on the latter. So healthcare will be kicked into the long-grass, perhaps a sensible outcome for a White House that seems uncertain on what those reforms should ultimately look like.
This is the text of a speech delivered yesterday by Tom Tugendhat MP at the Social Market Foundation and Joseph Rowntree Foundation event on fair consumer markets. Tom Tugendhat is MP for Tonbridge and Malling, and Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee.

Ive been asked to talk about markets. Perhaps because Im a Conservative. But the truth is, markets arent political. They are an instinctive form of human organisation. Wherever you go in the world, you will find them. A few years ago  before I got involved in politics  I worked in Kabul. Perhaps the most famous street in the capital is Chicken Street  a name that reminds us of the two fundamentals of successful markets  competition and information. Once people went to Chicken Street for, guess what, chickens; now the street is known for tourist memorabilia and carpets.

But the point remains: if you were selling chickens, that was where you needed to be; as a consumer you had the widest choice and so information about quality, availability and so price, and if you were a trader you knew you would find customers.

But Chicken Street isnt just about chickens. Markets are the cornerstone of Afghan society, with customers looking to feed their families as well as they could, and store holders motivated by the same desires as those who start small businesses in the UK. Providing for their families, having the ability to control their own lives, and building a society. Thats why Chicken Street was targeted by suicide bombers recently. They want to destroy a society that works together.

Because markets, in the end, are about freedom.

The recipe is the same the world over. When people are free to make their own choices, to direct their own lives and spend their own money, they make good choices  or rather better choices than the ones that would be made for them by others  by government officials and, yes, by politicians. Economic freedom is a necessary, if not sufficient, condition of political freedom.

Thats why societies that have embraced market economics have made their people wealthier and happier than those that have not. And because of the wealth created and distributed by the free exchange of goods, services and, more recently, ideas, many more people live happier and longer lives. In 1981 forty per cent of the worlds population lived below the poverty line. The spread of market economics has driven that number down to about ten per cent today.

Thats why Conservatives fight for markets and defend the market economy. This isnt some dogma, but pragmatism based on the evidence that markets work. They bring more wealth and more freedom for more people.

But in some cases, they need fixing. Many now believe that the market economy has failed them. A recent study published by the Legatum Institute showed that that support for statist solutions is on the rise. Over 70 percent of people believe that public ownership of the electricity, water and rail companies would help solve the problems.

I agree that there are problems in all three cases. But public ownership would simply replace an unbalanced market with a monopoly and make the situation worse. Bring in the government and you politicise every decision and take power from the consumer and hand it to the producer. Thats not the cure, thats the disease.

So, what should Conservatives be doing? If we fail to address the feeling of injustice and unfairness that many people now have about the market economy, we risk allowing a government in who would not fix the problem but sweep away the market economy away and replace it with something very different. That would be a disaster for Britain.

Now, Im proud to say I have good friends in the Labour Party. There are many good people in that party as in all others and many of my Labour friends are truly committed to improving the lives of the poor and disadvantaged. But their solutions would not empower them because their leadership wants to use reasonable public questions about the functioning of markets as an excuse to restrict markets.

Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell are like doctors who propose to treat a sprained [broken?] ankle by amputating the whole leg. And I wouldnt trust them to get the right leg, either.

Their strategy is to repeat the hypnotising mantra, public good, private bad. By attacking councils, privatised industries, contractors, academies, threatening to seize private property, and much more they are expounding a mantra of statism that would lead the country to ruin.

Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnells deliberately distorting vision of the private sector in the provision of public services is a caricature of the truth. Because the private sector has always operated alongside the state services and, though there are well known problems, it can keep on helping. Instead, he is seeking an ideological mandate for the biggest power grab since the nationalisations of the 1940s. And that wouldnt come cheap.

Though he and McDonnell appear to be confused as to how debt works, or the laws on expropriating pensioners whose hard-earned savings are in the utility company shares, Labours plans for nationalisation would cost at least 176 billion or about 10 percent of the national debt, and cost every household across the country some 6,500. This very think tank priced the water nationalisation alone at 90 billion.

So what should we, as Conservatives, do to avoid that poisonous medicine? The answer is clear: we need to make sure markets function properly and serve those they should  the people. And that means recognising the need for regulation and the hand of an enlightened state.

Markets are a means to an end, not an end in themselves. We must always ask: how well are they actually delivering what we want? How well are they ensuring innovation, prosperity, and opportunity? How good are they at opening up choice and driving down cost?

Thats where the state and the private sector must work together. Its also, I think, where some of my friends who also support the market sometimes stumble.

Some on my side of politics are keen to talk about the noble goal of restoring faith in the market, saving capitalism from the angry populists but forget that, the process isnt sacred and that markets are made for people, not people for markets. Theyve forgotten the pragmatism that is the underpinning of Conservativism.

It would be easy now to launch an attack on big business. To condemn those whose interests dominate an industry. But that would be to misunderstand the role of companies. After all, what is a company but a collection of people working together to profit from their labour and deliver returns for themselves and those who have given them money  their shareholders?

Of course, they should try to maximise returns. Of course, they should try increase profits. Of course, they should try to increase their market share. Thats what their employees are charged with doing so we shouldnt blame them for doing it. But that doesnt mean we should allow it unhindered.

Instead we should continuously ask: what is the purpose of the market, and remember that the government has a role in ensuring that society, not just the company, benefits. Because society doesnt need monopolies either state or private. They drive out innovation, enterprise and creativity. Worse, they drive up prices, irresponsibility and instability. They are fundamentally unfair and bad for all.

But even seemingly well-run markets can have bias. Today, too many businesses impose a premium on the poorest in our community. To me, as a Conservative, this is an outrage. This is a distortion that sees those least able to bear it, carry the burden.

How can we ever be One Nation if the market that is the foundation of our economy treats rich and poor so differently, and unfairly? By undermining faith in society, it endangers everyone in our country.

This unfairness appears in other parts  people are discouraged from planning for their future because obscure markets fleece pension holders through deliberately opaque pricing structures. And even the state itself is scalped as private pensions are insufficient to pay for retirement, forcing the state to step in, and land-banking by house builders forces up rents and so housing benefits.

I know researchers, including those here, are still working on the exact causes of that unfairness and why it leads to a premium being paid by those least able to bear the cost. But it is clear that at least some of that poverty premium is about a lack of open, comprehensive and comprehensible information about products and prices. And that demands reform.

The first answer is clear  encourage competition. By opening markets up, innovation and experimentation rise, and costs fall. The profit margins on the most open product prove this time and again. They are narrow and the consumer benefits.

Thats why the focus for regulation needs to change. We must be ferocious in supporting the consumer. That doesnt mean stopping people from making money or even getting rich, thats fine so long as the company is responsibly delivering for the whole society. But it does mean ensuring they are not simply acting as a rent taker. And companies change over time.

In the early days, a company may be innovative. They may even create a market.

Before I worked in Kabul, I worked for Bloomberg, in the days when that company was regarded as a rather ill-mannered upstart. The platform developed by that company allowed traders to calculate bond yields and compare government and corporate debt allowing trade to be simplified. That expanded bond trading enormously driving down the cost of debt and creating a market. Cheap debt has its downsides, but it is good for consumers.

Over time market players can change. Once challengers can become incumbents and where they were disruptors they can become monopolies of their own. How many companies in Palo Alto would be broken up if the products they were selling werent almost free?

When we see them, Conservatives most of all should be quick to condemn because failure to do so undermines the most effective tool we have to tackle poverty and promote opportunity. Those of us who know that a state monopoly is no better than a private sector monopoly know it is our duty to make sure markets work better for everyone, particularly those on lower incomes.

As a Party weve known this a long time. The Corn Laws Reform in the early 1800s saw Robert Peels Conservatives repealed tariffs that forced up food prices and allowed producers to make excessive profits, largely at the expense of the poor.

Thats right. The Tories used the power of the market to put rich suppliers under pressure to do better, and the result was cheaper food and better lives for ordinary people.

The same happened in the 1980s. Though much has been said about Margaret Thatchers reforms, the empowerment she gave to millions by opening up markets has been too often forgotten. Forcing customers to wait weeks for a phone line was only one example of the way a monopoly treated its customers who couldnt choose another supplier.

As Oliver Letwin put it recently, arguments for the common ground and the social market were aimed at establishing the contention that free markets, properly harnessed, are the most powerful engine yet invented by humanity for elevating the condition of the poor and the disadvantaged. Those ideas fed into the policies of David Cameron and Iain Duncan Smith.

Of course, sensible, practical Conservatives remember this. Theresa May has talked about the need to make markets feel fairer for the people in them, and Greg Clark is working to put those words into action with his consumer green paper.

Thoughtful, compassionate Conservatives like Jesse Norman remind us that Adam Smith was not the crude caricature sometimes drawn today but a moral leader with a profound sense of social responsibility. And Kevin Hollinrake and the All Party Parliamentary Group he has founded on Poverty show that this is at the heart of the modern Conservative Party.

So how do we win today without echoing the 1970s? If we repeat old arguments to win 21st Century elections, we will lose, and we will not just lose power and office, we will lose the fight for Britain as a free and dynamic market economy. And that would mean the people we serve would have lives that were poorer and shorter. We cannot let that happen.

We must instead restart the debate to renew faith in the market and that means focussing ourselves utterly and even ruthlessly on what markets are delivering for the people we serve  especially those who enter the market with less money and fewer means than the typical consumer.

We have, to be frank, been lax in making and re-making the argument for markets and economic freedom. Perhaps because it is so obvious to us that markets are the best way to organise our affairs, we have sometimes forgotten to make the case for them from first principles. The result is that when some hear words like markets or capitalism, they think of a system that works for someone else, that serves the rich and not them.

Our job comes in two parts. The first is about argument and thats what I have been covering so far, but the second is about action. Words have their uses in politics, but voters, quite rightly, judge us on results. So, we need to start offering  and implementing  practical, tangible solutions.

Today, we are living in the shadow of the 2008 crash. The market failure of the finance industry was not just a tragedy, it was a crime. But somehow there were no criminals. We need to show that we are equally as tough on those who deceive regulators about the structural stability of their bank as we would be about the structural stability of a building. Both can cost lives and we need to treat both seriously.

We also need to reform markets  whether banking or house building  to ensure smaller, disrupting companies can end the dominance of the huge firms and ensure corporate failure  an essential part of innovation  never becomes system failure.

Together these are arguments for more power for the Competition and Markets Authority to enforce transparency and openness and the Financial Services Authority, and others to enforce compliance.

Only by opening the market to new challengers can we put incumbents under pressure to do better for customers and this has never been more important. Recent work by the Social Market Foundation showed that 8 of the 10 most important UK consumer markets arent really competitive, meaning consumers, especially the poorest, are missing out. We should be encouraging and helping enterprising challengers who can make markets more competitive  because that benefits British households.

Those challengers dont all have to be conventional profit-making companies  as I said, competition is about outcomes, not dogma, and as Conservatives we should be profoundly agnostic about who the competitors are, so long as the playing field is even.

One example is on the railways. Yesterday we learnt again that a train operator was not viable. The East Coast Mainline has got its sums wrong and couldnt continue. That means, in the interim, that the state will take back control of the line. When it is refranchised, why shouldnt a mutual, a not-for-profit, or even a charity be able to bid? While as state business puts politicians in charge, neither of the other solutions has that obvious downside.

Social investors with a real sense of duty to the areas and passengers they serve could bring competition into a market that is constrained by rules that only allow the biggest to enter, restricting real rivalry. Rewriting franchises could bring in more investment and enable long term returns that many may choose transforming an industry already much improved by the end of state ownership.

The free school programme also shows that competition doesnt mean privatisation. Community groups working with non-profit partners have transformed the life chances of thousands by delivering public services in areas that had been failed by the traditional statist model. Thats why looking at contracts that that keep innovative providers out of the bidding should he reviewed  they punish the poorest.

And even the NHS, that bastion of state provision isnt quite what it appears. Firstly, most peoples interaction with the health service is with a private company  their GP; and secondly, many peoples final care is provided by a charity  the hospice movement. Neither are state run, but the care given by both is second to none.

Similar models should be explored for the provision of some of the local services that are currently swallowed up by flawed giants from the corporate world. We should see community construction projects to improve a village, expand a town, and give those who want beautiful architecture and quality from the homes around them, not just the raw profit of companies like Carillions or Persimmons who currently dominate the market.

Though it may appear to make markets more inefficient, small companies improve innovation, resilience, opportunity, and enterprise. Thats why we need government procurement systems to make it easier for smaller companies to compete with the giants.

In short, we must make life more challenging for the biggest players in the market, so they cannot simply dominate a market. That will give them new reasons to do better for consumers  of all incomes.

For some commentators, theres an idea that this agenda is somehow anti-business, that getting a better deal for people must somehow entail shackling or stigmatising successful wealth-creating employers.

In fact, the opposite is true. Making markets fair is a way to restore faith in business and to highlight the good that business does. It frees capital for enterprise, investment and innovation. And if we get it right, it will encourage ownership to flow through society. Getting Brits to stop killing capital by using it to inflate property prices and instead use their cash to give life to new corporate ideas would be evidence that this transformation is working. And there are clues that it will.

People today dont leave school or university simply looking for a job. Unlike my generation, many thousands are looking to start their own business. They want to change the world or at least change the way we date. Thats an entrepreneurial culture incompatible with anything except free markets and the liberties they require. Thats a culture that understands that profit is good, but competition keeps it honest. Thats a culture of free markets and a pro-business agenda.

But to achieve it requires the hand of a regulator. Those who want the state to retreat completely from the public square and allow a sort of economic free-for-all with no check on bad behaviour and no protection for the weak and unlucky are arguing the reverse. Their distorted vision of the marketplace would create monopolies, and that would cost everyone more, and lead to the sort of public discontent that would give Britain a government intent on shutting down markets for good.

Thats why ensuring consumers get a better deal without being ripped off isnt just right in itself, its about ensuring the freedoms we enjoy are promoted through our whole society.

Anything else would be a backwards step, one that would make everyone worse off  especially the people on low-incomes who this event is, quite rightly about. For the market remains the best tool we have for giving them the security, dignity and fairness they deserve.

That is, has been, and always will be the job and mission of the Conservative Party. Now is the time for us to rededicate ourselves to that purpose. For that, we will need to be open to new ideas and new policies, which is why I am here today.

But our aim will remain unchanged as it always has: to create and spread wealth and freedom  for everyone.

I said earlier on that some people on my side of politics misremember Adam Smith. Id like to finish by talking about another very practical thinker about markets else who is sometimes misremembered.

Someone who said this:

By encouraging the energies and initiative of the creative and sturdier members of society our resources for helping the aged, the sick, and the disabled are substantially enlarged.

That is why, the aim should be to promote personal independence and development of responsibility by encouraging the growth of the maximum number of autonomous economic units, be they companies, large or small, partnerships or cooperatives.

Securing dignity, resources, and independence for all while remaining agnostic as to the way it is provided. That was and will remain the goal of the Conservative Party, and the market will remain the tool we use to do that, not because of faith but fact. Even if that tool needs a little fine-tuning from time to time.

Oh, and the person who promised that dignity and independence, and who would have seen charities and cooperatives as part of the market economy, even perhaps on the railways? His name was Keith Joseph.
Fleur Butler is the Chairman of Conservative Womens Organisation (CWO), Yorkshire and Humber.

We Conservatives have allowed our women in history to be removed from the feminist iconography. By refusing to engage with feminist dialogue, we have lost our heroines to the Left, who consequently deride their work and dismiss them. This week alone we have seen Harriet Harman both denying Theresa May as a feminist and declaring that Thatcher was anti-women.

Now neither of our prime ministers are, or were, socialist feminists. But to be told that there is no such thing as a conservative feminist, by both the Left and the Right, is just wrong. We mustnt let the Left push us out of the feminist debate, but rather reclaim it as our own.

Brilliant right-wing historical women are mocked, either for not liberating other women as the socialist would want, or for being somehow less important, mere stooges of a patriarchal society. And in a modern world, this lack of right-wing role models is important. Why is it that Millicent Fawcett, supported by the left-leaning Fawcett Society and a Labour London mayor, has a new statue in Parliament Square in honour of female suffrage rather than the radical Conservative, Emmeline Pankhurst? Because the Right have not allowed themselves to join feminist debates, and not claimed their own feminist heroines.

Despite her eventual membership of the Conservative Party, the Right have allowed Pankhursts history to be written by the Left. Her main biographer is Sylvia Pankhurst  socialist, pacifist and outraged daughter  who condemned her as violent and hysterical, and claims with unexplored contradiction that she was both a weak woman and an autocrat. Where is the counter-argument?

Pankhursts brilliant political journey was the other side of the coin of Fawcetts decorous 40 year campaign for suffrage. But the formers work from 1914 is ignored, despite being a fantastic example of a conservative feminist understanding the real needs of women. It was her organisation that pushed for the then war government to let women serve in what were then mens roles as munitions workers, train drivers, police and ship builders. She was among the first to lobby against gender pay discrimination, and her horror after the war when the socialists pushed women back into the home, with their cry of jobs for the boys, was one of her reasons for joining the Conservatives.

Having our own history denied us by our own refusal to use the concepts of feminism is political suicide. As the Conservatives continue to allow a party whose MPs are 80 per cent male to speak on behalf of women, we are going to struggle to show we are the party for modern women to choose.

In last years election, the majority of young women under 45 voted against us. A new pride in the idea of conservative feminism across history can reassert our right-wing women as brilliant role models for modern women. Thatcher is one of our best icons of feminism. She refused to identify with the socialist feminists of her day, but is still a modern feminist icon. As the first woman in history to be Prime Minister she broke through the glass ceiling, yet we embarrassedly accept that the time is not right for her to have a statue. We have let the Left revile her for so long we have forgotten what she did for women.

Now is the time to say to the Left, yes, loathe Thatchers politics if you must, but celebrate the real changes that she brought to womens lives. It was under her watch that more women left the home and entered the work place, as male industrial jobs were being lost. She empowered more women to own their own homes. She both promoted women, and used ways round the male dominance of her party to get women in o power by using peerages.

So the left should stop confusing outputs with the real outcomes  and we should remind them of women such as Edwina Currie, Lynda Chalker, Angela Rumbold, Jean Trumpington, Janet Young and more. As a modern feminist role model, her life in politics shows how women have had to manoeuvre within the traditional male structures that dominate Parliament. She is neither the monster of the Left nor a Superwoman, but one of us.

Her use of the feminine shopping basket was not an apologia for being female, as many left-wingers claim, but a device that explained simple economics to the nation. She made it acceptable for female symbols to be seen as powerful, as no socialist feminist has done. Her handbag is now a verb  to express the female ability to win arguments intellectually with to handbag. Geri Halliwell was right to claim her for GirlPower.

As a member of the Conservative Womens Organisation, I am proud of my conservative feminist heroines, and I need the party to reclaim them so we can show the new younger women looking for inspiration, the wonderful feminist role models for them to aspire to both as they stand for our party and vote for our party. Hence the hashtag #AskHerToStand

If you wish to enter public life, or want to encourage women to enter public life the CWO can give support, guidance and training to build up the political CV for highest office. For the record, all our training is available for both men and women. Have a look at our website.


Five years ago, the TaxPayers Alliance reported that in the last year, five times more Labour people were appointed to public bodies than Tories.

Since then, the figures have varied, and some Conservative members or supporters have been selected to fill important posts.

Nonetheless, it remains the case that, since it took office in 2010, our Party has punched beneath its weight when it comes to public appointments. One of the reasons seems to be that Tories simply dont apply in the same number as Labour supporters.

To help remedy this, every fortnight we put up links to some of the main public appointments vacancies, so that qualified Conservatives might be aware of the opportunities presented.

         

The Law Commission  Chair

The Chairman of the Commission has a pivotal role both within the Commission and externally. The Chairman, working with the Chief Executive, plays a key part in identifying and responding to the strategic challenges that face the Commission. The Chairman is also the public face of the Commission and can expect to be asked by the media to give interviews. He or she represents the Commission in public and is very much involved in meeting Ministers across Departments in order to gain acceptance of Law Commission proposals. They will also play a substantial role discussing budget and other strategic issues with Ministers and senior officials in the Ministry of Justice.

Time: Full-time.

Remuneration: None.

Closes: 14 February

         

Committee on Radioactive Waste Management  Chair

The Committee on Radioactive Waste Management (CoRWM) provides independent scrutiny and advice to UK Government and Devolved Administration Ministers on the long-term management of radioactive waste, including storage and disposal. The Committees primary task is to provide independent scrutiny on the UK Governments and Radioactive Waste Management Ltds (RWMs) high profile programme to deliver geological disposal, together with interim storage, for higher activity wastes The role of the CoRWM Chair is high profile and the Chair may be required to appear before Parliamentary Select Committees. The Chair is also the Committees main point of contact with stakeholders and will represent the Committees views to both broadcasting and written media (where required).

Time: Up to 78 days per year.

Remuneration: 450 per diem plus travel and subsistence.

Closes: 19 February

         

Bank of England  Chair of the Court

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. The Court of Directors is responsible for setting and monitoring the Banks objectives and strategy, including its financial objectives. Candidates are sought for the role of Chair of Court. All Bank of England Non-Executive Directors are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Chair of Court is designated by the Chancellor from among the Non-Executive Directors. The Chair is of pivotal importance to the Banks governance and will continue to play a vital role at a time of continuing change in the Bank functions and organisation. The Chair is expected to work in close partnership with the Governors, other NEDs, senior bank officials and the Treasury.

Time: Around two days per week.

Remuneration: 48,000 per annum.

Closes: 20 February

         

British Library  Chair

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. The Court of Directors is responsible for setting and monitoring the Banks objectives and strategy, including its financial objectives. Candidates are sought for the role of Chair of Court. All Bank of England Non-Executive Directors are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Chair of Court is designated by the Chancellor from among the Non-Executive Directors. The Chair is of pivotal importance to the Banks governance and will continue to play a vital role at a time of continuing change in the Bank functions and organisation. The Chair is expected to work in close partnership with the Governors, other NEDs, senior bank officials and the Treasury.

Time: Around two days per week.

Remuneration: 35,180 per annum.

Closes: 22 February

         

Social Mobility Commission  Chair

This is an exciting opportunity to fundamentally shape the social mobility agenda. The Chair leads the Social Mobility Commission, shaping its direction and priorities, and ensuring that it fulfils its remit, as set out in legislation. You will: utilise the knowledge and experience of the other Commissioners, actively engaging them with the business of the Commission; oversee major research reports and publications, including the Commissions Annual Report, which is laid before parliament; build effective working relationships with a range of stakeholders, including Ministers, senior government officials and experts in the field (including engaging Ministers in the Commissions priorities and, potentially, being asked to advise Ministers on particular issues); be an advocate for the social mobility agenda, holding to account and challenging key institutions; and be the public spokesperson for the Commission, regularly speaking at events and to the media.

Time: Approx days per month.

Remuneration: Reasonable expenses.

Closes: 25 February

         

Interim Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation  Chair

Advances in the uses of data are transforming our lives in positive and powerful ways. From our health, our economic productivity and our everyday social interactions, data-driven technologies are having profound consequences across all aspects of our lives. The associated economic benefits are huge and growing, with estimates suggesting that the uptake of AI technologies could add up to 10 per cent to GDP by 2030 Our task is to harness this technology for the common good: to promote its benefits, support innovation, and mitigate the risks so it works for all. For the UK to lead the world in digital and data-driven technologies, we must ensure we have a governance regime that fully supports both ethical and innovative uses of these technologies. The UK already benefits from a world-class regulatory regime. We must build on this by ensuring we understand and respond to the rapidly evolving ways in which uses of data are impacting our lives.

Time: 2-3 days per week.

Remuneration: An appropriate rate.

Closes: 28 February
Alex Morton: We could have had a radical Brexit. But were out of time for one  for the moment.

The nature of the EU deal is effectively set

This week, the Cabinet will meet to discuss the options for the March 2019 Brexit deal. In truth, the internal Conservative party debate is secondary to the realpolitik. Given any deal is meant to be broadly agreed by October this year, the outlines are already discernible from the December deal.

UK regulatory alignment with the European Union . There may be some flexibility  for example, the UK may interpret (some) regulations as directives, (a directive sets out objectives, but gives freedom as to how these are achieved; a Regulation sets out the means as well). But there will not be the freewheeling regulatory arrangement some Brexiteers yearn for  and given the Northern Ireland border issue, there cannot be.

. There may be some flexibility  for example, the UK may interpret (some) regulations as directives, (a directive sets out objectives, but gives freedom as to how these are achieved; a Regulation sets out the means as well). But there will not be the freewheeling regulatory arrangement some Brexiteers yearn for  and given the Northern Ireland border issue, there cannot be. The UK will be in a close customs arrangement but not a formal customs union . This will allow the UK to make trade deals with other countries. Crucially, regulatory alignment allows the UK to easily export goods and services produced domestically to the EU. The UK will have to be responsible for monitoring goods flowing from third countries into the EU  but it must do so already. This will minimise the issues around the Irish border (though a healthy fudge will also be required).

. This will allow the UK to make trade deals with other countries. Crucially, regulatory alignment allows the UK to easily export goods and services produced domestically to the EU. The UK will have to be responsible for monitoring goods flowing from third countries into the EU  but it must do so already. This will minimise the issues around the Irish border (though a healthy fudge will also be required). There will be freedom of movement restrictions (for family, job seekers or students), but limited restrictions on freedom of labour , (so if you have a job already arranged you will still be able to come to the UK). If Theresa May pays for it, she may be able to create a situation where low income worker flows are also restricted.

, (so if you have a job already arranged you will still be able to come to the UK). If Theresa May pays for it, she may be able to create a situation where low income worker flows are also restricted. The UK will make ongoing payments for this arrangement . The more May wants to amend freedom of movement, the greater the payments  because the poorer EU nations are most affected by freedom of movement changes and such payments.

This will build on what was agreed in December, and satisfies each groups minimum needs. The EU needs access to the Single Market being reliant on largely following its rules. Ireland needs an offer that keeps the border issue under control. The EU27 want UK cash. Eastern Europe wants a deal to retain UK military goodwill. Member states want the UK to not gain so much that domestic pressure builds to exit, while not losing so much that the Commission gains control over member states. The UK needs the ability to make trade deals, show some movement on regulation and freedom of movement, and show that it has escaped ever closer union.

With this deal, the UK is not quite a rule taker but neither is it fundamentally free. Such a deal gives just enough to all parties without being a slam dunk for anyone. It is still possible that one side or another will cock this settlement up by overplaying its hand, but something like above is the only option that might sufficiently satisfy all parties.

A radical Brexit would require a revolution there is not now time for

It is fair to call this a softish Brexit with May-style immigration controls. But while Brexit could have gone differently, time has run out. The alternative, a WTO terms Brexit, with no payments, no free trade deal and the UK keeping trade barriers unilaterally low, complete regulatory freedom, and strict border control was a feasible option. But such an option would have required massive changes to how the UK operates.

For instance, the civil service would need to be fundamentally rewired and directed. The Treasury is indeed wedded to the status quo. It looks at a world where (potentially) not growing trade to 40 per cent of our partners and instead growing it with 60 per cent produces a world where we will be 5-8 per cent worse off in 15 years. Further, it clearly thinks there are no gains to be made from flexibility in setting our own laws and regulations. It is ludicrous to make such assumptions.

But amidst the current chaos, the civil service has had to make assumptions. Civil servants are neither impartial nor neutral, but neither are they anti-democratic. Push them strongly, and they will move (even if dragging their heels) where directed. In the absence of an alternate clear plan, Jeremy Heywood and Theresa May are having to deliver the Brexit they can, with the assumptions and biases they have, and it is unfair to attack them for that.

Changing the civil service and moving it away from the current corporatist and sluggish beast is just a tiny example of what would be needed to make the radical WTO Brexit option work. The UK would need to improve infrastructure, simplify taxation, reform public services, change planning, reconsider monetary policy and more.

There were elements of such radicalism in the vague discussions between Michael Gove and Boris Johnson at the time of the EU referendum, and even more in freewheeling thinking of Dominic Cummings. But Theresa May was the person who emerged triumphant in 2016 and who has, despite sometimes poor judgement, and an awful election campaign including a dire manifesto, driven through a difficult negotiation. She deserves serious credit for it  and she still outscores Jeremy Corbyn on best Prime Minister because the public do give her credit for it.

If others wanted a different outcome, they should have removed her before now. She has gained the right to shape the deal we obtain in 2019  and more importantly, it is too late to think otherwise. In any case, there is no sign the revolution needed would necessarily emerge in what would have to be just six months, given the time needed to run a bruising leadership election. In Michael Goves DEFRA, it seems that Brexit means more, not fewer, regulations (and presumably more expensive food). Boris Johnsons Foreign Office has not pioneered a radical new approach to the world. They have solidly delivered in their Departments, but it is hard to see a radical approach that could be replicated across Government to enable the WTO option to succeed.

Longer term, establishment Tories are less likely to beat Corbyn than radical Tories

To ditch May now would be a disaster because, given the fight that would follow, we would not have the time to prepare for a no-deal scenario. Yet longer term, the radical option is not dead. The original emerging Gove and Johnson thesis was that Brexit showed the country needs a revolution to renew itself. This is also the belief of Jeremy Corbyn, and it took him to 40 per cent in the polls as the Tories ran a dreary establishment campaign.

While May must stay for now, it is also true she must stand down in 2019: the Tories cannot renew with her as Prime Minister. Once Brexit is finalised the Party, will have to decide how best to take on Corbyn. The Conservatives will have to decide if they want to run as the party of the establishment or radical renewal. I would argue regardless of the outcome of Brexit, the second choice is the more likely path to victory in the face of the Corbyn insurgency.
02/07/2018

Photo (c) Highwaystarz-Photography - Getty Images An investigation published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) suggests the number of US children with brain damage from prenatal drinking may be higher than previously thought.

The study of four U.S. communities in the Southeast, Midwest, Pacific Southwest, and Rocky Mountain region found that at least one percent to five percent of first-graders had a Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders are "costly, life-long disabilities," caused by alcohol use during pregnancy, the report says. The group of conditions can be characterized by central nervous system damage and abnormal facial features.

The recent study found that the prevalence of FASD ranged depending on the community. However, it was much higher than the previously accepted prevalence estimate of about 1 in 100 children.

Not uncommon

In the new study, a conservative approach put the prevalence estimate for FASD at one to five percent of children, while a less conservative take suggested three to ten percent.

The Rocky Mountains area had the greatest prevalence, while the Midwest had the lowest, the researchers estimated.

"The conservative estimates assume that every child who didn't participate in the study didn't have fetal alcohol spectrum disorder," explained study leader Christina Chambers, a professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Diego.

"The flip side of the coin says that instead of the denominator being all eligible children, it is only those children for whom we had sufficient information to classify them -- a much smaller number, she said.

"The bottom line is, these are not uncommon disorders," Chambers said.

Drinking during pregnancy

Some types of FASD involve mild learning or behavioral issues while the most severe type -- fetal alcohol syndrome -- can lead to growth problems, abnormal facial features, and damage to the nervous system.

"Alcohol in the mother's blood passes to the baby through the umbilical cord. When a woman drinks alcohol, so does her baby," the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said.

To prevent FASDs, health experts recommend abstaining from alcohol entirely while pregnant or trying to conceive. Thats because no amount of alcohol during pregnancy is known to be safe.

The recommendation to avoid alcohol altogether is based on the idea that there are differences in susceptibility, Chambers explained. We dont know what a safe threshold is.
The concept of mechanical motion from an electrical current source is not new, but the discoveries of the past provide the foundation for todays advanced motor developments. The earliest such example can be traced back to Hans Christian Oersted in 1820 when current from a battery was observed to deflect a compass needle. That same year, Andre-Marie Ampere invented what is now known as the solenoid coil. It was Michael Faraday, however, who set the stage for what we now know as the induction motor. Faradays 1821 experiments demonstrated rotation of a wire in a circular orbit around an electromagnet.

Over the next 70 years, numerous electrical giants built on Faradays experiments, progressing toward a true induction motor and pushing inventors to fund and create systems capable of powering these new devices. Names include Joseph Henry, Werner Siemens, Nikola Tesla, Charles Bradley, and George Westinghouse.

The Russian inventor Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolsky made two critical advances: improvements to the Tesla three-phase induction motor and the revelation that Delta and Wye three-phase connected motors only require three current carrying conductors (unlike two-phase motors of the time, which required four conductors). Many of the design characteristics of the Dolivo-Dobrowolsky three-phase induction motor (circa 1890) are still used today.

In the 20th century, advancement continued during the industrial revolution. More applications are converted from human, beast, and steam power to electromechanical means, which drives innovation in materials, construction methods, and electrical power transmission systems. One concept of vital importance is speed control. The ac induction motors speed control is relegated to one of two methods: gear reducers and the number of poles in the motor; both are set in stone without some fairly significant engineering changes.

Pursuant to the equation RPM = 120 x Applied Frequency / # of Poles, the speed of a motor can be affected by the number of poles in the electromagnetic winding. Fewer poles results in a higher output revolutions per minute (RPM), more poles equals a lower RPM. Since the U.S. has standardized on 60 Hz, this is a constant in the RPM equation.

Speed control with a VFD

Fast forward to the ac variable frequency drive (VFD) and the number of poles is no longer a driving factor nor is applied frequency a constant. Previously, motor starting methods for ac induction motors were either across the line or soft starting (reduced voltage starting or split winding delta/wye). Either way, it is a pure sine wave. With the VFD, instead of a pure sine wave there are pulses of voltage in a method called pulse width modulation (PWM).

The ac voltage is converted to dc then inverted back to ac and the voltage is pulsed though a solid-state switch, which is called an insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT). An IGBT allows the user to actively modulate the motors speed by adjusting the Volts/Hertz ratio. Therefore, 460/60 is full speed and 230/30 equals half speed, etc. This method of control, however, causes different electrical stresses on a motor, which necessitated further motor innovation and led to the inverter duty rated motor. This new type of motor combats the electrical phenomenon that results from a VFDs pulsing output.

Avoiding motor damage

In an across-the-line motor starter frequency is constant, and voltage has an upper limit-no more than what is supplied from the utility. With a VFD, frequency is no longer constant and voltage is switched (pulsed) thousands of times per second from zero to peak to mimic a sinusoidal wave form familiar to the motor. Peaks may reach 1,500 V or higher. It is these peaks in voltage that can damage the windings in a motor that is not suited for the application.

Inverter duty rated motors combat this problem by using winding insulation that eliminates the occurrence of corona inception voltage (CIV). In short, CIV is the point at which a conductors insulation becomes conductive, which is not good.

This article is not meant to be a comprehensive look at all motor technologies, but a brief look at the history of the ac induction motor and the notable names and innovations in the early part of its history. Current innovations, such as the permanent magnet ac motor (PMAC), are being refined to bring higher efficiency, cooler running temperatures, and incredible speed and torque accuracy. As a result of semiconductor technology and microprocessor advances, the VFD has become smarter, more efficient, and more accurate. It makes a person wonder what will happen in the next 100 years.

Dan Messina, CEP, is power technical consultant, Rensenhouse Electric Supply in Kansas City, Mo., part of CEDs Industrial Solution Network. Edited by Chris Vavra, production editor, Control Engineering, CFE Media, cvavra@cfemedia.com.

MORE ANSWERS

Keywords: Motors, variable frequency drives, VFDs

Michael Faradays experiments in 1821 demonstrated rotation of a wire in a circular orbit around an electromagnet, the beginnings of the induction motor.

experiments in 1821 demonstrated rotation of a wire in a circular orbit around an electromagnet, the beginnings of the induction motor. Michael Dolivo-Dobrowolsky improved the Tesla three-phase induction motor and discovered that Delta and Wye three-phase connected motors only require three current carrying conductors.

improved the Tesla three-phase induction motor and discovered that Delta and Wye three-phase connected motors only require three current carrying conductors. Motor systems made a huge advance with the variable frequency drive (VFD).

Consider this

What electric motor technologies do you need to implement now to increase production, margins, and reliability?

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Understanding the past helps in understanding the present and in creating a better future. Please read:

Electronic motion control, then and now

Motion control from the archives
Slums from across the city  Sanjay Nagar, Indira Nagar, Jamwadi-Sayajiganj, Fatehaganj-Kalyan Nagar  have been razed to the ground. Around 5,000 people like Mali and Panchal have been displaced due to VRDP. They have been relocated to Tarsali, in the outskirts of the city. They now travel 12 kilometres each way to work.

The Vishwamitri River emerges from the hills of Pavagadh and flows through the heart of Gujarat's cultural capital Vadodara. It empties into the Gulf of Khambhat. Legend has it that Sage Vishwamitra created a moksh-dwar (gateway to heaven) for downtrodden Hindu people at Kayavarohan, a village in the Vadodara district. The river is named after him.

The cultural significance of Vishwamitri, however, belies the plight of its waters today. Factories and hospitals dump large amounts of chemical and organic wastes into it. And, while cleaning the Vishwamitri has been a priority for many, it has been just that; a priority. The Vishwamitri River emerges from the hills of Pavagadh and flows through the heart of Gujarat's cultural capital Vadodara. It empties into the Gulf of Khambhat. Legend has it that Sage Vishwamitra created a moksh-dwar (gateway to heaven) for downtrodden Hindu people at Kayavarohan, a village in the Vadodara district. The river is named after him.The cultural significance of Vishwamitri, however, belies the plight of its waters today. Factories and hospitals dump large amounts of chemical and organic wastes into it. And, while cleaning the Vishwamitri has been a priority for many, it has been just that; a priority.

Mali and Panchal For a city populace that consistently laments the deplorable condition of the river, the ambitious VRDP comes as a breath of fresh air. The plan claims to ensure flood mitigation and provides landscape-design solutions. It seeks to enhance the cultural importance of the city, restore the connection of the river with the people and address the future needs of the city. Despite the grand promises, the benefits are far from obvious, and a closer inspection of the issue reveals several technical and bureaucratic blunders.

A longstanding environmental activist and an outspoken critic of several insidious government projects, Rohit Prajapati has spearheaded the opposition to build a Vishwamitri Riverfront since 2014. For a city populace that consistently laments the deplorable condition of the river, the ambitious VRDP comes as a breath of fresh air. The plan claims to ensure flood mitigation and provides landscape-design solutions. It seeks to enhance the cultural importance of the city, restore the connection of the river with the people and address the future needs of the city. Despite the grand promises, the benefits are far from obvious, and a closer inspection of the issue reveals several technical and bureaucratic blunders.A longstanding environmental activist and an outspoken critic of several insidious government projects, Rohit Prajapati has spearheaded the opposition to build a Vishwamitri Riverfront since 2014.

The project seeks to mimic the model of the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. As it turned out, VRDP work had begun in several areas even before the completion of due processes by the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Clearance (EC). An application filed by Prajapati and his team to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2016 comprehensively explains the various shortcomings of the project and the illegality of the work underway.

For Prajapati, a revision of the understanding of a river is the ideal beginning point of any discussion. I am going to argue how rivers should be defined. I am going to argue for a definition of a river, he said, as he began explaining the complexity of a river system. The application he submitted defines a river as more than a channel carrying water. It is a natural, living, organic part of a larger ecological system. The project seeks to mimic the model of the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. As it turned out, VRDP work had begun in several areas even before the completion of due processes by the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and Environmental Clearance (EC). An application filed by Prajapati and his team to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2016 comprehensively explains the various shortcomings of the project and the illegality of the work underway.For Prajapati, a revision of the understanding of a river is the ideal beginning point of any discussion. I am going to argue how rivers should be defined. I am going to argue for a definition of a river, he said, as he began explaining the complexity of a river system. The application he submitted defines a river as more than a channel carrying water. It is a natural, living, organic part of a larger ecological system.

After years of encroachment and garbage dumping, Vishwamitris waters are under threat. Its sewage treatment plant treats only about 60% of the waste. Even the design and treatment methods are inadequate. The application also points to other problems, including dumping of waste materials, construction debris, municipal and industrial waste, carcasses and untreated sewage water.

Kalyan Nagar slum, razed to the ground The immediate and recurring result of negligence is seen in Vadodaras flooding crises. Prajapati explains the importance of ravines. A ravine is the natural flood control device of the river. Why do you have such flash floods, in a river that does not have so much water? The answer, as explained in the report, is simple. Leave alone factories; even the Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan (VMSS) has played a major role in dumping untreated sewage and solid waste into the ravines. With a slope of less than 5% on average, the floods are entirely avoidable and caused largely due to a clogged water system; the VRDP makes the flooding crisis worse. The immediate and recurring result of negligence is seen in Vadodaras flooding crises. Prajapati explains the importance of ravines. A ravine is the natural flood control device of the river. Why do you have such flash floods, in a river that does not have so much water? The answer, as explained in the report, is simple. Leave alone factories; even the Vadodara Mahanagar Seva Sadan (VMSS) has played a major role in dumping untreated sewage and solid waste into the ravines. With a slope of less than 5% on average, the floods are entirely avoidable and caused largely due to a clogged water system; the VRDP makes the flooding crisis worse.

VMSS cites two contradictory reasons for acquiring slum land. The first is to create the real estate for development. Yet, as Prajapatis report states, there is plenty public and private land lying vacant for such purposes. Taking more land connected to the river corridor is unnecessary.

VMSS second reason is that the threat of floods looms over the people living in the slum. Thus, they say, it makes sense to empty those areas. However, the construction activities at the site tell a different story. The development plans that involve making residential and commercial complexes will only increase the footfall in the region, which does not mitigate a flood threat.

The marsh crocodile, the Ganges softshell turtle and numerous species of fish inhabit the Vishwamitri river. Several of these species have been categorised as nationally vulnerable and are listed in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. Incessant dumping in the river and unauthorised activity on the river corridor poses a severe threat to aquatic life.

Rohit Prajapati Ultimately, Prajapati and his team of lawyers, engineers, environmentalists, economists and students succeeded. NGT passed an order to suspend all activities. Prajapati notes, They realised they wont get VRDP clearance because we are not just challenging this, but we are also making the point that the whole project is problematic. The premise is wrong. The idea to do this [project] will damage the river. So they realised they had to drop the project.

Yet, construction along the river corridor is still functional. Prajapati points out the VMSS attempts to compare it with the Sabarmati project. They forgot to take separate clearance. They thought that if they got VRDP project clearance like they did for Sabarmati, then other projects can be taken care of in the name of EC for the Vishwamitri River. He seeks to have the Mukhya Mantri Awas Yojana projects -- launched near the Bhimnath bridge and at Sama-Sanjay Nagar -- contested to set an example.

Prajapati refers to VRDP as Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet project. The stakes for those involved are high. VMSS attempted to get an expo facto clearance for the project, but that too was challenged in court. Prajapati and his team sought a complete rejection of the project. However, the project was merely withdrawn.

After consulting a number of experts (barring Prajapati), they came to the decision that the river cannot be discussed in bits and pieces. The new project proposal is being planned according to the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), which will deal with the river as a whole, not just as the 16.5 kilometres that pass through Vadodara. It will allow for comprehensive river planning systems that ensure long-term benefits for the entire ecosystem.

When you struggle on the ground, you need research; use all means to make a point. You cant win a battle only by philosophy or ideology alone, or simply in the streets, or the court. The tenacious battles waged by Prajapati and his team come at a cost. Prajapati faces two defamation cases, with a penalty of Rs 25 crore and three years in jail. Threats are routine.

On being asked why he does not seek state protection, he smirked and replied that he receives more threats from the state than from non-state actors. Yet it does not impede his enthusiasm. Taking circumstances in his stride, he remarks, Its a risk of life. Even if some of us have to go a little bit earlier, fine.

And it seems the risks may pay off well. The VRDP will set a precedent for all such riverfront projects across the country. Everybody is looking at what will happen to Vishwamitri, even the government is very cautious since the matter is pending before the Supreme Court So they are on hold, they are making announcements, but they are not going ahead with it. Everyone is waiting and watching.

Recently, a plan to revive the Bhukhi Nala, a tributary of the Vishwamitri, was conceived. The architecture department of the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, has been granted Rs 6 crore for the project. Prajapati and his team are going to be involved in the effort. It would be a small scale model of how a river can be revived to benefit the ecology as a whole. That would then, they hope, be replicated with the larger rivers.

The team sits on the steps leading to the banks of the Vishwamitri on Saturdays. It is their new congregation point. Prajapati is speaking to a PhD student. A few people stand around him, dutifully overhearing his conversation. An old man with thinning white hair stands next to me, peering at the ochre waters.

I used to drink this water right from the river, he says to no one in particular. When I was ten. Now I am sure he is addressing me. All I can do is nod along and try to indulge a mans memories -- ones which he will probably never get to relive and ones that I can only hope to live someday.

---

*This article was first published in The Bastion Ultimately, Prajapati and his team of lawyers, engineers, environmentalists, economists and students succeeded. NGT passed an order to suspend all activities. Prajapati notes, They realised they wont get VRDP clearance because we are not just challenging this, but we are also making the point that the whole project is problematic. The premise is wrong. The idea to do this [project] will damage the river. So they realised they had to drop the project.Yet, construction along the river corridor is still functional. Prajapati points out the VMSS attempts to compare it with the Sabarmati project. They forgot to take separate clearance. They thought that if they got VRDP project clearance like they did for Sabarmati, then other projects can be taken care of in the name of EC for the Vishwamitri River. He seeks to have the Mukhya Mantri Awas Yojana projects -- launched near the Bhimnath bridge and at Sama-Sanjay Nagar -- contested to set an example.Prajapati refers to VRDP as Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet project. The stakes for those involved are high. VMSS attempted to get an expo facto clearance for the project, but that too was challenged in court. Prajapati and his team sought a complete rejection of the project. However, the project was merely withdrawn.After consulting a number of experts (barring Prajapati), they came to the decision that the river cannot be discussed in bits and pieces. The new project proposal is being planned according to the National River Conservation Plan (NRCP), which will deal with the river as a whole, not just as the 16.5 kilometres that pass through Vadodara. It will allow for comprehensive river planning systems that ensure long-term benefits for the entire ecosystem.When you struggle on the ground, you need research; use all means to make a point. You cant win a battle only by philosophy or ideology alone, or simply in the streets, or the court. The tenacious battles waged by Prajapati and his team come at a cost. Prajapati faces two defamation cases, with a penalty of Rs 25 crore and three years in jail. Threats are routine.On being asked why he does not seek state protection, he smirked and replied that he receives more threats from the state than from non-state actors. Yet it does not impede his enthusiasm. Taking circumstances in his stride, he remarks, Its a risk of life. Even if some of us have to go a little bit earlier, fine.And it seems the risks may pay off well. The VRDP will set a precedent for all such riverfront projects across the country. Everybody is looking at what will happen to Vishwamitri, even the government is very cautious since the matter is pending before the Supreme Court So they are on hold, they are making announcements, but they are not going ahead with it. Everyone is waiting and watching.Recently, a plan to revive the Bhukhi Nala, a tributary of the Vishwamitri, was conceived. The architecture department of the Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, has been granted Rs 6 crore for the project. Prajapati and his team are going to be involved in the effort. It would be a small scale model of how a river can be revived to benefit the ecology as a whole. That would then, they hope, be replicated with the larger rivers.The team sits on the steps leading to the banks of the Vishwamitri on Saturdays. It is their new congregation point. Prajapati is speaking to a PhD student. A few people stand around him, dutifully overhearing his conversation. An old man with thinning white hair stands next to me, peering at the ochre waters.I used to drink this water right from the river, he says to no one in particular. When I was ten. Now I am sure he is addressing me. All I can do is nod along and try to indulge a mans memories -- ones which he will probably never get to relive and ones that I can only hope to live someday.---
The 4,000-passenger Norwegian Breakaway will homeport seasonally in New Orleans starting in November, replacing the 2,400-passenger Norwegian Pearl. At 145,000 tons, the Breakaway will be the biggest ship ever to homeport in New Orleans, sailing seven-, 10- and 11-day cruises to the Caribbean, said Steve Gauthier, cruise director for the port. In addition, Royal Caribbean is returning to New Orleans seasonally with the Vision of the Seas launching service in December.

Carnival Cruise Line continues sailing year-round. We have the Dream sailing seven-day cruises every Sunday, and the Triumph sailing five-, five- and four-day itineraries every other Monday, Thursday and Saturday, Gauthier added.

River Vessels

We are also the homeport for four river cruise vessels, and for 2018 we have the potential to have four vessels for dinner cruises as well, Gauthier said.

The American Steamboat Company sails the American Duchess on nine-night cruises all the way up to Memphis, according to Gauthier, and the 436-passenger American Queen, the largest paddle wheeler. American Cruise Line sails the Queen of the Mississippi as well as the America. The port is also still in talks with Viking River Cruises, which previously announced intentions to enter the river market in North America.

Up to 1.4 Million Passengers

For 2017, Gauthier said before years end that the forecast was for approximately 1.1 million cruise passengers, up a bit compared to 2016. But for 2018, the passenger number should jump to somewhere between 1.3 to 1.4 million.

The port can accommodate more traffic but that would have to be during the summer months or weekday departures (during the winter season), Gauthier said.

Right now we have Carnival using the Erato Street Terminal year-round, and with the Julia Street Terminal we have seasonal calls Saturdays and Sundays, so for six months out of the year we could facilitate ships at the Julia. In addition we also have some port calls here and there, but for the most part it is open.

Another terminal at Poland Avenue, as well as possible other locations, is also under consideration.

Working with cruise lines for port calls, Gauthier said that Celebrity has ramped up its visits with the Equinox, Summit and Reflection. Other callers include AIDA, P&O and The World.

Convenience Factor

At press time, Gauthier said the port was in the process of conducting a feasibility study assessing the capacity and the operational efficiency of its cruise terminals. We are always looking for more effective ways to accommodate the passengers, he said. We are in talks with some surrounding facilities about additional parking spaces.

We are a 60 to 65 percent drive-in market and about 30 percent fly in. More than 80 percent are from out of state, and some 60 percent spend an average of two nights in New Orleans before or after their cruise.

He continued: One of our main challenges is our surrounding infrastructure and roadways. Our terminal is situated basically between a railroad and the river so there is not much area in between to facilitate a 4,000-passenger ship. We combat that by throwing as much manpower at it as we can.

On the other hand, the lack of surrounding infrastructure is one of our strengths. Since we do not have that much around us, with the terminals being so centrally located at the doorstep of the city, everything here is so walkable, the convenience is huge.

For example, at Erato Street, the parking garage is above the terminal and Seacaps are there to take passengers luggage from their cars to the ship (and their cabins).

Gauthiers key to running a successful cruise port? One thing we try to do is have passengers feel like their cruise starts once they get on port property. We want their experience on our property to be just as memorable as their cruise. We try to be hospitable, offer a good product and treat passengers like they are family.

---

Get an in-depth, behind the scenes look at the North America cruise market and the ports that make it happen in the 2017-2018 Winter edition Cruise Industry News Quarterly Magazine. Subscribe today.
Threats are constantly evolving and, just like everything else, tend to follow certain trends. Whenever a new type of threat is especially successful or profitable, many others of the same type will inevitably follow. The best defenses need to mirror those trends, so companies get the most robust protection against the newest wave of threats.

Our goal with these reviews is to discover how cutting-edge cybersecurity software fares against the latest threats, hopefully helping you to make good technology purchasing decisions. We'll explain how these new and trending cybersecurity tools work, who they're for, and where they fit into a security architecture.

Each of these products was tested in a local testbed or, depending on the product or service, within a production environment provided by the vendor. Where appropriate, each was pitted against the most dangerous threats out there today as we unleashed the motley crew from our ever-expanding malware zoo.

Here, listed in alphabetical order, are some of the most innovative and useful, and, dare we say, best security products on the market today.

Best security software  2019 reviews

AttackIQ FireDrill Aqua Avanan Awake Security Platform Barracuda Sentinel Bitglass Blue Hexagon CrowdStrike Falcon CybeReady Cynet 360 Fidelis Deception FireMon GreatHorn JASK Autonomous Security Operations Center (ASOC) LogRhythm Morphisec NeuVector Nyotron Paranoid Perimeter 81 Power LogOn SlashNext XM Cyber HaXM

AttackIQ FireDrill

Category: Penetration testing

AttackIQ FireDrill was created to watch our watchers. Its a penetration testing tool, but one that is configured to operate from the inside, with the primary goal of identifying flaws, misconfigurations and outright shortcomings in all other cybersecurity defenses. Read the full review.

Aqua

Category: Container security

The Aqua Cloud Native Security Platform uses an inherent advantage of containers, the fact that they are always highly specialized for their jobs, to create a cybersecurity structure based on whitelisting. Read the full review.

Avanan

Category: Email security

The Avanan platform is designed to make managing email security across a vast corporate landscape both effective and accessible. Avanan takes a unique approach to accomplish this with a multi-vendor solution that layers protections within the security stack, tying them together into a centrally managed dashboard that supports whatever native protections already exist in cloud-based email platforms. The idea is that Avanan can catch the advanced threats that Microsoft, Google or other cloud-based email providers miss, identifying dangers like phishing, malware, data leakage and even full account takeovers. Read the full review.

Awake Security Platform

Category: Network security

This advanced network traffic monitoring platform identifies hidden threats and those that dont use traditional malware, making it extremely powerful and useful in todays threat environment. Read the full review.

Barac ETV

Category: Network security

TLS 1.3 prevents any decryption or inspection in transit, seeing it as a compromise. As such, it may soon be impossible at most organizations to inspect encrypted traffic without first completely decrypting and assembling it. And doing that gives malicious code a chance to perform its nefarious mission. That situation is why Barac created the Encrypted Traffic Visibility (ETV) Platform. Its designed to analyze encrypted data streams and determine whether or not they are malicious  without unencrypting them or doing any kind of deep inspection that would indicate tampering under TLS 1.3. Read the full review.

Barracuda Sentinel

Category: Email security

Instead of sitting at the gateway like traditional email protection platforms, Sentinel connects at the API level to any cloud-based email program. Its uses artificial intelligence to learn how users communicate so that it can spot anomalies that might be an indication of an attack later on. Read the full review.

Bitglass

Category: Mobile security

The Bitglass platform is essentially an agentless and lightweight MDM platform without any of the over-burdensome complexity or draconian rules those mobile management tools normally require. Bitglass is installed in the cloud, which technically makes it a cloud access security broker (CASB). How it works is that users on mobile devices first sign into a portal and then access all of their work data through Bitglass. The interface is seamless to users, with only the Bitglass name being inserted into the URL field at the top of the browser page to indicate that Bitglass is enforcing policies on those interactions. Read the full review.

Blue Hexagon

Category: Network security

While most platforms with machine learning look for anomalies in things like traffic or user behavior, Blue Hexagon actually looks for threats. And it will make a determination about whether a file, process, document or other program is malicious in under one second every time. There is no gray area with Blue Hexagon. Things are either threats or not. Its ability to spot threats so quickly can close many of the gaps that hackers try to exploit, leaving them without enough time to capitalize on any foothold they may briefly establish. Read the full review.

CrowdStrike Falcon

Category: Endpoint detection and response

While EDR is increasingly important, its also becoming a bit commoditized in that many of the offerings are very similar. The biggest differentiator with Falcon is that the brains of the platform exist completely in the cloud, which gives it unlimited scalability as well as a massive footprint of users and enterprises. Read the full review.

CybeReady

Category: Security awareness

The CybeReady platform is designed to educate users about the dangers of phishing and other email attacks that target them and evaluate them as they perform their normal jobs, without getting in the way or taking up too much of their time. Training is done only as needed and always on the spot, and never takes up more than about two minutes. On the backend, entire training campaigns can be crafted for the next several months in only a few minutes, so the administration of the CybeReady platform is minimized. Read the full review.

Cynet 360

Category: Network security The goal of a fully autonomous and completely effective cybersecurity platform has never been fully realized. But that is exactly what the Cynet 360 autonomous breach protection platform aims to do. From our testing, its clear that they are very close, with a nearly zero touch installation process, complete visibility through agent sensors, and an automatic response rate that is about 98 percent accurate. Read the full review.

Fidelis Deception

Category: Deception

Today's skilled hackers know, or at least suspect, that deception is in place and won't blindly follow breadcrumbs to fake assets. To combat this, Fidelis Deception creates realistic, living deception assets. Read the full review.

FireMon

Category: Network security

A pioneer in the field of network security policy management, FireMon provides full visibility into networks and devices, and overlays that knowledge with the rules, platforms, hardware and programs designed to protect it. Read the full review.

GreatHorn

Category: Email protection

GreatHorn takes a modern and highly effective approach to protecting enterprise email that goes well beyond the capabilities of legacy mail scanners. Read the full review.

JASK Autonomous Security Operations Center (ASOC)

Category: SIEM

Everything about the JASK ASOC is different from how a traditional SIEM operates. For one, the entire ASOC infrastructure exists inside a secure Amazon Web Services cloud. Network administrators only need to install a JASK software sensor to help facilitate the link between the local console and the brains of the platform in the cloud. The ASOC doesnt even issue alerts in the traditional sense. Instead, it coordinates all of the events and anomalies that it discovers and groups them together. Only once it believes that it has found solid evidence of a threat does it present what it calls an insight to IT teams monitoring the SOC. Read the full review.

LogRhythm

Category: SIEM

LogRhythm Enterprise offers a lot of protection and assistance for finding and remediating threats  and sometimes even pre-threat actions. Read the full review.

Morphisec

Category: Intrusion prevention

Morphisec is focused on prevention of a specific family of advanced exploits that either use or reside in system memory. These exploits are very difficult to detect using traditional methods and how most advanced attacks get around signature-based antivirus protection these days. The platform scrambles system memory by moving the default locations for system resources that all programs use and most advanced malware is designed to exploit. This includes scrambling the locations of .dlls, memory structures and commonly used resources. Read the full review.

NeuVector

Category: Container security

The NeuVector container security platform was created specifically to safeguard containerized environments. In fact, its deployed as a privileged container itself within the environment that it will be protecting. From its position within the containerized environment, it can monitor all Layer 7 network traffic, including that moving between containers and the host orchestration software. In this way, it can protect against attacks made against individual containers or the entire environment. Read the full review.

Nyotron Paranoid

Category: Endpoint security

The philosophy behind Paranoid is that there is an infinite number of ways that hackers can attack a computer and a network, with new techniques popping up all the time. But if an attacker gains access to a system, there are a limited number of things they can actually do based on what is allowed by the operating system. The platform could probably stop most attacks against endpoints on its own, but does not make that claim. Instead, it is designed to thwart advanced intrusions that get around or through every other network protection. It acts as a last line of defense and was very effective in that role during our testing. Read the full review.

Perimeter 81

Category: Network security

Starting with the concept of zero trust networking, VPN tunneling and secure network access as a service, Perimeter 81 recently branched out and are now providing a near plug and play solution for more elements of cybersecurity served through the cloud and on demand. Read the full review.

Power LogOn

Category: Authentication

Power LogOn brings together 2FA with a network-based password manager. The user first logs onto a computer or workstation (using multi-factor authentication, say a smartcard and a PIN) that has the Power LogOn authentication client installed. That client then creates a trusted node that takes other logon information to authenticate with the network portion, which admins install and manage. The Power LogOn network portion acts as a network-based password manager, creating and managing long and complex passwords for each user and website. The admin portion gives the admin complete control over the users logon, including defining how many factors  1FA, 2FA or 3FA  to require for the initial client logon, and how it is accomplished (e.g., PIN, smartcard or biometrics). Read the full review.

SlashNext

Category: email protection

SlashNext has taken the old adage of doing one thing very well to heart. There are two products available to organizations. The first is a detailed and dedicated phishing threat feed that can be used to block phishing sites as they pop up. The second is an appliance that provides even more protection and is able to halt even targeted attacks aimed at a single organization that wouldnt trigger any other kind of alert. Read the full review.

XM Cyber HaXM

Category: Penetration testing

The HaXM program from XM Cyber aims to make automated penetration testing more reliable and accessible by improving on the current state of similar programs in several ways. First, HaXM does not require any knowledge of attack techniques. For example, you dont have to scan for a specific code injection vulnerability on a web server. You simply need to tell the program that the web server is an important asset in your network and then let HaXM discover all the ways that it could be compromised. Second, HaXM offers continuous scanning, so results are never aged out over time. And finally, in addition to performing red team type exercises, HaXM offers detailed advice on how to fix problems it discovers and which ones should be fixed first, effectively taking on the role of a so-called blue team in security exercises. Read the full review.

2018 security software reviews

2017 security software reviews
Contributed / Contributed

The Community Health Resource Center at Griffin Hospital, 130 Division St., Derby, will host Taking a Look at Low Vision, a free talk about Low vision, its causes and therapy options on Wednesday, Feb. 21 from 11 a.m. to noon.

Low vision is a chronic medical condition affecting one in six adults over 45 years of age in which an individual has a degree of vision loss that can no longer be corrected by eye glasses, medicine or surgery. Individuals with low vision are not blind; however, they often have difficulty using their remaining vision efficiently and effectively enough to complete needed activities.
WASHINGTON  Senators including Connecticuts Richard Blumenthal expressed guarded optimism Tuesday that a negotiated settlement including a potential path forward for young immigrant Dreamers could be reached before a government shutdown Thursday.

As part of the deal to end the three-day government shutdown last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., agreed to hold votes on extending legal protection for Dreamer beneficiaries of then- President Obamas Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, the House had passed a stopgap bill to prevent the shutdown, but the measure faces changes in the Senate.

Last September, President Donald Trump canceled the measure, which gave legal status to about 700,000 youthful immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. as children, including more than 8,000 in Connecticut.

Weve been reassured as recently as a couple hours ago the promise will be kept and there will be votes (on Dreamer legal status), Blumenthal said Tuesday. It will follow immediately  or soon as possible  after (Thursday) Feb. 8.

Absent congressional action, the government runs out of funding midnight Thursday. There have been four such extensions approved by Congress since the fiscal year began Oct. 1 last year.

Blumenthal has been among those in the Senate most outspoken in voting no on extensions because, among other things, they lacked DACA protections.

Trump has expressed openness to protections for Dreamers, but made it contingent on a host of border-security measures including his long-promised U.S.-Mexico border wall.

On Tuesday, he told reporters at the White House he was willing to endure a shutdown if Democrats do not agree to his border-security agenda.

Id love to see a shut down if we cant get this stuff taken care of, Trump said at a meeting with Republican lawmakers and law enforcement officials on the Central American criminal gang MS-13. If we have to shut it down because the Democrats dont want safety  lets shut it down.

It was difficult to tell whether the president was playing good cop/bad cop, bluffing over a shutdown to strengthen his bargaining position.

Asked whether such talk from Trump represented a potential deal breaker, Blumenthal responded: Im not talking about a deal breaker. Im talking about moving forward in positive way.

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., similarly dismissed Trumps threat.

It speaks for itself, Schumer said. We had one Trump shutdown. Nobody wants another.

Democratic congressional sources said a shutdown was highly unlikely, a theme hinted at by Schumer ,who said his negotiating session Tuesday with McConnell went very well.

Apart from the DACA-Dreamer issue, a sticking point had been removal of mandatory spending caps under the sequestration measure of 2011.

Republicans have pushed for removal of such caps on military spending only, while Democrats have demanded similar eliminations on domestic programs including education, opioid treatment and veterans health care.

Democrats had demanded parity  equal spending for both military and non-military priorities. But they appear willing to accept a lower level of spending as part of guarantees on the domestic side.

The House was to pass its version of the budget bill late Tuesday. Among other elements, it includes a two-year reauthorization for federally funded community health centers that expired Sept. 30 last year.

There are 17 such centers in Connecticut. In 2016, they saw over 376,000 patients. About 63 percent were on Connecticuts Medicaid program, HUSKY, and 16 percent were uninsured.

Uninsured and low-income patients pay for care on a sliding fee scale, according to the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut.

Among them are the CIFC Greater Danbury Community Health Center, the Cornell-Scott Hill Health Center in New Haven, Norwalk Community Health Center, and Optimus Health Care in Bridgeport, Stratford and Stamford.

dan@hearstdc.com
Is Andrew McDonald, the governors chief justice pick, the next Merrick Garland?

Several top Republicans say that the state Supreme Court vacancy should not be decided by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy because the Democrat is leaving office at the end of the year and is a lame duck.

Thats the same argument that the GOP majority in Congress used with Barack Obamas U.S. Supreme Court nominee Garland, who never got a confirmation hearing or an up or down vote. Donald Trump eventually picked Neil Gorsuch to replace fellow conservative Antonin Scalia, whose death in 2016 caused a major battle over the timing of judicial nominations.

McDonald, who is from Stamford, has served as an associate justice since 2013. He previously served as Malloys general counsel and before that as a state senator.

Two of the Republicans calling for his nomination to be tabled are candidates for governor  former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst and state Rep. Prasad Srinivasan, R-Glastonbury.

I do not think its right for a lame duck governor to nominate his best friend to lead the judicial branch for a generation, when he has one foot out the door, Herbst said.

Srinivasan is a member of the Legislatures Judiciary Committee, which is expected to hear testimony from McDonald in the coming weeks as part of the confirmation process.

Let it be decided by the new governor, Srinivasan said. It shouldnt be made by an outgoing governor, a lame duck, whatever we choose to call Governor Malloy. I dont see a big rush. I dont see a big urgency.

Democrats blasted the GOPs stonewall efforts, saying that it would paralyze the top court in the state for an entire year. They noted that two of the courts six justices, Raheem L. Mullins and Maria Araujo Kahn, are serving in an interim capacity and must be confirmed by the Legislature to become full-fledged members. At least five justices must be seated to act as the court under state law.

It was indefensible when Republicans did it in Washington, and its indefensible now in our state, Malloy spokesman Leigh Appleby said. Republicans in Connecticut should not deviate from well-established, bipartisan practices when it comes to Supreme Court nominations. They should go through the hearing process, ask the questions they want to ask, and then vote based on the merits of the nominee. Its that simple.

McDonald declined to comment Tuesday. His name and those of Mullins and Kahn are expected to be submitted to the Legislature Wednesday, opening day of the session. The Legislatures Judiciary Committee, a panel once headed by McDonald, has the power to block nominees from getting a hearing and vote. Republicans pointed out that was the case in 2006, when then GOP Gov. M. Jodi Rell nominated Peter Zarella to be chief justice.

Democrats say that Zarellas nomination was held up not because of politics, but because of a judicial ethics probe of then-Chief Justice William Sullivan. Rell ultimately withdrew the nomination. In 2009, Zarella was unanimously reappointed as an associate justice.

Not a united front

Len Fasano, the Senates top Republican said, the governor has the right to nominate a successor to retiring Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers.

There is some argument that one could make that an outgoing governor should not make this pick, Fasano said. Personally, I like Andrew.

State Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Judiciary Committee, accused Herbst of grandstanding.

Its another attempt on his part and the part of others to poison the well, and Im not going to let it happen in the Judiciary Committee, Tong said. The last thing we should do is become Washington, D.C.

The GOP objections to the McDonald pick go beyond its timing, however. Critics say that McDonald has a history of legislating from the bench and should have recused himself from ruling on the constitutionality of Connecticuts 2012 death penalty repeal. The court converted the death sentences of the two Cheshire home invasion murderers to life in prison, ruling that the repeal must be applied consistently regardless of when the crime took place. Republicans say that McDonald helped craft the repeal language when he was the governors general counsel, a claim that Democrats dispute.

Hes the epitome of an activist judge, said J.R. Romano, the state GOP chairman.

McDonalds chief critic has been Herbst, who said Tuesday that McDonald is guilty of what Democrats are now accusing Republicans.

Maybe Senator Fasano and (House GOP Leader Themis) Klarides should accord him the same courtesy and not give him a public hearing, Herbst said.

At a time when Connecticut Republicans keep trying to say that theyre different from the national Republican Party and from the tactics of Trumps party, tanking an important nomination using the same Republican playbook would show pretty clearly that theyre cut from the same cloth, Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin said.

Bronin, a Democrat who set up an exploratory committee in the govenors race, succeeded McDonald as Malloys general counsel.

Andrew McDonald is an eminently qualified jurist and a sitting member of the Supreme Court and he should get an up or down vote, Bronin said.

http://twitter.com/gettinviggy; nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436
Artists draw chalk portraits at Flight 93 memorial

Passengers and crew of Flight 93 drawn in chalk at national memorial.
To win re-election in the next Lok Sabha elections, the BJP needs 272 seats to form a government without depending on an increasingly volatile set of NDA allies. Lets do the electoral math by placing the country into four clusters: 1) north and west; 2) south; 3) east; and 4) Northeast and union territories.

Cluster 1: This comprises 12 states (Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh). Together they offer 259 seats.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 205 seats out of its overall tally of 282 seats from this 12-state, 259-seat cluster. This is therefore the make-or-break cluster for the BJP. In 2019 though, it can realistically expect to win only around 150 seats from these 12 key north-western states. Thats a fall of 55 seats over 2014 due to strong anti-incumbency, the Congress resurgence and the BJPs inept governance across the region. Can it make up this large decline in the other zones?

Cluster 2: The five southern states are unlikely to provide a cushion. The BJP won 21 out of 129 available seats in the south in 2014. Karnataka provided 17 of these. Again realistically, the BJP is unlikely to increase its tally significantly in 2019. Kerala may offer the odd extra seat. Karnataka could even slip a little, leaving the BJP with around 20 seats in the south. Together in the first two clusters, the BJPs tally could therefore total around 170.

Cluster 3: The four key eastern states of Bihar, Odisha, West Bengal and Jharkhand could prove crucial for the BJP. In 2014, the BJP won 37 seats in these four states from 117 seats on offer. In 2019, it will rely heavily on seat-sharing with ally JD(U) to sweep Bihar. Odisha promises a rich harvest too with dissent at the top of Naveen Patnaiks BJD giving the BJP an opening. West Bengal remains a distant prospect though the BJP is likely to make inroads as the Left continues to lose traction.

Meanwhile, with Jharkhand, where the BJP won 12 out of 14 seats in 2014, still a safe bet, the BJP could increase its tally in the 117-seat east cluster from 37 seats in 2014 to around 45 seats in 2019. Thus, the BJPs overall tally in the first three clusters rises to around 215 seats.

Cluster 4: The Northeast has been a special focus for the BJP. In 2014, it won just eight out of 25 seats in the seven northeastern states and Sikkim - seven of them from Assam. The BJP-backed North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) has changed the situation dramatically. The party can expect to raise its tally to around 14 seats in 2019. The seven union territories (UTs), including Delhi NCT, contributed 11 out of 13 available seats to the BJP in 2014. That total is unlikely to change much, though Delhi could swing partially towards the Congress, giving the BJP around 25 out of 38 seats on offer in the fourth cluster.

Thus, the four clusters, in a best-case scenario, are likely to provide the BJP with 240 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha election (150+20+45+25). Caveat: a Mayawati-Mulayam-Congress mahagathbandhan, however unlikely, could significantly reduce the BJPs tally in Uttar Pradesh, cutting its Lok Sabha numbers to the low 220s. Unpredictable events such as a positive verdict by the Supreme Court in the Ram Mandir case and escalation of a conflict with Pakistan could in turn change the electoral math in favour of the BJP.

Clearly, the BJP with 220-240 seats will not be able to form a government without the support of NDA allies. The Shiv Sena, TDP, LJP, SAD and others have varying degrees of problems with the BJP. To form a stable NDA coalition, the BJP would need at least 50 seats from its allies, taking the alliances tally to around 270-290. With the JD(U), but without the Shiv Sena, even that may prove difficult. The Rajinikanth factor in Tamil Nadu though could play a decisive role if he allies with the NDA, making Shiv Sena support redundant.

Now turn to the Congress. To win power, Rahul Gandhi will have to rely heavily on old and new UPA allies. Across our four clusters, the Congress will be lucky to win 85-90 seats overall. To be a credible challenger to form a UPA 3 government, the Congress will need the following eleven key allies: TMC, the Left, DMK, SP, RJD, BSP, JD(S), AIMIM, NC, NCP and TRS. Defections from the NDAs disgruntled allies would be welcome. Again, taking a best-case scenario, despite the unlikely prospect of the BSP and SP as well as the Left and TMC cohabiting in UPA 3, the 11 key allies together with smaller Congress-leaning parties are unlikely to garner more than 120 seats.

Even if the Congress doubles its own tally to 90 seats, a putative UPA 3 would have only 210 Lok Sabha seats in all (90+120) - far short of a working majority.

The way forward for the Congress therefore is to win at least 150 seats on its own as it did in 2004. Then only will it be able to cobble together a workable UPA 3 coalition in 2019 with over 270 seats (150 Congress plus 120 allies).

In 2004, the Left with 60 seats supported the 145-seat Congress from outside. Other UPA 1 allies made up the numbers. In 2019, though relatively weakened, the BJP will still win far more than the 138 seats it won in 2004. At our estimate of 220-240 seats, the BJP can effectively thwart a potential UPA 3 - unless the Congress nearly quadruples its 2014 tally of 44 to well over 150.

There just arent enough UPA allies to make up the slack as there were in 2004 with the Lefts 60 seats plumetting in 2014 to just nine. In 2019, the largest UPA ally will be the TMC with 30-odd seats.

For the BJP, the message is clear. Five consecutive mediocre Budgets have alienated the middle class. They count for little electorally, but have a disproportionate influence on the political narrative.

The BJPs policies over the past 45 months have been a mixed bag: in sum, it has failed to deliver maximum governance and minimum government. It has less than a year to reverse the slide. The Lok Sabha election may well be advanced to December 2018 along with the key state polls of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in order to mask strong anti-incumbency.

The BJP though does have one trump card: a still-anaemic Congress. But it cant rely on that forever. To win re-election, the BJP will have to perform. Or perish.

Also read: Why Modi's campaign strategy in Karnataka may blow up in its face
A shaken and much-rattled Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, in a nationwide televised address last Friday (February 2), blamed Pakistan for its abject failure to rein in the Taliban which has unleashed terror on the Afghan soil carrying out strikes at regular intervals, the most recent being the deadly ambulance attacks that killed nearly 130 persons in Kabul.

This incident preceded yet another strike in Intercontinental Hotel. He also castigated Pakistan for abetting terror in Afghanistan through the notorious Haqqani network, operating from the Pakistani turf. Ghani, emboldened by the recent US declaration to slash security aid to Pakistan, did not mince words and claimed to be in possession of strong intelligence information that Pakistan was singularly behind these terror misadventures.

Meanwhile, to buttress their claim on Pakistan's complicity in such attacks, Afghan interior minister Wais Barmak and the country's intelligence chief Masoom Stanekzai visited Pakistan with available evidence in an attempt to prevail upon Pakistan to take effective preventive measures against the unwieldy terror group(s) which has been targeting Kabul time and again.

However, reacting to the Afghan allegations of Pakistani involvement in the recent attacks, Pakistani National Security Council (NSC) held a hurriedly convened meeting on February 2, and dismissed all charges.

The NSC on its part, argued that Afghan reactions were based on misconceptions created by certain foreign elements. Although the NSC did not spell out the details of the foreign elements, it is more than clear that they were hinting at India. It may be recalled that Pakistan has always been wary of India's growing friendship with Afghanistan and has tried all possible measures to douse the warmth that New Delhi and Kabul has been consolidating over these years.

Pakistan, having dismally failed to wean away Afghanistan from India, has been resorting to terror tactics using Afghan Taliban to carry out attacks targeting Afghans and their critical infrastructure.

The NSC meeting, attended by Pakistani foreign minister Khwaja Asif, interior minister Ahsan Iqbal, three service chiefs, national security adviser and other high officials, called upon Kabul to reinforce the plans for border fencing between Afghanistan and Pakistan to preempt cross-border terrorism. Security analysts, however, reckon that all such proposals, including drawing up a new strategy are merely an eyewash.

The Pakistani military establishment, including its intelligence arm, Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) are hell-bent on bleeding Afghanistan by abetting terror as part of its blueprint to distance New Delhi and Kabul. Such rhetoric (as seen and heard in the NSC meeting) by Pakistani polity and military officers are simply to send signals to the US that Pakistan was doing "enough" to root out terror from the Afghan soil.

In the meantime, terror attacks in Kabul have evoked strong reactions in the US. Already miffed by Pakistan's indifference to the spiralling violence in Afghanistan, the US may commit troops on the Afghan soil to deal with the fresh challenges. Unless Afghanistan also increases its capacity building capabilities to address the terror incidents, including beefing up its intelligence competence, Pakistan will find it easy to exploit the Taliban to its advantage by continuing to cause devastation in Kabul. Foreign troops can not succeed unless local Afghan security forces actively collaborate. Afghanistan should also try and identify if some of its security personnel are hand in glove with the terrorists. Such elements may be weeded out to the extent possible to have a completely dedicated and professional force to tackle terror, which is now assuming monstrous proportions.

In another related development, according to an input appearing in The Wall Street Journal, the US has now decided to make Afghan war data secret amid intensification of military efforts to contain terror. The US' defence department has classified a sweeping range of data used to measure its progress in Afghanistan to hide information from public view. Important data, including size of the Afghan army and police force and other allied details, are being kept secret to minimise casualties. However, how far this measure will prove effective on ground, will be known only with the passage of time and during the course of happenings that may ensue.

Available inputs from certain quarters, in the meantime, also suggest that the Islamic State (IS) and Afghan Taliban have been receiving tacit moral and material support from a segment of the Pakistani state dispensation and both seem to be in a race to outdo each other by their mindless killing sprees. This madness needs to be dealt with an iron hand. The main perpetrator, however, in its covert operation, is obviously Pakistan. Now that the US has glaringly exposed Pakistan's malafide intentions to appropriate the huge monetary aid it was receiving in the name of controlling terror, the time appears to be opportune to further expose and alienate Islamabad for its support in fomenting terror in Afghanistan.

It's assumed Indian and US intelligence agencies are in the know of several strands of hard intelligence in nailing Pakistan. The same must be selectively shared to bare all Pakistani machinations. This also needs to be coupled with some robust diplomacy to have the best results.

Also read: Have questions over Rafale deal made Nirmala Sitharaman lose her sheen?
Indian techies, who migrated to the US chasing the American Dream, are apparently willing to stonewall other dreamers, quite literally.

According to a report in Hindustan Times, Indian H-1B workers waiting for green cards  permanent residency in the US  are pushing for bill that seeks to cut their waiting period, backing it with an offer of at least $4 billion to fund border security, including a wall along the Mexican border.

The report quotes Aman Kapoor, the co-founder and president of advocacy group Immigration Voice, as saying: Indian high-skilled workers will gladly, enthusiastically and happily pay for the border security or the wall if given an opportunity to do so in order to get fair treatment on green card waiting times.

The money will come by charging an extra $2,500 from those applying for a green card. With an estimated 1.5 million applicants from India, the sum comes up to a significant total.

US govt headed for another shutdown?

Immigration laws in the US are under unprecedented scrutiny and hectic attempts and debates on reframing them are in progress. On February 8, the US government will run out of money to function unless the Congress passes a short-term spending bill. Last month, the government briefly shut down when Senate Democrats voted against a spending bill because it didnt include legal protections for immigrants who entered the US as children illegally.

While Congressional leaders are trying to work out a deal to avoid the shutdown, President Donald Trump, on February 6 announced as only he can: Id love to see a shutdown if we cant get this stuff taken care of. If we have to shut it down because the Democrats dont want safety  lets shut it down.

The Obama administration had come up with a relief measure for undocumented immigrants who came to the US as children, called the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme. It gave two-year work and residency permits to such people under the age of 31, without criminal records, brought to America before they were 16, if they were in had graduated from high school or university, or were honourably discharged from the armed forces.

Trump announced in September that he was ending the programme and gave Congress until March 5 to come up with a legislative solution. The shape and structure of this bill has become a thorny issue, and is again threatening to shut down the government.

The Bill that the Indian techies are rooting for is called the Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2017, and they want it included in the legislation on the DACA package. The Bill aims to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, to increase the per-country numerical limitation for family-sponsored immigrants, and for other purposes.

The per-country limitation affects Indians severely. At present, there is a country-wise cap of 7% on green cards  nationals of no single country can get more. According to the HT report: While people of other nationalities also have to wait for their green card, Indians wait the longest  around 70 years at current rate of disposal. Their line is the longest and gets even longer as more join the queue every year.

The family-sponsored immigrants clause is also significant: according to a report in The Hindu, nearly half of the one million green cards issued every year goes to close relatives of American citizens regardless of their skills.

The Trump administration has advocated prioritising the entry of skilled immigrants by doing away with programmes such as giving Diversity Immigrant Visa, which selects applicants from countries with low numbers of immigrants in the previous five years, and chain migration, the process by which people in the United States can sponsor family members to join them.

However, many have pointed out that under the guise of promoting the entry of skilled workers, the administration is essentially limiting the number of immigrants to the US, often the at the cost of humane considerations such as uniting family members.

Building walls is generally a bad idea

The stand that Indian techies associated with Immigration Voice are taking is myopic at best, and promoting discrimination and exclusion at worst.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an engineer, was killed after an American navy veteran opened fire in bar at a bar in Olathe city in a hate crime. Photo: AP

Trumps "wall along Mexico" plan epitomises a lot of what has made him popular and dangerous. It harps on the White Americans paranoia of the outsider by promoting erroneous stereotypes  illegal immigrants steal American jobs, indulge in drugs and other crimes, and of course, turn terrorists.

Trump had said: When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best... Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

His visa regulations are based on similar wrong assertions that a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives, who then proceed to make life difficult for those who actually belong to America.

This is the stand that Immigration Voice is willing to support, just so that their waiting period for the green card is reduced. Secure in the knowledge that they are skilled workers, the group is willing to hurt not just Mexican immigrants, but those Indians too who move to the US without high education degrees. How are the non-affluent applicants supposed to pay the extra green card fee they have proposed?

The group seems to have forgotten that such immigration rules are part of the larger racist, anti-immigrant character of the Trump administration, and will come back to bite them. Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was killed after an American navy veteran opened fire in bar at a bar in Olathe city in a hate crime, was an aviation engineer.

Almost one year ago, Amitava Kumar, a US-based writer and journalist, had said in The New Yorker: Ive often asked myself lately whether Ive been right to suspect that people were looking at me differently on the street, at airports, or in elevators. Whenever a stranger has been kind to me, I have almost wanted to weep in gratitude.

Indian techie immigrants are a sizeable and influential group in the US. They should ideally be at the forefront of the fight against discriminatory, exclusionary and inhumane immigration norms.

A wall limiting peoples chances at a better life is too steep a price to pay for a shorter waiting period for green cards.

Also read: On a famous son of Kasganj: Hazrat Amir Khusrau
The piece by Arunoday Majumder on the student agitation in JNU against the universitys decision to make minimum 75 per cent attendance compulsory for all students, deserves serious attention of the academia. It is not only because of its possible impact on the educational environment in a premier institution of the country, but also for its broader implications for our entire education system.

One can understand the frustration of an academic if an agitation is launched just for scoring political brownie points by students, without providing any proper reason for the expected detrimental impact of the new attendance rule on their quality of education and career prospect.

Unfortunately, on his part, Majumder has also failed to look into the problem beyond its surface level manifestation and views it predominantly as an issue of irresponsible behaviour of students, seemingly with leftist orientation, who are ever ready for any agitation.

Over 7,000 students of JNU have collectively boycotted compulsory attendance.Teachers too are refusing to mark attndnce.This policy, that was never passed nor discussed in any democratic decision-mkng forum of JNU, is beng forcbly implmntd. https://t.co/1wRo3iugVs via @thewire_in  Geeta (@GeetaJnu) February 6, 2018

Please join ABVP's Protest Demo against the anti-student and anti-democratic decision of making attendance compulsory at SL 1 at 09:30 am on 30th January 2018.#ABVP pic.twitter.com/OzoDa9hjjy  ABVP JNU (@abvpjnu) January 30, 2018

It is time our academia, particularly in the leading institutions, starts realising the fact that the time has come, using Apples expression, to think different the way we run our education system, the genesis of which goes back to the dawn of the industrial era 300 years ago. The exponential growth of computing power, which itself is a product of the old education system, for a prolonged period has eventually unleashed a combinatorial growth process that is now profoundly disrupting every aspect of our life. High growth of productivity of capital for a continuous period has now created a level of economic inequality in the developed market economies - and now also in many other developing countries like India - which is not sustainable anymore.

It is true that the world has already left Marx, Engels, Lenin and other socialist icons of the past far behind, but only in their original avatar. Many of their ideas are now again gaining immense momentum everywhere, including in the citadel of capitalism.

The ongoing turbulence in the economy caused by the technological progress is having a serious impact on the students and being manifested through different movements in almost every university worldwide.

It is possible that the agitation in JNU is also a subconscious-level reflection of this fast-changing reality. The faculty and the academic administration of the university, who primarily exists for their main customer - the students, should take a deep dive and try to look at the root cause for the unrest over the issue of compulsory attendance.

It is obvious that students today are experiencing very high level of stress and anxiety. A large section of them after taking bank loans for education is now worried about their future job prospect. Student loan defaults are increasing. Even if growth is there in many industries, jobs are hard to come by, thanks to rapid development of labour-saving technologies.

In such a situation, is the JNU administration able to instil confidence among its students and convince them that by forcing to attend more classes the university will actually improve the chances of students employment, say, by about 15 per cent? What about the opportunity cost of this additional burden of 15 per cent time-commitment for the students?

Most importantly, the academics of the institution must acknowledge the fact that the traditional education system, which is primarily responsible for bringing our civilisation to the doorstep of a new machine age, is itself now facing the danger of extinction as newer alternatives for very high quality education are mushrooming everywhere. In this context, it makes sense to look at the protest in JNU as a reflection of students frustration in the outdated system of teaching-learning.

It can be seen as an attempt of a dying institution that is only interested in keeping itself alive by creating a captive audience.

Let us look at some factoids and projections that are coming out from some of the worlds most-prestigious academic institutions which have received wide publicity in the recent years.

As per one estimate, the dawn of time up until 2005, humans had created 130 exabytes of data, which included everything - from books to songs to films and other documented material.

After just five years, with Moores law entering the steeper segment of the growth curve, by 2010, this amount galloped to an astonishing amount of 1,200 exabytes. It was not surprising that in 2009 the Sony Corporation in its first Did you know? video series mentioned that what the students of a four-year technology course were taught in their first year became obsolete by 50 per cent when they reach the third year.

By 2015, new data creation reached a staggering 7,900 exabytes. The projected figure for 2020 is 40,900 exabytes. A graphical illustration by Tim Urban - one of the most popular bloggers and TED annual conference speaker - uploaded on his website shows the current location of the human civilisation.

The data explosion, machine learning and artificial superintelligence (ASI) are all set to take us to a level very soon where we may not find much difference in the lifestyle of the first homo sapiens and our parents and grandparents.

Our current educational system is not suitable to handle this kind of data explosion and provide meaningful education. The 50-fold growth of data between 2010 and 2020 will soon make our institutions totally incapable of understanding what is going on around us. The traditional teaching is not effective anymore.

According to some guesstimate, our scientists together with the machines can now process only about one-third of the existing data to create new knowledge. It is not surprising to see that to deal with the situation in countries, for example Finland which is known for its very high quality school education, are moving away from traditional subject teaching and examination (discussed previously in this column).

It is also important to notice that high rate of knowledge obsolescence is also leading to exponential growth of scarcity value of time. Students now need to process much more information per unit of time just to keep themselves up to speed, and competitive. Forcing them to come to class as captive customers may create very high opportunity costs for them.

If we further compute the administrative as well as faculty costs for organising such classes in fixed locations and fixed time (which makes time more expensive), then the system cannot remain viable. Many new-age educational organisations and start-ups, launched by some of the top minds in the academia, are already experiencing Uber-like growth. While rightly criticising the JNU students for raising some run-of-the-mill leftist slogans, possibly lifted from the "Red book", we can only hope that the academic community in JNU will seize this opportunity to initiate a process of dialogue with all stakeholders to deal with the situation hitherto unknown to all of us.

It is the responsibility of the university to explain it to the students why they must compulsorily come to the class physically by spending their precious time and money? It would be naive if we do not acknowledge the fact that in many of our universities the students today actually don't need to go to a class to gain better education. Much better-quality education, coming from some of the best institutions, is already available online which can be accessed at a very low price.

Hence, the present unrest provides a unique opportunity to both the JNU faculty and students for undertaking a cost-benefit analysis of either attending or non-attending.

Also read: I teach at JNU. This is how the top university is being dismantled today
The following companies are subsidiares of Triumph Group: Aerocell Structures Inc., Air Excellence International Inc., Emco Fluid Systems Inc., Excel Manufacturing, Fairchild Controls, Furst Aircraft and Instrument, GE Aviation - Hydraulic Actuation Business, General Donlee Canada, HT Parts L.L.C., MEP NAAS Inc., Merritt Tool Company Inc., Mexmil Company LLC, NAAS Aircraft Services International Limited, Nu-Tech Brands Inc., Placas Termodinamicas S. de R.L. de C.V., SBP Holdings Limited, Tank Devils Ltd., The Mexmil Holding Company LLC, The Triumph Group Operations Inc., Triumph Accessory Services - Grand Prairie Inc., Triumph Actuation Systems - Connecticut LLC, Triumph Actuation Systems - Isle of Man Ltd., Triumph Actuation Systems - UK Ltd., Triumph Actuation Systems - Valencia Inc., Triumph Actuation Systems - Yakima LLC, Triumph Actuation Systems LLC, Triumph Aerospace Operations UK Ltd., Triumph Aerospace Systems Group - UK LTD, Triumph Aerospace Systems Group LLC, Triumph Aerostructures - Tulsa LLC, Triumph Aerostructures Holdings LLC, Triumph Aerostructures LLC, Triumph Aerostructures LLC, Triumph Aerostructures Real Estate Investment Co. LLC, Triumph Aerostructures Vought Aircraft Technical Services (Chengdu) Co. Ltd., Triumph Aftermarket Services Group LLC, Triumph Airborne Structures LLC, Triumph Aviation Services - NAAS Division, Triumph Aviation Services - NAAS Division Inc., Triumph Aviation Services Asia Ltd., Triumph Aviations Inc., Triumph Brands Inc., Triumph China Holdings LLC, Triumph Composite Systems Inc., Triumph Controls (Europe) SAS, Triumph Controls - Germany GmbH, Triumph Controls - UK Ltd., Triumph Controls France SAS, Triumph Controls LLC, Triumph Engine Control Holdings Inc., Triumph Engine Control Systems LLC, Triumph Engine Control Systems LLC, Triumph Engineered Solutions Inc., Triumph Engineering Services Inc., Triumph Fabrications - Fort Worth Inc., Triumph Fabrications - Orangeburg Inc., Triumph Fabrications - San Diego Inc., Triumph Gear Systems - Macomb Inc., Triumph Gear Systems - Toronto ULC, Triumph Gear Systems Inc., Triumph Group - Mexico Inmobiliaria S. de R.L. de C.V., Triumph Group - Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Triumph Group Acquisition Corp., Triumph Group Acquisition Financing LLC, Triumph Group Acquisition Holdings Inc., Triumph Group Charitable Foundation, Triumph Group Holdings - Mexico LLC, Triumph Group Holdings - UK Ltd., Triumph Group Inc., Triumph Group Investment - Mexico LLC, Triumph Group Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.l., Triumph Group Luxembourg Holding S.a.r.l., Triumph Instruments - Burbank Inc., Triumph Instruments Inc., Triumph Insulation Systems - Germany GmbH, Triumph Insulation Systems LLC, Triumph Integrated Aircraft Interiors Inc., Triumph Integrated Aircraft Interiors Inmobiliaria S. de R.L. de C.V., Triumph Interiors LLC, Triumph Investment Holdings Inc., Triumph Metals Company, Triumph Precision Castings Co., Triumph Processing Inc., Triumph Real Estate - Mexico LLC, Triumph Receivables LLC, Triumph Structures (Thailand) Ltd., Triumph Structures - East Texas Inc., Triumph Structures - Everett Inc., Triumph Structures - Kansas City Inc., Triumph Structures - Los Angeles Inc., Triumph Structures - Wichita Inc., Triumph Structures International Ltd, Triumph Thermal Systems - Maryland Inc., Triumph Thermal Systems LLC, Triumph Turbine Services Inc., United Aircraft Products, and VAC Industries Inc..
Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. provides software-as-a-service core systems to the property and casualty insurance industry in North America. It offers Duck Creek Policy, a full lifecycle solution for the development of products and quoting, binding, and servicing of policies across various channels from agents and brokers to end-users; Duck Creek Billing that provides payment and invoicing capabilities, such as billing and collections, commission processing, disbursement management, and general ledger capabilities for insurance lines and bill types; and Duck Creek Claims that supports the entire claims lifecycle from first notice of loss through investigation, payments, negotiations, reporting, and closure. The company also provides Duck Creek Rating that allows carriers to develop new rates and models and deliver accurate quotes in real-time based on the complex rating algorithms; Duck Creek Insights, an insurance analytics solution that allows carriers to gather and analyze data from internal and external sources and facilitate rapid analysis and reporting on a single system; Duck Creek Digital Engagement that offer digital interactions between property and casualty insurers and their agents, brokers, and policyholders; and Duck Creek Distribution Management that automates sales channel activities for agents and brokers, including producer onboarding, compliance, and compensation management. In addition, it offers Duck Creek Reinsurance Management that automates critical financial and administrative functions; and Duck Creek Industry Content that provides pre-built content, including base business rules, product designs, rating algorithms, data capture screens, and workflows for insurance lines of business. The company serves insurance carriers and leaders. Duck Creek Technologies, Inc. was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Air Products and Chemicals: 7001 Hamilton Properties LLC, ACP Europe SA, ACP Zolder Invest NV, AJWAA Gases LLC, AP Services South America SpA, APCI (U.K.) Inc., Air Products (Anshan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (BR) Limited, Air Products (Cangzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Changsha) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Chongqing) Chem-Materials Co. Ltd., Air Products (Dongguan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Guangzhou) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hangjin Qi) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hefei) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Hong Kong) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Huaibei) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jiangxi) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jincheng) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Jinjiang) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Kunshan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Linfen) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Middle East) FZE, Air Products (Nanjing) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Ningbo) Hi-Tech Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Rozenburg) B.V., Air Products (Shenyang) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Air Products (Xi'an) Gases Co. Ltd, Air Products (Xiamen) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products (Zhongshan) Gases Co. Ltd, Air Products (Zhumadian) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products A/S, Air Products Advanced Materials LLC, Air Products Asia Inc., Air Products Asia Inc. Taiwan Branch, Air Products Bahrain W.L.L, Air Products Brasil Ltda., Air Products Canada Ltd./Prodair Canada Ltee, Air Products Caribbean Holdings Inc., Air Products Central Asia Group LLC, Air Products China Inc., Air Products Debang (Lianyungang) Co. Ltd., Air Products Ecuador S.A., Air Products Emirates Gases LLC, Air Products Equipment Limited, Air Products Gas O.O.O., Air Products Gases Holdings B.V., Air Products Gases S.A.E., Air Products Gesellschaft mbH, Air Products GmbH, Air Products Group Limited, Air Products Gulf Gas LLC, Air Products Helium Inc., Air Products Helium Inc. Qatar Branch, Air Products Holdings B.V., Air Products Holdings GmbH, Air Products Huadong (Longkou) Co. Ltd., Air Products Hydrogen Company Inc., Air Products Iberica S.L., Air Products Industrial Gas LLC, Air Products International LLC, Air Products Investments B.V., Air Products Investments Holdings LLC, Air Products Investments LLC, Air Products Ireland Limited, Air Products Italia S.r.l., Air Products Japan Inc., Air Products Japan K.K., Air Products Korea Inc., Air Products LLC, Air Products Leasing B.V., Air Products Llanwern Limited, Air Products LuAn (Changzhi) Co. Ltd., Air Products Maghreb S.A.R.L., Air Products Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Air Products Management S.A., Air Products Manufacturing Corporation, Air Products Manufacturing LLC, Air Products Middle East Industrial Gases LLC, Air Products Nederland B.V., Air Products Netherlands Gases B.V., Air Products O.O.O., Air Products PLC, Air Products PLC Branch, Air Products Peru S.A., Air Products Qudra (GICIS), Air Products Renewable Energy Limited, Air Products S.A., Air Products SAS, Air Products San Fu Co. Ltd., Air Products Services Europe S.A., Air Products Shared Services Sdn. Bhd, Air Products Singapore Industrial Gases Pte. Ltd., Air Products SinoHytec (Beijing) Hydrogen Energy Technology Co. Ltd., Air Products Slovakia s.r.o., Air Products Sp. Z o.o., Air Products Specialized Process Equipment SDN, Air Products Switzerland Sarl, Air Products Taiwan Holdings Co. Ltd., Air Products Ukraina LLC, Air Products West Coast Hydrogen LLC, Air Products Yanbu Limited, Air Products and Chemicals (Anhui) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Banan) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Beijing) Distribution Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Binzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Chengdu) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Guiyang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Hefei) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Hohhot) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Jiyuan) Onsite Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Lianyungang) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Nanjing) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Nanjing) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Pengzhou) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Putian) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Qingdao) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shaanxi Pucheng) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shaanxi) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Electronics Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Gases Production Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) On-Site Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shanghai) Systems Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shangluo) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Shenzhen) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tangshan) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Tongxiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Weifang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (WuXi) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (WuXi) Gases Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xingtai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xinxiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Xian) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Yichun) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Yulin) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zhuhai) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals (Zibo) Co. Ltd., Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Utah (Utah), Air Products and Chemicals Tech Development (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Air Products spol s.r.o., Asia Industrial Gas Company Ltd., Beijing AP BAIF Gases Industry Co. Ltd., Blue Ocean Industrial Gases Co. Ltd., Carbolim B.V., Carburos Via Augusta Logistics S.L., Centro Tecnico Indura Limitada, Chengdu Air & Gas Products Ltd., Contse S.A.U., CryoService, CryoService Limited, Dixons of Westerhope, DuPont Air Products NanoMaterials, EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products, EPCO Carbon Dioxide Products Inc. (Illinois), East Coast Nitrogen Company LLC, East Coast Oxygen Co., Gardner Cryogenics (Pennsylvania), Gas Direct Limited, Gas Supply Services Ltd., Gas Technologies Ltd., Gases Industriales de Columbia S.A.  Cryogas, Gases Integrated Company Limited (GIC), Gasin II Unipessoal LDA, Gastel Limited, Goar Allison & Associates, Green BioFuel s.r.o., Harvest Energy Technologies (California), Harvest Energy Technology, Helap SAS, Indura, Indura Argentina S.A., Indura Holdings Colombia LLC, Indura Inversiones Limitada, Indura Peru S.A., Indura S.A., Indura S.A. (Peru), Indura Sociedad Comercial Limitada, Ingemedicas Santandar Ltda., Ingenieria en Redes de Gases S.A. - Gasproject S.A., Inversiones Air Products Holdings Limitada, Jazan Gas Projects Company, Jazan Integrated Gasification and Power Company (JIGPC), KRIG Holdings B.V., KRYVYI RIH Industrial Gas, Korea Industrial Gases Ltd., Kulim Industrial Gases Sdn Bhd, Lida SAS, Markaziy Osiyo Sanoat Gaz LLC, Matgas 2000 A.I.E., Napro S.A., Olin DNT Limited Partnership, Oxigeno Medicinal Domiciliario Limitada, Oxigeno de Sagunto S.L., Oxigenol S.A., Oxygen & Argon Works, Oxygen & Argon Works Ltd., Oxygen Center Ltd., Oxygen Warehouse Trade (1980) Ltd., PQ Ammonia, PT Air Products East Kalimantan, PT Air Products Indonesia, PT Air Products Indonesia Services, Permea China Ltd., Permea Inc., Procal (California), Prodair Air Products India Private Limited, Prodair Corporation, Prodair Escravos Limited, Prodair S.A.S., Prodair Services Limited, Prodair et Cie S.C.S., Quimica Basica S.A., ROVI Cosmetics International, S.I.Q. Beteiligungs, SAGA SAS, SCWC Corp., STP & DIN Chemicals Sp. Z.o.o., Servicios Indura Limitada, Sociedad Espanola de Carburos Metalicos S.A., Soprogaz SNC, Stravinsky Investments LLC, The Former SR Manufacturers Inc., Tyczka Industrie-Gase GmbH, Union Mobiliere Industrielle S.A.R.L., United Industrial Gases Company LLC, Vitalox Industrial S.L.U., WuXi Hi-Tech Gas Co. Ltd., Yangon Industrial Gas (Thilawa) Company Limited, Zibo Chuangcheng Engineering Design Co. Ltd., and ir Products Israel Ltd..
The following companies are subsidiares of Pfizer: AH Robins LLC, AHP Holdings B.V., AHP Manufacturing B.V., Agouron Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alacer, Alpharma Holdings LLC, Alpharma Pharmaceuticals LLC, Alpharma Specialty Pharma LLC, Alpharma USHP LLC, American Food Industries LLC, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, Anacor Pharmaceuticals Inc., Angiosyn, Array BioPharma, Ayerst-Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, BIND Therapeutics Inc., BINESA 2002 S.L., Bamboo Therapeutics, Bamboo Therapeutics Inc., Baxter International - Marketed Vaccines, BioRexis, Bioren, Bioren LLC, Blue Whale Re Ltd., C.E. Commercial Holdings C.V., C.E. Commercial Investments C.V., C.P. Pharmaceuticals International C.V., CICL Corporation, COC I Corporation, Catapult Genetics, Coley Pharmaceutical GmbH, Coley Pharmaceutical Group, Coley Pharmaceutical Group Inc., Continental Pharma Inc., Covx, Covx Technologies Ireland Limited, Cyanamid Inter-American Corporation, Cyanamid de Argentina S.A., Cyanamid de Colombia S.A., Distribuidora Mercantil Centro Americana S.A., Encysive Pharmaceuticals, Encysive Pharmaceuticals Inc., Esperion LUV Development Inc., Esperion Therapeutics, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals, Excaliard Pharmaceuticals Inc., Farminova Produtos Farmaceuticos de Inovacao Lda., Farmogene Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Ferrosan A/S, Ferrosan International A/S, Ferrosan S.R.L., FoldRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Foldrx Pharmaceuticals, Fort Dodge Manufatura Ltda., G. D. Searle & Co. Limited, G. D. Searle International Capital LLC, G. D. Searle LLC, GI Europe Inc., GI Japan Inc., GenTrac Inc., Genetics Institute LLC, Greenstone LLC, Haptogen Limited, Hospira, Hospira (China) Enterprise Management Co. Ltd., Hospira Adelaide Pty Ltd, Hospira Aseptic Services Limited, Hospira Australia Pty Ltd, Hospira Benelux BVBA, Hospira Chile Limitada, Hospira Deutschland GmbH, Hospira Enterprises B.V., Hospira France SAS, Hospira Healthcare B.V., Hospira Healthcare Corporation, Hospira Healthcare India Private Limited, Hospira Holdings (S.A.) Pty Ltd, Hospira Inc., Hospira Invicta S.A., Hospira Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, Hospira Ireland Sales Limited, Hospira Japan G.K., Hospira Limited, Hospira Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Hospira NZ Limited, Hospira Nordic AB, Hospira Philippines Inc., Hospira Portugal LDA, Hospira Produtos Hospitalares Ltda., Hospira Pte. Ltd., Hospira Pty Limited, Hospira Puerto Rico LLC, Hospira Singapore Pte Ltd, Hospira UK Limited, Hospira Worldwide LLC, Hospira Zagreb d.o.o., ICAgen, Idun Pharmaceuticals, Industrial Santa Agape S.A., InnoPharma, InnoPharma Inc., International Affiliated Corporation LLC, JMI-Daniels Pharmaceuticals Inc., John Wyeth & Brother Limited, Kiinteisto oy Espoon Pellavaniementie 14, King Pharmaceuticals Holdings LLC, King Pharmaceuticals LLC, King Pharmaceuticals Research and Development LLC, Korea Pharma Holding Company Limited, Laboratoires Pfizer S.A., Laboratorios Parke Davis S.L., Laboratorios Pfizer Ltda., Laboratorios Wyeth LLC, Laboratorios Wyeth S.A., Laboratorios Pfizer Lda., MTG Divestitures LLC, Mayne Pharma IP Holdings (Euro) Pty Ltd, Medivation, Medivation Field Solutions LLC, Medivation LLC, Medivation Neurology LLC, Medivation Prostate Therapeutics LLC, Medivation Services LLC, Medivation Technologies LLC, Meridian Medical Technologies Inc., Meridian Medical Technologies Limited, Monarch Pharmaceuticals LLC, Neusentis Limited, NextWave Pharmaceuticals, NextWave Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, P-D Co. LLC, PAH USA IN8 LLC, PF Americas Holding C.V., PF Asia Manufacturing B.V., PF PR Holdings C.V., PF PRISM C.V., PF PRISM Holdings S.a.r.l., PF Prism S.a.r.l., PFE Holdings G.K., PFE PHAC Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Pfizer Holdings 1 LLC, PFE Wyeth Holdings LLC, PFE Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) LLC, PHILCO Holdings S.a r.l., PHIVCO Corp., PHIVCO Holdco S.a r.l., PHIVCO Luxembourg S.a r.l., PN Mexico LLC, PT. Pfizer Parke Davis, Parke Davis & Company LLC, Parke Davis Limited, Parke Davis Productos Farmaceuticos Lda, Parke-Davis Manufacturing Corp., Parkedale Pharmaceuticals Inc., Peak Enterprises LLC, Pfizer, Pfizer (China) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Pfizer (Perth) Pty Limited, Pfizer (Thailand) Limited, Pfizer (Wuhan) Research and Development Co. Ltd., Pfizer AB, Pfizer AG, Pfizer AS, Pfizer Africa & Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Veterinarian Products & Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer Anti-Infectives AB, Pfizer ApS, Pfizer Asia Manufacturing Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd., Pfizer Atlantic Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Australia Holdings B.V., Pfizer Australia Holdings Pty Limited, Pfizer Australia Investments Pty. Ltd., Pfizer Australia Pty Limited, Pfizer B.V., Pfizer BH D.o.o., Pfizer Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer Biofarmaceutica Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Pfizer Biologics (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd, Pfizer Biologics Ireland Holdings Limited, Pfizer Biotech Corporation, Pfizer Bolivia S.A., Pfizer Canada Inc., Pfizer CentreSource Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Chile S.A., Pfizer Cia. Ltda., Pfizer Colombia Spinco I LLC, Pfizer Commercial Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Commercial Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Commercial TRAE Trading Kft., Pfizer Consumer Healthcare AB, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare GmbH, Pfizer Consumer Healthcare Ltd., Pfizer Consumer Manufacturing Italy S.r.l., Pfizer Corporation, Pfizer Corporation Austria Gesellschaft m.b.H., Pfizer Corporation Hong Kong Limited, Pfizer Croatia d.o.o., Pfizer Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Development LP, Pfizer Development Services (UK) Limited, Pfizer Domestic Ventures Limited, Pfizer Dominicana S.R.L, Pfizer ESP Pty Ltd, Pfizer East India B.V., Pfizer Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer Egypt S.A.E., Pfizer Enterprise Holdings B.V., Pfizer Enterprises LLC, Pfizer Enterprises SARL, Pfizer Europe Finance B.V., Pfizer Export B.V., Pfizer Export Company, Pfizer Export Holding Company B.V, Pfizer Finance Share Service (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Financial Services N.V./S.A., Pfizer France International Investments, Pfizer Free Zone Panama S. de R.L., Pfizer GEP S.L., Pfizer Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer Global Supply Japan Inc., Pfizer Global Trading, Pfizer Group Luxembourg Sarl, Pfizer Gulf FZ-LLC, Pfizer H.C.P. Corporation, Pfizer HK Service Company Limited, Pfizer Health AB, Pfizer Health Solutions Inc., Pfizer Healthcare Ireland, Pfizer Hellas A.E., Pfizer Himalaya Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Holding France, Pfizer Holding Ventures, Pfizer Holdings Corporation, Pfizer Holdings Europe Unlimited Company, Pfizer Holdings G.K., Pfizer Holdings International Corporation, Pfizer Holdings International Luxembourg (PHIL) Sarl, Pfizer Holdings North America SARL, Pfizer Hungary Holdings TRAE Kft., Pfizer Inc., Pfizer Innovations AB, Pfizer Innovations LLC, Pfizer Innovative Supply Point International BVBA, Pfizer International LLC, Pfizer International Markets Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer International Operations, Pfizer International S. de R.L., Pfizer International Trading (Shanghai) Limited, Pfizer Investment Capital Unlimited Company, Pfizer Investment Co. Ltd., Pfizer Investment Holdings S.a.r.l., Pfizer Ireland Investments Limited, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 1 LLC, Pfizer Ireland PFE Holding 2 LLC, Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer Ireland Ventures Unlimited Company, Pfizer Italia S.r.l., Pfizer Italy Group Holding S.r.l., Pfizer Japan Inc., Pfizer LLC, Pfizer Laboratories (Pty) Limited, Pfizer Laboratories Limited, Pfizer Laboratories PFE (Pty) Ltd, Pfizer Leasing Ireland Limited, Pfizer Leasing UK Limited, Pfizer Limitada, Pfizer Limited, Pfizer Luxco Holdings SARL, Pfizer Luxembourg Global Holdings S.a r.l., Pfizer Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer MAP Holding Inc., Pfizer Manufacturing Austria G.m.b.H., Pfizer Manufacturing Belgium N.V., Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland GmbH, Pfizer Manufacturing Deutschland Grundbesitz GmbH & Co. KG, Pfizer Manufacturing Holdings LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Manufacturing LLC, Pfizer Manufacturing Services, Pfizer Medical Technology Group (Belgium) N.V., Pfizer Medicamentos Genericos e Participacoes Ltda., Pfizer Mexico Luxco SARL, Pfizer Mexico S.A. de C.V., Pfizer Middle East for Pharmaceuticals Animal Health and Chemicals S.A.E., Pfizer New Zealand Limited, Pfizer Norge AS, Pfizer North American Holdings Inc., Pfizer OTC B.V., Pfizer Overseas LLC, Pfizer Oy, Pfizer PFE ApS, Pfizer PFE AsiaPac Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Australia Pty Ltd, Pfizer PFE B.V., Pfizer PFE Baltic Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Belgium SPRL, Pfizer PFE Brazil Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE CIA. Ltda., Pfizer PFE Chile Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Colombia Holding Corp., Pfizer PFE Colombia S.A.S, Pfizer PFE Commercial Holdings LLC, Pfizer PFE Croatia Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Eastern Investments B.V., Pfizer PFE Finland Oy, Pfizer PFE France, Pfizer PFE Global Holdings B.V., Pfizer PFE Ireland Pharmaceuticals Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco 2 S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Italy Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Pfizer PFE Limited, Pfizer PFE Luxembourg S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Mexico Holding 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE Netherlands Holding 1 C.V., Pfizer PFE New Zealand, Pfizer PFE New Zealand Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Norway Holding S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE PILSA Holdco S.a r.l., Pfizer PFE Peru Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Peru S.R.L., Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Holding LLC, Pfizer PFE Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer PFE Private Limited, Pfizer PFE S.R.L, Pfizer PFE Service Company Holding Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer PFE Singapore Holding B.V., Pfizer PFE Singapore Pte. Ltd., Pfizer PFE Spain B.V., Pfizer PFE Spain Holding S.L., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding 2 S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Sweden Holding S.a.r.l., Pfizer PFE Switzerland GmbH, Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 1 B.V., Pfizer PFE Turkey Holding 2 B.V., Pfizer PFE UK Holding 4 LP, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 1 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 2 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 3 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 4 LLC, Pfizer PFE US Holdings 5 LLC, Pfizer PFE spol. s r.o., Pfizer PFE Ilaclar Anonim Sirketi, Pfizer Pakistan Limited, Pfizer Parke Davis (Thailand) Ltd., Pfizer Parke Davis Inc., Pfizer Parke Davis Sdn. Bhd., Pfizer Pharm Algerie, Pfizer Pharma GmbH, Pfizer Pharma PFE GmbH, Pfizer Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co. Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceutical Trading Limited Liability Company (a/k/a Pfizer Kft. or Pfizer LLC), Pfizer Pharmaceuticals B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Global B.V., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Israel Ltd., Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Korea Limited, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals LLC, Pfizer Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Pfizer Pigments Inc., Pfizer Polska Sp. z.o.o., Pfizer Private Limited, Pfizer Production LLC, Pfizer Products Inc., Pfizer Products India Private Limited, Pfizer Research (NC) Inc., Pfizer Romania SRL, Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A., Pfizer S.A. (Belgium), Pfizer S.A. de C.V., Pfizer S.A.S., Pfizer S.G.P.S. Lda., Pfizer S.L., Pfizer S.R.L., Pfizer SRB d.o.o., Pfizer Saidal Manufacturing, Pfizer Sante Familiale, Pfizer Saudi Limited, Pfizer Seiyaku K.K., Pfizer Service Company BVBA, Pfizer Service Company Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Services 1, Pfizer Services LLC, Pfizer Shared Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Shareholdings Intermediate SARL, Pfizer Singapore Holding Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Singapore Trading Pte. Ltd., Pfizer Spain Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Pfizer Specialties Limited, Pfizer Strategic Investment Holdings LLC, Pfizer Sweden Partnership KB, Pfizer TRAE Holdings Kft., Pfizer Trading Polska sp.z.o.o., Pfizer Transactions Ireland Unlimited Company, Pfizer Transactions LLC, Pfizer Transactions Luxembourg SARL, Pfizer Transport LLC, Pfizer Ukraine LLC, Pfizer Vaccines LLC, Pfizer Venezuela S.A., Pfizer Venture Investments LLC, Pfizer Ventures LLC, Pfizer Worldwide Services Unlimited Company, Pfizer Zona Franca S.A., Pfizer spol. s r.o., Pharmacia, Pharmacia & Upjohn Company Inc., Pharmacia & Upjohn Company LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn LLC, Pharmacia & Upjohn S.A. de C.V., Pharmacia Brasil Ltda., Pharmacia Hepar LLC, Pharmacia Holding AB, Pharmacia Inter-American LLC, Pharmacia International B.V., Pharmacia LLC, Pharmacia Limited, Pharmacia Nostrum S.A., Pharmacia South Africa (Pty) Ltd, PowderJect Research Limited, PowderMed, Purepac Pharmaceutical Holdings LLC, Redvax, Renrall LLC, Rinat Neuroscience, Rinat Neuroscience Corp., Roerig Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Roerig S.A., Sao Cristovao Participacoes Ltda., Searle Laboratorios Lda., Serenex, Servicios P&U S. de R.L. de C.V., Shiley LLC, Sinergis Farma-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Site Realty Inc., Solinor LLC, Sugen LLC, Tabor LLC, The Pfizer Incubator LLC, Therachon, Thiakis Limited, Treerly Health Co. Ltd, US Oral Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, Upjohn Laboratorios Lda., Vesteralens Naturprodukter A/S, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AB, Vesteralens Naturprodukter AS, Vesteralens Naturprodukter OY, Vicuron Holdings LLC, Vinci Farma S.A., W-L LLC, Warner Lambert, Warner Lambert Ilac Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Warner Lambert del Uruguay S.A., Warner-Lambert (Thailand) Limited, Warner-Lambert Company AG, Warner-Lambert Company LLC, Warner-Lambert Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Warner-Lambert S.A., Whitehall International Inc., Whitehall Laboratories Inc., Wyeth (Thailand) Ltd., Wyeth AB, Wyeth Australia Pty. Limited, Wyeth Ayerst Inc., Wyeth Ayerst S.a r.l., Wyeth Biopharma, Wyeth Canada ULC, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare LLC, Wyeth Europa Limited, Wyeth Farma S.A., Wyeth Holdings LLC, Wyeth Industria Farmaceutica Ltda., Wyeth KFT., Wyeth LLC, Wyeth Lederle S.r.l., Wyeth Lederle Vaccines S.A., Wyeth Pakistan Limited, Wyeth Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Company, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals FZ-LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals LLC, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Limited, Wyeth Puerto Rico Inc., Wyeth S.A.S, Wyeth Subsidiary Illinois Corporation, Wyeth Whitehall Export GmbH, Wyeth Whitehall SARL, Wyeth-Ayerst (Asia) Limited, Wyeth-Ayerst International LLC, and Wyeth-Ayerst Promotions Limited.
Tenaris SA manufactures and supplies steel pipe products. The firm operates through the following business segments: Tubes and Other. The Tubes segment includes the production and sale of both seamless and welded steel tubular products and related services mainly for the oil and gas industry, particularly oil country tubular goods used in drilling operations, and for other industrial applications with production processes that consist in the transformation of steel into tubular products. The Other segment includes all other business activities and operating segments, including the production and selling of sucker rods, industrial equipment, coiled tubing, heat exchangers, and utility conduits for buildings and the sale of energy and raw materials that exceed internal requirements. Its principal finished products are seamless and welded steel casing and tubing, line pipe and other mechanical and structural steel pipes for different uses. The company was founded in 1909 and is headquartered in Luxembourg.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Illinois Tool Works: A V Co 1 Limited, A V Co 2 Limited, A V Co 3 Limited, ACCU-LUBE Manufacturing GmbH - Schmiermittel und -gerate -, AIP/BI Holdings Inc., Accessories Marketing Holding Corp., Advanced Molding Company Inc., Allen Coding GmbH, Allen France SAS, Alpine Automation Limited, Alpine Engineered Products, Alpine Holdings Inc., Alpine Systems Corporation, Anaerobicos S.r.l., AppliChem GmbH, AppliChem Inc., Arylux Hungary Elektromechanikus Alkatreszgyarto Kft, Avery Berkel France, Avery India Limited, Avery Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Avery Weigh Tronix, Avery Weigh-Tronix (Suzhou) Weighing Technology Co. Ltd., Avery Weigh-Tronix Finance Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Holdings Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix International Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix LLC, Avery Weigh-Tronix Limited, Avery Weigh-Tronix Properties Limited, Azon Limited, B.C. Immo, Beijing Miller Electric Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Berkel (Ireland) Limited, Berrington UK, Brapenta Eletronica Ltda., Brooks Instrument, Brooks Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Brooks Instrument B.V., Brooks Instrument GmbH, Brooks Instrument KFT, Brooks Instrument Korea Ltd., Buell Industries Inc., CAPMAX Logistica S.A. de C.V., CCI Realty Company, CFC Europe GmbH, CS (Australia) Pty Limited, CS (Finance) Europe S.a.r.l., CS Mexico Holding Company S DE RL DE CV, CSMTS LLC, Calvia Spolka z Ograniczona Odpowiedzialnosci, Capital Ventures (Australasia) S.a r.l, Capmax Logistica S.A. de C.V., Celeste Industries Corporation, Cetram Pty Limited, Coeur, Coeur (Shanghai) Medical Appliance Trading Co. Ltd, Coeur Asia Limited, Coeur Holding Company, Coeur Inc., Compagnie Hobart, Compagnie de Materiel et d'Equipements Techniques-Comet, Constructions Isothermiques Bontami C.I.B., Crane Carrier Company, Densit Asia Pacific Sdn Bhd, Despatch Industries, Diagraph Corporation Sdn. Bhd, Diagraph ITW Mexico S. de R.L. De C.V., Diagraph Mexico S.A. DE C.V., Dongguan Ark-Les Electric Components Co. Ltd., Dongguan CK Branding Co. Ltd., Dorbyl U.K. (Holdings) Limited, Duo Fast de Espana S.A.U., Duo-Fast Korea Co. Ltd., Duo-Fast LLC, E.C.S. d.o.o., ECS Cable Protection Sp. Zoo, ELRO (Holding) AG, ELRO Grosskuchen GmbH, ELRO-WERKE AG, Elga Skandinavian AS, Elro Group, Eltex-Elektrostatik-Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Envases Multipac S.A. de C.V., Eurotec Srl, FEG Investments L.L.C., Fasver, Filtertek, Filtertek De Mexico Holding Inc., Filtertek De Mexico S.A. de C.V., GC Financement SA, Gamko B.V., Gun Hwa Platech (Taicang) Co. Ltd., HOBART Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hartness International, Hobart (Japan) K.K., Hobart Andina S.A.S., Hobart Brothers International Chile Limitada, Hobart Brothers LLC, Hobart Dayton Mexicana S. de R.L. de C.V., Hobart Food Equipment Co. Ltd., Hobart Foster Belgium, Hobart International (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Hobart Korea LLC, Hobart LLC, Hobart Nederland B.V., Hobart Sales & Service Inc., Hobart Scandinavia ApS, Hobart Techniek B.V., Horis, ILC Investments Holdings Inc., ITW (China) Investment Company Limited, ITW (Deutschland) GmbH, ITW (EU) Holdings Ltd., ITW (European) Finance Co. Ltd., ITW (European) Finance II Co. Ltd., ITW (Ningbo) Components & Fastenings Systems Co. Ltd., ITW AEP LLC, ITW AOC LLC, ITW Aircraft Investments Inc., ITW Airport Ground Equipment (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ITW Alpha Sarl, ITW Ampang Industries Philippines Inc., ITW Appliance Components EOOD, ITW Appliance Components LLC, ITW Appliance Components S.A. de C.V., ITW Appliance Components S.r.l.a, ITW Appliance Components d.o.o., ITW Australia Holdings Pty Ltd, ITW Australia Property Holdings Pty Ltd., ITW Australia Pty Ltd, ITW Automotive Components (Chongqing) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Components (Langfang) Co. Ltd., ITW Automotive Japan K.K., ITW Automotive Korea LLC, ITW Automotive Parts (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Automotive Products GmbH, ITW Automotive Products Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Bailly Comte, ITW Befestigungssysteme GmbH, ITW Belgium, ITW Brazilian Nominee L.L.C., ITW Building Components Group Inc., ITW CER, ITW CP Distribution Center Holland BV, ITW CS (UK) Ltd., ITW Canada Inc., ITW Celeste Inc., ITW Chemical Products Ltda, ITW Chemical Products Scandinavia ApS, ITW Colombia S.A.S., ITW Construction Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Construction Products (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ITW Construction Products AB, ITW Construction Products AS, ITW Construction Products ApS, ITW Construction Products CZ s.r.o., ITW Construction Products Italy Srl, ITW Construction Products OU, ITW Construction Products OY, ITW Contamination Control (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Contamination Control B.V., ITW Covid Security Group Inc., ITW DS Investments Inc., ITW DelFast do Brasil Ltda., ITW Delta Sarl, ITW Denmark ApS, ITW Dynatec, ITW Dynatec Adhesive Equipment (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Dynatec GmbH, ITW Dynatec Kabushiki Kaisha, ITW EF&C France SAS, ITW EF&C Selb GmbH, ITW Electronic Business Asia Co. Limited, ITW Electronic Components/Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Electronics (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Epsilon Sarl, ITW Espana S.A., ITW FEG Hong Kong Limited, ITW FEG do Brasil Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW Fastener Products GmbH, ITW Finance Designated Activity Company, ITW Finance Europe S.A., ITW Fluids and Hygiene Solutions Ltda., ITW Food Equipment Group LLC, ITW GH LLC, ITW GSE ApS, ITW GSE Inc., ITW Gamma Sarl, ITW German Management LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings LLC, ITW Global Investments Holdings Y Compania Sociedad en Comandita por Acciones, ITW Global Investments II Inc., ITW Global Investments LLC, ITW Global Tire Repair Europe GmbH, ITW Global Tire Repair Inc., ITW Global Tire Repair Japan K.K., ITW Graphics (Thailand) Ltd., ITW Graphics Asia Limited, ITW Graphics Italy S.R.L. in liquidazione, ITW Great Britain Investment & Licensing Holding Company, ITW Group France (Luxembourg) S.ar.l., ITW HLP Thailand Co. Ltd., ITW Holding Quimica B.C. S.L. Sole Shareholder Company, ITW Holdings Australia L.P., ITW Holdings I Limited, ITW Holdings II Limited, ITW Holdings III Limited, ITW Holdings IV Limited, ITW Holdings IX Limited, ITW Holdings Inc., ITW Holdings LP, ITW Holdings UK, ITW Holdings V Limited, ITW Holdings VI Limited, ITW Holdings VII Limited, ITW Holdings VIII Limited, ITW Hungary Finance Beta Kft, ITW ILC Holdings I Inc., ITW IPG Investments LLC, ITW Imaden Industria e Comercio Ltda., ITW India Private Limited, ITW International Holdings LLC, ITW International Intellectual Property LLC, ITW Invest Holding GmbH, ITW Ireland Holdings Unlimited Company, ITW Ireland Unlimited Company, ITW Italy Finance Srl, ITW Italy Holding Srl, ITW Japan Ltd., ITW Korea LLC, ITW LLC & Co. KG, ITW Limited, ITW Lombard Holdings Inc., ITW Lys Fusion S.r.l., ITW M FILMS II LLC, ITW MH LLC, ITW Marking & Coding (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Medical Group de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Meritex Sdn. Bhd., ITW Metal Fasteners S.L., ITW Mexico Holding Company S. De R.L. de C.V., ITW Mexico Holdings LLC, ITW Morlock GmbH, ITW Mortgage Investments II Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments III Inc., ITW Mortgage Investments IV Inc., ITW Netherlands Beta B.V., ITW Netherlands Finance Alpha BV, ITW New Universal LLC, ITW New Zealand, ITW Novadan Sp. Z.o.o., ITW PPF Brasil Adesivos Ltda., ITW Participations S.a r.l., ITW Pension Funds Trustee Company, ITW Performance Plastic (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Japan Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids Korea Limited, ITW Performance Polymers & Fluids OOO, ITW Performance Polymers (Wujiang) Co. Ltd., ITW Performance Polymers ApS, ITW Performance Polymers and Fluids Group FZE, ITW Peru S.A.C., ITW Philippines Holdings LLC, ITW Poly Mex S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Polymers Sealants North America Inc., ITW Pronovia s.r.o., ITW Pte. Ltd., ITW Qufu Automotive Cooling Systems Co. Ltd., ITW Real Estate Germany GmbH, ITW Residuals III L.L.C., ITW Residuals IV L.L.C., ITW Rivex, ITW SMPI, ITW SPG Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Simco-Ion (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., ITW Slovakia s.r.o., ITW Spain Holdings S.L., ITW Specialty Film LLC, ITW Specialty Films France, ITW Specialty Materials (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., ITW Spraytec, ITW Sverige AB, ITW Sweden Holding AB, ITW Test & Measurement Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, ITW Test & Measurement GmbH, ITW Test and Measurement Italia Srl, ITW Test and Measurement Services Industry and Trade Ltd., ITW Texwipe Philippines Inc., ITW Thermal Films (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ITW UK, ITW UK Finance Beta Limited, ITW UK Finance Delta Limited, ITW UK Finance Gamma Limited, ITW UK Finance Limited, ITW UK II Limited, ITW Universal II LLC, ITW Welding, ITW Welding AB, ITW Welding GmbH, ITW Welding Products B.V., ITW Welding Products Group FZE, ITW Welding Products Group S. DE R.L. De C.V., ITW Welding Products Italy Srl, ITW Welding Products Limited Liability Company, ITW Welding Produtos Para Solgdagem Ltda., ITW Welding Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ITW Welding Singapore Pte. Ltd., ITW de France, ITW do Brasil Industrial e Comercial Ltda., ITW haubold Paslode GmbH, Ideal Molding Technologies LLC, Illinois Tool Works (Chile) Limitada, Illinois Tool Works (ITW) Nederland B.V., Illinois Tool Works Norway AS, Impar Comercio E Representacoes Ltda., Industrie Plastic Elsasser GmbH, Inmobiliaria Cit. S.A. de C.F., Innova Temperlite Servicios S.A. de C.V., Innovacion y Transformacion Automotriz S.A. de C.V., Instron (Shanghai) Ltd., Instron (Thailand) Limited, Instron Brasil Equipamentos Cientificos Ltda., Instron Foreign Sales Corp. Limited, Instron France S.A.S., Instron GmbH, Instron Holdings Limited, Instron International Limited, Instron Japan Company Ltd., Instron Korea LLC, International Leasing Company LLC, International Truss Systems Proprietary Limited, Isolenge - ITW Sistemas de Isolamento Termico Ltda., KCPL Mauritius Holdings, Kester, Kester Components (M) Sdn. Bhd., Kleinmann GmbH, Krafft Argentina S.A., Krafft S.L., Lock Inspection Systemes France Sarl, Loma Systems (Canada) Inc., Loma Systems BV, Loma Systems sro, Lombard Pressings Limited, Lumex Inc., Luvex - Industria De Equipamentos De Protecao Ltda., Lys Fusion Poland Sp. z.o.o., M&C Specialties (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., M&C Specialties Co., MAGNAFLUX GmbH, MEHB Holdings Limited, MGHG Property LLC, Magna Industrial Co. Limited, Manufacturing Avancee S.A., Meritex Technology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Meurer Verpackungssysteme GmbH, Miller Electric Mfg. LLC, Miller Insurance Ltd., NDT Holding LLC, NOVADAN APS, Norden Olje AB, North Star Imaging Europe, North Star Imaging Inc., Nova Chimica S.r.l., Odesign Inc., Orbitalum Tools GmbH, PENTA-91 OOO, PR. A. I. Srl, PT ITW Construction Products Indonesia, Pacific Concept Industries Limited (Enping), Panreac Quimica S.L., Paslode Fasteners (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Peerless Machinery Corp., Penta Dnepr LLC, Penta Sever OOO, Penta Volga OOO, Polyrey, Premark FEG L.L.C., Premark HII Holdings LLC, Premark International, Premark International LLC, Prolex Sociedad Anonima, QSA Global Inc., Quimica Industrial Mediterranea S.L., Ramset Fasteners (Hong Kong) Ltd., Rapid Cook LLC, Refrigeration France, S.E.E. Sistemas Industria E Comercio Ltda., ST Mexico Holdings LLC, Salter India Limited, Sealant Systems International Inc., Sentinel Asia Yuhan Hoesa, Shanghai ITW Plastic & Metal Co. Ltd, Simco (Nederland) B.V., Simco Japan Inc., Societe de Prospection et dInventions Techniques  SPIT, Speedline Holdings I Inc., Speedline Holdings I LLC, Speedline Technologies GmbH, Speedline Technologies Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Speedline Technologies Mexico Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Stokvis Celix Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Stokvis Danmark ApS, Stokvis Holdings S.A.R.L., Stokvis Promi s.r.o, Stokvis Prostick Tapes Private Limited, Stokvis Tape Group B.V., Stokvis Tapes (Hong Kong) Co. Limited, Stokvis Tapes (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Taiwan) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes (Tianjin) Co. Ltd., Stokvis Tapes BVBA, Stokvis Tapes Benelux B.V., Stokvis Tapes Deutschland GmbH, Stokvis Tapes France, Stokvis Tapes Italia s.r.l., Stokvis Tapes Limited, Stokvis Tapes Limited Liability Company, Stokvis Tapes Norge AS, Stokvis Tapes Oy, Stokvis Tapes Polska Sp Z.O.O., Stokvis Tapes Sverige AB, Stolvis Holdings II S.A.R.L., Tarutin Kester Co. Ltd., Technopack Industria Comercio Consultoria e Representacoes Ltda., Teknek (China) Limited, Teknek (Japan) Limited, Teksaleco Ltd., The Miller Group Ltd, Thirode Grandes Cuisines Poligny, Tien Tai Electrode (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode (Qingdao) Co. Ltd., Tien Tai Electrode Co. Ltd., Tregaskiss Welding Products, US Finance Gamma LLC, Unichemicals Industria e Comercio Ltda., VR-Leasing Sarita GmbH & Co. Immobilien KG, VS European Holdco BV, Valeron Strength Films B.V.B.A., Veneta Decalcogomme S.r.l., Versachem Chile S.A., Vesta, Vesta (Guangzhou) Catering Equipment Co. Ltd, Vesta Global Limited, Viltronics Soltec, Vitronics Soltec B.V., W Packaging Technology (China) Co. Ltd., Wachs Canada Ltd., Wachs Subsea LLC, Weigh-Tronix Canada ULC, Weigh-Tronix UK Limited, Wilsonart International Holdings LLC, Wujiang Advanced Cleaning Co. Ltd., Wynn Oil (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd., Wynn's Automotive France, Wynn's Belgium BVBA, Wynn's Italia Srl, Wynn's Mekuba India Pvt Ltd, ZF TRW (Engineered Fasteners and Components), and Zip-Pak International B.V..
The following companies are subsidiares of Ball: 654647 N.B. Inc., AUK Holding Ltd., Aerocan, Aerosol Research Co (Great Britain) Limited, American Can (UK) Limited, American Can Holdings (UK) Limited, Archer Insurance Limited, Assetsteady Limited, B O Morris (Holdings) Limited, B-R Secretariat Limited, BD Print Limited, Ball, Ball (France) Holdings S.A.S., Ball (Luxembourg) Finance S.a.r.l., Ball (Swiss) Holding GmbH, Ball Advanced Aluminum Technologies Canada Inc. (f/k/a Neuman Aluminum Canada Inc.), Ball Advanced Aluminum Technologies Canada L.P. (f/k/a Neuman Aluminum Canada L.P.), Ball Advanced Aluminum Technologies Corp. (f/k/a Neuman USA Ltd.), Ball Advanced Aluminum Technologies Holding Canada Inc. (f/k/a Neuman Holding Canada Inc.), Ball Aerocan CZ s.r.o. (f/k/a Aerocan CZ s.r.o.), Ball Aerocan Europe S.A.S. (f/k/a Aerocan S.A.S.; Name Change on 6/28/13), Ball Aerocan France S.A.S (f/k/a Aerocan France S.A.S.), Ball Aerocan India Private Limited (f/k/a Metacan Manufacturing Private Limited; Name Change on 01/28/16), Ball Aerocan Mexico S.A. de C.V. (f/k/a Envases del Plata S.A. de C.V.), Ball Aerocan Operations S.a.r.l. (f/k/a Mendoza Investments S.a.r.l.; Name Change on 09/06/13), Ball Aerocan UK Limited (f/k/a Aerocan UK Ltd.; Name Change on 03/16/11), Ball Aerosol Packaging Argentina S.A. (f/k/a Formametal S.A.), Ball Aerosol and Specialty Container Holding Corporation (f/k/a U.S. Can Corporation; Name Change on 03/31/06 from Ball Aerosol and Specialty Container Corporation), Ball Aerosol and Specialty Container Inc. (f/k/a US Can Company; Name Change on 03/31/06), Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Ball America Holdings Inc. (f/k/a Rexam America Holdings Inc.), Ball America LLC (f/k/a Rexam America LLC), Ball Americas Holdings B.V., Ball Asia Pacific (Beijing) Metal Container Limited (f/k/a Beijing FTB Packaging Limited), Ball Asia Pacific (Foshan) Metal Container Limited (f/k/a Sanshui Jianlibao FTB Packing Limited), Ball Asia Pacific (Hubei) Metal Container Limited (f/k/a Hubei FTB Packaging Limited), Ball Asia Pacific (Nanning) Metal Container Limited, Ball Asia Pacific (Qingdao) Metal Container Limited, Ball Asia Pacific (Shenzhen) Metal Container Limited, Ball Asia Pacific (Yangon) Metal Container Limited, Ball Asia Pacific Investments Limited, Ball Asia Pacific Limited, Ball Asia Services Limited, Ball BP Holding Company (f/k/a Rexam BP Holding Company), Ball Beverage Can Americas Inc. (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Americas Inc.), Ball Beverage Can Delaware Company (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Delaware Company), Ball Beverage Can Overseas LLC (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Overseas LLC), Ball Beverage Can South America S.A. (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can South America SA), Ball Beverage Packaging (India) Private Limited (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can (India) Private Limited), Ball Beverage Packaging AMEA Limited (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can AMEA Limited), Ball Beverage Packaging Czech Republic sro (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Czech Republic sro), Ball Beverage Packaging Europe Limited (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Europe Limited), Ball Beverage Packaging Fosie AB (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Fosie AB), Ball Beverage Packaging France SAS (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can France SAS), Ball Beverage Packaging Fredericia A/S (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Fredericia A/S), Ball Beverage Packaging Iberica SL (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Iberica SL), Ball Beverage Packaging Italia SRL (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Italia SRL), Ball Beverage Packaging Ludesch GmbH (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Enzesfeld GmbH), Ball Beverage Packaging Mantsala Oy (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Mantsala Oy), Ball Beverage Packaging Naro-Fominsk LLC (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Naro-Fominsk LLC), Ball Beverage Packaging Oss BV (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Oss BV), Ball Beverage Packaging Recklinghausen GmbH (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Recklinghausen GmbH), Ball Beverage Packaging Rus LLC (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Rus LLC), Ball Beverage Packaging UK Limited (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can UK Limited), Ball Beverage Packaging Vsevolozhsk LLC (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Vsevolozhsk LLC), Ball Beverage Packaging Widnau GmbH (f/k/a Rexam Beverage Can Widnau GmbH), Ball Beverage Turkey Paketleme Sanayi ve Ticaret AS (f/k/a Rexam Paketleme Sanayi ve Ticaret AS), Ball Canada Plastics Container Corp., Ball Capital Corp. II, Ball Cayman International Limited, Ball Chile S.A. (f/k/a Rexam Chile S.A.), Ball Company, Ball Container LLC, Ball Delaware Corporation (f/k/a Rexam Delaware Corporation), Ball Delaware Holdings, Ball Delaware Holdings S.C.S. (f/k/a Ball Holdings S.a.r.l.), Ball Delaware International Holdings Corp., Ball Envases de Aluminio S.A. (f/k/a Rexam Argentina S.A.), Ball Europe Limited, Ball European Holdings S.a.r.l., Ball Finance LLC (f/k/a Rexam Finance LLC), Ball Foundation  not for profit, Ball Funding Inc. (f/k/a Rexam Funding Inc.), Ball Glass Containers, Ball Global Business Services Corp., Ball Global Services Americas S. de R.L. de C.V., Ball Holdings Corp., Ball Holdings LLC, Ball Inc. (f/k/a Rexam Inc.), Ball Industria e Comercio de Latas e Tampas Ltda (f/k/a Rexam Industria e Comercio de Latas e Tampas Ltda, Ball International, Ball International Holdings B.V. (f/k/a recan B.V.), Ball International Holdings II, Ball International Holdings LLC, Ball International Holdings S.a.r.l., Ball International Partners SCS, Ball JV LLC, Ball Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Ball Luxembourg I S.a.r.l., Ball MI Holding Company (f/k/a Rexam MI Holding Company), Ball Marketing Limited (f/k/a Rexam Marketing Limited), Ball Metal Beverage Container Corp., Ball Metal Beverage Mexico Holdings B.V. (f/k/a Ball Saudi Arabia Holdings B.V.), Ball Metal Beverage Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V. (f/k/a Ball Mexico Holdings Corp S del RL de C.V.), Ball Metal Container Corporation, Ball Metal Food Container (Oakdale) LLC (f/k/a Ball Metal Food Container LLC f/k/a Ball Western Can Company LLC), Ball Metal Food Container LLC (f/k/a Ball Metal Food Container Corp. f/k/a Heekin Can Inc.), Ball Metallising Inc. (f/k/a Rexam Metallising Inc.), Ball Packaging Europe Belgrade d.o.o., Ball Packaging Europe France S.A.S., Ball Packaging Europe Holding B.V., Ball Packaging Europe Lublin Sp. z o.o., Ball Packaging Europe Metall GmbH, Ball Packaging Europe Rostov LLC, Ball Packaging LLC (f/k/a Ball Packaging Corp. f/k/a Ball Packaging Holdings Corp.), Ball Packaging Products Canada Corp., Ball Pan-European Holdings, Ball Peru S.A.C., Ball Southeast Asia Holdings (Singapore) PTE LTD, Ball Technologies Holdings Corp., Ball Technology Services Corporation, Ball Trading France S.A.S., Ball Trading Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Ball UK Acquisition Limited, Ball UK Holdco Limited, Ball UK Holdings Ltd, Ball UK Investments Limited, Ball do Brasil Ltda (f/k/a Rexam do Brasil Ltda), Berkeley Nominees Limited, Bookprint Limited, Bowater SCG Limited, Bowaters Canadian Holdings Limited, Brackenbush Limited, Brookhill Mouldings Limited, CPRX-Hughesville Inc., Causton Printing Limited, Citiforms (Sales) Limited, Controladora Envases Universales Rexam SA  JV, Copal S.A.S., Cope Allman Holdings Limited, Cope Allman Int (Management Services) Limited, Cope Allman Packaging Group Limited, Cope Allman Packaging Limited, Corsec Mercantile Services Limited, Counting House Computer Systems Limited, DRG Australia Limited, DRG France Limited, DRG Medical Packaging Supplies (Flexpak) Ltd, DRG Medical Packaging Supplies (Malago) Ltd, DRG Medical Packaging Supplies Limited, Deister Handels & Beteiligungs GmbH, Dimgate Limited, EXAL Holdings France, Ejectoret Limited, Envases Antillanos C. por A., Envases Universales Rexam de Centroamerica SA, Envases del Istmo SA  JV, Envases del Plata, FTB Corporate Services Limited, FTB Packaging Limited, Filmset Limited, Foshan Packaging Holdings Limited, Gainer Developments Ltd., Guangdong Jianlibao Group, Hanil Can Co Limited (Associate), Heekin Can, Impact Packaging Limited, Jambalaya S.A., Jauntbrook Limited, Jesse Broad Limited, John Dunhill & Co Limited, KB Jarnaldern 3, Kemsley Fields Limited  JV, Knightsbridge Trustees Limited, Latapack-Ball Embalagens Ltda., Latas De Aluminio Ball, M.C. Packaging (Hong Kong) Limited, MCP Beverage Packaging Limited, MCP Device Limited, MCP Intellectual Property Holdings Limited, Magnaparva Packaging Limited  JV, McCorquodale & Blades Trust Limited, McCorquodale Commercial Products Limited, McCorquodale Leasing Limited, McCorquodale Limited, Mertonlight Limited, Metal Packaging International, N O Limited, N O Packaging Limited, N O Pensions Administration Limited, N&W Properties Limited, Nacanco Deutschland GmbH, National Trading Corporation, Nellford Limited, Neuman Aluminium, OPD Packaging Limited, PLM Septanus AB, Poland Glassworks Holding BV, Prestadora de Servicios de Dentroamerica SA, Qingdao M.C. Packaging Limited, RAC Holding II Pte Limited, RAC Holding Pte Limited, RBT (London) Limited, Rayeil International Limited, Restlat Investments Limited, Rexam (AK) Limited, Rexam (Jersey) Limited, Rexam AB, Rexam Amazonia Ltda, Rexam Ashmore Beverage Can Myanmar Company Limited, Rexam BC Limited, Rexam Beauty (Taiwan Holdings) Limited, Rexam Beverage Can (India Holdings) Limited, Rexam CFP Limited, Rexam CW Limited, Rexam Closures Limited, Rexam Coated Products Limited, Rexam DFR China Limited, Rexam DFR Taiwan Limited, Rexam European Holdings AB, Rexam European Holdings Limited, Rexam FW Limited, Rexam Finance Company Limited, Rexam Finance Germany Limited, Rexam Finance Netherlands Limited, Rexam Finance Poland Limited, Rexam Finance Sweden Limited, Rexam Financial Services Limited, Rexam Flexibles Viking Limited, Rexam France SAS, Rexam Graphics Limited, Rexam Group Holdings Limited, Rexam Healthcare Innovation SAS, Rexam High Performance Flexibles Limited, Rexam Holding GmbH, Rexam Holdings AB, Rexam Holdings Germany AB, Rexam Holdings Limited, Rexam Industrial Bulk Packaging Limited, Rexam Investments Pty Limited, Rexam Jersey 2007 Limited, Rexam Latas Americas Mexico SA de CV, Rexam Leasing AB, Rexam Limited, Rexam Liquid Packaging Limited, Rexam Nacanco Netherlands BV, Rexam Nederland Holdings BV, Rexam Overseas Holdings Limited, Rexam PLC, Rexam Packaging Limited, Rexam Packaging Systems Limited, Rexam Pension Trustees Limited, Rexam Pharma Development SA, Rexam Pharmaceutical Packaging Limited, Rexam Plastic Containers Limited, Rexam Property Developments Limited, Rexam Property Holdings Limited, Rexam RDI Limited, Rexam Trustees (Jersey) Limited, Rexam UK Holdings Limited, Rexam US Investments Limited, Rexam United Arab Can Manufacturing Limited, Rexam Uruguay SA, Rexam WCL Limited, Rexam WCP Limited, Rexam WM Limited, Rexam Webster Limited, Ruth Jersey 2009 Limited, SCI le Marais, Sario Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH & CO. Objekt Elfi, Schmalbach-Lubeca AG, Sir Joseph Causton & Sons Limited, Sofab Limited, Solray Plastics Limited, Specialty Coatings Group UK Trustees Limited, The Renaissance Insurance Company, USC May Verpackungen Holding Inc., Unit Moulders Limited, Victor International Plastics (London) Limited, Viking Packaging Limited, Wavefront Technologies, Wembley Press Limited, Wessex Typesetters Limited, and Wise Champion Investments Limited.
Weatherford International plc, an oilfield service company, provides equipment and services for the drilling, evaluation, completion, production, and intervention of oil and natural gas wells worldwide. The company operates in two segments, Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere. It offers artificial lift systems, including reciprocating rod, progressing cavity pumping, gas, hydraulic, plunger, and hybrid lift systems, as well as related automation and control systems; pressure pumping and reservoir stimulation services, such as acidizing, fracturing and fluid systems, cementing, and coiled-tubing intervention; and drill stem test tools, and surface well testing and multiphase flow measurement services. The company also provides safety, downhole reservoir monitoring, flow control, and multistage fracturing systems, as well as sand-control technologies, and production and isolation packers; liner hangers to suspend a casing string in high-temperature and high-pressure wells; cementing products, including plugs, float and stage equipment, and torque-and-drag reduction technology for zonal isolation; and pre-job planning and installation services. In addition, it offers directional drilling services, and logging and measurement services while drilling; services related to rotary-steerable systems, high-temperature and high-pressure sensors, drilling reamers, and circulation subs; managed pressure drilling, conventional mud-logging, drilling instrumentation, gas analysis, wellsite consultancy, and open hole and cased-hole logging services; reservoir solutions and software products; and intervention and remediation services. Further, the company provides equipment and drilling tools; tubular handling, management, and connection services; equipment rental services; and onshore contract drilling and related services through a fleet of land drilling and workover rigs. Weatherford International plc was incorporated in 1972 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.

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The following companies are subsidiares of BP: 200 PS Overseas Holdings Inc., 563916 Alberta Ltd., ACP (Malaysia) Inc., AE Cedar Creek Holdings LLC, AE Goshen II Holdings LLC, AE Goshen II Wind Farm LLC, AE Power Services LLC, AE Wind PartsCo LLC, AM/PM International Inc., ARCO, ARCO British International, ARCO British Limited, ARCO Coal Australia Inc., ARCO El-Djazair Holdings Inc., ARCO Environmental Remediation L.L.C., ARCO Exploration Inc., ARCO Gaviota Company, ARCO International Investments Inc., ARCO International Services Inc., ARCO Midcon LLC, ARCO Oil Company Nigeria Unlimited, ARCO Oman Inc, ARCO Resources Limited, ARCO Trinidad Exploration and Production Company Limited, ARCO Unimar Holdings LLC, Actomat B.V., Advance Petroleum Holdings Pty Ltd, Advance Petroleum Pty Ltd, Air BP Albania SHA, Air BP Brasil Ltda., Air BP Canada LLC, Air BP Croatia d.o.o., Air BP Finland Oy, Air BP Iceland, Air BP Limited, Air BP Norway AS, Air BP Sales Romania S.R.L., Air BP Sweden AB, Air Refuel Pty Ltd, Allgreen Pty Ltd, AmProp Finance Company, American Oil Company, Amoco (Fiddich) Limited, Amoco (U.K.) Exploration Company LLC., Amoco Bolivia Petroleum Company, Amoco Bolivia Services Company Inc., Amoco Canada International Holdings B.V., Amoco Capline Pipeline Company, Amoco Chemical (Europe) S.A., Amoco Chemicals (FSC) B.V., Amoco Cypress Pipeline Company, Amoco Destin Pipeline Company, Amoco Environmental Services Company, Amoco Exploration Holdings B.V., Amoco Guatemala Petroleum Company, Amoco International Finance Corporation, Amoco International Petroleum Company, Amoco Leasing Corporation, Amoco Louisiana Fractionator Company, Amoco MB Fractionation Company, Amoco MBF Company, Amoco Main Pass Gathering Company, Amoco Marketing Environmental Services Company, Amoco Netherlands Petroleum Company, Amoco Nigeria Exploration Company Limited, Amoco Nigeria Oil Company Limited, Amoco Nigeria Petroleum Company, Amoco Nigeria Petroleum Company Limited, Amoco Norway Oil Company, Amoco Oil Holding Company, Amoco Olefins Corporation, Amoco Overseas Exploration Company, Amoco Pipeline Asset Company, Amoco Pipeline Holding Company, Amoco Properties Incorporated, Amoco Remediation Management Services Corporation, Amoco Research Operating Company, Amoco Rio Grande Pipeline Company, Amoco Somalia Petroleum Company, Amoco Sulfur Recovery Company, Amoco Tri-States NGL Pipeline Company, Amoco Trinidad Gas B.V., Amoco U.K. Petroleum Limited, Amprop Illinois I Limited, Amprop Inc., Anaconda Arizona Inc., Arabian Production And Marketing Lubricants, Aral Aktiengesellschaft, Aral Luxembourg S.A., Aral Services Luxembourg Sarl, Aral Tankstellen Services Sarl, Arco Mediterraneo Inversiones S.L., Areas Noriega S.L., Areas Singulares Reyes S.L., Aspac Lubricants (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Atlantic 2/3 UK Holdings Limited, Atlantic Richfield Company, Atlantic Richfield Companyd, Autino Holdings Limited, Autino Limited, Auwahi Wind Energy Holdings LLC, B2Mobility GmbH, BASS Management Pty Ltd, BP (Abu Dhabi) Limited, BP (Barbados) Holding SRL, BP (Barbican) Limited, BP (China) Holdings Limited, BP (China) Industrial Lubricants Limited, BP (GTA Mauritania) Finance Limited, BP (GTA Senegal) Finance Limited, BP (Gibraltar) Limited, BP (Guangzhou) Advanced Mobility Limited, BP (Hunan) Petroleum Company Limited, BP (Indian Agencies) Limited, BP (Shandong) Petroleum Co. Ltd, BP (Shanghai) Trading Limited, BP - Castrol (Thailand) Limited, BP AMI Leasing Inc., BP Absheron Limited, BP Advanced Mobility Limited, BP Africa Limited, BP Africa Oil Limited, BP Akaryakit Ortakligi, BP Alaska LNG LLC, BP Alternative Energy Holdings Limited, BP Alternative Energy Investments Limited, BP Alternative Energy North America Inc., BP Alternative Energy Trinidad and Tobago Limited, BP America Chembel Holding LLC, BP America Chemicals Company, BP America Foreign Investments Inc., BP America Inc, BP America Inc., BP America Limited, BP America Production Company, BP Amoco Chemical Company, BP Amoco Chemical Holding Company, BP Amoco Chemical Indonesia Limited, BP Amoco Chemical Malaysia Holding Company, BP Amoco Exploration (Faroes) Limited, BP Amoco Exploration (In Amenas) Limited, BP Andaman II Ltd, BP Angola (Block 18) B.V., BP Argentina Exploration Company, BP Argentina Holdings LLC, BP Aromatics Holdings Limited, BP Aromatics Limited, BP Asia Limited, BP Asia Pacific (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., BP Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BP Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, BP Australia Capital Markets Limited, BP Australia Employee Share Plan Proprietary Limited, BP Australia Group Pty Ltde, BP Australia Investments Pty Ltd, BP Australia Nominees Proprietary Limited, BP Australia Pty Ltd, BP Australia Shipping Pty Ltd, BP Australia Swaps Management Limited, BP Aviation A/S, BP Benevolent Fund Trustees Limited, BP Berau Ltd., BP Biocombustiveis S.A., BP Bioenergia Campina Verde Ltda., BP Bioenergia Ituiutaba Ltda., BP Bioenergia Itumbiara S.A., BP Bioenergia Tropical S.A., BP Biofuels Advanced Technology Inc., BP Biofuels Brazil Investments Limited, BP Biofuels Louisiana LLC, BP Biofuels North America LLC, BP Biofuels Trading Comercio Exportacao Ltda., BP Bomberai Ltd., BP Brasil Ltda., BP Brazil Tracking L.L.C., BP Bulwer Island Pty Ltd, BP Business Service Centre Asia Sdn Bhd, BP Business Service Centre KFT, BP CIV Pty Ltd, BP Canada Energy Development Company, BP Canada Energy Group ULC, BP Canada Energy Marketing Corp., BP Canada International Holdings B.V., BP Canada Investments Inc., BP Capellen Sarl, BP Capital Markets, BP Capital Markets America, BP Capital Markets America Inc., BP Capital Markets p.l.c., BP Car Fleet Limited, BP Caribbean Company, BP Castrol KK, BP Castrol Lubricants (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., BP Central Pipelines LLC, BP Chembel, BP Chemicals (Korea) Limited, BP Chemicals East China Investments Limited, BP Chemicals Investments Limited, BP Chemicals Limited, BP China Exploration and Production Company, BP Comercializadora de Energia Ltda., BP Commodities Trading Limited, BP Commodity Supply B.V., BP Company North America, BP Company North America Inc., BP Containment Response Limited, BP Containment Response System Holdings LLC, BP Continental Holdings Limited, BP Corporate Holdings, BP Corporate Holdings Limited, BP Corporation North America, BP Corporation North America Inc., BP D-B Pipeline Company LLC, BP D230 Limited, BP Danmark A/S, BP Developments Australia Pty. Ltd., BP Dogal Gaz Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, BP East Kalimantan CBM Limited, BP Eastern Mediterranean Limited, BP Egypt Company, BP Egypt East Delta Marine Corporation, BP Egypt East Tanka B.V., BP Egypt Production B.V., BP Egypt Ras El Barr B.V., BP Egypt West Mediterranean (Block B) B.V., BP Energy Asia Pte. Limited, BP Energy Colombia Limited, BP Energy Company, BP Energy Europe Limited, BP Energy Solutions B.V., BP Energy do Brasil Ltda., BP Energia Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., BP Espana S.A. Unipersonal, BP Estaciones y Servicios Energeticos Sociedad Anonima de Capital Variable, BP Europa SE, BP Exploracion de Venezuela S.A., BP Exploration & Production Inc., BP Exploration (Absheron) Limited, BP Exploration (Alaska), BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., BP Exploration (Algeria) Limited, BP Exploration (Alpha), BP Exploration (Alpha) Limited, BP Exploration (Angola), BP Exploration (Angola) Limited, BP Exploration (Azerbaijan), BP Exploration (Azerbaijan) Limited, BP Exploration (Canada) Limited, BP Exploration (Caspian Sea), BP Exploration (Caspian Sea) Limited, BP Exploration (D230) Limited, BP Exploration (Delta), BP Exploration (Delta) Limited, BP Exploration (El Djazair) Limited, BP Exploration (Epsilon) Limited, BP Exploration (Gambia) Limited, BP Exploration (Greenland) Limited, BP Exploration (Madagascar) Limited, BP Exploration (Morocco) Limited, BP Exploration (Namibia) Limited, BP Exploration (Nigeria Finance) Limited, BP Exploration (Nigeria) Limited, BP Exploration (Psi) Limited, BP Exploration (STP) Limited, BP Exploration (Shafag-Asiman) Limited, BP Exploration (Shah Deniz) Limited, BP Exploration (South Atlantic) Limited, BP Exploration (Xazar) Pte. Ltd., BP Exploration Angola (Kwanza Benguela) Limited, BP Exploration Argentina Limited, BP Exploration Australia Pty Ltd Level 15, BP Exploration Beta Limited, BP Exploration China Limited, BP Exploration Company (Middle East) Limited, BP Exploration Company Limited, BP Exploration Indonesia Limited, BP Exploration Libya Limited, BP Exploration Mexico Limited, BP Exploration Mexico S.A. De C.V., BP Exploration North Africa Limited, BP Exploration Operating Company, BP Exploration Operating Company Limited, BP Exploration Orinoco Limited, BP Exploration Personnel Company Limited, BP Exploration Peru Limited, BP Express Shopping Limited, BP Finance Australia Pty Ltd, BP Finance p.l.c., BP Foundation Incorporated, BP France, BP Fuels & Lubricants AS, BP Fuels Deutschland GmbH, BP GOM Logistics LLC, BP Gas & Power Investments Limited, BP Gas Europe S.A.U., BP Gas Marketing Limited, BP Gas Supply (Angola) LLC, BP Ghana Limited, BP Global Investments, BP Global Investments Limited, BP Global Investments Salalah & Co LLC, BP Global West Africa Limited, BP Greece Limited, BP Guangdong Limited, BP High Density Polyethylene - France, BP Holdings (Thailand) Limited, BP Holdings B.V., BP Holdings Canada, BP Holdings Canada Limited, BP Holdings International B.V., BP Holdings North America, BP Holdings North America Limited, BP Hong Kong Limited, BP India Private Limited, BP Indonesia Investment Limited, BP International, BP International Limited, BP International Services Company, BP Investment Management Limited, BP Investments Asia Limited, BP Iran Limited, BP Iraq N.V., BP Italia SpA, BP Japan K.K., BP Korea Limited, BP Kuwait Limited, BP LNG Shipping Limited, BP Latin America LLC, BP Latin America Upstream Services Inc., BP Lubricants KK, BP Lubricants USA Inc., BP Luxembourg S.A., BP Malaysia Holdings Sdn. Bhd., BP Management International B.V., BP Management Netherlands B.V., BP Marine Limited, BP Mariner Holding Company LLC, BP Maritime Services (Singapore) Pte. Limited, BP Marketing Egypt LLC, BP Mauritania Investments Limited, BP Mauritius Limited (in liquidation), BP Middle East Enterprises Corporation, BP Middle East LLC, BP Middle East Limited, BP Midstream Partners GP LLC, BP Midstream Partners Holdings LLC, BP Midstream Partners LP, BP Midwest Product Pipelines Holdings LLC, BP Mocambique Limitada, BP Mocambique Limited, BP Muturi Holdings B.V., BP Nederland Holdings BV, BP Netherlands Upstream B.V., BP New Ventures Middle East Limited, BP New Zealand Holdings Limited, BP New Zealand Share Scheme Limited, BP Nutrition Inc., BP Offshore Gathering Systems Inc., BP Offshore Pipelines Company LLC, BP Offshore Response Company LLC, BP Oil (Thailand) Limited, BP Oil Australia Pty Ltd, BP Oil Espana S.A., BP Oil Hellenic S.A., BP Oil International, BP Oil International Limited, BP Oil Kent Refinery Limited (in liquidation), BP Oil Llandarcy Refinery Limited, BP Oil Logistics UK Limited, BP Oil New Zealand Limited, BP Oil Pipeline Company, BP Oil Senegal S.A., BP Oil Shipping Company, BP Oil UK Limited, BP Oil Venezuela Limited, BP Oil Vietnam Limited, BP Oil Yemen Limited, BP Olex Fanal Mineralol GmbH, BP One Pipeline Company LLC, BP Pacific Investments Ltd, BP Pakistan (Badin) Inc., BP Pakistan Exploration and Production Inc., BP Pension Escrow Limited, BP Pension Trustees Limited, BP Pensions (Overseas) Limited, BP Pensions Limited, BP Petrochemicals India Investments Limited, BP Petroleo y Gas S.A., BP Petrolleri Anonim Sirketi, BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc., BP Pipelines (BTC) Limited, BP Pipelines (North America) Inc., BP Pipelines (SCP) Limited, BP Pipelines (TANAP) Limited, BP Pipelines TAP Limited, BP Polska Services Sp. z o.o. Ul., BP Portugal -Comercio de Combustiveis e Lubrificantes SA, BP Poseidon Limited, BP Products North America, BP Products North America Inc., BP Properties Limited, BP Raffinaderij Rotterdam B.V., BP Refinery (Kwinana) Proprietary Limited, BP Regional Australasia Holdings Pty Ltd, BP River Rouge Pipeline Company LLC, BP Russian Investments Limited, BP Russian Ventures Limited, BP SC Holdings LLC, BP Scale Up Factory Limited, BP Senegal Investments Limited, BP Services International Limited, BP Servicios de Combustibles S.A. de C.V., BP Servicios territoriales S.A., BP Shafag-Asiman Limited, BP Shipping Limited, BP Singapore Pte. Limited, BP Solar Energy North America LLC, BP Solar Espana S.A., BP Solar International Inc., BP Solar Pty Ltd, BP South America Holdings Ltd, BP Southern Africa Proprietary Limited, BP Southern Cone Company, BP Subsea Well Response (Brazil) Limited, BP Subsea Well Response Limited, BP Taiwan Marketing Limited, BP Technology Ventures Inc., BP Technology Ventures Limited, BP Train 2/3 Holding SRL, BP Transportation (Alaska) Inc., BP Trinidad Processing Limited, BP Trinidad and Tobago, BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC, BP Turkey Refining Limited, BP Two Pipeline Company LLC, BP UK Retained Holdings Limited, BP Venezuela Investments B.V., BP West Aru I Limited, BP West Aru II Limited, BP West Papua I Limited, BP West Papua III Limited, BP Wind Energy North America Inc., BP Wiriagar Ltd., BP World-Wide Technical Services Limited, BP Zhuhai Chemical Company Limited, BP+Amoco International Limited, BP-AIOC Exploration (TISA) LLC, BPA Investment Holding Company, BPNE International B.V., BPRY Caribbean Ventures LLC, BPX (Eagle Ford) Gathering LLC, BPX (KCS Resources) LLC, BPX (Karnes) Gathering LLC, BPX (Permian) Gathering LLC, BPX (WSF Operating) Inc., BPX Energy Inc., BPX Midstream LLC, BPX Operating Company, BPX Production Company, BPX Properties (GP) LLC, BPX Properties (LP) LLC, BPX Properties (NA) LP, BTC Pipeline Holding Company Limited, BXL Plastics Limitedv, Bahia de Bizkaia Electridad S.L., Baltimore Ennis Land Company Inc., Black Lake Pipe Line Company, Brian Jasper Nominees Pty Ltd, Britannic Energy Trading Limited, Britannic Investments Iraq Limited, Britannic Marketing Limited, Britannic Strategies Limited, Britannic Trading Limited, Britoil Limited, Burmah Castrol, Burmah Castrol Australia Pty Ltd, Burmah Castrol Holdings Inc., Burmah Castrol PLC, Burmah Castrol South Africa (Pty) Limited, Burmah Chile SpA, Butamax Advanced Biofuels, CASTROL Austria GmbHb, CH-Twenty Inc., CNAA, Cadman DBP Limited, Casitas Pipeline Company, Castrol (China) Limited, Castrol (Ireland) Limited, Castrol (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Castrol (Shenzhen) Company Limited, Castrol (Tianjin) Lubricants Co. Ltd., Castrol (U.K.) Limited, Castrol Australia Pty. Limited, Castrol B.V., Castrol BP Petco Limited Liability Company, Castrol Brasil Ltda., Castrol Caribbean & Central America Inc., Castrol Colombia Ltda., Castrol Del Peru S.A., Castrol Egypt Lubricants S.A.E., Castrol India Limited, Castrol Industrie und Service GmbH, Castrol KK, Castrol Limited, Castrol Lubricants RO S.R.L, Castrol Mexico S.A., Castrol Namibia (Pty) Limited, Castrol Offshore Limited, Castrol Pakistan (Private) Limited, Castrol Philippines Inc., Castrol Servicos Ltda., Castrol Ukraine LLC, Castrol Zimbabwe (Private) Limited, Centrel Pty Ltd, Charge Your Car Limitedc, Chargemaster, Chargemaster (Europe) GmbH, Chargemaster Limited, Charging Solutions Limited, Clarisse Holdings Pty Ltd, Coastwise Trading Company Inc., Consolidada de Energia y Lubricantes (CENERLUB) C.A., Conti Cross Keys Inn Inc., Coro Trading NZ Limited, Cuyama Pipeline Company, DHC Solvent Chemie GmbH, Dermody Developments Pty Ltd, Dermody Holdings Pty Ltd, Dermody Investments Pty Ltd, Dermody Petroleum Pty. Ltd., Dome Beaufort Petroleum Limited, Dome Wallis (1980) Limited Partnership, ECM Markets SA (Pty) Ltd, Elektromotive Limited, Elite Customer Solutions Pty Ltd, Elm Holdings Inc., Energy Global Investments (USA) Inc., Enstar LLC, Estacion de Servicio Alto Campoo S.L., Estacion de Servicio Ganzo 10 S.L., Estacion de Servicio Reocin 9 S.L., Estacion de Servicio Santillana II S.L., Estacion de Servicio Sardinero S.L., Estonian Aviation Fuelling Services, Europa Oil NZ Limited, Exomet Inc., Expandite Contract Services Limited, Exploration (Luderitz Basin) Limited, Exploration Service Company Limited, FWK (2017) Limited, FWK Holdings (2017) LTD, Finite Carbon, Flat Ridge 2 Holdings LLC, Flat Ridge Wind Energy LLC, Foseco Holding Inc., Foseco Holding International B.V., Foseco Inc., Fosroc Expandite Limited, Fotech Solutions Ltd, Fowler Ridge Holdings LLC, Fowler Ridge I Land Investments LLC, Fowler Ridge II Holdings LLC, Fowler Ridge III Wind Farm LLC, FreeBees B.V., Fuel & Retail Aviat ion Sweden AB, Fuelplane- Sociedade Abastecedora De Aeronaves Unipessoal Lda, GOAM 1 C.I S. A .S, Gardena Holdings Inc., Gelsenkirchen Raffinerie Netz GmbH, Grampian Aviation Fuelling Services Limited, Guangdong Investments Limited, Highlands Ethanol LLC, Hosteleria Noriega S.L., IGI Resources Inc., Insight Analytics Solutions Holdings Limited, Insight Analytics Solutions Limited, Insight Analytics Solutions USA Inc., International Bunker Supplies Pty Ltd, Iraq Petroleum Company Limited, Jupiter Insurance Limited, Ken-Chas Reserve Company, Kenilworth Oil Company Limited, Kingbook Inversiones Socimi S.A., Latin Energy Argentina S.A., Lebanese Aviation Technical Services S.A.L., Limited Liability Company BP Toplivnaya Kompania, Limited liability company Setra Lubricants, Lubricants UK Limited, Lytt Limited, Manormaker (Nominee No. 1) Limited, Manormaker (Nominee No. 2) Limited, Manormaker GP Limited (99.90%) 11 Black Horse Lane, Mardi Gras Transportation System Company LLC, Markoil S.A., Masana Petroleum Solutions (Pty) Ltd, Mayaro Initiative for Private Enterprise Development, Mehoopany Holdings LLC, Mes Tecnologia En Servicios Y Energia S.A., Minza Pty. Ltd., Mountain City Remediation LLC, No. 1 Riverside Quay Proprietary Limited, Nordic Lubricants A/S, Nordic Lubricants AB, North America Funding Company, OMD87 Inc., OOO BP STL, Omega Oil Company, OnSight Analytics Solutions India Private Ltd., Orion Delaware Mountain Wind Farm LP, Orion Energy Holdings LLC, Orion Energy L.L.C.b, Orion Post Land Investments LLC, Oyambre 1 S.L., PRODUITS METALLURGIE DOITTAU, PT BP Petrochemicals, PT Castrol Indonesia, PT Castrol Manufacturing Indonesia, PT Jasatama Petroindo, Pacroy (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Peaks America Inc., Pearl River Delta Investments Limited, Petrocorner Retail S.L.U., Phoenix Petroleum Services Limited, Pozuelo 4 S.L., Prospect International C.A. (In liquidation), Puente Arce 4 S.L., Remediation Management Services Company, Richfield Oil Corporation, Rio Corvo 2 S.L., Rolling Thunder I Power Partners LLC, Romax Insight Korea Ltd., Ropemaker Deansgate Limited, Ropemaker Properties Limited, Ruhr Oel GmbH, Rusdene GSS Limited, SOFAST Limited, SRHP, Saturn Insurance Inc., Sherbino I Holdings LLC, Sherbino Mesa I Land Investments LLC, Sociedade de Promocao Imobiliaria Quinta do Loureiro SA, Societe de Gestion de Depots d'Hydrocarbures - GDH, South Texas Shale LLC, Southeast Texas Biofuels LLC, Southern Ridge Pipeline Holding Company, Southern Ridge Pipeline LP LLC, Sp/f Decision3 (GreenSteam) Company, Standard Oil Company, Standard Oil Company Inc., Standard Oil of Ohio, Stryde Limited, Sunrise Oil Sands Partnership, TISA Education Complex LLC, TJKK, Taradadis Pty. Ltd., Telcom General Corporation, Terre de Grace Partnership, The Anaconda Company, The BP Share Plans Trustees Limited, The Burmah Oil Company (Pakistan Trading) Limited, The Standard Oil Company, Toledo Refinery Holding Company LLC, Torrelavega 7 S.L., Union Texas International Corporation, Vastar Pipeline LLC, Veba Oel AG Veba Oel, Verenium, Viceroy Investments Limited, Villacarriedo 8 S.L., Warrenville Development Limited, Water Way Trading and Petroleum Services LLC, Welchem Inc., West Kimberley Fuels Pty Ltd, Westlake Houston Development LLC, Whiting Clean Energy Inc., Windpark Energy Nederland B.V., and Winwell Resources L.L.C.
Comerica, Inc. engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, Finance and Other. The Commercial Bank segment involves in the middle market businesses, multinational corporations, and governmental entities by offering various products and services such as commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services. The Retail Bank segment includes small business banking and personal financial services, which consist of consumer lending, consumer deposit gathering, and mortgage loan origination. The Wealth Management segment offers fiduciary services, private banking, retirement services, investment management and advisory services, investment banking and brokerage services. The Finance segment comprises corporation's securities portfolio and asset and liability management activities. The Other category consists of income and expense impact of equity and cash, tax benefits, charges of an unusual or infrequent nature that are not reflective of the n

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CAE Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and supplies simulation equipment and training solutions to defense and security markets, commercial airlines, business aircraft operators, helicopter operators, aircraft manufacturers, and healthcare education and service providers worldwide. The company's Civil Aviation Training Solutions segment provides training solutions for flight, cabin, maintenance, and ground personnel in commercial, business, and helicopter aviation; flight simulation training devices; and ab initio pilot training and crew sourcing services, as well as end to end digitally-enabled crew management, training operations solutions, and optimization software. Its Defence and Security segment offers training and mission support solutions for defense forces across multi-domain operations, and for government organizations responsible for public safety. The company's Healthcare segment provides integrated education and training solutions, including surgical and imaging simulations, curriculum, audiovisual and centre management platforms, and patient simulators to healthcare students and clinical professionals. The company was formerly known as CAE Industries Ltd. and changed its name to CAE Inc. in June 1993. CAE Inc. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Saint-Laurent, Canada.

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GlaxoSmithKline Plc is a healthcare company, which engages in the research, development, and manufacture of pharmaceutical medicines, vaccines, and consumer healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceuticals; Pharmaceuticals R&D; Vaccines and Consumer Healthcare. The Pharmaceuticals segment focuses on developing medicines in respiratory and infectious diseases, oncology, and immuno-inflammation. The Pharmaceuticals R&D segment focuses on science related to the immune system, the use of human genetics and advanced technologies, and is driven by the multiplier effect of Science x Technology x Culture. The Vaccines segment produces pediatric and adult vaccines to prevent a range of infectious diseases including, hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough, measles, mumps and rubella, polio, typhoid, influenza, and bacterial meningitis. The Consumer Healthcare segment develops and markets brands in the oral health, pain relief, respiratory, nutrition and gastro intestinal, and skin health categories. The company was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Middlesex, the United Kingdom.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Teledyne Technologies: Alia Corporation Inc, Bolt Technology Corp, Bowtech Products, CARIS, CDL do Brasil Equipamentos e Servicos Submarinos Sociedade Empresaria Ltda., CETAC Technologies, DALSA, Demo Systems, Detcon Holdco Inc., Ensambles de Precision S.A. de C.V., Falcon Analytical, Frontline Test Equipment, GMI Group Holdings Limited, Hafmynd ehf, Hanson Research Corp, IST Oldham Instruments India Private Limited, Industrial Control Machines, Intelek, Intelek Limited, Intelek Pension Trustees Limited, Intelek Properties Limited, LeCroy (Beijing) Trading Co. Ltd., LeCroy Corporation, Lidar Aviation Services Inc., Maple Imaging LLC, Micralyne Inc, Ocean Design Ltda., Oldham Instrument (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Oldham Simtronics SAS, Oldham-Winter GmbH, PDM Neptec, Reynolds Industries Limited, Rhombi Canada LP, Rhombi Holdings Limited, Rhombi Netherlands B.V., Rockwell Scientific Company, Simtronics AS, TDY Jersey Limited, Teledyne Advanced Pollution Instrumentation, Teledyne Australia Pty Ltd, Teledyne BlueView, Teledyne Bogatin Enterprises LLC, Teledyne Bowtech Limited, Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc., Teledyne C.M.L. Group Limited, Teledyne CARIS B.V., Teledyne CARIS Inc., Teledyne CARIS UK Ltd., Teledyne CARIS USA Inc., Teledyne CDL Inc., Teledyne CDL Limited, Teledyne Catalyst Enterprises Inc., Teledyne Computer Access Technology Corporation, Teledyne Controls LLC, Teledyne Cougar, Teledyne Czech s.r.o., Teledyne DALSA (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Teledyne DALSA Asia-Pacific Ltd., Teledyne DALSA B.V., Teledyne DALSA GmbH, Teledyne DALSA Inc., Teledyne DALSA Industrial Products Inc., Teledyne DALSA K.K., Teledyne DALSA Semiconductor Inc., Teledyne Dalsa, Teledyne Defense Electronics LLC, Teledyne Denmark A/S, Teledyne Detcon Inc., Teledyne Digital Imaging Inc., Teledyne Digital Imaging US Inc., Teledyne Energy Systems Inc., Teledyne Europe Holdings C.V., Teledyne France, Teledyne France SAS, Teledyne Gas Measurement Instruments Limited, Teledyne Gavia ehf., Teledyne Germany GmbH, Teledyne Hanson Research Inc., Teledyne ICM SA, Teledyne ICM SPRL, Teledyne Innovaciones Microelectronics S.L.U., Teledyne Instruments Inc., Teledyne Instruments Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Teledyne Japan Corporation, Teledyne Korea Ltd., Teledyne Labtech Limited, Teledyne LeCroy AB, Teledyne LeCroy Delaware LLC, Teledyne LeCroy GmbH, Teledyne LeCroy Inc., Teledyne LeCroy India Trading Private Ltd., Teledyne LeCroy Japan Corporation, Teledyne LeCroy Korea Ltd., Teledyne LeCroy OakGate Inc., Teledyne LeCroy S.A.R.L., Teledyne LeCroy S.R.L., Teledyne LeCroy SA, Teledyne LeCroy Singapore Pte. Ltd., Teledyne Limited, Teledyne Micralyne Inc., Teledyne Monitor Labs, Teledyne Monitor Labs P.R. Inc., Teledyne Netherlands B.V., Teledyne ODI, Teledyne Optech Inc., Teledyne Paradise Datacom Limited, Teledyne RD Instruments, Teledyne RD Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Teledyne RESON, Teledyne RESON A/S, Teledyne RESON B.V., Teledyne RESON GmbH, Teledyne RESON Holding B.V., Teledyne RESON Inc., Teledyne RESON Pte. Ltd., Teledyne RESON UK Limited, Teledyne RISI Inc., Teledyne Rad-icon Imaging Corp., Teledyne Redlake MASD LLC, Teledyne Reynolds Inc., Teledyne SG Brown Limited, Teledyne Scientific & Imaging LLC, Teledyne Scientific Imaging GmbH, Teledyne Scientific Imaging Limited, Teledyne Signal Processing Devices Sweden AB, Teledyne Singapore Private Limited, Teledyne TSS Limited, Teledyne Taiwan Company, Teledyne Technologies (Bermuda) Limited, Teledyne Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Teledyne Technologies International Corp., Teledyne Technologies Israel Ltd., Teledyne Tekmar Company, Teledyne UK Limited, Teledyne VariSystems, Teledyne VariSystems Inc., Teledyne Wireless LLC, Teledyne e2v, Teledyne e2v (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Teledyne e2v (Overseas) Holdings Limited, Teledyne e2v Asia Pacific Limited, Teledyne e2v Limited, Teledyne e2v Semiconductors SAS, and The Oceanscience Group Ltd..
The following companies are subsidiares of Lennar: 360 Developers LLC, Alliance Financial Services Inc., Ann Arundel Farms Ltd., Aquaterra Utilities Inc., Arbor Mill Veteran Project 2018 LLC, Asbury Woods L.L.C., Astoria Options LLC, Autumn Creek Development Ltd., Aylon LLC, Azusa Associates LLC, B2 Milpitas LLC, BB Investment Holdings LLC, BCI Properties LLC, BMR Communities LLC, BMR Construction Inc., BMTD LLC, BPH I LLC, Bainebridge 249 LLC, Bay Colony Expansion 369 Ltd., Bellagio Lennar LLC, Belle Meade LEN Holdings LLC, Belle Meade Partners LLC, Black Mountain Ranch LLC, Blue Horizons Estates LLC, Bonterra Lennar LLC, Bramalea California Inc., Bressi Gardenlane LLC, Breton Park Lennar LLC, CAP IL 1 LLC, CL Ventures LLC, CML INACTIVE LLC, CML-MO HAF LLC, CML-MO HAF PARKING LLC, CP Block 6aS LLC, CP Block 8aS LLC, CP Block 9aS LLC, CP Center Apartments LLC, CP Center Garage LLC, CP Red Oak Partners Ltd., CP Vertical Development Co. 1 LLC, CP/HPS Development Co. GP LLC, CP/HPS Development Co.-C LLC, CPFE LLC, CPHP Development LLC, CalAtlantic Financial Services Inc., CalAtlantic Group, CalAtlantic Group Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Arizona Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Georgia Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Texas Inc., CalAtlantic Homes of Washington Inc., CalAtlantic Mortgage Inc., CalAtlantic National Title Solutions LLC, CalAtlantic Title Agency LLC, CalAtlantic Title Group LLC, CalAtlantic Title Inc., CalAtlantic Title LLC, CalAtlantic Title of Maryland Inc., Camarillo Village Park LLC, Cambria L.L.C., Candlestick Retail Member LLC, Cardiovascular Medical Specialists LLC, Carolina Blue LLC, Carson 175 LLC, Cary Woods LLC, Casa Marina Development LLC, Central Park West Holdings LLC, Cherrytree II LLC, Club Bonterra Lennar LLC, Coco Palm 82 LLC, Colonial Heritage LLC, Columbia National Risk Retention Group Inc., Commonwealth Incentive Fee LLC, Concord Station LLP, Coventry L.L.C., Creekside Crossing L.L.C., Crest at Fondren Investor LLC, DBJ Holdings LLC, DCA Financial LLC, DTC Holdings of Florida LLC, Darcy-Joliet L.L.C., Durrell 33 LLC, EL Ventures LLC, EV LLC, Eagle Bend Commercial LLC, Eagle Home Mortgage LLC, Estates Seven LLC, Evergreen Village LLC, F&R QVI Home Investments USA LLC, FLORDADE LLC, Faria Preserve LLC, Fidelity Guaranty and Acceptance Corp., Fidelity Land LLC, Fox-Maple Associates LLC, Friendswood Development Company LLC, GDI MANAGER LLC, Garco Investments LLC, Greystone Construction Inc., Greystone Homes of Nevada Inc., Greystone Nevada Holdings LLC, Greystone Nevada LLC, Greywall Club L.L.C., HCC Investors LLC, HPS Development Co. LP, HPS Vertical Development Co. LLC, HPS Vertical Development Co.-B LP, HPS Vertical Development Co.-D/E LLC, HPS1 Block 1 LLC, HPS1 Block 48-1A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-1B LLC, HPS1 Block 48-2A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-2B LLC, HPS1 Block 48-3A LLC, HPS1 Block 48-3B LLC, HPS1 Block 50 LLC, HPS1 Block 51 LLC, HPS1 Block 52 LLC, HPS1 Block 53 LLC, HPS1 Block 54 LLC, HPS1 Block 55 LLC, HPS1 Block 56/57 LLC, HSP Arizona Inc., HTC Golf Club LLC, Hammocks Lennar LLC, Harbor Highlands Group LLC, Harveston LLC, Haverton L.L.C., Heathcote Commons LLC, Heritage Pkwy East Holdings LLC, Heritage of Auburn Hills L.L.C., Hewitts Landing Trustee LLC, Hingham Properties LLC, Huntley Venture L.L.C., Inactive Companies LLC, Independence L.L.C., Independence Orlando LLC, Isles at Bayshore Club LLC, KMC Real Estate Investors LLC, Kendall Hammocks Commercial LLC, Kentuckiana Medical Center LLC, Kingman Lennar LLC, LB/L  Duc III Antioch 330 LLC, LCD Asante LLC, LCI Downtown Doral Investor LLC, LCI North DeKalb Investor GP LLC, LCI North DeKalb Investor LP LLC, LEN - Belle Meade LLC, LEN - OBS Windemere LLC, LEN - Palm Vista LLC, LEN BPT Investor LLC, LEN Mirada Investor LLC, LEN Notarize Investor LLC, LEN OT Holdings LLC, LEN Paradise Cable LLC, LEN Paradise Operating LLC, LEN-CG South LLC, LEN-Cypress Mill LLC, LEN-Ryan 1 LLC, LEN-Touchstone LLC, LENH I LLC, LENNAR HOMES OF TENNESSEE LLC, LFS Holding Company LLC, LH Eastwind LLC, LHI Renaissance LLC, LMC 10th & Acoma Holdings LP, LMC 144th and Grant Investor LLC, LMC 2401 Blake Street Holdings LLC, LMC 2401 Blake Street Investor LLC, LMC 360 Acoma Holdings LP, LMC 410 S Wabash Holdings LLC, LMC 808 Gateway Holdings LLC, LMC 808 Gateway Investor LLC, LMC 8th Avenue Apartment Investor LLC, LMC 990 Bannock Holdings LLC, LMC Axis Westminster Holdings LLC, LMC Axis Westminster Investor LLC, LMC Berry Hill Lofts Holdings LLC, LMC Berry Hill Lofts Investor LLC, LMC Block 42 Holdings LLC, LMC Build to Core III Investor LLC, LMC Build to Core III LLC, LMC Burnside Holdings LLC, LMC Burnside Investor LLC, LMC Chandler and McClintock Holdings LLC, LMC Charlestowne Holdings LLC, LMC Charlotte Ballpark Developer LLC, LMC Cityville Oak Park Holdings LLC, LMC Cityville Oak Park Investor LLC, LMC Cobalt Holdings LLC, LMC Costa Mesa Holdings LP, LMC Crest at Park West Holdings LP, LMC Denver Gateway I Investor LLC, LMC Denver Gateway II Holdings LLC, LMC Development LLC, LMC Downtown Doral South Holdings LLC, LMC Durham Gateway Holdings LP, LMC Evans School Holdings LLC, LMC Gateway Investor LLC, LMC Gateway Venture LLC, LMC Gilman Square Investor LLC, LMC Horton Street Holdings LLC, LMC Huntington Crossing Holdings LLC, LMC Inactive Companies LLC, LMC Lakeside Holdings LP, LMC Leya Holdings LLC, LMC Living Illinois LLC, LMC Living Inc., LMC Living LLC, LMC Living TRS LP, LMC Millenia Investor II LLC, LMC NE Minneapolis Lot 2 Holdings LLC, LMC New Bern Investor LLC, LMC North Park Holdings LP, LMC Parkfield Holdings LLC, LMC Parkfield Investor LLC, LMC Righters Ferry Holdings LLC, LMC River North Holdings LLC, LMC Spring Street Investor LLC, LMC Stonewall Station Investor LLC, LMC Triangle Square Investor LLC, LMC Venture Developer LLC, LMC Verbena Holdings LLC, LMC West Loop Investor LLC, LMCFX Investor LLC, LMCPNW Marymoor Holdings LLC, LMI - Jacksonville Investor LLC, LMI - South Kings Development Investor LLC, LMI - West Seattle Holdings LLC, LMI - West Seattle Investor LLC, LMI - West Seattle LLC, LMI Cell Tower Investors LLC, LMI City Walk Investor LLC, LMI Collegedale Investor LLC, LMI Collegedale LLC, LMI Contractors LLC, LMI Glencoe Dallas Investor LLC, LMI Lakes West Covina Investor LLC, LMI Largo Park Investor LLC, LMI Las Colinas Station LLC, LMI Naperville Investor LLC, LMI Pacific Tower LLC, LMI Park Central Two LLC, LMI Peachtree Corners Investor LLC, LMI Peachtree Corners LLC, LMI-JC Developer LLC, LMI-JC LLC, LMV 1640 Broadway REIT-DC LP, LMV 1701 Ballard REIT-DC LP, LMV 19H REIT-DC LP, LMV 2026 Madison REIT-DC LP, LMV 85 South Union REIT-DC LP, LMV ATown REIT-DC LP, LMV Annapolis REIT-DC LP, LMV Apache Terrace REIT-DC LP, LMV Block 42 REIT-DC LP, LMV Bloomington REIT-DC LP, LMV Bolingbrook REIT-DC LP (DE), LMV Central at McDowell REIT-DC LP, LMV East Village I REIT-DC LP, LMV Edina REIT-DC LP, LMV Fremont WS I REIT-DC LP, LMV Glisan REIT-DC LP, LMV Grand Bay REIT-DC LP, LMV II Grand Bay Pod V Holdings LP, LMV II Kierland Holdings LP, LMV II NoMo Holdings LP, LMV II Venture Developer LLC, LMV II Wynwood Holdings LP, LMV Kirkland REIT-DC LP, LMV Little Italy REIT-DC LP, LMV M Tower REIT-DC LP, LMV Millenia II REIT-DC LP, LMV Milpitas REIT-DC LP, LMV NE Minneapolis REIT-DC LP, LMV Oak Park REIT-DC LP, LMV One20Fourth REIT-DC LP, LMV QR Build to Core Manager LLC, LMV Rio Bravo REIT-DC LP, LMV Scottsdale Quarter REIT-DC LP, LMV Tysons REIT-DC LP, LMV Vallagio III REIT-DC LP, LMV Victory Block G REIT-DC LP, LMV Warren Street REIT-DC LP, LNC Communities II LLC, LNC Communities IV LLC, LNC Communities V LLC, LNC Communities VI LLC, LNC Communities VII LLC, LNC Communities VIII LLC, LNC Pennsylvania Realty Inc., LNC at Meadowbrook LLC, LNC at Ravenna LLC, LS College Park LLC, LS Terracina LLC, LV Opendoor Investor LLC, LV Opendoor JV LLC, LW D'Andrea LLC, Lagoon Valley Residential LLC, Lakelands at Easton L.L.C., Legends Club LLC, Legends Golf Club LLC, Len - Little Harbor LLC, Len FW Investor LLC, Len Paradise LLC, Len-Angeline LLC, Len-Hawks Point LLC, Len-Land LLC, Len-Land West LLC, Len-MN LLC, Len-Verandahs LLP, LenCom LLC, LenFive LLC, LenFive Opco GP LLC, LenFive Sub III LLC, LenFive Sub LLC, LenFive Sub Opco GP LLC, Lenalto CMBS LLC, Lencraft LLC, Lennar Aircraft I LLC, Lennar Arizona Construction Inc., Lennar Arizona Inc., Lennar Associates Management Holding Company, Lennar Associates Management LLC, Lennar Avenue One LLC, Lennar Berkeley LLC, Lennar Bevard LLC, Lennar Bridges LLC, Lennar Buffington Colorado Crossing L.P., Lennar Buffington Zachary Scott L.P., Lennar Carolinas LLC, Lennar Central Park LLC, Lennar Central Region Sweep Inc., Lennar Chicago Inc., Lennar Cobra LLC, Lennar Colgate Urban Renewal Development LLC, Lennar Colorado LLC, Lennar Colorado Minerals LLC, Lennar Commercial LLC, Lennar Communities Development Inc., Lennar Communities Inc., Lennar Communities Nevada LLC, Lennar Communities of Chicago L.L.C., Lennar Concord LLC, Lennar Construction Inc., Lennar Cory Road LLC, Lennar Courts LLC, Lennar Developers Inc., Lennar Ewing LLC, Lennar Financial Services LLC, Lennar Flamingo LLC, Lennar Fresno Inc., Lennar Gardens LLC, Lennar Georgia Inc., Lennar Greer Ranch Venture LLC, Lennar Heritage Fields LLC, Lennar Hingham Holdings LLC, Lennar Hingham JV LLC, Lennar Homes Holding LLC, Lennar Homes LLC, Lennar Homes NJ LLC, Lennar Homes of Arizona Inc., Lennar Homes of California Inc., Lennar Homes of Indiana Inc., Lennar Homes of Texas Land and Construction Ltd., Lennar Homes of Texas Sales and Marketing Ltd., Lennar Homes of Utah Inc., Lennar International Holding LLC, Lennar International LLC, Lennar Lakeside Investor LLC, Lennar Layton LLC, Lennar Living LLC, Lennar Lytle LLC, Lennar MF Holdings LLC, Lennar MPA LLC, Lennar MPA WIP LLC, Lennar Mare Island LLC, Lennar Marina A Funding LLC, Lennar Massachusetts Properties Inc., Lennar Middletown LLC, Lennar Monmouth Redevelopers LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP Subsidiary LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture GP Victory Block G Mezz LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II GP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II GP Subsidiary LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II LP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture II Manager LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture LP LLC, Lennar Multifamily BTC Venture Manager LLC, Lennar Multifamily Builders LLC, Lennar Multifamily Communities LLC, Lennar Multifamily Venture DC LP, Lennar New Jersey Holdings LLC, Lennar New Jersey Properties Inc., Lennar New York LLC, Lennar Northeast Properties LLC, Lennar Northwest Inc., Lennar OHB LLC, Lennar PI Acquisition LLC, Lennar PI Property Acquisition LLC, Lennar PIS Management Company LLC, Lennar Pacific Inc., Lennar Pacific Properties Inc., Lennar Pacific Properties Management Inc., Lennar Plumsted Urban Renewal LLC, Lennar Point LLC, Lennar QR Build to Core GP LLC, Lennar QR Build to Core LP LLC, Lennar Realty Inc., Lennar Reno LLC, Lennar Riverwalk LLC, Lennar Sacramento Inc., Lennar Sales Corp., Lennar Sierra Sunrise LLC, Lennar Spencer's Crossing LLC, Lennar Sun Ridge LLC, Lennar Texas Holding LLC, Lennar Ventures LLC, Lennar West Valley LLC, Lennar Winncrest LLC, Lennar at Franklin LLC, Lennar at Jackson LLC, Lennar at Marlboro 79 LLC, Lennar at Monroe LLC, Lennar.com Inc., Longleaf Acquisition LLC, Lori Gardens Associates II LLC, Lori Gardens Associates III LLC, Lori Gardens Associates L.L.C., Lorton Station LLC, Lyons Lennar Farms LLC, Madrona Ridge L.L.C., Madrona Village L.L.C., Madrona Village Mews L.L.C., Majestic Woods LLC, Maple and Broadway Holdings LLC, Menifee Development LLC, Mid-County Utilities Inc., Miralago West Lennar LLC, Mission Viejo 12S Venture LP, Mission Viejo Holdings Inc., Motomic Diagnostics LLC, Multibank 2009-1 CML-ADC Venture LLC, Multibank 2009-1 RES-ADC Venture LLC, NC Properties I LLC, NC Properties II LLC, North American Asset Development LLC, Northbridge L.L.C., OHC/Ascot Belle Meade LLC, One SR L.P., PD-Len Boca Raton LLC, PG Properties Holding LLC, POMAC LLC, PT Metro LLC, Pace Drive Holdings LLC, Palm Gardens At Doral Clubhouse LLC, Palm Gardens at Doral LLC, Palm Springs Classic LLC, Palm Vista Preserve LLC, Patuxent Infrastructure Inc., Pioneer Meadows Development LLC, Pioneer Meadows Investments LLC, Plaza Condominium Ventures LLC, Portside Marina Developers L.L.C., Portside SM Associates L.L.C., Portside SM Holdings L.L.C., Portside Shipyard Developers L.L.C., Prestonfield L.L.C., Quail Roost Lennar LLC, RCCF GP II LLC, RCCF GP III LLC, RCCF GP IV LLC, RCCF GP LLC, RES-FL EIGHT LLC, RES-FL SEVEN LLC, RES-FL VISION ONE LLC, RES-FL VISION TWO LLC, RES-GA CASCADE LLC, RES-GA DIAMOND MEADOWS LLC, RES-GA KAP LLC, RES-GA SOUTHERN PLANTATION LLC, RES-GA THIRTEEN LLC, RES-GA TWELVE LLC, RES-GA WEST LLC, RES-IL ONE LLC, RES-NC ONE LLC, RES-PA LSJ LLC, RES-PA POM LLC, RES-TX BOULEVARD LLC, RH Insurance Company Inc., RH MOA BBCMS 2017-C1 LLC, RH MOA CF 2017-C8 LLC, RH MOA LLC, RH MOA U 2017-C4 LLC, RH MOA U 2017-C6 LLC, RIAL 2014-LT5 CLASS B LLC, RIAL 2014-LT5 LLC, RL BB FINANCIAL LLC, RL BB INACTIVE LLC, RL BB-AL LLC, RL BB-FL ALHI LLC, RL BB-GA LLC, RL BB-GA RMH LLC, RL BB-IL LLC, RL BB-IN AA LLC, RL BB-IN KRE LLC, RL BB-IN KRE OP LLC, RL BB-IN KRE RE LLC, RL BB-MS LLC, RL BB-NC LLC, RL BB-OH LLC, RL BB-SC BROOKSA LLC, RL BB-SC CLR II LLC, RL BB-SC CLR III LLC, RL BB-SC CLR IV LLC, RL BB-SC CLR LLC, RL BB-SC CRRC LLC, RL BB-SC RACEDAY LLC, RL BB-TN BRISTOL LLC, RL BB-TN LLC, RL BB-TN RACEDAY TOWER LLC, RL BB-TX LLC, RL BB-WV LLC, RL CMBS Holdings LLC, RL CML 2009-1 Investments LLC, RL REGI ARKANSAS LLC, RL REGI Alabama LLC, RL REGI FINANCIAL LLC, RL REGI Florida LLC, RL REGI GEORGIA LLC, RL REGI INACTIVE LLC, RL REGI KANSAS LLC, RL REGI MISSISSIPPI LLC, RL REGI MISSOURI LLC, RL REGI NORTH CAROLINA LLC, RL REGI SOUTH CAROLINA LLC, RL REGI TENNESSEE LLC, RL REGI VIRGINIA LLC, RL REGI-AL HP LLC, RL REGI-AL VRC LLC, RL REGI-FL CRC LLC, RL REGI-FL ESH LLC, RL REGI-FL FT. PIERCE LLC, RL REGI-FL GDL LLC, RL REGI-FL ITALIA LLC, RL REGI-FL MRED LLC, RL REGI-FL RDI LLC, RL REGI-FL SARASOTA LLC, RL REGI-FL TPL LLC, RL REGI-FL VARC LLC, RL REGI-GA DRAD LLC, RL REGI-GA HAY DB LLC, RL REGI-GA MHU LLC, RL REGI-GA MPD LLC, RL REGI-GA RLR LLC, RL REGI-MO GMB LLC, RL REGI-MO MOSCOW MILLS LLC, RL REGI-MS Double H LLC, RL REGI-MS OCEAN SPRINGS LLC, RL REGI-NC CIL LLC, RL REGI-NC LITTLE WING LLC, RL REGI-NC MLD LLC, RL REGI-NC Mland LLC, RL REGI-NC RALEIGH LLC, RL REGI-NC SUGARM LLC, RL REGI-NM LLC, RL REGI-SC CTL LLC, RL REGI-SC LAKE E LLC, RL REGI-SC TDG LLC, RL REGI-SC TIG LLC, RL REGI-TN OAK LLC, RL REGI-TN SEVIERVILLE LLC, RL RES 2009-1 Investments LLC, RMF Alliance LLC, RMF Commercial LLC, RMF PR New York LLC, RMF Partner LLC, RMF SUB 1 LLC, RMF SUB 2 LLC, RMF SUB 3 LLC, RMF SUB 4 LLC, RMF SUB 5 LLC, RMV LLC, Raintree Village II L.L.C., Raintree Village L.L.C., Ral-Len BM LLC, Ral-Len LLC, Rannel Capital WeWork Series D LLC, Rannel Holdings LLC, Rannel Interests LLC, Rannel Investments LLC, Rannel Mortgage Investments LLC, Rannel Proprietary Investments LLC, Renaissance Joint Venture, Reserve @ Pleasant Grove II LLC, Reserve @ Pleasant Grove LLC, Reserve at River Park LLC, Reserve at South Harrison LLC, Rialto Commercial Mortgage Securities LLC, Rialto Credit Partnership GP LLC, Rialto Mezz Partners GP LLC, Rialto Mortgage Finance LLC, Rialto Partners GP II LLC, Rialto Partners GP III - Debt LLC, Rialto Partners GP III - Property LLC, Rialto Partners GP LLC, Rialto RSSF GP LLC, Riverwalk at Lago Mar LLC, Rocking Horse Minerals LLC, Rutenberg Homes Inc. (Florida), Rutenberg Homes of Texas Inc., Rye Hill Company LLC, Ryland Homes Nevada Holdings LLC, Ryland Homes Nevada LLC, Ryland Homes of California Inc., S. Florida Construction II LLC, S. Florida Construction III LLC, S. Florida Construction LLC, SC 521 Indian Land Reserve LLC, SC 521 Indian Land Reserve South LLC, SPIC CPCO Inc., SPIC CPDB Inc., SPIC CPRB Inc., SPIC Del Sur LLC, SPIC Dublin LLC, SPIC Mesa LLC, SPIC NC Fremont LLC, SPIC Otay LLC, SPIC Springs LLC, San Felipe Indemnity Co. Ltd., San Lucia LLC, San Simeon Lennar LLC, Schulz Ranch Developers LLC, Seminole/70th LLC, Siena at Old Orchard L.L.C., Sierra Vista Communities LLC, Silver Springs Lennar LLC, South Development LLC, Southbank Holding LLC, Spanish Springs Development LLC, St. Charles Active Adult Community LLC, St. Charles Community LLC, Standard Pacific 1 Inc., Standard Pacific Investment Corp., Standard Pacific of Colorado Inc., Standard Pacific of Florida, Standard Pacific of Florida GP Inc., Standard Pacific of Las Vegas Inc., Standard Pacific of Orange County Inc., Standard Pacific of Tampa GP, Standard Pacific of Tampa GP Inc., Standard Pacific of Tonner Hills LLC, Standard Pacific of Walnut Hills Inc., Standard Pacific of the Carolinas LLC, Stoney Holdings LLC, Storey Lake Club LLC, Storey Park Club LLC, Strategic Holdings Inc., Strategic Technologies LLC, Summerfield Venture L.L.C., SunStreet Energy Group LLC, SunStreet Manager LLC, TCO QVI LLC, TICD Hold Co. LLC, TIH Hold Co. LLC, Talega Associates LLC, Temecula Valley LLC, Terra Division LLC, Terra/Winding Creek LLC, The Baywinds Land Trust, The Bridges Club at Rancho Santa Fe Inc., The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe Sales Company Inc., The LNC Northeast Group Inc., The Oasis Club at LEN-CG South LLC, The Preserve at Coconut Creek LLC, The Vistas Club at LEN-CG South LLC, Titlezoom Company, Treasure Island Holdings LLC, Treasure Island Member LLC, Treviso Holding LLC, Two Lakes Lennar LLC, U.S. Home Corporation, U.S. Home Realty Inc., U.S. Home of Arizona Construction Co., U.S. Insurors Inc., U.S.H. Realty Inc., UAMC Holding Company LLC, UB 2018C14 MOA LLC, USH - Flag LLC, USH Equity Corporation, USH LEE LLC, USH Leasing II LLC, USH Leasing LLC, UST Lennar HW Scala SF Joint Venture, VII Crown Farm Investor LLC, Venetian Lennar LLC, Vineyard Land LLC, Vineyard Point 2009 LLC, Vista Palms Clubhouse LLC, WCI Communities, WCI Communities Inc., WCI Communities LLC, WCI Towers Northeast USA Inc., WCI Westshore LLC, WCP LLC, WIP Lennar OHB LLC, Waterview at Hanover LLC, West Lake Village LLC, West Seattle Project X LLC, West Van Buren L.L.C., Westchase Inc., Westchase Ltd., Westfield Homes USA Inc., White Course Lennar LLC, Wild Plum JV LLC, Willowbrook Investors LLC, Winncrest Natomas LLC, Woodbridge Multifamily Developer I LLC, Wright Farm L.L.C., and YLRichards4Acres 2015 LLC.
The following companies are subsidiares of Bristol-Myers Squibb: 1096271 B.C. ULC, 345 Park LLC, A.G. Medical Services P.A., AHI Investment LLC, AbVitro LLC, Abraxis BioScience Australia Pty Ltd., Abraxis BioScience Inc., Abraxis BioScience International Holding Company Inc., Abraxis BioScience LLC, Abraxis BioScience Puerto Rico LLC, Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., Adnexus, Adnexus a Bristol-Myers Squibb R&D Company, Allard Labs Acquisition G.P., Amira Pharmaceuticals, Amira Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Apothecon LLC, B-MS Generx Unlimited Company, BMS Benelux Holdings B.V., BMS Bermuda Nominees L.L.C., BMS Data Acquisition Company LLC, BMS Forex Company, BMS Holdings Sarl, BMS Holdings Spain S.L., BMS International Insurance Designated Activity Company, BMS Investco SAS, BMS Korea Holdings L.L.C., BMS Latin American Nominees L.L.C., BMS Luxembourg Partners L.L.C., BMS Omega Bermuda Holdings Finance Ltd., BMS Pharmaceutical Korea Limited, BMS Pharmaceuticals Germany Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals International Holdings Netherlands B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Korea Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Mexico Holdings B.V., BMS Pharmaceuticals Netherlands Holdings B.V., BMS Real Estate LLC, BMS Spain Investments LLC, BMS Strategic Portfolio Investments Holdings Inc., Blisa Acquisition G.P., Bristol (Iran) S.A., Bristol Iran Private Company Limited, Bristol Laboratories Inc., Bristol Laboratories International S.A., Bristol Laboratories Medical Information Systems Inc., Bristol-Myers (Andes) L.L.C., Bristol-Myers (Private) Limited, Bristol-Myers Middle East S.A.L., Bristol-Myers Overseas Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (China) Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Israel) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (NZ) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Proprietary) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (Singapore) Pte. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb (Taiwan) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb (West Indies) Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb A.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb Aktiebolag, Bristol-Myers Squibb Argentina S. R. L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Australia Pty. Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Axia Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb B.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Belgium S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Business Services Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada International Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Delta Company Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Denmark Filial of Bristol-Myers Squibb AB, Bristol-Myers Squibb EMEA Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Egypt LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Epsilon Holdings Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Ltda., Bristol-Myers Squibb Farmaceutica Portuguesa S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb GesmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb GmbH & Co. KGaA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holding Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings 2002 Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Germany Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Ireland Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Holdings Pharma Ltd. Liability Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Ilaclari Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb India Pvt. Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Company Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb International Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Investco L.L.C., Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K., Bristol-Myers Squibb Kft., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg International S.C.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb MEA GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb Manufacturing Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Marketing Services S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb Middle East & Africa FZ-LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Norway Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Nutricionales de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb Peru S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (HK) Ltd, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma (Thailand) Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Holding Company LLC, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharma Ventures Corporation, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Pharmaceuticals Unlimited Company, Bristol-Myers Squibb Polska Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Products SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb Puerto Rico/Sanofi Pharmaceutical Partnership Puerto Rico, Bristol-Myers Squibb Romania S.R.L., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.A.U., Bristol-Myers Squibb S.r.l., Bristol-Myers Squibb SA, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Holding Partnership, Bristol-Myers Squibb Sarl, Bristol-Myers Squibb Service Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Services Sp. z o.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Spol. s r.o., Bristol-Myers Squibb Theta Finance Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Trustees Limited, Bristol-Myers Squibb Verwaltungs GmbH, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Colombia S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Costa Rica Sociedad Anonima, Bristol-Myers Squibb de Guatemala S.A., Bristol-Myers Squibb de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Bristol-Myers Squibb/Astrazeneca EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer EEIG, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership, Bristol-Myers de Venezuela S.C.A., CHT I LLC, CHT II LLC, CHT III LLC, CHT IV LLC, CR Finance Company LLC, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals, Cardioxyl Pharmaceuticals Inc., Celem LLC, Celem Ltd., Celgene, Celgene A.B., Celgene AS, Celgene Ab (Finland), Celgene Alpine Investment Co. II LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. III LLC, Celgene Alpine Investment Co. LLC, Celgene ApS, Celgene B.V., Celgene BVBA, Celgene Brasil Produtos Farmaceuticos Ltda., Celgene CAR LLC, Celgene CAR Ltd., Celgene Chemicals Sarl, Celgene China Holdings LLC, Celgene Co., Celgene Corporation, Celgene Distribution B.V., Celgene EngMab GmbH, Celgene Europe B.V., Celgene Europe Limited, Celgene European Investment Company LLC, Celgene Financing Company LLC, Celgene Global Holdings Sarl, Celgene GmbH [Austria], Celgene GmbH [Germany], Celgene GmbH [Switzerland], Celgene Holdings East Corporation, Celgene Holdings II Sarl, Celgene Holdings III Sarl, Celgene Ilac Pazarlama ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Celgene Inc., Celgene International Holdings Corporation, Celgene International II Sarl, Celgene International III Sarl, Celgene International Inc., Celgene International Sarl, Celgene K.K., Celgene Kft., Celgene Limited [Hong Kong], Celgene Limited [Ireland], Celgene Limited [New Zealand], Celgene Limited [Taiwan], Celgene Limited [UK], Celgene Logistics Sarl, Celgene Ltd, Celgene Luxembourg Sarl, Celgene Management Sarl, Celgene NJ Investment Co, Celgene Netherlands B.V., Celgene Netherlands Investment B.V., Celgene Pharmaceutical (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Celgene Pte. Ltd., Celgene Pty Ltd, Celgene Puerto Rico Distribution LLC, Celgene Quanticel Research Inc, Celgene R&D Sarl, Celgene RIVOT LLC, Celgene RIVOT Ltd., Celgene RIVOT SRL, Celgene Receptos Limited, Celgene Receptos Sarl, Celgene Research Incubator At Summit West LLC, Celgene Research S.L.U., Celgene Research and Development Company LLC, Celgene Research and Development I ULC, Celgene Research and Development II LLC, Celgene Research and Investment Company II LLC, Celgene S. de R.L. de C.V., Celgene S.L.U., Celgene S.R.L., Celgene SAS, Celgene Sarl AU, Celgene Sdn Bhd, Celgene Services Sarl, Celgene Sociedade Unipessoal Lda, Celgene Sp. Z.o.o., Celgene Sro [Czech Republic], Celgene Summit Investment Co, Celgene Switzerland Holding Sarl, Celgene Switzerland II LLC, Celgene Switzerland Investment Sarl, Celgene Switzerland LLC, Celgene Switzerland Sarl, Celgene Tri A Holdings Ltd., Celgene Tri Sarl, Celgene UK Distribution Limited, Celgene UK Holdings Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing II Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing III Limited, Celgene UK Manufacturing Limited, Celgene d.o.o., Celgene sro [Slovakia], Celmed LLC, Celmed Ltd., ConvaTec Divestiture, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals, Cormorant Pharmaceuticals AB, Crosp Ltd., Delinia Inc., Deuteria Pharmaceuticals Inc., DuPont Pharmaceuticals, E. R. Squibb & Sons Inter-American Corporation, E. R. Squibb & Sons L.L.C., E. R. Squibb & Sons Limited, EWI Corporation, EngMab Sarl, F-star Alpha, FermaVir Pharmaceuticals L.L.C., FermaVir Research L.L.C., Flexus Biosciences, Flexus Biosciences Inc., Forbius, Galecto Biotech, GenPharm International L.L.C., Gloucester Pharmaceuticals LLC, Grove Insurance Company Ltd., Heyden Farmaceutica Portuguesa Limitada, IFM Therapeutics, Impact Biomedicines Inc., Inhibitex, Inhibitex L.L.C., Innate Tumor Immunity Inc., JuMP Holdings LLC, Juno Therapeutics GmbH, Juno Therapeutics Inc., Kosan Biosciences, Kosan Biosciences Incorporated, Linson Investments Limited, Mead Johnson (Manufacturing) Jamaica Limited, Mead Johnson Jamaica Ltd., Medarex, Morris Avenue Investment II LLC, Morris Avenue Investment LLC, MyoKardia, O.o.o. Bristol-Myers Squibb, Oy Bristol-Myers Squibb (Finland) AB, Padlock Therapeutics, Padlock Therapeutics Inc., Pharmion LLC, Princeton Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Receptos LLC, Receptos Services LLC, RedoxTherapies Inc., Route 22 Real Estate Holding Corporation, SPV A Holdings ULC, Seamair Insurance DAC, Signal Pharmaceuticals LLC, Sino-American Shanghai Squibb Pharmaceuticals Limited, Societe Francaise de Complements Alimentaires(S.O.F.C.A.), Squibb Middle East S.A., Summit West Celgene LLC, Swords Laboratories, VentiRx Pharmaceuticals Inc., Westwood-Intrafin SA, Westwood-Squibb Pharmaceuticals Inc., X-Body Inc., ZymoGenetics, ZymoGenetics Inc., ZymoGenetics LLC, ZymoGenetics Paymaster LLC, iPierian, and iPierian Inc..
The Boeing Co. is an aerospace company, which engages in the manufacture of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space and Security; Global Services; and Boeing Capital. The Commercial Airplanes segment includes the development, production, and market of commercial jet aircraft and provides fleet support services, principally to the commercial airline industry worldwide. The Defense, Space and Security segment refers to the research, development, production and modification of manned and unmanned military aircraft and weapons systems for global strike, including fighter and combat rotorcraft aircraft and missile systems; global mobility, including tanker, rotorcraft and tilt-rotor aircraft; and airborne surveillance and reconnaissance, including command and control, battle management and airborne anti-submarine aircraft. The Global Services segment provides services to commercial and defense customers. The Boeing Capital segment seeks to ensure that Boeing customers have the financing they need to buy and take delivery of their Boeing product and manages overall financing exposure. T

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Rogers Communications Inc. operates as a communications and media company in Canada. It operates through three segments: Wireless, Cable, and Media. The Wireless segment offers wireless voice and data communication services to individual consumers, businesses, governments, and other telecommunications service providers; postpaid and prepaid wireless services under the Rogers, Fido, and chatr brands; and wireless devices, services, and applications to consumers and businesses. It provides its services to approximately 10.8 million subscribers. The Cable segment provides high-speed Internet, television, voice communication, and smart home monitoring services to consumers, businesses, governments, and wholesale resellers; and operates a transcontinental fiber-optic network that extends approximately 70,000 route kilometers, which provides voice and data communications and advanced services, including data centers and cloud computing to the enterprise, public sector, and carrier wholesale markets. Its service territory covers approximately 4.4 million homes. The Media segment owns the Toronto Blue Jays league baseball team and the Rogers Centre event venue; and offers television and radio broadcasting, multi-platform shopping experience, digital media, and publishing services. Rogers Communications Inc. was founded in 1920 and is based in Toronto, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Sysco: 2234829 Alberta ULC, 2234842 Alberta ULC, A. M. Briggs Inc., A.M. Briggs, Almacen Fiscal Frionet Caldera S.A., Almacen Fiscal Frionet Limon S.A., Appert's Foodservice, Arnotts (Fruit) Limited, Asian Foods, Bahamas Food Holdings Limited, Bahamas Food Services Limited, Brake Bros, Brake Bros Foodservice Ireland Limited, Brake Bros. Foodservice Limited, Brake Bros. Holding I Limited, Brake Bros. Ltd., Brakes Foodservice NI Limited, Buchy Food Service, Buckhead Beef Co., Buckhead Meat & Seafood of Houston Inc., Buckhead Meat Company, Buckhead Meat Midwest Inc., Buckhead Meat of Dallas Inc., Buckhead Meat of Denver Inc., Buckhead Meat of San Antonio LP, Buzztable Inc., CAKE Corporation, Central Seafood Co., Christys Wine & Spirits Limited, Clafra Aktiebolag, Colorado Boxed Beef Co - Specialty meat-cutting division, Corporacion Frionet Sociedad Anonima, Crossgar Foodservice, Crossgar Foodservice Limited, Crown I Enterprises Inc., Cucina Acquisitions (UK) Limited, Cucina Finance (UK) Limited, Cucina French Holdings Limited, Cucina Fresh Finance Limited, Cucina Fresh Investments Limited, Cucina Lux Investments Limited, Curleys Quality Foods Limited (Third Party), Davigel Belgilux S.A., Davigel Espana S.A., Desert Meats & Provisions, Distagro, Doerle Food Service, Doughtie's Foods Inc., Dust Bowl City LLC, Eko Fagel Fisk o mittemellan AB, Enclave Insurance Company, Enclave Parkway Association Inc., Enclave Properties LLC, European Imports, European Imports Inc., Figg Inc., Freedman Meats, Freedman Meats Inc., Freedman-KB Inc., Fresh Direct (UK) Limited, Fresh Direct Group Limited, Fresh Direct Limited, Fresh Holdings Limited, FreshPoint, FreshPoint Arizona Inc., FreshPoint Atlanta Inc., FreshPoint California Inc., FreshPoint Central California Inc., FreshPoint Central Florida Inc., FreshPoint Connecticut LLC, FreshPoint Dallas Inc., FreshPoint Denver Inc., FreshPoint Hawaii LLC, FreshPoint Inc., FreshPoint Las Vegas Inc., FreshPoint North Carolina Inc., FreshPoint North Florida Inc., FreshPoint Oklahoma City LLC, FreshPoint Pompano Real Estate LLC, FreshPoint Puerto Rico LLC, FreshPoint San Francisco Inc., FreshPoint South Florida Inc., FreshPoint South Texas Inc., FreshPoint Southern California Inc., FreshPoint Tomato LLC, FreshPoint Vancouver Ltd., Freshfayre Limited, Fruktservice i Helsingborg AB, GHS Classic Drinks Limited, Gilchrist & Soames Inc., Gilchrist & Soames UK Limited, Guest Packaging LLC, Guest Supply, Guest Supply Asia Limited, Guest Supply Singapore Pte. Ltd., International Food Group, Isakssons Frukt & Gront AB, J & M Wholesale Meats, J. Kings Food Service Professionals, J. Kings Food Service Professionals Inc., Kent Frozen Foods, Les Ateliers Du Gout, Liquid Assets Limited, M&J Seafood Holdings Limited, M&J Seafood Limited, Manchester Mills LLC, Mayca Autoservicio S.A., Mayca Distribuidores S.A., Menigo Foodservice AB, Mitshim Etatu Supply LP, Newport Meat Company, Newport Meat Northern California Inc., Newport Meat Pacific Northwest Inc., Newport Meat Southern California Inc., Newport Meat of Nevada Inc., North Star Holding Corporation, North Star Seafood, North Star Seafood Acquisition Corporation, North Star Seafood LLC, PFS de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Palisades Ranch Inc., Pallas Foods, Pallas Foods Farm Fresh Unlimited Company, Pallas Foods Unlimited Company, Pauleys Produce Limited, Promotora del Servicios S.A. de C.V., Restaurangakdemien AB, Restaurant of Tomorrow Inc., Rohan Viandes Elaboration SAS, SMS Bermuda Holdings, SMS GPC International Limited, SMS GPC International Resources Limited, SMS Global Holdings S.a.r.l., SMS International Resources Ireland Unlimited Company, SMS Lux Holdings LLC, SOTF LLC, SYY Netherlands C.V., SYY Panama S. de R.L., Serca Foodservice, Servicestyckarna I Johannes AB, Servicios Ameriserve S.A. de C.V., Shenzhen Guest Supply Trading Co. Limited, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Bianchi Montegut, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Boiseau, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) De Garcelles, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) J.D. Lanjouan, Societe Civile Immobiliere (SCI) Le Dauphin, Specialty Meat Holdings LLC, Stockflag Limited, Stockholms Fiskauktion AB, Supplies on the Fly, Sysco Albany LLC, Sysco Asian Foods Inc., Sysco Atlanta LLC, Sysco Autoservicio S.A., Sysco Baltimore LLC, Sysco Baraboo LLC, Sysco Bermuda Partners L.P., Sysco Boston LLC, Sysco Canada Holdings S.a.r.l., Sysco Canada Inc., Sysco Central Alabama LLC, Sysco Central California Inc., Sysco Central Florida Inc., Sysco Central Illinois Inc., Sysco Central Pennsylvania LLC, Sysco Charlotte LLC, Sysco Chicago Inc., Sysco Cincinnati LLC, Sysco Cleveland Inc., Sysco Columbia LLC, Sysco Connecticut LLC, Sysco Corporation, Sysco Corporation Director's Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Employee's 401(k) Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Executive Deferred Compensation Plan Trust, Sysco Corporation Good Government Committee Inc., Sysco Corporation Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Executive Retirement Trust, Sysco Corporation Supplemental Unemployment Benefits Plan Trust, Sysco Detroit LLC, Sysco Disaster Relief Foundation Inc., Sysco EI VI S. s.r.l., Sysco EU II S.a.r.l., Sysco EU III S.a.r.l., Sysco EU IV Capital Unlimited Company, Sysco EU IV S. s.r.l.., Sysco EU V S. s.r.l., Sysco Eastern Maryland LLC, Sysco Eastern Wisconsin LLC, Sysco Foundation Inc., Sysco France Holding SAS, Sysco France SAS, Sysco George Town II LLC, Sysco George Town Limited S. s.r.l.., Sysco Global Finance LLC, Sysco Global Finance LLP, Sysco Global Holdings B.V., Sysco Global Resources LLC, Sysco Global Services LLC, Sysco Grand Cayman Company, Sysco Grand Cayman II Company, Sysco Grand Cayman III Company, Sysco Grand Rapids LLC, Sysco Guernsey Limited, Sysco Guest Supply Canada Inc., Sysco Guest Supply Europe Goods Wholesalers LLC, Sysco Guest Supply Europe Limited, Sysco Guest Supply LLC, Sysco Gulf Coast LLC, Sysco Hampton Roads Inc., Sysco Hawaii Inc., Sysco Holdings II LLC, Sysco Holdings LLC, Sysco Indianapolis LLC, Sysco International Food Group Inc., Sysco International Inc., Sysco Iowa Inc., Sysco Jackson LLC, Sysco Jacksonville Inc., Sysco Kansas City Inc., Sysco Knoxville LLC, Sysco Labs Europe Limited, Sysco Labs Pvt. Ltd., Sysco Leasing LLC, Sysco Lincoln Inc., Sysco Lincoln Transportation Company Inc., Sysco Long Island LLC, Sysco Los Angeles Inc., Sysco Louisville Inc., Sysco Memphis LLC, Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Canada Inc., Sysco Merchandising and Supply Chain Services Inc., Sysco Metro New York LLC, Sysco Minnesota Inc., Sysco Montana Inc., Sysco Nashville LLC, Sysco Netherlands Partners LLC, Sysco North Central Florida Inc., Sysco North Dakota Inc., Sysco Northern New England Inc., Sysco Philadelphia LLC, Sysco Pittsburgh LLC, Sysco Portland Inc., Sysco Raleigh LLC, Sysco Resources Services LLC, Sysco Riverside Inc., Sysco Sacramento Inc., Sysco San Diego Inc., Sysco San Francisco Inc., Sysco Seattle Inc., Sysco South Florida Inc., Sysco Southeast Florida LLC, Sysco Spain Holdings SLU, Sysco Spokane Inc., Sysco St. Louis LLC, Sysco Syracuse LLC, Sysco Technologies Cayman Ltd., Sysco Technologies LLC, Sysco UK Holdings Limited, Sysco UK Limited, Sysco UK Partners LLP, Sysco USA I Inc., Sysco USA II LLC, Sysco USA III LLC, Sysco Ventura Inc., Sysco Ventures Inc., Sysco Virginia LLC, Sysco West Coast Florida Inc., Sysco Western Minnesota Inc., The SYGMA Network Inc., Upsys, Victua SAS, Walker Foods Inc., Waugh Foods, and Wild Harvest Limited.
Navistar International Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells commercial trucks, diesel engines, school and commercial buses, and service parts for trucks and diesel engines worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Truck, Parts, Global Operations, and Financial Services. It manufactures and distributes Class 4 through 8 trucks and buses in the common carrier, private carrier, government, leasing, construction, energy/petroleum, and student and commercial transportation markets under the International and IC brands; and designs, engineers, and produces sheet metal components, including truck cabs and engines. The company also provides customers with proprietary products needed to support the International commercial truck, IC bus, and engine lines, as well as other product lines; and a selection of other standard truck, trailer, and engine aftermarket parts. In addition, it manufactures and distributes mid-range diesel engines, as well as provides customers with additional engine offerings in the agriculture, marine, genset, and light truck markets; sells engines to original equipment manufacturers (OEM) for various on-and-off-road applications; and offers contract manufacturing services under the MWM brand to OEMs for the assembly of their engines. Further, the company provides retail, wholesale, and lease financing of products of its trucks and parts, as well as financing for wholesale and retail accounts receivable. Additionally, it exports trucks, buses, and engines. The company markets its commercial products through an independent dealer network, as well as through retail outlets; and its reconditioned used trucks to owner-operators and fleet buyers through its network of used truck dealers. It operates approximately 1,052 outlets in the United States and Canada, and 89 outlets in Mexico. Navistar International Corporation was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Lisle, Illinois.

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Senior pharmacist Dr Sai Kumar Katam said, There are two reasons for lack of essential medicines both in the city and periphery areas of Hyderabad.

Hyderabad: Lack of access to essential medicines for malaria, tuberculosis, diabetes and HIV/AIDS continues despite attempts to make them easily available, a report published in the Journal of Global Health said. The survey found that competition within Indias vast market for generic drugs has created a perception that generic drugs are available all over the country.

But the survey shows that these drugs are inaccessible for many and also unaffordable. There have also been allegations that many pharmaceutical companies have failed to comply with the national essential list and the order on drug price control. A senior drug controller said on condition of anonymity, There is a wilful violation in following the price control order. With an exhaustive list of drugs and many multiple brands and generics, it is difficult to find out who is actually implementing and who is not.

The survey found that the price difference between a branded drug and its generic version in some cases was 10 to 15 times high. But the moot point is that generics are not available everywhere, while branded drugs are all over the place because of manufacturers promotion and the publicity blitz.

Senior pharmacist Dr Sai Kumar Katam said, There are two reasons for lack of essential medicines both in the city and periphery areas of Hyderabad.

Doctors are still not writing the names of generics alongside branded drugs. There are not enough pharmacists to convince patients to buy generics if they cant afford the branded drugs. Often patients relatives walk away without buying medicines as they cant afford the cost.

Five most common drugs in short supply

1) Artemisinin for malaria

2) Lamivudine for HIV/AIDS

3) Rifampicin for TB control

4) Oxytocin for reproductive health

5) Fluoxetine for mental health

10% of the retail stores in periphery areas did not have Metformin which is used for diabetes.

40% of pharmacies did not have Rifampicin used for tuberculosis.

50% of other drugs were in shortage.
People with supernatural abilities to perform unbelievable feats have often been featured in comics and movies. But every once in a while some individuals emerge and make us question if such cases can be real.

A six-year-old from Russia is getting a lot of attention as she can hold 10 spoons on her body at once. The objects defy gravity as they seem to be attracted to her body and the family first noticed it when she was four.

Vika seems to have inherited the ability as her father can also do the same and her grandfather is said to attract an iron to his body. She has won a local talent show and become a local celebrity thanks to her performance.

Although she gets invitations from national talent shows, her family has resisted the temptation as Vika only shows her ability among family and friends for now.
The accused Malle Harinder Goud told the police that he had smothered his wife Jyoti, 35, son Abhi Tej, aged six years and daughter Sahastra, four-years-old, with a pillow. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: A dental technician who smothered his wife and two children to death reportedly after slipping into depression owing to financial losses was arrested on Wednesday, Meerpet police said.

The accused Malle Harinder Goud told the police that he had smothered his wife Jyoti, 35, son Abhi Tej, aged six years and daughter Sahastra, four-years-old, with a pillow.

Harinder said that since the last few years, the dental lab he had set up at Malakpet was not getting good returns. Hence, he closed it down three months ago. At his house, he often quarrelled with his wife over financial issues.

On Sunday, the couple quarreled over some issue in the house and later they went to sleep. Between 5 am and 6 am, the man called his wife into a room and attacked her. Using a pillow, he smothered her. He also hit her with a marble stone on her arm and jaws, resulting in her death. Later, he moved in the bedroom where he smothered his son and later daughter with a pillow. To ensure that the children died, the man also throttled their necks, said DCP L.B. Nagar, M. Venkateshwar Rao.

The police said that the parents of Jyoti were helping Harinder financially after he wounded up his dental clinic three months ago. The family members told the police that they had also helped him financially when he demanded money from them to meet his personal expenses.

A few days ago, elders of both the families had counselled Harinder to behave properly and not quarrel with his wife over financial problems. The man might have slipped into depression as he was not earning for the last three months. The parents of his wife were offering him with financial support, the police said.
As many as 111 people were killed and 2,384 others were injured in 822 communal incidents in the country in 2017, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: As many as 111 people were killed and 2,384 others were injured in 822 communal incidents in the country in 2017, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

Union Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir said that the highest number of communal incidents in 2017 was reported in Uttar Pradesh where 44 people were killed and 542 others were injured in 195 communal incidents.

Karnataka has seen 100 communal incidents in 2017 in which nine people were killed and 229 injured while there were 91 incidents of riots in Rajasthan in which 12 people were killed and 175 injured, he said.

The minister said there were 85 communal incidents in Bihar in 2017 in which three people were killed and 321 injured and there were 60 incidents of riots in Madhya Pradesh in which nine people were killed and 191 injured.

There were 58 incidents of communal violence in West Bengal in 2017 in which nine people were killed and 230 injured while Gujarat has witnessed 50 riots in which eight people were killed and 125 others were injured, Ahir said.

He said that in 2016, as many as 86 people were killed and 2,321 others were injured in 703 incidents of communal violence while in 2015, there were 97 deaths and 2,264 people were injured due to 751 incidents of riots.
Chennai: DMK on Tuesday pledged Rs 1 crore for establishing an exclusive endowment chair for Tamil language at the prestigious Harvard University in United States.

Making the announcement through a statement, DMK working president M.K. Stalin also expressed the hope that the chair would be established soon bringing smiles on the faces of 7.5 crore Tamils.

Stalin also listed achievements of the DMK with regard to development of Tamil language right from the days of its founder C. N. Annadurai to the current president M. Karunanidhi. I am extremely happy that the Harvard Tamil chair is being established during the Golden Jubilee year of Annadurai's announcement in 1968 that TN will follow the two-language  Tamil and English  policy replacing the three language policy (that included Hindi), Stalin said.

The Opposition leader also recalled according of Classical Language status to Tamil language during the UPA-1 regime due to efforts of Karunanidhi and the unanimous resolution in the TN Assembly recommending announcing Tamil as the official language of the Madras High Court during the DMK regime of 2006-2011.

In this background, the DMK will contribute Rs 1 crore for establishment of the exclusive chair for Tamil as part of its efforts to encourage development of the language and research, Stalin said. The Tamil Nadu Government has already allotted Rs 10 crore for establishing Tamil chair at the university.

Prestigious Harvard University in Massachusetts in US would soon boast of a Tamil chair expected to give huge impetus to rese-arch in one of the oldest languages of the universe, preserve palm manuscripts in digital format using world-class infrastructure and carry out comparative studies with other classical languages.

With a public campaign by two US-based Tamil-origin doctors to collect funds for setting up the chair gaining momentum, the TN Government did its bit by announcing Rs 10 crore for the project and is also part of the fundraising campaign through the International Tamil Research Institute.
New Delhi: Delivering Motion of Thanks to the President's address at the start of the Budget session 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said President Ram Nath Kovind's address highlighted the work being done across the country and how India is progressing.

The Prime Minister said Partition was result of Congress' wrong policies. "Not a single day has passed when country has not suffered due to poision sowed by you," Modi said in Lok Sabha.

Modi also said the people of Telangana were suffering for the hurried division of Andhra Pradesh by Congress, which took only politics into consideration during the deed.

"Under Atal Bihari Vajpayee's government too states were divided, but they were done with everyone's confidence... the process was smooth... But the Congress has messed up in dividing Andhra Pradesh. They did it in a hurry, and without much thought," said Modi.

"When we speak about creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how farsighted decision making is done," the Prime Minister said.

Intensifying his attack at the Opposition, Modi said, "Don't give sermons on democracy to us, we know what you have done in the past."

The Prime Minister said even after 70 years of Independence, 125 crore Indians have to suffer every single day for the sins that the Congress committed.

Opposition MPs shouted slogans as Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks in Lok Sabha.

"I wish the opposition had the courage to listen to silently," the Prime Minister said.

About the constant disruption of Parliament session by the Opposition, Modi said, "Opposition has the right to protest but not disrupt."

The Prime Minister said, "I see that whenever we are criticised by select opposition parties, substance is lacking. They go back to saying; 'when we were in power...' This is the same party that divided India."

"You talk of democracy and try to lecture us? It was your party chief that tore up the paper and threw it in front of the media, it was your party chief that didn't let young leaders give their points of view, and you preach us democracy," Modi said in his speech in Lok Sabha.

Narendra Modi said India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants people to believe. "Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries ago. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture," PM said.

Modi said if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had been the first Prime Minister, a part of Kashmir would not have been under control of Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said: "We cannot forget how the Congress insulted Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, a proud son of Andhra Pradesh. They humiliated him. Nobody in India needs lessons on democracy from the Congress Party."

Strengthening his attack on Congress, Modi said, "How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will. This is no commitment to democracy."

Recalling former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's behaviour towards Congress leader T Anjaiah, Modi said, "When Rajiv Gandhi landed in Hyderabad, how did he behave with a T Anjaiah. He humiliated a big leader, who did not belong to a privileged background."

"After independence, right from the start, if you (Congress) had worked sincerely and honestly for the people of the country, India would have been miles ahead of where it is today. But all you were interested in was to promote one person and his family," said the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, what started from Independence has now become the only thing that Congress does - defend one family.

"After independence, right from the start, if you (Congress) had worked sincerely and honestly for the people of the country, India would have been miles ahead of where it is today. But all you were interested in was to promote one person and his family," said the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Lok Sabha speech said, "When we compare the work done in three years of the NDA government to that done by the Congress in the past, when we compare the facts, figures and numbers... well, what comparison are we even talking about...there is none. The Congress has failed the people miserably, so let me give you the numbers."

Modi pointed out that more villages are getting optical fibre network in the last three years than they got under all Congress-led governments. "Just look at the transformation that's happening now," the PM said.

About the accusation made by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge about Railways and Karnakataka, the Prime Minister said: "Since (Mallikarjun) Kharge Ji spoke about railways and Karnataka, let me tell the truth about the Bidar-Kalburgi rail line. The project was approved by the Vajpayee Government and from 2004 till 2013 nothing was done. It is when a Government under BS Yeddyurappa gave approvals that work could begin."

Modi said the approvals by the former government in Karnataka led by BJP's Yeddyurappa helped progress the work on the rail line. "We do not bother who is the local MP or MLA, which party they belong to. We serve the nation and care for 125 crore Indians," said Modi.

Listing the achievements of his government and mocking at the Congress in the Lok Sabha the Prime Minister said, "I know it pains you to hear all this, but the people of this nation already gave you a bitter pill to swallow few years ago. Many of you have still not come to terms with it, but hear some more..."

Modi said, "The way people of Rajasthan were misled about the Barmer refinery was appalling. Just for votes, lies were said. It is in the last three years that the Government of India and the Rajasthan Government worked together to sort out the pending issues."

The Prime Minister asked the Opposition to stop misleading the country by false statements on jobs and employment. "The truth is quite the opposite," Modi added.

Talking about the start-up initiative by the Centre, Modi said, "I can see the energy and enthusiasm in our youth. They want to do something on their own, they want to launch their own start-ups. Our government is giving wings to the aspirations of India's middle class."

Narendra Modi said the impact of Start-up India, Mudra Yojana, Entrepreneurship scheme, Skill India, and Make in India reveal that the truth is far from what the Congress believes and says.

Talking about the aviation policy, the Prime Minister said, "A government that talked about 21st century could not bring an aviation policy. Then what kind of a 21st century did they talk about, the one with bullock carts."

Modi said, "Our government had the opportunity to prepare an aviation policy that focuses on smaller cities, towns so that more Indians can fly. Today, tier-2 and tier-3 towns in India are getting air connectivity. Almost a thousand new aircraft have been ordered. So, who is doing the work."

Talking about Aadhaar, the Prime Minister said, "When our Government took office in 2014, the chorus from the opposition was - Modi will scrap Aadhaar, but when we made Aadhaar more effective in terms of enabling better and effective service delivery, suddenly the opposition began opposing Aadhaar."

Modi said, "Congress just doesn't know how to deal with all the work they see being done. When the GST happened, and they saw its success, they didn't know how to react, so they made a joke of it."

Modi in his Lok Sabha speech said, "I know the Government's efforts to eliminate corruption and black money are hurting a select group of people. Today, people who served as Chief Ministers are in jail. However powerful one was, if one has been corrupt, that person will be punished. We are in an era of honesty."

Modi blamed the Congress for failure of country's non-performing assets. He said, "It was for the nations benefit that I was silent when you kept saying whatever you wanted. I worked silently for the benefit of the nation... but the time has come for the people to know the truth. Of how the Congress had completely ruined the nation. I stand here to in the Parliament - the temple of democracy - and say on record that the entire failure and the entire problem of India's NPAs are because of you. Since we have come to power not a single such case has happened."

Targetting Congress in his speech Modi said, "Loans were given without any scrutiny, they were distributed like sweets. Your bad decisions have directly been the reason for failures."

Modi said, "I have all the proof of how the Congress has looted and plundered India. You will pay for your sins. Time has come for you to be held accountable and answerable to the people of India."

Indirectly attacking at Congress president Rahul Gandhi, the Prime Minister said, "The nation's Army was standing ground in Doklam but leaders of one party preferred to meet Chinese officials. The same party questions the Army on surgical strikes. It was a time when the government, the opposition and all parties should've stood together."

"I reiterate to those in the Congress that to achieve big things, you need to be have a big heart. My appeal to all of you present here (in Lok Sabha) is that we have to create a new India. Let us work together to fulfil the dreams of the people," the PM said.

The house adopted the motion of thanks to the President's address. Lok Sabha was adjourned till 3 pm.
People and patients gathered in front of the ward. On receiving information Mettupalayam police rushed to the spot.

Coimbatore: Tension prevailed at the Mettupalayam Government Hospital (GH) near here on Tuesday after the father of a 13-year-old girl quarreled with hospital staff, alleging that contaminated glucose was being injected into his sick daugh-

ter.

Police said that Visutha, 13, studying class VIII in Karamadai town panchayat school and daughter of Kosy, 40, a construction laborer residing at Karamadai Kuntha Colony, fell ill a few days ago.

The poor girl was admitted to Mettupalayam GH and is being treated in the women's ward.

On Tuesday morning Visutha was given a drip. Her father Kosy noticed tiny particles floating inside the drip bottle. Suspecting it to be a contaminated one, he reported the matter to the nurse on duty. However, the nurse refused to change the bottle, leading to a wordy quarrel between them.

People and patients gathered in front of the ward. On receiving information Mettupalayam police rushed to the spot.

Hospital chief medical officer (in charge) Dr Illanchezhiyan promised to send the drips bottle to the lab for testing.

Police said that the CMO said that the girl's condition is stable and based on the lab report, further action would be taken.
Rajya Sabha member T. Subbarami Reddy, former minister Konathala Ramakrishna and others submit a memorandum to Railways minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi on Tuesday.

VISAKHAPATNAM: Member of Rajya Sabha T. Subbarami Reddy, along with former minister and convener of Uttarandhra Charcha Vedika (UCV) Mr Konathala Ramakrishna, former MP Mr Gyanender Reddy and Lok Satta President Mr Bhisetti Babji met Railway Minister Mr. Piyush Goyal on Tuesday and submitted a memorandum to the minister requesting him to ensure that a separate railway zone for Andhra Pradesh is set up with Vizag as its headquarters.

Mr Konathala mentioned that the formation of the new railway zone headquartered at Vizag was a long pending demand. In the last three elections, the formation of a separate railway zone has been a major election issue. Mr. Konathala and Mr. Subbarami Reddy underlined that as per the thirteenth schedule of AP Reorganization Act 2014, The Union Government shall, within six months from the appointed day, examine the feasibility of establishing a Vizag-Chennai industrial corridor along the lines of Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and take within such period an expeditious decision thereon.

Since this entire corridor falls under Andhra Pradesh, a separate zone needs to be situated in the residual state of Andhra Pradesh.

The present arrangement of being in two different zones with headquarters in different states, namely Telangana and Odisha shall not serve the purpose and shall jeopardise the development of industrial corridor, they added.

Vizag has abundant railway land with 800 acres and is free from hindrances making it the ideal location for setting up a zonal headquarters. Apart from excellent railway infrastructure, it is also the hub of economic activities with excellent connectivity by all other modes of transport too.

The announcement of a railway zone is a political decision and it is not normally based on any sound economic and technical principles. However, the formation of new South Coast Railway zone has a sound economic and technical base and should be considered positively. Reddy said the minister had assured them that he will try to solve the issue.
Nehru's comments triggered a major political controversy at a time when the students are preparing to appear for the Neet scheduled in the first week of May.

Chennai: Former transport minister and DMK's Tiruchi strongman K. N. Nehru has stoked a political row by claiming that he would have allowed students to copy in Neet if he or his government had failed in their efforts to exempt them from appearing before the national entrance exam.

"If I were not able to get exemption from Neet for Tamil Nadu students, as ministers we would have allowed students to copy in the examination. We would have done that for sure," Nehru told a protest rally against Neet in Tiruchy.

Students copy in Bihar and they copy in Madhya Pradesh. Copying is being allowed in these states and you expect only students from Tamil Nadu to be epitome of honesty? Nehru asked at the meeting. He was referring to examination scam in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh where undeserving students made it to the top in the ranking list.

The former transport minister, whose influence holds sway in Tiruchi and neighbouring areas, was speaking at a meeting organised by DMK's parent body, Dravidar Kazhagam, against holding Neet in Tamil Nadu.

Nehru's comments triggered a major political controversy at a time when the students are preparing to appear for the Neet scheduled in the first week of May.

Political parties and educationists condemned Nehru's statement saying his remarks have caused great insult to the student and youth community in TN.

Only those who have copied in their examination would make such ridiculous statements. Those people who have come up in life through honest means would never make such statements or remarks. By making these copy statement, Nehru has insulted the youth of Tamil Nadu, fisheries minister D. Jayakumar told DC castigating the DMK leader.

As far as the Tamil Nadu Government is concerned, Jayakumar said, the stated policy is to get permanent exemption from NEET. However, we cannot remain mute to the realities. The government while trying to get exemption for NEET has launched training centres to prepare students for such exams, Jayakumar said.

The BJP also reacted sharply saying such statement is unbecoming of a senior leader of the principal opposition party.

The DMK has assured on so many things and this is yet another such promise to fool the people. Those who know about the DMK will understand that what it says on Neet will never materialise. Moreover such a thing is not possible. It will only add to more confusion among the students and parents, especially when the court has clearly delivered its verdict, former TN BJP chief C.P. Radhakrishnan said.
Thiruvananthapuram: In yet another embarrassment for CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, reports suggest that his younger son Bineesh Kodiyeri is a wanted man in UAE in connection with a criminal case.

According to reports, a Dubai court sentenced Bineesh to two months imprisonment in connection with the non-repayment of a loan taken from the Dubai branch of a Saudi-based finance company. The verdict was given by the court in his absence in December last.

Acting on the complaint filed by the finance company, Dubai police registered a case against Bineesh. Subsequently the case was transferred to the prosecution wing and later it reached the court.

The allegation is that Bineesh had reportedly taken a loan of Rs 2 lakh dirhams from the bank. Though the bank had deputed a recovery agency to get the money back, it didnt work. The bank also got information that the accused was the son of a prominent political leader. Bineesh will be arrested the moment he arrives in UAE.

Sources said if a proclaimed offender arrives in UAE, the immigration CID wing at the airport will record his arrest and shift him to police headquarters. Later he will be taken to the CID office functioning in the court premises and will subsequently be produced before the judge who had passed the verdict.

If the accused refuses to accept the verdict, then the case in all probability is reopened. If he accepts the verdict, then the accused will have to be sent to jail. As per UAE law, the accused can settle the case even after the verdict by depositing the amount mentioned in the order. He will have to produce a release letter from the complainant.

The reports on Bineesh come close on the heels of his elder brother Binoy being slapped with a travel ban by a Dubai court following a cheating case by Dubai-based JAAS Tourism which has alleged that Binoy Kodiyeri had cheated it of Rs 13 crore.
SALT LAKE CITY  Domestic violence ends in death 40 to 50 times a year in Utah. In the past decade, 42 percent of all murders were committed by an intimate partner.

Crisis workers in the state took 40,000 telephone calls for help last year, all of them fielded by 13 community-based programs in the state's 29 counties affiliated with the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition.

"It's a lot of hard work," said Jenn Oxborrow, coalition executive director.

Those thinly stretched programs are asking the Legislature for $1.4 million each year to "help them keep the lights on and the doors open," she said.

The coalition's lethality assessment program found an "exceptionally" high number of people at risk of being killed by a domestic partner. "But our programs havent had any dedicated funding or expansion, so theyre struggling to keep up with the need," Oxborrow said.

Coalition members gathered with legislators at the Capitol on Tuesday to highlight the need for funding, as well as discuss several domestic violence related bills under consideration this session.

"I think we have done a lot of hard work on the ground to help people to understand how they can really make a difference and help save lives," Oxborrow said.

Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, said, "Now that we know better, it's time to do better."

Ivory has a bill that would form a committee of victims, advocates and state agencies to look at how to better listen to victims.

"When victims suffer in silence, it hurts everyone," he said.

"Victims of trauma are in situations where they are losing everything," Ivory said. "Their world is collapsing around them, and we have a criminal justice system, whether it's the courts, the prosecutors, the police, well-intentioned, but if you don't speak trauma, you can't hear anything."

Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, is proposing what being called the "911 bill." Though it doesn't specifically target domestic violence, it obligates people who witness an assault of any kind to call the emergency line.

"We think it's an appropriate thing in light of so many circumstances and situations that you see where you have individuals acting so badly and inflicting serious bodily harm and injury," King said.

Oxborrow said people are often hesitant to report domestic or sexual violence because they have historically been private, complicated issues. But King's bill, she said, sets an expectation for people who witness violence.

"People think of calling 911 as calling the police, but calling 911 is really to protect safety," she said.

Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City, and Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, have legislation to strengthen laws on protective orders, stalking injunctions and pretrial release of alleged perpetrators.

Weiler's bill expands the ability to obtain a protective order to those who have or had a relationship with a suspect but never lived together and narrows the definition of a family member. Other revisions include requiring police to provide victims with easy-to-understand written information about resources, such as shelters, and seeking a stalking injunction.

Romero's measure provides clear guidelines for prosecutors and law enforcement regarding the pretrial process. It also offers additional protections to survivors of domestic violence to limit the interaction of the aggressor with the victim and his or her family.

"A lot of times people don't speak out, so by talking about these bills, by talking about this issue, we're hoping that more people will leave situations that might not be safe for them," Romero said.

Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, has a bill that would allow victims to switch off shared cellphone accounts by requesting a court order.

Victims say its necessary for privacy during these sometimes life-threatening situations. When a plan is shared, abusers can get access to call logs, texts, even GPS locations.

A bill Rep. Robert Spendlove, R-Sandy, makes it a class A misdemeanor to violate a dating violence protective order. It also calls for a penalty enhancement for third-degree felony domestic violence offence committed within five years of a previous offense. Also, defendants under court-ordered electronic monitoring could required to pay for the service, according to the bill.
One of the most moving episodes in literature is Quasimodo saving Esmeralda from hanging in "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." As he rescues her and runs for Notre Dame, he calls, Sanctuary! The crowd takes up the cry and responds, Sanctuary! Esmeralda is safe, for a time, within the walls of Notre Dame because the law recognized churches as a place of asylum.

In 1980 in Arizona, a Quaker congregation and a Presbyterian church began providing legal and humanitarian assistance to Central American asylum-seekers who, for of a variety of political and foreign policy reasons, were not allowed to enter the U.S. as refugees despite the civil wars they were fleeing at home. They also were rarely granted asylum in the U.S.

Over time, more churches joined in, and the Sanctuary Movement was born. Over 150 religious congregations and secular groups publicly supported asylum-seekers from Central America by protecting them from immigration services and providing legal and financial aid. In 1986, several religious leaders, including ministers, priests and nuns, were convicted of harboring aliens as they participated in this work. But the movement continued its legal and humanitarian efforts, and by 1991, the courts ruled that political-asylum cases could not be influenced by foreign policy concerns.

Temporary protected status was granted to many asylum-seekers, allowing them to reapply for asylum, work legally and not be deported. Those churches, synagogues and secular organizations made a vital impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of asylees. This Sanctuary Movement is quite different from the recent rhetoric about sanctuary cities, and the two should not be conflated.

The word "sanctuary" comes from the same Latin root that "saint" does, meaning holy. A sanctuary is a place of refuge, a place where a person feels safe, where they can be with their families and loved ones. A space becomes holy when refuge is provided there, whether its a tent in Europe or a waiting area at the airport or in a cultural hall where refugees and asylees are invited for a meal. It can even be inside a Unitarian church in Salt Lake City. There has been a reappearance of the Sanctuary Movement in the last year as families try to stay together in safety.

Today, many Central American countries have seen a resurgence in violence committed by criminal gangs. In spite of the legal successes of the 1980s and 1990s, most Central Americans still are not granted asylum in the U.S. Countries like El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala consistently have some of the highest rates of intentional deaths (excluding suicide) in the world. El Salvadors homicide rate has even reached the same level as during its civil war between 1980 and 1992. People face violence in their own communities, and the government is not able to provide security.

In 2015 alone, 82 percent of female asylees, over 13,000 women from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico who were assessed at the U.S. border, were found to have a significant possibility of establishing eligibility for asylum or protection under the Convention against Torture. Yet, in the period between 2011 and 2016, 80 to 90 percent of asylum applications were denied to people from these four countries. While there are processing backlogs, these denial rates mean that almost all of those women have been or will be denied asylum. It appears we are not following our own laws to protect people.

The Sanctuary Movement has accomplished change in the past. While we might not be able to house asylees ourselves, there are so many ways Utahns can provide sanctuary. Some volunteer legal assistance for people in the midst of the asylum process. Others donate food and money to asylum-seekers trying to find stability in Utah. A few are now providing physical sanctuary inside a church. All of us can advocate for changes in our laws and policies that have kept so many deserving people out of the U.S. No matter our politics, we can find room in our country and in our hearts to give sanctuary to people who have faced great peril at home.

Erica Eastley is a managing director for Mormon Women for Ethical Government_, a nonpartisan grass-roots organization of over 5,000 women dedicated to the ideals of decency, honor, accountability, transparency and justice in governing. MWEG is not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints._
SALT LAKE CITY  A Utah lawmaker said he and his colleagues in the Legislature should not be caught by surprise if members of the congressional delegation are seeking federal land designations.

Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, pointed to previous legislation supported by the Mountain Accord and other local governments that sought land trades and a new wilderness designation involving 80,000 acres.

The measure died after the departure of former Rep. Jason Chafftez, R-Utah, who gave up his seat early for private pursuits but may possibly be revived by Rep. Mia Love, R-Utah.

Noel said any federal land designation or trade that blocks public access or alters land management practices should first be shopped before the Utah Legislature to gauge approval and spark dialogue.

"It is one more vetting process," Noel said, emphasizing the bill does nothing to preclude future designations but simply loops in lawmakers on potential proposals.

"I don't think it is over restrictive," he said.

Noel said he believes the federal land designation in Chaffetz's bill and pushed by the now defunct Mountain Accord slipped under the "radar," even as lawmakers were worried about possible new monuments in Utah.

The bill, HB136, prohibits active lobbying by governmental entities for new land designations unless a conversation has first been broached with members of the House Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Committee.

It does not impact private parties or nongovernmental organizations.
SALT LAKE CITY  The Utah House voted in favor of a bill Tuesday that would add assisted suicide to the state's manslaughter statute.

Under HB86, sponsored by Rep. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, it would become a second-degree felony in Utah to knowingly provide the means for someone to take their own life or to aid in a suicide attempt.

The bill comes in the wake of the suicide of a 16-year-old girl in Utah County that prosecutors say was only possible through the help and encouragement of her older friend, 18-year-old Tyerell Przybycien, who is now standing trial for murder.

McKell amended the bill to address some controversy about what it would mean for hospice care providers and other circumstances where practitioners give medication to a terminally ill patient.

The amended bill, which passed the House with a 51-18 vote, says a practitioner may treat a patient's illness and pain or discomfort with medication that may end up shortening the patient's life. But the practitioner may not "knowingly and intentionally" provide medication or procedure to commit suicide.

Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, tried to add a stronger amendment to protect practitioners, but it was blocked on grounds that it could lead to legal assisted suicide.

"The language of this bill interferes with the relationship between health care providers and patients," said Chavez-Houck, who voted against the measure.

"We need to make sure that we draw clear lines between suicide and allowing suffering patients to peacefully end their life," she said.

Chavez-Houck is sponsoring a so-called "death with dignity" bill, which would establish procedures for an individual with a terminal disease to obtain a prescription to end their life.

A spokesman for House Democrats issued a statement to oppose making the assisted suicide of terminally ill patients an act of murder.
SALT LAKE CITY  A state legislator introduced a bill Tuesday that would undo a longstanding Utah law allowing a person to record a personal conversation or telephone call without telling the other party.

Rep. Lowry Snow's proposal, HB330, would make it a crime to record a conversation with someone without their consent.

The Santa Clara Republican said the Salt Lake Chamber contacted him about running the bill before the legislative session as a way to protect proprietary business interests.

Snow said he also received a call from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints with interest in the bill and a possible desire to support it. The church issued a statement Tuesday backing the measure.

"Church representatives have spoken with legislators to express support for (HB330), which is intended to protect the confidentiality of sensitive private conversations, including those between ecclesiastical leaders and their members," according to LDS Church spokesman Eric Hawkins.

"In other states, business, legal, religious and law enforcement organizations have supported similar laws to safeguard confidential conversations for the same reasons."

Snow said although he didnt ask the church, he assumed or speculated that its interest is to protect confidential conversations, or privileged conversations under the law, between an ecclesiastical leader and a member of a congregation.

The bill has implications beyond religion.

Journalists and others routinely record politicians in interviews or in public settings. The bill makes an exception for recording public officials and public employees in the performance of their official duties.

Snow said he knows that when he's acting as a legislator there is always the possibility he is being recorded.

"I think that it's important that the bill not chill or interfere with the right of the public to have access to that information when that political person or officeholder is acting in that capacity," he said.

Snow said he didn't think about how political candidates might fall into that same category, but he sees how they could. He said they're not in the same situation as someone sitting at home or in an office who might have a higher expectation of privacy.

Other exemptions include instances where the person making the recording believes the conversation involves harassment or abuse, threats of extortion, blackmail, bodily harm or injury, or likely to be fraudulent or obscene.

BYU journalism professor Joel Campbell said he understands the issue the LDS Church has raised, but he described the bill as an overly broad approach to resolving it.

"Will it really do what the church wants it to do?" said Campbell, adding he's not speaking on behalf of the university, which is owned by the LDS Church. "There's probably a way to specifically do what the church wants to do, but I don't think this is the way to do it."

The measure could be more narrowly focused, while preserving protections to democracy, he said, citing cases of whistleblowers or others who might provide secret recordings to the media. He wonders if reporters would be barred from publishing that information under the proposed law.

Salt Lake media attorney Jeff Hunt said the legislation should include an exception for whistleblowers and news-gathering.

"The bill does raise serious concerns regarding news gathering by the media, in particular with respect to TV news outlets," he said.

Sometimes hidden cameras are the only way to obtain information about a fraudulent operation, he said. The bill, Hunt said, would stop that kind of reporting.

Snow, a lawyer, said he's getting some pushback from his own profession. Attorneys have told him they don't necessarily record their clients but do record conversations with opposing counsel, he said.

Utah law allows a person to record a conversation without telling the other party or parties. Only 12 states require consent of all parties involved.
Adolescents with type 1 diabetes are more likely to have higher HbA1c levels if they experience diabetes-related distress, new research reports.

The findings highlight the importance of clinical support for young people with type 1 diabetes and why effective interventions are pivotal to improving their diabetes control.

Scientists from the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes, Melbourne, Australia examined data from 450 adolescents aged 13-19, all of whom had type 1 diabetes. They answered questionnaires on well-being and quality of life, and had their depressive symptoms assessed.

Teenagers with higher levels of diabetes distress had higher average HbA1c levels, independent of symptoms of depression.

The mean HbA1c among the participants was 65 mmol/mol (8.1%), with 21% reporting moderate to severe depressive symptoms and 36% reporting high diabetes distress.

Lead author Virginia Hagger, RN-CDE, MPH told Endocrine Today: A greater proportion of adolescents reported elevated diabetes-related emotional distress, which in our study was more relevant to clinical outcomes than depression.

For example, negative emotions about diabetes may lead to avoiding checking blood glucose or attending to diabetes while at school. Frustration or feeling guilty about self-care may increase distress.

Hagger concluded by stating the importance of clinicians asking adolescent patients about any problems they face with their diabetes, and what management aspects they find most difficult.

Effective interventions to prevent and reduce diabetes distress in adolescents are needed, she said. Adolescents are not easy to engage in self-management programs, so designing and evaluating effective, brief strategies that clinicians and/or parents can routinely implement is needed.

The findings appear online in the journal Pediatric Diabetes.
Xiaomi will begin its onslaught of smartphones in 2018 from the 14th of February. The Chinese upstart has sent out media invites for an event on Valentine's Day dropping major hints at a Redmi phone with the number '5' as the keyword. It now more than a year that the Redmi Note 4, which has been Xiaomi's best-selling smartphone in India in 2017 and the moment is ripe for the successor of the budget king to arrive.

Now, there were rumours that Xiaomi could discontinue the Redmi Note lineup of phones last year, but a post on the Mi Community back in January claimed the Redmi Note 5 was being tested internally and Xiaomi could be looking for a launch in the second quarter of 2018. Now that the invite is here, were fairly certain it is indeed going to be the Redmi Note 5.

However, the mid-range smartphone landscape has changed a lot since the time the Redmi Note 4 came into the market. Same time last year, the Redmi Note 4 was the undisputed king of budget phones. With a mid-range Snapdragon chipset and a well-optimised interface, the Redmi Note 4 sold like hot cakes. The phone was followed by the Moto G5 Plus, Xiaomi own Mi A1 and more recently the Honor 7X and the Honor 9 Lite, among a lot of other contenders.

As a result, the Redmi Note 5, when it will launch eventually, might not be quite groundbreaking like its predecessor. There is no Redmi Note 5 in China, yet. Xiaomis previous record state it is likely going to draw inspiration from an offering launched in China recently. The Mi A1 was a re-imagination of the Mi 5X while the Redmi Note 4 was the Redmi 4X in China. Going by the same argument, its safe to assume the Redmi Note 5 will also be based on a recently launched phone by the company in China. Which brings us to ponder. Is it going to be the Redmi 5, or the Redmi 5 Plus?

Xiaomi launched the Redmi 5 and the Redmi 5 Plus in December 2017 in China. The company even upgraded the Redmi 5 with 4GB of RAM in China just last week. We are speculating this is going to be the Redmi Note 5 in India. In fact, we believe there are going to be two variants of the Redmi Note 5 with the higher variant sporting a dual camera stack like the Redmi 5 Plus.

Based on that speculation, we are listing the probable specs and features to expect in the upcoming Redmi Note 5.

18:9 Display

Xiaomi is one of the few remaining companies which doesnt have the taller 18:9 display in a mid-range phone. Its close competitor Honor has flooded the market with taller, brighter displays and the Honor 7X and the Honor 9 Lite are one of the most popular phones in the market right now. Knowing Xiaomi and its tendency to undercut its rivals, the Redmi Note 5 could also sport the taller, thinner panels with 18:9 aspect ratio with full HD+ resolution. Both the Redmi 5 and the Redmi 5 Plus sport the newer univisium display, of 5.7-inch and 5.99-inch respectively.

The Redmi Note 5 is also expected to sport minimal bezels around the edges and could have a similar aluminium unibody design like the Redmi Note 4.

Mid-range hardware

The Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 set the trend of using the energy-efficient Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset in mid-range phones. That was a welcome upgrade over the previous Snapdragon 650 in the earlier Redmi Note 3. The Snapdragon 625 ensured the battery life extended well over a day without compromising on the performance. Xiaomi could very well do it again by powering the Redmi Note 5 with a newer mid-range Snapdragon chipset, likely the Snapdragon 660.

However, if you look at the specs of the Redmi 5 and the Redmi 5 Plus, they are powered by the Snapdragon 450 and the same Snapdragon 625 respectively. The SD450 is an entry-level chipset but quite powerful among its peers, and the SD625 needs no introduction. If this is indeed the case in the Redmi Note 5, it could very well be a little underwhelming, but not entirely unlikely.

Considering how most mid-range phones these days ship with at least 4GB of RAM, the Redmi Note 5 could also sport the same. At a minimum. We wouldnt be surprised if we see a 6GB variant of the phone.

Dual Cameras

Dual cameras, which are now a common sight in mid-range and even entry-level phones could very well adorn the back of the Redmi Note 5. However, neither the Redmi 5, nor the Redmi 5 Plus sport dual cameras at the back, which we are hoping will not be repeated in India. The market has evolved a lot since the Redmi Note 4, and phones like the Honor 9 Lite offer not two, but four cameras for the price of Rs 10,000. With Xiaomi having some catching up to do, it better not disappoint its fans with a single camera at the back. Only time will tell.

MIUI 9

This is a given. Xiaomi announced the MIUI 9 with the Mi Mix 2 and phones as old as the Redmi Note 3 has been updated to the latest MIUI version. So its all but confirmed that the Redmi Note 5 will be powered by the latest version of Xiaomis interface. Despite updating the MIUI version in some phones, Xiaomi refrained from giving the latest Android version in the phones. MIUI 9 doesnt mean the phone will have Android 8.0 Oreo, although, if Xiaomi wants to snatch back the crown, it should ship the phone with Android Oreo out of the box.

Pricing

The Redmi Note 4, when it launched, was priced at Rs 9,999 while the higher variant went all the way up to Rs 12,999. There was even a middle variant with 3GB RAM and 32GB of storage at Rs 10,999. Knowing Xiaomis ability to undercut the competition, we wouldnt be surprised if Xiaomi launches the Redmi Note 5 for as low as Rs 8,999 going all the way up to Rs 10,999. We are only guessing here. Its likely that the prices will remain unchanged, but we sure hope they go down.
Samsung is all set to unveil its 2018 flagship smartphones, the Galaxy S9 and the S9 Plus during the MWC 2018. There have only been speculations and rumours of how much the devices will cost. However, a TechRadar report claims that the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will cost 100 Pounds more than its predecessors, citing an insider source. Evan Blass has also tweeted press renders of the smartphone in Lilac Purple variant ahead of the event, revealing the design and reaffirms the rumours that only the Galaxy S9 Plus will feature dual rear cameras.

The smartphones are expected to be priced 100 Pounds (Rs 8,000 approx) higher than their predecessors. According to the report, the Galaxy S9 could be priced around 789 Pounds (Rs 70,450 approx). "You can expect the S9 to cost 100 more than the Galaxy S8 when it was released last year," said TechRadars source. "The truth is that last year's massively inflated smartphone prices on handsets like the S8, Note 8 and iPhone X have shown that there are plenty of people out there willing to pay these higher prices."

The Galaxy S9 /S9 Plus are rumoured to launch in Midnight Black, Titanium Gray, and Coral Blue variants and the new leaked press renders suggest that it will also come in Lilac Purple color model. There are fewer changes to the smartphones in terms of design, compared with their predecessors, however, the rear placed fingerprint scanner has been repositioned beneath the camera and as mentioned above, only the Galaxy S9 plus seems to sport dual cameras at the back.

As per a previous report, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will be backed by 3,000mAh and 3,500mAh batteries, similar to the Galaxy S8 and S8+ respectively. The smartphones are also expected to come with variable aperture technology, which was first used on Samsungs China exclusive flip phone, the W2018. There are also rumours that the smartphone could support video recording at 1000fps.

In terms of specifications, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus could feature the same 18.5:9 aspect ratio displays with a 5.65-inch and a 6.1-inch display respectively. The devices are expected to be powered by the Octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and will most likely run on Android 8.0 Oreo. CAD renders of the smartphones reveal a thin-bezel design and a rear placed fingerprint sensor. You can read more about the smartphones here.
The Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:

- Liam McLoughlin, Aughera, Teelin

- PJ Grant, Drumgun, Donegal Town

- Carmel Sweeney, Gortahork formerly of Ballyconnell, Falcarragh

- Prionnsias Carr, Bridgend, Kilcar

- Michael Sweeney, Ard Crone, Falcarragh

- Margaret Arthur, Trentamucklagh, St. Johnston

- Bobby Stewart, Moyra, Falcarragh

- Ellen Caffrey (nee McBrearty), Ardara and formerly Kilcar

- Rose O'Donnell, Letterkenny Road, Convoy.

- Anthony Martin, Donegal and Dublin

- Liam Reilly, Chapel Road, Dungloe

- Daniel Gallagher, Craigadoes, St. Johnston

- Sheila Ward, Caravan Road, Dungloe

- James Friel (Snr), Raphoe and formerly of Mountaintop, Letterkenny

- Daniel Gallagher, Craigadoes , St Johnston

- Michael McGeever, Meenacladdy, Cnoc Fola

- Michael McGeever, Meenacladdy, Cnoc Fola

Liam McLoughlin, Aughera, Teelin

The death has taken place of Liam McLoughlin, Aughera, Teelin. Removal from Sligo University Hospital on Wednesday at 4:30pm arriving to Carrick Church at 7pm. Funeral mass on Thursday morning at 11am with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

PJ Grant, Drumgun, Donegal Town

The death has occurred of PJ Grant, Drumgun, Donegal town.

Funeral arrangements to be announced later.

All enquiries to Jackie Carron Funeral Director on 087 9734000.

Carmel Sweeney, Gortahork formerly of Ballyconnell, Falcarragh

The death has occurred of Carmel Sweeney of Gortahork, formerly Ballyconnell, Falcarragh.

Her remains are reposing at The Eternal Light Chapel of Rest, Mountain Top Letterkenny with viewing Tuesday from 1pm to 2pm.

Removal from there at 2pm going to Christ The King Church, Gortahork with viewing until 7pm. Rosary at 7pm.

Rosary on Wednesday 7th February at 7.30pm. Funeral Mass on Thursday 8th February at 11am at Christ the King Church, Gortahork with burial afterward in St Finians Cemetery, Falcarragh.

No flowers please, Enquiries to Gallagher Funeral Directors.

Prionnsias Carr, Bridgend, Kilcar

The death has occurred of Prionnsias Carr, Bridgend, Kilcar.

Removal from Harbour Lights Nursing Home, Killybegs Tuesday, 6th February at 5.30pm to arrive at his residence at 6pm.

Removal from there on Friday, February 9th at 11.30am for Funeral Mass in St Carthas Church, Kilcar at 12 noon with burial afterward in Kilcar Cemetery

House Private both nights from 11pm to 11am.

Michael Sweeney, Ard Crone, Falcarragh

The death has taken place at Letterkenny University Hospital of Michael Sweeney, Ard Crone House, Falcarragh.

His remains are arriving at St Fionnans Church Falcarragh for 6pm Wednesday, February 7th to repose overnight.

Funeral mass on Thursday, February 8th at 12 noon with burial afterwards in the nearby cemetery.

House strictly private.

Margaret Arthur, Trentamucklagh, St. Johnston

The death has taken place at Brentwood Manor Nursing Home, Convoy, of Margaret Arthur, Trentamucklagh, St. Johnston.

Reposing at her daughter Pearl Arthurs residence, Trentaboy, Drumkeen.

Funeral from there on Wednesday, February 7th at 1pm for service in St. Eunan's Cathedral, Raphoe at 2pm and burial afterwards in the family plot at Toughboyne Parish Church, Carrigans.

Family time from 11pm to 11am.

Family flowers only. Donations, if desired, to Alzheimers Association, Donegal Branch care of Gibson Funeral Directors, Convoy.

Bobby Stewart, Moyra, Falcarragh

The death has taken place in Letterkenny University Hospital of Bobby Stewart, Moyra, Falcarragh, formerly Flat Roof, Fagher, Dunfanaghy.

His remains will be reposing at his late residence in Moyra from 5pm to 10pm on Tuesday and from 12noon to 8pm on Wednesday.

House private on the morning of the funeral.

Funeral Service in Holy Trinity Church, Horn Head Road, Dunfanaghy on Thursday at 2pm. Burial afterwards in Ballymore Cemetery.

Family flowers only. Donations in lieu will be donated to charity, c/o any family member or Harkin's Funeral Director, Creeslough.

Ellen Caffrey (nee McBrearty) Gortnacart, Ardara and formerly Kilcar

The death has taken place at St Eunan's Nursing Home, Letterkenny of Ellen Caffrey (nee McBrearty) Gortnacart, Ardara and formerly Kilcar.

Her remains will repose at Shovlins Funeral Home Sandfield on Tuesday evening from 4pm with rosary at 8pm followed by removal to her residance in Gortnacart at 8.30pm.

Funeral from there on Thursday morning at 10.15am to The Church of the Holy Famil, Ardara for 11am requim Mass with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

House private at the request of the deceased. Family flowers only. Donations in lieu if desired to St Eunan's Nursing Home c/o any family member.

Rose ODonnell, Letterkenny Road, Convoy

The death has taken place at Brinley Manor Nursing Home, Convoy of Rose O Donnell, formerly of Letterkenny Road, Convoy.

Reposing at Gibson Funeral Home. Removal on Tuesday at 4pm going to St. Marys Church, Convoy to repose overnight.

Funeral Mass on Wednesday at 10am with burial afterwards in the family plot in Drumkeen Cemetery.

Anthony Martin, Donegal and Dublin

The death has occurred of Anthony (Tony) Martin, late of Donegal and Dublin.

Reposing at 72 Amiens Street on Wednesday, February 7 from 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock. Funeral on Thursday, February 8, in Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Walkinstown arriving for Mass at 10 o'clock. followed by cremation in Mount Jerome Crematorium. Donations, if desired, to Inner City Helping Homeless donation box in church.

Further enquiries to Murphy Funeral Directors 018484444.

Liam Reilly, Chapel Road, Dungloe

The death has taken place at Letterkenny University Hospital of Liam Reilly, Chapel Road, Dungloe.

His remains are reposing in McGlynn Funeral Home.

Viewing on Tuesday, February 6th from 11am with rosary at 9pm.

Funeral Mass on Wednesday, February 7th in St Cronas Church, Dungloe at 1pm with interment afterward in adjoining cemetery.

Daniel Gallagher, Craigadoes, St. Johnston

The sudden death has taken place at his home of Daniel Gallagher, Craigadoes, St Johnston.

Reposing at his late residence Monday, February 5th from 7pm.

Funeral leaving his home on Wednesday morning, February 7th at 10.20am. for Requiem Mass in St Baithins Church, St Johnston at 11am.

Interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Family time please from 11pm to 11am.

Sheila Ward, Caravan Road, Dungloe

The death has occurred in Dungloe District Hospital of Sheila Ward, Caravan Road, Dungloe.

Her remains are reposing at her home.

Funeral Mass on Wednesday morning, February 7th at 11am in St Cronas Church, Dungloe with interment afterward in the adjoining cemetery.

Family time please from 11pm to 10am and also private on the morning of the funeral.

Family flowers only. Donations in lieu to the Dungloe Patients Comfort Fund c/o any family member or Shaun McGlynn Funeral Directors, Dungloe.

James Friel (Snr), Raphoe and formerly of Mountain Top, Letterkenny

The death has occurred in Lifford Hospital of James Friel (Snr) Tullyvinny, Raphoe formerly Bohurl, Mountain Top, Letterkenny.

His remains are reposing at Tullyvinney.

Funeral from there on Wednesday morning, February 7th at 10.30am going to St. Eunans Church, Raphoe for 11am requiem mass with burial afterwards in Ramelton, in St. Marys Chruch Cemetery.

Family flowers only, donations in lieu if desired to Lifford Hospital Patients Comfort Fund c/o Kelly Funeral Directors, Oakfield, Raphoe or any family member.

Family time from 10pm to 11am.

Michael McGeever, Meenacladdy, Cnoc Fola

The death has taken place of Michael Mc Geever of Meenacladdy, Cnoc Fola.

Remains reposing at his late residence. Rosary Tuesday night at 9pm. Funeral from there on Wednesday, February 7th for 11am Requiem Mass in St Colmcille's Church, Knockfola, with burial afterwards in the adjacent cemetery.

Should you wish to have a death notice included on our website, contact us with the details via this email address: editorial@donegaldemocrat.com Please include a contact number for verification.
The Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:

- Patsy Mc Hugh, Drimnacullion, Inver

- James (Dano) Quike, Terramount, Rathcormac, Cork and Letterkenny

- Liam McLoughlin, Aughera, Teelin

- PJ Grant, Drumgun, Donegal Town

- Carmel Sweeney, Gortahork formerly of Ballyconnell, Falcarragh

- Prionnsias Carr, Bridgend, Kilcar

- Michael Sweeney, Ard Crone, Falcarragh

- Margaret Arthur, Trentamucklagh, St. Johnston

- Bobby Stewart, Moyra, Falcarragh

- Ellen Caffrey (nee McBrearty), Ardara and formerly Kilcar

- Rose O'Donnell, Letterkenny Road, Convoy.

- Anthony Martin, Donegal and Dublin

- Liam Reilly, Chapel Road, Dungloe

- Daniel Gallagher, Craigadoes, St. Johnston

- Sheila Ward, Caravan Road, Dungloe

- James Friel (Snr), Raphoe and formerly of Mountaintop, Letterkenny

- Daniel Gallagher, Craigadoes , St Johnston

- Michael McGeever, Meenacladdy, Cnoc Fola

- Michael McGeever, Meenacladdy, Cnoc Fola

Patsy Mc Hugh, Drimnacullion, Inver

The death has taken place of Patsy McHugh, Drimnacullion, Inver. Remains will be reposing at his late residence today from 10am until 10pm, removal from there on Thursday morning to the Church of the Sacred Heart Mountcharles, for 11am funeral mass with burial afterwards in the adjoining churchyard. Family flowers only donations in lieu if so desired to Donegal Hospice c/o Gallaghers Funeral Home Mountcharles or any family member. A one way system will operate at the wake, entry at Inver Bridge via Keelogs and exit at Menagran on the Glenties road.

James (Dano) Quike, Terramount, Rathcormac, Cork and Letterkenny

The death has occurred of James (Dano) Quirke, Terramount, Rathcormac, Cork and Letterkenny.

Reposing at Ronayne's Funeral Home, Fermoy, Thursday from 5pm. Prayers at 6.45.pm followed by removal to the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Rathcormac. Requiem Mass Friday at 2pm. Funeral afterwards to the local cemetery.



Liam McLoughlin, Aughera, Teelin

The death has taken place of Liam McLoughlin, Aughera, Teelin. Removal from Sligo University Hospital on Wednesday at 4:30pm arriving to Carrick Church at 7pm. Funeral mass on Thursday morning at 11am with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

PJ Grant, Drumgun, Donegal town

The death has occurred of PJ Grant, Drumgun, Donegal town.Reposing at his residence for family and friends only today from 2pm until 9pm and Thursday from 2pm until 9pm.

Removal on Friday morning at 10:15am to arrive at St Bridgets Church, Ballintra for 11am funeral Mass with cremation afterwards in Lakelands Crematorium,Co Cavan at 5pm. Family flowers only please, donations in lieu to Cancer Care West, Inis Aoibhinn House, University Hospital Galway. House strictly private on Friday morning

Carmel Sweeney, Gortahork formerly of Ballyconnell, Falcarragh

The death has occurred of Carmel Sweeney of Gortahork, formerly Ballyconnell, Falcarragh.

Her remains are reposing at The Eternal Light Chapel of Rest, Mountain Top Letterkenny with viewing Tuesday from 1pm to 2pm.

Removal from there at 2pm going to Christ The King Church, Gortahork with viewing until 7pm. Rosary at 7pm.

Rosary on Wednesday 7th February at 7.30pm. Funeral Mass on Thursday 8th February at 11am at Christ the King Church, Gortahork with burial afterward in St Finians Cemetery, Falcarragh.

No flowers please, Enquiries to Gallagher Funeral Directors.

Prionnsias Carr, Bridgend, Kilcar

The death has occurred of Prionnsias Carr, Bridgend, Kilcar.

Remains reposing at his late residence.

Removal from there on Friday, February 9th at 11.30am for Funeral Mass in St Carthas Church, Kilcar at 12 noon with burial afterward in Kilcar Cemetery

House Private both nights from 11pm to 11am.

Michael Sweeney, Ard Crone, Falcarragh

The death has taken place at Letterkenny University Hospital of Michael Sweeney, Ard Crone House, Falcarragh.

His remains are arriving at St Fionnans Church Falcarragh for 6pm Wednesday, February 7th to repose overnight.

Funeral mass on Thursday, February 8th at 12 noon with burial afterwards in the nearby cemetery.

House strictly private.

Margaret Arthur, Trentamucklagh, St. Johnston

The death has taken place at Brentwood Manor Nursing Home, Convoy, of Margaret Arthur, Trentamucklagh, St. Johnston.

Reposing at her daughter Pearl Arthurs residence, Trentaboy, Drumkeen.

Funeral from there on Wednesday, February 7th at 1pm for service in St. Eunan's Cathedral, Raphoe at 2pm and burial afterwards in the family plot at Toughboyne Parish Church, Carrigans.

Family time from 11pm to 11am.

Family flowers only. Donations, if desired, to Alzheimers Association, Donegal Branch care of Gibson Funeral Directors, Convoy.

Bobby Stewart, Moyra, Falcarragh

The death has taken place in Letterkenny University Hospital of Bobby Stewart, Moyra, Falcarragh, formerly Flat Roof, Fagher, Dunfanaghy.

His remains will be reposing at his late residence in Moyra from 5pm to 10pm on Tuesday and from 12noon to 8pm on Wednesday.

House private on the morning of the funeral.

Funeral Service in Holy Trinity Church, Horn Head Road, Dunfanaghy on Thursday at 2pm. Burial afterwards in Ballymore Cemetery.

Family flowers only. Donations in lieu will be donated to charity, c/o any family member or Harkin's Funeral Director, Creeslough.

Ellen Caffrey (nee McBrearty) Gortnacart, Ardara and formerly Kilcar

The death has taken place at St Eunan's Nursing Home, Letterkenny of Ellen Caffrey (nee McBrearty) Gortnacart, Ardara and formerly Kilcar.

Remains reposing at her late residence.

Funeral from there on Thursday morning at 10.15am to The Church of the Holy Famil, Ardara for 11am requim Mass with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

House private at the request of the deceased. Family flowers only. Donations in lieu if desired to St Eunan's Nursing Home c/o any family member.

Rose ODonnell, Letterkenny Road, Convoy

The death has taken place at Brinley Manor Nursing Home, Convoy of Rose O Donnell, formerly of Letterkenny Road, Convoy.

Reposing at Gibson Funeral Home. Removal on Tuesday at 4pm going to St. Marys Church, Convoy to repose overnight.

Funeral Mass on Wednesday at 10am with burial afterwards in the family plot in Drumkeen Cemetery.

Anthony Martin, Donegal and Dublin

The death has occurred of Anthony (Tony) Martin, late of Donegal and Dublin.

Reposing at 72 Amiens Street on Wednesday, February 7 from 4 o'clock to 6 o'clock. Funeral on Thursday, February 8, in Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Walkinstown arriving for Mass at 10 o'clock. followed by cremation in Mount Jerome Crematorium. Donations, if desired, to Inner City Helping Homeless donation box in church.

Further enquiries to Murphy Funeral Directors 018484444.

Liam Reilly, Chapel Road, Dungloe

The death has taken place at Letterkenny University Hospital of Liam Reilly, Chapel Road, Dungloe.

His remains are reposing in McGlynn Funeral Home.

Viewing on Tuesday, February 6th from 11am with rosary at 9pm.

Funeral Mass on Wednesday, February 7th in St Cronas Church, Dungloe at 1pm with interment afterward in adjoining cemetery.

Daniel Gallagher, Craigadoes, St. Johnston

The sudden death has taken place at his home of Daniel Gallagher, Craigadoes, St Johnston.

Reposing at his late residence Monday, February 5th from 7pm.

Funeral leaving his home on Wednesday morning, February 7th at 10.20am. for Requiem Mass in St Baithins Church, St Johnston at 11am.

Interment afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Family time please from 11pm to 11am.

Sheila Ward, Caravan Road, Dungloe

The death has occurred in Dungloe District Hospital of Sheila Ward, Caravan Road, Dungloe.

Her remains are reposing at her home.

Funeral Mass on Wednesday morning, February 7th at 11am in St Cronas Church, Dungloe with interment afterward in the adjoining cemetery.

Family time please from 11pm to 10am and also private on the morning of the funeral.

Family flowers only. Donations in lieu to the Dungloe Patients Comfort Fund c/o any family member or Shaun McGlynn Funeral Directors, Dungloe.

James Friel (Snr), Raphoe and formerly of Mountain Top, Letterkenny

The death has occurred in Lifford Hospital of James Friel (Snr) Tullyvinny, Raphoe formerly Bohurl, Mountain Top, Letterkenny.

His remains are reposing at Tullyvinney.

Funeral from there on Wednesday morning, February 7th at 10.30am going to St. Eunans Church, Raphoe for 11am requiem mass with burial afterwards in Ramelton, in St. Marys Chruch Cemetery.

Family flowers only, donations in lieu if desired to Lifford Hospital Patients Comfort Fund c/o Kelly Funeral Directors, Oakfield, Raphoe or any family member.

Family time from 10pm to 11am.

Michael McGeever, Meenacladdy, Cnoc Fola

The death has taken place of Michael Mc Geever of Meenacladdy, Cnoc Fola.

Remains reposing at his late residence. Rosary Tuesday night at 9pm. Funeral from there on Wednesday, February 7th for 11am Requiem Mass in St Colmcille's Church, Knockfola, with burial afterwards in the adjacent cemetery.

Should you wish to have a death notice included on our website, contact us with the details via this email address: editorial@donegaldemocrat.com Please include a contact number for verification.
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A group of 20 traders from Church Street held a meeting in Sean's Tavern yesterday to discuss "oversights" in Louth County Council's regeneration plans for Clanbrassil Street and St. Nicholas Quarter.

Anthony Kieran and Joanne Lavelle at the Bridge Street and Church street shop owners and residents meeting

Joanne Lavelle of Michael Lavelle Estate Agents and a spokesperson for the Bridge St. traders explained how traders from Church Street, Bridge Street, and Linen Hall Street have banded together to voice their "deep concern for the proposed plans impact on traders".

Under Louth County Council's regeneration plans, there are currently 154 parking spaces running from Clanbrassil Street to the end of Bridge Street. The new plans will reduce the number of parking spaces by 18 spaces to 136 according to Louth County Council.

However, the traders say that according to their own count, it would mean a loss of 25 parking spaces for Church Street.

Following the meeting, Joanne reported: Our main issues are with traffic flow and parking. We need to protect our town centre. All of the businesses in this area (Church Street) rely on people making short stops and so access to parking is critical."

Of course the street improvements are very welcome, but it all has to work properly, Ms Lavelle added.

Michael Finnegan, owner of The Camelot and Sean's Tavern, organised the meeting yesterday afternoon. The publican has serious concerns about the loss of parking spaces along Church Street and thinks that the traffic flow problems which could arise as part of the new design will "affect the whole town".

Mr. Finnegan said: "There is a loss of 18 parking spaces, but the majority of these are solely on Church Street.

"Church Street has plenty of well-established businesses. Local people, particularly the elderly, need to be able to park their cars on the street and pop in to do their messages.



"I would regularly have people popping into the Camelot. I have one customer, a lady, who would get a taxi every week to have a cup of tea and a chat. But with the redesign, there will be no spaces for taxis to pull up."

The established Church Street trader added: "We're not objecting to the development, we just want to point out some oversights that need to be amended."



Another point the Church Street trader noted was that the narrowing of the roads could make it more difficult for larger vehicles, such as busses from the nearby bus depot to turn safely.



He also noted the placements of the new zebra crossings in inconvenient places would lead to "health and safety issues" for people, and particularly elderly people, crossing the roads on Church Street and Bridge Street.

"My main concerns are for the lack of parking in the area and road management issues resulting from the new design, Michael concluded.

Michael Finnegan at the meeting

As the meeting drew to a close Joanne Lavelle told The Dundalk Democrat that the group will work together in order to get the right plan for Dundalk town centre.



She said: We are all working together now. We want to make sure that the redesign plans are right because it will be for the benefit of everyone.



"We plan to engage with our elected representatives and share with them our concerns and observations on this plan. We want to ensure that the voices of the community of traders, residents from the St. Nicholas Quarter area, and the general public, are heard to get the plan right for Dundalk."

The traders have until the end of Feburary to voice their plans to Louth County Council before the plans start going ahead. A group of 20 people, made up of traders and residents from Church Street, also attended a meeting on Tuesday afternoon. The group plan to bring the concerns to Louth County Council representatives at a meeting on Thursday evening.

Our plan now is to study, engage, observe, Joanne explained.

Seamus Spate giving a presentation at the Church St and Bridge Street Shop owners and residents meeting

A planning notice posted by Louth County Council in the Town Hall last week said: "Louth County Council hereby gives notice of its intention to carry out public realm improvement works located generally along Clanbrassil St, Church St, Bridge St, Linenhall St, Northgate St, Fairgreen Rd at junctions with Market St, Yorke St, Patrick St, John St, The Laurels and Wolfe Tone Terrace.



The proposed plans for these areas include improvement to footpaths, "the provision of an urban public open space with wider footpaths, planting and seating between the Saint Nicholas Church of Ireland and the Saint Nicholas Roman Catholic Church", improved pedestrian crossings and the inclusion of street furniture and public art.
There must be no backtracking on the British Government's committment that no hard border will be imposed in the wake of Brexit, Fianna Fail TD Declan Breathnach has said.

The Deputy made his comments - in which he warned against complacency on the issue - on Wednesday after attending the Cross Border Conference on Brexit, hosted by Dundalk Chamber of Commerce in the Carrickdale Hotel.

The event - which saw Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney (pictured above with (l-r): Frank Pentony, Liam Hannaway, Paul Convery, Cllr Roisin Mulgrew Louth CoCo cathaoirleach Colm Markey, Michael Gaynor and Mary Meehan) speak to the assembled crowd - was geared towards helping business north and south of the border prepare for the UK's formal departure from the European Union.

Following the Phase 1 agreement before Christmas, the British Government gave a guarantee that no border controls would be imposed on the Ireland of island post-Brexit," Breathnach (below) said.

"This commitment needs to be honoured, and the Irish Government must work with our EU partners to ensure that there is absolutely no backtracking on this issue.

The UK Government are now preparing for Phase 2 trade negotiations and the Knockbridge native is insistent that the decision against a hard border cannot be reversed.

The imposition of a hard border would cause untold damage to border counties such as Louth. It would be a massive blow to the local economy and would cause serious hardship for people who live on one side of the border and work on the other," he continued.

"It would also represent a significant setback to the peace process. This has the potential to setback development in border areas by decades, and its vital that our Government works to ensure that Britain honours the commitments it made prior to Christmas.

Deputy Breathnach added; Im deeply concerned by the current commentary emanating from British politicians. They say that they want a close trading relationship with the European Union and no hard border on the island of Ireland.

"However at the same time they insist that they do not want to remain part of the Customs Union. You cannot have one without the other and this is something that the EU negotiators have stressed time and time again. However it seems the message is not sinking in in some quarters.

The Irish Government and our EU partners need to be tough with the British Government on this issue. We cannot allow any complacency to set in. No hard border can be allowed to emerge on the island of Ireland."

Wednesday's Brexit conference was hosted by Dundalk Chamber in conjunction with Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade, Louth Enterprise Office, Louth County Council and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council.
Scoil Mhuire gan Smal in Kilsaran are celebrating 125 years of educating local children this month.

To mark the celebration, the school are holding a dinner dance in Bellingham Castle on Friday the 16th of February.

Ruairi Mac Donaill, the principal, says that the school has a rich history. I was reading a book about the local area and there was a chapel school here as far back as 1822, I am not sure who that was run by, most likely a religious group who taught some reading and writing, Mr Mac Donaill says.

In 1893, a school was built under the National School name, and thats who we are, he explains. That new school was built for 1000, and a teachers house was also built.

The school separate boys and girls, there was two pathways, separated by a wall so we assume that boys went one way and girls the other, Mr Mac Donaill says. This building was used well into the 1950s and 60s, and it was added to, he continues.

In 1986, what you would call a modern school was built, with more classrooms. This was constructed behind the old school, which was eventually demolished.

Scoil Mhuire gan Smal is also pioneering in its special educational needs (SEN) classes. In 2010, four purpose-built classrooms were built for the Rainbow classes, as they are known. Three of the classrooms are for children who are on the autism spectrum, and the fourth classroom is for children who have profound or severe disabilities.

In total, we have 24 pupils in our SEN classes, and the maximum per class in six, the principal explains. We introduced these classes back in 2003 or 2004 we would often have visitors from Leinster and even European countries to look at our facilities and to see how we run the classes, Mr Mac Donaill reveals. We had visitors from Lithuania recently. There are 200 pupils in the school in total.

The dinner dance at Bellingham Castle is nearly sold out, with 150 people already attending. All of the local community and businesses have gotten behind us, Mr Mac Donaill says. Past pupils, current pupils and staff, local families, and retired staff are all attending.

Mr Mac Donaill also mentions how it is fitting that the event will be held in Bellingham Castle. In the 1830s, and application was made by the old chapel school to the powers that be, I am not sure who they were at the time, and this was supported by Sir Arthur Bellingham, Mr Mac Donaill reveals.

Scoil Mhuire gan Smal are also hosting other events to commemorate their anniversary.

In April, we are putting the school records on display decade by decade, we have records that date back to 1893, says Mr Mac Donaill. People can trace back their family members on the role books. Mr Mac Donaill also says that the school has a record book of corporal punishments.

There is also a role book for cookery and laundry classes, which was taught to girls in 1915. I can actually go back to this date 100 years ago and see exactly what food was made, he says. This historical display will happen after Easter.

The school also has plans for the new academic year in September.

The Archbishop of Armagh is paying a special visit to the school on the 30th of September to say a celebratory mass. Also, in November we are planning a concert, that is in the early stages, Mr Mac Donaill admits.

We have an idea that the children could perform a piece of music from every decade, from 1890 up till the present decade, Mr Mac Donaill explains.

Scoil Mhuire gan Smal will certainly be celebrating their 125 years for a while to come.
Local Councillor Emma Coffey has spoken out against the challenges faced by asylum seekers who are restricted by Ireland's prohibitive employment laws.

In November 2017, the Irish Government lifted a ban which prevented asylum seekers from working whilst they were in Direct Provision and waiting on their refugee status.

The law was ruled as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in May and was lifted in November. However, many have argued that they new laws are just as restrictive.

Under current laws if an asylum seeker wants to enter PAYE employment, the job they apply for cannot be one that an EU citizen or a person who has been granted full migration permission can take up.

The asylum seeker also needs to obtain a 6  12-month work permit, which costs between 500 and 1,000 (paid by themselves or the employer) and then secure a job which pays more than 30,000 per year. The job cannot be in any of approximately 70 sectors which include retail, hospitality, social care and health.

At present, when an individual who is seeking asylum arrives in Ireland, they are also prohibited from accessing social welfare, bar a payment of 21.60 per week and State direct provision of bed and board.

Councillor Emma Coffey, who has had direct experience in dealing with asylum seekers as a solicitor said: The employment permit isn't going to work. Asylum seekers in Ireland are already living on very limited means - 21.60 per week. I think the work permit might as well cost 1 million because asylum seekers just don't have the 1,000 needed to obtain one.

The Louth Councillor said that she thought the work permit should be priced more reasonably at 100.

And the average industrial wage is not even near 30,000. In fact the average wage for unskilled work in Louth would be more in the region of 16,000, she added.

Cllr Coffey also pointed out that most asylum seekers want to be self-sufficient and get involved in Irish society by entering the workforce here.

And the Louth Cllr cited the current employment law as prohibitive. Councillor Coffey said: We really need to be realistic about these measures. At the moment, the costs are prohibitive. I feel the current act is just a box-ticking exercise, as opposed to one which is actually tackling the issue and making employment accessible for asylum seekers.



Ms Coffey continued: We have shortages in certain areas, such as in the service industry, so I don't understand why we have restrictions against asylum seekers working in areas like these. It would benefit the asylum seekers, and the state as a whole.

We have refugees coming in from places like Syria, and they are highly educated. And then have to go to another country where you cannot work in your own profession  it must be very hard for the families that come here. It's a very frustrating issue.

Speaking of the Irish Government's announcement that Ireland would take in 4,000 refugees over the next few years under the Irish Refugee Protection Programme Cllr Coffey said: We signed up to bring in a certain number of refugees, so we have to be able to manage those numbers. The Government needs to look at this whole situation, realistically.

We will accept 330 refugees this year fleeing war-zones in Syria, Yemen and some other states.

The current policies are just ticking boxes. Sometimes politicians need to be brave and stand up, but unfortunately, a lot of them are just interested in votes. We need change on this issue, the Louth Councillor concluded.
Local MEP Mairead McGuinness has welcomed two new additional seats for Ireland in the European Parliament from 2019 onwards.

The Ardee-native, the first Vice-President of the European Parliament, has reacted to the news that Ireland is to benefit in numbers from the withdrawal of 73 UK MEPs who will no longer sit in the Parliament from 2019.

The European Parliament this morning voted in favour of a reduction in the size of the Parliament from 751 to 705 seats for the 2019 elections.

Members of the European Parliament voted on Wednesday morning to accept a proposal to reduce the size of the Parliament by 46 seats - from 751 to 705.

That leaves a surplus of 27 positions to fill and this seats are being distributed among 14 different countries. While Ireland will be given two extra seats, France and Spain will receive five extra seats each. The Netherlands have received three more.

While acknowledging that her UK MEP colleagues will be missed, McGuinness said the EU was getting smaller so it was only right that the European Parliament should follow suit.

"Twenty-seven of the UK's 73 seats will be redistributed to member states to ensure fair representation in the 2019 elections, giving two additional seats for Ireland, which I strongly welcome," she said in a statement.

"Today's vote also acknowledges that the UK will not contest the 2019 elections. MEPs have recognised that as the EU is getting smaller, the European Parliament should also reduce in size."

"This is a time of change, arising from Brexit and with the UK leaving it is positive that there will be two additional Irish voices in the European Parliament, McGuinness said.

McGuinness paid tribute to many of the UK MEPs who will leave Brussels next year, remarking on their departure; "There will be no UK MEPs after the 2019 elections - many of them were excellent to work with across a wide policy platform. 

Local bookmaker Boylesports price the former broadcaster as 8/1 joint favourite to become the next President of Ireland after Michael D Higgins.




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Against the backdrop of a recent slide in bitcoin markets and a record drop in the U.S. financial markets, federal securities regulators and Senate Banking Committee members on Tuesday signaled that additional regulation may be necessary in the rapidly growing area of virtual currency.

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton said in testimony before the committee that virtual currency markets are initial coin offerings, or ICOs, that are trading globally, largely outside the scope of regulatory scrutiny.

While embracing innovation, the agency wants to ensure that Main Street cryptocurrency investors be provided the same level of protection that they would receive when trading standard securities.

"The cryptocurrency and ICO markets, while new, have grown rapidly, gained greater prominence in the public conscience and attracted significant capital from retail investors," Clayton told the committee.

There have been times in history when a rush to new investment vehicles has benefited the national economy as well as investors who bet on the right offering, he noted, "but when our laws are not followed, the risk to all investors are high and numerous, including risks caused by and related to poor, incorrect or nonexistent disclosure, volatility, manipulation, fraud and theft."

Clayton cited a recent study that showed 10 percent of proceeds from ICOs, or about US$400 million, have been lost to cyberattacks.

Wild West

Many cryptocurrency platforms are regulated by states under check cashing and money transmission services. However, Clayton and Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, last month warned that they too were keeping an eye on the virtual currency industry.

The SEC last month obtained a court order to block an alleged ICO scam by AriseBank, which promised to raise more than $600 million of a $1 billion goal in two months in what it promised was the world's first decentralized bank.

The court order froze the assets of the bank and appointed a receiver.

Giancarlo on Tuesday testified that regulators were considering a "do no harm" approach, comprised of improved consumer education and some increased regulation over data reporting, capital requirements, cybersecurity standards and measures to prevent fraud and manipulation.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., a member of the Banking Committee, raised concerns that bitcoin lacks inherent value, and no one knows where the true floor is located.

Shelby fears bitcoin and other virtual currencies "could cause systemic risk to our whole financial system," he said in a Bloomberg television interview.

Free Falling

The testimony came against the backdrop of a precipitous slide in bitcoin prices, which had fallen below $6,000 for the first time since mid-November, and were off nearly 70 percent from all-time highs recorded in December.

"Volatility is more digestible if the general direction is up," observed Jessica Groopman, industry analyst at Kaleido Insights.

Bitcoin's dramatic volatility, coupled with the uncertaintly of traditional financial markets, could precipitate a flurry of demands from central banks and governments, she told the E-Commerce Times.

There have been recent moves to crack down on virtual currency trading, Groopman noted, including plans for a joint effort to regulate the activity at the upcoming G20 summit, and an announcement last month that Facebook would ban cryptocurrency ads.

Even before Tuesday's hearing there were concerns about bitcoin trading and ICOs from federal agencies, said Gabriel Wang, an analyst at Aite Group.

China and other countries recently have moved to crack down on cryptocurrencies, he told the E-Commerce Times.

"Given what's happened most recently, I think it will be a surprise if we don't have more regulation in terms of who can set up bitcoin exchanges," Wang said.

Economist Nouriel Roubini has ripped the virtual currency market in recent days, calling them crypto-terrorists in a series of tweets and warning that the market would crash to zero.

Get Ready for Most Cryptocurrencies to Hit Zero, Goldman Says

Ouch!https://t.co/8PPz8nx92f  Nouriel Roubini (@Nouriel) February 7, 2018

Bitcoin is "a combination of a bubble, a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster," said Agustin Carstens, the new general manager of the Bank for International Settlements, in a speech in Frankfurt earlier on Tuesday.

However, investors were pleased by what they saw as a relatively light touch approach to regulation compared to the heightened fears of a crackdown, according to Ronnie Moes, founder of Standpoint Research.

The bad behavior of players at the lower end of the market is not going to get in the way of the more established leaders in the industry, he told the E-Commerce Times.

"I think the market has been overreacting to the headlines," Moes said. "Everything that happens with these penny names at the bottom of the barrel, and these ICOs -- I don't care about that."

David Jones is a freelance writer based in Essex County, New Jersey. He has written for Reuters, Bloomberg, Crain's New York Business and The New York Times.




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Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has launched Chronicle, a new cybersecurity venture, following two years of development at the Alphabet X research lab.

Cofounded by CEO Stephen Gillett and Chief Security Officer Mike Wiacek, Chronicle will operate as an independent unit. Gillett previously worked as executive in residence at Google Ventures and previously worked as chief operating officer at Symantec. Wiacek was the cofounder and manager of Google's Threat Analysis Group.

Chronicle will include VirusTotal, a Google-owned cybersecurity and intelligence platform and malware intelligence service. VirusTotal will continue to operate as an independent company, according to Bernardo Quintero, manager of the firm.

Faster Analysis

The idea behind Chronicle stems from the fact that many companies receive tens of thousands of security alerts per day, more than most teams can handle, Gillett said last week in an online post introducing the new firm. Typically, security teams can filter those alerts to a few thousand, and at best, review several hundred at a time.

One of the problems with analyzing threats is the sheer cost of storing relevant data, he noted.

"As a result, its pretty common for hackers to go undetected for months," Gillett wrote, "or for it to take a team months to fully understand what's going on once they've detected an issue."

Chronicle will be able to speed up the detection process by as much as 10 times, using the same infrastructure that is employed in other Alphabet programs, thus allowing those threats to be analyzed in minutes.

The firm has enlisted a number of Fortune 500 companies to test a preview release of Chronicle's new security intelligence platform, which is currently in alpha mode.

The Final Frontier

The real goal is to create an "immune system" for the digital world, allowing companies to predict future attacks rather than react after the damage has been done, wrote Alphabet X CEO Astro Teller, captain of moonshots, in an online post.

Chronicle will be the third company to emerge from the development lab, following autonomous driving startup Waymo and life sciences firm Verily, he noted.

Information Overload

Many enterprises lack the most current threat intelligence to process information in an effective way, said Brian Contos, CISO at Verodin.

"Intelligence becomes more like a lagging indicator," he told TechNewsWorld. "The malicious IPs, domains, URLs, Tor proxies and the like are constantly growing and moving."

If an enterprise is outsourcing most of its IT services, then Chronicle may be a good solution, observed Jim McGregor, principal analyst at Tirias Research.

"Google has performed an extensive amount of research on security threats and relies on improved security for its own platforms," he told TechNewsWorld, noting that Google researchers most recently unmasked the Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.

"Google is also a leader in AI research," McGregor said. "However, having everything local and a local AI solution may be the most secure solution."

The Chronicle launch is intriguing, said GreatHorn CEO Kevin O'Brien, though he wondered why Google previously had not woven that type of security into its core products.

"Google can bring a tremendous amount of data and design experience to bear on cybersecurity," he told TechNewsWorld. "However, cybersecurity is a domain for experts and layers of defense, and less frequently aspirational side projects."

David Jones is a freelance writer based in Essex County, New Jersey. He has written for Reuters, Bloomberg, Crain's New York Business and The New York Times.


Put a crowd of people in a room and its an odds-on bet that each one will have a different image of who, where and how a pair of denim jeans should be worn. From the iconic 1950s movie posters depicting James Dean as a rebel without a cause, to The Ramones standing against the grimy back-drop of 1970s New York, we can all draw different associations when it comes to denim.

However, todays market must think about sustainability, so isnt it about time the topic was much higher up in the pecking order? Jeans designer and all-round denim fanatic Jason Denham, founder and chief creative officer of designer brand 'Denham  The Jeanmaker', certainly thinks so, and says this rising awareness can help drive denim through its latest incarnation as a hot trend in fashion. Tony Whitfield reports.
The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, led by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), will hold a hearing Wednesday advancing its goals of repealing the Endangered Species Act and gutting the Clean Water Act.

The hearing will highlight testimony from industrial-scale agribusinesses and preview environmental attacks likely to be included in the 2018 Farm Bill, including exempting pesticides from the protections of the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act.

"It's really disturbing to see Barrasso and other Senate Republicans bending over backward to please polluters and the pesticide industry," said Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "The price will be dirtier rivers and streams, and more wildlife on the fast track toward extinction."

The pesticide industry is pushing sweeping legislation on Capitol Hill that would dismantle safeguards to protect endangered wildlife and continues to advance legislation to exempt pesticide users from the requirements of the Clean Water Act.

Meanwhile, at the request of Dow Chemical, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt reversed the recommendation of career scientists to ban the toxic insecticide chlorpyrifos, which is believed to cause birth defects in children. And following a National Marine Fisheries Service analysis that chlorpyrifos is putting 38 species of salmon and sturgeon on both coasts in jeopardy of extinction, Pruitt has announced that the EPA is rejecting recommendations to protect those endangered species.

Last month more than 250 organizations sent a letter to Congress urging them to reject the pesticide industry's attempt to eliminate Endangered Species Act protections from pesticides.

"Senator Barrasso is using this hearing as a smokescreen to eviscerate these vital conservation laws, stoking fears that we'll all starve to death if we don't jettison our environmental safeguards," said Hartl. "This is totally out of step with what the American people want. What a despicable sideshow."

Barrasso is one of the most anti-wildlife members of Congress. He has voted against the Endangered Species Act nearly a dozen times since 2011, and has sponsored nine separate legislative attacks on the Act in the past two years alone. This is despite the fact that nine out of 10 Americans want the Act strengthened or left unchanged by Congress, according to a 2015 poll.
Multiple states and conservation groups are legally challenging the Trump administration's decision to delay the Obama-era Clean Water Rule.

Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put a two-year suspension on the rule, also known as Waters of the United States (WOTUS), which protects large water bodies like lakes and rivers but also listed smaller waterways such as streams, ponds and wetlands for federal protection.

The decision to withdraw and replace WOTUS was advocated by industry groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Petroleum Institute, as well as Republican politicians and farmers, ranchers and real estate developers who viewed the rule as an infringement on property rights.

WOTUS was supposed to take effect in the coming weeks after the Supreme Court decided last month that cases regarding the matter should be heard by district courts. However, EPA administrator Scott Pruitt's action halted the rule from implementation to come up with a more industry-friendly alternative.

But environmentalists say the suspension will allow uncontrolled pollution and destruction of our nation's rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is leading a coalition of 11 Democratic attorneys general from California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and the District of Columbia to block the move.

In their suit filed in the Southern District of New York on Tuesday, the attorneys general charge that in suspending the Clean Water Rule the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated federal law by taking action "with inadequate public notice, insufficient record support and outside their statutory authority."

"Clean water is fundamental to New Yorkers' health, environment and economy," Schneiderman said. "The Trump Administration's suspension of the Clean Water Rule is clearly illegal, threatening New York's decades-long efforts to ensure our residents have access to safe, healthy water. We will fight back against this reckless rollback and the Trump administration's continued assault on our nation's core public health and environmental protections."

The Natural Resources Defense Council and the National Wildlife Federation filed in the New York southern district, contending that the Trump administration's attempt to prevent the enforcement of needed protections for lakes, rivers and wetlands, including streams that feed into the drinking water supplies of 117 million Americans.

Jon Devine, director of federal water policy and senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said: "These safeguards should be working to protect our nation's drinking water and recreation resources, but the Trump administration has instead pursued a rushed and illegitimate process to try and stop them."



"The administration's attack on clean water violates the law and runs roughshod over public concern about their waterways. It's dangerous and that's why we're going to court," Devine said.

Jan Goldman-Carter, director for wetlands and water resources for the National Wildlife Federation, added, "The American people have made it crystal clear they want to see our rivers and streams protected. They want to be able to fish in the local stream, swim in a nearby lake and turn on the tap and get a glass of safe, clean water to drink. The Clean Water Rule provides that protection and the Trump administration is working to take it away. We have no choice but to defend America's waterways in court."

The Southern Environmental Law Center also filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina.

"Clean water is a way of life we take for granted in this nation thanks to bipartisan laws passed almost 50 years ago, but large polluters now want to dismantle it all," said managing attorney Blan Holman. "The administration is pretending that pollution dumped upstream doesn't flow downstream, but their plan puts the water used by hundreds of millions of Americans for drinking, bathing, cooking and recreation at risk. We are going to court to protect clean water across the country."

The Southern Environmental Law Center filed the challenge on behalf of American Rivers, Clean Water Action, Defenders of Wildlife, Charleston Riverkeeper, Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, Coastal Conservation League, North Carolina Coastal Federation, North Carolina Wildlife Federation and One Hundred Miles.

In response to the lawsuits, the EPA said the 2015 rule never went into effect.

"It's worth noting that these lawsuits are over an embattled regulation that's been put on hold by the courts to prevent it from taking effect," EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox told The Hill. "Our delay rule will keep in place that status quo."
Coal miners and supporters, many of them members of the Navajo and Hopi tribes, rallied in Phoenix Tuesday to protest the impending shutdown of the West's largest coal-fired power plant.

While Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke expressed his continued support for keeping the Navajo Generating Station open in a brief statement Tuesday, owners of the plant say they still are planning to take it offline in 2019 due to price pressures from natural gas.

The future of the plant, which provides more than 800 jobs to primarily Navajo and Hopi workers as well as tribal royalties, has proved a flash point for national and regional energy policy and raised larger questions on how Native communities will handle ties to fossil fuel industries as the economy changes. "I understand, we understand, you understand the challenges," Navajo Nation Council Speaker LoRenzo Bates said in a speech at the rally. "There's your jobs, the revenue, the economy, the water, but it goes beyond that. If NGS does shut down ... those jobs are going to be very hard to replace."

As reported by the Arizona Republic:

"The plant is owned by SRP, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Arizona Public Service Co., NV Energy and Tucson Electric Power.

So far there are no publicly identified potential buyers for the coal plant. SRP officials say that without a buyer, they are beginning the shutdown, which will force Kayenta Mine to close as well.

'It's closing,' SRP President David Rousseau said. 'Absent a unicorn energy company dropping in ... '

Some of the speakers Tuesday said that President Donald Trump and Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke could help prevent the coal plant's closure.

But so far, the government has presented no plan to do so.

'We haven't gotten any indication the government is going to fund that kind of infrastructure investment,' SRP's Rousseau said.

For a deeper dive:

Protest: Arizona Republic, AP, Greenwire, KJZZ. Zinke: Washington Examiner

For more climate change and clean energy news, you can follow Climate Nexus on Twitter and Facebook, and sign up for daily Hot News.
As investors increasingly focus on the risk of climate change in their portfolios, a new report from Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) shows some oil and gas companies are exposing themselves to scrutiny by failing to adequately disclose meaningful information on emissions of methane, the heat-trapping pollutant that is drawing increased attention from the public.

The analysis demonstrates company reporting on methane has improved slightly, though unevenly, over the past two years since EDF first examined methane disclosure within the U.S. oil and gas industry in their report, Rising Risk. The quality of methane reporting has improved among the top companies, though 42 percent of the companies surveyed disclose nothing on their methane management practices.

Methanethe key component of natural gas and a greenhouse gas 84 times more potent than carbon dioxideis responsible for more than a quarter of the warming we are experiencing today and represents a fast-emerging, highly-potent form of carbon risk for investors.

"As a long-term global investor, we recognize that methane emissions are one of the most financially significant environmental risks we face," said Brian Rice, Portfolio Manager at CalSTRS, California's second largest public pension fund. "While the oil and gas industry has taken some steps to address this issue, CalSTRS sees opportunities for the industry to enhance its methane risk management and reporting efforts that simultaneously reduce atmospheric emissions and capture more natural gas by phasing out methane-emitting equipment, increasing training and designing new emissions-free systems."

The report, The Disclosure Divide: Revisiting Rising Risk and Methane Reporting in the U.S. Oil & Gas Industry, examines the current state of voluntary reporting on methane in the U.S. oil and gas sector. The authors surveyed publicly disclosed data and found of the 64 top upstream and midstream companies surveyed, only four companies report quantitative methane targets. Only nine companies report comprehensively on their leak detection and repair (LDAR) programs.

The report does show that investor engagement improves reporting. Five of the seven companies newly reporting on methane were targets of methane-disclosure shareholder resolutions during the past two years. The report also shows 82 percent of companies in voluntary initiatives provide some disclosure on methane.

Just Monday, XTO Energy, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil and one of North America's largest oil and gas producers, called on governments to regulate and reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. The analysis of company data includes public positions on methane regulation. With the addition of Exxon, there are now 10 companies, up from nine, who report a position.

Bright spots in the report include Southwestern Energy, which not only has a quantitative target, but is also committed to continuous improvement. Cimarex Energy received methane shareholder resolutions in 2016 and 2017, and has now started providing more transparent information about its methane management practices. And Noble Energy reports extensively on its LDAR program, and reports reducing over 1.5 billion cubic feet of methane in 2016.

Methane emissions from the oil and gas sector are viewed as a financially material issue for companies, and by extension, their investors. Every ton of methane allowed to escape represents not only a loss of sellable product, but also undercuts natural gas' climate benefits as a fuel source. A 2015 study by the Rhodium Group found that the sector loses $30 billion globally each year from leaked or vented methane at oil and gas facilities.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is clear that the future of the oil and gas industry is dependent on how they manage the methane risk. IEA says the industry can feasibly reduce up to 75 percent of its current methane emissions.

The report suggests that all companies should report on basic metrics, including emissions data, LDAR programs, positions on regulation, and targets. Leading companies should continue to raise the bar by bringing continuous improvement in disclosure and methane management. And investors and other industry stakeholders should continue and expand engagement, where constructive conversation could help close the disclosure divide.

"Investors are increasingly looking to support leading companies who effectively manage material ESG issues," said co-author Sean Wright of EDF+Business. "Our report shows which companies are becoming more transparent about methane management, and which are not. Investors will take note of this when making decisions."
The U.S. solar industry lost 9,800 jobs last year, the first decline ever recorded since 2010, according to The Solar Foundation's latest National Solar Jobs Census.

This 3.8 percent decline was driven by a number of factors, from a slowdown of utility-scale and residential solar installations to the industry's uncertainty over President Trump's tariffs on imported solar panels.

"After six years of rapid and steady growth, the solar industry faced headwinds that led to a dip in employment in 2017, including a slowdown in the pace of new solar installations," said Andrea Luecke, president and executive director at The Solar Foundation. Uncertainty over the outcome of the trade case also had a likely impact on solar jobs growth."

President Trump's decision last month to impose 30 percent tariffs on imported solar panels and related equipment was made to protect domestic manufacturers but was criticized by most of the solar industry. The Solar Energy Industries Association warned that the decision would effectively cause the loss of roughly 23,000 American jobs this year.

However, the sector remains positive about the long-term outlook.

"While the industry faces challenges ahead, including higher costs as a result of the new tariffs, the demand for low-cost, reliable, and sustainable energy shows no sign of slowing down," George Hershman, president of Swinerton Renewable Energy, said. "In the years ahead, we are confident that solar will continue to create jobs and grow local economies across the United States."

Lynn Jurich, the co-founder and CEO of Sunrun, noted that while the tariff "restrained the industry in recent months, the fact remains that solar energy is the lowest-cost, cleanest, most abundant and accessible energy source in the world."

The Solar Foundation report showed that the number of U.S. solar jobs boomed 168 percent in the past seven years, from about 93,000 jobs in 2010 to more than 250,000 jobs in 2017a trend that swamps other energy industries such as coal and nuclear energy.

Solar employs twice as many workers as the coal industry, almost five times as many as nuclear power, and nearly as many workers as the natural gas industry, the report found.

There are some other bright spots in The Solar Foundation's eighth annual report.

While the two states with the largest number of solar jobs nationwide saw a drop in employment (California by 14 percent, Massachusetts 21 percent), solar jobs increased in 29 other states and the District of Columbia last year. This includes states with emerging solar markets, such as Utah, Minnesota, Arizona, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Tennessee.

Minnesota governor Mark Dayton applauded the state's "strong commitment to clean energy" for its solar workforce growth of 48 percent last year.

"We will continue doing everything we can to protect our environment and our health, while building an even stronger clean energy economy in Minnesota," Dayton added.

Here are other key findings from the report:

Demand-side sectors (installation, sales & distribution, and project development) lost approximately 7,500 jobs in 2017, while the manufacturing sector lost about 1,200 jobs.

In the five-year period between 2012 and 2017, solar employment grew by 110 percent overall or 16 percent annually, adding 131,000 jobs. Within this period, solar employment grew nine times faster than the overall U.S. economy, and one in every 100 new jobs was a solar job.

Solar makes up just under 2 percent of overall U.S. energy generation, yet it employs twice as many workers as the coal industry, almost five times as many as nuclear power, and nearly as many workers as the natural gas industry. (These numbers are based on 2016 data, the most recent available for comparison between industries.)

Women made up 27 percent of the solar workforce in 2017, down 1 percent from 2016. Veterans made up 9 percent of solar workers, which is 2 percent more than the overall U.S. workforce.
When Michelle Andrews leaned over to talk to a disruptive 6th grader in her class, she says the student struck her in the face, causing Andrews neck to snap backwards.

The 2015 incident was scary, and it also caused permanent nerve damage, said Andrews, who had been teaching for six years before the attack. The student was suspended for a week for disrespect toward a teachernot for assaultand then returned to Andrews classroom in Bridgeton, N.J.

When Andrews asked her principal to permanently remove the student from her classroom, she says the principal told her to put on her big girl panties and deal with it. Instead, Andrews decided to press charges against the studenta move that she alleges led to her termination from the Bridgeton school district. Andrews sued the school board, claiming she had not been adequately protected after being injured, among other allegations.

She ended up settling for $197,500, but the incident left her shaken and depressed.

I didnt know if I even wanted to go back into teaching after all that, she said. I felt like I couldnt trust the system, I couldnt trust my administrators. I was afraid if something like this happened again, how I would reactfight or flight.

(For the school districts part, Superintendent Thomasina Jones said the settlement was reached on the advice of the insurance company, and the district conducts a thorough investigation into every incident of violent student behavior.)

What happened to Andrews isnt an isolated incident. In the 2015-16 school year, 5.8 percent of the nations 3.8 million teachers were physically attacked by a student. Almost 10 percent were threatened with injury, according to federal education data.

Some teachers, like Andrews, may sue after they are attacked, and those lawsuits typically become high-profile news. But for the most part, teacher victimization has been an understudied and underpublicized area, experts say.

Its a tough thing to study, said Dorothy Espelage, a professor of psychology at the University of Florida. No one wants to talk about that teaching is a hazardous profession, that teachers are at risk when theyre in the classroom.

While special educators are more frequently at risk because they work with children who might have severe behavioral issues, teachers of all subjects, of all grade levels, and from all types of schools are at risk for violence, Espelage said.

New research offers some insights on the teachers who are being attacked, and what those incidents can mean long term.

A recent study by Francis Huang, an assistant professor in the statistics, measurement, and evaluation in education program at the University of Missouri, analyzed 2011-12 federal education data to see what factors lead to teacher victimization. The analysis excluded special education teachers.

The study, published last year, found that female teachers were more likely to be attacked than male teachers. Teachers in schools with higher percentages of non-white students and higher levels of poverty were more likely to report being threatened or attackedbut Huang said the data didnt shed any light on the demographics of the students who attack teachers.

In addition, new teachers were more likely than experienced teachers to be threatened or attacked, the research showed.

Being attacked by a student can have serious consequences for teachers, said Byongook Moon, a professor in the criminal justice department at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Moon has received two grants over the last couple years from the National Institute of Justice to research teacher victimization.

Almost 44 percent of teachers who had been the victims of physical assault said the attacks had a negative impact on their job performance, according to a study Moon conducted of 1,600 teachers. Nearly 30 percent said they could no longer trust the student, and 27 percent said they thought of quitting their teaching career afterwards.

Student Consequences

In recent years, state legislators across the country have shown interest in reducing teacher victimization. However, bills proposed in the area have at times aimed to increase punitive measures toward studentsa tack that rarely receives unified support among the education community.

For example, a bill currently going through the Wisconsin legislature, deemed the Teacher Protection Act, would, among other things, allow teachers to remove a student from their classroom for a maximum of two days. Generally, school administrators decide whether to suspend students, but the bill would let teachers ask the school board to suspend students who attacked them, if administrators deny their request. The bill would also require police to report violent incidents by students off-campus to their schools.

The bills author, Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, is a Republican who chairs the Wisconsin State Assemblys education committee and was a teacher for more than two decades. He said he proposed the bill after seeing local media reports of teachers being assaulted and hearing that schools were reducing the number of suspensions and expulsions.

When students dont have consequences, he said in an interview, theyre being put in control of the classroom. ... Were putting teachers in the midst of a social justice experiment.

Critics of the legislation have said that it could contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, especially for students with disabilities, students of color, and students who have already experienced trauma.

Wisconsin suspends black students at higher rates than any other state in the country, state Rep. Chris Taylor, a Democrat, wrote in an essay, adding that this bill would be devastating for those students.

And while critics worry that the bill will cause teachers to treat students differently if they know their arrest records, Thiesfeldt said that provision is necessary to ensure teacher safety.

Its unfair to stick a teacher in a situation where you have a child in the classroom who was arrested for a violent misdemeanor in the past 24 to 48 hours, and all of a sudden, that child is right before you in the classroom, and you have no ideaits unfair, Thiesfeldt said. Even so, he will consider amendments to the bill to make sure students with special needs arent unduly punished.

Other bills that proposed harsher punishment for students who assaulted teachers have not been successful: In North Carolina, a bill proposed in 2015 would have made students 16 and older guilty of a felony if they assaulted a teacher. The bill was opposed by childrens advocacy and disability rights groups.

Branding a young person as a felon decreases their chances of continuing education and employment opportunities and increases their chances of eventually spending time in state custody, wrote two advisors of Youth Justice North Carolina (which is now called the Youth Justice Project), in a 2015 blog post opposing the bill.

And in Minnesota, a bill introduced in 2016 would have required school boards to automatically expel a student who threatened or inflicted bodily harm on a teacher for up to a year. There have been multiple incidents of attacks against Minnesota teachers in the past few yearsincluding a 2015 incident in St. Paul in which a high school student slammed a teacher into a concrete wall and then began to strangle him. The teacher ended up with a traumatic brain injury.

Still, the bill received fierce opposition from educators and was stopped in committee. Instead, the state teachers union, Education Minnesota, is putting its energy toward promoting restorative practices to handle student discipline. Restorative practice is an increasingly popular approach in schools that says students need to take responsibility for their actions and work to right a wrong, rather than be punished under zero-tolerance policies.

Restorative practice, in its simplest form, [says that] hurt people hurt people, said Becky McCammon, the restorative practice program coordinator for the St. Paul Federation of Teachers and the St. Paul district, which has committed to piloting this work in a maximum of 12 schools over three years.

In one elementary school, she said, this means that when a students emotions begin to run high, he or she can go to the schools green room to take a break and de-escalate the budding conflicttheres a place to do yoga, a punching bag, and a school leader whos trained in restorative practice to talk to.

Meanwhile, in one of the districts high schools this year, a student who was in the midst of a mental-health crisis physically harmed some educators. Afterwards, the educators met with the union president, school leaders, and members from the community to discuss what happened and how that kind of incident could be prevented in the future, McCammon said.

Sending a Signal

Researchers say that legislation might not be the best place to start to tackle the problem of teacher victimization. Instead, they say, teacher training and administrative support are key.

Mainstream teachers rarely get training on how to de-escalate violence in the classroom, said Espelage, the University of Florida professor. Some of the training we give to special ed. teachers, I think we need to give to all teachers.

She said there are simple tactics that a teacher can use to reduce the possibility of violence, from managing her tone and demeanor toward a student to understanding trauma.

Huangs study also found that teachers who feel supported by their administrators and think that their colleagues enforce the rules consistently are less likely to be victims of threats or attacks.

If a teacher feels like the administrator has his or her back, this might send a signalteachers might feel more protected, cared for, and enabled by the school administration, said the University of Missouri professor. The students who victimize teachers might think, Oh, I cant get away with this. It might be a deterrent.

On the flip side, if teachers and students see that a principal wont back up a teacher when a student misbehaves, that might weaken the teacher and it might embolden the student at the same time, Huang said.

These days, Andrews, the N.J. teacher who was attacked, teaches in a private alternative school where she works with students who have behavioral issues.

I love where Im teaching because, for once, Im in a school where theres definitive rules in place, theres support from everyone I work with, support from my administrators, she said. I feel safer in my classroom now.
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos took the oath of office on Feb. 7, 2017, which means that this week marks her first anniversary as the head of the Department of Education. Her first year in office has been a bumpy ride.

DeVos had decades of experience championing school choice before joining the Trump Cabinet. Shed been the head of the American Federation for Children, a school choice advocacy and political organization, but she had no experience working professionally in government, or in public education.

Her confirmation hearingin which she appeared not to know what the main special education law was and suggested teachers may need guns to ward off potential grizzly bearswas the most controversial of any education secretary in history.

Thousands of calls poured in to key senators, urging votes against her. Educators and activists staged demonstrations across the country. Ultimately, two GOP lawmakers joined all the Democrats in voting against her, a 50-50 split. Vice President Mike Pence had to break the tie to confirm her.

A year later, many teachers remain unimpressed.

Shes done nothing to disprove my belief that she is the least-qualified Cabinet officer in recent American history, said Nathan Bowling, who teaches Advanced Placement social studies courses at Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash.

There was a lot of momentum around closing the achievement gap that has been abandoned by the federal government, added Bowling, who was a Washington state teacher of the year in 2016. Frankly, the department seems adrift to me. At no point in my 12-year career has the department been less relevant to what Im doing.

But Laurie Villani, a kindergarten teacher in Virginias Prince William County, has been heartened by DeVos rhetoric on school choice, career and technical education, and personalized learning.

She agrees with DeVos on the whole idea that one size doesnt fit all and its very hard to change the classroom so that all children are comfortable learning. Shes been able to open the door to people talking about it and thinking about it and thats the first step.

DeVos said in a recent wide-ranging interview that shes been unfairly pigeonholed as favoring only charter and private schools. She is in favor, she said, of public schools too.

And she thinks her status as an outsidershes the first secretary never to have worked professionally at a public school or collegehas been an asset.

I frankly think its been an asset. I dont know what cant be done, DeVos told reporters. And I come in with fresh eyes around all of these issues, and I think that questioning the way things have been done and being able to look at things from a different perspective is a good thing.

Heres a closer look at DeVos record on a variety of fronts:

Choice

School choice fans saw DeVos appointment as the best opportunity for a big federal voucher initiative in decades. But some educators were terrified that she would seek to privatize K-12 schools.

DeVos and her team have made only modest progress on school choice during their first year in office. Their one victory: language in the new GOP tax-overhaul legislation allowing families to use 529 college-savings plans for K-12 private school tuition.

In a recent interview, DeVos called the change, a very, very significant opportunity and step forward for empowering parents with choices. It will obviously need some time to get it implemented in all of the states to an extent that were going to really see the impact of it. But this was a big win.

She has said the administration would continue to push for policies that would expand more schooling options for needy families.

But so far, the GOP-controlled Congress doesnt seem enthusiastic. Lawmakers rejected Trumps pitch for a federal voucher program and for allowing some federal money to follow students to the public school of their choice. And prospects arent likely to be any brighter for those initiatives ahead of whats expected to be a tough midterm election for Republicans.

Every Student Succeeds Act

DeVos biggest impact on the direction of ESSA implementation may have come in the first few weeks of her tenure, when she supported Congress choice to scrap the Obama administrations accountability regulations for the law. Since then, the Trump administration has been reluctant to issue new ESSA guidance, leading to confusion in states, critics say.

The secretary and her team have also weathered criticism for the way they have approached ESSA plan approval.

At first, Republicans, including DeVos ally Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, worried that the department was being too prescriptive with states. Alexander even said that Jason Botel, an acting assistant secretary, hadnt read the law carefully.

Since Alexanders statement, DeVos and her team have approved ESSA plans for 33 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In some cases, they greenlighted state plans even if the states didnt make changes the department explicitly asked for.

Now, Democrats and civil rights groups are accusing the department of serving as a rubber stamp, approving plans that flout the laws protections for vulnerable groups of children, such as English-language learners and students in special education.

DeVos rejects that accusation.

Ive said frequently, and Ill say it again, Im only approving plans that comport with the law, DeVos said. And Im encouraging anyone whos been critical of me and/or the department on approval of plans, that they in some way dont follow the law, I want to know wheres thats falling short and where is that exactly the case. And I havent really had any specific examples brought to our attention yet.

Bully Pulpit

DeVos entered office as one of Trumps most polarizing Cabinet picksand months after her confirmation, she remained even less popular among educators than her boss, according to an October survey of 1,122 educators by the Education Week Research Center. Overall, 67 percent of the educators surveyed had an unfavorable opinion of Trump, but 72 percent said they didnt like DeVos. For months, protestors have followed her almost everywhere she goesand at times, their message has drowned out hers.

Still, DeVos has been out on the stump and in schools lately, urging policymakers and educators to rethink schoolseverything from lesson delivery to seat time to facilities. Shes visited at least three dozen schools, a mix thats included private, public, and charter.

And shes highlighted what she sees as outside-the-box approaches to serving particular populations. For instance, on a back-to-school tour last fall, she dropped by a charter school in Indianapolis for students recovering from addiction.

But DeVos hasnt outlined specific steps the federal government might take to help K-12 schools innovate. Instead, she said she wants to empower districts and states to do this rethinking on their own.

In the past, the Education Department has been a barrier to change, pushing one-size-fits-all approaches and solutions to things during the Bush and Obama years, DeVos said. You cannot fix what ails education by telling people how to do things from the Washington level down. It really has to be a grassroots local initiative.

Shes also lent a lot of rhetorical support to career and technical education, saying that school districts should encourage students to think beyond the traditional four-year-college degree and consider career certifications, apprenticeship programs, and other possibilities.

Slimming Down the Federal Role

Last year, the Trump administration proposed slashing $9 billion from the Education Departments nearly $70 billion bottom line and eliminating big programs funding teacher quality and after-school services. Its unclear if Congress will embrace those cuts.

But the department has taken steps to scale back on its own. DeVos has offered buyouts, early retirement, and other incentives for dozens of federal employees. And shes scrapped more than a hundred pieces of guidance that she said were outdated or duplicative. The White House hasnt moved to fill all the subcabinet positions in the department, including the assistant secretaries for innovation and improvement and for communications and outreach.

And the department currently has a task force to comply with an executive order, issued by President Donald Trump in April, that calls for the department to get rid of regulations that step on local control in education.

Some of the most important work weve done in this first year has been around the area of overreach and rolling back the extended footprint of this department to a significant extent, DeVos said.

Civil Rights Enforcement

Right after taking office, the Trump administration rescinded guidance put out by President Barack Obama that called for transgender students to use the restroom that corresponds to their gender identity. And DeVos is contemplating delaying for two years an Obama-era rule that would require states to use a standardized approach to figuring out if they have too many minority students in special education or if theyre punishing them or putting them in restrictive settings more than white students.

This departments role in ensuring students civil rights and ensuring the rights under the [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act], those are important roles, DeVos said. Its hurtful to me when Im criticized for not upholding the rights of students. For not caring about students with special needs. Nothing could be further from the truth.

DeVos has also met with both supporters and critics of Obama-era guidance that pushed school officials to ensure that their discipline policies dont have a disparate impact on students from certain racial and ethnic groups.

Her team also made changes to the way civil rights cases are reviewed. The department is no longer automatically checking complaints for evidence of systemic discrimination, a practice established during the Obama years.

Higher Education

This is where most of the action has occurred. DeVos and her team are in the early stages of rewriting two sets of regulations put out by the Obama administration and intended to protect student borrowers: gainful employment, which was intended to weed out programs that required big tuition payments but offered dim job prospects, and borrower defense, which helps students who took out loans to attend institutions later found to be fraudulent. She also scrapped Obamas rules governing sexual assault on college campuses and is working on a replacement. (That has some implications for K-12 schools, which sometimes take their cues on how to handle alleged sexual-assault cases from higher education.)

Related Video

A progress report on U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos first six months:
The Bureau of Indian Education recently wrapped up its tribal consultation process on its latest proposed strategic plan to guide its work and service delivery to [Native] students, schools, and tribes. While the BIE creates plan after plan intended to restructure, realign, reform, redesign, revise, and redo their education system, in actuality these plans are rarely carried out. The necessary changes to schooling simply remain words written on paper. Meanwhile, tribes, schools, educators, parents, and students continue to wait for the federal government to meet its legal trust responsibility to provide a quality education to American Indian students.

For over a century, the federal government has proven that attempting to control and oversee a nationwide network of schools leads to an ineffective and disheartening system of education that fails to address the cultural, linguistic, and overall learning needs of American Indian children. If the BIEs record of failure reflected on any other group of students, there would be a national outcry.

In 1953, as Congress was adopting its official Termination Policy to eradicate Indian tribes in the United States, the late Indian law scholar Felix Cohen wrote about the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs: It is a pity that so many Americans today think of the Indian as a romantic or comic figure in American history without contemporary significance. In fact, the Indian plays much the same role in our society that the Jews played in Germany. Like the miners canary, the Indian marks the shift from fresh air to poison gas in our political atmosphere; and our treatment of Indians, even more than our treatment of other minorities, reflects the rise and fall in our democratic faith.

The vast majority of Native students in the United States attend public schools. Although only 8 percent of Native students actually attend schools managed by the BIE, they often post the lowest achievement outcomes of all students in their respective states . This poor performance is not due to the lack of caring by BIE school administrators and teachers. One can also not point a finger at the students. They are smart, creative, and ready to learn. They only need the adults in the bureaucratic maze of the BIE to deliver the programs and services they need.

The BIEs existence is the result of long-standing federal policies that sprung from treaties negotiated between tribes and the U.S. government. And those treaties, in part, established a government-to-government relationship and created a federal trust obligation. Although many treaties contained education provisions aimed to civilize Indians, the U.S. government discharged this obligation, first to churches in the 19th century, then to states in the 1930s. However, the federal government kept a remnant, known now as the BIE, which educates more than 40,000 students in 183 schools on 64 reservations in 23 states .

The BIE bureaucracy does not have the flexibility to make big strides, and there is a tight hold on the everyday business of BIE schools that emanates from Washington. The revolving door of political appointees at the top of the agency does little to establish stability, trust, or confidence. Adding all this to the fact that the BIE is woefully underfunded and understaffed, its easy to understand the difficulty of getting adequate, consistent services to students.

With every new planning process, the BIE has a unique opportunity to right the historical wrongs that inflicted enormous traumas upon tribal communities they have yet to overcome. At the beginning, federal schools mode of education was to steal young children from their tribal communities, ship them far away, and abuse and control them until their culture disappeared, and they submitted to new American norms. Their values were encompassed in the words of Carlisle Indian School founder Capt. Richard Pratt, who said these schools were designed to kill the Indian and save the man. As a result, Native languages are currently in peril, Native communities deal with high poverty, and many Native families struggle to find a path to economic and social stability.

If the BIEs record of failure reflected on any other group of students, there would be a national outcry."

The BIE has moved beyond Pratts motto and changes to the federal school system have been made, but the agency still struggles with a colonial mindset. Each new plan, or change to the plan, has failed to move the needle because the BIE has yet to learn from its past mistakes. Instead, the agency continues to create reform plans at the top, hoping they will trickle down to create change at the local level.

When I was the state superintendent in Montana, I understood that meaningful change has to be decided at the local level and supported by those at the top. There is no better approach then to work side-by-side with school staff, community members, and students to help change their education system, let them define their future, and then support their efforts to reach their goals. Our state education agency learned to be nimble and flexible, community-based, and responsive.

These features were key to empowering student voices, creating trauma-informed schools, implementing mental-health wraparound services, and increasing academic rigor in classrooms. This most important work of improving educational and life outcomes for the next generation means that those in charge must be inclusive and truly work with their partners in this effort.

For the BIE, the most local and important partners are tribal governments. When designing new programs and policies that are in keeping with the federal governments trust responsibility, the BIE is supposed to engage in a meaningful consultation process with tribes. With this most recent strategic plan, tribal governments are not listed as early stakeholders in its development. This is a serious oversight. While the plan outlines a mission to build tribal capacity to determine its own educational future, it does nothing of the sort. Instead, it reads as if the BIE is still in charge.

To truly move toward tribal educational sovereignty, the BIE needs to loosen its grip, reduce the bureaucracy, and stop regulating from afar. Let tribes determine how and when the BIE should support their education efforts and, in turn, how the BIE should be accountable to tribes.

The BIE needs to recognize its constituency: Native students, mostly in Native communities. Tribes repeated requests to include Native language and culture in the BIE schools should be front and center, not buried. The BIE needs to embrace its legal and moral obligation to tribal people and stop giving lip service to integrating culture into academic programs. It is frustrating for tribes to be consulted on the same issues time and again, give similar input, wait for the written plan, be hopeful for the coming implementation, observe as some window dressing is changed, and then see continued dismal educational results for their youngest citizens.

While this most recent BIE plan establishes good goals, if it really wants to change student outcomes, it needs to let tribes and communities lead the way.
Foreigners - including South Africans, wanting to acquire freedom of movement for themselves and their families to study, work and live anywhere in the European Union, are increasingly turning to Portugal to acquire EU citizenship, says Chris Immelman, MD of Pam Golding International.

The benefits offered via Portugals Golden Visa Programme, with its Schengen Visa and Portuguese residency, have suddenly became considerably more accessible with the introduction by the Portuguese government of a new category, which lowers the entry level from a 500 000 investment in real estate to 350 000 - in special circumstances.

Since the Golden Visa Programme was introduced in October 2015 and up to June 2017, close to 200 South African investors have acquired residence permits, investing a minimum of 500 000 in residential property in prime locations mainly in the vibrant capital city of Lisbon.

Now, Portugal has taken its appeal up a notch by lowering the threshold entry level by allowing developers to approach government in order to renovate buildings of at least 30 years in historically significant centres or locations which are earmarked as urban regeneration areas. These refurbished units can then be sold for a minimum of 350 000 to foreign investors, who then enjoy all the advantages of visa-free travel in all 26 countries in the Schengen area, plus the ability to apply for EU citizenship ,which then affords them the ability to live and work in any of the EU countries.

Says Immelman:Following the announcement of this new opportunity we have been searching far and wide for a development that not only meets these criteria, but which also stacks up against our stringent due diligence for such a project being undertaken by reputable, experienced developers. We have recently identified an exceptional development which consists of an existing apartment building that is being converted into a hotel and is situated in Porto, Portugals second largest city which is located on the coast in the north of the country.

Through Pam Golding Properties global network and international connections, we met two successful overseas business executives who introduced us to their third partner, Jerry Morgan of the international Mercan Group, which is involved in a number of developments in Portugal and has been responsible for almost 40 successful EB-5 US Visa (Green Card) investment programmes in the USA with a total capital value of over US$250 million alone.

The development project they are bringing to market is Se Catedral Hotel, a qualified real estate restoration of an old building in the historic centre of Porto and Heritage Site conversion into a boutique hotel of 50 rooms on five floors, with amenities such as a restaurant-bar and terrace cafe.

With views over the Porto Cathedral and nearby city icon, Dom Luis Bridge, a famous tourist attraction, the hotel suites will each be sold to individual buyers for 350 000. This is essentially a buy back scheme, where owners will enter into an agreement with the developers to ultimately sell the units back to the developers who will run it as a hotel. On payment of the sum of 350 000, and upon completion of the development, owners will receive a guaranteed gross return of 4% for a five year period, after which the unit will be handed back to the developer and the owner receives his/her full purchase price back.

Immelman says although the owner does not benefit from any capital appreciation of the unit, his/her downside is fully protected. This means you are able to acquire EU citizenship without it costing you anything, as the 4% rental guarantee will pay for all the government and professional fees while your initial investment of 350 000 is returned to you. Owners enjoy seven days free accommodation per year and can acquire their new citizenship after six years.

For South Africans this is a highly appealing and affordable opportunity  its a hassle-free arrangement with guaranteed buy back and easily accessible.

With 220 days of sun each year, a flourishing tourism industry and shortage of hotels, further boosting the demand for such accommodation, Portugal offers residents free quality health care and excellent education facilities  with more than 300 higher education institutions.
2018-02-06

Maeci

An intense three-day trip to Southeast Asia will start tomorrow for the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Angelino Alfano. He will make stops in Jakarta, Singapore and Bangkok.

The diplomatic mission will begin in the Indonesian capital, where Alfano will meet his counterpart, Retno Marsudi. Their meeting will be followed by a joint press conference.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs will then go to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) headquarters where he will meet its Secretary General, Lim Jock Hoi. This will be his first meeting with an EU Minister and one of his first meetings overall since he took office at the beginning of the year.

Alfano will conclude his Jakarta visit at a meeting with members of the Italian and Indonesian business communities at the residence of the Italian ambassador.

The trip will continue in Singapore on 8 February, where Alfano will meet the Foreign Minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, and hold a number of meetings related to business matters. The Minister will meet the Minister of Commerce, Lim Hng Kiang, and managers of two sovereign funds in the country: the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) and Temasek Holding. He will also meet the President of the Economic Development Board (EDB), Beh Swan Gin.

The Singapore visit will also conclude with an embassy meeting with members of the business and Italian academic communities.

The three-day trip will end in Bangkok on Friday, 9 February. Alfano will first meet representatives of the Italian-Thai Business Forum at the ambassadors residence, and will also meet with the Presidents of the Italian-Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Dante Alighieri Society.

After meeting local representatives of the Italian press, the Foreign Minister will then go to the Bangkok Foreign Ministry where he will be welcomed by his Thai counterpart, Don Pramudwinai.

Finally, he will conclude his diplomatic mission with a meeting with Thai Prime Minister, Prayuth Chan-O-Cha.
2018-02-07

Maeci

The Director General for Italians abroad and migration policies, Luigi Maria Vignali, began a diplomatic mission today to monitor performance of the voting procedures for Italians abroad. Vignali will visit the three Italian consulates in the world with the highest number of people having the right to vote.

His first stop will be in Buenos Aires, where there are over 229,000 voters. He will then go to Sao Paolo, where voting procedures are being organised for over 148,000 Italians. His final stop will be in London, which has the most numerous consular jurisdiction in the world: over 300,000 registered on the Registry of Italians Resident Abroad (A.I.R.E.), with 233,718 people having the right to vote.

The aim of the mission is to monitor implementation of the innovative measures put in place by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation to ensure maximum voter participation and also to increase the validity and fairness of elections abroad.
Female emergency physicians are less likely to admit female patients to an ICU than male physicians are to admit men, according to Ben-Gurion University researchers

BEER-SHEVA, Israel...February 7, 2018 - A female patient treated by a female physician is less likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) compared to a male patient treated by a male physician, according to researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and Soroka University Medical Center (Soroka).

This gender bias, explored in a paper published in the current issue of QJM: An International Journal of Medicine, seems to occur most often when female doctors are recommending treatment for critically ill women.

"Previous studies show physicians are less likely to recognize symptoms that present differently in women, such as atypical chest pains, which can alter patient management and postpone delivery of crucial treatment," says Dr. Iftach Sagy, a researcher at Soroka's Clinical Research Center and a lecturer at the BGU Faculty of Health Sciences (FOHS). "For the first time, we've demonstrated that a possible gender bias can influence decisions about who should be admitted to an ICU."

The study, which followed 831 patients admitted to the resuscitation room in the emergency department at Soroka from 2011 to 2012, showed female physicians treating women were less likely to admit their patients to the hospital's restricted ICU, where beds and other resources are limited.

According to the findings, female physicians admitted approximately 20 percent fewer of their female patients to the ICU than did male physicians, and 12 percent fewer female patients than male patients to the intensive cardiac care unit.

BGU's study was also able to associate physician gender bias in how patients arrived and were assigned at the hospital. Researchers found male and female physicians selected critically ill patients differently when they initiated treatment in the emergency department. Male physicians treated a greater number of patients transferred by emergency medical services, while female physicians treated more who initially presented as stable before deteriorating and requiring resuscitation.

"Current studies on the outcomes of critically ill patients show better outcomes for men," says Dr. Sagy. "Women often have less-invasive procedures in both the emergency department and the ICU, which seems to contribute to a lower rate of ICU admission compared to men with the same illness level."

BGU's study was able to demonstrate that both patient and physician genders, as well as their combination, are key factors in making clinical decisions that determine level of care. "More research is needed to address the potential consequences of clinical decisions biased by patient and physician genders," says Dr. Sagy.

In addition to Dr. Sagy, the study team included Dr. Victor Novack, Dr. Lior Fuchs and Yuval Mizrakli, of BGU FOHS and Soroka, as well as Dr. Shlomi Codish of the BGU FOHS. Additional BGU researchers included Prof. Lior Fink of the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, and Liran Politi, a Ph.D candidate in the same department.

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About American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (AABGU) plays a vital role in sustaining David Ben-Gurion's vision: creating a world-class institution of education and research in the Israeli desert, nurturing the Negev community and sharing the University's expertise locally and around the globe. As Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) looks ahead to turning 50 in 2020, AABGU imagines a future that goes beyond the walls of academia. It is a future where BGU invents a new world and inspires a vision for a stronger Israel and its next generation of leaders. Together with supporters, AABGU will help the University foster excellence in teaching, research and outreach to the communities of the Negev for the next 50 years and beyond. Visit vision.aabgu.org to learn more.

AABGU, which is headquartered in Manhattan, has nine regional offices throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.aabgu.org.
Boston, MA-- A pilot study by investigators at Brigham and Women's Hospital reimagines the best place to care for select, acutely ill adults. The project poses the question: what if, instead of being admitted and receiving care at a hospital, a patient could be cared for at home, and monitored using cutting-edge technology? The study represents the first randomized, controlled clinical trial to test the home hospital model in the U.S. and examined the model's impact on direct cost as well as utilization, safety, quality, and patient experience. Results of the pilot project are reported this week in The Journal of General Internal Medicine.

"We haven't dramatically changed the way we've taken care of acutely ill patients in this country for almost a century," said David Levine, MD, MPH, MA, a physician and researcher in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Primary Care at BWH and lead author of the study. "There are a lot of unintended consequences of hospitalization. Being able to shift the site of care is a powerful way to change how we care for acutely ill patients and it hasn't been studied in the U.S. with intense rigor. That was the impetus for our project."

The pilot study recruited a total of 20 adult patients admitted to the emergency department at Brigham and Women's Hospital or Brigham and Women's Faulkner Hospital. Eligible participants included patients with any infection or exacerbations of heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma. Participants also had to live in the surrounding area of the hospital to qualify for the study. Nine patients were randomized to receive care at home while 11 received usual care within the hospital setting.

Patients who were cared for at home received a daily visit from an attending general internist and two daily visits from a home health registered nurse. The home hospital model also offered 24-hour physician coverage and cutting-edge connectivity, including continuous monitoring, video and texting. Patients in either arm of the study were interviewed on admission, at discharge and 30-days after discharge.

The team found that the average direct cost for acute care episodes for home patients was up to half of the cost of the control patients cared for in the hospital. The pilot study's primary outcome was direct cost but the researchers also looked at other, secondary measures. They found that the home hospital model also decreased utilization and improved physical activity, without appreciably changing quality, safety, or patient experience.

"The home hospital model delivers care in a more patient-centered manner: patients can be surrounded by their family and friends, eat their own food, move around in their own home, and sleep in their own bed, with the supports of the home hospital team," said Levine.

Levine is already conducted a larger scale trial to demonstrate these pilot results in a larger group of patients.

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Funding for this project was provided by the Center for Population Health at Partners HealthCare and the BRIght Futures Prize through Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is a 793-bed nonprofit teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School and a founding member of Partners HealthCare. BWH has more than 4.2 million annual patient visits and nearly 46,000 inpatient stays, is the largest birthing center in Massachusetts and employs nearly 16,000 people. The Brigham's medical preeminence dates back to 1832, and today that rich history in clinical care is coupled with its national leadership in patient care, quality improvement and patient safety initiatives, and its dedication to research, innovation, community engagement and educating and training the next generation of health care professionals. Through investigation and discovery conducted at its Brigham Research Institute (BRI), BWH is an international leader in basic, clinical and translational research on human diseases, more than 3,000 researchers, including physician-investigators and renowned biomedical scientists and faculty supported by nearly $666 million in funding. For the last 25 years, BWH ranked second in research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) among independent hospitals. BWH is also home to major landmark epidemiologic population studies, including the Nurses' and Physicians' Health Studies and the Women's Health Initiative as well as the TIMI Study Group, one of the premier cardiovascular clinical trials groups. For more information, resources and to follow us on social media, please visit BWH's online newsroom.

Contact:

Johanna Younghans

Brigham and Women's Hospital

617-525-6373

jyounghans@bwh.harvard.edu
WACO, Texas (Feb. 6, 2018) - Ethical leadership is a good thing, right?

Certainly, management experts say. But ethical leadership can have negative consequences, too, according to new research from management faculty in Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business.

A new Baylor study published in the Journal of Business Ethics reveals that ethical leadership compounded by job-hindrance stress and supervisor-induced stress can lead to employee deviance and turnover. The research reflects the thoughts of 609 employees who were surveyed across two studies.

"If someone is an ethical leader but induces stress, our research shows that his or her employees will feel less support," said lead author Matthew Quade, Ph.D., assistant professor of management. "Thus, employees who do not feel supported are more likely to consider leaving their jobs or engage in workplace deviance - things like arriving late to work, daydreaming, not following instructions or failing to be as productive as they could be."

Quade said that ethical leadership is a good thing and often beneficial in terms of employee resources. An example would be a trusted supervisor who listens to her employees and has her employees' best interests in mind.

The trouble comes, he said, when supervisor-induced stress or job-hindrance stress enters the picture.

"When those stressors are added, there is a depletion of resources," Quade explained. "Many of the gains or benefits from ethical leadership are negated."

What does stress-inducing ethical leadership look like?

Quade said it could be as simple as supervisors setting expectations too high or, in the interest of "following all the rules," not allowing for any deviation from a process, even if a shortcut, still within the bounds of behaving ethically, would deliver a desired result.

The researchers wrote: "Ethical leadership can be an exacting process of sustaining high ethical standards, ensuring careful practice and enforcement of all rules and meeting leaders' lofty expectations, all of which can consume time and energy and be perceived by employees as overly demanding or an obstacle to job performance."

As part of the study, those surveyed were asked to what extent they agreed or disagreed with the following statements:

My supervisor makes it so that I have to go through a lot of red tape to get my job done.

Working with my supervisor makes it hard to understand what is expected of me.

I receive conflicting requests from my supervisor.

My supervisor creates many hassles to go through to get projects/assignments done.

Working with him/her thwarts my personal growth and well-being.

In general, I feel that my supervisor hinders my personal accomplishment.

I feel that my supervisor constrains my achievement of personal goals and development.

Quade said his team in no way wants to discourage ethical leadership. Research consistently shows such leadership is very beneficial, he said. But this new research shows that there are boundaries to those benefits.

"This places quite an onus on appropriately managing the stress that comes from the leader and the job, in efforts to most fully realize the potential of ethical leadership," the researchers wrote.

The study listed some tips and takeaways for organizations and leaders. They include:

Strike a balance between promoting ethical behavior and providing resources to help employees meet those standards.

Encourage employees in word and deed by reducing ambiguity in ethical dilemmas that might otherwise drain resources.

Model fair and ethical behavior.

Communicate efficient methods to meet standards and reduce unnecessary steps or procedures.

Equip and train leaders to balance the demands of leading ethically while not overburdening their employees.

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ABOUT THE STUDY

"Boundary Conditions of Ethical Leadership: Exploring Supervisor-Induced and Job Hindrance Stress as Potential Inhibitors" is published in the Journal of Business Ethics. Study authors are Baylor University Hankamer School of Business faculty members Matthew Quade, Ph.D., assistant professor of management; Sara Perry, Ph.D., assistant professor of management; and Emily Hunter, Ph.D., associate professor of management.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT HANKAMER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Baylor University's Hankamer School of Business provides a rigorous academic experience, consisting of classroom and hands-on learning, guided by Christian commitment and a global perspective. Recognized nationally for several programs, including Entrepreneurship and Accounting, the school offers 24 undergraduate and 13 graduate areas of study. Visit http://www.baylor.edu/businessand follow on Twitter at twitter.com/Baylor_Business.
PITTSBURGH--Conversational agents such as Siri, Alexa and Cortana are great at giving you the weather, but are flummoxed when asked for unusual information, or follow-up questions. By adding humans to the loop, Carnegie Mellon University researchers have created a conversational agent that is tough to stump.

The chatbot system, called Evorus, is not the first to use human brainpower to answer a broad range of questions. What sets it apart, says Jeff Bigham, associate professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute, is that humans are simultaneously training the system's artificial intelligence, making it gradually less dependent on people.

Like an earlier CMU agent called Chorus, Evorus recruits crowd workers on demand from Amazon Mechanical Turk to answer questions from users, with the crowd workers voting on the best answer. Evorus also keeps track of questions asked and answered and, over time, begins to suggest these answers for subsequent questions. The researchers also have developed a process by which the AI can help to approve a message with less crowd worker involvement.

"Companies have put a lot of effort into teaching people how to talk to conversational agents, given the devices' limited command of speech and topics," Bigham said. "Now, we're letting people speak more freely and it's the agent that must learn to accommodate them."

The system isn't in its final form, but it is available for download and use by anyone willing to be part of the research effort: http://talkingtothecrowd.org/.

A research paper on Evorus, already available online, will be presented by Bigham's research team later this year at CHI 2018, the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Montreal.

Totally automated conversational agents can do well answering simple, common questions and commands and can converse in depth when the subject is relatively narrow, such as advising on bus schedules. Systems with people in the loop can answer a wide variety of questions, Bigham said, but with the exception of concierge or travel services for which users are willing to pay -- agents that depend on humans are too expensive to be scaled up for wide use. A session on Chorus costs an average of $2.48.

"With Evorus, we've hit a sweet spot in the collaboration between the machine and the crowd," Bigham said. The hope is that as the system grows, the AI is able to handle an increasing percentage of questions, while the number of crowd workers necessary to respond to "long tail" questions will remain relatively constant.

Keeping humans in the loop also reduces the risk that malicious users will manipulate the conversational agent inappropriately, as occurred when Microsoft briefly deployed its Tay chatbot in 2016, said Ting-Hao Huang, a Ph.D. student in the Language Technologies Institute (LTI). Huang developed Evorus with Bigham and Joseph Chee Chang, also a Ph.D. student in LTI.

During Evorus' five-month deployment with 80 users and 181 conversations, automated responses to questions were chosen 12 percent of the time, crowd voting was reduced by almost 14 percent and the cost of crowd work for each reply to a user's message dropped by 33 percent.

Evorus is a text chatbot, but is deployed via Google Hangouts, which can accommodate voice input, as well as access from computers, phones and smartwatches. To enhance its scalability, Evorus uses a software architecture that can accept automated question-answering components developed by third parties.

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This research is supported by Project InMind, a Carnegie Mellon effort sponsored by Yahoo!/Oath to develop advanced technologies for personalized digital assistants.
Cold Spring Harbor, NY - A new study of the genetic factors involved in the causation of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) draws fresh attention to the impact these illnesses have on motor skills, and more broadly on cognitive function.

"Diminished motor skills appear to be an almost universal property of children with autism," says Professor Michael Wigler, one of three researchers including Ivan Iossifov from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and the New York Genome Center, and Andreas Buja, a statistician from The University of Pennsylvania, who led the team.

Wigler adds that careful inference from the data suggests to him that the genetic factors causing ASD broadly diminish the brain's cognitive functions.

These genetic factors are increasingly becoming known, and are of two types: inherited mutations, and what scientists call de novo mutations. The latter are changes to the DNA that do not appear in the genetic makeup of either parent and are new in the child. Past research at CSHL and elsewhere has revealed that the presence of damaging de novo mutations correlates with lower non-verbal IQ. The more severe the mutations, the more pronounced the impact.

The new study finds that diminished motor skills, like lower IQ, also correlate significantly with de novo mutations in ASD, and is an even more sensitive indicator of the damage of a de novo mutation than is IQ, say the researchers.

Interestingly, the researchers find that the defining core behavioral components of ASD -- impaired social skills and communication -- do not correlate with either the presence or severity of de novo mutations. In other words, a child with autism who has a severe de novo mutation is no more likely to have severely impaired social skills than is a child with autism for whom no such mutation was found, and who presumably has inherited his causal factors.

Restating, the researchers now think that children who have autism as a consequence of inherited factors have less general cognitive damage than those with severe de novo mutations, which, says Wigler, in puzzling on the face of it.

One speculation from Wigler is that mutations with very damaging impact on cognition will tend to be eliminated rapidly from the gene pool, as people with them are less likely to have children. Thus inherited factors will have low cognitive impact relative to their general behavioral impact. By contrast, de novo mutations have no such constraint. Thus individuals on the spectrum as a result of inherited factors will tend to have less impairment of IQ and motor skills relative to their core behavioral components than individuals who have severe de novo mutations.

Nonetheless, the near universality of diminished motor skills in children with autism is an indicator that the factors that cause the core behavioral defects also cause general cognitive dysfunction, Professor Wigler explains. "As such, objective assessment of cognitive function should be a facet of any clinical evaluation of the patient," he says. "and included when monitoring therapeutic response."

This study was based on DNA sequence and deep phenotypic data from the Simons Simplex Collection, a set of 2,760 families that have a single child affected by ASD.

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Funding: SFARI grants (3) by the Simons Foundation.

Citation: Buja, A et al, "Damaging de novo mutations diminish motor skills in children on the autism spectrum," appeared online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences February 6, 2017.

About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory

Founded in 1890, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has shaped contemporary biomedical research and education with programs in cancer, neuroscience, plant biology and quantitative biology. Home to eight Nobel Prize winners, the private, not-for-profit Laboratory employs 1,100 people including 600 scientists, students and technicians. The Meetings & Courses Program annually hosts more than 12,000 scientists. The Laboratory's education arm also includes an academic publishing house, a graduate school and the DNA Learning Center with programs for middle and high school students and teachers. For more information, visit http://www.cshl.edu
Philadelphia, Feb. 7, 2018 - Exposure to androgens (male hormones) during brain development alters genes related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a new study published in Biological Psychiatry. Using male human cells, researchers at the University of Strasbourg, France, identified key genes that are regulated by testosterone and that contribute to the risk for autism, generating important insight into how male hormones might contribute to the increased male susceptibility to ASD.

The findings provide a clue as to why ASD affects boys about four times as much as girls. Male fetuses produce androgens during critical stages of brain development when cells divide and develop into neurons. The researchers showed that androgens increase the spread of cells and prevent them from death, which could predispose boys to ASD by contributing to the excessive brain growth that occurs in people with ASD during the first years of life.

"Understanding the mechanisms for the male preponderance for autism is like pulling on a lose thread. It could help to 'unravel' important mechanisms contributing to autism risk," said John Krystal, Editor of Biological Psychiatry. Identifying a role of androgens in this risk could be important for prevention or the development of potential treatments for ASD.

In the study, co-senior authors Jean-Louis Mandel, M.D., Ph.D., and Amelie Piton, Ph.D., and colleagues used human pluripotent neural stems cells to model the cells that generate neurons during brain development. Treatment with the testosterone metabolite DHT led to subtle changes in the expression of about 200 genes, several of which have previously been associated with ASD. Some of the genes that were most affected by DHT treatment included NRCAM, which has been linked to the brain abnormalities and symptoms in ASD, and FAM107A, which is increased in people with ASD. FAM107A also appeared to play a part in androgen's ability to increase cell numbers in the study.

"These effects of male hormones may therefore contribute to the increased sensitivity of the male brain to develop ASD when also exposed to other genetic or environmental factors," said Dr. Piton, suggesting that the biological explanation for the sex-specific inequality of ASD points to a predisposition in males, rather than a protective effect in females.

In addition to providing a clue into the male susceptibility to ASD, Dr. Piton says that the list of genes that were altered by androgens in the study might be useful to identify new genes that might be involved in ASD or in other diseases that occur more often in males.

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Notes for editors

The article is "Genes and pathways regulated by androgens in human neural cells, potential candidates for the male excess in autism spectrum disorders," by Angelique Quartier, Laure Chatrousse, Claire Redin, Celine Keime, Nicolas Haumesser, Anne Maglott-Roth, Laurent Brino, Stephanie Le Gras, Alexandra Benchoua, Jean-Louis Mandel, and Amelie Piton. It appears in Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier.

Copies of this paper are available to credentialed journalists upon request; please contact Rhiannon Bugno at Biol.Psych@UTSouthwestern.edu or +1 214 648 0880. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Amelie Piton, Ph.D., at piton@igbmc.fr.

The authors' affiliations and disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available in the article.

John H. Krystal, M.D., is Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Yale University School of Medicine, Chief of Psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and a research psychiatrist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System. His disclosures of financial and conflicts of interests are available here.

About Biological Psychiatry

Biological Psychiatry is the official journal of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, whose purpose is to promote excellence in scientific research and education in fields that investigate the nature, causes, mechanisms and treatments of disorders of thought, emotion, or behavior. In accord with this mission, this peer-reviewed, rapid-publication, international journal publishes both basic and clinical contributions from all disciplines and research areas relevant to the pathophysiology and treatment of major psychiatric disorders.

The journal publishes novel results of original research which represent an important new lead or significant impact on the field, particularly those addressing genetic and environmental risk factors, neural circuitry and neurochemistry, and important new therapeutic approaches. Reviews and commentaries that focus on topics of current research and interest are also encouraged.

Biological Psychiatry is one of the most selective and highly cited journals in the field of psychiatric neuroscience. It is ranked 6th out of 142 Psychiatry titles and 10th out of 258 Neurosciences titles in the Journal Citations Reports published by Thomson Reuters. The 2016 Impact Factor score for Biological Psychiatry is 11.412.

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a global information analytics business that helps institutions and professionals progress science, advance healthcare and improve performance for the benefit of humanity. Elsevier provides digital solutions and tools in the areas of strategic research management, R&D performance, clinical decision support, and professional education; including ScienceDirect, Scopus, Scival, ClinicalKey and Sherpath. Elsevier publishes over 2,500 digitized journals, including The Lancet and Cell, more than 35,000 e-book titles and many iconic reference works, including Gray's Anatomy. Elsevier is part of RELX Group, a global provider of information and analytics for professionals and business customers across industries. http://www.elsevier.com

Media contact

Rhiannon Bugno

Editorial Office, Biological Psychiatry

1-214-648-0880

Biol.Psych@UTSouthwestern.edu
Who's your daddy? No, it's not a TV clip from "The Jerry Springer Show" to identify who the "real" father is. Rather, it is a groundbreaking study of sea turtle nests and hatchlings using paternity tests to uncover "who are your daddies?"

The study conducted by researchers at Florida Atlantic University and published in PLOS One, is the first to document multiple paternity in loggerhead sea turtle nests in southwest Florida. What started out as a study on female sea turtle promiscuity - females can have multiple partners and can store sperm for more than three months after mating events - is proving to be very good news for this female-biased species facing rising risks of extinction due to climate change.

Due to their accessibility, nesting female sea turtles, nest success, and hatchlings are frequently examined and used for demographic studies and population models (key areas for the management of imperiled species). Yet, there is very limited understanding of the proportion of adult males and males approaching sexual maturity in any sea turtle population. Consequently, male sea turtles' reproductive behavior is poorly understood and adult sex ratio cannot be estimated directly.

"Studying sex ratios of adult sea turtles in the ocean is logistically difficult because they are widely distributed and males are especially difficult to access because they rarely come to land," said Jacob Lasala, corresponding author of the study and a Ph.D. student working with Jeanette Wyneken, Ph.D., co-author and a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. "We decided to use a different approach and measure 'breeding sex ratios' using genotyping to examine the number of male sea turtles that contribute to nests."

The researchers identified the paternity of 51 nests and 989 sea turtle hatchlings along the eastern Gulf of Mexico on Sanibel Island in Florida over the course of three nesting seasons (2013 to 2015). Because there are fewer male sea turtles and sea turtle populations have been female-biased, the researchers expected to find the same male sea turtles showing up as fathers in different nests across hundreds of hatchlings sampled in their study. Much to their surprise, and relief, that did not happen.

The researchers found that 70 percent of the nests and hatchlings they analyzed in their study had different fathers. They also did not find any repeat males in any of the nests, and identified the genotypes of 126 distinct males. No male loggerhead sea turtle fertilized eggs in more than one nest within or across years. The breeding sex ratio was approximately 1 female for every 2.5 males. These findings suggest that several males contribute to multiple nests during a nesting season and might breed more frequently than females.

Breeding sex ratio is the proportion of males and females that can mate at any time; the metric can be used to identify the minimum number of males and females contributing to populations. A single female can have offspring from more than one male in a nest within a year. The number of males fathering each nest can be determined genetically and used to estimate the minimum breeding sex ratios.

For the study, Lasala, Wyneken and Colin R. Hughes, Ph.D., study co-author and an associate professor in FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, genotyped the nests and hatchlings using seven polymorphic microsatellite markers to estimate the breeding sex ratios of these loggerhead turtles. Paternal genotypes were identified through exclusion analysis and were used to estimate the number of males contributing to this population. Results of their study also provide an alternative hypothesis of loggerhead breeding.

By sampling turtles over three years, the researchers were able to estimate the population breeding sex ratios independent of the complications created by females nesting every second or third year, and males breeding every year.

"Our study presents baseline results against which those future sex ratios can be compared. If loggerhead hatchling sex ratios have skewed the adult sex ratios, we are not yet seeing the effects in the breeding sex ratio for the Gulf of Mexico," said Wyneken. "Rather, it seems that females have access to a larger number of males, perhaps as they migrate from multiple feeding grounds to the nesting beaches. There is no indication from our data that sex ratio bias has become so severe that extinction risk is elevated at this time. However, loggerhead sea turtles take several decades to reach sexual maturity so female bias in hatchlings may take a while to show up in the adult populations."

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) is listed globally as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Along the continental United States and adjacent waters in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, it is listed as threatened. The northwest Atlantic contains one of only two marine turtle aggregations of more than 10,000 individuals nesting annually. Florida nesting loggerheads make up approximately 90 percent of the loggerhead production in the Atlantic north of the equator.

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This research was supported by the Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation as well as grants awarded from the Sea Turtle Grants Program (Florida Sea Turtle License Plate Grants), The Friends of Gumbo Limbo Gordon Gilbert Scholarship, the National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation, and the Nelligan Sea Turtle Research Support Fund.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu.
The discovery makes it possible to synthesize the substance and use it in traps to attract and kill Asian citrus psyllid, helping control worst pest faced by citrus industry

The Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri is only 2 mm long, yet it strikes terror into the hearts of citrus growers in Brazil, China and the United States because it acts as a vector for the bacteria that cause citrus greening, best known as Huanglongbing (HLB), which means yellow dragon in Chinese. HLB originated in Asia and now affects most citrus groves worldwide. The disease is devastating for the citrus industry because infected trees must be eradicated.

To prevent the insect from re-infecting a grove after contaminated trees have been eradicated, growers are typically advised to monitor pest populations, locate them and apply agrochemicals, but until now, there has been no suitable technology for this task.

Researchers grouped in the National Institute of Science & Technology (INCT in the Portuguese abbreviation) for Semiochemicals in Agriculture - one of the INCTs based in Sao Paulo State with support from Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) and the National Council for Scientific & Technological Development (CNPq) - have now identified and synthesized D. citri's sex pheromone for use as bait in traps to lure the insects, kill them, and prevent mating.

The discovery was made by scientists at the University of Sao Paulo's Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ-USP) and the Citrus Defense Fund (Fundecitrus) in Brazil, in collaboration with colleagues at the University of California, Davis, in the United States. Their findings were recently published in an article in Scientific Reports.

"The discovery and synthesis of this sex pheromone should make monitoring and controlling the insect more efficient so that the incidence of HLB can be reduced," said Jose Roberto Postali Parra, a professor at ESALQ-USP and co-principal investigator for INCT Semiochemicals in Agriculture.

Challenges in Asian citrus psyllid study

The INCT's researchers had been trying since 2009 to identify D. citri's sex pheromone for use in baited traps. They began by studying the insect's behavior and trying to extract semiochemicals, chemical substances involved in communication, such as sex pheromones.

However, isolating semiochemicals was made difficult by the insect's complex behavior as well as its biology.

"We realized from the word go that it would be very hard to identify the Asian citrus psyllid's sex pheromone because its behavior is complex and semiochemicals are present only in very small quantities," said Jose Mauricio Simoes Bento, also a professor at ESALQ-USP and the other co-principal investigator for INCT Semiochemicals in Agriculture.

To surmount these barriers, the INCT's researchers redoubled their efforts by partnering with Walter Leal, a professor at UC Davis, and colleagues in Fundecitrus's R&D department.

Initially, they developed a novel system to breed Asian citrus psyllids in the laboratory, establishing a colony on orange jasmine (Murraya paniculata). Temperature, luminosity and humidity mimicked the conditions found in most citrus groves in Brazil. The adults that emerged were collected and separated by sex for analysis of mating behavior.

Mating activity began four days after emergence and peaked after seven days. Virgin and mated females released a pheromone that attracted virgin males. Based on these findings, the researchers proceeded to isolate and identify the sex pheromone's constituents.

Chemical analysis of the compounds they isolated showed that the main component of the sex pheromone released by virgin females was lignoceryl acetate.

In loco tests: on the way to discovery

To find out whether this substance could be used to attract insects in the field, the researchers conducted tests in citrus groves located in the region of Araraquara, Sao Paulo State, where HLB is widespread. Different doses of lignoceryl acetate were used as bait in yellow sticky traps, commonly used to monitor populations of Asian citrus psyllid, which is attracted by yellow.

The number of insects caught in traps baited with lignoceryl acetate did not differ from the number caught in control traps during the first weeks of the field tests, but significantly more males were caught with the sex pheromone-derived substance than in control traps at 35 and 42 days, after which the lure became ineffectual.

Analysis of volatile compounds detected small amounts of acetic acid in bait left in the field but not in newly set traps, suggesting that lignoceryl acetate, although chemically stable, might undergo slow degradation and that acetic acid might be the product of this degradation and act as an attractant for males.

To test this hypothesis, the authors of the study analyzed the volatile compounds released by the insects during peak mating activity. The results clearly confirmed the presence of acetic acid.

Electroantennography (EAG), a technique for measuring the output of insect antennae to the brain for a given odor, and analysis by olfactometry showed that males were attracted by acetic acid. The researchers also used field tests to prove that traps baited with acetic acid captured significantly more male insects that control traps without the substance.

Low application cost

Surprisingly, traps baited with acetic acid also captured significantly more females than control traps, possibly owing to physical stimuli emitted by captured males, the researchers believe.

"We now plan to estimate the number of traps needed per area in citrus groves and work out a correlation with the insects attracted by traps in order to verify the reduction in the incidence of the disease and map infected sites," Bento said.

The idea, he added, is to make sure the bait lasts at least 30 days in the field, attracting insects to sticky traps so that growers can obtain weekly samples of captures to quantify and evaluate the presence of the pest. "Our aim is to enable citrus growers to use this pheromone to control the disease at the lowest possible cost," he said.

In Brazil, where HLB first appeared in 2004, some 46.2 million citrus trees (or 26% of the existing stock) have since been eradicated. In Sao Paulo State, the country's largest producer of oranges, 17% of orange groves have been affected.

In Florida (USA), Brazil's main competitor in orange production, HLB first appeared in 2005 and currently affects 80%-90% of the state's citrus groves. As a result, growers are expected to produce 68.7 million boxes of oranges this year, down from 150 million in 2017 and 240 million 15 years ago.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts production of 27 million boxes of oranges by Florida in 2025.

"HLB is the most important disease affecting the world's citrus industry today. Infected citrus plants can't be cured and must be eradicated," Parra said.

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About Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)

The Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. For more information: http://www.fapesp.br/en.
By hitting electrons with an ultra-intense laser, researchers have revealed dynamics that go beyond 'classical' physics and hint at quantum effects.

Whenever light hits an object, some of the light scatters back from the surface of the object. However, if the object is moving extremely fast, and if the light is incredibly intense, strange things can happen.

Electrons, for example, can be shaken so violently that they actually slow down because they radiate so much energy. Physicists call this process 'radiation reaction'.

This radiation reaction is thought to occur around objects such as black holes and quasars (supermassive black holes surrounded by a disc of gas). Being able to measure radiation reaction in the lab will therefore provide insights into processes that occur in some of the most extreme environments in the universe.

Radiation reaction is also interesting to physicists studying effects beyond 'classical' physics, as the equations (known as Maxwell's equations) that traditionally define the forces acting on objects fall short in these extreme environments.

Now, a team of researchers led by Imperial College London have demonstrated radiation reaction in the lab for the first time. Their results are published today in the journal Physical Review X.

They were able to observe this radiation reaction by colliding a laser beam one quadrillion (a billion million) times brighter than light at the surface of the Sun with a high-energy beam of electrons. The experiment, which required extreme precision and exquisite timing, was achieved using the Gemini laser at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's Central Laser Facility in the UK.

Photons of light that reflect from an object moving close to the speed of light have their energy increased. In the extreme conditions of this experiment, this shifts the reflected light from the visible part of the spectrum all the way up to high energy gamma rays. This effect let the researchers know when they had successfully collided the beams.

Senior author of the study, Dr Stuart Mangles from the Department of Physics at Imperial, said: "We knew we had been successful in colliding the two beams when we detected very bright high energy gamma-ray radiation.

"The real result then came when we compared this detection with the energy in the electron beam after the collision. We found that these successful collisions had a lower than expected electron energy, which is clear evidence of radiation reaction."

Study co-author Professor Alec Thomas, from Lancaster University and the University of Michigan, added: "One thing I always find so fascinating about this is that the electrons are stopped as effectively by this sheet of light, a fraction of a hair's breadth thick, as by something like a millimetre of lead. That is extraordinary."

The data from the experiment also agrees better with a theoretical model based on the principles of quantum electrodynamics, rather than Maxwell's equations, potentially providing some of the first evidence of previously untested quantum models.

Study co-author Professor Mattias Marklund of Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden whose group were involved in the study, said: "Testing our theoretical predictions is of central importance for us at Chalmers, especially in new regimes where there is much to learn. Paired with theory, these experiments are a foundation for high-intensity laser research in the quantum domain."

However more experiments at even higher intensity or with even higher energy electron beams will be needed to confirm if this is true. The team will be carrying out these experiments in the coming year.

The team were able to make the light so intense in the current experiment by focussing it to a very small spot (just a few micrometres - millionths of a metre - across) and delivering all the energy in a very short duration (just 40 femtoseconds long: 40 quadrillionths of a second).

To make the electron beam small enough to interact with the focussed laser, the team used a technique called 'laser wakefield acceleration'.

The laser wakefield technique fires another intense laser pulse into a gas. The laser turns the gas into a plasma and drives a wave, called the wakefield, behind it as it travels through the plasma. Electrons in the plasma can surf on this wake and reach very high energies in a very short distance.

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The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 83 new members and 16 foreign members, announced NAE President C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., today.

WASHINGTON -- The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 83 new members and 16 foreign members, announced NAE President C. D. (Dan) Mote, Jr., today. This brings the total U.S. membership to 2,293 and the number of foreign members to 262.

Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to "engineering research, practice, or education, including, where appropriate, significant contributions to the engineering literature" and to "the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering education."

Individuals in the newly elected class will be formally inducted during a ceremony at the NAE's annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 30, 2018. A list of the newly elected members and foreign members follows, with their primary affiliations at the time of election and a brief statement of their principal engineering accomplishments.

New Members

Abadi, Martin, principal scientist, Google Inc., Palo Alto, Calif. For contributions to the formal theory of computer security.

Abrahamson, Norman A., chief engineering seismologist, Pacific Gas & Electric Co., Piedmont, Calif. For contributions to seismic hazard assessment and for leadership in engineering seismology and earthquake engineering.

Adams, Robert W., senior fellow, Analog Devices Inc., Acton, Mass. For contributions to digital storage and reproduction of high-fidelity audio.

Alsac, Ongun, consultant, Alsac Inc., Chandler, Ariz. For development of methods and software for electric power industry online grid analysis and optimization.

Alvarez, Pedro J.J., director, Nanosystems Engineering Research Center on Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment, and George R. Brown Professor and chair, department of civil and environmental engineering, Rice University, Houston. For contributions to the practice and pedagogy of bioremediation and environmental nanotechnology.

Anand, Lallit, Warren and Towneley Rohsenow Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. For contributions to the development of plasticity for engineering technology: theory, experiment, and computation.

Archer, Lynden A., James A. Friend Family Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y. For advances in nanoparticle-polymer hybrid materials and in electrochemical energy storage technologies.

Aristidou, Aristos, director, biotechnology R&D, Cargill Inc., North Plymouth, Minn. For contributions to bioprocess and metabolic engineering for the commercial production of sustainable chemicals and plastics.

Barra, Mary T., chairman and chief executive officer, General Motors Co., Detroit. For leadership in automotive manufacturing, product engineering, and product development.

Belcher, Angela M., James Mason Crafts Professor of Biological Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. For development of novel genetic evolution methods for the generation of new materials and devices.

Bezos, Jeff, president, chief executive officer, and chairman, Amazon.com Inc., and founder and chief executive officer, Blue Origin LLC, Kent, Wash. For leadership and innovation in space exploration, autonomous systems, and building a commercial pathway for human space flight.

Bookbinder, Dana C., corporate fellow, global research, Corning Inc., Corning, N.Y. For product and process innovations in vehicle emissions control components and in optical data storage and transmission.

Brazil, Aine M., vice chairman, Thornton Tomasetti Inc., Hoboken, N.J. For leadership in the design of innovative buildings and for contributions to engineering literacy.

Chang-Hasnain, Constance Jui-Hua, John R. Whinnery Distinguished Chair Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley. For contributions to wavelength tunable diode lasers and multiwavelength laser arrays.

Chen, Hongming, chief scientific officer, Kala Pharmaceuticals Inc., Waltham, Mass. For contributions to the research, development, and translation of drug delivery technologies.

Chen, Jacqueline H., distinguished member of the technical staff, Combustion Research Facility, Sandia National Laboratories, Livermore, Calif. For contributions to the computational simulation of turbulent reacting flows with complex chemistry.

Chu, Margaret Sze-Tai Y., president, M.S. Chu and Associates LLC, New York City. For contributions and leadership in the U.S. program for permanent disposal of radioactive waste in deep underground repositories.

Cruz-Neira, Carolina, director, George W. Donaghey Emerging Analytics Center, and interim chair, department of computer science, University of Arkansas, Little Rock. For contributions to immersive visualization.

Ejebe, Gabriel C., senior project manager, energy trading and markets, Open Access Technology International Inc., Minneapolis. For contributions to electric power system static and dynamic security assessments.

Elisseeff, Jennifer H., professor, Wilmer Eye Institute, and professor of biomedical engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. For development and commercial translation of injectable biomaterials for regenerative therapies.

Engelmann, Bruce E., chief technology officer, Dassault Systemes Simulia Corp., Johnston, R.I. For development of software for the simulation of complex problems in engineering mechanics.

Filev, Dimitar P., executive technical leader, research and advanced engineering, Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich. For contributions to automotive research and practice in the fields of intelligent information and control systems.

Foufoula-Georgiou, Efi, distinguished professor, department of civil and environmental engineering, University of California, Irvine. For contributions to hydrology and hydroclimatology with applications to engineered systems across scales.

Frank, Edward H., chief executive officer, Brilliant Lime Inc., San Francisco. For contributions to the development and commercialization of wireless networking products.

Fullerton, Eric E., director, Center for Memory Recording Research, and professor, electrical and computer engineering, Jacobs School of Engineering, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla. For the invention and development of multilayer high-density magnetic recording media.

Gerstenmaier, William H., associate administrator for human exploration and operations, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, D.C. For technical contributions and leadership in national and international human spaceflight programs.

Gorte, Raymond J., Russell Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Professor, department of chemical and biomolecular engineering and department of materials science and engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. For fundamental contributions and their applications to heterogeneous catalysts and solid state electrochemical devices.

Goyal, Amit, director, Research and Education in Energy, Environment, and Water Institute, and Empire Innovation Professor, departments of chemical and biological engineering, electrical engineering, physics and materials, design, and innovation , University at Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo), Williamsville, N.Y. For materials science advances and contributions enabling commercialization of high-temperature superconducting materials.

Graves, Stephen C., Abraham J. Siegel Professor of Management Science, and professor of engineering systems and mechanical engineering, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. For contributions to the modeling and analysis of manufacturing systems and supply chains.

Gray, William G., research professor, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and adjunct professor, department of civil and environmental engineering, University of Vermont, Burlington. For advances in understanding of the physics of flow and transport in porous media.

Greene, Diane B., senior vice president, Google Cloud, Google Inc., Mountain View, Calif. For contributions in transforming virtualization from a concept to an industry.

Haussler, David, distinguished professor, biomolecular engineering, University of California, Santa Cruz. For developments in computational learning theory and bioinformatics, including first assembly of the human genome, its analysis, and data sharing.

Huh, Chun, research professor, Hildebrand Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas, Austin. For enhancing understanding of ultralow interfacial tensions of oil/surfactant/water systems.

Jha, Sanjay, chief executive officer, Globalfoundries Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. For leadership in the design and development of semiconductor technology enabling universal digital access.

Karagozian, Ann R., distinguished professor, department of mechanical and aerospace engineering, University of California, Los Angeles. For contributions to combustion and propulsion, education of future aerospace engineers, and service to the country.

Khatib, Oussama, director, Stanford Robotics Lab, and professor, department of computer science, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. For contributions to the understanding, analysis, control, and design of robotic systems operating in complex, unstructured, and dynamic environments.

Korgel, Brian A., Edward S. Hyman Endowed Chair in Engineering and T. Brockett Hudson Professorship in Chemical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin. For synthesis and applications of nanocrystals, nanowires, and their assemblies.

Langford III, John S., chairman and chief executive officer, Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., Manassas, Va. For application of autonomy and robotics to the design, development, production, and operation of advanced aircraft.

Li, Ming-Jun, corporate fellow, global research, Corning Inc., Corning, N.Y. For product and process inventions and commercial innovations in optical fiber design and transmission systems.

Lieberman, Robert A., president, Lumoptix LLC, Redondo Beach, Calif. For innovation, development, and deployment of optical biosensors, physical sensors, and chemical sensors, and for support of international education in optical technologies.

Lieuwen, Timothy Charles, executive director, Strategic Energy Institute, and professor and David S. Lewis Jr. Chair, School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. For contributions to research and development in low-emissions gas turbine combustion systems and U.S. energy policy.

Lomet, David B., principal researcher, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash. For contributions to high-performance database systems.

Lund, Jay R., director, Center for Watershed Sciences, and Ray B. Krone Professor, department of civil and environmental engineering, University of California, Davis. For analysis of water and environmental policy issues leading to integrated water resources planning and management.

Malshe, Ajay P., founder, executive vice president, and chief technology officer, NanoMech Inc., Springdale, Ark. For innovations in nanomanufacturing with impact in multiple industry sectors.

Mankosa, Michael J., executive vice president for global technology, Eriez Manufacturing Co., Erie, Pa. For engineering contributions to the conception, development, design, and application of advanced separation technologies for mineral processing.

May, Gary S., chancellor, University of California, Davis. For contributions to semiconductor manufacturing research and for innovations in educational programs for underrepresented groups in engineering.

Mayer, Larry A., director, Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, and professor, School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham. For development of techniques and technologies for coastal, Arctic, and ocean floor mapping.

Meneveau, Charles, Louis M. Sardella Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. For contributions to turbulence small-scale dynamics, large-eddy simulations, and wind farm fluid dynamics, and for leadership in the fluid dynamics community.

Misra, Jayadev, Schlumberger Centennial Chair Emeritus in Computer Science and University Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus, University of Texas, Austin. For contributions to the theory and practice of software verification of concurrent systems.

Muilenburg, Dennis A., chairman, president, and chief executive officer, Boeing Co., Chicago. For leadership in defense, space, security, and commercial aircraft.

Mullins, Oliver C., Schlumberger Fellow, Reservoir Characterization Group, Schlumberger, Houston. For developing downhole fluid analysis of oil and gas reservoirs, and elucidating the structure of asphaltenes in crude oils.

Nair, Raj, executive vice president and president, North America, Ford Motor Co., Dearborn, Mich. For leadership in the design and development of automotive vehicles and the transition to autonomous and electrified vehicles.

Nealey, Paul F., Brady W. Dougan Professor in Molecular Engineering, Institute for Molecular Engineering, University of Chicago, Chicago. For the development of directed self-assembly of block copolymers as an industrially significant process for nanolithography.

Nilsson, Nils J., Kumagai Professor Emeritus of Engineering, department of computer science, Stanford University, Medford, Ore. For foundational contributions to robotics, heuristic search, planning, and machine learning.

Olson, Judith S., Donald Bren Professor Emeritus of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine. For leadership, technical innovations, and development of systems that support collaborative work at a distance.

Osher, Stanley J., professor of mathematics, computer science, electrical engineering, chemical, and biomolecular engineering, University of California, Los Angeles. For contributions to imaging, computer vision, and graphics including level-set methods and efficient compressed sensing.

Papoutsakis, Eleftherios Terry, Eugene DuPont Chair of Chemical Engineering, department of chemical engineering and Delaware Biotechnology Institute, University of Delaware, Newark. For contributions to metabolic engineering, especially the industrial biotechnology of Clostridia, and to biomanufacturing of therapeutic proteins.

Patel, Chandrakant D., chief engineer and senior fellow, HP Inc., Palo Alto, Calif. For contributions in thermal and energy management of information technology systems.

Reyes Jr., Jose N., co-founder and chief technology officer, NuScale Power LLC, Corvallis, Ore. For innovations in small modular nuclear reactor design, nuclear safety, entrepreneurship, and education.

Roemmich, Dean H., professor of oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla. For breakthroughs in ocean observations that have advanced the understanding of Earth's climate system.

Roop, David W., director, electric transmission operations and reliability, Dominion Virginia Power, Richmond, Va. For leadership in electric vehicles, grounding methods, and safety and training in transmission and distribution grid operations.

Rusinko, Barbara Estelle, president, Bechtel Nuclear, Security & Environmental Inc., Reston, Va. For leadership of engineering and construction of complex megascale projects.

Saltzman, W. Mark, Goizueta Foundation Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chemical Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. For contributions in drug delivery, biomaterials, and tissue engineering that have led to improved patient treatments.

Sayed, Ali H., distinguished professor of electrical engineering, University of California, Los Angeles. For contributions to the theory and applications of adaptive signal processing.

Seidman, David N., Walter P. Murphy Professor, department of materials science and engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. For contributions to understanding of materials at the atomic scale, leading to advanced materials and processes.

Shao-Horn, Yang, W.M. Keck Professor of Energy, department of mechanical engineering and department of materials science and engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. For contributions to design principles for catalytic activity for oxygen electrocatalysis for electrochemical energy storage for clean energy.

Sharma, Mukul M., W.A. "Tex" Moncrief Jr. Centennial Chair in Petroleum, Geosystems, and Chemical Engineering and professor, Cockrell School of Engineering, University of Texas, Austin. For contributions to the science and technology of production from unconventional hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Shi, Jianjun (Jan), Carolyn J. Stewart Chair and professor, Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. For development of data fusion-based quality methods and their implementation in multistage manufacturing systems.

Singh, Chanan, Regents Professor and Irma Runyon Chair Professor, department of electrical and computer engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station. For advancement of theory, practice, and education in electric power system reliability.

Smyth, Susan Mary, chief scientist for global manufacturing, and director, manufacturing systems research, General Motors Co., Rochester Hills, Mich. For leadership in the development and implementation of manufacturing technologies for lightweight and electric vehicles.

Spiro, Clifford L., chief executive officer and founder, CSK Medical, Savannah, Ga. For technical leadership in diverse fields ranging from combustion to microelectronics and medical technologies.

Su, Lisa, president and chief executive officer, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Austin, Texas. For contributions to silicon-on-insulator technology and industry leadership.

Sukup, Charles E., president, Sukup Manufacturing Co., Sheffield, Iowa. For contributions to the design and manufacturing of agricultural equipment for grain handling and storage.

Tassin, Daniel, president, International Bridge Technologies Inc., San Diego. For leadership in concrete segmental bridge design and construction.

Tersoff, Jerry D., principal research staff member, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, IBM Corp., Yorktown Heights, N.Y. For theoretical contributions to the engineering science of materials growth and modeling, nanoscale electronic devices, and semiconductor interfaces.

Tousi, Susan H., senior vice president, product development, Illumina Inc., San Diego. For engineering leadership increasing throughput and decreasing costs of genome sequencing, enabling the path to the $100 human genome.

Trefonas III, Peter, corporate fellow, electronic materials R&D, Dow Chemical Co., Marlborough, Mass. For invention of photoresist materials and microlithography methods underpinning multiple generations of microelectronics.

Tse, David N.C., professor, department of electrical engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. For contributions to wireless network information theory.

Vora, Bipin V., founder and principal consultant, Vora International Process Corp., Naperville, Ill. For catalytic process innovations leading to commercialized petrochemical technologies.

Wang, Lihong, Bren Professor of Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena. For inventions in photoacoustic microscopy enabling functional, metabolic, and molecular imaging in vivo.

Ward, Robert S., president and chief executive officer, ExThera Medical Corp., Martinez, Calif. For engineering and commercialization of biomedical devices and prosthetic implants.

Whittingham, M. Stanley, distinguished professor, chemistry and materials science and engineering, Binghamton University, Binghamton, N.Y. For pioneering the application of intercalation chemistry for energy storage materials.

Wise, Kevin A., senior technical fellow, advanced flight controls, Phantom Works, Boeing Defense, Space and Security, Boeing Co., St. Charles, Mo. For application of optimal, robust, and adaptive control to aircraft and advanced weapon systems.

New Foreign Members

Agren, John, professor, materials science and engineering, Royal Institute of Technology KTH, Stockholm, Sweden. For development of integrated thermodynamics and kinetics analysis tools enabling computational materials engineering.

Asenjo, Juan A., professor and director, Center for Biochemical Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Chile, Santiago. For contributions to protein separations for the biotechnology industry and to biotechnology research, development, and entrepreneurship in Chile.

Carrera, Jesus, research professor, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, Spanish Council for Scientific Research, Barcelona, Spain. For leadership in the development and application of subsurface flow and transport models in hydrology, mining, and geotechnical engineering.

Durrani, Tariq S., research professor, department of electronic and electrical engineering, Centre for Excellence in Signal and Image Processing, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland. For innovations in key areas of signal processing and leadership in engineering.

Eleftheriou, Evangelos S., IBM Fellow and senior manager, Cloud and Computing Infrastructure, Zurich Research Laboratory, IBM Corp., Zurich, Switzerland. For contributions to digital storage and nanopositioning technologies, as implemented in hard disk-, tape-, and phase-change memory storage systems.

Fajfar, Peter, professor, structural and earthquake engineering, Faculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia. For leadership in the development of nonlinear structural analysis methods for earthquake engineering.

Hao, Jiming, professor and dean, Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, and director, Tsinghua-Toyota Research Center, Beijing, China. For leadership in the development and implementation of air pollution control theory, strategy, and technologies.

Jhunjhunwala, Ashok, professor, department of electrical engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, India. For innovation and development of affordable technology solutions in communications and energy.

Koumoutsakos, Petros, professor and chair, computational science, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland. For contributions to computational methods and simulations for fluid mechanics, nanotechnology, and biology.

Lee, Lou-Chuang, distinguished visiting chair, Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. For contributions to space physics and technical leadership in the FORMOSAT/COSMIC satellite program.

Lu, Ke, professor and director, Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science, and director, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang, China. For discovery of nanotwinned materials and contributions to the advancement of nanostructured materials.

Napier, John A.L., extraordinary professor, department of mining engineering, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa. For contributions to computational simulation of rock fracture around underground excavations.

O'Malley, Mark J., professor of electrical engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. For contributions to the integration of wind generation resources into the electric grid.

Soonee, Sushil K., adviser, retired chief executive officer, and founder, Power System Operation Corp., Ltd., New Delhi, India. For development of operational methods that enabled the interconnection of India's electric power grid.

Waite, Trevor David, Scientia Professor, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and deputy dean of strategic initiatives in the faculty of engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. For leadership in water treatment and environmental management.

Yang, Wei, president, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Beijing. For contributions to multiscale modeling of mechanical failure and reliability, and for leadership in engineering education and research.

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Contacts:

Randy Atkins

Senior Program Officer Media/Public Relations

202-334-1508

<atkins@nae.edu>

Kim Garcia

Membership Elections Manager

202-334-2195

<kgarcia@nae.edu>

National Academy of Engineering

[This news release is available at http://national-academies.org]
A new study reveals a mechanism by which the immune system may decide whether a bacterial species is a partner in bodily processes or an invader worthy of attack.

The study, led by NYU School of Medicine researchers and published February 7 in Nature, relates to the theory that our bodies co-evolved with bacteria over millions of years. Over that time, microbes gradually came to help regulate bodily processes from digestion to energy processing to immune defenses.

To make this possible, the body had to develop mechanisms by which it "tolerates" the presence of potentially helpful bacteria, not attacking them as foreign invaders. Complicating matters, many species - including those in the Helicobacter family - are helpful, or at least harmless, normally, but cause disease when genetic or environmental factors alter the normal balance.

Called pathobionts, such bacteria can shift in the eyes of immune cells from friendly (commensal) to dangerous, triggering inflammation - a rush of cells and proteins meant to destroy bacteria, but that damage the body's cells in the wrong context.

The degree to which the immune system tolerates a given bacterium depends on this friend/foe decision, and the current study reveals a related mechanism in mice exposed to Helicobacter hepaticus. While it is still unknown whether this species is helpful to gut function in mice, it can be dangerous in some instances, much as the helpful species Helicopbacter pylori can cause ulcers and stomach cancer in humans.

"Our findings represent a significant step toward clarifying the mechanisms that help the body manage the risk of keeping potentially dangerous, but often useful, bacteria around," says lead study author Dan Littman, MD, PhD, the Helen L. and Martin S. Kimmel Professor of Molecular Immunology in the Department of Pathology at NYU Langone Health.

Careful Balance

The new study found that the level to which the immune systems of mice tolerated H. hepaticus is determined by the interplay of two types of T cell, which control whether the immune response to a microbe amplifies.

Some not-yet-identified molecule - or combination of molecules (e.g. proteins, fats, or sugars) - made by bacteria cause the immune system to produce T helper 17 cells (Th17), which trigger a surge in inflammation as part of the response to a pathogenic strain. The current study suggests that the mammalian immune system has evolved such that each group of Th17 cells specific to a pathobiont bacterial species is paired with a second set of T regulatory cells that shuts down those Th17 cells, creating tolerance to the bacterial strain at hand.

The most interesting aspect of the study, say the authors, is the discovery of a new, specialized function of a certain type of regulatory T cell, which is to enable microbes to play useful roles by keeping them from causing inflammation. Just as important, evidence suggests that defects in such cells may enable bacteria to drive common inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) like Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.

The current study suggests that a new mouse model, in which the specialized T regulatory cells are missing, may help to finally identify the bacterial species contributing to IBD in humans, says Littman. In terms of mechanism, the authors found that the presence of H. hepaticus, even as it triggers inflammation via Th17 cells, also indirectly turns on genes that instruct immature precursor T cells to become Tregs.

It may be that specific T cell pairs manage tolerance of a great many pathobiont species, say the researchers, but additional studies would need to confirm that the mechanism applies beyond H. hepaticus. The authors say their next step will be to introduce gut bacteria from IBD patients into the mouse model with the goal of identifying pathobiont species that drive human disease.

"The current work suggests that pathobiont-driven IBD may be dependent on T cells that have escaped the normal tolerance system, attacking bacterial species that do not normally cause inflammation," says Littman, also a member of the Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine within NYU Langone's Skirball Institute for Biomolecular Medicine, and an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "If confirmed, future treatments may consist of groups of bacterial species, or key pieces of them, chosen because they can turn on sets of Tregs to quiet overall gut inflammation."

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Along with Littman, the study was led by first authors Maria Pokrovskii and Mo Xu, along with Carolina Galan and Christy Au, of the Molecular Pathogenesis Program, Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine, Skirball Institute, at NYU School of Medicine; as well as by Ren Yi and Richard Bonneau of the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Computer Science Department, at New York University. Also study authors were Yi Ding of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, Oliver J. Harrison of the Mucosal Immunology Section, Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in Bethesda, Maryland, and Yasmine Belkaid of the NIAID Microbiome Program. Bonneau is also a member of the Center for Genomics and Systems Biology at New York University and the Center for Computational Biology of the Flatiron Institute, part of the Simons Foundation in New York.

The study was supported by National Institutes of Health grants S10OD010584-01A1, S10OD018338-01, and R01DK103358; Perlmutter Cancer Center grant P30CA016087; the Irvington Institute fellowship program of the Cancer Research Institute; the Helen and Martin Kimmel Center for Biology and Medicine, the Colton Center for Autoimmunity, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
A feeling of freedom and a sense of responsibility are directly related to one another. Scientists from HSE's International Laboratory of Positive Psychology of Personality and Motivation, the University of Missouri and Omsk State University have become the first to prove this link in a study involving both Russian and American participants.

participants. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092656616302045?via%3Dihub

The various ways in which the words 'freedom' and 'responsibility' can be understood has been examined in various fields of science already, including philosophy, ethics and psychology. However, how these understandings are related had never been investigated - until now. The research carried out by this team of scientists shows that the road to responsibility involves giving a person a sense of freedom. An individual can choose to feel a sense of responsibility, provided that he or she is given enough freedom to do so.

Scientists carried out a series of experiments on students from Russian and American universities - 1430 in total. In Russia, the research was carried out in 3 regions - Altai, Tomsk and Omsk, and in the USA, the experiments were carried out in Missouri, where the University of Missouri served as a base. Research which aims to determine freedom employs the understanding of 'autonomy'. Self-Determination Theory considers it to be a basic human need. Should a person not have a choice, this basic need is not met, which negatively impacts a person's psychological well-being and has other negative effects.

The scientists used methods which measured the level of responsibility and autonomy as personality traits. The results showed that these two are interrelated. The higher a person's level of autonomy, the more responsibility he or she feels.

The participants were used to imagine themselves in various situations which had been specifically thought-out by the researchers, and describe their feelings and what they would do. The person giving the instructions to the participant (someone close to them, a person in a position of power, or a stranger) either gave them freedom in deciding how to complete the task, or didn't, and also gave them a sense of how responsible they would be for the result. For example, a student was asked to imagine that he was asked by a professor to carry out an important scientific project which was closely related to his field of study. In one case, the student had the freedom to choose how to act, and in the other, the professor determined the strategy to be implemented, and the student simply carried out the professor's orders. The student was then told that the project turned out to be unsuccessful.

Research participants had to assess whether they felt that their own actions were the reason for the failure, or whether they explained it to be a result of extenuating circumstances and tried to figure out what these reasons were.

In those situations where participants were offered freedom, they felt a greater sense of responsibility. They were ready to accept the possible negative consequences of their actions and were less likely to look for other reasons for these consequences. In addition, the results showed that telling someone to take responsibility is ineffective. It doesn't result in a higher likelihood that the person will do so.

Scientists note that a person's sense of responsibility is higher if their autonomy is encouraged by those who are in positions of power or authority. This includes parents, teachers and bosses. 'The freedom to choose, the respect, and the understanding from the person's boss, or the individual in the position of power - this is what helps a person grow and become more effective', the research concludes. In contrast, using words such as 'should' and 'have to' are less effective in encouraging someone to take responsibility, and even have the opposite effect.

The results for Russian participants were similar to those obtained for American participants, however scientists did identify some cultural particularities. Russians are less likely to take responsibility than Americans. This was deemed by scientists to be a result of the different levels of societal freedom experienced by Russians and Americans.

Russians, however, were found to be more sensitive to who was giving the instructions and how they were given. Their sense of responsibility was found to be higher than that of Americans when the person was close to them; for example, a relative or a friend. The main factor in these situations was trust. Therefore, in these situations, the request itself was more important than what was actually being asked of the person. Scientists are confident that the results of the study 'are applicable in the fields of management and politics, where a Russian person should experience a sense of individual responsibility'.

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The lion population of Zimbabwe's Save Valley Conservancy shows low genetic diversity despite improved numbers, according to a study published February 7, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Laura Tensen from the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and colleagues based in the Save Valley Conservancy.

The African lion (Panthera leo) population in the Save Valley Conservancy of the Lowveld region of Zimbabwe fell to less than ten known individuals, until the 2005 introduction of ten new lions helped it recover to around 200 in 2016. But since this population originated from just a few individuals, there are concerns about potential low genetic diversity due to inbreeding. The authors of the present study genotyped a sample of 42 Save Valley lions, using mitochondrial and nuclear markers to compare the genetic diversity of this population to that of other African lion populations.

The researchers found that the Save Valley lion population appears to be the least genetically diverse of those in Zimbabwe's Lowveld region, with evidence of inbreeding. The population also appeared genetically distinct from others, likely because factors such as human development may have prevented the populations mixing.

Lion populations with low genetic diversity are known to be at risk for reduced fertility and increased death rates compared to more diverse populations. Given their findings, the authors suggest the introduction of new unrelated lions into the Save Valley population may become necessary to enhance its genetic diversity and ensure its long-term future.

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In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available article in PLOS ONE: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0190369

Citation: Tensen L, Groom RJ, Khuzwayo J, Jansen van Vuuren B (2018) The genetic tale of a recovering lion population (Panthera leo) in the Save Valley region (Zimbabwe): A better understanding of the history and managing the future. PLoS ONE 13(2): e0190369. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190369

Funding: The study was financed through Faculty (FRC) and University (URC) Funding, University of Johannesburg. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Recent advances in digital factory science make it possible to print more compliant objects across a wider range of length-scales than conventional engineering processes. A bottleneck for enabling the next technological progress resides in filling the gap in the comprehension of the unprecedented degree of complexity dominating this novel technology.

Mathematics plays a pivotal role in this contemporary industrial revolution: a study recently published by Nature Communications solves a problem of utmost importance for the development of 4d printing, i.e. the possibility to fabricate objects with a programmable shape over time.

Professor Pasquale Ciarletta at the MOX Laboratory, Department of Mathematics, Politecnico di Milano, has provided fundamental insights into controlling the sudden nucleation of localised furrows, also known as creases, in soft solids. This theoretical understanding is of great interest not only for engineering sciences, especially for the possibility to fabricate devices with adaptive surface morphology at different length-scales, but also for developmental biology, in order to explain the spontaneous emergence of patterns during tissue morphogenesis, e.g., the convolutions of the brain, or metastasis in tumour development.

"Despite almost a century of thorough experimental investigation of the problem in engineering"- explains the author- "the physics behind creasing remained largely unexplained up to date, due to its formidable complexity. This study proposes a novel mathematical approach to accurately predict the experimental conditions triggering the onset and the morphology of creases, thus paving the way for controlling their appearance on-demand, down to nanometric scales".

These mathematical results will provide a potential breakthrough in the design and the fabrication of the next generation of morphable materials, with important fall-backs in leading-edge technologies of societal interest, such as stretchable electronics, self-foldable machines, and lab-on-a-chip devices.

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Spin a merry-go-round fast enough and the riders fly off in all directions. But the spinning particles in a Rice University lab do just the opposite.

Experiments in the Rice lab of chemical engineer Sibani Lisa Biswal show micron-sized spheres coming together under the influence of a rapidly spinning magnetic field. That's no surprise because the particles themselves are magnetized.

But how they come together is of interest as the particles first gather into a disorganized aggregated cluster and then into a crystal-like regimen as the magnetic field becomes stronger.

Results of the work led by Biswal and graduate student Elaa Hilou appear in Physical Review Materials. The researchers hope it will inspire ways to look at, model and create novel two-dimensional materials like tunable catalysts or colloids that can change their surface area on demand.

Experiments revealed boundaries, shapes, phase transitions and the creation and resolution of crystal-like defects as between 300 and 1,500 magnetized spheres followed their energetic impulses under the moving field's influence.

"I have been presenting this as a miniaturized version of a fidget spinner where we use the magnetic field to generate an isotropic interaction around the particles," Biswal said. "We can create particle ensembles that are loosely to very tightly packed by the strength of that interaction."

That interested Biswal and Hilou, but not as much as what they saw happening around the edges, where line tension formed by the outermost particles determined the ultimate shape of the arrays.

"Think about a soap bubble," Biswal said. "It always forms a sphere, even when you try to deform it. That's because surface tension wants to minimize its surface area. It's the same for our system, but in two dimensions. The interactions are always trying to minimize what we call the line tension.

"Elaa finds the Gibbs interface and measures the energy at that interface where it goes from many particles thick (at low magnetic field strengths) to nearly a single particle thick by changing the strength of the interaction," she said. "She's done a lot of analysis of the line tension and how it relates to the energetics of the system."

The next step is to create physical, movable models for real systems to see how the constituents react when perturbed. "There's a lot of interest in trying to create models for atomic and molecular systems," Biswal said. "Most of that has been done through computational simulations, but here we have an experimental system that can realize structure and processes such as coalescence."

"For example, in catalysis, if you want to increase the surface area, you want more voids in order to facilitate contact between a catalyst and a reaction," Hilou said. "By increasing the concentration and controlling the field, we can start to see voids and control the interface relative to the bulk."

The technique could model emulsions, she said. "Say you have oil and water and you want to phase-separate them," Hilou said. "In the case of cosmetics and the food industry, you want the emulsions to be stable. We want to be able to mimic their dynamics by controlling particle size and the field strength."

Biswal said the technique might also be used to model systems in which temperature, rather than electromagnetism, is the driver. In fields like metallurgy, defects are removed "by turning up the temperature to give molecules more freedom to move grain boundaries and voids," she said. "Then they decrease the temperature to lock in the structures.

"What we have is a dial that not only mimics the effects of temperature with a magnetic field but also offers the ability to watch through a microscope what happens in an actual system," Biswal said.

Rice graduate alumnus Di Du, now a research statistical analyst at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and graduate student Steve Kuei are co-authors of the paper. The National Science Foundation supported the research.

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Read the abstract at https://journals.aps.org/prmaterials/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevMaterials.2.025602

This news release can be found online at http://news.rice.edu/2018/02/07/fast-spinning-spheres-show-nanoscale-systems-secrets/

Follow Rice News and Media Relations via Twitter @RiceUNews

Videos:

https://youtu.be/5XPFxoOwXsE

Particles rotated in a spinning magnetic field of 8 gauss, a measure of magnetic strength, stay loosely connected, simulating a droplet dissipating into a gas at its edges. (Credit: Video by the Biswal Lab)

https://youtu.be/9Xc4aiWe_hI

Particles rotated in a spinning magnetic field of 11 gauss and 20 Hz merge and reorganize themselves to quench a grain boundary, which is forced to the outside of the array and eventually eliminated. (Credit: Video by the Biswal Lab)

Related materials:

Biswal Lab: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~biswalab/Biswal_Research_Group/Welcome.html

Rice Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering: https://chbe.rice.edu

Rice Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering: https://msne.rice.edu

Located on a 300-acre forested campus in Houston, Rice University is consistently ranked among the nation's top 20 universities by U.S. News & World Report. Rice has highly respected schools of Architecture, Business, Continuing Studies, Engineering, Humanities, Music, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences and is home to the Baker Institute for Public Policy. With 3,970 undergraduates and 2,934 graduate students, Rice's undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is just under 6-to-1. Its residential college system builds close-knit communities and lifelong friendships, just one reason why Rice is ranked No. 1 for quality of life and for lots of race/class interaction and No. 2 for happiest students by the Princeton Review. Rice is also rated as a best value among private universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance. To read "What they're saying about Rice," go to http://tinyurl.com/RiceUniversityoverview.
SLAS Discovery (formerly the Journal of Biomolecular Screening) and SLAS Technology (formerly the Journal of Laboratory Automation), both published by SLAS (Society of Laboratory Automation and Screening) in partnership with SAGE Publishing, hosted a special reception to celebrate the 2018 SLAS Journal Achievement Award honorees on Feb. 6 at SLAS2018, the SLAS International Conference and Exhibition, held Feb. 3-7, 2018, in San Diego, CA.

SLAS Discovery Editor-in-Chief Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D., of Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN, and SLAS Technology Editor-in-Chief Edward Kai-Hua Chow, Ph.D., of the National University of Singapore, announced honorees in three categories, all of which are now freely available to all readers at www.slas.org/publications/scientific-journals/2018-slas-journal-achievement-awards.

2018 SLAS READERS CHOICE AWARDS

Reflecting popularity among readers throughout 2017.

SLAS Discovery

Characterization of Differentiated SH-SY5Y as Neuronal Screening Model Reveals Increased Oxidative Vulnerability by J. I. Forster, S. Koglsberger, C. Trefois, O. Boyd, A. S. Baumuratov, L. Buck, R. Balling and P. M. A. Antony (SLAS Discovery. 2016, 21, 496-509.)

SLAS Technology

2018 SLAS AUTHORS CHOICE AWARDS

Reflecting popularity among authors (citations) throughout 2017.

SLAS Discovery

A New Perspective in the Field of Cardiac Safety Testing through the Comprehensive In Vitro Proarrhythmia Assay Paradigm by B. Fermini; J.C. Hancox; N. Abi-Gerges; M. Bridgland-Taylor; K.W. Chaudhary; T. Colatsky; K. Correll; W. Crumb; B. Damiano; G. Erdemli; G. Gintant; J. Imredy; J. Koerner; J. Kramer; P. Levesque; Z. Li; A. Lindqvist; C.A. Obejero-Paz; D. Rampe; K. Sawada; D.G. Strauss and J.I. Vandenberg (SLAS Discovery. 2016, 21, 1-11.)

SLAS Technology

TEER Measurement Techniques for In Vitro Barrier Model Systems by Balaji Srinivasan, Aditya Reddy Kolli, Mandy Brigitte Esch, Hasan Erbil Abaci, Michael L. Shuler and James J. Hickman (SLAS Technology. 2016, 21, 107-126.)

2018 SLAS REVIEWER EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Reflecting review quality, timeliness and volunteer service in 2017.

SLAS Discovery

Douglas Auld, Novartis Biomedical Research Institute, Cambridge, MA (USA)

Christophe Antczak, Novartis Biomedical Research Institute, Cambridge, MA (USA)

Marc Ferrer, NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, Bethesda, MD (USA)

SLAS Technology

Eun Ji Chung, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA (USA)

Christopher Puleo, GE Global Research, Niskayuna, NY (USA)

Edmond Young, University of Toronto, ONT (Canada)

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About our Society and Journals

SLAS (Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening) is an international community of nearly 20,000 professionals and students dedicated to life sciences discovery and technology. The SLAS mission is to bring together researchers in academia, industry and government to advance life sciences discovery and technology via education, knowledge exchange and global community building.

SLAS DISCOVERY: 2016 Impact Factor 2.444. Editor-in-Chief Robert M. Campbell, Ph.D., Eli Lilly and Company, Indianapolis, IN (USA). SLAS Discovery (Advancing Life Sciences R&D) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Biomolecular Screening (JBS).

SLAS TECHNOLOGY: 2016 Impact Factor 2.850. Editor-in-Chief Edward Kai-Hua Chow, Ph.D., National University of Singapore (Singapore). SLAS Technology (Translating Life Sciences Innovation) was previously published (1996-2016) as the Journal of Laboratory Automation (JALA).

Follow SLAS on Twitter at @SLAS_Org.

Follow SLAS on Facebook at SocietyforLaboratoryAutomationandScreening.

Follow SLAS on YouTube at SLASvideo.

Follow SLAS Americas on LinkedIn at Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS Americas).

Follow SLAS Europe on LinkedIn at Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening Europe (SLAS Europe).
The research is aimed at studying the phenomenon of genome elimination in the organism. The essence of this phenomenon is as follows. The organism possesses a genetic system of elimination (selective destruction) of hereditary information. This system is crucial for the survival, reproduction and evolution of species. A vivid example of the elimination of the genome can be observed during the formation of germ cells in a natural frog hybrid Pelophylax esculentus. Natural crossbreading of different species of green European frogs lead to formation of specimen containing the hereditary material of only one of the parents in their genome. This happens due to the fact that one of the parental genomes destroys, and the remaining one is duplicated, as a result we have an individual that is a genetically identical copy of one of its parents. As studies show, this type of reproduction affects the development of the body and leads to a decrease in survival rate in general.

Recent discoveries on the study of genome editing systems allow us to take a fresh look at the molecular foundations of this complex, intricate process.

A group of Russian scientists headed by Professor of Ural Federal University Vladimir Vershinin in collaboration with a team of researchers from the Institute for Amphibian Biology of Hiroshima University headed by Professor Ikuo Miura plans to conduct a series of experiments to uncover the mechanisms of genome elimination. The Institute for Amphibian Biology is the only institution in the world with many years of experience, technical capabilities and the necessary tools for the artificial breeding, growth and maturation of adult frogs for generations.

According to Ivan Sitnikov, graduate student of UrFU majoring in Fundamental and Applied Biology, in the summer 2017, the scientists brought to Hiroshima the specimens, for which genetic markers were subsequently allocated. Hybridization was performed and young specimens were obtained; at the moment they are in the Amphibian Biology Center. In the future, researchers plan to study Japanese brown frogs forming hybrids, to compare the data.

'After the completion of the two-year program, it is planned to organize the International Conference in Russia with the participation of Japanese colleagues to discuss results of the study,' said Ivan Sitnikov. 'We assume, the obtained results will confirm the fact that the elimination of the genome is not exceptional, but a universal process that is characteristic for all living systems. Understanding the mechanisms of this process will help to use it in medical purposes, such as the treatment of hereditary diseases by the destruction of "unnecessary" genes.'

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Pine trees become temporarily sterile when exposed to ultraviolet radiation as intense as some scientists believe the Earth experienced 252 million years ago during the planet's largest mass extinction, lending support to the theory that ozone depletion contributed to the crisis.

The effect of high UV on conifers and potentially other trees also suggests caution today in introducing chemicals that deplete Earth's ozone layer, which has yet to recover after a global ban on chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants in the 1980s instituted after ozone holes developed over the poles. Some industrial chemicals also destroy atmospheric ozone, which is the planet's sunscreen, protecting all life from excessive UV rays, in particular UV-B wavelengths, which causes mutations in DNA.

Results of the experiment, which was conducted by University of California, Berkeley graduate student Jeffrey Benca, will be published Feb. 7 in the online journal Science Advances.

Benca irradiated 18-inch-tall, bonsai-like pines with UV-B dosages up to 13 times stronger than on Earth today, simulating the effects of ozone depletion caused by immense volcanic eruptions that occurred at the end of the Permian Period. During the two-month experiment, none of the trees died but all seed cones, or pine cones, shriveled up only days after emerging, leaving the trees sterile.

When placed outside, the trees regained the ability to produce healthy seed cones in later years.

Scientists have proposed that ozone depletion caused by periodic volcanic eruptions over nearly a million years was one cause of the end-Permian extinction, but how has been unclear. Acid rain would have been a local effect, but the extinction of nearly 70 percent of known land animals, 95 percent of marine life and many plant lineages was global.

Previous paleoclimate modeling studies suggest the volcanic spurts could have wiped out the ozone layer worldwide, though temporarily. Nevertheless, even if ancient trees regained their fertility, repeated bouts of sterility could have hampered population growth over time, leading to collapse of the biosphere planet-wide, according to Benca.

Long-term biosphere collapse

"During the end-Permian crisis, the forests may have disappeared in part or fully because of increased UV exposure," Benca said. "With pulses of volcanic eruptions happening, we would expect pulsed ozone shield weakening, which may have led to forest declines previously observed in the fossil record."

"If you disrupt some of the dominant plant lineages globally repeatedly, you could trigger trophic cascades by destabilizing the food web base, which doesn't work out very well for land animals," he added.

The surprise findings tell scientists something about past extinctions and Earth's future prospects as climate change, habitat destruction and pollution set us up for Earth's sixth mass extinction.

"Paleontologists have come up with various kill scenarios for mass extinctions, but plant life may not be affected by dying suddenly as much as through interrupting one part of the life cycle, such as reproduction, over a long period of time, causing the population to dwindle and potentially disappear," said co-author Cindy Looy, a UC Berkeley associate professor of integrative biology.

"Global biodiversity catastrophes are not about death but about the pruning of evolutionary branches on the tree of life at a rate much higher than the sprouting of new shoots," added co-author Ivo Duijnstee, an adjunct assistant professor of integrative biology. "Jeff, who used his plant growth chambers as a time machine to test the potential of a hypothesis about what may have happened 252 million years ago, provides an excellent example illustrating how the slowly unfolding extinction on land over maybe tens or hundreds of thousands of years may have been caused by reproductive troubles at the base of the food chain."

Siberian volcanoes

The extinction at the end of the Permian is thought to have been caused by volcanic eruptions in Siberia over hundreds of thousands if not a million years that produced what are known today as the Siberian Traps: lava fields covering much of northern Russia and originally encompassing nearly 3 million square miles with an average thickness of about 1,000 feet.

In 2004, Looy and her former Ph.D. advisor Henk Visscher proposed one way this might have played out, bases on fossilized abnormal plant spores found worldwide: volcanic gases - halocarbons like methyl chloride and methyl bromide - destroyed much or all of Earth's ozone layer, boosting UV-B exposure that would have affected life and potentially increased the genetic mutation rates in pollen and spores of plants worldwide.

Evidence for this hypothesis grew in 2005 when an independent research team led by Clinton Foster of Geoscience Australia discovered malformed pollen grains from end-Permian seed plants. The rise in the percentage of malformed pollen, which is seen in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, coincided with the decline of forests globally.

Finding evidence of malformation mechanisms in 252 million year old pollen fossils is impossible, so Looy and others have looked for other ways to determine whether increased UV-B disrupted the end-Permian ecosystem. Benca came up with a series of experiments using living plants to test the hypothesis.

The first experiment, using pines, was designed to find out whether high levels of UV-B could cause malformed pollen grains in today's seed plants similar to those described by Foster, and whether these malformations could affect reproduction. Squeezing a mature pine tree into a laboratory was a sticking point until Benca hit upon a novel solution: using a dwarf cultivar selected for bonsai that readily produces pollen and seed cones.

In 2013, he trucked 60 dwarf clonal pines to Berkeley from a conifer nursery in Boring, Oregon. After acclimating them for a year outdoors in full sun with sparse water and nutrient-poor soil - typical conditions for this alpine species, Pinus mugo - ran a 56-day indoor experiment using high-intensity UV-B-emitting lamps.

In three separate indoor UV chambers, Benca exposed the dwarf pines to 7.5, 10 and 13 times Berkeley's normal UV-B intensity, in line with estimates of the impact Siberian Trap eruptions would have had on the ozone layer if their emissions occurred over various lengths of time, ranging from 400,000 years to less than 200,000 years.

Indeed, the pines did produce malformed pollen. At the medium and extreme exposures, 12 to 15 percent of pollen grains were misshapen, versus 3 percent in normal and low-exposure trees. Foster's previous study suggested that pollen yields having more than 3 percent malformed grains are associated with environmental stress in modern conifers, Benca said. In total, he spent three years conducting the experiments and comparing more than 57,000 pollen grains produced by trees in the chambers.

To the researchers' amazement, however, all trees subjected to increased UV levels became sterile. Their seed cones shriveled up before they had a chance to be fertilized. This seemed to be a systemic reaction to the UV-B stress, since even seed cones hidden among foliage died.

"The system we used was really quite conservative," Benca said. "Unlike the relatively unprotected seed-bearing structures of affected end-Permian seed plants, today's pines have elaborate and very heavily reinforced, interlocking cone scales that shield their seeds from predators and the external environment. Even so, these trees just ditched all their seed cones. Pinus mugo is an alpine species that should be quite resilient to increased UV levels."

"That Jeff's UV-B-blast experiment - somewhat of a calculated long shot - produced pollen abnormalities in a modern conifer similar to abnormalities observed in 252-million-year old microfossils was one of the most exciting things I've seen this decade," Duijnstee said.

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The research was supported by the National Science Foundation (1000135655, 1457846), Research Council of Norway through the Centre of Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED) (223272.L.), and a Paleontological Society Richard Bambach Award.
University of Cincinnati engineering professor Jason Heikenfeld maps the progress and untapped potential of wearable sensors in a critical review of the research field.

When it comes to biometric sensors, human skin isn't an ally.

It's an obstacle.

The University of Cincinnati is developing cutting-edge methods to overcome this barrier without compromising the skin and its ability to prevent infection and dehydration. By making better noninvasive tests, researchers can open up enormous opportunities in medicine and the fitness industry.

"You think of the skin as an opportunity because you can measure things through it optically, chemically, electrically and mechanically," said Jason Heikenfeld, assistant vice president in UC's College of Engineering and Applied Science. "But it's actually the opposite. The body has evolved to preserve all of these chemical analytes. So the skin actually isn't very good at giving them up."

Heikenfeld, director of UC's Novel Devices Lab, co-authored a critical review of sensor research this month with his students and colleagues for the nanotechnology journal Lab on a Chip, outlining both scientific accomplishments to date and challenges ahead.

"We wanted to have all of the current progress and future directions and needs consolidated in one article," said Andrew Jajack, co-author and a UC engineering student. Jajack designed the image and graphic that appears on the journal's cover depicting the four ways that sensors can read biometrics in a track athlete.

The article, co-authored by international leaders in biosensors, discussed the growing popularity of wearable devices such as Fitbit and explored the limitations of current technology.

The skin can provide misleading data to biosensors since it harbors bacteria and tends to collect salt and other minerals from dried sweat. An effective sensor has to bend and stretch like human skin, even as it adheres to the surface when the subject is moving. Electrical sensors that track your heartbeat have to account for noise both from within the body or the environment such as from power lines or nearby electronics.

Heikenfeld said biosensors in most wearable devices use technology that has been available for years.

"The latest trend has not been driven by technological breakthroughs," he said. "When you think of Fitbit, these capabilities have been around a long time. What's driven it is the proliferation of smartphones and miniaturization of electronics and a growing desire for health awareness."

UC has a long history with biosensors. The late Leland Clark Jr., sometimes called "the father of biosensors," conducted research at the UC College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Research Foundation. Among his many feats, he developed the modern blood glucose monitor that diabetics use today and the first sensors to measure a patient's blood oxygen levels.

"Sensors are a big deal here," Heikenfeld said. "It's something we've had historical strength in with pioneers in the field."

UC's research in sensors continues to be a pipeline for industry. Heikenfeld is co-founder and chief science officer for Eccrine Systems Inc., a Cincinnati company that specializes in sweat biosensors.

Eccrine Systems announced this month that it won a $750,000 contract with the U.S. Air Force to study biomarkers from human sweat in real time. It marks the second phase of an initial research contract with the military.

"We try to know other people's business better than they do. You can't innovate unless you are willing to dig way deeper than the competition," he said.

Jajack said Eccrine Systems, Inc. is working on new ways to track biometric information continuously over time.

"A lot of the way we diagnose disease is based on single-moment-in-time markers. But the promise of wearable sensors is real-time health monitoring," he said. "You can see a more complex picture of what's going on in the body. That alone will lead to more diagnostic techniques across a spectrum of diseases."

Students in UC's Novel Devices Lab, located in the College of Engineering and Applied Science, are coming up with innovative ways to glean information from human sweat. These devices are the size of a Band-Aid and are worn on the skin like one, too.

Students Adam Hauke and Phillip Simmers are working on UC's next generation of sweat-stimulating sensors. These devices generate sweat on a tiny patch of skin, even when the subject is resting and comfortable, and wick it away to sensors that measure substances like glucose. The biosensors collect and concentrate the faintest amounts of sweat into samples that sensors can read.

"We'll stimulate sweating in this area and then this will start to pick up sweat off the skin, pulling it from the pores and moving it up across these electrodes here," Hauke said. "That's where we do the sensing."

Among its other capabilities, the device measures the galvanic skin response, an indication of how much someone is sweating, he said.

"The more you sweat, the wetter your skin is and the electrical resistance goes down," he said.

The Society for Chemistry and Micro-Nano Systems recognized Hauke and Simmers with its Young Researcher Award last year for their collaborative study in continuous sweat sampling and sensing.

In a different part of the Novel Devices Lab, engineering student Laura Stegner worked with a milling machine to customize flow-rate sensors. Across from her, classmate Amy Drexelius worked on the part of the device that can separate and concentrate the analytes they want to test in sweat or blood.

"We want to concentrate the sample. So you can stick this on the front of your sensor and it does a lot of previously hard chemistry lab work for you," she said.

This technique could apply to other trace chemicals scientists want to measure, Jajack said.

"A big issue today is the amount of pharmaceuticals found in our drinking water," Jajack said. "They're hard to measure because they're so diluted. Even at diluted concentrations, they might be having an effect on us."

Heikenfeld said his lab's success stems from its talented students, who apply their diverse interests and experiences to their lab work. Developing new sensors and applications takes problem solving that draws from many academic disciplines.

"How often are you going to find someone who's deep into biology and chemistry who also does hack-athons and is a big maker, too?" Heikenfeld said of Jajack. "But that's what it's going to take. We need to innovate in disciplines that are not our traditional areas of expertise so we're not relying on others to move at speeds at which our own creative minds want to sprint. We're doing that now because of the quality of people we have here."

Moving sensor applications from the lab bench to the store shelf remains a big challenge, UC chemistry professor William Connick said. He serves as director of UC's Center for Biosensors & Chemical Sensors.

"Groups like Dr. Heikenfeld's are making remarkable strides in developing technologies that provide information on biomarkers at exceedingly low levels from very small quantities of fluid like sweat," Connick said.

"To go from the lab to a practical device is a challenge when you're working with real-world samples. Every person is a little different. Every circumstance is a little different," he said. "Making something that's robust enough to accurately perform under a wide variety of conditions is challenging."

Connick said demand for biosensors is only going to grow as labs like UC's develop better ways to collect information. And home testing and continuous monitoring of drugs over time could lead to better health outcomes, he said.

"The market is wide open now. The potential is gigantic, just in cost savings and being able to provide rapid screening without taking blood and having to send samples off to a laboratory," Connick said.

Heikenfeld's journal article noted that biosensors of the future will measure multiple aspects of a person's physiology. And new wearable sensors will need a mix of disposable and reusable parts to address the wear and tear that come with daily life.

Now UC's Novel Devices Lab is developing a new noninvasive technique to make sweat glands more permeable so sensors can record even more detailed data. Heikenfeld and Jajack are not ready to talk about how it works but they are very excited about the possibilities.

"Let's just say it's safe and super awesome," Heikenfeld said. "There are a lot of great things coming up."

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'Make America Great Again' - Donald Trump's campaign slogan resonated deeply with many Americans. Notions of America's greatness and moral superiority have a long tradition and are deeply engrained in the country's culture. Such ideas are often projected into an imagined golden past. But how can this collective nostalgia be reconciled with the many historical wrongs the country has perpetrated?

A new study recently published under the title 'Nostalgia for America's past can buffer collective guilt' in the European Journal of Social Psychology explores the collective yearning for past greatness, and how it contributes to establishing group coherence in the present.

In a series of five studies, Dr Matthew Baldwin, a psychologist at the University of Cologne's Social Cognition Center, and his two colleagues Mark H.

White II (University of Kansas) and Daniel Sullivan (University of Arizona) examined when - and for whom - American collective nostalgia can relieve feelings of collective guilt. 'People who tend to glorify America, seeing it as the best and most moral country in the world, are also particularly nostalgic about America's past', says Baldwin. 'And those who glorify the country's past also tend to portray America as morally superior and to downplay its past wrongdoing. This can alleviate feelings of guilt about things like the Japanese internment camps during World War II', he adds.

In a pilot study and four subsequent studies, the psychologists interviewed approximately 100 to 200 individuals per study. They found out that those who expressed a high level of nostalgia felt lower collective guilt about past wrongs. Moreover, among participants who also glorified America, reminders of American past wrongdoing in turn evoked spontaneous collective nostalgia. Hence it appears that nostalgia serves as a kind of defence against bad feelings and as a resource to raise the coherence and moral standing of the group.

Baldwin and his colleagues are currently exploring how nostalgia serves this purpose: 'Maybe nostalgia leads people to legitimize bad actions as good, or rather allows them to exclude them from what America "really is".' Along with Dr Joris Lammers from the University of Cologne, Baldwin is also looking at whether nostalgia has a general effect of making bad things look good. 'Nostalgia for the past may even give a positive spin to things that are detrimental to society, like smoking indoors', Baldwin notes. 'Overall, nostalgia seems to be a driving force behind many of the things that we believe and do, and while it usually serves the self well, it might sometimes have the opposite effect on the well-being of society as a whole.'

The Social Cognition Center Cologne (SoCCCo) is part of the University of Cologne's Faculty of Human Sciences. It focuses on the psychological study of human social behaviour with an emphasis on underlying social cognitive processes. Ten research groups study a broad array of topics in social cognition, ranging from the dynamics of self-control to the ubiquity of social comparison and the intricacies of processing valenced information.

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Original Publication:

Matthew Baldwin, Mark H. White II, Daniel Sullivan. 'Nostalgia for America's past can buffer collective guilt.' European Journal of Social Psychology, 5 January 2018
One phenomenon that already fascinated Charles Darwin is the evolution of huge, complex insect societies from solitary ancestors. This was the case with termites and ants, which have the same eusocial lifestyle. This has distinctive features such as the creation of castes, including for instance a complex system of division of labor among workers and soldiers. A team headed by evolutionary biologist Prof. Dr. Judith Korb from the University of Freiburg, bioinformatician Prof. Dr. Erich Bornberg-Bauer, evolutionary biologist Dr. Mark Harrison and evolutionary biologist Dr. Evelien Jongepier from the Westphalian Wilhelms University in Munster has now compared the molecular basis for the evolution of the eusocial lifestyle. This study has been published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology and Evolution.

Despite their similarities, termites and ants are not closely related. While termites first emerged from the group of cockroaches around 150 million years ago, ants and other eusocial Hymenoptera, including bees, only appeared 50 million years later on a very distant branch of the insect family tree. Both groups are defined as eusocial, as several generations coexist within a single colony, with cooperative brood care and the reproductive division of labor, which means that only selected individuals within a colony reproduce, for example, the queen and king termites.

The researchers showed that the termites have distinctive genetic features in the genomic regions which encode chemoreceptors - proteins involved in chemical communication. "Communication is essential for all biological interactions, especially for social organisms. Whereas humans mainly communicate by speech, insects mainly use chemicals," says Judith Korb. For example, chemical communication via pheromones enables members of insect societies to recognize nest mates and differentiate between castes. "Compared to the cockroaches, which are closely-related, the protein families involved are significantly reduced, but at the same time significantly diverged in their function, indicating their importance," Erich Bornberg-Bauer points out.

On the surface, these results are surprisingly similar to findings from previous studies on the evolution of eusociality in bees and ants. However, further analysis by the researchers revealed that in termites a related but distinctly different family of chemoreceptors to ants and bees specialized for the recognition of pheromones with the antennae. "This is, therefore, a classic case of convergent evolution: both groups evolved similar molecular mechanisms for a eusocial lifestyle under similar selection pressures," says genomics expert Dr. Mark Harrison. The scientists found evidence for further convergence, including genes that play a role in the synthesis of hydrocarbons in the cuticle, the hard shell of insects. In contrast to the receptors, however, the signals seem to belong to the same class of substances as in ants.

The researchers discovered that one of the most important causes for genomic changes associated with these molecular adaptations were "transposons", DNA regions that possess the ability to duplicate and change position within a genome. This class of genes makes up a large proportion of the genome in cockroaches and termites. They are associated with protein families that play a key role in chemical communication. "We were able to deduce that, long before the evolution of termites, one particular class of transposons led to the expansion of gene families involved in communication," added Dr. Evelien Jongepier.

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Scientists from eleven research institutions in six countries participated in this study, including researchers from the University of Freiburg, the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, North Carolina State University, and scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center in Houston as part of the i5k project. The scientists were financed by grants from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

Original publication:

Harrison M. C., Jongepier E., Robertson H. M. et al. (2018): Hemimetabolous genomes reveal molecular basis of termite eusociality; Nature Ecology and Evolution, doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0459-1
As part of EU H2020 research project Co-VAL, Dr. Ines Mergel, professor of public administration at the University of Konstanz, researches the concept of co-creation in digitisation processes of public administrations.

Imagine a toy manufacturer that lets children decide on the design of its new products. For instance, the company might seek the children's input on the desired components of a new toy pirate ship using an online platform. Professor Mergel believes that this could be a blueprint for the digital transformation of public administrations. Citizens should have a say especially in the digitisation of external public services.

This kind of collaboration between authorities and users is called co-creation. The concept is currently being studied by the EU project cooperation "Co-VAL". Ines Mergel's team is one of twelve research groups from eleven European countries that are being funded with 4.1 million euros in the context of the EU funding programme "Horizon 2020". The Co-VAL project is coordinated by the Athens Technology Center SA (Greece).

The aim is to provide policy recommendations for transformative strategies that integrate the co-creation of value in public administrations. "Co-Production of Public Value" - Co-VAL - means that the public sector works closely with the users, i.e. the citizens, to develop digital formats or entirely new digital services. Ines Mergel believes that existing e-government services in Germany are not particularly user-friendly, which could explain why users have, by and large, chosen to steer clear and rarely accept digital services provided by public administrations. One example is the digital national ID card, which is hardly being used because it fails to address citizens' actual needs.

"The government's online services must be tailored to reflect citizens' use and search behaviour. Accessing information must become easier", says Ines Mergel. To achieve this, she wants to actively involve the users.

380,000 euros from the overall Co-VAL funding amount have been set aside for her team to carry out research on the digital transformation of public administration. The first part of the project, a systematic literature review, has already been concluded. Currently, the team is in the process of conducting interviews with public and private sector experts from across Europe and the United States. Building on these interviews, Ines Mergel and her team are identifying concrete and on-going transformation processes and, as a result, potential approaches to and opportunities for co-creation.

The next step the international research team will take will be to create a theoretical framework for these transformative processes. "We plan to extract knowledge from practical contexts, synthesize and analyze it systematically and feed our insights back into administrative practice", explains Ines Mergel. The research results will then be harmonised with the objectives of the "Tallinn Declaration on E-Government" signed by all EU and EFTA states.

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Facts:

Project Co-VAL - "Understanding value co-creation in public services for transforming European public administration"

Duration: 2017 until 2020

The research initiative is part of the EU funding programme "Horizon 2020"

Twelve partner institutions from eleven European countries are involved

Overall funding amount: 4.1 million euros; funding for Professor Mergel's project: 380,000 euros

Contact

University of Konstanz

Communications and Marketing

Phone: + 49 7531 88-3603

E-Mail: kum@uni-konstanz.de
As the fight against drug-resistant infections continues, University of Leeds scientists are looking back at previously discarded chemical compounds, to see if any could be developed for new antibiotics.

In the heyday of antibiotic development in the mid-20th century many different chemical compounds with antibacterial properties were examined, but only a small proportion were selected for development into drugs.

With modern-day diseases becoming increasingly resistant to existing drugs, biological scientists and chemists at Leeds are now re-examining these old compounds, applying advances in science and technology to test more precisely whether they could still hold the key to a future drug.

Dr Alex O'Neill, from the Antimicrobial Research Centre at the University, said: "We're showing the value of reviewing compounds previously put on the back of the shelf. Amongst the 3,000 or so antibiotics discovered to date, only a handful have been brought into clinical use. There may be a wealth of compounds out there with untapped potential.

"At the moment, the bugs are outsmarting the scientists, and we can't allow that to continue. By studying compounds which past research has shown already have antibacterial properties, there is scope for a potential fast-track through the challenging early stages of drug discovery. This approach could pave the way for life-saving new drugs."

His work has been backed by the Medical Research Council, whose Head of Infections and Immunity described it as 'important'.

Potential for new drug

Dr O'Neill's latest research found that a compound identified in the 1940s could now be a realistic contender as the basis of a new antibiotic drug.

A family of compounds, known as the actinorhodins, was originally identified as having weak antibiotic properties, but was not taken forward for development into a drug.

However, Dr O'Neill said that at the time scientists did not fully differentiate the individual compounds within the family when they examined them, leading to a less than precise picture of their properties.

This prompted his team to divide the family and select a specific compound (?-ACT) for further evaluation, using an array of 21st century approaches, to assess its potential and to understand how it works against bacteria.

Serious contender

Dr O'Neill and colleague Professor Chris Rayner from the University's School of Chemistry have published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports, and believe the compound is worth serious consideration as the basis for a new drug to combat certain types of bacterial infections.

Dr O'Neill added: "?-ACT exhibits potent antibacterial activity against two important representatives of the ESKAPE class of pathogens, which are bacteria that have developed the ability to 'escape' the action of existing drugs.

"A major challenge in tackling the problem of antibiotic resistance is to discover new drugs - our study shows that potentially useful drug candidates can be 'discovered' from amongst the antibiotics we already know about."

"The weak activity previously published for the ACT family as a whole probably explains why this group was not further evaluated, and it is intriguing to think that other potentially useful antibiotic groups are languishing in obscurity in academic journals just needing expert review using modern processes and equipment."

Urgent need

Supporting Dr O'Neill's work, Dr Jonathan Pearce, Head of Infections and Immunity at the Medical Research Council, said: "There is an urgent need to discover new ways to fight AMR and the scientific community is leaving no stone unturned in its search for new antibiotics. This includes revisiting chemical compounds that were once shelved.

"Until recently, no new antibiotics had been discovered for 25 years. Dr O'Neill's research is important: it's providing another way of looking for potential antibiotics and could hold the key to uncovering options that were overlooked before but may be incredibly useful now."

Stopping E. coli

Also based in the School of Chemistry is Dr Michael Webb, whose research focuses on a compound, called pentyl pantothenamide, first assessed in the 1970s.

Then, it was found to be able to stop the growth of E.coli but not completely kill the bacteria, so was never taken into clinical use.

At the time, scientists did not understand how it was able to stop the growth, but Dr Webb and his team have proved it is driven by Vitamin B5, which is used to metabolise energy. Bacteria have to make B5 and a key part of the machinery they use to do so is called the PanDZ complex.

Pentyl pantothenamide targets the PanDZ complex, preventing E. coli from making Vitamin B5 and so starving it of the means to grow.

Dr Webb said: "The results of our latest study open up the possibility of designing new drugs that use the same means to attack E. coli, but in a more effective way."

Dr O'Neill concludes: "Our findings underscore the importance of revisiting unexploited antibiotics as a potential source of new antibiotic drug candidates. We now believe a comprehensive re-evaluation of such compounds is worthwhile, potentially offering new ways to protect against infections."

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Notes to editors:

Dr O'Neill's study, Revisiting unexploited antibiotics in search of new antibacterial drug candidates: the case of -actinorhodin is published in the journal Scientific Reports. It was funded by the Medical Research Council, and members of the research team were supported by the Saudi Arabian Government, King Abdulaziz University and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Dr Webb's study, Mechanism of regulation of pantothenate biosynthesis by the PanD-PanZ.AcCoA complex reveals an additional mode of action for the antimetabolite N-pentyl pantothenamide (N5-Pan) is published in Biochemistry. It was funded by Wellcome, and team members were supported by the University of Leeds, University of Hamburg and The German Federal Excellence Cluster.

*The ESKAPE class of pathogens are Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter species.

For interview requests, contact Peter Le Riche in the University of Leeds press office on 0113 343 2049 or email p.leriche@leeds.ac.uk
Current strategies for treating patients with several chronic diseases are putting an unnecessary financial burden on countries' health systems and individuals, a global study led by the National University of Singapore and the University of Melbourne has found.

Experts say that the current clinical practice of tackling each disease in isolation may lead to the prescription of unnecessary medicines, resulting in patient expenses that are disproportionate to the number of conditions they have.

The research article is published today in the international journal BMJ Global Health.

The team analysed the raw data from 14 global studies that measured the out-of-pocket expenditure - costs not covered by insurance - of patients with multiple chronic diseases.

These patients, who have what is known as multimorbidity, suffer from high out-of-pocket costs and may stop taking their medicines as a result. The elderly and low-income groups are particularly at risk.

Dr Grace Sum Chi-En, lead author from the National University of Singapore, said that chronic diseases are conditions that are not infectious and are usually long-term, such as diabetes, hypertension, cancer, arthritis, stroke, obesity, and depression.

Dr Sum said: "Patients may have financial support from insurance benefits to visit their general practitioners or go for medical check-ups, but the weakest link is the lack of financial support to pay for any medications prescribed.

"Our research also found a common coping mechanism by some patients with high spending on medicines is non-adherence, whereby patients stop taking their medicines by failing to refill their prescriptions, which is a substantial healthcare issue."

As the number of chronic diseases increased from none to one, researchers found that the annual out-of-pocket expenditure grew by an average of 2.7 times. An increase from one to two conditions and from two to three increased average costs by 5.2 and 10.1 times, respectively.

The increasing costs meant that patients could afford fewer other medical services.

Dr Sum said: "The nature of chronic diseases is that they require long-term management and usually cannot be cured, which exacerbates the high cost to patients for medicines over a long period of time.

"It is imperative for healthcare policymakers to start recognising this problem, in order to design better policies that offer financial protection on medicines for chronic diseases."

Dr John Tayu Lee, senior author from the Nossal Institute for Global Health, University of Melbourne said: "Despite multimorbidity being the norm rather than the exception for the older population, current clinical practice remains focused on single chronic disease in isolation.

"Our findings suggest that we need to think more carefully about how to improve the cost-effectiveness of treating patients with multiple chronic diseases."

Professor Rifat Atun, co-author from Harvard University, said: "Multimorbidity is a rapidly growing major and unaddressed challenge for health systems with ageing populations. Yet, worldwide, resources and services in health systems are not aligned to meeting the needs of elderly individuals with multimorbidity.

"As a result, individuals with multimorbidity experience inadequate health services, and high levels of out-of-pocket expenditures that are impoverishing and detrimental to their economic and social well-being. It's time to design health system that meet the needs of this vulnerable group." Katie Dain, CEO of NCD Alliance, said: "The burden of co-occurring chronic diseases is a growing global health challenge. This study brings the real-life impact on the lives of people living with multiple chronic conditions to the fore, and accentuates the need to scale up solutions in integrated care to accelerate action to achieve Universal Health Coverage.

"Governments will meet in New York for the 3rd high-level meeting on chronic diseases later this year. This study provides further impetus for leaders to put people first in their response to reduce the burden of having multiple chronic conditions, by prioritising equitable access to treatment and care for all.

"Treating chronic conditions is a human rights issue, and such vast disparities in out-of-pocket expenditures are a major, unacceptable barrier to health equity."

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The research was conducted by the National University of Singapore, the University of Melbourne, Imperial College London, Harvard University, University of York, and Luxembourg Institute of Socio-economic Research.
LOWELL, Mass. - A team of UMass Lowell researchers has partnered with a research and development company to create new, cost-effective sensor-laden textiles that can be used to monitor the structural health and integrity of vital infrastructures across the country, including buildings and skyscrapers, roadways, bridges, tunnels, railway tracks, dams and pipelines.

UMass Lowell team leader Assoc. Prof. Tzuyang Yu and Prof. Pradeep Kurup of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, along with Prof. Xingwei Wang of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, are collaborating with researchers from Saint-Gobain, a multinational corporation with an R&D center based in Northborough to develop fabrics integrated with optical fibers and sensors. These "sensing fabrics" can be applied to existing structures to monitor strain or detect cracks in their early stages, thereby minimizing maintenance costs, environmental impacts and disruptions to the people's lives and businesses.

In 2016, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave America's infrastructures an overall grade of D+, indicating they urgently need major repairs and improvements to make them safe, sustainable and economically efficient. The new textiles aim to contribute toward that effort.

"Optical fiber sensors are very suitable for structural health monitoring due to their lightweight, low-cost, survivability in harsh environments and immunity to electromagnetic environments," said Wang, a Shrewsbury resident. "More importantly, they can provide fully distributed sensing information about an object's structural integrity. Combined with novel textile technology, the sensing fabrics will be relatively easy to install and maintain. They will be very useful for long-distance sensing applications."

The project is supported by an $853,000 grant from the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA), which is part of the National Network of Manufacturing Innovation Institutes. AFFOA's mission is to enable the manufacturing industry to transform traditional fibers, yarns and textiles into highly functional integrated and networked devices and systems. In addition, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts awarded the researchers a $550,000 grant through the Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M2I2).

A State of Disrepair

The ASCE estimates that a $2 trillion investment over the next decade is needed for the necessary repairs and upgrades of the country's infrastructure.

"The unique sensing capability of our proposed fabric will enable engineers to better predict the structural health of civil infrastructures and assist decision makers and stakeholders to better distribute limited resources for infrastructure repair, rehabilitation or rebuild," said Yu, who lives in Andover.

Corrosion, one of the issues causing deterioration of infrastructure, does $13.6 billion in damage to highway bridges annually, according to the National Association of Corrosion Engineers.

"The use of our proposed sensing textiles can help proactively assess the structural integrity of concrete and steel bridges," Yu said.

From 2014 to 2017, there were nearly 4,000 railway accidents in the country. Of these, more than 430 involved derailments and close to 450 were related to railway structural failures, according to the latest report from the Federal Railroad Administration's Office of Safety Analysis.

Replacing the rails currently costs approximately $1 million to $2 million per mile, according to Kurup, who lives in Lexington.

"Our proposed sensing textile product can be used on concrete ties and steel rails as well as under ballasts to monitor the structural health of railroad tracks. A distributed sensing system for railroads will enable engineers to mitigate local damages through effective repair and strengthening, thereby avoiding unnecessary and costly rail replacement," he said.

There are more than 470 tunnels located around the U.S. and millions of miles of oil, gas and water pipes, according to Kurup, who said maintenance of all of these represents significant challenges for those responsible. For example, he said, the American Water Works Association estimates $1 trillion will be needed over the next two decades to implement much-needed repairs and upgrades.

The team's sensing textile will allow engineers to detect damages early on, thereby preventing catastrophic failures, Kurup says.

Developing a Technically Trained Workforce

Yu says that the development of the sensing fabrics will also create new business with the manufacturing, installation and maintenance of the fabrics as well as the processing and analysis of the sensor data.

"This research project combines two traditional industries - textiles and construction - to create innovative sensor and sensing system products for the aging infrastructure problem faced by all countries in the world," said Yu. "We envision that this Massachusetts-based R&D effort will expand the local economy by creating new products to address a critical need nationwide, as well as strengthen the technical edge of the U.S. in today's globally competitive market."

Scientists, engineers, interns and co-ops at Saint-Gobain will be trained in this emerging technology, the team said.

"At UMass Lowell, we anticipate that the project will be used to train future engineers at both undergraduate and graduate levels in civil and electrical engineering," said Yu. "In addition, Saint-Gobain and UMass Lowell will hold training workshops designed to educate users on the value of infrastructure sensing and system capabilities."

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UMass Lowell is a national research university located on a high-energy campus in the heart of a global community. The university offers its more than 18,000 students bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees in business, education, engineering, fine arts, health, humanities, sciences and social sciences. UMass Lowell delivers high-quality educational programs, vigorous hands-on learning and personal attention from leading faculty and staff, all of which prepare graduates to be ready for work, for life and for all the world offers. http://www.uml.edu
University of Oregon geologists identify unusual seafloor structures that reflect a global pulse of volcanism coincident with the mass die-off of dinosaurs 66 million years ago

EUGENE, Ore. - Feb. 7, 2018 - A record of volcanism preserved along ancient mid-ocean ridges provides evidence for heightened worldwide magmatic activity 66 million years ago just after the Chicxulub meteor struck Earth, according to University of Oregon scientists.

The research, published in Science Advances, points to changes in the strength of gravity above the seafloor, which indicate a transient period of increased volumes of magma being released along ridges that mark the oceanic boundaries of tectonic plates.

Lead author Joseph Byrnes, a former UO doctoral student, says that this global volcanic activity was likely triggered by strong seismic waves radiated from the meteorite impact site. Subsequently accelerated volcanism, he said, likely would have been active during the mass extinction of the world's non-avian dinosaurs.

Volcanism, particularly a massive outpouring of basalt recorded by the Deccan Traps in India, has been in and out of the extinction debate. Rare volcanic events at such a scale are known to cause catastrophic disturbances to Earth's climate and, when they occur, they are often linked to mass extinctions.

Since evidence of the meteor strike near present day Mexico surfaced in the 1980s, scientists have debated whether the impact or the Deccan Traps volcanic eruptions was the primary driver for extinction of the dinosaurs.

Progressively more accurate dating methods indicate that while the Deccan Traps eruptions were active during the mass extinction, they actually began significantly before the Chicxulub impact, said Leif Karlstrom, a professor in the UO's Department of Earth Sciences and co-author on the study with Byrnes.

The meteor is closely aligned in time with the onset of mass extinction, seeming to indicate a dominant role, he said. Still, the near coincidence in time of such globally catastrophic events continues to spur debate.

In 2015, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, proposed that the two events might be connected. They suggested that Chixculub may have modulated distant volcanism by sending seismic waves through the Earth and accelerating volcanic activity in the Deccan Traps. Similar to the impacts that normal tectonic earthquakes sometimes have on wells and streams, Karlstrom said, the study proposed that powerful shaking liberated magma stored in the mantle beneath the Deccan Traps and caused the largest eruptions there.

The new National Science Foundation-supported study at the UO adds another layer to the story, said Karlstrom, who also co-authored on the UC-Berkeley research. It suggests that other volcanic activity around the world was triggered by the meteor. Seismic waves moving through the Earth, he said, may have accelerated volcanism already occurring along mid-ocean ridges.

"Our work suggests a connection between these exceedingly rare and catastrophic events, distributed over the entire planet," Karlstrom said. "The meteorite's impact may have influenced volcanic eruptions that were already going on, making for a one-two punch."

The findings emerged as Byrnes, now a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Minnesota, discovered the evidence for volcanic activity by analyzing publicly available global datasets, including two updated in the last decade, on free-air gravity, ocean floor topography and tectonic spreading rates.

In his analyses, Byrnes divided the seafloor into one-million-year old groupings, constructing a record back to 100 million years ago. At about 66 million years, he found evidence for a "short-lived pulse of marine magmatism" along ancient ocean ridges. This pulse is suggested by a spike in the rate of the occurrence of free-air gravity anomalies seen in the dataset.

Free-air gravity anomalies, measured in milligals, account for variations in gravitational acceleration, found from satellite measurements of additional seawater collecting where the Earth's gravity is stronger.

Excess matter on the ocean floor, such as new magma, is a primary cause of elevated marine gravity anomalies. A gal reflects a change in the rate of motion of a centimeter, about 0.4 of an inch, per second squared. Byrnes and Karlstrom found changes in free-air gravity anomalies of between five and 20 milligals associated with seafloor created in the first million years after the meteor.

"We found evidence for a previously unknown period of globally heighted volcanic activity during the mass-extinction event," Byrnes said. "This study does not say precisely that this volcanic activity is what killed the dinosaurs. What we are adding to the conversation is global volcanic activity during the known environmental crisis."

The gravity data analyzed in the research came from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, the seafloor ages from the EarthByte group at the University of Sydney, and seafloor elevation from the National Geophysical Data Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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Sources: Leif Karlstrom, assistant professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oregon, 541-346-4323, leif@uoregon.edu, and Joseph Byrnes, postdoctoral researcher, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Minnesota, 612-626-3697, jsbyrnes@umn.edu

Note: The UO is equipped with an on-campus television studio with a point-of-origin Vyvx connection, which provides broadcast-quality video to networks worldwide via fiber optic network. There also is video access to satellite uplink and audio access to an ISDN codec for broadcast-quality radio interviews.

Links:

About Leif Karlstrom: http://pages.uoregon.edu/leif/

Department of Earth Sciences: https://earthsciences.uoregon.edu/
LOS ANGELES - Will there come a time when a patient with arthritis can forgo joint replacement surgery in favor of a shot? Keck School of Medicine of USC scientist Denis Evseenko, MD, PhD, has reason to be optimistic.

In a new publication in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, Evseenko's team describes the promise of a new molecule aptly named "Regulator of Cartilage Growth and Differentiation," or RCGD 423 for short.

As its name implies, RCGD 423 enhances regeneration while curbing inflammation. When RCGD 423 was applied to joint cartilage cells in the laboratory, the cells proliferated more and died less, and when injected into the knees of rats with damaged cartilage, the animals could more effectively heal their injuries.

RCGD 423 exerts its effects by communicating with a specific molecule in the body. This molecule, called the glycoprotein 130 (Gp130) receptor, receives two very different types of signals: those that promote cartilage development in the embryo, and those that trigger chronic inflammation in the adult. RCGD 423 amplifies the Gp130 receptor's ability to receive the developmental signals that can stimulate cartilage regeneration, while blocking the inflammatory signals that can lead to cartilage degeneration over the long term.

Given these auspicious early results, the team is already laying the groundwork for a clinical trial to test RCGD 423 or a similar molecule as a treatment for osteoarthritis or juvenile arthritis.

"The goal is to make an injectable therapy for an early to moderate level of arthritis," says Evseenko, associate professor of orthopaedic surgery. "It's not going to cure arthritis, but it will delay the progression of arthritis to the damaging stages when patients need joint replacements, which account for a million surgeries a year in the U.S."

Evseenko sees RCGD 423 as a prototype for a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs with a very broad range of indications. His lab has already developed several structural analogs of RCGD 423 with varying biological effects and potency. In a previous study published in Nature Cell Biology, RCGD 423 was shown to activate stem cells to make hair grow. The lab is partnering with scientists at USC and beyond to explore the broader potential of these molecules to treat rheumatoid arthritis, jaw arthritis, lupus, neurological and heart diseases and baldness, as well as to maintain pluripotent stem cells in the laboratory.

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About the Keck School of Medicine of USC

Founded in 1885, the Keck School of Medicine of USC is among the nation's leaders in innovative patient care, scientific discovery, education and community service. It is part of Keck Medicine of USC, the University of Southern California's medical enterprise, one of only two university-owned academic medical centers in the Los Angeles area. This includes Keck Medical Center of USC, composed of Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital. The two world-class, USC-owned hospitals are staffed by more than 500 physicians who are faculty at the Keck School. The school has more than 1,750 full-time faculty members and voluntary faculty of more than 2,400 physicians. These faculty direct the education of approximately 800 medical students and 1,000 students pursuing graduate and postgraduate degrees. The school trains more than 900 resident physicians in more than 50 specialty or subspecialty programs and is the largest educator of physicians practicing in Southern California. Together, the school's faculty and residents serve more than 1.5 million patients each year at Keck Hospital of USC and USC Norris Cancer Hospital, as well as USC-affiliated hospitals, Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center. Keck School faculty also conduct research and teach at several research centers and institutes, including the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine at USC, USC Cardiovascular Thoracic Institute, USC Institute of Urology, USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, USC Roski Eye Institute and Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute.

In 2017, U.S. News & World Report ranked the Keck School among the top 35 medical schools in the country.

For more information, go to keck.usc.edu.

This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health under award number K01AR061415 and by the Department of Defense under award number W81XWH-13-1-0465. Fifty-three percent of the project's funding was federally funded. Forty-seven percent of the project's funding was not federally funded. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the Department of Defense.
Migratory birds use a magnetic compass in their eye for navigation. Its basic sensory mechanisms have long remained elusive, but now researchers reveal exactly where in the eye, the birds' control center for navigation is situated.

Migratory birds travel long distances when they shift between breeding and wintering grounds.

Observations of migrating birds were first recorded by ancient Greeks more than 3,000 years ago, and it has long been one of Natures' great mysteries how they find their way when embarking on thousands of kilometers long journeys.

In 2000 researchers suggested that a protein in the birds' eye helps them take information from light and process it to a travel course: an inner magnetic compass. Since then the basic sensory mechanisms underlying this magnetoreception has remained elusive.

Studies of European robin

In order to solve the riddle a research group at University of Southern Denmark joined forces with colleagues from the University in Oldenburg, Germany.

The team conducted a series of studies and simulations that reveal the detailed position and nature of the inner compass. Their work involves studies of European robins (Erithacus rubecula), sequencing and computer microscopy of birds' eyes.

- We believe that we have strong evidence to pinpoint the right magnetoreceptor molecule in migratory birds, said Ilia Solov'yov, Associate Professor at University of Southern Denmark.

The study is published in the journal Current Biology.

The birds need light for their inner compass

Ilia Solov'yov is a theoretical physicist, a computational biophysicist and head of Quantum Biology and Computational Physics Group at University of Southern Denmark.

- The magnetic compass sense in migratory birds is light dependent, and we wanted to find out which protein is at play. Theories have been circling around the so-called cryptochromes - but these cryptic proteins come in very different variations - so which one?, he said. Cryptochromes belong to a big group of proteins, found in all living organisms from plants to animals. In plants and various animal species, they are involved in, among other things, the circadian clock and help the plant or animal know the difference between night and day. In mammals, they are normally localized in cell nuclei.

A chemical reaction influenced by the direction of the Earths' magnetic field

To date, four different cryptochromes have been found in the retina of several bird species. Three of them show no relevance for magnetoreception, the researchers conclude.

- But the fourth, Cry4, seems to be significantly different from its family members, Ilia Solov'yov said.

When light hits cryptochromes in the eye of a migrating bird, they undergo chemical reactions that are influenced by the direction of Earth's magnetic field, providing a signal of the bird's orientation. Higher molecular activity during the migratory seasons

In their laboratory, the experimental researchers from Oldenburg in Germany, led by Professor Henrik Mouritsen, compared the expression levels of the cryptochromes during the spring and autumn migratory seasons relative to the non-migratory seasons in European robins.

They discovered that the Cry4 expression level in European robin retinae is significantly higher during the migratory season compared to the non-migratory seasons.

- This is a strong indicator that the responsible protein is indeed cryptochrome 4.

20.000 hours of computer work

The researchers went on to determine Cry4s structure and localization within the retina of the eye. They sequenced migratory European robin Cry4 from the retina and used it to predict the structure of the Cry4 protein.

This work involved roughly 20,000 node hours on the supercomputer ABACUS at SDU, meaning that if they would run the simulations on one computational node (which has 24 processors), it would require 20,000 hours. If the same work was done on a normal laptop, it would take 15 years.

- The structure of Cry4 is unique. It has structural motifs that agree well with indirect measurements and show clear differences to other cryptochromes from plants and insects, said Ilia Solov'yov.

Moreover, it was revealed that Cry4 is specifically expressed in one very specific part of the retina; namely the outer segment of the double-cone photoreceptor cells.

This new knowledge can help protect wildlife

Inner compasses are not only found in migratory birds, but also in other animals such as bees.

- Understanding these inner compasses in animals can give us a fundamental knowledge of nature and maybe we can use it to protect wildlife. Many birds are killed in windmills, because they get disturbed by the turbulence around the mills. If we knew what magnetic fields exist around the mills, we maybe could construct some kind of protection zone around the mills, said Ilia Solov'yov.

The Quantum Biology and Computational Physics Group( QuantBioLab) at SDU: Of particular interest are those biological processes that trigger energy conversion into forms that are usable for chemical transformations and are quantum mechanical in nature. Such processes involve chemical reactions, light absorption, formation of excited electronic states, transfer of excitation energy, and transfer of electrons and protons in chemical processes.

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Somayeh Moazzeni, a UTA doctoral student in public policy and transportation, has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation as the 2017 outstanding student of the year for C-TEDD.

C-TEDD is the Center for Transportation, Equity, Decisions and Dollars based at The University of Texas at Arlington.

Moazzeni was selected from students at universities contributing to C-TEDD, which includes UTA, Georgia Tech University, California Polytechnic State University, University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of South Florida.

C-TEDD is one of three DOT-funded centers that faculty and students at UTA are participating in. U.S. DOT grants could be worth about $12 million in funding for those three centers. C-TEDD and the other centers UTA is involved in speak to the University's growing expertise across several academic and research disciplines that intersect the nation's current and future focus on transportation infrastructure.

Every DOT-created center in the United States nominates an outstanding student of the year. As the winner, Moazzeni will receive a $1,500 cash prize.

Moazzeni is pursuing her PhD in the University of Texas at Arlington's College of Architecture, Planning and Public Affairs.

Moazzeni is honored by the award.

"I work on access to opportunities, which means how much access people have to move in and out of each neighborhood," said Moazzeni, who works in CAPPA's Institute of Urban Studies, which helps cities, counties and other entities plan for the future. "It also means how much access a person has to public transit and decent roads."

A year ago, UTA vied in a national competition for $300 million in DOT funding allocated to 32 University Transportation Centers across the country. UTA was one of only a few universities to land three projects.

Shima Hamidi, an assistant professor in CAPPA and director of the Institute of Urban Studies, leads C-TEDD.

"Somayeh understands how critical access to transportation is to everyone," Hamidi said. "She knows that if through planning, we can make that access easier and more fluid, she can really impact lives."

Moazzeni and several other students were recognized at the Transportation Research Board 97th Annual Meeting in Washington D.C. last month. More than 14,000 practitioners, engineers, researchers and academicians attended the meeting.

The TRB provides innovative, research-based solutions to improve transportation. It is a program unit of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

Moazzeni said that when people are adversely affected by transportation, it hurts personal relationships, the ability to work and a household's economic bottom line.

"If a family has to buy a car because mass transit is nowhere to be found, many times keeping, maintaining and operating that car can exceed the cost of public transit," Moazzeni said. "Households could spend most of their money on cars, insurance and upkeep."

Moazzeni helped present two sessions. One was titled Planning Process and Environmental Justice. It investigated whether location matters in relationship to federal affordable housing programs and residents' transportation affordability in North Texas.

The second session was titled Pedestrian Planning, Modeling and Simulation. This study examined the impacts of street-level built environment and urban design qualities on walkability in downtown Dallas.

Both studies presented are only a portion of the vast research being conducted by UTA in the fields of urban planning and transportation equity. CAPPA's Institute of Urban Studies is currently working with several cities across North Texas complex growth issues as the region moves closer to megacity status.

Moazzeni became interested in transportation equity when she moved to North Texas for her doctorate.

She said growing up in Isfahan, Iran, mass transit was available, but she found little coordinated mass transit in North Texas.

"Isfahan is a very compact city," said Moazzeni of the central Iranian city of 1.7 million. "I started thinking how can I make this area a better place. That's how I became interested in transportation and how it affects people."

###
Spoiling old dogs in their twilight years by retiring them to the sofa and forgiving them their stubbornness or disobedience, doesn't do our four-legged friends any good. Regular brain training and lifelong learning create positive emotions and can slow down mental deterioration in old age. Physical limitations, however, often do not allow the same sort of training as used in young dogs. In a new study, a team of researchers led by cognitive biologists from Vetmeduni Vienna propose computer interaction as a practical alternative. In the training lab, old dogs responded positively to cognitive training using educational touchscreen games. The aim now is to get the interactive "dog sudoku" ready for home use.

Lifelong learning is not just good for people, it is also good for dogs. Dogs are capable of learning even in old age, and constant brain training and mental problem-solving create positive emotions and slow the natural pace of mental deterioration. Unlike puppies or young dogs, however, old dogs are almost never trained or challenged mentally. Senior dogs are usually perfectly integrated into our lives and we often forgive them any disobedience or stubbornness. In addition, due to their increasing physical limitations, we usually spare old dogs the sort of training we might expect from young animals.

Cognitive biologists from the Messerli Research Institute at Vetmeduni Vienna propose computer games as an efficient alternative. Simple mental tasks on the computer, combined with a reward system, can replace physically demanding training and still keep the animals mentally fit even in old age. First, however, the method must be taken out of the laboratory and transferred to the living room.

Tablet games like "sudoku" for old dogs

At obedience school or in private, puppies and young dogs are socialised and challenged using a variety of training methods to help them integrate smoothly into our daily lives. As the dogs get older, however, we increasingly - and unconsciously - reduce the level of regular training and challenges. "Yet this restricts the opportunities to create positive mental experiences for the animals, which remain capable of learning even in old age," explains first author Lisa Wallis. "As is the case with people, dopamine production in dogs also falls in old age, leading to a decline in memory and motivational drive. But this natural mental deterioration can be countered with the specific training of cognitive skills."

Under laboratory conditions, the training works using computer-based brain-teasers. It does take some preparation to get the dogs used to the touchscreen, but once the animals have got the trick they turn into avid computer gamers. "Touchscreen interaction is usually analysed in young dogs. But we could show that old dogs also respond positively to this cognitive training method," says senior author Ludwig Huber. "Above all, the prospect of a reward is an important factor to motivate the animals to do something new or challenging."

Mentally fit four-legged "gamers" - laboratory solution to be made available to the general public

Using simple tasks that can be solved through touchscreen interaction, followed by a reward, even old dogs remain willing to learn. "The positive feeling created by solving a mental challenge is comparable to the feeling that older people have when they learn something new, doing something they enjoy. Regular brain training shakes not only us, but also dogs out of their apathy in old age, increasing motivation and engagement and thus maximising learning opportunities", says Huber.

It is still not clear whether dogs slowly forget the things they once learned because of reduced powers of recollection or due to a lack of training in old age. The fact is, however, that lifelong learning with the touchscreen can help counteract this development. The research team hopes that this study will not only motivate technicians and software developers, but also interested dog owners, to consider future cooperation. "Our scientific approach could result in an exciting citizen science project to increase the understanding of the importance of lifelong learning in animals," says Wallis.

###

Service:

The article "Utilising dog-computer interactions to provide mental stimulation in dogs especially during ageing." by Wallis L, Range F, Kubinyi E, Chapagain D, Serra J and Huber, L was published by ACM Digital Library. https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3152146&dl=ACM&coll=DL&CFID=1025667842&CFTOKEN=64572395

Video-link: https://youtu.be/nK-uS2ZiyaM

About the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna

The University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna in Austria is one of the leading academic and research institutions in the field of Veterinary Sciences in Europe. About 1,300 employees and 2,300 students work on the campus in the north of Vienna which also houses five university clinics and various research sites. Outside of Vienna the university operates Teaching and Research Farms. The Vetmeduni Vienna plays in the global top league: in 2017, it occupies the excellent place 8 in the world-wide Shanghai University veterinary in the subject "Veterinary Science". http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at

About Messerli Research Institute

The Messerli Research Institute was founded in 2010 with support from the Messerli Foundation (Sorenberg, Switzerland) under the management of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna in cooperation with the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna. The research is devoted to the interaction between humans and animals, as well as its theoretical principles in animal cognition and behavior, comparative medicine and ethics. Its work is characterized by its broad interdisciplinary approach (biology, human medicine, veterinary medicine, philosophy, psychology, law) and strong international focus. http://www.vetmeduni.ac.at/en/messerli/

Scientific Contact:

Ludwig Huber

Unit of Comparative Cognition

Messerli Research Institute

University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna)

T 43-664-602572668

ludwig.huber@vetmeduni.ac.at

and

Lisa Wallis

Senior Family Dog Project

ELTE University, Budapest, Hungary

44-775-4530999

lisa.wallis@live.co.uk

Released by:

Georg Mair

Science Communication / Corporate Communications

University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Vetmeduni Vienna)

T 43-1-25077-1165

georg.mair@vetmeduni.ac.at
New research from the University of Washington suggests that the Egyptian fruit bat is using similar techniques to those preferred by modern-day military and civil surveillance. The results could inspire new directions for driverless cars and drones.

The new open-access paper in PLoS Biology shows how the animals are able to navigate using a different system from other bats.

"Before people thought that this bat was not really good at echolocation, and just made these simple clicks," said lead author Wu-Jung Lee, a researcher at the UW's Applied Physics Laboratory. "But this bat species is actually very special -- it may be using a similar technique that engineers have perfected for sensing remotely."

While most other bats emit high-pitched squeals, the fruit bat simply clicks its tongue and produces signals that are more like dolphin clicks than other bats' calls. Fruit bats can also see quite well, and the animals switch and combine sensory modes between bright and dark environments.

An earlier study showed that Egyptian fruit bats send clicks in different directions without moving their head or mouth, and suggested that the animals can perform echolocation, the form of navigation that uses sound, better than previously suspected.

"But no one knew how they do it, and that's when I got excited, because there's something going on that we don't understand," Lee said.

Lee and colleagues measured the animals in the "bat lab" at Johns Hopkins University by capturing high-speed video and ultrasonic audio of bats during flight to study the mechanism of their behavior and navigation.

In measuring echolocation signals from fruit bats with a three-dimensional array of microphones, Lee did not solve the mystery of the seemingly motionless tongue clicks, but she did notice something strange. The beam of different frequencies of sound waves emitted by the bats do not align at the center and form a bullseye, as one would expect from a simple sound source, but instead the beam of sound is off-center at higher frequencies.

Lee recognized the pattern as a common one in radar and sonar surveillance systems. Invented in the early 20th century and now used throughout civil and military applications, airplanes, ships and submarines emit pulses of radio waves in the air, or sound underwater, and then analyze the returning waves to detect objects or hazards. While a simple single-frequency sonar has a tradeoff between the angular coverage and image sharpness, a "frequency-scanning sonar" solves this problem by pointing different frequencies of sound at slightly different angles to get fine-grained acoustic images over a large area.

Lee wondered if the fruit bats could be using the same technique when echolocating. She created a computer model of what might happen when the tongue click from the front of the mouth travels out and passes between the bat's lips. The elongated shape of the bat's mouth creates varying distances between the sound source and the gaps between its teeth, and this creates positive or negative interference between sound waves of different frequencies. The result, Lee's model shows, is that different frequencies point in different directions -- just as a frequency-scanning sonar would act.

"For me, what's exciting is the idea that you almost have a convergence between a system that was evolved, and the effects are very similar to what we have invented as humans," Lee said. "This is not the classic case where we learn from nature -- we found out that the bat may be doing the same thing as a system we invented many years ago."

(Sound doesn't have to pass between the bat's teeth, just through its lips, as the researchers discovered from one toothless bat.)

After doing calculations with a rough approximation of the bat's skull shape, Lee worked with co-author Jessica Arbour in the UW Department of Biology to get a CT scan of an actual fruit bat's skull. Incorporating an anatomically correct skull shape in the model confirmed the results. Though Lee can't say exactly what's happening inside the bat's mouth when a tongue click is produced, she believes her model suggests that could be how the bat creates its sonar beams.

This mechanism might be a simple evolutionary solution -- the Egyptian fruit bat looks like closely related bat species that don't echolocate, and also has large eyes. This means the shape of its head has not changed through evolution. From an engineering point of view this simplicity offers a similar benefit.

"You don't have to do anything, you just have to get the distance right. It's by design," Lee said. "This may be a way to produce a very cheap sensor that has this kind of sensing capability."

###

Other co-authors are Benjamin Falk, Chen Chiu and Cynthia Moss at Johns Hopkins University and Anand Krishnan at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune. The research was funded by a UW-APL SEED postdoctoral fellowship, an Acoustical Society of America postdoctoral fellowship, the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the France-based Human Frontier Science Program, and the Government of India.

For more information, contact Lee at wjlee@apl.washington.edu or 206-685-3904.
PULLMAN, Wash. - Building a submarine gets tricky when the temperature drops to -300 Fahrenheit and the ocean is made of methane and ethane.

Washington State University researchers are working with NASA to determine how a submarine might work on Titan, the largest of Saturn's many moons and the second largest in the solar system. The space agency plans to launch a real submarine into Titan seas in the next 20 years.

The researchers re-created a Titan ocean in a laboratory. They have published a paper on their work in the journal, Fluid Phase Equilibria.

Titan is of particular interest to researchers because it is similar to earth in one important way, it holds liquid. Unlike almost anywhere else in the solar system, the moon's surface includes oceans, rivers and clouds, and like on earth, it can rain. But, instead of water, the hydrological cycle is based on methane.

Because of the possible lessons it could provide here on Earth, NASA has been studying Saturn and its moons for more than a decade with data collected from the Cassini spacecraft.

The submarine that the agency is designing will have to operate autonomously. It will need to study atmospheric and ocean conditions, move around sea beds, and hover at or below the surface. The engineering is even trickier because, unlike the nearly homogeneous water in earth-based oceans, the concentration of ethane and methane can vary dramatically in the Titan oceans and change the liquid's density properties.

NASA invitation

Ian Richardson, a former graduate student in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, got the chance to tackle how NASA might build a submarine for the extreme conditions. In WSU's cryogenic lab, which studies materials at very cold temperatures, Richardson re-created the atmosphere of Titan and tested how a small heated machine might work under such conditions.

Richardson, who holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from WSU, has had a longtime interest in space and space exploration technologies. He was WSU's first-ever recipient of a NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship, which included an internship at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. It was while working as an intern on a separate problem that a NASA scientist approached him with the problem of designing a submarine for Titan.

"My research just took a right turn, and I went with it," said Richardson. "It's a crazy experiment, and I never thought I would have had this opportunity. It's been a very fun and challenging experimental design problem."

Simulating Titan seas

The WSU research team built a test chamber that housed the liquid mixture at very cold temperatures to simulate the seas of Titan. They added a two-inch, cylinder-shaped cartridge heater that would approximate the heat that a submarine would create.

One of the biggest challenges for researchers was understanding bubbles in the Titan seas. Add a submarine powered by a heat-producing machine into the very cold Titan liquid, and nitrogen bubbles will form. Too many bubbles would make it hard to maneuver the ship, see, take data and manage ballast systems.

Shooting video at -300 degrees

The next big problem, said Richardson, was getting a video in difficult conditions. Their study was conducted at 60 pounds per square inch of pressure and nearly -300 degrees Fahrenheit. Richardson's group engineered a solution using an optical device called a borescope and video camera that could withstand the low temperatures and high pressures to visualize what was going on within the test chamber.

"Those aren't the friendliest conditions," he said. "You have to come up with creative solutions."

The researchers succeeded and took video footage of ethane-methane rain and snow. The group also studied the freezing temperatures for methane and ethane lakes and determined that, because of a small amount of nitrogen in the liquid, the lakes freeze at lower temperatures than would be expected: 75 Kelvin, or -324 degrees Fahrenheit, instead of 90.5 Kelvin.

"That's a big deal,'' said Richardson. "That means you don't have to worry about icebergs."

The researchers are looking to continue the work with NASA to update the Titan Submarine design.

###
Independent media is of utmost importance for Swiss democracy, writes Tim Guldimann. For the social democrat parliamentarian and former Swiss ambassador to Germany, the initiative to do away with the radio and TV licence fee threatens access to objective and impartial information.

I have always been critical towards my country. But the more time I spend outside its borders, the more I appreciate Switzerland. Abroad, especially during the 13 years I spent in Germany, I saw that many things dont work as well as in Switzerland. The qualities of our country should not be taken for granted. Here are three examples:

First, we tend to think that our system of direct democracy is extraordinary. It guarantees a great degree of confidence in the population towards the state, the government, towards politics. In other countries, such confidence has dissipated. But our democracy also depends on an ability to discuss political questions openly and objectively. For this, we need independent media.

swissinfo.ch is an institution of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and is financed by the Billag licence fee.

In recent years, many newspapers have lost this independence. They have been bought by influential economic entities seeking to steer public opinion according to self-interest. So, its all the more important that radio and television maintain their independence and their impartial character. This character is the only way that swissinfo.ch, as an institution of the SBC, can publish this article alongside that of my colleague from the House of Representatives, Claudio Zanetti.

However, if in light of future votes you would like to hear only the opinion of Mr Zanetti, in a media source headed by Christoph Blocher, then you should accept the No Billag initiative. In which case the SBC will no longer exist.

Secondly, a threat hangs over public services in general. We often complain about Swiss Federal Railways, Swisscom, or Swiss Post, because market demands have led them to make savings by  for example  closing certain post offices. However, lets not forget that our public services work very well by international standards. Their reliability guarantees not only a high standard of living, but also our attractiveness as a location for foreign investment.

Germany has been quicker to succumb to the illusion that privatisation allows for reductions in costs, and that the market is more efficient than the state. And yet Im constantly irritated in Berlin: by packages not arriving, by late trains, by interrupted telephone calls. Only the German public radio, like ours in Switzerland, guarantees quality objective information.

No Billag would not only eliminate SRF programmes such as Echo der Zeit, it would also constitute a full-on attack on the up-to-now uncontested belief that the state should tackle social issues that the market ignores.

Thirdly, the essence of Switzerland lies in its linguistic and regional diversity. And because of this diversity, it is only through solidarity and respect for all parties that we can maintain internal cohesion. This applies to infrastructure, for example: we spent CHF500 million ($537 million) to build the Vereina tunnel, so that a small minority of 8,000 residents from Basse-Engadin could be linked to Switzerland.

The same applies for public radio and television. And not just to preserve Romansh, the fourth national language, but to preserve small-scale diversity across the country. A country where people feel at home thanks to local and regional media offerings. The SBC supports 21 regional radio stations and 13 regional TV stations. This costs money. And yet the licence fee, for a sport lover for example, costs less than a subscription to a private channel to watch the same games that are broadcast on national TV.

The SBC is also particularly important for the 780,000 Swiss citizens living abroad, acting as an informational bridge to the homeland. swissinfo.ch brings these people closer to the country, gives overviews of votes, and provides a setting for political debates in which they can participate.

The mandate of the SSR goes even further beyond this: through its collaboration with TV5Monde and 3Sar, Switzerland reaches 300 million French-speaking and 70 million German-speaking households across the world.

No Billag would mean the end of the SSR. The Swiss living abroad, in particular, need to understand what is really at stake for the country on March 4, 2018.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of swissinfo.ch.

Opinion series swissinfo.ch publishes op-ed articles by contributors writing on a wide range of topics  Swiss issues or those that impact Switzerland. The selection of articles presents a diversity of opinions designed to enrich the debate on the issues discussed.




The Swiss Federal Office of Transport reports that the Swiss PostBus company has claimed almost CHF80 million ($85 million) in excessive federal and cantonal subsidies over the past decade by manipulating accounts. Two PostBus company heads are leaving their positions as a result, and the company will have to refund the money.

A regular audit by the Transport Office revealed that between the years 2007 and 2015, the company known for its bright yellow buses that carry passengers throughout the Alps deliberately kept its profits low in order to receive more support money from the government.

The CEO of the post company, Susanne Ruoff, promised on Wednesday that the matter will be fully investigated. The PostBus director and the chief finance officer were dismissed without notice.

The accusations weigh heavily, said Ruoff before the media. I regret that these longstanding, illegal payments took place. She assured representatives of Swiss federal and cantonal governments that the unlawful compensation funds would be paid back to them.

Hans-Peter Wessels, the president of Swiss public transport directors, called it highly disconcerting that such irregularities, some of them going back ten years, are only being discovered now, saying the issue reflects badly on the oversight system currently in place.

The exact motives behind the systematic accounting tricks remain unclear. Several politicians expressed outrage and demanded a thorough investigation.

The Federal Office of Transport announced that it will file a formal complaint over the matter with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.













SRF/ln






The European Central Bank will more closely scrutinise pay for bankers at lenders under its supervision to make sure it encourages financial stability, a top official said Thursday.

We will take a close look at remuneration schemes to see whether they are conducive to the sound and prudent management of banks, ECB Supervisory Board Chair Daniele Nouy said at a Frankfurt conference.

As the top enforcer of eurozone banking rules, the ECB will asses whether these schemes are in line with European standards laid down by the European Banking Authority, she added.

Nouys vow to probe bankers pay packets followed a public outcry after top German lender Deutsche Banks decision to quadruple bonus payouts for 2017, to 2.2 billion euros ($2.5 billion), despite making a 751-million-euro loss last year.

Most of the cash will go to the investment banking division, whose revenue slumped 16 percent year-on-year.

Deutsche Bank chief executive John Cryan said it was important to invest in the divisions 17,000-strong staff, largely made up of traders and advisors who could be lured away to competitors.

jpl/tgb
Germany's centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) would take over the finance ministry from Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives under a new coalition deal, a source close to the talks told AFP Wednesday.

The change could mean a mild shift away from the austerity imposed at home and abroad by former finance chief Wolfgang Schaeuble, although the parties have agreed on sticking to a balanced budget policy.

Media reports suggested the job could go to the popular mayor of northern port city Hamburg, pro-business centrist Olaf Scholz, who has often been eyed as a potential SPD chancellor candidate.

Meanwhile, SPD leader Martin Schulz plans to give up the party chair to become foreign minister, according to matching media reports.

Schulzs authority over the weakened party has been undermined after he led it to a historic low result of 20.5 percent in the September election before U-turning on his promise not to repeat a left-right grand coalition with Merkel.

A former European Parliament chief, Schulz had also previously ruled out ever personally joining a government under Merkel  comments that drew ridicule as his prospects in the cabinet emerged.

Hoping to secure the backing of some 460,000 SPD members in an internal referendum on the coalition deal, Schulz pushed in negotiations stretched over three extra days for the party to head the finance ministry, foreign affairs, labour and social affairs and three other portfolios.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats (SPD) have sealed a deal for a renewed right-left "grand coalition" after months of deadlock in Europe's powerhouse.

Here are the main points in the 177-page coalition treaty, which would become policy goals for the next government.

 Half-time review 

SPD leader Martin Schulz pushed through a demand that the repeat alliance be put to a mid-term re-evaluation after two years.

Schulz is hoping that the half-time assessment, which was not part of the previous two coalition pacts between the parties, will help sell the deal to the 460,000 SPD members who will have the final say on the agreement in an upcoming referendum.

A no vote would leave Merkel facing fresh polls, or the unappealing prospect of heading an unstable minority government.

 Europe 

The coalition treaty puts Europe front and centre, with the parties agreeing to support the ambitious EU reform drive of French President Emmanuel Macron to give the bloc a new start.

As well as agreeing to strengthen EU foreign and defence policy, the parties say they are ready to raise Germanys contributions to the European Unions budget.

They also vow to in close partnership with France, sustainably strengthen and reform the eurozone so that the euro can better withstand global crises.

They support the creation of a European Monetary Fund that could lend to countries in crisis, but offer only cautious backing for Macrons idea of a eurozone investment budget  which Berlin fears could translate into a transfer of German cash to troubled economies.

The document makes no mention of Macrons controversial proposal for a common finance minister for the single currency area.

 Spending plans 

Thanks to flush public coffers, Germany plans to boost public investment while maintaining a balanced budget and refraining from tax hikes.

With some 45 billion euros ($56 billion) to play with, both camps agreed to reform the pension system threatened by a rapidly greying population, vowed to boost digitisation and improve education by pouring more federal funds into regional school systems.

The SPD secured some social welfare concessions, including on childcare and on making Germanys public-private healthcare system fairer.

The parties also committed to phasing out the so-called solidarity surcharge payments to Germanys lagging eastern states, introduced after reunification in 1990.

On energy and climate, they agreed to formally stick with Germanys carbon emission reduction goals, even if experts agree Germany looks set to overshoot its 2020 target.

 Refugees 

The parties agreed to limit the numbers of refugees and migrants coming to Germany following the arrival of more than one million asylum seekers since 2015.

The mass influx drove the rise of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party which scored almost 13 percent in September elections.

According to the coalition pact, Germany will aim to limit the annual intake of people seeking safe haven to around 200,000, in line with a long-standing demand of the CSU.

Germany will also allow some refugees with temporary status to bring their families from August, but restrict the number of relatives coming at 1,000 a month.

Germany will consider additional hardship cases, a term yet to be fully defined.

 NATO 

The parties reaffirm their commitment to NATO and support closer cooperation between the military alliance and the bloc.

But they make no mention of raising Germanys defence spending to meet NATO goals, as pushed for by US President Donald Trump.

Instead, they vow only to make an appropriate contribution to preserve NATOs defence and deterrence capabilities.

This appears to be a concession to the SPD, which vehemently objects to the NATO target of spending at least two percent of national output on defence.
About 20 people stormed a hospital in southern Spain and freed a suspected drug trafficker who had been injured in a motorcycle crash as he tried to escape arrest, officials said Wednesday.

The two policemen who were guarding the suspect at the hospital in La Linea de la Concepcion did not use their guns to prevent the situation from turning into a drama, the town hall of La Lina said in a statement.

The suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment on Tuesday after he was injured during a police chase. But shortly after he arrived at the hospital about 20 people stormed the building, grabbed him and fled in several cars, the statement added.

La Linea mayor Juan Franco regularly complains of rampant drug trafficking in the city of around 65,000 people which is on the border with Gibraltar, the disputed British territory in Spains southern tip.

The enemy is very strong and we will have to think about the adoption of more measures to fight drug traffickers, he told a news conference on Wednesday.

During an interview with AFP last year he said there was a feeling of total impunity in the city as drug traffickers operate almost openly and do not hesitate to challenge police, who complain they are under-equipped.

Spains proximity to Morocco, a key source of cannabis, and its close ties with former colonies in Latin America, a major cocaine producing region, have made it an important gateway for international drug dealers.
The European Parliament on Wednesday rejected proposals backed by French President Emmanuel Macron for the introduction of some pan-EU lawmakers after Brexit.

MEPs approved an overall package of reforms including a system giving the largest group in parliament the right to choose a successor to European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

But they voted against a plan for so-called transnational lists  which would allow 30 of the 73 seats vacated by Britain to be elected on pan-European tickets, instead of by standing in individual member states.

Macron, the energetic young French leader, had strongly backed the idea as part of his ambition for a sweeping reboot of the European Union once Britain leaves in March 2019.

He also reportedly had wanted to launch his Republic on the Move party  the centrist, pro-EU movement that shook up French politics as Macron rocketed to the French presidency last year  on a European level ahead of next years EU elections.

Macrons office said it regretted the European Parliaments decision but said that France will continue to defend this idea in the future.

He won support from Luxembourgs Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, who questioned why national leaders would now back the system for picking a new EU commission chief  called Spitzenkandidat, or leading candidate in German.

Why should we have Spitzenkandidaten if we have no transnational list for elections?! he said in a personally signed tweet.

 Weep not! 

Many European leaders had feared the idea would be hijacked by anti-EU candidates, for example Frances Marine Le Pen or Greek former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

Varoufakis, the leftist who led a brief but fiery resistance against the eurozone in bailout talks in 2015, said Wednesdays decision was a major own goal, but weep not!, as he was coordinating a list of candidates in several countries to join forces.

The next European elections will take place in May 2019, two months after Britain leaves the EU.

The European Parliament warned on Wednesday that it would vote against any candidate to replace Juncker who was not chosen by the assemblys biggest political bloc.

Parliament is ready to reject any contender for EU Commission president who is not nominated as a lead candidate ahead of the 2019 EU elections, it said in a statement after backing the plan by 457 votes to 200 against, with 20 abstentions.

The system  widely known as Spitzenkandidat or lead candidate  was used to pick Juncker in 2014 and MEPs say it makes the choice more democratic.

But it is opposed by many national leaders who view it as a backroom stitch-up that freezes out the governments of EU member states.
Moscow has begun to send North Korean workers home as required by the UN Security Council resolution, the Russian envoy in Pyongyang said Wednesday, calling the ban a "blow" to the country's economy.

The ban on workers from North Korea will be a blow to the Russian economy but we scrupulously adhere the UN SC decision. Many governors have already started to deport (North Koreans), said the Russian Ambassador in Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora, RIA Novosti reported.

Asked to comment on the issue, the Russian foreign ministrys press-service told AFP that Moscow strictly adheres to the resolution, which presumes repatriation of all DPRK migrant labourers in 24 months since its adoption.

Russia is acting in accordance with this document, it said, without confirming that some workers are being sent back ahead of the deadline.

DPRK citizens who are legally in our country will continue working in Russia until the expiry of the term imposed by the UN SC resolution.

The new sanctions boost against North Korea was passed in December and stipulated that all North Koreans working abroad should be sent back by the end of 2019.

Matsegora said about 35,000 North Korean workers were labouring in Russia, mostly in construction, agriculture and fisheries.

He said they earn wages comparable with Russian citizens and receive 40-50 percent of their salary, while the rest goes to the North Korean government.
Russia sold around $15 billion worth of weapons in 2017, maintaining a similar level of sales to the previous year, the country's agency responsible for military exports Rosoboronexport said on Wednesday.

In 2017 Rosoboronexport signed contracts worth approximately $15 billion with customers in 53 countries, the agencys CEO Alexander Mikheev said in a statement.

He added that the results allow Russia to maintain its dominant position in the world arms market.

According to Stockholms independent institute researching arms control, Sipri, the United States topped the world ranking of arms exporters between 2012 and 2016, with 33% of the market, followed by Russia (23%), China (6.2%) and France (6%).

A long-time supplier to India and China, Moscow has also provided equipment to the Syrian regime in recent years, which the Kremlin steadfastly supports.

Despite unprecedented pressure from a number of Western countries and the unfair methods of competition they are using, we have managed to enter new markets, Mikheev said in the statement.

He listed a certain number of new clients in the Asia Pacific region and in the Middle East without giving specific details.

Last week, the US State Department said some governments were beginning to renounce arms deals with Russia following a law Congress passed last summer that banned all dealings with 39 Russian arms companies.

In 2016, Russia made more than $15 billion in arms shipments to 52 countries.
Living in the UK? Heres a list of all the UK public holidays you need to know in 2021 and 2022, as well as other important dates to make a note of on your calendar.

Whether youre living in the UK or just visiting, its important to note the dates of the UKs holidays. This is because many businesses and public institutions typically close or have reduced services on these days.

To ensure you dont miss out on anything important, our guide puts together a list of the UKs public holidays as well as important dates for your calendar.

Introduction to UK public holidays

Public holidays in the UK are usually called bank holidays. Some bank holidays in the UK coincide with colorful UK festivals, which is a great way to sample the top local British foods. Many businesses typically close, however, for UK national holidays and some UK transport may run on reduced schedules.

Guy Fawkes Night is a widely celebrated UK holiday, although not an official UK bank holiday.

Its important to note that UK bank holidays are slightly different across the four countries of the UK. For example, Northern Ireland has two more holidays than England. These are St Patricks Day and the Anniversary of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Scotland also has several holidays that only apply to certain regions.

When UK holidays fall on a weekend, the next weekday (often a Monday) usually becomes a substitute day UK national holiday.

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UK public holidays in 2021

Below is a list of UK bank holidays that are observed across the entire country in 2021, unless otherwise indicated. Further holidays may be announced by the government at a later date.

1 January (Friday): New Years Day

New Years Day 4 January (Monday): New Years holiday (Scotland)

New Years holiday (Scotland) 17 March (Wednesday): St Patricks Day (Northern Ireland)

St Patricks Day (Northern Ireland) 2 April (Friday): Good Friday

Good Friday 5 April (Monday): Easter Monday

Easter Monday 3 May (Monday): May Day bank holiday

May Day bank holiday 31 May (Monday): Spring Bank Holiday

Spring Bank Holiday 12 July (Monday): Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland)

Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland) 2 August (Monday): Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland)

Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland) 30 August (Monday): Summer Bank Holiday (not in Scotland, however)

Summer Bank Holiday (not in Scotland, however) 30 November (Tuesday): St Andrews Day (Scotland)

St Andrews Day (Scotland) 25 December (Saturday): Christmas Day

Christmas Day 26 December (Sunday): Boxing Day

Boxing Day 27 December (Monday): Christmas Day holiday

Christmas Day holiday 28 December (Tuesday): Boxing Day holiday

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UK public holidays in 2022

Below is a list of UK bank holidays that have been confirmed for 2022, but more may be announced at a later date.

1 January (Saturday): New Years Day

New Years Day 3 January (Monday): New Years Day holiday

New Years Day holiday 4 January (Tuesday): New Years holiday (Scotland)

New Years holiday (Scotland) 17 March (Thursday): St Patricks Day (Northern Ireland)

St Patricks Day (Northern Ireland) 15 April (Friday): Good Friday

Good Friday 18 April (Monday): Easter Monday

Easter Monday 2 May (Monday): May Day bank holiday

May Day bank holiday 2 June (Thursday): Spring Bank Holiday

Spring Bank Holiday 3 June (Friday): Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday

Platinum Jubilee Bank Holiday 12 July (Tuesday): Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland)

Battle of the Boyne (Northern Ireland) 1 August (Monday): Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland only)

Summer Bank Holiday (Scotland only) 29 August (Monday): Summer Bank Holiday (not in Scotland, however)

Summer Bank Holiday (not in Scotland, however) 30 November (Wednesday): St Andrews Day (Scotland)

St Andrews Day (Scotland) 25 December (Sunday): Christmas Day

Christmas Day 26 December (Monday): Boxing Day

Boxing Day 27 December (Tuesday): Christmas Day holiday

Regional holidays in 2021 and 2022

In addition to the national public holidays, there are a number of regional holidays across Scotland. Check with your local council to see when these holidays are taking place in 2020.

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25 January (Monday): Burns Night (Scotland)

Burns Night (Scotland) 12 February (Friday): Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year 16 February (Tuesday): Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday 24 March (Sunday): Mothers Day

Mothers Day 28 March (Sunday): Clocks go forward one hour as British Summer Time starts

Clocks go forward one hour as British Summer Time starts 12 April (Monday): Ramadan begins

Ramadan begins 13 May (Thursday): Eid al-Fitr

Eid al-Fitr 20 June (Sunday): Fathers Day

Fathers Day 16 September (Thursday): Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur 31 October (Sunday): Clocks go back one hour as British Summer Time ends

Clocks go back one hour as British Summer Time ends 4 November (Thursday): Diwali

Diwali 5 November (Friday): Guy Fawkes Night  also referred to as Bonfire Night

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Important dates in the UK in 2022

25 January (Tuesday): Burns Night  Scotland

Burns Night  Scotland 1 February (Tuesday): Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year 1 March (Tuesday): Shrove Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday 27 March (Sunday): Mothers Day

Mothers Day 27 March (Sunday): Clocks go forward one hour as British Summer Time (BST) starts

Clocks go forward one hour as British Summer Time (BST) starts 2 April (Saturday): Ramadan begins

Ramadan begins 3 May (Tuesday): Eid al-Fitr

Eid al-Fitr 19 June (Sunday): Fathers Day

Fathers Day 5 October (Wednesday): Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur 25 October (Tuesday): Diwali

Diwali 30 October (Sunday): Clocks go back one hour as British Summer Time (BST) ends

Clocks go back one hour as British Summer Time (BST) ends 5 November (Saturday): Guy Fawkes Night  sometimes referred to as Bonfire Night

UK school holidays

Read even more in our guide to school holidays in the UK.

For important festivals in the UK, you can also read our guide to the best UK festivals.
The Dutch state Thursday appealed a decision by an Amsterdam court to refer a landmark case over Brexit to Europe's top court, as British expats demand clarification of their rights as EU citizens.

In what is believed to be the first such case as Britain prepares to leave the European Union next year, five Britons living in the Netherlands and two expat organisations took the government to court in January.

They have argued that they have independent rights as EU citizens, over and above being citizens of any specific EU member country  including Britain.

But lawyer Erik Pijnacker Hordijk, representing the Dutch government, told the appeals court Thursday that their case is groundless and should be ruled as inadmissible.

Even in the event of a hard Brexit, where Britain would leave without a deal with the EU it doesnt mean that British citizens who legally live in the Netherlands will lose their residency rights, he said.

There is no chance that any of the plaintiffs will run the risk of being ejected from the country, he maintained.

Currently about 46,000 Brits live in the Netherlands and there was no reason to believe  that they will run a serious risk of being told to leave the country, he said.

But the group insist their legal rights as EU citizens  including freedom of movement  should remain and be protected by The Netherlands even after Britain withdraws from the 28-member body at midnight on March 29, 2019.

Irrespective of how an eventual Brexit will look, the plaintiffs rights as EU citizens are already in jeopardy, the groups lawyer Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm told the judges.

In what could have far-reaching implications for about one million Brits on the continent, judge Floris Bakels in February asked the European Court of Justice to answer two preliminary questions.

The questions are: Does Brexit mean that Britons automatically lose their European citizenship or do they maintain their rights, and if so, under what conditions?

Observers say that should the ECJ indeed rule that Britons have separate implicit rights as EU citizens it could have massive implications  including impacting current Brexit negotiations.

Dutch MPs were later Thursday to take up the issue with a special round table organised in parliament to discuss the ramifications of Brexit.

Some of the court plaintiffs and their lawyer, as well as pro-EU groups British in Europe and the3million were due to appear to discuss the possible consequences of Brexit for citizens, business, government departments and civil society, a parliamentary notice said.
Two years after David Bowie died, top names in music including Billy Corgan and Daryl Hall will cover his songs for a special edition of Howard Stern's radio show, the veteran host announced Tuesday.

The 25-song show, to be co-hosted by Bowies longtime producer Tony Visconti, amounts to a surprise forum for a tribute to the music legend who wanted no formal memorial.

Stern made his name as a shock jock on New York radio in the 1980s but has gradually built a radio empire and mainstream respectability.

Stern, who will broadcast the retrospective Friday on his channel on satellite radio provider SiriusXM, said that Bowie was one of his first musical loves.

I want to make sure that people remember David Bowie, Stern, one of the most successful radio hosts in the United States, said in a statement.

Corgan, the frontman and main force behind Smashing Pumpkins, will perform Bowies breakthrough 1969 song Space Oddity while electronic rockers Garbage will cover another classic track, Starman.

Bowies contemporary Peter Frampton will sing Rebel Rebel, while Daryl Hall  one half of chart-topping pop duo Hall and Oates  will take on Fame, an emblematic song of the ever-transforming Bowies 1970s funk phase.

Other artists on the show will include pop star Lisa Loeb, retro pop act Bleachers, folk rockers Dawes and prominent indie rockers Car Seat Headrest and Spoons Britt Daniel.

Bowie stunned fans when he died in January 2016 from an undisclosed battle with cancer at age 69. While his family did not authorize any memorial, previously planned charity concerts several months later in Bowies adopted home of New York turned into tributes, drawing prominent artists including Blondie, the Pixies, The Flaming Lips and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. fame.

Forbes magazine has ranked Stern as the worlds seventh highest-paid celebrity on its last annual list with earnings of $90 million over the previous year.
Prominent Islamic scholar Tariq Ramadan was denied bail in France Tuesday, judicial sources said, four days after he was remanded in custody on charges of rape that have sown divisions in the Muslim community.

Two Muslim women have accused Ramadan, a 55-year-old Oxford University professor whose grandfather founded Egypts Muslim Brotherhood movement, of rape.

They went public with the allegations late last year when women began sharing accounts of sexual harassment and assault as part of the Me Too and Balance Ton Porc (Expose your pig) campaign triggered by the revelations against Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.

Ramadan, who took leave of absence from Oxford in November after the allegations surfaced, is the most high-profile figure to be held in France since the campaign began.

The married father of four has rejected the accusations saying he is the victim of a smear campaign.

He was held for questioning in Paris for two days last week before being charged and taken into preventive custody on Friday.

The arrest of the influential academic  a regular on TV debates with more than two million Facebook followers  has rocked the French Muslim community.

Henda Ayari, a 41-year-old feminist activist who previously practised an ultra-conservative brand of Islam, claims Ramadan raped her in Paris in 2012.

Another woman, a 40-year-old disabled Muslim convert going by the alias Christelle, claimed he raped and beat her in the southeastern city of Lyon in 2009.

Ramadan was questioned in the presence of the second woman last week.

His lawyers have suggested the women colluded to try to disgrace him.

A source close to the investigation told AFP two more women had testified anonymously against him and could file formal complaints.
Calif. dairymen came up with a quota plan that would work with the federal order.

SALEM, Ohio  California dairy producers are awaiting the USDAs final proposal of a Federal Milk Marketing Order system for the state.

If California becomes a part of the federal order system, it would bring an additional 20 percent of national milk production under federal regulations.

Congress wants California to come into a federal order, said Geoffrey Vanden Heuvel, Milk Producers Council board member and economics consultant. They want all milk in the country in the same system.

California

So why isnt California already a part of the Federal Order system? Because of its isolated geography.

When Federal Milk Marketing Orders (FMMO) were created in the 1930s, milk was not moving across the state line, explained Heuvel. California didnt qualify for the FMMO, so it developed a state order.

When (farmers) sold to XYZ milk factory in town, (they) got a price based on that factorys sale of milk, he said. Factories with bottle milk sales would pay more for Class I milk (fluid use) than Class III (cheese) milk, which they could potentially use to leverage farmers.

There was a lot of abuse, said Heuvel, so in the 60s, there was a significant modification to the state order, and a market-wide pool was developed to protect farmers and guarantee them a fair market price for all of their milk, no matter the end use.

Quota

California also has a quota system that farmers can buy into, which gives those farmers a little more money for their milk. The quota system created a billion dollar asset to Californias dairy industry that they dont want to lose, explained Heuvel.

Congress made an exception: California can come into the (Federal Order) program and it would still recognize the quota system, he said.

Last summer, California milk producers came up with a revised Quota Implementation Plan that will work with the federal order program.

Milk producers voted overwhelmingly to pass the quota, explained Heuvel. In December, 87 percent of eligible producers voted for the plan, which represents over 90 percent of the total market milk volume.

Final decision

Once the USDA publishes its final federal order rules for a FMMO for California, producers will still have to vote yes or no on whether to accept these rules and join, explained Heuvel.

Ohio

But what does that have to do with Ohio milk production?

According to Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, California joining the Federal Order system will not have a direct impact on the Ohio dairy industry, but it could indirectly affect pricing across the federal order system.

Nothing in the dairy industry takes place in a isolated way, he said.

For example, if California cheese plants decide the federal order system pricing for Class III milk is too high, they may decide they are paying into the pool more than they are getting out. Cheese production plants may decide California is not a good place to make cheese, said Stephenson, which could lead to a potential price increase.

The bottom line is, anything you do that impacts the level of prices that is in place  either positive or negative  will change milk production and dairy product manufacturing and that kind of trickles out across the country, said Stephenson.
 The Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO) system was established in the 1930s to aid farmers facing low milk prices.

 Milk dealers (handlers) were the main agents in moving producers milk into more populated areas. There was no standard pricing at the time, so the milk dealers controlled the price.

 FMMOs were established to set a minimum milk price, determined by the USDA, dairy farmers (producers) are required to receive from milk processors (handlers) in a milk marketing area.

 Marketing areas are generally defined as a geographic area where handlers compete for packaged fluid milk sales.

 The Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act authorizes FMMOs and USDA amends and establishes them through a hearing process overseen by the Secretary of Agriculture.

 The goal is to assure dairy farmers receive a reasonable minimum price for their milk and give consumers an adequate supply of milk, while preventing wild fluctuations in price through periods of heavy and light milk production.

 The two main features of the FMMO system are classified pricing and pooling.

 The FMMO recognizes milk in four classes: Class I milk for fluid use, Class II for soft products such as ice cream, Class III for cheese, and Class IV used for butter and milk powder.

 Milk handlers report all milk receipts by end use and the FMMO values this pool of milk through fixed minimum-price formulas to determine the four class prices.

 Milk handlers then pay producers at least the weighted-average price of all class uses known as the uniform or blend price.

Sources: USDA, AMS, Federal Milk Marketing Orders; Congressional Research Service, Federal Milk Marketing Orders: An Overview.
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Armed police attended a farm in Scotland to reports of a tiger in a farmer's shed, only to discover the animal was in fact a stuffed toy.

Police attended a farm in the Hatton area of north east Scotland last weekend when a farmer thought he saw a big cat sitting in his cowshed.

But when the officers, armed with firearms, reached the farm they discovered that it was a stuffed tiger toy.

The farmer, who has not been named, said he was very embarrassed by the false alarm.

(Photo: Police Scotland)

A photo of the toy, which was said to be "near life-size", was sent to the police. They then contacted local zoos and wildlife parks to see if any tigers were on the loose.

The police had a "stand-off" with the stuffed animal for around an hour, before realising that the tiger was indeed a toy.

Facebook page UK Cop Humour said: "Photographs of said tiger were sent to the control room and an expert Sergeant confirmed it was definitely real.

"Cue numerous units, including three ARVs and a dog handler, being sent to the farm to tackle this beast.

"Nervous radio updates start coming in stating that it was unclear if the Tiger has eaten any cattle but it appeared well fed and its ears were seen to twitch, but other than that it was very settled.

"After some time a rather sheepish sounding Sergeant comes on the air and declares that it was indeed a stuffed toy!"
At least half the population of native British hedgehogs has been lost from the British countryside over 20 years, with intensive agriculture being one of the reasons.

Two wildlife charities have published a report today (7 February) titled The State of Britains Hedgehogs 2018, published jointly by the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) and Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES).

The report shows that hedgehogs in rural areas are in severe decline, with their numbers plummeting by half since 2000.

Emily Wilson, who works for the campaign Hedgehog Street, said intensification of agriculture is one of the reasons for the decline.

The loss of hedgerows and permanent grasslands, increased field sizes, and the use of pesticides which reduce the amount of prey available, are all associated with the plunge in numbers of hedgehogs in rural areas, Ms Wilson explained.

Farmers play a vital role

However, with approximately 70% of land in the UK managed by farmers, BHPS and PTES are planning to engage with the farming community to help protect this iconic creature.

Farmers play a vital role in producing food, but theyre also well placed to help protect, maintain and enhance our countryside, continued Ms Wilson.

The Government recently reiterated plans to reform the EU Common Agricultural Policy to reward landowners for delivering environmental benefits.

Many farmers already have a sustainable approach to agriculture, and we think theres a great opportunity to work more widely with them to stem the alarming decline of our country hedgehogs.

The news follows farmers told they have the potential to help reverse the decline of farmland birds over the past 40 years if given the funding and support, according to a study.
An MP has said teenagers around the country should be offered a GCSE in Agriculture to help Britain gain a more productive workforce.

According to Conservative MP for York Outer Julian Sturdy, who is an ex-farmer, the course could help create a "better skilled and more productive workforce" for Britain.

Mr Sturdy will today (7 February) lead a debate in Westminster on introducing the qualification, which he says would allow teenagers who are interested in food and farming to get a step on the ladder at the earliest possible opportunity.

Currently, Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK which has a qualification for agriculture. The Agriculture and Land Use GCSE was introduced in 2013.

As an ex farmer, Mr Sturdy said the experience "has naturally" made him a "passionate advocate" of British farming.

He said offering a GCSE qualification would help propel young people for a skilled and fulfilling future career and boost the agricultural industry by providing a greater force of young, educated workers.

Adam Henson, one of Britains best-known farmers, has also called for the introduction of a GCSE in agriculture.

The presenter of BBC's Countryfile told The Times: You can get a GCSE in religious studies and business, so why not in agriculture?

Mr Henson said he hoped to do for farms what Rick Stein has done for fish, and make farming a permanent subject on the school curriculum.
A new 60m grants scheme where farmers can bid for cash to buy new farm equipment has been announced today by the government.

Speaking to attendees and delegates at this years Dairy Tech even, Farming Minister George Eustice praised the variety of technology on show at the event and explained how farmers can benefit from the grants.

Many of the items eligible for funding are highly relevant to the dairy sector, including specialist foot trimming crushes and calving detectors, but there is a range of innovative items from which the majority of farmers can find something they would want to apply for.

Farmers can apply online to the Countryside Productivity Small Grant Scheme, requesting a grant between 3,000 and 12,000 towards the costs of farm equipment.

Opening the event alongside Lord Curry and the Chairman of the RABDF Mike King, Mr Eustice explained how the scheme has been designed with simplicity in mind, to save farmers valuable time.

He said the dairy industry is the UKs largest agricultural sector.

We want to make sure farmers can become more resilient, competitive and able to capitalise on the growing global interest in quality British produce as we leave the EU, Mr Eustice said.

By opening this small grants scheme, we hope more farmers will be able to access this equipment and embark on more innovative and ambitious projects.

Last year, Defra opened a series of calls for larger grants through the Countryside Productivity scheme.

Farmers can apply for grants of over 35,000 for a range of different projects, including for making more efficient use of resources, processing products, and other innovative projects.
One of Northern Irelands longest running dairy processors has unveiled a new Dairy Technology Centre in following a 30m investment supported by Danske Bank.

Over 20 new jobs have been created at the LacPatrick site in Artigarvan, County Tyrone.

LacPatrick was formed in 2015 after a merger between Town of Monaghan Co-Operative and Ballyrashane Co-Operative.

The Artigarvan site currently employs 70 staff with LacPatrick Dairies employing over 300 staff across all of its sites.

The new 30,000 sq. ft centre will double the sites capacity, making the firm one of the biggest producers of dairy products in the UK.

It represents one of the single biggest investments in the Northern Ireland dairy industry in recent years.

'Security of capacity'

Gabriel DArcy, Chief Executive of LacPatrick, said the new dairy technology centre at Artigarvan will provide "security of capacity" for local dairy farmers producing milk to the "highest standards".

The plant provides long term security to our supplier base and positions the business at the forefront of global dairy technologies, Mr D'Arcy explained.

We are now able to produce two new lines of milk powder for international markets with the dairy technology centre able to process milk all year round.

The 20 new roles are in areas such as Operations, Quality, Environmental and Health & Safety. As new product development continues to be a priority, we see excellent opportunities for ambitious food science graduates in the coming years.

'Greatly mitigated'

Mr DArcy said the core logistical risk of Brexit has been "greatly mitigated" by the Artigarvan facility.

As an exporter out of the UK, LacPatrick will be closely monitoring the trading agreements being negotiated by the UK.

He added: We will be focused on driving product development, building relationships with processors seeking access to our technology and expanding our customer base in Asia and the Middle East.

We have made a significant capital investment with the clear purpose of delivering a sustainable return to our suppliers over the coming months and years ahead.
A post shared by Mukul Parab (@mukulparab) on Feb 1, 2018 at 3:47am PST

Taktsang Monastery, popularly known as Tigers Nest Monastery, is the place you must visit when in Bhutan. They say your trip to this happy country is not complete till you trek to this most sacred pilgrim monastery. Legend has it that the Father of Bhutanese Buddhism, Guru Rinpoche, arrived here a million years ago on the back of a tigress and meditated at this place.Nestled atop a cliff, this monastery is the most frequented by visitors from all around the globe. The trek takes around two to three hours to complete, with a steep uphill climb. If you get tired, you can opt to go up by pony. Stop by at the cafe you find on the way to refresh yourself. Keep in mind that visitors require a special permit to enter the monastery, which needs to be procured in advance.
Priyanka Chopra

Priyanka Chopra revealed that she was in a committed relationship and broke up last year. Well, we wonder who is that lucky man?

A Girl In Vain

She further opened up to Filmfare, "I've been single after a really really long time. I get a lot of attention. But I don't know what to do with it. Of course, I like it. I'm a girl and I'm vain."

Who Can It Be?

We wonder if her boyfriend was an Indian or someone from the United States! What do you think, folks?

Trick Or Treat

Priyanka Chopra has learnt the art of answering in a tricky way, whenever she's asked a question om her relationship.

Serial Monogamist

Proyanka Chopra also revealed that she's a "serial monogamist" which means she gives her full to only one person.

In The Right Mind

Reading between the lines, Priyanka Chopra states that she's currently not in the correct mindset to be in a relationship with someone.

Career Goals

Priyanka Chopra solely focuses on her career at the moment and has given her relationship status a backseat.

Long Time

It's been a long time since Priyanka Chopra starred in a Bollywood film.

A Kid Like Jake

PeeCee is currently in the United States shooting for her upcoming Hollywood flick A Kid Like Jake.

Quantico

She's also shooting for her television series Quantico in both Italy and the United States as well.
The month of February kick-started with the arrival of Hey Jude, starring Nivin Pauly in the lead role. Now, a long list of Malayalam movies are in the pipeline for release in this month.

Importantly, this Friday will witness the arrival of a bunch of Malayalam movies, which have their own specialities associated with them. Popular actors like Biju Menon, Manju Warrier, Tovino Thomas etc., are all set to come up with their first movie releases of the year 2018.

On this note, here we take you through the Malayalam movies which will hit the theatres this week..

Aami Aami, the much awaited film of Manju Warrier is all set to hit the theatres this weekend. The film is a biopic on Madhavikutty aka Kamala Das. Director Kamal himself has penned the script of the movie, which also features actors like Tovino Thomas, Murali Gopy, Anoop Menon, Renji Panicker, Jyothikrishna etc., in important roles. Rosapoo The trailer of Rosapoo had promised a laugh riot and the audiences are definitely waiting to have a fun time in the theatres. This upcoming entertainer, directed by Vinu Joseph features Biju Menon, Neeraj Madhav and Anjali in the lead roles along with a host of other actors. The film will grace the big screens this Friday (February 09, 2018). Kalyanam Kalyanam, Shravan Mukesh's debut vehicle is all set to hit the theatres this Friday. The film seems to be a perfect family entertainer with some of the prominent faces of the industry playing important roles in the movie. Rajesh Nair has directed this film. Most recently, the audio launch of the film was held underwater. Kaly Kaly is August Cinema's first release after the highly successful venture, The Great Father. The film featuring a group of young actors in the lead roles looks a promising one. Scriptwriter Najeem Koya is making his debut as a film-maker with Kaly and the film will hit the marquee this Friday (February 09, 2018).

Apart from the above mentioned Malayalam movies, other films like Sukhamano Daveede, Kallayi FM etc., are also expected to hit the theatres. The Akshay Kumar starrer Padman will also grace the screens in this week.
For the past several years, the stock market has gone through a period of nearly unprecedented calm. Not only did the market move upward sharply, but it did so in a way that had almost no major downward movements along the way. That means those who bet on a continued lack of volatility by using inverse volatility ETFs earned some of the best returns in the market, including a near-tripling in 2017.

That all came to a thundering halt on Feb. 5, and both VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSEMKT: XIV) and ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures (NYSEMKT:SVXY) plunged more than 80% in after-hours trading that day. Credit Suisse, which oversees the VelocityShares exchange-traded note, said on Wednesday that Feb. 20 would be the last day of trading for the volatility-tracking product. ProShares took the opposite course, saying that its fund will be open for trading despite extremely heavy losses.

The reasons for the moves in the two funds are complicated, but at their core, the failures came from simple math. Most conventional investments have theoretically unlimited upside potential, so that leaves inverse ETFs vulnerable to complete loss of value if the investment they track posts a daily gain approaching 100%.

The unlikely winner of the 2010s

The most interesting thing about these two inverse volatility ETFs is that they were largely an afterthought when volatility-tracking investments first became popular. In the aftermath of the financial crisis, most investors who were interested in volatility wanted to know how to get direct exposure to measures like the S&P Volatility Index (VOLATILITYINDICES:^VIX), with the idea that they'd be able to cash in on volatility spikes on days like the ones the market saw in early February. That was the basis for the inception of VelocityShares Daily VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSEMKT:VXX), and it wasn't until a year later that the corresponding inverse investment became available.

Yet the 2010s have turned out to be one of the calmest periods of stock market gains in history. Long-time investors in regular volatility ETFs discovered the hard way that the structure of the volatility futures markets that they track steadily eroded their value. That made it critical for investors to be tactical in their approach toward regular volatility ETFs.

By contrast, inverse volatility ETFs benefited from the same futures market characteristics that hurt regular volatility trackers. In the early 2010s, occasional spikes in volatility had enough of an abrupt downward impact on inverse volatility to keep share-price gains from getting too out of hand, but the value of the VelocityShares still jumped fourfold from late 2010 to mid-2015. A pullback in late 2015 cut their value in half, but the VelocityShares then climbed from below $20 in early 2016 to more than $140 by early January.

A sudden end

Yet in the end, all it took was a single day to bring inverse volatility ETFs to their knees. With the VIX having been at extremely low levels, it didn't require too big of a rise to represent a 100% daily boost in volatility. That's what happened on Feb. 5, when February VIX futures rose from their opening level of 16 into the low 30s by the afternoon.

The net result was a plunge in the net indicative values of the inverse volatility ETFs. For the VelocityShares, the closing value of $4.22 per share represented a 96% plunge from its Feb. 2 value of $108.37 per share. Similarly, the net asset value for the ProShares fund went from $103.72 to $3.96 per share.

What's next?

For VelocityShares investors, the clock is running out. Credit Suisse declared what the prospectus refers to as an acceleration event, allowing the company to liquidate and pay investors the net indicative value. That will likely happen on Feb. 21, after a final valuation is determined according to the prospectus.

ProShares, meanwhile, is structured differently, and the loss wasn't quite severe enough to be total. The fund company said:

The performance on Monday of the ProShares Short VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (SVXY) was consistent with its objective and reflected the changes in the level of its underlying index. We expect the fund to be open for trading today, and we intend to continue to manage the fund as usual.

Going forward, there's little chance either fund will ever recover all of their lost ground. It took years of calm markets to produce the gains that a single day wiped out. Even if the market returns to a calmer attitude, the 25-fold gains it would take to recover from a 96% drop would take decades to recover.

Respect volatility

The lesson that inverse volatility investors learned was that betting against an unlikely event can be profitable for a long time but still be dangerous. After years of success, all it took was one misstep to all but wipe out investors in inverse volatility ETFs, and investors need to be aware of similar risks whenever they look at investments with a track record of success.
PM - EU Estimates Georgia Has Positive Result in All Directions of Its Action Plan - GeorgianJournal
JBL Boombox portable speaker launched with 20000mAh battery in India News oi-Samden Sherpa JBL Boombox is backed by a big built-in rechargeable Li-ion 20000mAh battery that is said to provide 24 hours of continuous playtime on a single charge.

Samsung and Harman International have now launched a new JBL portable Bluetooth speaker in India. Dubbed as JBL Boombox, this speaker is among the bigger sized portable speakers in the company's product portfolio. Further, the main highlight of this new device is that it comes with a massive battery which according to the company will easily provide playback time for a whole day.

"JBL Boombox is an exceptionally exciting and popular product from the house of Harman. It provides epic, long-playing sound, setting the standard for power in all future portables in the industry. We're excited to give consumers in India yet another way to have a powerful audio experience, now in a massively portable package," said Sumit Chauhan, Vice President - Lifestyle Audio Division at Harman India.

Let's look at some of the features of this new speaker.

Epic Sound All Day Long Made to be the most powerful, portable Bluetooth speaker, JBL Boombox delivers monstrous sound along with the hardest hitting bass as it comes with Bass enhancer feature. The speaker's frame includes four active transducers and two bass radiators. The speaker weighs more than 5.25kg and is close to 20-inches long. The device is backed by a big built-in rechargeable Li-ion 20000mAh battery that is said to provide 24 hours of continuous playtime on a single charge. The speaker is said to be capable of charging other devices. Wireless Bluetooth Streaming and Waterproof Design With the JBL boombox, users can connect up to two devices simultaneously via Bluetooth. The speaker features JBL's Connect+ technology, Where users can also connect "more than 100" JBL speakers together. In addition, the speaker comes with an IPX7 rated waterproof design and the company claims that it can withstand any weather and even the most epic pool parties. Infinix Hot S3 First Impressions Price and Availability The JBL Boombox speaker is priced at Rs. 34,990 in India and is available via online as well as offline stores. JBL Boombox is available in Black color and can also be purchased from Harman's e-commerce platform and via 350 key Samsung brand stores across India. Interestingly, the company is offering 13 percent discount on its official website and is listed at Rs. 30,499.

Best Mobiles in India
Instant discount and no cost EMI

Those who purchase OnePlus smartphones via Amazon India can get an instant discount of up to Rs. 1,500 on using an SBI credit card. Also, the customers can avail three months of no cost EMI during these five days. On choosing the official OnePlus e-store for the purchase or the OnePlus Experience Store in Bangalore, the buyers can get Rs. 1,500 cash back offer and the best value for their old smartphone on exchanging the same for the OnePlus 5T.

Referral program

In addition to these exciting Valentine's Day offers, OnePlus has announced a new referral program and extended warranty for the OnePlus 5 and 5T buyers through Amazon India. Those who purchased these phones before January 30, 2018 will receive two unique referral codes through email. Also, those who buy the OnePlus 5T between February 7 and February 21 can use any of the referral codes.

OnePlus 5T Star Wars Unboxing and First Impressions

Extended warranty

This way, both the referrer and referee can get a complimentary 3-month brand warranty extension. The referrer can avail up to 6 months warranty extension provided the referral codes are used at least two or more times. The first 500 referrers and referees will be eligible for free Bullet V2 earphone on Amazon.in. So, if you were planning to buy the OnePlus 5T, then this is the right time for the purchase in order to enjoy some attractive benefits on the smartphone.
Phone explodes while charging; leaves a 12-year-old partially blind News oi-Vishal The boy lost one eye and a finger due to the explosion, leaving him unconscious until his sister found him and called for help.

A 12-year-old boy from Guangxi province, China has lost one eye and the right finger after his phone burst into flames while charging, leaving him covered in blood on the floor with severe injuries.

Meng Jisu, 12, was charging his phone at his home when he leaned on the charger to reach the smartphone. His right index finger blew away due to the intensity of the explosion, leaving the boy unconscious until his sister found him and called for help.

The boy was rushed to the nearest hospital where he underwent a five-hour surgery to remove the sharp glass and plastic particles from his face and chest. Although the doctors performed the surgery, the boy was still left partially blinded because of the sharp pieces of plastic pierced directly through the right eyeball.

Also, the doctors were unable to reattach the finger to the boy's hand because it wasn't brought along to the hospital, but even if it was, the doctors said it wouldn't have been possible because of the severe injuries.

The doctors believe that the boy will be able to regain 98 percent of the functions of his right hand since they managed to reattach the vessels to all the fingers.

As far as the device is concerned, it was normal feature phone made in China called the Hua Tang VT-V59. Photos were shown by the Chinese media, suggest that the display of the phone burst into pieces, but by the looks of it, you wouldn't expect something as dramatic as a 12-year-old boy has lost an eye and a finger in the aftermath.

According to the mother of the boy, the device was bought two years back, but no other details were provided. The phone manufacturer is yet to offer a statement regarding the matter.

Facebook Messenger Tips and Tricks [MUST WATCH] - GIZBOT

Although the actual reason for the explosion remains a mystery, it is advised not to use cheap chargers and unreliable batteries, as the consequences can be just as disastrous. A certified charger that feeds the prescribed current for the battery will be a better alternative than a cheap charger that could feed higher current than required.

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Samsung intros solution to bring bokeh and low-light photography to affordable smartphones News oi-Abhinaya Prabhu Samsungs affordable smartphones will soon get dual cameras that are optimized to click photos with bokeh effect.

The smartphone market is becoming highly competitive and many companies are coming up with advanced offerings in the affordable market segment. Samsung aims to be all set to take part in the race with the new dual-camera solution that it has introduced. The new solution will combine the ISOCELL Dual image sensors of Samsung and the company's proprietary software in order to bring the bokeh effect and low-light shooting capability to the budget smartphones.

The new solution from Samsung is touted to bring the image-taking experience that was so long seen in the premium and high-end offerings from the company even to the entry-level and mid-range smartphones. The commitment of Samsung to stay competitive in the imaging capabilities of smartphones is evident as the company announced the mid-range Galaxy J7+ with dual rear cameras. It looks like this trend will continue further with the new development.

Also, Samsung is providing its in-house technology to the other manufacturers this time in order to increase the number of dual camera smartphones. The company aims to reduce the optimization difficulties with the dual camera setups with this new solution. Samsung is said to have created a library of in-house software algorithms compatible with the ISOCELL Dual sensors in order to enable both bokeh effect and low-light shooting on the entry-level and mid-range smartphones.

These algorithms are sensor-optimized and will render a refocusing feature for the dual camera configuration with 13MP and 5MP sensors. The low-light shooting capability will be seen with a set of two 8MP sensors. However, the same is likely to be exclusive to select Galaxy models to be launched in future. Previously, Samsung had briefed out how its ISOCELL dual camera solution can support optical zoom but it is believed that the technology will be meant for its own smartphones.

At the MWC Shanghai show, Samsung demonstrated its very first ISOCELL Dual camera module. Later, this camera solution made its debut on the flagship Galaxy Note 8 and then with the Galaxy J7+.

As of now, there is no clarity on when the new dual camera solution will be implemented in smartphones. However, it does make us believe that Samsung will bolster its presence in the components market as it already makes DRAM, processors and flash storage to the other OEMs. This is possible if the company starts supplying this camera module to the other OEMs.

Best Mobiles in India
AnTuTu benchmark details

The leaked AnTuTu benchmark listing revealed by a Twitter user Ice Universe via GSMArena of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s appears to show that the smartphone will be codenamed Polaris. It also shows that the smartphone has managed to score 270461 points. As this smartphone is likely powered by the new chipset - Snapdragon 845, we cannot compare it with the older ones. Also, we cannot take this as a confirmation as the benchmark results can be easily spoofed.

Mi Mix 2s with Snapdragon 845 SoC

This is not the first time that we are coming across speculations regarding the Mi Mix 2s. Last month, the information from China tipped that Xiaomi is in plans to unveil the Mi Mix 2s at the MWC 2018 tech show. The word is that this device will arrive with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC and upgraded cameras.

Focus on AI

Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 focuses on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and camera performance. The new chipset is touted to offer 30% better overall performance. The AI processing is said to be improved by a whopping 300%. It is also believed that the battery output will be improved with this chipset.

Enhanced camera capabilities

From the existing reports, it looks like the alleged Xiaomi Mi Mix 2s will feature the new Sony IMX363 sensor. The device is said to render faster dual-pixel auto-focusing and improved better night-time shooting as the sensor will have larger individual pixels. This makes sense as the rumor mills claim that there will be upgraded cameras in the Mi Mix 2s.

Xiaomi Mi Max 2 First Impressions - GIZBOT

iPhone X like notch

The word is that the Mi Mix 2s will have a notch as seen on the iPhone X. It is expected that the device will arrive with a kind of facial recognition technology similar to Face Unlock as this is the current trend.
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SENTINEL SEEKS COMPLAINANTS AGAINST SUNSET MESA

The Daily Sentinel would like to talk with anyone who has filed a complaint with the state of Colorado against Sunset Mesa Funeral Directors, Donor Services or Megan Hess, as well as former employees of Sunset Mesa. Please contact reporter Erin McIntyre if you are willing to discuss the contents of your complaint, by emailing her at erin.mcintyre@gjsentinel.com or calling 256-4263.
By Damali Mukhaye

The ministry of education is today set to release the 2017 Uganda Certificate of Education exam results.

According to the spokesperson of the ministry of education Patrick Muyinda, the minister of education Janet Museveni is expected to officially release the results at Office of the Prime Minster at 11am.

This is the second batch of examination results to be released after Primary Leaving Examination with those for senior six also expected soon.

Meanwhile, this set of exams was marred by numerous cases of examination leakages after some papers including biology, chemistry and CRE were accessed by students before the slated time for sitting the final papers.

According to the Uganda National Examinations Boards executive director Mr. Dan Odongo 49 suspects have since been charged and remanded over the same.
He brutally beat, strangled her in front of her 5 kids at GJ motel, she says
UK court rejects Julian Assange's bid to drop arrest warrant

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 06:42PM

A court in the UK has upheld an arrest warrant for founder of WikiLeaks anti-secrecy group Julian Assange, who is currently taking refuge at the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

After rejecting Assange's latest attempt to have the warrant dropped, British Judge Emma Arbuthnot said Tuesday that she was "not persuaded" it should be withdrawn.

Asked by Assange's lawyer Mark Summers if it was in the public interest to drop the charges, she said she would make a ruling on that on February 13.

Assange, who has been living in Ecuador's embassy in London for five years, is accused of rape in Sweden. He filed his appeal to the court in late January.

The whistleblower has been living in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden after Swedish prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant against him.

Even if the warrant is finally withdrawn, it is not clear that Assange would leave the embassy.

He has denied the rape accusations, and says the claims are part of an attempt to ultimately have him extradited to the United States, where he could be charged over WikiLeaks' release of thousands of secret military files on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Assange enjoyed extreme popularity among US democrats until the 2016 US presidential election, where he was accused of hacking Democratic secrets and leaking them to the press in order to help then-Republican candidate Donald Trump to defeat Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival.

Jennifer Robinson, another Assange lawyer, did not rule out the possibility of a secret extradition request by the US.

"No one can credibly deny that risk," Robinson had said earlier. "The US Attorney General [Jeff Sessions] has said it is still a priority to prosecute Mr. Assange."

Speaking to reporters last April, Sessions said Assange's arrest was a "priority" for Washington.

"We've already begun to step up our efforts and whenever a case can be made, we will seek to put some people in jail," he said.

This is while his boss, President Trump, has praised the job Assange has done with WikiLeaks.

"I love WikiLeaks," he once told a rally during the campaign.

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Russian Foreign Intelligence Chief Explained His Visit to US Despite Sanctions

Sputnik News

12:34 06.02.2018(updated 12:48 06.02.2018)

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service Head Sergei Naryshkin said Tuesday that he was performing his professional duties as the intelligence service chief during his recent visit to the United States.

"I performed my professional duties as the head of the Russian intelligence service in the United States," Naryshkin told reporters, when asked about his recent visit to the United States.

On January 30, Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said that Naryshkin had recently visited the United States for consultations with the US counterparts.

Speaking on the reports about his visit, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said two days later that US officials couldn't comment on how the Russian intelligence head had obtained a visa to the United States despite sanctions, explaining that any visa restrictions could be waived if a waiver would benefit US national security interests.

 Sputnik

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Democrats Hoping to Release Rebuttal to Republicans' Russia Memo

By Katherine Gypson February 06, 2018

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says the White House has received a Democratic rebuttal to a Republican memo alleging FBI abuses of power during a probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, and will follow the same process that led to the public release of the Republican document.

President Donald Trump will have to decide within days whether to declassify the Democratic memo.

In a unanimous bi-partisan vote Monday, members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence agreed to release the report showing a dissenting view of the approach used to obtain a government surveillance warrant on Carter Page, a former Trump campaign advisor accused of contacts with Russia.

The Republican memo cleared the same approval process last Friday, sparking a furious debate across Washington over the role of partisan politics in the nation's top law enforcement agency.

"We think this will help inform the public of the many distortions and inaccuracies in the majority memo," ranking House Intelligence Committee Democrat Adam Schiff told reporters shortly after the vote. "We want to make sure the White House does not redact our memo for political purposes and obviously that's a huge concern."

Trump claims the Republican memo crafted by House Intelligence chairman Devin Nunes and others "totally vindicates" him of wrongdoing in the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the election and whether he obstructed justice in trying to limit the probe.

In a White House press gaggle Monday, Raj Shah said the president's personal attorneys have called for a second special counsel to provide further review of the FBI's handling of the investigation into Russian interference of the 2016 presidential election.

Democrats said the contents of the four-page so-called "Nunes memo," are nothing but partisan politics.

"It's the latest distraction concocted by Republicans to protect a president of their party from the conclusions from an independent  a truly independent investigation," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the Senate floor Monday. "At least the American people can now see the Nunes memo for what it truly is  an impotent document of GOP talking points."

Twitter back-and-forth

In a Twitter remark Monday, Trump assailed the top Democrat on the panel, saying Schiff "is desperate to run for higher office."

Trump claimed Schiff "is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there" with former FBI director James Comey, Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan and former director of National Intelligence James Clapper all of whom Trump has feuded with over national security issues.

Schiff responded on Twitter, saying, "Mr. President, I see you've had a busy morning of 'Executive Time.' Instead of tweeting false smears, the American people would appreciate it if you turned off the TV and helped solve the funding crisis, protected Dreamers or ... really anything else."

Meanwhile, Trump praised Nunes, saying, "Representative Devin Nunes, a man of tremendous courage and grit, may someday be recognized as a Great American Hero for what he has exposed and what he has had to endure!"

The Nunes memo concluded the FBI relied excessively on opposition research funded by Democrats in a dossier compiled by a former British spy, Christopher Steele, as it sought approval from a U.S. surveillance court in October 2016 to monitor Page and his links to Russia.

But the memo also noted that the FBI investigation that eventually led to Mueller's probe started months earlier  in July 2016  when agents began looking into contacts between another Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, and Russian operatives. Papadopoulos, as part of Mueller's probe, has pleaded guilty to lying to investigators about his Russian contacts and, pending his sentencing, is cooperating with Mueller's investigation.

Democratic lawmakers opposed to Friday's release of the memo contend that the Republican-approved statement "cherry-picks" information and overstates the importance of the Steele dossier in the FBI's effort to win approval from the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Court for the monitoring of Page's activities.

The FBI also opposed release of the memo, saying it had "grave concerns" about its accuracy because of omissions concerning its request to the surveillance court to monitor Page. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller investigation, also opposed its release.

Michael Bowman contributed to this report

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Air Force C-130s, Airmen deploy to Portugal for Real Thaw 18

By Staff Sgt. Andrew Park, 94th Airlift Wing Public Affairs / Published February 06, 2018

MONTE REAL AIR BASE, Portugal (AFNS) -- Approximately 50 Airmen and two C-130H3 Hercules assigned to the 94th Airlift Wing, Dobbins Air Reserve Base, Georgia, arrived at Monte Real Air Base, Portugal to participate in Real Thaw 18, a Portuguese-led exercise.

The annual two-week exercise includes armed forces from multiple nations participating in training missions aimed at merging and deploying different platforms toward a major objective, covering a vast range of activities including air-to-air and air-to-ground training, tactical air transport operations and close air support.

"It provides a unique training opportunity," said Maj. Richard Konopczynski, 700th Airlift Squadron deputy mission commander. "We get to work with our coalition partners. We have other C-130 units here from different countries, and we get to not only compare our techniques, but also work in a deployed environment."

This year's exercise included 1,500 participants and 35 aircraft from Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Portugal and the U.S.

The exercise also goes beyond the scope of flying missions to include support roles such as communications, security forces, maintenance and intelligence. The scenarios will integrate daily realistic interoperability tasks in the air and on the ground between multinational units.

"We set up a scenario that resembles a very specific situation in the world," said Lt. Col. Joao Rosa, exercise coordinator and Portuguese air force fighter pilot. "We are simulating that we deployed a NATO force to a country. What we are going to do with all the types of aircraft we have, with all the army forces and navy forces, is to protect that small country."

"The goal is for participants to know each other on a more personal level to establish rapport and create lasting bonds," said Rosa. "The exercise brings everyone together as much as possible, whether it be flying, briefing or working together."

These relationships have real-world consequences with much of the warfighting effort involving a number of allied forces from different countries working together now and in future contingency operations.

"It's an opportunity to exercise a lot of our skills, tactics and procedures in a coalition environment," said Konopczynski.

Dobbins ARB is participating for the first time in the exercise, which will last from Jan. 29 to Feb. 9, 2018.

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Dunford Re-Energizing Military-to-Military Relations With Thailand

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

BANGKOK, Feb. 6, 2018  The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will seek to expand military-to-military contacts with Thailand when he meets with the nation's chief of defense, the defense minister and the prime minister here tomorrow.

The United States put a hold on military-to-military contacts with Thailand following a military coup in May 2014. The contacts have been re-energized now that the Thai government has scheduled free elections later this year.

During his visit to Thailand, Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford will meet with Thailand's chief of defense, Gen. Tarnchaiyan Srisuwan, Defense Minister Prawit Wongsuwan and Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

Advancing U.S.-Thailand Military-to-Military Relations

"My primary purpose to come here is to develop a personal relationship with the chief of defense," Dunford said. "It is to continue to foster strong military-to-military relationships and, in this case,  not only advance our military relationship, but establish a personal relationship with him, too."

Relations between the United States and the Kingdom of Siam began in 1818. Thailand is one of five treaty allies of the United States in the Pacific; the others are Australia, South Korea, Japan and the Philippines.

"It is important to maintain relations with Thailand, because they have outstanding visibility in the maritime domain in a critical part of the world," Dunford said. "They have been a good partner overall, and  our strength globally and particularly in the Pacific is our network of allies and partners."

Military-to-military relations form an important aspect of America's relationship with other nations, the chairman said, and not just with allies and partners.

"I should have military-to-military relations with everybody from a treaty ally [like Thailand] to a potential adversary," Dunford said. "Now, the reason I have military-to-military relations with an ally is to develop interoperability and to be prepared to fight together should that be required. The reason I have military relations with a potential adversary is to mitigate the risk of miscalculation and make sure we have open lines of communication in case we have a crisis.

"And then, where we are with countries that fall in between those two extremes," he added, "the character of the military relationship  is a reflection of the relationship politically between our two countries."

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Dunford Visits With Australian Chief of Defense, Moves on to Thailand

By Jim Garamone DoD News, Defense Media Activity

RAAF DARWIN, Australia, Feb. 6, 2018  Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford ended a productive visit to Australia today by meeting with U.S. Marines deployed to this Northern Territory base.

The Marine units that rotate in to this strategic base are the latest manifestation of American commitment to Australia and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said to the Marines.

"[There is] no stronger way to demonstrate our commitment to our allies than actually being physically present," Dunford said to the Marines. "Your presence here sends a powerful message to friends and potential adversaries."

Meets With Australian Counterpart

Dunford held a Feb. 3-4 counterpart visit with Australian Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, the chief of Defense Force in Sydney. The two military leaders discussed a wide range of topics, including terrorism and regional security, according to a Joint Staff readout.

"The U.S.-Australia alliance plays a critical role in maintaining peace and stability in the region and the visit served to strengthen that alliance as the U.S. and Australia increase collaboration in counter-terrorism efforts and regional capacity building among other areas of mutual interest," U.S. officials said.

A long-time Pacific power, the U.S. has bolstered its presence in the Indo-Pacific region in recent years.

Some 60 percent of the U.S. Air Force is based in the region. The Navy is approaching 60 percent of its capabilities in the Indo-Pacific as well. There are more than 50,000 U.S. service members based in Japan, and another 28,000 in South Korea. U.S. Pacific Command officials said there are more than 350,000 U.S. service members in its area of operations.

It is not just numbers, it is capability. The region is getting the most modern U.S. systems, including P-8 Poseidon, F-22 Raptor, and F-35 Lightning II aircraft, as well as littoral combat ships.

And, there are many exercises among U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure the multinational forces can work smoothly together.

American Presence in the Indo-Pacific Region

"You cannot dispute the facts from a security perspective about U.S. presence in the Pacific, U.S. commitment in the Pacific and U.S. capability in the Pacific," Dunford said. "Certainly the physical evidence from a military dimension reflects that we are not a declining power."

Buttressing the U.S. military power, the chairman said, is America's true global advantage: its allies and partners.

"If someone is trying to undermine the United States politically, diplomatically and from a security perspective, the first target would be our network of allies and partners," Dunford said. "When you see the message that the United States is a declining power, it's a deliberate effort to undermine the credibility of our alliances and relationships in the region."

U.S. Regional Allies, Partners

It is also an effort to change the rule-based international system that has kept the peace for more than 70 years, the chairman said. The network of allies and partners in the Pacific region, he said, want rules-based international order.

"They don't want 'might to equal right,'" Dunford said. "They want there to be a set of international standards and norms that are enforced by the international community's collective, coherent response."

The chairman added, "No matter how you rack and stack it  we don't have greater capability than we have in the Pacific. There is no other nation that has the military capability that we have in the Pacific."

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Arizona Army National Guard Infantry and Aviation collaborate for air assault operations

By Sgt. Amber Bohlman February 6, 2018

FLORENCE, Ariz. - Members of the Arizona Army National Guard's 1st Battalion, 158th Infantry Regiment combined forces with 1st and 2nd Battalions, 285th Aviation Regiment for an air assault training exercise, Jan. 20, at Rittenhouse Training Area. Conducting this training not only made Arizona Guardsmen more prepared for future deployments, but also boosted the moral of the Soldiers.

"This type of training is very rare so we are definitely grateful for the opportunity," said Maj. Loong Lee, 1-158th executive officer. "It adds an almost exponential level moral boost to each of the Soldiers that are going through the air assault."

The exercise involved a multi-ship airlift, comprising of five UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Each of the nine airlifts transported infantry platoons to Florence Military Reservation to various landing areas before taking on the mock enemy.

"This is essential training because our job as the infantry is to get close with and destroy the enemy; and for us to get to the enemy, is through assault aviation," Lee said.

Conducting training operations of this complexity takes months of preparation. Both units had to work hand in hand to ensure that each of them was meeting training goals.

"We gauge [success] by having all of our Soldiers successfully completing this air-assault landing in Florence, and every single one of them going in and completing their attack on their objective," Lee said.

This was the first time many Soldiers involved in this training exercise have flown in an operation of this scale, or even in a Black Hawk helicopter.

"We gained a lot out of it for ourselves, and the newer pilots -- gaining the experience needed to do a real air assault in a combat zone," said CW2 Riley Burdick, A Company, 1-285 Aviation Regiment Safety Officer.

Aviation's mission was to support the ground commander and ensure that every group of infantrymen was reaching their targets accurately and on time.

"We didn't miss any of our time on targets on this mission. Of the nine separate flights, we were within 30 seconds from when the ground commander wanted to be there," "That's a big feat -- there's nothing better than actually being able to do that."

Training like this maintains a high level of readiness for missions across the globe and provides a combat ready reserve to a stressed active duty component.

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US Navy Aircraft Enhance Regional Partnerships, Highlight Capabilities During Singapore Air Show

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180206-03

Release Date: 2/6/2018 11:45:00 AM

From Task Force 73 Public Affairs

SINGAPORE (NNS) -- U.S. Navy aircraft are participating in the Singapore International Airshow Feb. 6-11, held at the Changi National Exhibition Center.

Crews from the Navy's P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and an F/A-18 Super Hornet joined aircrews from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marines for the weeklong exhibition. The Navy aircraft are forward deployed to the Indo-Asia-Pacific as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet and have routine presence across the region.

Singapore's biennial airshow provides an ideal forum for naval aviators and crews to engage with their U.S. counterparts along with aircrews from allied and partner nations from across the region and the world.

"We are honored to bring our team to Singapore to represent the U.S. Navy before an international audience of aviation professionals and partner nation militaries," said Lt. Cmdr. Karl Murray, mission lead for the crew of the P-8 Poseidon of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8. "Our time here enables us to showcase our capabilities and enhance relationships at the operator level with our friends and allies."

The Singapore airshow occurs every two years and is the largest defense exhibition and international tradeshow in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region with more than 50 nations and foreign delegations, and 1,000 defense contractors participating.

The Navy aircrews will host a variety of distinguished visitors along with industry personnel, aviation enthusiasts and partner nation military aviators during the public days of the airshow highlighting the capabilities and enduring legacy of U.S. naval aviation.

U.S. Navy participation in airshows helps demonstrate America's commitment to the peace and security of the Indo-Asia-Pacific while fostering enduring relationships with international audiences and partner militaries.

U.S. Navy aircraft assigned to the U.S. 7th Fleet conduct forward-deployed maritime operations in support of U.S. national interests in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. As the U.S. Navy's largest numbered fleet, the U.S. 7th Fleet interacts with 36 nations across the region to build security partnerships that foster maritime stability.

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Yemen separatist leader visits UAE, Saudi Arabia amid Aden tensions

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 08:22AM

The leader of United Arab Emirates (UAE)-backed separatists in southern Yemen is to visit Abu Dhabi and then Riyadh following days of heavy infighting in Aden between his forces and the Saudi-sponsored militants loyal to the former Yemeni government.

London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed newspaper said on Monday that Aidarus al-Zubaidi, who leads the so-called Southern Transitional Council (STC), had left Yemen's port city of Aden for Abu Dhabi.

The visits come after STC separatists turned against their allies and seized major parts of Aden from the militants serving the former Saudi-backed president of Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been leading a military campaign since 2015 with the common goal of crushing Yemen's popular Houthi Ansarullah movement and reinstalling Hadi, who had resigned as Yemen's president amid an internal conflict and fled to Riyadh earlier that year.

In the course of the campaign, the Saudi-led alliance managed to seize Aden from the Houthis and put it under the control of the ex-president's officials. The Houthi movement has been running state affairs in the capital Sana'a besides defending the country against the Saudi-led coalition and pro-Hadi militants.

The recent fighting that broke out late last month in Aden among the separatists and the pro-Hadi militants laid bare a deep rift in the Saudi-led coalition's ranks.

The UAE-trained STC first joined forces with the pro-Hadi militants against the Houthis during the Saudi war, but then protested what they called Hadi's attempt to marginalize their role, renewing their initial separatist demands and starting clashes with his forces.

Both Riyadh and Abu Dhabi scrambled to end the situation in Aden, sending a "top military and security delegation" to the site of the clashes, which left dozens of people dead and hundreds of others wounded.

The rift in the Saudi-led coalition came to light last month, when the self-proclaimed president ousted Zubaidi, whom he had chosen as the governor for Aden, and his state minister Hani bin Breik, over their ties with the UAE.

Observers said at the time that the move signaled the existence of a widening rift between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over their ambitions for Yemen.

Aden lies at the cross-section of multiple trade routes. The resulting commercial importance has prompted a historical struggle over the city's control.

The Middle East Eye (MEE) news portal quoted Farea al-Muslimi, Yemen researcher at the London-based think tank Chatham House, as saying that the recent developments spelled "the end...of the uncomfortable political honeymoons of the Yemen war."

"Among those honeymoons, according to analysts, is that of the UAE and Saudi Arabia around Hadi in particular," the MEE said.

"The Saudi-Emirati coalition has been pushing a narrative which is at odds with reality," said Simon Henderson, director of [Persian] Gulf research at the Washington Institute, the MEE reported.

"The reality seems to be that the UAE has become exasperated with Hadi and is orchestrating its own plans for the south," he added.

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Maldives declares state of emergency, nabs top judge

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 07:17AM

The Maldives' President Abdulla Yameen has declared a state of emergency, and security forces have arrested a top Supreme Court judge, heightening recent political tensions in the Indian Ocean island country.

Yameen declared the state of emergency late on Monday, and later, on Tuesday, police officers in the archipelago took into custody Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another Supreme Court judge, further intensifying a legal confrontation between the president and the country's top court.

The arrest of Saeed and Supreme Court Judge Ali Hameed was announced by police through a Twitter message citing an "ongoing investigation," without elaborating.

Fresh tensions erupted last week after President Yameen defied a Supreme Court ruling that revoked terrorism charges against nine leading opposition figures in the Maldives, including the country's first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, who was granted political asylum by Britain after being allowed to travel there for medical treatment while still serving a prison term.

The court also ordered the release from jail of opposition figures, six of whom are being held in the country's main jail on a lightly inhabited island.

"The President has been compelled to declare a state of emergency due to the risk currently posed to national security," said a statement issued by the presidential office on Monday. "Implementation of the Supreme Court ruling is  in its current form  incompatible with maintenance of public safety."

In its ruling last Thursday, the Supreme Court said it found that prosecutors and judges had been influenced "to conduct politically motivated investigations" into the allegations leveled against Nasheed, former vice president Ahmed Adeeb, and the other opposition figures.

While the court ordered fresh probes and trials to be conducted, it did not specify the nature of the political influence, leaving critics questioning the top court's potential political inclinations.

The ruling has energized an opposition that hopes Nasheed  still in exile  will be allowed to return home to run against Yameen in a presidential election due in October.

The Maldives' police forces further arrested another former president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom  who is also Yameen's half-brother  as well as his son-in-law at his residence.

Gayoom, who is now in the opposition camp, ruled the tiny nation for 30 years until 2008. Gayoom's son, Faris, is also one of the jailed opposition figures ordered freed by the court.

Gayoom posted a recorded video on social media, claiming he was being taken to the prison island of Dhoonidhoo, "I have not committed any crime. This arrest is unlawful. I will remain strong, and I ask the beloved people to remain strong."

Yameen, who has been serving as president since 2013, faces rising political pressure at home to comply with the high court's order.

Moreover, China, Australia, the United States, and India have issued travel advisories for the Maldives, a country of 400,000 people best known as a beach paradise for tourists, who provide most of its foreign currency revenue.

The Maldives is made up of 26 coral atolls and 1,192 islands. Politics centers on the tiny but densely-populated capital, Male.

The country has experienced political unrest since Nasheed was forced to quit amid a mutiny by police in 2012.

The following year, Yameen defeated Nasheed in an election that Nasheed's supporters alleged was rigged. Nasheed was jailed on terrorism charges but was allowed to go to Britain for medical treatment in January 2016. He never returned.

"This deliberate refusal by the government to uphold the constitution further destabilizes the Maldives and wider Indian Ocean security," Nasheed said in a Monday statement.

The political turmoil comes during the peak tourism season in the Maldives. Tourism brought in 2.7 billion dollars in revenue for the country in 2016.

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Planned Israeli border wall violates Lebanon's sovereignty: Army

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 06:59AM

The Lebanese army has censured an Israeli plan to build a wall along Lebanon's southern border, saying the structure will be a violation of the country's sovereignty.

On Monday, senior Lebanese officials and Israeli army officers held a meeting under the supervision of the UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) at the Lebanese border town of Naqoura to discuss the contentious wall.

In a statement issued after the tripartite meeting, the army said "the Lebanese side reviewed the matter of the wall which the Israeli enemy intends to build ... confirming the position of the Lebanese government rejecting the construction of this wall as it violates Lebanese sovereignty."

The Lebanese government says the wall passes through territory, which belongs to Lebanon but is located on the UN-designated Blue Line demarcating the regime's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

President Michel Aoun has said the wall would breach Lebanese territory at 13 different points, calling for "corrections" along the Blue Line.

In the meeting, the Lebanese side also rejected recent Israeli comments about Lebanon's offshore energy exploration, the army statement said.

Israel's minister of military affairs, Avigdor Lieberman, last week described as "very provocative" a Lebanese tender for projects in two of its 10 offshore blocks in the Mediterranean Sea. Tel Aviv, which claims sovereignty over Block 9, also urged international firms not to take part.

Lieberman's remarks came a few days before February 9 when Beirut is set to officially sign contracts with three international firms, allowing exploration to start.

"The block lies entirely within Lebanon's territorial and economic waters," the Lebanese army said in its statement.

Aoun is scheduled to hold a meeting with Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri before noon Tuesday at the presidential palace of Baabda to discuss the situation amid rising Israeli threats against the Arab country.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's resistance movement Hezbollah has vowed to defend the rights of the country in oil and gas exploration in the eastern Mediterranean region against any new Israeli aggression.

Hezbollah said Lieberman's recent comments were "a new aggression," warning that it would "decisively confront any assault on our oil and gas rights."

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'Two-state' solution only way to resolve Israeli-Palestinian conflict: UN

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 06:28AM

United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres has emphasized that the so-called two-state solution is the sole way out of the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict, warning that the "negative trends" unfolding in the region could endanger the bid.

"There is no Plan B. A two-state solution is the only way to achieve the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and secure a sustainable solution to the conflict," Guterres told a meeting of a UN committee on Palestinian rights in New York on Monday.

He hailed efforts made by the international community to encourage a negotiated process to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute and the UN support for the so-called two-state solution.

"The General Assembly has reaffirmed the two-state solution through the establishment of a Palestinian State as the only way to achieve stability, peace, prosperity and development in the region," he added.

"Negative trends on the ground have the potential to create an irreversible one-state reality that is incompatible with realizing the legitimate national, historic and democratic aspirations of both Israelis and Palestinians," Guterres said, apparently referring to US President Donald Trump's hostile measures against Palestinians.

Last December, Trump declared that Washington was recognizing Jerusalem al-Quds as the "capital" of Israel and planning to relocate the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the city.

The contentious move, which drew global warnings and condemnations, led President Mahmoud Abbas to formally declare that Palestinians would no longer accept the US as a mediator to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as Washington is "completely biased" towards Tel Aviv.

In yet another hostile move, the Trump administration said in January that it would withhold $65 million of a $125 million aid installment to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

Guterres further said he was "extremely concerned that the latest shortfall in UNRWA's funding will gravely impair the agency's ability to deliver on its mandate and preserve critical services such as education and health care for Palestine Refugees."

Trump's first pro-Israel policy shift on the conflict took place in February 2017, when he dropped a two-decade old US commitment to the establishment of a Palestinian state as part of the so-called two-state solution.

Guterres also censured Israel's "illegal" settlement activities in the occupied lands, saying the construction and expansion of settler units "is a major obstacle to peace and it must be halted and reversed."

The UN chief also raised alarm over the "dire" humanitarian and economic situation in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip.

Abbas, Johnson talk over phone

Separately on Monday, British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas discussed recent political developments and the Middle East conflict over the phone.

During the conversation, Johnson affirmed the UK's commitment to the so-called two-state solution, the Palestinian WAFA news agency reported.

Following the call, the top British diplomat took to Twitter to express his satisfaction with the conversation.

The Palestinian president, for his part, said that any new round of talks should be based on a multilateral international mechanism, international law and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds during the Six-Day War in 1967. It later annexed East Jerusalem al-Quds in a move not recognized by the international community.

Palestinians want the resolution of the conflict with Tel Aviv based on the so-called two-state solution along the pre-1967 boundaries.

However, the Israeli officials insist on maintaining the occupation of Palestinian territories.

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EU Lays Out Accession Path For Balkan Countries

RFE/RL February 06, 2018

The six Western Balkan countries that remain outside the European Union could join the bloc "in our generation," EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said as she laid out a new strategy to integrate the region.

The strategy, unveiled by the European Commission on February 6, is meant to give a clear view toward EU accession to Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

"It is clear today and that is [the] message -- we will share a common future inside our European Union," Mogherini said in Strasbourg.

"Let's bring the Western Balkans inside the European Union not in a far away future but in our generation," she added.

Among the six Western Balkan countries, the commission considers Serbia and Montenegro as front-runners toward accession and the new strategy says they could be allowed in by 2025 if they meet all the conditions.

For Serbia that includes finalizing a "comprehensive, legally binding normalization agreement" with Kosovo, it says.

Mogherini insisted that 2025 was not a "target date" or a "deadline."

"It is a realistic perspective to conclude, complete the accession process for those that are currently negotiating, but also for others that might start negotiating in the near future," she said. "And personally I would expect others to start negotiations in the coming months."

'Ambitious But Achievable'

Earlier, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told the European Parliament that it was an "indicative date; an encouragement so that the parties concerned work hard to follow that path."

Juncker also insisted that "there can be no further accession for Western Balkans countries without border disputes having first been resolved."

EU member states Croatia and Slovenia are still locked in a border dispute stemming from the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

"This gamble of saying that we will solve the problem some time after accession, will not take place a second time, not with me," Juncker said.

Macedonia and EU-member Greece are engaged in UN-mediated talks to resolve a 27-year-old dispute over the name of the former Yugoslav republic.

The EU-sponsored dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina has produced agreements in areas such as freedom of movement, justice, and the status of the Serbian minority in Kosovo -- as well as enabling Serbia to start EU accession talks and Brussels to sign an Association Agreement with Kosovo.

The new EU strategy will focus on strengthening the rule of law, security and migration, socioeconomic development, transport and energy connectivity, digital affairs, and the developing reconciliation and good-neighborly relations among the six Balkan countries.

Juncker said that the bloc must help these countries to move toward accession.

"All are still far away from meeting the conditions," Juncker said. "But we must reach out our hands toward our partners in the Western Balkans, we must help them ... to take this difficult path."

In Belgrade, Prime Minister Ana Brnabic said Serbia would work hard to fulfill the "ambitious but achievable" plan, insisting that Serbia does not want a "frozen conflict" with Kosovo.

EU leaders are set to hold a summit in Bulgaria in May with the leaders of the six Western Balkan countries involved in the report.

With reporting by dpa, AP, AFP, and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-western-balkans- eu-accession/29023854.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Macedonia Renames Airport, Highway In Bid To Settle Row With Greece

RFE/RL's Balkan Service February 06, 2018

Macedonia's Prime Minister Zoran Zaev says his country is ready to add a geographical qualifier to its name in a bid to resolve a 27-year-old dispute with neighboring Greece over the name of the former Yugoslav republic.

"I want the negotiation process [with Greece] to succeed, we are ready for a geographic designation and I will stop here since I know this is a sensitive issue," Zaev on February 6 in the Macedonian capital, Skopje.

Greece's objections to Skopje's use of the name Macedonia since the country's independence in 1991 has complicated bids by the former Yugoslav republic to join the European Union and NATO.

Athens says the use of the name Macedonia suggests Skopje has territorial claims to Greece's northern region of Macedonia.

Leaders of the two countries have said progress has recently been made in settling the dispute, with indications that any agreement could include Macedonia adding "Upper," "New," or "North" to its name.

The Macedonian government on February 6 officially renamed the country's main airport and a north-south highway, both previously named after Alexander the Great, the famed ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia who is also celebrated in Greece.

The capital's airport was renamed International Airport Skopje and the highway became the Friendship Highway.

"With today's decision ... we are confirming our step toward building friendship and confidence with Greece," Zaev said.

The Macedonian prime minister was speaking after tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Athens on February 4 against any solution that would include the name Macedonia.

The Greek government has said it is prepared to accept a composite name that is clearly distinct from Greek Macedonia.

Matthew Nimetz, the UN envoy dealing with the matter, voiced optimism on February 1 that the Balkan neighbors could end the dispute during 2018.

At the UN, Macedonia is formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).

However, the Security Council has agreed that it is a provisional name.

Macedonia has also been admitted to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund under the FYROM moniker.

Most countries, including Russia and the United States, recognize the country's constitutional title, the Republic of Macedonia.

With reporting by AFP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/macedonia-greece-renames -airport-highway-alexander/29023972.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Yemeni Army Continues to Advance in Mandaba, Restore Strategic Heights North of Saada

Saudi Press Agency

Tuesday 1439/5/20 - 2018/02/06

Saada, Jumada I 20, 1439, February 06, 2018, SPA -- The Yemeni National Army forces continued their grand advance, for the second day, in the Mandaba area, north of Saada governorate.

The Commander of the Fifth Brigade, Brigadier General Saleh Qaroush said that the forces of the brigade was able today to regain full control over a number of strategic heights surrounding the area Mandaba.

He said at least 30 elements of the Iranian-backed Houthi militia were killed while two others were captured. The army also recovered a number of heavy and medium weapons.

-- SPA

21:59 LOCAL TIME 18:59 GMT

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Yemeni Army Recaptures 2 Strategically Positons, Advances towards Areas adjacent to Taiz

Saudi Press Agency

Tuesday 1439/5/20 - 2018/02/06

Taiz, Jumada I 20, 1439, Feb 6, 2018, SPA -- Yemeni national army loyal to the legitimate government led by President Hadi managed to recapture two strategically positioned battle fronts, from the hands of the Iranian-backed Houthi militias, at the Western Front, according to the September Net website, of the Ministry of Defense.

These advances secured by the national army have pushed forward its battling frontlines to be adjacent to the main city of Taiz, in Western Yemen.

-- SPA

22:03 LOCAL TIME 19:03 GMT

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Lebanon Lashes Out at Israeli 'Threats' Over Border Wall

Sputnik News

14:18 06.02.2018(updated 15:15 06.02.2018)

Earlier in the day, the Lebanese army slammed the Israeli plan to build a wall along Lebanon's southern border, stating that it would be a violation of the country's sovereignty.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri have lashed out at "Israeli threats," they described as a "direct threat to stability" in the border area.

According to a joint statement, the officials have agreed to act on regional and international levels to prevent the Jewish state to build a border wall.

The same day, the Lebanese army has criticized an Israeli plan to build a wall at border marks of Lebanon's southern border, saying the structure will be a violation of the country's sovereignty during a meeting of Lebanese and Israeli military officers chaired by UN peacekeepers.

Senior Lebanese officials and Israeli army officers held a meeting under the supervision of the UN peacekeepers (UNIFIL) at the Lebanese border town of Naqoura to discuss the quarrelsome forced entry-resistant construction built by Israeli along Lebanon's southern border. Lebanon insists on shut-down the construction on their territory.

"The Lebanese side reviewed the matter of the wall which the Israeli enemy intends to build confirming the position of the Lebanese government rejecting the construction of this wall as it violates Lebanese sovereignty," the Lebanese army said in a statement after Monday's meeting.

The statements referred to 13 fortified installations that were constructed on contradictory territories that belong to Lebanon. However, the wall is located on the Israeli side of the UN-designated Blue Line, which defined Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000.

However, over the past decade the Lebanese Armed Forces, the IDF and Hezbollah have violated the blue line multiple times.

Under the UN Security Council Resolution 425 adopted on March 19, 1978, Israel should avoid any military action against Lebanese territorial integrity and withdraw forthwith its forces from all Lebanese territory.

 Sputnik

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Update: air strikes against Daesh

6 February 2018

The RAF are continuing to take the fight to Daesh in Syria.

Summary

Monday 15 January  a Reaper destroyed a lorry-bomb and a terrorist truck in eastern Syria.

Wednesday 17 January  a mixed Tornado/Typhoon flight attacked three groups of terrorists in eastern Syria.

Thursday 18 January  two Reapers struck six terrorist targets, including two armed trucks, two lorry-bombs, a mortar and a Daesh-held building, in eastern Syria.

Friday 19 January  Typhoons and Tornados struck six terrorist positions and a truck-bomb in eastern Syria.

Saturday 20 January  a Reaper destroyed a Daesh-held building in eastern Syria, whilst Typhoons demolished a second.

Sunday 21 January  a Reaper attacked three terrorist targets in eastern Syria, including a group of extremists spotted setting up a potential ambush position.

Detail

Royal Air Force aircraft have continued to support operations by the Syrian Democratic Forces to liberate the Euphrates valley in eastern Syria from the brutality of Daesh. A Reaper remotely piloted aircraft patrolled north of Abu Kamal on Monday 15 January. An armoured truck had been spotted parked on a main road, ahead of the SDF advance, and was assessed to be a probable lorry-bomb. The Reaper's crew used a Hellfire missile to attack the vehicle and safely eliminate any threat it might pose; the very large explosion that resulted confirmed that it could indeed have posed a very dangerous risk to the SDF and the local civilian population. Later in the patrol, terrorists were spotted interacting with a truck, well concealed under trees. A second Hellfire missile was fired, and guided with great precision through the treeline to score a direct hit. Multiple secondary explosions followed as the truck's cargo detonated.

The Syrian Democratic Forces encountered a Daesh-held building as they cleared a village on the east bank of the Euphrates, north-west of Hajin, on Wednesday 17 January. A mixed pair of a Tornado GR4 and a Typhoon FGR4 came to their assistance and, despite the close proximity of the SDF to the target, successfully demolished the building with a Paveway IV guided bomb. Our aircraft then inflicted further casualties on the terrorists in the area, using Brimstone missiles to strike two groups of extremists manoeuvring on foot.

SDF operations north of Abu Kamal on Thursday 18 January were supported by two RAF Reapers as well as other coalition aircraft. One of our Reapers used a Hellfire to knock out an armed truck that was firing on the SDF, then pursued a second such vehicle as it drove away and destroyed it with another Hellfire. A third Hellfire was used in a successful attack on a Daesh-held building. The second Reaper also conducted three attacks; a Hellfire missile silenced a mortar spotted firing from beneath some trees, and a further missile and a GBU-12 guided bomb took care of two truck-bombs. As well as conducting their own attacks, the Reapers also provided targeting and surveillance support to seven attacks by coalition aircraft, against a range of terrorist positions, including two engineering vehicles being used by Daesh, and a large group of terrorists mounted on motorcycles, whom our aircraft tracked to a compound, where they were successfully targeted by a fast jet.

The Euphrates valley was blanketed by cloud on Friday 19 January, but two RAF flights of Typhoons and Tornados nevertheless continued to provide effective air support to the SDF. Six attacks were delivered with Paveway IVs through the cloud onto terrorist positions with which the SDF were engaged in close combat; all six Daesh positions were reported by the SDF to have been destroyed, along with a truck-bomb. The following day, a Reaper used a GBU-12 guided bomb to demolish a Daesh-held building north-west of Abu Kamal, and provided targeting and surveillance support to four coalition air strikes, including one which destroyed a munitions stockpile detected when the Reaper spotted terrorists delivering weapons to the building. A flight of Typhoons were also active over the area, and they used a Paveway to destroy a further Daesh-held building.

On Sunday 21 January, a Reaper identified a group of extremists setting up a probable ambush position in and around a small building in the Euphrates valley. A Hellfire missile scored a direct hit, killing the terrorists and causing a large secondary explosion, likely from weapons concealed inside the building. The Reaper then conducted a further two Hellfire attacks on terrorist positions, and supported a successful coalition air strike.

UK contribution to the fight against Daesh



Map of UK forces committed to Operation Shader

Campaign against Daesh



Map of Daesh losses and gains in Iraq and Syria since September 2014

Previous update

Saturday 6 January: Two Typhoons conducted a night attack on an isolated building some seven miles north-east of Abu Kamal, used as accommodation by Daesh extremists, including local commanders. A pair of Paveway IVs destroyed the target.

Sunday 7 January: A Reaper once again worked with coalition fast jets over the Euphrates, in support of the SDF. The Reaper observed a group of terrorists assembling under a tree, around twenty miles south-east of Mayadin, allowing a prompt and effective strike by another coalition aircraft, then delivered a further attack using one of its own Hellfire missiles. Following the defeat of Daesh in Iraq, coalition aircraft have remained on-call to support the Iraqi security forces as necessary to prevent any attempts by the terrorists to mount further operations in the country, and on Sunday a Typhoon flight was tasked to deal with a group of extremists who had been tracked to a cave some twelve miles north-east of Bayji. A direct hit was achieved with a Paveway IV, killing several terrorists in and around the cave entrance.

Monday 8 January: A Reaper tracked terrorists manoeuvring to the north-east of Abu Kamal and conducted four successful attacks, with three Hellfire missiles and a GBU-12 guided bomb, against extremists on foot and a Daesh pair moving at high speed on a motorcycle across the desert. Two Typhoon FGR4s were also active over the area on the same day, and they used Paveway IV guided bombs to demolish a building which had been identified as a terrorist command post.

Tuesday 9 January: Reaper operations over the Euphrates valley continued, when one of our aircraft spotted a group of armed terrorists on a rooftop north-east of Hajin, observing Syrian Democratic Forces' positions through binoculars. A Hellfire missile successfully struck the group, and a second missile was later used to eliminate another Daesh group who had taken up position within a building.

Wednesday 10 January: The following day, another Reaper worked closely with coalition surveillance aircraft and fast jets in a series of strikes in support of the SDF advance. Our aircraft supported coalition air attacks on a Daesh-held building and a mortar position, and conducted three attacks with its own Hellfire missiles, destroying an armed truck parked under cover of a vehicle shelter, and hitting two groups of terrorists on foot. A flight of Tornado GR4s also took part in this operation, and targeted an armed truck positioned within a compound; the use of a Brimstone missile allowed the vehicle to be destroyed without posing a risk to nearby buildings.

Thursday 11 January: a Reaper again patrolled north of Abu Kamal, the crew using the aircraft's long endurance and sophisticated surveillance sensors to provide overwatch for the SDF on the ground. Three groups of terrorists were successfully attacked with Hellfires, and a fourth missile was employed to kill a Daesh extremist spotted on a rooftop, controlling a small drone of the type used by the terrorists to attempt to spot opponents and conduct harassing attacks with improvised weaponry.

Friday 12 January: Another Reaper continued support to the SDF in this area on Friday 12 January, and its crew conducted attacks with Hellfire missiles on a Daesh-held building and a terrorist moving at speed on a motorcycle.

Saturday 13 January: A Reaper worked very closely with another coalition armed reconnaissance aircraft, again to the north of Abu Kamal. Our aircraft spotted a second terrorist drone team launching a quadcopter from a rooftop, and kept close watch on them whilst the coalition aircraft manoeuvred into a suitable firing position from which it successfully attacked the drone team. The Reaper supported a further two successful attacks by its coalition companion, and also delivered five attacks with four Hellfire missiles and one GBU-12 guided bomb. These weapons struck four buildings and a defensive berm, from which fire had been directed by extremists at the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Sunday 14 January: a Reaper spotted the third terrorist drone team identified during the week; on this occasion, the extremists attempted to conceal themselves in a building, but could be seen controlling the drone from the top-floor window. A Hellfire was directed accurately through the window.

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Without urgent funding, Burundi risks becoming a 'forgotten crisis' - UN refugee agency

6 February 2018  Warning that Burundi could become a "forgotten crisis," with the number of people struggling for survival increasing by the day, United Nations agencies together with aid partners on Wednesday launched a funding appeal to keep the humanitarian situation from deteriorating further.

"Food rations [are] cut in many of the neighbouring countries," said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, adding that vulnerable groups, including women, who have already been exposed to violence cannot be provided with the necessary support.

Since 2015, over 400,000 refugees and asylum seekers have fled the small central African landlocked nation, escaping human rights abuses, political uncertainty, and deteriorating humanitarian situation.

Over 60 per cent of that number have fled to Tanzania (254,000 refugees) and several thousands to Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda. Furthermore, with the volatile situation persisting, there are fears that the total number of refugees could rise to 450,000 by the end of 2018. Humanitarian efforts to assist those in need, however, also remain constrained due to severe lack of funding.

The $391 million Burundi Regional Refugee Response Plan includes targeted response in those four countries along with the resources needed in each context.

Fully funded, some 430,000 vulnerable persons will benefit from the Plan through 2018.

The common thread is ensuring that the majority of the displaced living in refugee camps (about 85 per cent), are provided with food, shelter and education as well as protection from sexual and gender based violence.

"For the moment, the conditions are still fragile, so support to host countries continues to be a priority that I hope the world will not forget," added Mr. Grandi.

Funds will also go towards strengthening social services, livelihood opportunities, protection and restoration environment as well as providing documentation and training for government officials on refugee status determination.

UNHCR 'not encouraging' refugee returns at this time

According to Catherine Wiesner, the Regional Coordinator for the Burundi situation at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over the last few years, some Burundian refugees have decided to return home, and are seeking to re-establish their lives in their communities.

They, however, are facing considerable economic pressures and food insecurity.

"At this stage, UNHCR and partners are not promoting or encouraging refugee returns to Burundi," said the UNHCR official, noting that the agency is working with the relevant Governments to assist those who indicate they have made a free and informed choice to return voluntarily, to do so in safety and dignity.

"We are also reiterating our appeal to Burundi's neighbours to continue to uphold their international responsibilities and commitments to receive asylum-seekers at their borders and offer protection to those who need it," she added.

An outbreak of violence in Burundi in April 2015 and, later, a political crisis along with deterioration in security and humanitarian environment has pushed the country deeper into crisis and continues fuel the exodus of its populations, some of whom have been displaced as far as to South Africa and Kenya.

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US Continues Ramped Up Yemen Air Campaign with 18 New Strikes

By Carla Babb February 06, 2018

U.S. forces have continued a dramatically ramped up air campaign against al-Qaida and Islamic State in Yemen, conducting 18 airstrikes in Yemen in December and January.

Most of these strikes targeted al-Qaida, but about five targeted Islamic State in Yemen, a U.S. military official confirmed to VOA.

One December airstrike killed al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) deputy arms facilitator Habib al-Sana'ani in Marib governorate, the U.S. military said Tuesday.

Al-Sana'ani had ties to senior AQAP leadership and was responsible for moving weapons, explosives and finances into Yemen, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East.

"Every strike advances the defeat of violent extremist organizations, and protects the United States and partner nations from attack at home and abroad," said CENTCOM spokesman Lt. Col. Earl Brown.

In 2017, the U.S. military said it carried out a total of about 130 strikes in Yemen. That's more than six times greater than the 21 strikes conducted in Yemen under the Obama administration in 2016.

At least 10 air strikes have been carried out in Yemen so far this year.

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Mattis: US Defense Strategy at Risk Amid Another Budget Fight in Congress

By Carla Babb February 06, 2018

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis castigated Congress on Tuesday over its failure to pass a budget establishing military spending levels for the fiscal year that began in October.

Political bickering in Washington led to a partial government shutdown last month, hours after Mattis outlined a new strategy for dealing with threats to the nation and the resources needed to address them.

Mattis testified before the House Armed Services Committee on the need for a fully funded military budget in order to carry out his strategy, and he again spoke ahead of a potential shutdown. A stopgap funding measure expires at midnight Thursday. If no spending agreement is signed into law by then, nonessential government operations will be suspended for the second time this year.

"I ask that you not let disagreements on domestic policy continue to hold our nation's defense hostage," Mattis told the committee. "We all know that America can afford survival."

Mattis warned that his job in President Donald Trump's Cabinet, which he said was "keeping the peace" and "giving diplomats time to solve crises through diplomatic channels," was not possible without the money to modernize and sustain America's military.

"Money at the time of crisis fails to deter war," he told lawmakers. "We need you to pass a budget now."

His comments came hours before the chamber was set to vote on a budget bill. That bill proposes another temporary funding measure for most of the federal government, but would fully fund the Defense Department with $700 billion for the remainder of the fiscal year.

The bill is expected to pass the House, but it could be blocked in the Senate by Democrats who oppose passing military spending without including nondefense domestic spending.

Mattis said that without proper funding, the military would need to change its strategy to accept greater risk and would continue to lose its advantage on every military front.

Republican Representative Mac Thornberry of Texas, the House Armed Services chairman, called Mattis' testimony the "bluntest" and "most direct" warning he had heard yet on the need for a budget.

Democratic Representative Adam Smith of Washington state, the ranking member of the committee, told Mattis the government was already $21 trillion in debt and needed a budget that could "fit" with the country's overall needs.

Nuclear Posture Review

Some of the Defense Department's budget additions will be used to update the military's nuclear capabilities.

"Nuclear weapons pose the only existential threat to our nation," General Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified alongside Mattis on Tuesday. "Therefore, there is no higher priority for the joint force than fielding all of the components of an effective nuclear deterrent to deter potential adversaries from nuclear attack on any scale."

Beyond modernizing the nuclear force, a new policy, known as the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), will add low-yield, or less powerful, nuclear weapons to the submarine-launched cruise missile arsenal and bring back the nuclear sea-launched cruise missile.

Mattis said Tuesday that the sea-launched missile could provide new leverage for U.S. diplomats trying to persuade Russia to end alleged violations of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the U.S. and then-Soviet Union. Russia denies the allegations. The treaty dealt with the elimination of their intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles.

"The idea is, once again, to keep our negotiators negotiating from a position of strength," Mattis said.

According to the State Department website, the treaty required the "destruction of the parties' ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of between 500 and 5,500 kilometers, their launchers and associated support structures and support equipment within three years" after the treaty entered into force.

Officials have said the addition of low-yield weapons will counter Russia's perceived belief that it could use its own similar weapons against the United States in a limited "first-use" basis that would give Moscow an advantage in a low-level conflict without causing a U.S. nuclear response.

Some critics have pointed to these two additions in the Nuclear Posture Review as unnecessary for deterrence. Others warn they could make a bad situation worse should a new arms race arise.

"It's dangerous bordering on insanity to think that we could control escalation once a nuclear weapon was used," Alexandra Bell of the Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation told VOA.

"Whether it's China or the United States or Russia, all countries need to be sitting down around a table and talking about how we can avoid a situation in which any country thinks it can get an advantage by using a small nuclear weapon," she added.

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Iran Accuses US of Aiding IS in Afghanistan

By Ayaz Gul February 06, 2018

Iran has joined Russia in accusing the United States of aiding Islamic State extremists in Afghanistan, charges Washington vehemently denies.

"After witnessing Daesh and other organized terrorist groups losing their ground in Iraq and Syria, they are now relocating them to Afghanistan," Iranian media quoted the country's top military commander as alleging Tuesday. Daesh is the Arabic acronym for IS.

The chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, said continued tensions would provide Americans "with the much desired pretext" to prolong their military presence in the region, he told reporters in Tehran.

"We are witnessing a fresh round of explosions, assassinations and crimes in Afghanistan," the general said, linking the violence to the growing IS influence in the war-torn country.

On Sunday, Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami telephoned his Afghan counterpart, Tariq Shah Bahrami, and warned him Washington is plotting to attempt to "transfer [the] ISIL terrorist group" to Afghanistan. ISIL is another acronym for Islamic State.

Speaking in Kabul last month, U.S. Ambassador John Bass strongly refuted the accusations and reiterated Washington's resolve to eliminate IS from Afghanistan.

"Let me take this opportunity, since these rumors continue to circulate, to emphatically state that the United States has not brought Daesh to Afghanistan. The United States has not ever supported Daesh, its creation, its horrible attacks in any form, or fashion," said Bass.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while speaking to a U.N. Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, leveled similar allegations.

"The north of Afghanistan is turning into a support base for international terrorism led by the ISIS Afghan wing that is building a stronghold for implementing destructive plans in the spirit of the "caliphate's" notorious ideology," Lavrov said.

The Russian diplomat said Moscow has brought its concerns to the attention of the United Nations and the United States, but has not received a response. Russian officials say IS intends to use its Afghan bases to destabilize Central Asian republics, Moscow's close allies.

"Many heads of Afghan provinces have claimed they have repeatedly spotted helicopters without identifying insignia that were flying towards ISIS-controlled territories in Afghanistan," Lavrov maintained.

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has also repeatedly accused Washington of supporting IS militants in his country.

After launching its extremist activities from eastern Afghanistan in early 2015, the Afghan affiliate of IS has lately expanded its influence to some northern provinces where the terrorist group has also captured territory.

Afghan forces backed by U.S. air power have conducted frequent operations against IS bases. Officials maintain that the offensive has killed hundreds of terrorists and confined them to only a few districts in eastern provinces bordering Pakistan.

IS has conducted major attacks in Afghanistan, including a recent assault on a military academy in Kabul that killed 11 Afghan soldiers and wounded 16 others.

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China tests missile interceptor system

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 06:12AM

China has successfully tested an anti-missile system, the Chinese Defense Ministry has announced, stressing the defensive nature of the system.

The ministry said on Tuesday the "ground-based midcourse anti-missile intercept technology" had been tested within Chinese territory a day earlier.

"The test reached its expected goals," the ministry said, stressing that it was "defensive and not aimed at any country."

The statement provided no further details.

China is concerned about the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system in South Korea, which Washington claims is itself aimed against perceived missile threats from North Korea. But some reports say the THAAD can be reconfigured to conduct offensive launches, and Beijing says its powerful radar system can be used for surveillance purposes against China.

China and Russia, which have close military and diplomatic ties, have repeatedly expressed their opposition to the deployment of the THAAD, saying it will do nothing to help ease the tensions with Pyongyang.

The two countries held joint computer-assisted anti-missile drills late last year in what was said to be a response to the deployment of the US missile system in South Korea.

Under President Xi Jinping, China has been modernizing its military to conform to modern-day technological advances.

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China Intercepts Missile in Space One Week After Failed US Attempt

Sputnik News

22:02 06.02.2018(updated 22:04 06.02.2018)

Less than a week after a US missile defense system failed to intercept a ballistic missile outside the Earth's atmosphere, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense claimed to have triumphed where the Americans stumbled.

China carried out a missile interception exercise that was successful and achieved Beijing's "expected goals," Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday. "This test was defensive and not aimed at any country," the Chinese Defense Ministry noted.

The test Beijing claims was a success thwarted a ballistic missile during the "mid-course" stage of its flight path, which occurs outside Earth's atmosphere, the South China Morning Post noted.

No details have been disclosed by Chinese state media indicating from where the ground-based interceptor was launched.

The US Missile Defense Agency fired a Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) at a dummy ballistic missile target last Wednesday from an Aegis Ashore missile defense system in Hawaii. Unlike Beijing's apparent success, the SM-3 was unable to take down its intermediate range ballistic missile target, US Defense Department spokeswoman Dana White confirmed on Thursday. The Japanese Ministry of Defense verified the results on Friday.

The SM-3 Block IIB is developed jointly by Washington and Tokyo. In late December, the Japanese government approved the deployment of two Aegis Ashore missile defense systems in northern and southwestern Japan.

Moscow has said that the Aegis Ashore system is capable of firing Tomahawk cruise missiles or ballistic missiles for offensive purposes in addition to firing interceptors. The US State Department claims the "system is only capable of launching defensive interceptor missiles, such as the SM-3," according to a fact sheet.

"The fact that such systems are appearing next to our eastern borders creates a new situation, which we cannot ignore in our military planning. We again call on Japanese counterparts to think about whether it is in Japan's interests to become another violator of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty [INF Treaty]," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said December 30.

On January 16, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed doubt about Tokyo's claims that the US would not have some operational control of the ballistic missile interceptor systems. The Japanese Foreign Ministry official told Sputnik News that "the missile defense of our country is a purely defensive system, the goal of which is to protect the life and property of our citizens. Aegis Ashore will be managed by Japan; it is a Japanese defense system and is no threat to Russia or other countries near Japan."

Moscow has said that while Japan may not be a signatory of the INF Treaty, which prohibits the deployment and testing of ground-launched ballistic or cruise missiles with ranges between 500 and 5,500 miles as well as their launchers and support infrastructure, Tokyo is effectively allowing the US to violate the treaty. The treaty does not apply to sea-launched missiles.

The land-based Aegis Ashore system falls within the scope of the INF Treaty, while the Aegis sea-based midcourse systems do not.

 Sputnik

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North Korea accuses US of deploying large nukes, mulling preemptive strike

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 05:49PM

North Korea has accused the United States of "deploying large nuclear assets" on the Korean Peninsula and laying the foundation for a potential preemptive strike against it.

North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Chol told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday that Washington was seeking to aggravate the situation on the divided peninsula by deploying nukes in preparation for a possible preemptive attack.

"In view of the nature and scale of US military reinforcements, they are designed to make a preemptive strike against the DPRK," the diplomat said referring to his country's official name the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

"US officials including the defense secretary and the CIA director repeatedly talked about DPRK nuclear and missile threat to justify their argument for a military option and a new concept of a so-called 'bloody nose', a limited preemptive strike on the DPRK is under consideration within the US administration," Ju said.

The United States dropped Victor Cha, President Donald Trump's pick for ambassador to South Korea. Cha reportedly lost nomination for the position of ambassador after voicing concerns about a potential "bloody-nose attack" on North Korea.

Months of fiery rhetoric between the United States and North Korea have seen Trump drawing criticism at home for repeatedly using highly-menacing language toward Pyongyang.

In recent months, Trump has engaged in a bitter war of words with North Korean officials, and has threatened to "totally destroy" the country if it threatens the US or its allies.

In his first State of the Union address on Wednesday, Trump struck a dire note of warning about North Korea, saying the country's "reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could very soon threaten our homeland."

Fed up with the American president's harsh rhetoric, Pyongyang warned in a statement on Sunday that "If Trump does not get rid of his anachronistic and dogmatic way of thinking, he will only bring about the consequence of further endangering security of the United States."

In late November, Pyongyang successfully test-launched what American military experts called a Hwasong-15 ICBM, the largest North Korean missile tested to date with a presumably long-enough range to deliver nuclear warheads deep into the US mainland.

The US and its allies in the West and in Asia engineered tough UN sanctions on North Korea last year when Pyongyang test-fired two missiles in July and then carried out its most powerful nuclear test in August.

However, many said the sanctions would not deter North Korea from pursuing its nuclear and missile program, which Pyongyang insists is part of its defense policy against the United States. Critics have repeatedly warned that sanctions would more affect North Korean people rather than its military and the government.

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North Korea: US Considers Limited Pre-Emptive Strike

Sputnik News

12:39 06.02.2018(updated 13:57 06.02.2018)

The North Korean envoy to UN disarmament talks has accused Washington of seeking to aggravate the situation on the Korean peninsula.

"In view of the nature and scale of U.S. military reinforcements, they are designed to make a pre-emptive strike against the DPRK," North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Chol told the UN-sponsored Conference on Disarmament, adding that Washington has been "deploying large nuclear assets" on the Korean peninsula.

"U.S. officials including the defense secretary and the CIA director repeatedly talked about DPRK nuclear and missile threat to justify their argument for a military option and a new concept of a so-called 'bloody nose', a limited pre-emptive strike on the DPRK is under consideration within the U.S. administration,"Pyongyang's envoy was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The accusations came in response to a statement made by US disarmament envoy, who said that North Korea's nuclear program must be "completely, verifiably and irreversibly eliminated".

As the envoy explained, Pyongyang was allegedly "maybe only months from the capability to strike the US with nuclear-armed ballistic missiles".

He went on by saying that North Korea, as well as Russia and China, is expanding its nucelar stickpiles "in some cases pursuing the development of new nuclear capabilities to threaten other peaceful nations".

Pyongyang has accused Washigton of hindreing its relations with South Korea, claiming that US President Donald Trump was scared of military capabilities of DPRK.

The relations between the US and DPRK have been quite tense since the Korean War ended in 1953: the both parties still haven't signed a peace treaty, have been steadily declining since the latter decided to unfreeze its nuclear armaments program. Ties between the two have deteriorated especially sharply since 2016, as North Korea performed multiple tests of its nuclear devices and ballistic missiles over the course of 2 years. During the ensuing crisis, the US has considered a preemptive nuclear strike, among other options 'to resolve it'.

 Sputnik

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Foreign warships presence in Persian Gulf creating division

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Qeshm, Feb 6, IRNA -- The presence of other countries' warships in Persian Gulf has created division in the region, Iranian Border Guard Commander Brigadier General Qasem Rezaei said.

Rezaei called for rapid withdrawal of the foreign warships from the region.

Their presence in the region is illegitimate and causes insecurity and causes different damages, he said.

He urged International bodies, specially the United Nations to make these countries withdraw from the region.

Iran together with the neighboring countries is not happy with other countries' presence in the Persian Gulf, Rezaei said.

These countries are just after fulfilling their own interests and they do not follow the interests of the regional countries, he noted.

The mentioned states have equipped one the regional countries to wage manslaughter in Yemen, Iranian commander reiterated.

9376**2050

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President Rouhani: Iran's adherence to JCPOA rests upon compliance of other parties

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that the adherence of Iran to Iran nuclear deal  known as JCPOA  relies on the compliance of other parties to the deal.

President Rouhani made the remarks during a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Noting that as long as the deal is respected by the other parties Iran will remain committed to the deal, the president said that the destructive measures by the other sides have to be halted.

President Rouhani also touched upon the ongoing crisis in Syria, saying the continuation of tension in the country will not benefit anyone.

'The Islamic Republic of Iran is opposed to the presence of foreign forces in Syria without the permission of the country's government and nation,' the president said.

The Russian president, for his part, said that Moscow is ready to deepen ties with Tehran in all areas.

Noting that the nuclear deal signed between Iran and the six world powers was of special significance, President Putin said that Russia believes any effort to undermine this deal will prove harmful and dangerous for the region.

The Russian President said that Russia as Iran believes that it is only the Syrian nation that have to determine the future of their country.

9341**2050

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Iran defense ministry unveils two new systems

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA -- A portable propeller system and another system to avoid corrosion were unveiled Tuesday with the attendance of deputy defense minister.

The portable propeller system is the most advanced marine propeller, Deputy Defense Minister Brigadier General Qasem Taqizade said addressing the unveiling ceremony.

The system has been designed and constructed based on the armed forces' needs to achieve higher speeds, increased maneuverability of boats and increased performance at various speeds, he said.

This system is capable of working in a variety of marine environments and providing proper protection of the structure, he added.

Taqizade went on to say that today, the defense ministry strategy is updating the defense equipment used by the armed forces employing internal expertise .

9376**1771

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Iran's Rouhani rules out talks about JCPOA, missiles

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 05:09PM

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic will never hold negotiations either about the 2015 multilateral nuclear agreement or its defensive missile program.

"We never regard other issues linked to the JCPOA (the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). The JCPOA is a seven-sided agreementThe JCPOA is an international agreement which has been endorsed by the Security Council Resolution 2231," Rouhani said at a press conference in the presence of Iranian and foreign reporters in Tehran on Tuesday.

He added that the JCPOA was such a solid agreement that US President Donald Trump has failed to fulfill his presidential campaign promise to tear it up since he took office some one year ago.

Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council  the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China  plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.

Trump has repeatedly described the JCPOA, which was negotiated under his predecessor Barack Obama, as "the worst and most one-sided transaction Washington has ever entered into," a characterization he often used during his presidential campaign and threatened to tear it up.

Rouhani emphasized that the US president wrongly believes that the JCPOA is an agreement belonging to Democrats, saying, "The JCPOA is the commitment of the US administration regardless of any [political] party."

He said any move by the United States to violate its obligations under the nuclear accord would discredit Washington itself.

In response to a question about the insistence of the US and the European Union on holding re-negotiations over the JCPOA terms and including Iran's missile program in the deal, Rouhani said it is not possible to renegotiate or rewrite the agreement.

"It is meaningless to negotiate or discuss the JCPOA with anybody, whether the US and Europe or anyone else," the Iranian president pointed out.

A senior Iranian official said on January 23 the idea of making revisions to the JCPOA is brazen, stressing that the suggestion is a mere delusion entertained by the US president.

Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said Washington's recent attempts to jeopardize the nuclear accord were illegal, adding that there is no possibility of renegotiating the JCPOA under any circumstances.

Iran will boost defensive might

Elsewhere in the presser, Rouhani expressed the Islamic Republic's firm determination to "develop and strengthen" its defensive capabilities and whatever is required for defense, including missiles and submarines.

He reiterated that Iran has never sought and would never intend to produce weapons of mass destruction.

Iran would only produce "conventional weapons" needed for defensive purposes and would "hold no negotiations with anyone in this regard," Rouhani said.

Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said in January the calls by the US and some of its allies for negotiations about Iran's ballistic missile program and other defensive matters are "delirious."

He added that the countries that want to discuss the Islamic Republic's deterrence power today are the same "regimes that have time and again proven their despotism and hegemony."

The US president claims that Iran's development of ballistic missiles is in breach of the nuclear accord.

Refusing to certify Iran's commitment to the landmark agreement, despite condemnations and warning from world leaders, the American head of state has been pressuring France, Britain and Germany - all members of the European Union - to work out a "fix" to what he calls the "significant flaws" of the deal.

Officials from the three EU countries have formed a working group with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to explore their options before a three month ultimatum by Trump ends in May.

Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami said in December the Islamic Republic would boost its military prowess with full strength and without any halt.

Hatami added that the country has a long-term strategic outlook on its defense issues given the extent of the enemies' plots.

US must stop anti-Iran pressure, sanctions, threats

Rouhani also urged the United States to stop its pressure, sanctions and threats against Iran and said Washington holds the key to its potential relations with Tehran.

"I believe that there is no doubt that the US seeks to create problems for the Iranian nation or government," the Iranian chief executive said.

He added that the US turned the recent protests in Iran into a political and security issue and referred it to the UN Security Council.

It was the "first disgraceful defeat" of the current US administration after all countries in the Security Council opposed its representative's remarks, he noted.

The UN Security Council on January 5 finally gave into a US push for a meeting on the latest events inside Iran, but the session did not go as planned as the council's veto wielders and Washington's own allies used the debate to criticize the White House for involving the council in Iran's domestic affairs and seeking to link those issues to the JCPOA.

At the session, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley gave an exaggerated account of a series of scattered riots in some areas in Iran earlier in January, and said Washington would remain steadfastly behind the Iranian "protesters," attempting to bring other UNSC members onboard with Washington against the Islamic Republic.

Some Iranian towns and cities were hit by scattered riots, which followed a series of peaceful demonstrations over economic issues.

However, Iranian law enforcement forces, backed by locals, intervened in time and ended the violence, which saw vandals and armed elements launch attacks on public property, mosques and police stations. Over a dozen people died amid the violence.

US seeks to partition Syria

Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani condemned the US presence in Syria and said, "They [US officials] have incorrect goals in the [Middle East] region and are considering the disintegration of Syria."

He added that Iran does not accept any state's move to "enter a country's territory without its government's permission."

He said the US did not seek to dismantle terrorism in Iraq and Syria and suffered a defeat in the two countries; however, Iran enjoys positive relations with Russia, China and many regional countries that intend to fight terrorists.

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Ahmadinejad Criticizes Iran's Judiciary After Arrests Of Supporters

RFE/RL February 06, 2018

Iran's former President Mahmud Ahmadinejad has renewed his criticism of Iran's powerful judiciary following the arrests of several of his supporters.

In a letter marking the celebrations of the anniversary of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ahmadinejad said the judiciary has become "the main pillar of oppression" against the Iranian people.

The letter follows reports that eight media activists who support Ahmadinejad have been detained.

The reason for their arrests was not immediately clear. Some reportedly have been released on bail.

"Someone in Tehran orders media activists from different provinces to be arrested," Ahmadinejad wrote in his letter, which claims some of the activists were held in solitary confinement and forced to make "dictated" confessions.

Ahmadinejad, a hard-liner who was president from 2005 to 2013, has become increasingly isolated for challenging Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his powerful allies, namely the judiciary.

In 2017, Ahmadinejad accused the judiciary of "dictatorship" and said that it is more powerful than Khamenei.

The Guardians Council -- which vets presidential candidates -- prevented Ahmadinejad and one of his top aides from running in the 2017 presidential election that returned President Hassan Rohani to office for a second term.

Khamenei had suggested before the Guardians Council's decision that Ahmadinejad's candidacy would not be in the best interests of the country.

With reporting by Dolatebahar.com, RFE/RL's Radio Farda, and the BBC

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-ahmadinejad-criticizes- judiciary-arrest-supporters/29023198.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Rohani Says Talks Over Iran Missile Program Out Of Question

RFE/RL February 06, 2018

Iran's President Hassan Rohani has again ruled out negotiations on the country's missiles program, saying it did not aim to make weapons of mass destruction.

"We will not negotiate with anyone about our weapons," Rohani told a press conference in Tehran on February 6.

"Our missiles are used to defend ourselves. They are defensive. They have not been made to be used as weapons of mass destruction."

The Iranian president also reiterated that the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers could not be renegotiated.

Iran insists its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, while the United States and other countries claim it has been trying to develop nuclear weapons.

U.S. President Donald Trump said last month that he wanted to work with European allies and Congress to fix what he called "disastrous flaws" in the accord curbing Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the easing of crippling international sanctions targeting Tehran.

Trump warned that Washington would withdraw from the deal if the terms of the agreement are not strengthened within four months.

"The key to the problems between Tehran and Washington is in Washington's hands. They need to stop their threats and sanctions and pressure, and automatically the situation will improve and we can think about our future," Rohani said.

Tehran has ruled out any changes in the nuclear agreement, while the other signatories -- Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia -- have closed ranks in support of the accord.

However, France and other countries have joined the United States in raising concerns about Iran's ballistic missile program, which is not covered by the nuclear agreement.

With reporting by AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-missile-program- rohani-no-talks/29023744.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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'Magnet for Terrorists': Iraqi Shiite Groups Reportedly Demand US Withdrawal

Sputnik News

17:06 06.02.2018

An Iraqi government spokesman confirmed Monday that the US has begun pulling out its forces, following Bagdad's declaration of victory over Daesh (ISIS) in December.

Two major Iran-backed Iraqi Shiite groups have reportedly demanded that the United States leave Iraq, with one of them, the Badr Organization, saying that any remaining American troops would trigger instability.

"The two governments should coordinate to ensure a full withdrawal. US presence will be cause for internal polarization and a magnet for terrorists," Badr spokesman Kareem Nuri stated.

The second group, Kataib Hezbollah, has previously threatened to attack US forces several times, denouncing their presence in Iraq as an occupation.

"We are serious about getting the Americans out, using the force of arms because the Americans don't understand any other language," its spokesman Jaafar al-Husseini said, reiterating the group's threats, broadcast on Beirut-based al-Mayadeen TV on February 5.

Earlier this week, the US-led coalition issued a press release, which outlined its shift from combat operations in Iraq to sustaining and securing the advances achieved in their fight against Daesh.

"As a result of the successful operations by the Coalition and its partners, Daesh [Islamic State] has lost approximately 98 percent of the territory it once held in Iraq and Syria," the release said. "Enabled by accelerated successes following the liberation of Mosul, the Coalition will shift its focus in Iraq from enabling combat operations to sustaining military gains against Daesh."

An Iraqi official close to the country's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said earlier that the initial agreement implied the withdrawal of some 60 percent of the current US contingent, while 4,000 troops would stay to train the Iraqi military.

The international anti-terrorist coalition, led by the United States, assisted Iraqi forces in recapturing territory seized by Daesh jihadists, including the liberation operation of the country's second-largest city Mosul.

According to the report, issued by the Pentagon last year, some 8,892 US troops had been deployed in Iraq.

 Sputnik

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Pakistan To Be Held Accountable For 'Failure' To Crack Down On Militants

RFE/RL February 06, 2018

The State Department's No. 2 official has suggested that President Donald Trump's administration has so far seen no evidence that Pakistan has met its demands for a crackdown on militants operating in the country.

Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said on February 6 that Washington recognizes the "benefits of cooperation" with Pakistan and acknowledges the "enormous sacrifices the Pakistani people and security forces have made to combat terrorism."

But he also said that the United States intends to "hold Pakistan accountable for its failure to deny sanctuary to militant proxies."

Early last month, the U.S. government announced it was suspending security assistance to the Pakistani military until it took "decisive action" against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network that are operating in neighboring Afghanistan. U.S. officials said the freeze could affect $2 billion worth of assistance.

"We may consider lifting the suspension when we see decisive and sustained actions to address our concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory, without distinction," Sullivan said.

Islamabad denies harboring militant groups that carry out attacks in neighboring Afghanistan.

The deputy secretary of state, who met with President Ashraf Ghani and other top Afghan officials during a visit to Kabul last week, said they "reiterated their support for our strategy," and pledged to create "the conditions that will bring the Taliban to the negotiation table."

"We hope the Pakistanis will also help to convince the Taliban to enter a peace process," Sullivan added.

The Western-backed government in Kabul has been struggling to fend off the Taliban and other militant groups since the withdrawal of most NATO troops in 2014.

In recent weeks, Kabul has been hit by several deadly assaults, including a massive suicide car bombing in a crowded central area on January 27 that killed more than 100 people and was claimed by the Taliban.

After the attack, Trump rejected the possibility of negotiations with the Taliban anytime soon.

"We don't want to talk with the Taliban," Trump said on January 29. "There may be a time, but it's going to be a long time."

Trump in August unveiled his new strategy for the South Asia region, under which Washington has deployed 3,000 more troops to Afghanistan to train, advise, and assist local security forces, and to carry out counterterrorism missions.

The United States currently has around 14,000 uniformed personnel in the country.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-sullivan-militants -no-decisive-steps/29023919.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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US May Lift Suspension of Security Aid to Pakistan If Sees Achievements  DoS

Sputnik News

21:40 06.02.2018

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  The United States may lift the suspicion of security aid to the government of Pakistan once it sees Islamabad take action to address its concerns, US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said during a Senate hearing.

"In January, the president suspended security assistance to the Pakistani military  we may consider lifting this suspension when we see decisive and sustained actions to address our concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory without distinction," John Sullivan said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the new US strategy in Afghanistan.

Sullivan, however, told the committee the Trump administration hasn't seen any evidence that Pakistan has met its demands for drastic measures on extremist groups operating on Pakistani territory. The United States hopes Pakistan will help convince the Taliban to enter into a peace process. Trump's South Asia strategy is showing signs of progress with the Taliban momentum beginning to slow down and Afghan forces now on the offensive, he continued.

"We also encourage restraint in Pakistan's military, nuclear and missile programmes, and seek continued, closer alignment of Pakistan's nonproliferation policies with our own," said Sullivan.

On January 1, US President Donald Trump accused Islamabad of granting a "safe haven to the terrorists," despite his country's multibillion-dollar aid to Pakistan.

On January 4, the State Department declared that the US would suspend $900 million in security assistance to Pakistan until it does more to combat the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network terrorist groups.

 Sputnik

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Russia rejects criticism about reported missile deployment in Kaliningrad

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 03:39PM

Russia has countered criticism by NATO and its neighbors about the reported deployment of missile systems in the Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad, saying Moscow has the legitimate right to have weapons anywhere it chooses on its territory.

"The deployment of one weapon or another, the deployment of military units and so forth on Russian territory, is exclusively a sovereign issue for the Russian Federation," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday.

The official was responding to questions regarding reports that Russia had stationed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in Kaliningrad. A senior Russian lawmaker as well as the president of Lithuania, which neighbors Kaliningrad, both said the missile systems had been deployed to the region.

Peskov came short of confirming the deployment but said neighbors and others should not be worried even if it was the case.

"It should hardly be cause for anyone to worry," he said, adding, "Russia has never threatened anyone and is not threatening anyone. Naturally, Russia has this sovereign right (to deploy weapons on its own territory)."

Russia has increased its military activity along its western borders over the past years, especially since a conflict that began in Ukraine in 2014 later turned into a row between Moscow and Western governments. Russia defends the beefed-up security in the region, saying it is a response to increased NATO deployments in neighboring countries.

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, all NATO members, have reacted to reports of Russia's new missile deployment, as Iskander missiles would be able to reach large swathes of territory in those countries.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said Monday that the deployment necessitated an even escalated eastward expansion of troops and weapons deployments by NATO.

"This again makes the situation even more serious because Iskanders in Kaliningrad means dangers for half of European capitals," said Grybauskaite.

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Kremlin Says It's Up To Russia Where It Deploys Its Missiles

RFE/RL February 06, 2018

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia has the right to decide where it deploys its military resources on its own territory, following reports that Russia had deployed nuclear-capable Iskander missiles in its Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad.

Peskov's comments on February 6 came a day after Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite announced that Russian short-range "Iskander missiles are being stationed in Kaliningrad for permanent presence as we speak."

Grybauskaite, speaking after visiting NATO troops in the central Lithuanian town of Rukla, said the deployment posed a threat not only to Lithuania but to "half of all European countries."

Vladimir Shamanov, the head of the Russian State Duma's Defense Committee, confirmed the deployment of the missiles in remarks carried by Russian news agencies on February 5.

Peskov on February 6 said, "The deployment of one weapon or another, the deployment of military units and so forth on Russian territory is exclusively a sovereign issue for the Russian Federation.

"Naturally, Russia has this sovereign right. It should hardly be cause for anyone to worry," he said.

The Pentagon has previously objected to Russian deployments of intermediate-range missiles within Russian territory as a violation of the "spirit and intent" of a landmark arms control agreement known as the Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty.

U.S. military officials have said they believe Russia has deliberately made previous deployments in order to pose a threat to NATO countries and to facilities within the NATO area of responsibility.

The 1987 treaty covers short-range missiles and their launchers, with ranges of 500 to 1,000 kilometers, as well as intermediate-range missiles with ranges of 1,000 to 5,500 kilometers.

NATO Deputy Secretary-General Rose Gottemoeller said the Kaliningrad deployment, if true, was "a very serious matter."

The Iskander missiles can be fitted with a conventional or a nuclear warhead and have a range of up to 500 kilometers.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-missiles- iskander-kaliningrad/29023076.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Putin Formally Registered As Presidential Candidate

RFE/RL February 06, 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been formally registered as a candidate in Russia's March 18 presidential election.

The Central Election Commission registered Putin on February 6, exactly two months after he announced his intention to run for a fourth term.

With high approval ratings and control over the levers of power, Putin is widely expected to win the vote.

Analysts say Putin is eager to secure the strongest possible victory with a high turnout in order to strengthen his mandate in what could be his final term.

Russia's constitution bars presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms.

Critics say Putin has rolled back democratic reforms and advances on human rights that were made after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Detractors also say accuse the former KGB officer of implementing Soviet-style methods to suppress dissent and say he has needlessly stoked confrontation with the West.

Government critics also charge that election campaigns and results are manipulated by Russian authorities.

Putin was first elected as president in March 2000 after President Boris Yeltsin stepped down on the last day of 1999 and put Putin in charge as acting president.

Putin is the third presidential candidate officially registered by the Central Election Commission. Others registered so far are the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, and Communist Party nominee Pavel Grudinin.

Others who have declared their intention to run are liberal Grigory Yavlinsky, business ombudsman Boris Titov, and the journalist and TV personality Ksenia Sobchak.

Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, a vocal critic of Putin, has been barred from running because of a criminal conviction that he contends was the result of fabricated evidence.

Kremlin critics say most of the other candidates are window-dressing in a vote Putin is certain to win in Russia's tightly controlled political environment.

With reporting by Kommersant and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-formally- registered-as-presidential- candidate/29022104.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Syria dismisses US, UK gas attack allegations at UNSC

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 05:25PM

Syria has dismissed fresh accusations by the US and the UK about Damascus using of chemical weapons against militants and civilians in the country.

During a UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Monday, acting charge d'affaires of the Syrian delegation at the UN, Munzer Munzer, rejected the US claims as "false and cheap."

The Syrian diplomat said the US resorts to such "fabricated accusations" whenever it realizes that terrorist groups are in trouble in the face of any progress by the Syrian army.

He noted that the US, Britain and France bear full responsibility for obstructing an independent investigation into the use of chemical weapons by covering up crimes committed by terrorists in Syria.

The UNSC meeting was requested by Russia to discuss the use of chemical weapons, following a report on a poisonous gas attack in northwestern Syria.

At the UNSC session, the US and Britain once again accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons against civilians.

The two countries also accused Russia of obstructing investigation into chemical incidents in Syria.

"There are reports of yet another chemical weapons attack on Sunday. Victims of what appears to be chlorine gas are pouring into hospitals," US envoy to the UN Niki Haley said.

"So, we proposed the Security Council press statement condemning these attacks. So far, Russia has delayed the adoption of the statement; a simple condemnation of Syrian children being suffocated by chlorine gas," she added.

Britain's representative at the meeting also lashed out at Russia for vetoing investigation into chemical incidents in Syria for three times, saying Moscow has been shielding the Syrian government.

Addressing the council members, Russia's Ambassador to the UN Vasily Alekseevich Nebenzya rejected any use of chemical weapons by Damascus and accused the Western media outlets of what he called "propagandistic campaign."

"Recently, there has been all the fuss about the alleged use of chlorine in Damascus suburbs. There are even rumors about Sarin being used. Where? When? By whom? What comes with this propagandistic campaign is nothing new," Nebenzya said.

The Russian ambassador also accused the US and Britain of using the issue to sabotage Moscow's efforts to find a political solution to the crisis in Syria.

"Today's meeting is being used by the US and UK to slander the Russian Federation. We can see clearly why this is taking place. Some are concerned about the success of the Syrian national dialogue conference in Sochi. There are concerns about the prospect to breathe new life into the political process in Syria," he noted.

Around 1,600 delegates representing a wide range of Syrian political factions attended the Sochi talks in late January. The event was boycotted by the High Negotiations Committee, which is based in and guided by Saudi Arabia.

Damascus welcomed the results of the event and stressed that its final statement affirmed that political progress in Syria cannot begin except under the Syrian leadership and without any foreign interference.

Apart from Washington's claim about a chemical attack on Sunday, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday that the White House was concerned that militants had been attacked by sarin, an allegation that Damascus dismissed as US "lies."

Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria in early 2011, the Western governments have on several occasions accused Syria of using chemical weapons against militants. Damascus has denied the allegation, saying it is meant to pile more pressure on the government forces and delay their success in the fight against terrorists.

Last year, the US and allies in Europe said Syria and Russia, an ally of Damascus in the fight against terror, used chemical weapons against militants in Khan Sheikhun in the province of Idlib. Moscow swiftly rejected the allegations, saying its fighter jets had in fact bombarded a depot in the area in which the militants had stored chemicals.

The Syrian government and allied fighters have managed to liberate most of the territories that used to be under the control of the militants for the past years.

Damascus still maintains that foreign governments, including the US, fanned the flames of militancy in Syria by providing weapons and training to certain groups of militants. The government says if it was not for the support of certain foreign states, the militancy could have not gone out of hand in such a devastating degree.

The seven-year war in Syria has killed more than 350,000 people, according to the United Nations' estimates.

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Syrian government forces, allies inflict heavy losses on Daesh terrorists

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 01:26PM

Syrian government forces, supported by allied fighters from popular defense groups, have carried out fresh operations against the remnants of Daesh Takfiri terrorists across the violence-plagued Arab country, inflicting substantial losses on them.

A military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Syria's official news agency, SANA, that army units and their allies had established full control over the villages of al-Naqroush, Southern al-Talal, Eastern Rajm al-Abil as well as Western Rajm al-Abil in the northeastern part of the country's western province of Hama.

The source added that scores of Daesh extremists were killed or wounded during the military operations, and a considerable amount of their munitions was destroyed as well.

Syrian bomb disposal units alter combed the liberated areas for hidden ordnance and explosive devices, which Daesh Takfiris had planted there to slow down the advance of the army forces and pro-government fighters.

Separately, Syrian army soldiers regained control over a number of town and villages in the northwestern province of Idlib, namely Ghaital, Khirbet Maradish, Khirbet Umm Rajoum, Rasm Misha'al al-Batushiya and Ghazila.

Syrian army units, in cooperation with allied forces, also clashed with terrorists from the Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Takfiri group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, as the latter attacked military outposts in Tal al-Sultan village of the country's northern province of Aleppo.

Syrian troops thwarted the assaults, killing and injuring many terrorists in the process. They also destroyed a car bomb before it could reach its designated target.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The Syrian government says the Israeli regime and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri terrorist groups that are wreaking havoc in the country.

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UN urges one-month humanitarian truce in Syria

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 10:47AM

The United Nations has called for a one-month ceasefire in Syria to facilitate the delivery humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of civilians in dire need of help.

In a Tuesday statement, the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, Ali al-Za'tari, and the world body's representatives in the country sounded the alarm over the "extreme" humanitarian situation in several zones across the country, to which aid workers have no access.

"The United Nations humanitarian team in Syria warns of the dire consequences of the compounded humanitarian crisis in several parts of the country," said the statement.

The UN aid officials further called "for an immediate cessation of hostilities lasting for at least one month throughout Syria."

The measure, the statement added, would "enable the delivery of humanitarian aid and services, evacuation of the critically sick and wounded, and alleviation of people's suffering, to the extent possible, wherever they are."

The statement listed Afrin, Raqqah, Hasakah and Rukban regions as well Foua and Kefraya towns as the hot spots, where people are in need of relief assistance.

A myriad of foreign-backed militant groups have been wreaking havoc on Syria since early 2011. Many of those groups have been operating as proxies of the US and its allies to topple the Damascus government.

In 2014, the US mobilized scores of its allies and launched an aerial campaign under the guise of fighting Daesh, the most brutal of the outfits waging violence in Syria.

That campaign failed to achieve the declared objective and only lead to civilian deaths and considerable damage to the country's infrastructure.

The Syrian soil has also been the scene of rivalry between the US and Turkey, which have been involved in their own unilateral military actions there.

Angered by US support for the Kurdish militants at its doorstep, Turkey on January 20 launched a major operation against the Washington-backed forces there.

Damascus, backed by Iranian military advisors and Russian air power, has been reversing the gains made by the militant groups across Syria over the past years. The Syrian army managed late last year to rid Daesh of the territories it had captured.

Large numbers of people who were displaced by last year's operations against Daesh in the Raqqah and Dayr al-Zawr regions are still in urgent need of humanitarian relief.

The UN says it has a plan to reach 700,000 people with relief in the next two months if it can get the permission to proceed.

Besides the battleground, the Syrian government has been holding talks with armed opposition groups in Astana since January 2016, in a process mediated by Iran, Russia and Turkey, which act as the guarantors of a countrywide ceasefire in Syria.

The talks have resulted in the creation of four de-escalation zones across Syria, which have significantly helped reduce the fighting there.

Lately, however, Takfiris have been restaging attacks in the northwestern province of Idlib, where one of the foursome zones lies.

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Syria deploys anti-aircraft missiles, air defenses in Aleppo, Idlib

Iran Press TV

Tue Feb 6, 2018 12:34AM

Syria has deployed anti-aircraft missiles and new air defense systems in the country's Aleppo and Idlib provinces.

A Syrian government commander made the announcement on Monday, noting that "they cover the air space of the Syrian north."

The northwestern province of Idlib, which borders Turkey and is largely under the control of al-Nusra Front militants, is one of the last main strongholds of Takfiri militants opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who have been driven from most of their bastions across Syria in recent years.

Adding that the defense systems were deployed on the frontlines in rural regions of the provinces, he added that they had been deployed as "message to everyone."

The deployment comes at a time that Turkey has been launching airstrikes against the northwestern Syrian Kurdish region of Afrin, which is part of the Aleppo province.

Turkey launched the so-called Operation Olive Branch in Syria's Afrin on January 20 in a bid to eliminate the YPG, which Ankara views as a terror organization and the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Before Turkey launched operation Olive Branch, the government in Damascus had warned that it would shoot down any Turkish warplane that enters Syrian airspace.

Syria dismisses US chemical claims

Meanwhile, the acting charge d'affaires of Syria's permanent delegation at the United Nations, Munzer Munzer, has rejected any claims of the use of chemical weapons or any other weapon of mass destruction.

While addressing a UNSC meeting on Monday, Munzer added that Damascus supports any action taken by the world body to probe such allegations.

"US claims are false and cheap and Syria is the first side which has an interest in finding truth and supporting any action taken by the UNSC if the intention is to reveal who is trading with the Syrian blood," he added.

He also stressed that Washington resorts to such fabricated accusations whenever it realizes that the terrorist groups are being pushed back by Syrian government forces.

"Syria confirms that the US, Britain and France bear full responsibility for obstructing the investigation of the use of chemical weapons by covering the crimes of terrorists in Syria," he said.

US, UK sabotaging chemical attack investigations in Syria

While addressing the UNSC meeting, Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vasily Nebenzya said that the Syrian chemical dossier "is used by the United States and the United Kingdom to slander Russia."

"It is absolutely clear for us why. The success of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi and prospects for giving an impetus to the political process in Syria seem to be a pain in the neck for someone. So, a strong slander attack on Russia is needed to try once again to call to question its role in political settlement," Nebenzya added.

He noted that the US and UK envoys' speeches, in which they claimed that Russia is trying to hamper the investigation into chemical attacks in Syria, "as always, contain a tiny piece of truth kneaded with lots of lies."

Earlier, US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley accused Russia of obstructing the adoption of a UN Security Council condemnation of alleged chlorine gas attacks in Syria.

Haley told the Security Council on Monday that there was "obvious evidence from dozens of victims" to corroborate the chlorine attacks in Eastern Ghouta.

Since the beginning of the conflict in Syria in early 2011, the Western governments have on several occasions accused Syria of using chemical weapons against militants. Damascus has denied the allegation, saying it is meant to pile more pressure on the government forces and delay their success in the fight against terrorists.

Last year, the US and allies in Europe said Syria and Russia, an ally of Damascus in the fight against terror, used chemical weapons against militants in Khan Sheikhun in the province of Idlib. Moscow swiftly rejected the allegations, saying its fighter jets had in fact bombarded a depot in the area in which the militants had stored chemicals.

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UN Probes Reports Of Fresh Chemical Attacks On Rebel-Held Syrian Towns

February 06, 2018

United Nations war crimes experts say they are investigating numerous reports of alleged chemical attacks against civilians in rebel-held towns of Syria.

The announcement on February 6 by the UN Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Syria said it had received "multiple reports -- which it is now investigating -- that bombs allegedly containing weaponized chlorine have been used" in the town of Saraqeb in the northwestern province of Idlib and the Douma in the Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus.

Residents in both rebel-held towns have accused Syrian forces of using the chemical weapons in recent weeks.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's Russian-backed government denies that its forces use chemical weapons.

But the UN commission last September officially blamed Damascus for a chemical attack that killed more than five people in the town of Khan Sheikhun in Idlib earlier in 2017.

The UN also has determined that Syria's government carried out chlorine gas attacks in 2014 and 2015.

The United States on February 5 said there was "obvious evidence" of multiple chlorine gas attacks in Syria in recent weeks, including in the opposition-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta where an estimate 400,000 people live under a siege by government forces.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/syria-chemical-attack -un-probes/29023477.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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UN Calls for Cease-Fire in Syria to Deliver Life-Saving Aid

By Lisa Schlein February 06, 2018

The United Nations is calling for an immediate cease-fire in Syria to allow for the delivery of life-saving aid to millions of civilians who are without food, medicine and other essential needs.

The U.N. says it needs at least a one-month humanitarian pause in the fighting throughout Syria to organize the delivery of aid and services and to evacuate critically ill and wounded people from besieged and hard-to-reach areas.

Aid workers warn that people in certain parts of the country are at particular risk and need to be reached immediately.

For example, in Eastern Ghouta, a suburb of the capital Damascus, the city's 400,000 residents have had no delivery of food and other relief supplies for more than two months. In addition, the U.N. reports that hundreds of critically ill and wounded people, including children, are still waiting to be evacuated from the city so they can receive medical care.

About two million people in the Governorate of Idlib are living in a particularly perilous state, according to Jens Laerke, a spokesman for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"There are hundreds of thousands of people who are internally displaced there, on the run, extremely vulnerable and they come under attack and under bombardment," Laerke said. "That is completely unacceptable. So, all these things taken together has prompted the U.N. team in Damascus to come up and say, 'Enough is enough.' Now, we need a humanitarian pause because for us to do our jobs, we need the conditions for this to happen."

U.N. officials accuse the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad of making it nearly impossible for convoys to get access to people in dire need, adding that bureaucratic red tape is holding up the visas needed to deliver humanitarian aid.

Once granted access, three U.N. convoys could be dispatched each week, reaching more than 700,000 people in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in the next two months, according to the U.N.

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Taiwan suspends all AH-64 Apache flights after crash in Japan

ROC Central News Agency

2018/02/06 13:43:43

Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) suspended the operations of all 29 of its AH-64 Apache attack helicopters on Tuesday as a preventive measure after Japan did the same a day earlier following the crash of one of its Apache choppers.

The helicopter crashed in a residential area in Saga prefecture in Kyushu, killing one of the chopper's two crew members and injuring a young girl who lived in the area, according to multiple international media reports.

The crash led Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to order the halt of all of Japan's AH-64 helicopter flights until safety issues were resolved, and Taiwan decided to follow suit on Tuesday.

MND spokesman Chen Chung-chi () said the military was following protocol in taking the step even if the AH-64D model that crashed in Japan was different from Taiwan's AH-64E Apaches.

Protocol dictates that when a similar aircraft in a neighboring country has an accident, the military shall conduct safety inspections on its own fleet, he said.

The military will gather its pilots and ground staff to discuss how to proceed with the inspections, and only after all AH-64 helicopters have been cleared will they be allowed to fly again, Chen said.

(By Lu Hsin-hui and Kuan-lin Liu)

Enditem/ls

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US Defense Department plays a little trick by removing Taiwan from its report

People's Daily Online

By Fang Tian (People's Daily Online) 15:13, February 06, 2018

The US Defense Department played a little trick by removing Taiwan, initially labeled as part of China in its Nuclear Posture Review, from the map of China.

A Pentagon spokesperson told The Japan Times Saturday that there was an "error" printed in the 2018 NPR, a legislatively-mandated review that establishes US nuclear policy, strategy, capabilities, and force posture for the next five to 10 years. The initial version was replaced on the Department of Defense's website a few hours later with Taiwan removed from China.

The DoD added that its position on and policy toward Taiwan have not changed.

China firmly opposes the US report that presumptuously speculated about the intentions behind China's development and played up the threat of China's nuclear strength, spokesman Ren Guoqiang from China's National Defense Ministry said Sunday.

China's Foreign Ministry also commented Monday at a regular press conference that the report comes in line with the US National Security report and National Defense Report released not long ago, and called on the US to abandon its Cold War mentality and outdated concept of zero-sum games, and maintain international peace and stability with concrete actions.

Regarding Taiwan, China urged the US to abide by the One China Policy and the principles set forth in the Three Joint Communiques, and stop "sending the wrong signal" to Taiwan independence forces and cease any official association or contact with Taiwan.

This is not the first time the US has challenged China on Taiwan since Donald Trump assumed the US presidency. Early in December 2016, Trump broke diplomatic tradition and made a 10-minute phone call with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen.

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Six Missing After Black Hawk Chopper Crashes Off Taiwan Coast

Sputnik News

10:29 06.02.2018(updated 11:41 06.02.2018)

BEIJING (Sputnik) - Six people are still missing after the crash of a Black Hawk medical evacuation helicopter near Taiwan's shore, the Taiwanese Interior Ministry said in a statement.

According to preliminary data, the helicopter crasehd into the sea shortly after take-off. Two pilots, a mechanic, a doctor, a patient and an accompanying person were on board the helicopter at the time of the accident. A search and rescue operation is underway. The cause of the incident remains unknown.

Late on Monday, the UH-60M Black Hawk helicopter left Taitung City for Orchid Island in order to provide local residents with medical aid and evacuate those in need of assistance. Communications with the helicopter were lost while the aircraft was returning to Taiwan.

The United States had supplied Taiwan with multi-purpose Black Hawk helicopters in accordance with a 2010 contract. The Taiwanese army has handed over some of those choppers to the Interior Ministry.

 Sputnik

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Erdogan: US Presence in Syria's Manbij Aimed Against Turkey, Russia, Iran

Sputnik News

12:41 06.02.2018(updated 13:20 06.02.2018)

In January, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Ankara would not limit its precautionary measures against Kurdish fighters to Syria's Afrin but could move to Manbij, where the US has some 2,000 of its military personnel deployed.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the United States should leave Syria's Manbij in Aleppo province as Ankara plans to return it "to its true owners." He also added that Washginton had "calculations against Turkey, Iran and maybe Russia" in Syria, claiming that the US military presence there was directed against the aforementioned countries after Daesh's (ISIS) defeat.

"If the United States says they are sending 5,000 trucks and 2,000 cargo planes with weapons for the fight against Daesh (Islamic State), we don't believe this. It means you have calculations against Turkey and Iran, and maybe Russia," Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party in parliament.

On February 5, the Pentagon announced that it had seen no indication of Turkey planning to extend its operation to Manbij, which contradicts Turkish officials' previous statements. Both Cavusoglu and Erdogan emphasized that Turkish forces would completely clear the region of terrorists, beginning with Manbij and throughout Turkey-Syria border.

Earlier in the day, footage showing a Turkish military convoy arriving in southern Aleppo, closer to the Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization's stronghold, appeared on the web. Among the 50 vehicles were armored personnel carriers (APCs), fuel tankers, mini-resistant ambush protected vehicles (MRAPs) and military trucks.

Turkey has been conducting a military operation, codenamed "Olive Branch," in Afrin against Kurdish fighters since January 20 in response to the US announcement of training a 30,000-strong border security force in Syria, which Ankara dismissed as a "terrorist army." Afrin is controlled by the US-backed People's Protection Units (YPG), which is considered by Turkey to be affiliated with the Kurdistan's Workers' Party (PKK), regarded by Ankara as a terrorist organization.

Syria's government has firmly condemned the military operation, calling it a violation of the country's sovereignty, while Turkey stressed that the offensive was not aimed against the government itself, but targeted "only terrorists."

 Sputnik

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One Turkish Soldier Killed, Five Injured as Result of Syria's Idlib Attack

Sputnik News

09:03 06.02.2018(updated 13:33 06.02.2018)

Turkey, the guarantor of the Syrian ceasefire alongside Russia and Iran, has been conducting a military operation in Afrin and nearby territory against the Kurdish fighters it considers to be linked to the PKK, which is considered to be a terrorist group by Ankara.

The Turkish military has announced that one soldier had been killed and five others wounded in a rocket and mortar attack by militants while setting up observation points in Syria's Idlib.

Turkish forces responded with retaliatory fire, the statement reads, while not specifying, who the militants behind the attack were.

On Monday, the Turkish forces set up a military post southwest of the Syrian city of Aleppo as part of an agreement with Russia and Iran on monitoring compliance to the ceasefire regime.

The agreement was signed during the Astana talks and stipulated the establishment of four de-escalation zones in Syria, namely, in Idlib and parts of the neighboring Latakia, Hama, and Aleppo provinces; in the north of the central Homs province; in Eastern Ghouta near Damascus and in certain parts of the country's southern Daraa and Quneitra provinces.

 Sputnik

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Russia, U.S. Declare Compliance With Nuclear Treaty By Deadline

Mike Eckel February 05, 2018

The United States and Russia have both declared that they complied with a 2010 arms-control treaty limiting the two countries' massive nuclear arsenals, as Moscow criticized President Donald Trump's new nuclear policy.

February 5 was the deadline for the two countries to comply with the New START deal, which restricts each to 1,550 deployed strategic nuclear warheads and 700 deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

With U.S.-Russian relations plummeting to levels not seen since the Cold War, and both countries moving to upgrade their arsenals, the status of the treaty has been closely watched by arms-control experts.

Some of them fear another important arms-control agreement -- the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty -- is on the verge of collapse, amid U.S. accusations that Russia has deployed a prohibited missile system.

And several influential Republican lawmakers in Congress who have criticized Trump's predecessor for its response to the alleged Russian violations suggested that they would not vote to extend New START when the treaty expires in 2021.

The State Department said in a statement on February 5 that Washington fulfilled its commitments under New START in August 2017.

Adherence to the treaty was "critically important at a time when trust in the relationship has deteriorated, and the threat of miscalculation and misperception has risen," department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Russia has "repeatedly stated its commitment" to the treaty, including meeting the central limits, and we expect our upcoming data exchange under the treaty to reaffirm that commitment," she said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, said in a statement that it now had 1,444 strategic nuclear warheads and had deployed 527 intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bombers.

Over the weekend, the ministry took aim at the newly announced U.S. Nuclear Posture Review, a policy document released on February 2 that lays out the thinking of the Trump administration on nuclear weapons use.

The policy says the United States will modify some of its existing long-range ballistic missiles carried by submarines to fit them with smaller-yield warheads. It says the administration will develop a nuclear-armed cruise missile that can be launched by submarines.

The new policy also points to a Russian doctrine known as "escalate to de-escalate." That doctrine, first articulated in 2000 not long after President Vladimir Putin took office, stipulates that Moscow would use or threaten to use smaller-yield nuclear weapons in a conventional conflict in Europe if Russia felt it faced an existential conventional threat.

Moscow suggested the new U.S. policy was dangerous because it would make it difficult to confirm that a reconfigured U.S. weapon would not be carrying nuclear weapons, raising the prospect of a Russian nuclear response.

"Readiness to use nuclear weapons to prevent Russia from using its nuclear arsenal, expressed in the new Nuclear Posture Review, amounts to putting in question our right to defend ourselves against an aggression that threatens the country's survival," the ministry said in a statement.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-us-declare- compliance-nuclear-treaty-moscow-slams -posture/29021101.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Mattis: Proposed U.S. Cruise Missile A Bargaining Chip With Russia

RFE/RL February 06, 2018

Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said that a plan to add a new cruise missile to the United States' nuclear arsenal aims to provide additional leverage to U.S. negotiators trying to persuade Russia to stop violating a key arms control treaty.

"The idea is, once again, to keep our negotiators negotiating from a position of strength," Mattis told a House Armed Services Committee hearing on February 6 on a policy document released last week that lays out the thinking of the administration on nuclear weapons use.

The Nuclear Posture Review, which was released on February 2, says that the United States will modify some of its existing long-range ballistic missiles carried by submarines to fit them with smaller-yield warheads.

It also says the administration will develop a shorter-range, nuclear-armed cruise missile that could be launched by submarines.

The long-range ballistic missile would not violate the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, but the short-range cruise missile potentially might, if it is deployed on the ground.

Washington has accused Russia of developing a new missile that violates the agreement, a charge denied by Moscow. In turn, Russia said that Washington has "de facto" quit the Soviet-era arms-control pact.

Mattis reiterated that Russia is violating that treaty signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, and the U.S. administration wants to pressure Moscow to get back in line.

Republican lawmakers in Congress have allocated millions of dollars to develop the new missile.

Asked whether the United States would abandon the sea-launched cruise missile if the Russians return to treaty compliance, Mattis said, "I don't want to say in advance of a negotiation."

Russia's Foreign Ministry characterized the Nuclear Posture Review as both "confrontational" and "anti-Russian."

It particularly condemned the development of low-yield nuclear weapons, which Moscow said can significantly lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons and "lead to a nuclear-missile war even in low-intensity conflicts."

The INF treaty covers ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles and their launchers, with ranges of 500 and 5,500 kilometers.

With reporting by AFP and AP

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-mattis-cruise -missile-bargaining-chip/29023940.html

Copyright (c) 2018. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.

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Theres a new deal for those looking to get a new Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL. If youre looking at Verizon, you should head over to Best Buy to take advantage of the following deal.

Save $200 when you purchase a Google Pixel 2 XL on Best Buys website with a monthly installment plan on Verizon. You can also save $100 if you purchase the smaller Pixel 2.

The 64GB Pixel 2 normally goes for $27.08 per month. With the $100 off, the payment goes down to $22.91. Meanwhile, the Pixel 2 XL with 64GB of storage normally goes for $35.41 per month, down to $27.07 per month after the discount.

The discount applies to either storage configuration of the Google Pixel 2 or Pixel 2 XL. Just so you know, this deal is only valid at Best Buy in-store or online when you purchase and activate a Pixel 2 on Verizon with an installment plan to pay it off, you wont be able to buy it in full.

Offers like these are normally for a limited time and the deal can be called off at the retailers discretion. Even with the first Google Pixel (XL) last year, Verizon always offered discounts throughout the year. Chances are if you miss this deal, there will likely be a new one rolling around soon enough.

Source | Via
A upcoming Samsung smartphone just appeared on AnTuTu's website, sporting the model number SM-C9150, being powered by a Snapdragon 660 mated to 6GB of RAM and running Android 7.1.1.

At the time of writing it's most probable that this device will prove to be the Samsung Galaxy C10 or C10 Plus for China, although it could be named under the J series elsewhere as the Galaxy C7 (2017) before.

The screenshot from the device's profile in AnTuTu doesn't give out much information and some of the information it does is a bit questionable. First, the 1920x1080px resolution indicates an 16:9 display and not 18:9. It's unlikely that Samsung would release a new upper-midrange phone with the older aspect ratio.

If the device indeed turns out to be a Galaxy C10 then it will likely have a dual camera on the back.

We'll keep you posted if anything new, concerning the SM-C9150 pops up.

Source | Via




Haiti - FLASH : The Protector of the Citizen alarmed and worried





The Protector of the Citizen Me Renan Hedouville, following the various allegations and denunciations mentioning the recrudescence of acts of rape and sexual assault in the Department of Grand'Anse and after preliminary investigation of the Office of Citizen Protection (OPC), deplores the lightness with which certain judicial authorities of the Public Prosecutor's Office near the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Jeremie, manage the cases of which they are seized.



The OPC found that out of a sample of 29 individuals involved in cases of sexual assault, rape and complicity brought to the notice of the Jeremie Prosecutor's Office, 16 of them (55%) were released without no form of prosecution.



Renan Hedouville draws to the judicial and police authorities on a practice of release of the alleged perpetrators of rape, "under the fallacious pretext that the victims have signed acts of withdrawal". He wishes to recall "in such circumstances, the Commissioners of the Government without any form of derogation, are obliged to apply Article 4 of the Code of Criminal Instruction which clearly states that the waiver of the civil action can not stop or suspend the exercise of the criminal action."



Renan Hedouville is alarmed and worried that 12 of these 16 liberations were ordered by the Substitute of the Commissioner of the Government Me Bergemane Sylvain "who seems not to know that the Law does not admit compromise in case of crimes and offenses and that accordingly the complainant's withdrawal can not extinguish the pursuit of public vindication."



He considers it appropriate to recall that any magistrate who encourages such practices only contributes to fostering corruption, impunity and the denial of justice.



"The Office of Citizen Protection reminds that the decree of 6 July 2005 has rigorously established the system of penalties applicable to rape and recommends to all the judicial actors of all Jurisdictions of the country's TPI to pay special attention to the rape cases submitted to them and which they are obliged to prosecute despite all forms of agreements or negotiations between the partieswhereas the heinous nature of this crime requires the reinforcement of its sanction"



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





PetroCaribe depoliticized

For Renald Luberice, the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, the resolution passed in the Senate by the majority of senators to transfer the PetroCaribe file to the Superior Court of Accounts and Administrative Disputes (CSA/CA) https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-23446-haiti-flash-senate-transfers-petrocaribe-report-to-csa-ca.html is a wise decision, which allows to depoliticize a file and an investigation that the Senate, institution eminently political would never have to take charge of it.



The Ambassador of Canada visited the Providence Hospital

On Monday, Canada's Ambassador to Haiti, Andre Frenette made his first visit to Providence Hospital in Gonaives, a Canadian investment of approximately $ 30 million for the construction, equipment and implementation of a hospital management support program "Canada is proud of this achievement, which benefits the people of Artibonite. Good discussion with Senator Latortue and the hospital leaders on the progress and challenges that remain," said Ambassador Frenette after his visit See also : https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12455-haiti-health-more-details-on-la-providence-hospital-of-gonaives.html https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-12435-haiti-health-inauguration-of-the-hospital-la-providence-in-gonaives.html



Networking with a delegation from Vietnam

Monday, February 5 at the Best Western Hotel, was held a networking meeting between Haitian businessmen and the Vietnamese delegation, composed of "VEAM Corporation", ITECOM and "Hong Lam Development and Construction Investment Company", with the accompaniment of Haiti's Ambassador to Vietnam, Jean Lesly Benoit.



Haitian painting is exhibited in Spain

The Embassy of the Republic of Haiti near the Kingdom of Spain has the honor invites the public and the Haitian community to discover a Haitian painting exhibition, organized in agreement with the Municipality of San Lorenzo De El Escorial.

Location: Casa de Cultura located 3 Calle Floridablanca, 28200 San Lorenzo El Escorial, Madrid (Spain)

Dates: February 7 to March 7, 2018.

Hours: Monday to Friday from 11 am to 2 pm and 5 pm to 8 pm and Saturdays from 10 am to 1 pm30

For information: 918 960 772 or cultura@aytosanlorenzo.es



Carnival of Jacmel, Vernissage expo photo at the IFH

Did you miss Jacmel's carnival? The French Institute in Haiti plays "extra time" Wednesday, February 7 from 6:00 pm with the opening of the new photo exhibition of Corentin Fohlen. 99 Avenue Lamartiniere, Bois Verna. Free admission.



Visit of Bintou Keita

On Monday, Minujusth hosted Bintou Keita, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, on her first visit to Haiti.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2018/02/07 | Source

Added episode 3 captures for the Korean drama "Radio Romance" (2018)

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With Yoon Doo-joon, Kim So-hyun, Yoon Park, Yura, Ha Joon, Kwak Dong-yeon,...

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A drama about a top star who sticks strictly to the script who then becomes a radio DJ and finds comfort in his new life.

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Havre Police Department

Officers investigated after a caller near Second Street and Ninth Avenue reported Tuesday at 7:03 a.m. reported he had hit a parked pickup truck with his parked Dodge Avenger.



Officers investigated after a caller near Second Street and Ninth Avenue reported Tuesday at 8:17 a.m. a vehicle car crash between a Chevy Equinox and a Dodge Ram.



Officers investigated after a Fourth Avenue caller reported Tuesday at 9:21 a.m. that his shop was broken into.



Officers arrested Wilford Harlan Sunchild of Harlem, 53, on a federal warrant Tuesday at 9:31 a.m. at the Havre Police Station.



Animal Control officers investigated after a 14th Avenue caller reported Tuesday at 10:01 a.m. that there was a brown and white pit bull mix dog hanging around the house.



Officers investigated after a Post Office caller reported Tuesday at 11:32 a.m. that there was an accident in the parking lot.



Officers arrested three people after a Fourth Street caller reported Tuesday at 3:57 p.m. that a pit bull chased her son off the bus. Jennifer Fatima Denny of Havre, 51, was arrested on charges of obstructing a peace officer and resisting arrest. Ladawna Rose Chiefgoesout of Box Elder, 45, was arrested on two Justice or City court warrants and charges of dog at large and vicious dog. George Robert Romero of Havre, 53, was arrested on a Justice or City court warrant.



Officers investigated after a Second Street caller asked Tuesday at 4:33 p.m. to speak to an officer.



Officers arrested Michael Robert-Louis Belcourt of Box Elder, 28, on a partner or family member assault after a Second Street caller requested Tuesday at 7:29 p.m. officers come to her house.



Officers investigated after a caller at a First Street West establishment caller reported Tuesday at 10:13 p.m. that he may have found drugs.

Hill County Sheriffs Office

Deputies served a warrant to and arrested Fernando Guadalupe Ledezma, listed as homeless, 42, on a state District Court warrant Tuesday at 12:41 p.m. at the Hill County Detention Center.



Deputies issued a summons to Seraya Rose Standingrock of Box Elder, 24, on a criminal trespass to property charge after a U.S. Highway 2 West business caller reported Tuesday at 6:31 p.m. that a woman was trespassing.



Deputies investigated after a Third Street NorthWest Rudyard caller reported Tuesday at 7:16 p.m. an assault.

Havre Fire Department

Medical crews responded to three calls Tuesday and one today.

Havre Animal Shelter

The animal shelter held this morning one long-haired, three medium-haired and four short-haired cats.



The animal shelter held this morning a female Labrador-retriever, a female akbash-Australian shepherd cross and five female Rottweiler-shepherd crosses  four of them puppies.

Births

A boy was born Monday, Jan. 5, 2018, to Donita Hay of Box Elder.
PSC and NorthWestern say regulations are to blame

The Montana Public Service Commission has reduced NorthWestern Energy customers rates by $3.5 million, which comes to a 14-cent monthly reduction over this next year.

Representatives of each party say no one has done anything wrong.

The PSC resolved an error in the way NorthWestern Energy allocates property tax expense among its customers, a Jan. 30 PSC press release said.

NorthWestern spokesperson Butch Larcombe said Monday the company hasnt erred in any way.

We dont think there has been an error. We have been using a method established by the PSC in 2009. The PSC just recently decided to change the methodology. By no means has there been any effort by NorthWestern to overcharge customers for property tax expenses.

PSC spokesperson Chris Puyear said the same. The methodology established by the PSC is no longer valid, he said.

The bottom line is, the commission did approve this methodology. And so its not so much an error in the sense that NorthWestern has done something wrong, or failed to follow the commissions direction. Its just that this methodology does not do as good of a job of tracking expenses to those customers that are actually causing the expenses, Puyear said.

The error, Puyear has said, was with methodology the PSC developed regarding how NorthWestern can pass property tax expenses on to their customers.

NorthWestern uses a state law called a tax tracker to pass through an increase in their property expenses to customers. Montana law allows them to pass up to 60 percent of their property taxes to retail customers, Puyear said.

In 2014, NorthWestern bought 11 dams in Montana for $800 million.

On the other hand, sale to wholesale, or transmission, customers such as oil refineries or lumber companies, are regulated by the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission.

The problem, Puyear said, is that Montana taxes for NorthWestern have increased 60 percent between 2012 and 2016, with a lot of those increased expenses passed on to retail customers.

So taxes on utility properties are going up extremely quickly, much more quickly than other costs on the transmission system. That created a gap where retail customers have been soaking up excess tax expense, just like a sponge off the wholesale customers. The percentage of tax expense to wholesale customers has not increased, Puyear said.

The error, or faulty methodology, was noticed in early 2017, when NorthWestern failed to answer PSC questions about how it passed on expenses to retail customers and those large transmission customers regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the PSC press release said.

The way Montana handles property taxes for utility customers is extraordinarily unusual in that it allows these costs to pass through with virtually no review or oversight by the PSC, Puyear said.

Typically, when a rate increase happens or is being considered, the PSC takes nine months to review that application, unlike in this case.

I think thats a huge part of why this error has not been caught by the PSC or the utility, Puyear added. Both parties are under extraordinary pressure to get these filings processed. The 45-day deadline is extremely strenuous and its allowed this error to be perpetuated from year to year.

Taxes are at the heart of the issue.

The methodology developed by the PSC became faulty because property taxes for NorthWestern rose at a very high rate. When the methodology was implemented, Puyear said, it made sense. Now it doesnt.

Im not sure that the PSC that was there in 2008 could have ever foresaw this massive increase in property taxes, he added.

Larcombe said the utility company is allowed by law to recover the costs of doing business.

As is the case with any other enterprise, property taxes are a cost of doing business for NorthWestern. All businesses include such tax costs in what they charge customers. We disclose the amount of property taxes paid by customers on monthly bills, Larcombe said.

NorthWestern has worked to reduce the amount of property taxes paid by the company and its customers through formal and informal protests of property valuations, Larcombe said, adding that NorthWestern has saved customers about $108 million since 2005.

While customers pay the majority of our property tax bill, the company and its shareholders are also deeply affected. From 2011 through 2018, NorthWesterns share of the Montana property tax bill will be about $45.5 million, he said.

We and our customers will pay about $150 million in Montana property taxes for 2017 through 2018, Larcombe continued. This is approximately 36 percent of all centrally assessed property taxes in Montana. It is our largest single expense each year and is more than we pay our entire Montana workforce in wages and benefits.

Larcombe said the company is concerned about the amount of property taxes the company and their customers pay each year. NorthWestern wants to work with the Montana Legislature, the state Department of Revenue and others to develop a tax system that leads to more transparent, predictable and equitable valuations, which would benefit us all.

Puyear said there seems to be little rhyme or reason as to how the Department of Revenue assesses property taxes.

The way the Department of Revenue values NorthWestern property appears from the outside to be very volatile and, at times, even arbitrary. They essentially assess property and they attribute kind of an enterprise value to NorthWestern and then divide that up among the various properties, Puyear said.

Over the years, the Department of Revenue has used the same factors to value property, but they shift the factors around a little bit, and they havent provided a good explanation as to why things have changed from year to year, Puyear added.

The Department of Revenue has frequently revised their evaluation of NorthWestern property after being challenged by the utility by at least tens of millions of dollars, which begs the question, Puyear said.

If youre willing to back down and lower the tax bill by that much, what was that tax bill based on in the first place? he asked.

The Department of Revenues tactics have been a real point of concern for the commission and for NorthWestern, Puyear said.

Public Information Officer for the Department of Revenue Mary Ann Dunwell said Tuesday that the department has nothing to do with property tax rates. Thats up to counties and cities.

The departments job includes assessing the value of property, not establishing tax rates. A swath of property with a dam on it is clearly going to have a lot of value, Dunwell said.
A woman walks toward the entrance of Bullhook Community Health Center Monday. Congress is working to renew funding for community health centers across the country, without which facilities like Bullhook or Sweet Medical Center in Chinook might have to cut back services.

Backers of Havre's Bullhook Community Health Center and health care advocates throughout the country Tuesday rallied in support of community health centers and a legislative fix to keep them from losing 70 percent of their federal grant funding.

The effort was part of a Day of Demonstration: #RedAlert4CHCs, an effort by community health centers and their supporters to raise awareness about the work the health centers do and the need to get Congress to restore a crucial stream of funding that expired in September.

Bullhook CEO Cindy Smith said as part of the Day of Demonstration, people were encouraged to wear red, use the hashtag #RedAlert4CHCs on social media, and have their picture taken at Bullhook to post on the Center's Facebook page. People were also offered informational flyers and urged to contact their congressional representatives and urge them to restore their funding.

"Right now, keeping our doors open is our number one priority," Smith said. "We think it's pretty important to keep going what we have going, especially for the 5,000 patients we serve and the 70 people we have employed."

All three members of Montana's congressional delegation have called for a long-term renewal of funding.

Sens. Jon Tester, a Democrat and Steve Daines, a Republican and Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., have voted to fund centers in the past, and have all recently signed letters to leadership in the House and Senate calling for a long-term renewal of funding.

The three spoke along with a bi-partisan group of other lawmakers and health advocates at a press conference Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

"With 17 community health centers in Montana, they are vital to providing health care to thousands of Montanans," Daines said in a press release after the press conference. "Health care is a priority for Montanans, and Washington, D.C., needs to get this done."

"Community health centers provide health care that is effective and affordable," Tester said at the press conference. "It has been 130 days since Congress failed to fund community health centers and put them in a world of hurt. Without long-term funding, these health care facilities could close down and lay off staff. It is time for Congress to quit kicking the can down the road and provide community health centers with long-term certainty."

Gianforte, who like Tester and Daines was at the press conference Tuesday, voted later in the day for a stop-gap bill to keep the government funded and expand funding for the program for two years.

"I've been a strong advocate for community health centers, which about 1 in 10 Montanans rely on for their health care needs," Gianforte said Tuesday in a press release. "Three months ago, I voted to extend this vital program, and I voted again today to provide continued, predictable funding for our community health centers. I hope the Senate will act to protect Montanans' access to care."

Tester has co-sponsored a bill that would extend funding for another five years for the fund. The bill has not yet been taken up by the Senate Committee on Health Education Labor and Pensions has not yet taken up the bill, Tester Communications Director Marnee Banks said last week.

Community health centers provide a range of services to patients including primary health care, dental care, behavior health services and substance abuse services all in one location.

Susie Schmele, chief financial officer of the Sweet Medical Center, which has offices in Chinook and Harlem, said the centers play an important role.

Sweet Medical, she said, served 1,921 patients last year in Blaine County and surrounding communities, including 9 percent who lacked health insurance.

"Community health centers in the United States, we provide a lot of care to a lot of people, where they would otherwise go to other facilities where they couldn't pay for the care," she said.

The centers in 2016 served 27 million people throughout the nation in about 100,000 communities, a fact sheet from the National Association of Community Health Centers says. Patients included 330,000 veterans and 1.3 million homeless people.

In Montana, health centers provided care to 106,342 patients, with 58 percent at or below 100 percent of the poverty level, the fact sheet says.

Health centers, Schmele said, focus on preventive care and early diagnoses that make care more cost effective.

The Association website says centers receive a large portion of their funding from the Community Health Center Fund. When it was established in 2010 the fund paid out $11.5 billion over five years to establish, expand and operate the centers. Funding ran out in 2015 but was extended for two years.

The fund had $3.6 billion in fiscal year 2017 before funding expired in Sept., 30, creating a "CHC funding cliff," a December report from the Gieger Gibson/RCHN Community Health Foundation says.

A bill was signed into law in December that provides $550 million to the fund through March.

For Bullhook, money from the fund makes up about 20 percent of their overall $7 million budget, Smith said. Other money comes from smaller grants and revenue generated from billing patients and insurance providers, she said.

Smith said money from the fund allows Bullhook to pay employees and offer medical care to patients on a sliding fee scale based on income.

Schmele said that money from the Community Health Center Fund also allows Sweet Medical Center to provide patients with vouchers to obtain treatment from other health care facilities.

Smith said Bullhook has enough money from its current revenue stream to continue operating as is for about five months. Smith said if Congress does not renew the fund they could still operate for about five months and the center does have reserves, but those can only last so long.

Plans have been crafted in the event the fund is either partly replenished or not funded, she said.

Bullhook would have to consider instituting a hiring freeze, putting on leave or laying off nonessential employees or not offering the sliding scale at its current levels, Smith said.

"We hope it doesn't come to that," she said.

Schmele said that Sweet Medical Center would likely reduce the number of appointment slots available to patients, but added that the center would still be able to provide basic health care, even without money from the fund.

"We absolutely would still be able to do primary care," she said.

The uncertainty that has come from the lack of a long-term budget is already being felt, a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation says.

Because of the uncertainty about funding, the report says 39 percent of centers have either closed offices or are considering doing so. Another twenty percent have instituted hiring freezes and another 4 percent have already laid off staff.

Though health centers enjoy bi-partisan support, Smith said bills that fund them are often folded into larger bills where more divisive issues are included. Funding is then either voted down or not voted on at all.

Smith said that the loss of money to the fund comes as lawmakers are asking centers to take a larger role in several health care issues such as the opioid crisis and mental health issues.

"So they keep asking us to help, yet they are not saying what they are going to give us," she said.
Well-known Western artist Anna Lee (Golterman) Dwyer, 90, passed away Thursday evening, Feb. 1, at her home on Swan Lake.

Anna was born in Plentywood, Montana, Dec. 29, 1927, to Joseph and Mary Golterman and raised on the family farm. Her lifelong love of art began as a young child.

In June of 1949, Anna married Donald William "Bill" Dwyer. They shared 45 years together, before Bill passed away in 1994. They were active community and parish members in Great Falls, Montana, where they raised their four children. In 1979, a job transfer took them to Connecticut, where they resided until 1991, before retiring to the waterfront Montana home they

had built on Swan Lake.

Anna and Bill loved to be involved in their church and community. Anna particularly enjoyed spending time with couples in the 18-30 Club, many of whom became lifelong friends.

Throughout her life, Anna was an avid artist and renowned for her western art. She worked with everything from watercolor to bronze and was particularly talented with painting and sculpture.

She attended, and exhibited at, many art shows, including the C.M. Russell Auction where she frequently participated in the quick-draw show and auction. She often exercised her design skills and artistic talent by creating play sets for the Bigfork Community Players. Anna believed strongly in the importance of community involvement. Anna exemplified this belief, through her many roles in the community. An active member of the Swan Lake Chamber and Community Club, from which she received the Outstanding Citizen Award, Anna was always involved in the annual Swan Lake Huckleberry Festival. She was also highly active elsewhere in the community, hosting art classes and participating in numerous community events.

Anna is survived by her four children, Tim (Dottie) Dwyer, Dave Dwyer, Dan (Cathy) Dwyer, and Julie (Lew) Ross; sister Marietta (Bob) Riese; sister-in-law Barbara Golterman; five grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Joseph and Mary Golterman, and siblings Ada Nash and Paul Golterman.

Memorials received will be sent to the Bigfork Community Players or Ferndale QRU (Quick Response Unit). A viewing will be held at 6:30 p.m., and a Rosary at

7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 8, at Saint John Paul II Catholic Church in Bigfork, Montana. A memorial Mass will be held at Saint John Paul II Catholic Church in Bigfork Friday, Feb. 9, at 11 a.m., with a luncheon afterward. Anna will be buried in the Lone Pine Cemetery in Bigfork, Montana.

To send a note of condolence to the family, please visit http://www.buffalohillfh.com/.

Arrangements are entrusted to Buffalo Hill Funeral Home.
Employers that dont abandon their millennial misconceptions will only end up harming their organisations and driving ambitious employees away  thats the warning from one successful leader who says young people have a lot to offer in todays workplaces.



Stu Cooper is the general manager of Certus Insurance and has worked across every size of organisation with people in all stages of their careers  during that time, he says hes regularly come across the perception that millennials dont want to put in the hard work.



They clearly do, you are kidding yourself if you believe that some of the most aspirational young people we have seen in a long time dont realise there is a lot of hard work to put in before reaching the summit of their aspirations, he tells HRD.



The perception of hard work hasnt changed and kept up with their reality which is so much quicker, more connected, and transparent than generations previous, he adds.



Cooper  who is set to feature as a key speaker at the upcoming Millennial Workforce Summit  says another misconception is that young people dont want to hear open and constructive criticism about their future.



Often those not of the millennial age bracket believe that constructive criticism falls on deaf ears, or that millennials are too precious to hear what is being said, he tells HRD.



I find that millennials are some of the most open to criticism and ideas of how to get better, he continues. Socially, they have been seeking guidance, opinions, and validating each other for years in an open an online format. They want to hear it, they want to get better  we (being those in management) just have fined tuned the way we deliver it yet.



According to Cooper, employers must re-examine their perceptions or risk limiting the growth of millennials within their organisation.



You have people who want to grow, develop, and change their world and because you have this idea that they dont want to put in the hard work, and arent open to helpful critiquing of their role, you effectively stop any progress that can be made, he says.



Millennials are really quite emotionally intelligent and can sense these misconceptions being a barrier to growth so in turn put up a wall themselves making it a self-fulfilling prophecy, he continues.



Organisations are slow to realise that millennials are the leaders, consumers, and champions of tomorrow which can in turn slow the ability of an organisation to utilise an increasingly knowledgeable workforce to help them grow and tap into new markets for internal talent, as well as bigger and far reaching customer base.



Stu Cooper will be joined by a bevy of other industry leaders at the upcoming Millennial Workforce Summit in Auckland. More information about the event  which features engaging panel discussions about how HR can fully leverage the millennial generation  can be found online. Registrations are now open and HRD readers are encouraged to book in early and save with the Super Saver offer.


ANN ARBORThe health consequences of air pollution are well-documented, but a growing body of research indicates it also leads to other societal ills, such as higher crime rates.

University of Michigan researcher Julia Lee and her colleagues explored the underlying causes that link pollution with higher crime rates. A long-term analysis of pollution and crime statistics along with three experiments suggest that anxiety caused by exposure to pollution makes people more prone to cheating and unethical behavior. And that can be a driver behind the higher crime rates in high-pollution areas.

We wanted to know what explains this connection between air pollution and criminal activity, said Lee, assistant professor of management and organizations at U-Ms Ross School of Business. We tested the theory that the stress and anxiety that comes from living with air pollution is a contributing factor. Our results support the contention that air pollution not only corrupts peoples health, but can also contaminate their morality.

Lees co-authors on the study, set to be published in the journal Psychological Science, are Jackson Lu and Adam Galinsky of Columbia University and Francesca Gino of Harvard University.

The researchers first analyzed nine years worth of air pollution data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and crime statistics from the FBI. They controlled for factors such as demographic variables, law enforcement levels and poverty rates. The analysis revealed high levels of air pollution in a county predicted higher incidents of crime in nearly every category.

A series of experiments in the United States and India found a connection between pollution, anxiety and unethical behavior. Since its unethical to expose people directly to pollution, test subjects were shown pictures of either polluted or unpolluted city scenes. They were then asked to describe or write about how they saw that area and reflect on how they would feel as they walk in that area and breathe the air.

The written descriptions were rated by coders (blind to the purpose of the study) on eight dimensionsdistressed, irritable, nervous, scared, enthusiastic, excited, happy and relaxed.

After describing or writing their feelings, the test subjects were asked to complete supposedly unrelated tasks with small financial rewards for correct answers or successful outcomes. In one experiment, subjects were told of a glitch that allowed them to uncover correct answers on a word association test. In another, they were given a dice-roll game and told to self-report the outcome, with a higher score earning them more money.

In each study, subjects who looked at the polluted photo were both significantly more likely to express anxiety and stress in their descriptions, and cheat on the tasks.

What this tells us is that theres an ethical cost to air pollution, Lee said. It increases anxiety and this leads to unethical behavior. Its a mechanism from behavioral science that can help explain the connection between air pollution and higher crime rates.

The research is a response to former President Barack Obamas call for using behavioral science insights to better serve the public. The studies connect the fields of environmental science, socioecological psychology, criminology, and moral psychology.

University of Michigan
In an analysis of one of the largest electronic medical records databases in the world, researchers found that patients with acne had a significantly increased risk of developing major depression, but only in the first 5 years after being diagnosed with acne.

The British Journal of Dermatology analysis included data from The Health Improvement Network (THIN) (19862012), a large primary care database in the United Kingdom.

The investigators found that the risk for major depression was highest within 1 year of acne diagnosisa 63% higher risk compared with individuals without acneand decreased thereafter.

The results indicate that it is critical that physicians monitor mood symptoms in patients with acne and initiate prompt treatment for depression or seek consultation from a psychiatrist when needed.

This study highlights an important link between skin disease and mental illness. Given the risk of depression was highest in the period right after the first time a patient presented to a physician for acne concerns, it shows just how impactful our skin can be towards our overall mental health said lead author Dr. Isabelle Vallerand, of the University of Calgary, in Canada. For these patients with acne, it is more than a skin blemishit can impose significant mental health concerns and should be taken seriously.

Wiley
Newman announces candidacy for second term

District Attorney Greg Newman will seek a second term in 2018.

District Attorney Greg Newman announced that he will seek re-election for a second term this year.

He will file the necessary paperwork with the NC State Board of Elections when the filing period opens next week on Feb. 12. He currently serves as the chief criminal prosecutor for Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties. A native of Henderson County, Newman was appointed by N.C. Governor Pat McCrory in 2013 to succeed Jeff Hunt, who became a Superior Court Judge. Mr. Newman was then elected in 2014 to a full term as District Attorney.

The DA graduated with a degree in Political Science from UNC Asheville and then graduated from the University of Dayton School of Law in Dayton, Ohio. He began his legal career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Ashland, Ohio and then worked with the District Attorney Generals Office in the Second Judicial District of Tennessee. Upon his return home to North Carolina in 2000, he worked in the law office of Ron Blanchard and handled a variety of civil and criminal cases in both state and federal courts.

In addition to his law practice, Newman was elected Mayor of Hendersonville in 2005 and served a full 4 year term that ended in 2009. He was a candidate for Congress in the 2010 Republican primary and finished third in a field of 7 candidates. He has been active with the Republican Party since 1984.

The District Attorney and his wife of 33 years, Kim, have 3 children. His two adult children are graduates of Clemson University and his youngest son is a junior at Hendersonville High School. Newman is an active member at First Baptist Church where he serves as a teacher, usher, deacon and trustee.

I have a great staff and a talented team of lawyers. I am very pleased with the performance and production of our office and I hope the voters in all 3 counties feel the same way, said the DA.  We have strong support among all of our police and sheriffs departments, our emergency responders, the business community, our local pastors and many others. The results in all our courts have been very gratifying, to say the least. Some of our cases have received national attention. We are experiencing the most productive period in our local court system in terms of cases resolved with strong jury verdicts, guilty pleas, and substantial sentences. I credit my staff and lawyers for these results, as well as all the people in our community serving on these juries for supporting what we do. It is indeed gratifying to live in an area where the rule of law is still respected, added Mr. Newman.

Mr. Newman then stated, I am told that I will have opposition in the Republican primary this year, so in addition to my regular duties, I will be spending time raising funds and campaigning for office. I believe most people are aware of the serious cases awaiting prosecution in the district. We have at least one death penalty trial and will likely have a second one in Polk County. So I naturally take the position that now is not the time to change leadership and direction of the DAs office. Things are going well in our office and I would like to continue in my current position. It is an honor to serve the people in the community that has meant so much to me personally.

Registration to vote in this years Republican primary election will end April 13, 2018. Early, one-stop, voting begins on April 26 and runs through May 5th. The primary is Tuesday, May 8, 2018.

Mr. Newman can be contacted at P. O. Box 22, Hendersonville, NC 28793.
An Aer Lingus ground handler who helped to smuggle illegal immigrants into the country in exchange for cash told gardai that he spent the money on "pints of Guinness".

Frederick Cham (63) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to five charges of facilitating the entry into the State of a person who was an illegal immigrant or who was seeking asylum at Dublin Airport, on dates between December 13, 2016, and January 22, 2017.

Cham, of Railway Cottages, Hazelhatch, Celbridge, Co Kildare, also admitted two charges of handling money which he knew to be the proceeds of crime on dates in December 2016 and January 2017.

Originally from Hong Kong, Cham was arrested as part of an investigation by the Garda National Immigration Bureau after the trafficking scheme came to light.

Cham, along with another Aer Lingus employee, helped to bypass passport control in the immigration hall of Dublin Airport by using staff swipe cards.

He told gardai that he was getting "a little bit of fast cash to get by" and said it was a "Mickey Mouse operation".

Describing how the scheme worked, he said: "Tell a little rat there's a hole there, out you go, it's not a criminal enterprise".

Garda Inspector Michael Buckley told the court that gardai did not accept this.

Identified

Cham told gardai the operation was linked to a man in China.

He identified to investigators separate Western Union transfers of cash, totalling around 6,000, from China and said he and his co-accused got around 2,000-3,000 for each smuggling operation.

He told gardai he spent the money on pints of Guinness.

Cham had no previous convictions and had worked at Dublin Airport since coming to Ireland 15 years ago.

Insp Buckley told the court that Cham or the other man, who is before the courts and cannot be identified, would get a text from someone in Madrid to indicate that somebody was coming into Dublin Airport.

Once the plane got to the air-bridge, the co-accused would meet the foreign national off the plane and escort him toward the immigration hall.

Before entering this hall, the co-accused would bring the foreign national into a nearby lift, where Cham was waiting.

The men would exit the lift at ground level wearing 'hi-vis' Aer Lingus vests and travel in a catering truck to a hangar. It was here, via a staff turnstile gate, that the foreign national would move from air-side to land-side and enter the State.

Judge Martin Nolan said he would think about Cham's sentence overnight.
A 34-year-old Latvian woman has gone on trial accused of simulating the suicide of a housemate in Co Cavan almost four years ago, in which the deceased died from neck compression.

Egita Jaunmaize, of no fixed abode, is charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Roman Ponomarcus, knowing or believing him to have murdered Antra Ozolina (49) or committed some other arrestable offence at The Old Post, Main Street, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan, on or about June 27 or June 28, 2014.

The prosecution alleges Ms Jaunmaize placed a blue cord around Ms Ozolina's neck to simulate her suicide, in order to make it more difficult to establish her death was suspicious.

Boyfriend

Ms Jaunmaize appeared before the Central Criminal Court on Monday and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Opening the prosecution case yesterday morning, Patrick Gageby SC told the jury that this trial concerned the death of Ms Ozolina, a Latvian national who was divorced but had some family.

Detailing the evidence that will be heard, Mr Gageby said Ms Ozolina lived in a house in the village of Kilnaleck with Ms Jaunmaize and the accused's boyfriend, Mr Ponomarcus.

Counsel said gardai were alerted that there had been an event in Kilnaleck and a number of people wanted to report this to gardai but they did not have good English.

This included the accused, said Mr Gageby.

Counsel said the jury will hear that gardai went to The Old Post, where they found the deceased in an en-suite bedroom.

The upper part of Ms Ozolina's body was in the shower tray, her face was blue and swollen and a nylon-type rope was around her neck, he said.

The rope was not attached to anything when gardai arrived.

Mr Gageby said Ms Ozolina's death was not deemed to be suspicious at that stage, but within a short period this changed.

Outlining the evidence the jury will hear, Mr Gageby said an initial post-mortem was performed on Ms Ozolina by a local pathologist, who was not trained in forensic pathology.

He said Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis was then asked to come in and he detected there was evidence of a crime.

Dr Curtis found evidence of blunt force injury to Ms Ozolina's head and face, and determined that her cause of death was neck compression.

Mr Gageby went on to tell the court that an investigation was undertaken and it was found that the rope's function around the deceased's neck was to give the idea that she had hanged herself and suffered asphyxia.

The evidence was that Ms Ozolina had not died by hanging herself, he said.

Mr Gageby said Ms Jaunmaize originally told gardai she had a row with Ms Ozolina on the evening of June 27.

She told gardai she had found Ms Ozolina's body the following morning when she went into her bedroom.

She said she then went to the house of a friend whose son spoke English in order to bring the incident to the authorities' attention.

Argument

Mr Gageby said she initially told gardai that Mr Ponomarcus was not present on the night.

"As a result of careful Garda investigation, it would appear the accused told gardai the argument was more than verbal and that in fact Mr Ponomarcus was involved," he said.

Mr Gageby added that Ms Jaunmaize ultimately told gardai she had observed her boyfriend take Ms Ozolina by the neck and he choked her to death using his forearm.

Mr Ponomarcus requested the accused put a rope around Ms Ozolina's neck, with a view to showing this was suicide and not murder, said Mr Gageby.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy.
A man who disposed of a mobile phone in a mop bucket full of water while his home was being searched by gardai has been sentenced to a month in prison.

Garreth Lokko (26), who is currently serving a prison sentence with a release date in July, admitted obstructing a garda while his house was being searched last July 8.

The defendant, of Martello Mews, Flemington, Balbriggan, Co Dublin, had a total of 39 previous convictions, Balbriggan District Court heard.

Defence solicitor Fiona D'Arcy said Lokko had been incarcerated since before Christmas and was "feeling every second of it".

Blame

"He missed Christmas with his two children but has no one to blame but himself," she said.

"He has taken a good look at himself and desperately wants to turn his life around. He is using his time in prison wisely and is completing a certificate in welding.

"He is not proud of himself and wants to put criminality behind him."

Judge Dermot Dempsey said he would not increase his prison sentence but sentenced Lokko to one month to run concurrent to it.
A Securicor worker has revealed that a former colleague, who is one of four men accused of a 2.28m cash-in-transit van robbery, went home with an injured back on the day of the raid.

Witness Glen Kelly said that Niall Byrne, then a Securicor ATM section employee, reported that he had hurt his back and had to go home sick on that date almost 13 years ago.

Mr Kelly told Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, that he had a conversation with Mr Byrne hours later, during which the accused asked about the robbery and how much money had been taken.

Jovial

Tony Goldsmith, a Securicor assistant manager in 2005, said he spoke with Mr Byrne face-to-face after he had seen the doctor about his injured back.

Mr Goldsmith said the accused seemed "quite jovial".

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The witness agreed with Feargal Kavanagh SC, defending Mr Byrne, that being jovial was in his client's nature.

Mr Byrne (36), Mark Farrelly (46), Christopher Corcoran (70) and David Byrne (45) have all pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the false imprisonment of four members of the Richardson family at their home at Ashcroft, Raheny, Dublin, on March 13 and 14, 2005.

Niall Byrne, of Crumlin Road Flats, Dublin; Mr Farrelly, of Moatview Court, Priorswood, Coolock; Mr Corcoran, of Rosedale, Raheny, Dublin; and David Byrne, of Old Brazil Way, Knocksedan, Swords, also pleaded not guilty to robbing Paul Richardson and Securicor of 2.28m on March 14, 2005.

Mr Goldsmith told Mr Kavanagh that he did not know about a Securicor policy of turning off GPS trackers to save money, or any company policy to do with key fobs or walkie-talkies.

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He also denied knowing about a Securicor "unspoken rule", which Mr Kavanagh described as a system of having spare money in the cash-in-transit vans to give to raiders.

Earlier, Mr Goldsmith told Mr McGinn that he found out about Marie Richardson and her sons being taken hostage at about 9am on March 14, 2005.

He said he had made routine contact with Mr Richardson's van before this and did not suspect anything "amiss" with the vehicle then.

When he became aware there was a problem with the van, he said he and colleagues took a "softly, softly" approach in making contact with the crew to see where the vehicle was.

Safe

He said Mr Richardson's crew member, Sean Kelleher, gave him incorrect information that the van was in Tallaght.

Mr Goldsmith revealed that the van's GPS showed it was in Co Westmeath, but said he did not tell the crew that the Richardson family was safe because he was not sure if third parties were listening in.

He said he knew that the van crew was obeying the instructions of a gang at that time.

Mr Goldsmith said once Mr Kelleher pushed the vehicle's panic button, the crew was put through to Securicor control and informed that Mr Richardson's family was safe.
The judge threw out McDonaghs claim which meant the six other claims collapsed with it and were dismissed

A mother-of-two who drove her car uninsured and crashed into another before leaving the scene claimed she "panicked badly".

Elizabeth Scott (48) was taking a French student to an evening activity because his leg was in a cast.

As she was unable to get a taxi, she decided to drive un- insured and was involved in the collision with another car. She then left the scene.

The injured party managed to get the car registration number and reported the incident.

When gardai arrived at her house, Scott admitted she was driving and had no insurance at the time, Balbriggan District Court heard.

The defendant, of Brookford, Brook Lane, Rush, Co Dublin, pleaded guilty to four counts of hit-and-run and to driving without insurance at South Shore Road, Rush, last July 20.

Lapse

Defence barrister Annette Kealy said Scott was financially under pressure and had let her insurance lapse.

"She hadn't used the car before this," added Ms Kealy.

However, when questioned by Judge Dermot Dempsey, Scott admitted she had "driven the car around the estate a few times to keep the engine going".

When asked by Judge Dempsey if there was any reason she should not be disqualified, Ms Kealy said: "It was a ridiculous mistake she made.

"She is presenting as a genuine, responsible person who got herself into a bad hole."

Judge Dempsey convicted Scott and fined her 300 for driving without insurance but did not disqualify her.

He also convicted and fined her 200 for failing to remain at the scene of the collision and took the other three hit-and-run offences into consideration.
Martin The Viper Foley outside Blanchardstown District Court, where he was supporting his wife, Sonia (right)

The wife of veteran criminal Martin 'The Viper' Foley was celebrating yesterday after an allegation of providing false information to gardai was withdrawn.

Sonia Foley (41) left court with a clean record after a garda asked for the summons to be struck out.

Her husband was in jubilant mood and smiled and gestured at photographers when the couple walked out. Mrs Foley had always denied the charge.

The case had been due for hearing before Blanchardstown District Court yesterday.

However, when it was called before Judge Miriam Walsh, gardai asked for the matter to be struck out, leaving Mrs Foley without a conviction.

She was alleged to have nominated Shane Rodgers, of Inniskeen, Co Monaghan, as the individual who was driving her vehicle when a fixed penalty notice was issued.

It was claimed she nominated Mr Rodgers as the driver in the nomination section of the fixed penalty notice.

The incident allegedly took place at her home on Cashel Avenue, Crumlin, last July 26.

Gardai had said this information was false and Mr Rodgers had not been driving. Judge Walsh struck out the summons, following a request by gardai.

Laughing

The judge assigned defence solicitor James MacGuill on free legal aid after she heard the case had been due for hearing.

Afterwards, Mrs Foley and her husband laughed and joked outside the court.

Foley was one of Ireland's most notorious criminals and has been shot on four separate occasions.

He was married to Pauline, who died in 2003. He has two adult daughters from that marriage. He and Sonia were married in 2013, and had a daughter in 2015.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) hired a sniper to kill more than 200 deer in the Phoenix Park during the past two years, selling the carcasses to a meat supplier for 19,488.

A total of 203 deer were shot in eight culls in 2016 and 2017. Another 57 of the animals were killed as a result of road accidents and natural causes during the same period.

The OPW said that the Phoenix Park remained open to the public while the culls were performed by a 68-year-old sniper from Bray, Co Wicklow.

However, it added that a "detailed protocol" was followed, which took account of the welfare of the deer and the safety of the public.

The carcasses of the culled deer were sold for an average of 96 each to a Wicklow-based meat supplier, which specialises in processing game and stocks butchers and supermarkets in 10 counties.

Cull

A cull of 38 female and 11 male deer over two days in January and February 2017 reduced the herd to 540, from 570 recorded in October 2016.

A further two culls were carried out in November 2017, during which an additional 43 deer were killed.

In total, 111 deer were shot during four culls carried out during 2016, while 92 deer were culled over four days last year.

These were 138 females and 65 males.

The figures, which were released in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, also showed that 38 deer were killed as a result of road accidents and other causes in 2016, while 19 died in this manner last year.

A spokesperson for the OPW said that the cause of these deaths included traffic accidents, injuries sustained during the 'rutting' or mating season, and other natural causes.

"The Phoenix Park remains open to the public during deer culls. Deer culling is carried out according to a detailed protocol using best practices, taking full regard of the welfare of the deer and the safety of the staff and the public," she said.

"An over-abundant deer population can result in increasing incidence of road traffic accidents and increase the potential role for deer in the epidemiology of specific diseases.

"The OPW works with the School of Biology and Environmental Science in University College Dublin with regard to the management and scientific research of the deer herd in the Phoenix Park."

The OPW declined to state how much the sniper was paid to shoot deer in the park, citing reasons of commercial sensitivity.
For Subscribers It's Defenders Day in Maryland. Do you know why?

It's Defenders Day in Maryland, a state holiday that commemorates the military actions that led to the composition of our national anthem.
Let me start with full disclosure: the Nilekanis were among the earliest donors of the institution of which I am a co-founder. The proposals in this article are entirely my own and they have neither sought nor had any influence in the writing of it.

Much of the ongoing national heartburn over Aadhaar is due to the profound change in the use case between that of the UPA government which initiated it and the Modi government which seeks to proliferate it.

We thus have a governance framework that was meant for a voluntary instrument to avail of government entitlements, while Aadhaar itself became effectively a mandatory ID for a whole range of public and private services. Under the Modi government, the governance framework is playing catch-up even as use cases are sprinting far ahead into areas such as eKYC, digital payments and so on.

The governance gap has led to unscrupulous behaviour by service providers and enrolment agencies. It has also led to odd scenarios such as the email I received from my bank, requiring me to link my Aadhaar to my credit card account under money laundering prevention laws, and informing me that I will be doing this voluntarily under Aadhaar regulations.

This doesnt mean we should undo Aadhaar. Rather, it means we must close the gap between what Aadhaar can be used for and the rules governing how it is used. There are five high-level changes that have to be made in the governance of Aadhaar.

First, Aadhaar must not be mandatory for any purpose. Indeed, given the reports of how some very vulnerable people are being denied public services, prudence demands that Aadhaar must not be the sole requirement even to avail rations and pensions. Letting different modes of identification to coexist will allow the people of this diverse country to make the transition towards an all-digital system. Of course, where Aadhaar can genuinely speed things up, it is only fair that those who provide Aadhaar enjoy expedited services.

Second, Aadhaar should move away from being a single number to a one-time token based system. Apart from a limited number of government departments (police, tax and passports, for instance) no public or private entity should be allowed to ask for or retain Aadhaar numbers. Instead, all authentication should be done on the basis of one-time tokens. Instead of offering the personal Aadhaar number, the user will give a one-time token that is freshly generated for every new authentication. This will ensure that no two service providers  public or private  will have the same number on their records, making mass profiling extremely difficult. Yes, there will be technical challenges in getting the entire population to use one-time tokens, but these are not insurmountable and will get easier with time.

Third, users should be allowed to replace or cancel their Aadhaar numbers. Like in the case of a lost credit card, if my Aadhaar number has been leaked, I should be able to ask UIDAI to cancel it and give me a new one. The UIDAI itself can issue new Aadhaar numbers to people if it determines that the privacy of their numbers has been compromised.

Further, there might be some who no longer want an Aadhaar. Allowing people to cancel their Aadhaar, together with expunging of the accompanying biometric data, will be respectful of the individuals liberty.

Fourth, a strong data protection law must be enacted to prohibit the collection and storage of Aadhaar numbers, and impose penalties on irresponsible handling and leakage of private data. The prohibition and penalties must apply both to government and private entities, including to UIDAI itself, while allowing aggrieved citizens to register complaints with the police.

Finally, the regulatory architecture must be recast to reflect the vastly different use Aadhaar is being put to now. UIDAI cannot be the service provider, regulator, enforcement agency and adjudicator. Each of these roles must be structurally separated from the other.

We can reap the benefits of Aadhaar while addressing concerns over equity, liberty and privacy. A good, constitutional balance is possible. Of course it wont be easy. But that is what we should demand of our technocrats and policymakers.

Nitin Pai is director of the Takshashila Institution, a centre for research and education in public policy

The views expressed are personal
A city that truly has a culture consciousness expresses itself through vibrant public art. From the Sphinx of ancient Egypt and the erotic temple sculptures of Khajuraho, right up to the worlds longest piece of graffiti in Dubai, art has been the tangible evidence of evolving culture.

At some point in the early 1800s, in many countries, especially in those weighed down by colonialism, statues of dignitaries became the predominant form of public art. Art historians see during this period a massive decline in the level of understanding art. In the past few decades, there has been a corrective exercise, as world cities have focussed on making contemporary art universally accessible. One of the best-known examples is Cloud Gate, fondly nicknamed the Bean, installed at Chicagos Millennium Park. This massive piece of art, carved during 2004-2006 from a humongous blob of stainless steel by the renowned Indian-origin artist, Anish Kapoor, is a much-loved icon of the city, giving a sense of identity to the residents.

Surprise element

While the United States and Europe have had, for long, an established culture of thriving public art, it is astonishing how a region such as Western Australia, known mostly for the dry Outback, has made public art  and that, too, created by indigenous artists  an integral part of its urban development policy. With the countrys 60,000-year-old Aboriginal tradition, the art itself was never difficult to come by. The challenge was to make it seamlessly blend in with the economic and real estate growth of Western Australian cities, such as bustling Perth or the port town of Fremantle.

Indigenous Australian artist Troy Bennell explains his street art in the city of Bunbury. (Photo: Sonal Kalra/HT)

What Western Australia has done is, in a nutshell, a genuinely innovative plan: any new real estate development worth more than AUD$2 million has to set aside 1% of its budget for public art; and that art has to be created by an indigenous artist; and the artwork has to be installed in the vicinity of the new real estate. The delightful outcome highlights the spirit of this regions multi-cultural population.

Paradigm shift

Western Australia lives and breathes art, if I may put it briefly, says Alec Coles, CEO of the state-run Western Australian Museum. What changed the paradigm completely, he says, was the enforcement of the percentage for art scheme by the government. The scheme has been a game-changer, explains Adrian Fini, Business Leader and Chair for the Art Gallery of Western Australia. It means employment and encouragement for local artists and ensures highly enjoyable spaces for the public, adds Fini. He is behind the incredible makeover of Perths dilapidated 19th century Government Treasury Office into a building that houses the ultra-luxe Como hotel, with spectacular art fully accessible to public.

Yellow foil pasted on the buildings along this street in Fremantle create a sense of intrigue. (Photo: Sonal Kalra/HT)

The riddle is solved when one reaches the end of the street and looks back. The Arcs dEllipses is an example of optical illusion art by the Swiss artist Felice Varini. (Photo: Sonal Kalra/HT)

Even the much smaller town of Fremantle has made a name for itself on the art map of Oz. The entrance to the port city proudly displays Rainbow Sea Container, a brilliant installation by Marcus Canning made with nine customised shipping containers, an ode to the towns maritime association. At the Fremantle city centre, you can see neon-bright yellow stripes on several buildings, including the Town Hall  its only at the end of the street, when looking back, that you realise youve walked through an art work. The Arcs dEllipses is a masterpiece in optical illusion art by the Swiss artist Felice Varini. Looking back, you see a mind-blowing artwork against the 3D landscape, showing a high tide, for the inaugural Hide Tide Fremantle art biennale, says Brad Pettitt, the citys mayor.

There are no grim, dusty covers for electricity meters in West Australia. They are canvases for public art. (Photo: Sonal Kalra/HT)

Where is ours?

Back home, if India has a public art scene, were yet to figure out what that is. There are stray masterpieces, such as the giant pair of Yaksha-Yakshi, sculpted by Ram Kinkar Baij, guarding the doors of the Reserve Bank of India in New Delhi. And then, theres public art thats little better than a heap of concrete.

In India, I dont think that we have a defined public art policy. Displays of public art have never been part of the Indian cultural landscape, says National Award-winning Indian architect and designer Sunita Kohli. But, in the past few decades, several good attempts were made to commission public art works, as seen in the 1931 Dandi March sculpture, by Devi Prasad Roy Chowdhury, in New Delhi. Another veteran sculptor, Ram Sutar, has made several large sculptures of famous men and women. However, many of these are in the classical mould, as was popular in Western countries over the past few centuries.

In India, I dont think that we have a defined public art policy. Displays of public art have never been part of the Indian cultural landscape  Sunita Kohli, architect

Among the mould-breakers, Kohli mentions Latika Katt and her magnificent 19-foot bronze statue of Pandit Nehru releasing doves, symbolising peace. This is placed at the entrance of Jawahar Bhawan in New Delhi. Kohli adds that many veteran Indian sculptors have been greatly influenced by European and Russian art statuary, showing idealised heroic figures, and therefore, public art was, and still remains, in this part of the world, a means of propaganda and of showcasing might.

What India needs to emulate, she believes, is a public art programme that would beautify a city and also enhance the well-being of its ordinary citizens. Its uplifting! says Kohli. Are we listening?

Disclaimer: The author represented India in an international delegation to Western Australia by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Madhya Pradesh saw 5,300 rapes in 2017 up from 4,882 recorded in the previous year, registering an increase of nearly 8%, according to a new data by the State Crime Records Bureau.

The latest figures of the bureau, exclusively available to the Hindustan Times, also show that cases under Section 354 or molestation, have also gone up from 8,700 in 2016 to 9,500 in 2017, a rise of over 9%.

If other crimes are included such as those under the subsection of Section 354 like Section 354A (physical contact, asking sexual favours, pornography, sexually coloured remarks), 354B (using force with intent of disrobing a woman), 354C (Voyeurism), 354D (stalking), the number is as high as 13,000 cases, again up from 12,800 recorded last year.

The state governments initiatives to ensure the safety of women, who comprise around 48% of the states 7.5 crore population, have failed to effect a measurable drop in the number of reports of rape and other sex-related crimes. Madhya Pradesh has been among the top state in the country in terms of incidence of rape in the last four years.

The state government has set up a separate Womens Cell led by an additional director general of police rank official with units in all the 51 districts. Money has been pumped in and according to figures available in 2015-16, the cell received Rs 5.22 crore from the state government.

A Shakti squad for protection of women was introduced by police department last Wednesday and part from the newly-introduced group, the state also boasts of Nirbhaya and Maitri squads and claims to follow the Vishakha guidelines to stop sexual harassment at workplaces.

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan rushed through a bill in the Madhya Pradesh assembly under which rapists of girls 12 years or below would face the death penalty after a 19-year-old IAS aspirant was gangraped near Bhopals Habibganj railway station in October last year.

Womens Cells chief Aruna Mohan Rao said the state government and police are sensitive to the womens complaints and now all of them are being registered as Zero FIR, under which any police station can register the case irrespective of place of the incident or jurisdiction and the same can be later transferred to the appropriate police station.

She added that things will change only if the society changes.

A senior police official, who did not want to be named, said that an internal assessment of the rapes that have taken place showed that majority of the women were assaulted by relatives, friends or someone known to them.

It is very difficult to stop such incidents, the officer said.

State Womens Commission chairperson Lata Wankhede is confident that the rape bill introduced in the state will go a long way in curbing rape and molestation, especially those of minors. However, she also said that crimes against woman cannot be stopped without involvement of the entire society,

We are planning to hold interactions will all sections of the society in a bid to sensitise them towards respecting women, she said.
The Shree Rajput Karni Sena, which has strongly protested against the release of periodic drama Padmaavat, has decided to back the Sarv Brahmin Mahasabhas protest against the historical tampering of Queen Laxmi Bai, also called Jhansi Ki Rani, in the film Manikarnika starring Kangana Ranaut.

The film is based on the life of Jhansi Ki Rani and allegedly shows the relationship of the queen with a British officer. Shree Rajput Karni Sena founder Lokendra Singh Kalvi, asked if his outfit is lending support to the Brahmin Mahasabha in its fight against the film, said, Agar Brahmin ka khoon bahega to Rajput kya chup rahega, jab Rajput ka khoon baha to Brahmin kabhi chup nahi haha (Rajputs will never keep quiet if Brahmins are affected, and vice versa). He claimed that 10,000 letters were signed with blood by Brahmins to protest the release of Padmaavat.

On the issue of quashing of FIR against Sanjay Leela Bhansali, producer of Padmaavat, and against Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone, he said it had to happen as the apex court has already declared that the film should be released and linked it to the matter of freedom of expression. The High Court will definitely follow the Supreme Court. There is nothing new in it, he added.

Asked if there is any chance of the film being released in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat, Kalvi said the Supreme Court cannot dictate to cinema halls to release the film and depute paramilitary forces outside cinema halls. The four states had earlier decided against releasing the film, and three of them had approached the apex court.

What we know is that cinema hall owners are not ready to screen the film in any of these states, he said, adding that on February 9, new films are releasing and hence cinema hall owners will be more interested in those.

Film distributor Raj Bansal, who looks after the Rajasthan and Madhya Pradeh market, has refused to release the film in the two states. The Multiplex Association has also refused to release the film in Rajasthan, Kalvi said. We have asked the government to set up a pre-screening board to look into issues related to historical tampering of facts. We strongly propose forming a panel to look into the controversies emerging in films as Padmaavat and Manikarnika.

He said the proposal was liked by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and even Vice President Venkaiah Naidu when he was heading the Informatin and Broadcasting Ministry. This board should be constituted by the Censor Board, state government or Government of India and should sort out the disputes emerging at any time when any historical tampering is reported. In such times the expert panels role should come in, he added.

He said the Censor Board had invited three panellists to watch Padmaavat but their views were not paid heed to, and added that a pre-screening board will have a legal voice.
After trying and failing in many efforts to make the traffic situation normal on Dehradun roads, the traffic directorate of Uttarakhand has come up with an idea to shake up the peoples conscience to improve the traffic situation.

The directorate has decided to install boards on intersections with eye-catching messages, which will include couplets. The couplets will prompt the public to look at them and may provoke their thoughts for the better, said Kewal Khurana, the assistant inspector general of traffic police.

Khurana has himself penned the couplets on traffic problems such as not wearing helmet and seat belt. My couplets are already part of the social media, though it is not self promotion, he said. He does poetry with pen name Kewal.

The traffic situation is deteriorating in Uttarakhand by the day and the narrow roads, encroachment and non-compliance of traffic rules by the public are said to be the main factors behind the problem. The problem is worse in Dehradun, which has 8.5 lakh vehicles out of the total 23 registered vehicles in the entire state.

The traffic problems were so compounded in the city during the past month that deputy inspector general of police, Garhwal range, Pushpak Jyoti had to himself visit many intersections to take stock of the situation. Following his visits, openings of many dividers were closed for smooth traffic flow. The traffic department also reached out to the school students and formed junior traffic force to help in traffic management. The students were told to apprise their parents and neighbours about the traffic rules. The students also made the violators aware about the traffic rules after they were fined by the police.

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There seems to be no relief in sight for residents facing water shortage in different parts of Delhi. The three water treatment plants at Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Haidarpur have not been running at full capacity since January 30 due to high levels of ammonia in the Yamuna and Delhi Jal Board says it will be at least a week before the problem can be fixed.

Water supply has been affected in all parts of the city except in east Delhi where water is sourced from the Upper Ganga Canal. The crisis started from January 30 when due to continuous pollution in the Yamuna and reduced supply of raw water from Haryana the production of potable water at treatment plants of Delhi got hit. It will take another week for water treatment to start in full capacity again in the three water treatment plants, said a DJB official who did not want to be named.

He further said that the level of ammonia in the river water has shot up to 2.23 parts per million (ppm) when the safe limit is 0.2 ppm. The DJB is equipped to treat up to 0.9 ppm of ammonia level in water. The supply of raw water at the three treatment plants has been curtailed and these are running at 70%-80% capacity at present. As a result, the production of potable water has declined and the supply is reaching the households at low pressure.

Ashok Bhasin, president of North Delhi Residents Welfare Federation, said water supply has been erratic for the past few days. Water comes every other day in some areas. In certain households, there is no water for a whole day. Rationing of water becomes difficult in such a situation. Quality, too, is poor in some areas, Bhasin said.

Soma Roy, a resident of A Block in South Delhis Chittaranjan Park, however, said the timing of the crisis has somehow cushioned the blow. Thank god this is not peak summer when the demand of water is at its highest. In this weather, supply in low pressure doesnt have that much of an impact, she said.

DJB blames the Haryana government for not releasing enough water needed to maintain the ecological flow of the river and keep pollution levels, which has become a perennial problem, in check. Ecological flow  which is described as the minimum amount of water that should flow throughout the river at all times to sustain underwater and estuarine ecosystems and human livelihoods  must be maintained at 10 cumecs (cubic meter per second) at all times.

The DJB distributes 900MGD of water in Delhi. Out of this, 543 MGD (almost 60 per cent) comes from Haryana and around 240 MGD from Uttar Pradesh through Upper Ganga Canal.

At the its 136th board meeting chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal last month, two vital decisions were taken to help do away with the constant problem of ammonia getting mixed with raw water and thereby affecting water supply.

An additional 2,400mm line for raw water mains from Delhi sub-branch near Haiderpur water treatment plant will be laid in order to reduce dependency on the Yamuna for raw water. Till the 2,400 mm line is laid, a wall is being constructed between drain no. 6 and 8 at Piao Maniyari in Sonepat to segregate industrial waste and raw water that flows through the canal to Delhi. The wall will stop ammonia getting mixed with raw water, a DJB official said.

To get a DJB water tanker, call on:

1916, 23527679, 23513073, 1800117118 (central control room)

29234746, 29234747 (Greater Kailash)

26193218 (RK Puram)

25281197 (Paschim Vihar)

28521123 (Janakpuri D-Block)

25193140, 25174140 (Shivaji Enclave)

27308015 (Ashok Vihar)

25223658 (Punjabi Bagh)

27681578, 27677877 (Kewal Park)

65290868 (Dwarka)

26137216 (Vasant Kunj)

23537397, 23677129 (Idgah Water Emergency)
The men who kidnapped five-year-old Vihaan Gupta had allegedly made three failed attempts to kidnap him in the week preceding the day he was finally abducted on January 25, police said.

On one occasion, an alert flower seller outside a nearby temple had dialled the police on noticing that the kidnappers motorcycle registration number plate was defaced and twisted, said Ram Gopal Naik, DCP (crime branch).

On another occasion, they failed to intercept the boy on time. The third time, a large crowd near the spot where they planned to intercept Vihaans school bus forced them to drop the plan, police said.

On December 25, they would have missed the school bus if not for a tyre puncture. The kidnapping spot was the last stop for the school bus. The child who would be picked up from there would generally be delayed, so the kidnappers chose that spot. On the day of the successful kidnapping, that parents motorcycle got punctured, so the kidnappers found ample time to commit the crime, said Naik.

The officer said that the three kidnappers, allegedly headed by Nitin Kumar Sharma, a dhaba owner, were used to a lifestyle that was beyond their means.

Sharma was married, but had multiple girlfriends. He needed money to continue his relations with them as well as support his lifestyle. Since his dhaba was not doing well, he also thought of investing some of the ransom money in another business, said the DCP.

His accomplice, Pankaj, had earlier worked as a waiter at wedding parties. Ravi, who was to appear for his Class 12 UP Board exams on Tuesday, was currently unemployed. They were all residents of the same neighbourhood in Gokalpuri and had needs beyond their means, so they joined hands for the kidnapping, said the officer.

A few days before the actual kidnapping, Sharma had allegedly visited the plastic goods shop owned by Vihaans father, Sunny Gupta. It was there that he heard of a Rs 57 lakh deal that Gupta had recently made. The business deal was common knowledge in the neighbourhood. Sharma immediately decided to plan a kidnapping for ransom, said RP Upadhyay, special commissioner, (crime branch).

During the 12 days that Vihaan was abducted, the trio would visit their own homes intermittently. Police said their families did not question them about their errant lifestyle or staying out in the nights.
In view of recent incidents of murder, rape and physical violence in school campuses, the Delhi government is introducing daily happiness classes for students of Classes nursery to 8.

The move is aimed at making them self-aware and content.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Thursday said the directorate of education and state council of education research training (SCERT) is working on an activity-based happiness curriculum that will be started in April this year.

The purpose of education is not just to get high marks. The education system needs to create happier, confident and self-aware citizens. These self-aware citizens will create a better society, he said.

Sisodia was speaking at this years Excellence in Education awards to facilitate schools and students for their performance.

The move comes in the backdrop of horrific instances reported in schools, including murder of student in a private school in Gurgaon and alleged rape of a four-year-old by her classmate in Delhi.

All of these instances make us realise that it is not enough to improve students exam performance, there is a need to for a more fundamental re-look at the purpose of education. Many of the perversions we see in society are due to our education system not being able to answer questions of human happiness and fulfilment, Sisodia said in a note.

Mythili Bector, officer on special duty working on the project, said the curriculum making is still in a nascent stage but the idea is to create activities that will put teachers and students in particular situations which help students learn.

There will be no textbooks but activities for teachers and students that they will do every day. Teachers will create a situation where they can talk about feelings of students on issues such as peer pressure, exam pressure, expectation from family and bullying, she said.

Officials said the SCERT is developing a set of learning outcomes for a happiness curriculum. The DOE also plans to give national and international exposure to train the teachers, who will teach the curriculum.

Madhu Sen, senior education advisor of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar, said it was an interesting concept but implementation will be the key to any result. It should involve experts talking to students about issues concerning their life, she said.

Geetanjali Kumar, a psychologist, said, It is a good idea to focus on mental health of students but at the same time we need to look at the happiness of teachers who will be imparting these lessons to students.
The Delhi government will open five depots by the end of this year to accommodate 895 new buses in a bid to increase its bus fleet in the national Capital .

The project, estimated to cost R134 crore, was approved by the governments expenditure finance committee (EFC) on Wednesday in a meeting chaired by deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia. These depots will come up in Ghumanhera, Burari, Bawana, Mundela Kalan and East Vinod Nagar with a total land area of about 35 acres.

The move comes at a time when the Delhi government has to meet the target of augmenting its bus fleet to 10,000 by December this year. This target was notified under the comprehensive action plan to curb pollution in national capital region (NCR) by the Centre in January last month.

Currently, the city has only 5,391 buses and the Delhi government in various court cases has often cited lack of land for parking new buses as the reason for not procuring them. However, the government has now expedited the process of bringing 2,000 new buses and they are likely to be rolled out by October.

After Wednesdays decision, the Delhi government will be ready with space to park the 2,000 new buses that will be coming by the end of this year. Today, space for 895 new buses has been finalised. Parking for the remaining 105 is still being discussed, a government official said.

A transport official said that once these depots are ready, the government will be left with land requirement to park only 1,100 buses as some unused land is also available with the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC). If the government gets Millennium Depot then this need too would be fulfilled and we would have space to park all 10,000 buses. Procurement of the remaining 2,609 buses can then be initiated, the official said.

Depot space for 1,000 of the 2,000 buses was identified in January. Of these, 100 will be added to Rewla Khanpur depot, 250 to Dwarka Sector 22 depot, 120 to Kharkhari Nahar, 90 to Bawana Sector 1 depot, 160 to Rani Khera-I and 140 each to Rani Khera-II and Rani Khera-III.

The government is also planning to buy 200 electric buses with the money it collected as environment compensation charge from commercial vehicles and also with assistance from the Centres FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in India) scheme. Under the scheme, aimed to promote large-scale adoption of EVs (electric vehicles) in multi-modal public transport, the Centre is selecting cities having one million plus population and is offering it R105 crore as grant.

The electric buses will be parked at the depots in East Vinod Nagar and Bawana which will be upgraded with charging facilities.
On the day he was killed in a police encounter, Ravi Lal, 24, was to appear for his Class 10 exam from open school. Ravi, who was one of the three alleged kidnappers of five-year-old Vihaan Gupta, was killed in an exchange of fire after the police swooped down on their Ghaziabad hideout.

The news of the incident, left Ravis family puzzled as they described him as someone who had modest aspirations and did not run after money. He was average in studies and had a stop-start academics mostly because I insisted that he should not give up studies altogether. On my insistence, he got enrolled in open learning from UP board and his first paper was scheduled on Tuesday for which he had to travel to Rae Bareli, where the centre was, said Ravis father Shyam Lal, who works as a waiter with a private caterer.

Shyam Lal said that Ravi had left home on Sunday after which his phone was switched off. Shyam Lal was under the impression that he had gone to Rae Bareli. However, late in the night when he was catering at a Karkardooma farmhouse, Lal received a call from the police saying his son had met an accident and had to be rushed to GTB hospital.

When I reached there, I got to know what had happened. I am surprised because I never got a whiff of it. Every day since the kidnapping was reported, my son used to come home and there was nothing unusual about his behaviour. I also find it hard to believe because he never spoke about making a lot of money and led a simple life. He did not have a bike and till recently, he did not even have a smartphone, something most youngsters his age have, said Lal while waiting at the GTB hospital mortuary.

Lal said Ravi would join him as a waiter whenever there was a function or sell fruits and the money the father son-duo made was enough to meet the familys needs. He has another son and wife Sudama Devi.

Lal said he knew the two co-accused, but it was Pankaj who visited more frequently while Nitin Sharma was a casual acquaintance. At the hospital, Lal was accompanied by his wife Sudama Devi and nephew Lakhsman Pal.

Meanwhile, Nitin Sharmas house in Gokalpuri was found locked on Tuesday. His neighbours said that he had differences with his wife and his elder brother Naveen, with whom he ran an eatery nearby.

The eatery Sharma Vaishno Dhaba was open on Tuesday but Naveen was not around. Their uncle Ramavtar Sharma who runs another eatery from an adjoining shop said he was surprised to know about his nephews involvement in the kidnapping.
The three men who kidnapped five-year-old Vihaan Gupta from near GTB Hospital on January 25, knew that his father had received Rs 57 lakh cash in a business deal, police said. They had initially planned to steal the money from Guptas house but changed their mind as they found the idea of kidnapping for ransom more doable, the police said.

In a meticulous operation, the Delhi Police rescued Vihaan from a Sahibabad housing society on Tuesday. One kidnapper was shot dead, another injured and a third was arrested by the police when a team stormed the flat where the child was being kept hostage.

The kidnappers were not sure if the boys father had kept the cash at home or not. Since it was a big amount, they thought that the boys father wouldnt part with it so easily and the robbery could turn violent. They found the idea risky as violence could have jeopardised an easy escape, said an investigator associated with the case.

Police said no money changed hands even though the kidnappers were to collect Rs 30 lakh from Vihaans father, Sunny Gupta, later on Tuesday.

Investigations have said that the alleged mastermind, Nitin Kumar Sharma, was a customer of Gupta who sold plastic goods in wholesale. Sharma ran a dhaba. He would buy disposable plates and tumblers from Gupta and frequently visited his neighbourhood (in New Modern Shahdara). It was during one of those visits that he heard about the business deal, said Ram Gopal Naik, DCP (crime branch).

Though police continue to probe the role of insiders in the crime, so far they have not found any evidence to suggest such an eventuality, said the DCP. The business deal was common knowledge in the neighbourhood. Local residents talked of it openly. Sharma claims he overheard it during one of his visits to the neighbourhood, said an investigator.

Gupta said he had no reasons to suspect any employee, immediate business associates or family members. During the ransom calls, the kidnappers did not sound like they knew about my day-to-day activities. But I will leave it to the police to decide who all were involved, said Gupta.

Coincidentally, when the police launched a hot chase of Sharma around 10 pm on Monday, three hours before the fatal encounter-cum-rescue, they also visited Guptas neighbourhood. Sharma was accompanied by two women in his Swift Dzire car. He dropped them in Guptas neighbourhood before driving away. We believe they were his girlfriends, said an investigator.

The flat in Sahibabads Shalimar City where Vihaan was confined was frequently visited by women, neighbours had recounted. The most frequent of them was a woman in her 20s and seen in bangles worn by newly-weds. Neighbours said she would usually keep her face masked.

The police are questioning this woman to ascertain if she had any role in the crime. Though building residents had claimed that she would visit even during the 12-day kidnapping period, Sharma has denied it during interrogation. The DCP had earlier said that Sharma, a married man, had extramarital affairs with many women and would bring them to the flat where he later confined Vihaan.
NEW DELHI

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) is considering funding a project by a government research institute, proposing an early warning system for indoor air pollution in public places such as metro stations, shopping malls and multiplexes in the National Capital Region.

We have received around 39 proposals from various research institutions such as IIT, NEERI, TERI, NPL and CSIO, many of which are R&D projects aimed at controlling air pollution in Delhi-NCR. We have already sanctioned eight of them and the rest is being evaluated, said A Sudhakar, member secretary of the CPCB, Indias apex pollution controlling body.

The early warning system will try to forecast how the indoor air quality at public places could deteriorate within a few hours and even advise people to vacate the place to bring down levels of pollution.

We have proposed to set up a kind of early warning system inside public places that could not just measure pollution but even forecast how air quality could deteriorate over the next few hours. It is being assessed by the CPCB and we are yet to get the final nod, said Srinivas Kota, a scientist from Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO) in Chennai, a national laboratory under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research.

The CSIO team will take up four types of buildings that are prone to air pollution such as the metro, a multiplex, a commercial building like an office and a residential complex and then try to build a base line data of the pollutants and air quality.

Once that is done, we would try to find a correlation between outdoor pollution levels and indoor pollution levels. This would tell us how indoor quality changes when outdoor pollution increases. Whether pollution level falls when outdoor air quality improves or whether the pollutants get trapped, Kota said.

The third stage is to set up some kind of sensors to detect pollution levels. The data would go to a central data bank and monitoring room. Models could be used to forecast the pollution levels over the next few hours, he added.

The Supreme Court had in August 2016 imposed a 1% cess on the ex-showroom price of diesel vehicles with an engine capacity above 2000 cc. The CPCB had been collecting this cess over the past 17 months and the corpus has now crossed Rs 73 crore. It is being used to fund these projects.

Scientists said that an advisory system could be set up based on the forecasting system, asking people to vacate the building when pollution levels rise and put a cap on the entry of more people.

Indoor air pollution could spike because of poor ventilation. Earlier studies have found that pollutants like CO2 and volatile organic compounds are always higher indoor than outdoor. Outdoor pollutants such as particulate matter and NO2 could also rise when outdoor pollution peaks. The particles may get trapped because of poor ventilation, said Mukesh Khare, a professor of environmental engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

Scientists said that measuring the level of CO2 could be a good way of detecting other pollutants as CO2 is often termed as a surrogate index, meaning that rising levels of CO2 could mean other pollutants are also shooting up. According to international standards, if levels of CO2 breaches 1000 ppm then it is considered foul.

According to the standards set up by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-conditioning Engineers, if the level of CO2 crosses 2000 ppm then non-clinical symptoms like nausea, headache and breathlessness start showing. The building is considered as sick if the CO2 levels are so high, said Radha Goyal, deputy director of Indian Pollution Control Association, a Delhi based NGO.
The Delhi Police are looking for a white Eeco van with Alisha and Gujar written on it in connection with the murder of 44-year-old property dealer Vinod Mehra, who was killed allegedly by four men early Tuesday morning in case of road rage.

Investigators said the suspects were travelling in the van. Their identities, however, could not be established even 40 hours after the crime that took place around 2.30 am on Bhalswa Dairy flyover. Police will approach the transport department to provide them a list of white Eeco vans registered in the city.

Investigators said the van was captured in three CCTV cameras installed at different locations between Alipur and Burari traffic signal on GT Karnal road. They have also got the last four digits of the vans registration number, but are not sure whether the number plate was genuine or fake. All these clues were shared with the police by Mehras nephew Kunal, the sole eyewitness of the crime.

Mehra, a Congress worker, and Kunal were returning to their Geeta Colony home in their Wagon R car after attending a wedding in Alipur. On the way, a white Eeco van grazed past their car. Mehra rolled down his cars window and asked the driver to be careful and drove on.

Four occupants of the van, however, chased Mehras car for more than two kilometers on GT Karnal Road and intercepted it on Bhalswa Dairy flyway. Two men stepped out and forced Mehra to come out. An argument broke out between them. A third man came out of the van and shot Mehra in the chest from a close range. He was declared brought dead at Sant Parmanand Hospital.

Though the circumstantial facts suggested that Mehra was killed in a road rage case, the police have not ruled out other motives, including personal enmity, family dispute or business rivalry.

Investigators suspect that the altercation between Mehra and the suspects may have started earlier at a wedding from which Mehra was returning.

One of the teams was sent to analyse CCTV cameras of the banquet hall where Mehra and Kunal had attended the wedding. We want to know if the suspects were there or not, said a police officer involved in the probe.

The officer said that as per their information the four men were drinking in their van. They suspect that the men were coming from any wedding or party venue. The police have planned to visit all such wedding and party venues in Alipur and in nearby areas where such functions were organised on Monday night.

Aslam Khan, deputy commissioner of police (northwest), said 10 teams comprising 85 police personnel were formed to probe the case.

On Wednesday, Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken, former Congress MLA AK Walia and other party workers met Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik at the police headquarters and sought justice for Mehra. The party leaders demanded police protection for Kunal and not to call him to the police station as he was the only eyewitness in the murder case. Mehras father Mangat Ram, his brother Pramod, and Kunal were also present in the meeting.
As part of its upcoming Green Budget, the Delhi government will spruce up 500 kilometres of roads with greenery in a bid to curb dust pollution in the Capital.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has been given the task of beautifying and landscaping all roads with a width of over 100 feet . The chief minister has set target of one year to complete the landscaping of all such roads. It will be done on the lines of the approach road to terminal T3 of Delhi airport, a government official said.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday convened a high-level meeting where experts and PWD officials made presentations. PWD minister Satyendar Jain was present.

According to officials, grass and plants will be grown on the space on the divider and near pavements.

Plants such as Foxtail Palm, Washington Palm, Tabeuia Argentea, Casuarina Shrub, Chorisia Speciosa, Raphis Excesia, Ficus Panda will be used in the landscaping drive.

As a case study, a plan to redevelop Deen Dayal Upadhyay Road was shown in the presentation. The experts showed how the space on both sides of the road and the divider can be beautified with a variety of plants and grass.

This will help control dust particulate matter. The grass and the plants will not leave dry and open space for dust to fly. The project includes hardscaping (stone work on footpaths), softscaping (horticulture work), designing, pedestrian lighting and surface touching, the official said.

A private agency will execute the project and tenders will be floated soon. Design, execution and maintenance of greenery on these roads will be done under the contract by the agency. Maintenance for two to five years of the roads landscaped will be under the contract, the official said.
Delhi University was embroiled in multiple protests on Wednesday, over the alleged sexual harassment cases that have surfaced over the last week in two different DU institutions Daulat Ram College (DRC) and Bharati College.

In both cases, the major problem is the non-functioning Internal Complaints Committee, protestors said.

On Tuesday, a Bharati College student wrote to the university officials alleging that a teacher had sent her lewd messages and made phone calls at inappropriate times trying to hold vulgar conversations last year.

She also submitted a CD with a video of her confronting the teacher in April last year, wherein she is seen slapping him and the teacher is seen apologising.

In DRC, a student had filed a police complaint against a teacher for stalking and sexual harassment on January 31.

The teacher is now in judicial custody.

On Wednesday, around 50 people led by members of the Pinjra Tod movement, submitted a memorandum at the proctors office seeking action in the wake of the DRC incident. They alleged that most DU colleges, except Miranda, Hindu and Ramjas, do not have a functional ICC.

However, Savita Roy, the principal of DRC, said that they had a functional ICC as per the UGC regulations. We had elected student representatives in the previous committee. I am unsure if this years committee does, she said.

The students of Bharati College, led by Congress student organisation National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the vice-president of DU Students Union (DUSU), Kunal Sehrawat, demanded the termination of the accused teacher earlier in the day. The protestors said the college had an ICC with teachers but they were yet to elect student representatives, a claim corroborated by the colleges principal.

Bharati Colleges officiating principal, said their committee was looking into the issue, and had already spoken to the student. The teacher is maintaining that there is some conspiracy, but we have 90 days, and we will inquire it in full. The teacher has been asked to go on extraordinary leave as of Monday, said Mukti Sanyal.
A group of traders associations affiliated with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have written Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the problems arising due to the ongoing sealing drive and the proposed amendments in the Delhi Master Plan by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

The letter with a 13-point charter of demands has been sent to the prime minister by the Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI), which claims to be an umbrella body of 750 traders organisations in the Capital. They have sought an appointment to discuss the issue, particularly the confusing amendments proposed in the master plan .

Over seven lakh traders have been affected by the sealing drive. The DDAs solution of amending the master plan doesnt seem a relief as well. We have sought a meeting with the prime minister so that the issue is taken up as soon as possible, said Brijesh Goel, convener of AAPs trade wing and CTI.

The three municipal corporations of Delhi are sealing shops and restaurants across markets for either not misusing residential premises for commercial purposes or for unauthorised constructions, under the supervision of the Supreme Court-monitored committee.

After resentment among traders and opposition from AAP, the DDA approved proposals to provide uniform floor area ratio (FAR) for shop-cum-residential complexes, reduce penalties on conversion charges and regularise godowns by amending the Delhi Master Plan 2021 that will be notified after scrutiny of objections till February 7.

The late fees penalty and interest on conversion and parking charges should be withdrawn, the traders said in the letter  one of their 13 demands.

One demand is about not having conversion charges for using residential premises for commercial purposes in special areas of the Walled City.

FAR should be 400 and the condition of facility with uniform FAR should not be withdrawn, the letter said. They suggested that a committee of officers from DDA, MCD, L-G office, Union ministry of housing and urban affairs ministry and traders representatives should be constituted to resolve the sealing issue.

Please give us valuable time to discuss the issue, said the letter.

Another group of traders under the banner of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) wrote to lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal on Monday, seeking an appointment to discuss the alleged shortcomings in DDAs amendment proposals.
Boys will be boys and will commit mistakes (reference to the Delhi gang rape), an old wife loses her charm, mobile phones and jeans used by women are against Indian culture  just a small selection of remarks from prominent politicians which echo the sentiments often expressed by the infamous khap panchayats across north India.

These self-styled kangaroo courts will now have to watch their words since the Supreme Court has castigated them saying: If people decide to marry, they are adults and you are nobody to interfere. While the courts sentiments are laudable, it will take much more to get the khaps to fall in line, secure as they are in the political patronage they enjoy. There are two reasons for this support. One is that many politicians, even some women leaders, are opposed to inter-caste and inter-religious marriages very much as the khaps are. The other is that the khaps control sizeable vote banks and can be called upon to gather support during elections. The apex court has earlier too spoken out strongly against these khaps, which seem to hold the power of life and death for those who come up against them. Many young couples have been hounded out of their homes and some murdered, all in the name of the honour of the family.

These murders, horrific as they are, enjoy a considerable amount of social sanction in the villages where they took place and even the families of the victims have often come out in support of the killings. The courts ire apart, the killings continue because of the ease with which the killers are able to get away with it or get off lightly.

Often, this is because the witnesses are reluctant to come forward and there is political pressure on the police to go slow or botch up the cases. Even those politicians who do not want to come out in support of khaps have restricted themselves to saying that they are part of traditions and culture. But it is the job of any elected lawmaker to ensure that tradition does not translate into the murder of young people who have committed no crime other than to exercise their freedom of choice of a partner or a way of life.

The Supreme Courts latest directive was in response to a plea before it to ban khaps altogether. There is little possibility that they will transform into reformation movements in the near future. So odious as bans are, there is some merit in the suggestion that they be neutralised before they do further damage.
The union budget 2018 has big-ticket plans for higher education. It has earmarked Rs 85,000 crore. There are plans for 24 new medical colleges and hospitals, 18 schools of planning and architecture (SPA) and research fellowships. It has also introduced the Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education scheme to grant loans to higher education institutions.

Is it enough to jumpstart Indias sometimes outdated and often sluggish systems of learning?

The government has taken several steps in the right direction with this budget, says Dhiraj Mathur, head of education services at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a professional services firm. Especially with setting up the Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) and the move to launch schools of planning and architecture. India has a lot of engineers and engineering colleges, but not enough planners and architects.

Karthick Sridhar, vice chairman of the Chennai-based Indian Centre for Academic Rankings & Excellence, says the move to nurture more planners is timely. With targets such as smart cities, we need a breed of young thinkers who focus on smart urban planning and create cities suited to India, he says.

Many have noted that the budget has touched upon new challenges, like teacher training, and new medical schools, says Sanjay Padode. He is the secretary of the central developmental education society at The Institute of Finance and International Management business school in Bengaluru. This aims to benefit the education and the health sectors in the long run, he adds. Research fellowship within the country may also help keep Indias brain drain in check.

The setting up of a Higher Education Funding Agency (HEFA) has been welcomed across the board. It will be used to provide loans to centrally funded institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and National Institutes of Technology (NITs), for infrastructural and other development. HEFA will make funds available more easily, because these will now be provided as loans, repayable by the institute, says Bhaskar Ramamurthy, dean of IIT Madras. This will make institutes accountable for the loans they take, and bring discipline to the system. IIT Madras has been planning an expansion of the academic centre and hostels since 2010. Now we dont have to wait for grants the University Grants Commission. he says.

Scratching the surface?

Some worry that not enough is being done. HEFA, for instance, will only grant loans to institutions that are already in the top tier of Indias educational framework. The problem is that in India, there are several levels of institutions, such as universities, deemed-to-be universities and central universities, says Sanjay Padode, secretary of the central developmental education society at The Institute of Finance and International Management (IFIM) business school in Bengaluru. They should be unified, so as to involve educational institutes at all levels to benefit from the union budget. While HEFA will bring discipline, it will not grant the much-need autonomy to these institutions, as the centre is still indirectly involved and it may even end up waiving the loans off.

Dheeraj Sharma, director of IIM-Rohtak, also worries that the Prime Ministers Research Fellow scheme isnt doing enough. A thousand scholarships are too few to make an impact, he says. Joyanto Mukherjee, founder of education audit firm Tutored and Trained points out that a single college will have more students than that. The scholarships should be directed at post-doctoral level, rather than to B.Tech students, so more meaningful research can be conducted, he recommends.

Many educators advocate the need for more medical colleges. There is definitely a need for more doctors in the country, says Dr Vinayak Sabnis, dean of KJ Somaiya medical college. But while setting up the new colleges, we also need enough qualified teachers and rural-friendly locations. Mukherjee also believes that the teaching profession should come with tax benefits, to encourage more Indian to take it up.

Another problem that remains unaddressed is the varying fee structure for medical degrees across India. For the same course, the fees differ vastly for state, deemed and private universities, says Dr Anjali Narayan, currently in her final year in the master of physiotherapy programme at Dr DY Patil medical college.

A lot of the budget announcements havent come with explanations on how the promises will be met. Mukherjee points to the finance ministers Blackboard to Smartboard plan, which pushes digitisation of education. How will it be done? Where will the money come from? he asks. The Revitalising Infrastructure and Systems in Education scheme also puts 2022 as a target. Possible electoral changes may affect it negatively.

You dont have to be an expert to realise that Indias pressing needs include more universities and better quality education. The USA has around 3000 universities for 300 million people. India has only about 800 universities for a population of more than a billion, says Sharma. At the end of the day, the budget can only allocate money. Bodies such as the UGC and AICTE need a wider role to ensure better implementation of funds. Alternatively, a committee could be set-up to play this coordinating role between the centre and the organisations.
Although no Indian institution figured among the top 25 universities in Asia, the country managed to increase its representation in the list of 350 Asian varsities released by Times Higher Education (THE) on Tuesday.

India claimed 42 places, up from 33 last year, with 12 new entrants.

The top-most Indian centre of higher learning was the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, at the 29th place. Two newcomers from the country  the Indian School of Mines at the 141st position and the Banaras Hindu University at a joint 194th  made it to the top 200.

However, both IISc and the Indian Institute to Technology-Bombay dropped two places each to the 29th and 44th position respectively as compared to last year. This was largely attributed to a slump in their citation impact scores.

The Indian Institute of Technology-Madras saw the biggest decline in the top 200  dropping 41 places to 103rd  due to the same reason, said THE. Despite this, Indian universities achieved a higher average score this year with an overall improvement in citation performance. It also picked up points in other areas such as research productivity, even though it lagged behind on research environment. Its only area of decline was teaching reputation.

The main trend of this years Asia University Rankings was the continued rise of China, which now claims almost one in five places in rankings. Many of its institutions have made strong gains, especially Tsinghua University, which is now the countrys top-ranking institution for the first time in the tables six-year history.

The National University of Singapore holds on to the overall number one spot after improving its scores in almost all areas. While India, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey have all increased their representation, many of their universities have fallen in the list.

It is a fantastic achievement that India now has 42 universities in the Asia rankings. The country has improved on 12 of the 13 metrics underlying the rankings, said Phil Baty, editorial director of global rankings at THE. While it has not experienced the same rapid improvement as East Asian nations such as China, and while some of its institutions faced decline, Indias overall rise proves that it can make advances year on year.

Baty said though the South Asian region has increased its representation in the 2018 THE Asia University Rankings, it is struggling to maintain its standing in the face of competition from East and Southeast Asia.

India remains South Asias leading higher education country, with 42 representatives. Pakistans performance was mixed. The country has 10 representatives (up from seven last year), but while two of its leading universities have made gains, others have fallen.
The Union cabinet on Wednesday approved the Prime Ministers Research Fellows (PMRF) scheme with a cost of Rs 1650 crore for a period of seven years starting from 2018-19.

The best students who have completed or are in the final year of B.Tech or integrated M.Tec from IISC/IITs/NITs/IISERs/IIITs will be offered direct admission in PhD programmes in IITs and IISC, said a government statement.

Each fellow will get a fellowship of Rs 70000 per month for the first two years, Rs 75000 per month for the third year and Rs 80000 per month for the fourth and fifth years. They will also get a research grant of Rs 2 lakh for five years to cover foreign travel expenses for presenting research papers in international conferences and seminars. A total of 3000 fellows will be selected in a three year period.

The scheme was announced in the Union budget recently. The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry will start accepting proposals for this.

Under the scheme fellows will have to teach at industrial training institutes (ITIs) once a week.

In essence, it is a good move. But if they want promote knowledge transfer it would be better if they teach at engineering colleges or science colleges depending on the background of the students. Teaching in a difficult set up for which you are not used to, would require greater training for these fellows who would be selected, said Dheeraj Sanghi, a professor of computer science at IIT Kanpur.

This is yet another move by the government to improve the quality in ITIs across the country. In the past they had roped in some companies under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode to upgrade the ITIs and improve the quality. They were earlier under the labour ministry and since April 2015 been transferred to the skills ministry.

India has around 14,000 ITIs across the country.
Suffering from increased blood pressure and high blood sugar? One year of yoga training may help, a new study suggests.

According to the researchers from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, one year of yoga training decreased pro-inflammatory adipokines  signalling proteins released by fat tissue  and increased an anti-inflammatory adipokine in adults with metabolic syndrome and high-normal blood pressure.

The findings support the beneficial role of yoga in managing metabolic syndrome by favourably modulating adipokines, the researchers mentioned.

Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions  increased blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist and abnormal cholesterol  that occur together, increasing your risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

One year of yoga training may help manage high blood pressure and high blood sugar. (Getty Images)

These findings help to reveal the response of adipokines to long-term yoga exercise, which underpins the importance of regular exercise to human health, said senior author Parco Siu from the University of Hong Kong.

For the study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, researchers investigated the effect of yoga on people suffering from metabolic syndrome with high-normal blood pressure by exploring modulations in pro-inflammatory adipokines (leptin, chemerin, visfatin and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 or PAI-1) and an anti-inflammatory adipokine (adiponectin).

Participants in the yoga group underwent a yoga training programme with three one-hour yoga sessions weekly for a year.

The participants serum were harvested and assessed for adipokines. Generalised estimating equation (GEE) was used to examine the interaction effect between one-year time (pre vs post) and intervention (control vs yoga).

GEE analyses revealed significant interaction effects between one-year time and yoga intervention for the decreases in leptin and chemerin and the increase in adiponectin concentration in the serum examined.

Yoga exercise might serve as an effective lifestyle intervention to reduce chronic inflammation and manage aspects of metabolic syndrome, the researchers noted.

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At a time when the Union ministry of urban development (MoUD) officials are set to take peoples feedback on cleanliness in Gurgaon for the Swachh Survekshan (cleanliness survey), the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) launched a new toll-free number18001025952for residents to register complaints about garbage piles in their localities and have it cleaned within 24 hours.

The municipal corporation and Ecogreen, the concessionaire for the Bandhwari waste management plant that is also managing the door-to-door waste collection service, launched a call centre for the purpose on Tuesday.

The toll-free number has been introduced to ensure all complaints pertaining to open dumping of waste are addressed within 24 hours. After the complaint is resolved, an MCG official will also verify with the complainant whether his or her complaint was resolved, MCG additional commissioner Dr Narhari Banger said.

Banger added that green bins for wet waste, and blue bins for dry waste, have been introduced at several places across the city to promote segregation of waste at source.

MCG officials said these bins have been placed at the city railway station, the bus stand, and in sectors 4, 12, 14, 15 and 17.

Incidentally, on Tuesday, the MCG also appealed to the residents to use the Swachh Map mobile app, which allows residents to upload photos of waste piles, and get them removed by the sanitation department within 48 hours. The app uses details of latitude and longitude filled by residents to locate the waste pile in question.

In a release on December 8 last year, the district administration stated that 2,350 people had downloaded the app and 987 complaints had been addressed.

However, many residents have complained about the software of the Swachh Map app malfunctioning.

The MCG additional commissioner confirmed that the door-to-door waste collection service has now been officially introduced in 24 of the 35 wards in city.

The timing of the MCG introducing a new toll-free number for removing garbage piles and appealing the residents to access the Swachh Map app could be indicative of the civic bodys attempt to change the residents perception about cleanliness in Gurgaon.

Public feedback accounts for 35%, i.e., 1,400 points out of 4,000 points in the Swachh Surveksha. The city fared poorly in the previous editions of the all-India cleanliness survey, and the MCG has been working towards improving its ranking.

Last week, the MCG had tied up with renowned cartoonist Shekhar Gurera to promote clean habits and importance of civic sanitation through illustrations on issues such as waste segregation, open defecation, plastic-free city and need to keep our surroundings clean. The MCG had put up these illustrations across the city in the run up to the first leg of the cleanliness survey in Gurgaon that ended on Sunday.
A day after expressing regret for his part in Uma Thurmans accident on the set of Kill Bill, a 2003 interview in which director Quentin Tarantino is heard defending Roman Polanski, who plead guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor, resurfaced online. First arrested in 1977, Polanski fled from the United States to Paris and has since been living in Switzerland. The resurfaced audio - recorded during an episode of the Howard Stern Show - comes to light soon after Tarantino announced that Polanski would be playing a part in his new film, based around the infamous murder of Polanskis then wife, Sharon Tate.

In this Jan. 20, 1968, file photo, American actor Sharon Tate and Polish born film director Roman Polanski skip downstairs after their wedding at Chelsea Register Office in London. At the time of her death, Tate was 8 1/2 months pregnant with Polanski's son. She pleaded with the killers to spare the life of her unborn child. (AP)

In the interview, republished by Jezebel, Tarantino is heard defending Polanski against the charges made against him. Stern asked the same question then that has been on the everyones mind now, that why does Tarantino defend this mad man, this director who raped a 13-year-old.

He didnt rape a 13-year-old, was the Pulp Fiction directors reply. It was statutory rape...he had sex with a minor. Thats not rape. To me, when you use the word rape, youre talking about violent, throwing them downits like one of the most violent crimes in the world. You cant throw the word rape around. Its like throwing the word racist around. It doesnt apply to everything people use it for.

Tarantino has often been accused of racism in his movies, and for using the n-word repeatedly.

He was reminded that Polanski had allegedly drugged the girl before having sex with her, which Tarantino vehemently countered. No, that was not the case at all. She wanted to have it and dated the guy, he said. And by the way, he continued, were talking about Americas morals, not talking about the morals in Europe and everything.

She was down with this.

Quentin Tarantino (L) and President of the Jury at the 57th Cannes Film Festival, poses with Uma Thurman (R) during a photocall for their film Kill Bill Vol. 2 which was screened out of competition at the 57th Cannes Film Festival. (REUTERS)

Tarantino has been making headlines recently for another resurfaced piece of evidence, a video from the set of his 2003 film, Kill Bill, in which star Uma Thurman can be seen crashing a car into a tree. In a New York Times story, Thurman accused disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault, and of covering up the injuries she received after the crash. She said that she had voiced concerns to Tarantino, who coerced her into doing the stunt on an unsafe stretch of road. The injuries left her knees permanently damaged. While she acknowledged Tarantinos remorse - the director said that the incident was one of the biggest regrets of my life and made the footage available to her as an act of atonement - she also didnt let Weinstein off the hook.

Tarantino is said to be courting Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio for his new movie. Polanski, meanwhile, continues to direct films and is based in Europe.

Tarantinos comments have attracted a backlash on Twitter:

Quentin Tarantino doesn't believe Roman Polanski is a rapist.

"He didnt rape a 13-year-old. It was statutory rape...he had sex with a minor. Thats not rape. To me, when you use the word rape, youre talking about violent, throwing them down..."https://t.co/jSDHWWU3p2  Melissa Silverstein (@melsil) February 6, 2018

Quentin Tarantino has had to endure more than any man should.....



Just Kidding! You want to talk about being complicit? Unlike most folks in Hollywood, Quentin actually knew Harvey was a rapist. He did nothing. https://t.co/Q8wB7nO5w6  Yashar Ali  (@yashar) February 6, 2018

Dear Hollywood, next time you give Tarantino an award, you are rewarding a pedophile apologist. https://t.co/yEubU98rMs  Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) February 6, 2018

SORRY YOU HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS FUCK QUENTIN TARANTINO YOU ARE FUCKING CANCELLED. https://t.co/ucjMfftBdO  Busy Philipps (@BusyPhilipps) February 6, 2018

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Oscar-nominated director Jordan Peele says he will seriously consider a sequel to his hit film Get Out. The horror film centred on an inter-racial relationship between a black American man and his white partner and was a critically lauded satire on racism.

The director has said that while he has received a lot of feedback on the film, hearing audiences relate to the feeling of the sunken place has been the most meaningful, reports hollywoodreporter.com.

Director Jordan Peele, winner of the First-Time Feature Award for Get Out poses in the press room at the 2018 DGA Awards at the Beverly Hilton, on February 3, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California. (AFP)

When you create something like that, its very personal and meaningful, but to hear that people kind of related to that feeling and needed it to be named has been very touching for me, Peele said.

After the success of Get Out, the idea of a sequel isnt completely out of the question, Peele said. I can tell you that I will definitely seriously consider it.

I love that universe and I feel like theres more story to tell. I dont know what it is now but there are some loose ends that want to be tied up.

But since it took Peele eight years to create the world of Get Out, the follow-up story would have to feel right, he said.

I would never want to do a sequel that just feels like for the sake of doing a sequel. I would have to have a story that I feel like would take it up a notch, explained Peele.

Peele is looking forward to the 90th Oscars, to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The ceremony will be held on March 4 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. It will be aired in India live on Star Movies and Star Movies Select on March 5.

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As many as 108 people were arrested in 90 cases of attacks on journalists across the country in 2015-17, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Wednesday.

Union minister of state for home Hansraj Ahir said that the data was compiled by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for the last three years.

He said that in 2017, there were 15 cases of attacks on journalists in which 26 people were arrested.

Last year, the highest 22 people were arrested in Rajasthan in three such cases while in Tripura, one person was arrested in three cases of attacks on journalists, the minister said.

In 2016, he said that 41 people were arrested in 47 such cases -- the highest of which were reported from Madhya Pradesh where 12 people were arrested in 41 cases.

There were six cases of attacks on journalists in Andhra Pradesh in 2016 in which nine people were arrested and five cases in Tripura where four people were arrested.

In 2015, 41 people were arrested for 28 cases of attacks on media persons, the minister said.

He, however, said that the Home Ministry has no information on whether any organisation or organisations were responsible for attacks on media persons.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday quashed 88 mining leases granted by the Goa government for violating procedure and ordered that fresh licences be granted through a bidding process.

These leases, which were renewed for the second time, would run till March 15 after which they would lapse, a bench headed by justice Madan B Lokur said.

The court said the governments process of renewing the mining permits was in violation of law. It also directed setting up of a special investigation team (SIT), which would include a chartered accountant, for recovery of money the companies made after the mining permits were renewed.

The court was responding to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Goa Foundation in 2015, questioning the lease renewal.

Goa Foundations lawyer Prashant Bhushan had said the states policy did not conform to the apex courts line on optimum utilisation of natural resources.

The state government should have taken the auction route instead of renewing the permits, he said.

The mines ordinance approved on January 12, 2015 did not conceive of a renewal process, Bhushan said. All permits were renewed before the ordinance came into force, with 31 leases being renewed on January 12, 2015.

The mines and minerals amendment ordinance was subsequently placed before Parliament and passed on March 27, 2015.

The Goa Foundations petition, a copy of which Mint has reviewed, alleges that the miners and government authorities colluded to circumvent not just the ordinance but also the Supreme Court ruling of April 21, 2014.

According to the petition, 56 leases were reissued between January 6 and 12, shortly before the ordinance was passed.

The petition named 20 miners. Some of these companies had earlier moved the Bombay high court seeking directions for the Goa government to grant a second renewal of mining leases.

It was on their petition that the Panaji bench of the Bombay high court on August 13, 2014 directed the government to execute second renewal of leases in favour of the companies that had paid the stamp duty.

Last year, the Goa Foundation challenged the decision in the Supreme Court, which is hearing the matter. The appeal said the order disembodies the directions of the apex court.

Read | Ramachandra Guha on how illegal mining is playing havoc in Goa
Attacking the provisions of the Aadhaar Act 2016 that innocuously allow private parties to insist on Aadhaar for establishing the identity of any individual, senior advocate Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it is unconstitutional.

Appearing for one of the 30 petitioners who challenged the governments 12-digit biometric identification number, Sibal said the potential threat of misuse of sensitive data by private agencies amounts to violation of fundamental rights of the citizens.

Sibal told the five-judge bench hearing the Aadhaar case that it makes people vulnerable. I am not talking about the misuse by the state but in the absence of assurance of safety, all is compromised. Aadhaar is making individuals vulnerable and that is where the violation of Article 21 comes in, Sibal added.

On the technical aspects, Sibal said despite UIDAI claims that Aadhaar data is secure, its a security threat. He cited an RBI report that identified the CIDR as a single point of attack and a single point of failure.

Justice Chandrachud rebu- tted Sibals assertion saying that theoretically, every centralised database can be hacked. It is not necessarily a statement of vulnerability, but the acknowledgement that more care needs to be taken. Kapil Sibal also told the court on how in the digital world no information is safe.
Already warring over a book on alleged corruption under communist rule in Tripura, the BJP and CPI(M) could soon be at loggerheads over a movie likely to be released this week in the poll-bound state.

BJP has indicated it will not let go of Hindi film Lal Sarkar as a campaign tool if it exposes the 25-year misrule of communists. Lal Sarkar highlights alleged corruption, murders and crimes against women without naming any governments reign, said producer Susheel Kumar Sharman. He denied the BJP had any role in producing the movie, which is about a documentary filmmaker who went missing in Tripura.

Filmmaking is a creative art. Please dont mix politics in it, Sharman said in an email.

I went to Tripura in March 2016 to shoot for a documentary. I travelled to interior parts, observed certain situations that inspired me to make a movie, he added. Sharman said his movie would showcase Tripuras cultural heritage too.

Asked why the movie was named Lal Sarkar, Sharman replied, Lal means blood. Lal Sarkar is all about a government and its attitude towards the blood of its people.

The movie will have subtitles in Bengali and Kokborok, a language of the Tripuri community. Sharman has plans to screen the movie in other parts of the country later.

The BJP said it had no link to the movie. We dont know what the movie is all about. But, if it reveals the truth, wrongdoings of the Marxist government, we will definitely use it as a campaign tool for the coming polls, said BJPs Tripura in-charge Sunil Deodhar.

The CPI(M) has filed a complaint with the Election Commission of India about the movie, alleging that it depicts rapes and murders and brands its party workers as the perpetrators. The movies trailer is a BJP conspiracy to malign the CPI(M). It has no relation with facts, said CPI(M) state secretary Bijan Dhar.

We complained to the Election Commission to take steps to stop such campaigning and take action against them for using this video for electoral gains, added Dhar.

In the run-up to the polls scheduled on February 18, the ruling Left Front headed by chief minister Manik Sarkar and the BJP have been trading charges over a book, Manik Rajar Deshe. The book talks of inefficiency of the Left Front government of CPI(M) and allies, and corruption of under the CMs rule.

Manik Rajar Deshe is the Bengali version of Marathi book Tripuratil Arajkacha Lal Chehera: Manik Sarkar written by Dinesh Kanji, a Mumbai-based freelance journalist.

At the launch of the Bengali version of the book in Agartala on January 17, BJPs Tripura election in-charge Himanta Biswa Sharma said, The book reveals the indulgence of CPM government in corruption and Manik Sarkars fake clean image. I appeal to people to bring a change this time by toppling the Left government.

Asked about the book, Dhar said, The BJP is trying hard to dislodge the government by misguiding people. They are trying to malign the CMs image through the book.

Sarkar, running for a fifth consecutive term, has Rs 3,930 and has never filed any income tax return, according to the affidavit he submitted while filing his nomination. He has been in power uninterrupted since 1998.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday protected Milind Ekbote, the prime accused in the Bhima Koregaon violence in Maharashtra, from arrest.

The violence on January 1 had left one person dead.

A bench headed by Justice Kurian Joseph granted Ekbote interim protection from arrest till February 20 in the case.

The apex court has sought a response from the Maharashtra government on his plea for anticipatory bail. It has also asked the state to apprise it of the law and order situation.

It said that in the event of Ekbotes arrest, he should be released on bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 1 lakh.

According to the police, a court in Pune on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against Ekbote, who was booked for allegedly inciting violence on January 1 during an event to commemorate the bicentenary of the Bhima-Koregaon battle.

A case was registered against Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide, who head the Hindu Ekta Aghadi and Shivraj Pratishthan respectively, for allegedly inciting violence that left a man dead near Bhima Koregaon on January 1.

Subsequent protests had disrupted normal life in Mumbai.

The Bombay high court had on February 2 rejected Ekbotes anticipatory bail plea. Before that, a Pune court had also rejected his similar plea.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday accused the Congress of spending its time in power eulogising the Gandhi family at the cost of Indias development.

Modi also dubbed NPAs as the UPA governments sin and reeled out figures to rebuff opposition criticism on unemployment and other issues.

In his over 90-minute reply in the Lok Sabha to a debate on the motion of thanks for the presidents address, Modi alleged that lies were being spread to create a sense of disappointment among the middle class about his government. (Follow LIVE updates here)

Throughout Modis speech, Congress members were in the Well demanding that promises made to Andhra Pradesh following its division be fulfilled, questioning the Rafale deal and raising slogans against the PM.

The Prime Minister, however, alleged Andhra Pradesh was suffering due to the hasty decision of the erstwhile UPA government to bifurcate the state in 2014 for political benefits.

The Congress had similarly divided the country at the time of Independence for its selfish interests, he said.

This is the same party that divided India. For decades, one party devoted all their energies in singing paeans to one family. The interests of the nation were overlooked just for the interests of one family, he said in his address.

Claiming that his government has a vision for the countrys development while the Congress worked with a petty mind, he said the biggest tunnel on land, the biggest tunnel under sea, the fastest train and the biggest gas pipe line were being built by it.

We have to create a new India. Let us all make our contribution to fulfil to create it, he said, adding that criticism was democracys strength, but not lies.

The presidents address does not belong to one party but underlines the governments direction, he said, and, in a dig, asked opposition leaders to read it again and seek others help if they cannot understand its language.

The Lok Sabha adopted the motion with a voice vote after opposition parties -- Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Left -- staged a walk out, saying Modi did not address issues raised by them like alleged corruption in Rafale deal.

Modi claimed that the opposition has been attacking him as its leaders were losing their sleep  due to his fight against corruption and black money.

Many of them are out on bail in corruption cases, he said, noting that four former chief ministers are behind bars.

When the corrupt and middlemen are out of work, obviously the Congress will be unhappy... Nobody is going to be spared. Those who have robbed the country will have to return their loot to the common man, he said amid thumping of desks by treasury benches and loud sloganeering by Congress members in the Well.

He termed the non-performing assets (NPAs) a sin of the UPA government and said he was giving its details for the first time as had he spoken earlier, it would have seriously harmed the economy.

NPAs are cent per cent a responsibility of the previous government. Banks were pressured and the chosen few were given loans, he said.

He said the Congress gave wrong figures as NPAs were 82% and not 36% and added that the total advance made by banks rose from Rs 18 lakh crore to Rs 52 lakh crore.

People should now know the truth.... It is the interest on what you squandered away. These are your sins, Modi said targeting the Congress, and alleged that loans were given to the people who were close to those in power.

He said the oppositions protest against his governments use of Aadhaar was due to its scientific use to weed out corruption and give direct benefits to the people.

When his government took office in 2014, the chorus from the opposition was that he will scrap Aadhaar but when he made it more effective, they began opposing it, Modi said.

Countering criticism of the government over the issue of unemployment, he said opposition-ruled states of West Bengal, Kerala, Odisha and Karnataka have said that they have given employment to close to one crore people.

If the Centre is blamed for unemployment figures, then it should also be credited for employment data, he said.

Dont try to mislead the people, he told referring to the opposition, adding that he had not cited figures of the BJP-ruled states but those where it was in power.

Seventy lakh new EPF accounts have been registered in the name of youths between 18-25 years of age, he said, citing measures like start-up India, skill India among others which have boosted the youths aspirations.

I can see the energy and enthusiasm in our youth. They want to do something on their own, they want to launch their own start-ups. Our government is giving wings to aspirations of Indias middle class, he said.

Targeting the Congress for its charge that his government was muzzling their voice and threatening democracy, he said it had no right to talk of democracy as he cited coronation of Rahul Gandhi as its president, insults meted out to a Dalit chief minister of Andhra Pradesh and a presidential candidate by former prime ministers Rajiv and Indira Gandhi respectively.

A Congress leader, he said, had likened Rahuls elevation to Aurangzeb replacing Shahjahan and the latter taking over from Jahangir as Mughal kings. And you talk of democracy! he said making a jibe. Dont give sermons on democracy to us. We know what you have done in the past, he said.

He also hit out at the Congress president, who was in the House, for presenting the government in a wrong light on his overseas trips. Dont you feel ashamed, he asked without him.

When Indian Army was involved in a stand-off with the Chinese army in Dokalam, the Congress leader was speaking to Chinese officials, he said.

He recalled that BJP stalwart Atal Bihari Vajpayee had expressed his partys reservations to then prime minister Indira Gandhi privately during the Shimla agreement with Pakistan and did not harm India with any public criticism.

Reaching out to middle class, which opposition said was not benefitted from the Union Budget, he said lies were being spread to create a sense of disappointment among them.

He said his government was working on many fronts, like boosting infrastructure, education and health sectors, to make ease of living better for them. It has got new benefits of over 12,000 crore, he said.

During much of the Congress rule after independence, there was little opposition presence, radio and then television were controlled by you and even judicial appointments were made by the government, he said.

But instead of focusing on the countrys development, Modi said, You spent the time singing paeans to one family. You worked to ensure that everything else is forgotten and only one family is remembered by people. If your direction and intentions were right, then the country would have developed many times more.

If Sardar Patel had been the countrys first prime minister, then a part of Jammu and Kashmir would not be in Pakistans control, he said, claiming that most units of the Congress had backed Patel over Jawaharlal Nehru, who eventually became prime minister.
The Congress in Nagaland said it was open to partnering with the Naga Peoples Front if it severed ties with the Bharatiya Janata Party, signalling the possibility of a fresh realignment of political groupings after an aborted campaign last month by key parties to boycott the elections.

The Naga Peoples Front (NPF) snapped a 15-year alliance with the BJP in the state after the saffron party decided to contest the election instead of shunning it as a mark of protest against the lack of a solution to the Naga regionalist issue. But the NPF continues to be a part of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance outside Nagaland.

If NPF formally distances itself from BJP, we can have an alliance or seat-sharing understanding with it. We want to prevent saffronisation of Nagaland, state Congress president K Therie said on Wednesday. They (NPF) also have to clearly state their secular credentials.

Wednesday was also the last date for filing of nominations for the elections on February 27. If a deal is struck, the Congress could withdraw some nominations to make victory easy for NPF candidates, according to leaders in the party who asked not to be named.

The Congress has named 23 candidates while the NPF has decided to contest 56 of the total 60 seats.

The last date of withdrawal of nominations is February 12.

Central Congress leaders have supported a pre-poll pact with NPF. Any effort to keep the BJP at bay in Nagaland is welcome. We will go all out to ensure that the BJP does not open its account this time, said Captain Praveen Davar, who is one of the four Congress observers deputed to the poll-bound state.

The BJP, which was part of the NPF-led Democratic Alliance of Nagaland (DAN) coalition, has now struck an alliance with the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party, a party led by former chief minister and NPF rebel Neiphiu Rio. According to the agreement between the two, the BJP is contesting on 20 seats while the NDPP will fight in the remaining 40.

According to Nagaland chief electoral officers office, 231 candidates had filed their nomination papers but the final figure is still awaited.

In Meghalaya, which is also going to polls on February 27, 110 candidates filed nomination papers for the 60 seats on the last day of filing papers on Wednesday.

Till Tuesday, 294 candidates had filed nomination papers. Another 110 filed their papers on Wednesday taking the total number of candidates to 304, chief electoral officer FR Kharkongor said.
The Congress on Wednesday demanded the ouster of Kerala CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan from the politburo amid financial fraud charges faced by his son, Binoy, in the UAE. The party has claimed that Balakrishnan was aware of the fraud and was protecting his son.

A letter demanding Balakrishnans removal was sent by Benny Behanan, a senior Congress leader and member of the high power committee of the party in Kerala, to CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury.

Now that everyday new reports about alleged financial fraud against Kodiyeris elder son Binoy Balakrishnan is coming out, it has come to light that Kodiyeri was aware of what was happening and he was protecting his son.

This issue has surfaced in the assembly and has been taken up by the opposition also. So, in order to keep morality in public life and the way Kodiyeri was covering his sons dubious deals and told lies, he should be removed from the politburo of the party, said Behanan.

Last month, a three-page letter dated January 5 from HIA Al Marzooqi, the sponsor of a Dubai-based company, was made available to the media, stating that he had started legal proceedings against Binoy for alleged fraud of Rs 13 crore. It also said Binoy who is in the UAE, has been barred from travelling out of the Emirates.

When the news first surfaced, both Kodiyeri and the party dismissed it as false and said there was no travel ban on his son who was in Dubai. The CPI(M) washed its hands off the issue, saying it was just a deal between two businessmen and it had no role in it.

The case is currently being heard in a UAE court and it will take a few days for the first verdict to come out after which Binoy can file an appeal.

Meanwhile, some news reports also claim that Kodiyeris younger son, Bineesh, also has business interests in Dubai and he is also facing similar problems.
The Congress is struggling to find candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Nagaland and its hopes of a pre-poll alliance with the ruling Naga Peoples Front (NPF) were also dashed with the ruling party announcing its contestants for all 60 seats.

The last date of filing of nominations is Wednesday and polling will be held on February 27.

We are not able to find candidates. As a result, we might fight on just 20-25 seats, said a Congress functionary deputed to Nagaland to supervise the partys preparations. He did not want to be named.

The Congress leader attributed the lack of enthusiasm among workers to the organisational weaknesses and shortage of resources.

The Congress has been out of power in Nagaland for the past 15 years.

SC Jamir, who was the last Congress chief minister, was at the helm from 1993 to 2003.

In the 2013 assembly elections, the Congress had won eight seats but over the past five years, all its candidates deserted the party and joined other political outfits.

The Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), on the other hand, has already released a list of 20 candidates. The list was released soon after the party last week snapped its 15 year-old ties with the NPF and struck a seat-sharing agreement with the National Democratic Progressive Party (NDDP). The NDDP will contest on 40 seats.

The BJP was the first party to pull out of the 11-party joint declaration that no member will be fielded in polls until the central government resolved the decades-old Naga crisis.

The Congress then started back-channel talks with the NPF. It didnt see much success as a confident ruling party decided to go it alone.

The Congress functionary also said the party had last week finalised 20 candidates out of which two later left the party.

We will announce the list early morning on Wednesday after which our candidates will file the nomination papers, he said.
Acknowledging Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remembering him and the 12th century social reformer Basaveshwara during his speech in Parliament on Wednesday, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said Kannadigas would be thankful if he followed Basavannas teachings.

PM @narendramodi. It was good of you to have remembered me in the Parliament today. I am glad you also remembered Basavanna, Siddaramaiah said in a tweet.

He said Basava said those with wealth will build temples; what do I do, a poor man? Kannadigas will thank you sir if you could follow Basavannas teachings.

The tweet from the chief minister came in response to Modi hitting out at Congress for claiming credit to Jawaharlal Nehru for establishing democracy in the country.

During his reply to the discussion on the motion of thanks to President for his address in Parliament on Wednesday, Modi reminded Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjuna Kharge that in the 12th century during Jagadguru Basaveshwaras time, work had begun in this country to establish democracy.

Kharge ji, you come from Karnataka, at the most you may get a place to sit here by showing devotion towards one family after Karnataka elections, but dont insult Jagadguru Basaveshwara, he said.

You should be knowing, you come from Karnataka that it was Jagadguru Basaveshwara who during 12th century through a concept of Anabhava Mantapa thought about taking decisions in a democratic way, he said, adding work on women empowerment also happened then with presence of women in those meetings.

Also pointing out that Kharge had on Tuesday recited a couplet, Modi said he hoped that the Karnataka chief minister had heard the couplet that was recited.
Mukesh (name changed), a native of Premgunj, is a truck driver and HIV positive. Recently, his wife also tested positive. They are one of the couples of Bangarmau area in Unnao who caught HIV infection through their partner.

Premgunj is one of the three areas in Bangarmau from where 63 cases of HIV infection have been reported since July 2017. Though a quack, Rajendra Yadav, has been held responsible for allegedly spreading the infection by administering people injections from a single syringe, the area is also a hub of migrant workers and truck drivers, which has aggravated the problem.

Experts say migrant population is a big reason why Unnao falls among the high-risk districts at risk of HIV in UP. A majority of the 20 high-risk districts  Jaunpur, Maharajganj, Azamgarh, Deoria, Basti, Pratapgarh, Ballia  are in the states eastern parts. Dr Preeti Pathak, joint director, basic services, UP State AIDS Control Society (UPSACS), said, We have noticed a high number of HIV-positive cases among migrants in Bangarmau. Our study has shown that greater risk behaviour is due to migration, and it needs to be handled separately.

In Premgunj, with a population of 1,200, there are about 50 people who work in other cities. Villagers claimed the total population of Dulhapur, Naseemganj, Chakmeria, Chakmirapur, Karumuddinpurwa, Takia, Ambedkarganj and Garhi Usmanganj was over 5,000 and about 400 were migrant workers. Kamlesh (not his real name), who also tested positive, said he worked in a biscuit factory in Delhi and came home twice a year. Four other men from Garhi work with him in the factory and return home after long gaps. The area is a point for truck drivers to take a break and spend the night as the Lucknow-Agra highway is 4km from Bangarmau. Truck drivers from various states pass through Bangarmau, said Babloo, a villager.

Data from UP State AIDS Control Society shows that from April-December 2017, at least 21,836 people were screened for HIV/AIDS from Unnao of whom 85 tested positive. Thirty-eight more cases were reported on January 24, 25 and 27. In the state, 4,543 workers were screened of whom 18 tested positive. Similarly, 4,425 truck drivers were screened and 19 of them were found HIV positive.
Kashmirs home-grown militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has claimed responsibility for Tuesdays attack on a Srinagar hospital during which gunmen shot dead two policemen and freed a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist brought for treatment in custody.

In a nearly eight-minute audio released on Wednesday, Kashmirs Hizb commander Riyaz Naikoo claimed it was his men who raided the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital to free Lashkar terrorist Naveed Jhatt. Naikoo said Jhatt had reached south Kashmir safely.

On the killing of the two policemen guarding Jhatt, Naikoo said, They were forced to kill Kashmiris to free their Pakistani brother.

Naikoo, who took over as Hizb commander after Yasin Itoos death, added, When we saw the children of the two policemen, we were heartbroken because we dont want to kill any Kashmiri, but people who are aligning with India are forcing us to kill them.

The Hizb message pointing to collaboration between militant groups did not surprise the security establishment. Jammu and Kashmir director general of police SP Vaid said such coordination was seen in many other attacks. All the militants groups are now working together. Its not just this incident. Lately, we have been seeing many joint attacks by various groups, he added.

A senior police officer who did not want to be named said, Lashkar-e-Taiba cannot survive in south Kashmir (the hotbed of militancy in the Valley) without Hizbul Mujahideen support. The various outfits are working together and are different just in name.

The Hizb is primarily an indigenous group, while the Lashkar comprises Pakistani nationals who infiltrate into India. The Hizb mostly trains cadre in forests across Kashmir, while Lashkar terrorists get commando training across the border.

Jhatt, 20, had received similar training at the Lashkars headquarters in Muridke before sneaking into India in 2012 as a teenager.

Security forces killed most top Laskhar terrorists active in Kashmir last year, dealing a blow to the outfit and forcing it to collaborate more actively with Hizb and other militant outfits.

Lashkar spokesperson Abdullah Ghazanwi acknowledged militant outfits were coordinating at all levels and commended Kashmiri militants for the hospital raid to free Jhatt and described it as a historic feat. The incident was an outcome of close coordination and cooperation among various Mujahideen organisations, Ghazanwi said in a WhatsApp text to the local media.

Such collaboration is a departure from the earlier strategy of Pakistan-based outfits to claim credit for attacks, according to a police officer tracking militancy in the Valley. Now, there is a concerted effort to give attacks on security forces a more local name. Pakistan-based outfits are also trying recruit more locals, the officer added.

For instance, in a fidayeen attack on a CRPF camp in Pulwama on December 31 last year, Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed used two local militants, one of them a 16-year-old from Tral in south Kashmir. The teenager, son of a police officer, and the other militant died in the attack.

A day after the attack, Jaish released a video message of the teenage suicide attacker explaining the need for jihad.
The Kerala government on Wednesday said it would seriously consider bringing in a comprehensive law for pet dogs, days after an old woman was mauled to death by two Rottweilers in Wayand district.

A comprehensive law is under consideration for pet dogs as there have been reports of increased attacks against people, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the state assembly.

He was replying to a submission of CK Saseendharan (CPI-M) who brought to the notice of the House the death of a 65-year-old woman after she was mauled by two pet dogs at Vythiri in Wayanad district on Monday.

The Vythiri police had registered a case against the dogs owner, Jose, on charges of culpable homicide and for keeping domestic animals that could pose danger to others. the chief minister said it was also found that the owner had no license to keep pet dogs as per law and had also not followed guidelines.

Terming the incident very unfortunate, Pinarayi said his government would consider extending Rs 5 lakh as financial relief to the family of the deceased woman.

She was attacked and seriously injured by her neighbours Rottweilers while she was on her way to work. The woman was rushed to a hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Saala angrezi cho*** hai (Bloody *** is sleeping with the British).

The inspector screamed at me as he slapped me again and again inside the lock up. The date and time is still etched in my mind  2am on July 8, 2001 . I was abused, tortured and humiliated for 24 hours  and made to feel less than human  only because of an archaic law that decided I was a criminal in my own country.

The horror had begun a day earlier. Around 5am, a panic call from my mother had jolted me awake. Shahid, a worker from my organisation, had been arrested while doing his job  distributing condoms among MSM (men who have sex with men) population in Lucknows Charbagh area. He had been dragged to the police station and hadnt been heard of since.

I was confident it was a mix-up. After all, I had been working with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) population for a decade and knew state and national-level authorities. I called up senior bureaucrats and police officials and was promptly assured it would be sorted. I rushed to the police station to get Shahid back.

Unknown to us, a plan to arrest and humiliate us was already afoot. As I waited in the station, the police raided our offices, ransacked the premises and seized what they thought was damning evidence of our perversion  literature on gender, sexuality and safe sex, stacks of condoms and a couple of dildos we used for demonstration.

We were raided around 4pm on a Saturday. By evening, the channels were splashing bulletins of a Gay Sex Racket and discussing theories of how I had taken funding from Pakistan to make all Indian men homosexual.

Lets talk about 377 | Whom we love, cant be dictated by an IPC section: Filmmaker Onirs parents

But that was just the beginning of the nightmare. Within hours, three of my colleagues and I were arrested and beaten up in public at the Hazratganj traffic circle. I think the revulsion for a gay man was so acute that they wanted to hurt our reputation and ensure we could never show our faces in public again.

When we were produced in court the next day, we learnt that we had been charged under section 110 (abetment to a crime), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code. The police told the court that they had found us guilty of a conspiracy to promote homosexuality, as if perfectly normal sexual behaviour could ever be promoted.

But the pervasive homophobia and stigma surrounding gay sex ensured no one questioned the police, and instead looked at us as if we were animals, undeserving of even the most basic human rights accorded to every Indian citizen. We were thrown in jail with the then police chief declaring, Even if I have no proof against them, I will ensure they rot in jail.

Our horrors were just beginning.

Many prisoners had already heard of us. We were beaten up almost every day, and abused  Saaley Gandu aaye hain, mazey se ***. (Bloody homosexuals have come, we can take advantage of them.). We were beaten up and the jailor would often menacingly threaten to take remand of all of us with a wicked smile. What that meant anyone can imagine.

The media reported that we took Rs 70 lakh for supplying boys to ministers and bureaucrats, and many of the burlier prisoners beat us up when we couldnt show the stash. My colleague still has a damaged tailbone because of the torture.

Lets talk about 377 | Law says Im a criminal, thats unacceptable: Ritu Dalmia

The psychological violence also broke me. We were forced to use putrid drain water for cleaning our utensils. Our dirty food bowls were mossy, which could only be cleaned with the drain water. It was clear that they wanted to hit us where it hurt the most  our sanity and self-respect.

But even in hell, there was a sliver of light. Some prisoners saw that we were crumbling and offered support. We were moved to another barrack, where two prisoners gave me fresh clothes of their own, arranged for some warm water and a haircut. I used to offer Namaz five times a day, and this forged a bond with some of the other inmates, who were convinced that we were innocent.

On day eleven, when the constables came to beat us up, these prisoners and their friends ring-fenced us and threatened the policemen, who backed off. I can never forget their magnanimity.

Still, our fortunes were far from turning around. I used to have severe kidney pain, but the officials offered no help or treatment. The poor hygiene of the jail made me lose most of my teeth  now I make do with artificial ones. We were frequently ill and infected with diseases. Our bail request was turned down repeatedly on the grounds that we were a curse to society.

Finally, on Day 47, we stepped out of that hellhole.

But the nightmare hasnt ended for me. I am 47 years old now and for the last 18 years, the case has dragged on and poisoned my life. I have to go to court every couple of months. I live in fear and consternation. Only because, as a gay man, I cannot seem to enjoy the same rights my fellow Indians take for granted.

It took me almost a decade to come out of the trauma the jail inflicted. An archaic law that is the remnant of a regressive colonial practice was used to strip me of dignity and abuse me, only to serve the homophobic hatred of some people in positions of power.

I live in fear and consternation. Only because, as a gay man, I cannot seem to enjoy the same rights my fellow Indians take for granted.

Thankfully, my mother and family were supportive of my case, my sexuality. They understood that there is nothing wrong in falling in love with a man and wanting to live with him. They understood that there is nothing unnatural in being gay. That section 377 is a retrograde law that is designed to make us second-class citizens and criminals for no fault of ours. That I committed no crime in being gay.

I am now in a loving relationship with a man I deeply care for. We have been together for almost a decade. But the trauma of Section 377 continues to hang over my head. The humiliation never leaves you  I have to keep explaining to people that I did nothing wrong, that I am just as normal as everyone else.

But that jail stint left me stronger and more determined to carry out our work against Section 377 and build it into a nationwide movement. I now know that we have to stand up for our own rights as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people. I know that section 377 has no right to impose social morality on our community, force it into the shadows  into shameful marriages, extortion, humiliation and even suicide.

With the Supreme Court deciding to hear the petition against the abominable law afresh, I am hopeful that a new generation of LGBT people will never face the trauma and shame I faced. It is time we start talking about a law that criminalises our lives and makes us less than human. It is time to talk about Section 377.

(Arif Jafar is an LGBT activist and has worked for the community for 30 years)

(This is the third part of Lets Talk About 377, a five-part series on the challenges faced by Indias LGBT community. Join the conversation with #LetsTalkAbout377 on social media or send us your stories and suggestions at talktous@hindustantimes.com)
The National Investigation Agency has arrested an alleged hawala operator from Uttarakhand in connection with its probe into the activities of Pakistan- based Lashkar-e-Taiba in India, an official spokesperson said here on Wednesday.

Abdul Samad, the fifth person arrested in the case, was picked up in Haridwar on Tuesday and brought to Delhi, the spokesperson said.

Samad, a resident of Bukkanpur village in Haridwar district, was produced before a designated court yesterday and remanded to six days NIA custody, he said.

He is a leading hawala operator, operating in the area of Muzaffarnagar, Deoband and Roorkee, who was acting as the conduit of a LeT financier based in Saudi Arabia through his cousin in that country, the spokesperson alleged.

In November 2017, Samad allegedly collected Rs 5.50 lakh from hawala operators in Muzaffarnagar to deliver it to Shaikh Abdul Naeem, an active LeT member.

Shaikh visited and established bases in Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir on the directions of his handler Abdul alias Rehan based in Pakistan, the NIA said.

Besides Samad, the NIA has arrested Shaikh as well as Dhannu Raja and Mahfooz Alam, both residents of Gopal Gunj in Bihar, and Touseef Ahmed Malik from Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir.

The case started with Shaikh, a resident of Aurangabad in Maharashtra, being arrested from Lucknow in November last year. Investigations revealed that he had spent time in south Kashmir and photographed some Army installations, officials said

Central security agencies, which interrogated Shaikh at length, told investigators about his accomplice, Tauseef Ahmed Malik, in Pulwama district. He was placed under arrest by the NIA on December 9.

Shaikh also disclosed during questioning that he had stayed in Pulwama, moved to various places with the help of Malik and even photographed some Army and paramilitary camps, the officials claimed

Wanted in connection with a 2014 terror case and on the run since then, Shaikh told investigators that some important power projects and railway tracks in the Valley were surveyed, they said.

He also visited places in Himachal Pradesh, particularly Kasol, which is frequented by Israeli nationals, according to the officials.

Security agencies claimed that Shaikh was roped in for a recce mission similar to that undertaken by Pakistani-American David Headley, who is serving a 35-year prison sentence in a US jail for his involvement in terror activities and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks of 2008.
The leaders of opposition parties, which had boycotted the Rajya Sabha proceedings on Tuesday, sought to leave the episode behind, saying they had the highest respect for the chairman, and expressed regret to him if he felt hurt, sources said.

Some opposition parties, led by the Congress, had boycotted the post-lunch session on Tuesday, alleging that their voice was being muzzled and that they were not allowed to raise issues due to long adjournments. They had also written a letter to Rajya Sabha chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, expressing their anguish.

The opposition leaders met Naidu on Wednesday morning, when Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad broached the issue and referred to the rules and conventions of the House, the sources said.

When one of them, quoting media reports, wanted to know if a letter was written against the chairman, some others said, Let us leave behind what happened yesterday. We have the highest respect for the chairman. If he felt hurt, we express regret.

Naidu and the floor leaders also discussed the issue of availability of time and the business to be concluded in the House this week and decided to do away with the Question Hour to complete the discussion on the motion of thanks to the president.

Naidu is learnt to have said that sufficient time needs to be given to the members for discussing the Union Budget.

Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha TV said it could not air live proceedings of the Upper House for some time due to a power failure in the optical cable fibre hub and that the reasons behind it were being looked into.
Taking a serious note of the shoddy probe by the Haryana Police into a statement by Dera Sacha Sauda information technology (IT) cell head that two vans of cash were driven out of the sect headquarters, the Punjab and Haryana high court questioned the cops as to why they did not carry out further probe on his disclosure.

A portion of the statement was read out by the high court full bench of justice Surya Kant during the hearing on Tuesday. Dera IT cell head Vineet Kumar had stated that a day after the Panchkula violence on August 25 following the conviction of dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, two vans of cash were taken out of the dera by one Balraj Singh.

However, it transpired that neither Kumar was quizzed to give more details nor Singh was questioned on his statement. You (police) dumped it? Or someone else has taken? the court asked the state police. Earlier, it had come to light that only Rs 65 lakh was found in the dera, after it was raided by the police. These two vans as per statement were taken out on August 26, while the police teams sanitized the dera on September 7.

The court also questioned the police as to what was the reason behind the destruction of 65 hard discs by the dera. What did they fear about?, the court asked as officials present did not have satisfactory reply. The high court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) related to the violence in which more than 35 persons died in Panchkula alone.

After Ram Rahims arrest, Dera Sacha Sauda dies a slow death

Later, the court sought status report on both these aspects by March 21 and warned that if at any stage it is not satisfied with the probe it will have to hand over it to some other agency and record the reason for doing so.

This is also to keep intact the peoples faith in the police and law and order machinery, the bench said, asking the special investigation team of the police to examine the statements of different accused through custodial interrogation, whenever required.

Haryana advocate general BR Mahajan assured the court that the police will leave no stone unturned in bringing out the truth. He said of 243 FIRs registered in connection with the violence, challan has been presented in 203 cases. He further said CBIs help has been sought to help state police in retrieving the data. Mahajan also informed that a total of 1,434 persons have been arrested so far and 164 accused are still at large.

Shall we ask Punjab police to trace Aditya Insan

The high court also questioned the Haryana police as to how Aditya Insan, who is named as chief conspirator in the violence has vanished.

The court also directed court commissioner, AKS Panwar, a retired district and sessions judge to submit a supplementary report on his findings of sanitization exercise, which he held in September 2017.

Do we ask Punjab police to find him out? the court said, adding that he was not a hardened criminal. Aditya Insan carries an award of Rs 5 lakh. The government informed that to arrest Aditya Insan, award money has been increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.

Aditya, an ophthalmologist, has been the most visible face of the dera for the last 20 years. He has been booked under sedition charge, non-bailable offence and can lead to life imprisonment. He vanished immediately after the violence was reported.

Give details of missing persons

The court also asked Haryana to give details about people who went missing from the dera. The advocate general informed the high court that out of total 25 complaints of missing persons was received out of which eight have been traced. These complaints were received after the violence. Many of the complaiants had alleged they apprehended murder of their wards. However, the court asked to give details on the next date of hearing as to how many people are dead, those who were found and in what condition they were traced.

Court commissioner told to file supplementary report

The court also directed court commissioner, AKS Panwar, a retired district and sessions judge to submit a supplementary report on his findings of sanitization exercise, which he held in September 2017. Earlier, he had told court that he was unclear about his mandate. But court said that he was to record his observations based on what was recovered and what he saw there while presiding over sanitization exercise.

Senior advocate, Anupam Gupta submitted that the former judicial officer failed in his duties. Had it (the report) been submitted by a police of civic administration official, courts response would have been different, he said. The court gave him two weeks to submit a report. Gupta is assisting the court as amicus curiae in the case.
A PIL has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking barring of serving MPs, MLAs and MLCs from practising as advocates in courts across India during their entire tenure as lawmakers.

Alternatively, the plea, which is likely come up for hearing in the apex court during the week, has sought setting aside of the Bar Council of India (BCI) rules prohibiting public servants in general from practising law in courts.

The injury caused to the public because a salaried person and particularly a public servant cannot practise as an advocate but legislators are practising which is violation of Article 14 (Right to Equality) of the Constitution.

Legislators take fee from litigant and salary from the public exchequer, which is professional misconduct, the PIL, filed by advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay, said.

The lawyer said that he had earlier approached apex bar body BCI with his plea on December 18 last year, but it has not taken appropriate steps to ban them (lawmakers) till date.

The plea referred to Rule 49 of the BCI Rules which says, An advocate shall not be a full-time salaried employee of any person, government, firm, corporation or concern, so long as he continues to practise, and shall, on taking up any such employment, intimate the fact to the bar council on whose roll his name appears and shall thereupon cease to practise as an advocate so long as he continues in such employment.

It cited Article 106 of the Constitution which provides that the members of either House of Parliament shall be entitled to receive salaries and allowances as may from time to time be determined by Parliament by law.

The plea said that lawmakers, who receive money as salary and perquisites from the public exchequer, either be restrained from practising as advocates or other public servants be also allowed to practise law.

It has made Union ministry of Law and Justice and Bar Council of India as parties.

This is a matter of serious concern to both the judiciary and the legislature because many legislators are involved in the active practise of law, despite receiving salaries and other perquisites drawn on the public exchequer.

They also utilise their position as MPs/MLAs to be visible in the public domain, including on television where they give interviews or participate in shows, it said.

This essentially amounts to advertising as their brand is promoted among the public, many of whom are potential litigants. This virtually seamless transition between the two spheres by these legislators is causing irreversible harm to both the profession and public interest, the plea said.
Shares slid and the rupee weakened as a global market rout whacked sentiment. Militants attacked a Srinagar hospital and helped an imprisoned Pakistani terrorist to escape. These stories made news on Tuesday. Here is more about them.

Sensex drops for sixth session amidst global rout

Benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty fell for a sixth consecutive session, as the global market rout whacked sentiment, with lingering concerns of a tighter monetary policy ahead of a central bank meeting on Wednesday. The Sensex ended 561 points lower after falling 1,274.35 points in intraday trade, while Nifty closed 168 points down. In the early trade, both Nifty and Sensex fell nearly 3.5%, their biggest intraday fall since August 2015.

Pakistani terrorist flees after shooting at Srinagar hospital

Two policemen were killed when militants attacked a government hospital in Srinagar and helped a Pakistani terrorist to escape, police said. Naveed Jat, aka Abu Hanzulla, fled after armed gunmen shot at policemen accompanying him at the Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital for his health check-up.

Bank of Barodas misadventures drag it into South Africas political crisis

A scandal involving the Bank of Barodas (BoB) South Africa operations, Indian-origin Gupta brothers, and South African President Jacob Zuma, has undermined the reputation of Indias second largest bank and resulted in an unprecedented penalty by the South African Reserve Bank. A Hindustan Times investigation reveals a laundry list of potential violations, and a seeming disregard for banking ethics and regulations by BoBs branches in Johannesburg and Durban.

38 infected with HIV in UP district, quack blamed

Thirty-eight people in Bangarmau town in Uttar Pradeshs Unnao district contracted HIV after a quack used a single syringe to treat his patients, said officials. Rajendra Yadav bicycled village to village and treated people for Rs 10 as fees but is now untraceable.

State of emergency in Maldives, ex-president seeks Indias help

Maldivian police stand guard on a main street during a protest by opposition supporters against the government's delay in releasing their jailed leaders, including former president Mohamed Nasheed. (REUTERS)

The Maldives top judge was arrested as security forces stormed the Supreme Court at dawn, after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency in the honeymoon islands. Exiled former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed urged India to act swiftly to help in resolving the crisis in his nation.

22 candidates file papers for Nagaland elections; boycott ends

Candidates for assembly elections in Nagaland started filing their nomination papers, ending a boycott announced by 11 political parties. As many as 22 candidates submitted their papers to returning officers at 17 of the total 60 constituencies. National and regional parties had signed a joint declaration not to take part in the election till the Naga political problem was resolved.

Formula soon to give special package to Andhra Pradesh: Arun Jaitley

Andhra Pradesh will get funds to manage its finances after the state was split for the formation of Telangana, said finance minister Arun Jaitley. I think a solution by which an amount can be given through an alternative mechanism is being worked out, he said. The Telugu Desam Party, the Bharatiya Janata Partys biggest southern, ally has been pressing for a financial package.

No notice to taxpayers for minor filing mismatch in income tax returns

The Income Tax department will not issue demand notice to people if there is a minor mismatch between their income tax return and their corresponding tax credit data it collects. The measure is aimed to help small and salaried class of taxpayers.

Possibility of misuse is no reason to strike down Aadhaar law: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the possibility of misuse of Aadhaar law cannot be a reason for striking it down. Emphasising the need to have a data protection law to safeguard an individuals privacy, Justice Chandrachud said, Even voluntary parting of personal data to a private entity is only notionally consensual. That is why we have pointed out (in the privacy judgment) the need for a proper data protection regime.

Twitter accounts of Anupam Kher, Ram Madhav, Swapan Dasgupta hacked

Turkish hackers Ayyildiz Tim apparently broke through the Twitter accounts of actor Anupam Kher, BJP general secretary Ram Madhav and Rajya Sabha member Swapan Dasgupta on Tuesday after similar attacks on the social media accounts of conservative American personalities last month.
The Congress on Wednesday said the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is at its worst as it blamed the escape of a Pakistani LeT terrorist from a hospital in Srinagar as a failure of the BJP-PDP government.

Raising the issue in the Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour, leader of opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad said the escape of Naveed Jat alias Abu Hunzullah from the SMHS hospital on Tuesday, doesnt reflect good on the state or the country.

I have been reiterating that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir is its worst.

On Tuesday a Pakistani LeT terrorist escaped when he was being taken to the SMHS hospital for a medical check up from Srinagar Central Jail in the morning, he said.

Calling Hunzullahs escape the first such incident in last 20 years, Azad said: Such incidents used to happen in 1990s.

This doesnt reflect good. Its not good for the state, as well as for the country.

There was mistake on part of the state government because such a terrorist was being taken to hospital without proper security arrangements, he said.

He could have been taken to an Army hospital. Why was he taken to SMHS (Shri Maharaja Hari Singh Hospital), Azad said. It is a multi-speciality hospital in the Karan Nagar area of Srinagar.

The former chief minister describing the incident as unfortunate, demanded a full-fledged discussion over the security situation in the state.

Azad urged the government to remain alert while dealing with such situation. Such incidents should not be repeated in future, he said.

In the audacious attack, militants attired in pherans helped the Pakistani terrorist escape by firing at the police party escorting him to the hospital, leaving two policemen dead.

Hunzullah escaped when the waiting militants fired at the police party outside the hospital. One policeman was killed, while another was injured, and died later at the hospital.
Tamil Nadu fisheries minister D Jayakumar on Wednesday questioned rebel AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakarans fantastic demands about the change of leadership in the government as he scotched speculations about a merger with the faction led by the RK Nagar legislator.

Jayakumar also asserted that Dhinakaran will never be allowed to return to the AIADMK.

He is living in fools paradise. Dhinakaran is acting in tandem with the DMK to destabilise the government and he will fail, Jayakumar said while speaking to the media in Chennai.

The wobbly Tamil Nadu government led by Edapaddi Palaniswami has come under attack from the rebel faction led by Dhinakaran. Dhinakaran, who is on a state-wide tour, is whipping up sentiments against the government and upping the ante by setting impossible conditions for the merger.

Dhinakaran said he is ready to merge with the faction led by Palaniswami and deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam if they agree to drop a few ministers from the state cabinet and appoint one of the 18 disqualified MLAs from his camp to the top post. He was speaking to the media in Thanjavur district.

The ruling dispensation is already on a shaky ground as the Madras high court is likely to deliver its verdict on the disqualification of 18 MLAs by the speaker. These MLAs, who owe allegiance to Dhinakaran and VK Sasikala, had sought the replacement of Palaniswami last year, saying they had lost faith in him in a letter to the governor.

Following which the speaker disqualified the 18 MLAs, a decision challenged by them. Arguments in the case have been completed.

A few senior AIADMK leaders are said to have sent feelers for the merger of both the sides even as the opposition has closed ranks and mounted a strong campaign against the government for its alleged misgovernance and failure to protect the interests of the people of Tamil Nadu.

Dhinakaran, however, has set difficult conditions that will not be acceptable.

Political analysts doubt Dhinakarans ability to destabilise the government given the fact that he has not been able to wean away even a single MLA to his side, other than the 18 who were siding with him.

Only an adverse court ruling can cause the fall of the government on the floor of the House, they added.

Palaniswami will complete a year in office after he was catapulted into the leadership role following the resignation of the then chief minister Panneerselvam, who revolted against Sasikala and broke away from the party in February last year.

Panneerselvam subsequently returned to the party merging his breakaway faction and joined the government in August last year as the deputy chief minister.
Police arrested on Wednesday an unlicensed self-styled doctor accused of infecting at least 58 people with HIV in Uttar Pradeshs Unnao district by allegedly using the same syringe to inject all patients.

District administration also said it was looking at other reasons for the rapid spread of the infection in Bangarmau town, including the large migratory and trucking population in the area.

Other than the 58 cases, five more people have been declared HIV reactive, which means they might develop the infection later, according to data from the district magistrates office.

The prime accused, Rajendra Yadav, was arrested from the house of a relative where he was hiding, said Bangarmau station house officer (SHO) Amit Kumar Singh.

He has been booked under sections 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease deadly to life) and 308 (culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code and section 15(3) of the Indian Medical Council Act.

But doubts about Yadavs role have already started swirling. District magistrate NG Ravi Kumar said that while an FIR had been registered against Yadav based on villagers testimony, the fast spread of the infection indicated more than one factor might be responsible.

The syringe infection theory is doubtful because the virus doesnt survive in the needle months, and he was giving intra-muscular shots and not intravenous shots for it to spread the way it has spread. There is a possibility that it is a wrong accusation against the doctor, said the districts chief medical officer, SP Chowdhary.

The area has a high migrant trucker population, and the prevalence of unprotected sex could be the likely reason, he added.

Yadav, who would go around local villages on his bicycle to treat patients for as little as Rs 10, was arrested after a tip-off and authorities didnt encounter any resistance at the time of the arrest, Singh added.

The cases came to light in July 2017, when 12 people were found to be HIV positive. Later that year in November, 13 more from the area were found infected. And in a camp organised on January 24, 25 and 27, 38 more tested positive for the infection.

An FIR against Yadav was lodged by a doctor at the Bangarmau community health centre on January 31.

HIV spreads through an infected persons body fluids, such as blood, semen, pre-seminal fluids, and breast milk. In India, it spreads primarily through unsafe sex and sharing needles to inject drugs, which leads to stigma against those infected.

Experts said the big migrant population put Unnao among the high-risk districts for HIV. Joint director, basic services, UP State AIDS Control Society (UPSACS), Dr Preeti Pathak said, We have noticed high number of HIV positive cases among migrants in Bangarmau. Our study has shown that greater risk behaviour is due to migration, and it needs to be handled separately.

In particular, two of the 58 positive cases -- young migrant labourers between the ages of 15-24 years  have admitted they paid for sex without protection when they were out for work.

We can say migrant population has increased the risk for HIV, said Dr Pathak, who has been studying risk behaviour among migrant population. It isnt clear yet how many patients Yadav treated.

The large-scale infections have put a spotlight on the poor healthcare services that forced many villagers to seek cheap medicines from Yadav, who is said to be around 35. The quack would deal with colds, coughs and other ailments.

The United Nations says India has around 2.1 million people affected by HIV, the third-largest in the world, but new infection has declined, with fresh hotspots emerging in Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Delhi, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Odisha and Jharkhand.

(with inputs from AFP)
A day after a major bank robbery was averted by a vigilant police constable in Jaipur, the police commissioner held a meeting with the Reserve Bank of Indias regional director and senior bank officials in the city on Wednesday to discuss the security arrangements at banks.

Commissioner Sanjay Agrawal said that the RBI regional director Arnab Roy has called an emergency meeting of bank officials regarding the security issue and a compliance report shall be sent to the RBI within 20 days.

We are also planning to link the banks with our Abhay Command Centre for increased security, said the commissioner. He also urged the officials to follow the RBI guidelines regarding bank security and do monthly inspection of the arrangements.

Training the bank staff to be extra vigilant during public dealing, installing CCTV cameras that have face detection and night vision, and having an effective alarm system were some of the measures suggested by the police during the meeting, a note from the commissioners office said.

In the robbery attempt on Tuesday, no security alarm went off even after two alarm gates were breached. Senior police officials said that the bank flouted a number of security guidelines laid down by the RBI.

There were no time locks, currency was lying outside strong rooms, the corridors were not empty and the entry of bank employees was not through biometric machines, said the official pointing out the number of violations by the bank.

The bank was a chest branch of Axis Bank and had deposits worth 832 crore, exceeding the 500 crore limit it was authorised to have, said Yogesh Dadhich, deputy commissioner of police, Jaipur South.
At the age of 10, Alwars Pinki Kanwar was married to Himmat Singh of Rajasthans Dausa. At 19, she has succeeded in getting her child marriage annulled with the help of an NGO.

As a child bride, she lived her life in terror and underwent mental torture. People of her community pressurised her mother, who is a single parent, to get Pinki married at a young age.

After the wedding, Pinkis gauna was not performed as she was a child, but later her in-laws started pressurising for gauna. Her husband and in-laws frequently visited per home and even tried to kidnap Pinki and take her to their place. For nine years, Pinki and her mother, Meena Devi, lived in terror.

Meanwhile, Meena Devi got information about a child marriage annulment campaign by Dr Kriti Bharti of Saarthi Trust in Jodhpur. They went and met Dr Bharti.

After this, Pinkis in-laws to her house and tried to kidnap her, but her neighbours saved her. Meena Devi and Pinki narrated their ordeal to Dr Bharti.

Bharati called Pinki to Jodhpur and provided her protection and made her prepare for PTET exams. She cleared it and got admission in a college in Jodhpur. At present, Pinki is studying B.Ed in Jodhpur.

In June, Kanwar with the help of Dr Bharti, the rehabilitation psychologist and managing trustee of Saarthi Trust filed a petition in the Family Court-1 of Jodhpur to annul Pinkis child marriage.

Dr Bharti appeared for Pinki and presented documents relating to her age and forceful child marriage. She also informed the court about the physical disability of her husband and his incurable disease.

Judge Rekha Bhargava of the family court-1 of Jodhpur issued an order to annul Pinkis child marriage on Wednesday, which took place 10 years ago.

As the verdict was pronounced tears rolled down Pinkis cheeks and she and her mother hugged Dr Bharti.

I suffered for a decade and lived my life in fear. With Kriti didis help my child marriage is over and now I will study and become a teacher, said Pinki.

Dr Bharti said, Efforts are being made for Pinkis rehabilitation.

Dr Bharti is associated with a unique movement and got a child marriage annulled for the first time in India and then after in 2015 she got two more child marriages annulled in three days of court proceedings and created a history. For that, she found a place in the World Records of India and also in Limca Book of World Records.

Saarthi Trust has got 35 child marriages annulled in India and also prevented thousands of child marriages.
In the last three years, 1,113 cases of cow smuggling have been registered in Rajasthan and 2,198 smugglers were arrested, the state government said in a reply tabled in the state assembly on Wednesday.

In the written reply, the government said that there were 33 instances of firing between smugglers and police in the last three years. Seven policemen were injured in the incidents while one smuggler was killed and three injured.

BJP MLA Hiralal Nagar had an unstarred question demanding to know how many cases of cow smuggling were registered in the state in the last three years, how many smugglers were arrested, how many cows rescued and what action has been taken.

He also wanted to know the number of cases where cow smugglers had fired at the police and how many policemen or smugglers had been killed and injured.

In a written reply, the home department said that from 2015 to 2017, 16,428 cows were rescued and 1051 vehicles impounded by the police in the state. In its reply, the home department said that of the 1,113 cases, challans were presented in 931 cases and FIRs filed in 122 cases while the investigation is on in another 60 cases.

Asked about steps taken to prevent cow smuggling, the government said that police patrolling is carried out regularly and check-posts have been set up in various districts. The Rajasthan Bovine Animal (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 1995 is in force in the state. The process is on to make amendments in the act to make it more stringent, the government said.

Cow smuggling continues to be a menace in the state with Bharatpur and Alwar remaining the districts with the highest number of cases of cow smuggling followed at third spot by Jaipur rural district. Smugglers from neighbouring Haryana smuggle cows from Bharatpur and Alwar to slaughterhouses in Haryana.

The BJP government faced flak for violence by cow vigilantes against alleged cow smugglers. Pehlu Khan was lynched by a mob in Alwar in July 2017 for allegedly smuggling cows while another alleged cow smuggler was shot dead by Alwar police in December 2017.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee accused the Sikkim government of inciting trouble in the Darjeeling hills during her first visit to the region in eight months on Wednesday.

Delivering a 17-minute-long speech at a prize distribution ceremony in Chowrasta, Banerjee warned the neighbouring state against interfering in the regions internal matters by backing Gorkhaland agitators. There are both internal and external forces that desire unrest in Darjeeling hills. Sikkim benefits from violence and bandhs here, and that is why it gives money to troublemakers. Why do you want unrest here when I am all for peace in your state? she asked.

Banerjee, who is here on a three-day visit, will leave on Thursday.

The chief minister also accused the Modi government of ignoring the plight of Darjeeling residents.Stop seeking alms from the Centre and I will establish a state university in Darjeeling. Though the Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) has been demanding a central university in the hills, the Union government has failed to approve one, she said.

Banerjees relations with Sikkim soured after its chief minister, Pawan Chamling, shot off a letter advocating the creation of a separate Gorkhaland state to Union home minister Rajnath Singh last year. The Bengal government retaliated by sending another letter denouncing the neighbouring state for meddling in its affairs.

The Mamata Banerjee government believes that Bimal Gurung, a Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, enjoys the Sikkim governments patronage. After spending most of his time hiding in Sikkim since June 2017, he is currently camping in the national capital.

The chief minister handed over compensation cheques of Rs 2 lakh each to families of five of the 13 people killed during last years Gokhaland agitation on Wednesday. Although the GTA had shortlisted the names of nine deceased, a few families rejected the compensation offer.

Gurung was quick to react to Banerjees speech. I will continue to fight for Gorkhaland. I will pay homage to our martyrs by creating a separate state for us, he said in a press release.
Avian experts from across the world will attend the three-day International Bird Festival that will open in Dudhwa National Park on February 9.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath will inaugurate the event. On the occasion, he will release a coffee table book on the Dudhwa National Park and another book on the Lucknow Zoological Park.

The CM will also launch several schemes for members of Tharu tribe, especially women.

Meanwhile, the state forest department is busy mobilising a large number of people from the adjoining Lakhimpur Kheri district for the festival, which will be attended by bird experts from England, Israel, France, Finland and other countries.

During the fest, a bird watching competition will be organised in all 75 districts of UP. An exhibition to showcase and sell products prepared by Tharu community will also be organised.

Dudhwa is home to 456 bird species, including some rare ones such as the Bengal Pelican and the Adjutant Stork.
Former union minister Sanjeev Balyan met chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday, seeking withdrawal of 402 cases registered largely against Hindus during the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013.

The move comes weeks after Uttar Pradesh government sought information on the possibility of withdrawing nine criminal cases against BJP leaders in these riots in which Balyan too is an accused.

He was accompanied by members of the Muzaffarnagar and Shamli khap during the meeting with Adityanath, who is said to have assured the delegation that he will look into their demands.

Balyan confirmed the meeting. He said the delegation met Adityanath, not over the cases registered against them but against innocents by the previous Samajwadi Party government.

Along with 402 cases of arson, Balyan briefed the chief minister about nine other cases registered after riots largely against community women who were charged with preventing the police from carrying out the arrests of the men.

Balyan is the MP from Muzaffarnagar. The 2013 riots claimed over 60 lives, displaced nearly 50,000 people and shattered the Jat-Muslim unity, altering the political dynamics of western UP.

Asked if he thought the government could withdraw cases that are now in the court, Balyan said, If withdrawal isnt possible, we will seek re-inquiry as we are convinced that these cases were politically motivated.

Earlier on January 5, a law department official wrote to the Muzaffarnagar district magistrate, seeking information on 13 points, including whether the cases could be withdrawn in public interest.

The move was preceded by an announcement by chief minister Adityanath that his government will formulate a law providing for withdrawal of around 20,000 cases of political nature registered against leaders, lawmakers and ministers in UP.

A law department official, however, said it was wrong to presume the government had the power to withdraw cases pending with the court.

There is a process through which the government could request the court, but ultimately its up to the courts to take a view, the official said.
Is Lucknow linked to Laxman?

Even as a debate over Taj Mahals Hindu origin is yet to be settled, a largely muted right-wing claim linking Lucknow to Laxman is set to gain fresh currency.

Thats because BJP veteran Lalji Tandon has flagged a controversy by penning Ankaha Lucknow  a book in which he goes on to accuse Muslims  from the time of Khilji dynastys Alauddin Khilji to Mughal emperor Aurangzeb  of systematically disconnecting the citys connect with the younger brother of Lord Ram.

Accusing modern day political parties of feigning ignorance to this distortion, Tandon, a close aide of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, plans to follow up the books formal launch, possibly in March, with a series of public discussions featuring historians to piece together an authenticated version of Lucknows culture and history.

As if on cue, a city-based archaeologist DP Tiwari has said that if fresh digging was to be carried out in citys Laxman Teela - where Tandon claims Aurangzeb built a mosque - it could indeed throw up archaeological evidence to substantiate the citys Laxman connect.

Tiwari in fact, refers to Uttar Kand  a portion of Valmikis Ramayana to indicate that the religious scripture too bears testimony of Laxman having travelled down to the Teela after crossing the Gomti.

Religious texts bear association of Laxmanji with the Teela where digging in the past had revealed painted greyware pottery that dates its origin to the Mahabharata era. I would suggest that after Tandonjis book fresh digging could be carried out to check for ochre colored pottery which relate to the Ramayana period, Tiwari said.

But Professor Makhan Lal, who is director of Delhis Institute of Heritage Management, was guarded in his take on Laxman Teela.

All that I can say is that there is a place called Laxman Teela that could have come into existence around 3600 years ago, even earlier and yes, there is a mosque built on it, supposedly by Aurangzeb, he said without getting into Tandons claim that have angered the Samajwadi Party.

Thats because the BJP veteran has gone on to claim that between SPs rule from 2012 to 2017 the citys alienation with Laxman Teela was complete.

He also refers to the existence of the now-demolished Shesh Gufa that he claims existed on the Laxman Teela.

As per a Hindu belief, while Ram was the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, Laxman was the incarnation of Shesh Naag, the serpent king who guards Lord Vishnu  reason Tandon offers to support Gufas existence and subsequent demolition during Alauddin Khiljis reign.

The place is now known as Teele Wali Masjid and the manner in which Laxman Teela, our great cultural heritage of which Gufa was a part, was either demolished or allowed to rust is an unpardonable sin, said Tandon, who cited Lucknow-based historian Abdul Haleem Sharar to support his claim.

Angered by his accusation, the SP shot back. The Teele Wali Masjid has been in existence for years. In fact instead of writing about it now, he should have done something when he was the urban development minister in the Kalyan Singh government in 1990s, said former UP minister and SP spokesman Rajendra Chowdhary.
Over 1,000 Nepali students enrolled in madarsas across the state may not be to take exams of Uttar Pradesh Madarsa Education Board due to lack of Aadhaar cards, a mandatory pre-requisite for the test, claimed a madarsa teachers body.

The issue has been hanging fire now for close to a month as the state government is yet to take a call on whether to allow or deny permission to these Nepali students. With just four days remaining to the February 10 deadline to fill up the examination forms, the Madarise Arbia Teachers Association (MATA) has shot off an SOS to the Madarsa Shiksha Board.

Forms of madarsa examinations are being filled. If the mandatory provision of providing Aadhaar number is not withdrawn, then nearly 1,000 students hailing from Nepal will not be able to take the exam for munshi, maulvi, aalim, kaamil and faazil, said general secretary, Madarise Arbia Teachers Association, Diwan Sahab Jaman Khan.

Nepalese citizens get birth and citizenship certificates, and based on one of these documents, they are given admissions to madarsas in India, he said. The last date to fill the examination form is February 10, and without furnishing Aadhaar details, the examination forms will not be accepted, said Khan.

UPMEB registrar Rahul Gupta said only the state government could take a call on the fate of these students and that the Board had apprised it about the situation. But deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma told PTI, We are yet to get any such case. If any such case comes to us, then we will think over it and arrive at a decision as per the provisions of the law.

Gupta said the government has been apprised about the matter and he was awaiting directives. This is exactly what minister for minority welfare Chaudhary Laxmi Narain had said when he was asked the same question last month. Narain had said that the state government would take a lenient view and allow them to appear for if they approached it.

Consequently, the state government had extended the January 20 deadline to February 10 to enable students to fill up the forms.

Inputs from PTI
Ajay Gautam, 35, (name changed), who tested positive for HIV that causes AIDS at a screening camp on January 25, says: I hope to get back to work once I recover.

His wife Kalawati, 30 (name changed) also tested positive for HIV at the same camp, he says.

I am a labourer and I earn Rs 250 daily, says the resident of Premgunj in Bangarmau, where most number of HIV positive patients were detected.

At least 38 people in Bangarmau town in Unnao tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in January after a quack allegedly used a single syringe to treat all his patients leading to the spread of the virus, Unnao chief medical officer SP Chowdhary has said.

Twenty-five others were found to be infected with HIV last year in this largely rural area.

A farmer Pragyan, 60, and his Neema Devi, 55, (both names changed) were among those who tested positive for HIV.

Neema hopes she will recover soon. Pragyan blames doctors of the local community health centre for his and his wifes condition.

Had the doctors of the CHC given medicines to us free of cost, as provided by the state government, no one would have gone to the quack, says Pragyan.

Dheeru, 32, says he used to wash cars for a living and his wife Reema 30, (both names changed) did embroidery and stitching work before they were infected with HIV. Neither is able to work now, he says, adding, they have no money to visit Kanpur for the anti-retroviral therapy.

He says he had to borrow money from his neighbour to visit the ART centre earlier.

He adds, I have not been to my workplace for the last few days. I am given some food by our neighbours daily. My wife is still doing some stitching and embroidery work to keep us going. I hope to recover and get back to work soon.

Devendra, 14, (name changed), a class 9 student and resident of Premgunj, has not been going to school for the last 15 days as he too has tested positive for HIV.

He feels sleepy and complains of nausea because of the drugs given by the ART clinic at Rawatpur in Kanpur.

Devendra says, I dont know whether my friends will welcome me back or not. I have read a bit about HIV. I am not telling my parents (who too have tested positive for HIV) about the havoc caused by this disease the world over. I know my immune system is compromised. But I cant say this to amma and papa, who are also suffering from this disease, as they will lose hope. They think they will recover soon.
The special task force (STF) of the UP Police busted a copying racket and arrested three persons, including the principal from a school in Naini, on the first day of the UP Board 2018 exam in Allahabad on Tuesday, police said.

A case under the anti-copying act has been registered by the STF at the Naini police station against the three, they added. Additional SP (ASP), STF, Praveen Singh Chauhan said the STF personnel were on the alert right from the morning and that CCTV recordings were being scrutinised of different schools conducting the exam.

When an STF team reached the Bal Bharti School at ADA colony in Naini in the second shift, Hindi paper-1 exam of class 12 was on. Despite the CCTV cameras being in place, a teacher, identified as Anil Kumar, of Bara, was found dictating answers to students in the classroom number 6. He was arrested on the spot and the cheating material seized and sealed, he said.

The ASP further said during the investigation it emerged that school principal Shiv Prasad and another teacher Shiv Shankar Mishra had taken Rs 2000 to Rs 3000 per student to assist them in cheating. These two were also arrested and an FIR registered against all three at the Naini police station, Chauhan added.

Earlier in the day, the 2018 UP Board exam commenced under tight security at 8057 examinations centres in 75 districts of state.

On the very first day, 1, 80,826 students left the exam believed to be a result of strict anti-copying measures enforced by the board. A total of 67,29,540 students are registered for this years UP Boards High School and Intermediate examination of 25,896 schools affiliated to the Board. They include 2152 government run, 4535 government aided besides 19209 un-aided institutions.

Of the total students registered for the exam, 37, 12,508 are for high school (class 10) while 30, 17,032 are appearing in intermediate (class 12) examination.

In the first shift between 7.30am and 10.45am, examinations of home science subject of high school students and Hindi literature paper-1 of intermediate students was held. In the second shift between 2pm and 5.15 pm, general Hindi paper-1 exam of intermediate students was held.

UP Board secretary Nina Srivastava said owing to Hindi being a mandatory paper, all the registered 2981327 intermediate students were to appear in the exam but 127726 or 4.28 per cent, skipped the exam.

Likewise, as per information made available online by the centre superintendent, out of the total registered 963510 high school students for home science exam, 53100 (5.51 per cent) did not appear in it, she added.

Srivastava shared that on first day 16 students were caught cheating across the state including three from Mathura. FIRs against one student in Pratapgarh besides a school manager and an invigilator at Chandauli was registered for cheating and aiding mass copying.

Among those leaving the exam, Hardoi topped with 11141 students skipping the exam. A bundle of question papers went missing in Hardoi two days back and due to which the board officials had to change question papers of six subjects in 13 districts. Other districts with high count of those skipping the exam included Azamgarh (8842), Jaunpur (6330), Gonda (6299) and Moradabad (6034).
For decades France has exported millions of bottles of Beaujolais to Japan every November, with some people celebrating its arrival by bathing in the fruity young red wine. Now Japanese rice wine makers hope to turn the tide by bringing sake nouveau to France. While wine critics are apt to turn up their noses up at overly young banana-scented Beaujolais, the sake nouveau being sent to France is one of Japans best-kept secrets, its promotors claim. A dozen top French chefs are so passionate about Japans national drink that they have incorporated sake nouveau into their menus this week, either serving it with French food or including it in their recipes.

Sake nouveau is unpasteurised and only lasts for six weeks or so after it is bottled. But it has much more body, taste and nose than classic sake, said Youlin Ly, the Parisian restauranteur behind the drive. It is almost unknown to most Japanese drinkers, he admitted, where sake has been losing ground in recent decades to beer and wine. Sake is very much a local drink in Japan. People traditionally tend only to drink the sake of their region or village, Ly told AFP.

There are local events in little villages for the sake nouveau but nothing national. Sake is always made in winter because you need steady low temperatures to control the fermentation and the first sake tends to mature in January and February, added Ly, who owns the Maison du Sake in the French capital. Michelin-starred chef William Ledeuil, who is famed for his fusion cuisine, is using sake nouveau in a dish of lacquered beef and foie gras, adding it to a broth infused with cedrat, yuzu and lemongrass.

Unlike some classic sakes which are served warm, modern styles of sake and sake nouveau are served cold in wine glasses. (Shutterstock)

Modern sake drunk like wine

I also use it like peasants did long ago with wine by adding a bit to the bottom of a saucepan of soup, said the owner of the KGB and Kitchen Ter(re) restaurants in Paris. Two-starred chef Alexandre Gauthier was so taken with sake nouveau that it is the only non-French beverage allowed onto the wine list of his acclaimed La Grenouillere restaurant near Le Touquet in northern France. And it has also been included on the menu of the Mirazur at Menton on the French Riviera, which came fourth in the British-based list of the Worlds 50 Best Restaurants.

Unlike some classic sakes which are served warm, modern styles of sake and sake nouveau are served cold in wine glasses, said Ly. Most Japanese people unfortunately have no great knowledge of sake, and fewer still know about sake nouveau. But there is real rise in interest now with new generation of producers making sake in a very different way. Classically the taste of sake was not meant to get in the way of the food. In general it wouldnt have much nose, or any real aroma at all. Nor was it very long in the mouth, Ly added.

But that was changing. Nouveau sakes and modern sakes are much more aromatic and are very much made to be drunk like a wine, he said. For now only one brand of sake nouveau, Dassai, made in the small town of Iwakuni near Hiroshima, is being brought to France. But next year Ly said he hoped to have at least ten others. For the last five years we have seen a real surge of interest in sake in France. The volume being sold is still very small (around 50,000 bottles a year), but it is going up all the time, with the countrys leading wine retailer now stocking sake.

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At some basic level all wine-making is a collaboration between nature and man. You couldnt make wine without grapes and all fruit is a product of nature. But equally, a bunch of grapes is not the same as a bottle of wine. To make good wine from the grapes, you need a wine-maker who knows how to extract the best flavour.

It is a slight oversimplification to say that the battle between New World (America, New Zealand, Australia etc.) wine makers and those from the Old World (Italy, Germany but mainly France) is a battle about what is more important: nature or man.

It is an oversimplification because everybody who makes wine accepts that the quality of the grapes is paramount. And a great wine-maker is a great wine-maker, regardless of whether he is making wine in Burgundy or in California.

But it is true that the Old World regards nature as being more important than the human factor whereas the New World makes more of the role of the winemaker and makes less of a fuss about nature.

The role of nature is best captured by the French word terroir. This does not just refer to the soil where the grapes are grown (though that is the most important component) but to micro-climate, the amount of sun the vines get, etc.

The French view is that great wine can only come from great terroir. And so the great vineyards have not changed that much over the centuries. The greatest wines of Bordeaux, for instance, come from the same vineyards today that they did as far back as 300 years ago.

It is a measure of the French obsession with terroir that they still quote the 1855 classification of Bordeaux wine. This was a system of arranging wines into classes (first growth, second growth etc.) based, not on some subjective criterion but, on the prices they commanded in the middle of the 19th Century. The first growths from 1855 are still the most expensive wines in Bordeaux and are treated with respect and awe. (The original First Growths were Latour, Lafite, Margaux and Haut-Brion. In 1973, the powerful Baron Philippe Rothschild lobbied the French government to have his Mouton promoted from second growth to first).

The 1855 classification strikes many people as odd. How can a vineyard which is down the road from a First Growth be rated much lower? Shouldnt they have the same terroir? No, say the French, the terroir varies from square foot to square foot.

In Burgundy, the great rival to Bordeaux as Frances premier wine producing region, terroir is even more important. While Bordeaux vineyards can be large, most Burgundy growers only have small parcels of land. And even within those parcels, they have micro-terroir. At first, I used to be vaguely sceptical when Burgundy growers would say things like the first row of vines produces much better wine than the third row but over time, I have come to accept that there is something to these distinctions.

A map of the Bordeaux wine country. (Shutterstock)

The French are less worried about grape varieties than producers in other countries. Nearly all red Burgundy is made from Pinot Noir while nearly all the white is made from Chardonnay. So when you tell a great Burgundy producer that he is making Chardonnay, he usually looks at you with faint contempt. As Aubert de Villaine, the legendary proprietor of Domaine Romanee Conti, which produces some of the worlds greatest (and certainly, most expensive) wines says, the grape is not important. It is only a means of conveying the terroir of the vineyard.

You can be sniffy about these statements. But you only have to taste the wines to realise how irrelevant the grape is in Burgundy, at least compared to the terroir. Take the white wines of Burgundy, easily the greatest whites of all. A wine from say, Chablis, will taste nothing like a Meursault. And the Meursault will taste different from Puligny Montrachet. The villages that these wines come from are only a few miles from each other. But the terroir is so important that it yields completely different wines from exactly the same grape.

Last week, at a dinner in Singapore I listened to Aubert de Villaine tell us about the wines of Romanee Conti. The estate is relatively small so all the vineyards are near each other. These tiny vineyards (usually about three to six hectares in size) yield small productions. And yet the wines are distinctive and each has a character of its own.

At the dinner we drank Romanee Saint Vivant (they produce 1500 cases a year), Echezeaux (1300 cases), La Tache (1800 cases) and the eponymous Romanee Conti (only 450 cases).

How, I kept asking myself, could an estate of 28 hectares produce so many distinctive wines from the same grapes, each of which was the best in its class?

As Domaine Romanee Conti (or DRC as it is often referred to) uses no tricks in its cellars, the answer has to be that it is located on what must be the best terroir in the world. In true French tradition, the vineyards have had a reputation for excellence dating back to the 12th Century.

While great terroir will always yield great wine, even the French will not deny that mediocre to good vineyards can be made to turn out first rate wine if a talented wine maker puts his mind to it. The wine-maker will typically, check how the vineyards is irrigated, alter the pruning of the vines, increase the space between the bushes and pick the grapes when they are at their best etc. And he will also introduce a few refinements to the process of fermenting the grapes.

The vineyards of Burgundy. (Shutterstock)

In truth, there are few wines that cannot be improved by a great wine-maker. This is why many of the great Chateau-owners of Bordeaux have bought lesser vineyards and put their wine-making teams to work. Usually, there has been a marked improvement in the quality of the wines. (Often it is just a question of investment in new vats etc. in the winery.)

Many New World wine-makers call the French terrroirists because some (mainly American) wine experts believe that the whole notion of terroir is predicated on the assumption that you cant make great wine unless you have an ancient vineyard that is noted for its terroir. And, almost by definition, New World wine-makers do not have that advantage.

Even in the Old World, the terroir argument can be challenged. Italy re-launched itself as a world class wine producer on the basis of the so-called Super Tuscans. These were wines that merged Italian grapes with the great grapes of France. (Cabernet Sauvignon, for instance.) As the plantings were new (the Cabernet Sauvignon was planted in a Bordeaux-like manner in areas where only Italian vines had once grown) the terroir argument was less easy to apply. In some cases, the vineyards themselves were relatively new.

And even in France, there is the example of Michel Rolland, nicknamed the Flying Winemaker, who became a hugely important figure in the wine world over a decade ago. Rolland went to people who made bad or mediocre wines and taught them how to change their style of wine-making. In most cases, the wines that were produced after Rollands intervention fetched higher prices. Soon Rolland was the consultant wine maker at wineries all over the world (including Grover in Bangalore).

If wine was all about terroir then why was Rolland, a Flying Winemaker, so successful? Didnt his success suggest that human skill was more important than nature?

It is a controversial question especially after the influential documentary Mondovino (in which Rolland appeared) portrayed him as a sort of Anti-Christ who travelled the world urging people to give up the traditional wines they had made for generations and to make his kind of uniform, one-style-fits-all global wine.

Rollands time at the top also coincided with the rise of the American wine writer Robert Parker who became the most powerful wine critic in the world, giving marks out of 100 to each wine and, effectively, determining its market price.

Critics complained that Rolland and Parker liked the same style of wine-making, one that yielded jammy, fruity, concentrated wines. Rolland never made elegant wines, said the critics and Parker had no appreciation of elegance.

I wont take sides in this battle but what it does demonstrate is that in the 21st Century, the wine maker is an increasingly influential figure. Good wine may be about nature and terroir. But you need a commercially savvy wine-maker to get you a good price in the market. The global wine market today comprises mostly first-generation wine-drinkers whose idea of what a good wine should taste like is determined by the tastes of people like Parker.

I reckon it doesnt matter very much to the DRC category wines. (Parker has failed to have any impact on the complex wines of Burgundy though he has influenced winemaking styles in Bordeaux.) At that level it is still only about terroir. All excellent wines will always find a market among those who can afford them.

But in the rest of wine world, the role of man is increasingly becoming more important than the role of nature.The cult of the celebrity winemaker and the creation of a uniform, clearly commercial style of winemaking are edging out historical notions of terroir.
A 20-year-old youth, a Class 6 dropout, was arrested on Tuesday for selling cannabis (ganja) for the past one year.

The police have recovered 5 kg ganja, whose market value is Rs 3.4 lakh, from him.

It was found by the police that the accused used to sell ganja to only children and youth from well-to-do families.

Mahesh Choudhary is resident of Dombivli and has told the police that he peddles drugs for his household expenses.

The police also seized a car, which the youth said belongs to his friend.

When police questioned the friend, he said was not aware Choudhary being a drug peddler.

A police officer from Thane crime branch said, Choudhary used to sell ganja to residents of posh housing societies so that he could sell at a higher price and earn more money.

Senior police inspector from Thane crime branch unit 3, Saju Jhon, said, We got to know through our informer that a youth had been selling ganja. When our officers confirmed this, we formed a team and arrested Choudhary, who was about to get in a car in Dombivli on Tuesday. When we asked about the car, he told that the car does not belong to him.

According to Choudhary, he had told his friend that he needed the car to drop his relative at the station but he went to Dombivli to sell ganja.

Jhon added, We checked the car and found 5 kgs of ganja. As per the court order, we will destroy the seized narcotics. Choudhary was remanded in police custody till Friday.
The Bombay high court on Wednesday, granted the Kala Ghoda Association conditional permission to use Cross Maidan for hosting musical events as part of the on-going Kala Ghoda Arts Festival.

The bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice PN Deshmukh has asked the association to file an unconditional undertaking within two days, stating there will not be any commercial activity or food stalls at Cross Maidan and the entry to the events held on the recreation ground will be free for all.

The court, however, rapped the city collector for adopting flawed procedure in dealing with the application of the association. Prima facie it appears to us that the entire decision-making process is contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court with regard to the use of public properties, said the bench.

The judges were irked to note that the collector had initially granted permission for the events free of cost. Later, when a charge was levied on the organizers, no conditions were imposed.

The judges were initially reluctant to allow use of Cross Maidan for the musical events associated with the festival. However, they granted conditional permission after advocate Birendra Saraf, who represented the association, pointed out that musical events as part of the festival were being held at Cross Maidan since 2012, when Kala Ghoda area was declared a silence zone.

He also pointed out that Organisation for Verdant Ambient and Land (OVAL), which manages and maintains Oval Maidan, has been granting permissions to the association on certain conditions, but it never objected to setting up food stalls at Cross Maidan.

He assured that there will not be any food stalls or any other commercial activity at Cross Maidan.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the state government seeking permission to allow Kala Ghoda Association to use Cross Maidan for events forming part of the arts festival.

The plea was necessitated, after a petition filed by OVAL, the high court had in December 2017 restrained the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from allowing any private party to use Cross Maidan without prior permission of the court.
The Bombay high court on Tuesday stayed Vasai Virar Municipal Corporations action to suspend licenses of 20 meat sellers from Nalla Sopara on the suspicion that they were selling beef.

A bench of Justices Abhay Oka and PN Deshmukh questioned the action merely on the basis of suspicion. The bench asked if mere suspicion was valid ground to suspend licences of meat sellers when there was no apparent breach of any terms and conditions of the licences. On what basis has the corporation suspended the licences, on mere suspicion? the bench asked the corporations lawyer. Is it a common practice to go about suspending licences even if there is no apparent breach of terms and conditions?

The bench was hearing a petition filed by meat sellers from Nalla Sopara challenging closure notices issued to them on December 16, 2017 by the civic body and in the meantime suspending their licenses.

The civic body not only suspended their licenses, but had also written to the local police to ensure they did not keep their shops open. According to the municipal corporation, on December 15-16 last year, it seized around 550 kgs of beef from the area where the meat shops are located. It suspended licenses of meat sellers, suspecting that the beef might have come from one of them. The meat sellers, however, denied that they were involved in the illegality.

They claimed that the corporation did not issue any notice and simply revoked their licences and asked them to shut shop. We are aware that illegal slaughter and sale of beef is rampant in the locality. We have no role in it, their lawyer, Drupad Patil, told the court.

Acting on the petition, the bench has also restrained the municipal corporation from taking any coercive action against the petitioners. First of all, there is no allegation in the notice that the petitioners have committed any breach of licence terms, the bench said. Secondly, there is no proof that they were found to be selling beef. The notice (issued by the corporation suspending the licences) is ex-facie illegal, it said.
The entire 20-km monorail corridor between Chembur and Jacob Circle (Saat Rasta) is unlikely to open to the public by the end of this month, as speculated earlier.

The reason: the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) has given five companies time till February 28 to submit bids for operation and maintenance of the corridor. The bidders are ILFS-Rail India Limited, Reliance Infrastructure, Aecom, BVG India Limited and Scomi Engineering Limited.

The 8.8-km corridor between Chembur and Wadala was commissioned in February 2014. The services have remained suspended since November 9 last year owing to a fire. The remainder 10.6-km corridor between Wadala and Jacob Circle has missed several deadlines. Earlier, there were speculations that the entire line will be made operational by February 1.

MMRDA officials attributed the delay to poor response from contractors. It had to call for bids thrice. A senior official from MMRDA said, There are two reasons for the delay. One, we found it difficult to get contractors; and second, we are still waiting for the clearance from the railway safety commissioner to operationalise the second phase.

The bid-evaluation and awarding contracts will take more than a month, the official revealed.

MMRDA expects the ridership to be around 2 lakh daily, once the entire corridor is operational. Phase-1 had a daily ridership of about 17,000 passengers. A right to information (RTI) application filed in September 2017 revealed that monorail on an average lost Rs3 lakh daily.

Since its inception in 2014, the Rs2,500-crore project has been marred by disruptions and delays. With the delay in operationalising the phase-2 of the corridor, as per initial agreements, MMRDA has also slapped a fine of Rs7.5 lakh on the current contractor  Malaysia-based Scomi. The penalty is being charged on a daily basis starting January 1, 2018.
A major fire broke out in a cloth mill at Italian Industrial Estate near Oberoi Mall, Goregaon, on Wednesday morning. So far, no injury or casualty has been reported. The fire started at the ground floor of the three-storey building located in the industrial estate on Mulund Link Road.

At 7.52am, the firefighters termed its as level 3 fire.

The fire brigade control room received a call at 7.15 am after which firefighters reached the spot in 15 minutes, said an official from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporations disaster management cell. Eight fire engines, 7 water tankers and 3 ambulance were rushed to the spot. At 7.52am, the firefighters termed its as level 3 fire. The fire was brought under control by 12.45pm.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained. Further details are awaited, the official said.

[With inputs from agencies]
Women hawkers will be the first ones to get hawking pitches and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has also timed the handover well: itll be on International Womens Day on March 8.

The women hawkers will be issued identity cards and will be accommodated on the approved hawking pitches. The civic body is currently scrutinising documents of hawkers to determine their eligibility. A civic official said, After scrutiny, eligible hawkers are likely to be less than the total number of hawking pitches. The eligible hawkers will be issued proper identity cards and their license will be linked with their Aadhar to avoid manipulation.

There are more than 99,435 city-based hawkers, surveyed in 2014, whose eligibility is still being verified. Officials from the license department said the number of eligible hawkers will significantly decrease after the verification process is done. One hawking pitch will be occupied by one hawker.

However, handing over the pitches on March 8 will be possible after the list of proposed 85,891 hawking pitches is approved before the said date. If not, the women hawkers will just e issued certificates of eligibility on that day, said a civic official.

Nidhi Chaudhary, deputy municipal commissioner, said, Since the deadline for suggestions and objections for the proposed hawking pitches has been extended till February 15, it is difficult to say that the pitches will be approved by then. However, we will try to issue certificates to eligible women hawkers by March 8.

Political leaders and activists in the civic body are strongly opposing the move stating that the administration should rather focus on working on the objectionable pitches proposed. Ravi Raja, leader of opposition in the civic body, said, There is a list of annual international days coming up, but if the administration keeps allocating hawkers according to the days then it will take a very long time to settle this issue.

Hina Shroff, an activist, said, What does gender have to do with the allotment of hawkers on the pitches. Citizens have serious concerns with the proposed hawking list which should be immediately addressed.

While others said since the list of hawking pitches was not submitted to the statutory committees of the civic body before it was uploaded on the website, its validity is uncertain. Rais Shaikh, Samajwadi Party leader, said, This is clearly a publicity stunt. The officials proposing to allot hawking pitches to women hawkers first should go back to the list of pitches and check its validity. If the administration goes ahead with this proposal, it will have to face strong opposition.
Five people were killed on the spot after their speeding car veered off the road and crashed into a banyan tree at Patilwadi, Palghar, in the early hours of Wednesday.

The accident took place around 3am, when the group of friends was returning home after attending a wedding party in Vadrai, a fishing village in Palghar, which is around 110km from Mumbai.

The deceaseds families have identified them as Nilesh Tamore, 25, a resident of Tarapur; Kiran Parshuram Paghdare, 30, a resident of Vadrai; Dipesh Paghdare, 24, from Satpati; Viraj Arjun Vetal, 25, a resident of Palghar; and Santosh Vaman Bahiram, 37, a resident of Khanpada, Palghar.

Vetal owned the silver Volksvagen Vento and was driving the car when he lost control at a sharp turn and crashed.

Danish Khan, a local pot seller who lives in makeshift hut near the accident spot, said he heard a loud screech of tyres and rushed out and saw the accident take place. I saw the car colliding into a huge banyan tree and then getting thrown into the nullah by the side of the road, Khan said. I tried to pull the passengers out, but they were stuck inside and I was helpless.

Constable Prakash Raut from Satpati police station, who was heading to the station for morning duty, saw the car in the ditch and called for two ambulances. The five men were taken to the Palghar rural hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival.

A JCB crane was brought in to pull out the mangled remains of the car.

A post-mortem is being conducted and we are waiting for the report, said assistant police inspector Mansinh Patil from Satpati coastal police station. We will register an appropriate case under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code after we get the report.

Patil said preliminary investigations suggest that the driver lost control of the vehicle while taking a sharp turn. Her may have been speeding as the road was almost empty at the time of the accident. Investigations are on, he said.
The Marine Drive police arrested four men from Ahmedabad on Tuesday, for allegedly submitting documents of two fake companies at the German consulate in south Mumbai to get visas.

This is the second such incident that the German consulate has registered this year; the earlier case was filed in January. The consulate, which has been conducting rigorous checks, registered seven cases of fake document submission in 2017.

While examining the visa documents submitted by the four accused, consulate officials realised that the men had forged documents to show that they had floated two companies, Nexus Furniture and Libra Furniture. The consulate then filed a police complaint.

When the four men returned to the consulate to collect their passports, which they had submitted with documents seven months ago, consulate officials informed the police, who arrested them on charges of cheating and forgery.

Police officials said the mastermind of the racket is an agent in Ahmedabad, who promised the four accused visas to Germany. It was based on the agents advice that the four men submitted fake documents. The men claimed they wanted to visit Germany to be a part of an exhibition, said an officer from Marine Drive police station, who did not wish to be named. We are now looking for the agent who is the mastermind; he must have forged documents for many others.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be finally reconstructing the Hancock Bridge, which was dismantled in 2016, over Sandhurst Road station within the next three years. More than two years after the 137-year-old Hancock bridge was demolished, the civic bodys standing committee on Wednesday passed the proposal to reconstruct it.

The new bridge will be longer and wider than the earlier one, said officials. The 64.6-metre-long bridge will be reconstructed in a span of 19 months spread over 3 years. The project will cost the BMC around Rs52 crore.

In January 2016, the Central Railway declared the bridge too old and an overhead hindrance for trains, and then demolished it. Usually, road over bridges are built by the railway authority using BMC funds. But it was decided then that the BMC will be rebuilding it. These projects, however, need approval from the railway authority, said Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer for Central Railway.

The Bombay high court had rapped the BMC for the project delay after a public interest litigation complaining about lack of access from Sandhurst Road east to west was filed. Railway officials said motorists had been using the vehicular bridges between Sandhurst Road and Masjid stations and Sandhurst Road and Byculla stations.

Chief engineer (bridges) Shitalaprasad Kori told HT, We had been following up with the proposal for 2 years. We have agreed to all the conditions put forth by the Central Railway and the bridge will be constructed without hindering railway lines.

The BMC will issue the work order to Sai Projects (Mumbai) Pvt Ltd, a civil engineering company, which is involved in many railway projects. Sunil Kodnani, director of the company, said, It will be a difficult project as there are many encroachments in the area. We hope to finish the bridge in time.

Meanwhile, BJP councillor Abhijit Samant questioned the high price of the work and said the civic body had not negotiated with the contractor at all.
More than 16 lakh farmers have been left in the lurch after details filled by them in the applications seeking loan waivers failed to match with the details available with the banks they have their accounts in. The farmers will have to wait longer for the waiver as the details are being scrutnised manually.

During the review meeting on Tuesday by a cabinet sub-committee, headed by cooperation minister Subhash Deshmukh, it came to light that only 31.32 lakh farmers were given a waiver amounting to Rs12,363 crore till February 5. Although the state prepared a list of 47.73 lakh eligible farmers, their data did not match with the bank details. This resulted in the scrutiny of 16.41 lakh bank accounts.

We have been guiding applicants to the banks to get their accounts verified, after which the amount of their outstanding loans will be credited into their accounts. The process is time consuming because verification is being done manually. It may take another couple of months to transfer the amount into farmers bank accounts, an official privy to the development said.

The question being raised now is how did the government clear the list of 47.73 lakh farmers, termed as the green list, with mismatched data.

Sources from the cooperation department said of the 16.41 lakh farmers awaiting a waiver despite their names appearing in the green list, eight lakh are eligible for a One Time Settlement (OTS). These farmers will have to pay the remaining amount of their outstanding debt to avail the benefit of Rs1.50 lakh from state.

The response from famers in the OTS category is poor, as most are unable to raise the remaining amount to repay their loans. About 8,000 of the eight lakh farmers have approached banks to avail the waiver, the official said.

The state has 22 lakh applicants whose accounts need verification so that they can become eligible for the waiver. The government said tehsil-level committees will verify the details.

We have been saying since the beginning that the government is fooling the farmers. Although the state has touted the waiver as historic and largest in the country, not more than 40 lakh farmers are going benefit from the scheme, said Sachin Sawant, state Congress spokesperson.

After the government announced the waiver, 77 lakh farmers applied, of which 69 lakh applications are being considered. About two months ago, the state had announced the first list of 47.73 lakh eligible farmers who were supposed to get Rs23, 102 crore.
The police are consistently trying to be citizen-friendly to provide better service to the people, says Mumbai police commissioner DD Padsalgikar.

In turn, the Mumbai police ask citizens to cooperate by being alert and more responsible. This will help make policing easier and more effective, he said. In a freewheeling chat with Hindustan Times, Padsalgikar talks about the new challenges and how they have adopted technology to help them solve cases.

What are the challenges of modern-day policing, especially with the influx of social media?

The social media, because of the anonymity it provides, sometimes poses a challenge. But, we see its positive side, the wide reach and the advantages. Social media has made communication faster. We have around 4.2 million followers on Twitter possibly the largest for any police force in the world. Our Twitter team engages with citizens daily across various age groups and has initiated campaigns on drink- driving, drug-related issues and cybercrime. We have also used Twitter as a platform where complaints can be filed 24x7. This has helped instil faith among citizens to a large extent.

How has the emergence of high-resolution closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera technology changed crime detection? Does it act as a credible deterrent? What are the realistic advancements we can expect in the coming year and beyond?

The CCTV cameras have helped us a lot, especially during big protests such as the Maratha morcha. It has also helped us during major festivities where we need to control crowd. It helps us decide the number of personnel to be deployed. The personnel are briefed about the situation and the measures, which simplifies policing and makes it more effective. The technology has also helped us solve crimes. CCTVs have started to act as a deterrent. It is primarily because many criminals are still not aware of the presence of cameras. We have around 5,000 CCTVs and we plan to strengthen the network.

Gone are the days when you saw the underworld fighting it out on the streets. What are the reasons for the dip in street crimes?

Almost all gangsters are not active as they used to be because of action taken over a period of years. Although the traditional organised crime is under control, we have been keeping a strict vigil on them. When it comes to street crimes, we keep a watch on habitual criminals and those released from the jail. Invoking the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against criminals and intensifying patrolling have helped us curb crimes to a large extent. In 2013, we had 2,078 chain-snatching cases. Last year, we had only 169 cases, which is a considerable drop.

What measures are being taken to reduce crimes against women which are on the rise? Is Mumbai still as safe for women or is it becoming another Delhi?

The statistical increase in crimes against women is more to do with the awareness we have created. This has helped people report crimes. I have personally asked each police station to treat cases against women, children and senior citizens on a priority.

Cybercrimes are a new challenge for the police. What measures have you taken to thwart a possible cyberattack, considering there are key vital installations in the city?

Cybercrimes have been on the rise and this is why we have created cyber units in each of the police station. We are setting up four more cyber police stations with 50 well-trained personnel each. A special authority has been formed by the government to specifically handle cyber threats.

Mumbai has one of the lowest per capita deployment of police

personnel among all the major cities in the world. For a population of 15 million, we have only around 100 police stations. Do you think there is a need to augment the force strength?

New Yorks police force strength is the same as Mumbai. Technologically, they are far ahead and its population is much lower than Mumbai. If you lose a mobile phone in New York, the police will ask you to approach a general insurance company. We cannot do that in Mumbai. We are in a different league when it comes to crime. We cannot keep recruiting endlessly. We have to match the force with technology which will effectively help us in improving policing.

How terror-ready are we? Do we have the adequate training and weapons? Considering that bulletproof vests failed quality test, are the Mumbai police planning any other procurement?

Mumbai has always been on the radar and we look into terror threats as our foremost priority. Our quick reaction teams are well-trained and well-equipped. The anti-terrorist cells at each police station are our eyes and ears. We have also formed Force 1, which is comparable to a SWAT team. We are supplemented with the National Security Guards which is prepared for any kind of response. As far as procurements are concerned, we have to constantly upgrade and Force 1 is the nodal agency which keeps making requisite amends.

Singapore has a population of 5.5 million, but its security and safety are among the best in the world. In 2016, it had 135 crime-free days, with not even petty crime being reported. Can Mumbai achieve this?

Singapore has a different set of laws which are very stringent. For example, one can be sentenced to death in Singapore if found carrying 10 grams of heroin. In India, we have different laws. Also, the judicial process in Singapore is much faster. Having said that, last year in Mumbai we did not have a single case where a firearm was used. This is a significant change.
After complaints from students last year about being forced to remove their burkha to show their faces during exams, the state board has said only female teachers or constables will be allowed to do so.

A notification by the Maharashta State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) says any student wearing a burkha should be allowed to take the exam and in case of any suspicion, only then should a female staff member be allowed to check the identity of the student against her hall ticket during the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exams.

State board has never had a rule which does not allow students to wear burkha during exams. We cannot ask them to go against their religious beliefs so we have reminded schools to ensure that only female staff should be allowed to check students in such cases, said Krishnarao Patil, secretary, MSBSHSE.

Patil added that this notice has been sent as a reminder to all schools, especially after receiving more complaints from female students last year during board exams. We have received various complaints from across Maharashtra so we have sent this notice again to schools that will be acting as exam centres for the upcoming exams, he added.

In the past two years, several cases had emerged where schools had asked students take to remove their head scarf before entering the exam hall. This, despite clear instructions from the state board that students wearing burkha should be allowed to take exams in their choice of attire. Some students from Nashik division had also written to the state board, seeking help in this matter. Schools have also been informed to not check all students in burkha, without any suspicion. We need to make sure we are not scaring students just before their exams, especially since they will already be stressed about their board exam, added Patil.

Most schools in Mumbai said they have already been following this rule, and agreed that forcing students to remove their head scarves for exams was unfair to them. The Mumbai division of the state board was the first to introduce this rule couple of years ago, however, there still have been complaints from students. Schools need to understand that scaring students before such an important exam only adds to their anxiety, said Uday Nare, a teacher at Hansraj Morarji School, Andheri (West).
Two weeks after 84-year-old farmer Dharma Patil committed suicide in front of Mantralaya, a youth chose the same place to try to kill himself on Wednesday. This is the third suicide attempt the states administrative headquarters in south Mumbai has seen in the past two weeks.

Avinash Shete, 25, poured kerosene on himself to protest against the government for not getting him a job, said the police while adding that they foiled the attempt.

Last week, the cops had foiled a similar attempt by a 28-year old youth from Solapur by seizing a bottle of poison he was carrying.

On Wednesday morning, Shete tried to attempt suicide while claiming that the government machinery did not pay heed to his complaint that his answer sheet for the exam conducted for recruitment of assistant agriculture officer was not corrected with due diligence. He had appeared for the exam in 2013 and since then had been demanding re-evaluation.

Agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar later met him and assured the re-evaluation of the answer sheet.

LAST ATTEMPTS

Earlier, 28-year old farmer from Solapur Maruti Dhaware had carried a bottle of pesticide with him on Friday. Police, while frisking him at the entrance had seized the bottle averting the suicide attempt. He had been making rounds of the Mantralaya with the complaint that his sugarcane field had no access road to reach the produce to the factory. He was forced to burn the standing crops as the neighbhour was not allowing him right to way.

On January 22, Dharma Patil had attempted suicide at Mantralaya by drinking poisonous chemical. He had said that he received low remuneration for his land acquired for a solar power project in Dhule. Patil died a week after his admission to JJ Hospital.

OPPOSITION CRITICISES

The government faced embarrassment after his death as the opposition train guns at its for the apathy and corruption in the land acquisition.

The Opposition has attacked the government saying it was playing the Blue Whale game with people of Maharashtra. The Opposition on Wednesday again attacked the government with the same allegations. The farmers and educated youth are attempting suicides at Mantralaya is the clear sign of the government apathy and resentment among the people. The government has failed to give jobs to the unemployed or comply with the polls assurances. It is playing Blue Whale game with the people of the state, said Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant.
A 25-year-old mentally challenged man died after he ran out of a hospital and got hit by a tempo at Ulhasnagar on Tuesday afternoon.

Police said the victim, Panchu Jangla Roy, lived in Jharkhand. He came to Kalyan three days ago to seek treatment for a throat infection and headache and had been staying at a relatives house.

On Tuesday morning, Roy began hitting himself, saying his throat and head were hurting. His relative restrained him and took him to Central Hospital in Ulhasnagar.

After receiving treatment he said he was feeling better. His relative took him back home. However, he started hitting himself once more. His relative brought him back to the hospital. While the doctors were examining him, he jumped off the bed, hit his relative, ran to the garbage bin and picked up two glass bottles. He began threatening everyone in the ward with them, said Gorakhsnath Wagh, police sub inspector from Central police station in Ulhasnagar.

Roy ran out of the hospital. Police said security guards made no attempt to stop him.

Roy was running along the highway when the tempo hit him. Tempo driver Raju Hiralal Dange, 36, hit the brakes, but Roys head got crushed under the rear tyre, said Wagh.

Police arrested Dange, an Ulhasnagar resident, under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicle Act. He was produced in court and sent to magistrate custody.
The Cuffe Parade police last week busted a voice phishing racket and arrested its mastermind from Jharkhand. The police brought Vikash Kumar Das to Mumbai on Sunday. He was produced in the court on Monday, which remanded him in police custody till February 9.

An officer from Cuffe Parade police station said they received a complaint from Manoj Solanki, a Tardeo resident, in December about him losing Rs47,000 after receiving a fraudulent call. Solanki said he gave his card details and PIN to the fraudster who posed himself as an employee of the bank in which he had his account.

Investigation revealed that the number from which Solanki received the call belonged to Kaustav Dhananjay Dey from West Bengal. A team reached west Bengal and questioned Dey. Here the team learnt that Dey had received a recycled number. Cops also discovered that the money Solanki lost was transferred through a money transfer app from Kulti village in West Bengal.

Following the money trail, the police learnt that a person named Gurmeet Singh had transferred money from Solankis account into another bank account in Jharkhand. Investigation revealed the account belonged to Monokia Devi Tudu, a tribal woman from Jharkhand. Police officers said this led them to Das, the kingpin of the voice phishing racket. Cops said Das worked with his relatives and friends.

A police officer said Das, his uncles and three friends illegally procured prepaid SIM cards from dealers and returned them after using so that the cards could be recycled. They had approached the tribals from their village and offered them help to open bank accounts. While the gang helped tribals open bank accounts, Das kept their ATM cards and passbooks.

The gang would dial random mobile numbers and try to coax the victims into giving their debit/credit card details and PINs by posing as bank employees. After securing the card details, the gang would transfer it into the bank account in Jharkhand. They would withdraw the money using the ATM cards they had.

We are now looking for Dass uncles Subal and Ranjit and his three friends. Das has been remanded in police custody till February 9, said an officer from Cuffe Parade police station.

The police are now trying to find out how many people are part of the racket, which they said is rampant in the city.
Three women  two sisters and their aunt  were arrested for allegedly robbing more than a dozen jewellery shops in Raigad, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane.

The women were caught on CCTV cameras slipping in the jewellery and have confessed to committing the crimes, said the police.

The accused  Pinki Gaud, Jyoti Solanki and Nirmala Salunkhe, 55  are residents of Ambernath area in Thane.

Gaud and Solanki said they are 28 years old and are sisters, but the police are verifying their statements. The police said the three got help from two men, who are wanted, in the crime.

When we came to know that the three women are in to cheating, robbery and other crimes, we laid a trap and caught them in Ambernath. We found that they are wanted by Goregaon police station in Raigad. The accused used to mostly rob jewellery shops by diverting the staffers attention, said J Ranaware, senior police inspector, Thane crime branch unit 5.

They used to do a recce of the area first and then target a jewellery store. They used to ask the staffers or owner to show them some jewellery items. Once the workers looked the other way, they used to slip in one gold item and leave the store, said Ranaware.

They made a point not to visit the area for the next two to three months.

MG Temkar, police constable from Goregaon police station, Raigad, said, The accused were wanted in a cheating case from last year. They have many cases against them. They have been remanded in police custody.
There is still uncertainty on the timing of first plenary session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) after Rahul Gandhis election as party president.

Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh met Rahul at New Delhi on Wednesday and discussed the possibility of holding the session in Punjab. The Karnataka unit of the party had earlier proposed to hold the session in Bengaluru, but it was decided not to hold it in the poll-bound state. Delhi too is being considered.

The party is keen to hold the session in March or April, but the Parliament session will resume in March and the budget session of Punjab too will be held from March second week.

In April, there is possibility of elections being declared in Karnataka and four northeastern states. Holding the AICC session close to state elections will divert focus. So it may be held after the Karnataka polls, a senior party leader further said.

Amarinder was accompanied by Punjab Congress chief and Gurdaspur MP Sunil Jakhar and party general secretary in-charge of Punjab, Asha Kumari. Jakhar said Rahul will take a call on the dates and venue in a day or two.

Their discussion featured revamping of the organisational structure of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) in order to strengthen the unit and prepare for next years parliamentary elections, a spokesperson said after the meeting.
Male teachers below the age of 50 should not be posted in schools for girls, Punjabs school education department has proposed, drawing a sharp reaction from the teachers union.

The proposal is part of a draft of the teacher transfer policy, 2018, put up on the department website seeking feedback within 15 days.

Government Teachers Union, Punjab, however, trashed the proposed move. Union president Sukhwinder Chahal, said, It is wrong to question the character of a teacher whose job is to teach students. We will strongly oppose this move if it is implemented.

A spokesman of the state education department simply said the draft teacher transfer policy was uploaded on the portal to seek suggestions. The main objective of the policy is distribution of human resources in an optimal manner to protect the academic interest of students and maximise job satisfaction among employees in a fair and transparent manner, the draft said.

The policy shall be applicable on teaching cadre posts including ETT, master, lecturer, vocational masters, principals and headmasters, according to the draft.
Speed snuffed life of two youngsters riding on motorcycle in separate accidents on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday in Chandigarh.

In a freak accident, Rigzin Norbu, 20, hailing from Leh died when his motorcycle crashed into the median on Sector 14-15 dividing road after his bike caught fire. He was on his way to Nayagoan village in Mohali, where he was staying on rent, when the accident took place at about 10.45pm on Tuesday.

Norbu had turned 20 on January 29 and was pursuing graduation through evening classes at Panjab University.

The police was informed about the incident by an eye-witness, Chander Sharma, a student of Jetking Institute. He was in speed when the bike suddenly caught fire and rammed into the divider, Chander told police.

As per the eye-witness, the impact was such that he fell about 30 meters away from his bike. He sustained head injury and his chest was ripped after hitting the ground.

We have registered a case and are waiting for the family so that the postmortem can be done. We are investigating that how his bike caught fire, said inspector Dalbir Singh, acting station house officer of Sector 11 police station.

SD College student killed

In another accident, a 19 year old student of SD College was killed after his Bullet motorcycle rammed into a divider in Sector 35, Chandigarh.

The deceased is identified as Gurkabir Singh, who was staying in Manimajra on rent. The accident took place at 2.15am when his motorcycle hit the divider and then crashed into the railing on the median.

Gurkabir hails from Uttarakhand and was pursuing a diploma from SD College.

As per police, Gurkabir sustained head injuries as he was not wearing helmet. Police sources informed that Gurkabir was returning to Manimajra after having party with his friends in Mohali.

The deceased was not wearing helmet and was in speed when he rammed into the divider. We have registered a case and informed his parents, who are on way to city, said inspector Naseeb Singh, station house officer of Sector 36 police station.
The war within Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singhs coteries has heated up after he on Saturday said Suresh Kumar will be back as his chief principal secretary. Even though the appointment of the retired IAS officer was set aside by the Punjab and Haryana high court on January 17, Amarinder paid Kumar a visit on Sunday to urge him to join back eventually.

The lobby gunning for Kumars ouster has intensified efforts to appoint a new CPS to CM even as the state has yet to challenge the single-bench judgment of the HC. Kumar has refused to defend his case, saying it is the governments job to do that.

A senior Congress leader, who is batting for Kumars return but refused to be named, said the CM is aware of the troika that wants Kumar out of the CMO. Amarinder has been told about the role of advocate general Atul Nanda and two of his own advisers, including Bharat Inder Chahal, who is calling the shots from behind the scenes in the vigilance department that is dealing with sensitive cases such as irrigation scam and illegal sand mining. Kumar had raised their hackles. Even if an appeal is filed against the court ruling and a stay is obtained, the uncertainty pertaining to his appointment will remain. So his detractors are trying to convince the CM that since Kumar too is reluctant to join back, the controversy should be ended by finding a new chief principal secretary, he said.

Capt Amarinder meets Suresh Kumar for the second time in nine days

In bureaucratic circles, though, questions are being raised over the need to have a new CPS to CM when a competent officer such as Tejveer Singh is principal secretary to CM. To ensure that Kumar does not smell a rat, the proposal to appoint a new CPS is learnt to have been mooted through Kumars own pick, chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh. Efforts are also being made to garner support for the move among MLAs and ministers by proposing that the two seniormost ministers, Brahm Mohindra and Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, should be calling the shots in the CMs absence, and not retired officers such as Kumar.

When contacted, Kumar refused to comment on the time being taken by the government in challenging the HC order.

Rules flouted for advisers, past and present

As the government tries to defend Kumars case, financial irregularities in other past and present political appointments have come under the scanner. Lt Gen BS Dhaliwal (retd), a technical adviser to Parkash Singh Badal when he was CM, has been retained by the Congress government. He was given a years extension in May.

Finance minister Manpreet Badal wants the right symbolism. Then why did he not object to the largesse for CMs team?

 Senior Congress MLA

According to documents accessed by HT, he is drawing both pay and pension from the state government.

The proposal approved by the finance department for four advisers, including Dhaliwal, on May 8, 2013, reads, Since these are not regular posts, there is no need to cut their pension.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Punjab accountant general had red-flagged the grant of pension simultaneously. But Dhaliwal has been retained on the same terms and conditions as in the previous government.

Retired IAS officer Paramjit Singh Aujla was appointed as secretary to the then deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal with both pay and pension, that too when even the post of deputy CM does not exist constitutionally. Aujla did not respond to calls and messages.

Austerity, really?

Also, a day after CM Amarinder mooted the proposal that MLAs pay their income tax on salary, the lawmakers are questioning the hefty salaries of those appointed as his advisers, political secretaries and officers on special duty (OSDs). The CMs five advisers take home a lump sum of Rs 1.5 lakh a month each  three times the pay of a cabinet minister  plus perks of a minister of state, including official accommodation, cars, phones and staff. His three political secretaries are being paid Rs 1.25 lakh a month each as per an unusual formula. The salary that Major Amardeep Singh Natt would have got from India Army, which he left in 2000, has been kept as the benchmark for the others too!

Holding both government and party posts is clear violation of rules. But former merchant navy captain Sandeep Sandhu is drawing salary as political secretary to CM and is also general secretary of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee. Both Natt and Sandhu did not respond to calls.

Finance minister Manpreet Badal wants the right symbolism. Then why did he not object to the largesse for CMs team? If we are rich, the government should survey the wealth of CMs political appointees, said a senior Congress MLA, refusing to be named.
Actor Vishnu Manchu, best known for his work in films such as Dhee and Rowdy among others, is expected to work on a story written by Vijayendra Prasad, the writer of Baahubali and Bajrangi Bhaijaan. According to Deccan Chronicle, Prasad has confirmed writing a story for Vishnu. Yes, I gave a story to Manchu Vishnu and I cant reveal the details about what kind of story it is, he said, without divulging too much information about the story.

Apparently, the story is set against the backdrop of Pakistan and is said to feature an Indian boy and a Pakistani girl. Prasad was paid a whopping Rs 2 crore for the story which he wrote at the behest of Vishnus father Mohan Babu, a well-known and senior Telugu actor. Its still not known when Vishnu intends to make a film out of the story. With Bajrangi Bhaijaan, which also explored the relationship between India and Pakistan, one can expect this story to work, provided it is handled with sensitivity.

On the career front, Vishnu awaits the release of Telugu action drama Gayatri, which features his father in a dual role. The film is slated to hit the screens this Friday.

He also has a rib-tickling comedy Achari America Yathra coming up. This film was predominantly shot in the US and should release soon.

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Actor-composer Vijay Antonys Thimiru Pudichavan, in which he dons khaki for the first time in his career, will officially start rolling from Wednesday. Nivetha Pethuraj has been signed as the leading lady and shell be seen as a cop in this high-octane action thriller. According to director Ganesha, an erstwhile assistant of SS Rajamouli, Nivetha will be seen working under Vijay Antony in the police department.

Itll be a tough role for Nivetha. She has a few action sequences and shes willing to do them without a body double. She will be seen riding a Bullet in the film and she took classes to ride one. Shes currently taking police lessons from a lady Sub Inspector, Ganesha said, adding that she was the perfect fit for the character. It looks like Nivetha has a knack for doing stunts on her own. In her upcoming Tamil space film Tik Tik Tik, she didnt seek the help of body double for stunts. She was very particular about doing her stunts. Action in this film is not restricted to hand-to-hand combat but it has more to do with being in space and floating mid air defying gravity. Scenes in the space required to be tied with the harness and its very scary. Nivetha had no qualms doing these stunts, director Shakti Soundar Rajan said.

Ganesha confirmed that Daniel Balaji has been roped in to play the antagonist in Thimiru Pudichavan, which is being bankrolled by Vijay Antony Film Corporation. Richard M Nathan will crank the camera, while Antony will take care of music. The role has required Antony to shed a few kilos and grow his mustache.

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A male orangutan on the Indonesian portion of Borneo died after being shot at least 130 times with an air gun and apparently being stabbed and clubbed, in the second known killing of a critically endangered orangutan this year.

Villagers spotted the wounded orangutan in a lake in the Kutai Timur district of East Kalimantan province on Sunday.

Local police chief Teddy Ristiawan said Wednesday that the great ape was still alive when he was taken Monday to a hospital in the town of Bontang.

A statement from the Center for Orangutan Protection said the orangutan died early Tuesday.

An X-ray showed at least 130 air gun pellets in its body, including more than 70 in its head, the center said.

It said an autopsy found the animal had been blinded as a result of the shooting and also had 17 open wounds believed to be caused by sharp objects. Its left thigh, right chest and left hand were bruised from blunt object trauma.

Ramadhani, a manager of habitat protection at the centre who goes by one name, said the death was a terrible event in the history of conflict between orangutans and humans in Indonesia.

The 130 pellets within the body of a primate is a new record, the most ever, he said.

A photograph shows a COP activist examining an x-ray of a male orangutan in Bontang, East Kalimantan, which showed signs of a machete attack after it was found by villagers in Borneo's East Kutai district. (AFP Photo)

In mid-January, an orangutan was found decapitated and shot more than a dozen times with an air gun in Central Kalimantan, environmental news website Mongabay reported. Police arrested two rubber farmers suspected in the killing, it said.

The number of orangutans in Borneo and on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, recognized as separate species and both classified as critically endangered, has fallen precipitously since the 1970s.

Orangutans are a protected species in Indonesia and Malaysia, but deforestation has dramatically reduced their habitat and brought them into contact with farmers and plantation workers who kill them to protect crops and for meat.

About 40 percent of Borneos forests have been lost since the early 1970s and another huge swath of forest is expected to be converted to plantation agriculture in the next decade.
Pakistans electronic media watchdog on Wednesday directed the local media to refrain from promoting and showing celebrations of Valentines Day as such activities were against the Islamic teachings.

The Islamabad high court in a verdict passed on a petition submitted by a citizen on February 13, 2017, had prohibited the celebration of Valentines Day (on February 14) in public spaces and government offices across the country with immediate effect.

The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) issued the directives in the light of the IHC verdict passed in February last year.

In the meanwhile, respondents are directed to ensure that nothing about the celebration of Valentine Day and its promotion is spread on the Electronic and Print Media, the PEMRA said in a statement.

No event shall be held at official level and at any public place. Chairman, PEMRA is directed to ensure that all the TV channels shall stop the promotion of Valentine Day, forthwith, it said.

PEMRA directed countrywide broadcast media to desist from promoting the day.

Religious parties have been long demanding to ban all kinds of events and celebration related to the Valentines Day in the country as such activities were against the Islamic teachings.

President Mamnoon Hussain also urged to abstain from Valentines Day activities they were part of West traditions.

Valentines Day has no connection with our culture and it should be avoided, he said during a speech in 2016.

The Valentines Day activities have often been disrupted in the past in the Muslim-majority country by the supporters of hardline parties like Jamaat-e-Islami.
Police personnel wearing glasses equipped with facial recognition technology have been deployed at a railway station in a central Chinese city to screen large numbers of travellers during the Chinese New Year for wanted criminals.

Using the hi-tech glasses with a camera, railway police personnel at Zhengzhou east railway station in Henan province are matching the identities of passengers with information available on a police database to zero in on criminals, multiple reports said this week.

The glasses  which resemble Google Glass  are connected to a police database that can match passengers with criminal suspects. Since Zhengzhou railway police started using the eyewear earlier this year, they have identified seven people suspected of crimes ranging from human trafficking to hit-and-run accidents, said a report in the Peoples Daily online that was cited by other media outlets.

The police personnel also detected 26 cases of identity fraud, the reports said.

The glasses are connected to a tablet computer, which searches for matches in the police database once the faces of passengers have been scanned. (Courtesy: Qq.com)

The facial information captured by the glasses will be sent back to a database for comparison with the information of suspects on the wanted list, Zhang Xiaolei, from the Henan governments department of public security, told the Global Times tabloid.

The new technology requires one facial image for a similarity comparison in the database, he said. In the past, multiple facial pictures from different angles were necessary to achieve the same result. The glasses worn by the police personnel are connected to a tablet computer. Once the faces of passengers have been scanned, the tablet searches for matches in the police database.

The lunar new year is one of the busiest travel periods in China. More than 389 million train trips are expected to be made during the peak period from February 1 to March 12, when people return home for holidays.

Despite serious concerns over mass banking of personal information, the use of the smart glass technology is part of Chinas broad plans to use artificial intelligence and big data to create a massive surveillance system to maintain public safety, according to official media reports.

China has pursued an ambitious plan to develop its AI sector in recent years, with police departments across the country implementing facial recognition technology. Shanghai has used it to identify and fine traffic violators while in coastal Qingdao, facial recognition helped police arrest dozens of suspected criminals at the citys famous beer festival, Sixthtone news website reported.

A Chinese police officer using the new hi-tech glasses equipped with facial recognition technology. (Courtesy: Qq.com)

Reports say China has more than 170 million CCTV cameras and is expected to double the number in coming years.

In 2015, Chinese regulators issued a document on the strengthening of its surveillance camera network, aiming to boost public safety, optimise traffic and serve city management, Global Times reported. By 2020, China plans to build a surveillance network that achieves full coverage in key locations, is connected to the internet and has a serviceability rate of more than 95% in major public areas.

The network will also feature an internal security system, preventing sensitive footage from being hacked or stolen.
Exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed on Wednesday asked India to play its role of liberators and intervene militarily to resolve the ongoing political turmoil in Maldives, in a rebuke to China which has opposed military intervention and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.

China has warned against any military intervention in the Maldives, saying such a move would further complicate the situation in the island nation where embattled President Abdulla Yameen, who is closely allied with Beijing, declared a state of emergency on Monday and arrested two top judges.

Saying resolve things internally is akin to asking us to escalate the revolt, which can lead to chaos. Maldivians see Indias role positively: in 88 they came, resolved the crisis, and left. They were not occupiers but liberators. This is why Maldivians look to India now, Nasheed tweeted.

Nasheed, whose Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) functions from Colombo, had appealed for Indias help yesterday.

We would like the Indian government to send an envoy, backed by its military, to free the judges and the political detainees, including former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, from their detention and to bring them to their homes. We are asking for a physical presence, Nasheed had tweeted.

On behalf of Maldivian people we humbly request:

1. India to send envoy, backed by its military, to release judges & pol. detainees inc. Prez. Gayoom. We request a physical presence.

2. The US to stop all financial transactions of Maldives regime leaders going through US banks.  Mohamed Nasheed (@MohamedNasheed) February 6, 2018

In 1988, the then Maldivian president Abdul Gayoom had sought Indias help to defeat a coup by mercenaries. India responded to his call and dispatched troops to the Maldives to restore order in the country. Most of the Indian soldiers returned home after order was restored in the island nation.

The picturesque Indian Ocean archipelago, which has seen a number of political crisis since the ouster of its first democratically-elected president Nasheed in 2012, plunged into a political chaos on Thursday when the apex court ordered the release of nine imprisoned opposition politicians, maintaining that their trials were politically motivated and flawed.

Concerned over political crisis in Maldives, India, which is monitoring the situation very closely, yesterday said it was disturbed on the declaration of the emergency by the Maldivian government and described as a matter of concern the arrests of the chief justice and political figures there.

Weighing its options in the fast deteriorating crisis in the Maldives, China has asked political parties in Maldives to find a solution without external intervention after UN, the US and India stepped pressure on Yameen to implement the Supreme Court ruling of setting the detained opposition leaders free.

The current situation in Maldives is its internal affairs. China follows the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of others, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said.

Maldives Supreme Court Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and another judge, Ali Hameed, were arrested hours after President Abdulla Yameen declared a state of emergency.

In a late night development, the remaining three judges of the Supreme Court last night amended an order to release nine high-profile political prisoners, including Nasheed.

In a statement, the judges said they were revoking the order to release the prisoners in light of the concerns raised by the President.

The amendment to the ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1 also omits the part that says the case against the Supreme Court judges was not received by the Judicial Services Commission (JSC).

President Yameen welcomed the courts move to reinstate the convictions of high-profile political prisoners. He had accused the detained judges of plotting to overthrow him.

I had to declare a national emergency because there was no other way to investigate these judges, Yameen said in a televised address to the nation last evening.

We had to find out how thick the plot or coup was, he said, adding that the chief justice was trying to illegally impeach him and sack the attorney general.

Former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has allied himself with the Opposition, was also detained at his home.

Nasheed had also asked the US to ensure that all American financial institutions stop all transactions of the Yameen regimes leaders.

Reacting to these developments, the US yesterday said it was troubled and disappointed by the declaration of a state of emergency by Yameen and asked him to comply with the rule of law and implement the Supreme Court ruling.

Nasheed, 50, the countrys first democratically-elected leader -- was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terror charges in March 2015 over the arbitrary arrest of chief criminal judge Abdullah Muhammed during his presidency.

He was granted asylum in the UK after he was authorised to seek medical treatment there amid mounting foreign pressure.

Nasheed was narrowly defeated in 2013 by President Yameen. Nasheed says his conviction on terror charges was politically motivated.

The Maldivian government holds that Nasheed is convicted for a crime and is wanted in the Maldives to serve a jail sentence. Nasheed said he will seek UN support to ensure he is allowed to contest this years election.
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court on Wednesday sentenced one person to death and gave life terms to five others for the brutal lynching of student Mashal Khan after he was falsely accused of blasphemy last year.

The court in the garrison town of Abbotabad also gave four-year prison terms to 25 people and exonerated 26 of the 58 suspects for lack of evidence. The ruling was announced within Haripur Central Jail, where the trial was conducted for security reasons, as relatives of some of the convicts protested outside.

Mashal Khan, a 23-year-old student of journalism at Abdul Wali Khan University in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, was beaten and then shot dead by a mob after he was accused of blasphemy on April 13.

Hundreds of students and some staff members marched through the campus searching for Khan. Members of the mob broke into his hostel room and dragged him out. The crowd hit his body after his death.

Videos of the lynching were shared on social media, sending shockwaves across Pakistan and triggering a debate on the misuse of the controversial blasphemy laws.

A subsequent police investigation revealed that the accusation of blasphemy was false and that Khan was targeted for speaking out against corruption at the university. The police said the murder was premeditated as members of the Pakhtoon Students Federation, the student wing of the Awami National Party, felt threatened by Khan raising his voice against irregularities in his university.

The court awarded capital punishment to prime accused Imran as evidence proved he had fired the fatal shots at Khan. Five others were give life terms of 25 years.

Referring to the suspects who were exonerated, the court said: No conclusive evidence is brought on record against them and at the same time they were not found to have played any overt act in the lynching of Mashal Khan whereas though identified in the videos/PFSA report, they could only be seen standing in the mob or making videos. Therefore they are acquitted of all charges levelled against them and it is directed that they shall be released forthwith if not required in any other case.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government announced soon after the judgment that it would appeal against the acquittal of 26 suspects. We will also file an appeal for extreme punishment of those already awarded (life imprisonment), said a statement from the provincial home department.

The parents of the suspects staged a protest outside prison after they were prohibited from entering the courtroom as the judge prepared to announce the verdict.

The court had earlier reserved its judgment on January 27 after hearing arguments by both sides.

Local media reported that during the hearing of the case, nearly 50 witnesses appeared before the judge and recorded their statements. Prosecution lawyers presented videos clips of the lynching during the trial as evidence that the suspects were involved in Khans murder.
US President Donald Trump kicked off a new storm Tuesday as he ordered the military to mount a parade similar in spectacle, if not grander, to the one he witnessed on the Bastille Day in Paris in 2017.

Trump, whose love of the military and the uniform do not comport with his five deferrals from draft, was so impressed with the parade that he couldnt stop talking about it. He even told an amused French President Emmanuel Macron about it when they met next. And, he also let those around him and the military know.

We are aware of the request and are in the process of determining specific details, said a Pentagon spokesperson in a statement. We will share more information throughout the planning process.

President Trump is incredibly supportive of Americas great service members who risk their lives every day to keep our country safe, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement shortly after the first report of the parade demand was published by The Washington Post.

Trump asked the department of defence to explore a celebration at which all Americans can show their appreciation, she said.

No decision has been taken on the date, the venue or the route but Trump is known to have mentioned July 4, Americas Independence Day, as an option. The parade path could be the same as was for the presidential inauguration down the Pennsylvania Avenue.

It was one of the greatest parades Ive ever seen, Trump had said of the Paris show. Because of what I witnessed, we may do something like that on July 4th in Washington, down Pennsylvania Avenue. I dont know. Were going to have to try and top it.

The US doesnt have anything like the Bastille Day or the Indian Republic Day parade or the annual extravaganzas held in Beijing and Moscow, and there hasnt been much discussion about the need for one except the one triggered by The Post article.

The response was savage, mostly from known critics.

I was stunned by it to be quite honest, Congresswoman Jackie Speier told CNN. I mean, we have a Napoleon in the making here, and I believe that we have so many issues around the world in terms of preparing for wars that are ongoing.

A parade of military leader went up on cable news shows, saying it was an abysmal idea and said most American soldiers hate the idea of a parade, the rehearsals and everything that went into.

Others pointed to expenses  shipping military hardware and the fact that Washingtons asphalt roads might not withstand the weight of the 70-ton M1 Abram main battle tanks.

But the President found some support as well, mostly from his Republican corner. Ds (Democrats) and most media will decry this, objecting to the costs, Ari Fleischer, press secretary to President George W Bush, tweeted.

When it happens, many Ds wont like it because its militaristic. But most Americans will eat it up. Theyll love the pomp and will take pride in the show of force/honor of the troops.
The United States has asked Pakistan to expel terrorists, especially the Taliban leaders, operating from terror safe havens within its soil, a top Trump administration official said Tuesday.

Weve had a number of discussions with our Pakistani partners on expectations for change and expelling terrorists from areas in which theyve been allowed to operate, deputy secretary of state John Sullivan told members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a Congressional hearing on Afghanistan.

He was responding to questions from lawmakers expressing concerns over Pakistans approach fighting terrorism.

They (Pakistan) understand what we expect...Our suspension of security assistance continues until we see more evidence that they are in fact taking action, Sullivan said.

He said the US has been in discussions with Pakistan but there has been not a sufficient amount of action from it against terrorists.

Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, supported the South Asia Policy of the Trump administration.

This administration has rightly drawn a clear line with Pakistan, suspending security assistance of over a USD billion as long as Islamabad continues to shelter Haqqani, and other terror groups that target innocent civilians, as well as the US and allied forces, he said.

Corker had blocked the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan during the previous Obama administration.

He said this pointed approach is designed to confront Pakistans duplicity and its actions to provide safe harbour to the greatest threat to our efforts in Afghanistan.

Last month, the Trump administration had suspended nearly $2 billion in security assistance to Pakistan because of its inability to take actions against terror groups.

Senator Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said such a policy might not work.

Does the administration really believe that a simple suspension of security assistance is going to bring about a lasting commitment by Pakistan to drop support for the Afghan Taliban or the Haqqani Network. It hasnt before, he said.

Weve tried it several times over the past 16 years. I have little confidence that such behavioural change is coming. So are we prepared to do more to elicit the behavioural change we want or is this just more about the same? Cardin asked.

Sullivan said the Trump administration may consider lifting the suspension, when it sees decisive and sustained actions from Pakistan to address the US concerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within its territory, without distinction.

The US is committed to doing our part to reduce tensions in the region in ways that address Pakistans legitimate concerns, he said.

Sullivan said the US opposes the use of terrorist proxies by any country against another country anywhere in the world.

The use of terrorism has no place in a rules-based international system. We hope the Pakistanis will also help to convince the Taliban to enter into a peace process, he said.

Sullivan told lawmakers that it was the assessment of the US that Pakistan has not done enough to expel elements of the Taliban that have been operating in sanctuaries in Pakistan and easily able to cross the border into Afghanistan.

Pakistan, he said, certainly have the ability to urge the Taliban to do come to the peace talks.

What we believe they do have the ability to do also is to expel them from sanctuaries in their country. They may not be able to actually drive them to the negotiating table, but they can help and they can eliminate sanctuaries in their country where they currently operate, he said.

Noting that Pakistan has suffered grievously from terrorist attacks, Sullivan said what the US is looking for from Pakistan is more support against terrorist organisations.

I understand its a delicate balance for Pakistan. We want to do all we can to support them in that effort, and we have provided an enormous amount of assistance, monetary and otherwise, to the Pakistani government.

What were looking for is an indication from them, more support directed at those outward-focused terrorist organisations, he said.
Appointment

7 February 2018

Margaritaville Holdings LLC appointed Rick Cunningham as VP of hotel development. Bringing more than 30 years of hospitality industry experience to this new position for the company, Cunningham has been with Margaritaville for nearly a year and is responsible for cultivating relationships with hospitality ownership and development groups as he continues to grow Margaritaville"s already robust portfolio of hotels and resorts around the world.

Cunningham has already made an immediate impact in his role, working on new deals including Margaritaville"s first urban property, which recently broke ground in downtown Nashville, TN"s "SoBro" district. Additionally, he has supported the brand with its partnership with Driftwood Acquisitions & Development (DAD) to rebrand two high-profile resortsTan-Tar-A Resort in Central Missouri and Flamingo Beach Resort & Spa in Costa Rica.

Prior to joining Margaritaville, Cunningham spent nearly 20 years in various key roles at IHG. Most recently, he served as the company"s regional vice president of upscale development, overseeing IHG"s Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza and Even Hotel brands in the Southeastern U.S. and Caribbean regions.
Appointment

7 February 2018

Choice Hotels International, Inc. one of the world"s largest hotel companies, announced Michael Fruin has joined the company as regional vice president of franchise services, northeast region.

In this role, Fruin will be responsible for leading a team of field-based franchise operations business consultants called Area Directors, to drive system-wide hotel performance and owner satisfaction throughout the northeast region. He will report directly to Ralph Thiergart, vice president of franchise services and joins a team of experienced, regional vice presidents throughout the country including, Kevin Muttart, Lisa Adams, Byron Bean and Pat Mandas.

"Choice Hotels is highly dedicated to ensuring the overall success of its franchisees and is one of the few hotel companies to provide on-the-ground guidance and support through our Area Directors," said Thiergart. "In addition to helping owners get the most value from the resources available to them, our Area Directors work closely with owners to help align their revenue strategies and operations efforts to maximize profits. Mike"s strong leadership skills and substantial expertise is a great addition to the franchise services leadership team, and will help drive results for the company"s franchisees."

Fruin brings more than 30 years of industry experience to Choice"s franchise services team. He joins the company from Extended Stay America, where he served as senior vice president of real estate and development. In that role, he notably launched the company"s franchise development program and spearheaded efforts to introduce new guestroom and public space prototypes. Earlier in his career, Fruin was president and chief operating officer of High Hotels Ltd., and held several leadership positions at Marriott International. He earned his bachelor"s degree in hotel, restaurant and institutional management from Michigan State University.
Appointment

7 February 2018

Continuing its dynamic growth, Teneo Hospitality Group, the premier global firm representing 300+ independent and luxury branded hotels, resorts and DMCs, adds another seasoned sales professional to its roster with the appointment of Jennifer Milliron as Director of Sales for the Southwest Region. Ms. Milliron will be responsible for markets in Colorado, Utah, Texas and Arizona.

Jennifer Milliron was previously Global Account Director for Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, based out of Denver and a position she held for 13 years. In this role, Jennifer managed a portfolio of over 100 key international association, corporate and group accounts in Colorado, Utah and Illinois. She was also responsible for strategically driving business to 11 global Starwood brands.

Ms. Milliron began her 25-year career working in sales and conference management positions for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, including opening the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place in Chicago. She then worked for Starwood Hotels & Resorts as Senior Sales Manager for the Westin Michigan Avenue, responsible for the national corporate and association group markets in the Midwest and Northeast. She also served as Director of Group Sales at the Westin Chicago River North and the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers, where she led the Small Meetings Team for both properties and was responsible for the Northeast Pharmaceutical and Corporate markets.

Jennifer Milliron"s leadership has been recognized with numerous industry awards, including Starwood"s Global Sales Achievement Award and the Shining Star Award for both global and regional sales.

She is active in such professional organizations as the Rocky Mountain Chapters of the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and Meeting Professionals International (MPI), as well as Meetings Industry Council of Colorado (MIC). Committed to community action, she volunteers at Denver Children"s Hospital and the Denver Food Bank of the Rockies.

Ms. Milliron holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Marketing/Management from Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois.
Industry Update

Appointment

7 February 2018

Matt Maddox

Named CEO

At Wynn Resorts, Limited in Las Vegas - NV, USA

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The Board of Directors of Wynn Resorts reluctantly announced today that it accepted the resignation of Steve Wynn as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors. The board has appointed Matt Maddox, currently President of the Company, as its CEO, and Boone Wayson as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Related News Wynn Resorts CEO Steps Down 7 February 2018  The Board of Directors of Wynn Resorts reluctantly announced today that it accepted the resignation of Steve Wynn as CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors. The board has appointed Matt Maddox, currently President of the Company, as its CEO, and Boone Wayson as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Read more

Wynn Resorts, Limited Wynn Resorts, Limited (NASDAQ:WYNN) was formed through Steve Wynn's purchase of the Desert Inn Resorts & Casino in 2000. The company went public in 2002 in the largest initial capitalization of a gaming entertainment company. more information

Recent Appointments at Wynn Resorts Darnell Strom - Member of the Board of Directors 20 October 2020  The Wynn Resorts Board of Directors announced the appointment of Mr. Darnell Strom as member of the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Strom is an Independent Director and Class I member of the Board. His appointment was effective October 14, 2020. read more

Brian Gullbrants - President 18 October 2019  Wynn Resorts announced today that Brian Gullbrants will assume the position of President of Encore Boston Harbor. Mr. Gullbrants will replace Robert DeSalvio, who decided to step down after leading the resort for the last five years, culminating in one of the most successful casino resort openings on the East Coast. read more
Supplier News

7 February 2018

NEW YORK -- Hotel Tech Report, the #1 source for online ratings and reviews on hotel technology, has named Travel Tripper as one of the 10 Best Places to Work in Hotel Tech 2018 for fostering a sense of empowerment for its employees and offering great growth opportunities for their careers.

The top 10 companies were selected based on a survey sent to thousands of hotel technology employees worldwide that evaluated company culture on various factors including satisfaction with management, work-life balance, career growth opportunities, and gender equality.

Hotel Tech Report also praised Travel Tripper for its team collaboration across marketing, sales, tech, and product in putting out "killer content and thought leadership" that showcases the breadth and depth of employee expertise, a huge benefit and key selling point for Travel Tripper's global clientele.

"We are honored to be recognized in the first-ever survey of this kind for hotel technology companies," said Gautam Lulla, President of Travel Tripper. "That the honors were based solely on the feedback of actual employees is a testament to the strength of our team culture."

Travel Tripper is a fast-growing hotel technology provider with 150+ employees across offices in New York, London, and Hyderabad, India. Working at Travel Tripper is an opportunity to join an exciting team of highly skilled and ambitious individuals who are passionate about developing innovative products and delivering excellent service to our hotel clients. The company offers competitive pay, flexible working hours, generous vacation days, and full benefits and is currently recruiting for positions in engineering, digital marketing, sales, and more. To see current open positions, visit Travel Tripper on LinkedIn.

About Travel Tripper

Travel Tripper is a full-service hospitality technology provider and strategic partner in helping hotels worldwide to generate demand, optimize conversions, and maximize revenue. Known in the industry for its constant innovation and exceptional expertise, Travel Tripper provides a comprehensive suite of solutions that empowers hotels from search to stay, including central reservation systems, hotel distribution, website and booking, and digital marketing. Learn more at www.traveltripper.com.

About Hotel Tech Report

HotelTechReport (www.hoteltechreport.com) is the premiere research platform for hotel technology globally. We help buyers save time identifying the best technology products to run their hotel properties by easily comparing vendors based on unbiased reviews from verified users. HotelTechReport's global community consists of hoteliers spanning 40+ countries with representation from every major hotel brand and thousands of independent hotels. The platform connects these hoteliers with hundreds of the world's top hotel technology suppliers with billions of dollars in market capitalization.
Supplier News

7 February 2018

Planning a trip involves lots of searching for flights, hotels, things to do, itineraries and more. The process is often cumbersome because we have to use multiple tools to gather everything we needespecially on a mobile phone.

We're evolving the way our hotel search works on smartphones to help users explore options and make decisions on their smallest screens. The new hotel search experience includes better price filtering, easier-to-find amenity information and the ability to book right from Google.

We're also rolling out new features in some countries on mobile search to make it easier than ever to check out your travel options when you're on the go. In the next few days, you'll see that if you search for a flight in Google Flights, you can click right in to "Hotels" at the top of the page. This lets you easily click over to check hotel availability and prices in your destination city for the dates you've already selected.

And it works the same way if you start by searching for a hotel. You can easily click to the "Flights" tab to check prices and fare options, and easily book your flight when you're ready.

The same options appear if you want to learn about a specific place, or when searching for things to do there. Let's say you're checking out a trip to Sydney. You can now easily click to browse available hotels or flights while you're exploring the destination.

Clicking on "More Destinations" in the top left will drop you into a new experience that lets you explore other destinations, weekend getaways and trips you might be interested in. We've also included a feature called Your Trips that helps you see, at a glance, all your upcoming and past travel reservations from Gmail. These results are private, and only you can see this information. You can email your trip reservations to friends or family right from Your Trips, and also make edits and access them directly offline with the Google Trips app (Android, iOS) when you're traveling.

This feature doesn't just help you plan your travels, it also connects you to travel companies who help you square away those plans. As Jason Soss, co-founder of Last Minute Travel says, "We're always looking for ways to help travelers find the best hotel room. With Google's new navigation, more people can use Last Minute Travel to book their adventures!"

This year we're focused on making your mobile phone an integral and useful part of your travel planningand enjoyment!
The year marked extensive expansion in the region with the opening of more than 40 hotels, including the 100th hotel in China and the 200th hotel in Asia Pacific, plus the introduction of the Curio Collection by Hilton brand in China and Australia.

In 2017 Hilton (NYSE: HLT) achieved landmark growth and expansion in Asia Pacific. Having recently appointed Alan Watts as its new Executive Vice President & President, Asia Pacific and Qian Jin as the first Area President for Greater China & Mongolia, the company is looking ahead to an even bigger year in 2018.

The year marked extensive expansion in the region with the opening of more than 40 hotels, including the 100th hotel in China and the 200th hotel in Asia Pacific, plus the introduction of the Curio Collection by Hilton brand in China and Australia. The company's strong workplace culture, which includes the launch last year of Thrive@Hilton, was rewarded by Great Place to Work awards in key countries and Asia-wide. Meanwhile, having welcomed more than 10 million guests throughout the year, 2017 saw the roll-out of the revolutionary Digital Key, continuing the company's legacy of guest innovation in the industry.

"It was an amazing year of further growth for Hilton in Asia Pacific in 2017, coupled with recognition of our position as a market leading employer and the most innovative in our industry," said Watts. "Travel and tourism continues its rise to become a leading employer and contributor to Asia's economy and we are at the forefront of a trend that will see us create hundreds of thousands of jobs across the region in future years."

"Having recently joined the company on the back of such impressive results, I have great confidence that 2018 will propel us to an even higher level, as we begin the countdown to Hilton's 100th Anniversary in 2019," he continued.

APAC Growth Highlights

Expanded Hilton's footprint throughout the region with more than 40 hotel openings, driving strong growth across the portfolio of 14 brands, including the launch of Conrad Osaka, Hilton Garden Inn Singapore Serangoon and Hilton Mandalay.

Opened the 100th hotel in China, Hilton Quanzhou Riverside, and the 200th hotel in Asia Pacific, Waldorf Astoria Chengdu.

With 220 hotels in operation by year-end and 415 hotels in the pipeline, Hilton is one of the fastest-growing global hospitality companies in Asia Pacific, with nearly one quarter of rooms under construction carrying a Hilton flag.

Signed 164 deals, spanning 30,000 rooms, with highlights including the first Canopy by Hilton in the region, a landmark portfolio deal comprising six hotels in Sri Lanka, four significant approvals in Vietnam and more than 100 deals in China including the company's return to Taiwan with Hilton Taipei.

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Located along Ngong Road, DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham opens as the first DoubleTree branded property in Kenya - joining five DoubleTree by Hilton properties now open across Africa.

East Africa's most cosmopolitan city Nairobi welcomes one of Hilton's (NYSE: HLT) 14, DoubleTree by Hilton. Located along Ngong Road, DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham opens as the first DoubleTree branded property in Kenya - joining five DoubleTree by Hilton properties now open across Africa.

"With the number of travellers visiting Kenya growing year-on-year, we are delighted to be opening the first DoubleTree by Hilton property in Nairobi in such a prime location with easy access to corporate offices and tourist attractions in Nairobi ," said Nitin Gupta, general manager, DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham. "We look forward to opening our doors and providing our warm welcome to leisure and business guests alike, as they explore everything the capital has to offer."

Guests can explore the heart of the capital, as the hotel is ideally located just a few miles away from the Karen Blixen Museum, Giraffe Centre and the David Shedrick Wildlife Trust Elephant Orphanage, or stroll through the city's various shopping malls. Travellers also have easy access to Nairobi's central and financial districts, including Nairobi Business Park, corporate houses and NGO centres.

Hotel features and amenities include:

DINING

Guests can start their day with a sumptuous breakfast in the exquisite Atrium Brasserie. For lunch and dinner, the hotel offers an a la carte menu and an extensive buffet, including Indian, Italian and pan-Asian cuisines. After a day exploring the city guests can unwind in the Piano Lounge with a selection of wines or contemporary cocktails, whilst enjoying sweet symphonies from live piano and saxophone players.

Guests can start their day with a sumptuous breakfast in the exquisite Atrium Brasserie. For lunch and dinner, the hotel offers an a la carte menu and an extensive buffet, including Indian, Italian and pan-Asian cuisines. After a day exploring the city guests can unwind in the Piano Lounge with a selection of wines or contemporary cocktails, whilst enjoying sweet symphonies from live piano and saxophone players.

AMENITIES

Guests can rejuvenate with access to a 24-hour gymnasium, as well as a swimming pool open from 6am - 7pm.

Guests can rejuvenate with access to a 24-hour gymnasium, as well as a swimming pool open from 6am - 7pm.

MEETINGS & EVENTS

DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham boasts five meeting rooms with natural daylight, capable of hosting up to 250 delegates. The hotel provides great space for corporate events and social gatherings with additional outdoor break out space on the terrace, which is perfect to enjoy Nairobi's lovely weather.

DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham is the first hotel to open under Hilton's Africa Growth Initiative. Hilton has committed a total of $50 million over the next five years towards the Hilton Africa Growth Initiative to support the continued expansion of its Sub-Saharan African portfolio. These funds are intended to support the conversion of around 100 hotels in multiple African markets into Hilton branded properties, providing instant benefits such access to over 69-million Hilton Honors members and leading innovative technology, including digital-check in.

DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham is part of the Hilton Honors, the award-winning guest-loyalty programme for Hilton's distinct hotel brands. Hilton Honors members who book directly though preferred Hilton channels have access to instant benefits, including a flexible payment slider that allows members to choose nearly any combination of Points and money to book a stay, an exclusive member discount that can't be found anywhere else and free standard Wi-Fi.

DoubleTree by Hilton Nairobi Hurlingham is located at Ngong Lane, P.O. Box 69702 - 00400, Nairobi just 13 miles away from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

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Prior to Cossey's promotion to general manager at JQH's refreshed Courtyard Dallas Allen property, he served as interim general manager at JQH's 283-suite Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel, Conference Center & Spa in San Marcos, which features 65,000 square feet of meeting function space.

John Q. Hammons Hotels & Resorts (JQH) today announced Nigel Cossey's promotion to general manager at the company's Courtyard by Marriott Dallas Allen at the John Q. Hammons Center in Texas.

Located in a thriving suburb north of Dallas, this newly renovated, 2017 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence hotel is in a prime location near the Allen Event Center and The Village at Allen outdoor shopping mall. Cossey most recently served as assistant general manager at JQH's award-winning Embassy Suites by Hilton San Marcos Hotel, Conference Center & Spa in San Marcos, Texas. He has more than 20 years of hospitality experience, with a specialization in food and beverage operations. Springfield, Missouri-based JQH owns and operates the 228-room/suite Courtyard Dallas Allen property under license from Marriott International, Inc. or one of its affiliates. JQH is a leading private, independent owner and manager of hotels in the United States and also operates more than 1 million square feet of superb meeting space.

"Nigel has an aptitude for mentoring talent that effectively contributes to the nurturing of our inspirational JQH culture," said Joe Morrissey, JQH's senior vice president of operations. "He has demonstrated successful leadership in building guest satisfaction and operational profitability. We look forward to continued success from Nigel."

Prior to Cossey's promotion to general manager at JQH's refreshed Courtyard Dallas Allen property, he served as interim general manager at JQH's 283-suite Embassy Suites by Hilton Hotel, Conference Center & Spa in San Marcos, which features 65,000 square feet of meeting function space. Under his strategic leadership, the hotel received a designation for outstanding profitability performance. Prior to joining JQH in 2015, Cossey was director of food and beverage at the 405-room Myrtle Beach Marriott Resort & Spa at Grand Dunes in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. His extensive career also includes his role as area director of food and beverage for several properties that were operated by Hospitality Ventures Management Group (HVMG), including the AAA Four Diamond The Shores Resort & Spa in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida.

Cossey is a member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA). He is active in the local lodging community, including participating on boards for The Hotel Association (THA) and the Allen/Fairview Hotel Association. With his extensive food and beverage background, feeding the hungry is a priority with Cossey. He is supportive of JQH's Legacy of Giving, the philanthropic initiative that allows JQH's more than 4,000 passionate associates the opportunity to personally get involved in a centralized giving program with Convoy of Hope, where $10 a month can feed a child for an entire month internationally or provide $100 in food, goods and services to a family in need in the United States.

"I am pleased to be in flourishing North Texas overseeing a high quality property within the JQH portfolio," Cossey said. "I find that JQH truly typifies a family-like culture that provides encouragement, builds on strengths, and fosters trust."

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Muhiyidin Moye, also known as MuhiyidindBaha was a Black Lives Matter activist well known for jumping police tape last year to grab a Confederate Flag from a protester. Sad news has been reported that Muhiyidin was fatally shot in New Orleans this morning when he was riding a bike and someone shot him in his leg.

The incident took place around 1 am where Muhiyidin's niece, Camille Weaver, tells WCSC news that her uncle rode his bike five blocks to seek medical attention before he passed away. He was transported to a hospital and subsequently died of his wounds, New Orleans Police spokesman Beau Tidwell said. The shooting is currently being investigated and being ruled as a homicide.

Muhiyidin was a leader of the BLM movement in Charleston, South Carolina and was very close to the family of Walter Scott, a black man who was also fatally shot by police officer Michael Slager in 2015.

"We are lost right now," Muhiyidin's sister Kimberli Duncan said. "But we are going to find our way. This was his passion, he did it from the heart he was loving he was funny, he was smart but it bothered him, the injustice just bothered him and it never rested well with him," she added. "He took it on as a personal battle."
It's gift-giving season for Drake, apparently. While most confine that to a couple of months out of the year, whether it be the holidays or birthdays, when you're a celebrity with as much wealth as Drake, why stop there? For real.

The rapper has been out and about in Miami as he shoots a music video for the Scary Hours EP track, one of two, "God's Plan," which has already made its #1 debut on the Billboard Hot 100, because, Drake. While staying in the sunny location of Miami, Drake has bestowed a few gifts upon civilians there-- he gave the Miami Senior High School a cool $25,000 donation as well as the promise of new school uniforms, before giving University of Miami student Destiny James a $50,000 check for her tuition. It hasn't ended there though, because on Tuesday Drizzy apparently hit up a local grocery store and let it rain.

At approximately 4 PM, if the E! News report is supremely accurate, Drake entered the Sabor Tropical Supermarket and using a megaphone, announced that he'd be paying for everyone's groceries. His tab apparently came out to $50,000.

One of the lucky customers, Guille Deza, who happened to be in the store at the time told E! News: "No one knew he was coming at all, we just came to do groceries. Cameras were being set up so we were all wondering what was to happen."

The rumour floating around the grocery store is that this random act of kindness may not be so random after all, as it may be part of the music video for "God's Plan." Time will tell.

Take a look at some of the happy customers posts with the 6 God below. Drake apparently did not hesitate to shake hands and take selfies with anyone who asked.
This Valentine's Day, Kanye West's childhood home will be "heart bombed" as a way to show physical appreciation to such an important landmark in Chicagos South Side. Teaming up with Skyline Council of Landmarks Illinois and Dondas House (named after Kanye's late mother) the event will see youth and attendees showering Yeezy's former home with paper hearts.

We are thrilled to be working with Landmarks Illinois Skyline Council, Donnie Smith, Executive Director of Dondas House said. Landmarks Illinois came out to the site recently to give us an assessment of the house, with recommendations for renovating and repairing the property. We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the house is, overall, in pretty good shape.

The home, located at 7815 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago, will be turned into an arts centre for deserving youth in the community to encourage their creative expressions for them to consider careers in the arts.

The heart-bombing event will take place on February 14th at 4:15pm for everyone to place their crafts on the property. Donda House representees will officially unveil the plans for the home.
Baton Rouge rapper Kevin Gates has announced a new string of tour dates, the first since his release from prison in January. The dates include a performance at the JMBLYA Festival (May 4th-6th), with dates in Dallas Austin and Houston. On July 8th, Gates will also perform at the Common Ground festival in Lansing, Michigan.

In case you're unaware, Kevin Gates was originally sentenced to 180 days in prison after kicking a woman in the face during a concert. Afterward, Gates was hit with an additional thirty months over a felony gun possession charge. Luckily for the rapper, Gates was released early after serving nine months of his sentence. And while he's by and large a free man, Gates is reported to be on probation, and disallowed from possessing a firearm of any sort. Hopefully Gates can abide by these restrictions; he's too talented a rapper to head back behind bars.

Aside from the aforementioned dates, Gates is also scheduled for an appearance at Rolling Loud Miami. Kevin Gates seems ready to return to the fold, and recently found himself squashing an old beef with Boosie Badazz. It seems as if the rapper is ready to start fresh, and hopefully he can waste little time in regaining his lost momentum. Check out part of the announcement below, courtesy of Gates' Instagram.
Back in October, it was reported that Remy Ma signed a multi million dollar deal with Colombia Records, but that wasnt the only change in her music career. Having dropped her husband, Papoose, from being her manager, Remy also decided to then sign with Tamar Braxtons ex-husband, Vincent Herbert, back in November to help manage her career moving forward. However, it appears Vincents run as Remys manager was short lived and has already come to an end.

According to TMZ, Remy Ma has fired Vincent Herbert for failing to be the super manager he said to be. Sources say Remy felt he was spending more time repairing his relationship with his ex-wife Tamar Braxton, than focusing & furthering Remy's career. He apparently wasnt living up to his expectations and was dropping the ball on basic managerial duties like booking studio time, and scheduling performances.

Vincents focus had been on his family drama instead, with Tamar filing for divorce and a baby mama allegation surfacing, but we cant blame him. It appears to have just been too much on one mans plate at once, something that happens often in the music biz.

As for her Remy Mas next manager will be remains to be seen, but shes supposed to be readying a new album for 2018, so hopefully this firing doesn't delay anything.

Well continue to keep you posted on all the latest with Remy moving forward, but in the meantime revisit her new single with Chris Brown called Melanin Magic to hold you over.
Recently I've been looking for examples of national comebacks - nations that were plagued by turmoil, inequality and polarization, but that managed to get their act together and emerge stronger than before.

I've been especially interested in the way Britain revived itself between 1820 and 1848. Its comeback has some humbling lessons for us today.

Britain was roiled by economic and demographic changes. There were financial crises, bad harvests and a severe depression. There was crushing inequality. The average life expectancy nationwide was 40, but in the industrial cities of Manchester and Liverpool it was around 28. There were widespread riots and government crackdowns. In 1819, 1,206 "radicals" were given the death sentence, though only 108 of them were executed.

The nation responded to the turmoil both from the bottom up and the top down.

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There were, first, a series of social movements: There was the Clapham sect. This was a group of evangelical leaders, arising from the general religious revival, that sought to eradicate slavery, spread the faith, discourage indebtedness, build Sunday schools, reform behavior and basically spread what we now call Victorian morality.

There were the Chartists. This was a radical workers' movement that hosted giant rallies across the country in three bursts. The Chartists cohered around The People's Charter, which had six demands, including universal male suffrage, vote by ballot and equal electoral districts. In 1842, the Chartists presented a petition to Parliament with 3 million signatures.

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Finally, there was the Anti-Corn Law League. This was the best organized and best funded pressure group in 19th-century Britain. It promoted free-trade legislation to reduce the power of the landed gentry, to make food cheaper for the working classes and to encourage international exchange and cooperation.

The social movements were impressive, but the key to Britain's success was the way political leaders responded to them. Britain was blessed by a stable parliamentary system and by a legislative culture that valued deliberation and debate. Political leaders in both parties understood that the winds of change were blowing and they had better initiate reforms if they wanted to head off a revolution.

The political parties represented vested interests but were not particularly ideological. They were used to handing off the reins of power and then taking them up again. As a result, while they certainly had their bitter rivalries, they shared a common patriotism and understood that each party had a role to play.

The Whig Party dominated the 1830s. The Whigs passed the democratic Reform Act of 1832. This law wouldn't pass muster by contemporary standards (it allowed only 1 in 5 adult males to vote), but it tackled the most corrupt practices of the old oligarchy. The Whigs also passed a series of other reforms, such as the Factory Act, which regulated workplaces, and the Municipal Corporations Act, which reformed local government. In his new book, "Victorious Century," David Cannadine writes that this glut of reforms "meant the 1830s were the pivotal decade in the history of the 19th century United Kingdom."

The Tories, led mostly by Robert Peel, controlled the government before and after. In a time of social decay, Peel personified rectitude and good character. "Peel brought to the job of prime minister a fine intellect and a Christian conscience, a broader range of outlook and connection than was common among the ruling elite," Cannadine writes.

He turned his party into a moderate conservative party, endorsing Whig reforms and passing a bunch of his own. Over the course of his career, Peel reformed the criminal justice system to reduce the prevalence of the death penalty. He emancipated the Catholics, founded the London police force, reduced tariffs on wheat, sugar and ultimately corn. The government passed 442 railway acts between 1844 and 1847, resulting in more than 2,000 miles of new track, and it did it while running a surplus.

In 1848, worker revolutions swept across Europe, endangering regime after regime. But Britain was largely spared, because worker complaints had been at least partially addressed. Britain never fully healed its social divisions, but the nation cohered, and for the next 65 years it reigned as the greatest power on earth, the global center of science, trade and literature.

We Americans have not mobilized as the 19th-century Britons did in their moment of crisis. Americans have produced many small organizations but few compelling national movements. The Tea Party and Black Lives Matter come closest.

We have not passed a steady drumbeat of pragmatic reforms the way the Whigs and the Tories did. Over the past 15 years, the United States has managed to pass just a few major pieces of social reform - Dodd-Frank, Obamacare and I guess the Trump tax reform.

The biggest gap is in the realm of political leadership. The Victorian politicians had a stewardship mentality. They listened to the people, but stood slightly apart, deliberating, seeing governance as a shared professional responsibility. Our leaders come from a much broader swath of society, but they have lower standards of behavior, and less of a shared stewardship mentality.

So our revival is still in doubt.

Brooks is a New York Times columnist.
eading employee advocate is calling on the government to rethink its approach to workplace bullying, saying the issue should be a health and safety matter rather than an employment matter.



Its time for New Zealand business, employers and the government to focus on solutions around workplace bullying, not sweeping it under the Employment Relations Act as just a workplace dispute, said Aland Halse, director of Culture Safe.



Halses comments come ahead of the NZ Workplace Bullying Conference which aims to create a conversation that will push the issue up the government and public agenda.



Dr Gary Namie, of the US-based Workplace Bullying Institute, is set to speak at the upcoming event and Halse said his attendance could have a major impact across the country.



We see this conference and Dr Namies contribution to it as the next step to eradicate workplace bullying in New Zealand, he said.



In 2016/17, more than 170,000 people used mental health and addiction services  an increase of 71 per cent on a decade earlier. A recent study from Massey University also suggested that 1 in 5 people are bullied in the workplace.



Thats not acceptable to us, and we see how bullying leads to suicidal thoughts and metal health issues, said Halse. Its time for workplace bullying to be openly discussed and legislated as a criminal act, like it is in Australia.



Now, Halse is campaigning to have the governments mental health and addiction review include bullying in its terms of reference.



Culture Safe NZ is focused on providing the opportunity to create the discussion that New Zealand needs in this area, because there are too many people affected by workplace bullying, that it is costing them, their families and the economy, said Halse.



Victims deserve a voice and they deserve a forum where they can share, debate and push for changes to the New Zealand health and safety laws.


Employers across New Zealand are being warned to put additional measures in place as the record-breaking summer continues to threaten employee wellbeing and workplace safety.



There is a link between heat and fatigue, which leads to potential for more fatigue-related accidents, said WorkSafes deputy GM of investigations and specialist services, Simon Humphries.



Employers have a legal obligation under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) to identify risk in the workplace and mitigate that risk appropriately, he continued.



While the HSWA does not specify extreme temperatures at which staff should stop work for health and safety reasons, Humphries says employers have a responsibility to remain alert.



Recognising the signs of thermal discomfort or stress and raising concerns is important for both businesses and workers to manage health risks that come from working in an environment that is too hot or too cold, he said.



Workers and businesses need to be aware that there is a link between heat and fatigue, which leads to potential for more fatigue-related accidents, he added.



Humphries also reminded employers that a safe working temperature is not determined by air temperature alone  other factors include:
How China fish is threatening to drown Kenyas fish industry

by John Oywa and Mactilda Mbenywe

February 04,2018 | Source: Standard Media

From a vantage point at Kisumus Jubilee Market, one enjoys the picturesque view of Lake Victoria - Africas largest fresh water lake. Interestingly, traders at the market, fondly known as Chiro Mbero (small scale market) are selling fish harvested from ponds and smaller lakes in China, thousands of miles away.



Lorries from Mombasa offload frozen tilapia every morning even before local fishermen return from the lake with their small catch, sometimes with empty nets. A biting shortage of home grown fish from the lake has created a gap now filled by a multi-billion-shilling market for the China-bred fish. Meanwhile, the Lake Victoria Fisheries has warned that the situation is worsening daily.



Statistics from the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute show that fish production in the lake has plummeted by 50 per cent in the past decade. At Jubilee, the biggest fish market in Kisumu, 70 per cent of dry and fresh tilapia sold to customers is from China, which are significantly cheaper than the lake fish. Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) research shows Lake Victorias fish stocks on the Kenyan side have dropped to 2,500 tonnes annually, from 5,000 tonnes, due to overfishing, illegal fishing gear, fishing in breeding grounds, water hyacinth and pollution.



The impact of imports from China is already being felt. The massive fish imports from China led to job losses in the fish industry both in Western Kenya. The imports have also flooded the Coastal towns. Statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) show that Chinas fish exports to Kenya hit the Sh1 billion mark in 2015, a figure that may double by the end of this year. According to statistics, imports grew by 60.2 per cent to Sh1.02 billion in 2015 compared to Sh624.1 million a year in 2014.



Last week, fishermen in Mombasa appealed to Industrialisation and Enterprise Development Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed to ban the imports.



But Mohammed defended fish imports, saying they have been necessitated by market demands. He said Kenyas fish production cannot meet the high demand due to dwindling catches. Mr Mohammed said fish farming had not helped to bridge the gap due to the shortage of fish feeds. Lack of fish feeds is a key bottleneck...We dont necessarily ban imports but we make sure that imports pay the necessary duties and levies, Mr Mohamed told a conference in Mombasa last week. Elizabeth Adoyo, a fish trader in Kisumu said a big imported tilapia is sold at Sh400. A similar tilapia would cost Sh1,000. This means local fishermen cannot compete in the market without making losses.



Every day we see trucks of fish from China being offloaded, the supply is high compared to the demand hence the low price, said Adoyo. Jackline Adhiambo another trader told the Sunday Standard because of the easy availability of the China fish, she rarely goes to the lake to get stock. I used to buy 200 pieces of fish from the lake before China fish came in two years ago, today I only go to get 100 from the lake once in a while, said Adhiambo. But even with that stock, convincing customers is a challenge. Because the market is flooded with imports, everyone thinks I am selling frozen fish from China, she says. Fisheries and traders now want the government to find a lasting solution to the problem. Researchers agree that the Lake Victoria Fisheries is facing a serious challenge because of pollution, destruction of wetlands, over fishing and destruction of fish breeding grounds. Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) reported that fish stocks in the lake were declining at an alarming rate due to destruction of wetlands.



Kisumus KMFRI Assistant Director of Inland Fishing and Limnology, Chrispine Nyamweya said Kenya might be subjected to consume imported fish with the continuous decrease in population of fish. Fish population cannot be sustained without protection of wetlands as their breeding ground in the lake, said Nyamweya. Prof Phillip Raburu of University of Eldoret department of Fisheries and Aquatic Science said there was an urgent to save the lake from an eminent catastrophe. They move to wetlands which provide conducive environment for breeding, then they come across wastes they shun away and dont breed, said Raburu. Dr Margaret Abira, a hydrologist said Lake Victoria basin wetlands have been encroached and no longer help to sieve water getting into the lake, hence the massive pollution in the water body.

 2018 - Standard Group Limited

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.
Fishing in troubled water between Croatia and Slovenia

by Lajla VESELICA

February 04,2018 | Source: AFP

For two decades Diego Makovac has made a trouble-free living fishing for sole in Piran Bay. But he now faces a flurry of Croatian and Slovenian patrol boats as the two countries fight over the water.



Police vessels from the neighbouring states escort Makovac's boat as he lets out his nets under a grey winter's sky speckled with seagulls.



"I can no longer work peacefully... They are beside us non-stop. It's stressful," said the 48-year-old, one of dozens of Croatian fishermen from coastal settlements who work in the bay in the northern Adriatic Sea.



The dispute over Piran Bay -- less than seven kilometres (four miles) long and five kilometres wide -- has poisoned ties between Croatia and Slovenia ever since they proclaimed independence from Yugoslavia nearly 27 years ago.



In June last year, an international arbitration court allocated more than two-thirds of the disputed body of water to Slovenia.



Croatia, whose coast stretches for 1,700 km, refused to accept the ruling. It wanted the maritime border to be drawn down the middle of the bay.



But Slovenia, which has just 46 km of coastline, had argued its access to international waters was at stake.



Relations between the two European Union members became further strained in December, when Slovenia began implementing the ruling from the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.



This has not stopped Makovac and his colleagues fishing in "their" half of the bay.



"This is our territorial sea. We've been working here forever," said Daniele Kolec, head of a local fishing association.



"Nobody can tell us that we cannot fish here any more. No chance!"



Each time the fishermen sail out they inform the Croatian police, who accompany them for protection in patrol boats.



As Makovac sets off from his village of Savudrija and approaches the centre of the bay, a Slovenian police dinghy with flashing blue beacons rushes to warn him that he is entering "Slovenian territorial waters".



Makovac said that he expected a Slovenian inspection boat to be there when he retrieved the net the next day, carrying officials who would take down his details for a fine.



Both countries have begun issuing penalties for alleged "border violations" of up to 1,300 euros ($1,600) for an individual and 41,000 euros for a company.



On top of that is the risk of a collision on the water -- "especially when it's foggy," Makovac's wife, Franka, told AFP as she helped him cast out a net.



Slovenian fishermen with nets say they have so far remained cautious, sticking to one half of the bay to avoid problems and "work in peace".



"We allowed a third party to draw the border and what was done was done," said fisherman Zlatko Novogradec from the picturesque Slovenian port city of Piran, to the north of the bay.



Novogradec, a representative of small-scale Slovenian fishers, said that his colleagues would wait until Croatia accepted the ruling before extending their nets further.



"It will happen sooner or later, but it must happen eventually as a legal ruling has to be respected."



Croatia pulled out of the arbitration proceedings in 2014 following a phone-tapping scandal, in which a Slovenian judge from the tribunal and a Ljubljana official were recorded discussing tactics for a ruling favourable to Slovenia.



The proceedings nevertheless continued.



Both Croatian fishermen and the government in Zagreb say they have no intention of paying the fines now being imposed.



The Makovac family and their colleagues say their work in the bay -- whose fish patterns they know well -- is crucial to their earnings. Most of their catch is sole, which is exported to Italy.



"This is our bread, our life," said Franka, who would like to see a deal struck with the Slovenians so that they can fish together.



"It's all politics," she said.



Her view is echoed by many other Croatian and Slovenian citizens, who have long lived and worked side by side around the border area.



Slovenians say that the issue has been whipped up domestically because of upcoming parliamentary elections.



Until now local people "were never in dispute", said Peter Nussdorfer, 56, a bus driver from Piran.



While the deadlock continues, fishermen and women carry on doing their job under daily escort, with the number of police boats set to rise as the high fishing season approaches.



"Both countries have much more serious issues on which the money could be spent," said Franka.

Theme(s): Others.
Brexit spells disaster for German city, gateway to fish supplies

February 05,2018 | Source: Financial Tribune

Brexit is making the German city of Bremen terrified of red tape as it relies so heavily on British exports, access to fishing waters and UK funding into the EUs coffers, it has been revealed.



Although it is rarely discussed in Brussels or Berlin, the risk of the UK adopting an independent trade policy and becoming a fierce competitor with the EU is a cause for concern for the blocs most powerful states, Mailonline reported.



In Bremen hard Brexit is synonymous with economic disaster as the UK is the citys third largest trading partner after the US and France. International affairs consultant at the Bremen Chamber of Commerce, Anja Markmann, claims businesses are bracing themselves for a nightmarish world of red tape after Brexit.



She said: Companies are frightened of more bureaucracy concerning tariffs and taxes, which at the moment is very easy. They are really frightened of what could happen.



Markmann also warned the UKs plan to strike free trade deals with the US and Japan might threaten the citys attractiveness to foreign investors. She added: If Great Britain has got its free trade agreement with Japan, and weve got one with the European Union, that could be a problem if more trade is going from Japan to Great Britain. The competition is already very high.



It could be a big problem, though it will be a long time for Great Britain to sign all these trade agreements bilaterally, I think. We will see what happens.



Bremens harbor is also a gateway to rich supplies of fish in UK waters with one trawling company, Doggerbank Seefischerei, catching around 60,000 tons of herring each year.



With the UK due to leave the EUs Common Fisheries Policy, which allows Germany and other EU states access to British waters, some fishermen face the prospect of empty nets.



Head of Doggerbank Seefischerei Dr Uwe Richter said: I am thinking about Brexit all the time. We need entry to British waters and we need future management of the British stocks. Thats our main problem with Brexit, that we could lose our fishing grounds in the British zones. We could go into Norwegian waters but that area is very small, if all ships had to go for herring there, it would be chaos.



He warned the livelihoods of some German fishermen depended on having access to UK herring and they were counting on German Chancellor Angela Merkel to ensure it continued.

 Financial Tribune, First Iranian English Economic Daily

Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade.
Two years ago, Mark Zuckerberg was one of the most admired people in American business, if not in all of America. There are polls that document this, but they don't capture the degree to which Facebook's CEO was Silicon Valley's beau ideal--positively worshipped by his employees, held up by investors as a model founder, feared by competitors. People made jokes about his robotic affect and occasionally questioned the motives of his philanthropic endeavors, but it was rare to hear anyone in a position of power in the technology industry speak an ill word about Zuck.

These days, that is no longer the case. Zuckerberg's workers question his leadership and hope people at parties don't ask them what they do for a living. People he has made fantastically wealthy say they regret their association with him.

To his credit, Zuckerberg, who has been trying his best to take the pulse of the populace, knows he has an image problem. In April 2017, Facebook took the unusual step of hiring a full-time, in-house pollster to quantify it. Tavis McGinn spent six months designing and administering surveys to divine how different groups of Americans viewed Zuckerberg and his No. 2, Sheryl Sandberg, and what factors influenced their views for better or worse.

Then McGinn quit, for a reason too obvious to qualify as ironic. He had formed his own opinion about where Zuckerberg was leading Facebook, and it wasn't a favorable one.

"I thought, here's this huge machine that has a tremendous influence on society, and there's nothing I can do as an outsider. But if I join the company, and I'm regularly taking the pulse of Americans to Mark, maybe, just maybe that could change the way the company does business," McGinn told Casey Newton of The Verge, who broke the story. "But I decided after six months that it was a waste of my time to be there. I didn't feel great about the product. I didn't feel proud to tell people I worked at Facebook. I didn't feel I was helping the world."

Embarrassing? Sure. Hearing your pollster say he doesn't like you enough to keep working for you is like being told by your psychiatrist that you're too neurotic to be his patient. It says things are much, much worse than you thought.

But McGinn's project--a "very, very expensive" one, he says--was always doomed to failure. That's because it was premised on the idea that perception of Zuckerberg could be dragging down perception of Facebook when, in fact, it's the other way around. Facebook doesn't have a Zuck problem; Zuck has a Facebook problem. And that's not going to change as long as Zuckerberg believes the problem with Facebook is something cosmetic rather than something deep within the company's DNA.

This week, several of those people Zuckerberg made wealthy started something called the Center for Humane Technology, a nonprofit whose goals include things like fighting digital addiction and lobbying for regulations on social media businesses that harm consumers and society. The Center's executive director, Tristan Harris, is a former Google designer who coined the phrase "Time Well Spent" to capture his notion of how technology should serve users: helping them reach their goals efficiently rather than treating them as a captive audience for advertisers. Recently, Zuckerberg has adopted the phrase "Time Well Spent" as his own--only he has made it clear Facebook believes that any time its users spend interacting with each other fits the bill.

Appropriating critics' language may buy time, but it won't solve Facebook's image problems, or Zuckerberg's. To do that, he'll have to be willing to consider the possibility that what people don't like about Facebook is precisely what has made the company so successful for so long: its ability to elicit its users' worst time-wasting, argument-picking, bias-affirming selves.

But, then, if Zuckerberg were open to that kind of self-examination, he might still have a pollster working for him.
After years of growth, the solar industry is in contraction mode.

That's the key finding in the 2017 National Solar Jobs Census released by the Solar Foundation Wednesday. The report cited concerns over the trade case that eventually led to tariffs on imported solar panels as one possible reason for the decline.

The number of solar jobs in the U.S. decreased by almost 10,000 jobs to 250,271 total. The 3.8 percent reduction is the first decline since the foundation began the survey in 2010.

Between 2010 and 2016, the industry had nearly tripled in size, reaching 260,077 workers in 2016.

The Solar Foundation is a nonprofit focused on solar energy research and education. It's funded by various organizations and the U.S. Department of Energy.

The foundation's report cites several potential causes for the decline, including a boom that occurred between 2015 and 2016. For much of 2015, it was unclear whether the solar industry's 30 percent federal investment tax credit would be extended beyond 2015. By the time the credit received congressional approval in December 2015, many large new projects were already in development as companies sought to finish major installations in case the tax credit went away. The industry added 51,000 jobs the following year.

Economic factors at the state level might also have played a role, according to the report. In California, which accounts for 40 percent of the country's solar capacity, an impending shift in residential solar rates has caused unease. The state also experienced an unusually rainy 2017.

Perhaps most notably, the report cites the uncertainty brought about by the Section 201 trade case filed by two solar companies in April 2017. Those two companies invoked a seldom-used trade law, claiming that cheap prices afforded by competitors using overseas solar manufacturers had damaged their businesses.

Industry watchers had suspected that the case's outcome would lead to the Trump administration's applying tariffs on imported panels. Indeed, this past January, the White House announced 30 percent tariffs on solar panels imported from countries including China, Malaysia, and South Korea. Eighty percent of solar panels installed in the U.S. are manufactured abroad.

The foundation surveyed solar companies between October and November 2017, several months before the ruling came down. But as Inc. reported last month, solar companies had already started feeling the effects of the case's uncertainty last summer, when manufacturers began raising prices in anticipation of potential tariffs.

"If you look back historically, the biggest driver of the solar industry has been declining prices," says Ed Gilliland, senior director of the Solar Foundation and the report's author. "If the next year or two see an increase in prices, then that could slow down some of the growth of solar. So, clearly, that is a concern moving forward."

In the census, 86 percent of solar companies said that trade restrictions would negatively impact their businesses. Seventy-one percent said they'd already felt negative effects from the case.

"At the same time, they did project 5 percent growth in jobs for 2018," Gilliland says. "So maybe they would have projected a higher percent without the trade case, but it wasn't total doom and gloom at the time."

Even with the downturn, the solar industry has added jobs at a rate nine times faster than the overall U.S. economy over the past five years, according to the foundation's report.

Gilliland notes that it will be up to states to counter the measures being taken at the federal level. Minnesota, for example, a state that might not immediately spring to mind when one thinks of solar energy, added 1,383 jobs last year. Gilliland says that largely is due to a recent state-wide effort to install community solar systems, to which nearby residents can then choose to subscribe.
The Acting Garda Commissioner and the force's principal watchdog have clashed over where the blame lies for the scandal of 1.4 million bogus breath tests.

Josephine Feehily, chairwoman of the Policing Authority, revealed a review is likely to pin fault o n implicit performance demands on officers.

But Donall O Cualain, who was installed at the helm of the force after Noirin O'Sullivan's sudden retirement earlier this month, disputed the claim.

Asked if he agreed with Ms Feehily, the Acting Commissioner said: "Based on the evidence I have, at this point in time, no, I do not."

An internal audit laid bare the gross exaggeration of drink and drug-driving checks from 2009 to 2016, with 3,498,400 records on the Garda's Pulse computer system when only 2,040,179 tests were actually carried out.

Ms Feehily is awaiting the outcome of an investigation into the scandal from auditors Crowe Horwath, which will also review the Garda reports.

She said the indications were that it would point to officers facing "implicit demands".

But she warned that it is not expected to unearth a specific order for rank-and-file gardai to hit bigger targets.

"They are likely to report to us that there was an implicit expectation in relation to breath tests rather than an explicit direction," Ms F eehily told the Oireachtas Justice Committee.

The Policing Authority chief also said that it was difficult to imagine such huge discrepancies in breath test numbers without gardai of all ranks knowing.

"I think it's difficult to conceive that there wouldn't be knowledge at various levels throughout the organisation," she said.

Ms Feehily gave a damning critique of how she believed Garda management reacted to the startling level of traffic policing at a time of unprecedented cutbacks - supposedly more than 40,000 breathalyser tests every month over seven years.

She said: "I have a sense that it's not an organisation that looks at numbers and says: 'If we're doing that many breath tests and we have this many gardai and there's only this many people with licences' ... I don't think they think like that."

Ms Feehily urged the Garda Representative Authority (GRA) to come forward with evidence for its claims that rank-and-file officers were acting under duress from superiors when incorrect breath test data was recorded.

The Authority chair added: "I suspect we will be getting indications from Crowe Horwath of a belief throughout the organisation that certain performance was expected but they're unlikely to find, I think, a directive or direction."

Ms Feehily was at the committee after warnings from the Patten-style Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland that the appointment of a new Commissioner should be put off.

Commission chief Kathleen O'Toole wrote to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan this week saying that it would be a serious mistake to recruit a new chief before the reform recommendations are made about a year from now.

She said they will affect the specifications of the job and how the force will be managed.

A standard recruitment process for a new Commissioner should take eight months.

Mr Flanagan said he believed the Government, the Policing Authority and Ms O'Toole's commission would come up with a shorter recruitment timeframe amid concerns an appointment could be two years off.

He added: "I agree the process should not be rushed. It is important we get the right person for the job."

Ms Feehily said questions would have to be asked about how delaying a new appointment would impact policing.

"If I was a candidate, I kind of might want to know what job was going to be laid out before me in the future before deciding whether to apply," the Policing Authority chief said.

"On the other hand ... the idea of a lacuna troubles me."

Among the damaging scandals to have surrounded Ms O'Sullivan's tenure was the revelation of 1.4 million bogus breath tests, the treatment of whistleblowers - in particular Sergeant Maurice McCabe - inaccurate homicide records and irregular financial affairs at the Templemore training college.

The Patten-style policing reform body, set up under Ms O'Toole - an internationally recognised police chief and former head of the Garda Inspectorate - was charged with advising on radical change in the force amid the welter of controversies.

Ms Feehily praised former commissioner Ms O'Sullivan and said she had a "huge commitment to reform".

She also told the committee: "It is important that I end by underlining that oversight is not an end in itself and it is not a game of 'gotcha'.

"It is about enhancing policing performance with a view to ensuring that communities are safe, that the country is secure and that the Irish people receive the best possible service from the Garda Siochana."
A deal to save powersharing at Stormont is achievable within the coming days, the Northern Ireland Secretary has said.

Karen Bradley said an agreement was by no means certain, but she expressed hope resolution between Sinn Fein and Democratic Unionists could be secured in the near future.

However, Mrs Bradley declined to outline specific details on the ongoing political negotiations in Belfast as she updated the House of Commons, insisting she did not want to jeopardise a successful outcome.

An accommodation between the parties has not yet been reached, but there is no doubt as to the parties collective commitment towards the restoration of devolution, said told MPs.

I firmly believe that an agreement in the coming days, while not certain, is achievable and this remains my focus.

Northern Ireland has been without a functioning administration for over a year after the last DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded in a row over a botched green energy scheme.

That rift subsequently widened to take in long-running disputes over culture, social issues and legacy.

The current talks process has been characterised as a final opportunity to save the devolved institutions before the UK Government moves to introduce a form of Westminster direct rule.

The process involved all five main Stormont parties and the UK and Irish governments. Another round table engagement is scheduled for the end of the week.

Civil servants have been running Stormonts public services during the impasse, however they are hamstrung by their inability to take major policy decisions.

With the pressing need for budget to be struck for the next financial year, if the latest talks bid fails, the UK Government will face mounting pressure to introduce a form of Westminster direct rule to provide financial certainty.

During Northern Ireland questions in the Commons, the DUPs Nigel Dodds pressed Mrs Bradley to make a firm commitment that she would intervene to set a budget.

The Secretary of State declined to offer such a direct pledge, but she highlighted that her predecessor, James Brokenshire, had done something similar for the current years budget.

One of the key sticking points in the impasse is the regions ongoing ban on same sex marriage. Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Owen Smith urged Mrs Bradley to take the issue off the table by legislating for a change in marriage laws at Westminster.

The Conservative MP insisted it was for local politicians to decide on the contentious issue.

This is clearly a matter which is a devolved issue and quite rightly should be legislated for at Stormont.

.@simoncoveney says the two governments are confident current talks format is working. aIf it wasnat wead be looking to try to change that approach - weare sticking with ita. pic.twitter.com/I5rsMd5l7P  David Young (@DavidYoungPA) February 7, 2018

Earlier, Irelands deputy premier Simon Coveney also struck an optimistic note as he addressed a business conference in Co Louth.

There remain challenges for the parties, but I remain convinced that an agreement can and will be reached, the tanaiste said.

I am convinced each of the parties want to see the devolved institutions in operation, but of course they must come to an accommodation for each other and that cant be forced on them.

A new executive though is critical  for decision making in Northern Ireland, for the peace process and for ensuring that Northern Irelands interests as a whole can be directly and effectively represented through the Brexit negotiations.

Chief Constable George Hamilton and Chief Superintendent Philip Knox meeting @simoncoveney TAnaiste & Minister for Foreign Affairs & Trade today to at the Police College , Garnerville. #KeepingPeopleSafe pic.twitter.com/EKzD0EoUlf  Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) February 7, 2018

Mr Coveney later visited the Police Service of Northern Irelands training college in east Belfast.

While he said it was not his role to disclose details of the negotiations or a timeframe for their conclusion, he insisted the format of the talks was working.

The parties are working intensively to try to find a way forward, she said.

If the two governments didnt believe that the current approach towards trying to find a way forward wasnt going to work then we would be looking to try to change that approach, we are sticking with it and its up to the parties to give information to the public in terms of where things stand and what timescale they are on and I think the two governments are working together on this.
Irelands deputy premier has called on the UK Government to drop its red lines and tough talk on its future relationship with the EU.

Simon Coveney said a calm and rational debate on the merits of continued membership of extended customs union and single market structures was overdue.

Addressing a packed audience at a conference bringing together concerned business representatives on both sides of the Irish border, he warned that the clock was ticking on a decision on what future trading relations will look like after Brexit.

The clock is now ticking closer to the time when a decision on the future direction is neededSimon Coveney

The Tanaiste and foreign affairs minister told the event in Co Louth that the best interests of the UK, Ireland and the wider EU would be served by an arrangement as close as possible to the current free-flowing status quo.

In our view this is best accomplished by the UK indicating that it wishes to be part of an extended single market and customs unions, allowing it to continue to access the worlds largest and most successful free market  a market British genius has helped design, he said.

Thus far however, as we know, the British Government has not been prepared to seek that type of relationship.

My hope is that in the coming weeks, previous red lines and tough talking points will be put to one side and a calm and rational debate about what is in the best interests of the people of Britain and Northern Ireland can prevail.

That deliberation is overdue.

And the clock is now ticking closer to the time when a decision on the future direction is needed.

The closest possible customs and regulatory partnership is in the best interests of everybody, in my view, across these islands, and indeed in the best interests of the European Union and its future also.

Mr Coveney said despite some media commentary on the phase one deal struck between the UK and the EU, there was no uncertainty over what had been agreed in relation to the alignment of regulations in key economic sectors on both sides of the border after Brexit.

He said other EU nations remained unstinting in their support of Irelands stance on that issue.
The Government is pushing for a settled "legal text" with the UK over the Border question as early as next month in a move that threatens once again to derail the Brexit negotiations.

Tanaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney is understood to have made the Government's uncompromising position clear to his counterparts, putting further pressure on British Prime Minister Theresa May to make hard decisions on the future relationship between the State and United Kingdom.

It comes as leaked European Commission documents show Brussels intends to punish Britain if it refuses to submit to EU law during the Brexit transition period by stripping British businesses of their access to the single market.

Agenda

The Border will be one of the items on the agenda when the Mrs May's inner Brexit cabinet convenes this morning for the first of two meetings this week to try to agree her government's position over Britain's future relationship with Europe.

Pressure by Mr Coveney is seen by the UK as a threat to unravel the delicate diplomatic text over the Border question that was orchestrated in December following three days of intense talks between Dublin, London and Brussels.

In that agreement, the UK maintained that it would keep Northern Ireland in "full alignment" with Europe's single market - but only as a last resort, if other solutions to the problem could not be found.

British negotiators argue that the combination of Northern Ireland's devolved decision-making processes and some technical customs arrangements could be enough to make good on their commitment to avoid a damaging 'hard Border'.

Irish officials have chosen not to completely close the door to those solutions but they made clear Ireland wants the "full alignment" option to be enshrined in a detailed legal agreement as its fallback option.

"Like the UK, we have consistently said that it is our preference to resolve these issues through the wider future relationship agreement between the EU and the UK," said a senior Government official.

"However, in case this is not possible, we must at the same time ensure legal certainty in the withdrawal agreement that reflects the commitments made by the UK in phase one of the negotiations."

Ireland's demand for certainty suggests that British optimism that the Border question could be resolved as part of a broader discussion about trade and customs is misplaced.

Failure to reach an accommodation also risks delaying a deal on a transition agreement in March if Ireland convinces other EU states to use the transition deal as leverage to force the British to clarify their positions.

Leaked European Commission documents translating the EU's hardline stance on the transition period into legal language exposed fears that Britain would break European laws during the transition period.

This would effectively freeze the UK's membership of the single market and customs union for about two years after Brexit.

EU countries that break the bloc's law can be taken to the European Court of Justice, but such cases typically last much longer than the transition period of about two years.

The European Commission wants to create a way of denying market access if Britain adopts the tactic of simply waiting out any judgment until the end of the transition period.
IRISH dairy giant LacPatrick has unveiled a 'Brexit-proofing' technology centre in Co Tyrone in a 30m investment creating 20 new jobs.

The site at Artigarvan near Strabane has now doubled its capacity, and will be able to make two new milk powder products for export.

LacPatrick was formed three years ago following a merger between Town of Monaghan Co-Operative - which had a long history of taking milk from Northern Ireland farmers - and Co Derry's Ballyrashane Co-Operative.

Its Artigarvan site employs 70 staff, with LacPatrick Dairies employing over 300 staff in total.

"The new dairy technology centre at Artigarvan will provide security of capacity for local dairy farmers producing milk to the highest standards," said Gabriel D'Arcy, chief executive of LacPatrick.

"The plant provides long-term security to our supplier base and positions the business at the forefront of global dairy technologies.

"We are now able to produce two new lines of milk powder for international markets with the dairy technology centre able to process milk all-year round."

Mr D'Arcy said the "core logistical risk" of Brexit has been mitigated by the Artigarvan expansion.

A spokesman added: "As an exporter out of the UK, LacPatrick will be closely monitoring the trading agreements being negotiated by the UK."

Mr D'Arcy added: "We will be focused on driving product development, building relationships with processors seeking access to our technology and expanding our customer base in Asia and the Middle East.

"We have made a significant capital investment with the clear purpose of delivering a sustainable return to our suppliers over the coming months and years ahead."
Glanbia is to spend 125m over the next 18 months as it increases its processing capacity at its Belview site.

Milk supply to Glanbia Ireland grew by 9pc in 2017 and further investment is now planned in order to increase milk processing capacity at Belview in line with farmers' plans for expansion, it confirmed.

Glanbia Ireland Chief Executive Jim Bergin told farmers recently that the company will invest 125m in milk processing capacity to cater for the expansion in milk supply forecast by Glanbia farmers. Some 74pc of Glanbia suppliers increased their milk supply by a weighted average of 12.9pc compared to the previous year.

Planning permission has been secured for a new milk dryer at Belview and the capacity of the two current driers will be increased in 2018, while the entire new capacity will be in place for the 2019 peak season.

By 2020, Glanbias 4,800 milk suppliers expect to increase milk production by 63pc. Currently Glanbia Ingredients Ireland processes 1.8 billion litres of milk or 30pc of Irelands milk pool into a range of dairy ingredients for export to more than 50 countries.

It's understood that the 125m is coming from Glanbia Irelands own resources.

Developed at an investment of more than 180m by Glanbia, with support from the government via Enterprise Ireland, the total investment programme of over 235m was the largest indigenous infrastructure investment made by an Irish company in 80 years.

In terms of the dairy market outlook, Mr Bergin has cautioned milk suppliers that 2018 is likely to be more challenging than 2017. It comes as the EU Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan warned Irish farmers recently that the current rate of expansion in the sector is not sustainable.
A 200/hd direct payment for the suckler cow herd would not be a "wise use of national resources" according to agri-sector economist Professor Alan Matthews.

The proposal if adopted could cost the national exchequer or Ireland's CAP envelope over 170m per annum.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has pointed out the funding required for such a payment equated to 18pc of the country's Basic Payment Scheme. Prof Matthews claimed the "cards were stacked" against it.

"The logic of committing further public funds to a sector which is already heavily supported by the national exchequer and the EU through CAP direct payments and tariff protections has to be questioned," said the emeritus professor of European agricultural policy at Dublin's Trinity College.

"I don't agree that providing more incentives can be in any way justified to an industry that is so heavily dependent for its scale on transfers both from consumers - through tariffs on cheaper Third Country beef imports - and CAP direct payments," he explained.

According to the 2016 National Farm Survey average direct payments to cattle rearing farms stood at 14,400. This accounted for 115pc of farm income, or suckler farmers were subsiding their enterprises to the tune of 1,900 on average from their direct payments.

Prof Matthews comments provoked an angry response from the IFA.

The association's livestock chairman, Angus Woods, said the thesis put forward by Professor Matthews was flawed and short-sighted.

Mr Woods pointed out that the 3bn beef and livestock sector delivered essential economic output in every parish across the country, involving 100,000 farmers and up to 45,000 jobs outside the farm gate.

However, Prof Mathews insisted he was not against the beef industry per se, but he argued the current level of production was not sustainable.

He maintained that current beef cow numbers at around 865,000 head were historically and artificially high.

Prof Matthews pointed out that the introduction of milk quotas and the Beef Suckler Cow Scheme in the early 1980s drove beef cow numbers from 500,000 head to almost 1.2 million head. He claimed Ireland now needed to return to a herd of around 500,000 cows.

He said such a reduction in beef cow numbers - even allowing the increased dairy production - would necessitate the identification of alternative uses for grass. One possible outlet was growing grass for biogas production, he suggested.

John Gibbons of the heritage body An Taisce said the proposed payment was not justified on environmental grounds.
Forestry Minister Andrew Doyle has challenged Coillte to undo the "damage" done to the confidence of farmers and other potential tree growers.

Mr Doyle said the revelations of the past week over payment delays and a lack of contact by Coillte in long-established forestry partnership schemes had damaged ongoing efforts to promote forestry in Ireland.

"There is no doubt that damage has been done and there were serious legacy problems with Coillte.

"The big challenge now for the organisation is to resolve these problems as quickly as possible and that will be the ultimate test of them," Mr Doyle told the Farming Independent.

His comments come as the Government is to offer higher grants and premium rates for planting trees in a drive to increase afforestation rates to help achieve targets on climate change emissions. Ireland has fallen short of the targets of planting 7,100ha a year as the attention focuses on emissions from agriculture.

The Wicklow Fine Gael TD (pictured inset), who has a direct knowledge of the forestry business, said that the Coillte problems were "legacy issues." He said some of it was due to the recession and recruitment embargoes which reduced the numbers of foresters.

Investment

"Maintenance is required, be it in land, machinery or business relationships. And it is clear that has lapsed in some cases. Now that must change," added Mr Doyle, ahead of meeting Coillte in the coming days.

Coillte along with the farm organisations and a number of affected farmers are due to come before the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee later this month to discuss issues raised.

Asked if they feel it will damage the Government's forestry drive, a Coillte spokesman insisted commercial forestry "represents an excellent investment proposition" and stated it "constantly works to improve communication with our farm partners".

Coillte have confirmed they have begun a detailed review of over 600 farm partnerships agreed between 1993 and 2012, and expect issues with less than 50 partnerships.

Some farmers have complained that they have not received payment for thinnings. Coillte stated most of the agreements were based on thinning not taking place before year 20. However, it did occur earlier in a number of cases.

"During its review of its farm partners Coillte has become aware that in a very small number of cases, payments to farm partners have been missed.

"This is highly regrettable," it stated, adding that the cases would not exceed single figures. It has hired KPMG consultants to independently review how the farm partnership payments are calculated.

A helpline set up has received over 55 calls, with 25 issues resolved, around 20 on track and eight complex cases being examined. Coillte admitted communication has "fallen short" in the past and it will provide an annual statement detailing any payments made, due and the calculations involved.

Oireachtas Agriculture chair Pat Deering said the key issue is "transparency" and clarity for all involved in the partnerships, with concerns raised over non-payments in some instances. He said farmers would be able to air their concerns in the committee meeting.

Joe Codd, from commercial forestry company Veon, said they have been fielding a high number of phone calls from confused farmers after Coillte concerns were raised publicly.
The Court of Appeal has upheld a finding that a farmer is entitled to 120 acres of land belonging to a man who turned out to be his biological father.

However, the three judge court set aside a High Court finding that William Naylor should receive a bequest of 150,000 left to him by the late Michael Hoare who died in 2007 aged 82.

In proceedings that ran for 21 days before the High Court, in 2012 Mr Naylor sued his sister Jean Maher who was the executrix of Mr Hoare's estate, seeking to have a will executed by Mr Hoare set aside.

In that will Mr Hoare left Mrs Maher, who had cared for the deceased in his latter years, the farm at Derrylahan, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, while Mr Naylor was to receive 150,000.

That 2006 will replaced one made a year earlier in which Mr Hoare left the land to Mr Naylor.

Mr Naylor, who is aged in his early sixties, claimed he was promised the farm, which he had lived and worked on more than 30 years, by Mr Hoare, who he only discovered was his biological father after his death.

The court heard Mr Hoare married Mr Naylor's mother in the 1980s. He had always believed another man, his mother's first husband was his father.

Mrs Maher of The Crescent, Townsend Street, Birr, Co Offaly opposed the claim.

In a 2012 High Court judgment, Mr Justice Daniel OKeeffe ruled that Mr Naylor of Lelagh, Rathcabbin, Derrylahan, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, but originally from Birr in Co Offaly had established a legal claim and was entitled to the lands at Derrylahan, as well as the money left to him in the 2006 will.

The Judge said for many years Mr Naylor was entitled to the land as he worked the farm for minimal remuneration, and Mr Hoare had promised him on many occasions that he would leave him the property.

Mr Naylor, who was a truthful witness, returned from Dublin in the early 1970s to work the farm at the expressed wishes of Mr Hoare. The Judge also accepted the evidence of other witnesses that Mr Hoare had promised Mr Naylor the land.

The Judge found Mr Naylor had "failed to establish his claim that the 2006 will was procured by duress and undue influence by Mrs Maher, and dismissed his claims in that regard.

Ms Maher appealed the some of those findings on grounds including the trial judge had erred in deciding her brother's claim should have been satisfied by the transfer of lands to him, and that he was entitled to his legal costs.

She argued the High Court should have ordered that Mr Naylor be compensated with a sum of money sufficient to repay him the amount he lost when he moved back from Dublin to assist his father on the farm. Evidence was given that 163,000 represented his loss.

Mr Naylor opposed the appeal, and argued the High Court decision should remain undisturbed.

In its judgement on Wednesday, the three-judge Court of Appeal unanimously held Mr Naylor was entitled to the land based on the promises that were made to him.

Giving the court's decision, Mr Justice Michael Peart said it disagreed with the High Court's finding that he was also entitled to the 150,000 bequeathed to him in the 2006 will.

The court found the 150,000 bequeathed to him in the 2006 will was intended as substitution for the lands. The earlier will did not contain such a bequeath.

"To do justice between the parties" in "these unusual circumstances" the Judge said the court was ordering that Mr Naylor should receive the lands after he executes a disclaimer in the 150,000 left to him in the 2006 will.

Any other conclusion would be "unduly severe" the judge said.

Mr Naylor was entitled to 75 per cent of his legal costs, and not all as the High Court had ruled, because he was not successful in all arguments he had raised which had take up some time at the hearing of the dispute at High Court, Mr Justice Peart added.
Derry Sheep farmer Brian McEldowney, shot a killed neighbour's pet dog "buster". Having killed the dog in neighbour outhouse,carried the dog to his field and placed beside his dead sheep. neighbour's pet dog "buster". Having killed the dog in neighbour outhouse,carried the dog to his field and placed beside his dead sheep.

This is the heartless farmer who gunned down a family pet because he wrongly believed he was a sheep killer.

Brian McEldowney was convicted last month of shooting Buster, a beloved family pet.

Farmer McEldowney conspired with his nephew Gerald in a plot after some of his livestock were attacked in the fields.

The defenceless collie was gunned down in its own back yard, then his carcass was dumped beside some dead sheep before pictures were taken to justify the crime.

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McEldowney narrowly escaped jail last week after he was handed a suspended sentence for using his legally held firearm to shoot two-year-old Buster.

This week he told the Sunday World that what had appeared in local papers were lies.

His nephew was also handed a suspended jail term for removing the dogs carcass to impede the apprehension of his uncle.

The shocking story has rocked the sleepy rural area near Draperstown, Co. Derry, ever since it happened in April 2016.

The McEldowneys believe Buster was responsible for a number of sheep kills, costing the family business hundreds of pounds.

They say they had to act after warnings to Busters owners that he was dangerous, but chose to take the law into their own hands rather than contact the police.

Busters owners  the McGuigans, who live next door  dont believe Buster is to blame,

It has also divided opinion in the area, with many farmers sympathetic to Mr McEldowneys plight  given the fact the incident happened during the stressful period of the lambing season.

Either way, the circumstances of how Buster was killed and how the farmers put him in the boot of their car and drove him to one of their fields to have his body pose with some of the dead sheep has rattled the local community.

We contacted the McGuigan family but they didnt want to comment.

A family friend of the McGuigans described how two of familys kids had heard the gunshots that killed their beloved pet Buster.

Buster had got free but only for a few minutes and they caught him very quickly, they explained.

Brian McEldowney went to the house apparently and was very angry  he told them he was going to get his gun. He had already hit Buster with a stick.

The mum left to go to Draperstown and was away for about 15 minutes. They killed Buster and the kids heard the gunshots and saw them cleaning up.

The prosecutor told Derry Crown Court: The defendant Brian McEldowney was seen by her carrying a shotgun.

He opened the byre door and he went in and the daughter heard two bangs. She came running out of the house and saw the third man hosing blood away from the byre.

Lifted

She saw Gerald McEldowney tying a blue rope around the dogs legs and then pulling the dog by its legs. The dog was then lifted by him over a gate and put into a field as if to make the shooting of the dog legal for sheep-worrying.

Three days later the carcass was thrown into a second field by Brian McEldowney, again to make it look as if it had been shot for sheep-worrying.

It was said in court both men had apologised, but Brian McEldowney seemed less contrite when we called at his door on Wednesday.

Despite pleading guilty, he told us the court action was not finished but would not confirm whether he intended to appeal or not.

You cant print a story without my consent, he shouted.

We are not finished with the court and Ill tell the truth of what happened when it is.

Bizarrely, photos of a dead Buster lying beside some dead sheep appeared in a local newspaper along with comments from Brian McEldowney, though he was not named.

He told the paper three days after shooting the dog: My livestock has been attacked on six occasions. I have seen this dog around and in other neighbours fields. I had been turning a blind eye to it, but I have had enough. It was either my sheep or the dog.

Brian McEldowney went on to tell the paper he had warned Busters owners to look after the dog better. He said the cost of the two dead sheep was about 400 and complained that the police had removed his gun.

He said: I think its unfair that the police have confiscated my guns, at the end of the day this is my livelihood and I have to protect it. If I dont, no-one else will.

I am very angry I have been left with no gun. I need it to protect my livestock and my crop.

Sources say the McGuigan family were devastated when they picked up the paper to see a picture of Busters bloodied body.

It shook the whole family to see wee Buster dead in the paper, they explained.

They are adamant Buster didnt kill those sheep and there was no evidence to show he had. Its been very traumatic for the whole family and one of the girls has been having nightmares.

Compensation

The family are trying to get on with their lives but its been very difficult given they live so close to the McEldowneys.

Brian McEldowney (56), admitted shooting Buster with his legally held shotgun. He also admitted trespassing at a byre at Cloane Road, Draperstown and possessing a shotgun and ammunition with intent to endanger life.

He sentenced Brian McEldowney to 12 months jail, suspended for three years, and ordered him to pay compensation of 500 to the McGuigan family.
A new farm organisation is hoping to strike a chord with small to medium farmers in the north-west of the country who they say have become disillusioned with the system.

The Irish Family Farm Rights Group (IFFRG) is holding a meeting at the Station House Hotel in Letterkenny, Co Donegal this Sunday, 11 February at 7pm.

Donegal beef, suckler and sheep farmer, Paul McDaid of the IFFRG told FarmIreland that he is organising the meeting as small to medium farmers in the west have become disillusioned with Irish agriculture because they feel theyre not well represented.

On the ground so many farmers feel left behind and feel they need representation. Were trying to strike a chord with farmers who feel disillusioned or who feel hopeless,"he said.

Theres a very bleak mood amongst farmers. A lot feel theres no money in farming and its not sustainable.

Although farming in Mallow, Co Cork IFFRG member Donie Shine thinks it's important that farmers in the west arent forgotten about and that its the same issues facing farmers all across the country.

Theyve been forgotten about up there. Someone needs to shout stop and fight the corner of the small farmer. Its not just in the west though, theres bad land in every county in Ireland, so everyones affected. He said.

Managing Director of the IFFRG added that the group is calling for a farmers' postal survey on the proposed CAP Budget 2020-27 as they feel the current CAP meetings happening across the country may not go far enough to gauge farmers' opinions.

The farmer survey could easily be carried out by just clipping the survey sheet to the Area Aid Application Form that every farmer in the country will get in the post from the Department of Agriculture in the next couple of months,"he said.

"The survey sheet would outline all of the options as to how the CAP funds could be divided up between farmers in their single farm payments and the farmer could tick a box or rank in order of his or her preference the options that best suit him or her.

The group are also campaigning for an end to the 'Four Movement Rule' and have received over 7,500 signatures across half of the countries marts and plan to visit remaining marts this year.

Mr Gunning added that the group would like to see a yellow card system implemented during Department inspections.

If theres a tag after falling off or something small like that farmers shouldnt be penalised. They should be given a yellow card warning. Farmers should get a second chance, he said.
The settlement of a substantial claim for damages by broadband firm, Imagine, against a major supplier, contributed to the business recording pre-tax profits of 14.6m in 2016.

New accounts lodged by the Imagine Communications Group Ltd show that the group recorded the profits after an exceptional gain of 31.79m in 2016. The group is currently focusing on bringing its LTE super-fast fibre broadband to rural Ireland and in a note attached to the accounts, it stated that the exceptional income is as a result of a number of factors.

The note states that a gain from the successful outcome of litigation with a major technology supplier; a gain on the restructuring of other loans; the disposal of the group's retail business and recovery of bad debts written off all contributed to the 31.79m exceptional gain.

The note states that "further detailed information in relation to these transactions has not been included due to legal obligations and the commercially sensitive nature of these events".

The directors described the legal settlement of the significant item of ongoing litigation as resulting in materially strengthening the group's financial position in the year.

The pre-tax profit of 14.6m in 2016 followed a pre-tax loss of 4.4m in 2015. Revenues at the group almost halved going from 27.87m to 15.58m in 2016.

The directors state that they are satisfied with the performance of the group during the financial year and point to the company's earnings before tax, depreciation, interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) increasing from 2.75m to 21.74m.to 23.31m during 2016.

The directors state that the group has continued to invest in its LTE broadband project "which gives the group a strong strategic position for the future and it continues to pursue its plan to deploy a national broadband network as a commercial operation using the latest global LTE technology".

The group's cash pile increased more than threefold to 6.6m and numbers employed increased from 134 to 156 with staff costs rising from 5.35m to 5.8m.

Directors emoluments remained static at 250,000. During the year, the group purchased consultancy services from a company controlled by director, Sean Bolger for 350,000 and at the end of December 2016, the amount owed to Mr Bolger's company was 823,500.
Global turnover from companies operating under the Guaranteed Irish banner has topped 25bn.

Over 300 plus companies currently operate under the banner, with the companies directly employing close to 50,000 people in Ireland.

At a Guaranteed Irish event, which took place at the Irish Stock Exchange today, the organisation said that just under half of the companies were engaged in exporting, with the primary export markets being the UK, US, and mainland Europe.

"Through the use of the widely-recognised Guaranteed Irish symbol, in addition to PR and marketing campaigns, networking events and lobbying activities, Guaranteed Irish helps its members to expand at home and abroad," Brid OConnell, chief executive of Guaranteed Irish, said.

Ms OConnell went on to tell guests at the event that the organisation was calling on business leaders at home and abroad to register with Guaranteed Irish and offer support to other businesses.

The organisation also used the event to announce that March would be designated the inaugural Guaranteed Irish Month to celebrate members of Guaranteed Irish, and to showcase what the organisation said was "Irelands exceptional international reputation as a great place to work and do business."

Other initiatives that the organisation is running include its 'West of Ireland by Appointment' initiative, where the organisation will travel around the country meeting businesses,

"We have always been about the rural part of Ireland and we have not forgotten that," Ms OConnell said.

Representatives from Kingspan, Dairygold and MSD were at the launch today to share their experiences of export markets, and how being Irish has added a competitive advantage to their business both at home and abroad.

Ciaran Cannon, TD, and Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, described the Guaranteed Irish brand as a "symbol of integrity, quality and trust".

Speaking at the event, Minister Cannon said that there has never been a better time to start a business in Ireland.

The Minister went on to say that avoiding a hard border, protecting the Good Friday Agreement and ensuring integrity of single market an absolute priority for the current Government.

"We will continue to make the case at EU level that Ireland requires support for certain businesses," Minister Cannon said.
Norwegian is to add capacity on its routes from Dublin and Shannon to New York state and Providence due to increased demand

Scandinavian airline Norwegian is to add a second daily service to its Dublin-New York route from April for the summer season.

It's also increasing its summer service from Shannon, doubling the frequency of flights to Providence, Rhode Island, from two to four a week, and adding a third weekly flight to New York.

Norwegian said it was adding the additional flights due to the level of demand from both leisure and business travellers for the services.

The airline flies to Stewart International Airport, in upstate New York which is about 100km from Manhattan.

Its service to Providence is designed to primarily cater for passengers travelling to Boston.

A spokesman for Norwegian said the double-daily service between Dublin and Stewart International may become a year-round service if there's sufficient demand.

Norwegian launched flights from Ireland to the United States last year, after years spent trying to secure permission from the US government for the low-cost services.

It uses new, single-aisle, Boeing 737 Max aircraft on its routes from Ireland. It also flies to Providence from Cork.

Norwegian chief commercial officer Thomas Ramdahl said that more than 130,000 passengers have flown between Ireland and the United States since services started last July.

Meanwhile, Dublin Airport ended 2017 as the 15th busiest airport in Europe, according to data from Airports Council International.

Dublin's 29.6 million passengers last year made it busier than airports including those at Zurich, Manchester or Brussels.

The busiest European airport remained London Heathrow, with 78 million passengers.
Staff at Investec's Irish arm have been told that any decision to sell the business will be discussed with them prior to any announcement.

The Irish Independent revealed last Friday that South-Africa-based Investec was in talks with potential bidders, including AIB, about selling its Irish arm.

Investec Ireland, led by long-time chief executive Michael Cullen, is involved in private banking, capital markets and investment banking.

The Irish Independent has learned that following last week's report, Investec management called staff in Ireland together and reassured them that the Irish business had been performing well, and that this would naturally attract potential buyers. Staff were told that media reports were speculative.

Investec has been in the Irish market since 2000, but gained significant scale when it took over the former NCB Stockbrokers in 2012.

While its UK parent has invested in Irish mortgages, the brand never entered the retail market in this country.

Investec's group chief executive said in late 2016 that the Irish business might look to make acquisitions to build scale here, but mooted deals failed to materialise.

It is understood that the potential regulatory impact of Brexit on Investec Ireland, parts of which fall under the regulatory umbrella of its UK-based direct parent, have also shifted management to consider a sale.

Read more: Market tremors highlight risk of buying brokers as cycle nears end

An acquisition by State-owned AIB would return the country's biggest bank to the stock-broking business it exited when it was forced to sell Goodbody Stockbrokers as a condition of its bailout.

However, for staff at Investec a sale to AIB would bring them into the state sector. Wage rules at AIB, introduced after the bailout, mean no banker can be paid more than 500,000 a year, unless that was already their pay level.

Banker bonuses are already effectively banned and anonymised staff pay data is subject to parliamentary scrutiny and Freedom of Information rules.
Ryanair is embarking on a trawl of South Africa in its bid to boost crew numbers

Having scoured Brazil and the Middle East for pilots last year, Ryanair is embarking on a trawl of South Africa in its bid to boost crew numbers.

It's hoping to hire experienced Boeing 737 captains, as well as captains currently flying other aircraft such as Airbus jets.

Ryanair is hosting open days in Johannesburg and Cape Town later this month as it continues to source pilots for its bases across Europe.

The airline has pointed out to candidates that its fleet of 425 jets will increase to almost 600 by 2024, as annual passenger numbers hit 200 million.

Ryanair stepped up its pilot hiring and training last year after a rostering debacle that saw it ground thousands of flights.

Its chief operations officer Peter Bellew said before Christmas that retaining existing pilots at the airline was one of his top priorities.

Speaking this week as Ryanair released strong third-quarter results, Mr Bellew insisted that the airline is not experiencing any recruitment issues.

He told analysts: "We're in good shape right now.

"We're having no problems hiring experienced captains. We're having a number of people applying to us from the failed carriers, and also a lot of people want to return from the Gulf carriers back to Europe, so that's going well."

"We'll be up at a ratio of 5.3 captains and first officers per aircraft for the start of the summer season. We only need (a) 4.7 ratio to run the schedule," he added. "That's even with our five days on, four days off roster."

Mr Bellew said Ryanair is also building additional training capacity at London Stansted, the airline's biggest base, where it will have an extra three simulators by the end of the year.

He added that the carrier is also hiring internally for senior trainers.

"We'll be building up the capacity to more than recruit and train the number of people we'll have as we grow to more than 600 aircraft," said Mr Bellew.

Ryanair said this week that its third-quarter profit after tax jumped 12pc to 106m.

It's on track to deliver profits of between 1.4bn and 1.45bn for its financial year that ends in March, it said.

Ryanair held an analyst investor day in Dublin yesterday, at which it gave details on a range of its current initiatives.
Almost 2,500 customers of KBC Bank are still being overcharged on their mortgages, it has emerged.

Wim Verbraeken, CEO of the bank, revealed the figure at the Oireachtas Finance Committee last night as it examined the response to the tracker mortgage scandal.

Mr Verbraeken said these customers would be put on the correct rate by the end of the month, while some 500 have already received redress.

However, he was grilled by committee members about the length of time it has taken for the bank to resolve the issue.

Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said he was a customer of the bank, though not one of those affected by the scandal.

He accused the bank of stealing money from accounts which it was not entitled to, even after it had identified 2,473 who were still on an incorrect rate.

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Over the weekend the Irish Independent revealed how 33 properties of KBC customers were lost due to the tracker scandal, including 27 buy-to-let properties.

Mr Verbraeken told the committee six of these were family homes and the bank was still in possession of five of them.

He said these five customers would be offered back their homes on a reduced mortgage from the bank.

Meanwhile, Permanent TSB denied that putting one of its bankers on a panel that reviews tracker overcharging cases meant the bank's appeals process lacks fairness.

The bank admitted at the committee meeting that one of the three people on customer appeals panel is a bank employee.

But Fianna Fail's Michael McGrath questioned if this meant the appeals process lack objectivity.

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He was querying Permanent TSB boss Jeremy Masding.

Mr McGrath said: "I guess the point I am making is that the defendant does not get to be a member of the jury."

But Mr Masding denied there was any attempt to rig the panel in favour of the bank.

He said the chairman of the appeals panel has acknowledged that the bank staff member has been objective and helpful to the process.

Mr Masding said there was only one bank staffer on the panel, which meant it was not possible for the bank to dominate its decision making.

The bank told the TDs and senators that 28pc of appeals have been upheld in favour of customers who appealed to PTSB tracker appeals panel.

Almost 2,000 customers of the bank lost out on trackers as they opted for a fixed rate, then broke out early, but were not warned by the bank this would mean they would lose their tracker.

Mr Masding defended himself over claims the bank's delay in acknowledging the tracker overcharging had meant thousands of people at a large number of banks had to put their lives on home.

Mr Doherty claimed the actions of the bank in challenging decisions of the financial services ombudsman and the High Court had meant the 34,000 people across all banks have had to wait for refunds longer than they should have had to wait.

Mr Doherty said that he was not attacking Mr Masding personally, but until senior bankers face consequences for their actions on trackers it will happen again.

In angry exchanges, Mr Masding insisted he did not work at the bank when customers were denied trackers.

He defended his actions when he took over, dismissing claims he dragged out the overcharging issue by taking four customer cases to the Supreme Court.
Ireland's first successful live demonstration of 5G technology was carried out at an event in Dublin's Trinity College.

Vodafone Ireland and Ericsson achieved 15 Gigabit per second speeds with a latency of less than five milliseconds at the Douglas Hyde Gallery.

In addition to showcasing "the 5G speeds of the future", Vodafone also tested pre-standard 5G across its recently acquired 3.6GHz spectrum.

A range of real-life customer applications for 5G technology were highlighted at Wednesday's immersive demonstration of future technology.

Chief Technology Officer, Vodafone Ireland's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Madalina Suceveanu said that "the first successful trial of pre-standard 5G is an essential step forward in achieving our vision of a Gigabit Society for Ireland".

"As our network evolves toward 5G it will become even faster and more resilient, will have significantly lower latency, and will allow a huge number of devices to connect simultaneously," she said.

Over time, it is expected that 5G will gradually drive super-high speed broadband and media, help connect massive numbers of devices, enable the provision of faster, secure, reliable and robust connectivity and help provide ultra-low latency for human machine interaction.

The healthcare - and education - industry in particular was highlighted as a sector that could benefit from the advancements in technology.

Opportunities were explored which include the enablement of doctors to operate in a VR environment using a haptic glove, while students join the class through VR glasses to experience the operation.

Head of Ericsson Ireland John Griffin said that 5G will offer a raft of benefits both for consumers and businesses.

"Through these trials, Vodafone can evaluate 5G technology and its opportunities to provide better services to consumers and businesses prior to the commercial deployment of 5G," he said.

"In addition, these trials will provide us with insights about what use cases will benefit from 5G in the future."
Virgin Media is eyeing high-speed broadband expansion that could take it to almost a million Irish homes over the next three years.

Executives at the firm - which mostly operates in cities - told the Irish Independent they want to extend its network into regional towns.

It is also predicting a doubling of broadband speeds on its network to around 1,000Mbs within the next four years, which make it competitive with new fibre networks being planned by rival firms.

However, Virgin says it will not co-operate with other broadband firms in renting out its own network or offering retail competition on the networks of other operators.

The move comes as Communications Minister Denis Naughten rejected a Fianna Fail motion seeking a review of the contract process for the National Broadband Plan, saying it would lead to further delays to the process.

Mr Naughten said he was satisfied Enet, the only bidder still in the running for the government tender, was capable of supplying high-speed broadband to more than 500,000 homes across the country.
Spain's Economy Minister has been officially put forward as a candidate to become vice-president of the European Central Bank (ECB).

The nomination pitches Luis de Guindos against Central Bank Governor Philip Lane who was named by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe last week.

ECB vice-president Vitor Constancio steps down in May after serving an eight-year term.

All nominations as his replacement for the coveted role must be submitted by today, February 7.

As it stands, the only candidates that have been put forward for the position are Professor Lane and de Guindos.

If Philip Lane gets the job, it will create a vacancy at the head of the Central Bank here.

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Paschal Donohoe has said that Mr de Guindos' nomination did not come as a surprise.

"When we were making the decision to support Philip [Lane] I always acknowledged and expected that there would be other candidates, and was very much aware that Spain also had ambitions to be representing the ECB and that my good colleague Luis would likely be that candidate."

"What I will be doing is focusing exclusively on the qualities of Governor Lane, pointing to his track record and what he has achieved within the European Central Bank."

"In any competition there are always other countries or candidates that would be putting their best foot forward too, we will be doing the same, Philip is an excellent candidate."

"Now that the nominations have been closed today we will be continuing to put forward his qualities to all Member States who will have a vote in relation to it."
The broadcasting watchdog has found Newstalk failed to "take corrective action in a timely fashion" following comments George Hook made on air about rape.

In its latest report, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) upheld a complaint made by a listener to Mr Hook's 'High Noon' show over comments the presenter made on September 8 in relation to a UK rape case.

The incident that led to Mr Hook's suspension related to his wording about the sexual assault of a woman in the UK and the responsibility of women in general. The presenter went on to describe the rape as "awful" and later said: "But when you look deeper into the story you have to ask certain questions. Why does a girl who just meets a fella in a bar go back to a hotel room? She's only just barely met him .... then is surprised when somebody else comes into the room and rapes her."

He later posed the question: "Is there no blame now to the person who puts themselves in danger?"

Details of the criticism were published by the BAI yesterday, along with 10 other separate complaints made to the broadcasting watchdog. The complainant said it was not appropriate for Mr Hook to blame an alleged victim of sexual assault for being raped. Responding, the radio station stated that the day following the initial broadcast Mr Hook issued an apology.

And following a second, more detailed, apology, Newstalk suspended Mr Hook from the station. However, the BAI ruled: "The broadcaster had a responsibility to take greater care to prevent the possibility of undue offence and harm, including taking timely corrective action where content is likely to have caused offence."

In total, five complaints were upheld or upheld in part by the BAI, concerning programmes that aired on RTE One: 'Eco Eye'; Newstalk: 'Newstalk Breakfast'; RTE Radio 1: 'Morning Ireland'; and Newstalk: 'High Noon'.

The complaint upheld on 'Morning Ireland' was in relation to the description of journalist Kevin Myers as a "Holocaust denier". The BAI stated that the comment made in July last year misrepresented Mr Myers's views.

The complainant argued that the description was an absurd claim based on an article written by the journalist over eight years ago under a "misleading headline" that he didn't write.

The individual added that Mr Myers took issue with the word 'Holocaust' on account of its Greek origin, meaning 'destroy by fire'.

The broadcasting watchdog decided to uphold his complaint, noting "that while Mr Myers had described himself as a 'Holocaust denier' in a typically provocative newspaper article that he had written, it was evident from the article as a whole that his description did not in fact amount to a statement denying the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazi regime."

An RTE spokesperson said: "RTE is surprised by and disappointed with this finding and are considering our response."

One complaint in relation to remarks by presenter Paul Williams on the Newstalk 'Breakfast' show on July 27, 2017, about water charge protesters at Jobstown, was upheld, while another was upheld in part.

The complaints objected to language used by the presenter when referring to protesters.

While Mr Williams apologised shortly after, the BAI said he had an editorial responsibility to adhere to the regulations.
**WARNING: SPOILERS**

The actor who plays twisted Dr Oakley on Fair City has revealed that he used a bestselling book about psychopaths to prepare for the dark role.

All hell breaks loose in Carrigstown tonight as Dr Oakley, played by Marcus Lamb, returns and is hell-bent on revenge.

Despite being apprehended by gardai, the crazed doctor has escaped prison and has his sights set on the Phoenix Way members.

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Viewers watched him capture Miriam (Sorcha Fox) and Emmet (Daithi Mac Suibhne) and he is now holding them hostage, as the pair fear for what he has in store for them.

Speaking about his character, Marcus said Oakley just loves causing "absolute mayhem" on the show.

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"He's very driven and anyone who gets in his way is dead meat. It's been brilliant to cause absolute mayhem. He instigates everything," he told the Today Show on RTE One.

In preparation for taking on the role, Marcus told how he read Jon Ronson's bestselling book The Psychopath Test to understand his character's mindset.

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"Apparently 7pc of people in power have psychopathic tendencies," he said.

"That's why they can fire people and not feel anything.

"Just because you have psychopathic tendencies doesn't mean you're going to kill anyone, but unfortunately this doctor falls into the other category."

Tonight sees Dr Oakley put former ally Emmet and former flame Miriam in grave danger once again.

It's not long before Emmet's parents Debbie (Niamh Daly) and Eoghan (Alan Hawley) realise that they have gone missing and begin to suspect that Emmet may have run away.

Miriam pleads with Oakley to let Emmet go but he doesn't listen.

Emmet tries to make a call for help but his hopes of escape are thwarted when Oakley catches him trying to use the phone and stomps on his hand.

Things take a dark turn when the twisted doctor pits a terrified Emmet and Miriam against each other in a fight for their lives.

Oakley had been causing trouble for the residents of Carrigstown in recent weeks before his arrest.

He already held several members of the Phoenix Way captive in the O'Brien house were they stayed, including Damien's (Maclean Burke) baby daughter Saoirse.

Elsewhere, Robbie (Karl Shiels) is left unimpressed by Carol (Aisling O'Neill) and Cathal (Eric Lalor) stealing all the booze from the station bar in act of revenge for his fling with Aoife.
Contraband beer with an estimated retail value of 100,000 has been seized by Revenue Officers after a truck was searched at Dublin Port today.

A Polish man in his 30s has been questioned and an investigation is underway.

The truck had arrived at Dublin Port from Holyhead and the 23,328 litres of beer seized represents a potential loss to the Exchequer of around 53,000.

Meanwhile, in a separate operation carried out in Wexford, gardai and Revenue officers seized 14,500 unstamped cigarettes when they searched a house.

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The illicit tobacco products branded MG, NZ10, NZ8, Break and Domingo, have a potential retail value of over 7,500, representing a potential loss to the Exchequer of more than 6,400.

Investigations are ongoing with a view to a prosecution, Revenue said.
A six-year-old boy who developed an allergic reaction to his mother's lipstick has been awarded 12,000 damages.

Barrister Maria Watson, counsel for the child, said that when he was three his mother painted the first initial of his name on his forehead with her lipstick.

Ms Watson said the letter remained on the child's forehead for about two hours before his mother attempted to wash it off and was unable to do so. She found it had caused a mark and injury to her son's skin.

Counsel, who appeared with Moloney Solicitors for the boy, said that in March 2015 the child had been playing with his mum's make-up bag when she had joined in and put the mark on his forehead.

Ms Watson said the mother had found it very difficult to remove the No 507 'Relentless Rouge' long-lasting lipstick and had cleaned the area with Silcox's base cleaner. Over the following 48 hours the area had become red and blistered.

She told the court that the blistering rash persisted for about a week but although this had settled it had left a well- defined area of discolouration corresponding with the location of the lipstick.

Ms Watson said the child's mother had brought her son to a consultant dermatologist at the Blackrock Clinic who had advised her that the area of erythema on the forehead would gradually improve. A final review in July 2017 revealed no sign of the mark.

The boy, through his mother, had sued L'Oreal (UK) Limited, which has its registered office at Hammersmith Road, London, and which entered a full defence to the claim.

L'Oreal stated the product had not been defective, was of merchantable quality and was fit for intended purpose which was for use as a lipstick.

Ms Watson told the court that L'Oreal had claimed it was not negligent or guilty of breach of duty and the boy's mother had not used the product for the purpose for which it had been intended. In its defence, L'Oreal had claimed the injuries had been caused by an acute allergic reaction which was not reasonably foreseeable from the defendant's perspective.

She said a settlement of 12,000 had been offered to the boy and she was recommending that the court approve and rule it as appropriate.

Circuit Court President Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, approving the settlement, said a medical report had related the lipstick to the boy's injury.
An Aer Lingus ground handler has been jailed for four years for helping to smuggle people illegally into the country.

Frederick Cham (63) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to five charges of facilitating the entry into the State of a person who was an illegal immigrant or who was seeking asylum at Dublin Airport on dates between December 13, 2016 and January 22, 2017.

Cham, of Railway Cottages, Hazelhatch, Celbridge, Co. Kildare also admitted two charges of handling money which he knew to be the proceeds of crime on dates in December 2016 and January 2017.

The Hong Kong native, along with another Aer Lingus employee, helped foreign nationals to bypass Dublin Airport's passport control by using staff swipe cards to access an employee gate that wasn't being watched.

Judge Martin Nolan said it was a serious and devious crime. He said that it was at the end of a smuggling operation involving people desperate to obtain entry into Ireland.

He said Cham's ability to get people outside of the airport without going through customs or immigration control was invaluable to the people behind the operation .

Judge Nolan backdated the four year prison term to January 2017, when Cham was arrested. He noted that Cham was otherwise a very hard working man and a man of ability.

After his arrest Cham described the scheme to investigators, telling them: Tell a little rat theres a hole there, out you go, its not a criminal enterprise.

He told gardai that he was getting a little bit of fast cash to get by. He claimed it was a "Mickey Mouse operation and not a criminal enterprise but the court heard gardai do not accept this.

He told investigators that the operation was linked to a man in China. He identified a number of Western Union transfers of cash, totalling around 6,000, from China and said he and his co-accused got around two to three thousand euro for each smuggling operation.

He told gardai he spent the money on pints of Guinness. Cham has no previous convictions and has worked at Dublin Airport since coming here 15 years ago.

Inspector Michael Buckley told the court that Cham or the other man, who is before the courts and cannot be identified, would get a text from someone in Madrid to indicate that somebody was coming into Dublin Airport.

Once the plane got to the air-bridge, the co-accused would meet the foreign national off the plane and escort him to towards the immigration hall. Before entering this hall the co-accused would bring the foreign national into a nearby lift where Cham was waiting.

The men would exit the lift at ground level wearing high-vis" Aer Lingus vests and travel in a catering truck to a nearby hangar. It was here, via a staff turnstile gate, that the foreign national would move from air-side to land-side and enter the State.

The operation came to light on January 10 last year when a man with a false Irish passport presented at the boarding gate in Dublin Airport in order to fly to London. Investigations showed that this man had arrived from Madrid the day before and gardai tracked his movements through the airport using CCTV footage.

Detectives identified Cham and his co-worker from the staff swipe card identities and began monitoring them. They established that a travel agent based in Rome was linked to suspicious activity and that another trip was scheduled for January 22.

Gardai set up a surveillance operation and identified the earlier foreign national arriving back to Ireland and being met by Cham and the co-accused.

Sean Gillane SC, defending, told the court that there was no evidence of exploitation or intimidation of the people being smuggled into the country.
Juan Domingo Morales originally from Mexico pictured at the Four Courts today for a High Court action Pic: Collins Courts

An action for damages by a "human cannonball" circus performer was dramatically withdrawn at the High Court on Wednesday.

Eight-generation circus performer, Juan Domingo Morales, had sued claiming he had been injured when he was propelled from a circus canon but fell short of the safety net in a big top performance in Monaghan ten years ago.

But just over an hour into cross examination by the circus side and after Mr Justice Michael Hanna had given a short recess, Mr Morales withdrew his case.

He had earlier told the court how he is now scared of the cannonball act and he did not have the same power after fracturing his right wrist in the accident.

Mr Morales, who was knocked unconscious, was in hospital for about six days after the accident at a circus in Clones.

"I got in and waited for the countdown from five. I missed the net and landed in the ring.

"I cant say what happened. I covered my head, after that I cant remember," he said.

He agreed he was propelled to the correct height but not to the correct distance and said it was like there was a loss of air in the canon.

He said: I have not done the human cannonball since. I am scared. I can't do half of what I was doing before."

Mr Morales (35) from Tymon Drive, Tallaght, Dublin, had sued John Courtney and Stephen Courtney, the owners and operators of Circus Vegas and American Circus, with registered offices at Earl Street, Longford town.

It was claimed on March 19, 2008 Mr Morales was at work with the circus in Clones when during his performance the canon allegedly malfunctioned and he was propelled causing him to miss the safety net and collide heavily with the metal ring of the performance area.

He claimed there was an alleged failure to provide equipment that was safe and free from defects and an alleged failure to maintain the equipment in a proper manner which would render it from defect.

The claims were denied.

The circus contended Mr Morales was at all times engaged to perform as a human cannonball at circus performances. It contended Mr Morales was expressly required to inspect all equipment used in his performance on a daily basis and to ensure it was safe and fit for use.

On the day of the accident, the circus contended, Mr Morales inspected the canon and concluded it was safe for use.

The circus side argued there was contributory negligence on the part of Mr Morales in that he allegedly failed to take any or any adequate care for his own safety and allegedly failed to carry out a proper inspection of the canon before his performance.

Cross examined by David Nolan SC, for the circus, Mr Morales agreed he fell from the wheel of death at a performance in the UK in 2012.

Counsel put it to him that he climbed on to a wheel of death which was up 30 feet when he was trying to make a case in court that he had a problem with vertigo.

Mr Morales replied it was not 30 feet.

Counsel also put it to him he had been a "Spiderman" trapeze artist just months after the cannonball accident and a video of a circus performance was shown to the court where, counsel said, Mr Morales had no problems with his wrists.

Referring to the wheel of death accident in 2012, Mr Morales said it was because his hand did not respond.

Mr Justice Michael Hanna put it to Mr Morales he was saying the wheel of death accident was because of his wrists failing.

The judge asked would that not be a significant thing "if there was any substance to it" to have said it to his legal team in this action.

"If your wrists contributed to your near death fall, wouldnt it be the first thing we would have heard about in the case," the judge said before giving a short recess.

When the court resumed after talks between the parties, Richard McDonnell SC, for Mr Morales, said the case could be withdrawn and struck out.
The trial of a 34-year-old Latvian woman, accused of simulating the suicide of her housemate in Co Cavan, has heard that she and a man were acting strangely after they found the deceased's body.

Gunars Asikis (21) today gave evidence in the Central Criminal Court trial of Egita Jaunmaize.

Ms Jaunmaize, of no fixed abode, has pleaded not guilty to impeding the apprehension or prosecution of a man, knowing or believing him to have murdered Antra Ozolina (49) or committed some other arrestable offence at The Old Post, Main Street, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan on or about June 27 or June 28 2014, both dates inclusive.

The prosecution allege that Ms Jaunmaize did without reasonable excuse place a blue cord around Ms Ozolinas neck so as to simulate her suicide.

Giollaiosa O Lideadha SC, defending, said yesterday that his client accepts that Ms Ozolinas death was not caused by suicide and she does not dispute that another named person caused Ms Ozolinas death.

Prosecution counsel, Mr Patrick Gageby SC, today called Mr Asikis who is originally from Latvia to give evidence to the trial. He told Mr Gageby that he lived with his mother and his sister in Kilnaleck. His mother worked for a mushroom factory and was friends with the accused.

He testified that Ms Jaunmaize and a man came to his house on Friday June 27, they were drinking and arguing in his front room. He agreed with counsel that when the accused was leaving she was very drunk and could not move much, the man was also drunk but he could move.

The court previously heard that Ms Ozolina lived in a small house, The Old Post in the village of Kilnaleck with Ms Jaunmaize and this man.

Mr Asikis said that Ms Jaunmaize and this man returned to his house at 8am on the morning of Saturday, June 28. He agreed with counsel that they were acting strangely and the man said Ms Ozolina had killed herself by hanging. The man asked him not to call Gardai so they could talk.

They told Mr Asikis that they had been drinking with Ms Ozolina the previous night and when Ms Jaunmaize woke up the following morning, she saw a light on in Ms Ozolinas bathroom. She went in and saw two legs and then called this man. Mr Asikis said the man told him that when he went into the bathroom he saw Ms Ozolinas body and a rope.

The witness agreed with counsel that the accused and the man were arguing that morning in his house and they left the room more than three times to speak alone which he thought was suspicious. The man told Mr Asikis to tell Gardai he lived in Dublin and only came to Kilnaleck once a week which worried him. He agreed with counsel that this man had a lot of money in his wallet on either June 27 or 28. Mr Asikis said he later went to the Gardai with Ms Jaunmaize so he could translate for her but the man did not go.

Under cross examination by Mr O Lideadha, defending, Mr Asikis agreed that he was afraid of this man and scared he would hurt his family. He said he was not honest when he made his first statement to Gardai as the man was waiting for him outside.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of seven men and five women.
Antra Ozolina was found dead with a rope around her neck. Picture: Lorraine Teevan

A Latvian woman has gone on trial accused of simulating the suicide of a housemate to make it look like her death was not suspicious.

Egita Jaunmaize (34), of no fixed abode, is charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of Roman Ponomarcus, knowing or believing him to have murdered Antra Ozolina (49) or committed some other arrestable offence at The Old Post, Main Street, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan, on or about June 27 or June 28, 2014.

The prosecution alleges Ms Jaunmaize placed a blue cord around Ms Ozolina's neck to simulate her suicide, in order to make it more difficult to establish her death was suspicious. Ms Jaunmaize has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Opening the prosecution case at the Central Criminal Court, Patrick Gageby SC said widow Ms Ozolina lived with Ms Jaunmaize and the accused's boyfriend, Mr Ponomarcus.

Ms Ozolina was found deceased in an en-suite bedroom in The Old Post. The upper part of Ms Ozolina's body was in the shower tray, her face was blue and swollen and a nylon-type rope was around her neck.

Mr Gageby said Ms Ozolina's death was not deemed to be suspicious at that stage, but this changed shortly after.

The jury were told Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis found evidence of blunt force injury to Ms Ozolina's head and face and determined her cause of death was neck compression.

The evidence was that Ms Ozolina had not died by hanging herself, Mr Gageby said.

Mr Gageby said Ms Jaunmaize originally told gardai she had a row with Ms Ozolina on the evening of June 27 and found her housemate's body the following morning.

Ms Jaunmaize ultimately told gardai she had observed her boyfriend take Ms Ozolina by the neck and he choked her to death using his forearm.

Mr Ponomarcus asked her to put a rope around Ms Ozolina's neck, with a view to showing this was suicide and not murder, said Mr Gageby.

The trial continues.
Four patients have been admitted to University Hospital Limerick for their injuries following an early morning crash involving a school bus in Limerick this morning.

In an updated statement from Limerick University Hospital they say that 36 patients presented at the hospital following this morning's crash but the majority have now been discharged.

However, four patients continue to be assessed for injuries that are described as non-life threatening.

The hospital say that the injuries sustained were musculoskeletal and soft tissue injuries.

They have also treated a small number of fractures.

Students, aged 13-18, were en-route to John the Baptist Community School in the village of Hospital when the crash occurred around 8.30am.

Principal of the school, Noreen Rafferty, said the "news was good" following the crash.

"The news is very good. We are down to our last four and they're gong to be discharged," she told RTE's News at One.

"Their injuries were just scrapes...I think one thumb is in a cast because of torn ligaments but they are all well, very shocked," she said.

The principal also paid tribute to the care the students received at the hospital and to the first responders.

"The emergency services were absolutely fantastic," she said.

Teachers on their way to the school were on the scene quite quickly, she said.

Children and their families were also offered counselling while in hospital and follow-up psychiatric support is being arranged through their school.

The hospital incident group formed in response to this incident has been stood down and operations have returned to normal.

The incident occurred in the town land of Caherconlish known as Connellys Cross in Co Limerick.

Around 46 students were on their way to a local secondary school in area when the crash happened at around 8.30am.

Station officer James Kearns from the local fire brigade spoke to the Limerick Leader at the scene and said that 26 people - 24 of them students were hospitalised.

Two adults were also brought to hospital.

By the time emergency services had arrived the bus had been emptied of the pupils, the driver was still on the bus and there was a female casualty in a car.

Several units of the Limerick city and council fire brigade and a fleet of ambulances attended the scene of the crash.

Injured students took shelter in a nearby disused filling station where they were assessed by paramedics.

A Medivac helicopter was also deployed to the scene.

UL Hospitals Group CEO Prof Colette Cowan said: This was a distressing incident for everyone involved and I would like to pay tribute to all the emergency services for their effective response in managing it. We are proud to work alongside colleagues in the National Ambulance Service, Fire Service, An Garda Siochana, Limerick City and County Council and MidWest Community Healthcare. Our own staff at UHL showed exceptional dedication in managing the situation with many turning up to help without having been called in. I would also like to thank St John the Baptist Community School for their professionalism and they can rely on our support if required in the coming days and weeks.

The school bus overturned into a ditch as a result of the incident.

Electrical power lines were also knocked down

Traffic Alert Limerick - Diversions are currently in place on the R513 between Caherconlish & Herbertstown due to a collision. GardaA & Emergency Services are at the scene.  An Garda SAochAna (@GardaTraffic) February 7, 2018

Education Minister Richard Bruton said his department will support the emergency crews working at the scene and the school community.

This is an emergency situation where medical and all teams man the pumps. Whatever supports can be provided will be provided to the school community and to the children involved.

He added: Its a worrying time and our hearts are with them.

Transport minister Shane Ross began a statement to the Oireachtas Transport Committee by mentioning this morning's accident in Limerick.

He said full information about the incident is not yet available but that: "our thoughts are with the families at the moment".

He added: "Its a sad and worrying time".

Bus Eireann in a statement confirmed that the bus involved was a sub-contracted vehicle.

The company is continuing to assist the relevant authorities.

"We would like to express our gratitude to all the emergency services for their rapid response, and we will continue to liaise with the school and parents of the injured students," the company said in a statement.

In a statement University Hospital Limerick said an incident group has been formed and additional staff assigned to the Emergency Department.
Women in some parts of the country could face difficulties in accessing abortion locally, if groups of GPs decide to opt out of providing the service on grounds of conscience or resources.

All doctors have the right to conscientious objection to being involved in procedures, even if abortion is legalised up to 12 weeks after a referendum later this year.

Both the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) and the National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) have reminded Health Minister Simon Harris of the need to ensure any widening of abortion law is clear and has proper systems in place to protect both the doctor and patient.

Draft legislation is being prepared by the Department of Health, allowing for unrestricted abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, if the Eighth Amendment is repealed.

It will allow abortion pills to be administered not just by GPs but also other specialists such as gynaecologists.

It is unclear how many GPs or other specialists would object to being involved in any proposed law allowing for abortion pills. However, several faced a similar dilemma when the morning-after pill became available.

In some practices where there were a number of doctors, some GPs delegated the work to a colleague.

Dr Brendan O'Shea, of the Irish College of General Practitioners, said: "A doctor has an ethical obligation not to allow his or her personal moral standards to influence treatment of patients.

"Where the doctor has a conscientious objection to a course of action, they must explain this to the patient and provide the names of other doctors available to the patient.

"Effective communication in a crisis situation demands time, considerable patience and careful thought.

"The GP must enable women to reach an informed decision, to minimise emotional disturbance, whatever decision is made, and to lessen the risk of further unwanted pregnancy."

Much will depend on how onerous the legislation is on doctors in terms of counselling the woman, and whether she will have to take the two abortion pills in the surgery or at home.

Several GP practices have already had to close down their lists to new patients because of the volume of demand.

In the UK's National Health Service, an early abortion is available from a GP or family planning clinic.

It also allows for fee-paying abortion providers to deliver the service.

Dr O'Shea said crisis pregnancy was a common experience for Irish women and was commonly managed by GPs. Around 13pc of all pregnancies are considered to be crisis pregnancies.

Some 62pc of women go ahead with the pregnancy and 21pc have an abortion. Around 14pc miscarry and 1pc give their baby for adoption.

Nurses and pharmacists who may be involved in the proposed abortion service will also be able to opt out on grounds of conscience.

Many women are expected to prefer to go to a family planning clinic or Well Woman Centre for the pills.

However, if they develop complications, they are likely to be referred back to their own GP.

The proposed legislation is expected to make it mandatory for a three-day gap between the woman seeking an abortion and returning for the medication.

It is expected that a woman must take the pills inside a hospital or licensed clinic.
Irish rockers Horslips have criticised an Irexit group who used their hit song Dearg Doom at an event at the weekend, branding them "saddos."

The band said they are looking into whether the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) Group - the Nigel Farage-led organisation behind the event - breached their copyright.

They said in a statement on the Horslips Facebook page that they aren't happy that Dearg Doom was played at the Eurosceptic meeting, which took place at Dublin's RDS on Saturday.

The Dublin band said: "Some of you may have spotted that the saddos in the Eirexit conference had the f*ckin' temerity to use Dearg Doom as a soundtrack and to show the image of the album cover on the big screen.

"Needless to say, they didn't ask us.

"If they had, we'd have pointed out that we wouldn't p*ss on them if they were on fire - which they're unlikely to be, anytime soon.

"Five hundred damp, self regarding e*jits being patronised by the Crazy Frog lookalike Nigel Farage isn't going to set the heather blazing in the near future."

Trad musicians Horslips stressed that they did not want to be associated with the EFDD Group and claimed they stand for very different things.

"Horslips stood for a hopeful, outward looking, inclusive vision of Ireland with plenty of drink and a Blue Range Rover.

"This lot stand for a diminished, fearful, xenophobic state. Little Irelanders.

"Checking out whether we can do them for copyright infringement," they said.

The EFDD Group has hit back at the statement, claiming that Horslips should be grateful they used their music.

Spokesman Hermann Kelly said they brought the band's songs to a new audience.

"Like most glam rock bands, Horslips music is great, and their views on politics are crap.

"I met the band in Drogheda about 12 years ago, as a friend of mine was organising an exhibition of their memorabilia.

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"They should be damn thankful we played their music, few other people listen to it now," he said.

He also outlined what the EFDD Group and their supporters are in favour of.

Mr Kelly said: "The 600 Irexit supporters and young people turned up because they believe in a self-governing Republic where the Irish people make their own laws rather than having them imposed by unelected Brussels bureaucrats.

"Campaigning for an Irish state open to world trade, making its own laws, controlling its own justice system, securing its borders for the good of the people, taking back control of the wealth of its fisheries and working in the interests of its people, is not right wing or left wing, its simply striking again for our freedom and democracy."

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He also branded Horslips "out of touch" as he called for them to "stop acting as a warm-up act for a single EU Super-state."

Mr Kelly said in a statement on the EFDD Group's Facebook page: "Horslips political views are as out of touch as their 1970s flop hairstyles.

"Are they really in favour of an expansionist, militarising single EU state where Irish interests are brushed aside in favour of Germanys political will and global corporations?

"Are the band really celebrating that the EU lumbered every person in Ireland with 9000 euro Franco-German bank debt? I doubt it!

"So get your act together, stand up for the Irish Republic, its people, its parliament and its culture, and stop acting as a warm-up act for a single EU Super-state, which dictates the majority of our laws and bleeds us dry with the increasing contributions we have to fork out for.

"Start being proud Irishmen rather that European Unionists. Ireland should be a nation once again, and not an EU province."
Cyril Dunne, Former Head of Garda Administration pictured at the Disclosures Tribunal in Dublin Castle, Dublin Pic Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

A retired garda civil servant has denied telling a former colleague that the garda legal team was going after garda whistleblower Sgt Maurice McCabe.

Last week the garda human resources executive John Barrett told the Charleton Tribunal that in May 2015 his then boss, Cyril Dunne, told him we're going after him [Sgt McCabe] at the O'Higgins Commission of Investigation.

The commission, which sat in private in 2015, investigated complaints made by Sgt McCabe about certain policing matters in Cavan and serious allegations against senior officers including then Garda Commissioner, Martin Callinan.

The tribunal is currently examining whether unjustified grounds were inappropriately relied upon by the former garda commissioner Noirin O'Sullivan to discredit Sgt McCabe at the O'Higgins commission.

Today Mr Dunne testified that he never made the remark attributed to him by Mr Barrett.

"That is absolutely my evidence", the former chief administrative officer told the tribunal.

Mr Dunne, a civilian who held a post equivalent to that of a deputy garda commissioner, said that Commissioner O'Sullivan was "generally very concerned with a duty of care to everyone, including Sgt McCabe", in the months leading up to the first hearings at the O'Higgins Commission.

"She was very keen to have the commission establish what the real truth was," Mr Dunne said.

Mr Dunne was asked by tribunal barrister Diarmaid McGuinness SC if Ms O'Sullivan had ever spoken about challenging Sgt McCabe's motivation, integrity, or credibility before the commission.

"The opposite in fact. The impression I had was she was very much supporting him," Mr Dunne said.

Mr Dunne said that he was not involved in operational policing issues, or in preparations for the O'Higgins Commission.

"I didn't have a particular view around the commission at all. It was happening around me but it wasn't something I was engaged with at all," he said.

Mr Dunne said he did not recall a meeting with the commissioner and Mr Barrett on either 12 May or 13 May 2015, the days before the commission's first day of hearings.

Mr Barrett told the tribunal that he believed Wednesday 13 May was the most likely date on which Mr Dunne made the alleged remark to him. Mr Dunne continues his evidence tomorrow/today (THURS).

Earlier Marion Mannion, a special advisor to Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, told the tribunal the minister was "very firm" that the issues raised by Sgt McCabe needed to be resolved, and hoped the O'Higgins Commission would achieve this.

Ms Mannion said the minister and the Department of Justice believed it would not be appropriate to comment publicly on the commission's work once it began until its work was complete.

Ms Mannion said that she might have had discussions with Ms Fitzgerald about queries from RTE reporter John Burke ahead of a "This Week" interview on 5 July 2015 about St McCabe and the O'Higgins Commission, and it would be her practice to discuss likely questions with the programme ahead of the interview, but she could not recall details.

She said that if RTE had raised the commission, she would have informed them that the minister could not answer questions about it while its work was ongoing.

"That wouldn't stop them asking of course, but we wouldn't be answering," Ms Mannion said.

Ms Mannion also said that notes apparently relating to a meeting between the minister and the garda commissioner on 18 May 2016, as the O'Higgins report was being published, were an "aide memoire" of things she was told, and she had not attended the meeting.
The husband of a murdered mother-of-three wants her convicted killer to be banned from Kildare on his release.

This is the first photo of killer Kenneth OReilly on a day out from prison as he inches closer to being released after more than 20 years behind bars.

OReilly, now 44, was given a life sentence for the 1996 murder of Kildare woman Joyce Quinn. He also raped the mother-of-three.

As he nears freedom, Ms Quinns family wants the public to know what he looks like as they consider him a danger.

The photos above are the first of OReilly to be made public since his conviction.

OReilly was only 22 when he thumbed a lift from local shop owner Ms Quinn (44) on the outskirts of Kildare town on January 23, 1996.

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However, he then told her to stop the car, stabbed her in the heart and drove to a secluded location before raping her and stabbing her in the neck.

His trial heard that the wound to her chest penetrated her heart, meaning that at the time he raped her she was either dying or already dead.

OReilly pleaded guilty to murder, but was never charged with sexual assault or rape  a fact that has angered Ms Quinns heartbroken husband, Ray.

He believes that OReilly, who lived not far from his wifes shop, had gone out with the intention of having sex with her but killed her so she could not identify him.

OReilly is already getting increasing day release from Arbour Hill Prison in Dublin for family visits and training. He was out again on Sunday for several hours.

Mr Quinn believes OReilly will soon be considered for release by the Parole Board.

I know a day will come when he is released, and I am resigned to that, but my concerns are what happens after that, he said.

For a start, I would like it to be a condition of his release that he will have to stay out of Co Kildare.

My grown-up children still live in the area and I dont want any of us crossing paths with him on the street. His family live close to some of my wider family and theres a chance they could bump into each other.

Mr Quinn has written to Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan on the issue, and has received a response indicating that his views will be considered as part of the Parole Board review.

There is precedence for having a person banned from an area as part of their parole, said Mr Quinn.

Previously, the killer Sean Brennan was banned from entering the counties of Westmeath and Offaly on his release from jail following his sentence for killing Bernadette Sherry in 1997.

I also consider OReilly to be dangerous. His crime was a sex crime, which he tried to cover up by murder.

Im annoyed that he wasnt tried for rape also, so I feel it is important that people know what he looks like.

Im certainly glad I know what he looks like now.

Rape was his primary motive, yet when he gets out there will be women who werent even born at the time Joyce was killed and who will have no idea of his sex crime.

The prosecution told me they didnt know if Joyce was alive or dead when OReilly sexually attacked her, so they didnt proceed with a sex charge.

I would like to see a move towards a minimum tariff like they have in the UK, where families know at sentencing what the minimum term will be before parole is considered.

At least that way a family can be at some ease, knowing how long it will be before a future release is even discussed.
Vincent Browne, left, has known Gerry Adams for more than 40 years and was a regular visitor to Belfast during the Troubles

The son of IRA murder victim Brian Stack has hit out at broadcaster Vincent Browne's view that peace in the North wouldn't have happened when it did without Gerry Adams.

Austin Stack compared such views to congratulating an arsonist on "calling a fire brigade after the house is burned down".

He also said he wouldn't like to see people "singing Gerry Adams's praises" in the days leading up to him finally stepping down as Sinn Fein president after more than three decades.

Part one of veteran broadcaster Browne's documentary on the outgoing Sinn Fein leader, entitled 'Gerry Adams: War, Peace and Politics' will be broadcast tonight.

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Promoting the programme, Mr Browne said he has known Mr Adams for more than 40 years and found him to be "one of the most fascinating people in Irish public life during that time".

He said Mr Adams was "very much involved in the IRA campaign of atrocity, murder, and criminality" but added that from the early 1980s "he began to seek a way out of violence and bring the Republican movement with him".

Mr Browne added: "Without him, the atrocities almost certainly would have happened anyway, but without him peace wouldn't have happened when it did."

Last night Mr Stack told the Irish Independent that he branded Mr Browne's assessment of Mr Adams's role "revisionist".

He said: "Gerry Adams is someone who saw that the IRA was defeated and that they had to create another way to get their objectives. It's a bit like somebody saying that an arsonist who starts a fire and then calls the fire brigade is to be congratulated on calling a fire brigade after the house is burned down."

Mr Stack's father Brian was chief prison officer in Portlaoise prison when he was shot in the neck in 1983. The father of three died 18 months after the attack.

The IRA always denied his murder until 2013 when Mr Adams brought Austin Stack in a blacked-out van to a secret meeting where he was told an IRA member carried out the shooting, but it was not sanctioned by the terror group's leadership.

Mr Stack said that Mr Adams has continued to praise the IRA, who he said are "the people who murdered and caused mayhem on this island".

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He accused Mr Adams - who has repeatedly denied being an IRA member - of not owning up to "his own part in that" and said in his view: "Those are the actions of someone that's a coward."

Mr Stack said that in the build-up to Sinn Fein's handover of power to Mary Lou McDonald, he "certainly would not like to see people singing Gerry Adams's praises", adding that he "has nothing to be praised for."

The first part of Mr Browne's documentary - billed as an "in-depth look at the life of Gerry Adams" - airs on TV3 tonight.

Among the political figures he interviews are former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, ex-SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon and former US congressman Bruce Morrison.

TV3's promotional material notes that Mr Browne was a regular visitor to Belfast during the Troubles and says he "journeys back there and further afield" for the documentary.

The programme promises to "chart the role of Adams in the Northern conflict, his part in the peace process and how, under his leadership, Sinn Fein has transformed itself into one of the largest parties on both sides of the Border."

Ms McDonald is set to assume the leadership of Sinn Fein at a special party ard fheis in Dublin on Saturday.
The statue is on the Merrion Square side of Leinster House

A controversial statue of Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, will remain on the Leinster House lawn after TDs and senators suggested it be given greater prominence despite a petition calling for it to be removed.

Members of the Oireachtas Petitions Committee determined the request inadmissible today because the Houses of the Oireachtas do not own the statue.

They have called on the OPW to determine who owns it.

The petition was put forward by a member of the public who said the statue should be removed because it pays tribute to a monarch whose views are in opposition to that of the Irish Republic.

She suggested the statue be auctioned and the proceeds distributed to a homeless charity.

Committee members suggested it be relocated away from its current site near the Oireachtas carpark among hedging to celebrate its Irish sculptor JH Foley 200 years after he was born.

A civilised people does not tear out the pages of history but turns them over, committee chair Sean Sherlock said.

Fine Gael senator Jerry Buttimer said the idea of relocating the statue to a more prominent location should be considered. He said it would be a fitting tribute to its Irish sculptor John H Foley.

The statue is currently located on the Merrion Street side of Leinster House near the carpark among hedging.

It is fitting that we are commemorating 200 years of the sculptors life in May of this year, said Mr Buttimer.

I think perhaps, in conjunction with the OPW and the Houses of the Oireachtas, could we consider relocating the statue as well.

Prince Albert was a progressive social reformer. He was against slavery, against child labour and he wanted to increase the working age.

Mr Sherlock suggested it might be better to treat the area around the statue so that it will be given greater prominence and said it was important to determine ownership of the statue.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has been accused of trying to edit the news in a bid bury problems in the health service.

The Taoiseach is under attack for allegedly trying to downplay financial stresses facing the HSE.

A budget plan for the health body launched before Christmas made little reference to spending issues  but information released under FOI revealed HSE bosses raised concerns with the Department of Health.

Mr Varadkar suggested in the Dail that the HSE purposely monitising every problem in writing so that the information could be leaked to the media or revealed through FOI requests.

We all need to acknowledge this false proposition that is always put forward that there is a direct connection between money and investment and outcomes for patients, he said.

However, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin launched a broadside on the Taoiseach, saying there was no greater leaker of information than himself while he was a minister.

He said there was an attempt to cover up the truth and paper over the cracks about health funding.

Mr Martin argued the HSE are being told to bury negative stuff.

Mr Varadkar responded that the State has set out almost 15bn for health in 2018, leaving Ireland among the top five in the world in terms of spending per head.

He said there are no secrets in the HSE or Department of Health.

I understand the Deputys attachment to the HSE. It is after all his creation, he said.
The incident occurred in the town land of Caherconlish known as Connellys Cross

Twenty four secondary school students and two adults have been hospitalised following a crash between a school bus and a car this morning.

The incident occurred in the town land of Caherconlish known as Connellys Cross in Co Limerick.

Around 46 students were on their way to a local secondary school in area when the crash happened at around 8.30am.

Station officer James Kearns from the local fire brigade spoke to the Limerick Leader at the scene and said that 26 people - 24 of them students were hospitalised.

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Two adults were also brought to hospital.

Injuries of varying levels were sustained by those in the crash but none are believed to be life-threatenining.

By the time emergency services had arrived the bus had been emptied of the pupils, the driver was still on the bus and there was a casualty in a car.

The scene is now being prepared for a handover to gardai for a technical examination.

Several units of the Limerick city and council fire brigade and a fleet of ambulances attended the scene of the crash.

Injured students took shelter in a nearby disused filling station where they were assessed by paramedics.

A Medivac helicopter was also deployed to the scene.

The school bus overturned into a ditch as a result of the crash.

Electrical power lines were also knocked down in the incident.

Students, aged 13-18 were en-route to John the Baptist Community School in the village of Hospital.

Principal of the school, Ita Browne, told the Limerick leader that students brought to hospital were understood not to be seriously injured.

There are a number of teachers and parents at the scene and we are in contact with them. I understand that a number of students have been taken to hospital but we understand their injuries arent serious," she told the paper.

All students have now been accounted for.

Traffic Alert Limerick - Diversions are currently in place on the R513 between Caherconlish & Herbertstown due to a collision. GardaA & Emergency Services are at the scene.  An Garda SAochAna (@GardaTraffic) February 7, 2018

Education Minister Richard Bruton said news of the bus crash was very worrying.

We are only hearing very early reports. My department is working with Bus Eireann. My thoughts are with the families and the children involved.

I hope that everyone is well but well have to wait and see what develops during the day, he said.

Mr Bruton said his department will support the emergency crews working at the scene and the school community.

This is an emergency situation where medical and all teams man the pumps. Whatever supports can be provided will be provided to the school community and to the children involved.

He added: Its a worrying time and our hearts are with them.

Transport minister Shane Ross began a statement to the Oireachtas Transport Committee by mentioning this morning's accident in Limerick.

He said full information about the incident is not yet available but that: "our thoughts are with the families at the moment".

He added: "Its a sad and worrying time".

Bus Eireann in a statement confirmed that the bus involved was a sub-contracted vehicle.

The company is continuing to assist the relevant authorities.

"We would like to express our gratitude to all the emergency services for their rapid response, and we will continue to liaise with the school and parents of the injured students," the company said in a statement.

In a statement University Hospital Limerick said an incident group has been formed and additional staff assigned to the Emergency Department.

The Caterpillar Day Ward in the Children's Ark has been designated to receive patients.

People have been urged not to attend the Emergency Department while the incident is ongoing unless absolutely necessary.

More to follow...
The Office of Public Works (OPW) hired a sniper to kill more than 200 deer in the Phoenix Park during the past two years, selling the carcasses to a meat supplier for 19,488.

A total of 203 deer were shot by the marksman as part of eight culls carried out in 2016 and 2017. A further 57 of the animals died as a result of road accidents and natural causes during the same period.

The OPW said that the Phoenix Park remained open to the public while the culls were performed by a 68-year-old sniper from Bray, Co Wicklow.

However, it said that a "detailed protocol" was followed, which took account of the welfare of the deer and the safety of the public.

The carcasses of the culled deer were sold for an average of 96 each to a Wicklow-based meat supplier.

A cull of 38 female and 11 male deer over two days in January and February 2017 reduced the herd to 540, compared with 570 recorded in October 2016. A further two culls were carried out in November 2017, during which an additional 43 deer were killed.

In total, 111 deer were shot during four culls carried out during 2016, while 92 deer were culled over four days last year. These were made up of 138 females and 65 males.

The figures were released in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

A spokesperson for the OPW said: "An over-abundant deer population can result in increasing incidence of road traffic accidents and increase the potential role for deer in the epidemiology of specific diseases. The OPW works with the School of Biology and Environmental Science in University College Dublin with regard to the management and scientific research of the deer herd."
MORE than 1,000 households have been told not to use water for drinking or even washing.

Irish Water has told residents in the south Meath area of Kilcloon to avoid using water due to elevated chlorine levels.

It is understood that a number of young children have been coming out in bad rashes and others have been reported as very sick.

Local Fianna Fail TD Thomas Byrne told Independent.ie that a full explanation is needed from Irish Water quickly.

He said the townlands affected by the no drink and no wash warning include: Kilcloon, Moygaddy, Killeany, Kilgraigue, Harristown, Brownstown, Ballynare, Butlerstown, Staffordstown, Brownrath, Blackhall Little, Waynestown, Harlockstown, Ballymacoll in Co Meath.

"It is not yet clear as to how elevated chlorine levels occurred. We need an urgent explanation for the illnesses and injuries already suffered by local residents in the Kilcloon area, Mr Byrne said.

I'm shocked that Irish Water are only now responding to this crisis, having been alerted to the issue on Monday by a local resident.

I understand from local people that young children have been getting very sick and there are some reports of children getting bad rashes. This is a very serious public health issue, that demands urgent attention and explanation.

Irish Water has this evening said it has not been contacted about any incidents of sick children.

But it reiterated that customers must not drink the water, use it for food preparation or wash in the water until further notice.

Customers are advised to draw down water from attic/storage tank, customers should flush toilets or run bathroom taps intermittently, as tanks re-fill chlorine levels in storage tank will return to normal, a spokesperson said.

The HSE advises that the water from this supply is unsafe to:

Consume for drinking;

Use in connection with food preparation; and

Use for personal hygiene, including brushing teeth and bathing.

All prepared drinks, foods, ice cubes and baby foods which contain water from the network should be discarded.

In the interest of Public Health, it is advised that all users (i.e. domestic and commercial) on the affected scheme should not use tap water until further notice except for:

Flushing of toilets; and

Flushing of internal house plumbing systems.

Bottled water is available at Kilcloon Church and Kilcloon School.

For more information and additional advice, Irish Water can be contacted at 1850 278 278.

Have you or your children been affected by any of the water issues reported in this article and wish to share your experience? Email digital@independent.ie
One Irish food business was forced to close last month after rodent droppings were found on the floor in the food production area. In total, four closure orders were served on Irish food businesses in January.

Three closure orders were served under the FSAI (Food Safety Authority of Ireland) Act, 1998 to the Hot Spot takeaway on 61 Parnell Street, Limerick; Lamar & Bread Limited (manufacturer) at Unit 28 Nordic Enterprise Park, Midleton, Cork; and Lam Inn takeaway on 386 South Circular Road, Dolphins Barn, Dublin 8.

One closure order was served under the EC (Official Control of Foodstuffs) Regulations, 2010 on Colm Leavy Butchers (Closed activity: The cooking of raw chickens and the hot holding and handling of cooked chickens), 2 Lambs Cross, Sandyford, Dublin 18.

The FSAI said the reasons for the closure orders in January included serious risks of contamination with pathogenic bacteria relating to the presence of a live rodent in an open section of a wall cavity within a food business and in a second business relating to human excrement overflowing from the food workers' toilet while the kitchen was in operation.

It said other reasons for the closure orders in January included rodent droppings on the floor in the food production area, under the front counter and on the floor under the pizza oven.

A significant build-up of dirt and dried blood on surfaces and equipment was also a reason for closure, the FSAI said.

There were also two prosecutions by the HSE in relation to Polski Sklep Miesny (grocery) at Elite Business Park, Smithstown, Shannon, Clare, and Costcutters (grocery) at 68B Malahide Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3, the FSAI said.

Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive of the FSAI said: It is not acceptable that consumers or food workers health is compromised by inadequate food safety practices in a food business.

The legal responsibility for producing safe food lies firmly with food businesses. Food businesses must pay close attention to hygiene standards throughout their entire business operation and ensure that the food they sell to consumers is safe to eat. Food businesses run the risk of making their customers sick through contaminated food and ruining their reputation with consumers and within the industry by neglecting basic food safety management and hygiene standards .Non-compliances are not tolerated and breaches of food safety legislation are dealt with to the full extent of food law.
Jaguar's electric all-wheel drive SUV, the I-PACE, will have a 45-minute fast charge facility when it goes on sale later this year, the company claims.

But whether or not such capacity will be on tap from the start here is not clear.

The new car will be officially unveiled in a live global broadcast on March 1, when pricing is expected to be announced.

It will make its motor show premiere at Geneva on March 6. The car is due in Ireland late June or early July.

It is currently being performance tested in Arctic conditions at -40C.

Their claim about the rapid charging claim needs a little context. They say it will be capable of charging from zero to 80pc in less than 45 minutes, using a DC 100kW charger.

However, it is reported that the UK hasn't the infrastructure to deliver on that - and won't for a while. I just checked here and Tesla's superchargers manage up to 120kW, but as of now no other manufacturers have access to their network.

They have said in the past they are willing to talk to other manufacturers "if they make a car which can take the power in the way that the supercharger delivers it". So for now that's a no, but as a spokeswoman told me: "We are open to discussions."
I went to school in Glenstal and I decided when I left that I wasn't going down the route of 'go to university and get married'. But I didn't know what route I'd go instead and monastic life definitely wasn't on my horizon either!

"I decided to do voluntary work, signed up with Voluntary Service Overseas and ended up in Belize at the age of 18. That was an exotic year, let me put it that way, especially after 12 years in boarding school. It was wild: sun, sand and party time, everything I'd dreamed of after being in an all-male boarding school most of my life. Reggae music and dancing the night away - it was great. Actually, it was probably too much.

"When I came back, I thought I would do a short service commission and travel the world for three years paratrooping. My father had been in the British Army and his father before him - and his father before him. I had my medical and was all due to go.

"Before heading off I decided to go up to Glenstal to let them know how I'd got on in my voluntary work. I remember standing on the circle in front of the castle and I just felt this energy rising up from my feet through my whole body. I had a sense of 'this is it'. It didn't feel like I was being commanded to do anything, it felt like I was being offered an opportunity, there was a sense that this was a possibility.

"I had no great religious affiliation or devotion - especially after Belize - so deciding to go down the path of a monastic life was a huge surprise to me and everyone else. My mother grew up nominally Church of England and I remember, when I was ordained in 1991, the archbishop said 'you must be very proud to have a son as a priest' and she said 'I am not!'

"Ultimately both my parents were supportive. They were probably just concerned about me going into it very young. Today most people who join come out of university - the last guy we had come in last year had a doctorate in medieval theology - people are much more mature and well qualified, they are much clearer that this is what they want.

"There was, and still is, an emotional struggle in my head about my choice - that sense of 'what am I doing?' This is a crazy life, living with 30 men, believing and searching for God.

"The basic timetable is: up at 6am and go to church in the morning, then you have time for private prayer, then a self-service breakfast and the morning to work either in school or the farm or whatever your job is. Mass is at 12.10pm and then lunch, then there could be a siesta after lunch, I might go for a cycle or I keep bees and might go to them. I'd be back in my room for 4pm and I'd read. You're always preparing lectures or retreats or writing something. Then there's vespers [evening prayer] at 6pm and supper at 7.15pm (it's a formal affair where you read in silence). After that there's recreation when I might play Scrabble or cards, then we've the final prayer at 8.35pm and back to the room at 9pm ready for bed at 9.30 or 10pm and ready to go again. That happens every day of the year, more or less, so it's very regular.

"It's a privileged existence. Most people's lives today are so busy, they're so distracted, it's hard to find a life that is designed to make you grow and find fullness of life.

"When St Benedict, whose rule we follow, established the community in 480AD, it was when Roman culture was decadent and morally bankrupt. He was looking for a life where his heart was enlarged with love and he knew the Roman culture he was living in would never provide that for him.

"I'd say our civilisation today isn't too far off Roman culture. People don't listen very well, there are too many distractions. There's no opportunity to really focus on what this life is about. Is there any meaning to it? The monastic life is a life of listening, waiting, trying to hear what's going on in our world, listening to God and the universe. You're given the time and space to try and concentrate. When you come to the monastery, the one thing you're asked at the gate isn't 'are you a signed-up Roman Catholic?' or 'have you found God?', it's 'are you seeking God?'. It's about the search. When a person comes here, the community's only job is to see 'is this person after a cushy number or are they really seeking God?' It's a tough one to assess, but that's what it's about - the search.

"There have been times I've thought about leaving. When I look at my brothers and sisters and the pleasure and connection they get from having children and grandchildren, I have a sense of free-floating. I'm just after becoming a pensioner and suddenly that brought on a feeling of 'this is it'. I've never lived an independent life and I miss privacy, it's a challenge living with a group of people.

"There are plenty of misperceptions about monastic life - my father always had an image of me out in the fields hoeing in my habit with the hood up - but the biggest one I would say is about the peace here. People come to visit and say 'it's so peaceful and calm' but when you're an inmate on the inside, it's anything but. Inevitably there are set tos and the edges are knocked off you sharpish, but that's ... what makes you grow. The order is designed to be set up in such a way that the spirit can work in and through us without us killing each other. "We have about one new person join every year. We could probably do with more but we're lucky, a lot of places like this are bereft of people. The number here stays around the 30 something mark. But Benedictine life has survived all these centuries and I think it will go on surviving in some form. People are searching for God and that won't stop.

"I did a talk at the beginning of the Novena at Holycross last year and the place was packed with people at 6am and all day. All I hear is 'there's no one in church' but it's just the practice that has changed. People don't want regular Sunday mornings but they're at Holycross or doing Caminos - there are a whole lot of manifestations of a faith. I think the idea of 'parish' is under threat but I think, looking ahead, there'll be spiritual hotspots around the country and what I suspect is that monasticism, of all the parts of the church, could be what flourishes.

In conversation with Chrissie Russell
Subscribe to The Ready Business show, in association with Vodafone via iTunes or SoundCloud.

On this weeks show, Brian Purcell finds out about the future of air travel and how your experience at Dublin airport is changing. We all have our gripes about queues, security and check-in when flying by plane, but how will technology impact our future travel and what can we expect in these security-conscious times?

With 19,000 people working in Dublin airport it is a mini-city in its own right and Brian spent the day there speaking to the people involved in its day to day operations and those looking to get it ready for the future.

Paul OKane is spokesperson of the DAA and he explained how important the airport is to the national economy, while John Seely, Technology Projects Manager has been at the airport since 1973 and seen huge technological changes in the 45 years.

Every year, 30,000 customers are also surveyed by the DAA to find out their experiences at the airport and Louise Bannon Head of Customer Insights explained what people are telling them while Brian Callanan, Security Operations Manager, highlighted the balance needed between increased security and hassle-free travel.

The Ready Business show, in association with Vodafone , is available via iTunes , SoundCloud and Stitcher or subscribe to the RSS feed of the Ready Business Podcast using your favourite podcatcher.

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Model Emily Ratajkowski attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Graydon Carter at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 28, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

A photographer from Wicklow has just shot Emily Ratajkowski for a major campaign.

Christopher "Boo" George has been quietly making waves as one of the most sought after photographers in the industry - working with everyone from Alessandra Ambrosio to Jamie Dornan, and Victoria Beckham counts him as one of her favourites, even shooting her for the cover of Vogue Australia last year.

The 35-year-old from Bray, Co Wicklow, has just teamed up with Hollywood 'it girl' Ratajkowski, who has a well-documented fondness for Ireland.

Emily is the new face of Dl1961 denim's Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign and worked with George for a sultry shoot at New York's Plaza Hotel.

It's not the first interaction between the pair - in early July, she shared a black and white snap of his on Instagram.

"Your [sic] the best @emrata see you in cork," he captioned the snap.

Expand Close Victoria Beckham and Irish photographer Boo George in 2013 / Facebook

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"Meet ya at Ma's," she quipped.

Emily grew up in Bantry, Co Cork and considers Ireland her "second home" and is often pictured visiting at least once a year.

"Both my grandmothers are from Ireland and I have spent every summer in Bantry since my father, who is an artist, had the romantic idea 20 years ago to buy an old farmhouse on the west coast and renovate it," she said in 2013.

George moved from Wicklow to London in 1999, but often returns home for work and pleasure. In 2014, she famously shot Emporio Armani's Autumn/Winter campaign on Dollymount Strand.

"I started doing documentary photography...and then for my end-of-year project, I went on a fishing boat North Sea off for nine months to shoot fisherman," he told Artsy of how he got his start.

"And I made a book out of that. Still to this day, one of my favorite pictures is of a fisherman. I moved to London straight after that, and started assisting."
Vogue Williams attending the Gala screening of the Game of Thrones episode 'Hardhome'' at the Empire Cinema in Leicester Square, London. Picture: Ian West/PA Wire

NEW AGENDA: Dee Forbes, the Irishwoman who is currently head of the Discovery Channel in Europe, has been appointed the next Director General of RTE

Emily Ratajkowski and Kim Kardashian teamed up for this topless selfie to 'empower women'

Vogue Williams has come out in support of Kim Kardashian, who had been criticised for posting a naked selfie.

To the untrained eye, such an act might have been considered to be just another desperate attempt at generating publicity. However, Vogue revealed it is all about female empowerment.

In an age where women all over the world are fighting for equality and choice should we not all have each others backs? wrote Vogue in her newspaper column.

Im glad this has been cleared up, because I always wondered what the likes of Emmeline Pankhurst, Simone De Beauvoir, and Germaine Greer were fighting for all these years.

But, thanks to Vogue, I now know. Its the right to flash your bits for the whole world to see.

Expand Close Vogue Williams wears Lidl's Esmara Push Up Bra, 5.99 and Lace Thong, 4.99. Picture: Brian McEvoy / Facebook

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No more brown-nosing at RTE as staff discover that silence can be golden

Expand Close NEW AGENDA: Dee Forbes, the Irishwoman who is currently head of the Discovery Channel in Europe, has been appointed the next Director General of RTE / Facebook

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Whatsapp NEW AGENDA: Dee Forbes, the Irishwoman who is currently head of the Discovery Channel in Europe, has been appointed the next Director General of RTE

Not much is known about Dee Forbes, who was appointed as RTEs new Director General last week. The former head of the Discovery Channel in Europe had not been mentioned in the list of favourites to land the plum job. Many had tipped RTEs deputy director general and head of news, Kevin Bakhurst, to get the position.

What is known, however, is that her appointment hasnt been greeted with the same public love-in that greeted Bakhursts appointment three-and-a-half years ago. At that time, RTE staff were falling over each other to publicly welcome their boss on Twitter.

DJ Rick OShea tweeted: Best of luck with the new job, Sir. News correspondent Richard Dowling showed his gushing side  and revealed a lack of acquaintance with basic grammar  by chipping in with: Youre probably sick of tweets about youre move, but ... welcome to RTE!!

Most stomach-churningly of all, former Prime Time presenter Mark Little smarmed: Smart guy. Smart choice.

This time out, however, there was deafening silence  other than tweets from weather presenter Nuala Carey and Dustin the Turkey. So what does all this mean?

Well, an RTE source suggested that it may be because Dee was unfamiliar in Irish media circles.

A newspaper also hinted that maybe Bakhurst himself thought he had the job and will find it awkward to work underneath someone who has beaten him to it, so his loyal staff decided not to show too much love towards Forbes lest Kevin might be a tad miffed.

There is, of course, one other possibility.

Maybe RTE staff have realised that public brown-nosing, sycophantic epistles to their new boss are a tad unbecoming for well-paid adults in responsible jobs?

Youd never know ...

Michaella's drug smuggling looks like it's going to pay off for her after all

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I Swapped Cocaine for God. Even among the litany of nauseating, self-pitying comments that have spewed forth within a few hours of Michaella McCollums release from a Peruvian prison, that headline  which adorned the front page of one Sunday newspaper  really stood out.

Michaella is reading a Bible that I had bought her. Shes really come to the Lord seriously, said Archbishop Sean Walsh, the priest with whom she will live in Peru as part of her release conditions.

Michaella was also given airtime by RTE last night, in which she reminded everyone who was the victim in all this.

Ive forgotten the things that everybody takes for granted in this life, she said of her time in jail. Seeing the sun, seeing the moon and the stars ... 

Doesnt your heart bleed for the poor, misguided northern lassie? Well, now that you ask...

Lets be clear about one thing. Michaella has confessed to the stupidity of her actions not because of an exposure to the effects of drug dealing or some blinding revelation that she was part of an industry that wreaks misery on countless people worldwide. She has repented because she was caught.

If Michaella and her equally idiotic partner-in-crime Melissa Reid hadnt been picked up, do you think theyd be racked with guilt over their actions? Or do you think that theyd still be sitting on a beach in southern Spain, considering whether or not to do it again for a quick buck?

Sure, Michaella acknowledged that: I could have caused a lot of harm to people.

A cynic, however, might suggest that Michaellas remorse is to do with keeping an eye on the long term.

Literary agent Vanessa Fox OLoughlin said Michaella had an incredible story to tell that could be of huge interest to the publishing industry.

In a newspaper interview yesterday  apparently unperturbed by the moral dubiousness of hyping up the career prospects of someone caught smuggling 1.8m of cocaine  Ms OLoughlin said if it sold well, she could potentially sell the movie rights. Its impossible to say what that might mean in financial terms.

Well let me save Vanessa the trouble of putting a figure on it, by pointing out the ultimate irony of this tawdry story. In all likelihood, Michaella is going to be rewarded for her drug-dealing exploits with sums far greater than were ever on offer from the dealers who employed her in the first place.

Archbishop Walsh hit the nail on the head when he alluded to the fact that maybe one day shell be inspired to write up her personal testimony of what happened and what went wrong, and how the Lord helped her pick up the pieces of her life. In return for a big, fat advance and movie rights ...

So, if and when Michaella sells her story, and it gets made into a movie, the Irish public should show their disapproval in the only way possible. Dont buy the book, and dont watch the movie.
Justin Trudeau has drawn criticism online after interrupting a woman and asking her to use peoplekind instead of mankind.

The Canadian Prime Minister was appearing at a town hall Q&A at MacEwan University in Edmonton on Friday, part of a tour around his nation.

He broke into a womans question about charitable status for her female-centred church when she stated: maternal love is the love thats going to change the future of mankind. Trudeau retorted: We like to say peoplekind, not necessarily mankind, because its more inclusive.

Whether his comment was tongue-in-cheek following a long, drawn-out question, or a genuine correction, people leapt onto Twitter to talk about the moment.

It seems Trudeau angered both sides of the political spectrum with his interruption, though the subject of the correction seemed to appreciate his correction.

Some were upset the Canadian premier had interrupted a female to mansplain to her.

@JustinTrudeau if you wanted to interrupt some on over something so simple and stupid, why couldnat you just say aHumankinda like a normal person?  Mythias (@MythiasM) February 7, 2018

@JustinTrudeau Dear PM Trudeau - For the most part, I love and appreciate the things you do and are trying to do for our country, But for all that, please DO NOT interrupt a sincere question to correct someone's choice of words (barring profanity) with a non-existent word. 1/2  DeirdreFromVan (@Deirdre_VanBC) February 7, 2018

Justin Trudeau interrupts woman to say it's "people doritos" not "lady doritos"  Anndra Dunn (@AnndraADunn) February 6, 2018

Others picked up on the fact he had used the phrase peoplekind, saying it was overly politically correct and virtue signalling.
A father and son on a research trip in Australia spotted a sign which would have sent many people straight back to where they came from.

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Exploration geologist Martin Dormer, from Perth, ignored the strongly-worded sign and went further into an area carrying out reconnaissance exploration of historic gold and lead workings.

On seeing the sign, Martin, who has more than 20 years of experience, said he and Flynn, 19, certainly didnt back away  wed driven 1,500 kilometres (932 miles) to get there.

Martin and Flynn, a pathology student at the University of Western Australia, had been on a week-long trip and were visiting the Kooline lead field, in the north of the state, near the Ashburton River.

They were on quad bikes when they came across the sign and took a picture.

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The sign was obviously old but you never know how well to heed a warning, added Martin, who posted the image on Reddit.

They went past the sign and through a gate, travelling a further 9km or 10km to find an area known as Big Chief lead workings.

These are a historic lead mining operation that occurred post the Second World War where returned servicemen were paid a government wage to search for new mineral deposits in remote areas of Australia.

The duo are now (safely) back home.
UK citizens living in the Netherlands are seeking clarity on the issue (AP)

A judge in Amsterdam has agreed to ask the European Court of Justice preliminary questions about the consequences of the UKs departure from the European Union on the citizenship rights of Britons living in Europe.

In a decision that could have consequences for some one million Britons living outside the UK but within the EU, the judge said in a written ruling that there has to be more clarity about the consequences of Brexit for EU citizenship.

UK citizens who live in the Netherlands went to the court last month in a bid to retain their EU citizenship rights after Britain leaves the bloc in March 2019.

Lawyers for the Dutch state have dismissed their case as a legal fiction.
Britons living in the Netherlands had asked the Dutch court to refer the matter of EU citizenship to the European Court of Justice

A Dutch judge has said he will ask the European Court of Justice to answer key questions about the rights of UK citizens on the continent post-Brexit, in a decision that could provide clarity for some one million Britons living in the EU.

Judge Floris Bakels said in a written ruling that there has to be more clarity about the consequences of Brexit for EU citizenship, according to a statement by the court in Amsterdam.

A group of British citizens who live in the Netherlands had asked the court to refer their case to the European Court of Justice last month in a bid to protect their EU citizenship rights after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019.

Officials negotiating Britains exit have made progress on the protection of rights of EU citizens living in Britain and UK citizens living on the continent, but no full agreement has yet been reached on the issue.

According to the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, any person who is a citizen of an EU nation is automatically also an EU citizen. EU citizenship grants rights including the ability to move, work and live freely within the bloc.

Christiaan Alberdingk Thijm, the Dutch lawyer who represented the Britons in the Amsterdam court, welcomed the ruling.

He said: Theresa May famously said Brexit means Brexit, but the Brits currently living on the continent have no idea what that means for them.

Are you an EU citizen for life, or can your citizenship be taken away from you? That is the fundamental question that will be put forward to the European Court.

One of the Britons who filed the case, Stephen Huyton, who has lived in the Netherlands for 24 years, said he was delighted with the decision.

However, this is but the first step to clarity about what Brexit means for our EU citizenship, he said in a statement. This case has always been about seeking clarification.

It was not immediately clear when the European Court of Justice would deliver answers to the questions.
New air strikes launched by Russian and Syrian government forces on a rebel-held region east of Damascus have killed at least eight people, opposition activists said.

The strikes are part of an ongoing aerial campaign which has killed dozens of civilians in the besieged area over the past few days.

Around 60 civilians have died so far in air strikes and shelling, overwhelming rescue workers and prompting calls for an immediate ceasefire in order to deliver critical medical care.

The oppositions civil defence workers, known as the White Helmets, said eight civilians were killed and many more were wounded after warplanes targeted the town of Hamouriyeh, causing a building to collapse.

Syrian children aterrified and trappeda as fighting escalates. An immediate ceasefire is needed, so that humanitarian supplies can get to all those in need. #Idlib #Syria https://t.co/JBXqGKr2VT  Save the Children International (@save_children) February 7, 2018

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the deaths, which it said raised the number of people killed in the area since January 29 to 384, including 94 children.

The Ghouta region east of the capital Damascus, home to nearly 400,000 people trapped by the violence, has been under intense attack since the end of December as the government of President Bashar Assad struggles to bring it under control.

The campaign by the Syrian government and its ally, Russia, has also battered the north-western province of Idlib, the largest area under opposition control in Syria. The Idlib offensive hit hospitals and residential buildings. The situation intensified after militants shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet near the town of Saraqeb over the weekend.

New report: Hundreds of thousands of Syrians risk being pushed to return in 2018 despite ongoing violence, warn aid agencies @savechildrenmee > https://t.co/5mV5oyFsCv pic.twitter.com/xhKhoHC6pZ  Save the Children International (@save_children) February 5, 2018

Save the Children said the escalation in fighting in the opposition-held enclave of Idlib is placing thousands of youngsters in extreme danger.

It said more than 30 schools supported by Save the Children and its partners in the area have had to close temporarily due to security fears.

Hundreds of families, many of whom have already been displaced and left living in tents, have come under increasing fire and have been left with nowhere left to turn, it added.

A UN-mandated investigator said his team is probing reports that bombs allegedly containing weaponised chlorine have been used on two recent occasions in Syria.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said its fact-finding mission is investigating all credible allegations and reporting its findings to the organisations member states.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaking on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London last summer. Photo: Getty Images

Julian Assange has vowed to continue a legal fight against a UK arrest warrant after a judge ruled it was still valid.

Senior District Judge Emma Arbuthnot rejected his legal team's argument the warrant issued in 2012 was no longer valid because an investigation by the Swedish authorities into a sex-related allegation had been dropped.

But the WikiLeaks founder's lawyers went on to argue at Westminster Magistrates' Court it was no longer proportionate or in the public interest to pursue him for failing to answer bail at a police station as he fought extradition to Sweden.

After the hearing, Mr Assange said his case had exposed "improper conduct" by the Crown Prosecution Service and his legal team's case could still be successful.

Mr Assange has been living inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for more than five years, fearing extradition to the US for questioning over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves.

The judge said she was not persuaded that the warrant should be withdrawn.

She said: "One, Mr Assange has been bailed, two, he has failed to surrender, and three, if he has no reasonable cause he will be guilty of an offence."

Judge Arbuthnot adjourned the case until February 13, when she will give her judgment on the public interest argument.
Police officers guard the courtroom during the trial of Salah Abdeslam at the Brussels Justice Palace. Photo: AP

The main surviving suspect of the November 2015 attacks in Paris, Salah Abdeslam, has decided not to attend the second day of his trial in Brussels tomorrow, the Belgian court said.

Abdeslam, who is charged with the attempted murder of police in a shoot-out with officers in Brussels three days before he was arrested in March 2016, refused to answer questions on the first day of the trial on Monday. Abdeslam travelled to the court from a prison close to Paris on Monday, but told the hearing he was tired and had barely slept.

He was taken to another French prison close to the Belgian border on Monday night.

The court's president said Abdeslam had now decided he did not wish to appear again tomorrow.

Police said Abdeslam fled Paris on the night in November 2015 when attackers, including his elder brother, killed 130 people.

Police conducted what they thought would be a routine search related to the Paris attacks at an apartment in the Brussels district of Forest in March 2016.

Four officers were hurt and one gunman killed.

His co-accused, Sofien Ayari, told the court on Monday that both he and Abdeslam were in the apartment at the time and fled the scene.
Afghanistans former president Hamid Karzai accused Washington of using the Afghan war to further its own interests (AP)

Afghanistans former president has criticised both the US and Pakistan, accusing them of using the Afghan war to further their own interests and calling on Washington to sanction Pakistani military and intelligence officials.

Hamid Karzai said his country is in terrible shape 16 years after the US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban.

He said Washington wants to establish permanent bases in Afghanistan to better control the region, while Pakistan wants to turn Afghanistan into a client state.

Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of harbouring militants, saying it is partly to blame for a wave of attacks in recent weeks that killed scores of people.

Pakistan denies the allegations, blaming the Afghan government for failing to secure the country.
Afghanistans former president has criticised both the US and Pakistan, accusing them of using the Afghan war to further their own interests and calling on Washington to sanction Pakistani military and intelligence officials.

Hamid Karzai said his country is in terrible shape 16 years after the US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban. Mr Karzai became president shortly after the fall of the Taliban and held office until 2014.

In recent weeks, Kabul has been battered by a wave of attacks claimed alternately by the Taliban and a rival Islamic State affiliate, which killed scores of people and brutally exposed the US-backed governments failure to secure the capital.

Mr Karzai told the Associated Press: The US cannot tell us: Well, if I am not here, you will be worse off. We are in a terrible shape right now  We want to be better. We want to have peace. We want to have security.

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The former president said Washington wants to establish permanent bases in Afghanistan to project power in the region, while Pakistan wants to turn Afghanistan into a client state.

He said US forces are not in Afghanistan to stop extremism.

In my view their intention is to keep us divided and weak so they can carry on their objectives in this region, Mr Karzai added.

They have their global politics and rivalries. They have China as a great rising power. They have Russia as a revitalised, re-energised great power on the world scene, and they feel threatened and challenged.

Echoing complaints from Afghanistans current government, Mr Karzai accused neighbouring Pakistan of harbouring Taliban militants. He called on the US to sanction Pakistani military and intelligence officials.

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We hope the US will now act in Pakistan, he said. Act in Pakistan doesnt mean that the Pakistan people should be hurt or that war should be launched in Pakistan.

US president Donald Trump has ramped up pressure on Pakistan since the start of the year, suspending up to two billion dollars (1.4 billion) in military aid after accusing it of failing to crack down on militants who launch cross-border attacks on US and Afghan forces.

Pakistan denies these allegations, blaming the violence on the Kabul governments failure to secure the country.

Mr Karzais bleak assessment came a day after US senators questioned the direction of Americas longest war. At a hearing on Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee noted that Washington is spending roughly 45 billion dollars (32 billion) a year in Afghanistan, with the vast majority of the funds going to security. Just 780 million dollars (559 million) goes toward economic aid.
French foreign minister Jean-Yves le Drian has said French citizens who fought with Islamic State before being arrested in Syria or Iraq will be tried by local authorities.

Mr le Drian said about 100 fighters have been captured in north-eastern Syria by Kurdish fighters.

He told BFM TV they will face justice before local authorities and will not be repatriated to France because they are enemies who fought against Syrian citizens, Turkish people. They have raped and committed barbarian acts.

The minister added that Frances doctrine regarding children was different, with the French government aiming to send them back to their country with the help of the Red Cross.

According to Mr le Drian, six families of French fighters have also been arrested in Iraq.
South Africas deputy president has said he anticipates a speedy resolution to his talks with President Jacob Zuma about a power transition.

Cyril Ramaphosa, who is expected to replace the scandal-tainted Mr Zuma, acknowledged a lot of speculation and anxiety about the status of the president, and said South Africa is undergoing a challenging time.

Mr Ramaphosa said he is talking to Mr Zuma about the transition and matters relating to his position as the President of the Republic.

The deputy president, who is the leader of the ruling African National Congress, said he expects that he and Mr Zuma will report to the party and the country in the coming days.
A cherry-red Tesla car was launched into space by Elon Musk, the tech entrepreneur, yesterday with David Bowie's 'Life On Mars' playing on repeat.

An estimated half-a-million people gathered in Florida to watch the launch - the culmination of a plan five years in the making.

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Mr Musk used a super rocket - the Falcon Heavy vehicle - to send the car into an eliptical orbit around the Sun that will take it past Mars, deploying technology with twice the launching power of any existing rocket, and double that of the Saturn V, which launched the Apollo lunar missions.

Mr Musk explained the Roadster "will be in deep space for a billion years or so, if it doesn't blow up on ascent". His fears were unrealised, however, and the rocket successfully took off at 3.45pm local time.

Earlier this week, in a YouTube video to promote the launch, Bowie's song played as the Falcon Heavy was shown on the launch pad. The animation showed that during the launch, Falcon Heavy's three first-stage boosters ignite, powering up the rocket toward space. The two side boosters separate and fall away, returning to Earth to land on two SpaceX landing pads at Cape Canaveral air force station.

The centre core separates later and lands in the Atlantic on SpaceX's drone ship, named Of Course I Still Love You.

The upper stage continues on, with the nose cone's protective fairing separating to reveal the Roadster and a dummy, which Mr Musk calls Starman, sitting in the driver's seat. The car will take at least six months to travel the 320 million kilometres to Mars.

The South African-born entrepreneur has promised "epic views" of space from cameras strapped to the vehicle as it is thrown into a heliocentric orbit called Trans-Mars injection, which could in future be the easiest way to move objects between Earth and the red planet.

If the maiden voyage is successful, it raises interesting possibilities for future innovation, including larger US satellites and also the realisation of Mr Musk's dream to launch hundreds of satellites into space in order to give broadband internet to the developing world.

It also means space exploration could be hugely enhanced, with larger robots sent to Mars. Some could even visit outer planets such as Jupiter and Saturn.

Nasa is also developing a super-rocket, but Mr Musk's, if successful, is much cheaper. Their Space Launch System is said to cost $1bn (807m) per flight, while the entrepreneur claims his Falcon Heavy will cost just $90 million (73m) per flight.

Casey Dreier, the director of space policy at the Planetary Society, said: "The question is will it be reliable enough for the government and others to put in their most valuable assets, to be worth the reduced cost?"

 Daily Telegraph, London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
US President Donald Trump said yesterday he would "love" to see another government shutdown as Republicans and Democrats in Congress worked to reach a budget deal that would prevent federal agencies from having to close their doors this week.

The Republican president said he would welcome a shutdown if a spending deal did not include changes to immigration laws, challenging Democrats on the issue that led to a three-day partial closure of government agencies last month.

He spoke even as Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate said they were closing in on an agreement that could dramatically raise spending levels for both military and domestic programmes and ensure the government will keep operating when temporary spending expires tomorrow.

The deal could potentially put an end to the brinkmanship over spending that has periodically roiled Washington and that resulted in funds running out for the US government in January.

Mr Trump said he would welcome a shutdown if Congress does not strengthen border protections and "take care of our military".

"I'd love to see a shutdown if we don't get this stuff taken care of," he said.

Donald Trump's lawyers have reportedly advised him against answering questions from Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the investigation into Russian election meddling.

They fear the US president could be charged with lying to investigators, according to a 'New York Times' report, which noted his tendency to contradict himself in the past.

Other high-profile supporters of Mr Trump such as Newt Gingrich and Chris Christie, the former presidential candidates, have also urged him to reject any request.

The advice appears at odds with Mr Trump's own instinct to agree to be interviewed, something he publicly said he would do last month.

A refusal to be questioned could create months of legal wrangling and push back the end date for the investigation.

Mr Mueller is said to be looking into as many as five different areas of Russian election interference, one of which is obstruction of justice.

Steve Bannon, Mr Trump's former campaign chief and White House adviser, is said to be prepared to talk to Mr Mueller but has been less forthcoming with Congress.

Fox News reported that Mr Bannon will decline to appear before the House intelligence committee, which is looking into Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election, despite a subpoena being issued.

Mr Mueller, who was tasked with leading the Russian investigation after Mr Trump fired James Comey as FBI director, is seeking an interview with the president.

Last month, Mr Trump said he was "looking forward" to the interview and was willing to appear under oath, before adding "subject to my lawyers, and all of that". The 'New York Times' reported John Dowd, a lawyer hired to represent Mr Trump in the investigation, and Jay Sekulow, his deputy, want the president to "rebuff" any interview request.

Trap

Mr Gingrich said: "The idea of putting Trump in a room with five or six hardened, very clever lawyers, all of whom are trying to trick him and trap him, would be a very, very bad idea."

Meanwhile, Mr Trump has come under pressure after the US stock market, which he has cited as proof of the success of his presidency, dropped sharply in recent days. The White House attempted to put the focus on the wider economy rather than the stock market.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said: "The president's focus is on our long-term economic fundamentals, which remain exceptionally strong, with strengthening US economic growth, historically low unemployment and increasing wages for American workers."

 Daily Telegraph, London

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]
Jacob Zumas premiership appears to be nearing the end as his deputy and expected successor said he anticipated a speedy resolution to transition talks with the South African president.

Deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged a lot of speculation and anxiety about the status of the president, who has been under intense pressure to quit amid a series of corruption allegations.

Mr Ramaphosa said he and Mr Zuma will finish their discussions and report in the coming days to the ruling African National Congress party (ANC) and the wider population of one of Africas biggest economies.

The deputy president and current ANC leader said: This is a challenging time for our country.

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Both President Zuma and myself are aware that our people want and deserve closure. The constructive process we have embarked on offers the greatest opportunity to conclude this matter without discord or division.

The announcement followed several disputed reports that reflected a growing mood of uncertainty over the long wait for a resolution to the countrys leadership crisis.

Mr Zumas office described a social media report that Russian president Vladimir Putin was going to visit the country this week as fake news. It also denied allegations by opponents that Mr Zuma was preparing to sack Mr Ramaphosa.

The presidents planned state of the nation address in the South African parliament was postponed earlier in the week.

More information about Mr Zumas status as president will be available once all pertinent matters have been finalised, said Mr Ramaphosa, who took over from his boss as party leader in December and has since delivered strong anti-corruption messages.

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Many former supporters who have turned against Mr Zuma worry that he is digging in, or at least trying to make a deal  possibly including immunity from prosecution  in exchange for his resignation.

South African opposition parties said the country is in limbo as the ANC struggles to resolve its internal conflict over Mr Zuma, and that there are now two centres of power in the ruling party and in the government. Opposition leaders will meet on Monday to discuss a scheduled motion of no confidence in Mr Zuma on February 22 as well as parliaments mandate to elect a new president in the event Mr Zuma is removed.

Jacob Zuma has been embroiled in scandals for years. He had to pay back some state money following multi-million-dollar upgrades to his private home. He was also criticised for his association with the Gupta business family, which was accused of looting state enterprises and influencing cabinet ministers for their own benefit. There is also the possibility of reinstated corruption charges tied to an arms deal from two decades ago. Mr Zuma and the Guptas deny any wrongdoing.

The presidents second five-year term is scheduled to end with elections in 2019, but many ruling party members want Mr Ramaphosa to take over as soon as possible so that the party can try to recover the trust of voters.
A senior Turkish official said the country has fulfilled all 72 requirements set by the European Union to secure visa-free travel for Turkish citizens to the 28-nation bloc.

Ibrahim Kalin, a spokesman for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said Turkey had submitted all relevant documents to EU officials ahead of an EU-Turkey summit next month.

Mr Kalin said he hoped the right to visa-free travel would be implemented in 2018, adding that it would give a new momentum to Turkish-EU relations.

Visa liberalisation was a key part of a 2016 EU-Turkey deal aimed at stemming the flow of tens of thousands of migrants to Europe  but Turkey failed to meet some of the criteria, including amending its anti-terror laws.

Mr Kalin said all outstanding criteria had now been met.

But the European Commission, which verifies compliance, was not so upbeat. A spokeswoman acknowledged that Turkeys ambassador had handed over a paper regarding the remaining visa liberalisation benchmarks to Commission vice president Frans Timmermans.

She added that the Commission will now study the paper carefully, noting that respecting the benchmarks require legislative and procedural changes.

Among other requirements, the EU had demanded that Turkey change its definition of what constitutes a terrorism offence to ensure that security laws are not used to crack down on the media or academics.

In light of Turkeys failed military coup in 2016, and with suicide bombers regularly striking Turkish cities, Mr Erdogan could not be seen to be backing down in the fight against extremism.

Mr Kalin said: Certain arrangements were made in a way that will not pave the way for weakening Turkeys struggle against terrorism, and these were submitted to the EU.

Brussels confirmed Mr Erdogan will meet Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council president Donald Tusk and Bulgarian prime minister Boyko Borissov, whose country holds the blocs rotating presidency, in Varna, Bulgaria, on March 26.

The Commission said the talks will focus on subjects of mutual interest and recent developments in Turkey. That includes obviously the rule of law and fundamental rights.

The EU is concerned about a media and justice crackdown in Turkey that followed the failed 2016 coup and Ankaras military campaign in northern Syria against the Kurds.

It is wary, however, of angering a country upon which it depends to limit the flow of migrants into Europe.
Mumbai, Feb 7 (IBNS): The Indian benchmark indices failed to raise their head on Wednesday, the seventh consecutive session, even though market breadth remained positive, according to media reports.

BSE Sensex was down 113.23 points at 34,082.71 and NSE Nifty was down 21.60 points at 10,476.70.

The decline in benchmark indices has been largely attributed to the hawkish stance of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India, which decided to leave the repo rate unchanged at six per cent at its latest meeting on Wednesday.

The top gainers on Wednesday included HPCL, Aurobindo Pharma, Coal India, ONGC, BHEL, Asian Paints, Tata Motor and Tata Power while Ambuja Cements, Bharti Airtel, Bharti Infratel, L&T, Vedanta, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank and Wipro declined.
Kolkata/New Delhi, Fe 7 (IBNS): Ashoka University, the pioneer in Liberal Arts and Sciences Education calls for the second round of applications for the Young India Fellowship, a unique one-year multidisciplinary postgraduate diploma programme in Liberal Studies.

It brings together a group of 300 bright young individuals who show exceptional intellectual ability and leadership potential from across the country, and trains them to become global agents of change. The deadline for submitting last applications is Mar 4.

For more details about the application process and financial aid, prospective candidates may visit our website https://www.ashoka.edu.in/YIF2018/ or write to yifadmissions@ashoka.edu.in

The Young India Fellowship exposes fellows to a diverse set of subjects and perspectives, delivered by some of the finest teachers and practitioners from India and around the world. In addition to our outstanding faculty from top global institutions, including Yale University, Delhi School of Economics, Harvard University, Indian School of Business, Fellows are also exposed to an extremely diverse peer group in a multidisciplinary environment. Students from various educational backgrounds are selected for the programme after a rigorous process of selection.

Some of the courses offered under the YIF include Gender Studies, International Development, Economics, History, Mathematical Thinking, Critical Writing, Psychology, etc. The curriculum is designed for Fellows to build perspective, undertake collaborative learning, develop critical thinking and gain problem-solving skills by combining academic work with on ground experience. Along with academic offering, Fellows are also given ample opportunity to develop their leadership skills. As part of the Experiential Learning Module, Fellows undertake eight month-long engagements on projects with established organisations, companies, institutions and individuals, from across fields.

After completing the programme, our Fellows have gained employment in diverse organisations across the corporate and development sectors. Some examples of corporate organisations where Young India Fellows may be found are American Express, Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Co, Tata Power, Hidesign, Indian Market Research Bureau, Financial Express, etc. A number of Fellows have also ventured into the development and non-profit sectors. The Centre for Entrepreneurship at Ashoka University acts as an on-campus incubator for business ideas. This has helped a few Fellows progress into having their own start-ups. Those interested in pursuing higher education have also gained offers from the top academic institutions of the world, including the University of Oxford, Harvard University, the Graduate Institute, National University of Singapore, etc.



Ashoka University, in keeping with its vision of liberal education, partners with the University of Pennsylvania; University of California, Berkeley; Trinity College, Dublin, Carleton College; University of Michigan: King's College, London and Sciences Po, Paris. Ashoka University is located on a 25-acre campus in Rajiv Gandhi Education City, Sonepat, India.
Bengal: BJP's Bhabanipur bypoll candidate Priyanka Tibrewal files nomination | BCCI rejects reports claiming Virat Kohli likely to lose limited-overs captaincy to Rohit Sharma | Bhupendra Patel takes oath as Gujarat CM, Amit Shah in attendance | Jet Airways 2.0 to be back in skies in early 2022 | India registers 27,254 new COVID-19 cases in past 24 hours
New Delhi, Feb 7 (IBNS): Calling his government ' aim changers', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said they have ushered in a paradigm shift in the 'working of the Government'.

"You call us name changers....we are aim changers - we work hard and have ushered in a paradigm shift in the working of the Government. Innovative projects are being thought about and completed in a time bound manner," Modi said addressing at the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amid uproar.

Modi hit out at the Congress by naming several scams that had erupted during the tenure of the former government.

"We want Mahatma Gandhi's India. Even the Congress wants 'Gandhi's India.' - the India of the Emergency, Bofors, Chopper scams...Congress wants the India of the Tandoor Case. I also went to Davos, you also went to Davos. But the difference is- you went with a letter to save someone," Modi said attacking the party.

Speaking on Aadhaar, he said: "Congress keeps saying we brought Aadhaar. Let me remind them about a debate in the Rajya Sabha in 1998 and what LK Advani Ji said. It is in his speech that you will find the genesis of Aadhaar."

Modi said his government will aim at increasing the income of farmers.

Modi, earlier in the day, addressed in the Lok Sabha.

Image: RSTV grab
New Delhi, Feb 7 (IBNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday given its approval for signing of Memoranda of Understanding for Secondment Programme between the Department of Economic Affairs (Indian Economic Service Cadre) and The Treasury, Government of Australia, for a period of three months.

Under the Programme, one officer from the Australian Treasury shall be seconded to the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance and one officer from the IES (at Deputy Secretary/Director level) to be nominated by the IES Cadre, Department of Economic Affairs, shall be seconded to the Australian Treasury, Government of Australia, for a period of three months, beginning 15.1.2018 or later, read a government statement.

The validity of both the MoUs will terminate at the end of the three months' period of assignment and the same will not be extendable.

The programme may be repeated in subsequent years with mutual consultation and after agreement on both sides.
New Delhi, Feb 7 (IBNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday given its approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Cooperation in the Field of Skill Development, Vocational Education and Training.

The MoU would pave the way for closer bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the field of vocational education and training and skill development, read a government statement.

The collaboration with foreign countries would help to strengthen the India skill eco-system thereby skilling youth for better employment prospects.



The MoU will create the framework for innovative partnership between India and the United Kingdom Industry and training institutes, and will help to scale up skill training efforts in India and enhance their quality.

Funding of projects related to the execution of this MoU will be structured in separate individual arrangements, mutually agreed by both parties.
New Delhi, Feb 7 (IBNS): The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC),USA and Bureau of Police Research & Development (BPR&D), India on Law Enforcement Training.

This has paved the way for enhanced cooperation between the two countries in security related matters under the aegis of the India-US Homeland Security Dialogue, read a government statement.

The MoC will help in improving the standards of training, training materials, quality of trainers etc. which will go a long way in improving the functioning of police forces in the country and realizing the concept of SMART Police.

India and United States share common interest to fight terrorism and transnational crimes in all their forms and manifestations and to prevent the continued growth of terrorist organizations.

India and US also share a common interest in protecting the homeland and vital infrastructures and in preventing disruption of global supply chain by terrorist attacks.
New Delhi, Feb 7 (IBNS): Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday took a dig at Narendra Modi for his speech in the Parliament and questioned the Prime Minister's silence over the Rafale deal.

Speaking to reporters after Modis address, Gandhi said Modi's reply in the Lok Sabha to the motion of thanks on the presidents address was a political speech.

"We keep saying there is something wrong with the Rafale deal. Today Prime Minister Modi spoke for more than one hour but he didn't utter a word about the Rafale deal. He spoke about politics but never took up the farmers' issues or employment for youth," Gandhi told mediapersons.

Gandhi also slammed Modi for criticising the Congress in the Parliament and said he should answer questions rather than denouncing the oppositions always.

"I think Modi ji has forgotten that he is the PM now, he should answer questions and not always accuse the opposition, the Congress president said.

Questions are being asked by the country from the prime minister, but he is not answering here (in Parliament)...You have to give answers and not ask questions to the country instead, he said.

Gandhi also added that the PM can always target the Congress party at political rallies but inside the Parliament he should rather focus in answering questions raised by countrymen.

Modi on Wednesday targeted the Congress as he addressed the Parliament, accusing the Nehru-Gandhi family-led Congress of dividing India in 1947, and even claiming that the entire Kashmir would have remained with India if Sardar Ballabh Bhai Patel was the Prime Minister.

Modi addressed both the Houses of the Parliament on Wednesday.

Launching a blistering attack during his reply to the motion of thanks on the President's address, Modi also sought to take away from the Congress its aura of the past when he claimed that India did not get democracy due to Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru.

"You (Congress) broke up India in 1947 and the nation is paying a price even today. Your divisive politics broke up Andhra Pradesh in 2014 and the fire is still raging today," he said launching a blistering attack soon after he began his address in the House.

Reacting to a series of attacks of the Opposition on his government and its policies, Modi said, "The country was partitioned, the seeds of poison was sown. You divided the country for electoral and petty gains...people are suffering even today."

If Sardar Vallabhai Patel was India's first PM, the whole of Jammu and Kashmir would have remained with the country : PM Modi

Ignoring a ruckus by Opposition members, who kept shouting "stop giving false promises", Modi also lambasted the Congress for brainwashing people into thinking the Congress, and especially Jawaharlal Nehru, brought democracy to India.

"India did not get democracy due to Pandit Nehru, as Congress wants us to believe. Please look at our rich history. There are many examples of rich democratic traditions that date back centuries ago. Democracy is integral to this nation and is in our culture."

"How did the Congress act in Kerala, how did they treat the Akali Dal in Punjab, how did they behave in Tamil Nadu? Why did Congress dismiss so many state governments at their will? This is no commitment to democracy," Modi said.

He said for decades, one party devoted all their energy to serving one family and the interests of the nation were looked over .

"To this day, 125 crore Indians are paying the price for your sins, you divided India keeping elections in mind, you closed Parliament's doors without heeding peoples wishes, the seeds you sowed at that time, its ramifications are being felt to this day," the PM said.

Speaking on the achievements of incumbent government, PM Modi said: The NDA government has changed the work culture in the nation. Projects are not only being thought about but also being executed in a timely manner

"The NDA government is building more roads than the previous one. We have given a strong boost to the infrastructure sector across the nation. More villages are getting optical fibre network in the last three years than they got previously."

Employment is increasing but you have closed your eyes as you are busy singing your songs. Atal Bihari Vajpayee said, "Chhote mann se koi bada nahi hota aur toote mann se koi khada nahi hota"

He also criticised the manner in which the previous Congress-led central government handled the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. "When we speak of creating new states, we remember the manner in which Atal Bihari Vajpayee-ji created Uttarakhand, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. He showed how farsighted decision-making is done," he said.

Modi said the Congress "messed up" while dividing Andhra Pradesh, adding, "They did it in a hurry, and without much thought or research."

Later, while addressing in the Rajya Sabha, Modi attacked the Congress over the issue of numerous scams that had erupted during the previous government.

Calling his government ' aim changers', Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said they have ushered in a paradigm shift in the 'working of the Government'.

"You call us name changers....we are aim changers - we work hard and have ushered in a paradigm shift in the working of the Government. Innovative projects are being thought about and completed in a time bound manner," Modi said addressing at the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday amid uproar.

Modi hit out at the Congress by naming several scams that had erupted during the tenure of the former government.

"We want Mahatma Gandhi's India. Even the Congress wants 'Gandhi's India.' - the India of the Emergency, Bofors, Chopper scams...Congress wants the India of the Tandoor Case. I also went to Davos, you also went to Davos. But the difference is- you went with a letter to save someone," Modi said attacking the party.

Speaking on Aadhaar, he said: "Congress keeps saying we brought Aadhaar. Let me remind them about a debate in the Rajya Sabha in 1998 and what LK Advani Ji said. It is in his speech that you will find the genesis of Aadhaar."

Modi said his government will aim at increasing the income of farmers.

He also asked the Parliament to have a discussion on holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in the various states.

"Let us have a constructive discussion on holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections in the various states," Modi said.

Attacking the opposition over 'mocking' numerous events followed by NDA-led government like Yoga Day.

"Look at what all you mocked- Swachh Bharat, Make in India, surgical strikes, Yoga Day. You are free to mock as you please but why are you blocking the bill for OBC Commission? Why are you blocking Triple Talaq Bill. Are you not sensitive to the aspirations of OBC," Modi said.
Guwahati, Feb 7 (IBNS): The Assam police arrested five rhino poachers in central Assams Nagaon district on Tuesday, who were planning to poach rhino inside the World Heritage site Kaziranga National Park, officials said.

Police also recovered one 303 rifle, 18 rounds live ammunition in possession from them.

According to the reports, based on intelligence input, Jakhalabandha police in Nagaon district launched the operation at Harmoti area and arrested the poacher gang.

Officer-in-Charge of Jakhalabandha police station Deben Bora said that, the poacher gang had planned to kill rhino inside the national park under Bagori range office.

Following a tip-off, a team of Jakhalabandha police station launched the operation at Harmoti area near Bagori and arrested a poacher Faruq Ahmed who was travelling on a vehicle.

Later police arrested four more poachers of the gang who were planning to kill the rhino in Kaziranga.

Police recovered one 303 rifle, 18 rounds live ammunition and a silencer in possession from the arrested poachers.

The arrested poachers were identified as Faruq Ahmed, Foorkan Ali, Mustafa Ahmed, Padda Rajput, Gulzar Hussain.

Police have interrogated the poachers to collect more information.

Poachers have killed over 200 one horned rhinos in Kaziranga National Park in the past decade.

This year, two rhinos have been poached inside the national park so far.

Kaziranga National Park is home to more than 80 per cent of Indias rhinos and over 91 per cent of Assams count.

According to the 2015 population census, 2401 rhinos are present in Kaziranga.



(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Kohima, Feb 7 (IBNS): Despite calling for election boycott by the Naga outfit groups, 253 candidates of different political parties and independents have filed their nominations to ensure that the Nagaland assembly polls be held on Feb 27.

Wednesday was the last day for filing nominations. A total of 231 candidates of different parties and independents have filed their nominations.

On Tuesday, only 22 candidates have filed nominations for only 17 seats out of total 60 assembly constituencies.

According to the reports, 51 from Naga Peoples Front (NPF), 20 of BJP, 18 of Congress, 34 of National Democratic Political Party (NDPP), 13 of JD (U), 14 of NDPP (S), 13 of NPF (S), 24 of National People's Party (NPP), 4 of NPP (S), 3 of AAP, 2 of LJP, 4 of NCP and 17 Independent candidates filed their nominations.

Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang has filed his nomination papers from the 7 Peren constituency, while former CM and present Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio filed his nomination from 11 Northern Angami-II constituency.

The first nomination was filed by ruling NPF candidate and state home minister Kuzholuzo Nienu on Tuesday from the 19 Phek constituency in Phek district.

Uncertainty loomed large over the Nagaland assembly polls after 11 political parties, including both national and regional signed a joint declaration not to take part in election till the Naga political problem is resolved.

But BJP had refused the joint declaration and had announced to take part in the election process. Later the ruling NPF and Congress also declared same.

Ending up its 15-year tie with the NPF in Nagaland, the BJP had forged alliance with the newly formed NDPP led by Neiphiu Rio and also decided on seat sharing.

On the other hand, the Congress may reach out to NPF for an informal understanding in some seats.

Recently, NSCN (IM) warned the political parties that, the outfit group will take stern act against those who have been found defying the decision of the Naga people.

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
Guwahati, Feb 7 (IBNS): Dibrugarh police on Wednesday grilled nine more government officials of Assam Civil Service (ACS), Assam Police Service (APS) and other allied service in connection with the cash-for-job scam of Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) in Guwahati, officials said.

A top police said that, the investigating team of Dibrugarh Police interrogated the government officers at Assam Police Special Branch (SB) headquarter at Kahilipara in Guwahati for several hours.

All nine government officers have been asked to write up paragraphs in different subjects and the investigating team had taken signature samples of the officers.

The government officials who appeared before the investigating team are  Avisikha Baruah (ACS), Rituraj Gogoi (ACS), Joydev Mahanta (ACS), Kaushik Kalita (APS), Sanjan Phukan (ACS), Debabrata Dey (APS), Satyajit Sarkar (Assistant Employment Officer) and Abhishek Borbora (Inspector of Excise).

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Dibrugarh district Surajit Sing Panesar said that, all hand writing and signature samples will be sent to the forensic laboratory.

We will wait for the forensic report. If anyone is found guilty in the report, then we will take act as per law, the Assam cop said.

Police have already arrested 27 officials of ACS, APS and other allied services in connection with the scam.

Among the arrested officials, Assam government has sacked three officials and the rest were suspended.

The investigating team accessed the forensic report of several answer scripts, which were earlier seized from the APSC office in Guwahati.

We have already identified few more officials after receiving the forensic report and would likely ask them to appear before the investigating team, the top police official said.

The top official of Assam police said that, apart from this, police have also identified at least 12 middlemen for their involvement in the cash-for-job scam.

Sacked chairman of APSC Rakesh Pauls brother Rajib Paul, Sudip Das, Mrigen Saikia and Mofidul Islam are among the middlemen, who are presently absconding.

The entire scam came to light after the Dibrugarh police had arrested an engineer named Naba Kanta Patir from Upper Assams Dibrugarh district after they caught him red handed while accepting a bribe of Rs 10 lakh from a lady doctor to provide a secured government job on Oct 27 in 2016.

Following the incident, Dibrugarh police had registered a case and arrested the then chairman of APSC Rakesh Paul from Guwahati and later arrested few more persons including former members of APSC Samedur Rahman, Basanta Doley, Pabitra Kaiborta, Musharaf Hussain, Mabud Ali Choudhury, three ACS officers Bhaskarjyoti Dev Sharma, Bhaskar Dutta and Amit Sharma.

On August 31 last year, the Gauhati High Court had granted bail to 10 accused persons including three Assam Civil Service (ACS) officials, who were arrested in connection with the cash-for-job scam of Assam Public Service Commission (APSC).

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)
New York, Feb 7 (JEN): Senior United Nations officials in Syria warned on Tuesday of the dire humanitarian crisis in several parts of the country, calling on warring parties to immediately stop fighting so aid and basic services can reach those in need, and the sick and critically wounded can evacuate.

The United Nations humanitarian team in Syria warns of the dire consequences of the compounded humanitarian crisis in several parts of the country, said a statement issued Tuesday by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and the UN Representatives in Syria.

In this extreme situation, the officials called for an immediate cessation of hostilities lasting for at least one month throughout Syria to enable the delivery of humanitarian aid and services, evacuation of the critically sick and wounded, and alleviation of peoples suffering, to the extent possible, wherever they are.

In Afrin, the ongoing military operations and the reported blockage of exits by other forces have virtually trapped many civilians preventing them from accessing safer areas, the statement said, noting that so far, 380 families have reached surrounding villages and Aleppo city neighborhoods while thousands of people have been displaced within Afrin.

As the fighting escalates, the number of civilians affected by violence is bound to increase, the statement warned.

In Al-Hasakah, an agreement was reached to allow some UN partners to resume their work, after a month in which most humanitarian assistance came to a complete halt. This is a positive first step, but the agreement is only for a period of two months and covers a limited number of partners.

Turning to Ar-Raqqah, the statement noted that the citys devastation is unparalleled and conditions remain unsafe. Many civilians trying to return home have been killed and injured by unexploded ordinances. Services are absent. Access for humanitarian workers to the city is almost impossible due to unsafe conditions.

In Idleb, the military operations resulted in increased casualties and movement of civilians to safer areas. Some of them have been forced to move several times to escape fighting. With the high concentration of displaced people, the Governorate may not be able to withstand the consequences of renewed fighting.

Foah and Kafraya in Idleb continue to be besieged by non-State armed groups, without access to much needed humanitarian supplies and medical treatment.

In the south, civilians in Al-Rukban camp remain inaccessible to the humanitarian team in Syria. The last time the camp was supplied with food and non-food items was from across the border in early January, the statement said.

Upsurge in Violence in Idlib and eastern Ghouta

Meanwhile, the UN-mandated Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria expressed deep concern over the further escalation of violence in Idlib governorate and in eastern Ghouta.

Over the last 48 hours, the scale and ferocity of attacks has increased dramatically resulting in multiple reports of civilian casualties and airstrikes that have reportedly hit at least three hospitals, including in Maaret al Numan, Kafr Nabl and Mardikh.

Since the beginning of the year, the increase in violence in Idlib has resulted in another upsurge of internal displacement with over a quarter of a million civilians reportedly fleeing the fighting, according to reports received by the Commission.

These reports are extremely troubling, and make a mockery of the so-called de-escalation zones intended to protect civilians from such bombardment, said Commission Chair Paulo Pinheiro.

The parties to this conflict are failing in their obligations under international humanitarian law, including their absolute obligation to refrain from attacks against medical facilities and personnel, Pinheiro added.

Most alarmingly, the Commission has received multiple reports  which it is now investigating  that bombs allegedly containing weaponised chlorine have been used in the town of Saraqeb in Idlib and in Douma in eastern Ghouta.

Mounting attacks in Idlib come at a time when the escalation of violence in eastern Ghouta has also magnified the longstanding humanitarian crisis in that besieged pocket on the north-eastern outskirts of Damascus.

Airstrikes and shelling of areas held by anti-government armed groups has compounded a three-year siege in which nearly 400,000 civilians  including children  have had little access to basic assistance, including food, medicines and life-saving health assistance.

What is happening in eastern Ghouta is not simply a humanitarian crisis because aid is denied, these sieges involve the international crimes of indiscriminate bombardment and deliberate starvation of the civilian population, stated Pinheiro.

Photo: UNICEF/Amer Al Shami
Image: Wallpaper

Singapore City, Feb 7 (IBNS): The Singapore government has urged all its citizens to avoid travelling to Maldives, as the latter is undergoing a state of emergency amid severe political crisis.

"In view of the unstable situation in the Maldives, Singaporeans are advised to defer all non-essential travel to the Maldives until the situation stabilises," Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

"Singapore has no diplomatic representation in the Maldives which constrains our ability to extend consular assistance in an emergency," the statement read.

However, for those Singaporeans who are already in Maldives, the government has urged them to avoid public gatherings and protests.

"You should avoid protest and large public gatherings. You should also purchase comprehensive travel insurance and be familiar with the terms and coverage," the advisory read.

Image: Wallpaper
"Prevent Unauthorized Transactions in your demat / trading account Update your Mobile Number/ email Id with your stock broker / Depository Participant. Receive information of your transactions directly from Exchanges on your mobile / email at the end of day and alerts on your registered mobile for all debits and other important transactions in your demat account directly from NSDL/ CDSL on the same day." - Issued in the interest of investors." | "KYC is one time exercise while dealing in securities markets - once KYC is done through a SEBI registered intermediary (broker, DP, Mutual Fund etc.), you need not undergo the same process again when you approach another intermediary." | "No need to issue cheques by investors while subscribing to IPO. Just write the bank account number and sign in the application form to authorise your bank to make payment in case of allotment. No worries for refund as the money remains in investor's account."

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Descendants of Chief Standing Bear move forward with $26 million project

Development includes a health clinic, offices and sweat lodgeBy Kevin Abourezk

The Ponca Tribes dreams of transforming a massive former call center in Omaha, Nebraska, into a health center, cultural space and offices took a giant step forward after city leaders unanimously approved a permit for the $26 million project.

The tribe now hopes to complete the $6 million purchase of the 11-acre site and 181,000-square-foot complex of three buildings by March.

At an Omaha City Council meeting on Tuesday, one neighbor appeared to oppose the project, expressing concerns about a sweat lodge planned to be built on the property. Herb Grothe, owner of Bellevue Cabinets, said he was concerned about the fire risk posed by a sweat lodge near his business.

He said his cabinet company produces a large amount of wood shavings that are extremely flammable and hes concerned an ember from the fire pit that would be constructed as part of the sweat lodge might reach his business.

Saw dust is just like dynamite. Its just like gasoline, he said. I dont want a fire next to a cabinet shop.

A component of the Ponca Tribe's $26 million project in Omaha, Nebraska, is a ceremonial building with a sweat lodge and fire pit. Image: DSGW Architects

Larry Wright Jr., the chairman of the Ponca Tribe , said the tribe plans to construct a 3,500-square-foot building housing a kitchen and restrooms next to the sweat lodge and fire pit that would provide a buffer to surrounding buildings.

In addition, the tribe has moved the site for the sweat lodge from the east side of the property to the west side in order to better accommodate nearby businesses, including the cabinet shop.

Danielle Dring, an attorney representing Bellevue Cabinets, said her clients would prefer to see the sweat lodge moved to the southeast corner of the property, considering winds in Nebraska tend to come from the northwest.

Omaha City Councilwoman Aimee Melton said moving the sweat lodge to the southeast corner of the property made sense and she asked Wright whether the tribe would consider that.

I just want to see it in the right place for all the neighbors and the Ponca Tribe itself, she said.

Wright said the southeast corner of the property wouldnt be suitable for the sweat lodge as it is much lower than other parts of the property and people would be able to look down into the sweat lodge grounds from nearby buildings. In addition, that corner is closer to heavily-traveled nearby streets than other sections of the property, he said.

The intent is to have as much privacy as possible, he said.

The Fred LeRoy Health and Wellness Center is located in an aging building in Omaha, Nebraska. The Ponca Tribe has outgrown the building and plans to open a new one at the former InfoGroup headquarters. Photo by Kevin Abourezk

Three other council members, Pete Festersen, Brinker Harding and Ben Gray, said they didnt expect the sweat lodge would pose a serious risk to nearby businesses and supported the significant financial investment by the tribe into the property, which has lain vacant for nearly 6 years.

Obviously, the services youre going to be providing are much needed, Harding said.

The council voted 7-0 on Tuesday to approve a special use permit for the project

The tribe plans to use the former InfoGroup site as the new location for its clinic, which now operates in an 18,000-square-foot building south of downtown Omaha.

The clinic provides medical, pharmaceutical, behavioral health, dental, community health and midwife services to its patients, who have come from 150 different tribes.

But the 63-year-old building is beginning to show its age and limitations for providing space to an ever expanding tribal health care operation, and tribal leaders began seeking a new home for the clinic more than 13 years ago.

Tribal leaders are hopeful a new funding opportunity will allow the tribally-operated clinic to begin receiving money from the Indian Health Service to operate the new clinic once its renovated and ready for use. The tribe recently was selected by IHS as a Joint Venture Construction Program recipient, and will be eligible to receive federal funding to cover up to 85 percent of the operating costs for the clinic for 20 years once its running.

The tribe plans to use traditional financing instruments, including bonds, loans and a capital campaign, to pay for the cost of buying the InfoGroup building and renovating it. The tribe also plans to pursue grants, but it is unlikely to find many that will cover the cost of brick and mortar, said Larry Voegele, CEO of the Fred LeRoy Health and Wellness Center

Revenue generated by the clinic from third-party sources, including private insurance, Medicare and Medicaid, also will help cover the costs of property acquisition and renovation, he said.

Wright said hes hopeful the new clinic will create more than 100 new health jobs as the tribe begins expanding the health programs it offers and creates new ones. The site also will provide space for community gatherings, a transportation center, tribal offices and the tribal court.

Our people are very excited about this project and what it means for our people, he said.

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Alaska Native artists are no longer allowed to sell certain goods on the popular website Etsy.com.

The site had allowed an exemption for Native-produced works of ivory, sealskin, sea otter and other animals. But the policy recently changed, The Associated Press reported.

"When they're telling me that they don't feel it's acceptable that I sell these things, I take it a little bit more personally," Inupiat artist Marcu Gho told the AP. His sea otter fur items were delisted on Tuesday, the AP said.

Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) is calling on Etsy to restore the exemption. He notes that Alaska Natives are legally entitled to sell goods made from animals that have been part of their subsistence and cultural lifestyles for thousands of years.

It looks like I will have to soon close my Etsy store. Below is an excerpt from an email they sent me, and in the same... Posted by Tuvraqtuq on Saturday, February 3, 2018

"Your companys actions  due to your well-meaning, but frankly misguided policies and terms of service  are having unintended consequences that are harming Alaska Natives and their communities in my state, Sullivan wrote in a letter to the site.

Additionally, Sullivan has introduced S.1965 , the Allowing Alaska IVORY Act. The bill prevents states from trying to restrict the sale of Native goods that are already permissible under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Etsy.com has faced criticism in the past for its treatment of American Indian and Alaska Native artisans and entrepreneurs. The site has adopted a policy that explains the Indian Arts and Crafts Act , which bars people from marking their goods as "Indian" or "Native" unless they are authentic.

But there appears to be little enforcement by the site. "Authentic" items are frequently lumped in with Native "inspired" products

Jessica Metcalfe , an expert on Native clothing and fashion, has repeatedly pointed out the site's shortcomings on the Beyond Buckskin blog

Read More on the Story: Etsy.com stops letting Alaska Native artists sell ivory work (The Associated Press February 6, 2018)

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In India, the education system is one wrought with strife for students, parents, and even teachers at times. While we have seen instances of school murders, we are also privy to the incidents of teachers harassing students inside classrooms; Classrooms that are supposed to be safe havens for children eager to earn their future.

Therefore, it's time for an overhaul of the system. Because without it, such instances will become more rampant.

The most recent incident that has come to light involves an Ethics professor at an Engineering College in Bengaluru who reportedly lost his marbles and took his anger out on a student.

youtube/PESIT BSC

Also read: This Teacher Thinks If A Girl Wears Lipstick, Short Dress, She Is Asking For Rape Like Nirbhaya

Originally posted on a Reddit thread, the video is allegedly from Peoples Education Society Institute of Technology (PESIT). While the reason remains unclear as to why the teacher lost his cool, it is claimed that he lashed out after two students created disturbance in his class.

The scuffle turned ugly when the professor humiliated his pupils in front of the class and smashed one of the student's new phone. This, even after the student pleaded and apologised for his alleged misbehaviour.

Also read: Fellow Students Slap Girl 168 Times On Teacher's Instructions As A 'Friendly Punishment' In MP

People came out in full support of the students and shared the following opinions,

While one said, "I'm not a student in that college; a friend told me about this. Although I hope the lecturer gets pasted for this", another added, "Hope the student has lodged an FIR. A teacher can tell the student to leave the class, he has no right to vandalise personal properties."

It's appalling the way teachers behave in schools and colleges these days. Teachers like this professor are a disgrace to the respected system. If this incident is proven legit and the professor guilty, he should be punished for his misbehaviour.
India today successfully test-fired its indigenously developed nuclear capable Prithvi-II missile as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range in Odisha, told the defence sources.

The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350 km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from launch complex-3 of the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur near here at around 11.35 am, they said.

Describing the trial as a complete success, they said all mission objectives were met during the test launch.

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The perfect test launch came after successful trial of Agni-5 on January 18 and Agni-1 missile conducted from Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast yesterday.

Prithvi-II is capable of carrying 500-1,000 kilogram of warheads and is thrusted by liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring trajectory to hit its target, they said.

The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activities were carried out by the specially formed Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the Army and monitored by the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of training exercise, they said.

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"The missile trajectory was tracked by radars, electro- optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha," the sources said.

The downrange teams onboard the ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashdown.

In salvo mode, on November 21, 2016, two missiles were successfully test fired in quick succession from the same base and the last trial was successful on June 2, 2017 from the same base.

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Inducted into the Armed forces of the country in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi-II is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP), sources said.
In a relief for Indian techies, US authorities have said that the Trump administration is not considering any proposal that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the country. The announcement by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) came days after reports emerged that the Trump administration was considering tightening H-1B visa rules that could lead to deportation of 7,50,000 Indians.

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The USCIS "is not considering a regulatory change that would force H-1B visa holders to leave the United States by changing interpretation of section certain language in Section 104 C of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act (AC21) statute that states that USCIS may grant the extensions," an official said. This provides for H-1B extensions beyond the 6 year limit.

ALSO READ: Thousands Of Indian Techies Could Return Home As US May Not Extend Their H-1B Visas

"Even if it were, such a change would not likely result in these H-1B visa holders having to leave the United States because employers could request extensions in one-year increments under section 106(a)-(b) of AC21 instead," Jonathan

ALSO READ: Bad News For Indian Techies, Experts Predict A Bleak Future For Outsourcing Giants, More Job Cuts

Withington, Chief of Media Relations at the USCIS, said in a statement.

bccl/representational image

"The agency is considering a number of policy and regulatory changes to carry out the President's Buy American, Hire American Executive Order, including a thorough review of employment based visa programmes," Withington said.

ALSO READ: While H1B Visa Struggles Continue, US All Set To Implement A New 'Start-Up' Visa

The statement comes after last week's news report by US-based news agency McClatchy DC Bureau according to which the US was considering new regulations to prevent the extension of H-1B visas, the most sought after by Indian IT professionals.

ALSO READ: After US, Canada And Australia Too Make It Difficult For Indian Techies To Get Jobs There

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The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), a trade association of Indian information technology, had warned that any disruptive move on the visa front would be detrimental for both India and the US.

ALSO READ: Trump Takes War On H1B Visas Further, Makes Them More Difficult To Renew

The USCIS has a Congressional mandate to issue 65,000 H-1B visas in general category and another 20,000 for those applicants having higher education -- masters and above -- from US universities in the field of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

reuters/representational image

The H-1B programme offers temporary US visas that allow companies to hire highly skilled foreign professionals working in areas with shortages of qualified American workers.

Since taking office last January, the Trump administration has been talking about cracking down on the H-1B visa scheme.

ALSO READ: Sign Of Things To Come? IT Companies Should Stop Sending Indians On H-1B Visa, Start Hiring Americans: Narayana Murthy
For Madhya Pradesh's padwoman, Maya Vishwakarma, 36, life has come a full circle. It was a long journey for the girl hailing from Mehragaon, a dusty village in Narsinghpur district to go to California and become a scientist and later get back to her roots.

Once back, she decided to work for menstrual hygiene among poor women and started a mission to make available low-cost sanitary napkins them, earning her the tag of padwoman.

Though Akshay Kumar's latest Bollywood flick Padman have helped her come to limelight, Maya had started her mission much before the film was made on Coimbatore-based social entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganatham, popularly known as the padman of India.

facebook/Maya Vishwakarma

Inspired by Arunachalam, Maya, started working on her project in 2016 to make available low-cost sanitary pads to poor women.

She met Arunachalam in search of a cheap and efficient sanitary napkin producing low-cost machine and finally set up a unit in Narsinghpur district two months ago.

"This unit has been set up with an investment of Rs 5 lakh. I have employed 20 women to start with and increase the workforce to 80. We have a capacity to produce 2,000 sanitary pads every day but we are presently producing 1,000," she told TOI.

A self-made woman, Maya is one of the four siblings of a farmer's family. "My father was a small farmer, or rightly put my parents were agriculture labourers," she told TOI.

facebook/Maya Vishwakarma

After passing middle school from Mehragaon, she finished her schooling from different village schools and graduation from neighbouring Jabalpur district.

"Menstrual health discussion was a taboo during my college days," she said. Perhaps, it was her experience that prompted Maya to find an affordable and safe solution for the poor women during periods.

She said finances for the project was raised through her personal savings, friends working abroad and by India chapter of the Sukarma Foundation founded by her and crowd funding," she said.

facebook/Maya Vishwakarma

Maya said that she will soon launch a yatra in all the tribal villages of Madhya Pradesh to launch a campaign for safe menstrual hygiene.

"I have already started meeting tribals in Narsinghpur district explaining them the importance of the hygiene ", she said.

After Anna Hazare's movement against corruption, Maya had formed the California unit of AAP. She also contested election from Hoshangabad on the party's ticket.

While contesting elections, she had told TOI, irrespective of the poll result outcome she would continue to work here. "This place needs me, I owe a lot to it."

Four years later, perhaps, her real work has started now.
CBDT chairman Sushil Chandra said that those who have earned from Bitcoin, would have to give tax. He further said that their source of income would also be asked and if they don't pay tax, action will be taken against them. Read More

Here's the top news of the day:

Woman Confined For 20 Long Years Is Finally Rescued In Goa

In a shocking incident, a 40-year-old woman illegally confined to a room by her mother and brother for about 20 years in Sanquelim village in North Goa was rescued on Tuesday by police and the District Legal Service Authority volunteers, official sources said. Read More

Indian Army Ready To Rescue Indian Citizens As Political Crisis Deepens In Maldives

Maldives is engulfed in a political crisis, after the President Abdulla Yameen defied a Supreme Court ruling to reinstall opposition MPs and release political prisoners. He instead declared a state of emergency, sent in troops to the Supreme Court and ordered the arrest of a predecessor. Read More

PM Modi's Wife Jashodaben Survives A Fatal Car Accident In Rajasthan

In an unfortunate event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wife Jashodaben had met with an accident in Rajasthan while she was travelling on Kota highway. According to PTI, she was injured and her relative was killed when their car rammed into a truck in Rajasthan's Chittorgarh. Read More

Teen Slaps 45-Year-Old Muslim Man 25 Times, Forces Him To Say Jai Shri Ram; Sparks Protests In Jaipur

In a recent incident, a video purportedly showing a teenager slapping a 45-year-old Muslim man and forcing him to say "Jai Shri Ram" in Sirohi district went viral, prompting a protest from the community. Read More

7-Year-Old Chinese Boy, Who Suffered From Autism, Earns $15,900 From Teaching Yoga To Over 100 Students

A seven-year-old Chinese boy who suffered from autism has emerged as the country's youngest yoga teacher, earning over $15,900 by teaching the ancient Indian practice to more than 100 students. Read More
Snehal Abhare, a 21-year-old pharmacy graduate from Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district, couldn't believe her luck when she secured a job within a year of completing the course, thanks to a job fair organised in her home district which turned out to be a huge success. Abhare, who graduated last year, got an appointment letter from a firm after attending the event organised by the Gadchiroli Police in collaboration with private agencies recently.

She would soon join the Nagpur-based firm as a pharmacist.

Abhare, who hails from Chamorshi tehsil of the east Maharashtra district, was not the only one whose dreams will become reality.

There are over 800 candidates, majority of them from disturbed areas of the district, who were selected by 18 MNCs and were given offer letters on spot, said Nasir Hashmi, coordinator for Community Information and Research Centre (CIRC) which organised the mega job fair last week jointly with the Gadchiroli Police and Pune-based job portal, 'Job Showcase'.

Youth of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra/Youtube

"While working in the tribal and Naxal-affected areas of Gadchiorli, I experienced that the youth here was adequately qualified but was not aware of job opportunities and how to approach for a job," Hashmi told PTI.

He said the youth in Gadchiroli only knew about jobs that are available in the police department. "In the past, I tried to convince some MNCs, but they were not ready to come to this side of the state due to the Naxal threat. "I tried to convince them that the youth here is the asset and if their knowledge is not utilised or channelised, they will be misused for sure," said Hashmi. He stressed that it was important to bring the youth to the mainstream and give them exposure.

Hashmi said he came into contact with social entrepreneur Ravi Ghate and Shriram Satpute of "Job Showcase" which provides both training and employment opportunities to local job seekers in rural and remote areas and they decided to organise the job fair in the Naxal-hit district.

"I then met Superintendent of Police, Gadchiroli, Abhinav Deshmukh, who ensured cooperation from the police department, and on January 5 the job fair was organised in the Gadchiroli city. Around 4500 youths from across the district attended it," Hashmi said, adding that this is the first time that such a job fair was organised with the help of police.

Abhare said it was for the first time that she attended a job fair and secured a job. "I belong to Naxal-hit area of Chamorshi and opportunities for the jobs are minimal there, but the job fair turned out to be a boon for me," she said.

The Gadchiroli Police, who played a key role in the first-ever-job fair, reached out to masses through police stations across the district.

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"In order to make the youth aware of this opportunity (job fair), we roped in our police stations and through them, a word about the job fair was circulated," the SP said.

Satpute, who was instrumental in bringing at least 18 companies to the job-fair, said that apart from engineering and pharmacy graduates, ITI diploma holders, class X and XII pass-outs, and even school dropouts participated in the event.

"While the minimum salary offered was Rs. 11,000, the maximum offer was Rs. 42,000," he said.

Over 800 candidates were given the spot offer letters, while more than 1500 job aspirants have been shortlisted for further rounds.
I dont know any Bohra woman who has not undergone it. Every Bohra woman in my family, those I know have all undergone it. -- Jumana, 26-years-old from a big city.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FMG/C)  also known as Khafd or Khatna is a fecund practice in the Muslim Dawoodi Bohra community. Adding despondency, there are no laws in India banning the distressing custom. Bohras are not the only community to practice FGM/C in India. FGM/C is also practiced in different parts of Kerala amongst different sects of Muslims and is referred to as female Sunnath Kalyanam in the state.

In Khafd, a part of womans clitoris is forcibly removed in the name of culture. Khafd, a pre-requisite to the Nikaah (traditional marriage ceremony), is generally known to be performed amongst Bohras at the age of seven years.

Contradicting governments admission to the Supreme Court that theres no data available on the existence of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in India, a new qualitative study shows that 75 per cent of women in Bohra community subjected their daughters to the practice. The study interviewed 94 women from the community.

The study titled The Clitoral Hood A Contested Site, was released on February 5 before International Day for Zero Tolerance for FGM.

There was this lady, she was a middle-aged woman. She was wearing a pink Ridah when it happened. I was made to sit on my great grandmothers bed. First, she cleaned the area with cotton but she was doing it so hard I felt that that was the Khatna itself. And I kept wondering when would it get over and I kept asking my mother is it over? Is it over? Mom said no she is only just cleaning it with a cotton swab. After that the cut happened. And it was the most painful thing I ever remember in my life. And then after that I dont know why but I felt like peeing. I remember this it was done with a blade. I would like to believe it was sterilized. I dont know whether it was or it wasnt. Then I was sitting on the toilet seat and it was burning and mummy had given me some ice to put. But I just could not pee. I dont know if it happened immediately or it happened a few hours later. But I know that it was very, very, very, painful. There was blood but not much of bleeding. It was like a wound on your genitals. Obviously, I am guessing that irreparable damage was not done because after two days it did become fine.  Jumana, 26-years-old

Forceps, Curved scissor, Scissor, Blade, Serrated Knife, Scalpel, Snap Blade are some of the instruments used during Khafd/Representational Image

As children and as mothers, women mostly undergo Khafd or genital mutilation over a weekend, allowing girls time to recover and rest after the procedure.

Read more: US Doctors Of Indian-Origin Fakhruddin Attar And Jumana Nagarwala, Indicted In Female Genital Mutilation Case

The fact that 97% of the women could recall in such vivid detail their Khafd experience and the pain associated with it, despite being cut between the ages of five to eight years old, indicates that the incident itself was consistently very significant in girls childhood. Other memories immediately following Khafd repeated by several women included bleeding, difficulty walking, burning during urination and feeling terrified to urinate.

Reasons for practising Khafd

The reasons for the practice of Khafd amongt Bohras echo many of the reasons behind FGM/C that are stated throughout the world. Amongst interviewees responses, Khafd as a religious ritual stood out as the most prominent, followed closely by Khafd to control women and girls sexual behavior, promote modesty, and prevent promiscuity.

Several respondents acknowledged the pressure from community members, including family, acquaintances and religious community, to ensure that girls are subjected to Khafd and lastly some believed Khafd is one of the many ways Bohras maintain their distinct identity from other Muslim groups in India.

What are female children told about Khafd

In most cases, Khafd appears in the life of Bohra girl abruptly. Many respondents (when they were children) were not prepared for their Khafd with any relevant explanations prior to the procedure. Instead, the trip to the traditional circumciser was introduced as a trip to purchase sweets, as a day out with grandma, as an outing to a party or to resolve a medical issue. These excuses were explained to ensure that children do not put up resistance.

Many respondents remember the exact reason given to them while they were taken to Khafd.

My mother told me that we were going to get a small pocket stitched in my underwear. She added that I would then be able to hide anything I wanted in my underwear.

They told me that they wanted to take us somewhere to remove a worm.

My grandmother told me there would be a gathering.

Words used by women to describe what they felt during Khafd

Nose prick, Pinch, Injection, Prick of a needle, Nick, Strongly pinched, Ant bite, Injection, Piercing pain, The way the upper skin is peeled off and it causes pain.

While study participants might not have clearly remembered their exact age or the exact procedure, which they were subjected to, almost all remembered who took them for it.

Nose prick, Pinch, Injection, Prick of a needle, Nick, Strongly pinched, Ant bite, Injection, Piercing pain are words used by women to explain what they felt during Khafd/Representational Image

The study outlines that women accompany and undertake the logistics of organising the Khafd of their daughters or granddaughters.

Several mothers who had decided or were forced to decide to cut their daughters did mention they could not bear to see their daughters go through the pain of the procedure and therefore did not accompany them or left the room during the procedure, reads the report.

Materials used after Khafd as recalled by women

Talcum powder, Ash, Turmeric, Dettol, White antiseptic powder, Soframycin, Boric powder, Ether/Spirit, Tincher Benzoine, Pain killers, Black Ointment, Red Ointment, Cotton, Diaper cloth

Instruments used during Khafd as recalled by women

Forceps, Curved scissor, Scissor, Blade, Serrated Knife, Scalpel, Snap Blade

I dont remember what device it was  a blade or a knife or something. She brought whatever it was and I was cut and of course I was in a lot of pain. She cut my skin and she showed it to me, after cutting a bit of my flesh. Having told me, this is the manifestation of the devil and we have got that out. She said Shehthaan che. Tamara mathi kaado che. - Insiya, 26-year-old

The role of men

When participants were generally asked if they thought men had a role to play in Khafd, many respondents said No, men dont have a role to play. However, further examination revealed that men do have a role to play, but at a personal level. At the minimum, they are informed prior to the procedure in many families. In a few instances, participants reported that their fathers/ brothers transported them to the place where FGM/C was performed, or gave the mother money for the procedure.

The study indicates that with the generation change, as increasing numbers of younger men are playing a more active role in their daughters Khafd. Their active participation in the decision-making is a recent trend as older men were not so involved.

Sometimes we learn things when it comes into your life. So, when my daughter was around 7 years old no, in fact when my daughter was born I learnt that just like male circumcision there is something called female Khatna that is known as Khafd. That was the general discussion between me and my wife, thats all. - Hussain, 41-year-old Bohra man

Read more: Brutality Can Never Be Gods Will, Women Of Mumbai's Bohra Community Say 'NO To The Painful Female Genital Mutilation

This change could be because younger educated men play a more active role in child rearing and care giving today. It may also be because of their awareness of the health risks of FGM/C and lastly it coincides with shifting dynamics in communication between couples, where women feel the need for involvement of the male partner in girls Khafd.

Men informed about Khafd but passive

I encountered the issue of Khatna for the first time when my sister had to undergo the procedure. I was very young at that time and I never had the courage to actually ask any details to my mother or grandmother about it. - Moiz, 34-year-old Bohra man

When my daughters became of that age where they were taken for their Khatna, I came to know of it soon after it was done but even then, I could not clearly take a stand that it should not be done. - Shoheb, 55-year-old Bohra man

Men are informed about their daughters Khatna and do not oppose it since it is compulsory in our community. - Masooma, 19-year-old young girl

I took his (my husbands) permission. They are his daughters so I took his permission. - Farzana, 33-year-old

Euphemisms

They call it Naak Vindavanu (Nose piercing) for some reason. So I thought they were actually going to pierce my nose.

I was told that, we will have to go to Bhindi bazaar, to some aunts house Chakli udavwa to set a sparrow free.

When asked why mothers had hesitated to tell their daughters the truth, several women said they knew their daughters would resist or refuse to go for the procedure.

The narratives of Bohra women in this study leaves absolutely no doubt about the experience of FGM/C. Bohra women deal with a traumatic childhood  being taken for Khafd by a trusted family member, feeling physical pain and discomfort, and emotions of bewilderment during the seventh year or eighth year of their life.

Type of FGM/C practiced by Bohras

The World Health Organisation (WHO) classifies FGM/C into 4 Types20. Type 1 is the partial or total removal of the clitoris and/or clitoral hood/prepuce (Clitoridectomy), Type 2 or Excision is the partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia minora, with or without the labia majora, Type 3 or Infibulation is the removal of the labia minora, labia majora and sewing of the vaginal opening with or without removal of the clitoris, Type 4 includes all other medically unnecessary procedures like nicking, pricking, piercing and cauterization of the female genitalia. Of relevance to this discussion on FGM/C amongst Bohras are the WHOs Type 1 and Type 4 FGM/C classifications.

Taking into account, the narratives from the community, there is no consistency or uniformity in the practice of girls Khafd in India.

Accounts indicate that Types 1a, 1b, and Type 4 FGM/C are practiced by Bohras in India. The procedures include cutting of the clitoral hood and/or part or all of the clitoris and nicking of the clitoral hood although there is no clear medical definition of what a nick entails.

Representational Image

My mum took me out, under the pretext that we are going to hang out. I just remember that I ended up at a clinic and she introduced me to this doctor. The doctor (OB-GYN) was really nice and they both didnt tell me anything about what was going to happen. Maybe it was a fear that I might cry or some such. I was just asked to remove my undergarment. My mum was there with me always and was holding my hand and all. For a little child, you have only been naked in front of your parents and so it felt a bit weird. And though there was nothing wrong with me, yet I was taken to a clinic. So, there was this anxious build up. The doctor was good, she asked me to remain still. Next thing, I just felt some piercing pain. If I were to rate it on a scale of 1 to 10, the intensity of this pain was up to 50. I will never forget this at all. I cried a lot and kept crying. I was wondering if I had done something wrong and why was I being punished? My mum was holding my lower part. - Alifiya, 29-year-old

Long-term physical, psychological and sexual impact

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) are listed as one of the long-term health risks of FGM/C by the WHO. Some of the recurring issues as reported by the study participants related to sexual health include low sex drive and disinterest in initiating sex. Delayed arousal, problems trusting the partner and difficulty reaching an orgasm were also constantly reported. Other issues included dryness, lack of lubrication, pain during sex and difficulty masturbating. For many women, this was the first time that they verbalized their fears of sexual intercourse or their negative experience of sexual activity.

A few women even reported thoughts of Khafd during sexual intercourse.

Citing polarisation of the world, the study indicates that peoples views on FGM/C in India are also becoming polarised. On one hand is the rise of religious orthodoxy and on other hand, is the slow abandonment of the practice.

The last five years have seen a dramatic break in silence and increase in public debates on FGM/C amongst Bohras. The two international legal cases in Australia in 2012 and USA in 2017 have brought the issue of FGM/C amongst Bohras into the limelight.

Khafd or FGM/C as currently practiced by Bohras in India violates numerous rights enshrined in the Indian constitution.

Khafd violates the following human rights of women and girls:

- Right to be free from all forms of discrimination

- Right to life and physical integrity

- Right to be free from violence

- Right to health

- Right to be free from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment

While the government has a very clear stand on ending the Triple Talaq practice, it is important that it must tread female genital mutilation.

Khafd or FGM/C constitutes violence against women and is a form of gender-based discrimination. It is high time that Indian government must pass s an anti-FGM/C law banning the practice in India. Learning from the experiences of anti-FGM/C activism around the world, this practice will never be abandoned without mass mobilization and awareness-raising within communities. Educating parents about the harms of Khafd is key to ending this harmful traditional practice which resides in the core of patriarchy.
B-52, a US Air Force bomber has made a record by dropping at least 24 precision-guided munitions on Taliban positions during 96 hours of air operations, authorities said.

The 24 precision-guided munitions dropped by the B-52 Stratofortress were the most ever dropped by one of the Air Force's oldest active aircraft "to destroy insurgent revenue sources, training facilities, and support networks", the US Forces Afghanistan said in a statement on Tuesday.

USAF/AP

Weighing 185,000 pounds, the B-52 first entered service in the 1950s during the height of the Cold War -- originally designed to serve as long-range, high-altitude intercontinental nuclear bombers that could strike deep into the Soviet Union, reports CNN.

The newest B-52 entered service in 1962, and the 159-foot plane became a Cold War icon and each aircraft can carry up to 70,000 pounds of bombs, mines and missiles.

The strikes come after the Taliban launched a series of attacks in Kabul last week, killing over 100 people, CNN reported. In one of those incidents, an ambulance packed with explosives detonated in a crowded street outside a hospital.

More than 200 people were left injured, including 30 police officers. In addition to Taliban fighting positions, the strikes targeted training facilities in Badakhshan province and "stolen Afghan National Army vehicles that were in the process of being converted to vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices", according to US Forces Afghanistan.

"The Taliban have nowhere to hide," said Gen. John Nicholson, commander of US Forces Afghanistan. "There will be no safe haven for any terrorist group bent on bringing harm and destruction to this country."

US forces continue to carry out strikes on Taliban support networks in Helmand province and target sources of revenue such as illegal narcotics, the service said, adding that strikes and raids in the region have destroyed more than $30 million of Taliban revenue since the campaign began in November 2017.
China has announced that it has successfully carried out a mid-course ground-based missile interception test within its own territory, on a day when India test fired its short-range nuclear-capable Agni-1 ballistic missile.

The test of interception technology was conducted yesterday within China's territory and achieved the "preset goal", China's Ministry of National Defence said.

The test is defensive and does not target any country, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

XHNews/Twitter

A ground-based interceptor missile was used to knock out a ballistic missile during the "mid-course" of its flight outside the earth's atmosphere, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported. The test was in a location in China, but no other details were given.

The test comes amid months of international tension over North Korea's nuclear weapons and missiles programme and Beijing's firm opposition to the deployment of US interceptor missiles, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence or THAAD in South Korea to ward off ward off any missile attacks from North Korea.

China apprehends that the powerful radars of the THAAD missiles can monitor the movement of its missiles in the country.

Beijing has also rapidly expanded its military presence on man-made islands in the South China Sea, which it claims in its entirety, despite countering claims from other nations.

AP/Representational Image

It has also repeatedly sent coast guard vessels into waters controlled by Japan around uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that China claims as its own.

China first tested a ground-based mid-course missile interception in 2010. A second test was conducted in 2013.

China says such technology is needed for its own national defence and security.

Interestingly, the announcement by China comes on a day when India successfully test-fired its short-range nuclear-capable ballistic missile Agni-1 with a strike range of over 700 km from a test range off the Odisha coast.

Weighing around 12 tonnes, the 15-metre-long Agni-1 can carry payloads up to 1,000 kg and is capable of hitting a target beyond 700 km.
Microsoft has been nipping at the top open source contributor position for years, but a new analysis by Adobe developer Fil Maj puts Microsoft into a whole other universe of contributions. Or, at least, of contributors.

Using the GitHub REST API to pull public profile information from all 2,060,011 GitHub users who were active in 2017 (active meaning ten or more commits to public projects), Maj was able to pull the total number of corporate contributors to GitHub, with results that might surprise you.

Getting at the GitHub truth around open source

Back in October 2017, Googler Felipe Hoffa tried to analyze GitHub PushEvents to understand which companies were most generously contributing to open source projects. By his estimation, Microsoft came out on top in terms of total contributors (about 1,300), compared to second-place Google (about 900 contributors), while Google topped the charts in terms of actual code pushed to repositories (about 1,100 compared to Microsofts roughly 825).

It was an excellent attempt, but some of the data didnt ring true. Why, for example, was Red Hat, a company completely committed to open source, so far behind Microsoft and Google? (Hoffa estimated 442 contributors and 338 repositories from Red Hat.) And though it served the Amazon is a poor open source steward tagline that Microsoft and Google prefer, was it possible that Amazons open source contributions were really as anemic as Hoffas estimate portrayed (134 contributors and 158 repositories)?

Probably not.

In fact, using Majs data, definitely not. Maj, unlike Hoffa, analyzed profile information (specifically, the company field) for GitHubs 2-million-strong developer community. Although its not a perfect measure (and no attempt has yet been made to gauge the total number of repositories to which these GitHub contributors push code), it yields a much richer, more accurate data set for figuring out total contributors for any company.

Here, then, is the revised ranking of GitHub contributors, with their total number of employees actively contributing to open source projects on GitHub:

Rank Company Employees Contributing 1 Microsoft 4,550 2 Google 2,267 3 Red Hat 2,027 4 IBM 1,813 5 Intel 1,314 6 Amazon.com 881 7 SAP 747 8 ThoughtWorks 739 9 Alibaba 694 10 GitHub 676 11 Facebook 619 12 Tencent 605 13 Pivotal 591 14 EPAM Systems 585 15 Baidu 584 16 Mozilla 469 17 Oracle 455 18 Unity Technologies 414 19 Uber 388 20 Yandex 351 21 Shopify 345 22 LinkedIn 343 23 Suse 325 24 ESRI 324 25 Apple 292 26 Salesforce.com 291 27 VMware 271 28 Adobe Systems 270 29 Andela 259 30 Cisco Systems 233

Its possible that, for example, Google employees neglect to add their company to their profile field, while Microsoft employees may be especially scrupulous to do so.

Even with that caveat in mind, we end up with a far bigger population of corporate contributors than Hoffas data set includes. (Also of note: neither data set comes up with the 16,000-plus Microsoft contributors that GitHub itself published back in 2016. GitHubs methodology, however, remains opaque and wasnt repeated in 2017.)

Microsoft and developers! developers! developers!

Which leaves us with Microsoft having twice the number of contributors of its next nearest competitor, Google. For those of us that were around when Microsoft castigated open source as a cancer and anti-American, this is a remarkable change of heart (or, as Ive argued, a change of business model). Microsoft has long appreciated the value of developers, but Azure has given Microsoft license to embrace open source as a way to attract them to its platform.

Meanwhile, Amazon, so often snubbed as an open source neer-do-well, comes in at No. 6 in the rankings, with close to 900 contributors. Amazon has perhaps not worn open source on its sleeve in quite the same was as Google and Microsoft have, but it remains a strong contributor to the projects that feed its developer community.

And Red Hat? Well, Majs data finally puts the open source leader in the Top Three contributors, where it belongs. Even fully committed to open source, Red Hat has dramatically fewer engineers on its payroll than Google or Microsoft. As such, its doubly impressive that Red Hat would place so highly. The Red Hat data basically reveals what weve always assumed: Pretty much every engineer in the company works on open source projects.

Other takeaways? Chinese companies like Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba, which have long been perceived to be net consumers of open source, actually contribute quite a bit. Ditto Oracle, a company to which Im generally happy to hand out criticism, ranks very high amongst its legacy peers, largely due to its contributions to MySQL and Linux, though not exclusively so.

As for analyst Lawrence Hechts thoughtful question as to the right ratio of contributors-to-developers in large companies, based on how much these companies gain from their open source contributions, I think the right answer is more.
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Multi-peril crop insurer Latevo has forged a new partnership with Geosys  a global agriculture company that provides insurers with up to 30 years of archived data, maps, and real-time data  to offer Australian growers a new low-cost MPCI product this 2018 growing season.

The new offering, called the Latevo Crop Monitor, is a custom application which integrates Geosys' Croptical monitoring application with Latevo's proprietary algorithms to provide variability maps with weather data in one tool, and help cut the cost of MPCI by nearly 70% compared to historic models.

"The addition of the Latevo Crop Monitor to both our underwriting and client offering is a massive step forward in helping our farmers achieve their potential yields, said Latevo CEO Andrew Trotter . The ability of Geosys to custom configure its Croptical platform to meet our innovative insurance solution is an absolute credit. Latevo Crop Monitor brings transparency to a new level, which is a key part in building grower confidence in crop insurance here in Australia.

Related stories:
Auto insurer RAA has announced the grant applicants who have received funding, valued between $572 up to almost $9,000, to support their community-safety projects.

RAAs Regional Safety Grants program has again supported a diverse range of sporting clubs, schools, and community groups across the state from Port Lincoln to Compton, near Mt Gambier, said Shaun Ryan, RAA Insurance spokesman. The total grant pool of just over $50,000 has been distributed between 12 worthy projects around the state, which aim to improve the safety of rural South Australians.

The recipients of the RAA Regional Safety Grants 2017/18 include the Stirling North CFS brigade for its new training compound; Pine Point Progress Association for its bushfire-fighting trailer; Port Elliot Surf Life Saving Club for the purchase of a new trailer for its inflatable rescue boat; Wudinna & Districts Road Safety Committee for the purchase of a solar panel for its speed safety sign; and Kadina Memorial School to provide safety equipment and clothing for its primary-school crossing monitors.

Also getting a funding boost from RAA were:

Alford CFS for the purchase of a 22,500-litre rainwater tank to enable the drawing of water if the mains supply fails during an emergency

Brinkworth Primary School for the purchase of a 60m fire hose and stand pipe for CFS use during an emergency

Compton CFS for the purchase of a defibrillator and training of crew for use during emergencies

Goolwa SLSC for the purchase of warning siren, public address system and replacement of solar panels that power hand-held radios

Littlehampton CFS to acquire hands-free LED torches that attach to volunteers helmets and breathing apparatus and LED scene lighting for use during road-emergency rescues

Mount Pleasant CFS for the purchase of hydraulic metal cutters to rescue people trapped in damaged vehicles

Riding for the Disabled Association, Port Lincoln Centre, for the purchase of a sprinkler system for the facilities to create a safe zone during bushfires

Related stories:
An insurance agent based in San Diego, CA has pleaded guilty to defrauding his clients out of almost $1.5 million, pocketing the cash for himself.The agent, 43-year-old Shawn Heffernan, solicited investment funds and spent the cash he received on personal expenses such as jewelry, three rental properties, and even a Maserati.City News Service reported that Heffernan faces nine years in state prison when he is sentenced March 07 by Judge Howard Shore.Investigators said that Heffernans fraudulent activities had a pattern to them. As a licensed insurance agent, he would first sell annuity policies issued by legitimate insurance companies. But before the annuity policies expired, he would convince his clients to surrender the existing policies and purchase new ones.This exploit, called churning, lead to considerable amounts of commission for Heffernan while handing out substantial surrender penalties for clients, prosecutors explained.In one such case, investigators found over $490,000 in early surrender fees and $280,000 in additional commissions collected by Heffernan.Prosecutors also said that the defendant managed to convince his victims to cash out their annuity policies or invest additional funds into loosely defined investments directly with him. Heffernan offered scant details and next to no documentation to his victims, depositing the investment money directly into his own bank account.If a client asked him to withdraw money from their investment, Heffernan would withdraw money he solicited from later investors.
He started from the bottom and now hes making history.Sixty-three-year-old David Dybdahl was one of the few professionals who studied and mastered the craft of insurance in college  in fact, he finished his BBA with a degree in risk management insurance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While he says he was not the brightest student in college, Dybdahl has certainly made a significant mark in the industry, particularly in the environmental insurance segment.Dybdahl is the president of American Risk Management Resources Network (ARMR), a specialty insurance brokerage firm offering customized insurance products in the United States and Canada. Over the past three decades, he was able to work on the placement of thousands of environmental insurance policies both as the placing broker and as the global environmental practice leader.Dybdahl served the US Environmental Protection Agencys Contractor Indemnification Technical Review Panel in 1986, providing the panel with technical information on environmental insurance issues for the United States Department of Defense and Department of Energy.He also once took the helm of the Environmental Task Force of the National Association of Insurance Brokers and, in 1999, he founded the Society of Environmental Insurance Professionals, an organization advocating for the enhancement of environmental insurances utilization as a risk management tool.Insurance Business had a brief conversation with Dybdahl to get to know his insights about the industry. In this profile piece, he shares the most challenging issue facing the environmental insurance industry. He also outlines his hopes for the industry for the years to come.I am one of the rare people working in insurance who chose risk management and insurance as a major in college. I have both a bachelors and masters degree in insurance and risk management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I graduated bottom of my class, the other graduate in my class went on to become the acting Dean of the Business School at UW Madison. I chose insurance as a major because there are few business school students in that major. It made sense for me to go into a field where I would not have to compete with so many students that we were pulling the grading curve up.I work with environmental insurance products, by incorporating the cost of environmental risks into the costs of goods and services through insurance premiums. I believe I help make the world a better place.I have been fortunate to be able to work with some outstanding individuals in my career. I also have a fully supporting family that enabled me to travel for my job four days a week for decades. We all tend to work to the level of performance of the people we surround ourselves with. But I do believe the people most successful in the insurance business are completely self-motivated.The biggest problem with environmental insurance over the past 30 years is that the insurance distribution channel is not up to the task of engraining the product line in to the mainstream insurance programs. Without educated brokers explaining the gaps in insurance coverage created by pollution/mold/bacteria/category 3 water exclusions in property and liability insurance policies, the demand for insurance products is severely restrained. Today, less than 1% of commercial buildings are adequately insured for water intrusion events as a result.Meanwhile, the overall insurance business is facing a problem with a very large percentage of the workforce retiring in the next seven years  a lot of knowledge will walk out to the door in that time period. We find it takes us five years before a new employee is fully functional in their job as an environmental insurance broker. Recruiting of young folks 10 years ago was not sufficient; I suspect we are all in for a competency crunch in the insurance business in five years as a result. We recruit young folks in ARMR to avoid the crunch, with 45% of our employees under 30 years old.Stay solvent and innovate. Climate change will have a long term effect on the insurance business. Insurance is a pure money in - money out business model. More severe weather events leading to hotter hots, colder colds, wetter wets, and dryer drys will lead to many more insured losses in the upcoming decades. The demand for insurance should increase at twice the growth rate of the economy. As long as the money coming in to the insurance business at a time of increasing losses stays ahead of the money going out, this will be a very good business to be in for the next 100 years.Get into the insurance business, it is 7% of the economy, educated competition is light, the need for the product is expanding faster than the economy and a lot of the high paid workers are retiring at about the time you will be able to take over their roles. Get as much formal insurance education as you can.When I grow up I want to be a trout fishing guide in Montana.I am an avid outdoor sportsman.
A Miami businessman accused of massive fraud involving foreign investors money in a Vermont ski area has agreed to pay back more than $81 million and give up ownership of two ski resorts, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday.

The proposed settlement with Ariel Quiros must be approved by a court.

Quiros was accused of misusing more than $50 million from more than 700 foreign investors through a special visa program to buy a ski resort and to pay for personal expenses including two luxury condominiums in New York City, the SEC said. Companies he owned failed to contribute about $30 million in investor money toward construction of projects at Jay Peak resort, the SEC said.

The settlement includes a $1 million penalty.

Quiros and then-Jay Peak president William Stenger were accused in 2016 of misusing more than $200 million raised from foreign investors through the federal EB-5 visa program, which can lead to permanent U.S. residency for those who finance projects that create a certain number of jobs.

Quiros has agreed to give up ownership of the Jay Peak and Burke Mountain resorts and his stake in more than a dozen other properties, including the two condos.

Were very pleased to be another step closer to resolving all of the claims against Mr. Quiros, said Quiros attorney, Melissa Visconti.

Stenger, of Newport, Vt., has agreed to pay a $75,000 penalty. He was not alleged to have personally profited from the fraud, the SEC said.

Quiros and Stenger did not admit or deny the complaints allegations.

The SEC said it seeks to hold wrongdoers accountable and return as much money as possible to victims.

This settlement achieves both objectives by stripping Quiros of the proceeds of his fraudulent scheme and requiring him to turn over valuable property for the benefit of harmed investors, said Eric Bustillo, director of the SECs Miami regional office.

Quiros faces other claims from investors, Vermont and a federal receiver overseeing the ski resorts.

Gov. Phil Scott and state Attorney General T.J. Donovan thanked the SEC for its efforts in the case.

There are positive outcomes from the SEC settlement, including that it will provide federal receiver Michael Goldberg with legal title to the Jay Peak Resort, Burke Mountain Resort and various other real properties previously acquired by defendant Ariel Quiros, allegedly, with investor money, they said in a statement. Receiving legal title of the resort properties enables Mr. Goldberg to move forward with a sale to a permanent owner, which will be beneficial for the region.

But Scott, a Republican, and Donovan, a Democrat, said more must be done to seek justice for Vermont residents and the communities that have been harmed. They stressed that the state civil enforcement case continues against Quiros and Stenger.

Related:

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Fraud
A U.S. investigative agency said on Tuesday that two New York City area commuter train crashes were the result of engineers with undiagnosed sleep disorders.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) criticized the lack of safety systems in both crashes that could have prevented the incidents.

The board said two recent crashes had almost identical probable causes. A New Jersey Transit train crashed in a terminal in Hoboken, New Jersey, in September 2016, killing one person and injuring 110. In January, a Long Island Rail Road train crashed at the Atlantic Terminal in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, injuring 108 people.

Both engineers suffered from sleep apnea, which is characterized by shallow or interrupted breathing during sleep and can leave sufferers fatigued.

The trains were speeding and overran the tracks. The NTSB said New Jersey Transit failed to follow internal guidance and refer at-risk safety sensitive personnel for sleep disorder screening.

The Obama administration had been considering requiring truck drivers and railroad engineers to be screened for sleep apnea, but the Trump administration scrapped the effort in August. The NTSB said that decision jeopardizes public safety.

The NTSB has called for years for stricter screening of drivers and engineers for sleep apnea, citing numerous crashes blamed on the disorder.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the parent of LIRR, said the MTA has an established and aggressive sleep apnea screening and treatment program for all train and bus operators and locomotive engineers in line with the NTSBs recommendations and we are moving forward with this program, even in the absence of a federal mandate.

New Jersey Transit did not immediately comment.

In 2014, the NTSB said the driver of a train that derailed in New York City the previous year had an undiagnosed sleep disorder. Four passengers were killed in that accident.

The report also noted that all passenger railroads that operate terminals with terminating tracks, including New Jersey Transit and Long Island Rail Road, have asked to be excluded from installing positive train control, a system designed to prevent derailments or crashes caused by excessive speed, in those locations.

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has granted the requests, the report said.

The NTSB wants the FRA to require intercity passenger railroads to implement technology to stop a train before it reaches the end of the tracks and said that bumping posts in terminals are not adequate.

The FRA did not immediately comment Tuesday.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Alistair Bell)

Topics USA New York New Jersey
Aon Securities, the investment banking division of reinsurance intermediary and capital adviser Aon Benfield, has assisted the World Bank in structuring the largest-ever catastrophe bond covering earthquake, which provides the organization with US$1.36 billion of capital markets protection.

The bond mitigates balance sheet risk for the World Bank in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru by offering protection against earthquake risk on a parametric basis. Aon explained that the bonds parametric trigger is based on earthquake magnitudes provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.

It is the second largest catastrophe bond on record and represents the largest sovereign risk transfer in the history of the insurance-linked securities sector, said Aon Securities in a statement.

The issuance was made across five tranches of notes  one for each of Chile, Colombia and Peru, and two for Mexico. The issuance provides US$500 million in earthquake risk protection for Chile, US$400 million for Colombia, US$260 million for Mexico and US$200 million for Peru, Aon Securities said. (Within the Mexican coverage, there are two classes of notes with different risk profiles, but the total coverage would be equal to $260 million, a representative explained.)

Coverage is provided on a three-year basis for the Chile, Colombia and Peru notes, and on a two-year basis for the Mexico notes.

The transaction brings the total amount of risk transfer facilitated by the World Bank to US$3.6 billion, and is part of the organizations broader work to support Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru  all member countries of the Pacific Alliance  in managing risk from natural disasters.

This record-breaking issuance highlights the strategic partnership between nations seeking efficient sources of capital to fund emergency costs and investors seeking to invest in diversifying risks and support sustainable development initiatives, said Paul Schultz, CEO of Aon Securities. We are optimistic that this transaction will pave the way for other governments to develop more resilient risk management programs for their uninsured exposures.

Source: Aon Securities

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters USA Aon Earthquake Mexico
Supermarket group Tesco is facing a potential bill of up to 4 billion pounds ($5.6 billion) in a record equal pay claim involving mainly women workers at its British stores, according to the law firm pursuing the case.

If the claim is successful it could have huge implications for British industry. However, it is likely to be bogged down in the courts for years.

Tesco is Britains biggest retailer and its largest private sector employer with more than 310,000 staff.

Law firm Leigh Day said on Wednesday the mainly male employees in Tescos distribution centers were paid considerably more than its largely female store workers.

The law firm is also working on claims against supermarket rivals Asda, the British arm of Walmart, and Sainsburys , which date back to 2012 and 2015 respectively.

Unequal pay for men and women is currently a hot topic in Britains boardrooms and corridors of power. The resignation last month of Carrie Gracie as China Editor for the BBC led to an investigation into pay differences at the public broadcaster.

British Business Secretary Greg Clark told Sky News he was surprised by the scale of the claim against Tesco.

A Tesco spokesman said the firm had not yet received a claim.

Tesco has always been a place for people to get on in their career, regardless of their gender, background or education, and we work hard to make sure all our colleagues are paid fairly and equally for the jobs they do, he said.

Tesco shares fell as much as 3 percent, but had recovered to trade up 0.6 percent at 1350 GMT.

No Win, No Fee

Leigh Day operates on a no win, no fee basis and takes 25 percent of any compensation obtained by its clients.

The law firm said Tesco distribution center staff may earn in excess of 11 pounds an hour, while the most common grade for store staff saw them receive around 8 pounds per hour.

This disparity could see a full time distribution worker on the same hours earning over 100 pounds a week  or 5,000 pounds a year  more than store staff.

Leigh Day said more than 200,000 Tesco employees may be underpaid and estimated shortfalls could reach 20,000 pounds each, meaning the potential bill for Tesco could be as high as 4 billion pounds.

The law firm said it had already started submitting claims on behalf of its clients through conciliation service ACAS, the first stage in the Employment Tribunal process, and had been approached by over 1,000 current and former Tesco employees.

Slow Progress

Crowley Woodford, employment partner at law firm Ashurst, said if the Tesco employees claim was successful all major retailers, and indeed businesses more generally, could be exposed to a tidal wave of equal pay litigation.

In 2012, Birmingham city council agreed to pay about a billion pounds to settle the claims of tens of thousands of women workers.

However, the progress of private sector claims is slow.

Last August, Britains Employment Appeal Tribunal backed an October 2016 ruling that Asda workers in shop floor roles could compare their jobs with those done for higher wages in warehouses.

Asda is taking the case to the court of appeal in October. It argues the demands of jobs in stores and depots are very different and it pays market rates.

A spokesman said that while Asda was pursuing the appeal the case continued through the Employment Tribunal.

In the next stage [it] will decide whether the jobs of the store colleagues and the warehouse colleagues are of equal value. Because multiple jobs are being compared this will be a complicated exercise, he said.

($1 = 0.7147 pounds) (Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Mark Potter)

Topics Trends Claims Uk
Swiss Re said it is in preliminary talks to sell a minority stake to SoftBank Group  a deal that reportedly could be worth $10 billion or more, in what would be the Japanese firms biggest financial services deal to date.

The potential sale of up to one third of the Swiss reinsurer at a premium as reported by the Wall Street Journal would also mark the broadening of already sky-high ambitions that have already seen it raise $93 billion to form its Vision Fund for technology investments.

Swiss Re informs that it is engaged in preliminary discussions with SoftBank Group Corp regarding a potential minority investment in Swiss Re, the worlds second largest reinsurer said.

A SoftBank spokesman declined to comment.

The Japanese company plans to offer Swiss Res insurance products directly to users of other companies it has invested in, such as Uber and WeWork, the Wall Street Journal report said, citing people familiar with the matter.

SoftBank could also be aiming to secure another source of cash flow to fund further spending. Float  the amount of insurance premiums collected before claims are paid  can be used as cheap funding by insurers, making them attractive to investors.

The news follows SoftBanks announcement on Wednesday that it was preparing to list its domestic telecoms unit, raising further funds that could be used to shore up its finances or make more investments. Local media have estimated the proceeds at $18 billion.

Swiss Res shares last traded at 90.18 Swiss francs, giving it a market capitalisation of 31.51 billion francs ($34 billion). Its largest shareholder is BlackRock Institutional Trust Co. with a 5.02 percent stake, according to Thomson Reuters data.

SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son has said he wants to build a group of industry-leading companies that, powered by technological advancements in artificial intelligence and interconnected devices, will endure for 300 years.

Through its investment arm centered on the Vision Fund, the worlds largest private equity fund, SoftBank has already funneled $27.5 billion into tech firms around the world. That could bring a huge number of potential insurance customers  from ride-share drivers to dog walking app users  into what Son calls his synergy group of companies.

The purchase of a stake in Swiss Re would be the latest in a constant stream of investments that have made valuing SoftBank difficult and left a conglomerate discount weighing on its share price.

SoftBank Groups market capitalisation currently stands at around $90 billion. By contrast, its near 30 percent stake in Alibaba is worth around $130 billion.

It would also come at a time when the reinsurance industry has been hit by rock bottom interest rates that have dampened investment returns with falling industry prices putting pressure on margins.

Swiss Res nine-month earnings implied a loss of around $1.7 billion from July through September, hit by claims from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria in the United States and from two earthquakes in Mexico. But it said expected a rise in insurance premiums, especially in disaster-hit areas, would help it recover.

SoftBank has made other investments the insurance industry, and has stakes in Chinese online insurer ZhongAn, health insurance claim processing service Ping An HealthKonnect set up by Ping An Insurance Group, and U.S. insurance startup Lemonade.

The Japanese firms interest-bearing debt at the end of December was 15.8 trillion yen ($144.5 billion), with Son saying on Wednesday he wants to keep debt levels below 3.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, debt and amortization. That ratio stands at 2.8 times currently.

SoftBank shares climbed 1 percent on Thursday, in line with the broader market.

($1 = 0.9443 Swiss francs) ($1 = 109.3500 yen)

(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich, Sam Nussey in Tokyo; Additional reporting by Pallavi Dewan; Editing by Richard Pullin and Edwina Gibbs)

Topics Mergers Swiss Re
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Sioux Falls, South Dakota-based Williams Insurance Agency Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1967, Williams Insurance Agency offers a full range of property/casualty, life, health and voluntary benefits coverages to businesses and individuals primarily across South Dakota.

Greg Heineman, Timothy Donohue, Dwight Vondra and their associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Patrick M. Gallagher, head of Gallaghers Midwest retail property/casualty brokerage operations, and Jerry Roberts, head of Gallaghers Heartland region employee benefits consulting and brokerage operations.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.

Source: Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Topics Mergers A.J. Gallagher South Dakota
U.S. regulators may ask Congress to pass legislation to improve oversight of virtual currencies like bitcoin amid concerns about the risks posed by the emerging asset class, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday.

The comments by SEC Chairman Jay Clayton before the Senate Banking Committee are the strongest indication yet that federal authorities are mulling new laws to scrutinize virtual currency trading and investing.

Clayton, who testified alongside Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), said the agencies were coordinating with the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve on the matter, but added that lawmakers may have to clarify and enhance regulatory powers.

We may be back with our friends from Treasury and the Fed to ask for additional legislation, Clayton said when asked whether Congress needed to act on virtual currencies.

The hearing followed a rout in the price of bitcoin, which has lost about half its value since the start of the year on concerns ranging from a global regulatory clampdown to a ban by some banks on using credit cards to buy bitcoin.

Senator Mike Crapo, the Republican chairman of the panel, and Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown were among the lawmakers to express worries about volatility, investor protections and the risks posed by cyber criminals in the virtual currency market.

Between the enforcement actions brought by your agencies, the hack of the international Coincheck exchangethere is no shortage of examples that increase investor concerns, Crapo said, referring to hackers recent theft of $530 million from Japanese bitcoin exchange Coincheck.

Both Clayton and Giancarlo used the hearing to showcase the efforts their agencies have made to police the market and to highlight limitations in the current U.S. regulatory structure, whereby virtual currencies fall into a gray area between the SEC, CFTC, Treasury, the Fed and state regulators.

Federal legislation could help rationalize this patchwork and clarify which agency has the authority to police the underlying virtual currency cash market, the regulators said.

Giancarlo and Clayton warned, however, that while they had limited authority to write virtual currency rules, they would use their enforcement powers aggressively to protect investors from fraudsters.

Clayton repeated his position that public offerings comprising digital tokens, known as initial coin offerings (ICOs), are securities and subject to the same investor protection rules as equity market offerings.

The SEC will go after lawyers and firms that try to circumvent those rules, he said, although he did not clarify if the SEC would pursue ICOs that have already happened.

The CFTC is also working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on money laundering and terrorist financing issues, Giancarlo said.

As word is getting out that we will go after misconduct I think youre starting to see that reflected in the price of bitcoin, he added.

FUNDING ISSUES

The regulatory chiefs questioned how their respective agencies would fund increased scrutiny of the rapidly growing virtual currency market, with Clayton saying he needed more people to staff the trading and markets division.

Personnel is my biggest challenge at the moment, he added.

Committee members, however, did not appear to stake out a clear position on whether to pass virtual currency legislation.

Crapo noted that the underlying distributed ledger technology offered present significant positive potential to increase investor access to financial markets.

Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, a consumer advocate, also used the hearing as an opportunity to grill Clayton on other issues. These included reports the SEC is mulling rule changes that would block investors from being able to band together to sue companies, an idea Clayton said he personally is not anxious to pursue.

On the Luxembourg-based Bitstamp exchange, bitcoin hit $5,920 on Tuesday, its lowest since mid-November, before recovering to above $8,000. It hit a high of $8,150 and was last at $7,922.79 in late trading in New York, up nearly 15 percent on the day.

(Reporting by Michelle Price, Pete Schroeder and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss; Editing by Paul Simao and Bernadette Baum)

Topics USA Cyber Legislation
XL Catlin has enhanced its online P&B aviation insurance platform, VB Bind Speed, with added, instant servicing options for brokers.

According to Eric Donofrio, North America regional manager of XL Catlins aviation insurance business, the enhancements, give brokers instant online access to certificates, endorsements and routine servicing features.

VB Bind Speeds new Service Policy capabilities provide brokers with a number of instant policy servicing options including:

Instant generation of a broad variety of insurance certificates and associated endorsements;

Easy access to make routine changes to policy, including the addition and deletion of pilots/aircrafts and issue required updated endorsements

The ability to call up a snapshot of relevant policyholder information, including full data on aircraft, pilots, limits and a complete repository of all policy documents.

Streamlined cancellation and renewal processing

XL Catlins VB Bind Speed aviation insurance platform provides aviation brokers online access to P&B aircraft insurance quotes, and then binds coverage for instant delivery of policies to eligible accounts. The systems features include auto-generation of quotes, invoices and full policy documents upon binding in PDF format.

The platform is accessed through AeroQuote or directly from XL Catlins broker portal.

With underwriters and dedicated aviation claims specialists based in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Toronto and Calgary, XL Catlins North America aviation team offers a suite of aviation insurance coverages for traditional and specialized companies, including major and regional airlines and corporate fleets, through to component manufacturers and fixed-base airport operators.

Topics Agencies Aviation AXA XL
Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said Tuesday hes resigning his lucrative position as the head of the Washington-based Financial Services Roundtable as he contemplates running for his old job.

Pawlenty, 57, has frequently been mentioned as a possible Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota, a job he held in his native state from January 2003 through January 2011.

His work for a group that lobbies for U.S. banks and insurance, asset management and credit card companies already is drawing criticism from political opponents. Pawlenty was paid $2.6 million in 2015, according to the groups most recently available IRS filing.

The Financial Services Roundtable is one of the largest advocacy groups for the industry and includes major bank and insurance executives on its board. The group, whose members include leading banks such as JPMorgan Chase & Co., Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp., strongly backed the tax overhaul signed into law in December as well as Republican efforts to dial back Wall Street regulation.

The Democratic Governors Association was quick to attack Pawlentys Wall Street ties. Tim Pawlenty left Minnesota for the swamps of D.C. to make millions of dollars while serving as Wall Streets chief lobbyist, Jared Leopold, a spokesman for the group, said in a statement. Tim Pawlenty is wildly out-of-touch with the issues facing Minnesota residents.

Pawlenty, who supported Florida Senator Marco Rubio in the 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign, joined FSR in 2012.

FSR is now poised to provide even more focused and effective service for our members going forward, Pawlenty said in a statement issued by the group. Over the past 5 years, I have enjoyed leading FSRs efforts to improve cybersecurity, retirement savings, consumer-friendly financial service technology, and financial literacy.

Wide-Open Race

A Republican hasnt won a statewide election in Minnesota since Pawlenty did so in 2006. The Democratic-leaning state is expecting a wide-open race ahead of Novembers election to replace retiring Governor Mark Dayton, a Democrat.

Pawlenty probably would be a strong fundraiser, as a former governor, one-time presidential candidate and Wall Street lobbyist. He plans to meet Feb. 12 with friends and political advisers to discuss the governors race, according to the Associated Press.

Pawlenty is considering running for governor and will be talking with Minnesotans over the coming weeks to assess support and gather advice, Brian McClung, a longtime political adviser to Pawlenty, said in a statement.

In 2012, Pawlenty was considered by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney as a possible running mate. His own bid for the partys nomination that election cycle ended in August 2011 following a third-place finish in the Iowa Straw Poll.

Adam Rice, a spokesman for the FSR, didnt immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the search for Pawlentys replacement. Pawlenty will conclude his time there in March, the group said in its statement.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Legislation Minnesota
Although clear challenges can come with the increasing cost and frequency of global natural disasters, there could also be untapped opportunity for insurers to tackle coverage gaps, according to panelists at the Insurance Information Institutes 2018 P/C Joint Industry Forum, held January 16 at New York Citys Marriott Marquis.

One of the lessons coming out of 2017 is that theres still a tremendous amount of opportunity in the insurance industry, said Bill Churney, president of AIR Worldwide, during a panel discussion.

The cost of natural disasters has almost quadrupled over the last decade, with 2017 being the costliest year on record, according to research from the U.S. Department of Commerces National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Much of this increase has to do with changes in exposure and frequency and severity of events, said panelist Alex Kaplan, head of North America at Swiss Re Global Partnerships.

However grim it sounds, this increase in natural disaster cost could lead to untapped market share for the insurance industry, according to Kaplan, who presented research by Swiss Re during the panel discussion. Although 2017 preliminary numbers show there were approximately $300 billion in natural catastrophe losses across all perils, Kaplan added that only approximately $130 billion of that was insured.

The other $270 billion is on the back of taxpayers and not on the balance sheets of insurance companies, he said.

As an example, Churney pointed out that most of the risk seen in Hurricane Harvey was uninsured. Losses from Hurricane Harvey exceeded $125 billion, ranking second only to Hurricane Katrina  the costliest storm in the 38-year period of record, the NOAA reported.

One of the things that I think the industry will have to come to grips with is this whole idea of the one-in-100-year flood zone FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) map, Churney said. Its not a very good proxy for the risk, given that 40-50 percent of the loss in Harvey was outside of those areas. So, thats the opportunity thats out there. How does the industry insure the exposure there?

A tool that could assist the insurance industry in harnessing that opportunity is technology, according to Churney.

With a lot of the risks that weve talked about this year  wildfires and flood in particular  the common refrain [among insurers] has always been, Well, we cant insure that. Theres not the technology to do that,' he said. We obviously would argue against that.

As natural catastrophe models continue to evolve to better assess risk, and clearer aerial imagery allows companies to gather data without bothering the policyholder, the insurance gap can begin to close, Churney said.

I think companies are pushing forward on that front, he said. Theres a good distance to go, but I think its the collection of better data about the risk coupled with the ever-improving models that will help give people more certainty to hopefully take on more of that gap.

Kaplan added that another important aspect of closing the coverage gap is data collection and the ability to merge publicly available data with private market technical expertise.

[That] actually changes, I believe, the value proposition our industry can have in terms of getting money in the hands of the people that need it before the disaster occurs, he said.

According to Swiss Res research, 32.5 percent of Americans today said they couldnt pull together at least $2,000 in the event of a disaster. With 8 percent of the U.S. population affected by natural disasters in 2017, this means 8.5 million people not only were affected by disasters, but also didnt have cash on hand and likely didnt have flood insurance, Kaplan said.

We have to figure out as an industry how are we going to get money in the hands of the people that need it in a much faster way, he stated. I think technology and data are absolutely critical to that.

Rise in Presidentially Declared Disasters

Beyond an increase in natural catastrophe costs, presidentially declared disasters have also increased in frequency. Swiss Res research shows that while Ronald Reagan averaged 28 presidentially declared disasters per year during his presidency, and Bill Clinton averaged 90 per year, 2011 saw 242 disasters during Barack Obamas presidency, and the first year of Donald Trumps presidency brought 137 presidentially declared disasters.

With this in mind, panelists speculated the federal government could soon shift the burden of owning natural disaster risk to states and municipalities, giving insurers another opportunity to do more.

If theres any clear policy thats coming out of Washington holistically, I would call it a reallocation of burden, Kaplan said. We are finally beginning to come to a point where the federal government is going to say, You know what? This is not financially sustainable. We are not going to continue to provide bailouts to communities that are otherwise making bad decisions about land use, planning or building codes. You have to own your risk. Part of the solution is inevitably going to be insurance.

He added that insurance as part of the solution was initially seen with the National Flood Insurance Program purchasing reinsurance in 2017, and he expects more moves like that going forward.

Churney echoed Kaplans thoughts.

I think theres an education element here that maybe the whole insurance industry could do more to say, We can get you back on your feet a lot more quickly than you waiting for these incredible amounts of time only to get a payout that probably wont help you rebuild your home and get your business back up and running, he said. Theres a great opportunity there.

Panelists also predicted that U.S. states and municipalities may begin to realize the need for taking control of their own risk.

I also suspect that there are a lot of states and municipalities in our country who are going to start realizing, Wow. Its a huge burden, and it is fairly uncertain as to whether and how and when the federal government is going to respond,' Kaplan said.

He added as one example that it took U.S. Congress 90 days to pass the supplemental for Hurricane Sandy, but one year after the disaster, 75 percent of the funds had not yet been dispersed.

So how do you plan your future? How do you plan your recovery based on that? he said. I would venture to say that the way better route is with insurance contracts.

Challenges and Lessons

However, one challenge for insurers in this environment is that there can be a perception that bailouts are bigger than they are, which can discourage assuming personal responsibility for natural catastrophe risk, Kaplan stated.

The largest check FEMA will write an individual family is $33,000, he said. And I think most people dont know that. Ive known risk managers of public entities across the United States that always say, Why would I pay for something I know Im going to get for free? So, theres this perception that the federal government is going to come and save the day.

Indeed, Julie Rochman, president and CEO at the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), told Insurance Journal that she sees a lack of incentive to own risk with the current system of safety nets in place.

There are safety nets below safety nets below safety nets, so if you fall through one  the primary one, which is private insurance  you land in a federal agencys lap, she said. If you fall through that, you might land in another federal agencys lap, and if you fall below that, you might land in some sort of state safety net. If you fall below that, youve got Red Cross and all of the NGOs. So we have set up this system of like nine safety nets, which allows people to say, I dont have to take any personal responsibility. I dont have to own any of my own risk.'

Rochman also pointed to another problem  one she said she sees as a bit naive.

People also do not believe that bad things will happen to them, she said. You hear it all the time after a catastrophe: We never thought it would happen here or to us.'

As insurers work to harness the challenges and opportunities the current natural disaster environment presents, Rochman said its important insurers send honest market-based signals and information to people, so that they truly understand the risk they face.

Insurers are strong proponents of honest conversations about relative risk, she said. Those signals essentially tell the property owner that they have choices about the buildings in which they live and work, but they should not fool themselves about their risk of flooding, or wildfire, or earthquake, or tornadoes or hurricanes. If the home or business owner ignores the relative pricing and availability signals, that is their choice, but its just not a good thing.

Kaplan said he believes learning from the events of last year is a good place to start in working toward change.

I think there are a lot of lessons in the last year, he said. I think its promising that we have so many governments around the world focusing on risk, the cost of risk and how to engage the private sector to shift more of the burden off of the back of tax payers onto the balance sheet of the private market.

Rochman agreed, adding that she believes change is in the pipeline for 2018.

I do believe that peoples ears and eyes are now open to the concept of mitigation, and theyre open to having a conversation that would end in not repeating the same type of losses, she said. Youve got institutional investors, government agencies, academics, meteorologists and all of these people focused on resilience. Hopefully, 2018 will be the year when the switch flips, and people start seeing that mitigation is an investment; its not an expense. Because thats how we will change the culture of this country so that it is one of preparedness instead of just continued response and recovery.

Topics Carriers Catastrophe USA Flood Hurricane Market Swiss Re
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Tuesday said he wants to know how the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is handling a probe into a hack of credit bureau Equifax Inc. after a report that the agencys chief has pulled back from investigating the matter.

Equifax disclosed in September that hackers had stolen personal data it had collected on some 143 million Americans.

On Monday, Reuters reported that the acting chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Mick Mulvaney, had put the brakes on the agencys Equifax investigation.

I havent spoken to Director Mulvaney about it but I will, Mnuchin told the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee. It is something I am going to discuss with him.

On Tuesday, the CFPB said it was examining the Equifax breach but declined to give details.

Acting Director Mulvaney takes data security issues very seriously, CFPB spokesman John Czwartacki said in a statement. The CFPB is working with our partners across government on Equifaxs data breach.

Reuters, citing people familiar with the matter, reported on Monday that while the CFPB has an open investigation into Equifax, Mulvaney has reined in the work begun by his predecessor, Richard Cordray.

Mulvaney has not ordered subpoenas against Equifax or sought sworn testimony from executives, routine steps in a full-scale probe, the sources said. They said the CFPB has shelved plans for on-the-ground tests of how Equifax protects data, an idea backed by Cordray.

The CFPB also recently rebuffed bank regulators at the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency when they offered to help with on-site exams of credit bureaus, the sources said.

Republican President Donald Trumps administration has sought to curb the power of the CFPB, which was created under his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama to protect consumers from financial industry abuses. The agency has been criticized fiercely by the industry.

Mulvaney has sought no new operating funds for the agency, opting instead to finance a slimmed-down budget by shrinking a reserve fund established by Cordray.

(Reporting by Patrick Rucker and Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Franklin Paul and Leslie Adler)

Related:

Topics Cyber
A man walked into a downtown Dallas police substation parking lot with a sledgehammer, broke windows and windshields, and caused thousands of dollars in damage to a dozen police cars, police officials said.

Gregory Simpson, 58, of Dallas, was arrested early on Feb. 4 and charged with criminal mischief causing damage of more than $2,500 and less than $30,000. But police union officials said the sledgehammer incident was just the latest since city officials promised to upgrade security at police department facilities after a 2015 shooting attack outside the departments headquarters.

Details of the incident were not immediately available. An arrest affidavit had not been posted to online court records as of the afternoon on Feb. 5, and a call to an attorney representing Simpson was not immediately returned.

Representatives of the citys largest police union, the Dallas Police Association, posted pictures to Twitter of some of the damage  concave sledgehammer imprints on windshields, windows and cars. They also posted a picture of three orange cones blocking an entrance to the garage next to a sign saying only police personnel were allowed.

Association President Michael Mata said union officials have been asking for security upgrades to be prioritized for months.

The mayor and council members got in front of microphones and cameras and said that protecting officers was their number one concern. Very little if anything has been done, now here we are, Mata said.

In June 2015, James Boulware fired multiple shots at the Dallas Police Headquarters, squad cars and officers from an armored van before leading police on a chase and engaging in a standoff that ended when a police sniper shot and killed him. He had said he was upset about losing custody of his son after an arrest.

City officials said in the following days that they planned to upgrade security measures at headquarters and the seven substations.

Renewed calls for security upgrades were issued after the July 7, 2016, sniper attack on officers who were working at a rally against police violence. Four Dallas officers and one transit officer were killed and nine other officers were wounded during the attack and ensuing standoff.

The city has allocated $3.4 million to enhance lobby security at those facilities including ballistic protections and more control to access. The work started in October 2017 and is expected to finish in May 2018, said city spokeswoman Monica Cordova. Work at half of those facilities has been completed, she said.

The City of Dallas is committed to providing a safe work environment for our police officers, Cordova wrote in an emailed statement.

She said a bond package approved by voters last year will allot more than $6.7 million for additional security improvements including parking lot security, fences, bollards and access gates. The projects are scheduled to begin this spring but are spread over several years.

Mata said since the 2015 incident there have been at least four other incidents at substations, including a suspect shooting a substation from a moving vehicle, a man driving into the parking lot of another with several guns, a man who set himself on fire outside of a station and the sledgehammer incident Sunday.

I know in the bond package they have funds allocated for security measures and I believe they want to do this over a period of years, he said. The city keeps rolling the dice and hoping that nothing bad happens. But if this lack of security isnt fixed, its going to turn into a deadly force confrontation. There are going to be citizens or officers injured or killed.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Law Enforcement
When a heavy rain hits New Orleans, residents move their cars to higher ground for fear of fast-rising street flooding. Knee-deep potholes can eat a cars fender. When pressure drops in the citys aging water delivery system, restaurants and cafes have to boil water to feed customers.

Battered by nature and neglect, New Orleans is one of the best examples of what President Donald Trump calls the countrys crumbling infrastructure. But when looking at the billion-dollar needs of this 300-year-old city, two things become apparent: The rebuilding task is immense and its not clear the presidents new plan will help.

The city needs about $11.6 billion to bring key parts of its infrastructure into this century, said city official Katie Dignan. That means repairing the roads, the infrastructure under them  sewer, water and drainage  as well as other parts of the drainage system that empties the city of water when it rains.

Dignan said the city has about $2 billion available, some from FEMA to mitigate Hurricane Katrina damage and some from other sources. Now, the city faces choices on how to come up with the remainder. Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who calls the aging sewer, water and drainage system a prime example of needed infrastructure work, has doubts about Trumps proposal.

Trump called on Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for infrastructure investment. But he hasnt detailed how much money the federal government would actually supply and has suggested that much of the money would come from state and local governments or private-sector investments.

What the president is really proposing is not HIS infrastructure plan but basically saying to the states and the cities: `Build it on your own and find another way to pay for it through raising taxes or cutting services, Landrieu, a Democrat and the current president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said.

Finding more money is a challenge in a financially strapped Louisiana  and in a city that was facing a major budget deficit when Landrieu took office eight years ago.

Landrieu said public-private partnerships can work on some types of projects where theres money to pay back the partner, but poorer cities  often those with the biggest infrastructure problems  are going to have a harder time. Forcing cities like New Orleans to pay for the infrastructure means taking money away from other local priorities, such as housing homeless veterans, he said.

The precariousness of the citys infrastructure was on full display last August when a massive downpour overwhelmed the pumping system and inundated many neighborhoods.

The Broad Theater was still recovering from a previous rainstorm when the August storm hit. Movie-goers evacuated waist-high waters by boat. Manager Michael Domangue lost his car to the flood. The theater closed for seven days and had to refund tickets.

I still feel when we rain, people get worried about coming here, Domangue said.

And this damage all happened within sight of a pumping station thats part of the drainage system. Of the $11.6 billion, an estimated $2 billion is needed for long-term repairs and upgrades to the citys pumping system, Dignan said, although she cautioned that figure could change. The other $9.6 billion would go toward fixing the roads and the infrastructure under them. That includes a drinking water system plagued by wasteful leaks and occasional power failures and pressure drops that can let contaminants in _ requiring residents to boil water.

Renee Blanchard owns the Church Alley Coffee Bar. She bought a $3,500 reverse osmosis water filtration system so that she can still make lattes and cappuccinos when the water pressure drops. Blanchard is frustrated that a small business in a big city has to deal with such expensive problems.

Thats ridiculous, she said. Im so small. I work most of the hours. I started off with a tiny bit of savings.

All cities have potholes but the New Orleans streets are in another category. Locals put traffic cones or tires into especially deep potholes to warn other drivers.

If it rains the day before and its filled with water, you dont know the potholes there. You could tear up your car, your front end, Kenny Buras said of his street.

Residents try to take it in stride. During the summer flooding, people canoed through the streets, sometimes with a drink in hand. In May 2016, there was a Sinkhole de Mayo party after a massive sinkhole opened up at the foot of Canal Street.

But theres also a real frustration about how problems in New Orleans and elsewhere will be fixed.

Resident James Jensen noted mudslides and fires in California and rising seas in Miami: Theres many New Orleans out there.

Associated Press writer Stacey Plaisance contributed to this report.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Alabama on Tuesday became the latest state to file a lawsuit accusing OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP of fueling the opioid epidemic by deceptively marketing prescription painkillers to generate billions of dollars in sales.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall alleged in a lawsuit filed in a federal court that Purdue misrepresented the risks and benefits of opioids, enabling the widespread prescribing of the drugs for chronic pain conditions.

The lawsuit said that as Purdue reaped significant profits, Alabama suffered significant costs as a result of a public health crisis that had led to hundreds of deaths in the state each year due to opioid overdoses.

It will take years to undo the damage but an important first step we must take is to hold the parties responsible for this epidemic legally liable for the destruction they have unleashed upon our citizens, Marshall said in a statement.

Stamford, Connecticut-based Purdue in a statement said it denied the allegations. It noted its drugs are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and account for only 2 percent of all opioid prescriptions.

As a company grounded in science, we must balance patient access to FDA-approved medicines, while working collaboratively to solve this public health challenge, Purdue said.

Opioids were involved in more than 42,000 overdose deaths in 2016, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A wave of lawsuits by states, counties and cities have accused drugmakers of pushing addictive painkillers through deceptive marketing and wholesale distributors of failing to report suspicious drug orders.

A group of state attorneys general have been conducting a multistate investigation into whether companies that manufacture and distribute prescription opioids engaged in unlawful practices.

Increasingly, some attorneys general have decided to file lawsuits outside of the probe against the companies under scrutiny. Purdue alone faces 14 lawsuits by states including Alabama.

A federal judge in Ohio overseeing more than 200 lawsuits by cities, counties and others over the opioid epidemic recently reached out to some state attorneys general about meeting as he pushes for a quick settlement of the litigation.

Marshall was among the attorneys general who last Wednesday attended the first court-ordered settlement conference overseen U.S. District Judge Dan Polster in Cleveland.

Marshall said he now expects his lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Alabama, will be transferred to Ohio to be overseen by Polster.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio)

Topics Lawsuits USA Alabama Drugs
Railway signals were out while crews installed a safety system that could have prevented the exact type of crash that killed two people in South Carolina when an Amtrak train was diverted to a side track and slammed head-on into an empty freight train, authorities said Monday.

Automated signals that could have warned the passenger train to stop before reaching the switch sending it down the side track were turned off as workers installed a GPS-based system called positive train control, or PTC, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt said.

A day before, Sumwalt told reporters an operational PTC is designed to prevent this type of incident.

The crew that parked the CSX freight train on the side track and left the padlocked switch in position to divert trains from the main line were interviewed Monday, along with the dispatcher keeping up with trains in the area as the signals werent working, Sumwalt said.

Sumwalt told reporters he had not been briefed about what the CSX workers said.

The Amtrak engineer sounded his horn seven seconds before the crash and applied emergency brakes three seconds before the train collided with the other locomotive at 50 mph (80 kph), Sumwalt said, citing information from the passenger trains data recorder.

The expectation for the Amtrak crew is that they were clear, Sumwalt said.

Positive train control is already installed in parts of the U.S. The system is designed to prevent two trains from traveling on the same track at the same time.

Thats what happened early Sunday in Cayce, South Carolina, when the New York-to-Miami Amtrak passenger train hit the parked CSX Corp. freight train.

Two Amtrak employees, a conductor and an engineer, were killed and more than 100 passengers were treated at hospitals for injuries. It was the third fatal Amtrak train crash in less than two months.

So why hasnt the system been widely implemented? Both industry experts and rail companies say in large part it comes down to costs and the sheer size of the nations rail system.

After a collision between a commuter train and a freight train in Chatsworth, California, that killed 25 people, Congress passed a law in 2008 requiring railroads to adopt the technology on all tracks that carry passenger trains.

Positive train control relies on GPS, wireless radio and computers to monitor train positions and automatically slow or stop trains that are in danger of colliding, derailing from excessive speed, or about to enter track where crews are working or that is otherwise off limits.

Railroads were given seven years to start using the technology across the countrys 20,000 locomotives and 60,000 miles of track. But when it became clear that few if any railroads would meet the deadline, Congress extended it another three years to Dec. 31, 2018, with the option to grant railroads that show progress an additional two years to Dec. 31, 2020. Several freight railroads have previously told the government they wont be able to meet the 2018 deadline.

Overall, freight railroads have implemented PTC on 56 percent of required route miles, according to the Association of American Railroads. The association said its not clear yet how many of the seven large freight railroads operating in the U.S. will require extensions.

In some areas of the northeastern U.S., where Amtrak owns both railways and locomotives, the company has been able to successfully set up PTC. But in areas like South Carolina, the tracks are owned by freight companies like CSX.

During a conference call with reporters, Amtrak President Robert Anderson said Sundays crash underscores the importance of meeting the year-end deadline for widespread implementation.

CSX, which operates throughout the eastern U.S., has already spent more than $1.2 billion on PTC systems, according to congressional testimony by company executive Frank Lonegro in 2015. On its website, the company says its also been limited by lengthy review processes needed to implement the system on 15,000 miles of track.

Amid the renewed calls for action, former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation Mary Schiavo said the system needs to be installed everywhere because lives are at stake.

People arent focused on it until we have tragedies, Schiavo said.

___

Associated Press writers Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, South Carolina, Michael R. Blood in Los Angeles, and Joan Lowy in Washington contributed to this report, along with AP video journalist Josh Replogle.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics USA South Carolina
California officials are downplaying the risks of climate change to bond investors while citing those same risks as the basis for a lawsuit against oil companies, according to a conservative think tank that has asked securities regulators to investigate.

The Washington-based Competitive Enterprise Institute sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, urging it to investigate a group of cities and counties in California for making contradictory claims about climate risks.

In these lawsuits the plaintiff cities and counties apparently describe these climate risks in ways that are far different than how they described them in their own bond offerings, says the letter, dated Feb. 1. In our view, this inconsistency raises serious questions of municipal bond fraud.

The accusations by CEI mark the latest twist in a legal fight that began last July, when a group of city and county governments in California filed a lawsuit against 37 oil companies for their role in global warming. The suit claimed that the companies, which include Chevron Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp., contributed to sea-level rise, and so should be forced to pay part of the cost of protecting coastal California communities against the problem.

Last month, Exxon launched a suit of its own, arguing that those same cities and counties had failed to disclose climate risks when it sold municipal bonds to investors.

Earlier: Moodys Warns Cities to Address Climate Risks or Face Downgrades

CEIs letter cites San Francisco, which said in the lawsuit against Exxon and other oil companies that it expects 0.3 to as much as 0.8 feet of additional sea level rise by 2030. But when San Francisco sold $173 million in bonds in January 2017, it told investors that it was unable to predict whether sea-level rise or other impacts of climate change or flooding from a major storm will occur, when they may occur.

Either the City can predict such sea-level rise, as it tells the court, or it cannot, as it tells investors, CEI wrote to the SEC.

A spokesman for the San Francisco city attorneys office, John Cote, called the letter deceptive, adding that the city has been disclosing climate change as a risk factor since at least 2014.

He cited an October, 2017 issuance that noted substantial increases in sea level rise are projected due to climate change over the coming century and could put critical infrastructure at risk.

The assertion that the city does not disclose this risk factor to investors is false, he said in an email.

Related: Rising Seas May Wipe Out Jersey Towns and Millions in AAA Bonds

Sam Kazman, general counsel for CEI and one of the letters authors, said in an interview that his organization is quite skeptical about cities claims that they face a threat from climate change. I think theyre quite overblown, he said of those warnings.

Still, Kazman said, the SEC ought to investigate the very clear inconsistency between what these entities are saying in their bond offerings and in their court filings.

The odds of legal sanctions are slim, according to Michael Gerrard, director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia University.

Even under President Barack Obama, the SEC took no enforcement action against cities or companies for failing to disclose climate risk, Gerrard said Monday. He said thats unlikely to change under President Donald Trump, who has disputed the science of climate change.

An SEC spokesman, Ryan White, declined to comment.

But that doesnt mean the letter wont have any effect. Barbara VanScoy, head of Alpha Impact Investors, said she expects that the letter will encourage cities and investors to take climate risks more seriously. She added that cities financial officers also need to talk more to the staff who work on resilience. If offices remain siloed, nothing will change, she said by email.

Shalini Vajjhala, a former Obama official who now advises cities on adapting to climate risks, said the charges leveled by CEI could spur those conversations across different parts of local government.

It might create some uncomfortable conversations between the CFOs office and the offices that are focused on generating the suits against big oil companies, Vajjhala said. I think this is a smart move that will cause some thinking and introspection within some cities.

Copyright 2021 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits California Climate Change Energy Oil Gas
The Eugene School District in Oregon has paid $24,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a parent whose child was attacked at school.

Olga Telsheva sought $625,000 when the suit was filed last year. She alleged that officials failed to protect her son from being beaten up by a classmate twice on Nov. 13, 2015. One assault happened between classes at North Eugene High School and the other was during gym class.

The lawsuit was filed on Telshevas behalf by attorney Kevin Brague. The Register-Guard reports that Eugene-area school districts have settled three lawsuits filed by Brague on behalf of parents in the past two years.

Each lawsuit sought damages of $600,000 or more and settled for $30,000 or less.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Education Oregon
A Bend, Ore. woman has filed a $9 million wrongful death lawsuit against the St. Charles Health System after her daughter died following a difficult childbirth.

The Bulletin reported that Grace Louise Marchant-Hubbs was born unconscious after a 2-day delivery and never regained consciousness.

She was removed from life support two days later after tests showed no sign of brain activity.

The lawsuit alleges that obstetrician Mary Jane Davis did not respond quickly enough when the babys mother began bleeding.

The suit alleges that an emergency Caesarian section was delayed 30 minutes because of paperwork problems as the babys heart started racing.

The newspaper reports that the hospital has not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.

Copyright 2021 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Oregon
Mutual funds didn't really capture the attention of American investors until the 1980s and 1990s, when investors in them hit record highs and realized incredible returns. They are now mainstream investments and form the core of individual retirement accounts. However, the idea of pooling assets for investment purposes has been around for centuries.

Key Takeaways The first modern mutual fund was launched in the U.S. in 1924.

The oldest mutual fund still in existence is the Vanguard Wellington Fund, established in 1929.

The exchange-traded fund, a modern variation, has taken the market by storm since the Great Recession of 20072009.

Here we look at the evolution of this investment vehicle, from its beginnings in the Netherlands in the 19th century to its status as a global industry, with fund holdings accounting for trillions of dollars in the U.S. alone.

The First Mutual Funds

Historians are uncertain of the origins of investment funds, although many look to the Dutch as the early innovators who created the first closed-end investment companies.

Subhamoy Das, in his economics textbook "Perspectives on Financial Services," traces an early appearance of the mutual fund to Dutch merchant Adriaan van Ketwich, who created an investment trust in 1774. "Van Ketwich probably believed that diversification would appeal to investors with minimal capital. The name of van Ketwich's fund, Eendragt Maakt Magt, translates into 'unity creates strength,'" the book explains.

Other examples followed, including an investment trust launched in Switzerland in 1849 and similar vehicles formed in Scotland in the 1880s.

U.S. Innovations

The idea of pooling resources and spreading risk using closed-end investments found its way to the U.S. by the 1890s. The Boston Personal Property Trust, formed in 1893, was the first closed-end fund in the U.S. According to Collins Advisors, the investments were primarily in real estate and the vehicle might today be described as a hedge fund rather than a mutual fund.

The creation of the Alexander Fund in Philadelphia in 1907 was an important step toward what we know as the modern mutual fund. The Alexander Fund featured semiannual issues and allowed investors to make withdrawals on demand.

The Arrival of the Modern Fund

The creation of the Massachusetts Investors' Trust in Boston marked the arrival of the modern mutual fund in 1924, according to Bianco Research. The fund was opened to investors in 1928, eventually spawning the mutual fund firm known today as MFS Investment Management. State Street Investors' Trust was the custodian of the Massachusetts Investors' Trust.

$4 Trillion The estimated total amount currently invested in exchange traded funds.

The year 1929 saw the launch of the Wellington Fund, which was the first mutual fund to include stocks and bonds. The Vanguard Wellington Fund is still in existence today and claims to be America's oldest balanced fund.

Regulation and Expansion

By 1929, there were 19 open-ended mutual funds competing with nearly 700 closed-end funds. With the stock market crash of 1929, the dynamic began to change as highly leveraged closed-end funds were wiped out and small open-end funds survived.

Government regulators also began to take notice of the fledgling mutual fund industry. The creation of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the passage of the Securities Act of 1933, and the enactment of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 all were designed to safeguard investors from unscrupulous or reckless operators. Mutual funds are now required to register with the SEC and to provide full disclosure of their holdings and performance in the form of a prospectus.

The Investment Company Act of 1940 put in place additional regulations that require more disclosures and minimize conflicts of interest.

The mutual fund industry continued to expand. At the beginning of the 1950s, the number of open-end funds topped 100. In 1954, the financial markets finally overcame their pre-1929 crash peak, and the mutual fund industry began to grow in earnest, adding some 50 new funds over the course of the decade.

Hundreds of new funds were launched throughout the 1960s although the bear market of 1969 cooled the public appetite for mutual funds for some time. Money flowed out of mutual funds as quickly as investors could redeem their shares, but the industry's growth later resumed.

Recent Developments in Mutual Funds

In 1971, William Fouse and John McQuown of Wells Fargo established the first index fund, a concept that John Bogle would use as a foundation on which to build The Vanguard Group, a mutual fund powerhouse renowned for low-cost index funds.

The 1970s also saw the rise of the no-load fund. This lower-cost investing option had an enormous impact on the way mutual funds were sold.

The Big Bull Market

With the 1980s and '90s came an unprecedented bull market and previously obscure fund managers like Max Heine, Michael Price, and Peter Lynch became household names.

The collapse of the tech bubble in 1997 and several scandals involving big names in the industry took their toll on the industry, as did the Great Recession of 2007.

The Rise of the ETF

In the 21st century, a new tweak to the mutual fund has emerged: the exchange traded fund (ETF).

These new funds, with their ultra-low expense ratios and ease of trading, have made a huge mark on the investment industry. About $4 trillion is now invested in these funds, and most of it has poured in since the Great Recession receded.

The Bottom Line

Despite the 2003 mutual fund scandals and the global financial crisis of 2008-09, the story of the mutual fund is far from over. In fact, the industry is still growing. In the U.S. alone there are more than 10,000 mutual funds, and if one accounts for all share classes of similar funds, fund holdings are measured in the trillions of dollars.

Despite the launch of separate accounts, exchange traded funds, and other competing products, the mutual fund industry remains healthy and fund ownership continues to grow.
By Padraig Hoare

Nearly 2,500 tracker mortgage customers of KBC Ireland remain on the wrong rate since the 1bn scandal was uncovered, its chief executive has said.

Wim Verbraeken was told by one TD at the Oireachtas finance committee that his bank took main prize for unacceptable delays in redressing and compensating customers. Sinn Feins Pearse Doherty said: Your bank is the worst.

There were more harsh words for Mr Verbraeken as members tore into banking practices for more than four hours over two sittings, with Permanent TSB bosses hauled over the coals first, followed by KBC Ireland.

KBC Ireland is seen by many experts as one of the biggest sinners of the scandal, considering its smaller market share in mortgages in Ireland compared to the other big five banks. It has approximately 3,000 affected.

PTSB said 21 properties were lost, including seven family homes. KBC Ireland said six family homes and 27 buy-to-let properties were lost. Mr Verbraeken said he expects the six family homes lost so far to rise, while Permanent TSB admitted seven family homes have been lost from the fallout of the tracker scandal.

PTSB chief Jeremy Masding and KBCs Mr Verbraeken and their officials came under fire from TDs and senators at the committee, having to deny repeated accusations they had learned nothing from the industry-wide scandal, which is set to cost banks up to 1bn in redressing customers for money wrongly taken, as well as compensation.

The tracker fiasco occurred when almost customers were wrongly put on more expensive loans by 15 lenders, including the five biggest in Ireland.

The Central Bank is conducting a review of 2m mortgages, with almost 34,000 customers now identified as affected, including dozens who lost their homes under many lenders.

Permanent TSB said just under 2,000 had been impacted, while KBC Ireland said just under 3,000 were.

Mr Masding was told by committee chairman John McGuinness he was the best company man I have seen here for defending PTSBs strategy in dealing with affected customers, but that it did nothing to look out for them. You should be ashamed of yourselves, the lot of you. I wouldnt give you a bank licence, he said.

Mr Masding denied the suggestion that putting one of its members on one of the tracker appeal panels for customers was unfair.

Fianna Fails Michael McGrath suggested putting one of its members on the appeals panel was akin to a defendant on trial being put on a jury. Mr Masding retorted that it was acknowledged by the other figures on the panel that its bank member was fair and objective.

Some 28% of customer appeals have been upheld by the PTSB tracker appeals panel.

He defended his handling of the banks response to the scandal, saying he felt his conduct was becoming of what was expected of a chief executive of Permanent TSB.

Both Mr Masding and Mr Verbraeken again apologised for the their banks part in the tracker scandal, but both said there was no evidence to suggest it was done deliberately to overcharge customers.

International ratings firm DBRS said it expects the final bill to be 1bn, and that this amount could rise if the 33,700 affected customers rises again once the Central Bank completes its review.

It said average compensation works out at 19,947 for Bank of Ireland; at 20,208 for AIB; at 73,232 for PTSB; at 40,350 for KBC; and at 60,286 for Ulster.
Health Minister Simon Harris has said that they need to examine why large numbers of people are missing outpatient appointments in hospitals.

Almost half a million people did not turn up for appointments last year alone.

Current waiting lists show more than 500,000 people waiting to be seen around the country.

Minister Simon Harris said that to cut down waiting times, they need to understand why so many appointments are missed.

"That suggests to me that there's a serious issue in relation to ensuring the accuracy of our lists," he said.

"For every single one of those missed appointments, there's somebody else who could have had an appointment.

"So when people in this room, including myself, commentate on the size of outpatient waiting lists, it is important to inject into that conversation that 479,000 outpatients did not attend their appointment last year.

"We need to get under the bonnet in terms of working out why that is the reality."

- Digital desk
A man arrested after fleeing from a checkpoint yesterday, at which it is alleged a vehicle was driven at a garda, attempted to run from court today as his bail was being refused.

James McCarney had been arrested on Tuesday when he fled a checkpoint operated by gardai and customs officials near Cork City.

When Mr McCarney was refused bail he jumped from his seat and began running towards the door, before being quickly tackled by a number of gardai.

It is understood one garda sustained facial injuries and attended hospital with a suspected fractured jaw.

Macroom District Court had earlier heard that a woman and children were in the car when McCarney was stopped yesterday with gardai then alleging McCarney, of 2 Branziet Cottages, Balmore, Torrance in Glasgow, drove his a vehicle at a Garda Emma Corkery.

Sgt Brian Harte, prosecuting, had applied for Mr McCarney to be remanded in custody and said he was strongly objecting to bail. He said this was on the basis that gardai were trying to verify via Interpol the Glasgow address given by Mr McCarney, who he also claimed was a possible flight risk if released on bail.

Sgt Harte also said he was objecting to bail due to the seriousness of the charge, stating: The incident was one that, on a different occasion, could have resulted in serious injury or loss of life.

He told the court that on February 6 last at Tooreen, Ballinhassig, members of the gardai were conducting a checkpoint when a Mercedes Benz E220, driven by Mr McCarney, approached.

Customs officers manning the checkpoint with gardai asked for a certificate of insurance or exemption, which the driver did not have.

At 11.55pm customs officers then informed Mr McCarney that his vehicle would be seized for revenue reasons.

He started the vehicle and drove the vehicle at Garda Corkery, Sgt Harte said. He claimed the vehicle swerved towards the ditch and that Mr McCarney continued to drive away at speed towards the Halfway roundabout.

He was followed by patrol vehicles using sirens and lights but, the court was told, Mr McCarney refused to stop and drove for a considerable distance before finally pulling in near the Rising Sun bar, at which point he was arrested for dangerous driving.

Mr McCarneys solicitor, Sean Cahill, said his client would be denying this version of events. He said his client admitted he was trying to avoid detection and was concerned that because it was an English reg car it would be seized.

Mr Cahill also said Mr McCarney believes he did have adequate insurance cover, had been over and back to Ireland for 18 years and had a permanent address in West Cork.

Sgt Harte said the incident was extremely serious and said Garda Corkery had been standing in front of the car when it started to drive off, although Mr McCarney said he drove around Garda Corkery.

Judge Mary Dorgan refused bail and was remanding Mr McCarney in custody to appear in Bandon court tomorrow when he jumped from his seat and began running towards the door, before he was quickly tackled by a number of gardai. It is understood one garda sustained facial injuries and attended hospital.
The way Cape Town has neared disaster has lessons for an era in which catastrophic climatic events are more frequent and long-term planning less so, says William Saunderson-Meyer.

Unless something miraculous happens, the city of Cape Town, an iconic international tourism destination and South Africas second economic hub, will run out of drinking water in a matter of weeks.

The situation is dire. Cape Towns more than 4m residents have been told to cut their daily limits from 87 litres to 50 litres per person.

Thats the equivalent of a six-minute shower with a low-flow showerhead in a city where they already line up with containers at outdoor springs, leave toilets unflushed  and where the provinces top local politician calls unwashed hair a status symbol.

Should the water stop, Cape Town  ironically first settled permanently by the Dutch in 1652 because it was considered climatically ideal for a supply station to underpin the south-east Asian trade of their fleet  will become the worlds first major city in which the taps literally run dry.

There is no precedent to draw upon, but it is clear that this would have an enormous impact in a politically

volatile and economically straitened country.

The shortage is the result of a three-year drought that emptied the citys dams. But the manner in which this

potentially disastrous state has been reached has sobering lessons for an international political order in which catastrophic climatic events are more frequent and long-term planning less so.

Government officials, scientists, and politicians, especially in the more arid southern hemisphere, are watching

intently, aware that one of their own major cities might be next.

It is a measure of the levels of anxiety, as well as a lack of confidence in the capacity of state structures to cope, that even the politicians seem to be relying on a miracle.

Last November, a popular cowboy-hatted lay preacher, Angus Buchan, was invited to lead a pray-for-rain gathering in this nominally secular countrys parliament.

Buchan, who arrived fresh, he claimed, from raising a woman from the dead, reassured his anxious congregants that the dams would be full by March.

Whatever the timing, it promises to be a cliffhanger.

Cape Towns winter rainy season runs from May to August. Experts initially calculated Day Zero, the date upon which there is insufficient water in the Western Cape Water Supply System to push through the pipes to the suburbs and sprawling informal settlements that encircle the city, to be around April 16.

It has since been pushed back to mid-May. With domestic consumption accounting for the bulk of water usage, officials are hoping their latest desperate cuts can stave off Day Zero until the rains begin.

Agriculture, especially the wine estates that along with the scenic splendour of the region are a major draw for the 1.5m foreigners who visited the city last year, uses about a third of the water.

Irrigation usage has declined over the past five years, although there have been criticisms of the Department of Water and Sanitation for not cutting the agricultural allocation when the prospects of an extended drought became more apparent. Instead, they increased it.

It is this kind of blundering that lies at the nub of the unfolding natural disaster. For Day Zero is not primarily driven by climatic change, although climatologists agree that phenomenon plays an as yet scientifically undetermined role.

Simply blaming climate change is a cop-out, says Graham Jewitt, the Umgeni Water Chair of Water Resources Management at the University of KwaZulu-Natal and director of its Centre for Water Resources Research. It has become just another scapegoat for the blame game of the politicians.

The core problem is that the city of Cape Town and its home province, the Western Cape, are governed by the

liberal Democratic Alliance.

That makes the Western Cape the only provincial government not run by the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which has dominated national politics since winning the countrys first post-apartheid elections in 1994.

Despite almost 25 years in power, the party of Nelson Mandela is still struggling to make the transition from being a liberation organisation steeped in Marxist-Leninist notions of being the sole authentic voice of the people  the widely despised president, Jacob Zuma, often boasts the ANC will rule until Jesus comes back  to being just

another political contender in a modern democracy.

Internationally, this translates into a stifling lack of pragmatism. The South African government, which is strongly aligned with the Palestinian cause, has snubbed informal offers of help made by the Israeli ambassador, according to the South African Jewish Report.

Israel has substantial expertise in desalination technology, but last year the mere presence of a former Israeli ambassador on a panel to discuss water management aroused such protest that the event was cancelled.

Many ANC politicians would love to see the liberal ruling Democratic Alliance tarnished by failure in the Cape, perhaps opening the way to the ANC recapturing the province in 2019.

Accusations and insults have been flowing thick and fast between the local, provincial, and national tiers of government, each with its own legislatively determined role in the water procurement process.

Water and Sanitation has blamed the other two for not reacting vigorously enough when it became apparent, years ago, that densification  the citys population has increased by 50% in the past decade  was going to strain water supplies.

They, in turn, have accused the national government of dragging its feet on capital funding for infrastructure and maintenance, as well as withholding emergency disaster relief funds.

While it is true that all the parties have made blunders, city officials probably shouldnt be blamed for lack of long-term planning. Cape dams were overflowing as recently as 2014; the statistical chance of a three-year drought was said to be 0.1%.

Given those odds, local authorities did not want to take the political risk of diverting funds sorely needed for social development.

But happen the drought did, and it has exposed the operational dysfunction in the national ministry. Just six weeks ago, Water and Sanitation released its draft national water masterplan for comment.

Driven by what it calls a sense of urgency, it admits that the current water crisis serves as a stark reminder of the impact of delayed action in the augmentation of the Western Cape Water Supply.

Belated attempts are now being made to bring aquifer water to the surface, as well as an emergency desalination plant. In the long term, most crucially, residents have to get used to using water more sparingly, says Jewitt.

The immediate catastrophe of Day Zero can still be averted. With the direct intervention last week of Zumas likely successor, deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa, and Western Cape prime minister Helen Zille, the muddled responses of competing bureaucracies are at last being pulled together.

At the most basic level, cutting consumption to the 50-litre maximum could move Day Zero along the calendar into the traditional rainy season.

Of course, whether precipitation then actually materialises remains in the lap of the gods.

William Saunderson-Meyer is a South African journalist and writes the nationally-syndicated Jaundiced Eye column.

@TheJaundicedEye
The Oireachtas Committee will be meeting this Thursday regarding the concerns attached to Irelands Public Services Card including its National Biometric Database, writes Elizabeth Farries.

If you arent currently registered for the PSC or its SAFE2 database in Ireland, you can be denied access to essential services in violation of your human rights.

The PSC requires users to provide a facial image biometric scan. Other pieces of identifying information can be combined across agencies into the Single Customer View database accessible by certain public agencies.

The implications of a database with biometric features raise serious alarms for security. When impermeable information like biometric scans are contained, there is no undoing the breach once it occurs.

India, home of the worlds largest biometric identity card system has recently been hacked and the details are being sold online for 10 Euro.

Previous database breaches are not unusual in Ireland and so further breaches are conceivable. See for example the 350 data breaches in two years at PeoplePoint, the centre that provides HR and pensions administration services for 34,500 civil servants.

The Irish electricity transmission system operator EirGrid was also hacked in 2017. See also the survey of 200 professionals carried out by the Irish Computer Society (ICS), which shows that 61% of organisations have had at least one data breach in the last year.

Nor do the cards appear to be financially necessary. While the Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform cites economic benefits to the PSC, including the prevention of welfare fraud, the Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General observes that no business case has been made for this regime and that a comprehensive estimate of the total projected costs was not prepared at the outset.

One example of extreme cost escalation includes the budget for the managed service provider element, which was increased by 2 million to 26.4 million in 2012 to take account of changes to the contract as a result of delays and card enhancements.

The card is costing, not saving Ireland money.

One way to push back against this regime is to refuse it. However, you are not allowed to refuse the PSC card in many circumstances which appear to be inconsistent.

See the prominent case where the Department of Social Protection suspended a womans pension after she refused to register for the PSC.

Digital Rights Ireland referred her to a solicitor and her pension has now been restored. She is just one individual lucky enough to have legal support. Others have not been so fortunate.

Indeed, the PSC has now been made the only acceptable form of identity verification for services including social welfare payments, child benefit, school transport, treatment benefits, drivers license applications, age verification, school grant appeals, and online health and revenue portals.

Furthermore, the Minister of State for Public Procurement, Open Government and eGovernment, Patrick ODonovan TD, has announced his intention to initiate requirements for 100,000 students to obtain the PSC before they can apply for grants.

If a person is does not consent to their private details being held in databases in order to access essential services, there needs to be legislative basis for it. There is no clear legislative basis for the PSC.

The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform cites the Social Welfare Act 2005; however, while this Act requires a person receiving benefits to demonstrate their identity, it does not require the level of information demanded for the Public Services Card.

It is one thing to submit a photograph and a document with your address on it; it is another thing to be required to provide a facial image biometric scan.

This level of privacy infringing requirements means that the PSC is in breach of the requirement under EU and ECHR law that state interferences with privacy must be both necessary and proportionate.

The PSC is not necessary because alternative forms of identification, including passports, are available and were previously sufficient for the purposes of accessing public services.

The PSC is also a disproportionate interference with privacy because requiring people in Ireland to link all of their personally identifiable information into one database shared by numerous agencies interferes with privacy rights in a manner that far exceeds the asserted goal of easy and convenient service access.

The implications of a hackable database with biometric features exceed that goal even further.

There is also no clearly defined independent supervisory authority responsible for monitoring the management and security of stored data with the PSC, despite this being a growing norm of EU law where issues of surveillance and privacy are concerned.

Clearly defined oversight could review ethical problems in data management, including allegations that the Irish state is deliberately erasing the SCV database history showing who has accessed and changed your personal information.

There is also finally the risk that future governments may use your data for unethical reasons. We are watching how new governments can easily role back rights that citizens previously took for granted.

In the United States, Privacy Act protections have been revoked for non-citizens, making it easier for agencies to share data on legal and undocumented immigrants with customs officials. The PSC risks undermining Irelands democratic fabric in a similar way.

The Irish Council for Civil Liberties have been invited to speak to the Oireachtas on 8 February regarding the human rights concerns attached to the PSC.

We will argue that the government has failed to respond to the clear privacy concerns raised by the PSC and has instead invested further funds for promoting a project that is already over budget.

We assert that the PSC should not be continued in its current form. Indeed, we have reservations as to whether a data retention system of this type could ever be implemented in a safe and lawful way.

Elizabeth Farries is the Information Rights Project Manager for the Irish Council of Civil Liberties and the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations.
Barrister Maria Watson, counsel for the child, who is not being identified to avoid peer bullying, told the circuit court president, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, that when he was only three his mother painted the first initial of his name on his forehead with her lipstick.

Ms Watson said the letter remained on the childs forehead for about two hours before his mother attempted to wash it off and was unable to do so. She found it had caused a mark and injury to her sons skin.

Counsel, who appeared with Moloney Solicitors for the boy, said that in March 2015 the child had been playing with his mothers make-up bag when she had joined the play and put the mark on his forehead.

Ms Watson said the mother had found it very difficult to remove the No 507 Relentless Rouge long-lasting lipstick and had cleaned the area with Silcoxs base cleaner. Over the following 48 hours the area had become red, swollen, and blistered.

She told the court that the blistering rash persisted for about a week but although this had settled it had left a well-defined area of discolouration corresponding with the location of the lipstick.

Ms Watson said the childs mother had brought her son to a consultant dermatologist at the Blackrock Clinic who had advised her that the area of erythema on the forehead would gradually improve. A final review in July 2017 revealed no sign of the mark.

The boy, through his mother, had sued LOreal (UK) Limited, which has its registered office at Hammersmith Rd, London, and which entered a full defence to the claim.

LOreal stated the product had not been defective, was of merchantable quality and was fit for intended purpose which was for use as a lipstick.

Ms Watson told the court that LOreal had claimed it was not negligent or guilty of breach of duty and the boys mother had not used the product for the purpose for which it had been sold or intended.

In its defence LOreal had claimed the injuries had been caused by an acute allergic reaction which was not reasonably foreseeable from the defendants perspective.

She said a settlement offer of 12,000 had been offered to the boy and she was recommending that the court approve and rule it as appropriate.

Judge Groarke, approving the settlement, said a medical report had related the lipstick to the boys injury.
Infant, the perinatal research centre developing the system, said ultimately, it will be integrated into cot-side monitoring of all infants admitted to neonatal intensive care units.

Infant centre director and professor of neonatal physiology Geraldine Boylan said the Delphi project will create a monitoring system using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse newborn electrical brain patterns and combine this data with other vital sign information, to provide an overall brain health index for the baby.

We already record brain patterns in neonates but this software will provide an extra layer of interpretation, said Prof Boylan. Currently there is nothing there to interpret brain activity on a 24/7 basis  it just wouldnt be possible for a clinician to do that. But AI will fill the gap. It lets us see whats going on with the brain all of the time.

It will help us interpret complicated brain signals. It will act as a decision support tool for the doctor, not a replacement for the clinician.

Early pick-up of brain injury in newborns could ultimately improve outcomes for the baby and reduce the impact of brain damage.

Prof Boylan said they had spent eight years collecting data on the newborn brain and training the computer to recognise patterns so that it can interpret the data. It will take another two years to develop the cotside prototype, using funding from UK charity the Wellcome Trust.

Prof Boylan said they would hope to start a clinical trial after that.

What we do has global implications. We hope to develop a tool that works cotside not just in high resource, but in low resource settings, because thats where we see more babies born with brain injury, she said.

Brain injury at birth, potentially due to lack of oxygen or blood supply to the brain, sepsis and other conditions, can leave newborns with permanent disabilities such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy or learning difficulties. Up to 100 fullterm newborns suffer brain injury in Ireland each year. The figure worldwide is 1.5m.

Researchers at Infant, which is based at Cork University Maternity Hospital and University College Cork, have also developed a computer that can detect seizures in newborns using AI.

Tech companies have already expressed interest in the programme which has been tested cotside in a clinical trial involving more than 500 babies across eight European countries.

Prof Boylan said developments in artificial intelligence, offer limitless opportunities to support our work in the area of neonatal research, monitoring and neuroprotection for babies.
Although the radio station apologised and suspended Mr Hook over the controversy, part of the BAI compliance committees decision was based on the fact that it failed to take corrective action in a timely fashion.

Mr Hook apologised in a statement the day after the broadcast last September, and made an on-air apology three days later. He was suspended a week after his comments and Newstalk confirmed a week later that he was being removed from his lunchtime slot.

Mr Hook returned to the airwaves with a weekend show in December.

The controversy arose when he raised questions in connection with reports of an ongoing UK court case involving a woman who went to a hotel room with a man, and was then raped by another man in the room. Mr Hook made statements about the matter, and said the real issue was about personal responsibility.

The BAI committee said that more timely corrective action may have ameliorated the undue offence caused.

The committee considered that the manner and context of raising the issue of personal responsibility in the context of a specific case of alleged rape caused undue offence and there was a strong possibility of causing distress to audience members who might personally identify with this issue, states a report of its deliberations.

Fiona OToole, who made the complaint, had said she was disgusted by Mr Hooks comments and that it took 24 hours of uproar before Newstalk issued an apology.

The BAI compliance committee also upheld a complaint about a presenter on RTE Radio Ones Morning Ireland referring to journalist Kevin Myers as a Holocaust denier last July.

The stations response to the complaint referenced 2009 newspaper articles by Mr Myers in which he described himself as a Holocaust denier. One was removed from a newspaper website last year after the journalist was sacked as a columnist with The Sunday Times amid controversy about an article that referred to BBC presenters Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz in connection with both being Jewish and their pay.

Kevin Myers

The BAI committee noted his own description of himself in 2009, but said it was evident from that article that this did not amount to a statement denying the genocide of the Jewish people at the hands of the Nazi regime.

Rather, the article was a comment on how language is used and the criminalisation of individuals or groups who engage in Holocaust denial. In this context, the comments by the presenter were considered to lack fairness to Mr Myers and both misrepresented his views in a manner which would likely mislead audiences as to his views, said the committee.

Two complaints were upheld about comments by Paul Williams while presenting the Newstalk Breakfast programme last July, in which he used the words bastards, assholes, thugs, and bullyboys to describe Solidarity TD Paul Murphy and other protesters at Jobstown in 2014.

The description by David Chambers, aka Blindboy Boatclub of Rubberbandits, of the Eucharist as haunted bread did not result in a Late Late Show viewers complaint being upheld. However, the committee said the remarks were regrettable and felt the degree of offence might have been minimised if presenter Ryan Tubridy showed greater sensitivity to the potential for offence.

Blindboy Boatclub

The complainant had acknowledged the right to freedom of expression, but told the BAI he expects something as sacred as the Body of Christ to receive respect in any discussion rather than to be mocked.
Although the hospital has long described itself as the countrys only level 1 trauma centre, it currently does not meet the requirements for this designation, according to Dr Conor Deasy, HSE clinical lead of major trauma audit at the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA) and consultant in emergency medicine at CUH.

To meet the requirements, it would need, inter alia, a helipad, a CT scanner in the emergency department and additional bed capacity in the intensive care unit.

Major trauma describes serious and often multiple injuries where there is a strong possibility of death or disability.

A Dublin hospital, likely to be either the Mater or Beaumont, will become the second major centre  hospital groups in the Dublin region have been asked to submit proposals nominating their preferred site. Two other Dublin hospitals will have trauma units to deal with lower level traumas.

Outside of Cork and Dublin, the report recommends that Galway have a trauma unit with specialised services, while eight hospitals have been earmarked as potential trauma unit sites: Galway, Letterkenny, Sligo, Mayo, Tullamore, Drogheda, Limerick, Kerry and Waterford.

The plan to reform our major trauma system, outlined in the independent review A Trauma System for Ireland published yesterday, is expected to cost 30m to implement over seven years, according to Health Minister Simon Harris.

It acknowledges the need for enhanced pre-hospital care and improved rehabilitation services.

Dr Deasy said he believed there was an overwhelming desire to make this [reorganisation] happen. He said the UK reorganised trauma services in 2012  with major trauma centres at the hub of a trauma network and had seen a 30% improvement in survival odds.

He said none of the 26 trauma receiving hospitals in Ireland met international criteria for designation as a major trauma centre and that critically, none receive the threshold volume of severely injured patients to maintain clinicians skills in the delivery of care to this complex group of patients.

At the moment, because major trauma patients are dispersed across 26 hospitals, specialist expertise in major trauma care across doctors, nurses, and allied health professionals is challenging to attain and maintain he said.

He said the key point is that 1,600 patients suffer a severe major trauma each year out of the 1.3m patients who attend EDs and injury units, so the majority of trauma patients will continue to be treated outside the major centres.

Last week, a report published by NOCA found 28% of patients had to be transferred to another hospital for ongoing care.

Dr Deasy said the report highlighted the need for a cohesive trauma system.

Colm Whooley, former CEO of Spinal Injuries Ireland, who contributed to the trauma system review, said he was skeptical initially, but was now convinced it was the way to go.

Wicklow-based Mr Whooley, wheelchair bound since a motorcycle accident 37 years ago, said he was concerned people would oppose the reorganisation plan.

They will look at it and they will see the spread, but talking as someone who has experienced major trauma, it is critical that people get the right treatment at the right time.

Id rather travel an hour and know I was going to get the right care, he said.
Europes third largest low-cost airline, which launched transatlantic flights from Ireland seven months ago, will today announce plans to increase from one to two the number of daily flights from Dublin to New Yorks Stewart Airport from April 26, with one-way fares from 121.

The new early-morning service will depart Dublin at 8.10am and land in the US at 10.30am local time.

It will increase the route capacity by 66,000 seats and will bring to 29 the number of transatlantic flights operated by the airline from Dublin, Shannon, and Cork airports.

Norwegian will also announce plans to double the frequency of its Shannon to Boston-Providence service, from two to four flights a week, and add a third weekly flight to Stewart, from March 27.

However, the airline, which operates a twice-weekly Cork to Boston-Providence service, has yet to make a call on the launch of a Cork-New York service.

The airline introduced the new Boeing 737 MAX 189-seat aircraft on the Boston route late last year and said it is still assessing the aircrafts operational capabilities out of Cork Airport.

Although we do not break down performance by route, we have seen strong demand for Corks first ever transatlantic flights to the USA as our affordable services are proving popular with Irish holidaymakers, a spokesman for the airline said.

We still have ambitions to launch future new routes from Cork but our current focus is on continuing to deliver excellent value to Cork residents seeking high-quality flights to the USA.

Norwegians chief commercial officer, Thomas Ramdahl, said more than 130,000 passengers have flown Norwegian between Ireland and the US since flights started last July.

Dublin Airports managing director, Vincent Harrison, said the move to a double daily service provides further choice and flexibility for passengers and is a testament to the popularity of the route.
Under the current rules, only those below this age threshold are eligible to put their names forward for the job. However, a short piece of legislation will now be drafted to change this.

The position will be advertised later this month and it is expected that a new commissioner will be appointed by the summer. Acting Commissioner Donall O Cualain has previously stated he will not seek the job on a full-time basis.

Speaking in the Dail, Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said salary will not be an obstacle when it comes to attracting the best candidate for the job.

He said it had been agreed with the Policing Authority that an overly long delay in this process would not be optimal for performance or morale in the force.

The Government agreed that the minister will bring forward a short-single section mill to amend the Public Service Superannuation (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2004, to remove the anomaly whereby an external appointee to the commissioner rank must be under 55 years of age.

In September, Mr Flanagan had asked the Policing Authority to begin consideration of all the factors pertinent to recruiting a commissioner and a programme of work was subsequently undertaken by the authority.

The Government considered the authoritys report to the minister on December 11. Subsequently, after legal advice, the Government decided to bring forward an amendment which shall not prevent a person who has attained the age of 55 but is less than 60 from being appointed as commissioner or deputy commissioner pursuant to section 9 or 10 of the Garda Siochana Act 2005.

The Cabinet also agreed yesterday that members of the Defence Forces will join a German-led EU Battlegroup working on UN peacekeeping missions this year.

This is the first time Ireland has been part of a mission where Germany has been the lead nation.

It is likely that between eight and 10 members of the Defence Forces will join this group.

Defence Minister Paul Kehoe brought a memo on the Proposed participation from July to December 2020. The memo asked for approval for the Defence Forces to participate in an EU Battlegroup, led by Germany. This Battlegroup stands up on a four-year cycle and Ireland participated in it in 2012 and 2016.

Ireland has previously participated in the Nordic Battlegroups in 2008, 2011, and 2015 and the UK-led EU Battlegroup in 2016.
Official figures show that Kevin St Garda Station and Kilmainham Garda Station have been severely hit by cuts since 2010.

The drop has continued in 2017 despite renewed recruitment, partly due to retirements and transfers to specialist units.

Released in response to a parliamentary question by Sinn Fein TD Aengus O Snodaigh, the figures show:

Total strength of Kevin St Garda Station fell from 156 in 2010 to 104 in 2017, a drop of 33%;

This includes a reduction from 117 in 2016, a fall of 11%;

Total strength of Kilmainham Garda Station dropped from 83 in 2010 to 67 in 2017, a reduction of 19%;

This includes a fall from 73 in 2016, down 8%.

The continuing reductions come despite the allocation of 27 probationary gardai to Kevin St and 15 to Kilmainham since recruitment restarted in 2015. Sources said that the allocations have not been enough to offset both continuing retirements and competitions to join specialist national units.

A breakdown of the figures show that the reduction in Kevin St station was hardest on the garda rank (down 35%) and inspector rank (down 50%).

In Kilmainham the drop was greatest at sergeant rank (down 50%), followed by garda rank (down 12%).

Figures in Ballyfermot Garda Station, another busy district, dropped by 16%, from 99 in 2010 to 83 in 2016.

Kevin St and Kilmainham stations cover Dublins south-west inner city, an area where the Kinahan crime cartel controls much of the gang activity.

These figures are alarming, said Damien McCarthy, Dublin South Central representative on the central executive committee of the Garda Representative Association.

We have been struggling for some considerable time and these are the fruits of the cutbacks and moratorium on recruitment.

The fact that the drop is continuing is a clear indication that recruitment has to be accelerated.

He said transfers to the likes of the Armed Support Unit and the Special Detective Unit were very important, but added: They come from the frontline, which means a reduction in boots on the street.

He said this was coming at a time when the escalation of the Kinahan-Hutch feud meant it was more dangerous. A member of the rival Hutch gang was recently shot in the area but escaped serious injury.
Mark Howell, aged 39, of 6 Railway Cottages, McCurtain Hill, Clonakilty, Co Cork, pleaded

guilty to two charges related to the cemetery at Cork Circuit Criminal Court yesterday.

He appeared in custody before Judge Brian OCallaghan who remanded him in custody for sentencing on February 22.

No facts were presented yet at the Circuit Court on the background circumstances in the case.

One charge, to which Howell entered a guilty plea yesterday, stated that on or between August 8 and 9 2017 at St Marys graveyard, Fernhill Rd, Clonakilty, he did without lawful excuse, damage property, namely a headstone intending damage or being reckless as to whether it would be

damaged.

He pleaded guilty to another charge that on

the same dates at the same location he stole property, namely a solid bronze Lady of Lourdes statue valued 430.

Finally, he also admitted that on June 8 2017 at 6 Railway Cottages, McCurtain Hill, Clonakilty, he had four 50 counterfeit notes.
This occurred almost two years ago and now at Cork Circuit Criminal Court the account holder has pleaded guilty to a charge of theft.

The charge states that on March 2, 2016, the defendant dishonestly appropriated 58,000 at AIB, Blackpool Retail Park, Cork.

Keith OConnor, of 15 Kilnap Green, Farranree, Cork, pleaded guilty to that charge when arraigned at the circuit court.

Niamh Stewart, barrister, said yesterday that the accused had 13,000 in court in the form of a bank draft for the purpose of repayment.

Ms Stewart applied for an adjournment of sentencing so that he could gather more money.

He wants a bit of time to pay more money back. This money [58,000] was lodged in his account in error, said Ms Stewart.

Donal OSullivan, prosecution barrister said the state had no difficulty with sentencing going back in the case for the purpose of more compensation being gathered.

Ms Stewart said her client was never in trouble before.

The judge adjourned sentencing until June 8 with the accused on continuing bail.
The Ask for Angela campaign, which went live last night in dozens of participating venues, will provide an extra layer of security to the public, vintners said.

Cork Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) secretary Michael O Donovan said members were delighted to get involved in the scheme, which is backed by the gardai, Cork City Council, the Purple Flag scheme for safe night-time economies, and student unions in both UCC and CIT.

With the increase in online dating, we want to help create an extra feeling of security and offer a helping hand to those who may need it, said Mr ODonovan.

Experience in other areas has shown that it is not used that often but it is a comfort to customers to know that it is there.

With our Purple Flag accreditation for a vibrant and well-managed evening and night-time economy, we are conscious of continually striving to implement initiatives like this.

The Ask for Angela scheme was launched in the Lincolnshire County Council area in England in 2016 to support people who feel unsafe, intimidated, or threatened while socialising.

The programme, aimed at men and women of all ages and sexual orientation, provided people who felt at risk while enjoying a night out with a discreet way to seek help or support by approaching bar or nightclub staff, and ask for Angela.

Staff in participating venues were trained to respond accordingly to ensure the person who approached them with the phrase was separated from the person who made them feel unsafe or uncomfortable. They accompanied the person to a safe location where they could discuss their concerns and request more specific assistance.

Options available to staff include offering to call for a taxi for the concerned individual or contacting their friends or family.

The scheme was tested successfully in several locations, including in Waterford, and is set to be introduced nationwide here.

Staff in participating venues area being told that the victim and perpetrator can be any gender, and that the perpetrator does not have to be of the opposite sex to the victim.

Staff have been told that one of the difficulties in understanding sexual harassment is that it involves a range of behaviours and that, in most cases, the victim may find it difficult to describe what they experienced.

They have been told the number one rule is to believe the person who raises concerns, not to blame them, to listen, and never assume.
Aisling Moran says the society needs to know its funding arrangements in September, adding that this late decision, taken just last month, means there are real concerns that the community aspect of the programme will not be able to continue until May 2018.

She told RTEs Morning Ireland that the programme, a partnership between Sherkin Island Development Society and Dublin Institute of Technology, is a unique and innovative one that adds to the fabric of social life on the island and means that five people can permanently live on Sherkin. Ms Moran said it is estimated that the programme results in an economic spin-off of 150,000 for the island annually.

Ms Moran said the programme is hugely important to the island.

Last week alone, on a cold wet January morning, crossing Baltimore harbour, we had almost 20 students coming onto our small island, coming past the 15th-century abbey, into the community hall that was built in 1983 by the islanders to get high-end, third-level degree programme, she said.

What the community here has done is they have taken one of their biggest issues which is population, and they have brought in, through a unique and innovate programme, approximately 20 people every weekend.

Last November, when uncertainty over funding emerged, Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) gave a commitment that students will be able to finish an art degree on the island.

Sherkin Island Development Society (SIDS) employs four local people to offer administrative help and facilities in support of the course, but had to put them on protective notice last November because it could not guarantee the jobs into the future.

The second and fourth-year students of the Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts take classes on Sherkin at weekends, and some elements are delivered online.

DIT pays for teaching and other academic elements, but SIDS has depended for its input in the past on 60,000 a year from Cork County Council and the Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht.

Cork County Council and the department previously equally shared the 60,000 cost but it was agreed in 2016 that the council would reduce its share to 20,000 for the 2016/17 academic year. That contribution has now been cut further to 10,000.

According to Ms Moran, that puts the co-funding arrangement in jeopardy.

There are real concerns that the community aspect of this programme wont be able to see it through to the end of May 2018, she said.
A total of 203 deer were shot by the marksman as part of eight culls in 2016 and 2017. A further 57 animals died as a result of road accidents and natural causes during the same period.

The OPW said Phoenix Park remained open to the public while the culls were performed by a 68-year-old sniper from Bray, Co Wicklow. However, it said a detailed protocol was followed, which took account of the welfare of the deer and the safety of the public.

The carcasses of the culled deer were sold for an average of 96 each to a Wicklow-based meat supplier, which specialises in processing game and stocks butchers and supermarkets in 10 counties.

A cull of 38 female and 11 male deer over two days in January and February 2017 reduced the herd to 540, compared with 570 recorded in October 2016. A further two culls were carried in November 2017, during which an additional 43 deer were killed.

In total, 111 deer were shot during four culls during 2016, while 92 deer were culled over four days last year. These were comprised of 138 females and 65 males.

The figures, which were released in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, also show that 38 deer were killed as a result of road accidents and other causes in 2016, while 19 died in this manner last year.

A spokesperson for the OPW said that the cause of these deaths included traffic accidents, injuries sustained during the rutting or mating season, and other natural causes.

The Phoenix Park remains open to the public during deer culls. Deer culling is carried out according to a detailed protocol using best practices taking full regard of the welfare of the deer and the safety of the staff and the public, she said.

An over-abundant deer population can result in increasing incidence of road traffic accidents and increase the potential role for deer in the epidemiology of specific diseases.

The OPW works with the School of Biology and Environmental Science in University College Dublin with regard to the management and scientific research of the deer herd in the Phoenix Park, she added.

The OPW declined to state how much the sniper was paid to shoot deer in Phoenix Park, citing reasons of commercial sensitivity.
A newspaper had reported that InterCity services to Galway, Mayo, Sligo, Kerry, Waterford and Wexford were facing closure due to a funding shortfall, but Irish Rail yesterday denied this.

There are absolutely no plans or consideration being given to curtailing routes in a wholesale fashion as suggested in the newspaper, said Barry Kenny, corporate communications manager at Iarnrod Eireann.

He said the reports were based on a funding gap of about 100m per annum which existed in the past, and which was identified by the National Transport Authority/Iarnrod Eireann Rail Review published in October 2016.

However, there has been a significant improvement in funding in 2017 and 2018, with a funding gap down to 42.8m for 2018, he said. The policy decisions therefore to be made by the minister for transport with the NTA arising from the Rail Review relate to the remaining funding shortfall, and are only considering the future of four lightly used lines identified in the Rail Review: Limerick to Ballybrophy, Limerick Junction to Waterford, Ennis to Athenry, and Gorey to Rosslare.

Iarnrod Eireann will continue to operate the network it is contracted to provide, and looks forward to completing the process to ensure a sustainable financial future for our rail network and service which has progressed over recent years.

Fianna Fail TD for Clare Timmy Dooley warned the Government against focussing investment too centrally on the capital.

The message for Minister Ross is that if you have key infrastructure and people living effectively in those rural areas, they require a level of service, he said.

And its appropriate and right that you would investment in rail services in the west of Ireland in the same way you would want the Government to invest in the Luas and the DART and those services here in the city. People outside the east coast do expect to see an increased investment in their public transport services.

Meanwhile, the National Bus and Rail Union will attend the Workplace Relations Commission next week for talks with Iarnrod Eireann over changes to drivers terms and conditions.

We will, as previously indicated, continue with our ballot of train drivers for all-out strike action should the company move ahead with its stated intention of forcing those changes, the union warned.

There is an onus on both parties, with the assistance of the WRC, to come to table with an express desire to resolve our differences in order to prevent what would undoubtedly transpire to be a severely debilitating strike which will drag Iarnrod Eireann and its employees into disrepute, and create massive disruption for those that rely on rail for their travel plans, it said.

Varadkar: Were not closing railways

By Juno McEnroe

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has ruled out rail lines being axed as he faced accusations of failing to deliver on promises for rural Ireland.

A range of schemes and funds for rural Ireland had been reduced or delayed, Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin claimed in the Dail.

Leo Varadkar

The Government is facing mounting questions about its 20-year plan for rural development, warnings about loss-making rail links and the recent setback for the National Broadband Plan.

A newspaper report claimed crucial rural rail routes will be axed unless Irish Rail gets a 460m rescue package. However, Mr Varadkar pledged that with the economy in recovery, no routes would go.

In the past 10 years, much of which was a very difficult period of budget cutbacks, we did not close any railway lines in rural Ireland or any other part of Ireland.

Now that we are in a position to invest in our railways again and to increase Iarnrod Eireanns subvention, which has increased by 35% in three years, Deputies can be absolutely assured that having got through the worst recession in a generation without closing any railways, we are certainly not going to start doing it now.

Mr Martin though also claimed the Leader programme, which funds local rural schemes, had been reduced.

Furthermore, he suggested this was done so that government party TDs and ministers could instead release the funds for their own benefit. Projects had been snarled in delays, he added.

Mr Martin argued that the this had been started by the previous Fine Gael-led government, which had undermined and arguably destroyed a very good model for rural development in the form of the Leader programme. I say very calmly that we are now in 2018 and we have spent just 13m of the 250m budget that was provided for a programme that lasts from 2014 to 2020, he added.

The Taoiseach conceded there had been an underspend there but also said 32 changes were made to the rural funds to make them easier to distribute.

But when it came to rural Ireland, responded Mr Martin, rural Ireland had been left behind.

It is important to point out that, as the public knows, there is a huge gap between the promises and commitments and the actual delivery of them on the ground.

The Taoiseach strongly disagreed, saying that 80% of jobs created in in the last quarter were outside Dublin. Furthermore, Mr Varadkar told the Dail significant transport and tourism investment outside Dublin was satisfying rural communities.

The biggest single transport investment in the last two years was the Gort to Tuam motorway, costing 550m. The biggest single transport investment in the last two years was in the West of Ireland, helping us to connect together Galway and Limerick and we will connect Limerick to Cork in due course.

The Deputies will know about the investment in projects such as greenways around the country and the Wild Atlantic Way.
Family members including Brid Hughes, a granddaughter of founder Liam Ruiseal, issued an emotional thank you to their customers for over a century of support.

However, they said that trading as a small independent bookseller became too difficult due to increased competition from online retailers and large retail chains.

The recent economic downturn was also a contributing factor, said the family.

As a family business, with over 100 years history in Cork City, it was a difficult and emotional decision for us.

We will miss the community of traders in Oliver Plunkett St, and surrounds, and most of all our colleagues and friends, who have worked with us for many years.

We thank the people of Cork and beyond, who have supported us for over a century of trading. We will close our doors with fond memories of our customers, our suppliers and neighbours in Oliver Plunkett St.

As this chapter comes to an end, we wish everyone the best of reading for the next chapter.

The shock announcement of the closure of the landmark shop comes just over a year after the business celebrated its centenary.

Its closure will leave the city centre with just two independent bookshops  Vibes & Scribes on Lavitts Quay and the Time Travellers Bookshop on Wandesford Quay.

Local historian Diarmuid O Drisceoil described Liam Ruiseals as being as iconic to book lovers as the English Market is to people interested in food.

People in Cork have a great attachment to it. For people interested in books, Liam Ruiseals is kind of like their spiritual home, he said.

He described the impending closure as very sad for readers, writers, and for the atmosphere of the city.

Shop founder Liam Ruiseal, a lifelong Irish republican and Irish language enthusiast, was born in Corks South Parish in November 1891.

In 1916, thanks to financial backing from his father, he opened the Fountain Bookshop on the Grand Parade with Brid Dixon  the woman he would marry in 1919.

The shop was frequently raided by the Royal Irish Constabulary during the turbulent years of the struggle for independence.

Mr Ruiseal closed that bookshop and relocated the business, which now bears his name in an iconic Gaelic script sign above the door, to its current location on Oliver Plunkett St in 1929, extending into an adjoining unit in 1966.

His bookshop carved out a reputation for specialising in local history, Irish history, educational, and rare books, and was renowned for its creative window displays.

Mr Ruiseal worked in the bookshop until three weeks before his death on October 26, 1978, aged 87.
Outstanding inequalities in boardrooms and politics still must be addressed, proclaimed TDs during special statements on the centenary of womens suffrage.

Culture Minister Josepha Madigan said that while Constance Markievicz became the first female cabinet member in 1919, it was another 60 years before another woman sat at cabinet.

A programme of commemorations were announced yesterday for the year.

We have made much progress in this House to provide better equal opportunities for all, but we still have a way to travel, said Ms Madigan. It is timely, on the 100th anniversary of the extension of the franchise to women, to redouble our efforts to provide that opportunity.

The passing of the Representation of the People Act 1918 was marked yesterday. It granted first limited voting rights for women. Later in 1918, women were also given the right to stand as candidates for election.

Ms Markievicz, in the Dublin St Patricks constituency, became the first and only woman elected in the general election of 1918.

Full electoral equality and voting rights for women only came about in 1922.

Former tanaiste Joan Burton called for the number of women to equal that of men in the next government.

That would be a real breakthrough in the spirit of the women who achieved suffrage, she said. We need womens life experience, not just in the Dail where it is now with greater numbers, but to be present in Cabinet.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he wants to see more women in Cabinet  about 20% of TDs are women, the same level of representation at Cabinet.

Fianna Fail arts spokeswoman Niamh Smyth said a lot more needs to change across society, while inequality still exists in boardrooms, at managerial level, and in salaries.

Irelands female boardroom representation currently stands at around 16% and the National Womens Council have called for quotas in the country to ensure a fairer representation in business, she said, adding that 25 of the 40 constituencies have at least one female TD.

Ms Madigan committed the Government to further rooting out inequality.

We will take measures to reduce the gender pay gap  inclusive of increasing investment in childcare, and reviewing the lower pay of women and gender inequality for senior appointments, she said

The Government, she added, is promoting an increase of female representation on state boards to at least 40%.

Ms Madigan then quoted remarks by Ms Markievicz from the Dail in March 1922, which read: I have worked in Ireland, I have even worked in England, to help the women to obtain their freedom. I would work for it anywhere, as one of the crying wrongs of the world, that women, because of their sex, should be debarred from any position or any right that their brains entitle them a right to hold.
It will mean that children attending school who are aged under the compulsory school age of six will be covered by laws regulating attendance for the first time.

Nearly six years after publishing his proposed change to the law as a government backbencher, Labour Senator Aodhan O Riordains Education (Welfare) Amendment Bill looks set to pass after being supported last night in the Seanad by Childrens Minister Katherine Zappone.

Although it will not reduce the compulsory age for attending school, it will mean Tuslas educational welfare officers have the authority to engage with all of those in infant classes.

Mr O Riordain said infant pupils will be protected because Tusla can not protect the attendance rights of four- and five-year-olds currently.

Tusla can only intervene in a case of chronic absenteeism if a child is six years or older, said the former Dublin primary school principal. This effectively means that young children with chronic absenteeism in our school system are being failed at the earliest stage of their education journey.

The law that has been in place for over 15 years means schools are obliged to report to Tusla if a child misses over 20 days in a school year. It can issue a legal notice to require parents to ensure the childs attendance improves, or may issue prosecutions if this does not result in regular attendance.

The availability of free pre-school education and other factors have seen parents sending their children to primary school older over the past decade, with most not now starting until they are five or almost five.

Ms Zappone said that 40% of four-year-olds and practically all those aged five now attend primary schools, and she shares the view that education welfare law should be amended to include them. She said it would allow appropriate interventions by Tuslas officers with the families of four and five-year-olds, but that parents have a key role as the main educators of their children.

While the classroom, playground and the form-ation of new friendships leads to learning, excitement and joy, it does also require commitment, she said.

Ms Zappone said parents who may struggle with the new routime, commitment, and cost of school will be ensured the extra support of educational welfare officers.
Burma AA Denies Involvement in Murder of Former Mrauk-U Official

AA Brig-Gen Tun Myat Naing attends a peace conference for ethnic armed groups in Kachin State in July 2016. / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  The Arakan Army (AA) has denied responsibility for the Jan. 30 killing of a former official of Rakhine States Mrauk-U Township, saying it has no association with the detained suspects.

The accusations that the government made are totally untrue. We were not involved in U Bo Bo Min Theiks murder, AA spokesman U Khaing Thukha told The Irrawaddy.

The recently promoted Rakhine State government director was found dead with multiple stab wounds to the chest in Rakhines Phonnagyun Township.

Earlier, U Bo Bo Min Theik had been summoned for questioning over a police crackdown on a Jan. 16 protest there that left seven civilians dead.

He was serving as an official in Mrauk-U at the time of the protest, which was sparked by the governments decision to ban events marking the anniversary of the fall of the Arakan kingdom some 200 years ago. A few days after the protest and crackdown, he was transferred to Sittwe, the state capital, over concerns for his safety.

On Jan. 31, police arrested four suspects in U Bo Bo Min Theiks murder. U Kyaw Myint and his son Ko Min Than Htay, wife Daw Kyi Kyi Win and daughter-in-law Ma Khin Zar Hlaing were arrested in Yangon and cases were opened against them for homicide, abetting and causing grievous harm.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement released Monday it had learned that the AA assassinated U Bo Bo Min Theik in retaliation for his role in blocking the anniversary commemoration.

It said U Kyaw Myint confessed to conspiring to kill U Bo Bo Min Theik with AA recruiter Ko Latt and three others  Sapaing, Zaw Myo Aung and Myo Chit Aung.

The statement also alleges that U Kyaw Myint and his son had been trafficking illicit drugs from Shan State to Rakhine for several years. It said they smuggled 4.4 million methamphetamine pills into Rakhines Maungdaw District in 2016 and 2017 at a profit of almost 400 million kyats ($299,000) and confessed to buying M-16 assault rifles, pistols and ammunition for the AA. It added that U Kyaw Myint had kept one of the pistols.

AA spokesperson U Khaing Thukha described the governments statement as an attempt to frame the organization.

The people named [in the statement] have no connection with us. Another thing that is completely wrong is the type of firearm mentioned. The Arakan Army doesnt use M-16s. That is totally wrong, he added.

The ministry adds in the statement that it will arrest and prosecute all conspirators.

This is a complex case and its hard to say who is responsible. But the AA doesnt need to do something like this; those who oppose injustice and oppression will do it, U Khaing Thukha said.
Burma Farmers Lose Lengthy Court Battle Against Thai, Govt Mine

Myaung Pyo village, near the Heinda mine in Tenasserim Region. / Htet Naing Zaw / The Irrawaddy

NAYPYITAW  Nine farmers from Tenasserim Regions Dawei Township have lost their lawsuit against state-owned Mining Enterprise 2 and Thailands Myanmar Pongpipat Co. asking for 300 million kyats ($227,000) in damages.

A nine-member appeals board at the Supreme Court of Myanmar in Naypyitaw rejected the suit in a final ruling on Monday because it had failed to comply with the Limitation Act, said their lawyer U Maung Maung Soe.

The act imposes various time limits on court cases.

The Supreme Court of Myanmar rejected the appeal of the case against Heinda mine and there is no higher court to go to. I am sad for the local farmers, U Maung Maung Soe said.

The lawsuit was first filed with the Dawei District Court in 2012 by locals who blamed years of flooding, crop damage and property losses on the soil the companies were dumping into the Myaung Pyo Creek.

After the district court ruled in favor of the companies, the Tenasserim Division Appeals Court overturned the decision, prompting the defendants to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court then overturned the decisions of the division court in June 2016, acquitting the defendants and requiring them only to pay all legal expenses. Dissatisfied, the plaintiffs took their case to a special two-member appeals board at the Supreme Court, which sent it to a nine-member board for a final decision.

In 2012, ethnic Dawei villagers told The Irrawaddy that their properties were being damaged by rising levels of wastewater ever since Myanmar Pongpipat took over the Heinda mine. They said the company had filled the Myaung Pyo Creek with waste and sediment from the mine, causing more flooding that was damaging their homes, farms and water supplies.

The mine sits about 100 km east of Dawei near the Myitta sub-township next to an area linking the Dawei deep sea port and Kanchanaburi in Thailand.

The Thai company signed a production-sharing deal with Mining Enterprise 2 in 1999 to extract tin and tungsten from a 2,000-acre area and reportedly holds rights to 65 percent of produced, which is exported to Thailand and Singapore for processing. Mining Enterprise 2 holds the remaining rights to the mine

The Irrawaddy tried to meet with Myanmar Pongpipat officials at the mine in 2012, but they refused to speak without the governments permission and told the reporters to leave.

Myanmar Pongpipat was granted permission to operate the mine for a 10-year term in 1999 and continues to operate it today despite the negative impacts on the environment and public health.

The mine sits in an area controlled by the Karen National Union, which has ordered Myanmar Pongpipat to halt its mining operations because of the harm it was doing locals, but to no avail.

Myaung Pyo village, downstream from the mine, was founded in the early 1980s and is home to more than 500 ethnic Dawei. Most are farmers and ranchers, though a few mine for lead.

Translated from Burmese by Myint Win Thein.
Burma Myanmar Policeman Who Arrested Reuters Reporters Tells Court He Burned His Notes

Detained Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo talks to journalists after a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar, February 6, 2018. / Reuters

YANGON  A Myanmar police officer who was part of the team that arrested two Reuters journalists in December told a court on Tuesday that he had burned the notes he made at the time, but gave no reason why he had done so.

Police Second Lieutenant Tin Htwe Oo was the latest prosecution witness to give evidence at the Insein district court in Yangon, which will decide whether reporters Wa Lone, 31, and Kyaw Soe Oo, 27, should be charged under Myanmars colonial-era Official Secrets Act.

Tin Htwe Oo read from a notebook to recount details of the arrest, which he said was based on notes written at the time. Under cross-examination by the defense, he said he had burned his original notes, but had not been instructed to do so.

Only the police will know the reason for that, defense lawyer Than Zaw Aung told reporters after the hearing.

Dozens of reporters and diplomats were present when the Reuters journalists were brought in handcuffs from prison to the crowded courtroom.

They had worked on Reuters coverage of a crisis in Rakhine State, where an army crackdown on insurgents since the end of August has triggered the flight of 688,000 Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh, according to the United Nations.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were detained on Dec. 12 after they had been invited to meet police officers over dinner in Yangon. They have told relatives they were arrested almost immediately after being handed some documents at a restaurant by two officers they had not met before.

Tin Htwe Oo made no reference to the restaurant meeting, saying police stopped the two reporters as they walked along a road. He said after stopping them, police discovered secret documents relating to the Rakhine conflict.

The arresting officers made an inventory of around 20 items in their possession  including their cell phone numbers and details of ATM and library cards  on the spot within 10-15 minutes, he said.

Defense lawyer Than Zaw Aung said he had asked Tin Htwe Oo repeatedly in cross-examination how they had been able to do this so quickly, but said he did not give a clear response.

They were saying that it only took 10 to 15 minutes but items found from the reporters were phones and cards and it will take around 30 minutes to record those, Than Zaw Aung said.

Calls for Release

At the last court hearing on Thursday, another prosecution witness, Police Major Min Thant, agreed during cross-examination by the defense that the information in documents that Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were holding in their hands at the time of their arrest had already been published in newspaper reports.

Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo are journalists who perform a crucial role in shedding light on issues of global interest, Reuters said in a statement after the proceedings ended for the day.

We believe that the ongoing court proceedings will demonstrate their innocence and they will be able to return to their jobs reporting on events in Myanmar. We are grateful for the expressions of support for Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo and continue to call for their prompt release.

The two reporters, whose application for bail was declined at the last hearing, have now been in detention for eight weeks, first in police custody and then in Yangons notorious Insein prison.

We feel theres no justice, Wa Lone shouted as he and Kyaw Soe Oo were led to a police truck after the hearing. The testimonies from the police officers are far from the truth.

Spokesmen for the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Yangon police chief were not immediately available for comment. In the past they have declined to comment on a case that is before the courts.

The Official Secrets Act dates back to 1923  when Myanmar, then known as Burma, was under British rule  and carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years.

The two journalists have been accused under Section 3.1 (c) of the act, which covers entering prohibited places, and taking images or obtaining secret official documents that might be or is intended to be, directly or indirectly, useful to an enemy.

Government officials from some of the worlds major nations, including the United States, Britain and Canada, as well as top UN officials, have called for the reporters to be freed.

The date of the next hearing was set for Feb. 14.
Burma Rakhine State to Send Lawsuit Against Associated Press to Union Govt

An aerial view of a burned village in Buthitaung Township in northern Rakhine State. / Min Aung Khine / The Irrawaddy

The Rakhine State government has submitted to the Attorney General of the Union a plan to sue The Associated Press over its reports claiming the existence of mass graves near Gutar Pyin village in Rakhines Buthidaung Township.

At a meeting on Feb. 5, Rakhine government ministers agreed with remarks made by the state attorney general that the AP news report affected not only Rakhine State, but also the entire Union.

I reported to the state government that the case has negative impacts not only on Rakhine State but also on the entire Union. They agreed with me. So we submitted the plan to the attorney general of the Union, Rakhine attorney general U Kyaw Hla Tun told the Irrawaddy.

The plan was submitted on Feb. 5, and Law Officer U Kyaw Maung from the Rakhine State Attorney Generals Office has been tasked with working out the necessary legal procedures, according to U Kyaw Hla Tun.

On Feb. 1, the AP reported that hundreds of bodies had been found in five mass graves near Gutar Pyin village in Buthidaung, Rakhine State. It said the bodies had been burned with acid in an apparent attempt to destroy them.

The Union government ordered the Rakhine State government to investigate the claims.

The state government sent an investigation team led by the Buthidaung Township administrator to the site, but the team found the claims to be untrue, according to a statement released by the Union government on the evening of Feb. 2.

The AP responded to The Irrawaddys request for comment that it stood by its reporting.

Translated from Burmese by Myint Win Thein.
Burma Six Villagers Detained by Mrauk-U Authorities

An archaeological site in Mrauk-U Township. / The Irrawaddy

YANGON  Seven locals from Tain Nyo village in northern Rakhine States Mrauk-U Township were summoned by authorities for questioning on Saturday and only one person had been released as of Wednesday, according to local sources.

Arakanese lawmaker U Tun Thar Sein of Mrauk-U constituency (1) told The Irrawaddy that police brought six men and one woman from Tain Nyo villagesituated at least 10 miles from town, with a population of some 3,800in for questioning.

He told The Irrawaddy over the phone on Wednesday that four villagers had been arrested and were in Mrauk-U police custody and two others were being held at the government administrative office. The reason for their detention is unclear. Speculation is that it is related to the recent murder of former Mrauk-U official Bo Bo Min Theik or for arms possession.

According to police procedure, cops are not to detain ordinary residents for more than 24 hours without charging them.

This week, police searched homes in Tain Nyo village and arrested former village administrator U Kyaw Myint and his son Min Than Htay in Yangon in connection with the murder of Bo Bo Min Theik.

Bo Bo Min Theik was stabbed to death on Jan. 30 in Rakhines Ponnagyun Township while returning to state capital Sittwe from Mrauk-U, where he had been summoned for questioning over a police crackdown on a Jan. 16 protest there that left seven civilians dead.

Following the police crackdown in Mrauk-U, the Arakan Army (AA) issued a statement threatening to take serious retaliatory measured against the culprits including Rakhine State government officials and members of security forces involved in the killings.

The Ministry of Home Affairs on Feb. 5 accused the AA of the murder of Bo Bo Min Theik. AA spokesman U Khine Thu Kha denied that AA soldiers were involved on Tuesday and pointed out that its soldiers did not use M-16 assault rifles, as a government announcement had stated in connection with the crime. He criticized the police of trying to deliberately tarnish the AAs reputation.

The Irrawaddy phoned the Mrauk-U district police official on Tuesday in order to clarify the reason for the detention of seven villagers, but he declined to answer.

A schoolteacher from Mrauk-U said police have searched nearby villages since the police crackdown and that locals were frightened.

To look into the Mrauk-U crackdown, the Rakhine State Parliament established a nine-member investigation commission last month. It was expected to start the inquiry process on Feb. 3 but has been delayed due to regional instability.

U Tun Thar Sein said that regional legislators were holding legal consultations with law experts in order to avoid reaching beyond parliamentarians legislative power in carrying out the investigation. The team hopes to collaborate with various government departments in Mrauk-U, he added.
Wednesday, February 7th, 2018 (8:13 am) - Score 3,571

Long suffering residents of the SE16 area (e.g. Rotherhithe), inside the central London borough of Southwark, are starting to get access to faster broadband connections. This comes after local ISP Relish Wireless (UK Broadband Ltd.) began installing the first of several new masts (aerials).

Overall London already has very good coverage of superfast broadband (24Mbps+) capable networks, which should be available to around 97% of premises. Sadly this isnt true for every borough in the city and Southwark has long been known to be one of the weaker areas for such services (around 92% coverage). The large number of Exchange Only Lines (EOL), which are particularly expensive to tackle, doesnt help.

Toward the end of last year the Southwark Council finally moved to address this by setting out a new digital strategy (here). As part of that plan the council confirmed that they were signing a number of lease agreements, which would enable operators to install wireless broadband infrastructure on a number of council owned buildings [that] will supply up to 40Mb broadband speeds across 70% of the borough.

The operators concerned were UK Broadband Ltd. (theyre now owned by Three UK and also run local ISP Relish Wireless) and Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Ltd (CTIL). The latter is the company responsible for managing O2 and Vodafones UK mobile network(s).

In all, 26 new UKB installations, including 4 in the Rotherhithe area, and 13 new CTIL sites were planned, bringing the total number of UKB and CTIL installations on council owned assets to 28 and 25 respectively. With the exception of 3 installations, all new wireless telecommunications aerials will be hosted on the rooftops of residential housing blocks.

The good news is that UKB has recently begun to deploy these, with the first one going live at a site on Swan Road. The Rotherhithe sites are among the first to be installed and deployment should be completed before Easter, while the unrelated CTIL sites are still expected to be completed by the end of Spring 2018.

A few people have already connected to the service and are reporting significantly faster speeds than their old fixed line ADSL connections via Openreach (BT) based ISPs, which is good since Relish Wireless sometimes struggles in the speed and connection stability department (location dependent).

Customers typically pay from 22 inc. VAT per month for Relishs up to 40Mbps service with unlimited usage (this price recently increased by +2), which includes a free wireless router on the 12 month term or a 70 one-off charge for those taking out a 1 month contract. Relish uses a fixed wireless form of 4G (LTE) technology in the 3.5GHz to 3.6GHz bands.

The council hopes that the income generated from these new lease agreements, plus the uplift in rents received for existing UKB and CTIL sites, should represent a significant revenue source  over the next 15 years. The first year of income is expected to be about 200,000 and this will help to fund the delivery of the councils new Digital Infrastructure Strategy. Credits to Alloneword for the spot.

UPDATE 9th Feb 2018

Relish has confirmed that theyve also expanded their network into parts of Wandsworth and Lambeth.
Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has announced a new promise of procurement with the UK worth 3 billion.

The commitment was announced during a meeting between the company's chairperson Sun Yafang and British Prime Minister Theresa May in Beijing on 1 February.

The 3 billion commitment builds on an earlier pledge made in 2012 to invest and procure deals worth 1.3 billion in the UK.

Huawei announced on Monday that this target had been exceeded, with 2 billion being invested and procured in that period.

The company has more than 1500 employees in 15 offices in the UK, including its head office in Green Park, Reading.

Yafang and May meeting in Beijing on 1 February.

The new commitment by Huawei comes shortly after it encountered choppy waters in the US, with a deal for AT&T to sell its phones on plans being cancelled at the last minute.

Additionally, Verizon is reported to have come under pressure from the US Government to stop selling Huawei devices and yielded.

May said: Thanks to the drive and innovation of UK business, backed by this government, trade between the UK and China is already at record levels. This visit is an opportunity to further showcase the best of British and boost jobs and prosperity throughout the UK.

Huawei values long-term partnerships. The UK was one of the first international markets we entered, when we opened our first office there in 2001," said Yafang.

"We have now been working with our major customers in the UK for more than 12 years, helping to build a better connected UK. Over the coming years we look forward to continuing to collaborate with our customers and partners to help keep the UK at the very forefront of the digital age.

Huawei has also been shafted from an undersea cable project in the AsiaPac region, with the Solomon Islands, under pressure from Australia, withdrawing a contract for the Chinese company to be the main contractor for the project.

Allegations have been made in both the US and Australia that Huawei serves as a means for the Chinese Government to spy on the two countries. These claims have been vehemently denied.

Britain is also a member of the so-called Five Eyes Alliance that includes Canada and New Zealand; the five countries share intelligence data.

Photo: courtesy Huawei
The Lenovo Carbon X1 is a popular, powerful and highly portable business-grade notebook.

Lenovo today announced a global voluntary recall of notebooks in this product line that were manufactured between December 2016 and October 2017. Lenovo will provide customers free-of-charge service inspections for all recalled notebooks.

The affected systems will have a build date in that range and will have product numbers beginning with MT, 20HQ, 20HR, 20K3 and 20K4.

You can identify if your notebook is affected by entering its product code and serial number into a special website for this recall , and then following the contact details provided if the site determines you need to act.

Specifically, Lenovo advises an unfastened screw can damage the battery, causing overheating and in turn posing a potential fire hazard. Lenovo states there are no recorded instances of any fires, but that to date three customers have experienced the unfastened screw coming loose, and the multinational has issued the voluntary recall as a precaution to avoid any risk.

For maximum safety, Lenovo recommends affected customers to turn off their notebook and refrain from using it until the service inspection is complete.

Additional information can be obtained from Lenovo on 1800 954 173.
Networking product vendor D-Link has announced two affordable HD Wi-Fi cameras are joining its stable of smart home security solutions, with full Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa and IFTTT support.

D-Links new cameras are named the DCS-8000LH Mini HD Wi-Fi Camera and the DCS-8100LH HD 180 degree Wi-Fi camera, respectively.

Both cameras offer premium features including advanced video monitoring, wide viewing angles and, as the name suggests, crisp 720p high-definition quality.

As you would expect from D-Links Connected Home range, the two new cameras can also be connected or controlled through home automation platforms including Googles Assistant, Amazons Alexa  very timely with the first batch of Echo devices now landing in Australian homes and offices, and IFTTT (if this then that), to personalise the smart home experience. This means one can realistically utter such voice commands as "Hey Google, show me the upstairs camera on my TV."

The cameras also provide cloud recording and other features through D-Links mydlink smartphone and tablet app.

Both cameras also have a built-in IR LED, providing five metres of night vision in total darkness, coupled with automatic push alert notifications so one is always aware if someone is sneaking around a property.

The DCS-8000LH Mini HD Wi-Fi camera offers 120 degrees of view while the DCS-8100LH camera delivers a vast 180 degree landscape.

Graeme Reardon, managing director of D-Link ANZ, said, "The Mini HD Wi-Fi Camera is classic D-Link home security  a stylistic and aesthetically pleasing design that allows it to easily fit in with its surroundings while remaining packed with all the necessary features for any home or space that you need to keep an extra set of eyes on.

Sound and motion detection capabilities allow for push alerts to notify home owners what's happening even when they're away and can also trigger video clip recordings to a local microSD card slot or cloud recording.

The HD 180 Degree Wi-Fi Camera (DCS-8100LH) is available now for A$199.95 and NZ$249.99. The HD Wi-Fi Camera (DCS-8000LH) is available now for A$149.95 and NZ$179.9
Global education software and services provider Tribal Group is collaborating with Microsoft to enable the organisation expand the number of educational institutions and students who can access its Student Information Systems.

Since 2016, Tribal has been developing a next generation, cloud-based solution  Tribal Edge  and has announced it has selected Microsoft Azure as the underlying platform.

Ian Bowles, chief executive, Tribal, said to support the proactive development of Tribal Edge, Microsofts Azure application development team would work with Tribal to accelerate the creation of new functionality, enabling the rapid development of an enhanced cloud-based platform and the conversion of the current functionally-rich applications of SITS:Vision and ebs to a cloud environment.

According to Tribal, as a result it would be able to provide a single engagement solution for students in all educational establishments, to enhance student experience and underpin their learning success.

We are excited to embark on this new, strategic collaboration with Microsoft and believe it will quickly reap significant benefits for our mutual and prospective customers, Bowles said.

With Microsofts support, we will rapidly deliver Tribal Edge and improve the offering to our existing customers, providing new student engagement and superior student experience functionality across all our solutions, and also allow significant enhancements to other providers solutions.

Microsoft is a clear leader with the breadth of its cloud offerings. That coupled with a focus on education made Microsoft the obvious partner for our next generation cloud offering. Working with Microsoft, we will be able to offer a host of new, complementary solutions to our extensive education customer base.

Ian Fordham, director of Education, Microsoft UK, said, Jointly, we will be able to offer a significant advantage to education institutions that puts students at the heart of what they do, with technology that enables access at any time, from anywhere.

This collaboration will truly deliver on the potential of cloud and mobile solutions to enhance the learning experience for all. We are looking forward to delivering exceptional value to our joint education customers.
The latest research expects plenty more handsets featuring facial recognition in 2018 alone, with the figure to grow to over a billion by 2020.

With Apple's advanced Face ID technology, preceded by less powerful but still effective face and iris scanning unlock tech in Samsung's most recent flagship smartphones, the cloners and copiers have already begun. The research comes to light just as a facial recognition bill has been introduced into the Australian Parliament.

Oppo's latest R11s and R11s smartphones boast of having an AI-enhanced face detection camera, which in my tests works far better and faster than any of Samsung's equivalent technologies.

Clearly, plenty more facial ID equipped smartphones are on the way too, with those aforementioned billion-plus smartphones "to feature some form of face unlock solution in 2020".

The information comes courtesy of research firm Counterpoint , which notes that "when Apple announced Touch ID in 2013, it set a trend in consumer mobility".

This move led to "smartphone OEMs around the world" following Apples example and "integrating fingerprint sensors into their own devices".

As we've seen, OEMs did this "to such an extent that fingerprint-based security is now considered standard issue on even budget-priced smartphones".

As a result, Counterpoint estimates "more than a billion smartphones will be shipped in 2018 sporting fingerprint sensors" as previously forecast here.

But fingerprint readers are one thing, offering on iPhones a 1 in 50,000 chance of someone else having a fingerprint similar enough to unlock your phone.

Face ID has a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of being fooled, and thus, with Apple having launched Face ID, Counterpoint openly wonders whether if Apple is "permanently ditching Touch ID for contactless authentication".

"Either way," says Counterpoint, "Apples rivals will adopt similar technology during 2018, which could lead to facial recognition becoming the de-facto standard for unlocking phones and the gradual elimination of fingerprint sensors in smartphones.

"Apples Face ID generates a 3D depth map of the users face that is achieved by the multiple sensors in its iPhone X. On the contrary, other players like Samsung rely on 2D facial recognition coupled with an iris scanner.

"OnePlus, on the other hand, relies on just 2D facial recognition. Going forward, we believe more OEMs will opt for facial recognition choosing between 2D and 3D facial recognition technology based on the price positioning of their product."

Counterpoint then points to its "Component Tracker estimates" which is where the figure that "more than a billion smartphones will ship with facial recognition in 2020" is found.

No surprises for guessing that "Apple and Samsung are likely to lead the pack for this new technology adoption," with the usual set of Chinese players like "Oppo, vivo, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Huawei and others" no doubt trying to catch up as quickly as possible



Exhibit 1: Smartphone facial recognition feature penetration of smartphone shipments forecast



Source: Counterpoint Research  Component Tracker



Commenting on the research, senior analyst Pavel Naiya said: The diffusion of facial recognition technology into lower tier price bands will be faster than any other flagship feature due to 2D facial recognition being native on the Android platform.

"However, according to our estimates, close to 60% of all smartphones with facial recognition, will use 3D technology in 2020. Data collected from multiple 3D sensors will assist emerging technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality and artificial intelligence to widen their use cases.

Naiya added, Sensor fusion will be more relevant than ever. It will likely open a new era of partnerships between OEMs (as data providers) and chipset manufacturers (as platform providers), to stay ahead of the race to democratise new technologies.

"We believe, new platform players will evolve in the smartphone component ecosystem by leveraging machine learning, data processing and sensor data to provide unique features in the latest smartphones.



Security versus convenience

Counterpoint says that "a recurring theme when discussing biometrics is the balance between security and convenience, with the consensus being that convenience is generally more important than security to most consumers".

This leads organisations to ask: "But is facial recognition really a more convenient way to unlock a phone than fingerprint sensors?"

Peter Richardson, research director at Counterpoint Research, said: There are certainly situations where looking directly at a smartphone will be inconvenient, such as when walking briskly along a crowded street.

In such cases, a fingerprint sensor may well be more convenient and quicker as it does not require the user to look directly at the device and could even be unlocked as it is being removed from the users pocket or bag.

"Although Face ID may not be the most convenient way to unlock a phone under all situations, it is well-suited for applications that require higher security, such as mobile payments, and where speed is not necessarily of essence.

"In such cases, consumers may be happy to wait longer, say two to three seconds, in return for a much higher level of security, such as when purchasing an expensive item using their phone, Richardson concluded.

While there has been an undeniable trend towards contactless authentication during the past few months, predominantly to accommodate larger screens, Counterpoint Research "believes that the fingerprint sensor is far from dead."

So, what of "hardware versus software-based authentication?"

Clearly, state Counterpoint, "Face ID will have a much wider application beyond authentication, including augmented reality and other applications which require accurate and sophisticated 3D sensing technology".

"However, cost issues will limit hardware-based 3D sensing to high-end phones, at least for the time being. This will create an opportunity for software-based facial recognition systems that can capitalise on the interest in facial recognition generated by Apples iPhone X and deploy these solutions in all but the premium flagship models."

Commenting on the technology potential, Counterpoint's Neil Shah said, The use of AI-based machine learning algorithms coupled with ever faster processors, means that the latest software-only facial recognition technologies are able to overcome many of the traditional drawbacks of 2D face recognition and could become a real alternative to Face ID, at least for unlocking phones.

Using technologies such as convolutional neural network-based algorithms and video-based liveness detection, companies such as FaceTec and Sensory claim that it is virtually impossible for a third-party to spoof their facial recognition with photos or video of the phones owner.



Exhibit 2: Smartphone facial recognition feature penetration forecast  by technology



Source: Counterpoint Research  Component Tracker



What does this mean for using a combination of biometric technologies?

In future, Counterpoint Research expects mobile devices "will combine biometric sensors for the face, iris, voice and fingerprints. Rather than competing against each other, each biometric technology will be layered on top of each other with the most convenient and least intrusive being selected on an application by application basis".



Shah adds, In 2018 we expect all leading handset manufacturers to launch flagship handsets with facial recognition capability. Some will also be inspired by Apples notch design, though this wont be necessary in every case to deliver the face recognition technology  it will be more of a fashion statement.

In addition to flagship products, we expect 2D face recognition will find its way into mid-range products from leading Chinese handset brands.

A note at the end of Counterpoint's media release notes that: "Starting with Android 5.0 Lollipop, Google introduced a new Smart Lock system-which loosely categories as smartphone facial unlock.

"However, in this forecast, we only considered dedicated software/hardware functionalities provided by OEMs as facial recognition feature."
Cloned versions of the popular VideoLAN media player, better known as VLC, with ads embedded and in violation of the VLC licence, have been residing on the Google Play Store for a long time with the search company doing nothing about them, it is claimed.

The website Torrent Freak reported that a clone of VLC, named 321 Media Player, had been downloaded between five and ten million times and earned a 4.5 score from 101,000 reviews.

A second clone, known as Indian VLC Player, has more than 500,000 downloads.

VLC, which has more than 2.4 billion downloads, is released under the GNU General Public Licence which means the code is open for forking. But the licence also says that if the reworked code is redistributed, then that source should be made available to anyone who asks for it.

A long-time Reddit user, Martin Van Ballan,that the 321 Media Player developers had taken "VLC, put in ads, didn't attribute VLC or follow the open source licence, and they're using Media Player Classics icon".

Reacting to this post, a VLC developer wrote that Google had been informed about the application "many months ago".

VideoLAN president Jean-Baptiste Kempf told Torrent Freak: The Android version of VLC is under the license GPLv3, which requires everything inside the application to be open source and sharing the source.

This clone seems to use a closed-source advertisement component (are there any that are open source?), which is a clear violation of our copyleft. Moreover, they dont seem to share the source at all, which is also a violation.

He added that adding adware and spyware with a clone of VLC was not acceptable.

Kempf said that Indian VLC player appeared to break both copyright and trademark law.

A Google spokesman told the website: "We remove applications that violate our policies, such as apps that are illegal. We dont comment on individual applications; you can check out our policies for more information.
A Linux kernel module that is claimed to protect a system by comparing hashes which are calculated from the most important kernel region/sections/structures with the internal database hashes has been developed but it seems unlikely that it will be incorporated into the mainstream kernel.

The Linux Kernel Runtime Guard has been devised by the Openwall project.

LKRG checks at runtime to find out if any exploits for security flaws are in a system; if so, it attempts to block such attacks.

It can also detect any privilege escalation in processes that are running and kill the guilty process before it can execute any code.

While the project has put up its first public version for download, it is an open question as to whether the kernel project will accept it.

Linux creator Linus Torvalds did not offer any comment when asked about the possibility of the module being accepted into the mainline kernel.

Another group, Grsecurity, creates a hardening patch for the kernel, but its efforts have not been exactly warmly received by Torvalds.

He has, in the past, described the patch as "pure garbage".

Asked about how Grsecurity dealt with a particular issue, Torvalds responded: "Don't bother with Grsecurity. Their approach has always been 'we don't care if we break anything, we'll just claim it's because we're extra secure'.

"The thing is a joke, and they are clowns. When they started talking about people taking advantage of them, I stopped trying to be polite about their bullshit. Their patches are pure garbage."

Asked about LKRG, Linux expert Russell Coker, a longtime developer for the Debian GNU/Linux project who has also contributed code to the NSA's SE-Linux project, told iTWire: "The aim of that is to protect against kernel attacks that have not been specifically written to avoid such checks.

"While that module is used by hardly anyone there won't be attacks written to avoid it so it will do some good. If it was in the mainline kernel then attackers would write attacks to compromise the kernel and report the same hashes. Which would still make it harder to write attacks.

"I think that we have bigger problems in bad userspace code running as root or running with access to sensitive data."

He said Torvalds was very conservative about what went into the kernel. "It doesn't seem likely that this sort of thing will be well regarded, other smaller changes have taken years to get accepted. See this link," he added.
The US Department of Homeland Security has filed its response arguing against Kaspersky Lab's bid for a preliminary injunction to dismiss the ban on the use of its software in the US public service.

The ban  a binding operational directive or BOD  was made public in September and government agencies were given 90 days to get rid of the company's software from their systems.

In its response, the DHS said Kaspersky had been given time to respond to its moves, and the company had reacted more than four months after DHS issued the ban and over a month after the US Congress effectively codified the restriction in the National Defence Authorisation Act for Fiscal Year 2018.

It pointed out that though the NDAA called for all government agencies to remove any product containing Kaspersky software - and not only those with the Kaspersky brand - from any system by 1 October, Kaspersky Lab had not challenged that order.

"...even though the ND AAs ban proscribes the same conduct as the BOD, and for the same reason, Kaspersky does not challenge that statute here. ...this court should deny the request for a preliminary injunction because Kaspersky cannot demonstrate its entitlement to that extraordinary remedy," the submission said.

It said the ban was issued only after "extensive investigation and consultation with cyber security experts inside and outside the DHS and it was paired with an administrative process that afforded Kaspersky the complete unclassified rationale for the Acting Secretarys decision and an opportunity to rebut her concerns".

The concern was that Russia could use Kaspersky software on US information systems as an entry point for espionage or other cyber activities.

"Russia is a sophisticated adversary that has proven willing and able to compromise and exploit access to US networks, and its intelligence services have an unusually close relationship with Kaspersky and virtually unbounded authority under Russian law to compel information stored on the companys Russian servers and intercept data transmissions between the company and its U.S. customers."

The submission claimed that as long as Kasperskys products were on US Government networks, Russia would have the ability to exploit the software for hostile purposes, with or without the companys co-operation.

The US ban came in the wake of allegations that Russia had interfered in the 2016 US presidential elections.

A number of mainstream media reports have claimed that Kaspersky was connected to Russia's spying on the US.

The company's response has been sought by iTWire.

A Kaspersky Lab spokesperson told iTWire it maintains "the DHS decision is unconstitutional and relied on subjective, non-technical public sources, such as uncorroborated and often anonymously sourced media reports, related claims, and rumours".

"Furthermore, DHS has failed to provide the company adequate due process to rebut the unsubstantiated allegations underlying the BOD and has not provided any evidence of wrongdoing by the company.

"The company hopes that the court will address and resolve the appeal expeditiouslyin light of the BOD's damage to the company."
New research shows cyber crime in Australia increasing by over 25% in 2017, the second highest rate of countries surveyed, with Australian businesses increasing spend on their cyber defences accordingly.

Accenture and the Ponemon Institute have released the freely downloadable "2017 Cost of Cyber Crime Study", offering "insights on the security investments that make a difference".

With cyber crime is the digital Black Plague of the modern era, it's sadly no surprise to see Australian businesses having experienced "an average of 53 security breaches in 2017, a 25% increase, but significantly less than the global average of 130".

In Australia, "malicious insiders, phishing and social engineering" are the costliest attack types, with a price tag of $136,804 and $112,902 per incident, respectively. Detection accounts for one third of security costs on average.

The survey of 169 interviews revealed that "the use of AI and advanced analytics in cyber security is low, with only 24% and 32% of companies respectively having deployed these technologies. However, these technologies were found to produce amongst the highest level of cost savings when compared to other security and defence costs".

Josh Kennedy-White, managing director of Accenture Security, Asia Pacific, said: "With cyber incidents on the rise, and ever evolving in terms of scale and sophistication, Australian businesses should ensure they are appropriately prepared. It is encouraging to see strong investment in this field, however it is clear that businesses should consider the targeted deployment of advanced analytics and artificial intelligence in their cyber defences.

These advanced technologies represent significant return on investment.

So, what are some of the other relevant findings?

These include:

Information loss is one of the most expensive consequences of cyber-attacks in Australia, second to business disruption (41% and 32% respectively); and

The most common security technologies deployed in Australia are security intelligence systems (64%), advanced identity and access governance (60%).

And what are some "steps to improve effectiveness of cyber security efforts?"

By taking the following three steps, we're told that Australian organisations can further improve the effectiveness of their cyber security efforts to fend off and reduce the impact of cyber-crime:

Build cyber security on a strong foundation: Invest in the brilliant basics such as security intelligence and advanced access management and yet recognise the need to innovate to stay ahead of hackers. Undertake extreme pressure testing: Organisations should not rely on compliance alone to enhance their security profile but undertake extreme pressure testing to identify vulnerabilities more rigorously than even the most highly motivated attacker. Invest in breakthrough innovation: Balance spend on new technologies, specifically analytics and artificial intelligence, to enhance program effectiveness and scale value.

You can freely download the full report here.
The tax overhaul bill enacted in December, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, P.L. 115-97, made significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code and has been called the biggest tax reform bill since the Tax Reform Act of 1986, P.L. 99-514. The final bill made a speedy trip through Congress, being introduced in the House of Representatives on Nov. 1 and signed by President Donald Trump on Dec. 22. However, the bill was built on proposals that Congress has worked on for several years.

The bill will have wide-ranging effects on individuals and businesses  and on the CPAs who advise them  for years to come.

Mark Peterson, executive vice presidentAdvocacy, and Ed Karl, CPA, CGMA, vice presidentTaxation, sat down with Kim Nilsen, the JofAs publisher, to talk about the impact the new law will have on practitioners, and the steps the AICPA took to advocate on behalf of the profession as the legislation was being developed.

This is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Congress seemed to race through the tax reform process. Was the bill really fast-tracked, or was it something that had been in the works more quietly for some time?

Mark Peterson: The answer is both. This discussion has been going on in earnest since 20132014, when then-Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Dave Camp [R-Mich.] had a proposal out. Because of the political dynamic, that bill was never going to leave the House, but a lot of the groundwork was starting to be laid at that point. There were multiple hearings. There were distinct pieces of legislation that were introduced for reaction.

And so there was a long lead-up to a short process. Once they decided on a package and once they made their commitment this fall to move forward, the actual legislative process was fairly short, when you think of a piece of legislation that impacts almost every sector of the economy. But some would say the lead-in to it was comprehensive, and the discussion started many years ago. Others would say the opposite. However, we had been involved in those discussions in a very thoughtful way, which was a great platform for us, because we already had positions, and we had some level of groundwork laid with the committees.

Ed Karl: Mark is correct about the Camp bill being an important way station, but it started even before that. About seven years ago, I was at a National Tax Conference, and Don Longano, who was then chair of our Tax Legislation and Policy Committee, was giving a legislative update at the conference, and I was sitting next to Pat Thompson, who was then the chair of the [AICPA] Tax Executive Committee. And Don started talking about tax reform, and it was really the first conversation about tax reform to come up. I looked at Pat and said, We need a task force, and she said, Youre right. And so, weve had conversations going back seven years.

Having said that, there were items in the final legislation that didnt surface until maybe two months before the actual legislation passed. So, the last several months really were a whirlwind of items surfacing, changes to items, etc. There was quite a bit going on at the very end.

Could you talk about the role that the AICPA played in the process?

Karl: Well, it starts with our Tax Executive Committee, which is the body that is set by our governing Council to set our tax policy positions, but then there is collaboration between the Congressional and Political Affairs team and the tax team in terms of implementing the policies set by the Tax Executive Committee.

We had the benefit of utilizing the chair of the Tax Executive Committee, and there were several chairs. We started with Pat Thompson, and then Jeff Porter, Troy Lewis, and now Annette Nellen. So, were talking about four Tax Executive Committee chairs who each have a two-year term, being in this process. Over seven years, all of these people were involved in helping us set our policy positions, testifying at hearings, submitting letters under their name to make sure that we draw the line in the sand in terms of what our positions are.

But then it gets a lot more in depth beyond that, particularly utilizing Marks team and all the behind-the-scenes conversations, meetings, outreach for intelligence. We utilize the tax team for that as well, but a lot, a lot goes on behind the scenes.

Peterson: I would add, its a comprehensive effort that utilizes the firms, utilizes the state societies, and utilizes the presence of our leadership during spring Council to take tax-related issues to Capitol Hill.

So, it has been a long-term, ongoing, comprehensive effort that has involved pretty much every segment of the profession.

What are some of the provisions in the bill that the AICPA advocated for?

Peterson: Foundationally, we are for simplification and making the tax code more administrable, make it easier for taxpayers and practitioners, and for good, sound tax policy. Thats the foundation for everything, and there were some improvements made by this bill.

On top of that, we specifically engaged in issues that impact the profession as firms, as passthroughs and how those are treated. Regulatory requirements and other issues make it impractical for accounting firms to be anything other than passthroughs and partnerships. So, there were challenges there.

Ensuring the continuation of the cash method of accounting for tax purposes is one of them; the impact of the interest deduction was another one. The deductibility of state and local taxes was another issue that had a major impact, and then deferred compensation, which would have had huge ramifications on a partnerships ability to manage capital funds as it relates to their partners.

There were more issues, but those were five I would highlight.

Karl: I will say the process is going to move on quite a bit in terms of guidance, and our tax team is likely to spend years working on the guidance that comes out to implement this tax law. And as Mark talks about simplification as a foundation, that is absolutely true and will continue, and thats something that we do look at very carefully as we comment on the guidance that comes out.

Some of the law is quite complicated. Some of the guidance itself could be quite complicated, and we always push to try to help the government make simpler choices as they make decisions in the guidance.

When the tax reform conversation started a number of years ago, the centerpiece for tax reform was to lower the corporate rate. That centerpiece never changed. As you follow the last several months of tax reform conversations in Washington, lowering the corporate rate was very much front and center.

Weve said all along, from the very beginning, that if they lower the corporate tax rate, then they have to do something for passthroughs. The vast majority of businesses in this country, including CPA firms, operate in a passthrough format. You cannot just incentivize C corporations without doing something to help passthrough entities. I think there are less than 2 million C corporations in this country, but there are more than 30 million passthroughs. So, they have to do something for passthroughs, and that is something that we have harped on every step of the way.

Peterson: We were very pleased and supportive of the expansion of the cash method. And language that would have been harmful as it related to the ability to use deferred compensation, which was in earlier versions, was removed. Modifications to the interest deduction were very helpful. We know there is frustration, particularly for those of our members that are in high-tax states, about the state and local tax deduction changes.

It really is a mixed bag. Again, very clear progress was made that was quite beneficial. But we feel strong disappointment in how service businesses were treated in the passthrough provision. The profession and other service businesses contribute a lot to the economy, and we felt we are just as important as those corporate manufacturing concerns.

Can you talk more about next steps as we turn to implementation?

Peterson: We were very engaged in the legislative process, and that started years ago, you know, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours that went into the legislative process. But now our role with the tax-writing committees, with Treasury, with the IRS is to get the information to them that they need to craft the guidance. Our information is going to come from clients and from practitioners to address the implementation of this. That is going to be vital.

Karl: We already have submitted a letter, identifying a list of priority guidance that the IRS should issue. Its our ideas of the areas that the IRS should focus on in terms of issuing guidance. I think that letter is 10 to 12 pages long, and its not comprehensive; its just a start. There are many areas that we think need guidance.

And then, as the guidance starts coming out, we often will pick the issues that are the most important to our members and start giving feedback on that area.

Now, I will say that the flowthrough area is something really important to us. It has a direct impact on CPA firms. Weve already formed a task force to start working on that area. So thats going on as well.

And Ill add a third area  and this is something that originally came up in the House Republicans tax reform blueprint, in which they talked about a central part of tax reform being IRS reform as well. And IRS reform had to be pulled out of tax reform because of the reconciliation rules in the Senate.  But that is moving separately, and its something that is really critical for our members and something that weve worked on for a while, so we already have meetings set up.

We touched on this a bit earlier  but how far-reaching is the law?

Karl: Its the largest tax bill since the 86 Tax Reform Act, and, even with small tax bills, there are often areas that they find where there are issues in drafting the legislation. So, from another perspective, there is likely to be a long list of areas that will need technical corrections in terms of the drafting of the legislation. Areas, for example, where congressional intent is not clear or they realize that the drafting had some kind of an error in it, and it needs to be fixed.

As I said, that is a common occurrence with most legislation, and it gets fixed. With a bill this size, the list of areas that will require technical corrections is likely to be fairly long. And in such a contentious environment that we find ourselves in Washington today, the real question is  will they be able to pass a technical corrections bill? And if theyre not able to, what is the impact? What impact does that have on the provisions in the law? Because, by definition, if it requires a technical correction, the IRS cant fix it with guidance. They may put out guidance to say, Heres what you should do or not do until a technical correction bill comes out, but they really cant fix the problem.

So, from that perspective, I think that, again, because of the environment in Washington today and the challenge that Congress will have to pass a large technical corrections bill, it will be even far-reaching in terms of timing. It could go for a couple of years.

Peterson: We will be seeking input from the membership as we go into the implementation process. We will continue to advocate through that. I think its important to note that we get input from the largest firms all the way down to small practitioners, along with the state societies.

Karl: We have a committee infrastructure of about 200 members, diverse members all over the country, from different-sized firms. We have academics. We have members from industry to try to represent what our membership looks like at large to speak on their behalf, to develop positions on their behalf, to identify issues that impact our membership.

And committees are heavily involved on a day-to-day basis in infusing us with the information that we need as Marks team and as the tax team go to implement issues and work the advocacy area.

Its an ongoing process. After the 86 Act, we had changes virtually every year. As environmental factors change, as other issues come up, were there every step of the way to keep an eye on things and to continue to advocate on behalf of our members. So, its not an end game, its a continuation.

To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Alistair Nevius, the JofAs editor-in-chief, tax, at Alistair.Nevius@aicpa-cima.com or 919-402-4052.

Read the law

The tax reform bill, P.L. 115-97, An Act to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Titles II and V of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2018, is also known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It can be found at tinyurl.com/PL115-97.

AICPA Resources

Website

The AICPA Tax Reform Resource Center features news, resources, videos, podcasts, learning, and AICPA advocacy positions, available at tinyurl.com/y7allfwt.

Newsletter



The AICPAs advocacy e-newsletter, The CPA Advocate, is dedicated to keeping you informed about the AICPAs advocacy efforts on your behalf. See more at tinyurl.com/y9z38ax7.

The Tax Adviser and Tax Section

The Tax Adviser is available at a reduced subscription price to members of the Tax Section, which provides tools, technologies, and peer interaction to CPAs with tax practices. More than 23,000 CPAs are Tax Section members. The Section keeps members up to date on tax legislative and regulatory developments. Visit the Tax Center at aicpa.org/interestareas/tax. The current issue of The Tax Adviser is available at thetaxadviser.com.
Irongate is unique in that parts of the neighborhood are in town limits while other parts are in the county; some residents reportedly are hesitant to annex because of increased property taxes.
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Middle East Monitor |  

Up to 47,000 Yemenis have been displaced to Aden as a result of rising military tensions in Taiz and the Red Sea port governorate Hudaydah, the Anadolu Agency reported today.

Escalating conflict in Taiz and Hudaydah since December 2017 has displaced nearly 47,000 people to Aden and other governorates in the south, UN Secretary-General spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Although food, fuel and medical imports are flowing again through all ports, the blockade in the weeks leading up to Dec. 20, 2017, had a severe impact on Yemeni families and businesses, Dujarric continued.

Aden has been the interim capital of Yemen since the Houthis overtook Sanaa in 2014.

Yesterday, a military assault led by internationally recognised President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadis army retook Hays directorate, in southern Hudaydah. There are continuous military tensions between the Yemen National Army and the Houthis in southern Taiz.

Hadi requested the intervention of the Saudi-led coalition in March 2015 to neutralise territorial threats posed by the Houthis.

The ongoing conflict has left one million Yemenis affected by cholera, according to the World Health Organisations.

licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Via Middle East Monitor



Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

Al Jazeera English: ?? Yemen war: Surviving winter without a home
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By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) |  

The Arabic daily Elaph reports that hundreds of Kurds who came into Afrin from other Kurdish cantons in northern Syria staged a demonstration in the city Tuesday evening against the Turkish invasion.

Kurds drove from the northeast, from Qamishli and Hasaka, and from Kobane, through Kurdish-held Manbij and through territory around Aleppo held by the Syrian government, to Afrin, which is besieged from the north by Turkish forces and Syrian Arab fundamentalist auxiliaries. It is alleged that some of these arriving Kurds are YPG militiamen.

The movement of Kurds from the northeast, where they are allied with US special operations forces in continued mop-up operations against ISIL terrorists, is an embarrassment to the Trump administration in its tense relationship with Ankara. The US had pledged that the Kurdish forces it is arming and training would only be deployed against ISIL (the so-called Islamic State Group or Daesh) in eastern Syria, never against Turkey itself. Syrian Kurds mostly follow the leftwing Democratic Union Party, and its paramilitary, the Peoples Protection Units or YPG, are the troops allied with the US. Turkey considers the YPG an affiliate of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in eastern Anatolia inside Turkey itself and along with the US brands the PKK a terrorist organization. The US does not agree that the YPG is a terrorist organization.

The YPG has been the main effective ground force fighting Daesh/ISIL in eastern Syria, a task Turkey largely declined to take on. Despite conducting a few bombing raids against it, Ankara has tended to see ISIL as way to weaken the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, whom Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan wants to overthrow.

The hundreds of outside Kurds who came to Afrin and demonstrated are staying in the homes of locals.

There are 500,000 Kurds in the Afrin canton, who are not connected territorially with the Kobane and Jazira cantons where the other 1.7 million Syrian Kurds live. Many of these Kurds have crowded into Afrin city itself, more than doubling the citys pre-war population. Kurds are about 10 percent of the Syrian population.

Critics of the YPG accuse it of seeking to ethnically cleanse Arab villages between Afrin and Kobane so as to create a contiguous Kurdish region called Rojava. Kurds deny these claims and point to extensive YPG cooperation with Arab militias in the northeast. Turkey accuses the YPG in Afrin of shelling Turkish towns across the border.

The demonstrators in Afrin carried posters of the YPG militia and chanted All of us are with you to the death, Afrin! and May the mercenaries fall, may Erdogan fall! and We are staying on our land!

Turkey invaded northern Syria, targeting the YPG in Afrin, on January 20, and is said to have taken 15 villages and one town in the region.

The United States and Russia appear to have given Ankara green light for the operation, since they control Syrias air space in the north.

The Syrian regime objected, reaching out to the Kurds, but has not done anything practical to stop the Turkish assault.

The YPG Kurds have succeeded in destroying a Turkish tank, killing six soldiers, and have shelled Turkish towns along the Syrian border, but Turkey claims to have killed hundreds of Kurdish fighters.

Some observers say President Erdogan intends to take Afrin city itself. Presumably that operation would aim at ethnically cleansing the Kurds from the area, chasing them to the northeast, and Arabizing it with fundamentalist Syrian allies.



Bonus video:

Ruptly: Syria: Besieged Afrin in show of defiance against Turkey
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By Tan Copsey | (ChinaDialogue) |  

President Trump has been in power for just over a year and has enjoyed few policy successes. But one area where his administrations radical, deregulatory agenda has been successful is in dismantling environmental protections.

The Trump administration has not quite fulfilled a campaign promise to abolish the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA), but it has made changes that have weakened it and that will have long-term consequences.

The administration says it is on course to cut staff levels at the EPA by 50% by the end of Trumps first term. The EPA now has fewer staff than at any time since 1988. In 2017, the administration requested a US$2.6 billion (17 billion yuan) cut to the EPAs budget, saying they wanted to end 50 department programmes. After Congress intervened, a much smaller US$81 million (520 million yuan) reduction was achieved. n 2018, the EPA budget will shrink again.

Huge areas of formerly protected national parks and coastline have been opened for oil, gas and mining, in pursuit of what the administration calls Energy Dominance. These beautiful landscapes will be changed forever if they fall into private hands. The Department of Interior plans to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah by more than half, putting almost two million acres of protected land in private hands. The decision was strongly opposed by both environmentalists and indigenous groups. The area is a site of cultural significance, hosting ancient artefacts and sacred burial grounds.

Efforts to combat climate change are anathema to an administration entranced by fossil fuels. It has proposed to repeal and replace the Clean Power Plan, President Obamas key climate policy. Important posts across the government have been staffed by people who downplay the importance of climate change. Many government websites have been scrubbed of words like climate change, and EPA administrator Scott Pruitt has publicly stated his desire for a red team-blue team exercise, where established climate change science would be scrutinised by people with questionable scientific credentials.

Christine Todd Whitman, who ran the EPA between 2001 and 2003 under President George W Bush  and who was no environmentalist  called the idea a shameful attempt to confuse the public into accepting the false premise that there is no need to regulate fossil fuels.

Industry interests, particularly the fossil fuel industry, are shaping Scott Pruitts agenda. According to a study by the Center for Public Integrity, of eight top priorities in a wish list sent to the EPA by the American Petroleum Institute (API), six have already been achieved, including suspending efforts to reduce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.

Much of this agenda has been pursued in private, away from public scrutiny and oversight. Pruitt went so far as to instal a special soundproof communications booth in his office and upped his personal security.

Taken together, this may amount to a real-world example of the deconstruction of the Administrative State, championed by disgraced former Presidential advisor Steve Bannon. But people are fighting back. The public has been overwhelmingly against the Trump administrations plans. The government received more than 2.4 million public comments on plans to change national monuments, almost all opposed.

The public has been overwhelmingly against the Trump administrations plans

Elected officials, including some Republicans, are also fighting back. A proposal to open up coastal waters for offshore drilling met fierce resistance. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke was forced into an embarrassing climb-down by Florida Governor Rick Scott, a Republican, who expressed concerns that expansion of drilling might negatively impact Floridas tourism industry.

Mark Sanford, a Republican, asked for similar treatment for South Carolina, and said: You can't say, 'I don't want to see an oil rig from Mar-a-Lago (President Trumps Florida resort) as I look out from the waters of Palm Beach', but it's OK to look at an oil rig out from Hilton Head or Charleston, South Carolina.

This month, an effort to subsidise coal and nuclear energy was also overruled by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which is chaired by a Trump administration appointee.

Expect to see more resistance in 2018. Most of the coastal states affected by the expansion of offshore drilling oppose it. The precedent set by granting Florida an exemption guarantees further legal challenges. In fact, most of the administrations actions are being challenged in the courts. But the sheer number of changes being made to environmental protections may overwhelm efforts to fight back.

Before too long the changes are likely to have real world effects. Both water contamination in Flint Michigan and the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which killed 11 people and leaked 3.19 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, happened under President Obama, whos administration had comparatively strong environmental protections. As the Trump administration deregulates, further destructive and expensive incidents seem inevitable.

Via ChinaDialogue

This work is under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.0 England & Wales License and 2.5 China License.



Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

Ring of Fire: EPA Head Scott Pruitt PERSONALLY Ordered Removal Of Climate Change From Agency Material
Posted Tuesday, February 6, 2018 12:12 am

Masa Ogawas Taiko drumming troupe, Yamato, makes its return to East Lansing Tuesday. Yamato has performed for over 6 million people in 53 countries across the globe, continuing a centuries old Japanese cultural tradition.

Now Ogawas drummers are returning with a brand-new show. Through an email exchange, City Pulse was able to grab a Q&A with the Taiko master himself.

Can you explain to those unfamiliar, the significance of Taiko drumming in Japanese culture?

Taiko is a traditional Japanese instrument made with cowhide and one great big piece of wood. Taiko drums were originally made with clay pots and animal hides. People used Taiko as a form of social communication, similar to how we use social media today.

In the 20th century, Taiko was used strictly for music. Before that, Taiko was used ceremonially as well. After World War II, Taiko was used for stage performance. These days, there are more than 10,000 Taiko troupes in Japan, and many other Taiko troupes all over the world.

All of them try to inherit the tradition and create new songs and performances.

What is the background, or history of your company?

Yamato was founded in 1993 by my brother, our friend and myself. One day, my mother found a big old Taiko drum in our hometown's shrine. That Taiko drum is actually more than 150 years old and weighs more than 200 pounds.

She said to me, "Do something special for the shrine festival with this big Taiko!" She was worried about my life and tried to give me the chance to do something great.

I began crafting an original Taiko song with my brother and our friend. The training was so hard for us, but after two weeks of practice, we played that song at the festival.

It was summer, many people were there enjoying themselves. We hit the Taiko and it resonated across the shrine. After five minutes, which felt like a flash, our performance was finished.

Then we could see the crying faces of the people gathered there. It was a special moment and Yamato was born.

How does one become a Taiko drummer? How do you select your drummers?

I do not select the performers, because I cannot make any judgments before understanding them as individuals.

When someone wants to become a professional Taiko drummer, I usually think they learned about our troupe through YouTube. Sometimes they will come to see our show directly, that's better for them, but I think it rarely happens these days.

I do test potential members, but first, I ask them to try to live together with the other members. If they can stay with the other members, they can join Yamato.

What is unique about Taiko when compared to other forms of percussion?

Taiko has its own unique character, the look of a Taiko drum gives it the image of the ancient times.

For example, Japanese people recognize that God is in nature, especially trees, which is why they are an object of worship. That's also why people think God lives in Taiko.

I think that almost all people will feel some kind of holy atmosphere when they see a Taiko performance. Taiko drums are heavy, big and loud. The Taiko sound is different from other instruments. The sound of Taiko is not only listened to by the ear, but also by every pore of the body. It's a vibration.

Musical skill, or even harmony  which is important for other types of music, is not necessarily important for Taiko drumming. The most important point of our troupe is the synchronicity.

Why is Taiko so special to you?

Taiko gives me energy and gives me the chance to meet people. When I hear the very first sound of the drum, Im already enjoying it.

Taiko does not need any special skill to enjoy. That's the difference between it and any other musical instrument. Even if its their first time, I can play with other people and feel their energy. That is a special feeling to me.

When I hit the Taiko drum as strong as possible, I feel my energy reach people. That was the wonderful feeling for me, that is why I still play Taiko.
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Media with Conscience News |  

The US state recently passed a law requiring all state contractors to pledge they do not support a boycott of Israel.

A US judge has temporarily blocked the implementation of a law that bars anyone from entering into a contract with the state of Kansas without first pledging they will not boycott Israel.

US District Court judge Daniel Crabtree granted the temporary injunction on Tuesday in response to a lawsuit filed by Kansas public school teacher Esther Koontz late last year.

Passed in June 2017, the Kansas legislation requires all state contractors to declare in writing that they do not support a boycott of Israel.

Koontz argues the law violates her rights under the First Amendment.

In his ruling, Crabtree wrote: The Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment protects the right to participate in a boycott like the one punished by the Kansas law.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented Koontz in court, welcomed the decision.

The court has rightly recognised the serious First Amendment harms being inflicted by this misguided law, which imposes an unconstitutional ideological litmus test, said ACLU attorney Brian Hauss in a statement.

Koontz, a public school math teacher, was asked to sign a document saying she was not boycotting Israel in July 2017 before she could work as a trainer in a state-run math and science programme, the court filing states.

However she had begun boycotting Israeli companies and Israeli companies operating in the occupied Palestinian territories last year in protest of Israels treatment of Palestinians.

After refusing to sign the form, she was not given the contract, the case states.

This ruling should serve as a warning to government officials around the country that the First Amendment prohibits the government from suppressing participation in political boycotts, Hauss said.

Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, welcomed the courts decision, saying on Twitter that the 1st Amendment triumphed today.

There are laws like this that have passed in states across the country and @SenatorCardin is still pushing one in the senate. Thankfully, the 1st Amendment triumphed today! https://t.co/4L4XHJFIeS  (((YousefMunayyer))) (@YousefMunayyer) January 30, 2018

The Kansas legislation comes amid a growing crackdown in the US on the Palestinian-led boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement

Launched in 2005, BDS seeks to pressure Israel to end its occupation of the Palestinian territories and respect the rights of Palestinian refugees and Palestinian citizens of the state.

Last October, Wisconsin also passed a law barring state agencies from entering into contracts with entities that are engaging in a boycott of Israel. Also in October, the governor of Maryland signed an executive order blocking firms that boycott Israel from receiving state contracts that same month.

As of this month, 24 states have enacted anti-BDS laws, according to Palestine Legal, a US-based legal advocacy group. Eleven other states have anti-BDS legislation pending.

A US Senate bill, known as the Israel Anti-Boycott Act, has also been proposed and would bar US citizens from supporting restrictive trade practices or boycotts fostered or imposed by any international governmental organisation against Israel.

Via Media with Conscience

This work by MWC News is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

-

Bonus video added by Informed Comment:

TheRealNews: Kansas Teacher Scores Big Win for Israel Boycott, and Free Speech
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By Jonathan Westaway | The Conversation |  

In a basement office at the Royal Geographical Society in Londons South Kensington, grainy 16mm film footage flickers silently across the screen, one of over a hundred expeditionary and travel films digitised recently by the society and the British Film Institute. They are now free to watch on the BFI website.

A scene from Sir Clarmont Percival Skrines film Quetta-Damghan, almost certainly the only colour footage of the Indian Long Range Squadron in action. The film recently has been digitised by the Royal Geographical Society and the British Film Institute.

British Film Institute/Royal Geographical Society



The collection ranges from professional expedition documentaries to home movies and amateur documentary footage. Some films, such as The Conquest of Everest (1953) are well known. Others are only now emerging from the obscurity of the archives, such as the recently restored colour footage filmed by Sir Charles Evans on the first ascent of the third-highest mountain in the world, Kangchenjunga 1955.

Beyond these professional documentaries intended for public release are a whole range of amateur films. And they are shedding new light on aspects of imperial science, administration and colonial travel, providing us with major new sources through which we can examine the hidden histories of exploration and empire.

The amateur films in particular force us to think in new ways about how we categorise film. Some of the film in the collection was shot by colonial officials and imperial administrators trained in intelligence gathering and surveillance techniques.

Never part of official government archives and never intended for public viewing, these films were not subject to the weeding of colonial archives instigated by Britain that occurred as its colonies won independence, part of the former colonial powers attempt to manage access to the historical records of empire. Their reemergence into the public domain via retrospective digitisation projects enables us to see the inner workings of the British empire, inadvertently revealing some of its secrets.

New insights

Take the grainy film on screen in the basement of the Royal Geographical Society. It was shot in January, 1942 by an Indian Civil Servant, the diplomat Sir Clarmont Percival Skrine. Entitled Quetta-Damghan, the film shows a journey Skrine took with his wife from Quetta in modern-day Pakistan through the East Persian Corridor, one of the many Allied supply routes to the Soviet Union, to take up his post as British consul-general in Mashad, Iran.

At first, it is difficult to make out what is going on. A train crosses the deserts of Baluchistan. There are camels. A Buick station wagon rumbles across the mountains of the Iranian province of Sistan. It is World War II and Iran is under Allied-Soviet occupation; its eastern provinces bordering Afghanistan are remote and dangerous.

In his book World War in Iran (1962), Skrine left us with a published account of this journey, enabling us to piece together events depicted in the film. But the film also reveals events that were never disclosed in his written work.

For example, there is footage of Skrines Buick being escorted by two vehicles from the Indian Long Rage Squadron (ILRS) in cut down Chevrolet trucks mounted with double-mounted Vickers K machine guns, almost certainly the only colour footage that exists of this auxiliary unit in action.

The ILRS had only just been formed, on December 25, 1941, specifically to patrol the Persian border between the Soviet Union and Baluchistan, and was modelled on the 8th Army Long Range Desert Group, the precursor to the SAS. Just how dangerous the road was is made abundantly clear by Skrine in his published account. Unavoidably delayed for two days, Skrine arrived at Qaimabad to discover that his host, a Sikh trader and British subject, had been murdered along with his family by Afghan raiders two nights before.

Entering the Soviet occupied zone in northern Iran, the Skrines also ran into a tribal insurrection in southern Khorosan province. All the passes south of Mashad were closed, necessitating an escort from the occupying Soviet forces.

The film shows the moment on January 28, 1942 when they rendezvoused with the Red Army. They were met, Skrine recalled, by half a dozen open Ford-style trucks loaded with soldiers. They sat motionless with their tommy-guns, gazing at us with an expressionless stare which we found at first rather sinister.

There is then some extraordinary footage of his wife, Doris Skrine, and her Indian orderly walking the family cat (as you do) on a windswept mountain road as Red Army officers and consular staff mill around and share cigarettes, their collars turned up against the winter cold. Skrine points the camera at a truck load of Red Army troops, who stare back impassively. It is just a moment in a little-known theatre of World War Two, but it tells us so much about the uneasy truce that existed between the Allied and Soviet occupying forces and the importance of the Persian Corridor in this global conflict.

A surveillance sensibility

Skrines films provide us with unprecedented footage of Iran under the Allied-Soviet occupation, and demonstrate a strong surveillance sensibility.

Increasingly after 1942, the Soviets confiscated and destroyed Skrines cine-camera footage if they felt it strayed too long on military subjects. So it is all the more remarkable that, later in 1942, Skrine managed to avoid detection and travelled north to the border of Soviet Turkmenistan and covertly filmed the oil trains trundling from Tashkent to Krasnovodsk along the Trans-Caspian railway, footage that also appears in his Quetta-Damghan film.

He also made a brief, unauthorised crossing of the unguarded border into the Soviet Union. Covert surveillance, deliberate infringement; to the Soviet occupying forces this would have constituted espionage. Old home movies, it seems, are not always innocent. In some cases, they enable us to see with the eyes of Britains imperial security state.

Jonathan Westaway, Research Fellow in History, University of Central Lancashire

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
VANCOUVER, Feb. 7, 2018 /CNW/ - Golden Reign Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: GRR) (the "Company" or "Golden Reign") announces positive gold metallurgical results from Las Conchitas area of its wholly-owned San Albino-Murra Property (the "Property") in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua. The recent metallurgical test work was performed by Bureau Veritas Minerals  Metallurgical Division ("BV"), of Richmond, British Columbia, under the direction of John Fox. P. Eng., the Company's consulting metallurgist.

The recent metallurgical testing, consisting of combined gravity and cyanidation methods resulted in an average of:

95.7% gold and 68.5% silver recovery, from composite samples grading in average 8.70 g/t gold and 20.10 g/t silver

The test work was conducted on three samples from the Mina Francisco (strike length ranges from 600 to > 1,000 metres), Cruz Grande (strike length 600 metres) and Las Dolores (strike length >1,000 metres) zones, respectively, collected during a recently completed trenching program in the Las Conchitas area. All zones remain open in all directions. The testing objectives were to confirm that the mineralization is amenable to standard metallurgical methods and to provide preliminary information for future economical evaluations of these zones.

The samples were composited for testing, based upon the grades and types of mineralization characteristic of the oxide portion of the zones. A quantitative visual analysis of the oxidized sample material revealed a composition of 70% quartz veins and 30% crumbly phyllite. Assays of the composite head samples ranged from 5.39 g/t gold to 11.30 g/t gold and from 9.2 g/t to 27.7 g/t silver.

Simple gravity concentration tests, following a 75m grind and two stages of gravity concentration, returned gold recoveries in the range of 19.7% to 39.0%, averaging 30.3% recovery for the three composites. Gravity silver recoveries ranged between 18.5% and 27.1%.

The gravity tails were then leached by a cyanide solution for 48 hours using a carbon-in-pulp (CIL) test, with a cyanide concentration of 2.0g/L NaCN and an activated carbon concentration of 20g/L. These are preliminary results and no attempt has been made to optimize the test/leach conditions. All three composite samples responded similarly to CIL leaching, with gold leach extractions ranging from 57.8% to 72.9%, and silver extraction ranging from 38.6% to 52.5%.

The final results of the preliminary metallurgical testing, with gravity recovery followed by the cyanidation of gravity tailings, returned combined extractions ranging from 92.5% to 97.9% gold and 65.7% to 71.1% silver. These are excellent preliminary results and are comparable to those reported for the San Albino Gold Deposit (see news release March 27, 2014).

The positive results from this initial metallurgical test work is an important step in advancing the economics of the Las Conchitas project. The Company intends to continue with metallurgical studies of different lithological types of mineralized material within the Las Conchitas area with a goal to maximize concentrate grades and recoveries.

The southern Las Conchitas area hosts a number of high priority, clustered gold targets. Las Conchitas is situated 1.5 km south of the San Albino Gold Deposit at the southwest end of Corona de Oro Gold Belt which, at 3 kilometres wide and 20 kilometres long, spans the Company's landholdings.

Exploration activities by the Company have identified at least seven highly mineralized structures within the Las Conchitas area, with strike lengths ranging from 500 to over 1,000 metres, all located within a 2.5 square kilometre area. To date, Golden Reign has completed significant trenching, covering 4,300 metres in 134 trenches and exploration pits. A small number of the most prospective trenching results have been tested by 18 holes drilled for 3,040 metres. Exploration results from Las Conchitas area include:

Drilling: INT13-03 21.3 metres of 7.20 g/t Au and 14.2 g/t Ag (see news release dated September 11, 2013) Including 5.0 metres of 28.45 g/t Au and 53.7 g/t Ag LC11-01 3.0 metres of 62.96 g/t Au and 61.7 g/t Ag (see news release dated February 22, 2012) LC11-02 3.0 metres of 12.01 g/t Au and 13.1 g/t Ag (see news release dated February 22, 2012) LC11-05 5.0 metres of 8.63 g/t Au and 3.5 g/t Ag (see news release dated February 22, 2012) Trenching: SAM17-CATA-111 (Exp Pit) 1.0 metres of 138.20 g/t Au and 156.0 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-CATA-109 (Exp Pit) 1.3 metres of 13.80 g/t Au and 12.7 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-TR-22 1.5 metres of 10.20 g/t Au and 2.5 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-TR-21 0.9 metres of 66.50 g/t Au and 98.8 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-TR-27 2.0 metres of 13.80 g/t Au and 27.4 g/t Ag (vertical) EXP17-SAM12-TR-11 1.0 metres of 12.58 g/t Au and 11.2 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-TR-18 1.5 metres of 13.20 g/t Au and 6.5 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-TR20 1.8 metres of 13.00 g/t Au and 11.1 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-TR06 EXT 0.6 metres of 128.10 g/t Au and 94.2 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-TR06 EXT 1.7 metres of 8.88 g/t Au and 26.4 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM17-TR02 1.3 metres of 6.63 g/t Au and 6.8 g/t Ag (vertical) SAM12-TR11 7.0 metres of 12.14 g/t Au and 28.4 g/t Ag (along dip) including 2.0 metres of 38.09 g/t Au and 52,8 g/t Ag INT11-TR01 8.2 metres of 20.64 g/t Au and 26.87 g/t Ag (along dip) INT11-TR03 12.8 metres of 16.05 g/t Au and 9.9 g/t Ag (along dip) including 3.0 metres of 40.97 g/t Au and 23.7 g/t Ag LC11-TR 22 5.0 metres of 14.78 g/t Au and 21.1 g/t Ag (along dip) LC11-TR 23 4.0 metres of 5.35 g/t Au and 5.1 g/t Ag (along dip) LC11-TR 30 1.0 metres of 18.59 g/t Au and 4.4 g/t Ag (along dip) SAM-TR 04 1.0 metrres of 87.57 g/t Au and 76.5 g/t Ag (along strike) LC11-TR 21 14.0 metres of 5.89 g/t gold and 11.8 g/t Ag (along dip) Rosibel Pit 1.5 metres of 29.30 g/t Au and 44.7 g/t Ag (vertical) Rosibel Pit 2.0 metres of 139.44 g/t Au and 115 g/t Ag (along strike) SAM13-TR 23 1.0 metres of 31.14 g/t Au and 318.0 g/t Ag; and (vertical) SAM 12-TR 02 1.5 metres of 99.27 g/t Au and 26.7 g/t Ag (along dip)

Historical activities within the area comprise several relatively narrow adits and a number of shallow pits, where only a portion of the shallowly dipping mineralized zone was removed and processed. Sampling of select old workings indicate that significant gold values remain in the sidewalls of the workings. Underground channel sampling at Mina Francisco, consisting of 35 vertical samples over a 12.0 metre strike length, returned an average thickness of 1.56 metres grading 13.04 g/t gold and 22.7 g/t silver (see news release dated June 24, 2014), including:

2.0 metres of 33.35 g/t gold and 42.8 g/t silver (vertical)

2.0 metres of 26.45 g/t gold and 30.7 g/t silver (vertical)

2.0 metres of 23.87 g/t gold and 40.8 g/t silver (vertical)

Qualified Persons

John Fox, P.Eng, a metallurgist and qualified person (as defined under NI 43-101) has read and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Fox is a senior metallurgist, consulting to the Company. John M. Kowalchuk, P.Geo, a geologist and qualified person (as defined under NI 43-101) has read and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Kowalchuk is a senior geologist consulting to the Company.

On behalf of the Board,

"Kevin Bullock"

Kevin Bullock, P.Eng.

CEO

About Golden Reign:

Golden Reign Resources Ltd. is a publicly listed (TSX-V: GRR) mineral exploration company engaged in exploring the San Albino-Murra Property and the El Jicaro Property, both of which are located in Nueva Segovia, Nicaragua.

The Company's prime objective is to bring its San Albino Gold Deposit into production quickly and efficiently, building cash flow to further advance a number of its other prospective exploration targets.

The Company's land package comprises 13,771 hectares (138 km2) of prospective ground for gold and silver mineralization. Hundreds of historical mines and workings exist within the Corona de Oro Gold Belt, which is approximately 3 kilometres wide by 20 kilometres long and is spanned by the Company's land package.

Forward-Looking Statements: Some of the statements contained herein may be considered "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is based on certain expectations and assumptions, including the assumption that the Company's exploration program will be successfully completed, and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking information is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking information, including, without limitation, the risk that satisfactory exploration results will not be obtained, the risk that exploration results will not translate into the discovery of an economically viable deposit, risks and uncertainties relating to political risks involving the Company's exploration and development of mineral properties interests, the inherent uncertainty of cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses, commodity price fluctuations, the inability or failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and other risks and uncertainties. Such information contained herein represents management's best judgment as of the date hereof, based on information currently available.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 7, 2018) - Spearmint Resources Inc. (TSXV: SRJ) (OTCBB: SPMTF) (FSE: A2AHL5) ("SRJ" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has received the NOI (Notice of Intent to Drill) from the State of Nevada Commission On Mineral Resources to drill it's 100 percent owned Clayton Valley lithium prospect.

James Nelson, President States, "Now that we have closed our financing we are able to commence operations on multiple projects. We are pleased that we have received the approval for our drilling in Clayton Valley for Lithium. We anticipate commencing work in the first quarter 2018."



Clayton Valley Ownership Map

Spearmint's current projects include a portfolio of lithium prospects. The 'Clayton Valley Lithium Prospects' in Nevada comprise of two claim blocks totalling 800-acres bordering Pure Energy Minerals & Cypress Development Corp. Spearmint also has three lithium projects in Quebec, including the 4,485-acre 'Pressiac Lithium Prospect', the 524-acre 'Whabouchi Lakes Lithium Prospect', and the 2,636-acre 'Whabouchi Lakes West Lithium Prospect' in the vicinity of Nemaska Lithium Inc. & Critical Elements Corp. Spearmint's 'Chibougamau Vanadium Prospects' comprise of five separate claim blocks totalling 9,735-acres bordering, or in the direct vicinity of, the vanadium deposit of BlackRock Metal's (private) Ilmenite vanadium project, Vanadiumcorp Resource Inc. and Vanadium One Energy Corp.

Spearmint's current projects also include three areas of focus on gold in British Columbia; the 'Golden Triangle Gold Prospects' comprising of four separate claim blocks totaling 4,095-acres bordering GT Gold Corp, the 'Gold Mountain Prospects' comprising of three separate claim blocks totaling 1,245-acres bordering Barkerville Gold Mines, and the 3,052 acre 'Neba Prospect' bordering Aben Resources Ltd. Spearmint's 8,482 acre 'EL North' Nickel-Copper Prospect is a contiguous land package that includes the 'EL North, EL North 2 and the BUDDY claims' in the Eskay Creek Camp bordering Garibaldi Resources Corp. Spearmint's 1,500 acre 'WHY WEST' Magnesium project near Rossland, BC directly borders West High Yield Resources.

If you would like to be added to Spearmint's news distribution list, please send your email address to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Contact Information

Tel: 1604646-6903

www.spearmintresources.ca

"James Nelson"

President

Spearmint Resources Inc.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange Inc.) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
Indicated 259,100 gold ounces within 4,428,000 tonnes grading 1.80 grams/tonne (g/t)

Inferred 86,200 gold ounces within 1,653,000 tonnes grading 1.60 grams/tonne (g/t)

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Guyana Goldstrike Inc. (the "Company" or "Guyana Goldstrike") (TSX-V:GYA) (OTC:GYNAF) (FSE:1ZT) reports that Global Mineral Resource Services has completed and delivered a mineral resource estimate for the Mazoa Hill Zone at the Company's Marudi Gold Project ("Marudi" or the "Project"), Guyana, South America.

Mr. Peter Berdusco President and CEO states: "The resource estimate for Mazoa Hill is a Company milestone and a great step towards the further development of the Marudi Gold Project. The potential for additional ounces on the property is excellent when one considers the following factors: Mazoa Hill is open in a number of directions including at depth, the Marudi North Zone is also open in a number of directions and contains a historic resource estimate and lastly, only five percent of the entire property has ever been explored."

Mazoa Hill Zone

The Mazoa Hill Zone has been explored by surface trenching and approximately 63 drillholes. This work has defined a zone of mineralized quartzite that strikes northwest, is approximately 300 meters long along strike, 150 meters wide across strike and has been traced to a depth of 250 meters below surface. The zone is near-vertical or dips steeply to the northeast. The saprolite layer above the quartzite is up to 30 metres thick but is generally thinner and the Mazoa Formation quartzite is partially exposed at surface. This estimate has been constrained by a conceptual pit and is stated at a cutoff grade of 0.5 g/t gold. Marudi Property Mazoa Hill Mineral Resource Estimate, Summary page 2.

The following table presents the current mineral resource estimate for the Mazoa Hill Zone

Mazoa Hill Resources in Conceptual Pit @ 0.5 g/t Cutoff Class Tonnes Au Capped

g/t Au Uncapped

g/t Ounces

Capped Ounces

Uncapped Indicated 4,428,000 1.8 1.9 259,100 269,700 Inferred 1,653,000 1.6 1.6 86,200 87,600

Notes:

1. Open pit resources stated as contained within a conceptual open pit above a 0.50 g/t Au cut-off.

2. Pit constraints are based on an assumed gold price of US$1,500/oz., mining cost of US$2.30/t and processing cost of US$16.80/t.

3. Assay grades were capped at 30 g/t gold; capped Mineral Resource estimate is reported.

4. Mineral Resource tonnage and contained metal have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate, and numbers may not add due to rounding.

5. Mineral Resource tonnage and grades are reported as undiluted.

6. Contained Au ounces are in-situ and do not include recovery losses.

For further information, readers are encouraged to reviewed the technical report, "Marudi Property Mazoa Hill Mineral Resource Estimate", available under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com). Readers are cautioned that mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resources estimated will be converted into mineral reserves.

3D HD Video

In conjunction with the technical report, the Company completed a 3D HD video of the Marudi Gold Project allowing for the viewing of the entire property and specifically the Mazoa Hill zone showing the drill intercepts, the blocked out mineralized zone and a conceptual open pit design. The 3D HD Video can be viewed on Company's website located on its homepage at www.guyanagoldstrike.com

Phase One Exploration

The Company is currently in the initial phase of an exploration program on the Project. This initial phase consists of up to 12,000 metres of trenching, extensive rock and soil sampling, expansion of surface mineralization in known zones, detailed geological mapping (lithologic, alteration, and structural), evaluation of new mineralization, drill-target selections and definitions. The results from this phase will be released as they become available.

Property Geology

Gold mineralization at Marudi is regarded as being related to iron-formation-hosted gold ("IFG") deposits that occur in other cratonic greenstone belts. These deposits can be remarkably long-lived with sizeable gold production. They have a strong association between gold and iron sulfide minerals, the presence of gold bearing quartz veins and structures, the occurrence of deposits in structurally complex terranes, and the lack of lead and zinc enrichment. Existing IFG deposits are the Homestake Mine, Lupin Mine, and Musselwhite Mine.

The Company encourages all interested parties to visit the Company's website www.guyanagoldstrike.com for further information or contact the Company by telephone, 1.877.844.4661 or email, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Qualified Person

Locke Goldsmith, M.Sc., P. Eng, P. Geo, Chief Geologist and Exploration Manager for the Company, is a Qualified Person in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Goldsmith has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content of this news release.

About The Marudi Gold Project

The Project, located in Guyana, South America, is unique in that it has a mining license in good standing, all-season road access, infrastructure in place, with an established mining camp serviced by employees, service buildings, and a full-time mining manager. The property has three known gold bearing areas, specifically the alluvial areas, the saprolite overburden, and the underlying hard-rock. There has been 42,000 metres of historic diamond drilling (141 holes) completed on the Project by prior operators. This work has delineated historical mineral resource estimates on the Project. There exists excellent exploration upside through the development of previously identified, highly-prospective mineralized targets on the Project.

For information concerning these estimates and the Project, readers are encouraged to review "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Marudi Property, Guyana", a technical report prepared for the Company by Derrick Strickland, P. Geo., and is available on the Company's website located at (http://www.guyanagoldstrike.com/images/pdf/2016/Marudi_43-101_November_30_2016.pdf) and under the Company's profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).*

* The Company considers these estimates to be historical, and cautions that a Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves in accordance with National Instrument 43-101. The Company does consider these historical estimates to be relevant as they may indicate the presence of gold mineralization and favourable geology.

ABOUT GUYANA

The Republic of Guyana is located in South America between Venezuela and Suriname. The country is English speaking and under British Common Law with a democratically-elected government. It has an established mining act and a rich history of gold production. In 2016, 690,000 ounces of gold was produced by operators mining in the country. The Fraser Institute's 2016 Annual Survey of Mining listed Guyana as the third best mining jurisdiction with regards to investment attractiveness in the Latin America and Caribbean Basin sub-group. The Guiana Shield is the geographic gold-hosting region with over 100 million ounces of gold inventory. ** It is world-recognized as a premier gold region that is highly prospective, under-explored and has geological continuity with West Africa. In 2016, two mines in Guyana declared the commencement of commercial production: the Aurora deposit (Guyana Goldfields) and the Karouni deposit (Troy Resources).

** Independent Technical and Environmental Review Karouni Gold Project - Guyana, Behre Dolbear Australia Pty Ltd, April 29, 2016

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

GUYANA GOLDSTRIKE INC.

Peter Berdusco

President and Chief Executive Officer

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to future prices of commodities, accuracy of mineral or resource exploration activity, reserves or resources, regulatory or government requirements or approvals, the reliability of third party information, continued access to mineral properties or infrastructure, fluctuations in the market for gold, changes in exploration costs and government regulation in Guyana, status of artisanal mining activities and associated rights, and other factors or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chakana Copper Corp. (TSX-V:PERU) (the Company or Chakana), is pleased to provide a general exploration update and announce assays from an additional six holes at its Soledad copper-gold-silver project in central Peru, optioned from Condor Resources Inc. The Soledad project (the Project) is located 35 km south of the Pierina mine in the prolific Miocene metallogenic belt of Peru. These results are a successful continuation of the drilling program that was initiated August 16, 2017, with the results of the first ten drill holes released previously (see: www.chakanacopper.com).

The latest results are consistent with the earlier results in confirming the high-grade nature of the mineralization in the first of nine mineralized breccia pipes to be drilled by the company, said President and CEO David Kelley. We continue to see strong mineralization in the matrix of the breccia (see Figure 1). In addition to the nine confirmed pipes, there are numerous other occurrences of strongly altered andesite with sheeted quartz-sericite-sulfide veining, indicating the possible presence of blind pipes. These will be tested in our drill program throughout the year.

Significant new mineralized intervals from Breccia Pipe #1 are:

DDH # Az Dip From - To

(m) Core length

(m) Au

g/t Ag

g/t Cu % Zn % Pb % Cu-eq

%* Au-eq g/t* SDH17-027 190 -65 0.0 12.0 12.0 3.54 78.1 4.56 and 133.4 143.0 9.6 1.60 6.0 0.29 1.39 2.12 and 161.0 168.0 7.0 0.81 49.4 1.93 0.76 0.36 2.88 4.41 SDH17-028 255 -75 0.0 14.0 14.0 4.48 27.3 4.84 and 204.25 231.4 27.15 0.76 74.0 2.51 3.64 5.57 SDH17-029 210 -75 0.0 14.4 14.4 5.84 38.0 6.34 and 94.9 121.0 26.1 0.63 226.6 3.69 0.84 0.76 6.04 9.24 and 133.0 145.0 12.0 0.17 8.5 0.69 0.87 1.34 and 203.0 222.0 19.0 2.01 32.4 1.97 3.56 5.45 SDH17-030 170 -77 0.0 14.0 14.0 3.29 68.6 4.19 and 98.0 118.0 20.0 0.71 18.1 0.44 1.06 1.62 SDH17-031 145 -83 0.0 135.0 135.0 1.02 35.2 0.60 1.57 2.40 including 0.0 59.0 59.0 1.15 12.1 1.31 including 59.0 135.0 76.0 0.93 53.1 1.04 2.10 3.22 SDH17-032 270 -70 0.0 28.0 28.0 3.39 13.0 3.56

* Cu_eq and Au_eq values were calculated using copper, gold, and silver. Metal prices utilized for the calculations are Cu  US$2.90/lb, Au  US$1,300/oz, and Ag  US$17/oz. No adjustments were made for recovery as the project is an early stage exploration project and metallurgical data to allow for estimation of recoveries are not yet available. The formulas utilized to calculate equivalent values are Cu_eq (%) = Cu% + (Au g/t * 0.6556) + (Ag g/t * 0.00857) and Au_eq (g/t) = Au g/t + (Cu% * 1.5296) + (Ag g/t * 0.01307). Assays for zinc and lead are not used in the metal equivalent calculations. The true widths of the mineralized intervals reported in this release are difficult to ascertain and additional drilling will be required to constrain the geometry of the mineralized zones.

The focus of the drilling program is to determine the economic potential of several quartz-tourmaline-sulfide breccia pipes that crop out at surface. Phase 1 of the program is ongoing for a total of 9,191m drilled to date of an original planned program of 16,660m. Phase 1 is directed toward pipes #1 and #5 (Bx #1 and Bx #5). Phase 2 is an expanded drill program proposed under a Semi-detailed environmental impact assessment permit (EIA-SD) that was submitted for review to the Ministry of Energy and Mines on December 29, 2017. Phase 2 will allow for additional step-out drilling and testing a number of other pipes and targets identified on the Project.

The pipes form a cluster within 4 km2 and are spaced between 176m to 625m apart with vertical relief between the pipes of over 500m. Based on detailed mapping, Bx #1 has a surface diameter of approximately 40m and Bx #5 of approximately 50m. Mineralization is open at depth in both pipes based on previous drilling. Drilling is designed to determine the geometry (volume) of the breccia hosted mineralization and the grade. Tourmaline breccia pipes can have diameters that increase at depth, and often have higher grades at the margin of the pipe where permeability of the breccia is highest. Drilling at the Project is designed to test this from surface to 400m depth based on: 1) drilling from a central platform at various azimuths and dip angles to penetrate the margin of the breccia throughout its vertical extent; and 2) from platforms outside the pipe to drill across the breccia body. The six holes being reported were drilled from a central platform. Mineralized intercepts will vary in length due to the shape of the breccia body and the orientation of the drill hole (see Figure 2). For example, shallow holes drilled near the perimeter of the pipe may have shorter intercepts compared to steeper holes. Nonetheless, all holes that intersect mineralized breccia are important for constraining the overall shape and grade of the breccia body. Once a sufficient number of intercepts are obtained and modelled, the overall geometry of the breccia body and the grade profile will become apparent.

Sampling and Analytical Procedures

Chakana follows rigorous sampling and analytical protocols that meet industry standards. Samples for assay are stored in a secured area until transport in batches to the ALS facility in Callao, Lima, Peru. Samples are processed under the control of ALS with the samples including certified reference materials, a coarse and finely-crushed blank and duplicates samples. All samples are analyzed using the ME-MS41 procedure in order to obtain a comprehensive multi-element overview of the geochemistry. Gold is analyzed by ME-MS41 (not considered reliable), AA24 (higher precision) and GRA22 when values exceed 10 g/t. Over limit silver, copper, lead and zinc is analyzed using the OG-46 procedures.

Additional information concerning the Project is available in a technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 made available on Chakanas SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Qualified Person

David Kelley, an officer and a director of Chakana, and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

David Kelley

President and CEO

For further information contact:

Michelle Borromeo, Manager  Corporate Communications

Phone: 604-715-6845

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Chakana to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements or information relates to, among other things, the interpretation of the nature of the mineralization at the project, the potential to grow the project, the potential to expand the mineralization, the planning for further exploration work, the ability to de-risk the potential exploration targets, and our belief about the unexplored parts of the project. These forward-looking statements are based on managements current expectations and beliefs but given the uncertainties, assumptions and risks, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward- looking statements or information. The Company disclaims any obligation to update, or to publicly announce, any such statements, events or developments except as required by law.
MONTREAL, Feb. 06, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ALGOLD RESOURCES LTD. (TSX-V:ALG) (Algold or the Corporation) is pleased to announce that it has closed its CDN $2 million private placement (the Offering) and 1.5% NSR royalty grant for CDN $2.8 million for the Tijirit Gold Project (the Royalty) with Osisko Gold Royalties Ltd (Osisko). Osisko is investing CDN $4.8 million in total gross proceeds and owns approximately 12.6% of Algolds outstanding common shares on a partially-diluted basis.

Algold Chairman Benoit La Salle said: Our board and management team looks forward to working closely with Osisko and is pleased to have Osisko as a strategic partner, given their strong financial resources and industry leading technical expertise. We also welcome Mr. Lucas Werner Claessens as well as Mr. Brahim Ahmed Salem Ghadda to our board. Mr. Werner provides substantial technical and operational experience to our board and team, including extensive experience in working in West Africa, as well as considerable success in exploration of greenstone hosted gold deposits. Mr. Ghadda is the President of Wafa Mining and Petroleum SA, which has a significant mining presence in Mauritania and is active across many sectors through its various subsidiary businesses.

Under the Offering, Osisko has subscribed for 14,285,714 units, each at a price of $0.14 and consisting of one common share and one common share purchase warrant entitling the holder to acquire one common share at a price of $0.20 for a period of 36 months.

Upon closing of the Offering, Osisko was granted the following rights:

It may nominate up to two candidates for Algolds board of directors at any meeting of the Corporations shareholders (including Mr. Lucas Werner Claessens, who was appointed as a director immediately upon closing). Until December 31, 2025, it will hold an exclusive option to purchase a 2.0% NSR royalty on any new project acquired by Algold. A right of first refusal on any royalties, streams or similar interests in the products mined on Algolds properties that are granted or proposed for granting in the future.

Mr. Werner has been exploring for gold in West Africa for more than 30 years. He has experienced considerable success as an explorationist of greenstone hosted gold deposits for several European Union funded regional exploration programs, including the discovery of several large gold finds such as Sadiola Hill and Morila in Mali, and the Samira Hill deposit in Niger. Werner holds a Degree in Geological and Mineralogical Sciences from the Catholic University of Leuven (KUL), Leuven, Belgium.

Concurrently with the Offering, Wafa Mining & Petroleum SA (Wafa) also subscribed for 2,605,295 common shares, also at a price of $0.14 each, for total gross proceeds of $364,741, under a previously-granted pre-emptive right allowing Wafa to maintain a 10% interest in Algold (see Algolds press release dated August 9, 2017). As per Wafas previously-granted rights, the Corporation has also appointed Wafa president, Mr. Brahim Ahmed Salem Ghadda, to its board.

Mr. Ghadda is the President of Wafa, which forms part of Groupe WAFA SA, a major family business in Mauritania. The Ghadda family business established itself in the import and distribution of food products. Since then the business has diversified into construction, industrial fisheries, real estate, public works, distribution of petroleum products and banking. Its mining business, WAFA Mining and Petroleum, was established in 2010 as WAFA Mining SA then extended in 2012 its scope to the petroleum sector. It holds several tenements of mineral substance in Tasiast, Amsaga and the Mauritanides.

All securities issued in connection with the Offering and the subscription by Wafa are subject to a four month hold period. The net proceeds from the Offering and the Wafa subscription will be used to carry out exploration drilling at the Corporations mineral properties and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The securities offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, United States persons absent registration or any applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable U.S. state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor in any other jurisdiction.

This press release has been reviewed for accuracy and compliance under National Instrument 43-101 by Andre Ciesielski, DSc., PGeo., Algold Resources Ltd. Lead Consulting Geologist and Qualified Person, and Alastair Gallaugher, C.Geo. (Chartered Geologist and Fellow of the Geological Society of London), BSc. Geology, Algolds Exploration Manager in Mauritania, Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Andre Ciesielski has further approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release.

ABOUT ALGOLD

Algold Resources Ltd. is focused on the exploration and development of gold deposits in West Africa. The board of directors and management team are seasoned resource industry professionals with extensive experience in the exploration and development of world-class gold projects in Africa.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Algold Resources Ltd.

1320, boul. Graham, bureau 132, Mont-Royal, Quebec, H3P 3C8, www.algold.com

Francois Auclair M.Sc., PGeo

President & Chief Executive Officer

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+1 (514) 889 5089

Alex Ball

Executive VP, Finance and Corporate Development

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

+1 (647) 919 2227
VANCOUVER, Feb. 7, 2018 /CNW/ - Mawson Resources Limited ("Mawson") or (the "Company") (TSX:MAW) (Frankfurt:MXR) (PINKSHEETS:MWSNF) is pleased to announce a private placement financing pursuant to which Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G; NYSE: GG) ("Goldcorp") will subscribe for 18,000,000 units (the "Units") at a price of C$0.45 per Unit ("the "Issue Price") for gross proceeds of C$8,100,000 (the "Placement"). Each Unit will be comprised of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant (a "Warrant") exercisable to acquire one additional common share at a price of $0.65 per common share for a period of two years from closing of the Placement.

Pursuant to the exercise of pre-existing participation rights by certain existing shareholders of Mawson, it is anticipated that up to an additional 1,000,000 Units will be issued at the Issue Price for additional gross proceeds of up to C$450,000.

Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO of Mawson commented, "We are very pleased to welcome Goldcorp as a strategic shareholder. With the support of both Goldcorp and our existing shareholders we will continue to aggressively explore our district-scale Rajapalot-Rompas gold project which represents one of Finland's most significant gold discoveries."

Upon closing of the Placement, Goldcorp will become an insider of Mawson holding 18,000,000 common shares of Mawson and 9,000,000 warrants (the "Goldcorp Warrants") representing approximately 12.7% of the issued and outstanding shares of Mawson on a non-diluted basis and 17.9% on a partially diluted basis, assuming full exercise of the Goldcorp Warrants.

On completion of the Placement, the Company and Goldcorp will enter into an investor rights agreement where, for as long as Goldcorp holds 7.5% or greater of the Company's outstanding shares, Goldcorp will have certain rights, including:

the right to participate in any future equity financings undertaken by Mawson in order to allow Goldcorp to maintain its then percentage ownership interest in Mawson;

the right to acquire such additional number of common shares of Mawson in future financings undertaken by Mawson such that Goldcorp's ownership percentage on closing of such financing would equal up to 19.9% (on a partially-diluted basis);

the right to request that Mawson form a Technical Committee and the right to appoint 50% of the members of such Technical Committee; and

Macquarie Capital Markets Canada Ltd. is acting as financial advisor to Mawson and will receive an advisory fee in connection with Goldcorp's participation in the Placement.

The Company plans to use the net proceeds of the Placement to explore its mineral properties located in Finland (the "Finland Properties") and for corporate general and administrative expenses.

The securities issued under the Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of closing. The closing of the Placement is subject to, among other things, acceptance from the Toronto Stock Exchange. Closing of the Placement is expected to occur on or about February 14, 2018.

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Early Warning Disclosure

Mawson has been advised that Goldcorp will acquire ownership of 18,000,000 Units at a subscription price of C$0.45 per Unit for a total purchase price of C$8,100,000. Accordingly, Goldcorp will acquire ownership of (i) 18,000,000 Common Shares, representing 12.7% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares, and (ii) 9,000,000 Warrants, representing approximately 35.6% of the issued and outstanding Warrants. Following the acquisition, Goldcorp will own 18,000,000 Common Shares, representing approximately 12.7% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares and 9,000,000 Warrants, representing approximately 35.6% of the issued and outstanding Warrants. Should Goldcorp exercise all of the Warrants, Goldcorp would hold 27,000,000 Common Shares representing approximately 17.9% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares (on a partially diluted basis). Prior to this acquisition, Goldcorp does not own any securities of Mawson. Goldcorp will acquire the securities for investment purposes. Goldcorp will evaluate its investment in Mawson from time to time and may, based on such evaluation, market conditions and other circumstances, increase or decrease shareholdings as circumstances require. The exemption relied on for the acquisition of the Units is Section 2.3 of National Instrument 45-106  Prospectus and Registration Exemptions. A copy of the Early Warning report filed by Goldcorp in connection with the acquisition is available on Mawson's SEDAR profile. Goldcorp's head office is located at Suite 3400  666 Burrard St. Vancouver, BC, V6C 2X8.

About Mawson Resources Limited (TSX:MAW, FRANKFURT:MXR, PINKSHEETS:MWSNF)

Mawson Resources Limited is an exploration and development company. Mawson has distinguished itself as a leading Nordic Arctic exploration company with a focus on the flagship Rompas and Rajapalot gold projects in Finland.

On behalf of the Board,

"Michael Hudson"

Michael Hudson, Chairman & CEO

Forward-Looking Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Although Mawson believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate, and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. Mawson cautions investors that any forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, negotiation of definitive agreements with Goldcorp, closing of the Placement, proposed use of the net proceeds of the Placement, capital and other costs varying significantly from estimates, changes in world metal markets, changes in equity markets, planned drill programs and results varying from expectations, delays in obtaining results, equipment failure, unexpected geological conditions, local community relations, dealings with non-governmental organizations, delays in operations due to permit grants, environmental and safety risks, and other risks and uncertainties disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Mawson's most recent Annual Information Form filed on www.sedar.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, Mawson disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.
President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday signed into law a controversial Holocaust bill intended to safeguard Polands image abroad but which has instead triggered an unprecedented diplomatic row with Israel and tensions with the US and Ukraine.

Duda also said he would send the legislation, which now comes into force, to the Constitutional Tribunal to rule on whether it conforms with guarantees for freedom of speech.

The law sets fines or a maximum three-year jail term for anyone ascribing responsibility or co-responsibility to the Polish nation or state for crimes committed by the German Third Reich  or other crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The main aim is to prevent people from erroneously describing Nazi German death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau as Polish, simply due to their geographical location.

Israel has expressed deep concerns that the legislation could open the door to prosecuting Holocaust survivors for their testimony should it concern the involvement of individual Poles for allegedly killing or giving up Jews to the Germans.

But Duda and other Polish leaders insist the law does not limit freedom of speech on Holocaust issues that are based in historical fact.

I have decided to sign the law but also to send it to the Constitutional Tribunal, Duda told reporters in Warsaw on Tuesday.

He said the decision preserves the interests of Poland, our dignity and the historical truth and also takes into account the sensitivity of those for whom the question of historical memory of the Holocaust remains exceptionally important.

 Rewriting history? 

Israel said Tuesday it still hoped that we will manage to agree on changes and corrections, adding that it continues to communicate with the Polish authorities.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared last week Israel had no tolerance for the distortion of the truth and rewriting history or denying the Holocaust.

Analysts say the legislation has isolated Poland from Israel, a key ally of the United States and neighbouring Ukraine.

On Tuesday US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Washington was disappointed that President Duda had signed the controversial bill.

Tillerson referred to Poland as our strong ally, and acknowledged that terms like Polish death camps were painful and misleading.

But he said fundamental freedoms must be protected in combating historical inaccuracies.

The US State Department warned last week that the bill could have repercussions on Polands strategic interests and relationships.

According to Polish security analyst Grzegorz Kostrzewa-Zorbas the statement was the strongest made by the US toward Poland since the Cold War.

He told the Gazeta Wyborcza daily the tensions could potentially affect Warsaws talks with the US on an unprecedented multi-billion dollar defence purchase of a US-made Patriot anti-missile defence system.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has described the tensions as a temporary weakening of relations with Israel and the USA but added that he hoped for an improvement soon after Poland explained its position.

Foreign Minister Jacek Czaputowicz said Monday that Poland was open to amending the law but insisted that Israels criticism was due to a misunderstanding and over-interpretation.

 No doubt 

Jewish organisations from across the globe have also expressed deep concern.

European Jewish Association Chairman Rabbi Menachem Margolin said in a statement Tuesday his organisation would challenge what he described as the flawed law in Polands Constitutional Tribunal.

It seems inconceivable that an EU member state can be permitted to whitewash history by imposing draconian legislation that can imprison people for holding an alternative view on what happened during Europes darkest days, Margolin added.

Ukraine has also slammed the law with President Petro Poroshenko protesting against absolutely biased and categorically unacceptable articles that allow for the prosecution of anyone denying the crimes of Ukrainian nationalists committed between 1925 and 1950.

Germanys Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said there is not the slightest doubt about who is responsible for the extermination camps, who made them work to kill millions of European Jews: namely the Germans.

It was our country that organised these mass murders and no one else. The existence of certain collaborators does not change anything, Gabriel said.

Poland can be certain that any distortion of history such as the notion of Polish concentration camps will be clearly rejected and firmly condemned.
France criticised on Wednesday Polands new law that makes it illegal to attribute Nazi crimes to the Polish state, describing it as an ill-advised move.

This law is ill advised, you should not rewrite history, its never a very good idea, Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told BFM television.

Asked if the EU would take measures in response to the controversial Holocaust law, signed into law by Polands President Andrzej Duda on Tuesday, Le Drian said he hoped moral pressure will be sufficient.

I also hope that the Polish people will reconsider, and in the next elections act in a way that removes the unfortunate political straightjacket imposed by nationalist factions, he said.

Anything that could pervert this memory is negative, he said, saying the vote to bring in the law should be condemned.

The bill has drawn a chorus of criticism from countries including Israel and the United States.

It sets fines or a maximum three-year jail term for anyone ascribing responsibility or co-responsibility to the Polish nation or state for crimes committed by the German Third Reich  or other crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The main aim is to prevent people from erroneously describing Nazi German death camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau as Polish, simply because they were set up on Polish soil.

Israel has expressed deep concerns that the legislation could open the door to prosecuting Holocaust survivors for their testimony should it concern the involvement of individual Poles for allegedly killing or giving up Jews to the Germans.

But Duda and other Polish leaders say the law does not limit freedom of speech on Holocaust issues that are based in historical fact.

Duda also said he would send the legislation to the Constitutional Tribunal to rule on whether it conforms with guarantees for freedom of speech.
Veterinary researcher makes inroads in fighting classical swine fever

Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018



A Kansas State University researcher has developed a method of producing a classical swine fever vaccine safely and inexpensively and has discovered specific antibodies that can be used to differentiate whether pigs are infected or vaccinated. Classical swine fever was eradicated in the U.S. in 1978 but still plagues pork producers in China and other countries. | Download this photo.





MANHATTAN  A Kansas State University researcher has licensed a new vaccine to an animal health company to fight a highly contagious swine disease overseas. A second discovery by the researcher could improve vaccines for the disease and help protect the U.S. from an outbreak.



Jishu Shi, professor of vaccine immunology and director of U.S.-China Center for Animal Health in the university's College of Veterinary Medicine, has developed a method of producing a classical swine fever vaccine safely and inexpensively. The disease can cause devastating epidemics among pigs if left unchecked.



Shi's vaccine uses a protein from the virus rather than live or attenuated virus, which means the vaccine poses no biosecurity risk to produce in the U.S., where classical swine fever was eradicated in 1978.



Shi licensed his new subunit vaccine to an animal health company in China to continue to study its field efficacy. Classical swine fever has not been eliminated in China, and each of the 700 million pigs raised annually in the country currently receives two doses of vaccine against the virulent disease. Shi's version requires only one dose.



"We need to test the vaccine in the field to prove it will work," Shi said. "If it does, we can help China eradicate the disease, which further secures the U.S. by ensuring the disease doesn't spread to our shores."



Pigs given the current modified live virus classical swine fever vaccine test positive for the disease. Shi's other discovery will help develop a test to differentiate infected from vaccinated animals, known as a DIVA strategy. Shi and his collaborators identified two specific antibodies that can be used to differentiate whether pigs are infected or vaccinated, and he is working with colleagues at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in Europe and in China to conduct more trials and gain full validation.



"This exciting discovery could result in solving an economic and trade problem in China  vaccines are expensive, and countries with classical swine fever can't export pork  and a security problem for the U.S.," Shi said



Peter Dorhout, Kansas State University's vice president for research, said Shi's work highlights the university's capacity for addressing high-consequence diseases.



"Our researchers develop real solutions to problems that threaten global food systems," Dorhout said. "Shi's work shows how we are expanding our reach around the world to build relationships, provide expertise and keep our food industries and supplies safe."

Shi conducted his research in the university's Biosecurity Research Institute, or BRI. The institute gives investigators access to a biocontainment facility in which they can safely conduct research on diseases that threaten animal, plant and human health. Shi's work was supported by a grant from the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility, or NBAF, Transition Fund.



"I couldn't do this work without the NBAF Transition Fund and the BRI," Shi said. "It gives us the competitive advantage of doing research on these diseases. This is an essential capacity, and we have a very good team there."



Stephen Higgs, director of the Biosecurity Research Institute, said Shi's work demonstrates the value of the facility, how funded research at the institute benefits the Kansas State University community as a whole, and how the institute's capabilities dovetail with the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility, which is the Department of Homeland Security's foremost animal disease research facility that is being built adjacent to Kansas State University's Manhattan campus.



"Our mission is to protect the U.S. and the world from diseases that we hope will never spread to North America," Higgs said. "Classical swine fever is one of the diseases that will be studied at NBAF, and we're proud to be supporting progress in fighting this economic threat to pork production worldwide."






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I watched the young woman across from me wrap the soft stretch of fabric around her face. She folded a part of it that hung close to her ears and loosened it slightly, put her fingers slowly under the fabric and experimented with how much room there was. Would a stethoscope earpiece fit through each side easily? She unwrapped it again. Repeated the same finger test.

She had chosen a light pink color, in part because pink was her favorite color but also because she wanted something that would make her first patient, even though they were an actor, feel comfortable with her. The thought of introducing herself to her first patient was intimidating for the obvious reason: It would be the first time shed take on this role as a student doctor.

And there would be nothing worse than a patient feeling uncomfortable with her there for her appearance.

In medical school, I am building my professional persona, and that means figuring out how to walk these lines is also part of developing myself into a practicing Muslim in America while learning how to serve everyone. So my presentation to my first patient was incredibly important. I had to prove that I could look different than them but still be just as approachable as any other student doctor.

I recall how I began the physical exam with the lung exam, so that I could stand behind the patient and they would not see me fumble to stick my stethoscope in my ears under my hijab. I was able to explain to them what I would be doing without it seeming unusual the few seconds longer it took me to begin their exam.

Recently, I was invited to join my classmates at a business cocktail reception commemorating the end of our first semester in medical school. The challenge of finding a hijabi-friendly outfit began. Somehow, this small problem seemed to be a bigger metaphor to everything that meant being a hijab-wearing Muslim American. Merging two cultures together and being comfortable and confident in that is a challenge. Somehow, each time I think I have mastered it, I am reminded of another issue that reminds me that I havent.

At the reception, a classmate jokingly wondered how to make themselves less approachable, and I (again, jokingly) suggested wearing a hijab. We all laughed, but that led to more discussion about it. Later, as I shared this story with another classmate, he laughed but became more serious as he asked, That comes from a place of truth though, doesnt it?

The laughter quieted down as I thought to that deep place of truth that that came from, that I had grown used to taking the collection of stereotypes and burying them deep in a bottle within me, taking them out in the form of comedic comments. How else could you become more approachable and encourage others to learn about you and inquire about what made you different? And I do not believe that is something solely belonging to Muslims. The same could be said for dealing with racial tensions, cultural tensions, and other stereotypes.

I think back to a medical school interview during which I was asked about what I would do if someone refused to allow me to care for them because of my head scarf.

I think back to deciding whether or not to disclose information about my life as a hijab-wearing Muslim woman in my medical school essay that asked me to write about being an underrepresented student. Family friends recommended against it. I discussed this dilemma with my pre-med adviser, who kindly apologized for his privilege, for realizing that he did not have an answer for something as he never had to face a question like this.

I did end up writing about my hijab in my essay, and when I met with one of the admissions reps before the start of the academic year, he surprised me by saying, I wont forget what you wrote about your hijab and how proud and confident you are about it.

I think of how there were some who told my parents how surprised they were that I was accepted even with a hijab on. And I realize that there is so much more to a person than what they wear, the color of their skin, how many times a day they pray, or where they call home. We are not unique for there are many people like us, but it is how we choose to see how journeys that make us unique.

So those who compliment my hijab-wrapping skills (thanks, I worked hard on those!), my hijabi-friendly business cocktail outfit, the questions about how I wear it and why I wear it and why people misunderstand it, I thank you. To the friend who told me that I proved that a woman could be classy without being too revealing, I appreciate you. To those who point out my smile before pointing out my hijab, youre incredible.

You should know that the challenge to be confident as a hijabi in situations where most are not is not an indication of poor self-esteem but rather a result of some kind of tiredness of trying to figure out how to make something more hijabi-friendly. I want you to know that I appreciate our conversations, connections, and mutual respect for one another, particularly when you strive to learn more about it.

Many seem to think that hijab-wearing Muslim women are doing they are doing despite their hijab. Well, Im proposing a change to that narrative: I do everything with my hijab, because of my hijab, and experience so much as a result of my hijab, not despite it. Other women may or may not share the same sentiments, so I am not speaking on behalf of all Muslim women in medicine.

I hope that whatever we are doing and whoever we are, we do it because of our background and not despite it.

Manar Mohammad is a medical student.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
The three cardiac campaign groups in the South-East are combining to coordinate Have A Heart protest day on February 10 in Waterford city.

Organisers are asking people to support the call on government to implement a second Cath Lab and 24/7 cardiac care at University Hospital Waterford for the people of the South-East.

The protest is over cardiac services in the region and protest organisers are providing six facts to garner support for the protest day.

The first statement is that the South-East is the only region nationally where the regional cardiac centre is closed to access after 5pm each weekday evening and entirely on weekends  out of hours emergencies from the region therefore have to travel to centres in Dublin or Cork to receive critical cardiac care.

While another statement added: The single Cath Lab service at UHW means that if you arrive as an emergency admission from the region and there is an existing patient procedure ongoing in the Cath Lab someone has to wait - in either case one patients care is being compromised.

Organisers added that the protest is your opportunity to have any say in your regional cardiac care service.
Thirty sites have so far been registered on Kilkennys Vacant Sites Register, which will see a levy placed on certain tracts of land not coming forward for development.

The areas included in this initial phase are Kilkenny City, Castlecomer and Callan. The council has said that this is the starting point of an ongoing programme of identifying and registering vacant sites, and is by no means an exhaustive list.

The register is available to view on Kilkenny County Councils website. The council must determine the market value of the vacant sites, and notify owners of these valuations. It is anticipated the market valuations will be completed by the end of this March.

The council must notify property owners of the valuation and inform them of their right of appeal. The owner has the right to appeal the valuation to the Valuation Tribunal within 28 days of the notice.

A site entered on the register is subject to the vacant site levy, payable in arrears each year beginning in 2019. For 2018, the levy is 3% of the market value. Under Budget 2018, the levy will be increased to 7% for next year, however.

The council says the next phase of additions to the register will be for Callan, Graignamanagh and Thomastown. Following that, other areas that can be targeted for the levy are the remaining settlements with zoning: Bennettsbridge, New Ross Environs and Kilmacow.
The CEO of Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce John Hurley has said the Chamber's submission regarding Waterfords proposed North Quays development outlines a desire to see the region thrive through cooperation.

The North Quays Strategic Development Zone is a large-scale, mixed-use proposal for the Ferrybank side of the river in Waterford City. While there is currently 48,000sqm of retail floor area in the existing city centre, the North Quays has the planned potential to provide an additional 30,000sqm.

Waterford City and County Council received a number of submissions on the SDZ during the recent public consultation, including from Kilkenny County Council and Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce.

The Chambers submission noted the proposed development has potential to be very positive for Waterford City and for the wider south-east in the context of Waterford being the gateway city for the region. It also said the proposal merits in-depth research and analysis, given the size of the development, and its potential impact on other towns in the region.

Mr Hurley said he was disappointed with some recent media coverage on Kilkennys contribution during the consultation process. He says the goal is actually one of regional cooperation and working together.

Mr Hurley said that rather than trying to create division, the Chamber endorses the drawing up of a joint retail strategy for the region.

I was disappointed it suggested Kilkenny was on a mission to do something inappropriate to what was Waterfords business, he said.

In fact, the NDZ is a great positive opportunity not just for Waterford, but for the whole south-east. That was the thrust of our submission  acknowledging it as a potential positive.

Because of its size, the proposed development of the North Quays will undoubtedly bring huge change, and care must be taken to ensure that the implications are fully understood and that the change which comes is good and positive for all.

The Chamber chief said it has already been agreed between the various local authority chief executives that a joint retail strategy document should be drawn up, but this has not been done yet. Kilkenny Chamber, in its submission, again referenced the need for this.
Labour Councillor, Maurice Shortall, led the tributes to Seamus Pattison at a Special Meeting of Kilkenny County Council this week.

A former Labour TD, Mr Pattison was laid to rest in Kilkenny on Tuesday having also served as a Councillor, Cathaoirleach, Mayor, Junior Minister, Member of the European Parliament and Ceann Comhairle.

He was Ceann Comhairle from 1997 to 2002.

A Special Meeting of the Council was adjourned on Monday as a mark of respect to Mr Pattison. A sombre chamber heard from Councillors paying tribute to one of Kilkennys greatest ever politicians and an absolute gentleman.

The Council was due to address a new handbook issued to tenants in local authority housing here but that meeting has now been adjourned to February 19 due to the very sad passing of Mr Pattison.

The meeting had begun with a minutes silence for Mr Pattison and then Cathaoirleach David Fitzgerald started by saying Kilkenny had lost one of its greats - a man who served for over half a century in public life.

Cllr Shortall said the passing of Mr Pattison marked the end of an era and described his friend and colleague as an exemplary public servant.

He said: Seamus was an absolute gentleman. He had wisdom we could compare to that of a saint.

He enjoyed his work and whether it was local, national or international he never forgot his roots, a service which stood the test of time in 46 unbroken years in Leinster House, where he rightfully was the father of the Dail.

His knowledge of the constituency was second to none and he knew every road, lane and cul-de-sac from Moneenroe to Mullinavat and from Tinryland to Tullow. Famous for his personal attention to detail his name recollection was legendary.

Labours Cllr Tomas Breathnach also paid tribute to his friend and fellow party member. Speaking in a solemn chamber, he said: He was a gentleman in the true sense of that word. He was quiet and unassuming. He made a lot of friendships. He was loyal to the friends he made and they remained loyal to him. He was still a presence even when he left the Dail. He enriched all our lives.

Cllr Patrick McKee said: Seamus represented the people of our constituency for almost 50 years until his retirement in 2007 - his entire career is marked by an unwavering commitment to our people, his community and most of all his City.

It is important on this occasion to remember his late father, Jimmy Pattison, who himself served the people of our community for 27 years in Dail Eireann.

"I dont think it is an over-statement to say that Seamus Pattison is without doubt one of the greatest Kilkenny men to ever live - his career could be described as an incredible journey of honour and service to the people of Kilkenny, Ireland and Europe.

His career traversed the development of modern Ireland - his contribution to workers rights, social rights and to the European project was second to none.

Fine Gaels Cllr John Brennan described Mr Pattison as one of the finest politicians this county every produced.

Fianna Fails Cllr Andrew McGuinness said that the former Government Minister, both in and out of politics, was always there for the people of Kilkenny and he left and indelible mark in the county and he will always be remembered.

Cllr Pat Fitzpatrick said the Labour stalwart was a wonderful ambassador for the city, our county and our country.

Mayor of Kilkenny City, Cllr Michael Doyle, added: The esteem he is held as a man is definitely his greatest achievement.

The meeting adjourned soon after and Councillors rose - a great man is gone, but hell never be forgotten.
Laois is in store for a major rebranding excercise and tourism overhaul under a new strategy to lift the county off the bottom of the tourism league.

Under a plan launched last week a new destination brand and marketing communications approach will be created for tourism in Laois.

The Laois Tourism Strategic Plan 2018-23 says the county must be branded.

The brand approach is proposed to bring all industry stake holders together under one identity.

The market place is compeititive and requires a co-ordinated marketing strategy to support the evolvement of the new brand to establish the county as a key tourism destination in Ireland's Ancient East.

The new tourism brand should focus on a 'Visit Laois' consumer proposition, said the plan.

The strategy says the development of brand messages should reflect the diversity of experiences in Laois such as 'A heritage of adventure'.

It is hoped 300 new jobs can be created over the next five years.

Laois is effectively bottom of the ladder at the moment.

The stategy says it is one of the least visited counties and has the third lowest tourist income in Ireland.


The Court of Appeal has upheld a finding that a farmer is entitled to 120 acres of land belonging to a man who turned out to be his biological father.



However, the three judge court set aside a High Court finding that William Naylor should receive a bequest of 150,000 left to him by the late Michael Hoare who died in 2007 aged 82.



In proceedings that ran for 21 days before the High Court in 2012 Mr Naylor sued his sister Mrs Jean Maher who was the executrix of Mr Hoare's estate, seeking to have a will executed by Mr Hoare set aside .



In that will Mr Hoare left Mrs Maher, who had cared for the deceased in his latter years, the farm at Derrylahan, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, while Mr Naylor was to receive 150,000.



That 2006 will replaced one made a year earlier in which Mr Hoare left the land to Mr Naylor.



Mr Naylor who is aged in his early sixties, claimed he was promised the farm, which he had lived and worked on more than 30 years, by Mr Hoare, who he only discovered was his biological father after his death.



The court heard that Mr Hoare married Mr Naylor's mother in the 1980's. He had always believed another man, his mother's first husband was his father.



Mrs Maher of The Crescent, Townsend Street, Birr, Co Offaly opposed the claim.



In a lengthy judgment delivered in 2012 Mr Justice Daniel OKeeffe ruled that Mr Naylor of Lelagh, Rathcabbin, Derrylahan, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, but originally from Birr in Co Offaly had established a legal claim and was entitled to the lands at Derrylahan, as well as the money left to him in the 2006 will.



The Judge said for many years Mr Naylor was entitled to the land as he worked the farm for minimal remuneration, and Mr Hoare had promised him on many occasions that he would leave him the property.





Mr Naylor, who was a truthful witness, returned from Dublin in the early 1970's to work the farm at the expressed wishes of Mr Hoare. The Judge also accepted the evidence of other witnesses that Mr Hoare had promised Mr Naylor the land.



The Judge found Mr Naylor had "failed to establish his claim that the 2006 will was procured by duress and undue influence by Mrs Maher, and dismissed his claims in that regard.



He also awarded Mr Naylor. his legal costs of the lengthy hearing



Ms Maher appealed the some of those findings to the Court of Appeal, on grounds including the trial judge had erred in deciding her brother's claim should have been satisfied by the transfer of lands to him, and that he was entitled to his legal costs.



In her appeal argued the High Court should have ordered that Mr Naylor be compensated with a sum of money sufficient to repay him the amount he lost when he moved back from Dublin to assist his father on the farm. Evidence was given that 163,000 represented his loss.



Mr Naylor opposed the appeal, and argued the High Court decision should remain undisturbed.



In its judgement the court comprised of the President Mr Justice Sean Ryan, Mr Justice Michael Peart and Mr Justice Gerard Hogan unanimously held Mr Naylor was entitled to the land based on the promises that were made to him.



Giving the courts decision Mr Justice Michael Peart said it disagreed with the High Court's finding that he was also entitled to the 150,000 bequeathed to him in the 2006 will.



The court found the 150,000 bequeathed to him in the 2006 will was intended as substitution for the lands. The earlier will did not contain such a bequeath.



"To do justice between the parties" in "these unusual circumstances" the Judge said the court was ordering that Mr Naylor should receive the lands after he executes a disclaimer in the 150,000 left to him in the 2006 will.



Any other conclusion would be "unduly severe" the judge said.



Mr Naylor was entitled to 75% of his legal costs, and not all as the High Court had ruled, because he was not successful in all arguments he had raised which had take up some time at the hearing of the dispute at High Court, Mr Justice Peart added.
The Australian Ambassador to Ireland will make a historic visit to Laois ths month where he will visit the home place of a family of Irish and Australian patriots.

The ongoing restoration of Tenakill House, Raheen, Abbeyleix, has attracted considerable interest at home and abroad and the latest visitor to this historic structure is the Australian Ambassador, Richard Andrews, who will view the house on St Valentine's Day.

Mr. Andrews will be given a detailed account of the committees plans for the building which is home to the famous Lalor family. It is felt that it would be a major link in the Ancient Ireland East tourism drive as it is intended to establish a museum which will reflect the considerable contribution of the members of the Lalor family to the history.

It is also hoped to establish a library which will house the contributions of Honest Pat Lalor MP and his son Richard MP in the Westminster Parliament. Speeches and texts by James Fintan Lalor on the Irish agrarian problems of the nineteenth century and the contributions of Peter Lalor to the Parliament in Victoria, Australia would also be included.

Following his visit to the house Mr. Andrews will visit the old cemetery in Raheen where he will lay a wreath on the tomb of Honest Pat Lalor, MP.

Peter Lalor, who was born in Tinakill House, Raheen in 1827, the son of Honest Pat Lalor MP and the brother of James Fintan and Richard, MP, is regarded as the Father of Australian Democracy because of his involvement in the gold miners revolt at the Eureka mine in Ballarat, Victoria state in 1854.

The three brothers, James Fintan, Richard and Peter were very committee to the Irish cause and in their earlier years were Young Irelanders and took part in the 1848 uprising with James Fintan being arrested and imprisoned in Cashel and Newgate prison in Dublin.

But it is the Australian connection which will be the focal point of the Ambassadors visit and the contribution which Peter Lalor made to Australian politics.

Peter Lalor is regarded as the Father of Australian Democracy. An engineering graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, he left Ireland after the Young Ireland era and after a short period as a railway engineer made his way to the gold fields of Ballarat.

The miners there were subject to oppressive taxation from the Crown and this led to considerable unrest among their members. This unrest came to a head with the death of as miner in a hotel fire in Ballarat and the failure of the authrities to investigate it.

Unrest grew and Lalor was elected president of the miners who erected a stockade at Eureka, Ballarat in anticipation of an attempt by police to arrest the miners. The police attacked in the middle of the night, the stockade was overrun, a number of miners were killed and Lalor was outlawed with a price of 200 on his head.

Some of the captured miners were later put on trial, acquitted, Lalor came out of hiding and was later elected to parliament where he had a distinguished career. He was elected chairman of several Parliamentary Committees and ultimately was appointed Speaker of the House of Parliament. He died on February 9, 1889.

Peter Lalor was offered a knighthood and a peerage by Queen Victoria but he refused both until Home Rule was granted to Ireland.

Details of visit below picture

Mr Andrews will arrive in Laois at 11am on Wednesday when he will visit County Hall where he will be met by the Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council Cllr. Padraig Fleming, Laois CEO, Mr John Mulholland, Council Officials and the committee of the Tenakill House Restoration Committee.

The visit of the ambassador has been in the pipeline for some time and the details have only been recently completed. There is a long time association between Australia and County Laois, most particularly, Tenakill the ancestral home of the Lalor family, of which Peter Lalor was a member.

Following the formalities at County Hall Mr Andrews will then go to Tenakill, arriving between 12noon and 12.30pm where he will see the restoration work which has been carried out in 2017. This work consisted of the stabilising of the windows and walls and the removal of vegetation and trees which posed a threat in stormy conditions.

On arrival Mr Andrews will be greeted by children from Tobar an Lein National School, Raheen, and Kevin and Mary Lalor-Fitzpatrick the current owners of the property, members of The Tenakill House Restoration Committee, and people from the locality. Kevin Lalor-Fitzpatrick is a grand nephew of Peter Lalor.

Kevin Lalor-Fitzpatrick Chairman of the Restoration Committee, said this week that it is a great honour to have the ambassador visit Tenakill House, the ancestral home of Peter Lalor. Kevin added that he was immensely proud of the contribution which this illustrious member of the Lalor family had made to the development of Australian democracy and self determination. He extended a welcome for everyone to come and welcome the ambassador, Mr. Andrews on his visit.
A Kill-based company has been fined for breaches of the data protection legislation.

The case brought against an advertising company, Guerin Media Limited, with an address at 14 The Green, Kill, led to the company being fined a total of 3,000, or 1,000 on each of three charges.

At Naas District Court on February 5, the company pleaded guilty to three charges. A total of 40 charges had been initially brought.

The Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) said that, under European Union regulations, the company had sent emails for marketing purposes, which were unsolicited by those to whom they were sent. A second issue for the DPC was that there was no valid reply option on the emails for the recipients.

Judge Desmond Zaidan was told that while such cases had been brought before the Dublin District Court, this was a first for the Kildare area at Naas.

Tony Delaney, for the DPC, said the DPC got around 120 complaints a year for breach of the market regulation on cold calling.

There were three complainants in the Guerin Media case. He said all three got emails from the company seeking to place ads in publications. None had consented to getting the emails.

Mr Delaney said the DPC had warned Guerin twice about the complaints. We dont prosecute on the first breach, he said.

They had warned the company on November 14, 2013, and on March 3, 2016. When contacted, the company said they would fix the matter but there was another complaint last year. Mr Delaney said the company has now engaged with the DPC.

There were breaches on March 21, 2017, and on June 1, 2017. One person received 17 emails of what he described as spam. One complainant worked in a hotel and another in the Bank of Ireland.

Mr Delaney said if the company wanted to contact a company it could do so, but not target an individual.

Guerin Media had no previous convictions. The maximum fine for each conviction is 5,000 but the court has discretion on that.

Mr Delaney told Matthew Byrne, solicitor for the company, that all of the complainants names had been removed from the company database and the company had agreed to pay 1,200 towards the DPCs cost of the case.

Judge Zaidan asked how the company got the email addresses of the complainants.

Mr Delaney said that in one case it rang Bank of Ireland asked for the name of the individual, but it did not speak to the individual involved. He said with some companies or organisations, you can figure out the email if you know the name.

Mr Byrne said the company was small, set up six years ago and employed five people. An employee had sent the emails.

Judge Zaidan said that the company knew what it was doing and had been warned before.

Mr Byrne said that the owner, who operated out of his home, accepted it was his responsibility and had removed the complainants from the list.

Mr Byrne said that four charges at 5,000 each would cripple the company.

The judge asked if it was profitable. Break even, he was told.

The DPC said the 1,200 cost had already been paid so the judge made no order to costs. He fined the company 1,000 on each of three charges.
70 people have signed an objection to a proposed development for a battery energy storage facility comprising of rechargeable battery units contained within 31, 40ft containers on a three hectare site at Flagford, Carrick-on-Shannon.

Fears have been expressed about the development for a number of reasons with local residents urging the local community to inform themselves regarding the development that they believe poses several significant risks.

Locals have pointed to the serious fire risk associated with lithium-ion batteries and have referenced a similar plant on a smaller scale in Brussels where a battery unit caught fire last year causing the release of toxic gases. Locals claim this resulted in people, within a 50 mile radius, being advised to stay indoors as a result of the toxic smell that was being emitted.

The planning application`, submitted by Dublin based firm Kinbrace Limited, also includes a 110kv substation, security fencing, security cameras, lightning mast, new site roads and new vehicular access. The facility would connect into the adjoining Flagford ESB substation via underground cable.

At a meeting held in the Patrician Hall, Cortober, Carrick-on-Shannon last night, Tuesday, 70 people in attendance signed an objection which will be lodged with Roscommon County Council this Friday.

According to the organising committee a constructive discussion took place about the proposed development with many also stating they will be sending in individual objections.

All objections must be submitted before Tuesday, February 13.

In order to facilitate those who are objecting on an individual basis the committee will be in the Partician Hall again tomorrow night, Thursday, between 8.30 and 9pm to gather all objections, which will be submitted to Roscommon County Council, with the overall objection, on Friday.

They are urging anyone with concerns to submit their objections before next Tuesday.

It is expected that a decision will be made by the council in early March.

For more on this story go to https://www.leitrimobserver.ie/news/home/295614/local-fears-over-massive-battery-park-in-flagford-carrick-on-shannon.html

See also this week's Leitrim Observer for our exclusive on this story.
AN investigation is underway following a bus fire on the campus of the University of Limerick this Wednesday evening.

The alarm was raised at around 5.30pm after smoke was seen coming from the engine area of the bus which was parked near the Stables club.

Three units of Limerick Fire and Rescue were dispatched from Limerick Fire Station to the scene and the fire was quickly put out.

Its understood the driver had managed to keep the fire from spreading to the main section of the bus prior to the arrival of fire crews.

The bus, which is owned by a private operator, was parked up at the time and there were no passengers on board when the fire started.

In a post on social media, UL confirmed there were no injuries as a result of the incident.

Limerick Fire Services have had to come on campus to deal with a situation outside The Stables archway on the main university road. The situation is not serious, and is fully under control. However traffic will not be able to pass through the campus currently, and for some time. February 7, 2018

Gardai attached to Henry Street also attended the scene.

At this stage, there is nothing to suggest the cause of the fire is suspicious.
A LARGE number of people have been removed in ambulances from the scene of a collision involving a school bus in County Limerick this Wednesday morning.

Emergency crews are at the scene of what is being described as a "serious incident" involving a school bus - carrying up to 46 students from John the Baptist Community School in Hospital - and a car.

24 pupils and two adults have been removed from the scene in ambulances with "various levels of injuries", the Leader understands. An air ambulance was called and the Civil Defence deployed.

The incident occurred outside Caherconlish on the Herbertstown Road, near Caherline in an area known as Connellys Cross.

A spokesperson for the UL Hospitals Group said an incident group had been formed at University Hospital Limerick in response to the road traffic collision.

"Additional surgical teams and nursing staff, including paediatric and trauma nurses, have been assigned to the ED in anticipation of trauma-type injuries," said a spokesperson.

While the incident is ongoing members of the public are urged not to attend the Emergency Department for unless absolutely necessary and to visit their GP in the first instance or the Injury Units in St Johns, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals for appropriate injuries.

A spokesperson for Bus Eireann said the 57 seater bus had approximately 46 students on board at the time of the crash.

"Bus Eireann are currently assisting the relevant authorities with their investigations into the incident. Emergency services are at the scene and while there are some reported injuries, there are no confirmed fatalities," they said.

Ita Browne, deputy principal of John the Baptist Community School, said earlier: There are a number of teachers and parents at the scene and we are in contact with them. I understand that a number of students have been taken to hospital but we understand their injuries arent serious.

Approximately 58 students were on the bus at the time. We are working with Bus Eireann to ensure the safety of all the students," she added.

The students are aged between 13 to 18, Ms Browne said.

Im not on the scene at the moment, Ms Browne continued.

The bus was travelling from Caherconlish towards Hospital and many of the students would have been travelling from the Caherconlish/Caherline area, said Ms Browne.

One local resident said: "I think there are kids hurt, a lot of ambulances are present. People are helping out giving out coats etc".

Limerick Fire Service was alerted to the incident at 8.40am, and immediately dispatched five units to the scene  three from Limerick city and two from Cappamore. They are still at the scene along with one from Kilmallock.

The road has been closed off and it is understood that it will be for some time.

Local diversions are in place from Caherconlish to Ballyneety, and then rejoining the R513 at Herbertstown.

Traffic Alert Limerick - Diversions are currently in place on the R513 between Caherconlish & Herbertstown due to a collision. Gardai & Emergency Services are at the scene.  An Garda Siochana (@GardaTraffic) February 7, 2018
A CHRONIC drug addict has admitted carrying out two burglaries in Limerick just two days after he was released from prison having served a lengthy sentence for similar offences.

Paul Foran, aged 35, who has an address at North Claughan Road, Garryowen has pleaded guilty to burglary and theft charges relating to four incidents which occurred on consecutive days last August.

During one incident, Foran, who has more than 120 previous convictions, stole a backpack and a wallet after he entered a restricted staff area at Barringtons Hospital at around 12.15pm on August 17, 2017.

He entered a staff area at Vanilla Brown Spa at the Absolute Hotel later on the same day from where he stole a handbag containing an iPhone 6 and around 350 in cash.

When formally arraigned at Limerick Circuit Court, the defendant also admitted stealing four steaks, worth 32 from Supervalu, Grove Island at around 4.15pm.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge relating to the theft of two bottles of Meade (worth 45) from the visitor centre at King Johns Castle at around 10am the following day  August 18.

The two theft offences were caught on CCTV and Foran made admissions in relation to the burglaries following his arrest.

The defendant, who has 37 previous convictions for burglary and 36 for theft, is a known drug user and in the past this has been put forward as a major factor in his offending.

The defendant was refused bail following a garda objection last August and again before Christmas when the matter was sent forward to the Circuit Court.

After noting his guilty pleas to the four charges, Judge Tom ODonnell adjourned the matter for sentence to February 16 next when he will hear evidence relating to each of the offences.

The judge will also hear submissions from Forans legal representatives before he imposes sentence.

The maximum sentence for each of the burglary offences 14 years imprisonment.
THE DEPUTY principal of the Limerick school, whose pupils were involved in the bus crash in County Limerick this Wednesday morning, has said the school has made contact with parents of all of those caught up in the incident.

Speaking in John the Baptist Community School in Hospital, Ita Browne said an incident took place this morning involving a bus making its way to the school.

A number of parents and teachers were on the scene immediately as were the emergency services. The schools critical incident team was immediately activated and continues to operate in response to the situation, she said.

Our first and primary concern is the well-being of our students. The school, Bus Eireann and emergency services are working together to ensure the safety of all students and all involved in the incident. The school has made contact with all concerned parents, guardians and all concerned are receiving the attention they require, said Ms Browne.

All students have gone home or are in the care of University Hospital Limerick. There are no reports of serious injuries. It was business as usual in John the Baptist with teenagers making their way to class this Wednesday in the aftermath of the incident.

Speaking to the Limerick Leader at the scene of the multi-vehicle collision, station officer James Kearns said 24 pupils and two adults were taken to University Hospital Limerick for treatment by a fleet of up to 15 ambulances.

Fire crews from Limerick city, Cappamore and Kilmallock all attended the scene of the collision which happened at around 8.30am.

While the air ambulance, Medivac 112, also attended the scene it was subsequently stood down as nobody sustained life-threatening injuries.

The scene of the multi-vehicle collision has been preserved pending technical and forensic examinations.
A LIMERICK creche which was evacuated following a fire is to re-open by late next week.

Rosemary Wilmot, the proprietor of Wilmots Childcare in Annacotty, has confirmed the re-opening, which followed a small electrical fire on site on Tuesday.

It caused the evacuation of the creche.

Ms Wilmot paid tribute to staff, parents and the firms neighbours in the park, Shortt Stainless Steel, which provided refuge for the children during the incident.

We practice fire drills with the children regularly and it was great to see that our fire procedures worked exactly according to plan during this weeks incident, she said. It was made so much easier by the efficiency of our wonderful staff, the understanding of parents and the employees of our neighbours, Shortts Stainless steel where our children waited to be collected, as per our evacuation plan.

Ms Wilmot confirmed some electrical work must still be carried out at the premises to repair the damage done following the blaze.

And she thanked parents for their understanding and their many messages of support over the last day.
Add this set of Algeria's first stamps to your collection

Feb 7, 2018, 5 AM

Algerias first set of definitive stamps (Scott 1-32) is in demand and is a good buy at the 2018 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue value.

Tip of the Week  By Henry Gitner and Rick Miller

The market for classic stamps (roughly speaking stamps issued from 1840 to 1940), especially colonial issues, is among the most active of current stamp markets. Long, colorful sets of definitive stamps are always in demand and are often surprisingly inexpensive.

The largest country in Africa, Algeria includes both a Mediterranean coastline and the Sahara Desert.

For almost 100 years, Algeria was under French rule. After conquering it by main force from roughly 1830 to 1870, France governed Algeria as an integral department of France. There was a sizable population swap as people from France settled in Algeria, and Algerians moved to France.

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Things fell apart in 1954 with the outbreak of the Algerian War between Arab Muslim nationalists and the French government. The war concluded in 1962 with Algerian independence.

Known as Pieds-Noirs (Black Feet), Christian and Jewish Algerians, most of who were of French or European ancestry, immigrated to France after the war.

Look for the first set of Algerian stamps issued 1924-26 (Scott 1-32). The 2018 Scott Standard Postage Stamp Catalogue values the set in unused hinged condition at just $52.80.

The set is a good buy at Scott catalog value if the higher valued stamps are not faulty. You can easily replace lower value stamps that are faulty or not well centered.

Although not priced as a set in mint never-hinged condition, the total catalog value for such a set is $72. You would be lucky to find a set, and it would be well worth that or more.
A long-exposure photo of the Falcon Heavy rocket's first test launch on Feb. 6, 2018 shows the rocket's curved trajectory as it lifts off from Kennedy Space Center and heads toward low-Earth orbit.

"Exceeded Mars orbit and kept going to the asteroid belt," SpaceX rock star CEO Elon Musk tweeted yesterday night (Feb. 6) after a successful launch of his Falcon Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Those less familiar with the principles of interplanetary flight might take this as a statement that the rocket, currently the most powerful in the world, and its payload  Musk's midnight-cherry Tesla Roadster blasting David Bowie's "Space Oddity"  have already reached the orbit around the Red Planet. [Radiation Will Tear Elon Musk's Rocket Car to Bits in a Year]

But that clearly would be too ambitious a feat even for the boundary-breaking entrepreneur. What actually happened is that the rocket overshot its intended orbit and set itself onto a trajectory that would lead it much deeper into space than originally intended, into the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

According to astronomer Phil Plait, writing for his Syfy.com blog, the spacecraft was expected to enter an elliptical orbit around the sun, intersecting the orbit of Mars at its farthest point and the orbit of the Earth at its nearest.

"This is a low-energy orbit; that is, it takes the least amount of energy to put something in this orbit from Earth," Plait, who spoke directly to Musk, explained in the blog post from December of last year. "That makes sense for a first flight."

Even if the Falcon Heavy entered the correct orbit, the rocket would still take several months to reach Mars. According to estimates by enthusiasts at the space.stackexchange forum, the rocket would have reached Mars at some point in October this year. The flyby would not be particularly close, since the Falcon Heavy's upper stage is not designed to perform any further orbital corrections. It was never intended to actually enter the orbit of Mars  an extremely difficult feat that would require much more complex engineering.

The Falcon Heavy, which is now several hundred miles away from Earth (the minimum distance to Mars is about 33 million miles, or 54.6 million kilometers, though the exact distance depends on the positions of the planets in any given moment), would at some point cross the orbit on which Mars travels around the sun. But the chance the planet would be anywhere near the spot at that time is nearly zero, experts say.

The Falcon Heavy took off amid frenzied cheers yesterday from the launchpad in Cape Canaveral, Florida, that had been used in the past to launch the iconic Apollo missions to the moon.

Two of the rocket's three boosters landed in sync about 3 minutes after liftoff back at the Cape Canaveral center's landing pads. The third, central booster was later confirmed lost.

Original article on Live Science.
Taking over-the-counter pain relievers might do more than suppress aches and pains: A new review suggests that these medications, including ibuprofen and acetaminophen, could influence people's psychology. But there's no need to panic about so-called mind-altering OTC pain relievers just yet  the researchers stressed that much more research is needed to fully understand these potential effects.

However, the idea that certain OTC medications have psychological effects is not new, according to the review, published yesterday (Feb. 6) in the journal Policy Insights from the Behavioraland Brain Sciences.

"Researchers started looking at these [OTC] pain medication effects on psychology because there have been debates in the literature if brain regions responsive to physical pain are also responsive to social pain," said lead author Kyle Ratner, an assistant professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara. [10 Things You Didn't Know About the Brain]

"Researchers reasoned that if there is an overlap in physical and social pain, then drugs designed to reduce physical pain should reduce social pain," Ratner told Live Science.

In the review, Ratner and his colleagues looked at 7 studies published between 2010 and 2016, as well as at their own as yet unpublished data. The researchers concluded that there is reason to believe that widely available OTC pain relievers affect people's empathy, sensitivity to emotionally painful experiences and ability to process information.

"On one level, the results are surprising, because so many people take these over-the-counter drugs without thinking that they will have an influence on psychology," Ratner said. "If existing results are confirmed  and I really want to emphasize that more research is needed  we might need to update our view of these drugs."

OTC effects

One study included in the review showed that people's ability to empathize with others might decrease after taking acetaminophen. In that study, published in 2016 the participants were less affected when they read about other people suffering from physical or emotional pain compared to participants who had not taken the medicine.

In another study, acetaminophen seemed to increase the amount of errors participants made when playing a game.

One study found that women who took ibuprofen reported experiencing less-unpleasant feelings from emotionally painful experiences than people who took a placebo. Male participants in the experiment, however, reported the opposite experience.

Similarly, a further study also found that people who took acetaminophen rated unpleasant photographs more favorably than people who took placebo did.

The exact mechanism of how these types of medications affect a person's mental state is not known, Ratner said. It's possible, for example, that the pain relievers affect some neurotransmitters, he said. The drugs' ability to reduce inflammation may, surprisingly, also have an effect, he added.

"These drugs effects are complex," Ratner said. "There is emerging work looking at the relationship between inflammation and psychology."

Ratner suggested that, in light of some of the findings, doctors could expand the use of OTC pain relievers for psychological treatments. However, it might also be necessary to review the drugs' easily available status, he said.

"It is possible that these drugs could have therapeutic effects beyond how they are typically used," he said. "However, it is important to be aware that if it is determined through further research that there are new therapeutic uses, people have to be mindful of some of the dangers of taking these drugs in too high a dosage."

Originally published on Live Science.
A mannequin called "Starman" was the star of yesterday's (Feb. 6) spectacular maiden launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket. The spacesuited "dummy"  named after a famous David Bowie song  sat at the wheel of a Tesla Roadster, as SpaceX transmitted spectacular views of the nearby Earth.

Late last night, Eastern Time (Feb. 7), Starman's rocket finished an engine "burn" that pushed the car out of Earth's orbit and on a trajectory that will bring the vehicle through the asteroid belt, according to a tweet by SpaceX founder Elon Musk.

How long will Starman stay in touch with Earth? SpaceX has been coy about how the video and communications were relayed back to Earth  the company didn't answer a query from Inverse  but we can make some guesses based on general knowledge. The answer depends on how much power the spacecraft has available, and whether the antennas Starman communicates with are strong enough to receive the signal. [Radiation Will Tear Elon Musk's Rocket Car to Bits in a Year]

Spacecraft usually communicate using radio waves, according to NASA. Antennas on the ground receive these signals. Then, the radio waves get processed to gain information from the spacecraft: scientific data (such as pictures), the spacecraft's location in space and how healthy the craft is (based on readings from its instruments).

Spacecraft need a source of power to send a signal. Most Earth-orbiting satellites use solar power because it's so abundant around our planet. Spacecraft located farther out in the solar system, however, don't have as much sunlight available  the sun is too far away. The NASA New Horizons probe that flew past Pluto in 2015, for example, used plutonium to power its instruments. The European Rosetta mission's Philae lander on Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko used batteries during its short life. (It was supposed to use solar power as well, but it landed in a shady spot and couldn't get enough light from the sun.)

Once the spacecraft sends its information, an antenna on the ground has to receive that signal. For faraway missions, this is quite a challenge, because the signal is extremely faint. The two farthest-traveling spacecraft to communicate with Earthlings: NASA's Voyager 1(which passed into interstellar space in 2012) and Voyager 2, which is far out in the solar system. To hear from these spacecraft, NASA uses a network of huge antennas called the Deep Space Network. The antennas are located in California, Spain and Australia, and the largest ones are 230 feet (70 meters) in diameter, according to NASA.

So how long will Starman keep communicating as he flies to the asteroid belt? It's hard to say. The transmitter needs to have enough power, and the antennas SpaceX uses need to be able to communicate with Starman. Until SpaceX releases more information, we will have to wait. [What Is the Point of Elon Musk's Big Rocket?]

Nevertheless, Starman's view of Earth was impressive enough to keep space-exploration fans happy for a while. SpaceX broadcast a live view of Starman, using different videos to flip around the spacecraft, for more than 4 hours after the launch. As Bowie once sang, look at this caveman go.

Original article on Live Science.
What is kratom? That depends on whom you ask. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the herbal substance falls into the category of opioids. But what exactly makes something an "opioid"?

On Tuesday (Feb. 6), FDA Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb announced the results of new research suggesting that kratom compounds affect the body just like opioids do. Using a computer model, FDA researchers found that most of the compounds in kratom bind to opioid receptors in the body. Gottlieb also said that the FDA has received reports of 44 deaths involving kratom.

Kratom, also known as Mitragyna speciosa, is a plant that grows in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, according to the FDA. Herbal products containing kratom are gaining popularity in the U.S.  people are taking them to treat pain, anxiety or depression, as well as symptoms of opioid withdrawal.[America's Opioid-Use Epidemic: 5 Startling Facts]

Based on the new FDA research, along with information from previous studies and reports of harmful effects tied to kratom, "we feel confident in calling compounds found in kratom, opioids," Gottlieb said in a statement.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an opioid is a natural or synthetic chemical that interacts with opioid receptors in the body. Based on this definition, compounds in kratom are opioids, because they do act on opioid receptors, said Wes Hunter, the director of pharmacy at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

It's true that one of the main active compounds in kratom, called mitragynine, is structurally different from morphine, one of the oldest known opioid drugs derived from the opium poppy, according to a 2012 review paper published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology. But Hunter noted that some synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and methadone, don't look much like morphine in their structure, either.

"Even though it's not a direct descendent of the opium plant, it still has direct effects on the opioid receptors," Hunter told Live Science.

Hunter added that some synthetic opioids are derived from materials found in coal tar. "It's not like you need an opium poppy to have opioid effects," he said.

However, Hunter said that the effects of opioids fall on a spectrum; for instance, both fentanyl and loperamide (sold under the brand name Imodium) are opioids, but the former is a powerful painkiller that's up to 100 times more potent than morphine, while the latter is sold over the counter as an anti-diarrheal medication. Loperamide typically doesn't cause a "high" (though people may take extremely large doses of the medication in an attempt to get high, Live Science previously reported).

Studies on kratom have found that at lower doses, the drug has a stimulant effect, while at higher doses, it has an opioid-like sedative effect, according to the Journal of Medical Toxicology paper.

Although a number of deaths have been linked to the use of kratom, it's unclear if the deaths are a direct result of using the drug, Marc Swogger, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York, told Live Science in a 2016 interview. That's because, in many of these cases, people died after they took kratom together with other substances, such as alcohol or other opioids, according to reports of cases released by the FDA.

In the FDA statement, Gottlieb said that "cases of mixing kratom, other opioids, and other types of medication is extremely troubling." That's because "the activity of kratom at opioid receptors indicates there may be similar risks of combining kratom with certain drugs, just as there are with FDA-approved opioids," Gottlieb said.

"There is no evidence to indicate that kratom is safe or effective for any medical use," Gottlieb added. "Kratom should not be used to treat medical conditions, nor should it be used as an alternative to prescription opioids."

In addition, because products containing kratom are not regulated by the FDA, there is a possibility that the products could be contaminated with other drugs, which together could have harmful effects, Hunter said. For example, in 2010, a product called Krypton, which contained both mitragynine and the opioid O-desmethyltramadol, was linked with nine deaths in Sweden, according to the Journal of Medical Toxicology paper.

Some people have also reported withdrawal symptoms after using kratom, the paper said. Given these effects, there is an "urgent" need to study the abuse potential of kratom, according to the paper.

For people who are seeking treatment for opioid addiction, who are thinking about using kratom, "I urge you to seek help from a health care provider," Gottlieb said. "There are safe and effective, FDA-approved medical therapies available for the treatment of opioid addiction," he said.

Original article on Live Science.
Two men charged in connection with a with the attempted murder of a 44-year-old man in Ballymahon in Co Longford last week are to reappear in court tomorrow (Thursday).

Eoin Stokes (37) and Thomas Stokes (30), both with addresses in the UK, initially appeared in a Newry court last Thursday.

The pair were charged with the attempted murder of Michael Stokes on January 30.

Following their brief appearance, both men were remanded in custody to Maghaberry Prison and are due back in court tomorrow (Thursday).

Four other men, who were arrested by the PSNI, in a follow-up search, were released on police bail subject to a number of conditions.

They are scheduled to appear again on May 1.

The alleged victim, 44-year-old Mr Stokes is still recuperating from injuries sustained in the attack.

He has since undergone two operations as medics last week attempted to stabilise his condition.

Mr Stokes is believed to have been travelling in a cream coloured Mitsubishi jeep when he was forced off the road before being assaulted in the south Longford town.

In the meantime, garda chiefs have issued a public 'thank you' message to the wider community for their part in aiding last week's investigation.

Supt Jim Delaney expressed his gratitude on foot of the co-operation and positive response he and his team of officers had received from the Longford public in the immediate aftermath of last Tuesday's incident.

Supt Delaney said he wished to pass on his gratitude to all those who had assisted gardai with their investigations to date.

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The promoters behind an ambitious whiskey storage facility in Co Westmeath are being urged to switch their attentions to potential sites in Longford after their planning application was turned down.

Fianna Fail Co Councllor, Joe Flaherty issued the rallying call following Wesmeath County Council's decision to reject plans for a proposed development at Moyvore.

Cllr Flaherty said there was potential for the venture to be stationed in Longford in view of the fact a prospective sight had already been examined by the developers in Edgeworthstown.

"The development would fit perfectly with Co Longford's fledging tourism and food sector," said Cllr Flaherty, in the wake of Westmeath County Council's decision yesterday.

"Panelto Foods have begun a major expansion at their Longford town plant and plans for the Lough Ree distillery in Lanesboro are advancing."

The development is phase one in a 138m plan to create a major whiskey maturation facility. It is envisaged that there would be 20-25 jobs when phase one is completed and that there would be eighty jobs in the construction phase.

The project promoters have commitments from three multi-national distillers who would fill 80% of the space in Phase 1. Then Phase 2 would include a museum and interpretative centre for the site.

The Councillor said the project is a perfect fit for Co Longford and added: "The message for the developers is that Longford is open for business. I am contacting our county manager, Paddy Mahon, and urging him to immediately engage with the project promoters with a view to getting this project for Edgeworthstown."

The Longford Co Councillor is adamant that the Council needs to explore the possibility with the developers and added: "Longford is fighting back and we want it to be known that we are open for business.

"Our executive has shown with Center Parcs - the largest single tourism development in the country at the moment, that we can get the big projects over the line. I know that the project promoter, Alan Wright, is a proud Westmeath man but he won't find a better address for his exciting plans that Edgeworthstown."
A 34-year-old Latvian woman has gone on trial accused of simulating the suicide of a housemate in Co. Cavan almost four years ago, in which the deceased died from neck compression.

Egita Jaunmaize of no fixed abode, is charged with impeding the apprehension or prosecution of another man, knowing or believing him to have murdered Antra Ozolina (49) or committed some other arrestable offence at The Old Post, Main Street, Kilnaleck, Co Cavan on or about June 27 or June 28 2014.

The prosecution allege that Ms Jaunmaize placed a blue cord around Ms Ozolinas neck so as to simulate her suicide in order to make it more difficult to establish that her death was suspicious.

Ms Jaunmaize was arraigned before the Central Criminal Court yesterday (Monday) and pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Opening the prosecution case this morning (Tuesday), Patrick Gageby SC told the jury that this trial concerned the death of a woman called Ms Ozolina, a Latvian national who was divorced but had some family. She had been working for a number of years in a mushroom factory which he said was "a modest enough type of job".

Detailing the evidence that will be heard, Mr Gageby said Ms Ozolina lived in a smallish house, The Old Post in the village of Kilnaleck with Ms Jaunmaize and the accuseds boyfriend.

Counsel said Gardai were alerted that there had been an event in Kilnaleck and a number of people wanted to report this to Gardai but they did not have good English. This included the accused, said Mr Gageby.

The barrister said one of the Latvian nationals had good English and he acted as a spokesperson for the group. A phone call was made to Gardai by this man and it was established that Gardai would meet these people at the old garda station in Kilnaleck as they had something to say about Ms Ozolinas death.

Counsel said the jury will hear that Gardai went to The Old Post where they found the deceased who was of a "slightly plump build" in an ensuite bedroom. The upper part of Ms Ozolina's body was in the shower tray, her face was blue and swollen and a nylon type rope was around her neck, he said.

The rope was not attached to anything when Gardai arrived. In the room adjacent to Ms Ozolinas body was a prayer book and a vodka bottle. There was no apparent sign of a struggle, at first it did not look like a crime had been committed, he

added.

Mr Gageby said Ms Ozolinas death was not deemed to be suspicious at this stage but within a short period of time this changed and a number of things happened.

Outlining the evidence the jury will hear, Mr Gageby said an initial autopsy was performed on Ms Ozolina by a local pathologist who was not trained in forensic pathology. He said the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis was then asked to come in and he detected there was evidence of a crime.

Dr Curtis found evidence of blunt force injury to Ms Ozolinas head and face and determined that her cause of death was

neck compression.

Mr Gageby went on to tell the court that an investigation was undertaken and it was found that the ropes function around the

deceaseds neck was to give the idea that she had hung herself and suffered asphyxia.

Counsel told the jury they will also hear that Gardai secured the assistance of an engineer who was able to show that the shower rail was the only thing that could have caused Ms Ozolinas death but in fact the rail could not have supported her weight. The evidence was that Ms Ozolina had not died by hanging herself, he said.

The barrister said the jury would hear that the accused was one of the first group who went to the Garda station and was therefore one of the central people to the beginning, middle and end of the garda investigation. Mr Gageby said Ms Jaunmaize originally told Gardai she had had a verbal row with Ms Ozolina on the evening of June 27.

She told gardai she had found Ms Ozolinas body the following morning when she went into her bedroom. The accused said she then went to her friends house whose son spoke English in order to to bring the incident to the authorities attention.

Mr Gageby said the accused initially told Gardai that her boyfriend was not present on the night and he did not figure in the account.

Subsequently, as a result of careful garda investigation, it would appear the accused told garda the argument was more than verbal and that in fact the man was involved, he said.

Mr Gageby further explained to the jury that Ms Jaunmaize ultimately told Gardai that she had observed her boyfriend take Ms Ozolina by the neck and he choked her to death using his forearm. He requested the accused to put a rope around Ms Ozolinas neck with a view to showing this was suicide and not murder, said Mr Gageby.

The barrister told the jury that the issue in this case is not about whether Ms Ozolina died lawfully or by suicide and it will become abundantly clear that Ms Ozolina was murdered. He said the issue in the trial is if there was a reasonable excuse on the accuseds part of placing the rope around the deceaseds neck.

It will become clear as the case moves on that the accused admitted and agreed she did this act but she was fearful for herself and her own life, he said.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy and a jury of seven men and five women. It is expected to last two weeks.

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Local News, Crime

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 07 2018

Defendant Was One of Several ISIS-Directed Terrorists Who Conducted Coordinated Attacks on Federal Law Enforcement Officers and Plotted Domestic Terror Attacks.

New York, NY - February 7, 2018 - Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Munther Omar Saleh was sentenced by United States District Judge Margo K. Brodie to 18 years imprisonment, to be followed by a term of 10 years supervised release. Saleh had pleaded guilty on February 10, 2017 to all counts in an indictment charging him with conspiring and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), and with assaulting and conspiring to assault federal officers.

Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Edward C. OCallaghan, Acting Assistant Attorney General for National Security, William F. Sweeney, Jr., Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and James P. ONeill, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.

Munther Omar Saleh and his coconspirators conducted attacks on members of law enforcement who worked tirelessly to keep our city safe, stated United States Attorney Donoghue. Salehs sentence will not only incapacitate the defendant for a significant period of time, but should also serve as a deterrent to those who contemplate waging violent jihad in New York City at the direction of a foreign terrorist organization. This Office, and our partners on the Joint Terrorism Task Force, will never relent in our efforts to hold terrorists accountable for their cowardly acts, including attacks on those who protect us.

Inspired by ISISs violent and hateful ideology, the defendant conspired with others to use a pressure-cooker bomb in a terrorist attack in New York and attempted to attack members of law enforcement who were conducting surveillance of him, said Acting Assistant Attorney General OCallaghan. Todays sentence is but one example of our resolve to bring to justice homegrown violent extremists who plot and attempt attacks on innocent people, including law enforcement agents, in the U.S. in the name of foreign terrorist organizations.

Saleh attempted to turn our city into a staging ground for violent attacks, including those aimed at both local and federal law enforcement officials. Directed by a known terrorist organization responsible for civilian massacres and other heinous crimes worldwide, he supported and attempted to facilitate the martyrdom of those with similar views, stated FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge Sweeney. Todays sentencing promises hell remain behind bars for a significant period of time, upholding our faith in a justice system that has little compassion for those who wish to harm our way of life.

As alleged in the indictment and in other court filings, Saleh, together with other coconspirators, assisted New Jersey resident Nader Saadehs planned travel to ISIS-controlled territory. Saleh personally accompanied Saadeh to John F. Kennedy International Airport where Saadeh departed on a flight for Jordan in the first leg of a planned trip to ISIS-controlled territory. Saadeh was subsequently apprehended and pleaded guilty in federal court in New Jersey to conspiring to provide material support to ISIS.

Working with ISIS attack facilitators located overseas, Saleh coordinated a plot to conduct a terrorist attack in New York City. Saleh sought and received instructions from ISIS attack facilitator Junaid Hussain to construct a pressure-cooker bomb and discussed with him potential targets for a terrorist attack in New York City, such as the Statue of Liberty. As detailed in court documents, Saleh informed ISIS attack facilitators that his coconspiratorsfive individuals located in New York and New Jerseyhad confronted law enforcement officers who were surveilling them continuously. Saleh also sought and received authorization from Junaid Hussain permitting codefendant Fareed Mumuni to conduct a suicide martyrdom attack by using a pressure-cooker bomb against law enforcement officers who were following the coconspirators and thus preventing them from traveling to join ISIS.

On June 13, 2015, Saleh and another coconspirator were arrested in Queens after they attempted to attack members of law enforcement by charging at a federal officer who was performing physical surveillance of Saleh. Saleh and the coconspirator were armed with knives. The law enforcement officer reversed his vehicle into a multilane intersection and escaped the attack without incident or injury. On June 17, 2015, during the execution of a search warrant at his residence in Staten Island, Mumuni was arrested after he repeatedly stabbed an FBI agent in the torso with a large kitchen knife. Fortunately, the knife did not penetrate the agents protective body armor, and he sustained only minor injuries. In his post-arrest interview, Mumuni admitted that Saleh had informed him that an ISIS member had sanctioned Mumunis planned suicide attack on law enforcement and that Saleh and Mumuni had discussed using a pressure-cooker bomb to carry out the attack.

Mr. OCallaghan and Mr. Donoghue also praised the agents, analysts and prosecutors for their dedication and commitment to this investigation and prosecution.
Local News, Arts & Culture

By Long Island News & PR Published: February 07 2018

One Honoree Was the Recipient of the New York Medal for Valor.

Albany, NY - February 7, 2018 - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the opening of the Black History Month exhibit in the New York State Capitol. In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the exhibit, "Strength of Generations," underscores how individuals can elevate the lives of others and their communities to effect change that can sow benefits for generations.

The exhibit honors the country's first African-American licensed doctor, an Underground Railroad station agent, abolitionists and activists, a transformative 20th century playwright, a Harlem minister who once served as Dr. Martin Luther King's chief of staff, the Haitian-American president of SUNY Upstate Medical University whose career has focused on underserved neighborhoods, and New York National Guard Private Emmanuel Mensah, an immigrant from Ghana whose selfless heroism saved the lives of four neighbors in a recent Bronx fire.

"We're proud to honor the incredible deeds and achievements of these black New Yorkers who have courageously acted to improve the lives of others and change the course of this nation," Governor Cuomo said. "It is my hope and expectation that those visiting the State Capitol will draw inspiration from the lives of these outstanding men and women and celebrate their many contributions and sacrifices to make this a more just and more equal union."

Today, the black community represents nearly one in five New Yorkers and is rapidly diversifying as immigrants from Africa, the Caribbean and across the globe continue to grow the New York family.

The exhibit is located in the War Room on the second floor of the New York State Capitol and will run through the end of February. The following African-American leaders (listed in alphabetical order) are being recognized for their accomplishments at this exhibit:

Lorraine Hansberry (1930 - 1965): A New York City writer and civil rights activist whose groundbreaking "A Raisin in the Sun" made her the first African-American woman to have a play produced on Broadway.

Elizabeth Jennings Graham (1827 - 1901): As a young school teacher on her way to church in Manhattan, Jennings stood up for her right as a "colored person" to ride a streetcar, almost a century before Rosa Parks sparked a bus boycott in Alabama.

John W. Jones (1817 - 1900): A former slave employed as a church sexton who helped an estimated 800 slave fugitives to freedom as the leader of the Elmira Underground Railroad station.

Dr. Danielle Laraque-Arena (1956 - present): A Haitian-American leading pediatrician and researcher and president of SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, whose career has focused on improving health in underserved neighborhoods.

New York National Guard Private Emmanuel Mensah (1991-2017): An immigrant from Ghana whose selfless heroism saved the lives of four neighbors in a recent Bronx fire. Governor Cuomo posthumously awarded the Private with the New York Medal for Valor: New York State's highest military award for acts of heroism on and off the battlefield.

Dr. James McCune Smith (1813 - 1865): The nation's first African-American licensed doctor, who, after earning his medical degree in Scotland, served as the medical director of the Colored Orphan Asylum in New York and ran the country's first black-owned pharmacy.

Mary Burnet Talbert (1866 - 1923): A pioneer of the early Civil Rights movement, both in Buffalo and nationwide, who advocated for woman suffrage, and, during World War I, served as a nurse overseas with the Red Cross.

The Rev. Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker (1928 - 2018): A longtime Harlem minister who played an integral role in the 20th Century Civil Rights movement, once serving as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s chief of staff.

Their Glory Can Never Fade: The Legacy of The Harlem Hellfighters , will be on view in the Vietnam Memorial Gallery located in the Robert Abrams Justice Building at the Empire State Plaza, February 1, 2018 through February 28, 2019. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment. This exhibition explores the history and legacy of an all-African American regiment from New York that was dispatched to fight for France in World War I. Authorized in 1913, and based in Harlem, the 369th Infantry Regiment, formerly known as the 15th Infantry of the New York National Guard, was the first African American regiment of the New York National Guard. Prior to the War, the 369th also assembled talented African American and Puerto Rican musicians to form an impressive regimental band that influenced the development of jazz music. The 369th served longer than any American regiment of World War I, and was nicknamed "Hellfighters" by the German army due to its actions on the battlefield. For more information on the exhibit, please visit , will be on view in the Vietnam Memorial Gallery located in the Robert Abrams Justice Building at the Empire State Plaza, February 1, 2018 through February 28, 2019. Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by appointment. This exhibition explores the history and legacy of an all-African American regiment from New York that was dispatched to fight for France in World War I. Authorized in 1913, and based in Harlem, the 369th Infantry Regiment, formerly known as the 15th Infantry of the New York National Guard, was the first African American regiment of the New York National Guard. Prior to the War, the 369th also assembled talented African American and Puerto Rican musicians to form an impressive regimental band that influenced the development of jazz music. The 369th served longer than any American regiment of World War I, and was nicknamed "Hellfighters" by the German army due to its actions on the battlefield. For more information on the exhibit, please visit www.empirestateplaza.org
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, February 7, 2018

Google has been hit with a lawsuit for allegedly duping consumers who search for Edible Arrangements by showing them ads for competitors.

Edible Arrangements' complaint, filed this week in U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut, centers on product listing ads that appear on the right-hand side of the search results pages and include small graphic images. Above the ads is a link that takes people to a Google Shopping page.

"When users search for 'Edible Arrangements,' instead of being shown the customary information about Edible Arrangements in a Knowledge Panel appearing immediately to the right of the topmost search results ... they are instead shown 'product listing advertisements' that feature advertisements for, links to, and images of competitors products," Edible Arrangements alleges. "Google thus misleads consumers into making a 'connection' between Edible Arrangements and these competitors products."

Edible Arrangements alleges that it has received "numerous" phone calls from customers who mistakenly placed orders with competitors after using Google.

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"Googles unlawful conduct ... has caused the diversion of lawful sales away from Edible Arrangements and its franchisees to Edible Arrangements competitors, many of whom do not offer products that measure up to Edible Arrangements exacting quality standards," the company asserts.

The gift basket company's claims include trademark infringement and unfair competition.

Edible Arrangements's complaint specifically alleges that Google uses the phrase "Shop for Edible Arrangements" in the link taking people to Google Shopping. The gift basket company says that wording also contributes to consumer confusion.

But an exhibit attached to Edible Arrangement's complaint showed different language. The exhibit showed the wording "Shop for edible arr ... on Google" above the link.

Santa Clara University law professor Eric Goldman, who has closely followed lawsuits against search engines, notes that the phrase "edible arr..." differs from the brand name "Edible Arrangements" in potentially significant ways. He says it's not clear whether consumers interpret "edible arr..." -- which is lower-cased -- as meaning Edible Arrangements.

Goldman adds that the gift basket company's case might be strengthened if a consumer survey shows that shopping array on Google's results page confuses people.

Google allows trademarks to trigger AdWords ads, and sometimes allows trademarked terms to appear in the ad copy itself. The company's policies have resulted in other litigation in the past, but Google either prevailed in the prior cases or settled them.

Google's biggest loss in the area occurred in 2012, when a federal appellate court said a trial judge prematurely dismissed Rosetta Stone's allegations that its trademark was violated by Google's practices. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said Rosetta Stone should have been able to proceed to trial against Google. The companies ultimately resolved that case on confidential terms.
Colonel Saurabh Singh Shekhawat, born in Alwar, Rajasthan is the most decorated serving officer of the Indian Army. The CO of the 21st battalion of the Parachute Regiment (Special Forces) has three gallantry awards to his name  the Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra and Sena Medal  and a Vishisht Sena Medal. He has ascended Mount Everest three times and scaled 14 peaks in total during his service.

His contribution over the years in anti-terrorist operations and mountaineering is the stuff of legends. What makes his achievements so impactful is that he's known in the inner circles as a true blue patriot and he serves with very high integrity. Therefore, a recent interview in which he explained the core foundational principles of our nation that every politician must propagate is going viral.

 Twitter

Here's the clip from that interview:

If you had to listen to one man today. #OneTalkToday

Who - Col SS Shekhawat, CO 21 Special Forces, the most decorated serving officer.



Why - In one minute he gives a lesson more powerful than all politicians put together @atahasnain53 @rwac48 @rajeev_mp @ragarwal @priyaramani pic.twitter.com/J08KCE0KGA  Raghu Raman (@captraman) February 7, 2018

This is what Shekhawat said in the interview:

In the army you live in a very pluralistic, secular society and you act like a unit. I keep saying this, so when I was commissioned and when I joined Special Forces, I was asked by one of my NCO, 'What is your religion, what is your caste?' I said I am Hindu Rajput and he said, 'Bloody chap take a dip in that dirty water'. And so I went in and took the dip and then I realized there is something wrong that I said. So then he again asked and I said, 'Sir my religion is Special Forces and my caste is Special Forces'. He then told me, 'See, you're an officer so your religion is the religion of your boys. If your boy is a Hindu, you're a Hindu; if your boy is a Sikh, you're a Sikh; if your boy is a Christian, you're a Christian; if your boy is a Muslim, you're a Muslim'. So, as an officer you are everything. And so, when we have this kind of template and you apply this template in the country, I think most of the problem will be solved. All the religion are there and all the classes and clans are together and still they are one unit.

 googleplus

At a time when communal incidents are at a 3-year high according to Indian government reports, this statement makes a lot of sense for all communities and politicians who look to exploit every issue through agenda driven vote bank politics. And maybe if our politicians do not understand this language then it's time for army men like Shekhawat to enter politics and clean up the mess.
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During an interview with Metal Bulletin on stage at the annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town, Tom Albanese made his first public statement on allegations that he, a former colleague and Rio Tinto deliberately inflated the value of coal assets in Mozambique.

It is a matter of active civil litigation against Rio Tinto, [former company chief financial officer] Guy...
Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Katrougalos, carried out a two-day visit to Kazakhstan on 5 and 6 February, accompanied by a large business mission headed by the Vice President of the Hellenic Federation of Enterprises (SEV), K. Bitsios.



he Alternate Minister of Foreign Affairs met with, among others, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, R. Vassilenko, the Vice Minister of Investments, A. Kabikenov, the Vice Minister of Agriculture, G. Isayeva, the Deputy Energy Minister, M. Mirzagaliev, the Governor of the Astana International Financial Centre, K. Kelimbetov, and the President of Nazarbayev University, S. Katsu. More than twenty Greek professors teach At Nazarbayev University, which was founded in cooperation with the World Bank. The dean of the School of Science and Technology, V. Tourassis, is a former professor at the Democritus University of Thrace.



Mr. Katrougalos opened the Economic Forum of Greek and Kazakh entrepreneurs yesterday in Astana, and delivered a speech on the Future of Europe at KAZGUU University, attended by members of the diplomatic corps.



Kazakhstan is one of the main economic powers of Central Asia and a key economic partner of Greece, supplying 25% of its crude oil. This visit further promoted the very good bilateral economic relations between Greece and Kazakhstan. The next step in the two countries economic cooperation is the upcoming interministerial meeting, which will convene in Athens in the second half of 2018.
The downing of a Russian Su-25 over the weekend highlights the dangers facing the US' beloved A-10 Warthog in Syria, and possibly even Afghanistan.

An Su-25 was shot down over Syria's Idlib province on Saturday by rebels using what Russian authorities say was a MANPAD. The pilot safely ejected, but got into a firefight with rebels on the ground before blowing himself up with a grenade to avoid being captured.

Su-25s are the Russian counterpart to the American A-10s.

They're both heavily-armored aircrafts capable of delivering a variety of bombs and missiles. Both are also armed with a 30mm Gatling gun and often used for supporting ground troops at low-altitudes.

It's at these times when they're most at danger, as MANPADs are not effective at altitudes above 15,000 feet.

Warthogs have been operation in Syria since 2015, and last month, the US announced it was sending them back to Afghanistan.

"It is entirely plausible that an A-10 could get hit," Justin Bronk, an airpower and technology research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told Business Insider, adding that it's "something Western militaries have been worried about for some time."

Neither A-10s nor Su-25s are equipped with radars that can detect heat-seeking missiles from MANPADs, Bronk said. They're only equipped with radar warning receivers.

As such, the only defensive measures an A-10 pilot can take are to constantly scour the ground for any fired missiles and then launch countermeasures and try to maneuver away.

Luckily for the US, A-10s have two distinct advantages over Su-25s: thicker armor, and an exhaust system mounted above the tail to stymie any incoming heat-seekers.

But it's no guarantee, Bronk said.

It's not just MANPADs that Warthogs need to fear, Bronk said. Any anti-aircraft system larger than 23mm could possibly take out A-10s, such as the Russian-made ZU-23-2 twin-barreled autocannon.

Bronk said that MANPADs, ZU-23-2s, and other such systems are widely used by ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria.

But the situation in Afghanistan is less clear. In 2010, images surfaced suggesting that the Taliban possessed either ZPU-1s (only 14.5mm) or ZU-23-2s.

Experts disagreed as to whether these weapons systems were in Afghanistan. Bronk said that ISIS and the Taliban had these weapons, while Javid Ahmad, a fellow at the Atlantic Council, told Business Insider the groups did not.

Russian ZU-23-2 (Photo from Wikimedia Commons)

"But that could change," Ahmad said, adding that the Taliban could acquire them from Pakistan, Iran, or Russia as the US ramps up its forces in the country.

When Business Insider asked Operation Resolute Support in Afghanistan if the Taliban or ISIS have these systems, Capt. Tom Gresback, a spokesman at Resolute Support headquarters, said in an emailed statement that "We are not going to comment on matters of intelligence."

"We are always concerned for the safety of aircrews and as such, we ensure appropriate measures are taken to ensure the exposure to threats like this are minimized," Gresback said.

Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

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The Russian pilot who was shot down over Syria on Saturday blew himself up with a grenade to avoid being captured by rebels, according to Russian media.

Maj. Roman Filipov was flying over the town of Maasran in Idlib province after conducting airstrikes in the region when his Su-25 was hit with what Russian authorities said was a MANPAD.

Filipov ejected and landed on the ground, but was quickly surrounded by rebels. Armed with a Stechkin pistol, he hid behind a stone embankment and reportedly unloaded a clip before getting wounded. As the rebels approached, he apparently shouted "this is for the boys!" and then detonated a grenade.

A video later emerged on social media showing rebels surrounding Filipov before a small explosion is heard and a plume of smoke rises.

An al-Qaeda offshoot known as Hayat Tahrir al Sham has since taken responsibility for the attack, according to Long War Journal.

Related content:

Filipov's body has since been recovered, according to Reuters.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Filipov was "flying over the Idlib de-escalation zone for controlling ceasefire regime observance," and Russian state-owned media said he was conducting "a routine flight over the de-escalation zone."

But reports on the ground suggest that Filipov was conducting airstrikes, which have been devastating Idlib since Russia and the Syrian regime escalated bombing runs in the province in late December.

Idlib is part of the de-escalation zones in Syria set up by Russia, Turkey, and Iran.

Russia and the Syrian regime have apparently responded with massive air raids since Filipov was killed. Russian state-owned media reported shortly after the Su-25 downing that Russian forces killed at least 30 terrorists in the region.

Multiple civilians were also killed in more than 150 airstrikes in Idlib on Sunday, which Moscow neglected to report. More raids were conducted on Monday, striking hospitals and killing at least 15 civilians.

Barrel bombs filled with chlorine gas were also reportedly dropped on Sunday in the town of Saraqeb, a few miles from Maasran, which injured at least nine people. The White Helmets released a disturbing video of the alleged attack on Sunday night, which is reportedly the sixth chlorine gas attack in the last month.

"The United States is gravely alarmed by continued allegations of the use of chlorine gas by the Syrian Regime to terrorize innocent civilians, this time in Idlib Province near Saraqib," the US State Department said in a statement on Monday night.

"The people of Syria are suffering; the rest of the world is watching."

More From Business Insider:
A senior lawmaker is hailing the Marine Corps for reviewing a decade-old case in which members of a MARSOC company were accused of murdering civilians in Afghanistan, and publicly affirming a full exoneration of the unit. But the commanding officer of the unit in question believes the service should go further to show its support.

Rep. Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican and member of the House Armed Services Committee, announced Wednesday he had received a letter from the service confirming the innocence of the Marines assigned to an element they called Task Force Violent.

The letter also promised to follow up with the troops through the Corps' Wounded Warrior Regiment, tasked with caring for the service's wounded, ill and injured service members.

The incident in question took place on March 4, 2007, during the first deployment to Afghanistan for Marine Special Operations Company Foxtrot.

Related content:

A 30-man element from the unit was ambushed while on a mounted patrol in Bati Kot, in Nangarhar province, Afghanistan. Initial reports painted the setup as the precursor of a war crime, in which Marines killed as many as 19 civilians and wounded dozens more.

The company's commander, Maj. Fred Galvin, was relieved, and the unit sent home early from Afghanistan.

Ultimately, a 2008 Marine Corps internal inquiry would find the Marines had acted appropriately, but members of the unit would continue to feel the stigma of the damning earlier accounts of their actions.

A five-piece Military Times series in 2015 documented the efforts of Galvin and the other Marines of Task Force Violent to publicly clear their names, even years after the scandal.

Last February, Jones held a Capitol Hill press conference urging the Corps to release a document publicly certifying that the Marines of Fox Company, and particularly a group closest to the events, known as the MARSOC 7, were not at fault in the fight at Bati Kot.

"When you hear this story and this truth, you see our Marines were never given the benefit of the doubt," Jones said at the event. "Our brave Marines put their lives on the line, just to have their names dragged through the mud. It is time these men be vindicated fully."

The letter from the Marine Corps, dated Jan. 19, is in large part a simple reference back to the service's formal exoneration of Fox Company in 2008.

"Unless there is new and relevant information that was not known at the time, I fear there is nothing to be gained by revisiting the events of March 4, 2007, in order to re-state the conclusions of the Court of Inquiry a decade later," Maj. Gen. Frederick Padilla, staff director for the Marine Corps, wrote in the service's official response.

However, the letter did note that the Corps had reviewed the matter. And Padilla expressed empathy, on behalf of the service, for what the Marines had been through.

"We are concerned to hear of the challenges many members of Fox Company are facing -- which are, unfortunately, far too common among our combat veterans," Padilla wrote. "I have asked the commanding officer of our Wounded Warrior Regiment to follow up with these Marines to ensure they are receiving appropriate and all necessary care and support."

Padilla also reiterated the findings of the court of inquiry, stating in the letter that the Marines' actions had been within the rules of engagement and "reflected sound military judgment."

For Jones, the gesture was sufficient.

"These men have been to hell and back," he said in a statement. "They were bravely serving their country, only to have their personal and professional lives ruined by misinformation and poor timing. I very much appreciate [Marine Corps Commandant] General [Robert] Neller and his staff for taking a look at this case and reiterating that these men did nothing wrong on March 4, 2007."

Reached for comment, Galvin had mixed feelings. The letter sent to Jones was the first time, he said, that the Corps had publicly used the phrase "sound military judgment" with regard to the Marines.

However, he said, none of the Marines within the MARSOC 7 have yet been contacted by the commanding officer of the Wounded Warrior Regiment.

"For 11 years, our Marines in the MARSOC 7 suffered massive financial costs from the trial," Galvin said in an email to Military.com. "One of the 7 suffered cancer, another diabetes, 3/4 divorce, several faced depression and suicidal ideations  when the commandant's office directs, action happens and it doesn't take weeks."

Galvin also called for Neller to offer an additional gesture of support: to publicly award the new Marine raider uniform insignia, adopted by MARSOC in 2015, to the men of the MARSOC 7.

"This sign from the commandant will clear up any issues internal to the Marine Corps which still exist and have slowed and ended promotions for many of the Marines in our first MARSOC unit," he said.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
Lawmakers criticized U.S. Air Force and Navy leaders over the latest hypoxia-related incidents occurring in various aircraft for not honoring their obligation to pilots.

During a House Armed Services Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee hearing Tuesday, the elected representatives lambasted military officials for not producing conclusive medical data on hypoxia-like symptoms and for not properly debriefing affected pilots.

While the military services and NASA sharing information on incidents occurring in such aircraft as the F/A-18 Hornet, T-45 Goshawk, T-6 Texan, A-10 Thunderbolt and F-35 Lightning, Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohio, argued looking to the aircraft first is a mistake.

Citing a recent NASA report commissioned by the Navy to investigate incidents in F/A-18s, Turner, the panel's chairman, said these physiological episodes -- disorientation, shortness of breath, confusion, wheezing -- "do not happen to planes, they happen to people."

Related content:

NASA in December released a report stating the Navy in its search to identify a root cause for the hypoxia occurrences focused too much on aircraft fixes instead of its pilots and crew.

Lt. Gen. Chris Nowland, the service's deputy chief of staff for operations, testified on behalf of Brig. Gen. Bobbi Jo Doorenbos, who was recently appointed to lead an "Unexplained Physiologic Events Integration Team." Doorenbos was not available to attend the hearing, Nowland said.

"The key is trust," Nowland said. "If the aircrew doesn't trust their system and the families don't trust the Air Force, we lose. That's why training is critical to this whole as we move forward."

For example, by dissecting the Onboard Oxygen Generation System, commonly known as OBOGS, recently in A-10s and T-6s, Nowland said hypoxia incidents in those platforms may be linked to a maintenance issue. He didn't specify the problem.

The service last week ordered an indefinite operational pause for all T-6 Texan II aircraft. There have been 22 hypoxia-related incidents in the T-6A in fiscal 2018 alone, according to Nowland's written testimony.

"It's why we need to get into training, and we totally agree with the Navy -- I mean, NASA -- we need [to] instrument our pilots. We're looking into that as we move forward," Nowland said.

The general testified alongside Rear Adm. Lower Half Sara Joyner, Navy physiological events action team lead, and Clinton Cragg, the principal engineer for NASA's Engineering and Safety Center.

Turner said he could not be more disappointed in Nowland's remarks, once again turning the conversation back to the system.

"The report and the presentation is that the human factor is not being taken into consideration, and your answer is training," the lawmaker said. "You didn't ground your T-6 aircraft just last week because of training. This is a significant issue, it's not just 'listen and talk' [to find an answer]. This is pure safety."

Turner said military officials who have testified on hypoxia before have said the difficulty they're having is to replicate what pilots are experiencing in order to understand the fallout in the system.

"No one ever came to us and tried to blame the pilots, and say it is just an issue of training," he said.

"If you continue to come before us and say this is just an issue of training and pilots, general, should we start doing hearing training where we ask you to come before us and [say], 'Let's have you hold your breath for a minute in the first hearing and, in the second, we'll have you hold your breath for two minutes?' It makes no sense," Turner said.

Both services, to some degree, have put into place instrumental and medical procedures to try to better pinpoint the cause of the problems.

For instance, the Navy fielded the CRU-123 solid-state oxygen monitor on the T-45 to alert aircrew if delivery pressure falls while recording system performance and faults, Joyner said.

"A total of 163 new oxygen monitors have been installed as of Jan. 24," she said in her written testimony.

Joyner said for both the T-45 and the F/A-18, future investigations "will start with the human and end with the human."

The Navy on the F/A-18 intends to initiate a new request for proposal for a new OBOGs concentrator, as well as incorporating a software change to the Environmental Control System -- which works in the process to provide breathable air to the pilot -- in the near future, Joyner said.

But "the medical force outcomes will take some time. We're pursuing those answers long term. I want to make sure we aren't missing a single thing," she said.

Turner said he intends to seek another hearing once more conclusive evidence becomes available.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
At least seven noncommissioned U.S. Marines were punished last year after a secret recording revealed hazing of junior ranking service members at Camp Pendleton in California, according to a report Monday.

An investigation by the Corps found that Marines underwent five different room inspections in one night on April 6, 2017, the Marines Corps Times reported.

One of the junior ranking Marines -- a lance corporal -- decided to record audio of the final inspection with his cell phone, the report added.

"Why you look like a f---ing b---h? You going to f---ing cry?" a corporal asked a junior Marine, according to the military news outlet. Another corporal reportedly said: "Boy, give him no attitude ... I will throw you into a f---ing wall."

The investigation found that as the cleanliness of barracks was being inspected by the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, this particular room passed -- but a sergeant told the two to clean further.

After the room failed a third inspection, the lance corporal reportedly sent a warning to other Marines via text.

"Just got checked its Cpl. [name redacted] and Cpl. [name redacted] and Cpl. [name redacted] on some sort of power trip cuz he was screaming like a Bravo Company NCO and Cpl. [name redacted] was like some sort of passive aggressive hype man," the text said, according to Marine Corps Times.

Two inspecting corporals heard about the messages and returned to the Marines' room -- with other corporals -- and failed it again, according to the report.

A corporal allegedly pinned a private first class to the wall, as a corporal could be heard saying, "He's barely putting his hands on you. ... He doesn't give a f---."

Cpl. K.D. Lee pleaded guilty at a Nov. 3 summary court-martial to "wrongfully condoning or ignoring hazing that she knew or reasonably should have known did occur."

She "was reduced in rank to lance corporal and sentenced to 60 days' restriction and forfeiture of two-thirds of one month's pay," according to the report.

Six other noncommissioned officers faced non-judicial punishment, and the investigation recommended one corporal face conspiracy, hazing and assault charges.

1st Lt. Adam Miller told the Marine Corps Times, "Hazing is contradictory to our core values of honor, courage and commitment and is prejudicial to good order and discipline.

"Hazing violates our institutional character and disrespects our most precious asset -- our Marines and sailors. Hazing is absolutely not tolerated in the Marine Corps," Miller added.

The Marines involved were with the 7th Engineer Support Battalion, 1st Marine Logistics Group.
The Navy could begin deploying a self-piloting sea drone by the end of the year to hunt for submarines at a time when China and Russia are expanding their underwater fleets, according to the research agency that designed it.

The service received the $20 million prototype last week from the Defense Advanced Research Agency, or DARPA. Navy researchers will now work to further develop the robotic vessel -- which requires no remote piloting -- with the aim of integrating it into fleets.

The Sea Hunter has undergone rigorous testing in the past two years to ensure it can pilot itself safely and follow international rules for avoiding collisions at sea, according to DARPA.

Navy officials haven't said when the drone will go into service, but DARPA said its first missions could happen later this year.

Sending relatively low-priced, unmanned drones to stalk submarines in waters filled with mines or combatants is far less risky than deploying a multibillion-dollar warship with a large crew, agency officials said.

"The U.S. military has talked about the strategic importance of replacing 'king' and 'queen' pieces on the maritime chessboard with lots of 'pawns,' " Fred Kennedy, head of DARPA's tactical technology, said in a statement.

DARPA and Navy researchers began collaborating on the project in 2014. The Sea Hunter has no weapons. It is strictly a surveillance vessel that uses cameras and radar to spot submarines.

The 132-foot vessel is highly maneuverable and travels up to 27 knots per hour, researchers said. It will be able to track submarines for a longer period of time than can warships and planes.

Land-based technicians will monitor the drone but won't steer it unless a problem arises.

At the Sea Hunter's christening in 2016, former Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work told Reuters that robotic vessels will be a countermeasure to Russia and China expanding their submarine fleets.

"I would like to see unmanned flotillas operating in the western Pacific and the Persian Gulf within five years," Work said.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told the House on Tuesday that he was once a skeptic about maintaining ICBMs in the nation's nuclear triad, but he has changed his mind since joining the Trump administration.

Mattis said he now believes that Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles with Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) warheads in silos across the Northwest provide a "strong deterrent to anyone who decided they wanted to employ nuclear weapons against us."

At a House hearing on the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), Mattis was responding to questions from Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, about the evolution of his thinking on the nation's defenses against nuclear attack.

"When you assumed office, you were a skeptic on some aspects of our nuclear triad, our nuclear deterrence," Thornberry told Mattis. "How has your thinking evolved? It looks like there was a change, or some evolution -- why?"

"I think that's a fair statement," Mattis said in response. "I came in wanting to challenge just about everything," including the ICBM component of the nuclear triad of long-range bombers, ICBMs, and ballistic missile submarines.

"It was a little rough on the staff," he said of his demands for evidence on the capabilities and costs of the deterrent as he decided whether to support going ahead with the plan for modernization of each leg of the triad that was initiated under the administration of President Barack Obama.

There are varying estimates on the costs of the modernization, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has put the cost of the Obama administration's plan at $1.2 trillion over 30 years.

The Trump administration's NPR also calls for the development of two new nuclear weapons -- a new "low-yield" ballistic missile for submarines and a new Submarine Launched Cruise Missile (SLCM).

As first reported by The Washington Post, Mattis, a four-star Marine general who retired in 2013, had little involvement in nuclear policy in his more than 40 years in uniform. The nuclear deterrent was more the concern of the Air Force and the Navy.

As a civilian in 2015, Mattis characteristically put the issue bluntly in testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee, asking, "Is it time to reduce the Triad to a Diad, removing the landbased missiles?"

In his review before signing off on the NPR, Mattis told the House hearing Tuesday that he now considers all three legs of the triad to be vital to the nation's defense.

"I looked at the triad piece by piece and the elements of each leg of the triad. I was especially attentive to the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile force," he said.

He concluded that ICBMs are "a stabilizing element that would be a strong deterrent" in combination with the air and sea legs of the triad.

Air Force Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who testified with Mattis at the HASC hearing, also endorsed maintaining and modernizing each leg of the triad.

"Nuclear weapons pose the only existential military threat to our nation," Selva said. "Therefore, there is no higher priority for the joint force than fielding all the components of an effective nuclear deterrent to deter potential adversaries from nuclear attack on any scale."

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.




Particularly during my sojourns in South Africa, it may not be possible for me to perform the moderation function speedily. I regret the necessity of moderation but it has been rendered inevitable by the behaviour of a particular commentator whose contributions will always and without exception be rejected.





No correspondence will be entered into regarding moderation decisions.

Readers are invited to comment on blog posts. All comments require to be pre-moderated by me, and I shall reject all (a) that are not related to the Lockerbie disaster or (b) that fail to meet my -- perhaps idiosyncratic -- standards of courtesy towards other contributors. Comments will not be rejected simply because I disagree with them or because I, or other contributors, find them irritating. But comments will be rejected if they distort or misrepresent the evidence; are defamatory; or if they risk embroiling me, as publisher, in defamation proceedings. I am perfectly relaxed about being sued in respect of material which I personally have posted -- but not in respect of material that others wish to post as comments and which, in any case, I often strongly disagree with.
"Accident Man" is the movie that English actor and martial arts fighter Scott Adkins as always wanted to make. Based on a comic series from the underground UK magazine Toxic!, Adkins became a big fan of the hit man who makes his kills look like accidents. Toxic! had a brief run in 1991 and Adkins was just a kid, the perfect age to get caught up in the tale.

The movie is a revelation. It's got the same level of mayhem as the John Wick movies, with martial arts fighting replacing most of the gunplay. Ray Stevenson plays Big Ray, a veteran hit man who runs murder-for-hire clearinghouse out of his bar. He's also the mentor for Adkins' Mike Fallon character.

Michael Jai White and Ray Park play Mick and Mac, American and British special forces veterans who bicker but team up when it's time for a job. Amy Johnston is Jane the Ripper, a lethal killer who seduces her marks before she dispatches them. Veteran character actor David Paymer is Milton, the American accountant who makes the business deals.

Everything goes awry when someone kills Fallon's ex-girlfriend and, after he's set up to be hit himself, he figures out that someone on his crew is responsible for her death. The team turns against each other and mayhem ensues until Fallon gets his revenge.

Scott Adkins in "Accident Man"

The fights are spectacular and both the costumes and production design give a vibrancy to the movie that's missing from most action movies. The humor from the original comic is intact but director Jesse V. Johnson never sacrifices the action for a cheap laugh. "Accident Man" wasn't blessed with a big budget, but the team has made those limitations work for them. Great action is paired with great source material and the whole show is executed with amazing confidence.

Scott Adkins has a huge following in the martial arts movie world based on his role as Yuri Boyka in the "Undisputed." He's made a name in action movies like "The Expendables 2" "Hard Target 2" and "Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning." He's played key roles in Hollywood blockbusters like "Doctor Strange," "American Assassin" and "The Bourne Ultimatum." Plus he had an amazing role as the villain in the Chinese blockbuster "Wolf Warrior." It's an impressive resume but it's all leading up to "Accident Man."

We've got a clip from the home video bonus features where Scott talks about his favorite fight scene in "Accident Man."

We had a chance to talk to Scott about how he made "Accident Man" and his career as an international action star.

You're a writer, you're a producer, you're the star of this movie. Tell us the story of how you got involved.

It sounded like you said, You are a writer. Well, okay, I guess I am now.

You are now.

I guess because I wrote "Accident Man." But it was out of necessity, okay? I picked up Toxic! when I was about 15 and I loved the Accident Man strip and I kept it all those years, hoping that one day maybe I could make the film and play Mike Fallon.

What I know now is that the property was optioned many times by some big producers, but it never actually happened. So I'm very fortunate that I actually got the rights myself off [Accident Man creators] Pat Mills and Tony Skinner.

I had to produce it because I couldnt convince any other producers to make it with me. And I wrote it myself with my mate from school who Ive know since I was 16. He was an aspiring writer and hes a writer himself now. We wrote it together out of necessity and eventually we got it to the right people at Sony and we made the movie and here it is.

It was all done out of a love for the character, for that original comic book. Some of the movie is ripped straight out of the comic book and some of it we expanded and made different.

Its a great feeling to have had this dream as a kid and to have actually done it as a man now.

One thing thats great is the tone in your movie. Its got the right sense of heightened reality but it doesnt make the mistake of veering into pure caricature, something that hurt a movie like "Tank Girl."

We didnt want to go over the top. In fact, wanted to just make it real life on steroids and have a wink at the audience and definitely let them in on the joke. Let them know that its okay, were having fun here, and its all right to laugh. We didnt really push the laughs through. We just have it as that tone in the background. When the stakes are high, play the stakes high, and when its time to have a little bit of a giggle, do that, and just make an entertaining film.

Theres a lot of color in the costumes and production design, but your movie seems more grounded in reality than a lot of recent action pictures.

Well, budget certainly dictated that we needed to keep it grounded. But I wanted it to be gritty and very much inspired by a Guy Ritchie film. I felt that that sort of style would suit "Accident Man" because I wanted to keep it very British. That Guy Ritchie influence comes across with the narration, its that sort of style. We kept it gritty and then, when the action ramps up, it goes up another level.

Ray Park takes a shot at Scott Adkins in "Accident Man."

The fight scenes in your films are incredible. How do you get in shape for the action?

We train about six days a week, whether its martial arts or weight training. Weight training is really an aesthetic thing to look a certain way for the movies. I'm a martial artist. I train because I love martial arts. But there's also that thing of staying ready for the next film, so if there's a film coming up, Ill wrap up the martial arts training if its a martial arts film.

How do you prep the fight scenes?

We shoot it the way Hong Kong cinema did it, which I believe is the best way. Instead of filming a master of the whole fight and then doing a load of different angles, which a lot of American and English people do do, well take it sequence by sequence. Well work with one camera, maybe have a second camera just to pick up some bits and pieces if we need it. With fight coordinator Tim Man, we say, okay, were filming this bit to this bit in sequence. And we shoot it and we keep doing it until we get it right. And only when we get it right, do we move on to the next bit.

Thats how you make a fight sequence that doesnt have a load of Steadicam. In some films, you think you saw a fight, but actually you only heard it. The Hong Kong way is how you make it precise and you fill the frame with beautiful action. And thats what we like to do.

Your fight with Tim Man might be my favorite one in the film.

Oh, yeah? Great. Thats cool. Well, he hates getting in front of the camera these days. Hed rather be behind it and coming up with the angles and choreographing it, but he's such an amazing martial artist that we have to pull him in.

What's your favorite fight from this film?

I think the fight with Amy Johnson at the end is, spoiler, but you know the fight at the end with Amy is amazing. She's a phenomenal martial artist. Not taking anything away from Michael Jai White and Ray Park, who I have another massive fight with. Amy is a petite good-looking girl but, man, when she starts moving she's scary. I like our fight together because, even though its man versus woman, you dont really feel that Fallon has given any favors to her, its pretty full-on, and she's amazing at what she does.

Michael Jai White in "Accident Man"

Over the last few years, youve been in big Hollywood movies like "Dr. Strange" and "American Assassin." Youve had action pictures like Hard Target 2 where youre the lead and then you were in "Wolf Warrior," a Chinese movie that kicked off one of the biggest movie series in the world these days. Tell us about moving back and forth between all these different worlds.

There's no masterplan. I'm fortunate to do what I do. Occasionally something comes along that you're really passionate about. Certainly with "Accident Man" or the Boyka movies or working on a big Marvel film like "Dr. Strange."

Other times, you're a working actor paying the bills. Now, I dont always get to choose. I dont sit in my ivory tower saying, okay, I'm gonna play James Bond this month. It doesnt work that way. I get offered movies and I have to pick what I think is the best one offered to me at the time. I dont like to wait out on the sidelines, I like to stay busy, I like to keep working. Thats how I've been able to improve as an actor and a filmmaker.

You dont win them all, but I like to stay busy. There's no master plan. I keep working, I do what I do, I love to do what I do, and I'm just fortunate that I'm in this position. I hope people keep wanting to watch me do what I do.

Ray Stevenson in "Accident Man"

If you're in China and you walk down the street, do people know who you are from "Wolf Warrior"?

You know, I thought that might be the case, but I'm pretty anonymous here, which is a good thing. Some people recognize me. But I went to Egypt recently and that was crazy  craziness on a level I've never known. I mean I couldnt go anywhere. I tend to get recognized a lot in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, but in China I'm just another white guy. We all look the same.

Ill let you say it, not me. . I'm politically incorrect, thats Mike Fallon speaking there.

Im really glad that you made this movie. Its fantastic to see one of these passion projects turn out so well.

I hope people go out and they rent this film legitimately or pay for it because, honestly, if people like the movie, it has to make money for us to make a sequel. I just hope people can understand that its an independent movie. It didnt go on the cinema, it needs to make some money, and we have the idea of the sequel. I would love to make it, so please support independent filmmakers.

-- James Barber can be reached at james.barber@military.com
WASHINGTON  Chief Warrant Officer Mitch Wiese sat in a concrete bunker  a wry, half-smile playing at the soldiers shadowed face as he wondered what war was going to do to him and the medevac unit he flew with.

It was 2011, the peak of the surge in the Afghanistan conflict. Wiese, a pilot, and his crew from the 10th Mountain Divisions Company C, 3rd General Support Aviation Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, were conducting multiple missions some days  jumping at the crackle of the radio, running to their helicopter so they could pluck wounded off the battlefield, stem the bleeding, patch the holes in human flesh, pump in oxygen or fluids. Frequently, they were covered in blood and dust, ears ringing, chopper blades thumping, adrenaline racing, as they worked to save lives.

To them, it seemed like they had the most demanding and gratifying jobs in the world. Still, Wiese wondered what kind of nightmares the medics  or back-seaters  must have. The pilots up front dont see everything, he says in a just-released documentary Trauma, on Amazon and iTunes. But just hearing the struggles of the medics and their victims was enough.

I know everyones gonna go home with a lot of memories  a lot of bad memories, he says.

Cut to 2014.

Wiese, now bearded, sat at the dining table in his home in Albany, N.Y., watching that wartime clip of himself on a computer screen. He leaned back in his chair. It struck him as strange, he said, that he knew back then what would happen down the road.

Its weird listening to myself talk about having problems in the future, he says, his voice cracking with emotion. And here I am.

Following Wiese and five members of his medevac unit from their 2011 deployment in Afghanistan through a five-year rocky journey back home, Trauma captures a unique view into the world of men whose job took them to the heart of war with the most noble of missions  and the unavoidable reckoning.

In the documentary, there is no narration other than the voices of the men, interviewed over the course of time. Their lives change and evolve. Some come quickly to the end of their military service, while others carry on until they cant anymore. Each struggles to adapt back home, to reconnect with their families and do jobs that mean so much less to them.

We were unsung f-ing heroes, Robert Speth, crew chief of the 2011 deployment, says in the film. Dude, if you were getting on my aircraft, you had a good chance of getting off alive. You were having the best worst day of your life. And now I come back, I turn wrenches on rich peoples airplanes  nobody gives a sh--. But I am actually OK with that, he said. I am fine with that because that other stuff was gonna kill you.

Even as the medevacs lives move forward, the war scenes splash back onto the screen with that same incessant and violent urgency, reminding you that there is no singular narrative of war.

Slowly, you come to realize that the hardest job these men could ever have is finding their own way home.

A binding force

Journalist Harry Sanna started filming the Black Hawk crew on what was supposed to be a weeklong embed with the unit at Forward Operating Base Shank in Logar province in 2011. But there was something about the story that he just couldnt quit, he said in an interview with Stars and Stripes.

He extended his stay for weeks, went on missions and spent downtime with the men, learning their stories and seeing what the job entailed.

At some point, the crew began to see him as family, said medic Michael Walker, a sergeant first class on that mission, in an interview. Later, when Sanna suffered from the aftermath of war and losing colleagues on the battlefield, they grew even more connected.

What we all went through over there was a binding agent for us, Sanna, 30, said from his home in Sydney, Australia. While at times, year after year, some people were in better places, I feel there was a collective internal reckoning coming for us all.

Sannas struggle isnt covered in the film, but it is a driving force that propelled him to reach out to the unit years later and fly to the United States in 2014 to interview six of them. He hung out with Walker and Wiese and the others on their sofas, filming at all times of day and night as they spoke with rare candor.

Wiese talked about the struggles he and his wife had with infertility, the nightmares and lost sleep, and what a quick fuse could look like at home.

Walker, now 44, confronted the camera with his raw account of the job that took him back to Afghanistan, how the mission separated him from his family not just physically, but emotionally, until his wife went home to her native Japan, taking their daughter with her.

Yeah, there is a price you pay, Walker says, shortly after his family left. The camera stayed on him as his eyes filled with tears. But the job is too important, he says. The people that would be left behind. I cant ...

Each of the six men Sanna followed took a different path, but they all struggled to find an identity as dramatic and intense as being a combat medic.

In my mind, pilot Julian Gilbert says in the film, its going to be difficult to top that year we had in Afghanistan, as far as finding meaning and purpose.

Speth had been gearing up to go back to Afghanistan when his daughter bit her lip while jumping on the couch and started screaming. He held her, but said she smelled like hydraulic fluid. His wife was calling from upstairs to see if she was OK, but in his mind, hes hearing the radio call and helicopter noises. Only he was holding his daughter on that chopper. It was at that moment when I realized, Dude, you cant do this  you need help, Speth says in the film. He traded in his mission for civilian coveralls and found his way back to his family.

I still wonder how I made it home, after what we did on a daily basis, Wiese, 42, said in an interview. Now I sit in a cubicle.

For Sanna, the difficult journey was redemptive.

Through a Kickstarter campaign, he raised enough money to hire an editor. When he joined forces with producers Ryan Cunningham and David Gaddie, the film came into focus  shifting from a documentary about the work of a medevac crew in Afghanistan to a story about what happens to them in the long years afterward.

Gaddie said there was a pivotal point early on in their effort when Sanna was showing him his Afghanistan footage and it was all really tame.

Isnt there anything else? Gaddie asked.

A day later, Sanna called him and showed him a very difficult scene. He showed it to me shaking. He had avoided certain footage, Gaddie said.

After that, Sanna summoned the courage to go back and look at all the footage, coming to terms with his own journey. Thats when he grasped what he was trying to get from his subjects.

The film sort of took a new turn at that point, Gaddie said.

A stop along the way

The documentary was in the editing stages in 2015 when the filmmakers began to realize that some stories were incomplete.

Wiese and his wife, who struggled with infertility, had a son. Wiese has been consistently in therapy, and in his last onscreen interview, he says he is in such a good place.

But for others, things were far less certain.

No one had heard from their colleague Bart Prouty. Prouty, like Walker, had gone back to Afghanistan after his 2011 tour. But the tour was tough for Prouty, and he left the deployment in the middle. Sanna and his crew reached out to Prouty, but he stopped responding to them and his medevac buddies. Sanna decided to go back to him and capture his journey.

After his deployment was cut short, Prouty had been in and out of treatment programs, he and Speth said in the film. Prouty was drinking too much and struggling to find steady ground. The last time Prouty saw Speth, the two buddies fought.

You are gonna be one of the f-ing homeless vets sitting on the side of the road with the I served hats begging for handouts because you couldnt get your sh-- together looking for answers at the bottom of the bottle, Speth, now 38, warns him in the film.

Prouty, now 37, remembered it this way: Hed stopped taking his medication and he was spiraling. He felt like he had no control, he says in the film, and he didnt care if he lived or died.

Then his friends intervened, encouraging him to check himself into treatment. It was my brothers trying to take care of me, and um, he says, his voice welling with tears, that meant a lot.

Worth the price

From the start, Sanna immerses viewers in the powerful story of rescuers in battle who were called to save lives. Only late in the documentary does he call post traumatic stress disorder by its name. Sanna says that was no accident.

By then, you are invested  in men troubled by war, and in men whose job it was to save lives on the battlefield.

I wanted to push past the definition, Sanna said of PTSD.

Thats when you see the flip side. The guilt over those they couldnt save; the smell of burning flesh that never quite dissipates; the eyes of wounded children  wide in terror and pain  with no language to console them; the heavy, dark toll this mission would take on their families.

Throughout the film, medic Todd Fuchigami, aka Fuji, serves as the joker who likes to keep things light. Toward the end, he tells the story of having to help reposition a casualty whose head had been split open. He could feel the texture of the mans brains through his glove, and saw the ring on his finger as he draped an American flag over him. He wondered whether the man had talked to his loved ones recently. He thought about his own wife, he said.

The realities arent pretty  long sleepless nights, the things he wont tell her, Islamophobia, alcohol, alienation. Burst of crying fits alternating with bursts of rage. And for Prouty  and maybe others  a willingness to drive into an embankment. The men describe these feelings in detail.

Was it worth it? Walker asks himself about his time as a medic, toward the end of the film. He says he is going to Japan to ask his family to come home.

Yeah. You have 1,200 people who are going back to their families and thats just the people I treated, he answers. But I am starting to realize the price is too high.

Trauma is available on Amazon, Vimeo, iTunes and Tugg. Links can be found on the films website: trauma.film.

cahn.dianna@stripes.com Twitter:@DiannaCahn
I recently watched the movie, Red Tails, about the Tuskegee Airmen's triumph over racism, poor equipment, and under-utilization during the air war over the European Theater of Operations (ETO) during World War II. I really came away impressed not just of the character, performance, and professionalism of the Tuskegee Airmen, but also of the high number of transferable military-to-business skill sets the movie offers. This movie was a great example of direct examples of combat aviation skills and how well they can and do work in business.

Below are a few of the more relevant business lessons that the movie offers.

Business Lesson #1 from Red Tails  Communicate With Your Team. The pilot cross-talk during both fighter operations and the bomber protection missions was a great lesson in the importance of team communications. Before the battle, the pilots communicated to keep up morale and pass important lessons to ensure success in the air. Once the battle was joined, the pilots communicated their positions, plans, and if they needed or could offer help. This is a great lesson for customer facing organizations to communicate in the heat of operations and serving customers how they are doing, how the plan is progressing, or if they can offer to help.

Business Lesson #2 from Red Tails The Trifecta: Pride + Professionalism + Performance. Direct and Indirect racism against the Tuskegee Airman was a constant companion. The Tuskegee Airman took a direct step to not fight back physically. Instead, they let the combination of Pride in their Unit, the Professionalism of their conduct as Army Air Corp soldiers, and their high performance as aviators be the judge. This is great advice to never stoop to the level of your detractors and critics, but to rise above the "flak" or negativity with a positive attitude, unparalleled professionalism, and produce great results for your customers.

Business Lesson #3 from Red Tails Know How to Define & Measure Your Success. In my favorite scene from the Red Tails, Colonel A.J. Bullard (Terrence Howard) responds to calls of disagreement from the pilots that they will remain with the heavy bomber groups and not pursue the attacking German fighter aircraft. Bullard: "We will measure our success by the husbands we return to their wives, the fathers we return to their children. For every bomber we save, we will save the lives of 10 crewmen." This directly told the entire unit how they would be successful from now on  not by shooting down planes, but by ensuring, the heavy bombers returned to their bases in England. Organizations at the bottom level need to fully understand, know, and agree how they measure their success in the simplest terms possible.

Business Lesson #4 from Red Tails Know What Your Customers Want. For the Tuskegee Airman, their customers were the leadership of the European Bomber Command that was trapped in a seemingly ever-losing battle where they were losing more bombers and aircrew to German fighters. In a small, but moving scene, Colonel Bullard sat with Lieutenant General Luntz (played by Gerald McRaney) and reviewed gun camera film to determine precisely what LTG Luntz wanted and how the Red Tails could help. This was a classic "sales meeting" set up to determine customer needs and requirements and how the service provider could help.

Business Lesson #5 from Red Tails Celebrate Your Successes & Learn with the Entire Team. The Tuskegee Airman used gun camera footage to help their entire unit celebrate their aerial victories and to educate new pilots and ground crew on the vital importance of everyone's mission. In Air Operations, it takes mechanics, planners, fueler's, weaponeer's, weatherman, and more to make a successful combat flight. The Tuskegee Airman used their gun camera footage to highlight victories and high light the importance of what the support personnel did. Furthermore, the gun camera footage acted as both an After Action Review (AAR) that highlighted: (1) what happened, (2) What went well, (3) What did not go well, and (4) What can we do to fix it? Finally, the gun camera footage served as a final point of education to show new pilots enemy tactics and what works to win. The use of team celebrations and AAR's convince the entire organization of what success is and how to improve.
by Trish Rudder, Kate Evans & Kate Shunney About four inches of rain fell in Berkeley Springs last week from Hurricane Ida, but precautions were taken to avoid possible flooding in the Town of Bath. Councilman Rick Weber, who heads up the towns Public Works Committee, said last Friday that the Public Works crew, led
Tuolumne County Sheriff's Dept. logo View Photos

Sonora, CA  Tuolumne County sheriffs officials say several residents are waking up to find their mailboxes open and mail either gone through or scattered about, a sure sign of attempted mail thievery.

According to sheriffs spokesperson Sgt. Andrea Benson, incidents have most recently been called in from different areas across Soulsbyville and along Highway 49 north of the Sonora city limits. Some of these activities have been reported by mail carriers, early morning newspaper delivery people as well as residents who, looking down the street, might have seen several mailboxes open, which might point to some drive-by theft attempts.

Most of the time these mail thieves are trying to get through the area quickly and are opening random boxes to see if there is anything they can grab and quickly get away with, Benson explains.

As she is quick to point out, ways to deter mail thefts most obviously include always removing mail from mailboxes daily. Besides not letting it accumulate, deposit outgoing mail in slots inside the post office or directly hand it to mail carriers, she advises, adding that some folks might even consider, based on where their mail box is, investing in a locking box or perhaps even renting a post office box.

Among other safeguards, Benson recommends, If you are going to be away from home, arrange for a trusted neighbor to pick up mail and parcels or place a mail delivery hold, which can be done through your carrier, at the post office or online. Click here to access the US Postal Service (USPS) online link to place a mail hold.

If you see something suspicious in the area such as vehicles or believe your mail has been stolen, contact the postal service to report it and also call local law enforcement, Benson adds. That way we are aware of the incident and also can have deputies out doing extra patrols in the area, out looking for suspicious activity.

Mail theft is a federal offense, For details on filing an online complaint, click here. There is also a toll-free number for reporting it: 877-876-2455.

Sheriffs officials also suggest utilizing a way to digitally preview your USPS mail as well as track and manage packages scheduled to arrive by using the USPS Informed Delivery option, which allows customers to view greyscale images of the exterior, address side of letter-sized mail items. To learn more click here.
A day of testimony that began with a mothers grief took an unusual turn Tuesday when allegations of satanism emerged involving an employee of the mortuary service that was used to transport the womans daughters body to the funeral home where it later went missing.

In a video deposition shown to the jury, Frederick Beyer, an owner of Beyer & Beitel Mortuary Services, which embalmed Julie Mott, was questioned about employee Nicholas Moreno by Alex Katzman, an attorney representing plaintiffs Timothy and Sharlotte Mott.

The Motts are suing MPII Inc., which does business as Mission Park Funeral Chapels and Cemeteries, for gross negligence in the disappearance of their daughters body from a casket at its Northwest Side facility on Cherry Ridge.

Katzman brought up Morenos social media postings after establishing that Beyer & Beitel does not do background checks on its employees, although there was no indication that Moreno had contact with Julie Motts body.

A subcontractor of Mission Park, Moreno plays in a band called Flesh Hoarder, which lists its genre as brutal death metal, and posts satanic pictures on his Facebook page.

Beyer said he liked hard rock, but not that hard, in response to questions about Flesh Hoarders music by Katzman.

Hes testified hes into Satan, Katzman said. Did you know that?

No, Beyer replied. I didnt know anything about Satan.

Is there any concern in regard with him having access to departed loved ones, Katzman asked Beyer.

No, Beyer said.

He posts satanic pictures, Katzman said. Did you talk to Nicholas Moreno about what it means?

No, Beyer replied. Its all fantasy. Hes worked with me for years. Hes one of the sweetest guys.

Also shown during the video deposition was Morenos profile picture on his personal Facebook page. It shows two men singing, with a cover photo of a dark figure eating a severed limb, surrounded by headstones with the names of bandmates above the words homicidal necrophile.

The Mott family has accused Robert Dick Tips, who owns MPII Inc., and his wife Kristin, who is president of the company, of hiding the fact that their firm uses third-party contractors to transport bodies to be prepared for burial or cremation. The Motts also allege the company provided numerous people access  24 hours a day, seven days a week  to Mission Park facilities with security codes that hadn't been changed in 20 years and keys to locks that hadnt been replaced in a decade.

In Beyers deposition, he said their unlimited access ended Aug. 16, 2015, the day Julie Motts body went missing.

The Tipses dispute they did anything wrong and allege that the Motts did not inform them that their daughters ex-boyfriend, Bill Wilburn, was abusive with Julie Mott, obsessed with contacting her before her death, and had motive to steal her body because he objected to her cremation.

The plaintiffs rested their case Tuesday, shortly after the video deposition, which was preceded by the emotional testimony of Julie Motts mother, who told the jury who will decide the civil case of the horror she lives with knowing that her daughters body is missing.

When her attorney, Ron Salazar, asked her what it was like getting that news, Sharlotte Mott had to compose herself before replying.

It was heartbreaking. Horrifying, she said through heaves and sobs. It was unbelievable. I thought, Who took my baby?

Julie Mott, died Aug. 8, 2015. She was 25.

Sharlotte Mott is the third family member to testify in the civil trial, which is in its second week. Her husband, Timothy, and son, Jonathan, testified Monday.

She said her heart breaks each time she sees the urn that they purchased for her daughter.

Her urn sits empty, she said as she cried. We cant even put a picture (on it). Shes not there.

Psychologist William Erwin concurred that the Motts are stuck in their grief and that finding out their daughters body was missing increased their severe depression. He said they have not been able to move on from the anger stage.

On cross-examination, John Guerra, representing Mission Park, appeared to try and establish that the depression and anxiety suffered by Sharlotte Mott already existed before the loss of her daughters body because she knew she eventually would die, and questioned Erwin on whether the Motts diagnosis of severe depression could increase.

Yes, you can say more severe, Erwin said, adding that no one asked him that before.

The case is being heard in the 131st Civil District Court, presided by Judge Norma Gonzales.
Yves here. Having spent time in the South, in general, Northerners carry huge class prejudice against Southerns. The same way a British accent is worth 20 attributed IQ points, a Southern accent is an attributed reduction of about 10 points. The Southerns I know who are not treated that way are people who managed to grow up in areas which didnt have typical Southern accents (parts of Texas and New Orleans) or are adept enough to be able to shed them. Church-going is held against Southerners, even though my impression is once you get outside the evangelicals, church attendance is less frequent and more social than the media accounts would have you believe.

This is typical of how Southerners are depicted in movies:

So the left (and Northerners generally) too often operate from the halo effect cognitive bias when dealing with people from the South.

By Harry Blain, a Graduate Center Fellow pursuing a PhD in Political Science at the City University of New York. He has previously lived and worked in Sydney, Edinburgh and London. Follow him on Twitter @Hblain. Originally published at openDemocracy

Smugness and complacency are no basis for effective action on poverty, inequality and racism throughout the USA.

What is wrong with them? Theyre dumber than I thought! This is a new low, even for them.

Comments like these were made to me by many friends and colleagues in New York during discussions about the 2016 special election in Alabama that narrowly rejected Judge Roy Moores candidacy for the Senate.

Sneering about the Backward South has become a form of escapism for many Northern liberals. Theres a certain comfort in thinking that the countrys worst problems exist far away rather than a few stops down the subway lineout of our control, an affliction unique to them. The late-night comedy version of the South as a land of ignorance, violence and prejudice is crude at best, serving mainly to make us feel good about ourselves rather than conveying anything of substance about the country.

But activists in the South have been mobilizing voters and challenging power structures successfully for decades, from flooding Mississippis jails with Freedom Riders in the 1960s to helping to drive the surge in (especially black) voter turnout that defeated Moore. Like anywhere else, the South can change. Its institutions are constructed by human beings and are vulnerable to mass collective action. If the left can renew and extend this spirit, it may even win in the Southbut not until we dismantle our prejudices about and against it.

The first step in doing so is to understand how the South is different, and where its not. The Triple Evils identified by Dr. Martin Luther Kingpoverty , racism and militarismare American, not uniquely Southern, but the Souths roots in slavery and Jim Crow racism color everything in distinctive ways. Mississippi didnt fully ratify the 13th Amendment to the Constitution outlawing slavery until 2013news that Jon Stewart justly ridiculed at the time as only 148 years late. Alabama didnt legalize interracial marriage until the year 2000. Theres still a proud statue of the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan just off Interstate 65 near Nashville, Tennessee.

But as Elizabeth, a character from James Baldwins novel Go Tell It on the Mountain saw it: There was not, after all, a great difference between the world of the North and that of the South which she had fled; there was only this difference: the North promised more. And this similarity: what it promised it did not give, and what it gave, at length and grudgingly on one hand, it took back with the other.

Civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer, the daughter of a share-cropper in the Mississippi Delta, was similarly frank in a speech she gave in New York in 1971. I used to think that if I could go North and tell people about the plight of the black folk in the state of Mississippi, she told her audience, everything would be all right. But traveling around, I found one thing for sure: its up-South and down-South, and its no different. The man shoot me in the face in Mississippi, and you turn around hell shoot you in the back here.

The truth of these reflections go back as least as far as the Civil War itself, when a mob attacked the Colored Orphan Asylum during the New York City draft riots of 1863, punctuating their terror by chanting burn the niggers nest. Not to mention the many subsequent, unpunished attacks against people of color well north of where the racists are supposed to live: Chicago in 1919, Los Angeles in 1992, Staten Island in 2014.

Like racism, the second of Dr. Kings Triple Evilspovertyis ostensibly more acute in the South. The UNs Special Rapporteur on Poverty and Human Rights only recently described conditions in rural Alabama as the worst hed ever seen in the developed world. At the beginning of 2018, Jackson, Mississippi endured a boil water advisory and a mass public school closure after the city suffered 116 water-main breaks in the space of one chilly week.

But for every Jackson, Mississippi, there is a Flint, Michigan. For every opioid overdose in Kentucky, theres at least one in Massachusetts. And any effort to address poverty and inequality soon comes up against national resource constraints that are rooted in Americas giant military budget, nearly half of which goes straight into the pockets of defense contractors. Like Dr Kings other two evils, theres nowhere to hide from militarism.

In short, the Souths problems areand always have beenAmericas problems. The sooner we accept this fact and shake off our smugness and complacency, the sooner well be able to play a more effective part in forming local, regional and national coalitions for action that turn the spotlight on poverty, inequality and racism throughout the country.

Of course, that doesnt mean ignoring political realities: the daunting, decades-long dominance of the right in most of the Southern United States. Hard-nosed pollsters looking to deliver victories for the Democratic Party in the 2018 mid-term elections would likely tell us to forget about the really Deep South: too conservative, too close-minded, too ignorant.

But the South has a rich, though frequently overlooked, leftist tradition. You can find some traces of it at Nashvilles impressive Bicentennial Mall, which includes a massive marble plaque celebrating Tennessees rivers and lakes. It proudly quotes Section 29 of the states first constitution, which declares That an equal participation of the free navigation of the Mississippi is one of the inherent rights of the citizens of this State; it cannot, therefore, be conceded to any prince, potentate, power, person, or persons whatever.

This eloquent declaration of a public good is accompanied by the force of the 1977 Tennessee Water Quality Control Act: The people of Tennessee have a right to unpolluted waters. The full text of the act refers to the waters of Tennessee as a public trust.

Unfinished movements from the past have also been revived and built upon. In a recent article for Transformation, Sarah Freeman-Woolpert highlights how Dr. Kings Poor Peoples Campaign has been reignited under the leadership of Reverend William J. Barber in North Carolina, and is beginning to build coalitions across class, racial, gender and regional lines.

Project South, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, carries out its own local organizing while also supporting social movements across the region. Its legal advocacy has exposed abuses in prisons and immigration detention centers, and constantly pressured the Georgia state assembly over anti-Muslim discrimination and surveillance.

The Mayor of Jackson, Mississippi has promised to make his city the most radical on the planet. His counterpart in Birmingham, Alabama has similarly ambitious plans. Meanwhile, elections at the state level suggest that more progressive advances may follow Doug Joness senate win in Alabama, particularly in the legislatures of Virginia and Georgia.

New Orleans has taken down its monuments to the Confederacy and white supremacy. Mississippi has established a new Civil Rights Museum in the state capitol. Inside, visitors are confronted with the names of the victims of lynching projected onto giant illuminated columns, enlarged mug shots of every activist sent to Parchman Penitentiary for protesting segregated transportation, and detailed electoral maps exposing the cynical redrawing of congressional districts to diminish the strength of the black vote after the passing of the Voting Rights Act in 1964.

Much of this is symbolic, but symbolism matters: it tells us something about how we define ourselves and our aspirations. If a Southern state is building symbols that honor the continual struggle for civil rights rather than the Lost Cause of the Civil War, then this hints at a small shift in mindset that could grow into something bigger.

From my own experience, I know that the South is more diverse, more contradictory and more complex than is often portrayed. It has a history different from, but wholly entwined with, the rest of the country. It is full of social and political movements that many of us dont know about. Its story is dynamic, not static, shifting constantly between huge strides forwardemancipation , Reconstruction, civil rightsand the enduring legacies of its racist past and present.

Liberals and progressives who snigger at the region would benefit from approaching it with the same values they claim to uphold: openness, intellectual humility, and a deep appreciation of diversity. Then, we might stand a better chance of winning people overand maybe even learn something new about ourselves.
Brexit enthusiasts have managed to come up with such creative forms of denialism that the word insanity does not being to do it justice. Their main tactic so far has been a political version of Schrodingers cat. As long as they can keep the lid shut on the Brexit box, they can pretend it amounts to whatever version of Brexit theyd most like to have, even though the particulars, as we and others have pointed out, are internally contradictory.

However, the problem with the Scrodingers cat approach, of refusing to open the box and deal with actual conditions (like feed the feline or bury it), is it is putting the UK in the worst imaginable position on every level. The UK is failing to do any contingency planning. The UK is refusing to advance proposals and policy positions, and does so only under duress, and even then typically as napkin doodles, or as petulant reactions to EU efforts to move the talks forward by putting its own proposals on the table. This is making the odds of worst case scenario outcomes higher with every passing day.

Another Tory denialism strategy is more conventional: scapegoating. One avenue is to criticize Theresa May for her supposed lack of decisiveness and her failure to beat up on those meanie Eurocrats. The reality is that Mays stasis is a reflection of the incoherence of the Tory position and the deep divisions in the party. She cant forge a consensus in her own party because there are too many MPs on each flank. She could perhaps have attempted the bold gambit of a softer Brexit grouping of the non-Ultra Tories plus the at least 100 or so Labour party members who also want a softer Brexit. But UK politics are over my pay grade, and I have to assume this sort of cross party alignment is not workable (as in both parties have enough party discipline to block it).

And of course, the other regular scapegoat is the EU.

The UK and EU are supposed to resolve what the transition phase looks like in their upcoming round of negotiations. The EU also told the UK in the December talks that it needed to codify its solution for the Irish border. Since that solution is in fact not viable, requiring the UK to reduce it to sufficient written detail as to be a basis for rules and procedures will reveal it to be a fraud.

As an aside, I still cannot fathom why Barnier, Juncker, et al. allowed the UK to not merely think its Irish border fudge was workable but allow them to think it was a brilliant success. May was looking extremely wobbly then and there was a school of thought that she would be taken down by the Tories and either Johnson or Rees-Mogg would become party leader, which was arguably a worse outcome.

But if May will be toppled when the hard Brexit wing lashes out as a result of not being able to get its way, why would having that crisis happen in March, when things now look like they will come to a head, any better than December? Perhaps there is some 11th dimensional chess logic that escapes me, or maybe this is the EU doing its own bit of kicking the can down the road because it is at a loss as to any other thing to do.

Since we mentioned the Irish border mess, pressure is indeed building, as a Financial Times story in links on Tuesday indicated. The Torygraph has more not pretty news today: Ireland digs in over Brexit border question in renewed threat to talks.

And on Tuesday, the UK press was in an uproar over what is arguably the only sensible position the EU could take regarding the enforcement of law and regulations during the transition.

Recall that we said that the only possible arrangement was a standstill, that negotiating anything else would be as time-consuming and draining as sorting out the end-state trade and services pacts, and would thus serve to be a huge distraction.

However, even a standstill isnt as simple as it seems. The transition is an accommodation by the EU after the UK will have exited in March 2019. It is expected to go on for nearly two years, through the end of 2020. The EU is not about to freeze its regulation and legislation just to make life easier for the UK. The UK, being out of the EU, wont participate in nay new rulemaking. That means the UK will also have to accept any changes in laws and procedures during the transition period in order to maintain unfettered access to the single market. The Brexit fans have been howling about vassal state as a result, but they were the ones who leaped off the Brexit cliff without looking down first. Its awfully late to be showing buyers remorse.

The EU side has recognized an additional problem: what if the UK cheats during the transition period? In theory, it is still subject to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. However, if a matter were disputed, its conceivable it would not have gotten though the legal process by the end of 2020. That means, particularly in the later part of the transition period, the UK would have good odds that it it were to play fast and loose, it would be out of the transition periods and free from the long arm of European law before any punishment could be inflicted.

So the EU has decided it wants to close that escape hatch. From the Financial Times:

The EU wants powers to punish UK non-compliance during the Brexit transition by summarily cutting off the countrys access to parts of the single market, according to a treaty draft Highlighting fears in Brussels over Britain wilfully breaking rules during the transition period or refusing to implement new laws, the draft treaty text calls for additional enforcement powers so that the EU can respond promptly to infringements. It says the final withdrawal agreement should provide for a mechanism allowing the union to suspend certain benefits deriving for the UK from participation in the internal market where it considers that referring the matter to [court] would not bring in appropriate time the necessary remedies. Such a suspension of access rights in the single market could include curbs on cross-border financial services, airline operating rights or the free flow of goods to the other 27 EU states without customs checks. 

Mind you, the EU plans to allow the UK input into policy-mkaing in some areas, like fisheries, which is more than it had to do. And let us also not forget that the UK could just as well have recognized that this was a potential issue and come up with a remedy.if it could devise one that the EU would see as having enough teeth to provide for adequate incentives for compliance. As FT reader SJ put it:

Why is this controversial or a surprise? In any normal contractual arrangement there are consequences for breach. A trade agreement is a complex multi-party contract. If the UK breaches it there should be consequences. Im sure the UK would argue this if the opposite were to happen (EU breaches the agreement first).

Needless to say, that is decidedly a minority view, as least if you believe headlines. Of course, the press isnt necessarily presenting the facts in what one might argue is an evenhanded manner, since the UK really really does want (and presumably need) access to the single market during the transition period, and that means accepting EU rules. Politico confirms that the UK will not have much negotiating room on transition rules.

A sampling:

If the Independents home page is a valid indicator, pressure with the Tory party continues to rise. As of this hour, there were four Brexit stories critical with headlines critical of May or the process. Even at this remove, the even-louder threats to remove May, with no corresponding intensified action, is another sign that the Tories find the situation theyve created more and more unpalatable, yet see no way out or rather wont allow themselves the peace with honor style retreat of a second referendum. As one NC wag noted, the Brits are a bit too willing to glorify disasters, as the Charge of the Light Brigade demonstrates. But this is sizing up to be disaster on a catastrophic scale.
(Natural News) Two female Associate professors of Economics at the University of Michigan (UM) have published a new paper alleging that more men than women are interested in the field of economics because economics textbooks apparently portray more men than women.

Betsey Stevenson and Hanna Zlotnick claim that, of the economics textbooks they decided to peruse in their spare time, 77 percent of the people represented were male, which apparently makes them mad.

Both fictional characters used for illustrative purposes and actual economists throughout history are routinely depicted as being male rather than female, which is highly triggering to feminists. Overall, they say, male economists outnumber female ones by a factor of 12 to 1  and in one textbook case, not a single female economist was mentioned.

Stevenson and Zlotnick expressed further upset about what they claim are decision biases in many economics textbooks. While men are often depicted as making a decision, women, they say, are often illustrated as [having] a decision made for them.

This fact both makes it likely that economics textbooks are male-dominated and suggests that concrete steps need to be taken to understand why economics is not attracting female students, the feminist duo wrote, adding that one part of the answer may be that women do not see themselves, their interests, and their lives described in economics textbooks.

This type of feminist insanity is rampant on many college campuses today. To keep up with the latest news on this front, be sure to visit CampusInsanity.com.

According to actual statistics, academia in general is female-dominated

Whats ironic about this latest episode of feminist triggering on a college campus is the fact that, when you really take a look at the numbers, what Stevenson and Zlotnick think theyre seeing in their fields curriculum isnt actually representative of whats actually taking place in academia as a whole.

As explained by Breitbart, most of academia is actually female-dominated, with women being the majority of all medical school students, law students, as well as candidates for both bachelors and doctorate degrees.

The citation for this inconvenient fact comes from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), which has published a plethora of data to suggest that females are actually over-represented throughout academia, and that men are systematically being pushed out of the learning environment.

If Americas diversity worshipers see any female under-representation as a problem and possibly even as proof of gender discrimination, what do they propose should be done about female over-representation in higher education at every level and in 7 out of 11 graduate fields? writes Mark J. Perry from AEI.

After all, to be logically consistent, arent female over-representation and female under-representation simply different sides of gender injustice?

So whats actually happening is that women are being recruited more than men are to learn, graduate, and enter the workforce as highly skilled individuals. It doesnt at all match the narrative being peddled by the likes of Stevenson and Zlotnick, but its the truth that too few people in the modern age are willing to confront.

Its also a fact that men and women tend to have different interests, with men typically being more geared to the sciences and numbers, and women being more geared towards the humanities, social sciences, and other less-technical fields (or they demand to have the sciences recreated into their own personal liking). This is just the way it is, and it doesnt necessarily mean anything as far as discrimination or bias.

People should choose the [career] fields they want to be in, Professor Lee Jussim from Rutgers University told Campus Reform. Everything does not have to be perfectly equal all the time.

See more examples of insane left-wing cultism at LeftCult.com.

Sources for this article include:

CampusReform.org

UMich.edu

UMich.edu

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Echinacea (pronounced ek-in-nay-sha) is a medicinal plant used by Native Americans to treat snake bites and cure septic wounds. Its popularity today is founded on several studies that prove its efficacy in shortening the common cold and reducing fever. This small, purple flower is indeed a herb you should familiarize yourself with. Should you ever find yourself living off the grid and needing an all-purpose medicine, echinacea can be an ideal option.

Weve listed eight science-based health benefits of echinacea. (h/t to GreenMedInfo.com.)

Boosts immunity  Prevention is always better than a cure. A pilot study done in Australia concluded that people who took echinacea tablets daily for 14 days showed significant improvements in their immune activity, including increased white cell counts. Other studies made locally have likewise shown echinaceas use in  Prevention is always better than a cure. A pilot study done in Australia concluded that people who took echinacea tablets daily for 14 days showed significant improvements in their immune activity, including increased white cell counts. Other studies made locally have likewise shown echinaceas use in stimulating immune function . As such, patients who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome or other acquired immunodeficiency syndromes are told to supplement their diet with echinacea. Supports red blood cells  People who take echinacea supplements have greater levels of erythropoietin (EPO), a hormone that promotes red blood formation. Protects against radiation damage  Researchers have observed a dramatic reduction in chromosome aberrations in lymphocytes in workers exposed to radiation after taking 275 mg echinacea tablets daily for a few weeks. This implies that echinacea can help the body heal from cellular damage caused by radiation. Reduces the side effects caused by chemotherapy  Chemotherapy is an ineffective cancer treatment. Numerous studies prove that cancer patients actually worsen in health after being subjected to the treatment. Oncologists themselves would not take the treatment or suggest it to their family and friends. Still, those who choose chemotherapy can find relief in echinacea. Studies suggest that supplementing with the herb can increase white blood cell counts and improve immune function. Treats influenza  Scientists have noted that  Scientists have noted that echinacea is more effective than conventional flu medications in treating the condition. Moreover, the herb was recorded to have fewer side effects and was easier tolerated. (Related: Echinacea preparation as effective as Tamiflu in early flu cases in large clinical trial.) Alleviates symptoms of the common cold  This is the most common use of the herb today. At least 15 clinical trials found that echinacea products can prevent and treat the common cold. Studies have seen that echinacea can shorten the duration of a cold by around 1.4 days and decrease the likelihood of developing the condition by almost 60 percent. Another set of data show that drinking echinacea tea at the first signs of the cold or flu can lessen the severity and duration of the illness. Resolves eye infections  Echinacea can be used to treat autoimmune uveitis (inflammation of the middle level of the eye). The herbs efficacy was recorded to be 70 percent more effective compared to not taking any supplement. Reduces wrinkles  Creams that are infused with echinacea increase skin hydration significantly. The resulting effect is reduced wrinkles. Echinacea creams are found to decrease the appearance of wrinkles by around 15 percent.

Echinacea can be taken as a tablet, tea, or tincture. If you want to read about more health benefits of the plant, along with other healthful herbs, go to Herbs.news.

Sources include:

GreenMedInfo.com

HerbFacts.co.uk
(Natural News) On Jan. 27, 2018, an Indian man died after he was sucked into a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine at Mumbais BYL Nair Hospital.

According to reports, 32-year-old Rajesh Maru and other members of his family were accompanying a female relative for a test. The victims uncle claimed that Maru was asked to carry a metal oxygen tank for his female relative, who was on oxygen support at the time. Maru was assured by the junior staff member that the machine was turned off, the uncle added.

As soon as he entered the hospitals MRI unit, Maru was said to have flown off his feet like a missile and was hurled into the MRI machines gantry. The oxygen tanks valve popped off and filled him with a rush of liquid oxygen. When he was finally pulled free from the machine, his brother-in-law described Maru as being bloated like a balloon and bleeding heavily. He was rushed to the emergency room but was declared dead on arrival. The postmortem revealed that Maru died of a collapsed lung.

Two doctors and two staff members have been arrested and charged under Section 304A in The Indian Penal Code, causing death by negligence. Just one week after the incident occurred, Marus severed finger was retrieved from the machine by technicians. Police have since seized the digit as evidence. (Related: California hospital fined after taking out a womans ovaries by accident.)

Marus family have said that they were being kept in the dark regarding these developments. Speaking to TimesOfIndia.IndiaTimes.com, his brother was quoted as saying: We have carried out his last rites but the hospital authorities should have informed us about this. Our relatives made a couple of rounds of the hospital but we couldnt meet the dean or any senior official for an update.

Many have read about the horrible incident in newspapers and are dropping in to express condolences. It is sad that no one from [Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation] or the state has spoken to us directly.

He added that although there have been reports of Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of the state of Maharashtra, announcing a compensation of five lakh Indian Rupees (or about 7,850 U.S. Dollars) to the family, theyve yet to see any written documents confirming this. The rest of Marus family are waiting for the official report to determine if they should pursue legal recourse for a higher compensation.

A brief look at MRI machines

Although MRI imaging is relatively safe for human tissue, carrying ferrous metal objects near an MRI machine can be deadly. Using large magnets, an MRI machine creates a mega-magnetic field to produce detailed images of the bodies organs. All metal objects in the same room as an MRI machine will be yanked towards the magnet. These powerful magnetic fields are why patients must first remove anything made of metal from their bodies before getting an MRI scan, and why patients with metal implants cant get scanned.

Moreover, the most common MRI injuries are burns. Any metals left inside a patients body, such as the metallic pigments found in tattoos, are heated up by MRI-induced magnetic fields. This leads to the soft tissues surrounding the metal becoming singed. Older MRI machines emit loud noises that have been known to cause hearing loss in some patients.

Accidents involving MRI machines and oxygen tanks are rarer, although there have been two infamous cases prior to that of Marus incident. In 2014, two employees in another Mumbai hospital were trapped in an MRI machine for four hours. One of the employees suffered internal bleeding and organ damage, and was temporarily paralyzed from the waist-down. He was paid a settlement of 10 million Indian rupees (157,000 U.S. Dollars) by the machines maker, General Electric. In 2001, a six-year-old boy in Westchester, N.Y., was killed in the middle of an MRI scan when an oxygen tank flew towards his skull and crushed it. Eight years later, his family settled a lawsuit for 2.9 million U.S. dollars.

Go to HealthCoverage.news for more stories on hospitals and healthcare systems around the world.

Sources include:

LiveScience.com

IndiaExpress.com

TimesOfIndia.IndiaTimes.com
(Natural News) A leaked report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reveals one of the main objectives behind the 2015 Paris Climate swindle: The worlds arrogant elite have plans to spray the Earths skies with chemicals to block the suns light and save the planet from global warming.

When U.S. President Donald Trump severed ties with the United Nations Paris Climate Agreement in 2017, he was not only saving billions of taxpayer dollars, but he was also protecting the planet from the scourges of geo-engineering experiments and a future of global strategic aerosol spraying.

Nearly 200 nations came together under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, calling to order broad studies on the implementation of climate manipulation technologies. Under Obamas lack of leadership, the U.S. spent over 1 billion on the project, and pledged $3 billion to this madness while he was in office.

The global warming climate change propaganda pushed in recent years is basically justification for worldwide geo-engineering and a way to garner public support for massive chemical experiments in the skies. One of the nefarious technologies the U.N. studied was the strategic aerosol spraying of sulfur-containing particles in the upper atmosphere to block sun light from reaching Earths surface.

But now the United Nations is undoing its support for geo-engineering. A leaked U.N. report draft says that the idea of spraying a layer of sun-dimming chemicals in the Earths atmosphere to combat global warming will not be feasible because it faces so many obstacles. The leaked report says that creating an artificial sunshade is economically, socially and institutionally infeasible. This doesnt mean that geo-engineering projects will be halted altogether.

The draft says worldwide chem-trail spraying would result in an addiction problem. Once started, its hard to stop, the draft says. If the chemical spraying stopped, temperatures would spike suddenly because greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere no matter how long the suns light is reflected. The draft also says that rules for spraying would be hard to work out. A nation or even a company could try to modify the weather and this could disrupt global weather patterns more.

The first question that comes to mind is: If the U.N. has reviewed the idea of creating a sunshade with chem-trails, where have geo-engineering tests been conducted to make this determination? Have chem-trail experiments been conducted over the nearly 200 nations represented by the Paris Climate treaty? Did the Paris Climate Agreement give the U.N. scientific justification to experimentally spray the Earths skies with chemicals over the past three years? Were the skies over the U.S. sprayed? Sightings of chem-trails have gone up in recent years. More people have become aware that experiments are being conducted above their heads.

The most chilling aspect is that nations are coming together in unity to think of ways to sprays the skies with chemicals. Their reasoning behind this plot is laughable; the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change purports to reduce global temperatures by 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) by mid-century.

The leaked report contains hundreds of pages warning about the risk of droughts, floods, storms, and heat waves if climate change is not addressed. Harvard Universitys Solar Geo-engineering research program is currently conducting outdoor experiments to block the suns light. Faculty director, David Keith downplayed skepticism toward geo-engineering, saying there is misguided taboo surrounding the technology. Keith called for more serious research effort to understand the benefits of geo-engineering.

Misguided or not, the world will definitely be a better place if global governance and scientific elite left the skies alone and quit trying to play God with the climate. Before tinkering with the Earths only atmosphere, climatologists should at least study the suns influence on Earths climate first. No matter how hard climate change scientists try, they will not be able to engineer favorable weather across the planet and an average temperature that they deem appropriate. Also, there is no feasible way to even prove that the Earths temperature is steadily rising. Manipulation of climate is a catalyst that will exacerbate more weather changes. The projected $10 billion annual cost to keep a layer of chemicals raining down from the atmosphere is not only unsustainable financially, but the act itself is a disdain toward all life on Earth.

As mankind attempts to manipulate climate, the Earths natural laws will adjust and rebound to retain balance. Mankinds arrogance will only beckon a doomsday stomp from the skies. (For more, visit Geoengineering.News.)

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

BBC.com

NaturalNews.com

Geoengineering.News
A suspect driving a reported stolen car led authorities on a chase that began in the Carson area, continued to downtown Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and Orange County, ending in Artesia.

The chase began on the northbound Harbor (110) Freeway near the San Diego (405) Freeway about 9:50 p.m., according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

The Dodge the suspect was driving was reported stolen, said LAPD Officer Mike Lopez.

The driver traveled through several cities on the eastbound Pomona (60) Freeway, before heading toward Orange County on the southbound Orange (57) Freeway, often times driving recklessly.

The driver traveled through Brea, Anaheim and Santa Ana before heading back to Los Angeles County on the westbound Artesia (91) Freeway.

The driver exited at Pioneer Boulevard in Artesia and drove in circles with authorities not far behind. A California Highway Patrol car used a Pursuit Intervention Technique maneuver about 10:30 p.m., to stop the suspect, who surrendered shortly after.
A former Alaska Airlines pilot agreed Tuesday to plead guilty in federal court in Santa Ana to flying a plane while under the influence of alcohol.

The plea deal calls for a sentence of one year and a day for David Hans Arntson, 62, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

"This pilot worked for the airline for more than 20 years, and we now know that he was an alcoholic who flew commercial flights while under the influence of alcohol," said U.S. Attorney Nicola T. Hanna. "When he was finally caught, the evidence indicates that he had flown with an alcohol level more than three times the legal limit. Thankfully, Mr. Arntson was never involved in an accident, but his conduct could have resulted in tragic consequences. Very few people will ever hold the lives of so many people in their hands at one time."

Arnston's attorney, Dyke Huish, said his client "has a long and distinguished career as a pilot and has flown thousands of flights without incident. And he has a perfect safety record, and as any good pilot who is responsible for the lives of people, he is willing to take responsibility and accept the consequences for his mistake."

According to court papers, Arnston was found to be under the influence when he piloted two flights on June 20, 2014. The first flight was from San Diego International Airport to Portland, Oregon, with 160 passengers aboard. He then he flew from Portland to John Wayne Airport in Santa Ana on a flight with about 80 passengers aboard.

After he landed in Santa Ana, he was pulled aside by airline officials for a random drug and alcohol check that resulted in blood-alcohol readings of 0.134 and 0.142, "well above" the federal limit of 0.04 percent for pilots, according to the plea agreement.

Prosecutors allege that Arnston suffered from alcoholism for most of the two-plus decades that he worked for Alaska Airlines.

Arnston expressed surprise when he was told he failed the breathalyzer tests, according to prosecutors, and drove himself home that day.

"He later drove himself to a hospital where, at approximately 8 p.m., he had his blood drawn," according to the plea agreement. "That blood test result indicated a blood-alcohol level that was substantially over the legal limit for commercial pilots. Defendant was kept at the hospital overnight due to his condition."

In an interview with a Department of Transportation special agent on Oct. 20, 2015, Arnston said he was "only a social drinker" who did not have any "issues with alcohol abuse." He said he "consumed only a few sips of beer during dinner" on the evening of the flights in question, according to court papers.
A woman used a TV to assault another woman who was walking with two young children in San Francisco's Mission District on Monday afternoon, according to police.

The victim, a 30-year-old woman, was walking with two 3-year-old girls in the area of 19th and Mission streets at about 3:20 p.m. when the other woman picked up a TV and threw it at her, police said.

The victim was hit and injured by the TV, and quickly fled the area with the two girls.

Police arrested a 50-year-old suspect in the attack but did not immediately release her name.
Following a nine-day investigation, police arrested a man who allegedly burglarized multiple businesses in Fairfield.

Starting on Jan. 28, five different businesses were burglarized in Fairfield. In each burglary, the suspect used a pellet gun to shoot out a window to gain access to the business, police said.

After viewing surveillance videos and gathering evidence at each crime scene, police identified the suspect as 32-year-old John Scharff of Fairfield, police said.

On Tuesday morning, detectives searched a home in the 2200 block of Emerson Place where they found evidence linking Scharff to each of the burglaries, police said.

Police arrested Scharff and booked him into Solano County Jail on suspicion of five counts of burglary and a probation violation, police said.

During the search of the home, detectives also found evidence related to two commercial burglaries under investigation by the West Sacramento Police Department. Fairfield police detectives are working with that department to help close those cases, police said.
Reese Witherspoon will take part in the Watermark Conference for Women Silicon Valley as a keynote speaker, joining Amal Clooney and other powerful women.

In addition to being an academy-award winning actress, Witherspoon wears many other hats, as an entrepreneur, activist and producer.

The conference comes at a time where men and women in Hollywood are making nation-wide headlines with the latest #MeToo movement, which is sure to be a topic of conversation at the conference which will also have New York Times Reporter Jodi Kantor, who co-authored the story about Harvey Weinstein that led to a crescendo of women speaking out.

The annual, sold out conference taking place at the San Jose Convention Center on Feb. 23, is expected to have more than 6,500 attendees and will be the largest conference of its kind.

Watermark is the leading community of top women executives, emerging executives and entrepreneurs in the San Francisco Bay Area whose mission is to increase the number of women in leadership positions.
With a growing population, an impactful recession and a housing crisis that "crushed the mortgage market," U.S. residents have chosen to rent properties instead of becoming homeowners, RENTcafe reports.

So much so that the renter population has increased significantly in 10 years, becoming the majority in big U.S. cities, something that may not come as a surprise to many Bay Area residents.

The nationwide apartment search website launched a report that analyzed the largest 100 U.S cities by population, comparing the number of people living in renter and owner-occupied units in 2006 and 2016.

In 2006, only 20 out of the 100 largest cities had more renters than owners. Fast forward to 2016, and that number grew to 42 out of 100 cities, according to RENTcafe.

One of the top 10 cities with the largest increases in renter share is Bay Area city Fremont, which takes the 6th highest percentage increase in renter share in the nation with a 31 percent growth since 2006.

As to the Bay Area cities with the highest number of renter share, Oakland leads the way with 58.9 percent of its population living in rental spaces, an 11.5 percent increase since 2006, RENTcafe reports.

San Francisco follows with 56.4 percent of its residents living in rental homes, just a 4.2 percent increase since 2006.

In San Jose, more than 96,800 people have chosen a renter lifestyle since 2006, a 16 percent increase, RENTcafe reports. However, unlike Oakland and San Francisco, it remains an owner-majority market.

It may be surprising to many that the only Bay Area city on the top 10 list of cities where renters became the majority population since 2006 is Fremont, but that is because other Bay Area cities already have large renter populations and in the 10-year span, from 2006 to 2016, other cities had larger increases in renter share.

According to RENTcafe, the population data used in their research was provided by the U.S. Census Bureaus public databases (Population in Occupied Housing Units by Tenure). The population changes at national, state and city levels have been computed from the 2006 American Community Survey and the 2016 ACS One-Year Estimates.
San Francisco is set to become the first city in the nation to do away with criminal justice fees. The fees are intended to make criminals help pay for the cost of releasing them back into society.

In San Francisco City Hall on Tuesday, elected leaders praised cutting those fees and said they only put a financial burden on people trying to restart their lives. But when NBC Bay Area took a closer look, we found most parolees and others recently released from jail do not pay every fee -- and most only pay a fraction.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors President London Breed rallied support for the legislation that would eliminate 10 city fees typically imposed on people getting out of jail.

"They are counter productive problematic sources of revenue born on the backs of our most vulnerable populations in San Francisco and we're not having it anymore," Breed said.

It costs $50 a month in fees for people to be on probation. There are also fees for electronic ankle monitors and fees for participating on work alernative programs.

"We put people who are trying to make the best of a tough situation in an untenable position," said Malia Cohen, District 10 supervisor. "We virtually make it impossible."

Cohen's impassioned statement does not take into account the sliding scale on at least two of the 10 fees.

"For example, in our electronic monitoring some 70 percent of people never pay a dime to participate," San Francisco Undersheriff Matthew Freeman said.

In fact, only 9 to 15 percent of the fees imposed on people convicted of crimes in San Francisco are ever paid, which supporters of the legislation would argue is another reason for eliminating them.

"What's the point if those fees aren't being charged?" Breed said. "So why don't we just take those fees off the books?"

Public Defender Jeff Adachi said there are 55 fines and fees ordered against people convicted of crimes in San Francisco. If passed, the new city law would eliminate 10 of the local fees administered by the city.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved putting a decision on the June 5 ballot for whether voters should recall Superior Court Judge Aaron Persky, the judge who became controversial over a sentence he handed down to a former Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault.

Recall Judge Aaron Persky campaign volunteers collected more than 94,000 signatures from county voters for the proposed recall for Persky's seat. Those signatures were turned into the county Registrar of Voters for verification on Jan. 11 and passed the testing of a random sample of signatures by Jan. 23.

Today, seats in the Board of Supervisors chambers were filled with community leaders who gave one-minute remarks on the proposal.

Michele Dauber, chair of the recall campaign, noted that the reason why many people were there was because of the comments of Emily Doe, the victim of former Stanford swimmer Brock Turner.

Persky came into the public spotlight after he sentenced Turner in 2016 to six months in Santa Clara County Jail. Turner's sentence was cut in half for good behavior, meaning he spent three months behind bars when he initially faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison.

"When Emily Doe heard that Turner had been given a six-month sentence, she was 'struck silent,'" Dauber said. "But today, the voters of Santa Clara County have spoken loud and clear."

Los Gatos resident Leslie Logan discussed the image she felt was being painted of those who volunteered with the recall campaign, describing it as the "dismissive and often misogynistic representation of an uninformed,

misguided, angry mob who couldn't possibly understand the intricacies of the criminal justice system."

Logan, a survivor of sexual assault, said that she stands with the recall because she understands the complexity of rape culture "all too well."

Santa Clara University law professor Margaret Russell spoke against the recall, saying there are women all over the political spectrum who are not misogynistic and respect sexual assault victims who are opposed to the recall.

"The effect of this kind of attack, not founded on facts, is to rack up sentences to encourage judges to look over their shoulders," Russell said.

Stan Voyles, a retired Santa Clara County prosecutor, scrutinized Dauber's background while speaking outside of the meeting room. Voyles said that she had never handled a criminal case or been a part of a single bar

organization.

"She's a bright lady, but unless you know how things operate in criminal courts, you really can't make an opinion about this stuff," Voyles said.

Voyles said the recall campaign comparing Turner's case and another case Persky handled, in which 32-year-old Raul Ramirez was given a three-year sentence, does not add up because they were convicted of different charges.

He said that Ramirez got the minimum mandatory sentence he could have received for his crime.

The recall campaign's official website mentions Ramirez's case in arguing that "Persky has a longstanding pattern of bias in favor of privileged defendants. Less privileged defendants evidently do not receive the same level of solicitude from him."

Voyles said his overall mission was "stopping the falsehoods that the recall campaign spread."

"Either they have no clue as to what is going on, or they are liars, or both," Voyles said.

Voyles did not speak during the public comment portion of the meeting.

LaDoris Cordell, a civil rights advocate and retired judge, spoke in favor of Persky. She said that judges want to do the right thing, and sometimes the right thing may be a more lenient option.

"If it's a sexual assault case, judges are now going to think twice about doing what they believe to be right in following the law because of fear that they're going to be targeted with misinformation, lies and distortion," Cordell said.

Cordell said that the six-month sentence recommendation that Persky received came from a female probation officer.

"The judge did not have to follow the recommendation, but he did what most county and state of California judges do and listened to it. This was within the law," Cordell said.

She said that Persky has not spoken out himself because by law he is not allowed to discuss active cases, and the Turner case is still in an appeals process right now.

Dauber spoke against the criticism that the recall campaign was becoming more about emotions and less about the facts.

"We were extremely detail-oriented and this campaign has been extensively reported by independent journalists," Dauber said.

Both campaigns plan on sending volunteers out to talk to voters about the recall placed on the ballot in the next few months.
South Bay education officials are trying to attract new teachers to the high-cost region by appealing to folks who already live and work in Silicon Valley.

This weekend, the Santa Clara County Office of Education is hosting a fair aimed at people who already have or are working toward their bachelor's degree as well as business professionals interested in taking the lead in the classroom.

The "Step into Teaching: Opportunities in Silicon Valley Public Schools Event" will connect those potential teaching candidates with resources they need to get into the classroom. Those potential teachers will be able to learn about the credentialing process, compensation, benefits and retirement.

Hundreds of people have turned out for previous versions of the fair, according to the Santa Clara County Office of Education, and about 50 professionals have stuck around to teach full-time.

Local school districts have been struggling with a teacher shortage. California issued roughly 77,000 teacher credentials in 2000 but only about 15,000 in 2015. The projected need in 2015 was 22,000 teachers.

The South Bay teaching fair is slated for Saturday. Those interested in attending must pre-register.
A Northern California woman is thankful shes still in one piece after somebody threw a dangerous object at her car on the freeway Sunday morning.

The entire incident was captured on video.

Dash cam footage from the vehicle of Katie Nichols shows the impact, and in the video a man can be seen on the side of the Interstate 80 who throws what appears to be a metal pipe at her.

"Shocking is the best way to say it," Nichols said, describing her reaction. "I didnt know what had happened. It shattered my windshield and sprayed glass at my face and in my car, and I was shocked."

Nichols said she thought shed been hit by a rock, but when she got home to Chico and slowed down her dash cam video, she saw the object appeared to be a metal pipe with a rope or cable attached.

"I was pretty horrified, and I was saddened that somebody would be so reckless with other peoples lives," Nichols said.

Officers with the California Highway Patrols Solano County Division said the man could have easily hurt or even killed somebody or caused an accident. Theyre hoping somebody steps forward with information.

"Its definitely a disturbing video," CHP Officer David Harvey said. "It would be nice if we had further video or witnesses who can identify the person who threw the object."

Nichols said shes grateful she wasnt hurt but worries the man could strike again.

"Why would you do that?" she said. "Why would you intentionally try to cause an accident or hurt someone by throwing something into the freeway?"
Massachusetts Senate President Harriette Chandler announced Wednesday that she would remain in the post through the remainder of the legislative session, with a new leader to be chosen next January. The move would appear to make it increasingly unlikely that former president Stan Rosenberg, the subject of an ongoing ethics investigation, ever returns as the Senate leader.

Chandler, a Worcester Democrat, said the decision was made with the full support of Senate Democrats during a closed-door caucus held amid a growing leadership crisis that had engulfed the chamber during the more than two months since Rosenberg stepped aside from the presidency.

Democrats agreed that Chandler would no longer be referred to as the "acting'' Senate president, ostensibly removing any question about who was in charge as the Legislature tackles the $40 billion state budget and other key bills in the coming months.

"We have work to do for the people who have elected us and 'acting' doesn't do it for us anymore," Chandler told reporters after the caucus. "We are now at the point where we need a president who has the full responsibilities and the full authority of the president of the Senate."

Chandler, 80, reiterated that she has no desire to serve as president beyond this year. She said an election to name a new president would be held on the first day of the 2019-2020 legislative session in January.

The Senate was first thrown into turmoil after The Boston Globe reported in December that several men, including some with business before the Legislature, had accused Rosenberg's husband, Bryon Hefner, of sexual assault or harassment.

The Senate Ethics Committee quickly voted to hire a Boston law firm to independently investigate whether Rosenberg violated any Senate rules in connection with the allegations. No timetable has been set for completing the probe.

Pressure mounted on senators after the Globe reported Sunday that Hefner had involved himself in matters before the Senate, including having access to Rosenberg's email account, despite Rosenberg's earlier promise to keep a "firewall" between his professional and personal lives.

The Amherst Democrat did not attend Wednesday's caucus but indicated in a statement released by his office that he backed the decisions made.

"I support what's best for the Senate and the Commonwealth, and I deeply regret the disruption that has been caused by the necessity of the investigation," said Rosenberg. "I reiterate that Bryon had no influence over my actions or decisions as Senate President, and I look forward to the completion of the investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee."

Rosenberg's statement did not address whether he planned to run for re-election to his Senate seat in November, or if he had ruled out entirely the possibility of running for the presidency in January should he be fully exonerated.

A spokeswoman for Rosenberg did not immediately return a message.

By putting off the election of a new leader until next session, senators hoped to blunt for now the distraction of a high-stakes leadership battle being fought during the current session.

Democratic Sens. Karen Spilka, of Ashland, Sal DiDomenico of Everett, and Eileen Donoghue, of Lowell, have publicly indicated interest in running for Senate president. Reports surfaced in recent days that Democratic Sen. Eric Lesser, of Longmeadow, also was weighing a bid.

A spokesman for Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said he looked forward to working with Chandler to pass his administration's proposals around opioid abuse, public safety and housing. Earlier in the week, Baker said if the report about Hefner's possible involvement in Senate affairs were true, Rosenberg should not ever return as president.
A week of wintry weather continues, with a potential snowstorm headed for the Chicago area that could leave more than a foot of accumulation total across some parts of the region by Sunday. [[456119263, C]]

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch, scheduled to go into into effect for most of the metro area on Thursday evening and running through Friday night.

The potential snowstorm will likely begin late Thursday and continue into Friday night, leaving between 5 and 10 inches of accumulation in its wake. [[273569591, C]]

That Winter Storm Watch - issued for Lake, DuPage, Cook, Will, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb, Kane, LaSalle, Kendall and Grundy counties in Illinois, as well as Lake and Porter counties in Indiana - warns that the heavy snow will make driving conditions difficult during Friday morning's rush hour.

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While the snow will taper off by Friday night, the winter weather won't be done yet.

Saturday morning will start overcast and cold, before light snow develops late in the afternoon and continues through late evening with between 2 and 3 inches of accumulation.

Light snow Sunday will taper off midday, and by the end of the weekend, parts of the Chicago area could see a total of more than a foot of snow on the ground over the week, including the 1 to 3 inches of accumulation from the snowfall late Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Any county under the Winter Storm Watch could see between 5 to 10 inches of snow between Thursday and Friday night, plus additional accumulation over the weekend - though snow totals will likely fluctuate as the system moves in the area.



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Middlesex Hospital is now limiting who can visit patients at the hospital because of the flu, which is widespread in Connecticut, as well as the rest of the continental United States.

The restrictions are effective immediately and anyone with flu-like symptoms will not be allowed to visit patients at the hospital. Hospital officials said symptoms can include having a fever, vomiting and coughing, diarrhea, body aches and headaches.

Middlesex Hospital will only allow immediate family members or a designated support person to visit patients.

No more than two people can visit a patient at a time and no one under the age of 18 will be allowed unless special permission is granted.

Anyone who does visit a patient at the hospital must clean his or her hands.

The flu has contributed to 52 deaths and 1,154 hospitalizations in Connecticut this season.
Two people who were arrested on drug charges after a raid at an apartment complex in Manchester are accused of buying 70 pounds of marijuana in California and shipping it to Connecticut to distribute, according to police.

In January, officials from the East Central Narcotics Task Force learned about a large-scale marijuana operation and determined the marijuana was being kept inside an apartment at the Squire Village apartment complex in Manchester, officials said.

When authorities searched the apartment, they found more than 70 pounds of marijuana, which has a street value of around $300,000, according to Manchester Police. They also found cash and other items of evidence showing drug activity.

Police said 22-year-old Kiara Lopez and 24-year-old Kenneth Chaparro were flying to California, where they bought large amounts of marijuana at "weed fairs," then packaged it and shipped it back to Connecticut in large boxes, using a private shipping carrier, to be distributed.

Authorities detained Lopez and Chaparro Friday as they were trying to board a flight from Logan Airport in Boston to California.

Chaparro was taken into custody and held in Massachusetts without bond, police said. He was extradited back to Connecticut Monday.

Chaparro was charged with possession more than four ounces of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, operating a drug factory, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana within 1,500 feet of a school, possession of marijuana with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school and possession of drug paraphernalia within 1,500 feet of a school.

He was held on a $500,000 bond.

Lopez was arrested at court Tuesday while she attending Chaparros arraignment.

Lopez was charged with possession more than four ounces of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell, operating a drug factory, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana within 1,500 feet of a school, possession of marijuana with intent to sell within 1,500 feet of a school, possession of drug paraphernalia within 1,500 feet of a school and interfering with a police investigation.

Bond was set at $175,000.
A 78-year-old Manchester man who was reported missing has been found in Pennsylvania and he is OK, according to police.

John Gilbert left home Tuesday, driving a 2016 white Toyota Camry, and his family has reported him missing, according to police.

A Silver Alert had been issued for him.
Connecticut school districts are increasingly becoming the target of cybercriminals and these attacks can become a major disruption in classrooms.

Over the last several months, federal law enforcement officers are seeing a significant increase in cyberattacks aimed at local schools. These threats brought classroom learning to a standstill at some schools across the state.

"You can't get to your lesson plans. You can't do grading. You can't keep in communication," Holly Matthews, of Avon, who is an educator in another town, said. "It's unfortunate that our society has come to this."

"It's disturbing and it's concerning," Jill Garrity, a parent from Simsbury and former elementary school teacher, said. "It's disturbing to think that it could interfere with the advancements that education has made in terms of technology."

Avon Public Schools administrators sent parents an alert in December, notifying them that cyberattacks had shut down internet access across the district. That presented a problem because classrooms are now so dependent on technology. Many schools incorporate tablets, laptops, apps and Smart Boards into daily lesson plans.

"It seems like the objective is to really halt our productivity and to interrupt our instructional process and just make us come to a screeching halt," Dr. JeanAnn Paddyfote, the interim superintendent for Avon Public Schools, said.

Paddyfote said no personal data was compromised but another similar cyberattack occurred in early January.

The district's IT team strengthened firewalls, a security tool designed to keep cyberintruders out of school computer systems, in the wake of the 'DDoS' or 'Distributed Denial of Service' attacks, in which someone attempts to overwhelm a school computer server with more data than it can handle.

"When it's crippled, it really hampers our ability to do our work well," Paddyfote said of the incidents.

The NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters uncovered other instances of cyberthreats impacting Connecticut school districts over the past two years.

In Wallingford, the district was targeted by phishing e-mails urging staffers to release W-2 tax information and other personnel records. None was ever handed over, the district said. Email viruses, which spread spam to and from all employee email contacts, were also reported.

Phishing attempts were also reported by Milford Public Schools.

In Middletown last summer, the school district was dealing with ransomware, which threatens to publish personal data unless a ransom is paid. The district said no ransom was paid and that the affected server was decommissioned without any loss of data.

'DDoS' attacks, like what was reported in Avon, knocked out internet access in Meriden at least four different times over several months, according to the school district.

"There seems like there's just more and more of it - and there is," said Vanessa Richards, Assistant U.S. Attorney in the District of Connecticut who also serves as the Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) Coordinator for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Richards said her office has received an increase in reports of school cyberthreats since summer 2017.

"Oftentimes they're targeting a school for the personal identifying information of the employees or the students," Richards said when asked why someone would target a school.

Some of these attacks have more serious consequences than just a disruption, like a scam that targeted employees of Glastonburys school district last year. Special agents from the FBI said that last year an email appearing to be from a school official requested W-2 information for the 1,600 employees in the school system. Agents said a district employee believed it was real and handed the personal data over. Daniel Adekunle Ojo, a 33-year old citizen of Nigeria in the U.S. on an expired visa, has since been arrested in that phishing scheme case.

Ojo was charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and aggravated identity theft, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of at least two years, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Troubleshooters requested an update from the U.S. Attorneys Office about the case, but have not yet received a response.

The U.S. Department of Education has alerted schools nationwide to be prepared for cyberextortion and threats. Experts recommend updating computer systems and strengthening firewalls and anti-virus software.

Richards said cybertraining is critical, with school employees often the gatekeepers to so much personal information.

"It's really the person behind the computer that's the greatest vulnerability," Richards said.

Culprits are difficult to track down, especially if they are overseas, she said.

Paddyfote has a message for whoever is behind the attacks in her district.

"Stop. Please stop," Paddyfote said. "And should we find out who you are, we will pursue it legally and financially."

Schools and school districts are not required to report all suspicious cyberactivity to law enforcement, but they are certainly urged to do so.

Federal education officials encourage IT staff at schools and school districts to protect themselves by:

Conducting security audits to identify weaknesses and update/patch vulnerable systems;

Ensuring proper audit logs are created and reviewed routinely for suspicious activity;

Training staff and students on data security best practices and phishing/social engineering awareness; and

Reviewing all sensitive data to verify that outside access is appropriately limited.

See the responses from all the public school districts the NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters reached out to for this story below.





Avon Public Schools Inquiry:



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Bristol Public Schools FOI



Connecticut Education Network FOI



East Hartford Public Schools FOI



Hartford Public Schools FOI



Meriden Public Schools FOI



Middletown Public Schools FOI



Milford Public Schools FOI



New Britain Public Schools FOI



New Haven Public Schools FOI



Wallingford Public Schools FOI



Waterbury Public Schools FOI